cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Negative-Impedance Converters (NIC) for VHF Through Microwave Circuit Applications

The negative impedance converter (NIC) is an active circuit element which has been increasingly useful in low frequency applications. It is a 2 port device which converts any load impedance at one port to an input impedance -Z as seen at the other port. The NIC can be used to synthesize negative impedances and admittances which are then used to generate transfer functions or impedance functions which are not physically realizable without active circuits. We have developed two types of NIC circuits suitable for VHF and microwave applications. The first type of NIC is based upon the idealized circuit shown in Fig. 1. Particular care has been taken in the design and layout of this circuit to minimize stray reactance which might reduce the frequency response of this NIC realization. The transistors used in this circuit are NEC 2SC 989's which are relatively inexpensive and have an f/sub T/ of 3 GHz. Figure 2 is a sketch of the layout of a practical realization of the RF portion of this NIC. Figure 3 demonstrates that the NIC can indeed neutralize a 22 pf capacitor up to 120 MHz. Figure 4 shows the effect of temperature variations on a lossless single-pole L-C filter which used an NIC to generate a -R which cancelled the loss in the inductor. The loaded Q of the tuned circuit is 100. Without the NIC, the loss of the tuned circuit was 8 dB. The noise figure of the filter and NIC was 17 dB and the in-band third order intercept was -12 dBm.
Mars Lander Engine plume impingement environment of the Mars Science Laboratory

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Mission will land a 900-kg rover on the surface of Mars in 2010. Four Mars Lander Engines (MLE's) will be fired during the final propulsive descent to maintain a 0.75 m/s vertical rate of descent, in support of a tethered landing approach referred to as the “Sky-Crane”. At 20 m above the surface the rover will be lowered on a bridle as it continues to descend. At touch-down, a minimum of 6.5 m of vertical separation are provided between the engines nozzle exit plane and the ground-surface below [1]. This maneuver was chosen in part to minimize the ground/soil interaction that occurs when rocket engine plumes are fired into a soil media. In spite of the 6.5 m altitude above the surface, surface impingement pressures are expected to reach in excess of 2000 Pa, a metric previously established by the Viking program to mitigate soil bearing capacity failure. Plume-ground interaction has been a concern of Lunar and Mars propulsive landings for some time, but was not an issue for the Mars Pathfinder and Mars Explorer Rover era due to their use of airbag landing systems [2][3].This was also a concern of the Phoenix lander program, which fired twelve pulsed hydrazine monopropellant thrusters for its final descent and touch-down [4]. Phoenix was concerned with plume impingement soil interaction due to its high surface impingement pressure and potential for diffused gas eruptions. Phoenix was also concerned with landing site alteration due to its lack of mobility as well as instrument and solar array contamination issues. As MSL will operate in a regime that will result in ground-soil erosion a plume-ground interaction program has been undertaken to quantify the amount of soil erosion, namely the trajectory and number flux of particulates and the contamination and erosion this can impart to sensitive instruments and thermal surface coatings.
Dynamics and DNA substrate recognition by the catalytic domain of lambda integrase.

Bacteriophage lambda integrase (l-Int) is the prototypical member of a large family of enzymes that catalyze site-specific DNA recombination via the formation of a Holliday junction intermediate. DNA strand cleavage by l-Int is mediated by nucleophilic attack on the scissile phosphate by a conserved tyrosine residue, forming an intermediate with the enzyme covalently attached to the 3 0 -end of the cleaved strand via a phosphotyrosine linkage. The crystal structure of the catalytic domain of l-Int (C170) obtained in the absence of DNA revealed the tyrosine nucleophile at the protein’s C terminus to be located on a b-hairpin far from the other conserved catalytic residues and adjacent to a disordered loop. This observation suggested that a conformational change in the C terminus of the protein was required to generate the active site in cis, or alternatively, that the active site could be completed in trans by donation of the tyrosine nucleophile from a neighboring molecule in the recombining synapse. We used NMR spectroscopy together with limited proteolysis to examine the dynamics of the l-Int catalytic domain in the presence and absence of DNA half-site substrates with the goal of characterizing the expected conformational change. Although the C terminus is indeed flexible in the absence of DNA, we find that conformational changes in the tyrosine-containing b-hairpin are not coupled to DNA binding. To gain structural insights into C170/DNA complexes, we took advantage of mechanistic conservation with Cre and Flp recombinases to model C170 in half-site and tetrameric Holliday junction complexes. Although the models do not reveal the nature of the conformational change required for cis cleavage, they are consistent with much of the available experimental data and provide new insights into the how trans complementation could be accommodated. q 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
In vivo metabolic fingerprinting of neutral lipids with hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering microscopy

Metabolic fingerprinting provides valuable information on the physiopathological states of cells and tissues. Traditional imaging mass spectrometry and magnetic resonance imaging are unable to probe the spatial-temporal dynamics of metabolites at the subcellular level due to either lack of spatial resolution or inability to perform live cell imaging. Here we report a complementary metabolic imaging technique that is based on hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering (hsSRS). We demonstrated the use of hsSRS imaging in quantifying two major neutral lipids: cholesteryl ester and triacylglycerol in cells and tissues. Our imaging results revealed previously unknown changes of lipid composition associated with obesity and steatohepatitis. We further used stable-isotope labeling to trace the metabolic dynamics of fatty acids in live cells and live Caenorhabditis elegans with hsSRS imaging. We found that unsaturated fatty acid has preferential uptake into lipid storage while saturated fatty acid exhibits toxicit...
Multi-level fuzzy control of friction stir welding power.

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process for many materials including aluminum alloys, steel, titanium, and plastics. However, attendant process variability such as uneven workpiece flatness and workpiece temperature changes is known to lead to joints with inconsistent material properties. The weld quality can be improved by monitoring and controlling the spindle power. This work presents a multi-level adaptive fuzzy control approach for maintaining constant FSW power. Implementation of the control scheme is conducted on a vertical milling machine configured for FSW using an open architecture controller. Experimental results show that the multi-level fuzzy technique dramatically reduces power variations in the presence of significant process disturbances.
Metal-semiconductor surface barriers

The physical principles underlying the metal-semiconductor barrier are discussed in the light of recent experimental results. A semi-empirical approach for predicting the type of contact to be expected at an arbitrary metal-semiconductor interface is presented.
Family Meal Frequency among Children and Adolescents with Eating Disorders

Abstract Purpose Previous studies on family meals and disordered eating have mainly drawn their samples from the general population. The goal of the current study is to determine family meal frequency among children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and feeding or eating disorder not elsewhere classified (FED-NEC) and to examine whether family meal frequency is associated with eating disorder psychopathology. Methods Participants included 154 children and adolescents ( M = 14.92 ± 2.62), who met criteria for AN (n = 60), BN (n = 32), or FED-NEC (n = 62). All participants completed the Eating Disorder Examination and the Family Meal Questionnaire prior to treatment at the University of Chicago Eating Disorders Program. Results AN and BN participants significantly differed in terms of family meal frequency. A majority of participants with AN (71.7%), compared with less than half (43.7%) of participants with BN, reported eating dinner with their family frequently (five or more times per week). Family meal frequency during dinner was significantly and negatively correlated with dietary restraints and eating concerns among participants with BN ( r = −.381, r = −.366, p r = −.340, r = −.276, p Conclusions AN patients' higher family meal frequency may be explained by their parents' relatively greater vigilance over eating, whereas families of BN patients may be less aware of eating disorder behaviors and hence less insistent upon family meals. Additionally, children and adolescents with AN may be more inhibited and withdrawn and therefore are perhaps more likely to stay at home and eat together with their families.
Distributed model coupling framework

An implementation of a distributed model coupling framework is documented. This framework provides the infrastructure for a data-flow approach for solving the problem of distributed numerical models sharing coupling information. There exists a centralized server which stores coupling information such as surface fluxes. This information is then passed to client applications (numerical models) through a series of filters. These filters are used to transform the information into a ready-to-use form by the model and are specific to the coupling process being performed. CORBA is used for all the communication between processes. Results are given for two test cases, a strong tropical event and a rip current calculation over a barred beach. Results for the rip current example are compared to the traditional approach of file based coupling approach showing a 50% decrease in execution time with equivalent results.
Termination-dependent diversity performance of coupled antennas: network theory analysis

A new analysis of mutually coupled diversity antenna systems is presented that includes the effects of coupling on the radiation pattern and received power. This analysis, based upon the network scattering parameters, makes use of the singular value decomposition to both specify the characteristics of and analyze terminated antenna networks. The approach facilitates a simplified proof of the multiport conjugate matching condition as well as development of expressions for diversity performance as a function of various impedance terminations. Application of the analysis to coupled dipole antennas characterized using full-wave electromagnetic analysis leads to a comprehensive examination of the diversity performance obtainable for such antennas under different termination conditions. The results from this paper reveal that for closely spaced antennas, the termination can play a noticeable role in determining the diversity gain offered by coupled antennas.
Eliminating synchronization overhead in automatically parallelized programs using dynamic feedback

This article presents dynamic feedback, a technique that enables computations to adapt dynamically to different execution environments. A compiler that uses dynamic feedback produces several different versions of the same source code; each version uses a different optimization policy. The generated code alternately performs sampling phases and production phases. Each sampling phase measures the overhead of each version in the current environment. Each production phase uses the version with the least overhead in the previous sampling phase. The computation periodically resamples to adjust dynamically to changes in the environment. We have implemented dynamic feedback in the context of a parallelizing compiler for object-based programs. The generated code uses dynamic feedback to automatically choose the best synchronization optimization policy. Our experimental results show that the synchronization optimization policy has a significant impact on the overall performance of the computation, that the best policy varies from program to program, that the compiler is unable to statically choose the best policy, and that dynamic feedback enables the generted code to exhibit performance that is comparable to that of code that has been manually tuned to use the best policy. We have also performed a theoretical analysis which provides, under certain assumptions, a guaranteed optimality bound for dynamic feedback relative to a hypothetical (and unrealizable) optimal algorithm that uses the best policy at every point during the execution.
A versatile communication module for controlling RNA folding and catalysis

To exert control over RNA folding and catalysis, both molecular engineering strategies and in vitro selection techniques have been applied toward the development of allosteric ribozymes whose activities are regulated by the binding of specific effector molecules or ligands. We now describe the isolation and characterization of a new and considerably versatile RNA element that functions as a communication module to render disparate RNA folding domains interdependent. In contrast to some existing communication modules, the novel 9-nt RNA element is demonstrated to function similarly between a variety of catalysts that include the hepatitis delta virus, hammerhead, X motif and Tetrahymena group I ribozymes, and various ligand-binding domains. The data support a mechanistic model of RNA folding in which the element is comprised of both canonical and non-canonical base pairs and an unpaired nucleotide in the active, effector-bound conformation. Aside from enabling effector-controlled RNA function through rational design, the element can be utilized to identify sites in large RNAs that are susceptible to effector regulation.
IP fast reroute with failure inferencing

Five nines availability is being expected from IP networks due to the growing popularity of IP telephony and the increasing usage of the Internet for mission-critical applications. This necessitates enhancing the resiliency of IP networks against transient failures that are observed to happen relatively frequently even in well-managed networks. Towards that end, we proposed failure inferencing based fast rerouting (FIFR) approach that exploits the existence of a forwarding table per line-card, for lookup efficiency in current routers, to provide fast rerouting similar to MPLS, while adhering to the destination-based forwarding paradigm. Earlier, we have shown that FIFR can deal with either single link or single node failures in a network consisting of point-to-point links with symmetric link weights. In this paper, we generalize FIFR to handle both link and node failures in networks with asymmetric link weights and multi-access links too. Furthermore, we apply FIFR for protecting against inter-AS failures also. With these extensions, we argue that FIFR elevates the resiliency of any IP network with minimal changes to the forwarding and routing planes.
ILP-based scheme for timing variation-aware scheduling and resource binding

The impact of process variations on circuit timing increases rapidly as technology scales. Consequently, it is important to consider timing variations at the early stages of circuit designs. Conventional high level synthesis relies on the worst-case delay analysis to guide the design space exploration, however, such worst-case timing analysis can results in overly conservative designs with pessimistic performance estimation. This paper presents a 0-1 integer linear programming (ILP) formulation that aims at reducing the impact of timing variations in high-level synthesis, by integrating overall timing yield constraints into scheduling and resource binding. The proposed approach focuses on how to achieve the maximum performance (minimum latency) under given timing yield constraints with affordable computation time. Experiment results show that significant latency reduction is achieved under different timing yield constraints, compared to traditional worst-case based approach.
Mg/Ca temperature calibration for the benthic foraminifer Cibicidoides pachyderma

[1] The recent development of foraminiferal Mg/Ca as a paleotemperature proxy has enabled the extraction of global ice volume and local salinity from the more traditional paleotemperature proxy δ18O. The benthic foraminiferal genus Cibicidoides is widely used in paleoceanographic reconstructions because of its epifaunal habitat and cosmopolitan distribution, and it has received early attention in Mg/Ca work. However, existing temperature calibrations for Cibicidoides rely heavily on C. pachyderma core top data from one location, Little Bahamas Bank, where authigenic processes and/or reworking may result in elevated warm water Mg/Ca values. Here we present new C. pachyderma Mg/Ca data from a series of 29 high-quality multicore tops collected in the Florida Straits, spanning a temperature range of 5.8–18.6°C. In contrast to previous calibrations, we find no evidence for a strongly exponential response to temperature. The data are best explained by a linear relationship, with a sensitivity of 0.12 mmol mol−1 per °C.
Polymerization of lactide and related cyclic esters by discrete metal complexes

This perspective highlights recent research on the preparation of polyesters by the ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters employing well-characterized metal complexes. Particular focus is placed on the preparation of polylactide because of environmental advantages: it is biodegradable and its feedstock, lactide, is a renewable resource. A recurring theme is the correlation of precatalyst structure, often by X-ray crystallography, with polymerization activity and selectivity. Through this systematic approach to the deconvolution of catalyst structure/reactivity relationships, improved mechanistic understanding has been attained and key design criteria required for the development of new catalysts that exert control over the molecular parameters of polyesters and related copolymers have been revealed.
Acceleration of the Hurricane Beta Drift by Shear Strain Rate of an Environmental Flow

Abstract An energetics analysis is presented to reveal the mechanisms by which the environmental flows affect hurricane beta-gyre intensity and beta-drift speed. The two-dimensional environmental flow examined in this study varies in both zonal and meridional directions with a constant shear. It is found that a positive (negative) shear strain rate of the environmental flow accelerates (decelerates) beta drift. The horizontal shear of the environmental flow contains an axially symmetric component that is associated with vertical vorticity and an azimuthal wavenumber two component that is associated with shear strain rate. It is the latter that interacts with the beta gyres, determining the energy conversion between the environmental flow and beta gyres. A positive shear strain rate is required for transfering kinetic energy from the environmental flow to the beta gyres. As a result, the positive shear strain rate enhances the beta gyres and associated steering flow that, in turn, accelerates the beta drift.
Providing Winds for Wave Models

Wave forecasts and hindcasts are almost universally derived from wind fields. This paper reviews the meteorological computer models used by the National Weather Service and Fleet Numerical Weather Central to analyze and forecast sea level pressure fields. Geostrophic and surface wind relationships are reviewed and it is shown that errors in the input pressure fields are comparable to regional and seasonal thermal corrections to the geostrophic drag coefficient. The meteorological record is also the data source for hindcasting waves during extreme events such as hurricanes and provides frequency information as the basis for climatological assessment studies.
Morphological Profiles of RNAi-Induced Gene Knockdown Are Highly Reproducible but Dominated by Seed Effects

RNA interference and morphological profiling—the measurement of thousands of phenotypes from individual cells by microscopy and image analysis—are a potentially powerful combination. We show that morphological profiles of RNAi-induced knockdown using the Cell Painting assay are in fact highly sensitive and reproducible. However, we find that the magnitude and prevalence of off-target effects via the RNAi seed-based mechanism make morphological profiles of RNAi reagents targeting the same gene look no more similar than reagents targeting different genes. Pairs of RNAi reagents that share the same seed sequence produce image-based profiles that are much more similar to each other than profiles from pairs designed to target the same gene, a phenomenon previously observed in small-scale gene-expression profiling experiments. Various strategies have been used to enrich on-target versus off-target effects in the context of RNAi screening where a narrow set of phenotypes are measured, mostly based on comparing multiple sequences targeting the same gene; however, new approaches will be needed to make RNAi morphological profiling (that is, comparing multi-dimensional phenotypes) viable. We have shared our raw data and computational pipelines to facilitate research.
Exponential Convergence to the Maxwell Distribution For Spatially Inhomogenous Boltzmann Equations

We consider the rate of convergence of solutions of spatially inhomogenous Boltzmann equations, with hard sphere potentials, to some equilibriums, called Maxwellians. Maxwellians are spatially homogenous static Maxwell velocity distributions with different temperatures and mean velocities. We study solutions in weighted space $L^{1}(\mathbb{R}^{3}\times \mathbb{T}^3)$. We prove a conjecture of C. Villani: assume the solution is sufficiently localized and sufficiently smooth, then the solution, in $L^{1}$-space, converges to a Maxwellian, exponentially fast in time.
Resurrection and redescription of Hatschekia cylindrica Shiino, 1957 (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida, Hatschekiidae), with description of its developmental stages

Hatschekia cylindrica Shiino, 1957 is resurrected and redescribed based on newly obtained specimens, and all developmental stages except copepodid II are described based on free-living larvae reared from eggs detached from ovigerous females, as well as on both sexes of copepodids III-V recovered together with adults from Pseudolabrus sieboldi Mabuti & Nakabo, 1997 (Pisces, Labridae). There are three naupliar stages preceding the infective copepodid I and the sexes are distinct after copepodid III, as in the two other species of Hatschekia studied thus far in this respect.
Sustainability Comes to Management Education and Research: A Story of Coevolution

Coevolution is the elegantly simple idea that entities evolve together in an intricate dance that changes each and all forever. Since 1991, the emergence of Organizations and the Natural Environmen...
Enhanced synthesis of prostaglandins and hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids in retina from a canine model of Batten's disease.

The metabolism of [1-14C]arachidonic acid (20∶4,n−6) was studied in intact retina and retinal pigment epithelial cells from normal English setters and English setters affected with hereditary canine ceroid lipofuscinosis. Acylation of arachidonic acid into membrane glycerolipids and oxygenation by lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase to eicosanoids were measured by radiochromatographic techniques. In addition, the histopathology of accumulated ceroid particles in retinal ganglion cells and pigment epithelial cells was studied by electron microscopy. Synthesis of prostaglandins and hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids was increased in canine ceroid lipofuscinosis retina, but not in retinal pigment epithelium. Prostaglandin D2, the putative neuronal eicosanoid, was increased nearly eightfold, whereas other eicosanoids increased two- to threefold. Ultrastructural studies revealed accumulation of ceroid and deterioration of neuronal and pigment epithelial cell architecture. These experiments demonstrate that, although lipopigment accumulates in both tissues, alterations of eicosanoid synthesis are specific for the retina, a neuronal tissue. The specific increase in prostaglandin D2 and the specificity of changes for the retina indicate that enhanced eicosanoid synthesis may be a result of an impairment of the control of oxygenation of arachidonic acid in neurons.
Exploring Socioeconomic Variations in Diabetes Control Strategies: Impact of Outcome Expectations

Objective Prior studies have suggested socioeconomic differences in outcome expectations for diabetes. This paper explores outcome expectations of adults of varied socioeconomic status with type 2 diabetes, examining differences between African Americans and whites. Design A qualitative study using focus groups of individuals with type 2 diabetes. Interviews were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis was based on the constant comparative method, assisted by qualitative analysis software. Research was done in outpatient clinics in both a community health center and tertiary care center. Participants Seventy-one participants, 46% African American, 54% with household income less than or equal to $40 000, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for at least 1 year. Interventions Subjects discussed coping mechanisms, including self-control, compliance discipline, and denial regarding diabetes. Results Behavior control was typified as (1) beliefs about controlling diabetes and (2) beliefs about controlling one”s behavior aside from diabetes control. Patients described a range of strategies, including beliefs as self-efficacy, confidence and willingness to take on self-management, and positive and negative outcome expectations about ability to modify the natural course of the disease. Conclusions Those of higher socioeconomic status espoused more positive outcome expectations and self-efficacy, while poorer subjects reported more negative outcome expectations. Factors such as perception of control may contribute to root causes of socioeconomic disparities seen in diabetes outcomes. Interventions to increase compliance should address class-specific disease perceptions. Practical support that builds on patients” preferred strategies could help improve diabetes disparities.
Designing for Game-Based Learning: The Effective Integration of Technology to Support Learning:

The use of games and game structures in educational contexts is growing in popularity. An increasing number of technologies have been developed to meet the needs of designing a course as a game. Th...
Expression of Preferences: Front-running, Investor Activism, and Other Market Influences

The last chapter focused on the systemic characteristics of international financial markets that help support the idea that these markets are not the efficient, abstract mechanisms neoliberalism proposes, but fairly organized networks of communication and cooperation between large investors. The potential power of these investors lies not only in the large amounts of capital they control as individual firms but also in the ideological norms and cooperative practices that unify their preferences to developing countries. This chapter, however, addresses the power individual institutional investors can and do wield over emerging market countries. It is divided into three sections. The first section discusses the practices utilized by investors to influence the direction of particular stocks and markets, and explores the increased potential for market manipulation, in particular front-running. The second section considers the presence of investor activism, or corporate governance, in the emerging markets and looks at some cases in which large investors attempted to change policy outcomes. The third section provides a brief glimpse at evidence that belies the presence of the power investors have over policy in emerging market countries.
Comparative Aspects of Feeding, Digestion, and Metabolism

Abstract Regulation of feeding in non-mammals is similar to mammals although it has not been studied extensively in non-mammals other than teleost fishes. Orexigenic actions in fishes have been shown for ghrelin, NPY, galanin and orexins. CCK8 , CRH, urotensin-I, CART, and PrRP are anorexic. Orexins stimulate feeding in anurans and leptin is present in newts as well as in reptiles. Leptin has been isolated from birds but orexins are ineffective, at least in chickens. Comparative studies of gastrointestinal hormones are limited primarily to demonstrations of the presence of immunoreactivity to antibodies prepared against various mammalian GI peptides. Some putative regulatory peptides have been isolated that are closely related to mammalian counterparts but their physiological roles are not clear. It appears that intestinal peptides with GI hormone activities occurred early in vertebrate evolution (class Agnatha), and some counterparts are in evidence among invertebrates, as well. Five patterns of pancreatic islet morphology can be distinguished in vertebrates: (1) cyclostome type, (2) primitive gnathostome type, (3) actinopterygian type, (4) lungfish type, and (5) tetrapod type. It is assumed that the most primitive anatomical arrangement for the endocrine pancreatic tissue occurs in lampreys as the follicles of Langerhans are partially embedded in the gut lining. The primitive hagfishes, however, have a definite endocrine pancreas. Bony fishes tend to have discrete islets (Brockman bodies) but lack an acinar (exocrine) pancreas. Elasmobranchs, holocephalans, and Latimeria all exhibit the primitive gnathostome type of endocrine pancreas. Tetrapods have distinct pancreatic organs containing both acinar and islet tissues. Insulin is highly conserved among the vertebrates, although insulin receptors appear to be more variable. The most primitive function for insulin may be its effect on amino acid incorporation into protein. Glucose administration does not invoke insulin release in lampreys, lizards, or birds, and insulin stimulates only protein synthesis in hagfish liver. These observations suggest limited involvement of insulin in carbohydrate metabolism of non-mammals and that its hypoglycemic actions may be largely due to effects on protein and/or lipid metabolism. However, the effects of insulin on lipid metabolism may be largely a mammalian occurrence. Glucagon and the GLPs also are present and highly conserved throughout the vertebrates. In general, reptiles and birds appear to be more reliant on glucagon for regulation of carbohydrates than insulin.
Trends in Transfusion Therapy

Summary Trends in transfusion practices reflect developments in other areas of medicine. Advances in surgical techniques made possible open heart surgery and liver transplantation, which markedly increased the demand for blood. The widespread use of cancer chemotherapy also increased the need for blood products. Recognition that HIV could be transmitted through transfusion was the most potent stimulus for limiting homologous transfusion and promoting autologous transfusion. Technologic advances made possible component therapy, salvage and reinfusion of shed blood, and hemapheresis. While it is reasonable to assume that the current trends in transfusion practices will continue, new discoveries in medical science could potentially dramatically alter these practices.
Significant Unmet Need in Fertility Counseling and Sperm Cryopreservation in Young Males with Cancer: A Single-Center Analysis

Abstract Background: Due to improved cancer survival rates as well as the current trend of delaying childbirth, fertility has become a growing issue among cancer patients. The American Society of Clinical Oncology recommends that oncologists discuss fertility preservation with all patients of reproductive age who are about to initiate treatment that may cause infertility. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of fertility counseling and sperm banking referral in male cancer patients of reproductive age at our center and to assess whether counseling is influenced by demographics or disease specific factors. Methods: We used the University of North Carolina (UNC) Cancer Registry to identify male patients between the ages of 13-50 who received a new diagnosis of cancer between 1/1/2013 and 1/1/2015 and planned to initiate chemotherapy with curative intent. We excluded patients who initiated chemotherapy outside of UNC. We queried the electronic medical record (EMR) for demographic information such as age, race, insurance status, number of children, marital status, sexual orientation and disease-related variables such as type of cancer, type of treatments, and comorbidities. We reviewed the EMR for documentation of fertility counseling and identified patients who banked sperm at UNC since 1/1/2013. Fisher's Exact and Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests were used to compare characteristics between groups. Additionally, multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to evaluate associations after controlling for age. Results: There were initially 594 male patients identified with new cancer diagnoses, of whom 160 received chemotherapy with curative intent. Of this final cohort of 160 patients, 76 had hematologic malignancies (33 with lymphoma, 30 with acute leukemia, and 13 with other hematologic malignancies). The median age was 42 (40 for hematologic malignancies). 41% of patients had children and 46% were married. Based on chart documentation, 28% of patients were counseled regarding fertility and 13% of patients attempted to bank sperm (46% of those receiving fertility counseling). Rates of counseling and sperm banking were similar for hematologic malignancy patients. Younger patients were significantly more likely to be counseled (p Conclusions: We found a significant unmet opportunity for fertility counseling and referral for sperm banking in young male cancer patients receiving chemotherapy with curative intent at our center. Low rates of counseling and sperm banking were particularly notable in patients over the age of 30. In addition to barriers in clinical practice, the association between insurance status and sperm banking also suggests a financial barrier to sperm cryopreservation. Further work is needed to develop interventions to improve rates of fertility counseling and opportunities for sperm banking in young male cancer patients. Disclosures Wood: Inform Genomics: Consultancy; Best Doctors: Consultancy.
Nonadiabatic eigenfunctions can have conical nodes

Abstract It has been argued the total vibrational probability amplitude for a molecular nonadiabatic eigenfunction should not have nodes unless required by symmetry. For a model with two nonadiabatically coupled electronic states, exact factorization of nonadiabatic eigenfunctions into a total vibrational probability amplitude and a normalized electronic factor reveals zero-dimensional nodes in nonadiabatic eigenfunctions over a two-dimensional vibrational space. These conical nodes have the shape of a right elliptical cone with the node at the vertex. Low dimensionality nodes are likely when the number of nonadiabatically coupled electronic states is less than or equal to the dimensionality of the vibrational space.
Exposing HIV's weaknesses

The viral restriction factor SERINC5 inhibits HIV-1 infection via unknown mechanisms. Sood and co-workers now show that SERINC5 suppresses HIV-1 fusogenicity and increases sensitivity to neutralizing antibodies by perturbing the folding of the fusion machinery. This work advances our understanding of host-virus interactions and provides a compelling case for considering the host immune system in studies of restriction factor mechanisms.
Data versus Spock: lay theories about whether emotion helps or hinders

The android Data from Star Trek admired human emotion whereas Spock viewed emotion as irrational and maladaptive. The theory that emotions fulfil adaptive functions is widely accepted in academic psychology but little is known about laypeople's theories. The present study assessed the extent to which laypeople share Data's view of emotion as helpful or Spock's view of emotion as a hindrance. We also assessed how help and hinder theory endorsement were related to reasoning, emotion regulation, and well-being. Undergraduates (N = 630) completed a stressful timed reasoning task and questionnaires that assessed their theories of emotion, emotion regulation strategies, happiness, and social support. Overall, participants viewed emotion more as a help than a hindrance. The more they endorsed the view that emotion helps, the better their reasoning scores. Endorsing a help theory also predicted the use of reappraisal which, in turn, predicted greater happiness and social support. In contrast, endorsing the view that emotion hinders was associated with emotion suppression and less social support. Thus, people's theories about the functionality of emotion may have important implications for their reasoning and emotional well-being.
Impact of Solid-State Form on the Disproportionation of Miconazole Mesylate

Approximately 50% of solid oral dosage forms utilize salt forms of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). A major challenge with the salt form is its tendency to disproportionate to produce the un-ionized API form, decreasing the solubility and negatively impacting product stability. However, many of the factors dictating the tendency of a given salt to undergo disproportionation remain to be elucidated. In particular, the role of the solid-state properties of the salt on the disproportionation reaction is unknown. Herein, various solid forms of a model salt, miconazole mesylate (MM), were evaluated for their tendency to undergo disproportionation when mixed with basic excipients, namely tribasic sodium phosphate dodecahydrate (TSPd) and croscarmellose sodium (CCS), and exposed to moderate relative humidity storage conditions. It was observed that the rate and extent of salt disproportionation were significantly different for the various solid forms of MM. As expected, the amorphous salt was highly s...
Characterizing Clinically Meaningful Changes in Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Using the American Urological Association Symptom Index.

Objective To correlate patients' perception of changes in their lower urinary tract symptoms with changes in their American Urological Association Symptom Index (AUA-SI) scores with the goal of improving the ability of patients and clinicians to assess the clinical meaningfulness of changes in the AUA-SI score. Materials and Methods Men were asked to complete an AUA-SI survey and answer a symmetrical response framework question to evaluate their global perception of change in lower urinary tract symptoms at each interval, namely, “Are your urinary symptoms much better, slightly better, the same, slightly worse, or much worse compared to your prior visit?” Median changes and interquartile ranges (IQRs) in the AUA-SI scores were compared with the global evaluation response for the entire cohort. Additionally, outcomes were stratified by baseline AUA-SI severity classification (mild, moderate, or severe). Results The median changes and IQRs in AUA-SI scores of patients rating themselves as much better, slightly better, the same, slightly worse, and much worse compared with their symptoms at the time of their last AUA-SI were −2 (IQR −6 to 0), −1 (IQR −5 to 1), 0 (IQR −2 to 2), 5 (IQR 0-9), and 11 (IQR 5-18), respectively. There was a significant difference in AUA-SI score change between each rating category (P Conclusion These results demonstrate that the patients require only a small decrease in their AUA-SI scores to report they are slightly better or much better, whereas a larger increase in their AUA-SI scores is required for patients to report their symptoms are slightly worse or much worse.
Constructing Binary Sequences With Good Correlation Properties: An Efficient Analytical-Computational Interplay

Binary sequence sets with asymptotically optimal auto/cross correlation peak sidelobe level (PSL) growth have been known in the literature for a long time, and their construction has been studied both analytically and numerically. In contrast, it has been a long-standing problem whether we can construct a family of binary sequences whose auto-correlation PSL grows in an optimal manner. In this paper, we devise a construction method of binary sequences with asymptotically optimal PSL growth from the sequence sets with good correlation properties. A key component of the design follows from the observation that if the PSL of the sequence set grows optimally or nearly optimally , then the PSL of the constructed binary sequence will experience a similar growth as a consequence. The proposed construction is simple-to-implement, and is shown to be accomplished in polynomial time. With such a construction, we not only bridge the gap between analytical construction and computational search, but also pave the way to settle the long-standing design problem of binary sequences with an optimal growth of the auto-correlation PSL.
Cryptic glucocorticoid receptor-binding sites pervade genomic NF-κB response elements.

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are potent repressors of NF-κB activity, making them a preferred choice for treatment of inflammation-driven conditions. Despite the widespread use of GCs in the clinic, current models are inadequate to explain the role of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) within this critical signaling pathway. GR binding directly to NF-κB itself—tethering in a DNA binding-independent manner—represents the standing model of how GCs inhibit NF-κB-driven transcription. We demonstrate that direct binding of GR to genomic NF-κB response elements (κBREs) mediates GR-driven repression of inflammatory gene expression. We report five crystal structures and solution NMR data of GR DBD-κBRE complexes, which reveal that GR recognizes a cryptic response element between the binding footprints of NF-κB subunits within κBREs. These cryptic sequences exhibit high sequence and functional conservation, suggesting that GR binding to κBREs is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism of controlling the inflammatory response. Glucocorticoid receptor (GR) regulates immunity and inflammation but the mechanisms by which GR represses proinflammatory genes are still being debated. Here the authors use a multidisciplinary approach and show that GR binds to a cryptic site within genome-wide NFκB DNA response elements to repress pro-inflammatory genes.
Teaching 21st Century Literacies in a Social Justice Frame

Educational approaches across fields of study are increasingly shaped by their encounters with emergent technologies and the literacies they instigate. The use of technology in the classroom is uneven, and often corresponds to socioeconomic indicators of the community in which the school is located. In Education and Social Justice in a Digital Age, Rosamund Sutherland offers a conceptual framework and concrete recommendations for contemporary teaching and learning.
The use of folic acid antagonists in the treatment of acute and subacute leukemia.

In summary, the folic acid antagonists have, in varying degrees, the capacity to induce remissions in about one third of the cases of acute and subacute leukemia, in adults as well as in children, and in both leukemic and leukopenic forms. Clinical, hematologic and (to lesser extent) marrow remissions, are obtained most commonly in the lymphoblastic types, least often in the monocytic types. It is possible that folic acid is required by the primitive white cell as a growth factor. The folic acid antagonists, which resemble folic acid so strikingly in chemical structure, may result in cell death by modifying various enzyme systems within the primitive cells. Both clinical and hematologic observations indicate that the proliferative process is by no means cured with aminopterin treatment. Acute leukemia may be likened to "wildfire" which, although damped by aminopterin, continues to "smolder." This smoldering may suddenly light up again into an active leukemic picture, unless continued maintenance therapy is given. Despite maintenance therapy, there finally comes a point in the leukemic process at which both the leukemia and increasing toxicity to drug make further progress impossible, and the patient dies. Other growth factors or enzymes are probably of at least as great an importance as PGA in the metabolism of the primitive white cells and when these are discovered and their antagonists synthesized, the therapeutic results in acute leukemia may be of more consistent and durable nature. It should be realized further that chemotherapeutic methods against leukemia and the leukocytic proliferations in general (and, in fact, against all proliferative disease) are at least in their very infancy. The results thus far obtained in acute leukemia, although to large extent disappointing, indicate that well-defined remissions can be secured in about a third of the cases. For a disease such as acute leukemia, in which remissions previously were highly unusual and of sporadic nature, this indicates a well-defined therapeutic advance and a need for continued investigation along the same general lines. Differences in results obtained by various groups of workers are difficult to explain. Several points may nevertheless be considered: some of the workers have given inadequate dosage of drug or have failed to use maintenance therapy; some have given folic acid in conjunction with anti-folic acid therapy; in some cases, a crude folic acid antagonist was used; and it is possible that some cases were not observed as minutely as seems necessary. An important factor, which can be determined only by the study of a large group of cases, is the natural variability of acute leukemia from case to case. We have the impression that our best results are obtained in the relatively subacute cases. The fulminating cases, with rapid onset of bleeding and a quick downhill course, are only slightly affected.
Geometry factors for Mode I stress intensity factor of a cylindrical specimen with spiral crack subjected to torsion

Abstract A geometry factor is proposed for extracting the Mode I stress intensity factor from experimental data obtained during torsional loading of solid and tubular cylindrical specimens with a spiral crack on the surface. Using torque at fracture and specimens geometry as an input, the stress intensity factor at the corresponding fracture load was determined using a finite element analysis based on interaction integral method. The computed Mode-I stress intensity factor and the measured fracture load are used to quantify the geometry factor for different depths of spiral crack in cylindrical specimens following Benthem’s circumferential crack solution approach. The proposed model was validated by testing a polycarbonate specimen and compared it with a conventional three-point bending method. The difference between results from the proposed formula and the standard method was about 1.7% and 4.1% for solid and tubular specimens respectively. Furthermore, the fracture toughness value of different materials in the open literature was compared to the results recalculated by using the proposed formula. The result is in good agreement with different materials considered with a maximum difference of less than 6%.
Edge-Enhanced Oxygen Evolution Reactivity at Ultrathin, Au-Supported Fe2O3 Electrocatalysts

Transition metal oxides have gained attention as promising oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts in alkaline electrolytes, but heterogeneities in typical catalyst samples often obscure k...