cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exact input-to-output frequency response of time interval modulated switched networks

The describing function analysis approach previously presented by the author for determining control-to-output frequency responses of time-interval-modulated switched networks, as exemplified by switching DC-to-DC converters, is now extended to determining input-to-output frequency responses. The general derivation procedure is outlined and demonstrated in deriving the linearized describing function of pulse-width-modulated (PWM) converters operating in continuous conduction mode (CCM). Experimental verification of this result is provided.
Shadow Banking and Financial Regulation

The so-called “shadow banking” system arose over recent decades and achieved full bloom just prior to the recent financial crisis. That system proved unstable. And the shadow banking system was the central focus of the government’s emergency policy response to the crisis. Drawing on existing theory, this article argues that maturity transformation - the financing of longer-term financial assets with short-term (money-market) liabilities - is inherently unstable, and that this instability generates externalities. Consequently, government intervention may be warranted on grounds of economic efficiency. The article examines the efficiency characteristics of three potential approaches to policy intervention, which may be used alone or in combination: (i) ex ante risk constraints; (ii) ex post liquidity support; and (iii) insurance for short-term creditors. It shows that, under plausible assumptions, an insurance regime (supplemented with ex ante risk constraints to counteract the effects of moral hazard) is efficiency-maximizing. The proposed insurance regime would (i) make short-term liability insurance available to financial firms whose assets fall beneath a specified risk (volatility) threshold; and (ii) disallow financial firms whose assets exceed that threshold (and firms that are eligible for, but decline to participate in, the insurance regime) from funding themselves in the money markets. The article proposes functional criteria for establishing the efficiency-maximizing risk threshold.
Introduction: Geographies of Capital Punishment in the United States - The Execution of Troy Davis.

As of the writing of this introduction 3170 people currently are on "death row" in the United States (Equal Justice Initiative 2013). Despite the widespread public belief that equality under the law exists, the reality for death row inmates is quite different. A 2007 study by the American Bar Association found that over one-third of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania death row inmates would have received sentences of life in prison had they not been African American. More concerning is a 2007 study by Yale University Law School which found African American defendants were three times more likely to receive the death penalty if the victim of the crime was white (as quoted in Donohue 2011). Given the geographic realities of life in the United States these facts may be unsurprising to readers of ACME . However, what makes these facts interesting, and perhaps what makes the United States an interesting case -- some might say exceptional -- is that despite widespread international pressure to curtail or abolish the death penalty, the US is one of the last Western nations to continue to view executions as an acceptable form of punishment. At issue is how race and class and gender renders the death penalty an unequal form of punishment, a punishment that speaks to the role of geography in the US criminal justice system.
Critical Care Limits: What Is the Right Balance?

How should we (future possible patients and critical care providers) determine fair and reasonable limitations to life-prolonging resources in the context of the intensive care unit (ICU)? I take t...
Progress in structural materials for aerospace systems

Abstract This paper examines the progress in aircraft and aircraft engines from the standpoint of the role that better materials and processing has played. Such progress includes the relatively recent transformation of the aircraft industry from purely performance driven products to products that are driven by customer value. It is demonstrated that advances in materials and processing technology and understanding has enabled much of the progress that has been made since the inception of manned, heavier than air flight. The recent constraints of cost, as determined by customer value, have changed the way new materials are introduced and these trends appear to be the new paradigm for the aircraft and aircraft engine industry. While the focus of this paper is aircraft and aircraft engines, the broader focus is on the role of materials in creating lightweight structures. There are examples used in this paper that are relevant to automotive applications once they are adjusted for cost. This matter is briefly discussed at the end of the paper.
On Financial Sector Reform in Emerging Markets: Enhancing Creditors' Rights and Securitizing Non-Performing Loans in the Indian Banking Sector - an Elephant's Tale

The Asian financial crisis brought to the forefront weaknesses in the banking sector of South-east Asia and the issue of banking reform. Although China and India were spared by the crisis, their banking sectors faced problems similar to those faced by the South-east Asian economies during the build-up to the Asian crisis. Decades of inefficient lending practices, poor monitoring, corruption, and a host of other factors had left the Indian banking sector saddled with huge folios of non-performing loans. Therefore, in order to clean up its banking system, the Indian government embarked upon major regulatory reform in the last decade including allowing banks and financial institutions to securitize their folios of non-performing loans. This comment argues that Indian policy response is not just a stop-gap solution to the problem of non-performing loans in the Indian banking sector. Although problems exist in the current Indian experiment, however, securitization of NPAs has been a positive development for the Indian banking sector. While it has helped strengthen the banking sector by clearing up funds for more lending, it has also provided an impetus to the development of a stronger fixed income market in India which has the potential to have considerably more depth than its regional counterparts. Such a market is important for a developing economy like India's so as to provide an alternative avenue of funding for industry.
Multidimensional bin packing revisited

Multidimensional bin packing is a challenging combinatorial problem with applications to cloud computing, virtualized datacenters, and machine reassignment. In contrast to the classical bin packing model, item sizes and bin capacities both span a vector of values, requiring that feasible assignments honor capacity constraints across all dimensions. Recent work has yielded significant improvements over traditional CP and MIP encodings by incorporating multivalued decision diagrams (MDDs) into a heuristic-driven CSP-based search. In this paper, we consider a radically different approach to multidimensional bin packing, in which the complete contents of bins are considered sequentially and independently. Our algorithm remains depth-first, yet adopts a powerful least commitment strategy for items when their exclusion from a bin is attempted. We abandon the use of MDDs, and instead aggregate capacity over incomplete bins to establish significantly stronger bounds on the solution quality of a partial assignment. Empirical results demonstrate that our approach outperforms the state-of-the-art by up to four orders of magnitude, and can even solve some previously intractable problems within a fraction of a second.
Chomsky's nativism: A critical review.

Is grammar innate? Noam Chomsky holds that it is, or, more accurately, that the hypothesis that it is innate is the only coherent and plausible one that has yet been proposed to account for the acquisition of language. Extrapolating to broader issues, he has championed a retreat from behaviorism and empiricism to cognitivism and rationalism, from approaches that seek to determine the relationship between an organism's behavior and the environment to those that wish to discover the organism's "essential nature," of which behavior is an incomplete expression. His arguments, which are detailed, polemical, and persuasive, are evidently inspiring to a thriving school of linguists and to many laymen with an interest in language and philosophy. It is important to assess his position carefully, not only because he concludes that little is to be gained by pursuing the analysis of verbal behavior with the assumptions and methodology of radical behaviorism but because he claims to have achieved considerable success with very different assumptions and methodology. Success in explaining complex behavior deserves our attention whatever the approach. When we examine Chomsky's position, however, we find that, not only are his objections to other approaches weak, but the success of which he speaks has been achieved by rendering other problems more difficult, if not
A limited technique for distinguishing normal from irradiated sperm in screwworm flies, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

A technique for distinguishing normal (unirradiated) from irradiated (6–7 krad) sperm in the spermathecae of mated screwworm flies, Cochliomyia hominivorax , is described. Samples of unstained, irradiated sperm had larger variances of head lengths than normal sperm in most spermathecae. Samples of immature and mature sperm from irradiated or normal testes were not measurably different. Limitations of the technique are discussed, including ca. ⅓ nonscoreable samples with intermediate variances.
Localized Maturation of Lid-closure Reflex Mechanism by Thyroid Implants into Tadpole Hindbrain.∗

The lid-closure (wink) reflex of amphibians—retraction of the eye bulb upon tactile stimulation of the cornea or surrounding skin—appears comparatively late in development. Urodeles display it first in advanced larval stages, anurans at or about the time of metamorphic climax. In the latter group its dependence upon the metamorphosing agents was demonstrated by experiments in which metamorphosis was either suppressed (hypophysectomy) or advanced (hyperthyroidism);1 in the former case, the reflex failed to appear unless thyroid was administered, while in the latter case its onset was advanced almost, though not fully, as much as was the transformation of the body. Both the sensory (trigeminal) and motor (abducens) components of the reflex develop full functional capacity in very early larval stages, but their central linkage into a workable reflex mechanism is not effected until at the time of metamorphosis.The close association with metamorphosis suggested that maturation of the central mechanism of the r...
Characterization of Terahertz Surface Plasmons on Structured Metal Surfaces

We demonstrate the ability to characterize the vector field components of terahertz surface plasmons. We use an electro-optic crystal as the detection medium and place it in close proximity to a bullseye structure.
Plancherel–Polya-type inequalities for entire functions of exponential type in Lp(Rd)

Abstract The goal of the paper is to prove generalizations of the classical Plancherel–Polya inequalities in which point-wise sampling of functions (δ-distributions) is replaced by more general compactly supported distributions on R d . As an application it is shown that a function f ∈ L p ( R d ) , 1 ⩽ p ⩽ ∞ , which is an entire function of exponential type is uniquely determined by a set of numbers { Ψ j ( f ) } , j ∈ N , where { Ψ j } , j ∈ N , is a countable sequence of compactly supported distributions. In the case p = 2 a reconstruction method of a Paley–Wiener function f from a sequence of samples { Ψ j ( f ) } , j ∈ N , is given. This method is a generalization of the classical result of Duffin–Schaeffer about exponential frames on intervals.
P-58: Damage Introduction of Ion-Exchanged Glass under Dynamic Loading Conditions

In-use damage to cover glass on hand-held devices is simulated by dynamic impact using sharp diamonds. The local compliance of the mobile device can significantly influence the resulting failure mode of the glass. Establishing a fracture mechanics framework for sharp contact damage under dynamic loading conditions can inform on glass and device designs.
Needlestick injuries among health care workers. A literature review.

Needlestick injuries among health care workers are a recognized health hazard, with 400,000 needlesticks occurring annually among the 4 million health care workers in the United States. Existing needlestick injury literature primarily focuses on hospital sites and may not be generalizable to other health care settings such as nursing homes, home health care sites, clinics, and emergency response units. Nurses were at high risk of needlestick injury from syringes and i.v. equipment relative to the other health care workers. Recapping, prohibited by the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, continues to be an identified cause of injury. The literature supports comprehensive injury prevention and control strategies in conjunction with the use of safer needle devices. Health care organizations should assess their worksites to identify hazards and select products and strategies to correct the problem. Future research should clarify accurate needlestick injury rates (e.g., establish consistent denominators), address non-hospital setting risks, validate self reported data, and evaluate comprehensive interventions that employ engineering strategies to minimize the risk.
Developmentally regulated activation of apoptosis early in Xenopus gastrulation results in cyclin A degradation during interphase of the cell cycle

Previous work identified a developmental timer that controls the stability of cyclin A protein in interphase-arrested Xenopus embryos. It was shown that cyclins A1 and A2 abruptly become unstable in hydroxyurea-treated embryos at the time that untreated embryos are beginning gastrulation (early gastrulation transition; EGT). We have demonstrated here that cyclins A1 and A2 are degraded at the equivalent of the EGT by the ICE-like caspases that are responsible for programmed cell death or apoptosis. Analysis of embryos treated with hydroxyurea or cycloheximide showed widespread cellular apoptosis coincident with cyclin A cleavage. Our data further indicate that the apoptotic pathway is present in Xenopus embryos prior to the EGT; however, it is maintained in an inactive state in early cleaving embryos by maternally encoded inhibitors. Characterization of the timing of the activation of apoptosis implicates the initiation of zygotic transcription at the mid-blastula transition (MBT) in the suppression of apoptosis in normal embryos. The decreased biosynthetic capacity of embryos treated with hydroxyurea or cycloheximide most likely interferes with the ability to maintain sufficient levels of apoptotic inhibitors and results in widespread apoptosis. Our results suggest a scenario whereby the apoptotic pathway is suppressed in the early cleaving embryo by maternally contributed inhibitors. Degradation at the EGT of maternal RNAs encoding these inhibitors is compensated for by new zygotic transcription beginning at the MBT. This indicates that the interval between the MBT and the EGT represents a critical developmental period during which the regulation of embryonic cellular processes is transferred from maternal to zygotic control.
The US Economy in the 1980’s and Beyond

This essay reviews the path the US economy has travelled from the end of the Carter years to the Bush Presidency. This is the period in which many have proclaimed the end of the American dream while others, precisely to the contrary, see the emergence of a strong and vital America (1). Three currents merge in the assessment of the Reagan economics: first, the macroeconomics of the disinflation, strong growth and the twin deficits. Second, the feeling that America has changed, has rejuvenated its private sector, and redefined the role of the government. Third, and in opposition, the feeling that America is facing increasingly tough competition from Asia, that the standard of living of many Americans is threatened, a theme which emerged strongly in the 1988 campaign.
An electron microscopy study of the formation of hydroxyapatite through sol-gel processing

A study of the stages involved in the formation of hydroxyapatite synthesized by a sol-gel route was performed using scanning and transmission electron microscopic techniques as the primary characterization tools. Scanning electron microscopy enabled examination of the samples of the gel heat treated at various temperatures and for different time periods to determine the morphology and size of grains along with the presence and extent of any porosity in the sample surfaces. Thus, phase development could be studied as a function of heat treatment time and temperature. The gel was prepared using calcium acetate and triethyl phosphate as precursors added in a Ca/P molar ratio of 1.67. Characterization of the samples using transmission electron microscopy allowed a closer examination of the interaction between individual particles and also the detection of features on a much finer scale. Results deduced from these techniques were compared with those obtained from X-ray diffraction and FTIR spectroscopy.
Visual-Aided INS Using Converted Measurements

Abstract A new linearization method using converted measurements is developed for aiding a navigation grade Inertial Navigation System (INS), which is endowed with a monocular Electro-Optical (E/O) sensor—We refer to Visual-INS (V-INS). Using the new linearization method, a ground feature of unknown position is optically tracked over a short, 10-second measurement epoch by a human operator/pilot while the aircraft is on autopilot. Although the E/O sensor-provided bearing measurements are inherently non-linear, they are converted to a linear form allowing the application of a standard linear regression algorithm for nav. state estimation. The only linearization error introduced is in the short measurement error terms. Successive bearing-only measurements taken over time allow good estimation of the INS horizontal velocity error and horizontal accelerometer biases. At the completion of the measurement epoch, the INS is corrected by subtracting out the estimated errors. Aiding the INS in this manner provides a significant improvement in the accuracy of the INS-provided aircraft navigation state estimates when compared to those of a free/unaided INS. Applications for this autonomous navigation approach include navigation in Global Positioning System (GPS) denied environments and/or when RF emitting/receiving sensors are undesirable. *
Unseen WEIRD Assumptions: The So-Called Language Gap Discourse and Ideologies of Language, Childhood, and Learning

ABSTRACTClaiming to rely on “science,” many well-intentioned “experts” offer advice on how to “close the gap”—word gap, language gap, achievement gap—between disadvantaged and advantaged children. Based on both research and personal experience, this advice promises magic solutions to apparently complex and intractable problems by coaching disadvantaged parents in how best to speak to their young children. One significant shortcoming, however, is that the research is often circular, mistaking correlation and causation, and it is based on limited populations—what Henrich et al. (2010) termed WEIRD populations of Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic people, often majority undergraduate college students in North America. The unseen assumptions about what is “natural” or “optimal” may be evident when cross-cultural evidence is brought to contrast with the assumed proper way to socialize children into language—ways familiar to White, middle-class, professional North American practitioners. Th...
Historical review on obstructive sleep apnea in children

Resume Cette revue fait un rappel historique des decouvertes sur le SAOS de l’enfant. Depuis Dickens et sa premiere description d’un individu obese, ronfleur et somnolent, les auteurs ont retrace plus de 50 ans de recherche et de questionnements sur ce sujet : la reconnaissance du syndrome d’apnee obstructive du sommeil (SAOS) chez l’adulte non obese et chez l’enfant ainsi que la decouverte du syndrome de haute resistance des voies aeriennes superieures. Les connaissances physiopathologiques sur le SAOS ont evolue ainsi que les prises en charge chez l’enfant qui sont passees de la tracheotomie, a la pression positive continue, puis a l’adeno-amygdalectomie combinee aux traitements orthodontiques et aux seances de kinesitherapie maxillo-faciale. Les consequences de ce syndrome ne sont pas negligeables et atteignent aussi bien la cognition, le comportement, l’humeur, le systeme cardiovasculaire. De nombreuses portes ont ete ouvertes en quelques annees grâce a l’etude du SAOS mais beaucoup de questions restent encore sans reponse.
Improved direction of arrival methods for oceanographic HF radars

Advances in oceanographic HF radar processing methods improving the accuracy and resolution of the ocean current measurements, would reveal new understanding of coastal ocean dynamics. Processing techniques presently employ MUSIC for direction finding, with a low number of data snapshots, often with low SNR. We report on the investigation of alternative signal processing methods, including the application of Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) for direction finding. Simulated radar backscatter, based on the realistic flows of a high-resolution regional ocean model, is used to evaluate new processing techniques. Preliminary results suggest some improvement with the use of MLE. By addressing limitations in HF radar observations, this study addresses the important problem of observing coastal circulation at the scales that are relevant to near shore dynamics, and thus to the many practical applications employing these observations.
Sustainable, Healthy Diets: Models and Measures

The definition of sustainable food and nutrition security involves four principal domains. Foods and food patterns need to be nutrient-dense, affordable, culturally acceptable, and sparing of the environment. Each domain has its own metrics. Nutrient density is measured in terms of nutrients in relation to calories. Affordability is measured in terms of calories and nutrients per unit cost. Cultural acceptance can be measured in terms of frequency of consumption by population subgroups. Lifecycle analysis (LCA) of the environmental impact of foods is based on the use of land, water, and energy resources during food production and utilization. Nutrient profiling models separate foods that are energy-dense from those that are nutrient-rich. Global economic pressures, exacerbated by climate change, may push the agro-food industry toward producing more low-cost calories and insufficient nutrients. Social disparities in diet quality may increase not only in low- and middle- income countries (LMIC) but also in the developed world.
Students' misconceptions about the types of values data structures can store

Given the importance of data structures in undergraduate computer science education, we are interested in how students learn to apply data structures. In order to identify points of difficulty in applying data structures, we conducted an exploratory study that involved one-on-one interviews with six undergraduate students. Each student had taken a data structures course within the past year and, therefore, had previously encountered several data structures. The interview participants were primarily given questions that ask them to select a suitable data structure for a particular task. Using qualitative methods, we found that students appeared to hold a misconception regarding what kinds of values can be stored in a data structure. We hypothesize that this misconception limits a student's understanding of how to apply data structures in different situations. Our analysis focuses on interviews with two students who appeared to have this misconception when working with stacks and hash tables. Through identifying instances of this misconception, we hope to provide insight to computer science educators on the difficulties that students face when applying data structures.
Interdiffusion behavior of U3Si2 with FeCrAl via diffusion couple studies

Abstract Uranium silicide (U3Si2) is a candidate to replace uranium oxide (UO2) as light water reactor (LWR) fuel because of its higher thermal conductivity and higher fissile density relative to the current standard, UO2. A class of Fe, Cr, Al alloys collectively known as FeCrAl alloys that have superior mechanical and oxidation resistance are being considered as an alternative to the standard Zirconium based LWR cladding. The interdiffusion behavior between FeCrAl and U3Si2 is investigated in this study. Commercially available FeCrAl, along with U3Si2 pellets were placed in diffusion couples. Individual tests were ran at temperatures ranging from 500 °C to 1000 °C for 30 h and 100 h. The interdiffusion was analyzed with an optical microscope, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope. Uniform and planar interdiffusion layers along the material interface were illustrated with backscatter electron micrographs and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Electron diffraction was used to validate phases present in the system, including distinct U2Fe3Si/UFe2 and UFeSi layers at the material interface. U and Fe diffused far into the FeCrAl and U3Si2 matrix, respectively, in the higher temperature tests. No interaction was observed at 500 °C for 30 h.
Automatic Segmentation of Dynamic Network Sequences with Node Labels

Given a sequence of snapshots of flu propagating over a population network, can we find a segmentation when the patterns of the disease spread change, possibly due to interventions? In this paper, we study the problem of segmenting graph sequences with labeled nodes. Memes on the Twitter network, diseases over a contact network, movie-cascades over a social network, etc. are all graph sequences with labeled nodes. Most related work on this subject is on plain graphs and hence ignores the label dynamics. Others require fix parameters or feature engineering. We propose SnapNETS , to automatically find segmentations of such graph sequences, with different characteristics of nodes of each label in adjacent segments. It satisfies all the desired properties (being parameter free, comprehensive and scalable) by leveraging a principled, multi-level, flexible framework which maps the problem to a path optimization problem over a weighted DAG. Also, we develop the parallel framework of SnapNETS which speeds up its running time. Finally, we propose an extension of SnapNETS to handle the dynamic graph structures and use it to detect anomalies (and events) in network sequences. Extensive experiments on several diverse real datasets show that it finds cut points matching ground-truth or meaningful external signals and detects anomalies outperforming non-trivial baselines. We also show that the segmentations are easily interpretable, and that SnapNETS scales near-linearly with the size of the input. Finally, we show how to use SnapNETS to detect anomaly in a sequence of dynamic networks.
Zinc is an inhibitor of the LdtR transcriptional activator

LdtR is a master regulator of gene expression in Liberibacter asiaticus, one of the causative agents of citrus greening disease. LdtR belongs to the MarR-family of transcriptional regulators and it has been linked to the regulation of more than 180 genes in Liberibacter species, most of them gathered in the following Clusters of Orthologous Groups: cell motility, cell wall envelope, energy production, and transcription. Our previous transcriptomic evidence suggested that LdtR is directly involved in the modulation of the zinc uptake system genes (znu) in the closely related L. crescens. In this report, we show that LdtR is involved in the regulation of one of the two encoded zinc uptake mechanisms in L. asiaticus, named znu2. We also show that LdtR binds zinc with higher affinity than benzbromarone, a synthetic effector inhibitory molecule, resulting in the disruption of the LdtR:promoter interactions. Using site-directed mutagenesis, electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs), and isothermal titration calorimetry, we identified that residues C28 and T43 in LdtR, located in close proximity to the Benz1 pocket, are involved in the interaction with zinc. These results provided new evidence of a high-affinity effector molecule targeting a key player in L. asiaticus' physiology and complemented our previous findings about the mechanisms of signal transduction in members of the MarR-family.
DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF APODIZED PIEZOELECTRIC TRANSDUCERS

Apodization of piezoelectric transducers helps to achieve a cleaner spatial and/or temporal response. We propose apodization in one or two dimensions by segmenting the electrode structure enerizing the transducer, while applying a common voltage to the segments. This paper discusses some specific structures, analyzes the results of numerical and optical simulation, and presents initial findings of acoustooptic measurements of radiation patterns.
The B10(d, α)Be8 reaction and the 2.94 MeV state in Be8

Abstract Alpha particles from the reaction B 10 (d, α)Be 8 were observed with solid state particle detectors and a 256-channel pulse-height analyser. The differential cross section of the reaction was measured at 156° in the laboratory system. For the reaction channel leading to the ground state of Be 8 , the differential cross section increased steadily from approximately 0.28 to 0.39 mb/sr over the deuteron energy range from 1.0 to 1.8 MeV. Over the same energy range the differential cross section for the reaction channel leading to the 2.94 MeV, first excited state of Be 8 increased from 2.62 mb/sr to a maximum of 5.54 mb/sr at E d = 1.6 MeV and then decreased to 4.88 mb/sr. Angular distributions of the particle groups leading to both the ground and first excited states of Be 8 were measured at five energies in the range E d = 1.0 to 1.8 MeV. Forward peaking with an energy dependent second maximum at approximately 115° was observed. For the ground state transition, total cross sections are 7.5 mb, 7.2 mb, 6.75 mb, 9.2 mb and 9.3 mb at deuteron energies of 1.0, 1.2, 1.46, 1.59 and 1.75 MeV, respectively. The cross sections for the transition to the first excited state at the same deuteron energies are 50 mb, 59 mb, 61 mb, 71 mb and 60 mb, respectively. A careful search for possible even parity, even spin states of Be 8 was made in the range of 1–7 MeV excitation energy in Be 8 . No evidence for states other than the 2.94 MeV, 2 + state was found. The line shape of the 2.94 MeV state was obtained with a coincidence technique. Theoretical fits of this shape were made with the Wigner-Eisenbud formalism. The results seem to indicate that, in the energy range studied, the interaction radius of two α-particles is comparatively large, i.e., from 5 to 6 fm.
RAPIDLY PROGRESSIVE AORTITIS IN UNCONTROLLED RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Aortitis is a rare extra-articular complication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A multidisciplinary approach to management is required to prevent fatal complications. A 72-year-old female with longstanding severe RA, a 4.4 cm ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) and moderate aortic regurgitation
Preoperative, Perioperative, and Postoperative Considerations in the Bariatric Surgery Patient with Sleep Apnea

Abstract Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and obesity often coexist and are associated with intraoperative management difficulties and postoperative cardiopulmonary complications in bariatric surgery. Thus, severely and morbidly obese patients being considered for bariatric surgery should be carefully screened for OSA as part of their preoperative work-up, and treatment of OSA should be instituted prior to surgery. Operative considerations include preparing for a difficult-to-manage airway, and enlisting the assistance of an experienced anesthesiologist is highly recommended. The judicious use of opioid analgesics, continuous monitoring, bed positioning, early patient mobilization, and attentive nursing care are part of the postoperative care of the bariatric patient with OSA. Bariatric surgery has been shown to produce significant and durable weight loss. In addition, it results in improvement or remission of most associated comorbid conditions, including OSA. An aggressive approach to preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative care is imperative in guiding these patients through weight loss surgery with minimal morbidity.
Data Mining Climate Variability as an Indicator of U.S. Natural Gas.

Anomalously cold winters with extreme storms intensify natural gas (NG) markets due to heightened residential and commercial demands, which include heating, electricity generation, disrupted distribution, and consumer pricing. While extended weather forecasting has become an indicator for NG management, seasonal (2-3 month) prediction could mitigate the impact of extreme winters on the NG market for consumers and industry. Interrelated climate patterns of ocean and circulation anomalies exhibit characteristics useful for developing effective seasonal outlooks of NG storage and consumption due to their influence on the persistence and intensity of extreme winter weather in North America. This study explores the connection between the Pacific-North American climate systems and the NG market in the U.S., connecting macro-scale oceanic and atmospheric processes to regional NG storage and consumption. Western Pacific sea surface temperatures and atmospheric pressure patterns describe significant variation in seasonal NG storage and consumption. Prediction of these coupled climate processes with relatively long persistence is useful for estimating NG storage; this could facilitate economic adaptation toward extreme winter weather conditions. Understanding the implicated impact of climate variability on NG is a crucial step towards economic adaptation to climate change.
New developments in pharmacotherapy for Friedreich ataxia

Introduction: Friedreich ataxia (FRDA), a rare disease caused by the deficiency of the mitochondrial matrix protein frataxin, affects roughly 1 in 50,000 individuals worldwide. Current and emerging therapies focus on reversing the deleterious effects of such deficiency including mitochondrial augmentation and increasing frataxin levels, providing the possibility of treatment options for this physiologically complex, multisystem disorder. Areas covered: In this review article, the authors discuss the current and prior in vivo and in vitro research studies related to the treatment of FRDA, with a particular interest in future implications of each therapy. Expert opinion: Since the discovery of FXN in 1996, multiple clinical trials have occurred or are currently occurring; at a rapid pace for a rare disease. These trials have been directed at the augmentation of mitochondrial function and/or alleviation of symptoms and are not regarded as potential cures in FRDA. Either a combination of therapies or a drug that replaces or increases the pathologically low levels of frataxin better represent potential cures in FRDA.
Studies on factors of influ ence radiation sensitivity

Many factors could influence the radiation sensitivity.Germ cell damage,cytogenetic injury,cell apoptosis,DNA damage and repair were observed as end point.The results showed that the age,inheritance,sex,life habit(smoking),low dose irradi ation could influence the radiation sensitivity.
CRT-600.34 Are There Gender Disparities in Presentation and Left Atrial Anatomy in Adults With Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing Watchman Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion?

Left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion has become the mainstay for treatment in adults with atrial fibrillation (AF) and a high bleeding risk. While accurate device sizing is critical for successful LAA occlusion and optimal clinical outcomes, it is unknown whether gender impacts LAA anatomy and
The processing of subject pronouns in highly proficient L2 speakers of English

Studies on second language (L2) anaphora resolution have mainly focused on learners of null-subject languages, demonstrating that L2 speakers show residual indeterminacy in the L2 referential choice, even at the highest levels of proficiency. On the other hand, studies on anaphora resolution in L2 learners of non-null-subject languages have shown conflicting results, indicating that L2 speakers may process referential expressions in the L2 like native speakers. Using a visual word paradigm task, we test the online processing of pronouns in highly proficient L2 speakers of English whose L1 is Spanish, and compare their performance to a group of native English speakers. The native speakers’ data show rapid use of the first mention bias (i.e., interpreting a pronoun towards the first-mentioned referent) and gender information upon encountering a gender ambiguous or unambiguous pronoun. For the L2 participants, we find similar underlying processes of pronoun resolution in comparison to native speakers. The results do not reveal a processing cost for L2 speakers of a non-null-subject language during anaphora resolution. Overall, our study demonstrates that L2 speakers of a non-null-subject language (English) can achieve native-like processing of the default referential form signaling topic continuity (i.e., the overt pronoun; Sorace 2011).
Identification and characterization of the enzymes responsible for the metabolism of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, flunixin meglumine and phenylbutazone, in horses

The in vivo metabolism and pharmacokinetics of flunixin meglumine and phenylbutazone have been extensively characterized; however, there are no published reports describing the in vitro metabolism, specifically the enzymes responsible for the biotransformation of these compounds in horses. Due to their widespread use and, therefore, increased potential for drug-drug interactions and widespread differences in drug disposition, this study aims to build on the limited current knowledge regarding P450-mediated metabolism in horses. Drugs were incubated with equine liver microsomes and a panel of recombinant equine P450s. Incubation of phenylbutazone in microsomes generated oxyphenbutazone and gamma-hydroxy phenylbutazone. Microsomal incubations with flunixin meglumine generated 5-OH flunixin, with a kinetic profile suggestive of substrate inhibition. In recombinant P450 assays, equine CYP3A97 was the only enzyme capable of generating oxyphenbutazone while several members of the equine CYP3A family and CYP1A1 were capable of catalyzing the biotransformation of flunixin to 5-OH flunixin. Flunixin meglumine metabolism by CYP1A1 and CYP3A93 showed a profile characteristic of biphasic kinetics, suggesting two substrate binding sites. The current study identifies specific enzymes responsible for the metabolism of two NSAIDs in horses and provides the basis for future study of drug-drug interactions and identification of reasons for varying pharmacokinetics between horses.
Transcriptional profiling of tumor-infiltrating immune cells after local intervention-based immunotherapy

The ideal strategy for treating metastatic cancers is a systemic, tumor-specific immunity induced by a local intervention. A local intervention-based immunotherapy was developed following this strategy: a local photothermal therapy (PTT), followed by an intratumoral administration of a potent immunostimulant, N-dihydrogalactochitosan (GC). This approach has shown great promise in preclinical and preliminary clinical studies. To understand the immunological mechanism of photo-immunotherapy, we used this local intervention-based immunotherapy to treat highly aggressive, metastatic breast tumors in a mouse model. We analyzed tumor-infiltrating immune cells. We observed a large number of infiltrating immune cells and increased immune activities in the treated tumors and secondary lymphoid organs (spleens). At the transcription level, we observed enriched both innate and adoptive immune cytokine signaling pathways in adaptive immune cells after the treatment of this local intervention
Deep Learning of Conjugate Mappings

Abstract Despite many of the most common chaotic dynamical systems being continuous in time, it is through discrete time mappings that much of the understanding of chaos is formed. Henri Poincare first made this connection by tracking consecutive iterations of the continuous flow with a lower-dimensional, transverse subspace. The mapping that iterates the dynamics through consecutive intersections of the flow with the subspace is now referred to as a Poincare map, and it is the primary method available for interpreting and classifying chaotic dynamics. Unfortunately, in all but the simplest systems, an explicit form for such a mapping remains outstanding. This work proposes a method for obtaining explicit Poincare mappings by using deep learning to construct an invertible coordinate transformation into a conjugate representation where the dynamics are governed by a relatively simple chaotic mapping. The invertible change of variable is based on an autoencoder, which allows for dimensionality reduction, and has the advantage of classifying chaotic systems using the equivalence relation of topological conjugacies. Indeed, the enforcement of topological conjugacies is the critical neural network regularization for learning the coordinate and dynamics pairing. We provide expository applications of the method to low-dimensional systems such as the Rossler and Lorenz systems, while also demonstrating the utility of the method on infinite-dimensional systems, such as the Kuramoto–Sivashinsky equation.
Phase-specific RNA accumulation and duplex thermodynamics in multiphase coacervate models for membraneless organelles

Abstract Liquid-liquid phase separation has emerged as an important means of intracellular RNA compartmentalization. Some membraneless organelles host two or more compartments serving different putative biochemical roles; the mechanisms for, and functional consequences of, this subcompartmentalization are not yet well understood. Here, we show that adjacent phases of decapeptide-based multiphase model membraneless organelles differ markedly in their interactions with RNA. Additionally, their coexistence introduces new equilibria that alter RNA duplex stability and RNA sorting by hybridization state. These effects require neither biospecific RNA binding sites nor full-length proteins. As such, they are general and point to more primitive versions of mechanisms operating in extant biology that could aid understanding and enable design of functional artificial membraneless organelles.
Making a Great Second Impression: Overcoming a Rough Start in Law School Classes

Law professors know the importance of starting strong — beginning the semester in a way that sets the tone for a motivated and productive class. But despite our best intentions, sometimes we fail to make the great first impression we all hope for. And sometimes things gradually drift off track. Maybe it’s due to mismatched expectations. Or maybe it’s an ineffective assignment or activity that causes student motivation to stagnate or wane. Or maybe it’s due to a personality clash between instructor and students. What can law professors do to get a course back on course? To address these questions, this article draws on existing pedagogical and psychological literature about resetting impressions and expectations to help get things back on track.
Patient Perspectives on the Lived Experience of Acne and Its Treatment Among Adult Women With Acne: A Qualitative Study.

Introduction Acne often persists into adulthood in women. However, few studies have specifically explored the lived experience of acne in adult populations. Objective To examine the lived experience of acne and its treatment among a cohort of adult women. Design, setting, and participants A qualitative analysis was conducted from free listing and open-ended, semistructured interviews of patients at a large academic health care system (University of Pennsylvania Health System) and a private practice (Dermatologists of Southwest Ohio). Fifty women 18 to 40 years of age with moderate to severe acne participated in interviews conducted between August 30, 2019, and December 31, 2020. Main outcomes and measures Free-listing data from interviews were used to calculate the Smith S, a measure of saliency for each list item. Semistructured interviews were examined to detect themes about patient perspectives regarding their acne and its treatment. Results Fifty participants (mean [SD] age, 28 [5.38] years; 24 [48%] White) described acne-related concerns about their appearance that affected their social, professional, and personal lives, with many altering their behavior because of their acne. Depression, anxiety, and social isolation were commonly reported. Participants described successful treatment as having completely clear skin over time or a manageable number of blemishes. Many participants described frustration with finding a dermatologist with whom they were comfortable and with identifying effective treatments for their acne. Conclusions and relevance The results of this qualitative study suggest that women with acne have strong concerns about appearance and experience mental and emotional health consequences and disruption of their personal and professional lives. In addition, many patients describe challenges finding effective treatments and accessing care. Future trials to understand the optimal treatment approaches for women with acne are needed to improve outcomes in this population.
Living Through the COVID-19 Pandemic: Community-Dwelling Older Adults' Experiences.

Increasing research is investigating the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on older adults, but relatively little is known about the complexities of community-dwelling older adults' lived experiences during this historical period. This study aimed to address this gap in the literature by taking a bottom-up, theory-generating, inductive approach. Older adults living in Central Texas (N = 200; age, 65-92 years, M = 73.6 ± 6.33) responded to a telephone interview during June-August 2020. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. We identified three key themes: positive, mixed, and negative experiences, with a total of 11 subthemes. A thematic map was developed, illustrating potential connections to mental health. These findings reveal the complexities of older adults' lived experiences during COVID-19 and have implications for developing aging-related policies and community-based interventions during future public health crises. Recognizing the complexities of older adults' lived experiences, tailored policies and interventions can be developed to effectively leverage older adults' effective coping and resilience while at the same time helping overcome negative effects among specific subgroups.
Semiparametric Estimation of Latent Variable Asset Pricing Models

This paper studies semiparametric identification and estimation of the stochastic discount factor in consumption-based asset pricing models with latent state variables. We model consumption, dividends, and a multiplicative discount factor component via unknown functions of Markovian states describing aggregate output growth. For the case of affine state dynamics and polynomial approximation of the measurement and pricing equations, we provide rank conditions for identification and tractable algorithms for filtering, smoothing, and likelihood estimation. Empirically, we find sizable nonlinearities and interactions in the impacts of expected growth and volatility on the price-dividend ratio and the discount factor.