cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
T-Wave Alternans

Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in Western countries and account for more than half a million deaths annually in the USA. Sudden cardiac death (SCD) accounts for more than 50% of cardiovascular mortality and its incidence has been estimated as high as 0.1 to 0.2% in the overall population (1). In approx 1/3 of cardiac patients, SCD is the first manifestation of coronary artery disease, and its incidence is increasing proportionally to the number of risk factors (2).
Alternatives to Randomized Experiments

Randomized experiments are preferred for making inferences about causality when they can be implemented and their assumptions are met. Yet assumptions can fail (e.g., attrition, treatment noncompliance) or randomization may be unethical or infeasible. I describe alternative design and statistical approaches that permit testing causal hypotheses and present current empirical evidence related to alternative designs. Alternative designs permit a wider range of research questions to be answered and permit more direct generalization of causal effects; however, when using such designs, estimates of the magnitude of the causal effect may be more uncertain.
Determinism Redux: Climate and Cultural Correlates of Violence

Research on climate and behavior has been guided by one of four models: climatic determinism, dismissal of climatic factors, cultural mediation of climatic effects, and redux. The last model predic...
Morphological and mapping studies of the paranodal and postnodal levels of the neural plate during chick neurulation

The morphology of the paranodal and postnodal levels of the neural plate as well as the fate of its cells was examined in chick embryos at stages 3–11. The morphology of the paranodal and postnodal levels of the neural plate closely resembles that of the prenodal neural plate. Furthermore, during shaping and bending of the neural plate, these levels undergo changes similar to those of the prenodal level. In short, the paranodal and postnodal levels of the neural plate consist of a pseudostratified columnar epithelium that thickens dorsoventrally and narrows mediolaterally and then undergoes localized furrowing and folding. Fate mapping revealed that at mid-neurula stages, the prospective hindbrain and spinal cord levels of the neuraxis flank the primitive streak. Hensen's node moves caudally with respect to these future neuraxial levels as it regresses during the latter stages of gastrulation. Cells of the medullary cord, the rudiment of the secondary portion of the neural tube, arise in the vicinity of the cranial portion of the primitive streak, near the caudal end of the postnodal levels of the neural plate. Thus, during stages of gastrulation and primary neurulation, the precursor cells of the primary and secondary portions of the neural tube (spinal cord) lie in close proximity to one another. This study provides new information on the morphology and extent of the paranodal and postnodal levels of the neural plate, the changes these areas undergo during shaping and bending oif the neural plate, and the contributions of its cells to the primary and secondary levels of the neural tube, increasing our understanding of the complex events underlying avian gastrulation and neurulation. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Leptin-sensitive sensory nerves innervate white fat

Leptin, the primary white adipose tissue (WAT) adipokine, is thought to convey lipid reserve information to the brain via the circulation. Because WAT responds to environmental/internal signals in a fat pad-specific (FPS) manner, systemic signals such as leptin would fail to communicate such distinctive information. Saturation of brain leptin transport systems also would fail to convey increased lipid levels beyond that point. WAT possesses sensory innervation exemplified by proven sensory-associated peptides in nerves within the tissue and by viral sensory nerve-specific transneuronal tract tracer, H129 strain of herpes simplex virus 1 labeling of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) pseudounipolar neurons, spinal cord and central sensory circuits. Leptin as a paracrine factor activating WAT sensory innervation could supply the brain with FPS information. Therefore, we tested for and found the presence of the long form of the leptin receptor (Ob-Rb) on DRG pseudounipolar neurons immunohistochemically labeled after injections of Fluorogold, a retrograde tract tracer, into inguinal WAT (IWAT). Intra-IWAT leptin injections (300 ng) significantly elevated IWAT nerve spike rate within 5 min and persisted for at least 30 min. Intra-IWAT leptin injections also induced significant c-Fos immunoreactivity (ir), indicating neural activation across DRG pseudounipolar sensory neurons labeled with Fluorogold IWAT injections. Intraperitoneal leptin injection did not increase c-Fos-ir in DRG or the arcuate nucleus, nor did it increase arcuate signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 phosphorylation-ir. Collectively, these results strongly suggest that endogenous leptin secreted from white adipocytes functions as a paracrine factor to activate spinal sensory nerves innervating the tissue.
An Empirical Comparison of Several Clustered Data Approaches Under Confounding Due to Cluster Effects in the Analysis of Complications of Coronary Angioplasty

Summary. In the analysis of binary response data from many types of large studies, the data are likely to have arisen from multiple centers, resulting in a within-center correlation for the response. Such correlation, or clustering, occurs when outcomes within centers tend to be more similar to each other than to outcomes in other centers. In studies where there is also variability among centers with respect to the exposure of interest, analysis of the exposure–outcome association may be confounded, even after accounting for within-center correlations. We apply several analytic methods to compare the risk of major complications associated with two strategies, staged and combined procedures, for performing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), a mechanical means of relieving blockage of blood vessels due to atherosclerosis. Combined procedures are used in some centers as a cost-cutting strategy. We performed a number of population-averaged and cluster-specific (conditional) analyses, which (a) make no adjustments for center effects of any kind; (b) make adjustments for the effect of center on only the response; or (c) make adjustments for both the effect of center on the response and the relationship between center and exposure. The method used for this third approach decomposes the procedure type variable into within-center and among-center components, resulting in two odds ratio estimates. The naive analysis, ignoring clusters, gave a highly significant effect of procedure type (OR = 1.6). Population average models gave marginally to very non significant estimates of the OR for treatment type ranging from 1.6 to 1.2 with adjustment only for the effect of centers on response. These results depended on the assumed correlation structure. Conditional (cluster-specific) models and other methods that decomposed the treatment type variable into among- and within-center components all found no within-center effect of procedure type (OR = 1.02, consistently) and a considerable among-center effect. This among-center variability in outcomes was related to the proportion of patients who receive combined procedures and was found even when conditioned on procedure type (within-center) and other patient- and center-level covariates. This example illustrates the importance of addressing the potential for center effects to confound an outcome-exposure association when average exposure varies across clusters. While conditional approaches provide estimates of the within-cluster effect, they do not provide information about among-center effects. We recommend using the decomposition approach, as it provides both types of estimates.
Seeing into cells. The promise of in vivo molecular imaging in oncology.

Medicine is undergoing a revolution. Disease is increasingly being redefined in terms of underlying molecular abnormalities, as opposed to the signs and symptoms of the patient. This new definition is referred to as the ‘molecular signature’ of a disease and the current developments in biomedical research are accordingly termed ‘molecular medicine’. In the case of cancer, we know that tumours result from genetic alterations of cells, which may involve overexpression or underexpression of normal genes, or mutations that generate abnormal gene products. This may affect any of the molecules within the cell, the cell membrane or the cancer‐cell milieu. In addition, the microenvironment of a tumour, including stromal and vascular endothelial cells, is important for the growth and persistence of the tumour. This entire constellation of the abnormal molecular biology of tumour cells and their microenvironment is the molecular signature of cancer (Hanahan & Weinberg, 2000). > The greatest potential value of molecular imaging is its ability to report on the molecular state of a tumour in its normal milieu One consequence of this new understanding of disease is the increased effort to develop targeted drugs that interact specifically with the altered genes or their products and either limit the progression of or kill tumour cells. The hope is that such therapeutics will selectively target tumour cells and leave normal cells untouched, thereby reducing the common side effects of current anticancer therapies such as radio‐ and chemotherapy. There is an increasing number of such targeted therapeutics being developed and made available for clinical use. For example, until about five years ago, there were few options available for treating colon cancer beyond surgically removing the affected part of the colon and using standard chemotherapy. However, since 1999, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved at least five targeted drugs …
Per-Device Adaptive Test for Analog/RF Circuits Using Entropy-Based Process Monitoring

We present an adaptive test flow for mixed-signal circuits that aims at optimizing the test set on a per-device basis so that more test resources can be devoted to marginal devices while passing devices that are not marginal with less testing. Cumulative statistics of the process are monitored using a differential entropy-based approach and updated only when necessary. Thus, process shift is captured and continuously incorporated into the analysis. We also include provisions to identify potentially defective devices and test them more extensively since these devices do not conform to learned collective information. We conduct experiments on an low-noise amplifier circuit in simulations, and apply our techniques to production data of two distinct industrial circuits. Both the simulation results and the results on large-scale production data show that adaptive test provides the best tradeoff between test time and test quality as measured in terms of defective parts per million.
A digital land cover map of Wyoming, USA: a tool for vegetation analysis

Abstract. A Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) based digital land cover map has been created for the state of Wyoming, USA, at moderate spatial (l-km2 minimum mapping unit) and high typal (41 land cover types) resolution as part of the Wyoming Gap Analysis Program (WGAP). This map presents opportunities for regional characterization of land cover, especially vegetation, and for examination of ecological phenomena that manifest themselves over large areas. Using the digital land cover data, we describe Wyoming vegetation and examine positions of three prominent physiognomic transitions in Wyoming: the elevation of upper and lower treeline, and the position of the biogeographic boundary between shruband grass-dominated vegetation. By area, the three leading land cover types in Wyoming are Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis sagebrush (33.4 %), mixed grass prairie (17.5 %) and Pinus contorta forest (6.5 %). Average upper-treeline elevation in Wyoming is 2947 m, and decreases with increasing latitude at an average rate of about 0.5 m/km, less than the rate of about 0.9 m/km reported by Peet (1978) for a gradient from Mexico to Canada. Lower-treeline occurs at an average elevation of 2241 m, and decreases with increasing latitude and with southerly aspect. In Wyoming, shrub-dominated communities are more likely to occur than grass-dominated communities as summer precipitation decreases below 282 mm. All of these relationships are subtle, and it appears that for particular areas, local factors are more important than regional climatic trends in explaining the position of phytogeographic boundaries.
Novel signaling mechanisms in the ovary during oocyte maturation and ovulation

During the peri-ovulatory period, the gonadotropin LH triggers major changes in both the somatic and germ cell compartments of the ovarian follicle. The oocyte completes the meiotic cell cycle to become a fertilizable egg, and dramatic changes in gene expression and secretion take place in the somatic compartment of the follicle in preparation for follicular rupture and oocyte release. The concerted changes are regulated by activation of intracellular signaling pathways as well as paracrine and autocrine regulatory loops. This review will provide a summary of the current knowledge of the molecular events triggered by LH focusing mostly on the signaling pathways required for oocyte maturation.
Using nonsoliton pulses for soliton-based fiber communications

Several properties of nonsoliton evolution are investigated, aiming at the possibility of using nonsoliton inputs as signal carriers in soliton-based optical fiber communications. Numerical results show that nonsoliton inputs can propagate stably while evolving into an oscillatory soliton-like central part and dispersive tails distributed on both sides. The cross-phase modulation between two channels during soliton evolution produces two effects: the pulses become asymmetric, and the pulse propagation speeds are changed. Both effects are attributed to the oscillations of the pulse shape during evolution. Even with these effects, the pulse can still propagate stably over a long distance. The results indicate that use of nonsoliton pulses for soliton-based fiber communications is quite promising. >
Principles of Color: Race, Ideology, and Implicit Cognition

Since the 1960s, overt measures have failed to turn up much racism in the American public. Racial stereotypes and labels once accepted as reality are now perceived by most Americans as offensive and inappropriate, and political policies of segregation and discrimination find little overt support. This shift in racial relations has led some scholars to suppose that racism is no longer the driving force it once was in American public opinion. Some scholars, however, have argued that racism persists, but transformed from a blatant antipathy into a more subtle resentment or distrust. In this view, opposition to race-based policies like affirmative action is largely the product of implicit racial attitudes. Others take exception to the implication that opponents of race-target policies are racist and argue that individualist principles associated with political conservatism drive such opposition. Each side has marshaled considerable empirical evidence and contested the evidence of the other side. In this project, I use methods developed in cognitive psychology to unobtrusively examine the spontaneous associations that come to mind for both conservative and liberal Americans when they think about affirmative action and welfare. I also put the application of conservative principle to direct test, finding that sophisticated conservatives use principles like merit strategically to argue against preferential policies when targeted on African Americans, but not when the recipients of such policies are White Americans. I conclude that individualist principles are most often rationalizations of positions driven by covert racial antipathy.
Behaviorism and Eliminativism

Keywords: Churchland, Paul; eliminativism; Skinner, Burrhus; Watson, John B; behaviorism; reductionism
Sources of State Practice in International Law: Japan

This essay outlines issues relating to Japan’s practice in international law, while putting them into historical context. An introduction provides historical background from earliest times to the present. Treaty succession is discussed with regard to Japan’s stormy relationships with China, Korea, Germany, the United States, Russia and other countries. Detailed discussions include Japan’s victories over the Qing Empire in 1895 and Russia in 1905 and the subsequent occupation of Manchuria, Taiwan, Korea and other territories. Japan’s participation in World War I and its consequences is discussed, and World War II and the subsequent U.S. occupation is covered in some detail. Also included is a section on disputed islands and airspace, from 1945 to the present. Finally I discuss Japan’s procedure for implementing treaties and evidence of state practice. The essay introduces a 15-page Annotated Bibliography of Sources, in Sources of State Practice in International Law at 334-48 (Ralph F. Gaebler & Alison A. Shea eds., 2d rev. ed. 2014) (available in print only).
Purification and Partial Characterization of Aspermatogenic Antigen

A study of the purification and partial characterization of an asper matogenic antigen is presented. The antigen was obtained from guinea pigs testes and epididymides by extraction with acetic acid precipitati on with trichloroacetic acid and extraction with butanolchloroform. The antigen was purified by digestion with pepsin and fractionation on Sephadex G-50 followed by precipitation with antibody and elution from antigen-antibody complex. Freund complete adjuvant plus mcg amounts of this antigen induced autoimmune aspermatogenesis in guinea pigs. This purified antigen revealed a single band on acrylamide gel electrophoresis and upon immunoelectrophoresis. It was found to have a molecular weight of approximately 12600 and to be a glycopeptide containing approximately 13% carbohydrate. The galactose residues appeared to be at the nonreducing end of the polysaccharide. Evidence provided suggested that the polysaccharide moiety is attached to a polypeptide of 100 residues through an N-glycoside linkage.
Varietal differences in locular gas composition in developing fruit of sweet and hot peppers, Capsicum spp., and evidence for divergent diffusion pathways

SummaryAlthough gaseous environment has been shown to have a fundamental influence on seed development, the internal atmosphere of developing fruit has seldom been characterized. Most studies depend upon emission rates that may not reflect true internal gas concentrations, or utilize excised fruit, the internal atmosphere of which may be compromised by manipulations acompanying harvest. In this study, we use Capsicum fruit as a model system to examine fluxes of oxygen and carbon dioxide in developing fruit from shortly after fruit set to full fruit ripeness. There are strong varietal differences in the concentrations of these gases during different developmental stages and these differences correlate with both morphological and developmental characteristics. In situ and removal experiments suggest that the concentrations of metabolic gases are modulated by the radically different diffusion pathways that occur in the separate cultivars.
CHEMICAL AND TAXONOMIC STUDIES ON SOME CORTICOLOUS MEMBERS OF THE LICHEN GENUS CETRARIA IN WESTERN NORTH AMERICA

Two new species of the lichen genus Cetraria are described from western North America. Cetraria weberi is superficially similar to C. fendleri (Nyl.) Tuck., but differs considerably in thallus color and in its production of either olivetoric or physodic acid in the medulla rather than protolichesterinic acid. Cetraria subfendleri, a close relative of C. fendleri, differs primarily in its larger size and in its production of caperatic acid in the medulla. First reports are given on the chemistry of five other western species: C. canadensis (Riis.) Ras., C. coralligera (W. Web.) Hale, C. merrillii Du Rietz, C. pallidula Tuck., and C. platyphylla Tuck. A key to the corticolous members of Cetraria in western North America is provided. The genus Cetraria is a conspicuous component of the corticolous lichen flora in parts of western North America and in some areas it is the dominant foliose genus. Despite the small number of species involved the western taxa are not well known chemically or systematically. The purpose of the present paper is to report the results of investigations on the chemistry of some of these species and to describe two previously unknown species. As an aid to identification, a key to the corticolous western members of the genus is provided. All lichen substances reported in this paper have been identified by thin-layer chromatography. The three-solution method devised by Culberson and Kristinsson (1970) was used. In some cases the microcrystal tests developed by Asahina have been used in confirmatory procedures. An effort was made, where possible, to test specimens from throughout the range of the lichen. Unless otherwise noted, all specimens cited have been tested chemically.
Volcanic edifice alignment detection software in MATLAB

The scarcity of impact craters on Venus make it difficult to infer the relative ages of geologic units. Stratigraphic methods can be used to help infer the relative ordering of surface features, but the relatively coarse resolution of available radar data means ambiguity about the timing of certain features is common. Here we develop a set of statistical tools in MATLAB to help infer the relative timing between clusters of small shield volcanoes and sets of fractures in the surrounding terrain. Specifically, we employed two variants of the two-point azimuth method to detect anisotropy in the distribution of point-like features. The results of these methods are shown to successfully identify anisotropy at two spatial scales: at the whole-field level and at scales smaller than a set fraction of the mean value. Initial results on the test cases presented here are promising, at least for volcanic fields emplaced under uniform conditions. These methods could also be used for detecting anisotropy in other point-like geologic features, such as hydrothermal vents, springs, and earthquake epicenters. A MATLAB GUI is presented to facilitate use of the two-point azimuth method.No software license purchase is required to run the executable - it is free.The results are shown to successfully identify anisotropy at two spatial scales.These methods could also be used to detect anisotropy in other point-like features.
Application and Simulation Research for Boiler Superheated System Identification Based on MPSO-RBF Hybrid Optimization Strategy

A hybrid optimization algorithm (MPSO-RBF) for radial basis function (RBF) neural networks based on modified particle swarm optimization (MPSO) was proposed, and it was applied to nonlinear system identification. This method may take full advantage of the global searching performance of MPSO and the local optimized effectiveness of RBF neural networks, and it overcomes general PSO algorithm convergent instability and the disadvantage of RBF networks with falling into local minimum. At the same time, the typical nonlinear system simulation experiments were made, and also this method is a contrast to RBF neural networks based-on genetic algorithm (GA-RBF) and RBF identification effects. The simulation results show this MPSO-RBF method has quicker optimization speed and better approximation performance, and it obtains higher identification precision. Finally, an identification example for the dynamic characteristic of power plant superheated steam temperature was made, and the results proved that MPSO-RBF method has better performance index.
CT manifestations of neuron migration anomalies(with report of 30 cases)

Objective:To study the features of neuron migration anomalies on CT so as to improve the accuracy of the diagnosis for this disease.Methods:Clinical and CT materials of 30 cases with neuron migration anomalies confirmed in our institution in the past 2 years were summarized and analyzed retrospectively.Results:In this series, there were (Ⅰ) heterotopias of gray matter in 8 cases, (Ⅱ) schizencephaly in 6 cases (associated with polymicrogyria in 4 cases, pachygyna in 1 case, and the absence of the septum pellucidum in all 6 cases), (Ⅲ) polymicrogyria in 15 cases (associated with schizencephaly in 4 cases), (Ⅳ) pachygyna in 5 cases (associated with schizencephaly in 1 case) and (Ⅴ) unilateral megalencephaly in 1 case. On CT, the heterotopias of gray matter was showed as accumulation in white matter and nodules in subependymal area with same density as gray matter. The schizencephaly, which can be divided into two types: open-lip type and closed-lip type, was showed as hemispheric cleft lined with heterotopic gray matter in the parasylvian region, extending from lateral ventricular wall to the brain surface. The polymicrogyria presented the thickening of cerebral cortex with wave-like or serrated edges, and with shallow and fewer sulci. Characteristic appearances of the pachygyna included the broad gyri, thickened and flat cortex. In the region of lesion, brain surface and border between gray and white matter remained smooth. The unilateral megalencephaly displayed the increased cranial cavity and unilateral cerebral hemisphere.Conclusion:CT can demonstrate pathological features of neuron migration anomalies, and provide accurate diagnosis to clinician.
Orientation, Evaluation, and Integration of Part-Time Nursing Faculty

This study helps to quantify and describe orientation, evaluation, and integration practices pertaining to part-time clinical nursing faculty teaching in prelicensure nursing education programs. A researcher designed Web-based survey was used to collect information from a convenience sample of part-time clinical nursing faculty teaching in prelicensure nursing programs. Survey questions focused on the amount and type of orientation, evaluation, and integration practices. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze results. Respondents reported on average four hours of orientation, with close to half reporting no more than two hours. Evaluative feedback was received much more often from students than from full-time faculty. Most respondents reported receiving some degree of mentoring and that it was easy to get help from full-time faculty. Respondents reported being most informed about student evaluation procedures, grading, and the steps to take when students are not meeting course objectives, and less informed about changes to ongoing curriculum and policy.
A job well done.

The protective services department at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati makes employee satisfaction a priority through ongoing recognition and professional development efforts.
Value Arguments in Science Research Articles Making the Case for the Importance of Research

It is in the interest of scholarly journals to publish important research and of researchers to publish in important journals. One key to making the case for the importance of research in a scholarly article is to incorporate value arguments. Yet there has been no rhetorical analysis of value arguments in the literature. In the context of rhetorical situation, stasis theory, and Swales’s linguistic analysis of moves in introductions, this article examines value arguments in introductions of science research articles. Employing a corpus of 60 articles from three science journals, the author analyzes value arguments based on Toulmin’s definition of argument and identifies three classes of value arguments and seven functions of these arguments in introductions. This analysis illuminates the rhetorical construction of value in science articles and provides a foundation for the empirical study of value in scholarship.
Astronomy, Astrology, and Poetics in Seventeenth-Century Italy

Chapter 1 is comprised of six sections, each dealing with a specific aspect of literary and scientific culture in seventeenth-century Italy as it relates to the correspondence of Margherita Sarrocchi and Galileo. The sections in Chapter 1 demonstrate how Sarrocchi and Galileo established a mutually profitable relationship of support, collaboration, and obligation, with Sarrocchi defending Galileo’s celestial discoveries in exchange for his literary advice and protection with respect to her epic poem, the Scanderbeide. Section one describes the cultural climate of seventeenth-century Rome, where the Accademia dei Lincei was founded in 1603, and reviews the events surrounding the publication of Galileo’s Sidereus nuncius. Section two discusses the place of natural philosophy in Sarrocchi’s Scanderbeide. Section three examines early modern debates over epic poetry and Sarrocchi’s efforts to revise the Scanderbeide according to a Tuscan literary standard. Section four considers Sarrocchi’s defense of Galileo’s telescopic discoveries, including his observations of the Moon, the satellites of Jupiter, and the phases of Venus, and describes the controversy that surrounded these discoveries. Section five investigates Sarrocchi and Galileo’s shared interest in judicial astrology. Section six offers an epilogue to the Sarrocchi-Galileo correspondence, concisely summarizing the fate of Sarrocchi’s revised manuscript and the events of Galileo’s later life, including his Inquisition trial.
Alcohol-Related Perinatal Brain Injury in Prem’s

The relation between maternal alcohol use and intraventricular hemorrhage in 349 prematures weighing 2000 g or less was examined by the Neonatal Brain Hemorrhage Study Team at the Epidemiology Department, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, N Carolina; and the Dept of Pediatrics and Clinical Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.
Ratcheting up protective regulations in the shadow of the WTO: NGO strategy and food safety standard-setting in India

ABSTRACTHow does the World Trade Organization (WTO) shape contests among civil society organizations, transnational firms, and states over domestic regulations that protect human health, such as food safety standards? The WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS Agreement) aims to limit the use of non-tariff barriers like regulatory standards as protectionist measures. Yet, few attempts have been made to explore how these rules shape national policy-making processes, and particularly the ability of civil society organizations to ratchet up protective regulations. Through a study of standard-setting for pesticide residues in soft drinks in India, I argue that WTO rules are at once legal obligations backed by the coercive threat of economic sanctions and discursive standards for what constitutes ‘appropriate regulatory practice.’ As discursive standards, the rules shape the rationalities and strategies of diverse actors in domestic regulatory contests. These standards of...
Magnetotelluric Imaging of a Carbonatite Terrane in the Southeast Mojave Desert, California and Nevada

The southeast Mojave Desert hosts one of the world’s largest rare earth element (REE) deposits at Mountain Pass, California. Although surface geology has been studied, a full understanding of the carbonatite and associated intrusive suite complex requires subsurface geophysical characterization. In this study, a combination of geophysical methods, including magnetotelluric (MT), magnetics, and gravity are used to create a two-dimensional (2D) geophysical model to a depth of about 10 km. An electrically conductive body is found 2–3 km below and west of the deposit that is associated with a magnetic high that could be connected to a deeper (10 km) conductive body related to possible intrusions or hydrothermal systems. The carbonatite body coincides with a steep magnetic gradient and a bench or terrace in the gravity data that may reflect relative lower-density intrusive rocks. Although carbonatite rocks are typically magnetic, the carbonatite rocks, associated intrusive suite, and host rocks in this area are essentially non-magnetic. Combined geophysical data indicate that the enriched REE deposit may be related to a regional extensive hydrothermal alteration event.
Rectal Cancer: Management of T1 Rectal Cancer

The widespread implementation of screening colonoscopy has led to a parallel increase in the detection of early staged rectal cancer including T1N0M0 lesions. Rectal cancers at this stage have invaded into the submucosal layer of the rectal wall without metastasis to lymph nodes and other organs and have been traditionally managed with a transabdominal radical resection (RR). However, since a RR is associated with significant postoperative morbidity, local excisional approaches (LE) such as transanal excision (TAE), transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM), and transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS), have been adopted. Whether the oncological results of a less morbid LE approach is comparable to a more morbid RR approach for T1N0M0 rectal cancer is the essential question of this chapter.
Majorana Kramers pair in a nematic vortex

A time-reversal (TR) invariant topological superconductor is characterized by a Kramers pair of Majorana zero-energy modes on boundaries and in a core of a TR invariant vortex. A vortex defect that preserves TR symmetry has remained primarily of theoretical interest, since typically a magnetic field, which explicitly breaks TR, needs to be applied to create vortices in superconductors. In this paper, we show that an odd-parity topological superconductor with a nematic pairing order parameter can host a nematic vortex that preserves TR symmetry and binds a Majorana Kramers pair. Such a nematic superconductor could be realized in metal-doped ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Se}}_{3}$, as suggested by recent experiments. We provide an analytic solution for the zero modes in a continuous nematic vortex. In lattice, crystalline anisotropy can pin the two-component order parameter along high-symmetry directions. We show that a discrete nematic vortex, which forms when three nematic domains meet, also supports a TR pair of Majorana modes. Finally, we discuss possible experiments to probe the zero modes.
Severity Scoring Systems for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Outcome Tools

Although severe symptoms and deteriorating function of the affected hand are the main reasons patients seek treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), much variability exists in assessing CTS symptoms. Today, there is no reference standard to determine the severity and thus the optimal treatment option for CTS. Traditional means of measuring the impairment of the median nerve lack qualities necessary to evaluate outcome measures that are important to patients. Subjective evaluations such as health and functioning questionnaires have proven to be valid and responsive in assessing outcomes of interest. The debate remained over the appropriate treatment, based on the severity of CTS, and the most suitable outcome questionnaire to measure responsiveness of the treatment. This review will focus on current evidence from clinical outcome research regarding measurement of CTS severity scoring systems and comparisons of current instruments based on desirable properties of a validated questionnaire.
A Physical Layer Security Key Generation Technique for Inter-Vehicular Visible Light Communication

A physical layer secret key generation scheme exploiting randomness of the road surface and the driving behavior is being proposed. 128bits encryption key is generated based on real world vehicle trajectory big-data to prove the concept.
Minding the Billions: Ultra-wideband Localization for Deployed RFID Tags

State-of-the-art RFID localization systems fall under two categories. The first category operates with off-the-shelf narrowband RFID tags but makes restrictive assumptions on the environment or the tag's movement patterns. The second category does not make such restrictive assumptions; however, it requires designing new ultra-wideband hardware for RFIDs and uses the large bandwidth to directly compute a tag's 3D location. Hence, while the first category is restrictive, the second one requires replacing the billions of RFIDs already produced and deployed annually. This paper presents RFind, a new technology that brings the benefits of ultra-wideband localization to the billions of RFIDs in today's world. RFind does not require changing today's passive narrowband RFID tags. Instead, it leverages their underlying physical properties to emulate a very large bandwidth and uses it for localization. Our empirical results demonstrate that RFind can emulate over 220MHz of bandwidth on tags designed with a communication bandwidth of only tens to hundreds of kHz, while remaining compliant with FCC regulations. This, combined with a new super-resolution algorithm over this bandwidth, enables RFind to perform 3D localization with sub-centimeter accuracy in each of the x/y/z dimensions, without making any restrictive assumptions on the tag's motion or the environment.
The Russian Vodka Prohibition of 1914 and Its Consequences

Tsar Nicholas II banned vodka sales in 1914 for the duration of World War I. Believing that sobriety would result in an orderly recruitment process for the army and eliminate the drunkenness damaging public health, he failed to anticipate the negative unintentional consequences that ensued. The ban resulted in eliminating one-third of the state’s revenue at a time when it was most needed to support a prolonged war. Public demand for vodka resulted in grain being used to make samogon (moonshine). The reduction in available grain resulted in bread shortages in cities. On Women’s Day, March 8, 1917, women, workers, and students joined mass street demonstrations protesting food shortages, culminating in the abdication of the tsar a week later. When Vladimir Lenin seized power in November 1917, he retained Prohibition and took violent measures against moonshiners, realizing that feeding the urban masses was essential to retaining their loyalty. Josef Stalin created a State Vodka Monopoly to generate state revenue. In 1985, Michael Gorbachev drastically reduced the availability of vodka, resulting again in the production of moonshine and his unpopularity. Boris Yeltsin abolished the State Vodka Monopoly in 1992. Vladimir Putin continues to face rising male mortality rates, largely attributed to vodka consumption. Current tastes in drinking and a judicious tax policy hold out the hope of reducing the deleterious public health consequences of alcohol abuse in Russia.
Framing the Undergraduate Research Experience: Discovery Involvement in Retailing Undergraduate Education

We provide an overview of ways to involve undergraduate business and retailing students in faculty research projects and discuss advantages of these student–faculty collaborations. We use Kolb’s ex...
Together or separate? algorithmic aggregation problems

Aggregation problems arise when an expensive resource is shared by multiple agents. Shared access to this resource may result in agents incurring additional expenses, for example due to excessive wait time. This leads to a tradeoff between the frequency of access to the shared resource and the overhead costs for individual agents. Some participants of FCT may face this dilemma when heading to the airport after the conference. Sharing a cab saves overall cost, but it may create some inconvenience, or even additional expenses, if it results in an early or late arrival at the airport. Aggregation problems of this nature are ubiquitous. For example, in the TCP Acknowledgment Problem in networks, control acknowledgement packets can be aggregated and transmitted together. This reduces network traffic, but it can also result in undesirable delays and complicate congestion control. In the Joint Replenishment Problem, extensively studied in the operations research area, retailers place orders for a commodity at the supplier. To satisfy these orders, the supplier sends shipments of the commodity to a shared warehouse, which then redistributes them to the suppliers. The objective is to minimize the total shipment cost and the retailers' cost of waiting for their shipments. This talk will survey the existing work on efficient algorithms for such aggregation problems, attempting to provide a unified perspective and emphasizing connections between different variants. We will discuss both offline and online algorithms, focussing mostly on recent results on approximation algorithms for these problems and on the remaining open problems.
Solid-State NMR Investigations of Carbon Dioxide Gas in Metal-Organic Frameworks: Insights into Molecular Motion and Adsorptive Behavior.

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR) methods have been routinely used for the characterization of both the structure and the dynamics of metal organic frameworks (MOFs), a collection of porous media investigated for potential applications in carbon capture technologies, selective separation of small molecules, and catalysis.(1) The use and development of SSNMR techniques that enable the nondestructive characterization of the adsorbed behavior have become essential steps in bettering our understanding of MOFs and are often complementary to traditional methods of structural characterization. This Review aims to give a brief introduction to the relevant concepts of SSNMR and the methods employed when investigating the phenomenon of adsorbed carbon dioxide gas in MOFs. We summarize the published SSNMR literature on CO2 in MOFs, as well as highlight the best experimental practices when working with these complex systems.
Virtual Power Plant Feedback Control Design for Fast and Reliable Energy Market and Contingency Reserve Dispatch

An increasing number of state and national interconnection standards are requiring Distributed Energy Resources (DER) to include grid-support functionality. These capabilities along with the growing number of communications-enabled DER make it possible for 3rd party aggregators to provide a range of high-level grid services such as voltage regulation, frequency regulation, and contingency reserves. For the last three years, Sandia National Laboratories has been designing and testing a real-time Virtual Power Plant (VPP) optimization and control platform to provide ancillary services with interoperable DER. In this paper we address the design of feedback controllers for VPPs to meet energy market and tertiary reserve targets. The VPP controller is designed to issue set points to the fleet of DERs to maintain the VPP output within the error margin. This is accomplished by compensating for individual DER losses and output fluctuations with the remainder of the aggregation. The impact of the communication network on the controller design is discussed and simulation results are presented to validate the proposed controller design.
Transcontextual Effects of Racialized Sports Media Framing: Students’ Off the Field Perceptions of Student-Athletes:

This research examines the effects of racial stereotypes embedded within sports media. An experiment was conducted to examine the impact of racialized “brawn” and “brain” frames on perceptions of s...
Clinical Management of Patients at Risk for Hereditary Breast Cancer with Variants of Uncertain Significance in the Era of Multigene Panel Testing

Rising use of multigene panel testing has led to increased identification of variants of uncertain significance (VUS). Consensus guidelines state that clinicians should not make medical management decisions based on VUS findings. We sought to analyze how VUS affect management of patients at risk for hereditary breast cancer. All genetic testing reports for indications of hereditary breast cancer risk from a single tertiary-care institution from 2015 to 2018 were reviewed. Variants were grouped by pathogenicity (benign/likely benign, VUS, or pathogenic/likely pathogenic [P/LP]) and by breast cancer susceptibility (high, moderate, or none). Patient and management characteristics were compared by variant pathogenicity and breast cancer risk. Overall, 563 patients underwent genetic testing for breast cancer risk; 336 VUS were identified in 228 (40.5%) of patients of which 26.4% were in high or moderate penetrance genes. P/LP results were found in 61 (10.8%) patients, of which 61.2% were identified in breast-specific moderate and high penetrance genes, and 38.7% were found in non-breast specific genes. Of variants found in high-risk genes, 54.5% were P/LP and 45.5% were VUS. On multivariable analysis, prophylactic mastectomy was associated with younger age and personal history of cancer, but not variant pathogenicity or penetrance. There were no differences in the use of post-test imaging, oophorectomy, or colonoscopy based on variant findings or age. In this era of multigene panel testing, genetic factors help to inform, but not dictate, complex decision-making in surveillance and management of patients at risk for hereditary breast cancer.
Ge-on-Si Balanced Periodic Traveling-Wave Photodetector

A balanced periodic traveling-wave photodetector (BP-TWPD) on silicon-on-insulator is demonstrated for the first time. The device is composed of 8 germanium waveguide photodiodes and delivers high output powers of 8.3 dBm at 5 GHz and 2.6 dBm at 25 GHz. The internal responsivity is 0.84 A/W and the common mode rejection ratio (CMRR) is larger than 30 dB from DC to 30 GHz.
Curriculum of the Redeemed

The poem explores the complexities of the colonizing curriculum to highlight some of the implicit meanings that are communicated to, and internalized by its audience. It concludes with a call to rethink the curriculum as a broader concept with deeper systemic, psycho-social and epistemological meanings that transcend traditional school structures.
The influence of sleep disturbances and sleep disorders on pain outcomes among veterans: A systematic scoping review.

Summary Chronic nonmalignant pain, sleep disturbances and sleep disorders are highly prevalent conditions among U.S. military veterans. Evidence summaries highlight the influence of sleep on pain outcomes in the general adult population but not for the military veteran population. This is a significant gap as U.S. military veterans are an exceedingly high-risk population for both chronic pain and sleep disturbances and/or disorders. We aimed to review the influence of sleep disturbances and sleep disorders on pain outcomes among veterans with chronic nonmalignant pain. A systematic scoping review was conducted using PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. Twenty-six out of 1450 studies from initial search were included in this review resulting in a combined sample size of N = 923,434 participants. Sleep disturbances and sleep disorders were associated with worse pain outcomes among veterans with chronic pain. Treatment-induced sleep improvements ameliorated pain outcomes in veterans with sleep disorders and sleep disturbances. Research is indicated to address an overlooked pain treatment opportunity – that of sleep disturbance and sleep disorder management.
Multi-player H ∞ Differential Game using On-Policy and Off-Policy Reinforcement Learning

This paper studies a multi-player H ∞ differential game for systems of general linear dynamics. In this game, multiple players design their control inputs to minimize their cost functions in the presence of worst-case disturbances. We first derive the optimal control and disturbance policies using the solutions to Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs (HJI) equations. We then prove that the derived optimal policies stabilize the system and constitute a Nash equilibrium solution. Two integral reinforcement learning (IRL) -based algorithms, including the policy iteration IRL and off-policy IRL, are developed to solve the differential game online. We show that the off-policy IRL can solve the multi-player H ∞ differential game online without using any system dynamics information. Simulation studies are conducted to validate the theoretical analysis and demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed learning algorithms.