cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Agricultural nonpoint pollution control: Voluntary or mandatory?

ODING more of what has been done in the past to control agricultural nonpoint-source pollution is not going to suffice. Voluntary participation in soil conservation programs will not reduce agricultural pollution to socially acceptable levels. Mandatory controls of some sort are necessary and likely will be forthcoming. The research community and federal agencies can best serve the public interest and the needs of farmers by developing information upon which to design efficient mandatory programs to abate nonpoint pollution from agriculture. More of the same won't work For 50 years there have been federal programs to reduce soil erosion, and concern about wind and water erosion was expressed long before that. The efforts by the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) and other agencies in administering a number of programs to reduce soil loss from farm and ranch land certainly have had some positive effect. Part of that effect has been to protect water quality. But the major emphasis in erosion control programs has been to preserve the productive capacity of American agriculture. The goal of most soil conservation plans has been to reduce topsoil losses to sustainable levels: five tons per acre per year on most soils throughout the …
Suppression and Enhancement in Bivariate Regression

The geometry of bivariate regression is studied from a sampling viewpoint. This leads to an intuitive, but rigorous proof that enhancement occurs in one half of the space of possible observations. In addition, we obtain specific results concerning the relative size of the spaces in which 'classical', 'net', and 'cooperative suppression' occur. Introduction It is sometimes possible to increase the observed multiple correlation coefficient of a regression, R2, by including a second independent variable, X2, that is uncorrelated with Y. When this happens, X2 makes up for its lack of correlation with Y by correlation with that part of X, that is orthogonal to Y In that case, "X2 increases the variance accounted for in Y by 'suppressing' some of the variance in X, that is irrelevant to Y"' (Cohen & Cohen, 1975, p. 87). This phenomenon is sometimes called 'classical suppression', as defined by Horst (1941). Darlington (1968, see also Lubin, 1957) extended the concept of a suppressor variable to be a variable that has non-negative correlation with Y, but a negative partial regression coefficient when used in conjunction with another variable that is positively correlated with Y Conger (1974) further broadened the definition of suppression, by shifting the emphasis from the suppressor to the variable whose variation is suppressed. He defined a suppressor as a variable whose inclusion increases the magnitude of the partial regression coefficient of the other predictor variable (in effect, suppressing extraneous variation that hindered the performance of the predictor). The concept of suppression has not only been widely used in psychology (Cohen & Cohen, 1975) but also appears under different names in other fields of research (Conger, 1974). Currie & Korabinski (1984) shifted the emphasis away from partial regression coefficients entirely, to the increase in the multiple correlation coefficient. They defined 'enhancement' to occur when the squared multiple correlation coefficient exceeds the sum of squared simple correlations with Y Clearly, the concepts of enhancement and suppression are related. Currie & Korabinski (1984) noted that enhancement implies suppression (an unfortunate conflict of terminology) and studied the occurrence of these phenomena in the context of a fixed orientation between the observation vector, Y, and the Xis. We propose to study these phenomena from the more natural sampling viewpoint, where the orientation between the Xis is fixed and Y is allowed to vary. This leads to an intuitive, but rigorous geometric interpretation that clarifies the meaning of enhancement and the various types of suppression. An immediate consequence of the geometry is that enhancement occurs in half of the space of possible observations. This result explains the empirical findings of Currie & Korabinski who observed, by a careful counting technique for a special case, that This content downloaded from 157.55.39.255 on Wed, 25 May 2016 04:53:16 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Cotinine administration improves impaired cognition in the mouse model of Fragile X syndrome

Cotinine is the major metabolite of nicotine and has displayed some capacity for improving cognition in mouse models following chronic administration. We tested if acute cotinine treatment is capable of improving cognition in the mouse model of Fragile X syndrome, Fmr1-/- knockout mice, and if this is related to inhibition by cotinine treatment of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β), which is abnormally active in Fmr1-/- mice. Acute cotinine treatment increased the inhibitory serine-phosphorylation of GSK3β and the activating phosphorylation of AKT, which can mediate serine-phosphorylation of GSK3β, in both wild-type and Fmr1-/- mouse hippocampus. Acute cotinine treatment improved cognitive functions of Fmr1-/- mice in coordinate and categorical spatial processing, novel object recognition, and temporal ordering. However, cotinine failed to restore impaired cognition in GSK3β knockin mice, in which a serine9-to-alanine9 mutation blocks the inhibitory serine phosphorylation of GSK3β, causing GSK3β to be hyperactive. These results indicate that acute cotinine treatment effectively repairs impairments of these four cognitive tasks in Fmr1-/- mice, and suggest that this cognition-enhancing effect of cotinine is linked to its induction of inhibitory serine-phosphorylation of GSK3. Taken together, these results show that nicotinic receptor agonists can act as cognitive enhancers in a mouse model of Fragile X syndrome and highlight the potential role of inhibiting GSK3β in mediating the beneficial effects of cotinine on memory.
Smooth CE maps and smooth homeomorphisms

A CE map f: X ~ Y is a proper map such that each f-l(y),~ Y in Y, has the shape of a point. Such maps have the property that, if X and Y are ANR's~ then f is a homotopy equivalence. In fact, Siebenmann has shown that if X and Y are closed manifolds of dimension n ~ 5 and ¢ > O, then f is ¢-homotopic, through CE maps, to a homeomorphism [Si]. Here we ask whether any smooth CE map f: M ~ N of smooth closed manifolds of dimension n ~ 5 is smoothly ¢-homotopic through CE maps to a smooth homeomorphism. An obstruction arises in ~(N;8~), h denotes the group of all homotopy 3-spheres modulo those bounding where 8 5 smooth contractible 4-manifolds. The theory is thus analogous to that of CohenSullivan [CS] in the PL category. This is perhaps unexpected, for a PL CE map f: X ~ Y has the property that f-l(y) is a subcomplex of X, hence an ANR, hence contractible. On the other hand, smooth CE maps may have much wilder point inverses. For example, it is easy to construct a smooth proper map f: R 2 ~ R 2 whose only non-degenerate point inverse is the Folish arc
Certification of Food Service Managers—Why and How?

As an apparent consequence of recent scares concerning botulism and generally increased public concern for environmental quality, there is widespread interest in comprehensive programs of education...
Embracing variability in amino acid δ15N fractionation: mechanisms, implications, and applications for trophic ecology

Compound-specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA) of individual amino acids (AAs) has become a powerful analytical tool in trophic ecology. Heavily fractionating “trophic” AAs (e.g., glutamic acid: Glu) provide a robust indicator of trophic transfer, while minimally fractionating “source” AAs (e.g., phenylalanine: Phe) closely reflect the δ15N value at the base of the food web (δ15Nbaseline). Together, the CSIA-AA approach provides an unprecedented ability to disentangle the influences of δ15Nbaseline values and trophic fractionation on consumer nitrogen isotope values. Perhaps the most important assumption underlying CSIA-AA applications to trophic ecology is that trophic fractionation of Glu and Phe, and thus the trophic discrimination factor TDFGlu- Phe (Δ15NGlu − Δ15NPhe), is effectively constant across diverse consumer–resource relationships. To test this assumption, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of controlled feeding experiments that examined individual AA trophic fractionation (Δ15NC-D) and resulting TDFGlu- Phe values. We found tremendous variability in TDFGlu- Phe values from 0‰ to >10‰ across 70 species (317 individuals) and 88 distinct consumer–diet combinations. However, this variability appears to follow predictable patterns driven by two dominant variables: diet quality and mode of nitrogen excretion. Consumers feeding on high-quality diets (small diet–consumer AA imbalances) tend to have significantly lower TDFGlu- Phe values than consumers feeding on low-quality diets. Similarly, urea/uric acid-producing consumers also exhibit significantly lower TDFGlu- Phe values than their ammonia-producing counterparts. While these patterns are certainly not universal, together these factors likely explain many of the observed patterns of TDFGlu- Phe variability. We provide an overview of the biochemical and physiological mechanisms underpinning AA Δ15NC-D to explain these patterns. There are several seemingly unique systems, including the remarkably consistent TDFGlu- Phe values across insect food webs and the isotopically “invisible” trophic transfers in microbial food webs, that may provide additional insight into the influence of diet quality and nitrogen cycling on AA fractionation. In this review, we argue that to realize the full potential of CSIA-AA approaches in trophic ecology, we must embrace the variability in TDFGlu- Phe values. This likely requires developing new models of trophic transfer dynamics for some applications, including multi-TDFGlu- Phe equations that directly incorporate variability in TDFGlu- Phe value.
Distinguishing Indicators of Well-Being from Indicators of Ill-Being

The goal of this chapter is to make a clear distinction of indicators of well-being from indicators of ill-being at several levels of analyses, namely the individual level, the community level, and the societal level. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is used as a theoretical backdrop to help make these distinctions. That is, indicators of ill-being reflect satisfaction (or lack of satisfaction) of basic needs (survival-related needs such as biological and safety-related needs), whereas indicators of well-being reflect satisfaction (or lack thereof) of growth needs (social, esteem, self-actualization, intellectual, and aesthetic-related needs). Well-being versus ill-being indicators are identified and clearly distinguished from one another, not only at different levels of analyses (individual, community, and societal) but also between outcome and action indicators. Outcome indicators reflect the desired end state, whereas action indicators reflect indicators of programs and policies designed to influence the outcome states. Such distinctions are important for policy-making.
Risk factors associated with postpartum subclinical hypocalcemia in dairy cows

Our study objectives were to evaluate the association of prepartum plasma Mg concentrations with subclinical hypocalcemia (SCH) classification at parturition and to evaluate the association of other cow-level risk factors with SCH classification at calving or at 2 d in milk (DIM). A total of 301 animals from 2 dairy herds located in New York were enrolled in a cohort study. Blood samples were collected at approximately 1 wk before the expected calving date, within 4 h of calving, and at 2 DIM. Prepartum samples had plasma macromineral concentrations (Ca, K, Mg, P), albumin, and β-hydroxybutyrate analyzed. Samples collected at calving were analyzed for Ca only, and samples from 2 DIM had macromineral and albumin concentrations determined. Postpartum SCH was defined as Ca concentrations ≤2.1 mmol/L. The prevalence of SCH at calving was 2, 40, and 66% for first, second, and third or greater parities, respectively. Only 4% of cows could be classified with prepartum subclinical hypomagnesemia (Mg concentrations <0.8 mmol/L), which did not provide enough power to appropriately determine the association of plasma Mg with postpartum Ca concentrations and its effect on SCH classification. Multiparous cows with Ca concentrations ≤2.4 mmol/L in the prepartum period and third or greater parity cows had a higher risk of being categorized as SCH at calving [relative risk (RR) = 1.4 and 1.7, respectively]. The risk of SCH at 2 DIM was associated with the interaction of Ca status at calving and lameness score. Nonlame cows with Ca concentrations ≤2.1 mmol/L (RR = 3.2) and normocalcemic lame cows at parturition (RR = 3.4) were more likely to be SCH at 2 DIM compared with nonlame normocalcemic cows. In conclusion, we identified a prepartum Ca cut-point for identification of cows that are more likely to be classified as SCH at calving. Different risk factors were associated with SCH depending on the timing of diagnosis relative to parturition.
Effect of residual stress on electromagnetic characteristics of capacitive RFMEMS Switch

This paper presents the effect of the thermally induced residual stress on the RF characteristics of capacitive shunt Symmetric Toggle MEMS Switch (STS). The formation of residual stress is attributed to the thermal loading-unloading cycle of the switch at high temperatures during microfabrication process. Initially, 3D nonlinear FEM models are developed to simulate the thermal loading cycle and resultant deflection profile and induced residual stress are obtained. The STS switch is modeled in a shunt configuration on a 50Ω coplanar transmission line and corresponding scattering parameters (S-parameters) are obtained with and without considering residual stress. The RF characteristics has been improved due to the presence of the residual stress for the STS switch considered in this work.
State Crisis in Fragile Democracies: Polarization and Political Regimes in South America

This book offers a novel political-institutional explanation for variation in political polarization, outsider populism, and the fate of democratic regimes across twenty-first-century South America. Drawing upon a wealth of primary evidence and employing process tracing tests to evaluate key causal claims, the book examines how the occurrence - or not - of state crises and the inherited strength of left wing political actors combined to push countries onto distinct party system trajectories characterized by different kinds of left parties and movements, highly variant levels of polarization, and ultimately divergent political regime dynamics. The book challenges extant interpretations of political variation during Latin America's turn to the left, which have centered on economic explanations. It also develops new theoretical propositions for understanding polarization, populism, and democratic erosion in young democracies across the world.
Characterizing the impact of optically induced blurring of a high-resolution phase-shift 3D scanner

A model to predict and characterize the impact of out-of-focus blurring on the range uncertainty associated with the measurement by a phase-shift 3D scanner is presented. First, the reduction of the sine wave magnitude introduced by the projector lenses and the camera lenses is considered. Then, the noise reduction effects related to the camera image blurring introduced by the camera lenses are also included in the model. The main results of this study indicate that the uncertainty for a high-resolution system varies and exhibits a slanted “W” shape, which significantly differs from the inverse square of the range expected from the triangulation equation or the slanted “U” shape, which may be intuitively expected when combining blurring caused by a limited depth of field and the triangulation equation. We provide a comprehensive experimental characterization of a purposely constructed 3D scanner designed to isolate the performance degradation caused by out-of-focus projection and acquisition lenses. This scanner is designed to mimic the characteristics of a high-resolution scanner that can be employed for demanding quality control applications. In the tested configurations, the predicted depth-of-fields were within 16.3% of the corresponding measured values. This concordance between the theoretical results and experimental results suggests that the proposed model can be used to assist the design of phase-shift scanners.
First MTPJ Arthrodesis

First metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ) arthrodesis is a well-accepted first ray procedure and is most commonly recommended for pain relief in hallux rigidus and as a salvage procedure for treatment of joint subluxation, dislocation, degenerative changes repair of hallux varus and for revision following recurrence or other complications. First MTPJ arthrodesis is also a very effective, reliable, and lasting primary procedure for hallux abducto valgus (HAV) with MTPJ arthropathy, providing excellent cosmetic and functional results and high patient satisfaction. Comparison of the outcomes for arthrodesis and implant arthroplasty favors fusion as the more durable and functional option for the arthritic first MTPJ. Additionally, the healing characteristics of the procedure make it a very patient-friendly option. This section will review and discuss the technique, outcomes, and anatomic considerations relative to utilizing first MTPJ arthrodesis as a primary procedure for the correction of HAV.
Ultrasonics in Food Processing

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the applications of ultrasound relevant to food processing. Ultrasound utilizes interactions between high-frequency sound waves and matter to obtain information about the composition, structure, and dimensions of materials through which it propagates. The power levels used in ultrasonic testing are so low that the properties of the material are not altered, thus the technique is non-destructive. The interaction between ultrasound and many microheterogeneous materials is fairly well understood, and there are mathematical formulae available for interpreting ultrasonic measurements in a number of systems relevant to the food industry. Finally, ultrasound offers a number of advantages over alternative techniques used to monitor food processing operations: it is capable of rapid and precise measurements, it is non-intrusive and noninvasive, it can be applied to systems which are concentrated and optically opaque, it is relatively inexpensive, and it can easily be adapted for on-line measurements. On-line sensors give manufacturers greater control over the properties of the product during manufacturing which leads to improvements in product quality and reduction in costs. The food industry will benefit substantially from further development and application of ultrasonic techniques.
An Active Sleep Monitoring Framework Using Wearables

Sleep is the most important aspect of healthy and active living. The right amount of sleep at the right time helps an individual to protect his or her physical, mental, and cognitive health and maintain his or her quality of life. The most durative of the Activities of Daily Living (ADL), sleep has a major synergic influence on a person’s fuctional, behavioral, and cognitive health. A deep understanding of sleep behavior and its relationship with its physiological signals, and contexts (such as eye or body movements), is necessary to design and develop a robust intelligent sleep monitoring system. In this article, we propose an intelligent algorithm to detect the microscopic states of sleep that fundamentally constitute the components of good and bad sleeping behaviors and thus help shape the formative assessment of sleep quality. Our initial analysis includes the investigation of several classification techniques to identify and correlate the relationship of microscopic sleep states with overall sleep behavior. Subsequently, we also propose an online algorithm based on change point detection to process and classify the microscopic sleep states. We also develop a lightweight version of the proposed algorithm for real-time sleep monitoring, recognition, and assessment at scale. For a larger deployment of our proposed model across a community of individuals, we propose an active-learning-based methodology to reduce the effort of ground-truth data collection and labeling. Finally, we evaluate the performance of our proposed algorithms on real data traces and demonstrate the efficacy of our models for detecting and assessing the fine-grained sleep states beyond an individual.
Regulation of Ethylene Biosynthesis by Phytohormones in Etiolated Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) Seedlings.

The gaseous hormone ethylene influences many aspects of plant growth, development, and responses to a variety of stresses. The biosynthesis of ethylene is tightly regulated by various internal and external stimuli, and the primary target of the regulation is the enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) synthase (ACS), which catalyzes the rate-limiting step of ethylene biosynthesis. We have previously demonstrated that the regulation of ethylene biosynthesis is a common feature of most of the phytohormones in etiolated Arabidopsis seedlings via the modulation of the protein stability of ACS. Here, we show that various phytohormones also regulate ethylene biosynthesis from etiolated rice seedlings in a similar manner to those in Arabidopsis. Cytokinin, brassinosteroids, and gibberellic acid increase ethylene biosynthesis without changing the transcript levels of neither OsACS nor ACC oxidases (OsACO), a family of enzymes catalyzing the final step of the ethylene biosynthetic pathway. Likewise, salicylic acid and abscisic acid do not alter the gene expression of OsACS, but both hormones downregulate the transcript levels of a subset of ACO genes, resulting in a decrease in ethylene biosynthesis. In addition, we show that the treatment of the phytohormones results in distinct etiolated seedling phenotypes, some of which resemble ethylene-responsive phenotypes, while others display ethylene-independent morphologies, indicating a complicated hormone crosstalk in rice. Together, our study brings a new insight into crosstalk between ethylene biosynthesis and other phytohormones, and provides evidence that rice ethylene biosynthesis could be regulated by the post-transcriptional regulation of ACS proteins.
Sarcoidosis as a paraneoplastic syndrome for breast cancer.

e12587Background: Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. The pathogenesis of sarcoidosis is believed to be a result from a cellular immune reaction from exposure to...
Echocardiographic studies in patients with preexcitation syndrome.

The pioneering work of Edler in Sweden [1] and Eifert in Germany [2] has made echocardiography a widely used tool to detect structural and functional abnormalities of the human heart. The reflection of pulsed ultrasound waves is unique in its ability to record the motion of intracardiac structures noninvasively. High quality recordings of the contractile pattern of the left ventricular posterior wall, the motion of the interventricular septum and the mitral valve leaflets are examples for the great diagnostic value of echocardiography [3]. Because in patients with Preexcitation Syndrome (PES) disturbed patterns of contraction of the heart have been reported in the literature [4, 5], we examined an unselected group of those patients with conventional echocardiographic methods.
Enhancing electron diffusion length in narrow-bandgap perovskites for efficient monolithic perovskite tandem solar cells.

Developing multijunction perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is an attractive route to boost PSC efficiencies to above the single-junction Shockley-Queisser limit. However, commonly used tin-based narrow-bandgap perovskites have shorter carrier diffusion lengths and lower absorption coefficient than lead-based perovskites, limiting the efficiency of perovskite-perovskite tandem solar cells. In this work, we discover that the charge collection efficiency in tin-based PSCs is limited by a short diffusion length of electrons. Adding 0.03 molar percent of cadmium ions into tin-perovskite precursors reduce the background free hole concentration and electron trap density, yielding a long electron diffusion length of 2.72 ± 0.15 µm. It increases the optimized thickness of narrow-bandgap perovskite films to 1000 nm, yielding exceptional stabilized efficiencies of 20.2 and 22.7% for single junction narrow-bandgap PSCs and monolithic perovskite-perovskite tandem cells, respectively. This work provides a promising method to enhance the optoelectronic properties of narrow-bandgap perovskites and unleash the potential of perovskite-perovskite tandem solar cells. Tin-based perovskites possess the suitable narrow-bandgap for tandem solar cells but their short carrier diffusion lengths limit device efficiency. Here Yang et al. add cadmium ions to increase diffusion length to above 2 µm by reducing the background free hole concentration and electron trap density.
Data-driven separation and estimation of atrial dynamics in very high-dimensional electrocardiograms from epilepsy patients

Across biomedical areas, there is a significant unmet need for multimodal biomarkers that can improve prediction of abnormal events such as seizures, heart and asthma attacks or stroke. These markers may be multimodal and may include electrophysiological measures estimated from noninvasive, routinely collected clinical data, such as electroencephalograms (EEG) and electrocardiograms (ECG). In epilepsy, seizure detection and prediction from noninvasive data remains a difficult problem in need of novel approaches and markers. The inherent noise in high-dimensional EEG signals and artifact contamination often severely impacts the sensitivity and specificity of otherwise promising biomarkers. Long-term epilepsy clinical studies typically collect continuous ECG from which additional features may be estimated and combined with EEG measures to improve sensitivity to ictogenesis and seizure specificity. Prior work has focused on ventricular activity and features of the QRS complex, but atrial activity may also be modulated by seizure evolution. Given the high dimension of the ECG collected continuously over several days, an entirely data-driven approach is proposed, based on which ECG signals may be separated into ventricular and atrial contributions and studied separately. The relationship of atrial dynamics to seizure occurrence is assessed in a small number of pediatric epilepsy patients with high-dimensional ECG.
From religious studies to worldview studies

This essay uses the ‘big questions’ embedded in ways of life and implicitly answered in goal directed action to address the future of the study of religion. It locates Religious Studies as a subset...
Dosing Requirements of Extended-Release Tacrolimus (Astagraf XL) in African American Kidney Transplant Recipients Converted from Immediate-Release Tacrolimus (AAAKTRS).

Background The formal recommendation for converting twice-daily tacrolimus immediate release (IR) to once-daily tacrolimus extended release (ER) is a 1:1 dose conversion. However, more recent clinical analysis has shown that this may not be true; some patients may require a higher dose. In addition, de novo dosing tacrolimus ER has revealed that African Americans require approximately 20%-30% higher doses than Caucasians to achieve similar levels. As a result, this study sought to identify the appropriate dose conversion in the African American kidney transplant population, a population at high risk of rejection. Methods This was a single-center, prospective, open-label study comparing the difference in dose-normalized trough and total daily dose necessary to reach steady-state therapeutic goal, after conversion from tacrolimus IR to tacrolimus ER, in 25 African American kidney transplant recipients. Results After conversion to tacrolimus ER, there was a significant decrease in dose-normalized trough (C0) (0.44 versus 0.59, P = 0.03). Statistically significant differences were seen in both total daily and weight-based doses, when reported as actual values (15 versus 10 mg and 0.16 versus 0.11 mg/kg, respectively), as well as when standardized to achieve a target tacrolimus C0 of 8 ng/mL (18.1 versus 13.6 mg and 0.17 versus 0.15 mg/kg, respectively). The median standardized dose conversion required was 1.3 [1.0, 1.4], for the overall population. There were no instances of biopsy-proven acute rejection, allograft loss, or study drug discontinuation. Conclusions This single-center, open-label conversion study demonstrated that there was a statistically and clinically significant decrease in dose-normalized trough after conversion from tacrolimus IR to tacrolimus ER in an African American kidney transplant population and that a 1:1 dose conversion is unlikely to meet therapeutic goals.
Impact of Phase-Locked Loop Control on the Stability of a High Inverter Penetration Power System

In inverter-dominated power systems, the grid cannot be modeled as a stiff voltage source with constant frequency. Most existing grid-connected inverters operate as grid-following sources in which they measure the frequency at the inverter terminals using a phase-locked loop (PLL). Recent studies have indicated that the PLL controls can result in instability in weak systems. In this work, a simplified theoretical model is derived to understand the instability that can occur in an inverter-dominated power system. The theoretical model demonstrates the degradation in dynamic response attributable to the PLL controls at higher inverter penetration, particularly for constant-power loads. The model can predict the critical penetration level at which instability is initiated. The model predictions are consistent with the results of small-signal eigenvalue trajectories plotted for the full system model. Time domain simulation waveforms are also presented that build confidence in the model predictions. The results demonstrate that the theoretical model can be helpful when designing the PLL controls for grid-connected inverters in inverter-dominated systems.
Cross-Cover Curriculum for Senior Medical Students.

Introduction Cross-cover, the process by which a nonprimary team physician cares for patients, usually during afternoons, evenings, and weekends, is common in academic medical centers. With the adv...
Evaluation of the negative predictive value of the SARS-CoV-2 PCR respiratory assays in asymptomatic children undergoing surgery

Background: Universal pre-operative screening with SARS-CoV-2 PCR has been adopted by institutions to mitigate risk to healthcare workers (HCW) during aerosol- generating procedures such as intubation However, there remains uncertainty regarding rates of false negative results and optimal sampling type The objective was to determine the reliability of single, pre-operative SARS-CoV-2 testing from the nasopharynx in children undergoing general anesthesia Methods: Children < 18 years of age who underwent intubation for a procedure received pre-operative testing 24-48 hours prior with a nasopharyngeal (NP) swab or wash, in conjunction with intra-operative nasal wash (NW) and tracheal aspirate (TA) sampling All paired samples underwent testing using the Simplexa DiaSorin platform or a modified Centers for Disease Control assay Cohen's Kappa was used for interrater reliability of each sample result McNemar's Test was used to compare result proportions by sample type Positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV) were calculated based on the intraoperative NW as the reference standard Analyses were conducted using SAS (v 9 4) Results: We collected full sample sets from 364 children from April 14 to May 15;66% of pre-operative samples were NP swabs The median age was 6 years (IQR 2,13), 55% were male, 68% were white and 41% of children had a high-risk comorbidity Most surgeries were conducted by general surgery (23%), followed by orthopedics (19%) Only 2 5% of children had respiratory symptoms, and 4 8% had a documented fever within a week of the procedure SARS-CoV-2 positive samples occurred in 4/364 (1%) of pre-operative samples, 8/363 (2 2%) of intra-operative samples, and 8/348 (2 3%) of TA samples The pre-operative test had 100% PPV and 99% NPV, and the TA had 100% PPV and 98 6% NPV (Table 1) There was very good agreement (Figure) between pre- and intraoperative upper respiratory sampling, with a Kappa of 0 66, (95% CI 0 35-0 97) There was no statistical difference in results by sample type (Table Presented) Conclusion: There is a high PPV and NPV of pre-operative SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing among children undergoing anesthesia These data can help inform guidelines regarding appropriate precautions for HCW performing high risk procedures in asymptomatic pediatric patients (Table Presented)
Single-cell RNA sequencing of developing maize ears facilitates functional analysis and trait candidate gene discovery

Crop productivity depends on activity of meristems that produce optimized plant architectures, including that of the maize ear. A comprehensive understanding of development requires insight into the full diversity of cell types and developmental domains and the gene networks required to specify them. Until now, these were identified primarily by morphology and insights from classical genetics, which are limited by genetic redundancy and pleiotropy. Here, we investigated the transcriptional profiles of 12,525 single cells from developing maize ears. The resulting developmental atlas provides a single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) map of an inflorescence. We validated our results by mRNA in situ hybridization and by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) RNA-seq, and we show how these data may facilitate genetic studies by predicting genetic redundancy, integrating transcriptional networks, and identifying candidate genes associated with crop yield traits.
Efficiency of the CO2-baited omni-directional Fay-Prince trap under semi-field conditions and characterizing response behaviours for the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti

Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) is a vector of several serious disease-causing viruses including Dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. Effective and efficient trapping methods are essential for meaningful mosquito population and disease-presence surveillance and ultimately, vector control. The Fay-Prince trap (FPT) was developed in the late 1960s as a daytime visual trap for male Ae. aegypti. Since then, its use has been expanded into the trapping of female Ae. aegypti, Aedes albopictus Skuse, other Ae. spp., and Culex spp. The efficiency of the FPT alone and with CO2 was tested under semi-field conditions and the behaviour of responding female Ae. aegypti was characterized. The mean capture efficiency of the FPT with CO2 per 30 min in the greenhouse was 3.07% and the capture rate from the total number of mosquitoes in our semi-field setup was slightly higher at 4.45%. Understanding the behaviours that mosquitoes exhibit during their encounter with particularly a visual trap may recommend trap improvements and contributes to our understanding of host-seeking behaviour and how it might be exploited.
Early adaptive chromatin remodeling events precede pathologic phenotypes and are reinforced in the failing heart.

Abstract The temporal nature of chromatin structural changes underpinning pathologic transcription are poorly understood. We measured chromatin accessibility and DNA methylation to study the contribution of chromatin remodeling at different stages of cardiac hypertrophy and failure. ATAC-seq and reduced representation bisulfite sequencing were performed in cardiac myocytes after transverse aortic constriction (TAC) or depletion of the chromatin structural protein CTCF. Early compensation to pressure overload showed changes in chromatin accessibility and DNA methylation preferentially localized to intergenic and intronic regions. Most methylation and accessibility changes observed in enhancers and promoters at the late phase (3 weeks after TAC) were established at an earlier time point (3 days after TAC), before heart failure manifests. Enhancers were paired with genes based on chromatin conformation capture data: while enhancer accessibility generally correlated with changes in gene expression, this feature, nor DNA methylation, was alone sufficient to predict transcription of all enhancer interacting genes. Enrichment of transcription factors and active histone marks at these regions suggests that enhancer activity coordinates with other epigenetic factors to determine gene transcription. In support of this hypothesis, ChIP-qPCR demonstrated increased enhancer and promoter occupancy of GATA4 and NKX2.5 at Itga9 and Nppa, respectively, concomitant with increased transcription of these genes in the diseased heart. Lastly, we demonstrate that accessibility and DNA methylation are imperfect predictors of chromatin structure at the scale of A/B compartmentalization—rather, accessibility, DNA methylation, transcription factors and other histone marks work within these domains to determine gene expression. These studies establish that chromatin reorganization during early compensation after pathologic stimuli is maintained into the later decompensatory phases of heart failure. The findings reveal the rules for how local chromatin features govern gene expression in the context of global genomic structure and identify chromatin remodeling events for therapeutic targeting in disease.
Multiplatform Genomic Profiling and Immunohistochemistry Identify Prognostic and Predictive Signatures in Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors (MPNSTs)

Purpose/Objective(s) Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are aggressive neoplasms arising either sporadically or in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). To elucidate markers of prognosis and treatment response, we retrospectively identified MPNST tumor resection specimens at a single institution and performed histopathologic evaluation, immunohistochemistry (IHC), DNA methylation profiling, and whole exome sequencing (WES). Materials/Methods We identified a total of 54 consecutive patients treated at one institution between 1990 and 2019 with tumors meeting diagnostic criteria for MPNST and had sufficient tissue available for comprehensive histopathological evaluation (n = 54), DNA methylation profiling (n = 45) and whole exome sequencing (n = 35, n = 15 with paired normal). Overall survival (OS), metastasis free survival (MFS), and locoregional failure free rate (LFFR), were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Log-rank test, Cox Proportional Hazards regression, and hierarchical clustering were performed in R. Results The median follow up was 22 months with no significant differences in LFFR, MFS, or OS between NF1 associated (n = 32) and sporadic MPNSTs (n = 22). Radiotherapy significantly improved LFFR (P = 0.05) but not OS. With regard to histopathologic and IHC analyses, increasing tumor grade using a two-tiered system (P = 0.01) and Ki-67 index (P = 0.01) were associated with worse OS. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering of DNA methylation profiles identified two groups with significant differences in chromosome instability and tumor purity but not clinical outcome. Recurrently identified copy number variants (CNVs) included chromosome 22q loss, 11q loss, 10 loss, 9p loss, 8q gain, and 1q loss. Chromosome 9p loss (P = 0.02) and 8q gain (P = 0.04) were significantly associated with worse OS. On WES analysis, recurrently mutated genes included NF1, EED, SUZ12, TP53, and CDKNA2A. Of these alterations, only CKND2A loss (on Chr9p) was associated with worse OS (P = 0.01). With regard to treatment response, MPNSTs exhibiting NF1 and H3K27 trimethylation loss demonstrated greater LFFR benefit from radiation therapy (P = 0.004) compared to NF1 and H3K27 trimethylation intact tumors (P = 0.83) with clinical NF1 diagnosis as the only significantly different baseline parameter between these two subgroups. Conclusion MPNSTs are a common cause of death in adult patients with NF1. Radiotherapy improves LFFR in all patients, and integrated IHC and genomic analysis further identifies putative prognostic and predictive markers, including the identification of a patient subset in whom the benefit of radiotherapy is most pronounced. Taken together, these data support radiation therapy in management of MPNSTs and suggest molecular characterization may be important for counseling patients with MPNST or potentially informing clinical trial design. Prospective and multi-institutional analyses are needed to validate these findings.
Understanding the impact of changes in consumer confidence on hotel stock performance in Taiwan.

Abstract This study contributes to the hospitality literature by providing a comprehensive investigation of the effects of changes in consumer confidence (Δ CCI ) in Taiwan on hotel stock performance, including hotel sales growth (Δ SALES ), hotel stock returns ( HSR ) and the perceived riskiness of stock cash flows from holding hotel stocks (proxied by the risk of hotel stock returns ( RISK )). Empirical test results reveal that Δ CCI can significantly benefit HSR by stimulating hotel sales growth and by lowering the perceived riskiness of hotel stock cash flows. Quantile regression tests demonstrate that among six economic variables, only Δ CCI can consistently and significantly affect HSR , Δ SALES and RISK at all different quantiles. Changes in consumer confidence are also found to be significant in helping the prediction of HSR , Δ SALES and RISK . Specifically, an increase in Δ CCI can cause an increase in HSR and Δ SALES and a decrease in RISK .
Small-Scale Self-focusing

At high enough power, a beam propagating in a positive n 2 material will spontaneously break up into multiple filaments as a result of a transverse modulational instability. This chapter briefly surveys the essential physics, presents a linearized theory and summarizes experimental examples illustrating the dependence between optimal spatial frequency, gain coefficient, self-focusing length, beam intensity, and beam shape. A number of applications are discussed as well as the impact of this field on other scientific disciplines.
Photoemission Studies of High-Temperature Superconductors

1. Introduction 2. Structure and electronic structure of cuprates 3. Photoemission - theory 4. Photoemission - experimental 5. Examples 6. Early photoelectron studies of cuprates 7. Bi2212 and other Bi-cuprates 8. Y123 and related compounds 9. NCCO and other cuprates 10. Surface chemistry 11. New techniques in photoelectron spectroscopy 12. Results from selected other techniques.
Free-lagrangian hydrodynamics using massless tracer points

The free-Lagrangian Hydrodynamics using massless tracer points used in the HOBO code, is able to calculate highly distorted fluid-flow. Because it is Lagrangian, we are able to concentrate the calculational points at the region of interest. The method of independent time steps greatly increase the efficiency of the code. In problem 1, we used 42,187,201 point cycles, i.e., we advanced that many points that many cycles. However, there were only 2,877,707 active point cycles which involved updating pP and V+-U4. The “grind time” was 85 usec per point cycle on a CRAY1 computer; slightly over half of which was used in testing for neighbors. When the independent time step is operational for testing neighbors, we anticipate a grind time of 40 psec per point cycle.
Ethical considerations in oncology: balancing the interests of patients, oncologists, and society.

BACKGROUNDOncologists face ethical dilemmas every day in deciding about choice of treatment, continuation of treatments, events near the end of life, conflicts of interest, and risk management. Yet, many oncologists have limited training in ethics.METHODSReview of existing studies and definitions of useful terms. Case studies analyzed according to ethical principles.RESULTSIndividual oncology cases can be analyzed according to ethical principles with benefit to the patient, physician, and possibly society. Ethics cannot resolve many of the thorny questions about allocation of resources, justice, or possible conflict of interest.CONCLUSIONOncology decision-making fits into formal ethical frameworks, and understanding both can help doctors and patients make difficult choices. Understanding of ethical principles can help daily practice, but does not solve current dilemmas of allocation of resources, unrealistic demands, etc. More formal collaboration between hospital ethics committees or personnel and clinic...
Generalized surrogate problem methodology for online stochastic discrete optimization

We consider stochastic discrete optimization problems where the decision variables are nonnegative integers and propose a generalized surrogate problem methodology that modifies and extends previous work in Ref. 1. Our approach is based on an online control scheme which transforms the problem into a surrogate continuous optimization problem and proceeds to solve the latter using standard gradient-based approaches while simultaneously updating both the actual and surrogate system states. In contrast to Ref. 1, the proposed methodology applies to arbitrary constraint sets. It is shown that, under certain conditions, the solution of the original problem is recovered from the optimal surrogate state. Applications of this approach include solutions to multicommodity resource allocation problems; in these problems, exploiting the convergence speed of the method, one can overcome the obstacle posed by the presence of local optima.
Tunable unconventional Kondo effect on topological insulator surfaces

We study Kondo physics of a $\text{spin}\ensuremath{-}\frac{1}{2}$ impurity in electronic matter with strong spin-orbit interaction, which can be realized by depositing magnetic adatoms on the surface of a three-dimensional topological insulator. We show that magnetic properties of topological surface states and the very existence of Kondo screening strongly depend on details of the bulk material, and specifics of surface preparation encoded in time-reversal preserving boundary conditions for electronic wavefunctions. When this tunable Kondo effect occurs, the impurity spin is screened by purely orbital motion of surface electrons. This mechanism gives rise to a transverse magnetic response of the surface metal, and to spin textures that can be used to experimentally probe signatures of a Kondo resonance. Our predictions are particularly relevant for STM measurements in $\mathrm{Pb}\mathrm{Te}$-class crystalline topological insulators, but we also discuss implications for other classes of topological materials.