cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identification of hydrocodone in human urine following controlled codeine administration

Allegations of illicit hydrocodone use have been made against individuals who were taking physician-prescribed oral codeine but denied hydrocodone use. Drug detection was based on positive urine opiate immunoassay results with subsequent confirmation of hydrocodone by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In these cases, low concentrations of hydrocodone (approximately 100 ng/mL) were detected in urine specimens containing high concentrations of codeine (> 5000 ng/mL). Although hydrocodone has been reported to be a minor metabolite of codeine in humans, there has been little study of this unusual metabolic pathway. We investigated the occurrence of hydrocodone excretion in urine specimens of subjects who were administered codeine. In a controlled study, two African-American and three Caucasian male subjects were orally administered 60 mg/70 kg/day and 120 mg/70 kg/day of codeine sulfate on separate days. Urine specimens were collected prior to and for approximately 30-40 h following drug administration. In a second case study, a postoperative patient self-administered 960 mg/day (240 mg four times per day) of physician-prescribed oral codeine phosphate, and urine specimens were collected on the third day of the dosing regimen. Samples from both studies were extracted on copolymeric solid-phase columns and analyzed by GC-MS. In the controlled study, codeine was detected in the first post-drug-administration specimen from all subjects. Peak concentrations appeared at 2-5 h and ranged from 1475 to 61,695 ng/mL. Codeine was detected at concentrations above the 10-ng/mL limit of quantitation for the assay throughout the 40-h collection period. Hydrocodone was initially detected at 6-11 h following codeine administration and peaked at 10-18 h (32-135 ng/mL). Detection times for hydrocodone following oral codeine administration ranged from 6 h to the end of the collection period. Confirmation of hydrocodone in a urine specimen was always accompanied by codeine detection. Codeine and hydrocodone were detected in all specimens collected from the postoperative patient, and concentrations ranged from 2099 to 4020 and 47 to 129 ng/mL, respectively. Analyses of the codeine formulations administered to subjects revealed no hydrocodone present at the limit of detection of the assay (10 ng/mL). These data confirm that hydrocodone can be produced as a minor metabolite of codeine in humans and may be excreted in urine at concentrations as high as 11% of parent drug concentration. Consequently, the detection of minor amounts of hydrocodone in urine containing high concentrations of codeine should not be interpreted as evidence of hydrocodone abuse.
Multiple Type A/B Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) Can Replace hnRNP A1 in Mouse Hepatitis Virus RNA Synthesis

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) A1 has previously been shown to bind mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) RNA at the 3′ end of both plus and minus strands and modulate MHV RNA synthesis. However, a mouse erythroleukemia cell line, CB3, does not express hnRNP A1 but still supports MHV replication, suggesting that alternative proteins can replace hnRNP A1 in cellular functions and viral infection. In this study, we set out to identify these proteins. UV cross-linking experiments revealed that several CB3 cellular proteins similar in size to hnRNP A1 interacted with the MHV RNA. These proteins were purified by RNA affinity column with biotinylated negative-strand MHV leader RNA and identified by mass spectrometry to be hnRNP A2/B1, hnRNP A/B, and hnRNP A3, all of which belong to the type A/B hnRNPs. All of these proteins contain amino acid sequences with strong similarity to the RNA-binding domains of hnRNP A1. Some of these hnRNPs have previously been shown to replace hnRNP A1 in regulating RNA splicing. These proteins displayed MHV RNA-binding affinity and specificity similar to those of hnRNP A1. hnRNP A2/B1, which is predominantly localized to the nucleus and shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm, was shown to relocalize to the cytoplasm in MHV-infected CB3 cells. Furthermore, overexpression of hnRNP A/B in cells enhanced MHV RNA synthesis. Our findings demonstrate that the functions of hnRNP A1 in MHV RNA synthesis can be replaced by other closely related hnRNPs, further supporting the roles of cellular proteins in MHV RNA synthesis.
Moisture and Shelf Life in Sugar Confections

From hardening of marshmallow to graining of hard candies, moisture plays a critical role in determining the quality and shelf life of sugar-based confections. Water is important during the manufacturing of confections, is an important factor in governing texture, and is often the limiting parameter during storage that controls shelf life. Thus, an understanding of water relations in confections is critical to controlling quality. Water content, which is controlled during candy manufacturing through an understanding of boiling point elevation, is one of the most important parameters that governs the texture of candies. For example, the texture of caramel progresses from soft and runny to hard and brittle as the moisture content decreases. However, knowledge of water content by itself is insufficient to controlling stability and shelf life. Understanding water activity, or the ratio of vapor pressures, is necessary to control shelf life. A difference in water activity, either between candy and air or between two domains within the candy, is the driving force for moisture migration in confections. When the difference in water activity is large, moisture migration is rapid, although the rate of moisture migration depends on the nature of resistances to water diffusion. Barrier packaging films protect the candy from air whereas edible films inhibit moisture migration between different moisture domains within a confection. More recently, the concept of glass transition, or the polymer science approach, has supplemented water activity as a critical parameter related to candy stability. Confections with low moisture content, such as hard candy, cotton candy, and some caramels and toffees, may contain sugars in the amorphous or glassy state. As long as these products remain below their glass transition temperature, they remain stable for very long times. However, certain glassy sugars tend to be hygroscopic, rapidly picking up moisture from the air, which causes significant changes that lead to the end of shelf life. These products need to be protected from moisture uptake during storage. This review summarizes the concepts of water content, water activity, and glass transition and documents their importance to quality and shelf life of confections.
Schistosoma mansoni α1,3-Fucosyltransferase-F Generates the Lewis X Antigen

Genetic evidence suggests that the Schistosoma mansoni genome contains six genes that encode α1,3-fucosyltransferases (smFuTs). To date, the activities and specificities of these putative fucosyltransferases are unknown. As Schistosoma express a variety of fucosylated glycans, including the Lewis X antigen Galβ1-4(Fucα1-3)GlcNAcβ-R, it is likely that this family of genes encode enzymes that are partly responsible for the generation of those structures. Here, we report the molecular cloning of fucosyltransferase-F (smFuT-F) from S. mansoni, as a soluble, green fluorescent protein fusion protein and its acceptor specificity. The gene smFuT-F was expressed in HEK freestyle cells, purified by affinity chromatography, and analyzed toward a broad panel of glycan acceptors. The enzyme product of smFuT-F effectively utilizes a type II chain acceptor Galβ1-4GlcNAc-R, but notably not the LDN sequence GalNAcβ1-4GlcNAc-R, to generate Lewis X type-glycans, and smFuT-F transcripts are present in all intramammalian life stages.
COORDINATION OF THE CARDIAC-RELATED DISCHARGES OF SYMPATHETIC NERVES WITH DIFFERENT TARGETS

Partial coherence analysis was used to remove the influences of pulse-synchronous baroreceptor nerve activity (as reflected by the arterial pulse) on the coherence of the cardiac-related discharges of sympathetic nerve pairs in unanesthetized decerebrate cats. It can be predicted that the peak at the heart rate frequency in the ordinary coherence function relating the discharges of two nerves will be eliminated by either partialization using the arterial pulse or surgical baroreceptor denervation, if the central circuits controlling the nerves share baroreceptor inputs but are not interconnected. Contrary to this prediction, in many experiments the peak was not eliminated by partialization using the arterial pulse. Moreover, partialization often nonuniformly reduced the peaks at the heart rate frequency in the coherence functions for different nerve pairs. These results are consistent with a model of multiple routes over which baroreceptor influences are distributed to the central circuits controlling different sympathetic nerves. Specifically, we propose that the direct route from the baroreceptors to each of the central circuits is complemented by cross talk among the central circuits.
Ladder operators and associated algebra for position-dependent effective mass systems

An algebraic treatment of shape-invariant quantum-mechanical position-dependent effective mass systems is discussed. Using shape invariance, a general recipe for construction of ladder operators and associated algebraic structure of the pertaining system, is obtained. These operators are used to find exact solutions of general one-dimensional systems with spatially varying mass. We apply our formalism to specific translationally shape-invariant potentials having position-dependent effective mass.
Cyclodextrin capped gold nanoparticles as a delivery vehicle for a prodrug of cisplatin.

In this work, we explore the use of a quick coupling mechanism for “arming” a cyclodextrin coated gold nanoparticle (AuNP) delivery vehicle, 2, with an adamantane-oxoplatin conjugate that is a prodrug of cisplatin, 3, to produce a cytotoxic nanodrug, 4. The two-part arming system, which utilizes the well-known guest–host interaction between β-cyclodextrin and adamantane, may be useful for rapidly constituting polyfunctional nanodrugs prior to their application in chemotherapy. The 4.7 ± 1.1 nm delivery vehicle, 2, coated with per-6-thio-β-cyclodextrin (βSCD), was characterized using transmission electron microscopy and absorption spectroscopy, and the density of surface-attached βSCD molecules, ∼210 βSCD/AuNP, was determined using thermogravimetric analysis. Because 13C NMR spectra of βSCD used in the study exhibited disulfide linkages and the observed surface density on the AuNP exceeded that possible for a close-packed mono layer, a fraction of the surface-attached βSCD molecules on the particle were ol...
Investigation of the Thermal Regeneration Efficiency of Activated Carbons Used in the Desulfurization of Model Diesel Fuel

Adsorption of dibenzothiophene (DBT) and 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (DMDBT) from model diesel fuel (MDF) was investigated on a thermally regenerated wood-based carbon and two polymer-derived carb...
New developments in optical coating characterization and utilization under high power laser irradiation

We present a novel technique to characterize coating imperfections that limit the performance under pulsed laser irradiation. We also discuss the use of 1D photonic crystals based on dielectric metal oxides as nonlinear optical frequency converters.
Primary Lymphadenopathic Kaposi’s Sarcoma in an Immunocompetent 23-Year-Old Man

An aggressive visceral form of Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) has been reported in immunosuppressed populations, most notably in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This presentation contrasts from the indolent skin lesions on the extremities of older males and is distinct enough in the young adult American population to have been included in the working definition of AIDS. The authors describe a case of primary lymphadenopathic KS in an immunocompetent heterosexual 23-year-old man with no epidemiologic, immunologic, or serologic evidence of AIDS. This report emphasizes that a diagnosis of KS in a young American male is not synonymous with the diagnosis of AIDS.
Physiology of Gas Exchange During ECMO for Respiratory Failure

Management of gas exchange using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in respiratory failure is very different than management when the patient is dependent on mechanical ventilation. All the gas exchange occurs in the membrane lung, and the arterial oxygenation is the result of mixing the ECMO blood with the native venous blood. To manage patients on ECMO, it is essential to understand the physiology described in this essay.
Aerosolized antibiotics in cystic fibrosis

Inhaled antibiotics offer an attractive alternative to systemic administration in cystic fibrosis (CF) for several reasons. Antibiotics can be administered directly to the site of infection with little systemic absorption, thereby minimizing toxicity. Aerosolization will permit chronic administration of antipseudomonal antibiotics while avoiding the risks and inconvenience of intravenous access. Modern aerosolized drug delivery systems enable endobronchial delivery of very high antibiotic concentrations, resulting in clinical improvement even in patients with bacterial organisms that traditionally would have been considered resistant. This article summarizes basic concepts of aerosol drug administration and reviews available data on the administration of a variety of drug classes for both suppressive therapy and acute exacerbations of cystic fibrosis, including toxicity and safety data. The aminoglycosides have been by far the most extensively studied class of antibiotics, culminating in U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a specifically formulated tobramycin solution for inhalation. The available data on the development of antibiotic resistance and emergence of other organisms with long-term use of this agent are reviewed. Finally, a brief guideline for initiating and monitoring patients on antibiotic aerosols is provided for the clinician caring for CF patients.
Charcot Marie Tooth 2B Peripheral Sensory Neuropathy: How Rab7 Mutations Impact NGF Signaling?

Charcot-Marie-Tooth 2B peripheral sensory neuropathy (CMT2B) is a debilitating autosomal dominant hereditary sensory neuropathy. Patients with this disease lose pain sensation and frequently need amputation. Axonal dysfunction and degeneration of peripheral sensory neurons is a major clinical manifestation of CMT2B. However, the cellular and molecular pathogenic mechanisms remain undefined. CMT2B is caused by missense point mutations (L129F, K157N, N161T/I, V162M) in Rab7 GTPase. Strong evidence suggests that the Rab7 mutation(s) enhances the cellular levels of activated Rab7 proteins, thus resulting in increased lysosomal activity and autophagy. As a consequence, trafficking and signaling of neurotrophic factors such as nerve growth factor (NGF) in the long axons of peripheral sensory neurons are particularly vulnerable to premature degradation. A “gain of toxicity” model has, thus, been proposed based on these observations. However, studies of fly photo-sensory neurons indicate that the Rab7 mutation(s) causes a “loss of function”, resulting in haploinsufficiency. In the review, we summarize experimental evidence for both hypotheses. We argue that better models (rodent animals and human neurons) of CMT2B are needed to precisely define the disease mechanisms.
Radiologic head CT interpretation errors in pediatric abusive and non-abusive head trauma patients

Pediatric head trauma, including abusive head trauma, is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this research was to identify and evaluate radiologic interpretation errors of head CTs performed on abusive and non-abusive pediatric head trauma patients from a community setting referred for a secondary interpretation at a tertiary pediatric hospital. A retrospective search identified 184 patients <5 years of age with head CT for known or potential head trauma who had a primary interpretation performed at a referring community hospital by a board-certified radiologist. Two board-certified fellowship-trained neuroradiologists at an academic pediatric hospital independently interpreted the head CTs, compared their interpretations to determine inter-reader discrepancy rates, and resolved discrepancies to establish a consensus second interpretation. The primary interpretation was compared to the consensus second interpretation using the RADPEER™ scoring system to determine the primary interpretation-second interpretation overall and major discrepancy rates. MRI and/or surgical findings were used to validate the primary interpretation or second interpretation when possible. The diagnosis of abusive head trauma was made using clinical and imaging data by a child abuse specialist to separate patients into abusive head trauma and non-abusive head trauma groups. Discrepancy rates were compared for both groups. Lastly, primary interpretations and second interpretations were evaluated for discussion of imaging findings concerning for abusive head trauma. There were statistically significant differences between primary interpretation-second interpretation versus inter-reader overall and major discrepancy rates (28% vs. 6%, P=0.0001; 16% vs. 1%, P=0.0001). There were significant differences in the primary interpretation-second interpretation overall and major discrepancy rates for abusive head trauma patients compared to non-abusive head trauma patients (41% vs 23%, P=0.02; 26% vs. 12%, P=0.03). The most common findings resulting in major radiologic interpretation errors were fractures and subdural hemorrhage. Differences in the age of the patient and the percentage of patients with hemorrhage were statistically significant between the abusive head trauma versus non-abusive head trauma groups, while no statistical difference was identified for skull fractures, ischemia, head CT radiation dose, or presence of multiplanar or 3-D reformatted images. The second interpretation more frequently indicated potential for abusive head trauma compared to the primary interpretation (P=0.0001). MRI and/or surgical findings were in agreement with the second interpretation in 29/29 (100%) of patients with discrepancies. A high incidence of radiologic interpretation errors may occur in pediatric trauma patients at risk for abusive head trauma who are referred from a community hospital. This suggests value for second interpretations of head CTs at a tertiary pediatric hospital for this patient population.
A cognitive cost of the need to achieve

Abstract Although students in affluent communities most often excel in academic performance, potential downsides of their achievement focus are an increasing concern. Common risk factors in the socio-emotional domain have been identified. Yet less explored is the possibility that such risk extends to intellectual dimensions. In a multi-method study, we administered two measures of self-regulation to middle-schoolers (n = 90) – an individually administered measure of cognitive regulation and an observational assessment of behavior regulation, in addition to a learning task in which students had to discover how multiple variables were related and apply this knowledge. In both an affluent and a middle-class sample, cognitive regulation, not behavior regulation, predicted learning. A comparison of the two samples showed the affluent group to be superior to the middle-class group in behavior regulation. However, middle-class students outperformed affluent students in learning and, even more strikingly, in cognitive regulation. These findings suggest that potential learning and cognitive development may be compromised in environments that put very high value on scholastic achievement.
T Cells in Nonlymphoid Tissues Give Rise to Lymph-Node-Resident Memory T Cells

Summary Immunosurveillance of secondary lymphoid organs (SLO) is performed by central memory T cells that recirculate through blood. Resident memory T (Trm) cells remain parked in nonlymphoid tissues and often stably express CD69. We recently identified Trm cells within SLO, but the origin and phenotype of these cells remains unclear. Using parabiosis of "dirty" mice, we found that CD69 expression is insufficient to infer stable residence of SLO Trm cells. Restimulation of nonlymphoid memory CD8 + T cells within the skin or mucosa resulted in a substantial increase in bona fide Trm cells specifically within draining lymph nodes. SLO Trm cells derived from emigrants from nonlymphoid tissues and shared some transcriptional and phenotypic signatures associated with nonlymphoid Trm cells. These data indicate that nonlymphoid cells can give rise to SLO Trm cells and suggest vaccination strategies by which memory CD8 + T cell immunosurveillance can be regionalized to specific lymph nodes.
Interventions for Depression and Mood Disorders

Although anxiety, depression, and mood disorders share some common origins, characteristics, and symptoms, there are differences in how treatment is conceptualized, developed, and implemented. A distinguishing developmental difference is that, while anxiety is a normal experience in all persons, depression does not have this characteristic. Although it is common for children, adolescents, and adults to have periods of “feeling down,” feeling “blue,” “sad,” or “having the blahs,” they are not chronic or severe and do not impair functioning to a significant degree. Often, they are situation specific and last only a few hours or days. Although anxiety has some specific developmental “markers” (e.g., stranger anxiety and separation anxiety in infancy), there are not similar developmental manifestations of depression and mood in children and youth. Of course, adolescence is a time when teens are frequently described as “moody” and irritable and may have more periods of unhappiness, but their functioning typically is not so impaired that intervention is needed. Apart from the teen years, there are not specific ages or circumstances in which mood problems are manifested in almost all children.
Clinical Assessment of Spirometric Data

The utilization of pulmonary function tests for the evaluation of lung diseases has increased dramatically for several years. This is in part because of further understanding of pathophysiological concepts and standardization of techniques, but is principly due to the adaptation of the computer to pulmonary function equipment. The addition of the computer to pulmonary function modules has created several advances: time-consuming and laborious manual calculations have been eliminated, mechanical preparation for tests have been simplified, the.time required for the tests has been decreased and the final data are displayed almost instantly in a well organized, concise format. These advantages allow physicians to use pulmonary function tests routinely, and screening tests are now available in virtually all community hospitals throughout the United States and small microprocessor units are commonly used for office spirometry. Results of spirometric data are useful in various situations: (1) Diagnosis, (2) Determination of impairment, (3) Patient management and (4) Industrial screening.
Government Requirements and Professional Standards

In connection with recent service on several committees, the writer has had occasion to consider questions of "standards," "government requirements," "grades of quality," and the like, and has observed that much confusion exists in regard to the whole subject. There is a strong tendency nowadays to standardize and grade, to classify and "score," and there is also a desire on the part of many to have all this done by government. Some of the suggested laws and regulations looking to this end are of questionable legality; and it is probable that some sections of existing building codes a<nd health laws would be declared unconstitutional if fully presented before the courts. It ought to be profitable, therefore, to consider the fundamental principles involved and a few of their applications.
Factors affecting progeny production of Anaphes iole

Anaphes iole Girault(Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) is a native, solitaryegg parasitoid of Lygus spp.(Heteroptera: Miridae) in North America. Current research is considering factors thatmay optimize the in-vivo rearing of A.iole using Lygus hesperus Knight(Heteroptera: Miridae) as host. The effects ofhost density, day of oviposition and foodpresence, parasitoid age and mate presence onproduction of A. iole progeny weredetermined in this study. After exposingindividual parasitoids to host patches for 24h, the percentage of hosts containing a latestage A. iole pupa wassignificantly greater at a moderate hostdensity (41–70 eggs per patch) than at a lowdensity (10–40 eggs). But, no differenceswere detected between moderate and high density(71–100 eggs) or between high and low densitytreatments. More adult progeny were generatedby females (of variable age; 0–2 d old) onthe first day of oviposition rather than thesecond day, regardless of food presence. Progeny sex ratio was decidedly male-biased onthe second day. Female age (0 d vs 1 d old)had a marginal effect on production in 24 h; 0d old females tended to generate more adultprogeny than 1 d old females. Overall, thisresearch suggests that exposing newly-emerged,unfed, mated A. iole females to amoderate to high host density for 1 to 2 dcould lead to time-efficient production ofadult progeny in an in-vivo rearing system.
Evaluating Service Encounters: A Cross-Cultural and Cross-Industry Exploration

Do consumers in different countries and industries want the same thing from a service provider? This paper explores the relative importance to consumer satisfaction of eight service encounter dimensions in two different countries and industries. Empirical research with students in two countries examines specific hypotheses. Formality is found to be more important in statusconscious societies than in egalitarian and personalization is more important in individualistic countries than in collectivist. Authenticity is more important for professional services, while courtesy and promptness are more important for generic services. Caring and courtesy receive the overall highest ratings as most important to satisfaction with service encounters.
Complexity of financial reporting standards and accounting expertise

Abstract This study tests whether firms seek to mitigate the adverse effects of Financial Reporting Complexity (FRC) by investing in accounting expertise. We develop a measure of FRC based on the complexity of accounting standards that govern annual disclosures. We find that FRC is positively related to the accounting expertise on a firm’s board of directors and audit committee. We also find that accounting expertise mitigates the relation between FRC and negative reporting outcomes. Collectively, this study increases our understanding of the actions firms take to mitigate the negative consequences of FRC, and the role of accounting expertise in this setting.
Application of Six Sigma to Achieve Sales Lifecycle Optimization

The objective of this paper is to optimize sales lifecycle performance at United Biosource Corporation through the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology to produce fact based, and data driven approaches with reduced process inconsistency. This methodology was applied to identify inefficiencies within the current sales lifecycle process, including excessive data collection and workflow activities. Evaluations of these inefficiencies identified critical to quality and critical to process inputs. On average, 285.33 hours per month are lost as a result of Smartweb related data and workflow performance activities. The identified drivers of these activities are: i external workflows; ii data cleaning; and iii outside reporting. The goal is to decrease the total number of hours per month spent performing these activities by 75% by the end of 2014. These results will be included in a subsequent publication. To date, the application of the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology to optimize sales lifecycle helped identify inefficiencies, develop solutions and a control plan to ensure the improvements are sustainable.
Pediatric Restraint Use and Injury in New York City Taxis Compared with Other Passenger Vehicles

In New York City (NYC), as in several other U.S. cities, pediatric occupant restraint laws exempt rear-seated passengers in vehicles-for-hire from those that apply to private vehicles. This study c...
Rapid processing of perovskite solar cells through pulsed photonic annealing: a review

The performance of materials in perovskite solar cells has garnered a fair amount of interest because they are solution processable and thus a prime target for roll-to-roll coating. The precursor materials are typically prepared in solutions and deposited using common evaporative techniques, some that can be adapted to roll-to-roll manufacturing. However, there are some existing challenges that should be overcome to allow for the films to be stable in ambient conditions such that they can be deposited more cost-effectively. In this work, we report on solution engineering that enables deposition of the perovskite materials in an ambient environment using roll-to-roll applicable technologies. These engineered chemistries were also designed to enable rapid post-processing steps to limit the web length within a conventional oven. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the films achieved consistent morphology and crystallinity, and performed well in solar cell devices. Results of several chemistries and processes will be presented.
Toward Understanding the Return Path Capacitance in Capacitive Human Body Communication

Human Body Communication (HBC) utilizes the human body as a conductive channel to enable ultra-low-power secure communication between devices on and around the body. In Capacitive HBC, although the body provides the forward path for communication, the closed loop return path is formed through parasitic coupling of the device’s ground plane with the environment. This return path capacitance ( $C_{G}$ ) is a critical factor in determining the overall HBC channel response. Hence an in-depth understanding $C_{G}$ and the key factors affecting its value will enable optimized design of HBC systems. In this brief we provide a detailed analysis of the return path capacitance for wearable devices of different shapes (disc, rectangular) through derivations, simulations as well as experiments. FEM simulation results show that the parasitic capacitance is almost equal to the self capacitance found through theoretical derivations, when the distance of the device to earth’s ground is significantly larger than the device dimensions. Independent experiments using an LCR meter and wearable devices, show close correspondence with theory and simulations. The return path capacitance ( $C_{G}$ ) value, which is in the range of a few pFs for a watch sized wearable, is primarily dependent on the size of the device and almost independent of the distance from earth’s ground.
Epigenetic Regulation of Chromatin in Prostate Cancer

Epigenetics refers to mitotically/meiotically heritable mechanisms that regulate gene transcription without a need for changes in the DNA code. Covalent modifications of DNA, in the form of methylation, and histone post-translational modifications, in the form of acetylation and methylation, constitute the epigenetic code of a cell. Both DNA and histone modifications are highly dynamic and often work in unison to define the epigenetic state of a cell. Most epigenetic mechanisms regulate gene transcription by affecting localized/genome-wide transitions between heterochromatin and euchromatin states, thereby altering the accessibility of the transcriptional machinery and in turn, reduce/increase transcriptional output. Altered chromatin structure is associated with cancer progression, and epigenetic plasticity primarily governs the resistance of cancer cells to therapeutic agents. In this chapter, we specifically focus on regulators of histone methylation and acetylation, the two well-studied chromatin post-translational modifications, in the context of prostate cancer.
Ageless Design: A Design Method of Product Longevity for Cross-Generation

Product longevity is a method for sustainable production and consumption in the current consumerist culture driven by planned obsolescence. While product aesthetics affect the product lifetime, existing approaches from industrial design perspectives are limited. Timeless design has been mentioned as one of the design strategies for product longevity. However, timeless design has limitations because it is largely focused on a product’s appearance and lacks consideration of varying needs for different age groups. This paper introduces ageless design as a more comprehensive method with an inclusive perspective and usability added to timeless design. Ageless design aims to address the needs of multiple generations as well as to make a product accessible and easy to use regardless of age so that a product can not only be used across generations but also endure long years of use. Subsequently, this paper examines the differing VOCs for multiple generations and builds a framework for ageless design. A representative product of ageless design is analyzed based on the framework, then the elements and the guidelines for ageless design are verified.
Colonial Vestiges on the Map: A Rhetorical History of Development Cartography at the United Nations during Post-War Decolonization

In 1948, the United Nations set a resolution affirming the centrality of cartography to its plans for world development in its member nations. Following that resolution, the UN established a cartog...
Course Redesign for College General Chemistry during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Albright College changed its classroom courses to an online format starting at the middle of the semester. This communication describes the transformation of the remaining semester for the lecture of the general chemistry course for majors. Video, ungraded and graded quizzing activities, and discussion boards were developed in an asynchronous format, while video conferencing by Zoom provided a platform for synchronous office hours. Insights from the spring semester inform plans for the online fall semester.
A Brief History of Software Professionalism and the Way Forward

Software is pervasive, including ways in which it can place our lives at risk (for example, flight, railway, and traffic control). But even noncritical systems can have unplanned, ad hoc interactions with critical ones, increasing risk exposure. Society expects a standard of competence, professionalism, and accountability from its doctors, nurses, and other professionals who hold lives in trust. Yet anyone can write software that can appear in or interact with critical systems, so what does "software professional" mean, and what are society's expectations for those individuals? The IEEE Computer Society (CS), other professional societies, and scholars have tackled this problem for decades. I'd like to recount some of those efforts to place into perspective a proposal for how society must proceed to ensure an appropriate level of professionalism, especially from those working on software for critical systems. A brief history of professionalization in software engineering, particularly in the United States, is given. The current situation and recommendations going forward are then offered.
Assembly Reliability of 3D Stacks under Thermal Cycles

Stack electronic packaging technologies have now been widely implemented to increase the capabilities of commercial electronics in order to overcome the limitation of die fabrication with extremely finer features. An special 3D leaded confguration using internally packaged memory has been widely used for high-reliability applications. Its new configuration comes in high-temperature ball grid array (BGA), which may be less robust than the leaded version.This paper compares thermal cycle reliability of 3D stack assemblies with two configurations—leaded and BGA. The two configurations were subjected to either accelerated thermal cycle (ATC) alone or with subsequent extremer thermal shock cycle (ATSC) in two ranges in order to determine robustness and to initiate earlier failures. The ATCs were in the range of – 55°C to 100°C whereas the ATSCs ranged from–100°C to 125°C. Extreme cold temperature exposure to –100°C is representative of mild deep space environment whereas possibly none for industrial applications.Visual inspection with optical microscopy images dcoumented damage progression for leaded 3D assemblies with and without workmanship defects. However, daisy-chain resistance continuity monitoring was used as the key verification method for detecting failure of 3D BGA and using visual inspection as a secondary approach for monitoring damage progression. The inspection results were presented in detail for leaded assemblies with and without the edge adhesive staking. For 3D stack BGA assemblies, results of failure analyses were also presented. These were were performed by cross-sectioning with optical and scanning electron microscopy evaluation.
On knot Floer homology and cabling

This paper is devoted to the study of the knot Floer homology groups \ HFK(S 3 ,K2,n), where K2,n denotes the (2,n) cable of an arbitrary knot, K. It is shown that for sufficiently large|n|, the Floer homology of the cabled knot depends only on the filtered chain homotopy type of \(K). A precise formula for this relationship is presented. In fact, the homology groups in the top 2 filtration dimensions for the cabled knot are isomorphic to the original knot's Floer homology group in the top filtration dimension. The results are extended to (p,pn ±1) cables. As an example we compute \ HFK((T2,2m+1)2,2n+1) for all sufficiently large|n|, where T2,2m+1 denotes
A Parsesciencing Inquiry on Hope.

Hope is a universal humanuniverse living experience. The author engaged in the Parsesciencing inquiry as a mode of inquiry unique to the humanbecoming paradigm. The inquiry stance was: What is the ...
Contextual Semantic Parsing for Multilingual Task-Oriented Dialogues.

Robust state tracking for task-oriented dialogue systems currently remains restricted to a few popular languages. This paper shows that given a large-scale dialogue data set in one language, we can automatically produce an effective semantic parser for other languages using machine translation. We propose automatic translation of dialogue datasets with alignment to ensure faithful translation of slot values and eliminate costly human supervision used in previous benchmarks. We also propose a new contextual semantic parsing model, which encodes the formal slots and values, and only the last agent and user utterances. We show that the succinct representation reduces the compounding effect of translation errors, without harming the accuracy in practice. We evaluate our approach on several dialogue state tracking benchmarks. On RiSAWOZ, CrossWOZ, CrossWOZ-EN, and MultiWOZ-ZH datasets we improve the state of the art by 11%, 17%, 20%, and 0.3% in joint goal accuracy. We present a comprehensive error analysis for all three datasets showing erroneous annotations can obscure judgments on the quality of the model. Finally, we present RiSAWOZ English and German datasets, created using our translation methodology. On these datasets, accuracy is within 11% of the original showing that high-accuracy multilingual dialogue datasets are possible without relying on expensive human annotations.
An integrated metagenomic and metabolite profiling study of hydrocarbon biodegradation and corrosion in navy ships

Naval vessels regularly mix fuel and seawater as ballast, a practice that might exacerbate fuel biodegradation and metal biocorrosion. To investigate, a metagenomic characterization and metabolite profiling of ballast from U.S. Navy vessels with residence times of 1-, ~20-, and 31 weeks was conducted and compared with the seawater used to fill the tanks. Aerobic Gammaproteobacteria differentially proliferated in the youngest ballast tank and aerobic-specific hydrocarbon degradation genes were quantitatively more important compared to seawater or the other ballast tanks. In contrast, the anaerobic Deltaproteobacteria dominated in the eldest ballast fluid with anaerobic-specific hydrocarbon activation genes being far more prominent. Gene activity was corroborated by detection of diagnostic metabolites and corrosion was evident by elevated levels of Fe, Mn, Ni and Cu in all ballast samples relative to seawater. The findings argue that marine microbial communities rapidly shift from aerobic to anaerobic hydrocarbonoclastic-dominated assemblages that accelerate fuel and infrastructure deterioration.
Transportation Systems Planning : Methods and Applications

Introduction TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS AND THEORIES OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR Transportation Systems Planning, Konstadinos G. Goulias Time Use and Travel Behaviour in Space and Time, Ram M. Pendyala Spatial Behaviour in Transportation Modeling and Planning, Reginald G. Golledge and Tommy Garling Freight Transportation Planning: Models and Methods, Frank Southworth Land Use - Transportation Modeling, Eric J. Miller Land Use Planning, Household Travel, and Household Lifestyles, Kevin J. Krizek DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Interactive Methods for Activity Scheduling Processes, Sean T. Doherty Statistical and Econometric Data Analysis, Konstadinos G. Goulias Multilevel Statistical Models, Konstadinos G. Goulias Random Utility-Based Discrete Choice Models for Travel Demand Analysis, Chandra R. Bhat Structural Equation Modeling, Thomas F. Golob TRANSPORATATION SYSTEMS SIMULATION AND APPLICATIONS Microsimulation, Eric J. Miller Mobile Source Emissions: An Overview of the Regulatory and Modeling Framework, Debbie A. Niemeier Demographic Microsimulation with DEMOS 2000: Design, Validation, and Forecasting, Ashok Sundararajan and Konstadinos G. Goulias Assessing the Effects of Constrained and Unconstrained Policy Scenarios on Activity-Travel Patterns Using a Learning-Based Simulation System, Theo Arentze, Frank Hofman, Henk van Mourik and Harry Timmermans Centre SIM: First generation Model Design, Pragmatic Implementation and Scenarios, JoNette Kuhnau and Konstadinos G. Goulias
A Prolegomenon to an Interrogative Theory of Scientific Inquiry

The attempts at presenting the methodology of science as razor-sharp decision-procedures, which arose with the philosophical union of logic and espistemology, has carved science as scientists know it out of inquiry. Rarely are philosophers concerned with the design of methodological standards for other than the testing of special classes of theories. Even rarer is the philosopher who is willing to look beyond codifications of the intellectual history of scientific successes to the very messy guts of theory construction or scientific communication and dialogue. My argument here is that we need a new program for discussing and analyzing the methodology of science, a program based on an “interrogative theory of scientific inquiry”. As an added bonus, I expect that this theory will also provide grounds for the inclusion of significantly broader classes of questions in the scope of science that those circumscribed by the abbreviated playing field of current dogmas.
ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007 Final Determination Quantitative Analysis

The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) conducted a final quantitative analysis to assess whether buildings constructed according to the requirements of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)/Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) Standard 90.1-2007 would result in energy savings compared with buildings constructed to ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004. The final analysis considered each of the 44 addenda to ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004 that were included in ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007. All 44 addenda processed by ASHRAE in the creation of Standard 90.1-2007 from Standard 90.1-2004 were reviewed by DOE, and their combined impact on a suite of 15 building prototype models in 15 ASHRAE climate zones was considered. Most addenda were deemed to have little quantifiable impact on building efficiency for the purpose of DOE’s final determination. However, out of the 44 addenda, 9 were preliminarily determined to have measureable and quantifiable impact.
Axons regenerated through silicone tube splices: II. Functional morphology

The recovery of axons regenerated through silicone tube splices was studied with electron microscopic and morphometric methods. Regenerated nerves contained both myelinated and unmyelinated axons of near normal morphology. The number and diameter of axons increased with postoperative time, and size-frequency histograms demonstrated that regeneration occurred in all major fiber groups. Remyelination occurred between about 4 and 6 weeks. Some of the smallest regenerated axons had unusually thick myelin sheaths, but overall regenerated axons had a slightly thinner sheath compared with similar-size normal fibers, although the ratio of sheath thickness to axon size was within the normal limits of g = 0.65 to 0.8 by 6 weeks. Axons did not, however, regain their normal size within 10 months of surgery. This deficit was apparently the primary factor limiting conduction velocity in these regenerated axons.
Climate science: The long future of Antarctic melting.

Simulations show that melting of the Antarctic ice sheet in response to climate change could raise the global sea level by up to 3 metres by the year 2300 and continue for thousands of years thereafter.
A model for improving quality of decisions in mobile health

Abstract The rapid and wide-scale introduction of mobile technologies in healthcare is resulting in an emerging area of mobile health. m-Health has major implications for patients, healthcare professionals, developers, infrastructure providers and regulators in both developed and developing countries. Mobile technologies can not only support instant and ubiquitous access to information, healthcare professionals and patients, but can also create many interesting challenges, including additional complexity and potential for various errors. In this paper, we address how mobile health can be more effectively supported by mobile technologies. More specifically, we present two sets of enhancements: (a) context-awareness and processing and (b) improved presentation of information to healthcare professionals. These enhancements are then applied in the conceptual design of a mobile health alert generation and processing system. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed enhancements, we develop and utilize an analytical model. Using multiple metrics, including the number of alerts generated and probability of error in alert-response, we show that the proposed enhancements can improve the quality of mobile health. We hope that other researchers design, implement and evaluate additional enhancements in mobile technologies for m-health. While we do not present any prototypes of the systems, the work presented in the paper can lead to prototypes and testing of systems in the future for mobile health.