cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Statistical analysis of the antenna polarization efficiency for a partially polarized electromagnetic wave

An analysis is made of statistical properties of the polarization efficiency associated with the fraction of power lost due to polarization mismatch, for different probabilistic models of a partially polarized electromagnetic wave, and its possible impact on functioning of the antenna systems. Based on experimental results, it is concluded that certain ambiguities would be inherent in the schemes of combining the outputs from either nonidentical antennas or identical ones oriented differently (for example, two or three mutually orthogonal dipoles combined for the polarization diversity). As far as a power budget for communication links with partially polarized waves is concerned, the most restricting effect is expected to be from the fact that, the functional (M,h) structure of both a mean function and a variance of the polarization efficiency are sensitive to the received polarization ratios. >
Bile Diverting Operations for Management of Esophageal Disease

Disabling bile reflux may complicate otherwise successful surgery for esophageal disease. This chapter describes operative techniques for correction.
Perforated Meckel's diverticulum presenting with combined bowel and urinary obstruction and mimicking Crohn's disease: a case report

Meckel's diverticulum is a common congenital anomaly of the gastrointestinal tract, but is an uncommon cause of serious complications in adults. Although cases of patients with hemorrhage, bowel obstruction or perforation associated with Meckel's diverticulum have been reported, there have been no prior reports of patients with combined urinary and bowel obstruction due to abscess formation. We describe the case of a 21-year-old man with a history of recurrent papillary thyroid cancer, but no prior abdominal surgeries, who presented with a one-month history of rectal pain and new-onset obstipation with urinary retention. He reported night sweats and weight loss, and had a second-degree relative with known Crohn's disease. A digital rectal examination was notable and revealed marked tenderness with proximal induration. A computed tomography scan of the patient's abdomen revealed a large, complex, circumferential perirectal abscess compressing the rectal lumen and base of the urinary bladder, associated with terminal ileal thickening and an ileocecal fistula. A flexible sigmoidoscopy with an endorectal ultrasound scan displayed a complex abscess with extensive mucosal and surrounding inflammation. An exploratory laparotomy revealed a Meckel's diverticulum with a large perforation at its base, positioned near the ileocecal fistula and immediately superior to the perirectal abscess. The section of small bowel containing the Meckel's diverticulum, the terminal ileum, and the cecum, were all resected, and the abscess was debrided. Pre-operative diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum can be difficult. If the nature of the complication makes ultimate surgical management likely, an early laparoscopic or open exploration should be performed to prevent the morbidity and mortality associated with late complications.
Materials for hydrogen storage: structure and dynamics of borane ammonia complex

The activation energies for rotations in low-temperature orthorhombic ammonia borane were analyzed and characterized in terms of electronic structure theory. The perdeuterated 11B-enriched ammonia borane, 11BD3ND3, sample was synthesized, and the structure was refined from neutron powder diffraction data at 175 K. This temperature has been chosen as median of the range of previously reported nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements of these rotations. A representative molecular cluster model was assembled from the refined geometry, and the activation energies were calculated and characterized by analysis of the environmental factors that control the rotational dynamics. The barrier for independent NH3 rotation, Ea = 12.7 kJ mol−1, largely depends on the molecular conformational torsion in the solid-state geometry. The barrier for independent BH3 rotation, Ea = 38.3 kJ mol−1, results from the summation of the effect of molecular torsion and large repulsive intermolecular hydrogen–hydrogen interactions. However, a barrier of Ea = 31.1 kJ mol−1 was calculated for internally correlated rotation with preserved molecular conformation. Analysis of the barrier heights and the corresponding rotational pathways shows that rotation of the BH3 group involves strongly correlated rotation of the NH3 end of the molecule. This observation suggests that the barrier from previously reported measurement of BH3 rotation corresponds to H3B–NH3 correlated rotation.
Impaired skeletal muscle perfusion in obese Zucker rats.

Skeletal muscle arterioles from obese Zucker rats (OZR) exhibit oxidant stress-based alterations in reactivity, enhanced α-adrenergic constriction, and reduced distensibility vs. microvessels of le...
Generation of microcellular foams of PVDF and its blends using supercritical carbon dioxide in a continuous process

Abstract Use of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2 ) as a blowing agent to generate microcellular polymer foams (MPFs) has recently received considerable attention due to environmental concerns associated with conventional organic blowing agents. While such foams derived from amorphous thermoplastics have been previously realized, semicrystalline MPFs have not yet been produced in a continuous scCO 2 process. This work describes the foaming of highly crystalline poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and its blends with amorphous polymers during extrusion. Foams composed of neat PVDF and immiscible blends of PVDF with polystyrene exhibit poor cell characteristics, whereas miscible blends of PVDF with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) yield foams possessing vastly improved morphologies. The results reported herein illustrate the effects of blend composition and scCO 2 solubility on PVDF/PMMA melt viscosity, which decreases markedly with increasing PMMA content and scCO 2 concentration. Morphological characterization of microcellular PVDF/PMMA foams reveals that the cell density increases as the PMMA fraction is increased and the foaming temperature is decreased. This study confirms that novel MPFs derived continuously from semicrystalline polymers in the presence of scCO 2 can be achieved through judicious polymer blending.
Kernel wavelet-Reed–Xiaoli: an anomaly detection for forward-looking infrared imagery

This paper describes a new kernel wavelet-based anomaly detection technique for long-wave (LW) forward-looking infrared imagery. The proposed approach called kernel wavelet-Reed–Xiaoli (wavelet-RX) algorithm is essentially an extension of the wavelet-RX algorithm (combination of wavelet transform and RX anomaly detector) to a high-dimensional feature space (possibly infinite) via a certain nonlinear mapping function of the input data. The wavelet-RX algorithm in this high-dimensional feature space can easily be implemented in terms of kernels that implicitly compute dot products in the feature space (kernelizing the wavelet-RX algorithm). In the proposed kernel wavelet-RX algorithm, a two-dimensional wavelet transform is first applied to decompose the input image into uniform subbands. A number of significant subbands (high-energy subbands) are concatenated together to form a subband-image cube. The kernel RX algorithm is then applied to this subband-image cube. Experimental results are presented for the proposed kernel wavelet-RX, wavelet-RX, and the classical constant false alarm rate (CFAR) algorithm for detecting anomalies (targets) in a large database of LW imagery. The receiver operating characteristic plots show that the proposed kernel wavelet-RX algorithm outperforms the wavelet-RX as well as the classical CFAR detector.
Non-invasive assessment of the heart function in unshielded clinical environment by SQUID gradiometry

Bioelectrical activity of the heart produces minute magnetic fields that may be measured above the torso with superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) sensors. A new application has been developed which permits noninvasive assessment of the heart function in unshielded magnetically harsh clinical environment. The system incorporates a multichannel SQUID system, a supine nonmagnetic ergometer, a peripheral data interface and software tools for processing magnetocardiographic data. To demonstrate the performance of the method, biomagnetic measurements have been performed both at rest and during physical exercise. Signal processing, signal-to-noise ratio and artifact rejection procedures have been discussed.
Mass Transport of Adsorbed-Phase in Stochastic Porous Medium with Fluctuating Porosity Field and Nonlinear Gas Adsorption Kinetics

Using an upscaling approach based on small perturbation theory, the authors have previously investigated the influence of local heterogeneities in matrix porosity on Darcy flow and Fickian-type pore diffusion in the presence of linear non-equilibrium gas adsorption Fathi and Akkutlu, J. Transp. Porous Med. 80, 281–3044 (2009). They identified non-trivial macro-transport and -kinetics effects of the heterogeneity which significantly retard gas release from the matrix and influence the ultimate gas recovery adversely. The work was a unique fundamental approach for our understanding of gas production and sequestration in unconventional reservoirs; however, it was simplified and did not consider (i) the presence of nonlinear sorption kinetics and (ii) a transport mechanism for the adsorbed phase. In this article, we incorporate the nonlinearity and surface diffusion effects of the adsorbed-phase into their formulation and apply the same upscaling approach to further study the heterogeneity effects. Gas sorption involves the so-called Langmuir kinetics, which is reduced to the well-known Langmuir isotherm in the equilibrium limit. It is found that the nonlinearity participates into both macro-transport and -kinetics, promoting primarily the surface diffusion effects. Whereas surface diffusion, although commonly ignored during modeling subsurface phenomena, brings an intricate nature to the gas release dynamics. Through macro-transport effect of the heterogeneity, it increases ultimate gas recovery and, through the macro-kinetics effect of the heterogeneity, it significantly decreases the time needed to reach the ultimate recovery. As the consequence of these effects, it is shown that the gas–matrix system practically does not reach the equilibrium adsorption limit during any stage of the matrix gas release.
Arizona Supreme Court: Its 2001-2002 Decisions

This article is the fifth consecutive annual review of the published opinions of the Arizona Supreme Court. The period under study in this review covers decisions rendered from August 1, 2001 to July 31, 2002. In this period under review, the Arizona Supreme Court developed the jurisprudence of the state in constitutional, statutory, and common law areas of law. Election law cases continue to hold the court's attention, with four important rulings. In addition, the supreme court decided eight death penalty cases (of special moment given the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Ring v. Arizona overturning the sentencing provisions of Arizona's death penalty statute) and explored a wide range of other matters. Extensive substantive treatment of all of the decisions is provided in this annual review by student-authored works. Preceding the analytical treatment of the court decisions, a summary statistical analysis of the past year is also provided, with comparative observations to the five year period of these annual reviews.
City Auction: Municipal Response to Fiscal Distress in Detroit

Over the last decade, several metropolitan cities have been forced to think critically about their long-term financial solvency. This paper considers the tangible impacts of long-term financial planning in Detroit, Michigan. In July of 2013, Detroit became the largest municipality to file Chapter 9 bankruptcy in hopes of paving a road to fiscal solvency. During the process of reshaping the political institution because of Chapter 9, there have been various changes throughout the municipality. Using a mixed method approach, I will explore the levels of private interest of local services in the state of Michigan. Using documents from 2004-2014, I will analyze city budgets, contracts, and several other official records in order to assess the various factors that have led to bankruptcy and the current governmental response to the bankruptcy. In other instances of financially distressed public entities (i.e. schools and public services), private interests have entered the market to capitalize on the failure of the governmental institution — commonly referred to as disaster capitalism. This paper will explore what governmental structures were impacted by the bankruptcy and what new investors joined the rank as stakeholders because of the bankruptcy. This paper explores; 1) the economic and political implications of a larger private interest into public entities; 2) what happens when public goods become subject to competitive market dynamics; 3) Who is accountable when fiscal responsibility is at the forefront of a municipal structure.
Coordinated control in a multi-manipulator workcell

We have established an intuitively sound description of a workcell consisting of manipulators cooperating on tasks. The focus of attention is on the interaction of the tool with the workpiece. The critical quantities to be controlled are the differential distance and differential approach velocity. After contact, interacting force is also important. We present a unified control structure appropriate for manipulator cooperation, and present a systematic design procedure consistent that control structure. The design procedure applies unchanged to force control. We suggest use of the Bessel prototype as a generalization of critical damping for pole placement in such high-order systems.
Social Determinants and Educational Barriers to Successful Admission to Nursing Programs for Minority and Rural Students

In 2010, the Institute of Medicine made a recommendation in The Future of Nursing Report to diversify the student population of the health care professions in order to provide increasing minority providers to meet the culturally competent needs of the growing multicultural populations of the United States (Institute of Medicine, 2010). The Nursing Network and Careers and Technology Nurse Mentoring Program provides a nursing mentor to underrepresented ethnic minority and educationally disadvantaged students and a significant scholarship and stipend for tuition and monthly living expenses. Ethnically diverse and rural students have lifelong familial and geographical educational barriers that prevent them from succeeding. There are a plethora of major environmental and familial factors that need to be addressed by society for these students to be successful. These factors include improvement of county schools by financial support, improving the home environment through social supportive services, and implementing improved parent–child bonding with nurse family partnerships. Nursing faculty must embrace new approaches for increasing the number of ethnically diverse nursing providers through novel admission criteria and collaborative cohort peer-mentoring programs.
Research on Operational Characteristics and Core Simulation of the Third-Generation Nuclear Reactor AP1000

In the future, the third generation of nuclear power reactor AP1000 may become the main type in China. The results of analyzing the design idea and the power operation characteristics of AP1000 show that AP1000 nuclear generating unit possesses satisfied load regulation characteristics, so it can be participated in peak load regulation of power grid. On the basis of mastering physical characteristics of core reactivity of AP1000 and its coupling features with neutron-flux, a core simulation model is established to research the interaction between state variables and control variables of the core under small disturbance inside the core or large disturbance outside the core. Simulation results show that the reactivity caused by state variables mainly copes with the post-disturbance stable operation of the core, and the reactivity caused by control variables ensures the core power enable to reach a new equilibrium point along with the trajectory variation of the disturbance.
An Electronic Trip Through Semiconductors

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the useful properties of semiconductor materials, and why they are so valuable to modern world. Computers and communication equipment, sensors, transportation, automation, and entertainment devices all have chips to provide functional control and data storage. These chips are composed of small pieces of semiconductor material with electronic circuits embedded in them. The unique properties of semiconductors allow making versatile components of electronic circuits, such as resistors, capacitors, diodes, and transistors, all on the same small piece of material. Like all materials, the crystallographic and defect structure of the semiconductor materials determines its structural, mechanical, electrical, thermodynamic, and other properties. The chapter focuses on the electrical and optical properties of semiconductors. A few behaviors that are specific to semiconductors, such as variable conductivity, photoconductivity, and the special role played by impurities are introduced in the chapter.
Embrace dynamic artifacts

Abstract When we talk about data science in the context of software engineering, we often only consider static artifacts that are independent of (or not generated by) the execution of software, eg, source code, version history, bug reports, mailing lists, developer network, and organization structure. We seldom consider dynamic artifacts that are dependent on (or generated by) the execution of software, eg, execution logs, crash/core dumps, call stacks, and traffic logs. Specifically, we seldom consider dynamic artifacts to enable the use of data science to improve software engineering tasks such as coding, testing, and debugging (in contrast to improving post-deployment activities such as monitoring for service degradation or security attacks). So, here are few experience nuggets to convince you to consider dynamic artifacts to improve software engineering tasks.
Do differences matter? A typology of emerging adult romantic relationship

Romantic relationships among emerging adults (individuals aged 18–25 years) are typically homogenously classified both theoretically and empirically as “exploratory” and “unstable.” With a sample of college students (N = 340), we examined within-group variation among romantic relationships in emerging adulthood using latent class analyses. Four predictor variables indicated four types of romantic relationships among emerging adult college students: the committers (38%), the casual daters (23%), the settlers (30%), and the volatile daters (8%). Classes varied according to background variables such as gender and infidelity. Additionally, there was class variation for outcome variables such as breakup status and loneliness. Future research and implications are discussed.
A two-step integrated approach to detect differentially expressed genes in RNA-Seq data

One of the primary objectives of ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequencing or RNA-Seq experiment is to identify differentially expressed (DE) genes in two or more treatment conditions. It is a common practice to assume that all read counts from RNA-Seq data follow overdispersed (OD) Poisson or negative binomial (NB) distribution, which is sometimes misleading because within each condition, some genes may have unvarying transcription levels with no overdispersion. In such a case, it is more appropriate and logical to consider two sets of genes: OD and non-overdispersed (NOD). We propose a new two-step integrated approach to distinguish DE genes in RNA-Seq data using standard Poisson and NB models for NOD and OD genes, respectively. This is an integrated approach because this method can be merged with any other NB-based methods for detecting DE genes. We design a simulation study and analyze two real RNA-Seq data to evaluate the proposed strategy. We compare the performance of this new method combined with the three [Formula: see text]-software packages namely edgeR, DESeq2, and DSS with their default settings. For both the simulated and real data sets, integrated approaches perform better or at least equally well compared to the regular methods embedded in these [Formula: see text]-packages.
Superconducting nanowire single-photon detector on aluminum nitride

We report successful fabrication of niobium nitride single-photon detectors on aluminum nitride substrates. The fabricated detectors showed saturated detection efficiency at 2.45 K under 1550 nm illumination (indicating near-unity internal quantum efficiency), sub-60-ps jitter, and ∼6 ns reset time.
Single photon generation using Raman transitions in sapphire

We implement the Duan-Lukin-Cirac-Zoller protocol to produce single photons using Raman scattering in sapphire. We present data of the Stokes/anti-Stokes cross-correlation with a value of 32 ± 5.
Smart grid, smart transportation, and smart city: Where we are? Keynote address

Smart systems such as smart grid, smart transportation, and smart city are typical applications supported by Internet-of-Things. Particularly, the smart grid is the integration of renewable energy resources, information and communication technologies into the electricity grid to achieve a reliable, cost efficient, sustainable, and environment-friendly power grid. To deal with uncertainties raised by components such as renewable energy resources in the smart grid systems, our research team at Towson University has developed a modeling and simulation framework to assess techniques, enabling the effectiveness of smart grid operations. With the development of smart sensors, smart vehicles, and vehicular communication technologies, the smart transportation system is considered to be the future of transportation critical infrastructure: improving traffic efficiency and safety. To this end, our research team has been working on the investigation and evaluation techniques that seek to mitigate traffic congestion and improve traffic efficiency. Furthermore, while smart city concept holds great promise of boosting living standards through effective management and utilization of scarce resources, unavailability of real-world datasets and ideal test environments to evaluate algorithms and models has slowed research progress. A group of our research team has been working on the reviews of major research endeavors and projects ongoing in the field. Our research group has been trying to integrate information communication technology with physical infrastructures for a more effective resource management geared towards improving city living standard.
ABCG2 c.421C>A Is Associated with Outcomes after Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

Abstract Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death with no pharmacological treatments that improve outcomes. Transporter proteins participate in TBI recovery by maintaining the central nervous system (CNS) biochemical milieu. Genetic variations in transporters that alter expression and/or function have been associated with TBI outcomes. The ATP-binding cassette transporter, ABCG2, is a uric acid (UA) transporter that effluxes UA from cells in the CNS and is responsible for systemic UA clearance. Uric acid is a CNS antioxidant and/or a biomarker that might support TBI recovery. Our objective was to investigate the impact of ABCG2 SNP: c.421C>A on TBI outcomes. Two cohorts (discovery [N = 270] and replication [N = 166]) were genotyped for ABCG2 c.421C>A. Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) scores were collected at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months post-injury and compared with mixed-effects multiple ordinal regression controlled for time post-injury, age, sex, time, post-injury imaging determined hemorrhage ty...
Immunosuppressant Medication–Induced Lower Extremity Pain After Combined Liver and Kidney Transplant: A Case Report

Abstract Calcineurin inhibitors are imperative in the success of a transplanted organ. However, these immunosuppressants can lead to a rare complication known as calcineurin inhibitor–induced pain syndrome, which may not be recognized early and managed appropriately. We present a case of a 35-year-old woman who underwent a combined liver/kidney transplant and developed lower extremity pain while being maintained on tacrolimus. This case illustrates a patient with previously reported characteristic clinical features of calcineurin inhibitor–induced pain syndrome in addition to uncharacteristic neuropathic symptoms and imaging findings. The patient was treated successfully with gabapentin, calcitonin nasal spray, and acupuncture. Early recognition of this syndrome can help improve a patient's quality of life. Level of Evidence V
Diammonium Cations in the FASnI3 Perovskite Structure Lead to Lower Dark Currents and More Efficient Solar Cells

Hybrid halide perovskite solar cells with mixed cations demonstrate superior optical and electrical properties, especially for lead-based perovskite devices. Here, we report lead-free tin-based perovskite solar cells with diammonium cations, which can significantly improve the device performance. Formamidinium tin iodide (FASnI3) perovskite can incorporate propylenediammonium (PN) and trimethylenediammonium (TN) and retain its three-dimensional structure while at the same time providing better film morphology and optoelectronic properties. As a result, solar cell devices using FASnI3 absorbers mixed with 10% PN and 10% TN achieve higher power conversion efficiencies of 5.85% and 5.53%, respectively, compared to 2.53% of the pristine FASnI3 solar cell. This difference in device performance can be mainly attributed to the reduced leakage current, lower trap-state density, and reduced recombination, as evidenced by our dark current–voltage, space-charge-limited current, and impedance measurements. The result...
Carcinoma of the Extrahepatic Bile Ducts* A Clinicopathologic Study

Abstract Seventy-eight cases of carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile ducts were reviewed, including seven diagnosed at autopsy. Diabetes mellitus was associated in 10 per cent. Jaundice and pain were presenting complaints in 62 and 58 per cent, respectively. The serum bilirubin value was generally in accord with obstructive jaundice, and usually the serum alkaline phosphatase value had the same trend. Seventy-three patients underwent surgery at the Mayo Clinic, but in 59 per cent it was only exploratory or palliative. At operation, involvement had reached beyond the primary site in 71 per cent. Lithiasis was associated in only 18 per cent. Radical pancreatoduodenectomy in five traced cases resulted in two relatively long survivals. Complete follow-up information was obtained in sixty-seven cases, of which sixty-two were surgical. Average survival after surgery was 11.4 months. Three year survival was 8.1 per cent, and five year survival 1.6 per cent.
Breast-Conserving Therapy for Breast Cancer: Targets for Investigation to Improve Results

Molecular characteristics of breast tumors are linked to their clinical behavior, with estrogen and progesterone receptor (ER/PR) expressing tumors, showing a less aggressive pattern of growth and metastasis, while ER/PR negative tumors behave in a more aggressive biologic fashion [1]. Expression of the EGF receptor-like moiety HER2-neu is also associated with adverse clinical behavior. The definition of tumor molecular signatures and clinical phenotype is undergoing redefinition with the description of luminal and basal-like categories [2]. Characteristic clinical behaviors and responsiveness to hormonal and chemotherapeutic definitions is predictable based on these features and continued definition of molecular targets for therapy is an important ongoing area of investigation. As the molecular pathways that govern tumor initiation, growth and metastasis are defined, it is certain that new effective targeted therapies will be developed to fundamentally direct our methods for treating breast cancer.
Quantum mechanical calculations on FeOH nanoparticles

Density functional theory calculations were performed on Fesingle bondOsingle bondH nanoparticles based on the goethite and a proposed ferrihydrite structures. Both molecular cluster and a periodic boundary condition approaches were applied and the resulting structures compared to the bulk values and to the other computational method. Reaction energies for Al3 +-substitution into each nanoparticle were calculated. The implications of these results for ferrihydrite and goethite nucleation and the ferrihydrite to goethite phase transition are discussed.
Species-specific trait–environment relationships among populations of widespread grass species

Intraspecific trait variation can be substantial and is driven by many factors. To develop predictive models of intraspecific trait variation, an understanding of the drivers of that variation is essential. At fairly broad scales, differences in the environment are expected to drive genetic variation in functional traits among populations. To isolate this genetic variability, we conducted a greenhouse common garden experiment using nine grass species native to the western United States. We assessed relationships between several root, leaf, and whole plant traits and a number of environmental conditions from the source population locations, including aspects of temperature, precipitation, vapor pressure deficit and soil moisture. We tested the hypotheses that (1) above- and belowground functional traits vary significantly within and among species, and (2) trait-environment relationships among populations of a species are consistent among species. First, we found that trait variation between species ranged from 13 to 77%, while trait variation within species ranged from 11 to nearly 39%. Traits related to overall plant size and growth rate exhibited the greatest intraspecific variation, and root traits the least variation. Second, while we found significant trait-environment relationships, they were highly variable among species. The magnitude of intraspecific trait variability found in this study indicates significant local adaptation with respect to specific trait-environment combinations, but that characterizing trait-environment relationships requires species-specific measurements and models.
(353) Cell-Type Specific Modulation of RBM Neurons in Nociceptive Behaviors

The rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) serves a critically important role in the processing of pain. Through a process known as descending modulation, the RVM can directly shape how somatosensory information, particularly pain, is integrated at the level of the spinal cord. Although it has been known for decades that the RVM participates in descending modulation, the identities of the neurons responsible for this phenomenon remain unclear. Here, we use Cre-dependent viral tracers and Cre-dependent designer receptor exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) within the RVM to dissect the functional circuitry underlying descending modulation. Furthermore, we use RNAscope to molecularly characterize the different subpopulations of RVM neurons. Identification of RVM-spinal cord circuits can provide insight into the cellular basis of descending modulation and can guide the development of improved therapies for pain.
The Role of the Attitudes in Auditing Research and Directions for Future Research

Attitudes play an important role in determining how the audit will be conducted, and thus, directly impact audit quality. In particular, regulators require that auditors maintain an attitude of professional skepticism and independence of mind throughout the financial statement audit. Despite the heavy emphasis on auditors’ professional skepticism and independence of mind in professional standards, researchers studying auditor judgment and decision-making have only rarely examined auditors’ attitudes explicitly. In this book chapter, we draw from both the attitude literature in social psychology and the auditor judgment and decision-making literature to develop a conceptual framework that depicts important auditor attitudes along with their antecedents and consequential behaviors. One important antecedent that helps form attitudes is cognitive processing (i.e., critical thinking). We utilize the Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM) to explain the nature of auditors’ vs. inspectors’ potentially different approaches to cognitive processing that may shed light on why they have different perceptions of what constitutes appropriate and sufficient evidence. Overall, the HSM demonstrates that engaging in both heuristic (e.g., intuitive) and systematic information processing can increase efficiency in achieving the goal of an objective evaluation of the evidence (i.e., objective attitude).
The Salt-Inducible Kinase inhibitor YKL-05-099 suppresses MEF2C function and acute myeloid leukemia progression in vivo

Abstract Lineage-defining transcription factors (TFs) are compelling targets for leukemia therapy, yet they are among the most challenging proteins to modulate directly with small molecules. We previously used CRISPR screening to identify a Salt-Inducible Kinase 3 (SIK3) requirement for the growth of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines that overexpress the lineage TF MEF2C. In this context, SIK3 maintains MEF2C function by directly phosphorylating histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4), a repressive cofactor of MEF2C. Here, we evaluated whether inhibition of SIK3 with the tool compound YKL-05-099 can suppress MEF2C function and attenuate disease progression in animal models of AML. Genetic targeting of SIK3 or MEF2C selectively suppressed the growth of transformed hematopoietic cells under in vitro and in vivo conditions. Similar phenotypes were obtained when exposing cells to YKL-05-099, which caused cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in MEF2C-expressing AML cell lines. An epigenomic analysis revealed that YKL-05-099 rapidly suppressed MEF2C function by altering the phosphorylation state and nuclear localization of HDAC4. Using a gatekeeper allele of SIK3, we found that the anti-proliferative effects of YKL-05-099 occurred through on-target inhibition of SIK3 kinase activity. Based on these findings, we treated two different mouse models of MLL-AF9 AML with YKL-05-099, which attenuated disease progression in vivo and extended animal survival at well-tolerated doses. These findings validate SIK3 as a therapeutic target in MEF2C-positive AML and provide a rationale for developing drug-like inhibitors of SIK3 for definitive pre-clinical investigation and for studies in human patients with leukemia. Key Points AML cells are uniquely sensitive to genetic or chemical inhibition of Salt-Inducible Kinase 3 in vitro and in vivo. A SIK inhibitor YKL-05-099 suppresses MEF2C function and AML in vivo.
Numerical simulation of high-pressure gas atomization of two-phase flow: Effect of gas pressure on droplet size distribution

Abstract This paper deals with the physics of high-pressure gas atomization in metal powder production. To gain understanding of the effect of gas pressure on droplet size distribution, a numerical two-phase flow study is performed using Eulerian-Eulerian Volume of Fluid (VOF) interface tracking method. Annular-slit, close-coupled gas atomizer is considered to atomize molten aluminum using nitrogen as the atomizing gas. Four cases with different gas pressures are considered, while geometry and other operational parameters are fixed. Characteristics of several interfacial instabilities have been identified at different stages of the atomization process. Despite the increment in the rate of the atomization with the increasing gas pressure, deformation characteristics and the breakup mechanisms remain unchanged. Droplet size and the cumulative volume distributions indicate that the effectiveness of the atomization process increases with the elevating gas pressure. Cumulative volume obtained from the numerical simulations at low gas pressures display similar trends to the experimental results.
Abstract of the Keynotes

Despite having remarkable performance on many sequence learning tasks, recurrent neural networks (RNNs) are hard to train with long sequences due to limited expressive power and the vanishing and exploding gradient issues. Previous work has focused on stabilizing the gradients by encouraging orthogonality of weight matrices via re-parameterization techniques. However, two major issues remain in these methods. First, the re-parameterization often relies on a chain of operations on small matrices or vectors that are not friendly to hardware accelerators. As a result, it becomes a source of performance bottleneck for training. Second, these methods fix the singular values of the transition matrix throughout the temporal dimension, which further restricts the expressive power of the model and wastes the potential of encoding useful information into the singular values. In this talk, I will present the Singular Value Gated RNN that can efficiently encode temporal information into singular values, as well as mitigate the vanishing and exploding gradient problems. In addition, we can design novel forward and backward propagation algorithms that are friendly to hardware accelerators. This leads to 3-4 times speedup on GPUs and greatly reduces memory cost. On contemporary applications like voice recognition and text summarization, where long term dependencies are hard to capture, the proposed method outperforms other recurrent models with similar or smaller model sizes. Joint work with Jiong Zhang of UT Austin
Effect of Delaying Claiming Social Security Benefits and Continuing to Work

The descriptive statistics for the model examining effects of delaying claiming Social Security benefits and continuing to work are discussed in terms of nine scenarios for determining annual income. The scenarios are: (a) claiming Social Security retirement benefits at FRA; (b) claiming Social Security retirement benefits at age 70; (c-1) claiming Social Security retirement benefits at current SIPP age and one year of earned income; (c-3) claiming Social Security retirement benefits at current SIPP age and three years of earned income; (c-5) claiming Social Security retirement benefits at current SIPP age and five years of earned income; (d) claiming Social Security retirement benefits at FRA and HECM tenure qualified; (e) claiming Social Security retirement benefits at FRA, one year of earned income, and HECM tenure qualified; (f) claiming Social Security retirement benefits at age 70 and HECM tenure qualified; and (g) claiming Social Security retirement benefits assumed at age 70, one year of earned income, and HECM tenure qualified. Combined strategy (d, e, f, g) success rates are compared to those of single strategies, and the strategies are ranked. Data is further analyzed using scaling factors by states, age cohorts, net worth cohorts, and socioeconomic cohort groups of business ownership, mortgage balances, and rental incomes.
Sustainable freshwater harvesting from atmosphere through nanocomposite fibers of recycled polystyrene foams

The development of sustainable, cost-effective, efficient water collection materials and methods for continuous freshwater production is crucial for many regions especially in arid and semiarid regions of the world. The world population growth, urbanization, depleting water resources, and global climate change have intensified this crisis. The concern is drastically increasing and therefore scientists and engineers are challenged with urgently developing viable solutions for this problem. Also, the production of different plastic wastes is increasing day-by-day, and therefore, a growing concern to the serious environmental challenges. These wastes are rarely dissolved by microorganisms, and hence, the recycling of these plastic wastes into value-added materials could be a sustainable solution to addressing environmental issues. In this work, recycled expanded polystyrene (REPS) foam with various proportions of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles and aluminum (Al) microparticles were spun into superhydrophobic nanocomposite fibers using electrospinning technique and used for harvesting fog from the atmosphere. The fiber morphology, surface hydrophobicity, and fog harvesting capacity of the nanocomposite fibers were investigated. Test results reveal that the as-prepared nanocomposite fibers exhibit superhydrophobic characteristics with a water contact angle of 152.03° and an efficient fog harvesting capacity of 561 mg/cm2 /hr. The nanotechnology-based collection systems are unique because of the fine structures of the nanomembranes. Thus, the electrospun superhydrophobic nanocomposite fibers from REPS have various industrial applications including water collection, water filtration, tissue engineering, and composites, etc and the produced water can be used for drinking, agriculture, industrial, and other purposes.
Early-Onset Familial Alzheimer Disease Variant PSEN2 N141I Heterozygosity is Associated with Altered Microglia Phenotype.

Background Early-onset familial Alzheimer disease (EOFAD) is caused by heterozygous variants in the presenilin 1 (PSEN1), presenilin 2 (PSEN2), and APP genes. Decades after their discovery, the mechanisms by which these genes cause Alzheimer's disease (AD) or promote AD progression are not fully understood. While it is established that presenilin (PS) enzymatic activity produces amyloid-β (Aβ), PSs also regulate numerous other cellular functions, some of which intersect with known pathogenic drivers of neurodegeneration. Accumulating evidence suggests that microglia, resident innate immune cells in the central nervous system, play a key role in AD neurodegeneration. Objective Previous work has identified a regulatory role for PS2 in microglia. We hypothesized that PSEN2 variants lead to dysregulated microglia, which could further contribute to disease acceleration. To mimic the genotype of EOFAD patients, we created a transgenic mouse expressing PSEN2 N141I on a mouse background expressing one wildtype PS2 and two PS1 alleles. Results Microglial expression of PSEN2 N141I resulted in impaired γ-secretase activity as well as exaggerated inflammatory cytokine release, NFκB activity, and Aβ internalization. In vivo, PS2 N141I mice showed enhanced IL-6 and TREM2 expression in brain as well as reduced branch number and length, an indication of "activated" morphology, in the absence of inflammatory stimuli. LPS intraperitoneal injection resulted in higher inflammatory gene expression in PS2 N141I mouse brain relative to controls. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate that PSEN2 N141I heterozygosity is associated with disrupted innate immune homeostasis, suggesting EOFAD variants may promote disease progression through non-neuronal cells beyond canonical dysregulated Aβ production.
Validation and demonstration of a pericarp disc system for studying blossom-end rot of tomatoes.

Blossom-end rot in tomatoes is often used as a model system to study fruit calcium deficiency. The study of blossom-end rot development in tomatoes has been greatly impeded by the difficulty of directly studying and applying treatments to the affected cells. This manuscript presents a novel method for studying blossom-end rot development after harvest in immature whole fruit and in pericarp discs. Pericarp discs removed from the bottom pericarp of immature healthy fruit developed blossom-end rot like symptoms, corresponding to a decrease in L* value and an increase in a* value. Symptoms also developed in columella tissue, but not in stem-end pericarp tissue, similar to patterns observed during blossom-end rot development on the plant. Ascorbate oxidase and peroxidase activity, which are elevated in blossom-end rot affected fruit compared to healthy fruit, were both correlated with colorimetric measures of tissue darkening in discs. Respiration rate was higher in discs that later developed blossom-end rot symptoms, with increased respiration in asymptomatic discs on day 1 of storage being associated with symptom development on day 2. Calcium chloride and ascorbic acid treatments inhibited symptom development, demonstrating the potential of this method to provide causal evidence. Results indicate that symptom development in this system is consistent with blossom-end rot development with regards to location, color change, and the activity of key enzymes. This system has the potential to be used to elucidate the cause of fruit calcium deficiency and improve knowledge of the biological basis for calcium’s diverse effects on fruit.
The Art of Protective Healing: A Comparison of the Work of African American Artist, Protector and Healer, J.B. Murray, and Senegalese Protector and Healer, Serigne Bousso

The goal of this presentation is to exhibit the parallels of two men's lives that eventually result in their roles as protectors and healers. Protection and healing through writing is both an Islamic and indigenous African tradition involving spiritual energies. A demonstration of these energies will be seen in J.B. Murray, an African American artist from Mitchell, Georgia, who created protective scripts and spirit figures within his art, eventually using them to request protection and healing for both himself and others. Murray believed he came by his protective writing and spirit figures from his ancestors and his God, and used this form of protective energy to heal and protect. An example of this is seen in an untitled, large, early work, in which Murray showed concern with the harm that had come to his body once diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1984. Extensive markings, included in the work, along with an enormous amount of script on the reverse side, are perhaps a warning about the dangers of prostate cancer and a request for protection from it. Murray fashioned a complex diagram of his negative condition and a method for bringing about its healing and/or additional protection. Similar energies of protection and healing will be seen in Serigne Bousso, from Touba, Senegal. Bousso, born January 15, 1960, has very similar experiences with Murray regarding the acquisition of his protective and healing abilities. Rather than African American, Bousso is a Wolof and Pulaar, and currently lives in Touba, Senegal, and provides protection and healing to the underprivileged in his region, with additional clients throughout the world. Through an in-person interview with Bousso in 2016, he describes his previous life as a well-educated businessman working in the business sector for over 20 years. This should have afforded him a good living and a happy life. However, that happy life came crashing down, sending him to a mental institution (a parallel with Murray) and an eventual acceptance of the protective and healing role he has now. This presentation will establish continuities between the use of spiritual energies for protection and healing in Senegal and the use of those same energies in the state of Georgia within the United States.