cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Erectile function durability following permanent prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose To evaluate long-term changes in erectile function following prostate brachytherapy. Methods and Materials This study included 226 patients with prostate cancer and preimplant erectile function assessed by the International Index of Erectile Function-6 (IIEF-6) who underwent brachytherapy in two prospective randomized trials between February 2001 and January 2003. Median follow-up was 6.4 years. Pre- and postbrachytherapy potency was defined as IIEF-6 ≥ 13 without pharmacologic or mechanical support. The relationship among clinical, treatment, and dosimetric parameters and erectile function was examined. Results The 7-year actuarial rate of potency preservation was 55.6% with median postimplant IIEF of 22 in potent patients. Potent patients were statistically younger ( p = 0.014), had a higher preimplant IIEF ( p p = 0.002), and were more likely to report nocturnal erections ( p = 0.008). Potency preservation in men with baseline IIEF scores of 29–30, 24–28, 18–23, and 13–17 were 75.5% vs. 73.6%, 51.7% vs. 44.8%, 48.0% vs. 40.0%, and 23.5% vs. 23.5% in 2004 vs. 2008. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, preimplant IIEF, hypertension, diabetes, prostate size, and brachytherapy dose to proximal penis strongly predicted for potency preservation. Impact of proximal penile dose was most pronounced for men with IIEF of 18–23 and aged 60–69. A significant minority of men who developed postimplant impotence ultimately regained erectile function. Conclusion Potency preservation and median IIEF scores following brachytherapy are durable. Thoughtful dose sparing of proximal penile structures and early penile rehabilitation may further improve these results.
Gastric Outlet Obstruction

Gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) indicates obstruction of the distal stomach, pylorus, or proximal duodenum. The term is also used to encompass lesions in the second through fourth portion of the duodenum as the demarcation between gastric outlet obstruction and duodenal obstruction is inconsistent [1]. GOO can be the result of benign or malignant conditions. While classically GOO was ascribed to noncancerous pathology, a frequently cited review by Johnson et al. of 261 patients with GOO indicated that the epidemiology of GOO is changing [2]. They noted that between 1962 and 1975, malignancy accounted for 33 % of GOO cases at their hospital in the United Kingdom. Between 1976 and 1985 malignancy accounted for 50 % of cases. However, from 1987 to 1988 malignancy was responsible for 66 % of cases of GOO. Current thinking is that GOO in adults is secondary to malignancy unless proven otherwise.
Effective matrix-free preconditioning for the augmented immersed interface method

We present effective and efficient matrix-free preconditioning techniques for the augmented immersed interface method (AIIM). AIIM has been developed recently and is shown to be very effective for interface problems and problems on irregular domains. GMRES is often used to solve for the augmented variable(s) associated with a Schur complement A in AIIM that is defined along the interface or the irregular boundary. The efficiency of AIIM relies on how quickly the system for A can be solved. For some applications, there are substantial difficulties involved, such as the slow convergence of GMRES (particularly for free boundary and moving interface problems), and the inconvenience in finding a preconditioner (due to the situation that only the products of A and vectors are available). Here, we propose matrix-free structured preconditioning techniques for AIIM via adaptive randomized sampling, using only the products of A and vectors to construct a hierarchically semiseparable matrix approximation to A. Several improvements over existing schemes are shown so as to enhance the efficiency and also avoid potential instability. The significance of the preconditioners includes: (1) they do not require the entries of A or the multiplication of A T with vectors; (2) constructing the preconditioners needs only O ( log ? N ) matrix-vector products and O ( N ) storage, where N is the size of A; (3) applying the preconditioners needs only O ( N ) flops; (4) they are very flexible and do not require any a priori knowledge of the structure of A. The preconditioners are observed to significantly accelerate the convergence of GMRES, with heuristical justifications of the effectiveness. Comprehensive tests on several important applications are provided, such as Navier-Stokes equations on irregular domains with traction boundary conditions, interface problems in incompressible flows, mixed boundary problems, and free boundary problems. The preconditioning techniques are also useful for several other problems and methods.
Rapamycin Inhibits Liver Growth during Refeeding in Rats via Control of Ribosomal Protein Translation but Not Cap-Dependent Translation Initiation

We examined the role of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in hepatic cell growth. To dissociate cell growth from cell proliferation, we employed an in vivo model of nonproliferative liver growth in rats, refeeding after 48 h of food deprivation. Starvation resulted in a decrease in liver mass, liver protein, and cell size, all of which were largely restored after 24 h of refeeding. Administration of the mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin, before the refeeding period partially inhibited the restoration of liver protein content. Refeeding was also associated with an increase in ribosomal protein S6 phosphorylation and phosphorylation of the eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 4E binding protein 1 (4E-BP1). 4E-BP1 phosphorylation was accompanied by a decrease in the abundance of the complex containing 4E-BP1 with eIF4E. These changes were prevented by rapamycin administration. However, association of eIF4E and eIF4G and eIF2alpha phosphorylation, both of which are stimulated by refeeding, were insensitive to rapamycin. The functional importance of these observations was confirmed by polysome fractionation, which showed that translation initiation of 5' oligopyrimidine tract-containing mRNAs, which encode ribosomal proteins, was inhibited by rapamycin, whereas translation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1), a cap-dependent mRNA, was unaffected. The abundance of ribosomal proteins paralleled total protein content during refeeding in both control and rapamycin-injected rats. We conclude that accretion of liver protein during refeeding is dependent on mTOR-mediated activation of the translation of ribosomal proteins but not dependent on mTOR-mediated activation of cap-dependent translation initiation.
Ushering Hypertension Into a New Era of Precision Medicine

Approximately 80 million US adults have hypertension, and hypertension remains a leading risk factor for stroke and cardiovascular disease.1 In 2009-2010, 48% of treated hypertensive patients in the United States were taking more than 1 drug, and blood pressure remained uncontrolled among 40% of those receiving drug treatment.1 Current guidelines for prevention and treatment of hypertension are based on observational studies in populations and clinical trials in large groups of patients. Precision medicine and epigenetics are 2 emerging and complementary strategies that have the potential to alter clinical approaches to understanding and treating hypertension. Both approaches have the goal of more effective hypertension control by providing personalized targets for preventive and therapeutic interventions.
Potential of the elliptic blending Reynolds stress model for use in hybrid RANS-LES methods

The potential of using the elliptic blending Reynolds stress model (RSMeb) in hybrid RANS-LES methods is investigated in this paper. The advantage of the RSMeb is that it does not use any geometrical wall distance or wall normal vector information which makes it well suited for application in flows with complex wall geometries. Several modifications to the original RSMeb are proposed to improve the performance for attached and separated wall bounded flows. The new model is calibrated for a channel flow with a friction Reynolds number of Reτ = 2000 through comparison with available DNS data. The model performance for higher (Reτ = 4200) and lower (Reτ = 590, 950) Reynolds numbers is also excellent. To test the RSMeb model performance in separated flows the periodic hill flow at several Reynolds numbers (Reb = 2800, 5600, 10600, 37000) is also considered. For the hill flow, the model performs reasonable well showing slightly better results when compared to results obtained with the Menter SST k − ω model. As a further test case we consider the flow over a 2D NACA 4412 airfoil at a chord based Reynolds number of Rec = 1.64 × 10. The flow with an angle of attack α = 12 displays a trailing edge separation and qualitatively good results are obtained with the RSMeb model. To improve the results quantitatively the new RSMeb model is applied in hybrid RANS-LES simulations of these flows using the partially integrated transport (PITM) modeling approach. The suitability of this approach is first demonstrated in channel flow simulations at Reτ = 590. For the NACA 4412 airfoil the PITM RSMeb model predictions show a significant quantitative improvement of the results when compared to the pure RANS simulations.
Absence of the αvβ3 Integrin Dictates the Time-Course of Angiogenesis in the Hypoxic Central Nervous System: Accelerated Endothelial Proliferation Correlates with Compensatory Increases in α5β1 Integrin Expression:

Cerebral angiogenesis is an important adaptive response to hypoxia. As the αvβ3 integrin is induced on angiogenic vessels in the ischemic central nervous system (CNS), and the suggested angiogenic role for this integrin in other systems, it is important to determine whether the αvβ3 integrin is an important mediator of cerebral angiogenesis. αvβ3 integrin expression was examined in a model of cerebral hypoxia, in which mice were subject to hypoxia (8% O2) for 0, 4, 7, or 14 days. Immunofluorescence and western blot analysis revealed that in the hypoxic CNS, αvβ3 integrin was strongly induced on angiogenic brain endothelial cells (BEC), along with its ligand vitronectin. In the hypoxia model, β3 integrin-null mice showed no obvious defect in cerebral angiogenesis. However, early in the angiogenic process, BEC in these mice showed an increased mitotic index that correlated closely with increased α5 integrin expression. In vitro experiments confirmed α5 integrin upregulation on β3 integrin-null BEC, which also correlated with increased BEC proliferation on fibronectin. These studies confirm hypoxic induction of αvβ3 integrin on angiogenic vessels, but suggest distinct roles for the BEC integrins αvβ3 and α5β1 in cerebral angiogenesis, with αvβ3 having a nonessential role, and α5β1 promoting BEC proliferation.
Ammonoid diversity and disparity track episodes of chaotic carbon cycling during the early Mesozoic

Episodes of mass extinction represent the largest events of biodiversity loss known in the geologic record, and may provide tests of biodiversity-ecosystem stability hypotheses. Here we present the first correlation between ammonoid diversity and disparity and ecosystem stability as represented by stable carbon isotopic records spanning the end-Permian through end-Triassic mass extinctions. Ammonoid generic richness from a single biogeographic realm shows that nearly all taxa disappeared coincident with major carbon isotopic shifts to lighter values. The intervals following these two major mass extinctions were characterized by multiple positive-negative couplets of chaotic carbon cycling and were composed of low-richness ammonoid faunas characterized by higher proportions of passively floating, non-swimming morphotypes than before or after. In contrast, richness was highest during intervals of stable carbon isotope values. We propose that these "chaotic carbon episodes" reflect the breakdown of functional redundancy in the ecosystem, and that the post-extinction carbon cycle did not stabilize until redundancy was restored.
Mixed-mode liquid chromatography of aliphatic anionic surfactants with a naphthalenedisulfonate mobile phase

Separation of three classes of anionic surfactants (alkyl sulfates, alkanesulfonates, and alkyl phosphates) are achieved on a mixed-mode reversed phase (RP) phenyl/-anion exchange column using a naphthalenetrisulfonate (NTS)-acetonitrile (ACN) mobile phase via indirect photometric, indirect fluorometric, direct or indirect conductivity detection. Mixtures of C5−C18 sulfates, C6−C18 sulfonates, and C1−C4 phosphates (mono- and di-ester) can be separated in less than 20, 24, and 20 min respectively. Although hydrophobic effects are more pronounced in mixed-mode chromatography, equivalent-per-equivalent exchange of analysis and eluent ion is still required for sensitive indirect photometric, fluorometric, or conductivity detection. The detection limits of alkyl sulfates and alkanesulfonates are in the range of 3–15 pmoles which are at least an order of magnitude better than suppressed conductivity detection. The determination of surfactants in a variety of real samples is also presented.
The Origins & Evolution of the Field of Industrial Relations in the United States

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (IR) developed as a distinct academic subject and field of study nearly three-quarters of a century ago. This book provides a historical survey of the origins and development of the field in the United States and an analysis of the factors that contributed both to the field's ascendancy in the decade after World War II and to its sharp decline in the 1980s. The book has three objectives. The first is to provide a detailed account of the intellectual history of the field of industrial relations, its relationship to personnel management (and related fields such as organizational behavior), and the historical development of the major institutions of industrial relations in American academe, including university degree programs and professional associations. The second objective is to assess the reasons for the marked decline in the field's intellectual and organizational for, tunes over the last two decades, a decline that has proceeded to the point that the continued existence of industrial relations programs at a number of universities is threatened. Finally, the third objective is to develop a strategy for change that will preserve and strengthen industrial relations as a field of study, if not in name then in intellectual spirit.
Memoirs: Observations on the Structure and Distribution of Striped and Unstriped Muscle in the Animal Kingdom, and a Theory of Muscular Contraction

1. In all muscles which have to perform rapid and frequent movements, a certain portion of the muscle is differentiated to perform the function of contraction, and this portion takes on the form of a very regular and highly modified intracellular network. 2. This network, by its regular arrangement, gives rise to certain optical effects which cause the peculiar appearances of striped muscle. 3. The contraction of the striped muscle-fibre is probably caused by the active contraction of the longitudinal fibrils of the intracellular network; the transverse networks appear to be passively elastic, aud by their elastic rebound cause the muscle to rapidly resume its relaxed condition when the longitudinal fibrils have ceased to contract; they are possibly also paths for the nervous impulse. 4. In some cases where muscle has been hitherto described as striped, but gives no appearance of the network or treatment with the gold and other methods, the apparent striation is due to optical effects caused by a corrugated outline in the fibre. 5. In muscles which do not perform rapid movements, but whose contraction is comparatively slow and peristaltic in nature, this peculiar network is not developed. In most if not all of the invertebrate unstriped muscle there does not appear to be an intracellular network present in any form, but in the vertebrate unstriped muscle a network is present in the form of longitudinal fibrils only; this possibly represents a form of network intermediate between the typical irregular intracellular network of other cells and the highly modified network of striped muscle. 6. The cardiac muscle-cells contain a network similar to that of ordinary striped muscle. The investigations connected with this paper were partly carried on in the laboratories of the Owens College and partly at the Scottish Marine Station at Granton. I must here express my thanks to my brother, Professor Milnes Marshall, for his kindness in revising the paper, for much advice in its production, and for obtaining the literature of the subject; all the controversial points were discussed with him and the preparations submitted to his examination. My thanks are also due to Dr. Klein for kindly showing me his preparations and for examining several of my own. I must also thank Mr. J. T. Cunningham for the use of the Scottish Marine Station, and for obtaining several of the animals.
Impact Of Bank Credit Financing On Agricultural Output In Nigeria

In this study, time series data sourced from Central bank of Nigeria for the period 1970-2011 was employed to examine the effect of bank credit and macro-policy variables on agricultural output in Nigeria. Data were analyzed using Co-integration and error correction model. To avoid having a spurious regression, data were first examined for stationarity using the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test. Result revealed that all the variables were stationary at first difference except inflation rate that was stationary at level. The Trace and Maximum Eigen value tests showed evidence of 1 and 2 cointegrating vectors, which is a sufficient proof of cointegration. Result further showed that only past value of Gross Domestic Product exerted significant positive impact on agricultural output, while inflation rate, lending rate and previous value of exchange rate had significant inverse relationship with agricultural output. Surprisingly, bank credit finance had the expected positive sign but fails to significantly explain the variation in agricultural output. Hence, Policies that would enhance access to affordable bank credit finance with less stringent conditions such as the reduction in lending rate and the frequent request for collateral should be pursued. Effort should be directed towards promoting macroeconomic stability. Such effort should focus on the reduction of inflation, lending as well as exchange rates. To boost agricultural GDP, emphasis should be directed towards proper funding of the sector by the government and other financial stakeholders
Review of the Incentive Literature

This chapter is the incentive literature review. It focuses on analyzing extrinsic versus intrinsic incentives. Specifically, it investigates different types of extrinsic influence on intrinsic motivation. This study categorizes previous research into four areas to analyze the fundamental characteristics of monetary and non-monetary extrinsic incentives. These four areas include effort–reward relationship, social signaling effect, utility versus hedonic benefits, and post-reward effect. At the end, it brings the research question on how to increase brand–consumer relationships through social media context.
Impact of plasma charging damage and diode protection on scaled thin oxide

The plasma charging stress can be quantified sensitively using differential pair circuits as well as MOSFETs. We have developed a quantitative model for thin oxide plasma charging damage by examining the oxide thickness dependence of charging current. The model predicts the oxide thickness dependence of plasma charging successfully. A quantitative model of protection diodes for wafer charging effect on future thinner oxides is also presented. >
An input-output linear time invariant model captures neuronal firing responses to external and behavioral events

Investigating how neurons in different motor regions respond to external stimuli and behavioral events provides insight into motor control. A recent approach to studying neuronal activity is to construct a zero-input linear time invariant (ZI-LTI) state-space model, wherein the state vector consists of firing rate signals for different populations of neurons across motor regions. This approach allows for the populations to influence each other in a dynamical manner given an initial firing rate condition, and the model can accurately reconstruct firing rates within a limited epoch in the motor task during which no event occurs. Here, we generalize this LTI modeling approach to characterize firing responses of neurons to two events (a go cue and movement onset) in a movement task with a non-zero input LTI state-space model, herein referred to as input-output LTI (IO-LTI). Specifically, responses from 196 neurons in the primary motor (M1), ventral premotor (PMv), and dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) were recorded and modeled in two nonhuman primates executing a reach-to-grasp task. We found that a single IO-LTI model can reconstruct neuronal firing rate patterns of six populations of these neurons across the three areas in the presence of multiple events (go cue, movement onset). This is the first step towards constructing generative models of neuronal firing rates in the presence of multiple events, which then can be used to construct better decoders for brain machine interactive control.
Carbon Nanotubes: Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are one of the many nanocarbon forms and exhibit a unique and extraordinary combination of physical and mechanical properties. They have been researched during the last two decades and have displayed unprecedented performance in a variety of applications. This chapter discusses the synthesis, characterization, processing, and applications of CNTs. It is written in language that is relatively easy to understand and is intended for readers who are new to the field and want to gain a broad understanding of this material.
Sex chromosome contributions to sex differences in multiple sclerosis susceptibility and progression.

Background:Why are women more susceptible to multiple sclerosis, but men have worse disability progression? Sex differences in disease may be due to sex hormones, sex chromosomes, or both.Objective...
PACE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE! SECOND DEGREE AV BLOCK WITH RBBB AND LAFB

Right bundle branch block (RBBB) and left anterior fascicular block (LAFB) are very common findings. In the presence of second degree atrio-ventricular (AV) block, this condition can be life threatening and mandates emergent treatment. We present 3 cases who had had RBBB and LAFB documented
‘Girly Latina versus girly American’: the articulation of levels of femininity through indexicality in a Latina student’s narrative explaining discriminatory classroom interactions

The construction of gender and race are constantly negotiated by community members, and both categories affect the way speakers see themselves and others. By analysing a Latina student’s narrative, this study explores how she articulates through the use of several indexical processes, not only her own identity but also her friend’s, in order to explain how their classmates perceive them. In this narrative, the speaker explains how different levels of femininity, ‘girly American’ versus ‘girly Latina’, affect the way Latinas are perceived and, in some cases, treated in discriminatory ways. This analysis finds that her articulation of different levels of femininity, and her arguments about how different stereotypes associated with Latinas may cause discrimination, shows how the construction of gender and race are interrelated and fluid, and how there are certain performances of gender more acceptable than others even within the heterosexual norm. This analysis shows how language practices are fundamental to create and circulate ideologies about gender and ethnicity, and how essential it is to understand these practices in order to recognise and challenge the discrimination faced by minority groups in the United States, especially women of colour.
Cost of Surgical Treatment for Distal Radius Fractures and the Implications of Episode-Based Bundled Payments.

Purpose To examine the cost of care of surgical treatment for a distal radius fracture (DRF) and develop episodes that may be used to develop future bundled payment programs. Methods Using 2009 to 2015 claims data from the Truven MarketScan Databases, we examined the cost of care for surgical treatment of DRFs among adult patients in the United States. We excluded patients with concurrent fractures, patients who required complex care, and patients in assisted living facilities. We extracted data on cost and type of services provided to eligible patients, tracking patients from 3 days prior to operation to 90 days after operation. From these data, we developed 4 episode-of-care scenarios to develop an estimated bundled payment. We computed the variation in cost between surgery types, time periods, and type of service provided. Results Our final sample included 23,453 DRF operations, of which 15% were performed on patients 65 years of age or older. The majority (88%) underwent open fixation, the option associated with the highest cost. The average cost of care for a DRF patient ranged from $6,577 to $8,181 depending on the definition of an episode-of-care. Regardless of definition, the variation in cost was high. The cost of surgery itself composed 61% to 91% of the total cost of an episode. Of claims not directly related to the surgery, anesthesia and drugs, imaging, and therapy costs composed the next greatest proportions of the total cost of care. Conclusions Many DRF surgical episodes incur substantially higher costs than the average. To maximize cost reduction, bundled payments for DRFs are best designed with a clinically narrow definition that is limited to services related to the fracture and long enough to capture relevant postoperative therapy and imaging costs. Clinical relevance This study provides insight on spending to lay the foundation for shifting reimbursement strategies.
Correction to: On the Convergence of Asynchronous Parallel Iteration with Unbounded Delays

The article “On the Convergence of Asynchronous Parallel Iteration with Unbounded Delays”, written by Zhimin Peng, Yangyang Xu, Ming Yan, Wotao Yin was originally published electronically on the publisher’s Internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on 9th December 2017 without open access.
Open Innovation and the Implications for Sustainable Profits

Using economics and strategic management literature, we analyze how the phenomenon of open innovation and its associated intellectual communities have an impact on traditional income streams derived from monopoly, Ricardian, and entrepreneurial rents. In doing so, we find that our existing models of property rights, barriers to competition, organizational cost structures, and innovation capacity require adjustment to account for these phenomena. Open innovation modifies the sources of rents. Traditional entry, distribution and capital barriers decline with declining property rights, as do market power and scale effects. Switching costs will remain unchanged. However, rents from knowledge, experience effects, and more perfect differentiation are expected to increase. Importantly, capturing rents may be more difficult because the source of the innovation remains outside the firm’s control.
The Classification of Emotions

There comes a time in the progression of any scientific endeavor when the elemental dimensions of a discipHne need to be more fully defined, elaborated, and differentiated. This was achieved in chemistry by the Russian chemist Dimitry Mendeleyev (1834–1907) in his construction of the periodic table of elements and in biology by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (1707–1778) in his classification of plants and animals.
A Study of Memory Behavior of Java Workloads

This paper studies the memory behavior of important Java workloads used in benchmarking Java Virtual Machines (JVMs), based on instrumentation of both application and library code in a state-of-the-art JVM, and provides structured information about these workloads to help guide systems’ design. We begin by characterizing the inherent memory behavior of the benchmarks, such as information on the breakup of heap accesses among different categories and on the hotness of references to fields and methods. We then provide detailed information about misses in the data TLB and caches, including the distribution of misses over different kinds of accesses and over different methods. In the process, we make interesting discoveries about TLB behavior and limitations of data prefetching schemes discussed in the literature in dealing with pointerintensive Java codes. Throughout this paper, we develop a set of recommendations to computer architects and compiler writers on how to optimize computer systems and system software to run Java programs more efficiently. This paper also makes the first attempt to compare the characteristics of SPEC JVM98 to those of a server-oriented benchmark, pBOB, and explain why the current set of SPEC JVM98 benchmarks may not be adequate for a comprehensive and objective evaluation of JVMs and just-in-time (JIT) compilers.
Effectiveness of a Prison-Based Healthy Pregnancy Curriculum Delivered to Pregnant Inmates: A Pilot Study.

Incarcerated women experience stress related to their prison sentence, and this can be aggravated by pregnancy-related changes, with pregnant women at higher risks of adverse maternal and fetal hea...
The "No Wrong Door" Approach to HIV Testing: Results From a Statewide Retail Pharmacy-Based HIV Testing Program in Virginia, 2014-2016.

Objective:As part of the Care and Prevention in the United States Demonstration Project (2012-2016), which aimed to reduce HIV-related morbidity and mortality among racial/ethnic minority groups in...
VirB10 vaccination for protection against Anaplasma phagocytophilum

Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) is a tick-borne disease caused by the etiologic agent Anaplasma phagocytophilum. HGA was designated a nationally notifiable disease in the United States in 1998. Currently there are no vaccines available against HGA. Conserved membrane proteins that are subdominant in Anaplasma species, such as VirB9 and VirB10, may represent better vaccine targets than the variable immunodominant surface proteins. VirB9 and VirB10 are constituents of the Type 4 secretion system (T4SS) that is conserved amongst many intracellular bacteria and performs essential functions for invasion and survival in host cells. Immunogenicity and contribution to protection, provided after intramuscular vaccination of plasmid DNA encoding VirB9-1, VirB9-2, and VirB10 followed by inoculation of homologous recombinant proteins, in a prime-boost immunization strategy was evaluated in a murine model of HGA. Recombinant VirB9-1-, VirB9-2-, and VirB10-vaccinated mice developed antibody responses that specifically reacted with A. phagocytophilum organisms. However, only the mice vaccinated with VirB10 developed a significant increase in IFN-γ CD4+ T cells and partial protection against challenge with A. phagocytophilum. This work provides evidence that A. phagocytophilum T4SS VirB10 is partially protective in a murine model against infection in an IFN-γ-dependent fashion and suggests that this protein may be a potential vaccine candidate against this and possibly other pathogenic bacteria with a T4SS.
Cognitive predictors of sentence comprehension in children with and without developmental language disorder: Implications for assessment and treatment

AbstractPurpose: This paper summarises the clinical ramification of a large-scale study of the direct and indirect (mediated) influences of four cognitive mechanisms that are relevant to the compre...
Elucidating Host Cell Uptake by Malaria Parasites.

The malaria parasite must digest host cytoplasm for normal growth, and many studies have revealed the essential role of proteases in hemoglobin digestion. Here, we discuss the results of Jonscher et al. (Cell Host Microbe 2019;25:166–173) who have, for the first time, identified a molecule, VPS45, involved in the uptake and trafficking of host cytoplasm to the digestive vacuole.
Group-V impurities in SnO 2 from first-principles calculations

By means of first-principles calculations we investigate the effects of N, P, As, and Sb impurities on the electrical properties of ${\text{SnO}}_{2}$. We find that N prefers to occupy the O site and unexpectedly acts as a very deep acceptor with a level closer to the conduction band than to the valence band. P, As, and Sb prefer the Sn site, where they act as shallow donors. The group-V impurities are therefore not suitable for achieving $p$-type conductivity in ${\text{SnO}}_{2}$, but P, As, and Sb may serve as $n$-type dopants. We also investigate the interaction between N and H impurities, finding that the binding energy of the N-H complex is much larger than the binding energies found for complexes involving H and group-IIIA impurities in ${\text{SnO}}_{2}$.
Commercial PV Property Characterization: An Analysis of Solar Deployment Trends in Commercial Real Estate

Author(s): Hoen, Ben; Rand, Joseph; Elmallah, Salma | Abstract: The commercial rooftop solar energy market remains an under-developed sector. The market is estimated to contain 150 gigawatts of potential in the U.S. but it faces significant barriers to deployment to meet that potential, with an estimated 1.4 GW developed through 2017. This analysis focuses on of over 30,000 solar systems installed through 2017 and the properties on which they are located. The sample represents greater than 60% of the installed market at that time. The properties covered 20 states and almost 30 different types including industrial, warehouse, school/university, office, retail, and municipal/government and were compared to more than 2.4 million non-solar properties in the same geographies. The analysis finds overall commercial rooftop PV penetrations have only surpassed 1% recently across all property types with education properties (schools and universities) leading at over 6% penetration and with NJ and CA seeing the highest overall penetrations close to 2.5%. Also revealed were characteristics of those buildings, owners, and tenants and how solar penetrations change as those characteristics change. The research found clearly higher penetrations on owner-occupied larger (g9000 ft2) buildings with fewer tenants indicating, potentially, areas for future customer acquisition for PV developers. Also investigated were differences of solar system characteristics on commercial buildings such as system installed prices, size, and percentages of third-party owned (TPO) systems. The research found a steady and substantial drop in installed prices over time, a drop in the percentage of TPO systems being installed, and a relatively steady trend of system size. This latter finding indicates that smaller systems remain difficult to develop.
Language history attenuates syntactic prediction in L1 processing

An eye-tracking experiment in the Visual World Paradigm was conducted to examine the effects of language history on the predictive parsing of sentences containing relative clauses in the first-learned language of fluent bilingual adults. We compared heritage speakers of Spanish (HSs)—who had spent most of their lives immersed in an English-dominant society—to Spanish–English late bilinguals (LBs), who did not begin immersion in an English-dominant society until adulthood. Consistent with studies of monolinguals, the LBs demonstrated a subject/object relative clause processing asymmetry, i.e. a processing advantage during subject relative clauses and a processing disadvantage during object relative clauses. This suggests that the LBs actively predicted the syntactic structure of subject relative clauses, consistent with the active filler hypothesis. The HSs, on the other hand, did not exhibit this processing asymmetry, suggesting less active prediction. We conclude, therefore, that decreased exposure to the first-learned language causes less active prediction in first-language processing, which causes both disadvantages, and interestingly, advantages, in processing speed.
The 2018 Fiji Mw 8.2 and 7.9 deep earthquakes: One doublet in two slabs

Abstract The cold Fiji-Tonga subduction zone accounts for >75% of cataloged deep earthquakes but none of the largest ten in the last century. On 19 August 2018 and 06 September 2018, a deep earthquake doublet with moment magnitude ( M w ) 8.2 and 7.9 struck the Fiji area, providing a rare opportunity to interrogate the behaviors of great deep earthquakes in cold slabs. While the aftershock productivity of the 2018 M w 8.2 event is similar to the 2013 Okhotsk M w 8.3 event in a cold slab, the inferred compact rupture dimensions of both the M w 8.2 and 7.9 events appear to be similar to the 1994 Bolivia earthquake in a warm slab. This seems to contradict the traditional view that slab temperature controls deep earthquakes. However, we find that neither event was confined within the cold Tonga slab core: the M w 8.2 ruptured mostly in the warmer rim of the Tonga slab and the M w 7.9 occurred in a warm relic slab leaning on top of the Tonga slab. The Fiji doublet demonstrates local slab temperature as the critical factor for deep earthquakes, and reveals complex interaction of subducted slabs in Tonga.
The Verbal Tone in Mandatory Environmental Disclosures: Evidence from Changes in Disclosures Following SEC Guidance

This study investigates whether the verbal tone of environmental disclosures in companies’ annual reports changed following SEC interpretive guidance released in 2010. The content analysis software...
Chapter 6 – Genetic Toxicology

Publisher Summary This chapter reveals that genetic toxicology provides important information about the biological activity of new chemicals planned for introduction into the marketplace and their potential appearance in the environment as general environmental agents. The methods used are versatile and can be adapted to most chemical forms (for example, solids, liquids, and gases) and even extracts and/or mixtures of chemicals. In vivo models are available for confirmation of in vitro results and to develop information related to genetic hazard potential. New models using PCR or shuttle vectors have improved the ability of the genetic toxicologist to conduct relevant hazard assessments. Risk analysis for the induction of genetic disease is possible using models such as the parallelogram or the ICPEMC model using mouse-heritable-translocation or specific-locus test data.
Validation of an Algorithm to Identify Patients at Risk for Colorectal Cancer Based on Laboratory Test and Demographic Data in Diverse, Community-Based Population.

Background & Aims Approximately 30%–40% of screening-eligible adults in the United States are not up to date with colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. We aimed to validate a predictive score, generated by a machine learning algorithm with common laboratory test data, to identify patients at high risk for CRC in a large, community-based, ethnically diverse cohort. Methods We performed a nested case–control study using data from members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California (1996–2015). Cases were cohort members who received a complete blood cell count at ages 50—75 y, did not have a prior or current diagnosis of CRC diagnosis at the time of the blood cell count, and were subsequently diagnosed with CRC. We used data from the cohort to validate the ability of an algorithm that uses laboratory and demographic information to identify patients at increased risk for CRC. Test performance was evaluated using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and odds ratios (OR) with 95% CI values to compare high (defined as 97% specificity or more) vs low scores. Results A high score from the algorithm identified patients with a CRC diagnosis within the next 6 months with 35.4% sensitivity (95% CI, 33.8–36.7) and an AUROC of 0.78 (95% CI, 0.77–0.78). Patients with a high score had an increased risk of diagnosis with early-stage CRC (OR, 13.1; 95% CI, 11.8–14.3) and advanced stage CRC (OR, 24.8; 95% CI, 22.4–27.3) within the next 6 months. In patients with high scores, the ORs for proximal and distal cancers were 34.7 (95% CI, 31.5–37.7) and 12.1 (95% CI, 10.1–13.9), respectively. The algorithm’s accuracy decreased with the time interval between blood test result and CRC diagnosis; performance did not differ by sex or race. Conclusions We validated a predictive model that uses complete blood cell count and demographic data to identify patients at high risk of CRC. The algorithm identified 3% of the population who require an investigation and identified 35% of patients who received a diagnosis of CRC within the next 6 months.
Timing of newborn hearing screening in the neonatal intensive care unit: implications for targeted screening for congenital cytomegalovirus infection.

To determine when infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) have the first hearing screen performed, and thus inform targeted testing for cytomegalovirus (CMV)-related hearing loss. Retrospective review of electronic health records of infants admitted to a Level 4 outborn NICU and had a first hearing screen performed from 8/2016–8/2018. Among 1498 infants, 546 (36%) had a first hearing screen performed at age >21 days when a positive CMV PCR test cannot distinguish congenital from postnatal CMV acquisition. While most infants tested at >21 days of age were <34 weeks’ gestational age (71%), 18% (n = 100) and 11% (n = 59) were ≥34 and ≥37 weeks’ gestation, respectively. Targeted CMV testing for failed hearing screen in the NICU is problematic as 36% of infants did not have a hearing screen performed before 21 days of age, supporting the need for CMV screening at NICU admission.
Benchmarking SciDB data import on HPC systems

SciDB is a scalable, computational database management system that uses an array model for data storage. The array data model of SciDB makes it ideally suited for storing and managing large amounts of imaging data. SciDB is designed to support advanced analytics in database, thus reducing the need for extracting data for analysis. It is designed to be massively parallel and can run on commodity hardware in a high performance computing (HPC) environment. In this paper, we present the performance of SciDB using simulated image data. The Dynamic Distributed Dimensional Data Model (D4M) software is used to implement the benchmark on a cluster running the MIT SuperCloud software stack. A peak performance of 2.2M database inserts per second was achieved on a single node of this system. We also show that SciDB and the D4M toolbox provide more efficient ways to access random sub-volumes of massive datasets compared to the traditional approaches of reading volumetric data from individual files. This work describes the D4M and SciDB tools we developed and presents the initial performance results. This performance was achieved by using parallel inserts, a in-database merging of arrays as well as supercomputing techniques, such as distributed arrays and single-program-multiple-data programming.
Transforming energy use

Connecting individual energy-related perceptions and behaviors to the larger climate system is a daunting task. What can individuals do to change the system itself? How do we perceive how much energy different activities use? Are there ways to improve our perceptions? How do we use behavioral science to motivate climate mitigation and adaptation policies? In this article, I review a body of work focusing on answering these questions. I discuss perceptions and motivations to transform energy use, and highlight some research projects of interest. In the policy area I discuss how behavioral science has aided and has still to be integrated into decarbonization policies. I end with several open research questions for the field.
The Lure of the Apocalypse: Ecology, Ethics, and the End of the World:

What should we make of the apocalyptic tone taken up by politicians, journalists, scientists, and activists? Some environmental thinkers such as Michael Shellenberger contend that alarming rhetoric...
Viral Respiratory Infections of Adults in the Intensive Care Unit

Viral lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are an underappreciated cause of critical illness in adults. Recent advances in viral detection techniques over the past decade have demonstrated viral LRTIs are associated with rates of morbidity, mortality, and health care utilization comparable to those of seen with bacterial community acquired and nosocomial pneumonias. In this review, we describe the relationship between viral LRTIs and critical illness, as well as discuss relevant clinical features and management strategies for the more prevalent respiratory viral pathogens.
Kinetics and Mechanism of the Reaction Between Lead Orthosilicate and Potassium Carbonate

The kinetics and mechanism of the reaction between lead orthosilicate and potassium carbonate were studied using isothermal weight change determinations and TG. These experiments were performed in air over the temperature range 550°–650°C. The solid state reaction: $${K_2}C{O_3} + 2\left( {2PbO \cdot Si{O_2}} \right) \to {K_2}O \cdot 2PbO \cdot 2Si{O_2} + 2PbO + C{O_2}$$ was nuclei growth controlled and described by the equation: $$\ln \frac{1}{{1 - x}} = K{t^{2/3}}$$ where x is the fraction of the reaction completed at time t. K is the rate constant. The exponent value of 2/3 infers a nuclei growth model with a decreasing nucleation rate which exhibits one dimensional diffusion controlled growth. The variation of the rate constant, with the inverse square of the lead orthosilicate particle size, is consistent with the proposed model. The procedural activation energy for this reaction was calculated to be 40.2 k-cal/mole.
The difficulties of single factor thinking in restoration: replanting a rare cactus in the Florida Keys

The Florida Semaphore cactus, Opuntia corallicola, is a rare species with a distribution currently limited to one island in the Florida Keys. The only 12 mature, flowering individuals known to exist in 1989 were threatened by the arrival of an exotic cactus feeding moth, Cactoblastis cactorum. Cages were erected in 1990 around these cacti to protect them from Cactoblastis. From 1990 to 1998 the O. corallicola population was monitored and number of new recruits were measured. In May 1996, we made an outplanting of 96 small, new cacti derived from fallen pads, in an experimental regime designed to bolster the number of extant cacti and to test for the effectiveness of cages as a protection against Cactoblastis. Both the natural and the outplanted population declined by over 30% during our monitoring periods. In both the natural population and the experimental outplanting most individuals died because of what appeared to be stem browning, probably by a plant pathogen. The next largest cause of mortality in the outplanting was by trampling, probably by Key deer. Cactoblastis destroyed one mature cactus but killed no individuals in the outplanting. A hurricane in 1998 was a minor cause of death for outplanted individuals but killed two mature cacti.
Infrared Spectroscopy and Education

The sections in this article are Introduction Pioneering Work Creating Knowledgeable Users A Tool for Teaching Satisfying Learning Needs from High School to Higher Education The Qualitative Analysis Approach The Quantum Mechanics Approach Impact of the Electronic Revolution The FT-IR Spectrometer The Scanning Time and Its Importance in Constructivist Teaching Sampling with More Energy Bringing Research and Teaching Together Research Grade Instrumentation in the Instructional Laboratory Industry and Academia Partnerships Future Trends Spectral Libraries and the Internet Instructional Software Conclusions