cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Emergency electric service restoration in the aftermath of a natural disaster

The colossal amount of energy released by natural disaster events can devastate the critical infrastructure of affected cities and rural regions. Possible damages to the electric power grid can lead to large-scale interruption in electric service, which could greatly impede post-disaster relief efforts. To make communities resilient against natural hazards, the power grid must have post-disaster self-healing capability, allowing it to restore power to as many sections of the network as possible within a reasonably short timeframe. Traditionally, electric service restoration is performed by first identifying alternative substations and possible routes, followed by network reconfiguration, so that the outage area can be re-energized via these substations. However, this approach may not be possible in the aftermath of a natural disaster. This is because many parts of the network may already have become non-operational due to direct or indirect damages incurred by the event. Here, service restoration can be achieved through a decentralized approach where one or more Microgrids are formed in order to supply the loads locally. A Microgrid dispatch solution is proposed in this paper for emergency electric service restoration in the aftermath of a natural disaster event. A nonlinear mixed-integer optimization problem is formulated that finds the optimal dispatch of the energy resources within the Microgrid subject to capacity and fuel availability constraints. To demonstrate the applicability of the solution, a case study is provided using the IEEE 123-bus test distribution system.
Breeding Objectives in Forages

All breeding programs share one common objective – to improve a species for use within a target population of environments and a particular agricultural context. Beyond this common goal, the objectives of forage breeding programs are as varied as the species upon which they are based and the breeders who develop and implement them. Many breeding objectives are determined a priori by the choice of a species with one or more obvious trait limitations or deficiencies, such as poor seedling vigor, synthesis of toxic alkaloids, or severe susceptibility to a major pest. For species without such limitations, breeders have the luxury of defining less stringent and/or more flexible breeding objectives.
Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology of Water Channels

Experiments with a variety of plant and animal tissues over the past 250 years have given rise to concepts of osmosis, osmotic pressure and permeability that are used to this day. The frog skin and mammalian red blood cells proved particularly useful in establishing that water transport across membranes was mediated by pores rather than simple diffusion. Comparative studies identified membrane intrinsic proteins (MIPs) in a variety of tissues that included red blood cells, bovine lens, plant cell membranes, fruit fly brain and microbial membranes. From these studies emerged the concept of water conducting channels called aquaporins (Aqps) that were present in virtually all living organisms. The discovery of Aqps and methodology for identifying them by RT-PCR cloning resulted in an enormous literature that provided mechanistic bases for physiological functions related to ionic and osmotic regulation. Among the vertebrates mammalian Aqps are the best studied due to their importance for biomedical issues such as diabetes insipidus and the availability of knock out (KO) models where specific deficiencies can be studied. From an evolutionary perspective, fish have multiple copies of most of the canonical Aqps that have been characterized in mammals. The development of genomic technologies is beginning to identify episodes of whole genome duplication, beginning in the earliest chordates, that resulted in the variety of Aqps that serve osmoregulatory functions in living vertebrate taxa. Comparative studies are beginning to describe how different Aqps have been coopted to osmoregulatory epithelia but more research is needed to understand the coordination of apical and basolateral membrane function.
A Bootstrap Approach to Time Invariance in Panel Data

Researchers in political science are frequently interested in hypothesis testing in panel data environments with variables that never or very rarely change over time. This paper shows that common corrections for serial correlation in linear and generalized linear models do not perform well in these circumstances, leading to false positives as much as 50% of the time for rarely changing variables and having widely varying performance depending on the severity of temporal dependence. I propose a bootstrap approach that resamples individual panels and show via Monte Carlo simulation that it achieves correct coverage for rarely varying and time invariant variables. I conclude with a reanalysis of three recent papers in top journals.
149 CONTINUOUS MONITORING OF PO 2 FOLLOWING CAR DIAC SURGERY

The transcutaneous oxygen tension (PtcO2) was studied in 18 children (age - 6 mos. to 13 yrs; wt.-5 kg. to 54 kg.) following open heart surgery. Four of the operations were done under deep hypothermia (Tcore = 15-20°C), 11 under mild hypothermia (24-28°C) and 3 at normothermia(>34). The PtcO2 was recorded continuously for a period of several hours while an arterial catheter was in place, beginning within 8 hours after completion of surgery. Core temperature was at least 35°C in all patients at the start of recording. An electrode temperature of either 44°C or 45°C was utilized. PaO2 values from arterial blood samples were correlated with PtcO2. A plot of all paired values had a greater scatter than had been previously encountered with the use of the electrode in sick newborns (r=.53 vs r=.94). Virtually all of the PtcO2 values were lower than PaO2 with 20% of the PtcO2 values considered unacceptable on the basis of large discrepancies at the low range of PO2. Correlation at 45C electrode temperature was better than at 44C (r=.62 vs. r=.41). PtcO2 values taken beyond 8 hours post-surgery correlated significantly better than those taken earlier (r=.78 vs. r=.24). Despite differences in the individual quantitative correlations, abrupt changes in PO2 reflecting changes in respiratory status were consistently detected rapidly. These studies indicate that recording of the PtcO2 is potentially a valuable tool in the monitoring of post-operative cardiac patients.
An Ecological Analysis of Voting Behavior in Baton Rouge: From Strom Thurmond to George Wallace

For at least twenty years three homogeneous areas have comprised the ecological pattern of Baton Rouge, divided along at least two dimensions-one occupational (manual-nonmanual) and the other ethnic (black-white). Presidential voting data by precincts from 1948-68 were subjected to analysis of variance. After higher than expected Republican support earlier, in the last two elections black areas have voted strongly Democratic. Upper-white and white labor voters seem to be searching for a nonDemocrat party alternative in American presidential politics. This is an ecological study of presidential voting on the local precinct level. It covers a time span of twenty years in which six elections have taken place. The city is found within the southern region which faced anew the civil rights issue in this period and the votes of its residents are seen as indicators of accommodation to this experience. A study of outcomes in the 1948 elections had found that wide urban-industrial developments in Louisiana hastened by World War 2 provided a city electorate which included a growing majority in working-class precincts whose influence at that time was a variable of unknown significance (Howard, 1952). Questions were raised whether the vote of this category would follow the Democrat tendency found in the nation or whether events would hasten the development of two-party politics. Since then, voting behavior in major Louisiana cities has been traced among three types of precincts: upper-white, white labor, and Negro (Howard and Brent, 1966). Reference to other than presidential elections showed potentials of a more open two-party politics as an upper-white and Negro-white labor cleavage was discovered in school board, mayorality, the gubernatorial elections. But, as the issue of school desegregation made its weight felt in presidential politics, a basic tendency found could be characterized as a distinct anti-Democrat, pro-conservative leaning. The present research, an intensive study of one local area, where the techniques of ecological aggregate analysis can be used to advantage, brings us up to date.
Movers and stayers: how residential selection contributes to the association between female body mass index and neighborhood characteristics

To examine how a woman’s current body mass index (BMI) is associated with nonrandom residential migration that is based on the average BMI of her origin and destination neighborhoods. Among women having at least two children, all birth certificates from Salt Lake county from 1989 to 2010 (n=34 010) were used to obtain prepregnancy weights before the first and second births, residential location and sociodemographic information. Census data were used for measures of walkability of neighborhoods. After adjustments for age, education, race/ethnicity and marital status, obese women living in the leanest neighborhoods are found to be three times more likely (odds ratio (OR)=3.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.06–4.47) to move to the heaviest neighborhoods relative to women with healthy weight (BMI between 18 and 25 kg m−2). Conversely, obese women in the heaviest neighborhoods are 60% less likely (OR=0.39, 95% CI 0.22–0.69) to move to the leanest neighborhoods relative to healthy weight women. Indicators of relatively greater walkability (older housing, greater proportion of residents who walk to work) and higher median family income characterize leaner neighborhoods. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that nonrandom selection into and out of neighborhoods accounts for some of the association between BMI and neighborhood characteristics.
Crystal structure of a poly(rA) staggered zipper at acidic pH: evidence that adenine N1 protonation mediates parallel double helix formation

We have solved at 1. 07: A resolution the X-ray crystal structure of a polyriboadenylic acid (poly(rA)) parallel and continuous double helix. Fifty-nine years ago, double helices of poly(rA) were first proposed to form at acidic pH. Here, we show that 7-mer oligo(rA), i.e. rA7, hybridizes and overlaps in all registers at pH 3.5 to form stacked double helices that span the crystal. Under these conditions, rA7 forms well-ordered crystals, whereas rA6 forms fragile crystalline-like structures, and rA5, rA8 and rA11 fail to crystallize. Our findings support studies from ∼50 years ago: one showed using spectroscopic methods that duplex formation at pH 4.5 largely starts with rA7 and begins to plateau with rA8; another proposed a so-called 'staggered zipper' model in which oligo(rA) strands overlap in multiple registers to extend the helical duplex. While never shown, protonation of adenines at position N1 has been hypothesized to be critical for helix formation. Bond angles in our structure suggest that N1 is protonated on the adenines of every other rAMP-rAMP helix base pair. Our data offer new insights into poly(rA) duplex formation that may be useful in developing a pH sensor.
Alignment and Diameter of Electrospun PEO Fibers

The method of electro-spinning fibers is useful, due to the extreme similarities to fibers in the body, and knowledge about electrospun fiber properties can be implemented in such research areas as tissue engineering, tissue scaffolding, and intracellular matrices. Here we report the alignment and diameter determination of PEO fibers following research by Liu and Dzenis (2008 Nanotechnology). We used a two-collector plate method to align fibers and examined the diameter and alignment of fibers formed from various percentages of PEO and working distances from tip to collector, holding the collector plate separation fixed. We found the greatest fiber alignment using a working distance of 40 cm from tip to collector. An 8% PEO in water solution with a working distance of 40 cm formed aligned fibers with an average angle of deviation from the alignment direction of 1.9 +/- 1.2 degrees and the narrowest distribution. The smallest angle and narrowest distribution of angles was also seen with a working distance of 40 cm using 6 % PEO in water. The diameter of electrospun PEO fibers showed a subtle non-significant increase in diameter as working distance increased from 20 cm to 40 cm. However, the diameter was significantly dependent on the PEO concentration with 8 % PEO producing fibers with diameters of 245 nm +/- 50 nm and 6 % PEO producing fibers with diameters of 181 nm +/- 40 nm.In the future we will use these result to compare the mechanical properties of individual aligned electrospun fibers with their nonaligned counterpart.
Replacement Policies for Heterogeneous Memories

As non-volatile memory is introduced alongside traditional memory, new mechanisms for managing memory are becoming necessary. In this paper, we propose the two variable-space heterogeneous VMIN (H-VMIN) and heterogeneous WS (H-WS) policies for flat DRAM-PCM heterogeneous architectures, which derive from the earlier VMIN and WS policies. After a page reference, H-VMIN keeps the page in DRAM/PCM/disk based on the time until its next access. It is optimal, but requires future information. H-WS keeps the page in DRAM for a certain time and then in PCM for a longer time if it has still not been reused, and finally evicts it to disk.
Connection Enablers in Online Learning Community: From Informative Online Personae to Meaningful Social Space

Building communities for online learners may ameliorate pervasive issues relating to learner retention and satisfaction. To move in this direction, we propose that educational technology infrastructures should make personal information about students more visible, so as to invite and encourage social interaction. We are exploring this "visibility proposition" through a design research project. In this paper we report part of our quantitative empirical work carried out to support the collection and visualization of student information (what we call online personae). This work points to an information framework for online personae for distance learners. We also discuss the design implications for helping distance learners to uncover meaningful but hidden connections within virtual learning communities.
An Attribtue-Based Statistic Model for Privacy Impact Assessment

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) includes any information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity such as name, social security number, date and place of birth, mother’s maiden name, or biometric records. It also includes other information that is linked or linkable to an individual, such as medical, educational, financial, and employment information. PII is often the target of attacks, and loss of PII could result in identity theft. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the average number of U.S. identity fraud victims annually is 11,571,900 [1]. The total financial loss attributed to identity theft in 2013 was $21 billion dollars, compared to $13.2 billion total loss in 2010.
Cystic major salivary gland lesions: Utilizing fine needle aspiration to optimize the clinical management of a broad and diverse differential diagnosis.

Introduction The use of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology for the preoperative evaluation of salivary gland lesions is an accepted but, currently, nonstandardized practice. More specifically, cystic major salivary gland lesions are relatively rare and can be very challenging to diagnose on FNA due to low cellularity and an incredibly broad differential diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic utility of preoperative FNA cytology for cystic major salivary gland lesions. Methods and materials The electronic pathology archives of The Johns Hopkins Hospital were searched to identify FNA specimens of cystic major salivary gland lesions over a 15 year period (January 1, 2000 to December 21, 2015). The age, race, sex, biopsy site, use of ultrasound guidance, cytopathologic diagnosis, and presence or absence of clinical follow-up were recorded for each patient. Cases were divided into those with and without follow-up. Diagnostic performance between FNA and follow-up data were recorded. Results A total of 145 cases met the inclusion criteria, while 123 (84.8%) patients had follow-up data available. Of these patients, 67.5% underwent FNA as the only pathologic diagnostic modality. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for the detection of cystic neoplasms were 41.6%, 99.0%, 90.9%, and 87.6%, respectively. For cases containing mucin, 100.0% sensitivity and specificity were achieved. Conclusion FNA of cystic salivary gland lesions is a useful clinical decision-making tool that can reduce the number of patients ultimately requiring surgical excision. Although specificity is high, a relatively low overall sensitivity makes clinical and radiologic correlation imperative.
Curative Multicycle Radioimmunotherapy Monitored by Quantitative SPECT/CT-Based Theranostics, Using Bispecific Antibody Pretargeting Strategy in Colorectal Cancer

Radioimmunotherapy of solid tumors using antibody-targeted radionuclides has been limited by low therapeutic indices (TIs). We recently reported a novel 3-step pretargeted radioimmunotherapy (PRIT) strategy based on a glycoprotein A33 (GPA33)-targeting bispecific antibody and a small-molecule radioactive hapten, a complex of 177Lu and S-2-(4-aminobenzyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane tetraacetic acid (177Lu-DOTA-Bn), that leads to high TIs for radiosensitive tissues such as blood (TI = 73) and kidney (TI = 12). We tested our hypothesis that a fractionated anti-GPA33 DOTA-PRIT regimen calibrated to deliver a radiation absorbed dose to tumor of more than 100 Gy would lead to a high probability of tumor cure while being well tolerated by nude mice bearing subcutaneous GPA33-positive SW1222 xenografts. Methods: We treated groups of nude mice bearing 7-d-old SW1222 xenografts with a fractionated 3-cycle anti-GPA33 DOTA-PRIT regimen (total administered 177Lu-DOTA-Bn activity, 167 MBq/mouse; estimated radiation absorbed dose to tumor, 110 Gy). In randomly selected mice undergoing treatment, serial SPECT/CT imaging was used to monitor treatment response and calculate radiation absorbed doses to tumor. Necropsy was done on surviving animals 100-200 d after treatment to determine frequency of cure and assess select normal tissues for treatment-related histopathologies. Results: Rapid exponential tumor progression was observed in control treatment groups (i.e., no treatment or 177Lu-DOTA-Bn only), leading to euthanasia due to excessive tumor burden, whereas 10 of 10 complete responses were observed for the DOTA-PRIT-treated animals within 30 d. Treatment was well tolerated, and 100% histologic cure was achieved in 9 of 9 assessable animals without detectable radiation damage to critical organs, including bone marrow and kidney. Radiation absorbed doses to tumor derived from SPECT/CT (102 Gy) and from biodistribution (110 Gy) agreed to within 6.9%. Of the total dose of approximately 100 Gy, the first dose contributes 30%, the second dose 60%, and the third dose 10%. Conclusion: In a GPA33-positive human colorectal cancer xenograft mouse model, we validated a SPECT/CT-based theranostic PRIT regimen that led to 100% complete responses and 100% cures without any treatment-related toxicities, based on high TIs for radiosensitive tissues. These studies support the view that anti-GPA33 DOTA-PRIT will be a potent radioimmunotherapy regimen for GPA33-positive colorectal cancer tumors in humans.
The role of cytotoxic T lymphocytes and inflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of acute viral hepatitis.

We now consider that the following hypothesis may explain the multiple pathways of pathogenesis during HBV infection in vivo. An HBV antigen specific T cell can destroy the target cells directly by a mechanism involving apoptosis. We think that this probably causes a very minor degree of liver cell injury, but that it initiates a cascade of events culminating in most of the liver cell destruction in this model and possibly also during viral hepatitis in humans. CTL can produce IFNγ, which induces a number of secondary events in vivo and results in the selective destruction of HBsAg positive hepatocytes. Among these effects could be activation of macrophages, which release nonselectively cytotoxic factors such as TNFα that can destroy any hepatocyte in the vicinity.
Outcomes of Early Adolescent Donor Hearts in Adult Transplant Recipients

Abstract Objectives This study sought to determine outcomes of adult recipients of early adolescent (EA) (10 to 14 years) donor hearts. Background Despite a shortage of donor organs, EA donor hearts (not used for pediatric patients) are seldom used for adults because of theoretical concerns for lack of hormonal activation and changes in left ventricular mass. Nonetheless, the outcomes of adult transplantation using EA donor hearts are not clearly established. Methods All adult (≥18 years of age) heart transplant recipients in the United Network for Organ Sharing database between April 1994 and September 2015 were eligible for this analysis. Recipients of EA donor hearts were compared with recipients of donor hearts from the usual adult age group (ages 18 to 55 years). Main outcomes were all-cause mortality and cardiac allograft vasculopathy up to 5 years, and primary graft failure up to 90 days post-transplant. Propensity score analysis was used to identify a cohort of recipients with similar baseline characteristics. Results Of the 35,054 eligible adult recipients, 1,123 received hearts from EA donors and 33,931 from usual-age adult donors. With the use of propensity score matching, 944 recipients of EA donor hearts were matched to 944 recipients of usual-age adult donor hearts. There was no difference in 30-day, 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year recipient survival or primary graft failure rates in the 2 groups using both Cox hazards ratio and Kaplan-Meier analysis. Of note, adult patients who received EA donor hearts had a trend toward less cardiac allograft vasculopathy (Cox hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% confidence interval: 0.62 to 1.01; p = 0.07). Conclusions In this largest analysis to date, we found strong evidence that EA donor hearts, not used for pediatric patients, can be safely transplanted in appropriate adult patients and have good outcomes. This finding should help increase the use of EA donor hearts.
Enhancing self-sensing estimation accuracy via negative sequence current image registration, with evaluation on a low saliency ratio machine

Image tracking self-sensing, which utilizes image registration to localize an arc of the negative sequence current response to a high frequency rotating voltage injection within a negative sequence template, can enhance estimation accuracy, increase tolerance to noise, and improve dynamic performance. Image registration over a full injection cycle replaces the heterodyning demodulation used in traditional point-tracking methods. Demodulation is known to produce significant harmonic content that must be filtered. Image registration mitigates dynamic degradation since there is no longer a need for low pass filtering of the harmonic content, tightly tuned filtering of the negative sequence, or decoupling of multiple saliencies from the negative sequence. This paper proposes how, by carefully considering the machine properties at an operating point, details of the current response can be used to generate a complex template image. This paper shows how image registration of the sampled image over a full injection cycle with the complex template allows for a more accurate estimate of position when compared to point-tracking methods, while removing various filters to improve dynamic performance. These methods are evaluated experimentally on a low saliency ratio SPM and compared to classical rotating HFI methods.
A Bold Goal: More Healthy Days Through Improved Community Health.

Abstract Humana, a large health care company, has set a goal of 20% improvement in health in the communities it serves by 2020. The metric chosen for the Bold Goal initiative was the HRQOL-4 version of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthy Days survey. This paper presents the methods for measuring progress, reports results for the first year of tracking, and describes Humana's community-based interventions. Across 7 specially designated “Bold Goal” communities, mean unhealthy days declined from 10.98 in 2015 to 10.64 in 2016, which represented a 3.1% relative, or 0.34 absolute, decline. This compares with a 0.17 absolute unhealthy days decline in Humana's national population overall. The paper also describes how additional work identifying associations between social determinants of health (SDOH) and Healthy Days is influencing Humana's strategy. Lastly, a strategy of community engagement is illustrated through 2 case examples: San Antonio and Knoxville. In the San Antonio area, the...
Specific transcription factors distinctly regulate kinetics of IL1B and TNF gene expression

Interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNFα) expression by monocytes is stringently regulated, whereas sustained expression is associated with chronic inflammation. Transcriptional kinetics of IL1B gene mRNA in THP-1 cells treated with either Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or Phorbol 12-Myristate 13-Acetate (PMA) revealed two distinct phases, an early vigorous transient (0–4 hours) followed by a decreased continuous expression (4–24 hours). In contrast, the TNF gene showed only the early transient induction (0–4 hours) followed by complete shutdown (4–24 hours). Distinctly, PMA generated only a single delayed, but sustained, lower level of IL1B expression (7–24 hours), with negligible induction of TNF . To address possible mechanisms, mRNA expression kinetics of these genes in the presence of informative transcription factor inhibitors were compared. These revealed that the initial IL1B transient was dependent on both NF-κB and C/EBPβ. In contrast, late continuous expression required both HIF-1α and C/EBPβ, but was independent of NF-κB. The early phase expression of TNF was almost exclusively dependent on NF-κB, with minimal involvement of C/EBPβ. These results suggest a role for HIF-1α in replacing NF-κB during sustained late expression of IL1B . LPS re-stimulation of THP-1 cells 24-hours after the first LPS treatment generated an IL1B mRNA kinetic similar to that of the initial LPS challenge, i.e. , an early transient followed by decreased continuous expression. In contrast, the TNF gene was completely refractive to LPS re-stimulation ( Endotoxin Tolerance ). Our results also argue that extracellular succinate plays a role in IL1B gene re-stimulation, suggesting a possible macrophage quorum response.
Ectopic varices: A potential cause of gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with portal hypertension

A newly diagnosed 53-year-old woman with cirrhosis has repeated gastrointestinal bleeding with resulting symptomatic anaemia. She underwent routine diagnostic endoscopic evaluation without localisation of the aetiology of her bleed. Ultimately, she was found to have ectopic varices in the small bowel as a result of underlying high portal pressures. She underwent transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt for portal system decompression with resolution in her bleeding.
Minecrafting Virtual Education

Minecraft is an innovative video game that combines a simplistic, flexible, childlike interface with an open-ended, non-deterministic, playing environment that allows for a wide assortment of tasks and skills building while providing a platform for innovative game play, collaboration, and new formats for interaction and cultural creation. In this paper, we explore the dynamics of Minecraft and we discuss their implications in the context of virtual education.
Negative Refraction of Electromagnetic and Electronic Waves in Uniform Media

We discuss various schemes that have been used to realize negative refraction and zero reflection, and the underlying physics that dictates each scheme. The requirements for achieving both negative refraction and zero reflection are explicitly given for different arrangements of the material interface and different structures of the electric permittivity tensor e. We point out that having a lefthanded medium is neither necessary nor sufficient for achieving negative refraction. The fundamental limitations are discussed for using these schemes to construct a perfect lens or “superlens,” which is the primary context of the current interest in this field. The ability of an ideal “superlens” beyond diffraction-limit “focusing” is contrasted with that of a conventional lens or an immersion lens.
Towards the Development of A Steerable and MRI-Compatible Cardiac Catheter for Atrial Fibrillation Treatment.

To treat atrial fibrillation (AFib), radiofrequency ablation is usually implemented with a cardiac catheter to block abnormal electrical signals from pulmonary veins. However, it is challenging to manipulate a passive catheter. In addition, the radiation exposure to patients under fluoroscopic guidance has been a concern. To address these two major issues, this work presents the development of a steerable and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compatible cardiac catheter by using shape memory alloy (SMA) as an alternative interventional tool for AFib. The developed cardiac catheter is comprised of a passive and flexible tubing, and a steerable tip. The tip is composed of multiple bending modules and each module is actuated by a pair of antagonistic SMA wires. To improve the MRI-compatibility of SMA actuators, the electric current required for SMA actuation is significantly reduced by developing a technique of conductive heating actuation. In this letter, the design and fabrication of the cardiac catheter are presented, followed by modeling the SMA bending module. The working performance of the SMA bending module is experimentally studied. In the end, a proof-of-concept demonstration of the cardiac catheter is performed in an explanted heart.
High-Voltage High-Frequency Testing for Medium-Voltage Motor Insulation Degradation

Most of the present high-voltage high-frequency insulation material testing focuses on the thermal and electrical properties of transformer oil and cable insulation. This paper elucidates the methodology and the experimental setup for high-voltage high-frequency testing of motor winding insulation. The experimental setup gives a pulsed output of voltages ranging from 2 kV till 10 kV peak-to-peak. The experimental setup is used to test the insulation material Kapton HN at different thicknesses [1mil, 2mil, 3mil and 5 mil) at a frequency of 3kHz. Results of the breakdown tests as well as the experimental setup are discussed in this paper.
The genus two free boson in Arakelov geometry

Abstract Using Arakelov geometry, we compute the partition function of the noncompact free boson at genus two. We begin by compiling a list of modular invariants which appear in the Arakelov theory of Riemann surfaces. Using these quantities, we express the genus two partition function as a product of modular forms, as in the well-known genus one case. We check that our result has the expected obstruction to holomorphic factorization and behavior under degeneration.
Elevated GM3 Plasma Concentration in Parkinson’s Disease: a Lipidomics Analysis (P1.006)

Objective: To test the association between plasma lipids and Parkinson disease (PD) diagnosis Background: Lipid metabolism dysregulation may play a significant role in PD pathogenesis; however, large plasma lipidomics studies in PD are lacking Design/Methods: We analyzed the lipidomic profile of plasma obtained from 150 idiopathic PD patients and 100 controls, taken from the ‘Spot’ study at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. Our mass spectrometry based analytical panel consisted of 520 lipid species from 39 lipid sub classes including all major classes of glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, glycerolipids and sterols. Each lipid species was analyzed using a logistic regression model. Results: The plasma concentration of 9 lipid sub classes was different between PD and control participants. Of these, monosialodihexosylganglioside (GM3) ganglioside concentration had the most robust difference between PD and controls (1.531±0.037 pmol/μl versus 1.337±0.040 pmol/μl respectively; p-value = 2.890E-05; q-value = 2.933E-03). Next, we used a collection of 20 GM3 and glucosylceramide (GlcCer) species concentrations to perform a ROC curve analysis, and found that these lipids compare favorably with biomarkers reported in previous studies (AUC = 0.742 for males, AUC = 0.644 for females). Conclusions: Higher plasma GM3 levels are associated with PD diagnosis. In the glycosphingolipid metabolic pathway, GM3 is upstream to the enzyme glucocerebrosidase, which has been associated with PD, but it is not its direct substrate. These findings are consistent with previous reports implicating lower glucocerebrosidase activity with PD risk. Study Supported by: Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (K02NS080915, and UL1 TR000040, formerly the National Center for Research Resources, Grant Number UL1 RR024156 and P50 AG008702) Disclosure: Dr. Alcalay has received personal compensation for travel and consultation fees from Sanofi Genzyme and Prophase. Dr. Chan has nothing to disclose. Dr. Perotte has nothing to disclose. Dr. Zhou has nothing to disclose. Dr. Liong has nothing to disclose. Dr. Shorr has nothing to disclose. Dr. Marder has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Current Neuroscience. Dr. Kang has received research support from Allergan. Dr. Waters has received personal compensation for activities with UCB and Teva as a speaker. Dr. Levy has nothing to disclose. Dr. Xu has nothing to disclose. Dr. Shim has nothing to disclose. Dr. Pe9er has nothing to disclose. Dr. Di Paolo has received personal compensation for activities with Denali Therapeutics as an employee.
Radiotherapy in Lung Cancer

Radiation therapy has evolved into an integral modality in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). As technology has evolved, stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) can now be used to achieve excellent local control in patients with early stage NSCLC who are non-operative candidates. Randomized trials are now comparing SBRT to surgery in early stage NSCLC. Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is used as definitive therapy in the majority of cases of locally advanced NSCLC and can be used as neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment to surgery in select cases. Most patients with SCLC will receive radiotherapy to the brain to treat brain metastases or prevent brain metastases, and patient with SCLC receive thoracic radiotherapy. In metastatic lung cancer, radiotherapy is used for palliation of brain metastases, spinal cord compression, superior vena cava syndrome, bony pain, hemoptysis, and airway obstruction. As treatment techniques continue to evolve, radiotherapy alone or in combination with new targeted therapies will continue to play an important role in the management of patients with lung cancer while reducing toxicity.
Development and Assessment of a Machine Learning Model to Help Predict Survival Among Patients With Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Importance Predicting survival of oral squamous cell carcinoma through the use of prediction modeling has been underused, and the development of prediction models would augment clinicians’ ability to provide absolute risk estimates for individual patients. Objectives To develop a prediction model using machine learning for 5-year overall survival among patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and compare this model with a prediction model created from the TNM (Tumor, Node, Metastasis) clinical and pathologic stage. Design, Setting, and Participants A retrospective cohort study was conducted of 33 065 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma from the National Cancer Data Base between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2011. Patients were excluded if the treatment was considered palliative, staging demonstrated T0 or Tis, or survival or staging data were missing. Patient, tumor, treatment, and outcome information were obtained from the National Cancer Data Base. The data were split into a distribution of 80% for training and 20% for testing. The model was created using 2-class decision forest architecture. Permutation feature importance scores were used to determine the variables that were used in the model’s prediction and their order of significance. Statistical analysis was conducted from August 1, 2018, to January 10, 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures Ability to predict 5-year overall survival assessed through area under the curve, accuracy, precision, and recall. Results Among the 33 065 patients in the study, the mean (SD) age was 64.6 (14.0) years, 19 791 were men (59.9%), 13 274 were women (40.1%), and 29 783 (90.1%) were white. At 60 months, there were 16 745 deaths (50.6%). The median time of follow-up was 56.8 months (range, 0-155.6 months). Age, pathologic T stage, positive margins at the time of surgery, lymph node size, and institutional identification were identified among the most significant variables. The calculated area under the curve for this machine learning model was 0.80 (95% CI, 0.79-0.81), accuracy was 71%, precision was 71%, and recall was 68%. In comparison, the calculated area under the curve of the TNM staging system was 0.68 (95% CI, 0.67-0.70), accuracy was 65%, precision was 69%, and recall was 52%. Conclusions and Relevance Using machine learning algorithms, a prediction model was created based on patient social, demographic, clinical, and pathologic features. The developed prediction model proved to be better than a prediction model that exclusively used TNM pathologic and clinical stage according to all performance metrics. This study highlights the role that machine learning may play in individual patient risk estimation in the era of big data.
Peripheral Mechanisms of Pain Transmission and Modulation

Primary nociceptive neurons are specialized sensory neurons that respond to noxious physical stimuli. Information about painful stimuli is transmitted to the central nervous system by action potentials, which travel from the periphery along either unmyelinated (C-fiber) or thinly myelinated (Aδ-fiber) nociceptor axons to the central nervous system to signal the painful stimulus. Nociceptors can become sensitized by inflammatory mediators, leading to primary hyperalgesia.
Characterization of Post‐Traumatic Osteoarthritis in Rats Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Rupture by Non‐Invasive Knee Injury (NIKI)

Small animal models are essential for studying anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, one of the leading risk factors for post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). Non-surgical models of ACL rupture have recently surged as a new tool to study PTOA, as they circumvent the confounding effects of surgical disruption of the joint. These models primarily have been explored in mice and rabbits, but are relatively understudied in rats. The purpose of this work was to establish a non-invasive, mechanical overload model of ACL rupture in the rat and to study the disease pathogenesis following the injury. ACL rupture was induced via non-invasive tibial compression in Lewis rats. Disease state was characterized for 4 months after ACL rupture via histology, computed tomography, and biomarker capture from the synovial fluid. The non-invasive knee injury (NIKI) model created consistent ACL ruptures without direct damage to other tissues and resulted in conventional OA pathology. NIKI knees exhibited structural changes as early as 4 weeks post-injury, including regional structural changes to cartilage, chondrocyte and cartilage disorganization, changes to the bone architecture, synovial hyperplasia, and the increased presence of biomarkers of cartilage fragmentation and pro-inflammatory cytokines. These results suggest that this model can be a valuable tool to study PTOA. By establishing the fundamental pathogenesis of this injury, additional opportunities are created to evaluate unique contributing factors and potential therapeutic interventions for this disease. © 2019 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 38:356-367, 2020.
Ambulatory spine surgery.

Spinal surgery in the ambulatory setting has gained popularity with providers, patients and healthcare systems due to its efficiency and cost advantages combined with comparable clinical results. With an increasing case variety and complexity performed in this setting, it is important to understand proper patient selection and preoperative preparation to minimize complications and optimize outcomes.
Evaluation of Swallow

The safe transport of food and liquid from the oral cavity to the esophagus involves precise coordination of both voluntary and involuntary movements involving the oropharyngeal, esophageal, laryngeal, and respiratory muscles. Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, can occur as a result of a broad spectrum of acute or chronic medical conditions. Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a prevalent consequence of neurogenic disease, which can result in an array of medical, social, and psychological sequelae, leading to malnutrition, dehydration, pneumonia, chronic lung disease, and decreased quality of life.
Awareness and bispectral index (BIS) monitoring in mechanically ventilated patients in the emergency department and intensive care unit: a systematic review protocol.

Introduction Accidental awareness with recall is one of the most feared complications for patients undergoing general anaesthesia and can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder in up to 70% of patients experiencing it. To reduce the incidence of awareness with recall, the bispectral index monitor is recommended for patients receiving total intravenous anaesthetics, especially those receiving neuromuscular blockers. While extensive investigation into awareness and bispectral index monitoring has occurred for operating room patients, this has not extended to other clinical arenas where sedated and mechanically ventilated patients are cared for, namely the intensive care unit and emergency department. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the world’s literature to determine the incidence of awareness with paralysis in mechanically ventilated patients and the impact of bispectral index monitoring for reducing this complication. Methods and analysis Randomised trials and non-randomised studies are eligible for inclusion. With aid from a medical librarian, an electronic search will include Ovid Medline, Embase.com, Scopus, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. To find data published in abstract form, literature from professional society conferences (2010–2019) will be manually searched. Two authors will independently review search results and consensus will be reached with assistance from a third author, as needed. Heterogeneity and publication bias will be assessed and reported. If possible and appropriate, a meta-analysis of the data will be conducted for quantitative data analysis. Ethics and dissemination The proposed systematic review does not require ethical approval, as it is conducted at the study level and does not involve individual patient-level data. Results will be disseminated by data sharing via academically established means, presentation at local and national scientific meetings and publication as a peer-reviewed manuscript. PROSPERO registration number The protocol has been submitted to International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews and is awaiting registration.
Mechanoreciprocity requires interactions between TRPV4 channels, the Rho pathway and actin cytoskeleton

ABSTRACT Intraocular pressure (IOP) is dynamically regulated by the trabecular meshwork (TM), a mechanosensitive tissue that protects the eye from injury through dynamic regulation of aqueous humor outflow from the anterior chamber of the eye. IOP-dependent increases in TM stiffness and contractility drive open angle glaucoma but the mechanotransduction mechanisms that regulate these processes remain poorly understood. We used fluorescence imaging and biochemical analyses to investigate cytoskeletal and focal adhesion remodeling in human TM cells stimulated with cyclic strain. The cells showed enhanced F-actin polymerization, increased number and size of focal adhesions, and activation of the Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK). Stretch-induced activation of the small GTPase RhoA, and tyrosine phosphorylations of focal adhesion proteins paxillin, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), vinculin and zyxin were time-dependently inhibited by HC-067047, an antagonist of transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) channels, and the ROCK inhibitor Y-27632. TRPV4 and ROCK activation were required for zyxin translocation and increase in the number/size of focal adhesions in stretched cells. Y-27632 blocked actin polymerization without affecting calcium influx induced by membrane stretch and the TRPV4 agonist GSK1016790A. These results reveal that mechanical tuning of TM cells requires parallel activation of TRPV4, integrins and ROCK, with chronic stress leading to sustained remodeling of the cytoskeleton and focal complexes.
Acetate Revisited: A Key Biomolecule at the Nexus of Metabolism, Epigenetics, and Oncogenesis – Part 2: Acetate and ACSS2 in Health and Disease

Acetate, the shortest chain fatty acid, has been implicated in providing health benefits whether it is derived from the diet or is generated from microbial fermentation of fiber in the gut. These health benefits range widely from improved cardiac function to enhanced red blood cell generation and memory formation. Understanding how acetate could influence so many disparate biological functions is now an area of intensive research. Protein acetylation is one of the most common post-translational modifications and increased systemic acetate strongly drives protein acetylation. By virtue of acetylation impacting the activity of virtually every class of protein, acetate driven alterations in signaling and gene transcription have been associated with several common human diseases, including cancer. In part 2 of this review, we will focus on some of the roles that acetate plays in health and human disease. The acetate-activating enzyme acyl-CoA short-chain synthetase family member 2 (ACSS2) will be a major part of that focus due to its role in targeted protein acetylation reactions that can regulate central metabolism and stress responses. ACSS2 is the only known enzyme that can recycle acetate derived from deacetylation reactions in the cytoplasm and nucleus of cells, including both protein and metabolite deacetylation reactions. As such, ACSS2 can recycle acetate derived from histone deacetylase reactions as well as protein deacetylation reactions mediated by sirtuins, among many others. Notably, ACSS2 can activate acetate released from acetylated metabolites including N-acetylaspartate (NAA), the most concentrated acetylated metabolite in the human brain. NAA has been associated with the metabolic reprograming of cancer cells, where ACSS2 also plays a role. Here, we discuss the context-specific roles that acetate can play in health and disease.