cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Learning Contracting Nonlinear Dynamics From Human Demonstration for Robot Motion Planning

In this paper, we present an algorithm to learn the dynamics of human arm motion from the data collected from human actions. Learning the motion plans from human demonstrations is essential in making robot programming possible by nonexpert programmers as well as realizing human-robot collaboration. The highly complex human reaching motion is generated by a stable closed-loop dynamical system. To capture the complexity a neural network (NN) is used to represent the dynamics of the human motion states. The trajectories of arm generated by humans for reaching to a place are contracting towards the goal location from various initial conditions with built in obstacle avoidance. To take into consideration the contracting nature of the human motion dynamics the unknown motion model is learned using a NN subject to contraction analysis constraints. To learn the NN parameters an optimization problem is formulated by relaxing the non-convex contraction constraints to Linear matrix inequality (LMI) constraints. Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) is used to solve the optimization problem subject to the LMI constraints. For obstacle avoidance a negative gradient of the repulsive potential function is added to the learned contracting NN model. Experiments are conducted on Baxter robot platform to show that the robot can generate reaching paths from the contracting NN dynamics learned from human demonstrated data recorded using Microsoft Kinect sensor. The algorithm is able to adapt to situations for which the demonstrations are not available, e.g., an obstacle placed in the path.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Prevention of heart disease

Only by expanding our effort in the direction of primary prevention are we likely to make major progress toward control of heart disease. The secondary approach of waiting to intervene until disease is overt is much less promising.Programs should aim for control of high-risk factors early in life. The disease that underlies the coronary attack of middle age begins in childhood.
Survey and analysis of cadmium content in commercial rice in Kunming

Objective:To investigate the contamination level of cadmium in rice market of Kunming.Methods: The detection method was in line with GB/T5009.15-2003 "Method for cadmium detection in physicochemical portion of food hygiene inspection".Results: The test results of 52 rice samples showed that the minimum,maximum and average content of cadmium were 0.0065 mg/kg,0.14 mg/kg and 0.046 mg/kg respectively.Conclusion: In Kunming,cadmium level in commercial rice was safe for intake.
Care of patients using progestogen-only injectables.

There has long been uncertainty as to how the continued use of the contraceptive injection depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) affects bone mineral density (BMD). DMPA inhibits ovulation.1 Hence women on long-term DMPA may have relatively low estradiol levels, and some experience estrogen deficiency symptoms. Estrogen is integral to bone health.2 However, low serum levels of estradiol are not reliable indicators of BMD.3 A systematic review by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence4 concluded that DMPA use is associated with a small loss of BMD, but it appears that this recovers to normal or near normal when DMPA is discontinued. At present clinicians are advised to use DMPA judiciously. A risk–benefit equation should be undertaken for every patient to help them choose the most appropriate method of contraception. For women who are at risk of osteopenia or osteoporosis, methods other than DMPA may be preferable. Two particular groups of patients represent higher risk groups for poor bone health and DMPA. The first are young teenagers who have not yet achieved their peak bone mass, and the second are older women (aged over 40–45 years) who have been using DMPA and who are now approaching menopause. The 2014 Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) guidance on the use of progestogen-only injectable contraception states that DMPA can be used in young …
Distribution of reaction strength in 32S

The reaction /sup 32/S+ /sup 182/W has been studied at beam energies of 166, 177, 222, and 260 MeV with the goal of accounting for the distribution of the total reaction cross section among the main reaction channels. Cross sections as well as mass and energy distributions were measured over the entire angular range from 10/sup 0/ to 170/sup 0/ for elastic (which includes quasi-elastic), deep-inelastic, and fission-like products. Deep inelastic scattering accounts for a substantial fraction of the total reaction cross section at all energies, in particular near the barrier. This behavior is not predicted by current theories such as the extra push model. The angular distributions of fission-like products are more anisotropic than expected on the basis of the saddle point model at the two lowest energies, indicating a sizable contribution from quasi-fission processes, which is estimated from a quantitative analysis of this deviation.
Determining the Propensity for Academic Dishonesty Using Decision Tree Analysis

This article investigates the propensity for academic dishonesty by university students using the partitioning method of decision tree analysis. A set of prediction rules are presented, and conclusions are drawn. To provide context for the decision tree approach, the partition process is compared with results of more traditional probit regression models. Results of the decision tree analysis complement the probit models in terms of predictive accuracy and confirm results previously found in the literature. In particular, students’ moral character—whether they believe cheating is acceptable—is found to be the most important factor in determining the propensity for academic dishonesty.
Approaches for probing allosteric interactions at 7 transmembrane spanning receptors.

In recent years, allosteric modulation of 7 transmembrane spanning receptors (7TMRs) has become a highly productive and exciting field of receptor pharmacology and drug discovery efforts. Positive and negative allosteric modulators (PAMs and NAMs, respectively) present a number of pharmacological and therapeutic advantages over conventional orthosteric ligands, including improved receptor-subtype selectivity, a lower propensity to induce receptor desensitization, the preservation of endogenous temporal and spatial activation of receptors, greater chemical flexibility for optimization of drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic parameters, and saturability of effect at target receptors, thus improving safety concerns and risk of overdose. Additionally, the relatively new concept of allosteric modulator-mediated receptor signal bias opens up a number of intriguing possibilities for PAMs, NAMs, and allosteric agonists, including the potential to selectively activate therapeutically beneficial signaling cascades, which could yield a superior tissue selectivity and side effect profile of allosteric modulators. However, there are a number of considerations and caveats that must be addressed when screening for and characterizing the properties of 7TMR allosteric modulators. Mode of pharmacology, methodology used to monitor receptor activity, detection of appropriate downstream analytes, selection of orthosteric probe, and assay time-course must all be considered when implementing any high-throughput screening campaign or when characterizing the properties of active compounds. Yet compared to conventional agonist/antagonist drug discovery programs, these elements of assay design are often a great deal more complicated when working with 7TMRs allosteric modulators. Moreover, for classical pharmacological methodologies and analyses, like radioligand binding and the assessment of compound affinity, the properties of allosteric modulators yield data that are more nuanced than orthosteric ligand–receptor interactions. In this review, we discuss the current methodologies being used to identify and characterize allosteric modulators, lending insight into the approaches that have been most successful in accurately and robustly identifying hit compounds. New label-free technologies capable of detecting phenotypic cellular changes in response to receptor activation are powerful tools well suited for assessing subtle or potentially masked cellular responses to allosteric modulation of 7TMRs. Allosteric modulator-induced receptor signal bias and the assay systems available to probe the various downstream signaling outcomes of receptor activation are also discussed.
Flavorings and Perceived Harm and Addictiveness of E-cigarettes among Youth.

Objectives Given the increasing trend in use of electronic cigarettes ("e-cigarettes") among youth, it is crucial to understand how these products are perceived and how these perceptions are associated with their decision whether or not to use them. Methods This is a cross-sectional analysis of data from a rapid response surveillance system of 6th, 8th and 10th grade students' tobacco use behaviors (sample [n] = 3704 from a population of students [N] = 434,601). We used weighted logistic regression models to investigate the relationship between perceptions of harm and addictiveness and e-cigarette use, including the use of flavored and non-flavored e-cigarettes. Results Compared to youth who did not use e-cigarettes, ever and current e-cigarette users had higher odds of reporting that e-cigarettes were "not at all harmful" to health and "not at all addictive." Ever and current e-cigarette users had higher odds of reporting that flavored e-cigarettes were "less harmful" than non-flavored e-cigarettes, compared to youth who did not use e-cigarettes. Conclusions These findings warrant attention given that nicotine is an addictive substance whose effects on the adolescent brain are potentially negative. Youth e-cigarette users perceived lower harm from flavored e-cigarettes, which is worrisome given emerging research documenting harmful constituents in certain e-cigarette flavorings.
Varieties of Humility

If it is the case, as set out in the previous chapter, that everybody is humble in the sense that everyone commits to something, then what might one commit to? What are some approaches or objects or causes to which one might be dedicated? In order to address these questions, this chapter posits five basic roles that humans take. These are very common roles, and everyone takes them throughout one’s life. The five basic roles are student, teacher, equal, member, and leader. Understanding these roles and their inherent qualities adds a new dimension to the examination of pride and humility. A student’s humility, for example, is dedication to learning and openness to instruction. The humility of the student differs markedly from that of the teacher. In fact, it might not be readily apparent what a teacher’s humility might be. Furthermore, how exactly might equals, such as friends, siblings, co-workers or spouses, demonstrate humility? Finally, if one is a member or a leader of something like a cause, organization, institution, or movement, what might humility look like for one in that role? And how might the humility of those in different roles affect their subsequent pride?
Do Chinese- and English-speaking preschoolers think differently about language?

Metalinguistic awareness is the ability to identify, reflect upon, and manipulate linguistic units. It plays a critical role in reading development. The present study investigated Chinese- and English-speaking preschoolers’ metalinguistic awareness development and the role of cognitive and linguistic abilities in its development. Forty-two Chinese-speaking and 36 English-speaking monolingual children completed a series of metalinguistic awareness, false belief, inhibitory control, and receptive vocabulary tasks. The results revealed distinct pathways for the two language groups. English speakers had a more advanced level of rhyme awareness. Chinese speakers developed homonym understanding faster during the preschool years. Inhibitory control was more important for Chinese speakers to develop synonym and homonym understanding, whereas receptive vocabulary was crucial for English speakers to develop rhyme awareness. These differences may be attributable to the characteristics of the Chinese and English lang...
Provider Perception of Pharmacy Services in the Patient-Centered Medical Home.

Background:Despite the positive data on clinical outcomes, cost savings, and provider experience, no study has surveyed providers to evaluate what pharmacy services they find to be worthwhile.Objec...
Intermediate-term mortality and incidence of ICD therapy in octogenarians after cardiac resynchronization therapy

Background Clinical outcomes of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients over the age of 80 have not been well described. Methods We retrospectively identified 96 consecutive patients ≥ 80 years old who underwent an initial implant or an upgrade to CRT, with or without defibrillator (CRT-D vs. CRT-P), at our institution between January 2003 and July 2008. The control cohort consisted of 177 randomly selected patients < 80 years old undergoing CRT implant during the same time period. The primary efficacy endpoint was all-cause mortality at 36 months, assessed by Kaplan-Meier time to first event curves. Results In the octogenarian cohort, mean age at CRT implant was 83.1 ± 2.9 years vs. 60.1 ± 8.8 years among controls (P < 0.001). Across both groups, 70% were male, mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 24.8% ± 14.1% and QRS duration was 154 ± 24.8 ms, without significant differences between groups. Octogenarians were more likely to have ischemic cardiomyopathy (74% vs. 37%, P < 0.001) and more likely to undergo upgrade to CRT instead of an initial implant (42% vs. 19%, P < 0.001). The rate of appropriate defibrillator shocks was lower among octogenarians (14% vs. 27%, P = 0.02) whereas the rate of inappropriate shocks was similar (3% vs. 6%, P = 0.55). At 36 months, there was no significant difference in the rate of all-cause mortality between octogenarians (11%) and controls (8%, P = 0.381). Conclusion Appropriately selected octogenarians who are candidates for CRT have similar intermediate-term mortality compared to younger patients receiving CRT.
An Induction Probe for Measuring Levels in Liquid Metals

A mutual inductance probe has been developed to determine interface locations between gas and liquid metal and between liquid salt and liquid metal. The probe is a bifilar coil of Nichrome wire on ...
Ultrasound-triggered noninvasive regulation of blood glucose levels using microgels integrated with insulin nanocapsules

Diabetes is a serious public health problem affecting 422 million people worldwide. Traditional diabetes management often requires multiple daily insulin injections, associated with pain and inadequate glycemia control. Herein, we have developed an ultrasound-triggered insulin delivery system capable of pulsatile insulin release that can provide both long-term sustained and fast on-demand responses. In this system, insulin-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanocapsules are encapsulated within chitosan microgels. The encapsulated insulin in nanocapsules can passively diffuse from the nanoparticle but remain restricted within the microgel. Upon ultrasound treatment, the stored insulin in microgels can be rapidly released to regulate blood glucose levels. In a chemically-induced type 1 diabetic mouse model, we demonstrated that this system, when activated by 30 s ultrasound administration, could effectively achieve glycemic control for up to one week in a noninvasive, localized, and pulsatile manner.
SOME BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS FOR NONLINEAR ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS ON INFINITE INTERVALS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses boundary value problems for nonlinear ordinary differential equations on infinite intervals. The classical S turmLiouville theory for (linear) two-point boundary value problems defined on a bounded interval has recently been extended to a nonlinear context. The results are somewhat difficult to prove because of the lack of compactness criteria analogous to the Arzela–Ascoliand Rellichtheorems for bounded intervals.
Keylogger Detection Using a Decoy Keyboard

Commercial anti-malware systems currently rely on signatures or patterns learned from samples of known malware, and are unable to detect zero-day malware, rendering computers unprotected. In this paper we present a novel kernel-level technique of detecting keyloggers. Our approach operates through the use of a decoy keyboard. It uses a low-level driver to emulate and expose keystrokes modeled after actual users. We developed a statistical model of the typing profiles of real users, which regulates the times of delivery of emulated keystrokes. A kernel filter driver enables the decoy keyboard to shadow the physical keyboard, such as one single keyboard appears on the device tree at all times. That keyboard is the physical keyboard when the actual user types on it, and the decoy keyboard during time windows of user inactivity. Malware are detected in a second order fashion when data leaked by the decoy keyboard are used to access resources on the compromised machine. We tested our approach against live malware samples that we obtained from public repositories, and report the findings in the paper. The decoy keyboard is able to detect 0-day malware, and can co-exist with a real keyboard on a computer in production without causing any disruptions to the user’s work.
Poly(Lactic Acid) Magnetic Microparticle Synthesis and Surface Functionalization

Iron oxide nanoparticles have been employed for a variety of biomedical applications in both the diagnostic and therapeutic realm, and the number of applications continues to grow. In this letter, magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized via aqueous coprecipitation and subsequently coated in oleic acid to confer colloidal stability in organic solvents. The synthesized nanoparticles were encapsulated within poly(lactic acid) via a double-emulsion synthesis. Following the microparticle synthesis, surface functionalization experiments were performed to gain an understanding of the surface chemistry and the potential ability to conjugate biomacromolecules to the particle surface for use in biomedical applications. The ability to specifically bind to histidine-tagged proteins was assessed through the flow cytometry analysis of histidine-tagged green fluorescent protein after incubation with the particles. The magnetic separation of proinflammatory proteins was assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to monitor cytokine depletion from known concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Lastly, a fluorescently tagged protein molecule was bound to the surface, which allowed the particles to be observed visually under a fluorescent microscope. The particles described here have the potential for numerous biomedical applications including biomacromolecule isolation, cell separation, heavy metal toxin removal, and as a fluorescent imaging modality.
Gender Similarities and Differences for e-Health Behaviors Among U.S. Adults

Abstract Background: Technology access and use are increasing worldwide. Adults can potentially use technology to assist with health promotion and medical care. Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of participation in online health-related activities between different genders of U.S. adults aged 18–90 years. Methods: Primary data collected through a survey panel were used to examine associations between gender and technology ownership, Internet health-seeking behaviors and online behaviors related to health, having an app, and preferences for health information. Data were collected through an online survey panel of U.S. adults (n = 400) in March 2017. Results and Materials: Almost 75% had ever looked for health information and 56.8% had searched for information in the past month. About one-third of both genders (34.1%) reported tracking any health indicator regularly, and 24% had a health app. Compared with males, females were more likely to have ever sought health informa...
Psychopaths fail to automatically take the perspective of others.

Psychopathic individuals display a chronic and flagrant disregard for the welfare of others through their callous and manipulative behavior. Historically, this behavior is thought to result from deficits in social-affective processing. However, we show that at least some psychopathic behaviors may be rooted in a cognitive deficit, specifically an inability to automatically take another person’s perspective. Unlike prior studies that rely solely on controlled theory of mind (ToM) tasks, we employ a task that taps into automatic ToM processing. Controlled ToM processes are engaged when an individual intentionally considers the perspective of another person, whereas automatic ToM processes are engaged when an individual unintentionally represents the perspective of another person. In a sample of incarcerated offenders, we find that psychopathic individuals are equally likely to show response interference under conditions of controlled ToM, but lack a common signature of automatic ToM known as altercentric interference. We also demonstrate that the magnitude of this dysfunction in altercentric interference is correlated with real-world callous behaviors (i.e., number of assault charges). These findings suggest that psychopathic individuals have a diminished propensity to automatically think from another’s perspective, which may be the cognitive root of their deficits in social functioning and moral behavior.
Luigi Pulci’s Parody of Josephus’s Judean Antiquities: An Indictment of Marsilio Ficino

Poi ch’io parti’ da voi is one of the earliest documents pertaining to the fifteenth-century polemic between the vernacular poet Luigi Pulci and the prolific philosopher Marsilio Ficino. Pulci’s so...
Antipsychotic medications are spelling legal trouble for drugmakers.

duced in the 1990s. Examples include quetiapine (Seroquel, AstraZeneca), olanzapine (Zyprexa, Eli Lilly), ziprasidone (Geodon, Pfizer), aripiprazole (Abilify, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Otsuka), and risperidone (Risperdal, Janssen). These “second-generation” agents are less likely to cause muscular disorders, but studies indicated that they could lead to different and potentially more serious adverse effects, including weight gain and diabetes. 2
Patau Syndrome (Trisomy 13)

Trisomy 13, also known as Patau syndrome, is the third most common form of chromosomal abnormalities in live births. Typically, infants are born with a recognizable syndrome of congenital abnormalities including holoprosencephaly, scalp defect, cleft lip and palate, cardiac malformations, polydactyly, kidney malformations, and severe mental retardation. Survival is dependent upon severity of abnormalities and most infants die within the first few months of life.
MDR1/P-glycoprotein function. I. Effect of hypotonicity and inhibitors on rhodamine 123 exclusion

The MDR1 protein (P-glycoprotein) is a membrane ATPase whose expression results in resistance to several anti-tumor drugs. It has been proposed that the MDR1 protein, in addition to its pumplike properties, can function as (Gill et al. Cell 71: 23-32, 1992; Altenberg et al. Cancer Res. 54:618-622, 1994) or mediate the activity of (Hardy et al. EMBO J. 14: 68-75, 1995) a hypotonic stress-induced Cl- current. In addition, one study found that drug transport and Cl- channel-associated functions of MRD1 were separable and mutually exclusive and that, when cells were swelled, the MDR1 protein could not transport substrate. This hypothesis was tested in four pairs of isogenic cell lines with MDR1 transfectants expression 8,000-55,000 MDR1 antibody binding sites per cell. Cytoplasmic exclusion of rhodamine 123 was used as an indicator of MDR1 function to measure the effect of hypotonic stress, MDR1 inhibitors, and Cl- channel blockers on MRD1 transport function. It was found that MDR1 activity and its inhibition by cyclosporine A or flufenamic acid were unaffected by hypotonicity alone or in combination with Cl- channel blockers.
Westford VLBI to GPS Vertical Tie and Implications for the TRF

The difference between the heights of the VLBI and GPS antennas at Westford as found in ITRF96 differs from the optical survey value by approximately 3 cm. The height of the GPS antenna is, however, a function of the minimum elevation angle cutoff with a sensitivity of approximately -3 mm/°. A sample of other Dorne Margolin choke ring antennas of the global GPS network shows similar sensitivity, while two Trimble antennas have more severe sensitivities which are of the opposite sign. Until the elevation dependent phase error can be measured in situ there is no way to determine the absolute height of the current GPS antennas. As a consequence, the scale of the Terrestrial Reference Frame cannot be determined by GPS to better than several parts per billion, and the heights of individual sites are uncertain at the several centimeter level.
Wavelet Expansions in Volume Integral Method of Eddy-Current Modeling

Eddy current nondestructive evaluation is a widely used in-plant NDE technique in which the flaw information is extracted from the impedance change of a coil placed above the metal testpiece. To obtain quantitative information about flaw size and shape, we would like to have a theoretical model which is able to predict the impedance change of a coil for different flaws in the test geometry. Because of its importance, this eddy current forward problem has been studied extensively for many years. For simple flaw shapes and geometry, it is possible to obtain analytical solutions. However, for flaws with irregular shapes and complex geometry, an analytical solution usually is not available so we must find a numerical solution. There have been several numerical models in the literature, e.g., the finite element method[l], the boundary element method[2], the volume integral method[3–5] and methods based on variational formulas[6].
BLOOD EXCHANGE IN REPLACEMENT TRANSFUSIONS

Red cells labeled with radioactive phosphorus have been used by us to measure the extent and the rate of the replacement of blood in exchange transfusions. The experimental results confirmed the theoretic formulations developed in the preceding paper. On the basis of the above data, it seems reasonable to introduce these curves and formulae whenever exchange transfusions are to be performed. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are indebted to Miss G. Ohno and Miss S. Rezek for technical assistance rendered during this study.
Carbon dioxide enrichment alters predator avoidance and sex determination but only sex is mediated by GABA A receptors

We hypothesized that near-future elevated CO2 would affect the antipredatory behavior of two freshwater organisms; a pulmonate gastropod (Physella columbiana) and a cladoceran crustacean (Daphnia magna). Studies have found that pCO2 and increased acidification due to CO2 impedes fright responses to predators by activating GABAA receptors. After administration of predator-derived kairomones and conspecific alarm cues, we also briefly exposed some of the animals to gabazine which is a GABAA receptor antagonist to restore a fright response. We found that added carbon dioxide negatively affected the antipredatory behavior of both species but gabazine did not reverse this effect. To further examine the effect of CO2 and gabazine, we also tested the effect of stressful crowding, cold, and acidic conditions on the production of male daphnid offspring. An increase in ratio of male to female offspring is a common and expected response to stress by daphnids. We found that stress increased the production of males and gabazine reversed this at a pH of 5.5 but not at pH 6.2 or 6.5. Our study suggest that while the main negative effects of anthropogenic CO2 enrichment can be robust, the myriad indirect effects of CO2 make predictions about future predator prey systems less clear.
Licensing of economic activity in Ukraine health care system

The article substantiates the complex nature of the legislation in the sphere of regulation of medical practice activity that includes the rules of various branches of law, which at the same time are connected with the same subject of legal regulation. It shows the role of licensing as a main instrument of medical practice activity regulation – the kind of economic activity in the sphere of health care that is provided by the entities exclusively on the basis of a license obtained according to the law and implies the provision of medical care and medical services aimed on the realization of human rights regarding the protection of their health as the highest social value. In the article there are results of the analysis of the regulative and legal ensuring of licensing process of economic activity in the modern system of health care of Ukraine.
The codon 72 TP53 polymorphism contributes to TSC-tumorigenesis through the Notch-Nodal axis

We discovered that 90.3% of patients with angiomyolipomas, lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), and tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) carry the arginine variant of codon 72 (R72) of TP53 and that R72 increases the risk for angiomyolipoma. R72 transactivates NOTCH1 and NODAL better than the proline variant of codon 72 (P72); therefore, the expression of NOTCH1 and NODAL is increased in angiomyolipoma cells that carry R72. The loss of Tp53 and Tsc1 within nestin-expressing cells in mice resulted in the development of renal cell carcinomas (RCC) with high Notch1 and Nodal expression, suggesting that similar downstream mechanisms contribute to tumorigenesis as a result of p53 loss in mice and p53 polymorphism in humans. The loss of murine Tp53 or expression of human R72 contributes to tumorigenesis via enhancing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and motility of tumor cells through the Notch and Nodal pathways. IMPLICATIONS: This work revealed unexpected contributions of the p53 polymorphism to the pathogenesis of TSC and established signaling alterations caused by this polymorphism as a target for therapy. We found that the codon 72 TP53 polymorphism contributes to TSC-associated tumorigenesis via Notch and Nodal signaling.
Patients with FLT3-mutant AML needed to enroll on FLT3-targeted therapeutic clinical trials

We sought to identify the total number of therapeutic trials targeting FLT3-mutant acute myeloid leukemia (AML) to estimate the number of patients needed to satisfy recruitment when compared with the incidence of this mutation in the US AML population. A systematic review of all therapeutic clinical trials focusing on adult FLT3-mutated AML was conducted from 2000 to 2017. An updated search was performed using ClinicalTrials.gov for trials added between October 2017 and December 2018. Analysis was performed for ClinicalTrials.gov search results from 2000 to 2017 to provide descriptive estimates of discrepancies between anticipated clinical trial enrollment using consistently cited rates of adult participation of 1%, 3%, and 5%, as well as 10% participation identified by the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2008. Twenty-five pharmaceutical or biological agents aimed at treating FLT3-mutant AML were identified. Pharmaceutical vs cooperative group/nonprofit support was 2.3:1, with 30 different pharmaceutical collaborators and 13 cooperative group/nonprofit collaborators. The number of patients needed to satisfy study enrollment begins to surpass the upper bound of estimated participation in 2010, noticeably surpassing projected participation rates between 2015 and 2016. The number of patients needed to satisfy study enrollment surpasses 3% and 5% rates of historical participation for US-only trials in 2017. We estimate that 15% of all US patients with FLT3-mutant AML would have to enroll in US and internationally accruing trials to satisfy requirements in 2017, or approximately 3 times the upper level of historical participation rates in the United States. The current clinical trial agenda in this space requires high percentage enrollment for sustainability.
DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE-KAZAKHSTAN TRADE IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF "ONE BELT, ONE WAY": FEATURES, FORMS OF COOPERATION AND PERSPECTIVES

The "Оne Вelt, Оne Road" policy has brоught ecоnоmic and trаde relаtiоns between Chinа аnd Kаzаkhstаn closer in the field of agricultural products, adding new opportunities for development, and the volume of tradе has bеcomе stаblе and grоwing. Bilateral trade between China and Kazakhstan has shown new positive dynamics, where a unified trade structure is also noted. There are great development prospеcts in the field of agricultural products of the two countries. In this regard, the author points to a mega-project called the Belt and Road Initiative, which focuses on the current situation and characteristics of Sino-Kazakh agricultural trade. The article indicates some problems in the bilateral cooperation of the two states. Among these problems, the most important are noted. For example, the author notes that the situation with a large number of trade barriers prevents more Chinese and Kazakh enterprises from entering the market. As a starting point based on an analysis of the obstacles facing the development of bilateral agricultural trade, countermeasures should be taken to further deepen bilateral cooperation in agricultural trade. A set of proposals to mitigate the problems of economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and China are offered in the conclusion of the article. Key words: trade and economic cooperation, agrarian complex, dynamics of agricultural production growth, trade volume, trade turnover, trade barriers, RK, PRC.
Systematic review of submental artery island flap versus free flap in head and neck reconstruction.

Abstract Purpose The aim of this systematic review is to compare the perioperative characteristics and outcomes of submental artery island flap (SAIF) to free tissue transfer (FTT) in head and neck reconstruction. Materials and methods Screening and data extraction were done with Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science databases by two independent authors to identify randomized and observational studies that compared patient outcomes for SAIF vs. FTT for reconstruction head and neck cancer ablative surgery. Data were pooled with random-effects meta-analysis to determine pooled difference in means (DM), absolute risk differences, and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed with the I-squared statistic. Results Initial query yielded 997 results, of which 7 studies met inclusion criteria. The pooled sample sizes for the SAIF and FTT cohorts were 155 and 198, respectively. SAIF reduced mean operative time by 193 min (95% CI -160 to −227), reduced hospital stay by 2.1 days (95% CI -0.9 to −3.4), and had a smaller flap area of 22.5cm2 (95% CI 6.5 to 38.4). SAIF had a 5% higher incidence of partial flap necrosis than FTT (95% CI, 1 to 10), but all other perioperative complications, including recurrence rate in malignant cases, were statistically comparable. Conclusions The SAIF requires less operative time, hospital stay, and has comparable perioperative outcomes to FTT, but the area of flap harvest is significantly smaller. The findings of this study add to the growing body of evidence demonstrating the safety and reliability of SAIF in head and neck reconstruction.
Micrograin structure evolution associated with grain boundary characteristics in grade 91 steel during long-term creep exposure

Abstract Micrograin structure evolution in ASME Grade 91 steel after 233,823 h of creep exposure at 600 °C was characterized after grain boundary classification in terms of misorientation angle (MOA), boundary energy, and lath martensite substructure. Under long-term creep with an applied stress of 5.9 MPa, micrograin coarsening occurs by annihilation of lath boundaries, consisting of hexagonal dislocation networks (HDN), thanks to the “knitting-out” of dislocations from the boundary, and the absorption of interior mobile dislocations into the boundary. This annihilation is expectedly faster when the original lath boundary shows a small MOA, and is decorated by little precipitation (MX carbonitrides and boundary M23C6 carbides). Under long-term creep with an applied stress of 86.7 MPa, micrograin coarsening occurs not only by lath boundary annihilation, but also by the migration of all other boundary types found in the lath martensite microstructure. This migration is described as a strain-induced boundary migration (SIBM), and mainly occurs when boundaries are relatively precipitation-free, and a gradient of stored internal energy is present between adjacent grains. Even within the same class of boundary, the progress of SIBM differs due to the local evolution of precipitates and the actual boundary energy.
REGIONAL POPULATION REDISTRIBUTION IN THE USSR: 1979-84

This paper examines regional redistribution and population growth rate trends in the USSR from 1979 to 1984, and compares them to preceding intercensal trends for 1959-70 and 1970-79. Total and regional rates of population change for 1979-84 were generally lower than in preceding periods. The most pronounced regional shift continues to be toward rapidly growing Central Asia, which has surpassed the Center as the most populous Soviet region. However, Central Asia now has net out-migration, and the degree of shift to Central Asia was less than during 1970-79. Between 1979 and 1984 a noticeable northward and eastward shift occurred. In particular, there appeared to be a resurgence of Siberia. After two decades of decline, the share of the Soviet population residing in Siberia increased between 1979 and 1984. Another notable development was the slowing of the rate of rural population decline, especially in the Non-Chernozem Zone of European USSR and in Siberia. It is possible that policies to promote migratio...
Waveguide and radiation applications of modes in linear chains of plasmonic nanospheres

We apply an analytical procedure that uses a periodic Green's function based on the Ewald representation to compute the modes in a linear chain of plasmonic nanospheres, including the case of complex modal wave numbers. We analyze both transverse and longitudinal polarizations (with respect to the array axis) of the nanospheres' electric dipole moments. Among all the modes, we discuss those excitable and that can be used for wave guidance through bound modes or for radiation through leaky modes.
LRRC26 is a functional auxiliary γ subunit for BKCa channels in arterial smooth muscle cells (1077.1)

Smooth muscle cell (myocyte) large-conductance calcium (Ca2+)-activated potassium (BKCa) channels are functionally significant modulators of arterial contractility. Leucine-rich repeat containing (LRRC) proteins are novel auxiliary γ subunits that were recently identified to elevate the voltage-sensitivity of recombinant or LNCaP cell BKCa channels. Here, we investigated the expression and physiological functions of LRRC26 in arterial myocytes. RT-PCR and Western blotting detected LRRC26 mRNA and protein in cerebral artery myocytes. Biotinylation, immunofluorescence and immunofluorescence resonance energy transfer microscopy indicated that LRRC26 was primarily plasma membrane-localized and in close spatial proximity to BKCa α subunits. LRRC26 knockdown using RNAi reduced arterial LRRC26, but did not alter BKCa α or β1 protein. Patch-clamp electrophysiology demonstrated that LRRC26 knockdown reduced BKCa channel voltage- and apparent Ca2+-sensitivity and transient BKCa current frequency and amplitude in ar...
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Metal-Binding Proteins of Mytilus Edulis

Metallothioneins (MTs) are cysteine-rich, low molecular weight, metal-binding proteins whose functions, although not clearly understood, appear to be involved with detoxification, storage, and regulation of copper, zinc, cadmium, and mercury (reviews by Webb, 1979; Cousins, 1985). These proteins have been detected in diverse organisms and are ubiquitously distributed in the animal kingdom (Kojima and Kagi, 1978; Roesijadi, 1981; Klaaverkamp et al., 1984), as well as in some fungi (Hamer et al., 1985) and prokaryotes (Olafson et al., 1980). In numerous studies, marine and freshwater fish and invertebrates have been shown capable of synthesizing increased levels of MT’s or similar proteins in response to metal exposure.
Nonrandom Mutagenesis of the Escherichia coli Genome by Nitrosoguanidine

The distribution on the genetic map of mutations induced with nitrosoguanidine in stationary-phase cultures of Escherichia coli is nonrandom.
Specification of sampled data system timing parameters for hard-real-time avionics systems

The specification of hard-real-time (HRT) parameters involves the discipline of sampled data control theory and consideration of the practical capabilities of avionics processor technology. Historically the process has evolved through phases of rate-scrubbing and algorithm modifications (i.e. smoothing, filtering) and is a compromise between the simplicity of high performance prediction from high rate selection and practical processing capability. The specification process is addressed in this paper and guidelines are derived on the basis of sampled data theory. These guidelines introduce scientific discipline into what has historically been an iterative refinement process and insures that RunTime Environment (RTE) requirements are not over specified. >
A patch antenna-based strain sensor for structural health monitoring

A passive strain sensor was investigated using patch antennas. For early damage detection in structures due to external loads, reliable strain information is necessary. A noninvasive method of measuring strain using a patch antenna was investigated to overcome the limitations of existing strain sensing technologies. The metal patch antenna was made on a thin sheet of low-loss polymer with a ground plane on the opposite side. When fed with RF signals, the patch antenna radiates at its resonant frequency. The resonant frequency of the patch antenna varies with its dimensions. Strain-induced change in the dimensions results in a shift in the resonant frequency. A single-frequency antenna, designed and simulated using the Sonnet simulation tool, has a resonant frequency corresponding to its length, so the antenna is sensitive only to the length-direction strain yet insensitive to the width-direction strain. Effect of strain on frequency shift and its sensitivity to strain were calculated. The antenna was fabricated using conventional micromachining techniques. Effects of strain on resonant frequency were verified experimentally and in good agreement with simulated results.
The influence of local tumor ulceration on the effectiveness of endocavitary radiation for patients with early rectal carcinoma

Background Endocavitary radiation therapy is an alternative to surgical therapy for some early rectal carcinomas. Careful patient selection is necessary to ensure good results. The purpose of this study was to examine the authors' experience with endocavitary radiation at their institution from 1984 to 1991 to determine which factors were associated with treatment failure to provide for better future patient selection. Methods Thirty-two patients with carcinoma of the rectum, not apparently involving the muscle wall, underwent 75-120 Gy of endocavitary radiation as potentially curative therapy. Treatment was given as a series of 2-4 doses of 30 Gy at three weekly intervals. Twenty-two patients had polypoid tumors, 5 sessile, and 5 ulcerated. Results After a mean follow-up of 43 months (range, 6-103 months), 4 of 5 patients (80%) with ulcerated tumors developed local recurrences, compared with only 4 of 27 (15%) with sessile or polypoid lesions. Not only was the incidence of local recurrence greater for patients with ulcerated tumors (P = 0.009), but the time to recurrence was shorter also (P = 0.0001). Tumor size, anterior or posterior location, and dose of radiation received did not affect the rate of recurrence. Conclusions These results indicate that superficial polypoid and sessile rectal tumors can be managed successfully with endocavitary radiation. Ulcerating tumors are likely to recur locally within a short time and therefore should be considered for surgical treatment initially.
Travelers' Protection Against Meningococcal Disease: A New Vaccine Option

Compared with other infections, such as yellow fever or malaria, awareness of the potential for travelers to contract meningococcal disease is low. Global disease incidence rates, however, may be as high as 1,000/100,000 population in the “meningitis belt” of sub‐Saharan Africa and are generally between 100 and 800/100,000 population during epidemics in Africa. 1,2 In the United States, the annual incidence is 0.5 to 1.1/100,000 or about 1,400 to 2,800 cases annually. 3 Although the highest disease incidence is in infants, in many regions and countries, a second peak occurs in the 14‐ to 25‐year‐old demographic. Surveillance data from 1999 to 2008 estimated the highest rates of meningococcal disease incidence in the United States were in children aged 4 years and younger (∼2/100,000 population) and adolescents aged 15 to 19 years (∼1/100,000 population). 4 In addition to consideration of the disease incidence, it is also important to consider the impact of meningococcal disease on the patient. Onset of meningococcal disease is often sudden and the rate of progression is unpredictable. Initial symptoms are nonspecific and can resemble those of other common and/or benign diseases. 5 Therefore, it may be difficult to identify and treat the disease quickly. Invasive disease may develop 1 to 14 days after acquisition of meningococci. 6 Despite the availability of appropriate treatment and intensive care, up to 10% to 14% of persons in the United States and 5% to 10% of persons worldwide who contract meningococcal disease die, with a rate of ∼40% among patients with meningococcal sepsis. 1,5,7 Additionally, 11% to 19% of persons who survive meningococcal disease can suffer from permanent disabilities, including brain damage, hearing loss, limb loss, or learning disabilities. 5,7The rapid progression and devastating consequences of disease make prevention through vaccination the best option for controlling meningococcal disease in the … Corresponding Author: Steven Black, MD, Center for Global Health and Division of Infectious Diseases, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, USA. E‐mail: stevblack{at}gmail.com
Mental accounting and categorization

Abstract Mental accounting is an oft-discussed type of decision framing in which individuals are hypothesized to form psychological accounts of the advantages and disadvantages of an event or option. Most discussions of mental accounting have focused on the consequences of framing decisions in this manner rather than on the processes underlying mental accounting. Close examination of these processes suggests they are the same as the processes described in categorization, schema, and script theories. The present manuscript provides insights into the processes hypothesized to underlie mental accounting. This is accomplished by documenting the conceptual equivalence of selected categorization and mental accounting principles and by using empirical data to illustrate the similarity of the principles. In doing so, a mental account is treated as a type of category.