cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Anatomically Guided Registration for Multimodal Images

With an increase in full-body scans and longitudinal acquisitions to track disease progression, it becomes significant to find correspondence between multiple images. One example would be the monitoring size/location of tumors using PET images during chemotherapy to determine treatment progression. While there is a need to go beyond a single parametric transform to recover misalignments, pure deformable solutions become complex, time-consuming and unnecessary at times. Simple anatomically guided approach for whole body image registration offers enhanced alignment of large coverage inter-scan studies. In this experiment, we provide anatomy specific transformations to capture their independent motions. This solution is characterized by an automatic segmentation of regions in the image, followed by a custom registration and volume stitching. We have tested this algorithm on phantom images as well as clinical longitudinal datasets. We were successful in proving that decoupling transformations improves the overall registration quality.
Donor Dual TCR T Cells Preferentially Expand and Mediate Pathologic Alloreactivity in Acute Graft Versus Host Disease

Abstract 1972 The nature of the T cell repertoire mediating pathologic in vivo alloreactivity is an important question for understanding the development of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD) following clinical allogeneic transplantation. We have previously demonstrated that the small proportion of T cells that naturally express 2 T cell receptors (TCR) as a consequence of incomplete TCRa allelic exclusion during thymic development contribute disproportionately to the alloreactive T cell repertoire, both in vitro and in vivo in a mouse model of graft versus host disease (GvHD) ( J. Immunol. , 182:6639, 2009). Here, we extend these findings to human biology, examining dual TCR T cells from healthy volunteer donors (n = 12) and patients who have undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) (n = 19). Peripheral blood was collected at day 30 post-HSCT or at the time of presentation with symptomatic acute GvHD. Dual TCR T cells were measured in peripheral blood by pair-wise staining with 3 commercially-available and 2 novel TCRa mAbs. Dual TCR T cells were consistently and significantly expanded in patients with symptomatic aGvHD, representing 5.3±3.8 % of peripheral T cells, compared to 1.7±0.8 % of T cells in healthy controls ( p ex vivo , indicative of the ability to mediate pathogenic alloreactive responses. Dual TCR T cell clones isolated from healthy donors and patients post-HSCT by single cell FACS sorting demonstrate alloreactive responses against a range of allogeneic cell lines in vitro . We propose that the increased alloreactivity of dual TCR T cells results from the less stringent thymic selection for secondary TCR, and thus provides a link between thymic selection, the TCR repertoire, and alloreactivity. These findings may lead to simple ways of phenotypically identifying specific T cells predisposed to inducing aGvHD for subsequent examination of T cell repertoires and functional studies. Furthermore, these data suggest that dual TCR T cells represent a potential predictive biomarker for aGvHD and a potential target for selective T cell depletion in HSCT. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Relationships between Large Precipitating Systems and Atmospheric Factors at a Grid Scale

AbstractIn this study, TRMM-observed precipitation in the tropics is decomposed according to the horizontal area of radar precipitation features, with special emphasis on large systems (rain area > 104 km2) that contribute roughly half of tropical rainfall. Statistical associations of rain-weighted radar precipitation feature (RPF) size distributions with atmospheric variables on the 1.5° grid of ERA-Interim data are explored. In one-predictor distributions, the association with total precipitable water vapor (TPWV) is the strongest, while relative humidity at low and midlevels and low-level wind shear are also positively related to large-RPF rain fraction. Standard CAPE and CIN variables computed from grid-mean thermodynamic profiles are only weakly related to the size of rain systems. Joint distributions over two variables are also reported. The relative importance of predictors varies over different regions. The eastern Pacific is distinctive for having large rain systems in environments with a moist b...
Supply-Side Disruption in Cocaine Production Associated With Cocaine-Related Maternal and Child Health Outcomes in the United States.

Objectives. To investigate the effects of precursor chemical regulation aimed at reducing cocaine production on cocaine-related maternal and newborn hospital stays in the United States.Methods. We analyzed monthly counts of maternal and neonatal stays from January 2002 through December 2013 by using a quasi-experimental interrupted time series design. We estimated the preregulation linear trend, postregulation change in linear trend, and abrupt change in level.Results. The number of monthly cocaine-related maternal and neonatal stays decreased by 221 and 128 stays, respectively, following the cocaine precursor regulation change. We also observed a further decline in per-month maternal and neonatal stays of 18 and 8 stays, respectively.Conclusions. A supply-side disruption in the United States cocaine market was associated with reduced hospital stays for 2 vulnerable populations: pregnant women and newborns. Results support findings that federal precursor regulation can positively reduce cocaine availabili...
Comparing Associations Between Perceived Puberty, Same-Race Friends and Same-Race Peers, and Psychosocial Outcomes Among African American and Caribbean Black Girls:

Despite indications that adolescent peer relations is a mediator of associations between early pubertal timing and psychosocial problems, extant studies have not explicitly examined race or ethnic-...
Using an exercise program to improve activity tolerance in a female with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome: A case report

The incidence of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is estimated to be at least 500,000 in the United States and is most commonly found in premenopausal females. This syndrome shares clinical features with orthostatic hypotension (OH); however, the inclusion criteria and clinical features for POTS are not well known. The purposes of this case report are to: 1) describe the common clinical features of POTS and highlight the differences to orthostatic hypotension and 2) discuss physical therapy management of patients with POTS using exercise. A 34-year-old female with a POTS exacerbation completed a 4-week physical therapy endurance and strengthening 'reconditioning' program. Initial symptoms included the following: dyspnea with mild exertion, light-headedness, fatigue, leg "heaviness," and the inability to perform normal work duties. One-mile track walk test (1-MWT) estimated VO2max improved from the 45-50th percentile to the 65-70th percentile at 8 weeks post-discharge. She returned to work full-time and resumed all previous fitness activities. The patient demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements in estimated VO2max after the "reconditioning" training. Physical therapists should be able to recognize the clinical features and inclusion criteria for POTS as part of a differential diagnosing process for patients complaining of orthostatic symptoms.
Brood removal or queen caging combined with oxalic acid treatment to control varroa mites (Varroa destructor) in honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera)

Few studies of honey bee colonies exist where varroa mite control is achieved by integrating broodless conditions, through either total brood removal or queen caging, in combination with oxalic acid (OA) applications. We observed significant varroa mortality after total brood removal or caging the queens and OA applications in broodless colonies, as well as in colonies with brood that received four consecutive OA applications. In laboratory tests, we recorded higher mortality of caged bees exposed to Apistan® compared to oxalic acid or untreated control bees. However, this mortality is not believed to negatively impact the colony. We therefore recommend combining OA applications with artificial broodless colony conditions achieved either by brood removal or queen caging as an effective management strategy for varroa mites.
Efficient Algorithms for Stream Compaction on GPUs

Stream compaction, also known as stream filtering or selection, produces a smaller output array which contains the indices of the only wanted elements from the input array for further processing. With the tremendous amount of data elements to be filtered, the performance of selection is of great concern. Recently, modern Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) have been increasingly used to accelerate the execution of massively large, data parallel applications. In this paper, we designed and implemented two new algorithms for stream compaction on GPU. The first algorithm, which can preserve the relative order of the input elements, uses a multi-level prefix-sum approach. The second algorithm, which is non-order-preserving, is based the hybrid use of the prefix-sum and the atomics approaches. We compared their performance with other parallel selection algorithms on the current generation of NVIDIA GPUs. The experimental results show that both algorithms run faster than Thrust, an open-source parallel algorithms library. Furthermore, the hybrid method performs the best among all existing selection algorithms on GPU and can be two orders of magnitude faster than the sequential selection on CPU, especially when the data size is large.
Associations among physical symptoms, fear of cancer recurrence, and emotional well-being among Chinese American breast cancer survivors: a path model

Most existing studies on fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) are exploratory without theoretical underpinnings and have been conducted among non-Hispanic Whites. Based on theoretical models, we hypothesized that more physical symptoms (pain and fatigue) would be associated with higher FCR, which, in turn would be related to lower emotional well-being among Chinese American breast cancer survivors. Participants were 77 Chinese American women who were diagnosed with breast cancer of stages 0–III. A cross-sectional path analysis was conducted with a bootstrapping method. The final model showed that indirect paths from pain interference to emotional well-being and from fatigue to emotional well-being via FCR were significant. That is, higher levels of pain interference and fatigue were associated with higher FCR, which was further related to lower emotional well-being. To our best knowledge, this is the first theory-driven study that investigates FCR experiences among Chinese American breast cancer survivors. Our study might provide a more comprehensive understanding of FCR as it simultaneously shows predictors and a psychological consequence of FCR. Results need to be replicated in large, racially/ethnically diverse samples and longitudinal studies.
Extremity Sarcoma: Positron Emission Tomography

Publisher Summary Sarcomas are rare, mesenchymal malignant tumors accounting for 1% of adult and 8% of pediatric cancers. Many of the sarcoma subtypes are characterized by histologic heterogeneity and may contain considerable morphological variation including cystic changes, hemorrhage, and necrosis. Imaging modalities frequently used in sarcoma management include roentgenography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), bone scintigraphy, and positron emission tomography (PET). Standard radiography is very helpful in the diagnosis of primary bone lesions and can often distinguish benign from malignant processes. FDG-PET indirectly provides data regarding cellularity, mitotic rate, and carbohydrate metabolism. Thus, it can be of value in the work-up of connective tissue lesions. FDG-PET has been studied as an adjunct to conventional radiography in the diagnosis of malignancy, as a method to predict tumor grade, and as an aid to direct biopsy. FDG-PET has been studied as a tool to indirectly assess the histologic grade of sarcomas of bone and soft tissue; an adjunctive tool in the preoperative prognostic assessment of soft tissue sarcoma. FDG-PET is not superior to anatomic imaging methods in evaluating recurrent soft tissue sarcoma. FDG-PET is inferior to thoracic CT in detecting pulmonary metastases. FDG-PET has a role in directing needle biopsy of extremity soft tissue masses suspected of being sarcoma and in early detection of nonpulmonary visceral diseases.
Two Views of the Class Action

Class actions present a series of dualities. There are two dominant views of the class action’s structure and two dominant views of the class action lawyer. Some see the class action as an aggregation of individuals, a complex joinder device and nothing more. Others view the class action as transforming the class members into an entity. Similarly, there are two dominant views of the class action lawyer. Many see the class action lawyer as an entrepreneur, seeking out litigation and personally benefitting from gains accruing to class members.1
AlphaB-crystallin selectively targets intermediate filament proteins during thermal stress.

PURPOSE. aB-Crystallin is a small heat shock protein (sHsp) expressed at high levels in the lens of the eye, where its molecular chaperone functions may protect against cataract formation in vivo. The purpose of this study was to identify protein targets for the sHsp aB-crystallin in lens cell homogenates during conditions of mild thermal stress. METHODS. The authors report the use of a fusion protein, maltose-binding protein aB-crystallin (MBP-aB), immobilized on amylose resin as a novel method for isolating endogenous aB-crystallinbinding proteins from lens cell homogenates after mild thermal stress. RESULTS. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and western immunoblot analyses showed selective interactions in lens cell homogenates between MBP-aB and endogenous aA- and aB-crystallins, the lens-specific intermediate filament proteins phakinin (CP49) and filensin (CP115), and vimentin during a mild 20-minute heat shock at 45°C. No interactions were observed with the /3- or y-crystallins, or the cytoskeletal proteins actin, a-tubulin, and spectrin, although these proteins were present in lens cell homogenates. In contrast, y-crystallin and actin interacted with MBP-aB at 45°C only in their purified states. The results obtained with MBP-aB were confirmed by immunoprecipitation reactions in which immunoprecipitation of native bovine aB-crystallin from heat-shocked lens cell homogenates resulted in the coprecipitation of phakinin and filensin. CONCLUSIONS. In the lens the sHsp aB-crystallin may selectively target intermediate filaments for protection against unfolding during conditions of stress. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1999;40: 951-958)
252Cf Mixed-Field Dosimetry for a Variety of Source Geometries and Phantom Materials for Clinical Brachytherapy

The purpose of this study was to compare experimental and calculated mixed-field dosimetry results for 252Cf Applicator Tube (AT) neutron emitting brachytherapy sources. This subject has not been critically examined in many years,1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and is timely as Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is now able to fabricate AT sources, and eventually high dose rate (HDR) clinical sources, which would increase availability of high LET radiation sources. 252Cf is unique as it has fast neutrons of relatively low energy and an appreciable photon dose component. Ion chambers and a GM counter were used to measure the total and photon dose, respectively, close to 252Cf AT type sources. A brachytherapy dosimetry protocol was formulated similar to the external beam neutron formalism of ICRU 45. Comparisons of experimental dosimetry were made with results of Colvett et al.4 Neutron kerma in a variety of materials and for various source geometries was calculated using Monte Carlo (MCNP)7 methods and compared with other neutron sources.8
Ultrastructural analysis of the human cerebral ventricular system. 3. The choroid plexus.

The ultrastructural organization of the human fetal choroid plexus was assessed with scanning electron microscopy. The membranous modifications of choroidal ependymal cells differ remarkably between 11 and 20 weeks of intrauterine development and suggest a variable functional capacity at different times of ontogenesis. Based upon existing data coupled with the ultra-architectural organization of cilia, clavate and linear microvilli are seen with scanning electron microscopy, a multiple functional role is hypothesized for choroidal ependymal cells.
A process to create dynamic landscape paintings using barycentric shading with control paintings

In this work, we present a process that use Barycentric shading method to create dynamic landscape paintings that change based on time of the day. Our process can allow creating dynamic paintings for any time of the day using simply a limited number of control paintings. To create a proof of concept, we have used landscape paintings of Edgar Payne, one of the leading landscape painters of the American West. His specific style of painting that blends Impressionism with the style of other painters of the American West is particularly appropriate for the demonstration of the power of our Barycentric shading method.
Automated terrain feature identification from remote sensing imagery: a deep learning approach

Terrain feature detection is a fundamental task in terrain analysis and landscape scene interpretation. Discovering where a specific feature (i.e. sand dune, crater, etc.) is located and how it evo...
Photoinitiated Reactions in Weakly Bonded Complexes

This paper discusses photoinitiated reactions in weakly bonded binary complexes in which the constituents are only mildly perturbed by the intermolecular bond. Such complexes, with their large zero point excursions, set the stage for events that occur following electronic excitation of one of the constituents. This can take several forms, but in all cases, entrance channel specificity is imposed by the character of the complex as well as the nature of the photoinitiation process. This has enabled us to examine aspects of bimolecular processes: steric effects, chemical branching ratios, and inelastic scattering. Furthermore, monitoring reactions directly in the time domain can reveal mechanisms that cannot be inferred from measurements of nascent product excitations. Consequently, we examined several systems that had been studied previously by our group with product state resolution. With CO{sub 2}/HI, in which reaction occurs via a HOCO intermediate, the rates agree with RRKM predictions. With N{sub 2}O/HI, the gas phase single collision reaction yielding OH + N{sub 2} has been shown to proceed mainly via an HNNO intermediate that undergoes a 1,3-hydrogen shift to the OH + N{sub 2} channel. With complexes, ab initio calculations and high resolution spectroscopic studies of analogous systems suggest that the hydrogen,more » while highly delocalized, prefers the oxygen to the nitrogen. We observe that OH is produced with a fast risetime (< 250 fs) which can be attributed to either direct oxygen-side attack or rapid HNNO decomposition and/or a termolecular contribution involving the nearby iodine.« less
Blood glucose levels in diabetic patients undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Introduction To determine if hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) therapy has an effect on diabetic blood glucose levels (BGL) and, if so, the extent of this effect. Also, to examine factors that exacerbate any observed effect. Methods This was a retrospective review of prospectively collected quality data on diabetics undergoing HBO2. Pre- and post-treatment BGL were recorded. Pre-treatment BGL ⟨120 mg/dL received glucose supplementation. Hypoglycemia was defined as BGL ⟨70 mg/dL. BGL ⟨90 mg/dL was included as an elevated hypoglycemia threshold. Results 77 patients representing 1,825 treatments were included for analysis. No patient had deleterious side effects or required emergency care. BGL decreased in 75.4% of treatments in this group, with a median decrease of 25 mg/dL (IQR=54 mg/dL; range of decreased 374 mg/dL to increased 240 mg/dL). A statistically significant greater percentage of treatments of patients with type 2 diabetes resulted in a decrease in BGL (1598 or 77.5%) compared to treatments of patients with type 1 diabetes (169 or 51.5%) (χ2(1, N=1767) =55.37, p⟨0.001). 1.1% of treatments had post-HBO2 serum glucose ⟨90 mg/dL, and 0.2% of treatments had post-HBO2 serum glucose ⟨70 mg/dL. The majority (70%) of patients with post-HBO2 BGL ⟨90 mg/dL were maintained on insulin alone (χ2(2, N=20) =12.4, p=0.002). Well-controlled diabetics (i.e., those with all BGLs within 50 mg/dL over all pre-HBO2 treatments) had no post-HBO2 BGL ⟨70 mg/dL or ⟨90 mg/dL. Conclusion Our results suggest that HBO2 does not cause a clinically significant decrease in diabetic patient BGL. No patient in our study had deleterious side effects or required emergency care. We found that glucose level of ⟨90 mg/dL occurred more often in those who use insulin. Hyperbaric patients who exhibit consistent BGL values may represent a group who could be managed similarly to the non-diabetic population.
A general panel sizing computer code and its application to composite structural panels

A computer code for obtaining the dimensions of optimum (least mass) stiffened composite structural panels is described. The procedure, which is based on nonlinear mathematical programming and a rigorous buckling analysis, is applicable to general cross sections under general loading conditions causing buckling. A simplified method of accounting for bow-type imperfections is also included. Design studies in the form of structural efficiency charts for axial compression loading are made with the code for blade and hat stiffened panels. The effects on panel mass of imperfections, material strength limitations, and panel stiffness requirements are also examined. Comparisons with previously published experimental data show that accounting for imperfections improves correlation between theory and experiment.
A retrospective review of outcomes in the treatment of hyperammonemia with renal replacement therapy due to inborn errors of metabolism.

Outcomes for severe hyperammonemia treated with renal replacement therapy (RRT) reported in the literature vary widely. This has created differing recommendations regarding when RRT is beneficial for hyperammonemic patients. To evaluate our institution’s experience with RRT in pediatric patients with inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) and potential prognostic indicators of a better or worse outcome, we performed a retrospective chart review of patients who received RRT for hyperammonemia. Our cohort included 19 patients with confirmed IEMs who received RRT between 2000 and 2017. Descriptive statistics are presented as medians with interquartile ranges with appropriate statistical testing assuming unequal variance. There were 16 males (84%) and 3 females (16%) identified for inclusion in this study. There were 9 survivors (47%) and 10 non-survivors (53%). The average age of survivors was 67 months (age range from 3 days to 15.6 years). The average age of non-survivors was 1.8 months (age range from 2 days to 18.7 months). Peak ammonia, ammonia on admission, and at RRT initiation were higher in non-survivors compared with survivors. Higher ammonia levels and no change in ammonia between admission and RRT initiation were associated with an increased risk of mortality. Hyperammonemia affects two distinct patient populations; neonates with markedly elevated ammonia levels on presentation and older children who often have established IEM diagnoses and require RRT after failing nitrogen-scavenging therapy. Our experience demonstrates no significant change in mortality associated with neonatal hyperammonemia, which remains high despite improvements in RRT and intensive care.
Spleen is not required for therapeutic effects of 4OH-GTS-21, a selective α7 nAChR agonist, in the sub-acute phase of ischemic stroke in rats.

Abstract Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) causes both central and peripheral inflammation, while activation of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) provides both central and peripheral anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects. Here, we provide evidence that 4OH-GTS-21, a selective α7 agonist, produces its therapeutic effects via primarily central sites of action because 4OH-GTS-21 was found equally effective in splenectomized and non-spenectomized rats in the sub-acute phase of ischemic stroke (≤1 week). However, the spleen may boost the therapeutic efficacy of 4OH-GTS-21 in certain behavioral tasks as our data also indicated. In our tests, AIS was modeled by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO). Splenectomy was done 2 weeks before tMCAO. We determined that: 1) Daily 4OH-GTS-21 treatments for 7 days after tMCAO significantly reduced neurological deficits and brain injury in both splenectomized and non-spelenectomized rats demonstrating that the spleen is not required for therapeutic benefits of 4OH-GTS-21; 2) The effects of 4OH-GTS-21 in the adhesive sticker removal test were significantly weaker in splenectomized animals suggesting that the spleen boosts the efficacy of 4OH-GTS-21 in the first week after tMCAO; and 3) Ischemic brain injury was not significantly affected by splenectomy in both vehicle-treated and 4OH-GTS-21-treated animals. These data support the hypothesis that the therapeutic efficacy of sub-chronic (≤1 week) 4OH-GTS-21 primarily originates from central sites of action. These results validate brain availability as a critical factor for developing novel α7 ligands for AIS.
Study of the Reactions π − p → p π − M M 0 and π − p → p π + π − π − M M 0 at 8 GeV/ c

Results are presented from a hydrogen-bubble-chamber study of the final states $p{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{M}{\mathrm{M}}^{0}$ and $p{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{M}{\mathrm{M}}^{0}$, where M${\mathrm{M}}^{0}$ represents a neutral boson state of mass $\ensuremath{\ge}2m({\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0})$. The proton was identified by ionization for all events in the sample. Production of ${\ensuremath{\eta}}^{0}$, ${\ensuremath{\omega}}^{0}$, and ${f}^{0}$ mesons with decays into all neutral particles is observed in the $p{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{M}{\mathrm{M}}^{0}$ final state. Peaks are observed in the ${\ensuremath{\eta}}^{0}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ spectrum at 1080 and 1310 MeV. The higher-mass peak has mass 1306\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}8 MeV and width ${41}_{\ensuremath{-}16}^{+20}$ MeV and is identified as the ${A}_{2}$. The branching ratio for $\frac{{A}_{2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\eta}}^{0}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}}{{A}_{2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{(\ensuremath{\rho}\ensuremath{\pi})}^{\ensuremath{-}}}$ has been measured as (18\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}7)%. There is no evidence for a 980-MeV ${\ensuremath{\eta}}^{0}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ enhancement. Data on the $p{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{M}{\mathrm{M}}^{0}$ final state show evidence for ${\ensuremath{\eta}}^{0}$ and ${\ensuremath{\omega}}^{0}$ production.
Optoelectronic sensing of the deformation of soft robots, and their electrohydraulic power

An engineering contradiction exists between enduring and adaptable robots—we have examples of autonomous cars that can drive for 100’s of miles, or legged ones that can do backflips for a little while, but never the twain shall meet. Pushing this Pareto frontier outwards towards biological capabilities of enduring and adaptive mobility will probably require embracing complexity and multifunctionality. Meaning, hierarchical assembly of several sub-systems (i.e., organs) and packing energy into every cubic centimeter of volume. Towards this end, I will talk about our work to “innervate” robots for tactile feedback using stretchable sensing “skins” for high density shape sensing measurements to improve control authority in high degree of freedom (passive or active) continuum structures and actuators. My focus will be on the use of stretchable fiberoptic lightguides as a sensing medium for estimating deformation and temperature in the “meat” of these compliant structures and actuators. After discussing sensing, I will then describe our concept of “Robot Blood” in order to increase the overall energy density of hydraulically powered robots. This Robot Blood is an electrolyte based off of redox flow battery (RFB) chemistry that performs the additional function of force transmission and soft actuator inflation. I will close by demonstrating robots that take advantage of this electrohydraulic power
Acting “Straight”: Socio-Behavioral Consequences of Anti-Queer Hate Crime Victimization

Research on the consequences of hate crime victimization primarily focuses on adverse health and economic effects with limited attention devoted to the socio-behavioral impact of crime. Informed by...
Nurtured in Nature: a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial to Increase Time in Greenspace among Urban-Dwelling Postpartum Women

Spending time in nature is associated with numerous mental health benefits, including reduced depression and improved well-being. However, few studies examine the most effective ways to nudge people to spend more time outside. Furthermore, the impact of spending time in nature has not been previously studied as a postpartum depression (PPD) prevention strategy. To fill these gaps, we developed and pilot tested Nurtured in Nature, a 4-week intervention leveraging a behavioral economics framework, and included a Nature Coach, digital nudges, and personalized goal feedback. We conducted a randomized controlled trial among postpartum women (n = 36) in Philadelphia, PA between 9/9/2019 and 3/27/2020. Nature visit frequency and duration was determined using GPS data. PPD was measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Participants were from low-income, majority Black neighborhoods. Compared to control, the intervention arm had a strong trend toward longer duration and higher frequency of nature visits (IRR 2.6, 95%CI 0.96-2.75, p = 0.059). When analyzing women who completed the intervention (13 of 17 subjects), the intervention was associated with three times higher nature visits compared to control (IRR 3.1, 95%CI 1.16-3.14, p = 0.025). No significant differences were found in the EPDS scores, although we may have been limited by the study's sample size. Nurture in Nature increased the amount of time postpartum women spent in nature, and may be a useful population health tool to leverage the health benefits of nature in majority Black, low-resourced communities.
How Taxing Is Tax Filing? Leaving Money on the Table Because of Hassle Costs

I use a quasi-experimental design and a novel identification strategy to estimate the burden of filing taxes. Employing a sample of US income tax returns, I observe the preferences of taxpayers when choosing between itemizing deductions and claiming the standard deduction. Taxpayers forego tax savings to avoid the hassle cost of itemizing, resulting in an average burden of itemizing of $644, with substantial heterogeneity. A revealed preference argument implies that itemizing deductions is as painful as working 19 hours. The burden of tax filing is larger for richer households, consistent with the fact that the value of time increases with income. I explore two explanations for the result. First, it could be due to an extreme aversion to filing taxes. Such aversion implies that itemizing deductions imposes aggregate hassles costs of 0.2% of GDP and back-of-the-envelope extrapolations to filing federal taxes yields an overall burden of 1.25% of GDP. Second, if taxpayers are time inconsistent they may forego large benefits even when hassle costs are relatively small due to procrastination. I provide evidence most consistent with taxpayers being present-biased. Both explanations – whether driven by preferences or mistakes – suggest that the tax filing burden is significantly larger than previously estimated. I discuss policy implications of the result.
Calcium channel blockers protect against ethanol- and indomethacin-induced gastric lesions in rats

The current studies were designed to investigate the effect of calcium channel blockers on chemically induced gastric lesions in rats. Results of this study indicate that pretreatment of male F344 rats with the calcium channel blockers verapamil, diltiazem, or Mg2+ significantly protected against ethanol- and indomethacin-induced gastric lesions as demonstrated by gross and histopathologic evaluation. Treatment of rats with calcium channel blockers before ethanol or indomethacin administration resulted in a significant decline in the mean number of lesions per glandular stomach, the damaged area of the glandular stomach, and the severity of lesions. Calcium channel blockers also caused a significant decline in the incidence of indomethacin-induced gastric lesions, but had no effect on the incidence of ethanol-induced gastric lesions. These results offer the first evidence that calcium channel blockers may play an important role in the protection against chemically induced gastric lesions and thereby offer insight into the mechanism of gastric ulcer formation. It is speculated that this knowledge may prove important in the development of new and improved therapies for the treatment and prevention of gastric ulcers in humans.
New York-New Jersey Job Recovery Expected to Continue in 1998

The pattern of employment recovery in the New York-New Jersey region is expected to remain unbroken in 1998, despite a slight slowing of job growth.
Gastric axial forces in experimentally delayed and accelerated gastric emptying

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between altered axial forces and gastric emptying of solids by experimentally inhibiting or stimulating gastric axial forces by intraduodenal lipid or intravenous erythromycin, respectively. In 15 healthy volunteers, we simultaneously measured gastric emptying of solids by scintigraphy, gastroduodenal motility by manometry, and forces along the longitudinal axis of the distal stomach by an axial force transducer. When 25% of the radiolabel had emptied from the stomach, subjects (n = 5 in each group) received normal saline (controls), intraduodenal lipid, or intravenous erythromycin. The test period consisted of the infusion period (10 min) and the subsequent 30 min. Lipid significantly reduced and erythromycin increased axial forces compared with control (lipid: median 0.6 N [0-1.4 interquartile range (IQR)]; erythromycin: median 18.2 N (16.5-20.5 IQR); control: median 4.7 N (3.9-5.2 IQR); P < 0.01). Similarly, antral phasic pressure activities were different relative to control. Gastric axial forces correlated significantly with gastric emptying (Spearman rank correlation = 0.86; P < 0.01). These data are consistent with the hypothesis that axial forces affect gastric emptying of solids and suggest that measurement of axial forces provides an assessment of overall gastric propulsion during the emptying of solids.
Alternative Knowledge Strategies, Competitive Environment, and Organizational Performance in Small Manufacturing Firms

This study examines the relationship between knowledge strategy (exploration or exploitation) and performance, and the possible moderating role of external environment variables. Results from a sam...
A fine-grained model for code mobility

In this paper we take the extreme view that every line of code is potentially mobile, i.e., may be duplicated and/or moved from one program context to another on the same host or across the network. Our motivation is to gain a better understanding of the range of constructs and issues facing the designer of a mobile code system, in a setting that is abstract and unconstrained by compilation and performance considerations traditionally associated with programming language design. Incidental to our study is an evaluation of the expressive power of Mobile UNITY, a notation and proof logic for mobile computing.
Microscopy Study of Distribution of Laundry Fabric Softener on Cotton Fabric

Distribution of fabric softeners on cotton terry cloth was studied using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The unsaturated groups in the quaternary fabric softeners were tagged with osmium tetroxide to provide contrast in the microscopy. Longitudinal specimens showed the fabric softeners distributed over the cotton fiber surfaces with more in the crenulation of the fiber. Cross sectional specimens revealed that the fabric softener was distributed throughout the cotton fibers with higher concentrations of fabric softener observed in the lumen and crenulation than in the secondary wall and non-crenulated fiber surface. This distribution of fabric softener is consistent with deposition on both external fiber surfaces and internal fibril surfaces. The deposition and final surface coverage is strongly dependent on the pH value of the washing medium. Repeated treatment cycles with fabric softener using a higher pH washing media resulted in higher concentrations of fabric softener on and within the cotton fibers. Neutral or lower pH washing media resulted in a somewhat constant concentration of fabric softener on and with cotton fibers with increased number of treatment cycles. Differences in perception of softness of the treated fabrics are not explained by differences in distribution of the fabric softener; it appear that there is an optimum amount of softener to achieve the desired sensory response and that further deposition build-up does not increase perception of softness.
On the effects of product name on product evaluation: An individual difference perspective

High and low self-monitoring individuals sampled and evaluated energy drinks that had either an image-oriented name or a name that simply described the product. High self-monitors evaluated the drinks more favorably when they had the image-oriented name than when they had the self-descriptive name. In contrast, low self-monitors preferred the drinks more when they had the self-descriptive name than when they had the image-oriented name.
Disease at the wildlife-livestock interface: Acaricide use on domestic cattle does not prevent transmission of a tick-borne pathogen with multiple hosts

Several prominent and economically important diseases of livestock in East Africa are caused by multi-host pathogens that also infect wildlife species, but management strategies are generally livestock focused and models of these diseases tend to ignore the role of wildlife. We investigate the dynamics of a multi-host tick-borne disease in order to assess the efficacy of tick control from an ecological perspective. We examined the efficacy of a widespread measure of tick control and developed a model to explore how changes in the population of ticks due to control measures on cattle impact dynamics of Theileria parva infection in a system with two primary host species, cattle and Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer). We show that the frequency of acaricide application has a significant impact on the tick population both on the host and in the environment, which can greatly reduce the pathogen load in cattle. We also demonstrate that reducing the tick population through cattle-related control measures is not sufficient to diminish disease transmission in buffalo. Our results suggest that under current control strategies, which target ticks on cattle only, T. parva is likely to remain a significant problem in East Africa, and require the continued use of acaricides, which has significant economic and ecological consequences.
An empirical study of the effect of learning styles on the faults found during the software requirements inspection

Inspections aid software managers by early detection and removal of faults committed during the creation of requirements and design documents. This helps reduce the rework during the later stages of software development. While inspections are effective in practice, the evidence suggests that the effectiveness of inspectors varies widely. Cognitive psychologists have used Learning Style (LS) to show the improvement in student's score by considering their characteristic strength and preferences to acquire and process information. This concept of LS can cross over to software engineering as a means of increasing the inspection effectiveness. This paper investigates the effect of the LS of inspectors on fault detection abilities of inspection teams and individual inspectors. Using the inspection data with varying number of participants, we analyzed the effect of the LS of inspectors across various inspection team sizes on the inspection performance. We also analyzed the effect of LS categories on the individual inspection performance. The initial results show that the teams composed of inspectors with different LS preferences are more effective and efficient than the teams of inspectors who had similar LS's. The results also provide insights into the LS categories that favor requirements inspection.
Electric Fields around and within Single Cells during Electroporation—A Model Study

One of the key issues in electric field-mediated molecular delivery into cells is how the intracellular field is altered by electroporation. Therefore, we simulated the electric field in both the extracellular and intracellular domains of spherical cells during electroporation. The electroporated membrane was modeled macroscopically by assuming that its electric resistivity was smaller than that of the intact membrane. The size of the electroporated region on the membrane varied from zero to the entire surface of the cell. We observed that for a range of values of model constants, the intracellular current could vary several orders of magnitude whereas the maximum variations in the extracellular and total currents were less than 8% and 4%, respectively. A similar difference in the variations was observed when comparing the electric fields near the center of the cell and across the permeabilized membrane, respectively. Electroporation also caused redirection of the extracellular field that was significant only within a small volume in the vicinity of the permeabilized regions, suggesting that the electric field can only facilitate passive cellular uptake of charged molecules near the pores. Within the cell, the field was directed radially from the permeabilized regions, which may be important for improving intracellular distribution of charged molecules.
Management of pancreaticoduodenal artery aneurysms presenting as catastrophic intraabdominal bleeding

Abstract Background: Pancreaticoduodenal artery aneurysms (PDAs) are rare, accounting for only 2% of all visceral artery aneurysms. The majority of reported cases of patients with PDA have presented subsequent to rupture. Presentation without rupture also has been reported and is often associated with abdominal discomfort or diagnosed incidentally on radiologic studies. PDA rupture is associated with a high mortality rate, with fatal bleeding into the retroperitoneal space, intraperitoneal cavity, or gastrointestinal tract. Methods: This article reports two cases of ruptured PDA, both presenting as catastrophic intraabdominal bleeding and both treated successfully at celiotomy. In addition, the literature concerning PDA is reviewed. Results: Only 11 cases of PDA associated with sudden, severe abdominal pain and shock have been described. The mortality rate in these 11 cases was 36%, with half the patients not reaching the operating room alive. Successful management includes rapid resuscitation and control of the bleeding site with minimal pancreatic dissection, angiography for confirmation of vascular control and anatomic localization, and further definitive treatment if obliteration is incomplete. Conclusions: The aneurysm should be obliterated whenever possible to avoid both rebleeding and local complications related to mass effect such as pancreatic duct obstruction or erosion of the mass into neighboring structures. With appropriate and expeditious treatment, these gravely ill patients can be managed effectively and good outcomes obtained. (Surgery 1998;123:8-12.)
Moving target acquisition and tracking system

Imaging Systems have traditionally required large development cycles to transition from non-real-time implementations on general purpose computers to final real-time system prototypes using custom hardware. This paper presents a flexible realtime prototyping approach for the Conceptual Definition, Demonstration and Validation phases of development for imaging system applications such as forward observe, perimeterdefense, or "mobile barrier." A target acquisition and tracking system that has utilized this approach will be discussed and tracking system that has utilized this approach will be discussed and used to compare hardware, software, resources and schedule factors to other imaging system development programs. The testbed is shown to maintain a high degree of algorithm flexibility allowing field test experiences to be rapidly incorporated into the system. The entire system is programmable using high order languages to minimize software costs and enhance maintainability. This system was developed and integrated into a mobile lab for field testing. During real-time testing the system was upgraded and modified to provide high detection performance with low false alarm rates. This approach has led to a more complete understanding of the problem being addressed and has positioned this system closer to its final product form.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
THE ONTOGENESIS OF SOMATOSTATIN IN THE FETAL RAT AND SHEEP PANCREAS

The localization of somatostatin (GIF) in pancreatic D cells and in the gastrointestinal tract led to the concept that SRIF may have a physiologic role at these sites as well as in the CNS. Its role in the fetus is not known. Previously we demonstrated GIF in the human fetal hypothalamus and cerebral cortex. The present study examines the ontogeny of GIF In rat and sheep fetal pancreas using a homologous radioimmunoassay with tyrosyl 11-GIF as label and standard, with a sensitivity of 5 pg cyclic GIF. In the rat, GIF is detected at 14 days gestation in pooled extracted pancreases at .0016 ng/pancreas. GIF increases proportional to DNA until day 19, with a subsequent rapid rise to 3.8 ng/pancreas (72 pg/μg DNA) at term. Two days postnatally GIF Increases to 8.3 ng/pancreas (135 pg/μg DNA). In the adult rat 71.3 ng GIF/pancreas is detected (54 pg/μg DNA). In the fetal sheep, GIF is present by 58 days at 1.6 ng/pancreas, rises to 5.3 ng at 65 days and to 1900 ng/pancreas at term. The content in the adult sheep is 7000 ng GIF/pancreas. GIF is present by mid-gestation in the fetal rat and sheep pancreas with a sharp 1000-fold increase by term. The biphasic developmental pattern of somatostatin in the fetus is similar to that of insulin but differs from that for glucagon.