cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Interactions of the whitefly predator Delphastus pusillus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) with parasitized sweetpotato whitefly (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae)

Delphastus pusillus (LeConte), an indigenous coccinellid predator of whiteflies, including sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), feeds on all stages of whiteflies. In laboratory tests, fourth-instar and adult female D. pusillus exhibited a marked tendency to avoid fourth-instar B. tabaci parasitized by the aphelinid endoparasitoids Encarsia transvena (Timberlake) and Eretmacerus sp. nr. californicus Howard in favor of unparasitized whiteflies. The age of the parasitoid within the whitefly influenced the extent of the avoidance. Whiteflies with first-instar parasitoids were not avoided, but those containing third instars and pupal parasitoids were significantly avoided. The presumed causes of the avoidance include parasitism-induced hardening of the whitefly cuticle and introduction of air into the whitefly around maturing parasitoids. D. pusillus and parasitoids tend to attack different stages of the whitefly. This attribute increases temporal separation, enhancing the options for the use of D. pusillus in pest management programs in conjunction with parasitoids.
Measurement of Dimension of Chaos in Optical Bistability

Recent predictions by Ikeda et al.1 and Le Berre et al.2 indicate that as the ratio of response time over round trip time, τ/tR, increases, the dimension of chaotic motion correspondingly increases. We investigate this effect in a hybrid optically bistable device 3,4 through variation of the response time, τ, (i.e. system bandwidth). In this experiment, the gain of the amplifier is the parameter which we hold at a constant point in the bifurcation sequence. For a fast system (bandwidth 550kHz), we indeed see a higher dimension than for a slow system (bandwidth 240kHz), in agreement with the predictions.
Ala Celerum Philippiana

In A. D. 244, after Gordian III had died in battle, his successor, Philip, brought the Persian war to a speedy end. Before returning to Rome from the East, Philip took time out to visit his birthplace, Shahba, in northern Arabia. He rebuilt the town magnificently and renamed it Philippopolis. There an inscription has come to light, dedicated by a most unusual cavalry regiment:
Donor specific blood transfusions and successful spousal kidney transplantation.

AbstractDonor-specific blood transfusions have improved significantly 1-haplotype living related donor kidney transplant results. We have applied this concept successfully in 2 spousal kidney transplants. This technique may provide an additional source of kidney grafts, especially in developing countries without cadaver kidney transplant programs.
Informal Mental Health Support in the Asian American Community and Culturally Appropriate Strategies for Community-Based Mental Health Organizations

ABSTRACTMuch of the literature on culturally appropriate services is focused on barriers to service provision; less is known about how organizations can reduce these barriers. Through qualitative interviews, this study examined how informal helpers within the Asian American community are helping individuals with unmet mental health needs and how mainstream mental health organizations might learn from their experiences. Themes identified include (a) informal assistance, (b) working with the community, (c) gaining trust, and (d) cultural and language appropriateness. By implementing some of the strategies suggested in this paper, mainstream organizations can better serve the mental health needs of Asian Americans.
Dendritic Cell Vaccines Are Superior to Idiotype-KLH Protein Vaccines at Priming a Therapeutic, Tumor-Specific Immunity Against Multiple Myeloma.

Idiotype (Id) protein secreted by myeloma cells is the best-characterized tumor-specific antigen and has been used in clinical vaccination trials administered either as Id-keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) protein vaccines or as Id-pulsed dendritic cell (DC) vaccines. In this study, we used the 5TGM1 myeloma murine model to compare the efficacy of Id-KLH (protein vaccines) versus DCs pulsed with Id-KLH (DC vaccines), two formulas commonly used in clinical trials, to induce tumor-specific immunity, to protect mice from developing myeloma, and to treat myeloma-bearing mice. Vaccinations consisted of three weekly, subcutaneous injections of the protein conjugates (100 μg/injection) or Id-KLH-pulsed, bone marrow-derived mature DCs (106 cells/injection). Following each vaccination, GM-CSF (200 ng/day/mouse) was injected subcutaneously (adjacent to the vaccination sites) for three consecutive days. We found that, although the protein vaccines induced significantly higher titers of specific antibodies, DC vaccines were superior at inducing tumor-specific, cellular immune responses, evident by increased IFN-γ production, T cell proliferation, and cytotoxic T cell activities against the tumor cells. As prophylactic treatments, protein and DC vaccines were equally efficient at protecting mice from subsequent tumor challenge. However, only DC vaccines induced therapeutic immunity in tumor-bearing mice: DC vaccinations not only retarded tumor growth but also eradicated established tumors in more than 50% of mice, which was associated with an induction of potent, tumor-specific type-1 (IFN-γ) and type-2 (IL-4) T-cell responses. DC-vaccinated mice also showed a more pronounced increase in the percentages of CD8+ T cells in their spleens after in vitro stimulation with irradiated myeloma cells and increased tumor-specific cytotoxicity in enriched CD8+ T cells over the whole splenic cells, suggesting that CD8+ T cells play a major role in killing tumor cells in vivo. Furthermore, surviving mice were also protected from rechallenge with the myeloma cells, indicating that memory T cells existed and were functional. Thus, our results show that Id-based DC vaccines may be a favorable vaccine for immunotherapy in MM. Further studies are required to optimize DC vaccination protocols to achieve therapeutic efficacy in clinical trials.
Celebrity smile esthetics assessment: Smile angulation

Abstract Statement of problem Whether deviations in the angulation discrepancy between the intercanine and interpupillary line significantly affect attractiveness is unknown. Purpose The purpose of this prospective study was to quantify dental and facial esthetics to determine whether smile angulation discrepancies in individuals identified as having attractive smiles are smaller than those in the average population. Material and methods An Internet search for "best smile" and "celebrity" identified 108 celebrities (Test group). Photographs showing smiles within 10 degrees of a frontal view were gathered. In mannequin testing, small head rotation ( U test (α=.05). Results Usable photographs were obtained for 94 celebrities (62 women, 32 men) and were compared with photographs of 97 dental students (54 women, 43 men). Significant ( P P >.05). Conclusions Celebrities identified as having "best smile" had significantly smaller mean angulation discrepancies than the control group.
Topology of 2-knots in ℝ4 and symplectic geometry

We show in this paper that there exists a deep relationship between the differential topology of S 2-knots in ℝ4 and their symplectic geometry. In particular, we use symplectic tools to define a real-valued topological invariant of a knotted S 2 in ℝ4 (see Section 3.4 below). Here are the main results which motivate this definition.
Knockdown of the Mitochondrial Protein 18 (MTP18) Improves Cardiomyocyte Survival in Doxorubicin Cardiotoxicity

Doxorubicin (Dox) is one of the most commonly used chemotherapeutic agents, however, its clinical usage is limited by the cumulative dose-related cardiac toxicity. One of the mechanisms of Dox-induced cardiac injury is the free radicle formation, which ultimately results in the alteration of mitochondrial dynamic and the activation of apoptotic signaling. Hence, it is critical to understand the molecular signalling underlying the Dox-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis in order to effectively prevent cardiomyocyte loss during Dox treatment. Recently, a novel mitochondrial protein 18 (Mtp18) has been reported to be essential for the maintenance of mitochondrial integrity and be able to regulate apoptosis. In the current study, we examined the relevance of Mtp18 on cardiaomyocyte apoptosis and its underlying mechanism in a model of Dox-induced cardiac toxicity. Exposure of neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes with Dox resulted in upregulation of Mtp18 expression in mitochondria. Enforced expression of Mtp18 dramatically increased the Dox sensitivity of cardiomyocytes to undergo mitochondrial fission and apoptosis. In contrast, knockdown of endogenous MTP18 increased the resistance of cardiomyocytes to undergo apoptotic cell death following Dox administration. In response to Dox, Drp1 translocated from cytosol to mitochondria, where it mediated the fission of mitochondrial membranes, leading to the cytochrome c release and subsequently activated downstream apoptotic cascade. Mtp18 promoted the Drp1 accumulation in the mitochondria and there by enhancing Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fission and apoptosis. In addition, we observed that overexpression of Mtp18 could not exert its pro-apoptotic effect on Dox exposure when Drp1 was knockdown, suggesting that Mtp18-mediated apoptosis is dependent on Drp1. In summary, our study provides evidence that Mtp18 plays a pro-apoptotic role in Dox-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis and knocking down of endogenous Mtp18 can prevent Dox-induced cardiomyocyte loss. Our future direction is to explore whether long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) can target MTP18 in this process of free radicle-induced cardiotoxicity.
Transcriptional Profiling of the Chicken Tracheal Response to Virulent Mycoplasma gallisepticum Strain Rlow

Mycoplasma gallisepticum, the primary etiologic agent of chronic respiratory disease (CRD) in poultry, leads to prolonged recruitment and activation of inflammatory cells in the respiratory mucosa. This is consistent with the current model of immune dysregulation that ostensibly allows the organism to evade clearance mechanisms and establish chronic infection. To date, studies using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) and microarrays have shown a significant transient upregulation of cytokines and chemokines from tracheal epithelial cells (TECs) in vitro and tracheal tissue ex vivo in response to virulent strain Rlow that contributes to the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the tracheal mucosa. To expand upon these experiments, RNA was isolated from tracheas of 20 chickens infected with M. gallisepticum Rlow and 20 mock-infected animals at days 1, 3, 5, and 7 postinoculation, and samples were analyzed for differential gene expression using Illumina RNA sequencing. A rapid host response was observed 24 h postinfection, with over 2,500 significantly differentially expressed genes on day 3, the peak of infection. Many of these genes have immune-related functions involved in signaling pathways, including Toll-like receptor (TLR), mitogen-activated protein kinase, Jak-STAT, and the nucleotide oligomerization domain-like receptor pathways. Of interest was the increased expression of numerous cell surface receptors, including TLR4 and TLR15, which may contribute to the production of cytokines. Metabolic pathways were also activated on days 1 and 3 postinfection, ostensibly due to epithelial cell distress that occurs upon infection. Early perturbations in tissue-wide gene expression, as observed here, may underpin a profound immune dysregulation, setting the stage for disease manifestations characteristic of M. gallisepticum infection.
A Crack Driving Force Criterion for the Prediction of Interface Crack Kinking in Thin-Film Composites

Interfacial fracture mechanics is a relatively new field with many issues that have not yet been resolved. One such issue is the ability to accurately predict whether or not a bimaterial interface crack will propagate along the interface, kink into the film or substrate, or not propagate at all. In the present work, a crack driving force criterion is proposed in order to predict the level of applied load required to propagate a pre-existing interface crack in thin-film composites subjected to thermal loading. A primary objective is to predict the critical length of an interface crack at which it kinks into the substrate. The phenomenon of interface cracks kinking into the substrate is frequently observed when the film is under tensile loading and the substrate is brittle. An interface crack that advances into the substrate eventually propagates parallel to the interface at a certain steady-state depth. Ultimately, the portion of the structure that remains above the crack may spall, resulting in catastrophic failure. The crack driving force criterion is applied to a two-dimensional, plane strain interface crack problem, and the results compare favorably with available experimental results.
Career Length and Injury Incidence After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Major League Soccer Players.

Background:Little is known about career length after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top men’s professional soccer league in the United States. Fur...
Nanotechnology for cancer screening and diagnosis

Abstract: Screening and early diagnosis of cancer is desirable for predictive, preventive, and immediate treatment interventions in order to reduce mortality rates of cancer patients. Nanotechnology has been enhancing various techniques for screening and detecting cancers in the form of new biosensing and imaging platforms. This review presents the advantages of nanomaterials used in these platforms and introduces the various nanotechnology-based biosensing and imaging techniques that are improving screening and diagnosis of cancers.
Puberty, Psychosocial Correlates of

The biological changes of puberty both influence and are influenced by the social and psychological contexts in which young people live and develop. Influence on puberty, specifically pubertal timing, is hypothesized to result from family stress and from intense exercise with nutritional restriction. Except for relationships with parents, the fact of becoming pubertal, measured as pubertal status, has relatively little effect on behavior. In contrast, pubertal timing, or whether the young person becomes pubertal earlier or later than one's peers, has greater significance for behavior. Earlier development, in particular, seems to increase the likelihood of problems with externalizing behaviors such as delinquency among boys and girls. Given that puberty is occurring as much as a decade earlier now than a century ago, there is a disjunction between adolescents' psychosocial maturity and their physical appearance as well as reproductive potential. This poses special challenges for families and societies.
Policy driven capacity expansion planning of energy infrastructure: modeling and solutions using high performance computing

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxii CHAPTER 1. ENERGY PLANNING PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.
Comparison of polymer, glucose, and hydrostatic pressure induced ultrafiltration in a hollow fiber dialyzer: effects on convective solute transport

Abstract Ultrafiltration induced by (1) poly(sodium acrylate), (2) glucose, and (3) hydrostatic pressure was studied in a hollow fiber dialyzer. Poly(sodium acrylate) added to dialysate induced large amounts of ultrafiltration without crossing the dialyzer membrane. Sodium ions of the acrylate polymer were osmotically active but were held in dialysate by the impermeant anionic polymer. The hydrostatic pressure equivalent of osmotic pressure induced primarily by the sodium ions approximated that predicted for a completely impermeant molecule. The apparent (net) sieving coefficients for vitamin B 12 observed during polymer and hydrostatic ultrafiltration studies were both significantly higher than that observed during glucose ultrafiltration but did not differ from each other. These studies suggest that sodium salts of polyanions can provide an osmotic driving force to yield large amounts of ultrafiltration in dialysis systems and yet not cross the membrane. The studies also suggest that relatively less efficient convective transport with glucose as compared to hydrostatic pressure is neither a membrane phenomenon nor a characteristic of all osmotic pressure induced ultrafiltration. Relatively low effective solute sieving appears to be associated with osmotic induced ultrafiltration with a permeant solute. Under such conditions it is proposed that molecular interaction within the membrane impairs convective transport.
Considerations When Using Array Technologies for Male Factor Assessment

Expression profiles from sets of genes are currently being explored as candidate diagnostics to assess male fertility status and as surrogate makers of paternal toxicological exposure. In this chapter, we describe considerations for their design when using microarrays to create a clinical diagnostic tool. Two commercially available oligonucleotide-based platforms were compared. The results are then referenced against an expressed sequence tag data set and a cDNA array. The concordance between the different platforms for genes indicated as present with high confidence and absent with high confidence when provided with the same pool of RNA is presented. Based on these data, the capacity for this technology to develop into a robust diagnostic for male factor fertility is discussed.
Familienbiographien: Ko-Konstruktionsprozesse im Kontext von Werten, Normen und Regeln

Biographieforschung und Familienforschung sind immer wieder einander nahe gekommen. Jedoch beschaftigt sich Biographieforschung vorwiegend mit der Erforschung individueller Lebenslaufe und weniger mit dem Zusammenhang ganzer Familien als Gruppe und Gemeinschaft, die Erziehung und Bildung als ihre Aufgabe ansieht. Die Thematik, die in diesem Beitrag behandelt wird, ist die Gestaltung der individuellen Biographien der Familienmitglieder auf dem Hintergrund der Familie. Sie wurde systematisch in der Biographieforschung erst in jungster Zeit durch Peter Buchner und seine Forschungsgruppe sowie von Jutta Ecarius etabliert. Individuen entwickeln sich stets in Kontakt mit und in Abgrenzung von der Familie. Rollenzuschreibungen, die Gestaltung der Biographie und die Geschlechtsidentitat, all das wird in Familien zuerst definiert und dann als Folie fur die weitere Entwicklung mitgetragen (vgl. Schneewind 2000; Willi 2002; Jaeggi 2002; Hofer u.a. 2002; Buchner 2005; Ecarius 2002; Bertram u.a. 2005; Bundesministerium fur Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend 2005). Hofer, Wildt und Noack sprechen in diesem Zusammenhang von „Familienkarriere“ und weisen damit darauf hin, dass in einem gemeinsamen Familienzyklus die Familie Veranderungen durchlauft. Die Familienmitglieder werden dabei aber soziologisch als Rollentrager gesehen, die die sich im Zyklus stellenden Familien- entwicklungsaufgaben wie Geburt, Schuleintritt, Jugendphase der Kinder, Ablosephase, Empty-Nest-Situation usw. gemas ihren Rollen gemeinsam losen (vgl. Hofer/Wildt/Noack 2002, S. 19f).
Screening for low grain cadmium phenotypes in sunflower, durum wheat and flax

Cadmium (Cd) level in nonoilseed sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), and durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) grown on uncontaminated, alkaline soils has exceeded limits established in Northern Europe. Separate field experiments were conducted to investigate variability of grain Cd levels among sunflower, durum wheat and flax germplasm, and to seek an efficient screening method for future breeding. There were large variations in leaf Cd concentration among 200 sunflower lines. These lines performed more consistently for Cd uptake at the R5 stage than at the V8 stage across 4 locations with markedly differing soils. Cd concentration in V8 leaves was not related to Cd in grain. The positive correlation between R5 leaf Cd and kernel Cd level was obtained from nonoilseed hybrid (Sigco 954) (R2; = 0.74**), and 200 lines (R2 = 0.44**) tested over 4 locations in 2 field trials, respectively. This indicates that an efficient and low cost screening method can be developed for genotype selection, but plants must be grown to the R5 stage. A preliminary evaluation of 30 durum wheat and 74 flax lines indicated large variations in grain Cd level of durum wheat and flax. Grain Cd concentration ranged from 0.11 to 0.34 mg Cd kg-1 DW for durum wheat, and 0.14 to 1.37 mg Cd kg-1 DW for flax, respectively. This variability indicates that breeding for low grain Cd in durum wheat and flax should be feasible.
Developing Quality Sociodramatic Play in the Classroom for Young Children with Language Delays

Research suggests that play is not simply a luxury, but a critical component of programs for all young children. One of the primary reasons for this strong support of play is research that has indi...
Characterization and Comparison of Trench and Planar Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFET at Different Temperatures

In this paper, the static and dynamic characteristics of discrete 650 V and 1200 V trench TO 247 SiC MOSFET is evaluated and compared with a similar current rating 1200 V planar gate discrete TO 247 SiC MOSFET. The new trench MOSFET has promising application for vehicle charging and auxiliary power supply application due to the lower on-state resistance and lower capacitance. Static characteristics for these devices are evaluated using a curve tracer for different device junction temperature A common double pulse test (DPT) platform is developed to evaluate the switching loss at different device junction temperature ranging from 25°C to 175°C. The experimental setup and results are presented for different load currents and temperature.
Catalytic Applications of Vanadium: A Mechanistic Perspective.

The chemistry of vanadium has seen remarkable activity in the past 50 years. In the present review, reactions catalyzed by homogeneous and supported vanadium complexes from 2008 to 2018 are summarized and discussed. Particular attention is given to mechanistic and kinetics studies of vanadium-catalyzed reactions including oxidations of alkanes, alkenes, arenes, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and sulfur species, as well as oxidative C–C and C–O bond cleavage, carbon–carbon bond formation, deoxydehydration, haloperoxidase, cyanation, hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, ring-opening metathesis polymerization, and oxo/imido heterometathesis. Additionally, insights into heterogeneous vanadium catalysis are provided when parallels can be drawn from the homogeneous literature.
Filipinos Love Serving Others: Negotiating a Filipino Identity in Hawai’i:

Examining how individuals negotiate a Filipino identity in Hawai’i provides insights into the fluidity and flexibility of racism. Filipino identities in Hawai’i are often negotiated at the intersec...
Investigating PID Shunting in Polycrystalline CIGS Devices via Multi-Scale, Multi-Technique Characterization

We investigated potential-induced degradation (PID) in CuIn1-xGaxSe2 (CIGS) mini-modules stressed in the laboratory. Small cores were removed from the modules and were subjected to analysis. We completed a proof-of-concept correlative study relating cathodoluminescence to sodium content via time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry imaging. By comparing one-dimensional depth profile results and three-dimensional tomography results on stressed and unstressed CIGS mini-modules, we can see that PID in CIGS results from sodium migration through absorber, most likely via grain boundaries. Potassium concentration distributions show little change when adding a voltage bias to a temperature and humidity stress. This suggests doping with other large alkali ions, such as cesium and rubidium, rather than sodium can increase the PID resistance of CIGS modules.
The hedgehog's dilemma

Abstract This paper develops a basic model of closeness where people have optimal distances they want to keep from each other. When optimal distances differ, mixed strategies are inevitable in equilibrium. This may lead to unique and completely one-sided equilibrium outcomes where some cannot obtain anything except for what is best for others.
An Alternate Approach to Using Candy Cane Stirrups in Vaginal Surgery.

Background Candy cane stirrups are widely used for vaginal surgery because they provide sufficient operating space. When placed in the standard perpendicular alignment, however, these stirrups cause excessive flexion, abduction, and external rotation of the thigh, which may injure the femoral, lateral femoral cutaneous, sciatic, and common peroneal nerves. Technique We corrected this deficiency by positioning the stirrups parallel to the operating table, just above and tilting slightly toward its lower break. After placing the patient in stirrups, we inserted a double-layer foam pad between her knee and the stirrup and adjusted the height of each stirrup until both thighs were flexed 90 degrees and both knees flexed 100 degrees. We then pushed the L-shaped lower stirrup toward or pulled it away from the operating table until each thigh was vertical, with minimal abduction or adduction. Finally, we rotated the curved upper stirrups medially until each leg was pointing slightly laterally. Experience Of 1,576 vaginal cases, there were eight (0.5%) instances of postoperative sensory neuropathy, which usually involved the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. Conclusion This simple modification to the candy cane stirrups allows placement of patients in dorsal lithotomy with their legs in an anatomically and neurologically neutral position.
Busted! A Dope Ring with Activity Clocked at Dawn and Dusk.

Clock neurons generate circadian rhythms in behavioral activity, but the relevant pathways remain poorly understood. In this issue of Neuron, Liang et al. (2019) show that distinct clock neurons independently drive movement-promoting "ring neurons" in Drosophila through dopaminergic relays to support morning and evening locomotor activity.
Arbitrary decision making in the absence of evidence: an examination of factors related to treatment selection and recidivism for female sexual offenders

As criminal justice professionals are asked to assign risk levels and treat females who sexually offend, identifying risk factors for recidivism prediction and treatment targets is important. Altho...
Fungal Infections of the Central Nervous System.

Fungal central nervous system infections present in a myriad of clinical manifestation and remain a significant diagnostic challenge. Presenting symptoms, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, conventional fungal serum markers and imaging correlates of disease are seldom sensitive or specific; fungal culture growth or histopathologic analysis are often required for definitive diagnoses but limited by feasibility. Novel diagnostic tools (such as the cryptococcal antigen and next-generation sequencing) have increased diagnostic potency when available but require further studies to define their utility. Invasive fungal infections are an emerging health threat in the setting of increased immunomodulatory treatments, advancements in transplant medicine and increased world-wide travel. Therefore, strong clinical suspicion from epidemiologic clues, clinical progression and presence of CNS dissemination risk factors must be exercised to pursue broad diagnostic workups and rapidly initiate medical and surgical management. This article will describe the epidemiology, clinical presentations, diagnostic approach and therapeutic interventions for fungal infections in the central nervous system.
1337. Development, Maintenance, and Application of Opsonophagocytic Assays to Measure Functional Antibody Responses to Support a 20 Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine

Background Opsonophagocytic assays (OPAs) are an important tool for assessing vaccine-induced functional antibody responses. OPAs are complex assays composed of many biological components (eg serum, complement sources, bacteria, and human phagocytes) which contribute to assay variability and may result in titer drift if not carefully controlled. Rigorous development and validation coupled with routine monitoring of assay performance are required to ensure that high-quality OPA serological data are consistently generated throughout the lifetime of existing and next-generation pneumococcal vaccines.
Treatment Timing in Small Cell Lung Cancer, a National Cancer Database Analysis.

Objectives Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive disease treated as soon as possible given its rapid doubling time. Evidence for the appropriate time to chemotherapy initiation (TCI) for SCLC is lacking. This study evaluated TCI in SCLC on a national level. Materials and methods The National Cancer Database identified 64,491 SCLC patients treated with chemotherapy from 2010 to 2014. Factors associated with TCI were identified with multiple linear regression analyses. TCI was categorized into 4 groups using cutoff points of 7, 14, and 28 days. Using these categories, median overall survival and log-rank test was used for univariate analysis of the survival outcome and the Cox model was used for multivariate analysis. Results Median TCI was 18 days with 21% treated ≤7 days, 21% in 8 to 14 days, 30% 15 to 28 days, and 28% >28 days from diagnosis. Younger age, white race, no insurance, more comorbidities, and higher stage were associated with shorter TCI. Median overall survival for TCI within 7 days was 8.2 months, 8 to 14 days was 9.2 months, 15 to 28 days was 10.3 months, and > 28 days was 10.8 months (P 28 days of TCI. Results were similar for stage III and for stages I+II. Conclusions Our results show worse survival with shorter TCI. This provides evidence to inform a discussion regarding appropriate treatment timing and individualizing treatment.
The Maximal Hitting-Time Stochastic Reachability Problem

The maximal hitting-time stochastic reachability problem focuses on finding the maximum likelihood of reaching a time-varying target at some optimal time within a finite time horizon, while remaining inside a time-varying set of safe states. This problem is motivated by target capture problems in which maximizing the likelihood of capture is more important than the particular time of capture. We employ a target tube framework, which admits time-varying target and constraint sets. We show that solution of the maximal hitting-time problem relies upon the solution of the terminal hitting-time problem, for which efficient computational methods exist for linear dynamics and convex and compact target and constraint sets. We demonstrate our method on a 2-dimensional point mass system, and a quadrotor stochastic target capture problem.
A Multivariate Mathematical Algorithm for Diagnostic Information Systems: II. Procedures for Clinical Inference.

This article presents the procedures for clinical inference of a multivariate algorithm for diagnostic information systems. It complements an earlier paper by the authors which described the procedures for data-acquisition and storage of the proposed algorithm. Clinical inference is viewed as a twofold process of (1) acquiring and sampling information, and organizing it in a fashion conducive to subsequent analysis; and (2) deciding about the (ab)normality of functional health domains. Normality is defined as being within the limits of a population criterion interval. The mathematical explication of clinical inference as used in the algorithm constitutes the body of this article.
United States-China Technological Rivalry

Powerful technological platforms — artificial intelligence, gene editing, robotics — are driving a new wave of global innovation, with China and the United States emerging as the “G2” in these and other areas of technology. The United States is ahead overall, but its technology investments and human resources will be soon exceeded by those in China. Still, we project that Chinese innovation will not catch up in some technologies for decades, making some sectors dependent on critical foreign inputs. Political differences between China and the United States, some zero-sum aspects of technological competition, the role of the state in Chinese innovation, and China’s technological vulnerabilities have led the United States to pursue aggressive, and by past standards illegal, interventions in trade. Some decoupling of the technological relationship is underway. Yet technological disengagement is likely to be slower and harder than commonly expected. Third countries — accounting for 60 percent of world GDP— have large stakes in preventing extensive decoupling; China could retain their business by pursuing open economic policies and reforms. In sharp contrast with recent trends, academic research argues for an “open innovation” regime that emphasizes vigorous flows of ideas, researchers, and products, in order to enhance the pace and utilization of innovation everywhere. Yet in the current political setting the open model can lead to technology leakages, creating commercial and national security risks. These issues dominate current policy discussions and generate strong headwinds against open policies. The policy challenges for China and the world are to reduce the scope of current decoupling and to build foundations for more open policies in the future. This requires resuming, to the extent possible, rules-based trade in advanced products and technologies, while establishing safeguards—narrowly-defined controls on trade and investment — that limit national security risks. Technological cooperation in the long run will depend on renewed collaboration among leaders and better tools for managing risks.
"Wireless Paint": Code Design for 3D Orientation Estimation with Backscatter Arrays

In this paper, we consider the problem of estimating the orientation of an object that has been custom-"painted" by an array of backscatter tags. We pose the problem as a coding matrix design with the objective of minimizing orientation estimation error. We show that it is only necessary to consider a subset of code configurations and provide a tractable linear program to find the optimal coding strategy. We provide simulation results using an icosahedral tag arrangement.
The Qing Regulation of the Sangha in Amdo

The political reforms made along the Gansu-Kokenuur border in the aftermath of the Lubsang-Danzin Rebellion (1723-4) represented the first significant change to that frontier to occur in centuries. Only recently have scholars begun to consider the repercussions of these changes for the powerful religious institutions of this region known as Amdo. This article utilises Chinese histories, Tibetan-language materials and Chinese-language land deeds from the eighteenth century to illustrate the drastic increase in imperial oversight and regulation of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and monastics in Amdo, especially those of the Xining River watershed. Significantly, the policies and practices directed toward these monasteries and monastics were those traditionally employed for Chinese Buddhists of the empire's interior. In addition, the reforms introduced in the Xining region helped to set the tone and precedents for how the Qing would later engage with monasteries and monastics elsewhere in Amdo.
Online Communion, Christian Community, and Receptive Ecumenism: A Holy Week Ethnography during COVID-19

A significant liturgical controversy of the COVID-19 pandemic is whether Christians should celebrate communion online. Much of the discussion of online communion has been based on theological and t...
A mobile angular scattering microscope for organelle size estimation.

Angular light scattering measurements have been used to determine the size parameters of spherical particles. By measuring the angular scattering from biological specimen, the average size of the cellular organelles can be estimated, which can be used to determine information about the health of the biological sample. An angular scattering microscope with the ability to be easily moved was constructed from common inexpensive components, which has potential applications for clinical and low-resource settings. The stability and accuracy of the system were investigated by measuring the scattering from polystyrene beads with mean sizes of 5 and 1.75 μm with narrow size distributions. Resulting size estimates obtained from the scattering patterns were consistent with the manufacturer-specified range of diameters for each sample. Initial studies were also conducted on individual fixed HeLa cells. The results presented indicate that the system is capable of obtaining precise and accurate size estimates of beads and single cells’ organelles.
Sustainability Adoption Trend Analysis

The sustainability trend in the automotive market has been analyzed. A dataset of cars was elicited from select companies that have increased their market share in the United States automotive market over the past decade. In the first part, a linear regression model is developed to evaluate how the market share is influenced by key vehicle characteristics, and in particular, to evaluate the role of sustainability in that analysis. For the second part, game theory has been applied to see how market dynamics change in relation to sustainability moves of two competitors. The third part uses technology forecasting techniques to suggest which technology to invest. The results of the paper show that, in the long term, sustainability will be a significant factor in determining a company’s market share. Investing in manufacturing processes that reduce the cost of battery systems can support the competitiveness of hybrid vehicles but so too can investing in research and development to reduce the energy density gap between gasoline and batteries.
The Indentification of Individualism the Codex Colombino-Becker

e destaca en este trabajo que en el codice mixteco prehispanico, del que constituyen dos partes los que se conocen como Codice Colombino y Codice Becker , hay una serie de elementos que, segun parece, fueron danados de intento como para volverlos irreconocibles. Ello se muestra en las cabezas de animales que, en un codice mixteco historico- genealogico como este, aparecen en los glifos de las fechas de anos y dias, en nombres calendaricos y de persona y tambien en locativos. Un examen de este codice deja ver que el afan de ocultar logro suprimir en muchos casos la parte superior de esas cabezas, de modo especial sus tocados y otros ornamentos. El objetivo del presente estudio es buscar la significacion de los jeroglificos a los que dan forma los tocados en cabezas de animal, atendiendo a la parte inferior de esas cabezas, las mandibulas, que en muchos casos no fueron borradas. En opinion de la autora, fijarse en este ultimo elemento le ha permitido la identificacion de varios individuos en los dos fragmentos que integran este codice mixteco.
Case Depth Measurement Using Surface Acoustic Wave Velocity Dispersion

Case hardening is a metallurgical process typically to increase the fatigue and wear resistance of steel components. The case refers to the hardened layer that is formed in this process, and the depth of the case is critical to the components’ performance. Currently, to inspect the quality of a batch of material that has gone through the hardening process, one or more of the parts are sectioned with an abrasive wheel, polished flat and the hardness profile measured using a microhardness indenter. This method of inspection can take several hours, often with the production line stopped, until the results are known. It does have the advantage of measuring directly the desired material properties but has the obvious disadvantages of costly manufacturing down-time, unnecessary scrappage of a production item and assumes that the material properties of other samples in the batch are similar to the one inspected. As a promising alternative approach, nondestructive inspection (NDI) permits a 100% inspection of the batch which is not economically viable using destructive inspection methods. Generally, NDI methods are based on inferring case depth indirectly through measuring electromagnetic or mechanical properties of the part using eddy current or ultrasonic probes [1–4]. Eddy current systems are commonly used for case depth measurements and are known to be reliable for many applications [4]. However, they lack sensitivity if the case depth is deep (e.g. greater than 5 mm in steel parts) and custom probes are required for inspection of components with different geometries.
Enhanced carrier mobilities in two-dimensional electron gases at III-III/I-V oxide heterostructure interfaces

Density functional theory is used to explore the electronic reconstruction at III-III/I-V heterointerfaces. It is demonstrated that due to large $B$-cation valence differences, a $\ensuremath{\delta}$-doped, two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) can be created with an increased intrinsic carrier limit, resulting in interfacial charge densities twice that of prototypical LaTiO${}_{3}$/SrTiO${}_{3}$. Observed decreases in band effective masses suggest enhancements in carrier mobilities. Unprecedented agreement with recent experiments highlights the fact that it is the electronic structure of the bulk component material that defines the properties of oxide 2DEGs. These geometries provide a more tunable platform through which the underlying physics of electron confinement can be thoroughly examined and thus have implications for modern device applications.
Notch1-Induced Delay of Human Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Differentiation Is Associated With Altered Cell Cycle Kinetics

Hematopoiesis is a balance between proliferation and differentiation that may be modulated by environmental signals. Notch receptors and their ligands are highly conserved during evolution and have been shown to regulate cell fate decisions in multiple developmental systems. To assess whether Notch1 signaling may regulate human hematopoiesis to maintain cells in an immature state, we transduced a vesicular stomatitis virus G-protein (VSV-G) pseudo-typed bicistronic murine stem cell virus (MSCV)-based retroviral vector expressing a constitutively active form of Notch1 (ICN) and green fluorescence protein into the differentiation competent HL-60 cell line and primary cord blood-derived CD34(+) cells. In addition, we observed endogenous Notch1 expression on the surface of both HL-60 cells and primary CD34(+) cells, and therefore exposed cells to Notch ligand Jagged2, expressed on NIH3T3 cells. Both ligand-independent and ligand-dependent activation of Notch resulted in delayed acquisition of differentiation markers by HL-60 cells and cord blood CD34(+) cells. In addition, primary CD34(+) cells retained their ability to form immature colonies, colony-forming unit-mix (CFU-mix), whereas control cells lost this capacity. Activation of Notch1 correlated with a decrease in the fraction of HL-60 cells that were in G0/G1 phase before acquisition of a mature cell phenotype. This enhanced progression through G1 was noted despite preservation of the proliferative rate of the cells and the overall length of the cell cycle. These findings show that Notch1 activation delays human hematopoietic differentiation and suggest a link of Notch differentiation effects with altered cell cycle kinetics.
Real Time Visual Cues Extraction for Monitoring Driver Vigilance

This paper describes a real-time prototype computer vision system for monitoring driver vigilance. The main components of the system consists of a specially-designed hardware system for real time image acquisition and for controlling the illuminator and the alarm system, and various computer vision algorithms for real time eye tracking, eyelid movement monitoring, face pose discrimination, and gaze estimation. Specific contributions include the development of an infrared illuminator to produce the desired bright/dark pupil effect, the development a digital circuitry to perform real time image subtraction, and the development of numerous real time computer vision algorithms for eye tracking, face orientation discrimination, and gaze tracking. The system was tested extensively in a simulating environment with subjects of different ethnic backgrounds, different genders, ages, with/without glasses, and under different illumination conditions, and it was found very robust, reliable and accurate.
The diagnosis of genital malignancy by vaginal smears.

Abstract Six thousand, seven hundred fifty-three smears on 1,709 patients have been studied. The smears were obtained, stained, and classified by the methods of Papanicolaou and Traut. One hundred fourteen patients with genital malignancy were diagnosed by smears out of a group of 124 diagnosed by pathology; a percentage error of 8.1. False positive diagnoses were made in 34 of 1,585 patients; a percentage error of 2.1. Nine patients have been presented who illustrate the diagnosis of genital carcinoma by the vaginal smear method. These include squamous celled carcinoma of the cervix, 5; squamous celled carcinoma of the vulva, 1; sarcoma of the uterus, 1; and chorionepithelioma, 1. Those patients having squamous celled carcinoma of the cervix show that the diagnosis of malignancy sometimes may be made earlier by smears than by the biopsy method. Primary adenocarcinoma of the oviduct was revealed in the vaginal smears of one patient. One patient with adenocarcinoma of the endometrium in which smears were negative even when they were obtained from the tumor surface is reported to show a weakness of the smear method. Salient features, good and bad, of the vaginal smear method in the diagnosis of genital cancer have been presented. It is thought that this procedure will become routine in the complete physical examination of women, but that treatment for malignancy should not be instituted prior to pathologic tissue confirmation.
Software challenges for multicore computing

Current technological trends have led chip manufacturers to move to designs that include multiple processors, or cores, on each chip. In some cases, these processors are homogeneous (e.g., Intel, AMD) and in others they are heterogeneous (e.g., Cell). It is clear is that these designs represent the future of computational chips and they will effect enormous changes in the way software is designed and implemented to take advantage of their power. In this talk, I will survey issues that will be critical to making systems, particularly HPC systems based on multicore chips usable by application developers. The talk presents a series of “big questions” (not to be confused with “grand challenges”) about software, particularly compilers and programming tools, for multicore chips. Topics include utilization of bandwidth (both on and off chip), on-chip memory hierarchy (shared versus separate caches), methods for exploitation of parallelism (data parallelism versus pipelining), and inter-core synchronization mechanisms. The talk will also address the special challenges presented by on-chip heterogeneous parallelism such as that found on the IBM Cell chip and planned for future Intel designs. I will conclude with a discussion of my own group's preliminary research on compilers and tools for systems based on multicore chips and future research directions for the computer science community as a whole.
Debugging by Remote Reflection

Reflection in an object-oriented system allows the structure of objects and classes to be queried at run-time, thus enabling "metaobject" programming such as program debugging. Remote Reflection allows objects in one address space to reflect upon objects in a different address space. Used with a debugger, remote reflection makes available the full power of object-oriented reflection even when the object examined is within a malfunctioning or terminated system. We implemented remote reflection as an extension to an interpreter to create a very effective debugger for Jalapeno, a Java Virtual Machine written in Java.