cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Development of a System for Expressing Heterologous Genes in the Oral Spirochete Treponema denticola and Its Use in Expression of the Treponema pallidum flaA Gene

The present communication describes the construction of a new Escherichia coli-Treponema denticola shuttle vector based on the naturally occurring spirochete plasmid pTS1 and the expression of the heterologous T. pallidum flaA gene from the plasmid in T. denticola. This new shuttle vector system should prove useful in characterizing virulence factors from unculturable pathogenic spirochetes.
Antimicrobial Efficacy of an Array of Essential Oils Against Lactic Acid Bacteria

The essential oils of clove bud, cinnamon bark and thyme, and their individual compounds including allyl isothiocyanate (AIT), carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic acid, eugenol, and thymol were initially assessed for antimicrobial activity against 9 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) species. Carvacrol and thymol were the most inhibitory with MICs of 0.1% (v/v and w/v, respectively). Cinnamaldehyde, cinnamon bark oil, clove bud oil, eugenol, and thyme oil were moderately inhibitive (MICs = 0.2% v/v), while cinnamic acid required a concentration of 0.5% (w/v). AIT was not effective with MICs in excess of concentrations tested (0.75% v/v). The bactericidal capability of the oil components carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde, eugenol, and thymol were further examined against Pediococcus acidilactici, Lactobacillus buchneri, and Leuconostoc citrovorum. Thymol at 0.1% (w/v) was bactericidal against L. citrovorum (>4-log reduction), but resulted in a 2-log CFU/mL reduction against L. buchneri and P. acidilactici. Cinnamaldehyde at 0.2% to 0.25% (v/v) was effective against L. citrovorum, L. buchneri, and P. acidilactici, resulting in a >2-log reduction. All 3 organisms were susceptible to 0.2% carvacrol with >3-log reduction observed after exposure for 6 h. Eugenol was the least effective. Concentrations of 0.2% and 0.25% (v/v) were needed to achieve an initial reduction in population, >3-log CFU/mL after 6 h exposure. However, at 0.2%, P. acidilactici and L. buchneri recovered to initial populations in 48 to 72 h. Results indicate essential oils have the capacity to inactivate LAB that are commonly associated with spoilage of shelf stable low-acid foods.
The Mormons as a Theme in Western Historical Writing

A MONG recent criticisms of historical writing about the West, one of the most frequent has been that too often western history deals only with surface appearances. The accusation is that historians have been content to limit themselves to narrative or simple description rather than to seek to achieve by analysis and interpretation fundamental explanations that would fully satisfy the sophisticated reader. A further protest has been that too much writing deals only with isolated episodes, especially the dramatic ones, rather than with meaningful patterns. That there must be some substance to these complaints is suggested by the undergraduate nickname for courses in western history: "Cowboys and Indians." In attempts to meet such criticisms some historians have launched upon the laborious enterprise of erecting a whole new conceptual framework into which the separate pieces of western history might be fitted, while others have sought to revise the frontier hypothesis in such a way as to correct all its known deficiencies without destroying the greatest single value of the original hypothesis, which was that it gave unity and meaning to a remarkably varied spectrum of researches. Such efforts have the obvious appeal of promising a quick achievement of comprehensiveness, with at least a semblance of meaning, but they leave one wondering whether the current state of the historical art justifies this endeavor to carry out a needed reform by a single giant step. An alternative that is less dramatic but more in consonance with the limitations of our present knowledge is to take up, one by one, some of the major topics in western history and subject them to a reflective examination. Out of the insights gained from scrutinizing a series of these individual major topics, presently it may become possible to discern new interrelationships between them, new and deeper explanations, and ultimately a new synthesis of western history as a whole.
Pulse oximetry: an important first step in improving health outcomes, but is of little use if there is no oxygen

According to the most recent Unicef estimates, 5.9 million children under age 5 died in 2015.1 In low-income countries, mortality in early childhood is dominated by prematurity, sepsis, and pneumonia—diseases that frequently result in hypoxemic respiratory failure. Since the introduction of pulse oximetry into clinical practice in the 1980s, pulse oximeters have become ubiquitous in high-income countries and are increasingly used in the diagnosis and management of childhood disease in middle and low-resource settings. There is intuitive appeal of a point-of-care device such as pulse oximetry to detect hypoxaemia, particularly in first-level healthcare facilities staffed by minimally trained health workers. However, it is prudent to examine the evidence regarding its use in clinical management and effect on outcomes, particularly in childhood pneumonia. In this month's issue , Enoch et al 2 evaluate the evidence underlying the assertion that pulse oximeters …
Supplement to 'Subjective Dynamic Information Constraints'

Supplement to "Subjective Dynamic Information Constraints" (http://ssrn.com/abstract=2774300). All references to definitions and results in this Supplement refer to Dillenberger, Krishna, and Sadowski (2016, henceforth DKS) unless otherwise specified. This supplement is organized as follows. Section 1 establishes the Abstract Static Representation that is the starting point for our derivations in Appendix C of DKS. Section 2 reviews relevant notions from convex analysis. Section 3 provides a preference independent notion of minimality on the space of rics, which is referred to in Section 6 of DKS. Section 4 provides a metric on the space of partitions as referred to in Appendix A.3 of DKS. Section 5 extends the existence of the RAA representation, which is established in Krishna and Sadowski (2014) for finite prize spaces, to our domain with a compact set of prizes, as discussed in Appendix A.7 of DKS. Finally, Section 6 provides a detailed proof of the partitional representation introduced in Appendix C.1 of DKS.
A Summary of Domestic Study on Frankfurt School's Technological Critique

Frankfurt School's critique of technology is a development of Marxist critique of technology.It shows real technological living circumstances of the contemporary capitalist world.Today,with the in-depth development of modernity and existential crisis of technology growing,study on Frankfurt School's critique theory of technology will undoubtedly be of important theoretical and practical significance.However,domestic academic have not enough concerning about this,particularly lack of a system study based on holistic vision.After summarizing and assessing previous studies,Prospect of future studies is proposed.
Abstract B13: Differential expressions of stress proteins and miRNAs in circulating exosomes in prostate cancer health disparities

African American men are about 1.5 times more likely to develop prostate cancer and about 2.5 times more likely to die from prostate cancer. However, there9s no known cause of increased rate of morbidity and mortality in these population. Stress is well known factor for the causation of health disparities. Stress is a known inducer of post-transcriptional modification in cellular levels. Survivin, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis family can get alternatively spliced both transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally. We have shown that survivin and its splice variants are secreted from cells via exosomes, small membrane-bound vesicles used in cell-cell and cell-extracellular communication (1,2). MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small RNA, play regulatory role in tumor development and prognosis. Main objective of the present study is to find out differential expression patterns of stress proteins and miRNA from circulating exosomes deived from prostate cancer in African American (PCa-AA) and Caucasian (PCa-CC) patient populations. This is a novel way of establishing non-invasive early detection intervention that can be tailored to Americans of different ethnicities. In this study, exosomes are collected from sera of PCa-AA and PCa-CC using the commercially available ExoQuick kit. miRNAs are extracted from the exosomes using QIAGEN miRNA kit. Differential expressions of IAPs, wild type survivin and its splice variants are noted in the exosomes of AA-prostate cancer patients9 sera compared to CC-prostate cancer sera. Differentially expressed miRNAs are identified by sequencing analysis. We find that this observation will ultimately pave the way for future studies focused on analyzing these biomarkers in larger cohorts of ethnically diverse cancer patients. Citation Format: Salma Khan, TessaRae Stiff, Jennifer Simpson, James C. Lynch, Patrick Leaf, Amber Gonda, saeid mirshahidi, Tino Sanchez, Carlos A. Casiano, Nathan R. Wall. Differential expressions of stress proteins and miRNAs in circulating exosomes in prostate cancer health disparities. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eighth AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 13-16, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2016;25(3 Suppl):Abstract nr B13.
Smart guide: mid-scale NFC navigation system

Existing navigation systems that utilize GPS are unreliable on any smaller scales ventures such as on or within a campus and generally are unstable within buildings or other structures. We found a need to have a more reliable way to access directions when GPS systems were inaccurate or inaccessible. Since NFC readers are not uncommon in mobile phones nowadays, we propose a new portable system, Smart Guide, to utilize this underused technology in a new way. In this paper, we present Smart Guide that is an Android application using NFC to aid a user in mid-scale navigation.
Phase II study of RO4929097 in metastatic colorectal cancer.

e14058 Background: The Notch pathway is activated in colorectal cancer. Downstream signaling is mediated via cleavage of intracellular Notch (ICN) by a γ-secretase complex. Our gene-expression micr...
EUROPE, NORTHERN AND WESTERN | Iron Age

During the Iron Age (800–51 BC) in northern and western Europe, archaeological evidence indicates the development of complex, urban societies, with intensive manufacturing of bronze, iron, pottery, and other materials, and extensive trade systems with other parts of the continent and beyond. While the archaeological database for this part of the world is very large, investigators debate the meanings of patterns in the evidence for understanding social organization, ritual practice, and other aspects of these late prehistoric societies.
Evaluating the robustness of game theoretic solutions when using abstraction

Game theory is a tool for modeling multi-agent decision problems and has been used to analyze strategies in domains such as poker, security, and trading agents. One method for solving very large games is to use abstraction techniques to shrink the game by removing detail, solve the reduced game, and then translate the solution back to the original game. We present a methodology for evaluating the robustness of different game-theoretic solution concepts to the errors introduced by the abstraction process. We present an initial empirical study of the robustness of several solution methods when using abstracted games.
Cerebello-thalamo-cortical networks predict positive symptom progression in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis

Prospective longitudinal evaluation of adolescents at ultra-high-risk (UHR) for the development of psychosis enables an enriched neurodevelopmental perspective of disease progression in the absence of many of the factors that typically confound research with formally psychotic patients (antipsychotic medications, drug/alcohol dependence). The cerebellum has been linked to cognitive dysfunction and symptom severity in schizophrenia and recent work from our team suggests that it is a promising target for investigation in UHR individuals as well. However, the cerebellum and cerebello-thalamo-cortical networks have not been investigated developmentally or with respect to disease progression in this critical population. Further, to date, the types of longitudinal multimodal connectivity studies that would substantially inform our understanding of this area have not yet been conducted. In the present investigation 26 UHR and 24 healthy control adolescents were administered structured clinical interviews and scanned at baseline and then again at 12-month time points to investigate both functional and structural connectivity development of cerebello-thalamo-cortical networks in conjunction with symptom progression. Our results provide evidence of abnormal functional and structural cerebellar network development in the UHR group. Crucially, we also found that cerebello-thalamo-cortical network development and connectivity at baseline are associated with positive symptom course, suggesting that cerebellar networks may be a biomarker of disease progression. Together, these findings provide support for neurodevelopmental models of psychotic disorders and suggest that the cerebellum and respective networks with the cortex may be especially important for elucidating the pathophysiology of psychosis and highlighting novel treatment targets.
Abstract 314: Infarct Size Reduction by Statins Requires Parkin and Mitophagy

The cardioprotective effects of statins are well known yet the mechanism is unclear. Previously we showed that autophagy is required for cardioprotection from ischemia/reperfusion injury. More recently, we reported that ischemic preconditioning involves Parkin-mediated mitophagy. We hypothesized that the molecular basis of statin-mediated cardioprotection may involve mitochondrial quality control through mitophagy. HL-1 cardiomyocytes treated with simvastatin for 24hr exhibited diminished Akt/mTOR signaling, increased activation of ULK1, and upregulation of autophagy (n=3, p<0.05). Similar findings were obtained in cardiac tissue in mice 4hr after i.p. administration of simvastatin. Mevalonate addition abolished statin’s effects on Akt/mTOR signaling and autophagy induction in HL-1 cells, indicating that the effects are mediated through inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase. Statin treatment in HL-1 cells triggered mitochondrial fragmentation, translocation of Parkin and p62/SQSTM1 to the mitochondria followed ...
Abstract WMP97: Regional Cerebral Oxygen Extraction is Elevated in Tissue at High Risk of Stroke in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease

Introduction: Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at high risk of stroke. Hemispheric oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) is a predictor of stroke in adults with carotid occlusion, but OEF has not been evaluated as a predictor of stroke in children with SCD. Hypothesis: OEF is elevated in SCD children compared to controls within a region at high risk of stroke as defined by an infarct heat-map created from a separate retrospective SCD cohort. Methods: A prospective MRI study enrolled 37 children aged 5-21: 17 with SCD and no stroke, 12 with SCD and silent infarcts (median infarct volume=0.3ml), and 8 sibling controls. None were on transfusions or had overt stroke history. Voxel-wise OEF was measured using an asymmetric spin echo sequence. In a separate retrospective cohort of 67 SCD children with overt and silent stroke, infarct regions on FLAIR were manually outlined and coregistered to an average T1 map to create an infarct heat-map (Fig A) which was used to define a “high risk” ROI (defined by >3% infarct density). This ROI was aligned to individual OEF maps from the prospective cohort (Fig B, average OEF map). OEF within the “high risk” ROI was compared between SCD children and controls; and between SCD children with and without infarction using Mann Whitney U tests. Results: The infarct heat-map from the retrospective cohort (Fig A) and the average OEF map from the prospective SCD cohort (Fig B) demonstrate striking co-localization of infarct density and elevated OEF. Within the “high risk” ROI, OEF was higher in SCD children compared to controls (39% [36, 46] vs. 23% [22, 27], p Conclusion: OEF in SCD children is elevated in the internal borderzone, a region with high stroke risk in SCD. Regional OEF may be a marker of cerebral metabolic stress that could be exploited to stratify stroke risk in this vulnerable population.
Risks of restrictive red blood cell transfusion strategies in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD): a meta-analysis.

Aim To evaluate the risks of restrictive red blood cell transfusion strategies (haemoglobin 7-8 g dL-1 ) in patients with and without known cardiovascular disease (CVD). Background Recent guidelines recommend restrictive strategies for CVD patients hospitalised for non-CVD indications, patients without known CVD and patients hospitalised for CVD corrective procedures. Methods/materials Database searches were conducted through December 2017 for randomised clinical trials that enrolled patients with and without known CVD, hospitalised either for CVD-corrective procedures or non-cardiac indications, comparing effects of liberal with restrictive strategies on major adverse coronary events (MACE) and death. Results In CVD patients not undergoing cardiac interventions, a liberal strategy decreased (P = 0·01) the relative risk (95% CI) (RR) of MACE [0·50 (0·29-0·86)] (I2 = 0%). Among patients without known CVD, the incidence of MACE was lower (1·7 vs 3·9%), and the effect of a liberal strategy on MACE [0·79, (0·39-1·58)] was smaller and non-significant but not different from CVD patients (P = 0·30). Combining all CVD and non-CVD patients, a liberal strategy decreased MACE [0·59, (0·39-0·91); P = 0·02]. Conversely, among studies reporting mortality, a liberal strategy decreased mortality in CVD patients (11·7% vs·13·3%) but increased mortality (19·2% vs 18·0%) in patients without known CVD [interaction P = 0·05; ratio of RR 0·73, (0·53-1·00)]. A liberal strategy also did not benefit patients undergoing cardiac surgery; data were insufficient for percutaneous cardiac procedures. Conclusions In patients hospitalised for non-cardiac indications, liberal transfusion strategies are associated with a decreased risk of MACE in both those with and without known CVD. However, this only provides a survival benefit to CVD patients not admitted for CVD-corrective procedures.
Concurrent genetic alterations identified by next-generation sequencing in pre-treatment, metastatic EGFR-mutant lung cancers.

9053Background: Whether disease characteristics or outcomes for patients (pts) with EGFR-mutant lung cancers differ by co-mutations present is unknown. In order to understand the impact of co-mutat...
The Chlorophyll a Water Splitting Light Reaction

The vast difference in temperature between the sun and the earth is equalized through the medium of light, which is converted by green plants into the driving force for photosynthesis, providing sustenance for life in the animal world.
Sorption and Degradation of Selected Fungicides in the Turfgrass Canopy

Microbial degradation of fungicides on leaf surfaces after repeated applications to turfgrass was investigated. Prior andcurrent work in our laboratory has identified two characteristicsof the turfgrass leaf system that may contribute to the enhanceddegradation of fungicides after repeated application to turfgrass:(1) The leaf surface is rich in microorganisms (∼108 g-1 dr wt leaf), and (2) Leaf surface microorganisms may respond to repeated fungicide applications in a manner consistentwith the phenomena of enhanced biodegradation. Field studies wereconducted on ‘Penncross' creeping bentgrass with four fungicidesrepresenting three chemical families applied either two or eight times in one growing season. Biodegradation was estimated using data from both a field study and a parallel laboratory study thatfollowed the fate of 14C-labelled fungicides. For the laboratory incubations, the locations of the residual 14C fungicides were estimated using a sequential extraction protocolthat fractionated the materials into three pools: available,retained and bound. Data from both the field and laboratory studyrefuted our hypothesis that enhanced biodegradation would developfollowing repeated applications of the fungicides onto the leafsurface. Our studies support a conclusion that a two-stagephysical sorption process leads to plant incorporation and thiscontrols most of the fungicide's fate. Thus, our data suggestthat microbial activity plays a less important part in theprocess than would be indicated by considering the size of themicrobial population on the leaves.
A Novel Peptide Restricts Ethanol Modulation of the BK Channel In Vitro and In Vivo

Alcohol is a widely used and abused substance. A major unresolved issue in the alcohol research field is determining which of the many alcohol target proteins identified to date is responsible for shaping each specific alcohol-related behavior. The large-conductance, calcium- and voltage-activated potassium channel (BK channel) is a conserved target of ethanol. Genetic manipulation of the highly conserved BKα channel influences alcohol-related behaviors across phylogenetically diverse species that include worm, fly, mouse, and man. A pharmacological tool that prevents alcohol's action at a single target, like the BK channel, would complement genetic approaches in the quest to define the behavioral consequences of alcohol at each target. To identify agents that specifically modulate the action of ethanol at the BK channel, we executed a high-throughput phagemid-display screen in combination with a Caenorhabditis elegans behavioral genetics assay. This screen selected a novel nonapeptide, LS10, which moderated acute ethanol intoxication in a BK channel-humanized C. elegans strain without altering basal behavior. LS10's action in vivo was dependent upon BK channel functional activity. Single-channel electrophysiological recordings in vitro showed that preincubation with a submicromolar concentration of LS10 restricted ethanol-induced changes in human BKα channel gating. In contrast, no substantial changes in basal human BKα channel function were observed after LS10 application. The results obtained with the LS10 peptide provide proof-of-concept evidence that a combined phagemid-display/behavioral genetics screening approach can provide novel tools for understanding the action of alcohol at the BK channel and how this, in turn, exerts influence over central nervous system function.
Bad subjects: Epistemic violence at arraignment:

While arraignment is meant to serve as a check on arbitrary state power, actualizing defendants’ rights to due process, it is also a key site wherein individuals come face to face with the state. T...
Obesity, diabetes, and the gut microbiome: an updated review.

Introduction: Obesity and diabetes are two of the most prevalent health problems and leading causes of death globally. As research on the intestinal microbiome increases, so does our understanding ...
Program Analyses Using Newton’s Method (Invited Paper)

Esparza et al. generalized Newton’s method—a numerical-analysis algorithm for finding roots of real-valued functions—to a method for finding fixed-points of systems of equations over semirings. Their method provides a new way to solve interprocedural dataflow-analysis problems. As in its real-valued counterpart, each iteration of their method solves a simpler “linearized” problem.
Resonance Chambers and Industrial Nightmares: Big Wind’s Civic Afflictions

In the past decade, industrial wind installations, or what we commonly call wind farms, have proliferated across the U.S. along with talk of a constellation of illness symptoms known as Wind Turbine Syndrome. Despite widespread efforts to debunk claims that wind turbines make people sick, the syndrome has achieved a rhetorical virulence in the deliberative sphere, where it “catches” among residents who live hundreds of miles away from wind turbines. Here, where wind installations exist only in the deliberative imagination, Wind Turbine Syndrome presents as a civic affliction with serious consequences for the trajectory of municipal debate.
Safety Models of Systems in the Engine Room with Renewable Elements

The idea of technical safety system had been characterised. Presented were basic models of technical safety systems regarded to the highest measures of safety. Chosen measures of safety were included. Safety measures were illustrated with Kolmogorov equations. A safety analysis based on the engine room technical system with renewable elements was presented. It was illustrated, among others, with Kolmogorov equations. Measures of readiness and unreadiness as well as other measures of unreliability were indexed. In the complicated system, such as the engine room, its service depends on its accident-free functioning, as well and often on the safety of the environment. In estimating of the reliability of the technical system, it is necessary to take into consideration not only the system’s technical damages, but also the possibility of errors made by the technical personnel of the engine room. These errors cause various consequences of safety unreliability in the engine room system, and identifying these errors should be taken into consideration in the safety models and indicators of safety reliability and usable. Presented models do not include all of the possible areas. The presented way includes a narrow possible portion of safety analysis of exploitation in engine room.
Human-Misinformation interaction: Understanding the interdisciplinary approach needed to computationally combat false information

The prevalence of new technologies and social media has amplified the effects of misinformation on our societies. Thus, it is necessary to create computational tools to mitigate their effects effectively. This study aims to provide a critical overview of computational approaches concerned with combating misinformation. To this aim, I offer an overview of scholarly definitions of misinformation. I adopt a framework for studying misinformation that suggests paying attention to the source, content, and consumers as the three main elements involved in the process of misinformation and I provide an overview of literature from disciplines of psychology, media studies, and cognitive sciences that deal with each of these elements. Using the framework, I overview the existing computational methods that deal with 1) misinformation detection and fact-checking using Content 2) Identifying untrustworthy Sources and social bots, and 3) Consumer-facing tools and methods aiming to make humans resilient to misinformation. I find that the vast majority of works in computer science and information technology is concerned with the crucial tasks of detection and verification of content and sources of misinformation. Moreover, I find that computational research focusing on Consumers of Misinformation in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and related fields are very sparse and often do not deal with the subtleties of this process. The majority of existing interfaces and systems are less concerned with the usability of the tools rather than the robustness and accuracy of the detection methods. Using this survey, I call for an interdisciplinary approach towards human-misinformation interaction that focuses on building methods and tools that robustly deal with such complex psychological/social phenomena.
Recovery and Moving On After Breakups Caused by Infidelity

Existing investigations of infidelity focus on facilitating relational repair and recovery. However, little work examines recovery in betrayed partners after a breakup resulting from infidelity. Th...
Property Rights in Medieval Japan: The Role of Buddhist Temples and Monasteries

Medieval Japanese governments only haphazardly enforced claims to scarce resources. Necessarily, this presented landholders with a void. To obtain the enforcement the governments did not offer, many turned to institutions affiliated with the fractious Buddhist church instead. Temples and monasteries enjoyed an exemption from tax on their lands, and controlled an array of financial and human resources with which they could adjudicate and enforce claims to scarce resources. To obtain access to that exemption and those resources, landholders "commended" their land to them, and paid them a share of the harvest. In exchange, the temples and monasteries exempted them from tax, adjudicated disputes internal to the estate, and protected their estates against external threats. Effectively, the temples and monasteries competed in a market for basic governmental services.
Embodied political ecology: Sensing agrarian change in north India

Abstract In this article, I consider what an attention to embodied experience can add to our understandings of the Green Revolution and other currents of agrarian change in north India. I present and analyze organic farmers’ narratives of agrarian change in Uttarakhand, demonstrating how these accounts foreground issues of embodiment including health, disease, bodily strength, sensory perception, and memory. Developing these narratives toward a political ecology of the body, I consider how these embodied perceptions shape farmers’ accounts and valuations of agrarian change, inform farmers’ decision making, and potentially motivate them to become involved in forms of collective action. In closing, I reflect on how a focus on farmers’ embodied perceptions might complicate histories of the Green Revolution and inform on the ground efforts to support transitions to more sustainable forms of agriculture in north India.
The Multicultural Personality Inventory – Short Form: Development and Validation

We report the development and validation of the Multicultural Personality Inventory – Short Form (MPI-SF). Results supported the correlated seven-factor model with a sample of 333 college students....
Femtosecond Laser Pulse-Induced Structural Modification of Lanthanum Aluminosilicate Glasses: Refractive Indices in Visible Vs. Terahertz Frequency Regions

We studied femtosecond laser modifications of lanthanum aluminosilicate (SAL) glasses with 11–23 mol% La2O3 content. Refractive indices of these glasses were measured in the visible and terahertz frequencies and correlated to the change in the glass structure. The role of lanthanum provided a comparison to traditional glass modifiers within the glass network in terms of polarizability and optical basicity for femtosecond laser irradiation modification of the refractive index. 27Al magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR) was used to identify aluminum speciation within the SAL glasses. We used prism-coupling and terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) for visible and THz refractive index measurements, respectively. Our results show a linear correlation between refractive index measurements in visible and terahertz frequencies with systematic rare-earth ion inclusions. In addition, our results demonstrate that THz-TDS can be utilized as a means of extending the detectable limits in refractive index measurements of disordered glass structures.
Global-Local Incompatibility: The Misperception of Reliability in Judgment Regarding Global Variables.

A number of important decision domains, including decisions about hiring, global warming, and weather hazards, are characterized by a global-local incompatibility. These domains involve variables that cannot be observed by a single decision maker (DM) and require the integration of observations from locally available information cues. This paper presents a new bifocal lens model that describes how the structure of the environment can lead to a unique form of overconfidence when generalizing the reliability of the local environment to a global scale. When the local environment does not reliably reflect the global environment, they are incompatible. While local perspectives vary across DMs, global-local incompatibility can be understood using the structure of classical test theory as the difference between (a) perceived estimates of the reliability derived from the local environment and (b) the true reliability of the local environment. I model global-local incompatibility as the difference between the true and estimated reliability when the assumptions of classical test theory are violated. Using a series of case studies and an empirical study, I demonstrate the widespread utility of this framework, and I conclude by discussing implications for cognitive-ecological theory, risk communication, and overconfidence.
Design, Development, and Testing of an Autonomous Multirotor for Personal Transportation

Unmanned Aerial Systems are extensively used for tasks like inspection of high-risk areas, agriculture, remote sensing, or simply for entertainment. New avenues of drone applications are still being explored. The goal of this project is to create an autonomous aerial vehicle capable of transporting a human passenger as payload. Preliminarily, a smaller equivalent multirotor aircraft has been developed and tested to explore possible structure/hardware configurations and to study flight behavior. Upon completion of the small-scale drone, the large multirotor aircraft capable of lifting the equivalent weight of a human passenger will be developed, assembled, and tested utilizing the selected final configuration of the smaller prototype. The development of a personal aerial transportation system will trigger public discussion on the potential of autonomous “air taxi” transportation systems and generate excitement and interest in STEM fields, primarily the field of aeronautics. Also, this project will further increase public trust of autonomous transportation by proving the safety and reliability of automated systems and flight in general. In turn, our effort will create numerous opportunities for further advancement in the applications of automation to aeronautics. This project, under the name “ATLAS: Advanced Transportation through Leading-edge Aerial Systems”, has been selected by NASA as a winner of the 2019 University Student Research Challenge. Notably, it aligns with NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate’s Thrust 6: Assured Autonomy for Aviation Transformation through the initial testing of autonomy in large drones for civilian use.
Optimal PMU Restoration for Power System Observability Recovery After Massive Attacks

Cyber-physically resilient power system operation requires rapid recovery of situational awareness after disastrous scenarios such as massive cyber attacks. In this article, the concept of optimal sequential restoration of Phasor Measurement Units is introduced, aiming at rapid recovery of power system observability in post-attack scenarios. The observability recovery problem is formulated as a Mixed Integer Linear Programming problem to maximize the cumulative observability level gained over time during the restoration process. Three alternative objective functions—maximizing the number of observable buses, the number of observable branches, and the total amount of observable power flow—are considered. The effectiveness of the proposed optimal strategy is verified by comparing it with heuristic approaches on the IEEE 57-bus system.
'Ombuds in a Cloud of Exabytes - Understanding the Ombuds' Digital Trail'

Confidentiality serves as the bedrock principle of the Ombuds' profession. This article examines the International Ombuds Association’s Standards of Practice confidentiality requirements when Ombuds increasingly rely upon electronic communication. It first explores the expansion of electronically stored information (ESI) due to the many different electronic devices Ombuds rely upon or interact with including computers, smartphones, security cameras and printers. Under IOA Standards, Ombuds shall not keep any records, but electronic communication presents critical challenges to meeting that standard. The article then reviews how novel legal issues caused by e-discovery - the search for relevant digital documents in litigation - will impact Ombuds. Finally, it offers Ombuds suggestions on managing and controlling ESI while raising the question of whether the International Ombuds Association must review its Standards of Practice in light of these ESI developments.
A restricted multiple generator approach to enumerate personal support networks: An alternative to global important matters and satisficing in web surveys

Abstract Overlooked issues in the selection and presentation of name generators may lead to extreme measurement errors in Web surveys. This paper compares networks elicited from the standard “important matters” (IM) name generator, which records alter names on one or five boxes per page, with a two-generator design and an alternative approach, the R5D. The R5D consists of five name generators focused on a range of topics commonly discussed as important matters. Each generator is restricted to recording one alter. Generally accepted practices in egocentric surveys result in inaccurate measures of network size and composition. They include the use of the stand-alone IM generator and advice to present a single name box to record one alter name per page. The use of a single name box encourages satisficing. The R5D is a parsimonious alternative with stronger construct validity. It has less measurement error, provides measures of social support, and enumerates alters with less slippage in importance than other approaches.
Leukemia vaccines

Leukemia is susceptible to immune-mediated therapies such as allogeneic stem-cell transplantation, donor lymphocyte infusion, and interferon. The clinical effectiveness of these immune-based modalities has encouraged interest in vaccine therapies for leukemia. Substantial progress has recently been made in basic immunology, allowing scientifically based vaccination strategies to be developed. The discovery of leukemiaspecific and leukemia-associated antigens will allow antigen-specific therapeutic strategies to be developed. Vacination with genetically modified leukemia cells and the use of dendritic cells in various vaccination approaches are all promising avenues of study for development of effective leukemia vaccines.
Spacecraft for Deep Space Exploration: Combining Time and Budget to Model the Trend in Lifespan

This paper develops a novel approach to modeling and predicting advancement in spacecraft technology for deep space exploration. As spacecraft lifetimes increase, ever more elaborate missions and even quasi-permanent bases become more and more possible. We use the NASA (National Aeronautical and Space Agency) yearly budget along with the time variable to model their relationship with spacecraft lifespans and compare the level of fit of our model with an exponential (generalized Moore's law) model. The results indicate that our model provides a better curve fit, suggesting the usefulness of NASA’s budget in predicting the progression of space exploration technology. Additionally, the evidence that the NASA budget has a statistically significant impact on spacecraft lifespans suggests that the government could increase future funding of NASA to foster quicker technological improvement in space exploration technology.
“It’s Cool, Modifying and All, but I Don’t Want Anything Blowing Up on Me:” A Focus Group Study of Motivations to Modify Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS)

Introduction: Modifications to electronic nicoti ne delivery systems (ENDS) can pose health risks to users. This study explored users’ motivations for modifying ENDS devices and how perceived risks of modifications influenced modification behaviors as product availability and device characteristics changed over time. Method: We conducted nine focus groups (February–June 2020) with 32 current ENDS users (18+, used ENDS in the past 30 days, and had been using ENDS for more than 2 months). Results: Participants primarily modified ENDS devices to improve their experiences, such as experimenting with flavor, controlling nicotine levels, or using cannabis products with ENDS. Another reason for modifying was routine maintenance to ensure a satisfactory experience, including maintaining coils and keeping batteries charged. The broader availability of ENDS products shifted modification behaviors over time, with newer devices making some modifications (e.g., coil replacement) easier and making more intricate modifications (e.g., building coil from scratch) less common. Participants were aware of modification dangers and cited perceived risk as the reason for avoiding certain modifications, such as battery alterations. Conclusions: Modifications of ENDS are ongoing and evolving among users and should be considered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory decision-makers as product authorization reviews are conducted and product standards are developed.
A computational framework for simulating cardiac optogenetics

Recent experimental studies have shown that cardiac tissue can be engineered to respond to optical stimulation using Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), a light-gated cation channel. We present the first comprehensive multiscale framework for simulating cardiac optogenetics, following illumination effects from membrane proteins to ventricular contraction. Virtual optogenetic therapy is applied in ventricular models to investigate the design of efficient optical stimulation schemes. Major determinants of threshold ir-radiance levels are characterized and the Purkinje system is identified as a novel target for optical pacemaking. This study describes a tremendous step forward in our ability to leverage computational tools in the design and optimization of conceptually new optogenetic actuation techniques.
Photoactive Nanomaterials for Sensing Trace Analytes in Biological Samples

The emerging field of nanotechnology has provided several revolutionary photoactive nanomaterials as labeling reagents for ultrasensitive and accurate determination of trace amounts of target analytes in biological samples. Currently, different types of photoactive nanomaterials have been developed, which include quantum dots, PEBBLEs, polymer fluorescent nanoparticles, silica fluorescent nanoparticles, metal nanoparticles, etc. All of these nanosensing substrates have demonstrated excellent signaling characteristics and high photostability for a wide variety of photoluminescent, photoabsorent, and photodispersive assays. This review focuses mainly on some recent applications of these nanomaterials for sensitive determination of trace analytes in biological samples.
Preparation of metal distributions within catalyst supports: IV. Multicomponent effects

Abstract A methodology for predicting the catalytic metal profiles resulting from a multicomponent impregnation was developed. Each ingredient was classified on the basis of its influence on the adsorption process. A multicomponent adsorption-transport model was used to predict the effects of a competing acid on the catalytic metal profiles. Agreement between the experimental and theoretical adsorption profiles was achieved when the effects of the competing acid on the solution-interface chemistry were incorporated into the multicomponent model.
Query Optimization in Encrypted Relational Databases by Vertical Schema Partitioning

Security and privacy concerns, as well as legal considerations, force many companies to encrypt the sensitive data in their databases. However, storing the data in encrypted format entails significant performance penalties during query processing. In this paper, we address several design issues related to querying encrypted relational databases. The experiments we conducted on benchmark datasets show that excessive decryption costs during query processing result in CPU bottleneck. As a solution we propose a new method based on schema decomposition that partitions sensitive and non-sensitive attributes of a relation into two separate relations. Our method improves the system performance dramatically by parallelizing disk IO latency with CPU-intensive operations (i.e., encryption/decryption).
Motion generation with a recurrent neural network

Several techniques can be used to generate motion sequences in computer animation. This paper explores the use of a recurrent neural network as an alternative way to create these sequences. It is found that this architecture can easily learn to produce a variety of linear and circular motion sequences and can also combine several of these sequences to produce smooth movements. More general sequences can also be learned and reproduced, although with somewhat more difficulty. Motion generation can also be guided by a plan. The incorporation of a plan enables accurate production of composite motion sequences. >
Genetic algorithm frequency domain optimization of an anti-resonant electromechanical controller

The new standard for actuators in the aerospace industry is electromechanical actuators. This paper describes an approach whereby PID and DFF controllers are used in unison to effectively manipulate a thrust vectoring system.
Representation and recognition of pictorial graphs using structural isomorphism

A structural description of a pictorial graph called the vertex type connectivity partition description is proposed. The vertex type connectivity partition description captures the structural information embedded in a pictorial graph and can be used to build the knowledge base for the representation and recognition of pictorial graphs. In this paper, the author is interested in characterizing a graph as a whole, rather than its individual vertices. >
Science education and communication: AAP Presidential Address

Since its inception, members of the Association of American Physicians (AAP) have made distinguished contributions as physician-scientists, educators, and clinicians. I would like to speak to you today about two intersecting missions of our Society and profession that I am personally passionate about, and believe require serious stewardship: science education for the development of the physician-scientist, and the important parallel activity of communication to our public and Congress about science and the process of discovery.
A model for learning systems

A model for learning systems is presented, and representative AI, pattern recognition, and control systems are discussed in terms of its framework. The model details the functional components felt to be essential for any learning system, independent of the techniques used for its construction, and the specific environment in which it operates. These components are Performance element, instance selector, critic, earning element, blackboard, and world model. Consideration of learning system design leads naturally to the concept of a layered system, each layer operating at a different level of abstraction.