cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Guaranteed service level agreements across multiple ISP networks

Due to the autonomous nature of ISPs, the service level agreement (SLA) offering is currently confined to within a single provider network. In this work, we examine some methods of extending the SLA offering across ISP boundaries. We introduce three policies to coordinate the end-to-end performance guarantee in multiple ISP networks: the least-effort, the most-effort, and the equal-distribution policies. These policies refer to different manners in which the service-level constraints are distributed among all transit networks. We study the impacts of these policies on the overall ISP community when SLA is required. We evaluate the effectiveness of these policies in terms of both the network performance and the ISP's monetary profit. The results show that the policy choice depends on the network load, as well as the ISP cost structure.
Smoking and mortality: a prospective study.

The principal aim of the study concentrates on cigarette smoking and its relation with mortality. The population assembled for study was limited to men 35-64 years of age. Each man had an opportunity for a minimum observation period of 5-years. A direct method of age standardization was used in order to compare the smoking group with nonsmokers. Prospective studies reported in recent years are in essential agreement that cigarette smoking increases the risk for the cancer of the mouth larynx esophagus lung kidney and bladder. Other diseases related to cigarette smoking in this and other prospective studies are gastric ulcer emphysema aneurysm general arteriosclerosis and arteriosclerotic heart disease. The latter is especially important because of the large number of deaths involved. The relative risk gradient for arteriosclerotic heart disease by age and amount of cigarette smoking was found to be maximum in the younger group comprising men 35-44 years of age and lessens with increasing age. There is an unanimity among all the studies discussed for increased smokers risk of cancer of the mouth larynx esophagus kidney and bladder. Tables represent the number of cancer deaths observed and the smoking amount risk gradients relative to the risk for nonsmokers. The mortality ratios is represented in their variations by duration of smoking. The increase by duration categories is steady. Evidence from these studies has consistently pointed to a connection between cigarette smoking and deaths from lung cancer emphysema and other conditions. Additiona investigation needs to be instituted.
Commentary: Building an evidence base for mendelian randomization studies: assessing the validity and strength of proposed genetic instrumental variables

The remarkable growth in the popularity of mendelian randomization (MR) studies—analyses using genetic polymorphisms as instrumental variables (IVs)—reflects both the importance of the causal inference problems addressed by MR and the potential power of the approach.1 Although IV analysis is a well-established econometric tool, applications in health research using genetic information as IVs present novel challenges and opportunities. Papers such as that of Au Yeung et al., providing evidence on the characteristics of a proposed genetic IV for a specific phenotype-outcome association,2 are important because they help establish a foundation of evidence relevant for many future MR studies. In this commentary, we discuss the value of integrating evidence from external sources, such as the Au Yeung et al. results in MR studies, with specific focus on using separate-sample IV (SSIV, sometimes called split-sample IV) in data from case-control studies.
Recovery of Shallow Junction GaAs Solar Cells Damaged by Electron Irradiation

Solar cells operated in space are subject to degradation from electron and proton radiation damage. It has been found that for deep junction p-GaAlAs/p-GaAs solar cells some of the electron radiation damage is removed by annealing the cells at 200 C. The reported investigation shows that shallow junction p-GaAlAs/p-GaAs/n-GaAs heteroface solar cells irradiated with 1 MeV electrons show a more complete recovery of short-circuit current than do the deep junction cells. The heteroface p-GaAlAs/p-GaAs/n-GaAs solar cells studied were fabricated using the etch-back epitaxy process.
Effect of thermal history on the superplastic expansion of argon-filled pores in titanium: Part II modeling of kinetics

Metals can be foamed to ca. 50% porosity in the solid state by the creation of gas-pressurized pores within the metal, followed by expansion of these pores at elevated temperatures. We present here models for the time-dependence of pore expansion during solid-state foaming performed under isothermal conditions, where the metal deforms by creep, and under thermal cycling conditions, where superplasticity is an additional deformation mechanism. First, a continuum-mechanics model based on the creep expansion of a pressure vessel provides good quantitative agreement with experimental data of isothermal foaming of titanium, and qualitative trends for the case of foaming under thermal cycling conditions. Second, an axisymmetric finite-element model provides predictions very similar to those of the pressure-vessel model, indicating that stress-field overlap is unimportant when pores are equidistant. Numerical modeling shows that stress-field overlap increases foaming rate when pores are clustered, and also cause anisotropic pore growth. However, a bimodal distribution of pore size was found to have little effect on pore growth kinetics.
Induced Termination of Pregnancy Before and After Roe v Wade: Trends in the Mortality and Morbidity of Women

The mortality and morbidity of women who terminated their pregnancy before the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v Wade are compared with post— Roe v Wade mortality and morbidity. Mortality data before 1973 are from the National Center for Health Statistics; data from 1973 through 1985 are from the Centers for Disease Control and The Alan Guttmacher Institute. Trends in serious abortion-related complications between 1970 and 1990 are based on data from the Joint Program for the Study of Abortion and from the National Abortion Federation. Deaths from illegally induced abortion declined between 1940 and 1972 in part because of the introduction of antibiotics to manage sepsis and the widespread use of effective contraceptives. Deaths from legal abortion declined fivefold between 1973 and 1985 (from 3.3 deaths to 0.4 death per 100 000 procedures), reflecting increased physician education and skills, improvements in medical technology, and, notably, the earlier termination of pregnancy. The risk of death from legal abortion is higher among minority women and women over the age of 35 years, and increases with gestational age. Legal-abortion mortality between 1979 and 1985 was 0.6 death per 100 000 procedures, more than 10 times lower than the 9.1 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births between 1979 and 1986. Serious complications from legal abortion are rare. Most women who have a single abortion with vacuum aspiration experience few if any subsequent problems getting pregnant or having healthy children. Less is known about the effects of multiple abortions on future fecundity. Adverse emotional reactions to abortion are rare; most women experience relief and reduced depression and distress. ( JAMA . 1992;268:3231-3239)
The effects of mentoring on academic careers over time: Testing performance and political perspectives

Mentors have been associated with protege career success. In this study, two perspectives on the means by which mentoring advances careers were compared. The performance perspective implies that the effects of mentoring on career advancement operate through performance whereas the political perspective assumes direct effects. Hypotheses derived from the perspectives were tested at early and middle-career stages in a sample of American academics. The amount of mentoring as measured by the number of traditional mentors and other developers predicted achieved rank and the relationship was not mediated by publication productivity. This finding supports the political perspective. In addition, the presence of an outside developer was associated with more publications and having an emotionally-close relationship was associated with higher salary.
Stray light observations at the 200-inch hale telescope on Palomar mountain

Measurements of low-angle scatter of the 200-inch Hale Telescope were taken to establish the amount of scatter expected at the focal plane when the telescope is pointed near the Sun. These measurements were obtained by using the Moon as a surrogate solar source, attenuated by roughly six orders of magnitude. Pointing the telescope at the Moon, and at angles ranging from 2 to 12 degrees from the Moon, the variation and sources of background light were observed at the focal plane of the existing PHARO science camera. Through the use of the pupil-imaging option on the PHARO camera, comparisons of the sky background and light scattered directly from the primary mirror into the field of view were evaluated. Sky scattering appeared to decline as the inverse square-root of the angle from the Moon, while primary mirror scattering appeared to decline much quicker, as the inverse square of the angle from the Moon
The Decomposition of Time-Varying Hazard into Phases, Each Incorporating a Separate Stream of Concomitant Information

Abstract The hazard function of time-related events, such as death or reoperation following heart valve replacement, often is time-varying in a structured fashion, as is the influence of risk factors associated with the events. A completely parametric system is presented for the decomposition of time-varying patterns of risk into additive, overlapping phases, descriptively labeled as early, constant-hazard, and late. Each phase is shaped by a different generic function of time constituting a family of nested equations and is scaled by a separate logit-linear or log-linear function of concomitant information. Model building uses maximum likelihood estimation. The resulting parametric equations permit hazard function, survivorship function, and probability estimates and their confidence limits to be portrayed and adjusted for concomitant information. These provide a comprehensive analysis of time-related events from which inferences may be drawn to improve, for example, the management of patients with valva...
A Theme-Based Seminar on Environmental Sustainability Improves Participant Satisfaction in an Undergraduate Summer Research Program

We analyzed seven years of pre-program and post-program survey data to evaluate the Clarkson University Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site Program in Environmental Science and Engineering, and evaluated whether our program was successful at meeting the intended outcome of increasing participants’ likelihood of attending graduate school and pursuing a career in science or engineering research or education. We also evaluated how participant satisfaction in the program changed with the addition of a weekly seminar on environmental sustainability that was intended to improve participants’ understanding of the societal value of their research projects. Participant satisfaction in the Clarkson REU Program was high, and increased after the addition of the sustainability seminar. Participants’ intention to attend graduate or professional school increased after participating in the program, but their intention to pursue a career in science or engineering research declined. Over 60 percent of participants eventually attended graduate or professional school.
Extracellular matrix-degrading metalloproteinases and neuroinflammation in stroke

Cerebral ischemia initiates a complex cascade of molecular events, culminating in irreversible membrane damage and cell death. Important components of the cascade include the release of glutamate, induction of immediate early genes, and the formation of free radicals and proteases. Lipases attack cell membranes; endonucleases damage DNA, causing apoptosis; and neutral proteases disrupt the extracellular matrix (ECM). The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and serine proteases, including the plasminogen activators (PAs), are two important neutral protease gene families that are involved in the neuroinflammatory response after ischemia. Much is known about the biology of these proteases because of the prominent role that the MMPs and PAs play in cancer and arthritis [1]. Intracerebral injection of activated MMP-2 opens the blood-brain barrier (BBB) [2]. Hemorrhage and ischemia increase gelatinases in the brain [3,4]. Infiltrating cells are a source of MMPs in injury. Immunohistochemistry shows that brain cells also produce MMPs after an ischemic injury. MMPs are formed as proenzymes, and require activation. Plasmin, which activates several of the MMPs, is formed by the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin through the action of tissue-type and urokinase-type PA [5]. Plasminogen activators act synergistically with the MMPs in many pathological processes, including those involving the central nervous system [6]. In stroke the use of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) has been shown to be an effective treatment when given acutely, but its use increases the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage by tenfold [7].
Purification of pancreozymin.

Summary The methods of molecular sieving through gel filtration on Sephadex G-50 (fine grade) and ion exchange chromatography on TEAE and DEAE cellulose and CMC were used for the purification of pancreozymin from concentrates of hog small intestine. A purification of at least 30-fold over the starting material could be obtained in two steps. From the migration of biologic activity under high voltage paper electrophoresis, the isoelectrical point of pancreozymin was estimated to be around pH 8. The tentative molecular weight of pancreozymin as determined by elution volume (R f values) by comparison with known polypeptides is 4500 to 5000.
P64: Biochemical and structural characterization of the soluble guanylate cyclase catalytic domain

Background Soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) is a key enzyme in the NO–sGC–cGMP signaling cascade and is crucial to cardiovascular system regulation. NO binding to the sGC regulatory domain enhances its basal catalytic activity to convert GTP to cGMP The second messenger cGMP modulates downstream targets leading to vasodilation. Low output of the NO–sGC–cGMP system results in hypertension and acute heart failure. Nitrite delivery has been shown to enhance hypoxic NO signaling via cGMP production. sGC is a heterodimer of two homologous subunits, α and β, which both contain three domains: an N-terminal regulatory domain (HNOX: Heme Nitric oxide OXygen), a central dimerization HNOX associated (HNOXA) and coiled-coil (CC) domain, and a C-terminal catalytic domain (GC). The sGC enzyme is basally active in the absence of NO, but NO binding to the heme group of the β-subunit HNOX domain enhances catalytic output several hundred fold. The mechanism by which the HNOX domain inhibits activity in the basal state and relays the NO activation signal to the catalytic domain remains elusive. Methods and results Here, we report the first crystal structure of wild type human heterodimeric αβGC at 1.9 A resolution as well as activity data comparing full-length sGC to our truncated catalytic constructs. The cGMP activity measurements show that αβCC–GC exhibits higher levels of catalytic activity than both abGC and basally active full-length sGC. Conclusions Activity levels of αβCC–GC compared to basal and activated full-length sGC and abGC hint at structural differences between the two constructs and full-length sGC. Our results also suggest that additional sGC domains are necessary for full enzymatic activity. These differences will be further characterized by structural studies using protein X-ray crystallography. Disclosure Supported by American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant.
Effect of Hemorrhagic Hypotension on CBF and ICP After Brain Missile Wounding in Anesthetized Paralyzed Cats

The intracranial pressure (ICP) may increase following brain missile wounding (BMW), leading to a corresponding decrease in cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP). Extreme reductions in CPP (i.e. <40 mm Hg), can affect both CBF auto-regulation (Zwetnow 1968) and reduce brain energy metabolism (Zwetnow 1970). BMW-induced pathology may also impair CBF autoregulation, while hemorrhagic hypotension (associated with multiple wounds) could further aggravate the breakdown of CBF autoregulation. In the present study alterations in ICP and CPP in relation to CBF autoregulation by means of hemorrhagic hypotension were investigated in unwounded and brain wounded anesthetized paralyzed cats.
Fever, Altered Mental Status, and Rigidity in the Perioperative Course

This case examines the delayed onset of a malignant hyperthermia-type clinical picture following an uneventful surgery. It covers the differential diagnosis in a patient with fever, altered mental status, and rigidity and addresses both the pathophysiology and proper treatment protocol for malignant hyperthermia.
Genome-wide association and genomic prediction identifies associated loci and predicts the sensitivity of Tobacco ringspot virus in soybean plant introductions.

Genome-wide association study (GWAS) is a useful tool for detecting and characterizing traits of interest including those associated with disease resistance in soybean. The availability of 50,000 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers (SoySNP50K iSelect BeadChip; www.soybase.org ) on 19,652 soybean and wild soybean plant introductions (PIs) in the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection allows for fast and robust identification of loci associated with a desired phenotype. By using a genome-wide marker set to predict phenotypic values, genomic prediction for phenotype-unknown but genotype-determined PIs has become possible. The goal of this study was to describe the genetic architecture associated with sensitivity to Tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV) infection in the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection. TRSV-induced disease sensitivities of the 697 soybean PIs were rated on a one to five scale with plants rated as one exhibiting mild symptoms and plants rated as five displaying terminal bud necrosis (i.e., bud blight). The GWAS identified a single locus on soybean chromosome 2 strongly associated with TRSV sensitivity. Cross-validation showed a correlation of 0.55 (P < 0.01) to TRSV sensitivity without including the most significant SNP marker from the GWAS as a covariate, which was a better estimation compared to the mean separation by using significant SNPs. The genomic estimated breeding values for the remaining 18,955 unscreened soybean PIs in the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection were obtained using the GAPIT R package. To evaluate the prediction accuracy, an additional 55 soybean accessions were evaluated for sensitivity to TRSV, which resulted in a correlation of 0.67 (P < 0.01) between actual and predicted severities. A single locus responsible for TRSV sensitivity in soybean was identified on chromosome 2. Two leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase genes were located near the locus and may control sensitivity of soybean to TRSV infection. Furthermore, a comprehensive genomic prediction for TRSV sensitivity for all accessions in the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection was completed.
Racial Disparity in Cognitive and Functional Disability in Hypertension and All-Cause Mortality

BACKGROUND Subjective cognitive and functional limitations are early markers of future dementia and physical disability. Hypertension may increase the risk of dementia; however, the magnitude and significance of subjective limitations in the hypertensive US population are unknown, particularly in African Americans who bear the greatest burden of hypertension. Our objectives were to assess the prevalence and racial disparity of subjective cognitive and functional limitations and their impact on mortality in the hypertensive US population. METHODS We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) collected between 1999 and 2010 (N = 28,477; 31% with hypertension; 11% African American), which included blood pressure measurement, self-reported cognitive and functional (physical and non-physical) limitations, and all-cause mortality. Complex survey regression models were used. RESULTS In the United States, 8% of the hypertensive population reported cognitive and 25% reported functional limitations (vs. 5.7% and 15% respectively in the non-hypertensive population, P < 0.0001). Hypertensive African Americans carried the highest burden of cognitive (11%, P = 0.01) and functional (27%, P = 0.03) limitations compared to non-hypertensive African Americans and to non-African Americans. All-cause mortality was significantly higher in hypertensive individuals who reported cognitive or functional limitations (P < 0.0001 for both) relative to those without either. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of cognitive and functional disability is larger in the US hypertensive population compared to the non-hypertensive population. African Americans with hypertension carry a disproportionate burden of these limitations. Individuals with hypertension who report cognitive or functional symptoms have higher all-cause mortality and query about these symptoms should be part of hypertension evaluation.
Minimally invasive intra-arterial regional therapy for metastatic melanoma: isolated limb infusion and percutaneous hepatic perfusion

Introduction: In-transit melanoma or melanoma presenting as unresectable liver metastases are clinical situations with limited therapeutic options. Regional intra-arterial therapies provide efficacious treatment alternatives for these patients. Through surgical techniques of vascular isolation, regional therapies deliver high-dose chemotherapy to tumor cells while minimizing systemic exposure. However, percutaneous techniques such as isolated limb infusion (ILI) and percutaneous hepatic perfusion (PHP) have been developed, which provide a minimally invasive means of obtaining vascular isolation of target organs. Areas covered: Areas covered in this review include the techniques of ILI and PHP, the chemotherapeutic agents utilized during these regional therapies and the clinical responses seen after ILI and PHP. The pharmacokinetics of regional chemotherapy utilized during ILI and PHP is also reviewed with an additional focus on novel ways to optimize drug delivery to improve response rates and attempts to...
A Detailed Comparison of a Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulation and a Laboratory Experiment for a COIL Laser

Simulation of chemical lasers such as the chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) is of timely interest due to the recent acceleration of the airborne laser military development program and ongoing commercial development programs. As a contribution to these efforts, a 3-D COIL simulation model was developed based on the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code GASP which solves the conservative, finite-volume formulation of the full Navier-Stokes equations coupled to a new finite-rate, non-equilibrium chemistry model and a conservative, multicomponent molecular diffusion model. A 3-D simulation of the COIL flowfield was performed and compared to detailed species distributions measurements from experiment for the purpose of validation using a unique averaging technique developed to mimic the actual physics of the experimental gain measurement. These detailed comparisons demonstrate that the simulation model accurately predicts the experimentally measured distributions, a significant result in 3-D simulation of reacting flows. Additional results from the validated simulation include: development of new finite-rate COIL chemistry mechanism, evidence indicating the presence of H2O condensation in the COIL mixing nozzle, and evidence suggesting that the physical processes in the flow from the O2('A) generator are not completely understood.
Analysis and Solution of Problems in CFB Start Process

Aiming at the normal problems and phenomena in CFB start process,the causes and solution are introduced from several aspects,such as the monitoring of air flux,bed temperature increase rate,coal interruption of coal feeder,boiler capacity,boiler slagging,which provides reference for CFB start process.
Administration of adipose-derived stem cells enhances vascularity, induces collagen deposition, and dermal adipogenesis in burn wounds

Current treatment options for severe burn wounds are often insufficient in reconstructing skin and soft tissue defects. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs), a readily available source of multipotent stem cells, represent a promising therapy for the treatment of full-thickness burn wounds. Full-thickness burn wounds were created on the paraspinal region of athymic mice. A one-time, sub-eschar injection of 6.8×10(6) ASCs in PBS or PBS alone was administered at 24-h postoperatively. Time to healing was quantified using Image J analysis. At days 4, 7, 14, and 21, mice were sacrificed and tissues were excised for molecular and histological analysis. ASCs were able to survive in burn wounds as determined by the presence of PKH labeling and human PPARγ expression within the wounds. CD-31 staining demonstrated increased vascularity in ASC-treated wounds at POD 4 (p<0.05). Molecular studies showed enhanced adipogenesis, as well as type III and type I collagen deposition in the ASC treated group (p<0.05). An increase in the mRNA expression ratio of type III to type I collagen was also observed following ASC treatment (p<0.05). By enhancing vascularity, collagen deposition, and adipogenesis, ASCs show promise as an adjunctive therapy for the current treatment of full thickness burn wounds.
Management of advanced testicular seminoma.

AbstractThe treatment of seminoma (stages A, B1 and B2) with conventional x-ray therapy can be expected to give satisfactory cure rates. However, the cure rate for patients with advanced stages of B3 and C disease, treated with conventional radiation therapy, is unacceptable (22 per cent). It appears that with a pre-radiation/chemotherapeutic plan consisting of actinomycin D, vincristine and cyclophosphamide survival can be improved dramatically in these patients. After a rest period of 2 to 4 weeks radiation therapy is given to the retroperitoneal, mediastinal and supraclavicular lymph nodes as per standard therapy. If evidence of bulk disease persists or if positive alphafetoprotein or beta-human chorionic gonadotropin has been detected then retroperitoneal lymph-adenectomy should be done after completion of the radiation therapy. With adjuvant chemotherapy 5 of 5 patients survive free of disease 18 months to 5 years after therapy.
Room temperature magnetocaloric effect in Mn1.25Fe1.75Ga Heusler alloys

Abstract A room temperature magnetocaloric material with composition Mn 1.25 Fe 1.75 Ga is reported in this paper. The as-synthesized melt-spun ribbons have the pure L2 1 cubic structure and a homogeneous microstructure with an average grain size of 6 μm and show a ferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition at 296 K. The change in entropy determined from the M versus H curves was found to be 3 J kg −1 K −1 at 296 K and 3 T, which is good in comparison with the values of commonly used materials for magnetic refrigeration. However, in comparison with other materials, the room temperature magnetocaloric effect is obtained by tuning the composition of the parent alloy without the need of another heat treatment. This important result opens opportunities for magnetic refrigeration near room temperature.
Review: Heparin reduces venous thromboembolism in neurosurgery but increases the risk for bleeding

Source Citation Iorio A, Agnelli G. Low-molecular-weight and unfractionated heparin for prevention of venous thromboembolism in neurosurgery. A meta-analysis. Arch Intern Med. 2000 Aug 14/28;160:23...
Nonketotic Hyperglycemic Chorea-Ballism (NKHCB): An Atypical Case and a Review of Literature

Nonketotic hyperglycemic chorea-ballism (NKHCB) is a rare movement disorder characterized by hemichoreahemiballism, contralateral striatal abnormality, and rapid resolution following glycemic control. We describe an atypical case of NKHCB in a 71-year-old female with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes exhibiting hemichorea and hemiballism limited to the right upper extremity. While NKHCB patients typically show abnormalities on com puted tomography (CT) imaging of the head, a CT scan of our patient during the acute phase was unremarkable. The movements subsided following glycemic control and fluid administration. The current literature on NKHCB is sparse and largely limited to case reports and series. We discuss several typical and atypical presentations and findings on imaging.
Redistribution, Human Shields and Loss of Migratory Behavior in the Crown of the Continent

Redistribution of wildlife resulting from human alteration of environments is of growing management concern in North America. Habituation, which can coincide with redistribution, seems to be particularity prevalent in national park systems because millions of visitors interact with wildlife. For example, Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana, USA, receives approximately 2.2 million visitors over the months of June, July, and August each year—with the majority of their activity concentrated along the Going-to-Sun Road. The Going-to-Sun Road corridor is well-known for its habituated mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus). Habituation, however, was identified as a priority management concern in Glacier National Park. Successful management actions require a clear understanding of the causes and consequences of complex ecological issues such as habituation. Through experimental and observation effort this project has identified human-created predation refugia, or human shields, where mountain goats are escaping predation through interaction with people. Reductions in predation risk have resulted in mountain goat redistribution and changes in behavior. We found mountain goats using sites with human shields were less vigilant and were found in smaller groups. Furthermore, goats in areas with human-mediated predation refuge had reduced use cliff security terrain. Additionally, mountain goats that exploited people as shields from predators showed a weakened response to an experimentally presented predator model. Reductions in predator risk appear to be the primary driver of mountain goat redistribution and the use of humans as buffers from predation has led to close contact between people and wildlife, resulting in compromised safety and altered ecological interactions.
Online Educational Tool to Promote Bone Health in Cancer Survivors.

Osteoporosis burden is significant in cancer survivors. Websites providing health information abound, but their development, quality, and source of information remain unclear. Our aim was to use a systematic and transparent approach to create an educational website on bone health, and to evaluate its potential to improve knowledge, self-management, and awareness in prostate cancer (PCa) and breast cancer (BCa) survivors. Guided by the Health Belief Model, we created a website using international standards and evaluated it in 10 PCa and 10 BCa survivors with self-administered questionnaire before, after, and 1 month after navigating the website. The mean scores on the knowledge questionnaire at baseline, postintervention and 1 month were, respectively, 5.1 (±2.0), 6.9 (±2.5), and 6.7 (±2.4), p < .008, in PCa and 3.4 (±2.7), 7.6 (±3.0), and 6.5 (±3.8), p = .016, in BCa survivors. Acceptability ratings ranged from 60% to 100%. Participants found the website useful, helpful, and able to raise bone health awareness. Our website improved bone health knowledge in both PCa and BCa survivors. A systematic and transparent approach to the development of online educational websites could result in a tool capable of meeting the educational needs of targeted consumers. Cancer survivors could benefit from proven online educational tools.
Narrowing the spectrum: the new frontier of precision antimicrobials

Antibiotics have become the standard of care for bacterial infections. However, rising rates of antibiotic-resistant infections are outpacing the development of new antimicrobials. Broad-spectrum antibiotics also harm beneficial microbial communities inhabiting humans. To combat antibiotic resistance and protect these communities, new precision antimicrobials must be engineered to target specific pathogens.
Examining the Cultural Wealth of Underrepresented Minority Engineering Persisters

AbstractOne of the most significant challenges facing engineering education in the United States is the persistent problem of the inclusion and retention of certain racial and ethnic groups. Academ...
Joint virtual edge-clustering and spectrum allocation scheme for uplink interference mitigation in C-RAN

Abstract Fractional Frequency Reuse (FFR) and Coordinated MultiPoint (CoMP) processing are two of the conventional methods to mitigate the Inter-Cell Interference (ICI) and to improve the average Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR). However, FFR is associated with low system spectral efficiency and CoMP does not take any action to mitigate the inter-cluster interference. In this article, we study the challenges and problems of the current interference management techniques and explain why the clustering and spectrum allocation must be studied jointly. Then, in the context of Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN), we propose a joint virtual clustering and spectrum allocation scheme, called Cloud-CFFR , to address such problems. With respect to both FFR and CoMP, Cloud-CFFR decreases the complexity, delay, and ICI while increasing the system spectral efficiency. Since the system performance in cell-edge regions relies on the cooperation of different Virtual Base Stations (VBSs), there is no service interruption in handling handovers; moreover, in order to address the unanticipated change in capacity demand, a flexible spectrum management technique is proposed which dynamically changes the subband boundaries based on the number of active users in the clusters. Simulation results confirm the validity of our analysis and show the benefits of this novel uplink solution compared to the traditional schemes.
Regional Variations of Mucus Clearance in Normal and in Bronchitic Mammalian Airways

Very little information is available on the relationship of ciliary beat frequency (CBF) to mucus transport velocities (MTV) in airways distal to the trachea in intact lungs. Ciliary beat frequencies and mucus transport rates in airways are not uniform at all levels of the lung, both of these increasing from the small airways to the trachea. The purpose of this paper is to report the relationship of CBF to MTV in normal airways and compare these relationships to abnormalities of mucus transport in animals with spontaneous chronic respiratory disease.
CONNECTIONIST MODELS IN SPATIAL COGNITION

This chapter reviews neural network approaches to the study of spatial cognition and spatial language with a focus on the representations and processes that are used by humans for encoding, storing, accessing, and referencing spatial knowledge. Such processes are used for recall of spatial information, for navigation through space, for spatial decision making, and for generating spatial descriptions. Connectionist models for representing the structure of cognitive maps and understanding the language of spatial relations are discussed in detail, using the representation adopted by the model to evaluate the usefulness of each approach. In addition, the functional differences within neural network models, such as distributed versus local representations, are discussed. Finally, an agenda for future development of connectionist models, including the exploration of alternative network structures and data types, is proposed.
Transcriptional activator TonE-binding protein in cellular protection and differentiation.

Abstract The TonE‐binding protein (TonEBP) is a transcriptional activator in the Rel family that includes NFκB and NFAT. TonEBP is critical for the development and function of the renal medulla, which is a major regulator of water homeostasis. TonEBP is also implicated in diabetic nephropathy and inflammation. Established methods for biochemical and histochemical detection and functional analysis of TonEBP, including identification of novel TonEBP target genes, are described for those who are interested in investigating function and regulation of TonEBP.
Insight Into Health Care Services: A Characterization of Emergency Room Visits and Economic Hazards in the United States.

ObjectiveThis study explores the impact of economic hazard areas on hospital-based emergency departments to determine whether economically hazardous environments, characterized by the change of population, income per capita, and unemployment rate, experience a higher number of emergency room visits than areas of lower rated economic hazard risk in the United States.MethodA cross-sectional design was used of a nationally constructed data set of hospital-based emergency departments of over 6,000 hospitals in the United States. We identified our quality outcome measure as the emergency room visits rate within a hospital service area. We created the variable by dividing the number of emergency room visits by the population of the hospital services area in which the emergency room was located.ResultsResults indicate that there is a difference in the incident rate ratio of emergency room visits between environments considered to be experiencing greater amounts of hazard, compared to lower amounts of hazard.ConclusionHospital administrators and health policy-makers need to work in conjunction to focus efforts on public safety as a key objective in the delivery of emergency medical care. One crucial effort that hospital administrators need to focus on is improving emergency room capacity and efficiency as part of the disaster preparedness plan (Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2019;13:470-475)
Treatment duration affects cytoprotective efficacy of positive allosteric modulation of α7 nAChRs after focal ischemia in rats

Abstract To minimize irreversible brain injury after acute ischemic stroke (AIS), the time to treatment (i.e., treatment delay) should be minimized. However, thus far, all cytoprotective clinical trials have failed. Analysis of literature identified short treatment durations (≤72 h) as a common motif among completed cytoprotective clinical trials. Here, we argue that short cytoprotective regimens even if given early after AIS may only slow down the evolution of ischemic brain injury and fail to deliver sustained long-term solutions leading to relapses that may be misinterpreted for conceptual failure of cytoprotection. In this randomized blinded study, we used young adult male rats subjected to transient 90 min suture middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and treated with acute vs. sub-chronic regimens of PNU120596, a prototypical positive allosteric modulator of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors with anti-inflammatory cytoprotective properties to test the hypothesis that insufficient treatment durations may reduce therapeutic benefits of otherwise efficacious cytoprotectants after AIS. A single acute treatment 90 min after MCAO significantly reduced brain injury and neurological deficits 24 h later, but these effects vanished 72 h after MCAO. These relapses were avoided by utilizing sub-chronic treatments. Thus, extending treatment duration augments therapeutic efficacy of PNU120596 after MCAO. Furthermore, sub-chronic treatments could offset the negative effects of prolonged treatment delays in cases where the acute treatment window after MCAO was left unexploited. We conclude that a combination of short treatment delays and prolonged treatment durations may be required to maximize therapeutic effects of PNU120596, reduce relapses and ensure sustained therapeutic efficacy after AIS. Similar concepts may hold for other cytoprotectants including those that failed in clinical trials.
Survey of national and local practice of compression therapy timing for burn patients in the United States.

Abstract Objective Compression therapy (CT) has been an important, but debated, treatment for burn scars. To better understand one source of variation in observed outcomes after CT, an evaluation of CT timing of application is needed. Materials and Methods Following IRB approval, 126 burn centers were contacted to complete a 17-question survey regarding the center’s practice pattern for compression garment therapy. Locally, study subjects were identified between March 1, 2014 and December 31, 2015 and medical records examined for timing of garment ordering, delivery and fitting. Results The majority believed that compression therapy is beneficial. Most centers reported using custom-fit and pre-fabricated garments, and a goal time of application between 2–4 weeks (42%) and 4–6 weeks (36%). After the garments are ordered, 61% of centers estimate that it takes 2–4 weeks for them to arrive. No significant differences in practices were found among centers treating pediatric patients only, adults only or both. Locally, the mean number of weeks between the date of original injury and garment order placement was 9.1 weeks with an additional 8.7 weeks between the date of order and date of delivery. Conclusions The current study identified that although the national reporting of time to garment application is estimated to be between 2–6 weeks at the majority of burn centers including our own, we found our center to be well in excess of 17 weeks. The findings offer an opportunity for local improvement, and raise the possibility of similar incongruity between goals and practice at other centers.
Adaptively Fitting Network Topologies to Traffic Locality in Clos-Type Data Center Networks

Localized traffic is ubiquitous in today's data centers. In this context, we propose to fit the topologies of the underlying network into the traffic locality, so that we can improve the efficiency of network resource utilization. We make our network infrastructure to be versatile, in the sense that its topology can be fitted into the profile of the traffic. We describe our network's topological architecture, design its addressing and routing schemes, and validate its adaptively fitting capability. We also evaluate its performance and compare it with fat-tree, a representative Clos-type data center network architecture. The evaluation results demonstrate that the our network can deliver the same throughput as fat-tree, but use significantly reduced network resources.
Thermodynamics of the bulk modulus of delta phase plutonium alloys

The purpose of this paper is to show that most of the large observed value of dB/dT arises from anharmonic lattice vibrations. This contrasts with the situation for the observed anomalous thermal e...
arXiv and the Symbiosis of Physics Preprints and Journal Review Articles: A Model.

New thinking needs to emerge about how to reform publishing along lines that best meet two perennial needs of scientific communication. This paper discusses a model that addresses these two needs with respect to physics. Given the considerable barriers that its realization in pristine form faces, the model aspires merely to be a heuristic or guidepost. It provides an analytical framework for criticizing aspects of the current publishing ecosystem, helps diagnose problems in current efforts to reform it, including those emanating from the open access movement, and raises consciousness about certain emphases that could gradually enrich scholarly publishing. [VERSION 2 , 5/19/2019; SUCCESSIVE REVISIONS WILL OCCUR THROUGHOUT 2019.]
Making a connection to field geoscience for Native American youth through culture, nature, and community

This qualitative study examines the experience of 12 Native American youth who participated in culturally appropriate geoscience summer programs throughout California. These programs have been show...
Evolutionary psychology, economic freedom, trade and benevolence

Our thesis is that the reason many of us today are inclined toward socialism (explicit cooperation) and against laissez-faire capitalism (implicit cooperation) is because the first type of behavior was much more genetically beneficial during previous generations of our species. There is, however, a seemingly strong argument against this hypothesis: evidence from human prehistory indicates that trade (implicit cooperation) previously was widespread. How, then, can we be hard-wired in favor of socialism and against capitalism if our ancestors were engaged in market behavior in past millennia? Although trade which is self-centered and beneficial (presumably mutually beneficial to all parties in the exchange) did indeed appear hundreds of thousands of years ago, benevolence was established in our hard-wiring very substantially earlier, literally hundreds of millions of years ago, and is therefore far more deeply integrated into the human psyche.
Multidisciplinary perspectives on music perception and cognition for cochlear implant users

For over 30 years, cochlear implants (CIs) have been successfully providing sound and speech perception to individuals who suffer from severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss. Despite many recent advances in CI technology, significant challenges remain for users, including speech perception in noisy environments, identifying vocal emotion, and perhaps most notably, music perception and appreciation. Moreover, pediatric cochlear implant users often demonstrate a slower and more variable language development trajectory compared to their normal hearing peers, which is in part due to the imperfect hearing restoration by these devices. In this brief report, we discuss multidisciplinary perspectives on music perception and cognition for CI users, as well as how they can be employed to improve the cochlear implant experience. We divide these strategies into two categories—a top-down approach (e.g., employing therapeutic measures to help train the CI user’s brain to fully reap the benefits of cochlear implantation) and a bottom-up approach (e.g., improving the auditory input through developing new technology, creating individualized programming strategies, and developing music specifically tailored for CI users). These individualized, yet multidirectional approaches will help create a functionally-integrated system that supports robust processing of complex sounds, which is essential for many everyday tasks.