cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Student Projects and the Sociology of Religion

themselves, as we have already pointed out, need to raise their present level of scholarship. The sociologist in particular must have not only some mastery of the complexities of the inductive study of human society, but as we have insisted, he must know all that the antecedent sciences have to give him and at the same time be able to make full use of social imagination and critical reasoning. Without a synthesis of all of these methods scientific sociology is impossible.
Abnormal auditory pattern perception in schizophrenia

Mismatch negativity (MMN) in response to deviation from physical sound parameters (e.g., pitch, duration) is reduced in individuals with long-term schizophrenia (Sz), suggesting deficits in deviance detection. However, MMN can appear at several time intervals as part of deviance detection. Understanding which part of the processing stream is abnormal in Sz is crucial for understanding MMN pathophysiology. We measured MMN to complex pattern deviants, which have been shown to produce multiple MMNs in healthy controls (HC). Both simple and complex MMNs were recorded from 27 Sz and 27 matched HC. For simple MMN, pitch- and duration-deviants were presented among frequent standard tones. For complex MMN, patterns of five single tones were repeatedly presented, with the occasional deviant group of tones containing an extra sixth tone. Sz showed smaller pitch MMN (p=0.009, ~110ms) and duration MMN (p=0.030, ~170ms) than healthy controls. For complex MMN, there were two deviance-related negativities. The first (~150ms) was not significantly different between HC and SZ. The second was significantly reduced in Sz (p=0.011, ~400ms). The topography of the late complex MMN was consistent with generators in anterior temporal cortex. Worse late MMN in Sz was associated with increased emotional withdrawal, poor attention, lack of spontaneity/conversation, and increased preoccupation. Late MMN blunting in schizophrenia suggests a deficit in later stages of deviance processing. Correlations with negative symptoms measures are preliminary, but suggest that abnormal complex auditory perceptual processes may compound higher-order cognitive and social deficits in the disorder.
Tectonic Style, Rock Successions, and Tectonic Provinces

Chapter 21 describes an idealized orogenic mountain belt and shows where each feature is present in the Appalachian and Cordilleran mountains. It begins with a description of the general character of orogenic systems with particular reference to the variation in rock type and structure across an orogenic belt. It then uses these variations to define tectonic style, which is the overall style of deformation and can be described as orogenic, epeirogenic, or post-orogenic, and rock succession, which is a stack of rocks, whether sedimentary, crystalline, volcanic, or some combination, that are related to each other by their age, thickness, and geologic interpretation. Rock succession and tectonic style are combined to subdivide the United States into six tectonic provinces. This chapter also clearly defines the foreland and hinterland regions of mountain belts.
Spin Wave Theory for the Classical Easy Plane Ferromagnet in Zero Field: Exact Results at Low Temperature

We present a spin wave calculation of the dynamical response of the classical easy plane ferromagnet $$H = - {\text{J}}\sum\limits_i {{{\mathop {\text{S}}\limits^ \to }_i}\cdot{{\mathop {\text{S}}\limits^ \to }_{i + 1}} + D\sum\limits_i {{{\left( {s_i^z} \right)}^2}} ,} $$ (1) J,D > 0 for KT ≪ \(\sqrt {8{\text{DJ}}} {S^2}\). One can calculate the dynamical response function $$[R_q^a\left( z \right) = \int\limits_o^\infty {{e^{izt}}} \left\langle {s_q^a\left( t \right)s_{ - q}^a} \right\rangle dt$$ (2) asymptotically exactly, for all wavevectors, as T → 0. The method used is an extension of that used to treat the fully isotropic system [1]. The response function can be written as [2] $$R_q^a\left( z \right) = i\left\langle {s_q^as_{ - q}^a} \right\rangle {\left[ {z - \omega _{q,a}^2/(z + \Upsilon _q^a(z)} \right]^{ - 1}}$$ (3) .
An Upside to Reward Sensitivity: The Hippocampus Supports Enhanced Reinforcement Learning in Adolescence

Adolescents are notorious for engaging in reward-seeking behaviors, a tendency attributed to heightened activity in the brain's reward systems during adolescence. It has been suggested that reward sensitivity in adolescence might be adaptive, but evidence of an adaptive role has been scarce. Using a probabilistic reinforcement learning task combined with reinforcement learning models and fMRI, we found that adolescents showed better reinforcement learning and a stronger link between reinforcement learning and episodic memory for rewarding outcomes. This behavioral benefit was related to heightened prediction error-related BOLD activity in the hippocampus and to stronger functional connectivity between the hippocampus and the striatum at the time of reinforcement. These findings reveal an important role for the hippocampus in reinforcement learning in adolescence and suggest that reward sensitivity in adolescence is related to adaptive differences in how adolescents learn from experience.
TCT-655 Should we perform carotid artery screening before aortic valve replacement?

Screening for internal carotid artery stenosis (ICAS) with Doppler ultrasound is commonly used before cardiac surgery. However, the relationship between ICAS and procedure-related stroke in aortic valve replacement is unclear. We retrospectively reviewed patients with severe AS who underwent
A semi-Markov model for post-earthquake emergency response in a smart city

An earthquake significant on the Richter scale occurring in an area with a high population density requires an effective and equitable emergency response plan. Emergency resources are usually located in so-called responding centers. One of the first problems faced by disaster-response management personnel in the rapidly degrading post-earthquake conditions is to gage the hazard rate to which the disaster-affected area is subjected, estimate the time taken to bring the situation under control, also called restoration time, and select the appropriate responding center for relief-and-rescue activities. In this paper, we propose an elaborate semi-Markov model to capture the stochastic dynamics of the events that follow an earthquake, which will be used to quantify the hazard rate to which people are exposed and estimate the restoration time. The model will be further used, via dynamic programming, to determine the appropriate responding center. Our proposed model can be employed in conjunction with a variety of hazard scales and by collecting data on a few parameters related to emergency management. The model will be particularly useful in a smart city, where historic data on events following an earthquake would be systematically and accurately recorded.
Brugada Pattern With a Concurrent Accessory Pathway.

A 48-year-old Vietnamese man presented with epigastric pain and pre-syncope. He described a constant pain starting 2 days prior to admission that radiated to his back. One week earlier, he had presented to an emergency department with complaints of dizziness and lightheadedness, typically when going
Gene, Sex and Diet Interact to Control the Tissue Metabolome

Individuals use diet to lose weight, combat disease and improve overall health, but one diet does not necessarily fit all. Genetic variation is an important determinant of dietary efficacy, but lit...
Robust Rare-Variant Association Tests for Quantitative Traits in General Pedigrees

Next-generation sequencing technology has propelled the development of statistical methods to identify rare polygenetic variation associated with complex traits. The majority of these statistical methods are designed for case–control or population-based studies, with few methods that are applicable to family-based studies. Moreover, existing methods for family-based studies mainly focus on trios or nuclear families; there are far fewer existing methods available for analyzing larger pedigrees of arbitrary size and structure. To fill this gap, we propose a method for rare-variant analysis in large pedigree studies that can utilize information from all available relatives. Our approach is based on a kernel machine regression (KMR) framework, which has the advantages of high power, as well as fast and easy calculation of p-values using the asymptotic distribution. Our method is also robust to population stratification due to integration of a QTDT framework (Abecasis et al., Eur J Hum Genet 8(7):545–551, 2000b) with the KMR framework. In our method, we first calculate the expected genotype (between-family component) of a non-founder using all founders’ information and then calculate the deviates (within-family component) of observed genotype from the expectation, where the deviates are robust to population stratification by design. The test statistic, which is constructed using within-family component, is thus robust to population stratification. We illustrate and evaluate our method using simulated data and sequence data from Genetic Analysis Workshop 18.
Making Sense of Disaster Through Rhetorical Homologies: Extending Walter Benjamin’s Unique/Copy Binary to Post-Katrina Tours

Over a decade after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, publics continue to come to terms with the tragedy. Isabelle Cossart, owner of “Tours by Isabelle” and survivor of the hurricane, began offering disaster tours of the affected areas after taking note of people’s desire to see the damage and contemplate its effects. Public accounts of Cossart’s business suggest that people make sense of disasters symbolically via tourism. Cossart’s post-Katrina disaster tours belong to a wider form concerning disastrous events springing from anxiety over how to respond, followed by agency-driven strategies for coping. This discursive dichotomy of disaster/agency is grounded in a homologous discourse of uniqueness versus copy in Walter Benjamin’s essay, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Through publicly available information on “Tours by Isabelle,” this article compares subcategories of disaster, Cossart’s tours, and works of art, and explores how people make sense of disaster symbolically.
The Changing Landscape of Auditor Litigation and Its Implications for Audit Quality

We provide a comprehensive overview of shareholder litigation against auditors since the passage of the PSLRA. The number of lawsuits per year has declined, dismissals have increased, and settlements in recent years have declined. Our study asks why. Because we find that the likelihood an auditor is sued following a severe restatement has significantly declined in recent years, it does not appear that the decline can be attributed solely to increases in audit quality. Instead, we consider whether the Supreme Court cases limiting the scope of Rule 10b-5 against private actors may have led to the decline. To study this possibility, we focus on the Supreme Court’s 2007 and 2011 rulings in Tellabs v. Makor and Janus v. First Derivative, respectively. Our analysis provides strong evidence that the higher liability standards imposed by Janus significantly reduced auditors’ liability exposure, but we find only limited evidence that the pleading standard imposed by Tellabs had a significant effect.
Application of a CAD-based Accessibility Model

Geographical understanding of accessibility usually proceeds macroscopically, from the vantage point of a remote and detached observer. Total minutes of telephone communication between a set of countries, presented as a network map, would be one form such knowledge might take. Frequency of flights between a set of cities would be another. While the macroscopic perspective provides a good sense of the overall degree of interaction between places and how such interaction varies spatially, it can obscure the way communication and transportation are incorporated in individual lives in real places, and hide much that is of interest from a cultural, social, or psychological viewpoint. This is perhaps even more true in the information age than in previous ages.
A Semiotic Approach to Information Value

Information in human societies is conveyed, transmitted, disseminated, stored, and transformed using signs and sign processing as vehicles. These vehicles can be natural or artificial language texts, utterances, traffic signs, trademarks, gestures, etc. Hence, there should be a strong and natural interplay between the science of signs or semiotics and information science [1].
Poverty and climate change: introduction

Because their assets and income represent such a small share of national wealth, the impacts of climate change on poor people, even if dramatic, will be largely invisible in aggregate economic statistics such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Assessing and managing future impacts of climate change on poverty requires different metrics, and specific studies focusing on the vulnerability of poor people. This special issue provides a set of such studies, looking at the exposure and vulnerability of people living in poverty to shocks and stressors that are expected to increase in frequency or intensity due to climate change, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, and impacts on agricultural production and ecosystem services. This introduction summarizes their approach and findings, which support the idea that the link between poverty and climate vulnerability goes both ways: poverty is one major driver of people's vulnerability to climate-related shocks and stressors, and this vulnerability is keeping people in poverty. The paper concludes by identifying priorities for future research.
Law by Non Sequitur: NorCon v. Niagara Mohawk

Under the common law, a contracting party could only demand assurance of performance if the other party was insolvent. If a party had reasonable grounds for insecurity, the UCC §2-609 allowed it demand adequate assurance even if the counterparty were solvent. The Restatement (Second) adopted the same rule for non-goods. In NorCon v. Niagara Mohawk the New York court extended the adequate assurance doctrine for some non-goods contracts. Although the decision seems to imply that there is some relation between the NorCon facts and its conclusion as to the law, there is none. Relying primarily on material available to the court, this paper examines the contract, the context in which it was written, and the events precipitating Niagara Mohawk’s insecurity. While Niagara Mohawk’s insecurity was no doubt justified — NorCon would almost certainly have walked away from its obligation for the last ten years — the assurance question had been a major issue in negotiating this contract, and in similar contracts involving Niagara Mohawk and other public utilities.
Inferences About the Components of a Generalized Additive Model

A method for making inferences about the components of a generalized additive model is described. It is found that a variation of the method, based on means, performs well in simulations. Unlike many other inferential methods, switching from a mean to a 20% trimmed mean was found to offer little or no advantage in terms of both power and controlling the probability of a Type I error.
WHEN AND WHY DO WATER LEVELS OSCILLATE IN THREE TANKS

In elementary differential equations, there's one particular example that is as educational as it is simple: a leaking tank of water. In its barest form, this is just a tin can, open at the top, with water draining out of a hole at the bottom. It has a much deeper side, though, because it models a whole host of familiar real-world phenomena. For example, "water" can be heat flowing out of a cooling cup of coffee; or it can be electric charge draining from a capacitor; or even carbon C-14 leaking (decaying) to normal C-12, familiar in radioactive dating. The leaking tank is obligingly versatile, too. For example, one can run a movie of it backwards; this corresponds to exponential growth-from population growth to increasing principal in a savings account. Or one can take an empty tank and push it part way, bottom first, into a large body of water such as a lake, causing water to flow into the tank through the hole; this models, for instance, an abandoned cold soda warming up to room temperature, or an ocean liner reaching cruise speed. If the submerged tank's water level starts higher than the lake's, it mimics a parachutist slowing down to terminal speed. With the right assumptions, the differential equation governing a leaking tank directly reflects the physical setup. To this end, we begin by supposing that the tank is cylindrical with base area 1; this allows us to track the tank's water volume using the water height y(t). Next, this height will always approach a steady-state level, and for simplicity we choose the origin of the y-axis to be this level. Finally, if k denotes the cross-sectional area of its drain, we choose units so that the water level y satisfies y'= -ky; this equation and the physical setup are now direct translations of each other: at any time, the flow rate equals drain area times water height. The solution of this equation is y(t) = AOe-kt, where Ao is the initial water level. Notice that the larger k is, the faster the water approaches its steady-state level. Interestingly, the physical dimensions of a tank translate to, and even claiify, various physical notions. As just two examples, the thermal equivalents of water volume, water height, tank base area, and drain area are: heat, temperature, specific heat, and thermal conductivity. Electrical counterparts are: charge, voltage, capacitance, and electric conductance (the reciprocal of resistance). Learning to translate to and from "tank-lish" helps one unify parts of the physical world; one can profitably get hooked on it.
Abstract 1481: Selective protein expression in tumor cells controlled by progression elevated gene-3 promoter

The progression elevated gene-3 (PEG-3) promoter is a rodent gene that has shown strong activity in tumor progression. Demonstrating tumor specificity and activity in at least five different human cancers, PEG-3 is considered a novel promoter for tumor-specific gene expression. Understanding how PEG-3 controls expression of reporter proteins is of biomedical significance because of the role it could play in new therapeutic strategies against certain types of cancer. In this study, we aim to use the PEG-3 promoter to observe the expression of firefly luciferase 2 (luc 2), a bioluminescent reporter protein, in the transfection of mammalian cells. Ultimately, we plan to use PEG-3 to express a therapeutic gene, cytosine deaminase, in cancer specific areas of breast, lung, and ovary. Citation Format: Ruben Pando, Tej Shrestha, Marla Pyle, Deryl Troyer. Selective protein expression in tumor cells controlled by progression elevated gene-3 promoter [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1481.
Disaster Response 2.0: Noncommunicable Disease Essential Needs Still Unmet

An editorial is presented which addresses the authors' views about disaster response management and the unmet medical needs of patients with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in America as of 2018. The economic aspects of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina are examined, along with medications for the treatment of NCDs such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and asthma. The chronic illnesses that are associated with Hurricanes Maria and Irma are assessed.
Evidence for Chemopreventive and Resilience Activity of Licorice: Glycyrrhiza Glabra and G. Inflata Extracts Modulate Estrogen Metabolism in ACI Rats

Women are increasingly using botanical dietary supplements (BDS) to reduce menopausal hot flashes. While licorice (Glycyrrhiza sp.) is one of the frequently used ingredients in BDSs, the exact plant species is often not identified. We previously showed that in breast epithelial cells (MCF-10A), Glycyrrhiza glabra (GG) and G. inflata (GI), and their compounds differentially modulated P450 1A1 and P450 1B1 gene expression, which are responsible for estrogen detoxification and genotoxicity, respectively. GG and isoliquiritigenin (LigC) increased CYP1A1, whereas GI and its marker compound, licochalcone A (LicA), decreased CYP1A1 and CYP1B1. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution of the bioactive licorice compounds, the metabolism of LicA, and whether GG, GI, and/or pure LicA modulate NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) in an ACI rat model. In addition, the effect of licorice extracts and compounds on biomarkers of estrogen chemoprevention (CYP1A1) as well as carcinogenesis (CYP1B1) were studied. LicA was extensively glucuronidated and formed GSH adducts; however, free LicA as well as LigC were bioavailable in target tissues after oral intake of licorice extracts. GG, GI, and LicA caused induction of NQO1 activity in the liver. In mammary tissue, GI increased CYP1A1 and decreased CYP1B1, whereas GG only increased CYP1A1. LigC may have contributed to the upregulation of CYP1A1 after GG and GI administration. In contrast, LicA was responsible for GI-mediated downregulation of CYP1B1. These studies highlight the polypharmacological nature of botanicals and the importance of standardization of licorice BDSs to specific Glycyrrhiza species and to multiple constituents.
Age-Related Changes in the Clinical Phenotype of Compressive Optic Neuropathy in Thyroid Eye Disease.

Purpose This study compares the age-related clinical features of thyroid eye disease-compressive optic neuropathy (TED-CON) to those with noncompressive disease (TED-NC). Methods A retrospective case series review of 165 orbits from 121 patients with TED-CON were compared with an age- and gender-matched cohort of 88 orbits from 44 patients with TED-NC with institutional review board approval. Clinical features including exophthalmos, dyschromatopsia, restricted ocular motility, visual acuity, and mean deviation on 24-2 Humphrey Visual Field were compared in 5 age groups. A previously validated formula, the Columbia TED-CON Diagnostic formula, used to mathematically predict the presence or absence of compressive optic neuropathy was applied, and the sensitivity and specificity of the formula was measured in each age group. Results Exophthalmos, dyschromatopsia, restricted ocular motility, and mean deviation on 24-2 Humphrey Visual Field vary significantly across age groups in patients with TED-CON. Conversely, only visual acuity and dyschromatopsia vary significantly across age groups in patients with TED-NC. There was a significant difference between the TED-CON and the TED-NC groups when comparing the 2 groups by decade. The Columbia TED-CON Diagnostic formula had high sensitivity and specificity (74-90%) in all age groups. Conclusions This is the first study to date demonstrating the age-related variability of clinical characteristics in a large series of patients with either TED-CON or TED-NC. The clinical phenotype of TED-CON varies significantly by decade when examining exophthalmos, dyschromatopsia, ocular motility restriction, and mean deviation on 24-2 Humphrey Visual Field. These clinical characteristics are also significantly different when compared with a population of patients with TED-NC.
A clearer image of the structure and regulation of bestrophin

Stockbridge highlights new work revealing an allosteric inactivation mechanism for the bestrophin channel.
Entre el elogio banal y el insulto soez: la vulgaridad como amenaza a la colectividad obrera en "Mano de obra" de Diamela Eltit

By highlighting the fraught relationship between rhetoric and economics, Eltit's Mano de obra wields and references different rhetorical and aesthetic styles to expose the disintegration of working-class solidarity as the ultimate consequence of the liberal economics that characterized Chile's economy from the second half of the nineteenth century to its present neoliberal manifestation. This essay focuses on the second part of the novel and the antagonism between the two types of rhetoric that characterize the first person plural narrative voice. On the one hand, this communal voice insists time and again on expressing appreciation, respect and mutual affection for any and all members of the group. On the other, this same voice is punctuated by vulgar and aggressive insults as each and every member of the group collapses under the pressure of fear, betrayal and the occasional self- mutilation. This verbal disintegration makes loudly audible the imminent demise of the fragile community on which these workers depended for their survival.
Intervention to reduce gymnast exposure to flame retardants from pit foam: A case study.

Gymnasts can have high exposures to flame retardants (FRs), which are used in gymnastics safety equipment such as the loose foam pit. Therefore, we aimed to reduce gymnast exposure to FRs by replacing the foam in the pit using foam free of additive FR and measuring personal exposure during practice using hand-wipes. To assure maintenance of fire safety we first conducted a flammability study and facilitated a fire inspection for our partner gym. The FR-treated cubes had similar heat release rates to the non-FR treated cubes, required a 11 cm larger flame size applied for 6 s longer to ignite, and took 4 min longer to reach peak flame height. Based on these findings and the presence of other fire safety measures including smoke detectors and a sprinkler system, the local fire and building departments approved replacement of the foam pit with FR-free foam. We then replaced foam in the gym's pit, verified it was free of any additive FRs, and quantified common halogenated and organophosphate FRs on hand-wipes collected from ten collegiate gymnasts before and after practice, pre- and post-intervention. We observed a 5-fold decline in the median mass of FRs found in pit foam that accumulated on hand-wipes during practice among gymnasts who used the foam pit (p = 0.02), indicating that replacing the foam in a pit using materials free of FRs can reduce gymnast exposure to these chemicals during practice.
High-harmonic Generation at 100 MHz Repetition Frequency using a Femtosecond Enhancement Cavity

High-harmonic generation (HHG) [1],[2] provides a coherent source of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) to soft X-ray radiation in a relatively compact system. Since its first observations [3],[4], HHG has relied on high-energy, low repetition rate laser systems to provide the peak intensities needed for ionization of the gas target. The small conversion efficiency of the process, combined with the low repetition rate of amplified laser systems, results in low average powers in the VUV generation. Experiments trying to utilize these sources therefore often suffer from poor signal-to-noise levels, resulting in long data-acquisition times. Furthermore, the use of these sources as precision spectroscopic tools remains limited in comparison with sources in the visible. Ramsey-type spectroscopy has been utilized to improve spectral resolution in the VUV [5],[6] but remains orders of magnitude away from the precision measurement capability available with fs laser based frequency combs in the optical and IR [7],[8]. This is due to the fact that the original frequency comb structure of the laser is lost in the HHG process from the reduction of the pulse train repetition rate required to actively amplify single pulses to the needed energies/intensities.
Preparation and crystal structure of Nb6.74 Ta5.26S4 – a new compound in the ternary system TaNbS†

Nb6.74Ta5.26S4 has been prepared by high temperature techniques. The crystal structure has been determined from single crystal X-ray diffraction data (R/Rw = 0.0588/0.0655). The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma with unit cell dimensions a = 959.11 (26) pm, b = 336.37 (10) pm, and c = 3282.51 (74) pm. The orthorhombic cell contains four formula units. Its structure is similar to that of Nb-rich sulfides, rather than to that of Ta-rich sulfides. The metal coordinations are capped distorted cubic prisms and pentagonal prisms while the coordinations of sulfur are capped trigonal prisms. Darstellung und Kristallstruktur von Nb6,74Ta5,26S4 – einer neuen Verbindung im ternaren System TaNbS Nb6,74Ta5,26S4 ist mittels Hochtemperaturtechnik dargestellt worden. Die Kristallstruktur wurde aus Einkristall-Rontgenbeugungsdaten bestimmt (R/Rw = 0,0588/0,0655). Die Verbindung kristallisiert orthorhombisch, Raumgruppe Pnma mit a = 959,11 (26), b = 336,37 (10) und c = 3282,51 (74) pm, Z = 4. Die Struktur entspricht eher der von Nb-reichen als der von Ta-reichen Sulfiden. Die Metall-Koordinationen sind bekappte, verzerrte kubische Prismen und pentagonale Prismen wahrend die Schwefelkoordinationen bekappte trigonale Prismen sind.
Study of Design Optimization Method for Ultra-Low Power Micro Gas Sensor

In this paper, we propose a design optimization scheme of metal oxide gas sensor with suspended beams. Our design scheme comprises two parts, design of suspended membrane and beam membrane, and design of heater geometry. These processes are based on mathematical analysis. In the suspended membrane and beam design, power consumption at steady state and transient state as well as response speed of microheater are considered. In the heater geometry design, a mathematical method for realizing an arbitrary temperature profile is proposed. After these steps, the electro-thermal performance and the mechanical properties of the suggested designs are investigated by finite element analysis. Here, we demonstrated this scheme for designing gas sensors with two suspended beams. Calculated design operates at 388°C with 7.88 mW power consumption and have uniform temperature profile. In addition, the relation between the dimensions of suspended beams and their mechanical properties has been investigated. By utilizing our scheme, design process of low-power gas sensors satisfying constraints on mechanical properties and footprint can be rapidly obtained.
Sampling and refinement protocols for template-based macrocycle docking: 2018 D3R Grand Challenge 4

We describe a new template-based method for docking flexible ligands such as macrocycles to proteins. It combines Monte-Carlo energy minimization on the manifold, a fast manifold search method, with BRIKARD for complex flexible ligand searching, and with the MELD accelerator of Replica-Exchange Molecular Dynamics simulations for atomistic degrees of freedom. Here we test the method in the Drug Design Data Resource blind Grand Challenge competition. This method was among the best performers in the competition, giving sub-angstrom prediction quality for the majority of the targets.
Quantifying Uncertainty in Source Term Estimation with Tensorflow Probability

Fast and accurate location and quantification of a dangerous chemical, biological or radiological release plays a significant role in evaluating emergency situations and their consequences. Thanks to the advent of Deep Learning frameworks (e.g. Tensorflow) and new specialized hardware (e.g. Tensor Cores), the excellent fitting ability of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) has been used by several researchers to model atmospheric dispersion. Despite the high accuracy and fast prediction, regular ANNs do not provide any information about the uncertainty of the prediction. Such uncertainty can be the result of a combination of measurement noise and model architecture. In an urgent decision making situation, the ability to provide fast prediction along with a quantification of the uncertainty is of paramount importance. In this work, a Probabilistic Deep Learning model for source term estimation is presented, using the Tensorflow Probability framework.
Pseudoline parameters to represent n-butane (n-C4H10) cross-sections measured in the 7–15 µm region for the Titan atmosphere

Abstract We measured temperature-dependent cross-sections of n-butane (CH3 CH2 CH2 CH3) in the mid-infrared (7–15 μm) region in support of remote sensing for the Titan's atmosphere. For this, 28 pure and N2-mixture spectra were obtained at 180–298 K using a high-resolution Fourier transform spectrometer (Bruker IFS 125 HR) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The spectral resolutions were selected to be between 0.0039 and 0.06 cm−1, depending on the sample pressures. The observed spectra were fit simultaneously to generate one single set of pseudolines, which include line intensities and lower state energies at individual pseudoline positions. The observed spectra could be reproduced by the pseudolines to within 4% through line-by-line radiative transfer calculations. The integrated intensities at 296 K were measured to be 5.06(28), 7.18(27), 0.91(4), and 49.01(20) × 10−19 cm−1/(molecule.cm−2) in the 660–860, 860–1060, 1060–1200, and 1200–1538 cm−1 regions, respectively, by summing up the pseudoline intensity parameters. These results are observed to be significantly lower than that of the PNNL (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) cross-sections obtained at low resolution. The pseudolines are electronically compiled in the HITRAN database format, which can be readily integrated with existing radiative transfer calculations. The measured cross-sections represented by the pseudolines could provide critical laboratory input in search of elusive species that might be captured in the Cassini/CIRS and the JWST/MIRI spectral observations.
A systematic review of evidence for cannabis and cannabinoids as adjuvant therapy in palliative and supportive oncology care.

12091Background: Medical cannabis use is increasing significantly in the United States as states reduce restrictions. However, ambiguity concerning the evidence for medical cannabis efficacy and sa...
Catheter Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardia

In this chapter the author discusses the types of ventricular tachycardia (VT), its clinical manifestations, historical aspects of catheter ablation using D/C current and radiofrequency current, the methods of endocardial and epicardial mapping and ablation of VT with entrainment mapping and substrate ablation and its outcomes, hemodynamic support during catheter ablation, complications of catheter ablation, and finally catheter ablation in other forms of structural entities and in normal hearts, as well as other methods of ablation such as alcohol, stereotactic radioablation, and autonomic modulation.
Religious Statecraft: The Politics of Islam in Iran: by Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, New York, Columbia University Press, 2018, 392 pp., $30 (paperback), ISBN: 9780231183673

Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar grapples with two equally important and tricky tasks in Religious Statecraft: explaining the policies of Iran, and clarifying the relationship between politics and Islam....
Institutional capacity to provide psychosocial care in cancer programs: Addressing barriers to delivering quality cancer care

Objective This study investigates barriers and promoters to delivering quality psychosocial services in 58 cancer programs across North America. Methods Oncology care providers (n = 2008) participated in a survey in which they identified barriers and promoters for delivering psychosocial care at their respective institutions. Multilevel modeling was used to examine (a) the extent to which provider and institutional characteristics were associated with the most common barriers, and (b) associations between perceived barriers and institutional capacity to deliver psychosocial services as measured by the Cancer Psychosocial Care Matrix. Results Across 58 Commission on Cancer-accredited programs in North America, the most frequently reported barriers were inadequate number of psychosocial care personnel, lack of funding, inadequate amount of time, lack of systematic procedures, and inadequate training for oncology providers. Overall, there were few significant differences in reported barriers by type of institution or type of provider. In general, the most frequently reported barriers were significantly associated with the institution's capacity to deliver quality psychosocial care. In particular, the lack of a systematic process for psychosocial care delivery significantly predicted lower levels of institutional capacity to deliver quality psychosocial care. Conclusions When identifying barriers, respondents reported a greater number of institutional barriers than barriers related to individual provider or patient characteristics. These results present a compelling case for cancer programs to implement and monitor systematic procedures for psychosocial care and to integrate these procedures in routine clinical practice.
The Impact of Binational Barriers to Medical Care on the Care-Seeking Practices of Mexican Immigrants.

Barriers to health care access faced by Mexican immigrants in the United States have been well-documented, including lack of insurance, fear of deportation, and language barriers. However, little i...
The Three Villages of Hepatic Encephalopathy

ABSTRACT Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) affects numerous stakeholders from a clinical, psychosocial, and financial perspective. The multilayered impact of HE is threefold and affects different groups or, for the purpose of this commentary, villages. The first village mediates HE development, including genetics, microbiome, and disease severity. The second village consists of those affected by HE-related consequences, including the patient, caregivers, society, and medical system. The third village required to manage HE includes a multidisciplinary team of inpatient and outpatient providers, mental health experts, physical therapists, and dietary specialists. Understanding and integration of these three villages can encourage individualized care for patients and families affected by hepatic encephalopathy.
Comparison of Ultra-Widefield Imaging and Standard Imaging in Assessment of Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Severity Scale

Purpose To compare Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) severity levels between standard 7-field imaging and ultra-widefield (UWF) imaging and to incorporate peripheral diabetic retinopathy (DR) lesions into the ETDRS grading system. Design Cross-sectional Study. Participants Paired images from 192 eyes (189 participants) with diabetic retinopathy were included. Methods The ETDRS levels were determined by masked graders in 3 ways: standard 7-field imaging, UWF within the 7-field region (7-field UWF imaging), and the entire UWF image (global ETDRS imaging). Main Outcome Measures Percentage agreement between 7-field and UWF imaging for ETDRS levels. Results Of the 166 paired images evaluated, exact agreement was found in 48.8% of eyes between standard 7-field and 7-field UWF ETDRS levels with a weighted κ value of 0.59 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.5–0.68). Agreement rates varied with DR severity and were least in early DR (30.8%) and moderate nonproliferative DR (26.5%) groups. In 156 eyes with 7-field UWF ETDRS and global UWF ETDRS levels, exact agreement was found in 143 eyes (92%), with a weighted κ value of 0.9 (95% CI, 0.9–0.98). The peripheral lesions contributed to a higher DR severity in 8% and changed the eye to a proliferative DR level in 2%. Reproducibility of the 3 ETDRS evaluations was comparable with a weighted κ value of 0.57 with standard 7-field imaging, 0.65 with 7-field UWF imaging, and 0.60 with global ETDRS scale imaging. Conclusions Moderate agreement was found in the ETDRS DR severity scale between standard 7-field and UWF imaging, indicating caution in interchanging data from the 2 methods. Both methods showed good reproducibility for clinical trial outcome of 2-step change. The global ETDRS scale provides a comprehensive score to incorporate peripheral changes into the ETDRS scale. The implications of the global scale on progression rate are yet to be determined.
Hemodialysis-Related Complement and Contact Pathway Activation and Cardiovascular Risk: A Narrative Review

Individuals receiving long-term hemodialysis are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Traditional cardiovascular risk factors do not fully explain the high CVD risk in this population. During hemodialysis, blood interacts with the biomaterials of the hemodialysis circuit. This interaction can activate the complement system and the factor XII-driven contact system. FXII activation triggers both the intrinsic pathway of coagulation and the kallikrein-kinin pathway, resulting in thrombin and bradykinin production, respectively. The complement system plays a key role in the innate immune response, but also contributes to the pathogenesis of numerous disease states. Components of the complement pathway, including mannose binding lectin and C3, are associated with CVD risk in people with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Both the complement system and the factor XII-driven contact coagulation system mediate proinflammatory and procoagulant responses that could contribute to or accelerate CVD in hemodialysis recipents. This review summarizes what is already known about hemodialysis-mediated activation of the complement system and in particular the coagulation contact system, emphasizing the potential role these systems play in the identification of new biomarkers for CVD risk stratification and the development of potential therapeutic targets or innovative therapies that decrease CVD risk in ESKD patients.
A Critical Survey of Current Approaches in Quantitative Histo- and Cytochemistry*

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses current approaches and several fundamental issues in quantitative histo- and cytochemistry. Visible, ultraviolet, and X-ray absorption studies are all brought to bear on the problem with telling effect. The greater the degree of integration of experimental approaches, the greater the ultimate advance. The chapter discusses the quantitative chemical analysis of the cell, its parts and extracellular products, in situ , and in the living state. Studies on living material that are made on several single-cell organisms and certain large plant cells are presented. Preservation of the original morphology and chemical constitution in nonliving material is advanced, and means for reliable analyses are developed. The techniques for direct chemical analysis of smaller samples, down to the level of small cells and even their intracellular components, and the attainment of higher resolution in analysis by X-ray absorption and autoradiography are discussed.
Mercury: hybrid centralized and distributed scheduling in large shared clusters

Datacenter-scale computing for analytics workloads is increasingly common. High operational costs force heterogeneous applications to share cluster resources for achieving economy of scale. Scheduling such large and diverse workloads is inherently hard, and existing approaches tackle this in two alternative ways: 1) centralized solutions offer strict, secure enforcement of scheduling invariants (e.g., fairness, capacity) for heterogeneous applications, 2) distributed solutions offer scalable, efficient scheduling for homogeneous applications. We argue that these solutions are complementary, and advocate a blended approach. Concretely, we propose Mercury, a hybrid resource management framework that supports the full spectrum of scheduling, from centralized to distributed. Mercury exposes a programmatic interface that allows applications to trade-off between scheduling overhead and execution guarantees. Our framework harnesses this flexibility by opportunistically utilizing resources to improve task throughput. Experimental results on production-derived workloads show gains of over 35% in task throughput. These benefits can be translated by appropriate application and framework policies into job throughput or job latency improvements. We have implemented and contributed Mercury as an extension of Apache Hadoop / YARN.
Liability in UAV / UAS operations: Consideration of who should bear the cost of damages in UAV / UAS accidents

This paper considers the current state of liability law for UAVs and UASs. It discusses which party or parties may be liable for various types of incidents and considers how various factors in incidents may trigger complex disputes. The ambiguity as to responsibility, it is concluded, may result in a protracted litigation process and, thus, significant delays to compensation of an injured party. This is, of course, particularly problematic in the case of a technology that can go virtually anywhere, creating the possibility of a multitude of injuries that may not be easily insured against (or even fully identified). From this, it is concluded that a mechanism for identifying a single responsible party (from the perspective of the injured) must be codified into law and a framework for doing so is presented.
Internal hydrogen bond, torsional motion, and molecular properties of 2-methoxyethylamine by microwave spectroscopy Methyl barrier to internal rotation for 2-methoxyethanol

Abstract The microwave spectra of four substituted isotopic species of 2-methoxyethylamine (NH2, NHD, NDH, ND2) have been assigned. The molecule is found to exist in a gauche form with an intramolecular hydrogen bond of the NH⋯O type. The four possible sets of the amino hydrogen rs corrdinates give different H⋯H distances, probably because the -NH2 group is involved in large amplitude vibrations and because of changes in the heavy atom positions arising from the deuteration of the hydrogen bond. For the most abundant species many vibrational states have been analyzed and assigned to the two possible CO torsions in the molecule. A value V3 = 3150 ± 50 cal/mol was found for the methyl torsional barrier and V1 = 9 ± 3 kcal/mol for the other CO torsional barrier. A third set of observed vibrational satellites is probably assignable to the CC torsion. The determination of the dipole moment and of the quadrupole coupling constants gave values which were not in good agreement with those predicted from nonhydrogen bonded molecules. In addition a value V3 = 3100 ± 100 cal/mol was calculated for the CH3 torsional barrier in the related 2-methoxyethanol, using previous experimental data (Canad. J. Chem. 50, 1149–1156 (1972)).
The Expression Pattern of the Cell Cycle Inhibitor p19INK4d by Progenitor Cells of the Rat Embryonic Telencephalon and Neonatal Anterior Subventricular Zone

In this study we investigated whether the pattern of expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p19(INK4d) by the unique progenitor cells of the neonatal anterior subventricular zone (SVZa) can account for their ability to divide even though they express phenotypic characteristics of differentiated neurons. p19(INK4d) was chosen for analysis because it usually acts to block permanently the cell cycle at the G(1) phase. p19(INK4d) immunoreactivity and the incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) by SVZa cells were compared with that of the more typical progenitor cells of the prenatal telencephalic ventricular zone. In the developing telencephalon, p19(INK4d) is expressed by postmitotic cells and has a characteristic perinuclear distribution depending on the laminar position and state of differentiation of a cell. Moreover, the laminar-specific staining of the developing cerebral cortex revealed that the ventricular zone (VZ) is divided into p19(INK4d)(+) and p19(INK4d)(-) sublaminae, indicating that the VZ has a previously unrecognized level of functional organization. Furthermore, the rostral migratory stream, traversed by the SVZa-derived cells, exhibits an anterior(high)-posterior(low) gradient of p19(INK4d) expression. On the basis of the p19(INK4d) immunoreactivity and BrdU incorporation, SVZa-derived cells appear to exit and reenter the cell cycle successively. Thus, in contrast to telencephalic VZ cells, SVZa cells continue to undergo multiple rounds of division and differentiation before becoming postmitotic.