cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
View-dependent adaptive tessellation of spline surfaces

We present a novel algorithm for dynamic adaptive triangulation of spline surfaces. The algorithm is dynamic because it adjusts the level of detail of the triangulation at each frame. It is adaptive because it samples each surface patch more densely in regions of high curvature and less densely in regions of low curvature. The two have not been combined before. Our algorithm pre-computes a prioritized list of important samples on the surface. At rendering time, it adds these points in the specified order to the triangulation. Once the pre-computed points are exhausted and even more detail is required on some region of the patch, additional samples, now uniformly spaced, are added to the triangulation. The algorithm works well in practice and has a low memory footprint. CR
Combining natural sequence variation with high throughput mutational data to reveal protein interaction sites.

Many protein interactions are conserved among organisms despite changes in the amino acid sequences that comprise their contact sites, a property that has been used to infer the location of these sites from protein homology. In an inter-species complementation experiment, a sequence present in a homologue is substituted into a protein and tested for its ability to support function. Therefore, substitutions that inhibit function can identify interaction sites that changed over evolution. However, most of the sequence differences within a protein family remain unexplored because of the small-scale nature of these complementation approaches. Here we use existing high throughput mutational data on the in vivo function of the RRM2 domain of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae poly(A)-binding protein, Pab1, to analyze its sites of interaction. Of 197 single amino acid differences in 52 Pab1 homologues, 17 reduce the function of Pab1 when substituted into the yeast protein. The majority of these deleterious mutations interfere with the binding of the RRM2 domain to eIF4G1 and eIF4G2, isoforms of a translation initiation factor. A large-scale mutational analysis of the RRM2 domain in a two-hybrid assay for eIF4G1 binding supports these findings and identifies peripheral residues that make a smaller contribution to eIF4G1 binding. Three single amino acid substitutions in yeast Pab1 corresponding to residues from the human orthologue are deleterious and eliminate binding to the yeast eIF4G isoforms. We create a triple mutant that carries these substitutions and other humanizing substitutions that collectively support a switch in binding specificity of RRM2 from the yeast eIF4G1 to its human orthologue. Finally, we map other deleterious substitutions in Pab1 to inter-domain (RRM2–RRM1) or protein-RNA (RRM2–poly(A)) interaction sites. Thus, the combined approach of large-scale mutational data and evolutionary conservation can be used to characterize interaction sites at single amino acid resolution.
Assessing research in the history of sociology and anthropology.

This paper reviews recent interpretive trends among historians of anthropology and sociology, examining both introductory texts and scholarly studies. It focuses on works published over the last ten years, and stresses that there has been no resolution of the long-standing conflict between "presentist" and "historicist" approaches to the history of the human sciences.
The Department of Veterans Affairs integration of imaging into the healthcare enterprise using the VistA Hospital Information System and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine.

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is integrating imaging into the healthcare enterprise by using the Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) standard protocols. Image management is directly integrated into the VistA Hospital Information System (HIS) software and clinical database. Radiology images are acquired with DICOM and are stored directly in the HIS database. Images can be displayed on low-cost clinician’s workstations throughout the medical center. High-resolution diagnostic quality multimonitor VistA workstations with specialized viewing software can be used for reading radiology images. Two approaches are used to acquire and handle images within the radiology department. Some sites have a commercial Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) interfaced to the VistA HIS, whereas other sites use the direct image acquisition and integrated diagnostic display capabilities of VistA itself. A small set of DICOM services has been implemented by VistA to allow patient and study text data to be transmitted to image producing modalities and the commercial PACS, and to enable images and study data to be transferred back. DICOM has been the cornerstone in the ability to integrate imaging functionality into the healthcare enterprise. Because of its openness, it allows the integration of system components from commercial and noncommercial sources to work together to provide functional cost-effective solutions.
Monarchy and economy in Tertullian's Adversus Praxeam

This essay explores the deeper theological presuppositions foundational to Tertullian's defense of the Logos-theology in the Adversus Praxeam. After providing a brief description and historical contextualization of the monarchian argument that Tertullian opposes, this essay then explores the unique manner in which Tertullian attempts to redefine the notion of the divine monarchy through a renewed understanding of the divine economy. This essay proposes that Tertullian reflects upon the notion of the economy in a decidedly internal fashion, emphasizing the inner relations within the depths of the divine, in order both to preserve the idea of the Father's invisibility, and to steer away from a model of the economy as historically conceived.
The Influence of Demographic Heterogeneity on the Emergence and Consequences of Cooperative Norms in Work Teams

Drawing from social categorization theory, we found that greater demographic heterogeneity led to group norms emphasizing lower cooperation among student teams and officers from ten business units of a financial services firm. This effect faded over time. Perceptions of team norms among those more demographically different from their work group changed more, becoming more cooperative, as a function of contact with other members. Finally, cooperative norms mediated the relationship between group composition and work outcomes.
Improving Transaction Server Performance under Heavy Loads with Differentiated Service and Active Network Interfaces

Transaction based Web services that demand realtime performance guarantees, such as online auctions, stock trading and real-time database servers generally require a higher level of security and performance compared to normal Web services. To improve server throughput of servers for such applications under heavy loads or under denial of service attacks, it is necessary to service requests differentially, giving preference to on-going or imminent client requests. We show how such facilities can be efficiently implemented on an active network adapter based gateway that controls accesses to a pool of backend servers. Using an experimental prototype based around a dual-ported active NIC, we show how a differentiated service policy can be implemented on such a gateway to bound the server response time and to improve server throughputs under heavy loads
Site localization of sialyl Lewisx antigen on α1-acid glycoprotein by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry

A simple, fast and sensitive method was developed to verify the presence of the sialyl Lewis(x) antigen on an N-linked glycoprotein. High performance liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI/MS) was used to identify which of the five N-linked glycosylation sites of human plasma alpha1-acid-glycoprotein (orosomucoid, OMD) contain the sialyl Lewis(x) antigen. OMD was digested with proteolytic enzymes and analyzed by reversed phase chromatography coupled with on-line ESI/MS. A tandem mass spectrometry experiment was designed to detect the presence of the sialyl Lewis(x) antigen based on the observation of an 803 mass to charge ratio ( m/z ) ion produced in the intermediate pressure region of the ESI interface. The ESI/MS signal at m/z 803 is consistent with an oxonium ion for a glycan structure containing NeuAc, Gal, GlcNAc, and Fuc. The identity of the m/z 803 ion was confirmed by ESI/MS/MS analysis of the m/z 803 fragment ion and comparison with a sialyl Lewis(x) standard. The stereochemistry and linkage positions were assigned using previous NMR analysis but could be determined with permethylation analysis if necessary. The analysis of OMD gave a pattern showing signal for the sialyl Lewis(x) antigen coeluting with each of the five N-linked glycopeptides. The ability to monitor sialyl Lewis(x) expression at each of the five sites is of interest in the study of OMD's role in inflammatory diseases.
The Importance of Microbes in Animal Development: Lessons from the Squid-Vibrio Symbiosis

Developmental biology is among the many subdisciplines of the life sciences being transformed by our increasing awareness of the role of coevolved microbial symbionts in health and disease. Most symbioses are horizontally acquired, i.e., they begin anew each generation. In such associations, the embryonic period prepares the animal to engage with the coevolved partner(s) with fidelity following birth or hatching. Once interactions are underway, the microbial partners drive maturation of tissues that are either directly associated with or distant from the symbiont populations. Animal alliances often involve complex microbial communities, such as those in the vertebrate gastrointestinal tract. A series of simpler-model systems is providing insight into the basic rules and principles that govern the establishment and maintenance of stable animal-microbe partnerships. This review focuses on what biologists have learned about the developmental trajectory of horizontally acquired symbioses through the study of the binary squid-vibrio model.
Reanalysis of rigid frame structures by the virtual distortion method

The virtual distortion method (VDM) of truss analysis is extended to simulate structural modifications in rigidly jointed frames. An analytical formulation is derived for the displacements of the modified frame. The formulation is applicable to modifications of material distribution (change in moment of inertia of members), but can readily be extended to cover the changes in physical properties (e.g. generation of plastic zones) in a design or loading process.
A robust bulk-solvent correction and anisotropic scaling procedure

A reliable method for the determination of bulk-solvent model parameters and an overall anisotropic scale factor is of increasing importance as structure determination becomes more automated. Current protocols require the manual inspection of refinement results in order to detect errors in the calculation of these parameters. Here, a robust method for determining bulk-solvent and anisotropic scaling parameters in macromolecular refinement is described. The implementation of a maximum-likelihood target function for determining the same parameters is also discussed. The formulas and corresponding derivatives of the likelihood function with respect to the solvent parameters and the components of anisotropic scale matrix are presented. These algorithms are implemented in the CCTBX bulk-solvent correction and scaling module.
Dramatically improved yields in molecular scale electronic devices using ultra-smooth platinum electrodes prepared by chemical mechanical polishing

We report a dramatic improvement in the yields of molecular scale electronic devices by using ultra-smooth platinum (Pt) electrodes made with chemical mechanically polishing (CMP). A large number of measurements were carried out in order to investigate the surface roughness of freshly deposited Pt films using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a root-mean square (RMS) roughness of 7/spl Aring/ was observed. We developed and applied a CMP process to achieve ultra-smooth Pt surfaces with less than 1/spl Aring/ RMS roughness and grew two different types of molecular monolayers, i.e. SAMs of alkoxynaphthalene thiols and Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) monolayers of eicosanoic acid on polished Pt electrodes defined by optical lithography. Using AFM, contact angle measurements and ellipsometry, we observed a dramatic improvement in the packing and orientation of both types of monolayer. An impressive 100% device yield in the molecular devices made of LB monolayer and /spl sim/35% yields in the devices made with SAM monolayer of alkoxynaphthalene thiols molecules with device sizes varying from 1/spl mu/m/spl times/5/spl mu/m to as big as 20/spl mu/m/spl times/5/spl mu/m were observed.
Optimal Absorption Design and Sensitivity of Eigenvalues

In this work we consider a sensitivity approach for the optimal absorption design for damped elastic systems. These systems are generally represented by abstract wave equations with variable damping coefficients. Using the sensitivity equation of eigenvalues of the corresponding system generator, a solution method is developed and analyzed for determining the optimal design with respect to the design parameter. Based on such a solution method, approximation methods are also developed for construction of the optimal design. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of our proposed method.
Purification of Para-k-Casein by Gel Electrophoresis

Abstract Para-κ-casein results from the specific action of the enzyme rennin on κ-casein, a principal component of casein. In ure-acontaining starch or polyaerylamide gels at pH 8.6 to 9.2, para-κ-casein migrates from the sample slot to the cathodic electrode. Based on this characteristic, a gel electrophoretic procedure was developed for preparing 100 to 300 mg of electrophoretically homogeneous para-κ-casein from rennin-treated casein.
Human Population Dynamics: Cross‐Disciplinary Perspectives

Human Population Dynamics: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives. Helen Macbeth and Paul Collinson, eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 224 pp.
Collective recall via the brain-state-in-a-box network

A number of approaches to pattern recognition employ variants of nearest neighbor recall. This procedure uses a number of prototypes of known class and identifies an unknown pattern vector according to the prototype it is nearest to. A recall criterion of this type that depends on the relation of the unknown to a single prototype is a non-smooth function and leads to a decision boundary that is a jagged, piecewise linear hypersurface. Collective recall, a pattern recognition method based on a smooth nearness measure of the unknown to all the prototypes, is developed. The prototypes are represented as cells in a brain-state-in-a-box (BSB) network. Cells that represent the same pattern class are linked by positive weights and cells representing different pattern classes are linked by negative weights. Computer simulations of collective recall used in conjunction with learning vector quantization (LVQ) show significant improvement in performance relative to nearest neighbor recall for pattern classes defined by nonspherically symmetric Gaussians. >
SHARED-DRIMS: SHARED design recommendation-intent management system

A fundamental issue in developing collaborative engineering systems is the representation and management of the design rationale. A system for capturing the design rationale needs to represent and manage the intent evolution, the artifact evolution, the relationship between intents and between intent and artifact, as well as the different inputs from different designers. The authors describe an information system, SHARED-DRIMS, which was developed for encoding design rationale in DICE, a distributed and integrated environment for computer-aided engineering. SHARED-DRIMS consists of satellite modules attached to each agent, and a central core connected to all the professionals involved. Each module has three parts? (1) a comprehensive knowledge base, (2) a product model, and (3) a design intent-recommendation model (DRIM). In addition, the framework contains mechanisms for checking interactions and presenting hypotheses about the reasons for the interactions. >
Radiofrequency ablation therapy in idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia with no obvious structural heart disease.

BACKGROUNDThe feasibility and efficacy of radiofrequency ablation therapy in idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia has not been assessed in a large group of patients.METHODS AND RESULTSTwenty consecutive patients with idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia and without structural heart disease underwent electrophysiological study, pharmacological interventions with administration of verapamil and adenosine, and radiofrequency ablation therapy. There were 17 men and 3 women with a mean age of 28 +/- 8 years. The QRS configuration during tachycardia was of right bundle branch block and superior axis in 13 patients, indeterminate axis in 6 patients, and right axis in 1 patient. The tachycardia was electrically inducible and responsive to verapamil but not to adenosine. Thirteen patients demonstrated entrainment. Activation and pace-mapping studies disclosed that the tachycardia originated from the inferior apical septum in 15 patients, the midseptum in 4 patients, and the anterior lateral wall of the left ...
Role of Autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation for Patients with Acute and Chronic Leukemias

Autologous bone marrow transplantation has been increasingly used as effective curative therapy for patients with acute myelocytic leukemia or acute lymphoblastic leukemia who are not candidates for allografting. Its potential role for patients with chronic myelocytic leukemia is considered investigational; however, recent advancements in stem cell separation may make autologous transplantation an attractive alternative for this disease as well. The timing of the autologous transplant and the role of marrow purging are discussed in depth. In addition, post-transplant immune modulation and the use of growth factors and other cytokines following autologous reinfusion are currently being investigated.
Change isn't always better

Maintaining the identity of acinar cells in the pancreas could help to prevent the development of pancreatic cancer.
Larval Movement of the Range Caterpillar, Hemileuca oliviae (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

The movement behavior of the range caterpillar, Hemileuca oliviae Cockerell (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), was studied at two sites 10 km south of Springer, N.Mex., in the summer of 1979. Hourly measurements of the distance and direction larvae traveled were made weekly from hatch to pupation. Larval movement was similar at the two sites. First instar larvae were generally stationary; instars II to IV traveled an average of 1 to 3 m each, instar V averaged 9 m, and instar VI averaged 20 m. Maximum larval movement occurred just before pupation. Maximum total movement for the entire larval period was less than 100 m, demonstrating that larval dispersal is not the major cause of range expansion. Direction of movement of all the instars was highly variable, and no distinct pattern was ascertained. Early instars moved most often in late afternoon (1400 to 1700 MST), whereas instars V and VI were most active at midmorning (0900 to 1100 MST) and just before sunset(1500 to 1800 MST). Larvae of all instars rarely moved at night.
THE PERFORMANCE OF STEADY DETONATION ENGINES

Propulsion systems driven by steady normal detonations are studied. The practical di‐culties associated with stabilizing a detonation wave are highlighted. The requirement on the freestream total enthalpy is considered in parallel with efiects such as condensation or auto-ignition of the fuel-air mixture and limitations associated with fuel sensitivity to detonation. A criterion for detonation stabilization is formulated and applied to an analytical treatment of a detonation ramjet and a detonation turbojet, which are the respective analogs of the ramjet and the turbojet using detonative combustion. The performance of these engines is evaluated and compared to the ideal ramjet and turbojet models for hydrogen and JP10. A limitation is placed on the maximum total temperature allowed in the combustor, based on material considerations. The results show that steady detonation engines have a small thrust-producing range, due to the requirements for detonation stabilization. Their performance is always lower than that of the conventional ramjet and turbojet because of the total pressure loss across the detonation.
Fast Non-Linear Optimization for Design Problems on Water Networks

As water infrastructure ages and repair costs increase, optimization techniques are increasingly used for the design and operation of water networks. A key challenge for optimization on water systems is the fast and accurate simulation of hydraulic equations. Conventional simulation tools such as Epanet are fast but cannot perform optimization alone and so must be coupled to an optimization engine, typically a metaheuristic such as a genetic algorithm. In contrast, mathematical optimization methods take into account hydraulic equations as constraints. The energy equation for pipe ow is a challenging constraint because it is non-linear and given by an explicit function with a rational exponent (Hazen-Williams) or an implicit function (Colebrook-White). This paper uses a quadratic approximation for pipe head loss that provides very good accuracy. The approximation is applied to pose and solve a mixed integer non-linear program (MINLP) for placing and setting pressure reducing valves. The problem is addressed using both local and global solvers. Computational results show accuracy comparable to Epanet and signicant potential to reduce non revenue water by deploy
Spread of Virus in an Unvaccinated Case of Human Rabies

SummaryIn a 55-year-old man who died of rabies two months after a bite on the hand, virus was not demonstrated at the site of the bite but was present in appreciable amounts in the cervical cord and medulla, the cornu ammonis, and the olfactory bulbs; only a trace was found in the nasal mucosa and the tonsillar and pha-ryngeal tissue, and none was found in the feces, saliva, subarachnoid fluid, and heart blood. The patient's serum obtained post-mortem had no neutralizing antibodies for the virus.
Forgiveness, Stress, and Health: a 5-Week Dynamic Parallel Process Study

Background Psychological stress is a well-known risk factor for poor health, and recent research has suggested that the emotion-focused coping process of forgiveness may help mitigate these effects. To date, however, no studies have examined how levels of forgiveness, stress, and health fluctuate and interrelate over time.
Effects of bone cement on the hemodynamics of geriatric patients

Objective To investigate the effects of bone cement on the hemodynamics of geriatric patients and its mechanisms.Methods 60 patients aged 60-80 undergoing artificial joints replacements were randomly divided into two groups:bone cement group(Group Ⅰ) and no bone cement group(Group Ⅱ).The intravenous catheter was inserted into right internal jugular vein or subclavicular vein and the ultrasound probe was placed at the level of the third ribs transoral-esophageally after induction in each patient.The SBP,DBP,CVP,CO,SV,ACC,PV,TSVR,LVEDV,SpO2,ETCO2 before enlarging marrow,at the point of enlarging marrow and at 0,1,2,3,5,10,15 min after perfusing the bone cement were monitored and recorded in Group Ⅰ。The above parameters before enlarging marrow,at the point of enlarging marrow and at 0,1,2,3,5,10,15 min after inserting the implant were monitored and recorded in Group II.Results In Group Ⅰ,the CVP at the point of enlarging marrow increased significantly compared with that before enlarging marrow(P0.05).But the CVP decreased significantly at 0,1,2,3 min after perfusing the bone cement(P0.01).The SBP and DBP at 0,1,2,3,5 min after perfusing the bone cement decreased significantly compared with that before enlarging marrow(P0.01).The ETCO2,HR,SV,CO,PV,ACC,and TSVR at 0,1,2,3,5,10 min after perfusing the bone cement decreased significantly compared with that before enlarging marrow(P0.05).The LVEDV at 0,1,2,3,5,10,15 min after perfusing the bone cement increased significantly compared with that before enlarging marrow(P0.05).In Group Ⅱ,the ETCO2 at 0,1,2,3,5 min after inserting the implant decreased significantly compared with that before enlarging marrow.All parameters except ETCO2 in Group I differed significantly compared with those in Group Ⅱ(P0.05).Conclusions The perfusion of bone cement during artificial joint replacement could cause short-term vasodilatation and relatively long myocardial depression.Both the perfusion of bone cement and the replacement of implant could affect the pulmonary blood flow.
Positive-pressure ventilation, spinal anesthesia, and Rudolph Matas: the anesthetic contributions of an inquisitive surgical legend

Dr. Rudolph Matas, in addition to being one of the pioneering and most prestigious vascular surgeons of the 19th century, was an influential figure in the development of anesthesiology in the United States (US). His inquisitive nature and determination to understand medicine were tremendous influences in his development of innovative approaches to solve surgical and medical problems. Driven by such curiosity and determination, Dr. Matas made pivotal contributions in the historical timeline of current anesthesiological practice, including the use of spinal anesthesia and positive-pressure ventilation during thoracotomies.
Mouse model of imiquimod-induced psoriatic itch

Itch is a major indicator of psoriasis, but the underlying mechanisms behind this symptom are largely unknown. To investigate the neuronal mechanisms of psoriatic itch, we tested whether mice subjected to the imiquimod-induced psoriasis model exhibit itch-associated behaviors. Mice received daily topical applications of imiquimod to the rostral back skin for 7 days. Imiquimod-treated mice exhibited a significant increase in spontaneous scratching behavior directed to the treated area as well as touch-evoked scratching (alloknesis). To characterize this model, we measured the mRNA expression levels of pruritogens and itch-relevant receptors/channels using real-time reverse transcription PCR. The mRNA expression of MrgprA3, MrgprC11, and MrgprD decreased gradually over time in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells. There was no significant change in the mRNA expression of TRPV1 or TRPA1 in DRG cells. TRPV4 mRNA expression was transiently increased in the DRG cells, whereas TRPM8 mRNA was significantly decreased. The mRNA expression levels of histidine decarboxylase and tryptophan hydroxylase 1, as well as the intensity of histamine and serotonin immunoreactivity, were transiently increased in the skin on day 2, returning to baseline by day 7. Histamine H1-receptor antagonists, chlorpheniramine and olopatadine, significantly inhibited spontaneous scratching on day 2, but not day 7. Neither chlorpheniramine nor olopatadine affected alloknesis on day 2 or day 7. These results may reflect the limited antipruritic effects of histamine H1-receptor antagonists on human psoriasis. The imiquimod-induced psoriasis model seems to be useful for the investigation of itch and its sensitization in psoriasis.
Abnormal Behavior Recognition Using Self-Adaptive Hidden Markov Models

A self-adaptive Hidden Markov Model (SA-HMM) based framework is proposed for behavior recognition in this paper. In this model, if an unknown sequence cannot be classified into any trained HMMs, a new HMM will be generated and trained, where online training is applied on SA-HMMs to dynamically generate the high-level description of behaviors. The SA-HMMs based framework consists of training and classification stages. During the training stage, the state transition and output probabilities of HMMs can be optimized through the Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs) so the generated symbols can match the observed image features within a specific behavior class. On the classification stage, the probability with which a particular HMM generates the test symbol sequence will be calculated, which is proportional to the likelihood.
Orexins Mediate Sex Differences in the Stress Response and in Cognitive Flexibility.

Abstract Background Women are twice as likely as men to experience stress-related psychiatric disorders. The biological basis of these sex differences is poorly understood. Orexins are altered in anxious and depressed patients. Using a rat model of repeated stress, we examined whether orexins contribute to sex differences in outcomes relevant to stress-related psychiatric diseases. Methods Behavioral, neural, and endocrine habituation to repeated restraint stress and subsequent cognitive flexibility was examined in adult male and female rats. In parallel, orexin expression and activation were determined in both sexes, and chromatin immunoprecipitation was used to determine transcription factors acting at the orexin promoter. Designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs were used to inhibit orexin activation throughout repeated restraint to determine if the stress-related impairments in female rats could be reduced. Results Female rats exhibited impaired habituation to repeated restraint with subsequent deficits in cognitive flexibility compared with male rats. Increased orexin expression and activation were observed in female rats compared with male rats. The higher expression of orexin messenger RNA in female rats was due to actions of glucocorticoid receptors on the orexin promoter, as determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation. Inhibition of orexins using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs in female rats throughout repeated restraint abolished their heightened hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal responsivity and reduced stress-induced cognitive impairments. Conclusions Orexins mediate the impairments in adaptations to repeated stress and in subsequent cognitive flexibility exhibited by female rats and provide evidence for a broader role for orexins in mediating functions relevant to stress-related psychiatric diseases.
Semileptonic branching fraction and hadronic width of the B mesons in light of the new CLEO observation of b → D¯X

This talk reports the latest CLEO observation of D production in b decays, which provides new insite of the QCD interactions in heavy quark systems. The observed B semileptonic branching fraction has been significantly lower than QCD expectations, as was confirmed by recent lepton-lepton correclation studies at various experiments that removed most of the model dependence in previous generation measurements. One possible explanation to accommodate this lepton shortage or a wider hadronic width of B mesons is that the process b → cc¯s contributes at a higher rate than expected. That explanation, however, predicts more charm production in than is observed. Using lepton tags in B events this analysis measures the fraction of b → DX in addition to b → DX . The first observation of B → DDX has profound implications to both experiment and theory.
Long-range interactions from the many-pair expansion: A different avenue to dispersion in DFT

One of the several problems that plague majority of density functional theory calculations is their inability to properly account for long-range correlations giving rise to dispersion forces. The recently proposed many-pair expansion (MPE) [T. Zhu et al., Phys. Rev. B 93, 201108(R) (2016)] is a hierarchy of approximations that systematically corrects any deficiencies of an approximate functional to finally converge to the exact energy. This is achieved by decomposing the total density into a sum of two-electron densities and accounting for successive two-, four-, six-,… electron interactions. Here, we show that already low orders of MPE expansion recover the dispersion energy accurately. To this end, we employ the Pariser-Parr-Pople Hamiltonian and study the behavior of long-range interactions in trans-polyacetylene as well as stacks of ethylene and benzene molecules. We also show how convergence of the expansion is affected by electron conjugation and the choice of the density partitioning.
Modern feature extraction methods and learning algorithms in the field of industrial acoustic signal processing

Identification of acoustic events is a challanging field of signal processing. Fast identification algorithms would be applicable for real-time event detection in industrial projects. Event detection is usually done by classifying a specific feature of windows of time series. This paper studies the application of the novel skeleton method for feature extraction. We compare it with traditional feature extraction methods on high frequency sampled vibration data, which was measured by a Gleeble 3800 thermo-mechanical physical simulator. Barkhausen noise and other background noises are hardening the analysis.
Abstract P328: Effect of Sitagliptin on the Hemodynamic and Metabolic Response to a Mixed Meal in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP4) inhibitors such as sitagliptin are anti-diabetes drugs that may also have cardiovascular effects. We tested the hypothesis that there is an interactive effect between...
An aspirin a day keeps ovarian cancer at bay

Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer and eighth most common cause of cancer-related deaths among females, with approximately 300,000 new cases and 185,000 deaths in 2018 worldwide [1]. O...
Soil Particle Movement and Shear Band Development during Plane Strain Compression

Most geotechnical structures failed by formation and development of shear bands in soils. Thus, shear deformation and shear bands development evaluation are necessary to understand shear failure mechanism. During shearing, deformation behaviour analysis for soil particles within entire soil specimen are evaluated to understand the soil behaviour and shear strength characteristics. In this paper, a series of plane strain compression tests using Nevada sand and Ottawa sand were conducted to identify the shear strain and shear failure mechanism. With the results of plane strain compression tests, image analyses using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) were carried out in order to measure the change in position of soil particles and shear bands development. Deformation vectors and contours were constructed to see the entire deformation mechanism in the soil specimen. During shearing, shear band was identified after peak stress and most visually distinctive at residual state. However, shear band started to develop invisibly immediately after starting loading and this invisible development was able to be observed by horizontal and vertical movement analyses of PIV. Soil particles moved actively in horizontal and vertical direction to generate shear band in the beginning of shearing. After development of shear band, soil particles moved along the shear band.
Community and Stakeholder Engagement

Improving population health in a sustainable way requires collaboration within the medical community and also working through partnerships among multiple community and societal stakeholders. One example of stakeholder engagement is engagement of the community whose health will be affected. Stakeholder engagement has benefits for the quality, sustainability, and impact of population health research and interventions. Several principles of engagement have been developed; common elements across these principles are power sharing, respect, humility, colearning, commitment, and a goal of making change. There is a growing pool of resources available to help clinicians enhance their skills in stakeholder engagement.
DNAJB1-PRKACA fusions occur in oncocytic pancreatic and biliary neoplasms and are not specific for fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma

Recently discovered DNAJB1-PRKACA oncogenic fusions have been considered diagnostic for fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma. In this study, we describe six pancreatobiliary neoplasms with PRKACA fusions, five of which harbor the DNAJB1-PRKACA fusion. All neoplasms were subjected to a hybridization capture-based next-generation sequencing assay (MSK-IMPACT), which enables the identification of sequence mutations, copy number alterations, and selected structural rearrangements involving ≥410 genes (n = 6) and/or to a custom targeted, RNA-based panel (MSK-Fusion) that utilizes Archer Anchored Multiplex PCR technology and next-generation sequencing to detect gene fusions in 62 genes (n = 2). Selected neoplasms also underwent FISH analysis, albumin mRNA in-situ hybridization, and arginase-1 immunohistochemical labeling (n = 3). Five neoplasms were pancreatic, and one arose in the intrahepatic bile ducts. All revealed at least focal oncocytic morphology: three cases were diagnosed as intraductal oncocytic papillary neoplasms, and three as intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms with mixed oncocytic and pancreatobiliary or gastric features. Four cases had an invasive carcinoma component composed of oncocytic cells. Five cases revealed DNAJB1-PRKACA fusions and one revealed an ATP1B1-PRKACA fusion. None of the cases tested were positive for albumin or arginase-1. Our data prove that DNAJB1-PRKACA fusion is neither exclusive nor diagnostic for fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, and caution should be exercised in diagnosing liver tumors with DNAJB1-PRKACA fusions as fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, particularly if a pancreatic lesion is present. Moreover, considering DNAJB1-PRKACA fusions lead to upregulated protein kinase activity and that this upregulated protein kinase activity has a significant role in tumorigenesis of fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, protein kinase inhibition could have therapeutic potential in the treatment of these pancreatobiliary neoplasms as well, once a suitable drug is developed.
Implementing a KARR® extraction column in the unit operations lab

Abstract The use of a continuous countercurrent Karr® extraction column for the senior unit operations lab at Villanova University is described. A number of issues were addressed in developing this experiment. These issues included the purpose of the experiment, the specific material system to use, i.e., the composition of the feed, extract and the solute, the volume of materials to process, safety concerns including toxicity and flammability of the materials, waste handling, the analytical technique needed to determine solute recovery, and identification of a design application related to the laboratory data. The experiment described here has been successfully used for three years without any significant problems. Student survey results and report grading rubrics indicate that the students understood important aspects of the fluid dynamics that govern mass transfer in a continuous extraction column and how to use lab data for a commercial design. Students also identified areas for potential improvement.
History of the peak three-second gust

Abstract The usage of the term “3-s gust” is commonplace throughout the wind engineering community. The term generally refers to the peak wind speed measured in some epoch (e.g., 1 ​h) with a specified gust duration – in this case 3 ​s (i.e., peak 3-s gust). There seems to be misconceptions on the origins of the peak 3-s gust amongst members of the engineering community. This historical review provides a general timeline of its usage in the literature and practice, reasons and rationale for the choice and provides thoughts for its use going forward.
CT Angiography for the Detection of Pulmonary Embolism: Role of Tube Voltage and Contrast Injection Rate on Diagnostic Confidence.

Rationale and Objectives Pulmonary CTA is the current standard method to assess for suspected pulmonary embolism. In some instances, the test results in low confidence interpretations. Our purpose was to compare the diagnostic confidence for three different scan protocols. Materials and Methods Pulmonary CTA images from 401 patients were retrospectively analyzed. 202 studies used a tube voltage of 120 kVp and a contrast injection rate of 4 cc/s, 99 studies 120 kVp and 5 cc/s, and 100 studies 100 kVp and 4 cc/s. The level of diagnostic confidence was extracted from the final clinical reports. For each study, attenuation of the pulmonary artery, image noise, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and radiation dose were compared. Results The 120 kVp, 5 cc/s protocol resulted in high diagnostic confidence in 84% of cases, more than with the 120 kVp, 4cc/s (65%) and the 100 kVp protocol (65%, p Conclusion The reduction of tube voltage to 100 kVp at 4 cc/s maintains diagnostic confidence with lower radiation exposure, but does not equal the higher confidence achieved with 120 kVp at 5cc/s.
Humane Music Education for the Common Good: edited by Iris M. Yob and Estelle R. Jorgensen, Bloomington, IN, Indiana University Press, 2020, 288 pp., $38.00 (paper), ISBN 978-0-253-04691-8

Why is music education needed and/or wanted? Does it really serve a purpose? Humane Music Education for the Common Good discusses the importance of music education, looking at the pathways it provi...
Examining the impact of neuroimmune dysregulation on social behavior of male and female juvenile rats.

Abstract Many individuals diagnosed with neuropsychiatric disorders, such as autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, and social anxiety disorder, all share a common dimension of aberrant social behavior. Epidemiological data indicate that adverse environmental factors contribute to the risk for neurodevelopmental disorders, including those associated with aberrant social behavior. Early-life exposure to infectious pathogens is one of those adverse environmental factors, suggesting that activation of the immune system during early development may contribute to disease pathology associated with altered social behavior. In the current project, we examined the impact of neonatal infection, with or without juvenile immune activation, on the expression of juvenile social behavior and on the expression of inflammatory cytokines and microglial signaling molecules in the juvenile rat brain. The outcomes of these experiments revealed that neonatal infection significantly decreased juvenile social interaction, but significantly increased juvenile play behavior in male and female rats. Moreover, neonatal infection alone, juvenile immune activation alone, and neonatal infection plus juvenile immune activation all significantly impaired social recognition in juvenile male rats. Juvenile female rats (including controls) did not demonstrate social recognition as measured in our three-chamber social recognition test. Taken together, the behavioral and molecular data presented here support the sensitivity of the developing brain to immune activation, particularly in the expression of age-appropriate social behaviors. These data warrant the design of additional studies to examine the mechanistic relationship between early-life immune activation and aberrant social behavior to develop novel as well as modify existing therapeutic targets and preventative measures to help those who display aberrant social behavior.
Integrating readout of somatic mutations in individual cells with single-cell transcriptional profiling

Summary In many biological applications, the readout of somatic mutations in individual cells is essential. For example, it can be used to mark individual cancer cells or identify progenies of a stem cell. Here, we present a protocol to perform single-cell RNA-seq and single-cell amplicon-seq using 10X Chromium technology. Our protocol demonstrates how to (1) isolate CD34+ progenitor cells from human bone marrow aspirate, (2) prepare single-cell amplicon libraries, and (3) analyze the libraries to assign somatic mutations to individual cells. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Van Egeren et al. (2021) .
Variation in outcomes across surgeons meeting the Leapfrog volume standard for complex oncologic surgery.

Background A large body of evidence supports regionalization of complex oncologic surgery to high-volume surgeons at high-volume hospitals. However, whether there is heterogeneity of outcomes among high-volume surgeons at high-volume hospitals remains unknown. Methods Patients who underwent esophagectomy, lung resection, pancreatectomy, or proctectomy for primary cancer were identified within the Medicare 100% Standard Analytic File (2013-2017). Mixed-effects analyses assessed the association between Leapfrog annual volume standards for surgeons (esophagectomy ≥7, lung resection ≥15, pancreatectomy ≥10, proctectomy ≥6) and hospitals (esophagectomy ≥20, lung resection ≥40, pancreatectomy ≥20, proctectomy ≥16) relative to postoperative complications and 90-day mortality. Additional analyses using New York's all-payer Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (2004-2015) were performed. Results Among 112,154 Medicare beneficiaries, high-volume surgeons at high-volume hospitals were associated with lower adjusted odds of complications (esophagectomy: odds ratio [OR], 0.73 [95% CI, 0.61-0.86]; lung resection: OR, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.82-0.94]; pancreatectomy: OR, 0.73 [95% CI, 0.66-0.80]; proctectomy: OR, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.85-0.99]) and 90-day mortality (esophagectomy: OR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.44-0.76]; lung resection: OR, 0.82 [95% CI, 0.73-0.93]; pancreatectomy: OR, 0.66 [95% CI, 0.56-0.76]; proctectomy: OR, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.65-0.85]). For the average patient at the average high-volume hospital, there was a 2-fold difference in the adjusted complication rate between the best-performing and worst-performing high-volume surgeon for all operations (esophagectomy, 28%-55%; lung resection, 7%-21%; pancreatectomy, 16%-35%; proctectomy, 16%-28%). Wide variation was also present in adjusted 90-day mortality for esophagectomy (3.5%-9.3%). Results from New York's all-payer database were similar. Conclusions Even among high-volume surgeons meeting the Leapfrog volume standards, wide variation in postoperative outcomes exists. These findings suggest that volume alone should not be used as a quality indicator, and quality metrics should be continuously evaluated across all surgeons and hospital systems. Lay summary Previous studies have demonstrated a surgical volume-outcome relationship for high-risk operations-that is high-volume surgeons and hospitals that perform a specific surgical procedure more frequently have better outcomes for that operation. Although most high-volume surgeons had better outcomes, this study demonstrated that some high-volume surgeons did not have better outcomes. Therefore, volume is an important factor but should not be the only factor considered when assessing the quality of a surgeon and a hospital for cancer surgery.