cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Radiation Efficiency of Nano-Radius Dipole Antennas in the Microwave and Far-infrared Regimes

At microwave and far-infrared frequencies, the radiation efficiency of a wire antenna with a radius value smaller than a few hundred nanometers is very low, due to large wire impedances and associated high ohmic losses. However, with the continued miniaturization of electronic devices, nano-radius interconnects and antennas are desirable. In this work, the relationships among wire radius, conductivity, frequency, and ohmic loss are examined for dipole antennas. Simple formulas are derived for the distributed resistance, effective conductivity, and radius required to achieve a desired radiation efficiency, and particular emphasis is given to half-wavelength antennas. Several methods to improve antenna efficiency at sub-100-nm radius values are discussed, including the use of superconducting nanowires and multi-wall carbon nanotubes.
Embryo survival from gossypol-fed heifers after transfer to lactating cows treated with human chorionic gonadotropin.

Abstract Objectives were to determine the effects of gossypol exposure during early embryo development on embryonic survival after transfer of frozen and thawed embryos to lactating dairy cows treated with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Holstein cows (n=269) were either treated or not treated with 3,300IU of hCG on d 5 of the estrous cycle and received an embryo collected from heifers fed or not fed gossypol. Embryo donor heifers consumed either 0 or 12g/d of free gossypol for 76 d prior to embryo collection, resulting in mean plasma gossypol concentrations of 0 and 7.38μg/mL, respectively. Embryos were transferred on d 7 of the estrous cycle and pregnancy diagnosed 21 and 35 d later. Progesterone was analyzed in plasma collected on d 5 and 12 of the estrous cycle. Treatment with hCG increased the total luteal area on d 12 (818.0 vs. 461.1mm 2 ) because of increased number of corpora lutea (2.0 vs. 1.0) and increased area of the original corpora lutea (522.7 vs. 443.5mm 2 ). Plasma progesterone concentrations were similar between treatments on d 5, but increased by d 12 in hCG-treated cows (6.46 vs. 4.78ng/mL). Pregnancy rates on d 28 and 42 were not affected by hCG. However, after transfer into lactating cows, embryos collected from heifers not fed gossypol resulted in higher pregnancy rates at 28 d (33.3 vs. 23.1%) and 42 d (29.6 vs. 20.2%) of gestation compared with embryos collected from heifers fed gossypol. Our data suggest that the negative effects of gossypol on fertility are mediated by changes in embryo viability in spite of similar grade quality at transfer.
Artificial intelligence, heuristic frameworks and tabu search

This paper examines some of the characteristics of AI-based heuristic procedures that have emerged as frameworks for solving difficult optimization problems. Consideration of attributes shared to some degree by human problem solvers leads to focusing in greater detail on one of the more successful procedures, tabu search, which employs a flexible memory system (in contrast to “memoryless” systems, as in simulated annealing and genetic algorithms, and rigid memory systems as in branch and bound and A* search). Specific attention is given to the short-term memory component of tabu search, which has provided solutions superior to the best obtained by other methods for a variety of problems. Our development emphasizes the principles underlying the interplay between restricting the search to avoid unproductive retracing of paths (by means of tabu conditions) and freeing the search to explore otherwise forbidden avenues (by aspiration criteria). Finally, we discuss briefly the relevance of a supplementary framework, called target analysis, which is a method for determining good decision rules to enable heuristics to perform more effectively.
Foreword to the Siberian lakes special issue

Two years before the publication of this special issue, I had the enormous privilege of joining the team of Dutch and Russian limnologists represented here. Because this was my first visit to Russia, let alone to Siberia, the sites were new and exotic to me, but the scientific atmosphere was as familiar and exciting as anywhere. I worked for many years at a former ‘secret atomic city’ in the United States, so it was an emotional experience for me to visit the city of Krasnoyarsk, which was closed to Westerners during the Cold War, but now is the site of friendly scientific collaboration. Krasnoyarsk, an industrial city on the upper Yenisei River, boasts one of the largest hydroelectric dams in the world. But its many old-style buildings and wooden houses give the city warmth and charm. As a sign that Russians treasure their literary giants as much as their gigantic material accomplishments, a large statue of Victor Astafiev, a great writer of the second half of the twentieth century, stands in the city’s pleasant pedestrian zone along the river. Having dreamed of the endless Siberian taiga, I was surprised when, on the day-long drive southwest from Krasnoyarsk to the study site in the Republic of Khakasia, the scenery changed from forest to rolling grassland. The pasture and hayfields gradually gave way to more arid but equally beautiful landscape. Finally, the objects of study, the lakes Shira and Shunet, appeared, like gems in the landscape. This special issue summarizes the integrated research on these lakes, not only as a joint collaboration of Russians and Dutch, but also as one of modelers and empirical scientists. The highly complex and fine-scale vertical structuring in both physico-chemical factors and biota of these lakes demands the highest level of quality in both empirical research and modeling. I believe this team not only shows that level of quality, but also has the correct view that understanding these lakes requires being open to a variety of modeling perspectives. A key finding in the empirical work is that not only bacteria, phytoflagellates and ciliates tend to concentrate in thin layers, but also large species such as Gammarus occupy specific depths in these highly stratified systems. Concerning the modeling, the project acted as a catalyst to bring together people and approaches needed to meet the challenges and avail the opportunities in lake ecosystem modeling in general. The work presented here builds on earlier achievements in a collaboration ongoing for over a decade. The early studies are documented in a special issue of Aquatic Ecology that appeared in 2002 (Vol 36/2). I am certain this new special issue of Aquatic Ecology contains great contributions to limnology and marks the start of new collaborations. Handling editor: Ramesh D. Gulati.
Inter-ideological mingling: White extremist ideology entering the mainstream on Twitter

ABSTRACTThis case study explores the convergence of white extremist political ideology with mainstream political ideology on the micro-blogging platform Twitter – a phenomenon termed “inter-ideological mingling”. Exploring the spread of white extremism in the digital environment can provide insight into the growth of hate groups in the physical environment. A sample of 4800 tweets was examined through hierarchical cluster analysis and textual analysis. Several pieces of evidence were found supporting inter-ideological mingling. Cluster analysis shows that extremist terms are not isolated from terms found in mainstream political discourse. Textual analysis of individual tweets provides evidence for five strategies of inter-ideological mingling: joining, blending, piggybacking, backstaging, and narrating.
Age Estimation and Post-Natal Growth in the Bat Myotis lucifugus

A quantitative method of age determination, based on measurements of the forearm and digital epiphyseal cartilages, is described for Myotis lucifugus . During the linear growth phase of long bones, age can best be predicted from forearm length. After growth of the forearm slows, measurements of epiphyseal cartilages of the fourth metacarpal-phalangeal joint provide reliable age criteria. A linear regression equation predicts ages of young bats on the basis of forearm lengths from 14.4 mm to 33.5 mm (up to 11–12 days), with 95% confidence intervals ranging from ±0.11 to ±0.27 days. A second equation predicts age from length of the epiphyseal gap when forearm length is greater than 33.5 mm, until day 29, when total gap length approaches one mm. Confidence limits for this equation range from ±0.41 to ±0.91 days. No differences in growth rates were found between sexes, years, or colonies. Sequential use of two independent age criteria extends the interval of reliable age determination in M. lucifugus to 4 weeks, and potentially provides a method of predicting age until the time when the metacarpal epiphyseal cartilages are no longer visible (approximately 2 months).
Computational Analysis of Quadrupole Mass Filters Employing Nontraditional Waveforms

Quadrupole mass filters using non-sinusoidal driving potentials present exciting opportunities for new functionality. Predicting figures of merit like resolving power and transmission efficiency helps characterize these emerging devices. To this end, matrix methods of solving the Hill equation of ion motion are employed to calculate stability diagrams and pseudopotential well depth maps in the a,q plane for arbitrary waveforms. The theoretical resolving power and well depth of digital, trapezoidal and sinusoidal mass filters are compared. Simplified expressions for digital mass filter operation are presented. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.
Research on Loose Simulation of Coal Caving Parameters in Thick Coal Seam

Based on similarity theory,loose similarity model was used for optimization of coal caving parameters.Arch type,arch-forming probability in top coal caving and influence of different caving pace on moving pattern and mixed degree of coal and rock were analyzed.Test results showed that the method of "two mining and one caving"might improve caving characteristic,caving ratio of top coal and reduce rock ratio.
Longitudinal vector field Hamiltonians

A canonical transformation is used to study the Hamiltonian for the interaction of a Dirac field with a longitudinal vector field. The transformed Hamiltonian has a lower degree of formal divergence of its perturbation series than does the untransformed one. Its semirelativistic approximant has no divergences; hence, variational methods can be applied. The single-particle and infinite-uniform-matter cases are treated by variational methods in the semirelativistic approximation. (AIP)
A Theory of Regular Queries

A major theme in relational database theory is navigating the tradeoff between expressiveness and tractability for query languages, where the query-containment problem is considered a benchmark of tractability. The query class UCQ, consisting off unions of conjunctive queries, is a fragment of first-order logic that has a decidable query containment problem, but its expressiveness is limited. Extending UCQ with recursion yields Datalog, an expressive query language that has been studied extensively and has recently become popular in application areas such as declarative networking. Unfortunately, Datalog has an undecidable query containment problem. Identifying a fragment of Datalog that is expressive enough for applications but has a decidable query-containment problem has been an open problem for several years.In the area of graph databases, there has been a similar search for a query language that combines expressiveness and tractability. Because of the need to navigate along graph paths of unspecified length, transitive closure has been considered a fundamental operation. Query classes of increasing complexity -- using the operations of disjunction, conjunction, projection, and transitive closure -- have been studied, but the classes lacked natural closure properties. The class RQ of regular queries has emerged only recently as a natural query class that is closed under all of its operations and has a decidable query-containment problem.RQ turned out to be a fragment of Datalog where recursion can be used only to express transitive closure. Furthermore, it turns out that applying this idea to Datalog, that is, restricting recursion to the expression of transitive closure, does yield the long-sought goal -- an expressive fragment of Datalog with a decidable query-optimization problem.
Phonon Scattering by Dislocations

This discussion of the phonon-dislocation interaction will focus on the frequency range of thermal phonons, namely ≈ 109–1012 Hz. The paper is not comprehensive, as a detailed review is available [1,2]. Rather, the emphasis is on the limitations which exist in our understanding of the phonon-dislocation interaction, an understanding that has accrued over the past thirty years. In brief, it is not as yet possible to predict theoretically the thermal conductivity of any deformed sample.
The Opisthobranch Gastropod Fauna of the Galápagos Islands

The opisthobranch gastropod fauna of the Galapagos Islands has been relatively poorly studied. In her review of the marine molluscan fauna of the tropical eastern Pacific, Keen (1971) listed 11 species of shelled opisthobranchs from the Archipelago. Sphon and Mulliner (1972) recorded 10 more species of opisthobranchs and later (Mulliner and Sphon, 1974) described a new species of dorid nudibranch from the Galapagos. Bertsch and Ferreira (1974) and Farmer (1978) each recorded one additional species. Since then, little work has been undertaken on the opisthobranchs inhabiting the archipelago. Thirty-three opisthobranch species are presently known from the Galapagos, a number which will increase when undescribed material in hand is formally described and as additional field work is conducted in the islands.
Guided Inquiry in a Biochemistry Laboratory Course Improves Experimental Design Ability.

Many biochemistry laboratory courses expose students to laboratory techniques through pre-determined experiments in which students follow stepwise protocols provided by the instructor. This approach fails to provide students with sufficient opportunities to practice experimental design and critical thinking. Ten inquiry modules were created for a one-semester undergraduate biochemistry laboratory course; these are freely available on the project website. A slightly modified version of the Experimental Design Ability Test (EDAT) was used to assess the impact of inquiry-based learning on student experimental design ability in four experimental (inquiry) and four control (cookbook) sections. EDAT is a published tool that has been validated for use in undergraduate populations. The results, measured by pre- and post-tests, showed a significant positive impact on the experimental design ability of students in sections that employed the inquiry approach, when compared to those in control sections that employed the cookbook approach. A follow-up conversation with students in a sequel course suggested that the inquiry-based approach also benefited students by promoting self-directed learning.
Home Automation—A Fast ‐ Expanding Market

In recent years, a host of companies have tried to bridge the technology gap between home automation systems. This collective effort has led to the development of technologies that have triggered the beginning of device interoperability. A seamless ecosystem is being created that aims to improve comfort for dwellers, improve efficiency of homes, and, as an additional result, will create a massive market for home automation devices. Our research revealed that the home automation market has been growing at an enormous pace and additional integration of technologies would continue to stimulate demand even more, further diminishing costs and thereby reducing the exclusivity of the market by bringing them to the masses. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Why physicists like inflation

In the course of the past decade, Andrei Linde has almost single-handedly crafted the inflationary Universe scenario. The inflationary Universe has now become nearly as much part of the standard cosmological model as the theory of the expanding Universe itself. It represents a quantum leap in our understanding of the formation and evolution of the Universe. A whole range of questions about the structure of the Universe now admit causal and quantitative answers.
Recurrent pleural effusions and cardiac tamponade as possible manifestations of pseudoprogression associated with nivolumab therapy- a report of two cases.

Checkpoint inhibitors are a class of agents that employ host’s adaptive immune defenses in fighting cancer. With many new indications and several ongoing clinical trials in a variety of malignancies, the usage of these agents is set to increase significantly. One of the key challenges patients and physicians face while using these drugs is with the appropriate assessment of response to therapy. We are reporting two patients with lung cancer who were treated with nivolumab and experienced rapidly accumulating recurrent pleural effusions requiring multiple thoracenteses (6 and 4 times each for patient 1 and 2 respectively) with in the first few weeks of initiation of therapy and also developed pericardial effusion with cardiac tamponade requiring pericardiocentesis. Both patients had prior history of malignant spread to pleural and pericardial space in their disease course. Therapy was continued in the first patient with spontaneous resolution of effusions after 8 weeks and the disease showed near complete response to treatment on imaging at 16 weeks. Second patient declined to continue further treatment with nivolumab after 3 cycles due to recurrent effusions and cardiac tamponade, although there was some evidence of clinical response at discontinuation. Patients with history of malignant involvement of visceral spaces should be monitored closely for rapidly accumulating effusions and particularly for cardiac tamponade, after initiation of therapy with nivolumab. This presentation could represent pseudoprogression, and continuation of therapy with close monitoring is prudent as long as effusions are manageable and there is no definitive evidence of progression elsewhere.
Rates of Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Use in Patients with Established Cardiovascular Disease: A Retrospective, Cross-Sectional Study from NHANES 2009–2010

Purpose Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used to treat pain, inflammation, and fever in the USA. Unfortunately, NSAIDs have been associated with an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events, especially among NSAID users with established cardiovascular disease (CVD). In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released an initial warning regarding NSAID use and CVD risk, and recently, in July 2015, released an updated statement strengthening this initial warning. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the rates of NSAID use among patients with CVD following the 2005 FDA warning regarding NSAID use and increased CVD risk.
Antinuclear Antibody Screening: A Delicate Balance for Clinical Laboratories.

In the article in this issue, “Quality monitoring approach for optimizing antinuclear antibody screening cutoffs and testing work flows,” Tacker and Perrotta address an issue faced by many laboratories—how to offer antinuclear antibody (ANA)3 testing that combines optimal clinical performance with realistic laboratory work flows (1). Specifically, Tacker and Perrotta evaluated an ANA enzyme immunoassay (EIA) as a way to decrease the number of manual immunofluorescence assays (IFAs) performed in their laboratory. Maintaining IFA testing is a significant challenge for many clinical laboratories (2, 3). It is usually a manual process with many steps that each have risk for error. In addition, the interpretation is subjective, relying on well-trained clinical technologists for accurate and consistent test results. For years, clinical laboratories have recognized the need for alternatives to IFA that are more automated and less subjective. These alternatives are available in the form of EIAs and multiplex immunoassays (MIAs). EIAs generally use a human epithelial type 2 (HEp-2) cell lysate as the capture antigen, which makes it fairly representative of the IFA method (4). The MIA is a bead-based method in which individual antigens are conjugated to different bead sets (5, 6). Collectively, these beads represent an …
Cultural preferences for the methods and motivation of sanitation infrastructure development

Research has found that sanitation infrastructure is cultured, or is shaped by national level cultural preferences. This study expands on this past work to identify causal pathways showing combinations of cultural dimensions that explain sanitation infrastructure technology choice, including: total access to improved sanitation facilities, sewerage connections and access to onsite treatment technologies. This analysis uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to analyze all possible combinations of causal conditions which contribute to an outcome of interest. In doing so, pathways are discovered using Hofstede9s cultural dimensions as causal conditions and national-level sanitation data as outcomes. Findings show that the cultural dimensions of power distance, individualism versus collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance play a dominant role in sanitation technology choice. These cultural preferences are used to create an analytic framework that maps the cultural dimensions to the methods and motivations of common sanitation infrastructure delivery methods.
Temperature-Programmed Desorption for Isotope Separation in Nanoporous Materials

Hydrogen isotope separation based on differences in quantum zero-point energy was investigated using a novel temperature-programmed desorption approach. Spectra obtained as a function of hydrogen concentration reveal multiple distinct binding sites that correlate with the crystallographic structure of the particular material. In each case, the higher mass isotope desorbs at a characteristic temperature higher than that of the lower mass counterpart. Materials with greater binding energy exhibit a larger difference in characteristic temperature between D2 and H2 but also a broader desorption profile. Simulations based on the standard Polanyi–Wigner equation reveal this broadening to be an intrinsic property present in all higher binding energy materials. As such, the key factor in temperature desorption separation is not the absolute difference in binding energy of the two species but rather the fractional difference.
Amino Acid Transport in Brain

Amino acids serve special roles in brain contributing to cerebral protein synthesis, intermediary metabolism and interneuronal synaptic communication. At least four amino acids (i.e., GLU, ASP, GLY and GABA) function as neurotransmitters within the central nervous system (CNS), whereas several others (e.g., TRP, TYR, and HIS) contribute as precursors to neurotransmitters, including serotonin, histamine and the catecholamines (Pycock and Taberner, 1981). Amino acids are also required as substrates for cerebral protein synthesis and the formation of neuroactive peptides, including substance P, the enkephalins, vasopressin, neurotensin and somatostatin. Imbalances in amino acids profoundly influence brain function, as evidenced by the severe irreversible mental retardation that occurs in phenylketonuria and maple-syrup urine syndrome. Further, uncontrolled release of excitatory amino acids has been linked to the neuronal degeneration and death that occurs in ischemia, hypoxia, hypoglycemia and seizures (Rothman and Olney, 1987).
Antibiotics in Cultures of Invertebrates

Invertebrates occupy very strategic positions in aquatic food chains. The filter feeding herbivores are major links in the translation of nutrients from the first to the second trophic levels. They are predators to the primary producers and prey to all other carnivores.
Guest Editorial: Afterlife Research and the Shamanic Turn

In Western culture, approaches to the afterlife have mutated throughout history, from shamanism and mythology to philosophy, spiritualism, and psychical research. For conceptual reasons, however, survival research seems to many to be languishing, despite some remarkable recent advances. I urge a return to a more experience-based approach, modeled after features of the near-death experience, for its practical benefits; I intend that approach to complement other forms of research, not displace them. Finally, I underscore the unique status of survival research as a scientific pursuit.
Flexible wings for transportation.

The possible uses of flexible wings for transportation of passengers and cargo from point to point on earth are discussed along with emergency applications of flexible wings in connection with conventional aircraft. Topics considered include gliding and soaring as a sport, towing of flexible-wing gliders for cargo delivery, powered flight with small aircraft having folding flexible wings, aerial dropping of personnel and cargo on flexible wings instead of parachutes, landing and recovery of rocket payloads by means of flexible wings, and use of flexible wings with ejection seats and as an emergency landing system for conventional aircraft.
Three‐dimensional printing and virtual surgery for congenital heart procedural planning

Complex unrepaired congenital heart disease requires extensive planning to determine the optimal procedural approach. Conventional noninvasive diagnostic imaging initially provides only two-dimensional (2D) representations of the complex, three-dimensional cardiovascular anatomy. With the expansion of 3D visualization techniques in imaging, a paradigm shift has occurred in complex congenital heart disease surgical planning using digital and 3D printed heart models. There has been early success in demonstrating the benefit of these models in interdisciplinary communication and education. The future goal of this work is to demonstrate a clinical outcome benefit using digital and 3D printed models to plan both surgical and catheterization-based interventional procedures. Ultimately, the hope is that advanced procedural planning with virtual surgery and 3D printing will enhance decision-making in complex congenital heart disease cases resulting in improved perioperative performance by reducing operative times, complications, and reoperations.
The impact of design and UML modeling on codebase quality and sustainability

The general consensus of researchers and practitioners is that up-front and continuous software design using modeling languages such as UML improve code quality and reliability particularly as the software evolves over time. Software designs and models help in managing the underlying code complexities which are crucial for sustainability. Recently, there has been increasing evidence suggesting broader adoption of modeling languages such as UML. However, our understanding of the impact of using such modeling and design languages remains limited. This paper reports on a study that aims to characterize this impact on code quality and sustainability. We identify a sample of open source software repositories with extensive use of designs and modeling and compare their code qualities with similar code-centric repositories. Our evaluation focuses on various code quality attributes such as code smells and technical debt. We also conduct code evolution analysis over five-year period and collect additional data from questionnaires and interviews with active repository contributors. This study finds that repositories with significant use of models and design activities are associated with reduced critical code smells but are also associated with increase in non-critical code smells. The study also finds that modeling and design activities are associated with significant reduction in measures of technical debt. Analyzing code evolution over five year period reveals that UML repositories start with significantly lower technical debt density measures but tend to decline over time.
Stellar Chromospheres: The Source of UV Emission

The lower layer of a star’s atmosphere, its photosphere, has a thermal structure that decreases outward controlled by the balance of radiative and convection heat from below and the loss of radiation to space. With increasing height in a stellar atmosphere, magnetic heating processes become important in the energy balance, forcing the temperature to increase with height in a region called the chromosphere. Magnetic heating processes include the damping of different types of magnetic waves and the reconnection of magnetic fields.
Survey Says: Filling the Gaps in Validation of Healthcare-Associated Infections Surveillance in Hospitals

BACKGROUND Washington State law requires the evaluation of the quality and accuracy of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) reported through the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). This statement is broad, as is the amount of HAI data in NHSN. It is necessary to focus validation activities to make the best use of hospital and public health resources. METHODS The State Health Department (SHD) designed and distributed an online survey of 32 questions using Opinio software. The survey included multiple choice and free text questions adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's NHSN 2017 Validation Toolkit along with SHD-developed questions, which focused on surveillance and validation of HAIs performed by each hospital. In February 2018, a survey link was sent via email to a single infection prevention representative at 100% (94) of the acute care and critical access hospitals that report HAIs to SHD. Responses were not required for any questions. The survey was open for 14?days. Two reminder emails were sent, on day 7 and day 10. Frequencies of survey answers were calculated through Opinio and Microsoft Excel. RESULTS 94 hospitals (100%) responded to the survey. The median number of responses to questions was 67 (range 45 to 78). 68 facilities (72.3%) responded to the question, “Do you conduct periodic spot-checks or otherwise validate your Clostridium difficle infection (CDI) LabID process to ensure that all appropriate labs have been captured?” 31% percent of responding facilities reported no routine validation; 25% reported validation only when there are concerns; 44% reported performing routine validation. CONCLUSION An online survey of hospital IPs is an effective means of gathering feedback on statewide HAI surveillance practices. The survey identified gaps in CDI LabID validation practices. This finding resulted in healthcare outreach as it drove SHD decision to perform CDI LabID validation of 2017 data.
Restoration of F508-del Function by Transcomplementation: The Partners Meet in the Endoplasmic Reticulum.

Background/aims Because of the small size of adeno-associated virus, AAV, the cystic fibrosis conductance regulator, CFTR, cDNA is too large to fit within AAV and must be truncated. We report here on two truncated versions of CFTR, which, when inserted into AAV1 and used to infect airway cells, rescue F508-del CFTR via transcomplementation. The purpose of this study is to shed light on where in the cell transcomplementation occurs and how it results in close association between the endogenous F508-del and truncated CFTR. Methods We treated CF airway cells (CFBE41o-) with AAV2/1 (AAV2 inverted terminal repeats/AAV1 capsid) containing truncated forms of CFTR, ∆264 and ∆27-264 CFTR, who can restore the function of F508-del by transcomplementation. We addressed the aims of the study using a combination of confocal microscopy and short circuit currents measurements. For the latter, CF bronchial epithelial cells (CFBE) were grown on permeable supports. Results We show that both F508del and the truncation mutants colocalize in the ER and that both the rescued F508-del and the transcomplementing mutants reach the plasma membrane together. There was significant fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between F508-del and the transcomplementing mutants within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), suggesting that transcomplementation occurs through a bimolecular interaction. We found that transcomplementation could increase the Isc in CFBE41o- cells stably expressing additional wt-CFTR or F508-del and in parental CFBE41o- cells expressing endogenous levels of F508-del. Conclusion We conclude that the functional rescue of F508-del by transcomplementation occurs via a bimolecular interaction that most likely begins in the ER and continues at the plasma membrane. These results come at an opportune time for developing a gene therapy for CF and offer new treatment options for a wide range of CF patients.
Évaluation objective de la qualité du sommeil chez les patients souffrant d’une rupture de la coiffe des rotateurs

Abstract Introduction Sleep dysfunction in patients with rotator cuff tears has been previously evaluated only using subjective measures. Objective parameters of sleep quality amongst rotator cuff tear patients are scarce in the literature. The aim of this study is to compare objective sleep data to historical controls and to subjective patient reported sleep quality in patients with rotator cuff tears. Hypothesis We hypothesized that patients with rotator cuff tears would demonstrate objectively poor sleep quality based on actigraphy when compared to a historical control group. Secondarily, we hypothesize that objective sleep quality measures will correlate poorly with traditionally used questionnaires and other subjective assessments. Materials and methods Twenty patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears wore a highly validated activity monitor for 2 consecutive weeks for objective assessment and completed a sleep diary during the same period. Patients completed multiple questionnaires pertaining to their shoulder function and subjective assessment of sleep quality. Objective sleep assessments were compared to patients’ sleep diary data and to subjective sleep data from a historical cohort of 969 healthy adults aged 57–97 years. Results Mean total sleep time, sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset (WASO), and sleep efficiency were all significantly worse in the study cohort compared to the historical cohort (p = 0.0338, p = 0.0040, p Discussion This study of objective sleep measures demonstrated poor sleep quality in patients with rotator cuff tears with shorter sleep duration, frequent awakenings, and decreased efficiency. Subjective assessments of sleep did not correlate with objective findings. Level of evidence Level II, prospective cohort study.
Representation of Women Among Invited Speakers for Grand Rounds

Background: Grand rounds and named lectureships are forums in academic medicine for sharing research, scholarly achievements, and clinical expertise. An invitation to speak at grand rounds is regar...
Can Alternative Schools Succeed Where Benjamin Spock, Spiro Agnew, and B. F. Skinner Have Failed?.

This study sought to determine whether student behavior was as great a problem in a sample of 18 California alternative high schools. As a result of on-site observations and interviews with students and teachers, the authors concluded that discipline rarely was a major concern in the alternative schools. General agreement existed among both students and teachers. Fourteen possible reasons to account for the basic finding were hypothesized. The reasons included small school size, flexible schedules, frequent informal interaction between students and teachers, and fewer rules.
The pathogenic constitution of HFMD cases and the genetic characteristics of enterovirus 71 in Hebei

Objective To understand the pathogen composition and the EV71 genetic characteristics of different hand-foot-mouth disease(HFMD) patients in different areas of Hebei Province.Methods Virus isolation and nucleic acid detection were carried out on stool specimens,anal swab specimens,throat swab specimens,vesicle fluid specimens collected from the patients with HFMD disease.The VP1 genes of a total of Enterovirus 71 (EV71) strains were amplified by RT-PCR with specific primer pairs,then the PCR amplification products were sequenced to perform nucleotide sequence homology analysis and construct the phylogenetic tree with 38 genotype and subgenotype representative strains for analyzing the gene subtype and variation in Hehei province.Results Enterovirus positive rate was 65.13％ of clinical diagnosis of HFMD cases in Hebei Province in 2009.EV71 is the primary pathogen of HFMD,which accounted for 58.0％ of EV positive cases.Qinhuangdao,Handan,Baoding and Xingtai had a high proportion of EV71,while Hengshui and Cangzhou were major in CA16.The EV71 positive rate of normal cases was 37.74％,and the rate of severe cases was 80.64％.And EV71 was detected in all the 13 dead cases.The homogeneity of VP1 nucleotide sequence of the 18 separated EV71 strains from Hebei Province was 94.4％～99.8％.While compared with C4 subgenotypes,the homogeneity was 91.9％ ～99.6％.Conclusion EV71 and CA16 are the primary pathogen of HFMD of Hebei Province in 2009.Qinhuangdao,Handan,Baoding and Xingtai had a high proportion of EV71,while Hengshui,Langfang and Cangzhou were major in CA16.The EV71 strains belong to C4a evolution branch of C4 subgenotype by analyzing the EV71 and CA16 genetic characteristics and phylogenetic tree. Key words: HFMD; EV71; RT- PCR; Genetic characteristics
Inhibition of IGF-IR signaling with the human monoclonal antibody A12 enhances the therapeutic effect of docetaxelin prostate cancer

5037 Docetaxel therapy has been shown to be effective in prolonging life in men with androgen-independent (AI) prostate cancer. The effect is modest with an average increase in survival of 3 months. Anti-apoptotic pathways activated via the type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-IR) result in survival of prostate cancer cells following docetaxel therapy. Thus, inhibition of IGF-IR signaling should result in significant prolongation of tumor suppression. To test this hypothesis we implanted the human AI prostate cancer xenograft line LuCaP 35v subcutaneously in castrate SCID mice. When tumors reached ca.100mm3 volume, mice were divided into five treatment groups with 12 animals per group. Group 1 received docetaxel 10mg/kg i.p weekly x4; group 2 received docetaxel 5mg/kg i.p weekly x4; group 3 received docetaxel 10mg/kg i.p plus A12 40mg/kg i.p. weekly x 4; group 4 received docetaxel 5mg/kg i.p plus A12 40ug/kg weekly x4; and group 5 received vehicle control i.p. weekly x4. All therapy was stopped at week 4 and the animals were monitored for an additional 8 weeks. All control animals had tumor volumes of 1000mm3 by four weeks and were sacrificed according to tumor volume criteria. All four treatment groups had slower growth rates than control, p
Cosmic ray transport in mixed magnetic fields and their role on the observed anisotropies

There is a growing set of observational data demonstrating that cosmic rays exhibit small-scale anisotropies (5-30 deg) with amplitude deviations lying between 0.01-0.1 percent that of the average cosmic ray flux. A broad range of models have been proposed to explain these anisotropies ranging from finite-scale magnetic field structures to dark matter annihilation. The standard diffusion transport methods used in cosmic ray propagation do not capture the transport physics in a medium with finite-scale or coherent magnetic field structures. Here, we present a Monte Carlo transport method, applying it to a series of finite-scale magnetic field structures to determine the requirements of such fields in explaining the observed cosmic ray,small-scale anisotropies.
Rampant False Detection of Adaptive Phenotypic Optimization by ParTI-Based Pareto Front Inference.

Organisms face tradeoffs in performing multiple tasks. Identifying the optimal phenotypes maximizing the organismal fitness (or Pareto front) and inferring the relevant tasks allow testing phenotypic adaptations and help delineate evolutionary constraints, tradeoffs, and critical fitness components, so are of broad interest. It has been proposed that Pareto fronts can be identified from high-dimensional phenotypic data, including molecular phenotypes such as gene expression levels, by fitting polytopes (lines, triangles, tetrahedrons, and so on), and a program named ParTI was recently introduced for this purpose. ParTI has identified Pareto fronts and inferred phenotypes best for individual tasks (or archetypes) from numerous data sets such as the beak morphologies of Darwin’s finches and mRNA concentrations in human tumors, implying evolutionary optimizations of the involved traits. Nevertheless, the reliabilities of these findings are unknown. Using real and simulated data that lack evolutionary optimization, we here report extremely high false-positive rates of ParTI. The errors arise from phylogenetic relationships or population structures of the organisms analyzed and the flexibility of data analysis in ParTI that is equivalent to p-hacking. Because these problems are virtually universal, our findings cast doubt on almost all ParTI-based results and suggest that reliably identifying Pareto fronts and archetypes from high-dimensional phenotypic data are currently generally difficult.
Accessing the inaccessible: Stereotactic radioablation of premature ventricular complexes originating in the right ventricle in a patient with a mechanical tricuspid valve

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for ventricular tachycardia is a treatment option for selected patients with substrate not amenable to classic approaches. We present a case of successful SBRT in a patient with premature ventricular complex (PVC)-induced cardiomyopathy originating in the right ventricle (RV) in whom access to the RV was limited by a mechanical tricuspid valve. Key Teaching Points • Adults with congenital heart disease commonly have lesions affecting the right ventricle. Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) originating from the right ventricle may be a cause of PVC-induced cardiomyopathy in this patient population. • The presence of a mechanical tricuspid valve limits entry to the right ventricle for catheter ablation. In this series, stereotactic radiation was used to target the “no-entry” right ventricle. • Stereotactic radiation is an alternative therapy for ventricular tachycardia not amenable to traditional catheter-based approaches.
New Directions in Science Emerge from Disconnection and Discord

Since the 1950s, citation number or "impact" has been the dominant metric by which science is quantitatively evaluated. But research contributions play distinct roles in the unfolding drama of scientific debate, agreement and advance, which are differentially valued by scientists and their institutions. Computational power, access to citation data and an array of modeling techniques have given rise to a widening portfolio of metrics that extract different signals regarding their contribution. Here we unpack the complex, temporally evolving relationship between citation impact alongside novelty and disruption, two emerging measures that capture the degree to which science not only influences, but transforms later work. Novelty is measured at the point of production and captures how research draws upon unusual combinations of prior work. Disruption is measured over time and captures how research comes to eclipse or amplify the prior work on which it builds. We theorize that novel papers will exhibit disruptive impact over time, and demonstrate how they are much more likely than conventional papers to disrupt current literature. Novel papers do not do so immediately, but often become "sleeping beauties", accumulating surprising attention and citation impact over the long run. In summary, new directions for science are created from a lack of consensus. Finally, we show how novelty can be reformulated as the combination of ideas across knowledge space to reveal the combinatorial nature of advance. The evolution of knowledge space over time characterizes how yesterday's novelty forms today's scientific conventions, which condition the novelty-and surprise-of tomorrow's breakthroughs.
Patient satisfaction with ophthalmic telemedicine visits during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose : To compare patient satisfaction for telemedicine visits to traditional in-person clinical visits during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Ophthalmology Department at Boston Medical Center (BMC), the largest academic safety-net hospital in New England. Methods : Patient satisfaction surveys using the NRC Health platform were sent to all patients in their preferred language following eye clinic visits at BMC from June to October 2020. Three visit types were studied: 1) virtual visits via telephone or video conferencing, 2) hybrid visits with protocol-driven set of undilated imaging (e.g. OCT, fundus photos, visual fields), visual acuity, and intraocular pressure obtained by a trained technician, followed by a virtual visit with the physician within 1-2 weeks, and 3) traditional in-person visits. Twotailed Student's t-test was used to compare survey responses of telemedicine to traditional visits in 4 questions: 1) trust in provider (4-point scale, trust), 2) felt provider listened (4- point scale, listened), 3) satisfied with amount of time spent with provider (4-point scale, time), and 4) recommend provider to other patients (10-point scale, recommend). Additionally, responses between English and non-English speakers, requiring trained interpreter services, were compared. Results : A total of 793 visits were included (44 virtual, 56 hybrid, 693 traditional). The majority of telemedicine visits were from the retina and optometry services (Figure 1). There was no statistically significant difference in trust, listened, time, or recommend when comparing virtual or hybrid visits to traditional visits (Table 1a). NonEnglish speakers had statistically significant lower scores in trust, listened, and time with no difference in recommend when compared to English speakers (Table 1b). When stratified by visit type, non-English speakers had a trend towards a lower score in trust for both virtual and hybrid groups. Conclusions : Telemedicine provides patients access to clinical care with decreased risk of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-English speakers tended to have less trust in the physician for all visit types, which should be considered when communicating with patients. Overall, we found that patients were equally satisfied with telemedicine visits as with traditional in-person visits in a hospital-based academic eye clinic.
Ruling Sets in Random Order and Adversarial Streams

The goal of this paper is to understand the complexity of a key symmetry breaking problem, namely the (α,β)-ruling set problem in the graph streaming model. Given a graph G = (V,E), an (α, β)-ruling set is a subset I ⊆ V such that the distance between any two vertices in I is at least α and the distance between a vertex in V and the closest vertex in I is at most β. This is a fundamental problem in distributed computing where it finds applications as a useful subroutine for other problems such as maximal matching, distributed colouring, or shortest paths. Additionally, it is a generalization of MIS, which is a (2,1)-ruling set. Our main results are two algorithms for (2,2)-ruling sets: 1) In adversarial streams, where the order in which edges arrive is arbitrary, we give an algorithm with O(n^{4/3}) space, improving upon the best known algorithm due to Konrad et al. [DISC 2019], with space O(n^{3/2}). 2) In random-order streams, where the edges arrive in a random order, we give a semi-streaming algorithm, that is an algorithm that takes O(n) space. Finally, we present new algorithms and lower bounds for (α,β)-ruling sets for other values of α and β. Our algorithms improve and generalize the previous work of Konrad et al. [DISC 2019] for (2,β)-ruling sets, while our lower bound establishes the impossibility of obtaining any non-trivial streaming algorithm for (α,α-1)-ruling sets for all even α > 2.