cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Seismicity in the Kingdom of Bhutan (1937–2003): Evidence for crustal transcurrent deformation

We investigate moderate-sized historic to recent earthquakes in the Bhutan Himalaya spanning the years from 1937 to 2003. We find that few moderate-sized earthquakes occurred in the region during this time period. In order to better characterize the seismicity, we relocate all earthquakes and estimate focal mechanisms for events for which we have adequate data. We use first motion data for older events and waveform model digital seismograms for three earthquakes that occurred in 1980 (M w = 6.4), 1995 (M w = 5.4), and 2003 (M w = 5.4). For the modern events, we utilize three techniques for focal mechanism and depth determination: regional full waveform time domain modeling of the two moderate (M w = 5.4) events, and surface wave spectral method and body wave depth modeling approach for the M w = 6.4 event. We find that the first motion and digital data focal mechanisms are mostly strike-slip, with midcrustal to deep crustal depths. Although no recent great event has occurred along the main Himalayan thrust, the Indian plate is undergoing significant, midcrustal to deep crustal transcurrent deformation, likely due to oblique convergence of the Indian-Asian collision in this region. Unlike oceanic-continent oblique subduction, strike-slip and thrust partitioning occurs throughout the crust, not in distinct zones. The geological and geophysical nature of the Bhutan Himalaya appears significantly different than other Himalayan regions due to the strike-slip nature of many of the events, an out of sequence thrust fault, and the implications of deformation in the Shillong Plateau.
Meta-analysis of cohort and case-control studies of type 2 diabetes mellitus and risk of atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is 1 of the most clinically diagnosed cardiac disturbances but little is known about its risk factors. Previous epidemiologic studies have reported on the association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and subsequent risk of AF, with inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of published studies to reliably determine the direction and magnitude of any association between DM and AF. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted. PubMed and EMBASE were searched to identify prospective cohort and case–control studies that had reported on the association between DM and other measurements of glucose homeostasis with incident AF by April 2010. Studies conducted in primarily high-risk populations and participants in randomized controlled trials were excluded. Seven prospective cohort studies and 4 case–control studies with information on 108,703 cases of AF in 1,686,097 subjects contributed to this analysis. The summary estimate indicated that patients with DM had an approximate 40% greater risk of AF compared to unaffected patients (relative risk [RR] 1.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10 to 1.75, p for heterogeneity
Enhancement of Vehicle Speed Estimation with Single Loop Detectors

Traffic data from single loop detectors are a dominant data source widely used in traffic operation centers and traveler information systems. Speed estimation from single loop detectors is based mainly on occupancy data, a conversion factor from occupancy to density (which is related to vehicle length), and the assumed relationship between flow, speed, and density. The discrepancy between the speed estimated with single loops and the speed measured directly from double loops was investigated. It was found that the inaccuracy of speed estimation done with single loops was caused mainly by the irregular behavior of vehicle pace. Under congested or unstable traffic conditions, the distribution of vehicle pace within a given time interval often exhibits a large variance accompanied by a strong skewness. Accuracy in speed estimation can be improved by computing occupancy in a different way—by using median vehicle passage time over the detector—instead of mean vehicle passage time, often used in the conventiona...
1,2‐Bis(t‐butyldimethylsilyl)hydrazine

[10000-20-1] C12H32N2Si2 (MW 260.57) InChI = 1S/C12H32N2Si2/c1-11(2,3)15(7,8)13-14-16(9,10)12(4,5)6/h13-14H,1-10H3 InChIKey = AIZSLKRCSRDHKC-UHFFFAOYSA-N (source of latent hydrazine used in the preparation of stable alkyl and aryl N-silyl hydrazones, gem-dihalides, vinyl halides, and room temperature Wolff–Kishner reductions) Alternative Names: BTBSH. Physical Data: bp 118–119 °C/9 Torr;1 55–65 °C/0.05 Torr;2 n25D 1.4456. Form Supplied in: colorless liquid. Preparative Methods: prepared by reacting tert-butyldimethylchlorosilane with anhydrous hydrazine at 70 °C (eq 1), with or without solvent. (1) Purification: fractional distillation. Handling, Storage, and Precaution: this reagent should be viewed as a latent source of hydrazine; all safety precautions relating to the handling of hydrazine should be considered applicable to this reagent.
Chance Mechanisms in Computer Generation of Random Variables

This paper is a first attempt at developing a unifying theory for various procedures used in the generation of indenendent, univariate, random variables on a computer. Some generalizations and new interpretations of existing methods are presented. The emphasis is on chance mechanisms. Considerations of inference are irrelevant in that the user of random numbers is interested only in the accuracy of their distributions and in the computational efficiency with which they are generated.
An art gallery approach to ensuring that landmarks are distinguishable

How many different classes of partially distinguishable landmarks are needed to ensure that a robot can always see a landmark without simultaneously seeing two of the same class? To study this, we introduce the chromatic art gallery problem. A guard set S ⊂ P is a set of points in a polygon P such that for all p ∈ P , there exists an s ∈ S such that s and p are mutually visible. Suppose that two members of a finite guard set S ⊂ P must be given different colors if their visible regions overlap. What is the minimum number of colors required to color any guard set (not necessarily a minimal guard set) of a polygon P? We call this number, χG(P ), the chromatic guard number of P . We believe this problem has never been examined before, and it has potential applications to robotics, surveillance, sensor networks, and other areas. We show that for any spiral polygon Pspi, χG(Pspi) ≤ 2, and for any staircase polygon (strictly monotone orthogonal polygon) Psta, χG(Psta) ≤ 3. For lower bounds, we construct a polygon with 4k vertices that requires k colors. We also show that for any positive integer k, there exists a monotone polygon Mk with 3k vertices such that χG(Mk) ≥ k, and for any odd integer k, there exists an orthogonal polygon Rk with 4k + 10k + 10 vertices such that χG(Rk) ≥ k.
Pathway and Strain Design for Biofuels Production

Abstract Biofuel production involves the optimization of metabolic pathways to maximize productivity and yield. Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology have been essential for allowing new technologies to be developed. However, substrates, intermediates, products often cause chemical toxicity, interfere with metabolic processes, and damage cellular infrastructure. Therefore, it is imperative to design engineering strategies to improve microorganisms' viability against the aforementioned stresses. Furthermore, for optimal performance it is essential to have a balanced expression of metabolic pathways. Advancements in pathway and strain design have led to the development of tools to do so. Such strategies include protein engineering to increase enzyme activity, specificity, and stability, the utilization of protein complexes, promoter engineering, ribosome binding site engineering, as well as in silico modeling to identify growth-coupled strain design that increases product yield.
Photoinduced phase transitions in narrow-gap Mott insulators: The case of VO 2

We study the nonequilibrium dynamics of photoexcited electrons in the narrow-gap Mott insulator ${\mathrm{VO}}_{2}$. The initial stages of relaxation are treated using a quantum Boltzmann equation methodology, which reveals a rapid ($\ensuremath{\sim}\text{femtosecond}$ time scale) relaxation to a pseudothermal state characterized by a few parameters that vary slowly in time. The long-time limit is then studied by a Hartree-Fock methodology, which reveals the possibility of nonequilibrium excitation to a new metastable ${M}_{1}$ metal phase that is qualitatively consistent with a recent experiment. The general physical picture of photoexcitation driving a correlated electron system to a new state that is not accessible in equilibrium may be applicable in similar materials.
Lymphatic endothelial lineage assemblage during corneal lymphangiogenesis

Postnatal inflammatory lymphangiogenesis presumably requires precise regulatory processes to properly assemble proliferating lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs). The specific mechanisms that regulate the assembly of LECs during new lymphatic vessel synthesis are unclear. Dynamic endothelial shuffling and rearrangement has been proposed as a mechanism of blood vessel growth. We developed genetic lineage-tracing strategies using an inductive transgenic technology to track the fate of entire tandem dimer tomato-positive (tdT) lymphatic vessels or small, in some cases clonal, populations of LECs. We coupled this platform with a suture-induced mouse model of corneal lymphangiogenesis and used different analytic microscopy techniques including serial live imaging to study the spatial properties of proliferating tdT(+) LEC progenies. LEC precursors and their progeny expanded from the corneal limbal lymphatic vessel and were assembled contiguously to comprise a subunit within a new lymphatic vessel. VE-cadherin blockade induced morphologic abnormalities in newly synthesized lymphatic vessels, but did not disrupt the tdT(+) lymphatic endothelial lineage assembly. Analysis of this static and dynamic data based largely on direct in vivo observations supports a model of lymphatic endothelial lineage assemblage during corneal inflammatory lymphangiogenesis.
Inpatient Management of the Borderline Patient

Patients with a borderline personality organization evoke unique problems and treatment dilemmas among members of an inpatient treatment team. The first section of this article addresses the many problems and complexities involved in the management of borderline patients in an intensive inpatient psychiatric setting. The second section describes guidelines, approaches, and therapeutic interventions aimed at reducing destructive influences and maximizing treatment outcome.
Pitfalls and Tradeoffs in Simultaneous, On-Chip FPGA Delay Measurement

Recent work shows how to use on-chip structures to measure the fabricated delays of fine-grained resources on modern FPGAs. We show that simultaneous measurement of multiple, disjoint paths will result in different measured delays from isolated configurations that measure a single path. On the Cyclone III, we show differences as large as +/-33ps on 2ns-long paths, even if the simultaneously configured logic is not active. This is over 20x the measurement precision used on these devices and over 50% of the observed delay spread in prior work. We characterize the magnitude of the impact of simultaneous measurements and identify strategies and cases that can reduce the difference. Furthermore, we provide a potential explanation for our observations in terms of self-heating and the configurable clock network architecture. These experiments point to phenomena that must be characterized to better formulate on-chip FPGA delay measurements and to properly interpret their results.
Canal geometry changes associated with axial compressive cervical spine fracture.

Study Design. A laboratory study using isolated ligamentous human cadaveric carvical spines to investigate canal occlusion during (transient) and after (steady-state) axial compressive fracture. Objectives. To determine whether differences exist between transient and postinjury canal occlusion under axial compressive loading, and to examine the effect of loading rate on canal occlusion. Summary of Background Data. Prior studies have shown no correlation between neurologic deficit and canal occlusion measurements made on radiographs and computed tomography scans. The authors hypothesized that postinjury radiographic assessment does not provide an appreciation for the transient occlusion that occurs during the traumatic fracture event, which may significantly affect the neurologic outcome. Methods. Twelve human cervical spines were instrumerited with a specially designed canal occlusion transducer, which dynamically monitored canal occlusion during axial compressive impact. Six specimens were subjected to a fast-loading rate time to peak load, ∼20 msec), and the other six were subjected to a slow-loading rate (time to peak load, ∼250 msec). After impact, two different postinjury canal occlusion measurements were performed. Results. Each of the six specimens subjected to the fast-loading rate incurred burst fractures, whereas the slow-loading rate produced six wedge-compression fractures. For the fast-rate group, the postinjury occlusion-measurements were significantly smaller than the transient occlusion. In contrast, transient occlusion was not found to be significantly different from postinjury occlusion in the slow-rate group. All of the comparisons between loading rate grpup. All of the comparisons between loading rate groups showed significant differences, with the fast-rate fractures producing larger amounts of canal occlusion in every category. Conclusions. The findings indicate that even if canal occlusion could be measured immediately after axial compressive trauma, the measurement would underestimate the maximal amount of transient canal occlusion. Therefore, postinjury measurement of canal occlusion may indicate a smaller degree of neurologic deficit than what might be expected if the transient occlusion could be measured.
Migration in the Guano Bat Tadarida Brasiliensis Mexicana (Saussure)

This paper attempts to marshal all of the evidence available from various sources (including: published observations of fluctuations in population size; field observations in Mexico; field observations in Arizona; banding activities in Mexico; banding activities in Arizona; and banding activities by others), interprets the evidence under the headings of discussion of observations on fluctuations in population size and discussion of results of banding activities and concludes that the guano bat, Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana (Saussure), is seasonally migratory, at least from the northern parts of its range in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
The role of stochastic and deterministic processes in structuring neotropical bat communities

The extent to which deterministic or stochastic processes affect the composition and morphological structure of communities is an intense debate in evolutionary ecology. For many years, competition was considered to be the dominant deterministic factor that affected structure of animal communities. More specifically, interspecific competition can affect morphological patterns within communities by either size assortment or size adjustment. We investigated the extent to which size assortment could have structured bat assemblages from two well-defined bat communities from northeast Brazil by comparing real ecomorphological characteristics (mean and variance of segment lengths of minimum-spanning trees from principal component scores) to the distribution of like statistics obtained from simulations derived from nested-species pools. Regardless of species pool, the ecomorphological patterns of bat assemblages were no more structured than expected by random selection of taxa from the available species pool. This was true for frugivorous, nectarivorous, and foliage-gleaning insectivorous guilds, and for the phyllostomid community in general, from both Caatinga and edaphic Cerrado biomes. The alternative hypothesis, that coevolutionary processes determine ecomorphological patterns in these neotropical communities, similarly is not supported by our results. The characteristic spatial and temporal heterogeneity of northeast Brazil, combined with the mobile nature of bats, could decrease the intensity, pervasiveness, or predominance of deterministic interactions, thereby leading to an ecomorphological structure indistinguishable from that produced by stochastic processes.
Insertions of Cyclic and Acyclic Germanium and Tin Heterocarbenoids into Phosphorus–Chlorine Bonds: Syntheses, Structures, and Reactivities

Chloro(organo)phosphines are important precursors to diphosphenes and cyclic oligophosphines. Although chloro(organo)phosphines are commonly reduced with bulk metals (e.g., Na, Mg, and Zn), these reactions are much more selective when done homogeneously. To test whether group 14 heterocarbenoid reductions yield isolable insertion products, the mono- and dichloro(organo)phosphines PhPCl2 (A), Ph2PCl (B), tBuPCl2 (C), tBu2PCl (D), and bis(dichlorophosphino)methane (PCl2)2CH2 (E) were treated with the cyclic Me2Si(μ-NtBu)2El (El = Ge (1), Sn (2)) and the acyclic [(Me3Si)2N]2El (El = Ge (3), Sn (4)) heterocarbenoids. The sterically least-encumbered phosphines were more reactive, while the cyclic stannylene 2 was the most reactive and the acyclic germylene 3 was the least reactive. All but one of the products were either mono- or diinsertion compounds, the lone exception being a distannane derived from 2. Semikinetic and structural data suggest that the tetravalent group 14 compounds are formed via an insertio...
Factors associated with the timeliness of postnatal surgical repair of spina bifida.

Purpose Clinical guidelines recommend repair of open spina bifida (SB) prenatally or within the first days of an infant’s life. We examined maternal, infant, and health care system factors associated with time-to-repair among infants with postnatal repair.
Effect of adrenergic agonists on coronary blood flow: a laboratory study in healthy volunteers

Myocardial oxygen supply and demand mismatch is fundamental to the pathophysiology of ischemia and infarction. The sympathetic nervous system, through α ‐adrenergic receptors and β ‐adrenergic receptors, influences both myocardial oxygen supply and demand. In animal models, mechanistic studies have established that adrenergic receptors contribute to coronary vascular tone. The purpose of this laboratory study was to noninvasively quantify coronary responses to adrenergic receptor stimulation in humans. Fourteen healthy volunteers (11 men and 3 women) performed isometric handgrip exercise to fatigue followed by intravenous infusion of isoproterenol. A subset of individuals also received infusions of phenylephrine ( n = 6), terbutaline ( n = 10), and epinephrine ( n = 4); all dosages were based on fat‐free mass and were infused slowly to achieve steady‐state. The left anterior descending coronary artery was visualized using Doppler echocardiography. Beat‐by‐beat heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), peak diastolic coronary velocity (CBVpeak), and coronary velocity time integral were calculated. Data are presented as M ± SD. Isometric handgrip elicited significant increases in BP, HR, and CBVpeak (from 23.3 ± 5.3 to 34.5 ± 9.9 cm/sec). Isoproterenol raised HR and CBVpeak (from 22.6 ± 4.8 to 43.9 ± 12.4 cm/sec). Terbutaline and epinephrine evoked coronary hyperemia whereas phenylephrine did not significantly alter CBVpeak. Different indices of coronary hyperemia (changes in CBVpeak and velocity time integral) were significantly correlated ( R = 0.803). The current data indicate that coronary hyperemia occurs in healthy humans in response to isometric handgrip exercise and low‐dose, steady‐state infusions of isoproterenol, terbutaline, and epinephrine. The contribution of β 1 versus β 2 receptors to coronary hyperemia remains to be determined. In this echocardiographic study, we demonstrate that coronary blood flow increases when β ‐adrenergic receptors are stimulated (i.e., during exercise and different intravenous infusions). Our infusion paradigms and beat‐by‐beat imaging methodologies can be used in future studies to evaluate age‐, sex‐, and disease‐ differences in adrenergic control of coronary blood flow.
Effect of Assembly pH on Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Surface Properties and BMP-2 Release

The effect of solution pH during layer-by-layer assembly of polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) coatings on properties relevant to orthopedic implant success was investigated. Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2), a potent osteoconductive growth factor, was adsorbed onto the surface of anodized titanium, and PEM coatings prepared from solutions of poly-l-histidine and poly(methacrylic acid) were built on top of the BMP-2. High levels of BMP-2 released over several months were achieved. Approximately 2 μg/cm2 of BMP-2 were initially adsorbed on the anodized titanium and a pH-dependent release behavior was observed, with more stable coatings assembled at pH = 6–7. Three different diffusion regimes could be determined from the release profiles: an initial burst release, a sustained release regime, and a depletion regime. BMP-2 was shown to maintain bioactivity after release from a PEM and the presence of a PEM was shown to preserve BMP-2 structure. No visible change was observed in surface roughness as the asse...
Abdominal Binding and Counterpulsation in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

During the past 15 years, many different studies have documented improved blood pressure and blood flow above the diaphragm when some type of abdominal compression was added to conventional CPR, either in animals or in humans. Rhythmically interposed abdominal compressions seem to provide even greater hemodynamic benefit than continuous abdominal binding. Both total flow and the distribution of flow to vital organs above the diaphragm are improved, while the chances of liver entrapment and damage during chest compression are reduced. The technique of interposed abdominal compression can be performed with the bare hands of a second or third rescuer. It requires no special equipment, and could be easily incorporated into existing training programs for basic rescuers. In this sense the technique may constitute a logical evolution in basic life support, if subsequent clinical research confirms that it improves outcome.
Improving the Quality and Utilization of Critical Care

Critical care units have proliferated over the past three decades and the cost of care in these units has increased dramatically during that period. These units have flourished despite a surprising lack of adequate data to support their overall efficacy, and indeed a number of studies suggest that many patients admitted to these units are either too ill or too healthy to benefit. Dr Luce reviews recent changes in the organization and delivery of critical care and argues that the utilization and quality of critical care units can be improved through a combination of strategies. He advocates two strategies to decrease the demand for, or increase the supply of, critical care beds: more efficient use of intermediate care units and the development of clear institutional guidelines regarding the termination of treatment. In addition, although nominally eschewing the use of "formal" rationing policies, he advocates the development of admission and discharge policies to guide physicians during periods of low bed availability. Finally, he advocates greater leadership roles for professional critical care unit directors. This final suggestion has great merit but, as Dr Luce recognizes, a heightened role for critical care unit directors raises ethical and legal issues about the autonomy of both patients and physicians that need to be explored thoroughly.
Is There More Than One Signal in IGO Membership

Recent works argue intergovernmental organizational (IGO) membership can costly signals of low political risk in foreign investments, thereby incentivizing FDI. I ask a related question in this paper: can different institutional mechanisms within IGO membership send different levels of costly signals against political risk in FDI? This article explores two institutional compliance verification mechanisms: submitting evidence for compliance verification and passing a third-party assessment of compliance. I argue how differences between these institutional mechanisms exemplify how IGOs theoretically have different signaling costs of political risks. Through the examination of FDI inflows from 1988 to 2010, this project explores whether passing a third party audit of compliance with banking regulations designed by the Bank of International Settlements significantly reduces fears of political risk in a country and, in turn, results in more FDI inflows than a government submission of records for verification. Specifically, this project lays out a statistical analysis to explore whether investment into a country’s banking sector increases after a state voluntarily undergoes an audit by the Bank of International Settlement’s monitoring arm, the Financial Stability Assessment Program (FSAP). I find statistical evidence that passing a Financial Stability audit sends a stronger signal of low political risk than the act submitting records for banking rule compliance verification and results in comparatively more FDI inflows.
SU-F-J-123: CT-Based Determination of DIBH Variability and Its Dosimetric Impact On Post-Mastectomy Plus Regional Nodal Radiation Therapy

Purpose: Breast cancer radiotherapy delivered using voluntary deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) requires reproducible breath holds, particularly when matching supraclavicular fields to tangential fields. We studied the impact of variation in DIBHs on CTV and OAR dose metrics by comparing the dose distribution computed on two DIBH CT scans taken at the time of simulation. Methods: Ten patients receiving 50Gy in 25 fractions to the left chestwall and regional lymph nodes were studied. Two simulation CT scans were taken during separate DIBHs along with a free-breathing (FB) scan. The treatment was planned using one DIBH CT. The dose was recomputed on the other two scans using adaptive planning (Pinnacle 9.10) in which the scans are registered using a cross-correlation algorithm. The chestwall, lymph nodes and OARs were contoured on the scans following the RTOG consensus guidelines. The overall translational and rotational variation between the DIBH scans was used to estimate positional variation between breath-holds. Dose metrics between plans were compared using paired t-tests (p < 0.05) and means and standard deviations were reported. Results: The registration parameters were sub-millimeter and sub-degree. Although DIBH significantly reduced mean heart dose by 2.4Gy compared to FB (p < 0.01), no significant changes in dose were observed for targets or OARs between the two DIBH scans. Nodal coverage as assessed by V90% was 90%±8% and 89%±8% for supraclavicular and 99%±2% and 97%±22% for IM nodes. Though a significant decrease (10.5%±12.4%) in lung volume in the second DIBH CT was observed, the lung V20Gy was unchanged (14±2% and 14±3%) between the two DIBH scans. Conclusion: While the lung volume often varied between DIBHs, the CTV and OAR dose metrics were largely unchanged. This indicates that manual DIBH has the potential to provide consistent dose delivery to the chestwall and regional nodes targets when using matched fields.
Endoscopic Mucosal Resection for Barrett's Esophagus

Abstract Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is an increasingly popular minimally invasive technique that is used for the management of superficial lesions in the upper and lower gastrointestinal tract. The goal of this article is to describe the indications and technique of EMR, with a focus on the endoscopic management of Barrett's esophagus (BE). The two major EMR techniques—cap EMR and band EMR—will be presented, along with a discussion of their efficacy as well as their integration into the broader treatment paradigm of endoscopic eradication therapy for BE.
The key physical properties of combustible dust

This chapter briefly introduces several important concepts regarding the physical properties of combustible dust. The concepts of particle size and shape are discussed first. Visualizing a collection of combustible dust particles as perfect sphere of uniform shape is an important and useful conceptual model for exploring the hazards of combustible dust. Real particles come in an assortment of sizes and shapes. Describing the population of particles requires the use of particle size statistics. I discuss briefly the physical properties of single particles, populations of particles, and bulk properties of dusts. Some of the major challenges in sampling dust deposits are reviewed and guidelines for developing a sampling protocol are presented.
No-gold-standard evaluation of image-acquisition methods using patient data.

Several new and improved modalities, scanners, and protocols, together referred to as image-acquisition methods (IAMs), are being developed to provide reliable quantitative imaging. Objective evaluation of these IAMs on the clinically relevant quantitative tasks is highly desirable. Such evaluation is most reliable and clinically decisive when performed with patient data, but that requires the availability of a gold standard, which is often rare. While no-goldstandard (NGS) techniques have been developed to clinically evaluate quantitative imaging methods, these techniques require that each of the patients be scanned using all the IAMs, which is expensive, time consuming, and could lead to increased radiation dose. A more clinically practical scenario is where different set of patients are scanned using different IAMs. We have developed an NGS technique that uses patient data where different patient sets are imaged using different IAMs to compare the different IAMs. The technique posits a linear relationship, characterized by a slope, bias, and noise standard-deviation term, between the true and measured quantitative values. Under the assumption that the true quantitative values have been sampled from a unimodal distribution, a maximum-likelihood procedure was developed that estimates these linear relationship parameters for the different IAMs. Figures of merit can be estimated using these linear relationship parameters to evaluate the IAMs on the basis of accuracy, precision, and overall reliability. The proposed technique has several potential applications such as in protocol optimization, quantifying difference in system performance, and system harmonization using patient data.
A computational method for estimating the PCR duplication rate in DNA and RNA-seq experiments.

PCR amplification is an important step in the preparation of DNA sequencing libraries prior to high-throughput sequencing. PCR amplification introduces redundant reads in the sequence data and estimating the PCR duplication rate is important to assess the frequency of such reads. Existing computational methods do not distinguish PCR duplicates from “natural” read duplicates that represent independent DNA fragments and therefore, over-estimate the PCR duplication rate for DNA-seq and RNA-seq experiments. In this paper, we present a computational method to estimate the average PCR duplication rate of high-throughput sequence datasets that accounts for natural read duplicates by leveraging heterozygous variants in an individual genome. Analysis of simulated data and exome sequence data from the 1000 Genomes project demonstrated that our method can accurately estimate the PCR duplication rate on paired-end as well as single-end read datasets which contain a high proportion of natural read duplicates. Further, analysis of exome datasets prepared using the Nextera library preparation method indicated that 45–50% of read duplicates correspond to natural read duplicates likely due to fragmentation bias. Finally, analysis of RNA-seq datasets from individuals in the 1000 Genomes project demonstrated that 70–95% of read duplicates observed in such datasets correspond to natural duplicates sampled from genes with high expression and identified outlier samples with a 2-fold greater PCR duplication rate than other samples. The method described here is a useful tool for estimating the PCR duplication rate of high-throughput sequence datasets and for assessing the fraction of read duplicates that correspond to natural read duplicates. An implementation of the method is available at https://github.com/vibansal/PCRduplicates .
Prognostic impact of renal insufficiency (RI) at diagnosis in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

7084 Background: Renal function has a well-established prognostic role in patients with some hematological malignancies, such as multiple myeloma. However, its impact on survival in patients with C...
Small sample reliability growth modeling using a grey systems model

ABSTRACTWhen performing system-level developmental testing, time and expenses generally warrant a small sample size for failure data. Upon failure discovery, redesigns and/or corrective actions can be implemented to improve system reliability. Current methods for estimating reliability growth, namely the Crow (AMSAA) growth model, stipulate that parameter estimates have a great level of uncertainty when dealing with small sample sizes. For purposes of handling limited failure data, we propose the use of a modified GM(1,1) model to predict system reliability growth parameters and investigate how parameter estimates are affected by systems whose failures follow a poly-Weibull distribution. Monte-Carlo simulation is used to map the response surface of system reliability, and results are used to compare the accuracy of the modified GM(1,1) model to that of the AMSAA growth model. It is shown that with small sample sizes and multiple failure modes, the modified GM(1,1) model is more accurate than the AMSAA mod...
Rating Scales for Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety is defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 2000)) as an “apprehensive anticipation of future danger or misfortune accompanied by a feeling of dysphoria or somatic symptoms of tension” (American Psychiatric Association (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 2000 p. 820)). The anxiety disorders in the DSM-IV include panic disorder with and without agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, specific phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Measures for evaluating anxiety disorders can be useful in clinical practice and research as a tool for measuring change due to treatment, comparing disorder severity and symptom presentation across groups, motivating patients by systematically discussing the extent of their symptoms and impairment, and informing the clinician of symptom presentation and areas of impairment in each individual patient. This chapter is designed to aid clinicians and researchers in choosing empirically driven measures to guide their clinical and research endeavors for each of the aforementioned anxiety disorders. Whenever appropriate, measures are reprinted to facilitate this process.
Chemogenomics in Drug Discovery – The Druggable Genome and Target Class Properties

Large scale analysis of structure–activity relationships and screening data is enabling the emergence of chemogenomics approaches to understanding the relationships between chemical space and biological target space. Here, we present several example of how chemogenomics is enabling drug discovery by elucidating the relationship between the physico-chemical properties of molecular binding sites and ligands. A survey of the known landscape of proteins expressed from the human genome, for which leads have been discovered or by orthology are predicted to be druggable, present the pallet of drug targets for medicinal chemists. From this survey significant differences in the physical properties of ligands for different gene families are observed, with the ligands of several gene families are far from drug-like property space.
The Rhetorical Education of William Jennings Bryan: Isocrates, Character, and Imitation

ABSTRACTIn the late American nineteenth century, oratory was de rigueur. Institutionally, liberal arts colleges sought to distinguish themselves by teaching moral character. Such an ethotic education was sine qua non for any student of political oratory. This essay argues that such an emphasis on character and oratory, coupled with Illinois College’s rhetorical curriculum and extracurricular events, afforded a kairotic and didactic moment for William Jennings Bryan to learn and practice Isocrates’ brand of rhetorical paideia. Taught primarily through the use of paradigm cases and imitation, Isocrates emphasized the import of a speaker’s ethos over the art itself. Bryan shared this perspective. Drawing from both “Against the Sophists” and “Antidosis,” we conduct a comparative analysis by reading Isocrates’ ethotic-based rhetorical theory alongside of Bryan’s 1881 graduating oration entitled “Character.”
An adaptive two-stage dual metamodeling approach for stochastic simulation experiments

In this article we propose an adaptive two-stage dual metamodeling approach for stochastic simulation experiments, aiming at exploiting the benefits of fitting the mean and variance function models...
Making the Familiar Strange (Swan)

This chapter references pedagogical scholarship related to Dr. Swan’s use of inclusion in larger courses regarding the artistic production of minority groups, but whose works are not a primary focus of the course. The larger power dynamics of the classroom are discussed along with notions about how instructors might present course content that is considered “canonical” while still teaching students how to question that construction. Focus is placed on pedagogical approaches that teach students how to approach and understand materials from past or foreign cultures, including ones that need sociopolitical contextualization to understand how they have been traditionally studied. There are also suggestions on how to effectively engage today’s students with material that may seem unrelated or even an anathema to their own outlook or lived experience.
Single-nucleotide resolution dynamic repair maps of UV damage in Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome.

We have adapted the eXcision Repair-sequencing (XR-seq) method to generate single-nucleotide resolution dynamic repair maps of UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and (6-4) pyrimidine–pyrimidone photoproducts in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome. We find that these photoproducts are removed from the genome primarily by incisions 13–18 nucleotides 5′ and 6–7 nucleotides 3′ to the UV damage that generate 21- to 27-nt-long excision products. Analyses of the excision repair kinetics both in single genes and at the genome-wide level reveal strong transcription-coupled repair of the transcribed strand at early time points followed by predominantly nontranscribed strand repair at later stages. We have also characterized the excision repair level as a function of the transcription level. The availability of high-resolution and dynamic repair maps should aid in future repair and mutagenesis studies in this model organism.
Information Seeking Among Women Aged 18 to 25 About the Risk of Sexual Aggression

Many researchers have studied risk factors related to sexual violence, and few studies have explored what differences account for the various ways women seek information about sexual violence. This...
Engaged Journalism in Rural Communities

With a growing interest in audience engagement and membership models in local journalism, engagement has been positioned as the one-stone that may address the two-birds of building trust and financ...
Is Rapamycin a Dietary Restriction Mimetic

Since the initial suggestion that rapamycin, an inhibitor of target of rapamycin (TOR) nutrient signaling, increased lifespan comparable to dietary restriction, investigators have viewed rapamycin as a potential dietary restriction mimetic. Both dietary restriction and rapamycin increase lifespan across a wide range of evolutionarily diverse species (including yeast, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila, and mice) as well as reducing pathology and improving physiological functions that decline with age in mice. The purpose of this article is to review the research comparing the effect of dietary restriction and rapamycin in mice. The current data show that dietary restriction and rapamycin have different effects on many pathways and molecular processes. In addition, these interventions affect the lifespan of many genetically manipulated mouse models differently. In other words, while dietary restriction and rapamycin may have similar effects on some pathways and processes; overall, they affect many pathways/processes quite differently. Therefore, rapamycin is likely not a true dietary restriction mimetic. Rather dietary restriction and rapamycin appear to be increasing lifespan and retarding aging largely through different mechanisms/pathways, suggesting that a combination of dietary restriction and rapamycin will have a greater effect on lifespan than either manipulation alone.
Eye-Write: Gaze Sharing for Collaborative Writing

Online collaborative writing is an increasingly common practice. Despite its positive effect on productivity and quality of work, it poses challenges to co-authors in remote settings because of limitations in conversational grounding and activity awareness. This paper presents Eye-Write, a novel system which allows two co-authors to see at will the location of their partner's gaze within a text editor. To investigate the effect of shared gaze on collaboration, we conducted a study on synchronous remote collaborative writing in academic settings with 20 dyads. Gaze sharing improved five aspects of perceived collaboration quality: mutual understanding, level of joint attention, flow of communication, level of negotiation, and awareness of the co-author's activity. Furthermore, dyads whose participants deactivated the gaze visualization showed a smaller degree of collaboration. Our findings offer insights for future text editors by outlining the benefits of at-will gaze sharing in collaborative writing.
Understanding the Security of Traffic Signal Infrastructure

With the proliferation of using smart and connected devices in the transportation domain, these systems inevitably face security threats from the real world. In this work, we analyze the security of the existing traffic signal systems and summarize the security implications exposed in our analysis. Our research shows that the deployed traffic signal systems can be easily manipulated with physical/remote access and are vulnerable to an array of real-world attacks such as a diversionary tactic. By setting up a standard traffic signal system locally in our lab and partnering with a municipality, we demonstrate that not only can traffic intersections be manipulated to show deadly traffic patterns such as all-direction green lights, but traffic control systems are also susceptible to ransomware and disruption attacks. Through testing and studying these attacks, we provide our security recommendations and mitigations to these threats.
Annals On Call - What Does It Mean to Fight Cancer?

In this episode of Annals On Call, Dr. Centor discusses the concept of patients with cancer as fighters with Dr. Kate Lally. The learner will gain knowledge to fill knowledge gaps related to the ca...
Advancements in biomarkers for cardiovascular disease: diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy

Biomarkers are essential tools in the practice of cardiology. They assist with diagnosis, prognosis, and guiding therapy in many different cardiovascular diseases. Numerous biomarkers have become strongly associated with different cardiovascular conditions, such as troponin with acute coronary syndrome and natriuretic peptides with heart failure. Even though these biomarkers have been in practice for almost two decades, their uses continue to expand beyond their original roles. Additionally, many new biomarkers have been discovered with increasing utility in cardiovascular disease, including soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2, galectin 3, and biomarkers of fibrosis, metabolism, and inflammation. How these old and new biomarkers are being expanded into clinical practice is constantly in evolution. This review will highlight some of the recent major advancements in the rapidly evolving field of biomarkers.
Putting the family back into work and family research

Abstract Celebrating Journal of Vocational Behavior 50th Anniversary Special Issue, we acknowledge in this essay the strides made by work-family researchers in the last 50 years and propose new directions that would stimulate research on the interface of work and family from a vocational and organizational perspectives. The invited paper by Kossek, Perrigino and Gounden Rock (2021) reviews the different paths taken by the work-family and career literatures and suggests concrete ways in which future researchers can integrate work-family and careers perspective theoretically and empirically. In this contribution to Journal of Vocational Behavior 50th Anniversary, we add to Kossek and colleagues call by suggesting research on the interface of work and family should expand its scope by focusing on (a) true family outcomes – those that families, not employers, consider important; (b) family-level outcomes – outcomes that are observed when two or more people interact within the family unit, not just individual outcomes; and (c) the joint effect of work and social policies on work-related family decisions and outcomes – taking into account that families use all available resources available to them, not just those provided by their employer.
Laser-driven flyer plate impact: Computational studies guided by experiments

We present a computational approach using a multimaterial, arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian code termed ALE3D to model the nanosecond/micrometer dynamics of the launch of 0.5–4.5 km/s laser-driven metal flyer plates and the impact with stationary targets of Pyrex and fused silica glasses, and Lexan and Plexiglas polymers, producing pressures in the target in the range of 5–20 GPa. The simulations are compared to experimental results where the flyer velocity profile and the velocity profile imparted to the target material were measured with high-speed velocimetry. The experimental flyer launch by a high-intensity pulsed laser is modeled by depositing heat into a thin vaporizable layer under the flyer plate. This model produces a flyer plate that has not been exposed to the laser pulse, allowing us to compare the properties of the real flyer to a simulated ideal flyer. The simulations of target impact are generally in good agreement with the experiment except at the highest impact velocities where the shock release process in the experiment is slower than that in the simulation. The cause of this disagreement is attributed to an inadequate description of the shock viscosity during the nanosecond unloading process.
Triage of Psychiatric Patients in the Emergency Department

Patients arrive in emergency departments (EDs) with concerns needing rapid assessment and effective clinical management. Providers in the ED have an obligation to rule out any apparent life-threatening presenting conditions. Ensuring efficiency and safety is easy when patients come to the ED one at a time. However, patients arrive in the ED at different rates and with different acuities of illness. Facilitating efficiency and safety, triage is the process by which multiple patients are rapidly assessed for risk and queued for care by the ED providers. Patients assessed to be at the highest risk for deterioration or in need of immediate intervention are seen first, while patients with less urgent concerns may be asked to wait.