cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
One-armed spirals in locally isothermal, radially structured self-gravitating discs

We describe a new mechanism that leads to the destabilisation of non-axisymmetric waves in astrophysical discs with an imposed radial temperature gradient. This might apply, for example, to the outer parts of protoplanetary discs. We use linear density wave theory to show that non-axisymmetric perturbations generally do not conserve their angular momentum in the presence of a forced temperature gradient. This implies an exchange of angular momentum between linear perturbations and the background disc. In particular, when the disturbance is a low-frequency trailing wave and the disc temperature decreases outwards, this interaction is unstable and leads to the growth of the wave. We demonstrate this phenomenon through numerical hydrodynamic simulations of locally isothermal discs in 2D using the FARGO code and in 3D with the ZEUS-MP and PLUTO codes. We consider radially structured discs with a self-gravitating region which remains stable in the absence of a temperature gradient. However, when a temperature gradient is imposed we observe exponential growth of a one-armed spiral mode (azimuthal wavenumber $m=1$) with co-rotation radius outside the bulk of the spiral arm, resulting in a nearly-stationary one-armed spiral pattern. The development of this one-armed spiral does not require the movement of the central star, as found in previous studies. Because destabilisation by a forced temperature gradient does not explicitly require disc self-gravity, we suggest this mechanism may also affect low-frequency one-armed oscillations in non-self-gravitating discs.
WaterHUB: a resource for students and educators for learning hydrology

The study of surface water hydrology involves understanding the occurrence, distribution and movement of water on the surface of the earth. Because of human impacts in the form of landuse change, the hydrologic processes at one geographic location may be different than other locations under same or different climatic settings. As a result, a tool that educators and students can use to explore hydrology through observed data and computational simulations is needed. The objective of this paper is to present a prototype model sharing and data exploration tool that can be used for education as well as for research. A GIS-enabled model sharing platform for Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), called SWATShare, is developed that enables students to not only run model simulations online, but also publish, share and visualize model results to study the impact of land use change on hydrology at watershed scale. SWATShare is developed as a part of the WaterHUB system that is built by combining Purdue's HUBzero technology and TeraGrid/XSEDE computation resources. Experience of developing and using SWATShare in a classroom will be presented and discussed. In addition, the development and implementation plan of another tool, called Hydrology Exploration Tool, will be presented.
Lifestyle and genetic contributions to cognitive decline and hippocampal structure and function in healthy aging

Background: Engagement in cognitively stimulating activities (CA) and leisure time physical activity (PA) have been associated with maintaining cognitive performance and reducing the likelihood of cognitive decline in older adults. However, neural mechanisms underlying protective effects of these lifestyle behaviors are largely unknown. In the current study, we investigated the effect of self-reported PA and CA on hippocampal volume and semantic processing activation during a fame discrimination task, as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We also examined whether possession of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ?4 allele could moderate the effect of PA or CA on hippocampal structure or function. Methods: Seventy-eight healthy, cognitively intact older adults underwent baseline neuropsychological assessment, hippocampal volume measurement via manually-traced structural MRI, and task-activated fMRI. Results: After 18 months, 27 participants declined by one standard deviation or more on follow-up neuropsychological testing. Logistic regression analyses revealed that CA alone or in combination with baseline hippocampal structure or functional activity did not predict the probability of cognitive decline. In contrast, PA interacted with APOE 4 status such that engagement in PA reduced the risk of cognitive decline in APOE 4 carriers only. Furthermore, the benefits of PA appeared to diminish with reduced functional activity or volume in the hippocampus. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that increased leisure time PA is associated with reduced probability of cognitive decline in persons who are at high risk for AD. The beneficial effects of PA in this group may be related to enhancement of the functional and structural integrity of the hippocampus.
Processing dependent behavior of soft imprint lithography on the 1-10-nm scale

This paper examines aspects of a soft nanoimprint lithography technique for operation at resolutions that approach the 1-nm regime. Systematic studies using polymer molds made with single walled carbon nanotubes (diameters between 0.5 and 5 nm) and high-resolution electron beam patterned layers of hydrogen silsesquioxane (line widths and heights /spl sim/10 and 20 nm, respectively) as templates reveal a dependence of the resolution limits on the polymer processing conditions. In particular, using a single choice of polymers for the molds and the molded materials, imprint results show that the conditions for spin casting and curing the polymers determine, to a large degree, the resolution and replication fidelity that can be achieved. Optimized procedures enable imprinted polymer surfaces that have a root mean squared surface roughness of /spl sim/0.26 nm or lower and a resolution as high as /spl sim/1 nm. These characteristics are significantly better than previous results obtained using these same polymers with unoptimized conditions. A diversity of molded polymers, including Bisphenol-F epoxy resin, polyacrylic acid, and polyurethane, show similar high-fidelity imprinting capabilities. Different procedures enable accurate relief replication for features with modest aspect ratios and dimensions of /spl sim/10 nm. The results indicate that choice of processing conditions is, in addition to materials selections, extremely important in achieving high-fidelity soft nanoimprint lithography in the 1-10-nm regime.
Effects of Oral Narcotics on Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Healthy Adults

Alcohol and benzodiazepines may increase sleep-disordered breathing by decreasing activity of pharyngeal dilating muscles, favoring the development of obstructive apneas and hypopneas. Narcotics cause greater depression of wakeful respiration than the previously mentioned drugs; however, the influence of narcotics on the upper airway and breathing during sleep has not been studied. We, therefore, examined, in 12 healthy adults, the effects of oral hydromorphone hydrochloride (2 and 4 mg) on breathing during sleep and on a variety of awake respiratory variables (minute ventilation, gas exchange, and chemoresponsiveness). In addition, awake pharyngeal inspiratory airflow resistance was determined before and after narcotic administration to assess the drug's influence on patency of the upper airway. Following both doses, minute ventilation decreased, and carbon dioxide pressure increased. The 4-mg dose of hydromorphone hydrochloride also produced a significant decrement in the hypoxic ventilatory response, whereas hypercapnic responsiveness and pharyngeal resistance did not change following either dose of the drug. Despite the respiratory depression during wakefulness described previously, no significant change was observed in any measure of sleep-disordered breathing after either dose of narcotic. We conclude that in healthy individuals without suspected sleep apnea, oral hydromorphone in standard dosages does not significantly increase sleep-disordered breathing. This result may be due to a lack of selective depression of upper-airway muscular function by the doses of narcotic used.
Database-controlled document management system for the Mt. Sinai independent practice association

The Document Management System for Mount Sinai was developed to track physician participation in managed care plans and to easily compare contractual and administrative requirements of managed care plans. The physician participation subsystem was developed using standard techniques for normalized relational databases and allows creating an endless variety of reports. The document management subsystem allows for easy edit and provides for a comparison of contracts with multiple plans/payers. The function of the database is to manage and manipulate information with MS Word files that contain the text of key contract terms and provisions This system has enabled the IPA to more effectively serve in it's role as agent in negotiations for the full time faculty and messenger for the voluntary faculty at Mount Sinai and enhanced the IPA's ability to assist physicians and administrative staff in compliance with contract terms and to dispute non-compliance of terms by health plans.
Uplink-noise limited satellite channels

Systems which transmit data through a nonlinear relay, such as a satellite, must deal with a composite channel that can be separated into two distinct channels-the uplink channel between the user and the relay, and the downlink channel between the relay and the final destination. If the system has a strict power limitation and high data rate demands, such as a small satellite transmitting through NASA's TDRSS Network, the dominant noise is present on the uplink rather than the downlink channel. Such a system is deemed to be uplink-noise limited and presents the designer with a number of problems not encountered in a more typical downlink-noise limited channel. Whereas the transmitted signal constellation can be pre-distorted to take into account the effect of the nonlinearity in the down-link limited channel, no amount of pre-distortion will solve the problems encountered when the majority of the noise is present before the nonlinearity. Instead, the receiver must be modified to reflect the non-Gaussian noise due to the operation of the nonlinearity on Gaussian noise. Under three assumptions-there is no downlink-noise present, the downlink channel is wideband relative to the data, and the filter proceeding the nonlinearity meets both matched filter and Nyquist requirements-such modifications can be made based on the nature of the nonlinearity. By mapping the ideal decision region through the nonlinearity, performance almost identical to that of a linear-wideband AWGN channel can be achieved. This paper develops the theoretical performance of the receiver described for a nonlinearity typical of a satellite channel. Performance curves are presented for QPSK, 8PSK, 16PSK and 16QAM modulation schemes.
Response of North American ecosystem models to multi-annual periodicities in temperature and precipitation

Ecosystem models typically use input temperature and precipitation data generated stochastically from weather station means and variances. Although the weather station data are based on measurements taken over a few decades, model simulations are usually on the order of centuries. Consequently, observed periodicities in temperature and precipitation at the continental scale that have been correlated with largscale forcings, such as ocean-atmosphere dynamics and lunar and sunspot cycles, are ignored. We investigated how these natural climatic fluctuations affect aboveground biomass in ecosystem models by incorporating some of the more pronounced continental-scale cycles in temperature (4, 11, 80, 180 year periods) and precipitation (11 and 19 year periods) into models of three North American forests (using LINKAGES) and one North American grassland (using STEPPE). Even without inclusion of periodicities in climate, long-term dynamics of these models were characterized by internal frequencies resulting from vegetation birth, growth and death processes. Our results indicate that long-term temperature cycles result in significantly lower predictions of forest biomass than observed in the control case for a forest on a biome transition (northern hardwoods/boreal forest). Lower-frequency, higher-amplitude temperature oscillation caused amplification of forest biomass response in forests containing hardwood species. Shortgrass prairie and boreal ecosystems, dominated by species with broad stress tolerance ranges, were relatively insensitive to climatic oscillations. Our results suggest periodicities in climate should be incorporated within long-term simulations of ecosystems with strong internal frequencies, particularly for systems on biome transitions.
Nuclear IFI16 induction of IRF-3 signaling during herpesviral infection and degradation of IFI16 by the viral ICP0 protein

Innate sensing of microbial components is well documented to occur at many cellular sites, including at the cell surface, in the cytosol, and in intracellular vesicles, but there is limited evidence of nuclear innate signaling. In this study we have defined the mechanisms of interferon regulatory factor-3 (IRF-3) signaling in primary human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF) infected with herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) in the absence of viral gene expression. We found that the interferon inducible protein 16 (IFI16) DNA sensor, which is required for induction of IRF-3 signaling in these cells, is nuclear, and its localization does not change detectably upon HSV-1 d109 infection and induction of IRF-3 signaling. Consistent with the IFI16 sensor being nuclear, conditions that block viral DNA release from incoming capsids inhibit IRF-3 signaling. An unknown factor must be exported from the nucleus to activate IRF-3 through cytoplasmic STING, which is required for IRF-3 activation and signaling. However, when the viral ICP0 protein is expressed in the nucleus, it causes the nuclear relocalization and degradation of IFI16, inhibiting IRF-3 signaling. Therefore, HSV-1 infection is sensed in HFF by nuclear IFI16 upon release of encapsidated viral DNA into the nucleus, and the viral nuclear ICP0 protein can inhibit the process by targeting IFI16 for degradation. Together these results define a pathway for nuclear innate sensing of HSV DNA by IFI16 in infected HFF and document a mechanism by which a virus can block this nuclear innate response.
Fault tolerant properties of kinematically redundant manipulators

A measure of fault tolerances for redundant manipulators is derived based on the remaining dexterity following the loss of degree of freedom. Using this measure as a criterion, a technique for calculating optimal fault tolerant configurations for redundant manipulators is presented. The properties of these configurations are analyzed in order to assist designers in determining the number of degrees of freedom required to maintain a minimum level of dexterity under a worst-case scenario. >
EXTENSIVE INTROGRESSION OF MITOCHONDRIAL DNA RELATIVE TO NUCLEAR GENES IN THE DROSOPHILA YAKUBA SPECIES GROUP

Studies of gene flow between recently diverged species can illuminate the role of natural selection in the formation of new species. Drosophila santomea and D. yakuba are recently diverged, partially reproductively isolated species that continue to hybridize in the wild, and appear to be reproductively isolated from the more distantly related species D. teissieri. We examine patterns of nucleotide polymorphism and divergence in these three species at multiple X-linked, Y-linked, and mitochondrial markers. All three species harbor drastically reduced variability on the Y chromosome relative to the X, as expected for a nonrecombining chromosome subject to variation-reducing selection. The three species are generally well differentiated at the nuclear markers, with little evidence for recent introgression for either the X- or Y-linked genes. Based on the nuclear genes, we estimate that D. santomea and D. yakuba diverged about one-half million years ago and split from D. teissieri about one million years ago. In contrast to the pattern at nuclear loci, all three species share a very similar mtDNA haplotype. We show that the mtDNA must have recently introgressed across species boundaries in the D. yakuba subgroup and that its fixation was driven by either selection on the mitochondria itself or other cytoplasmic factors. These results demonstrate that different regions of the genome can have distinct evolutionary dynamics in the context of species formation. Although natural selection is usually thought of as accentuating divergence between species, our results imply that it can also act as a homogenizing force.
Effects of ovariectomization on interfacial interactions of cortical bone in the rat femur

In recent years, many researchers have studied the changes in bone mass and biomechanical competence in relation to age and sex hormones due to the increase awareness of osteoporosis in the elderly. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of ovariectomization and aging on the cortical bone of the rat femur concentrating on the biomechanical properties and bone mass. The fluoride treatment technique was employed to understand the relationship between the biomechanical properties and the interfacial interactions between the mineral-organic interface of the cortical bone.
Pro-Inflammatory Substances and Cognition in the Dallas Heart Study

Cognitive decline in late adulthood might be partially mediated by subclinical generalized vascular disease. If so, atherogenic factors such as pro-inflammatory cytokines might be mid-life targets for prevention or treatment. Dallas Heart Study subjects (n = 997; mean age = 42.94 ± 10.2 yrs) underwent blood assays of pro-inflammatory biomarkers associated with atherosclerosis and 8 years later completed a cognitive outcome measure, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Markers included C-reactive protein (CRP), Interleukin-18 (IL-18), Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase (LP-PLA2), and Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein (MCP-1), with Apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) as a potential modifier. We found weak evidence for LP-PLA2 and CRP as predictors of cognitive scores. No relationship was found between elevated MCP-1, IL-18 and cognition. Presence of the ApoE4 allele did not impact the relationship between biomarkers and cognitive function. Levels of atherogenesis-related pro-inflammatory blood biomarkers did not predict cognitive function in middle-aged adults after an interval of 8 years.
Validity Concerns With Multiplying Ordinal Items Defined by Binned Counts An Application to a Quantity-Frequency Measure of Alcohol Use

Social and behavioral scientists often measure constructs that are truly discrete counts by collapsing (or binning) the counts into a smaller number of ordinal responses. While prior quantitative research has identified a series of concerns with similar binning procedures, there has been a lack of study on the consequences of multiplying these ordinal items to create a desired index. This measurement strategy is incorporated in many research applications, but it is particularly salient in the study of substance use where the product of ordinal quantity (number of drinks) and frequency (number of days) items is used to create an index of total consumption. In the current study, we demonstrate both analytically and empirically that this multiplicative procedure can introduce serious threats to construct validity. These threats, in turn, directly impact the ability to accurately measure alcohol consumption.
No exit from Pakistan: America's tortured relationship with Islamabad

Basing his analysis on predominantly western (American) news reports, Markey argues that Washington needs to develop a policy vis-a-vis Pakistan that calls for ‘preparing for the worse, aiming for ...
Sensitization to the motor stimulant effects of 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and cross-sensitization to methamphetamine in rats.

Background In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in abuse of the synthetic cathinone 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), often in combination with other illicit stimulants.
Spectrophotometric Method to Determine Volatile Basic Nitrogen in Meat and Meat Products

Objective To establish a spectrophotometric method to determine the volatile basic nitrogen in fresh/ frozen meat. Method After extracted from fresh/ frozen meat, volatile basic nitrogen reacted with Nessler's reagent in alkaline conditions and produced yellow to brown compounds. The volatile basic nitrogen was quantified by spectrophotometry. Results The regression equation (y=0.430 5 x+0.083 6) showed favorable linear relationship with the concentration of volatile basic nitrogen of 0.2 μg/ml-2.8 μg/ml with the relation coefficient r=0.999 9. With the samples tested repeatedly for 7 times, the RSD was 0.66% and the recovery rate was between 95.5% and 102.0%. Conclusion The method is simple, convenient and can be used for the determination of volatile basic nitrogen in meat and meat products.
Introduction: cultural fields and literary use

National literatures are an assumption of modern cultural landscapes. In countries around the world schoolchildren in state-mandated courses read the “Great Works” of their nation. Universities offer literature courses in a smorgasbord of national units: course catalogues list classes such as “Russian Masterpieces,” “The Brazilian Novel,” and “Major American Authors.” The style, themes, and narratives of each nation's literary canon, the pantheon of most valorized and legitimated texts, are analyzed and debated both in the scholarly literature and in more general social commentaries. Educated people are simply assumed to be conversant with their national canons. In the United States “everyone” is familiar with – even if one hasn't actually read – The Scarlet Letter and Moby Dick . National literatures are the cornerstones of national cultures. National literature and national character National literatures have traditionally been understood as reflections of the unique character and experiences of the nation. That is, it is felt that the unique experience of national life generates a national, collective consciousness, or in some formulations a “collective unconscious” marked by a distinctive set of values, tensions, myths, and psychological foci, that produces in turn a certain readily identifiable national character – the American cowboy or the French sophisticate, for example. This character, and the values, tensions, and myths from which it springs, is then discernible in indigenous cultural products. Thus the distinctiveness of a national literature is seen as the natural embodiment of the distinctive national character (e.g., Wolfenstein and Leites 1950; Goldmann 1964, 1970).
Personality attributes that predict cadet performance at West Point

Abstract Using data from the United States Military Academy at West Point ( N = 1102 and N = 1049) from two successive years, we examined psychological measures of cadets and the correlations of those measures with consequential outcomes such as cadet performance and leadership potential. We examined four broad intelligences, two of which were thing-focused (spatial and mathematical) and two people-focused (verbal and personal intelligences) and their predictions to thing- and people-centered courses (e.g., chemistry versus psychology). We found support for a thing-people differential in reasoning. The broad intelligences and the Big Five personality traits also predicted academic and other performance criteria at consequential levels.
Safety Analysis of Bariatric Patients Undergoing Outpatient Upper Endoscopy with Non-Anesthesia Administered Propofol Sedation.

Non-anesthesia administered propofol (NAAP) has been shown to be a safe and effective method of sedation for patients undergoing gastrointestinal endoscopy. Bariatric surgery patients are potentially at a higher risk for sedation-related complications due to co-morbidities including obstructive sleep apnea. The outcomes of NAAP in bariatric patients have not been previously reported. In this retrospective cohort study, severely obese patients undergoing pre-surgical outpatient esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) were compared to non-obese control patients (BMI ≤ 25 kg/m2) undergoing diagnostic EGD at our institution from March 2011–September 2015 using our endoscopy database. Patients’ demographics and procedural and recovery data, including any airway interventions, were statistically analyzed. We included 130 consecutive pre-operative bariatric surgical patients with average BMI 45.8 kg/m2 (range 34–80) and 265 control patients with average BMI 21.9 kg/m2 (range 14–25). The severely obese group had a higher prevalence of sleep apnea (62 vs 8%; p < 0.001), experienced more oxygen desaturations (22 vs 7%; p < 0.001), and received more chin lift maneuvers (20 vs 6%; p < 0.001). Advanced airway interventions were rarely required in either group and were not more frequent in the bariatric group. With appropriate training of endoscopy personnel, NAAP is a safe method of sedation in severely obese patients undergoing outpatient upper endoscopy.
Oral supplementation of trans-cinnamaldehyde reduces uropathogenic Escherichia coli colonization in a mouse model.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) in the United States result in more than 7 million hospital visits per year. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is responsible for more than 80% of UTIs. Although antibiotics are the drug of choice to control UTIs, their repeated use has resulted in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant UPEC. Thus, there is a need for effective alternate strategies to control UPEC infections. This study investigated the efficacy of trans-cinnamaldehyde (TC), a food-grade molecule present in cinnamon, in reducing UPEC colonization and pathogenesis in the lower UTI. Female C57BL/6 mice (6-8 weeks old) were fed ad libitum with 0, 0·1, 0·2 and 0·4% TC containing mouse chow for 10 days. Following TC supplementation, animals were experimentally infected with UPEC by transurethral catheterization. Mice were euthanized on days 1, 2 and 4 postinfection, and the bladder, urethra and urine were collected for bacterial enumeration. Prophylactic TC supplementation significantly (P ≤ 0·05) reduced UPEC colonization in the urinary bladder and urethra compared to the control. Results indicate that TC could potentially be used as an oral supplement to control UPEC-associated lower UTIs, however, follow-up clinical trials are warranted. Significance and impact of the study In this study, we have demonstrated that oral supplementation of trans-cinnamaldehyde (TC) reduced uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC)-associated lower urinary tract infection (UTI) in mice. Specifically, in-feed supplementation of TC significantly decreased UPEC populations in the urethra and bladder, thereby reducing the infectious load. These findings are particularly significant given the increase in incidence and prevalence of antibiotic-resistant UTIs. Our study offers new insights into the potential use of natural antimicrobials including TC, the active ingredient in cinnamon, as a nonantibiotic-based natural dietary intervention in the prophylaxis of lower UTIs.
RNA-binding protein misregulation in microsatellite expansion disorders.

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) play pivotal roles in multiple cellular pathways from transcription to RNA turnover by interacting with RNA sequence and/or structural elements to form distinct RNA–protein complexes. Since these complexes are required for the normal regulation of gene expression, mutations that alter RBP functions may result in a cascade of deleterious events that lead to severe disease. Here, we focus on a group of hereditary disorders, the microsatellite expansion diseases, which alter RBP activities and result in abnormal neurological and neuromuscular phenotypes. While many of these diseases are classified as adult-onset disorders, mounting evidence indicates that disruption of normal RNA–protein interaction networks during embryogenesis modifies developmental pathways, which ultimately leads to disease manifestations later in life. Efforts to understand the molecular basis of these disorders has already uncovered novel pathogenic mechanisms, including RNA toxicity and repeat-associated non-ATG (RAN) translation, and current studies suggest that additional surprising insights into cellular regulatory pathways will emerge in the future.
The Effects of Personal Pharmacogenetic Testing on the Effects of Pharmacy Student Perceptions of Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Precision Medicine

Objective: To evaluate if pharmacy students’ participation in personal pharmacogenetic (Pgx) testing enhances their knowledge and attitude towards precision medicine (PM). Methods: First-year pharmacy students were offered personalized pharmacogenetic testing as a supplement to a required curricular pharmacogenomics course. Ninety-eight of 122 (80%) students completed pre- and post-course surveys assessing knowledge and attitudes regarding PM; 73 students also volunteered for personal pharmacogenetic testing of the following drug metabolizing enzymes (CYP2C19, CYP2D6, UGT1A1) and pharmacodynamics-relevant proteins (interleukin (IL)-28B & human lymphocyte antigen HLAB*5701). Results: Among the 122 students, we found that incorporating pharmacogenetic testing improved mean knowledge and attitude by 1.0 and 0.3 Likert points, respectively. We observed statistically significant improvements in 100% of knowledge and 70% of attitude-related statements for students who decided to undergo personal pharmacogenetic testing. Students who were enrolled in the course but did not partake in personalized pharmacogenetic testing had similar gains in knowledge and attitude. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the feasibility and importance of educating future pharmacists by incorporating pharmacogenetic testing into professional school curricula. Students who opt not to participate in genotyping may still benefit by learning vicariously through the shared learning environment created by genotyped students. Conflict of Interest We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received), employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties. Type: Student Project
Quark contribution to the proton spin from 2+1+1 -flavor lattice QCD

We present the first chiral-continuum extrapolated up, down, and strange quark spin contribution to the proton spin using lattice QCD. For the connected contributions, we use 11 ensembles of $2+1+1$-flavor of highly improved staggered quarks (HISQ) generated by the MILC Collaboration. They cover four lattice spacings, $a\ensuremath{\approx}{0.15,0.12,0.09,0.06}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{fm}$, and three pion masses, ${M}_{\ensuremath{\pi}}\ensuremath{\approx}{315,220,135}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$, of which two are at the physical pion mass. The disconnected strange calculations are done on seven of these ensembles, covering the four lattice spacings but only one with the physical pion mass. The disconnected light quark calculation was done on six ensembles at two values of ${M}_{\ensuremath{\pi}}\ensuremath{\approx}{315,220}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}$. High-statistics estimates on each ensemble for all three quantities allow us to quantify systematic uncertainties and perform a simultaneous chiral-continuum extrapolation in the lattice spacing and the light-quark mass. Our final results are $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}u\ensuremath{\equiv}⟨1{⟩}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}{u}^{+}}=0.777(25)(30)$, $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}d\ensuremath{\equiv}⟨1{⟩}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}{d}^{+}}=\ensuremath{-}0.438(18)(30)$, and $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}s\ensuremath{\equiv}⟨1{⟩}_{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}{s}^{+}}=\ensuremath{-}0.053(8)$, adding up to a total quark contribution to proton spin of ${\ensuremath{\sum}}_{q=u,d,s}(\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}q)=0.143(31)(36)$. The second error is the systematic uncertainty associated with the chiral-continuum extrapolation. These results are obtained without model assumptions and are in good agreement with the recent COMPASS analysis $0.13l\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}l0.18$ and with the $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}q$ obtained from various global analyses of polarized beam or target data.
Technology, Authority and the Loss of Tradition: The Roots of American Bioethics in Comparison with Japanese Bioethics

Bioethics as a modem field of study is still, relatively speaking, in its youth, and like most youths it is not disposed to reflect on its roots. When bioethicists do discuss the roots of their endeavor, they typically trace the rise of bioethics to the moral quandaries of modern technological medicine or to the crisis of moral authority that challenged the competence or the right of medical and religious traditions to resolve moral issues raised by medical practice. It is, of course, in the interests of standard bioethicists to find the roots of their movement in the quandaries modern technology presents or in the need for a common morality. If technology presents moral problems that standard bioethics alone can resolve or if standard bioethics alone can claim a public moral authority that traditional moral schemes have lost, then standard bioethics would be not only culturally inevitable but also rationally necessary. Moreover, if similar problems raised by technological medicine or a similar crisis of moral authority are present in other cultures then standard bioethics would supply a culture-transcending morality. In our case, this would mean that American bioethics would provide a more or less perfect match for transplantation into Japanese culture.
Behavioral Screening Assays in Zebrafish

Publisher Summary This chapter describes some of the behavioral screening assays devised in laboratory to isolate mutations affecting the zebrafish nervous system. Zebrafish are ideally suited for a behavioral genetic approach. The larvae show a wide range of interesting behaviors, yet are small and can be produced in large numbers. Importantly, larvae do not need to be fed to survive until 8 days postfertilization, and all the assays described in this chapter can be carried out in this period. Therefore, millions of fish can be tested in a large-scale screen, requiring relatively little maintenance. Adult behaviors can also be used for screens, on a smaller scale. Dozens of larval and adult behaviors have been described in the chapter. Well-designed behavioral screens are focused to find mutations specific to a particular neural system. Yet behavior is the endpoint of neural processing often involving tens or hundreds of cell types in a neural circuit or pathway, and therefore mutations might exert their effects at many places in the brain. Behavioral screens require responses to be reliably evoked in the laboratory. Innate behaviors are generally more robust than learned responses and therefore better suited for genetic approaches.
Project for an Optical Character Recognizer for the Blind

A prototype of Optical Character Recognizer for personal use by the blind is described. It is based on microprocessor technology and performs multifont print recognition at a speed of about ten characters per second, with an error rate less than 5% .
Resurrecting Maunder’s ghost: John ‘Jack’ Eddy, the Maunder Minimum, and the rise of a dilettante astrophysicist

During the 1970s, widespread scientific interest in the risks of climate change prompted John A. Eddy (1931-2009), an astrophysicist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO, to investigate whether sunspots could be used to predict future climate changes. Methodologically, Eddy's investigations were uniquely historical in nature. By interrogating old manuscripts of solar observations since the early seventeenth century, he identified what appeared to be a correlation between the so-called Maunder Minimum - a virtual cessation of sunspots between 1645 and 1715 - and severely cold temperatures during the Little Ice Age. While he could not identify the physical mechanisms that governed solar-climate relationships, this historical episode fostered his curiosity. Fortuitously, Eddy's solar-climate research coincided with efforts to use satellites to monitor and record variations in solar energy output, which in context constituted a significant development in managing environmental and technological risk. But using the Maunder Minimum to advance the frontiers of knowledge about solar-terrestrial relationships was not Eddy's only - or even primary - motivation. In the mid-1840s, German astronomer Heinrich Schwabe (1789-1875) discovered what appeared to be a decadal sunspot cycle, the existence of which inspired generations of astrophysicists to more precisely estimate its length as well as determine its underlying causes. Eddy, however, came to believe that the astronomical community failed to consider the implications of subsequent evidence suggesting that Schwabe's solar cycle was not an enduring characteristic of the sun. Instead, he reasoned that evidence offered by nineteenth-century European astronomers Gustav Sporer and Edward Maunder in the 1880s and 1890s had been entirely overlooked. But rather than arguing that their evidence was overlooked in error, Eddy identified what he cast as a conspiracy of wilful ignorance on the part of a staid and conservative astronomical community. By utilizing Eddy's private hand-written notes as they appeared in undergraduate lectures, public speeches and academic talks, as well as his appreciation for the seminal views of sociologist of science Thomas Kuhn, I show that Eddy sought to rectify this injustice by proposing a contrasting vision of science as an interdisciplinary, collaborative and creative process of exploring the ignored areas between scientific disciplines.
Learning through mobile devices: leveraging affordances as facilitators of engagement

With the continued and growing popularity of learning through mobile devices, the need for identifying facilitators of effective learning remains critical. Learning through mobile devices is unique in that it presents new challenges, such as the small or limited screen size for presenting learning content and the need for adaptive interface design. Hence, one needs to identify and develop positive affordances that can facilitate learner engagement and address negative affordances to generate the most positive learning and performance outcomes. This paper provides theoretical perspectives as well as reviews the literature to identify the most relevant considerations of design affordances in a mobile learning context. We synthesise the findings from the literature to propose an affordance-centric development framework to guide future research and practice, as well as put forth recommendations for learning through mobile devices.
Nuances of the psychogastroenterology patient: A predictive model for gastrointestinal quality of life improvement

BACKGROUND Gastrointestinal conditions are multifactorial in nature, and certain patients can benefit greatly from brain-gut psychotherapies delivered by mental health professionals who specialize in psychogastroenterology. This study aimed to identify features associated with improvements in GI-specific quality of life scores following behavioral health interventions (BHI). The second aim was to create a psychogastroenterology referral care pathway incorporating identified characteristics for greatest benefit from GI-specific behavioral therapy. METHODS We performed a prospective observational study of 101 (63 women; median age, 45 years) gastroenterology patients referred for psychogastroenterology consultation at a single center. Patients attended an average of seven sessions with a single GI psychologist where evidence-based brain-gut psychotherapies were employed. GI-specific quality of life (IBS-QOL) and psychological distress (BSI-18) were assessed before and after BHI. Patients completed self-reported questionnaires. We performed a multivariable analysis to determine predictors associated with IBS-QOL score improvement. KEY RESULTS A total of 53 (52.5%) patients experienced improvement in IBS-QOL score. Patients with improved IBS-QOL scores had significantly higher baseline BSI general domain T-scores (61.9 vs. 56.9, P = 0.002). Female gender (odds ratio [OR], 3.2), pretreatment BSI somatization T-score ≥63 (OR, 3.7), and a diagnosis of depression (OR, 4.2) were associated with greater odds of IBS-QOL score improvement following BHI. CONCLUSIONS AND INFERENCES We identified factors associated with response to GI-specific BHI to aid in optimizing the utilization of psychogastroenterology services and provide referring providers with information to inform treatment recommendations. Female patients with disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBIs), high somatization, and depression should be considered a priority for brain-gut psychotherapies.
Measured and Calculated DC Arc-Flash Incident Energy in a Large-Scale Photovoltaic Plant

There is a growing amount of high-power dc equipment being deployed, including solar photovoltaic (PV) plants, but very few studies have measured and quantified dc arc-flash risks. Most dc arc-flash literature is based on the theory and, when their theoretical calculations are applied to real-world conditions, can significantly deviate from actual measured values. For PV, the non-linearity of the power source (i.e., PV modules) creates an additional level of uncertainty for theoretical approaches. This paper quantifies the thermal hazards from arc flash in a real-world 1000-kWdc PV plant by measuring arc current, arc voltage, and incident energy (IE) and then compares results against existing IE models. The study reveals that none of the available models adequately represent real-world hazards. It is also found that a PV source acts as a sustainable constant-current source during an arc-flash event. This paper is an important first step toward developing an improved model that more accurately assesses dc arc-flash risk in a PV system.
Immunotherapy Approaches for Pediatric CNS Tumors and Associated Neurotoxicity

Treatment for brain tumors has recently shifted to using the power of the immune system to destroy cancer cells with promising results. Many immunotherapeutic approaches that have been used in adults, including checkpoint inhibitors, vaccine therapy, adoptive immunotherapy, such as chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy, and viral therapy, are now being evaluated in children. Although these treatments work through different mechanisms, they all activate the immune system and can result in inflammation at the site of disease. This can be especially problematic in the confined area of the brain causing potentially severe neurological side effects, which are of special concern in children with central nervous system malignancies. Steroids can be helpful in the management of neurological complications but carry the risk of making immunotherapeutic approaches less effective. Alternative therapeutic interventions to mitigate side effects are being evaluated. This review describes the most common immunotherapeutic modalities that are now under study for the treatment of pediatric brain tumors, their rationale, associated neurotoxicities, and current management.
Waning of Measured Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Over Time: The Potential Contribution of Leaky Vaccine Effect.

Background Several observational studies have shown decreases in measured influenza vaccine effectiveness (mVE) during influenza seasons. One study found decreases of 6-11%/month during the 2011-2012 to 2014-2015 seasons. These findings could indicate waning immunity but could also occur if vaccine effectiveness is stable and vaccine provides partial protection in all vaccinees ("leaky") rather than complete protection in a subset of vaccinees. Since it is unknown whether influenza vaccine is leaky, we simulated the 2011-2012 to 2014-2015 influenza seasons to estimate the potential contribution of leaky vaccine effect to the observed decline in mVE. Methods We used available data to estimate daily numbers of vaccinations and infections with A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B viruses. We assumed that vaccine effect was leaky, calculated mVE as 1 minus the Mantel-Haenszel relative risk of vaccine on incident cases, and determined the mean mVE change per 30 days since vaccination. Because change in mVE was highly dependent on infection rates, we performed simulations using low (15%) and high (31%) total (including symptomatic and asymptomatic) seasonal infection rates. Results For the low infection rate, decreases (absolute) in mVE per 30 days after vaccination were 2% for A/H1N1 and 1% for A/H3N2and B viruses. For the high infection rate, decreases were 5% for A/H1N1, 4% for A/H3, and 3% for B viruses. Conclusions The leaky vaccine bias could account for some, but probably not all, of the observed intraseasonal decreases in mVE. These results underscore the need for strategies to deal with intraseasonal vaccine effectiveness decline.
Regulation of Drug Metabolizing Enzymes and Transporters in Infection, Inflammation, and Cancer

Under conditions of innate immune system activation (i.e., inflammation), the functions of specific cytochrome P450 enzymes, other drug metabolizing enzymes (DMEs), and drug transporters (DTs) are altered in the liver, small intestine, lung, kidney, and central nervous system (CNS). Many of these effects are primarily manifest at the transcriptional/RNA level, leading to corresponding changes in protein levels and function. This not only leads to altered drug and xenobiotic toxicity and action in diseased humans, but also has importance for disease therapy with biologic drugs that target inflammatory mediators or their receptors. Major roles for proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNFα) are inferred from the abilities of these agents to affect DMEs and DTs in cultured cells and in vivo, but the in vivo contributions of cytokines to regulation of these proteins in different inflammatory disease states is still poorly understood. Keywords: inflammation; infection; cytokines; toll-like receptors; biologics
Membrane pore energetics and the pathways to membrane rupture

Biological membranes owe their strength and low permeability to the phospholipid bilayers at their core. Membrane strength is determined by the energetics and dynamics of membrane pores, whose tension-dependent nucleation and growth leads to rupture. Creation of nanoscale membrane pores is central to exocytosis, trafficking and other processes fundamental to life that require breaching of secure plasma or organelle membranes, and is the basis for biotechnologies using drug delivery, delivery of genetic material for gene editing and antimicrobial peptides. A prevailing view from seminal electroporation and membrane rupture studies is that pore growth and bilayer rupture are controlled by macroscopically long-lived metastable defect states that precede fully developed pores. It was argued that defect nucleation becomes rate-limiting at high tensions, explaining the exponential tension-dependence of rupture times [E. Evans et al., Biophys. J. 85, 2342-2350 (2003)]. Here we measured membrane pore free energies and bilayer rupture using highly coarse-grained simulations that probe very long time scales. We find no evidence of metastable pore states. At lower tensions, small hydrophobic pores mature into large hydrophilic pores on the pathway to rupture, with classical tension dependence of rupture times. Above a critical tension membranes rupture directly from a small hydrophobic pore, and rupture times depend exponentially on tension. Thus, we recover the experimentally reported regimes, but the origin of the high tension exponential regime is unrelated to macroscopically long-lived pre-pore defects. It arises because hydrophilic pores cannot exist above a critical tension, leading to radically altered pore dynamics and rupture kinetics.