cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Morphological aspects of anodic dissolution.

We have implemented the solid-on-solid (SOS) kinetic model in the framework of electrochemistry to study the evolution of surface morphology during driven metal dissolution. Our results show that the surface roughens with increasing applied electrical potential, as demonstrated by the increase of the interface width and of the surface high-frequency-power spectrum. An abrupt change on the roughness is observed at a certain value of the applied potential, which indicates the possibility of an electrochemically driven kinetic-roughening transition. A change in the dissolution mechanism is proposed from a regime of kink propagation at steps to a situation where low-coordination sites participate just as actively in the dissolution process.
An Evidence-Based, Multidisciplinary Approach to the Clinical Considerations, Management, and Surveillance of Adrenal Lesions in Familial Adenomatous Polyposis: Report of Three Cases

Adrenal masses are commonly discovered incidentally in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis, and adrenal malignancies have been rarely reported. Individuals with familial adenomatous polyposis frequently undergo abdominal CT-scan examinations for surveillance or symptoms. Adrenal lesions often are detected unexpectedly and are thus becoming a common clinical problem in this population. Adrenal lesions encompass a heterogeneous spectrum of pathologic entities, including primary adrenocortical and medullary tumors, benign or malignant lesions, hormonally active or inactive lesions, metastases, and infections. When an adrenal mass is detected, the clinician needs to address two crucial questions: 1) is the mass malignant? and 2) is it hormonally active? This article presents three new cases of incidental adrenal lesions in familial adenomatous polyposis, reviews the medical literature for this setting, and provides an overview of the diagnostic clinical approach and management of the adrenal findings in familial adenomatous polyposis patients.
Renal nerve transection inhibits drinking elicited by eating and by intragastric osmotic loads in rats

Adult Sprague-Dawley male rats surgically equipped with a chronic gastric catheter were tested for drinking after 2 ml intragastric infusions of 290, 600, 900, 1200, or 1800 mOsm/kg Nacl. Rats with bilateral transection of renal nerves (RD) drank less than neurologically intact rats (S) after 600 and 900 mOsm/kg NaCl infusions. The RD rats were capable of a rapid and robust drinking response to relatively mild experimental challenges, because they drank appropriately in response to s.c. angiotensin II and to dose of histamine that is a threshold dose for increasing water intake. The RD rats ate less than S rats, but RD rats drank appropriate amounts of water when eating and drinking after 24-h food deprivation. When nondeprived and ingesting one, two, or four small (0.57 g) salted crackers, the RD rats drank significantly less water than S rats. At the time drinking was initiated after ingestion of one salted cracker, plasma osmolality, sodium, protein, and packed cell volume were not changed from baseline conditions (i.e., no eating) in neurologically intact rats; plasma renin activity was significantly elevated at the time drinking was initiated following the ingestion of one or two small crackers. These findings (a) demonstrate a role for renal nerves in drinking behavior in rats, and (b) suggest the working hypothesis that the ingestion of a small meal, and the subsequent delivery of a relatively small osmotic load to the gastrointestinal tract and/or hepatic-portal vein, activates mechanisms for drinking that include a change in activity of renal nerves to increase plasma renin activity without cellular dehydration or hypovolemia. Such mechanisms may be activated to mobilize drinking behavior in advance of postprandial fluid deficit.
Structural basis of PP2A inhibition by small t antigen.

The SV40 small t antigen (ST) is a potent oncoprotein that perturbs the function of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). ST directly interacts with the PP2A scaffolding A subunit and alters PP2A activity by displacing regulatory B subunits from the A subunit. We have determined the crystal structure of full-length ST in complex with PP2A A subunit at 3.1 A resolution. ST consists of an N-terminal J domain and a C-terminal unique domain that contains two zinc-binding motifs. Both the J domain and second zinc-binding motif interact with the intra-HEAT-repeat loops of HEAT repeats 3–7 of the A subunit, which overlaps with the binding site of the PP2A B56 subunit. Intriguingly, the first zinc-binding motif is in a position that may allow it to directly interact with and inhibit the phosphatase activity of the PP2A catalytic C subunit. These observations provide a structural basis for understanding the oncogenic functions of ST.
Minimum-time digital control with raster surfaces

Minimum time is theoretically the fastest a fixed topology converter can recover from large-signal reference, line, and load disturbances. It is made possible through curved geometric control surfaces. Previous researchers spent significant effort approximating closed forms for these curved surfaces-a tedious but necessary step for analog circuit implementation. Numerical open-form surfaces, nearly impossible to implement on analog circuits, were tested on a digital signal processor using raster surfaces composed of pixels. These forms apply to a broad set of DC-DC converters. Simulations that compare fast disturbance recovery and tight performance envelopes demonstrate the benefits of minimum-time control. Hardware techniques show that minimum-time control is possible with only a few memory accesses and logical comparisons, operations even low-end digital processors can perform. The numerical form makes fewer approximations and applies to a much broader set of DC-DC converters.
Change in High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Incident Coronary Heart Disease in Apparently Healthy Male Physicians

The association between change in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and risk of subsequent coronary heart disease (CHD) is unclear. Change in HDL cholesterol was calculated in a prospective cohort of 4,501 male physicians enrolled in the Physician's Health Study (PHS) I who had HDL cholesterol measured in 1982 and again approximately 14 years later. Subjects were divided into categories of those with a decrease (≥−2.5 mg/dl), no change (change −2.5 to 2.5 mg/dl), a small increase of 2.5 to 12.5 mg/dl, or a large increase of ≥12.5 mg/dl. Cox proportional hazards was used to examine the association between change in HDL cholesterol and incident CHD (confirmed acute myocardial infarction or cardiac death). Hazard ratios (HRs) were adjusted for age, initial HDL cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, non-HDL cholesterol, and history of cholesterol medication. Compared with subjects with a decrease in HDL cholesterol, multivariable-adjusted HRs for CHD were 0.66 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.40 to 1.09) in subjects with no change, 0.56 (95% CI 0.35 to 0.89) for subjects with an increase of 2.5 to 12.5 mg/dl, and 0.43 (95% CI 0.23 to 0.83) for subjects with an HDL cholesterol increase ≥12.5 mg/dl. In conclusion, our findings were consistent with an inverse graded relation between 14-year increase in HDL cholesterol and risk of subsequent CHD.
Development of a Modified Voronoi Algorithm for UAV Path Planning and Obstacle Avoidance

In this paper, the development and demonstration of a modified Voronoi algorithm for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) path planning and obstacle avoidance is presented. This algorithm is intended to produce a flyable collision-free path through a series of obstacles/threats represented by cylindrical risk zones. A model of the West Virginia University (WVU) YF-22 research aircraft implemented within the WVU UAV simulation environment is used to demonstrate the functionality of the proposed algorithm and its effectiveness in the presence of several risk zones configurations. As compared to traditional methods, the approach is more general, coping with obstacles and risk zones of variable intensity and providing additional flexibility and better coverage of the possible solution space.
Predicting bounce rates in sponsored search advertisements

This paper explores an important and relatively unstudied quality measure of a sponsored search advertisement: bounce rate. The bounce rate of an ad can be informally defined as the fraction of users who click on the ad but almost immediately move on to other tasks. A high bounce rate can lead to poor advertiser return on investment, and suggests search engine users may be having a poor experience following the click. In this paper, we first provide quantitative analysis showing that bounce rate is an effective measure of user satisfaction. We then address the question, can we predict bounce rate by analyzing the features of the advertisement? An affirmative answer would allow advertisers and search engines to predict the effectiveness and quality of advertisements before they are shown. We propose solutions to this problem involving large-scale learning methods that leverage features drawn from ad creatives in addition to their keywords and landing pages.
Improved spectroscopic constants for the NO fundamental

Abstract A power series in the rotational index m has been fitted to the two fundamental ( 2 Π 1 2 − 2 Π 1 2 and 2 Π 3 2 − 2 Π 3 2 ) bands of nitric oxide and improved effective values of the spectroscopic constants B, D and H were obtained.
Some control problems associated with decentralized dynamic systems

In many large systems several agents with nonidentical information on the system structures, states, parameters, and so on, are involved in controlling the systems. Three areas of investigation implied by this novel pattern of information exchange among control agents are pointed out and some relevant references to economic literature are given.
Is Suburbanization Slowing Down? Recent Trends in Population Deconcentration in U.S. Metropolitan Areas

After several decades of population deconcentration in American metropolitan areas examination of 1970 to 1975 data suggests tentatively that deconcentration has not recently slackened. Population deconcentration or suburbanization has not reversed and there is no evidence of faster growth in central cities than in suburban areas. This study uses demographic data on over 200 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs) in 1970 and 1975 comparable to the fewer number of SMSAs in 1950 and 1960 for a study of 25 years of change in metropolitan population distribution. Two-point estimation of the negative exponential function is used to provide an "efficient summary of urban population densities for each SMSA in 1950 1960 1970 and 1975. Using these data descriptive and multivariate statistics show the association of population concentration measured by central densities and density gradients with SMSA population size central city age region and time period." (EXCERPT)
Diltiazem reduces retinal neovascularization in a mouse model of oxygen induced retinopathy.

Purpose. To assess the effect of diltiazem, a calcium channel blocking agent, on oxygen induced retinopathy (OIR) in a mouse model using neovascular nuclei quantitation and a quantitative scoring system based on examining fluorescein perfused retinal whole mount preparations. Methods. The mouse model of oxygen induced retinopathy consisting of a 5 day exposure to 75% oxygen from postnatal day 7 to 12 was used to produce retinal neovascularization. Fluorescein conjugated dextran angiography of retinal vasculature was performed and retinal whole mounts were prepared to score features of retinopathy. The parameters that were scored in a masked fashion included blood vessel growth, blood vessel tuft formation, extra retinal neovascularization, degree of central vasoconstriction, retinal hemorrhage, and tortuosity of vessels. Diltiazem (0.05-0.5 mg/kg/day subcutaneously for five days) was administered to mice pups during exposure to oxygen to determine if calcium channel blockade altered retinopathy. In additi...
Testing the Annular Mode Autocorrelation Time Scale in Simple Atmospheric General Circulation Models

Abstract A new diagnostic for measuring the ability of atmospheric models to reproduce realistic low-frequency variability is introduced in the context of Held and Suarez’s 1994 proposal for comparing the dynamics of different general circulation models. A simple procedure to compute τ, the e-folding time scale of the annular mode autocorrelation function, is presented. This quantity concisely quantifies the strength of low-frequency variability in a model and is easy to compute in practice. The sensitivity of τ to model numerics is then studied for two dry primitive equation models driven with the Held–Suarez forcings: one pseudospectral and the other finite volume. For both models, τ is found to be unrealistically large when the horizontal resolutions are low, such as those that are often used in studies in which long integrations are needed to analyze model variability on low frequencies. More surprising is that it is found that, for the pseudospectral model, τ is particularly sensitive to vertical res...
POST: a peer-to-peer overlay structure for service and application deployment in MANETs

Ad-hoc networks are an emerging technology with immense potential. Providing support for large-scale service and application deployment in these networks, however is crucial to make them a viable alternative. The lack of infrastructure, coupled with the time-varying characteristics of ad-hoc networks, brings about new challenges to the design and deployment of applications. This paper addresses these challenges and presents a unified, overlay-based service architecture to support large-scale service and application deployment in ad-hoc networks. We discuss the main functionalities of the architecture and describe the algorithms for object registration and discovery. Finally, the proposed architecture was evaluated using simulations and the results show that the architecture performs well under different network conditions.
The Madrasa at Deoband: A Model for Religious Education in Modern India

A Recent conference of specialists on the study of Muslims in South Asia identified as one of the neglected areas of their field the study of traditional religious institutions in the modern period. Such institutions as the sufi orders, the religious schools, and the system of pious endowments have been treated, if at all, only in their relation to political developments. Thus the leading theological academy of modern India, the Dār ul-'Ulūm of Deoband, has been studied because many of its ulama played an important role in nationalist politics in India and opposed the foundation of Pakistan. That motive for study has seriously distorted the treatment of the nineteenth-century history of the school, endowing it with an anti-British and revolutionary character when, in fact, the school's concerns were totally a-political. An investigation of the early history of the school suggests many other significant historical themes, notably an important incipient trend toward a formal bureaucratization of the ulama and their institutions. Studies of religious institutions outside India such as Gilsenan's study of the Hamidiya Shadhiliya order in modern Egypt and Roff's study of the Majlis Ugama in Malaysia4 suggest that successful functioning in the modern period has required such a transformation in organizational structure. This article describes the organization of Deoband in its initial decades.
Iterative demodulation and decoding of coded non-square QAM

It is shown that a non-square (NS) 2/sup 2n+1/-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) can be decomposed into a single-parity-check (SPC) block encoder and a memoryless modulator in such a way that the inherent block encoder has a recursive nature. When concatenated with a forward-error-correcting (FEC) code, iterative demodulation and decoding of the FEC code and the inherent SPC code of NS-2/sup 2n+1/-QAM is then possible. The capacity and bit/symbol-error-rate (BER/SER) performance of coded and uncoded NS-2/sup 2n+1/-QAM systems are given and compared to those of other 2/sup 2n+1/-ary systems. Simulation results show that, with iterative demodulation and decoding, coded NS-8QAM performs 0.5 dB better than standard 8QAM and 0.7 dB better than 8PSK at BER = 10/sup -5/, when the FEC code is the (15,11) Hamming codes concatenated with rate-1 accumulator codes, while coded NS-32QAM performs 0.25 dB better than standard 32QAM.
“Does Hope Change? Testing a Project-Based Health Intervention Among Urban Students of Color”

Hope is positively correlated with educational attainment and health. Interventions based on project-based learning (PBL) may increase youth hope. This study examined how a PBL intervention affected hope among urban students of color. Students in health classes were invited to participate. A PBL health class was implemented in four classrooms. The standard curriculum was implemented in four control classrooms. Questionnaires with measures of hope were administered at three time points. Generalized linear modeling examined the intervention effect on hope. There were no intervention effects on hope. There were significant differences in hope between certain racial and ethnic groups. One PBL class may not increase hope among urban students of color. Research should identify approaches that enhance hope in order to increase educational attainment and health.
Supply Networks as a Complex Adaptive System: Toward Simulation‐Based Theory Building on Evolutionary Decision Making

In this article, we examine how the firms embedded in supply networks engage in decision making over time. The supply networks as a complex adaptive system are simulated using cellular automata (CA) through a dynamic evolution of cooperation (i.e., “voice” decision) and defection (i.e., “exit” decision) among supply network agents (i.e., firms). Simple local rules of interaction among firms generate complex patterns of cooperation and defection decisions in the supply network. The incentive schemes underlying decision making are derived through different configurations of the payoff-matrix based on the game theory argument. The prisoner's dilemma game allows capturing the localized decision-making process by rational agents, and the CA model allows the self-organizing outcome to emerge. By observing the evolution of decision making by cooperating and defecting agents, we offer testable propositions regarding relationship development and distributed nature of governance mechanisms for managing supply networks.
Hydrologic and economic impacts of drought under alternative policy responses

: A severe sustained drought in the Colorado River Basin would cause economic damages throughout the Basin. An integrated hydrologic-economic-institutional model introduced here shows that consumptive water users in headwaters states are particularly vulnerable to very large shortfalls and hence large damages because their rights are effectively junior to downstream users. Chronic shortfalls to consumptive users relying on diversions in excess of rights under the Colorado River Compact are also possible. Nonconsumptive water uses (for hydropower and recreation) are severely affected during the worst drought years as instream flows are reduced and reservoirs are depleted. Damages to these uses exceeds those to consumptive uses, with the value of lost hydropower production the single largest economic impact of a severe sustained drought. Modeling of alternative policy responses to drought suggests three general policy approaches with particular promise for reducing damages. Consumptive use damages can be reduced by over 90 percent through reallocation from low to high valued uses and through reservoir storage strategies which minimize evaporation losses. Reservoir management to preserve minimum power pool levels for hydropower production (and to maintain reservoir recreation) may reduce damages to these nonconsumptive uses by over 30 percent, but it may increase consumptive use shortfalls.
AM++: a generalized active message framework

Active messages have proven to be an effective approach for certain communication problems in high performance computing. Many MPI implementations, as well as runtimes for Partitioned Global Address Space languages, use active messages in their low-level transport layers. However, most active message frameworks have low-level programming interfaces that require significant programming effort to use directly in applications and that also prevent optimization opportunities. In this paper we present AM++, a new user-level library for active messages based on generic programming techniques. Our library allows message handlers to be run in an explicit loop that can be optimized and vectorized by the compiler and that can also be executed in parallel on multicore architectures. Runtime optimizations, such as message combining and filtering, are also provided by the library, removing the need to implement that functionality at the application level. Evaluation of AM++ with distributed-memory graph algorithms shows the usability benefits provided by these library features, as well as their performance advantages.
Abstract T P90: Characterization of Inflammatory Cells after EDAS Surgery in Patients with Intracranial Arterial Stenosis

Introduction: Indirect revascularization via encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis (EDAS) establishes collateral flow through new vessels formed from external carotid branches in patients with moyamoya disease and intracranial arterial stenosis (IAS) of non-moyamoya origin. A better understanding of the process of neovascularization is key to improve the potential therapeutic effects of these techniques. To gain a more in-depth understanding on the mechanisms behind the pro-angiogenic effects, we performed detailed evaluation of cellular changes in circulating monocytes. Methods and Results: Dynamics in inflammatory cell were assessed by cell surface marker analysis by flow cytometry of blood from patients at 24, 48 and 72 hours and compared to baseline control (pre-operative) levels from the same patient. While increase in CD45+ cells was noted at 24hrs in all patients, a particularly impressive elevation in the percentage of CD11b/Gr1 positive cells was found in patients at 48 and 72hrs post-surgery. Although CD11b suggested a monocytic population, these cells were F480 low/negative indicating a shift in the differentiation of monocytes or exit of a different population of inflammatory cells from the bone marrow. Conclusions: Our findings are in accordance with recent publications suggesting a pro-angiogenic role of macrophages during vascular expansion and repair. The findings are consistent with the concept that CD11b/Gr1 cells might constitute an important subset of monocyte/macrophages poised to mediate vascular repair upon stroke and could represent a clinically valuable tool.
Lateral Response of Piles

Response of a single pile to moment or lateral thrust is analyzed considering the surrounding soil to be an elastic-plastic continuum. The soil mass is considered to be elastic with progressive zones of yielding developing, depending on an arbitrary yield criterion. Curves for a typical example are presented showing pile loading and deflection versus depth, as well as load versus lateral deflection at the ground surface. A nonlinear load-deflection response is predicted that is similar in nature to observed field behavior.
Simulation of DC Characteristics of Nano-Scale Hydrogen-Terminated Diamond MISFETs

An improved 2D device model is generated to simulate the DC properties of hydrogen- terminated diamond MISFETs by taking into account the effect of electric field on hole mobility. At high lateral field, the mobility degrades due to velocity saturation and at high transverse field, the mobility decreases because of strong surface phonon scattering. As either field increases to a certain level (∼ 1MV/cm), the mobility becomes independent of doping concentration and the maximum transverse field appears at the boundary between surface acceptor region and bulk. The threshold voltage is found to be a strong function of gate length and can change from negative to positive, which will change the operation mode of the device. In addition, the simulation also shows that the transconductance reaches a maximum value at 80nm gate length but decreases after further shrinkage, which might be also related to the velocity saturation effect induced by large lateral field.
Syntactic Heroin: A dangerous coding addiction that leads to a readability disaster.

User-defined overloading is a drug. At first, it gives you a quick, feel-good fix. No sense in cluttering up code with verbose and ugly function names such as IntAbs, FloatAbs, DoubleAbs, or ComplexAbs; just name them all Abs. Even better, use algebraic notation such as A+B, instead of ComplexSum(A,B). It certainly makes coding more compact. But a dangerous addiction soon sets in. Languages and programs that were already complex enough to stretch everyone’s ability suddenly get much more complicated.
Humanization of the Substrate Binding Site in vSGLT

Secondary active transporters utilize the energy of electrochemical gradients to drive the uphill transport of a second substrate. Sodium Glucose Cotransporters (SGLT) constitute a large family of symporters that use Na+ ions to cotransport glucose or galactose as well as a variety of other substrates. SGLTs are responsible for the absorption of dietary sugars in the intestine and reabsorption from primary urine in the kidney. Recently, inhibitors of SGLTs came into focus as novel drugs to treat diabetes. Phlorizin-derivatives competitively inhibit reabsorption of sugar from the glomerular filtrate, thereby increasing its excretion in the urine and ultimately lowering blood sugar concentrations.However, to this date, no structural information on human SGLTs is available. Only the 3D structure for the bacterial homologue vSGLT from Vibrio parahaemolyticus which does not bind phlorizin, has been solved. Therefore the binding mechanism of these inhibitors still remains not very well understood. To gain further insights into the determinants for phlorizin binding, we designed several point mutants to mimic the presumed binding site in human SGLT. Subsequently we determined sugar and phlorizin binding to the purified mutant proteins by microscale thermophoresis. This information will increase the value of vSGLT as a model system sodium-dependent sugar transport in humans and might ultimately help to design new and more specific inhibitors.
Reevaluating PSA Testing Rates in the PLCO Trial

The PLCO trial generated data that argue against PSA screening. However, participants in the control group also reported being screened. An analysis of health questionnaires suggests that more than 80% of controls had been tested within the previous 3 years.
Training for family-oriented pediatric care. Issues and options.

Traditionally, pediatricians have received relatively little training directed at working effectively with the families of the children they care for. On the other hand, pediatricians gain extensive first-hand experience with families. The family systems perspective and family therapy models present potentially valuable approaches that can provide much of what is missing for pediatricians who are intent on enhancing their effectiveness with families. However, training in this model requires pediatricians to tailor new theoretical understandings; knowledge; and skills to the content, contexts, and goals of pediatric practice. Issues, challenges, and options for such training are discussed.
Notes on Husserl’s Idealismus in the Logische Untersuchungen (Via Lotze’s Interpretation of Plato)

In the following paper we will seek to understand what Edmund Husserl, in his second Logical Investigation , refers to as “idealism”, against the backdrop of Rudolf Hermann Lotze’s interpretation of Plato’s doctrine of Ideas in the third book of his Logic . This will raise not only the question of Husserl’s indebtedness to Lotze with respect to the Ideenhlehre in terms of Geltung , but first and foremost that of the “Platonism” of the idealism defended in his first masterpiece.
Quantifying Expressions in the History of German: Syntactic reanalysis and morphological change

This study describes the 1200-year history of German quantifying expressions like nioman anderro > niemand anderer ‘nobody else’, analyzing the morpho-syntactic developments within the generative framework. The quantifiers examined arose from various lexical sources/categories (nouns, adjectives, and pronouns) but all changed to adjectival quantifiers. These changes are interpreted as a novel type of upward reanalysis from head to specifier, which we associate with degrammaticalization driven by analogy. As for the quantified phrases, most appeared in the genitive in Old High German, indicating a bi-nominal structure. During the Early New High German period, most quantified nouns and adjectives changed to agreement with the quantifier. By Modern German, only quantified DPs and pronouns remain in the genitive. These changes involve downward reanalysis of the quantified elements, being integrated into the matrix nominal depending on the structural size of the quantified phrase. Overall, we conclude that diachronically quantifying expressions may have different syntactic analyses.
The Russian Art Collection of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace

ABSTRACTThough well known for its historical and political collections, the Hoover Institution Library also has a small but valuable collection of books and periodicals on Russian art, which was collected by Professor Frank Golder in the Soviet Union in 1925. The collection consists basically of items from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, on subjects ranging from painting to illustrated travel accounts. It also includes some older books with unusual bindings of considerable value, some of which are from imperial libraries.
Heritability of choroidal thickness in the Amish

Purpose To evaluate the heritability of choroidal thickness and its relationship to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Design Cohort study. Participants Six hundred eighty-nine individuals from Amish families with early or intermediate AMD. Methods Ocular coherence tomography was used to quantify choroidal thickness, and fundus photography was used to classify eyes into categories using a modified Clinical Age-Related Maculopathy Staging (CARMS) system. Repeatability and heritability of choroidal thickness and its phenotypic and genetic correlations with the AMD phenotype (CARMS category) were estimated using a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) approach that accounted for relatedness, repeated measures (left and right eyes), and the effects of age, gender, and refraction. Main Outcome Measures Heritability of choroidal thickness and its phenotypic and genetic correlation with the AMD phenotype (CARMS category). Results Phenotypic correlation between choroidal thickness and CARMS category was moderate (Spearman's rank correlation, r s = −0.24; n = 1313 eyes) and significant (GLMM posterior mean, −4.27; 95% credible interval [CI], −7.88 to −0.79; P = 0.02) after controlling for relatedness, age, gender, and refraction. Eyes with advanced AMD had thinner choroids than eyes without AMD (posterior mean, −73.8; 95% CI, −94.7 to −54.6; P Conclusions We quantify the heritability of choroidal thickness for the first time, highlighting a heritable, quantitative trait that is measurable in all individuals regardless of AMD affection status, and moderately phenotypically correlated with AMD severity. Choroidal thickness therefore may capture variation not captured by the CARMS system. However, because the genetic correlation between choroidal thickness and AMD severity was not significant in our data set, genes associated with the 2 traits may not overlap substantially. Future studies should therefore test for genetic variation associated with choroidal thickness to determine the overlap in genetic basis with AMD.
Design tools for reporter strands and DNA origami scaffold strands

Abstract Self-assembly using DNA origami methods requires determining a route for the scaffolding strand through the targeted structure. Here we provide strategies and software tools for determining optimal routes for reporter or scaffolding strands through graph-like (ball-and-rod) constructs. The approach applies to complex constructs, for example arbitrary geometric embeddings of graphs rather than surface meshes, lattice subsets, and meshes on higher genus surfaces than spheres. The software notably allows the user the flexibility of specifying ranked preferences for augmenting edges and for the possible configurations of branched junctions. The greater topological complexity of arbitrary graph embeddings and meshes on higher genus surfaces can result in scaffolding strand routes that are knotted in 3 space, so we also present necessary caveats for these settings.
High temperature stability of langasite surface acoustic wave devices

High temperature acoustic wave (AW) devices capable of operating above 600degC and in hostile environments have opened potential applications for monitoring industrial processes, power plants, and aerospace systems. The authors have reported on the development of thin film electrodes and protective ceramic layers to allow surface acoustic wave (SAW) device operation up to 800degC on langasite (LGS) crystals. This success motivated further study of the electrode material and protective ceramic overlayer, as well as investigations of long term performance, temperature cycling and shock behavior, which are reported in this work. Among the results reported are: behavior of a co-deposited Pt/Rh/ZrO2 composite electrode structure up to 1000degC; investigation of oxygen rich and nitrogen rich SiAlON protective ceramic layers; long term (4080 hours, or about 5frac12 months) operation of a two-port SAW resonator at 800degC; cyclical thermal tests between room temperature and 850degC; and thermal shock tests of crystals between 700degC and room temperature.
Gut-sparing treatment of urinary tract infection in patients at high risk of Clostridium difficile infection.

Background: Recipients of faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (RCDI) remain at markedly increased risk of re-infection with C. difficile with new antibiotic provocations. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common indications for antibiotics in these patients, often resulting in C. difficile re-infection. Methods: We present a case series of 19 patients treated with parenteral aminoglycosides for UTI following FMT for RCDI. A 3 day outpatient regimen of once-daily intramuscular administration of gentamicin was used to treat 18 consecutive FMT recipients with uncomplicated UTI. One other patient was treated for a complicated UTI with intravenous amikacin. Profiling of 16S rRNA genes was used to track changes in faecal microbial community structure during this regimen in three patients. Results: The protocol was highly effective in treating UTI symptoms. None of the patients suffered a re-infection with C. difficile. The faecal microbial communities remained undisturbed by treatment with intramuscular administration of gentamicin. Conclusions: Despite falling out of favour in recent years, aminoglycoside antibiotics given parenterally have the advantage of minimal penetration into the gut lumen. A brief (3 day) course of parenteral gentamicin was safe and effective in curing UTI in patients at high risk of C. difficile infection without perturbing their gut microbiota.
Primary Liver Cancer: Background and Clinical Evidence

The incidence of primary liver cancers continues to increase worldwide. In this chapter, we discuss the risk factors, screening options, and staging classification systems for both hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. We also review management options for early-stage, locally advanced, and metastatic disease.
Scientific Drought, Golden Eggs, and Global Leadership — Why Trump’s NIH Funding Cuts Would Be a Disaster

President Trump’s proposal to cut the NIH budget has far-reaching implications for public and global health, research and drug development, and America’s economic growth. It also threatens young scientists who are academia and industry’s future leaders.
Trauma, PTSD, and the Developing Brain

PTSD in youth is common and debilitating. In contrast to adult PTSD, relatively little is known about the neurobiology of pediatric PTSD, nor how neurodevelopment may be altered. This review summarizes recent neuroimaging studies in pediatric PTSD and discusses implications for future study. Pediatric PTSD is characterized by abnormal structure and function in neural circuitry supporting threat processing and emotion regulation. Furthermore, cross-sectional studies suggest that youth with PTSD have abnormal frontolimbic development compared to typically developing youth. Examples include declining hippocampal volume, increasing amygdala reactivity, and declining amygdala-prefrontal coupling with age. Pediatric PTSD is characterized by both overt and developmental abnormalities in frontolimbic circuitry. Notably, abnormal frontolimbic development may contribute to increasing threat reactivity and weaker emotion regulation as youth age. Longitudinal studies of pediatric PTSD are needed to characterize individual outcomes and determine whether current treatments are capable of restoring healthy neurodevelopment.
A Model of Morphogenesis

Turing in 1952 proposed a mathematical model in which morphogenetic change occurs through the onset of thermodynamic instability. The major mechanism of transport in the model was diffusion. This led to a system of non-linear partial differential equations $$ \frac{{\partial {\text{x}}}} {{\partial {\text{t}}}}\, = \,\mu \,\nabla ^2 {\text{x}}\,{\text{ + }}\,{\text{vx}} $$ (1) where x(r¯,t) denotes the vector of change of chemical concentrations from an equilibrium point, V(x,r¯,t) is the reaction rate in the cell at position r¯, and µ is the diffusion constant. This was applied to a one-dimensional homogeneous ring to show how symmetry will naturally break down by the onset of instability.
A Generalization of

(1989). A Generalization of . The College Mathematics Journal: Vol. 20, No. 5, pp. 416-418.
Obesity and Therapeutic Approaches to Weight Loss

Weight gain and obesity are becoming the most significant chronic public health conditions of our generation, impacting the well-being, productivity, longevity, and economics of our society. Obesity, along with diet and physical inactivity, is estimated to be responsible for approximately 400,000 preventable deaths per year and is expected to soon rival cigarette smoking as the most important public health concern 1. More than one-third of US adults—over 72 million people—were obese in 2005–2006 2, accounting for over 9% of total annual US medical expenditures 3. The etiology of obesity is multifactorial, brought about by an interaction between predisposing genetic and metabolic factors and a rapidly changing environment, one that favors excessive caloric intake while at the same time reducing opportunities to engage in a physically active lifestyle.
Irregular-Grid Finite-Difference Techniques for Storm Surge Calculations for Curving Coastlines

Abstract Finite-difference computations on irregular grids offer the advantages of resolving the coastal curvature and of allowing for an explicit time step of optimal size. A further advantage is the flexibility associated with editing the grid, which allows for improvements in its design. The techniques are based on the approximation of partial derivatives with slopes of planar surfaces associated with triangular components of the irregular grid. Simulations of several surges associated with various hypothetical hurricanes passing through Mobile Bay are realistic and relatively noise free. Because these techniques are computationally efficient, they provide a practical tool for forecasting storm surges.
Siting images, citing worlds: Nouri Bouzid’s Bent familia and the Quebec connection

This paper examines two images from 1970s Quebecois culture that appear fleetingly in Nouri Bouzid’s 1997 drama Bent familia, analyzing the ways they inform the film’s off-screen referential space. By complicating the film’s otherwise straightforward “spectrum of geographical liberties” structured along old colonial lines, Quebec troubles the ostensible hierarchy separating France (and the West more generally) from its former colonies. Harking back to the hope associated with the era of independence, these two Quebecois images nostalgically recall a moment when the Maghreb inspired desire for progressive change around the Francophone world.
On‐chip pressure generation using a gel membrane fabricated outside of the microfluidic network

On-chip generation of pressure gradients via electrokinetic means can offer several advantages to microfluidic assay design and operation in a variety of applications. In this article, we describe a simple approach to realizing this capability by employing a polyacrylamide-based gel structure fabricated within a fluid reservoir located at the terminating end of a microchannel. Application of an electric field across this membrane has been shown to block a majority of the electroosmotic flow generated within the open duct yielding a high pressure at the channel-membrane junction. Experiments show the realization of higher pressure-driven velocities in an electric field-free separation channel integrated to the micropump with this design compared to other similar micropumps described in the literature. In addition, the noted velocity was found to be less sensitive to the extent of Debye layer overlap in the channel network, and therefore more impressive when working with background electrolytes having higher ionic strengths. With the current system, pressure-driven velocities up to 3.6 mm/s were realized in a 300-nm-deep separation channel applying a maximum voltage of 3 kV at a channel terminal. To demonstrate the separative performance of our device, a nanofluidic pressure-driven ion-chromatographic analysis was subsequently implemented that relied on the slower migration of cationic analytes relative to the neutral and anionic ones in the separation channel likely due to their strong electrostatic interaction with the channel surface charges. A mixture of amino acids was thus separated with resolutions greater than those reported by our group for a similar analysis previously.
Injury Rate Comparisons for Nonmechanized and Mechanized Logging Operations, Washington State, 2005-2014

Objectives: Current industry classification systems in the United States do not differentiate mechanized and nonmechanized logging operations. The objectives of this article are to quantify injury ...
Who Are the Short-Termists?

In this edited version of her keynote address at the Financial Management Association's Annual Conference last October, the author begins by noting that shareholder turnover in U.S. public companies has increased sharply during the past four decades, rising from a low in the mid‐1970s of around 10%—which implies an average holding period of 10 years—to its current level of over 350%, or a holding period of some three or four months. But this increase in average share turnover in recent decades has also been accompanied by a remarkable growth of long‐term investors. In a recent study, the author and two colleagues used quarterly holdings information from Form 13F to identify short‐term investors—which they defined as having annualized turnover rates over 100%, implying a holding period of less than a year—and long‐term investors—those with a turnover rate below 33%, with holding periods longer than three years. Defined in this way, the presence of long‐term institutional investors in the average public company's shareholder base has more than doubled since the early 2000s. What's more, in an attempt to determine whether the market encourages corporate short‐termism by putting too high a discount rate on—and so under‐valuing—earnings or cash flows that are expected to appear in the distant future, the author points to the findings of two studies by others. In the first of the two, an examination of the pricing of a relatively new derivative known as “dividend strips” shows that the implied discount rate for such “incremental” dividends has actually been higher than the rate applied to the long‐term residual value, suggesting that the market undervalues near‐term cash flows relative to more distant ones. The second of the two cited studies reports that companies with high levels of RD and the smaller R&D function becomes more productive, accounting for 15% increases in both new patents and citations during the next three years.
InGaAs FinFETs 3-D Sequentially Integrated on FDSOI Si CMOS With Record Performance

In this paper, we demonstrate InGaAs FinFETs 3-D sequentially (3DS) integrated on top of a fully depleted silicon-on-insulator CMOS. Top layer III–V FETs are fabricated using a Si CMOS compatible HKMG replacement gate flow and self-aligned raised source-drain regrowth. We demonstrate that the low thermal budget of the top layer process does not affect the lower level FETs performance. An on-current of $200~\mu \text{A}/\mu \text{m}$ (at $I_{\mathrm{ OFF}} = 100$ nA/ $\mu \text{m}$ and $V_{\mathrm{ DD}} = 0.5$ V) is achieved, representing the highest reported for 3DS integrated III–V FETs on silicon, showing a 50% improvement in $R_{\mathrm{ ON}}$ compared to previous work. The achieved improved performance can be attributed to the introduction of spacers, doped extensions underneath the gate region as well as improvements in the direct wafer bonding technique.
Using satellite imagery to create tax maps and enhance local revenue collection

Although taxes on land and property have many desirable attributes, the challenge of ensuring completeness of tax rolls and currency of valuations preclude their effective use to support urbanizati...
Construct validity of the WISC–IV Italian edition: A bifactor examination of the standardization sample: Chi niente sa, di niente dubita

This study utilized confirmatory factor analyses to examine the latent factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fourth Edition, Italian adaptation (WISC–IV Italian) standard...
Chemical pathways of peptide degradation. VIII. Oxidation of methionine in small model peptides by prooxidant/transition metal ion systems: influence of selective scavengers for reactive oxygen intermediates.

In the presence of oxygen, Fe(III), and an appropriate electron donor (e.g. ascorbic acid, dithiothreitol), the oxidation of methionine residues to methionine sulfoxides in small model peptides can be induced. It is shown in this study that these oxidations can be retarded by catalase in a pH-dependent manner, by some hydroxyl radical scavengers, and by azide. In contrast, superoxide dismutase has only a minimal effect, indicating that the superoxide radical does not contribute significantly to the oxidation of the methionine residue. The experimental results can be interpreted by invoking hydrogen peroxide as the major oxidizing species at pH ≤ 7, whereas the involvement of free hydroxyl radicals seems to be negligible. Other reactive oxygen intermediates such as iron-bound hydroperoxy, or site-specifically generated reactive oxygen species may be actively involved in the oxidation of methionine residues at pH > 7.
The industry that cries wolf: pharma and innovation

Whenever Congress considers reasonable legislation to lower drug prices, we hear that this will be the "end of innovation." This short piece compares Big Pharma to the boy who cried wolf, offering numerous examples (going back to 1961!) of the industry claiming that legislation will harm innovation.
Reducing Late-Life Dependence Resulting from Declining Visual Acuity:

This article reports on a project in 39 counties of rural Missouri to screen and provide low vision devices and rehabilitation services to elderly persons with declining visual acuity. A concomitan...