cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Service Deregulation on Buyers' Reliance of a Market-Based Reference Price: A Test in a B2B Insurance Context

For decades, there has been a growing trend toward deregulation in services industries. What deregulation means for buyer behavior remains a relatively unexplored area of research. This article focuses on price deregulation within services and examines how the change from a regulated to a deregulated pricing environment will moderate the extent to which service buyers use a market-based reference price (MBRP) when forming price perceptions. Competing expectations are developed and then empirically tested in a commercial insurance context. The results suggest deregulation increases the impact of a MBRP. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the findings from a theoretical, managerial, and public policy perspective.
Follow-up results of carotid angioplasty with stenting as assessed by duplex ultrasound surveillance.

Abstract Background Carotid artery stenting (CAS) has become an alternative modality to carotid endarterectomy (CEA) for the treatment of carotid occlusive disease. We report a retrospective review of our institution’s experience with CAS versus CEA. Methods Postprocedure surveillance duplex, recurrent symptoms, postprocedure strokes, progression of lesions, and rates of re-operation were analyzed in 46 patients who underwent CAS and 48 patients who underwent CEA. The mean length of follow-up evaluation was 13 months. All CAS procedures included neuroprotection devices. Results Statistically significant differences in progression to critical restenosis (2% vs 2%, P = 1.0), rate of subsequent symptoms or stroke (2% vs 10%, P = .1), or rate of re-interventions were not observed between CAS and CEA groups (2% vs 4%, P = .98). Total mortality (0% vs 2%, P = .33), and the occurrence of major adverse events (2% vs 10%, P = .18) also were not significantly different in the CAS compared with the CEA patients. The average rate of increase in internal carotid velocity at 6 to 12 months (−1% vs 1.1%, P = NS) and 12 to 24 months (−5% vs −6.5%, P = NS) also were equivalent. Conclusions Our observed results indicate that CAS may be performed with comparable clinical outcomes and durability of repair comparable with CEA.
Critical Bubble Scheme: An Efficient Implementation of Globally Aware Network Flow Control

Network flow control mechanisms that are aware of global conditions potentially can achieve higher performance than flow control mechanisms that are only locally aware. Owing to high implementation overhead, globally-aware flow control mechanisms in their purest form are seldom adopted in practice, leading to less efficient simplified implementations. In this paper, we propose an efficient implementation of a globally-aware flow control mechanism, called Critical Bubble Scheme, and apply it successfully to k-ary n-cube networks for the general class of buffer occupancy-based network flow control techniques. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can reduce the buffer access portion of packet latency by as much as 77%, leading to much lower average packet latency at medium and high network loads while sustaining 11% throughput improvement after network saturation.
Submicrometer Transparent Alumina by Sinter Forging Seeded γ-Al2O3 Powders

Seeding boehmite with {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, followed by calcination at 600 C, results in an agglomerated alumina powder (<53 {mu}m) that can be sinter forged to full density at 1,250 C. Compressive strains as high as {var_epsilon}{sub z} = {minus}0.9, and radial flow ({var_epsilon}{sub r} = 1.0) during sinter forging remove large, interagglomerate pores. The fully dense alumina has a grain size of 0.4 {mu}m and is visually transparent. It is proposed that deformation of dense agglomerates is the primary mechanism responsible for large pore elimination and compact densification. The sinter forging of sol-gel-derived alumina powders offers a new technology to prepare highly transparent, optical ceramics at lower temperatures than conventional routes.
Well-Being Thresholds and Moral Priority

A welfarist basic minimum is a level of well-being which is the threshold for minimally adequate lives and which serves, in some sense, as a line of moral priority. In his ambitious and philosophically sophisticated book, Dale Dorsey takes on the task of specifying a welfarist basic minimum. His account revolves around the concept of a “project”: a long-term preference that determines the subject’s actions and decisions and provides narrative unity to her life. Dorsey argues that the welfarist basic minimum is a life whose subject achieves at least one valued project. In this review essay, I present three objections to Dorsey’s views. First, his distinction between projects and other preferences is unclear, and his treatment of the problem of adaptive valuations inadequate. Second, it is very implausible that every life with at least one valued project is better than every life with none. Finally, Dorsey’s specific account of moral priority yields the Nauseating Implication (my term) that giving a single below-threshold person a single valued project morally justifies depriving an indefinite number of worse-off individuals of all their non-project goods.
Introduction to Discrete Dislocation Dynamics

This chapter is a review of the dislocation dynamics method and its applications in solving and various problems in crystalline materials. In such materials, a dislocation can be easily understood by considering that a crystal can deform irreversibly by slip, i.e. shifting or sliding along one of its atomic planes. If the slip displacement is equal to a lattice vector, the material across the slip plane will preserve its lattice structure and the change of shape will become permanent. However, rather than simultaneous sliding of two half-crystals, slip displacement proceeds sequentially, starting from one crystal surface and propagating along the slip plane until it reaches the other surface. The boundary between the slipped and still unslipped crystal is a dislocation and its motion is equivalent to slip propagation. In this picture, crystal plasticity by slip is a net result of the motion of a large number of dislocation lines, in response to applied stress. It is interesting to note that this picture of deformation by slip in crystalline materials was first observed in the nineteenth century by (1883) and Ewing and (1899). They observed that deformation of metals proceeded by the formation of slip bands on the surface of the specimen. Their interpretation of these results was obscure since metals were not viewed as crystalline at that time.
Reaction C 12 ( d , n ) N 13

The reaction ${\mathrm{C}}^{12}(d, n){\mathrm{N}}^{13}$ has $Q=\ensuremath{-}0.28$ Mev and so is expected to show strong direct interaction effects even at low energies of the bombarding deuterons. We have made an extensive study of this reaction at 14 values of the deuteron energy between ${E}_{d}=1.45$ Mev and ${E}_{d}=2.95$ Mev. At each deuteron energy the differential cross section was measured at about 20 angles between 0\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} and 165\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}. Neutron time-of-flight techniques were used and each point on each angular distribution represents the detection of at least ${10}^{3}$ neutrons. Direct interaction effects are seen at all bombarding energies in the backward as well as in the forward hemisphere. The differential cross section at 0\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} shows very pronounced "resonance" structure but this largely disappears in the integrated cross section and is due chiefly to interference between the direct interaction term and the probably quite small compound nucleus contribution. A rough method for eliminating the interference terms between the two mechanisms in the differential cross section is proposed and applied. The resultant "purified" angular distribution is remarkably close, in the forward hemisphere, to that predicted by simple stripping theory. A backward maximum, much lower than the forward peak, is also present but not accounted for.
An Examination of the Time-Dependent Bowing Behavior of Fuel Elements of the Experimental Gas-Cooled Reactor

Temperature differences which will exist across the diameters of the Experimental Gas-Cooled Reactor (EGCR) fuel elements will cause the elements to bow. Since the elements are restrained at their ...
Toward memory-based human motion simulation: development and validation of a motion modification algorithm

Computer simulation of human motions helps test hypotheses on human motion planning and fosters timely and high-quality human-machine/environment interaction design. The current study introduces a novel simulation approach termed memory-based motion simulation (MBMS), and presents its key element "motion modification" (MoM) algorithm. The proposed approach implements a computational model inspired by the generalized motor program (GMP) theory. Operationally, when a novel motion scenario is submitted to the MBMS system, its motion database is searched to find relevant existing motions. The selected motions, referred to as "root motions", most likely do not meet exactly the novel motion scenario, and therefore, they need to be modified by the MoM algorithm. This algorithm derives a parametric representation of possible variants of a root motion in a GMP-like manner, and adjusts the parameter values such that the new modified motion satisfies the novel motion scenario, while retaining the root motion's overall angular movement pattern and inter-joint coordination. An evaluation of the prediction capability of the algorithm, using both seated upper body reaching and whole-body load-transfer motions, indicated that the algorithm can accurately predict various human motions with errors comparable to the inherent variability in human motions when repeated under identical task conditions.
Air-Stable Surface Charge Transfer Doping of MoS2 by Benzyl Viologen

Air-stable doping of transition metal dichalcogenides is of fundamental importance to enable a wide range of optoelectronic and electronic devices while exploring their basic material properties. Here we demonstrate the use of benzyl viologen (BV), which has one of the highest reduction potentials of all electron-donor organic compounds, as a surface charge transfer donor for MoS2 flakes. The n-doped samples exhibit excellent stability in both ambient air and vacuum. Notably, we obtained a high electron sheet density of ∼1.2 × 1013 cm–2, which corresponds to the degenerate doping limit for MoS2. The BV dopant molecules can be reversibly removed by immersion in toluene, providing the ability to control the carrier sheet density as well as selective removal of surface dopants on demand. By BV doping of MoS2 at the metal junctions, the contact resistances are shown to be reduced by a factor of >3. As a proof of concept, top-gated field-effect transistors were fabricated with BV-doped n+ source/drain contacts...
Cost-effective and sensitive colorimetric immunosensing using an iron oxide-to-Prussian blue nanoparticle conversion strategy

The development of new sensitive, cost-effective and user-friendly colorimetric bioassays is in increasing demand to meet the requirement of modern clinical diagnostics and field detection. Herein, a novel iron oxide-to-Prussian blue (PB) nanoparticle (NP) conversion strategy was developed and applied to sensitive colorimetric immunosensing of cancer biomarkers. In a typical sandwich-type immunosensing system, the captured spherical antibody-conjugated iron oxide NPs were transformed into cubic PB NPs, which exhibited a highly visible blue color with high molar extinction coefficients. Hence, a new colorimetric immunosensing strategy was developed as a result of this low cost and simple transformation process. Without the aid of any complex nanoparticle stabilizing ligands and signal amplification processes, prostate-specific antigen as a model analyte can be detected at a concentration as low as 1.0 ng mL−1 by the naked eye with good reliability for detection of real human serum samples. This is the first attempt to develop and apply the iron oxide-to-PB NP colorimetric conversion strategy for immunosensing, and shows great promise for the development of new sensitive, cost-effective and user-friendly colorimetric bioassays in various bioanalytical applications, especially in low-resource settings.
Right aortic arch. Diagnosis and significance.

In right aortic arch the branching pattern will be either a mirror image of normal or a partial mirror image characterized by an aberrant left subclavian artery. The chance of associated severe heart defect is 95 percent with mirror-image branching, but only about 10 percent with an aberrant left subclavian artery. A barium esophagram will indicate the branching pattern and the probability of associated heart disease.
Acute erythroleukemias, acute megakaryoblastic leukemias, and reactive mimics: A Guide to a Number of Perplexing Entities

Objectives: At the 2013 Society for Hematopathology/European Association for Hematopathology Workshop, 36 cases were submitted to the session that covered acute erythroid leukemia (AEL), acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AMKL), and reactive mimics. Methods: Cases were reviewed by the session chairs and workshop panel to reach a consensus diagnosis. Results: For acute erythroleukemia, erythroid/myeloid type, discussion acknowledged overlapping features between AEL and myelodysplastic syndromes. Cases submitted as pure erythroid leukemia had distinctive morphology and immunophenotype, complex karyotypes, and aggressive clinical behavior, illustrating certain diagnostic features not currently captured by the current World Health Organization (WHO) definition. In Down syndrome, there were striking similarities between transient abnormal myelopoiesis and AMKL. Most cases of AMKL in adults would be classified as acute myeloid leukemia with myelodysplasia-related changes according to the WHO classification, but this approach deemphasizes their unique clinical, morphologic, and immunophenotypic features. Conclusions: The broad spectrum of cases illustrated the difficulties and complex issues involved in establishing a diagnosis of these entities and the need for better disease definitions.
Effects of a video feedback parent training program during child welfare visitation

Behavioral parent training programs have documented efficacy for improving behaviors among parents and their children and are frequently used by child welfare agencies to prevent removal of a child from the parental home or to facilitate reunification. Although an ideal time for parent training might be during supervised visits where parents may practice skills with their children under the guidance and support of a therapist or caseworker, this is not typically the case. Most often, parents within the child welfare system receive parent training in small groups without their children present, and to date, few studies have examined effects of behavioral parent training interventions during supervised visitation. In this study, concurrent multiple baseline across behaviors design was used to examine effects of a behavioral parent training program, Filming Interactions to Nurture Development (FIND), on parental skill acquisition with four mothers who had lost custody of their children but were being considered for reunification. Children emitted little or no problem behaviors during baseline or intervention, so parenting behavior was the primary dependent variable. Results obtained across participants documented a clear functional relation between implementation of the FIND intervention and increases in developmentally supportive parenting behaviors. Results of social validity and contextual fit measures suggest the intervention was perceived by mothers to be positive, feasible, and appropriate within the child welfare context. Practical and conceptual implications, limitations of this study, and directions for future research are discussed.
Integrating Asynchronous Task Parallelism with OpenSHMEM

Partitioned Global Address Space (PGAS) programming models combine shared and distributed memory features, and provide a foundation for high-productivity parallel programming using lightweight one-sided communications. The OpenSHMEM programming interface has recently begun gaining popularity as a lightweight library-based approach for developing PGAS applications, in part through its use of a symmetric heap to realize more efficient implementations of global pointers than in other PGAS systems. However, current approaches to hybrid inter-node and intra-node parallel programming in OpenSHMEM rely on the use of multithreaded programming models (e.g., pthreads, OpenMP) that harness intra-node parallelism but are opaque to the OpenSHMEM runtime. This OpenSHMEM+X approach can encounter performance challenges such as bottlenecks on shared resources, long pause times due to load imbalances, and poor data locality. Furthermore, OpenSHMEM+X requires the expertise of hero-level programmers, compared to the use of just OpenSHMEM. All of these are hard challenges to mitigate with incremental changes. This situation will worsen as computing nodes increase their use of accelerators and heterogeneous memories.
Factor Eight Inhibitor Bypassing Agent (FEIBA) for Reversal of Target-Specific Oral Anticoagulants in Life-Threatening Intracranial Bleeding.

Abstract Introduction As increasing number of patients present to emergency departments with life threatening hemorrhages, particularly intracranial hemorrhage on anticoagulation physicians must be cognizant of the limitations of the available reversal options. Based upon the available literature, our institution formulated a reversal algorithm for patients with life-threatening bleeding on factor Xa inhibitors by administering factor eight inhibitor bypassing agent (FEIBA) 20 units/kg. Methods A retrospective chart review was performed to include all patients who received FEIBA per institutional protocol. This case series excluded patients who received FEIBA for reversal of dabigatran. Pre and post FEIBA CT scans were compared for changes. Finally, patients were stratified by estimated mortality rates calculated based on pre-intervention characteristics via published risk models. Results Thirteen patients were initially included in this study yet two patients were excluded because they were on dabigatran. Fifty-five percent of patients demonstrated stable ICH on CT scan after FEIBA administration while thirty-six percent showed worsening scans. Two patients developed thrombotic events after FEIBA administration. Discussion FEIBA is a treatment option in patients on a TSOA with acute intracranial hemorrhage with evidence of at least partial pharmacologic reversal of their anticoagulation status. There does not appear to be any major risk of thromboembolic complications associated with FEIBA. Much larger study sizes will be necessary to establish statically significant clinical efficacy for FEIBA use in this patient population. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? Emergency medicine physicians are first-line caretakers for patients with life threatening intracranial hemorrhages whether spontaneous or traumatic. FEIBA is a potentially safe option to reverse TSOA in this patient population.
Utilizing technology to improve intraoperative family communication.

Abstract Purpose To create and assess satisfaction with an electronic-medical-record (EMR) integrated communication system designed to optimize perioperative communication with families. Methods We built a tool in the EMR's intraoperative nursing navigation screen for sending customized or standardized text pages to families in English or Spanish. Preoperatively, families were given text pagers with instructions and a hospital map to facilitate leaving the waiting area. After 6 months, Press-Ganey™ data and internal surveys from randomly selected families, and all nurses and surgeons were analyzed for satisfaction and effectiveness. Results Press-Ganey™ data demonstrated 30% improvement in patient satisfaction (p 90% indicated pagers were easy to use and provided the desired information during surgery. Of nurses, >90% found the system easy to use and believed it improved families' experience. All surgeons reported improved intraoperative communication and ease of finding families postoperatively. Conclusion Perioperative family communication via EMR-integrated text improves efficiency and family, nurse, and surgeon satisfaction.
Two-Dimensional Plasmonic Nanoparticle as a Nanoscale Sensor to Probe Polymer Brush Formation.

Conventional analysis and characterization of polymer brush formation relies on laborious methods that use a quartz crystal microbalance, atomic force microscope, microcantilever, or other tools that measure the concentration change of solutions. Herein we develop a simple and easy method that utilizes intrinsically flat two-dimensional (2D) plasmonic nanoparticles as sensors for unveiling the mechanism of polymer brush formation on surfaces. Via ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, the plasmonic nanoparticles can be used to determine the amount of polymers near the surface in situ. As the amount of polymers increases near the surface, the nanoparticle characteristic localized surface plasmon resonance wavelength redshifts, and the shift amount corresponds linearly to the polymer density near the surface. By functionalizing the nanoparticles in solutions of thiolated polyethylene glycol (PEG-SH) with or without PEG disulfide (PEG-S-S-PEG), the three-regime kinetics of the polymer brush formation is confirmed...
Return to Shanghai

The year 1949 started with the Communist seizure of cities. Conflicts between missionaries and China’s post-1949 Communist government intensified. Both within Zikawei and the greater Chinese Church, a strong sense of common purpose increased among the indigenous faithful. While the Church may have been winning respect in China, Catholic resistance soon came to be seen as an outright threat to the government; the Church’s enemies would launch a counter attack. In November 1950 Father Charles and other Jesuits had to re-register with the police, recounting detailed family histories and submitting photographs. Native priests began to disappear, undergo tortures, and even, as he would soon see, suffer death. A tireless ambassador for friendship, McCarthy refused to flee Shanghai, as other foreigners would do.
New methodologies to accurately assess circulating active transforming growth factor-β1 levels: implications for evaluating heart failure and the impact of left ventricular assist devices.

Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) has been used as a biomarker in disorders associated with pathologic fibrosis. However, plasma TGF-β1 assessment is confounded by the significant variation in reported normal values, likely reflecting variable release of the large pool of platelet TGF-β1 after blood drawing. Moreover, current assays measure only total TGF-β1, which is dominated by the latent form of TGF-β1 rather than the biologically active form. To address these challenges, we developed methodologies to prevent ex vivo release of TGF-β1 and to quantify active TGF-β1. We then used these techniques to measure TGF-β1 in healthy controls and patients with heart failure (HF) before and after insertion of left ventricular assist devices (LVAD). Total plasma TGF-β1 was 1.0 ± 0.60 ng/mL in controls and 3.76 ± 1.55 ng/mL in subjects with HF (P < 0.001), rising to 5.2 ± 2.3 ng/mL following LVAD placement (P = 0.006). These results were paralleled by the active TGF-β1 values; controls had 3-16 pg/mL active TGF-β1, whereas levels were 2.7-fold higher in patients with HF before, and 4.2-fold higher after, LVAD implantation. Total TGF-β1 correlated with levels of the platelet-derived protein thrombospondin-1 (r = 0.87; P < 0.001), suggesting that plasma TGF-β1 may serve as a surrogate indicator of in vivo platelet activation. von Willebrand factor high molecular weight multimers correlated inversely with TGF-β1 levels (r = -0.63; P = 0.023), suggesting a role for shear forces in loss of these multimers and platelet activation. In conclusion, accurate assessment of circulating TGF-β1 may provide a valuable biomarker for in vivo platelet activation and thrombotic disorders.
Hybrid analog-digital solution of nonlinear partial differential equations

We tackle the important problem class of solving nonlinear partial differential equations. While nonlinear PDEs are typically solved in high-performance supercomputers, they are increasingly used in graphics and embedded systems, where efficiency is important. We use a hybrid analog-digital computer architecture to solve nonlinear PDEs that draws on the strengths of each model of computation and avoids their weaknesses. A weakness of digital methods for solving nonlinear PDEs is they may not converge unless a good initial guess is used to seed the solution. A weakness of analog is it cannot produce high accuracy results. In our hybrid method we seed the digital solver with a high-quality guess from the analog side. With a physically prototyped analog accelerator, we use this hybrid analog-digital method to solve the two-dimensional viscous Burgers’ equation—an important and representative PDE. For large grid sizes and nonlinear problem parameters, the hybrid method reduces the solution time by $5.7\times$116CCS CONCEPTS•Computer systems organization → Analog computers; Heterogeneous(hybrid)systems; • Hardware → Application specific integrated circuits; • Mathematics of computing → Nonlinear equations; Partial differential equations;
Status of lung cancer screening

CT screening emerged as an approach to improve the curability of asymptomatic lung cancer as reported in a landmark study by Henschke and her multi-disciplinary colleagues in 1999 (1). Now eighteen years later, we have a follow-up report from this group on the status of low dose CT screening particularly focusing on the screening management process in optimally delivering this service. In the years since their initial screening report, this group has developed a unique confederated structure called the International-Early Lung Cancer Action Project (I-ELCAP) to advance research while delivering best-practice with the screening process (2). This approach was adopted so that collaborating screening researchers could pool resources from their respective institutions to more rapidly complete research around the many aspects of lung cancer screening. This approach is a pragmatic accommodation to the nature of lung cancer screening, even in a defined high risk for lung cancer cohort, which will involve finding lung cancer cases typically with a frequency of about 1% on baseline. To have sufficient numbers of informative cases to conduct significant research in a timely fashion requires a vast screening populations and so cooperative interactions of many institutions pooling accrual cases is one way to address this challenge. The consortium of institutions comprising the I-ELCAP has now published a large range of studies on aspects of lung cancer screening management. A recent review was a status report of I-ELCAP current activities and it is a distillation of their body of work, organized by a series of questions that span the topic of screening, beginning with who should be screened (3).
A Cardiovascular Health Intervention for Spanish Speakers: The Health Literacy and ESL Curriculum

Spanish speakers in the United States are in need of effective interventions that address both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and health literacy. However, the literature lacks interventions that have used and evaluated a strategies that focus on both, particularly at the community level. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of a health literacy curriculum on cardiovascular health behavior among Spanish speaking adults. It used a randomized controlled pre-posttest design. Participants included Hispanic adults with a low-to-intermediate level of English proficiency. The intervention group received the health literacy and English as a second language (ESL) Curriculum with CVD specific content, while the control group received a conventional ESL curriculum. Tools included the Spanish Cardiovascular Health Questionnaire (CSC), the test of functional health literacy in adults (TOFHLA), and the Combined English Language Skills Assessment. Analysis of change scores included independent sample t test and multiple linear regression. A total of 155 participants completed the study. There was a significant greater improvement for the intervention group in change of CSC score from pretest to posttest (P = 0.049) compared to controls. The study also found significantly improved TOFHLA (P = 0.011), however it did not find a relationship between changes in CVD behavior and health literacy or English proficiency. The Health Literacy and ESL Curriculum constitutes a valuable resource for addressing the cardiovascular health, literacy, and language needs of Spanish-speaking adults. Interventions that take a multilevel education and health approach may be more effective in addressing the needs of immigrants. Research should further explore the interactions between CVD behavior, health literacy, and English proficiency.
Weak covariance and the correlation of an observable with pre-selected and post-selected state energies during its time-dependent weak value measurement

The peculiar weak energy of evolution appears as a factor in the equation of motion $$ \dot{A}_{w}$$ for a time-dependent weak value of an observable $$\hat{A}$$ . This energy has the mathematical form of the weak value of the difference between the two Hamiltonian operators $$\hat{H}_i $$ and $$\hat{H}_f $$ that describe the evolution of the associated pre- and post-selected states, respectively. Here, the weak covariance $$\mathrm{cov}_w \left( {\hat{X},\hat{Y}} \right) $$ for operators $$\hat{X}$$ and $$\hat{Y}$$ is introduced and it is shown that $$ \left| {\dot{A}_{w}} \right| $$ can be expressed entirely in terms of $$\mathrm{cov}_w \left( {\hat{H}_f ,\hat{A}} \right) $$ , $$\mathrm{cov}_w \left( {\hat{A},\hat{H}_i } \right) $$ , and an angle $$\theta $$ that is governed by the complex valued nature of the terms defining each covariance. Several cases are briefly discussed and an experiment is used to illustrate the $$\hat{H}_i =\hat{0}\ne \hat{H}_f $$ case. It is shown that $$cov_w \left( {\hat{H}_f ,\hat{A}} \right) $$ is observed in the associated experimental data.
Hyperthermia-Mediated Targeting of Liposome-Associated Anti-Neoplastic Drugs

One of the major obstacles limiting the effectiveness of chemotherapeutic programmes is the inability of the present drug inventory to discriminate normal from malignant neoplastic tissue. As the search for selective anticancer drugs has been largely ineffective to date, considerable research effort has been directed toward the development of drug carrier systems1. One of the systems being investigated are closed vesicles composed primarily of phospholipids2,3. Liposomes have been extensively used as models3,4 for biological membrane research and have contributed to understanding the physico-chemical properties of biological membranes6,7. They have also advanced our understanding of cell-cell recognition8,9, fusion10,11 and protein-lipid interaction12,13. The self-assembly properties of phospholipid amphiphiles make possible the entrapment of water soluble compounds within the aqueous lumen of the liposome14. It became evident that entrapment of enzymes within liposomes might provide a therapeutic vehicle useful in treatment of diseases of enzyme deficiency15,16.
EFFECTORS OF THE SPINDLE ASSEMBLY CHECKPOINT BUT NOT THE MITOTIC EXIT NETWORK ARE CONFINED WITHIN THE NUCLEUS OF SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

The Spindle Assembly Checkpoint (SAC) prevents erroneous chromosome segregation by delaying mitotic progression when chromosomes are incorrectly attached to the mitotic spindle. This delay is mediated by Mitotic Checkpoint Complexes (MCCs), which assemble at unattached kinetochores and repress the activity of the Anaphase Promoting Complex/Cyclosome (APC/C). The cellular localizations of MCCs are likely critical for proper SAC function, yet remain poorly defined. We recently demonstrated that in mammalian cells, in which the nuclear envelope disassembles during mitosis, MCCs diffuse throughout the spindle region and cytoplasm. Here, we employed binucleate yeast zygotes to examine the localization dynamics of SAC effectors required for MCC assembly and function in budding yeast, in which the nuclear envelope remains intact throughout mitosis. Our findings indicate that in yeast MCCs are confined to the nuclear compartment and excluded from the cytoplasm during mitosis. In contrast, we find that effectors of the Mitotic Exit Network (MEN) - a pathway that initiates disassembly of the anaphase spindle only when it is properly oriented - are in fact freely exchanged between multiple nuclei within a shared cytoplasm. Our study provides insight into how cell cycle checkpoints have evolved to function in diverse cellular contexts.
Novel noncanonical regulation of soluble VEGF/VEGFR2 signaling by mechanosensitive ion channel TRPV4

VEGF signaling via VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR2) is a major regulator of endothelial cell (EC) functions, including angiogenesis. Although most studies of angiogenesis focus on soluble VEGF signaling, mechanical signaling also plays a critical role. Here, we examined the consequence of disruption of mechanical signaling on soluble signaling pathways. Specifically, we observed that small interfering RNA (siRNA) knockdown of a mechanosensitive ion channel, transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4), significantly reduced perinuclear (Golgi) VEGFR2 in human ECs with a concomitant increase in phosphorylation at Y1175 and membrane translocation. TRPV4 knockout (KO) ECs exhibited increased plasma membrane localization of phospho-VEGFR2 compared with normal ECs. The knockdown also increased phospho-VEGFR2 in whole cell lysates and membrane fractions compared with control siRNA-treated cells. siRNA knockdown of TRPV4 enhanced nuclear localization of mechanosensitive transcription factors, yes-associated protein/transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif via rho kinase, which were shown to increase VEGFR2 trafficking to the plasma membrane. Furthermore, TRPV4 deletion/knockdown enhanced VEGF-mediated migration in vitro and increased expression of VEGFR2 in vivo in the vasculature of TRPV4 KO tumors compared with wild-type tumors. Our results thus show that TRPV4 channels regulate VEGFR2 trafficking and activation to identify novel cross-talk between mechanical (TRPV4) and soluble (VEGF) signaling that controls EC migration and angiogenesis.-Kanugula, A. K., Adapala, R. K., Midha, P., Cappelli, H. C., Meszaros, J. G., Paruchuri, S., Chilian, W. M., Thodeti, C. K., Novel noncanonical regulation of soluble VEGF/VEGFR2 signaling by mechanosensitive ion channel TRPV4.
The Dana total shoulder arthroplasty

Fifty-six Dana unconstrained total shoulder arthroplasties in forty-seven patients were followed for a minimum of two years. The preoperative diagnoses included osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, traumatic arthritis, avascular necrosis, failed hemiarthroplasty, and failed total shoulder arthroplasty of another design. For all of the patients, the average rating for pain improved from 3 points preoperatively to 8 points postoperatively, and the average rating for function improved from 3 to 7 points. The ranges of abduction and of external rotation improved substantially in the shoulders that were affected by osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or osteonecrosis. Ten patients were treated with a hooded glenoid component, designed to improve stability in shoulders in which the rotator cuff is deficient. In these shoulders, both the rating for pain and the rating for function improved, although the range of motion did not. Complications that required revision of the arthroplasty developed in five shoulders in which a regular component had been implanted and in two that had a hooded glenoid component. A radiolucent line developed at the bone-cement interface of the glenoid component in fifty-three shoulders, but only two revisions were done for loosening of the glenoid component.
A Systems Approach to Understanding and Enhancing Grassroots Organizations

This chapter reports on the use of systems concepts in an action-research project studying and intervening with voluntary community organizations. Voluntary community organizations include block or neighborhood associations, tenant associations, church volunteer groups, youth groups, and merchant associations. They may stand independently or be connected through federations or coalitions.
Remote sensing of soils in the Santa Monica mountains : II. Hierarchical foreground and background analysis

Hierarchical foreground and background analysis (HFBA) was used to discriminate soil properties from two valleys in the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area, California. The analysis was organized in two levels. First, spectral data from laboratory measured soil samples were used to train a vector in AVIRIS data for classifying the soils between valleys. The prediction of organic matter and iron contents is performed at a second level of resolution. Results showed that, in the laboratory, soils could be classified at a high level of accuracy. When applied to the image, the spatial predictions of organic matter and iron content were consistent for the first level of classification. The ranges of predicted organic matter and iron contents developed at the second level of classification were also consistent with the magnitude and distribution of field samples. The presence of vegetation and the steep terrain affect adversely the ability to resolve these soil properties.
A CT Scan Harmonization Technique to Detect Emphysema and Small Airway Diseases

Recent studies have suggested the central role of small airway destruction in the pathogenesis of COPD leading to further parenchymal destruction. This evidence has sparked the interest in in-vivo assessment of small airway disease overall at the early onset of the disease. The parametric response mapping (PRM) technique has been proposed to distinguish gas trapping due to small airway disease from low attenuation areas due to emphysema. Despite its success, the PRM technique shows some limitations that are precluding the interpretation of its results. The density value used to assess gas trapping highly depends on acquisition parameters, such as dose and reconstruction kernel, and changes in body size, that introduce inhomogeneous photon absorption patterns. In particular, many studies using PRM employ inspiratory and expiratory images that are obtained at different dose levels. Emphysema impact in early disease may be confounded with the gas trapping due to the noise introduced by differences in the acquisition during the PRM. In this work, we propose a CT harmonization technique to remove the nuisance factors to distinguish between small airway disease and emphysema. Our results show that the measurements based on CT harmonization provide an increase in the detection of both emphysema and airway disease, resulting in a statistically significant impact of both components and a better association with lung function measures.
Examining aspects of teachers’ posing of problems in response to children’s mathematical thinking

The mathematics education field recognizes the importance of noticing children’s mathematical thinking as a means for supporting children in learning mathematics (Sherin et al. Mathematics teacher noticing. Routledge, New York, 2010). Using the existing literature base around teachers’ knowledge of children’s mathematical thinking and participants’ problem posing in response to children’s mathematical thinking, we developed the Responding Rubric, which measures four elements of responding to children’s mathematical thinking (group or individual responses, consideration of children’s existing strategies, anticipation of children’s future strategies, and a responsive problem). Using the Responding Rubric, we were able to illustrate elements of teachers’ responding skills. Following our presentation of findings, we discuss how our results further our understanding around teachers’ noticing skills and provide directions for future research.
The Role of Affect on Physical Health Over Time: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis Over 20 Years

Background While previous studies have investigated the interplay between affect and health (1) over an extended period of time, (2) in a representative population, and (3) while modelling positive and negative affect simultaneously, no single study has done all three at once. Methods The present study accomplishes this by sampling adults from the Midlife Development in the US study who completed affect (Mroczek & Kolarz, 1998) and health measures (chronic conditions, Charlson, Szatrowski, Peterson, & Gold, 1994; functional limitations, McHorney, Ware, Lu, & Sherbourne, 1994; self-reported health) measured three times over 20 years. We ran three (one per health metric) random-intercept cross-lagged panel models, where positive and negative affect were modelled simultaneously. Results Results indicated that positive and negative affect significantly predicted future heath (functional limitations/self-reported health) and that this relationship was reciprocal (i.e. health measures predicted future affect). However, there were no significant cross-lagged relations between affect and chronic conditions. Conclusion Our results suggest that both positive and negative affect play an equal role in predicting future health for functional limitations and self-reported health as well as highlight the bi-directionality of this relationship. Additionally, the degree to which affect predicts future health may be moderated by the type of health outcome.
Accurate Joule Loss Estimation for Rotating Machines: An Engineering Approach

Detailed analysis of thermal aspects of rotating machine joule loss production is presented. A step-by-step guideline is proposed to precisely separate the electric loss components in rotating machines. The procedure is illustrated for a permanent magnet motor with transverse flux topology but the methodology is equally applicable for conventional radial flux machines with or without magnets. Identifying the responsible factors for loss generation can be useful for further improvement of the topology before going for final production. The method has been applied to the prototype motor; motor efficiency, loss map, and separated loss components are provided as a function of torque and speed.
The Value of Information and the Internet of Things

Abstract We investigate a theory for the Value of Information (VoI) with respect to the Internet of Things (IoT) and IoT's intrinsic artificial intelligence. In an environment of ubiquitous computing and information, information's value takes on a new dimension. Moreover, when the system in which such a volume of information exists is itself intelligent, the ability to elicit value, with consideration of context, will be more complicated. Classical economic theory describes the relationship between value and volume which, though moderated by demand, is highly correlated. In an environment where information is plentiful, such as the IoT, the intrinsic intelligence in the system will be a dominant moderator of demand (e.g., self-adapting, self-operating, and self-protecting; controlling access). We examine Howard's (1966) VoI theory from this perspective and illustrate mathematically that Howard's focus on maximizing value obfuscates another important dimension, the guarantee of minimal value.
PREDICTORS OF FALSE POSITIVES IN STRESS ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY

Recent studies indicate that the pretest likelihood of significant coronary artery disease (CAD) is overestimated, and that the frequency and severity of positive stress tests have been decreasing. This suggests an increasing prevalence of false-positive (FP) stress tests. We aim to investigate the
Near-Complete Genome Sequence of a Human Norovirus GII.P7-GII.6 Strain Detected in a Maryland Patient in 2018

Genomic recombination is a crucial mechanism used to generate genetic variation in human noroviruses. Recombinant variants have been increasingly identified and have contributed to sporadic cases and epidemic outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis globally. We report the near-complete genome of a novel recombinant norovirus GII.P7-GII.6 strain detected in an adult with norovirus gastroenteritis in the United States in 2018.
Psychological and Pharmacologic Treatments for Adults with PTSD.

What are the benefits and harms of psychotherapies and pharmacologic agents for the treatment of adults with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
Simulation for the Better: The Future in Industry 4.0

Simulation help achieve the better in the industry in many ways. It reduces the waste in time and resources and increase efficiency in manufacturing. It also helps increase productivity and the revenue. Simulation has also significant role in the design of products. Furthermore, as the complexity in technology increase, skilled workers required by the industry can be trained by using simulation. Additionally, work safety issues are more important than it was in the past with the emergence of autonomous machines in manufacturing. The data will help create smartness and intelligence in manufacturing and simulation help data analytics in comprehension and knowledge extraction. This chapter is the concluding chapter of this book and summarizes the role of simulation in Industry 4.0. There are explicit and implicit imposed roles of simulation which are summarized in terms of technologies composed of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and smart factory. In conclusion, as this book makes it clear with evidences, simulation is at the heart of Industry 4.0 and the main driver of the new industrial revolution.
Association between age, risk of severe (Grade 3-4) immune-related adverse events (sirAE), and mortality in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI).

6597Background: ICI are used in the treatment of advanced malignancies with on-target adverse events of non-tumor inflammation. Many studies have shown conflicting safety results with regard to old...
The Ulp2 SUMO protease promotes transcription elongation through regulation of histone sumoylation

Many eukaryotic proteins are regulated by modification with the ubiquitin-like protein small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO). This linkage is reversed by SUMO proteases, of which there are two in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Ulp1 and Ulp2. SUMO-protein conjugation regulates transcription, but the roles of SUMO proteases in transcription remain unclear. We report that Ulp2 is recruited to transcriptionally active genes to control local polysumoylation. Mutant ulp2 cells show impaired association of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) with, and diminished expression of, constitutively active genes and the inducible CUP1 gene. Ulp2 loss sensitizes cells to 6-azauracil, a hallmark of transcriptional elongation defects. We also describe a novel chromatin regulatory mechanism whereby histone-H2B ubiquitylation stimulates histone sumoylation, which in turn appears to inhibit nucleosome association of the Ctk1 kinase. Ctk1 phosphorylates serine-2 (S2) in the RNAPII C-terminal domain (CTD) and promotes transcript elongation. Removal of both ubiquitin and SUMO from histones is needed to overcome the impediment to S2 phosphorylation. These results suggest sequential ubiquitin-histone and SUMO-histone modifications recruit Ulp2, which removes polySUMO chains and promotes RNAPII transcription elongation.
Characterization of the Current Mechanisms and Improved Leakage Current in Silver Doped Barium Strontium Titanate

Barium strontium titanate (BST) has gained attention as a high dielectric constant material for high capacitance density. The films are doped with silver, which can reduce the leakage current by an order of magnitude. In this report, we characterize the current mechanisms of doped and undoped BST films as space charge limited (SCL) transport and Schottky emission, respectively. Additionally, by extracting the trap density from the SCL flow, we show that the optimal doping concentration of silver for leakage reduction is calculated, which matches well with experimental data.