cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Rate of Cooking on the Quality of Barbecued Chicken

Abstract Broiler halves were barbecued using cooking times from 50 minutes to two hours at grill temperatures from 149°C. to 343°C. by regulating the distance from the firepan to the grill surface. Eleven trials were run, each using four firepan depths. No significant differences due to cooking time were found in yield, percent expressible fluid, or shear values. Taste panel scores for tenderness, juiciness, flavor and overall acceptability also showed no significant differences. It was concluded that the determining factors in choice of cooking time and grill temperature are the intervals between turning and the total time available for cooking each batch of chicken.
Soil Compaction Effect on Corn Rootworm Populations in Maize Artificially Infested with Eggs of Western Corn Rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Controlled infestation with eggs of western corn rootworms, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, was used in a 2-yr study on the effects of wheel traffic-induced soil compaction on corn rootworm establishment, survival, and larval injury to the roots of maize, Zea mays L. Root injury ratings and cumulative emergence of adults of western corn rootworms, as taken from emergence cages, were lowest in plots where eggs had been infested into compacted interrows. Measurements of soil bulk density, air-filled porosity, and air permeability were taken on core samples to characterize soil physical properties in relation to soil compaction. Lowest rootworm survival and injury coincided with higher bulk density, lower air-filled porosity, and lower air permeability values characteristic of soil from the compacted interrow plots. Survival and establishment of western corn rootworm larvae were associated with greater soil pore continuity in uncompacted plots. Soil compaction induced by controlled wheel traffic may have potential as a management strategy for reducing larval corn rootworm movement into strip intercropped maize adjacent to areas previously planted to maize and rotated into a crop that is not a host for corn rootworms.
About the Panorpoid Complex

The original concept of a panorpoid complex is redefined cladistically and is restricted to the taxon Panorpida, including the orders Mecoptera, Diptera, Siphonaptera, Trichoptera and Lepidoptera. Morphological details clarifying the reasons for not including the Neuroptera (sensu lato) are discussed.
Effect of contextual meaningfulness on the rated meaningfulness and recall of words

In three lists containing the same subset of 15 standard words of medium rated meaningfulness (m′) and 15 context words of varying m′ recall of the context words increased directly with their m′. Recall of the standard words did not vary reliably, but tended to be most affected by contextual meaningfulness under number-assignment instructions under which recall increased with the m′ of the context items. In contrast to the tendency toward a direct variation of recall with contextual m′, the m′ of the standard words was found to vary inversely with the m′ of the context words, replicating Amster & Battig (1965).
Analysis and evaluation of the occupational hazards in sulphuric acid plant in Yunfu City

[Objective]To understand the status of prevention and control of the occupational hazards in sulphuric acid plant in Yunfu City.[Methods]According to the national occupational health standard,the major occupational hazards in the workplaces of the sulphuric acid plant were detected.[Results]The major occupational hazards in the sulphuric acid plant were dust,chemical toxicant and noise.The qualified rate of dust time-weighted average concentration(CTWA) in raw material post and roasting post was 100%.The qualified rate of dust CTWA and sulfur dioxide CTWA in slag-discharge post was respectively 85.7% and 100%.The qualified rate of short time exposure concentration(CSTEL) of sulfur dioxide in roasting post was 92.3%,and all the qualified rates of CTWA and CSTEL of three sulfur trioxide and sulphuric acid were 100%.The over standard rate of noise in blast furnace blower room and sulfur dioxide blast furnace room was 87.5% and 71.4% respectively.[Conclusion]The critical control points in sulphuric acid plant are dust and chemical toxicant.There are defects in the design and operation in some dust removal equipments and ventilation facilities.It is necessary to set up reasonable occupational disease prevention facilities and perfect occupational health management system,so as to prevent and control the occupational hazards during production process.
Autocrine and paracrine growth regulation of human breast cancer

We consider the hypothesis that estrogen control of hormone dependent breast cancer is mediated by autocrine and paracrine growth factors secreted by the breast cancer cells themselves. Though we show direct, unmediated effects of estrogen on specific cell functions, we also provide evidence that human breast cancer cells secrete a collection of growth factors (IGF-I, TGFα, TGFβ, a PDGF-like competency factor, and at least one new epithelial colony stimulating factor). Some of these are estrogen-regulated in hormone dependent cells, and are constitutively increased in cells which acquire independence either spontaneously or byras transfection. Collectively, the secreted growth factors are capable of promoting tumor formation by MCF-7 cells in nude mice, though not to the same extent as estrogens. There would seem to be potential for clinical intervention in the autocrine and paracrine control of breast cancer cells, including some cells which are no longer dependent on estrogens.
Management of acute civilian vascular injuries.

Improved understanding of the principles of vascular injury and repair; the appropriate use of heparin; the effective control of infections through proper use of wound debridement, secondary wound closure and antibiotics; and the use of angiography have enabled surgeons to successfully manage extensive vascular injuries.
Measurement of the electrical conductivity of certain high polymer insulating materials

The electrical conductivities of the high polymer materials used in this investigation (polystyrene, methylmethacrylate, and polyvinylbutyral) were so low that special equipment was required for their measurement. A Compton electrometer was used as a null indicator in a circuit similar to that described by P.J. Higgs, Journal of Sci. Instruments, Vol. 10, page 169, June 1933. This circuit is shown in Fig. 1. The electrometer is shorted except during a measurement. The deflection of the electrometer M during measurement is kept at zero by decreasing the capacitance of the variable air capacitor C at such a rate that it nullifies the effect on the electrometer of the current through the specimen. The capacitance is changed at a uniform rate by an electric motor which is geared to the capacitor. The speed of the motor is controlled by a variable series resistance. The conductance (G) of the specimen is computed from the formula: G = E c /E x · Δ c /Δ t where E c and E x are the voltages applied to the variable air capacitor and the specimen respectively, and ΔC is the capacitance change in time Δt. By the use of various voltages and capacitors of different sizes it is possible to measure conductances ranging from 10−9 mho to 10−16mho.
Cross-cultural validation of the parent-patient activation measure in low income Spanish- and English-speaking parents.

Objective (1) To measure healthcare activation among low-income parents by language (English/Spanish); and (2) to assess the psychometrics of the Parent-Patient Activation Measure (P-PAM) in the study population.
Advanced AE Techniques in Composite Materials Research

Advanced, waveform based acoustic emission (AE) techniques have been successfully used to evaluate damage mechanisms in laboratory testing of composite coupons. An example is presented in which the initiation of transverse matrix cracking was monitored. In these tests, broad band, high fidelity acoustic sensors were used to detect signals which were then digitized and stored for analysis. Analysis techniques were based on plate mode wave propagation characteristics. This approach, more recently referred to as Modal AE, provides an enhanced capability to discriminate and eliminate noise signals from those generated by damage mechanisms. This technique also allows much more precise source location than conventional, threshold crossing arrival time determination techniques. To apply Modal AE concepts to the interpretation of AE on larger composite specimens or structures, the effects of modal wave propagation over larger distances and through structural complexities must be well characterized and understood. To demonstrate these effects, measurements of the far field, peak amplitude attenuation of the extensional and flexural plate mode components of broad band simulated AE signals in large composite panels are discussed. These measurements demonstrated that the flexural mode attenuation is dominated by dispersion effects. Thus, it is significantly affected by the thickness of the composite plate. Furthermore, the flexural mode attenuation can be significantly larger than that of the extensional mode even though its peak amplitude consists of much lower frequency components.
Graph-based signatures for kernel data structures

Brute force scanning of kernel memory images for finding kernel data structure instances is an important function in many computer security and forensics applications. Brute force scanning requires effective, robust signatures of kernel data structures. Existing approaches often use the value invariants of certain fields as data structure signatures. However, they do not fully exploit the rich points-to relations between kernel data structures. In this work, we show that such points-to relations can be leveraged to generate graph-based structural invariant signatures. More specifically, we develop SigGraph, a framework that systematically generates non-isomorphic signatures for data structures in an OS kernel. Each signature is a graph rooted at a subject data structure with its edges reflecting the points-to relations with other data structures. Our experiments with a range of Linux kernels show that SigGraph-based signatures achieve high accuracy in recognizing kernel data structure instances via brute force scanning. We further show that SigGraph achieves better robustness against pointer value anomalies and corruptions, without requiring global memory mapping and object reachability. We demonstrate that SigGraph can be applied to kernel memory forensics, kernel rootkit detection, and kernel version inference.
Ultrahigh-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry for peptide de novo amino acid sequencing for a seven-protein mixture by paired single-residue transposed Lys-N and Lys-C digestion.

Rationale Bottom-up tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is regularly used in proteomics to identify proteins from a sequence database. De novo sequencing is also available for sequencing peptides with relatively short sequence lengths. We recently showed that paired Lys-C and Lys-N proteases produce peptides of identical mass and similar retention time, but different tandem mass spectra. Such parallel experiments provide complementary information, and allow for up to 100% MS/MS sequence coverage. Methods Here, we report digestion by paired Lys-C and Lys-N proteases of a seven-protein mixture: human hemoglobin alpha, bovine carbonic anhydrase 2, horse skeletal muscle myoglobin, hen egg white lysozyme, bovine pancreatic ribonuclease, bovine rhodanese, and bovine serum albumin, followed by reversed-phase nanoflow liquid chromatography, collision-induced dissociation, and 14.5 T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Results Matched pairs of product peptide ions of equal precursor mass and similar retention times from each digestion are compared, leveraging single-residue transposed information with independent interferences to confidently identify fragment ion types, residues, and peptides. Selected pairs of product ion mass spectra for de novo sequenced protein segments from each member of the mixture are presented. Conclusions Pairs of the transposed product ions as well as complementary information from the parallel experiments allow for both high MS/MS coverage for long peptide sequences and high confidence in the amino acid identification. Moreover, the parallel experiments in the de novo sequencing reduce false-positive matches of product ions from the single-residue transposed peptides from the same segment, and thereby further improve the confidence in protein identification. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Effects of Bean Leafroll Virus on Life History Traits and Host Selection Behavior of Specialized Pea Aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum, Hemiptera: Aphididae) Genotypes.

Intraspecific specialization by insect herbivores on different host plant species contributes to the formation of genetically distinct “host races,” but the effects of plant virus infection on interactions between specialized herbivores and their host plants have barely been investigated. Using three genetically and phenotypically divergent pea aphid clones ( Acyrthosiphon pisum L.) adapted to either pea ( Pisum sativum L.) or alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.), we tested how infection of these hosts by an insect-borne phytovirus ( Bean leafroll virus ; BLRV) affects aphid performance and preference. Four important findings emerged: 1) mean aphid survival rate and intrinsic rate of population growth ( Rm ) were increased by 15% and 14%, respectively, for aphids feeding on plants infected with BLRV; 2) 34% of variance in survival rate was attributable to clone × host plant interactions; 3) a three-way aphid clone × host plant species × virus treatment significantly affected intrinsic rates of population growth; and 4) each clone exhibited a preference for either pea or alfalfa when choosing between noninfected host plants, but for two of the three clones tested these preferences were modestly reduced when selecting among virus-infected host plants. Our studies show that colonizing BLRV-infected hosts increased A. pisum survival and rates of population growth, confirming that the virus benefits A. pisum. BLRV transmission affected aphid discrimination of host plant species in a genotype-specific fashion, and we detected three unique “virus-association phenotypes,” with potential consequences for patterns of host plant use by aphid populations and crop virus epidemiology.
Public Restrooms: Flipping the Default Rules

This article argues that single-sex public restrooms violate the equal protection clause of the Constitution because they constitute a violation of sexual stereotyping and formal equality principles. Restrooms signs are symbolic “Barbie” dolls with their exaggerated and reinforcing sense of what it means to be “female.” Even if the iconic stick-figure signage were to change, people must needlessly sort themselves by gender each time they use a public restroom and comply with the differing gender-based norms within those spaces. They also violate formal equality principles as they echo the educational segregation of the past when students lined up by sex each time they entered the school building and perpetuate a type of all-male private club by excluding women from business, social, and political interactions with men. The article makes the novel suggestion that we should flip the default rules. We should transition towards making large, communal public restrooms available to “all-comers,” with a variety of private toileting options, as well as have available a limited number of single-stall restrooms. This solution would allow anyone to pick an entirely private option of a single stall while not forcing anyone to sex-identify as a precondition to entering a communal restroom. The stick-figure signage of sex-segregation would become an historical relic.
The Regulation of the Practice of Acupuncture by Physicians in the United States

Abstract Introduction: The landscape of acupuncture regulation has greatly evolved since the National Institutes of Health Consensus Statement in 1997. In recent decades, acupuncture treatment has become increasingly integrated with conventional medical care. Healthcare practitioners often utilize acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy to help alleviate symptoms of many conditions, such as nausea and pain. The popularity of this complementary and alternative modality has elevated the importance and urgency for states to regulate its practice and safety. Materials and Methods: The authors comprehensively examined the regulation of the practice of acupuncture by licensed physicians in the United States. Current statutes were evaluated with respect to those from past decades. Requirements were compared with the World Health Organization's recommendations for acupuncture basic training and safety. Results: Most physicians are permitted to practice acupuncture within the scope of their medical practices. Many st...
Investigation of efficient air pollutant removal using active flow control

Abstract Efficiency in maintaining indoor air quality is central to the operation of high-performance buildings. The purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of airflow velocities generated by a low-power annular, multi-orifice synthetic jet actuator (SJA) on the degradation rate of a model air pollutant, nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), by a photocatalytic surface. In this study, the active flow fields generated by the SJA were first characterized, and the effect of SJA-to-wall distance was analyzed as the airflow impinged on a wall of varying surface textures. Second, the impact of flow characteristics, namely surface velocity and velocity distribution, on the removal rates of NO 2 by the photocatalytic surface was investigated in a closed chamber. Results showed that a SJA-to-wall (L) distance of 315 mm had the greatest reduction (dampening) on peak airflow velocities. Also, the surface with the highest roughness used in this study resulted in increased turbulence at the wall surface. The use of the SJA enhanced the removal rate of NO 2 compared to passive (control) conditions. Increases in air velocity, however, did not monotonically enhance the removal rate of NO 2 . The highest removal rate ( k = 0.0013 min −1 ) was measured at L = 315 mm, where the highest velocity dampening was observed. It also corresponded to an average surface velocity of approximately 0.1 m/s across the photocatalytic surface.
Serious Gaming for Building a Basis of Certification via Trust and Trustworthiness of Autonomous Systems

Autonomous systems governed by a variety of adaptive and nondeterministic algorithms are being planned for inclusion into safety-critical environments, such as unmanned aircraft and space systems in both civilian and military applications. However, until autonomous systems are proven and perceived to be capable and resilient in the face of unanticipated conditions, humans will be reluctant or unable to delegate authority, remaining in control aided by machine-based information and decision support. Proving capability, or trustworthiness, is a necessary component of certification. Perceived capability is a component of trust. Trustworthiness is an attribute of a cyber-physical system that requires context-driven metrics to prove and certify. Trust is an attribute of the agents participating in the system and is gained over time and multiple interactions through trustworthy behavior and transparency. Historically, artificial intelligence and machine learning systems provide answers without explanation - without a rationale or insight into the machine “thinking”. In order to function as trusted teammates, machines must be able to explain their decisions and actions. This transparency is a product of both content and communication. NASA’s Autonomy Teaming & TRAjectories for Complex Trusted Operational Reliability (ATTRACTOR) project seeks to build a basis for certification of autonomous systems via establishing metrics for trustworthiness and trust in multi-agent team interactions, using AI (Artificial Intelligence) explainability and persistent modeling and simulation, in the context of mission planning and execution, with analyzable trajectories. Inspired by Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) and Serious Gaming, the proposed ATTRACTOR modeling and simulation environment is similar to online gaming environments in which player (aka agent) participants interact with each other, affect their environment, and expect the simulation to persist and change regardless of any individual agent’s active participation. This persistent simulation environment will accommodate individual agents, groups of self-organizing agents, and large-scale infrastructure behavior. The effects of the emerging adaptation and coevolution can be observed and measured to building a basis of measurable trustworthiness and trust, toward certification of safety-critical autonomous systems.
Podocyte-Specific Loss of Krüppel-Like Factor 6 Increases Mitochondrial Injury in Diabetic Kidney Disease

Mitochondrial injury is uniformly observed in several murine models as well as in individuals with diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Although emerging evidence has highlighted the role of key transcriptional regulators in mitochondrial biogenesis, little is known about the regulation of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase assembly in the podocyte under diabetic conditions. We recently reported a critical role of the zinc finger Kruppel-like factor 6 (KLF6) in maintaining mitochondrial function and preventing apoptosis in a proteinuric murine model. In this study, we report that podocyte-specific knockdown of Klf6 increased the susceptibility to streptozotocin-induced DKD in the resistant C57BL/6 mouse strain. We observed that the loss of KLF6 in podocytes reduced the expression of synthesis of cytochrome c oxidase 2 with resultant increased mitochondrial injury, leading to activation of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway under diabetic conditions. Conversely, mitochondrial injury and apoptosis were significantly attenuated with overexpression of KLF6 in cultured human podocytes under hyperglycemic conditions. Finally, we observed a significant reduction in glomerular and podocyte-specific expression of KLF6 in human kidney biopsies with progression of DKD. Collectively, these data suggest that podocyte-specific KLF6 is critical to preventing mitochondrial injury and apoptosis under diabetic conditions.
Learning efficiently over heterogeneous databases

Given a relational database and training examples for a target relation, relational learning algorithms learn a Datalog program that defines the target relation in terms of the existing relations in the database. We demonstrate CastorX, a relational learning system that performs relational learning over heterogeneous databases. The user specifies matching attributes between (heterogeneous) databases through matching dependencies. Because the content in these attributes may not match exactly, CastorX uses similarity operators to find matching values in these attributes. As the learning process may become expensive, CastorX implements sampling techniques that allow it to learn efficiently and output accurate definitions.
The Accumulation of Risk and Essential Elements in Edible Mushrooms Chlorophyllum rhacodes, Suillus grevillei, Imleria badia, and Xerocomellus chrysenteron Growing in the Czech Republic.

Risk and essential elements were determined in fruiting bodies of wild growing edible mushrooms Chlorophyllum rhacodes, Suillus grevillei, Imleria badia, and Xerocomellus chrysenteron collected in an unpolluted site in South Bohemia, the Czech Republic. The elements were also determined in underlying soils and the bioconcentration factors were calculated. The analyses revealed that C. rhacodes accumulated Ag, Cu, Rb, Se, Zn, As, Cd, and Tl. On the other hand, S. grevillei accumulated Cd, Rb, Ag, Se, and Cs. I. badia and X. chrysenteron strongly accumulated Rb, Cs, and Ag; these species showed the ability to accumulate Cu and Zn as well. Contents of detrimental CrVI were in all cases below the quantification limit (0.003 mg kg-1 dry matter). Studied mushroom species (mainly C. rhacodes) accumulated some toxic elements. However, no considerable effect on human health is expected since they are usually consumed as a delicacy and do not represent a major component of diet.
Choices and the value of natural capital

Sustainability requires maintaining opportunities for future generations, so they can meet their needs. Opportunities are passed to future generations through a set of capital assets. Nature provides an important class of these assets, but markets seldom reveal the marginal value of natural capital. Rather, the marginal social worth or asset price must be imputed based on intertemporal exchange. In the context of assessing whether intertemporal allocation rules lead to sustainable development, appropriate asset prices must be based on the actual allocations and trade-offs society makes. Therefore, measuring economic programmes that enable the measurement of asset prices is an important empirical task. We review the theory of measuring natural capital asset prices and discuss the key elements of measuring economic programmes that enable the measurement of natural capital asset prices. We place the measurement of economic programmes and natural capital asset prices in the context of wealth-based sustainability metrics.
Management of Immune-Related Adverse Events Associated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy: A Minireview of Current Clinical Guidelines

Successful targeting and inhibition of the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 and programmed cell death-1 protein/programmed cell death ligand 1 immune checkpoint pathways has led to a rapidly expanding repertoire of immune checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of various cancers. The approved agents now include ipilimumab, nivolumab, pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, durvalumab, avelumab, and cemiplimab. In addition to antitumor responses, immune checkpoint inhibition can lead to activation of autoreactive T-cells resulting in unique immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Therefore, it is imperative that oncology nurses, and other clinicians involved in the care of cancer patients, are familiar with the management of irAEs which differ significantly from the management of adverse events from cytotoxic chemotherapy. Herein, we review the mechanisms of irAEs and strategies for management of irAEs and highlight similarities as well as differences among clinical guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, and European Society for Medical Oncology. Understanding these similarities and key differences will facilitate the development and implementation of a practice site-specific plan for the management of irAEs.
Surficial geochemistry and bioaccessibility of tellurium in semiarid mine tailings

Environmental context Tellurium can be more toxic than arsenic, but its fate in the surficial environment is poorly understood. We studied tellurium behaviour in semiarid mine tailings and found that most tellurium is associated with iron (oxy)hydroxides as tellurate (TeVI), the less toxic oxidation state. Iron (oxy)hydroxides are likely to control the fate of Te in the surficial environment and may effectively sequester Te oxyanions released by oxidative weathering. Abstract Tellurium (Te) is a critical element owing to its use in solar technology. However, some forms are highly toxic. Few studies have examined Te behaviour in the surficial environment, thus little is known about its potential human and environmental health impacts. This study characterises two physicochemically distinct Te-enriched mine tailings piles (big and flat tailings) deposited by historic gold (Au) mining in the semiarid Delamar mining district, Nevada, USA. The big tailings are characterised by smaller particle size and higher concentrations of potentially toxic elements (up to 290 mg Te kg−1), which are enriched at the tailings surface. In contrast, the flat tailings have larger particle size and properties that are relatively invariant with depth. Based on the sulfate to sulfide ratio, the tailings were determined to be sulfate dominated, which suggested a high degree of weathering, although the flat tailings did contain significant amounts of sulfides (~40 %). Tellurium X-ray absorption spectroscopy of the big tailings indicates that tellurate, the less toxic Te species, is the principal form of Te. Electron microscopy indicates that most of the Te present at the site is associated with iron (oxy)hydroxides, and sometimes with other potentially toxic elements, especially lead and antimony. Physiologically-based extraction tests indicate that substantially more Te is solubilised in synthetic stomach fluids than in lung fluids, with gastric bioaccessibility ranging from 13 to 31 % of total Te. This points to low to medium bioaccessibility, which is common for iron (oxy)hydroxide-associated elements. Together, these results represent a preliminary assessment of Te surficial behaviour in a semiarid environment and indicate that Te in these tailings represent a moderate health concern.
H-ORAM: A Cacheable ORAM Interface for Efficient 1/O Accesses

Oblivious RAM (ORAM) is an effective security primitive to prevent access pattern leakage. By adding redundant memory accesses, ORAM prevents attackers from revealing the patterns in the access sequences. However, ORAM tends to introduce a huge degradation on the performance. With growing address space to be protected, ORAM has to store the majority of data in the lower level storage, which further degrades the system performance. In this paper, we propose Hybrid ORAM (H-ORAM), a novel ORAM primitive to address large performance degradation when overflowing the user data to storage. H-ORAM consists of a batch scheduling scheme for enhancing the memory bandwidth usage, and a novel ORAM interface that returns data without waiting for the I/O access each time. We evaluate H-ORAM on a real machine implementation. The experimental results show that that H-ORAM outperforms the state-of-the-art Path ORAM by 20×.
An image regression motion prediction technique for MRI‐guided radiotherapy evaluated in single‐plane cine imaging

PURPOSE To develop and evaluate a novel motion prediction method for magnetic resonance image (MRI)-guided radiotherapy applications. This method, which we deem "image regression," predicts future tissue motion based on a weighted combination of previously observed motion states. Motion predictions are derived from a sliding window of recent motion states which are defined by a temporal sequence of images. A key advantage of this method compared to other motion prediction methods is that its computational complexity scales weekly with the number of spatial points predicted. Applications of gating latency reduction and improvement in deformable registration-based target tracking are demonstrated. METHODS The image regression (IR) motion prediction method was developed and evaluated using 26.9 h of real-time imaging acquired from eight healthy volunteers and 13 patients using a 0.35 T MRI-guided radiotherapy system. Motion predictions were performed 0.25-0.33 s into the future using a weighted sum of previously observed motion states with image similarity-derived weights. The set of previously observed motion states were continuously updated to incorporate the changes in breathing patterns. The accuracy of the predicted radiotherapy gating decision, beam-on positive predictive value (PPV), and predicted vs ground-truth target centroid position errors are reported. The IR technique was compared against no prediction, linear extrapolation, and an established autoregressive linear prediction algorithm. The usage of IR to initialize the deformable registration and enhance the target tracking was demonstrated in the healthy volunteer studies. Deformable registration with IR initialization was compared to the initialization performed by current clinical software: no initialization, previous image registration initialization and linear motion extrapolation initialization. RESULTS The average IR-predicted radiation beam gating decision accuracy was 95.8%, with a PPV of 95.7%, and median and 95th percentile centroid position errors of 0.63 and 2.08 mm, respectively. Compared to the autoregressive linear prediction method, gating accuracy was 1.15% greater, PPV was 1.61% greater, and median and 95th percentile centroid distances were 0.21 and 0.23 mm smaller. The IR-initialized registration on average converged within 0.50 mm of the ground-truth position in fewer than 10 iterations whereas the next best initialization method required more than 25 iterations. CONCLUSIONS Image regression motion prediction has the potential to reduce the gating latencies and improve the speed and accuracy of deformable registration-based target tracking in MRI-guided radiotherapy.
Enrichment Program for the Ethnic Minority of Gifted and Talented Students in Science and Engineering.

This study was to design and explore the effects of an enrichment program on the leadership, attitude, and motivation of ethnic minority gifted and talented students who want to be scientists and e...
No man is an island: e-cigarette, or vaping, associated lung injury in Europe.

The first case of e-cigarette, or vaping, associated lung injury (EVALI) diagnosed and treated in Europe reminds us to remain vigilant for this diagnosis, and importantly, that we are still learning about the full spectrum of risks of e-cigarette usehttp://bit.ly/2TauItr
[Determination of pesticide residues in substitutional tea by dispersive solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry].

Objective The method was established for determination 14 kinds of psticide residues in substitutional tea using gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry( GC-MS/MS) for instrument method and dispersive solid-phase extraction( dSPE) for sample preparation. Methods The samples extracted with acetonitrile, and purified by N-propyl ethlene diamine( PSA), the extracts were separated on DB-5MS column( 30 m × 0. 25 mm, 0. 25 μm) with programmed temperature and determined by GCMS/MS in multi-reaction monitoring( MRM) model. The external standard method was applied to quantify the pesticides. Results The method showed a good linearity( r ≥0. 999) in certain ranges for 14 kinds of pesticides. The limits of quantification( LOQ)were 4-40 μg/kg. The average recoveries range were 65. 6%-116. 6% in three add levels of 20, 40 and 200 μg/kg, and relative standard deviations( RSD S) of 1. 5%-15. 7%( n = 6). Conclusion This method is simple, fast, sensitive, selective and can satisfy the request of simultaneous analysis of multiple pesticide residues in substitutional tea.
Wind pressure coefficients for buildings with air curtains

Abstract An air curtain is often installed at a building entrance as an air barrier to reduce infiltration and resultant energy and air quality concerns. Due to its direct contact with the ambient environment, wind could affect the air curtain’s performance significantly, whereas its interaction with the wind has not been well understood. This study carried out a series of experiments on a sub-scaled building model with an air curtain in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel. A CFD model was also built to further investigate the air curtain jet interactions with the wind. The CFD model was verified and validated through Particle Image Velocimetry measurements for different air curtain and wind conditions and in terms of the function of the dimensionless air infiltration rate versus the dimensionless pressure difference across the air curtain. This study defined the wind pressure coefficient for air curtains based on their performance under wind compared to that without wind. The wind pressure coefficient was found to be constant for different air curtain supply speed, supply angle, and wind speed, but varies with wind direction, so its profile was provided as a function of wind direction. This study provides insights into air curtain performance under various wind conditions.
Paleotropical climate oscillations from upper Mississippian and Pennsylvanian stratigraphic records of western Laurentia: A convolution of plate migration and Gondwanan ice dynamics

Abstract In the Rocky Mountain region of the western United States, upper Mississippian and Pennsylvanian stratigraphy in central Montana and northern Utah preserve a poorly documented, paleotropical stratigraphic record that spans the Carboniferous interval of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA). Sedimentologic and stratigraphic investigation of the Otter Formation (Visean) to the Alaska Bench (Bashkirian) in central Montana, and the Humbug Formation (Visean) to the Weber Formation (Gzhelian) in northern Utah, facilitated an appraisal of paleotropical environmental change preserved in these successions. Paleoclimate records of central Montana and northern Utah that were documented during this investigation were compared with previously derived records throughout paleotropical Laurentia to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for preserved paleoclimate trends. From the Serpukhovian through the Pennsylvanian, paleoclimate records from tropical western Laurentia preserve a broad first-order trend of progressive aridification driven by northern plate migration through increasingly arid paleoclimate belts. Current biostratigraphic indicators suggest that discrete excursions in humidity (
Thyroid paraganglioma: A diagnostic pitfall in thyroid FNA

Background Thyroid paragangliomas are extremely rare and often are misdiagnosed by preoperative fine-needle aspiration (FNA) because their cytologic features overlap with those of other thyroid neoplasms. The objective of this study was to review the cytomorphology in a series of thyroid paragangliomas and correlate the findings with histopathology. Methods Five thyroid paraganglioma cases that underwent FNA were reviewed. Their clinical presentation, radiology features, cytomorphology, ancillary tests, and histopathology were analyzed. Results All patients were women with an average age of 49 years (age range, 35-61 years) and presented with an asymptomatic, solitary thyroid nodule. Radiologically, these nodules (size range, 1.8-3.0 cm) were well circumscribed, hypoechoic, and hypervascular. FNA smears showed clusters of loosely cohesive, medium-to-large epithelioid cells with clear-to-eosinophilic and occasionally foamy cytoplasm that had indistinct cytoplasmic borders. The nuclei were round to oval with focal nuclear membrane irregularities, inconspicuous nucleoli, focal marked anisonucleosis, and occasional intranuclear pseudoinclusions. Naked nuclei, variable numbers of plasmacytoid cells, multinucleated giant cells, and sustentacular cells were present in the background along with blood vessels and lymphocytes. Cytology diagnoses were incorrect and included follicular neoplasm (n = 4) and follicular lesion of undetermined significance (n = 1). Final histopathology with immunohistochemistry revealed conventional paraganglioma (n = 3) or sclerosing paraganglioma with invasive features (n = 2). Conclusions All thyroid paragangliomas were misdiagnosed on FNA as follicular neoplasms, in part because of the rarity of these tumors in this location and cytomorphology mimicking follicles. The absence of colloid, the presence of naked nuclei, focal marked anisonucleosis, and the presence of sustentacular cells are important cytology clues.
Price Uncertainty and Market Power in Retail Gasoline: The Case of an Italian Highway

We quantify the effect of consumers’ price uncertainty on gasoline prices and margins on an Italian highway. We observe the change in prices triggered by a longitudinal policy-based change in consumers’ price information from one in which drivers on the highway have no information on the prices of stations they encounter to one that allows consumers to observe the prices of four upcoming stations on a single price sign by the side of the highway. Using these data, we estimate a model of consumer search and purchase behavior and a corresponding model of gas station pricing. We then measure the impact of varying degrees of price information on equilibrium prices, including (i) no price information, (ii) the current policy, and (iii) full price information. We also compare the current policy with an alternative policy in which stations’ prices are advertised with individual price signs. We find that when consumers do not have price information, gas stations are able to charge 31% more, in terms of higher pri...
A review of constituents identified in e-cigarette liquids and aerosols

Introduction Identification of chemicals present in e-liquids and aerosols is a vital first step in assessing the human health effects of e-cigarettes. We aim to identify the qualitative and quantitative constituents present in e-cigarette liquids and aerosols. Methods A comprehensive search of scientific databases included literature up to July 2020. A total of 28 articles met inclusion criteria; 18 articles assessed e-liquid constituents and 15 articles assessed aerosol constituents. Of these, 5 assessed constituents present in both mediums. We included English-language publications that examine qualitative and/or quantitative constituents in e-cigarette liquids and aerosols. Results In total, articles identified 60 compounds in e-liquids and 47 compounds in aerosols. A total of 22 compounds were identified in both e-liquids and aerosols. These are: acenaphthylene, acetaldehyde, acetol, antimony, benzaldehyde, benzene, chromium, copper, diacetyl, formaldehyde, glycerol, lead, limonene, naphthalene, nickel, nicotine, nicotine-N'-oxides, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), N-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN), propylene glycol, toluene, and vegetable glycerin. Some of the identified chemicals have been labeled as harmful, toxic, or cancerous through human, animal, and cell line studies. A variety of laboratory methods were used for analyses, which made reported levels less consistent. Conclusions E-liquids and aerosols contain a variety of chemicals with potential health effects from inhaling them. Further, secondhand health effects are unknown because of limited understanding of the dose of exposure by non-users. Identification of constituents in e-cigarettes is the first step to determine their risks to humans and support evidence-based regulations and health policies.
Perioperative Blood Transfusions or Operative Time: Which Drives Post-Hepatectomy Outcomes?

BackgroundPerioperative blood transfusions and operative time are surgical quality indicators. The aim of this analysis is to determine which of these variables drives post-hepatectomy outcomes.Met...
Evidence that pyrophilous fungi aggregate soil after forest fire

Abstract Forest fire is an important occurrence in western landscapes where it helps drive ecosystem processes, and prescribed fire is a common forest management strategy. An initial consequence of fire is burned ground with reduced biodiversity. Numerous studies have documented how forests recover after fire in terms of plant regeneration and animal colonization, but little is known of the ecological roles fungi play in this process. Pyrophilous (burn-loving) fungi are documented to reliably produce large fruitings and copious mycelium on burns after fire in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. We hypothesize that pyrophilous fungi help bind and stabilize soil after forest fires via their extensive mycelial network. Three pyrophilous fungi, Geopyxis carbonaria, Pyronema omphalodes, and Morchella septimelata were tested for their ability to aggregate burned soil. The fungi were isolated from burn sites, grown in vitro, and inoculated onto sterilized soil from a natural burn. The ability of each species to aggregate soil in comparison to non-inoculated controls was assessed after 10, 20, 30, and 40 days, using a wet sieve aggregate stability test. All three fungi increased soil aggregation after 10 days, and this increase was maintained for the 40-day period. The burned soil was up to 30% more aggregated when a fungus was present; results provide the first direct evidence that pyrophilous fungi aggregate burn soil. This further implies that these fungi play a role in reducing soil erosion and enhancing soil moisture soon after fire in burned forests. Pyrophilous fungi also decompose charred material, sequester carbon, and capture transient nitrogen pulses after fire. This overlooked group of fungi may be critical in enhancing conditions for plant regeneration after forest fire at an early stage in recovery. Consideration should be given to avoiding or delaying restoration activities that disturb this natural process, especially those that contribute to soil compaction, during early post-fire recovery when these fungi are proliferating.
A Re-Examination of the Conglomerate Merger Wave in the 1960s: An Internal Capital Markets View

One possible explanation that bidding firms earned positive abnormal returns in diversifying acquisitions in the 1960s is that internal capital markets were expected to overcome the information deficiencies of the less developed capital markets. Examining 392 bidder firms during the 1960s, we find the highest bidder returns when financially unconstrained' buyers acquire constrained' targets. This result holds while controlling for merger terms and for different proxies used to classify firms facing costly external financing. We also find that bidders generally retain target management, suggesting that management may have provided company-specific operational information, while the bidder provided capital-budgeting expertise.
A PWM Control Method for Reducing dv/dt in Cascaded Power Converters

Today’s semiconductor devices are accompanied by high switching frequencies (>kilo-hertz) and small transition times (<micro-seconds). Such fast transition times are accompanied by undesirable effects such as voltage overshoots at the load terminals, ground leakage currents, wide-band electromagnetic noise, etc. With the advent of wide band-gap devices, several applications are moving towards higher switching frequency operation with at-least an order of magnitude reduction in transition times. While these characteristics are considered necessary to break the next-generation barriers in power density, efficiency and applicability, the undesirable effects due to faster transitions are expected to present obstacles. This work proposes a PWM approach to modify the shape of the switching voltages to overcome the disadvantages of the fast transition times without an increase in switching losses. In fact, several of the transitions feature ZVS operation resulting in reduced switching losses. The paper discusses the analytical details of the approach using a simple dc-dc boost-buck converter and extends it to dc to three-phase AC converter using the principles of space vector modulation. The paper also presents the comparative results in terms of voltage over-shoots over long cables, loss calculations and electromagnetic noise.
Cause-specific quantile residual life regression

We propose a cause-specific quantile residual life regression where the cause-specific quantile residual life, defined as the inverse of the cumulative incidence function of the residual life distribution of a specific type of events of interest conditional on a fixed time point, is log-linear in observable covariates. The proposed test statistic for the effects of prognostic factors does not involve estimation of the improper probability density function of the cause-specific residual life distribution under competing risks. The asymptotic distribution of the test statistic is derived. Simulation studies are performed to assess the finite sample properties of the proposed estimating equation and the test statistic. The proposed method is illustrated with a real dataset from a clinical trial on breast cancer.
Improving the Capture of Fall Events in Hospitals: Combining a Service for Evaluating Inpatient Falls with an Incident Report System

OBJECTIVES To determine the utility of a fall evaluation service to improve the ascertainment of falls in acute care.