cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Gene Expression and the Surgical Management of Suspicious Thyroid Tumors

Purpose: Patients with a preoperative cytologic diagnosis of a suspicious thyroid nodule present a therapeutic dilemma because surgery differs for benign and malignant lesions. To address this issue, several molecular markers, including human telomerase reverse transcriptase ( TERT ), have been tested as markers of thyroid cancer. Because most studies select cases falling into well-defined categories to test new markers, they may overestimate their discriminatory power when applied to samples that are difficult to classify. Fine-needle aspirates (FNAs) of the thyroid with indeterminate cytology are an example of such cases. Experimental Design: We examined whether assessing TERT mRNA by reverse transcription-PCR could have improved the surgical management in a cohort of 100 patients undergoing thyroidectomy for indeterminate FNA results. Results: Ninety percent of 48 cancers were TERT positive, as were 35% of 52 benign lesions. When 10 cases with concomitant lymphocytic thyroiditis were excluded, the overall sensitivity of TERT was 91% (95% confidence interval, 80–98%) and specificity was 79% (64–90%). No clinical or tumor variable contributed to the predictive ability of TERT except for tumor size, which added only marginally. Basing the surgical approach on the TERT assay alone would have reduced lobectomies performed for malignant disease from 11 to 4 cases and reduced total thyroidectomies for benign lesions from to 15 to 9, an overall 50% reduction in suboptimal treatment. Conclusions: The overall performance of preoperative differential diagnosis for thyroid tumors with indeterminate FNA results can be substantially improved by the inclusion of molecular markers such as TERT .
A numerical method for the analysis of single-mode low-dispersion graded-index fibers

A numerical integration method for the calculation of the time dispersion of optical-fiber modes is introduced and used to determine the parameters of single-mode graded-index silica-based fibers for the 1.55-μm band. The method gives an accuracy on the order of 0.001 ps/km/nm, and it was possible to quantify the error in assuming the overall time dispersion to be the sum of the material and waveguide dispersions. The analysis indicates that when large material dispersion is to be neutralized by waveguide dispersion, the outer diameter of the cladding must be increased to avoid higher microbending losses. When the difference between the refractive indices at the center of the core and in the cladding decreases, the ratio between the cladding and core diameters must be increased.
Fast-computed tomography evaluation of age-related changes in upper airway structure and function in normal men.

The reasons for the increased prevalence of snoring and sleep-disordered breathing in elderly adults are not clear. We hypothesized that age-related reductions in upper airway (UA) size, increased UA collapsibility, and/or inadequate compensatory action of the UA dilator muscles were contributory factors. Fast-computed tomography (CT) was used to examine UA size at FRC and atmospheric pressure, as well as its collapsibility and distensibillty in response to negative and positive UA pressures actively generated by the subjects at FRC. The electromyographic activity of the genioglossal muscle group (EMGgg) was recorded to assess UA dilator muscle response. Thirty adult men with normal overnight polysomnography (mean AHI = 4 ± 1/h) were studied, and three subgroups of 10 subjects each, young (20–39), middle-age (40–59), and old (60–79), were compared. Unexpectedly, minimal UA cross-sectional area (Amin) at FRC and atmospheric pressure was larger in the old group than in the young group (73 ± 9 versus 49 ± 7 ...
Vertical handoffs in fourth-generation multinetwork environments

Revolutionary drivers for 4G include a push toward universal wireless access and ubiquitous computing through seamless personal and terminal mobility. One of the major challenges for seamless mobility is the criterion of a vertical handoff protocol: a handoff protocol for users that move between different types of networks. Traditional operations for handoff detection policies, decision metrics, and radio link transfer are not able to adapt to dynamic handoff criteria or react to user inputs and changing network availabilities. Nor are they able to deliver context-aware services or ensure network interoperability. Thus, new techniques are needed to manage user mobility between different types of networks. This article presents a tutorial on the design and performance issues for vertical hand-off in an envisioned multinetwork fourth-generation environment. Various network architectures and technologies for 3G and beyond are described, including wireless LANs, cellular, satellite, and Mobile IP. Then the problem of vertical handoff is defined in the context of such a diverse network environment. Finally, research efforts to resolve the open problems are explored, including new techniques for dynamic handoff decision and detection algorithms and context-aware radio link transfer.
Effects of Intraocular Activity Blockade on the Morphology of Developing LGN Neurons in the Cat

Spontaneous neuronal activity is known to play a major role in the construction and final functioning of neuronal circuits, especially those that are formed through interactions of competing inputs. The requirement for neuronal activity in the formation of highly specific connections found in the adult has been well documented in the development of the cat visual system. Shatz and Stryker (1988) and Sretavan et al. (1988) showed that prenatal intracranial infusion of the sodium channel blocker tetrodotoxin, TTX, blocks the segregation of retinogeniculate afferents into eye-specific layers in the lateral geniculate nucleus, LGN, that normally form before birth in the cat. In addition, Stryker and Harris (1986) demonstrated that the formation of the ocular dominance columns in layer 4 of the cat visual cortex can be prevented if retinal ganglion cell discharges are eliminated by intraocular injections of TTX within the critical period postnatally. These studies have clearly shown that action potential activity is required for the elimination of excessive axonal branches and the remodeling of the axonal arbor. Little, however, is known about the role of activity on dendritic development. In this paper we wished to determine whether action potential activity from the retina also influences the morphological development of the dendritic arbors of LGN neurons.
Sensitivity to social information, social referencing, and safety attitudes in a hazardous occupation.

Social referencing, or seeking information cues from others, occurs when a worker must make sense of those aspects of work, like safety hazards, that are ambiguous. This is a central argument of Social Information Processing Theory (SIPT), a social referencing and job characteristics theory of work attitudes. Adapting SIPT to the understanding of safety perceptions and attitudes, this paper hypothesizes relationships between the worker’s sensitivity to social information, the worker’s social safety cognitions, and the worker’s own safety attitudes. Findings from a field study of workers in a hazardous occupation, emergency care/firefighting, confirmed SIPT-predicted relationships among these factors: the worker’s belief in management’s willingness to provide a safe work environment, the degree of risk the worker associates with his or her job, the worker’s concern about the frequency of exposure to hazards, and the worker’s personal experiences with hazards. These findings also suggest that a social referencing and job characteristics perspective like SIPT provides a logical and useful theoretical framework for understanding workers’ interpretations of safety conditions. This perspective also helps relate theories of safety attitudes to a broad set of theories of social information and organizational behavior.
Cognitive Control and Rumination in Youth: The Importance of Emotion.

Rumination involves the tendency to passively dwell on negative emotions along with their meanings and consequences. Susan Nolen–Hoeksema demonstrated the role of rumination in the development of several forms of psychopathology and suggested that cognitive control may be one factor that makes some individuals more prone to ruminate than others. Studies with adults have consistently found that rumination is associated with cognitive control difficulties, especially related to switching and inhibiting emotional information. Because rumination predicts psychopathology by adolescence, the present study examined whether ruminating youth would show similar cognitive control difficulties. Fifty–two adolescents completed two tasks from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery and reported on their depressive symptoms and tendency to ruminate. There was no effect of rumination on a task measuring general cognitive flexibility. However, rumination was associated with difficulty inhibiting negative information when switching from negative to positive blocks on an Affective Go/No–go task. Results suggest both similarities and differences compared to adult studies and are discussed in terms of clinical implications for the prevention and treatment of psychopathology.
Hunger and health among undocumented Mexican migrants in a US urban area

Objectives: To measure the occurrence and correlates of hunger and to evaluate the association between hunger and three health indicators among undocumented Mexican immigrants. Design: Non-probability cross-sectional sample. Setting: Neighbourhoods within New York City. Subjects: Four hundred and thirty-one undocumented Mexican immigrants living in the USA. Results: Hunger was indicated by approximately 28% of respondents. In a multivariate model, working as a day labourer was associated with hunger (odds ratio (OR) 3.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.83‐6.06) while receiving public assistance protected against hunger (OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.06‐0.88). In multivariate models, respondents who reported experiencing hunger also reported poorer overall health (OR 1.69, 95% CI 0.95‐3.02) and more days of poor mental (P 50.045) and physical health (P ,0.0001). Greater amount of time lived in the USA was also associated with worse overall health (P 50.054) and more days of poor mental and physical health (P ,0.01). Conclusions: The present study shows that food insecurity and hunger may be problems among undocumented migrants living in the USA. Uncertain and unpredictable work schedules and limited access to public assistance may contribute to high levels of hunger, which in turn may also negatively affect mental and physical health. Increasing amount of time lived in the USA is also associated with poorer health indicators. Programmes that provide undocumented migrants with emergency access to resources may reduce food insecurity and lead to improved health outcomes among this vulnerable population.
Frequency comb sources and techniques for mid-infrared spectroscopy and sensing

We review broad bandwidth mid-infrared frequency comb sources based on Yb, Er, and Tm fiber-laser technology and describe their use in spectroscopic approaches aimed at rapid, time-resolved detection of trace gases.
Characterization of recombinant, ureolytic Streptococcus mutans demonstrates an inverse relationship between dental plaque ureolytic capacity and cariogenicity

Dental caries results from prolonged plaque acidification that leads to the establishment of a cariogenic microflora and demineralization of the tooth. Urease enzymes of oral bacteria hydrolyze urea to ammonia, which can neutralize plaque acids. To begin to examine the relationship between plaque ureolytic activity and the incidence of dental caries, recombinant, ureolytic strains of Streptococcus mutans were constructed. Specifically, the ureABCEFGD operon from Streptococcus salivarius 57.I was integrated into the S. mutans chromosome in such a way that the operon was transcribed from a weak, cognate promoter in S. mutans ACUS4 or a stronger promoter in S. mutans ACUS6. Both strains expressed NiCl2-dependent urease activity, but the maximal urease levels in ACUS6 were threefold higher than those in ACUS4. In vitro pH drop experiments demonstrated that the ability of the recombinant S. mutans strains to moderate a decrease in pH during the simultaneous metabolism of glucose and urea increased proportionately with the level of urease activity expressed. Specific-pathogen-free rats that were infected with ACUS6 and fed a cariogenic diet with drinking water containing 25 mM urea and 50 μM NiCl2 had relatively high levels of oral urease activity, as well as dramatic decreases in the prevalence of smooth-surface caries and the severity of sulcal caries, relative to controls. Urease activity appears to influence plaque biochemistry and metabolism in a manner that reduces cariogenicity, suggesting that recombinant, ureolytic bacteria may be useful to promote dental health.
The Effect of Antisera to Bovine LH in Hysterectomized and Intact Heifers

Injection of antiserum to bovine LH into hysterectomized heifers caused significant decreases in corpus luteum weight, total progesterone, total progestins and 20�-hydroxypregn4-en-3-one (204-01) concentration but had no effect on progesterone concentration. Gonadotropin secreting cells in the anterior pituitaries of these heifers were markedly degranulated and pituitary LH contents lowered. Thyroid epithelial cell heights were lowered suggesting that the antiserum also contained anti-TSH. The administration of antibovine LH to cyclic heifers from Day 2 to Day 6 of the cycle caused a significant decrease in corpus luteum weight and total progesterone content, but only a slight decrease in progesterone concentration. Histological signs of regression were clearly evident in the corpora lutea of the hysterectomized anti-LH treated heifers, but little difference could be noted between the corpora lutea of control and treated cyclic animals. Injection of 50 ml of antibovine LH daily from Day 2 to Day 6 of the cycle increased the interval between corpus luteum removal at Day 11 and return to estrus. Injections of 50 ml of antibovine LH daily from Day 12 to Day 16 and from Day 16 to Day 20 of the cycle increased the lengths of the treatment cycles to 28.5 and 36.7 days, respectively. The first post-treatment cycle in both groups was significantly shortened. The increase in cycle length was primarily due to a failure of follicles to develop to mature size, rather than to prolongation of the life span of the corpora lutea. The results of these experiments indicated that LH is required for follicular development and maturation and for the induction of estrus, as well as for corpus luteum maintenance.
This Is the City: Making Model Citizens in Los Angeles

This Is the City: Making Model Citizens in Los Angeles. By Ronald J. Schmidt, Jr. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005. 192p. 18.95 paper.Jean Baudrillard once argued that “there is no theory of the media” (For a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign, 1981, p. 164). Perhaps one might say the same in regard to a theory of culture, but Ronald Schmidt helps move us toward a better understanding of both. His book helps us recognize the link between the media and political culture. Akin to Baudrillard, Schmidt discusses the rhetoric and images used by the economic and political elite to reinforce the latent social and political hierarchies in society.
Clone DB: an integrated NCBI resource for clone-associated data

The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Clone DB (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/clone/) is an integrated resource providing information about and facilitating access to clones, which serve as valuable research reagents in many fields, including genome sequencing and variation analysis. Clone DB represents an expansion and replacement of the former NCBI Clone Registry and has records for genomic and cell-based libraries and clones representing more than 100 different eukaryotic taxa. Records provide details of library construction, associated sequences, map positions and information about resource distribution. Clone DB is indexed in the NCBI Entrez system and can be queried by fields that include organism, clone name, gene name and sequence identifier. Whenever possible, genomic clones are mapped to reference assemblies and their map positions provided in clone records. Clones mapping to specific genomic regions can also be searched for using the NCBI Clone Finder tool, which accepts queries based on sequence coordinates or features such as gene or transcript names. Clone DB makes reports of library, clone and placement data on its FTP site available for download. With Clone DB, users now have available to them a centralized resource that provides them with the tools they will need to make use of these important research reagents.
Constraints on onsets and codas of words and phrases

For any phonotactic restriction on syllable onsets and codas, it can be shown that parallel restrictions are attested at edges of each higher prosodic domain. Onsets can be required at the beginnings of syllables, words or utterances, codas can be banned at the ends of any of these constituents and so on. This paper argues that these restrictions follow from constraint schemata: any markedness constraint on syllable onsets or codas (MOns or MCoda) is part of a family of constraints (MOns(Ons/PCat) or MCoda(Coda/PCat)) which imposes parallel restrictions on initial onsets or final codas of each prosodic domain. These prosodic domain-edge markedness constraints can induce epenthesis, deletion or other segmental changes at domain edges; they can also shape the prosodic structure of words.
Drug interactions and antipsychotic therapy

Various combinations of drugs may be used to treat psychotic disorders, but pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions can result in adverse effects. In most cases, interactions are of clinical significance only when drug therapy is initiated or discontinued, or when major changes in dosage are made. A number of patient-related variables also affect the clinical significance of a drug-drug interaction. To help predict the occurrence of interactions, and therefore minimize or prevent them, the clinician should be familiar with each agent's pharmacokinetics, the enzymes involved in its metabolism, and the expected pharmacologic effects. With this knowledge, the clinician may consider decreasing the dosage of previous therapy or reducing the dosage of a coadministered drug to prevent or minimize the potential of an adverse interaction.
The relationship between effective arterial capacitance and pulse wave velocity is dependent on left ventricular stroke volume.

Background: increased arterial stiffness is a predictor of cardiovascular events. The stroke volume (SV) to pulse pressure (PP) ratio is an estimate of arterial capacitance. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a measure of arterial stiffness. This study evaluated the effect of left ventricular (LV) SV on the SV/PP—PWV relationship. Methods: 97 patients had applanation tonometry and echocardiography to measure arterial capacitance (SV/PP), PWV, and central aortic pressure. Results: 50 patients had normal SV and 47 had low SV. For all patients, PWV inversely correlated with SV/PP. PWV and SV/PP correlated more strongly in the normal SV group than in the low SV group. Aortic PP was significantly correlated with PWV in all patients, in the normal SV group, and in the low SV group. Conclusion: effective arterial capacitance correlates with PWV. The presence of decreased SV weakens the relationship.
A computational pipeline to generate MHC binding motifs

Background: Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules play key roles in host immunity against pathogens by presenting peptide antigens to CD8+ T-cells. Many variants of MHC molecules exist, and each has a unique preference for certain peptide ligands. Both experimental approaches and computa-tional algorithms have been utilized to analyze these peptide MHC binding characteristics. Traditionally, MHC binding specificities have been described in terms of binding motifs. Such motifs classify certain pep-tide positions as primary and secondary anchors according to their impact on binding, and they list the pre-ferred and deleterious residues at these positions. This provides a concise and easily communicatable summary of MHC binding specificities. However, so far there has been no algorithm to generate such bind-ing motifs in an automated and uniform fashion. Results: In this paper, we present a computational pipeline that takes peptide MHC binding data as input and produces a concise MHC binding motif. We tested our pipeline on a set of 18 MHC class I molecules and showed that the derived motifs are consistent with historic expert assignments. Conclusions: We have implemented a pipeline that formally codifies rules to generate MHC binding motifs. The pipeline has been incorporated into the immune epitope database and analysis resource (IEDB) and motifs can be visualized while browsing MHC alleles in the IEDB.
Large-eddy simulation of the flow past a circular cylinder at sub- to super-critical Reynolds numbers

Abstract Large-eddy simulation of turbulent flow past a circular cylinder at sub- to super-critical Reynolds numbers is performed using a high-fidelity orthogonal curvilinear grid solver. Verification studies investigate the effects of grid resolution, aspect ratio and convection scheme. Monotonic convergence is achieved in grid convergence studies. Validation studies use all available experimental benchmark data. Although the grids are relatively large and fine enough for sufficiently resolved turbulence near the cylinder, the grid uncertainties are large indicating the need for even finer grids. Large aspect ratio is required for sub-critical Reynolds number cases, whereas small aspect ratio is sufficient for critical and super-critical Reynolds number cases. All the experimental trends were predicted with reasonable accuracy, in consideration the large facility bias, age of most of the data, and differences between experimental and computational setup in particular free stream turbulence and roughness. The largest errors were for under prediction of turbulence separation.
Abstract 46: Outcomes of Thrombolysis for In-hospital Stroke: A Population-Based Study of US Hospitals

Background: In-hospital stroke (IHS) may differ from out-of-hospital stroke (OHS) in terms of mechanism, risk factors and outcomes. Objective/Hypothesis: We compared IHS and OHS treated with system...
The Integrative Effects of Power and Regulatory Focus on Approach and Unethical Behavior

Previous research has shown that the powerful tend to display approach-related tendencies, while the powerless exhibit behavioral inhibition. Events in the real world (e.g. social- political movements), however, suggest that the powerless can also display approach-related tendencies. In this research, we tested a new theoretical model that integrates theories on power and regulatory focus. This model articulates how both powerfulness and powerlessness can each lead to approach motivation and unethical behavior. Four experiments found that prevention-powerlessness and promotion-powerfulness produce stronger behavioral approach tendencies and unethical behavior than promotion- powerlessness and prevention-powerfulness, as evident in individuals’ desire to negotiate (Study 1), misuse of power (Study 2), cheating (Study 3) and aggression (Study 4). We also found evidence for the emotional manifestations that accompany these effects. These findings have important theoretical implications for power and regulato...
Collaborative threads: exposing and leveraging dynamic thread state for efficient computation

Current traditional models of parallel computing rely on the static breaking-up of computation or data: multiple parallel threads independently execute different parts of the overall computation with little or no communication between them. Under current models, inter-thread communication is limited to data that carries little semantic information about the role of the thread in the overall application. Adding such knowledge and sharing it among threads would allow a collaborative model of computation. In this paper, we present a novel programming model where threads expose their internal higher order computational state allowing the construction of a global view of the program's computations, which we call the computational state tree (CST), enabling several optimizations. We discuss how the CST can be used by threads to orient the computation where it would be most useful or to re-use results already computed by other threads. We present a method to extract collaborative information from the states of threads and insert it into the CST. We implement our method through a runtime and develop an API that can be used to leverage collaboration. We demonstrate how collaboration can be used to orient the computation of a SAT solver to maximize the number of satisfiable assignments found and also how collaboration through results sharing can be used to speedup a K-Means computation.
Analysis of the expression of the hybrid gene bcl-2/IgH in follicular lymphomas

To investigate the clinical and biologic significance of the circulating t(14; 18)-carrying cells in follicular lymphoma (FL) patients, we analyzed the mbr/JH junction of the hybrid bcl-2/lgH gene simultaneously at the DNA and RNA levels by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 37 peripheral blood samples from 37 patients in different remission status: 4 before treatment, 8 during treatment, and 25 in complete remission (CR). Of these 37 patients, 22 were positive either at the DNA or RNA level (8 with active disease and 14 in CR). Among these positive patients, RNA was more often negative for patients in CR (9 of 14 [64%]) than for patients with active disease (2 of 8 [25%]; Fisher’s exact test, P = .09). Among the 14 patients in CR with residual disease, 2 of 5 with RNA positivity relapsed, whereas 1 of 9 with RNA negativity and DNA positivity relapsed with a median follow-up after sample collection of 8 months (range, 4 to 18 months). Simultaneous analysis of the bcl-2/lgH gene at the DNA and RNA level showed heterogeneous patterns of PCR positivity in regards to the evaluation of the biologic activity of the t(14; 18)-carrying cells. A larger study and long-term follow-up will help in determining whether the expression patterns in turn reflect the functional status of disease activity in FL patients.
PV Systems Reliability Final Technical Report: Ground Fault Detection

We have examined ground faults in PhotoVoltaic (PV) arrays and the efficacy of fuse, current detection (RCD), current sense monitoring/relays (CSM), isolation/insulation (Riso) monitoring, and Ground Fault Detection and Isolation (GFID) using simulations based on a Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis SPICE ground fault circuit model, experimental ground faults installed on real arrays, and theoretical equations.
Systemic blastomycosis presenting with acute prostatic abscess.

Abstract The incidence of prostatic abscess has been declining. Initially, gonococcal organisms were the major offending pathogens but, more recently, the coliform group has predominated. We report a case of systemic blastomycosis that presented as an acute prostatic abscess. A review of the recent literature does not reveal any cases of disseminated blastomycosis presenting in this manner.
Class 4 Scattering

So far we have dealt with a special class of scatterers that are static in nature. In living systems, tissues and organs are in constant motion to accomplish their biologic functions. Change in normal blood flow or the movements associated with heart, lung, and gut borders are often indicative of the physical state of the organ. As the tissue scatterers move during ultrasonic irradiation, one observes a scattering behavior that is typical of motion. For example, the frequency of reflected sound is shifted as the reflector moves with respect to the transducer; the displacement of a reflecting surface like that of a heart valve modulates the echo signal about a mean position; or if a scattering medium is interrogated with two pulses separated by an interval, the pulses are temporally shifted closer or away due to the movement of scatterers. Any of these phenomena like frequency shift, echo modulation, or temporal shift between the two pulses during round-trip travel to a scatterer can, in principle, be used to obtain information on motion. Techniques based on these phenomena are discussed below. Each of the techniques compensates for the weakness of the other and in turn suffers from some limitation of its own.
Association of post-treatment positron emission tomography with locoregional control and survival after radiation therapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva.

Abstract Background/purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the use of post-treatment F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for vulvar cancer and compare metabolic response to clinical outcomes. Materials/methods This retrospective study included 21 patients with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma treated with curative-intent radiation between 2007 and 2015. All patients received intensity-modulated radiation treatment (IMRT), a pre-treatment FDG/PET-CT, and a post-treatment FDG-PET/CT performed at a median time of 3months post-IMRT. Results Median follow-up time was 28months. Post-treatment FDG-PET/CT demonstrated no evidence of disease (NED) in 12 patients and residual or progressive disease (PD) in 9. FDG-PET/CT response significantly correlated with biopsy-proven locoregional failure ( p =0.02) and was the only significant factor associated with overall survival (OS) ( p =0.049). Patients with NED on FDG-PET had a 2-year locoregional control (LRC) of 89% versus 25% for those with PD ( p p =0.02). FDG-PET/CT evaluation had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 71% for detecting pathologically proven residual disease in patients receiving neoadjuvant or definitive radiation. Conclusion In this single-institution study of women with vulvar cancer, post-treatment response on FDG-PET/CT was associated with LRC and OS.
Functional Classification System to Aid Contextual Design

A proposed functional classification system has been developed to address context and multimodal accommodation of the existing classification system. The proposed functional classification system is intended to facilitate optimal geometric design solutions while accounting for context, user needs, and functions. The new classification system communicates improved information to the designer so that balanced designs can be achieved through documented prioritization of roadway users. The proposed functional classification system identifies user groups, which include drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Fundamental design elements for each mode are identified, and design ranges for each are provided according to the overall roadway network type. The correlation results of context, roadway types, and users are displayed in the expanded functional classification system matrix, allowing for the development of a multimodal, context-based design with some degree of flexibility. Each matrix cell defines the vario...
Mandibular Distraction, Orthodontic Considerations

Mandibular distraction has been successfully used to correct mandibular hypoplasia in all three dimensions since its introduction in 1989 by McCarthy and NYU colleagues [1]. Patients with craniofacial microsomia, Nager syndrome, Treacher Collins syndrome, Robin sequence, temporomandibular joint ankylosis, posttraumatic growth disturbances, and a variety of other mandibular developmental disturbances have significantly benefited from this technique. As with traditional orthognathic surgery, pre- and post-distraction orthodontic therapy is an integral part of the successful outcome of distraction. The goals of pre- and post-distraction orthodontics therapy include the following: preoperative evaluation of the craniofacial skeletal and dental relationships, preparation of the dentition prior to the placement of a distraction device, collaboration with the surgeon on the placement of the distraction device for the optimal vector of distraction, monitoring of the skeletal changes during the activation phase, molding of the generate during the activation and consolidation phase, the management of post-distraction occlusion for long-term stability, and continued longitudinal follow-up.
Automation of PID Autotuner Design for Complex Systems

Abstract This paper describes a method to automatically design autotuners for control systems using simulated annealing and decision trees. Simulated annealing is used to select a set of tuning rules that optimize an objective function defined by a set of system performance criteria over the controller's parameters. Simulated annealing updates its intelligence to select a best tuning rule for a given circumstance. The training set is then processed by a machine learning algorithm to produce a decision tree. This decision tree will be the auto-tuner for a set of plants. Since the procedure starts with a plant that is a black box, it is applicable to any type of system. The autotuner is intended for use with systems of moderate complexity and is evaluated by tuning controllers for two plants with nominal models but uncertain parameters. The intended application is to groups of similar plant/control loops in process control system which must now be periodically hand-tuned.
Asymptotic Optimality 1

In a rough sense, Theorem 9.14 shows that the maximum likelihood estimator achieves the Cramer–Rao lower bound asymptotically, which suggests that it is asymptotically fully efficient. In this chapter we explore results on asymptotic optimality formalizing notions of asymptotic efficiency and showing that maximum likelihood or similar estimators are efficient in regular cases. Notions of asymptotic efficiency are quite technical and involved, and the treatment here is limited. Our main goal is to derive a result from Hajek (1972), Theorem 16.25 below, which shows that the maximum likelihood estimator is locally asymptotically minimax.
Development of a vertebrate experimental model for cellular neurophysiologic studies of learning.

General criteria that an experimental model for cellular neurophysiologic studies of learning must satisfy are discussed. It is suggested that defensively-conditioned cardioacceleration in the pigeon provides a preparation with a great deal of potential in this regard. Specific criteria are then established and discussed with reference to this specific preparation. The major emphasis in the paper is upon our approach to developing a suitable vertebrate model, particularly its behavioral requirements and the determination of the neuroanatomical pathways mediating development of the learned response. Experimental results illustrate the approach.
Heterogeneity of Type 1 Diabetes: The Effect of Ethnicity.

Background Most of the current understanding of type 1 diabetes (T1D) etiology and pathogenesis stemmed from studies conducted in majoritarily Non-Hispanic White (NHW) populations. However, evidence is emerging that unique mechanisms of disease may contribute to the development of T1D in individuals of Hispanic ethnicity. Objective We reviewed the currently available literature on genetic, immunologic, metabolic and clinical characteristics of T1D in Hispanic as compared with NHW individuals. Methods We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, and authors' bibliographies to collect information from relevant articles on the influence of ethnicity on T1D etiology and pathogenesis. Results There are significant epidemiological variation based on ethnicity, with consistently higher T1D incidence and prevalence rate in NHWs than Hispanics. The frequencies of T1D high-risk HLA haplotypes and genotypes, as well as their susceptibility or protective effects show considerable ethnic differences. There are conflicting data on immunologic factors (e.g. islet autoantibody positivity) and markers of beta-cell function (e.g., C-peptide levels), as well as in some clinical characteristics (e.g. frequencies of diabetic ketoacidosis and severe hypoglycemia), while age of onset is consistently similar between both groups. Higher prevalence of obesity, less intensive diabetes management, and poorer glycemic control were reported in Hispanics. Accordingly, ethnic disparities in clinical outcomes have been demonstrated as well. Conclusion There are considerable differences in T1D characteristics between NHWs and Hispanics. Better insight into these ethnic differences would not only affect patient care of patients with T1D, but may also inform the design of future prediction and prevention trials.
XFEM-based cohesive zone approach for modeling near-wellbore hydraulic fracture complexity

Near-wellbore fracture tortuosity has important impacts on the productivity of fractured oil and gas wells and the injectivity of CO2 or solids disposal injectors. Previous models for simulating near-wellbore fracture tortuosity usually assume fracture growth in linear-elastic media, without considering the effects of porous features of the rock. In this paper, a 2D fully coupled model is developed to simulate near-wellbore fracturing using the XFEM-based cohesive segment method. The model takes into account a variety of crucial physical aspects, including fracture extension and turning, fluid flow in the fracture, fluid leak-off through wellbore wall and fracture surfaces, pore fluid flow, and rock deformation. The proposed model was verified against two sets of published experimental results. Numerical examples were carried out to investigate the effects of various parameters on near-wellbore fracture trajectory, injection pressure, and fracture width. Results show that near-wellbore fracture behaviors are not only dependent on rock elastic properties and field stresses, but also greatly influenced by porous properties of the rock, such as permeability and leak-off coefficient. Some field implications were provided based on the simulation results. By overcoming some limitations of the previous models, the proposed model predicts more realistic fracture evolution in the near-wellbore region and provides an attractive tool for design and evaluation of many field operations, for which near-wellbore fracture behaviors play an important role on their successes.
Shock Wave Generation by Ultraviolet Nanosecond Laser Pulses at Reduced Pressure

This study describes the pressure dependence of laser plasma formation (breakdown) due to focused, ultraviolet (UV) nanosecond laser pulses, as manifested by gas heating (temperature increase) and the strength of resultant shock waves. These effects were explored over a range of pressure from 1 – 100 Torr in pure gases of nitrogen, oxygen, methane, carbon dioxide, argon and neon at 293 Kelvin. In all cases, experiments were conducted using 8 ns pulses at the 4thharmonic of Nd:YAG (266 nm) as a plasma source, with a constant pulse energy of 55 mJ. As a consequence of the laser wavelength and low pressure conditions, it is expected that plasma formation occurs predominantly through the multi-photon ionization process (rather than electron - impact / cascade ionization) and gas heating through subsequent electron thermalization (as opposed to inverse bremsstrahlung or electron-neutral collisions).
Notes on the Field Identification of the Intricate Satyr, Hermeuptychia intricata (Nymphalidae), and Its Ecology in South Carolina

Due to strong morphological similarities, the Intricate Satyr Hermeuptychia intricata has been difficult for lepidopterists to visually differentiate from the Carolina Satyr Hermeuptychia sosybius since the former's discovery in 2014. The historical confusion between the two species has resulted in a dearth of information on the ecology and life history of the less abundant and more narrowly distributed H. intricata. I observed adults and larvae of both species in the field at five sites across three counties in the coastal plain of South Carolina, USA. Hermeuptychia intricata exhibited subtle but notable differences in both preferred habitat and behavior that are useful in field identification. Both species utilize various species of Rosette Grasses, Dichanthelium spp., as larval food sources. Larvae of the two species are extremely similar in appearance with only a slight difference in overall hue. Pupae appear identical save for the absence of an abdominal spot in H. intricata. The ghost band phenomenon and the sinuous band gap feature appear to be unreliable diagnostics but, with further research, may prove useful characteristics for identifying female H. intricata and H. sosybius, respectively. A better understanding of the ecology and life history of the cryptic H. intricata, as well as enhanced methods for its field identification, can facilitate the future study and conservation of the species.
Sol-gel derived (LiCl)2-Al2O3-SiO2 thin film solid electrolyte

(LiCl)2-Al2O3-SiO2 thin film solid electrolyte was prepared by a sol-gel process with a spin coating technique. The thin film was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ac impedance. The ionic conductivity of the solid electrolyte film is comparable to that of the bulk xerogel. The highest conductivity measured by ac impedance is 2.5×10−4 S·cm−1 at 300°C with Ea=0.75 eV.
The Choice of Induction Regimen Affects Post Remission Survival of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) Patients with Intermediate or Poor Risk Disease

Abstract The fludarabine, high dose cytarabine and G_CSF with or without idarubicin combination regimen, referred to as FLAG+/-Ida, is commonly used as a salvage regimen for relapsed/refractory AML but its use as initial induction therapy has been more limited. The MRC trial 15 compared 2 induction courses of FLAG-Ida regimen to 3+7 (anthracycline plus cytarabine) regimens with etoposide (ADE) and found a higher relapse free survival among patients receiving FLAG-Ida. The findings of the MRC AML 15 trial are not widely applied in the United States as many experts use one course of induction followed by consolidation if patients achieve remission. The impact of choice of induction regimen on post remission survival in non-favorable risk AML patients remains unclear. To address this question, we assessed outcomes of 306 consecutive AML patients between aged 18 to75 years, with non-favorable NCCN risk who were received initial treatment at our center between January of 2009 and July of 2017 with either 3+7 (n=88) or FLAG+/-Ida (n=218). Our center's algorithm is to offer allogeneic HSCT as a consolidative therapy to all AML patients with non-favorable risk in CR1 who are considered transplant candidates. Patient characteristics were as follows: Median age 58(19, 75), male 55%, FLT-3 ITD positive 12%, NCCN risk ( intermediate 49%, poor 51%) and normal cytogenetics 45%. Baseline characteristics were similar between the two treatment groups with FLAG+/-Ida being younger at time of diagnosis (59 vs 66 years, P Disclosures Solh: Amgen: Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Speakers Bureau; ADC Therapeutics: Research Funding.
Stochastic Forecasts of Mortality, Population and Pension Systems

This paper discusses the construction of stochastic forecasts of human mortality and fertility rates and their use in making stochastic forecasts of pension funds. The method of mortality analysis was developed by Lee and Carter (1992), henceforth called the LC method. Lee and Tuljapurkar (1994) combined the LC method with a related fertility forecast to make stochastic population forecasts for the US. Tuljapurkar and Lee (1999) and Lee and Tuljapurkar (2000) combined these population forecasts with a number of other forecasts to generate stochastic forecasts of the US Social Security system.
RCEX: Rip Current Experiment

Abstract : Long term goals are to understand processes that cause the formation and maintenance of quasi-stationary rip channel / shoal systems in the surf zone. It is now recognized that this 3D configuration of the surf zone bathymetry is widespread and more representative than the simpler straight and parallel beaches that have been studied in recent years. A combination of detailed field observations and concurrent numerical modeling of the system are being used in this research. The research objectives of the proposed work focus on obtaining new observations of the three-dimensional structure of the rip current system utilizing a suite of in situ instruments with the addition of repeated deployments of a fleet of 30 inexpensive surf zone drifters to measure mean flow patterns, vorticity, dispersion, and diffusion. The second related effort applies a numerical model (Delft3D) to evaluate the dynamics of the rip current system and its interaction with the surface wave field and bottom topography. These new observations will be used to validate Delft3D and extend our understanding of rip current processes.
The power of moral concerns in predicting whistleblowing decisions

Abstract Whistleblowers risk great personal cost to expose injustice. While their actions are sometimes deemed morally courageous, existing evidence that whistleblowers are primarily motivated by moral concerns is mixed. Moreover, little is known about the extent to which moral concerns predict whistleblowing relative to other organizational and situational factors. To address these gaps, we present two studies demonstrating the power of moral concerns in predicting whistleblowing decisions. Study 1 uses a large cross-sectional dataset of federal employees (N = 42,020) to test how moral concerns predict real-world whistleblowing decisions relative to other factors. Study 2 provides a more controlled replication of the association between moral concerns and whistleblowing decisions in an online sample of the U.S. workforce. Results revealed that moral concerns consistently predicted whistleblowing decisions above and beyond other organizational and situational factors. Specifically, whistleblowing decisions were associated with a tradeoff between moral concerns; whereby, concerns for the fair treatment of others beyond one's organization were associated with reporting unethical behavior, while loyalty to one's organization was associated with not reporting unethical behavior. Organizational factors, such as whether the organization educates its employees about how to disclose wrongdoing, showed a somewhat weaker association with whistleblowing decisions across studies. However, they were the only significant predictors of how people blew the whistle; that is, reporting unethical behavior through internal versus external channels. Together, these findings reveal important psychological motivations underlying whistleblowing, highlighting the power of moral concerns in these decisions and supporting conceptualizations of whistleblowing as an important example of moral courage.
Clinical Pathology of the Rat

Abstract This chapter focuses on the clinical pathology of the rat with emphasis on normal and diseased pathophysiology and its relevance and translation to humans. Standard and novel biomarkers and endpoints are discussed in relation to hematology, clinical chemistry, coagulation, and urinalysis tests. In addition, sample collection and handling, data interpretation, the use of reference intervals/ranges, disease states, and the effects of stress and/or fasting are highlighted. General considerations relating to animal models of human conditions or disease and toxicology and natural disease states found in the rat (e.g., hepatobiliary, renal, cardiac and skeletal muscle, pancreatic, gastrointestinal, skeletal, acid–base) are given.