cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exposure of Potato Tuber to Varying Concentrations of 1,4-Dimethylnaphthalene Decrease the Expression of Transcripts for Plastid Proteins

Application of the compound 1,4-dimethylnaphthalene (DMN) has been found to reduce premature sprouting in stored potato tubers. The mechanism of action for DMN has yet to be elucidated but transcriptional changes are known to occur following exposure. In this study non-dormant potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum L., cv. Russet Burbank) were treated with varying amounts of DMN resulting in an increasing residue on the tuber surface. RNA sequencing was used to measure transcriptome changes in excised meristems from tubers having increasing DMN exposure. Treatment of tubers with DMN that resulted in surface residue levels greater than 2 ppm was associated with a decrease in 45 transcripts that encoded for proteins linked with plastid development and function and an increase in the expression of 15 transcripts that encoded for WRKY-type transcription factors. qt-PCR analysis showed that repression of plastid transcripts appeared to recover 7 days after DMN exposure but induction of WRKY transcripts was maintained up to 35 days post treatment. The data suggests DMN may inhibit plastid development short term but also results in long-term changes in some regions of the transcriptome.
Detection of cytomegalovirus antibody by immune adherence hemagglutination.

SummaryThe principle of complement-mediated immune adherence was applied to development of an immune adherence he-magglutination (IAHA) assay for antibody to cytomegalovirus (anti-CMV). Compared to complement fixation (CF), IAHA was two to eight times more sensitive for the detection of anti-CMV. In paired serum samples from multiply transfused patients, the concordance between rises in anti-CMV titers detected by CF and IAHA was 0.671 (P < 0.001). Convalescent titers measured by IAHA were significantly higher than those determined by CF in serum pairs in which anti-CMV rises were demonstrated by both techniques, and IAHA more commonly revealed anti-CMV in pretransfusion serum samples. No difference was noted between the kinetics of CF and IAHA antibody development after transfusion. Immune adherence hemagglutination, we conclude, is an efficient, sensitive alternative to CF for the detection of anti-CMV.The authors thank Mrs. Virginia L. Frye for preparing the typescript, and Dr. David W. Ailing for assi...
Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Erosion Accelerates in the Recession:

From 2000 to 2009, the share of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) fell 9.4 percentage points. Although the economy was already in a recession in 2008, it continued to dramatically deteriorate in 2009. From 2008 to 2009, the unemployment rate rose 3.5 percentage points, the largest one-year increase on record. As most Americans under age 65 rely on health insurance obtained through the workplace, it is no surprise that ESI fell sharply from 2008 to 2009 at a rate three times as high as in the first year of the recession. Over the 2000s, no demographic or socioeconomic group has been spared from the erosion of job-based insurance. Both genders and people of all ages, races, education, and income levels have suffered declines in coverage. Workers across the wage distribution, in small and large firms alike, and even those working full-time and in white-collar jobs have experienced losses. Along with sharp declines in ESI, the share of those under age 65 without any insurance increased 3.3 percentage points from 2000 to 2009. Increasing public insurance coverage, particularly among children, is the only reason the uninsured rate did not rise one-for-one with losses in ESI.
Analysis-form sparse phase retrieval using variable-splitting

Analysis-form sparsity, like total variation regularization, is incorporated into a variable splitting framework for the phase retrieval image reconstruction problem. This framework effectively applies variable splitting and the alternating direction method of multipliers to recover the Fourier transform coefficients of an image that are consistent with the squared-magnitude measurements of those Fourier coefficients and have a compressible or sparse isotropic total variation image-domain transform representation. The robustness to additive noise and outliers is demonstrated on a moderately sized Shepp-Logan phantom image showing good quality reconstructions for 60 dB additive white Gaussian noise and anywhere from zero to 1% (41) outliers.
Analysis of bacterial spectrum and drug resistance of foodborne pathogens in commercial food in Taizhou

Objective: To grasp the pollution situation and the antibiotic resistance of common food-borne pathogens in food in Taizhou market,so as to provide scientific grounds for prevention and control of food-origin disease and clinical medication.Methods: Various kinds of food samples collected from the market were subject to isolation culture experiments for food-borne pathogens, biochemical and serotyping identification as well as drug sensitive tests.And the final experiment results were judged according to the standards from CLSI(Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute).Results: Among the total 533 food samples,the detection rates of Salmonella were 6.59%(33 strains),Listeria monocytogenes were 11.63%(50 strains),Vibrio parahemolyticus were 28.30%(17 strains),Staphylococcus aureus were 18.12%(27 strains),with the other genus of germ non-detected.The results showed that the isolated Salmonella,Vibrio parahemolyticus and Staphylococcus aureus were resistant to common used antibiotics. However,the Listeria monocytogenes were proved to be relatively sensitive to common antibiotics,but still resistant to ampicillin,nalidixic acid and tetracycline.Conclusion: Contamination of food-origin pathogens existed in food market,including Listeria monocytogenes,Salmonella,Vibrio parahemolyticus,Staphylococcus aureus and Vibrio parahemolyticus,and the food-origin pathogens were drug resistant to antibiotics in general.
Proof without Words: Squares of Triangular Numbers

(1990). Proof without Words: Squares of Triangular Numbers. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 63, No. 3, pp. 178-178.
SU-F-T-480: Evaluation of the Role of Varian Machine Performance Check (MPC) in Our Daily QA Routine

Purpose: (A) To assess the role of Varian MPC in our daily QA routine, and (B) evaluate the accuracy and precision of MPC. Methods: The MPC was performed weekly, for five months, on a Varian TrueBeam for five photon (6x, 10x, 15x, 6xFFF, and 10xFFF) and electron (6e, 9e, 12e, 16e, and 20e) energies. Output results were compared to those determined with an ionization chamber (TN30001, PTW-Freiburg) in plastic and a daily check device (DQA3, Sun Nuclear). Consistency of the Mechanical measurements over five months was analyzed and compared to monthly IsoCal results. Results: The MPC randomly showed large deviations (3–7%) that disappeared upon reacquisition. The MPC output closely matched monthly ion chamber and DQA3 measurements. The maximum and mean absolute difference between monthly and MPC was 1.18% and 0.28±0.21% for all energies. The maximum and mean absolute difference between DQA3 and MPC was 3.26% and 0.85±0.61%. The results suggest the MPC is comparable to the DQA3 for measuring output. The DQA3 provides wedge output, flatness, symmetry, and energy constancy checks, which are missing from the current implementation of the MPC. However, the MPC provides additional mechanical tests, such as size of the radiation isocenter (0.33±0.02 mm) and its coincidence with MV and kV isocenters (0.17±0.05 and 0.21±0.03 mm). It also provides positional accuracy of individual jaws (maximum σ, 0.33mm), all the MLC leaves (0.08mm), gantry (0.05°) and collimator (0.13°) rotation angles, and couch positioning (0.11mm) accuracy. MPC mechanical tests could replace our current daily on-board imaging QA routine and provide some additional QA not currently performed. Conclusion: MPC has the potential to be a valuable tool that facilitates reliable daily QA including many mechanical tests that are not currently performed. This system can add to our daily QA, but further development would be needed to fully replace our current Daily QA device.
Planning for Symbiotic Action: (Doctoral Consortium)

The field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become extremely prominent in recent times, with the integration of different intelligent components into devices and services we use in everyday life. As the capabilities of such systems become more and more complex, one branch of AI that becomes relevant is that of automated planning or sequential decision making, in order for these components to participate in diverse long term tasks. A key aspect of such systems is increased interaction with humans.Challenges in Human-in-the-Loop Planning (HILP). Classical planning has traditionally emphasized on the efficiency or accuracy of the plan generation process. However, in real world applications, especially involving humans, planners must deal with typical challenges including uncertainty and partial knowledge, and issues involving priorities and authority. Technologies that become crucial in this context involve abilities to dynamically predict, anticipate and adapt to changing needs while making task plans. My research focuses on such aspects of "human-in-the-loop planning".Modalities of HILP - My Research Focus. I have looked at two specific ways in which automated planners may interact with humans. First I will describe how planners can enable different types of autonomous behavior of robots sharing their workspace with humans - i.e. interacting with human colleagues. Then I will look at possible roles of automated planners in platforms that involve collaboration with or among human planners. The aim of my thesis is to provide planning technologies for and motivate well-informed and principled design of complex symbiotic man-machine systems of the future.
Design and Validation for FPGA Trust under Hardware Trojan Attacks

Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are being increasingly used in a wide range of critical applications, including industrial, automotive, medical, and military systems. Since FPGA vendors are typically fabless, it is more economical to outsource device production to off-shore facilities. This introduces many opportunities for the insertion of malicious alterations of FPGA devices in the foundry, referred to as hardware Trojan attacks, that can cause logical and physical malfunctions during field operation. The vulnerability of these devices to hardware attacks raises serious security concerns regarding hardware and design assurance. In this paper, we present a taxonomy of FPGA-specific hardware Trojan attacks based on activation and payload characteristics along with Trojan models that can be inserted by an attacker. We also present an efficient Trojan detection method for FPGA based on a combined approach of logic-testing and side-channel analysis. Finally, we propose a novel design approach, referred to as Adapted Triple Modular Redundancy (ATMR), to reliably protect against Trojan circuits of varying forms in FPGA devices. We compare ATMR with the conventional TMR approach. The results demonstrate the advantages of ATMR over TMR with respect to power overhead, while maintaining the same or higher level of security and performances as TMR. Further improvement in overhead associated with ATMR is achieved by exploiting reconfiguration and time-sharing of resources.
Some QED Vacuum Effects

[My father] said, “I understand that they say that light is emitted from an atom when it goes from one state to another, from an excited state to a state of lower energy.”
Nicotine Delivery and Vaping Behavior During ad Libitum E-cigarette Access.

Author(s): St Helen, Gideon; Ross, Kathryn C; Dempsey, Delia A; Havel, Christopher M; Jacob, Peyton; Benowitz, Neal L | Abstract: ObjectiveTo characterize vaping behavior and nicotine intake during ad libitum e-cigarette access.MethodsThirteen adult e-cigarette users had 90 minutes of videotaped ad libitum access to their usual e-cigarette. Plasma nicotine was measured before and every 15 minutes after the first puff; subjective effects were measured before and after the session.ResultsAverage puff duration and interpuff interval were 3.5±1.4 seconds (±SD) and 118±141 seconds, respectively. 12% of puffs were unclustered puffs while 43%, 28%, and 17% were clustered in groups of 2-5, 6-10, and g10 puffs, respectively. On average, 4.0±3.3 mg of nicotine was inhaled; the maximum plasma nicotine concentration (Cmax) was 12.8±8.5 ng/mL. Among the 8 tank users, number of puffs was positively correlated with amount of nicotine inhaled, Cmax, and area under the plasma nicotine concentration-time curve (AUC0→90min) while interpuff interval was negatively correlated with Cmax and AUC0→90.ConclusionVaping patterns differ from cigarette smoking. Plasma nicotine levels were consistent with intermittent dosing of nicotine from e-cigarettes compared to the more bolus dosing from cigarettes. Differences in delivery patterns and peak levels of nicotine achieved could influence the addictiveness of e-cigarettes compared to conventional cigarettes.
Implementing K-12 Hypermediated Earth System Science Activities Based on World-Wide-Web Resources

Gigabytes of earth-science digital images and database information sources are readily accessible by K-12 teachers through the Internet and the World Wide Web. These resources are only limited by the modifications necessary for immediate classroom use. Advances in user-friendly hypermedia software, increased accessibility to computers, and the WWW as an instructional tool for earth system science education provide a mechanism for implementing user-friendly classroom lessons, laboratories, and units based on easily downloadable data, current images, supercomputer models, seismic networks, and radiosondes. Three models proposed for materials development that are grounded in constructivist instructional theories are the Learning-Cycle Model, Investigation/Experimentation Model, and a Role-Playing Model. Educational research is still needed in the areas of efficacy of these models for hypermediated instruction. Hypermediated assessment strategies are available but are currently undergoing rigorous development...
An updated taxonomy of writing in computer science education: faculty poster

Analyses of the computing education literature reported by Hoffman et al [4] and Dugan and Polanski [1] agree on a taxonomy of writing in Computer Science education where writing can be categorized as Writing to Learn, Academic, or Professional. Writing to Learn (WTL) writing is used to develop or reflect on understanding that is informal and frequently ungraded. Examples of WTL writing include reading response questions or short informal explanations. Academic writing is used to demonstrate knowledge that is formal and typically graded. Examples of academic writing include article summaries, research papers (e.g., CS pioneer biography), and formal explanations. Professional writing is used to apply knowledge in a professional context that is formal and typically graded. Examples of professional writing include technical papers and software development documents.
Endothelial Cell Injury of Carmustine (BCNU) in Hepatic Sinusoids: Contribution of Oxidation and Immune Reaction.

Background: Carmustine (BCNU) is used for the treatment of brain tumors and is included in conditioning regimens of stem cell transplantation. It has been long believed that BCNU causes hepatotoxicity by inducing pericholangitis and intrahepatic cholestasis leading to biliary cirrhosis. Either hepatocytes or biliary ductal cells have been thought to be the target in BCNU-induced liver toxicity. However, the mechanisms operational at cell level have not been well elucidated. Possible explanations include glutathione depletion in cells, DNA damage accompanied by cellular oxidative stress and/or acceleration of apoptosis. It has been shown that BCNU treatment inhibits hepatic glutathione reductase activity in rats. Recently, a two-step process involving free radical formation and immune reaction has been proposed as a mechanism of BCNU-induced alveolar epithelial cell damage by our group (Savasan S, Ozdemir O, Buck S, et al., 95th annual meeting of the AACR, Orlando, March 27–31, 2004. Abstract#: 1133, 2004). In this study, we have investigated BCNU effect on human liver sinusoid endothelial cells (HLS-EC) in vitro. Material and Methods: Cytotoxicity in HLS-EC was measured by flow cytometric detection of annexin V/PI-positive cells, DiOC6(3) /PI staining, further quantification of fluorosphere-adjusted events and trypan blue exclusion test in repeated experiments. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured by flow cytometric DCF staining. Lymphokine activated killer (LAK) cell-mediated cytotoxicity against BCNU-treated and untreated HLS-EC was measured by flow cytometric cell mediated cytotoxicity assay. The influence ROS-scavenging compound butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and anti-inflammatory dexamethasone (DXM) on BCNU treatment was also studied. Results: Severe HLS-EC damage occurred following BCNU treatment shown by four different cytotoxicity methods. This effect was associated with oxidative stress demonstrated by significant increase in DCF staining. Although pre-treatment of cells with DXM did not affect BCNU cytotoxicity, BHA suppressed BCNU cytotoxicity by 25% (p < 0.05). BCNU treatment also resulted in increased LAK cell-mediated elimination of HLS-EC (65%) compared to untreated cells (16%). Similar to its effect on direct BCNU cytotoxicity, BHA prevented BCNU treated HLS-EC killing by LAK cells by 25%. However, DXM did not influence LAK cell-mediated killing of BCNU-treated HLS-EC cells. These results suggest that both ROS generation and immune reaction against perturbed endothelial cells play a central role in BCNU-associated HLS-EC injury. In contrary to our findings on human alveolar epithelial cells, BHA ameliorated BCNU-induced direct and immune-mediated cytotoxicity on HLS-EC, but not DXM. Conclusion: Reactive oxygen species scavenging may be useful in prevention of liver toxicity of BCNU.
‘La doble condición’: landmine victims, forced displacement, and disability in Colombia’s Magdalena Medio

AbstractThe small body of scholarship that examines the intersection between forced displacement and physical disability draws important attention to the material difficulties simultaneously disabled and displaced people experience. Instead of focusing on disability as a condition lived against the spatial backdrop of forced displacement, this paper approaches disability and displacement as mutually referential spatial conditions. Based on fieldwork with internally displaced landmine victims in Colombia’s Magdalena Medio region, this research highlights how the intersection between physical impairment and forced displacement produces both disabling spatial imaginaries of fear as well as painfully embodied rhythms of daily life. Nonetheless, this paper draws attention to urban agricultural projects’ enabling potential to produce grounding rhythms of labor for landmine victims. Finally, this paper suggests that contexts of forced displacement require close consideration of spatial imaginaries of fear as wel...
Athletic ticket pricing in the collegiate environment: an agenda for research.

As pressure mounts for intercollegiate athletic departments to be more selfsufficient, administrators must respond by increasing generated revenues. Despite the importance of ticket sales in this endeavor, however, little is known about the underlying ticket pricing structures and policies used by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) institutions. Of the limited existing scholarship focused on managerial pricing decisions in the field of sport management, only professional sports settings have been addressed. Given the unique operational differences between professional and intercollegiate sport, this paper is designed to establish a foundation from which to build future research concerning the pricing of college sport tickets. The frameworks of stakeholder theory and institutional theory are proposed to ground future study in an attempt to strengthen our understanding of the process and behavior of price setting in intercollegiate athletics.
P 4 : Phase-based power/performance prediction of heterogeneous systems via neural networks

The emergence of Internet of Things increases the complexity and the heterogeneity of computing platforms. Migrating workload between various platforms is one way to improve both energy efficiency and performance. Effective migration decisions require accurate estimates of its costs and benefits. To date, these estimates were done by either instrumenting the source code/binaries, thus causing high overhead, or by using power estimates from hardware performance counters, which work well for individual machines, but until now have not been accurate for predicting across different architectures. In this paper, we propose P4, a new Phase-based Power and Performance Prediction framework which identifies cross-platform application power and performance at runtime for heterogeneous computing systems. P4 analyzes and detects machine-independent application phases by characterizing computing platforms offline with a set of benchmarks, and then builds neural network-based models to automatically identify and generalize the complex cross-platform relationships for each benchmark phase. It then leverages these models along with performance counter measurements collected at runtime to estimate performance and power consumption if it were running on a completely different computing platform, including a different CPU architecture, without ever having to run it on there. We evaluate the proposed framework on four commercial heterogeneous platforms, ranging from X86 servers to mobile ARM-based architecture, with 129 industry-standard benchmarks. Our experimental results show that P4 can predict the power and performance changes with only 6.8% and 5.6% error, respectively, even for completely different architectures from the ones applications ran on.
Leptin receptor q223r polymorphism influences neutrophil mobilization after Clostridium difficile infection.

Clostridium difficile is the leading cause of nosocomial infections in the United States. Clinical disease outcomes after C. difficile infection (CDI) are dependent on intensity of host inflammatory responses. Specifically, peak peripheral white blood cell (WBC) count >20 × 109 l−1 is an indicator of adverse outcomes in CDI patients, and is associated with higher 30-day mortality. We show that homozygosity for a common single nucleotide polymorphism (Q to R mutation in leptin receptor that is present in up to 50% of people), significantly increases the risk of having peak peripheral WBC count >20 × 109 l−1 (odds ratio=5.41; P=0.0023) in CDI patients. In a murine model of CDI, we demonstrate that mice homozygous for the same single nucleotide polymorphism (RR mice) have more blood and tissue leukocytes (specifically neutrophils), exaggerated tissue inflammation, and higher mortality as compared with control mice, despite similar pathogen burden. Further, we show that neutrophilia in RR mice is mediated by gut microbiota-directed expression of CXC chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2), which promotes the release of neutrophils from bone marrow reservoir. Overall these studies provide novel mechanistic insights into the role of human genetic polymorphisms and gut microbiota in regulating the fundamental biological process of CDI-induced neutrophilia.
Racial/ethnic differences in the prognostic utility of left ventricular mass index for incident cardiovascular disease.

Background Evidence exists for racial/ethnic differences in left ventricular mass index (LVMI). How this translates to future cardiovascular disease (CVD) events is unknown. Hypothesis The impact of racial/ethnic differences in LVMI on incident cardiovascular outcomes could have potential implications for the optimization of risk stratification strategies. Methods Using the prospectively collected database of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) involving 4 racial/ethnic groups (non-Hispanic Whites, Chinese, Blacks, and Hispanics) free of CVD at baseline, we assessed for racial/ethnic differences in the relationship between LVMI and incident CVD using a Cox model. Results 5004 participants (mean age, 62 ± 10 years; 48% male) were included in this study. After an average follow-up of 10.2 years, 369 (7.4%) CVD events occurred. Significant racial/ethnic differences existed in the relationship between LVMI and incident CVD (P for interaction = 0.04). Notably, the relationship was strongest for Chinese (HR per 10-unit increase in LVMI: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.1-2.8) and Hispanics (HR per 10-unit increase in LVMI: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.5-2.2). Non-Hispanic Whites demonstrated the lowest relationship (HR: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1-1.5). LVMI values of 36.9 g/m2.7 , 31.8 g/m2.7 , 39.9 g/m2.7 , and 41.7 g/m2.7 were identified as optimal cutpoints for defining left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) for non-Hispanic Whites, Chinese, Blacks, and Hispanics, respectively. In secondary analysis of LVH (vs no LVH) using these optimal cutpoints, we found a similar pattern of association as above (P for interaction = 0.04). For example, compared with those without LVH, Chinese with LVH had HR: 5.3, 95% CI: 1.6-17, whereas non-Hispanic Whites with LVH had HR: 1.6, 95% CI: 1.2-2.1 for CVD events. Conclusions Among 4 races/ethnicities studied, LVMI has more prognostic utility predicting future CVD events for Chinese and Hispanics and is least significant for non-Hispanic Whites.
Temporal Inconsistency and the Regulation of Corporate Misconduct

This is a comment written for the Virginia Journal of Criminal Law responding to Professor Manuel Utset’s work on temporal inconsistency and its application to corporate misconduct. Over the years, Professor Utset has done us a great service by highlighting and explaining the hyperbolic discounting literature, and using it to better understand corporate failures and the laws and regulations that lawmakers have enacted in response to those failures. In this Comment, I suggest three related choices that lawmakers and regulators must confront as they attempt to incorporate temporal inconsistency into their regulatory agenda. The first choice is between sanctions and enforcement measures. The second choice is between ex post sanction-based enforcement and a more structural, ex ante type of intervention. And the third choice is between public regulation and private ordering. None of these choices are particularly easy, and all three are somewhat interconnected. They thus demonstrate just how tricky it is for lawmakers and policymakers to tackle the problem of temporal inconsistency within corporate settings.
Web 2.0 Technologies, New Media Literacies, and Science Education: Exploring the Potential to Transform

The affordances of a new group of technologies commonly referred to as Web 2.0 align strongly with many of the aims for reform-based science education: positioning students centrally in the discourse of science, nurturing collaborative work among a community of learners, engaging in authentic practices with real audiences, supporting claims with evidence, and engaging in science in diverse and complementary ways. These social networking technologies such as blogging, wikis, and 3D virtual worlds prioritize collaboration, position users centrally as knowledge producers (not just consumers), and invite users to engage in developing arguments that easily link to and build on multimodal sources of support. Thus, these technologies hold potential for supporting science educators in engaging learners differently and thus offer the potential to meet many of the goals of reform-based, social constructivist science learning. Using New Media Literacies as a theoretical lens because of its focus on meaning-making, this chapter explores the potential of these tools to transform science education.
Spontaneous breaking of one-dimensional chains investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy

Abstract Landau (1937) [1] had an argument that one-dimensional long chains are not stable at finite temperature, and will break into short sections due to thermal fluctuation. However, until recently, fragmentation of one-dimensional chains by formation of thermal vacancies was first discovered in Bagatskii et al. (2014) [6] for the Xenon that physically adsorbed in the grooves of single-walled carbon nanotube bundles. In this work, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) was first used to observe the influence of thermal fluctuations on the length of one-dimensional chains of the amino acids systems chemically adsorbed on metal surfaces. One-dimensional chains of amino acids formed on noble metal surfaces are spontaneously broken into chain segments with an average length of ∼46 A at room temperature. Very amazingly, the chain phase shows a unique self-adaptability in that it can always keep the length of chain segments unchanged at a fixed value, which is fulfilled through their flexible orientations, even though there is space limitation. While thermal fluctuation is a stochastic process, breaking of chains does not occur randomly along the chains. Breaking points are equidistantly distributed along the chain with a density (i.e., ratio of breaking points to adsorbates in a chain) of ∼1/9 at room temperature. After heated to 400 K, the chain segments are shortened to ∼31 A. And thus, the breaking point density is increased to ∼1/6. The activation energy for forming a breaking point is ∼0.04 eV, being within the range of energy for a common hydrogen bond, implying that the amino acid chain is formed by intermolecular hydrogen bonds between adsorbates. The stable spatial distribution of broken points in a chain is resulted from the loss of one-dimensional translational symmetry at the two ends of a chain. This research experimentally first time substantiated both Landau's argument as well as prediction in some recent theoretical simulations.
Deep Neural Networks: A Comparison on Different Computing Platforms

Deep Neural Networks (DNN) have gained tremendous popularity over the last years for several computer vision tasks, including classification and object detection. Such techniques have been able to achieve human-level performance in many tasks and have produced results of unprecedented accuracy. As DNNs have intense computational requirements in the majority of applications, they utilize a cluster of computers or a cutting edge Graphical Processing Unit (GPU), often having excessive power consumption and generating a lot of heat. In many robotics applications the above requirements prove to be a challenge, as there is limited power on-board and heat dissipation is always a problem. In particular in underwater robotics with limited space, the above two requirements have been proven prohibitive. As first of this kind, this paper aims at analyzing and comparing the performance of several state-of-the-art DNNs on different platforms. With a focus on the underwater domain, the capabilities of the Jetson TX2 from NVIDIA and the Neural Compute Stick from Intel are of particular interest. Experiments on standard datasets show how different platforms are usable on an actual robotic system, providing insights on the current state-of-the-art embedded systems. Based on such results, we propose some guidelines in choosing the appropriate platform and network architecture for a robotic system.
Preliminary Results from the GPS/MET Atmospheric Remote Sensing Experiment

Temperature, pressure, density and water vapor are the most significant variables describing the state of the atmosphere. Therefore they have always been the major goals of direct and indirect atmospheric remote sensings. Radiosonde, satellite infrared, and microwave soundings are the traditional means of collecting temperature, pressure and humidity data today. Radiosonde observations typically yield acceptable accuracy and high vertical resolution, but the geographic coverage is uneven with almost no coverage over oceans. Passive satellite remote sensing techniques yield good global coverage and high horizontal resolution, but the vertical and temporal resolutions are rather coarse. Due to these limitations, these data collection techniques have not been adequate for many weather and global climate applications today.
La{sub 15}Ge{sub 9}Z. Interstitial derivatives with an ordered superstructure of the Mn{sub 5}Si{sub 3} structure type. Property trends in a series of homologous intermetallic phases

The phases La{sub 15}Ge{sub 9}Z, Z = Mn, Fe, Co, No, Cu, Ru, C, O, P, have been obtained from reactions of either the elements or suitable binary compounds in sealed Ta containers at 1200-1350{degrees}C. All exhibit an ordered {radical}3a {times} {radical}3a {times} C superstructure of the Mn{sub 5}Si{sub 3} type (La{sub 5}Ge{sub 3}, La{sub 5}Ge{sub 3}Z, P6{sub 3}/mcm) in which two-thirds of the slightly distorted confacial chains of trigonal antiprisms (La{sub 6/2}Ge{sub 6/2}) have Z bound in alternate, contracted interstitial sites. The room-temperature structures for Z=Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, C, P were refined from single-crystal data (space group P6{sub 3}mc, Z=2; for the protypical Fe, a = 15.4810(2) {Angstrom} and c=6.8768(3) {Angstrom}). The unit cell lengths and volumes and d(Z-Z) values show notably smaller variations with Z than in La{sub 5}Ge{sub 3}Z or related systems. The buffering effect of empty cavities in the commensurate chains and the weak La-La bonding appear to be responsible. Magnetic susceptibility data and XPS core shifts are reported for the Fe and, in part, the Co and Ni phases La{sub 15}Ge{sub 9}Z. All three are metallic with decreasing moments of {approximately}1.83, {approximately}0.3, and {approximately}0{mu}{sub B}, respectively. In contrast, the Fe-richer La{sub 5}Ge{sub 3}Fe ismore » a very soft ferromagnet at room temperature. Members of the sequence Fe, La{sub 5}Ge{sub 3}Fe, La{sub 15}Ge{sub 9}Fe exhibit regularly decreasing moments as well. The Fe 2p{sub 3/2} core levels show a 1.7 eV decrease over the same series, i.e., increasing reduction, while an evidently regular oxidation of La from the element through La{sub 5}Ge{sub 3} and La{sub 15}Ge{sub 9}Fe to La{sub 5}Ge{sub 9}Fe to La{sub 5}Ge{sub 3}Fe is indicated by a regular overall increase of 2.7 eV in La 3d{sub 5/2} binding energies.« less
Human Cord Blood-Derived Unrestricted Somatic Stem Cell Infusion Improves Neurobehavioral Outcome in a Rabbit Model of Intraventricular Hemorrhage

Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is a severe complication of preterm birth, which leads to hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, and mental retardation. There are no available therapies to cure IVH, and standard treatment is supportive care. Unrestricted somatic stem cells (USSCs) from human cord blood have reparative effects in animal models of brain and spinal cord injuries. USSCs were administered to premature rabbit pups with IVH and their effects on white matter integrity and neurobehavioral performance were evaluated. USSCs were injected either via intracerebroventricular (ICV) or via intravenous (IV) routes in 3 days premature (term 32d) rabbit pups, 24 hours after glycerol-induced IVH. The pups were sacrificed at postnatal days 3, 7, and 14 and effects were compared to glycerol-treated but unaffected or nontreated control. Using in vivo live bioluminescence imaging and immunohistochemical analysis, injected cells were found in the injured parenchyma on day 3 when using the IV route compared to ICV where cells were found adjacent to the ventricle wall forming aggregates; we did not observe any adverse events from either route of administration. The injected USSCs were functionally associated with attenuated microglial infiltration, less apoptotic cell death, fewer reactive astrocytes, and diminished levels of key inflammatory cytokines (TNFα and IL1β). In addition, we observed better preservation of myelin fibers, increased myelin gene expression, and altered reactive astrocyte distribution in treated animals, and this was associated with improved locomotor function. Overall, our findings support the possibility that USSCs exert anti-inflammatory effects in the injured brain mitigating many detrimental consequences associated with IVH. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2019;8:1157-1169.
“I Want to Leave ASAP”: Black Women Teachers Discuss the Role of Administrative Support and Teacher Turnover:

This article utilizes a qualitative case study methodology informed by a Black feminist theoretical lens to explore the experiences of Black women teachers, administrative support, and teacher turn...
Cancer Detection with Digital Breast Tomosynthesis

To bring the reader up to date on recent literature on cancer detection with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). Many early landmark trials have recently published follow-up studies comparing DBT and synthesized DBT (SM + DBT) to digital mammography (DM). Recent work has also focused on interval cancers and biological characteristics of DBT cancers in efforts to assess the impact of cancer detection with DBT. Consistent increases in cancer detection and overall reductions in recall rates are observed with DBT and maintained with SM + DBT. Studies on interval cancers are underpowered to show significant differences; however, rates are similar or decreased with DBT vs. DM. DBT-detected cancers are more often invasive, but smaller, with less aggressive profiles compared to DM cancers. Future directions will assess whether detection of such cancers will affect morbidity and mortality of breast cancer.
Hawaiʻi: Mesic Forests

Abstract This paper is an assessment of the Hawaiian Islands mesic forests, including the current status, stressors, and future viability. Mesic forests in Hawaiʻi generally receive between 1200 and 2500 millimeters (mm) of rainfall annually and are found on leeward and windward sides of the islands in lowland or in montane-subalpine zones ( Cuddihy and Stone, 1990 ). These zones are differentiated by elevation and climate, which primarily dictate which species can exist in them ( Gagne and Cuddihy, 1999 ). Historically, mesic forests in Hawaiʻi were located on all of the main Hawaiian Islands. These forests were distributed across the islands of Oʻahu, Maui, Kauaʻi, and Hawaiʻi, and to a lesser extent, on Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi. Currently, mesic forests are still found on all of the main Hawaiian Islands. However, the quality of these forests are largely composed of a mixture of native/nonnative vegetation. In addition to the native lowland and montane-subalpine mesic forests that characterized mesic forests historically, introduced mesic forests and managed tree plantations are now classified as mesic forests in the main Hawaiian Islands. Our assessment of mesic forest viability, defined as the likelihood of persistence over the long term, is based on the concepts of representation, redundancy, and resiliency. The main stressors to mesic forests are invasive ungulates, invasive plants, plant disease, invasive herbivores, wildfires, drought, natural disasters (i.e., hurricanes), and agriculture and human development. Ongoing conservation efforts are helping to protect mesic forests in Hawai‘i. The conservation of mesic forests depends largely on combined efforts of State, Federal, multiagency organizations, nonprofit organizations, and the voluntary support of private landowners.
Osteosarcopenia in Reproductive-Aged Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Multicenter Case-Control Study

CONTEXT Osteosarcopenia (loss of skeletal muscle and bone mass and/or function usually associated with aging) shares pathophysiological mechanisms with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, the relationship between osteosarcopenia and PCOS remains unclear. OBJECTIVE We evaluated skeletal muscle index% (SMI% = [appendicular muscle mass/weight (kg)] × 100) and bone mineral density (BMD) in PCOS (hyperandrogenism + oligoamenorrhea), and contrasted these musculoskeletal markers against 3 reproductive phenotypes (i): HA (hyperandrogenism + eumenorrhea) (ii); OA (normoandrogenic + oligoamenorrhea) and (iii), controls (normoandrogenic + eumenorrhea). Endocrine predictors of SMI% and BMD were evaluated across the groups. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Multicenter case-control study of 203 women (18-48 years old) in New York State. RESULTS PCOS group exhibited reduced SMI% (mean [95% confidence interval (CI)]; 26.2% [25.1,27.3] vs 28.8% [27.7,29.8]), lower-extremity SMI% (57.6% [56.7,60.0] vs 62.5% [60.3,64.6]), and BMD (1.11 [1.08,1.14] vs 1.17 [1.14,1.20] g/cm2) compared to controls. PCOS group also had decreased upper (0.72 [0.70,0.74] vs 0.77 [0.75,0.79] g/cm2) and lower (1.13 [1.10,1.16] vs 1.19 [1.16,1.22] g/cm2) limb BMD compared to HA. Matsuda index was lower in PCOS vs controls and positively associated with SMI% in all groups (all Ps ≤ 0.05). Only controls showed associations between insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 1 and upper (r = 0.84) and lower (r = 0.72) limb BMD (all Ps < 0.01). Unlike in PCOS, IGF-binding protein 2 was associated with SMI% in controls (r = 0.45) and HA (r = 0.67), and with upper limb BMD (r = 0.98) in HA (all Ps < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Women with PCOS exhibit early signs of osteosarcopenia when compared to controls likely attributed to disrupted insulin function. Understanding the degree of musculoskeletal deterioration in PCOS is critical for implementing targeted interventions that prevent and delay osteosarcopenia in this clinical population.
COVID-19 Is a Catalyst for Future Changes in Stroke Nursing Care.

Introduction During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals still have to meet external regulations while delivering compassionate patient care. This reflections article provides a solution for certified stroke programs to continue to meet stroke certification requirements. One area of focus, in this article, is stroke education. Because of "shelter-in-place orders," there were no visitors permitted at the bedside, yet we know that high-quality poststroke education is important to improve outcomes. The purpose of this reflections article is to share what has worked at my institution. Innovations We found that calling family members to engage them in stroke education was a great option. They seemed engaged, took notes, and asked questions. Nurses document details from these phone encounters in the patient's medical record. Many people placed the call on speaker so other family members could listen to the education session. While family members were at home, telehealth nursing has its own set of challenges. Although telehealth is not a perfect solution, it was one we found most reasonable and found it to work well through this unprecedented time. Summary These strategies are being shared to promote dissemination of innovative nursing interventions that will help to continue providing loved ones with the information and education they deserve to receive even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abstract 13676: Association of Plant-centered Diet Intake With Cardiovascular Disease and All-cause Mortality: Findings From the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study

Introduction: There is growing data regarding the potential for plant-centered diets to reduce risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality. However, additional investigation is needed to st...
Spacecraft Charging Vulnerability near the Stable Earth-Moon Lagrange Points

The theoretical analysis of the motion of lunar and interplanetary dust grains in the vicinity of the stable Earth-Moon Lagrange points L4 and L 5 is presented with a focus on determining spacecraft vulnerability to charging near these points. The research will examine the surface charging of a spacecraft situated near the stable Lagrange points due to dust comprising the Kordylewski clouds. For two initial orbit scenarios, the charging risk to and survivability of spacecraft relative to the Kordylewski clouds will be assessed. Overall, research into spacecraft charging effects created by interplanetary dust in cislunar space will enhance operational planning outside the traditional near-Earth paradigm of spacecraft mission operations, and increase understanding of the natural debris environment within this orbital regime.
Synaptonemal Complex Architecture Facilitates Chromosome-specific Regulation of Recombination in Drosophila

In Drosophila, meiotic recombination is initiated by the formation of programmed DNA doublestrand breaks (DSBs), which occur within the context of the synaptonemal complex (SC). We created an in-frame deletion mutant in c(3)G (deleting amino acids L340 to N550, denoted as c(3)GccΔ1), which encodes the major transverse filament protein of the SC. Although c(3)GccΔ1 oocytes assemble full-length SC and exhibit normal DSB formation, euchromatic SC in both c(3)GccΔ1 heterozygotes and homozygotes precociously disassembles in early to mid pachytene. Centromeric SC, however, is unaffected in both genotypes. Thus, c(3)GccΔ1 is a separation-offunction mutant that establishes different functional and structural requirements between euchromatic and centromeric SC. Additionally, the chromosomes differ in their sensitivity to c(3)GccΔ1-induced perturbations in the SC. The X chromosome is distinctly sensitive to these perturbations, such that euchromatic pairing and crossing over are altered in c(3)GccΔ1 heterozygotes and severely reduced in c(3)GccΔ1 homozygotes. On the autosomes, crossovers are shifted to centromere-proximal regions and crossover interference is defective in both c(3)GccΔ1 homozygotes and heterozygotes. However, only c(3)GccΔ1 homozygotes display a progressive loss of euchromatic pairing in distal autosomal regions, suggesting that discontinuity in the euchromatic SC—rather than failed pairing—might cause the altered crossover distribution. These phenotypes reveal that different chromatin states or regions have differing requirements to maintain both the SC and homologous pairing. Furthermore, c(3)GccΔ1 is the first mutant in Drosophila to demonstrate that the SC appears to facilitate the regulation of recombination frequency and distribution differently on each chromosome.
Reflexões acerca do uso do material concreto no processo ensino e aprendizagem da geometria espacial à luz da Teoria dos Registros Semióticos

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo evidenciar as potencialidades do material concreto dinâmico para o processo ensino e aprendizagem da geometria espacial a luz da Teoria dos Registros de Representacao Semiotica. Os solidos geometricos foram construidos possibilitando o movimento da forma tridimensional para a planificada e vice-versa. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa cujos instrumentos para a producao de dados foram observacoes da professora/pesquisadora, gravacoes e producoes textuais dos alunos do 6o ano do ensino fundamental numa escola localizada em Castelo, Espirito Santo, em 2019. Os resultados revelam que o material confeccionado propiciou transformacoes de tratamento no registro figural articulando apreensoes perceptivas, discursivas e operatorias; o encaminhamento dado a atividade favoreceu a conversao entre a representacao figural e a representacao na lingua materna, visto que uma figura geometrica necessita de um discurso. Advogamos que o material confeccionado contribuiu para a aprendizagem dos alunos, entretanto, enfatizamos a importância dos discursos matematicos acompanhando sua manipulacao.