cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Failure of Hypothalamic Tissue to Reinitiate Thyrotropin Production By Mouse Pituitaries in Tissue Culture.

SummaryContrary to Guillemin's findings regarding the reinitiation of corticotropin production by pituitary explants in the presence of hypothalamic tissue, no thyrotropin was produced by mouse pituitary explants even after addition of growing hypothalamic tissue. Since the assay procedures employed would have detected 3 mU of thyrotropin, less than 4% of the original thyrotropin content of the explants was produced per week.
Dædalus Astronautics at ASU: Development of a Staging Sounding Rocket and Experimental Solid Rocket Motors.

Current efforts by the student members of the sole student rocket group at Arizona State University, Daedalus Astronautics, have been focused on the development of a high-powered dual stage sounding rocket design in preparation for the Third Annual Intercollegiate Rocket Competition hosted by the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association. The launch vehicle assembly is powered by several experimental solid rocket motors designed, mixed, and tested by Daedalus personnel and is capable of lofting a ten pound payload to an altitude of 10,000 feet AGL. Inherent in the construction of each rocket stage is the broad use of fiberglass and carbon fiber structural components throughout the entirety of the rocket, the majority of which are fabricated directly from raw materials. Also discussed in the paper is the design of an upper stage canard system with the singular purpose of providing active roll stability to keep the rocket substantially more stable due to the enhanced resistance to small directional flight changes. Many design rules and procedures for successful motor mixing and testing as well as overall high-powered rocket construction methodologies are listed and explained in detail.
Flies breeding and its chemical control in refuse container

Objective To understand the flies breeding situation at the bottom of garbage container and discuss the efficient countermeasure for controlling flies maggot.Methods Using visual method to observe the living of flies maggot,then classifying.Using chemical control to observe the control efficacy.Results There were flies breeding at the bottom of garbage container,the average breeding rate was 79.19%.The breeding rate reached 86.53% for garbage dregs which was above 3 cm.The dominant species was Musca domestica which occupied 74.80%.Conclusion The bottom of garbage container is the main breeding area for flies and should be the key area for controlling flies.
Design of Low Cost Combined Meter for Minicar

The author introduces how to use the latest technology of step motor driving with low cost design to develop a type of electronic combined meter for minicar with stable performance,low failure rate and cost.
Bureaucratic Circumvention: Task Allocation and Policy Implementation in Low Capacity Bureaucracies, with Evidence from Latin America

Unlike in the U.S. and much of Western Europe, politicians in the developing world are often faced with the challenge of delegating policy to non-professional bureaucracies who cannot guarantee outcomes consistent with lawmakers’ expectations. I argue that these countries’ presidents often circumvent the existing bureaucracy, creating new agencies, outsourcing, or delegating to the armed forces when they seek predictable outcomes. Building on existing delegation games, I develop a formal model of circumvention dependent on bureaucratic capacity, policy importance, and presidential and agency ideologies. These propositions are then tested through maximum likelihood estimation using an original database of delegation decisions from over 35,000 presidential decrees in Latin America. I find that an increase in circumvention is caused by a decrease in existing agency capacity, an increase in the importance of the policy being pursued, an increase in ideological distance between the president and the agent, and a decrease in the cost associated with circumventing. However, these factors have differential effects on individual circumvention strategies.
Bis-corannulenoanthracene: An Angularly Fused Pentacene as a Precursor for Barrelene-Tethered Receptors for Fullerenes

Bis-corannulenoanthracene (C50H22, 5) was prepared by the Diels–Alder double cycloaddition of isocorannulenofuran with “bis-benzyne”, followed by deoxygenation of the adducts. Despite the presence of a pentacene core, 5 is stable enough to be isolated and stored. A cycloaddition reaction of 5 with maleic anhydride produces 10 which exhibits strong affinity toward C60, as evidenced by 1H NMR titration experiment. Synthesis of 10 demonstrates the synthetic utility of hydrocarbon 5 in the preparation of the barrelene-based molecular clips with two benzocorannulene pincers adorned with polar substituents on their tethers, which will allow for immobilization of the receptors on solid supports.
Cutaneous manifestations of systemic conditions associated with gynecomastia

Gynecomastia involves enlargement of the male breast secondary to the proliferation of mammary ductules. It is seen in a number of conditions such as cirrhosis, chronic renal failure, Klinefelter syndrome, and leprosy. Recognition of the cutaneous manifestations of these conditions can help in identifying the correct etiology of the gynecomastia.
The health care revolution in the USA

The changes in medical care in the USA have not been completed yet. The government which will be established after the following presidential elections will be compelled to deal with the organisation of medical care in order to make the financial participation of the federal government manageable. The American medical workers must unite in their procedures in order to bring the negotiations with the government institutions, insurers and health maintaining institutions to a successful end. The struggle for medical independence is of great importance as it enables to suppress stereotypes and obsolete traditions, and leads to innovative procedures which represent the basis for progress in medical science. (Fig. 10, Ref. 16.)
Enzymic, electrophoretic and immunoreactive properties of labeled MM and BB isoenzymes of human creatine kinase

Purified MM and BB isoenzymes of human creatine kinase (CK) were labeled with Bolton-Hunter reagent. Labeling process did not affect their enzymic activity, although the labeled enzymes lost enzymic activity in storage. The labeled BB isoenzyme progressively changed its electrophoretic mobility, while labeled MM isoenzyme did not. Both labeled isoenzymes, however, maintained their immunoreactivity with their respective antisera. These results suggest that the enzymic and the immunoreactive sites of each CK isoenzyme are different and that BB isoenzyme, not MM isoenzyme, is electrophoretically unstable.
Some side effects of heparin, heparinoids, and their antagonists.

Effects of heparin, heparinoids, and their antagonists, other than actions on blood coagulation and lipemia clearing, are described. Many, if not all, of these properties are probably related to the unusual structure and high-charge density of these macromolecules. Some may have therapeutic utility.
A Prophet and a Pioneer

The subtitle for this book on Frank Hyneman Knight (1885–1972) is in part inspired by what his students said of him, which is “There is no God, but Frank Knight is his prophet.” However, the main reason for the title is that it is one that describes the voice that Knight had in the economics profession in his time, namely that of prophet in the deep sense in which theologians talk about prophecy. The popular conception of a prophet is of someone who warns believers of the future. The more refined view is that a prophet is someone who reveals laws, speaks to the nature of persons as they are and warns them of the path they should tread and the outcome of their errors. Biblical prophets were not particularly popular people, because they had a habit of telling people what they did not want to hear. Knight, whose curmudgeonly persona was not out of place with a Jeremiah or Isaiah, was similarly direct and sought to reveal economic truths, warning us, cajoling us in the hope of eliciting a realistic response. As one of my old teachers wrote of prophetic speech, “Contingent language is not directly predictive but is threatening or warning. It is not designed to forecast the future but to create responses” (Carroll 1979, p. 67). Knight certainly tried to create responses.
Electrically controlled switching of antiferromagnets via proximity interaction induced by topological insulator

Here, we propose an electrical control of antiferromagnet (AFM) by utilizing the proximity interaction between a topological insulator (TI) and an AFM. Following the Bennett clocking scheme, this mechanism shows much faster switching speed and higher logic reliabilities compared to its ferromagnetic counterpart according to micro-magnetic simulations. Consequently, both switching period and power consumption are reduced by 2–3 orders of magnitude making the TI-AFM system a better candidate for spintronic applications.
Inhibition of sterol biosynthesis by 9α-fluoro and 9α-hydroxy derivatives of 5α-cholest-8(14)-en-3β-ol-15-one☆

Abstract 5α-Cholest-8(14)-en-3β,9α-diol-15-one has been prepared by chemical synthesis in two steps from 5α-cholest-8(14)-en-3β-ol-15-one. 9α-Fluoro-5α-cholest-8(14)-en-3β-ol-15-one was prepared in 91% yield from the corresponding 9α-hydroxysterol. 9α-Fluoro-5α-cholest-8(14)-en-3,15-dione was prepared, in 84% yield, from the corresponding 3β-hydroxy compound. These compounds have been found to be potent inhibitors of sterol synthesis in animal cells in culture. The concentrations of the steroids required to cause a 50% inhibition of the synthesis of digitonin-precipitable sterols from labeled acetate were comparable to those required to cause a 50% reduction in the levels of HMG-CoA reductase activity in the same cells.
PSEUDODIFFUSIONS AND QUADRATIC TERM STRUCTURE MODELS

The non-Gaussianity of processes observed in financial markets and the relatively good performance of Gaussian models can be reconciled by replacing the Brownian motion with Levy processes whose Levy densities decay as exp(−λ|x|) or faster, where λ > 0 is large. This leads to asymptotic pricing models. The leading term, P0, is the price in the Gaussian model with the same instantaneous drift and variance. The first correction term depends on the instantaneous moments of order up to 3, that is, the skewness is taken into account, the next term depends on moments of order 4 (kurtosis) as well, etc. In empirical studies, the asymptotic formula can be applied without explicit specification of the underlying process: it suffices to assume that the instantaneous moments of order greater than 2 are small w.r.t. moments of order 1 and 2, and use empirical data on moments of order up to 3 or 4. As an application, the bond-pricing problem in the non-Gaussian quadratic term structure model is solved. For pricing of options near expiry, a different set of asymptotic formulas is developed; they require more detailed specification of the process, especially of its jump part. The leading terms of these formulas depend on the jump part of the process only, so that they can be used in empirical studies to identify the jump characteristics of the process.
Selective Hydrogenation of 2-Methylfuran and 2,5-Dimethylfuran over Atomic Layer Deposited Platinum Catalysts on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube and Alumina Supports

2-Methylfuran and 2,5-dimethylfuran were hydrogenated in the vapor phase to corresponding tetrahydrofurans, linear 2-ketones and alcohols over Pt nanoparticles supported on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and alumina by atomic layer deposition. The hydrogenation behavior of sub-nm Pt deposited on alumina was influenced by the support acidity. As compared to a commercial Pt/C catalyst, the Pt/MWCNT catalyst contained similarly sized Pt nanoparticles that displayed a broader size distribution and significantly more n-alkanes than oxygenates during hydrogenation of these alkyl-substituted furans.
ESTIMATION OF SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF NEUTRON CAPTURES IN RESONANCE ABSORBERS.

The problem of precise calculation of spatial distributions of capture in resonance absorbers is crucial to the design of layered shields. Errors in spatial distribution of capture occur in multigr...
Imaging the emergence and natural progression of spontaneous autoimmune diabetes

Type 1 diabetes in the nonobese diabetic mouse stems from an infiltration of the pancreatic islets by a mixed population of immunocytes, which results in the impairment and eventual destruction of insulin-producing β-cells. Little is known about the dynamics of lymphocyte movement in the pancreas during disease progression. Using advanced intravital imaging approaches and newly created reporter mice (Flt3-BFP2, Mertk-GFP-DTR, Cd4-tdTomato, Cd8a-tdTomato), we show that the autoimmune process initiates first with a T cell infiltration into the islets, where they have restricted mobility but reside and are activated in apposition to CX3CR1+ macrophages. The main expansion then occurs in the connective tissue outside the islet, which remains more or less intact. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, Tregs, and dendritic cells (DCs) are highly mobile, going along microvascular tracks, while static macrophages (MF) form a more rigid structure, often encasing the islet cell mass. Transient cell-cell interactions are formed between T cells and both MFs and DCs, but also surprisingly between MFs and DCs themselves, possibly denoting antigen transfer. In later stages, extensive islet destruction coincides with preferential antigen presentation to, and activation of, CD8+ T cells. Throughout the process, Tregs patrol the active compartments, consistent with the notion that they control the activation of many cell types.
“Everybody Has It”: Syphilis and the Human Condition in the Writings of Ernest Hemingway

The ubiquitous references to venereal disease in Hemingway's writings signal his commitment to literary modernism and the shock of the new. Syphilis, the life-long, potentially fatal illness for which there was no permanent remedy until 1943, became a trope for Hemingway. Again and again, he presents sexually transmitted diseases in general, and syphilis in particular, as the universal human condition. Hemingway sees syphilis as both a concrete medical reality of his time and an iconic form of human suffering, a metaphor for what all humans must eventually endure: suffering for which there is no remedy. He then explicitly links that suffering both to unreasonable and inherently dangerous societal expectations for masculine behavior and to the emotional pain of the depression he repeatedly experienced.
Movement signals and narrative noise: the development and performance of Antennae (v.2)

This article discusses the artistic and technical development, and performance of an original work for interactive dance, digital sound, and multimedia entitled, Antennae (version 2). The work has ...
Eclampsia: VI. Maternal-perinatal outcome in 254 consecutive cases

During a 12-year period, 254 cases of eclampsia were managed at this center. Eighty patients (32%) did not have edema, 58 (23%) had "relative hypertension," and 49 (19%) did not have proteinuria at the time of convulsions. Eclampsia developed at less than or equal to 20 weeks in 6 patients and beyond 48 hours post partum in 40 (16%). Convulsions developed in 33 while they were receiving standard doses of magnesium sulfate for preeclampsia during or after birth, and subsequent seizures developed in 36 (14%) after magnesium sulfate therapy was started. There was one maternal death (0.4%) and morbidity was frequent (acute renal failure, 4.7%; pulmonary edema, 4.3%; cardiorespiratory arrest, 3.1%; and aspiration, 2%. The use of multiple drug therapy was associated with significant maternal and neonatal complications. The total perinatal mortality was 11.8%, with the majority of them related to either abruptio placentae or extreme prematurity. These findings emphasize the need for intensive monitoring of women with preeclampsia throughout hospitalization and underscore the importance of maternal stabilization before and during transfer.
Erythrokinetics. IV. The plasma iron turnover as a measure of erythropoiesis.

Experimental and clinical studies have been performed to define more clearly the significance of the plasma iron turnover. It has been shown that the plasma iron turnover is not affected by the rate of red cell destruction and to only a limited extent by increased body stores. It does, however, reflect the degree of erythroid marrow activity and is a sensitive indicator for measuring changes in such activity. A series of 85 studies in normal subjects and in patients with various hematologic disorders were carried out to define the range of response with anemia and to assess the clinical value of the plasma iron turnover as an index of erythropoiesis. In states of marrow hyperfunction it is increased from 3 to 6 times normal and may be depressed to approximately half normal with marrow hypofunction. The plasma iron turnover is increased with marrow dyspoiesis. This increase is a measure of total erythropoiesis and does not indicate the production of viable red cells.
Mid-flight lateral trunk bending increased ipsilateral leg loading during landing: a center of mass analysis.

Increased lateral trunk bending to the injured side has been observed when ACL injuries occur. The purpose was to quantify the effect of mid-flight lateral trunk bending on center of mass (COM) pos...
Decode Human Life from Social Media

In this big data era, people leave clues of their life consciously or unconsciously on many social media platforms in various forms. By mining data from social media, researchers can uncover the patterns of human life at both individual and group levels. Social media is one of the major data sources for such studies for mainly two reasons. 1) The huge volume and open access of data on these platforms, and 2) the diversity of data on different platforms, such as multimedia data on Twitter and Facebook, geolocation data on Foursquare and Yelp, as well as career data on Linkedin. In this paper, we introduce our work on studying human life based on social media data, and report the plan for our subsequent studies. Our work is intended to decodes human life from two perspectives. From a linguistic perspective, we study the language patterns of different social groups of people. The learned language patterns can reveal the specific characteristics of these groups, and provide novel angles to understanding people. From a mobility perspective, we extract the mobility patterns of individual person, and groups of people such as residents of certain regions. Using the detected mobility patterns, we mine knowledge of human life including the lifestyles and shopping patterns of cities and regions. We intend to combine these two perspectives in our ongoing work, and introduce a novel framework for study human life.
Effect of Individualism on Online User Ratings: Theory and Evidence

AbstractThis research examines the effect of individualism on online user ratings. We develop a theory based on expectation disconfirmation theory and prospect theory, and posit that user review ra...
Update: Behavioral Management of Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis and Paresis

Purpose Vocal fold motion impairment (VFMI) can be the result of iatrogenic or traumatic injury or may be idiopathic in nature. It can result in glottic incompetence leading to changes in vocal qua...
Using evolutionary algorithms to select text features for mining design rationale

At its heart, design is a decision-making process. These decisions, and the reasons for making them, comprise the design rationale (DR) for the designed artifact. If available, DR provides a comprehensive record of the reasoning behind the decisions made during the design. Unfortunately, while this information is potentially quite valuable, it is usually not explicitly captured. Instead, it is often buried in other design and development artifacts. In this paper, we study how to identify rationale from text documents, specifically software bug reports and design discussion transcripts. The method we examined is statistical text mining where a model is built to use document features to classify sentences. Choosing which features are most likely to be good predictors is important. We studied two evolutionary algorithms to optimize feature selection – ant colony optimization and genetic algorithms. We found that for many types of rationale, models built with an optimized feature set outperformed those built using all the document features.
Occupancy spectrum distribution: application for coalescence simulation with generic mergers.

MOTIVATION As the density of sampled population increases, especially as studies incorporate aspects of the spatial landscape to study evolutionary processes, efficient simulation of genetic data under the coalescent becomes a primary challenge. Beyond the computational demands, coalescence-based simulation strategies have to be reconsidered because traditional assumptions about the dynamics of coalescing lineages within local populations may be violated (e.g. more than two daughter lineages may coalesce to a parent at low population densities). Specifically, to efficiently assign n lineages to m parents, the order relation between n and m strongly affects the relevant algorithm for the coalescent simulator (e.g. only when n<2m, it is reasonable to assume that two lineages, at most, can be assigned to the same parent). Controlling the details of the simulation model as a function of n and m is then crucial to represent accurately and efficiently the assignment process, but current implementations make it difficult to switch between different types of lineage mergers at run-time or even compile-time. RESULTS With the described occupancy spectrum and algorithm that generates the support of the joint probability distribution of the occupancy spectrum; computation is much faster than realizing the whole assignment process under the coalescent. Using general definitions of lineage merges, which also makes the codebase reusable, we implement several variants of coalescent mergers, including an approximation where low probability spectrums are discarded. Comparison of runtimes and performance of the different C++ highly reusable coalescence mergers (binary, multiple, hybrids) are given, and we illustrate their potential utility with example applications. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION All components are integrated into Quetzal, an open-source C++ library for coalescence available at https://becheler.github.io/pages/quetzal.html. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Validation and sensitivity of model-predicted proximal tibial displacement and tray micromotion in cementless total knee arthroplasty under physiological loading conditions

Abstract The initial fixation of cementless tibial trays after total knee arthroplasty is crucial to bony ingrowth onto the porous surface of the implants, as micromotion magnitudes exceeding 150 μm may inhibit bone formations and limit fixation. Experimental measurement of the interface micromotions is still very challenging. Thus, previous studies investigated micromotions at the bone-tray interface via finite element methods, but few performed direct validation via in vitro cadaveric testing under physiological loading conditions. Additionally, previous models were validated by solely considering relative displacements of the marker couples placed around the tray-bone interface. In this paper, we present an experimental-computational validation framework for investigating micromotions at the tray-bone interface under physiological conditions. Three cadaveric specimens were implanted with cementless rotating-platform implants and tested under gait, deep knee bending, and stair descent loads. Corresponding subject-specific finite element models were developed and used to predict the marker (tray-bone) relative displacements and tibial surface displacements. Experimental measurements were used to validate model estimations. Subsequent sensitivity analyses were performed on implantation and friction parameters to represent model uncertainties. The models appropriately differentiated between locations, activities, and specimens. The average root-mean-square (RMS) differences and correlations between measured marker relative displacements and predictions from the ‘best-matching’ models were 13.1 μm and 0.86. RMS differences and correlations between measured surface displacements and predictions were 78.9 μm and 0.84. Full-field interface micromotions were investigated and compared with predicted marker relative displacements. The marker relative displacements underestimated the actual interface micromotions. Initial tray-bone alignment in anterior-posterior, flexion-extension, and varus-valgus degrees of freedom have a considerable impact on the interface micromotions. The validated cadaveric models can be further used for pre-clinical assessments of new TKR tray design. The outcomes of the sensitivity analyses provide further insights into reducing interface micromotions via clinical techniques.
Graduate students significantly more concerned than undergraduates about returning to campus in the era of COVID-19

Introduction: As students return to colleges and universities in the fall of 2020, it is important to understand their perception of risk and their desire for in person versus online learning, which may differ between undergraduate and graduate students. Methods: We anonymously surveyed 212 undergraduate and 134 graduate students in the College of Public Health, and 94 graduate students in the College of Education in late June, 2020. We asked them Likert style questions regarding their comfort returning to campus and their preferred learning strategies once back. We compared Strongly agree/Agree with Neutral/Disagree/Strongly disagree using a chi-square test. Results: Graduate students were significantly less likely to look forward to being on campus (38.3% doctoral vs 40.6% master9s vs 77.7% undergraduate, p < 0.001), more likely to perceive themselves as high risk (43.3% doctoral vs 40.0% masters vs 17.5% undergraduate, p < 0.001), and were more likely to prefer all classwork online (66.7% doctoral vs 44.6% masters vs 20.8% undergraduate, p < 0.001). Graduate students were also less likely to prefer to be in the classroom as much as possible in the fall (59.2% doctoral vs 67.7% masters vs 74.5% undergraduate, p < 0.001). Most were not concerned about their ability to conduct research. Students generally supported wearing of facemasks indoors. Conclusions: There are important differences in perception of risk and desire for online versus in-person learning between undergraduate and graduate students. Faculty and administrators must acknowledge and address these differences as they prepare for return to campus in the fall.
Implementing remotely proctored testing in nursing education

Abstract With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, professional nursing education programs across the globe were challenged to transition any face-to-face or hybrid instruction to online. To confront this challenge, many professional nursing education programs explored the option of utilizing remotely proctored testing (RPT). While RPT provides some protection for examination integrity by deterring academic dishonesty, little research is available regarding this examination method which presents unique obstacles. In this climate of technological advancements, faculty of professional nursing programs must prudently consider the advantages of RPT, become familiar with the most commonly occurring issues associated with its use, and carefully integrate the technology to optimize outcomes. In this article, the authors describe the process of integrating RPT into a nursing program along with the outcomes of this integration.
Relationship of Clinician Care Team Composition and Diabetes Quality Outcomes.

The objective was to determine if a greater proportion of physician full-time equivalent (FTE%) relative to nurse practitioners/physician assistants (NPs/PAs) on care teams was associated with impr...
Methamphetamine and social rewards interact to produce enhanced conditioned place preference in male adolescent rats.

Elucidating the influence of social context on drug reward is critical for understanding substance use disorders. Adolescents demonstrate enhanced sensitivity to drug and social rewards. However, the extent to which methamphetamine interacts with social reward in adolescents has not been thoroughly examined. Therefore, the present study used the conditioned place preference (CPP) model to examine the relationship between methamphetamine and social rewards in adolescent male rats. Sprague-Dawley rats (PND 30) were randomly assigned to one of the following four conditioning groups: saline alone (SA), methamphetamine alone (MA), saline with a social partner (SS) or methamphetamine with a social partner (MS). Testing occurred in a two-chamber biased apparatus across seven consecutive days using parameters presumed to be sub-threshold for establishing social- and methamphetamine-induced CPP. Similar to previous reports for nicotine and cocaine, the present results indicate that rats receiving methamphetamine with a social partner (i.e., MS) during conditioning demonstrated a significantly greater preference shift compared to all other groups. These findings further highlight the importance of social context in influencing the magnitude of drug reward during adolescence.
Time present and time past : a duration analysis of IMF program spells

The programs of the International Monetary Fund were originally designed to provide short-term assistance to countries implementing policies to address balance of payments disequilibria. In recent decades, however, the Fund has instituted new facilities with longer time horizons, while many developing countries have adopted consecutive programs. As a result, the length of time spent by countries in IMF programs has grown, and in some cases has extended over a decade. This paper analyzes the IMF program spells for a group of emerging economies over the period of 1982 to 1997. Duration models are used to investigate the time dependence of the failure rate of the spells and the factors that affect the duration of program spells. The hazard ratio of program spells has a non-monotonic shape, first rising and then falling over time. Program duration is extended for those countries with lower per-capita income, exports concentrated in primary goods, landlocked geographic status, and stable legal processes.
Durability of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG responses in saliva for up to 8 months after infection

We evaluated the durability of IgG responses specific to SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N), receptor binding domain (RBD), and spike (S) antigens in saliva up to 8 months after RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 using a multiplex salivary assay. We estimated a half-life of 64 days (d) (95% CI: 49, 80 d) for N, 100 d for RBD (95% CI: 58, 141 d), and 148 d (95% CI: 62, 238 d) for S IgG responses in saliva, consistent with half-life estimates previously reported in blood. Saliva can serve as an alternative to blood to monitor humoral immune responses on a large scale following SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination for surveillance and assessment of population immunity.
KD-PACE Salvage Therapy for Aggressive Relapsed Refractory Multiple Myeloma, Plasma Cell Leukemia and Extramedullary Myeloma.

Abstract Background Patients with advanced/aggressive multiple myeloma have limited treatment options to achieve rapid disease control. In eligible patients, bortezomib, dexamethasone, thalidomide, cisplatin, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and etoposide is often used. However, many patients are refractory to or have toxicities from bortezomib and there is a need for bridging therapy. We have used a modified regimen incorporating the second-generation proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib (carfilzomib, dexamethasone, thalidomide, cisplatin, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide and etoposide [KD-PACE]) instead of bortezomib for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Patients and Methods This 2-center retrospective study included consecutive patients receiving KD-PACE for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, plasma cell leukemia, or extramedullary myeloma. The primary outcome was the feasibility of KD-PACE as a bridging therapy to a more definitive treatment option. Results Fifty-two patients were included. The median age was 57 years, and 67% were male. Thirty-one patients were bridged with KD-PACE to autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (29%), allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (27%), or a clinical trial (12%). Patients bridged to autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant, allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplant, or a clinical trial had a superior progression-free survival (8.3 months vs 2.3 months in the nonbridged group; P Conclusion KD-PACE is a promising treatment option for select patients with advanced/aggressive forms of myeloma requiring rapid disease control before a more definitive salvage therapy such as auto/allotransplantation or a clinical trial.
Goddard's New Approach to IT

A general overview of the Information Systems Center (ISC) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is presented. The background of the center, its reorganization, as well as the applied engineering and technology directorate and its organization are outlined. The ISC's mission and vision as well as a breakdown of the branch are reviewed. Finally, the role of the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) within the ISC is reported, it's short and long term goals, and current activities discussed.
Bone Stress Injuries

This unit outlines basic MRI protocols for evaluating the most common bone stress injuries including those of the tibia, femoral neck, femoral shaft, metatarsal, and navicular bone. The protocols concentrate on the lower extremity, as the majority of stress injures occur in this region. These protocols were developed using a 1.5 T system (Signa, General Electric Medical Systems). However, the sequences described could be adapted to low- or mid-field scanners using STIR (short tau inversion recovery) sequences to acquire the T2-weighted images. This technique would thus require longer scan times and lower resolution matrices.
Disturbances of sleep perception in a group of multiple sclerosis patients: A case report

Sleep misperception, whether severe enough to qualify as paradoxical insomnia or not, is common in a number of neurological and psychiatric conditions. The objective was to assess sleep perception in a group of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. As part of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved trial designed to assess the efficacy of eszopiclone versus placebo in improving MS patients’ sleep continuity, we observed a pattern of both paradoxical and reverse paradoxical insomnia in a small number of participants. Eight participants (26.7%) had some degree of misperception at some point during the study. Six (20%) had reverse paradoxical insomnia and two (6.7%) had paradoxical insomnia. This is a preliminary observation that we hope will increase awareness of the condition of misperception of sleep in subjects with MS. (Clin. Exp. Neuroimmunol. doi: 10.1111/j.1759-1961.2010.00012.x, 2010)
Analysis of factors regulating ecosystem development on Mauna Loa using the Century model

We used the Century model to evaluateenvironmental controls over ecosystem developmentduring the first 3500 y of primary succession onpahoehoe (i.e., relatively smooth, solid) lava flowsof wet, windward Mauna Loa, Hawaii. The Century modelis a generalized ecosystem model that simulatescarbon, nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics forplant-soil systems. Preliminary results indicated theneed to modify the model to include the effects ofsoil C accumulation on soil water storage anddrainage. The modified model was parameterized tosimulate observed values of aboveground productivity,biomass and soil element pools on a 3400-y-old site at700 m elevation. Testing the model parameters at 1660m elevation indicated that N inputs were lower andsoil water drainage rates were slower at the higherelevation. We applied the modified and fullyparameterized model to simulate ecosystem attributesduring primary succession at five elevations, andconducted single-factor experiments with the model toidentify the specific influences of variations intemperature, nutrient inputs, and rainfall on modeledecosystem characteristics. Simulated aboveground productivity (ANPP), net N andP mineralization, and biomass element pools allincreased through time at each elevation, and alldeclined with increasing elevation at each point intime. After 3500 y of succession none of theseattributes had reached a stable asymptote, butasymptotes were approached more quickly, andsuccession was therefore faster, at lower than athigher elevations. Simulated soil organic matter(SOM) pools increased with elevation, despite thatplant productivity declined. These results, andsimilar comparisons among rainfall regimes, suggestthat SOM pools were more sensitive to factorscontrolling decay than production rates. Within elevations and temperature regimes, nutrientavailability was the most important factor controllingsimulated rates of plant productivity, biomass, anddetritus accumulation during ecosystem development. Through time, SOM accumulations alleviated nutrientlimitations to plants, but simulated productivityremained highly dependent upon externally suppliednutrients even after 20,000 y. Rainfall had two maineffects on nutrient availability within the model: (1)it increased rates of leaching, and thus depletednutrient supplies; and (2) it exacerbated soil floodingand thereby decreased nutrient turnover rates. Highrainfall on windward Mauna Loa maintains oligotrophicconditions through time despite continuous N and Pinputs.
Interstellar Molecule Formation; Radiative Association and Exchange Reactions

The present report is a summary of a study, made in collaboration with P. Solomon, on the formation of interstellar molecules by radiative association and chemical reactions. The model to be discussed is limited practically to gas phase reactions in an Hi region, where the principal constituents are atomic. It therefore is limited in scope and applicability. The role of the interstellar dust in this model is passive. It shields the region from radiation. Since a number of molecular species are dissociated by radiation and the extent of carbon ionization is determined by radiation, the radiation density is important in determining compositional equilibria.
Isomorph-free generation of 2-connected graphs with applications

Many interesting graph families contain only 2-connected graphs, which have ear decompositions. We develop a technique to generate families of unlabeled 2-connected graphs using ear augmentations and apply this technique to two problems. In the first application, we search for uniquely K_r-saturated graphs and find the list of uniquely K_4-saturated graphs on at most 12 vertices, supporting current conjectures for this problem. In the second application, we verifying the Edge Reconstruction Conjecture for all 2-connected graphs on at most 12 vertices. This technique can be easily extended to more problems concerning 2-connected graphs.
Influence of Phagotrophic Protistan Bacterivory in Determining the Fate of Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) in a Wetland Microbial Food Web

A field study over an annual cycle in a shallow, wetland pond dominated by Nymphaea odorata was combined with laboratory experiments to determine the fate of DOM from aquatic macrophyte primary productivity in the microbial food web. DOM concentrations, bacterial abundance and productivity, and protistan abundance were more than an order of magnitude higher during warm months (water temperatures >20°C) than during cool months (<20°C). Out-of-phase oscillations between microbial populations suggested protistan bacterivore grazing pressure affected bacterial abundance during the warm months. Microcosm experiments designed to mimic warm-month conditions using wetland pond microbial communities showed similar rates of macrophyte leachate uptake by both grazed and ungrazed bacteria. However, in the presence of heterotrophic nanoflagellates, bacterial biomass accumulation was less than one-half of that in treatments without bacterivores, and calculated carbon mineralization was fivefold greater in the treatment with bacterivores. No difference in amounts of NH4-N between treatments was detected, nor were decreased rates of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) different between experimental treatments. Experimental results indicated uptake of DOM from N. odorata by aquatic bacteria was rapid and could support the microbial food web in this system. However, grazing of bacterioplankton by nanoflagellates under experimental conditions did not result in significant increases in protistan biomass. The majority of bacterial productivity was respired in the presence of grazers rather than being incorporated into grazer biomass.
Modeling simultaneous exceedance of drinking-water standards of arsenic and nitrate in the Southern Ogallala aquifer using multinomial logistic regression

The occurrence of elevated levels of arsenic and nitrate in aquifers impacted by agricultural activities is common and can result in adverse health effects in rural areas. Numerous wells located in the Ogallala aquifer in the Southern High Plains of Texas have tested positive for both arsenic and nitrate MCL exceedance. To model the simultaneous exceedance of both chemicals, two types of Logistic Regression (LR) models were developed by (a) treating arsenic and nitrate independently and combining the marginal probabilities of their exceedance, and (b) treating the two exceedances together by using a multinomial model. Influencing variables representative of both soil and aquifer properties and data for which was readily available were identified. The predictive capacities of the two models were evaluated using Received Operating Characteristics (ROCs) and spatial trends in predictions were studied. The LR model constructed from the marginal probabilities had lower overall accuracy (59% correct classifications) and was extremely conservative by over-predicting outcomes. In contrast, the multinomial model showed good overall accuracy (79% correct classifications), made the correct predictions 90% of the time when both arsenic and nitrate MCL exceedances were observed, and was a good fit for wells located in agricultural areas. The results of the multinomial model also confirm previous studies that attributed shallow subsurface arsenic to anthropogenic activities. Based on the insights provided by the model it is recommended that where agricultural areas are concerned, the occurrence of arsenic and nitrate are better evaluated together.
Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage

The article presents a review of the book “Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage,” edited by Peter Hall and David Soskice.
Culture Conditions and the Development of the Photosynthetic Mechanism: V. Influence of the Composition of the Nurient Medium.

Significant effects of light intensity on the cellular and photosynthetic characteristics of Chlorella pyrenoidosa have been described in preceding papers (6, 7). These studies required a more or less arbitrary choice of other culture conditions, e.g., light quality, temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, composition of the nutrient medium, and the population density at which cultures are maintained in the continuous-culture apparatus. Considered herein are the effects of various changes in composition of the nutrient medium and in the carbon dioxide concentration. The problems are: (1) whether the concentrations of various components of the medium are optimal and (2) whether there may be significant effects of small changes that might be induced as a reaction in response to other variables.
A triangular scanning technique for locating boundary curves

A solution to the Swimmer Problem is described in this note. The result can be applied to the locating of boundary curves in automated pictorial information processing. A triangular scanning technique is suggested for such applications.
A dominant-subordinate unit-against-unit theory of decreases in visibility

When simultaneous stimuli or stimuli in metacontrast and related research are perceived (recognized, apprehended) as two different phenomenal groups (wholes, things), the visibility of the group with less intense, smaller, no-onsetting, terminating, and briefer features decreases. This decrease also occurs when one of two groups with equally intense, etc. features is made less visible through masking. Therefore, the relative visibility of two groups predicts a decrease in the visibility of one of them better than does their relative intensity, etc. Further, (1) the visibility of all the parts (perceived features, attributes) of both groups is similarly affected, so each group functions as one entity and (2) decreases in visibility are eliminated when stimuli produce only one group. The theory: a neural unit underlies the perception of one group and its parts, and two such units underlie the perception of two groups and their parts (one unit for each group). In addition, the unit for a dominant (high visibility) group inhibits the unit for a subordinate (low visibility) group, thereby decreasing the visibility of the subordinate group. Also, when stimuli produce only one group (hence one unit), unit-against-unit inhibition and hence a decrease in visibility is precluded.
Multiresolution Motion Planning for Autonomous Agents via Wavelet-Based Cell Decompositions

We present a path- and motion-planning scheme that is “multiresolution” both in the sense of representing the environment with high accuracy only locally and in the sense of addressing the vehicle kinematic and dynamic constraints only locally. The proposed scheme uses rectangular multiresolution cell decompositions, efficiently generated using the wavelet transform. The wavelet transform is widely used in signal and image processing, with emerging applications in autonomous sensing and perception systems. The proposed motion planner enables the simultaneous use of the wavelet transform in both the perception and in the motion-planning layers of vehicle autonomy, thus potentially reducing online computations. We rigorously prove the completeness of the proposed path-planning scheme, and we provide numerical simulation results to illustrate its efficacy.
Genetic and respiratory tract risk factors for aspergillosis: ABPA and asthma with fungal sensitization.

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a Th2 allergic hypersensitivity lung disease due to bronchial colonization of Aspergillus fumigatus that affects 1–2% of asthmatic and 7–9% of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. We hypothesize that genetic risk factors predispose these patients to develop ABPA. We previously reported HLA-DR2 and DR5 restriction as a risk factor for the development of ABPA. We further propose that HLA-DR restriction is necessary but not sufficient for the development of ABPA. Recently, we reported that IL-4Rα single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and in particular the ile75val SNP in the IL-4 binding region is another risk factor and is associated with increased sensitivity to IL-4 stimulation. It has been reported that the combination of IL-4Rα and IL-13 SNP, ile75val/arg110gln, is associated with more severe asthma. In preliminary studies, we have observed increased frequency of this combination in ABPA asthmatic and CF patients. Another genetic risk factor reported by Brouar...