cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
OSTBC transmission over cooperative diversity systems under nodes mobility impact

In this paper, we consider a wireless cooperative diversity system with Alamouti-type orthogonal-space-time-block-code (Alamouti-OSTBC) transmission at the source under the influence of the cooperating nodes' mobility, where the system's links are characterized by time-selective (rapidly time-varying) fading channels. We first employ the conventional Alamouti's decoder (ALD) at the system's destination, obtain its output's decision statistics, and show that, due to the time-selective fading, they are interfering and correlated. Then, we derive exact closed-form expressions for these statistics' conditional signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratios (SINRs) and for the system's conditional symbol-error-probability (SEP) which experiences irreducible error floors as long as the fading is time-selective. Moreover, in order to overcome with this time-selective fading impact, we propose and derive a zero-forcing-decoder (ZFD) that could be applied at the system's destination instead of the ALD, which is capable of providing non interfering decision statistics. The error performance of this proposed ZFD is analyzed and closed-form conditional SEP expression is derived. Numerical results for the average SEP (obtained semi-analytically) along with practical link-level simulations of both ALD and ZFD are provided to validate the accuracy of the presented analysis and to demonstrate the system performance under several scenarios. The numerical results show considerable improvement of the ZFD error performance over that of the ALD that suppresses the impact of the time-selective fading. This improvement, however, comes at the expense of additional decoding complexity.
Microbleeds in atypical presentations of Alzheimer's disease: a comparison to dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

Background Microbleeds in the brain have been shown to occur in Alzheimer's disease (AD), affecting approximately a third of subjects that present with typical dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT). However, little is known about the frequency or distribution of microbleeds in subjects with AD that present with atypical clinical presentations. Objective To determine whether the frequency and regional distribution of microbleeds in atypical AD differs from that observed in subjects with DAT, and to determine whether microbleeds in atypical AD are associated with age, demographics, or cognitive impairment. Methods Fifty-five subjects with amyloid-β deposition on Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) PET who presented with predominant language (n = 37) or visuospatial/perceptual (n = 18) deficits underwent T2*weighted MRI. These subjects were compared to 41 PiB-positive subjects with DAT. Microbleeds were identified and assigned a lobar location. Results The proportion of subjects with microbleeds did not differ between atypical AD (42%) and DAT (32%). However, atypical AD had larger numbers of microbleeds than DAT. In addition, the topographic distribution of microbleeds differed between atypical AD and DAT, with atypical AD showing the highest density of microbleeds in the frontal lobes. Among atypical AD, number of microbleeds was associated with age, but not gender or cognition. Microbleeds were more common in subjects with language (51%) versus visuospatial/perceptual deficits (22%). Conclusions Microbleeds are relatively common in both DAT and atypical AD, although atypical AD subjects appear to be at particular risk for developing large numbers of microbleeds and for developing microbleeds in the frontal lobe.
Trauma exposure, incident psychiatric disorders, and disorder transitions in a longitudinal population representative sample.

Abstract Heterotypic continuity, whereby individuals transition from one disorder to another, is common; however, longitudinal studies examining transdiagnostic predictors of heterotypic continuity are lacking. The current study examined whether trauma exposure during childhood (maltreatment) and adulthood (interpersonal and non-interpersonal trauma) is associated with heterotypic continuity in a national sample. Men and women (N = 34,653) who participated in Waves 1 (2001–2002) and 2 (2004–2005) of the National Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) completed face-to-face interviews about trauma exposure and psychopathology. Risk ratios and population attributable risk proportions (PARPs) quantified the effects of childhood maltreatment and interpersonal and non-interpersonal trauma exposure between Waves 1 and 2 on risk for incident disorders and transitions between specific types of disorders. Twenty percent of respondents reported a Wave 2 incident disorder. Those with any Wave 1 disorder were at increased risk of incident mood (RR range = 1.2–2.1) and anxiety (RR = 1.5–2.7) disorders at Wave 2. Child maltreatment and interpersonal trauma exposure since Wave 1 were associated with roughly 50% of the risk for disorder transitions (RR range = 1.2–2.7); non-interpersonal trauma was associated with 30% of the risk for disorder transitions (RR range = 1.0–1.7). Findings suggest that new onset disorders were common in U.S. adults and trauma exposure explained a large proportion of disorder incidence as well as progression from one disorder to another. Universal prevention efforts that begin early in life, rather than those targeted at specific disorders, would be fruitful for reducing the burden of population mental health and preventing a cascade of mental disorders over the life course.
Obesity and survival in the neoadjuvant breast cancer setting: Role of tumor subtype and race.

e12136Background: Obesity may adversely influence survival in breast cancer; however, studies are conflicting and limited in the neoadjuvant setting. Results may also vary by tumor subtype and race/ethnicity. Our study seeks to examine associations between obesity and survival in women receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and the role of tumor subtype and race/ethnicity. Methods: In a retrospective review of women with operable invasive breast cancer administered Adriamycin/Taxane-based NAC at a single intuition from 2004-2016, we identified n = 273 women with completed BMI data at diagnosis. Obesity was defined as body mass index (BMI) > = 30. We assessed associations between obesity and progression-free survival (PFS), using STEEP criteria, and overall survival (OS), using all-cause mortality, both overall and stratified by tumor subtype in three groups: Hormone Receptor Positive (HR+)/HER2- (n = 135), HER2+ regardless of hormonal status (n = 94), and Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) (n = 44), e...
A One-Proctor Programmed Course Procedure for Introductory Psychology

An instructor-paced programmed quiz procedure was used with the best score on a maximum of 3 takings per unit-quiz counting toward a student’s grade. Quizzes were administered to the group as a whole by means of overhead projection. With examinations devised by the coordinator of conventionally taught classes as the dependent measure, results indicated that students in the experimental class scored higher than students in comparison classes. Experimental students also rated the course higher and more of them indicated an intention of majoring in psychology. The importance of E’s remaining blind to the content of criterion examinations was stressed.
Evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture, part I: Theoretical considerations

Abstract Culture is the ongoing product of the evolved psyches of individual humans living in groups. Progress in our understanding of culture as a phenomenon depends on progress in uncovering the nature of the evolved mechanisms that comprise the human psyche, including but not limited to those responsible for learning. Actual attemps to specify information processing mechanisms that could, in fact, perform tasks humans routinely perform have demonstrated that the human psyche cannot, even in principle, be comprised only of a general purpose learning mechanism or any other general purpose mechanism, such as an inclusive fitness maximizer. Instead, the human psyche appears to consist of a large number of mechanisms, many or most of which are special purpose and domain-specific. The output of these mechanisms taken together constitutes the "private culture" of each individual, and the interactions of these private cultures lead to the cross-individual patterns of similarity that have led anthropologists to think typologically of social groups as having "a" culture. The construction of a scientific theory of culture requires as its building blocks specific models of these psychological mechanisms, and so evolutionary anthropology depends on the forging of an evolutionary psychology. The most productive application of evolutionary biology is, therefore, in the study of the psychological mechanisms that generate and shape culture, rather than in the attempt to impose on cultural change too close a parallel to population genetics and organic evolution.
Bacterial and Fungal Intracranial Infections

Abstract Bacterial infections of the central nervous system (CNS) in the newborn are common and are of major clinical importance. By far the most frequent of these infections is neonatal bacterial meningitis. Other bacterial processes include primary intracranial infections (e.g., epidural and subdural empyema and brain abscess) and disorders in which involvement of the CNS is secondary to extraneural infection (e.g., neonatal tetanus). Systemic candidiasis, a disseminated fungal infection, is also part of this chapter. The emphasis will be on the neuropathological, clinical, and neuroimaging features.
Efficient calculation of impedance matrices for VE device circuit structures

This paper presents an efficient method for the calculation of impedance matrices of slow and standing wave structures used in vacuum electronic devices. These matrices can be imported by large signal parametric codes like TESLA-Z and CHRISTINE-CC for accurate small and large signal analysis of TWTs, klystrons and other VE devices [1], including effects of all geometric features and material properties included in the calculation of the impedance matrix. The technique employs both lumped (internal) and wave (modal, boundary) ports in the 3D finite element electromagnetic (EM) code ANALYST [2].
Provision of public goods using a combination of lottery and a provision point

Abstract This paper experimentally examines the effect of using lotteries in conjunction with provision points to finance public goods. While lotteries and provision points both reduce free-riding, they do not completely eliminate the free-riding incentive of individuals, often leaving the good unprovided. In the search for a mechanism that works better, we propose the use of a lottery along with a threshold requirement and test it in a laboratory experimental setup against the popular provision point mechanism. We find that a lottery involving a small prize and a threshold outperforms the provision point mechanism by increasing the average amount of contributions and the frequency of provision. We further test an extension of our mechanism that is well-suited for situations with multiple public goods. The mechanism is designed to avoid monetary prizes associated with lotteries, preventing legal complications and diversion of funds from the public good production. It also has the advantage of easing coordination among the potential donors trying to meet the threshold. The findings confirm that the new mechanism may improve the efficiency of private provision of public goods and have implications for crowdfunding websites with varying rates of project failure, arising partially from their reliance on provision point mechanisms.
An examination of preservice elementary teachers’ representations about chemistry in an intertextuality- and modeling-based course

The chemistry education aspect of elementary teacher education faces a unique set of challenges. On one hand, preservice and in-service elementary teachers tend to not like chemistry and have negative feelings toward chemistry. On the other hand, learning chemistry requires reasoning about natural phenomena from the submicroscopic perspective that deals with the properties and behaviors of unobservable particles. The present study addresses these challenges in chemistry education for preservice elementary teachers (PSETs) by designing a chemistry curriculum that improves the relevance of chemistry learning to students via intertextuality and modeling practices. An analysis of chemistry representations that PSETs generated before and after taking the designed chemistry course demonstrates that they initially perceived chemistry as vivid chemical changes occurring in lab spaces or a discipline related to atoms while failing to provide connections between the chemical reactions and atoms. After taking the course, many students came to see doing chemistry as epistemic practices that construct submicroscopic explanations for observable phenomena and its relevance to everyday lives such as food, car emissions, and their local surroundings. They also came to recognize various epistemic roles that people play in doing chemistry. We provide important implications for engaging PSETs in chemical reasoning and designing chemistry curricula that are more approachable and build on learners’ knowledge resources.
Nonequilibrium dynamics of superconductivity in the attractive Hubbard model

We present a framework of semiclassical superconductivity (SC) dynamics that properly includes effects of spatial fluctuations for the attractive Hubbard model. We consider both coherent and adiabatic limits. To model the coherent SC dynamics, we develop a real-space von Neumann equation based on the time-dependent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory. Applying our method to interaction quenches in the negative-$U$ Hubbard model, we show that the relaxation of SC order at weak coupling is dominated by Landau-damping. At strong coupling, we find a two-stage relaxation of the pairing field: a collapse of the synchronized oscillation of Cooper pairs due to spatial inhomogeneity, followed by a slow relaxation to a quasistationary state. SC dynamics in the adiabatic limit is described by a quantum Landau-Lifshitz equation with Ginzburg-Landau relaxation. Numerical simulations of the pump-probe process show that long-time recovery of the pairing field is dominated by defect dynamics. Our results demonstrate the important role of spatial fluctuations in both limits.
Metformin-Induced Lactic Acidosis (MILA): Review of current diagnostic paradigm.

A new diagnostic paradigm has been proposed to better categorize causes of Metformin-Associated Lactic Acidosis (MALA). The diagnostic criteria defines a link between Metformin and lactic acidosis if lactate is >5mmol/L, Ph 5mg/L. Metformin assays are not readily available in emergency departments including nationwide Veteran's Affairs Hospitals; thereby making this proposed classification tool difficult to use in today's clinical practice. We describe a case report of a 45-year-old male, who took twice the amount of Metformin prescribed and presented with Metformin-induced lactic acidosis. According to the new criterion, our case would be classified as "Lactic Acidosis in Metformin-Treated Patients (LAMT)." However, the term LAMT does not distinguish between a septic patient taking Metformin with lactic acidosis, and a patient who ingested toxic amounts of Metformin and has lactic acidosis (in absence of Metformin assay). Our case highlights the importance of medication reconciliation done on arrival to emergency department. Timing and dosing of Metformin in patients who present to the emergency department with lactic acidosis may cinch the diagnosis of Metformin-Induced Lactic Acidosis (MILA) in the absence of a Metformin assay but in the right clinical context.
Fluctuating Hormone Levels during Reproduction in Freshwater Turtles

Abstract Vertebrates respond to seasonal changes and environmental stressors by modulating their circulating glucocorticoid levels. Fluctuations in glucocorticoids alter various aspects of an organism's physiology and mediate behaviors such as appropriate reactions to unexpected threats or to expected annual challenges such as reproduction. This study examined corticosterone, the most important glucocorticoid in reptiles, levels in gravid and postoviposition adult female Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta) during the reproductive season to understand how circulating glucocorticoid levels change with reproductive status. Gravid females exhibited higher levels of circulating corticosterone for both baseline measurements and the stress response series. Understanding such endocrinological variation with reproductive status can provide additional insight into the role of corticosterone during the nesting process in freshwater turtles.
Nutrition in the Management of the Cancer Patient

Attention to nutritional status is important in the management of the cancer patient, across the spectrum from the initial phases of treatment and recovery through the long-term continuum of care. Maintaining good nutritional status during the initial post-diagnosis treatment phase may enable the successful completion of prescribed treatments and improve the quality of life of the patient. Following initial treatment, the goals are to prevent recurrence, reduce risk for comorbid disease, and increase likelihood of survival. The majority of the evidence, based mainly on observational studies of breast, prostate and colorectal cancer survivors, suggests that nutritional factors, especially healthy weight control and diet composition, can affect risk for recurrence and likelihood of survival A few randomized clinical trials have tested the effect of diet modification on cancer outcomes. Dietary supplements have generally not been shown to reduce risk for cancer or improve survival following cancer diagnosis, and adverse effects can occur at high doses, so supplementation is not recommended unless the goal is to simply ensure that basic nutrient requirements are met. Current dietary recommendations for cancer survivors are the same as those for cancer prevention, which emphasize achieving and maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise, and eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruit and whole grains, with limited intakes of processed and red meat and alcohol.
On Common Linear/Quadratic Lyapunov Functions for Switched Linear Systems

Using duality, complementarity ideas, and Z-transformations, in this chapter we discuss equivalent ways of describing the existence of common linear/quadratic Lyapunov functions for switched linear systems. In particular, we extend a recent result of Mason–Shorten on positive switched system with two constituent linear time-invariant systems to an arbitrary finite system.
Dietary protein levels affect the excretion of oxalate and calcium in patients with absorptive hypercalciuria type II.

AbstractA total of 12 patients with absorptive hypercalciuria type II and 11 normal controls participated in a study to evaluate the effects of dietary protein levels on urinary calcium and oxalate excretion before and after a 1 gm. dose of oxalate. Two test periods were used during which calcium (less than 400mg. per day) and oxalate were restricted. The first test was done under conditions of low dietary protein (12 per cent total caloric intake, 60 gm.) and the second test was done at a high protein level (25 per cent, 125 gm. protein). Twelve-hour urine specimens were obtained after dinner on day 3 of each diet (low and high protein) and again on day 4 when 1 gm. oxalate (spinach) was added to the dinner meal. The specimens were analyzed for calcium, oxalate and relative calcium oxalate saturation (concentration product ratio). There were no significant differences between the controls and subjects with absorptive hypercalciuria type II in oxalate excretion before the oxalate load on the low protein (...
Toxins from Marine Blue-Green Algae

The marine blue-green alga Lyngbya majuscula is the causative agent of a severe contact dermatitis known as “swimmers’ itch”. Two highly inflammatory agents, lyngbyatoxin A and debromoaplysiatoxin, have been isolated from this alga. Both compounds are potent tumor promoters and have the same activity as the well- known tumor promoter 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. Debromoaplysiatoxin has also been isolated from a mixture of two other marine Oscillatoriaceae tentatively identified as Schizothrix calcicola and Oscillatoria nigroviridis along with several related compounds, the oscillatoxins. The toxins from the Oscillatoriaceae are potentially dangerous to man and there is already evidence that these toxins may be entering the food chain.
Methionine, choline and sulfate interrelationships in the diet of weanling swine.

Experiments were conducted to examine the interrelationships between methionine, choline and inorganic sulfate in the diet of weanling pigs, and to evaluate the selenium (Se) status of pigs fed diets with or without supplemental sulfate. Two trials utilized 288 weanling (3-wk-old) pigs allotted to dietary treatment based on weight, sex and litter origin. There were six pigs/pen and three replicate pens/treatment in each trial. The basal corn-soybean meal diet was formulated to supply .55% sulfur amino acids and contained a choline and sulfur-free vitamin and mineral premix. Lysine was added to provide a total of 1.13% lysine. Seven additional treatments were formulated by substituting for corn .17% DL-methionine, .29% choline dihydrogen citrate or .25% Na2SO4 to create a 2(3) factorial arrangement of treatments. There were methionine X choline X sulfate interactions for average daily gain (P less than .001) and feed-to-gain ratio (F:G; P less than .05). Adding choline, methionine, Na2SO4 or choline plus methionine to the basal diet did not improve gains. However, when Na2SO4 plus methionine or Na2SO4 plus choline were added, daily gains were increased (P less than .05) and F:G was improved (P less than .1). Addition of all three supplements did not result in a further increase in gain. Pigs fed choline-supplemented diets had higher (P less than .01) hematocrit and tended (P = .07) to have increased hemoglobin concentration. There was no effect on serum triglycerides or alkaline phosphatase activity due to dietary treatment. The concentration of Se in muscle, liver, kidney and blood was not influenced by sulfate content of the diet.
Disaster Recovery Power and Communications for Smart Critical Infrastructures

In this paper, we propose a framework to leverage electrical microgrids and cellular networks to support post-disaster communications for the public, government and critical infrastructure operation. The framework involves both policy and technical components. The proposed approach is an integration of electrical microgrids to provide power together with self con-ﬁguring wireless mesh communication networks and local edge computing infrastructure to support critical communications and smart infrastructure services/applications in a speciﬁc geographic area. Hence, geographic zones which are resilient safe havens are created in a city. We outline the basic components of our approach and discuss open challenges to realizing the vision.
Response Force in Conjugate Schedules of Reinforcement

In conjugate schedules of reinforcement, the amplitude or intensity of a reinforcing event is proportional to an aspect of the target behavior or response (e.g., MacAleese, Ghezzi, & Rapp, Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 104, 63–73, 2015). In a novel series of experiments, MacAleese et al. demonstrated that changes in clarity of a visual stimulus conjugately reinforced an arbitrary target response in a sample of undergraduates. In Experiment 1, we extended the results from MacAleese et al. (2015) by evaluating whether different parameters of response-contingent volume change in audiovisual stimuli conjugately reinforced responses on a force transducer in a sample of undergraduates. In Experiment 2, we evaluated the degree to which responding was maintained when conjugate changes in the volume of audiovisual stimuli (either high-preferred or low-preferred) were provided as a consequence for exerting force on the manipulandum. In Experiment 3, we evaluated the degree to which responding was maintained across multiple extinction components. Results from these experiments indicate response force covaries with changes to the amount of force required to produce conjugate changes in audiovisual stimulation. Furthermore, results suggest force may be an important index of response effort and preference across low-and-high preferred stimuli within this conjugate schedule framework, as well as an important index of extinction-induced variability.
Interpretable Convolution Methods for Learning Genomic Sequence Motifs

The first-layer filters employed in convolutional neural networks tend to learn, or extract, spatial features from the data. Within their application to genomic sequence data, these learned features are often visualized and interpreted by converting them to sequence logos; an information-based representation of the consensus nucleotide motif. The process to obtain such motifs, however, is done through post-training procedures which often discard the filter weights themselves and instead rely upon finding those sequences maximally correlated with the given filter. Moreover, the filters collectively learn motifs with high redundancy, often simply shifted representations of the same sequence. We propose a schema to learn sequence motifs directly through weight constraints and transformations such that the individual weights comprising the filter are directly interpretable as either position weight matrices (PWMs) or information gain matrices (IGMs). We additionally leverage regularization to encourage learning highly-representative motifs with low inter-filter redundancy. Through learning PWMs and IGMs directly we present preliminary results showcasing how our method is capable of incorporating previously-annotated database motifs along with learning motifs de novo and then outline a pipeline for how these tools may be used jointly in a data application.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use in the first 24 hours following pediatric heart transplantation: Incidence, risk factors, and outcomes.

Primary graft dysfunction following HTx is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to assess the incidence of, risk factors for, and outcomes of children requiring ECMO within 24 hours of HTx. This study utilized a linked PHIS/SRTR database of pediatric HTx recipients (2002-2016). Post-HTx ECMO was identified using inpatient billing data. Logistic regression assessed risk factors for post-HTx ECMO. Kaplan-Meier analyses assessed in-hospital mortality and post-discharge survival. A total of 2820 patients were included with 224 (7.9%) requiring ECMO. Independent risk factors for post-HTx ECMO include age <1 year (aOR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.3-3.7, P = 0.006) or 1-5 years (aOR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.3-3.4, P = 0.002), and ECMO support at HTx (aOR: 27.4, 95% CI: 15.2-49.6, P < 0.001). Survival to discharge decreased with increasing duration of post-HTx ECMO support; 89% for 1-3 days, 79.1% for 4-6 days, 63.2% for 7-9 days, and 18.8% for ≥10 days. There was no difference in long-term survival for patients requiring post-HTx ECMO who survived to hospital discharge (P = 0.434). There are identifiable risk factors associated with the need for ECMO in the post-HTx period. Length of time on ECMO post-HTx is strongly associated with the risk of in-hospital mortality. Patients who require ECMO early post-HTx and survive to discharge have comparable outcomes to patients who did not require ECMO.
THE HIDDEN MEANING OF PLANCK’S CONSTANT

A new cosmological paradigm based upon global discrete scale invariance proposes a radical revision in our understanding of atomic scale dynamics. The discrete self-similar scaling of this paradigm predicts a very large and discrete scale-dependence for gravitational coupling factors. This alternative gravitational scaling leads to revised values for the Planck mass, Planck length and Planck time, which appear to be more unified and physically comprehensible than is the case with the conventional Planck scale values. The fundamental interrelationship of the revised Planck mass, the corrected gravitational constant for atomic scale systems, the reduced Planck’s constant and the velocity of light suggests a hidden meaning for Planck’s constant. Within the context of the discrete fractal cosmological paradigm, Planck’s constant is revealed as the fundamental unit of gravitational action for atomic scale systems. Implications for atomic scale dynamics are briefly outlined.
Running While Fat: How Women Runners Experience and Respond to Size Discrimination

This study examines fat women runners and their experiences of institutional and interactional inequality. Using a constructionist approach, this study examines inequality in its interactional cont...
Food insecurity, gender, and international migration in low- and middle-income countries

Abstract The determinants of migration have been widely studied but research has rarely addressed the roles of food insecurity and gender in the migration decision process. To address these gaps, we examine these relationships for 135,078 individuals across 94 low- and middle-income countries. We use a series of binary-choice models with sample selection and data from the 2014–2015 waves of the Gallup World Poll Survey, which includes the first global measure of individual-level food insecurity. Results, which are robust, indicate that food insecurity is an important determinant of both migration intentions and preparations, and the probability of migration intentions increase monotonically with the severity of food insecurity, and the probability of migration preparations decrease. These relationships also differ significantly by gender and level of gross national income. Evidence suggests a need for increased coordination between the international food security and migration policy agendas.
The Influence of Gut and Tumor Microbiome on Pancreatic Cancer Outcomes.

Summary Pancreatic cancer is a highly fatal malignancy with overall 5-year survival of under 10%, within the context of increasing incidence rates worldwide (Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2020 Mar 5. pii: S1542-3565(20)30276-7 [Epub ahead of print]). Even among the minority of patients who are diagnosed with early stage disease and undergo resection, most survive less than 5 years (short-term survivors (STS), however a unique subset of patients survive >5 years post-surgery coined long-term survivors (LTS) (Clin Cancer Res 2015;21:1944–1950). Recent human and mice studies suggests that the gut microbiome may play a role in pancreatic cancer initiation and progression through immune system modulation (Cancer Discov 2018;8:403-416, Gastroenterology 2018;155:33-37). Intramural bacteria can also be detected within pancreatic tumor tissue and predict sensitivity to systemic cancer therapy (Science 2017;357:1156-1160). Riquelme et al. addressed this topic in work conducted at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) and Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) to study the association between tumor microbiome and survival using the pancreatic tumor microbiome of LTS vs. STS (Cell 2019;178:795-806).
Metabolic adjustment of Pyrrhulina aff. brevis exposed to different climate change scenarios

Abstract The increases in CO2 concentrations and, consequently, temperature due to climate change are predicted to intensify. Understanding the physiological responses of Pyrrhulina aff. brevis to the climatic scenarios proposed by the IPCC (2014) for the next 100 years is of fundamental importance to determine its susceptibility. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the effects of the predicted climatic scenarios for the year 2100 on the metabolic adjustments of P. aff. brevis . Specifically, the rate of oxygen uptake, electron transport system capacity, glycogen and lactate content and the role of Na+K+-ATPases and H+-ATPase were evaluated. P. aff. brevis individuals were exposed for 15 days to the simulated climatic scenarios in climate scenario rooms, where temperature and CO2 in the air were controlled. Two rooms were used to simulate the climatic scenarios predicted by the IPCC (2014): moderate (RCP 6; 2.5 °C and 400 μatm CO2 above current levels) and extreme (RCP 8.5; 4.5 °C and 900 μatm CO2 above current levels), in addition to the "control room" that represents the current scenario. There was an increase in the metabolic rate (MO2) in the animals acclimated to the climate change scenarios (RCP 6 and RCP 8.5) compared to the current scenario. These responses showed a typical effect of temperature on energy demand in relation to the increase in temperature and CO2. Our data showed an increase in O2 consumption (MO2), lactate levels and H+-ATPase activity of the animals acclimated to the moderate and extreme climate change scenarios. Such adjustments presented a clear metabolic imbalance, an alteration that may imply challenges for survival, growth, distribution and reproduction in the face of the expected environmental changes for the year 2100.
Physiological and Biochemical Consequences of Exposure of Neonatal Rats to Chronic Hypoxia

We studied effect of chronic hypoxia (CH) on expression of platelet activating factor receptor (PAFR) by neonatal rats (pups). We hypothesized that PAFR antagonist will prevent pulmonary hypertension (PH) in pups exposed to CH. Pups were placed in an air-tight chamber ventilated with 13% oxygen, hypoxia (Hpx) or room air normoxia (Nmx) from 1d to 22d of age. Three groups of pups were studied (each group, n=10-14 pups): Group1, pups in Nmx; Group2, pups in Hpx given 5mg/kg PAFR receptor antagonist, WEB 2170, IP, every other day for 22d, (Hpx+WEB); Group3, pups in Hpx control. Hemotocrit, RV/LV+S, PAF binding, PAF synthesis, and PAFR expression were determined. Hyx control group had 2-fold higher RV/LV+S than Nmx group and PAFR antagonist decreased RV/LV+S to the Nmx control value. Lungs of pups in Hpx expressed more PAFR protein than Hpx+WEB and Nmx groups. Additionally, Hpx increased PAF synthesis and PAFR binding whereas WEB treatment decreased PAFR binding, but produced no difference in PAF synthesis compared to Nmx group. Hpx increased NF-kB p65 and TLR4 expression. WEB treatment abrogated expression or NF-kB p65 and TLR4 proteins. Our findings show that chronic hypoxia induces expression of PAFR, NF-kB p65 and TLR4 by pups’ lungs and suggest that increased PAFR expression may be responsible for the right ventricular hypertrophy and PH. Thus a PAFR antagonist may offer a therapeutic intervention for CH-induced PH in human neonates.
Unexpected crystalline homogeneity from the disordered bond network in La ( C r 0.2 M n 0.2 F e 0.2 C o 0.2 N i 0.2 ) O 3 films

The ability to host five or more cations on a sublattice within a single crystal oxide offers new opportunities to design materials with tailored bonding environments and functional properties. La(Cr${}_{0.2}$Mn${}_{0.2}$Fe${}_{0.2}$Co${}_{0.2}$Ni${}_{0.2}$)O${}_{3}$, which straddles the phase-boundary between orthorhombic and rhombohedral, is expected to exhibit a tremendous level of local distortion. Despite this, La(Cr${}_{0.2}$Mn${}_{0.2}$Fe${}_{0.2}$Co${}_{0.2}$Ni${}_{0.2}$)O${}_{3}$ is found to exhibit a surprisingly well-ordered lattice, which homogeneously favors the orthorhombic phase. The observation of long-range order that emerges out of a configurationally complex local bonding environment suggests unforeseen cooperative effects at play in entropy stabilized materials.
Fitness studies of insecticide resistant strains: lessons learned and future directions

The evolution of insecticide resistance is generally thought to be associated with a fitness cost in the absence of insecticide exposure. However, it is not clear how these fitness costs manifest or how universal this phenomenon is. To investigate this, we conducted a literature review of publications that studied fitness costs of insecticide resistance, selected papers that met our criteria for scientific rigor, and analyzed each class of insecticides separately as well as in aggregate. The more than 170 publications on fitness costs of insecticide resistance show that in 60% of the experiments there is a cost to having resistance, particularly for measurements of reversion of resistance and reproduction. There were differences between classes of insecticides, with fitness costs seen less commonly for organochlorines. There was considerable variation in the experiments performed. We suggest that future papers will have maximum value to the community if they quantitatively determine resistance levels, identify the resistance mechanisms present (and the associated mutations), have replicated experiments, use related strains (optimally congenic with the resistance mutation introgressed into different genetic backgrounds) and measure fitness by multiple metrics. Studies on the fitness costs of insecticide resistance will continue to enlighten our understanding of the evolutionary process and provide valuable information for resistance management. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
Research on Wind Turbines Fault Diagnosis Technology Based on CMS Data Feature Extraction

As a rich clean and environmentally friendly renewable resources, wind energy has emerged as a strategic choice for countries around the world. Because the wind turbines often operate in severe working conditions such as variable load and large temperature difference they are prone to failures and possible shutdowns. The shutdowns however seriously affect the economic benefits of the wind turbines. Initiative maintenance has become a worldwide recognized scientific method for planning and determining preventive maintenance work, the implementation of this strategy relies on real-time condition monitoring and fault signal identification methods. The condition monitoring of wind turbine can help master the health state and power generation performance of wind turbine, so as to timely formulate maintenance strategies and adopt technical modification measures to improve power generation performance, reduce the down time of wind turbine, avoid the occurrence of major faults, save maintenance cost and improve power generation capacity. Therefore, a condition monitoring system is built on a wind turbine of Zhangjiakou, and a systematic signal analysis method is proposed, time-domain synchronous averaging technology, based on variable period, impulse signal feature extraction technology based on Teager and signal decomposition technology based on CEEMD. The proposed method realizes the signal analysis and feature extraction of non-stationary nonlinear, weak signal and frequency aliasing signals, and successfully diagnose the gearbox secondary meshing failure during the long-term monitoring. This confirms that the monitoring system methods and signal analysis technology proposed in this paper can effectively realize the condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of wind turbines.
Do Hackathon Projects Change the World? An Empirical Analysis of GitHub Repositories

Hackathons, the increasingly popular collaborative technology challenge events, are praised for producing modern solutions to real world problems. They have, however, recently been criticized for positing that serious real world problems can be solved in 24-48 hours of undergraduate coding. Projects created at hackathons are typically demos or proof-of-concepts, and little is known about the fate of them after the hackathon ends. Do they receive continued development in preparation for real world use and maintenance as part of actually being used, or are they abandoned? Since participants often use GitHub (Microsoft's popular version control system), it is possible to check. This quantitative, empirical study uses a series of Python scripts to complete a robust analysis of development patterns for all 11,889 of the U.S. based 2018-2019 Major League Hacking (MLH) affiliated hackathon projects which had GitHub repositories. Of these projects, approximately 85% of commits were made within the first month, and approximately 77% of the total commits occurred within the first week. Only 7% of projects had any activity 6 months after the event ended. Evaluated projects had an average of only 3.097 distinct commit dates, and the average of commits divided by the length of the development period was only 0.1. This indicates that few projects receive the post-event attention expected of an actively developed project. Finally, this study offers a dialogue of possible ways to reformat hackathons to help increase the average longevity of the development period for projects.
Incidence of childhood hearing loss after in utero exposure to platinum agents.

OBJECTIVE When treated for childhood cancers, at least 50% of children exposed to platinum agents have permanent hearing loss. We determined the relative risk of childhood hearing loss after in utero exposure to platinum chemotherapy in our registry cohort. METHOD After exposure to platinum chemotherapy in utero, all children undergo routine newborn hearing screening. This consists of Otoacoustic Emissions. Children who failed this screen were evaluated by audiologists. For those children with hearing loss by Automated Auditory Brainstem Response, prenatal and postnatal treatment details were compared to platinum exposed children without hearing loss. RESULTS Three hundred and seven children were exposed to chemotherapy in utero. Four children were diagnosed with hearing loss, all exposed to platinum agents. Chemotherapy exposures included: Cisplatin/Paclitaxel (2), Etoposide/Cisplatin/Bleomycin (1), Carboplatin/Paclitaxel (1) to treat ovarian (2), or cervical cancer (2). Of the 39 platinum exposed without hearing loss: 11 children were exposed to oxaliplatin, 16 were exposed to cisplatin and 12 to carboplatin in utero. Two hundred and sixty four women received non-platinum based chemotherapy for various cancers during pregnancy. Among these, there were no cases of hearing loss. There was a significant difference in hearing loss based on exposure to platinum agents in utero compared to non-platinum-containing chemotherapy regimens, 4/43 versus 0/264, p = 0.0003. There were no statistical differences in prenatal and postnatal treatment details, including: gestational age at diagnosis, at first chemotherapy treatment, at first platinum treatment, at delivery (<32 weeks, <35 weeks, <37 weeks), gender, birthweight, birthweight percentile, rates of intrauterine growth restriction, neonatal complications or use of postnatal antibiotics between the platinum exposed children with and without hearing loss. CONCLUSION The only children in the registry exposed to chemotherapy who were diagnosed with hearing loss had been exposed to cisplatin or carboplatin in utero. No hearing loss occurred in children exposed to oxaliplatin, or non-platinum agents. Due to a concern for cisplatin ototoxicity, carboplatin is the preferred platinum agent for use in pregnancy when equivalent maternal survival can be expected for the particular cancer type. For newborns exposed to platinum agents in utero, newborn screening with an auditory emissions test at birth (OES) may not detect sensorineural hearing loss and auditory brainstem response testing is recommended, regardless of the newborn screening result.
Mortgage Lending, Race, and Model Specification

This study examines the role of race in home mortgage lending by investigating the sensitivity of race estimates to variations in model specification. I compare parameter estimates based on a statistical model utilized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, using a subset of the data that corresponds to FDIC-supervised institutions, with estimates obtained from several alternative variations specified to reflect information obtained from reviews of the mortgage loan application files. Estimates of the race effect are shown to be highly sensitive to the assumptions that underlie the model; minor modifications in model specification are sufficient to eliminate the race effect. The empirical results suggest that the statistical models used to evaluate the impact of race in mortgage lending may not provide reliable information about lending bias.
The effects of probe-induced flow distortion on velocity covariances: Field observations

We carried out measurements to test a simple theory of the effect of probe-induced flow distortion on turbulence measurements. We used two three-component sonic anemometers mounted 1.8m apart at a height of 6.7 m. Behind one was a horizontal circular cylinder of radius 0.15 m and length 1.2 m, chosen to model two-dimensional probe-induced flow distortion in the limit where the scale of the turbulence is very large compared to the scale of the probe. The second sonic anemometer measured the undistorted flow. The measured flow-distortion effects on the Reynolds shearing stress and the variances of streamwise and vertical velocity agree well with the theory.
EXAMINATION OF THE CARBON BALANCE HYPOTHESIS OF ALPINE TREELINE LOCATION IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MONTANA

The mechanisms that determine the location of the upper altitudinal limit of tree species' survival are not completely understood. We test one hypothesis of treeline location, the carbon balance hypothesis, using a physiologically mechanistic forest process model to simulate carbon balance along elevational transects across the alpine treeline eco-tone in Glacier National Park, Montana. For 11-year time periods between 1954 and 1986, we find that predicted treeline elevation is not determined by carbon balance alone. Since there is not a strong link between carbon balances and treeline location, the coupling between climate and treeline location is not strong on a decadal scale. Therefore, the usefulness of the location of the alpine treeline ecotone in monitoring the effects of climatic change is questionable. [Key words: ecotone, carbon balance, treeline, Glacier National Park, Montana.]
R&D and Other Intangible Assets in an Input-Output Framework: Experimental Estimates with U.S. Data

The U.S., along with many other countries, plans to adjust official economic statistics in coming years to recognize R&D and several other intangibles as capital assets. We present here experimental estimates of the impact of capitalized intangibles on industry output and industry value added. We do this using the concepts of the 2008 System of National Accounts (SNA) for classifying intangible assets, along with the framework of the U.S. input-output (I-O) accounts. The intangibles we treat as assets are R&D expenditures, entertainment, literary, and artistic originals, and architectural and engineering design originals. R&D expenditures and entertainment, literary, and artistic originals are explicitly identified as produced intangible assets. We argue that some architectural and engineering design originals, while not explicitly indentified as such in the SNA, fit within the SNA definition of produced assets. Based on our experimental measures, new private intangible investment in R&D, entertainment, artistic, and literary originals, and engineering and architectural originals was 218 billion dollars in 2002. If these intangibles were treated as investment, the result would more than double the existing estimate of intangible capital compared with published measures of new private fixed investment in intangible assets in the U.S. economic accounts. While all sectors invested in these newly measured intangible assets, the distribution across sectors was heavilyskewed: R&D accounted for three quarters of this new investment, with manufacturing R&D accounting for one half of this new private intangible investment. Our experimental estimates indicate investment in entertainment, literary, and artistic originals accounted for 16 percent of new private intangible investment, with 85 percent of this occurring in the information sector. Investment in architectural and engineering designs was spread across all sectors, however, two sectors accounted for 85 percent of this investment – professional and managerial services (63 percent) and construction (22 percent).