cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
LARVAL AGGREGATION AFFECTS FEEDING RATE IN CHLOSYNE POECILE (LEPIDOPTERA: NYMPHALIDAE)

Larvae of Chlosyne poecile (Felder) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Melitaeini) on Razisea sp. (Acanthaceae) feed in large aggregations as early instars but disperse and feed in small groups or as solitary caterpillars in later instars. The effect of group size on per capita feeding rate was tested by manipulating the number of larvae on a leaf and measuring the leaf area eaten in short-term feeding trials. Feeding rate increased significantly with group size for first instars but decreased with group size for all larger instars. Although feeding rate decreased significantly with group size for second instars, second instars in the field were usually found in large groups and did not begin to disperse until the third instar. Variance-to-mean ratios indicate that larval aggregation was lower in later instars, slowly approaching a random distribution. The distributions of larger instars may therefore be the result of random dispersal to food and not the active avoidance of other larvae. If the observed lag between the predicted optimal time to disperse and the observed pattern is adaptive, then it may be due to unmeasured benefits of aggregation, such as lower predation rates and unmeasured costs of dispersal. Egg clustering and aggregation of larvae may be more common for butterflies in the Neotropics than in other areas.
Effects of low level intermediate exposure to atrazine and chlorpyrifos in Sprague Dawley rats

Abstract. Atrazine and chlorpyrifos are a commonly used herbicide and pesticide, respectively. Mammalian studies have found similar effects from these chemicals including reduced birth weight of offspring and reduced numbers of viable offspring. Additionally, invertebrate and fish studies have found synergistic toxicological effects. It was hypothesized that these chemicals would not individually have statistically significant effects but the combined group would experience effects on birth weight of pups and number of pups born as a result of synergistic effects. This study examined the effect of these two chemicals in Sprague Dawley rats at levels of 25mg/kg of body weight for atrazine and 5mg/kg for chlorpyrifos. Four groups were established: a control receiving corn oil, a group receiving only atrazine, a group receiving chlorpyrifos, and a group receiving both chemicals. Subjects were exposed for three weeks prior to impregnation and throughout term. No statistically significant differences were foun...
Answering the Call: How Group Mentoring Makes a Difference

Mentoring programs answer the call for social justice for many students who are in success-inhibiting environments. This study employed a case study design to investigate the perceived benefits from a group mentoring program. Data was collected from pre- and post-assessments focus groups, and artifacts. Four participant benefits were revealed: comfort, non-academic support, academic support, and safety. This study argues that group mentoring offers a viable option to traditional mentoring approaches. Additionally, recommendations include further exploration into benefits from other types of group mentoring programs. Schools with scarce volunteers and monetary resources could benefit from the implementation of this mentoring approach.
The cause and consequence of fiber cell compaction in the vertebrate lens

Fiber cells of the ocular lens are arranged in a series of concentric shells. New growth shells are added continuously to the lens surface and, as a consequence, the preexisting shells are buried. To focus light, the refractive index of the lens cytoplasm must exceed that of the surrounding aqueous and vitreous humors, and to that end, lens cells synthesize high concentrations of soluble proteins, the crystallins. To correct for spherical aberration, it is necessary that the crystallin concentration varies from shell-to-shell, such that cellular protein content is greatest in the center of the lens. The radial variation in protein content underlies the critical gradient index (GRIN) structure of the lens. Only the outermost shells of lens fibers contain the cellular machinery necessary for protein synthesis. It is likely, therefore, that the GRIN (which spans the synthetically inactive, organelle-free zone of the lens) does not result from increased levels of protein synthesis in the core of the lens but is instead generated through loss of volume by inner fiber cells. Because volume is lost primarily in the form of cell water, the residual proteins in the central lens fibers can be concentrated to levels of >500 mg/ml. In this short review, we describe the process of fiber cell compaction, its relationship to lens growth and GRIN formation, and offer some thoughts on the likely nature of the underlying mechanism.
Kant on chemistry and the application of mathematics in natural science

In his Metaphysische Anfangsgrunde der Naturwissenschaft, Kant claims that chemistry is a science, but not a proper science (like physics), because it does not adequately allow for the application of mathematics to its objects. This paper argues that the application of mathematics to a proper science is best thought of as depending upon a coordination between mathematically constructible concepts and those of the science. In physics, the proper science that exhausts the a priori knowledge of objects of the outer sense, only motions and concepts reducible to motions can be legitimately coordinated with mathematical constructions. Since chemistry can neither achieve its own a priori principles of coordination nor be reduced to the coordinated doctrine of motion, it is a merely improper science.
Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering Studies of Glow-Discharge-Produced a-SiGe:H Alloys

Electron density fluctuations associated with microstructural features on a scale from about 1 to 25 nm in glow-discharge-deposited a-Si 1-x Ge x :H films were studied by the technique of small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). Films prepared in four different deposition systems (in different laboratories) have been characterized and a general increase in the SAXS signal with increasing x is observed. Density deficiencies determined from film flotation measurements lead to the correlation of the increased scattering intensities with increases in the volume fractions of micro voids. Modeling of the data yields void size distributions that demonstrate significantly more of the larger voids (2 to 6 nm) than found at x=0 (around 1 nm). For the alloys with x>0.4, the scattering at the smallest angles was observed to decrease substantially upon tilting of the sample relative to the x-ray beam. This result contrasts with the small or no changes in SAXS upon tilting device-quality x=0 films. This anisotropie scattering associated with the tilting experiments has been modeled with distributions of ellipsoidal microvoids that are preferentially oriented with their major axes normal to the film plane. This latter result is consistent with a columnar-like microstructure. However, one film with x=0.37 shows no evidence for such microstructure.
A survey of 0 + 5 vascular surgery residency candidates: Perceptions of an applicant pool.

BACKGROUND Applications to integrated (0 + 5) vascular surgery residencies have increased, while total applications have stayed relatively constant. This survey sought to document the perceptions of 0 + 5 vascular surgery applicants. METHODS Academic faculty conducted interviews for 0 + 5 residency match at an academic medical center in preparation for the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Main Residency Match. Applicant pool (n = 20) perceptions were determined with surveys. Participation was anonymous and voluntary. RESULTS Nineteen interviewees (26.3% female: 73.7% male), age (26.8 ± 2.6 years) responded (95% response rate). Of 19 respondents, 68% became interested in vascular surgery in their third year with 53% becoming aware of 0 + 5 programs in their third year. All respondents identified a vascular surgery attending at their institution as significant mentors. Forty-seven percent identified their mentor during their third year of medical school. All respondents felt that 0 + 5 training would prepare them adequately for the workforce and board certification exams. Almost all (89%) had plans to seek jobs immediately upon completion of residency. CONCLUSION Applicants remained positive about their planned training and career paths. Attending vascular surgeons were identified as the strongest mentors, yet most students decided only in their third and fourth years to pursue 0 + 5 residencies. Educational debt remains a concern, and there may be consideration for a concerted effort to recruit potential candidates sooner.
African Orature as Ecophilosophy: Tuning in to the Voices of the Land

This article puts political theory and ethnography into an engagement with orature to advance a new model of agency, authority, and collectivity, in which politics reveals itself to be an “ecological” process involving the conjoint action of the living, the ancestors, and the land. I explore the orature of the Gurensi and Boosi people of Ghana in relation to Deleuze and Guattari’s idea of “minor literature,” which refers to a way of appropriating language as a collective utterance to call forth new political identities and sensitivities. By sensitizing us to the expressivity of the land as reciprocating ancestors, I argue that Gurensi and Boosi orature might affect a “stutter” in the majoritarian orientations of European American ecophilosophy, which has hitherto neglected African traditions of thought. It might give voice to the subjugated knowledges and earthen languages of African people that trouble the dual colonization of the aural–oral by the literary and of nonhumans by humans.
Turkeys and Domestication in the Southwest: Implications from Homol'ovi III

ABSTRACTTurkey remains (Meleagris gallopavo Linnaeus) recovered from Homol'ovi III include three completely articulated adult skeletons, numerous immature turkey bones, seven whole eggs, three eggs containing fetal skeletal remains, and numerous eggshell fragments. It is suggested that the prehistoric inhabitants of Homol'ovi III were raising turkeys in captivity; however, the turkeys did not contribute significantly to subsistence at Homol'ovi III.In a recent work McKusick (1986) has classified domesticates and varieties of M. gallopavo on the basis of their osteology. As the Homol'ovi III remains do not conform to McKusick's categories, the validity of identifying sub-specific varieties of turkeys in the Southwest using osteological remains is questioned. These varietals are hypothesized to reflect the range of variation of M. gallopavo due to varying environmental conditions rather than intentional breeding of turkeys by prehistoric humans. The variation in turkey morphology may be due to phenotypic pl...
Wound healing around endosseous implants in experimental diabetes.

Abstract Wound healing has been shown to be altered in diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to identify the effects of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on osseointegration. Diabetes was induced in 40-day-old rats by intraperitoneal injection of 70 mg per kg streptozotocin. At 14 days postinjection, implants were placed in the femora of 10 diabetic and 10 age-matched normal rats. Animals were sacrificed at 28 and 56 days following implantation. Histometric results indicated that the quantity of bone formation was similar for diabetic and control animals (P > .05). However, less bone-implant contact was observed for diabetic compared to control animals at both 28 and 56 days (P < .0001). This study demonstrates that the process of osseointegration is affected by streptozotocin-induced diabetes.
Something wiki this way comes: An interactive way of posting, updating, and tracking changes in information used by library staff

Les bibliotheques ont commence a adopter la technologie wiki pour soutenir la creation et la mise a jour collaborative de la documentation sur le Web. Le cas de la bibliotheque de la Miami University illustre les potentialites de cette technologie, qui permet d'editer et de corriger en toute liberte les informations evoluant tres rapidement, comme les heures d'ouverture de la bibliotheque ou la disponiblite des services en ligne.
Maternal manipulation of pollen provisions affects worker production in a small carpenter bee

Mothers play a key role in determining the body size, behavior, and fitness of offspring. Mothers of the small carpenter bee, Ceratina calcarata, provide smaller pollen balls to their first female offspring resulting in the development of a smaller female. This smaller female, known as the dwarf eldest daughter, is coerced to stay at the nest to forage and feed siblings as a worker. In order to better understand how this maternal manipulation leads to the physiological and behavioral differences observed in dwarf eldest daughters, we characterized and compared the quality of the pollen balls fed to theses females vs. other offspring. Our results confirm earlier studies reporting that there is a female-biased sex allocation in the first brood cell position and these daughters received mass provisions significantly smaller than other daughters. In addition to the smaller quantities of pollen provisioned, we found evidence for maternal control of the quality of pollen invested in the dwarf eldest daughters. Late brood cells receive pollen balls with significantly less floral diversity than early brood cells. This difference in floral diversity affects the protein content of the pollen balls; in that, older offspring receive less protein than their younger siblings. These results reveal that C. calcarata mothers manipulate not only the quantity but also the quality of the provision provided to her first offspring to create a small worker she is able to coerce to remain at the nest to help raise her siblings. This overlapping of generations and division of labor between mother and dwarf eldest daughter may represent the first steps in the evolution of highly social groups. One of the major transitions to the formation of highly social groups is division of labor. By manipulating resource availability to offspring, parents can force offspring to remain at the nest to serve as a worker leading to a division of labor between parent and offspring. In the small carpenter bee, C. calcarata, mothers provide their eldest daughter with less food resulting in a smaller adult body size. This dwarf eldest daughter (DED) does not have the opportunity to reproduce and serves only as a worker for the colony. In addition to overall reduced investment, we found that mothers also provide a different variety of pollen to her DED. By exploring the factors and mechanisms that influence maternal manipulation in a non-eusocial bee, we can begin to understand one of the major transitions in social group formation.
Cognitive Impairment and Carbamazepine

The effects on cognition of carbamazepine, phenytoin and sodium valproate were compared in 64 new cases of childhood epilepsy treated at the Leeds General Infirmary, England.
The Cambia Sojourns Scholars Leadership Program: Conversations with Emerging Leaders in Palliative Care.

Abstract Background: There is a pressing workforce shortage and leadership scarcity in palliative care to adequately meet the demands of individuals with serious illness and their families. To address this gap, the Cambia Health Foundation launched its Sojourns Scholars Leadership Program in 2014, an initiative designed to identify, cultivate, and advance the next generation of palliative care leaders. This report intends to summarize the second cohort of Sojourns Scholars' projects and their reflection on their leadership needs. Objective: This report summarizes the second cohort of sojourns scholars' project and their reflection on leadership needs. Methods: After providing a written reflection on their own projects, the second cohort participated in a group interview (fireside chat) to elicit their perspectives on barriers and facilitators in providing palliative care, issues facing leadership in palliative care in the United States, and lessons from personal and professional growth as leaders in palli...
The quality of evidence in tablet-assisted interventions for students with disabilities

The purpose of this review is to weigh the evidence of the effectiveness of tablet-assisted instructions (TAIs) at improving academic outcomes of students with disabilities. An extensive search process with inclusion and exclusion criteria yielded a total of 17 studies to be included in the present study: three group design studies and 14 single-subject design studies. The quality indicators proposed by Gersten et al. (2005) and Horner et al. (2005) were applied to evaluate the methodological rigour of TAI studies and their feasibility to be considered evidence-based. Results revealed that (a) most group design studies provided little information about the intervention agent and equivalence of groups across conditions, (b) the social validity of using tablets for students with disabilities was strongly established across all single-subject design studies and (c) procedural fidelity in assessment and intervention implementation was inadequately addressed in group design studies. Although this review suggests that TAI used in single-subject design studies can be a potentially evidence-based practice for students with disabilities, there still remains to be established whether the group design studies can be considered evidence-based, because of the lack of methodological rigour in group design studies. Finally, implications for future directions and practical ideas are discussed.
Induction of Plac8 promotes pro-survival function of autophagy in cadmium-induced prostate carcinogenesis

Chronic exposure to cadmium is known to be a risk factor for human prostate cancer. Despite over-whelming evidence of cadmium causing carcinogenicity in humans, the specific underlying molecular mechanisms that govern metal-induced cellular transformation remain unclear. Acute exposure (up to 72 h) to cadmium induces apoptosis in normal prostate epithelial cells (RWPE-1), while chronic exposure (>1 year) transforms these cells to a malignant phenotype (cadmium-transformed prostate epithelial cells; CTPE). Increased expression of autophagy-regulated genes; Plac8, LC3B and Lamp-1; in CTPE cells was associated with cadmium-induced transformation. Increased expression of Plac8, a regulator of autophagosome/autolysosome fusion, facilitates the pro-survival function of autophagy and upregulation of pAKT(ser473) and NF-κβ, to allow CTPE to proliferate. Likewise, inhibition of Plac8 suppresses CTPE cell growth. Additionally, overexpression of Plac8 in RWPE-1 cells induces resistance to cadmium toxicity. Pharmacological inhibitors and an inducer of autophagy failed to affect Plac8 expression and CTPE cell viability, suggesting a unique role for Plac8 in cadmium-induced prostate epithelial cell transformation. These results support a role for Plac8 as an essential component in the cadmium-induced transformation of normal prostate epithelial cells to a cancerous state.
Vascular Graft Infection: Incidence and Potential Risk Factors.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to identify factors that increase the risk of vascular graft infections (VGI) in patients following abdominal or lower extremity revascularization surgery. DESIGN Retrospective, descriptive study. METHODS We reviewed the electronic health records of 223 patients who had undergone abdominal or lower extremity revascularization procedures from July 2012 to November 2014, looking for factors associated with VGI. We reviewed 28 preoperative, intraoperative, and post-operative factors. Descriptive statistics (mean, range, and standard deviation) were used to describe the sample; χ was used to determine correlations between the risk factors and subsequent VGIs. The level of significance was determined at P = .05, with a confidence level of 95%. RESULTS We identified 33 cases of VGIs for the 223 charts reviewed, yielding an incidence rate of 15%. Seventeen of the 33 patients with VGI (51.5%) were male. The average age of patients who experienced VGI was 60.9 years (standard deviation, 12.2 years, range, 29-81 years). Preoperative factors that were shown to show statistical significance for the development of VGI were sequential procedures (P = .003), diabetes mellitus (P = .002), hemoglobin A1c more than 7.0 (P = .0002), blood glucose more than 180 mg/dL (P = .0006), and lack of mobility (0.0097). Intraoperative factors associated with VGI were hemostatic agents applied to the surgical field intraoperatively (P = .003) and perioperative hypoxemia (P = .027). Postoperative factors associated with VGI were discharge from the hospital to skilled nursing facility or acute rehabilitation facility (P = .005) and unscheduled clinic visits (P = .008). CONCLUSION We measured a 15% incidence of VGI and identified multiple pre-, intra-, and postoperative associated factors. Vigilance is required to prevent VGI and knowledge of specific risk factors is important.
Exploring How ICTs and Administration Are Entwined: The Promise of Information Ecosystems:

This essay discusses the interrelationship among administrative practices, use of information and computing technologies (ICTs) in public and private organizations, and the role of information. Thi...
Skull and Sinus

Traditional outpatient diagnosis of acute rhinosinusitis frequently results in overuse of antibiotics. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) of the maxillary sinus is specific for clinically important fluid, but may miss subtle abnormalities that are rarely clinically important. The ethmoid and frontal sinuses are more challenging to image and are infrequently abnormal in isolation from the maxillary sinus. The absence of maxillary sinus fluid is a strong reason to avoid antibiotics in most patients, and helps reassure them. However, a patient with fever, severe symptoms suggestive of sinusitis, but no fluid with maxillary ultrasound, may need a computerized tomography (CT) scan to look for isolated ethmoid, frontal, or sphenoid sinusitis. A few clinical studies, and our clinic’s experience, suggest that ultrasound can substantially reduce antibiotic use for sinusitis [1–3], although there are no large randomized trials to confirm this. Only 23% of patients suspected of sinusitis in our clinic had positive ultrasound [3]. The presence of fluid does not differentiate between viral and bacterial disease, so the final antibiotic decision requires integration of ultrasound with the rest of the patient findings.
Angiogenesis Modulation by Arachidonic Acid-derived Lipids: Positive and Negative Regulators of Angiogenesis

Arachidonic acid-derived lipids such as 15 deoxy-PGJ2 or 15 epi-lipoxin A4 have been shown to be potent anti-angiogenesis agents regardless of the angiogenesis stimulus. Other arachidonic acid-derived mediators differentially stimulate angiogenesis and the balance among the different arachidonic acid metabolites along their interactions might play an important role in angiogenesis hemostasis in various angiogenesis-associated disorders.
Effects of Sex Hormones on Spontaneous Autoimmune Disease in NZB/NZW Hybrid Mice

Weanling NZB/NZW F1 (B/W) mice were treated with sex steroid hormones in an attempt to modify their spontaneous autoimmune disease. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) improved survival, whereas 17-β-estradiol (E2) or DHT plus E2 reduced survival. The latter combination was more lethal than E2 alone. Survival was accompanied by decreased concentrations of antibodies to DNA and polyadenylic acid, and less evidence of renal disease. Mice treated with E2, or DHT plus E2, had higher concentrations of autoantibodies, more severe renal disease, and reduced responses to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and Concanavalin A (Con A). The thymus gland from several mouse strains (including NZB and B/W) contains a classical estrogen receptor. Treatment of mice with E2 caused translocation of the cytoplasmic estrogen receptor to the nucleus. A cytoplasmic androgen receptor was found in the thymus gland of NZB, B/W and Balb/c mice. An effect of sex steroid hormones on the thymus could influence immune regulation and perhaps explain, at least in part, the modulation of autoimmune disease by E2 and DHT.
Delay-Based Service Differentiation with Many Servers and Time-Varying Arrival Rates

We study the problem of staffing (specifying a time-varying number of servers) and scheduling (assigning newly idle servers to a waiting customer from one of K classes) in the many-server V model w...
Role of Glutamatergic System and Mesocorticolimbic Circuits in Alcohol Dependence

Abstract Emerging evidence demonstrates that alcohol dependence is associated with dysregulation of several neurotransmitters. Alterations in dopamine, glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid release are linked to chronic alcohol exposure. The effects of alcohol on the glutamatergic system in the mesocorticolimbic areas have been investigated extensively. Several studies have demonstrated dysregulation in the glutamatergic systems in animal models exposed to alcohol. Alcohol exposure can lead to an increase in extracellular glutamate concentrations in mesocorticolimbic brain regions. In addition, alcohol exposure affects the expression and functions of several glutamate receptors and glutamate transporters in these brain regions. In this review, we discussed the effects of alcohol exposure on glutamate receptors, glutamate transporters and glutamate homeostasis in each area of the mesocorticolimbic system. In addition, we discussed the genetic aspect of alcohol associated with glutamate and reward circuitry. We also discussed the potential therapeutic role of glutamate receptors and glutamate transporters in each brain region for the treatment of alcohol dependence. Finally, we provided some limitations on targeting the glutamatergic system for potential therapeutic options for the treatment alcohol use disorders.
C-MEDS: COMMUNITY MEDICATION EDUCATION, DATA, AND SAFETY PROGRAM

C-MEDS is a brief, customized medication safety and management intervention delivered in-home by a team of geriatric experts (pharmacists, nurses, and pharmacy technicians). We enrolled 104 diverse older adults. Among these, 68% were female and the mean age was 72 (SD=8.5). Number of routine prescription medications taken ranged from 3 to 24, with an average of 9 (SD=4.2). Nearly half (47%) of participants lacked prerequisite cognition/literacy, 53% had one or more ER visits and 43% had one or more falls in the previous 6 months. More than 1,500 medications related problems were identified. About 13% of these problems were related to adherence issues; 46% to safety issues; 15% to lack of patient/caregiver skills or knowledge in drug administration; and 8.5% were actual or potential drug interaction, duplication, or side effects. Interventions were most successful when patients and caregivers were receptive to receiving help and instruction in medication management.
Imbroglios of Humans and Nonhumans

The intent of Chapter 1 is to rectify the existing, human-centered discourses on the human–animal relation. If we ourselves are nature, as Bruno Latour, Gernot Bohme and some others allow, then we may study the unities and not the oppositions between humans and animals. First Donald Wesling proposes new concepts and terms for an animalist mode of interpretation; then he considers radical multispecies writers in science fiction (K.S. Robinson) and in the prose poem (Laszlo Krasznahorkai). Last in Chapter 1 he sets up Maurice Merleau-Ponty (d. 1961) as our best guide on the animal and human body as moving agent of perceiving and thinking. With terms from this phenomenological framework, literary readers may better attend to attention and may read more successfully for perceptual content.
Online Cashback Affiliate: A New Promotional Pricing Model

Through reimbursing a portion of the transactional amount to some consumers in a form of cashback, merchants are able to exercise third-degree price discrimination by offering two asymmetric prices via an online dual channel. To better understand such a novel pricing mechanism, we develop a game theoretical model and start our analyses with a market consisting of one merchant, one affiliate site and consumers heterogeneous in their product valuation. From a price point of view, cashback shopping appears to provide site users with a saving opportunity since the effective post-cashback price they pay is perceived lower than the regular price targeted at non-users. However, we find that under some conditions this seemingly lower price could be actually higher, as compared to the uniform price when the merchant does not price-discriminate. An important implication is that all consumers may end up suffering from higher prices in the presence of the cashback mechanism. This surprising result, referred to as the cashback paradox, defies a common intuition that a firm who exercises price discrimination must raise the price for one segment of consumers but decrease for the other. We also develop two extensions to seek explanations behind various industry practices. We find that it is in a merchant’s best interest to affiliate with multiple sites and the resulting competition improves overall market efficiency. Moreover, merchants who are disadvantageous in brand valuation should target price-sensitive consumers by strategically offering cashback deals. Our results, consistent with several real-world observations, have useful implications for marketers.
Markov Chain Monte Carlo Sampling for Target Analysis of Transient Absorption Spectra

Global and target analysis techniques are ubiquitous tools for interpreting transient absorption (TA) spectra. However, characterizing uncertainty in the kinetic parameters and component spectra derived from these fitting procedures can be challenging. Furthermore, fitting TA spectra of inorganic nanomaterials where the component spectra of different excited states are nearly or completely overlapped is particularly problematic. Here, we present a target analysis model for extracting excited-state spectra and dynamics from TA data using a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampler to visualize and understand uncertainty in the model fits. We demonstrate the utility of this approach by extracting the overlapping component spectra and dynamics of single- and biexciton states in CsPbBr3 nanocrystals. Significantly, refinement of the component spectra is accomplished by fitting the entire fluence-dependent series of ensemble TA data using the Poisson statistics of photon absorption, providing multiple checks for internal consistency. The MCMC method itself is highly general and can be applied to any data set or model framework to accurately characterize uncertainty in the fit and aid model selection when choosing between different models.
Pregabalin in the reduction of pain and opioid consumption after burn injuries: A preliminary, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

AbstractBackground:The primary objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of 300 milligrams (mg) and 600 mg of pregabalin compared to placebo in the reduction of pain in patients with noncritical partial and full thickness burn injuries.Methods:A prospective, randomized, double-blinded, sin
Hydrodynamics and critical slowing down

Abstract We introduce an effective theory which extends hydrodynamics into a regime where the critical slowing down would otherwise make hydrodynamics inapplicable.
Coordination Analysis of Gene Expression Points to the Relative Impact of Different Regulators During Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress.

Analysis of gene expression can be challenging, especially if it involves genetically diverse populations that exhibit high variation in their individual expression profile. Despite this variation, it is conceivable that in the same individuals a high degree of coordination is maintained between transcripts that belong to the same signaling modules and are associated with related biological functions. To explore this further, we calculated the correlation in the expression levels between each of ATF4, CHOP (DDIT3), GRP94, DNAJB9 (ERdj4), DNAJ3C (P58IPK), and HSPA5 (BiP/GRP78) with the whole transcriptome in primary fibroblasts from deer mice following induction of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Since these genes are associated with different transducers of the unfolded protein response (UPR), we postulated that their profile, in terms of correlation of transcripts, reflects distinct UPR branches engaged, and therefore different biological processes. Standard gene ontology analysis was able to predict major functions associated with the corresponding transcript, and of the UPR arm related to that, namely regulation of the apoptotic response by ATF4 (PERK arm) and the ER stress-associated degradation for GRP94 (IRE1). BiP, being a global regulator of the UPR, was associated with activation of ER stress in a rather global manner. Pairwise comparison in the correlation coefficients for these genes' associated transcriptome showed the relevance of selected genes in terms of expression profiles. Conventional assessment of differential gene expression was incapable of providing meaningful information and pointed only to a generic association with stress. Collectively, this approach suggests that by evaluating the degree of coordination in gene expression, in genetically diverse biological specimens, may be useful in assigning genes in transcriptome networks, and more importantly in linking signaling nodules to specific biological functions and processes.
Grasp Rehabilitation of Stroke Patients Through Object Manipulation with an Intelligent Power Assist Robotic System

A 1-DOF experimental power assist robotic system was developed for grasping and lifting objects tied with it by stroke patients as a part of their upper arm grasp rehabilitation practices. A human-in-the-loop model of the targeted dynamics for lifting objects with the system was developed that considered prospective patient’s weight perception. A position control scheme based on the weight-perception-based dynamics model was developed and implemented. The control parameters were the virtual mass values used for the grasped and manipulated object. The virtual mass values that produced satisfactory human-robot interactions (HRI) in terms of maneuverability, motion, stability, health and safety, etc. were determined. The results showed that a few sets of mass values could produce satisfactory HRI. Then, stroke patients grasped and manipulated objects with the system separately for the most satisfactory virtual mass values that provided optimum kinesthetic perception. In separate experiments, the virtual mass value was exponentially reduced when the patients manipulated the objects with the system, which provided variation in kinesthetic perception. The results showed that the power-assisted manipulation with optimum kinesthetic perception significantly contributed to stroke rehabilitation. The results also showed that the rehabilitation performance varied with the variation in the kinesthetic perception. In addition, effectiveness of a proposed game-like visual interface and smart tele-rehabilitation for connected health was investigated.
Effects of intrinsic defects and alloying with Fe on the half-metallicity of Co 2 MnSi

The electronic structure and half-metallic gap of ${\mathrm{Co}}_{2}\mathrm{MnSi}$ in the presence of crystallographic defects, partial Fe substitution for Mn, and thermal spin fluctuations are studied using the coherent potential approximation and the disordered local moment method. In the presence of 5% Co or Mn vacancies the Fermi level shifts down to the minority-spin valence-band maximum. In contrast to NiMnSb, both types of Mn antisite defects in ${\mathrm{Co}}_{2}\mathrm{MnSi}$ are strongly exchange coupled to the host magnetization, and thermal spin fluctuations do not strongly affect the half-metallic gap. Partial substitution of Mn by Fe results in considerable changes in the Bloch spectral function near the Fermi level, which strongly deviates from the rigid-band picture. In particular, a light band with the Fe character crosses the Fermi level at about 50% concentration. At room temperature, Fe substitution of up to 30% slightly increases the spin polarization at the Fermi level.
Mismorphism: The Heart of the Weird Machine (Transcript of Discussion)

As Jon mentioned, this is one of our two talks at this workshop. My colleagues Vijay and Michael, over here, will be presenting later in the morning. In this talk, I’ll introduce what mismorphisms are, and some of the things that we work on, which are LangSec and weird machines. And I’ll talk a bit more about some of the work we did in this paper. We want some insight from all of you about what we can do to improve our work. And we have some holes that we’ve identified that we want your help fixing.
Analysis of core-noise contributions in a realistic gas-turbine combustor operated near lean blow-out

Abstract The relative importance of direct and indirect combustion noise in a realistic gas-turbine combustor is investigated. While temperature fluctuations are commonly recognized as the primary source of indirect combustion noise, recent theoretical analysis has shown that mixture inhomogeneities and associated variations in the Gibbs free energy represent another indirect noise-source contribution that is further investigated in this study. To this end, a hybrid model is developed that combines large-eddy simulations for predicting the unsteady turbulent reacting flow field in the combustor with a linearized Euler solver to describe the transmission and generation of noise through the downstream nozzle. By considering an operating point near the lean blow-out limit at cruise conditions, it is shown that indirect noise has an appreciable contribution to the overall noise emission at low frequencies, and direct noise arising from a tonal instability in the combustor dominates at higher frequencies. At this operating point, indirect noise contributing from compositional inhomogeneities was found to be comparable in magnitude to entropy noise from temperature inhomogeneities. A modal analysis of the indirect noise sources showed that the entropy and compositional noise are shifted in phase, resulting in a cancellation of the indirect noise. Effects of Mach number and modal shape of the combustor-exit perturbations on the noise generation are investigated, demonstrating the importance of spatial inhomogeneities to the core-noise contribution.
Marine protected areas do not prevent marine heatwave-induced fish community structure changes in a temperate transition zone

Acute climate events like marine heatwaves have the potential to temporarily or permanently alter community structure with effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. We aimed to quantify the magnitude and consistency of climate driven community shifts inside and outside Marine Protected Areas before and after a marine heatwave using a kelp forest fish community dataset in southern California, USA. Abundance, biomass, diversity and recruitment of warm-water affinity species during the marine heatwave were significantly greater compared with prior years yet cool-water affinity species did not show commensurate declines. Fish communities inside MPAs were not buffered from these community shifts. This result is likely because the particular species most responsible for the community response to environmental drivers, were not fisheries targets. Resource managers working to preserve biodiversity in a changing climate will need to consider additional management tools and strategies in combination with protected areas to mitigate the effect of warming on marine communities.
Biomass bales infield aggregation logistics energy for tractors and automatic bale pickers — A simulation study

Abstract Infield bale aggregation is essential for bale removal and preparing the field for subsequent crops, which can be more efficiently performed using the modern automatic bale picker (ABP) that supports multiple bales/trip (BPT) than commonly used tractors. But the energy involved in the bale aggregation logistics using ABP has not been thoroughly evaluated. Therefore, the energy involved in the bale aggregation, in terms of fuel consumption, was studied for different logistic scenarios using a tractor (control) and ABP through a user-developed simulation program in R. Different variables such as field areas (8 to 259 ha), biomass yields (3–40 Mg ha − 1 ), four outlet locations, and five equipment speeds (6.6–10.5 km h − 1 ) using realistic equipment turning paths were used in the simulation. The Nebraska Tractor Test general method and fuel efficiency method were considered for the fuel consumption calculations. Fuel consumption for the ABP (8–259 ha) with 8 BPT on an average decreased by 72 % and 53 % compared to a tractor with 1 and 2 BPT, respectively, based on logistics distance and equipment operation. Field area, biomass yield, and BPT were the most influential variables affecting logistics distance; while, field area, biomass yield, BPT, and equipment speed affecting the operation time and fuel quantity. Convenient prediction models (multi-variate nonlinear) for logistics distance, operation time, and fuel quantity, using the influential field variables, produced very good fits ( R 2 ≥ 0.98 ). Overall, an ABP with a capacity of 8 BPT, split which can also handle 11 BPT, is recommended considering the logistics energy.
Rock Climbing Injuries in the Youth Population

Background Rock climbing is an increasingly popular sport worldwide and will debut in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Climbing places unique physical demands on pediatric athletes and carries inherent risks of injury. In many other sports, specialization has been shown to have deleterious effects on athletes, but this has not been studied within youth climbing. Additionally, few studies have explored injury epidemiology and risk factors in the pediatric climbing population. Our purpose was to evaluate how specialization and other potential risk factors are associated with injury and burnout in the pediatric …
School-Related Social Support as a Buffer to Stressors in the Development of Adolescent Life Satisfaction

Adolescents who report high levels of satisfaction with their life tend to have better grades in school, fewer behavior problems, and positive long-term outcomes. For this reason, there is a growin...
West Nile Viral Meningitis in a Heart Transplant Recipient

Introduction West Nile virus (WNV) infection is uncommon and can cause encephalitis or meningitis. The CDC reported 958 cases diagnosed in 47 continental states and Washington DC in 2019. Only one other case has been reported in San Diego County so far in 2020. WNV infection in solid organ transplant recipients is rare and typically presents as encephalitis, with few reported cases in orthotopic heart transplant (OHT) recipients. Here we describe a case of WNV meningitis in a patient 1-year post-OHT. Case Report A 53-year-old female with history of non-ischemic cardiomyopathy due to myocarditis underwent OHT at UC San Diego 1 year ago. Her postoperative course was complicated by 3R rejection and was treated with anti-thymocyte globulin and pulse dose steroids. She recovered well, however 11 months post-OHT she experienced insidious onset of nausea and vomiting. One month later she started to experience malaise, tremors and headaches so she presented to our emergency room. Her immunosuppression regimen at that time included tacrolimus 2 mg twice daily and mycophenolate mofetil 750 mg twice daily. She was febrile to 103°F so blood and sputum cultures were obtained, lumbar puncture (LP) was performed and broad-spectrum antibiotics were started. The LP demonstrated elevated opening pressures of 31 mmHg, pleocytosis and elevated glucose, however cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cultures and PCR array were unremarkable. Antibiotics were discontinued after 48 hours of negative cultures. CSF and blood returned positive for anti-WNV IgM and IgG. Later in her admission she developed reactive polyarthralgia which was treated with a 5-day burst of oral prednisone. She was discharged after 9 days, but continued to experience nausea, vomiting and polyarthralgia. She was readmitted 2 weeks later (13 months after transplant) with worsening joint pain, nausea, vomiting and blurry vision. Ophthalmologic exam was notable for papilledema, and brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed ventriculomegaly. Repeat LP was notable for interval decrease in opening pressures (now 22 mmHg), and CSF serology remained positive for anti-WNV IgM and IgG. Serum WNV PCR was negative. Given the improvement in her opening pressures, she was managed supportively and discharged after 4 days on a longer prednisone taper for reactive arthritis. Summary Here we report a rare case of WNV meningitis in a recent OHT recipient whose condition improved with supportive care.
Communication Efficient Distributed Hypergraph Clustering

Hypergraphs can capture higher-order relations between subsets of objects instead of only pairwise relations as in graphs. Hypergraph clustering is an important task in information retrieval and machine learning. We study the problem of distributed hypergraph clustering in the message passing communication model using small communication cost. We propose an algorithm framework for distributed hypergraph clustering based on spectral hypergraph sparsification. For an n-vertex hypergraph G with hyperedges of maximum size r distributed at s sites arbitrarily and a parameter e∈ (0,1), our algorithm can produce a vertex set with conductance O(√1+e/1-e √φG), where φG is the conductance of G, using communication cost ~O(nr2s/eO(1)) (~O hides a polylogarithmic factor). The theoretical results are complemented with extensive experiments to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm under different real-world datasets. Our source code is publicly available at github.com/chunjiangzhu/dhgc.
Robustness of GaN Gate Injection Transistors under Repetitive Surge Energy and Overvoltage

GaN HEMTs have no avalanche capability and withstand the surge energy through capacitive charging, which often causes significant voltage overshoot up to their catastrophic limit. While the single-event overvoltage failure has been recently studied for GaN HEMTs, it is still unclear on their robustness under repetitive overvoltage and surge-energy events. This work studies the robustness of the GaN gate injection transistor (GIT) under repetitive overvoltage events implemented at the device hard-switched turn-off. A clamped, inductive switching circuit with a 400 V dc bias and a controllable parasitic inductance are used to generate the overvoltage stress events with different overvoltage magnitude up to 1050 V (90% of the device destruction limit), different switching periods down to 0.33 ms, and different temperatures up to 150 °C. The electrical parameters were characterized and monitored between stress cycles. The 650-V, 31-A rated GITs show no failure or permanent degradation after 1-million overvoltage events at different switching periods, or elevated temperatures. These results suggest the great potential of GaN GITs for applications that demand stressful operating conditions such as electrical vehicle powertrains.