cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estimating the Unseen: Improved Estimators for Entropy and other Properties

Recently, Valiant and Valiant [1, 2] showed that a class of distributional properties, which includes such practically relevant properties as entropy, the number of distinct elements, and distance metrics between pairs of distributions, can be estimated given a sublinear sized sample. Specifically, given a sample consisting of independent draws from any distribution over at most n distinct elements, these properties can be estimated accurately using a sample of size O(n/ log n).We propose a novel modification of this approach and show: 1) theoretically, this estimator is optimal (to constant factors, over worst-case instances), and 2) in practice, it performs exceptionally well for a variety of estimation tasks, on a variety of natural distributions, for a wide range of parameters. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the key step in our approach is to first use the sample to characterize the "unseen" portion of the distribution. This goes beyond such tools as the Good-Turing frequency estimation scheme, which estimates the total probability mass of the unobserved portion of the distribution: we seek to estimate the shape of the unobserved portion of the distribution. This approach is robust, general, and theoretically principled; we expect that it may be fruitfully used as a component within larger machine learning and data analysis systems.
Bioavailability of β-carotene (βC) from purple carrots is the same as typical orange carrots while high-βC carrots increase βC stores in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus)

Vitamin A (VA) deficiency is a worldwide public health problem. Biofortifying existing sources of beta-carotene (betaC) and increasing dietary betaC could help combat the issue. Two studies were performed to investigate the relative betaC bioavailability of a betaC supplement to purple, high-betaC orange, and typical orange carrots using Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus). In study 1, which used a traditional bioavailability design, gerbils (n 32) received a diet containing orange, purple, or white carrot powder, or white carrot powder +a betaC supplement. In study 2, which included betaC-biofortified carrots, gerbils (n 39) received orange, high-betaC orange, purple, or white carrot powder in their diet. Both studies lasted 21 d and the gerbils were killed to determine the effect of carrot type or supplement on serum and liver betaC, alpha-carotene, and VA concentrations. Liver stores of betaC or VA in the gerbils did not differ between orange and purple carrot diets when equal amounts of betaC from each of the diets were consumed (P>0.05). Both the orange and purple carrot diet resulted in higher liver VA compared with the supplement (P<0.05). High-betaC carrots resulted in more than 2-fold higher betaC and 1.1 times greater VA liver stores compared with typical orange carrots (P<0.05). These results suggest that high-betaC carrots may be an alternative source of VA to typical carrots in areas of VA deficiency. Second, phenolics including anthocyanins and phenolic acids in purple carrot do not interfere with the bioavailability of betaC from purple carrots.
Interactive Effects of Copper on Alfalfa Growth, Soil Copper, and Soil Bacteria

Copper sulfate (CuSO4) foot baths are a management practice used by dairy farms in an effort to control hoof infections. As an unintended consequence, agricultural soils experience Cu accumulation when spent foot baths are disposed of in wastewater lagoons utilized for irrigation purposes. We investigated the effect of Cu applications (up to 1000 mg kg -1 ) to a Xeric Haplocalcid (Declo series) and a Typic Calciaquoll (Logan series) on alfalfa (Medicago sativa) growth and Cu concentration, soil total and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)-extractable Cu, and the soil bacterial community diversity using ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (RISA). Copper application up to 250 mg kg -1
The generative aspect of design theory

Good instructional design theory allows designers generative power in creating novel design solutions. Instead of simply copying what they have seen in other technology-enhanced learning environments, designers can utilize the operational principle of a theory to generate newer and more effective instructional designs.
Cyberenvironments: adaptive middleware for scientific cyberinfrastructure

The principles of adaptive and reflective software (abstract interfaces, exposed metadata, instrumentation) can be applied to create flexible, scalable scientific CyberInfrastructure and to develop Cyberenvironments to support scientific research. Informed by an understanding of scientific processes as a discourse; we argue that a confluence of ideas from adaptive and reflective software and from traditional scientific information management, and grid/web scalable architectures provide a robust foundation for explicitly and coherently manage data, processes, and models using standardized technologies within Cyberenvironments that present an evolvable, domain-oriented view to the user.
Culture and Its Discontents: Recent Theorizing on the Cultural Dimensions of Protest*

Recent analyses of the cultural dimensions of protest have gone some distance in correcting the structuralist and instrumentalist biases of early resource mobilization and political process models. They remain limited, however, by their retention of dichotomous conceptions of culture and structure in the emergence of protest, of cultural and instrumental orientations in ongoing collective action, and of cultural and political targets of protest. As a result, they have neglected, respectively, continuities between structured inequalities and the movement challenges that are made to them, the cultural shaping of instrumentally rational decisionmaking, and the strategic possibilities that lay in cultural challenge made within the sphere of institutional politics. I draw on recent theorizing in the sociology of culture and on several case studies of collective action in order to highlight these lacunae and to propose analytical alternatives. More than providing the social psychology of individual participation miss
Estimating the Prevalence of Injection Drug Users in the U.S. and in Large U.S. Metropolitan Areas from 1992 to 2002

This paper estimates the prevalence of current injection drug users (IDUs) in 96 large U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) annually from 1992 to 2002. Multiplier/allocation methods were used to estimate the prevalence of injectors because confidentiality restrictions precluded the use of other commonly used estimation methods, such as capture–recapture. We first estimated the number of IDUs in the U.S. each year from 1992 to 2002 and then apportioned these estimates to MSAs using multiplier methods. Four different types of data indicating drug injection were used to allocate national annual totals to MSAs, creating four distinct series of estimates of the number of injectors in each MSA. Each series was smoothed over time; and the mean value of the four component estimates was taken as the best estimate of IDUs for that MSA and year (with the range of component estimates indicating the degree of uncertainty in the estimates). Annual cross-sectional correlations of the MSA-level IDU estimates with measures of unemployment, hepatitis C mortality prevalence, and poisoning mortality prevalence were used to validate our estimates. MSA-level IDU estimates correlated moderately well with validators, demonstrating adequate convergence validity. Overall, the number of IDUs per 10,000 persons aged 15–64 years varied from 30 to 348 across MSAs (mean 126.9, standard deviation 65.3, median 106.6, interquartile range 78–162) in 1992 and from 37 to 336 across MSAs (mean 110.6, standard deviation 57.7, median 96.1, interquartile range 67–134) in 2002. A multilevel model showed that overall, across the 96 MSAs, the number of injectors declined each year until 2000, after which the IDU prevalence began to increase. Despite the variation in component estimates and methodological and component data set limitations, these local IDU prevalence estimates may be used to assess: (1) predictors of change in IDU prevalence; (2) differing IDU trends between localities; (3) the adequacy of service delivery to IDUs; and (4) infectious disease dynamics among IDUs across time.
The E.S.S. — Excited Skin Syndrome (Alias the “Angry Back”

This synthesis reviews the history of the Excited Skin Syndrome (alias the Angry Back) from Jadassohn to the present and offers a strategy for minimizing misinformation from this source of false positive patch tests.
A software system for modeling and controlling accelerator physics parameters at the Advanced Light Source

We describe a software system used at the Advanced Light Source for accelerator physics studies and accelerator control. The system consists of a number of Unix processes that can be connected together in modular ways. Processes communicate using messages with a common data format, but processes do not know where their messages come from or go to, making each process easily replaceable by others using different algorithms, measurement techniques, or models. Some of the controls and correction functions we have implemented using the system are closed-orbit correction, continuous tune display, and Fourier analysis of turn-by-turn beam position monitor (BPM) data. >
VORTEX-SURFACE COLLISION: 3-D CORE FLOW EFFECTS

The interaction of a strong vortex with a curved surface is a basic problem in fluid mechanics, whose solution is crucial to predicting the flow around a rotorcraft. In past work, the initial stages of the interaction between a rotor tip-vortex and a cylindrical airframe were measured and computed using potential flow concepts followed by boundary layer calculations. This paper presents measurements of the lateral velocity component on the top of the airframe during the vortex interaction. These data are used in the prediction of airframe loading in a time frame far beyond that reported in previous work. The axial velocity in the core of the vortex is substantial and is directed back towards the rotor blade. The vortex core circulation scales with rotor rpm. We show here that the axial velocity plays a major role in the final stages of the collision process. Contours of lateral velocity correspond closely to contours of lateral vorticity from previous work. Core axial velocity during the collision is presented as a function of vortex age. The region of high axial velocity flattens and appears to break in two at the final stages of collision. In the computations, the tip- vortex is modeled as a family of helical vortices, whose strength and initial position are chosen based on experimentally measured core axial velocities. The analytical predictions are compared with experimentally measured vortex propagation and surface pressure. NOMENCLATURE Some symbols have multiple meanings. The usage of these symbols should be clear from the context.
Book reviews - Continous transactions in open waveguides

This monograph is devoted to the investigation of surface wave propagation along guides with inhomogeneous sections; where the guide parameters vary gradually in the direction of propagation. Practical cases of continuous transitions are, for instance, the launching of surface waves on a single wireline and surface wave antennas. The material presented in this monograph is in essence is done by the work of the author and his associates which was published in Russia during the years 1960 to 1965.
Identification of MLL-fusion/MYC⊣miR-26⊣TET1 signaling circuit in MLL-rearranged leukemia

Expression of functionally important genes is often tightly regulated at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. We reported previously that TET1, the founding member of the TET methylcytosine dioxygenase family, plays an essential oncogenic role in MLL-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML), where it is overexpressed owing to MLL-fusion-mediated direct up-regulation at the transcriptional level. Here we show that the overexpression of TET1 in MLL-rearranged AML also relies on the down-regulation of miR-26a, which directly negatively regulates TET1 expression at the post-transcriptional level. Through inhibiting expression of TET1 and its downstream targets, forced expression of miR-26a significantly suppresses the growth/viability of human MLL-rearranged AML cells, and substantially inhibits MLL-fusion-mediated mouse hematopoietic cell transformation and leukemogenesis. Moreover, c-Myc, an oncogenic transcription factor up-regulated in MLL-rearranged AML, mediates the suppression of miR-26a expression at the transcriptional level. Collectively, our data reveal a previously unappreciated signaling pathway involving the MLL-fusion/MYC⊣miR-26a⊣TET1 signaling circuit, in which miR-26a functions as an essential tumor-suppressor mediator and its transcriptional repression is required for the overexpression and oncogenic function of TET1 in MLL-rearranged AML. Thus, restoration of miR-26a expression/function holds therapeutic potential to treat MLL-rearranged AML.
Rights for the Landless: Comparing Approaches to Historical Injustice in Brazil and South Africa

This essay seeks to compare two approaches to property reform as solutions to historical injustice. Brazil and South Africa prove to be prime examples of how incorporating and entrenching socio-economic rights into their constitutions is an effectual method of remedying historical injustice. Using a social obligation theory of property rights as a guide, this essy will seek to show that property reform is essential to remedying historical injustice. In particular, this essay will focus on the constitutional provisions created to protect property and socioeconomic rights in both countries. Providing for the stability and security of these rights is a powerful method of social transformation wich moves away from historical injustice. In Part I, this essay will present the social obligation theory of property and mention the benefits of entrenching rights to property and socio-economic rights in a country’s constitution. In Part II, this essay will introduce the Brazilian scheme for land reform by first summarizing its development, the constitutional provisions, and then the current state of the “landless” problem. In Part III, this essay will give a brief description of the historical background of injustices in South Africa, present the relevant South African constitutional provisions, and then discuss the country’s current landless problem. In Part IV, the essay will compare the two schemes and evaluate their relative successes in achieving their land reform goals.
Focus on Family: It's OK to Play: The Importance of Playing While Reading Aloud to Young Children

Three-year-old Marika is surrounded by wooden blocks and plastic insect figurines. She is creating a block structure where her insect figurines can live. Her father walks into the room and asks, “W...
An Enigmatic Little Earthquake Swarm near Searsport, Maine

A swarm of 21 small earthquakes, with the largest being MLg 1.7, was recorded by regional seismic network monitoring from near Searsport, Maine, in April and May 2011. An additional five events were detected by two portable seismic instruments that were installed in the Searsport area for the later part of the swarm. Relative locations of the larger events of the swarm, computed in relation to a selected master event, showed that the swarm events extended for a distance of about 2.5 km and migrated from northeast to southwest. The events also became shallower toward the southwest. If the area of the swarm had ruptured in a single earthquake, the magnitude of the event would have been about M 5.1–5.5. The S‐P time of only about 0.34 s at one of the portable seismic stations for the detected events from the swarm indicates that the station was located about 2.7 km from the hypocenters, thus constraining the location of the southwest end of the swarm. The events took place within the Devonian Mount Waldo pluton, a granitic body that locally cuts northeast–couthwest‐oriented thrust faults that parallel the Norumbega fault zone. The trend of the swarm events is parallel to and on‐strike with the trend of a thrust fault mapped to the southwest of the Mount Waldo pluton. The seismic data suggest that the fault might be seismically active, although the modern seismotectonic relationship of the fault and the pluton is far from clear.
Occurrence ofcis-5,cis-9-Hexacosadienoic andcis-5,cis-9,cis-19-Hexacosatrienoic acids in the marine spongeMicrociona prolifera

Fatty acid analysis of the total lipids from the marine spongeMicrociona prolifera by gas liquid chromatography on an EGSS-X column revealed two major peaks with equivalent chain length values of 27.08 and 27.74. Each of these components was isolated as a separate band by thin layer chromatography on AgNO3-silicic acid. Characterization of the two unknowns by IR spectroscopy, NMR, hydrogenation, and gas liquid chromatography revealed that the unknown acids weren-26∶2 andn-26∶3 containing only nonmethylene interruptedcis-double bonds. Reductive ozonolysis identified the 26∶2 ascis-5,cis-9-hexacosadienoic acid and the 26∶3 ascis-5,cis-9,cis-19-hexacosatrienoic acid. Analysis of the fatty acid composition ofMicrociona total lipids showed 14% 26∶2 and 31% 36∶3. The neutral lipids, phosphatidylethanomaline, and phosphatidylserine all contained >41% C26 acids; but only 4% C26 was present in the phosphatidylcholine.
The Male-Female Earnings Differential: A Historical Overview of the Clerical Occupations from the 1880s to the 1970s

In this article, we analyze the male-female earnings differential in the single most important sector of female employment, clerical and office work, for the period running from the 1880s to the 1970s. Clerical occupations currently provide jobs for one-third of all females engaged in market employment. Our analysis reveals that intraoccupational earnings differences between the sexes rather than differences in occupational structure have been the major factors underlying the male-female earnings gap in the clerical sector. This finding represents a major break with the conclusion reached in many earlier studies where researchers have argued that sex differences in occupational structure account for most of the sex differential in earnings (Cohen, 1971; Fuchs, 1971; Kreps, 1971; Sawhill, 1971). The empirical evidence presented here also suggests that the sex differential in earnings levels in the major clerical occupations has shown no substantial narrowing in recent decades. This result is surprising given the changing social climate of the post-World War II period. In
Cytosine unstacking and strand slippage at an insertion-deletion mutation sequence in an overhang-containing DNA duplex.

Base unstacking in template strands, when accompanied by strand slippage, can result in deletion mutations during strand extension by nucleic acid polymerases. In a GCCC mutation hot-spot sequence, which was previously identified to have a 50% probability of causing such mutations during DNA replication by a Y-family polymerase, a single-base deletion mutation could result from such unstacking of any one of its three template cytosines. In this study, the intrinsic energetic differences in unstacking among these three cytosines in a solvated DNA duplex overhang model were examined using umbrella sampling molecular dynamics simulations. The free energy profiles obtained show that cytosine unstacking grows progressively more unfavorable as one moves inside the duplex from the 5′-end of the overhang template strand. Spontaneous strand slippage occurs in response to such base unstacking in the direction of both the major and minor grooves for all three cytosines. Unrestrained simulations run from three distinct strand-slipped states and one non-strand-slipped state suggest that a more duplexlike environment can help stabilize strand slippage. The possible underlying reasons and biological implications of these observations are discussed in the context of nucleic acid replication active site dynamics.
A PROBABILISTIC ANALYSIS OF A NONLINEAR STRUCTURE USING RANDOM FIELDS TO QUANTIFY GEOMETRIC SHAPE UNCERTAINTIES

Sσ sensitivity with respect to standard deviation COV Coefficient of Variation (= µ/σ) Engineers at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) are currently developing the capability to provide a reliability-based structural evaluation technique for performing weapon reliability assessments. To enhance the analyst's confidence with these new methods, an integrated experiment and analysis project has been developed. The uncertainty associated with the collapse response of commercially available spherical marine float is evaluated with the aid of the non-linear explicit dynamics code DYNA3D coupled with the probabilistic code NESSUS. Variations in geometric shape parameters and uncertainties in material parameters are characterized and included in the probabilistic model. Inherent anomalies and variations in geometry and material properties, which were collected from the set of test specimen, are included in the numerical model in the form of random fields and probability density functions (PDF’s). A comprehensive analysis of the parameter correlations is performed to determine appropriate correlation functions to use for the geometric random fields. E Young's modulus
Framework for Time Lapse Fracture Characterization Using Seismic, Microseismic & Well Log Data

Extensive work has been done in the recent years involving use of conventional and passive seismic data for fracture characterization. This is particularly the case with unconventional reservoirs such as shale gas, shale oil and geothermal fields. The purpose of our study is to combine the benefits of conventional seismic data that provides relatively higher resolution reservoir characteristics with the relatively low resolution property estimates available from inversion of micro-earthquake data. Given the lower cost of the latter, we propose a cost effective dynamic reservoir characterization approach using a selfsustaining evaluation framework. The resulting time lapse fracture characterization technique is most suitable for those developments which involve the use of low cost passive seismic data acquisition arrays for reservoir monitoring. Our proposed method should allow for optimal use of microseismic data generated as part of passive seismic arrays common in unconventional field developments and thereby provide time lapse reservoir property predictions without having to carry out relatively expensive 4D seismic surveys.
Sexuality, Incompatibility, and Intersterility in the Biology of the Sistotrema Brinkmannii Aggregate

Ninety-six representatives of the Sistotrema brinkmannii aggregate have been assembled from North America, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East. The existence of primary homothallic, bipolar hete...
Immunology: Mum's microbes boost baby's immunity.

The microorganisms that colonize pregnant mice have been shown to prime the innate immune system in newborn offspring, preparing them for life in association with microbes.
Rated Back Pressure and Cold End Optimal Design of Steam Turbines

There are a lot of question about the parameter configuration on cold end device in domestic large capacity coal-fired power units,so it is necessary to discuss and investigate such issues.Through mechanism analysis and different design comparison,the defect is found in calculation procedure for rated back pressure of steam turbines in domestic coal-fired power units,thereby having an effect on optimal configuration of cold end device,increasing unit energy consumption and intervening energy consumption evaluation.Moreover,it is presented in detail on the nature,origin and influence of the procedure,a new concept for determining rated back pressure and upgraded calculation including big cold end design concept and cold end optimal design options.The results show that the optimal design method for the cold end method has great prospect for energy-saving and efficiency-raising,and it has important application value for future coal-fired units.
Providing Feed to Livestock During Emergencies

This chapter is intended to help animal nutritionists, food handlers, and other animal welfare experts intervene in disasters caused by natural phenomena and man-made events like conflicts. Concepts introduced include early warning, response, and recovery, as well as methods of collecting data and references to helpful institutional handbooks. Partnerships between humanitarian relief agencies are also proposed in order to take advantage of comparative strengths, especially for logistical support to transport feed and fodder. In addition, changes in international law and practice are proposed in order to make nutritional and animal health interventions easier to provide. It should also be seen as complementing, not replacing, the valuable Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS livestock emergency guidelines and standards. Practical Action Publishing, 2009).
Signal Processing: False Alarm Reduction

Modern patient monitoring systems in intensive care produce frequent false alarms that can lead to reduced standard of care. In this case study we demonstrate the development of an algorithm which uses a data fusion and machine learning approach to reduce the number of false alarms, while avoiding the suppression of a significant number of true alarms.
EFFECTS OF TIME AND TEMPERATURE OF GRADE-A RAW MILK SAMPLE STORAGE ON BACTERIAL TEST RESULTS

Milk produced on 30 grade-A farms was analyzed bacteriologically after the following storage treatments: less than 2 hr; 3.3 and 7.2 C for 1, 2, and 3 days, and 3.3 C for 54 hr followed by prelimin...
Blobs in the framework of drift wave dynamics

Analytic solutions for blob-like structures obtained in S. I. Krasheninnikov [Phys. Lett. A 380, 3905 (2016)], are examined in detail. Numerical solutions for the cases where analytic consideration is not possible are provided.
Interaction of transferrin with non-cognate metals studied by native electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Abstract Transferrin (Tf) is a key player in iron homeostasis which transports otherwise insoluble ferric ion and delivers it to cells via receptor-mediated endocytosis. Since Tf is also capable of binding a range of other metals with very high affinity, it remains in the focal point of multiple studies aiming at understanding the mechanism of biodistribution of clinically relevant non-ferric metals. The latter included toxic metals, as well as metals that can be exploited for medicinal or therapeutic benefit (e.g., radionuclides). More recently, there was a growing interest in using non-cognate metals as tracers of Tf-based therapeutics in animal-based disease models. In this work interaction of seven metal ions in their physiologically relevant oxidation states (Cr3+, In3+, Ti4+ and four lanthanides) with Tf were studied using native electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI MS). Cr3+, In3+ and Ti4+ display Tf-binding properties that are similar to those of the cognate metal (Fe3+), while Tf association with lanthanides leads to formation of complexes that are very unstable in the gas phase, indicating the protein/metal binding mechanism and structure in this case are very different from those leading to formation of the Fe2Tf complex. Native ESI MS also allowed the receptor binding competence of Tf loaded with non-ferric metals to be evaluated. Lastly, behavior of these complexes under conditions mimicking the endosomal environment (where the release of the cognate metal actually occurs) was also evaluated. This analysis revealed striking similarities between Cr2Tf, In2Tf and Ti2Tf on one hand, and the diferric form of Tf on the other hand, strongly suggesting that Tf is indeed a critical player in homeostasis of these metals and must be considered both in the analysis of metal toxicity and in the design of metal-based therapeutics.
Metamaterial advances for radar and communications

Metamaterial antennas have progressed considerably in the last few years. Kymeta has demonstrated December 2014 the transmission to satellites and back using 20 and 30 GHz antennas about the size of a laptop which use meta material resonators to effect the phase shifting. A clear explanation of how this antenna works is given. Echo dyne and PARC, a Xerox Co., have developed meta material arrays for radar. The Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi MD has funded the development of a meta material 250–505 MHZ antenna with a λ/20 thickness. Complementing this a conventional tightly coupled dipole antenna (TCDA) has been developed which provides a 20:1 bandwidth with a λ /40 thickness. Target cloaking has been demonstrated at microwaves using meta materials. With cloaking the electromagnetic wave signal transmitted by a radar goes around the target making it invisible. It has also been demonstrated at L-band with a 50% bandwidth using fractals. Stealthing by absorption using a thin flexible and stretchable meta materials sheet has been demonstrated to give 6 dB absorption over the band from 8–10 GHz, larger absorption over a narrower band. Using fractals material < 1 mm thick simulation gave a 10 dB reduction in backscatter from 2 to 20 GHz, ∼20 dB reduction from 9 to 15 GHz. Good results were obtained for large incidence angles and both polarizations. Using meta material one can focus 6X beyond diffraction limit at 0.38 μm (Moore's Law marches on); 40X diffraction limit, λ /80, at 375 MHz. Has been used in cell phones to provide antennas 5X smaller (1/10th λ) having 700 MHz-2.7 GHz bandwidth. Provided isolation between antennas having 2.5 cm separation equivalent to 1m separation. Used for phased array wide angle impedance matching (WAIM). It has been found that n-doped graphene has a negative index of refraction.
Technical Report/New Innovations. A steering trailer: design aspects and experimental results

A steering trailer was built to test the feasibility and effectiveness of a proposed automatic steering system. Answers were sought to these questions: 1) do the proposed control strategies work? 2) what type of actuator is required? 3) what sensors are required? 4) what are driver reactions and impressions? 5) what problems arise? This paper describes the experience gained while analysing, designing, constructing, and testing a small prototype steering trailer.
Land before water: The relative temporal sequence of human alteration of freshwater ecosystems in the conterminous United States

Abstract Human alteration of ecosystems prior to Euro-American contact in the area that became the conterminous United States disproportionately affected terrestrial systems compared to freshwater ecosystems, primarily through the use of fire and agriculture in some regions of the United States. After circa 1600 AD, trapping of beaver, along with intensive modification of rivers and wetlands for navigation, mining, flood control, power generation, and agriculture, substantially altered river corridors throughout the country. River corridor here refers to channels of all sizes, from headwater streams to very large rivers, and includes floodplains and wetlands associated with channels. Literature suggests that ecosystem alteration by humans prior to and during Euro-American settlement changed from predominantly terrestrial to both terrestrial and freshwater in a manner that was time-transgressive with Euro-American colonization and U.S. settlement between the 17th and 19th centuries. The extent and intensity of post-Euro-American alteration of freshwater environments in the United States has resulted in widespread river metamorphosis toward more geomorphically and ecologically homogenous systems. Recognition of the rapidity and ubiquity of this alteration, and the consequent instability of many contemporary river corridors, should underpin contemporary river management.
Selective Use of Sentinel Lymph Node Surgery in Patients Undergoing Prophylactic Mastectomy Using Intraoperative Pathology

Routine sentinel lymph node (SLN) surgery during prophylactic mastectomy (PM) is unnecessary, because most PMs do not contain cancer. Our institution utilizes intraoperative pathology to guide the surgical decision for resection of SLNs in PM. The purpose of this study was to review the effectiveness of this approach. We identified all women aged ≥18 years who underwent bilateral PM (BPM) or contralateral PM (CPM) at our institution from January 2008 to July 2016. We evaluated the frequency of SLN resection and rate of occult breast cancer (DCIS or invasive disease) in the PM. We used the following definitions: over-treatment—SLN surgery in patients without cancer; under-treatment—no SLN surgery in patients with cancer; appropriate treatment—no SLN in patients without cancer or SLN surgery in patients with cancer. PM was performed on 1900 breasts: 1410 (74.2%) CPMs and 490 (25.8%) BPMs. Cancer was identified in 58 (3.0%) cases (32 invasive disease and 26 DCIS) and concurrent SLN surgery was performed in 44 (75.9%) of those cases. Overall, SLN surgery guided by intraoperative pathology resulted in appropriate treatment of 1787 (94.1%) cases: 1319 (93.5%) CPMs and 468 (95.5%) BPMs, by avoiding SLN in 1743/1842 cases without cancer (94.6%), and performing SLN surgery in 44/58 cases with cancer (75.9%). Use of intraoperative pathology to direct SLN surgery in patients undergoing PM minimizes over-treatment from routine SLN in PM and minimizes under-treatment from avoiding SLN in PM, demonstrating the value of intraoperative pathology in this era of focus on appropriateness of care.
Sensitivity-based nested partitions for solving finite-horizon Markov decision processes

Abstract In this paper, we propose a heuristic for solving finite-horizon Markov decision processes. The heuristic uses the nested partitions (NP) framework to guide an iterative search for the optimal policy. NP focuses the search on certain promising subregions, flexibly determined by the sampling weight of each action branch. Within each subregion, an effective local policy optimization is developed using sensitivity-based approach, which optimizes the sampling weights based on estimated gradient information. Numerical results show the effectiveness of the proposed heuristic.
Patient Perceptions of Barriers to Self-Management of Breast Cancer–Related Lymphedema:

Breast cancer survivors are at lifetime risk for the development of breast cancer-related lymphedema, a chronic, potentially debilitating condition that requires life-long symptom management. Suboptimal self-management rates suggest that health care providers may not be offering educative-support options that are customized to patient-perceived needs. An Institutional Review Board-approved focus group ( N = 9) and mailed surveys ( N = 15) were used to identify (a) barriers to lymphedema self-management, (b) how breast cancer survivors with lymphedema defined education and support, (c) what type of education and support they had received, and (d) what kind of education and support they wanted. Physiological, psychological, and psychosocial factors were identified as barriers to successful lymphedema self-management. One of the main barriers identified was lack of education about lymphedema treatment and risk reduction. In addition, more than half defined support as "prescriptions" and "referrals"; therefore, it is unclear whether patients were exposed to support other than medical treatment.
Rotational Diffusion Coefficients of Complex Macromolecules

It is necessary to have an accurate theory enabling calculation of the rotational diffusion coefficient Dθθ in terms of molecular structure, if electric birefringence relaxation times are to be interpreted. We have constructed such a theory for rigid macromolecular structures composed of arrays of nonidentical, spherical subunits. Hydrodynamic interaction between the subunits is expressed by a tensor which takes into account the finite size of the subunits. The set of simultaneous interaction equations is solved completely by numerical methods. While substantial improvements over prior theories are obtained, difficulties still remain when a large spherical subunit is located near the center of rotation. The rotation of this subunit about its axis is calculated to contribute less to rotational friction than is in fact the case. We have remedied this by replacing the large central sphere by an array (typically octahedral or cubic) of smaller spheres chosen to have the same Dθθ. Agreement with the Perrin equation for prolate ellipsoids is now good over the entire range of axial ratios. For T-even phage, experimental (20°C) and theoretical values are now in excellent accord: 250–325 sec-1 (exp) and 250–330 sec-1 (theor) for fiber-less or fiber-retracted phage; and 100–120 sec-1 (exp) and 112 sec-1 (theor) for fiber-extended phage. We feel that the theory is now sufficiently refined that adequate calculations of DR for any rigid structure, regardless of shape or symmetry, can be made with a moderate investment of computer time.
Triglyceride Synthesis Enzymes in Skin/Fur

In this chapter, we will discuss the two enzymes known to synthesize triacylglycerol (or triglyceride, TG) and their role in murine skin and fur physiology. However, it is imperative to note that these enzymes were named based on the initial discovery that they possessed the ability to synthesize TG. Moreover, it is likely that the additional enzymatic activities of one of the enzymes play more important roles in regulating lipid homeostasis in the skin than its ability to synthesize TG.
Effect of Core Morphology on the Structural Asymmetry of Alkanethiol Monolayer-Protected Gold Nanoparticles

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are versatile materials suitable for various biological applications due to their tunable surface properties, but structure–function relationships between specific GNP components and GNP behavior are largely lacking. In this work, atomistic molecular dynamics simulations were used to study the influence of gold core morphology, size, and ligand length on the structure of uniformly nonpolar alkanethiol monolayer-protected GNPs in water. By use of a generalized system preparation workflow, three gold core models were selected for this study: (1) a uniformly spherical hollow gold core, (2) a spherical gold core cut from a bulk gold lattice, and (3) a faceted gold core obtained from variance-constrained semigrand-canonical simulations. Independent of the gold core morphology, we found that long alkanethiol ligands exhibit increased ligand order and form quasi-crystalline domains, or bundles, in which ligands orient in the same direction, leading to asymmetric monolayer structures. Fa...
Characterizing the Safety of Self-Driving Vehicles: A Fault Containment Protocol for Functionality Involving Vehicle Detection

Safety has been ranked as the number one concern for the acceptance and adoption of autonomous vehicles, and understandably so since safety has some of the most complex requirements in the development of self-driving vehicles. Traditionally, automotive safety follows functional safety concepts as detailed in the standard ISO 26262. However, autonomous driving safety goes beyond ISO 26262, and includes other safety concepts such as safety of the intended functionality and multiagent safety. In this paper, we characterize the concept of safety for self-driving vehicles, and we discuss fault-tolerant techniques in the design of safe autonomous vehicles. We also propose a faultcontainment protocol for the perception system of an autonomous vehicle that involves vehicle detection.
Gay-Friendly Psychoanalysis and the Abiding Pleasures of Prejudice

ABSTRACTPsychoanalysts in North America have mostly rejected the theory that homosexuality in men is “caused” by developmental arrest. Most have also rejected the belief that the Oedipus Complex is...
Early onset oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma: Associated factors and patient outcomes.

BACKGROUND Incidence of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTC) is rising among those under age 50 years. The etiology is unknown. METHODS A total of 395 cases of OTC diagnosed and/or treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center between 2000 and 2017 were identified. Of those, 113 (28.6%) were early onset (age < 50 years). Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with early onset OTC. Cox proportional hazards models evaluated survival and recurrence. RESULTS Compared to typical onset patients, patients with early onset OTC were more likely to receive multimodality treatment (surgery and radiation; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2-6.3) and report a history of snuff use (aOR, 5.4; 95% CI, 1.8-15.8) and were less likely to report a history of cigarette use (aOR, 0.5; 95% CI, 0.2-0.9). Early onset patients had better overall survival (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.6). CONCLUSIONS This is the largest study to evaluate factors associated with early onset OTC and the first to report an association with snuff.
Vessel segmentation with deep learning (Conference Presentation)

Vessel segmentation, which is to distinguish blood vessels from the surrounding tissue in images, is a pre-processing step that is often required for the analysis of a vascular network. Three-dimensional segmentation is often challenging in the presence of noise, and a simple thresholding method usually does not work well. Here we have integrated features extracted from 3D images obtained from two-photon in-vivo microscopy with deep learning to do vessel segmentation. The inputs are eigenvalues of the Hessian matrix for each voxel for three different Gaussian filters of width 2, 3, 4 μm and the intensity normalized within the x-y plane. The network is composed of 3-5 layers and each with 3-6 hidden units and is trained for two mouse brain vasculature networks and tested on a third one. The results show a significant improvement compared to a simple thresholding method and are going to be compared with other segmentation methods such as particle filters and enhancement filters. Preliminary results of segmenting OCT data are also obtained.
Statistical methods research done as science rather than mathematics

This paper is about how we study statistical methods. As an example, it uses the random regressions model, in which the intercept and slope of cluster-specific regression lines are modeled as a bivariate random effect. Maximizing this model's restricted likelihood often gives a boundary value for the random effect correlation or variances. We argue that this is a problem; that it is a problem because our discipline has little understanding of how contemporary models and methods map data to inferential summaries; that we lack such understanding, even for models as simple as this, because of a near-exclusive reliance on mathematics as a means of understanding; and that math alone is no longer sufficient. We then argue that as a discipline, we can and should break open our black-box methods by mimicking the five steps that molecular biologists commonly use to break open Nature's black boxes: design a simple model system, formulate hypotheses using that system, test them in experiments on that system, iterate as needed to reformulate and test hypotheses, and finally test the results in an "in vivo" system. We demonstrate this by identifying conditions under which the random-regressions restricted likelihood is likely to be maximized at a boundary value. Resistance to this approach seems to arise from a view that it lacks the certainty or intellectual heft of mathematics, perhaps because simulation experiments in our literature rarely do more than measure a new method's operating characteristics in a small range of situations. We argue that such work can make useful contributions including, as in molecular biology, the findings themselves and sometimes the designs used in the five steps; that these contributions have as much practical value as mathematical results; and that therefore they merit publication as much as the mathematical results our discipline esteems so highly.
Food, Health and Values: The Effects of Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Sustainable Food Practices on Overall Diet Quality among College Students

Objective: This study examined the associations between overall diet quality and attitudes and behaviors regarding sustainable food practices among college students. Additionally, the roles of gender and race in attitudes and behaviors regarding sustainable food practices were examined. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a total of 97 college students. Surveys were completed to assess the relationships between self-reported dietary intake and attitudes toward local and genetically modified foods, along with farmers’ market attendance. The roles of gender and race in attitudes and behaviors regarding sustainable food practices were also examined. Independent t-tests and chi square analyses were used for statistical analysis. Results: The overall diet quality mean score (ODQMS) was higher for students who attended farmers’ markets, for those who had positive attitudes toward local food, and for those who had negative attitudes toward genetically modified food. There was a significant difference between males and females in their farmers’ market attendance, attitudes toward genetically modified food, and ODQMS. Conclusions: Diet quality of college students was associated with attitudes toward local and genetically modified foods, farmers’ market attendance, and gender. Future research should focus on further understanding of relationships between consumer understanding of sustainable food practices and healthy food choices.
Identification of side arm-modified DOTA scaffolds as multi-site binding ligands for cancer cells over normal cells.

Abstract The metal-chelated 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecan-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid-tetraamide (DOTA) scaffold has been widely used as a contrast agent for diagnostic purposes in positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but not as a biomarker targetable ligand. While the oxygen atoms at the stem of the four arms of the DOTA scaffold are needed for metal chelation, we previously introduced various physiochemical properties to extend these arms in a chemical library fashion to enhance the imaging contrast mechanism. We developed two such on-bead libraries, with 80 and 76 DOTA derivatives, where one arm was used to attach the DOTA scaffold onto resin beads and the other three arms were chemically modified. We now hypothesized that the chemical moieties used to modify these three arms can also recognize biomarkers on a cell surface. Therefore in this current study, we used such 76 derivatives of DOTA library to screen against HeLa cervical cancer cells. We found that two of the four ‘hits’ identified displayed higher binding towards HeLa cells than the unmodified parent DOTA. Furthermore, one of those ‘hits’ displayed better binding towards cervical and prostate cancer cells than lung and breast cancer cells and normal HBEC-3KT and RWPE1 cells. This indicates that this derivative can recognize a biomarker specific for certain types of cancer cells. If the compound has intrinsic activity, this can be used as a theranostic agent for real time therapy monitoring applications in the future. We believe that our DOTA derivative-based library approach can be applied to other types of cell and protein screens on various disease types in the future.
Taxonomizing the Clinical Ethics Critics

In their very instructive “Taxonomizing Views of Clinical Ethics Expertise” (Brummet and Salter 2019), Abram Brummett and Erika Salter provide a bird’s eye view of the positions taken on the questi...