cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The natural progression of kidney injury in young type 1 diabetic patients

Diabetes is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease in industrialized countries. This article describes the structural changes in early diabetic nephropathy and the relationship with renal functional parameters, blood pressure, and albumin excretion. The detrimental influence of sustained hyperglycemia and/or glycemic fluctuations on renal structural change has been well documented. Tight glycemic control is paramount to preventing the development, and even the regression, of renal lesions. As much of the renal injury from diabetes occurs in clinical silence before symptoms or laboratory findings of renal injury are evident, finding early markers of risk is imperative so that nephropathy can be prevented. Currently, the only clinical surrogate marker of diabetic renal injury available is microalbuminuria. However, given the reports of regression of microalbuminuria back to normoalbuminuria, the reliability of this tool as an indicator of risk has been questioned. The need for alternative, noninvasive surrogate markers is described in this report.
US incidence of breast cancer subtypes defined by joint hormone receptor and HER2 status

Results Among case patients with known HR/HER2 status, 36 810 (72.7%) were found to be HR+/HER2−, 6193 (12.2%) were triple-negative (HR−/HER2−), 5240 (10.3%) were HR+/HER2+, and 2328 (4.6%) were HR−/HER2+; 6912 (12%) had unknown HR/HER2 status. NH white women had the highest incidence rate of the HR+/HER2− subtype, and NH black women had the highest rate of the triple-negative subtype. Compared with women with the HR+/HER2− subtype, triple-negative patients were more likely to be NH black and Hispanic; HR+/HER2+ patients were more likely to be NH API; and HR−/HER2+ patients were more likely to be NH black, NH API, and Hispanic. Patients with triple-negative, HR+/HER2+, and HR−/HER2+ breast cancer were 10% to 30% less likely to be diagnosed at older ages compared with HR+/HER2− patients and 6.4-fold to 20.0-fold more likely to present with high-grade disease. Conclusions In the future, SEER data can be used to monitor clinical outcomes in women diagnosed with different molecular subtypes of breast cancer for a large portion (approximately 28%) of the US population.
Rotational and translational motion estimation and selective reconstruction in digital image sequences

This paper addresses the problem of motion estimation and selective reconstruction of objects undergoing rotational motion composed with translational motion. The goal is to derive the motion parameters belonging to the multiple moving objects, i.e. the angular velocities and the translational velocities and identify their locations at each time instance by selective reconstruction. These parameters and locations can be used for various purpose such as trajectory tracking, focus/shift attention of robot, etc. The innovative algorithm we have developed is based on angular velocity and translational velocity tuned 2D+T filters. One of the important facts about the algorithm is that it is effective for both spinning motion and orbiting motion, and thus unifies the treatment of the two kinds of rotational motion. Also by tuning of the filters, we can derive the translational motion parameters and the rotational motion parameters separately, which has the advantage of making motion estimation faster and more robust compared to estimating all of them simultaneously. The algorithm is simulated using synthesized image sequences corrupted by noise and is shown to be accurate and robust against noise and occlusion.
Gravitational waves from the dynamical bar instability in a rapidly rotating star

A rapidly rotating, axisymmetric star can be dynamically unstable to an $m=2$ ``bar'' mode that transforms the star from a disk shape to an elongated bar. The fate of such a bar-shaped star is uncertain. Some previous numerical studies indicate that the bar is short lived, lasting for only a few bar-rotation periods, while other studies suggest that the bar is relatively long lived. This paper contains the results of a numerical simulation of a rapidly rotating $\ensuremath{\gamma}=5/3$ fluid star. The simulation shows that the bar shape is long lived: once the bar is established, the star retains this shape for more than 10-bar-rotation periods, through the end of the simulation. The results are consistent with the conjecture that a star will retain its bar shape indefinitely on a dynamical time scale, as long as its rotation rate exceeds the threshold for secular bar instability. The results are described in terms of a low-density neutron star, but can be scaled to represent, for example, a burned-out stellar core that is prevented from complete collapse by centrifugal forces. Estimates for the gravitational-wave signal indicate that a dynamically unstable neutron star in our galaxy can be detected easily by the first generation of ground based gravitational-wave detectors. The signal for an unstable neutron star in the Virgo cluster might be seen by the planned advanced detectors. The Newtonian-quadrupole approximation is used throughout this work.
Is chronic otitis media associated with differences in parental input at 12 months of age? An analysis of joint attention and directives

A rather robust literature exists that views children's language development in the context of interactions with adults. This literature generally focuses on typically developing children and suggests that joint attention facilitates communication development whereas directives do not. In order to understand the crucial features of input supporting language acquisition, research must examine children in less than optimal conditions, including children with chronic otitis media (OM). Controversy exists regarding the outcomes of children with OM, and we argue that parental input is an important factor often neglected in research that may mediate language outcomes. The current study investigates whether parents interact differently with their 12-month-old children based upon children's OM status. The results indicate that parents of chronically affected children direct attention more often and engage in fewer joint attentional episodes than parents of nonchronically affected children. Findings suggest that chronic OM has a localized affect on attentional interactions, the forms of input consistently implicated in language acquisition. Thus, children with OM may receive less than optimal input than peers.
A Survey of Syrphid Predators of Nasonovia ribisnigri in Organic Lettuce on the Central Coast of California

Organic lettuce, Lactuca sativa L., producers on CaliforniaOs Central Coast rely on endemic syrphid sies (Diptera: Syrphidae) to suppress populations of Nasonovia ribisnigri Mosley (Homoptera: Aphididae) and other aphids affecting lettuce. Growers are using various forms of habitat manipulation to enhance biological control. We surveyed syrphids collected from organic romaine in and around the Salinas Valley from March through September 2005 to gain a better understanding of the species responsible for aphid suppression and to examine possible implications for biocontrol. The primary species of syrphid sy reared were Toxomerus marginatus (Say) (39%), Platycheirus stegnus (Say) (27%),Sphaerophoriasulfuripes (Thomson) (13%), andAllograptaobliqua (Say) (10%).Syrphus opinator Osten Sacken (2%), Toxomerus occidentalis (Curran) (1.3%), and Eupeodes volucris Osten Sacken (1%) were less common. Sphaerophoria pyrrhina Bigot, Scaeva pyrastri (L.), Platycheirus obscurus Say, Allograpta exotica Wiedemann, and Eupeodes americanus Wiedemann each made up 1% of the syrphids reared.T.marginatus andSphaerophoriasulfuripes were commonly collected from romaine plants with few or no detectable aphids. P.stegnus was observed to deposit in clusters of eggs, and was only reared in signiÞcant numbers from highly infested Þelds. Approximately 5% of syrphid larvae overall were parasitized by eitherDiplazon sp. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) orPachyneuron sp. (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae).
Neural networks: algorithms, applications, and programming techniques

Freeman and Skapura provide a practical introduction to artificial neural systems (ANS). The authors survey the most common neural-network architectures and show how neural networks can be used to solve actual scientific and engineering problems and describe methodologies for simulating neural-network architectures on traditional digital computing systems.
Bayesian Nonparametric Models

We briefly review some of the nonparametric Bayesians models that are most widely used in biostatistics and bioinformatics. We define the Dirichlet process, Dirichlet process mixtures, the Polya tree, the dependent Dirichlet process and the Gaussian process prior. These few models and variations cover a major part of the models that are used in the literature. The discussion includes references to variations of the basic models that are defined in the chapters of this volume.
Microbiomes of Muricea californica and M. fruticosa: Comparative Analyses of Two Co-occurring Eastern Pacific Octocorals

Octocorals are sources of novel, but understudied microbial diversity. Conversely, scleractinian or reef-building coral microbiomes have been heavily examined in light of the threats of climate change. Muricea californica and Muricea fruticosa are two co-occurring species of gorgonian octocoral abundantly found in the kelp forests of southern California, and thus provide an excellent basis to determine if octocoral microbiomes are host-specific. Using Illumina MiSeq amplicon sequencing and replicate samples, we evaluate the microbiomes collected from multiple colonies of both species of Muricea to measure both inter- and intra-colony microbiome variability. In addition, microbiomes from overlying seawater and nearby zoanthids (another benthic invertebrate) were also included in the analysis to evaluate whether bacterial taxa specifically associate with octocorals. This is also the first report of microbiomes from these species of Muricea. We show that microbiomes isolated from each sample type are distinct, and specifically, that octocoral species type had the greatest effect on predicting the composition of the Muricea microbiome. Bacterial taxa contributing to compositional differences include distinct strains of Mycoplasma associated with either M. californica or M. fruticosa, an abundance of Spirochaetes observed on M. californica, and a greater diversity of γ-Proteobacteria associated with M. fruticosa. Many of the bacterial taxa contributing to these differences are known for their presence in photosymbiont-containing invertebrate microbiomes.
Development of the Petawatt Laser and Its application to Inertial Confinement Fusion

Conventional inertial confinement fusion (ICF) relies on the formation of a hot central core within the dense fuel to spark ignition. This condition is achieved by rapid, highly symmetric, spherical implosion of the capsule driven by temporally shaped multinanosecond pulses delivered either directly by a multitude of laser beams or indirectly by x rays. Due to the extreme requirements on symmetry and the necessity to achieve both high temperature and density in the implosion, conventional ICF requires substantial energy from the laser to ignite the capsule.
Environmental Explorations of Parkinson's Disease Using Rodent Genetic Models

Publisher Summary This chapter examines environmental factors for Parkinson's disease (PD) using rodent genetic models. In the absence of a strong genetic component at the root of the large majority of PD cases, a role for the environment as a contributing factor has received much attention. Almost all genetic models of PD have been subjected to environmental stressors, in particular MPTP, with the hope to precipitate an elusive dopaminergic cell loss. The main rationale for exposing genetic rodent models of PD to environmental toxicants has been to generate a more complete model of the disease by inducing nigrostriatal cell loss in mice that failed to reproduce this pathological hallmark of PD. This chapter suggests that despite their high construct validity, genetic rodent models of PD do not reproduce all aspects of the human disease. The absence of nigrostriatal cell loss, despite the presence of a mutation that kills these neurons in humans, suggests that efficient defense mechanisms are triggered in the transgenic or knockout mice. Identifying these defense mechanisms may lead to useful insights into ways to counteract the pathophysiological process in PD.
Martu ethnoarchaeology: Foraging ecology and the marginal value of site structure

Abstract Archaeological investigations of hunter-gatherer site structure have remained largely descriptive, despite significant explanatory advancements by evolutionary approaches to foraging behavior and ecology. To date, calls to incorporate site structure studies within this behavioral ecological framework have largely been ignored. We suggest there is a clear explanation for this. At large spatial extents, human behavior is constrained by patterned ecological variability, as such, a general theory of behavior is likely to characterize key aspects of human decisions. At small spatial extents, human behavior is not constrained by patterned ecological variability, therefore, the human decisions that produce site structure should be driven by mechanical constraints or random variation. However, variation in site structure may be ecologically relevant inasmuch as it informs on landscape level variation in human-environment interactions. Drawing on ethnoarchaeological data collected in collaboration with Martu, Aboriginal foragers in Western Australia, here we test empirically-derived, mechanistic predictions on site size and material size sorting to show how these can inform theoretically-derived, adaptive predictions from the Marginal Value Theorem. Results show that site size increases with the number of occupants and hence, the amount of in-patch foraging competition, while size sorting increases with the duration of occupation and hence, in-patch residence time. Combined, these attributes of site structure can be used as proxies of foraging behavior to explain variability in overall foraging yields. With this approach, site structure can provide insights into foraging decisions that can be examined through a general theory of behavior.
Spectroscopic Investigation of Interfacial Interaction of Manganese Oxide with Triclosan, Aniline, and Phenol

We investigated the reaction of manganese oxide [MnOx(s)] with phenol, aniline, and triclosan in batch experiments using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and aqueous chemistry measurements. Analyses of XPS high-resolution spectra suggest that the Mn(III) content increased 8–10% and the content of Mn(II) increased 12–15% in the surface of reacted MnOx(s) compared to the control, indicating that the oxidation of organic compounds causes the reduction of MnOx(s). Fitting of C 1s XPS spectra suggests an increase in the number of aromatic and aliphatic bonds for MnOx(s) reacted with organic compounds. The presence of 2.7% Cl in the MnOx(s) surface after reaction with triclosan was detected by XPS survey scans, while no Cl was detected in MnOx-phenol, MnOx-aniline, and MnOx-control. Raman spectra confirm the increased intensity of carbon features in MnOx(s) samples that reacted with organic compounds compared to unreacted MnOx(s). These spectroscopy results indicate that phenol, anili...
Design and Performance Analysis of the Receivers for DS-UWB Communication Systems

The main feature of ultra wideband (UWB) communication systems is the high resolution of multipath arrivals, which is due to its large transmission bandwidth. Thus, the received signal has many replicas of the transmitted signal, and serious inter-symbol interference (ISI) effects can be made. For direct-sequence ultra wideband (DS-UWB) systems, RAKE receiver despreads the received signal in each finger and combines the despreaded outputs to achieve the multipath diversity of the desired signal. However, for practice issue, the fingers of RAKE receiver should much less than the number of multipaths. RAKE receiver with coefficients using sampled channel response is not necessarily optimal. To deal with this problem in such a dense multipath environment, the coefficients of RAKE should be redesigned to maximizing signal energy and suppressing ISI. We design and analysis a various of receivers based on the RAKE structure, a chip-based equalizer and a novel RAKE/DFE scheme which place a decision-feedback equalizer (DFE) in back of the RAKE receiver to more efficiently cancel the severe ISI. This RAKE/DFE scheme reveals remarkable advantage when low complexity receiver is implemented. Unlike the previous works on RAKE/DFE, the coefficients of RAKE receiver is jointly designed with DFE, not just the same as the channel coefficients. Adaptive algorithm can be utilized to recursively search the coefficients of the RAKE/DFE. The analytical error probability is derived. From simulations, we conclude that the developed RAKE/DFE scheme can suppress the ISI efficiently.
High-Temperature Electrochemical Corrosion of Ultra-High Strength Carbon Steel in H2S-Containing Alkaline Brines

Abstract High-temperature corrosion of ultra-high strength low-alloy carbon steel, grade UD-165, was investigated using in situ electrochemical techniques in H 2 S-containing alkaline brines (5 wt% NaCl; pH 8.1, 9.8, and 10.8) at 200 °C. After 60 hours of electrochemical testing, the corrosion rate (CR) at pH 9.8 was the highest, almost twice of the lowest CR found at pH 8.1. The highest CR correlated with the highest HS − (aq) ratio to the total reactive anions. The CR was accelerated at 200 °C by at least one order of magnitude compared with that at 85 °C. A modified method was used to obtain Tafel slopes from linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) plots with the limiting current effect, and the anodic and cathodic reactions were discussed based on the solution speciation, the Tafel slopes, and the corrosion products. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed two layers of corrosion products at pH 8.1 and 9.8. The sulfur distribution moved outwards from the inner layer as pH increased from 8.1 to 10.8. With the pH increase at 200 °C, the major corrosion products changed from pyrrhotite and siderite to magnetite, which was in accordance with the reactive species and the Pourbaix diagram.
In over Our Heads with Financial Anxiety from Student Debt

Many theological students are in over their heads with student debt, as Association of Theological Schools surveys of graduates attest. The phobia-like nature of financial anxiety makes people ignore their financial stress, which is now the top stressor in the United States. Robert Kegan’s In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life is used to understand the financial anxiety generated by the ‘hidden curriculum’ of both our neoliberal market society and the North American academic dream that promises academic and financial success through hard work. In an innovative program at Iliff School of Theology, funded by a Lilly Economic Challenges Facing Future Ministers (ECFFM) grant, selected students in a self-care course used compassion-based spiritual practices to become more aware of their financial stress and avoidant coping in the hopes of facilitating more integrated, complex theologies of financial stress grounded in embodied and relational goodness. These students continued this theologically reflexive learning process in courses on financial literacy, leadership, and fundraising (initially for their own scholarships). At the end of their academic year, they demonstrated decreased guilt and shame and increased self-compassion about their student debt along with increased confidence and ability to successfully engage in scholarship fundraising activities.
Magnetotelluric and Magnetovariational Methods

In this Chapter, we discuss a group of methods for determining the electrical structure of the earth using naturally existing electromagnetic fields. Two principal forms of such methods are the MagnetoTelluric (MT) method and the MagnetoVariational (MV) method. The foundations of the magnetotelluric method are based on the Tikhonov-Cagniard model of a plane wave vertically propagating in the layered earth. We outline the theory of the MT and MV methods and introduce the concept of the transfer functions and magnetotelluric operators: impedance and admittance, telluric and magnetic. The other important transfer functions considered in Chapter 13 are induction vectors and magnetic and electric tippers. The properties of the magnetotelluric fields in inhomogeneous media are discussed as well. The Chapter is concluded with the sections dedicated to qualitative and quantitative interpretation of the MT and MV data including rigorous MT impedance and phase tensor's inversion.
Diseases of the Biliary Tree

At The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, one-third of native liver biopsies are performed for the evaluation of cholestasis in the neonate and infant, and diseases of the biliary tree represent a significant group of disorders in the differential diagnosis of neonatal cholestasis. The pathologist’s role in the evaluation of biopsies in these entities is often pivotal as to the timing and need for surgical intervention and orientation of the clinical evaluation. This chapter will begin with a general overview and discussion of cholestasis in the neonate and in the older child, to be followed by a discussion of individual entities.
Hemostasis Techniques in Myomectomies

Myomectomy can be associated with significant blood loss, particularly when large and numerous fibroids are removed. Surgeons have incorporated a large number of methods to reduce blood loss, including pre-operative optimization, the use of minimally invasive surgery, and intraoperative techniques. The purpose of this review is to summarize these methods and evaluate the literature supporting those with clinical value. The use of minimally invasive surgery has clear benefit in reducing blood loss in myomectomy for appropriately selected patients. Preoperative hormonal treatments reduce myoma size and reduce the complexity of myomectomy. Myometrial vasoconstriction, vessel ligation or compression, and the use of barbed suture decrease blood loss in myomectomy. Surgeons should be aware of the large number of pre-operative and intraoperative measures to reduce blood loss in myomectomy and employ those with proven clinical benefit, particularly in operations that are likely to involve excessive bleeding and the need for transfusion.
Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle performance and user-response assessment: Results of an extended driver study

Abstract This study examined driver acceptance and performance of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles as tested in real-world conditions over a two-year period. The study sample was a volunteer group of “n = 54” drivers who drove the vehicle for a month-long trial period. Each driver took ‘before’ and ‘after’ surveys regarding their driving experience. Drivers drove an average of 1400 miles per month, and either witnessed and/or performed vehicle refueling 3–10 times during their test period. Key findings from the study include that: 1) 80% of study participant drivers found that the fuel cell vehicle (FCV) performance “exceeded” or “greatly exceeded” their expectations; 2) 98% of study participant drivers view hydrogen as a fuel for vehicles as being “as safe” or “safer” than gasoline as a fuel for vehicles; and 3) 94% of participants view the process of fueling a vehicle with hydrogen to be “as safe” or “safer” than gasoline fueling. Other findings include that 85% of study participants who performed their own fueling described hydrogen fueling to be “somewhat” or “very” simple. Of the participants, 62% percent had to forgo at least one trip due to lack of hydrogen fuel, although vehicle range was rated by 75% of participants as entirely or mostly adequate. If fueling infrastructure availability was not an issue, and fuel cost per-mile was at parity with gasoline, 75% of participants would be willing to pay $40,000 or less for an FCV.
Plasma concentrations of testosterone in adult male rats following acquisition of copulation-illness associations

Prior research has demonstrated that testosterone is necessary for the expression of copulatory behaviors in adult male rats. Further, stimuli paired with copulatory experiences elevate circulating levels of testosterone. The purpose of the present experiment was to assess testosterone levels in adult male rats whose copulatory behaviors had been associatively inhibited. Each male rat was exposed to an inaccessible estrous female for seven min and was then given an opportunity to copulate. Two groups received an injection of either lithium chloride (LiCl; 0.3 M, 20 ml/kg, ip; n = 9) or saline <0.3 M, 20 ml/kg, ip; n = 8) immediately after each of 12 such pairings spaced at 3-4 day intervals, A third group <n = 8) received a noncontingent injection of LiCl 24 hr after each pairing. On the thirteenth trial male rats were returned to their home cages after seven min of exposure to an inaccessible female. Blood was collected by decapitation 38 min later. Testosterone levels were measured using radioimmunoassay techniques. Male copulatory behaviors of rats that received contingent administration of LiCl gradually declined during successive test sessions and rats that received noncontingent LiCl or saline remained vigorous copulators. Mean levels of plasma testosterone were
What if Dewey Won? Forwarding Social Inquiry in Music Education

In 2002, Lagemann wrote about the history of educational research, characterizing it as an ongoing debate between John Dewey and Edward Thorndike—a debate that Thorndike eventually won. The more intriguing aspect of Lagemann’s thesis, however, is that the debate keeps reappearing, and education research continues on the side of Thorndike, but in a kind of blind adherence to the ideas of objectivity, generalizability, and prediction. I assume that music education researchers may not view themselves in a direct lineage to either Dewey or Thorndike, although I demonstrate how experimental psychology, similar to Thorndike, became pervasive in music education.
Role of Zinc-Binding Domains of RecQ Helicases

Abstract The RecQ family represents one of the most highly conserved groups of 3′–5′ DNA helicases essential for maintaining genomic stability in all kingdoms of life. Besides a core helicase domain that couples nucleotide hydrolysis to DNA unwinding, many RecQ helicases also contain additional conserved domains which are implicated in lending unique functional characteristics to each helicase. Present in the majority of RecQ-like helicases, C-terminal to the conserved helicase domain is the RQC domain which is composed of a zinc-binding domain and a helix-turn-helix fold called winged-helix domain. Here, we compare and contrast the structure and functions of zinc-binding domain of Escherichia coli RecQ and the human RecQ homologs. Such systematic analyses help illustrate the relationship between multiple RecQ helicases elucidating specialized functions of individual RecQ proteins and recognizing fundamental similarities among the various RecQ homologs.
A homoscedasticity test for the accelerated failure time model

The semiparametric accelerated failure time (AFT) model is a popular linear model in survival analysis. AFT model and its associated inference methods assume homoscedasticity of the survival data. It is shown that violation of this assumption will lead to inefficient parameter estimation and anti-conservative confidence interval estimation, and thus, misleading conclusions in survival data analysis. However, there is no valid statistical test proposed to test the homoscedasticity assumption. In this paper, we propose the first novel quasi-likelihood ratio test for the homoscedasticity assumption in the AFT model. Simulation studies show the test performs well. A real dataset is used to demonstrate the usefulness of the developed test.
Genetic and environmental effects on the development of depressive symptoms from adolescence to adulthood in a nationally representative sample

Abstract Background Previous research has shown substantial heritability for depressive symptoms, yet, there are few genetically-informed studies which focused on developmental changes. The current study sought to model prototypical developmental trajectories of depressive symptoms from adolescence to adulthood and to elucidate genetic and environmental contributions to these changes. Methods The Add Health data set, a nationally representative sample of adolescents, was used. For the genetically-informed analyses, a subsample of N = 531 same-sex monozygotic and dizygotic male and female twin pairs was selected. Longitudinal development was modeled separately for two waves in early adolescence and for four waves from middle adolescence to young adulthood using a latent growth model (LGM). Both models were extended to twin models to estimate the effects of heritability and the environment. Results The rates of depressive symptoms peaked in mid-adolescence and then sharply declined as individuals moved from adolescence to young adulthood, leveling off in the twenties. The effects of the shared environment were substantial among early adolescents, but negligible for middle-to-late adolescents. An opposite pattern was found for heritability. The largest proportion of developmental changes was driven by nonshared environmental effects. Limitations The study only used same-sex twins as there exist mixed findings regarding the possibility of qualitative or quantitative genetic effects. Conclusions The salience of unique experiences and, to a lesser extent, heritable factors in affecting developmental changes in depressive symptoms underscore the need for targeting environments that place individuals with genetic predisposition at double the risk for the development of depression.
Optimised dispensing of predatory mites by multirotor UAVs in wind: A distribution pattern modelling approach for precision pest management

Multirotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, are increasingly being used to spray liquid pesticides to control emerging pest infestations in field crops. In recent years, UAVs have been used to release predatory mites and other natural enemies to optimise and promote sustainable pest management practices by relying less on conventional insecticides. Drone dispensed samples of predatory mites are typically mixed with a granular material, vermiculite, which serves as a filler. The low density of the vermiculite and weather conditions (mainly wind), influences the distribution pattern of predatory mites when delivered by a UAV-based system. The purpose of this paper is to present a data-driven methodology to develop a mathematical model that can be used to optimise UAV-based autonomous dispensing of predatory mites. The model characterises the distribution of vermiculite as a function of wind speed and direction, and the UAVs altitude and forward speed. The model is constructed by first conducting outdoor experiments and then using machine-learning techniques on the collected data. The constructed model produced an average generalisation error of 12.8%, RMSE. Due to its parametric and predictive nature, the model is amenable for the future design of UAV flight controllers that can compensate for the targeting error caused by wind. The proposed modelling methodology could be useful not only for the dispensing of predatory mites, but also for other UAV dispensing applications, such as liquid or granular pesticide deliveries.
A Statistical Approach for the Learning Curve of Physicians in Utilization of Electronic Order Sets.

Background Understanding a physician's behavior toward learning order sets is important as it is a key information to design order sets with optimized contents. Objective The objective of this article is to test a hypothesis: for a physician using a new order set repeatedly, the utilization rate of order set contents has a pattern of either increase or decrease. Methods To test the hypothesis, we retrieved empirical data of order set usage in local hospitals that adopted a new computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system and enterprise wide standard order sets. We extracted 4-year data including 63,583 orders made by 600 physicians in the inpatient setting and analyzed patterns of the learning curve at several aggregation levels. Result The analysis results demonstrated that content modification rates over time were relatively flat except for a few localized patterns. Conclusion Based on our finding, we reject our initial hypothesis.
Batch measurement extremum seeking control of distributed energy resources to account for communication delays and information loss

Author(s): Sankur, MD; Baudette, M; MacDonald, JS; Arnold, DB | Abstract: Distributed Energy Resources (DER) have great potential to enhance the operation of electric power distribution systems. Previously, we explored the use of 2 Dimensional Extremum Seeking (2D-ES) control algorithms to enable model-free optimal control of DER to provide grid services to both the distribution and transmissions systems. Motivated by preliminary deployments of DER managed by 2D-ES algorithms in hardware-in-the-loop tests and in operational distribution grids, in this work, we extend the control scheme to accommodate communication delays and information loss. We propose a modification to the 2D-ES scheme to allow for the processing of batches of possibly noncontiguous objective function measurements at unknown and possibly uneven intervals. We provide a proof of the convergence of the batch 2D-ES (2D-BES) scheme when optimizing a generic convex objective function, as well as simulation results that demonstrate the suitability of the approach for substation active and reactive power target tracking.
In Vivo Release and Turnover of Secreted Platelet Antiheparin Proteins in Rhesus Monkey (Macaca Mulatta)

Human and rhesus monkey platelets secrete at least two antiheparin proteins: platelet factor 4 (PF4) and low affinity platelet factor 4 (LA-PF4). Neither of these proteins showed species-related antigenic differences. As determined by radioimmunoassay, the levels of PF4 and LA-PF4 antigen per 10(9) monkey platelets amounted to 10.7 and 20.3 microgram, respectively. One milliliter of monkey plasma prepared from blood collected into an anticoagulant composed of EDTA, prostaglandin E1, and theophylline solution contained 22.4 ng LA-PF4 and 8.0 ng PF4. Concentrations of these two platelet-specific proteins in monkeys closely resembled levels found in human platelets and plasma. Infusion of prostacyclin (PGI2) (100 or 300 ng/kg/min) into monkeys for 15 min resulted in a significant decrease of plasma levels of LA-PF4 antigen and of PF4 by 40%--60% (p < 0.0001). This decrease was related to the inhibitory effect of PGI2 on the secretion of platelets stimulated by a catheter or by venipuncture. Longer infusion of PGI2 did not produce further significant change. The supernate obtained after aggregation of human platelets stimulated by thrombin was injected into monkeys receiving PGI2 infusion. The disappearance of LA-PF4 antigen in monkey plasma followed a biphasic exponential curve with half-lives for the fast and slow components of 8.4 and 63 min. PF4 disappeared faster but followed the same pattern (half-lives for the fast and slow component of 2.1 and 70 min). Analysis of the experimental data suggests that the low levels of secreted platelet proteins in monkey plasma are related to their minimal in vivo release and to their rapid clearance.
A Tale of Two Cities – Lagos, Nigeria’s Apparent Success in the War Against COVID-19 (Crossover Prophylaxis Against Coronavirus by Antimalarial Agents)

A person’s chances of dying from the coronavirus in this 2020 COVID-19 pandemic are more than six hundred times greater in New York City than in Lagos, Nigeria. This fact, at least this specific comparison, does not seem to be previously reported in the medical literature. It certainly is not emphasized. This dramatic disparity contradicts or at least diminishes the conventional wisdom that coronavirus mortality is exacerbated by city life, specifically poverty, overcrowding, racial differences, and diminished access to health care. The dramatic disparity in fatality rates between these two cities flies in the face of our traditional understanding of the social determinants of health. There is clearly a different factor at play here. These facts demand an explanation. This apparent protective effect conferred on those living in Lagos compared to New York City should be further analyzed for its etiology, significance, and potential benefit to others.
The Application of PBL + Flipped Classroom Teaching Mode in Computer Practice Courses

limited by teachers and inherent teaching mode, the teaching effect of practical courses in colleges and universities is limited. With the moocs, small-scale restricted online courses used in teaching increasingly; modern undergraduate computer teaching is facing great changes. On the defects of traditional indoctrination teaching model, many new teaching methods are emerging in the teaching of related courses. The teaching method of PBL (Problem Based Learning) is an important direction of teaching mode reform. This paper puts forward the teaching mode of PBL+ flipped classroom and designed based on the PBL classroom teaching model framework. On the premise of strengthening knowledge learning, students’ practical ability and creative ability are enhanced.
Primary Biliary Cholangitis: 2021 Practice Guidance Update from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

In May 2021, the FDA issued a new warning restricting the use of obeticholic acid in patients with advanced cirrhosis 1 . This is defined as cirrhosis with current or prior evidence of liver decompensation (e.g., encephalopathy, coagulopathy) or portal hypertension(e.g., ascites, gastroesophageal varices, or persistent thrombocytopenia).
Perceptions of Parental Control in China: Effects of Cultural Values, Cultural Normativeness, and Perceived Parental Acceptance:

The purpose of this study was to examine Chinese young adults’ judgments, of parental control across a range of domains (e.g., clothing and friendship), whether judgments would be influenced by experimentally manipulated information regarding cultural values and cultural normativeness, and whether perceptions of parental acceptance/rejection influenced parental control judgments. Participants viewed parental control of training school and clothing more positively than parental control of friendship or use of physical discipline. Contrary to expectations, participants did not view parental control more positively when primed with information about cultural values. Surprisingly, participants’ views of parental control were more negative when primed with information about the high cultural normativeness of parental control as compared with neutral or low normativeness conditions. Regardless of type of control, participants viewed parental control more positively when control was perceived as based on love an...
Customized employment: A growing strategy for facilitating inclusive employment

The One-Stop service delivery system was established under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 (Public Law 105–220, 29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.). One of the core principles of WIA was to provide universal access to services by “giving all Americans [including those with disabilities] access to comprehensive services, information and resources that can help them in achieving their career goals” (Federal Register, April 8, 2004; p. 18629). The term customized employment was coined in 2001 when the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) was created within the US Department of Labor [13]. Customized employment was conceived as a way for the generic One-Stop System to welcome and serve individuals with disabilities [6]. It also was designed to apply to and benefit anyone who has unique circumstances that affect employment including individuals who do not have disabilities [12]. The Federal Register (June, 2002) defined customized employment as:
A hybrid multi-group privacy-preserving approach for building decision trees

In this paper, we study the privacy-preserving decision tree building problem on vertically partitioned data. We made two contributions. First, we propose a novel hybrid approach, which takes advantage of the strength of the two existing approaches, randomization and the secure multi-party computation (SMC), to balance the accuracy and efficiency constraints. Compared to these two existing approaches, our proposed approach can achieve much better accuracy than randomization approach and much reduced computation cost than SMC approach. We also propose a multi-group scheme that makes it flexible for data miners to control the balance between data mining accuracy and privacy. We partition attributes into groups, and develop a scheme to conduct group-based randomization to achieve better data mining accuracy. We have implemented and evaluated the proposed schemes for the ID3 decision tree algorithm.
Computing the Cassels Pairing on Kolyvagin Classes in the Shafarevich-Tate Group

Kolyvagin has shown how to study the Shafarevich-Tate group of elliptic curves over imaginary quadratic fields via Kolyvagin classes constructed from Heegner points. One way to produce explicit non-trivial elements of the Shafarevich-Tate group is by proving that a locally trivial Kolyvagin class is globally non-trivial, which is difficult in practice. We provide a method for testing whether an explicit element of the Shafarevich-Tate group represented by a Kolyvagin class is globally non-trivial by determining whether the Cassels pairing between the class and another locally trivial Kolyvagin class is non-zero. Our algorithm explicitly computes Heegner points over ring class fields to produce the Kolyvagin classes and uses the efficiently computable cryptographic Tate pairing.
Fast and Secure CBC-Type MAC Algorithms

The CBC ? MAC or cipher block chaining message authentication code, is a well-known method to generate message authentication codes. Unfortunately, it is not forgery-secure over an arbitrary domain. There are several secure variants of CBC ? MAC, among which OMAC is a widely-used candidate. To authenticate an s-block message, OMAC costs (s + 1) block cipher encryptions (one of these is a zero block encryption), and only one block cipher key is used. In this paper, we propose two secure and efficient variants of CBC ? MAC: namely, GCBC1 and GCBC2. Our constructions cost only s block cipher encryptions to authenticate an s-block message, for all s ? 2. Moreover, GCBC2 needs only one block cipher encryption for almost all single block messages, and for all other single block messages, it costs two block cipher encryptions. We have also defined a class of generalized CBC-MAC constructions, and proved a sufficient condition for prf-security. In particular, we have provided an unified prf-security analysis of CBC-type constructions, e.g., XCBC, TMAC and our proposals GCBC1 and GCBC2.
Estimating the National Public Health Burden Associated with Exposure to Ambient PM2.5 and Ozone

Ground-level ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are associated with increased risk of mortality. We quantify the burden of modeled 2005 concentrations of O3 and PM2.5 on health in the United States. We use the photochemical Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model in conjunction with ambient monitored data to create fused surfaces of summer season average 8-hour ozone and annual mean PM2.5 levels at a 12 km grid resolution across the continental United States. Employing spatially resolved demographic and concentration data, we assess the spatial and age distribution of air-pollution-related mortality and morbidity. For both PM2.5 and O3 we also estimate: the percentage of total deaths due to each pollutant; the reduction in life years and life expectancy; and the deaths avoided according to hypothetical air quality improvements. Using PM2.5 and O3 mortality risk coefficients drawn from the long-term American Cancer Society (ACS) cohort study and National Mortality and Morbidity Air Pollution Study (NMMAPS), respectively, we estimate 130,000 PM2.5-related deaths and 4,700 ozone-related deaths to result from 2005 air quality levels. Among populations aged 65‐99, we estimate nearly 1.1 million life years lost from PM2.5 exposure and approximately 36,000 life years lost from ozone exposure. Among the 10 most populous counties, the percentage of deaths attributable to PM2.5 and ozone ranges from 3.5% in San Jose to 10% in Los Angeles. These results show that despite significant improvements in air quality in recent decades, recent levels of PM2.5 and ozone still pose a nontrivial risk to public health.
Management of Erectile Dysfunction by the Geriatrician

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the most common health disorder to afflict elderly men. Although 67% of men aged 70 years have ED, and their interest in sexual intercourse remains high, less than 5% receive adequate treatment. In this report, we review recent developments in our understanding of the pathophysiology of ED, how geriatricians can perform an office-based evaluation, and rational (evidence-based) treatment of this important disorder.
Model space visualization for multivariate linear trend discovery

Discovering and extracting linear trends and correlations in datasets is very important for analysts to understand multivariate phenomena. However, current widely used multivariate visualization techniques, such as parallel coordinates and scatterplot matrices, fail to reveal and illustrate such linear relationships intuitively, especially when more than 3 variables are involved or multiple trends coexist in the dataset. We present a novel multivariate model parameter space visualization system that helps analysts discover single and multiple linear patterns and extract subsets of data that fit a model well. Using this system, analysts are able to explore and navigate in model parameter space, interactively select and tune patterns, and refine the model for accuracy using computational techniques. We build connections between model space and data space visually, allowing analysts to employ their domain knowledge during exploration to better interpret the patterns they discover and their validity. Case studies with real datasets are used to investigate the effectiveness of the visualizations.