cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Candida Antigen Latex Test for Detection of Invasive Candidiasis in Immunocompromised Patients

Candida antigen latex agglutination testing was performed twice weekly during 217 admissions of 200 patients undergoing intensive chemotherapy alone or supported by autologous or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Eleven patients developed invasive candidiasis, three of whom survived; 6 (54.5%) of the 11 had positive Candida antigens. In 206 admissions, invasive candidiasis could not be documented. Of the 60 patients who died, 41 underwent autopsy examination, and 29 (71%) had positive Candida antigens. The latex test was also positive in 30 (20.5%) of the survivors and 10 (53%) of the unautopsied patients. Serum creatinine levels were greater than 2 mg/dL in 61% and 13% of patients with positive and negative Candida antigens, respectively (P less than .0001). For patients in whom the presence or absence of invasive candidiasis could be unequivocally demonstrated, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the latex test at a titer of 1:4 were 54.5%, 29%, 17%, and 70.5%, respectively, suggesting that the latex test should not be used to diagnose invasive candidiasis in immunocompromised patients.
Role of inhibitory κB kinase and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase in the development of hepatic insulin resistance in critical illness diabetes

Hyperglycemia and insulin resistance induced by acute injuries or critical illness are associated with increased mortality and morbidity, as well as later development of type 2 diabetes. The molecular mechanisms underlying the acute onset of insulin resistance following critical illness remain poorly understood. In the present studies, the roles of serine kinases, inhibitory κB kinase (IKK) and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), in the acute development of hepatic insulin resistance were investigated. In our animal model of critical illness diabetes, activation of hepatic IKK and JNK was observed as early as 15 min, concomitant with the rapid impairment of hepatic insulin signaling and increased serine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate 1. Inhibition of IKKα or IKKβ, or both, by adenovirus vector-mediated expression of dominant-negative IKKα or IKKβ in liver partially restored insulin signaling. Similarly, inhibition of JNK1 kinase by expression of dominant-negative JNK1 also resulted in improved hepatic insulin signaling, indicating that IKK and JNK1 kinases contribute to critical illness-induced insulin resistance in liver.
Identification of Streptococcus sanguinis Genes Required for Biofilm Formation and Examination of Their Role in Endocarditis Virulence

Streptococcus sanguinis is one of the pioneers in the bacterial colonization of teeth and is one of the most abundant species in the oral biofilm called dental plaque. S. sanguinis is also the most common viridans group streptococcal species implicated in infective endocarditis. To investigate the association of biofilm and endocarditis, we established a biofilm assay and examined biofilm formation with a signature-tagged mutagenesis library of S. sanguinis. Four genes that have not previously been associated with biofilm formation in any other bacterium, purB, purL, thrB, and pyrE, were putatively identified as contributing to in vitro biofilm formation in S. sanguinis. By examining 800 mutants for attenuation in the rabbit endocarditis model and for reduction in biofilm formation in vitro, we found some mutants that were both biofilm defective and attenuated for endocarditis. However, we also identified mutants with only reduced biofilm formation or with only attenuation in the endocarditis model. This result indicates that the ability to form biofilms in vitro is not associated with endocarditis virulence in vivo in S. sanguinis.
Training of nurse practitioners and physician assistants to perform screening flexible sigmoidoscopy.

Purpose To describe the colorectal cancer-screening program at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, a large multispecialty medical group, in which nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) perform screening flexible sigmoidoscopies. Data Sources Scientific literature, consensus statements and guidelines, and the protocol utilized to train NPs and PAs to perform flexible sigmoi-doscopy. Data from 9,500 screening proce-dures are presented. Conclusions In comparison with gastroenterologists, trained NP and PA endoscopists perform screening flexible sigmoidoscopy with similar accuracy and safety but at lower cost. Implications for Practice Screening flexible sigmoidoscopy performed by NPs and PAs may increase the availability and lower the cost of flexible sigmoidoscopy for colorectal cancer screening.
Financial systems analysis: Opening the future to closed-end funds

This paper investigates a systematic quantitative investment strategy utilizing closed-end funds (CEFs). CEFs are advantageous to investors because they can be traded at a discount from their net asset value (NAV), as opposed to mutual funds which are traded at their exact NAV. The authors seek to explore different methods for taking advantage of this discount. They developed a program that exploits arbitrage opportunities from the fluctuating discount by utilizing a dynamic moving average and standard deviation. The program also fits an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) time series model to the data and attempts to predict the next price point. Using all of this information, the program decides to buy, sell, or hold a current position. Investors make many decisions using emotions and other biases that lead to the market mispricing a given stock or fund. Throughout the history of the stock market, and emphasized by the 2008 through 2009 economic crisis, brokers have been unable to correctly assess the risk in a trading decision. Automating the trading process through systematic quantitative methods removes the human element from the process by adding consistency to investing. In 1980, Thomas Herzfeld published groundbreaking research on CEFs; they are still a relatively small market and there is potential for more research and discovery in this field. The aim of this research is to develop an algorithm that will find above average returns while not accepting above average risk.
Abstract P010: Cardiac Risk Factors and 6-Year Change in high-sensitivity Cardiac Troponin-T.

Introduction: Troponin measured with a highly sensitive assay (hs-cTNT) can detect subclinical myocardial injury and may be useful for risk stratification. However, little is known about temporal changes in hs-cTNT in the general population. Hypothesis: Traditional cardiac risk factors will predict change in hs cTNT. Methods: We analyzed data from 8698 ARIC Study participants, free of cardiovascular disease, who had hs-cTNT measured at visit 2 (1990-1992) and visit 4 (1996-1998). Hs-cTNT was categorized as: undetectable ( 20%) and individual cardiac risk factors with change across hs-cTNT categories using Poisson regression and with absolute 6-year change using robust linear regression. Results: Over 6 years, 2124 study participants went from undetectable to detectable or elevated hs-cTNT and 353 went from detectable to elevated hs-cTNT. The mean crude 6-year hs-cTNT change (SD) within FRS groups were; low (+1.3 (6.0) ng/L), intermediate (+2.3 (9.3) ng/L), and high (+3.7 (8.3) ng/L). Higher baseline FRS was associated with an increase in hs-cTNT over 6 years ( Table ). This association was stronger for incident detectable hs-cTNT than for progression from detectable to elevated. Major predictors of change were baseline age, male gender, diabetes and hypertension. Black race/ethnicity and obesity were also associated with categorical hs-cTNT change. In addition to HDL-c, baseline hypercholesterolemia and smoking may be associated with downwards hs-cTNT change. Conclusions: Framingham Risk Score was positively associated with 6-year hs-cTNT change in middle-age adults. The modifiable risk factors primarily driving this association were diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Additional studies are needed to evaluate if modifying these risk factors can prevent progression of subclinical myocardial damage.
Rejoinder to Berggren's Critique

Christian Berggren's response to our article is gratifying because, like him, we believe that the debate over the merits of different production systems is important. There is more at stake than the competitive success of auto companies. The outcome of this debate will also shape the future quality of work for millions of people around the world. We therefore want to use this opportunity to clarify the points of agreement and disagreement and, more importantly perhaps, to identify the issues that will need to be resolved in future rounds of research and dialogue.
College Major Competitiveness and Attrition from the Sciences

This paper examines how the competitiveness of distinct college majors at a student’s college affects her major choice and other college outcomes. To mitigate the selection problem, we control for very flexible application-admissions pattern fixed effects to account for student unobservables, as well as school-specific fixed effects to account for typically unobservable institutional characteristics that are plausibly correlated with peer quality and student outcomes. We find that students initially interested in pursuing a science major respond to the competitiveness of both the broad science and non-science major tracks. Weaker, non-minority students typically respond to greater competition in the sciences by shifting their major choice. Under-represented minorities tend to persist in the sciences regardless of competition, but suffer -- often substantially -- in terms of college grades and the likelihood of graduating.
Response to Dr. Kawada.

to the editor: We thank Dr. Kawada for his interest in our recent article ([5][1]) and for raising several important issues related to the analysis of actigraphy in alcoholics. First, as noted in his letter we did use the default setting of 40 for sleep/wake sensitivity. We did this to permit
Do reading and spelling share a lexicon

In the reading and spelling literature, an ongoing debate concerns whether reading and spelling share a single orthographic lexicon or rely upon independent lexica. Available evidence tends to support a single lexicon account over an independent lexica account, but evidence is mixed and open to alternative explanation. In the current work, we propose another, largely ignored account--separate-but-shared lexica--according to which reading and spelling have separate orthographic lexica, but information can be shared between them. We report three experiments designed to competitively evaluate these three theoretical accounts. In each experiment, participants learned new words via reading training and/or spelling training. The key manipulation concerned the amount of reading versus spelling practice a given item received. Following training, we assessed both response time and accuracy on final outcome measures of reading and spelling. According to the independent lexica account, final performance in one modality will not be influenced by the level of practice in the other modality. According to the single lexicon account, final performance will depend on the overall amount of practice regardless of modality. According to the separate-but-shared account, final performance will be influenced by the level of practice in both modalities but will benefit more from same-modality practice. Results support the separate-but-shared account, indicating that reading and spelling rely upon separate lexica, but information can be shared between them.
Ergotamine, oxytocin and milk let-down in lactating rat.

Summary1. The quantity of milk secured by litters of lactating rats treated with ergotamine 10 minutes before nursing was significantly less than that obtained by control offspring. Oxytocin administered before or after ergotamine restored normal milk letdown. 2. Topical application of ergotamine to living rat mammary tissue resulted in arteriole constriction but did not interfere with normal myoepithelial contraction induced by oxytocin. 3. Results indicate ergotamine does not inhibit milk let-down through vasoconstriction of mammary blood vessels thus prohibiting access of oxytocin to effector myoepithelium. Rather, a competition between ergotamine and oxytocin for the effector tissue or a neural block inhibiting release of oxytocin by posterior pituitary gland seem more probable.
Clinical practice. Adult primary care after childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

This article provides guidance for care of adult survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer. Treatments are associated with increased late risks of several other conditions; surveillance and patient education strategies are reviewed.
Characterization of Curvature in CNT Turf Structures from Two-Dimensional Images

Carbon nanotube turfs are collections of nanotubes in a turf or mat assembly with potential application as thermal switches, flat panel displays, hard drives, sensors, etc. The nano-topology of the turf necessarily relates to the turf properties; electrical, thermal, optical, etc. A simple method to quantitatively characterize the density, tortuosity and path connectedness of the turfs using secondary electron imaging was previously developed. The present work aims at developing the groundwork for a more realistic measure of tortuosity by using a deterministic approach to obtain the radii of semi-circular tubes as observed in projected images.
Three-dimensional surface deformation derived from airborne interferometric UAVSAR: Application to the Slumgullion Landslide

In order to provide surface geodetic measurements with “landslide-wide” spatial coverage, we develop and validate a method for the characterization of 3-D surface deformation using the unique capabilities of the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) airborne repeat-pass radar interferometry system. We apply our method at the well-studied Slumgullion Landslide, which is 3.9 km long and moves persistently at rates up to ∼2 cm/day. A comparison with concurrent GPS measurements validates this method and shows that it provides reliable and accurate 3-D surface deformation measurements. The UAVSAR-derived vector velocity field measurements accurately capture the sharp boundaries defining previously identified kinematic units and geomorphic domains within the landslide. We acquired data across the landslide during spring and summer and identify that the landslide moves more slowly during summer except at its head, presumably in response to spatiotemporal variations in snowmelt infiltration. In order to constrain the mechanics controlling landslide motion from surface velocity measurements, we present an inversion framework for the extraction of slide thickness and basal geometry from dense 3-D surface velocity fields. We find that the average depth of the Slumgullion Landslide is 7.5 m, several meters less than previous depth estimates. We show that by considering a viscoplastic rheology, we can derive tighter theoretical bounds on the rheological parameter relating mean horizontal flow rate to surface velocity. Using inclinometer data for slow-moving, clay-rich landslides across the globe, we find a consistent value for the rheological parameter of 0.85 ± 0.08.
Effects of Toceranib Phosphate on Systolic Blood Pressure and Proteinuria in Dogs.

Background Systemic hypertension and proteinuria are established adverse effects of tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment in people. Objective The objective of this study was to investigate changes in systolic blood pressure and the incidence of proteinuria secondary to treatment with toceranib phosphate in dogs with cancer. Animals Twenty-six control dogs and 30 dogs with cancer were evaluated for the first part of the study (baseline characteristics). For the second part (effect of toceranib phosphate treatment), 48 client-owned dogs were evaluated, including 20 control dogs and 28 dogs with various types of neoplasia. Methods Prospective cohort study. Client-owned healthy control dogs and dogs with cancer were enrolled. Blood pressure and urine protein:creatinine ratios were measured before treatment and 2 weeks after initiation of toceranib phosphate treatment. Results Systolic blood pressure was significantly (P = 0.0013) higher in previously normotensive treatment dogs after initiation of treatment with toceranib phosphate (152 mmHg ± 19) compared to baseline (136 mmHg ± 14). 37% of treated dogs developed SBP ≥ 160 mmHg. The prevalence of systemic hypertension (37%) and proteinuria (21%) at baseline in treatment dogs did not differ from that of age-matched healthy controls (15% [P = 0.13] and 0% [P = 0.069], respectively). Conclusions and Clinical Importance Toceranib phosphate treatment might result in increased systolic blood pressures in dogs. Systemic hypertension should be considered a potential adverse effect of this drug in dogs. Systemic hypertension and proteinuria were detected at clinically relevant frequencies in the dogs with cancer before antineoplastic therapies suggesting that monitoring of these variables might be warranted in this population.
Considerations on the Ideological and Political Education to College Students

It is a long-term and tough task in searching for new methods and patterns for the ideological and political education to college students.The authors put forward some points of view based on their experience in student work.
Analysis on epidemiology of training-related injury concerning some college students in Anhui Province

To understand the causes of sports-related injuries to college students and to provide evidences for the prevention of sports-related injuries, a survey was conducted among students drawn from 4 colleges according to grades with administered questionnaire. Most injuries occurred in the sports of balls and track-and-field events, and the injury typies maining were strains and impacts caused by unexperient skills and the scarcity of warm-up. So, sports safety education should be reinforced among college students to foster their self-protected consciousness.
Medication Use, Falls, and Fall-Related Worry in Older Adults in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence of falls and fall-related concerns of medication users versus nonusers in U.S. seniors. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: The National Health and Aging Trends Study. PARTICIPANTS: U.S. nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries in 2011. OUTCOMES: Comparing subjects who used medications with subjects who did not in the past month, the outcomes were percentages of subjects who experienced 1) a fall in the past month, 2) worry about falling in the past month, 3) being limited by this worry in the past month, 4) a fall in the past year. RESULTS: A greater percentage of medication users experienced falls and fall-related outcomes, compared with nonmedication users. Among medication users, 10.29% had a past month fall, compared with 5.42% of non-medication users; 27.69% of medication users worried in the past month about falling, compared with 9.15% of non-medication users; 40.96% of medication users were limited by this worry, compared with 21.21%; 22.82% of medication users had a fall in the past year, compared with 13.15% of non-medication users. CONCLUSION: Seniors who use medications are more likely to fall and to be concerned about falling. Pharmacist involvement in fall prevention continues to be essential. Language: en
Observation of Nanoscale Morphological and Structural Degradation in Perovskite Solar Cells by in Situ TEM.

High-resolution in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy were applied to systematically investigate morphological and structural degradation behaviors in perovskite films during different environmental exposure treatments. In situ TEM experiment indicates that vacuum itself is not likely to cause degradation in perovskites. In addition, these materials were found to degrade significantly when they were heated to ∼50–60 °C (i.e., a solar cell’s field operating temperature) under illumination. This observation thus conveys a critically important message that the instability of perovskite solar cells at such a low temperature may limit their real field commercial applications. It was further unveiled that oxygen most likely attacks the CH3NH3+ organic moiety rather than the PbI6 component of perovskites during ambient air exposure at room temperature. This finding grants a deeper understanding of the perovskite degradation mechanism and suggests a way to prevent de...
Fast decomposition-based state estimation using automatic graph partitioning and ADMM

State estimation is a critical function in the energy management system that processes measurements from the field and determines the most likely state of the power system. As more sensing is added and wider areas need to be estimated in real time, the computational speed of state estimation becomes increasingly more important. This paper proposes a scalable method that uses automatic graph partitioning to decompose a global state estimation problem into a series of smaller subproblems and forces these sub-problems to reach a consensus using the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). The proposed method is demonstrated on the IEEE 14 bus, 57 bus, 118 bus, and 300 bus systems. Simulation results suggest that partitioning the global state estimation problem into smaller state estimation problems greatly improves the computational performance, even for a serial implementation.
692. A Novel RNAi Trigger Design Retains Potent, Target Specific Activity Despite Emerging Mutations in the Target Site

Conventional si/shRNA designs are restricted to Watson/Crick pairing between guide strand and target RNA as this has been deemed crucial for potent Argonaute 2 based slicer activity. Despite individual publications partially challenging the requirement of sole Watson/Crick pairing these results have not yet found entry into RNAi designs.By rational incorporation of results from RNA crystallography structures and non-canonical and non-Watson/Crick pairings (nWCp) at certain positions we have developed a novel RNAi trigger design. Our approach allowed us to create shRNAs where a single guide strand suppresses a spectrum of target sequences through Argonaute 2 activity with target specificity, and similar or higher potency than a conventional design. Genomic off target effects were not observed in NGS analysis. In target/guide variant analysis several guide strands demonstrated potent RNAi activity even with G/U pairings at numerous positions or G/G pairings at position 10 or 11. Furthermore we demonstrate that this approach allows the application of RNAi against mutating targets as verified against HIV-1.Thus, our results demonstrate that an RNAi trigger can be applied to any therapeutic target (with an accessible RNA) prone to mutation-based resistance/escape offering significant improvement to the therapeutics of both infectious diseases and cancer. Additionally, we provide evidence that target and off-target prediction rules for microRNAs and shRNA/siRNAs may benefit from revisions to include a significantly wider set of pairings.
Transgender Health: A Standardized Patient Case for Advanced Clerkship Students.

Abstract Introduction Transgender patients experience poor health outcomes and often avoid seeking medical care because of negative encounters with providers. Despite growing awareness of the healt...
Graphical Models and Belief Propagation Hierarchy for Physics-Constrained Network Flows

We review new ideas and the first results from the application of the graphical models approach, which originated from statistical physics, information theory, computer science, and machine learning, to optimization problems of network flow type with additional constraints related to the physics of the flow. We illustrate the general concepts on a number of enabling examples from power system and natural gas transmission (continental scale) and distribution (district scale) systems.
Endothelial Microparticles (EMP) Expressing CD31 but Not CD62E Correlate with Improved Survival in Severe Sepsis.

BACKGROUND .. The endothelium plays a central role in sepsis, but monitoring endothelial function is difficult because it is inaccessible for direct sampling. EMP, small vesicles released from activated or apoptotic endothelim, can serve as a useful proxy, but it has been established that they are heterogenous in phenotype and function. Recently, we studied different species of EMP in severe sepsis, and demonstrated that certain subsets are good predictors of survival as early as day 1 of admission, and that survival correlated with elevation of inflammatory indicators. The present study refines that work by examining the differential levels of two phenotypic species of EMP, those positive for CD62E (EMP62E) vs. CD31 (EMP31), because of evidence that the latter is associated mainly with inflammation, the former with thrombosis. Evidence for this includes (i) in inflammatory disorders such as acute multiple sclerosis, EMP31 are predominant species [Neurology 56:1319, 2001]; (ii) in thrombotic disorders such as acute TTP, EMP62E are usually much higher than EMP31 [BJH 123:896, 2003]; (iii) in vitro experiments showed that EMP31 were 3-fold more active than EMP62E in binding to and activating leukocytes [Jy et al Frontiers Biosci, in press]. METHODS . Thirty-five patients who met the criteria of severe sepsis were recruited for the study. Laboratory and clinical evaluations were performed in day 1, 2, 3 and weekly for total 28 days. Patients were divided into survivors (S) and nonsurvivors (NS) according to the 28 days all-cause mortality. EMP were analyzed by flow cytometry using fluorescent mAb to CD62E and CD31 as described [BJH 123:896, 2003]. Results were log-normalized, analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA, and are expressed as geometric means. RESULTS . EMP31 levels expressed as geometric means were significantly higher in S than NS patients, 668 and 309 respectively for day 1 and the difference persisted through days 2 (634 vs. 247 counts/μL) and 3 (631 vs. 284 counts/μL). (p 0.05). CONCLUSIONS . In survivors, EMP31 were significantly elevated compared to EMP62E as early as day 1 of enrollment, and this difference persisted. In nonsurvivors, both phenotypes were nearly equal and neither increased with time. This tends to confirm that EMP31, not EMP62E, is an inflammation-specific marker, and may have proinflammatory functional activity beneficial to immune response in sepsis. These findings also confirm heterogeneity of EMP in various clinical disorders. Our data suggest that clinical application of EMP assay may be improved by measuring different species of EMP in different diorders.
Self-Efficacy Analysis of Student Learning in Systems Engineering

Systems engineering (SE) competencies are defined based on the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) necessary for a systems engineer to perform tasks related to the discipline. Proficient systems engineers are expected to be able to integrate, apply, and be assessed on these KSAs as they develop competencies through their education and training, professional development, and on-the-job experience. The research conducted by the Naval Postgraduate School assessed where SE graduate students stood as far as developing the necessary competency levels they need to be successful systems engineers. A survey methodology was used to achieve this objective. Systems engineering students enrolled in SE courses at the Naval Postgraduate School represented the population surveyed.Survey items were written with the intent to capture self-efficacy for knowledge and skill sets as a subset of the overall set of competencies required for systems engineering, namely within the SE competencies of Critical Thinking, Systems Engineering, Teamwork and Project Management. A total of four surveys were administered to two SE cohorts. Results show that self-efficacy in systems engineering can be reasonably assumed to be positively affected by a graduate level educational program. The implications of the research can be used to develop structured curriculum content, assessment, and continuous process improvement techniques related to the development of SE learning, and to develop more valid and reliable instruments for assessing what systems engineers need to learn, need to know, and need to do.
Collisional Cross-Sections with T-Wave Ion Mobility Spectrometry without Experimental Calibration

A method for relating traveling-wave ion mobility spectrometry (TWIMS) drift times with collisional cross-sections using computational simulations is presented. This method is developed using SIMION modeling of the TWIMS potential wave and equations that describe the velocity of ions in gases induced by electric fields. The accuracy of this method is assessed by comparing the collisional cross-sections of 70 different reference ions obtained using this method with those obtained from static drift tube ion mobility measurements. The cross-sections obtained here with low wave velocities are very similar to those obtained using static drift (average difference = 0.3%) for ions formed from both denaturing and buffered aqueous solutions. In contrast, the cross-sections obtained with high wave velocities are significantly greater, especially for ions formed from buffered aqueous solutions. These higher cross-sections at high wave velocities may result from high-order factors not accounted for in the model presented here or from the protein ions unfolding during TWIMS. Results from this study demonstrate that collisional cross-sections can be obtained from single TWIMS drift time measurements, but that low wave velocities and gentle instrument conditions should be used in order to minimize any uncertainties resulting from high-order effects not accounted for in the present model and from any protein unfolding that might occur. Thus, the method presented here eliminates the need to calibrate TWIMS drift times with collisional cross-sections measured using other ion mobility devices.
Non-dimensional modeling of the effects of weld parameters on peak temperature and cooling rate in friction stir welding

Abstract Experimental data from friction stir welded Al 7075 and HSLA-65 were used to create dimensionless, empirical models relating critical weld parameters to the peak temperature rise and cooling rate of the weld heat-affected zone. Five different backing plate materials and a wide range of travel speeds and weld powers were used in the experimental design to ensure the models are relevant to a broad range of welding parameters. The resulting models have R-squared values of 0.997 and 0.995 for the dimensionless peak temperature rise and cooling rate correlations, respectively. Demonstrations of the models’ practical applications are provided. Herein is shown how the models can identify welding parameter (i.e. travel speed or power) levels needed to produce a desired weld peak temperature rise or cooling rate. Also demonstrated is how the models can be used to explore the relative effects of travel speed and backing plate thermal diffusivity on weld peak temperature rise and cooling rate.
Antiferromagnetic Resonance in MnTiO 3

The effective internal field (2H E H A )1/2 as well as its temperature dependence has been found from anti-ferromagnetic resonance experiments for two different single crystals of MnTiO3, and from absorption edge data for a pure powder sample. The data are consistent with a uniaxial collinear two sublattice model as predicted from dc susceptibility and neutron diffraction measurements. The data for one crystal yielded results in good agreement with the powder material with a g value of 2.1 and effective internal field of 52 kgauss at 4.2°K. All samples followed a Brillouin function for spin 5/2 fairly well but with different Neel temperatures higher than that previously reported for this material.
Predictive dynamic speed limit in a connected environment for a weather affected traffic network: a case study of Chicago

Dynamic speed limits (DSLs) are used to improve safety and mobility on freeways in unfavorable traffic conditions due to recurring congestion, roadworks, incidents, or adverse weather. The evaluati...
Video-based Education to Reduce Distress and Improve Understanding among Pediatric MRI Patients: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Abstract Purpose Evaluate the effectiveness of an educational video vs. standard of care in improving relaxation and procedural understanding among pediatric patients undergoing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure. Design and Methods This pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted in a large, urban academic children's hospital. Pediatric patients were randomized to receive either a 7-minute educational video or standard of care. Standardized surveys, which consisted of a 1–10 visual analog scale and open-ended questions were administered to patients to measure their level of relaxation, understanding of the procedure, and perceptions of the MRI education received. Bivariate statistics were used to compare changes in relaxation score and baseline understanding scores between study groups. Open-ended questions were analyzed using content analysis. Results A total of 50 pediatric patients completed the study. Improvements in relaxation scores and baseline procedural understanding scores were significantly higher among children 13–17 years of age who received the intervention compared to those that did not (P Conclusions Video-based education effectively improved the relaxation and procedural understanding of children 13–17 years of age undergoing a MRI. Practice Implications Nurses may use video-based education to supplement existing MRI education among older children.
Induction of the lens.

The eye may be a window to the soul, but for developmental biologists it has provided a window of another kind: one into the processes of embryonic induction. Since the turn of the century, when embryologists first noted that the single lens of a cyclopic embryo is in perfect register with the other parts of its single, median eye, the induction of the vertebrate lens has been a classical model for the study of embryonic induction. Although a comprehensive model exists describing the timing and tissue interactions involved in lens induction (Grainger et al. 1992; Grainger 1996), only recently have data become available which identify some of the molecular biological components that may underlie this process. In this chapter, we will briefly discuss early experiments in lens induction and the flaws inherent in their methodology as well as review model systems commonly used in the study of lens induction. We will also discuss a number of genes thought to play critical roles in lens induction and examine how they fit into the current model.
Nanometer scale technologies: device considerations

This chapter discusses the problems and challenges in scaling Silicon transistors in the nanotechnology era. The principle bottle necks to the scaling of Silicon devices have been discussed. In the latter half of this chapter, novel devices, particularly carbon nanotubes, have been introduced as possible alternatives to Silicon. The material properties, principal device characteristics and circuit issues relating to these revolutionary devices have been discussed.
Conformation-guided analogue design identifies potential antimalarial compounds through inhibition of mitochondrial respiration

The synthesis of a 2-methyl-substituted analogue of the natural product, neopeltolide, is reported in an effort to analyze the importance of molecular conformation and ligand-target interactions in relation to biological activity. The methyl substitution was incorporated via highly diastereoselective ester enolate alkylation of a late-stage intermediate. Coupling of the oxazole sidechain provided 2-methyl-neopeltolide and synthetic neopeltolide via total synthesis. The substitution was shown to maintain the conformational preferences of its biologically active parent compound through computer modeling and NMR studies. Both compounds were shown to be potential antimalarial compounds through the inhibition of mitochondrial respiration in P. falciparum parasites.
Endocrine profiles associated with life span of induced corpora lutea in postpartum beef cows.

Two experiments were designed to examine whether hormonal profiles were related to luteal life span in pluriparous postpartum anestrous beef cows. Cows (Exp. 1, n = 34; Exp. 2, n = 23) received norgestomet (N) for 9 d or served as controls (C). Each cow received 1,000 IU human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) 48 h after removal of N (d 0). Blood samples collected every 15 min for 8 h on d -5, 3 and 5 (Exp. 1) or on d -10 and -1 (Exp. 2) were assayed for luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). Cortisol was determined in hourly samples collected on d -5 and in samples collected every 2 min during suckling on the same day (Exp. 1). Concentrations of 15-keto-13,14-dihydro-PGF2 alpha (PGFM) were determined in samples collected at 15-min intervals for 2 h on d -5, 3, 5 and 10 (Exp. 1). Estradiol-17 beta was measured in samples collected on d -5 (Exp. 1) or on d -10 and -1 (Exp. 2). Life span of induced corpora lutea was longer (P less than .05) in N than C cows. Percentages of N cows in which corpora lutea, formed in response to hCG, exhibited a normal life span were 83% on farm 1 and 25% on farm 2 (Exp. 1), and 90% (Exp. 2), compared with 0% in C cows. Concentrations of FSH were not affected by N but were lower (P less than .05) on d -5 in cows on farm 2 (.6 +/- .1 ng/ml) than in cows on farm 1 (.8 +/- .1 ng/ml). On d -5, a treatment X farm interaction (P less than .05) for mean LH was observed and frequency of pulses of LH was higher (P less than .01) in N than C cows (2.7 +/- .4 vs. .8 +/- .8 pulses/8 h). Neither cortisol nor PGFM was affected by N. Estradiol was increased in d -1 (6.1 +/- .5 vs 2.6 +/- .8 pg/ml; P less than .01) by N. It is suggested that pre-treatment with N enhanced life span of induced corpora lutea, in part, by influencing secretion of LH and development of follicles, but a threshold concentration of FSH was required for N to exert this effect.
Cavitation Instabilities in Plastics and Rubber-Modified Plastics

Spherical void expansion in plastics and rubber-modified plastics is investigated under radial traction conditions. The plastics are modeled as elastic-plastic pressure-sensitive materials and the rubbers are modeled as nonlinearly elastic materials. First, the growth of a spherical void in an infinite plastic matrix is investigated under remote radial traction conditions. The results show that the cavitation stress of the plastic decreases significantly as the pressure sensitivity increases. Then, the growth of a spherical void located at the center of a spherical rubber particle in an infinite plastic matrix is investigated under remote radial traction conditions. The results indicate that without any failure criteria for the rubber, the cavitation stress does not exist when the void is small and the rubber is characterized by high-order strain energy functions. However, when a failure criterion for the rubber is considered at a finite stretch ratio, the results show that the cavitation stress for the plastic with the rubber particle becomes close to that for the plastic without the rubber particle.
Alice Meets Bob: A Comparative Usability Study of Wireless Device Pairing Methods for a "Two-User" Setting

When users want to establish wireless communication between/among their devices, the channel has to be bootstrapped first. To prevent any malicious control of or eavesdropping over the communication, the channel is desired to be authenticated and confidential. The process of setting up a secure communication channel between two previously unassociated devices is referred to as “Secure Device Pairing”. When there is no prior security context, e.g., shared secrets, common key servers or public key certificates, device pairing requires user involvement into the process. The idea usually involves leveraging an auxiliary humanperceptible channel to authenticate the data exchanged over the insecure wireless channel. We observe that the focus of prior research has mostly been limited to pairing scenarios where a single user controls both the devices. In this paper, we consider more general and emerging “two-user” scenarios, where two different users establish pairing between their respective devices. Although a number of pairing methods exists in the literature, only a handful of those are applicable to the two-user setting. We present the first study to identify the methods practical for two-user pairing scenarios, and comparatively evaluate the usability of these methods. Our results identify methods best-suited for users, in terms of efficiency, error-tolerance and of course, usability. Our
Psychometric Assessments of Three Self-Report Autism Scales (AQ, RBQ-2A, and SQ) for General Adult Populations

This study assesses the psychometric properties of three self-report measures of autistic-like tendencies in the general adult population: autistic spectrum quotient (AQ), adult repetitive behaviours questionnaire-2 (RBQ-2A), and systemizing quotient (SQ). Three rounds of development and testing using different U.S. and global samples led to three instruments that are psychometrically sound, parsimonious, and generalizable across populations. The resulting AQ-9, consisting of two factors: social communication and attention to detail, now mirrors the current dual diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5. The RBQ-2A-R has now been refined through CFA for the first time. The new SQ-7 scale also has updated content. All three refined scales demonstrate satisfactory psychometric validity and parsimony and now provide evidence of their appropriateness for empirical research.
Studies of Communication in the 2016 Presidential Campaign, by Robert E. Denton, Jr. (Ed.): New York, NY: Lexington Books, 2017, 278 pp., ISBN No. 978-1-4985-6029-0 (hardback).

The 2016 presidential election defied logic and challenged some of the assumptions made by political science and communication researchers (e.g., The Party Decides; Cohen, Karol, Noel, & Zaller, 20...
Magnetic Integration Into a Silicon Carbide Power Module for Current Balancing

Threshold-voltage mismatch among paralleled dies leads to unbalanced turn- on peak currents and switching energies, thus degrading reliability. A passive method employing inversely coupled inductors of tens of nH and drive-source resistors reduces current unbalance. An integrated design of the coupled inductors is required to facilitate their practical use in a power module. A layout to achieve inverse coupling, high coupling coefficient, and low voltage stress, magnetic materials suitable for operation at tens of MHz, and high current rating of tens of amperes with small magnetic core are challenging for its implementation. A module with integrated coupled inductors that achieve inverse coupling by utilizing the copper trace of the substrate and bond wires, size comparable to the silicon carbide die, coupling coefficient higher than 0.98, tens of nH operating at tens of MHz, and current rating of tens of amperes was designed, fabricated, and validated in this work. The coupled inductors with magnetic material of low-temperature cofired ceramics are compatible with existing packaging technology for module fabrication. Effectiveness on reducing transient-current mismatch at various input voltages, load currents, and gate resistances was verified by experiments. Compared with the baseline module resembling commercial modules, the module with integrated coupled inductors reduces current unbalance from 36% to 6.4% and turn- on energy difference from 28% to 2.6% while maintaining the same total switching energy and negligible change of voltage stress.
Physics of failure based reliability model of high-power InGaAs-AlGaAs strained QW lasers

High-power laser manufacturers often perform accelerated multi-cell life-tests by applying significant amounts of stresses to lasers to generate failures in relatively short test durations and then use an empirical model to estimate lifetimes of the lasers. A drawback of this approach is overestimation of lifetimes at usage conditions due to the lack of failures generated under intermediate and low stress conditions. Many groups have studied reliability and degradation processes in GaAs-based lasers, but none of these studies have yielded a reliability model based on physics of failure. The lack of such model is a concern for space applications where complete understanding of degradation mechanisms is necessary. Furthermore, our group reported a new failure mode in multi-mode and single-mode InGaAs-AlGaAs strained QW lasers in 2009 and 2016, respectively. Our group also reported in 2017 that bulk failure due to catastrophic optical bulk damage (COBD) is the dominant failure mode of both SM and MM lasers. For the present study, we performed physics of failure (PoF) investigation to develop a PoF-based reliability model. Our physics of failure investigation consisted of (i) a series of long-term and short-term life-tests that exclusively generated COBD failures and (ii) destructive and non-destructive failure analyses using electron beam induced current, time-resolved electroluminescence, time-resolved photoluminescence, focused ion beam, highresolution TEM, and deep level transient spectroscopy.
Measurement of novel intestinal secretory and barrier pathways and effects of proteases

The epithelial lining of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in conjunction with the enteric nervous system (ENS) plays an important role in mediating solute absorption and secretion. A dysregulated ionic movement across the epithelium can result in GI diseases that manifest as either watery diarrhea or constipation. Hirschsprung disease is an example of an ENS disorder characterized by absence of enteric ganglia in distal gut resulting in obstructive phenotype. Receptor rearranged during transfection (RET) gene variants are the most commonly recognized genetic associations with Hirschsprung disease. In this issue of Neurogastroenterology and Motility, Russell et al demonstrate that RET mediates colonic ion transport through modulation of cholinergic nerves. They go on to show inhibition of RET can attenuate accelerated transit in a rat model. Normalizing secretory and absorptive defects has been an attractive therapeutic strategy. In addition to the intrinsic regulation of secretory processes, luminal mediators like bile acids, short-chain fatty acids, and proteases can affect both secretion and barrier function of the intestinal epithelium. Elevated levels of proteases have been identified in a wide range of GI diseases including irritable bowel syndrome. Proteases are known to cause visceral hypersensitivity and barrier disruption in vitro and in animal models. The goals of this review are to describe fundamental concepts related to intestinal epithelial secretion, the utility of Ussing chambers to measure ionic mechanisms and to discuss examples of novel signaling pathways; namely the RET signaling cascade in secretomotor neurons and effects of luminal proteases on barrier and ionic secretion.
Skin Wars: Building Mediated Social Connections to Promote Prescription Drugs

Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising (DTCA) is the fastest growing form of advertising, topping $6 billion in expenditures in 2017. Celebrities play a key role in promoting prescription medications, including entertainers, actresses and actors, sports figures and political figures. This chapter provides an overview of the ways in which DTCA has moved from its beginning in print and television to enter into newer media platforms, what is referred to as eDTCA. The chapter looks at the way celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Cedric the Entertainer, among others, promote prescription drugs, and the chapter presents a case study of pop singer Cyndi Lauper, who is the spokesperson for a psoriasis drug. The chapter also speaks to the new role of ePatient, ordinary people who become health advocates for themselves or loved ones.