cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New Infectious Diseases and Industrial Food Animal Production

To the Editor: Cutler et al. bring welcome attention to the importance of new and reemerging zoonotic diseases in the industrialized world (1). However, they make no mention of industrialized systems of food animal production, major sources of antimicrobial drug–resistant bacterial pathogens (2) that are among the most globally prevalent and emerging infectious diseases (3). These systems have practices characterized by crowded and unsanitary confinement of animals and routine use of antimicrobial agents in animal feeds (2). For example, in the same issue, Dutil et al. (3) reported on increases in ceftiofur resistance in Salmonella enterica isolates from food, which they associate with use of this drug in broiler poultry production. Recognition of the role of industrial food animal production in driving vancomycin resistance in enterococci prompted restrictions on agricultural antimicrobial drug use in the European Union; unfortunately, few measures have been implemented in the rest of the world (including the United States) (4). Industrialized food animal production is now assumed to contribute to the emergence of new strains of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with varying potential for infecting humans (5). Because the industrial model of food animal production is rapidly expanding globally (2), this source must be included in surveillance, research, and tracking programs for effective prevention of emerging zoonotic disease.
PHYCOLOGICAL NOTES. III. TWO NEW SACCATE UNICELLULAR CHLOROPHYCEAE1

SUMMARY Comparative study, under standard conditions of growth in a variety of media, of 2 unicellular chlorophycean algae living in soil, both of which produce spherical and saccate cells in their development, has resulted in the description of 2 new taxa, Ascochloris multinucleata gen. et sp. nov., Chlorococcaceae, Chlorococcales, and Ignatius tetrasporus gen. et sp. nov. of the Chlorosarcinaceae, Chlorosarcinales.
Plastic and transformation interactions of pores in shape memory alloy plates

A three-dimensional constitutive model for shape memory alloys (SMAs) is developed along the lines of the Stebner–Brinson (SB) implementation of the Panico–Brinson model. Plastic kinematic hardening behavior is simulated in addition to elastic deformation and phase transformation. A series of finite element simulations is carried out using this model to investigate the localization effects of the stress and strain field on NiTi plates with structured arrays of pores. The application of this model on porous architectures provides insight into how geometric features influence the mechanics of the structure. The incorporation of plastic deformation shows a marked decrease in the maximum stress levels; these results are more consistent with experimental data as compared to the original SB model. Furthermore, the new results demonstrate that clustered pores lead to more distributed stresses and transformation compared to a dispersed configuration of pores, indicating the importance of pore geometry in determining the stress and strain distribution. The improved model provides a practical tool toward design and optimization of porous SMA structures.
How to Punish Indians: Law and Cultural Change in Early Colonial Mexico

Not long after the arrival of the Mendicant orders in New Spain, a view emerged among the friars that the subjection of the Mexican Indians to Spanish law might not be a goal as practical and desirable as the Crown expected, at least not for the immediate future. Franciscans, in particular, thought that the transfer and application of long-established legal principles to the Mexican Indians, such as the customary distinction of jurisdictions, could ultimately hurt rather than facilitate their full conversion to Christianity. For them, the administration of justice was but a natural extension of the enterprise of evangelization, a point that they made repeatedly in letters and reports throughout the sixteenth century.1 In part, their opposition to seeing the new converts subject to secular law stemmed from a general dissatisfaction with the state of legal affairs in the Peninsula, where an alarming increase in lawsuits and legal costs leading to the further consolidation of a class of letrados appeared to threaten the fabric of social life.
THE VALUATION OF FIXED ASSETS IN THE FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS OF UK NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR MONITORING PERFORMANCE: A REPLY

This reply to the comment by Davies and McInnes deals with an apparent misconception concerning an article by MacArthur (1980). It also challenges the suitability of the approach taken in the comment for valuing business assets, which seems to be confusing an economic decision-model with an economic valuation-model
Optimal starting times for end-of-season sales and optimal stopping times for promotional fares

Many industries face the problem of selling a fixed stock of items over a finite horizon. These industries include airlines selling seats before planes depart, hotels renting rooms before midnight, theaters selling seats before curtain time, and retailers selling seasonal goods such as air-conditioners or winter coats before the end of the season. Given a fixed number of seats, rooms, or coats, the objective for these industries is to maximize revenues in excess of salvage value. When demand is price sensitive and stochastic, pricing is an effective tool to maximize revenues. In this paper we address the problem of deciding the optimal timing of a single price change from a given initial price to either a given lower or higher second price. Under mild conditions, we show that it is optimal to decrease resp., to increase the initial price as soon as the time-to-go falls below resp., above a time threshold that depends on the number of yet unsold items.
Intelligible models for classification and regression

Complex models for regression and classification have high accuracy, but are unfortunately no longer interpretable by users. We study the performance of generalized additive models (GAMs), which combine single-feature models called shape functions through a linear function. Since the shape functions can be arbitrarily complex, GAMs are more accurate than simple linear models. But since they do not contain any interactions between features, they can be easily interpreted by users.We present the first large-scale empirical comparison of existing methods for learning GAMs. Our study includes existing spline and tree-based methods for shape functions and penalized least squares, gradient boosting, and backfitting for learning GAMs. We also present a new method based on tree ensembles with an adaptive number of leaves that consistently outperforms previous work. We complement our experimental results with a bias-variance analysis that explains how different shape models influence the additive model. Our experiments show that shallow bagged trees with gradient boosting distinguish itself as the best method on low- to medium-dimensional datasets.
Myelin and Action Potential Propagation

The high action potential conduction velocities achieved in some vertebrate axons are a consequence of myelin, an insulating sheath made by glial cells, and clustered sodium ion (Na+) channels found at regularly spaced gaps in the myelin sheath. Keywords: node of Ranvier; saltatory conduction; myelin; Na+ channels; glia
Structural basis for selectin mechanochemistry

Abstract Selectins are adhesion molecules that resist large tensile forces applied by hydrodynamic forces to leukocytes binding to vessel walls. In crystals, the liganded (high-affinity) and unliganded (low-affinity) conformations differ in orientation between their tandem lectin and EGF domains. I examine how tensile force exerted on a selectin–ligand complex in vivo could favor the more extended, high-affinity conformation. Allostery is transmitted from the EGF–lectin domain interface to the ligand-binding interface on the lectin domain, 30 A away. Trp-1 of the lectin domain and the long axis of the EGF domain form an L-shaped prybar that is welded together by hydrogen bonds to the Trp-1 α-amino group. Pivoting of the prybar induced by force demolishes an interface between the Trp-1 side chain and the lectin domain at a switch1 region. These changes are transmitted by rigid body movement of the switch2 region to rearrangements in the switch3 region at the ligand binding site. Another switch region corresponds to a single residue in the EGF domain with large effects on ligand binding and rolling adhesion. Allostery in selectins, and the alignment of tensile force on a selectin–ligand complex with the transition pathway for conformational change, explain much of the structural basis for selectin mechanochemistry.
Evaluation of prediction equations to estimate gross, digestible, and metabolizable energy content of maize dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) for swine based on chemical composition

Abstract The objective of this study was to cross-validate prediction equations to estimate the concentration of GE, DE, and ME among sources of corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) with variable chemical composition in growing pigs. Published concentrations (DM basis) of GE, CP, ether extract (EE), NDF, and total dietary fiber (TDF) along with particle size (PS, μm), bulk density (BD, g/cm 3 ) and in vivo determinations of DE and ME from 45 sources of DDGS samples were obtained from 5 published studies. Prediction equations for GE (5 equations), DE (20 equations), and ME (19 equations) from published studies were used to calculate the concentration of GE, DE, and ME among DDGS sources and compare with experimentally determined in vivo values. Each equation was evaluated using the entire data set, and data sets that excluded data from which the equation was developed (cross-validation). Equations were compared for their overall explanation of variance ( R 2 ), precision for reduction in prediction error (PE, kcal/kg DM), and accuracy in deviation of the predicted mean from the overall observed mean (bias, kcal/kg DM). Prediction of GE concentrations among DDGS sources was poor (PE 150) despite moderate explanation of overall variance ( R 2
Energy Efficiency in the Future Internet: The Role of Optical Packet Switching and Optical-Label Switching

This paper reviews the energy efficiency of optical-packet-switching (OPS) systems in comparison with electronic packet switching and hybrid packet switching in the context of future networks. The paper will first discuss the energy efficiency metrics that should include considerations for life-cycle analysis, applications, and network-wide goodput. The state-of-the-art electronic packet switching router is currently energy-limited in scalability as it is difficult to implement a router with more than 1 MW power consumption. The OPS router that imitates electronic router's store-and-forward schemes is expected to suffer poor energy efficiency due to the complexity in the high-speed control plane necessary to control many optical buffer stages. The hybrid optical router achieves easier buffer management but its energy efficiency is still limited by the store-and-forward approach. The OPS router based on all-optical contention resolution without relying on store-and-forward method can keep the control plane very simple and achieve very high energy efficiency. Network-wide performance and energy efficiency in the context of generalized multiprotocol label switching (GMPLS)- and multiprotocol label switching (MPLS)-based networking are also discussed.
Dealing with the increased problems associated with trans‐boundary water

Water is an essential natural resource that is used by all living organisms. Local and regional shortages of clean water have started to occur at an (alarmingly) increasing frequency. The purpose of this Forum is to heighten awareness of the issues and possible strategies to comprehend—and possibly solve—the water shortage crises.
Diet pH, and viscosity affect development and survival of screwworm larvae (Diptera: Calliphoridae).

The effects of dietary pH and viscosity on larval development of the New World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), were studied in the laboratory using a gel-based and a cellulose fiber-based media. The mean initial pH of the standard gelled diet was lower (6.5 ± 0.3) than that of the standard cellulose fiber-based diet (6.8 ± 0.6). As larval development progressed, these values decreased to below 6.0 possibly due to the accumulation of acidic metabolic waste. Diets formulated with higher initial pH (7.5) produced a slightly larger and greater number of pupae compared with those for untreated standard diets. The diets with lower than normal initial pH (4.0) produced significantly smaller and lower numbers of pupae compared with those produced by the untreated standard diets. The effects of viscosity were studied using the cellulose fiber-based diet at six different initial viscosity levels ranging from 2,000 to 7,000 cP. The viscosity level of the diet increased as the larval development progressed due to gradual loss of moisture from the diet. The diet viscosity levels of 4,000 and 5,000 cP proved superior for larval development showing significantly higher yield and larger pupae compared with those obtained from diets with initial viscosities of 2,000–3,000 or 6,000–7,000 cP. The cellulose fiber-based diet used for mass rearing should be formulated to an initial viscosity reading of 4,000–5,000 cP for optimal larval growth and development. Adoption of a diet formulated to provide a higher initial pH such as 7.5 may produce better quality insects.
Invaluable values: an expectancy-value theory analysis of youths’ academic motivations and intentions

ABSTRACTWhile Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields have increased in importance over the past decade, minorities have remained traditionally underrepresented in these fields. In this study we seek to better understand some of the factors that might contribute to or potentially mitigate early STEM pipeline leaks, specifically, high school graduation and college entrance leaks. Student interest formed in the early school years has an impact on future course selections and persistence in school. These choices can have long-term repercussions on the future career options and the financial security of students. We apply expectancy-value theory (EVT) in order to examine the factors that may influence students’ motivations and intentions to complete high school and attend college. Specifically, we investigate if EVT can help to explain change in students’ academic intentions and motivations after a computing intervention. We hypothesize that changes in students’ expectancies for success and s...
Solutions of a Functional Differential Equation

(1969). Solutions of a Functional Differential Equation. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 76, No. 9, pp. 1031-1033.
Simulation of Electronically Gontrolled System for Gasoline Engine in Environment of Matlab/Simulink

This paper presents an available math model of electronic control engine based on the mean value model, and chooses the dynamic simulation software Matlab/Simulink, describes the simulating processes and architectures of these models in the environment of Matlab/Simulink. Furthermore it is realized in an actual engine, and contrasts and analyzes the simulating results with the experimental datas.
Use of Archived Neonatal Bloodspots for Examining Associations Between Prenatal Exposure to Potentially Traumatic or Stressful Life Events, Maternal Herpesvirus Infection and Lifetime History of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Offspring

Background: Lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders is over 32% among U.S. adolescents, warranting further investigation into early life risk factors for such conditions. We conducted a pilot study to examine the role that maternal herpesvirus infection may play in the pathway between maternal trauma and stress during pregnancy and offspring generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Methods: Participants included 69 women in the Detroit Neighborhood Health Study with data on past exposure to 19 potentially traumatic (PTEs) and 9 stressful life events (SLEs). Lifetime history of GAD in the youngest biologic child between 6-17 years old born in Michigan (i.e., index child) of each woman was ascertained via the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, 4th edition, parent version. We obtained written informed consent from participants for retrieval of archived neonatal bloodspot samples corresponding to their index child from the Michigan Neonatal Biobank (MNB) and testing of these samples for markers of maternal herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 and cytomegalovirus (CMV) seropositivity. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between maternal PTEs or SLEs during pregnancy and offspring GAD. Results: A total of 18.1% and 31.9% of women experienced ≥ 1 PTE or SLE during pregnancy, respectively, and 10.8% of offspring met the criteria for lifetime history of GAD. We obtained maternal consent for retrieval of and tested bloodspot samples corresponding to the index child of 22 women (38%), of which 4.5% and 40.9% were seropositive for HSV-1 and CMV, respectively. We observed positive, although not statistically significant associations between ≥ 1 PTE or SLE during pregnancy and offspring lifetime history of GAD. While a greater proportion of offspring with lifetime history of GAD were born to women seropositive for CMV and HSV-1, compared to those without lifetime history, these differences were not statistically significant and we did not further examine the mediating role of maternal herpesvirus seropositivity in this pathway. Conclusion: Findings from this study support the feasibility of utilizing neonatal bloodspots archived in the MNB to examine the role of herpesviruses as mediators between maternal traumatic or stressful life events during pregnancy and offspring anxiety disorders in larger Michigan cohorts.
G-CSF Disrupts the Stem Cell Niche by Increasing Turnover of Bone Marrow Osteoblasts.

Accumulating evidence suggests that osteoblast-lineage cells play a key role in supporting hematopoiesis, providing signals that maintain the normal function of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). We and others previously showed that treatment with G-CSF reduces the number and activity of osteoblasts in the bone marrow. Here we confirm these findings using transgenic mice expressing GFP in osteoblast lineage cells under control of a 2.3 kb fragment of the col1a1 promoter. Analysis of these mice confirmed that G-CSF treatment reduced the number of osteoblasts 2.9-fold compared to control mice (n=4, p + lineage − Sca + CD34 − cells. We found no significant difference in this fraction between treated and untreated mice [number KLS CD34 − per femur + SEM: 966 ± 229 (untreated) versus 945 ± 183 (treated); n=6–7 each group, p=ns]. These results suggest that the diminished repopulation potential of G-CSF treated bone marrow results from impaired HSC function rather than reduced HSC number. Finally, we hypothesized that the loss of long-term repopulation potential in HSC from G-CSF treated mice may result from the loss of factors in the bone marrow niche that maintain HSC quiescence. We therefore measured BrdU uptake in the KLS fraction of bone marrow cells. Preliminary results show a trend toward increased BrdU uptake in KLS cells from G-CSF treated mice (48.5% ± 9.2%) compared with untreated mice (26.5% ± 1.4%; n=2 each group, p=.14). In summary, these results suggest a model in which G-CSF induces increased osteoblast turnover, disruption of the stem cell microenvironment, and loss of HSC quiescence.
Using sequential pattern mining for common event format (CEF) cyber data

This paper describes our initial results achieved using an unsupervised approach for finding suspicious behavior in enterprise networks. We are using sequential pattern mining (SPM) to extract sequences of events for all IPs in a network. The premise of this work is that sequences which describe malicious behavior will be rare. To our knowledge there are no other works that use SPM to identify malicious behavior in Common Event Format (CEF) datasets of the type we are using. Our initial results show promise: when the sequences are built per source IP a cyber analyst would have to look at less than 0.4% of all IPs in order to find all the malicious ones.
Progesterone Receptor Signaling in Uterine Myometrial Physiology and Preterm Birth

Myometrium holds the structural integrity for the uterus and generates force for parturition with its primary component, the smooth muscle cells. The progesterone receptor mediates progesterone-dependent signaling and connects to a network of pathways for regulation of contractility and inflammatory responses in myometrium. Dysfunctional progesterone signaling has been linked to pregnancy complications including preterm birth. In the present review, we summarize recent findings on modifiers and effectors of the progesterone receptor signaling. Discussions include novel conceptual discoveries and new development in legacy pathways such as the signal transducers NF-κB, ZEB, microRNA, and the unfolded protein response pathways. We also discuss the impact of progesterone receptor isoform composition and ligand accessibility in modification of the progesterone receptor genomic actions.
Dynamic mechanical response of polyvinyl alcohol-gelatin theta-gels for nucleus pulposus tissue replacement

Intervertebral disk degeneration is one of the most significant contributors to low back pain. Thus, there is significant interest in designing new treatments and nucleus pulposus (NP) tissue replacements. Herein, the authors propose a biosynthetic material, comprised of a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and gelatin theta-gel, as an acellular NP tissue replacement. Theta-gels form during the solidification of PVA and gelatin (phase I), and the phase separation of a disklike short-chain polyethylene glycol (PEG, phase II). The PVA concentration and weight ratio of PVA to PEG were optimized, in order to achieve mechanical properties resembling NP tissue. Mechanical and material properties were analyzed for the PVA-gelatin theta-gels under static and dynamic conditions. Cyclic stress-strain testing demonstrated the theta-gels' ability to relax and perform properly under dynamic loading. Altering the molecular weight and concentration of the theta-gel constituents allows for a tunable material that can match a variety of native tissue properties.
Comprehensive genomic profiling of appendiceal adenocarcinoma.

298Background: Appendiceal adenocarcinomas (AAs) are orphan tumors. Little is known about their molecular profile limiting understanding of their biology and development of novel targeted therapies...
Bayesian Geophysical, Spatial and Temporal Statistics

Spatio-temporal models give rise to many challenging research frontiers in Bayesian analysis. One simple reason is that the spatial and/or time series nature of the data implies complicated dependence structures that require modeling and lead to often challenging inference problems. The power of the Bayesian approach comes to bear especially when inference is desired on aspects of the model that are removed from the data by various levels in the hierarchical model. In this chapter we discuss two examples of such problems and also review the use of non-informative priors in spatial models.
VERTICAL SLUG FLOWS OF GAS-SOLID TRANSPORT IN CIRCULATING FLUIDIZED BEDS

ABSTRACT In gas-solid slug flows in circulating fluidized beds, two different slugs can be distinguished: round-nosed and square slugs. Separated mechanistic models are proposed to describe these different slugs. Based on the models round-nosed slugs are shown most likely to behave like fast bubbles and square slugs to behave like slow bubbles. New criteria are established to predict the type of slug flow under which a circulating system will operate. Experiments of slugging transport bed were conducted using 1050 μm sand in 6.35 and 10.16 cm columns. Predictions of the present criteria satisfactorily agree with the data obtained in this study and the observations of the dense bed in Battel le's Multisolid Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustor being operated commercially. The criteria are verified to be more general than Stewart's criterion (1965) for the demarcation of different types of slug flows. The present models are also more general than Chen and Fan's (1987) by considering a more general case of continuous solid flow in the circulating system. The rise velocity of any slug can be described by a single equation by the models, U S = k 1 + k 2 (gD) 1/2 , where k 1 is greater than 1 for the round-nosed slug flow and is less than 1 for the square slug flow. The slower rise velocity of square slugs is attributed to the significant wall friction of non-fluidized particles.
A short proof of a sum of powers formula

We give a combinatorial proof of the following classical result:Theorem. (1) where , denoting Stirling numbers of the second kind, is the number of ways of partitioning a set of n labelled objects ...
Classification of Epigenetic Biomarkers with Atomically Thin Nanopores

We use the electronic properties of 2D solid-state nanopore materials to propose a versatile and generally applicable biosensor technology by using a combination of molecular dynamics, nanoscale device simulations, and statistical signal processing algorithms. As a case study, we explore the classification of three epigenetic biomarkers, the methyl-CpG binding domain 1 (MBD-1), MeCP2, and γ-cyclodextrin, attached to double-stranded DNA to identify regions of hyper- or hypomethylations by utilizing a matched filter. We assess the sensing ability of the nanopore device to identify the biomarkers based on their characteristic electronic current signatures. Such a matched filter-based classifier enables real-time identification of the biomarkers that can be easily implemented on chip. This integration of a sensor with signal processing architectures could pave the way toward the development of a multipurpose technology for early disease detection.
Highlights from ASCO 2018

Setting a record for attendance of more than 40,000 people, ASCO 2018 featured a virtual explosion of immuno-oncology study results—alone or in combination with chemotherapy. Amid frozen meeting ha...
Logarithmic well-posed approximation of the backward heat equation in Banach space

Abstract In this paper, we apply a logarithmic approximation introduced by Boussetila and Rebbani in order to study an ill-posed Cauchy problem in Banach space. The proposed method induces a well-posed problem whose approximation parameter yields continuous dependence on modeling. Throughout, properties of holomorphic semigroups are utilized culminating in the motivating application which is the backward heat equation in L p ( R ) , 1 p ∞ .
Are soils beneath coniferous tree stands more acidic than soils beneath deciduous tree stands

In 2008, the Mulberry River, a National Wild and Scenic River, was listed as impaired due to low pH (below pH 6.0). Over the last 50 years, the volume of conifers in the Ozark region has increased 115% since 1978 which may result in the acidification of nearby aquatic ecosystems. The objective of this study was to determine if differences exist in soil and litter chemical properties between deciduous and coniferous tree stands. Aboveground litter (n = 200) and soil (n = 400) at 0- to 5- and 5- to 15-cm depths were collected at paired deciduous and coniferous stands at 10 locations within the Mulberry River watershed and analyzed for a suite of chemical parameters. There were no differences (P > 0.05) in several measures of soil acidity between deciduous and coniferous stands. Litter collected from the coniferous stands was more acidic than deciduous litter (4.4 vs 4.7; P 0.05) between stand but were greater than the 5- to 15-cm depth interval. Although limited to the top 15-cm of soil, the similarity in soil acidity between stands suggests that conifer growth may not be a substantial source of acidity to the Mulberry River.
Trade Fair Educational Programs and Access to Knowledge: Evidence from the Solar PV Sector

In view of a globalizing marketplace and the continual need for market intelligence, firms seek venues in which to access cost effective, functional information. Significant sources of such knowled...
Non-Differentiable Supervised Learning with Evolution Strategies and Hybrid Methods.

In this work we show that Evolution Strategies (ES) are a viable method for learning non-differentiable parameters of large supervised models. ES are black-box optimization algorithms that estimate distributions of model parameters; however they have only been used for relatively small problems so far. We show that it is possible to scale ES to more complex tasks and models with millions of parameters. While using ES for differentiable parameters is computationally impractical (although possible), we show that a hybrid approach is practically feasible in the case where the model has both differentiable and non-differentiable parameters. In this approach we use standard gradient-based methods for learning differentiable weights, while using ES for learning non-differentiable parameters - in our case sparsity masks of the weights. This proposed method is surprisingly competitive, and when parallelized over multiple devices has only negligible training time overhead compared to training with gradient descent. Additionally, this method allows to train sparse models from the first training step, so they can be much larger than when using methods that require training dense models first. We present results and analysis of supervised feed-forward models (such as MNIST and CIFAR-10 classification), as well as recurrent models, such as SparseWaveRNN for text-to-speech.
Connected Subspecialty Care: Applying Telehealth Strategies to Specific Referral Barriers

Nearly a quarter of families of children with need of subspecialty care report difficulty accessing that care. Telehealth is a method to overcome barriers to subspecialty care. However, improving access to subspecialty care through telehealth requires granular identification of specific subspecialty barriers and recognition of the strengths and limitations of each telehealth strategy for addressing identified barriers. Focusing on each sequential step in subspecialty referrals and potential associated barriers, we summarize specific telehealth and technology-enabled strategies to improve access to subspecialty care, including electronic consultations, live interactive telemedicine, store-and-forward telemedicine, tele-mentoring, patient portals, and remote patient monitoring. Intentionally selecting telehealth strategies to target specific subspecialty referral barriers may avoid risks from misapplication of telehealth, may more clearly elevate equitable access as an essential goal within telehealth initiatives, and may also lead to synergistic use of strategies that overcome sequential barriers.
Navigating the Self and Engaging with Others in Constructing Visions of Quality in Mathematics Education Research

Two factors involved in producing quality research in mathematics education are discussed in this chapter: navigating the role of the self and engaging with others. These factors have the potential to motivate patience and persistence in a quest for quality while building from a researcher’s views of others’ ideas rather than being subsumed by them. Efforts to produce quality research in mathematics education require carefully managing evolving perspectives of who you are and who you want to be, all in the context of what you want to know and the ideas of others.
Cerebellar Functional Anatomy: a Didactic Summary Based on Human fMRI Evidence

The cerebellum is relevant for virtually all aspects of behavior in health and disease. Cerebellar findings are common across all kinds of neuroimaging studies of brain function and dysfunction. A large and expanding body of literature mapping motor and non-motor functions in the healthy human cerebellar cortex using fMRI has served as a tool for interpreting these findings. For example, results of cerebellar atrophy in Alzheimer's disease in caudal aspects of Crus I/II and medial lobule IX can be interpreted by consulting a large number of task, resting-state, and gradient-based reports that describe the functional characteristics of these specific aspects of the cerebellar cortex. Here, we provide a concise summary that outlines organizational principles observed consistently across these studies of normal cerebellar organization. This basic framework may be useful for investigators performing or reading experiments that require a functional interpretation of human cerebellar topography.
An analysis of real-world exhaust emission control deterioration in the California light-duty gasoline vehicle fleet

Abstract The understanding of vehicle exhaust emission control deterioration is important for developing accurate emission inventories and for evaluating emission reduction regulation effectiveness. We show that a common practice of conducting deterioration analysis for multiple-model-year groups may produce unrealistic deterioration rates, because the samples' model year constitution usually varies with age. As a more reliable approach, we analyze the deterioration for individual model years. We apply this approach to light-duty gasoline vehicle exhaust emission measurements conducted using remote sensing devices at a West Los Angeles location during seven campaigns between 1999 and 2015. Vehicles of 1985–1993 model years (termed herein as “pre-LEV” model years for predating California's Low-Emission Vehicle regulations), most of them older than 10 years when sampled, did not exhibit strong and consistent deterioration with age for carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions, whereas their nitric oxide (NO) emissions appeared to deteriorate approximately linearly with age. The 1994–2003 model-year vehicles, subject to California's original Low-Emission Vehicle standards (LEV I standards) and up to about 20 years old when sampled, deteriorated approximately linearly with age for the three species. Our limited measurement records for the 2004–2014 model-year vehicles, subject to California's second-generation Low-Emission Vehicle standards (LEV II standards) and up to about 10 years old when sampled, did not exhibit consistent deterioration with age. Here we propose an empirical model to describe those deterioration patterns for the pre-LEV and LEV I vehicles.
Role of early life immune regulation in asthma development.

Development of childhood asthma is complex with a strong interaction of genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. Ultimately, it is critical how the immune system of a child responds to these influences and whether effective strategies for a balanced and healthy immune maturation can be assured. Pregnancy and early childhood are particularly susceptible for exogenous influences due to the developing nature of a child’s immune system. While endogenous influences such as family history and the genetic background are immutable, epigenetic regulations can be modulated by both heredity and environmental exposures. Prenatal influences such as a mother’s nutrition, smoking, or infections influence the complex interplay of innate and adaptive immune regulation as well as peri- and postnatal influences including mode of delivery. Early in life, induction and continuous training of healthy maturation include balanced innate immunity (e.g., via innate lymphoid cells) and an equilibrium of T-cell subpopulations (e.g., via regulatory T cells) to counter-regulate potential pro-inflammatory or exuberant immune reactions. Later in childhood, rather compensatory immune mechanisms are required to modulate deviant regulation of a child’s already primed immune trajectory. The specific effects of exogenous and endogenous influences on a child’s maturing immune system are summarized in this review, and its importance and potential intervention for early prevention and treatment strategies are delineated.
L-glutamine for sickle cell disease: Knight or pawn?:

Oxidative stress is an important contributor to the pathophysiology of sickle cell disease. The pathways involved are complex and interlinked. L-glutamine is an amino acid with myriad roles in the ...
Standard preoperative use of nonopioid multi-modal medications for patients undergoing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction and the effect on postoperative opioid needs

Standardized nonopioid preoperative protocol effects perioperative opioids. Combined use of acetaminophen, pregabalin, celecoxib, and transdermal scopolamine (APCS), in mastectomy with immediate subpectoral reconstruction procedures. Retrospective (2014-2017) cohort study (n = 305) examined treatment groups; APCS, no treatment (NONE), and partial combination APCS (OTHER), employing multivariable gamma regression models controlling preoperative and perioperative variables, examining postoperative opioid use (oral morphine equivalents, OME) and hospital stay (hours, LOS). APCS group had a 25% statistical reduction in OME total vs OTHER, a 12% statistical reduction in LOS vs OTHER, and 11% statistical reduction in LOS vs NONE. Standardized nonopioid preoperative protocol provides insight into perioperative opioid use.
Wiki-40B: Multilingual Language Model Dataset

We propose a new multilingual language model benchmark that is composed of 40+ languages spanning several scripts and linguistic families. With around 40 billion characters, we hope this new resource will accelerate the research of multilingual modeling. We train monolingual causal language models using a state-of-the-art model (Transformer-XL) establishing baselines for many languages. We also introduce the task of multilingual causal language modeling where we train our model on the combined text of 40+ languages from Wikipedia with different vocabulary sizes and evaluate on the languages individually. We released the cleaned-up text of 40+ Wikipedia language editions, the corresponding trained monolingual language models, and several multilingual language models with different fixed vocabulary sizes.
Complete Resolution of a Large, Locally-advanced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma with the Immune-modulating PD-1 Inhibitor Pembrolizumab.

Locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) represents a challenge in treatment. Only very recently (February 2020) have guidelines been released regarding the management of unresectable, locally advanced cSCC. With the introduction of check point inhibitors during the last decade, anti-PD-1 antibodies represent a novel immunotherapeutic strategy in cancer. We present a case of an advanced cSCC not amenable to surgical resection, who experienced dramatic improvement following treatment with the programmed cell death protein 1 receptor (PD-1) inhibitor pembrolizumab as an immunotherapeutic strategy.
The Relationship Between Housing Status and Substance Use and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among People Currently Seeking or Receiving Services in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs

Although HIV risk behaviors such as substance use and condomless sex are prevalent among people currently seeking or receiving services at substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs, associations with housing status in this population have not been well studied. We examined the associations between housing status, substance use and HIV-related sexual risk behaviors among 1281 participants from 12 US community-based SUD programs. In addition, substance use was examined as a potential mediator of the relationship between housing status and sexual risk behaviors. We conducted Chi-square, univariate and multivariate logistic regression models on data from the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network HIV Rapid Testing and Counseling study. Path analysis was used to test the mediation and indirect effects. Unstable housing was significantly associated with having multiple concurrent condomless sex partners, condomless sex with non-primary partners, and partners of unknown HIV serostatus. Homelessness was significantly associated with condomless vaginal sex and condomless sex with any substance use. The path between unstable housing and sexual risk behaviors was mediated by problematic drug use, particularly by cocaine, opioids, and marijuana use. Because housing status impacts HIV risk behaviors for individuals in SUD treatment programs, both housing status and substance use behaviors should be assessed upon program entry in order to identify and mitigate risk behaviors.
The Inhibitory Activity of Anthraquinones against Pathogenic Protozoa, Bacteria, and Fungi and the Relationship to Structure

Plant-derived anthraquinones were evaluated in cell assays for their inhibitory activities against the parasitic protozoa Trichomonas vaginalis human strain G3 that causes the sexually transmitted disease trichomoniasis in women, Tritrichomonas foetus bovine strain D1 that causes sexually transmitted diseases in farm animals (bulls, cows, and pigs), Tritrichomonas foetus-like strain C1 that causes diarrhea in domestic animals (cats and dogs), and bacteria and fungi. The anthraquinones assessed for their inhibitory activity were anthraquinone, aloe-emodin (1,8-dihydroxy-3-hydroxymethylanthraquinone), anthrarufin (1,5-dihydroxyanthraquinone), chrysazin (1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone), emodin (1,3,8-trihydroxy-6-methylanthraquinone), purpurin (1,2,4-trihydroxyanthraquinone), and rhein (1,8-dihydroxy-3-carboxyanthraquinone). Their activities were determined in terms of IC50 values, defined as the concentration that inhibits 50% of the cells under the test conditions and calculated from linear dose response plots for the parasitic protozoa, and zone of inhibition for bacteria and fungi, respectively. The results show that the different substituents on the anthraquinone ring seem to influence the relative potency. Analysis of the structure-activity relationships in protozoa indicates that the aloe-emodin and chrysazin with the highest biological activities merit further study for their potential to help treat the diseases in women and domestic and farm animals. Emodin also exhibited antifungal activity against Candida albicans. The suggested mechanism of action and the additional reported beneficial biological properties of anthraquinones suggest that they have the potential to ameliorate a broad spectrum of human diseases.
Catecholamines and Catecholamine Metabolites

Measurement of catecholamines and their metabolites may be indicated when evaluating patients with hypertension, dizziness, syncope, or “spells” with some combination of headache, abdominal pain, sweating, tachycardia or palpitations, anxiety, pallor or flushing, and hypertension. Catecholamine metabolites are generally measured when pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma is suspected, although they can also be elevated in neuroblastoma. This chapter reviews different ways to measure these catecholamines and their metabolites, the sensitivity and specificity of each type of measurement, and medications and other compounds that may interfere with measurement.
Accretion-Assisted Spindown of Young Radio Pulsars

We present a model for the spindown of young radio pulsars in which the neutron star loses rotational energy not only by emitting magnetic dipole radiation but also by torquing a surrounding accretion disk produced by supernova fallback. The braking index predicted in our model is in general less than n=3 (the value for pure dipole magnetic radiation), in agreement with the reported values of n<3 for five young radio pulsars. With an accuracy of 30% or better, our model reproduces the age, braking index and third frequency derivative of the Crab pulsar for a disk accretion rate in the range 3 x 10^16 - 10^17 g/s.
Fast flavor oscillations in dense neutrino media with collisions

We investigate the impact of the nonzero neutrino splitting and elastic neutrino-nucleon collisions on fast neutrino oscillations. Our calculations confirm that a small neutrino mass splitting and the neutrino mass hierarchy have very little effect on fast oscillation waves. We also demonstrate explicitly that fast oscillations remain largely unaffected for the time/distance scales that are much smaller than the neutrino mean free path but are damped on larger scales. This damping originates from both the direct modification of the dispersion relation of the oscillation waves in the neutrino medium and the flattening of the neutrino angular distributions over time. Our work suggests that fast neutrino oscillation waves produced near the neutrino sphere can propagate essentially unimpeded which may have ramifications in various aspects of the supernova physics.
Loneliness and symptom burden in oncology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Loneliness and social isolation are significant public health problems that are being exacerbated during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Little is known about the associations between loneliness and symptom burden in oncology patients before and during the pandemic. Study purposes include determining the prevalence of loneliness in a sample of oncology patients; evaluating for differences in demographic, clinical, and symptom characteristics between lonely and nonlonely patients; and determining which demographic, clinical, and symptom characteristics were associated with membership in the lonely group. METHODS: A convenience sample (n = 606) completed online surveys that evaluated the severity of loneliness, social isolation, and common symptoms (ie, anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance, cognitive dysfunction, and pain) in oncology patients. Parametric and nonparametric tests were used to evaluate for differences in scores between the lonely and nonlonely groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine risk factors for membership in the loneliness group. RESULTS: Of the 606 patients, 53.0% were categorized in the lonely group. The lonely group reported higher levels of social isolation, as well as higher symptom severity scores for all of the symptoms evaluated. In the multivariate model, being unmarried, having higher levels of social isolation, as well as higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms were associated with membership in the lonely group. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings suggest that a significant number of oncology patients are experiencing loneliness, most likely as a result of mandate social distancing and isolation procedures. The symptom burden of these patients is extremely high and warrants clinical evaluation and interventions.
Can 100% renewable power system be successfully built?

Abstract Global warming has been a critical issue in recent years. Many leaders and politicians have talked about replacing fossil fuels with Renewable Energy Resources (RES). Some of them even went further and are talking about running a country with 100% RES soon. Is that economically viable? What would be the estimated cost of such a system? In this paper, a city in west Texas with a 100 MW peak load has been assumed to operate with the wind, solar, and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) totally disconnected from the grid for a cost evaluation. Real generation and load time series data are used to achieve an optimum combination of the installed capacity of those resources by minimizing the total overnight cost, respecting a maximum of 24 h of faults in which the system cannot provide the load during the period. A Monte Carlo simulation is applied to the previous results to evaluate the influence of faulty devices and increase the robustness of the system. The results for both cases are analyzed and compared. Finally, the total cost of install capacity will be compared with other non-renewable resources.