cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surrogate markers of airway inflammation: inflammometry in paediatric respiratory medicine

Abstract Until recently, there has not been any practical way to assess airway inflammation non-invasively in paediatrics. Surrogate markers of airway inflammation are potentially of great importance in the diagnosis and monitoring of inflammatory airways disease in children. A large number of substances in blood, urine and exhaled air or induced sputum are currently under study to evaluate their possible usefulness as markers of airway inflammation. To be useful, a marker should be valid, preferably non-invasive, quick, reproducible, repeatable and cheap. In addition, markers should be studied in relation to their specific purpose because different markers may be useful for different types of airway inflammation. Few, if any, markers will fulfill all these requirements. Most research has focused on applications of markers in asthma, some data refer to cystic fibrosis, infections and ciliary dyskinesia. Of all surrogate markers, exhaled nitric oxide has been studied the most and seems to offer information that should be evaluated for its relevance to clinical practice. Before introducing markers of inflammation into daily practice, analysis of benefits and costs are needed. There is little doubt that ‘inflammometry’ will be a major step forward and will be useful in differentiating airways diseases and improving treatment.
Green’s Function for a Closed, Infinite, Circular Cylindrical Elastic Shell

An acceptable variant of the Koiter-Morley equations for an elastically isotropic circular cylindrical shell is replaced by a constant coefficient fourth-order partial differential equation for a complex-valued displacement-stress function. An approximate formal solution for the associated "free-space" Green's function (i.e., the Green's function for a closed, infinite shell) is derived using an inner and outer expansion. The point wise error in this solution is shown rigorously to be of relative order (h/a)(1+√h/a|x|), where h is the constant thickness of the shell, a is the radius of the mid surface, and ax is distance along a generator of the mid surface.
2-D dual finite-element formulations for the fast extraction of circuit parameters in VLSI

This paper presents two-dimensional dual finite-element formulations for the extraction of electric circuit parameters in very large scale integration (VLSI) circuits. The formulations use scalar or one-component vector potential variables and nodal elements. Necessary cuts or links are automatically generated to take into account nontrivial domain. The similarity between formulations of different problems as well as cuts and links is illustrated. All C, R, and L extractions can be performed with a unified field solver. Exploration of dual energy bounds provides fast and accurate circuit parameter results.
Control of melatonin synthesis in the mammalian pineal gland: the critical role of serotonin acetylation.

The large daily rhythm in circulating melatonin levels is a highly conserved feature of vertebrate physiology: high values always occur at night. The dynamics of the rhythm are controlled by the next-to-last enzyme in melatonin synthesis (serotonin → N-acetylserotonin → melatonin), arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT), the "melatonin rhythm enzyme". In vertebrate biology, AANAT plays a unique time-keeping role as the molecular interface between the environment and the hormonal signal of time, melatonin. This chapter describes the mammalian AANAT regulatory system, which includes the retina, neural structures, transsynaptic processes, and molecular events. In addition, special attention is paid to the functional characteristics of the systems which insure that the nocturnal increase in melatonin is an accurate and reliable indicator of the duration of the night, and why the melatonin rhythm is the most reliable output signal of the Mind's Clock.
Quantitative real-time PCR for detection of neurotoxin genes of Clostridium botulinum types A, B and C in equine samples

Botulism in horses in the USA is attributed to Clostridium botulinum types A, B or C. In this study, a duplex quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) for detection of the neurotoxin genes of C. botulinum types A and B, and a singleplex qPCR for detection of the neurotoxin gene of C. botulinum type C, were optimized and validated for equine gastrointestinal, faecal and feed samples. The performance of these assays was evaluated and compared to the standard mouse bioassay (MBA) using 148 well-characterized samples, most of which were acquired from a repository of veterinary diagnostic samples from cases of botulism: 106 samples positive for C. botulinum (25 type A, 27 type B, 28 type C, 1 type D and 25 type E) and 42 negative samples. The sensitivities of the qPCR assays were 89%, 86% and 96% for C. botulinum types A, B and C, respectively. The overall sensitivity of the mouse bioassay for types A, B and C was 81%. The specificities of the qPCR assays were 99-100% and the specificity of the mouse bioassay was 95%.
An optimal algorithm for floorplan area optimization

An optimal algorithm for the VLSI floorplan area optimization problem is presented. The algorithm is an extension of the technique described by L. Stockmeyer (Information and Control, vol.59, p.91-101, 1983). Experimental results indicate that this algorithm pruned a very large number of redundant implementations. In addition, since the algorithm basically exploits the geometric property of the topology of the given floorplan it does not need to depend on the polar dual graphs to calculate the longest paths. Consequently it is able to run more efficiently than the branch-and-bound algorithm. >
Chondritic Meteorites and the Solar Nebula

Present understanding of the formation of chondritic meteorites in the solar nebula is reviewed, focusing on the nebular history of chondritic material. The stages in the history of chondritic material are summarized. The processing of chondrules and refractory inclusions is considered, and the relatedness of chondrules and refractory inclusions is discussed.
Oligomerization Mediated by a Helix-Loop-Helix-Like Domain of Baculovirus IE1 Is Required for Early Promoter Transactivation

IE1 is a principal transcriptional regulator of Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV). Transactivation by IE1 is stimulated when early viral promoters are cis linked to homologous-region (hr) enhancer sequences of AcMNPV. This transcriptional enhancement is correlated with the binding of IE1 as a dimer to the 28-bp palindromic repeats comprising the hr enhancer. To define the role of homophilic interactions in IE1 transactivation, we have mapped the IE1 domains required for oligomerization. We report here that IE1 oligomerizes by a mechanism independent of enhancer binding, as demonstrated by in vitro pull-down assays using fusions of IE1 (582 residues) to the C terminus of glutathione S-transferase. In vivo oligomerization of IE1 was verified by immunoprecipitation of IE1 complexes from extracts of plasmid-transfected SF21 cells. Analyses of a series of site-directed IE1 insertion mutations indicated that a helix-loop-helix (HLH)-like domain extending from residue 543 to residue 568 is the primary determinant of oligomerization. Replacement of residues within the hydrophobic face of the putative dimerization domain disrupted IE1 homophilic interactions and caused loss of IE1 transactivation of hr-dependent promoters in plasmid transfection assays. Thus, oligomerization is required for IE1 transcriptional stimulation. HLH mutations also reduced IE1 stability and abrogated transactivation of non-hr-dependent promoters. These data support a model wherein IE1 oligomerizes prior to DNA binding to facilitate proper interaction with the symmetrical recognition sites within the hr enhancer and thereby promote the transcription of early viral genes.
Modeled sensitivity of upper thermocline properties to tropical cyclone winds and possible feedbacks on the Hadley circulation

[1] The sensitivity of upper thermocline properties, and global climate, to tropical cyclone (TC) winds is examined using global ocean and atmosphere general circulation models. We combine seven years of global, satellite-based TC wind records with a standard surface wind input data set derived from reanalysis, and we apply idealized factors to TC winds in order to model the ocean's equilibrium response to increases in TC intensities. We find TC-induced vertical ocean mixing impacts upper thermocline properties, such as temperature and mixed layer depth, and the effects are amplified for increasing intensities. The model's ocean heat transport is also affected, but only when TC winds are increased substantially compared to present-day values. Atmospheric model simulations show altered ocean temperature can lead to changes in the mean Hadley circulation. Results suggest increased TC activity may affect global climate by altering the ocean's thermal structure, which could be important for large scale ocean-atmosphere feedbacks.
The role of sodium and potassium transport pathways in taste transduction: an overview

Article de synthese a propos du role des cations, de l'AMP cyclique, de la cascade enzymatique intracellulaire et des canaux ioniques dans les mecanismes de transduction des informations gustatives
Zooplankton spine induces aversion in small fish predators

The spined cladoceran Bythotrephes cederstroemi is protected from small fish predators due to the difficulty small fish have in ingesting the spine. Juvenile yellow perch (Perca flavescens) 50–60 mm in length were offered Bythotrephes with alternative prey available in two experiments. First, perch were observed as they gained experience with Bythotrephes and developed aversion to the zooplankter. Perch initially attacked and captured Bythotrephes. However, they struggled to ingest the spined zooplankter, rejected and recaptured it many times, and finally ceased to attack it. Second, perch were offered Bythotrephes with varying portions of the spine removed to clarify the spine's role in inducing such behaviors. Perch showed greater preference to attack nospine and half-spine Bythotrephes, and were less likely to reject and more likely to ingest Bythotrephes with the spine removed. For small or young fish that forage on zooplankton in lakes where Bythotrephes is present, aversion is an efficient response to the conspicuous but unpalatable spined cladoceran. However, aversion allows Bythotrephes, also a predator on zooplankton, to more effectively compete with young fish without an increase in predation risk.
Applications of emerging technologies to the study and conservation of threatened and endangered species

Sustaining viable populations of all wildlife species requires the maintenance of habitat, as well as an understanding of the behaviour and physiology of individual species. Despite substantial efforts, there are thousands of species threatened by extinction, often because of complex factors related to politics, social and environmental conditions and economic needs. When species become critically endangered, ex situ recovery programmes that include reproductive scientists are the usual first line of defence. Despite the potential of reproductive technologies for rapidly increasing numbers in such small populations, there are few examples of success. This is not the result of a failure on the part of the technologies per se, but rather is due to a lack of knowledge about the fundamental biology of the species in question, information essential for allowing reproductive technologies to be effective in the production of offspring. In addition, modern conservation concepts correctly emphasise the importance of maintaining heterozygosity to sustain genetic vigour, thereby limiting the practical usefulness of some procedures (such as nuclear transfer). However, because of the goal of maintaining all extant gene diversity and because, inevitably, many species are (or will become) 'critically endangered', it is necessary to explore every avenue for a potential contributory role. There are many 'emerging technologies' emanating from the study of livestock and laboratory animals. We predict that a subset of these may have application to the rescue of valuable genes from individual endangered species and eventually to the genetic management of entire populations or species. The present paper reviews the potential candidate techniques and their potential value (and limitations) to the study and conservation of rare wildlife species.
Mesoscale Model Simulation of the 4–5 January 1995 Lake-Effect Snowstorm

Abstract The Pennsylvania State University–NCAR Mesoscale Model version 5 (MM5), running on a triply nested grid, was used to simulate the intense lake-effect snowstorm of 4–5 January 1995. On the finest grid (5-km resolution) centered over Lake Ontario, MM5 produced a snowband in the correct location having a size and orientation similar to the band observed by the WSR-88D radar at Binghamton, New York. The simulated precipitation distribution agreed well with the observed snowfall during the first 18 h during the time when the snowband was in its midlake position extending into the Tug Hill plateau. During the last 12 h of the simulation, when both the observed and simulated snowbands lay along the south shore of Lake Ontario, the simulated snowfall at inland locations of Oswego County was less than observed. During this period, the simulated precipitation over Lake Ontario appeared to be excessive, although no radar data or ground truth was available to confirm this. Two short-wave troughs interacted w...
Evolutionary Design of Facilities Considering Production Uncertainty

This paper considers the design of facilities while explicitly incorporating production uncertainty in the form of product quantity expected values and standard deviations. Block layout designs can be optimized directly for robustness over a prespecified range of uncertainty. This formulation is solved using a random keys genetic algorithm meta-heuristic with a flexible bay construct of the departments and total facility area.
Preliminary consideration of energy storage requirements for sub-optimal reactive control of axisymmetric wave energy devices☆

Abstract This paper investigates sub-optimal time-domain reactive control of wave energy devices based on real-time up-wave surface elevation information. The paper first presents the overall approach required for such control, and recalls the need for future force and response information due to the causality of the radiation force and the non-causality of the exciting force (in relation to the wave profile at device centroid). The present approach constitutes a long-wave approximation, and is based on linearized wave propagation and device dynamics models. The long-wave approximation allows direct use of the instantaneous up-wave surface-elevation measurement. For predominantly heaving axisymmetric primary energy converters in an approximately uni-directional irregular incident wave field, the amount of cumulative reactive energy is compared with the cumulative absorbed energy. Calculations are carried out for a heaving axisymmetric buoy, when floating and when fully submerged. Oscillations are assumed to be unconstrained, so as to obtain a basic understanding of the best performance improvements and the implementation challenges associated with the present control approach. Although the net reactive energy is zero in the absence of actuator losses, it is concluded, that the reactive force magnitudes and reactive energy requirements should be an important design-level consideration. Time-domain calculations show that the reactive energy requirements for the submerged buoy may be significantly greater (compared with the floating buoy) in spectra with energy periods ≥ 13 s.
Nanoverse: a constraints-based declarative framework for rapid agent-based modeling

Agent-based models (ABMs) are ubiquitous in research and industry. Currently, simulating ABMs involves at least some imperative (step-by-step) computer instructions. An alternative approach is declarative programming, in which a set of requirements is described at a high level of abstraction. Here I present the a fully declarative methodology for the automated construction of simulations for ABMs. In this framework, called "Nanoverse," logic for ABM simulations is encapsulated into predefined components. The user specifies a set of requirements describing the desired functionality. Additionally, each component has a set of consistency requirements. The framework iteratively seeks a simulation design that satisfies both user and system requirements. This approach allows the user to omit most details from the simulation specification, simplifying simulation design.
Significance of Photon-Deficient Areas in Radionuclide Bone Scans

Photon-deficient areas were observed in 64 out of 884 (7.2%) bone scans performed in a general hospital over a period of 1 yr. The intrinsic causes constituted about 80% of the “cold” lesions seen; whereas extrinsic causes were responsible for the remaining 20%. Orthopedic implants were the most common source of artifactual cold lesions. The value of special views during bone scanning and care during interpretation is suggested.
Academic Research and the Data Drought Dilemma

➤ Quantitative research by marketing faculties and graduate students is hampered by a shortage of attainable data and by lack of knowledge about available reliable data. A marketing data bank servi...
Ultrastructure of mitosis in the aquatic fungus Catenaria anguillulae.

SUMMARYThe ultrastructure of mitosis in the zoosporangia of the water mold Catenaria anguillulae has been studied. The nuclear divisions prior to the formation of zoospores are mitotic. Centrioles ...
Pharmacotherapy Casebook: A Patient-Focused Approach, 9th Edition

Edited by Terry L Schwinghammer, Pharm.D., FCCP, FASHP, FAPhA, BCPS, and Julia M. Koehler, Pharm.D., FCCP Published by McGraw-Hill Companies, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, 45th Floor, New York, NY 10020-1001, 2014. 461 p. Price $55.00 (soft cover) Description: This is the ninth edition of a
Effects of low dorsal fin on the stability of vortex flow over slender delta wing

A vortex stability theory for slender conical bodies which was proposed by the professors of NWPU was reviewed and used to analyze the asymmetric vortices characteristics of a flat-plate delta wing and its combinations.To verify the validity of the theoretical predictions and show the force development versus angle of attack,a wind tunnel test was conducted on a flat-plate delta wing of 82.5 degrees sweep angle and its combinations using a six-component internal strain-gage balance.The angles of attack is at 12°~32° and sideslip within ±10°.Two fins of different heights were tested.The ratios of the local fin height to the local wing semi-span were 0.3 and 0.6 respectively.The Reynolds number is 1.66 million.The measurement of the aerodynamic forces and moments clearly indicates that no lateral force occurs over wing-alone model at lower angles,but a steady force-asymmetry occurs over the wing-fin models at certain angles.The experimental results and the theoretical results are in good agreement qualitatively,it provides force measurement evidence of the validity of the vortex stability theory preliminarily.
How to avoid perioperative visual loss following prone spinal surgery.

Background: In a prior article, “Perioperative visual loss (POVL) following prone spinal surgery: A review,” Epstein documented that postoperative visual loss (POVL) occurs in from 0.013% to 0.2% of spine procedures performed in the prone position. POVL is largely attributed to ischemic optic neuropathy (ION), central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO), cortical blindness (CB), direct compression (prone pillows/horseshoe, eye protectors), and rarely, acute angle closure glaucoma.
Boxweb: A Structured Outline Program for Writers

Boxweb is a high-level language for creating outlines. It forces the writer to list both the ideas in an essay and more importantly the way the ideas interact. These lists are compiled by the computer into a traditional, hierarchical outline. The structure of Boxweb is designed to force the writer to think of an essay as not just a set of facts and notions, but as a web of connections between ideas. While the basic structure of the language is adapted from computer languages, the syntax is specifically designed to be very flexible and appear like natural English. The paper will describe the structure of the language, some results from testing it on writers and finally, the algorithms used by the compiler. It will compare the language to some related work done at Xerox P ARC, which is primarily visual.
Learned Flavor Aversions and Preferences

Flavor preferences and aversions influence food and fluid choices in animals. Some preferences/aversions are inborn but most are learned by experience with flavors and positive (nutritive) and negative (toxic) consequences. Flavor aversion learning has been extensively studied in rodents, and its behavioral characteristics and brain mechanisms are briefly described. Flavor preferences are acquired by learned associations between orosensory stimuli (taste, odor, texture) and innately preferred flavor elements (eg, sweet taste) or between orosensory stimuli and postingestive nutritive actions. Brain mechanisms and neurochemical processes involved in flavor preference learning are briefly reviewed.
A short form for clinical assessment of quality of life among hypertensive patients.

Recently, medical research studies and clinical trials have included quality-of-life assessments, which measure the biomedical, behavioral, and social dimensions of living as a major therapeutic end point. Monitoring the quality of life in routine clinical practice also has the potential to aid clinicians to evaluate the impact of new therapies on the health status of their patients. However, because quality-of-life assessment techniques are quite lengthy and often require the aid of a trained interviewer, the research format is not practical for the typical clinical setting. This study describes the formulation, construction, and testing of an abbreviated quality of-life questionnaire suitable for the clinical assessment of hypertensive patients. The initial formulation was based on analyses of data from a large-scale clinical trial (626 hypertensive male patients). Using the data at baseline for this group, items were selected such that the variance, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of the response scales were maintained by a reduced subset of items. The sensitivity of the reduced subsets was evaluated using treatment data and found to be as sensitive to treatment differentials as the original research instrument was. A subsequent field test of 87 volunteer subjects indicated that the new shortened version had the qualities of stable internal consistency and test-retest reliability over two successive trials. The questionnaire was self-administered and required less than 10 minutes to complete. It was given as an adjunct to the history and physical exam. It was distributed to 7,792 physicians who successfully used the questionnaire to monitor quality-of-life indices both before and during antihypertensive therapy for 32,109 patients participating in a large postmarketing surveillance study.
Abstract 3540: Targeting obesity-related cancer progression with novel leptin receptor antagonists

Obesity is a global health issue that has been identified as a risk factor for several types of cancer. High levels of body fat and circulating leptin are typical identifiers of obesity in humans and animals. Leptin is a 16kD protein hormone which is secreted by adipocytes, and maybe secreted from cancer cells, that functions to control satiation via leptin receptor binding. However, obese individuals often develop “leptin resistance”, which is a mechanism that leads to the accumulation of excess leptin. Increased binding of leptin to its receptor (OB-R) due to leptin resistance has been associated with disease progression and poor prognosis in human cancers. Our group has previously shown that leptin-mediated cancer cell proliferation is inhibited by the LPrA2 (leptin peptide receptor antagonist 2). We have prepared novel leptin antagonists and tested their ability to block leptin-induced survival and chemoresistance to Paclitaxel (TAX) and Gemcitabine (GEM) in cancer cells and derived tumorspheres (pancreatic: PANC-1, MiaPaca2 and triple negative breast cancer: MDA-MB231 and MDA-MB468). Western blot protein analyses showed the ability of the antagonists to specifically inhibit leptin-induced phosphorylation of STAT3, and expression of cyclin D, and Notch1 in cancer cells. Additionally, potential toxicity of antagonists was tested using MTT assay with concentrations up to 100X higher than the effective dose in non-malignant breast cells (MCF-10A). Data generated show no toxicity of the novel antagonists in vitro. Leptin-induced proliferation of breast cancer and pancreatic cancer cells (120-160%) was significantly inhibited by the novel antagonists. In addition, leptin-mediated progression of S-phase was also reduced by the antagonists. Leptin increased TAX and GEM chemoresistance in cells and tumorspheres that were efficiently inhibited by the antagonists. These data suggest that the new antagonists could be equally or more effective than LPrA2 for adjuvant treatment of cancer. Acknowledgements: This work has been supported by Pilot Project Award from MSM/Tuskegee University/UAB Cancer Center partnership grant 5U54CA118638; PC SPORE Grant from UAB to RRGP, and facilities and support services at Morehouse School of Medicine (1G12RR026250-03; NIH RR 03034 and 1C06 RR18386). Citation Format: Crystal C. Lipsey, Adriana Harbuzariu, Ruben R. Gonzalez-Perez. Targeting obesity-related cancer progression with novel leptin receptor antagonists [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3540. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-3540
Discovery of High-Affinity PDGF-VEGFR Interactions: Redefining RTK Dynamics.

Nearly all studies of angiogenesis have focused on uni-family ligand-receptor binding, e.g., VEGFs bind to VEGF receptors, PDGFs bind to PDGF receptors, etc. The discovery of VEGF-PDGFRs binding challenges this paradigm and calls for investigation of other ligand-receptor binding possibilities. We utilized surface plasmon resonance to identify and measure PDGF-to-VEGFR binding rates, establishing cut-offs for binding and non-binding interactions. We quantified the kinetics of the recent VEGF-A:PDGFRβ interaction for the first time with KD = 340 pM. We discovered new PDGF:VEGFR2 interactions with PDGF-AA:R2 KD = 530 nM, PDGF-AB:R2 KD = 110 pM, PDGF-BB:R2 KD = 40 nM, and PDGF-CC:R2 KD = 70 pM. We computationally predict that cross-family PDGF binding could contribute up to 96% of VEGFR2 ligation in healthy conditions and in cancer. Together the identification, quantification, and simulation of these novel cross-family interactions posits new mechanisms for understanding anti-angiogenic drug resistance and presents an expanded role of growth factor signaling with significance in health and disease.
One effector at a time.

Bacterial pathogens have a multitude of effectors that target plant host cells and promote disease. A case is made for a new suspect, phytate, as a target of a novel phytase activity for a type III effector of Xanthomonas.
Computational accelerators in the US/NSF extreme science and engineering discovery environment

• This conference focuses strongly on computational accelerator technologies, a specific new technology proving very useful in support of computationally intensive research.• I will, as promised, summarize the state of use of accelerators at my institution and more broadly in the US/NSF XSEDE program.
On-line distributed hierarchical control and optimisation of large scale processes using a micro-computer based system

This paper has demonstrated that the suggested coordination methods can be used for distributed on-line optimising control within a real time environment. Problems relating to system transient and local decision unit asychronisation, and their effects on system stability and convergence, have been investigated and methods for dealing with these problems are suggested. The convergency, accuracy and robustness properties of each coordination method have been discussed. Engineering judgement is needed to choose a particular coordination method with feedback to best suit the class of problem concerned. Further research should look into other coordination methods with feedback and to develop stablising control techniques for the decision units under asynchronous operation, so as to reduce the waiting time in the infimal level and the information exchange between the two levels.
Mobility Model and Relay Management for Disaster Area Wireless Networks

This paper investigates the disaster area communication system using relay-assisted wireless networks. At first, a novel mobility model is proposed to describe the movement pattern of the first responders as Mobile Nodes (MNs) within a large disaster area. Secondly, we study the relay management of placing a fixed number of Relay Nodes (RNs) to cover as many MNs as possible within the disaster area. We first formulate the Mobile Node Association (MNA) problem, and propose a Bipartite-graph based Approach (BA). Afterwards, a Relay Node Placement (RNP) problem is formulated and two different algorithms, including the Constrained Exhaustive Search (CES) algorithm as the optimal solution and the Bipartite graph based Incremental Greedy (BIG) algorithm. Simulation results are presented to compare the performance of two algorithms, which show that the BIG algorithm can produce near-optimal solutions but with significantly reduced computational complexity.
Metamodels for Interphase Heat Transfer from Mesoscale Simulations of Shock–Cylinder Interactions

Macroscale computations of shocked particle-laden flows rely on closure laws to model the heat transfer between the fluid and particle phases. Typically, closure models are semiempirical and obtained for a limited range of parameters because experiments can be difficult and expensive to perform. This paper describes an approach to obtain closures for heat and momentum exchanges from ensembles of high-fidelity mesoscale computations of shock–cylinder interactions. The simulations are performed for flow over a single cylinder for a wide range of Reynolds ReD and Mach numbers Ms. The results are used to construct a metamodel for the drag coefficient CD and the Nusselt number Nu correlation using a modified Bayesian kriging method. To study the effects of the particle volume fraction ϕ, mesoscale computations are performed for cylinder clusters and the Nu and CD are calculated. The metamodel shows that, although the Nusselt number Nu is primarily a function of the ReD, the Ms and ϕ also significantly affect t...
Hospitals lead by poor example: An assessment of snacks, soda, and junk food availability in Veterans Affairs hospitals.

Objective The Veterans Health Administration is the largest integrated health care system fully funded through the US government; however, compliance with government dietary recommendations within Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals is not well known. The aim of this study was to determine which foods are available at VA hospitals and whether these foods comply with government recommendations. Methods Process verification for a Freedom of Information Act request was used to assess government-run inpatient and outpatient VA hospital facilities by accessing the location, quantity, and contents of vending machines. These foods and beverages were then quantified and compared with the US Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020 (eighth edition). Results Of the beverages supplied, 49% contained >55 g of sugar, supplying >10% of daily calories in added sugar in a single serving. Of all beverages, 50% contained >50 g of added sugar (range 17-77 g per bottle/can). The 65 available food items were comprised of 28% candy, 14% potato chips/puffed corn snacks, 11% pastries/frosted baked goods, 11% crackles/pretzels, and 8% nuts/trail mix, and the remainder consisted of jerky, pork rinds, gum, and popcorn. Nuts/trail mix and granola-items meeting nutritional guidelines-comprised five and three options in total, respectfully. Conclusions All VA Hospitals contain vending machines providing a majority of soda, candy, and junk foods that directly conflict with healthy food choice recommendations from US governing health bodies. Few sources meeting US dietary guidelines are available in vending machines at these government-run facilities, which serve as poor examples for patients who are attempting to follow a healthy diet.
774. Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis: Impact of Early Diagnosis and Treatment on Mortality

AbstractBackgroundPakistan has a high burden of endemic Mycobacterium tuberculos is complex (MTC) disease. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPT) is defined as MTC infection involving any part of the body other than the lung. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPT) is seen 20% of MTC infection in Pakistan, diagnosis is often delayed, and timeliness of initiation of treatment is extremely varied. We conducted a retrospective review of all cases of EPT presenting to a large public hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan to identify the role of early diagnosis and clinical treatment on patients with extra pulmonary tuberculosis.MethodsRetrospective review of EPT diagnosed at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad, Pakistan. All cases diagnosed and treated as EPT from January to June 2016 were included. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were extracted from PIMS Medical records and TB01 cards from the National TB Control Program Pakistan. All patients were contacted to determine outcome status. Study was approved from National TB control Program.ResultsTwo hundred seventy-five patients were identified who received a diagnosis of EPT. Mean age was 34.4 years; ratio of men to woman was 1.3:1. Pleural tuberculosis was the most common site involved (28.7%). The next most frequent site involved was lymphatic disease (20.3%). 47.6 percent of patients (113/275) were diagnosed by clinical criteria alone (i.e., symptoms and radiographic imaging). There were only three cases of culture confirmed EPT in the cohort. The overall cure rate was 82.9%. There was no difference of cure rates between the cure rates of males and females. Diagnosis based on clinical criteria was associated with significantly higher cure rate (87.6% vs. 79.6%, P = 0.038) and lower mortality (5.3% vs. 9.3%, P = 0.041) compared with laboratory-based diagnosis (5.3% vs. 9.3%, respectively). Improved outcomes and mortality benefit was seen in patients who were treated based on clinical criteria as compared with those in whom treatment was delayed due to biochemical confirmation (Odds ratio 0.28, 95% CI: 0.086–0.95). Sixteen cases were lost to follow-up.ConclusionEarly initiation of treatment based on clinical criteria was associated with lower mortality and overall outcome benefit in our study cohort. However, further larger studies of patients with EPT are required to validate our observations.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.
Flow Field Forecasting with Many Predictors

Flow field (FF) forecasting is a statistical framework for generalpurpose time series forecasting that can be readily adapted to various applications. Given a historical time series space, FF forecasting can actively search the space and determine which variables are most useful in prediction. FF forecasting was first developed as a univariate forecasting technique, but was extended to bivariate time series. In this paper we show that FF forecasting can further be extended to higher dimensional time series involving potentially hundreds of predictor variables. We call this implementation Tree based-flow field (TB-FF) forecasting. Using a tree-based algorithm, we sift through the predictor space in order to find the best predictor variables in a large candidate pool. We show that TB-FF forecasting technique can outperform many of the traditional techniques, especially when the time series data is non-stationary.
Survival of Shanghai Urbanite Culture in the Mao Era: Bourgeois Aspirations and Practice of Longtang Everyday Life

This essay studies an often overlooked and understudied topic – the survival of Shanghai vernacular longtang (alleyway house) urbanite culture in the Mao era (1949-1976). It discovers how bourgeois sentiments embodied by the Shanghai national bourgeoisie were aspired to and inherited by the longtang petty urbanites (xiaoshimin) and their quotidian practices of Shanghai-styled (haipai) everyday life. By delving into archives, newspapers, and urban cultural studies, the essay particularly examines how urbanite culture was revitalized by the mode of Shanghai everyday living and how it resiliently co-existed with socialist revolutionary culture through a type of distinctive material culture particularly manifested in housing and food. It investigates the dialectical and conflictual relationship between the discourse of revolution and that of everyday life. It challenges the problematic incompleteness of Socialist Transformation project and searches for a new understanding of historical viability and sustainability of Chinese socialism, as Chinese socialism did not succeed in eradicating bourgeois sensibility as an oppositional historical force in Shanghai in the Mao era. In this context, the essay argues that Shanghai maintained a privileged urban center while its urbanite culture persisted by means of self-preservation of the longtang everyday life and fetishized bourgeois materialism and aspirations under Maoist Chinese socialism.
An outside-the-box activity to demonstrate how humans and animals turn

Developing hands-on activities that engage and excite K–12 students is critical for stimulating interest in science-based careers. We created an activity for high school students that required them...
Purification of Semiconductor Materials

Semiconductor devices require various degrees of high purification that exceed the requirement in chemistry and demand semiconductor-specific methods.
Do health risk assessments change eating habits at the workplace

Abstract We test whether cholesterol screenings provided through a health risk assessment affect the eating behavior of hospital employees at the workplace cafeteria. We find that employees with high-risk levels of cholesterol make small, short-term reductions in their spending at the cafeteria, while there are no statistically significant changes among employees with healthy levels of cholesterol. We combine screening results with survey responses regarding past diagnoses to identify individuals at high risk who were previously undiagnosed, i.e. unaware of their high cholesterol. Even within this subgroup, however, changes in spending patterns are modest and temporary.
Grafting polysiloxane onto ultrafiltration membranes to optimize surface energy and mitigate fouling.

Conventional approaches to mitigate fouling of membrane surfaces impart hydrophilicity to the membrane surface, which increases the water of hydration and fluidity near the surface. By contrast, we demonstrate here that tuning the membrane surface energy close to that of the dispersive component of water surface tension (21.8 mN m−1) can also improve the antifouling properties of the membrane. Specifically, ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were first modified using polydopamine (PDA) followed by grafting of amine-terminated polysiloxane (PSi-NH2). For example, with 2 g L−1 PSi-NH2 coating solution, the obtained coating layer contains 53% by mass fraction PSi-NH2 and exhibits a total surface energy of 21 mN m−1, decreasing the adsorption of bovine serum albumin by 44% compared to the unmodified membrane. When challenged with 1 g L−1 sodium alginate in a constant-flux crossflow system, the PSi-NH2-grafted membrane exhibits a 70% lower fouling rate than the pristine membrane at a water flux of 110 L (m2 h)−1 and good stability when cleaned with NaOH solutions.
Traveling Wave Tube Eigenmode Solver for Interacting Hot Slow Wave Structure Based on Particle-In-Cell Simulations

A scheme to characterize the dynamics of the electron beam-electromagnetic power exchange along a traveling wave tube (TWT) is proposed. The method is based on defining a state vector at discrete periodic locations along the TWT and determining the transfer matrix of the unit-cell of the "hot" slow-wave structure (SWS) that takes into account the interaction between the electromagnetic guided field and the electron beam via particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. Once the estimate of the unit-cell transfer matrix is obtained, we show how to find the hybrid, beam-electromagnetic, eigenmodes in the hot SWS, i.e., where the electromagnetic guided field interacts with an electron beam, by using Floquet theory. In particular, we show how do determine the complex-valued wavenumbers of the hybrid modes and the eigenvectors associated to them. The method is applied to find the hot modes with complex wavenumber that can be supported in a TWT amplifier with a helix SWS. We show dispersion relations of the modal complex wavenumbers of the hybrid modes when varying frequency and beam voltage; the results are in agreement with Pierce theory. The method is also applied to find the complex-wavenumber modes in a hot SWS of a millimeter wave TWT amplifier based on a serpentine waveguide. The technique is general and can be applied to any SWS geometry where electromagnetic modes interact with an electron beam.
Entropy bump conditions for fractional maximal and integral operators

We investigate weighted inequalities for fractional maximal operators and frac- tional integral operators. We work within the innovative framework of "entropy bounds" introduced by Treil-Volberg. Using techniques developed by Lacey and the second author, we are able to efficiently prove the weighted inequalities.
NetReAct: Interactive Learning for Network Summarization.

Generating useful network summaries is a challenging and important problem with several applications like sensemaking, visualization, and compression. However, most of the current work in this space do not take human feedback into account while generating summaries. Consider an intelligence analysis scenario, where the analyst is exploring a similarity network between documents. The analyst can express her agreement/disagreement with the visualization of the network summary via iterative feedback, e.g. closing or moving documents ("nodes") together. How can we use this feedback to improve the network summary quality? In this paper, we present NetReAct, a novel interactive network summarization algorithm which supports the visualization of networks induced by text corpora to perform sensemaking. NetReAct incorporates human feedback with reinforcement learning to summarize and visualize document networks. Using scenarios from two datasets, we show how NetReAct is successful in generating high-quality summaries and visualizations that reveal hidden patterns better than other non-trivial baselines.
Maculopathy Secondary to Pentosan Polysulfate Use: A Single-Center Experience.

Aim To investigate the prevalence of retinal pathology in patients with a history of exposure to pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS). Methods Patients exposed to PPS and seen in the ophthalmology clinic at Northwestern University during 1/1/2002 to 1/1/2019 were identified from electronic health records (EHR) by an electronic data warehouse (EDW) search. Visual acuity (VA), reasons for clinic visit, ocular conditions, and duration of exposure to PPS were noted. Chart review was performed for fundus exam findings and ophthalmologic imaging, specifically fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence, and ocular coherence tomography (OCT) images. When OCT or fundus photography was available, studies were evaluated by two independent graders. Results A total of 131 patients who were exposed to PPS and seen at the Northwestern Ophthalmology clinic were identified in the EHR. Forty patients of 131 had imaging. Patients with imaging or fundus examination suspicious for PPS maculopathy were placed into the suspect group. Of the 40 patients that had imaging, 5 (12.5%) had features suspicious for PPS maculopathy. Of the remaining 91, 5 (5.4%) had macular pigmentary changes described on fundus exam. Among the 10 patients in the suspect group, the average duration of PPS use was 4.2 years (range 0.3-11.6 years, interquartile range 5.5 years) and the average cumulative dose was 380g (range 29-1092g, interquartile range 132g). Conclusion A novel drug-induced maculopathy has been associated with PPS use with a distinct clinical constellation that can be accurately identified with multimodal imaging.
Water treatment via non-membrane inorganic nanoparticles/cellulose composites

Abstract Nanomaterials offer innovations in water purification technology with decreased operational and capital cost, reduced dosage, and improved pollutant selectivity. In particular, inorganic nanoparticles (NPs)/cellulose hybrid nanocomposites have attracted growing interest due to the unique properties of cellulose and high specific surface area of NPs and their pollutant selectivity. The integration with cellulose brings benefits to inorganic NPs for water treatment, including preventing agglomeration, ensuring colloidal stability, and allowing for separation by magnetic nanoparticles after purification. In this review, firstly, conventional water treatment technologies are introduced (Section 1). Following this, an overview of inorganic NPs/cellulose composites for water treatment (Section 2) is presented. Moreover, engineering of such hybrid composites is discussed (Section 3). Furthermore, water purification of inorganic NPs/cellulose through adsorption of pollutants (Section 4) and non-adsorption (catalytic, photocatalytic, and antibacterial) activities (Section 5) are highlighted. Finally, conclusions and outlook are provided (Section 6).