cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fiber Reinforced Polymer Panels for Attenuating Floor Accelerations in a Hospital Structure

This paper addresses the analysis and experimental investigation of PMC panels utilized for seismic and vibration mitigation. The concepts rely on introducing considerable shear deformation at strategically located layers. The layers at which the shear deformation to take place, referred to here as the interface layers, are composed of a combination of solid visco-elastic material combined with honeycomb material. As part of this research, a series of experiments were performed to quantify the energy dissipation characteristics of the interface layer. The effects of thickness, loading rate, and the ratio of the volume fractions of the constituent materials are investigated. Utilizing the results obtained from material testing, three conceptual panel designs were tested to assess the over all energy dissipation in a structural system. The main advantage of these panels is that they can reduce floor response in a structural system. As such for Hospital structures, the concern is to reduce the floor responses to mitigate damage to nonstructural components that are motion sensitive. In this research, the conceptual designs of the panels are employed in a benchmark hospital building-namely, the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) demonstration hospital structure. Nonlinear 3D finite element analyses were carried out to evaluate the effective damping of added PMC composite panel with viscoelastic interface layers in the retrofitting of the MCEER's demonstration hospital structure. An equivalent Kelvin model consisting of an elastic spring and a linear viscous damper combined in parallel is proposed to represent the FRP composite panel with viscoelastic interface layers. The retrofitted structure was subjected to MCEER west coast ground motions. Significant increase in the system damping was observed with the added PMC composite panels. Both the modal strain energy method and logarithmic decrement method showed the PMC composite panel contributed 8% damping to the hospital structure. Time history analyses results showed that the peak floor displacement and acceleration response were reduced significantly and the vibration damped out very quickly.
Quantitative Immunohistochemistry by Measuring Cumulative Signal Strength Using Commercially Available Software Photoshop and Matlab

Currently available techniques for performing quantitative immunohistochemistry (Q-IHC) rely upon pixel-counting algorithms and therefore cannot provide information as to the absolute amount of chromogen present. We describe a novel algorithm for true Q-IHC based on calculating the cumulative signal strength, or energy, of the digital file representing any portion of an image. This algorithm involves subtracting the energy of the digital file encoding the control image (i.e., not exposed to antibody) from that of the experimental image (i.e., antibody-treated). In this manner, the absolute amount of antibody-specific chromogen per pixel can be determined for any cellular region or structure.
Laser Metrology In Biomechanics

Laser metrology in biomechanicsRyszard J.PryputniewiczWorcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 01609, USAAbstractModern treatment of sceletal disharmonies and malocclusions utilizes application of exter-nal forces. In order to effectively use these therapeutic forces, knowledge of three- dimen-sional displacements of bones with correlation to biological changes is required. In thepast, this problem has been studied in a number of ways using, for example, strain gauges,brittle coatings, photoelasticity, as well as clinical observations and mathematical mode-ling. Recouse of their inherent limitations, these techniques did not always provide all theinformation necessary for development of meaningful relationships between the applied forcesystem and the resulting biological remodeling. However, recent advances in the field of la-ser metrology allowed to overcome some of the dificulties found in the earlier methods andpermitted development of new techniques for non -invasive measurements of bone motions inthree -dimensional space. These laser techniques are particularly useful in biomechanics be-cause they provide for rapid and accurate determination of displacements over the entiresurface of the investigate object. In this paper, application of laser techniques for quan-titative in -vivo and in -vitro measurements in biomechanics will be discussed and illustratedwith representative examples.Editor's commentThe Invited lecture was given at the conference but manuscript not delivered.
Plastic Fiber Optic Simulations

Plastic fiber optics media is viable for small networks. The current applications include data distribution in aircraft and automobiles. Plastic fiber systems being an order of magnitude less expensive than silica fiber optic systems and being more robust have applications in other traditional data communication systems. In this paper, we present the simulation results for possible applications for high-rise office buildings and premises distribution architectures. The signal to noise ratio for optical rates up to 2.5 Gb/s and for link lengths up to 5 km are reported, even though the signal level becomes too low for the PIN diodes. The quality of components affects the performance dramatically and their impact is reported. Experimental results are scarce in the literature for either of the two (PMMA and PF) categories of commercial plastic fibers. The simulations are focused for the PMMA plastic fiber to offer a window and envision other applications for this new breed of optical fibers.
The Sensitivity of Cochlear Albino Melanocytes to Horseradish Peroxidase

The effects of low concentrations (0.5%-0.0005%) of HRP and varying postperfusion survival times (5.5 hours- 15 seconds) on cochlear albino melano-cytes were studied by light and electron microscopy. Approximately 50 μl of differing concentrations of HRP dissolved in artificial perilymph were perfused through the perilymphatic space in 32 albino guinea pigs. Tissues were subsequently treated histochemically to demonstrate HRP reaction product. The results indicate that concentrations of HRP>0.0005 % in combination with postperfusion survival times >1 hour bring about acute and selective injury to the albino melanocytes; cytoplasmic vacuolization and rupture of cell membranes occurred. The structural integrity of the albino melanocytes appeared unaltered when exposed to 0.0005% concentrations of HRP for ≤1 hour. An apparently non-toxic 0.0005 % concentration of HRP may provide a means of labeling cochlear melanocytes when the effects of other substances on the cells are investigated.
Hypogonadism in a male with an immunologically active, biologically inactive luteinizing hormone: characterization of the abnormal hormone.

Studies were performed to characterize the LH of a male with hypogonadism attributable to an immunologically active, biologically inactive LH. We wished to determine 1) the biologicalactivity of the LH in in vitro systems and 2) the chromatographic characteristics of LH, FSH, and their subunits in the patient's serum and urine. Before therapy the patient's serum LH was 8.0 ± 0.5 mIU/ml (LER 907), which is significantly higher than in normal men (1.3 ±0.5 mlU±ml; mean ± SD). The response to an LRH infusion was enhanced and biphasic. During the infusion (0.2 µg/min for 4 h) a 3-fold rise occurred at 75 min, and a second rise occurred at 180 min. Basal serumFSH, α-subunit, and LH β-subunit concentrations were also elevated and exhibited an exaggerated rise during the LRH infusion. The in vitro bioactivity of LH in serum and urine, as measured in dispersed rat interstitial cells by means of testosterone (T) and cAMP production, was low in comparison with values found in normal men. There was no significant in...
Thermoelectric properties of Bi-FeSb2 nanocomposites: Evidence for phonon-drag effect

The thermoelectric properties of Bi-FeSb2 nanocomposites are reported. The electrical resistivity and the Seebeck coefficient measurements show a significant dependence on bismuth concentration. Our results reveal that the shifting of the Seebeck peak in FeSb2 nanocomposites is purely a grain size-effect. The thermal conductivity data indicates a presence of an electron-phonon interaction. Over all, our analysis of the the thermoelectric properties of Bi-FeSb2 nanocomposites provide additional evidence for phonon-drag in FeSb2.
The Meaning of Nonviolence: Exploring Nonviolence as a Cultural Resource for Liberal Quaker Subjects

This article reports on eight in-depth interviews conducted with Liberal Quaker subjects in the Boston area. Subjects spoke about two things: their relationship to the peace and nonviolence elements of Quakerism and their personal, spiritual journeys. Subjects tell stories, perform their social positions, and participate (or talk about participation) in communal ritual. I identify nonviolence as a cultural resource used in these processes (storytelling, social position performance, and ritual) to constitute existential meaning. Existential meaning has three different iterations that correspond to the three respective processes. In storytelling, subjects constitute life purpose. In social position performance, subjects constitute subjectivity (who they really are). In communal ritual, subjects constitute solidarity (where they belong). Nonviolence is not the only cultural resource used to constitute these three forms of existential meaning, and is combined in a myriad number of ways to suit the unique exig...
Substance use and HIV-risk behaviors among young men involved in the criminal justice system.

Objectives: We examined the relationship between substance use and sexual HIV-risk behaviors among young men who have been incarcerated, in order to understand how HIV risks develop for this vulnerable population. Methods: A sample of 552 young men in a New York City jail was interviewed at the time of incarceration. Bivariate analyses were performed to examine demographic and sexual HIV-risk behavior differences between men with and without recent alcohol and marijuana use. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between alcohol and marijuana use and sexual HIV-risk behaviors in the 90 days prior to incarceration. Results: Respondents were predominantly Black (57%) or Latino (37%), with a mean age of 17.4 years. The most common substances used were marijuana (82%) and alcohol (65%). Alcohol use prior to incarceration was significantly associated with having three or more sexual partners in the same time period (OR = 2.40, p < .001), as well as with having unprotected sex with a long-term par...
The Effects of Mobile-Phone Electromagnetic Fields on Brain Electrical Activity: A Critical Analysis of the Literature

We analyzed the reports in which human brain electrical activity was compared between the presence and absence of radio-frequency and low-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from mobile phones,...
An Image Processing Approach for Surface Characterization of the Foam Patterns

This paper presents a technique for the detection and analysis of the surface characterization of foam patterns used in the lost foam casting process. The number of gaps (defects) among the beads on the pattern surface is used as the quality estimator, since the surface defects are the main cause of micro fatigue cracks in castings. The foam patterns images obtained have poor contrast and contain different objects other than the defects. The proposed image processing and analysis technique consists of three stages. The first stage is enhancement step to remove the undesirable illumination variations by using the bottom-hat filter. In the second stage, morphological operators and multilevel thresholding segmentation technique are applied to detect and segment regions of interest on the surface of the foam pattern. The last step is feature extraction and quantitative analysis. The classification process is done according to the area of the surface defects. All the recognized objects are divided into groups based on the minimum and the maximum defects area. The ratio between the total area in each group and the total surface area of the foam pattern is calculated and presented as a surface quality measure of the foam pattern. Experimental results carried out on different patterns demonstrate that the proposed method is a reliable and accurate technique for detecting the surface defects of the foam pattern.
Losing Sight of the Bigger Picture: Peripheral Field Loss Compresses Representations of Space

Three experiments examine how the peripheral visual field (PVF) mediates the development of spatial representations. In Experiment 1 participants learned and were tested on statue locations in a virtual environment while their field-of-view (FOV) was restricted to 40°, 20°, 10°, or 0° (diam). As FOV decreased, overall placement errors, estimated distances, and angular offsets increased. Experiment 2 showed large compressions but no effect of FOV for perceptual estimates of statue locations. Experiment 3 showed an association between FOV size and proprioception influence. These results suggest the PVF provides important global spatial information used in the development of spatial representations.
Enumeration of CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells in peripheral blood and leukapheresis products by microvolume fluorimetry: A comparison with flow cytometry

There is increasing interest in both standardization and simplification of methods for enumeration of CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) to facilitate cellular therapies and to improve interinstitutional comparison of clinical and laboratory results. We evaluated a novel method for CD34+ cell enumeration based on microvolume fluorimetry (MVF) compared with our laboratory's routine flow cytometric method on samples of peripheral blood and leukapheresis products. The MVF method is semiautomated and uses a 633-nm light from a helium-neon laser to scan fluorochrome-labeled cells held in stasis in a capillary known volume. The performance of the MVF assay for enumeration of CD34+ cells was found to be comparable to our routine flow cytometric assay in linearity and accuracy in the range of 5-1500 cells per microliter. Precision of MVF for replicate assays on the same instrument was demonstrated by coefficient of variation (CV) values of 8.4% at a CD34+ cell concentration of 284/microliters for a sample volume of 0.8 microliters, and 15.7% at 12/microliters for a sample volume of 3.2 microliter. Precision among three different instruments was demonstrated, using sample volumes of 1.6 microliters, by CV values of 44% at 6 cells/microliters and 4.6% at 733 cells/microliters. In a field sample evaluation, precision of the entire assay system for paired measurements on 0.8-microliter sample volumes was demonstrated by CV values of 50%, 31%, and 15% for peripheral blood samples with concentrations of 0-10, 10-20, and 20-100 CD34+ cells/microliters, respectively, and 6.3%, 8.1% and 6.5% for leukapheresis samples with concentrations of 0-100, 100-1,000, and 1,000-2,500 CD34+ cells/microliters, respectively. The MVF assay was easy to perform, required minimal technical training time, and had a turnaround time of 40 min, of which less than 10 min was actual technical time. These observations suggest that the MVF method for CD34+ cell enumeration may prove useful to clinical laboratories providing support for HPC collection, processing, and transplantation services that require relatively simple, rapid assays for product quality control or to guide real-time clinical decisions.
Applicability of Statistical Flaw Distributions of Eglin Steel for Fracture Calculations

Abstract Computational continuum codes can provide many details on the response of metals to high velocity impact and explosive loading events. However, most “production” level calculations use a homogeneous description of the metal. This is an incorrect representation since metals possess a microstructure whose details create variations in material strength and other properties such as strain to failure. Ultimately these variations influence the formation of fragments at the macroscopic level. The spatial scale of the microstructure is on the order of micrometers and is not readily accessible to current computational tools and resources for system level calculations. Rather than explicitly model the microstructure one can attempt to capture the effects of material non-homogeneity through the use of a statistical description. Specifically, a statistically compensated failure strain criterion can be used to simulate the non-homogeneity of a material. This technique has been used previously by the authors on a tungsten alloy with some success. In those experiments, tungsten alloy rings were subjected to explosive loading. This resulted in a stress state approaching uniaxial stress. Furthermore, the tungsten alloy had relatively low ductility. The combination of these two factors resulted in fragments that were formed by tensile failure. It is important to determine if this technique can be used on a more ductile material under a different stress state. Fragmentation data was available for explosively loaded cylinders of Eglin Steel-1 (ES-1). The combination of the cylinder geometry and a more ductile metal resulted in fragments formed by shear failure. The experiment was simulated using CTH for the explosive and Pronto3D for the ES-1. Comparisons of the cylinder calculation results are made to the experimental fragmentation data and the results analyzed show a viable path forward on the use of statistical descriptions of these continuum models.
The influence of the vagi and of the sympathetic nerves on the rhythm-forming power of the atrioventricular connection in the turtle

The investigations here reported were undertaken to determine the action of the vagus and sympathetic nerves upon the V-A rhythm produced by electrical stimulation of the atrioventricular funnel. In Malacoclemmys geographica the two nerves are not fused into a single trunk, but run separately in the neck just median to the carotid artery. The turtles were decerebrated, and the plastron removed, the circulation being kept intact to a large degree. The vagus was stimulated just above the thoracico-abdominal ganglion, and the sympathetic, between the median cervical and the first thoracic ganglion.Stimulation of the vagus nerves alone gave the usual results. The effects of sympathetic stimulation were, however, not so clearly marked. The general effect was a slight augmentation of the auricular contractions. Acceleration of the heart beat was less frequently obtained, the average being from 2 to 3 beats per minute, although an acceleration of as many as 6 beats per minute was registered.Conjoint stimulation ...
The role of orbital transportation nodes in human space exploration

Human exploration of the Moon and Mars will require transportation of personnel and thousands of tons of cargo from Earth to the lunar and Martian surfaces. To accomplish this we wil l need several major new transportation systems, including a heavy lift launch vehicle to hurl large quantities of cargo into orbit around the Earth, and space transfer vehicles to ferry personnel and cargo from Earth orbit to their lunar and Martian destinations. This paper addresses a major question facing planners of these transportation systems: whether orbiting transportation nodes should play a role in this space transportation infrastructure of the future. After the last ApoUo mission to the Moon two decades ago, many space planners assumed that our next generation of lunar missions would be staged from an EaRh-orbiting station, using transfer vehicles which return to the station for reuse without having to be returned to the Earth's surface. However, the most recent NASA plans for lunar and Mars exploration more closely resemble the Apollo scenario in that they do not require transportation nodes, instead relying on expendable transfer vehicles which require a minimum of on-orbit assembly. This paper surveys the major functions that could be performed at a transpodon node, with emphasis on the vehicle support tasks an Earth-orbiting facility could play during early lunar and Mars missions: assembly, servicing, fueling, turnaround. and rescue. The rationale for performing these functions at a uansportation node is examined, and principal requirements for supporting these functions are addressed, including major technology development needs. A key conclusion of this assessment is that transportation nodes offer important long term benefits to human exploration, but that insufficient work is being conducted to develop the technologies required to support operations at such nodes. Development of such technologies should be afforded a higher priority, even if near term budgetary constraints force us to minimize the role of orbital operations during early space exploration missions.
Depth-Sectioned Imaging and Quantitative Analysis in Turbid Media Using Spatially Modulated Illumination

Experiments performed on heterogeneous and homogeneous tissue-simulating phantoms demonstrate that spatially modulated illumination enables depth-resolved imaging and wide-field optical property mapping in turbid media.
Synthesis and structure of [CpFe(CO){(Ph2P)2NlNMe2}] [I]-CH2Cl2

C32H31FeIN2OP2-[CH2Cl2],1, monoclinicP21/c,a=14.134(3),b=9.496(3),c=26.272(6) A,β=90.92(2)°,Z=4,D c=1.49 g cm−3,R=0.044,R w=0.048, GOF=0.84. Interaction of the hydrazinophosphine Me2NN(PPh2)2 with cyclopentdienyliron dicarbonyl iodide in THF yields compound1 as the sole phosphorous containing species (by31P{1H} NMR). The structure of1 was inferred on the basis of spectroscopic data and solubility characteristics and confirmed via X-ray diffraction.
The Effect of a Metropolitan Area's Price of Housing on Child and Young Adult Outcomes

There have been unprecedented swings in the real price of owner-occupied housing in the past two decades. These price changes may have affected household wellbeing in a number of ways, including through their effects on child development. However, there has been little research on the impact of the price of housing on child development, and no research on the longer run effects of the variations in the price of housing experienced during childhood. We merge longitudinal data on child and young adult outcomes with information on local house prices and market rents, and analyze both the short and long term effects of the price of housing experienced during childhood. The results indicate that the variations in a metropolitan area’s price of owner-occupied housing has a small negative effect on children’s mathematical achievement, but no consistent impact on reading achievement, behavior problems, or a child’s body-mass index. A higher average price of housing experienced during childhood has a negative effect on the wage rate of young adults, consistent with the negative effect on childhood mathematical achievement. However, the main finding is that the fluctuations in the price of housing in the past two decades have little impact on children.
Software Implementation of Digit Encryptions Module

Expatiate the effect and meanings of the Digit Encryptions Module on the Information Safety and martial battle warm-up,specially explain its technical outline, introduce the flow of the realization and the effect on the Information Safety Environment construct.
Diagnostic Ultrasound System Quality Control Testing Methods

This paper first discusses what is quality assurance(QA) and quality control(QC) and why we need ultrasound QA/QC.Then the paper focuses on describing the quality control testing procedures for diagnostic ultrasound imaging devices.General guidelines are discussed regarding tolerances for periodic quality control tests.A brief review of ultrasound phantoms used in ultrasound quality control testing is also included.
New Visualizations Highlight New Information on the Contrasting Arctic and Antarctic Sea-Ice Trends Since the Late 1970s

Abstract Month-by-month ranking of 37 years (1979–2015) of satellite-derived sea-ice extents in the Arctic and Antarctic reveals interesting new details in the overall trends toward decreasing sea-ice coverage in the Arctic and increasing sea-ice coverage in the Antarctic. The Arctic decreases are so definitive that there has not been a monthly record high in Arctic sea-ice extents in any month since 1986, a time period during which there have been 75 monthly record lows. The Antarctic, with the opposite but weaker trend toward increased ice extents, experienced monthly record lows in 5 months of 1986, then 6 later monthly record lows scattered through the dataset, with the last two occurring in 2006, versus 45 record highs since 1986. However, in the last three years of the 1979–2015 dataset, the downward trends in Arctic sea-ice extents eased up, with no new record lows in any month of 2013 or 2014 and only one record low in 2015, while the upward trends in Antarctic ice extents notably strengthened, with new record high ice extents in 4 months (August–November) of 2013, in 6 months (April–September) of 2014, and in 3 months (January, April, and May) of 2015. Globally, there have been only 3 monthly record highs since 1986 (only one since 1988), whereas there have been 43 record lows, although the last record lows (in the 1979–2015 dataset) occurred in 2012.
Androgen cytosol binding in exercise-induced sparing of muscle atrophy

This study was undertaken to determine whether the exercise-induced sparing of glucocorticoid-induced muscle atrophy is related to increased androgen cytosol binding. Female rats were divided into ...
Consciousness, intentionality and causality.

To explain how stimuli cause consciousness, we have to explain causality. We can't trace linear causal chains from receptors after the first cortical synapse, so we use circular causality to explain neural pattern formation by self-organizing dynamics. But an aspect of intentional action is causality, which we extrapolate to material objects in the world. Thus causality is a property of mind, not matter.
Fabrication of a Nanoneedle Array

We have developed a new fabrication method for building large arrays of needles with nanometer-size apertures. Because the process is entirely based on standard photolithographic techniques and conventional silicon-based processing, large arrays can be obtained with a fast turnaround. The arrays can be easily integrated with on-chip microfluidics. Potential applications include the injection of substances into cells and also subcellular organelles such as vacuoles, mitochondria, and chloroplasts.
Characterization of LY3023414, a Novel PI3K/mTOR Dual Inhibitor Eliciting Transient Target Modulation to Impede Tumor Growth

The PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is among the most frequently altered pathways in cancer cell growth and survival. LY3023414 is a complex fused imidazoquinolinone with high solubility across a wide pH range designed to inhibit class I PI3K isoforms and mTOR kinase. Here, we describe the in vitro and in vivo activity of LY3023414. LY3023414 was highly soluble at pH 2-7. In biochemical testing against approximately 266 kinases, LY3023414 potently and selectively inhibited class I PI3K isoforms, mTORC1/2, and DNA-PK at low nanomolar concentrations. In vitro, inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling by LY3023414 caused G1 cell-cycle arrest and resulted in broad antiproliferative activity in cancer cell panel screens. In vivo, LY3023414 demonstrated high bioavailability and dose-dependent dephosphorylation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway downstream substrates such as AKT, S6K, S6RP, and 4E-BP1 for 4 to 6 hours, reflecting the drug's half-life of 2 hours. Of note, equivalent total daily doses of LY3023414 given either once daily or twice daily inhibited tumor growth to similar extents in multiple xenograft models, indicating that intermittent target inhibition is sufficient for antitumor activity. In combination with standard-of-care drugs, LY3023414 demonstrated additive antitumor activity. The novel, orally bioavailable PI3K/mTOR inhibitor LY3023414 is highly soluble and exhibits potent in vivo efficacy via intermittent target inhibition. It is currently being evaluated in phase I and II trials for the treatment of human malignancies. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(10); 2344-56. ©2016 AACR.
Symbolic Automata Theory with Applications (Invited Talk)

Symbolic automata extend classic finite state automata by allowing transitions to carry predicates over rich alphabet theories. The key algorithmic difference to classic automata is the ability to efficiently operate over very large or infinite alphabets. In this talk we give an overview of what is currently known about symbolic automata, what their main applications are, and what challenges arise when reasoning about them. We also discuss some of the open problems and research directions in symbolic automata theory.
Global and contingent self-esteem as moderators in the relations between adolescent narcissism, callous-unemotional traits, and aggression

Abstract Research on the association between self-esteem and aggression yields mixed, even contradictory, conclusions. This study investigated the potential interactions of global (i.e., overall self-evaluation) and contingent (i.e., tendency for self-evaluation to change based on feedback) self-esteem with narcissism and callous-unemotional traits in relation to adolescent proactive and reactive aggression. Participants were 156 adolescents, ages 16–19, who were attending a residential program for youth who have dropped out of school. Global self-esteem (GSE) was positively correlated with peer-nominated aggression, whereas contingent self-esteem (CSE) was positively related to self-reported proactive and reactive aggression. In addition, individuals with relatively high narcissism or callous-unemotional traits reportedly engaged in more aggression if they also reported high CSE. The implications of the findings, including that adolescents with CSE may benefit from efforts aimed at providing alternatives to aggression following social feedback, are discussed.
Framing Controversial Identity Issues in Schools: The Case of HB2, Bathroom Equity, and Transgender Students

This article explores how teachers might address controversial identity issues in their classrooms, using the 2016 North Carolina House Bill 2 that raised the issue of transgender bathroom rights t...
Physiology of Cardiac Development: From Genetics to Signaling to Therapeutic Strategies

The heart is one of the first organs to form and function during embryonic development. It is comprised of multiple cell lineages, each integral for proper cardiac development, and include cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, epicardial cells and neural crest cells. The molecular mechanisms regulating cardiac development and morphogenesis are dependent on signaling crosstalk between multiple lineages through paracrine interactions, cell-ECM interactions, and cell-cell interactions, which together, help facilitate survival, growth, proliferation, differentiation and migration of cardiac tissue. Aberrant regulation of any of these processes can induce developmental disorders and pathological phenotypes. Here, we will discuss each of these processes, the genetic factors that contribute to each step of cardiac development, as well as the current and future therapeutic targets and mechanisms of heart development and disease. Understanding the complex interactions that regulate cardiac development, proliferation and differentiation is not only vital to understanding the causes of congenital heart defects, but to also finding new therapeutics that can treat both pediatric and adult cardiac disease in the near future.
Nonlinear Response Theory

In recent years there has been significant progress in the molecular derivations of transport equations describing the time dependences of macroscopic variables in non-equilibrium systems. One of the most powerful approaches has been linear response theory which has been developed and extensively applied by Kubo (1) and by others (2,3). The aims of this theory, as well as those of the other molecular approaches, are the following: to obtain the form of the macroscopic equations; to obtain explicit molecular expressions for the coefficients appearing in these equations usually in the form of correlation functions; to determine the range of validity of the equations; to extend the range of validity of the equations to more complicated situations; and to compare the transport equations with those obtained phenomenologically using hydrodynamics, thermodynamics of irreversible processes, etc.
Assessment of normal jejunum with diffusion-weighted imaging on MRE in children.

Diffusion restriction has been utilized as a marker for bowel inflammation on magnetic resonance enterography (MRE). However, diffusion restriction has been seen in otherwise normal appearing small bowel in patients without active inflammation, with little published data on this subject. Assess diffusion restriction in normal loops of jejunum and to determine if there is a correlation to luminal distention, age, magnet field strength, slice thickness, and bowel segment location. A retrospective analysis of subjects with a normal MRE and clinical work-up was performed. The abdomen was divided into four quadrants. If available, two loops of jejunum were randomly chosen in each quadrant. Two radiologists evaluated the loops of jejunum for distension, wall thickness, enhancement and diffusion restriction. Disagreement was resolved by consensus. Presence of diffusion restriction was correlated with luminal distension, age, magnet field strength, slice thickness and abdominal quadrant. One hundred ninety-seven loops of jejunum were evaluated in 39 subjects. Fifteen subjects (38.5%) had jejunal loops with diffusion restriction for a total of 28 loops. There was no correlation between diffusion restriction and luminal distension, age, magnet field strength or quadrant location (P>0.05, Pearson chi-squared test or Student’s t-tests). Of the 15 subjects with a loop demonstrating diffusion restriction, additional loops with diffusion restriction were found in 40%. There was a very weak trend observed for greater slice thickness in patients with jejunal diffusion restriction (Student’s t-test, P=0.10). Jejunal diffusion restriction is a common finding in children with no clinical evidence of bowel pathology, irrespective of patient age, luminal distension, location of bowel loop and magnetic field strength. Further studies may be valuable in assessing the impact of slice thickness on subjective diffusion restriction in the jejunum.
A Quick Deterministic Replay Method Based on Dependence Pair

Deterministic replay plays an important role for parallel program debugging. Related work focused on how to efficiently record undeterminstic events in parallel programs, while ignored poor performance in replay-runs. This paper proposes a quick deterministic replay method based on dependence pair to acquire excellent performance in replay-runs. It conducts offline analysis for record log file to recognize the record items with dependency relationship based on topological graph, and each thread only executes these record items in order in replay-runs. Performance evaluation shows that this method gets better performance in replay-runs than traditional serial replay method.
Investigating the mechanical and optical properties of thin PDMS film by flat-punched indentation

Abstract We investigated mechanical and optical properties of a thin polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film through a flat-punched indentation experiment and a finite element simulation. A microscopic imaging method was used to measure the compressive strain of thin PDMS films, and its corresponding bulk refractive index (RI) was estimated using the relation between density and refractive index. A total internal reflection (TIR) experiment was conducted to estimate the local RI values near the bottom surface of PDMS film. We obtained the correlations between force and indentation displacement in thin PDMS films (10–70 micron). Stress-strain curves present the non-linear deformation of PDMS film with the instantaneous modulus depending on the load and the thickness. Poisson's ratio of PDMS film is estimated by fitting with Yang's asymptotic solution and is inversely proportional to the aspect ratio between the radius of the flat punch probe and the film thickness. RI of PDMS film increases with the decreasing film thickness as well as the increasing load. The bulk RI was increased up to 1.476 by the compressing load while the bottom-surface RI was increased only up to 1.435. This difference is explained qualitatively through the localized stress-strain distribution from finite element analysis. An inhomogeneous stress-strain distribution is observed in the simulation with lower strain at the bottom of the film, corresponding to experiment. A lower strain leads to lower local density resulting in a lower refractive index. Our research provides fundamental insights into the correlation between mechanical and optical properties of thin polymer films.
Sufism: a new history of Islamic mysticism

Alexander Knysh’s Sufism: A New History of Islamic Mysticism is an ambitious and audacious book, full of fascinating insights and carefully crafted arguments. It is an important book that should be...
Role of PI3K/AKT/mTOR in Cancer Signaling

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases (PI3K)/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway plays a crucial role in integrating a variety of extracellular stimuli to regulate growth and development. The pathway impacts diverse biological functions and is a prominent player in vital cellular processes such as growth and proliferation. PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various human cancers and is one of the most frequently deregulated pathways in cancer. Every major node of this signaling network is activated in a wide range of human tumors. Mechanisms for the pathway activation include activation of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) upstream of PI3K, mutation or amplification of PIK3CA encoding p110α catalytic subunit of PI3K, mutation or loss of PTEN tumor suppressor gene, and mutation or amplification of AKT1. Once the pathway is activated, signaling through AKT can stimulate a series of substrates including mTOR which is involved in protein synthesis. The central role of the pathway in tumor cell biology has led to a sizeable ongoing effort in the development of pharmacological agents targeting different components of the pathway. Currently mTOR inhibitors are approved for several indications, and there are several novel PI3K/AKT/mTOR inhibitors in clinical trials, and some demonstrate promise for the treatment of hyperactivated PI3K tumors. A better understanding of the pathway oncogenic mechanisms, different ways in which the signaling network is upregulated, and properties of distinct PI3K/AKT/mTOR genetic alterations will guide future strategic approaches for rational combination therapies.
A Critique of Little Box Challenge Inverter Designs: Breaking from Traditional Design Tradeoffs

Since the introduction of wide-bandgap (WBG) power semiconductor devices, high power density (PD) inverter design has become an increasingly popular topic in modern research literature. The 2014-2015 Little Box Challenge (LBC) cosponsored by Google and the IEEE sparked even more interest in this area because WBG-based designs aspired to achieve upward of 215-W/in3 power densities. This article reviews several key topics of importance that are related to realizing such high PD gallium nitride (GaN) WBG-based inverter designs. More specifically, this article includes a comprehensive survey of technologies employed by participating LBC finalists in their efforts to achieve new levels of PD in 400-Vdc to single-phase 240-Vac conversion applications while maintaining tight specifications on dc ripple, ac ripple, and aggressive requirements on efficiency. Both singlephase dc-to-ac conversion and the related active energy buffer circuit topologies used by all LBC finalists are documented and compared. Additionally, a graphical trend line and figure of merit (FOM) are developed that compare PD vis-?-vis efficiency of all proposed solutions. These are used to gain insight into how particular designs were able to achieve relatively higher PD levels and to illustrate how the GaN-based design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) was able to achieve the highest density power conversion in this competition. Furthermore, enhanced auxiliary devices and techniques used in the CE+T and Virginia Tech (VT) designs are discussed as well.
Differences in Cataract Surgery Rates Based on Dementia Status.

Background Cataract surgery substantially improves patient quality of life. Despite the rising prevalence of dementia in the US, little is known about use of cataract surgery among this group. Objective To evaluate the relationship between dementia status and cataract surgery. Methods Using administrative insurance claims for a representative sample of 1,125,387 US Medicare beneficiaries who received eye care between 2006 and 2015, we compared cataract surgery rates between patients with and without dementia via multivariable regression models to adjust for patient characteristics. Main outcome measures were annual rates of cataract surgery and hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) for receiving cataract surgery. Results Cataract surgery was performed in 457,128 patients, 23,331 with a prior diagnosis of dementia. 16.7% of dementia patients underwent cataract surgery, compared to 43.8% of patients without dementia. 59 cataract surgeries were performed per 1000 dementia patients annually, versus 105 surgeries per 1000 nondementia patients. After adjusting for patient characteristics, dementia patients were approximately half as likely to receive cataract surgery compared to nondementia patients (adjusted HR = 0.53, 95% CI 0.53-0.54). Among the subset of patients who received a first cataract surgery, those with dementia were also less likely to receive second-eye cataract surgery (adjusted HR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.86-0.88). Conclusion US Medicare patients with dementia are less likely to undergo cataract surgery than those without dementia. This finding has implications for quality of care and dementia progression. More information is necessary to understand why rates of cataract surgery are lower for these patients, and to identify conditions where benefits of surgery may outweigh risks.
Risk attitudes and personality traits of entrepreneurs and venture team members

Personality distinctions between entrepreneurs, nonfounder CEOs/leaders, and inventor employees have received limited attention, especially in innovative settings where they are working together. We surveyed these groups, along with other employees of innovative firms, at 4 locations of a prominent innovation and coworking center. Entrepreneurs display the greatest tolerance of risk, even in small gambles, as well as the strongest self-efficacy, internal locus of control, and need for achievement. Nonfounder CEOs/leaders typically sit in between entrepreneurs and employees for personality traits. Entrepreneurs, nonfounder CEOs/leaders, and inventor employees all show more innovative personalities than the noninventor employees in the same companies.
Increasing GPS Localization Accuracy With Reinforcement Learning

Automated vehicles are envisioned to be an integral part of the next generation of transportation systems. Whether it is striving for full autonomy or incorporating more advanced driver assistance systems, high-accuracy vehicle localization is essential for automated vehicles to navigate the transportation network safely. In this paper, we propose a reinforcement learning framework to increase GPS localization accuracy. The framework does not make rigid assumptions on the GPS device hardware parameters or motion models, nor does it require infrastructure-based reference locations. The proposed reinforcement learning model learns an optimal strategy to make “corrections” on raw GPS observations. The model uses an efficient confidence-based reward mechanism, which is independent of geolocation, thereby enabling the model to be generalized. We incorporate a map matching-based regularization term to reduce the variance of the reward return. The reinforcement learning model is constructed using the asynchronous advantage actor-critic (A3C) algorithm. A3C provides a parallel training protocol to train the proposed model. The asynchronous reinforcement learning strategy facilitates short training sessions and provides more robust performance. The performance of the proposed model is assessed by comparing it with an extended Kalman filter algorithm as a benchmark model. Our experiments indicate that the proposed reinforcement learning model converges fast, has less prediction variance, and can localize vehicles with 50% less error compared to the benchmark Extended Kalman Filter model.
Fear in the context of pain : Lessons learned from 100 years of fear conditioning research

Human fear conditioning research since Watson's case study on "Little Albert" has vastly evolved and its impact today is reaching far beyond phobic anxiety. This review focuses on how fear conditioning research, mainly using exteroceptive conditioned stimuli (CSs) and aversive, non-noxious stimuli as unconditioned stimuli (USs), has been extended and translated to chronic pain research. We describe the different pain-related fear conditioning paradigms using proprioceptive and interoceptive CSs and painful stimuli as USs that have been developed to study specific forms of pain-related fear (i.e. fear of movement, fear of touch, fear of visceral sensations, and fear of penetration) that are relevant for different chronic pain conditions (i.e. musculoskeletal pain, neuropathic pain, visceral pain, and genital pain). We present evidence that patients with chronic pain demonstrate impaired safety learning and excessive fear generalization; learning anomalies that have also been observed in anxiety disorders. Extinction-based protocols (exposure in vivo) have been developed to reduce pain-related fear and increase daily functioning in various chronic pain disorders. Finally, we outline some challenges and future directions to further our understanding of learning mechanisms underlying the development, persistence, and treatment of chronic pain disability.
Estimating the Relationship Between Perceived Stigma and Victimization of People With Mental Illness.

Over the past two decades, we have substantially increased our understanding of violence committed by individuals with mental illness, while comparatively less is known about the victimization expe...