cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Genus Vibrissea, and the Generic Names Leptosporium, Apostemium, Apostemidium, Gorgoniceps and Ophiogloea

For more than a hundred years mycologists throughout the world have been collecting a series of tiny, aquatic or semiaquatic discomycetous fungi found, in the great majority of cases, on submerged woody mate? rial. A typical description to be found in the literature for any of these fungi would be: aquatic, gregarious, stipitate or sessile; disc bluish grey or yellow; receptacle dark; asci long-cylindrical; spores long-filiform, hyaline, often remaining attached to the surface of the hymenium by their lower extremities on ejection, giving the hymenium a silky appearance. Organisms so described have been placed in various gen? era, among which are Vibrissea Fries, Apostemidium Karsten, and Gorgoniceps (Karst.) Karst. This paper is intended to clarify the taxonomic and nomenclatural status of the competing generic names. Microanatomical investigations were almost wholly carried out by the senior author. Both authors assume responsibility for the taxonomic judgments rendered in this paper.
Regeneration of Articular Cartilage by Human ESC-Derived Mesenchymal Progenitors Treated Sequentially With BMP-2 and Wnt5a

The success of cell-based therapies to restore joint cartilage requires an optimal source of reparative progenitor cells and tight control of their differentiation into a permanent cartilage phenotype. Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) has been extensively shown to promote mesenchymal cell differentiation into chondrocytes in vitro and in vivo. Conversely, developmental studies have demonstrated decreased chondrocyte maturation by Wingless-Type MMTV Integration Site Family, Member 5A (Wnt5a). Thus, we hypothesized that treatment of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived chondroprogenitors with BMP-2 followed by Wnt5a may control the maturational progression of these cells into a hyaline-like chondrocyte phenotype. We examined the effects of sustained exposure of hESC-derived mesenchymal-like progenitors to recombinant Wnt5a or BMP-2 in vitro. Our data indicate that BMP-2 promoted a strong chondrogenic response leading to terminal maturation, whereas recombinant Wnt5a induced a mild chondrogenic response without promoting hypertrophy. Moreover, Wnt5a suppressed BMP-2-mediated chondrocyte maturation, preventing the formation of fibrocartilaginous tissue in high-density cultures treated sequentially with BMP-2 and Wnt5a. Implantation of scaffoldless pellets of hESC-derived chondroprogenitors pretreated with BMP-2 followed by Wnt5a into rat chondral defects induced an articular-like phenotype in vivo. Together, the data establish a novel role for Wnt5a in controlling the progression from multipotency into an articular-like cartilage phenotype in vitro and in vivo. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:40-50.
Radial basis function neural network-based nonparametric estimation approach for missing data reconstruction of non-stationary series

In real world, due to various reasons, the data we can acquire is usually incomplete, i.e., a significant number of data can be often missing in a non-stationary time series. Traditional interpolation or estimation methods (e.g., cubic spline) are becoming invalid when the observation interval of the missing data is not small. In this paper we introduced a novel method where a radial basis function (RBF) neural network was particularly designed as an optimal estimator for reconstruction of the missing data, in which several important features of the raw data were chosen as input pattern, and one primary feature was used as the desired output response of the RBF network so as to make it learn enough of the data distribution structure. The experimental simulations on Zooplankton data showed that this method had better performance than other methods such as backpropagation (BP)-based neural network and cubic spline interpolation in the meaning of mean square error and confidence intervals.
FRI0351 Influences of Hydroxychloroquine Use on The Risk of Cancers in Patients with Sjögren's Syndrome: Propensity Score Matched Landmark Analysis

Background Hydroxychloroquine is a disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug for patients with Sjogren9s syndrome who have an increased risk of malignancies, particularly lymphoma. Inhibition of systemic inflammation and autophagy by hydroxychloroquine has been linked to antineoplastic effects but there is a lack of evidence on the effect of hydroxychloroquine on the risk of cancers in patients with Sjogren9s syndrome. Objectives This study aimed to explore the effect of hydroxychloroquine on the risk of cancers in patients with Sjogren9s syndrome. Methods We compared cancer incidence in incident patients with Sjogren9s syndrome who received hydroxychloroquine for at least 6 months within one year or three years to those did not using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Landmark analysis was used to account for immortal time bias and propensity score matching was used to control for potential effects of known confounders. Results Of 4,262 Sjogren9s syndrome patients was identified between 2000 to 2005, we included 4,175 patients who were alive and did not have cancer at one year from initial diagnosis of Sjogren9s syndrome. The propensity score matched 1,141 patients who exposed to 6 months of hydroxychloroquine prescription on the date 1 year from the initial diagnosis and 1,141 patients who was not exposed to hydroxychloroquine. The median follow year was 6 years from one-year landmark. There were 71 hydroxychloroquine users and 56 non-hydroxychloroquine users had cancer during the follow-up. The hazard ratio for cancer was 1.31 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.92–1.86) in the one year landmark analysis. We further conducted three-year landmark analysis and 6-month hydroxychloroquine exposure was associated with a hazard ratio of 1.33 (95% CI, 0.98–1.81) in the three-year landmark analysis between hydroxychloroquine users and non-hydroxychloroquine users, was 1.31 (0.92–1.86) in the one landmark analysis. There was no difference in overall survival based on Kaplan-Meier estimates between hydroxychloroquine user and non-users in both the one-year (log-rank test p=0.15) and three-year landmark analysis (log-rank test p=0.09). Conclusions This propensity score matched landmark analysis in a population of incident patients with Sjogren9s syndrome in Taiwan found a neutral effect of 6-month hydroxychloroquine treatment early in the clinical course on the risk of cancer, but whether a higher dose or an longer exposure to hydroxychloroquine could influence the risk of cancer remains to be determined. Disclosure of Interest None declared
Adaptation and synchronization over a network: Asymptotic error convergence and pinning

The synchronization of unknown systems is studied for both undirected and directed graphs. In the undirected setting it is shown that consensus can be achieved without an external consensus protocol (that is, without a high gain linear error input usually written as a function of the graph laplacian and the states in the network), but solely through local adaptive feedback. In the directed case several different scenarios are addressed. An emphasis is placed on analyzing the simplest possible control design to achieve the goal of consensus. This breaks from the pinning adaptive control literature where the most general case is usually addressed, inadvertently obscuring what is, and what is not needed to achieve stability. Also breaking from the literature in the area of Distributed Adaptive Control with Synchronization (DACS) we do not assume a-priori knowledge of a uniform bound on the plant state.
Detecting spiny dogfish in grey seal diets

Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) populations declined dramatically in U.S. waters during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but have rebounded in recent decades as a result of legal protection. In the Gulf of Maine, increasing grey seal populations have the potential to impact commercially important groundfish species such as cod and haddock, but the potential also exists for more complex ecological interactions to occur given the recent increase of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), another potential groundfish predator. Specifically, seal predation on dogfish could free groundfish species from additional predation pressure. Little quantitative data exists on intraguild predation rates by grey seals on spiny dogfish, in part because of the limitations of current methods of food habits analysis for grey seals. We report the development, validation, and field testing of a non-invasive genetic method for the detection of spiny dogfish in grey seal diets using DNA collected from seal feces. Our method amplified spiny dogfish DNA from 10 of 10 positive control scats from a captive seal with a known diet, and amplified spiny dogfish DNA from 0 of 10 negative control scats. We field tested the method on 20 scats from wild seals and detected spiny dogfish in two of the samples. All positive amplifications were sequenced to verify the species identify, and all were spiny dogfish. Our method has the potential to provide valuable information about changing predator prey dynamics in the Gulf of Maine and elsewhere.
Orbits, Symplectic Structures and Representation Theory

We introduce a general approach to unitary representations for all Lie groups. An underlying feature is a study of sympletic manifolds X 2n (i. e. there exists a closed non-singular 2-form on X). If [?] ? H 2(X, R) is an integral class there is an associated affinely connected Hermitian line bundle L over X which is unique if X is simply connected.
Modeling Phytoplankton Carbon Metabolism

At a 1977 meeting at the Bigelow Laboratories, there were two recurrent questions: (1) What is the value of the assimilation number? and (2) Do different values signify changes in the nutrient supply? The answers we would currently give to these questions are (1) there is a range of values determined primarily by the light regime in which the alga has grown, and (2) the assimilation number appears to be insensitive to nutrient stress except perhaps when the stress is very severe. The bases for these answers will be presented.
Thoughts on Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger as Law and as Practical Politics

Media pundits ordinarily love drama. But when they hit the airwaves just minutes after the announcement of the twin decisions on race-based admissions at the University of Michigan—Gratz v. Bollinger1 and Grutter v. Bollinger2—their tone was surprisingly muted. The peculiar split judgments—one victory for the plaintiff and one for the University—were made to seem almost inevitable. The Supreme Court only did what it had to do—or so the pundits seemed to be suggesting. Two very different explanations for the decisions were commonly offered—one legal and one political. The first, favored by legal commentators, emphasized that the decisions were simply a faithful application of already existing law, notably Regents of the University of California v. Bakke.3 The implication here was that considerations outside of legal doctrine had little or nothing to do with the result. The second, favored by political commentators, emphasized practical considerations over legal precedent. Under this view, the Court was simply being politically pragmatic. Recognizing the difficulties inherent in prohibiting widely popular affirmative action programs, it issued opinions that, while giving a nod in the direction of those who oppose race-based admissions, essentially allowed the policies to continue. Here, the implication was just the opposite: if alreadyexisting legal doctrine had been standing in the Court’s way, the Court would have had to ignore it—or sweep it away. It is impossible to know for sure how the individual Justices
Effects of a federal housing voucher experiment on adolescent binge drinking: a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

AIMS To test how a housing voucher generating residential mobility to lower-poverty neighborhoods, compared with public housing controls, influenced adolescent binge drinking, and whether gender modified effects. DESIGN A multi-site household-level three-arm randomized trial of a housing intervention executed 1994-98, evaluated 2001-02. SETTING Five US cities: Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; and New York, NY. PARTICIPANTS A total of 3537 adolescents in 4248 low-income eligible families were randomized; 2829 adolescents were analyzed at the interim evaluation (1950 in treatment; 879 in the control group). Attrition bias was accounted for with a 3-in-10 oversampling of hard-to-reach participants (effective response rate: 89%). INTERVENTIONS The Moving to Opportunity (MTO) trial randomized volunteer low-income families in public housing to receive (1) rental subsidies redeemable in neighborhoods with < 10% tract poverty plus housing counseling, (2) unrestricted Section 8 rental subsidies or (3) to remain in public housing. We pooled the subsidy ('treatment') groups because they were conceptually similar and there was no evidence of statistical differences between groups on binge drinking. MEASUREMENTS Primary outcome: past month binge drinking (five or more drinks in one sitting). FINDINGS Adolescent binge drinking prevalence was 3.9% for treatment and 3.2% for control. The intention-to-treat (ITT) main effect of subsidy treatment (versus control) on binge drinking was non-significant, but treatment effects were different for girls and boys (treatment-gender interaction P = 0.002). MTO treatment reduced girls' binge drinking [odds ratio (OR) = 0.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.24-0.96, P = 0.037], but increased boys' binge drinking (OR = 2.37, 95% CI = 1.13-4.97, P = 0.023), compared with controls. Results were similar for secondary alcohol outcomes. Instrumental variable (IV) results adjusting for treatment compliance were comparable with ITT, but larger. CONCLUSIONS A housing subsidy treatment that enables low-income families to move from public to private housing appears to lessen girls' binge drinking but increases boys' binge drinking, compared with controls.
UNIT 4.1 Overview of Receptor Interactions of Agonists and Antagonists

Historically, the earliest methods used to quantitatively measure the fundamental properties of drugs (namely affinity and efficacy) employed isolated tissues, and it is in this realm that the null methods used to define “receptor pharmacology” were described. This unit describes these methods and their use to specifically classify agonists (through potency ratios and determination of relative affinities and efficacies) and antagonists (through analysis of surmountable and insurmountable antagonism) to yield estimates of potency. Different drugs can yield different behaviors in various tissues, so this unit is centered on a flow diagram to indicate the type of analysis appropriate for the behavior observed. For example, some agonists may be full agonists in some tissues and partial agonists in others, while some antagonists may demonstrate surmountable simple competitive antagonism in some tissues and insurmountable non-competitive antagonism in others. Methods exist for determination of affinity and efficacy for all of these behaviors, and these are delineated in this unit. Curr. Protoc. Pharmacol. 42:4.1.1-4.1.24. © 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Keywords: receptor theory; drug classification; in vitro analysis; affinity; efficacy
Longitudinal appraisals of family caregiving for people with disabilities enrolled in Medicaid managed care.

Objective: To longitudinally examine the impact of public family support on appraisals of caregiving burden, satisfaction, and self-efficacy among families of adults with disabilities.Background: L...
Manufacturing an Erasure Wiretap Channel from Channel Sounding Measurements

In this paper we provide a real-world test of physical-layer security using channel sounding techniques in an indoor wireless network. We consider the possibility of exploiting issues that arise in practical receivers to manufacture a discrete memoryless wiretap channel model from the Gaussian case, and show how the secrecy capacity of the Gaussian wiretap channel model changes as these issues are considered. Results indicate that the secrecy capacity is a function of the manufactured channel model, physical antenna location, and power settings at the transmitter. These parameters can be optimized to maximize the potential for secrecy in the network.
Benefit, Barrier, and Self-Efficacy Messages in Advance Care Planning Education Materials.

Advance care planning patient education materials are informational tools intended to empower patients to engage in preventative behaviors relevant to end-of-life decision-making. Fewer than 30% of patients engage in advance care planning (ACP) and little is known about specific messages relevant to health behavior change in ACP education materials. Using the Health Belief Model as a framework, this study used content analysis to examine both manifest and latent message content in ACP education materials (N = 58), focusing specifically on benefit, barrier, and self-efficacy messages. Results indicated that education materials lack unique, specific benefit, barrier, and self-efficacy messages, which may lower patients' motivation and self-efficacy with regard to ACP. Based on these findings, recommendations for designing ACP education materials in medical organizations are made.
Adverse Outcomes among Low-Risk Pregnancies at 39 to 41 Weeks: Stratified by Birth Weight Percentile.

Objective This study aimed to assess the risk of adverse outcomes among low-risk pregnancies at 39 to 41 weeks, stratified by birth weight percentile. Study Design This retrospective cohort study utilized the U.S. vital statistics datasets (2013–2017) and evaluated low-risk women with nonanomalous cephalic singleton gestations who labored and delivered at 39 to 41 weeks, regardless of ultimate mode of delivery. Newborns were categorized as small ( 90th percentile), or appropriate (10–90th percentile) for gestational ages (SGA, LGA, and AGA, respectively). The primary outcome, composite neonatal adverse outcome (CNAO), included Apgar's score 6 hours, seizure, or neonatal death. The secondary outcome, composite maternal adverse outcome (CMAO), included intensive care unit admission, blood transfusion, uterine rupture, or unplanned hysterectomy. Multivariable Poisson's regression was used to estimate the association (using adjusted relative risk [aRR] and 95% confidence interval [CI]). Results Of 19.8 million live births during the study interval, approximately 8.9 million (44.9%) met the inclusion criteria, with 9.9% being SGA, 9.2% being LGA, and 80.9% being AGA. SGA newborns delivered at 40 (aRR = 1.17; 95% CI: 1.12–1.23) and at 41 weeks (aRR = 1.55; 95% CI: 1.45–1.66) had a higher risk of CNAO than at 39 weeks. Similarly, LGA newborns delivered at 40 (aRR = 1.13; 95% CI: 1.07–1.19) and 41 weeks (aRR = 1.44; 95% CI: 1.35–1.54) and AGA newborns delivered at 40 (aRR = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.21–1.26) and 41 weeks (aRR = 1.57; 95% CI: 1.53–1.61) also had a higher risk of CNAO than at 39 weeks. CMAO was also significantly higher at 40 and 41 weeks than at 39 weeks, regardless of whether the mothers delivered SGA, LGA, or AGA newborns. Conclusion Among low-risk pregnancies, the risks of composite neonatal and maternal adverse outcomes increase from 39 through 41 weeks' gestation, irrespective of whether newborns are SGA, LGA, or AGA.
A Comparative Study on Epileptic Seizure Detection Methods

Epilepsy is a chronic brain disease that affects around 50 million people worldwide. This disease is characterized by recurrent seizures, which are brief episodes of involuntary movement that may involve a part of the body (partial) or the entire body (generalized) and are sometimes accompanied by loss of consciousness. Seizure episodes are a result of excessive electrical discharges in a group of brain cells. Different parts of the brain can be the site of such discharges. Seizures can vary from the briefest lapses of attention or muscle jerks to severe and prolonged convulsions. Seizures can also vary in frequency, from less than 1 per year to several per day. Seizure prediction systems can be life changing for patients with epileptic seizures. By accurately identifying the periods in which seizure occurrence has a higher chance of happening we can help epileptic patients live a more normal life. In this paper we aimed to find supervised machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict the risk of seizure happening. We trained multiple classifiers including some pre-trained models using both time and frequency domain predictors from the intracranial electroencephalogram (iEEG) signals. The results are compared the performance measures in this study on a case by case basis. Our algorithm can be easily implemented in a wearable seizure warning device in conjunction with an implantable iEEG sensor. A hand-held personal advisory device can alert the patient of a possible epileptic seizure.
Self- and group-focused internalized racism, anxiety, and depression symptoms among African American adults: A core self-evaluation mediated pathway:

Internalized racism (IR) is a form of racism that leads people to internalize stereotypes about their racial/ethnic group (i.e., group-focused IR) and/or about themselves because of their racial/et...
An Intimate Portrait of Shared Trauma Amid COVID-19 and Racial Unrest Between a Black Cisgender Femme Sex Worker and Her Black Cisgender Femme Therapist

This chapter describes the emotional impact of shared cultural trauma experiences in the psychotherapeutic interaction between Dana, a Black cisgender female sex worker, and her current therapist, also a Black cisgender female. Both appreciate that Dana’s narrative of her psychological challenges is unusual and that exposure is risky because of the clandestine nature of the sex industry and safety concerns. This is a primary reason that the voices of Black cisgender female sex workers are generally not reflected in academic research and literature. Current shifts in the sociopolitical climate are creating space for sex workers of color to enter unfamiliar and uncomfortable fora to procure appropriate representation, protection, access to resources, and emotional support. For these reasons, Dana has chosen to make her voice count. Her therapist also shares her own personal and professional reflections on the convergence of the pandemics.
Exposure to Microbial Metabolite Butyrate Prolongs the Survival Time and Changes the Growth Pattern of Human Papillomavirus 16 E6/E7-Immortalized Keratinocytes in Vivo.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a ubiquitous human pathogen that can be cleared by host immunity. Nonetheless, a small percentage of the patients develop persistent infection with oncogenic HPV, which poses an increased risk of developing HPV-associated malignancy. Although cell-mediated immunity is a known systemic factor, local factors that influence persistent HPV infection have not been fully investigated. HPV-related head/neck cancers have a strong site preference for the oropharynx, suggesting the existence of unique local factors that promote HPV-induced oncogenesis. The human oropharynx often harbors anaerobic bacteria that produce a variety of byproducts, including butyrate. Because butyrate is a potent epigenetic modulator, it could be an environmental factor influencing the development of HPV-positive oropharyngeal malignancy. In this study, we showed that butyrate treatment changed the property of HPV16 E6/E7-immortalized keratinocytes. In vitro, the treatment increased the cells' migration ability, slowed the growth, and increased the genotoxic resistance. When implanted in the syngeneic mice, the treated keratinocytes survived longer and exhibited a different growth pattern. The survival advantage obtained after butyrate exposure may increase the susceptibility of HPV-infected oropharyngeal keratinocytes to further malignant transformation. These results suggest that fermentation products of tonsillar bacteria may play an important role in the long-term persistence of high-risk HPV infection, which is a critical risk factor for developing HPV-positive oropharyngeal malignancy.
Measuring the Contrast Sensitivity Function in Non-Neovascular and Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: The Quantitative Contrast Sensitivity Function Test.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects various aspects of visual function compromising patients’ functional vision and quality of life. Compared to visual acuity, contrast sensitivity correlates better with vision-related quality of life and subjectively perceived visual impairment. It may also be affected earlier in the course of AMD than visual acuity. However, lengthy testing times, coarse sampling and resolution, and poor test–retest reliability of the existing contrast testing methods have limited its widespread adoption into routine clinical practice. Using active learning principles, the qCSF can efficiently measure contrast sensitivity across multiple spatial frequencies with both high sensitivity in detecting subtle changes in visual function and robust test–retest reliability, emerging as a promising visual function endpoint in AMD both in clinical practice and future clinical trials.
Exploring the Competitive Dimension of Omnichannel Retailing

We use a proprietary data set from a national department store chain and evaluate the competitive impact of the launch of a buy-online-and-pick-up-in-store service by a major competitor. The transa...
Novel Case of Multifocal Choroiditis following Powassan Virus Infection.

Purpose: To present a case study that describes novel ocular manifestations of Powassan virus encephalitis using fundus imaging.Study Design: Case Report. Results: In this case study, fundus photog...
Nematode community diversity and function across an alpine landscape undergoing plant colonization of previously unvegetated soils

Abstract Climate warming is a key factor driving species range shifts. While previous work has focused on shifts of aboveground plant communities, changes in climate and vegetation should affect soil communities and hence ecosystem-level nutrient cycling and ecosystem functioning. High alpine ecosystems are particularly sensitive to climate warming because snow is among the main drivers of ecosystem structure and function. Climate-warming snow cover changes at Niwot Ridge in the Colorado Rocky Mountains have resulted in a consistent plant colonization of previously unvegetated soils generating a natural gradient of soil habitats ranging from unvegetated to increasingly vegetated. We used this gradient of plant communities at different successional stages to determine if nematodes respond to climate-driven changes in this high-alpine landscape and if they play a role in changes in soil C and N. We hypothesized that: 1) there would be clear shifts in nematode communities along the gradient as a function of snow cover, plant richness and density, and water holding capacity but that these shifts would be dependent on nematode feeding habits and their positioning in the soil foodweb and 2) the shifts would be associated with accumulating soil C and N. To test these hypotheses, we measured nematodes, plants, and soil microbes, snow cover, pH, soil water holding capacity, and different forms of soil C and N in 98 plots across the plant successional gradient. As predicted, nematode communities exhibited extensive shifts from a few individuals of a single species in unvegetated soils to hundreds of individuals and tens of species within every feeding group under complex plant communities. Representatives of omnivorous and bacterivorous K-strategists preceded plants and plant parasites and root associates depended on plants most. Linear regression models indicated that plants, microbial communities and soil water holding capacity, but not snow cover, were the most predictive factors of nematode diversity and density across all trophic levels and that all nematode groups were positively related to all measures of soil C and N. Structural equation models confirmed these results, but also indicated that effects of climate warming on nematodes were indirect primarily through shifts in plant and microbial communities and changes of soil water holding capacity. Moreover, nematode trophic group densities, but not their diversity, played a potential role in the accumulation of soil N, and to a lesser degree of soil C. Because nematode communities at Niwot Ridge are largely at their early phases of assembly, with continuing climate warming, we predict their increasing abundance and diversity will likely continue, as will their impact on soil C and N processes.
Achieving high ethylene yield in non-oxidative ethane dehydrogenation

Abstract Steam cracking of ethane, a non-catalytic thermochemical process, remains the dominant means of ethylene production. The severe reaction conditions and energy expenditure involved in this process incentivize the search for alternative reaction pathways and reactor designs which maximize ethylene yield while minimizing cost and energy input. Herein, we report a comparison of catalytic and non-catalytic non-oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane. We achieve ethylene yields as high as 67 % with an open tube quartz reactor without the use of a catalyst at residence times ∼4 s. The open tube reactor design promotes simplicity, low cost, and negligible coke formation. Pristine quartz tubes were most effective, since coke formation was detected when defects were introduced by scratching the surface of the quartz. Surprisingly, the addition of solids to the quartz tube, such as quartz sand, alumina powder, or even Pt-based intermetallic catalysts, led to lower ethylene yield. Pt alloy catalysts are effective at lower temperatures, such as at 575 °C, but conversion is limited due to thermodynamic constraints. When operated at industrially relevant temperatures, such as 700 °C and above, these catalysts were not stable in our tests, causing ethylene yield to drop below that of the open tube. These results suggest that future research on non-oxidative dehydrogenation should be directed at optimizing reactor designs to improve the conversion of ethane to ethylene, since this approach shows promise for decentralized production of ethylene from natural gas deposits.
Adaptive Single-Channel Direct Signal Suppression for Ambient Noise Passive Radar Sounding

We present a passive radar sounding approach that performs direct signal suppression (DSS) with a single-channel receiver. The modified passive sounding signal processing algorithm leverages a blind deconvolution filter to estimate the direct path of the ambient noise source before using CLEAN processing for DSS. We then highlight the results of our single-channel DSS technique with both synthetic and experimental data, and we analyze its performance in terms of SNR improvement. We find that by combining an adaptive blind deconvolution approach with the CLEAN algorithm, we obtain an SNR improvement of over 10 dB for both synthetic and experimental data. The single-channel DSS technique is a further step towards low-resource, high SNR passive sounding with ambient radio noise, as it eliminates the requirement for long integration times and a two-channel DSS system.
Perspectives on inadequate preparation and training priorities for physicians working with sexual minority youth.

Objectives To understand pediatric and family medicine residents' and practitioners' perceived ability to work with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) youth, assessment of their prior educational experiences, and recommendations for medical training to better prepare physicians to provide quality care to this population. Methods We conducted semi-structured individual interviews with 24 pediatric/family medicine residents (n=20) and practicing physicians (n=4) in the U.S. Recorded interviews were professionally transcribed. Data were analyzed using Grounded Theory and qualitative content analysis approaches. Results Most physicians did not feel adequately prepared to provide quality care to LGBQ youth, and many who felt knowledgeable obtained their knowledge from on-the-job experiences of caring for LGBQ patients. Findings regarding physicians' recommendations for implementing a formal training program revealed three themes: (I) medical school training (implemented earlier in medical school within a structured program as part of the normal curriculum), (II) training content (LGBQ-specific health needs, self-awareness of implicit biases, interviewing techniques, and resources), and (III) training strategies (panels of LGBQ patients, role-playing/standardized patients, and online modules). Conclusions Understanding physicians' assessment of abilities and recommendations for training improvements based on their experiences is important for advancing the quality of healthcare for LGBQ youth. Guidance came mostly from residents who recently completed medical school. Thus, their perspectives are especially useful to improve medical education and, ultimately, the care provided to LGBQ youth. Findings suggest a multi-pronged approach that offers several training modalities encompassing individual, intrapersonal, and institutional/systemic/community levels can improve medical school curricula on caring for LGBQ youth.
Laboratory Investigation of Ebb Tidal Shoals

The morphology of ebb tidal shoals has received considerable attention in the last few years, but no generally applicable techniques have evolved to predict shoal development. This engineering study is a first step in that direction. Shoals were generated in a laboratory basin and the basin controlling parameters were identified. Results indicate that the inlet behaves as a two dimensional turbulent jet and that inlet width, discharge velocity, and critical sediment velocity govern the equilibrium shoal dimensions. This preliminary study also suggests that the development of shoal length and width are governed by different transport mechanisms. Resolution of such possibilities requires more detailed studies.
Thorium isotopes tracing the iron cycle at the Hawaii Ocean Time-series Station ALOHA

Abstract The role of iron as a limiting micronutrient motivates an effort to understand the supply and removal of lithogenic trace metals in the ocean. The long-lived thorium isotopes (232Th and 230Th) in seawater can be used to quantify the input of lithogenic metals attributable to the partial dissolution of aerosol dust. Thus, Th can help in disentangling the Fe cycle by providing an estimate of its ultimate supply and turnover rate. Here we present time-series (1994–2014) data on thorium isotopes and iron concentrations in seawater from the Hawaii Ocean Time-series Station ALOHA. By comparing Th-based dissolved Fe fluxes with measured dissolved Fe inventories, we derive Fe residence times of 6–12 months for the surface ocean. Therefore, Fe inventories in the surface ocean are sensitive to seasonal changes in dust input. Ultrafiltration results further reveal that Th has a much lower colloidal content than Fe does, despite a common source. On this basis, we suggest Fe colloids may be predominantly organic in composition, at least at Station ALOHA. In the deep ocean (>2 km), Fe approaches a solubility limit while Th, surprisingly, is continually leached from lithogenic particles. This distinction has implications for the relevance of Fe ligand availability in the deep ocean, but also suggests Th is not a good tracer for Fe in deep waters. While uncovering divergent behavior of these elements in the water column, this study finds that dissolved Th flux is a suitable proxy for the supply of Fe from dust in the remote surface ocean.
Implementing the render cache and the edge-and-point image on graphics hardware

The render cache and the edge-and-point image (EPI) are alternative point-based rendering techniques that combine interactive performance with expensive, high quality shading for complex scenes. They use sparse sampling and intelligent reconstruction to enable fast framerates and to decouple shading from the display update.We present a hybrid CPU/GPU multi-pass system that accelerates these techniques by utilizing programmable graphics processing units (GPUs) to achieve better framerates while freeing the CPU for other uses such as high-quality shading (including global illumination). Because the render cache and EPI differ from the traditional graphics pipeline in interesting ways, we encountered several challenges in using the GPU effectively. We discuss our optimizations to achieve good performance, limitations with the current generation hardware, as well as possibilities for future improvements.
Endocrine influences on pulmonary maturation and the lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio in the fetal baboon

By utilizing the baboon model system, preliminary data indicate that intra-amniotic dexamethasone caused an increase in the L/S ratio. Metopirone 11-betahydroxylase inhibition prevented the expected increase in the L/S ratio without influencing pulmonary distensibility, stability on deflation, or lung mince minimal surface tension. Infants born at term to Metopirone-treated baboons were free of pulmonary distress and survived to adolescence.
Testing to determine the effect of high-pressure hydrogen environments on the mechanical properties of metals

Equipment and procedures used in performing tension, fracture mechanics, fatigue, and creep tests on metal specimens in high-pressure hydrogen are described. Important test parameters, in particular, hydrogen purity and methods of achieving high purity are considered. The interpretation and use of data obtained from the various tests in high-pressure hydrogen are discussed.
Absorption Policies For South-South Migration

The South-South migration has increased enormously over the past forty years and its effects on the level of economic development and security for the host and neighboring states can be extremely problematic. Paradoxically the vast part of the literature on international migration still focuses on the South-North migration, leaving aside the South-South one and its implications. The scope of this paper is to analyze the effects of South-South migration on a country at low level of development and explore policies geared towards the absorption/integration of migrant workers.
Conceptions of limited attention and discourse focus

Walker (1996) presents a cache model of the operation of attention in the processing of discourse as an alternative to the focus space stack that was proposed previously by Grosz and Sidner (Grosz 1977a; Grosz and Sidner 1986). In this squib, we present a critical analysis of the cache model and of Walker's supporting evidence from anaphora in discourses with interruptions and from informationally redundant utterances. We argue that the cache model is underdetermined in several ways that are crucial to a comparison of the two models and conclude that Walker has not established the superiority of the cache model. We also argue that psycholinguistic evidence does not support the cache model over the focus stack model.
A systems approach to identification and validation of biomarkers

The realization of the promise of personalized molecular medicine will require the efficient development and implementation of novel targeted therapeutics. The goal will be to deliver the right drug to the right patient at the right time at the right dose. This effort will require an integration of information from the DNA, RNA, and protein level into predictors of which patients are likely to benefit from particular therapies. The overall likelihood of response to particular drugs represents the interaction between predictors of sensitivity with predictors of resistance. This session will use examples with predictors from the DNA, RNA, and protein level to illustrate some of the opportunities and challenges to the implementation of personalized medicine. It will demonstrate the need to integrate information from multiple technological platforms into visualizable pathways and networks as a key step in the process.
Third-Party Intervention and the Escalation of State-Minority Conflicts†

This article addresses the problem of escalated violence against minorities induced by interventions. The conventional interventionist wisdom rejects the very possibility of such escalation, claiming that violence against minorities is a monotonically decreasing function of interventions and insisting that it is third-party inaction that is the problem. In recent years, this position has been challenged by scholars, who have argued that the threat of intervention generates a moral hazard, providing minorities with perverse incentives to provoke the very violence the threat of intervention is supposed to deter. I argue that while many of the criticisms of the interventionist position contained in this argument are correct, it is nonetheless not fully convincing, because it fails to explain why the same threat of intervention that radicalizes minorities does not make the states that are the potential targets that much more moderate. Nor does it explain adequately why interveners are unable to make the threat of intervention conditional on the minorities’“good” behavior. I propose an alternative theory of escalation, which depicts third-party interventions as instances of incomplete information bargaining, demonstrating that escalation is a function of certain distributions of private information about the target-state's level of brutality and the third party's resolve, as well as the third party's motives. The conflicts in Yugoslavia are used to illustrate and test the key implications of the model.
Teaching NeuroImages: Manganese neurotoxicity of the basal ganglia and thalamus

A 27-year-old man with cholestasis presented with 4 weeks of progressive spastic quadriparesis and hypophonia. MRI revealed T2/fluid-attenuated inversion recovery hyperintensities in the basal ganglia and thalamus (figure 1). He was treated with IV methylprednisolone for acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. His condition worsened. MRI 4 weeks later showed larger symmetric hyperintensities in the basal ganglia and thalami (figure 2). Blood manganese was elevated (25.4 µg/L, reference 4.4–15.2). There was no known exposure. He was treated with chelation and levodopa with limited response.
A procedure for the extraction and characterization of RNA from the freshwater cnidarian hydra

Abstract 1. 1. A procedure is described for the extraction of total RNA from hydra. 2. 2. Hydra oligactis were homogenized in neutral buffer and the RNA was extracted from the homogenate using a modified phenol-chloroform method. 3. 3. The RNA was examined by dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in a neutral buffer and examined spectrophotometrically. 4. 4. Molecular weight estimates were performed using markers of known molecular weight and circular dichroism studies examined the secondary structure of the extracted RNA. 5. 5. The results are consistent with the conclusion that hydra RNA is similar to the RNA of other eukaryotes.
Synthesis of ZnSe/CdS/ZnSe Nanobarbells Showing Photoinduced Charge Separation

We report on a colloidal synthesis of barbell-shaped nanocrystals comprising a type II heterojunction of ZnSe and CdS domains and showing compelling evidence of photoinduced charge separation at the interface of ZnSe and CdS materials. The nanobarbells were fabricated in a two-step procedure by growing ZnSe caps onto polar facets of CdS nanorods. Under present synthetic conditions, minimal growth of ZnSe shell in the lateral direction and focusing of the barbell length distribution were observed. Formation of epitaxial interfaces between nearly lattice-matched ZnSe and CdS crystal phases was primarily evidenced by the observation of “spatially indirect” fluorescence and long radiative lifetimes corresponding to the decay of charge transfer states.
Testicular microlithiasis: Recent advances in understanding and management

Testicular microlithiasis has been linked to the testicular dysgenesis syndrome, and is thought to be a precursor of testicular germ cell tumor. In this Review, the authors discuss the prevalence of testicular microlithiasis, and its pathogenesis, including a putative link with β–estradiol. They also consider the differing management strategies for three main patient groups diagnosed with testicular microlithiasis. Testicular microlithiasis is an infrequent but well recognized condition, which is usually incidentally identified on testicular ultrasound scan. Interest in testicular microlithiasis has increased over the past few years, owing to an observed association with testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT) and intratubular germ cell neoplasia of unclassified type (ITGCNU). This association has added to evidence that testicular microlithiasis is a feature of the testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS), which is postulated to underpin disorders of male reproduction such as subfertility, testicular atrophy, cryptorchidism, TGCT and other abnormalities of sexual development. Although the genetic and environmental components of TDS remain unclear, studies of the molecular basis of TGCT support a genetic component for testicular microlithiasis and have identified multiple genes that are associated with TGCT. These advances in the biological understanding of testicular microlithiasis and TGCT have not, however, resolved key clinical dilemmas in the management of patients with these diseases. The role of testicular microlithiasis in the clinical consideration of testicular biopsy is discussed in the context of the apparently healthy individual, the individual with TGCT and the individual with TDS.
Research on the thermal destruction of wastes

Abstract In general, toxic combustion byproducts (TCBs) are the unwanted residues remaining in flue gases, combustion ashes, and wastewaters from the operation of an incineration or combustion facility. If a combustor is not well designed and operated, it may emit too high a level of TCBs. Categories of TCBs and some example constituents are as follows: 1. 1. Acid gases: HCl, NO x and SO 2 ; 2. 2. Organics: hydrocarbons such as dioxins and furans (PCDDs and PCDFs); 3. 3. Particulates: trace metals (conventional metals and radioactive metals) and soots; 4. 4. Contaminants in ash; and 5. 5. Contaminants in spent wastewater. Pollutants in Category (2) above are generally considered to be the products of incomplete combustion (PICs) in the field of hazardous waste incineration. The issue of TCBs has been one of the major technical and sociological issues surrounding the implementation of incineration as a waste treatment alternative. Because of the complexity and controversy, EPA technologists conceived of and initiated the International Congress on Toxic Combustion Byproducts (ICTCB) to provide a forum for scientists to discuss the issues of and controls for TCBs in 1989. This paper focuses on the review of the 1989 ICTCB (the First ICTCB) activities. The 1991 (the Second), the 1993 (the Third), and the 1995 (the Fourth) ICTCB activities will be reviewed at other times. The objective of these reviews is to discuss: 1. 1. What have we learned from the ICTCB conferences? 2. 2. What can we use from what we have learned? 3. 3. What improvement in the ICTCBs is needed?