cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Development of a Virtual D.O.F. Motion Platform for Simulation and Rapid Synthesis

This paper describes the design, development, and utility of a fully operational computer simulation of a 6 degree-of-freedom motion platform. Such devices are commonly used for a wide variety of flight simulation, driving simulation, location-based entertainment, and training applications worldwide. Such a “virtual motion platform” will provide a fast, easy, and safe mechanism by which new candidate motion excursions can be tested and refined. As such, the integrity of the expensive and delicate physical hardware need not be compromised by motion patterns that might be detrimental to the limits of the hardware. The development of the NYSCEDII Virtual Motion Platform (NVMP) began with the design of a highly detailed CAD model of our existing Moog 2000E motion platform. Its development will be outlined in brief. With the static CAD model developed, the authors were then able to convert the model into a dynamic entity by using an inverse kinematical approach. The utility of these previously published algorithms will be presented, and their practical performance discussed. The NVMP has been designed to be highly user-interactive so as to allow for human “in the loop” intervention and control, and numerous of these features will be outlined and their utility demonstrated. Quantitative and qualitative comparisons between the NVMP and the physical motion platform will be discussed. Finally, the current state of the NVMP, as well as future planned features for the simulator (such as the incorporation of sophisticated washout algorithms and I/O plotting utilities) will be presented and discussed at the closure of this document. ____________________ * Member AIAA, Research Scientist † Student member AIAA, Research Assistant Copyright © 2004 by K.F. Hulme and A. Pancotti. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. with permission. Background A motion platform, parallel manipulator, motion base, or Stewart Platform is a powered, mechanical, self-contained motion system. Such systems are commonly used for motion simulation and training activities, and common applications include: flight simulation, driving simulation, industrial equipment training, and location-based entertainment (i.e. amusement rides and simulation), to name a few. Figure 1: Moog 2000E motion platform Moog, Inc. of East Aurora, New York donated a 6 degree-of-freedom (D.O.F) 2000E model motion platform to the NYSCEDII research facility for which the proposed research will be performed. Refer to Figure 1. The 6 D.O.F’s present on the Moog motion system are commonly referred to with the following nomenclature. Translation is defined as “heave” (up and down – Z axis), “surge” (forwards and backwards – X axis), and “sway” (side to side – Y axis). Rotation is defined as “roll” (tilt about the X-axis), “pitch” (incline about the Y-axis), and “yaw” (twist about the Z-axis). Refer to Figure 2 for a detailed illustration of the 2000E model reference system. 24,26
Temple, Community, and Sacred Narrative in the Dura-Europos Synagogue

The painted decoration in the Dura-Europos synagogue (Syria, 244–245 CE) is the most extensive surviving example of Jewish pictorial narrative in the ancient world. In its final stage, the decoration consisted of three bands of narrative panels that surrounded all four walls of the synagogue's assembly hall and led up to the Torah shrine at the center of the west wall (Figure 1). Imagery related to the Jerusalem Temple, including a symbolic image of the Temple on the Torah shrine, made up a significant part of the decoration of the Dura synagogue. There is, however, considerable scholarly disagreement as to how this imagery should be interpreted, particularly as part of a “programmatic” structure. Because the Temple image on the Torah shrine was positioned at the liturgical focal point of the synagogue and was created before the other surrounding narrative panels, the function of this image is a key component of the synagogue's decoration as a whole. Two contextualizing factors would have informed the function and meaning of the image: the reception of the image as part of the liturgical activity carried out by the congregation, and the place of the image as the conclusion to the middle level of surrounding narrative panels that depicted the journey of the Ark of the Covenant from Sinai to Zion. This narrative helped to situate the members of the congregation in relation to the Temple image, defining the community's active role as a part of the narrative itself.
Treatment of Electroplating Wastewater by Micro-electrolysis-A/O Process

The electroplating wastewater of an enterprise in Zhejiang province was treated by micro-electrolysis-anaerobic-aerobic process with focus on investigating the effects of the process conditions on the wastewater treating efficiency.When micro-electrolysis is performed,the pH value in the electroplating wastewater is adjusted to 3.0,and aerated for 6 h.The optimum A/O process conditions are as follows: operating temperature is 20 ℃,aeration time 24 h,dissolved oxygen 3 mg/L,dosage of C6H12O6 1.40 g/L in anaerobic phase and dosage of NaHCO3 0.75 g/L in aerobic phase.When micro-electrolysis-A/O process is used to treat electroplating wastewater,the mass concentrations of ammonia nitrogen,total nitrogen and COD in the treated water are all up to the Discharge Standards of Electroplating Contaminants(GB 21900-2008),removing efficiency being remarkable and stable.
Practices and Perceptions of Music Therapists Using Songwriting Interventions with Clients Who Are Grieving

OF THESIS PRACTICES AND PERCEPTIONS OF MUSIC THERAPISTS USING SONGWRITING INTERVENTIONS WITH CLIENTS WHO ARE GRIEIVING Music therapists use songwriting interventions to address a variety of goals with several populations. Nevertheless, limited research exists regarding the use of songwriting interventions with individuals who are grieving. The purpose of this study was to examine practices and perceptions of board-certified music therapists working with clients who are grieving, specifically: (a) common interventions used to address grief (b) use of songwriting intervention; (c) perceived effectiveness of songwriting; and (d) music therapists’ comfort levels and training in implementing songwriting interventions. An online survey was sent to 6,292 board-certified music therapists, 324 of whom completed the survey. Participants reported that they use counseling techniques, singing, and songwriting with individuals who are grieving. Respondents indicated that songwriting was most effective in increasing emotional expression of clients who are grieving. All participants (N = 324, 100%) believed that songwriting could be an effective intervention for clients who are grieving. Music therapists expressed a need for further training in implementing songwriting interventions.
Industry-wise Analysis of Security Breaches in Data Loss Incidents.

Cloud computing offers many conveniences at reduced costs, which has motivated many organizations to migrate their data and services to cloud platforms. Security breaches that plague these cloud transactions, however, can threaten widespread migration to the cloud. In this paper, we study data loss incidents over the last decade to discover the vulnerabilities that organizations face when moving their data and computations to the cloud. These data loss incidents are collected and documented in the DataLoss project led by the Open Source Foundation. Our industry-wise analysis focuses on understanding the types of breaches and data loss modes encountered by organizations in the business, educational, government, and medical sectors. For each industrial sector, we also measure the impact of these breaches in terms of the number of lost records and the estimated costs. We summarize the findings of our analysis into a set of recommendations for the four sectors. We expect that these recommendations will guide organizations in developing policies and practices that can prevent security breaches and stem the resulting losses.
Total Parenteral Nutrition in the Pediatric Patient

Children have special nutritional needs that are accentuated by illness and surgical stress. Over the past 50 years, tremendous advances have been made in the management of children who cannot receive enteral nutrition, as described by the authors. Remaining challenges include the reduction in the risk of sepsis, particularly in children with short-bowel syndrome, delineation of the risk factors for cholestasis, and refinement of administration of parenteral nutrition to premature neonates.
Enhanced Tobacco Use Vulnerability in Adolescents, Females, and Persons With Diabetes

Tobacco use varies across persons from different demographic backgrounds. This chapter considers the contribution of nicotine reward and withdrawal in populations that appear to be more susceptible to tobacco use. Our focus is on populations that have been modeled in rodents, including adolescents, females, and persons with diabetes. We also consider tobacco use in the context of alcohol use and mental health disorders. A common feature in rodent models is heightened nicotine reward, suggesting that vulnerable populations may experience strong rewarding effects of nicotine that promote tobacco use. One distinguishing factor among vulnerable populations is with regard to nicotine withdrawal, which is lower in adolescents. Thus, we may need to apply different diagnostic criteria and/or specialized medications in populations for which nicotine withdrawal does not promote tobacco use.
A Comprehensive Business Approach to Product Realization Using Service Oriented Architecture

A comprehensive business approach to product realization involves tackling both business and technical issues. As business executives focus on innovation – both in products and in business models to realize these products – as a means to increase revenue and profit, they have identified collaboration and partnership with external players as keys to their success. They want flexibility and responsiveness in sharing and exchanging sensitive product information across a global network of partners, but feel that they have not yet been able to achieve their goals. A technical solution to this problem may well be provided by the convergence of three recent developments: maturity of standardized product models and processes, emergence of service oriented architecture for information sharing, and availability of middleware to implement them. This paper describes the results of a recent business and market research in identifying the problems facing business executives, and an information sharing architecture with service orientation for product realization to solve some of their problems.
PODCA: a passive optical data center network architecture

Optical interconnects have gained great attention recently as a promising solution offering high throughput, low latency, scalability, and reduced energy consumption compared to electrical interconnects. However, some active optical components, such as tunable wavelength converters and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) switches, suffer from high cost or slow reconfiguration times, and have been roadblocks to the realization of all-optical interconnects. In this paper, we propose three versions of a passive optical data center network architecture (PODCA), depending on the size of the network. Our key device is the arrayed waveguide grating router (AWGR), a passive device that can achieve contention resolution in the wavelength domain. In our architectures, optical signals are transmitted from fast tunable transmitters; pass through couplers, AWGRs, and demultiplexers; and are received by wide-band receivers. Our architecture can scale to over 2 million servers. Simulation results indicate that PODCA exhibits lower latency and higher throughput even at high-input loads compared with electrical data center networks such as Fat-Tree and Flattened Butterfly, and comparable performance with other optical interconnects such as DOS and Petabit, but at much lower cost and power consumption. The packet latency of PODCA in our simulation experiments is below 19 μs, and the throughput is 100%. Furthermore, we compare the power consumption and capital expenditure (CapEx) cost of PODCA with the other four architectures. Results show that PODCA can save at least 75% on power consumption and 50% on CapEx.
Loving with a Sword

It’s hard to be a human being and deeply painful to be conscious…. To care, to love with every part of our wondrous selves, with the memory of every palpable cell of our beings. To reach out embracing life, in honor of all that is good, beautiful, sensual, just, brave, wise, funny. Yes, funny, in honor of life-giving humor. (Hernandez-Avila, 2002, p. 531) In connection to the powerful quote above, conscious caring hurts as much as it heals.
Chick Metabolism in the Chick Retina

Chicken retina contains autonomous circadian clocks in multiple cell types. Best studied of these clocks are the ones in photoreceptor cells. This article describes what is known about expression of clock genes, which form the molecular basis of circadian oscillators, as well as clock output pathways that regulate circadian rhythms in the chick retina. It focuses on clock-controlled regulation of cyclic AMP signaling, melatonin biosynthesis, phospholipid metabolism, and melanopsin and iodopsin expression.
Dependence & Multivariate Data Exploration

This chapter extends some of the exploratory data analysis techniques introduced in the case of univariate samples to several variables. In particular, we discuss multivariate versions of kernel density estimators. Then we review the properties of the most important multivariate distribution of all, the normal or Gaussian distribution. For jointly Gaussian random variables, dependence can be completely captured by the classical Pearson correlation coefficient. In general however, the situation can be quite different.
Area TEO and "Area ?": cytoarchitectonic confusion corrected by connectivity and cortical ablation.

Throughout history, researchers who examine the structure and function of the brain debate one another about how cortical areas are defined, as well as how these areas should be named. Different pieces of empirical evidence are used to define brain areas and it is important to preserve the accurate history of this evidence and the timeline of studies that lead to areal definitions that are either still used today or have been modified. As such, this paper traces the early history of a brain area located at the junction between the occipital and temporal lobes of the macaque known as TEO. This historical analysis leads to four main findings. First, even though Bonin and Bailey are credited with the definition of area TEO in 1947, they did not have the cytoarchitectonic evidence to support the distinction of TEO from adjacent areas. Second, the first evidence definitively separating area TEO from TE was actually based on connectivity as identified with strychnine neuronography by Petr et al. in 1949. Third, causal evidence from ablation studies conducted by Iwai and Mishkin (Experimental Neurology 25(4):585–594, 1969) supported this distinction by showing that TEO and TE were functionally distinct from one another. Fourth, researchers in the 1970s began referring to TEO as posterior inferotemporal (PIT) and TE as anterior inferotemporal (AIT), which is an important historical clarification as the PIT/AIT nomenclature is presently attributed to studies conducted more than a decade later. Altogether, this paper aims to preserve the historical origin of area TEO, as well as the empirical evidence that was used to originally differentiate this cortical expanse from surrounding areas.
Taking Down Goliath: How Numerous Workflow Optimizations Can Help Small Teams Tackle Big Tasks

Utilizing both small and large optimizations in an organization's workflow can allow for smaller teams to succeed on larger projects. At St. Lawrence University, the User Services team of just four full-time technicians provides level 2 tech support for over 3200 employees and students, 2100 computers, 180 printers and copiers, and 120 classrooms. Additionally, we provide audiovisual setups and support for assorted events taking place each day, roll out hundreds of new computers on an annual schedule, and perform other duties as assigned. To complete these tasks, we use a combination of different time-saving practices and optimizations. Some examples include training student technicians to complete higher level tickets, communicating efficiently through technologies such as Slack, and keeping each technician specialized in certain disciplines and cross-training technicians so that they can fill in for each other. We are always looking to improve and striving to find more ways to save time and keep the workflow smooth and steady.
Microhaplotypes in forensic genetics

Microhaplotype loci (microhaps, MHs) are a novel type of molecular marker of less than 300 nucleotides, defined by two or more closely linked SNPs associated in multiple allelic combinations. The value of these markers is enhanced by massively parallel sequencing (MPS), which allows the sequencing of both parental haplotypes at each of the many multiplexed loci. This review describes the features of these multi-SNP markers and documents their value in forensic genetics, focusing on individualization, biogeographic ancestry inference, and mixture deconvolution. Foreseeable applications also include missing person identification, relationship testing, and medical diagnostic applications. The technique is not restricted to humans.
Trisections of 4-manifolds.

The study of n-dimensional manifolds has seen great advances in the last half century. In dimensions greater than four, surgery theory has reduced classification to homotopy theory except when the fundamental group is nontrivial, where serious algebraic issues remain. In dimension 3, the proof by Perelman of Thurston’s Geometrization Conjecture (1) allows an algorithmic classification of 3-manifolds. The work of Freedman (2) classifies topological 4-manifolds if the fundamental group is not too large. Also, gauge theory in the hands of Donaldson (3) has provided invariants leading to proofs that some topological 4-manifolds have no smooth structure, that many compact 4-manifolds have countably many smooth structures, and that many noncompact 4-manifolds, in particular 4D Euclidean space R 4 , have uncountably many. However, the gauge theory invariants run into trouble with small 4-manifolds, such as those with the same homology groups as the 4D sphere, S 4 . In particular, the smooth 4D Poincare Conjecture, the last remaining case of that hallowed conjecture, is still open. (In higher dimensions, the smooth Poincare Conjecture is sometimes true in the following sense. In dimensions 3, 5, 6, 12, and 61, a homotopy sphere is diffeomorphic to the standard one, and in all other known cases, there are increasingly many exotic smooth structures on the topological sphere; however, it is possible that there may be more high-dimensional cases with no exotic spheres.) The gauge theory invariants are very good at distinguishing smooth 4-manifolds that are homotopy equivalent but do not help at showing that they are diffeomorphic. What is missing is the equivalent of the higher-dimensional s-cobordism theorem, a key to the successes in higher dimensions. The s-cobordism theorem states that, if M 0 m and M 1 m are the two boundary components of an m + 1 -dimensional manifold W and if … [↵][1]1Email: kirby{at}math.berkeley.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Ingredients for great sex: Discussing sexual preferences and intimacy

Course: This activity is intended for a course on romantic relationships, communication between intimate partners, or a special topics class where partner communication about sex may be discussed.O...
Embedding the Kepler Problem as a Surface of Revolution

Solutions of the planar Kepler problem with fixed energy h determine geodesics of the corresponding Jacobi–Maupertuis metric. This is a Riemannian metric on ℝ2 if h ⩾ 0 or on a disk D ⊂ ℝ2 if h < 0. The metric is singular at the origin (the collision singularity) and also on the boundary of the disk when h < 0. The Kepler problem and the corresponding metric are invariant under rotations of the plane and it is natural to wonder whether the metric can be realized as a surface of revolution in ℝ3 or some other simple space. In this note, we use elementary methods to study the geometry of the Kepler metric and the embedding problem. Embeddings of the metrics with h ⩾ 0 as surfaces of revolution in ℝ3 are constructed explicitly but no such embedding exists for h < 0 due to a problem near the boundary of the disk. We prove a theorem showing that the same problem occurs for every analytic central force potential. Returning to the Kepler metric, we rule out embeddings in the three-sphere or hyperbolic space, but succeed in constructing an embedding in four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. Indeed, there are many such embeddings.
The demographics of vaccine hesitancy in Shanghai, China.

Background Vaccine hesitancy has been little studied in low- and middle-income countries but is a potential concern because vaccine refusal may increase the burden of infectious diseases and impede control efforts. The aim of this study was to compare vaccine hesitancy between locals, long-time city residents, and non-locals, who have more recently moved to the city from either other urban or rural areas, in Shanghai, China. Methods Parents of infants ≤3 months of age were surveyed at immunization clinics in Shanghai, China. Participants completed a paper questionnaire utilizing the 10-item Vaccine Hesitancy Scale, which was developed by the World Health Organization Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization. Items were grouped based on internal consistency, and regressed onto demographic variables using a negative binomial model. Results In total, 1,188 (92.5%) individuals participated. For most items on the scale, parents expressed positive beliefs about vaccines. However, about half of parents somewhat or strongly agreed that new vaccines carried more risks than older vaccines, and 71.6% somewhat or strongly agreed that they were concerned about serious adverse effects. Seven items from the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale were highly correlated and mapped onto “lack of confidence”; the other three items were analysed separately. Compared to mothers, fathers had less lack of confidence (β: -0.06, 95% CI: -0.12, -0.01), and individuals living in the outer suburbs (β: 0.13, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.25) and rural non-locals (β: 0.10, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.18) had greater lack of confidence in vaccines compared to their urban or local counterparts, respectively. Discussion Shanghai parents professed confidence in certain vaccine benefits, but vaccine messaging could focus on addressing misconceptions about vaccines for diseases no longer common, newer vaccines, and adverse effects associated with vaccination. These messages may need to be separately tailored to locals and non-locals, who have differing concerns.
Comparing Single Cell Versus Pellet Encapsulation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Three-Dimensional Hydrogels for Cartilage Regeneration.

While the gold standard for inducing mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) chondrogenesis utilizes pellet culture, most tissue engineering strategies for cartilage regeneration encapsulate MSCs as single cel...
Assessing Effects of Azimuthally Oriented Roughness on Directional Reflectance of Sand

We measured and compared hyperspectral bidirectional reflectance factors of a sand sample of varying roughness levels using the Goniometer of the Rochester Institute of Technology-Two. We developed a geotechnical routine to generate sand samples of approximately constant density and grain size distribution, but varying roughness levels. In addition, we developed sand samples of two different classes of surface roughness: wave-like and normally distributed. The samples exhibiting normally distributed roughness met several criterion outlined by Hapke in the roughness correction to his photometric model for a smooth sediment surface. We developed a method to empirically forward model the photometric model for a rough surface using roughness metrics derived from digital elevation models of the surface. Our results from empirically forward modeling the correction factor indicate that Hapke's shadowing function does not adequately describe the effects of macroscopic roughness at a subcentimeter scale. In addition, we also performed experiments in which we oriented the surface waves of the wave-like roughness profiles in different orientations to the principal plane of illumination. These results indicate that future photometric models of wave-like roughness should include a description of how multiple scattering increases reflectance within cavities, reducing the effects of shadowing within the cavities. Our results also suggest that since Hapke's model correction for macroscopic roughness assumes that the underlying distribution of surface slopes does not depend on azimuth, it cannot adequately characterize surface roughness when it is both structured and has a preferred orientation.
Patterns of Monarch Site Occupancy and Dynamics in Iowa

The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is the focus of large-scale habitat restoration efforts because of recent population declines. From 2006-2017 we monitored monarchs at >400 sites throughout Iowa to link site occupancy and colonization/extinction dynamics to the presence of milkweed, site-specific habitat metrics, and landscape context at differing spatial scales. We used a robust design occupancy model in Program MARK and a hierarchical model selection approach to estimate site occupancy, extinction and colonization probabilities, and detection probability. Occupancy models revealed that monarchs responded differently to landscape features, environmental conditions, and local habitat conditions for site occupancy, extinction, and colonization probabilities. For site occupancy, the mean patch size of grassland at the 1-km spatial scale had a positive effect (β_GrassPS1K= 0.94, SE = 0.54) while the percent of the landscape in woodland at the 200-m spatial scale had a negative effect (β_WoodPL200= -1.68, SE = 0.34). For extinction, there were additive effects of the percent of the landscape in woodland at the 100-m spatial scale (β_WoodPLAND100= 2.70, SE = 0.63), the interspersion of grassland at the 1-km spatial scale (β_GrassIJI1K= -2.30, SE = 0.63), and litter depth (β_Litter= 0.46, SE = 0.13). Finally, there were negative effects of the percent of the landscape in woodland at the 200-m spatial scale (β_WoodPLAND200= -4.67, SE = 1.37) and the interspersion of grassland at the 100-m spatial scale (β_GrassPS1K= -2.02, SE = 0.70) on colonization probability. Detection probability was affected by the additive effects of canopy cover and monarch density; no other detection model was competitive. In the top model there was a positive effect of monarch density (β_Density = 0.28, SE = 0.05) and a negative effect of canopy cover (β_Canopy=-0.18, SE = 0.03) on detection probability. In Iowa, monarchs are widespread on conservation lands where they avoid sites with lots of canopy cover. Colonization and extinction processes are influenced by an interplay of landscape attributes across multiple spatial scales and site habitat attributes. Our study provides the first comprehensive insight into monarch use of conservation lands in Iowa, and predicted responses to important covariates may be useful for future conservation efforts.
Polynomial Preconditioned GMRES to Reduce Communication in Parallel Computing

Polynomial preconditioning with the GMRES minimal residual polynomial has the potential to greatly reduce orthogonalization costs, making it useful for communication reduction. We implement polynomial preconditioning in the Belos package from Trilinos and show how it can be effective in both serial and parallel implementations. We further show it is a communication-avoiding technique and is a viable option to CA-GMRES for large-scale parallel computing.
Dual-Equalization-Path Energy-Area-Efficient Near Field Inductive Coupling for Contactless 3D IC

This paper presents a dual-equalization-path (DEP) near field inductive coupling link for contactless vertical interconnect in high-performance 3D IC. The DEP receiver is demonstrated for the first time in near field inductive coupling vertical links to improve energy per bit and area efficiency. A feedback mechanism in the main path helps in signal recovery for improving the voltage margin. While a linear auxiliary path using passive pulse-reuse feedforward equalization helps in signal recovery for improving the timing margin. We also demonstrate how the receiver equalization architecture helps in enabling an energy-efficient and compact near field inductive coupling-based 3D IC. In experimental demonstration, the transceiver achieves 207 fJ/bit in 65nm CMOS process. The developed equalization architecture demonstrates a 34% improved FoM-3D performance compared to state-of-the-art contactless 3D links.
Validation of environmental DNA sampling for determination of Ceratonova shasta (Cnidaria: Myxozoa) distribution in Plumas National Forest, CA

Ceratonova shasta is the etiological agent of myxozoan-associated enteronecrosis in North American salmonids. The parasite’s life cycle involves waterborne spores and requires both a salmonid fish and a freshwater fabriciid annelid. The success and survival of annelids can be enhanced by flow moderation by dams, and through the erosion of fine sediments into stream channels following wildfires. In this study, the presence of C. shasta environmental/ex-host DNA (eDNA) in river water and substrate samples collected from areas affected by recent fire activity in California, USA, was investigated. Additionally, DNA loads in the environment were compared to C. shasta infection in sentinel-exposed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Significant associations between C. shasta detection in environmental samples and location within a wildfire perimeter (p = 0.002), between C. shasta detection in sentinel fish and exposure location within a wildfire perimeter (p = 0.015), and between C. shasta detection in fish and locations where water temperature was above the median (p < 0.001) were observed. Additionally, a higher prevalence of C. shasta infection in fish was detected where C. shasta was also detected in environmental samples (p < 0.001). Results suggest that pathogen eDNA sampling can be used as a non-invasive, rapid, specific, and sensitive method for establishing risk of C. shasta infection in wild populations. Knowledge of the complete life cycle of the target parasite, including ecology of each host, can inform the choice of eDNA sampling strategy. Environmental DNA sampling also revealed a novel species of Ceratonova, not yet observed in a host.
Characterization of Membrane Protein-Lipid Interactions in Unfolded OmpX with Enhanced Time Resolution by Hyperpolarized NMR.

Proton nuclear spins of dodecyl phosphocholine molecules below the critical micelle concentration are hyperpolarized by using dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (D-DNP). NMR signal enhancements of 1210±400 and 1610±550 are obtained at 9.4 T, for choline methyls in the head group of the lipid and for the tail-end methyl group, respectively. This polarization is transferred to the unfolded protein through the nuclear Overhauser effect, after dilution to a final denaturant concentration of 0.8 M urea. As a result, the amide and aromatic side-chain signals of the protein are increased up to sixfold. Selective inversion pulses applied either on the head-group or tail-group of the lipid are used to identify the source of the transferred polarization. The normalized cross-relaxation rates of σN,tail =-1.8±0.1 s-1 M-1 and σN,head =-0.5±0.3 s-1 M-1 are obtained, showing a larger polarization transfer from the tail groups. These cross-relaxation rates are determined at a low urea concentration, which constitutes refolding conditions for the protein. The sensitivity enhancement by D-DNP permits to access these conditions with a measurement time on the order of seconds, and may further open the possibility to investigate structural changes in membrane proteins during folding.
Assessment of quality of life changes in patients with lower extremity lymphedema using an advanced pneumatic compression device at home.

Abstract Objective Lymphedema is associated with significant morbidity and healthcare resource usage. Conventional therapy efficacy has been limited, with poor surgical salvage options. Preliminary studies have demonstrated that the use of advanced pneumatic compression devices (APCDs) improves clinical outcomes. However, limited evidence regarding their role in healthcare cost mitigation or health-related quality of life (QOL) is available. Methods The present postmarket, multicenter, single-arm, observational clinical trial conducted in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System evaluated patients with a diagnosis of primary or secondary edema of unilateral or bilateral lower extremities treated with the Flexitouch APCD (Tactile Medical, Minneapolis, Minn) from February 2016 to March 2019. The patients were assessed at baseline and 12, 24, and 52 weeks from enrollment by limb circumference, QOL assessments (short form-36 and Lymphedema Quality of Life), device compliance, cellulitis episodes, and lymphedema-related healthcare use since the previous visit. The primary endpoints of interest were the QOL at baseline compared with at 12 weeks, unscheduled lymphedema-related clinic visits, and hospital admissions at 52 weeks. The secondary endpoints included the change in limb girth and QOL at 52 weeks compared with baseline. Results A total of 178 patients with lower extremity lymphedema were prospectively enrolled. The present study reports the interim data for the first 74 subjects to complete 52 weeks of APCD treatment. The cohort was predominately male (94.6%), elderly (mean age, 67 years), obese (median body mass index, 32 kg/m2), and most commonly enrolled for the treatment of phlebolymphedema (71.6%) with largely bilateral lower extremity involvement (91.9%). No significant difference was seen in QOL at 12 weeks. However, at 52 weeks, the Lymphedema Quality of Life scores had significantly improved from baseline (6.3 vs 7.4; P Conclusions The Flexitouch APCD resulted in initial significant limb girth reduction as early as 12 weeks and a steady and sustained improvement in health-related QOL for ≤1 year. The latter was likely reflective of a decrease in cellulitis episodes and fewer associated lymphedema-related clinic and urgent care visits and hospital admissions.
Phase separation in plant miRNA processing.

Nuclear dicing bodies were discovered in plants as subcellular droplets of a component of the Dicing complex, which is involved in microRNA production. Now they are revealed to be liquid–liquid phase-separated condensates with intrinsically disordered regions of the Dicing component SERRATE driving both phase separation and miRNA processing.
Impact of the Family Access Center of Excellence (FACE) on Behavioral and Educational Outcomes--A Quasi-Experimental Study.

The vast majority of youth experiencing symptoms of a mental health (MH) disorder never access services. Barriers to access include unawareness of symptoms or where to get help, stigma, or lack of ...
Come as You are: The Role of Internal Financial Reporting after a Change of Leadership

As You Are Seventh-Day Adventist Church (AYA) is located in Williamsburg, Virginia, in a low-income community, where it offers a wide range of primarily religious services. AYA is part of the River Seventh-Day Adventist ConferenceEast (RCE), which finds and pays for the pastors at each of its churches. In return, the RCE receives the weekly tithes as conference dues, and AYA keeps the offerings given by its members. This partnership has allowed AYA to expand its programming, serving community members facing homelessness, hunger, and financial difficulties.But over the years, AYA has had its own financial struggles, seeing a decline in tithes and offerings as its membership numbers have declined. It has been forced to end many of its community services in order to preserve church resources. And in 2015, the church's leader, Pastor Robert Haskins, announced his intention to leave his position early. The RCE decided to replace Haskins with Pastor Alexander Dean, who had a proven track record of turning troubled churches around.Dean begins his duties at AYA confident that he can correct the church's course. He quickly becomes a controversial figure, however, due to the changes he decides to make. AYA's volunteer treasurer wrestles with a conflict between her desire to support Dean in his effective efforts to welcome new members and higher cash donations and her misgivings about his aggressive insistence on increasing his budget as pastor and unilaterally signing off on expensive projects without church committee approval. The treasurer is deeply concerned about how AYA will survive financially under these new pressures, both from the new leader and from sources beyond the church's control. Excerpt UVA-C-2447 Jan. 15, 2021 Come As You Are: The Role of Internal Financial Reporting after a Change of Leadership Gloria Duval, who had been volunteer treasurer at the As You Are Seventh-Day Adventist Church (AYA) for the past 16years, was in the church's treasury office one warm afternoon in July 2019 at the conclusion of Saturday's service. She noticed the office felt a little warm, but did not pay too much attention to it because it was the thick of the summer, so it was expected. Right as she finished counting that week's tithes and offerings, she heard a knock on the door. Sister Gloria, a voice said, we need you in the fellowship hall; the thermostat is reading 91 and the air won't kick on. Gloria dropped her head into her hands. This can't be happening, not now. . . .
Ecology of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in the Americas and disease transmission

The recent range expansion of the mosquito Aedes albopictus has been associated in some areas by declines in abundance or local elimination of Aedes aegypti, but the two species still coexist in large regions of the Americas. We offer a summary of the possible mechanisms responsible for the abundance and displacement pattern observed and of their significance in terms of disease transmission. Among these mechanisms we may mention the competition for limiting resources, the differences in the ability to withstand starvation, the apparent competition through differential effects of the parasite Ascogregarina taiwanensis, and the inhibition of Ae. aegypti egg development by Ae. albopictus larvae. Habitat segregation has been proposed as a mechanism promoting the coexistence of the two species through avoidance of direct competition. Aedes aegypti predominates in urban areas, Ae. albopictus in rural ones, and both species coexist in the suburbs. There is also evidence that in certain areas, habitat segregation in terms of distance from the coast can influence the distribution of both species. Another possible cause of the rapid disappearance of Ae. aegypti is reproductive interference between the species. According to this hypothesis, asymmetric effects of interspecific mating favor Ae. albopictus. This type of reproductive interference can result in the elimination of sympatric populations of the affected species and can be one of the major causes for the swiftness with which Ae. aegypti disappeared from some places in the Americas following invasions by Ae. albopictus.
Hope: The Capacity for Realistic Hope

Our integrality is at risk in confronting the dialectical tension between hope and hopelessness. In view of our dialectical model we make a distinction between healthy (realistic) hope and unhealthy (unrealistic) hope and between constructive hopelessness and destructive hopelessness. Constructive hopelessness is the kind of despair that contains within it the seeds of transformative renewal. The relational ground from which realistic hope springs and spreads is presence or, better yet, co-presence, involving a mutual bond of loving and secure attachment between two persons. Having been loved, I radiate realistic hope.
Elastically Stretchable and Flexible RF Receive Coils for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Great advances have been made towards patient-centric, lightweight, and flexible coils that provide greater conformability across patient sizes and anatomies. Innovations in flexible designs have been made possible through miniaturization of electronics and ultra-flexible conductors. To accommodate a variety of anatomical structures, including joints at various degrees of flexion, stretchable coils have been demonstrated. For the coil conductor, these prototypes have employed liquid metal [1] , elastomers [2] , and coated threads [3] , [4] . Our group has prototyped stretchable and flexible RF receive arrays using stitched, conductive thread. These designs provide two main advantages over other stretchable designs. Firstly, the conductive thread may be used in an automated, professional embroidery machine, facilitating rapid and consistent manufacturing of the loops. The thread is cut-resistant, solderable, and has a 12× greater break strength than 30 AWG copper. Evaluation of single loops demonstrated greater SNR over flexible PCB loops spaced 4.2 cm above the phantom, simulating a volume coil, while exhibiting ~14% reduction in SNR with similar, unstretched placement; however, the stitched design overcomes conductor-associated challenges when stretched and wrapped around curved anatomies, resulting in SNR increases compared to solely flexible counterparts. Examples of the use of this coil for wrist and breast phantom imaging can be seen in Figure 1 . This segues to the second advantage, which is the multipurpose application facilitated by the thread durability. Unlike some liquid metal applications, the distribution of the fibers and conductive material remains consistent, meaning that the SNR of the coil is almost unchanged before and after being stretched. When fully stretched, i.e., approximately a 20% increase in loop base loop diameter of 71 mm, SNR measurements showed ~30% decrease; however, this fully stretched condition would not be expected in clinical applications, as stretching of all elements to this taut degree should not be necessary if the coil array were of adequate size. For joints at varying degrees of flexion, it would be expected that elements curved around the anatomy would be stretched, but peripheral loops would be relatively undistorted. The breathable, stretchable fabrics produced no proton signal during phantom or in vivo scans.
Identification of known and novel long non-coding RNAs potentially responsible for the effects of BMD GWAS loci

Osteoporosis, characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD), is the most common complex disease affecting bone and constitutes a major societal health problem. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified over 1100 associations influencing BMD. It has been shown that perturbations to long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) influence BMD and the activities of bone cells; however, the extent to which lncRNAs are involved in the genetic regulation of BMD is unknown. Here, we combined the analysis of allelic imbalance (AI) in human acetabular bone fragments with a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) and expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) colocalization analysis using data from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project to identify lncRNAs potentially responsible for GWAS associations. We identified 27 lncRNAs in bone that are located in proximity to a BMD GWAS association and harbor SNPs demonstrating AI. Using GTEx data we identified an additional 31 lncRNAs whose expression was associated (FDR correction 0.1). The 58 lncRNAs are located in 43 BMD associations. To further support a causal role for the identified lncRNAs, we show that 23 of the 58 lncRNAs are differentially expressed as a function of osteoblast differentiation. Our approach identifies lncRNAs that are potentially responsible for BMD GWAS associations and suggest that lncRNAs play a role in the genetics of osteoporosis.
An Investigation of the Structural and Relational Characteristics of Social Networks on Knowledge Exchange and Performance

A key question for managers in knowledge-intensive firms is how to encourage knowledge flows and new knowledge creation between individuals. Research has demonstrated that relationships are critical to knowledge exchange, yet we know little about the specific characteristics of relationships that affect access to different types of knowledge. Additionally, while prior research has focused on relationships based on face-to-face communication, with advances in information and communications technologies, individuals can just as easily seek knowledge through computer-mediated communication, changing the nature of the relationships that facilitate knowledge exchange. Therefore, our quest is to better understand how technology influences knowledge exchange, how the attributes of the relationships between individuals influence knowledge exchange, and how having access to different types of knowledge affects individual performance in organizations. Data will be gathered and analyzed in network form, using social network analysis techniques. Structural equation modeling will be used to test the hypothesized path model.
Biological Treatment of Papermill Wastewater in an Activated Sludge Cascade Reactor

SUMMARY Bulking sludge is found more often in papermill wastewater treatment plants than in municipal plants. Previous research indicated that aeration cascade reactors designed according to specified rules will lead to less bulking and achieve maximum COD elimination. Investigations in an activated sludge treatment plant designed following the above mentioned rules confirmed this to be right.
Nanoscale Characterization of Cementitious Materials

It is widely believed that the fundamental properties of concrete are affected by the material properties at the nanoscale. Hence, to improve cement and concrete properties, it is necessary to first understand the nanoscale properties. In this research, sample preparation techniques were developed to image the nano- and microstructure of hardened cement paste using atomic force microscopy (AFM). A special type of nanoindenter along with in-place scanning probe microscopy imaging has been used to determine the nanoscale local mechanical properties, including the Young's modulus of the interfacial transition zone.
Square-root algorithms for structured matrices, interpolation, and completion problems

We derive square-root based algorithms for structured matrices and discuss potential applications to interpolation and matrix completion problems. The mathematical machinery used here is based on a standard Gaussian elimination technique and on simple results from matrix and linear system theory. We show how to exploit the inherent displacement structure in order to construct a convenient transmission-line cascade that makes evident the required interpolation and completion conditions. We also introduce the concept of time-variant structured matrices and discuss its applications to matrix completions and time-variant interpolation problems.
Ice nucleation induced by pseudomonas syringae.

Broth cultures of suspensions of Pseudomonas syringae isolated from decaying alder leaves (Alnus tenuifolia) were found to freeze at very warm (-1.8 to -3.8 C) temperatures. The initiation of freezing appears associated with the intact cell and not with extracellular material. Chemical treatments and physical destruction of the cell destroy activity. Bacteria must be in concentrations of approximately 106/ml before freezing at warm temperatures occurs.