cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamic Scaling of the Island-Size Distribution and Percolation in a Model of Sub-Monolayer Molecular Beam Epitaxy

The results of a detailed study of the scaling and percolation behavior of the sub-Monolayer in a model of molecular beam epitaxy are presented. In our model adatoms are randomly deposited on a square lattice and then allowed to diffuse. Whenever an adatom encounters another adatom or an island, it is attached to them and becomes immobile. We have found and studied four distinct scaling regimes, corresponding to a low-coverage (nucleation) regime, intermediate-coverage regime, an aggregation regime, and coalescence and percolation regime. At low coverage the islands have a dendritic structure such as seen in Au/Ru (0001) while at higher coverages they become compact. The scaling of the cluster fractal dimension, island density, Monomer density, island size distribution, and structure factor and pair-correlation function are studied as a function of the coverage θ and the ratio R = D /F of the diffusion rate to the deposition rate.
The Pattern of Railway Development in Japan

A glance At the railway map of Japan will show that the country is criss-crossed by a network of railroads. Trunk lines run along almost the entire coast line of both Honshu and Kyushu. These and several other main lines running north and south are connected by numerous cross-connecting lines. Today all of the important cities are linked by rail.
Abrupt Phosphorus Profiles in Si Effects of Temperature and Substitutional Carbon on Phosphorus Autodoping

The effect of growth temperature and substitutional carbon on phosphorus autodoping in Si grown by low pressure rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition was investigated. In the temperature range between 550 and 700°C, phosphorus autodoping decreased with decreasing temperature. The incorporation of substitutional carbon at 550°C further suppressed autodoping. Using a combination of 550°C growth and substitutional carbon incorporation, we achieved abrupt phosphorus transitions over three decades of phosphorus concentration. These transitions were characterized by a slope of 11 ± 1.5 nm/decade.
A non-Newtonian fluid model with finite stretch and rotational recovery

Abstract Recently, we proposed a non-Newtonian fluid model containing two separate relaxation processes to treat straining ad material rotation and demonstrated good fitting to realistic rheological functions of polymeric flow. The model described in the present paper is an extension and improvement of the previous model. Particularly, a different approach is adopted to handle the effects of finite stretch on the basis of finite chain dynamics. The resulting model shows excellent fitting to experimental results with fewer model parameters than the previous model. All model parameters are linked to corresponding physical processes and can be readily determined from standard rheological plots. This study also revealed several interesting relations between rheological functions that are worth further investigations.
2',3'-Dideoxyinosine-induced Mallory bodies in patients with HIV

Didanosine (ddI) that inhibits the reverse transcriptase of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes steatosis and fulminant hepatitis in some patients with HIV. We studied hepatic histopathologic changes with particular attention to ddl-induced Mallory body formation. Three liver biopsies were performed on three patients with HIV who were treated with ddl; an autopsy was performed on a patient with HIV who was also treated with ddl. All hepatic specimens were studied with a routine liver immunohistochemical panel including antibodies to ubiquitin and cytokeratin (CAM 5.2). Morphologically, all hepatic specimens showed focal to diffuse steatosis with a predominance of macrovesicular fatty change. Fibrosis was minimal in three cases. No secondary bacterial and fungal infections were noted. Single or clusters of empty cells were present, and some contained Mallory bodies validated by ubiquitin stain. Empty cells are hepatocytes that fail to stain positive for cytokeratin. The Mallory bodies were different from the others because they were randomly distributed and occurred in noncirrhotic hepatic tissue. In the autopsy specimen, the Mallory bodies had a centrilobular location with central fibrosis (central sclerosing hyaline necrosis).
Future acute ischemic stroke trials should randomize on the angio table

Perhaps in order to move forward we need to take a lesson from the past. The only two positive randomized trials of intra-arterial therapy to date are PROACT II and MELT.1 ,2 In both of those cases, randomization occurred on the table, after angiographic confirmation of proximal vessel occlusion. Of patients in PROACT II randomized to a saline infusion, 25% had a good functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale 0–2) at 90 days, compared with 40% of those who received a urokinase infusion. Similarly, in MELT, 23% randomized to saline infusion had modified Rankin Scale 0–1 at 90 days compared with 42% of those with urokinase infusion. …
Effect of 4-bromo-3-hydroxybenzyloxyamine (Brocresine) on gastric secretion in pouch dogs.

SummaryWe studied the effect of Brocresine on the gastric secretory response of denervated and innervated pouch dogs. Brocresine is a potent inhibitor of histidine decarboxylase. It has been shown that in the rat (2, 3) and perhaps in the human (4), this drug inhibits gastric secretory response to administration of exogenous gastrin, but not of exogenous histamine. In the present work we found that responses to exogenous gastrin, or gastrin-like synthetic pentapep-tide, or histamine, are not significantly altered by administration of Brocresine in either acute experiments, or over a period of several months of chronic dosage. The responses to feeding in a group of Brocresine-treated innervated pouch dogs were also not significantly altered over a period of several weeks. The results suggest that in the dog histamine may not be the final mediator of all gastric stimulation. This hypothesis is also supported by the fact shown (but not newly-discovered here) that the ratio of maximal response with gastrin to...
Perspectives on Behavior-Based versus Outcome-Based Salesforce Control Systems:

Forms of control systems used in salesforce evaluation and based on the monitoring of outcomes or of behaviors are described, contrasted, and evaluated in terms of emerging theories in economics, o...
Imaging Electronic Trap States in Perovskite Thin Films with Combined Fluorescence and Femtosecond Transient Absorption Microscopy.

Charge carrier trapping degrades the performance of organometallic halide perovskite solar cells. To characterize the locations of electronic trap states in a heterogeneous photoactive layer, a spatially resolved approach is essential. Here, we report a comparative study on methylammonium lead tri-iodide perovskite thin films subject to different thermal annealing times using a combined photoluminescence (PL) and femtosecond transient absorption microscopy (TAM) approach to spatially map trap states. This approach coregisters the initially populated electronic excited states with the regions that recombine radiatively. Although the TAM images are relatively homogeneous for both samples, the corresponding PL images are highly structured. The remarkable variation in the PL intensities as compared to transient absorption signal amplitude suggests spatially dependent PL quantum efficiency, indicative of trapping events. Detailed analysis enables identification of two trapping regimes: a densely packed trappin...
Effective data-race detection for the kernel

Data races are an important class of concurrency errors where two threads erroneously access a shared memory location without appropriate synchronization. This paper presents DataCollider, a lightweight and effective technique for dynamically detecting data races in kernel modules. Unlike existing data-race detection techniques, DataCollider is oblivious to the synchronization protocols (such as locking disciplines) the program uses to protect shared memory accesses. This is particularly important for low-level kernel code that uses a myriad of complex architecture/device specific synchronization mechanisms. To reduce the runtime overhead, DataCollider randomly samples a small percentage of memory accesses as candidates for data-race detection. The key novelty of DataCollider is that it uses breakpoint facilities already supported by many hardware architectures to achieve negligible runtime overheads. We have implemented DataCollider for the Windows 7 kernel and have found 25 confirmed erroneous data races of which 12 have already been fixed.
DNA-catalyzed glycosylation using aryl glycoside donors

We report the identification by in vitro selection of Zn2+/Mn2+-dependent deoxyribozymes that glycosylate the 3′-OH of a DNA oligonucleotide. Both β and α anomers of aryl glycosides can be used as the glycosyl donors. Individual deoxyribozymes are each specific for a particular donor anomer.
Relations between relative changes in sea level and climate shifts: Pennsylvanian–Permian mixed carbonate-siliciclastic strata, western United States

Study of Pennsylvanian (Virgilian)–Permian (Wolfcampian) strata of the western United States (parts of Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, and Kansas) reveals complex relations between relative changes in sea level and shifts in climate. Relative falls in sea level are indicated by subaerial exposure of subtidal sediments and fluvial incision through subtidal sediments. Changes in the character of pedogenesis and sediment transport, deposition, and supply, and the variable distribution of climatically sensitive lithofacies within cyclothems are interpreted to reflect shifts in climate during deposition of each cyclothem. The majority of stratal relationships documented herein from a number of long-term climatic, sedimentologic, and shelf settings are consistent with a hypothesis that relative highs in sea level are accompanied by more seasonal conditions, whereas relative lows are characteristically more arid. Uncommon deviations are present, however, and may be due to (1) shoaling caused by sedimentation or tectonic uplift, independent of a eustatic-climatic signal; (2) complex sedimentologic or geomorphic responses to climate change; (3) leads, lags, or thresholds in either glacial advance and retreat or the climatic response to such changes. This study shows that coupled climatic shifts and changes in sea level exert a pronounced, but varied, influence on stratigraphic architecture in depositional settings across late Paleozoic ramps. The proposed climatically enhanced cyclic and reciprocal sedimentation model predicts that during a single eustatic fall, updip areas have features indicating a more seasonal or humid climate that are overlain or overprinted by characteristics suggesting more arid climate. In downdip areas that were not subaerially exposed until the late stages of a eustatic fall, only more arid climatic features are represented in the terrestrial or subaerial exposure features.
Differences between WHO AND CDC early growth measurements in the assessment of Cystic Fibrosis clinical outcomes

Abstract Background Early childhood growth status has been used to predict long-term clinical outcomes in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients. Adulthood CF outcomes based on early weight-for-length (WFL) measurements, using either World Health Organization (WHO) or Centers for Disease Control (CDC) scales, have not been compared. Methods Cystic Fibrosis Foundation registry patients were studied (n=3014). Participants were categorized at age two years as WFL Results Stepwise gains in pulmonary function and lung transplant-free survival were noted across the three increasing WFL categories. Conclusions Children with CF who achieve higher WFL at age two years have improved pulmonary and survival outcomes into adulthood. CF providers should continue to utilize current early growth recommendations, with goal WFL ≥50th percentile on CDC growth charts before age two.
Thermo-mechanical stress analysis of cryopreservation in cryobags and the potential benefit of nanowarming

Cryopreservation by vitrification is the only promising solution for long-term organ preservation which can save tens of thousands of lives across the world every year. One of the challenges in cryopreservation of large-size tissues and organs is to prevent fracture formation due to the tendency of the material to contract with temperature. The current study focuses on a pillow-like shape of a cryobag, while exploring various strategies to reduce thermo-mechanical stress during the rewarming phase of the cryopreservation protocol, where maximum stresses are typically found. It is demonstrated in this study that while the level of stress may generally increase with the increasing amount of CPA filled in the cryobag, the ratio between width and length of the cryobag play a significant role. Counterintuitively, the overall maximum stress is not found when the bag is filled to its maximum capacity (when the filled cryobag resembles a sphere). Parametric investigation suggests that reducing the initial rewarming rate between the storage temperature and the glass transition temperature may dramatically decrease the thermo-mechanical stress. Adding a temperature hold during rewarming at the glass transition temperature may reduce the thermo-mechanical stress in some cases, but may have an adverse effect in other cases. Finally, it is demonstrated that careful incorporation of volumetric heating by means on nanoparticles in an alternating magnetic field, or nanowarming, can dramatically reduce the resulting thermo-mechanical stress. These observations display the potential benefit of a thermo-mechanical design of the cryopreservation protocols in order to prevent structural damage.
Severe acute cellular rejection after intestinal transplantation is associated with poor patient and graft survival.

Background Severe acute cellular rejection (ACR) occurs frequently after intestinal transplantation (ITx). Aim To evaluate the outcomes and the risk factors for graft failure and mortality in patients with severe ACR after ITx. Methods Retrospective study evaluating all ITx recipients who developed severe ACR between 01/2000 and 07/2014. Demographic and histologic data were reviewed. Results 20/126 (15.9%) ITx recipients developed severe ACR. Of these 20 episodes, 13 were in adults (median age: 47.1). The median (IQR) time from ITx to severe ACR was 206.5 (849) days. All patients received intravenous methylprednisone and increased doses of tacrolimus. Sixteen (80%) patients did not respond to initial treatment and required thymoglobulin administration. Moreover, 11 (55%) patients required additional immunosuppressive medications. Six (30%) patients required graft enterectomy. Complications related to ACR treatment were the following: 10 (50%) patients developed bacterial infections, 4 (20%) patients developed CMV infection and 4 (20%) patients developed PTLD. At the end of follow-up, only 3/20 (15%) were alive with a functional allograft. The median patient survival time after diagnosis of severe ACR was 400 days (95% CI: 234.0 - 2613.0). Conclusions Severe ACR episodes are associated with high rates of graft loss and complications related to treatment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Impacts of Model Resolution on Transportation Network Criticality Rankings

Objective rankings of the criticality of transportation network infrastructure are essential for efficiently allocating limited adaptation resources and must account for network connectivity and travel demand. Road link criticality can be quantified by the total travel delay caused when the capacity of a road segment or link is disrupted or removed. These methods can use standard travel demand models, but the exclusion of lower-volume roads and the aggregate nature of traffic analysis zones may distort resulting criticality rankings. To test the impact of link exclusion and demand aggregation, the authors applied the network robustness index, a well-established link criticality measure, to a hypothetical network with varying levels of network resolution and demand aggregation. The results show a statistically significant change in criticality rankings when demand is aggregated and especially when links are excluded from the network, suggesting that criticality rankings may be distorted when estimated with...
CRED: Cloud Right-Sizing with Execution Deadlines and Data Locality

As demands for cloud-based data processing continue to grow, cloud providers seek effective techniques that deliver value to the businesses without violating Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Cloud right-sizing has emerged as a very promising technique for making cloud services more cost-effective. In this paper, we present CRED, a novel framework for cloud right-sizing with execution deadlines and data locality constraints. CRED jointly optimizes data placement and task scheduling in data centers with the aim of minimizing the number of nodes needed while meeting users’ SLA requirements. We formulate CRED as an integer optimization problem and present a heuristic algorithm with provable performance guarantees to solve the problem. Competitive ratios of the proposed algorithm are quantified in closed form for arbitrary task parameters and cloud configurations. We also extend our work to obtain a resilient solution, which allows successful recovery at run time from any single node failure and is guaranteed to meet both deadline and locality constraints. Simulation results using Google trace show that our proposed algorithm significantly outperforms existing heuristics such as first-fit by reducing the number of required active servers by up to 47 percent, and achieves near-optimal performance. We also show that our algorithm can significantly improve utilization of both computational resources and storage space by up to 28 and 15 percent, respectively.
Cellular fatty acid synthase is required for late stages of HIV-1 replication.

Like all viruses, HIV-1 relies on host systems to replicate. The human purinome consists of approximately two thousand proteins that bind and use purines such as ATP, NADH, and NADPH. By virtue of their purine binding pockets, purinome proteins are highly druggable, and many existing drugs target purine-using enzymes. Leveraging a protein affinity media that uses the purine-binding pocket to capture the entire purinome, we sought to define purine-binding proteins regulated by HIV-1 infection. Using purinome capture media, we observed that HIV-1 infection increases intracellular levels of fatty acid synthase (FASN), a NADPH-using enzyme critical to the synthesis of de novo fatty acids. siRNA mediated knockdown of FASN reduced HIV-1 particle production by 80%, and treatment of tissue culture cells or primary PBMCs with Fasnall, a newly described selective FASN inhibitor, reduced HIV-1 virion production by 90% (EC50 = 213 nM). Despite the requirement of FASN for nascent virion production, FASN activity was not required for intracellular Gag protein production, indicating that FASN dependent de novo fatty acid biosynthesis contributes to a late step of HIV-1 replication. Here we show that HIV-1 replication both increases FASN levels and requires host FASN activity. We also report that Fasnall, a novel FASN inhibitor that demonstrates anti-tumor activity in vivo, is a potent and efficacious antiviral, blocking HIV-1 replication in both tissue culture and primary cell models of HIV-1 replication. In adults, most fatty acids are obtained exogenously from the diet, thus making FASN a plausible candidate for pharmacological intervention. In conclusion, we hypothesize that FASN is a novel host dependency factor and that inhibition of FASN activity has the potential to be exploited as an antiretroviral strategy.
The interactional work of suppressing complaints in customer service encounters

Abstract The analysis in this paper draws from customer service calls to an electronic repair facility and systematically examines the interactional dynamics between customers and service representatives as they each manage to keep service complaints from becoming overt. This paper considers how the recognizability of a complainable matter can be used as leverage for achieving other types of interactional projects, such as gaining additional assistance or, for representatives, working to quickly close down the call before the customer has a chance to complain. By building upon Schegloff's (2005) observations regarding suppressing complaints in ordinary encounters, the analysis in this paper contributes to our understanding of the function of complaints within institutional encounters, with implications for understanding complaint management in service encounters.
km23: a novel TGFbeta signaling target altered in ovarian cancer.

km23 is a novel motor receptor found to be linked to a TGFβ signaling pathway. Based upon our observations, we have constructed the following model (Fig. 3). Upon phosphorylation of km23 by TβRs, DIC is recruited to form a motor complex. This complex transports membrane vesicles containing TGFβ signaling components such as Smad2 along the microtubules to a new vesicular compartment. After reaching the new compartment, the Smad complex may be translocated to the nucleus for transcriptional regulation of target genes. At this time point, km23 is no longer co-localized with Smad2. Future studies are still required to answer several questions about this novel TGFβ signaling intermediate. For example, we would like to identify other cargoes that km23 carries along the MTs. In addition, it would be of interest to know precisely which serine residues are phosphorylated by TGFβ, as well as what the consequences of dephosphorylation of these sites may be. Overall, we would like to develop km23-based cancer diagnostics and therapeutics, since km23 is altered at such a high rate in ovarian cancer. km23 most likely plays an important role in tumorgenesis or tumor progression in at least this type of cancer. Future studies will reveal whether this is the case for other tumor types as well.
Relationships between HIV Testing, Knowledge, and Stigma among Men: Reports from Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine

ABSTRACTA surge in heterosexual transmission of HIV among men in post-Soviet countries prompts the need to understand the determinants of HIV testing in the region. Survey data from Belarus (n = 2,769), Moldova (n = 1,545), and Ukraine (n = 3,620) were used to assess an influence of psychosocial determinants on testing among men. A mediation analysis for binary outcomes was used to assess effects of knowledge and stigma on testing. While knowledge had a positive influence on testing in each country, an indirect influence of knowledge through stigma was unique for each country. Implications for interventions and social work are discussed in the light of findings.
Delayed Posttraumatic Subacute Lumbar Subarachnoid Hematoma: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Background Traumatic spinal subarachnoid hematoma, associated or not with a concurrent subdural hematoma, has rarely been described. The evolution of such hematomas is heterogeneous. This study aims at defining the most accurate management, which is currently not standardized. Case Description A 20-year-old man, victim of a high-kinetic road accident 5 days before and with several nonneurologic nonsurgical vertebral fractures, experienced a sudden dorsolumbar pain radiating to his lower limbs. A rapidly progressive asymmetric paraparesis with loss of reflexes was noticed, associated with bilateral global hypoesthesia of the lower limbs and with acute urinary retention, whereas the anal tonicity was preserved (American Spinal Injury Association C). Magnetic resonance imaging scan revealed a conus medullaris compression at the level of the L1–L2 vertebrae by an intradural expansive mass. Immediate surgical decompression revealed a strictly subarachnoid hematoma. Venous bleeding was seen at the level of the conus medullaris and controlled. Pathologic examination of the clot excluded an underlying tumor or vascular abnormality. The complete coagulation profile was normal. Conclusion Six weeks after surgery, the neurologic examination revealed only a slight tactile hypoesthesia of the left thigh. With only 4 reported cases, purely subarachnoid spinal hematomas remain widely rarer than epidural hematomas. The reported case possesses a certain number of peculiarities: young age, pure subarachnoid location, lumbar location, occurrence after a car accident, subacute onset, and excellent neurologic recovery. In our opinion, a symptomatic subarachnoid spinal hematoma should be surgically evacuated at the early phase so neurologic recovery can be expected.
Vitamins, Minerals and Health

Classic examples of vitamin deficiency diseases are scurvy, rickets, beriberi, and pellagra. However, evidence over the past several decades clearly shows that suboptimal intakes of some vitamins and minerals may contribute to risk for some chronic diseases, including major causes of mortality and morbidity such as cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and hypertension. On the other hand, consuming excess amounts of vitamins and minerals may be deleterious in some circumstances. At the opposite end of clear deficiency is overt toxicity, but there could also be adverse effects in a range that does not produce clear toxicity, but that in the long-term, could be deleterious to health in more subtle ways. This chapter will provide an overview of the major established or highly suspected associations between vitamins and minerals and the development and prevention of major chronic disease states. Unlike the establishment of a clear deficiency state and reversal of the condition, such as vitamin C to cure scurvy, studying the relationship between the range of vitamins and minerals and chronic diseases is fraught with many difficulties. Thus, the relationships are likely to generate less consensus and more scientific controversy. Nonetheless, a large body of evidence is currently available for many of the relationships, and sensible recommendations to optimize benefit while minimizing risk can be made. However, as science and research evolve, and the strength of evidence for a specific relationship waxes and wanes, these recommendations will also evolve. In addition, new relationships are likely to be discovered, and these could alter existing recommendations. In the first part of this chapter, the major research approaches utilized in this field will be summarized, and the major strengths and limitations will be addressed. Then, specific nutrient-disease relationships will be discussed. This chapter will only examine vitamins and minerals for which there are a sufficient amount of human data for effects of long-term, suboptimal intakes and a major health consequence. The classic vitamin deficiency syndromes will not be reviewed. The focus will be on studies in which apparently healthy individuals are followed, and the influence of specific vitamins and minerals is studied before a disease occurs. Whether these nutrients influence the course of an existing disease will not be addressed in this chapter. In the final section, recommendations will be made.
Psychobiology of Coping in Animals: The Effects of Predictability

The term stress had a common usage in everyday life as well as in biology and medicine long before Hans Selye’s initial report in 1936. However, the development of the stress field as a popular and important area of research can generally be traced to Selye’s concept of the “general adaptation syndrome” (Selye, 1936). Selye was surprised to find that a variety of very different agents such as cold, heat, x-rays, hormones, bacteria, toxins or muscular exercise produced essentially the same triad of symptoms. This was true despite the fact that a highly specific adaptive response existed for any one of these agents by itself. The triad of symptoms included (1) adrenal cortical hypertrophy (indicative of increased adrenocortical activity); (2) involution or shrinkage of the thymus, spleen, lymph nodes and all other lymphatic structures; (3) gastrointestinal ulceration. These symptoms were named the “alarm reaction” and were thought to represent a nonspecific adaptive response of the body. This nonspecific demand upon the body, according to Selye, was the essence of stress (Selye, 1973).
A Fascinating Series due to Stieltjes

Stieltjes in later life wrote an article on a definite integral which could not be evaluated by an analytical continued fraction. Questions of divergency of series arise and these we answer mainly from G. H. Hardy’s book on divergency. G. H. Hardy was a pure mathematician and yet here an example really concerns applied mathematics. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 62E20.
Psychology of Older American Indians and Alaska Natives: Strengths and Challenges to Maintaining Mental Health

This chapter presents information on mental health issues among older American Indian and Alaska Native adults, focusing on sociohistorical factors, environmental factors, and barriers to help-seeking as major challenges to the maintenance of mental health in this group. We also describe several strengths that contribute to resilience among Native elders, including support systems, ethnic and cultural identity, and spirituality. We provide recommendations for capitalizing upon these strengths in order to address the challenges faced by Native elders, including the importance of engaging community networks in the research process and incorporating Native cultural elements into biomedical mental health care. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future research, including the need to develop culturally relevant instrumentation and methods specific to this population.
Association Between Two Categorical Variables: Contingency Analysis with Chi Square

Categorical variables, including nominal and ordinal variables, are described by tabulating their frequencies or probability. If two categorical variables are associated, the frequencies of values of one will depend on the frequencies of values of the other. Chi square tests the hypothesized association between two categorical variables and contingency analysis quantifies their association.
Fall-curve: A novel primitive for IoT Fault Detection and Isolation

The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has led to the deployment of various types of sensors in the homes, offices, buildings, lawns, cities, and even in agricultural farms. Since IoT applications rely on the fidelity of data reported by the sensors, it is important to detect a faulty sensor and isolate the cause of the fault. Existing fault detection techniques demand sensor domain knowledge along with the contextual information and historical data from similar near-by sensors. However, detecting a sensor fault by analyzing just the sensor data is non-trivial since a faulty sensor reading could mimic non-faulty sensor data. This paper presents a novel primitive, which we call the Fall-curve - a sensor's voltage response when the power is turned off - that can be used to characterize sensor faults. The Fall-curve constitutes a unique signature independent of the phenomenon being monitored which can be used to identify the sensor and determine whether the sensor is correctly operating. We have empirically evaluated the Fall-curve technique on a wide variety of analog and digital sensors. We have also been running this system live in a few agricultural farms, with over 20 IoT devices. We were able to detect and isolate faults with an accuracy over 99%, which would have otherwise been hard to detect only by observing measured sensor data.
Benzimidazolone-based selective σ2 receptor ligands: Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation.

Abstract Sigma receptors (σRs) are considered to be a significant and valid target for developing new medications to address several diseases. Their potential involvement in numerous central nervous system disorders, neuropathic pain, addiction, and cancer has been extensively reported. In particular, the σ2R has been identified as potential target for the development of pharmaceutical agents intended to treat the negative effects associated with drugs of abuse. As a continuation of our previous efforts to develop new selective σ2R ligands, a series of benzimidazolone derivatives were designed, synthesized, and characterized. The newly synthesized ligands were evaluated through in vitro radioligand binding assays to determine their affinity and selectivity towards both σ1 and σ2 receptors. Several derivatives displayed high affinity for the σ2R (Ki = 0.66–68.5 nM) and varied from preferring to selective, compared to σ1R (σ1/σ2 = 5.8–1139). Among them, compound 1-{4-[4-(4-fluorophenyl)piperazin-1-yl]butyl}-3-propyl-1,3-dihydrobenzimidazol-2-one dihydrochloride (14) displayed the ability to produce a dose-dependent reduction in the convulsive effects of cocaine in a rodent model after injecting 10 mg/kg (i.p.). These preliminary results support the use of selective σ2R ligands in the development of useful pharmacological tools or potential pharmacotherapies for cocaine toxicity.
“Our gold is dirty, but we want to improve”: Challenges to addressing mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Peru

Abstract Mercury use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has captured global attention and concern for decades. Policy makers and development practitioners routinely promote awareness campaigns and technical assistance to address mercury use in ASGM; however, this focus obscures other barriers that stand in the way of addressing mercury emissions from the sector. Focused on the town of Relave, in the Ayacucho Region of Southwestern Peru, this paper examines the perspectives and practices of some of the community members who are involved with ASGM activities. It highlights their own views of the challenges related to ASGM and explores the ways in which they are addressing these challenges. Despite their efforts, this paper reveals that there are two key barriers to controlling mercury use in Relave, which lie outside of the communities’ lack of awareness and technological capabilities. These include the deprioritization of mercury use and pollution among community members as compared to other community and public health concerns and inequities in the supply chain that position miners and mineral processors with little to no control over the distribution, use, and emissions of mercury. The implications of these findings for policy decisions, regulatory schemes, and development initiatives are not only relevant to Peru, but are also significant for other countries committed to addressing mercury emissions from ASGM.
The Rat: A Model Used in Biomedical Research

The laboratory rat, Rattus norvegicus, has been used in biomedical research for more than 150 years, and in many cases remains the model of choice for studies of physiology, behavior, and complex human disease. This book provides detailed information on a number of methodologies that can be used in rat. This chapter gives an introduction to rat as a species and as a biomedical model, providing historical information, a brief introduction to the current state of rat research, and a perspective on the future of rat as a model for human disease.
Astrogliosis inhibition attenuates hydrocephalus by increasing cerebrospinal fluid reabsorption through the glymphatic system after germinal matrix hemorrhage.

Abstract Germinal matrix hemorrhage (GMH) results from the rupture of the immature thin-walled blood vessels and consequent bleeding into the subependymal germinal matrix and possible lateral ventricles. The purpose of this study is to investigate how astrogliosis impacts the glymphatic-meningeal lymphatic system in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) reabsorption after GMH and how the anti-scarring agent olomoucine attenuates post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus. GMH was induced by stereotaxic collagenase infusion into P7 Sprague-Dawley rats of both sexes. Western blot and immunofluorescence were used to assess astrogliosis and how astrogliosis affects glymphatic function by measuring Aquaporin-4 expression. Intracisternal injection of fluorescence tracer was used to measure CSF diffusion throughout the brain, its dispersion in the paravascular area and CSF drainage into the deep cervical lymph nodes at 28 days after GMH. Both short-term and long-term behavioral tests were used to assess the neurological outcomes. Nissl staining was used to assess the morphological changes at 28 days after hemorrhage. GMH elicited astrogliotic scarring and reduced the exchange between CSF and interstitial fluid, as well as CSF reabsorption through the meningeal lymphatic vessels. This might be associated with redistribution of Aquaporin-4. Olomoucine ameliorated scar tissue formation and attenuated post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus. These findings of this study suggested that the glymphatic system might play a role in CSF reabsorption in neonates following GMH. Scar tissue formation impairs this CSF clearance route, and therefore astrogliosis inhibition might be a potential therapeutic strategy for neonatal post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus.
Barriers to minority recruitment in a multicenter clinical trial (PRO-TECT [AFT-39]): Research staff insights.

145Background: Rates of minority enrollment in U.S. cancer clinical trials, including supportive care trials, are disproportionately low. Clinical research associates (CRAs) are the linchpin for su...
PCK1 and DHODH drive colorectal cancer liver metastatic colonization and hypoxic pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of human death. Mortality is primarily due to metastatic organ colonization, with liver being the primary organ affected. We modeled metastatic CRC (mCRC) liver colonization using patient-derived primary and metastatic tumor xenografts (PDX). Such PDX modeling predicted patient survival outcomes. In vivo selection of multiple PDXs for enhanced metastatic capacity upregulated the gluconeogenic enzyme PCK1, which enhanced metastatic hypoxic survival by driving anabolic pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis. Consistently, highly metastatic tumors upregulated multiple pyrimidine biosynthesis intermediary metabolites. Therapeutic inhibition of the pyrimidine biosynthetic enzyme DHODH with oral leflunomide substantially impaired CRC liver metastatic colonization and hypoxic survival. Our findings provide a potential mechanistic basis for the epidemiologic association of anti-gluconeogenic drugs with improved CRC metastasis outcomes, reveal the exploitation of a gluconeogenesis enzyme for pyrimidine biosynthesis during hypoxia, and implicate DHODH and PCK1 as metabolic therapeutic targets in colorectal cancer metastasis.
Abstract 3453: Cancer Cell Line Factory: A systematic approach to create next-generation cancer model at scale

Precision cancer medicine is based on the ability to predict the dependencies of a given tumor from its molecular makeup. Despite successes in multiple common cancers, such prediction remains challenging for the majority of rare and understudied tumors given the absence of laboratory model systems in which to discover and/or validate therapeutic hypotheses. Here, we describe our efforts to address this challenge systematically with the ultimate goal of making it possible to learn how to predict ex vivo growth requirements for cancer samples based on technical, clinical and genomic properties of the starting tumor material. Over the last 5 years, we have processed nearly 2,000 tumor biospecimens and created over 375 genomically-confirmed patient-derived cell lines, organoids and neurosphere cultures, with >10% of these representing rare cancers. To make this possible, we have implemented three key workflows including (1) direct-to-patient sample sourcing, (2) a tissue cryopreservation and genomic credentialing system to ensure quality prior to model creation, and (3) a systematic empirical approach to screening rich medias and variations on organoid technologies ex vivo (HYBRID). We have begun performing genome-wide CRISPR viability screens in these cultures as part of our larger activities to generate a systematic laboratory-based functional map of cancer dependencies (a ‘Cancer Dependency Map9). The novel organoid, spheroid and cell line models created as part of this effort are being made publically available to the scientific community. Looking ahead, as the barriers to culturing rare tumors are overcome, we expect that preclinical functional genomics data will be useful for difficult-to-treat tumors without existing molecularly guided standard-of-care regimens. Citation Format: Yuen-Yi Tseng, Mushriq AI-Jazrawe, Rebecca Deasy, Paula Keskula, Grace Johnson, Andrew Hong, Priya Chatterji, Francisca Vasquez, Adam Bass, Barbara Van Hare, David Sandak, Keith Ligon, Jesse Boehm. Cancer Cell Line Factory: A systematic approach to create next-generation cancer model at scale [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 3453.
Advising special population emergency medicine residency applicants: a survey of emergency medicine advisors and residency program leadership

The objective of this study was to determine the advising and emergency medicine (EM) residency selection practices for special population applicant groups for whom traditional advice may not apply. A survey was distributed on the Council of Residency Directors in EM and Clerkship Directors in EM Academy listservs. Multiple choice, Likert-type scale, and fill-in-the-blank questions addressed the average EM applicant and special population groups (osteopathic; international medical graduate (IMG); couples; at-risk; re-applicant; dual-accreditation applicant; and military). Percentages and 95% confidence intervals [CI] were calculated. One hundred four surveys were completed. Of respondents involved in the interview process, 2 or more standardized letters of evaluation (SLOEs) were recommended for osteopathic (90.1% [95% CI 84–96]), IMG (82.5% [73–92]), dual-accreditation (46% [19–73]), and average applicants (48.5% [39–58]). Recommendations for numbers of residency applications to submit were 21–30 (50.5% [40.7–60.3]) for the average applicant, 31–40 (41.6% [31.3–51.8]) for osteopathic, and > 50 (50.9% [37.5–64.4]) for IMG. For below-average Step 1 performance, 56.0% [46.3–65.7] were more likely to interview with an average Step 2 score. 88.1% [81.8–94.4] will consider matching an EM-EM couple. The majority were more likely to interview a military applicant with similar competitiveness to a traditional applicant. Respondents felt the best option for re-applicants was to pursue the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) for a preliminary residency position. Advising and residency selection practices for special population applicants differ from those of traditional EM applicants. These data serve as an important foundation for advising these distinct applicant groups in ways that were previously only speculative. While respondents agree on many advising recommendations, outliers exist.
Team emotion matters: exploring teacher collaboration dynamics over time

Teachers’ engagement in educational reform is an emotional process, yet the emotional dimensions of school improvement efforts remain understudied. This paper explores the emotional experiences of two teacher teams navigating a reform centering collaboration for instructional improvement. Drawing on group emotion (Kelly and Barsade in Org Behav Hum Decis Process 86(1):99–130, 2001) as a conceptual framework, this paper illustrates how individual beliefs and dispositions, group norms, and broader contextual factors mediate group emotion and engagement in reform over time. Findings indicate that leaders should attend to how teacher turnover impacts group emotion and engagement in capacity-building, particularly when teachers lose team members who have previously driven productive collaborative planning. Findings also highlight the nested nature of grade-level collaboration, revealing the influential role of department norms and relationships.
A Linguistic/Game-Theoretic Approach to Detection/Explanation of Propaganda

Abstract Online propaganda is a growing menace to domestic security, democratic institutions, and public health. The two most notable examples are the election-fraud propaganda that eventually led to the 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol, and the anti-vaccination propaganda, which is undermining the scientific efforts to turn the tide of the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study, while appreciating the inherent social, legal, and political dilemmas, contributes to the technological developments in countering propaganda in today’s American cyberspace. Using a (political) news repository, we first construct a dataset that contains nearly 205,000 articles from 39 propagandistic and 30 trustworthy news outlets—making it one of the richest and least biased datasets used for propaganda research thus far. We subsequently construct a set of models that use linguistic features to score news for its propagandistic content. The superior model, constructed with LightGBM—a state-of-the-art gradient boosting tree-based algorithm, both outperforms (C-index=0.9 and F1-score=0.84) and outruns the baseline models. Motivated by the accuracy-interpretability trade-off (and tension) in machine learning, which is also underscored as a challenge in propaganda detection research agenda, we then draw on the coalitional game theory ideas to compute the contribution of each linguistic aspect of an article to its propaganda score, thereby explaining the model decision to the user. Finally, we aggregate the contributions of each linguistic feature across all predictions to provide new insights into the linguistic profile of propaganda in today’s American news ecosystem. Future research can apply the linguistic/game-theoretic approach in this study to detecting and explaining anti-vaccination propaganda as well as other forms of information pollution (e.g., fake news) in general.
Simulation of Frontal Barrier Offset Impacts and Comparison of Intrusions and Decelerations

This study examines various test conditions analytically. Detailed finite element models were developed. The models provided insight into energy management mechanism, load transfer and vehicle deformation patterns due to offset impacts on to perpendicular and angular barriers. Several potential offset conditions were simulated using the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) models. These were: (1) 50% offset perpendicular rigid barrier impact; (2) 40% offset perpendicular rigid barrier impact; (3) 40 and 50% offset perpendicular deformable barrier impact; and (4) 30 degree angular impact with and without an anti-skid device on the rigid barrier. Dash and toe board intrusions, and vehicle deceleration pulses, were compared to identify the key considerations. Deformation patterns in the engine compartment and in body side structures were also examined. Model predictions were validated against prototype test data. Details of the New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) and offset impacts, comparison of model results for various impact conditions, and the correlations with test data are presented. For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 875833.