cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ensemble Modeling of Hydrologic and Hydraulic Processes at One Shot: Application to Kinematic Open-Channel Flow under Uncertain Channel Properties and Uncertain Lateral Flow Conditions by the Stochastic Method of Characteristics

A stochastic kinematic wave model for open channel flow is developed under uncertain channel properties and uncertain lateral flow conditions. Applying a known methodology, the Fokker-Planck equation (FPE) of the kinematic open-channel flow process under uncertain channel properties and uncertain lateral flow conditions is derived using the method of characteristics. Because every stochastic partial differential equation has a one-to-one relationship with a nonlocal Lagrangian-Eulerian Fokker-Planck equation (LEFPE), the LEFPE for the governing equation of any hydrologic or hydraulic process can be developed as the physically based stochastic model of the particular process. To quantify the ensemble behavior of a process, LEFPE provides a quantitative description of the time-space evolution of the probability density function of the state variables of the process at one shot. The nonlocal LEFPE reduces to the classical local FPE, which is more convenient to solve, under certain assumptions. The developed ...
An Empirical Investigation of Dispositional Antecedents and Performance-Related Outcomes of Credit Scores.

Many organizations use credit scores as an employment screening tool, but little is known about the legitimacy of such practices. To address this important gap, the reported research conceptualized credit scores as a biographical measure of financial responsibility and investigated dispositional antecedents and performance-related outcomes. Using personality data collected from employees, objective credit scores obtained from the Fair Isaac Corporation, and performance data provided by supervisors, we found conscientiousness to be positively related and agreeableness to be negatively related to credit scores. Results also indicate significant relationships between credit scores and task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors. Credit scores did not, however, predict workplace deviance. Implications for organizations currently using or planning to use credit scores as part of the screening process are discussed.
An Ecological Comparison of Six Populations of Brown Trout (Salmo trutta)

Abstract Estimates of population density of all species of fish except the slimy sculpin were made in selected areas of three hard-water streams and three soft-water streams in Pennsylvania. Total standing crops ranged from 46 to 354 pounds per acre. Brown trout (Salmo trutta) stocks ranged from 13 to 137 pounds per acre. Average annual survival of brown trout ranged from 0.189 to 0.554. Recruitment appeared to be fairly stable except for occasional variations believed caused by flood or drought conditions. Growth rate of brown trout was significantly correlated with specific conductance of the water. The data suggest also that a relationship may exist between specific conductivity and standing crop of fish expressed in pounds per acre.
A fully automated high-throughput training system for rodents.

Addressing the neural mechanisms underlying complex learned behaviors requires training animals in well-controlled tasks, an often time-consuming and labor-intensive process that can severely limit the feasibility of such studies. To overcome this constraint, we developed a fully computer-controlled general purpose system for high-throughput training of rodents. By standardizing and automating the implementation of predefined training protocols within the animal’s home-cage our system dramatically reduces the efforts involved in animal training while also removing human errors and biases from the process. We deployed this system to train rats in a variety of sensorimotor tasks, achieving learning rates comparable to existing, but more laborious, methods. By incrementally and systematically increasing the difficulty of the task over weeks of training, rats were able to master motor tasks that, in complexity and structure, resemble ones used in primate studies of motor sequence learning. By enabling fully automated training of rodents in a home-cage setting this low-cost and modular system increases the utility of rodents for studying the neural underpinnings of a variety of complex behaviors.
Performance and Welfare of Dairy Cows in an Alternative Housing System in Minnesota

The compost bedded pack dairy barn is an alternative housing system for lactating cows that has received increased attention in the last 2 yr. No descriptive data were available about this housing system. Therefore, a study of 12 compost dairy barns in Minnesota was conducted between late June 2005 and September 2005. The objectives of this study were to describe the housing system, identify management practices used in these herds, observe cow welfare, analyze herd performance and udder health prior to and following the change in housing system, and measure producer satisfaction with the system. Producers were interviewed on various aspects related to the housing system and herd management, samples of milk were collected, and cows were scored for locomotion, body condition, hygiene, and hock lesions. In addition, historical bulk tank information and Dairy Herd Improvement Association data were collected when available. At the time of the visit, the Dairy Herd Improvement Association somatic cell count (SCC) was 325,000 +/- 172,000 cells/mL, rolling herd average was 10,457 +/- 1,138 kg per cow, and herd size was 73 +/- 35.5 lactating cows. The body condition score was 3.04 +/- 0.11, the cow hygiene score was 2.66 +/- 0.19, and 7.8% of all cows were clinically lame (locomotion score > or = 3 on a 1 to 5 scale). No hock lesions were present on 74.9% of the cows; 24.1% of cows had a mild lesion (hair loss), and 1.0% had a severe lesion (swollen hock). Historical analysis of the bulk tank SCC showed that 3 out of the 7 herds analyzed had a significant reduction in bulk tank SCC when compared with the previous housing system. Mastitis infection rates decreased significantly by 12% on 6 of the 9 farms analyzed. Reproductive performance significantly improved for 4 out of the 7 herds analyzed, with 25.9 and 34.5% improvement in heat detection rates and pregnancy rates, respectively. The main reasons producers reported for building this type of housing system were for improved cow comfort, cow health and longevity, and ease of completing daily chores. The largest concern was the cost and availability of bedding, especially as additional compost barns are built. Overall, all producers were satisfied with their decision to build a compost barn.
Comparative performance of state-of-the-art classifiers in computer-aided detection for CT colonography

Several effective machine learning and pattern recognition schemes have been developed for medical imaging. Although many classifiers have been used with computer-aided detection (CAD) for computed tomographic colonography (CTC), little is known about their relative performance. This pilot study compares the performance of several state-of-the-art classifiers and feature selection methods in the classification of lesion candidates detected by CAD in CTC. There were four classifiers: linear discriminant analysis (LDA), radial basis function support vector machine (RBF-SVM), random forests (RF), and gradient boosting machine (GBM). There were five feature selection methods: sequential forward inclusion (SFI) of principal components (PCs), univariate filtering (UF), UF of PCs, recursive feature elimination (RFE), and RFE of PCs. A strategy of using all available features was tested also. For evaluation, 232,211 detections by a CAD system on 1,211 patients were subsampled randomly to create 10 different populations of 500 true-positive (TP) and 500 false-positive (FP) detections. The classifier performance was evaluated by use of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 3 repeated 10-fold cross-validations. According to the result, the discrimination performance of the RBF-SVM classifier with feature selection by the RFE of PCs compared favorably with other methods, although no single classifier outperformed other classifiers under all conditions and feature selection schemes.
Spatial and temporal variability in recruitment of the cyanobacterium Gloeotrichia echinulata in an oligotrophic lake

AbstractRecruitment from dormant stages in the benthos can provide a critically important inoculum for surface populations of phytoplankton, including bloom-forming cyanobacteria. For example, water-column populations of the large (1–3-mm diameter) colonial cyanobacterium Gloeotrichia echinulata (Smith) P. Richter can be strongly subsidized by benthic recruitment. Therefore, understanding controls on recruitment is essential to an investigation of the factors controlling Gloeotrichia blooms, which are increasing in low-nutrient lakes across northeastern North America. We quantified surface abundances and recruitment from littoral sediments at multiple near-shore sampling sites in oligotrophic Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire, USA, during the summers of 2005–2012 and used this data set—the longest known record of cyanobacterial recruitment—to investigate potential drivers of interannual differences in Gloeotrichia recruitment. We found extensive spatiotemporal variability in recruitment. Recruitment was higher ...
Reflexive serial algebras

Abstract An algebra A of n × n matrices over a field K is reflexive if every element of M n ( K ) that leaves invariant all invariant subspaces of A is in A . We characterize those basic, indecomposable serial algebras that are reflexive.
Balsam-related systemic contact dermatitis

Abstract Background: Positive patch tests to balsam of Peru (BOP) or fragrance mix (FM) suggest the possibility of systemic contact dermatitis from balsam-related foods and spices. Objective: This was a retrospective study to determine whether avoidance of balsam-related foods results in an improvement of dermatitis in these patients. Methods: A review of the records of all patients seen from July 1 to Dec 31, 1998 with positive patch tests to BOP, FM, cinnamic aldehyde, and balsam of tolu was performed 9 to 14 months after their evaluation in a tertiary dermatology center. All patients were contacted via telephone to assess the status of their dermatitis and whether they were able to note any specific balsam-related food allergies. Results: A total of 75 patients were identified, and 71 could be contacted. Fourteen were only allergic to BOP or FM on testing; 31 were positive to BOP/FM and other allergens with presumed relevance to BOP/FM; 26 were positive to BOP/FM and others with other allergens felt to be responsible for the dermatitis and were not placed on a BOP diet. Excluding this last group, 21 of 45 (47%) had complete or significant improvement that they related to dietary modification. Ten did not modify their diet, with 8 reporting no improvement. Eight improved with fragrance or other allergen avoidance only, and 6 modified their diet unsuccessfully. Most commonly implicated foods included tomatoes, citrus, and spices. Conclusion: Almost half of the subjects with positive patch tests to BOP or FM who followed a BOP reduction diet reported significant to complete improvement of their dermatitis. (J Am Acad Dermatol 2001;45:377-81.)
Aspects of joint coordination are preserved during pointing in persons with post‐stroke hemiparesis

Understanding the fundamental deficits that underlie abnormal reaching movements in persons with hemiparesis is important to the development of rehabilitation approaches for these persons. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether, and to what extent, persons with hemiparesis retain the ability to exploit motor abundance to coordinate their joint motions to control the hand’s path during reaching—a general feature of joint coordination in age‐matched control persons. Eight subjects with mild to moderate right hemiparesis following a stroke and seven age and gender matched control subjects performed pointing movements with each arm individually to targets in the contralateral and ipsilateral workspaces. Ten joint motions and characteristics of hand movement were measured over multiple repetitions. The variance (across trials) of joint combinations was partitioned into two components at every point in the hand’s trajectory; joint variance that led to a consistent hand position and joint variance that led to an inconsistent hand position from trial to trial. All participants were able to limit joint configurations that would have led to trial‐to‐trial variance of the hand’s path, while using a range of joint configurations consistent with a stable hand path. These results demonstrate that persons with mild to moderate hemiparesis and no measured sensory or perceptual deficits utilized available motor abundance to stabilize performance variables that were important to successful completion of a reaching task, just as was found for age‐matched control persons. A principal components analysis of joint angle variance across several points in the movement cycle demonstrated that the persons with hemiparesis showed different patterns of joint couplings during reaching compared with the age‐matched control persons; this was particularly evident for the more impaired individuals. These findings were related to the two features of synergy as proposed by other workers. It is suggested that these results support the idea that, while subjects with mild‐to‐moderate hemiparesis demonstrate differences in the feature of a synergy related to the specific patterns of joint coupling, they retain the feature of a synergy that is related to error compensation.
Current report--HIV. Treatment of AIDS and HIV-related conditions--1994.

The Management of patients with human immuno­ deficiency virus (HIV) disease and the acquired im­ munodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is an essential part of primary care. The current redirection of health care toward primary care emphasizes the importance family physicians will have in caring for this common disease. This Current Report­ HIVupdates our previous treatment recommen­ dations, I which are based on the medical litera­ ture, as well as our clinical experience at San Francisco General Hospital. Strategies of Care The most important change in HIV therapeutics this year is the heightened awareness of the ac­ ceptability of different treatment approaches. This change is most obvious in the area of anti­ retroviral treatment, where the disappointing re­ sults of the Concorde zidovudine triap,3 have not only resulted in a reevaluation of early anti­ retroviral intervention guidelines 4 but have pro­ duced, as a side-effect, a reassessment by patients and providers of a wide range of clinical issues. The evidence upon which treatment decisions are made is now being weighed more carefully before treatment choices are exercised. Discussions of therapeutic options among the patient, family, and provider now are recognized as paramount in clinical care, especially when studies do not provide compelling data about
Dynamic Response Analysis of GR/EP Composite Panels Under Blast Wave Pressure Loading

‡§ ** Dynamic responses of composite panels subject to blast wave loading are investigated using a finite-element analysis code based on a geometrically nonlinear solid shell element formulation. The analytical formulation incorporates a material damage model with failure criteria for matrix cracking, fiber breakage, and fiber-matrix shear failure. The effect of strain rates on material strength is incorporated into the composite failure models. A trinitrotoluene (TNT)–based, blast loading module is used for the calculation of loading on the panels. Numerical results are obtained for a graphite/epoxy composite panel to investigate the behavior of composite panels undergoing large deflection while experiencing material damage.
Ontology-based data mining model management for self-service knowledge discovery

Data mining (DM) models are knowledge-intensive information products that enable knowledge creation and discovery. As large volume of data is generated with high velocity from a variety of sources, there is a pressing need to place DM model selection and self-service knowledge discovery in the hands of the business users. However, existing knowledge discovery and data mining (KDDM) approaches do not sufficiently address key elements of data mining model management (DMMM) such as model sharing, selection and reuse. Furthermore, they are mainly from a knowledge engineer’s perspective, while the business requirements from business users are often lost. To bridge these semantic gaps, we propose an ontology-based DMMM approach for self-service model selection and knowledge discovery. We develop a DM3 ontology to translate the business requirements into model selection criteria and measurements, provide a detailed deployment architecture for its integration within an organization’s KDDM application, and use the example of a student loan company to demonstrate the utility of the DM3.
Technology in Evolutionary and Comparative Perspective: Comment on Frisbie and Clarke*

A recent paper by Frisbie and Clarke reviews human ecological and neoevolutionary definitions of technology and presents and validates a composite index of technology for 66 nations in 1970. The index includes diverse facets of nations' energy-processing ability, transportation, science, manufacturing, agriculture, and communications. This work is valuable for its attempt to make variables operational in light of sociological theory, but it neglects some subtleties in the idea of technology. In particular, different definitions do not converge as fully as Frisbie and Clarke claim; and the index they present probably does not represent technology equally over its full range, at least by one definition of technology. Their index also raises the issues of whether technology is best understood as an "analytical" or as a "global" property (Lazarsfeld and Menzel), and whether it should be understood at the national or the world-system level.
Research Notes. PERSISTENCE AND CHANGE: A NOTE ON THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF AN ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

The article analyzes the long-term effects of an organizational development program involving middle managers of a marketing organization in a national pharmaceutical house. The program was impleme...
Neosuture formation after endoscope-assisted craniosynostosis repair

OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to identify the rate of neosuture formation in patients with craniosynostosis treated with endoscope-assisted strip craniectomy and investigate whether neosuture formation in sagittal craniosynostosis has an effect on postoperative calvarial shape. METHODS The authors retrospectively reviewed 166 cases of nonsyndromic craniosynostosis that underwent endoscope-assisted repair between 2006 and 2014. Preoperative and 1-year postoperative head CT scans were evaluated, and the rate of neosuture formation was calculated. Three-dimensional reconstructions of the CT data were used to measure cephalic index (CI) (ratio of head width and length) of patients with sagittal synostosis. Regression analysis was used to calculate significant differences between patients with and without neosuture accounting for age at surgery and preoperative CI. RESULTS Review of 96 patients revealed that some degree of neosuture development occurred in 23 patients (23.9%): 16 sagittal, 2 bilateral coronal, 4 unilateral coronal, and 1 lambdoid synostosis. Complete neosuture formation was seen in 14 of those 23 patients (9 of 16 sagittal, 1 of 2 bilateral coronal, 3 of 4 unilateral coronal, and 1 of 1 lambdoid). Mean pre- and postoperative CI in the complete sagittal neosuture group was 67.4% and 75.5%, respectively, and in the non-neosuture group was 69.8% and 74.4%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the CI between the neosuture and fused suture groups preoperatively or 17 months postoperatively in patients with sagittal synostosis. CONCLUSIONS Neosuture development can occur after endoscope-assisted strip craniectomy and molding helmet therapy for patients with craniosynostosis. Although the authors did not detect a significant difference in calvarial shape postoperatively in the group with sagittal synostosis, the relevance of neosuture formation remains to be determined. Further studies are required to discover long-term outcomes comparing patients with and without neosuture formation.
Pattern Recognition in Real Time using Neural Networks: An Application for Pressure Measurement

Retrieving information in real time from fringe patterns is a topic of great importance in scientific and engineering applications of optical methods. This paper describes an application of neural networks for real time pressure measurement using fringe pattern recognition. It is based on the capability of neural networks to recognize signals that are similar but not identical to the signals which were used to train the network. In this investigation a pressure sensor, which was part of the wall of the wind tunnel, and an optical apparatus were used to produce moire fringes. The fringe patterns generated were analyzed by a back propagation neural network at the speed of the recording device, which was a CCD camera. This method of information retrieval was used to measure the pressure fluctuations in the boundary layer flow. A second neural network was used to recognize the pressure patterns and to provide input to a control system that was capable to preserve the stability of the flow.
286 HISTORICAL QUESTIONS TO RISK STRATIFY FOR SUBARACHNOID HEMORRHAGE IN PATIENTS WITH HEADACHE: DOES IT MATTER HOW YOU ASK?

Accurately ascertaining risk for subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is critical to making appropriate diagnostic decisions. Risk is often based on response to the question “Is this the worst headache of your life?” We sought to determine whether the manner and order in which historical questions are asked significantly alter the response. Methods Adult patients complaining of headache in the ER were presented with one of two questionnaires each containing a series of five questions, two pertinent and three distracters. The two pertinent questions were “Is this the worst headache of your life?” and “When was the last time you had a headache this bad?” The two versions varied in regards to the order in which the questions were asked. Version 1 first asked “Is this the worst headache of you life?” while version 2 reversed the order by first asking “When was the last time you had headache this bad?” A population of 120 was determined to be adequate to achieve 80% power and detect a difference of 20 to 25%. Data were analyzed to determine (1) what percentage of patients answer these questions concordantly and (2) whether the order in which the questions are asked influences the outcome, in this case the rate of concordance. To correct for the element of chance responsible for a certain degree of concordance we utilized a kappa (K) statistic. Results For research question 1 the percentages of patients who answered the questions concordantly were 60% and 75% respectively for version 1 and version 2. For research question 2 the agreement corrected for chance for version 2, _ = 0.51, is higher than the agreement corrected for chance for version 1, _ = 0.28, a difference of 0.23 with a 95% CI (-0.03, 0.49; p = .08; SE = 0.13). Comparing percentages, 75% vs 60%, produces a difference of 15% with a 95% CI of (-2%, 32%; p = .08). Conclusion Asking patients “Is this the worst headache of your life?” does not provide the clinical information most clinicians assume it does and is not sufficient justification to do a work-up for SAH. Knowing the patient has had a similar headache in the past could be an essential component of the history and aid in preventing invasive and costly procedures. Our study indicates that up 38% answer these two very similar questions discordantly. Also, there appears to be a higher degree of concordance (15%) when patients are first asked “When was the last time you had a headache this bad?” These data raise the question of whether the wording of these two questions plays a statistically significant role, in addition to order in which they are asked. Supported by University of New Mexico (UNM) School of Medicine.
Deep-Reaching Hydrodynamic Flow Confinement: Micrometer-Scale Liquid Localization for Open Substrates With Topographical Variations

We present a method for nonintrusive localization and reagent delivery on immersed biological samples with topographical variation on the order of hundreds of micrometers. Our technique, which we refer to as the deep-reaching hydrodynamic flow confinement (DR-HFC), is simple and passive: it relies on a deep-reaching hydrodynamic confinement delivered through a simple microfluidic probe design to perform localized microscale alterations on substrates as deep as 600 μm. Designed to scan centimeter-scale areas of biological substrates, our method passively prevents sample intrusion by maintaining a large gap between the probe and the substrate. The gap prevents collision of the probe and the substrate and reduces the shear stress experienced by the sample. We present two probe designs: linear and annular DR-HFC. Both designs comprise a reagent-injection aperture and aspiration apertures that serve to confine the reagent. We identify the design parameters affecting reagent localization and depth by DR-HFC and study their individual influence on the operation of DR-HFC numerically. Using DR-HFC, we demonstrate localized binding of antihuman immunoglobulin G (IgG) onto an activated substrate at various depths from 50 to 600 μm. DR-HFC provides a readily implementable approach for noninvasive processing of biological samples applicable to the next generation of diagnostic and bioanalytical devices.
Is Jesus Still “ACTing Up”?

In this essay, I discuss the continuing relevance of Jesus ACTED UP in three dimensions: the pastoral, the academic, and the self-critical. Framing the essay with personal reflections, I first desc...
Collected Debris of Public Memory: Commemorative Genres and the Mediation of the Past

The authors illuminate the rhetorical affordances of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, showing how it offers a complex ground for interrogating both the crisis of representation and the media and mediation of public memory within commemorative sites. In so doing, the authors address issues of (in)authenticity, emotional encounters with the past, and the media and mediation of memory to examine how commemorative sites, as a rhetorical genre, are undergoing a transformation in their social action, marking a shift from the performance of individual empathy to collective responsibility. The authors thus examine the inventional resources for ongoing social action that such a shift might entail, particularly in moving from a forensic or epideictic orientation to a more deliberative commemorative experience.
Pernicious Anemia: Fundamental and Practical Aspects in Diagnosis

Background Pernicious Anemia (PA), the most common cause of cobalamin deficiency anemia worldwide, is an autoimmune disease of multifactorial etiologies involving complex environmental and immunological factors. Although it was first reported by Addison in 1849 with subsequent advances in understanding of pathogenesis and molecular biology, diagnosis of PA is still challenging for clinicians because of its complexity and diverse clinical presentations. Conclusion Herein, we provide an overview of PA, mainly focusing on its scientific and practical aspects in diagnosis. We also discuss the limitations of currently available diagnostic tools for the evaluation of cobalamin deficiency and PA.
Understanding the Effects of Political Environments on Unethical Behavior in Organizations

Based on a framework that integrates job demands-resources theory (Bakker and Demerouti in J Manag Psychol 22:309–328, 2007), social cognitive theory (Bandura in Social foundations of thought and action, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1986; in Pervin L, John O (eds) Handbook of personality, Guilford Press, New York, pp 154–196, 1999) and regulatory focus theory (Higgins in Am Psychol 52:1280–1300, 1997), the purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and subsequent moral disengagement and unethical behavior. We conducted a laboratory study and also collected data in two separate surveys 6 weeks apart from 206 individuals working full time to investigate the relationships presented in our model. In both studies, we examined the direct relationship of politics perceptions on unethical behavior in organizations as well as the indirect relationship through the influence of moral disengagement. We investigated the moderating effect of regulatory focus (prevention-focus and promotion-focus) on the relationship between moral disengagement and unethical behavior using the survey data. Results indicated that perceptions of politics were significantly related to our mediator, moral disengagement, which was significantly related to our dependent variable, unethical behavior. However, only prevention-focus moderated the relationships examined. Implications for future research and managerial practice are discussed.
Attitude estimation: with or without spacecraft dynamics?

Kalman filter based spacecraft attitude estimation has been used in many space missions and has been widely discussed in literature. While some models in spacecraft attitude estimation include spacecraft dynamics, most do not. To our best knowledge, there is no analysis to determine which model is a better choice. In this paper, we discuss the reasons why spacecraft dynamics should be considered in the Kalman filter based spacecraft attitude estimation problem. We also propose a reduced quaternion spacecraft dynamics model which admits additive noise. Geometry of the reduced quaternion model and the additive noise are discussed. This formulation makes computation easier than the one with full quaternion. Simulations are conducted to justify our claims.
Investigation of critical processing parameters for laser surface processing of AZ31B-H24

Abstract The abundance of electrochemically noble secondary phases present in the heterogeneous microstructure of Mg alloys leads to accelerated corrosion of the surrounding Mg matrix by micro-galvanic coupling. The extent of disintegration of the large Al-Mn intermetallic particles (IMPs) present in the Mg alloy AZ31B was investigated with respect to laser processing parameters of a nanosecond pulsed Excimer laser. The parameters investigated were overall pulse per area, laser fluence (J/cm2), and background pressure of Ar gas. Observation of resulting IMP dissolution, morphology, and subsequent reduction in cathodic corrosion kinetics are reported. Laser fluence and pulse per area were observed to have the largest impact on the corrosion kinetics and overall dissolution of IMPs, with the highest fluence (1.5 J/cm2) and 100 or above pulse per area exhibiting an order of magnitude reduction in cathodic kinetics.
Review essay: Inus Daneel's contribution to earthkeeping in an African context

Inus Daneel grew up on the Morgenster mission in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe. From early childhood he maintained friendships with Shona people, and developed an intimate knowledge of their language, customs, worldview and religious practices. Later, as a missiologist, he did extensive research on traditional African religion and on African Initiated Churches in the region.
Connected cruise control design using probabilistic model checking

In this paper, we synthesize a connected cruise controller with performance guarantee using probabilistic model checking, for a vehicle that receives motion information from several vehicles ahead through wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communication. We model the car-following dynamics of the preceding vehicles as Markov chains and synthesize the connected cruise controller as a Markov decision process. We show through simulations that such a design is robust against imperfections in communication.
A variational data assimilation system for the range dependent acoustic model using the representer method: Theoretical derivations.

This study presents the theoretical framework for variational data assimilation of acoustic pressure observations into an acoustic propagation model, namely, the range dependent acoustic model (RAM). RAM uses the split-step Pade algorithm to solve the parabolic equation. The assimilation consists of minimizing a weighted least squares cost function that includes discrepancies between the model solution and the observations. The minimization process, which uses the principle of variations, requires the derivation of the tangent linear and adjoint models of the RAM. The mathematical derivations are presented here, and, for the sake of brevity, a companion study presents the numerical implementation and results from the assimilation simulated acoustic pressure observations.
Acid ceramidase confers radioresistance to glioblastoma cells

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary, intracranial malignancy of the central nervous system. The standard treatment protocol, which involves surgical resection, and concurrent radiation with adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ), still imparts a grim prognosis. Ultimately, all GBMs exhibit recurrence or progression, developing resistance to standard treatment. This study demonstrates that GBMs acquire resistance to radiation via upregulation of acid ceramidase (ASAH1) and sphingosine‑1-phosphate (Sph-1P). Moreover, inhibition of ASAH1 and Sph-1P, either with humanized monoclonal antibodies, small molecule drugs (i.e. carmofur), or a combination of both, led to suppression of GBM cell growth. These results suggest that ASAH1 and Sph-1P may be excellent targets for the treatment of new GBMs and recurrent GBMs, especially since the latter overexpresses ASAH1.
Systemic Inflammation Induced by microRNAs: Endometriosis-Derived Alterations in Circulating microRNA 125b-5p and Let-7b-5p Regulate Macrophage Cytokine Production

Context Endometriosis is characterized by aberrant inflammation. We previously reported increased levels of microRNA (miRNA) 125b-5p and decreased levels of miRNA Let-7b-5p in serum of patients with endometriosis. Objective Determine the regulatory function of miRNAs 125b-5p and Let-7b-5p on production of proinflammatory cytokines in endometriosis. Design Case-control study. Setting University hospital. Patients Women with (20) and without (26) endometriosis; human U937 macrophage cell line. Intervention Sera were collected from surgically diagnosed patients and differentiated U937 cells that were transfected with miRNAs 125b-5p and Let-7b-5p mimics and inhibitor. Main outcome measures Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and IL-1β levels and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction for expression of miRNAs 125b-5p and Let-7b-5p in sera of patients with and without endometriosis. Transfected macrophages were evaluated for expression of inflammatory cytokines, intracellular production, and secretion of these cytokines. Results We noted substantial elevation of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, marked upregulation of miRNA 125b, and considerable downregulation of Let-7b in sera of patients with endometriosis vs control. There was a positive correlation between miRNA 125b levels and TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 and a negative correlation between miRNA Let-7b levels and TNF-α in sera of patients with endometriosis. Transfection experiments showed a noteworthy upregulation of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 in macrophages transfected with miRNA 125b mimic or Let-7b inhibitor. The secreted cytokine protein levels and intracellular imaging studies closely correlate with the messenger RNA changes. Conclusions Endometriosis-derived miRNAs regulate macrophage cytokine production that contributes to inflammation associated with this condition.
Out-of-Pocket Costs for Advanced Imaging Across the US Private Insurance Marketplace.

Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to characterize out-of-pocket patient costs for advanced imaging across the US private insurance marketplace. Methods Using the 2017 CMS Health Insurance Marketplace Benefits and Cost Sharing Public Use File, which details coverage policies for qualified health plans on federally facilitated marketplaces, measures of out-of-pocket costs for advanced imaging and other essential health benefits were analyzed for all 18,429 plans. Results Independent of deductibles, 48.0% of plans required coinsurance (percentage fees) for advanced imaging, 9.7% required copayments (flat fees), and 8.0% required both; 34.3% required neither. For out-of-network services, 91.5% required coinsurance, 0.1% copayments, and 1.0% both; only 7.4% required neither. In the presence of deductibles, patient coinsurance burdens for advanced imaging in and out of network were 27.7% and 47.7%, respectively, and average in- and out-of-network copayments were $319 and $630, respectively. In the presence of deductibles, patients' average coinsurance ranged from 10.0% to 40.9% in network and from 29.1% to 75.0% out of network by state; these tended to be higher in lower income states ( r = −0.332). For no-deductible policies, patients' average out-of-network coinsurance burden for advanced imaging was 99.9%. Among assessed benefits, advanced imaging had the highest in-network and second highest out-of-network copayments. Conclusions In the US private insurance marketplace, patients very commonly pay coinsurance when undergoing advanced imaging, both in and out of network. But out-of-network services usually involve drastically higher patient financial responsibilities (potentially 100% of examination cost). To more effectively engage patients in shared decision making and mitigate the hardships of surprise balance billing, radiologists should facilitate transparent communication of advanced imaging costs with patients.
Power system asset management using advanced protection relays

The evolution and deployment of smart grid asset management technologies since last decade has transformed the power system monitoring capabilities. Smart grid offers hardware, software, communication systems and data storage capabilities for asset management in the form of Intelligent Electronic Devices (IED's). These IEDs for a typical asset can include protection devices and monitoring devices. Protection devices offer functionalities such as protecting the asset from events (faults) through breaker control, compute metering data, record transient & disturbance data during events and communicating the event summary to upstream systems. On the other hand, monitoring devices offer functionalities such as asset failure monitoring, diagnostics, incipient fault detection and helps in doing condition based maintenance scheduling. Due to the recent advancements in protection relay hardware and technologies, it is possible to utilize relays in performing asset management apart from as protection & control devices. In this paper, we discuss on what are the merits and advantages in doing asset management with protection relays with a detailed case study on motor monitoring & diagnostics using motor protection relay.
PO-017 Androgen deprivation and oxidative phosporylation inhibition pose synergistic antitumor effects in subsets of prostate tumours in vitro

Introduction Cancer cells are able to survive oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) inhibition by up-regulation of glycolysis. Androgens stimulate glycolysis in prostate cancer cells through activation of the androgen receptor (AR). Here we hypothesise that androgens might help subsets of prostate cancer cells to survive OXPHOS inhibition. In addition, the combined androgen signalling and OXPHOS inhibition might pose synergistic anti-tumour effects in vitro. Material and methods The effects of suppressing OXPHOS with 100 ng/ml oligomycin in charcoal stripped serum media (CSS), before and after the addition of 40 ng/dl testosterone in VCAP, LNCaP, and LNCaP-C4-2B cells in vitro were evaluated. Tumour cell viability after 72 hours was estimated using MTT assay. Results and discussions The addition of 100 ng/ml oligomycin to VCAP cells in a steroid-depleted environment (CSS) dramatically decreased cell viability compared to CSS alone (p Conclusion The combined androgen depletion and OXPHOS inhibition shows promising synergistic anti-tumour effects in vitro.
CROSS-LINKING OF FIBRONECTIN TO C-TERMINAL FRAGMENTS OF THE FIBRINOGEN ALPHA -CHAIN BY FACTOR XIIIA

Fibronectin binds specifically to fibrin and is covalently cross-linked to the fibrin α chain by activated factor XIII (XIIIa). This reaction is important for wound healing. Here we investigate XIIIa-catalyzed cross-linking of fibronectin and some of its fragments to a recombinant fragment representing the COOH-terminal 30kDa of the fibrin α chain (αC30K:His 368–Val 610). Only fibronectin and those fragments containing an intact NH2-terminus were able to form cross-linked complexes. As many as 10 of the 17 lysines in αC30K can serve as amine donors in this reaction. Analysis of the rate of XIIIa-catalyzed cross-linking of fibronectin NH2-terminal peptides and fragments with αC30K revealed that the presence of the first type I “finger” module accelerates the cross-linking reaction; addition of fingers 2–5 had no further effect.
Durability Aspects of Gas-Diffusion and Microporous Layers

The polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) gas-diffusion layer (GDL) is the critical bridging component between the bipolar plate flow-field and elec-trocatalyst layer. It must participate in all mass-transport processes of a PEFC. These consist primarily of reactant transport and liquid-water handling – either excess water removal to prevent catalyst-layer flooding under humidified conditions or suppression of water removal to prevent membrane dehydration under subsaturated conditions. Other requirements of a GDL include electron collection and transport, and sharing stack compression load with the cell gaskets. To achieve this broad range of functions, state-of-the-art GDLs consist of a complex, porous composite network of graphite fibers, carbon particles, and hydrophobic fluoropolymer. They are manufactured via a series of intricate processing steps, all of which can affect the final properties of the GDL, and may contain several discrete layers in the final form. The most popular configuration is a bilayer structure with the macroporous substrate facing the flow field and a microporous layer (MPL) facing the catalyst layer. All properties of the GDL must be preserved within the PEFC operating environment to ensure required stack lifetimes and power densities. This chapter discusses GDL substrate processing variables, hydrophobic posttreatments, MPL addition, and material selection in the context of their affects on long-term PEFC performance, i.e., loss of hydrophobicity, loss of MPL material, carbon corrosion, increase in mass-transport resistance, etc. Advanced physical property characterization methods are shown and are related to durability data. Finally, considerations for improving GDL durability and extending membrane lifetime under dry operating conditions through novel GDL designs are discussed.
The analysis of ethnic mixtures

Populations of ethnic mixtures can be useful in genetic studies. Admixture mapping, or mapping by admixture linkage disequilibrium (MALD), is specially developed for admixed populations and can supplement traditional genome-wide association analyses in the search for genetic variants underlying complex traits. Admixture mapping tests the association between a trait and locus-specific ancestries. The locus-specific ancestries are in linkage disequilibrium (LD) which is generated by the admixture process between genetically distinct ancestral populations. Because of highly correlated locus-specific ancestries, admixture mapping performs many fewer independent tests across the genome than current genome-wide association analysis. Therefore, admixture mapping can be more powerful because of the smaller penalty due to multiple tests. In this chapter, I introduce the theory behind admixture mapping and how we conduct the analysis in practice.
How Ease of Categorization Affects the Use of Discounting Cues

We propose an ease of categorization account for when discounting cues are used to inform dispositional judgments about others. We contend that the amount of information observers have about an actor influences the ease with which observers subjectively feel they can categorize them. This categorization ease, in turn, influences the use of discounting cues in dispositional judgment. Across five studies, we demonstrate a curvilinear relationship between actor information and the use of discounting cues. When observers have full or no information, categorizing the actor feels easy and discounting cues are not used to discount dispositional judgment. It is only when observers hold partial information – when categorization feels difficult – that discounting cues are used. We conclude by discussing theoretical and practical implications, in addition to why the link between certain deviant behaviors and alcohol consumption may be perpetuated in part by observers’ tendency to rely on intoxication as a discounting cue.
Abstract 2280: Systematic analysis of causal noncoding mutations in pediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is the most prevalent childhood hematological malignancy and the leading cause of childhood cancer-related mortality. To date, the molecular pathogenesis of B-ALL has not been completely defined, limiting our ability to develop targeted therapies. Despite great advances in identifying mutations in cancer patients, the functional consequences of noncoding mutations are still difficult to interpret. Transcriptional enhancers are key determinants of tissue-specific gene expression. Several recent studies have reported novel mutations in cancer genome that disrupt enhance function and thus expression of their target genes. However, systematic detection of noncoding mutations that perturb either enhancer sequence or enhancer-promoter (EP) interaction is still challenging. Such analysis can help to identify novel driver mutations and improve our understanding of the disease. Here we introduce a novel algorithm for identifying causal mutations that disrupt enhancer function and target gene expression in B-ALL. The algorithm takes as input whole genome sequencing (WGS) and RNA-Seq data to predict causal noncoding mutations. We apply the algorithm to analyze data from 163 B-ALL patients and identify 332 noncoding mutations that disrupt EP interactions and gene expression. Our analysis recapitulate previously known translocations such as t(14;X) that leads to CRLF2 overexpression, as well as novel causal translocations that leads to deregulation of TMEM106A and MIR663B. Systematic analysis of the identified mutations indicated that SNVs in enhancer region have a higher variant allele frequency (VAF), suggesting enhancer mutations likely occur earlier than coding mutations during oncogenesis. In addition, pathway analysis show that the majority (57%) of mutations perturbing metabolic pathways are noncoding mutations. Further analysis and experimental follow-up of the predicted noncoding mutations may reveal novel insights into the pathogenesis of B-cell ALL. Citation Format: Bing He, Peng Gao, Yang Ding, Chia-Hui Chen, Hannah Kim, Stephen P. Hunger, Sarah K. Tasian, Kai Tan. Systematic analysis of causal noncoding mutations in pediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2280.