cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Model parameter uncertainty analysis for an annual field-scale P loss model

Phosphorous (P) fate and transport models are important tools for developing and evaluating conservation practices aimed at reducing P losses from agricultural fields. Because all models are simplifications of complex systems, there will exist an inherent amount of uncertainty associated with their predictions. It is therefore important that efforts be directed at identifying, quantifying, and communicating the different sources of model uncertainties. In this study, we conducted an uncertainty analysis with the Annual P Loss Estimator (APLE) model. Our analysis included calculating parameter uncertainties and confidence and prediction intervals for five internal regression equations in APLE. We also estimated uncertainties of the model input variables based on values reported in the literature. We then predicted P loss for a suite of fields under different management and climatic conditions while accounting for uncertainties in the model parameters and inputs and compared the relative contributions of these two sources of uncertainty to the overall uncertainty associated with predictions of P loss. Both the overall magnitude of the prediction uncertainties and the relative contributions of the two sources of uncertainty varied depending on management practices and field characteristics. This was due to differences in the number of model input variables and the uncertainties in the regression equations associated with each P loss pathway. Inspection of the uncertainties in the five regression equations brought attention to a previously unrecognized limitation with the equation used to partition surface-applied fertilizer P between leaching and runoff losses. As a result, an alternate equation was identified that provided similar predictions with much less uncertainty. Our results demonstrate how a thorough uncertainty and model residual analysis can be used to identify limitations with a model. Such insight can then be used to guide future data collection and model development and evaluation efforts.
Diagnosis, classification, and therapeutic interventions for sinopulmonary Aspergillosis

Sinopulmonary aspergillosis represents a diverse collection of allergic, invasive, and chronic sinus and respiratory conditions. These diseases can affect patients with and without immune impairment and in some cases may be life-threatening. Areas covered: We review the diagnosis, classification, and therapeutic options available to treat sinopulmonary aspergillosis and look ahead to emerging diagnostic and therapeutic options that may soon play an important role in clinical practice. Expert commentary: Histopathology and tissue culture remain the gold standard for the diagnosis of invasive sinopulmonary aspergillosis, but several new molecular detection methods have recently emerged, including various PCR-based platforms, MALDI-TOF, and lateral flow assays. We examine these methodologies as well as the barriers associated with the standardization, validation, and implementation. We also explore the pipeline of antifungal agents in development to treat sinopulmonary aspergillosis.
Identification of influenza A nucleoprotein body domain residues essential for viral RNA expression expose antiviral target

Influenza A virus is controlled with yearly vaccination while emerging global pandemics are kept at bay with antiviral medications. Unfortunately, influenza A viruses have emerged resistance to approved influenza antivirals. Accordingly, there is an urgent need for novel antivirals to combat emerging influenza A viruses resistant to current treatments. Conserved viral proteins are ideal targets because conserved protein domains are present in most, if not all, influenza subtypes, and are presumed less prone to evolve viable resistant versions. The threat of an antiviral resistant influenza pandemic justifies our study to identify and characterize antiviral targets within influenza proteins that are highly conserved. Influenza A nucleoprotein (NP) is highly conserved and plays essential roles throughout the viral lifecycle, including viral RNA synthesis. Using NP crystal structure, we targeted accessible amino acids for substitution. To characterize the NP proteins, reconstituted viral ribonucleoproteins (vRNPs) were expressed in 293 T cells, RNA was isolated, and reverse transcription – quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was employed to assess viral RNA expressed from reconstituted vRNPs. Location was confirmed using cellular fractionation and western blot, along with observation of NP-GFP fusion proteins. Nucleic acid binding, oligomerization, and vRNP formation, were each assessed with native gel electrophoresis. Here we report characterization of an accessible and conserved five amino acid region within the NP body domain that plays a redundant but essential role in viral RNA synthesis. Our data demonstrate substitutions in this domain did not alter NP localization, oligomerization, or ability to bind nucleic acids, yet resulted in a defect in viral RNA expression. To define this region further, single and double amino acid substitutions were constructed and investigated. All NP single substitutions were functional, suggesting redundancy, yet different combinations of two amino acid substitutions resulted in a significant defect in RNA expression, confirming these accessible amino acids in the NP body domain play an important role in viral RNA synthesis. The identified conserved and accessible NP body domain represents a viable antiviral target to counter influenza replication and this research will contribute to the well-informed design of novel therapies to combat emerging influenza viruses.
The Effects of Men's and Women's Voices in Political Advertising

Campaigns disproportionately choose men to voice their political ads, but it is not clear that men’s voices are more credible or better able to persuade an audience. We employ experimental data and...
Internet of Things (IoT) sensors for smart home electric energy usage management

Going home will take on a new meaning and inviting with the increasing prevalence of IoT sensors being incorporated into the modern household. A smart home is comprised of IoT sensors, IoT actuators and a computational system thinking machine for communication, computation, control and visualizations (in-house and remote), which work together to benefit the homeowner in multiple ways. Three of the major benefits include improving the energy efficiency of a smart home, actively monitoring the home environment, and enhancing the residents' social well-being. A survey of existing IoT sensors, an assessment of their technical and economical parameters, the prominent research initiatives to enhance the functionality of IoT sensors and key features of future IoT sensors are presented in this paper.
Real-time tomosynthesis for radiation therapy guidance.

Purpose Fluoroscopy has been a tool of choice for monitoring treatments or interventions because of its extremely fast imaging times. However, the contrast obtained in fluoroscopy may be insufficient for certain clinical applications. In stereotactic ablative radiation therapy of the lung, fluoroscopy often lacks sufficient contrast for gating treatment. The purpose of this work is to describe and assess a real-time tomosynthesis design that can produce sufficient contrast for guidance of lung tumor treatment within a small field of view. Methods Previous tomosynthesis designs in radiation oncology have detector temporal resolution on the order of seconds. The proposed system design uses parallel acquisition of multiple frames by simultaneously illuminating the field of view with multiple sources, enabling a temporal resolution of up to 30 frames per second. For a small field of view, a single flat-panel detector could be used if different sectors of the detector are assigned to specific sources. Simulated images were generated by forward projection of existing clinical datasets. The authors varied the number of tubes and the power of each tube in order to determine the impact on tumor visualization. Results Visualization of the tumor was much clearer in tomosynthesis than in fluoroscopy. Contrast generally improved with the number of sources used, and a minimum of four sources should be used. The high contrast of the lung allows very low system power, and in most cases, less than 1 mA was needed. More power is required in the lateral direction than the AP direction. Conclusions The proposed system produces images adequate for real-time guidance of radiation therapy. The additional hardware requirements are modest, and the system is capable of imaging at high frame rates and low dose. Further development, including a prototype system and a dosimetry study, is needed to further evaluate the feasibility of this device for radiation therapy guidance. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Well below 2 °C: Mitigation strategies for avoiding dangerous to catastrophic climate changes

The historic Paris Agreement calls for limiting global temperature rise to "well below 2 °C." Because of uncertainties in emission scenarios, climate, and carbon cycle feedback, we interpret the Paris Agreement in terms of three climate risk categories and bring in considerations of low-probability (5%) high-impact (LPHI) warming in addition to the central (∼50% probability) value. The current risk category of dangerous warming is extended to more categories, which are defined by us here as follows: >1.5 °C as dangerous; >3 °C as catastrophic; and >5 °C as unknown, implying beyond catastrophic, including existential threats. With unchecked emissions, the central warming can reach the dangerous level within three decades, with the LPHI warming becoming catastrophic by 2050. We outline a three-lever strategy to limit the central warming below the dangerous level and the LPHI below the catastrophic level, both in the near term (<2050) and in the long term (2100): the carbon neutral (CN) lever to achieve zero net emissions of CO2, the super pollutant (SP) lever to mitigate short-lived climate pollutants, and the carbon extraction and sequestration (CES) lever to thin the atmospheric CO2 blanket. Pulling on both CN and SP levers and bending the emissions curve by 2020 can keep the central warming below dangerous levels. To limit the LPHI warming below dangerous levels, the CES lever must be pulled as well to extract as much as 1 trillion tons of CO2 before 2100 to both limit the preindustrial to 2100 cumulative net CO2 emissions to 2.2 trillion tons and bend the warming curve to a cooling trend.
Molecular dynamics investigation of water-exchange reactions on lanthanide ions in water/1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethylsufate ([EMIm][OTf]).

We report a kinetic study of the water exchange on lanthanide ions in water/[1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium][trifluoromethylsufate] (water/[EMIm][OTf]). The results from 17O-NMR measurements show that the water-exchange rates in water/[EMIm][OTf] increase with decreasing size of the lanthanide ions. This trend for water-exchange is similar to the previously reported trend in water/1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate (water/[EMIm][EtSO4]) but opposite to that in water. To gain atomic-level insight into these water-exchange reactions, molecular dynamics simulations for lanthanide ions in water/[EMIm][OTf] have been performed using the atomic-multipole-optimized-energetics-for-biomolecular-application polarizable force field. Our molecular dynamics simulations reproduce the experimental water-exchange rates in terms of the trend and provide possible explanations for the observed experimental behavior. The smaller lanthanide ions in water/[EMIm][OTf] undergo faster water exchange because the smaller lantha...
Racial Differences in Pregnancy Intention, Reproductive Coercion, and Partner Violence among Family Planning Clients: A Qualitative Exploration

Abstract Background Unintended pregnancy (UIP) is a persistent public health concern in the United States disproportionately experienced by racial/ethnic minorities and women of low socioeconomic status. UIP often occurs with experiences of reproductive coercion (RC) and intimate partner violence (IPV). The purpose of the study was to qualitatively describe and compare contexts for UIP risk between low-income Black and White women with histories of IPV/RC. Study Design Semistructured interviews were conducted with low-income Black and White women with histories of IPV or RC, ages 18 to 29 years, recruited from family planning clinics in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Results Interviews with 10 non-Hispanic Black women and 34 non-Hispanic White women (N = 44) were included in the analysis. Differences between White and Black women emerged regarding IPV/RC experiences, gender roles in intimate relationships, and trauma histories, including childhood adversity. Fatal threats and IPV related to childbearing were most influential among White women. Among Black women, pregnancy was greatly influenced by RC related to impending incarceration, subfertility, and condom nonuse, and decisions about contraception were often dependent on the male. Sexual abuse, including childhood sexual assault, in the context of sexual/reproductive health was more prominent among White women. Childhood experiences of neglect impacted pregnancy intention and love-seeking behaviors among Black women. Conclusions Racial differences exist in experiences of IPV/RC with regard to UIP even among women with similar economic resources and health care access. These findings provide much-needed context to the persistent racial/ethnic disparities in UIP and illustrate influences beyond differential access to care and socioeconomic status.
What Makes a Property “Semantic”?

This paper is concerned with the semantics-pragmatics dispute. It is common to distinguish the “semantic” properties of an utterance from its “pragmatic” properties, and what is “said” from what is “meant”. What is the basis for putting something on one side rather than the other of these distinctions? Such questions are usually settled largely by appeals to intuitions. The paper rejects this approach arguing that we need a theoretical basis for these distinctions. This is to be found by noting that languages are representational systems that scientists attribute to species to explain their communicative behaviors. We then have a powerful theoretical interest in distinguishing, (a), the representational properties of an utterance that arise simply from the speaker’s exploitation of a linguistic system from, (b), any other properties that may constitute the speaker’s “message”. I call the former properties “semantic”, the latter, “pragmatic”. The semantic ones are constituted by properties arising from linguistic conventions, disambiguations, and reference fixings. Devitt foreshadows an argument in a forthcoming book, Overlooking conventions: the trouble with linguistic pragmatism, that many of the striking examples produced by linguistic pragmatists exemplify semantic rather than pragmatic properties. This argument counts against the popular pragmatist theses of “semantic underdetermination” and “truth-conditional pragmatics”. It is very much in the spirit of the tradition that pragmatists reject.
Principles and Practice of Engineering Exam Pass Rate by Gender

In many disciplines of engineering, the professional engineering license is an important credential for career advancement. To attain an engineering license, one must pass the Principle and Practic...
University of Missouri Department of Statistics

The first course at the University of Missouri (MU) to mention statistics in its title was “Mathematical Theory of Probability, with Applications to Life Insurance and Statistics,” offered by the mathematics department from 1906 to 1910, followed by “Probability and Statistics” starting in 1911. A committee was formed in 1961 to consider whether or not to form a new department in the College of Arts and Science (A&S) that was devoted solely to statistics. At this time, mathematics majors could have an emphasis area in “mathematics and statistics,” and there was an accounting and statistics department in the School of Business and Public Administration (B&PA). Because B&PA was to have a new dean in fall 1962, the committee decided to wait for his arrival before making a recommendation. The dean of faculties called together a committee after the dean of B&PA had arrived. The idea of a new statistics department was a popular one, and it was established in 1963.
The Gendered Lives of Legal Aid: Lay Lawyers, Social Workers, and the Bar, 1863-1960

The Gendered Life of Legal Aid, 1863-1960 (manuscript in process) will be the first monograph on the history of civil legal aid in the United States. By closely examining the history of legal aid in New York, Chicago, and Boston, it presents a number of arguments with wide-ranging implications and it is animated by a host of conflicts. These include the relationship between legal aid and citizenship, the changing status of domestic relations law, the interactions between lawyers and social workers and their different understandings of the role and nature of law, what services legal aid should provide, and even how the history of legal aid should be told. More specifically the work questions what it historically meant to “practice law” or “to be a lawyer” and argues that women practiced law before they were admitted to law school in large numbers or could be admitted to state bars. Thus it puts in historical context and collapses the categorical dichotomy of lawyer versus non-lawyer and argues that our understanding of women practicing law in the nineteenth century needs to account for women lay lawyers. It also demonstrates that the practice of law from the nineteenth century through the first decades of the twentieth century was more democratic, heterogeneous, and less elite than we currently appreciate.
incidence of positive screening for obstructive sleep apnea in patients with isolated cleft lip and/or palate

Recent prospective studies evaluating the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in the general pediatric population using polysomnography (PSG) have estimated the prevalence to range from 1.2% to 5.8% (1–3). Pediatric OSA is an important cause of morbidity and, if untreated, can lead to adverse effects on growth, behaviour, cognition and cardiopulmonary function (4). Children with craniofacial deformities, including cleft lip and palate (CL/P), are at increased risk for OSA due to abnormalities in the naso- and oropharyngeal anatomy present from birth or acquired as a result of surgical intervention (5,6). Children with CL/P commonly exhibit midface hypoplasia and a retrognathic maxilla, which persist after surgical intervention (7,8). Moreover, surgical treatments for oral rehabilitation include palato- and pharyngoplasty, which have been shown to increase OSA risk (6–8). However, despite its adverse effects, little is known about the incidence of OSA in this high-risk population. Despite the paucity of literature, the American Academy of Pediatrics acknowledges an increased risk for OSA in children with CL/P (9). Previous studies involving children with CL/P are limited by highly heterogeneous study populations, small patient cohorts and specific surgical interventions. From an epidemiological perspective, children with isolated, nonsyndromic CL/P constitute the majority of patients seen at most cleft clinics (10). Thus, it makes empirical sense to characterize the risk for OSA in this specific population. Furthermore, although PSG remains the gold standard for OSA diagnosis, issues of cost and access to care commonly limit the clinical utility of this tool. Thus, it has been suggested that the majority of children in the United States are treated for OSA based purely on clinical assessment without a PSG diagnosis (11). In the present study, we used a validated screening tool to assess the incidence of OSA symptoms in children with isolated, nonsyndromic CL/P treated at a large urban cleft centre. We hypothesized that this patient population is at high risk for positive OSA screening. Secondary objectives aimed to characterize clinical and demographic variables that increase risk for positive OSA screening.
Distinguishing between fertilization failure and early pregnancy loss when identifying male-mediated adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Successful reproduction depends upon the precise orchestration of many physiological processes. With respect to male reproductive performance, normal copulatory behavior and ejaculatory function are required to insure that semen is deposited in the female tract. Then, a sufficient number of sperm must reach the site of fertilization at the optimal time for the oocyte to be fertilized, and those sperm that reach the oocyte must be capable of fertilizing the egg (binding and penetrating the zona pellucida and fusing with the oolemma). Finally, the fused spermatozoon must be intact genetically in order to support normal embryonic and postnatal development.
Medication Safety Teams’ Guided Implementation of Electronic Medication Administration Records in Five Nursing Homes

Article-at-a-Glance Background The 1.6million nursing home residents in the United States are at high risk for adverse effects from medication errors. In an attempt to decrease medication errors and improve safety practices, from 2003 through 2007 the study investigators partnered with five Midwestern nursing homes in implementing electronic point-of-care medication administration records (eMARs) and focused quality improvement (QI) efforts. Methods The eMAR, designed by a vendor as a part of a larger integrated electronic health record, provided a point of information integration for a variety of users, including practitioners, nursing staff, medication administrators, and nursing home leadership. At each nursing home, a medication safety team guided the transition from traditional paper-based systems to the eMAR. Results The implementation and integration of the eMAR was monitored in more than 300 hours of detailed observation, resulting in nearly 16,000 medication doses across approximately 200 medication administrations (passes) for 3,700 residents. The types of medication errors most receptive to the combined impact of the eMAR and focused QI efforts were late and omitted (or missing) medications. Discussion Technology provided the structures and processes that improved communication and integrated complex processes. Yet, regardless of how effectively the technology was designed, it was "laid upon" nursing home medication administration systems that were archaic and fragmented. The implementation of technology could not solve chronic structure and process issues in isolation. However, using the technology to streamline processes, support effective decision making, integrate complex tasks, and bring real-time data to a medication safety team provided an effective mechanism to maximize the impact of technology and to minimize the unintended consequences of large-scale change.
Reflections on Private Repossession, Public Policy and the Constitution

In the preface to The Immoralist, Andre Gide defends his failure to pass judgment on the hero of his novel: "I do not indeed claim that neutrality (I was going to say 'indecision') is the certain mark of a great mind; but I believe that many great minds have been very loath to . . . conclude-and that to state a problem clearly is not to suppose it solved in advance."1 If this is the test of intellectual greatness, many of those writing in the commercial law field have passed with flying colors. In the complex world of law and economics, of formulas and regression analyses, it is far easier to convey one's confusions than to assert definite legal and policy conclusions. Alas, however, I mnust join the ranks of the lesser minds; for this essay is anything but neutral. To the question whether private repossession under the Uniform Commercial Code violates the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment, I answer decidedly in the affirmative.2 In recent Supreme Court and lower federal court decisions, the judiciary, to paraphrase the description of one commentator,3 has run wild by legislating out of existence various prejudgment remedies-garnishment, cognovit notes, replevin and other similar devices available to creditors.4 The
Dual-electrode motion artifact cancellation for mobile electroencephalography.

Objective. Our purpose was to evaluate the ability of a dual electrode approach to remove motion artifact from electroencephalography (EEG) measurements. Approach. We used a phantom human head model and robotic motion platform to induce motion while collecting scalp EEG. We assembled a dual electrode array capturing (a) artificial neural signals plus noise from scalp EEG electrodes, and (b) electrically isolated motion artifact noise. We recorded artificial neural signals broadcast from antennae in the phantom head during continuous vertical sinusoidal movements (stationary, 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75, 2.00 Hz movement frequencies). We evaluated signal quality using signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), cross-correlation, and root mean square error (RMSE) between the ground truth broadcast signals and the recovered EEG signals. Main results. Signal quality was restored following noise cancellation when compared to single electrode EEG measurements collected with no phantom head motion. Significance. We achieved substantial motion artifact attenuation using secondary electrodes for noise cancellation. These methods can be applied to studying electrocortical signals during human locomotion to improve real-world neuroimaging using EEG.
Characterizing Bariatric Surgery Utilization and Complication Rates in the Adolescent Population.

Abstract Introduction Bariatric surgery is an increasingly common treatment of morbid obesity in the United States and has demonstrated effective weight loss and improvement of comorbidities. We used the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) data to characterize bariatric surgery utilization and complication rates in the adolescent population. Methods Demographics, surgical procedures, comorbidities, and 30-day outcomes of 2625 adolescents ages 18–21 who underwent bariatric surgery were analyzed from NSQIP data-bank from 2005 to 2015. Results 79.5% of patients were females. Majority of patients identified as Caucasian or Black/African American (BAA) at 66.7% (73% of US population) and 15.5% (12.6% of US population), respectively. 15.9% identified as Hispanic. Comorbidities included diabetes in 9.3% (7.8% NIDDM), hypertension (9.5%), and dyspnea on moderate exertion (13.2%). Sleeve Gastrectomy, Laparoscopic Roux-En-Y (RY) and Adjustable Gastric Banding (AGB) were the three most common procedures performed during the study period. There has been a sharp trend towards SG in recent years (11.4% in 2010, to 66.6% in 2015), while RY utilization declined (47.4% in 2010 to 28.6% in 2015). Surgical complications were 2.4%, with the most common being superficial surgical site infection (0.7%), UTI (0.7%), and organ-space infection (0.4%). Reoperation and readmission rates within 30-days post-operation were 1.5% and 4.1%, respectively. Those with complications had longer length-of-stays (2.7 vs. 1.8 days, P Conclusion Morbid obesity is associated with significant comorbidity. SG is increasingly the most utilized form of bariatric surgery. While complications are low, they are associated with greater hospital length-of-stay, readmission, and reoperation rates. Level of Evidence Treatment Study, Level III.
FRI0479 TRENDS IN LOW TRAUMA DISTAL FOREARM FRACTURE INCIDENCE IN WOMEN AND MEN OVER 1995-2015 IN OLMSTED COUNTY, MINNESOTA, USA

Background It is unclear how recent practice changes of decreased use of hormone replacement therapy and drug holidays from bisphosphonate therapy have impacted incidence of fragility fractures. Fragility (low trauma) fractures at the distal forearm in women may be more likely to be impacted by these changes as compared with men. Objectives We examined the trends in distal forearm fracture incidence over 1995-2015, in both women and men, from Olmsted County, Minnesota, USA. Methods Using the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a unique medical records linkage system that allows access to all (inpatient and outpatient) community medical records for Olmsted County residents, we identified all incident distal forearm fractures among residents age ≥18 years between 1995-2015. Available medical records were reviewed by trained nurse abstractors to validate distal forearm fractures identified and to determine their antecedent cause (pathological process [e.g., malignancy], severe trauma [e.g., motor vehicle accidents, sports/other recreational activities] and low trauma [by convention, equivalent to a fall from standing height or less]). Overall incidence rates were summarized separately for women and men, as well as by 5 year strata for different age groups (ages 18-39, 40-59, 60-79 and ≥ 80 yrs). Rates for women and men were each directly age-adjusted to the population distribution of US whites in 2010. Results Between 1995-2015, we identified 2727 distal forearm fractures in women (70%, median age 62 yrs; 1915 due to low trauma) and 1193 distal forearm fractures in men (30%, median age 48 yrs; 450 due to low trauma), 92.3% of which were in whites. The overall age-adjusted annual incidence of first distal forearm fracture over 1995-2015 was 233 per 100,000 person-years (p-y) for women and 113 per 100,000 p-y for men. When considering only fractures due to low trauma, the overall age-adjusted annual incidence of first distal forearm fracture over 1995-2015 was 169 per 100,000 p-y for women and 49 per 100,000 p-y for men. Rates of low trauma distal forearm fracture appear to be stable in younger (18-39 yrs) women, but since 2005, seem to be increasing in women age 40-59 yrs (Table). In contrast, rates in older women appear to be decreasing or are stable since 2005. In men, the rates of low trauma distal forearm fracture have been relatively unchanged over the past 20 years, except in men age ≥ 80 yrs where the rates have generally been lower since 2005 (Table). Conclusion The trend for increasing low trauma distal forearm fractures in women age 40-59 yrs may reflect the decreased use of hormone replacement therapy, which would likely have particularly impacted this age group. The decrease in fractures in men age ≥ 80 yrs may reflect greater recognition, in recent years, of osteoporosis in older men and initiation of treatment. Whether changes in practice patterns are actually contributing to these observed trends warrants further review. References None Disclosure of Interests None declared
Photolytic Reaction of Hydroxy Fischer Carbene Complexes: Synthesis of α-Hydroxy Esters

Photolytic reaction of in situ generated pentacarbonyl(1-hydroxyalkylidene)chromium complexes in the presence of an alcohol, under 6 atm of carbon monoxide, affords α-hydroxy-substituted esters in low to moderate yield. Acetals, formed via thermal decomposition of the carbenes, are in some cases the major product.
METTL2 forms a complex with the DALRD3 anticodon-domain binding protein to catalyze formation of 3-methylcytosine in specific arginine tRNA isoacceptors

In mammals, a subset of arginine tRNA isoacceptors are methylated in the anticodon loop by the METTL2 methyltransferase to form the 3-methylcytosine (m3C) modification. However, the mechanism by which METTL2 identifies specific arginine tRNAs for m3C formation as well as the biological role of m3C in mammals is unknown. Here, we show that human METTL2 forms a complex with DALR anticodon binding domain containing 3 (DALRD3) protein in order to recognize particular arginine tRNAs destined for m3C modification. Using biochemical reconstitution, we find that METTL2-DALDR3 complexes catalyze m3C formation in vitro that is dependent upon sequence elements specific to certain arginine tRNAs. Notably, DALRD3-deficient human cells exhibit nearly complete loss of the m3C modification in arginine tRNAs. These findings uncover an unexpected function for the DALRD3 protein in the targeting of distinct arginine tRNAs for m3C modification.
A 28/60 GHz Dual-band Power Amplifier

A 0.13-μm SiGe BiCMOS dual-band power amplifier (PA) is developed which can be operated at 28 GHz or 60 GHz. The PA employs an LC tank at the input to perform dual-band impedance matching, while the output is switched from one band to the other using a tunable stub. The stub is made tunable by using an HBT switch, which reduces the stub’s length when turned ON shifting the PA between 28 and 60 GHz modes. The switch has 0.7 dB ON- and 0.3 dB OFF-state loss. The measured results exhibit 16.2/11.8 dB small signal gain, 18.4/17.2 dBm saturated output power and 33/21 % peak PAE at 28/60 GHz respectively. The dual-band compact PA has a chip size of 0.55 × 0.52 mm2 and consumes a DC current of 11 mA at 3.5 V supply voltage. Within the literature, this is the first demonstration of a 28/60 GHz dual-band PA with performance comparable to dedicated PAs in each band.
"Understanding Checkpoints" Followed by Self-Evaluation to Assess Students' Scientific Literacy and Mastery of Content and Techniques.

An Understanding Checkpoint (UC) presents students with previously-unseen figures from published scientific studies accompanied by questions about the study methods, results, and implications. The UCs incorporate content, concepts, and techniques previously discussed in class, although the figures and study from which they are taken are new to students. They are in-class, open-note, time-limited assessments that simultaneously assess course learning goals related to: neurobiology principles and content; process of scientific investigation, including neurobiological research tools and data interpretation; and reading and analyzing primary research literature. After students submit their work, they are provided the full publication and are asked to grade their own work, providing rationale for their evaluation. The self-evaluative portion of the assignment incentivizes students to identify and remediate ongoing weaknesses. It also provides spaced retrieval practice to enhance learning. The final grade for the UC incorporates the student’s original answers and the accuracy of the self-assessment rationale. Student and instructor feedback indicates that the self - evaluative requirement develops a deeper understanding of the course material and enhances metacognitive effort, in addition to providing an opportunity to improve the UC grade. This strategy was originally presented as a teaching demonstration at the 2017 Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience Workshop.
Second Selves: Francesca Woodman, Ralph Meatyard, Bear Allison

The crisis of photography has a specific relation to the self and to the face, as the photograph, via social media, has come to elide the actual face, standing for the self while the embodied self retreats. In the photography of Francesca Woodman, Ralph Meatyard, and John Bear Allison, in their mask-based works, however, the self is not eroded by photography but has been uncannily set aslant or askew. The mask emerges as the image of a liminal self—the self between adolescence and adulthood in Woodman’s work, the self between life and death in Meatyard’s work, and the self becoming a decolonized subject in Allison’s work. The transformation effected by the mask is held in these uncanny photographs as always incomplete: that is, photography’s temporal eddy, which never completes the action it initiates, drawing the viewer into an uncanny liminality. Through Woodman, Meatyard, and Allison’s photographs as masks, we, the viewers, are transformed. In these images of late twentieth and early twenty-first-century America, we see its places haunted by differences that refuse to disappear. This chapter’s focus on Francesca Woodman, Ralph Meatyard and Bear Allison explores the eerie convergences between the mask and the photograph.
The role of particles, ash, or surfaces

Abstract Fuel fragmentation with ash formation are important areas of research and ultra-small particles can be formed that reflect the fuel particle elements. Ash is an important retainer and modifier of elements and also provides surface areas for their chemideposition. One major concern in combustion and in the upper atmosphere has been the mechanism of SO2 to SO3 oxidation for sulfate formation. Metal sulfates are among the most thermodynamic stable molecules formed in combustion.
Respiratory Therapy Protocol Use to Drive Appropriate Resource Utilization and Decrease Hospital Length of Stay

Background: As the landscape of healthcare reimbursement has changed, there is an increased emphasis on lowering costs and decreasing length of stay (LOS). As respiratory therapists (RTs), our value is increasingly measured not by daily procedures performed but by our overall impact on LOS and quality metrics. Literature supports the use of respiratory protocols to decrease LOS and improve patient outcomes with appropriate resource utilization by ensuring treatments have established indicators. A quality improvement project to increase respiratory therapy protocol (RTP) usage on patients receiving scheduled respiratory therapy should decrease LOS while better utilizing resources and lowering costs. Methods: Utilizing the electronic medical record9s embedded RTP order set, subjects were assessed by respiratory staff and placed on an appropriate therapy regimen determined by the scoring tool and therapy algorithms. For the RTP, subjects who scored received scheduled therapy based on therapy algorithm. To ensure RTP orders were placed on appropriate patients, a process was implemented to prompt providers to activate the RTP order set. Pre-intervention time was July 2016- April 2017 and Post-intervention period was July 2017- April 2018. Results: The LOS for our non-ICU COPD patients decreased from 4. 16 in our pre-intervention period (Jul 2016-Apr 2017) to a post-intervention (Jul 2017-Apr 2018) average of 3. 72 days, for a total reduction of 205 patient days and approximately $269, 166 in cost savings. This was based on 350 unique patient admissions for a total of 1305 patient days for COPD LOS. The number of therapies per net equivalent patient day decreased by 11519 for the 10 month post-intervention period and was based on ALL patients with RTP order and therapy modification. The reduction in therapy allowed the RT staff to conduct the increased number of RTP9s without adding additional staff. It was also noted the number of missed treatments decreased by 73% from July 2017 to April 2018. Conclusions: Utilization of a RTP showed a trend of decreased patient LOS for our patients with a primary COPD admission diagnosis. The implementation of RTP9s decreased the number of treatments per net equivalent patient day. By better targeting appropriate therapy, we achieved more efficient staff utilization, while reducing missed therapies. Disclosures. None.
Quality of Life Outcomes and Approach-Specific Morbidities in Endoscopic Endonasal Skull Base Surgery

Endoscopic endonasal skull base surgery (EESBS) has many advantages compared with traditional approaches. Recently, there is an increasing focus on patient-centered, quality of life (QOL), and approach-specific outcomes. This review seeks to illuminate our current understanding and knowledge gaps in EESBS-specific QOL outcomes. In an effort to capture the most relevant QOL implications for patients undergoing EESBS, three comprehensive, validated, QOL instruments have been created. These instruments are often supplemented by sinonasal-specific outcome measures, given the potentially significant sinonasal repercussions incurred with the use of the endonasal corridor. To date, most EESBS QOL investigations include patients with sellar-based pathology, though series with patients undergoing more extensive approaches are emerging. Generally, patients experience transient postoperative worsening of skull base– and sinonasal-specific QOL. Larger series, with validated QOL outcome measures, are needed to better understand patient outcomes and the morbidities of EESBS, especially those that relate to olfaction and surgery beyond the sella.
Unraveling the iterative type I polyketide synthases hidden in Streptomyces

Type I polyketide synthases (T1PKSs) are one of the most extensively studied PKSs, which can act either iteratively or via an assembly-line mechanism. Domains in the T1PKSs can readily be predicted by computational tools based on their highly conserved sequences. However, to distinguish between iterative and noniterative at the module level remains an overwhelming challenge, which may account for the seemingly biased distribution of T1PKSs in fungi and bacteria: small iterative monomodular T1PKSs that are responsible for the enormously diverse fungal natural products exist almost exclusively in fungi. Here we report the discovery of iterative T1PKSs that are unexpectedly both abundant and widespread in Streptomyces Seven of 11 systematically selected T1PKS monomodules from monomodular T1PKS biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) were experimentally confirmed to be iteratively acting, synthesizing diverse branched/nonbranched linear intermediates, and two of them produced bioactive allenic polyketides and citreodiols as end products, respectively. This study indicates the huge potential of iterative T1PKS BGCs from streptomycetes in the discovery of novel polyketides.
Gallbladder Cryoablation for Chronic Cholecystitis in High-Risk Surgical Patients: 1-Year Clinical Experience with Imaging Follow-up

Abstract Purpose To assess the short-term safety and efficacy of gallbladder cryoablation in high-risk patients. Materials and Methods A single-center, retrospective review of clinical and imaging follow-up from patients who were referred for gallbladder cryoablation between August 2018 and July 2019 was performed. All patients had serious pre-procedural comorbidities and were unacceptable surgical candidates (mean age, 52.5 years; mean American Society of Anesthesiologists score, 3.67). Primary efficacy measures included technical success, absence of symptoms after cholecystostomy tube removal, and imaging evidence of cystic duct obstruction and gallbladder involution. The primary safety measure was the absence of Society of Interventional Radiology moderate or greater adverse events. Results Technical success was 86%, with 1 of 7 patients unable to undergo cryoablation because of adhesions preventing hydrodissection of the colon away from the gallbladder. Mean duration of clinical follow-up after discharge was 278 days (range, 59–498 days). Abdominal pain was absent in all patients after ablation. Cholecystostomy tubes were removed immediately after ablation (n = 5) or on post-procedure day 11 (n = 1). Computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging was obtained at 1–3 months (n = 6), 4–6 months (n = 4), and 6–12 months (n = 5) after the procedure and demonstrated gallbladder involution in 5 of 6 patients. One patient had asymptomatic distention of the gallbladder on follow-up imaging. Hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid scans were completed in 5 of 6 patients 1 month after ablation and demonstrated cystic duct occlusion in all 5 patients. One moderate adverse event (infection) and 1 life-threatening adverse event (hemorrhage) occurred. Conclusions Gallbladder cryoablation might be a viable treatment option for high-risk patients with gallbladder disease and warrants further investigation.
Amplifying Factors in the Proposed Relationship between Sleep-Wake Dysfunction and Post-Concussion Syndrome Pathogenesis

Objective: Examine factors contributing to the relationship between sleep-wake dysfunction and subacute post-concussion syndrome. Setting: Data collection online via Qualtrics survey. Participants: Forty seven adults reporting recent TBI recruited via Facebook and Reddit. Design: Moderation analysis via hierarchical multiple regression procedure. Main Measures: Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire, General Anxiety Disorder Scale, and a General Health Questionnaire. Results: A relationship between sleep-wake dysfunction and symptoms of subacute post-concussion syndrome was observed. While premorbid mental health did not interact with this relationship, recent endorsement of depression and anxiety symptoms moderated the association. Exploratory analysis also suggested duration of posttraumatic amnesia inflated this relationship. Conclusion: These findings suggest that patients reporting post-concussive sleep dysfunction may benefit from mental health support. They also provide insight in to which early factors may be associated with the development of a sleep-related protracted recovery profile following a traumatic brain injury.
Electoral College bias and the 2020 presidential election.

Donald Trump’s 2016 win despite failing to carry the popular vote has raised concern that 2020 would also see a mismatch between the winner of the popular vote and the winner of the Electoral College. This paper shows how to forecast the electoral vote in 2020 taking into account the unknown popular vote and the configuration of state voting in 2016. We note that 2016 was a statistical outlier. The potential Electoral College bias was slimmer in the past and not always favoring the Republican candidate. We show that in past presidential elections, difference among states in their presidential voting is solely a function of the states’ most recent presidential voting (plus new shocks); earlier history does not matter. Based on thousands of simulations, our research suggests that the bias in 2020 probably will favor Trump again but to a lesser degree than in 2016. The range of possible outcomes is sufficiently wide, however, to even include some possibility that Joseph Biden could win in the Electoral College while barely losing the popular vote.
Repair Work Ethnographies: Revisiting Breakdown, Relocating Materiality (Strebel, Bovet, and Sormani, eds)

This work is a book review considering the title Repair Work Ethnographies: Revisiting Breakdown, Relocating Materiality edited by Ignaz Strebel, Alain Bovet and Philippe Sormani.
Meeting families where they are: Text-based support in parent to parent programs.

BACKGROUND Social support can be an important buffer to stress to parents when their child has a disability. Parent to parent (P2P) is an evidence-based peer support program for parents of children with disabilities, where support is provided over the telephone. However, younger parents may prefer electronic communication platforms. METHODS This paper reports on the results of an online survey of P2P stakeholders regarding: How text-based support is being used in P2P programs and whether text-based support is perceived as providing benefits to parents of children with disabilities. A 13-item survey was developed, which included 10 opportunities to provide Likert, nominal, ordinal and dichotomous responses, as well as three open-ended questions. Thirty-one P2P coordinators participated. RESULTS The majority of participants reported that text-based support was provided regularly in support relationships, most frequently to parents between 25 and 34. The most common platforms used included email and text messages, private Facebook groups and the Facebook Messenger application. Participants indicated that most P2P programs did not have a written policy or guidelines regarding text-based support. Qualitative themes of best practice, connection, (mis)understanding, convenience, preferences and privacy are also presented. CONCLUSION Because parents of young children are frequently referred to P2P programs for information and support, it is important the P2P program adapts to the preferences of a new generation while continuing to provide reliable and effective support. (word count: 225).