cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mammalian Fe–S proteins: definition of a consensus motif recognized by the co-chaperone HSC20

Iron–sulfur (Fe–S) clusters are inorganic cofactors that are fundamental to several biological processes in all three kingdoms of life. In most organisms, Fe–S clusters are initially assembled on a scaffold protein, ISCU, and subsequently transferred to target proteins or to intermediate carriers by a dedicated chaperone/co-chaperone system. The delivery of assembled Fe–S clusters to recipient proteins is a crucial step in the biogenesis of Fe–S proteins, and, in mammals, it relies on the activity of a multiprotein transfer complex that contains the chaperone HSPA9, the co-chaperone HSC20 and the scaffold ISCU. How the transfer complex efficiently engages recipient Fe–S target proteins involves specific protein interactions that are not fully understood. This mini review focuses on recent insights into the molecular mechanism of amino acid motif recognition and discrimination by the co-chaperone HSC20, which guides Fe–S cluster delivery.
Creating “Thick Connections”: Translating Activism in the CEDAW Process

The state-centeredness of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) monitoring procedure has been complemented by the work of transnational norm translators. This activism is mostly undertaken by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) but also by United Nations (UN) agencies and the CEDAW experts themselves. In regard to global discourse translation, most of this work has aimed at deepening the understanding of women’s rights and making the CEDAW process more inclusive and responsive. However, there are also voices that question the legitimacy of the Convention and, in particular, the Committee’s interpretation of women’s rights. Activism that aims at impact translation has focused on CEDAW-related capacity building and creation of context-sensitive implementation projects. This multi-directional translation work has established a connection between the treaty and societies, not only governments.
Associative Growth and Differential Enumeration of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus: A Review

The literature which reports on the associative growth properties of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus is reviewed. Also discussed are articles which report on methods to differentially enumerate these two bacteria when they are together either in bulk starters or manufactured products.
A programmable fully-integrated microstimulator for neural implants and instrumentation

This paper presents a fully-integrated stimulator chip for electrical microstimulation. The device is designed in a high-voltage process that allows up to 20V power supply and 19V output voltage compliance. A broad range of current-mode stimulation waveforms and patterns can be generated, including symmetrical/asymmetrical, biphasic/monophasic, and pulse train stimuli. The current amplitude, pulse width, and stimulation rate are adjustable from 0.5μA to 2mA, 100μs to 4ms, and 0.1Hz to 200Hz, respectively. Two complementary charge-balancing techniques are integrated to reduce residual voltage and stimulation artifacts. In in vitro experiments, the stimulator is demonstrated to trigger neural spikes, modulate neuronal firing rate, and alter mesoscopic neuronal activity. The results suggest the proposed microstimulator can support a wide variety of neuroscience experiments that require electrical microstimulation.
Wideband Multimode Monostatic Spiral Antenna STAR Subsystem

A wideband, multimode, and monostatic simultaneous transmit and receive (STAR) antenna subsystem is proposed. The configuration is composed of a single four-arm spiral and two analog circuit layers designed to maximize isolation between the transmitting (TX) and receiving (RX) channels. The first layer consists of two Butler matrix beamformer networks (BFNs); one for each TX and RX. The second layer integrates four, ideally phase-matched, circulators between the spiral arms and the BFNs. Theoretically, this configuration achieves infinite isolation irrespective of circulator’s quality. However, the BFN imbalances and the dissimilarities between the four circulators degrade the overall isolation. The operational principles are discussed under the ideal conditions and in the presence of circuit imperfections. For a four-arm spiral, the utilized BFN provides orthogonal modes 1, −1, 2, and 3, allowing STAR capability with multimode and diverse radiation patterns. The subsystem isolation and far-field performances are characterized experimentally and computationally for different modes of operation. A simple approach to achieve a dual-polarized STAR operation over narrower bandwidth with the proposed subsystem is also discussed. The multimode subsystem is demonstrated over 4:1 bandwidth with high isolation, VSWR < 2, consistent patterns, axial ratio < 3 dB over a wide field of view for the broadside modes (1, −1) and < 4.2 dB for other conical modes (2, 3).
Optimal System Design for Weigh-In-Motion Measurements Using In-Pavement Strain Sensors

Weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems are widely deployed to collect real-time traffic data. They enable multiple applications, such as truck weight enforcement, pavement design, freight management, traffic management, and intelligent transportation systems, such as smart tolling and traffic data supports to smart cities. Engineers currently depend on the experiences of practitioners in the field to select parameters for the sensor and system design. This paper introduces a comprehensive design framework that optimizes the system design of in-pavement WIM sensors to meet high-level application requirements. The framework establishes the relationships between the sampling rate, measurement resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, sensor sensitivity, and the measurement dynamic range. The simulations and case study presented demonstrates an example of a specific design to accommodate high-speed truck weight measurements.
The Impact of Negative Family Environment and Depression on Running Away From Home Among Korean Adolescents

Using general strain theory (GST), this study examines negative stimuli (poor relationship with family, parental child abuse, and poor parenting), with the mediating effect of negative emotion (depression), on the deviant behavior of running away from home. The current study used data from a 2009 Korean survey of 9,750 adolescent students in a structural equation model, to examine the possible mediating role of negative emotions. The research results showed that a poor relationship with family and parental abuse increases the level of depression. Also, the level of depression that was experienced by juveniles influenced the likelihood of running away from home. Therefore, this study supported the GST hypothesis of negative stimuli impacting juvenile delinquency with a mediating effect of negative emotion. This study suggests that it is important to remove negative stimuli in the family environment to reduce depression and running away from home.
Non-Contact Optical Length Measurement System for Industrial Applications

Abstract A simple and inexpensive method has been developed for signal processing of a laser Doppler signal. The application in mind is for non-contact length measurement of a moving surface. Experimental verification in laboratory conditions shows a repeatability of 1 pare in 10 4 over a velocity range of 40:1, and a linearity of 0.05% versus velocity. Keyword. Sensors.
Influence of aerobic fitness on vasoreactivity in young men

Previous work has demonstrated a direct relationship between aerobic fitness and vasodilatory function (i.e., flow-mediated dilation; FMD); however, the relation between aerobic fitness and vasoconstrictor responsiveness (i.e., low flow-mediated constriction; L-FMC), and the overall vasoactive range (FMD + L-FMC) is unclear. To test the hypothesis that L-FMC and the overall vasoactive range (FMD + L-FMC) will be related to aerobic fitness in young, healthy men. Twenty men (age: 23 ± 5 years) were recruited, and divided evenly into a higher (HF) vs. lower (LF) aerobic fitness group, quantified via YMCA cycle ergometry (VO2 peak extrapolation), and a 3-min step test (1-min heart rate recovery). Duplex Doppler-ultrasound was used to assess brachial artery FMD and L-FMC. Estimated VO2 peak (HF = 55 ± 10 vs. LF = 38 ± 5 mL/kg/min) and heart rate recovery (HF = 36 ± 10 vs. LF = 25 ± 8 beats) were greater in the HF group (P < 0.05). FMD and the vasoactive range were similar between groups; however, L-FMC was significantly greater in HF (HF = −2.5 ± 1.6 vs. LF = −0.7 ± 1.8%, P < 0.05; d = 1.18). A correlational analysis revealed an inverse relationship between L-FMC and both HR recovery (r = −0.665, P < 0.01) and estimated VO2 peak (r = −0.5, P < 0.05). This work supports an association between L-FMC and aerobic fitness in young, healthy men. Longitudinal or interventional studies are warranted to support causality, and to distinguish whether L-FMC is more sensitive to changes in aerobic fitness than FMD.
Race and Self-Defense: Toward a Normative Conception of Reasonableness

This paper examines the influence of racial stereotypes on juror determinations of reasonableness in self defense cases involving African American, Asian American, and Latino victims as part of a larger effort to minimize racial bias in criminal justice decision-making. Part I discusses traditional self defense doctrine, including the debate over whether an objective or subjective standard of reasonableness should be employed. Recognizing that objective standards such as the reasonableness requirement are not always neutral, Part I nevertheless concludes that an objective standard of reasonableness is preferable to a subjective standard which permits the racially biased sentiments of the defendant to control the outcome of the self defense inquiry. Part II examines how socially constructed stereotypes about African Americans, Asian Americans and Latinos might influence jurors in self defense and other cases. First, this part discusses social science research and cases exemplifying the Black-as-criminal stereotype. Second, this part discusses stereotypes about Asian Americans, including the Asian-as-model minority, Asian-as-foreigner, and Asian-as-martial artist stereotypes. Finally, this part discusses stereotypes about Latinos, such as the Latino-as-illegal immigrant, Latino-as-drug abuser, the Latino as hot-headed and prone-to-violence macho male, and other stereotypes. Part III explores ways in which the risk of racial stereotypes influencing the reasonableness determination in self defense cases might be reduced. Professor Lee proposes that judges give jurors in racially charged self-defense cases a “race-switching” jury instruction to help reduce the influence of racial stereotypes. Such an instruction would ask jurors to engage in a simple mental exercise - switching the races of the defendant and the victim. If jurors come to a different conclusion as to the reasonableness of the defendant’s actions when the races are switched than when the races are not switched, this would suggest racial bias. Lee also suggests that a clear distinction be drawn between act-reasonableness and emotion-reasonableness. Drawing such a distinction would be aimed at discouraging jurors from assuming that if a defendant’s fear of imminent death or serious bodily injury was reasonable, his homicidal act was also reasonable.
A Generic Strategy to Assess and Mitigate Chip Package Interaction Risk Factors for Semiconductor Devices with Ultra-low k Dielectric Materials in Back End of Line

Abstract This paper describes a systematic approach to the identification of primary contributing factors to the Chip Package Interaction (CPI) risk and reveals the mitigation strategy successfully applied by GLOBALFOUNDRIES. The strategy includes modeling at bump and package level, gathering experimental data on blanket dielectric back end of line (BEoL) films, collecting data on wafer material with a complete BEoL stack, and finally using readouts on the package level. Advanced measurement methods generate data on the wafer level to achieve fast turn-around times. These methods include: (i) Dual-Cantilever Beam (DCB) test, (ii) Modified Edge Lift-off Test (MELT), (iii) Single Pillar Shear Test (SPST) and (iv) Bump Assisted BEoL Stability Indentation (BABSI) tests. The paper describes the methodology to gather data on the wafer level with a complete BEoL metallization stack that assesses the BEoL integrity. Furthermore, the package level thermomechanical modeling approach is discussed. The model has been...
Online Ratings of Spine Surgeons: Analysis of 208 Surgeons.

Study Design.Observational study.Objective.To evaluate the online ratings of spine surgeons and variables that may affect online ratings.Summary of Background Data.Physician review Web sites (PRW) are rapidly growing for-profit businesses. Most orthopedic surgeons are rated on at least one PRW as ar
Design of nested protograph-based LDPC codes with low error-floors

In this paper, we propose a method to design nested protograph-based low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes for network communications with low error-floors via a graph modification procedure. Lowering the error-floor of nested LDPC codes is essential for certain applications that require very low decoded error rates in moderate to high signal-to-noise-ratios (SNRs) like optical communication and data storage. The multilevel method we propose improves upon existing state-of-the-art algebraic designs by the identification and removal of harmful graph structures from nested LDPC codes, effectively improving the performance of each of the nested codes in their error-floor region. Simulation results are provided that confirm the expected performance improvement.
The Essential MPI

Abstract The message-passing interface (MPI) is by far the most popular library for use in applications on distributed-memory architectures. It is a standard interface for message-passing calls, and is powerful, flexible, and usable. At the risk of hyperbole, there was probably no greater achievement of practical utility for the advancement of high performance computing (HPC) than the development of MPI. While the application programming interface itself contains hundreds of commands, the HPC practitioner generally only needs a small subset of these to create a wide array of parallel applications. This chapter introduces the key MPI calls most commonly found in HPC applications. It covers point-to-point communication, MPI types, MPI collective operations, and nonblocking point-to-point communication.
Complex regression Doppler optical coherence tomography

We introduce a new method to measure Doppler shifts more accurately and extend the dynamic range of Doppler optical coherence tomography (OCT). The two-point estimate of the conventional Doppler method is replaced with a regression that is applied to high-density B-scans in polar coordinates. We built a high-speed OCT system using a 1.68-MHz Fourier domain mode locked laser to acquire high-density B-scans (16,000 A-lines) at high enough frame rates (∼100 fps) to accurately capture the dynamics of the beating embryonic heart. Flow phantom experiments confirm that the complex regression lowers the minimum detectable velocity from 12.25 mm / s to 374 μm / s, whereas the maximum velocity of 400 mm / s is measured without phase wrapping. Complex regression Doppler OCT also demonstrates higher accuracy and precision compared with the conventional method, particularly when signal-to-noise ratio is low. The extended dynamic range allows monitoring of blood flow over several stages of development in embryos without adjusting the imaging parameters. In addition, applying complex averaging recovers hidden features in structural images.
Dynamic, Stream-Balancing, Turn-Minimizing, Accessible Wayfinding for Emergency Evacuation of People Who Use a Wheelchair

People with disabilities (PWD) cannot take all the routes accessible to people without disabilities because of their disabilities, attached equipment, lower speed, and larger space requirement. This results in more challenges and slower movements for PWD during emergency evacuations in comparison with people without disabilities. This study focuses on the accessibility of egress routes to people who use a wheelchair (PWW) during an emergency evacuation, referred to as egressibility. While this research benefits from the existing literature on indoor wayfinding for PWW, it considers three additional criteria to find the most convenient route for emergency evacuation of PWW: (a) avoiding blockages due to the collapse of walls or ceilings, (b) minimizing turns, and (c) balancing the congestion by offering less-congested routes in response to new requests. The results showed that considering turn minimization as an extra factor in finding the most accessible route could prevent the evacuees from changing the elevator or taking too many turns, just to avoid a slightly less convenient, yet accessible, segment. The results also showed the efficiency of the algorithm in returning the second optimal egress route to avoid blocked segments. The pedestrian congestion minimization component of the algorithm temporarily decreases a segment’s desirability to be included in other egress routes. The experiments showed the benefit of this component in offering an alternative optimal egress route to evacuees whenever it is more convenient than the more crowded first optimal egress route.
Myeloperoxidase-Mediated Cytotoxic Systems

Myeloperoxidase (MPO), H2O2, and a halide form a powerful antimicrobial system which is effective against a variety of microorganisms. This system is also toxic to certain mammalian cells, namely, spermatozoa, erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets, and tumor cells. This review (see also Klebanoff, 1975a; Klebanoff and Clark, 1978) will consider the properties of the MPO-mediated antimicrobial system and its role in the intracellular and extracellular toxicity of the polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN).
TiNiFeCrCoAl high-entropy alloys as novel metallic binders for TiB2-TiC based composites

Abstract This paper studies the utilization of TiNiFeCrCoAl high-entropy alloys (HEA) as the metallic binders (10 wt%) in various ceramic matrix (TiB2, 60 wt% TiB2–40 wt% TiC, TiC). Using laboratory synthesized ultra-fine ceramic powders, all samples can be pressureless densified to relative densities over 97% at temperatures of 1550 °C (for TiB2 and TiC) and 1600 °C (for TiB2-TiC). The sintered samples have significantly enhanced properties including fine grain size (~ 0.8–1.5 µm), high hardness (~ 18.6–21.6 GPa), and high fracture toughness (~ 8.7–11.1 MPam1/2). Comparing within these samples, the results indicate the TiB2-HEA sample has the best combination of fine microstructure and good mechanical properties (hardness ~ 21.6 ± 1.0 GPa, fracture toughness ~ 11.1 ± 0.6 MPa m1/2) while the TiC-HEA sample has relative large grain size and acceptable mechanical properties (hardness ~ 18.6 ± 1.1 GPa, fracture toughness ~ 8.7 ± 0.8 MPa m1/2). Hardening and toughening mechanisms are further discussed.
Enhancing E-Healthcare Privacy Preservation Framework through L-Diversity

Healthcare industry is continuously evolving as new technologies are being integrated in the existing healthcare infrastructure. Privacy preservation provides one of the key role from security perspective in an electronic healthcare data security. Due to continuously emerging threats, a comprehensive security framework that should provide strong patient anonymity level (considering both patient’s identity and patient’s data), anonymized data searching and successful correlation of PHR for medical research is difficult to formulize. In this paper, some previous security frameworks were analyzed and their flaws were identified. Also it proposed an enhancement to the existing solutions based on a careful analysis of their shortcomings.
Impact of Sn substitution on the structure and magnetism of Sr 2 IrO 4

The magnetic behavior of Sn-substituted ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}{\mathrm{IrO}}_{4}$ has been examined through magnetization measurements and single-crystal neutron diffraction on ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}{\mathrm{Ir}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Sn}}_{x}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ for $0.05\ensuremath{\lesssim}x\ensuremath{\lesssim}0.35$. For all $x$ examined, the magnetic ground state is similar to that induced in ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}{\mathrm{IrO}}_{4}$ by application of a magnetic field. This magnetic state is characterized by a small net moment due to the alignment of canted moments within an otherwise antiferromagnetic structure. The weak ferromagnetic behavior is observed in the magnetization data for both unique crystallographic orientations. Diffraction data reveal an anisotropic response in the lattice parameters, with an overall lattice expansion, as well as a small reduction in the rotation of the ${\mathrm{IrO}}_{6}$ octahedra. The magnetic ordering temperature is continually suppressed with increasing $x$, and long-range magnetic order persists to the highest Sn concentrations synthesized.
Confessions of a (Cheap) Sophisticated Substantivalist

I illustrate a challenge to a view that is a response to the Hole Argument. The view, sophisticated substantivalism, has been claimed to be the received view. While sophisticated substantivalism has many defenders, there is a fundamental tension in the view that has not received the attention it deserves. Anyone who defends or endorses sophisticated substantivalism, should acknowledge this challenge, and should either show why it is not serious or explain how to respond to it.
Multi-contextual influences on adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections in the United States

Abstract Rationale Rates of adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States remain high. Norms and beliefs about sex and the use of contraception have been identified as potential contributors to these. Objective The current study examined multi-contextual links between norms and beliefs about sex and contraception, and adolescent pregnancies and STIs. Method Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to test the study questions in the historical data from Add Health dataset (Wave I, 1994–1995, and Wave II, 1995–1996). Measures of beliefs about sex and contraception were administered to adolescents and their caregivers; pregnancies and STIs were reported by adolescents (N = 13,568; level 1). School-reported data (N = 132; level 2) included sexuality education and prevalence of pregnancies at schools. Community data included the density of family planning providers in each county. Results Adolescents negative beliefs about contraception were associated with a higher likelihood of pregnancies and STIs via their association with contraception use. The opposite effect was found for negative beliefs about sex. Parental disapproval of contraception was associated with a decreased likelihood of STIs, but with an increased likelihood of pregnancies. A greater number of pregnancies at school was associated with a greater likelihood of STIs. Unexpectedly, the number of county-level family planning providers was associated with a higher likelihood of STIs. Conclusion Adolescent individual beliefs emerged as the most salient predictors of both pregnancies and STIs.
Water influences how seed production responds to conspecific and heterospecific pollen

Premise Outcrossing species depend on pollen from conspecific individuals that may not be exposed to the same abiotic conditions as maternal plants. Additionally, many flowers receive heterospecific pollen, which can also influence seed production. Studies aimed to understand how abiotic conditions influence seed production tend to focus on maternal conditions and leave unexplored the effect of abiotic conditions experienced by pollen donors. We tested how water availability to pollen donors, both conspecific and heterospecific, influenced the seed production of recipient plants exposed to different water availability regimes. Methods In a greenhouse setting we manipulated the water availability (low- or high-water treatment) to potted recipient plants (Phacelia parryi), to conspecific pollen donors, and to heterospecific pollen donors (Brassica nigra). We hand pollinated recipient plants with different pollen mixes that represented all combinations of conspecific pollen mixed with heterospecific pollen. From these hand pollinations we determined the amount of pollen that was transferred, pollen volume, pollen shape, and seed production. Results Higher water availability to conspecific pollen donors led to higher seed production. Under low water availability to heterospecific pollen donors, seed production was unaffected by recipient or conspecific pollen donor treatment. Under high water availability to heterospecific pollen donors, seed production was highest when conspecific pollen donors and pollen recipients also received the high-water treatment. Conclusions Environmental conditions of pollen donors can influence the seed production of maternal plants. These results illustrate potential impacts of environmental heterogeneity on post-pollination events that lead to seed production and thus impact a pollinator's contribution to plant fitness.
Hypothermia and nutrient deprivation alter viability of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract Purpose Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are attractive biological agents in regenerative medicine. To optimize cell therapies, it is necessary to determine the most effective delivery method for MSCs. Therefore, we evaluated the biological properties of MSCs after exposure to various temperatures to define optimal storage conditions prior to therapeutic delivery of MSCs. Design Prospective observational study. Methods and materials Adherent and non-adherent MSCs were incubated at multiple temperatures (i.e., 4, 23 and 37 °C) in Lactated Ringers (LR) solution lacking essential cell growth ingredients, or in culture media which is optimized for cell growth. Cells were assessed either after the temperature changes (4 h) or after recovery (24 h). Metabolic activity of MSCs, cell number and expression of representative mRNA biomarkers were evaluated to assess the biological effects of temperature. We monitored changes in mRNAs expression related to cytoprotective- or stress-related responses (e.g., FOS, JUN, ATF1, ATF4, EGR1, EGR2, MYC), proliferation (e.g., HIST2H4, CCNB2), and extracellular matrix production (ECM; e.g., COL3A1, COL1A1) by quantitative real time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis. Results Our study demonstrates that storing MSCs in Lactated Ringers (LR) solution for 4 h decreases cell number and metabolic activity. The number of viable MSCs decreased significantly when cultured at physiological temperature (37 °C) and severe hypothermia (4 °C), while cells grown at ambient temperature (23 °C) exhibited the least detrimental effects. There were no appreciable biological differences in mRNA markers for proliferation or ECM deposition at any of the temperatures. However, biomarkers related to cytoprotective- or stress-responses were selectively elevated depending on temperature or media type (i.e., LR versus standard media). Conclusion The biological impact of nutrient-free media and temperature changes after 4 h exposure persists after a 24 h recovery period. Hence, storage temperature and media conditions should be optimized to improve effective dosing of MSCs.
Ballbit Adventure: A Physical Game for a Collaborative Racing

Playtime accounts for one of the most critical learning periods for children, as they learn how to interact and socialize with their playmates. In this paper, we present a new kind of cooperation-based physical game called Ballbit Adventure. Our game provides a collaborative environment for children to communicate, cooperate, and empathize through solving challenges in an interactive maze. Each player must drive a robotic ball and work together to complete different tasks that would ultimately lead them to the finish line. Through the format of a physical racing game, Ballbit Adventure hopes to show the value of face-to-face play experience to counterbalance the disconnected online interactions that children have with video games.
Impact of pH on efficacy of peroxy acetic acid against Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Escherichia coli on chicken wings.

Abstract Peroxy acetic acid (PAA) is widely used as an antimicrobial in poultry processing, specifically in the chiller. While the natural pH of PAA at the concentrations used is between 4.5 and 6.0, poultry processors adjust the pH to ≥8.0 to maintain product yield. The objective of this study was to evaluate 1) efficacy of PAA at different concentrations, pH, and contact times against Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Escherichia coli and 2) use of E. coli as a surrogate for Salmonella and Campylobacter to conduct validations studies for poultry processing. Fresh chicken wings (0.45 Kg) were inoculated with a cocktail of nalidixic acid–resistant Salmonella Typhimurium, rifampicin-resistant E. coli (5-strain cocktail), and gentamicin-resistant Campylobacter coli. Inoculated chicken wings were immersed in PAA solutions of 50, 250, and 500 ppm adjusted to pH 8.2 and 10.0 as well as nonadjusted PAA solutions for 10 s and 60 min. Treated chicken wings were rinsed in chilled buffered peptone water, serially diluted, and plated on Petrifilm APC for enumerating Salmonella and E. coli populations and spread plated on Campy Cefex Agar containing gentamicin (200 ppm) to enumerate Campylobacter. Immersion of chicken wings in 500 ppm of PAA (non–pH-adjusted) for 60 min resulted in greater microbial reductions (P ≤ 0.05) of Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli populations of 2.56, 1.90, and 2.53 log CFU/mL, respectively. Higher concentrations and longer exposure times resulted in greater reductions (P ≤ 0.05) of Salmonella, E. coli, and Campylobacter populations, and increasing pH of PAA solution did not affect (P > 0.05) its efficacy. A high correlation (r = 0.93) was observed between E. coli (surrogate) and Salmonella populations suggesting that E. coli can be used as a surrogate for Salmonella for conducting validation studies for antimicrobial efficacy testing in poultry processing.
Relativistic Rocket Control (Relativistic Space-Travel Flight Control): Feedback Control of Relativistic Dynamics Propelled by Ejecting Mass.

In this short note, we investigate the feedback control of relativistic dynamics propelled by mass ejection, modeling, e.g., the relativistic rocket control or the relativistic (space-travel) flight control. As an extreme case, we also examine the control of relativistic photon rockets which are propelled by ejecting photons.
Dynamic Response of a Restrained Sphere in a Fluid

The dynamic response of a structure surrounded by a fluid depends on the physical properties of the fluid as well as those of the structure itself. The following is a study of the behavior of a sim...
Hyperspectral Image Super-Resolution in Arbitrary Input-Output Band Settings

Hyperspectral images (HSIs) with narrow spectral bands can capture rich spectral information, making them suitable for many computer vision tasks. One of the fundamental limitations of HSI is its low spatial resolution, and several recent works on super-resolution(SR) have been proposed to tackle this challenge. However, due to HSI cameras' diversity, different cameras capture images with different spectral response functions and the number of total channels. The existing HSI datasets are usually small and consequently insufficient for modeling. We propose a Meta-Learning-Based Super-Resolution(MLSR) model, which can take in HSI images at an arbitrary number of input bands' peak wavelengths and generate super-resolved HSIs with an arbitrary number of output bands' peak wavelengths. We artificially create sub-datasets by sampling the bands from NTIRE2020 and ICVL datasets to simulate the cross-dataset settings and perform HSI SR with spectral interpolation and extrapolation on them. We train a single MLSR model for all sub-datasets and train dedicated baseline models for each sub-dataset. The results show the proposed model has the same level or better performance compared to the-state-of-the-art HSI SR methods.
Preliminary Evaluation of Multi-criteria Decision-Making Methodology for Emergency Management

Decision-making related to emergencies and disasters is a daunting process given the dynamic and complex nature of such events, the wide range of factors to manage, and the large amount of information to consider. To address the challenge, the long-term goals of this work advocate for the use of an adaptive intelligent system to assist with these complex decision tasks. This paper provides background for MCDM methods and their uses and develops and proposes a taxonomy of eleven questions for use in selecting MCDM methods within complex decision-making environments such as emergency management.
Determining the Region of Influence of a Signalized Traffic Intersection by Analysis of Heavy-duty Diesel Vehicle Fuel Consumption

Knowledge of the fuel impacts of traffic control signals, particularly traffic lights, is important for assessing benefits of coordinated control of connected and/or autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) with traffic elements, and for determining sites best suited for smart infrastructure deployments based on environmental impacts. The objective of this work is to determine the region over which knowledge of traffic light information is useful in informing fuel-efficient decisions. This includes the region before a traffic light in where a preview-based controller benefits from planning for the upcoming traffic light, and the region after a light where the vehicle returns to free-flow behavior after coming to a complete stop. In this paper, we collectively refer to these regions as the traffic light's Region Of Influence (ROI). In particular, this work identifies the start and end position of the ROI for a signalized intersection based on simulations and in-vehicle experiments using a heavy-duty diesel truck. To evaluate the fuel consumption of the vehicle accurately, this work uses a gravimetric fuel measurement method to calibrate on-board fuel flow meters for both the inlet and outlet of the fuel tank; the results show agreement within 1% error. Next, this work analyzes the difference in fuel consumption for the heavy-duty vehicle within the ROI, comparing fuel usage of the vehicle traveling through green vs. red traffic lights using simulations of previously published MPC velocity controllers designed to improve fuel usage using traffic light SPaT information. The ROI for MPC-based control was found to be 200m before and 175m after the light. Finally, experimental results are given showing driver, rather than controller, responses that indicate: 1) the human-driven ROI starts approximately 140 m before an intersection and ends approximately 500 m after the intersection; and 2) the heavy-duty diesel vehicle consumes on average 88 grams (34%) less fuel within the ROI when encountering a green light, for each traffic light encounter, compared with encountering a red light.
Vascular Rings and Slings

Vascular rings and pulmonary artery slings are rare congenital anomalies of the aortic arch branches or pulmonary arteries that often present with compressive symptoms of aerodigestive tract during childhood. The development of vascular ring begins in the embryonic period along with the six primitive branchial arches and dorsal and ventral aorta. Abnormal persistence, involution, or regression of these arches determines the different varieties of vascular ring. Several imaging modalities are available for the evaluation of these anomalies, including radiography, echocardiography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CT has become the preferred diagnostic modality for both pre- and postoperative evaluations. CT provides excellent spatial and temporal resolution, a wide field of view, multiplanar reconstruction capabilities, and simultaneous evaluation of the airway. Surgical repair is the treatment of choice in symptomatic patients.
Chapter 4 Dibenzopyrrocoline Alkaloids

Publisher Summary The alkaloids and related synthetic compounds play a significant role in the development of theories on biogenesis of isoquinoline alkaloids, particularly regarding the importance of oxidative coupling of phenols in formation of isoquinoline natural products. This chapter provides an overview of the dibenzopyrrocoline alkaloids, history, cryptaustoline and cryptowoline, synthesis and reactions of dibenzopyrrocolines, and the pharmacology of dibenzopyrrocoline alkaloids. Only two naturally occurring dibenzopyrrocolines are known: (S)-(–)-cryptaustoline and (S)-(–)-cryptowoline, both isolated as iodides. (–)-Cryptaustoline and (–)-cryptowoline are obtained as iodides from the Australian plant Cryptocarya bowiei (Hook) Druce, and their structures are elucidated by chemical degradation. Bancroft described the toxic properties of the alkaloid but reported no physical or chemical properties of the material. Except for an alkaloid from Crytocara bowiei, possibly cryptaustoline, which affects the respiration of warm blooded animals and causes paralysis in frogs, no serious pharmacological studies with either cryptaustoline or crytowoline is reported.
Genetic, Molecular, and Clinical Characterization of Adrenergic Receptor Polymorphisms

Natural variations in the genes that encode adrenergic receptors have been identified. The variations of major interest for common diseases are those that occur with allele frequencies of 1% or more and are termed polymorphisms. Of the nine adrenergic receptors (α1A, α1B, α1D, α2A, α2B, α2C, β2C, β1, β2, β3), seven have been found to have nonsynonymous coding polymorphisms. Because of the distribution of adrenergic receptors throughout the body, there is the potential to explore genotype-phenotype associations in many organ systems and diseases. To date, the most extensively studied have been asthma, hypertension, vascular disease, heart failure, and obesity and related metabolic disorders.
Molecular Aging of Membrane Molecules and Cellular Removal

Investigations into mechanisms by which macrophages distinguish mature from senescent calf cells showed that a glycoprotein, senescent cell antigen, a terminal differentiation antigen, appears on the surface of senescent cells (Kay, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1981a–c, 1982a; Bennett and Kay, 1981; Kay and Bennett, 1982; Kay et al., 1982). It is recognized by the antigen-binding Fab region (Kay, 1978) of a specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) autoantibody in serum that attaches to cells carrying senescent cell antigen and initiates their removal by marcophages (Kay, 1975, 1978). Senescent cell antigen was first observed on the surface of senescent human erythrocytes (Kay, 1974, 1975) but has since been demonstrated on the surface of lymphocytes, polymorphonuclear leukocytes, platelets, embryonic kidney cells, and adult liver cells (Kay, 1981a).
Response to commentaries: changing the treatment default will improve decision-making

Keywords: Access; health services; motivation; patient-provider communication; smoking cessation; substance abuse; tobacco; treatment induction; treatment matching
A Review of “Sustainable Transportation: Problems and Solutions”

The United Nations estimates that the world's population will exceed 9 billion by 2050, with 70% of these people residing in urban areas. Combined with growing concerns about global climate change,...
Giant neonatal thoraco-abdominal lymphatic malformations treated with sildenafil: a case report and review of the literature.

Abstract Lymphatic malformations account for approximately 5% of benign tumors encountered during the neonatal period. Most often treated by surgical resection or sclerotherapy, phosphodiesterase inhibitors have recently emerged as a potential treatment modality for lymphatic malformations. Treatment with phosphodiesterase inhibitors may be particularly useful when patients are not candidates for surgical resection or sclerotherapy. We report a case of giant bilateral lymphatic malformations diagnosed prenatally and treated postnatally with sildenafil.
Maximum-likelihood decoding and integer least-squares: the expected complexity

The problem of finding the least-squares solution to a system of linear equations where the unknown vector is comprised of integers, but the matrix coefficient and given vector are comprised of real numbers, arises in many applications: communications, cryptography, GPS, to name a few. The problem is equivalent to finding the closest lattice point to a given point and is known to be NP-hard. In communications applications, however, the given vector is not arbitrary, but rather is an unknown lattice point that has been perturbed by an additive noise vector whose statistical properties are known. Therefore in this paper, rather than dwell on the worst-case complexity of the integer-least-squares problem, we study its expected complexity, averaged over the noise and over the lattice. For the “sphere decoding” algorithm of Fincke and Pohst we find a closed-form expression for the expected complexity and show that, for a wide range of noise variances and dimensions, the expected complexity is polynomial, in fact often roughly cubic. Since many communications systems operate at noise levels for which the expected complexity turns out to be polynomial, this suggests that maximum-likelihood decoding, which was hitherto thought to be computationally intractable, can in fact be implemented in real-time—a result with many practical implications.
Interventions for herpes simplex virus epithelial keratitis.

BACKGROUND Many clinical trials have been performed on the acute treatment of dendritic epithelial keratitis. Surveys of ocular antiviral pharmacology and of herpes simplex virus eye disease have evaluated different interventions, but a systematic review of all comparative clinical studies has not previously been undertaken. OBJECTIVES The objective of this review is to compare the effects of various treatments for dendritic or geographic herpes simplex virus epithelial keratitis. SEARCH STRATEGY Sources searched for relevant studies were the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials - CENTRAL (which contains the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group trials register), (Issue 3 2002), MEDLINE (1966 to August 2002), EMBASE (1980 to August 2002), LILACS (up to 2002), Index Medicus (1960 to 1965), Excerpta Medica Ophthalmology (1960 to 1973), reference lists of primary reports and review articles, and conference proceedings pertaining to ocular virology. SELECTION CRITERIA This review includes comparative clinical trials that assessed one-week and/or two-week healing rates of topical ophthalmic or oral antiviral agents and/or physical or chemical debridement in people with active epithelial keratitis. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS The reviewer extracted data and assessed trial quality. Interventions were compared by the proportions of participants healed at seven days and at fourteen days after trial enrollment. MAIN RESULTS This review includes data from 97 trials that randomised a total of 5102 participants. Compared to idoxuridine, the topical application of vidarabine, trifluridine, or acyclovir generally resulted in a significantly greater proportion of participants healing within one week of treatment. Among these three antiviral agents, no treatment emerged as significantly better for the therapy of dendritic epithelial keratitis. Insufficient placebo-controlled studies were available to assess debridement and other physical or physicochemical methods of treatment. Interferon monotherapy had a slight beneficial effect on dendritic epithelial keratitis, but not better than other antiviral agents, although interferon was very useful combined with debridement or with another antiviral agent such as trifluridine. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS Currently available antiviral agents are effective and nearly equivalent. The combination of a nucleoside antiviral with either debridement or with interferon seems to speed healing. Future trials of the acute treatment of herpes simplex virus epithelial keratitis must aim to achieve adequate statistical power for assessing the primary outcome of epithelial healing and should consider the effect of lesion size and other characteristics on treatment response.
Stress and Stress Management

The origins of stress date back to antiquity. In the 14th century, the term stress described social hardship and economic adversity prevalent at the time. The concept of stress remained relatively obscure until physical science adopted the term. Inspired by the work of Robert Hooke, 18th-century physicist Thomas Young defined stress as the “ratio of force within the elastic body, which balances an external applied force, to the area over which the force acts” (Engel, 1985).
Implementation of Clustering Algorithm for Vital Signals in WMRHM Framework

Developments in sensors, miniaturization of low-power microelectronics, and wireless networks are becoming a significant opportunity for improving the quality of health care services. Since the population is growing, the need for high quality and efficient healthcare, both at home and in hospital, is becoming more important. This paper presents the innovative wireless sensor network based Mobile Real-time Health care Monitoring (WMRHM) framework which has the capacity of giving health predictions online based on continuously monitored real time vital
Childhood Trauma and Drug Addiction

Abstract In this article, I summarize research that my colleagues and I have conducted over the past several years on the relationship between childhood trauma and addiction. In particular, I highlight the role of new assessment tools my colleagues and I have developed to assess child maltreatment retrospectively, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Childhood Trauma Interview (CTI), and discuss their applicability to clinical populations of drug addicts, as well as their use with other clinical and non-referred groups. I present research findings indicating that a multidimensional assessment of addicted patients' maltreatment histories using standardized assessment instruments can help to identify those individuals who are at greater risk for comorbid psychopathology. Finally, I discuss the critical issue of whether existing treatments for drug addiction should be modified to take into account patients' histories of childhood trauma.
A theoretical analysis of steady state δ13C profiles of soil organic matter

[1] Soil organic matter (SOM) is the largest reservoir of terrestrial carbon and plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. Carbon isotope systematics of SOM have been widely used to constrain the dynamics of this important carbon reservoir though interpretation of carbon isotope data remains controversial. It has been widely observed that the 13C/12C ratio of SOM increases systematically with soil depth though there is little consensus as to which of several mechanisms may be responsible for this pattern. Here we present a process-based theoretical model of steady state δ13CSOM versus depth profiles, which is coupled with a carbon concentration model. We show that widely observed δ13CSOM versus depth profiles can be modeled using a reasonable range of model parameters. More importantly, we show that coupling carbon isotope data with carbon concentrations in soils allows for tighter constraints on model parameters that have biological and environmental significance.