cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Statistical analysis and handling of missing data in cluster randomised trials: protocol for a systematic review

Introduction Cluster randomised trials (CRTs) randomise participants in groups, rather than as individuals, and are key tools used to assess interventions in health research where treatment contamination is likely or if individual randomisation is not feasible. Missing outcome data can reduce power in trials, including in CRTs, and is a potential source of bias. The current review focuses on evaluating methods used in statistical analysis and handling of missing data with respect to the primary outcome in CRTs. Methods and analysis We will search for CRTs published between August 2013 and July 2014 using PubMed, Web of Science and PsycINFO. We will identify relevant studies by screening titles and abstracts, and examining full-text articles based on our predefined study inclusion criteria. 86 studies will be randomly chosen to be included in our review. Two independent reviewers will collect data from each study using a standardised, prepiloted data extraction template. Our findings will be summarised and presented using descriptive statistics. Ethics and dissemination This methodological systematic review does not need ethical approval because there are no data used in our study that are linked to individual patient data. After completion of this systematic review, data will be immediately analysed, and findings will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication and conference presentation.
Executive Function and Attention Regulation as Predictors of Coping Success in Youth with Functional Abdominal Pain

OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of executive function and attention regulation in coping and their indirect effects on anxiety and depression through coping in youth with functional abdominal pain. METHODS: Participants (n = 44, mean age = 11.77, SD = 7.16, 68.2% female) and their accompanying caregivers completed measures of executive function, attention regulation, coping, anxiety, and depression during scheduled clinic appointments at a tertiary pediatric medical center. RESULTS: Regression analyses revealed significant relations between selective attention abilities and two different approaches to coping with the stressor of abdominal pain episodes. Bootstrapping procedures for mediation provided evidence for the indirect effects of selective attention and attentional control on anxiety through cognitive coping strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Attention regulation may be an important factor that contributes to the variability in outcomes in youth with functional abdominal pain and should be considered when assessing the coping and psychological adjustment of this population.
Case studies: iron

Iron biomarkers were developed to define the size of iron stores and the adequacy of the iron supply required to meet functional needs. Approximately 80% of the iron delivered to tissues through the circulating plasma pool will be incorporated into hemoglobin. Consequently, with the exception of serum ferritin, iron biomarkers are measures of iron sufficiency for erythrocyte production. They have proven to be very valuable in the determination of the cause of anemia in the clinical setting in which additional information about factors that affect the patient's health is available. However, all current biomarkers are affected by factors other than iron status, which limit their utility for the determination of the prevalence of iron deficiency in some populations, particularly in populations who live in developing countries. Furthermore, relations between iron status and functional outcomes such as neonatal and infant mortality; motor, cognitive, and emotional development in infants; and severe morbidity from malaria in young children are inadequately characterized. There is a need to identify and standardize biomarkers that have the highest predictive value for specific functional outcomes in each setting. The most appropriate biomarkers may vary with the setting and be influenced by age, sex, gestational stage of pregnancy, and environmental factors such as repeated or chronic infections. There is also an urgent need for improved technology to permit the use of specific biomarkers in field studies in resource-poor regions. Finally, more research is required to define the potential role of hepcidin and non-transferrin-bound iron assays.
Novel sequence-based method for identifying transcription factor binding sites in prokaryotic genomes

Motivation: Computational techniques for microbial genomic sequence analysis are becoming increasingly important. With next-generation sequencing technology and the human microbiome project underway, current sequencing capacity is significantly greater than the speed at which organisms of interest can be studied experimentally. Most related computational work has been focused on sequence assembly, gene annotation and metabolic network reconstruction. We have developed a method that will primarily use available sequence data in order to determine prokaryotic transcription factor (TF) binding specificities. Results: Specificity determining residues (critical residues) were identified from crystal structures of DNA–protein complexes and TFs with the same critical residues were grouped into specificity classes. The putative binding regions for each class were defined as the set of promoters for each TF itself (autoregulatory) and the immediately upstream and downstream operons. MEME was used to find putative motifs within each separate class. Tests on the LacI and TetR TF families, using RegulonDB annotated sites, showed the sensitivity of prediction 86% and 80%, respectively. Availability: http://ural.wustl.edu/~gsahota/HTHmotif/ Contact: [email protected] Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Characteristic Constants of Single-Phase Induction Motors Part I: Air-Gap Reactances

This paper is the first of 2 papers dealing with the development of equations for determining the characteristic constants of single-phase induction motors. It is intended to present in the complete paper a unified tabulation of formulas consistent in symbols with those used in the paper which I presented at the midwinter convention of the AIEE, New York, January 28-February 1, 1929. This particular section of the paper deals with a rigorous development of the reactances of single-phase motors which result from fluxes crossing the air gap between the stator and rotor.
Models in Private Technology Transfer to Developing Nations

A rather neglected area for ready transfer of technology resides not in the much-vaunted, highly expensive projects requiring large industrial or substantial government involvement, but rather in quite simple people-to-people ventures created by the willingness of small higher technology private companies to explore foreign markets heretofore beyond their historic experience or previous know how.
Biodegradation of Used Engine Oil by Acinetobacter junii TBC 1.2

The isolates have capability to degrade used engine oil was obtained from soil in the beach contaminated with used engine oil. One of the selected isolates TBC 1.2 was identified by its 16s rDNA as Acinetobacter junii. The microorganism can use hydrocarbons in used engine oil as the sole carbon source and energy, also it significantly degraded almost all hydrocarbon compounds in used engine oil. With its ability Acinetobacter junii TBC 1.2 has a potency to be utilized for bioremediation of soil polluted with used engine oil.
Toolbox talks to prevent construction fatalities: Empirical development and evaluation

Abstract Three studies were conducted to develop and evaluate safety toolbox talks about fatal construction incidents. Study 1 surveyed workers ( n = 28) about existing pre-shift meetings. An evidence-based structure for toolbox talks was developed, and study 2 evaluated our selected line drawing illustration format with workers ( n = 30). Study 3 evaluated supervisors’ talks using: (1) new toolbox guides and (2) long-form investigation reports with workers from eight construction crews. In study 1, 25% of the sample reported never conducted safety meetings. In study 2, compared to photos, line drawings increased the distance workers’ could correctly identify hazards by over 1.5 m. In study 3, the new format was preferred by 82% of supervisors, saved them 15 min preparation/presentation time, and produced favorable impacts with workers. Brief scripted toolbox talks made it easier for supervisors to share fatal stories and prevention recommendations with their crews. When the format includes scripted text for the supervisors, prompts for discussion and action items, and line drawings worker understanding can be enhanced.
Malignant Peritoneal Mesothelioma

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM) is an incurable disease. It represents approximately 15% of all mesotheliomas and has a male predominance. It has a known relationship to asbestos, but most patients present with no known history of exposure. Simian virus 40 (SV40) exposure is potentially another risk factor, although the relationship is not entirely supported. Patients usually present with vague symptoms. Diagnosis is usually made on the basis of a CT scan and percutaneous or open biopsy. The disease remains confined to the abdominal cavity until very late in the disease course. Ascites is a frequent sign; morbidity and mortality are usually a consequence of disease progression within the abdominal cavity. Systemic chemotherapy and radiation have not yet been shown to have much influence over the natural history of the disease. In selected patients, surgical cytoreduction with intraoperative hyperfhermic peritoneal chemotherapy is associated with long-term survival. A summary of clinical experience with surgical cytoreduction and intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy for MPM is presented.
Current concepts in neuro-ophthalmology

The North American Neuro-ophthalmology Society (NANOS) holds an annual meeting to update neuro-ophthalmologists, neurologists, ophthalmologists, other clinical scientists, as well as students, residents and fellows on advances in conditions that affect the visual pathways. Each annual meeting educates physicians with clinical pathologic correlations (Frank B Walsh session), symposia on topics of special interest, special lectures and original research, which is presented in platform and poster sessions. This years sessions were extraordinary with the largest attendance in NANOS history – 591 registrants largely from the USA but approximately 20% from 23 other countries.
Ceuthorhynchidius horridus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae): Life Cycle and Development on CarduusThistles in Virginia

Field studies on the development of Ceuthorhynchidius horridus (Panzer) on Carduus thistles in Virginia between 1975–1978 showed that the weevil has one generation annually. Oviposition occurred from mid-Dec, until early Apr., and larvae were found in rosettes from late Dec. (1st instars) through late May (3rd instars). Teneral adults appeared from mid-May through June and were in aestival diapause during most of July, Aug. and Sept. Termination of adult diapause in late Sept. was associated with an increase in feeding punctures. Although adult feeding marks, teneral adults and 1st and 3rd instars were easily found in the field, detection of eggs, 2nd instars, or overwintering adults was difficult and time consuming.
Large-scale sequence and structural comparisons of human naive and antigen-experienced antibody repertoires

Elucidating how antigen exposure and selection shape the human antibody repertoire is fundamental to our understanding of B-cell immunity. We sequenced the paired heavy- and light-chain variable regions (VH and VL, respectively) from large populations of single B cells combined with computational modeling of antibody structures to evaluate sequence and structural features of human antibody repertoires at unprecedented depth. Analysis of a dataset comprising 55,000 antibody clusters from CD19+CD20+CD27− IgM-naive B cells, >120,000 antibody clusters from CD19+CD20+CD27+ antigen–experienced B cells, and >2,000 RosettaAntibody-predicted structural models across three healthy donors led to a number of key findings: (i) VH and VL gene sequences pair in a combinatorial fashion without detectable pairing restrictions at the population level; (ii) certain VH:VL gene pairs were significantly enriched or depleted in the antigen-experienced repertoire relative to the naive repertoire; (iii) antigen selection increased antibody paratope net charge and solvent-accessible surface area; and (iv) public heavy-chain third complementarity-determining region (CDR-H3) antibodies in the antigen-experienced repertoire showed signs of convergent paired light-chain genetic signatures, including shared light-chain third complementarity-determining region (CDR-L3) amino acid sequences and/or Vκ,λ–Jκ,λ genes. The data reported here address several longstanding questions regarding antibody repertoire selection and development and provide a benchmark for future repertoire-scale analyses of antibody responses to vaccination and disease.
Improving Profitability Via Cost Control With The Cost Of Production Performance Package

The Web-based Cost of Production Performance Package ena-bles competing participant teams to improve company profita-bility through cost control. They assess the underlying reasons for any increase in the cost of production for each product with-in their brand portfolio during each decision period. This deci-sion support package (a) extracts and presents industry R&D expenditures on cost of production reduction through process improvement, company market share, company and industry shipments, and company ending inventory and overtime produc-tion in units for each product from the simulation results, and (b) identifies the antecedents of the cost of production for each product. Competing participant teams use this package to exer-cise marketing control. They set cost of production goals, moni-tor performance, identify deviations, understand the underlying reasons, take corrective action and thereby exercise marketing control.
Preoperative assessment of high-risk surgical patients.

This article describes an invasive hemodynamic monitoring method that evaluates actual functional abnormalities in the surgical patient and quantitates them in the preoperative period. The various modalities of re-establishing physiologic equilibrium to an optimal state are discussed as well as an elaboration of risk assessment as applied to subspecialty surgical areas.
Photon Statistics of the Linear Amplifier

The linear light amplifier has recently generated renewed discussion in connection with the question whether it is possible to reproduce or clone an incident photon in an arbitrary quantum state. [l–3] If exact cloning were possible, this would imply a violation of the uncertainty principle, so that some fundamental limitations are imposed on the amplifier. The same limitations prevent light amplifiers, when inserted into one or more arms of an interferometer, from allowing us to determine which path through the interferometer a given photon followed.[4] What prevents precise cloning of a photon is the existence of spontaneous and unpredictable photon emissions in any amplification mechanism,[2,3] so that there is only a stochastic connection between the incoming and outgoing photons. This is the subject of the present article.
John Bryce McLeod. 23 December 1929 — 20 August 2014

J. B. McLeod was a brilliant solver of problems in mathematical analysis, primarily differential equations. He received his FRS in 1992, and the citation reads in part: ‘Distinguished for many significant contributions to applied analysis, particularly to the theory of partial differential equations with applications to practical problems. … By the exemplary precision and power of his publications and his lectures, he has become internationally recognized as the leading British authority on the useful applications of functional analysis.‘ In addition, in 2011 McLeod was awarded the Naylor Prize and Lectureship of the London Mathematical Society ‘in recognition of his important and versatile achievements in the analysis of nonlinear equations arising in applications to mechanics, physics, and biology.’ He collaborated widely, and was a resource for many applied mathematicians who wanted to have a more rigorous foundation for their work. He leaves a hole that will be hard to fill.
Vaccine-preventable disease and the under-utilization of immunizations in complex humanitarian emergencies

Complex humanitarian emergencies affect 40-60 million people annually and are a growing public health concern worldwide. Despite efforts to provide medical and public health services to populations affected by complex emergencies, significant morbidity and mortality persist. Measles is a major communicable disease threat, but through vaccination of broader target age groups beyond the traditional immunization schedule, measles-related mortality has been significantly reduced during crises. Yet, a limited number of vaccine-preventable diseases continue to contribute disproportionately to morbidity and mortality in complex emergencies. The literature suggests that Streptococcus pneumoniae, Rotavirus, and Haemophilus influenzae type-b should be key targets for vaccination programs. Because of the significant contribution of these three pathogens to complex humanitarian emergencies in low and middle-income countries regardless of disaster type, geography, or population, their vaccines should be considered essential components of the standard emergency response effort. We discuss the barriers to vaccine distribution and provide evidence for strategies to improve distribution, including expanded target age-range and reduced dose schedules. Our review includes specific recommendations for the expanded use of these three vaccines in complex emergencies in low and middle-income countries as a way to guide future policy discussions.
Evaluation of an Automated Room Decontamination Device Using Aerosolized Peracetic Acid

Because manual cleaning is often suboptimal, there is increasing interest in use of automated devices for room decontamination. We demonstrated that an ultrasonic room fogging system that generates submicron droplets of peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide eliminated Clostridium difficile spores and vegetative pathogens from exposed carriers in hospital rooms and adjacent bathrooms.
Lung ultrasound profile after cardiopulmonary bypass in paediatric cardiac surgery: first experience in a simple cohort.

Objectives To explore the association between lung ultrasound (LUS) and clinical variables in children undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted in patients weighing <20 kg and with an Aristotle score <9, scanned with LUS on postoperative day (POD) 0, 1 and 2. We defined three LUS profiles: profile A: the prevalence of confluent B lines ("white lung"); profile B: the prevalence of B lines and profile C: the prevalence of A lines (normal lung). Results Median (interquartile range [IRQ]) weight, age and Aristotle score were 5.6 kg [IQR 4.0-6.0], 3.2 months [IQR 3.0-7.0] and 6.75 [IQR 6.0-8.0], respectively. No profile A patients were found. At POD1, we identified statistically significant differences between profile B and C patients: CPB time was 157 [IQR138-235] vs 95 [IQR 85-183] minutes ( P < 0.005); aortic clamp duration was 104 [IQR 87-142] vs 54 [IQR 49-72] minutes ( P = 0.007); time of mechanical ventilation was 41.5 [IQR 31.0-56.0] vs 15 [IQR 15-24] hours ( P < 0.001); and ICU length of stay was 2 [IQR 2-3] vs 4 [IQR 3-4] days ( P = 0.001), respectively. No differences were found between profile B and C patients at all the other time points. No statistically significant differences were found for blood gas values, urine output and fluid balance at all time points. Conclusions In a small cohort of children undergoing CPB, the LUS profile on POD1 was associated with CPB time, aortic cross-clamp time and mechanical ventilation duration.
A new perspective on battery cell balancing: Thermal balancing and relative temperature control

This paper introduces a new perspective on cell balancing (equalization) in a lithium-ion battery pack by proposing the thermal balancing concept of battery cells. Thermal balancing can be achieved by relative temperature control based on either conventional active cell balancing circuits or module-integrated systems. Compared to voltage/state-of-charge (SoC) balancing, relative temperature can be used as the balancing target with several advantages. First, absolute temperature directly affects the lifetime and usable capacity of battery cell. Second, the relative temperature between cells degrades the uniformity of the cells and increase the imbalance in various parameters. Third, temperature usually has a slow dynamic which makes it an ideal control target for low balancing power compared to the high charging/discharging power. Last, thermal balancing control can take over the job of the thermal management system to a certain degree. Therefore the balancing function could be potentially built into the thermal management system. In this paper, two algorithms are developed to achieve thermal balancing: direct relative temperature control and virtual heat sink temperature control. A simple battery system thermal model is developed and the proposed control algorithms are validated.
A method of defuzzification based on the approach of areas' ratio

Abstract The new method of defuzzification of output parameters from the base of fuzzy rules for a Mamdani fuzzy controller is given in the paper. The peculiarity of the method is the usage of the universal equation for the area computation of the geometric shapes. During the realization of fuzzy inference linguistic terms, the structure changes from the triangular into a trapezoidal shape. That is why the universal equation is used. The method is limited and can be used only for the triangular and trapezoidal membership functions. Gaussian functions can also be used while modifying the proposed method. Traditional defuzzification models such as Middle of Maxima − MoM, First of Maxima − FoM, Last of Maxima − LoM, First of Suppport − FoS, Last of Support − LoS, Middle of Support − MoS, Center of Sums − CoS, Model of Height − MoH have a number of systematic errors: curse of dimensionality, partition of unity condition and absence of additivity. The above-mentioned methods can be seen as Center of Gravity − CoG, which has the same errors. These errors lead to the fact that accuracy of fuzzy systems decreases, because during the training root mean square error increases. One of the reasons that provokes the errors is that some of the activated fuzzy rules are excluded from the fuzzy inference. It is also possible to increase the accuracy of the fuzzy system through properties of continuity. The proposed method guarantees fulfilling of the property of continuity, as the intersection point of the adjustment linguistic terms equals 0.5 when a parametrized membership function is used. The causes of errors and a way to delete them are reviewed in the paper. The proposed method excludes errors which are inherent to the traditional and non- traditional models of defuzzification. Comparative analysis of the proposed method of defuzzification with traditional and non-traditional models shows its effectiveness.
Satellite glial cells represent a population of developmentally arrested Schwann cells

Satellite glial cells (SGCs) are glial cells in the peripheral nervous system that form sheaths around the neuronal cell body. This unique arrangement of SGCs allows it to exert a highly regulated control over the neuronal microenvironment. Not much is known about the origin of SGCs. In this study, we examine the development of SGCs. We show that rat SGCs develop postnatally and these cells express a number of markers associated with Schwann cell precursors, in particular cadherin-19 (CDH19) even in adult DRGs. We developed a method for the purification of SGCs and showed that they are transcriptionally and morphologically very similar to adult rat Schwann cells (SCs). Finally, we demonstrate that purified SGCs are capable of myelinating embryonic axons when cocultured with those axons. Based on these observations we hypothesize that SGCs represent a population of cells in the SC lineage, whose further differentiation appears to be arrested through contact with DRG neuronal soma.
Radiobiology of the Skin

This chapter reviews the general effects of ionizing radiation at the cellular level, radiobiological reactions in the skin, and many of the specific changes induced by ionizing radiation in the various cellular components of the skin. The principal features of radioprotection and radiosensitization, as well as some specific agents that induce these efffects, are discussed. The investigative use of proliferative and nonproliferative hair cell populations as biological indicator systems to help elucidate the more universal cellular efffects of radiation alone, or combined with certain pharmacologic, physical, or biological agents, is stressed.
Optical materials micromechanical property database: fracture toughness and ductility

We describe the construction of elements of an optical materials property database. The database reports micromechanical properties (Young's modulus E, hardness H, fracture toughness Kc) for many optical glasses and crystals. Glass manufacturers included are Corning, Hoya, Schott, and Ohara. The materials included are many types of optical glasses and some optical crystals and polycrystals.
Contextualizing Nonprofits’ Use of Links on Twitter During the West African Ebola Virus Epidemic

This study investigates how nonprofit organizations use hyperlinks embedded in tweets for strategic communication during global health crises. Within the 1,494 links included in tweets about Ebola,...
Chapter 6 – Probability: Understanding Random Situations

Our goal in this chapter is to understand uncertain situations, at least to the greatest extent possible. You will learn about probability and uncertainty; here is guide to these concepts. Please interpret a probability number (from 0 to 1) as an exact number indicating how likely an event is to happen (representing the percentage of the time that the event would happen under similar circumstances) so that probability 0.37 represents a 37% chance that the event happens. Probability numbers can come from previous experience (relative frequency as a percentage), from a mathematical statement (theoretical probability), or can be simply made up (subjective probability, yes it is permitted to use someone’s opinion here). New events of interest to you can be defined from other events, so we have the union of two events (that happens if one or the other or both events happen, such as “at least one new product is successful”), the intersection of two events (that happens if both events happen, such as “disk failure and backup failure”), the complement (that happens if an event does not happen). Of special interest to managers is conditional probability that shows how the probability of an event can (and must) change when new information becomes available (think about the probability of success changing when the test marketing campaign was successful). There are specific rules that govern how these new probabilities must be calculated, and one of the best (ie, easiest) ways to apply them is to use a structure: the probability tree (a kind of decision tree) to organize and focus your thoughts in an organized way. There are other methods for visualizing probabilities, and you will also see the Venn Diagram and the Joint Probability Table.
Advances in the application of intraaortic balloon pumping in children

Intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) is one of the short-term circulatory mechanical support technique.This technique can increase the blood flow of the coronary arteries to improve the blood and oxygen supply to myocardium, reduce the cardiac afterload, increase cardiac output.This technique was first used on adult in 1967 and till 1980 doctor Pollock used it on children successfully.After that there were several reports of pediatric patients using IABP, most of them are patients with congenital heart disease who had low cardiac output syndrome postoperatively, others were cardiomyopathy, myocarditis and children waiting for a heart transplant, total survival rate was 25%-100%.For children who can′t wean from cardiopulmonary bypass, bridge to the use of ventricular assist or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and heart transplant, left ventricle failure leads to low cardiac output, IABP can be used to improve cardiac output and reduce mortality.However, with maturing of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and ventricular assist device, whether IABP is the best choice for early cardiac assistance needs to be further studied. Key words: Intraaortic balloon pumping; Children; Low cardiac output syndrome; Heart failure
Latinx political cartooning during the COVID-19 global pandemic: coping and processing via Lalo Alcaraz’s and Eric J. Garcia’s social artivism

This essay explores the way in which the political cartooning of Lalo Alcaraz and Eric J. Garcia uses parody and satire, the stylistic linchpins of the genre, to help their followers process and co...
Management of acromioclavicular joint disease by manual therapy versus corticosteroid injections: the protocol of a non-inferiority study.

Introduction Degenerative acromioclavicular joint pain accounts for about 4% of shoulder pain. Various medical and non-medical treatment strategies are available for acromioclavicular joint disease but it is difficult to conduct a comparative evaluation of these treatments. The few studies dealing with the medical management of the disease have conducted no comparative assessment of drug therapies, physiotherapy, joint manipulation and corticosteroid injections. The primary goal of this study is to determine whether manual therapy is not inferior to ultrasound-guided injection of a corticosteroid preparation to decrease acromiocalvicular joint pain at 3 months. Methods and analysis The acromioclavicular arthropathy managed by manual therapy is a monocentric, comparative, randomised, controlled, non-inferiority study conducted in the Rheumatology Department of Vendee Departmental Hospital, involving two parallel groups receiving either corticosteroid injections or manual therapy. The inclusion criteria are patients who suffer from pain in the shoulder or the proximal part of the arm, with pain located on palpation of the acromioclavicular joint associated with a positive cross-arm test and a positive O’Brien test. Randomisation will be at a 1:1 ratio. The injection group will receive a single ultrasound-guided injection of 1 mL of Diprostene and the manual therapy group will receive between one and three sessions at intervals of one per week. The primary outcome will be to compare the Visual Analogue Scale for pain-activity-related score at 3 months for both groups. Ethics and dissemination The study project has been approved by the appropriate ethics committee (Committee for the Protection of Patients Ouest II in Angers, 30 April 2019, with the registration number of 2019/22). In agreement with current French regulations, signed informed written consent will be obtained from each patient. Results of the main trial and of the secondary endpoints will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Trial registration number NCT03951480.
Phylogeny and time scale of diversification in the fossil-rich sunfishes and black basses (Teleostei: Percomorpha: Centrarchidae).

Abstract Species of the North American freshwater fish lineage Centrarchidae are apex predators in their habitats and are among the world’s most popular sport fishes. Centrarchids boast a rich fossil record that extends from the latest Eocene to the Pleistocene. To investigate the phylogeny and timing of diversification of Centrarchidae, we deploy a dataset of DNA sequences of 16 nuclear genes sampled from nearly all of the recognized and undescribed species. We also utilize previously published morphological datasets to assess the phylogenetic placement of one of the oldest known centrarchid fossils, †Plioplarchus whitei. A Bayesian multispecies coalescent species tree analysis provides insight on relationships that evaded resolution in earlier studies, such as the relationships of Acantharchus pomotis, the resolution of a clade consisting of species previously synonymized under the Spotted Bass, Micropterus punctulatus, and a clade of recently described species previously considered populations of the Redeye Bass, Micropterus coosae. This new molecular phylogeny and the inclusion of †P. whitei and other centrarchid fossils in the tip-dated fossilized birth–death analysis results in a new hypothesis of the timing of diversification in Centrarchidae that contextualizes the ages of centrarchid fossils to the timing of speciation among the extant species. In addition to providing new temporal perspectives on the diversification of freshwater fishes in North America, this study may close of the chapter of centrarchid phylogeny inferred using Sanger-sequenced genes, as the use of genomic-scale datasets becomes mainstream in the phylogenetics of fishes.
SNCs meet SMCs in the atherosclerotic plaque

Cellular senescence and smooth muscle cells are key features of the atherosclerotic plaque; however, how senescent cells regulate smooth muscle cells is largely unknown. Herein, a new study in Nature Aging illuminates this interplay, providing insights into plaque dynamics and stability with potentially profound implications for heart attack and stroke.
Comparative Risk: Dread and Unknown Characteristics of the COVID-19 Pandemic Versus COVID-19 Vaccines

This research characterizes risk perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 vaccines based on the dread and unknown dimensions of the psychometric paradigm. We examine if mental risk comparisons of these two risk objects influence risk mitigation behaviors (vaccination intention; vaccine acceptance; preventive behaviors) and emotional responses among unvaccinated and vaccinated Americans. A survey (N = 1532) was conducted based on a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults in May 2021. Results reveal considerable impact of risk comparison, especially along the dread dimension, on the outcomes of interest. In essence, this research reveals critical insights regarding vaccine hesitancy and risk communication about vaccination.
Potassium Iodide (KI)

Publisher Summary Potassium iodide (KI) offers a wide range of transparency, from the ultraviolet to the far infrared. It is a soft material that is easily scratched, and is highly hygroscopic. It has flexure strength less than that of KBr. KI is a cubic crystal with the sodium-chloride structure, space group Fm3m, with four formula units per unit cell. The atomic arrangement is potassium atoms that occupy the 4(a) sites and the iodine atoms that occupy the 4(b) sites. Ultraviolet reflectance of bulk KI is measured from 12 to 27 eV at the room temperature. Kramers-Kronig analysis essentially yields the optical constants in this spectral range. A Hilbert transform of the imaginary part of the permittivity is also numerically computed to obtain the real part. The result is checked against the measured reflectance for validation. Thus, knowing the permittivity, the optical constants are obtained. The multiphonon absorption (multiple-quanta lattice vibrations) edge marks the end of infrared transparency.
SU-E-T-659: Quantitative Evaluation of Patient Setup Accuracy of Stereotactic Radiotherapy with the Frameless 6D-ExacTrac System Using Statistical Modeling

Purpose: To evaluate patient setup accuracy and quantify individual and cumulative positioning uncertainties associated with different hardware and software components of the stereotactic radiotherapy (SRS/SRT) with the frameless-6D-ExacTrac system. Methods: A statistical model was used to evaluate positioning uncertainties of the different components of SRS/SRT treatment with the BrainLAB 6D-ExacTrac system using the positioning shifts of 35 patients having cranial lesions (49 total lesions treated in 1, 3, 5 fractions). All these patients were immobilized with rigid head-and-neck masks, simulated with BrainLAB-localizer and planned with iPlan treatment planning system. Infrared imaging (IR) was used initially to setup patients. Then, stereoscopic x-ray images (XC) were acquired and registered to corresponding digitally-reconstructed-radiographs using bony-anatomy matching to calculate 6D-translational and rotational shifts. When the shifts were within tolerance (0.7mm and 1°), treatment was initiated. Otherwise corrections were applied and additional x-rays were acquired (XV) to verify that patient position was within tolerance. Results: The uncertainties from the mask, localizer, IR-frame, x-ray imaging, MV and kV isocentricity were quantified individually. Mask uncertainty (Translational: Lateral, Longitudinal, Vertical; Rotational: Pitch, Roll, Yaw) was the largest and varied with patients in the range (−1.05−1.50mm, −5.06–3.57mm, −5.51−3.49mm; −1.40−2.40°, −1.24−1.74°, and −2.43−1.90°) obtained from mean of XC shifts for each patient. Setup uncertainty in IR positioning (0.88,2.12,1.40mm, and 0.64,0.83,0.96°) was extracted from standard-deviation of XC. Systematic uncertainties of the localizer (−0.03,−0.01,0.03mm, and −0.03,0.00,−0.01°) and frame (0.18,0.25,−1.27mm,−0.32,0.18, and 0.47°) were extracted from means of all XV setups and mean of all XC distributions, respectively. Uncertainties in isocentricity of the MV radiotherapy machine were (0.27,0.24,0.34mm) and kV-imager (0.15,−0.4,0.21mm). Conclusion: A statistical model was developed to evaluate the individual and cumulative systematic and random uncertainties induced by the different hardware and software components of the 6D-ExacTrac-system. The immobilization mask was associated with the largest positioning uncertainty.
Integrated Interventional Devices For Real Time 3D Ultrasound Imaging and Therapy

Two recent advances have expanded the potential of medical ultrasound: the introduction of real‐time 3‐D ultrasound imaging with catheter, transesophageal and laparoscopic probes and the development of interventional ultrasound therapeutic systems for focused ultrasound surgery, ablation and ultrasound enhanced drug delivery. This work describes devices combining both technologies. A series of transducer probes have been designed, fabricated and tested including: 1) a 12 French side scanning catheter incorporating a 64 element matrix array for imaging at 5MHz and a piston ablation transducer operating at 10 MHz. 2) a 14 Fr forward‐scanning catheter integrating a 112 element 2‐D array for imaging at 5 MHz encircled by an ablation annulus operating at 10 MHz. Finite element modeling was then used to simulate catheter annular and linear phased array transducers for ablation. 3) Linear phased array transducers were built to confirm the finite element analysis at 4 and 8 MHz including a mechanically focused 86...
Human Estimates of Randomly Perturbed Functional Values

The ability to estimate values of a function of 2 independent variables was studied. Numbers in a matrix were first estimated on the basis of past observations; then different subjects estimated the heights of rods which were to occupy positions in the same matrix. In each condition subjects were given feedback information which deviated from the true functional values becuase of “noise” or random error in the abservations. The visual effect of the rods presentation enhanced estimation performance only at the highest noise levels and then only to a small degree. Subjects showed a decreasing but persistent ability to estimate, and this was linearly related to the standard deviation of the perturbing noise. The variance of subjects' guesses generally increased with the variance of the perturbed inputs. Subjects' behaviors were compared with that of a simple scanning and average-taking estimator.
Modeling and Solving Scheduling Problems in Practice

In Parts I and II a number of stylized and (supposedly) elegant mathematical models are discussed in detail. The deterministic models have led to a number of simple priority rules as well as to many algorithmic techniques and heuristic procedures. The stochastic models have provided some insight into the robustness of the priority rules. The results for the stochastic models have led to the conclusion that the more randomness there is in a system, the less advisable it is to use very sophisticated optimization techniques. Or, equivalently, the more randomness the system is subject to, the simpler the scheduling rules ought to be.
Ignore the Man behind the Curtain: On the Government Speech Doctrine and What It Licenses

While federal and state governments have long been communicating to various audiences in multiple ways in a variety of contexts, the United States Supreme Court has only recently invoked the government speech doctrine to protect certain state acts and policies from First Amendment challenge. The contours of the doctrine are rather fuzzy — there are no clear criteria by which to determine when the government is speaking or what, if anything, the government must be saying in order for the doctrine’s protections to be invoked. This lack of clarity has caused great confusion in the lower courts — judges seem not to know how or when the doctrine should be applied. This article discusses the government speech doctrine and its application, concluding that the Court seems to have created yet another open-ended exception in First Amendment jurisprudence that has the potential to greatly eviscerate the First Amendment protections that are allegedly held quite dear.
Domain-specific ontology merging for the semantic Web

Natural language understanding is needed to intelligently handle the large volumes of information that are processed by computers. Most of the data handled by computers is text; the data exists in emails, on Web pages, and in databases. The data is semi-structured; it is not rigorously, unambiguously organized, and constrained. Ontologies may help with analyzing and understanding text. Ontologies provide a capability to represent objects, concepts and other entities and the relationships between them. Ontologies may be used as a tool for finding possible meanings of words in text, and meanings of text in general. We need to be able to merge ontologies from different, sometimes unrelated, sources. Ontologies may be inconsistent, incomplete or imprecise. We consider how to potentially merge two domain-specific ontologies. We assume that both ontologies contain concepts and instances, and both ontologies are large. We suggest to use the information available on the Web using search engines, as well as other methods, such as lexical, semantic and heuristics, to merge two ontologies.
Optimal control of the risk process in a regime-switching environment

This paper is concerned with cost optimization of an insurance company. The surplus of the insurance company is modeled by a controlled regime-switching diffusion, in which the regime-switching mechanism provides the fluctuations of the random environment. The goal is to find an optimal control that minimizes the total cost up to a stochastic exit time. A weaker sufficient condition than that of Fleming and Soner (2006, Section V.2) for the continuity of the value function is obtained. Further, the value function is shown to be a viscosity solution of a Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation.
Linear dissipative systems, nonnegative definite distributional kernels, and the boundary values of bounded-real and positive-real matrices☆

Abstract Let the operator 5 describe a linear causal system. Then, roughly, the system is dissipative if it satisfies the scattering condition I − SS ∗ ⩾ 0 [relation (4.2)] or the immittance condition S + S ∗ ⩾ 0 [relation (4.1)]. In either case, the resulting kernel is a real, tempered, and causal matrix distribution. More specifically, s belongs to D ′L2 ∩ D ′+ ⊗ L in one case and w ϵ D ′L∞ ∩ D ′+ ⊗ L in the other. The passivity of the system is reflected in the respective positivity statements that 1δ − s ∗ ≈sT (the kernel of 1 − SS ∗ ) or w + wT (the kernel of S + S ∗ ) are positive in the sense of Bochner. The Laplace transform of the kernel exists and dissipativity shows that either the scattering matrix S(p) is bounded-real or that the immittance matrix W(p) is positive-real. Conversely, every bounded-real or positive-real matrix is the scatterings or immittance matrix of a dissipative system. In the frequency domain, these conditions translate into the assertion that either 1 − S(ω) S (ω) T is a.e. nonnegative definite (equivalently, ∥S(ω)∥ ⩽ 1 a.e.), or that W ω + W ω T defines a positive matrix valued measure. In the lossless case, we must have S(ω) be a.e. unitary. We saw that S(p), W(p) ϵ H+ and have S′ boundary values, component by component. The real and imaginary parts of these boundary values satisfy precise dispersion relations.
Effect of sugars on the solubility of hydrophobic solutes in water

It was found that the cosolvent effect of sugars on the solubilities of n-octanol, n-heptanol, and sodium dodecyl sulfate monomer in water depended on a set of factors that included molecular weight and concentration ofthe sugars, the kind of monosaccharides, the type of glycosidic linkages involved, and the temperature. All hexoses examined, D-glucose, D-galactose, and D-mannose, caused solubility depression of the hydrophobic solutes at low concentrations but to widely different extents. As the molecular weight of the sugar increased, the solubility depression was considerably lessened and further, as the concentration of the sugars increased, the solubility-increasing effect predominated leading to increased solubilities of the hydrophobic solutes relative of their solubility in pure water. The solubility-increasing effect was markedly enhanced at high temperatures. The free energy of the spontaneous transfer of octanol from water to the sugar solutions is entropic in nature and is attributed primarily to hydrophobic bond formation between the solute molecule and the hydrophobic surfaces of the sugar molecules.
Reasoning about the realities on television: A developmental study

Children's reality‐fantasy judgments about television shift, with age, from a focus on physical features and a rigid assessment of actuality, to a sensitivity to the plausibility of characters and plotline and an appreciation of authorial intent.
Deformation in metals after low-temperature irradiation: Part II – Irradiation hardening, strain hardening, and stress ratios

Effects of irradiation at temperatures ⩽200 °C on tensile stress parameters are analyzed for dozens of body-centered cubic (bcc), face-centered cubic (fcc), and hexagonal close packed (hcp) pure metals and alloys, focusing on irradiation hardening, strain hardening, and relationships between the true stress parameters. Similar irradiation-hardening rates are observed for all the metals irrespective of crystal type. Typically, irradiation-hardening rates are large, in the range 100–1000 GPa/dpa, at the lowest dose of <0.0001 dpa and decrease with dose to a few tens of MPa/dpa or less at about 10 dpa. However, average irradiation-hardening rates over the dose range of 0 dpa−DC (the dose to plastic instability at yield) are considerably lower for stainless steels due to their high uniform ductility. It is shown that whereas low-temperature irradiation increases the yield stress, it does not significantly change the strain-hardening rate of metallic materials; it decreases the fracture stress only when non-ductile failure occurs. Such dose independence in strain-hardening behavior results in strong linear relationships between the true stress parameters. Average ratios of plastic instability stress to unirradiated yield stress are about 1.4, 3.9, and 1.3 for bcc metals (and precipitation hardened IN718 alloy), annealed fcc metals (and pure Zr), and Zr-4 alloy, respectively. Ratios of fracture stress to plastic instability stress are calculated to be 2.2, 1.7, and 2.1, respectively. Comparison of these values confirms that the annealed fcc metals and other soft metals have larger uniform ductility but smaller necking ductility when compared to other materials.