cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Grain‐Boundary Grooving of Plasma‐Sprayed Yttria‐Stabilized Zirconia Thermal Barrier Coatings

The focus of this study was to determine the mechanisms responsible for the microstructural changes of plasma-sprayed 7 wt% Y 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 thermal barrier coatings with annealing from 800° to 1400°C. Mullins's thermal grooving theories have been applied to plasma-sprayed TBCs to determine the dominant mass transport mechanism at various temperatures. Grain-boundary groove widths were measured as a function of annealing time and temperature using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The same collection of grains was analyzed after progressive heat treatments. Surface diffusion was found to be the dominant diffusion mechanism at 1000°C, corresponding to the disappearance of intralamellar cracks at that temperature. At 1100°C, both surface and volume diffusion were active. Volume diffusion, found to be the dominant diffusion mechanism at 1200°C and above, was responsible for the sintering of interlamellar pores observed from AFM analysis of a single, progressively heat-treated interlamellar boundary. Surface roughening was observed to coarsen with increased annealing time and disappear with increased annealing temperature.
Electromechanical flight actuators for advanced flight vehicles

The aircraft flight quantities and success of the mission depend to a great extent upon the actuator performance, and flight actuators must be designed to achieve the specified criteria. Electromechanical flight actuators driven by electric motors have begun to displace hydraulic technology in advanced flight vehicles. In aerospace application, permanent-magnet stepper motors are perfectly suited due to their efficiency and reliability, low volume-, weight-, and size-to-torque ratios, high power and torque densities, low cost and maintenance, simplicity and ruggedness, etc. Conventional open-loop stepper motor servos do not ensure the required accuracy and dynamic performance. An innovative method in motion control of advanced electromechanical flight actuators is developed, and nonlinear controllers are designed. The specified tracking accuracy, desired stability margins, microstepping capabilities, and disturbance attenuation are ensured by the robust nonlinear controllers synthesized. Analytical, numerical, and experimental results are documented to study the performance of flight actuators directly driven by stepper motors and to demonstrate the efficiency of control algorithms.
The Efficacy of Sustainability Values in Predicting Travelers’ Choices for Sustainable Hospitality Businesses

Sustainability studies suggest that travelers’ decisions to support sustainable production and to consume sustainable hospitality and tourism services are functions of those travelers’ values. This study examined the efficacy of the sustainability value (SV) scale in predicting potential travelers’ choices for sustainable hospitality businesses using a partially mediated structural equation model. Data from a panel of 1,202 recent travelers in North America suggest that SVs predict an individual’s choice for sustainable hospitality businesses. The effect of those values, however, is partially mediated by the travelers’ environmental behaviors. Based on the respondents’ attitudes and behavior, they were grouped into an environment-supporting group called “strong-sustainers” and an environment-neutral group termed “centrists-sustainers.” Extending these findings to the market, hoteliers could offer targeted sustainability messages for the proposed “strong-sustainer” traveler, who would be more likely to pur...
Examining health disparities in systemic lupus erythematosus

Identifying disparities in health among persons of different ethnic or socioeconomic groups, investigating the causes of these disparities, and implementing reme- dies for them have become priorities in national health care research. Among rheumatic diseases, systemic lu- pus erythematosus (SLE) shows marked health dispari- ties that have been the subject of many investigations. Survival rates of patients with SLE have been reported to vary by socioeconomic status (SES) (1-3) and, in some studies, to differ among ethnic groups (4,5). Mor- bidity, as assessed by measures of lupus activity (6,7), permanent organ damage (8-12), functional ability (11), and health status (10,13), has also been found to vary by SES in some, but not all (14,15), studies. In this issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, Alarcon and colleagues add to this growing literature by report- ing their observations on the development of permanent organ damage in patients enrolled in the LUMINA (lupus in minority populations, nature versus nurture) cohort (16). Over a mean of 5 years, scores on the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Damage Index (SDI) increased by 0.4 points among Caucasian and African American patients, but increased by 1 point among Hispanic patients. In multivariate analyses, the most important predictors of an increase in the SDI score were older age and greater lupus activity at study entry, but both Hispanic ethnicity and one measure of SES (household income under the federal poverty level) also predicted greater increases in the SDI score over 5 years. These findings indicate that ethnicity and SES, or factors associated with them, influence the development of organ damage in patients with SLE. Health disparities among persons of different socioeconomic groups are not the result of SES itself, but rather, are due to psychosocial factors that vary with SES and may more directly influence health (17). Ethnic differences in health outcomes also probably have their origin in psychosocial differences, but a contribution from biologic differences must also be considered. Psy- chosocial factors that vary by SES or ethnicity and that might influence health outcomes include health habits, environmental stressors, coping resources, social sup- port, compliance, and access to care, among others. SES and ethnicity are surrogate measures for these psycho- social processes.
Sensing the earth's atmosphere with occultation satellites

A pair of satellites in the same earth orbit but separated by about 60° in phase will have a radio path between them that intersects the atmosphere continuously. With a coherent transponder between satellites at a frequency of 5 GHz, changes of 3 cm in the phase path can be recorded, giving a sensitivity to changes in atmospheric density of 1:18 000. With a set of six satellites to sense density at five levels, sufficient resolution is acquired to define the vertical density profile for weather prediction equations. Three such systems in polar orbit will give the necessary world-wide resolution every 12 hours. Actual motion of the satellites due to orbit perturbations can be corrected for, giving air pressure accuracy better than 3 mbars with existing knowledge of the earth's gravity and with long term averaging of data from the satellites' own transponders. Below about 7 km, correction must be made for water vapor effects on the radio waves. Several techniques are available to extend the desired precision down to 5 km and may be able to give the necessary corrections down to 3 km.
Total colonic Hirschsprung's disease: a 28-year experience.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to review outcomes after surgical treatment of total colonic Hirschsprung’s disease (TCH). Methods: Twenty-five records of patients with TCH treated between 1974 and 2002 were reviewed. Follow-up data were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Objective functional outcome was assessed using a scoring system. Results: Twentypatientshadaganglionosisofthecolonanddistalileum,5ofwhomhadamoreextensive condition. One of these 5 patients underwent an endorectal pull-through (ERPT), 1 underwent intestinal transplantation, and 3 died. Four of the remaining 20 patients underwent a primary ERPT, 16 received a stomaasneonatesfollowedbyERPTin12,andaMartin-DuhamelprocedureorSwenson’soperationin3 (medianage,10.5months);1remainswithanostomy.Postoperativecomplicationsincludedenterocolitis (55%), anal stricture (25%), and perineal excoriation (20%). Mean follow-up were 17.5 years (F11.1 years). Eighty-nine percent were free of recurrent enterocolitis. Frequency of bowel movements is 1 to 5 perdayin82%ofthepatients,18%have6ormorebowelmovementsperday.Occasionalsoilingisnoted in 40% (one third of those requiring nighttime diapers). Overall functional outcome was good in 83%. Those patients with the longest follow-up periods had the best stooling scores (P = .04). Conclusions:SurgicaltreatmentofTCHisassociatedwithanumberofcomplicationsincludingrecurrent
Intramural Sport Marketing: An Examination of Effectiveness, Participant Motives, and Demographic Differences:

Intramural sports exist as a relevant entity in the recruitment and retention of college students (Byl, 2002). The popularity of intramural sport has caused university recreational departments to increase intramural opportunities, thus increasing the need for more targeted marketing efforts. However, marketing strategies for intramural sport are not as refined, funded, or as thoroughly researched as strategies found within intercollegiate and professional sports (Schneider, Stier, Kampf, Wilding, & Haines, 2007). Therefore, in the current study, we examined the effectiveness of 10 intramural marketing techniques in relation to four participation motives and demographic characteristics for 208 intramural participants. Results revealed promotional items as the most effective marketing technique, whereas social media was the least effective. Regarding gender, men were more motivated by discounts, and women participated more for fitness. Our results could aid intramural sports coordinators to better use their...
Gene Expression Profile of the Mouse Organ of Corti at the Onset of Hearing

We describe the generation of an expressed sequence tag (EST) database of the mouse organ of Corti (OC). Over 20,000 independent clones were isolated, analyzed, and grouped into 8690 unique gene clusters. A large pool of novel genes unique to the OC was identified. Sequence alignments frequently revealed alternatively spliced forms of known genes potentially relevant in the OC function. We have also electronically mapped a subset of OC mouse ESTs to several syntenic regions associated with human autosomal and recessive deafness, which may prove useful for the identification of new positional candidates for these human diseases. The EST dataset is available as an interactive Web-based public database at http://neibank.nei.nih.gov. This resource provides both a view of the profile of gene expression in the OC at the onset of hearing and a tool to identify novel genes of importance in hearing.
Intravitreal Daptomycin for Recalcitrant Postoperative Endophthalmitis.

Purpose: To report the first case to our knowledge of intravitreal daptomycin used to successfully treat culture-negative vancomycin resistant to exogenous endophthalmitis. Methods: Case report with preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative findings. Results: A 63-year-old Caucasian male underwent routine pars plana vitrectomy with epiretinal membrane peeling. He developed acute postoperative endophthalmitis, and underwent vitreous tap and injection of intravitreal vancomycin/ceftazidime/dexamethasone. Gram stain showed Gram-positive cocci, but cultures were negative. His infection subsequently proved very recalcitrant and his treatment course involved pars plana vitrectomy with anterior chamber washout and repeat injection of antibiotics, followed by repeat intravitreal vancomycin and ceftazidime. Ultimately, a second vitrectomy with intravitreal daptomycin controlled his intraocular infection. On each occasion, cultures were negative. Conclusion: This case suggests that vancomycin resistance should be considered in culture-negative postoperative endophthalmitis, and intravitreal daptomycin should be considered as an important treatment alternative. Although vancomycin resistance is fairly rare in endophthalmitis, acknowledgment of its increasing occurrence rate is critical for optimal management.
Silicon and Silicon Dioxide Thermal Bonding

The quality of the bond produced after mating oxidized and/or unoxidized silicon wafers has been studied using acoustic microscopy, infrared transmission thermographs, and transmission electron microscopy. The acoustic microscopy revealed that a significant number of unbonded regions (gaps) remain at the bond interface after bonding in oxygen, nitrogen, or high vacuum, and then annealing. These gaps could be virtually eliminated by a subsequent hyperbaric annealing step. The thermal imaging was found to have insufficient resolution to give a detailed picture of the bond quality. Transmission electron microscopy showed that an excellent bond could be produced when bonding clean silicon wafers, with only very small oxide or void bubbles present at the interface. Bonding two oxidized wafers resulted in a buried oxide layer with no detectable bond line. Mating an oxidized wafer to an unoxidized wafer produced a bonded silicon/oxide interface which was nearly indistiguishable from the wafer/thermal oxide interface.
Microanalysis of Self-assembled InAs Quantum Dot Structures Grown for Infrared Detector Applications

In an effort to develop materials that are sensitive to mid and far infrared radiation, we examine InAs quantum dot/GaAs matrix multilayer structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Customized electrical and optical properties result from nanoscale-level manipulation of the dots' physical dimensions. The MBE growth temperature can be set to yield dots having the desired lateral dimension; however this leads to dots of insufficient vertical height. It is therefore necessary to grow the dots in a manner that allows independent control of the lateral and vertical dimensions. In this experiment, the vertical dimension is controlled by growing the dots in a multilayer structure with GaAs matrix layers. An initial layer of InAs quantum dots was grown on top of GaAs, followed by a few seconds short growth of GaAs, and then followed by the growth of another layer of InAs dots. The GaAs laterally surrounds, but does not bury, the InAs quantum dots. When the second layer of InAs dots is grown, they tend to self-organize directly on top of the exposed first layer of dots. We then grew a third layer of dots in the same manner. This effectively results in a pseudo-single layer of dots of the desired height which is then completely buried in GaAs. The goal is to develop structures that can be integrated into high operating temperature quantum dot infrared detectors (QDIPs) that have maximum sensitivity, robustness, and portability.
From Exegesis to Hermeneutics: The Problem of the Contemporary Meaning of Scripture

Part I discusses the recent history of Roman Catholic biblical scholarship which has led to the emergence of the problem of how the results of scientific biblical research can and should be integrated into the pastoral project of the Church. It suggests that the original division of labor among biblical scholars, theologians, and pastors is no longer visible (if, indeed, it ever was).Part II describes three models of biblical research in terms of the conception of Scripture and the theory of interpretation operative in each. The three models are not proposed as equally adequate. Proof-texting, the model which was paradigmatic prior to Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943), is presented as seriously defective. Historical critical exegesis, the model which has been, and to a large extent remains, paradigmatic is shown to be considerably more adequate. However, a variety of forces is placing pressure on this model, revealing its inadequacies when it terminates in historical reconstruction. The third model, the hermeneutical, seems capable of integrating exegesis into a process of interpretation which will prove more adequate to the task of revealing both what the text meant in its own time and culture and what the text means today.Part III draws out the implications of each of the three models for the relationship between biblical research and pastoral practice.
Venom Toxicity and Proteins of the Genus Apis

SummaryPure venoms from Apis dorsata, A. florea and A. indica (cerano) were collected and analysed for the first time, and compared with venoms from European and U.S. strains of Apis mellifera. The high toxicity attributed to A. dorsata venom could not be confirmed. Taxonomic relationships between the venoms are discussed.
Self-reference in psychosis and depression: a language marker of illness.

Background Language use is of increasing interest in the study of mental illness. Analytical approaches range from phenomenological and qualitative to formal computational quantitative methods. Practically, the approach may have utility in predicting clinical outcomes. We harnessed a real-world sample (blog entries) from groups with psychosis, strong beliefs, odd beliefs, illness, mental illness and/or social isolation to validate and extend laboratory findings about lexical differences between psychosis and control subjects. Method We describe the results of two experiments using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software to assess word category frequencies. In experiment 1, we compared word use in psychosis and control subjects in the laboratory (23 per group), and related results to subject symptoms. In experiment 2, we examined lexical patterns in blog entries written by people with psychosis and eight comparison groups. In addition to between-group comparisons, we used factor analysis followed by clustering to discern the contributions of strong belief, odd belief and illness identity to lexical patterns. Results Consistent with others' work, we found that first-person pronouns, biological process words and negative emotion words were more frequent in psychosis language. We tested lexical differences between bloggers with psychosis and multiple relevant comparison groups. Clustering analysis revealed that word use frequencies did not group individuals with strong or odd beliefs, but instead grouped individuals with any illness (mental or physical). Conclusions Pairing of laboratory and real-world samples reveals that lexical markers previously identified as specific language changes in depression and psychosis are probably markers of illness in general.
Family, Health, and Developmental Background of Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder

The purpose of this study was to investigate the family background, health-related conditions, and the developmental milestones of children identified with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The parents of a sample of 17 children with DCD responded to questionnaires followed by an interview. The responses were analysed for family, health, and developmental background, psychosocial environment, limited movement opportunity, and hereditary factors. Many of the findings were consistent with issues identified in the literature, including demographic profiles, birth trauma, delayed physical developmental milestones, and hereditary factors. The sample included children with learning difficulties and children who were academically accelerated. Of particular interest were cases where limited participation in physical activiry might have curbed motor competence.
Parental Behavior and Hormones in Non-Mammalian Vertebrates

To varying degrees, parental behavior is exhibited by members of every vertebrate class, and it is likely, but by no means well documented, that hormones play an important role in the expression of parental behavior in most if not all vertebrate taxa. In bony fishes, male parental care predominates, and both androgens and prolactin are implicated in parental behavior expression. Parental care in amphibians is widespread and diverse, but the hormonal mechanisms that facilitate parental behavior in this vertebrate class are virtually unstudied. The same is true of parental care in reptiles, which is generally less common and more rudimentary in form than that seen in other vertebrate classes. Over 99% of avian species exhibit parental behavior, and over 90% of those that do exhibit some degree of biparental care. Elevated levels of gonadal steroids and rising prolactin levels in blood are implicated in nest building and onset of egg incubation in many birds, while maintenance of incubation and care of young after hatching is associated with elevated plasma levels of prolactin and low plasma levels of gonadal steroids. Both prolactin and corticosterone may stimulate parental foraging and provisioning of young. However, the effects of corticosterone are complex, and the high plasma levels of corticosterone that are seen during periods of inclement weather or decreased food availability may result in nest abandonment. In all vertebrate classes, additional experimental studies that involve hormone manipulations are needed to determine if correlations between hormonal changes and parental behavior expression reflect causal relationships.
Ultrashort electrical pulses open a new gateway into biological cells

Electrical models for biological cells predict that reducing the duration of applied electrical pulses to values below the charging time of the outer membrane causes a strong increase in the probability for electric field interactions with intracellular structures. For electric field amplitudes exceeding MV/m, such pulses are expected to cause electroporation of cell organelles, with the required electric field amplitude scaling linearly with the inverse of pulse duration. Experimental studies, where human cells were exposed to pulsed electric field of up to 300 kV/cm amplitude with duration as short as 10 ns, have confirmed this hypothesis. The observed effects include the breaching of intracellular granule membranes without permanent damage to the cell membrane, abrupt rises in intracellular free calcium levels, and enhanced expression of genes. At increased electric fields, the application of nanosecond pulses induces apoptosis (programmed cell death) in biological cells, an effect that has been shown to reduce the growth of tumors. The experimental studies require the use of nanosecond pulse generators with impedances in the range from 10 to 100Omega. Two typical bioelectrics pulse power sources are described
Ps-Code: A New Code for Improved Degraded Mode Read and Write Performance of RAID Systems

The newer storage systems often have to deal with multiple disk failures. Thus, RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disk) is becoming increasingly important for two primary benefits: (1) high read performance and (2) robust fault tolerance. In addition, the recent RAID codes achieve better IO performance by using only XORs (optimal computational complexity) to compute parities. However, this achieved optimal computational complexity limits the further IO performance improvement. In this paper, we are proposing a new code called PS-code (Parity Stripe code) that employs improved Cauchy Reed Solomon codes for computing the parity to further improve write and degraded mode read performance. Furthermore, we extend the novelty by reducing the number of writes required for updating the parity. We simulated the PS-code in the DiskSim environment and devised a new metric called multi- block access complexity to perform an improved evaluation of the performance of the PS-code on workloads that represent real life scenario such as multi-block updates. Also, the experimental results demonstrate that the PS-code, on average, achieves 66%-86% better write performance and achieves 8.9%-23.6% higher degraded-mode read performance compared to previous works including P-code, RDP code, X-code, and HV-code. Finally, the comparison between the vertical and horizontal codes demonstrates that the vertical codes have better read performance than the horizontal codes in most cases.
Alternative IPM methods for Varroa destructor (Parasitiformes: Varroidae) (Anderson and Trueman) mite control in East Texas apiaries.

The parasitic mite Varroa destructor (Anderson and Trueman) is a major pest of the honey bee (Apis mellifera (L.)), because large quantities of the mites can cause colony collapse disorder. Over the last two decades, prophylactic treatment of V. destructor using pyrethroid and organophosphate chemicals has caused increased resistance, requiring higher maintenance and treatment costs for beekeepers. This study examines the therapeutic effects of three different IPM methods for the control of V. destructor in two apiaries in East Texas. 24 colonies were separated into four different groups: untreated control colonies, colonies in which the queens were caged, colonies treated with powdered sugar using the “Dustructor” apparatus (Brushy Mountain Bee Farm, Moravian Falls, NC), or colonies treated with thymol (active ingredient ApiLife Var® (Mann Lake Ltd., Hackensack, MN)). V. destructor populations in each colony were monitored for 54 days using the powdered sugar shake method or via a sticky board hung up for 24-hours. Powdered sugar shake mite counts reflected lower populations of V. destructor in all colonies treated with any of the three IPM methods compared to those of the untreated controls. Conversely, sticky board mite counts showed no statistical difference in mite counts based on IPM treatments compared to untreated controls. These results suggest that the powdered sugar shake method is more accurate when monitoring V. destructor populations than the 24-hour sticky board method. Alternative IPM methods for V. destructor control are effective and serve as a promising new avenue for non-intrusive control of this major honey bee pest.
Dental non-linear image registration and collection method with 3D reconstruction and change detection

The capability of a software algorithm to automatically align same-patient dental bitewing and panoramic x-rays over time is complicated by differences in collection perspectives. We successfully used image correlation with an affine transform for each pixel to discover common image borders, followed by a non-linear homography perspective adjustment to closely align the images. However, significant improvements in image registration could be realized if images were collected from the same perspective, thus facilitating change analysis. The perspective differences due to current dental image collection devices are so significant that straightforward change analysis is not possible. To address this, a new custom dental tray could be used to provide the standard reference needed for consistent positioning of a patient’s mouth. Similar to sports mouth guards, the dental tray could be fabricated in standard sizes from plastic and use integrated electronics that have been miniaturized. In addition, the x-ray source needs to be consistently positioned in order to collect images with similar angles and scales. Solving this pose correction is similar to solving for collection angle in aerial imagery for change detection. A standard collection system would provide a method for consistent source positioning using real-time sensor position feedback from a digital x-ray image reference. Automated, robotic sensor positioning could replace manual adjustments. Given an image set from a standard collection, a disparity map between images can be created using parallax from overlapping viewpoints to enable change detection. This perspective data can be rectified and used to create a three-dimensional dental model reconstruction.
Laminin Enriched Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering Applications

Laminin LM is heterotrimeric large molecular weight glycoprotein that forms a crucial component of the basal lamina or basement membrane of most tissues LMs are integral for cell adhesion proliferation survival migration and differentiation Several studies have used a LM coated D substrate for the culture and maintenance of stem cell phenotype in vitro Recent studies have reported that LM can also be incorporated in D scaffolds for tissue engineering applications This article illustrates the bioactivity and regenerative potential of LM protein in D scaffolds for skeletal muscle nerve vascular and intervertebral disc regeneration
Increased Intensity of a Running Response Following Exposure to a Visually Complex Situation

Rats were trained to run to an 8% sucrose solution. The Ss were then divided into four groups equated on mean log running time over the last four training trials. In the testing which followed, groups were run to a plain or complex goal box followed by a run to sugar. Mean log running time to sugar was less (faster) following exposure to a complex goal. A correlation of +.973 was found between group means of log running times to the plain and complex goal boxes and group means of log running times to sugar during testing. The results were interpreted as evidence of an activation effect (curiosity drive) as the consequence of exposure to a complex goal.
PET imaging of renal-clearable DNA nanostructures

1389 Objectives Nanoparticles possess great potential within the fields of drug delivery and molecular imaging. However, most nanoparticles display relatively long tissue retention times, thus provoking severe toxicity concerns. Our goal is to investigate the pharmacokinetic properties of DNA-based nanocages in vivo using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Methods Tetrahedral DNA nanocages (TDNs) with four sidearms were formed via self-assembly of four sequence-designated oligonucleotides. The structural stability of TDNs was examined in vitro and in vivo. NOTA, a chelator for Copper-64 (64Cu) radiolabeling, was conjugated to single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) complementary to the sidearms of TDNs. Hybridization of 64Cu-NOTA-ssDNA with TDNs allowed for the formation of 64Cu-NOTA-TDNs. Static and dynamic PET imaging were utilized to investigate the biodistribution and pharmacokinetics properties of TDNs in vivo. Results TDNs were efficiently assembled with a hydrodynamic diameter of ~13 nm. Synthesized TDNs maintained their structural integrities in FBS (80%) for more than 4 h, while normal double-stranded DNA only remained stable for less than 1 h. Moreover, 64Cu-NOTA-TDN displayed a radiolabeling efficiency of ~85%. PET imaging showed that 64Cu-NOTA-TDN had a plasma half-life of ~ 1.7 min (t1/2α) & 23 min (t1/2β) in vivo. Uptake of 64Cu-NOTA-TDN in kidney tissue was found to be 41.7 ± 15.6 and 41.3 ± 18.7 %ID/g at 30 min and 60 min, respectively. Low uptake was observed in other organs, including the liver, heart, muscle and brain according to PET region-of-interest (ROI) and biodistribution analysis. Conclusions PET imaging confirmed the efficient renal clearance of 64Cu-NOTA-TDNs in vivo, suggesting that 64Cu-NOTA-TDN may produce fewer toxicity concerns than current nanoparticle platforms. The unique clearance properties of DNA nanocages exhibited a high potential for further studies in the field of cancer theranostics.
Comparative Pancreatic Pathology

Spontaneous pathologies of the pancreas are important causes of morbidity and mortality in some veterinary species and rare in others. As in human beings, the pancreas of most domestic and exotic animals is a composite organ with both endocrine and exocrine functions. The similarities between structure and function of porcine, canine, and human pancreata are such that the pig and dog serve as valuable models in basic and translational studies, most recently for efforts aimed at modeling pancreatitis and diabetes, developing functional and sustainable replacement of endocrine functions, and in imaging and manipulation studies.
India Faces Its Population Problems

Throughout much of this century India has captured the public imagination as the quintessentially overpopulated country. The Population Bomb, Paul R. Ehrlich’s overheated tract of the 1960s, sets the tone in the first chapter: I have understood the population explosion intellectually for a long time. I came to understand it emotionally one stinking hot night in Delhi a couple of years ago.... The streets seemed alive with people. People eating, people washing, people sleeping. People visiting, arguing and screaming. People thrusting their hands through the taxi window, begging. People defecating and urinating. People clinging to buses. People herding animals. People, people, people, people...1
A Uniquely Abnormal Stool Specimen: A Case Report.

Abstract Background Autoamputation of the appendix is a condition associated with the Ladd's procedure, a pediatric surgical technique for correction of intestinal malrotation. A 4-year-old male patient with a history of a Ladd's procedure performed as a newborn was brought in by his mother for “passing intestine” just prior to arrival. She reported that for several weeks her son had intermittent, crampy abdominal pain that resolved after the unusual-appearing bowel movement. After reviewing an image of the bowel movement, and in consultation with pediatric surgery, it was concluded that the patient had passed a devascularized appendix in his stool immediately prior to arrival. Case Report A 4-year-old boy with a past medical history of heterotaxy syndrome (inversion of the thoraco-abdominal organs), a double outlet right ventricle, and Ladd's procedure presented to the Emergency Department (ED) after “passing intestine” in his stool. Close examination of the photo demonstrated a tubular structure with taenia, consistent with an appendix. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? Autoamputation of the appendix is an uncommon presentation in the ED. Passing a devascularized appendix is a benign condition and can present with weeks of intermittent abdominal pain that resolves with passage of appendix in the stool. Remnants of the appendix can remain within the intestinal lumen years after the Ladd's procedure. Emergency physicians with a general awareness of this rare phenomenon can confidently make the diagnosis and reassure worried parents.
Removal of Agrichemicals from Water Using Granular Activated Carbon Filtration

The objective was to evaluate removal efficacy of agrichemicals from water using a small-scale granular activated carbon (GAC) system. The GAC system consisted of a series of three 1.9- to 4.1-L filter canisters filled with 8 × 30 US mesh (595 to 2380 μm) bituminous coal GAC. In experiment 1, 11 agrichemicals (acephate, bifenthrin, chlorpyrifos, flurprimidol, glyphosate, hydrogen peroxide + peracetic acid, imidacloprid, paclobutrazol, didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC), triclopyr, and uniconazole) used in greenhouse and nursery production were exposed to 0, 12, or 64 s of GAC contact time. Chemical concentrations were prepared at a 1:10 dilution of a recommended label rate for ornamental crops to represent a possible residual concentration found in recaptured irrigation or surface water. In experiment 2, three other chemicals [iron ethylene diamine-N,N′-bis(hydroxy phenyl acetic acid) (iron-EDDHA, a chelated iron fertilizer), soracid blue dye (a fertilizer dye), and sodium hypochlorite (a sanitizing agent)] were also tested with 0, 12, 38, or 64 s of GAC contact time. Agrichemical concentration was reduced with 12 s of GAC contact time compared with the 0 s for all chemicals tested, and in most cases was further increased at 64-s contact time. Chemicals reduced below their minimum detection limits with 64 s GAC included acephate, flurprimidol, paclobutrazol, uniconazole, peracetic acid, DDAC, and chlorine (free and total). Percent reduction for other chemicals with 64 s GAC was 72.2% for bifenthrin, 89% chlorphyrifos, 85.3% imidacloprid, 99% glyphosate, 99.4% triclopyr, 99.3% hydrogen peroxide, 47.6% iron-EDDHA, and 94.6% soracid blue dye. Iron-EDDHA and soracid blue dye could be used as indicator chemicals for onsite monitoring of GAC filter efficacy. Results indicate that GAC filtration can remove a wide range of agrichemical contaminants commonly used in greenhouse and nursery production, although the required contact time in commercial production is expected to be greater than in this research study.
Finding the modes of some multivariate discrete probability distributions: Application of the resource allocation problem

Abstract Determination of the modes of discrete multivariate distributions are of significant interest in many application contexts. Thus far, most papers in the literature have focused on developing specialized algorithms to find the modes of some specific distributions, e.g., the multinomial distribution. In contrast, this paper proposes a unified and efficient solution approach for the mode-finding problem for many well-known multivariate discrete distributions. In particular, we reformulate and solve the mode-finding problem as a discrete resource allocation problem using a greedy algorithm. Numerical examples show the effectiveness of our new solution approach.
Covariate-Profile Similarity Weighting and Bagging Studies with the Study Strap: Multi-Study Learning for Human Neurochemical Sensing

Prediction settings with multiple studies have become increasingly common. Ensembling models trained on individual studies has been shown to improve replicability in new studies. Motivated by a groundbreaking new technology in human neuroscience, we introduce two generalizations of multi-study ensemble predictions. First, while existing methods weight ensemble elements by cross-study prediction performance, we extend weighting schemes to also incorporate covariate similarity between training data and target validation studies. Second, we introduce a hierarchical resampling scheme to generate pseudo-study replicates ("study straps") and ensemble classifiers trained on these rather than the original studies themselves. We demonstrate analytically that existing methods are special cases. Through a tuning parameter, our approach forms a continuum between merging all training data and training with existing multi-study ensembles. Leveraging this continuum helps accommodate different levels of between-study heterogeneity. Our methods are motivated by the application of Voltammetry in humans. This technique records electrical brain measurements and converts signals into neurotransmitter concentration estimates using a chemometric prediction model. Using this model in practice presents a cross-study challenge, for which we show marked improvements after application of our methods. We verify our methods in simulations and provide the 9studyStrap9 R package.
Multi-Hour Blood Glucose Prediction in Type 1 Diabetes: A Patient-Specific Approach Using Shallow Neural Network Models.

Background: Considering current insulin action profiles and the nature of glycemic responses to insulin, there is an acute need for longer term, accurate, blood glucose predictions to inform insuli...
KV-Fresh: Freshness Authentication for Outsourced Multi-Version Key-Value Stores

Data outsourcing is a promising technical paradigm to facilitate cost-effective real-time data storage, processing, and dissemination. In such a system, a data owner proactively pushes a stream of data records to a third-party cloud server for storage, which in turn processes various types of queries from end users on the data owner’s behalf. This paper considers outsourced multi-version key-value stores that have gained increasing popularity in recent years, where a critical security challenge is to ensure that the cloud server returns both authentic and fresh data in response to end users’ queries. Despite several recent attempts on authenticating data freshness in outsourced key-value stores, they either incur excessively high communication cost or can only offer very limited real-time guarantee. To fill this gap, this paper introduces KV-Fresh, a novel freshness authentication scheme for outsourced key-value stores that offers strong real-time guarantee. KV-Fresh is designed based on a novel data structure, Linked Key Span Merkle Hash Tree, which enables highly efficient freshness proof by embedding chaining relationship among records generated at different time. Detailed simulation studies using a synthetic dataset generated from real data confirm the efficacy and efficiency of KV-Fresh.
Thermionic and thermoelectric energy conversion

Abstract Even today, thermal-to-electrical energy conversion is mainly performed by thermomechanical engines activated by hot fluids, such as Stirling engines or turbines. Although such converters are characterized by a high efficiency (roughly >20% at temperatures >400°C), they have several limitations in terms of bulky size, reduced scalability (efficiency depends on size), and frequent maintenance of moving mechanical parts. Conversely, solid-state converters are preferable due to their small volume, up- and down-scalability (efficiency does not depend on size), and long lifetime, because of their operational static nature. Among them, thermionic and thermoelectric solid-state converters are receiving increasing attention from both scientific and industrial communities. In recent years, their applicability has extended from the long-standing sectors (nuclear and aerospace) to novel sectors (concentrated solar energy, energy recovery from energy storage, and metallurgical processes), boosting research and development activities on the related materials and concepts. In this chapter the main historical development and recent results, the physical principles and limitations, and the production strategies and innovative concepts will be described and discussed.
Pain relief for osteoarthritis through combined treatment (PROACT): Protocol for a randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation combined with transcranial direct current stimulation in non-Hispanic black and white adults with knee osteoarthritis

Abstract Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of late life pain and disability, and non-Hispanic black (NHB) adults experience greater OA-related pain and disability than non-Hispanic whites (NHWs). Recent evidence implicates psychosocial stress, cognitive-attentional processes, and altered central pain processing as contributors to greater OA-related pain and disability among NHBs. To address these ethnic/race disparities, this clinical trial will test whether a mindfulness intervention (Breathing and Attention Training, BAT) combined with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) will enhance pain modulatory balance and pain-related brain function, reduce clinical pain, and attenuate ethnic differences therein, among NHBs and NHWs with knee OA. Participants will complete assessments of clinical pain, function, psychosocial measures, and quantitative sensory testing (QST), including mechanical temporal summation and conditioned pain modulation. Neuroimaging will be performed to examine pain-related brain structure and function. Then, participants will be randomized to one of four groups created by crossing two BAT conditions (Real vs. Sham) with two tDCS conditions (Real vs. Sham). Participants will then undergo five treatment sessions during which the assigned BAT and tDCS interventions will be delivered concurrently for 20 min over one week. After the fifth intervention session, participants will undergo assessments of clinical pain and function, QST and neuroimaging identical to the pretreatment measures, and monthly follow-up assessments of pain will be conducted for three months. This will be the first study to determine whether mindfulness and tDCS treatments will show additive or synergistic effects when combined, and whether treatment effects differ across ethnic/race groups.
Epidemiological correlation between COVID-19 epidemic and prevalence of α-1 antitrypsin deficiency in the world

Among 68 countries in the world, severity of the COVID-19 epidemic was correlated with the prevalence of α-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency. For the severe variant, PI*Z, the correlation coefficient (CC) was 0.8584 for the number of patients and 0.8713 for the number of deaths. For the milder variant, PI*S, it was 0.5818 and 0.6326, respectively. In Japan, the number of patients and deaths correlated with the population size with a CC of 0.6667 and 0.7074 respectively, and was proportional to the population size to the power of 1.65 and 1.54. The prevalence of AAT deficiency also correlated with the epidemiological pattern of COVID-19. In countries with high prevalence of AAT deficiency, after the initial rise, the daily number of patients and that of deaths ran parallel at a high level for more than 6 months without sign of abatement. In countries with a low prevalence of AAT deficiency, after the first wave of the epidemic, the number of the deaths decreased continuously while the number of patients remained the same or even increased resulting in a decreasing case-fatality rate. When the cumulative number of deaths was plotted on the y-axis against the cumulative number of patients on the x-axis, plots fell on a straight line in countries with a high prevalence of AAT deficiency; while in countries with a low prevalence of AAT deficiency, a break appeared, after which the plots fell on flatter slope indicating decreasing case-fatality rate. The observation suggests emergence of an attenuated variant in countries with a low prevalence of AAT deficiency.
Training for health ministry: Design and implementation of library resources to incorporate health education and promotion into theological education

This case study leverages existing library assets and curated educational resources for students, pastors, and health ministers by seeking to increase their understandings of how religion intersects with, and informs, health education and promotion, and public health more broadly, while equipping them with tools to engage in important conversations about health ministry This article describes and evaluates a library-based research guide that is a replicable model for collaborative ministerial training about engaging, evaluating, and participating in health education and promotion, which is a vital component of theological education Much of the pedagogical conversation around religion and health within theological and religious studies has focused on the ways that religion assists in the socio-cultural construction of health and healing This case study expands on this conversation by detailing how seminary students, pastors, and health ministers can also use public health knowledge to better provide services to their congregations and communities This model provides long-term, publicly-available, asynchronous access to these materials, making it a valuable resource for theology schools © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd