cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of genetic changes to the CRPV genome and their application to the study of pathogenesis in vivo

The cottontail rabbit papillomavirus (CRPV)/rabbit model has been used to study oncogenicity and immunogenicity of different antigens from the papillomavirus genome and has therefore served as a preclinical model for the development of preventive and therapeutic vaccines against papillomavirus infections. One unique property of the CRPV model is that infection can be initiated using viral DNA. This property allows for the functional testing of viral mutants in vivo. We have introduced point mutations, insertions and deletions into all of the different coding and non-coding regions of the CRPV genome and have tested their infectivity in this model. We found that the majority of the mutant genomes retained viability and could induce papillomas in domestic rabbits. These data indicated that the CRPV genome is tolerant of many modifications without compromising its ability to initiate skin papillomas. In combination with our recently established HLA-A2.1 transgenic rabbit model, this plasticity allows us to extend the utility of the CRPV/rabbit model to the screening of HLA-A2.1 restricted epitopes from other human viral and tumor antigens.
Trigonal Boracites - A New Type of Ferroelectric and Ferromagnetoelectric that Allows no 180° Electric Polarization Reversal

The space group of the trigonal phase of the Fe-Cl, Fe-Br, Fe-I, Co-Cl, and Zn-Cl boracites is established as C63v. Ferroelectricity is evidenced by domain switching. High coercive fields at room temp. (up to 8000 kV/cm) are found. Polarization-microscopic studies show that the polarization vector is not reversible by 180°, but can jump only from, e.g., [111] to [111], [111], or [111], etc., in accord with crystal-structure and group-theoretical symmetry considerations. Two twinning "laws" are observed: (a) head-head (tail-tail), domains with {110}cub as compn. plane and (b) head-tail domains with {100}cub as compn. plane. The domain structure and the relevant twinning operations are discussed. The onset of ferromagnetism at low temp. in Fe-Cl, Fe-Br, Fe-I, and Co-Cl boracites leads to ferromagnetoelectricity. In the case of Co-Cl boracite, the ferromagnetoelec. point group is m.
FINDING MANY OPTIMAL PATHS WITHOUT GROWING ANY OPTIMAL PATH TREES

Many algorithms for applications such as pattern recognition, computer vision, and computer graphics seek to compute actual optimal paths in weighted directed graphs. The standard approach for repo...
Dermatomyositis without creatine kinase elevation. A poor prognostic sign

Serum muscle enzyme levels are usually elevated in patients with untreated polymyositis and dermatomyositis. Creatine kinase is the muscle enzyme most often used to diagnose inflammatory myopathies. Seven patients with dermatomyositis and normal creatine kinase levels are described. Five of the seven patients had either an associated malignancy or severe interstitial lung disease. The one-year survival of the six patients followed for that length of time was 33 percent. A lack of creatine kinase elevation in patients with dermatomyositis is a poor prognostic sign.
Nonsimultaneous Chains and Dominos in Kidney-Paired Donation-Revisited

Since 2008, kidney exchange in America has grown in part from the incorporation of nondirected donors in transplant chains rather than simple exchanges. It is controversial whether these chains should be performed simultaneously 'domino-paired donation', (DPD) or nonsimultaneously 'nonsimultaneous extended altruistic donor, chains (NEAD). NEAD chains create 'bridge donors' whose incompatible recipients receive kidneys before the bridge donor donates, and so risk reneging by bridge donors, but offer the opportunity to create more transplants by overcoming logistical barriers inherent in simultaneous chains. Gentry et al. simulated whether DPD or NEAD chains would produce more transplants when chain segment length was limited to three transplants, and reported that DPD performed at least as well as NEAD chains. As this finding contrasts with the experience of several groups involved in kidney-paired donation, we performed simulations that allowed for longer chain segments and used actual patient data from the Alliance for Paired Donation. When chain segments of 4-6 transplants are allowed in the simulations, NEAD chains produce more transplants than DPD. Our simulations showed not only more transplants as chain length increased, but also that NEAD chains produced more transplants for highly sensitized and blood type O recipients.
Cost and cycle time performance of fabs based on integrated single-wafer processing

Visions of future wafer fabs include the use of integrated single-wafer processors to achieve fast cycle times and contain rising production costs. A survey of IC manufacturers, equipment vendors, and IC manufacturing literature was used to generate hypothetical conventional and alternative fabs to evaluate the effect of integrated single-wafer processing on cycle time and cost performance. The distinguishing features of the alternative fab are: (1) all thermal processes performed on single-wafer processors; (2) back-end net cleans performed on single-wafer processors; (3) integration of single-wafer processors into clusters or cells wherever practical, and (4) extensive use of in situ process monitors to replace in-line process monitors. Modeling and simulation of the resulting fabs suggest that integrated single-wafer processing can reduce the cycle time of conventional fabs by about 50% without having a significant effect on wafer production test. Tool integration and single-wafer processing must be used together to achieve these performance improvements. Although traditional lot sizes appeared to be appropriate for both fabs, improvements in cluster tool reliability and process step similarity could change optimal integrated tool configurations and reduce optimal lot sizes in the future.
Measurement of Pyruvate Content in Milk Ultrafiltrates for Evaluation of Bacteriological Quality

Abstract A simple manual method for measuring pyruvate in ultrafiltrate of milk samples is described. Milk was placed in a stirred-cell apparatus and ultrafiltrated through a membrane with nominal molecular weight cut-off of 10,000. Pressure was applied by a nitrogen cylinder to a maximum of 3.51 kg/cm 2 . The ultrafiltrate was reacted with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and then lactate dehydrogenase for spectrophotometric determination of pyruvate. The method was compared to a manual method requiring acid precipitation, centrifugation, pH adjustment, and recentrifugation of milk samples to obtain a supernatant liquid. Milks with added pyruvate corresponding to that in refrigerated commercial milks were tested by both methods. The range of recovery for the ultrafiltration method, 93 to 111%, was not significantly different from recovery by the other method. Ten commercially processed milk samples were analyzed for pyruvate at 1, 7, and 10 days. The pyruvate content of these samples as determined by both methods was not significantly different, and the correlation between methods was .96. Bacteriologic quality of samples from 30 commercial processing plants was measured by standard plate count, psychrotrophic bacterial count, and pyruvate content by ultrafiltration. Overall correlations between logarithm standard plate count or logarithm psychotrophic bacteria count and pyruvate content were .73 or .69. Correlation between flavor score and pyruvate content was −.81.
InSAR phase unwrapping based on extended Kalman filtering

InSAR phase measurements are relative, ambiguous due to 2π wrapping, and affected by atmospheric and other noise sources. For many real-world applications unambiguous displacement measurements are necessary. Currently available methods for extracting time series of surface displacement, start with unwrapping in time or space domain. We present a new extended Kalman filtering approach to phase unwrapping, which resolves the 2π ambiguity in a computationally efficient way. Also this algorithm can easily be expanded to use all the data available in space and time dimensions. Several modifications are made to the standard EKF for phase unwrapping. Hence we call our new algorithm as optimized Kalman (OK) filter.
Functional evolution within a protein superfamily

The ability to predict and characterize distributions of reactivities over families and even superfamilies of proteins opens the door to an array of analyses regarding functional evolution. In this article, insights into functional evolution in the Kazal inhibitor superfamily are gained by analyzing and comparing predicted association free energy distributions against six serine proteinases, over a number of groups of inhibitors: all possible Kazal inhibitors, natural avian ovomucoid first and third domains, and sets of Kazal inhibitors with statistically weighted combinations of residues. The results indicate that, despite the great hypervariability of residues in the 10 proteinase-binding positions, avian ovomucoid third domains evolved to inhibit enzymes similar to the six enzymes selected, whereas the orthologous first domains are not inhibitors of these enzymes on purpose. Hypervariability arises because of similarity in energetic contribution from multiple residue types; conservation is in terms of functionality, with "good" residues, which make positive or less deleterious contributions to the binding, selected more frequently, and yielding overall the same distributional characteristics. Further analysis of the distributions indicates that while nature did optimize inhibitor strength, the objective may not have been the strongest possible inhibitor against one enzyme but rather an inhibitor that is relatively strong against a number of enzymes.
Omega-3 fatty acids, pro-inflammatory signaling and neuroprotection.

Purpose of reviewTo summarize recent findings that docosahexaenoate (DHA) is the precursor of stereospecific derivatives with anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective properties.Recent findingsThe docosahexaenoate-derived mediator neuroprotectin D1 is formed in retinal pigment epithelial cells when conf
Evolution of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Maize Kernels: The Role of Regulatory and Enzymatic Loci

Understanding which genes contribute to evolutionary change and the nature of the alterations in them are fundamental challenges in evolution. We analyzed regulatory and enzymatic genes in the maize anthocyanin pathway as related to the evolution of anthocyanin-pigmented kernels in maize from colorless kernels of its progenitor, teosinte. Genetic tests indicate that teosinte possesses functional alleles at all enzymatic loci. At two regulatory loci, most teosintes possess alleles that encode functional proteins, but ones that are not expressed during kernel development and not capable of activating anthocyanin biosynthesis there. We investigated nucleotide polymorphism at one of the regulatory loci, c1. Several observations suggest that c1 has not evolved in a strictly neutral manner, including an exceptionally low level of polymorphism and a biased representation of haplotypes in maize. Curiously, sequence data show that most of our teosinte samples possess a promoter element necessary for the activation of the anthocyanin pathway during kernel development, although genetic tests indicate that teosinte c1 alleles are not active during kernel development. Our analyses suggest that the evolution of the purple kernels resulted from changes in cis regulatory elements at regulatory loci and not changes in either regulatory protein function nor the enzymatic loci.
Emerging trends in the use and adoption of e-participation around the world

This panel showcases analyses of emerging trends of e-participation---use of information communication technologies (ICTs) and social media for political participation. E-participation has gained popularity in many countries, and some cases have shown that e-participation has actually brought significant changes in societies. In this panel, we address two issues: (1) the impacts of e-participation on society, and (2) the role of information science in understanding this phenomenon. We will focus on introducing emerging trends in e-participation and their impact on individuals and societies in South Korea, the United States, and Honduras. Further, we introduce methods for efficiently analyzing e-participation data, and discuss challenges involved in implementing these methodologies. Because this is intended to be an interactive panel, the audience will be encouraged to engage in discussions and contributing their own experiences and ideas related to current trends in e-participation in various countries.
Retinoic Acid for High-risk Neuroblastoma Patients after Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation - Cochrane Review.

Background: Neuroblastoma is a rare malignant disease and patients with high-risk neuroblastoma have a poor prognosis. Retinoic acid has been shown to inhibit growth of human neuroblastoma cells and has been considered as a potential candidate for improving the outcome. Methods: The objective was to evaluate effects of retinoic acid after consolidation with high-dose chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation as compared to placebo or no further treatment in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. We searched the databases CENTRAL, MEDLINE, and EMBASE from inception to 01 October 2014 and included randomized controlled trials. Results: We identified one relevant randomized controlled trial with 50 participants receiving retinoic acid and 48 participants receiving no further therapy. There was no statistically significant difference between the treatment groups in overall survival (hazard ratio 0.87, 95% confidence interval 0.46–1.63, P=0.66) and event-free survival (hazard ratio 0.86, 95% confidence interval 0.50–1.49, P=0.59). We did not identify results for other outcomes, including toxicity. Conclusion: The difference in overall and event-free survival between treatment alternatives was not statistically significantly different. Based on the currently available evidence, we are uncertain about the effects of retinoic acid after bone marrow transplantation in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma.
Use of pseudorandom noise in studies of frequency selectivity: The periphery of the auditory system

Frequency selectivity of single auditory nerve fibers in the rat was studied using pseudorandom noise based on ternary m-sequences as the stimulus, and the results were compared to those of earlier studies in which noise based on binary m-sequences was used. Pseudorandom noise based on ternary m-sequences has fewer anomalies than noise based on binary m-sequences. Detailed tests using linear and nonlinear filters showed that the present method provides acurate measures of bandwidth and center frequency. Period histograms of the response, locked to the periodicity of the noise, were cross-correlated with one period of the noise to obtain estimates of the impulse response function of the peripheral auditory system. Fourier transforms of these cross-correlograms were used as estimates of the filter function of single auditory nerve fibers. The results obtained using ternary noise were not different from previous results showing a downward shift in center frequency and increase in bandwidth with increasing stimulus intensity for fibers with center frequencies between 1000 and 5000 Hz. The difference between spectral selectivity based on phase-locked responses and that based on discharge rate is discussed.
Vasculitis, cerebral infarction and persistent Bartonella henselae infection in a child.

The genus Bartonella is comprised of a rapidly increasing number of pathogenic species that induce a seemingly diverse spectrum of neurological symptoms. During the 12 year period that followed the initial onset of neurological and gastrointestinal symptoms, an 11 year-old girl experienced a spectrum of neurological complaints including frequent headaches, visual and auditory hallucinations, anxiety, vision loss involving the lower left quadrant of both eyes, episodic bouts of generalized paralysis, facial palsy, chronic insomnia, seizures, dizziness, cognitive dysfunction, and memory loss. PCR assays targeting Bartonella spp. were used to test formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded brain tissue, patient blood specimens and Bartonella alpha Proteobacteria growth medium (BAPGM) enrichment blood cultures. PCR positive amplicons were sequenced directly and compared to GenBank sequences. Bartonella spp. serology was performed by indirect fluorescent antibody testing and confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to visualize B. henselae organisms in resected brain. Bartonella henselae DNA was independently PCR amplified and sequenced from the girl’s right parietal lobe, surgically resected in 2000 and from a blood specimen collected in 2012. Although causation cannot be established by a case report, prior diagnostic testing resulted in findings that were either inconclusive or within normal reference ranges and no etiological diagnosis had been obtained to explain the patient’s initial or progressive neurological symptoms. As intravascular, intra-erythrocytic and endotheliotropic bacteria, it is possible that B. henselae initially induced a vasculitis, resulting in secondary cerebral infarction, tissue necrosis and surgical resection. Bartonella bacteremia, potentially spanning a 12-year time frame, in conjunction with the therapeutic administration of immunosuppressive drugs may have resulted in a progression and potentiation of the neurological disease that was partially reversible following antibiotic administration.
Abstract CS1-3: Contemporary role of radiotherapy in axillary management

Sentinel lymph node evaluation is an innovation that has radically transformed the surgical approach to the axilla in many patients with breast cancer. This revolution in surgical management has important implications for the optimal use of radiotherapy. The context of decision-making has changed dramatically with the recent maturation of studies that have demonstrated low rates of axillary failure in select patients with clinically negative axillae and 1-2 nodes positive on sentinel node biopsy, even without completion axillary dissection. Optimizing the radiotherapeutic management of the axilla in this modern context requires sophisticated understanding of the characteristics of patients who enrolled on trials such as ACOSOG Z0011 and IBSCG 23-01, including their risk factors and systemic management, as well as the radiation fields actually treated. Many patients treated on these trials received substantial incidental radiation to axillary levels I and II from tangential radiotherapy fields, and some even received directed nodal irradiation, but others did well with little or no radiation at all to the axilla. Understanding how to apply the results of these trials to guide current practice requires the radiation oncologist to integrate the insights of these studies with those from other recent studies evaluating the role of more comprehensive regional nodal radiotherapy that included the supraclavicular and internal mammary regions. Recognizing how the patient populations treated on the NCIC MA20 and EORTC 22922 trials may have differed from those on ACOSOG Z0011 and IBSCG 23-01 is necessary to help reconcile the findings of these studies and guide us in optimizing our patients9 radiotherapeutic management decisions. In addition, the landmark AMAROS study, in which patients with clinically negative axillae were randomized to axillary dissection versus axillary radiation after a positive sentinel node biopsy, adds to a long history of clinical trials evaluating the question of optimal axillary management. These studies must be considered in detail in order to determine how best to individualize the use of radiation therapy to maximize disease control and minimize treatment-related morbidity. These issues will be the focus of this clinical science symposium lecture, which will provide a radiation oncologist9s perspective on regional nodal management for patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, with a specific focus on the axilla. Citation Format: Jagsi R. Contemporary role of radiotherapy in axillary management. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr CS1-3.
Linking the Deep Web to the Linked DataWeb

Even though the Linked Data movement is gaining ground, vast amounts of information are only present in the traditional Web of human-readable pages. Data from such sources in the Surface Web and the Deep Web needs to be published as structured data into the Linked Data Web. The work described in this paper links the schema and individuals in the RDF extracted from surface and deep Web sources with the schema and individuals already present in the linked data cloud. To this end, we extend our prior work on automatically generating Semantic Web Services from Web sources. Once we are able to link individuals of the generated Semantic Web Service with the data present in the linked data cloud, we can populate the Linked Data Web with data from Deep Web sources for given domains. Our approach not only integrates known sources from the Deep Web into the Linked Data Web, but also automatically discovers and links previously unknown sources for the same domain. Our techniques can significantly increase the amount of data available in the Linked Data Web.
Real-time wireless physical layer encryption

In today's world where inexpensive, hobbyist grade devices can be used to infiltrate 802.11 networks, wireless security must be re-examined from the ground up. Current security schemes rely on pre-shared keys or some form of centralized key server. Both use cases are vulnerable to "cheap" man-in-the-middle and brute-force attacks as well as user error. Recently, physical (PHY) layer techniques have been proposed for the generation of encryption keys on the fly without the use of vulnerable key sharing. While these PHY layer techniques have been demonstrated to work in controlled settings with offline processing, little work has been done to integrate them into existing wireless standards. In this work, we present an integration of PHY layer channel state-based encryption key generation into a real-time 802.11 compliant software-defined radio. Our implementation samples application layer traffic to determine channel state information and produces keys for use in encrypting packets. Experimental results indicate that our system successfully samples application layer traffic to generate encryption keys in real-time.
Studies of myocardial protection in the immature heart. V. Safety of prolonged aortic clamping with hypocalcemic glutamate/aspartate blood cardioplegia.

This study tests the hypothesis that multidose, hypocalcemic aspartate/glutamate–enriched blood cardioplegia provides safe and effective protection during prolonged aortic clamping of immature hearts. Of 17 puppies (6 to 8 weeks of age, 3 to 5 kg) placed on vented cardiopulmonary bypass, five were subjected to 60 minutes of 37° C global ischemia without cardioplegic protection and seven underwent 120 minutes of aortic clamping with 4° C multidose aspartate/glutamate–enriched blood cardioplegia ([Ca++] = 0.2 mmol/L), preceded and followed by 37° C blood cardioplegic induction and reperfusion. Five puppies underwent blood cardioplegic perfusion for 10 minutes without intervening ischemia to assess the effect of the cardioplegic solution and the delivery techniques. Left ventricular performance was assessed 30 minutes after bypass was discontinued (Starling function curves). Hearts were studied for high–energy phosphates and tissue amino acids. One hour of normothermic ischemia resulted in profound functional depression, with peak stroke work index only 43% of control (0.7 ± 0.1 versus 1.7 ± 0.2 gm × m/kg, p
Discourse Features and Message Comprehension

Our chapter concerns the impact of discourse features on comprehension and argues that much of current work underestimates the complexity of the relationship between features and message understanding. This underestimation results from oversimplifying the comprehension process, failing to recognize cues as possibly impairing understanding, and neglecting to challenge assumptions underlying comprehension models. In this manuscript, we define comprehension, offer a taxonomy of discourse features, examine various comprehension models, and demonstrate the need to study the relation between discourse features and comprehension within the framework of some theory associated with message understanding.
Conducting the Cross-Cultural Clinical Interview

This chapter describes basic principles and processes in the clinical mental health interview of a person from any cultural group. Because of the author’s own background and the characteristics of his clinical work, the emphasis of the chapter is on the Hispanic/Latino group, specifically Mexican Americans. The principles outlined can apply to many types of interviews: diagnostic, psychotherapeutic, emergency, and so on. The approach can best be described as dynamic but also available to gathering information for formal DSM diagnoses and formulations. Nuances of the cross-cultural dynamic process in the areas of language, intrapersonal attitudes/feelings, communication patterns, and other areas are covered. Specific psychotherapy techniques and explicit details about diagnostic formulation are beyond the scope of this chapter and are not examined.
Does Anyone Care about the Poor? The Role of Redistribution in Mayoral Policy Agendas

Income inequality is widening in the United States, particularly in large cities. This study analyzes whether mayors address this issue through redistributive policies or economic development. Stat...
Contact Pressure and Load Measurement Techniques for Applications in Semiconductor Packaging

Semiconductor packages undergo mechanical loading at various stages of the manufacturing, assembly and test process. Also, during the assembly of the thermal enabling solution in a system environment, mechanical loads are applied to ensure contact of the thermal solution. These loads can be static and/or dynamic in nature, applied over a short or long periods of time. It is important to characterize these applied loads and the resulting contact pressure. However, the measurement of the contact pressure at the interface is complex and requires special techniques without altering the mechanical boundary conditions or the state of stress. In this paper, some of the existing methods used to measure the in-situ load and pressure distribution will be discussed with special attention provided to methods including: pressure-sensitive paper, piezo-resistive based pressure films, and load cells. We will also discuss the applications of these approaches in semiconductor packaging. In the pressure paper technique, a thin film containing microbeads is placed between the interfaces of interest. These microbeads contain colored ink and rupture when a threshold pressure is applied. The intensity and location of the ink provides the magnitude of pressure and its distribution. While these are inexpensive and easy to use, they are single-use and fail to provide real time data. Another method is to use a thin piezo-resistive sensor. While this technique can provide real-time pressure measurements, it is expensive and comes with additional challenges such as hysteresis, aging, and history-dependent response due to the inherent nature of materials used in the sensor. As a result, obtaining accurate and reproducible measurements is quite challenging. In this paper, we describe an experimental method to quantify the challenges and present an approach to mitigate them to achieve highly accurate and repeatable measurements. Lastly, embedded button load cells or dynamic load cells are also used to study mechanical loads a package is experiencing, but they are bulky and hence hard to use especially when space is limited.
Aponogeton kannangarae , a new species of Aponogeton (Aponogetonaceae) from Rakwana hills, Sri Lanka

Aponogeton kannangarae , a new species of Aponogetonaceae from Rakwana hills, Sri Lanka, is described and illustrated. The new species is morphologically similar to A. rigidifolius , but the former can be easily distinguished by morphological characters of its plumule, inflorescence, flowers and rhizome. A key to all Aponogeton species in Sri Lanka is also presented.
An air-pressure-free elastomeric valve for integrated nucleic acid analysis by capillary electrophoresis

We present a new elastomeric valve for integrated nucleic acid analysis by capillary electrophoresis. The valve functions include metering to capture a designated volume of biological sample into a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) chamber, sealing to preserve the sample during PCR cycling, and transfer of the PCR-products and on-chip formamide post-processing for the analysis of DNA fragments by capillary gel electrophoresis. This new valve differs from prior art polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) valves in that the valve is not actuated externally by air-pressure or vacuum so that it simplifies a DNA analysis system by eliminating the need for an air-pressure or vacuum source, and off-cartridge solenoid valves, control circuit boards and software. Instead, the new valve is actuated by a thermal cycling peltier assembly integrated within the hardware instrument that tightly comes in contact with a microfluidic cartridge for thermal activation during PCR, so that it spontaneously closes the valve without an additional actuator system. The valve has bumps in the designated locations so that it has a self-alignment that does not require precise alignment of a valve actuator. Moreover, the thickness of the new valve is around 600 μm with an additional bump height of 400 μm so that it is easy to handle and very feasible to fabricate by injection molding compared to other PDMS valves whose thicknesses are around 30–100 μm. The new valve provided over 95% of metering performance in filling the fixed volume of the PCR chamber, preserved over 97% of the sample volume during PCR, and showed very comparable capillary electrophoresis peak heights to the benchtop assay tube controls with very consistent transfer volume of the PCR-product and on-chip formamide. The new valve can perform a core function for integrated nucleic acid analysis by capillary electrophoresis.
Application of automated measurement and verification to utility energy efficiency program data

Abstract Trustworthy savings calculations are critical to convincing regulators of both the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency program investments and their ability to defer supply-side capital investments. Today’s methods for measurement and verification (M&V) of energy savings constitute a significant portion of the total costs of energy efficiency programs. They also require time-consuming data acquisition. A spectrum of savings calculation approaches is used, with some relying more heavily on measured data and others relying more heavily on estimated, modeled, or stipulated data. The increasing availability of “smart” meters and devices that report near-real time data, combined with new analytical approaches to quantify savings, offers the potential to conduct M&V more quickly and at lower cost, with comparable or improved accuracy. Commercial energy management and information systems (EMIS) technologies are beginning to offer these ‘M&V 2.0′ capabilities, and program administrators want to understand how they might assist programs in quickly and accurately measuring energy savings. This paper presents the results of recent testing of the ability to use automation to streamline the M&V process. In this paper, we apply an automated whole-building M&V tool to historic data sets from energy efficiency programs to begin to explore the accuracy, cost, and time trade-offs between more traditional M&V, and these emerging streamlined methods that use high-resolution energy data and automated computational intelligence. For the data sets studied we evaluate the fraction of buildings that are well suited to automated baseline characterization, the uncertainty in gross savings that is due to M&V 2.0 tools’ model error, and indications of labor time savings, and how the automated savings results compare to prior, traditionally determined savings results. The results show that 70% of the buildings were well suited to the automated approach. In a majority of the cases (80%) savings and uncertainties for each individual building were quantified to levels above the criteria in ASHRAE Guideline 14. In addition the findings suggest that M&V 2.0 methods may also offer time-savings relative to traditional approaches. Finally we discuss the implications of these findings relative to the potential evolution of M&V, and pilots currently being launched to test how M&V automation can be integrated into ratepayer-funded programs and professional implementation and evaluation practice.
Self-Regulation and Motor Development in Preterm Infants

The preterm human infant is a product of mankind’s advances in neonatal medical technology and medicine. Today, many more preterms survive than ever before, and infants of 24 to 25 weeks’ gestation have extended the lower limit of extrauterine viability. Coincident with such medical advances is the necessity of equally vigorous advances in creating a nurturing extrauterine environment and support system in order to ameliorate the mismatch between the environment for which the preterm organism is biologically prepared and the highly demanding and stress-producing environment into which the preterm is thrust.
Impact of Gate Process Technology on EOT of HfO2 Gate Dielectric

To facilitate CMOS scaling beyond the 65 nm technology node, high-permittivity gate dielectrics such as HfO2 will be needed in order to achieve sub-1.3nm equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) with suitably low gate leakage, particularly for low-power applications. Polycrystalline silicon-germanium (poly-SiGe) is a promising gate material because it is compatible with a conventional CMOS process flow, and because it can yield significantly lower electrical gate-oxide thickness as compared with poly-Si. In this paper, the effects of the gate material (Si vs. SiGe) and gate deposition rate on EOT and gate leakage current density are investigated. Poly-Si0.75Ge0.25 gate material yields the lowest EOT and is stable up to 950°C for 30 seconds, providing 2 orders of magnitude lower leakage current compared to poly-Si gate material. A faster gate deposition rate (achieved by using S2H6 instead of SiH4 as the gaseous Si source) is also effective for minimizing the increases in EOT and leakage current with high-temperature annealing.
Large-scale physical activity data reveal worldwide activity inequality

To be able to curb the global pandemic of physical inactivity and the associated 5.3 million deaths per year, we need to understand the basic principles that govern physical activity. However, there is a lack of large-scale measurements of physical activity patterns across free-living populations worldwide. Here we leverage the wide usage of smartphones with built-in accelerometry to measure physical activity at the global scale. We study a dataset consisting of 68 million days of physical activity for 717,527 people, giving us a window into activity in 111 countries across the globe. We find inequality in how activity is distributed within countries and that this inequality is a better predictor of obesity prevalence in the population than average activity volume. Reduced activity in females contributes to a large portion of the observed activity inequality. Aspects of the built environment, such as the walkability of a city, are associated with a smaller gender gap in activity and lower activity inequality. In more walkable cities, activity is greater throughout the day and throughout the week, across age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) groups, with the greatest increases in activity found for females. Our findings have implications for global public health policy and urban planning and highlight the role of activity inequality and the built environment in improving physical activity and health.
Tristetraprolin Is Required for Alveolar Bone Homeostasis

Tristetraprolin (TTP) is an RNA-binding protein that targets numerous immunomodulatory mRNA transcripts for degradation. Many TTP targets are key players in the pathogenesis of periodontal bone loss, including tumor necrosis factor-α. To better understand the extent that host immune factors play during periodontal bone loss, we assessed alveolar bone levels, inflammation and osteoclast activity in periodontal tissues, and immune response in draining cervical lymph nodes in TTP-deficient and wild-type (WT) mice in an aging study. WT and TTP-deficient (knockout [KO]) mice were used for all studies under specific pathogen-free conditions. Data were collected on mice aged 3, 6, and 9 mo. Microcomputed tomography (µCT) was performed on maxillae where 3-dimensional images were generated and bone loss was assessed. Decalcified sections of specimens were scored for inflammation and stained with tartrate-resistant acid phosphate (TRAP) to visualize osteoclasts. Immunophenotyping was performed on single-cell suspensions isolated from primary and peripheral lymphoid tissues using flow cytometry. Results presented indicate that TTP KO mice had significantly more alveolar bone loss over time compared with WT controls. Bone loss was associated with significant increases in inflammatory cell infiltration and an increased percentage of alveolar bone surfaces apposed with TRAP+ cells. Furthermore, it was found that the draining cervical lymph nodes were significantly enlarged in TTP-deficient animals and contained a distinct pathological immune profile compared with WT controls. Finally, the oral microbiome in the TTP KO mice was significantly different with age from WT cohoused mice. The severe bone loss, inflammation, and increased osteoclast activity observed in these mice support the concept that TTP plays a critical role in the maintenance of alveolar bone homeostasis in the presence of oral commensal flora. This study suggests that TTP is required to inhibit excessive inflammatory host responses that contribute to periodontal bone loss, even in the absence of specific periodontal pathogens.
The added value of IMERG in characterizing rainfall in tropical cyclones

Abstract Heavy rainfall associated with landfalling tropical cyclones (TCs) is responsible for significant societal and economic impacts. Improved characterization and description of how rainfall during these storms changes as a function of distance from the center of circulation are critical to increase our preparedness against this natural hazard. Since March 2014, the hydrometeorological community has benefitted from the Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM), especially with its gridded-rainfall product IMERG (Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM), which offers global rainfall estimates with a spatiotemporal resolution of 0.1°×0.1° every 30 min, on a near-real time basis. We analyze here 166 TCs worldwide from March 2014 through March 2016. For every TC, we extract from IMERG V04 a 2000 km rainfall swath along the TC track. This allows us to characterize with great accuracy the spatial structure of TC-rainfall, from its development all the way to its landfall and dissipation. We stratify the analyses by basin of origin, intensity of the storm, and whether the TC was over ocean or land. We find that the South Pacific, West Pacific, and North Indian basins yield (median) rainfall intensities between 6 and 7.5 mm⋅h−1 at radii ∼50 km. These intensities are for TCs over ocean, and in most cases they are twice (or more) as high as the median intensities for TCs over land (∼3.0 mm⋅h−1). For the North Atlantic, South Indian, and East Pacific basins the oceanic (median) rainfall intensities are between 4 and 5 mm⋅h−1. Upscaled IMERG estimates (0.25°×0.25° every 3 h) do not capture the rainfall structure within the eyewall (i.e., for radii
FDA Approves First Treatment for Nonmetastatic, Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Erleada (apalutamide) is the first treatment approved for nonmetastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer.If patients prescribed apalutamide are also taking other drugs metabolized by the same cytochrome P-450 isoenzyme systems, the circulating levels of apalutamide may be altered.
CGRP and Migraine: The Role of Blocking Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Ligand and Receptor in the Management of Migraine

Migraine is a highly prevalent, complex neurological disorder. The burden of disease and the direct/indirect annual costs are enormous. Thus far, treatment options have been inadequate and mostly based on trial and error, leaving a significant unmet need for effective therapies. While the underlying pathophysiology of migraine is incompletely understood, blocking the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) using monoclonal antibodies targeting CGRP or its receptor and small molecule CGRP receptor antagonists (gepants) have emerged as a promising therapeutic opportunity for the management of migraine. In this review, we discuss new concepts in the pathophysiology of migraine and the role of CGRP, the current guidelines for treating migraine preventively, the medications that are being used, and their limitations. We then discuss small molecule CGRP receptor antagonists, monoclonal antibodies to CGRP ligand and receptor, as well as the detailed results of Phase II and III trials involving these novel treatments. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of blocking CGRP and its receptor.
The Logic of Nonclassical Physics

In this chapter we introduce a mathematical formulation for the foundations of quantum physics.
Data mining and model simplicity: a case study in diagnosis

We describe the results of performing data mining on a challenging medical diagnosis domain, acute abdominal pain. This domain is well known to be difficult, yielding little more than 60% predictive accuracy for most human and machine diagnosticians. Moreover, many researchers argue that one of the simplest approaches, the naive Bayesian classifier, is optimal. By comparing the performance of the naive Bayesian classifier to its more general cousin, the Bayesian network classifier, and to selective Bayesian classifiers with just 10% of the total attributes, we show that the simplest models perform at least as well as the more complex models. We argue that simple models like the selective naive Bayesian classifier will perform as well as more complicated models for similarly complex domains with relatively small data sets, thereby calling into question the extra expense necessary to induce more complex models.
Practical Experience Report: Automotive Safety Practices vs. Accepted Principles

This paper documents the state of automotive computer-based system safety practices based on experiences with unintended acceleration litigation spanning multiple vehicle makers. There is a wide gulf between some observed automotive practices and established principles for safety critical system engineering. While some companies strive to do better, at least some car makers in the 2002–2010 era took a test-centric approach to safety that discounted non-reproducible and “unrealistic” faults, instead blaming driver error for mishaps. Regulators still follow policies from the pre-software safety assurance era. Eight general areas of contrast between accepted safety principles and observed automotive safety practices are identified. While the advent of ISO 26262 promises some progress, deployment of highly autonomous vehicles in a non-regulatory environment threatens to undermine safety engineering rigor.
Physical symptom complaints, cognitive emotion regulation strategies, self‐compassion and diabetes distress among adults with Type 2 diabetes

AIMS Diabetes-related distress is common among adults with Type 2 diabetes and is consistently associated with poorer self-management and treatment outcomes. However, little is known about the psychological factors that may contribute to or protect against diabetes distress. This study examined illness burden, and positive and negative ways of thinking and relating to oneself in times of stress, as independent correlates of diabetes distress, cross sectionally and longitudinally. METHOD A total of 120 adults treated for Type 2 diabetes reported their physical symptom complaints, cognitive emotion regulation, self-compassion and diabetes distress at baseline; 110 completed a 3-month follow-up assessment of diabetes distress. Pearson correlations and multivariable linear regression tested baseline and longitudinal relationships. RESULTS Baseline diabetes distress was associated with greater use of negative cognitive emotion regulation strategies (r = 0.43, P < 0.01), greater tendency towards self-criticism, self-judgement and over-identification (r = 0.37, P < 0.01), and greater physical symptom burden (r = 0.50, P < 0.01). Baseline physical symptoms and negative cognitive emotion regulation were independently associated with baseline diabetes distress. Baseline physical symptoms and negative aspects of self-compassion significantly predicted diabetes distress over 3 months. Positive aspects of cognitive emotion regulation and self-compassion were not independently associated with diabetes distress cross sectionally or longitudinally. CONCLUSION Greater symptom burden along with the use of negative cognitive emotion regulation and negative aspects of self-compassion were independently associated with diabetes distress. If these relations are explained by causal influence, these modifiable factors could be fruitful targets for intervention research.
Intelligible speech synthesis from neural decoding of spoken sentences

Abstract The ability to read out, or decode, mental content from brain activity has significant practical and scientific implications1. For example, technology that translates cortical activity into speech would be transformative for people unable to communicate as a result of neurological impairment2,3,4. Decoding speech from neural activity is challenging because speaking requires extremely precise and dynamic control of multiple vocal tract articulators on the order of milliseconds. Here, we designed a neural decoder that explicitly leverages the continuous kinematic and sound representations encoded in cortical activity5,6 to generate fluent and intelligible speech. A recurrent neural network first decoded vocal tract physiological signals from direct cortical recordings, and then transformed them to acoustic speech output. Robust decoding performance was achieved with as little as 25 minutes of training data. Naive listeners were able to accurately identify these decoded sentences. Additionally, speech decoding was not only effective for audibly produced speech, but also when participants silently mimed speech. These results advance the development of speech neuroprosthetic technology to restore spoken communication in patients with disabling neurological disorders.