cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Timing Accurate Functional-Level Hardware Simulation with Pull Model Data Flow

Functional–level hardware simulation is a commonly used approach to validate various digital logic designs prior to fabrication. Discrete event simulation is particularly well suited for such modeling efforts, and is in widespread use throughout the computer architecture research community, as well as commercial entities that design and produce products based on digital logic. In prior work, we introduced a novel pull-model approach that resulted in a considerable improvement in execution time for these digital logic simulations. However, a significant shortcoming of our prior reported work using the pull-model was the lack of inclusion of timing delays between components in the model. The prior work assumed that any change in the output state of a component was immediately known to the corresponding inputs of directly connected devices. While this assumption is clearly unrealistic, such a model is still useful in determining the logical validity of digital designs, and allows quick–look analysis that the designs are logically correct. Here, we enhance the pull-model approach to include rise–time delays and speed-of-light delays in the component interconnects, and show that we still achieve considerable performance improvement over more traditional approaches. Additionally, we report performance results for several different test cases of varying sizes, and show performance improvements across the board.
Hybrid Learning: Perspectives of Higher Education Faculty

Hybrid learning has been utilized as a transitional learning method to make advantage of both face-to-face and online learning platforms. In this article, the authors explored how faculty members perceive using simultaneously multiple platforms in higher education such as face-to-face, online, and hybrid platforms in teaching. In this study, the authors examined how faculty members defined hybrid learning. They also explored how the participants perceive both hybrid and online learning as vehicles for higher education advancement as well as strategies to attract more students to higher education. The purpose of this research was to develop an analytical overview of one of the learning approaches such as hybrid and its impact on higher education. The authors have interviewed ten faculty members in order to achieve this objective. The results illustrated that faculty members do not have one single definition of hybrid learning but rather they have multiple definitions. Faculty members also demonstrated that they support online learning because it achieves more accessibility to higher education, yet, they believe the face-to-face learning achieve more quality of education.
Detection of pulmonary embolism on computed tomography: improvement using a model-based iterative reconstruction algorithm compared with filtered back projection and iterative reconstruction algorithms.

Purpose:The purpose of the study was to determine whether a model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) technique improves diagnostic confidence and detection of pulmonary embolism (PE) compared with hybrid iterative reconstruction (HIR) and filtered back projection (FBP) reconstructions in patients
Abstract A38: Aberrant expression of cell growth-critical genes in 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide-induced mouse tumors and in human esophageal cancer tissues

Background: An animal model of 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide(4-NQO)-induced oral and esophageal cancer is useful in study of human diseases, but the underlying molecular events remain to be determined. Tobacco smoke, the major risk factor for human oral and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, alters expression of certain cell growth-critical genes (e.g., p-ERK1/2, COX-2, and RAR-β2). This study aimed to detect expression of these genes in 4-NQO-induced mouse tumors and then in esophageal cancer cell lines and tissues for association with clinicopathological and survival data from patients. Methods: C57LB6/129Sv mice were given in the drinking water to produce oral and esophageal cancers. qRT-PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry were used to detect gene expressions in mouse tissues or human esophageal cancer tissues. Methylation-specific PCR and DNA sequence were performed to assess promoter methylation of RAR-β2 promoter. the Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to associate gene expression with survival of patients. Results: 4-NQO induced premalignant and malignant lesions in mouse oral cavity and esophagus in a dose-dependent manner, which pathologically and morphologically mimicked human oral and esophageal cancers. Molecularly, 4-NQO inhibited RAR-β2 but induced p-Erk1/2 and COX-2 expression and RAR-β2 gene promoter methylation in mouse tumors. In vitro treatment with 4-NQO altered expression of RAR-β2, p-Erk1/2, and COX-2 in esophageal cell lines. Ex vivo expression of p-Erk1/2 and COX-2 in 90 cases of esophageal cancer patients was upregulated and p-ERK1/2 expression was associated with advanced clinical tumor stage and consumption of hot beverage, while COX-2 expression was associated with tumor de-differentiation in esophageal cancers. Furthermore, expression of p-Erk1/2 was associated with worse overall survival of esophageal cancer patients (p = 0.014), while COX-2 expression didn9t reach statistically significant (p = 0.19). Knockdown of COX-2 expression using transient transfection of a COX-2 antisense expression vector inhibited Ki67 expression, an indicator of cell proliferation, in esophageal cancer cells. Conclusion: 4-NQO-induced lesions in mouse oral cavity and esophagus not only pathologically and morphologically mimicked human oral and esophageal cancers, but also shared some molecular alterations (e.g., aberrant expression of RAR-β2, p-Erk1/2, and COX-2). This study further demonstrated that targeting of the altered RAR-β2-led gene pathway could effectively suppress development of these now deadly cancers. Citation Format: Zhengduo Yang, Baoxiang Guan, Taoyan Men, Junya Fujimoto, Xiaochun Xu. Aberrant expression of cell growth-critical genes in 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide-induced mouse tumors and in human esophageal cancer tissues. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2012 Oct 16-19; Anaheim, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Prev Res 2012;5(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A38.
Hummingbird sweetness preferences : taste or viscosity?

Black-chinned Hummingbirds (Archilochus alexanderi) were offered combinations of sucrose and artificial sweeteners (saccharin, aspartame) at various concentrations and viscosity levels. Sucrose at 40% concentration was preferred over lower concentrations. Sucrose at 20% was preferred over artificial sweeteners, plain water, and low sucrose/high viscosity samples. Additions of artificial sweeteners to sucrose samples had no effect on nectar consumption and, therefore, were judged to be ineffective stimuli rather than aversive. Artificial increases in viscosity had no effects on the amount of nectar removed as long as a minimum of 15% sucrose was present. Hummingbirds responded to decreased sucrose concentrations by increasing sampling behavior at feeders; at increased sucrose levels, sampling behavior decreased. Chemosensory mechanisms rather than physical measures of viscosity are responsible for the sensory evaluation and the subsequent selection of sucrose nectars.
Glioblastoma Invoking “Killer” Rabbits of the Middle Ages

We present the unusual appearance on brain magnetic resonance imaging of a glioblastoma with an uncanny shape of a rabbit. By invoking fearsome "killer" rabbits depicted in the art and literature of the Middle Ages, this image is an eerie reminder of the current lethality of this disease. There is a pressing need for more effective treatments for glioblastoma.
Formalizing Risky Choice with a Logistic Model of Fuzzy Trace Theory.

We propose a new model of risk preferences that integrates theoretical principles relevant to mental representation, metacognitive monitoring and editing, and individual differences in risk-taking propensity. Our model is based on fuzzy-trace theory, a theory of decision-making under risk. The theory posits that decision-makers use fuzzy gist representations of the meaning of decision information, in parallel with precise verbatim representations of the exact wording of that information. We account for core phenomena in decision theory, such as shifts in risk preference when logically equivalent gambles are described in terms of gains rather than losses—framing effects—and also extend fuzzytrace theory beyond these phenomena to encompass research on affect and personality.
Catalan Numbers and Semiorders

(The Appendix of this book contains a brief introduction to the subject of partial orders for those who are interested.)
Ophthalmic Manifestations of Giant Cell Arteritis

The most important complication of giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the visual loss and from that point of view GCA is the prime ophthalmic emergency, as discussed in previous chapters.
Morbidity and Functional Outcomes With Head and Neck Free Flap Reconstruction in Patients Aged 90 Years or Older

Purpose Morbidity of free tissue transfer in the extremes of age is controversial and not well studied in patients aged 90 years or older because of the rarity of these patients and many clinicians' natural hesitancy to perform such a large operation in patients of this group. The purpose of this study was to answer the following clinical question: Do patients aged 90 years or older who undergo free flap reconstruction have worse functional outcomes than their younger counterparts? Materials and Methods We performed a retrospective chart review of patients aged 90 years or older who underwent free flap reconstruction at Oregon Health and Science University Hospital from 2000 to 2015. All patients aged 90 years or older undergoing free flap reconstruction were included. Patients younger than 90 years during the same period were randomly selected to serve as controls. Results Free flap reconstructions were performed in 14 patients aged 90 years or older, who were then compared with their randomly selected controls. The only statistically significant difference observed in the outcome variables analyzed was the location of discharge from the hospital, with the older patients more likely to be discharged to a skilled nursing facility ( P = .002). However, there was no difference in return-to-baseline level of care at last follow-up between the 2 groups. There also was no statistically significant difference in major or minor medical or surgical complication rates, duration of hospitalization, duration of tracheostomy, return to baseline respiratory status, or return to baseline feeding status between the 2 groups. Conclusions Patients aged 90 years or older are more likely to be discharged to a skilled nursing facility than their younger counterparts, but otherwise have similar outcomes in terms of complications and return to baseline function. The results of this study suggest that age 90 years or older should not be a direct contraindication for free flap reconstruction in the head and neck.
On the Futility and Hazards of Monetary Heroics

The decentralized enterprise that sustains the dynamism of economies makes top-down monetary interventions, such as quantitative easing, that target aggregates such as overall inflation, futile. Moreover, economic stability and dynamism also require prudent, decentralized lending to decentralized borrowers. But, sustained monetary interventions aimed at aggregate inflation (or employment) targets induce imprudent credit extension, jeopardizing stability and dynamism.
Innovations in GIS&T, Spatial Analysis, and Location Modeling

Spatial analysis can be portrayed as the scientific analysis of data, wherein the spatial position –whether absolute or relative, or both – of data records is explicitly accounted for. It is fundamentally a modeling exercise that relates data entities together across the geographic space, as well as across multiple attribute spaces, and increasingly along the temporal dimension. In this chapter, we provide a brief epistemology of spatial analysis in relation to geography, regional science, and geographic information science, and situate it in the proper historical context of geography’s quantitative revolution. We also restate its lineage to data science, statistics, and location analysis. The fundamental principles that cut across most of this field of research are introduced. In addition, we focus on the existing and potential contributions of this line of research to the knowledge and understanding of urban and regional systems. The chapters of this edited volume are situated within this context.
Outcomes of ileal pouch-anal anastomosis without primary diverting loop ileostomy if postoperative sepsis develops

The aim of the present study was to assess the short-term and long-term consequences of diverting loop ileostomy (DLI) omission in ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) surgery complicated by postoperative pelvic sepsis. This was a retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database. Of 4031 patients who underwent IPAA in 1983–2014, 357 developed IPAA-related pelvic sepsis with or without anastomotic dehiscence. Patients with Crohn’s disease or cancer were excluded. The patient cohort was divided into two groups, depending on the presence or absence of DLI. Patient characteristics, short-term and long-term outcomes were compared. Long-term pouch survival was estimated with the Kaplan–Meier method. Quality of life (QOL) in the groups was compared at the latest follow-up. Three hundred and twenty-six patients developing pelvic sepsis had diversion at the time of IPAA (D group) and in 31 who developed pelvic sepsis DLI had been omitted (O group). The length of hospital stay was significantly longer in the O group 11.5 (3–33) days versus 8 (2–59) days in the D group (p = 0.006). Forty-eight percent of patients from the O group with anastomotic leak underwent reoperation and had a DLI formed at this second procedure versus 12% in the D group requiring reoperation (p < 0.0001). In long-term follow-up, there was no difference in pouch survival between the groups: 99 versus 97% after 5 years and 88 versus 87% after 10 years, in the O group and D group, respectively (p = 0.40). There was no difference in QOL observed between the groups. Omission of DLI in selected patients who had IPAA surgery did not increase pouch failure or adversely affect QOL in the long term, if pelvic sepsis occurred.
Comparison of touch imprints with aspirate smears for evaluating bone marrow specimens.

We compared the differential counts of normal and abnormal bone marrow from touch imprints with those from aspirate smears to determine whether the touch imprint was reliable for independent routine use in the examination of bone marrow and the classification of hematologic abnormalities. Normocellular bone marrow specimens were obtained from 87 patients without hematologic abnormality. Abnormal bone marrow specimens were obtained from 173 patients with treated or untreated neoplastic hematologic disease, including acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, hairy cell leukemia, myeloma, and acute lymphoblasiic leukemia. We found no diagnostic difference in the differential counts from touch imprints and aspirate smears of normocellular bone marrow, and although we found some difference between the differential counts in certain cases of diseased bone marrow, the touch imprint proved to be a reliable diagnostic tool for determining the cellular composition of normal bone marrow and more reliable for the diagnosis of bone marrow involved by a neoplastic hematologic disease. Our findings suggest that evaluating touch imprints should be considered a standard practice in examining bone marrow.
Statistical Approach for the Identification of Cellulolytic Enzyme Inhibitors Using Switchgrass Dilute Acid Prehydrolyzates as a Model System

The identification of biomass pretreatment-generated compounds that impede cellulose hydrolysis is critical for improving the overall biomass saccharification process. The aim of this study was to correlate the identification and concentrations of switchgrass dilute acid pretreatment-generated compounds to cellulolytic enzyme inhibition and to tie this back to processing parameters. Preparation of 24 dilute acid prehydrolyzates was performed with switchgrass at temperatures from 140 to 180 °C, processing times from 10 to 40 min, and sulfuric acid concentrations of 0.5% or 1% (v/v). Results showed that all the switchgrass prehydrolyzates significantly reduced cellulolytic enzyme activities when assayed against model substrates. Exoglucanase was the most sensitive with its activity reduction, ranging from 58% to 88%; the inhibitory effect on β-glucosidase and the cellulase cocktail ranged from 32% to 63% and 16% to 41%, respectively. Polyphenolic compounds were the most detrimental pretreatment-generated pr...
51-P: NEGATIVE HLA DSA BY LUMINEX SOLID PHASE ASSAY AND POSITIVE DONOR CDC CROSSMATCH: A CROSSMATCH CONUNDRUM

Aim Luminex based solid phase testing has become the assay of choice for detecting and identifying IgG HLA antibodies (Abs) and has become a key component in virtual crossmatching and a front line test for many transplant centers. Based on the strength (MFI values) of the donor specific HLA Abs, a patient is ruled in or out as the renal graft recipient. We address one of the existing challenges in the clinical use of Luminex platform as the screening tool; specifically, when low or negative HLA DSA by Luminex solid phase assay result is associated with a positive CDC XM result. We investigated whether EDTA treatment of sera unmasks the presence of IgG HLA Abs and provides a more accurate view of anti-HLA repertoire. Methods Representative sera were selected for the evaluation of EDTA treatment: Sera previously characterized to be Negative for anti-HLA; Sera previously characterized to be Positive for anti-HLA; Sera previously characterized to be Negative for anti-HLA by Luminex and positive by CDC, Masked sera. Two aliquots of each serum, untreated & treated with EDTA (5 μl EDTA/95 μl serum), were tested for HLA Abs using One Lambda Class I/II Single Antigen Bead assay. The trimmed mean MFI values were compared between untreated & EDTA treated samples. Results The major findings from our study were: 1) EDTA treatment of known Negative sera did not convert negative to positive results 2) EDTA treatment of known Positive sera did not convert positive to negative results; however some of the positive sera gave higher MFIs after treatment 3) EDTA treatment of sera previously found to be Luminex negative and CDC positive resulted in a substantive increase in the MFIs in the sera with low MFIs. Conclusions Our encouraging results advance the idea that EDTA treatment of serum may help resolve the paradox of low MFI with the donor HLA by the Luminex platform and positive CDC and FCXM results.
Freud’s Not-So-Secret Theories

A truism in social and behavioral sciences is that old concepts are continually rediscovered and presented as something new, often with different labels attached to them. Consequently, a historical review of the concepts that pervade psychological theory often gives the impression of motion without progress (for a recent exposition of this view, see Chapter 2). In fact, these rediscovered concepts are often embedded in a more sophisticated and detailed framework than that in which they were originally presented. Nevertheless, contemporary theorists and researchers cannot help but experience a sense of humility when confronted with the evidence that their favorite conceptualization of psychological processes, which they believed to reflect a major theoretical advance, was in fact anticipated by their professional forefathers decades ago.
The Rhetoric of War: Words, Conflict and Categorization Post-9/11

Words are a source of immense power. Using them we not only communicate with each other and express our thoughts, but shape thought itself. In turn, the framing of issues and outcomes significantly shapes choices — whether pertaining to private decisions or to public policy. At the same time, reliance on framing as a shortcut also means that whoever manages to control the framing of information would greatly influence, and could manipulate, the interpretation and meaning that recipients of that information are likely to attach to it. The article addresses the language, rhetoric, status, and legality of “war” by examining the complexity of decision-making for policy-makers in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It does so by looking both inward, examining presidential war rhetoric in the United States, and outward, analyzing the experience of democratic states with the legal construct of “emergency” and “war” under the relevant international human rights treaties.We critically examine the role of the President as a national choice architect and the nation’s chief rhetorician and his use of the power of the bully pulpit in the context of war rhetoric — including the War on Poverty, War on Drugs, and the War on Terror — as well in situations when the presidents have elected to steer clear of the war frame and adopted alternatives. We also analyze the positioning of democratic states post 9/11, as they have adopted, adapted and rejected the language of war and emergency to respond to terrorist threats. In particular we note the growing trend among consolidated democracies to not invoke the established legal mechanisms dealing with emergencies under the relevant international treaties, opting instead to deal with perceived threats under the aegis of ordinary legislation without invoking the framing of “war” or “emergency.” We chart significant indeterminacy indicated by the contradictory usage of the terminology and legal status associated with emergency, derogation and war over time and examine what such varied claims by democratic states mean in the war-emergency-normalcy realm. Thus, we argue that directing attention to the language and formalities of executive and state positioning is critical not only to understanding the political actions of states, but to engage with the form and substance defining the legal status of conflict and crisis.
Did flowering plants exist in the Jurassic period

The discovery of a fossil that might be the oldest flowering plant will continue the debate on the origin and structure of ancestral flowering plants.
Biodiversity for Smart Cities

The African continent is urbanizing at a rapid rate, and projected trends suggest that over 1.3 billion people will be living in urban areas by 2050. In most African countries, this means expansion of cities and increasing pressure on municipal governments to balance urban development needs with environmental sustainability. For cities located in the continent’s biodiversity hotpots, the urban expansion will occur at the expense of biodiversity and fragile ecosystems. Because of the potential for urbanization to drive economic growth and prosperity in Africa, it is essential that cities and municipalities embrace a paradigm of urban development that is smart and sustainable, and as a result contribute toward safeguarding biodiversity. Such a paradigm will embody two key priorities to integrate biodiversity: (a) African cities must tackle threats to biodiversity from urban sprawl, including habitat loss, overexploitation of species, and degradation of ecosystem services; and (b) cities must harness ecosystem services by integrating components of biodiversity as livelihood assets and “green infrastructure” to enhance sustainability and resilience in the city-scape. Drawing on examples from across the continent, this chapter discusses these two priorities as basis for Africa’s cities to integrate biodiversity conservation in their planning processes toward smart and sustainable growth. City and municipal governments must create appropriate institutional and governance frameworks to harness available data and information, promote integrated planning and management, and apply innovative tools and citizen participation for monitoring and assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The role and importance of ICT is highlighted as key to advancing a science-based approach to integrating biodiversity in smart cities, which will foster collaboration by experts across a range of disciplines such as landscape ecology, wildlife biology, animal behavior, and sociology.
Design and calibration of a retarding field energy analyzer for the LTX-β scrape off layer and modeling of electrostatic potential in a collisionless SOL

Abstract The Lithium Tokamak eXperiment (LTX) is a spherical tokamak device designed to study lithium plasma facing components (PFCs). The lithium coated wall of LTX has been demonstrated to produce a plasma edge with high electron temperature (200 eV or greater). Plasma density in the outer scrape-off layer (SOL) is also found to be very low, around 2 × 1017m-3, as a result of the low recycling lithium boundary. The high temperature, low collisionality region of the plasma extends into the SOL. The recent upgrade to LTX-β includes installation of a neutral beam, which will provide further heating and fueling of the core plasma. Core and edge diagnostics will also be expanded. As part of this expansion, a Retarding Field Energy Analyzer (RFEA) has been developed for the SOL of LTX-β. Measurements of the ion temperature, ion energy distribution, and the local space potential will be performed in the SOL plasma using this RFEA. Upgraded high field side (HFS) and low field side (LFS) Langmuir probes will replace existing triple probes so that higher electron temperatures can be more reliably measured. The HFS probes are also positioned to give radial and vertical gradient measurements. The design of the RFEA will be presented, along with calibration data. Since a high temperature, low collisional edge is expected for LTX-β, with a high mirror ratio near the LCFS (around 4), the majority of particles in the SOL will be mirror-trapped. Trapped particle effects will therefore become significant in the physics of the SOL plasma, and warrant further theoretical investigations. Here we present a theoretical study of the ambipolar potential formed in the collisionless SOL via differential loss of the electrons and ions, known as the Pastukhov potential in the literature. Numerical results will also be presented.
Understanding Real-World Concurrency Bugs in Go

Go is a statically-typed programming language that aims to provide a simple, efficient, and safe way to build multi-threaded software. Since its creation in 2009, Go has matured and gained significant adoption in production and open-source software. Go advocates for the usage of message passing as the means of inter-thread communication and provides several new concurrency mechanisms and libraries to ease multi-threading programming. It is important to understand the implication of these new proposals and the comparison of message passing and shared memory synchronization in terms of program errors, or bugs. Unfortunately, as far as we know, there has been no study on Go's concurrency bugs. In this paper, we perform the first systematic study on concurrency bugs in real Go programs. We studied six popular Go software including Docker, Kubernetes, and gRPC. We analyzed 171 concurrency bugs in total, with more than half of them caused by non-traditional, Go-specific problems. Apart from root causes of these bugs, we also studied their fixes, performed experiments to reproduce them, and evaluated them with two publicly-available Go bug detectors. Overall, our study provides a better understanding on Go's concurrency models and can guide future researchers and practitioners in writing better, more reliable Go software and in developing debugging and diagnosis tools for Go.
The Protective Influence of Chondroitin Sulfate, a Component of Human Milk, on Intestinal Bacterial Invasion and Translocation.

Background:Human milk is known to be protective against necrotizing enterocolitis, a devastating intestinal inflammatory disease affecting the preterm population. Although the pathogenesis of necro...
Athletic labor and social reproduction.

This article connects the exploitation experienced by athletic laborers to sports fandom by theorizing athletic labor as a form of social reproductive labor. The work of athletes in high-performanc...
Ionizing Radiation Damage to DNA

At doses at which mammalian cells are killed, ionizing radiation produces 3 × 103 — 3 × 104 altered moieties in the genomic DNA of the cell. Mechanisms whereby these alterations are produced are well described, i.e., from ’OH radicals, direct ionization of DNA (von Sonntag, 1987) and perhaps from peroxyl radicals arising from ’OH reactions with other cellular molecules (Ward et al., 1997). Enzymatic repair of altered bases is well documented, and since these altered bases are produced during endogenous oxidation it is not surprising that enzymatic processes have evolved for their removal (Lindahl,1990). Ionizing radiation also produces strand breaks, but it is not known if these are produced by endogenous oxidation. The repair of singly damaged sites is well known. However, ionizing radiation also produces multiply damaged sites (MDS): It deposits energy non-uniformly; increments of energy (average amount 60eV) in small (nanometer) volumes. Thus a resulting radical reacting with DNA frequently does so in the presence of other radicals which can also react in close proximity. MDS have three variables: 1. Types of lesions involved (base damage, strand break); 2. Total number of lesions involved (for low LET radiation the most frequent is two); 3. Size of the site over which the damages are distributed. MDS represent a challenge to the cellular repair systems, they represent sites in the DNA at which base identity has been destroyed on both strands; if the damaged sites are closely opposed there is no complimentary strand to guide repair.
Two New Species of Madagascan Claoxylon (Euphorbiaceae, Acalyphoideae) and a Key to the Species of Madagascar and the Comoro Islands

Two new species of Madagascan Claoxylon A. Juss. are described, and a key to the resulting 12 species now considered to occur on Madagascar and the Comoro Islands is presented. Claoxylon ambrense McPherson is distinguished by its combination of exstipellate, oblanceolate, abruptly acuminate leaves bearing only unpaired hairs, and pistillate flowers with sepals 1–2 mm long and suborbicular disk glands. Claoxylon stylosum McPherson is characterized by its combination of large, ovate, densely pubescent, typically cordate leaves and pistillate flowers with long stylodia (3–3.5 mm), which are fused nearly half their total length. As well, C. medullosum Baill. is relegated to the synonymy of C. monoicum Baill.
EUV mask polarization effects

As the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology progresses towards and below sub-7nm generations, polarization effects will begin to have an impact. As numerical apertures increase, the consequences at both the mask and the wafer plane need to be understood. Contrast losses at large angles can occur from non-ideal interference at the wafer plane (i.e. TM vs. TE polarization). While such loss of infidelity can be low for near wavelength half-pitch generations, additional image degradation can be attributed to polarization effects for higher resolution generations. Some of this arises from the mask. The polarized reflectance from a EUV photomask is influenced by the multilayer reflective stack as well as the polarizing effect of the patterned features. This paper explores the polarization effects that are induced by EUV masks for sub-7nm lithography generations. From the results, it was found that there is polarization-dependent induction and attenuation of current in EUV mask structures as mask pitch decreases.
Biosensors for Personal Mobile Health: A System Architecture Perspective

Advances in mobile biosensors, integrating developments in materials science and instrumentation, are fueling an expansion in health data being collected and analyzed in decentralized settings. For example, semiconductor-based sensors are enabling measurement of vital signs, and microfluidic-based sensors are enabling measurement of biochemical markers. As biosensors for mobile health are becoming increasingly paired with smart devices, it will become critical for researchers to design biosensors - with appropriate functionalities and specifications - to work seamlessly with accompanying connected hardware and software. This article describes recent research in biosensors, as well as current mobile health devices in use, as classified into four distinct system architectures that take into account the biosensing and data processing functions required in personal mobile health devices. We also discuss the path forward for integrating biosensors into smartphone-based mobile health devices.
Digital protest in Singapore: the pragmatics of political Internet memes:

This article investigates the use of Internet memes as political protest in Singapore. The proliferation of political memes after the controversial 2017 Singapore presidential election was curious,...
Millennials in Action

Abstract By working in tandem with the Coordinator of Information Management Education (IME) at the University at Buffalo Health Sciences Library, students serving on the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Curriculum Committee helped map out a three-year plan for training in library and information literacy skills. Through meetings and e-mail exchanges with the student representatives, the IME Coordinator developed a series of specific course-related instruction and assessment opportunities which would cover tertiary resources, bibliographic searching, evidence-based pharmacy, and advanced information skills.
Patient-reported opioid use after open abdominal wall reconstruction: How low can we go?

Background Little data exist to inform discharge opioid prescribing for patients undergoing abdominal wall reconstruction. The aim of this study was to evaluate postoperative, patient-reported opioid use after abdominal wall reconstruction. We hypothesized that the majority of patients undergoing open abdominal wall reconstruction would require between 16 and 30 opioid tablets after discharge. Methods Postoperative, patient-reported opioid use was collected prospectively for all patients undergoing elective, open abdominal wall reconstruction at a single high-volume center. All opioid medications were converted to an equivalent number of 5 mg oxycodone tablets. The primary outcome was the total number of opioid tablets taken within 30 days of hospital discharge after abdominal wall reconstruction. Results Ninety-eight patients were included. Median hernia width was 15 cm (interquartile range 12–19), 42% were recurrences, and all underwent transversus abdominis release. At the 30-day follow-up visit, 24% reported no postdischarge opioid use, and 76% reported taking 15 tablets or fewer. Of the 23 patients who used no opioids on the day before discharge, 16 (70%) reported taking no opioids after discharge. Conclusion Most patients reported taking fewer opioid tablets than prescribed and fewer than our hypothesis within 30 days of abdominal wall reconstruction. Opioid use on the day before discharge may allow for prognostication of outpatient opioid requirements to prevent overprescribing.
Presence of toxin-antitoxin systems in picocyanobacteria and their ecological implications.

Picocyanobacteria (mainly Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus) contribute significantly to ocean’s primary production. Toxin-Antitoxin (TA) systems present in bacteria and archaea are known to regulate cell growth in response to environmental stresses. However, little is known about the presence of TA systems in picocyanobacteria. This study investigated complete genomes of Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus to understand the prevalence of TA systems in picocyanobacteria. Using the TAfinder software, Type II TA systems were predicted in 27 of 33 (81%) Synechococcus strains, but none of 38 Prochlorococcus strains contain TA genes. Synechococcus strains with larger genomes tend to contain more putative type II TA systems. The number of TA pairs varies from 0 to 42 in Synechococcus strains isolated from various environments. A linear correlation between the genome size and the number of putative TA systems in both coastal and freshwater Synechococcus was established. In general, open ocean Synechococcus contain no or few TA systems, while coastal and freshwater Synechococcus contain more TA systems. The type II TA systems inhibit microbial translation via ribonucleases and allow cells to enter the “dormant” stage in adverse environments. Inheritance of TA genes in freshwater and coastal Synechococcus could confer a recoverable persister mechanism important to survive in variable environments.
Postangiography Increases in Serum Creatinine and Biomarkers of Injury and Repair.

Background and objectives It is unknown whether iodinated contrast causes kidney parenchymal damage. Biomarkers that are more specific to nephron injury than serum creatinine may provide insight into whether contrast-associated AKI reflects tubular damage. We assessed the association between biomarker changes after contrast angiography with contrast-associated AKI and 90-day major adverse kidney events and death. Design, setting, participants, & measurements We conducted a longitudinal analysis of participants from the biomarker substudy of the Prevention of Serious Adverse Events following Angiography trial. We measured injury (kidney injury molecule-1, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, IL-18) and repair (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, uromodulin, YKL-40) proteins from plasma and urine samples at baseline and 2–4 hours postangiography. We assessed the associations between absolute changes and relative ratios of biomarkers with contrast-associated AKI and 90-day major adverse kidney events and death. Results Participants (n=922) were predominately men (97%) with diabetes (82%). Mean age was 70±8 years, and eGFR was 48±13 ml/min per 1.73 m2; 73 (8%) and 60 (7%) participants experienced contrast-associated AKI and 90-day major adverse kidney events and death, respectively. No postangiography urine biomarkers were associated with contrast-associated AKI. Postangiography plasma kidney injury molecule-1 and IL-18 were significantly higher in participants with contrast-associated AKI compared with those who did not develop contrast-associated AKI: 428 (248, 745) versus 306 (179, 567) mg/dl; P=0.04 and 325 (247, 422) versus 280 (212, 366) mg/dl; P=0.009, respectively. The majority of patients did not experience an increase in urine or plasma biomarkers. Absolute changes in plasma IL-18 were comparable in participants with contrast-associated AKI (−30 [−71, −9] mg/dl) and those without contrast-associated AKI (−27 [−53, −10] mg/dl; P=0.62). Relative ratios of plasma IL-18 were also comparable in participants with contrast-associated AKI (0.91; 0.86, 0.97) and those without contrast-associated AKI (0.91; 0.85, 0.96; P=0.54). Conclusions The lack of significant differences in the absolute changes and relative ratios of injury and repair biomarkers by contrast-associated AKI status suggests that the majority of mild contrast-associated AKI cases may be driven by hemodynamic changes at the kidney.
Erasable labeling of neuronal activity using a reversible calcium marker

Understanding how the brain encodes and processes information requires the recording of neural activity that underlies different behaviors. Recent efforts in fluorescent protein engineering have succeeded in developing powerful tools for visualizing neural activity, in general by coupling neural activity to different properties of a fluorescent protein scaffold. Here, we take advantage of a previously unexploited class of reversibly switchable fluorescent proteins to engineer a new type of calcium sensor. We introduce rsCaMPARI, a genetically encoded calcium marker engineered from a reversibly switchable fluorescent protein that enables spatiotemporally precise marking, erasing, and remarking of active neuron populations under brief, user-defined time windows of light exposure. rsCaMPARI photoswitching kinetics are modulated by calcium concentration when illuminating with blue light, and the fluorescence can be reset with violet light. We demonstrate the utility of rsCaMPARI for marking and remarking active neuron populations in freely swimming zebrafish.
Death & Succession Among Finland's Nuclear Waste Experts

This article examines how safety assessment experts working on Finland’s nuclear waste repository project at Olkiluoto summoned, conjured, or channeled memories of Seppo — a deceased colleague whose ‘specter,’ as informants put it, still ‘haunts’ their scientific community. For some, Seppo’s postmortem presence manifested as gaps in knowledge left behind by an expert often reluctant to document the methodological assumptions underlying his knowledge-practices. For others, it manifested as anecdotes about Seppo’s stubbornness, irritability, and intellectual intensity as well as his more jovial demeanor during sauna nights, workplace parties, or trips abroad. Still others caught themselves asking ‘What Would Seppo Do?’ while troubleshooting at work. Inspired by anthropological and philosophical work on ancestors and haunting, the article unpacks how the multi-millennial time horizons of nuclear waste risk, the intergenerational time horizons of expert succession, and the everyday time horizons of a single expert life-course shared entwined fates. It focuses less on what knowledge disappeared when an expert’s body died – or how it could have been preventatively backed-up or managed — and more on what has lived on of the expert in and through surviving colleagues. Analysis of ‘afterlives of expertise’ like these can, it concludes, provide insights for a current moment of intergenerational transition in nuclear energy sectors in Europe, North America, and beyond.
Talking Trump and the Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Correcting the Record on Section 4

The first year of the presidency of Donald J. Trump brought attention to Section 4 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, the constitutional provision that allows the Vice President and a Cabinet majority to transfer presidential powers and duties from a President who is “unable to discharge the powers and duties” of his office. Although the ensuing media discussion included many thoughtful contributions, it also produced many mistaken assertions by scholars, journalists and other commentators regarding the importance, scope, operation, and effect of Section 4. These mistakes are troubling because they may produce enduring misunderstanding regarding a provision designed to handle some of the most challenging, traumatic and contentious contingencies that might arise involving an incapacitated President and the transfer of presidential powers and duties to the Vice President. The errors also might provide material for political actors and their supporters to cite and use opportunistically to frustrate the proper use of Section 4. This Article exposes and corrects some of the mistaken assertions that have recently appeared in media discussions. It explores a range of textual, originalist, structural, pragmatic, and other constitutional arguments to shed light on significant, but sometimes misunderstood, questions regarding the importance, scope, operation, and effect of Section 4.
Heterogeneity in managing rib fractures across non-trauma and level I, II, and III trauma centers.

Abstract Background We aimed to elucidate management patterns and outcomes of high-risk patients with rib fractures (elderly or flail chest) across non-trauma and trauma centers. We hypothesized highest-capacity (level I) centers would have best outcomes for high-risk patients. Methods We queried the 2016 National Emergency Department Sample to identify adults presenting with rib fractures. Multivariable regression assessed ED and inpatient events across non-trauma and level III/II/I trauma centers. Results Among 504,085 rib fracture encounters, 46% presented to non-trauma centers. Elderly patients with multiple rib fractures had stepwise increase in inpatient admission odds and stepwise decrease in pneumonia odds at higher-capacity trauma centers compared to non-trauma centers. Among patients with flail chest, odds of undergoing surgical stabilization (SSRF) increased at trauma centers. Undergoing SSRF was associated with reduced mortality but remained underutilized. Conclusion Half of patients with rib fractures present to non-trauma centers. Nationwide care-optimization for high-risk patients requires further effort.
“Born Under My Heart”: Adoptive Parents' Use of Metaphors to Make Sense of Their Past, Present, and Future:

Metaphors provide the opportunity to make sense of our experiences and share them with others. The current research qualitatively examined interviews with adoptive parents who had adopted through i...
Methods for the Study of High P–T Deformation and Rheology

Measurement of plastic properties of minerals is undergoing a revolution with the use of synchrotron x-rays. This has allowed using multi-anvil apparatus as deformation tools to achieve steady-state deformation at mantle pressures and temperatures. x-Ray measurement of stress illustrates the rich complexity of stress distribution in a plastically deforming aggregate. Rheological properties of high-pressure phases are now accessible as are pressure dependence of these properties for low-pressure phases. Oscillation of the stress field provides a new perspective for defining time-dependent phenomena.
Syntactic processing with aging: An event-related potential study

To assess age-related changes in simple syntactic processing with normal aging, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) elicited by grammatical number violations as individuals read sentences for comprehension were analyzed. Violations were found to elicit a P600 of equal amplitude and latency regardless of an individual's age. Instead, advancing age was associated with a change in the scalp distribution of the P600 effect, being less asymmetric and more frontal (though still with a parietal maximum) in older than younger adults. Our results thus show that the brain's response to simple syntactic violations, unlike those reported for simple binary categorizations and simple semantic violations, is neither slowed nor diminished in amplitude by age. At the same time, the brain's processing of these grammatical number violations did engage at least somewhat different brain regions as a function of age, suggesting a qualitative change rather than any simple quantitative change in speed of processing.
Incorporation of 5-Methyl- and 5-Hydroxy-Tryptophan into the Protein of Bacillus subtilis

Addition of the tryptophan analogues 5-methyl-tryptophan, 5-hydroxy-tryptophan, and 7-aza-tryptophan, during tryptophan starvation of a tryptophan auxotroph of Bacillus subtilis, stimulated amino acid incorporation. Two of the analogues tested, 5-methyl-tryptophan and 5-hydroxy-tryptophan, competed with each other, but their addition did not prevent tryptophan incorporation into acid-insoluble material. The incorporation of tryptophan and 5-hydroxy-tryptophan was stimulated when a mixture of phenylalanine and tyrosine was present in the medium. The two analogues 5-methyl-tryptophan and 5-hydroxy-tryptophan were recovered in protein hydrolysates of analogue-grown cultures, and there is evidence suggesting that the analogues are not chain terminators. Neither analogue prevented the polysome degradation that occurs during tryptophan starvation.