cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Commentary on Studies of 36Cl in the Exploratory Studies Facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

36C1 data from the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, reported by LANL researchers [1,2,3,4] provide important empirical constraints on the velocity and pathways for water flow under natural conditions in the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain. It has been concluded that some data exhibiting exceptionally high 36Cl/Cl ratios (i.e., greater than 1250x10-15 [3]) indicate unambiguous bomb pulse contamination and fast groundwater travel times to depths of the proposed waste emplacement horizon. Several lines of evidence indicate that some ESF samples with 36Cl/Cl ratios greater than 900x10-15 to 1000x10-15 are also affected by bomb pulse contamination. The distribution of 36Cl/Cl data can be well represented by a mixture of two normally distributed populations, which are hypothesized to represent uncontaminated and bomb pulse contaminated sets. The transition between these groups occurs at 36Cl/Cl between 600x10-15and 1000x10-15, and the hypothesized contaminated samvles comprise 20 to 25 percent of the total. Shapiro-Wilk statistics confirm that when samples with 36Cl/Cl ratios greater than about 1000x10-15 are included, the distribution deviates from normality. Variation in the Earth’s magnetic field, which is a primary mechanism for variation in natural 36Cl production, also appears to be normally distributed, supporting the hypothesis that natural, relatively undecayed 36Cl/Cl ratios are normally distributed. Further evidence that samples with 36Cl/Cl greater than 950x10-15 to 1000x10-15 are likely to have a bomb pulse component is provided by the spatial correlation of these samples with those containing unambiguous contamination at values greater than 1250x10-15. Zones in which elevated 36Cl/Cl ratios are localized constitute about 23 percent of the length of the ESF at the level of the proposed waste emplacement horizon.
Tuning Contact Recombination and Open-Circuit Voltage in Polymer Solar Cells via Self-Assembled Monolayer Adsorption at the Organic–Metal Oxide Interface

We adsorbed fluorinated-alkyl and hydrogenated-alkyl phosphonic acid derivatives onto indium tin oxide (ITO) to form self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). Polymer solar cells having these treated ITOs as anodes display open-circuit voltages (Vocs) that are higher than those with bare ITO as anodes. Although the work function of ITO can be significantly tuned by SAM adsorption, the position of the Fermi level of the anode with respect to the hole transport level in the polymer active layer is essentially the same in all of the devices, suggesting that changes in the work function of the anode are not responsible for the Voc variation. Rather, the barrier for minority carrier transport to ITO is altered through SAM adsorption. The adsorption of fluorinated-alkyl phosphonic acid on ITO, in particular, induces a barrier of 2.4 eV for minority carrier transport, which effectively increases carrier selectivity at the anode and increases the Voc in polymer solar cells comprising such treated ITO as anodes compared t...
A Quantitative Assessment of the Effect of Metatarsal Pads on Plantar Pressures

The treatment of metatarsalgia secondary to the plantar prominence of the metatarsal heads has lead to the development of numerous orthotic devices designed to decrease pressures in these areas. In spite of the considerable cost of some of these devices, there has yet to be much objective evidence of their efficacy. This study assessed the effect of a simple metatarsal pad on pressures transmitted to the metatarsal heads. Quantitative measurements of dynamic peak pressures for 10 asymptomatic subjects with and without metatarsal pads were made using the pedobarograph. Female volunteers had a reduction in peak metatarsal pressures from 12% to 60% when a small metatarsal pad was appropriately applied to the foot. In two of five males there was a decrease in metatarsal pressure of 14% to 44%. One male had no change in pressure, while two others had an increase in pressure from 8% to 28%. When properly positioned and appropriately monitored, metatarsal pads can be an inexpensive and effective means of reducing metatarsal pressures.
The Countess of Pembroke's Editorship of the Arcadia

The known facts of the several versions of the Arcadia have been presented many times. Briefly, the original version was widely circulated in manuscript but never printed. Sidney commenced an elaborate revision, which was left unfinished at his death in 1586. In 1590 the revised portion was published, superintended, without much doubt, by Fulke Greville. In 1593 appeared a new edition, supervised by Mary, Countess of Pembroke, which consisted of the revised portion with the addition of the third, fourth, and fifth books from the earlier manuscript version to complete the story.
Medieval Islamic Civilization and Modern Science

The rise of Islamic civilization originated from the search for knowledge, and was achieved by the creation ofknowledge study platform. The great translation movement resulted in an integration of reason and pragmatism in Islamic civilization,and thus promoted the development of scientific research, especially the close combination of theory and practice. From a certainperspective, medieval Islamic civilization was a prelude to the discovery of the world and human being. Scientific achievements inIslamic civilization were important knowledge accumulation for the advent of the Renaissance, and paved the way for modemscience.
Transplantation of the left lung into the right hemithorax to facilitate immediate reconstitution of bronchial artery flow

Immediate bronchial artery reconstitution may be important in the prevention of bronchial anastomotic problems in lung transplantation. To facilitate this reconstitution in circumstances requiring allograft replacement of the right lung, we developed a method for transplanting the left lung together with its bronchial arterial supply into the right hemithorax. With this method, left lungs were allotransplanted into the right hemithorax of nine immunosuppressed dogs. Six recipients survived I to 4 weeks. Death resulted from pneumonia or rejection, and there were no bronchial anastomotic problems. Roentgenograms showed that the bronchial artery was patent and that the inverted transplanted left lungs could conform exactly to the thorax without space problems or radiographic abnormalities. Except for the unusual position of the large pulmonary arteries, angiographic patterns, function, and perfusion of the transplanted lungs were often normal and equivalent to those of the recipient's normal left lung. Thus it is possible to transplant a left lung into either hemithorax and immediately reconstitute its bronchial arterial circulation. Bronchial anastomotic problems may thereby be decreased.
Damage in Monolithic Thin-Film Photovoltaic Modules Due to Partial Shade

The typical configuration of monolithic thin-film photovoltaic modules makes it possible for partial shade to place one or more cells in such a module in reverse bias. Reverse bias operation leads to high voltage, current density, and power density conditions, which can act as driving forces for failure. We showed that a brief outdoor shadow event can cause a 7% permanent loss in power. We applied an indoor partial shade durability test that moves beyond the standard hot spot endurance test by using more realistic mask and bias conditions and by carefully quantifying the permanent change in performance due to the stress. With the addition of a pass criterion based on change in maximum power, this procedure will soon be proposed as a part of the module-type qualification test. All six commercial copper indium gallium diselenide and cadmium telluride modules we tested experienced permanent damage due to the indoor partial shade test, ranging from 4% to 14% loss in maximum power. We conclude by summarizing ways to mitigate partial shade stress at the cell, module, and system levels.
Judging a Dog by Its Cover: Morphology but Not Training Influences Visitor Behavior toward Kenneled Dogs at Animal Shelters

ABSTRACTCurrently, visitor behavior in companion animal shelters is not adequately explored. A sequence of experiments investigated how visitors interacted with kenneled dogs at an animal shelter and whether training dogs to not engage in undesirable behavior in their kennels would evoke more interest from shelter visitors. In a set of two experiments, two sides of an animal shelter were differentially entered into training phases in a multiple baseline design. During the training phase, dogs were trained to not engage in undesirable in-kennel behavior (i.e., to not be in the back of the kennel, to not face backwards, to not lean on kennel walls, and to not bark) through pairing of the visual presentation of the experimenters (experiment 1) and shelter visitors (experiment 2) with treats. Across both experiments, visitors attended to approximately 35% of kenneled dogs and only spent an average of 15 s looking at individual dogs. We found that whereas training was effective in decreasing undesirable behavi...
Point Source Phosphorus Management, a Five Year Southern African Experience

The Vaal River Barrage reservoir is an important source of raw water for the Rand Water Board. Activities in the catchment of this reservoir resulted in enrichment of this water with concomitant eutrophication related water quality problems being experienced by the Rand Water Board. In order to limit enrichment of raw water a standard of 1 mg PO 4 −P/l for waste water treatment plant effluent was imposed and the effects of this standard on the algal concentrations at the No. 1 intake in the Vaal River Barrage reservoir was investigated. Although only 24 per cent of waste water treatment plants in the catchment of the Vaal River Barrage reservoir complied with the phosphate standard for more than 75 per cent of the time, the amount of phosphate emanating from the treatment plants in general decreased significantly. This resulted in a lower orthophosphate concentration at the Board9s No. 1 intake. The associated lower chlorophyll concentrations at No. 1 intake was, however, not only due to the lower orthophosphate concentrations, but also to the residence time and chemical/physical factors. To limit the algal concentrations at No. 1 intake, the 1 mg/l orthophosphate standard will have to be enforced strictly and diffuse source management will have to be implemented.
A Population of Small CXCR4 + SSEA-1 + Oct-4 + Embryonic-Like Stem Cells Identified in Adult Bone Marrow.

We demonstrated that bone marrow (BM) stem cells are heterogenous and in addition to hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) BM also contains non-hematopoietic tissue committed stem cells (TCSC) for skeletal muscle, heart, neural tissue, epidermis and liver (Leukemia2004:18;29–40). In our follow up studies by employing multiparameter sorting we identified in murine BM a homogenous population of rare (~0.02% of BMMNC) Sca-1 + lin − CD45 − cells that express by RQ-PCR and immunhistochemistry markers of pluripotent stem cells (PSC) such as SSEA-1, Oct-4, Nanog and Rex-1 and highly express Rif-1 telomerase protein. More important the direct electronmicroscopical analysis revealed that these cells display several features typical for primary embryonic stem cells such as i) small size (~3 μm in diameter), ii) poses large nuclei surrounded by a narrow rim of cytoplasm, and iii) contain open-type chromatin (euchromatin) that is typical for embryonic stem cells. Their number is highest in BM from young (1–2 month-old) mice and decreases with age. It is also significantly diminished in short living DBA/2J mice as compared to long living B6 mice. These cells in vitro respond strongly to several motomorphogens such as SDF-1, HGF and LIF and co-express the corresponding receptors such as CXCR4, c-met and LIF-R respectively on their surface. Interestingly, they adhere to fibronectin, and undergo emperipolesis in fibroblasts, thus they may be co-isolated with BM adherent cells. Furthermore, they are mobilized into peripheral blood during tissue/organ injuries (e.g., heart infarct, stroke). In in vitro cultures they differentiate into cells from different germ-layers (e.g., form neurospheres, grow cardiomyocytes). Thus, these findings support the theory of BM containing a reserve population of embryonic-like/pluripotent stem cells and it is also possible that several of the recently described BM-derived CD45 − stem cell populations (e.g., MAPC, USSC or MIAMI cells) could in fact overlap with these rare non-hematopoietic CD45 − stem cells identified by us, but due to the differences in the experimental approaches employed for their isolation and identification, were assigned different names. We postulate that this population of CD45 − embryonic-like cells expressing pluripotent and tissue committed markers identified by us is an ideal source of cells for regeneration.
NEIGHBORHOOD ATTAINMENT OVER THE ADULT LIFE COURSE

This study uses data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, in conjunction with neighborhood-level data from the U.S. decennial census and American Community Survey, to examine the trajectory of individuals' neighborhood characteristics from initial household formation into mid-to-late adulthood. Multilevel growth curve models reveal both different starting points and different life-course trajectories for blacks and whites in neighborhood economic status and neighborhood racial composition. Among respondents who first established an independent household during the 1970s, improvement in neighborhood income over the adult life course is substantially greater for whites than for blacks, while the racial difference in the percentage of neighbors who are non-Hispanic white narrows slightly with age. Racial differences in the characteristics of neighborhoods inhabited during adolescence help to explain racial differences in starting points and, to a lesser extent, subsequent trajectories of neighborhood attainment. Residing in an economically advantaged neighborhood during adolescence confers greater subsequent benefits in neighborhood economic status for whites than for blacks. These findings are used to begin developing a life-course perspective on neighborhood attainment.
Power optimal partitioning for dynamically reconfigurable FPGA

To implement a circuit system on dynamically reconfigurable FPGAs (DRFPGAs), we must partition it into sub-circuits and execute each sub-circuit in order. Traditional partitioning methods focus on optimizing the number of communication buffers. In this paper, we study the partitioning problem targeting at power optimization for the DRFPGAs. We analyze the power consumption caused by the communication buffers in the partitioning. Then we transform a circuit system into the corresponding flow network and apply a flow-based algorithm to find the partitioning of optimal power consumption. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.
Heart Rate Dependence of the Pulmonary Resistance x Compliance (RC) Time and Impact on Right Ventricular Load.

Background The effect of heart rate (HR) and body surface area (BSA) on pulmonary RC time and right ventricular (RV) load is unknown. Methods To determine the association of HR and BSA with the pulmonary RC time and measures of RV load, we studied three large patient cohorts including subjects with 1) known or suspected pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) (n = 1008), 2) pulmonary hypertension due to left heart disease (n = 468), and 3) end-stage heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (n = 150). To corroborate these associations on an individual patient level, we performed an additional analysis using high-fidelity catheters in 22 patients with PAH undergoing right atrial pacing. Results A faster HR inversely correlated with RC time (p<0.01 for all), suggesting augmented RV pulsatile loading. Lower BSA directly correlated with RC time (p<0.05) although the magnitude of this effect was smaller than for HR. With incremental atrial pacing, cardiac output increased and total pulmonary resistance (TPR) fell. However, effective arterial elastance, its mean resistive component (TPR/heart period; 0.60±0.27 vs. 0.79±0.45;p = 0.048), and its pulsatile component (0.27±0.18 vs 0.39±0.28;p = 0.03) all increased at faster HR. Conclusion Heart rate and BSA are associated with pulmonary RC time. As heart rate increases, the pulsatile and total load on the RV also increase. This relationship supports a hemodynamic mechanism for adverse effects of tachycardia on the RV.
Abstract 5568: Inhibitory Effect of Partial Electron Decoupling Agents as an Alternate Therapy for Cancer

Cancer therapies are generally non-specific for cancer cells and affect all cells in the body, resulting in severe side effects. We are working on an alternate method to present and treat cancer. Hypothesis: All replicating cells require energy in the forms of ATP and row material to reproduce. Cancer in a human body generally is the most energy consuming foci; therefore, it will be logical to down regulate the highest energy output pathways that do not harm the human being treated for a cancer. Two of the most prevalent cancers in are adenocarcinomas of prostate and breast. We hypothesized that if we treat cancer cells to a partial electron transport inhibitor that results in reduction in total ATP output it may significantly reduce cancer cell proliferation without interfering with normal functioning of other physiologic and immune functions. We chose Amygdalin (D-mandelonitrile-β-gentiobioside) which is found in seeds of prunasin family plants, such as peaches, apricots, almonds, apples, and other rosaceous plants and have been used as a traditional alternate medicine for treating terminal cancers and other illnesses. We evaluated the optimal dose that can inhibit various breast and prostate cancer cell lines as well two stem cell lines derived from neuroblastomas. We determine that cancer cell line and stem cell line proliferation rates were significantly inhibited 0.9 μM concentration of Amygdalin. This level of Amygdalin can be achieved by consuming 4-6 bitter almond and 2-3 apricot seed daily. In addition, we observed that Amygdalin induced apoptosis in the prostate and breast cancer cell lines. Citation Format: Omar Bagasra, Kareem Heslop, Krystal Livingston, Keneisha Corbett, Amarachi O. Ejiawoko, Leanna Sealey. Inhibitory Effect of Partial Electron Decoupling Agents as an Alternate Therapy for Cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 5568. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-5568
Sole Trisomy 8 In Patients (pts) with De Novo Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Is Associated with Age-Independent Poor Outcome That Is Modified by Molecular Markers and with Unique Gene- and Microrna (miR)-Signatures: a Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) Study

Abstract 577 Trisomy 8 (+8), the most frequent numerical aberration in AML, occurs in approximately 10% of pts. In one-third of them, +8 is the sole chromosome (chr) anomaly; it is considered to confer an intermediate/adverse prognosis but further studies are required to define the clinical and biologic significance of this cytogenetic abnormality. We assessed the associations of sole +8 with prognostic gene mutations, outcome, and gene and miR expression profiles by comparing a relatively large cohort of sole +8 de novo AML pts (n=80; median, 63 years [y]; range, 18–84 y) with cytogenetically normal (CN) de novo AML pts (n=483; median, 60 y; range, 18–83 y). CN pts constitute the largest cytogenetic group in AML, with an overall intermediate prognosis modified by molecular markers. Markers analyzed in the present sole +8 cohort included mutations in NPM1, FLT3 (FLT3 internal tandem duplication [ITD], FLT3 tyrosine kinase domain), CEBPA, WT1, IDH1/2, N/KRAS and RUNX1. All pts were enrolled on frontline cytarabine/daunorubicin based CALGB protocols. No pt included in outcome analyses received allogeneic stem cell transplant in 1st complete remission (CR). Median follow-up was 7.1 y for pts alive. Compared with CN pts, sole +8 pts had lower platelet counts (P Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Dietary Fiber and the Human Gut Microbiota: Application of Evidence Mapping Methodology

Interest is rapidly growing around the role of the human gut microbiota in facilitating beneficial health effects associated with consumption of dietary fiber. An evidence map of current research activity in this area was created using a newly developed database of dietary fiber intervention studies in humans to identify studies with the following broad outcomes: (1) modulation of colonic microflora; and/or (2) colonic fermentation/short-chain fatty acid concentration. Study design characteristics, fiber exposures, and outcome categories were summarized. A sub-analysis described oligosaccharides and bacterial composition in greater detail. One hundred eighty-eight relevant studies were identified. The fiber categories represented by the most studies were oligosaccharides (20%), resistant starch (16%), and chemically synthesized fibers (15%). Short-chain fatty acid concentration (47%) and bacterial composition (88%) were the most frequently studied outcomes. Whole-diet interventions, measures of bacterial activity, and studies in metabolically at-risk subjects were identified as potential gaps in the evidence. This evidence map efficiently captured the variability in characteristics of expanding research on dietary fiber, gut microbiota, and physiological health benefits, and identified areas that may benefit from further research. We hope that this evidence map will provide a resource for researchers to direct new intervention studies and meta-analyses.
Soil as a Basic Nexus Tool: Soils at the Center of the Food–Energy–Water Nexus

Soil is the medium for plant growth and the substrate for all biogeochemical and biogeophysical processes. Soil’s unique natural organization forms the foundation of any food–water–energy nexus system. It forms a habitat for billions of diverse micro, meso, and macrofauna and flora and is the basis of numerous ecosystem services essential to human well-being and nature conservancy. It moderates soil hydrological processes within the entire vadose zone: which is part of the earth between the soil surface and the phreatic zone. Soil structure also supports numerous ecosystem services including nutrient transformation and availability, water quality and renewability, denaturing and transport of pollutants, and groundwater table fluctuations. It also moderates the soil–water–plant-energy nexus with the replenishement of green-water supply (from precipitation) for plants and soil biota, which in turn enables the production of biomass as a source of food, feed, fiber, and biofuel feedstock. Indeed, soil is a very large reservoir for water and carbon with strong influences on local, regional, and global climate. Also, the energy factor is connected with the climate change through soil–water–food–energy nexus because of numerous interlinked pathways including gaseous emissions, energy and food production, and recycling of nutrients and water at regional, national, and global scales. Through provisioning of numerous ecosystem services, the soil–water–food–energy–climate nexus is interwoven with the ecosystem security and functioning of planet’s four ecospheres (i.e., atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and the biosphere). Therefore, the health of soil, plants, animals, people, and ecosystems is one and indivisible. This interconnectivity is also the basis of the “4 per Thousand” initiative adopted by the COP21, the Climate Summit of 2015 in Paris, and “Adapting African Agriculture” (AAA) by COP22 in Morocco. Consequently, soil is not only a foundation for securing the natural resources: food, water and energy, but it is under desperate need to be integrated and appreciated in understanding the complex interconnectedness of any food, energy, water and soil system. Concentration and stock of soil organic carbon are the key soil properties that determine the physical, chemical, biological, and ecological properties and processes, and are major control of all nexuses described herein. This chapter presents a conceptual model and the role of soil as a naturally organized medium to protect global food, water, energy securities. Moreover, it elaborates on using soil as a basic nexus tool and proposes a paradigm shift in integrating soil and creating the food–energy–water–soil nexus.
Regular: Attacker-Induced Traffic Flow Instability in a Stream of Semi-Automated Vehicles

We show that a stream of automated vehicles traveling along the highway can be destabilized to catastrophic effect through modification of the control laws of individual vehicles. Specifically, one active attacker who introduces errors, in addition to one or many passive attackers who amplify the error, may, by the modification of a single parameter, induce oscillatory traffic jams that cause delay, driver discomfort, excess energy expenditure, and increased risk of accidents that could result in serious injury or death. We determine the conditions under which an attacker(s) is able to violate the primary design criterion of automated vehicle streams, known as string stability, to guarantee system instability. Furthermore, we prove that once the stream has been destabilized it will continually deviate from the desired state, even in the absence of additional input to the system—i.e. the jammed condition will self-perpetuate. Through a comparison with a behavioral human driver model, this work demonstrates that automated vehicle systems are more vulnerable to disruption than their non-automated counterparts. The postulated attack is demonstrated on a scaled system and identification of attackers is discussed.
Structure of the Insect Antifeedant Azadirachtin

Preliminary studies using the leaf extracts of Azadiraehta indioa A, Juss (Melia azadirachta L., Melia indiea, neem or nim tree) collected in Mombasa, Kenya, showed that when the crude extract was applied to coffee leaves, its potency in causing morphological changes in Antestiopsis (coffee bug) was stronger than that of an equivalent weight of β-ecdysone (insect molting” hormone). It was during attempts to isolate the active compound that we encountered azadirachtin.
Marijuana Use and Related Health Care Encounters in Colorado Before and After Retail Legalization

With legalization of retail marijuana in Colorado, and the opening of dispensaries in January 2014, two key questions were how legalization would impact marijuana use and whether there would be an increase in adverse health events. Legalization did not noticeably impact marijuana use rates among adolescents or young adults. Past-30-day use among adolescents remained steady for more than ten years, pre- and post-legalization. Use among 18–25-year-olds has gradually increased for over ten years, with no change in the trend around legalization. However, healthcare encounters with mention of marijuana have increased after legalization. Poison center calls among 9–17-year-olds have markedly increased, while calls for 18–25-year-olds saw a modest increase. Meanwhile, the portion of hospitalizations with a marijuana code increased modestly among 9–17-year-olds but tripled among 18–25-year-olds, reaching 8.1% in 2014–2015. Healthcare encounters with mention of marijuana are rare among 0–8-year-olds, but have increased. Several future efforts are important. These include: 1) detailed analysis of use patterns, especially among individuals who use marijuana frequently 2) further research and improved data on healthcare encounters with mention of marijuana, to clarify their nature, cause, and severity and 3) research on long-term health effects of marijuana use with particular focus on the effects of greater frequency and quantity of use.
Approach to Severe Community Acquired Legionellosis

It has been over two decades since the outbreak of “Legionnaires” disease at the American Legion Convention in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,and Legionella pneumophila was found to be the causative pathogen (1,2). Moreover,a retrospective review demonstrated that Legionella pneumophila was responsible for the outbreaks of both Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever as early as 1965 (3). The Legionellaceae family contains more that 30 species and the most common cause of disease in humans is Legionella pneumophila. Other species with a genius Legionella are often referred to as Legionella-like organism,differing from Legionella pneumophila in at least one phenotype and included L micdadei,also know as the Tatlockia micdadei or more commonly the Pittsburgh pneumonia agent and L bozemanii. All three of these organisms cause community acquired pneumonia as well as nosocomial pneumonia. At least 16 other species have been implicated in human disease of the upper and lower airway (4).
Arterial Wall Remodeling and Restenosis Following Vascular Reconstruction

Restenosis, simply defined, is a new lumen narrowing at the site of a previous vascular reconstruction. Restenosis has been a major limitation of surgical and endovascular reconstructions since their inception, and while decades of research have yielded vastly improved results for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), strategies to eliminate restenosis remain elusive. Increased application of endovascular therapy to extra-coronary beds has been met with sobering rates of late failures. This persistence of the problem reflects our incomplete understanding of its complex pathogenesis, and further research and novel approaches to prevention are needed before the full potential of our interventions can be realized.
Global Challenges in Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Supply, Use, and Policy

Seasonal influenza outbreaks occur on every continent, infecting millions and killing around 500,000 patients each year. The 2018 influenza season has been a vicious one—the H3N2 strain is a fast-mutating, aggressive form of the virus, and we have had difficulty immunizing against it. Decreasing the devastation of seasonal influenza starts with smart vaccine systems: a greater supply of doses, distributed to the right people. In this review, we evaluate the global threat of seasonal influenza and explore the availability of vaccines as an essential prevention mechanism. We first identify key stakeholders in global influenza policy, vaccine supply, and regional public health governance. Next, we define the extent of the need for vaccines by examining surveillance systems and assessing the current disease burden of seasonal influenza. We examine current challenges in vaccine availability and allocation, and their respective impacts on health outcomes. Finally, we discuss policy implications of supply and allocation studies; we particularly note the promising outlook of communication programs, the advantages of optimized dose distribution, and the need to concentrate on infrastructure in developing countries.
Understanding the Antecedents and Outcomes of Facebook Privacy Behaviors: An Integrated Model

Privacy in online social networking (OSN) is more complex than in traditional online environments, such as e-commerce. In addition to simply limiting self-disclosure, OSN users can also use privacy settings and manage their network size to ensure privacy. This complexity calls for an enhanced OSN privacy model that more completely explains privacy behaviors. Combining the privacy calculus model with part of the uses and gratifications approach, this paper proposes an OSN privacy model that depicts both antecedents (i.e., privacy concern, trusting beliefs, and personal interest) and outcomes (i.e., gratifications obtained) of perceived privacy and use behaviors. Using an Empanel survey sample collected from U.S. Facebook users, results show that privacy concern influences network size, trust influences privacy setting use and use frequency, and personal interest influences each privacy and use behavior. Findings also show that the privacy behaviors’ influence on gratifications obtained is complex in nature. A three-way interaction influences enjoyment and habit gratifications, and a two-way interaction influences bonding social capital. This paper provides opportunities for future research regarding OSN privacy behaviors, and it discusses practical implications.
Oculomotor neuropathy from an unruptured arteriovenous malformation in the frontal operculum: A case report.

Background Cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are vascular lesions with a network of dysplastic vessels between an arterial and a venous tree with no intervening capillary bed. They most commonly present with an acute hemorrhage, seizures, or persistent headaches. Case Description The authors report the case of a 62-year-old male who presented with diplopia for 5 days. Magnetic resonance imaging and angiography demonstrated a Spetzler-Martin Grade 2 AVM located in the right frontal operculum with deep drainage into the basal vein of Rosenthal causing ipsilateral oculomotor neuropathy. The patient underwent staged embolizations of the feeding pedicles, which were derived from the internal as well as external carotid circulation. This was followed by a right pterional craniotomy for resection of the AVM. The patient reported complete resolution of the diplopia over 4 weeks with no recurrence at the 6-month follow-up appointment. Conlusion AVMs of the brain can present with atypical clinical symptoms that can be caused by the venous drainage pattern not the location. It is important to include vascular imaging studies in the work-up of patients who present with diplopia to rule out an AVM. Early diagnosis and treatment of the AVM can result in complete resolution of the diplopia.
Real-time monitoring of calcium sulfate scale removal from RO desalination membranes using Raman spectroscopy

Abstract Chemical characterization of scaling and removal processes was performed in real time via Raman spectroscopy in a bench-scale reverse osmosis (RO) system. A custom RO cross-flow cell was integrated with a Raman microscope objective, allowing for analysis of localized membrane scaling and scale removal. Permeate flux was also measured to provide a real-time metric for comparison. A commercial flat sheet, thin-film composite reverse osmosis (TFC RO) membrane was scaled using a calcium sulfate (CaSO4·H2O) feed solution. Upon CaSO4 scale detection, the feed was switched to DI water, which served as a cleaning agent to remove the CaSO4 scale from the membrane. In addition to the real-time local (Raman) and global (permeate flux) measurements, membrane samples were characterized post-mortem using Raman spectroscopy, gravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy to provide important scaling and scale removal metrics. Results from real-time measurements indicated that changes in Raman intensity were a more sensitive indicator of local scale removal than changes in permeate flux, a standard cleaning performance metric; these findings were corroborated by the post-mortem analyses. Overall, the membrane cleaning experiments showed that Raman spectroscopy provided crucial real-time chemical composition and spatial distribution information, which can inform more effective antiscaling and cleaning strategies.
NPRL3: Direct Effects on Human Phenotypic Variability, mTOR Signaling, Subcellular mTOR Localization, Cortical Lamination, and Seizure Susceptibility

Abstract Nitrogen Permease Regulator Like 3 (NPRL3) variants are associated with malformations of cortical development (MCD) and epilepsy. We report a large (n=133) founder NPRL3 (c.349delG, p.Glu117LysFS) pedigree dating to 1727, with heterogeneous epilepsy and MCD phenotypes. Whole exome analysis in individuals with and without seizures in this cohort did not identify a genetic modifier to explain the variability in seizure phenotype. Then as a strategy to investigate the developmental effects of NPRL3 loss in human brain, we show that CRISPR/Cas9 Nprl3 knockout (KO) in Neuro2a cells (N2aC) in vitro causes mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway hyperactivation, cell soma enlargement, and excessive cellular aggregation. Amino acid starvation caused mTOR inhibition and cytoplasmic mTOR localization in wildtype cells, whereas following Nprl3 KO, mTOR remained inappropriately localized on the lysosome and activated, evidenced by persistent ribosomal S6 and 4E-BP1 phosphorylation, demonstrating that Nprl3 loss decouples mTOR activation from metabolic state. Nprl3 KO by in utero electroporation in fetal (E14) mouse cortex resulted in mTOR-dependent cortical dyslamination with ectopic neurons in subcortical white matter. EEG recordings of these mice showed hyperexcitability in the electroporated hemisphere. NPRL3 variants are linked to a highly variable clinical phenotype likely as a consequence of mTOR-dependent effects on cell structure, cortical development, and network organization.
Cellular transcriptomics reveals evolutionary identities of songbird vocal circuits

Birds display advanced behaviors, including vocal learning and problem-solving, yet lack a layered neocortex, a structure associated with complex behavior in mammals. To determine whether these behavioral similarities result from shared or distinct neural circuits, we used single-cell RNA sequencing to characterize the neuronal repertoire of the songbird song motor pathway. Glutamatergic vocal neurons had considerable transcriptional similarity to neocortical projection neurons; however, they displayed regulatory gene expression patterns more closely related to neurons in the ventral pallium. Moreover, while γ-aminobutyric acid-releasing neurons in this pathway appeared homologous to those in mammals and other amniotes, the most abundant avian class is largely absent in the neocortex. These data suggest that songbird vocal circuits and the mammalian neocortex have distinct developmental origins yet contain transcriptionally similar neurons.
The Enhancement Effect of Emulsion in Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

A enhancement method of FAAS with emulsion as enhancement agent has been developed.The enhancement effect of emulsion made of three organic solvents (benzene,benzene propanone,xylene),one organic reagent (dibutyl phthalate) and three emulsifiers (Tween 80,Triton X 100,OP) for iron,nickel,zinc,manganese and lead was studied.The results indicated that the enhancement is satisfactory.The emulsion with maximum enhancement percentage are respectively emulsion of benzene OP dibutyl phthalate with 89%,emulsion of xylene Trition 100 dibutyl phthal with 34%,emulsion of benzene Trition 100 with 121%,emulsion of benzene Trition 100 dibutyl phthalate with 38% and 69% in sequence of the above elements.
Graduate Student Education At Mason: What's New?

Location: Dewberry Hall Abstract: This poster will showcase an update from the Office of Graduate Education about the latest data about Mason Graduate Students, funding, and other initiatives. The Associate Provost for Graduate Education will be available to answer your questions and address concerns you may have.
The Presence of the IBM Branch Office in Iceland, 1967–1992

During the years 1967–1992, IBM World Trade Corporation established and operated a branch office in Iceland. At the time, IBM WTC was that part of the IBM Corporation that handled IBM operations outside the U.S. This paper addresses operational elements and the impact of a large multinational company on the business life of a small society.
Activation of phospholipase C by the alpha subunits of the Gq and G11 proteins in transfected Cos-7 cells.

High efficiency transient transfection was used to introduce cDNA corresponding to various G protein alpha subunits into Cos-7 cells. The proteins that were subsequently synthesized were detected with specific G protein alpha subunit antipeptide antiserum and were localized in the membrane fraction of the cell. Cells that were prelabeled with the [3H]inositol and transfected with G alpha q and G alpha 11 cDNA showed marked increases in formation of [3H]inositol phosphates after stimulation with aluminum fluoride. Co-transfection with cDNAs corresponding to phosphoinositide specific phospholipase C beta 1 (PI-PLC beta 1) and to G alpha q or G alpha 11 resulted in even higher levels of inositol phosphate formation. The introduction of mutations that convert residue glutamine 209 to leucine in G alpha q and G alpha 11 resulted in persistent activation of PI-PLC and high steady state levels of inositol phosphates. On the other hand, transfection with a variety of other G alpha subunit cDNAs, i.e. G alpha Z, G alpha OA, G alpha OB, transducin, and the glutamine 205 to leucine mutants of G alpha Z and of G alpha OA did not increase inositol phosphate formation. To further test the specificity of G protein activation of PI-PLC, a cell-free system was prepared by using washed membranes of transiently transfected cells and purified PI-PLC beta 1. Membranes derived from G alpha q and G alpha 11, but not G alpha OA transfected cells, showed guanosine 5-O-thiotriphosphate (GTP gamma S)-stimulated PIP2 hydrolysis. The activity seen in the system reconstituted with membranes derived from G alpha 11-transfected cells was blocked by preincubation with specific G alpha 11 antipeptide antibodies. All of these results are consistent with the conclusion that G alpha q and G alpha 11 cDNA encode proteins that in the presence of GTP gamma S specifically activate PI-PLC.
Effect of different media on in vitro studies of antibiotic combinations

In an effort to determine the adequacy of a standard broth medium in the evaluation of antibiotic combinations, 20 strains of various bacterial species were studied simultaneously in Mueller-Hinton broth and in freshly drawn human serum from apparently healthy volunteers. Studies of growth dynamics by use of the usual plate dilution technique for quantitating colony-forming units were performed with strains of Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible), Streptococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Aerobacter, Klebsiella, and Proteus mirabilis. A variety of different antibiotics were investigated. With 19 of the 20 strains, interpretations of synergism or antagonism were the same in both media. Therefore, despite minor variations when the same strain was studied in both serum and broth, it is concluded that Mueller-Hinton broth is an adequate medium for use in studies of chemotherapeutic combinations in vitro. A simplified method for studying bactericidal activity is described, which is deemed practical for clinical microbiology laboratories and which led to the same conclusions regarding the combinations as were obtained by the more arduous plate dilution test.
A cautionary tale: false efficiencies in the traveling salesman problem

The Traveling Salesman Problem provides an opportunity to explore whether attempts to optimize an algorithm in fact succeed or fail. Attempted optimizations themselves have time penalties in their execution and those time penalties may be greater than the improvements provided to the algorithm. When approaching the Traveling Salesman Problem not as a graph traversal problem but as a backtracking permutation problem, one may attempt a "best-first" optimization in the recursion. This significantly slows the program. One may also attempt forward-bounding functions. Two such functions are examined, of which one slows the program and the other neither slows nor speeds the program.
CMOS circuits for on-chip capacitance ratio testing or sensor readout

Novel CMOS circuits are described for the on-chip measurement of capacitor ratios. They can provide a high-accuracy A/D interface for capacitive sensors, or allow the precise calibration of switched-capacitor DACs, amplifiers and other circuits utilizing ratioed capacitors.
Wireless distributed data acquisition system

Distributed data acquisition requires a flexible system organization, particularly when individual devices are mobile. The utility companies have been developing similar systems for several years now. In the case of medical devices, a mobile patient monitoring device would allow patients to leave the hospital and engage in normal activity, uploading physiological data only periodically. The wireless distributed data acquisition system presented in this paper is developed for mobile client devices, and mobile gateways. Each client device has some form of secondary storage, such as flash memory, to store the data that it acquired while it is not transmitting the data to the gateway device. The system maintains a database to keep track of the data acquired with respect to the data that it transmits to the gateway device. Each client device is uniquely identified. The gateway device polls client devices within its reach to transfer the client records to database. Gateways use existing communication infrastructure, such as cell phone link, and local connection to upload data to the server. We present the system developed around low-power microcontroller Texas Instruments MSP430F149, using standard 900 MHz wireless link, Smart Media Card as a secondary memory, and a portable PDA based gateway.
Towards building wind tunnels for data center design

Data center design is a tedious and expensive process. Recently, this process has become even more challenging as users of cloud services expect to have guaranteed levels of availability, durability and performance. A new challenge for the service providers is to find the most cost-effective data center design and configuration that will accommodate the users' expectations, on ever-changing workloads, and constantly evolving hardware and software components. In this paper, we argue that data center design should become a systematic process. First, it should be done using an integrated approach that takes into account both the hardware and the software interdependencies, and their impact on users' expectations. Second, it should be performed in a "wind tunnel", which uses large-scale simulation to systematically explore the impact of a data center configuration on both the users' and the service providers' requirements. We believe that this is the first step towards systematic data center design -- an exciting area for future research.
Stilling Basin Design for Low Froude Number

Laboratory tests were conducted to investigate the possibilities of increasing the energy loss and shortening the required stilling basin length for the Froude number range of 2.5 - 4.5. Data were collected for both the ordinary hydraulic jump and the forced hydraulic jump. Jumps were forced to form by the addition of appurtenances, such as baffle blocks and an end sill. A set of appurtenances and geometrical arrangements was found to perform satisfactorily. Comparison of the test data for the forced hydraulic jump with the data from an ordinary hydraulic jump for the same Froude number shows that the energy loss can be increased, the required downstream depth of water can be about 5% less than the sequent depth, and the jump can be formed in a much shorter basin.