cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sex abuse and sexual health in children: current dilemmas for the pediatrician

Epidemiologic research in nearly two dozen countries shows that sexual abuse is a real danger for 5-20% of all children, girls being 2-3 times more at risk than boys. Sexual abuse has proved an important risk factor in many behavioral or even somatic disorders, including posttraumatic symptoms such as nightmares, phobias, nutritional problems, aggressivity and school problems. Unfortunately the problem is surrounded by shame, denials and numerous misleading prejudices which make it hard to diagnose. Diagnosis is also complicated by the frequent absence of reliable physical evidence, the lack of serious research into the child's normal sexual behavior and development, the fact that many small children express themselves awkwardly, and finally the existence of reasons for making untruthful statements, e.g. in child custody disputes. In North America experience has shown the importance of certain arrangements when public health authorities need to respond effectively to the problem of sexual abuse: these arrangements are: (1) Education of the pediatric and medical communities to ensure that the majority of personnel are thoroughly aware of the symptoms and are willing to accept the diagnosis. (2.) Training of specialists capable of interpreting the physical signs, where these are present. (3.) Interdisciplinary cooperation, in practice, of the police and social and psycho-medical institutions with medical personnel when investigating individual cases. (4.) Serious efforts must be made to ensure that children do not suffer the negative iatrogenic effects of investigations into sexual abuse: that is, by minimising the number of interviews and examinations, respecting the child's privacy, and doing everything possible to ensure positive follow-up of the child by the primary social network surrounding him/her.
Near-junction microfluidic thermal management of RF power amplifiers

While gallium nitride (GaN) is attracting broad attention as the wide bandgap material of choice for both industrial and defense applications, thermal impediments present a significant barrier to full exploitation of its inherently high electron sheet charge density and electrical breakdown voltage. For the last four years, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has pursued research focused on reduction of near-junction thermal resistance through use of diamond substrates and convective and evaporative microfluidics. The options, challenges, and techniques associated with the development of this embedded thermal management technology are described, with emphasis on the accomplishments and status of efforts related to GaN power amplifiers.
State Civil Procedure Plea

A state civil procedure elective at more law schools will better serve our nation's graduates. Sixty percent of states test on state civil procedure. Only 40% of the law schools offer such a course. Adding this course to the curriculum will accomplish the following: aid lower-tier schools where bar results are not at desired levels; and assist larger firms desiring more productivity with fewer associates. More schools could offer a course that examines different solutions to the same problem. This elective is particularly important now that so many states are moving away from the federal rules. This course is a doctrinal engine into which one may pour skills propellants as desired. It also provides the opportunity to accomplish objectives that time does not permit in the initial civil procedure course.
Commitment versus Financial Flexibility in Payout Decisions

We exploit a new and growing form of payout — Rule 10b5-1 preset repurchase plans — to examine the tradeoff between commitment and financial flexibility in payout decisions. Relative to open market repurchases, preset plans provide an expanded repurchase window and increase legal cover, albeit at the cost of reducing repurchase flexibility and the option to time repurchases. These costs and benefits are significantly associated with Rule 10b5-1 adoption. Consistent with preset plans signaling commitment, Rule 10b5-1 repurchase announcements are associated with greater and faster completion rates and with more positive market reactions than matched open market repurchases.
Initial Characteristics and Mentoring Satisfaction of College Women Mentoring Youth: Implications for Training

Being a youth mentor is popular among college students, yet little is known about how their initial characteristics are related to mentoring satisfaction. Survey data from college women enrolled in a youth mentoring program (n = 158) and a comparison group (n = 136) were analyzed to determine how initial characteristics of youth mentors (a) differ from comparisons and (b) are associated with mentors’ satisfaction. Mentors reported higher autonomy, cultural sensitivity, and lower depression pre-participation than the comparison group, and their pre-participation GPA, cognitive empathy, and depression predicted post-participation mentoring satisfaction. Implications for mentor training are discussed.
Isolation of swine influenza virus in cell cultures and embryonated chicken eggs.

Influenza virus isolation is a procedure to obtain a live and infectious virus that can be used for antigenic characterization, pathogenesis investigation, vaccine production, and so on. Embryonated chicken egg inoculation is traditionally considered the "gold standard" method for influenza virus isolation and propagation. However, many primary cells and continuous cell lines have also been examined or developed for influenza virus isolation and replication. Specifically, influenza A virus in swine (IAV-S) isolation and propagation has been attempted and compared in embryonated chicken eggs, some primary porcine cells, and a number of continuous cell lines. Currently, Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells remain the most commonly used cell line for the isolation, propagation, and titration of IAV-S. Virus isolation in embryonated chicken eggs or in different cell lines offers alternative approaches when IAV-S isolation in MDCK cells is unsuccessful. Optimal specimens for IAV-S isolation includes nasal swabs, nasopharyngeal swabs, oral fluids, bronchoalveolar lavage, lung tissues, and so on. In this chapter, we describe the procedures of sample processing, IAV-S isolation in MDCK cells and in embryonated chicken eggs, as well as the methods used for confirming the virus isolation results.
Earthquake energy and ground breakage

In contrast to the prevalent notion that fault breakage is quite rare, every earthquake since 1906 with M > 6 1/2 and with epicenter on land in northern California or Nevada has been accompanied by some degree of fault breakage at the surface of the earth. The smallest shock for which such effects have been observed was of M = 5¾. Earthquake energy in ergs ( E ), length of surface in km. ( l ), and maximum ground displacement at the fault in cm. ( D ) are related through the empirical equation E = 3.4 × 10 17 ( l D ) in the range 6¼ < M < 8¼. This suggests that the energy released in these shocks is proportional to the area at the earth's surface of the zone of initially strained rock, and, as a corollary, that the volume of the initially strained rock is no thicker for the very large shocks than for the smallest shock with a surface fault trace. Strain energy for large, shallow-focus shocks in California and Nevada is stored in surface slabs of rock which are bounded below by a zone in which the rock can deform plastically at a rate that keeps up with the elastic deformation of the overlying slab.
Sensory, Physicochemical and Microbiological Characteristics of Venison Jerky Cured with NaCl and KCl

Traditionally, jerky is produced from sliced whole muscle marinated in a high sodium chloride (NaCl) concentration and dried. Because a high salt diet has been linked to hypertension, salt substitutes are often recommended as a healthier alternative. However, potassium chloride (KCl), a popular salt substitute may impart an undesired bitterness and metallic aftertaste. The objective of this study was to evaluate specific attributes of venison jerky prepared in three different (NaCl/KCl) salt solutions. Through sensory testing, each preparation was evaluated for consumer product acceptance and purchase intent. Additionally, the venison jerky was assayed for physicochemical characteristics and microbial counts. Using a 9-point hedonic scale, sixty-eight consumers evaluated the jerky for acceptability of flavor, texture, taste, saltiness, bitterness and overall liking. Physicochemical characteristics were evaluated for moisture content, pH, color and TBAR. Jerky was assayed for microbial counts via aerobic plate count, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Campylobacter spp. Results show that jerky prepared with 100% KCl received the most desirable score (8.75), compared to jerky prepared with 100% NaCl (6.28), and jerky prepared with 50% NaCl + 50% KCl (6.13). Acceptability and purchase intent questionnaires indicate jerky prepared with 100% KCl ranked the highest at 86.8% and 70.6%, respectively. Jerky prepared with 100% KCl had the lowest moisture content, TBAR, and a* values (P<0.05). No E. coli, S. aureus and Campylobacter spp. were detected over the 28 day period. Our study suggests that jerky prepared with KCl represents a low sodium alternative to traditional jerky.
Early developmental exposures shape trade-offs between acquired and innate immunity in humans

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Life history theory predicts resource allocation trade-offs between competing functions and processes. We test the hypothesis that relative investment towards innate versus acquired immunity in humans is subject to such trade-offs and that three types of early developmental exposures are particularly salient in shaping adult immunophenotype: (i) pathogen exposure, (ii) nutritional resources; and (iii) extrinsic mortality cues. METHODOLOGY We quantified one aspect each of innate and acquired immune function, via C-reactive protein and Epstein-Barr virus antibodies, respectively, in a sample of 1248 men and women from the Philippines (ca. 21.5 years old). Early developmental exposures were assessed via long-term data collected prospectively since participants' birth (1983-4). We calculated a standardized ratio to assess relative bias towards acquired versus innate immune function and examined its relationship to a suite of predictors via multiple regression. RESULTS In partial support of our predictions, some of the measures of higher pathogen exposure, greater availability of nutritional resources, and lower extrinsic mortality cues in early life were associated with a bias toward acquired immunity in both men and women. The immune profile of women, in particular, appeared to be more sensitive to early life pathogen exposures than those of men. Finally, contrary to prediction, women exhibited a greater relative investment toward innate, not acquired, immunity. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Early environments can exert considerable influence on the development of immunity. They affect trade-offs between innate and acquired immunity, which show adaptive plasticity and may differ in their influence in men and women.
Understanding Olfactory Coding via an Analysis of Odorant-Evoked Glomerular Response Maps

Odorants evoke characteristic patterns of spatial activity in the olfactory bulb, consistent with the orderly projections of sensory neurons expressing distinct odorant receptors. Systematic mapping of responses to odorants that differ incrementally in molecular structure has indicated that receptors probably extract information related to the chemistry of the odorant stimuli, especially functional groups and hydrocarbon structural features. In the bulb, there are several domains wherein glomerular responses are organized chemotopically such that increasing carbon number in a homologous series is associated with an increasingly ventral response. Knowledge of spatial patterns of activity can be used to predict both patterns evoked by previously untested chemicals and perceptual similarities between odorant.
Publication, Indexing, and Retrieval of Agricultural Economics Literature

T HIS discussion is a brief report on a three-year study of the literature of agricultural economics. Economists and librarians, having realized for a long time that present methods of dissemination of information are inadequate for the field of agricultural economics, participated in a 1961 conference on retrieval problems.' Discussions indicated that in agricultural economics, as in many applied fields, an unusually high proportion of valuable research material simply does not appear in existing bibliographical services or is listed too late to be helpful to the researcher. It was generally recognized that the literature of agricultural economics is of a specialized nature and perhaps needs some specialized service. However, it was felt that a study should be made of the nature of the literature, its use by researchers, and present methods of retrieval before making changes in present systems. The study reported here is the direct outgrowth of this 1961 conference. It is hoped the data provided will answer basic questions about the literature and present retrieval methods so that an improved system of communication for the field can be provided.
The Timing of Pertussis Cases in Unvaccinated Children in an Outbreak Year: Oregon 2012

Objective To assess whether, during a 2012 pertussis outbreak, unvaccinated and poorly vaccinated cases occurred earlier on a community level. Study design Pediatric pertussis among children 2 months to 10 years of age in the Oregon Sentinel Surveillance region during an epidemic starting at the beginning of 2012 were stratified by immunization status, age, zip code, and calendar date of disease onset. Differences in median onset as days between fully or mostly vaccinated, poorly vaccinated, and unvaccinated cases were examined overall and within local zip code areas. Disease clusters also were examined using SatScan analysis. Results Overall, 351 pertussis cases occurred among children aged 2 months to 10 years of age residing in 72 distinct zipcodes. Among unvaccinated or poorly vaccinated cases, their median date of onset was at calendar day 117 (April 26, 2012), whereas for those who were fully or mostly vaccinated the median date of onset was 41 days later, at day 158 (June 6, 2012). Within each local zip code area, the unvaccinated cases were 3.2 times more likely than vaccinated cases to have earlier median dates of onset (95% CI 2.9-3.6). Conclusion In this outbreak, pertussis cases among unvaccinated children represented an earlier spread of disease across local areas. Controlling outbreaks may require attention to the composition and location of the unvaccinated.
Microstructure studies of interdiffusion behavior of U3Si2/Zircaloy-4 at 800 and 1000 °C

Fuel swelling during normal reactor operations could lead to unfavorable chemical interactions when in contact with its cladding. As new fuel types are developed, it is crucial to understand the interaction behavior between fuel and its cladding. Diffusion experiments between U3Si2 and Zricaloy-4 (Zry-4) were conducted at 800 and 1000 °C up to 100 h. The microstructure of pristine U3Si2 and U3Si2/Zry-4 interdiffusion products were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) system. The primary interdiffusion product observed at 800 °C is ZrSi2, with secondary phases of U-Zr in the Zry-4, and Fe-Cr-W-Zr-Si phases at Zry-4/ZrSi2 interface and Fe-Cr-U-Si phases at ZrSi2/U-Si interface. The primary interdiffusion products at 1000 °C were Zr2Si, U-Zr-Fe-Ni, U, U-Zr, and a low melting point phase U6Fe.
Entity resolution acceleration using the automata processor

Entity Resolution (ER), the process of finding identical entities across different databases, is critical to many information-integration applications. As sizes of databases explode in the big-data era, it becomes computationally expensive to recognize identical entities among all records with variations allowed across multiple databases. Profiling results show that approximate matching is the primary bottleneck. The Automata Processor (AP), an efficient and scalable semiconductor architecture for parallel automata processing, provides a new opportunity for hardware acceleration for ER. We propose an AP-accelerated ER solution, which accelerates the performance bottleneck of fuzzy matching for similar but potentially inexactly-matched names, and use several different real-world applications to illustrate its effectiveness. We compared the proposed method with several conventional methods and achieved both promising speedups and better accuracy (more correct pairs and less generalized merge distance cost) for different datasets.
Are Stereotypes Fading? A Longitudinal Analyses of Millennial Occupational Stereotypes

In the last several decades there has been a noticeable shift in the social climate in the United States and subsequently many traditional prejudicial stereotypes are considered to be taboo (Devine...
Cognitive Impairment and Pelvic Floor Disorders

Cognitive impairment and pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) more frequently affect older women. We aimed to review recent literature on challenges of providing treatment for women with pelvic floor disorders and cognitive impairment, including risks to those with cognitive impairment, challenges in treatment, and non-pharmacologic treatment options. Prevalence of cognitive impairment in women seeking PFD treatment ranges between 4.3 and 29.3%. Women with cognitive impairment and urgency incontinence are at risk of cognitive changes from antimuscarinics, and polypharmacy in treatment of incontinence as an adverse effect from acetylcholinesterase inhibitor treatment for dementia. Additionally, older age and cognitive impairment appear to be risk factors for poorer surgical outcomes in urogynecologic surgery. There are no non-pharmacologic care methods with strong evidence to show improved outcomes in women with PFDs and cognitive impairment. We are improving our understanding of the challenges in caring for women with urgency incontinence and cognitive impairment, but data is lacking regarding the care of these patients who have pelvic organ prolapse and anal incontinence. More research of interventions to help caregivers is needed to provide directive guidelines that could improve PFD outcomes and caregiver experience.
Supernode transformation on computer clusters

Supernode transformation, or tiling, is a technique that partitions algorithms to improve data locality and parallelism to achieve shortest running time, benefiting the computation and data intensive applications such as ubiquitous multimedia services. It groups multiple iterations of nested loops into supernodes subsequently assigned to processors for computing in parallel. This paper focuses on supernode transformation on computer clusters, including supernode scheduling, supernode mapping to cluster nodes, and the choice of the optimal supernode size. The algorithms considered are two nested loops with regular data dependencies. The Longest Common Subsequence problem is used as an illustration. A novel mathematical model for the total execution time is established as a function of the supernode size, algorithm parameters, the computation time of each loop iteration, cluster parameters, and the communication cost. The optimal solution derived from this model leads to better running time than previous research and is validated by simulations.
Long-term Voice Outcome Following Radiation Versus Laser Microsurgery in Early Glottic Cancer.

Summary Objectives Long-term voice outcome (LTVO) after radiation (XRT) or trans-oral laser microsurgery (TLM) is unclear. This study is a multi-modality analysis of LTVO following XRT or TLM in patients with early glottic cancer. We hypothesize that as compared with TLM, LTVO is worse in the XRT group because of progressive fibrosis in the glottic tissue Material and Methods One hundred and two patients with early glottic carcinoma (carcinoma in situ, T1, T2) were included. Multi-modality voice analyses were performed with self-perception using Voice Handicap Index-10, objective analysis using Analysis of Dysphonia in Speech and Voice Software (Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia score for Consensus Auditory-Perceptual Evaluation of Voice sentences), and perceptual rating by two blinded speech language pathologists (GRBAS scale). Results Fifty-five patients received TLM (mean follow-up = 52 months) and 47 patients had XRT (mean follow-up = 65 months). There is no difference between the two groups in sex, age, stage, and follow-up time. Intraclass correlation coefficient between raters was high at 0.94. Controlling for age and stage, XRT increases total GRBAS score by 1.38 points (P = 0.006) and increases Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia score by 13.7 points (P Conclusions This is the first multi-modality voice analysis to suggest TLM results in better LTVO than XRT in GRBAS score and objective voice analysis but not in self-perception. These differences may reflect the progressive effects of XRT on glottic tissue. A randomized controlled study is required to confirm our findings.
UbFluor: A Fluorescent Thioester to Monitor HECT E3 Ligase Catalysis.

HECT E3 ubiquitin ligases (∼28 are known) are associated with many phenotypes in eukaryotes and are important drug targets. However, assays used to screen for small molecule inhibitors of HECT E3s are complex and require ATP, Ub, E1, E2, and HECT E3 enzymes, producing three covalent thioester enzyme intermediates E1∼Ub, E2∼Ub, and HECT E3∼Ub (where ∼ indicates a thioester bond), and mixtures of polyubiquitin chains. To reduce the complexity of the assay, we developed a novel class of fluorescent probes, UbFluor, that act as mechanistically relevant pseudosubstrates of HECT E3s. These probes undergo a direct transthiolation reaction with the catalytic cysteine of HECT E3s, producing the catalytically active HECT E3∼Ub thioester accompanied by fluorophore release. Thus, a fluorescence polarization assay can continuously monitor UbFluor consumption by HECT E3s, and changes in UbFluor consumption rendered by biochemical point mutations or small molecule modulation of HECT E3 activity. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Keywords: fluorescence polarization; HECT ligase; thioester; ubiquitin
Vinobot and vinoculer: from real to simulated platforms

In this work, a new element of our research for autonomous plant phenotyping is presented: a simulated environment for development and testing. As explained in our previous work, our architecture consists of two robotic platforms: an autonomous ground vehicle (Vinobot) and a mobile observation tower (Vinoculer). The ground vehicle collects data from individual plants, while the observation tower oversees an entire field, identifying specific plants for further inspection by the ground vehicle. Indeed, while real robotic platforms for field phenotyping can only be deployed during the planting season, simulated platforms can help us to improve the various algorithms throughout the year. In order to do that, the simulation must be designed to mimic not only the robots, but also the field with all its uncertainties, noises and other unexpected circumstances that could lead to errors in those same algorithms under real conditions. This paper details the current state in the implementation of such simulation. It describes how the target navigation algorithms are being tested and it provides the first insights on the functionality of the simulation and its usefulness for testing those same robotic platforms.
Abstract 39: LCN2, CD133 expressions in breast cancer spinal bone metastasis and CD151, TWIST1, EPHA2 in lung metastasis: Prognostic value and organ-specific relapse

Purpose: Breast cancer most often recurs and metastasizes to the distal organs that had their primary tumors surgically excised. Due to heterogeneous nature of the breast cancer, metastasis organotropism has poorly understood. In this study, we assessed the specific cancer-related gene expression changes occurring with metastatic breast cancer recurrence to distant organs comparing with non-metastatic breast cancer. Experimental design: We develop a clinically relevant metastatic syngeneic mouse model using two cell lines 4T1-luc2 that can only metastasize to lung and 4T1.2-luc2 metastasized to bone and lung. After the primary mammary tumor surgically excised from mice, we monitor mice using IVIS imaging for metastatic tumor lesion development in the distant organs followed by MRI scan to detect spinal bone metastases. Animals were sacrificed to collect spines, bones, and lung lesions for molecular analysis. We also validate the gene expression data using the RNA-seq cohort data from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute patient samples with advanced breast cancer bone metastases and matched non-metastatic breast cancer. Results: Our cell lines, RNA-seq data analysis suggested that there are at least 50 genes which are statistically highly expressed in 4T1.2-luc2 compared to 4T1-luc2 cells. Out of which only a few genes are well established for cancer metastasis biology, include ANGPTL77, SERPINE2, TSPAN11, ESM1, LCN2 which are expressed more than 8 fold in 4T1.2-luc2 compared to 4T1-luc2 cells. To our surprise, we found that most of these genes are differentially expressed when metastasized to distant organ. Our data revealed that LCN2 (7 fold) and CD133 (above 20 fold) are overexpressed in the spine and bone compared to the primary or lung met lesions formed by 4T1.2-luc2. Conversely, LCN2 and CD133 genes are downregulated in breast cancer lung metastasis tissues, whereas CD151, EPHA2, and TWIST1 genes are highly overexpressed in lung metastatic lesion compared to primary, bone or spine. Further, the RNA-seq data of patient samples explained that LCN2, CD133 expressions are significantly higher (8 out of 10 patients) in advanced breast cancer bone metastases compared with matching non-metastatic breast cancer. Conclusion: Our data suggested that LCN2, CD133 would be a prognostic marker for breast cancer spinal bone metastasis, whereas CD151, TWIST1, EPHA2 would be a prognostic marker for lung metastasis and organ-specific relapse. Citation Format: Aparna Maiti, Nitai C. Hait. LCN2, CD133 expressions in breast cancer spinal bone metastasis and CD151, TWIST1, EPHA2 in lung metastasis: Prognostic value and organ-specific relapse [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 39.
The Nursing Profession

Although nurses talk a great deal about roles and about the tasks and activities relevant to these roles, there is no concensus about the central idea that binds all these roles and activities together. Yet, what else but a central, underlying theme could give our roles, tasks and activities their reasons for existence? What else could support our defense of them as being at the core of our work?
G Protein Coupling of Receptor Activation to Lacrimal Secretion

In lacrimal gland, protein secretion involves transduction of extracellular signals generated by neurotransmitters and neuromodulators of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nerve fibers that innervate the gland. In this gland, as in other exocrine tissues, transmembrane signalling is accomplished by the adenosine 3’,5’-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) and the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) pathways. In the cAMP pathway, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) stimulates and met-enkephalin inhibits the regulatory effector enzyme adenylyl cyclase and the consequent alterations in intracellular cAMP that result in stimulation or inhibition of protein release by lacrimal acinar cells.1,2 Agonists that activate phosphatidylinositol turnover also stimulate release of protein into the tears.3,4 In this pathway, M3-muscarinic receptor activation results in an increase in phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2)-specific phospholipase C (PLC) activity and the production of IP3.5 Within both intracellular pathways, heterotrimeric G proteins couple receptor activation to regulation of the effector enzymes adenylyl cyclase and PLC. We have demonstrated that the stimulatory G protein GS and inhibitory G proteins of the Gi/Go family are present in lacrimal gland membranes and that the a subunits of these G proteins are specifically associated with VIP and enkephalin regulation of adenylyl cyclase.6,7 We have also demonstrated that Gq/11, known to be coupled to PLC,8 is present in lacrimal acinar cell membranes.9 Thus, our previous work has established G protein coupling of receptors to adenylyl cyclase and provided preliminary evidence for coupling of Gq/11 to PLC in lacrimal gland.
An Electronically Scanned Transducer Array Using Microcircuit Devices

Electronic scanning of a mosaic transducer array enables underwater sound pressure patterns to be reproduced on a cathode ray tube using intensity modulation. This report presents the design of a 16 element electronically scanned linear array mounted directly to the edge of a 10 cm by 15 cm printed circuit board. Microelectronic devices are used to confine all electronics to a 6 mm by 6mm cross section behind each array element. A large number of identical circuit boards such as this could be stacked to form a two-dimensional array suitable for acoustic image conversion or acoustical holography. A discussion of experimental results, size, and cost is given.
Chapter 31 – Approximate Frequency Counts over Data Streams

Publisher Summary This chapter presents algorithms for computing frequency counts exceeding a user-specified threshold over data streams. The algorithms are simple and have provably small memory footprints. Although the output is approximate, the error is guaranteed not to exceed a user-specified parameter. The algorithms can easily be deployed for streams of singleton items like those found in IP network monitoring. In several emerging applications, data takes the form of continuous data streams, as opposed to finite stored datasets. Examples include stock tickers, network traffic measurements, Web-server logs, click streams, data feeds from sensor networks, and telecom call records. Stream processing differs from computation over traditional stored datasets in two important aspects: (a) the sheer volume of a stream over its lifetime could be huge, and (b) queries require timely answers; response times should be small. Therefore, it is not possible to store the stream in its entirety on secondary storage and scan it when a query arrives.
Predicting bubble coarsening in flotation froth: Effect of contact angle and particle size

Abstract A froth model has been developed from first principles to predict bubble coarsening and to better understand the complex mechanisms involved in froth stability. The model is based on predicting the kinetics of film thinning and the critical rupture thickness using the Reynolds lubrication theory and the capillary wave model, respectively. The macroscopic capillary pressure that drives initial film thinning has been corrected for the local capillary pressures in the menisci around the particles adsorbed in lamella films. It has been found that the latter varies with contact angle (θ) and particle size. At θ
Randomized Trial of a Positive Psychology Intervention for Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes

Objective To evaluate the effects of a positive psychology intervention for adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) on adherence, glycemic control, and quality of life. Methods Adolescents with T1D (n = 120) and their caregivers were randomized to either an Education (EDU) (n = 60) or Positive Affect (PA) intervention (n = 60). Adolescents in the PA group received the intervention reminders (gratitude, self-affirmation, parental affirmation, and small gifts) via text messages or phone calls over 8 weeks. Questionnaires were completed by adolescents and caregivers and clinical data (glucometer and HbA1c) were collected at baseline 3 and 6 months. Data were analyzed using generalized linear modeling. Results After adjusting for covariates, adolescents in the PA group demonstrated significant improvement in quality of life at 3 months, compared to the EDU group, but this was not sustained at 6 months. Similarly, the PA group showed a significant decrease in disengagement coping at 3 months but not at 6 months. There was no significant intervention effect on blood glucose monitoring, but the odds of clinically significantly improvement (checking at least one more time/day) were about twice as high in the PA group as the EDU group. No significant effects were found for glycemic control. Conclusions A positive psychology intervention had initial significant, positive effects on coping and quality of life in adolescents with T1D. A more intensive or longer-lasting intervention may be needed to sustain these effects and to improve adherence and glycemic control.
Using Surgeon Hand Motions to Predict Surgical Maneuvers.

Objective:This study explores how common machine learning techniques can predict surgical maneuvers from a continuous video record of surgical benchtop simulations.Background:Automatic computer vis...
Key-Value Retrieval Networks for Task-Oriented Dialogue

Neural task-oriented dialogue systems often struggle to smoothly interface with a knowledge base. In this work, we seek to address this problem by proposing a new neural dialogue agent that is able to effectively sustain grounded, multi-domain discourse through a novel key-value retrieval mechanism. The model is end-to-end differentiable and does not need to explicitly model dialogue state or belief trackers. We also release a new dataset of 3,031 dialogues that are grounded through underlying knowledge bases and span three distinct tasks in the in-car personal assistant space: calendar scheduling, weather information retrieval, and point-of-interest navigation. Our architecture is simultaneously trained on data from all domains and significantly outperforms a competitive rule-based system and other existing neural dialogue architectures on the provided domains according to both automatic and human evaluation metrics.
Interaction of the motile blood cells of the horseshoe crab, Limulus: Studies on contact paralysis of pseudopodial activity and cellular overlapping in vitro

Abstract Contact paralysis, defined as the inhibition of pseudopodial activity over those portions of a cell's surface that lie in contact with other cells, has been proposed to account for monolayering behavior of vertebrate cells in culture. According to this hypothesis, cessation of pseudopodial activity at regions of cell contact should prevent cells from migrating onto the dorsal surfaces of neighboring cells. In the present study, a frame-by-frame analysis of time-lapse microcinematographic records was used to analyse the contact behavior in vitro of the amoebocytes of the horseshoe crab Limulus in terms of contact paralysis of motility and overlapping behavior. This analysis demonstrates that the cells do show contact paralysis but, interestingly, are only weakly prohibited from overlapping cells with which they collide. They often move entirely onto neighboring cells and move actively over their dorsal surfaces. Differences in the pseudopods may underlie the differences in overlapping behavior seen between vertebrate cells and Limulus amoebocytes. The pseudopods of vertebrate tissue cells are extended in contact with the substrate, whereas amoebocyte pseudopods are often protruded well above the substrate. In the latter cells, motility occurs after the extended pseudopod is lowered to contact the substrate. If the pseudopod is lowered onto an adjacent cell, instead of glass, subsequent motility will bring one cell onto the dorsal surface of the other.
Intensive glycemic control in gestational diabetes mellitus: a randomized controlled clinical feasibility trial.

Background Overweight and obese women with gestational diabetes mellitus are at increased risk for adverse perinatal outcomes, and they are also more likely to have suboptimal glycemic control. However, there is a paucity of data evaluating whether lower glycemic targets could improve outcomes. Objective To evaluate the feasibility of intensive glycemic control in overweight and obese women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Materials and methods We randomized 60 overweight or obese women with gestational diabetes mellitus, diagnosed between 12 and 32 weeks' gestation to either intensive (fasting Results Between December 2015 and December 2017, we randomized 60 women to either intensive (n = 30) or standard (n = 30) glycemic control. Baseline characteristics including maternal age, body mass index, and gestational age at diagnosis were similar between the intensive and standard groups. Medical therapy was more common in women in the intensive group than those in the standard group (83 vs 57%, P = .02). Women in the intensive glycemic control group had lower glucose values as assessed by continuous glucose monitors at including 24-hour mean (-8.1; 95% confidence interval, -12.0 to -4.3 mg/dL; P Conclusion Intensive glycemic targets can be used in overweight and obese women with minimal hypoglycemia, and this approach results in improved glycemic control when compared to standard glycemic targets. Further studies are needed to determine whether intensive glycemic targets can improve maternal and neonatal outcomes in high-risk women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Clinical trial identifier NCT02530866; clinicaltrials.gov.
Do Face Masks Create a False Sense of Security? A COVID-19 Dilemma

Abstract Face masks have become an emblem of the public response to COVID-19, with many governments mandating their use in public spaces. The logic is that face masks are low cost and might help prevent some transmission. However, from the start, the assumption that face masks are “low cost” was questioned. Early on, there were warnings of the opportunity cost of public use of medical masks given shortages of personal protective equipment for healthcare providers. This led to recommendations for cloth masks and other face coverings, with little evidence of their ability to prevent transmission. However, there may also be a high cost to these recommendations if people rely on face masks in place of other more effective ways to break transmission, such as staying home. We use SafeGraph smart device location data to show that the representative American in states that have face mask mandates spent 20-30 minutes less time at home, and increase visits to a number of commercial locations, following the mandate. Since the reproductive rate of SAR-COV2, the pathogen that causes COVID-19 is hovering right around one, such substitution behavior could be the difference between controlling the epidemic and a resurgence of cases. Highlights We use smart device location data to show the behavioral response to face mask mandates during the 2020 COVID-19 epidemic. We find face mask mandates lead people to spend 20-30 minutes less time at home per day. We find face mask mandates increase trip taking to a variety of locations, chief among them are restaurants. This substitution behavior is concerning given the limited information on the protective value of casual face coverings.
Improved Detection Performance for Passive Radars Exploiting Known Communication Signal Form

In this letter, we address the problem of target detection in passive multiple-input multiple-output radar networks. A generalized likelihood ratio test is derived, assuming prior knowledge of the signal format used in the noncooperative transmit stations. The performance of the generalized likelihood ratio test in the known signal format case is often significantly more favorable when compared to the case that does not exploit this information. Further, the performance improves with increasing number of samples per symbol and for a sufficiently large number of samples per symbol, the performance closely approximates that of an active radar with a known transmitted signal.
Rebecca Harding Davis: A Life Among Writers, by Sharon M. Harris: West Virginia University Press, 2018.

In Rebecca Harding Davis: A Life Among Writers, Sharon M. Harris shines a bright light on the legacy of an author who has long been relegated to the shadows of more frequently canonized nineteenth-...
Stabilization of a Broadly Neutralizing Anti-Chikungunya Virus Single Domain Antibody

A single domain antibody (clone CC3) previously found to neutralize a vaccine strain of the chikungunya virus (PRNT50 = 2. 5 ng/mL) was found to be broadly neutralizing. Clone CC3 is not only able to neutralize a wild-type (WT) strain of chikungunya virus (CHIKV), but also neutralizes WT strains of Mayaro virus (MAYV) and Ross River virus (RRV); both arthralgic, Old World alphaviruses. Interestingly, CC3 also demonstrated a degree of neutralizing activity against the New World alphavirus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV); albeit both the vaccine strain, TC-83, and the parental, WT Trinidad donkey strain had PRNT50 values ~1,000-fold higher than that of CHIKV. However, no neutralization activity was observed with Western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV). Ten CC3 variants designed to possess a range of isoelectric points, both higher and lower, were constructed. This approach successfully identified several lower pI mutants which possessed improved thermal stabilities by as much as 10°C over the original CC3 (Tm = 62°C), and excellent refolding abilities while maintaining their capacity to bind and neutralize CHIKV.
System of Systems - Innovations for 21st Century

Systems engineering is at a crossroad now at the beginning of the 21st century. One of the main challenges of any paradigms in systems engineering is being able to handle complex systems under unforeseen uncertainties. A system may be called complex if its dimension (order) is too high and its model (if available) is nonlinear, interconnected, and information on the system is uncertain such that classical techniques cannot easily handle the problem. A system of systems (SoS) is a "super system," or an integration of complex systems coordinated together in such a way to achieve a wider goal with possible higher significance. Applications of SoS are quite extensive - examples are future combat mission, global warming, Mars missions, air traffic system, global Earth observation system, electric power grid system, energy systems, etc. Computational intelligence (CI) or soft computing, a consortium of fuzzy logic (approximate reasoning), neuro-computing (learning), genetic algorithms and genetic programming (optimization), has proven to be a powerful set of tools for adding autonomy and semi-autonomy to many complex systems. For such systems the size of autonomous controller architecture will be nearly infinite. In this presentation system of systems are being introduced, challenges are brought up and potential solutions and needs are discussed. Special emphasis on UTSAACE Center's SoS technology will be demonstrated. Some animated and experimental implementation as well as media movies and clips will be shown.
The Effect of Antiphase Boundary Tubes on the Hardness of FeAl

The high work hardening rate unique to ordered intermetallic alloys has long been attributed to antiphase boundary (APB) tubes. In this work, APB tubes are introduced in Fe–40 at. pct Al and Fe–43 at. pct Al by cold-rolling and then removed by annealing. The presence and absence of APB tubes is verified with magnetic measurements. When APB tubes are annealed out the hardness does not change, indicating that APB tubes do not contribute to strengthening.
Cell biology: Surviving import failure

Two studies reveal that dysfunction in organelles called mitochondria causes the toxic accumulation of mitochondrial proteins in the cell's cytosolic fluid, and identify ways in which damage is mitigated. See Letters p.481 & p.485 Mitochondrial dysfunction and cellular protein homeostasis failure are hallmarks of many diseases and age-associated pathologies. Damaged mitochondria can lead to cell death through various mechanisms including energy deprivation. Two papers now describe an additional such mechanism: inefficient transport of mitochondrial proteins from ribosomes in the cytosol. Xiaowen Wang and Xin Jie Chen show that mitochondrial damage can block the import of nuclear-encoded proteins into mitochondria and cause cellular degeneration by triggering a pathway in the cytosol they name mitochondrial precursor over-accumulation stress (mPOS). The authors also identify an anti-degenerative network of compensatory processes — mostly associated with modulation of protein turnover and folding — that counteract mPOS in favour of cell survival. Agnieszka Chacinska and colleagues investigate the response to dysfunctional protein import into mitochondria through a detailed analysis of transcriptomic and proteomic changes within the cell. They too identify pathways that protect the cell against mitochondrial biogenesis defects, which mainly involve inhibiting protein synthesis and increased protein clearance by the proteasomal machinery.
Modeling mobile-agent-based collaborative processing in sensor networks using generalized stochastic Petri nets

In mobile-agent-based distributed sensor networks (MADSNs), instead of moving data from an individual sensor node to a processing center as a typical scenario in the client/server-based computing, mobile agents on that carry the executable code are dispatched from the processing center to the sensor nodes and process data locally. Because of the complicated behavior of the mobile agents, there has not been much work done in modeling and simulation. In this paper, a Generalized Stochastic Petri Net (GSPN) is used to model the mobile agents in DSNs. GSPN is a very popular modeling tool for systems that feature concurrency, synchronization and randomness. One of the most challenging problems in GSPN modeling is to design a mechanism for breaking the transition conflicts. This paper presents a random transition selector based on joint entropy and a so-called "rolling rocks random (R3) selector" to break conflicts among immediate transitions. The GSPN model based on this transition selector is synthesized on a Xilinx Virtex 1000E Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) using reconfigurable components. Simulation results show that the proposed transition selector performs better than the commonly used random selector.
Mutants of Klebsiella aerogenes Lacking Glutamate Dehydrogenase

A mutant of Klebsiella aerogenes lacking glutamate synthase activity (asm-200) is blocked in only one pathway of glutamate synthesis and can still use glutamate dehydrogenase to produce glutamate when ammonia in sufficient concentration, i.e., higher than 1 mM, is provided in the medium. However, a mutant that has neither glutamate synthase nor glutamate dehydrogenase activities (asm-200, gdhD1) requires glutamate. Transductants obtained by phage grown on wild-type cells of this double mutant, selected on medium containing less than 1 mM ammonia, regain glutamate synthase but not glutamate dehydrogenase. Surprisingly, these gdhD1 transductants grow as well in a variety of media as does a strain with glutamate dehydrogenase activity. Furthermore, transductions with these and other mutants indicate that the genes encoding glutamate synthase, glutamate dehydrogenase, glutamine synthetase, and citrate synthase are not closely linked.
Hydrodynamic Effects in Earthquake Response of Embankment Dams

Utilizing a recently developed analytical procedure, the significance of hydrodynamic effects in the earthquake response of embankment dams is evaluated. Effects of dam-fluid interaction, water compressibility and fluid-foundation interaction are all considered in this study. Numerical results for the hydrodynamic forces on rigid dams and the horizontal acceleration response of the dam crest due to harmonic ground motion are presented. Hydrodynamic effects are shown to be relatively unimportant in the response of embankment dams to horizontal ground motion, and the response to vertical ground motion to be small compared to that due to horizontal ground motion.