cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Liver enzyme abnormalities in spinal cord injury.

AbstractA retrospective study of serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (SGOT) was performed on eighteen previously healthy patients with acute spinal cord lesions C1 to L1 and no abdominal trauma. The SGPT rose in 13 of the 17 (76%). The SGOT rose in 8 of the 17 (47%). The SGPT and SGOT values for the entire group were significantly elevated over the upper limits of normal (p< 0.01). The mean and median days of onset of elevated SGPT after trauma were 22 and 18, respectively. The mean and median days to normalization after trauma were 67 and 64. The mean and median days of onset of elevated SGOT were 26 and 19 respectively. The mean and median days to normalization were 42 and 43. The alkaline phosphatase were elevated in all but eight patients. The bilirubin was elevated in only three patients. Seventy-six percent of the quadriplegics and 60% of the paraplegics had elevated transaminases. The elevations are probably related to liver injury but the mechanism...
Raman Spectra of Lattice Vibrations and the Order-Disorder Phase Transition in Ammonium Halides

Ammonium chloride and bromide undergo an order-disorder phase transition at Tc = 243°K and 235°K[1, 2] respectively. For the corresponding deuterated crystals the critical temperatures are only slightly shifted. Above this transition (Phase II) the structure of both is tetrahedral (point group Td) but disordered: the NH4 tetrahedra are randomly distributed between the two inverted configurations. At temperatures sufficiently below Tc such that complete order is attained, (Phase III) NE4Cl becomes rigorously tetrahedral with all NH4 ions similarly oriented forming domains[3]. Phase III of NH4Br is tetragonal (point group D4h), with a pair of inverted molecules per unit cell[2]. A macroscopic crystal consists of tetragonal domains. The bromide undergoes yet another transition at about 108°K, but with little information available about its nature. We do have evidence in this work that such a transition indeed occurs.
Simpathica: A Computational Systems Biology Tool Within the Valis Bioinformatics Environment

ABSTRACT Biology thrives on complexity, and yet our approaches to deciphering complex biological systems have been simple, observational, reductionist, and qualitative. The observational nature of biology may even seem self-evident, as expressed more than three centuries ago by Robert Hooke, whose work Micrographia of 1665 contained his microscopical investigations that included the first identification of biological cells: “The truth is, the science of Nature has already been too long made only a work of the brain and the fancy. It is now high time that it should return to the plainness and soundness of observations on material and obvious things.” As we begin to observe, infer, and list the fundamental “parts” out of which biology is created, we cannot stop marveling at how these same components and their variants and homologues interconnect, intertwine, and interact via universal principles that still remain to be fully deciphered. To unravel this biological complexity, of which we only have a hint so far, it has become necessary to develop novel tools and approaches that augment and rigorously formalize those human reasoning processes—tools that until now could be used for only tiny toy-like subsystems in biology. To this end, the anticipated computational systems biology tools aim to draw upon constructive mathematical approaches developed in the context of dynamical systems, kinetic analysis, computational theory, and logic. The resulting toolkit aspires to build powerful simulation, analysis, and reasoning facilities that can be used by working biologists for multiple purposes: in making sense of existing data, in devising new experiments, and ultimately in understanding functional properties of genomes, proteomes, cells, organs, and organisms. If this ambitious program is to ultimately succeed, there are certain critical components that require special attention of computer scientists and applied mathematicians. This chapter studies the nature of these components, software architecture for integrating them, and illustrative examples of how such an integrated system may function in practice.
Moral Motivation and the Four Component Model

In the early 1980s, Rest proposed a Four-Component Model of moral functioning in which moral motivation is featured. Although less well articulated than the other three components, Rest suggested that moral motivation influences moral action directly and in interaction with the other components of the moral system.
Physical activity and dietary behavior with red blood cell distribution width.

Abstract Background No studies, to date, have examined the concurrent effects of physical activity and healthy eating on red blood cell distribution width. Purpose Examine the association between accelerometer-determined physical activity and daily dietary patterns with red blood cell distribution width (RDW). Methods Data from the 2003–2006 NHANES were used. 4538 participants provided data on the study variables. Physical activity was assessed over a 7-day period via accelerometry. Dietary behavior was assessed using 2 recall surveys. Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to examine the association between physical activity and diet with RDW (outcome variable). Results Independent of established CVD risk factors, physical activity (β = − 0.07, p = 0.002), but not diet (β = − 0.05, p = 0.13), was associated with lower RDW. There was no evidence of multiplicative interaction (interaction term: β = 0.02, p = 0.65). Conclusion Physical activity, but not diet, was inversely associated with RDW. If confirmed by prospective studies, adoption of regular physical activity may help to prevent cardiovascular disease and mortality via changes in RDW.
Decision Tree Modeling of Wheel-Spinning and Productive Persistence in Skill Builders.

Research on non-cognitive factors has shown that persistence in the face of challenges plays an important role in learning. However, recent work on wheel-spinning, a type of unproductive persistence where students spend too much time struggling without achieving mastery of skills, show that not all persistence is uniformly beneficial for learning. For this reason, it becomes increasingly pertinent to identify the key differences between unproductive and productive persistence toward informing interventions in computer-based learning environments. In this study, we use a classification model to distinguish between productive persistence and wheel-spinning in ASSISTments, an online math learning platform. Our results indicate that there are two types of students who wheel-spin: first, students who do not request any hints in at least one problem but request more than one bottom-out hint across any 8 problems in the problem set; second, students who never request two or more bottom out hints across any 8 problems, do not request any hints in at least one problem, but who engage in relatively short delays between solving problems of the same skill. These findings suggest that encouraging students to both engage in spaced practice and use bottom-out hints sparingly is likely helpful for reducing their wheel-spinning and improving learning. These findings also provide insight on when students are struggling and how to make students' persistence more productive.
Effects of the multikinase inhibitor regorafenib in neuroblastoma.

10553Background: Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common extracranial solid pediatric tumor, and children with high-risk NB have poor survival rates and need novel treatment strategies. Regorafenib, ...
Optimal Energy Pricing and Dispatch for a Multi-Microgrid Industrial Park Operating Based on Just-In-Time Strategy

Energy dispatch in multi-user networks with limited energy resources can lead to competitive markets where individuals would place bids with the goal of maximizing their own profits. Game theoretic techniques are elegant mathematical candidates to solve such problems. However, existence of equilibrium points cannot be guaranteed this way. Even if such points are reached, Pareto optimality of the solution cannot be ensured. In this paper, an alternative approach based on multiobjective optimization is proposed in order to maximize the “collective benefits” of a group of players. Instead of allowing individuals to compete for resources, a neutral third party finds a solution that is Pareto optimal and meets all constraints associated with individual users. A multi-microgrid industrial park is considered where each microgrid represents a manufacturing plant. The park is assumed to be equipped with a central controller that purchases energy from the grid and dispatches it among the individual microgrids. When this energy is limited due to capacity constraints, each microgrid would try to receive a larger portion so as to increase its production level. Naturally, these individual objectives are contradictory. As such, the problem is formulated as multi-objective optimization and solved using a modified approach based on goal programming to ensure the Pareto optimality of the overall solution. This way, the limited energy resource is shared in a way that maximizes the collective profit of the group, instead of individuals.
Medical Malpractice in Pediatric Orthopaedics: A Systematic Review of US Case Law.

Background Compared with other orthopaedic subspecialties, pediatric orthopaedic surgeons are thought to be at greater risk for malpractice claims; however, there is scant research on this topic. The purpose of our study was to characterize publicly available malpractice cases pertaining to pediatric orthopaedics to determine the (1) most common specialties of the physicians implicated, (2) most common diagnoses involved, (3) rate of verdicts in favor of the plaintiff, (4) amount of indemnity payments resulting from all verdicts versus verdicts in which only an orthopaedic surgeon was involved, and (5) outcomes of cases that were appealed. Methods The Westlaw legal database was queried for jury verdicts, settlements, and appellate cases using the search terms "pediatric" AND "orthopaedic" from December 31, 1984, to January 1, 2016, yielding 176 appellate court cases and 189 jury reports/settlements. After excluding duplicate cases and those involving patients aged 21 years or older, 36 appellate and 84 jury reports/settlement cases remained for analysis. Results Lawsuits against orthopaedic surgeons and pediatricians were most common, in cases involving fracture diagnosis and misdiagnosis of developmental dysplasia of the hip, respectively. Of the 84 cases, 43 rulings favored the plaintiffs. The median (interquartile range) indemnity payment was $900,000 ($1.9 million), and for cases in which only the orthopaedic surgeon was named as the defendant, the median (interquartile range) indemnity payment was $675,000 ($827,000). Of the 34 appellate cases, 16 cases initially ruled in favor of the defendant were upheld and 13 were reversed/remanded. Five cases initially ruled in favor of the plaintiff were upheld, and none was reversed/remanded. Conclusions Malpractice lawsuits named orthopaedic surgeons and pediatricians more often than physicians in other specialties. Orthopaedic surgeons were sued most often for management of fractures and pediatricians for mismanagement of developmental dysplasia of the hip. Nearly 51% of malpractice cases were ruled in favor of the plaintiff, with high indemnity payments. However, when cases that were ruled in favor of the physician were appealed, most verdicts were upheld. Level of evidence Level IV.
Property (T) for Kac–Moody groups over rings

Abstract Let R be a finitely generated commutative ring with 1, let A be an indecomposable 2-spherical generalized Cartan matrix of size at least 2 and M = M ( A ) the largest absolute value of a non-diagonal entry of A. We prove that there exists an integer n = n ( A ) such that the Kac–Moody group G A ( R ) has property (T) whenever R has no proper ideals of index less than n and all positive integers less than or equal to M are invertible in R.
Operative Evaluation of the Upper Aerodigestive Tract

Critical components of patient assessment always include history, physical exam, and in-office visualization of the functioning larynx. Instrumented evaluation of swallow function and imaging exams may also be warranted, depending on the clinical scenario. In most children with a significant aerodigestive complaint which is not readily identified on these assessments, the next step is evaluation in the operating room for further physical examination. Operative direct laryngoscopy, bronchoscopy, and esophagoscopy allow for close examination of the upper aerodigestive tract with the opportunity for intervention and remain an invaluable aspect of pediatric patient evaluation. This chapter reviews the indications, equipment, technique, and approach to intraoperative upper aerodigestive tract assessment.
Acute alcohol intake alters resting state functional connectivity of nucleus accumbens with pain-related corticolimbic structures.

Abstract Background The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a ventral striatal structure underlying reward, reinforcement, and motivation, with extensive anatomic and functional connections to a wide range of affective processing structures (medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), amygdala, and insula). Characterizing how acute alcohol intake affects resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) between the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and these regions will improve mechanistic understanding of alcohol’s neurobehavioral effects, including the neural overlap between acute alcohol effects and pain processing. Methods Fifteen healthy social drinkers (10 women; age: 25–45 years) were included in the study. Participants completed one session in which they consumed an alcohol dose targeting a breath alcohol concentration of 0.08 g/dL, and in a second a placebo beverage. Nine-minute resting state fMRI scans were acquired 30−35 min after beverage administration during each session. rsFC between NAc and a priori corticolimbic regions of interest (mPFC, amgydala, and insula), were compared between beverage conditions. We also conducted an exploratory whole-brain seed-to-voxel analysis of NAc FC. Results Alcohol intake reduced rsFC between NAc and mPFC, as well as NAc and amygdala. Alcohol also reduced rsFC between NAc and a 97-voxel cluster including bilateral paracingulate cortex and anterior cingulate cortex. Conclusions Findings suggest that acute alcohol intake reduces rsFC between NAc and several structures, including mPFC, amygdala, and rostral ACC in healthy social drinkers. These structures underlie reward, motivated behavior, and emotion regulation, and may provide mechanistic insight to how alcohol affects related processes, including pain.
Occipital Artery to Middle Cerebral Artery Bypass Using the Descending Branch of the Lateral Circumflex Femoral Artery as an Interposition Graft for Blood Flow Augmentation in Progressive Moyamoya Disease.

Background The superficial temporal artery to middle cerebral artery (MCA) end-to-side anastomosis is the most commonly used direct extracranial-intracranial bypasses type for Moyamoya disease (MMD). In progressive MMD without suitable scalp arteries, other bypass constructs may need to be considered to augment blood flow. Case Description We present the exceptional case of a 48-year-old woman with progressive MMD and repeated transient ischemic attacks originating from the right hemisphere despite previous bilateral bypasses. We used the descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery as an interposition graft for an occipital artery to M4 MCA bypass with 2 end-to-side anastomoses to augment blood flow. The ipsilateral occipital artery had already formed bilateral transdural collaterals; the goal was to preserve its supply while using the artery as a donor for an interposition graft. Access to the Sylvian fissure was limited because of the previous superficial temporal artery to MCA bypass with an extensive superficial collateral network necessitating preservation. The posterior aspect of the Sylvian fissure was targeted to revascularize the posterior frontal and parietal region using an interposition graft matching the vessel size of a distal MCA vessel segment. Surgery was technically successful, without complications, and the patient recovered without new neurologic deficits. The bypass graft was patent on postoperative computed tomographic angiography and transcranioplasty ultrasound. Conclusions This case illustrates the need for creative bypass constructs in progressive MMD patients with multiple prior surgeries. Two surgical goals are paramount: flow augmentation with preservation of the existing collateral network to avoid complications and new deficits.
Functional Dynamical Systems

In this chapter we consider functional dynamical systems on time scales that we apply to Volterra integro-dynamic equations on time scales. Our general theorems will require the construction of suitable Lyapunov functionals, a task that is difficult but possible. General theorems concerning boundedness and stability of functional dynamical systems on time scales are almost nonexistent and this section is aimed at rectifying the situation. The theorems enable us to qualitatively analyze the theory of boundedness, uniform ultimate boundedness, and stability of solutions of vectors and scalar Volterra integro-dynamic equations. We end the chapter with open problems. Some of the results are new and the rest can be found in Adivar and Raffoul (Rend Semin Mat Univ Politec Torino 68(4):369–396, 2010), Akin-Bohner and Raffoul (Adv Differ Equ 2006:79689, 18, 2006), and Raffoul (Canad Math Bull 58(1):174–181, 2015; Arch Math 52(1):21–33, 2016).
RFMap: Generating Indoor Maps using RF Signals

Generating maps of indoor environments beyond the line of sight finds applications in several areas such as planning, navigation, and security. While researchers have previously explored the use of RF signals to generate maps, prior work has two important limitations: (i) it requires moving the mapping setup along the entire lengths of the sides of the building, and (ii) it generates maps that are not fully connected, rather are scatter plots of locations from where some obstacles reflected the signals. Thus, prior approaches require human interpretation to locate the walls and determine how they merge. In this paper, we address these limitations and propose RFMap, which generates fully connected maps, and does not require the measurement setup to be moved along the sides of the buildings. To generate the map, RFMap first transmits RF signals in many different directions by rotating the antennas while keeping them at the same location and then measures the distances of different reflectors inside the building. Next, it identifies these reflectors and classifies them into various types based on the properties of the reflections. A key challenge is that RFMap does not receive reflections from all the directions due to the specular nature of the reflectors. Due to this, it only gets sparse data about the objects in the environment. To address this challenge, RFMap trains deep generative adversarial network (GAN) to intelligently predict the missing information. At runtime, it feeds the locations and types of the detected reflectors to the trained GAN and generates the complete and accurate map. We implemented RFMap using software defined radios and extensively evaluated it in several real world environments. Our results show that RFMap generated the maps of all the buildings that we tested it on with high accuracy.
Feasibility of TEMPO-functionalized imidazolium, ammonium and pyridinium salts as redox-active carriers in ethaline deep eutectic solvent for energy storage

The discovery of electrolytes that have low vapor pressures and high solubility towards redox active species with an ability to undergo multiple electron transfer reactions is a challenge to realize in large-scale energy storage. Herein, we investigate the feasibility of (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl (TEMPO) derived halide salts as redox active species in ethaline (1 : 2 ethylene glycol : choline chloride), a deep eutectic solvent (DES). Hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions achieved by the functionalization of TEMPO are shown to improve solubility in ethaline. This is the first study evaluating the physical properties and electrochemical behavior of the newly synthesized TEMPO-salts in ethaline providing insight into the impact of chemical functionality on the utility of these redox active species in DESs.
Pimavanserin versus quetiapine for the treatment of psychosis in Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies (P2.8-037)

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of pimavanserin versus quetiapine for the treatment of psychosis associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Background: Psychosis is common among patients with PD and DLB, typically manifesting as visual hallucinations. Most antipsychotics worsen parkinsonism in this population and limited data exist on the most effective and safest therapies. Design/Methods: This retrospective cohort study compared patients at a single movement disorders center with PD or DLB complicated by psychosis, who were initiated on quetiapine or pimavanserin between April 2016 and August 2018. Primary outcome was time to discontinuation of the medication using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Secondary outcomes included mortality, reason for discontinuation, and improvement in psychosis. Log-rank and Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare outcomes. Results: There were 46 patients in the quetiapine cohort and 45 in the pimavanserin cohort. Mean age was 74.6 in the quetiapine group and 71.4 in the pimavanserin group (p=0.0455); otherwise baseline characteristics were similar. 22% of patients taking quetiapine and 33% of patients taking pimavanserin discontinued the medication (p =0.3165). Among patients who discontinued the antipsychotic, 70% in the quetiapine group and 13.3% in the pimavanserin group cited side effects as the primary reason (p=0.009), whereas 53.3% who discontinued pimavanserin and 10% who discontinued quetiapine cited inefficacy as the primary reason for discontinuation (p=0.040). Seven patients (15%) died while taking quetiapine and 3 (7%) died while taking pimavanserin (p=0.1966). 65.2% in the quetiapine cohort and 75.6% in the pimavanserin cohort reported improvement in hallucinations (p=0.360). Conclusions: In this single-center study, there were no significant differences between pimavanserin and quetiapine in time to discontinuation, mortality, or improvement in psychosis. Patients were more likely to discontinue quetiapine because of side effects and pimavanserin due to inefficacy. Larger, randomized studies will help determine how to best treat psychosis in PD and LBD. Disclosure: Dr. Horn has nothing to disclose. Dr. Dahodwala has received research support from AbbVie, Biotie and Medtronic.
Pleasure in Ancient Greek Philosophy

1. Introduction 2. Pleasure in early Greek ethics 3. Pleasure in the early physical tradition 4. Plato on pleasure and restoration 5. Plato on true, untrue and false pleasures 6. Aristotle on pleasure and activation 7. Epicurus and the Cyrenaics on katastematic and kinetic pleasures 8. The Old Stoics on pleasure as passion 9. Contemporary conceptions of pleasure 10. Ancient and contemporary conceptions of pleasure Suggestions for further reading.
Is There a Place for Theoretical Frameworks in Qualitative Research

Qualitative research proceeds from the position that there is no one observable reality. Researchers utilizing qualitative methods build findings inductively, from raw data to a conceptual understa...
Non-Debtor Substantive Consolidation: A Remedy Built on Rock or Sand?

Substantive consolidation “is no mere instrument of procedural convenience.” This remedy, a creature of equity, pools the assets and liabilities of several related entities into a single bankruptcy estate, wiping out inter-company debts and satisfying all claims from a common pool of assets. It has the power to radically rebalance the rights of the consolidated entities’ creditors, forcing creditors of a more solvent debtor to share with those of a less solvent affiliate. This broad power is even more sweeping when courts use it to draw non-debtors into the bankruptcy process. Courts have declared substantive consolidation of nondebtor entities to be “a type of relief fraught with conceptual problems.” Its position “betwixt and between” a variety of substantive rights makes it difficult to accurately characterize the remedy, much less define its scope. As such, courts are divided on whether, and under what circumstances, equitable principles can extend bankruptcy’s reach to the assets of a non-debtor entity. This issue of the Bankruptcy Law Letter considers the recent substantive consolidation decisions arising from the bankruptcy case of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Both the Bankruptcy and District Courts for the District of Minnesota refused to permit substantive consolidation of non-debtor parishes and other affiliates operating under the umbrella of the Archdiocese. Both courts held that substantive consolidation was an impermissible exercise of the court’s powers under § 105 of the Bankruptcy Code, because the attempted consolidation directly contravened § 303(a)’s prohibition on commencing an involuntary bankruptcy case against “a corporation that is not a moneyed, business, or commercial corporation.’’ This case provides a welcome opportunity to examine the concept of non-debtor substantive consolidation—its origins and its relation to involuntary bankruptcy—and to highlight a new (or more accurately, old) statutory foundation for the doctrine.
Role of theories in school-based diabetes care interventions: A critical review.

BACKGROUND Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. School plays an essential role in the management of student diabetes, which reduces the risk of short- and long-term diabetes complications and ensures that students are well-positioned for optimal academic performance and growth. AIM The aim of this review was to systematically identify and synthesize the literature concerning theory-based diabetes care interventions in K-12 schools in the United States. It critically assessed the specific role of theories and associated essential constructs in intervention design, implementation, outcome measurement, and evaluation. METHODS Relevant literature was identified by keyword searches of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Web of Science. RESULTS Four interventions met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Of those, two evaluated online diabetes education programs for school personnel and the other two assessed in-person interventions. Three studies adopted a one-group pre-post study design, and the remaining one adopted a one-shot case-study design. Three of the interventions adopted social cognitive theory, and the remaining one was guided by the diffusion of innovations theory. Three studies identified core constructs of a theory as predictors of behavioral change. Two used theory to select or develop intervention techniques. Two studies used theory to customize participant intervention techniques. Two studies discussed their findings in the context of theory. No study used theory to select potential intervention participants. CONCLUSION In conclusion, despite the value of theory in intervention design and evaluation, theory-based diabetes interventions at school remain scarce. Future research may seek ways to better integrate theory and empirical research.
Sampling-based planning for non-myopic multi-robot information gathering

This paper proposes a novel highly scalable sampling-based planning algorithm for multi-robot active information acquisition tasks in complex environments. Active information gathering scenarios include target localization and tracking, active SLAM, surveillance, environmental monitoring and others. The objective is to compute control policies for sensing robots which minimize the accumulated uncertainty of a dynamic hidden state over an a priori unknown horizon. To address this problem, we propose a new sampling-based algorithm that simultaneously explores both the robot motion space and the reachable information space. Unlike relevant sampling-based approaches, we show that the proposed algorithm is probabilistically complete, asymptotically optimal and is supported by convergence rate bounds. Moreover, we propose a novel biased sampling strategy that biases exploration towards informative areas. This allows the proposed method to quickly compute sensor policies that achieve desired levels of uncertainty in large-scale estimation tasks that may involve large sensor teams, workspaces, and dimensions of the hidden state. Extensions of the proposed algorithm to account for hidden states with no prior information are discussed. We provide extensive simulation results that corroborate the theoretical analysis and show that the proposed algorithm can address large-scale estimation tasks that are computationally challenging for existing methods.
Practical Euthanasia Method for Common Sea Stars (Asterias rubens) That Allows for High-Quality RNA Sampling.

Sea stars in research are often lethally sampled without available methodology to render them insensible prior to sampling due to concerns over sufficient sample quality for applied molecular techniques. The objectives of this study were to describe an inexpensive and effective two-step euthanasia method for adult common sea stars (Asterias rubens) and to demonstrate that high-quality RNA samples for further use in downstream molecular analyses can be obtained from pyloric ceca of MgCl2-immersed sea stars. Adult common sea stars (n = 15) were immersed in a 75 g/L magnesium chloride solution until they were no longer reactive to having their oral surface tapped with forceps (mean: 4 min, range 2–7 min), left immersed for an additional minute, and then sampled with sharp scissors. RNA from pyloric ceca (n = 10) was isolated using a liquid–liquid method, then samples were treated with DNase and analyzed for evaluation of RNA integrity number (RIN) for assessment of the quantity and purity of intact RNA. Aversive reactions to magnesium chloride solution were not observed and no sea stars regained spontaneous movement or reacted to sampling. The calculated RIN ranged from 7.3–9.8, demonstrating that the combination of animal welfare via the use of anesthesia and sampling for advanced molecular techniques is possible using this low-cost technique.
The Nonlinear Effects of Uncertainty Shocks

We consider the effects of uncertainty shocks in a nonlinear VAR that allows uncertainty to have amplification effects. When uncertainty is relatively low, fluctuations in uncertainty have small, linear effects. In periods of high uncertainty, the effect of a further increase in uncertainty is magnified. We find that uncertainty shocks in this environment have a more pronounced effect on real economic variables. We also conduct counterfactual experiments to determine the channels through which uncertainty acts. Uncertainty propagates through both the household consumption channel and through businesses delaying investment, providing substantial contributions to the decline in GDP observed after uncertainty shocks. Finally, we find evidence of the ability of systematic monetary policy to mitigate the adverse effects of uncertainty shocks.
Unique features of magic spot metabolism in Clostridioides difficile

Abstract The ‘magic spot’ alarmones (pp)pGpp, previously implicated in Clostridioides difficile antibiotic survival, are synthesized by CdRSH and CdRelQ. These enzymes are transcriptionally activated by diverse environmental stresses, but both exclusively synthesize pGpp rather than ppGpp as has previously been reported. While direct synthesis of pGpp from a GMP substrate and (p)ppGpp hydrolysis into pGpp by NUDIX hydrolases have previously been reported, there is no precedent for a bacterium synthesizing pGpp exclusively. Hydrolysis of the 5’ phosphate or pyrophosphate from GDP or GTP substrates is necessary for activity by the clostridial enzymes, neither of which can utilize GMP as a substrate. Both enzymes are remarkably insensitive to the size of their metal ion cofactor, tolerating a broad array of metals that do not allow activity in (pp)pGpp synthetases from other organisms. It is clear that while C. difficile utilizes magic spot signaling, its mechanisms of alarmone synthesis are not directly homologous to those in more completely characterized organisms.
Permafrost Dynamics Observatory: Retrieval of Active Layer Thickness and Soil Moisture from Airborne Insar and Polsar Data

The Permafrost Dynamics Observatory (PDO) combines L-band interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) and P-band polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) to simultaneously estimate the seasonal thaw depth and soil moisture profile of the active layer in permafrost regions. L-band InSAR can measure seasonal subsidence due to thawing of the active layer and P-band PolSAR backscatter is sensitive to subsurface soil moisture. A joint retrieval scheme is developed as both subsidence and soil moisture are essential to accurate active layer thickness (ALT) estimation. The PDO joint retrieval has been applied to airborne L- and P-band SAR data acquired over Arctic-boreal region during the 2017 Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) airborne campaign. In this paper, we describe the forward models and joint inversion used in the PDO retrievals and compare the results with in-situ ALT and soil moisture data estimated from ground-penetrating radar (GPR).
Integrating National Space Visions

This paper examines value proposition assumptions for various models nations may use to justify, shape, and guide their space programs. Nations organize major societal investments like space programs to actualize national visions represented by leaders as investments in the public good. The paper defines nine 'vision drivers' that circumscribe the motivations evidently underpinning national space programs. It then describes 19 fundamental space activity objectives (eight extant and eleven prospective) that nations already do or could in the future use to actualize the visions they select. Finally the paper presents four contrasting models of engagement among nations, and compares these models to assess realistic pounds on the pace of human progress in space over the coming decades. The conclusion is that orthogonal engagement, albeit unlikely because it is unprecedented, would yield the most robust and rapid global progress.
Polarization-based complex index of refraction estimation with diffuse scattering consideration

Optical polarimetry is an approach that shows promise for refractive index estimation from scattering off a target’s surface, which is task of pivotal importance for remote sensing and computer graphics applications. However, the estimation often relies on a microfacet polarimetric bidirectional reflectance distribution function (pBRDF) that is limited to specular targets involving single surface scattering. In this paper, we develop an analytic model for the degree of polarization (DOP) reflected from a rough surface that includes a multiplicative factor for the effect of diffuse scattering. Evaluation of the model indicates that diffuse scattering can significantly affect the DOP values, and the biased DOP values can further lead to inaccurate estimation of the surface refractive index.
Embedding Planar Graphs In Seven Pages

This paper investigates the problem of embedding planar graphs in books of few pages. An efficient algorithm for embedding a planar graph in a book establishes an upper bound of seven pages for any planar graph. This disproves a conjecture of Bernhart and Kainen that the pagenumber of a planar graph can be arbitrarily large. It is also shown that the stellations of K/sub 3/ have pagenumber three, the best possible.
11 Breaking through Heaven’s Glass Ceiling: The Significance of the Commoner Woman of Qi in the “Lan ming” Chapter of the Huainanzi

This chapter presents a set of narratives that correspond to what we know about the Commoner Woman of Qi in an effort to understand the complex process by which the authors of the Huainanzi appropriated earlier narratives and deployed them for the particular ends of the chapter and the more general goals of the text. The story offered in Gao You's and Xu Shen's commentaries comes late in the tradition and fails to mention specifically what role the duke played in these events, while the tale from the Yanzi chunqiu with its happy ending does not correspond well to the details of the "Surveying Obscurities" story. The story concerns a woman of Qi and a Duke of Qi, not Duke Jing, but his elder half brother, Duke Zhuang 莊公. The potent means by which the Commoner Woman of Qi incites Duke Jing's demise is her skill in inner cultivation. Keywords: Commoner Woman of Qi; Duke Jing; Duke Zhuang; Gao You commentary; Huainanzi ; Xu Shen commentary
Elastic fields produced by a point source in solids of general anisotropy

Explicit expressions for three-dimensional elastostatic Green's functions in solids of general anisotropy are derived by means of an integral-representation technique and a subsequent application of the residue calculus. A direct calculation for the derivatives of the displacement Green's functions is quite complicated. However, relatively simple expressions can be obtained for the integration of the derivatives along a line or a surface. These integrals are in fact more useful, because, in most applications, not the derivatives, but their integrals along lines or surfaces are needed. Discussions regarding degenerate materials and details in evaluation of the residues at multiple poles are also given. The results presented in this paper are sufficient for the implementation of the boundary-element method for bodies of general anisotropic solids.
Mortgage Prepayment: The Trial of Common Sense

Paying off a mortgage before its natural date of maturity may trigger an fee for prepayment. Many battles have been fought over the equitable legitimacy of prepayment fees, with mortgage companies arguing that fees for premature payment are common sense and homeowners arguing that common sense dictates that mortgages may be prematurely satisfied penalty-free. This article reexamines the history of mortgage prepayment penalties, evaluates the current economic pressures forcing the issue to the forefront, and proposes a solution for the mortgage prepayment problem.
Who Are More Helpful, Humans or Chimpanzees?

Humans, including infants, are more willing than closely-related chimpanzees to cooperate and behave altruistically and cooperatively, probably in part accounting for their evolutionary success.
Intrathecal Catheter Granuloma Associated with Continuous Sufentanil Infusion

Intrathecal sufentanil is a minimally utilized opioid for patients with intractable pain refractory to traditional intrathecal medications. We present an 86-year-old female with a history of multiple spine surgeries who eventually progressed to having chronic, intractable, and diffuse low back pain. After failing medical management, she underwent a successful intrathecal trial of opioid therapy and was subsequently treated with an implantable drug delivery system (IDDS) or intrathecal pump. We describe the first reported case of formation of a catheter tip granuloma associated with intrathecal infusion of sufentanil. Due to increasing opioid requirements and gradually escalating pain, a computed tomography myelogram was performed to explore neuraxial etiologies of her symptoms. This investigation revealed the presence of a catheter tip-associated inflammatory mass (granuloma). All patients receiving intrathecal medications, including sufentanil, must be considered for the possibility of catheter-associated granuloma, particularly with symptoms of altered neurological function and/or increasing medication requirements associated with worsening pain.
The Huntington’s Disease-Behavioral Questionnaire (HD-BQ): A New Screening Tool For Behavioral Disturbances In HD (S47.002)

Objective: To examine the usefulness of a new behavioral questionnaire for patients with, and at risk for, Huntington’s disease (HD). Background: Behavioral changes, including apathy, depression, irritability, anxiety, disinhibition, difficulty prioritizing and initiating activities, are characteristic features of HD. For families and caregivers, they are often the most distressing aspect of the disease. The assessment of these behavioral disturbances is therefore important. Design/Methods: The Huntington’s Disease-Behavioral Questionnaire (HD-BQ) consists of 30 items with a 3-point rating scale, and takes about 5 minutes to complete. The maximum score is 90, with higher scores indicating more behavioral changes. Reliability, and clinical and construct validity of the HD-BQ were examined using data from 26 HD (mean age, education, CAG=57.5, 15.2 yrs, and 43.3, respectively), 14 preHD (mean age, education, CAG=45.6 yrs, 15.7 yrs, and 41.5), and 10 control subjects (mean age, education=45.4 yrs, 15.3 yrs). Construct validity of the HD-BQ was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Unified Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Functional Capacity (TFC) and Total Motor Score (TMS), Problem Behaviors Assessment-Short (PBA-s), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90) Global Severity Index (GSI). Results: The HD-BQ showed substantial internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.94). It showed construct validity with high-very high correlations with other behavioral measures (PBA r=0.54; HADS r=0.88; SCL-90 r= 0.85), and poor correlations with measures of cognitive functioning and motor impairment (r=0.01 and 0.10, respectively). No floor or ceiling effects were observed. The HD-BQ discriminated between HD (mean 34.9, range 1-83), preHD (mean 20.7, range 1-54), and control subjects (mean 6.4, range 2-12) (p=0.000). Conclusions: The HD-BQ is a quick, reliable instrument for screening behavioral changes in patients with, and at risk for, HD. Further studies will be needed to confirm and extend these findings. Study supported by: UCSD HDSA CoE and UCSD Shiley-Marcos ADRC NIH P50 AG 005131 Disclosure: Dr. Corey-Bloom has received research support from Janssen Pharmaceutica, Siena, Prana, HSG, and CHDI. Dr. Herndon has nothing to disclose. Ms. Breen9s immediate family holds stock and/or stock options in Wavetec Vision Systems. Dr. Huynh has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gilbert has nothing to disclose.
Photodissociation of H2 in protogalaxies: modelling self‐shielding in three‐dimensional simulations

The ability of primordial gas to cool in protogalactic haloes exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is critically dependent on the self-shielding of H2. We perform radiative transfer calculations of LW line photons, post-processing outputs from three-dimensional adaptive mesh refinement simulations of haloes with Tvir≳ 104 K at z ∼ 10. We calculate the optically thick photodissociation rate numerically, including the effects of density, temperature and velocity gradients in the gas, as well as line overlap and shielding of H2 by H i, over a large number of sightlines. In low-density regions (n ≲ 104 cm−3) the dissociation rates exceed those obtained using most previous approximations by more than an order of magnitude; the correction is smaller at higher densities. We trace the origin of the deviations primarily to inaccuracies of (i) the most common fitting formula for the suppression of the dissociation rate, from Draine and Bertoldi and (ii) estimates for the effective shielding column density from local properties of the gas. The combined effects of gas temperature and velocity gradients are comparatively less important, typically altering the spherically averaged rate only by a factor of ≲2. We present a simple modification to the Draine & Bertoldi fitting formula for the optically thick rate which improves agreement with our numerical results to within ∼15 per cent, and can be adopted in future simulations. We find that estimates for the effective shielding column can be improved by using the local Sobolev length. Our correction to the H2 self-shielding reduces the critical LW flux to suppress H2 cooling in Tvir≳ 104 K haloes by an order of magnitude; this increases the number of such haloes in which supermassive (M ∼ 105 M⊙) black holes may have formed.
Regulation of the Proliferation of Colon Cancer Cells by Compounds that Affect Glycolysis, Including 3-Bromopyruvate, 2-Deoxyglucose and Biguanides

In previous studies we observed that 2-deoxyglucose blocked the acidification of the medium used for culture of colon cancer cells caused by incubation with biguanides and had an additive inhibitory effect on growth. In the present work, we found that 3-bromopyruvate can also prevent the lowering of pH caused by biguanide treatment. 3-Bromopyruvate inhibited colonic cancer cell proliferation but the effect was not always additive to that of biguanides and an additive effect was more notable in combined treatment with 3-bromopyruvate and 2-deoxyglucose. The induction of alkaline phosphatase activity by butyrate was not consistently affected by combination with other agents that modified glucose metabolism. The drug combinations that were examined inhibited proliferation of wild-type and P53 null cells and affected colonic cancer lines with different growth rates.
Protein dynamics: Catch them if you can

NMR analysis of the conformational energy landscape of the catabolite activator protein suggests that allosteric inhibition can be achieved by blocking access to elusive high-energy states of proteins.
Partially shaded operation of multi-string photovoltaic systems

New shade mitigation technologies are available claiming improved performance under shaded conditions. A typical multi-string photovoltaic (PV) system was operated under partial shading conditions with and without these DC-DC converters. Power loss was attributed to low irradiance on shaded modules, current mismatch within shaded PV strings, and voltage mismatch between parallel strings. Indirect loss from voltage mismatch contributed up to 40% of the total power loss from shading. A representative residential solar installation was evaluated for potential benefit from DC-DC equipment. Detailed shading site survey information was collected and used to modify a PV production model. Using various assumptions on the severity of shade in this PV model, the application of DC-DC converters improved annual modeled power production by 5%–10% and recovered 24%–48% of the power lost due to shading.