cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
“I Feel Contaminated in My Fake Hand”: Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder like Disgust Sensations Arise from Dummy during Rubber Hand Illusion

Despite its theoretical and clinical interest, there are no experimental studies exploring obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)-like disgust sensations through using somatosensory illusions. Such illusions provide important clues to the nature and limits of multisensory integration and how the brain constructs body image; and may potentially inform novel therapies. One such effect is the rubber hand illusion (RHI) in which tactile sensations are referred to a rubber hand; if the experimenter simultaneously strokes a subject’s occluded hand together with a visible fake hand, the subject starts experiencing the touch sensations as arising from the dummy. In this study, we explore whether OCD-like disgust may result from contamination of a dummy hand during the RHI; suggesting a possible integration of somatosensory and limbic inputs in the construction of body image. We predicted that participants would experience sensations of disgust, when placing a disgust stimulus (fake feces, vomit or blood) on the dummy hand after establishing the RHI. We found that 9 out of 11 participants experienced greater disgust during the synchronous condition (real hidden hand and fake hand are stroked in synchrony) compared to the asynchronous control condition (real hidden hand and fake hand are stroked in asynchrony); and on average such disgust was significantly greater during the synchronous condition compared to the asynchronous control condition, Z = 2.7, p = .008. These results argue against a strictly hierarchical modular approach to brain function and suggest that a four-way multisensory interaction occurs between vision, touch, proprioception on the one hand and primal emotions like disgust on the other. These findings may inform novel clinical approaches for OCD; that is, contaminating a dummy during the RHI could possibly be used as part of an in-vivo exposure-intervention for OCD.
Very High Lead Count SMT Backplane Connector Rework Process: Recognizing the Challenges

The ever growing demand for improved bandwidth, signal speeds, and performance in enterprise servers continues to drive increased circuit density and complex board designs. Single ended mode signaling is one design approach to address these challenges. A tightly integrated design team must carefully control the interfaces and trade-off complexity of chip and package designs to maintain power budgets at target performances. This single ended design approach has necessitated the use of very large (5040 contacts) surface mount connectors. These connectors are assembled to thick, densely wired, high copper content printed circuit boards which press the limits of conventional assembly and rework processes and tooling. Classical automated hot gas rework techniques, even with the best controls and practices in place, may not be capable of providing consistent, reliable connector rework. Extensive tooling modifications may also prove to be inadequate. Given these complex issues, in conjunction with shortening pro...
In Situ Choriocarcinoma Arising in Partial Hydatidiform Mole: Implications for the Risk of Persistent Trophoblastic Disease

The risk of persistent trophoblastic disease following partial hydatidiform mole is controversial. In spite of claims that 4 to 11% of cases require chemotherapy, there is a paucity of affected patients in the literature. A critical review of those patients suggests an alternative or unprcven diagnosis in the majority. An instance of placental in situ choriocarcinoma arising in a partial mole is reported. Because in situ choriocarcinoma may represent the incipient lesion in the majority of the one-third of cases of gestational choriocarcinoma that follow a normal pregnancy, we postulate that the presence of the in situ lesion in a partial mole supports the view that the risk of persistent trophoblastic disease may be no greater after partial mole than after a normal gestation.
Genetic variation in total number and locations of GnRH neurons identified using in situ hybridization in a wild‐source population

The evolution of brain function in the regulation of physiology may depend in part upon the numbers and locations of neurons. Wild populations of rodents contain natural genetic variation in the inhibition of reproduction by winter-like short photoperiod, and it has been hypothesized that this functional variation might be due in part to heritable variation in the numbers or location of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons. A naturally variable wild-source population of white-footed mice was used to develop lines artificially selected for or against mature gonads in short, winter-like photoperiods. We compared a selection line that is reproductively inhibited in short photoperiod (Responsive) to a line that is weakly inhibited by short photoperiod (Nonresponsive) for differences in counts of neurons identified using in situ hybridization for GnRH mRNA. There was no effect of photoperiod, but there were 60% more GnRH neurons in total in the Nonresponsive selection line than the Responsive selection line. The lines differed specifically in numbers of GnRH neurons in more anterior regions, whereas numbers of GnRH neurons in posterior areas were not statistically different between lines. We compare these results to those of an earlier study that used immunohistochemical labeling for GnRH neurons. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the selection lines and natural source population contain significant genetic variation in the number and location of GnRH neurons. The variation in GnRH neurons may contribute to functional variation in fertility that occurs in short photoperiods in the laboratory and in the wild source population in winter.
Crystal structure of benzene-1,3,5-tri-carb-oxy-lic acid-4-pyridone (1/3).

Slow co-crystallization of a solution of benzene-1,3,5-tri­carb­oxy­lic acid with a large excess of 4-hy­droxy­pyridine produces an inter­penetrating, three-dimensional, hydrogen-bonded framework consisting of three 4-pyridone and one benzene-1,3,5-tri­carb­oxy­lic acid mol­ecules, C9H6O6·3C5H5NO. This structure represents an ortho­rhom­bic polymorph of the previously reported C-centered, monoclinic structure [Campos-Gaxiola et al. (2014). Acta Cryst. E70, o453–o454].
Resonant Inductive Coupling-Based Piston Position Sensing Mechanism for Large Vertical Displacement Micromirrors

This paper serves to demonstrate resonant inductive coupling-based eddy current sensing as a promising piston position sensing mechanism for large vertical displacement micromirrors that exhibit piston scan ranges above 100 $\mu \text{m}$ . The sensor consists of two microfabricated coils packaged underneath the mirror plate of an electrothermally actuated piston scanning micromirror. For this paper, position sensing is achieved through the amplitude detection of the sensor oscillation signal due to the change in inductive coupling between the coils when the mirror plate undergoes its piston scan. Two sensing regions could be obtained: a front slope region that has a larger piston sensing range of $\sim 1$ mm with a 280-nm resolution and a back slope region that has higher sensitivity over a smaller piston sensing range of $\sim 130~\mu \text{m}$ with a 20-nm resolution. For demonstration purpose, the sensing coils are designed to oscillate at 9.4 MHz through a regenerative circuit and a readout circuit was used to extract the piston position information, with which the static, dynamic, and frequency response of the micromirror were measured. This paper also presents the fundamental electromagnetic analytical modeling for the sensor performance. [2015-0223]
Electrostatic effects of mutations of Ras glutamine 61 measured using vibrational spectroscopy of a thiocyanate probe.

Mutations of human oncoprotein p21Ras (hereafter Ras) at glutamine 61 are known to slow the rate of guanosine triphosphate (GTP) hydrolysis and transform healthy cells into malignant cells. It has been hypothesized that this glutamine plays a role in the intrinsic mechanism of GTP hydrolysis by interacting with an active site water molecule that electrostatically stabilizes the formation of the charged transition state at the γ-phosphate during hydrolysis. We have tested the interactions between amino acids at this position and water by measuring changes in the electrostatic field experienced by a nitrile probe positioned near Ras Q61 using vibrational Stark effect (VSE) spectroscopy. We mutated this glutamine to every amino acid except cysteine and proline and then incubated these mutants with a Ral guanine nucleotide dissociation stimulator (Ral) containing the I18C mutation that was chemically labeled with a thiocyanate vibrational spectroscopic probe. The formation of the docked Ras Q61X–labeled Ral c...
Effect of Cortisone and Adrenocorticotropin Therapy on Serum Proteins in Disseminated Lupus Erythematosus

SummaryThe electrophoretic distribution of the serum proteins of 20 patients with disseminated lupus erythematosus showed a lowered albumin content with a considerable increase in the α2- as well as γ-globulin concentration. The sera of 5 patients were studied before therapy with cortisone and adrenocorticotropin (ACTH). After a clinical remission had been produced by these agents, it was found that the albumin and γ-globulin components progressed towards normal levels whereas the α2-globulin fraction remained unchanged.Thanks are due to Dr. George Baehr and the members of the First Medical Service for their cooperation throughout this study. The technical help of Sheldon S. Gilbert and Harold Corey is acknowledged with appreciation.
Optimal Hamiltonian Simulation by Quantum Signal Processing.

The physics of quantum mechanics is the inspiration for, and underlies, quantum computation. As such, one expects physical intuition to be highly influential in the understanding and design of many quantum algorithms, particularly simulation of physical systems. Surprisingly, this has been challenging, with current Hamiltonian simulation algorithms remaining abstract and often the result of sophisticated but unintuitive constructions. We contend that physical intuition can lead to optimal simulation methods by showing that a focus on simple single-qubit rotations elegantly furnishes an optimal algorithm for Hamiltonian simulation, a universal problem that encapsulates all the power of quantum computation. Specifically, we show that the query complexity of implementing time evolution by a d-sparse Hamiltonian H[over ^] for time-interval t with error e is O[td∥H[over ^]∥_{max}+log(1/e)/loglog(1/e)], which matches lower bounds in all parameters. This connection is made through general three-step "quantum signal processing" methodology, comprised of (i) transducing eigenvalues of H[over ^] into a single ancilla qubit, (ii) transforming these eigenvalues through an optimal-length sequence of single-qubit rotations, and (iii) projecting this ancilla with near unity success probability.
Time- and Oil-Dependent Transcriptomic and Physiological Responses to Deepwater Horizon Oil in Mahi-Mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) Embryos and Larvae

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill contaminated the spawning habitats for numerous commercially and ecologically important fishes. Exposure to the water accommodated fraction (WAF) of oil from the spill has been shown to cause cardiac toxicity during early developmental stages across fishes. To better understand the molecular events and explore new pathways responsible for toxicity, RNA sequencing was performed in conjunction with physiological and morphological assessments to analyze the time-course (24, 48, and 96 h post fertilization (hpf)) of transcriptional and developmental responses in embryos/larvae of mahi-mahi exposed to WAF of weathered (slick) and source DWH oils. Slick oil exposure induced more pronounced changes in gene expression over time than source oil exposure. Predominant transcriptomic responses included alteration of EIF2 signaling, steroid biosynthesis, ribosome biogenesis and activation of the cytochrome P450 pathway. At 96 hpf, slick oil exposure resulted in significant perturb...
The United States Food and Drug Administration's Risk Management Framework:

In response to criticism that under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, the United States Food and Drug Administration was endangering public health by shortening the review and approval process for medical products, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Jane Henney appointed a task force to evaluate the effectiveness of the Food and Drug Administration in managing risks associated with medical products and their potential sources. Although the task force found that the agency identified risks prior to drug approval, it discovered that the Food and Drug Administration did not adequately define its role in postmarketing surveillance. This article provides insight on the current framework at the Food and Drug Administration, including modification of division roles under the Office of Postmarketing Drug Risk Assessment; specific motives that precipitated the creation of the risk management offices; and recent initiatives that have been implemented to increase postmarketing surveillance, reduce medication errors, and develop new methods to provide patients adequate medication information.
A Summary of Rare Sites of Metastasis Secondary to Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

Most patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) will never have a metastasis. However, if they do, the most frequent sites of metastases are the cervical lymph nodes, lung, and bone. Less frequent sites include the mediastinal lymph nodes and brain, and very rare sites include, but are not limited to, the parathyroid, breast, eye, liver, soft tissue, skin, pleura, heart, kidney, ovary, muscle, pancreas, pericardium, gastrointestinal tract, spleen, parotid gland, and peritoneum. This chapter presents a discussion focusing on rare sites of metastases of differentiated thyroid cancer.
Women in the Crosshairs: Violence Against Women during the Second World War

This article seeks to look broadly at Second World War violence through the lens of gender; to shift the focus from attacks on ethno-national groups to the ways that women were targeted within and across ethno-national lines. It asks why the occupiers and inhabitants of Eastern Europe unleashed such tremendous brutality against females in the region, civilians who, according to the Hague Conventions and moral norms, were supposed to be shielded from the ravages of war. Given the enormity of the topic of the violence women suffered during the war and its immediate aftermath, I focus on Poland and the western part of the Soviet Union, the epicenter of wartime brutality. This territory suffered alternating occupations by the Nazis and Soviets, with broad swaths changing overlords three times. The article is organized by stages of the war, each of which bore a distinct character of violence. The focus on gender-based violence by no means assumes that women were only victims during the war. They exercised varying degrees of agency, as fighters, perpetrators, resisters, collaborators, and simply as individuals trying to survive — experiences that space will not allow in this article.
Impact of A Collaborative Strategy to Reduce the Inappropriate Use of Acid Suppressive Therapy in Non-Intensive Care Unit Patients.

Background: Stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) is inappropriately prescribed in more than 30% of non–intensive care unit (ICU) patients, leading to unnecessary adverse events as well as increases in ec...
Effects of steel foundation wire on elemental content and hygienic removal of honey bee (Apis mellifera) brood

Honey and honey bees are often contaminated with trace metals, some of which are associated with food resources. However, in some cases metal contamination may be coming from within the hive. Based on preliminary observations, we hypothesized that steel foundation wire negatively affects honey bee brood health. To test our hypothesis we quantified the elemental content and measured the removal rates of honey bee brood developing in cells overlapping foundation wires and in control cells adjacent to cells that overlapped foundation wires. We found evidence that brood positioned in cells overlapping the wires contained significantly more iron and was removed at a significantly higher rate compared to control brood. Our study identifies the harmfulness of the common modern beekeeping practice of placing steel wire in beeswax foundation, which if avoided may increase colony population size and improve the health of managed honey bee colonies.
Noncontact electrical system monitoring on a U.S. Coast Guard cutter

Modernization in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) includes an emphasis on automation systems to help replace manual tasks and reduce crew sizes. This places a high reliance on monitoring systems to ensure proper operation of equipment and to maintain safety at sea. Recently developed noncontact current and voltage sensors, [1] combined with nonintrusive load monitoring (NILM) methods [2], provide a nonintrusive, low-cost, and easily installed package for machinery monitoring. This paper presents an application case study using these NILM enabled sensors installed on the main electrical feeders of the USCG Famous Class Cutter SPENCER. The system records the power demand on the ship and disaggregates this demand by identifying transients corresponding to loads changing states, e.g., a pump turning on. Results of this study showcase these novel sensors' ability to monitor both generation and load side equipment while at sea or in port and provide information useful for tracking operation schedules, energy usage, and maintenance needs.
From determination of enantiopurity to the construction of complex molecules: The Horeau principle and its application in synthesis

Abstract In 1973, Horeau and co-workers reported a technique capable of upgrading the enantiopurity of a scalemic mixture (for example, [(R)-enantiomer] > [(S)-enantiomer]). This method involved coupling the compound of interest to a simple, bifunctional reagent in order to form a statistical mixture of (R,R)-, (S,S)-, and (R,S)-stereoisomers. Separation of the two diastereomers and cleavage of the incorporated coupling agent effectively removes the minor, (S)-enantiomer from the major, (R)-enantiomer; thereby increasing the enantiopurity of the starting compound. Since that time, this concept of removing a minor enantiomer through the statistical formation of diastereomeric compounds (the Horeau principle) has also been applied when sequential enantioselective reactions are performed on a substrate, when multiple enantioenriched fragments are coupled together, and for determining the enantiopurity of the initial scalemic mixture. Under the right circumstances, the Horeau principle can be deployed in an iterative fashion in order to access material with extremely high enantiopurity (>99.999% ee). This review provides comprehensive coverage of the underlying theory behind the Horeau principle and its application in organic synthesis.
Nitro derivatives of triazetidine: potential high energy density materials

In a continuing effort to evaluate the properties of new possible high energy density materials, we have calculated the optimized geometries and thermodynamic properties of a series of nitro derivatives of triazetidine, c-CH2(NH)3. After evaluating approximately 50 different levels of NO2 substitution and conformations, we predict that several nitrotriazetidine compounds show some significantly desirable HEDM properties. Graphical abstract The triazetidine molecule, the parent structure for a series of new hypothetical high energy densitymaterials with various NO2 content.
Effects of Acidification on Artifacts in Archives and Museums

Abstract The pollutant sources leading to indoor acid deposition; types of damage observed; and SO2 and NOx levels measured are reviewed for archives, libraries and museums. Recently proposed air quality design criteria for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for cultural institutions are presented.
Energy Optimal Xenon Shutdown

Pontryagin's optimum theory is applied to the problem of determining a flux shutdown program that limits xenon poisoning in a reactor while using the minimum nuclear energy or flux time. The analys...
Detecting Topological Change Using a Wireless Sensor Network

Dynamic geographic phenomena, such as forest fires and oil spills, can have dire environmental, sociopolitical, and economic consequences. Mitigating, if not preventing such events requires the use of advanced spatio-temporal information systems. One such system that has gained widespread interest is the wireless sensor network(WSN), a deployment of sensor nodes--- tiny untethered computing devices, which run on batteries and are equipped with one or more commercial off-the-shelf or custom-made sensors and a radio transceiver. This research deals with initial attempts to detect topological changes to geographic phenomena by an environmentally deployed wireless sensor network (WSN). After providing the mathematical and technical preliminaries, we define topological change and present in-network algorithms to detect such changes and also, to manage the WSN's resources efficiently. The algorithms are compared against a resource-heavy continuous monitoring approach via simulation. The results show that two topological changes, hole loss and hole formation, can be correctly detected in-network and that energy is greatly saved by our event-driven approach. In future work, we hope to test the algorithms over a broader range of topological changes and to relax some of the network assumptions.
Role of connecting tubule glomerular feedback in obesity related renal damage

Zucker obese rats (ZOR) have higher glomerular capillary pressure (PGC) that can cause renal damage. PGC is controlled by afferent (Af-Art) and efferent arteriole (Ef-Art) resistance. Af-Art resist...
Converter-Based Reconfigurable Real-Time Electrical System Emulation Platform

A Hardware Testbed(HTB) is developed for accurate and flexible emulation and testing of electrical power system and their control, measurement, and protection systems. In the HTB, modular and programmable power electronics converters are used to mimic the static and dynamic characteristics of electrical power components. This paper overviews the development, integration, and application of the HTB, covering emulation principle, hardware and software configuration, and example results of power system research using the HTB. The advantages of the HTB, compared with real-time digital simulation and downscaled hardware-based testing platform are discussed.
ETC and Thermal Ligand Substitution in PhCCo 3 (CO) 9 with 2,3-Bis(diphenylphosphino)- N -phenylmaleimide(bppm). X-Ray Diffraction Structure of Co 3 (CO) 6 [μ 2 ,η 2 , η 1 -C(Ph) $$$$ (O)](μ 2 -PPh 2 )

The reactivity of the bidentate ligand 2,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)-N-phenylmaleimide (bppm) with the tetrahedrane cluster PhCCo3(CO)9 under thermolysis and ETC conditions has been studied and found to ultimately give Co3(CO)6[μ2,η2,η1-C(Ph) $${\text{C}}{\text{ = }}{\text{ = }}{\text{C(PPh}}_{\text{2}} {\text{)C(O)NPhC}}$$ (O)](μ2-PPh2) as the final product. The intermediate cluster compound PhCCo3(CO)7(bppm), which was observed by IR and 31P NMR spectroscopies, readily and rapidly transforms into the product cluster under the reactions conditions. The solid-state structure of Co3(CO)6[μ2,η2,η1-C(Ph)fptt(O)](μ2-PPh$_{2})$ was unequivocally determined by X-ray crystallography. Co3(CO)6[μ2, η2, η1-C(Ph)O(O)](μ2-PPh2) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/n, a = 11.825(5) A, b = 31.20(1) A, c = 11.831(5) A, β = 108.720(7)°, V = 4134(7) A3, Z = 4, d calc = 1.567 Mg/m3; R = 0.0350, R w = 0.0817 for 4747 observed reflections with I > 2σ(I). The X-ray structure confirms the coupling of the benzylidyne ligand with the bppm ligand in Co3(CO)6[μ2,η2,η1-C(Ph)O(O)](μ2-PPh2). The course of the thermolysis reaction is identical to those reactions carried out with the related diphosphine ligands bma and bpcd. The utility of electron-transfer catalysis (ETC) in the preparation of PhCCo3(CO)7(bppm) is discussed relative to the reduction potential of the bppm ligand and the tricobalt cluster PhCCo3(CO)9.
Interfirm Trust between Emerging Markets: Chinese Firms in Africa: An Abstract

The rapid global expansion of marketers from one emerging market to another such as countries in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia, and the Middle East is dramatically changing the landscape of international business relationships. A leading example is Chinese firms in African countries. The element of trust is highlighted in such emerging market relationships that involve large investments from multiple constituents with diverging and sometimes conflicting objectives. Our study provides a broader, more encompassing macromarketing framework by investigating interfirm trust between two emerging markets from an institutional perspective. Our study develops the interfirm trust concept in the context of Chinese businesses in Africa on the bases of extant literature, field interviews, and observations focused mainly on three African countries (Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa). Drawing from trust theory and institutional theory, our study focuses on how cross-level factors influence or are influenced by the meso-level inter-firm trust between emerging markets and reveals three dimensions for the inter-firm trust concept and both trustor and trustee factors influence the perception of Chinese businesses in Africa. Macromarketing and practical implications for building and managing interfirm trust at a multilevel between emerging markets are also discussed.
Paths of innovation and knowledge management in timber construction in North America: a focus on water control design strategies in CLT building enclosures

Mass timber construction systems, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT), which originated in Europe, are gaining acceptance within North America as a viable alternative to multi-story steel-frame or...
Air pollution control: engineering for environmental engineers

Air pollution control and air quality engineering are some of the key subjects in any environmental engineering curriculum. This book will cover topics that are fundamental to pollution control engineers and professionals, including air pollution and its management through regulatory approaches, calculating and estimating emissions, and appying con
Spin diffusion in semiconductors

The behavior of spin diffusion in doped semiconductors is shown to be qualitatively different than in undoped (intrinsic) ones. Whereas a spin packet in an intrinsic semiconductor must be a multiple-band disturbance, involving inhomogeneous distributions of both electrons and holes, in a doped semiconductor a single-band disturbance is possible. For $n$-doped nonmagnetic semiconductors the enhancement of diffusion due to a degenerate electron sea in the conduction band is much larger for these single-band spin packets than for charge packets---this explains the anomalously large spin diffusion recently observed in $n$-doped GaAs at 1.6 K. In $n$-doped ferromagnetic and semimagnetic semiconductors the motion of spin packets polarized antiparallel to the equilibrium carrier spin polarization is predicted to be an order of magnitude faster than for parallel polarized spin packets. These results are reversed for $p$-doped semiconductors.
What If the Doors of Every Schoolhouse Opened to Social-Emotional Learning Tomorrow: Reflections on How to Feasibly Scale Up High-Quality SEL

Social-emotional learning (SEL) refers to a set of competencies that form the basis of human interaction. So, SEL in schools is no fad. But what would happen if every school actively wanted to brin...
A Tale of Three Companies: Commercialization of Computational Imaging and Sensing Technologies (Conference Presentation)

I will discuss the core optical technologies and the development cycles of three companies that I have co-founded over the last 10 years, namely Holomic/Cellmic, Lucendi and Pictor, which focus on mobile diagnostics, cytometry and pathology, respectively. These companies are at different stages of their lifespan, and faced different types of challenges that will be discussed in this talk.
Prognostics With Variational Autoencoder by Generative Adversarial Learning

Prognostics predicts the future performance progression and remaining useful life (RUL) of in-service systems based on historical and contemporary data. One of the challenges in prognostics is the development of methods that are capable of handling real-world uncertainties that typically lead to inaccurate predictions. To alleviate the impacts of uncertainties and to achieve accurate degradation trajectory and RUL predictions, a novel sequence-to-sequence predictive model is proposed based on a variational autoencoder that is trained with generative adversarial networks. A long short-term memory network and a Gaussian mixture model are utilized as building blocks so that the model is capable of providing probabilistic predictions. Correlative and monotonic metrics are applied to identify sensitive features in the degradation progress, in order to reduce the uncertainty induced from raw data. Then, the selected features are concatenated with one-hot health state indicators as training data for the model to learn end of life without the need for prior knowledge of failure thresholds. Performance of the proposed model is validated by health monitoring data collected from real-world aeroengines, wind turbines, and lithium-ion batteries. The results demonstrate that significant performance improvement can be achieved in long-term degradation progress and RUL prediction tasks.
Longitudinal current profile reconstruction from a wakefield response in plasmas and structures

Present-day and next-generation accelerators, particularly for applications in driving wakefield-based schemes, require longitudinal beam shaping and attendant longitudinal characterization for experimental optimization. Here we present a diagnostic method which reconstructs the longitudinal beam profile at the location of the wakefield-generating source. The methods described derive the longitudinal profile of a charged particle beam solely from measurement of the time-resolved centroid energy change due to wakefield effects. As such, they are insensitive to the beam losses in post-interaction transport often found in common diagnostics. The reconstruction technique is based on a deconvolution algorithm that is fully generalizable to any analytically or numerically calculable Green's function for the wakefield excitation mechanism. This method is shown to yield precise features in the longitudinal current distribution reconstruction. We demonstrate the accuracy and efficacy of this technique using simulations and experimental examples, in both plasmas and dielectric structures, and compare them to experimentally measured longitudinal beam profiles. The limits of resolution and applicability to relevant scenarios are also examined.
New Method for Stable Expression of SFTS Virus-like Particles in CHO-K1 Cells

To explore a new method for stable expression of virus-like particles(VLPs)of the severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome(SFTS)virus,an expression plasmid for the membrane glycoprotein(GP)and nucleocapsid protein(NP)of the SFTS virus was constructed by fusion of the two proteins via a serine residue,and a yellow fluorescence protein(YFP)gene was introduced into the plasmid as a reporter.CHO-K1 cells were transfected with this plasmid,and stable cell lines constructed using the limited dilution method.Cellular colonies were hand-picked based on YFP with the help of fluorescence microscopy and expanded without selection pressure.Stability of cell lines was evaluated by monitoring of fluctuation of the intensity of YFP for 40 passages.VLP production was characterized using an indirect fluorescence assay,immunoblotting,and electronic microscopy.We showed that GP and NP fusion proteins could be assembled into VLPs in vivo,and that VLPs had similar morphologies to virus particles.Selected cell lines were stable for YFP expression:no significant fluctuation was detected in 40 passages.These data demonstrated the effectiveness of this new method for expression of structural proteins of the SFTS virus and screening for stable cell lines.Our results could provide new concepts for the production of biopharmaceuticals.
Ceremony, Medicine, Caffeinated Tea: Unearthing the Forgotten Faces of the North American Stimulant Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria)

Yaupon (the unfortunately named Ilex vomitoria) is a holly commonly used as yard decor in the southeast United States, but many North Americans will be surprised to learn that it is the source of a stimulant tea that has been in continuous use for nearly a millennium. Yaupon is more than a drink; it is a window into questions of identity, community belonging, and how the New World was inserted into the global economy. From Cabeza de Vaca's sixteenth-century brush with the beverage, yaupon has iterated between ceremony, medicine, and caffeinated tea as inhabitants of North America—Indigenous, enslaved, and settler colonial inhabitants of North America—have harnessed the leaf's properties to different, culturally situated aims. This article traces narratives, recipes, and medical descriptions of yaupon from contact to the present, and compares these against material and archeological records to explore differences between settler and extractive colonial encounters with Indigenous psychoactive substances (and thus indigeneity). The story of yaupon reveals contests between regimes of knowledge, the political economy of colonialisms, and the fraught intersections of identity and cuisine. Despite abundant ethnographic, documentary, and scientific evidence to the contrary, the scientific and medical literature long mislabeled yaupon as emetic. This raises questions about how knowledge is transferred and how scientific authority is constructed. I argue that indigeneity, race, and class have steered how yaupon has been understood, and help to explain why a popular caffeinated product waned at a time when the use of stimulants was increasing, and “proletarian hunger-killers” were on the rise.
AvesTerra: a framework for global-scale knowledge representation and analytic interoperability

AvesTerra is a distributed knowledge representation framework for integrating many large and disparate data systems and analytic components at global scale. This framework allows data created or curated by many different institutions to be linked into a single unified, dynamic knowledge representation structure. The resulting fabric provides participants with a means to engage in multidisciplinary research and collaboration spanning many information systems without requiring a sophisticated computer science understanding of the mechanics of "Big Data" manipulation. Furthermore, AvesTerra enables this integration without the need for centralized data aggregation or local high-performance computational infrastructure, leveraging instead the distributed resources of a diverse and highly distributed analytic community. At a core technical level, AvesTerra consists of a system of peer-to-peer servers that collectively form a readily scalable knowledge space. The mathematical structure of this space is that of a generalized, recursive hypergraph, enabling the representation of complex dependency structures often encountered when working towards global scale. The framework incorporates numerous computational constructs including event publication and subscription, parallel threading and timer support, a unique distributed rendezvous mechanism for agent-based organization, privacy isolation, and semantic structure execution. This presentation provides an overview of the full framework and a sampling of the applications currently under development.
Incident SARS-CoV-2 Infection among mRNA-Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Nursing Home Residents.

Vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Nursing Homes The authors examined incident SARS-CoV-2 infection after mRNA vaccination among residents of 280 nursing homes. A total of 18,242 residents rec...
Staghorn Calculus: A Stone out of Proportion to Pain.

Author(s): Malone, John; Gebner, Riley; Weyand, Jonathan | Abstract: Case Presentation: A 25-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with two weeks of crampy right-flank pain, and urinary urgency and frequency. She was found to have a staghorn calculus filling her entire right renal pelvis on computed tomography imaging.Discussion: In contrast to ureteral calculi, staghorn calculi are more commonly observed in female patients and typically present with an indolent clinical course. A low threshold for imaging should be maintained, as prompt referral to urology for stone removal or treatment is necessary. Staghorn calculi have a high likelihood of leading to renal failure or urosepsis without treatment.
Simplifying Choice of Law Interest Analysis

Modern choice of law doctrine invites judges to consider the interests that states have in applying their law to a dispute. But modern choice of law doctrine has never provided judges with a rubric by which to conduct this interest analysis. This trend continues in the proposed draft of the Restatement (Third) of Conflicts of Law. This paper attempts to fill that void by proposing an extremely simple rubric by which judges can determine whether a state has an interest in applying its law to a horizontal choice of law dispute. In actuality, the rubric proposed herein reaches the results that most courts have reached without the rubric. The rubric, however, will make it much easier to reach that result.
Sensing Atomic Motion from the Zero Point to Room Temperature with Ultrafast Atom Interferometry

We sense the motion of a trapped atomic ion using a sequence of state-dependent ultrafast momentum kicks. We use this atom interferometer to characterize a nearly pure quantum state with n=1 phonon and accurately measure thermal states ranging from near the zero-point energy to n[over ¯]~10^{4}, with the possibility of extending at least 100 times higher in energy. The complete energy range of this method spans from the ground state to far outside of the Lamb-Dicke regime, where atomic motion is greater than the optical wavelength. Apart from thermometry, these interferometric techniques are useful for characterizing ultrafast entangling gates between multiple trapped ions.
Gradient elution in column chromatography. The use of continuous linear gradients to approximate curved gradients by means of layered solutions.

Abstract A method is described and tested experimentally to produce a series of continuous linear gradients for column chromatography. This effect is achieved by layering solutions of different densities on top of each other in a cylindrical glass gradient apparatus.
In vitro electromagnetic stimulation to enhance cell proliferation in extracellular matrix constructs with and without metallic nanoparticles.

Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) can induce beneficial effects including enhanced protein synthesis and cell proliferation on healing bone and skin wounds. This study investigated the effects of ELF-EMFs on acellular tissue constructs with and without gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to determine if cell proliferation could be increase and thus provide an enhanced mechanism for in vitro cell seeding on tissue engineered constructs. Different sized AuNPs, 20 and 100 nm, were conjugated to acellular porcine tissue, seeded with L929 murine fibroblasts and exposed to a continuous 12 gauss, 60 Hz electromagnetic field for 2 hours each day up to 10 days. Scanning electron microscopy and cell culture assays were performed to ascertain cell proliferation and viability before and after exposure. Results indicate the ELF-EMF stimulation significantly increased cell proliferation. The presence of AuNPs did not boost the stimulatory effects, but they did demonstrated higher rates of proliferation from day 3 to day 10. In addition, unstimulated 100 nm AuNPs constructs resulted in significant increases in proliferation as compared to unstimulated crosslinked constructs. In conclusion, ELF-EMF stimulation enhanced cellular proliferation and while the presence of AuNPs did not significantly enhance this effect, AuNPs resulted in increased proliferation rates from day 3 to day 10. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 103B: 1532–1540, 2015.
Mitochondrial Activity and Cyr1 Are Key Regulators of Ras1 Activation of C. albicans Virulence Pathways

Candida albicans is both a major fungal pathogen and a member of the commensal human microflora. The morphological switch from yeast to hyphal growth is associated with disease and many environmental factors are known to influence the yeast-to-hyphae switch. The Ras1-Cyr1-PKA pathway is a major regulator of C. albicans morphogenesis as well as biofilm formation and white-opaque switching. Previous studies have shown that hyphal growth is strongly repressed by mitochondrial inhibitors. Here, we show that mitochondrial inhibitors strongly decreased Ras1 GTP-binding and activity in C. albicans and similar effects were observed in other Candida species. Consistent with there being a connection between respiratory activity and GTP-Ras1 binding, mutants lacking complex I or complex IV grew as yeast in hypha-inducing conditions, had lower levels of GTP-Ras1, and Ras1 GTP-binding was unaffected by respiratory inhibitors. Mitochondria-perturbing agents decreased intracellular ATP concentrations and metabolomics analyses of cells grown with different respiratory inhibitors found consistent perturbation of pyruvate metabolism and the TCA cycle, changes in redox state, increased catabolism of lipids, and decreased sterol content which suggested increased AMP kinase activity. Biochemical and genetic experiments provide strong evidence for a model in which the activation of Ras1 is controlled by ATP levels in an AMP kinase independent manner. The Ras1 GTPase activating protein, Ira2, but not the Ras1 guanine nucleotide exchange factor, Cdc25, was required for the reduction of Ras1-GTP in response to inhibitor-mediated reduction of ATP levels. Furthermore, Cyr1, a well-characterized Ras1 effector, participated in the control of Ras1-GTP binding in response to decreased mitochondrial activity suggesting a revised model for Ras1 and Cyr1 signaling in which Cyr1 and Ras1 influence each other and, together with Ira2, seem to form a master-regulatory complex necessary to integrate different environmental and intracellular signals, including metabolic status, to decide the fate of cellular morphology.
Project Emissions Estimator: Implementation of a Project-Based Framework for Monitoring the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Pavement

Because of the need to address challenges of global climate change, a project-based framework was developed and implemented for life-cycle assessment (LCA) that could be used to estimate the carbon footprint for typical construction work items in highway reconstruction and rehabilitation projects. The proposed framework considers the life-cycle emissions of products and processes involved in the raw material acquisition and manufacturing phase as well as the pavement construction phase. The framework also accounts for emissions from vehicular use and maintenance operations during the service life of the pavement. The framework introduces methods based on LCA to develop inventories of project emissions for highway construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance projects as well as to analyze inventories for the calculation of project-level construction metrics for estimating emissions. Fourteen highway construction and rehabilitation projects in Michigan were used to implement the method and validate the app...
Analysis and control of BJT latch in fully depleted floating-body submicron SOI MOSFETs

The floating-body bipolar junction transistor (BJT) effects in fully depleted 0.5- mu m n-channel SOI (silicon on insulator) MOSFETs are analyzed, based on two-dimensional device simulations and on device measurements. PISCES simulations of the BJT-induced breakdown and latch phenomena are done, and parametric dependences are examined to give physical insight for optimal design. The analysis further relates the DC-breakdown and latch mechanisms in the fully depleted SOI MOSFET to the actual BJT-induced problems in an operating SOI CMOS circuit. A comprehensive understanding of floating-body effects is attained. >
Effects of voluntary activity and genetic selection on aerobic capacity in house mice (Mus domesticus)

Swallow, John G., Theodore Garland, Jr., Patrick A. Carter, Wen-Zhi Zhan, and Gary C. Sieck. Effects of voluntary activity and genetic selection on aerobic capacity in house mice (Mus domesticus).J...
Institutional analysis of payments for watershed services in the western United States

Abstract Payments for watershed services (PWS) have emerged as one of the fastest growing segments of the broader conservation strategy of payments for ecosystem services over the past decade. Institutional factors are key to the design and performance of PWS, yet empirical research remains a gap in the literature. Here, we collected and analysed information on the institutional characteristics of the 41 active PWS programs in 2012 in the western United States, a region containing one of the highest concentrations of PWS globally. Cluster analysis identified four main groupings around buyer types and management actions. Many programs pursued a PWS structure as a new approach, often including participants in new roles (e.g., nongovernmental organizations as facilitating transactions), to comply with existing regulations or addressing escalating water resource threats. Our results highlight the important interactions between overarching regional factors (e.g., federal policies, water rights) and diverse local conditions (e.g., land ownership, resource challenges) in shaping the institutional structure of individual PWS programs. A key gap remains collecting robust information on PWS performance. As such, this work provides a baseline for future longitudinal institutional analysis to link program structure and performance to inform PWS research and practice.
Sodium fluoride induces phosphoinositide hydrolysis, Ca2+ mobilization, and prostacyclin synthesis in cultured human endothelium: further evidence for regulation by a pertussis toxin-insensitive guanine nucleotide-binding protein.

The role of guanine nucleotide-binding proteins in the induction of prostacyclin synthesis by stimulated endothelial cells is incompletely understood. We report that sodium fluoride (NaF), a potent activator of cellular guanine nucleotide-binding proteins, affected time- and concentration-dependent generation of prostacyclin (PGI2) by cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells without evidence of cellular toxicity detected by 51Cr or lactate dehydrogenase release. PGI2 synthesis by NaF-stimulated endothelial cells was associated with increases in arachidonate release, phosphoinositide hydrolysis, generation of inositol phosphates, and accumulation of diacylglycerol. These responses to NaF, as well as α-thrombin-mediated responses, were not dependent upon the availability of extracellular free Ca2+ but were associated with the mobilization of stored intracellular Ca2+ detected by the luminescence of the photoprotein aequorin. Neither PGI2 synthesis nor Ca2+ responses following α-thrombin or NaF stimul...