cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The GAM II pyramid

The GAM II pyramid, made up of 172 custom microcircuits designed for the massively parallel processor (MPP), is described. The pyramid structure is broken down into the following sections: the basic processing element organization, the daughter cards that contain the processing elements, the back plane that contains the daughter cards, and the processing element adder network. The GAM II pyramid is a hierarchical structure with a total of 1365 processing elements. The sequencer designed for controlling this structure is capable of executing pyramid oriented primitives similar to an add and subtract operation, as well as independent procedures similar to convolution. The pyramid contains three control buses embedded in the hardware in anticipation of a future control system that will contain three independent control units. >
Development of a video-rate stereo machine

A video-rate stereo machine has been developed at CMU with the capability of generating a dense range map, aligned with an intensity image, at the video rate. The target performance of the CMU video-rate stereo machine is: 1) multi-image input of 6 cameras; 2) high throughput of 30 million point/spl times/disparity measurement per second; 3) high frame rate of 30 frame/sec; 4) a dense depth map of 256/spl times/240 pixels; 5) disparity search range of up to 60 pixels; 6) high precision of up to 7 bits (with interpolation); and 7) uncertainty estimation available for each pixel.
p-Multigrid solution of high-order discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations

We present a p-multigrid solution algorithm for a high-order discontinuous Galerkin finite element discretization of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. The algorithm employs an element line Jacobi smoother in which lines of elements are formed using coupling based on a p=0 discretization of the scalar convection-diffusion equation. Fourier analysis of the two-level p-multigrid algorithm for convection-diffusion shows that element line Jacobi presents a significant improvement over element Jacobi especially for high Reynolds number flows and stretched grids. Results from inviscid and viscous test cases demonstrate optimal h^p^+^1 order of accuracy as well as p-independent multigrid convergence rates, at least up to p=3. In addition, for the smooth problems considered, p-refinement outperforms h-refinement in terms of the time required to reach a desired high accuracy level.
The effects of emotional support on perceived job stress and strain.

This article uses a national sample of social workers to examine the relationship between work stress, strain, and emotional support. These results indicate negative associations between support and perceived stress and strain. The authors, however, found no evidence for the buffering effects of emotional support. The authors discuss the implications of these findings.
Areas with High Rates of Police-Reported Violent Crime Have Higher Rates of Childhood Asthma Morbidity

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether population-level violent (and all) crime rates were associated with population-level child asthma utilization rates and predictive of patient-level risk of asthma reutilization after a hospitalization. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study of 4638 pediatric asthma-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations between 2011 and 2013 was completed. For population-level analyses, census tract asthma utilization rates were calculated by dividing the number of utilization events within a tract by the child population. For patient-level analyses, hospitalized patients (n = 981) were followed until time of first asthma-related reutilization. The primary predictor was the census tract rate of violent crime as recorded by the police; the all crime (violent plus nonviolent) rate was also assessed. RESULTS: Census tract-level violent and all crime rates were significantly correlated with asthma utilization rates (both P CONCLUSIONS: Crime data could help facilitate early identification of potentially toxic stressors relevant to the control of asthma for populations and patients.Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Language: en
An Introduction to Geometric Gibbs Theory

This is an article I wrote for Dynamics, Games, and Science. In Dynamics, Game, and Science, one of the most important equilibrium states is a Gibbs state. The deformation of a Gibbs state becomes an important subject in these areas. An appropriate metric on the space of underlying dynamical systems is going to be very helpful in the study of deformation. The Teichmuller metric becomes a natural choice. The Teichmuller metric, just like the hyperbolic metric on the open unit disk, makes the space of underlying dynamical systems a complete space. The Teichmuller metric precisely measures the change of the eigenvalues at all periodic points which are essential data needed to obtain the Gibbs state for a given dynamical system. In this article, I will introduce the Teichmuller metric and, subsequently, a generalization of Gibbs theory which we call geometric Gibbs theory.
Fiber-Optic RF Phase Shifter

A photonic RF phase shifter based on optical modulation and switching with capability of continuous 0 o -360 o phase-shifting is demonstrated. Experimental results for phase shifting in 50 MHz steps up to 0.5 GHz will be presented.
Abstract A29: Searching for retrotransposon insertions from paired end sequencing of tumors

The question of how active transposons are in tumors is a salient one because tumors are hypermethylated and stem-cell-like, two conditions under which transposons are active, and because there are many known cases of germline retrotransposon insertion polymorphisms leading to cancer [1]. While studies have shown that some retroelements are transcribed at higher levels in certain types of tumors [2], there are currently very few studies that have looked at somatic retrotransposon insertions in tumor genomes. Reactivation of transposable elements could be an alternate pathway to genomic instability, one of the defining properties of cancer, by increasing the rate of mutation via retrotransposon insertions. Indeed, Collier et. al. have proven this principle in mice using the Sleeping Beauty transposon, a reactivated ancient DNA transposon [3]. The characterization of somatic as well as germline polymorphic insertions will be important in the study of cancer, as it will provide insight into how active transposable elements are in tumors and what role they play in tumor formation. The Cancer Genome Atlas project has generated paired-end whole-genome sequencing data of tumors and normal tissue from hundreds of cancer patients in order to detect mutations and, ultimately, develop personalized treatment for patients. We have applied a pipeline to detect insertion polymorphisms of LINE-1 and Alu elements in both patients9 samples. The first step in the detection method is to filter out all discordant reads and map them to a library of consensus sequences for a specific retrotransposon family. Next, read pairs of reads that match a repeat element are mapped back to the reference genome. Lastly, the mapped reads are clustered based on their location in the reference genome, and insertion calls are made. Using this method we have found over four hundred new candidates for polymorphic insertions in seven patients, including some found only in the tumor samples. While this study is in the preliminary stages, it will address the question of whether or to what degree retrotransposons are active in tumors by being able to detect an increase in the number of retrotransposons found in the tumor sample as compared to the normal tissue of the same patient. Furthermore, heritable polymorphic insertions can be linked to cancer if there are certain ones that are over-represented in cancer cohorts as compared to a normal population, such as those found in the 1000 Genomes project data. Including insertion mutations in the characterization of cancer genomes will contribute to better individualized treatment for patients. 1. Belancio et al. Genome Res. 2008;18(3):343–58. 2. Schulz. J Biomed Biotechnol. 2006;(1):836–72. 3. Collier et al. Nature. 2005;436(7048):272–76. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Second AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research; 2011 Sep 14-18; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(18 Suppl):Abstract nr A29.
Integrated Optics Modules Based Proposal for Quantum Information Processing, Teleportation, QKD, and Quantum Error Correction Employing Photon Angular Momentum

To address key challenges for both quantum communication and quantum computing applications in a simultaneous manner, we propose to employ the photon angular momentum approach by invoking the well-known fact that photons carry both the spin angular momentum (SAM) and the orbital angular momentum (OAM). SAM is associated with polarization, while OAM is associated with azimuthal phase dependence of the complex electric field. Given that OAM eigenstates are mutually orthogonal, in principle, an arbitrary number of bits per single photon can be transmitted. The ability to generate/analyze states with different photon angular momentum, by using either holographic or interferometric methods, allows the realization of quantum states in multidimensional Hilbert space. Because OAM states provide an infinite basis state, while SAM states are 2-D only, the OAM can also be used to increase the security for quantum key distribution (QKD) applications and improve computational power for quantum computing applications. The goal of this paper is to describe photon angular momentum based deterministic universal quantum qudit gates, namely, {generalized-X, generalized-Z, generalized-CNOT} qudit gates, and different quantum modules of importance for various applications, including (fault-tolerant) quantum computing, teleportation, QKD, and quantum error correction. For instance, the basic quantum modules for quantum teleportation applications include the generalized-Bell-state generation module and the QFT-module. The basic quantum module for quantum error correction and fault-tolerant computing is the nonbinary syndrome calculator module. The basic module for entanglement assisted QKD is either the generalized-Bell-state generation module or the Weyl-operator-module. The possibility of implementing all these modules in integrated optics is discussed as well. Finally, we provide security analysis of entanglement assisted multidimensional QKD protocols, employing the proposed qudit modules, by taking into account the imperfect generation of OAM modes.
Abstract 3644: Pancreatic tumor cells that develop within Muc1 knock-out mice generate less immunosuppressive MDSCs in vitro

Epithelial Mucin 1 (MUC1) is a well characterized tumor associated antigen found to be over expressed and aberrantly glycosylated in human pancreatic adenocarcinomas. In recent years, Myeloid- derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), major regulators of the immune response, have been implicated in the progression of cancer. We have recently shown that Muc1 null mice have a higher propensity of MDSCs and are unable to reject allogeneic tumors as effectively as their wild-type counterparts. Here, we studied the effects of tumor derived soluble factors (TDSFs) from pancreatic cancer cell lines that over expressed human MUC1 (KCM) or were null for Muc1 (KCKO) on the generation of MDSCs from bone marrow (BM) cells in vitro. The two cell lines were derived from a spontaneous mouse model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) that was bred to the Muc1-null (KCKO) or the human MUC1 transgenic (KCM) mice. BM cells were cultured in complete DMEM supplemented with 10ng/ml GM-CSF and 10ng/ml IL-4 + 30% v/v conditioned media (TCCM) from KCKO or KCM cell lines for 5 days. On day 3, floating cells were removed and fresh media with cytokines and TCCM was added. On day 5, cells were stained for MDSCs and analyzed by flow cytometry. Statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad software and p values were calculated using One-way ANOVA. We observed a significant increase in the monocytic (CD11b+Ly6C+Ly6G-) and the granulocytic (CD11b+Ly6C+LyG+) MDSC subpopulations when naive BM cells were cultured in the presence of TCCM from KCKO versus KCM cells (p Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3644. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3644
Design of Secure ECG-Based Biometric Authentication in Body Area Sensor Networks

Body area sensor networks (BANs) utilize wireless communicating sensor nodes attached to a human body for convenience, safety, and health applications. Physiological characteristics of the body, such as the heart rate or Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals, are promising means to simplify the setup process and to improve security of BANs. This paper describes the design and implementation steps required to realize an ECG-based authentication protocol to identify sensor nodes attached to the same human body. Therefore, the first part of the paper addresses the design of a body-area sensor system, including the hardware setup, analogue and digital signal processing, and required ECG feature detection techniques. A model-based design flow is applied, and strengths and limitations of each design step are discussed. Real-world measured data originating from the implemented sensor system are then used to set up and parametrize a novel physiological authentication protocol for BANs. The authentication protocol utilizes statistical properties of expected and detected deviations to limit the number of false positive and false negative authentication attempts. The result of the described holistic design effort is the first practical implementation of biometric authentication in BANs that reflects timing and data uncertainties in the physical and cyber parts of the system.
Analysis on Sanitary Condition of Barreled Drinking Water in Dalian City

[Objective]To explore the sanitary condition of barreled drinking water in Dalian city.[Methods] The detection data of barreled drinking water were analyzed,which produced and sold in Dalian city from 2002 to 2004 and from 2006 to 2007.[Results]The eligible rate of 563 samples was 71.94%.The eligible rate of 2002,2003,2004,2006 and 2007 was 84.06%,74.40%,70.63%,54.12% and 67.27% respectively,it showed the decreasing tendency year by year.The detection results of different types of barreled drinking water showed that:the eligible rate of spring water(52.94%) was the lowest,and that of pure water,mineral spring water and mineral water was 61.04%,66.67% and 75.85% respectively.The main unqualified index was total bacteria.[Conclusion] The quality of barreled drinking water in Dalian city was not good enough,and related government departments should strengthen the supervision and management on it.
G proteins in clinical medicine

G protein-coupled transduction is a recurrent theme in cell function. It enables diverse extracellular first messengers to activate intracellular second-messenger responses that produce diverse biologic effects. G proteins, which stand out as uniform and unifying components in the midst of great diversity, may be subject to dysfunctions that have wide-ranging pathophysiologic importance.
The road to romiplostim approval and beyond.

Romiplostim (Nplate) was the first thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor agonist to receive regulatory approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of thrombocytopenia in patients with chronic immune (idiopathic) thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) who have had an insufficient response to corticosteroids, immunoglobulins, or splenectomy.
Empowering black women's breast cancer treatment decisions

B45 Despite an overall lower incidence of breast cancer, black women are more likely to die of the disease than white women. Most interventions center on screening which is important yet, stage for stage, black women have higher mortality rates. Thus, interventions which focus on women in treatment are needed. The objective of this descriptive study was to identify key intervention targets and messages for a communication decision support intervention. Thirty-four in-depth interviews were conducted with breast cancer patients, survivor advocates and cancer providers. Data were organized and summarized using a culturally driven theoretical framework. Few women reported fatalistic beliefs about breast cancer. Most women relied on their providers for treatment recommendations. However, several women reported problems communicating with providers about their care. Likewise decisions to initiate or forgo treatment were largely based on perceived communication from providers. Women expressed the benefit and value of talking to other survivors. Formative data were used to develop a communication and decision support intervention, Sisters Informing Sisters SM , that can be used with newly diagnosed Black breast cancer patients. Findings of the study suggest the importance of providing information in an appropriate cultural context, patient-provider interaction, and the benefit of talking to informed breast cancer survivors.
Avatar Face Recognition Using Wavelet Transform and Hierarchical Multi-scale LBP

Recognizing avatars in virtual worlds is a very important issue for law enforcement agencies, terrorism and security experts. In this paper, a novel face recognition technique based on wavelet transform and Hierarchical Multi-scale Local Binary Pattern (HMLBP) is presented and shown to increase the accuracy of recognition of avatar faces. The proposed technique consists of three stages: preprocessing, feature extraction and recognition. In the preprocessing and feature extraction stages, the wavelet decomposition is used to enhance the common features of the same class of images and the HMLBP is used to extract representative features from each avatar face image without a need for any training. In the recognition stage, the Chi-Square distance is used to achieve a robust decision and to indicate the correct class to which the input image belongs. Experiments conducted on two manually cropped avatar image datasets (Second Life and Entropia Universe) show that the proposed technique performs better than traditional (single scale) LBP, Wavelet Local Binary Pattern (WLBP) and HMLBP in terms of accuracy (78.57% and 67.50% recognition rates for Second Life and Entropia Universe datasets respectively).
Marine hydrokinetic energy in the gulf stream off North Carolina: An assessment using observations and ocean circulation models

There has been global interest in renewable energy for meeting energy demands, and as these demands increase, it will become of greater importance to utilize low-carbon energy sources to mitigate anthropogenic impact on the environment. Onshore hydropower is responsible for half of the electricity generated by a renewable source in the USA. In the ocean, marine hydrokinetic (MHK) energy in western boundary currents (WBCs) can be considered for electricity generation by submarine turbines. WBCs are a continuous and sustainable source of energy that could be transmitted to shore to support coastal communities in future years. The Gulf Stream is the WBC of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre, and it flows for part of its course along the upper continental slope off the southeastern USA. This large-scale current has maximum flow speeds exceeding 2 m s−1, and this together with its proximity to the coastline distinguishes it as a potential source of MHK energy. Using current data from a moored acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and a regional ocean circulation model, MHK power densities offshore of North Carolina were found to average 798 W m−2 for the ADCP and 641 W m−2 for the model during a nine-month period at a potential turbine site, a difference of about 20%. The model was shown to have similar current speeds to the ADCP for slowly varying currents (fluctuations of weeks to months due to Gulf Stream path shifts), and lower speeds for higher frequency current variations (fluctuations of several days to a couple of weeks due to wavelike Gulf Stream meanders). This article considers the Gulf Stream as a prospective renewable energy source and assesses the power density of this WBC at multiple locations offshore of North Carolina. Understanding the Stream’s power density character, including its spatial and temporal variations along the North Carolina coast, is essential in considering the Gulf Stream as a future alternative energy resource.
Attitude Control Systems for Scientific Balloon Payloads

Abstract In this paper we describe two stabilization systems developed for balloon borne payloads in X-ray astronomy experiments. One of them was employed in a 19 hours transmediterranean flight during summer 1978. The gondola, with a two stages pointing system was at lift-off about 300 kilos; the pointing requirement was 0.5 degrees precision. The control loop and the dynamical stability of the system are described and the in-flight performance is discussed.
Towards low-power wearable wireless sensors for molecular biomarker and physiological signal monitoring

A low-power wearable wireless sensor measuring both molecular biomarkers and physiological signals is proposed, where the former are measured by a microfluidic biosensing system while the latter are measured electrically. The low-power consumption of the sensor is achieved by an all-analog circuit implementing Analog Joint Source-Channel Coding (AJSCC) compression. The sensor is applicable to a wide range of biomedical applications that require real-time concurrent molecular biomarker and physiological signal monitoring.
Novel methods to estimate antiretroviral adherence: protocol for a longitudinal study

Author(s): Saberi, Parya; Ming, Kristin; Legnitto, Dominique; Neilands, Torsten B; Gandhi, Monica; Johnson, Mallory O | Abstract: BackgroundThere is currently no gold standard for assessing antiretroviral (ARV) adherence, so researchers often resort to the most feasible and cost-effective methods possible (eg, self-report), which may be biased or inaccurate. The goal of our study was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of innovative and remote methods to estimate ARV adherence, which can potentially be conducted with less time and financial resources in a wide range of clinic and research settings. Here, we describe the research protocol for studying these novel methods and some lessons learned.MethodsThe 6-month pilot study aimed to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a remotely conducted study to evaluate the correlation between: 1) text-messaged photographs of pharmacy refill dates for refill-based adherence; 2) text-messaged photographs of pills for pill count-based adherence; and 3) home-collected hair sample measures of ARV concentration for pharmacologic-based adherence. Participants were sent monthly automated text messages to collect refill dates and pill counts that were taken and sent via mobile telephone photographs, and hair collection kits every 2 months by mail. At the study end, feasibility was calculated by specific metrics, such as the receipt of hair samples and responses to text messages. Participants completed a quantitative survey and qualitative exit interviews to examine the acceptability of these adherence evaluation methods. The relationship between the 3 novel metrics of adherence and self-reported adherence will be assessed.DiscussionInvestigators conducting adherence research are often limited to using either self-reported adherence, which is subjective, biased, and often overestimated, or other more complex methods. Here, we describe the protocol for evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of 3 novel and remote methods of estimating adherence, with the aim of evaluating the relationships between them. Additionally, we note the lessons learned from the protocol implementation to date. We expect that these novel measures will be feasible and acceptable. The implications of this research will be the identification and evaluation of innovative and accurate metrics of ARV adherence for future implementation.
The Fatou and Julia stories

THE THEORY OF ITERATION OF RATIONAL FUNCTIONS goes back to the mid-nineteenth century and perhaps even to Abel. During its first classic period, it indissolubly linked the names of Pierre Fatou and Gaston Julia. It also generated great controversy accompanied by hasty anecdotes and schematic or fanciful stories. The account in Alexander 1994 is excellent: scholarly and balanced. But it is necessarily based on secondary published sources. I was closer. In fact, Julia was my teacher of differential geometry at Ecole Polytechnique. More important were the stories told about him and Fatou by my uncle Szolem Mandelbrojt (1899–1983) and other persons I knew well. Combining what I heard and what it made me read, this chapter discusses Fatou, then Julia, and finally their interaction. The last section deals with the aftermath.
OR11 Characteristics of transplant candidates with cPRA ⩾ 99.95% likely to be allocated organs from deceased donors

Aim Since the new KAS, candidates with cPRA = 100% were prioritized for deceased donor (DD) kidneys, their transplant rates increased from 2.7% to as high as 19.1%. A recent simulation (CJSAN 11:505-511, 2016), predicted that not all cPRA=100% are equally advantaged. While ∼ 75% cPRA =100% candidates were compatible with an average of 17 donors (total donors = 6141), ∼ 25% were incompatible with every donor and related to cPRA values of 99.45–>99.99% being ”rounded up” to 100%. Indeed, 91% of candidates without a compatible donor had cPRA values >99.9%. Subsequent data with actual transplants (AJT 16:1834-1847, 2016) supported those predictions. In our program, 61 cPRA = 100% candidates were transplanted from 12/04/14-01/12/18. Surprisingly, 15 recipients had cPRA values ⩾99.95%. In this study, we identified their characteristics. Methods HLA profiles and demographic information from 15 cPRA ⩾99.95% recipients were compared to 30 non-transplanted case controls with cPRA ⩾99.95%. The HLA typing data of each subject was entered into Haplostats (haplostat.org) and the top ranked phased haplotypes for each were recorded. Results Among cPRA⩾99.95% recipients, 11/15 (73%) had one or both of their HLA haplotypes ranked among the top 125 CAU haplotypes. CAU haplotypes were the focus as CAU represent ∼ 67% of kidney donors. Notably, 7/15 recipients had one or both of their HLA haplotypes among the top four ranked CAU haplotypes and 6/15 received transplants from homozygous donors. Among recipients, eight were AA (53%), six were CAU and one was HIS. In contrast, among 30 case controls, 4 (13.3%) had one haplotype ranked in the top 125 and 17 had one haplotype ranked in the top 8000. For 9 candidates, neither HLA haplotype was ranked among the top 10,000 CAU haplotypes. Importantly, 25/30 (83.3%) controls were African American. Conclusions Kidney transplant candidates with cPRA⩾99.95% were more likely to be transplanted when at least one of their HLA haplotypes was frequent (rank ⩽ 125). This novel observation offers an opportunity to medically optimize a subset of highly sensitized candidates before deceased donor transplantation. It also suggests amendments may be necessary to minimize racial disparity in the KAS. Additionally, alternative approaches should be considered for candidates not likely to receive a DD offer. H.M. Gebel: 2. Consultant; Company/Organization; Astellas, Thermofisher.
A grid density based framework for classifying streaming data in the presence of concept drift

Mining data streams is the process of extracting information from non-stopping, rapidly flowing data records to provide knowledge that is reliable and timely. Streaming data algorithms need to be one pass and operate under strict limitations of memory and response time. In addition, the classification of streaming data requires learning in an environment where the data characteristics might change constantly. Many of the classification algorithms presented in literature assume a 100 % labeling rate, which is impractical and expensive when data records are rapidly flowing in. In this paper, a new incremental grid density based learning framework, the GC3 framework, is proposed to perform classification of streaming data with concept drift and limited labeling. The proposed framework uses grid density clustering to detect changes in the input data space. It maintains an evolving ensemble of classifiers to learn and adapt to the model changes over time. The framework also uses a uniform grid density sampling mechanism to obtain a uniform subset of samples for better classification performance with a lower labeling rate. The entire framework is designed to be one-pass, incremental and work with limited memory to perform any-time classification on demand. Experimental comparison with state of the art concept drift handling systems demonstrate the GC3 frameworks ability to provide high classification performance, using fewer models in the ensemble and with only 4-6 % of the samples labeled. The results show that the GC3 framework is effective and attractive for use in real world data stream classification applications.
How Early Maternal Language Input Varies by Race and Education and Predicts Later Child Language

The maternal language input literature suggests that mothers with more education use a greater quantity and complexity of language with their young children compared to mothers with less education although race and socioeconomic status have been confounded in most studies because of small sample sizes. The current Family Life study included a representative sample of 1,292 children, oversampling for poverty and African American, followed from birth. This study found no race differences within maternal education levels on five measures of maternal language input from 6 to 36 months. Maternal language input variables of number of different words, mean length of utterance and number of wh-questions were partial mediators of the relationship between maternal education and later child language at school age.
Laser-activated drug implant for controlled release to the posterior segment of the eye

Abstract Posterior segment eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME) and proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) are serious choric diseases that may result in vision loss. The current standard of care for the posterior segment eye diseases involves frequent intravitreal injections or intravitreally injectable sustained-release implants. However, dosage is not controllable once the implant is inserted in the vitreous, resulting in serious local side effects, such as elevated intraocular pressure and cataract formation. We previously developed a size-exclusive nanoporous biodegradable PLGA capsule and combined with light-activatable drug-encapsulated liposomes, to create a light-activated dose-controllable implant for posterior eye disease treatment. We demonstrated the stability and safety of the implant in rabbit eyes for 6 months. In this study, we focused on the drug release from the dose-controllable implant by laser irradiation both in vitro and in vivo. Drug release kinetics upon laser irradiation were analyzed with two different total dosages. Drug release by laser irradiation in the rabbit eyes was determined by fluorescence intensity. Optical and histology examination confirmed no damage on the retina. The results demonstrated feasibility of using the implant as a on-demand dose-controllable drug delivery system to the posterior segment of the eye.
Evoking Empathy or Enacting Solidarity with Marginalized Communities? A Case Study of Journalistic Humanizing Techniques in the San Francisco Homeless Project

American journalists regularly humanize marginalized communities in an attempt to bridge social distance. Journalists’ techniques for doing so may constrain representations to the level of individu...
Globally Asymptotically Stable Reorientation Controller with Control Constraint and Slew Rate Limit

This paper introduces a nonlinear reorientation and attitude controller. The controller requires practically no tuning and is applicable to arbitrary rigid spacecraft configurations. The user needs to input only data pertaining to the physical problem setup, such as the spacecraft’s inertia matrix, initial conditions, target orientation, control constraint, and slew rate limit. Global asymptotic stability is guaranteed as well as satisfaction of a user-prescribed control constraint and the slew rate limit. The controller is computationally inexpensive, and numerical tests show excellent performance in terms of transient behavior, overall maneuver time, and robustness.
Measurement of the Deflection of 9.602-GHz Radiation from 3C279 in the Solar Gravitational Field

During its occultation by the sun in October 1969, the position of the radio source 3C279 was interferometrically monitored to determine the deviation of its 9.602-GHz radiation in the solar gravitational field. Rapid instrumental calibration and negligible coronal diffraction enabled the measurement of a general relativity deflection of ${1.77}^{\ensuremath{'}\ensuremath{'}}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{0.20}^{\ensuremath{'}\ensuremath{'}}$ at the limb of the sun. This is in close agreement with Einstein's prediction.
The Effect of Zero Gravity on Eyelid and Brow Position.

PURPOSE To describe the effect of spaceflight on upper eyelid and brow position. MATERIALS AND METHODS Images of astronauts on earth and in space were collected from a National Aeronautics and Space Administration image library. For each astronaut, front facing portraits captured within a 5-year period were obtained. At least 6 photos were collected per astronaut, 3 taken on earth, and 3 in zero gravity. Measurements from the center of the pupil to the upper eyelid margin (MRD1) and center of the pupil to the inferior eyebrow margin [pupil-to-brow (PTB)] were performed digitally for each image and averaged for each condition and each individual. Differences in mean MRD1 and PTB were assessed to illustrate the effects of zero gravity on eyelid and eyebrow position respectively. Linear-mixed effects modeling, analysis of variance and post hoc power analysis were performed. RESULTS One hundred and twelve photographs (55 earth, 57 space) from 18 astronauts (4 women, 14 men; mean age 45.9 years) were retrieved. Zero gravity resulted in a mean PTB increase of 3.7 mm (p < 0.01) but did not result in significant change in MRD1 (p = 0.21). Post hoc power analysis of the measured MRD1 difference was performed by simulation. At an MRD1 difference of 0.5 mm, the probability of a type II error is 2.6%, equivalent to a beta power of 97.4%. Thus, we can be 97.4% confident that a difference in MRD of 0.5 mm or greater would be detected. CONCLUSIONS While spaceflight led to significant elevation of PTB, it did not consistently alter MRD1. As such, the brow and eyelid appear to be independently regulated with respect to gravitational changes.
Coordination of Ultrafast Solid-State Circuit Breakers in Radial DC Microgrids

This paper proposes a comprehensive method for optimal coordination of ultrafast solid-state circuit breakers (SSCBs) in radial dc microgrids. The proposed method consists of two consecutive steps. In the first step, SSCBs are optimally coordinated for overload, short circuit, and instantaneous protections. Inverse time-current characteristics (ITCC) curves are formulated to systematically coordinate SSCBs. The trip-curve of each SSCB includes overload, short-circuit, and instantaneous profiles. In determining overload protection, thermal capability of SSCBs is considered; while, the short-circuit and instantaneous tripping profiles are realized based on short circuit thermal capability and ultrafast response time of SSCBs. Coordination time interval (CTI) is included between upstream and downstream SSCBs to achieve selectivity. To avoid miscoordination in practice, CTI is chosen by incorporating the SSCBs’ metal-oxide varistor (MOV) conduction time interval during turn-off process and dc current measurement error. In the second step, the operating speed of the protective scheme is optimized by applying a distance-based secondary protection (DBSP). The DBSP is used to minimize the tripping time when short circuit faults occur close to upstream SSCBs. This significantly reduces the consumed energy by faults, prevents damage, reduces absorbed energy by SSCBs, and enhances safety of operators. The proposed coordination removes the need of communication links between SSCBs and presents high reliability. A 400 V dc microgrid benchmark with photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage systems (ESSs) is examined as a case study in simulation. Besides, experiments are conducted in a 400 V dc system to evaluate effectiveness and accuracy of the DBSP.
Exploring the Potential of Using Privately-Owned, Self-Driving Autonomous Vehicles for Evacuation Assistance

The potential use of privately-owned autonomous vehicles (AVs) for the evacuation of carless households threatened by hurricanes is underexplored. Based on 518 original survey responses from South Carolina (SC) residents, an ordered logistic model was developed to determine the willingness of individuals to temporarily share their AVs for evacuation without their presence. The model results indicated that respondents who (a) were unemployed, (b) had experience giving disaster relief assistance, (c) took regular religious trips and were more comfortable with AVs (d) delivering packages and (e) being purchased and shared for income in the next five years were more willing to share for evacuation. Respondents who (a) were aged 65 or older, (b) had income below per year, and (c) had less than two social media accounts were less willing to share. The model was applied to a state-wide synthetic population to simulate a disaster scenario in SC under different AV market penetration ( ) scenarios to determine the potential use of AVs for evacuation assistance. Monte Carlo simulation results indicated that the percentage of households that can be evacuated increased linearly with respect to , by for every increase in until was nearly . When was or higher, the number of shared AVs was sufficient to evacuate all households in need. Therefore, in SC, if privately-owned AVs are widely available, they could serve as a viable alternative or be used to supplement the traditional evacuation programs that rely on buses.
Racial disparity in causes for readmission following bariatric surgery

ABSTRACT Background Readmission after bariatric surgery is not cost-effective and is a preventable quality metric within standardized practices. However, reasons for readmission among racial/ethnic bariatric cohorts are less explored and understood. Objective Our study objective was to compare reasons for readmission among racial/ethnic cohorts of bariatric patients. Setting Academic Hospital Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of the 2015 to 2018 Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Project (MBSAQIP) databases to identify Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) cases. Regression analyses determined predictors of all-cause and bariatric-related readmissions. Reasons for readmission were compared between racial/ethnic cohorts using propensity score matching. Stata/MP 16.1 was used for analysis. Results Over 550,000 RYGB and SG cases were analyzed. The readmission rate was 3-4%. Black race, RYGB, robotic-assisted approach, and numerous comorbidities were independently associated with readmission (p Conclusion Readmission reasons after bariatric surgery vary by race/ethnicity. Perioperative pathways to mitigate complications, including readmissions, should consider these disparate findings.
Detection of anti-HTLV-I Tax antibodies in HTLV-I enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-negative individuals.

The HTLV-I tax gene protein (Tax) is not packaged within the mature viral particle from which the proteins for the commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) are derived. Screening of 162 individuals within a cohort of white intravenous (IV) drug abusers, previously identified as having an increased incidence of HTLV-I infection, demonstrated that seven of them had antibodies to the HTLV-I Tax protein but tested negative in HTLV-I ELISAs and Western blots prepared from purified virion proteins. Three out of 35 individuals in other behaviorally defined high-risk groups also displayed this limited pattern of reactivity to HTLV-I proteins. The presence of the anti-HTLV- I p40/Tax antibodies was determined by radioimmunoprecipitation assay (RIPA), which also revealed low levels of anti-env reactivity. The specificity of the anti-p40 reactivity was confirmed on specific Tax ELISAs and Western blots prepared from recombinantly produced Tax. In vitro gene amplification by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to establish the presence of sequences homologous to HTLV-I proviral DNA in four/four of these HTLV-I ELISA negative, Tax ELISA/Tax western blot/RIPA positive individuals. These data suggest that the true incidence of HTLV-I infection within high-risk cohorts is greater than previously reported.
IR‐Studies of drawn polyethylene part III. The orientation of vinyl and methyl end‐groups

The first increasing and soon saturating IR dichroism of several bands originating from methyl and vinyl end-groups in cold drawn linear polyethylene has been related to the mean orientation of the end-groups and the preceding CH2 sequences (cilia). Several possible conformations of the end-groups with respect to the backbone chain are discussed. In the case of the methyl end-groups the experimental data can be interpreted in two ways: (a) Assuming that the orientation results exclusively from methyl end-groups which are incorporated in the crystal lattice, it follows that only 17–35% of these groups can be in the crystalline phase. (b) If all end-groups are located in the amorphous phase one can derive an orientation function for the end-groups and the cilia given as f = 0.4–0.8. The dichroism of bands resulting from the vinyl end-groups cannot be interpreted unequivocally. The expected dichroism of a vinyl end-group in its supposed most stable conformation is in qualitative disagreement with the experimental value. The conformation which is consistent with the observed dichroism and would lead to an orientation function f = 0.55 for the vinyl end-groups and the cilia, does not represent a stable rotational isomer as discussed from the rotational potential of simple model compounds. Reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. Das anfangliche Anwachsen und die baldige Sattigung des Dichroismus verschiedener Banden von Methyl- und Vinylendgruppen im kaltverstreckten Polyathylen wurden im Zusammenhang mit der mittleren Orientierung der Endgruppen und der angrenzenden CH2-Gruppen (freie Kettenenden) untersucht. Mehrere mogliche Konformationen der Endgruppen in Bezug zur Hauptkette wurden diskutiert. Im Falle der Methylendgruppen kann man die Experimentalergebnisse auf zwei Arten deuten: (a) Wenn die Orientierung ausschlieslich von den Methylendgruppen im Kristallgitter herruhrt, dann konnen sich nur 17 bis 35% dieser Gruppen im Kristallverbande befinden. (b) Sind alle Endgruppen in der amorphen Phase, dann erhalt man fur die Orientierungsfunktion der Endgruppen und der freien Kettenenden f = 0,4–0,8. Der Dichroismus der Vinylendgruppenbanden kann nicht so eindeutig erklart werden. Der auf Grund der stabilsten Konformation zu erwartende Dichroismus der Vinylendgruppen ist im qualitativen Widerspruch mit den Versuchsergbnissen. Die mit dem beobachteten Dichroismus in Einklang stehende Konformation, die zu einer Orientierungsfunktion f = 0,55 fur die Vinylendgruppen und die freien Kettenenden fuhren wurde, ist kein stabiles Rotationsisomeres, wie man es auf Grund des Rotationspotentials einfacher Modellverbindungen erwarten wurde. Die Grunde fur diese Diskrepanz werden diskutiert.
Aircraft dynamics during flight in icing conditions

This paper presents numerical analysis of airplane motion parameters during wing in-flight icing. The wing external flaps deflection event was taken under consideration. The mathematical model of the airplane motion including twelve ordinary differential equations was employed. Using available publications as well as TS-11 ``Iskra'' jet trainer geometrical and mass relationships, a computer code evaluating motion parameters of an iced airplane was developed. On the basis of analysis results, conclusions referring airplane dynamic properties during wing ice accretion was formulated.
Experimental Evidence on Political Trust

The qualities of the people serving in government, governing processes, and the policies that result have been put forth in the literature as possible determinants of political trust (Miller and Borrelli 1991; Ulbig 2002; Erber and Lau 1990; Rahn and Rudolph 2005). Separately, political evaluations of people, process, and policy have been shown to influence political trust, but there is no empirical work that investigates these three variables both specifically and together. This study will examine all three of these components, people, process, and policy, and their influence upon political trust. The goal of this experimental research is to move beyond speculation and test the effect of specific attributes of people, process, and policy on political trust. A randomized experiment was conducted which exposed participants to three different descriptions of a politician, each emphasizing one of six possible elements of people, process, or policy. Findings from the experiment indicate that, of these three, perceptions of policy had the greatest impact on trust. Perceptions of people followed closely behind policy, and the effect of process was the weakest.
Biological Control of Aquatic Weeds

Biological control is a cheap, permanent, and nontoxic method of controlling aquatic weeds. Insects and fish are the most effective biological agents. The use of herbivorous fish in the United States to control the growth of aquatic vegetation has been limited because of the susceptibility of most of these fish to low temperature. However, the amur is an herbivorous fish that can tolerate temperature extremes. The amur has a voracious appetite and consumes many aquatic plants. It has been successfully introduced in other countries of the world, and, in the future, may be used to mitigate some of the aquatic weed problems prevalent in the United States. Many fishes, snails, manatees, and other organisms can be expected to be effective only in tropical or subtropical waters. Their usefulness in temperature regions will be sharply limited by minimum temperatures. The use of viruses, fungi, bacteria, and other pathogens offers a potential for biological control of aquatic weeds. Low growing aquatic plants may prevent the establishment of some problem plants.
Patchy Reconnection and Magnetic Ropes in Astrophysical Plasmas

Reconnection is clearly observed at the terrestrial magnetopause but seldom in the simple geometry originally proposed. Most often reconnection is patchy, forming tubes of twisted flux. The passage of one of these twisted tubes has been called a flux transfer event. Similar twisted tubes, or flux ropes, are formed at Venus by velocity shear. These tubes become so highly twisted that they become kink unstable. The presence of the kink instability suggests a way of creating compound flux ropes as have been postulated to be necessary to explain photospheric magnetic structure.