cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MRI compatible force sensing system for real-time monitoring of wrist moments during fMRI testing

The ability to monitor and quantify force exertions made by individuals during fMRI scans of the brain would provide researchers and clinicians a standardized, well-controlled behavioral task that could improve the repeatability and accuracy of imaging studies. In this work, we present a MRI compatible wrist module that is capable of measuring isometric forces generated at the hand and joint moments along wrist flexion-extension and wrist ulna-radial deviation axes. Joint moments measured by the system can be visually displayed to the individual and used during target matching tasks. In a small set of pilot tests, it was found that the noise on the force and moment signals were not affected by the magnetic fields nor were the fMRI images influenced by the presence of the device. In future studies, we plan to use the wrist module to investigate cortical reorganization in stroke patients following prolonged neurorehabilitation.
Social Psychophysiology and Embodiment

1 Roots of Social Psychophysiology and Embodiment 2 Neurophysiological Systems 3 Relative Advantages of Peripheral and Central Neurophysiological Indexes for Social Psychology 4 Peripheral Neurophysiological Indexes 5 Evolution of Social Psychophysiological Theories 6 Uses of Peripheral Neurophysiological Indexes in Social Psychology 7 Summary
Variations in the transcriptome of Alzheimer's disease reveal molecular networks involved in cardiovascular diseases

Because of its polygenic nature, Alzheimer's disease is believed to be caused not by defects in single genes, but rather by variations in a large number of genes and their complex interactions. A systems biology approach, such as the generation of a network of co-expressed genes and the identification of functional modules and cis-regulatory elements, to extract insights and knowledge from microarray data will lead to a better understanding of complex diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we perform a series of analyses using co-expression networks, cis-regulatory elements, and functions of co-expressed gene modules to analyze single-cell gene expression data from normal and Alzheimer's disease-affected subjects. We identified six co-expressed gene modules, each of which represented a biological process perturbed in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease-related genes, such as APOE, A2M, PON2 and MAP4, and cardiovascular disease-associated genes, including COMT, CBS and WNK1, all congregated in a single module. Some of the disease-related genes were hub genes while many of them were directly connected to one or more hub genes. Further investigation of this disease-associated module revealed cis-regulatory elements that match to the binding sites of transcription factors involved in Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular disease. Our results show the extensive links between Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular disease at the co-expression and co-regulation levels, providing further evidence for the hypothesis that cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease are linked. Our results support the notion that diseases in which the same set of biochemical pathways are affected may tend to co-occur with each other.
Geriatric co-management of proximal femur fractures: total quality management and protocol-driven care result in better outcomes for a frail patient population

Hip fractures in older adults are a common event, leading to substantial morbidity and mortality. Hip fractures have been previously described as a "geriatric, rather than orthopedic disease." Patients with this condition have a high prevalence of comorbidity and a high risk of complications from surgery, and for this reason, geriatricians may be well suited to improve outcomes of care. Co-management of hip fracture patients by orthopedic surgeons and geriatricians has led to better outcomes in other countries but has rarely been described in the United States. This article describes a co-managed Geriatric Fracture Center program that has resulted in lower-than-predicted length of stay and readmission rates, with short time to surgery, low complication rates, and low mortality. This program is based on the principles of early evaluation of patients, ongoing co-management, protocol-driven geriatric-focused care, and early discharge planning. This is a potentially replicable model of care that uses the expertise of geriatricians to optimize the management of a common and serious condition.
Cost-effective studies in spine surgeries: a narrative review.

Abstract Background context Although the pathologic processes that affect the spine remain largely unchanged, our techniques to correct them continue to evolve with the development of novel medical and surgical interventions. Although the primary purpose of new technologies is to improve patients' quality of life, the economic impact of such therapies must be considered. Purpose To review the available peer-reviewed literature on spine surgery that addresses the cost-effectiveness of various treatments and technologies. Study design A narrative literature review. Methods Articles published between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2012 were selected from two Pubmed searches using keywords cost-effectiveness AND spine (216 articles) and cost analysis AND spine (358 articles). Relevant articles on cost analyses and cost-effectiveness were selected by the authors and reviewed. Results Cervical and lumbar surgeries (anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, standard open lumbar discectomy, and standard posterior lumbar laminectomy) are reasonably cost effective at 2 years after the procedure ( Conclusions An ideal new technology should be able to achieve maximal improvement in patient health at a cost that society is willing to pay. The cost-effectiveness of technologies and treatments in spine care is dependent on their durability and the rate and severity of the baseline clinical problem that the treatment was designed to address.
Lakes as buffers of stream dissolved organic matter (DOM) variability: Temporal patterns of DOM characteristics in mountain stream‐lake systems

[1] Lakes within fluvial networks may affect dissolved organic matter (DOM) dynamics in streams by dampening spring DOM snowmelt flushing responses and/or by increasing summer DOM production. We assessed the temporal variability of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and DOM characteristics (specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA254); DOC:dissolved organic nitrogen (DOC:DON)), as well as DOC export in seven paired lake inflows and outflows in the Sawtooth Mountain lake district, Idaho. We hypothesized that lakes would decrease stream DOM temporal variability and increase DOM export as a result of autotrophic production. We correlated DOM variability with landscape factors to evaluate potential drivers of DOM temporal patterns (measured as coefficient of variation). Coefficients of variation were 40–90% higher in lake inflows than outflows for DOC concentrations, characteristics, and DOC:DON. Increases in DOC concentrations on the ascending limb of the snowmelt hydrograph were greater in lake inflows than outflows, and on average mean DOC flux occurred 5.4 days earlier in the inflows than for the outflows. During base flow, mean outflow DOC concentrations were 1.7 times greater than inflows, and six outflows had higher annual export than inflows. Combined, these results illustrate that lakes alter the magnitude, timing and temporal variation of DOM concentration and characteristics exported from subalpine watersheds. This buffering effect results from a seasonal shift in the balance between hydrological versus biological controls on DOC dynamics, where lakes act as a sink during the spring when hydrologic controls dominate watershed DOM transport and act as a DOM source during summer.
The Weaving Length Limit for Short Free Onramps

Onramp merging may be difficult if the onramp weaving/merging length is too short because a driver may find that even merging behind a neighboring large truck on the adjacent outside lane may not be completed safely. Because of insufficient weaving length for onramp acceleration, a slow merged vehicle may be rear-ended by a following vehicle on the outside lane when speed differential between the onramp vehicle and the following vehicle is relatively high. Nevertheless, short onramps at occasions are designed and built when right of way is constrained possibly by a variety of issues. The design onramp weaving length hasn't been well explained physically in various existing guidelines or design manuals. Recently, a design paradigm, where human factors, vehicle dynamics, tire-road friction, and the onramp merging scenarios are integrated into a single framework, has been developed to resolve this merging difficulty. In this paper, the lower limit recommended for onramp weaving length needed for a driver to merge into the freeway traffic successfully is determined based on the physical solutions derived from the paradigm and a physical constraint for avoiding potential rear-end collisions between the slow merged vehicle and the following vehicle on freeway. This weaving length limit sets the minimal weaving length for safer free onramp merging and guides the practitioners/designers who encounter design situations where freeway right of way at onramp is limited.
Action-oriented sensor fusion for telesystems

Work in sensor fusion for fully autonomous mobile robots that is expected to be useful for telesystems is discussed. Emphasis is placed on one product of this work, i.e. the sensor fusion effects (SFX) architecture, which can be extended into a control scheme for sensor fusion in telesystems. It can reduce the teleoperator's time in supervising the execution of a telerobot's sensing strategy and adapting that strategy to sensor malfunctions, changes in the environment, and other unanticipated sensing problems. It does this by autonomously monitoring the execution of the sensing strategy and looking for abnormalities. If an abnormality is detected, SFX initiates an exception handling process which tries to repair the sensing strategy autonomously. If that is not possible, the exception handling module gathers as much relevant information as possible and recommends a course of action for the operator. Experiments with sensor data collected from a Sony Hi8 color camcorder, a Pulnix black and white camera, an Inframetrics true infrared camera, Polaroid ultrasonic transducers, and a Hamamatsu ultraviolet light camera on a mobile robot show that SFX can autonomously monitor the execution of a sensing strategy and detect abnormalities. >
Visualization of clusters in polymer electrolyte membranes by electron microscopy

The morphology of ionic clusters that form in polyelectrolyte membranes has a strong effect on transport and electrical properties. In spite of considerable research effort the link between morphology and properties has not been clearly established, mainly due to difficulties in assessing nanoscale morphology. Electron microscopy (EM) has the potential to visualize morphology. However success in visualization has so far been moderate. In this review we focus on the potential of EM techniques to characterize the ionic domains. We use both experimental data and models to compare the capabilities of several EM techniques: BF TEM, HAADF, core-loss EELS, and low-loss EELS in projection imaging and STEM modes. The main problems common for all these EM modes are radiation damage and overlap of features in projection. Our models show that core loss EELS with exposures that are below the typical damage threshold is incapable of resolving 2 nm diameter sulfur-rich clusters in PEMs. While low loss EELS requires lower exposure, the insight it can provide is quite limited. HAADF and BF TEM present the most effective modes for imaging the sulfur clusters in PEMs. While BF TEM uses scattered electrons more efficiently, HAADF using slightly higher doses can provide unique information due to in-focus imaging and transparent interpretation of the images. Fortunately, in at least some interesting cases the clusters themselves are much more radiation resistant than the polymer and can be studied at exposures high enough to obtain clear images. Our simulations also show that tomographic 3D reconstruction provides the best approach for solving the overlap problem. In spite of the abilities of electron tomography, data obtained from all EM techniques improve if thin sections are studied. We briefly discuss methods for obtaining such sections.
Cefmetazole Sodium: Pharmacology, Pharmacokinetics, and Clinical Trials

Cefmetazole sodium is a semisynthetic cephamycin antibiotic. It has a broad spectrum of activity comparable to that of the second-generation cephalosporins, covering gram-positive, gram-negative, and anaerobic bacteria. Unlike the second-generation cephalosporins, cephamycins such as cefmetazole are usually active against Bacteroides fragilis. Cefmetazole is also active against beta-lactamase-producing organisms that are resistant to first-generation cephalosporins or penicillins. The pharmacokinetics of cefmetazole allow parenteral administration (intravenous or intramuscular) 2-3 times daily for treatment of infection. The drug has been studied in gynecologic, intraabdominal, urinary tract, respiratory tract, and skin and soft tissue infections. Administered preoperatively, it may reduce the frequency of infection in certain clean-contaminated or potentially contaminated procedures, including cesarean section, abdominal or vaginal hysterectomy, cholecystectomy (high-risk patients), and colorectal surgery. On the basis of in vitro spectrum, pharmacokinetics, and data from a relatively small number of clinical trials, this agent may be considered when a second-generation cephalosporin is indicated.
Direct and Conceptual Replications of Burgmer & Englich (2012): Power May Have Little to No Effect on Motor Performance

Burgmer and Englich (2012) have reported that manipulating feelings of power can substantially improve performance on two motor tasks: golf and darts. We conducted two high-powered direct replications of the effects of power on golf, two online conceptual replications using mirror-tracing as a performance measure, and an additional conceptual replication using a cognitive performance measure (word-search). Overall, we found little to no effect of power on motor skill (d = 0.09, 95% CI[-0.07, 0.22], n = 603). We varied task difficulty, re-analyzed data without participants showing weak responses on manipulation checks, and tried adjusting performance scores for age, gender, and initial task skill. None of these secondary analyses revealed a strong effect of power on performance. A meta-analysis integrating our data with Burgmer & Englich leaves open the possibility that manipulating power could provide a modest boost in motor skill (d = 0.19, 95% CI [0.001, 0.38], n = 685). Unfortunately, the pattern of performance changes we observed was unrelated to group differences in perceived and rated power, suggesting that what motor effects do occur with this protocol may not be directly related to the construct of power. [Burgmer, P., &Englich, B. (2012). Bullseye!: How Power Improves Motor Performance. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4(2), 224–232.]
Pregnancy in ovariectomised mares achieved by embryo transfer: A preliminary study

Summary Four ovariectomised mares were used as recipients for embryo transfer. They were given 300 mg progesterone in oil intramuscularly daily for five days before transfer and were subsequently maintained on this treatment. Embryos were recovered and transferred non-surgically seven or eight days after the donor mares had ovulated. A total of seven embryos were transferred and pregnancy was established in three of the four recipients. At the time of writing, these pregnancies have developed normally to Days 155, 92 and 82 of gestation, respectively.
An Enzymatic Cyclopentyl[b]indole Formation Involved in Scytonemin Biosynthesis

Previous studies of the biosynthetic enzymes involved in the assembly of scytonemin (1), a cyanobacterial sunscreen, have identified β-ketoacid 2 as an important intermediate that is produced by ThDP-dependent enzyme ScyA. We now report that ScyC, previously annotated as a hypothetical protein, catalyzes cyclization and decarboxylation of 2 to generate ketone 5. Assembly of the cyclopentyl[b]indole structure in this manner has little precedent in the chemical literature. Additional mechanistic experiments have revealed that cyclization likely precedes decarboxylation and that the latter event may provide a driving force for cyclopentane formation.
A Dimetallic Osmium(II) Complex as a Potential Phototherapeutic Agent: Binding and Photocleavage Studies with Plasmid DNA

A new dimetallic OsII complex bridged by (4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)diphenanthropyrromethane [{Os(bpy)2php}2van](PF6)4 has been synthesized and characterized by UV/Vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and elemental analysis. The spectroscopic properties are similar to those of [Os(bpy)3]2+ with ligand-centered π–π* transitions in the UV region of the spectrum and three metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (1MLCT) transitions in the visible region. A broad 3MLCT is observed stretching from 550 to 700 nm with modest intensity. Binding studies with calf thymus DNA (ctDNA) show binding constants as high as 105 M–1 indicating a strong interaction of the complex with DNA. When aqueous solutions of the complex and plasmid DNA are irradiated with low-energy light for brief periods of time complete photocleavage of the DNA is observed. Studies indicate that the mechanism of this photoreaction requires molecular oxygen and results from both the formation of 1O2 and oxygen radicals offering multiple modes for DNA destruction.
Neoadjuvant Docetaxel and Capecitabine and the Use of Thymidine Phosphorylase as a Predictive Biomarker in Breast Cancer

Purpose: Thymidine phosphorylase (TP) induction by docetaxel is a proposed mechanism for the observed preclinical synergy of docetaxel and capecitabine (DC). We evaluated whether TP protein expression is increased by docetaxel and correlates with pathologic complete response (pCR) in breast cancer patients. Experimental Design: Women with stage II to III breast cancer were given four cycles of neoadjuvant docetaxel 36 mg/m 2 i.v. over 30 min on days 1, 8, and 15 and capecitabine 2,000 mg/d, in two divided doses, on days 5 to 21 of a 28-day cycle. Radiology-directed biopsies of the breast tumors were done at baseline and 5 days after the first dose of docetaxel to evaluate TP expression. Following DC therapy, patients had core breast biopsies, and if residual disease was present, received four cycles of standard dose-dense doxorubin and cyclophosphamide (AC). Results: The pCR rate was 26.9% (95% confidence interval, 11.6-47.8). Up-regulation of TP expression was not observed by either quantitative immunofluorescence (QIF) or immunohistochemistry. Radiology-directed core biopsy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy accurately predicted pathologic response in 88% (95% confidence interval, 69.8-97.6) of the cases. Neither level of TP expression nor TP up-regulation correlated with pCR. Significant toxicity resulted in therapy discontinuation in 3 of 26 patients. Conclusions: DC chemotherapy exhibited a similar pCR rate compared with standard taxane regimens, with increased toxicity. TP expression was not up-regulated after docetaxel and did not correlate with therapeutic response. Core breast biopsy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy accurately predicted pathologic response.
Whole blood gene expression profiles distinguish clinical phenotypes of venous thromboembolism

Introduction Recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) occurs infrequently following a provoked event but occurs in up to 30% of individuals following an initial unprovoked event. There is limited understanding of the biological mechanisms that predispose patients to recurrent VTE.
Processing and Characterization of Cellulose Nanocrystals/Polylactic Acid Nanocomposite Films

The focus of this study is to examine the effect of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) on the properties of polylactic acid (PLA) films. The films are fabricated via melt compounding and melt fiber spinning followed by compression molding. Film fracture morphology, thermal properties, crystallization behavior, thermo-mechanical behavior, and mechanical behavior were determined as a function of CNC content using scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, dynamic mechanical analysis, and tensile testing. Film crystallinity increases with increasing CNC content indicating CNC act as nucleating agents, promoting crystallization. Furthermore, the addition of CNC increased the film storage modulus and slightly broadened the glass transition region.
New Adjuvant Trial Designs in Colon Cancer

The treatment of colon cancer has evolved significantly since the discovery of 5-fluorouracil, and with continued innovation, it will continue to advance for the foreseeable future. In this review, we identify and discuss novel adjuvant trial designs which are currently being employed and that are forthcoming in the treatment of colon cancer. Novel approaches include investigation into whether a shorter duration of adjuvant therapy is as effective as the current standard, whether there is benefit of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of nonmetastatic colon cancer, the role of circulating tumor cells and cell-free DNA on clinical decision making and their impact on long-term outcomes, identification, and individualized treatment of molecular subgroups of colon cancer (i.e., HER2 amplified, microsatellite instable, BRAF V600E mutated, etc.) and the efficacy of targeting cancer stem cells.
Jurisdiction over Israeli Settlement Activity in the International Criminal Court

In the wake of the U.N. General Assembly’s recent recognition of Palestinian statehood, the Palestinian government has made clear its intention to accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), where it could challenge the legality of Israeli settlements. This Article explores the previously unexamined jurisdictional hurdles for such a case. (To focus on the jurisdictional issues, the Article assumes for the sake of argument the validity on the merits of the legal claims against the settlements.) First, the ICC can only consider situations “on the territory” of Palestine. Yet the scope of that territory is undefined. An “occupation” can arise even in an area that is not the territory of any state – but ICC jurisdiction does not extend there. Thus even if Israel is an occupying power throughout the West Bank for the purposes of substantive humanitarian law, this does not establish that settlement activity occurs “on the territory” of Palestine. Moreover, the ICC lacks the power to determine the boundaries of states, and certainly of non-member states. Moreover, the Oslo Accords give Israel exclusive criminal jurisdiction over Israelis in the West Bank. Palestine cannot delegate to the ICC territorial jurisdiction that it does not possess.Second, the ICC only takes situations of particular “gravity.” Yet settlements are not a “grave breach” of the Geneva Conventions. No international criminal tribunal has ever prosecuted non-grave breaches. The ICC’s gravity measure involves the number of people killed; for settlements it would be zero. Indeed, the ICC prosecutor triages situations by the numbers of victims; settlements do not appear to have direct individual victims. Finally, the ICC would at most only have jurisdiction over settlement activity from the date of Palestine’s acceptance of jurisdiction. Settlement activity in this time frame would not immediately cross the Court’s gravity threshold.The impact of these issues goes beyond a possible settlements case. The controversy over a referral of Israel, a non-member state, raises important questions about the meaning of the ICC Statute. These have great importance for other non-member states, such as the United States. They also demonstrate the extent to which major aspects of the ICC Statute remain vague and undefined.
Coronial postmortem samples and public health

Sheppard’s letter raises concerns around the lack of clarity over retaining samples from coronial postmortem examinations.1 I know of similar problems that create risks to public health. When tuberculosis is suspected as an incidental postmortem finding, it cannot be proved because there is no …
Differential senescence in feto-maternal tissues during mouse pregnancy

Abstract Background Human studies show that fetal membranes have a limited lifespan and undergo telomere-dependent cellular senescence that is augmented by oxidative stress and mediated by p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK). Further, these studies suggest that fetal membranes are anatomically and physiologically positioned to transmit senescence signals that may initiate parturition at term. Methods Longitudinal evaluation of feto-maternal tissues from mouse pregnancies was undertaken to determine the molecular progression of senescence during normal pregnancy. On days 10–18 of gestation, C57BL/6 mice were euthanized. Fetal membranes, placenta, and decidua/uterus were collected. Tissues were examined for Telomere length (TL) and the presence of Phosphorylated (P) p38MAPK and p53, p21 and senescence associated β-Galactosidase (SA- β-Gal). Findings Linear regression modeling of observed telomere length as a function of gestational age revealed that beta (β), the slope of the linear regression was negative and significantly different from zero for each tissue (fetal membranes, β = −0.1901 ± 0.03125, p Conclusions Telomere dependent p38 and p53 mediated senescence progressed in mouse fetal membranes as gestation advanced. Although senescence is evident, telomere dependent events were not dominant in placenta or decidua/uterus. Fetal membrane senescence may significantly contribute to mechanisms of parturition at term.
On the average staleness of global channel state information in wireless networks with random transmit node selection

This paper studies the average staleness of global channel state information (CSI) in fully-connected time-slotted wireless networks with time-varying reciprocal channels where, in each time slot, one node is equiprobably selected to transmit and disseminate CSI. The proposed protocols are compatible with the random nature of transmissions and they embed CSI in existing network traffic. A staleness framework is developed for quantifying the usefulness of global CSI and closed-form expressions are derived for the average staleness of two protocols with different amounts of overhead: (i) dissemination of a single channel estimate in each packet, and (ii) dissemination of all estimated CSI in each packet. Analysis shows the average staleness scales as O(N2) in both cases but "all CSI dissemination" provides better average staleness except when the amount of data in each packet is small. Simulation results confirm the analysis and quantify average staleness in terms of the network parameters.
Characterizing airflow profile in the postoperative maxillary sinus by using computational fluid dynamics modeling: A pilot study.

Background Maxillary antrostomy is commonly performed during endoscopic sinus surgery. Little is known about the association surrounding recalcitrant maxillary sinusitis, antrostomy size, and intranasal airflow changes. Furthermore, the interaction between sinus mucosa and airflow is poorly understood. This study used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling to investigate postoperative airflow characteristics between diseased and nondiseased maxillary sinuses in subjects with recurrent disease. Methods A retrospective review of patients from a tertiary-level academic rhinology practice was performed. Seven subjects with endoscopic evidence of postoperative maxillary sinus disease that presented as chronic unilateral crusting at least 1 year after bilateral maxillary antrostomies were selected. A three-dimensional model of each subject's sinonasal cavity was created from postoperative computed tomographies and used for CFD analysis. Results Although the variables investigated between diseased and nondiseased sides were not statistically significant, the diseased side in six subjects had a smaller antrostomy, and five of these subjects had both reduced nasal unilateral airflow and increased unilateral nasal resistance on the diseased side. The ratio of posterior wall shear stress (WSS) of the maxillary sinus to the total WSS was higher on the diseased side in six subjects. Results also showed strong correlations between antrostomy and CFD variables on the diseased side than on the nondiseased side. Conclusion This pilot study showed that the majority of the simulated sinonasal models exhibited common characteristics on the side with persistent disease, such as smaller antrostomy, reduced nasal airflow, increased nasal resistance, and increased posterior WSS. Although statistical significance was not established, this study provided preliminary insight into variables to consider in a larger cohort study.
Coronary Intervention in Patients With Diabetes, Chronic Renal Disease, and the Elderly: Therapeutic Implications

Patients with diabetes mellitus, chronic renal disease, or advanced age who are undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention are at an increased risk of bleeding and thrombosis. This article reviews the clinical implications of these conditions and discusses the therapeutic options currently available for these patient groups.
The Internet: A system of interconnected autonomous systems

The Internet, a global system of interconnected networks, has already become a de-facto utility serving billions of people worldwide. Individuals, companies, educational institutions and government agencies use the Internet for communication, entertainment, marketing, administration, collaboration and citizen participation. On the other hand, the Internet is a highly engineered, globally scaled, complex system formed by tens of thousands of autonomous networks operating independently. In this study, we first present a taxonomy of autonomous systems (ASes) which is definite and compatible with the current AS-level structure of the Internet. Then, we analyze different classes of ASes to shed light on the complex structure of the Internet. We believe that our approach and findings will help telecom practitioners gain more insight into the structural and operational characteristics of the Internet and enhance their network infrastructures.
Towards More Effective Solution Retrieval in IT Support Services Using Systems Log

Technical support agents working in the IT support services field resolve IT problems. They are often faced with the daunting task of identifying the correct solution document through a search system from large corpora of IT support documents. Based on the observation that system logs may contain critical information for identifying the root cause of IT problems, we explore the idea of automatic query expansion by using system logs as a bridge to link queries with the most relevant documents. Given the original query from a user such as a technical support agent, an intermediate query is first formed by adding key terms extracted from system logs using domain-specific rules. Based on topic models, further key terms are selected from corpora of IT support documents, which are combined with the intermediate query to form the final query. Our experimental results show that expanding queries using system logs together with topic models yields better performance in retrieving relevant IT support documents than using topic models only.
Automated assay and differential model of western honey bee (Apis mellifera) autogrooming using digital image processing

Display Omitted A novel, automated honey bee grooming assay was developed and tested.Five honey bees were coated in baking flour, then their grooming was recorded.Pixel data were thresholded (flour=0, bee=1) and measured over 10 min.Honey bee grooming rate was calculated using nonlinear least-squares fit. In animals, self-grooming is an important component of their overall hygiene because it reduces the risk of disease and parasites. The European honey bee (Apis mellifera) exhibits hygienic behavior, which refers to the ability of the members of a colony to remove diseased or dead brood from the hive. Individual grooming behavior, however, is when a bee grooms itself to remove parasites. While both behaviors are critical for the mitigation of disease, hygienic behavior is overwhelmingly more studied because, unlike grooming behavior, it has a simple bioassay to measure its phenotype. Here, we develop a novel bioassay to expedite data collection of grooming behavior by testing different honey bee genotypes (stocks). Individual worker bees from different commercial stocks were coated in baking flour, placed in an observation arena, and digitally recorded to automatically measure grooming rates. The videos were analyzed in MATLAB, and an exponential function was fit to the pixel data to calculate individual grooming rates. While bees from the different commercial stocks were not significantly different in their grooming rates, the automation of grooming measurements may facilitate future research and stock selection for this important mechanism of social immunity.
Improved imaging-pathology correlation with MR imaging-derived, 3D-printed, patient-specific whole-mount molds of the prostate.

44Background: A critical requirement for imaging-pathology correlation is adequate image registration. Since the prostate is deformable, sectioning the gland in a plane similar to imaging is challe...
Capsulation satellite or CapSat: A low-cost, reliable, rapid-response spacecraft platform

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard's Rideshare Office estimates that between 2013 and 2022, NASA launches of primary satellites will have left unused more than 20,371 kilograms of excess capacity. This equates to hundreds of millions of dollars in launch-vehicle costs going unutilized. To fill this void with a standard CubeSat or SmallSat spacecraft platform, which when required to be more reliable, still will cost in the neighborhood of $1M a kilogram, making it prohibitively expensive. A newly proposed solution, which NASA is pursuing, is called the Capsulation Satellite or CapSat. CapSat is a modularized, pressurized, thermally controlled spacecraft designed to host ruggedized commercially available instrumentation in a terrestriallike environment on orbit. Using a technique that is under review for a patent, CapSat actively manages internal air temperatures in a manner similar to a household thermostat. This gives CapSat high-thermal stability, which, in turn, provides component longevity. CapSat was specifically designed to take advantage of the United States Air Force (USAF) Rideshare Program and the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adaptor, or ESPA ring. The ESPA ring comes in two sizes: standard and Grande. CapSat primarily will take advantage of the ESPA Grande to provide a 300-kilogram payload capability per attachment point, with up to four attachment points per ring. This approach combines a high-mass capability with a proven Rideshare mechanical interface and secondary payload management infrastructure. Opportunities for ESPA-based co-manifests are continuing to expand. The CapSat program is currently funded to design and build a limited prototype and perform thermal-vacuum testing. CapSat is currently in the concept/study phase for both single missions and constellation of earth- and space-observing missions. One of these studies includes land imaging using state-of-the-art advanced infrared detector technology. This paper will report on the current status of the CapSat hardware design, testing, and results as well as any openly available advanced concept study results. The CapSat solution is intended to be a game-changing paradigm shift. CapSat will repurpose currently available, already-proven technology to reduce spaceflight hardware costs to less than $50,000 per kilogram.
Engineering oxidative stability in human hemoglobin based on the Hb providence (βK82D) mutation and genetic cross-linking

Previous work suggested that hemoglobin (Hb) tetramer formation slows autoxidation and hemin loss and that the naturally occurring mutant, Hb Providence (HbProv; βK82D), is much more resistant to degradation by H2O2 We have examined systematically the effects of genetic cross-linking of Hb tetramers with and without the HbProv mutation on autoxidation, hemin loss, and reactions with H2O2, using native HbA and various wild-type recombinant Hbs as controls. Genetically cross-linked Hb Presbyterian (βN108K) was also examined as an example of a low oxygen affinity tetramer. Our conclusions are: (a) at low concentrations, all the cross-linked tetramers show smaller rates of autoxidation and hemin loss than HbA, which can dissociate into much less stable dimers and (b) the HbProv βK82D mutation confers more resistance to degradation by H2O2, by markedly inhibiting oxidation of the β93 cysteine side chain, particularly in cross-linked tetramers and even in the presence of the destabilizing Hb Presbyterian mutation. These results show that cross-linking and the βK82D mutation do enhance the resistance of Hb to oxidative degradation, a critical element in the design of a safe and effective oxygen therapeutic.
Superior Oblique Myokymia: Some Novel Observations

Superior oblique myokymia is a rare condition, characterized by spontaneous rhythmic contractions of the superior oblique muscle and was first described by Duane in 1906. However, the pathophysiology of this condition remains poorly understood even today. A number of medical and surgical treatment modalities have been tried, with variable results. We report a case of superior oblique myokymia in a pregnant female, which could be triggered with flashlight stimulation, and the result of treatment with timolol maleate 0.5% ophthalmic solution.
Last Level Collective Hardware Prefetching For Data-Parallel Applications

With rapidly increasing parallelism, DRAM performance and power have surfaced as primary constraints from consumer electronics to high performance computing (HPC) for a variety of applications, including bulk-synchronous data-parallel applications which are key drivers for multi-core, with examples including image processing, climate modeling, physics simulation, gaming, face recognition, and many others. We present the last-level collective prefetcher (LLCP), a purely hardware last-level cache (LLC) prefetcher that exploits the highly correlated prefetch patterns of data-parallel algorithms that would otherwise not be recognized by a prefetcher that is oblivious to data parallelism. LLCP generates prefetches on behalf of multiple cores in memory address order to maximize DRAM efficiency and bandwidth, and can prefetch from multiple memory pages without expensive translations. Compared to well-established other prefetchers, LLCP improves execution time by 5.5% on average (10% maximum), increases DRAM bandwidth by 9% to 18%, decreases DRAM rank energy by 6%, produces 27% more timely prefetches, and increases coverage by 25% at minimum.
Exosomes in Pancreatic Cancer: from Early Detection to Treatment

Pancreatic cancer (PC) remains one of the most fatal forms of cancer worldwide with incidence nearly equal to mortality. This is often attributed to the fact that diagnosis is often not made until later disease stages when treatment proves difficult. Efforts have been made to reduce the mortality of PC through improvements in early screening techniques and treatments of late-stage disease. Exosomes, small extracellular vesicles involved in cellular communication, have shown promise in helping understand PC disease biology. In this review, we discuss current studies of the role of exosomes in PC physiology, and their potential use as diagnostic and treatment tools. Exosomes have a role in diagnosing pancreatic cancer and in understanding tumor biology including migration, proliferation, chemoresistance, immunosuppression, cachexia and diabetes, and have a potential role in therapy for pancreatic cancer. Exosomal analysis is beneficial in demonstrating mechanisms behind PC growth and metastasis, immunosuppression, drug resistance, and paraneoplastic conditions. Furthermore, the use of exosomes can be beneficial in detecting early-stage PC and exosomes have potential applications as therapeutic targets.
Thyroid hormone changes during military field operations: effects of cold exposure in the Arctic.

Abstract : This study examined the impact of prolonged physical activity in a cold environment on circulating thyroid hormone levels. A secondary focus of the study involved the role of nocturnal habitat upon the thyroidal responses to the physical activity and cold exposure. Military personnel exposed to 10 days of field-based operations in the arctic region of Norway were studied. Blood samples were collected before (day 1), and at days 5 and 10 of the operations. Levels of total T4, free T4, total T3, free T3, and thyroid binding globulin were assessed in all blood samples. The results indicated considerable significant (p < 0.05) decreases in total thyroid hormone levels, while relative increases on free fractions of the hormones occur with the 10 days of operations in the arctic. However, no significant influence on thyroidal responses were observed due to the nocturnal habitat that the subjects lived in. The hormonal alterations noted are possibly brought about by the combined effects of physical activity and cold exposure acting synergistically to alter thyroid physiology (e.g., most likely the protein carrier binding affinity). Prolonged physical work, Hypothermia, Endocrine.
Fundamental Principles and Definitions

Drops and bubbles exist in a large number of natural as well as man-made systems. In nearly every situation, these fluid particles, which may lie within a continuum of another fluid, or another state of the same fluid, have an important bearing on the physical behavior of the system. For example, clouds are natural assemblages of tiny water droplets which coalesce due to changes in the atmosphere and lead to rainfall or other forms of precipitation. Natural water systems such as lakes and oceans contain air in dissolved form as well as bubbles, and make up a component that is essential to marine life. On the other hand, with industrial systems, such as some nuclear power plants, one encounters bubbles in a boiling water reactor and drops in spray cooling components. In chemical reactors, drops and bubbles commonly occur as carriers of both reactants and products. Internal combustion engines and jet engines utilize sprays of atomized liquid hydrocarbons as fuel. With most of these systems, important physical phenomena arise through the transport of heat and/or mass which may be accompanied by fluid motion which generally serves to enhance the transport. In cases involving phase change, fluid motion may be additionally generated by the transfer process. With most processes involving drops and bubbles, there is relative motion between particles, as well as between the fluid particles and the surrounding medium. In this book, transfer processes associated with drops and bubbles under various physical circumstances will be discussed.
Synthesis and characterization of vacancy-doped neodymium telluride for thermoelectric applications.

Thermoelectric materials exhibit a voltage under an applied thermal gradient and are the heart of radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), which are the main power system for space missions such as Voyager I, Voyager II, and the Mars Curiosity rover. However, materials currently in use enable only modest thermal-to-electrical conversion efficiencies near 6.5% at the system level, warranting the development of material systems with improved thermoelectric performance. Previous work has demonstrated large thermoelectric figures of merit for lanthanum telluride (La3–xTe4), a high-temperature n-type material, achieving a peak zT value of 1.1 at 1275 K at an optimum cation vacancy concentration. Here, we present an investigation of the thermoelectric properties of neodymium telluride (Nd3–xTe4), another rare-earth telluride with a structure similar to La3–xTe4. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations predicted a significant increase in the Seebeck coefficient over La3–xTe4 at equivalent vacancy conc...
Severe Type B Lactic Acidosis in a Rare and Aggressive HIV-Related Lymphoma

We describe the prognostic implication and aggressive clinical course of lymphoma-related lactic acidosis in a rare HIV-related lymphoma. Patient was diagnosed with plasmablastic lymphoma and developed severe lactic acidosis, and was treated on the medical floor and in the medical intensive care unit. Her lactic acidosis was considered to be type B, secondary to her underlying lymphoma since she never had an infectious source, hypovolemic state, or low/high cardiac-output state. The mechanism of the lymphoma-related lactic acidosis is from altered cellular metabolism, thought to aid in lymphoma proliferation, rather than tissue hypoperfusion. It is a rare complication of aggressive lymphomas and signifies a poor prognosis. Patients having this complication should be considered for close monitoring and management in an intensive care unit until definitive treatment (i.e., chemotherapy) can be implemented.
The Human Factor: The Promise & Limits of Online Education

The idea that online learning might revolutionize higher education, lowering the cost of high-quality learning opportunities for students with limited access to traditional higher education, follow...
Military Aid, Regime Vulnerability and the Escalation of Political Violence

This article offers an explanation for the failures of US military assistance programs in some countries. The author argues that the effects of military aid are conditional upon the vulnerability of the recipient regime. Power consolidation by an insecure leader often provokes violent opposition. However, because military aid strengthens the security forces of the recipient state, it generates a moral hazard that encourages exclusionary power consolidation, with the expectation that continued military aid will help manage violent blowback. Using proxies for regime vulnerability and an instrument for US military aid, the study shows that military aid increases anti-regime violence in new regimes (particularly new democracies) and in all personalist regimes. In contrast, military assistance has no effect on violence in established, non-personalist regimes. The article develops a novel theory of how regime characteristics condition responses to external military support, and identifies a distinct mechanism through which military aid increases domestic political violence.
EmoTag - Towards an Emotion-Based Analysis of Emojis.

Despite being a fairly recent phenomenon, emojis have quickly become ubiquitous. Besides their extensive use in social media, they are now also invoked in customer surveys and feedback forms. Hence, there is a need for techniques to understand their sentiment and emotion. In this work, we provide a method to quantify the emotional association of basic emotions such as anger, fear, joy, and sadness for a set of emojis. We collect and process a unique corpus of 20 million emoji-centric tweets, such that we can capture rich emoji semantics using a comparably small dataset. We evaluate the induced emotion profiles of emojis with regard to their ability to predict word affect intensities as well as sentiment scores.
Improved synthesis of N-ethyl-3,7-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenothiazine

N-Ethyl-3,7-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenothiazine is a highly soluble redox shuttle for overcharge protection in lithium-ion batteries with an oxidation potential of ca. 3.8 V vs. Li+/0 in carbonate solvents. This compound has enabled extensive overcharge protection of LiFePO4/graphite cells and does so at high charging rates at high concentrations. Our initial synthesis of this compound suffered from low yields and difficult purifications. Here we report a cleaner, higher-yielding synthesis and additional characterization of the product and its stable radical cation salt.