cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Document clustering based on vector quantization and growing-cell structure

In this paper, we proposed a new hybrid clustering algorithm based on Vector Quantization (VQ) and Growing-Cell Structure (GCS). The basic idea is using VQ to refine the GCS clustering results and thus to improve the clustering performance. Moreover, the output of the proposed clustering algorithm has a graph structure which is generated gradually during the incremental self-learning process. We evaluate the proposed method on real collections of text documents and the experimental results show that our method achieves better performance comparing with others.
A Chairside Aid for Shared Decision Making in Dentistry: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The concept of shared decision making (SDM) is an important emerging trend in clinical medicine but has received little or no attention in the dental literature. Decision aids can play a useful role in SDM by helping patients and clinicians choose among reasonable alternative treatment options. The purpose of this study was to develop and test an Endodontic Decision Board (EndoDB) for chairside use to help clarify treatment alternatives, benefits, risks, prognosis, and costs when root canal therapy or extraction of a tooth was indicated. The hypothesis was that the use of the EndoDB would lead to improved patient knowledge, greater satisfaction with the decision-making process, and no difference in anxiety when compared to the standard discussion and informed consent process (usual care). The EndoDB was tested in a randomized controlled trial in a postgraduate endodontics clinic. After treatment discussion, a brief questionnaire was completed by the patient to measure knowledge, satisfaction, and anxiety. Patients in the EndoDB group (n=32) demonstrated a small, but statistically significant, increase in knowledge (t-test; difference=+0.37; p=0.03) compared to the usual care group (n=35). There was no difference between groups in the measures of satisfaction or anxiety (Mann-Whitney U-test; p>0.05). Decision aids may emerge as a useful tool to facilitate SDM and evidence-based clinical practice.
Dual electrochemical and photochemical aniline treatment for CdTe solar cells

Large-area electronic devices such as thin-film solar cells are well-known to develop nonuniformities and even pinholes in the semiconducting layers. These nonuniformities lead to the formation of weak diodes that can seriously degrade the device performance and pinholes that can shunt the back electrode to the front electrode of the cell [1]. Since it is essentially impossible to avoid such non-uniformities, one solution is to block conduction through these pinholes with a resistive material such as polyaniline, using an electro-polymerization technique [2]. After the polymer film deposition, this new layer acts as an insulating layer, reducing current flow from the back contact (e.g. Cu/Au) to the transparent conductive oxide and/or the n-type CdS layer, thus limiting the spatial extent of the current sink.
Serial Chains of Spherical Four-Bar Mechanisms to Achieve Design Helices

This paper presents a method for designing serial chains of spherical four-bar mechanisms that can achieve up to five design helices. The chains are comprised of identical copies of the same four-bar mechanism by connecting the coupler of the prior spherical mechanism to the base link of the subsequent spherical mechanism. Although having a degree of freedom per mechanism, the design methodology is based upon identically actuating each mechanism. With these conditions, the kinematic synthesis task of matching periodically spaced points on up to five arbitrary helices may be achieved. Due to the constraints realized via the spherical equivalent of planar Burmester Theory, spherical mechanisms produce at most five prescribed orientations resulting in this maximum. The methodology introduces a companion helix to each design helix along which the intersection locations of each spherical mechanisms axes must lie. As the mechanisms are connected by rigid links, the distance between the intersection locations along the companion helices is a constant. An extension to the coupler matches the points along the design helices. An approach to mechanically reducing the chain of mechanisms to a single degree of freedom is also presented. Finally, an example shows the methodology applied to three design helices.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Characterization of Phytophthora infestans Populations in Western Washington

Dorrance, A. E., Inglis, D. A., Derie, M. L., Brown, C. R., Goodwin, S. B., Fry, W. E., and Deahl, K. L. 1999. Characterization of Phytophthora infestans populations in western Washington. Plant Dis. 83:423-428. The first detection in the United States of isolates of Phytophthora infestans having metalaxyl insensitivity and complex pathotypes occurred in western Washington during the early 1990s. To determine the genetic structure of the current population in western Washington, a total of 115 isolates of P. infestans were obtained during 1996 from infected tubers or foliage of potato, tomato, nightshade, and bittersweet thr oughout the region. An additional 45 isolates were collected from a single field. Based on mating type, metalaxyl-insensitivity, and molecular markers (allozymes of glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, peptidase, and RG57 DNA fingerprint), all of the isolates were A1 mating type and had the US-11 multilocus genotype. Analyses of an additional 120 isolates collected during 1997 from potato, tomato, and nightshade were performed. As in 1996, US-11 was the predominant genotype detected on all three hosts. However, three additional A2 mating type genotypes were also detected: US-7, US-8, and US-14. These three genotypes represent the first A2 mating type isolates detected in western Washington. Most of a subset of 60 isolates infected 4 to 7 of the 10 potato differentials tested. This included 90% of the isolates collected in 1996 (all US-11), plus 72% of the US-11 and 100% of the US-8 and US14 isolates collected during 1997. Virulence phenotypes in this region are complex even without the selection pressure of R-genes in the local commercial cultivars. The apparent increase in genetic variation observed in populations of P. infestans in western Washington from 1996 to 1997 most likely occurred by migration rather than by sexual recombination.
Analysis of Mouse Model Pathology: A Primer for Studying the Anatomic Pathology of Genetically Engineered Mice

This primer of pathology is intended to introduce investigators to the structure (morphology) of cancer with an emphasis on genetically engineered mouse (GEM) models (GEMMs). We emphasize the necessity of using the entire biological context for the interpretation of anatomic pathology. Because the primary investigator is responsible for almost all of the information and procedures leading up to microscopic examination, they should also be responsible for documentation of experiments so that the microscopic interpretation can be rendered in context of the biology. The steps involved in this process are outlined, discussed, and illustrated. Because GEMMs are unique experimental subjects, some of the more common pitfalls are discussed. Many of these errors can be avoided with attention to detail and continuous quality assurance.
A New Species of Docosia Winnertz Fungus Gnat (Diptera: Mycetophilidae)

Abstract. A new species of Docosia Winnertz fungus gnat was discovered in western Michigan. Males and females were collected in mid-spring in a Malaise trap in a paper birch-red maple-black cherry woods adjacent to a black ash swamp and cattail marsh. Docosia walpurga Taber resembles Docosia dichroa Loew but male terminalia and female coloration indicate a specific difference instead. A remarkable and yet-unidentified empidid fly that seems to mimic the fungus gnat was found with the new species.
Rotavirus Genome Segment 7 (NSP3) Is a Determinant of Extraintestinal Spread in the Neonatal Mouse

We used the neonatal mouse model of rotavirus infection to study extraintestinal spread following oral inoculation. Five-day-old pups were inoculated with either SA11-Cl3, SA11-Cl4, SA11-4F, RRV, or B223. By using virus detection in the liver as a proxy determination for extraintestinal spread, rotavirus strains capable of extraintestinal spread at high frequency (rhesus rotavirus [RRV]) and very low frequency (SA11-Cl4) were identified. Both strains productively infected the gastrointestinal tract. Oral inoculation of mice with RRV/ SA11-Cl4 reassortants and determination of virus titers in the gut and liver revealed that the extraintestinal spread phenotype segregated with RRV genome segment 7 to a high level of significance (P = 10−3). RRV segment 7 also segregated with the growth of virus in the gut (P = 10−5). Although infection of the gut was clearly required for tropism to the liver, there was no correlation between virus titers in the gut and detection of virus in the liver. Five days after intraperitoneal administration to bypass the gut barrier to virus spread, RRV and SA11-Cl4 both were recovered in the liver. However, only RRV was found in the liver following subcutaneous inoculation, suggesting that this peripheral site presented a similar barrier to virus spread as the gut. Sequence analysis of segment 7 from parental RRV and SA11-Cl4 and selected reassortants showed that (i) amino acid differences were distributed throughout the coding sequences and not concentrated in any particular functional motif and (ii) parental sequence was preserved in reassortants. These data support the hypothesis that NSP3, coded for by genome segment 7, plays a significant role in viral growth in the gut and spread to peripheral sites. The mechanism of NSP3-mediated tropism is under investigation.
Characteristics of a silicon on insulator neutron detector

We have characterized several Silicon On Insulator (SOI) devices for use as neutron detectors. SOI neutron detectors offer the advantage of a rugged structure with large area while incorporating a thin Si layer coated with a converter material. The performance of these SOI detectors depends on the thickness of the Si layer, the dimensions of the strips, on the converter material and its thickness. This paper describes the design of the SOI wafer, the characteristics of the devices on the SOI wafer and the initial testing of the devices as neutron detectors. SOI wafers of two different Si thicknesses, with varying dimensions for the strip pitch were characterized. The IV and CV properties of the different devices were studied. The devices were then coated with the converter material and used to detect neutrons. We present results from a SOI neutron detector of large surface area that is γ blind.
Wear and Microhardness of a Silver-sintered Glass-Ionomer Cement

Knoop Hardness and pin-and-disc-wear measurements were made on a commercial silver-sintered glass-ionomer cement. The objective was to determine whether the incorporation of a bonded-metal-to-glass filler would enhance durability as determined by the above measurements. As with the previous work on conventional (non-metalized) glass-ionomer cements, the specimens were preconditioned at 37°C in air, water, 0.02 mol/L lactic acid (pH 2.67), and heptane. The influence of these media on the microhardness of the silver-sintered material was about the same as that on the conventional materials. Storing in air produced dehydration, which increased the hardness considerably. Heptane storage increased the hardness less, but this increase is attributed to continued curing during storage. After storage in water, the hardness was essentially unchanged; the influence of increased cure is believed to be offset by softening or plasticization from water uptake. Lactic acid produced a decrease in hardness from chemical di...
α‐Hemolysin, γ‐hemolysin, and leukocidin from Staphylococcus aureus: Distant in sequence but similar in structure

alpha-Hemolysin from Staphylococcus aureus assembles from a water-soluble, monomeric species to a membrane-bound heptamer on the surface of target cells, creating water-filled channels that lead to cell death and lysis. Staphylococcus aureus also produces the gamma-hemolysin and leukocidin toxins, which function as two component toxins in the disruption and lysis of erythrocytes and leukocytes. Analysis of the aligned sequences of alpha-hemolysin, gamma-hemolysin, and leukocidin in the context of the alpha-hemolysin heptamer structure supports the conclusion that even though the level of sequence identity between alpha-hemolysin and the gamma-hemolysin and leukocidin toxins is in the so-called twilight zone, the three-dimensional structures of the protomers are probably conserved. By analogy with alpha-hemolysin, gamma-hemolysin and leukocidin may also form oligomeric, transmembrane channels in which an antiparallel beta-barrel constitutes the primary membrane-embedded domain.
Successful Repeated Hypnotic Treatment of Warts in the Same Individual: A Case Report

We report on a case of a female patient who was successfully treated with hypnosis for warts on 2 occasions separated by an interval of 7 years. Of note is the fact that she had low expectations regarding the benefit to be derived from hypnosis and did not at first appear to be highly hypnotizable.
Rapid Modeling and Discovery of Priority Dispatching Rules: An Autonomous Learning Approach

Priority-dispatching rules have been studied for many decades, and they form the backbone of much industrial scheduling practice. Developing new dispatching rules for a given environment, however, is usually a tedious process involving implementing different rules in a simulation model of the facility under study and evaluating the rule through extensive simulation experiments. In this research, an innovative approach is presented, which is capable of automatically discovering effective dispatching rules. This is a significant step beyond current applications of artificial intelligence to production scheduling, which are mainly based on learning to select a given rule from among a number of candidates rather than identifying new and potentially more effective rules. The proposed approach is evaluated in a variety of single machine environments, and discovers rules that are competitive with those in the literature, which are the results of decades of research.
An Adaptive Dynamic Programming Algorithm for the Heterogeneous Resource Allocation Problem

We consider an aggregated version of a large-scale driver scheduling problem, derived from an application in less-than-truckload trucking, as a dynamic resource allocation problem. Drivers are aggregated into groups characterized by an attribute vector which capture the important attributes required to incorporate the work rules. The problem is very large: over 5,000 drivers and 30,000 loads in a four-day planning horizon. We formulate a problem that we call theheterogeneous resource allocation problem, which is more general than a classical multicommodity flow problem. Since the tasks have one-sided time windows, the problem is too large to even solve an LP relaxation. We formulate the problem as a multistage dynamic program and solve it using adaptive dynamic programming techniques. Since our problem is too large to solve using commercial solvers, we propose three independent benchmarks and demonstrate that our technique appears to be providing high-quality solutions in a reasonable amount of time.
Sport and Family Functioning: Strengthening Elite Sport Families

Families play an important role in society, both in human sustenance and individual development. Family systems theory views the family as a series of interconnected parts that when functioning properly, provide individual members with multiple benefits. Interaction with external systems, such as sport, school or church, can have positive and negative impacts on the family. It is unclear, however, what elements of sport relate to specific outcomes. The purpose of this study is to better understand the relationship between elite youth sport participation and family units, and how these two spheres, individually and in combination, impact family functioning. In-depth, purposeful interviews with seven “sport families” revealed that in addition to the depletion of resources (financial and time), elite sport engagement strongly detracts from the marital dyad and family unit receiving sufficient time and attention for proper functioning. The results also offer insight into how the leagues can be better managed such that they positively contribute to family functioning. Specifically, the results indicate that leagues can aid in strengthening family functioning through allowing families to have coaching input, and providing greater attention to scheduling, league expectations, and instrumental support .
The Lawyer's Responsibility for Foreign Law and Foreign Lawyers

Lawyers are increasingly called upon to advise concerning, and to assist in the structuring of, transactions touching on the laws of more than one legal system. Such duties pose special, and too often little appreciated, problems for lawyers who are, very typically, trained and certified in only a single system of laws. The fundamental difficulty is that the lawyer, a licensed specialist of one legal system, is confronted with legal questions pertaining to other (call them foreign) laws. This article addresses the responsibility of U.S. lawyers, in a non-litigation setting, for foreign law and the work of foreign lawyers. As a framework for analysis, three choices are examined below. First, the choice of disclaiming responsibility for foreign law is rejected. Second, the choice of handling foreign law oneself is critically treated. Third, the choice of retaining foreign counsel is recommended, but hedged with suggestions that the lawyer may still have responsibilities with respect to the choice and continuing work of foreign lawyers. Finally, it is submitted that lawyers should be more regularly and extensively trained in foreign law.
Burden sharing, joint implementation, and carbon coalitions

Negotiations over global warming abatement strategies are focused on abatement by OECD states. Unfortunately, abatement opportunities within the OECD are quite costly relative to the abatement opportunities available in many non-OECD countries. Acceptance of this fact has lead many observers to conclude that joint implementation (JI) should be included as one component of any multilateral agreement.1 Current discussions amongst negotiators appears to accept the idea of joint implementation within the set of nations party to an agreement to abate, which we take here to be the OECD. It remains an open and controversial issue if this will be extended to include abatement undertaken by countries that are not party to the agreement.
Are International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) an Unstoppable Juggernaut for US and Global Financial Reporting

Importance of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) has greatly increased in recent years. Pivotal events include acceptance of IFRS for financial reporting in the European Union in 2005 and the US Securities and Exchange Commission's announcement in late 2007 to accept IFRS for financial reporting by non-US firms trading in US markets. How far away is worldwide acceptance of IFRS for financial reporting? To answer this question, this study offers a review of recent events, including a longitudinal analysis of adoption of IFRS by the countries of the world. In addition, perspectives regarding acceptance of IFRS, from top corporate accounting officers, are acquired and evaluated. Findings indicate that IFRS are increasingly accepted around the world and that top accounting officers are very favorable to adoption of IFRS worldwide. Based on these findings, acceptance of IFRS in virtually all countries, including the US, appears imminent, perhaps occurring within the next few years.
Tracking and sampling of a phytoplankton patch by an autonomous underwater vehicle in drifting mode

Phytoplankton patches in the coastal ocean have important impacts on the patterns of primary productivity, the survival and growth of zooplankton and fish larvae, and the development of harmful algal blooms (HABs). We desire to observe microscopic life in a phytoplankton patch in its natural frame of reference (which is moving with the ocean current), thereby permitting resolution of time-dependent evolution of the population. To achieve this goal, we have developed a method for a Tethys-class long range autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) (which has a propeller and a buoyancy engine) to detect, track, and sample a phytoplankton patch in buoyancy-controlled drifting mode. In this mode, the vehicle shuts off its propeller and actively controls its buoyancy to autonomously find the peak-chlorophyll layer, stay in it, and trigger water sampling in the layer. In an experiment in Monterey Bay, CA in July 2015, the Makai AUV, which was equipped with a prototype 3rd-generation Environmental Sample Processor (3G-ESP), ran the algorithm to autonomously detect the peak-chlorophyll layer, and drifted and triggered ESP samplings in the layer.
Mining the human urine proteome for monitoring renal transplant injury

The human urinary proteome provides an assessment of kidney injury with specific biomarkers for different kidney injury phenotypes. In an effort to fully map and decipher changes in the urine proteome and peptidome after kidney transplantation, renal allograft biopsy matched urine samples were collected from 396 kidney transplant recipients. Centralized and blinded histology data from paired graft biopsies was used to classify urine samples into diagnostic categories of acute rejection, chronic allograft nephropathy, BK virus nephritis, and stable graft. A total of 245 urine samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry using isobaric Tags for Relative and Absolute Quantitation (iTRAQ) reagents. From a group of over 900 proteins identified in transplant injury, a set of 131 peptides were assessed by selected reaction monitoring for their significance in accurately segregating organ injury causation and pathology in an independent cohort of 151 urine samples. Ultimately, a minimal set of 35 proteins were identified for their ability to segregate the 3 major transplant injury clinical groups, comprising the final panel of 11 urinary peptides for acute rejection (93% area under the curve [AUC]), 12 urinary peptides for chronic allograft nephropathy (99% AUC), and 12 urinary peptides for BK virus nephritis (83% AUC). Thus, urinary proteome discovery and targeted validation can identify urine protein panels for rapid and noninvasive differentiation of different causes of kidney transplant injury, without the requirement of an invasive biopsy.
Reliability of predictive models for non-operative healing potential of stable juvenile osteochondritis dissecans knee lesions

Abstract Background While juvenile osteochondritis dissecans (JOCD) lesions have greater healing potential than equivalent lesions in adults, only 50% of JOCD lesions demonstrate radiographic healing after six months of non-operative treatment. Two previous studies have produced nomograms to predict a patient's probability of healing with non-operative treatment based on patient and lesion characteristics. The purpose of this study was to determine inter- and intra-observer reliability of the predictive nomograms. Methods A consecutive series of 34 skeletally immature patients (40 knees), who underwent non-operative treatment for stable JOCD lesions was retrospectively reviewed. At two time points at least one week apart, two medical students, two orthopaedic surgeons, and a radiologist made measurements of the JOCD lesions. These measurements, along with patient ages and pain type, were used to generate a point value for each lesion based on both nomograms. Intra-class correlations (ICCs) were calculated to determine inter- and intra-rater reliability. Results We found near perfect intra-rater correlation (ICC) for all raters' individual OCD measurements, as well as total point score for the two nomograms (ICC range, 0.780–0.929). Additionally, there was near perfect inter-rater reliability among raters for total scores and individual components of each nomogram (ICC range, 0.721–0.974). Conclusions There is high inter- and intra-rater reliability for both point systems for predicting healing of JOCD lesions. Clinicians should be aware of these as tools to help guide decision making in patients with JOCD lesions.
ON CERTAIN INEQUALITIES INVOLVING THE LAMBERT W FUNCTION

Lambert W function, special function, linearly resisted projectile motion. Abstract: In this note we obtain certain inequalities involving the Lambert W function W0( xe x ) which has recently been found to arise in the classic problem of a projectile moving through a linearly resisting medium.
Clinicopathologic indices can improve patient selection in malignant mesothelioma.

The clinical management of malignant mesothelioma may ultimately be transformed by the elucidation of novel biomarkers that can predict the evolution of disease and guide the development of targeted therapies. However, despite relevant advances, more basic research is urgently required to support the development of therapies applicable to the patients for whom surgical resection is not an option.
A comprehensive evaluation of moisture damage of asphalt concrete mixtures

AbstractA comprehensive study was conducted to evaluate the impact of liquid and lime additives on the pavement performance of asphalt mixtures from five different sources around the USA. Three types of mixtures were evaluated from each source: untreated, liquid-treated and lime-treated. The measured properties of the 15 mixtures included the dynamic modulus master curves and their resistances to rutting and fatigue at the undamaged and moisture-damaged conditions. The moisture-damaged state consisted of subjecting the mixtures’ specimens to six freeze-thaw cycles. First the mixtures from each source were ranked based on their individual properties, i.e. dynamic modulus, permanent deformation and fatigue characteristics. Next, the measured properties of the mixtures were used in a mechanistic analysis to predict the rutting and fatigue lives of flexible pavements constructed with the evaluated mixtures. The estimated rutting and fatigue lives of the flexible pavements were ranked within each source. The a...
Adaptive social networks: Strong attractors and emergence and downfall of leaders

We formulate a set of time-varying stochastic networked dynamical systems to model the evolution of tie strength among interacting agents. The dynamics of the strength of connections abide by local laws of reinforcement and penalization due to interactions among the agents. The proposed stochastic dynamical systems exhibit a strong-attractor as a certain subset of the set of binary matrices. Moreover, the family of models adapts well to capture the phenomenon of emergence and downfall of leaders in social networks as it will be illustrated via numerical simulations.
Simulation and experiment research of fittings power loss in high voltage transmission line

There is no enough attention about fittings power loss in high voltage transmission line. The traditional method to evaluate the power loss is analytic formula. Because of the irregular construction, the calculation result is not satisfactory. As the AC voltage class rising, the fittings power loss in transmission line is considerable for different fittings materials. To quantitatively analyze the power loss of fittings, simulation and experiment for the two types of fittings, cast iron suspension clamp and pre-twisted aluminium alloy suspension are carried out in this paper. The finite element method is applied to analyze the three dimensional eddy-current loss and verified by test. The calculation results show that the eddy-current loss in pre-twisted aluminium alloy suspension clamp is much lower than that in cast iron suspension clamp and the the period for investment payback is shorter. Through the electromagnetic filed simulation computation for the fittings, providing the basis for evaluating the high voltage transmission line power loss and proposing the scheme for fittings optimization design.
Emergent patterns in agent-environment interactions and their roles in supporting agile spatial skills

Abstract This paper provides a review of the analysis and modeling of human spatial planning, perception, and learning based on the dynamics of agent-environment interactions. The approach stems from an analysis and modeling framework that was previously conceived using interaction patterns emerging from system-wide interactions as the basic unit of analysis. The paper first discusses the rationals for using patterns in agent-environment interactions as units of organization of behavior, and as functional units of the modeling framework. These concepts are then illustrated through two applications using experimental data from a first-person flight simulator that implements agile obstacle navigation tasks. The first application focuses on the analysis of the formation and evolution of interaction patterns over successive trials, and the use of these patterns as basic elements of the task environment representation, enabling the evaluation of the learning process and assessment of the operator performance. The second application focuses on the analysis of interaction patterns as functional units supporting the modeling of the underlying perceptual guidance and control mechanisms. These examples demonstrate the relevance of dynamics in agent-environment interactions for studying a wide range of functions across the human control hierarchy.
GLOBALIZATION FROM BELOW: USING THE INTERNET TO INTERNATIONALIZE SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

This article discusses distance learning techniques used to operationalize the concept of “globalization from below” in a social work methods course. In the E-Mail Partnership Project, one of the major course assignments, students communicate by e-mail to share information and discuss social issues through professional “pen pal” relationships with students overseas. The author reviews the course design, describes the project and its benefits, discusses the technical and cross-cultural issues that emerged throughout, and presents evaluation results Evaluation results suggest that international e-mail communication is one way to infuse international content into the curriculum.
Media Portrayals of Crime and Youth

It is generally well understood that fictional media portrayals of crime often present crime in sensationalized ways which do not represent reality. The cultivation hypothesis suggests that such media may result in distorted views of crime among viewers. Evidence in support or against this belief is examined. Overall, research suggests that cultivation effects, at least for fictional violence, are quite weak. However, content analyses do suggest that fictional media portrayals of both crime and youth tend to be distorted and unrealistic. Racial minorities are often portrayed as criminal perpetrators in fictional media as often are youth. However, perhaps fortunately, viewers do not appear to attend significantly to fictional media when forming beliefs about crime.
Achieving Effective International Cooperation: How Institutional Formalization Shapes Intergovernmental Negotiations:

This article explores how formalization of institutions and domestic constraints influence the outcomes of international cooperation and negotiation processes—particularly in a regional setting lik...
The Biology of Streptococcus mutans

As a major etiological agent of human dental caries, Streptococcus mutans resides primarily in biofilms that form on the tooth surfaces, also known as dental plaque. In addition to caries, S. mutans is responsible for cases of infective endocarditis with a subset of strains being indirectly implicated with the onset of additional extraoral pathologies. During the past 4 decades, functional studies of S. mutans have focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms the organism employs to form robust biofilms on tooth surfaces, to rapidly metabolize a wide variety of carbohydrates obtained from the host diet, and to survive numerous (and frequent) environmental challenges encountered in oral biofilms. In these areas of research, S. mutans has served as a model organism for ground-breaking new discoveries that have, at times, challenged long-standing dogmas based on bacterial paradigms such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. In addition to sections dedicated to carbohydrate metabolism, biofilm formation, and stress responses, this article discusses newer developments in S. mutans biology research, namely, how S. mutans interspecies and cross-kingdom interactions dictate the development and pathogenic potential of oral biofilms and how next-generation sequencing technologies have led to a much better understanding of the physiology and diversity of S. mutans as a species.
SPONTANEOUS CORONARY ARTERY DISSECTION AND INCIDENT VENTRICULAR ARRHYTHMIAS: FREQUENCY, CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS, AND OUTCOMES

The role of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) for secondary prevention is uncertain for spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) patients presenting with ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF). A retrospective cohort study was performed of 488 consecutive SCAD
Modeling E-Textbook Tools or Encouraging Reading from Paper: What are the Effects on Medium Choice and Textbook Use?

E-textbooks have become more popular with college students, but there are concerns that reading is not as effective from screens as paper. In addition, students may not take advantage of tools affo...
Using the novel pelvic organ prolapse histologic quantification system to identify phenotypes in uterosacral ligaments in women with pelvic organ prolapse.

Background Pelvic organ prolapse is common, but the underlying etiologies are poorly understood, which limits our current prevention and treatment options. Objective Our primary objective was to compare the uterosacral ligament histologic features in women with and without prolapse using the novel pelvic organ prolapse histologic quantification system. Our secondary aim was to determine whether composite histologic findings in uterosacral ligaments are associated with prolapse risk factors. Study Design This was a prospective cohort study in which paracervical uterosacral ligament biopsies were performed at the time of hysterectomy for primary prolapse or other benign gynecologic indications and processed for histologic evaluation. The pelvic organ prolapse quantification system was used to determine the prolapse stage. In this study, 9 prominent histologic features were semiquantitatively scored using the pelvic organ prolapse histologic quantification system in a blinded fashion and compared between prolapse and control groups. Unbiased principal component analysis of these scores was independently performed to identify potential relationships between histologic measures and prolapse risk factors. Results The histologic scores of 81 prolapse and 33 control ligaments were analyzed. Compared with the control group, women in the prolapse group were significantly older and more likely to be in the menopausal phase. There was no difference in the number of vaginal deliveries, body mass index, hormone use, or smoking status between the groups. To control for baseline differences, patients were also stratified by age over 40 years and menopausal status. Compared with the control group, the prolapse ligaments in the premenopausal group had significantly more loss of smooth muscle fibers within the fascicles (P Conclusion Histologic phenotypes exist in pelvic support ligaments that can be distinguished using the pelvic organ prolapse histologic quantification system and principle component analysis. Vaginal delivery is associated with aberrant adipose accumulation in uterosacral ligaments. Our findings support a multifactorial etiology for pelvic organ prolapse contributing to altered smooth muscle, vasculature, and connective tissue content in crucial pelvic support structures. To confirm these associations and evaluate the biomechanical properties of histologic phenotypes of prolapse, larger studies are warranted. Closing this gap in knowledge will help optimize personalized medicine and help identify targets for prevention and treatment of this complex condition.
Laparoendoscopic Single-Site Surgery

Laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) is a surgical approach that takes the best of minimally invasive surgery and can give the benefit of nearly scarless surgery. The approach poses unique challenges for the most experienced of laparoscopic surgeons, but has demonstrated ability to reduce hospital costs, post-operative pain and narcotic requirement, and even in one series, decrease operative time. Although only retrospective reviews are available, there is no evidence of increased risks or complications associated with LESS pediatric urological surgery. We review technical approaches, supplies, equipment, and considerations for performing LESS surgery in pediatric urology and review published literature on multiple applications.
Potent SARS-CoV-2 Direct-Acting Antivirals Provide an Important Complement to COVID-19 Vaccines.

The design of novel compounds targeting the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro that are potent, drug-like, and work synergistically with other direct-acting antivirals is of vital importance.
Introduction to Discursive Psychology and Disability: Working at the Intersection of Discursive Psychology and Disability

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a general overview of the edited volume. Specifically, this chapter briefly introduces discursive psychology, offering an overview of the basic characteristics of the approach. Following this, the chapter overviews the volume and outlines the scope of the individual chapters. Finally, the chapter offers five key ideas that DP affords researchers who center disability.
A Detailed Analysis of the Guidance System Development for tREXS

The Rocket for Extended-Source X-ray Spectroscopy (tREXS) is a suborbital rocket payload that is designed to obtain the most highly resolved soft X-ray emission spectrum from the Cygnus Loop to date. This research will discuss the development and implementation of a guidance system that will replace the traditional pointing mechanism for a sub-orbital payload. Normally the pointing requirement for a sub-orbital flight is achieved using a NSROC altitude control system, which uses an ST5000 star tracker co-aligned with the X-ray optic. In tREXS design there is not space to use this star tracker; therefore, a design has been made that utilizes a side looking ST5000 to acquire the target field and an aspect camera for fine pointing. The aspect camera will stream frames of the target star field, that will be processed by the guidance algorithm. The algorithm will relay where to position the payload to target the Cygnus Loop.
Eat me, or don't eat me?

Roles for dimethylsulfoniopropionate-based infochemical signalling in ocean microbiome ecosystems are reported in a pair of Nature Microbiology papers.
A content model for evaluating peer-to-peer searching techniques

Simulation studies are frequently used to evaluate new peer-to-peer searching techniques as well as existing techniques on new applications. Unless these studies are accurate in their modeling of queries and documents, they may not reflect how search techniques will perform in real networks, leading to incorrect conclusions about which techniques are best. We describe how to model content so that simulations produce accurate results. We present a content model for peer-to-peer networks, which consists of a tripartite graph with edges connecting queries to the documents they match, and documents to the peers they are stored at. Our model also includes a set of statistics describing how often queries match the same documents, and how often similar documents are stored at the same peer. We can construct our tripartite content model by running queries over live data stored at real Internet nodes, and simulation results show that searching techniques do indeed perform differently in simulations using this "real" content model versus a randomly generated model. We then present an algorithm for using real content gathered from a small set of peers (say, 1,000) to generate a synthetic content model for large simulated networks (say, 10,000 nodes or more). Finally, we use a synthetic model generated from World Wide Web documents and queries to compare the performance of several search algorithms that have been reported in the literature.
Taking on the Issues in a Changing Environment

Cet article presente l'evolution de l'UCLA Senior Fellows Program, un programme de gestion pour les administrateurs des bibliotheques de recherche. Ce programme, cree en en 1982, avait pour but d' identifier les meilleurs cadres des bibliotheques de recherche pour que ceux-ci etendent leur responsabiblite, et puissent prendre le temps de penser, de lire et qu'ils developpent leur competence creative et critique. Cet article propose des resumes des sujets traites et les questions posees par les leaders de bibliotheques depuis les annees 60
Studies on the ribosomal RNA cistrons in interspecific Drosophila hybrids: I. Nucleolar dominance

Abstract Interspecific hybrids between Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans were examined for patterns of secondary constriction formation at the nucleolus-organizer regions. In neuroblast tissue taken from F 1 interspecific hybrids, a nucleolar constriction was normally absent from the D. simulans X chromosome, while a secondary constriction was always associated with the D. melanogaster sex chromosome, regardless of the origin of maternal egg cytoplasm. When hybrids lacking a D. melanogaster sex chromosome were constructed, however, the resulting XO males were viable and displayed a constriction at the D. simulans nucleolus organizer. These results suggest a preferential transcription of ribosomal DNA from the D. melanogaster genome when nucleolus organizers from both species are present in conjunction, a phenomenon termed nucleolar dominance. In addition, rDNA redundancy in regular interspecific F 1 progeny was monitored by RNA-DNA hybridization. Parental values conformed to previously reported measurements, but hybrid rDNA values were nonadditive with respect to the parental contributions. Hybrid females possessed rDNA levels approximately 73 genes in excess of predicted values. Since F 1 hybrid progeny presumably inherit wild-type levels of rDNA, this disproportionate increase may represent a response to a functional, rather than a physical, deficiency.
Short Bowel Syndrome

The major consideration in this entity is how much (small) bowel is left and is it sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the body. Residual length is important but there is no standard for its measurement and particularly in the extreme preterm it can mean little.
Metal-based addictive manufacturing: A literature review on modeling, simulation and energy consumption

Though addictive manufacturing (AM) technologies have been widely deployed in academia and industry today, the process has not been thoroughly understood. Modern computation technology enables people to simulate AM processes at high fidelity, which has proven to be an effective way to predict, analyze, and design the AM processes. General methods for AM process simulation include the Finite Element Methods (FEM), Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) and Molecular Dynamics (MD). The three methods simulate the underlying physics at different scales and have their strength and limitations. This paper mainly discusses the applications of these simulation and modeling methods to metal-based AM. A basic overview of the fundamental methods for metal-based AM simulation will be provided, followed by a comparison of the pros and cons of those methods in order to provide choice references for different application scenarios.
Cysts of the Esophagus: Case Report and Review of Literature

Summary 1.The literature on cysts of the esophagus and especially reduplication cysts of the alimentary tract is reviewed. 2.A case is presented of a 19 month old boy with an intramural esophageal reduplication cyst which produced a brassy cough by compressing, narrowing and displacing the trachea anteriorly. 3.Operation was performed successfully; the cyst was removed, resulting in the disappearance of the presenting symptom. 4.The child is well and asymptomatic 2 years post-operatively.
Transverse momentum resummation for dijet correlation in hadronic collisions

We study transverse momentum resummation for the azimuthal angular correlation in dijet production in hadron collisions based on the Collins-Soper-Sterman formalism. The complete one-loop calculations are carried out in the collinear framework for the differential cross sections at low imbalance transverse momentum between the two jets. Important cross-checks are performed to demonstrate that the soft divergences are canceled out between different diagrams and, in particular, for those associated with the final state jets. The leading and subleading logarithms are identified. All order resummation is derived following the transverse momentum dependent factorization at this order. Its phenomenological applications are also presented.
The contribution of leukocyte proteases to fibrinolysis

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes accumulate within blood clots and may contribute to fibrinolysis. The primary fibrinolytic enzymes of neutrophils are cathepsin G and elastase. Fibrin can be exposed to these granular enzymes as a result of cell lysis, phagocytosis of fibrin, or secretion of the enzymes from the cells. Neutrophil secretion occurs in association with blood coagulation and is dependent upon a plasma factor(s) and calcium. After secretion, the enzymes can degrade fibirn within a plasma environment. This is demonstrated by the inhibition of fibrinolysis by specific inhibitors of elastase and the augmentation of fibrinolysis by neutralization of the primary plasma inhibitor of elastase, α1-proteinase inhibitor. A radioimmunoassay which discriminates elastase from plasmic degradation products of fibrinogen has been developed. In this assay, elastase elicited degradation products of fibrin(ogen) were detected in certain pathophysiologic plasma samples. Taken together, these findings indicate a role for leukocyte proteases in physiological fibrinolysis.