cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Betterman v. Montana and the Underenforcement of Constitutional Rights at Sentencing

This past Term, in Betterman v. Montana, the U.S. Supreme Court took up the question whether the Sixth Amendment’s speedy trial guarantee applies to sentencing proceedings. In a unanimous opinion by Justice Ginsburg, the Court held that it does not. Perhaps in order to achieve unanimity, Betterman left open important questions, which may ultimately allow defendants, at least in some situations, to demand a speedy sentencing. But, as this short commentary explains, Betterman represents an unfortunate example of the courts’ tendency to underenforce constitutional rights at sentencing.
Epilogue: Reading Comprehension Is Not a Single Ability-Implications for Assessment and Instruction.

Purpose In this epilogue, we review the 4 response articles and highlight the implications of a multidimensional view of reading for the assessment and instruction of reading comprehension. Method ...
Breaking down the barriers to physical activity among people with multiple sclerosis – a narrative review

Background: It is recommended that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) exercise at least 30 min three times per week at a moderate level. Exercise trials have shown that when outcomes are reassessed weeks or months after cessation of the program, the benefits gained are lost with values returning to baseline. Clearly, innovative approaches are required to foster continued participation.Objectives: The objective of this narrative review was to consolidate the evidence examining the barriers to physical activity among people with MS, describe innovative methods to overcome barriers, while discussing the physical therapist’s role as the physical activity promotion specialist.Major findings: The search yielded 135 articles and after removing duplicates, there were 12 quantitative (total N = 2627) and nine qualitative (total N = 97) studies. The barriers to physical activity were categorized into five domains from greatest to least frequently predictive, (1) MS-related impairment and disability, (2) Attitude a...
State estimators for tracking sharply-maneuvering ground targets

This paper presents an algorithm, based on the Interacting Multiple Model Estimator, that can be used to track the state of kinematic point targets, moving in two dimensions, that are capable of making sharp heading maneuvers over short periods of time, such as certain ground vehicles moving in an open field. The targets are capable of up to 60 °/s turn rates, while polar measurements are received at 1 Hz. We introduce the Non-Zero Mean, White Noise Turn-Rate IMM (IMM-WNTR) that consists of 3 modes based on a White Noise Turn Rate (WNTR) kinematic model that contains additive, white, Gaussian turn rate process noises. Two of the modes are considered maneuvering modes, and they have opposite (left/right), non-zero mean turn rate input noise. The need for non-zero mean turn rate process noise is explained, and Monte Carlo simulations compare this novel design to the traditional (single-mode) White Noise Acceleration Kalman Filter (WNA KF) and the two-mode White Noise Acceleration/Nearly-Coordinated Turn Rate IMM (IMM-CT). Results show that the IMM-WNTR filter achieves better accuracy and real-time consistency between expected error and actual error as compared to the (single-mode) WNA KF and the IMM-CT in all simulated scenarios, making it a very accurate state estimator for targets with sharp coordinated turn capability in 2D.
Single BSN-based multi-label activity recognition

Wearable physical sensor signal processing-based activity recognition has profound impacts on context-aware remote healthcare and cognitive reasoning. Different nodes of Body Sensor Network (BSN) are involved with different contexts that limits single BSN sensor based context recognition models into a sole extreme. On the other hand, multiple physical sensors based context recognition systems are suffered with disrupted BSN network connectivity, multi-modal sensor signal processing complexity, multi-sensor device implantation and fault intolerance. To mitigate these problems, we postulate a sparse-deconvolution aided single BSN sensor-based multi-label physical activity recognition framework. We first consider a single physical sensor device is attached to individual's wrist node i.e., one of the upper extreme body nodes. We hypothesize that the final sensor signals of upper extreme nodes are affected by the lower extreme nodes contexts with an approximately sparse factor (ASF). Based on the hypothesis, we postulate (a) a sparse deconvolution method on the upper extreme node signals to disaggregate ASF and original signals; and design (b) a hybrid classification model to detect both upper extreme (such as, hand waving, hand shaking etc.) and lower extreme (such as, walking, standing, running etc.) activities. We evaluate the performance of our proposed framework with three real-time dataset with distinct characteristics (a real-time collected activity dataset in a controlled lab environment, a real-time smart home system deployed in a retirement community center -(IRB #HP-00064387) and a publicly available dataset) which corroborates a radical improvement in recognizing multi-label human activities.
Precursors of Morality – Evidence for Moral Behaviors in Non-human Primates

Is moral behavior unique to humans? Although moral behavior is primarily discussed in relation to humans, if a function of moral behavior is to promote social cohesion and harmony within a social group, there is no a priori reason not to expect a similar set of behaviors in other social species (Bonnie and de Waal 2004; Flack and de Waal 2000; Haidt 2003). Although this certainly does not mean that what we see in other species need be identical to humans’ behavior, there may be a suite of related behaviors that have evolved for the same purposes in other species. Of course, this idea is not new. In The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex (Darwin 1871/1981: 71–72), Darwin argued that sociality is innate, rather than created by humankind, and provided a framework for the development of morality in any species. The question is, then, from which precursor behaviors did morality evolve, and how can we study this in other species?
Adaptive particle routing in parallel/distributed particle filters

Particle filters estimate the state of dynamic systems through Bayesian interference and stochastic sampling techniques. Parallel/distributed particle filters aim to improve the performance by deploying all particles on different processing units. However, the communication cost of transferring particles is high due to the centralized processing in resampling step. To reduce the communication cost without loss of accuracy, the hybrid particle routing policy is designed for the resampling step, which mainly executes particles resampling and exchanges locally and routes them globally every specific number of calculation steps. However, the global particle routing is more necessary when the convergence of particles is low. In this paper, we propose the adaptive particle routing algorithm, in which the local resampling and particle exchange are used, and the planned global particle routing is adopted only when the measured convergence is below the set threshold. The experimental results show the improved performance.
High power long pulse microwave generation from a metamaterial structure with reverse symmetry

Experimental operation of a high power microwave source with a metamaterial (MTM) structure is reported at power levels to 2.9 MW at 2.4 GHz in full 1 μs pulses. The MTM structure is formed by a waveguide that is below cutoff for TM modes. The waveguide is loaded by two axial copper plates machined with complementary split ring resonators, allowing two backward wave modes to propagate in the S-Band. A pulsed electron beam of up to 490 kV, 84 A travels down the center of the waveguide, midway between the plates. The electron beam is generated by a Pierce gun and is focused by a lens into a solenoidal magnetic field. The MTM plates are mechanically identical but are placed in the waveguide with reverse symmetry. Theory indicates that both Cherenkov and Cherenkov-cyclotron beam-wave interactions can occur. High power microwave generation was studied by varying the operating parameters over a wide range, including the electron beam voltage, the lens magnetic field, and the solenoidal field. Frequency tuning w...
Noninvasive Vascular Testing with the Surgeon Present in Planning and Maintenance of Arteriovenous Hemodialysis Access

BackgroundThe goal of the study was to determine the incidence of upper extremity noninvasive vascular findings in guiding anatomic site and management strategies in the creation and maintenance of...
Suspected Blood Indicator to Identify Active Gastrointestinal Bleeding: A Prospective Validation.

Background The suspected blood indicator (SBI) function in the RAPID Reader v8.3 program was designed to quickly identify the presence of blood in video capsule endoscopy. While previous retrospective studies have shown that the SBI function was accurate in detecting the presence of active bleeding in the small bowel, its specificity and sensitivity were poor. Methods An initial retrospective review (phase 1) compared 115 patients with active gastrointestinal bleeding seen on video capsule endoscopy (VCE) to 115 patients with no active bleeding seen on VCE to produce a highly accurate algorithm. A prospective study (phase 2) was then performed by applying the algorithm to 100 consecutive patients who received VCE for the following indications: obscure bleeding, iron deficiency anemia, melena, and hematochezia. Results The initial retrospective review found that eight contiguous SBI markers had a specificity of 100% in identifying active gastrointestinal bleeding regardless of the total number of SBI markers, while two or more contiguous SBI markers had a sensitivity of 96.5%. Using a cutoff of eight contiguous SBI markers, the prospective arm found that there was a 100% sensitivity and specificity in detecting active gastrointestinal bleeding (P < 0.001). Conclusions The SBI function can greatly facilitate the identification of active gastrointestinal bleeding on VCE by using eight contiguous SBI markers as a cutoff for active bleeding.
Vesicovaginal and Urethrovaginal Fistulas

In developed countries, modern obstetric care has substantially limited the risk of vesicovaginal fistulas. In these areas, fistulas are usually the consequence of complications of gynecologic or other pelvic surgery with secondary etiologies such as inflammatory bowel disease and malignancy being responsible for a minority of cases. In developing countries, birth trauma accounts for the majority of fistulas (1,2). Necrosis of the bladder base and urethra is induced by prolonged labor, which results in tissue loss that is often marked (90).
Single-Potential Scattering

In this chapter we present a partial-wave analysis of single-potential scattering, both for the case of spherically symmetric potentials and for potentials of arbitrary shape. For simplicity we consider only potentials that vanish identically outside the interior of a spatially bounded region. Thus, we assume the existence of a sphere bounding the cell, thebounding spherebeyond which the potential is strictly equal to zero. Our objective in this chapter is to describe the regular solutions of the Schrodinger equation associated with such cells within a partial-wave formalism. For spherically symmetric potentials, such a description is well known from elementary treatments of quantum mechanics [1]. It is relatively straightforward to extend this treatment to nonspherical potentials. The corresponding solutions are important for the generalization of multiple scattering theory to arbitrarily shaped cells in subsequent chapters.
Passive Diamond Electronic Devices

Diamond electronic device exploration began over 70 years ago with evaluations of natural stones for potential use as radiation detectors.1 Often thousands of natural stones were painstakingly evaluated for their “counting” properties in the presence of ionizing radiation.2, 3 Over the years, the electrical, mechanical, optical, and magnetic properties have been studied in natural stones.1 These properties were often found to be superior to those of any other material. The development of synthetic high temperature, high pressure and explosion-based processes for producing synthetic diamonds provided large quantities of similar material beginning in the 1950’s.1 Industrial use of diamonds was primarily limited to cutting and abrasive applications with a few niche applications involving optical windows or heat spreaders.4 Unfortunately, high quality diamond, either naturally occurring or produced synthetically, was still limited to a few square millimeters. Thus, diamond has not found wide acceptance as a material for electronic device fabrication owing to the availability of reproducible high quality large-area, inexpensive material.
A case of tumor betrayal: biphasic effects of TIMP-1 on Burkitt's lymphoma.

Among a number of different proteinases that are capable of digesting extracellular matrix (ECM) components, the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a family of zinc-dependent endopeptidases, play a major role. 1 Collectively, MMPs have been shown to cleave most ECM components either independently or in a collaborative manner. Because excessive digestion of ECM is a hallmark of many pathological conditions including tumor growth and metastasis, it is critical that MMP activity be precisely regulated both spatially and temporally. In addition to the transcriptional and translational control of MMP expression by growth hormones/factors, cytokines, cell-ECM or cell-cell contacts, and oncogene expression, MMP activity is regulated by their endogenous inhibitors, the tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs). TIMPs not only directly control the activity of active MMPs, but also have substantial influence on the activation process of MMP zymogens. 2-5 Given the ability of TIMPs to inhibit the proteolytic activity of MMPs, it is not surprising to find that TIMPs are capable of blocking tumor metastasis, either by inhibiting tumor invasion of basement membrane or by restraining tumor angiogenesis. 6 However, recent studies have suggested that the inhibitory effects of TIMPs on tumor progression are not only due to their ability to inhibit MMP activity, but also because of their ability to directly modulate the cell growth and apoptosis of tumor cells, as well as host endothelial cells (ECs). In an intriguing study published in this issue of The American Journal of Pathology, divergent effects of TIMP-1 on Burkitt’s lymphoma growth in nude mice are reported by Guedez and co-workers. 96 When Epstein-Barr virus-negative Burkitt’s lymphoma cells were forced to overexpress TIMP-1 by retroviral transfection, a biphasic tumor growth pattern was observed. After injection into nude mice, these cells showed an initial fast proliferation phase due to the stimulation of tumor cell proliferation and the protection from apoptosis elicited by TIMP-1. However, once these tumors reached a certain size (0.4 mm2), the initial fast growth phase was replaced by a slowdown of tumor progression accompanied by tumor necrosis and regression. The authors provide convincing evidence to show that this late stage inhibition was caused by the suppression of tumor-induced host angiogenesis. These novel in vivo results highlight the importance of MMPs and their endogenous inhibitors during tumor progression and angiogenesis.
Evaluations of Clergy Children Versus Non-Clergy Children: Does a Negative Stereotype Exist?

Studies that have been conducted on PKs (children of the clergy) are limited and outdated. But it has been thought that numerous stresses coincide with being a PK. This study tried to document the existence of a negative stereotype of PKs. The participants were 63 college students consisting of 40 Non-PKs and 23 PKs. They were given a mock college application to evaluate and then asked to rate the applicant on various dimensions. The participants rated one of three applicants: PK with bad behavior, PK with good behavior, or non-PK with bad behavior. The bad behavior was a DWI offense. Results indicated limited support of the hypothesis of a negative stereotype of PKs. A separate questionnaire given to the PKs inquiring about the stresses of their lifestyle revealed that PKs do report experiencing a significant amount of stress.
A Quadratic-Optimal Repetitive Process Controller for Laser Metal Deposition

Methods of process control are needed in order to advance additive manufacturing technology towards widespread commercial use. Here an optimal repetitive process controller (RPC) is developed for controlling part height in laser metal deposition (LMD), an additive manufacturing process in which metal powder is blown into a melt pool and parts are built in a layer-by-layer fashion. As with many additive processes, the geometry of the printed part depends not only on process parameters (laser power, table velocity, etc.), but also on the dynamics of the material addition process itself. The process is modeled with 2D dynamics, combining inlayer dynamics and layer-to-layer dynamics. The in-layer dynamics describe how material is distributed within the melt pool while the layer-to-layer dynamics describe how the heights of previous layers propagate through the part. This modeling framework allows for the design of an RPC. An optimal RPC is designed by using a lifted-system representation of the 2D dynamics and solving a quadratic cost function. The controller is implemented in experiment and the control performance is observed for different weighting parameters.
What counts as a good school? Time for a critical stance

In this issue of NordSTEP, we are proud to present four interesting articles that all raise and discuss questions that are highly relevant to our time. In the invited articles section, we are very ...
Phosphorodithioate-functionalized ionic liquids: Synthesis and physicochemical properties characterization

Abstract This study focuses on preparation and characterization of physicochemical properties of a series of phosphorodithioate-bearing ionic liquids. They displayed low glass transition temperatures, high thermal stability, and were hydrophobic in character. The results of their ligation capability toward Pd(II) via 31P NMR spectroscopy is also presented. The synthetic strategy has the potential to impart (EtO)2P(=S)S functionality to ionic liquids by providing the flexibility to incorporate long linkers and task-specific anion to enhance hydrophobicity.
Design potent peptide antibiotics against the ESKAPE pathogens based on human antimicrobial peptide LL-37

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are key components of innate immune systems. Because of their lasting potency, AMPs are regarded as useful candidates for developing the next generation of antimicrobials to meet the challenge of antibiotic resistance. According to CDC, 90% infections are related to the difficult-to-treat ESKAPE pathogens, including Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species. In this lecture, I will discuss peptide design based on human cathelicidin LL-37, one of the best-studied host defense peptides. Both synthetic peptide library and structure-based design methods were utilized to identify the active regions. Although challenging, the determination of the 3D structure of LL-37 enabled the identification of the core antimicrobial region in 2006. However, the minimal region of LL-37 can be function-dependent. In 2014, we reported successful conversion of LL-37 into17BIPHE2, a stable, selective, and potent antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and anticancer peptide. The European group identified IG-24 derived P60.4 by using the peptide library approach. In 2018, they selected SAAP-148 as a candidate with a reduced binding to blood plasma. Interestingly, both 17BIPHE2 and SAAP-148 eliminated the ESKAPE pathogens and showed topical in vivo antibiofilm efficacy. In addition, a better antibiofilm outcome could be obtained when 17BIPHE2 was used in combination with traditional antibiotics. Finally, I summarize what we have learned from human LL-37 engineering. Video from the Keynote Speaker Dr. Guangshun Wang can be found: https://youtu.be/1OOpTs6Sszk
Groundwater Loss and Aquifer System Compaction in San Joaquin Valley During 2012-2015 Drought.

California's millennium drought of 2012-2015 severely impacted the Central Valley aquifer system and caused permanent loss of groundwater and aquifer storage capacity. To quantify these impacts within the southern San Joaquin Valley, we analyze various complementary measurements, including gravity changes from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites; vertical land motion from Global Positioning System, interferometric synthetic aperture radar, and extensometer; and groundwater level records. The interferometric data set acquired by the Sentinel-1 satellite only spans the period January 2015 and October 2017, while the other data sets span the entire drought period. Using GRACE observations, we find an average groundwater loss of 6.1 ± 2.3 km3/year as a lower bound estimate for the San Joaquin Valley, amounting to a total volume of 24.2 ± 9.3 km3 lost during the period October 2011 to September 2015. This is consistent with the total volume of 29.25 ± 8.7 km3, estimated using only Global Positioning System deformation data. Our results highlight the advantage of using vertical land motion data to evaluate groundwater loss and thus fill the gaps between GRACE and GRACE-Follow-On missions and complement their estimates. We further determine that 0.4-3.25% of the aquifer system storage capacity is permanently lost during this drought period. Comparing groundwater level and vertical land motion data following September 2015, we determine an equilibration time of 0.5-1.5 years for groundwater levels within aquitard and aquifer units, during which residual compaction of aquitard and land subsidence continues beyond the drought period. We suggest that such studies can advance the knowledge of evolving groundwater resources, enabling managers and decision makers to better assess water demand and supply during and in-between drought periods.
Opinion #2: Daniel Hamaty, MD

From the point of view of a behavioral medicine professional, confidentiality was probably violated. From the view of a rehabilitation medicine professional, it was not. It is vital that all members of a pain center who are treating the client be provided information impacting the ability to communicate with the patient or a member of the team. In this context, extending a …
Environmental and economic impacts of solar‐powered integrated greenhouses

Greenhouse vegetable production plays a vital role in providing year‐round fresh vegetables to global markets, achieving higher yields, and using less water than open‐field systems, but at the expense of increased energy demand. This study examines the life cycle environmental and economic impacts of integrating semitransparent organic photovoltaics (OPVs) into greenhouse designs. We employ life cycle assessment to analyze six environmental impacts associated with producing greenhouse‐grown tomatoes in a Solar PoweRed INtegrated Greenhouse (SPRING) compared to conventional greenhouses with and without an adjacent solar photovoltaic array, across three distinct locations. The SPRING design produces significant reductions in environmental impacts, particularly in regions with high solar insolation and electricity‐intensive energy demands. For example, in Arizona, global warming potential values for a conventional, adjacent PV and SPRING greenhouse are found to be 3.71, 2.38, and 2.36 kg CO2 eq/kg tomato, respectively. Compared to a conventional greenhouse, the SPRING design may increase life cycle environmental burdens in colder regions because the shading effect of OPV increases heating demands. Our analysis shows that SPRING designs must maintain crop yields at levels similar to conventional greenhouses in order to be economically competitive. Assuming consistent crop yields, uncertainty analysis shows average net present cost of production across Arizona to be $3.43, $3.38, and $3.64 per kg of tomato for the conventional, adjacent PV and SPRING system, respectively.
Non-Contact AC Calorimetry on Undercooled Alloys

A novel non-contact AC calorimetric technique based on inductive heating of a spherical metallic sample by a power-modulated radio frequency field under ultrahigh vacuum conditions has been developed. The sample’s external relaxation response (due to radiative heat loss) and internal relaxation response (due to finite thermal conductivity) can be measured pyrometrically, allowing calculation of both the sample’s heat capacity and thermal conductivity. The agreement between literature values (where available), predicted responses and measured data for (solid) Nb, Ni60Nb40, and Zr76Ni24 are excellent, demonstrating the feasibility and userfiilness of this technique. This method will be applied to Zr, Ni60Nb40, and Zr76Ni24 in the undercooled regime during the upcoming Second International Microgravity laboratory (IML-2) space shuttle flight in July, 1994. On Earth, the power required to overcome the force of gravity is so large that undercooling in UHV conditions is not possible with inductive levitation. In contrast, the microgravity enviroment of space allows decoupling of the inductive positioner and heater power requirements, thus enabling a sample to be processed in the deeply undercooled region. From the data taken during the mission, entropies and free energies will be calculated and compared to various theories of glass formation and metastability.
Stereodivergent Construction of Tertiary Fluorides in Vicinal Stereogenic Pairs by Allylic Substitution with Iridium and Copper Catalysts

Although much effort has been spent on the enantioselective synthesis of tertiary alkyl fluorides, the synthesis of compounds containing such a stereogenic center within an array of stereocenters, particularly two vicinal ones, remains a synthetic challenge, and no method to control the configuration of each stereogenic center independently has been reported. We describe a strategy to achieve such a stereodivergent synthesis of vicinal stereogenic centers, one containing a fluorine atom, by forming the connecting carbon-carbon bond with a catalyst system comprising an iridium complex that controls the configuration at the electrophilic carbon and a copper catalyst that controls the configuration at the nucleophilic fluorine-containing carbon. These reactions occur with alkyl- and aryl-substituted allylic esters and the unstabilized enolates of azaaryl ketones, esters, and amides in high yield, diastereoselectivity, and enantioselectivity (generally >90% yield, >20:1 dr, 97-99% ee). Access to all four stereoisomers of products demonstrates the precise control of the two configurations independently. This methodology extends to the stereodivergent construction of vicinal quaternary and tertiary stereocenters in similarly high yield and selectivity. DFT calculations uncover the origin of stereoselectivity of copper enolate in allylic substitution.
McShane’s Extension Theorem Revisited

A fundamental extension theorem of McShane states that a bounded real-valued uniformly continuous function defined on a nonempty subset A of a metric space 〈X, d〉 can be extended to a uniformly continuous function on the entire space. In the first half of this note, we obtain McShane’s Extension Theorem from the simpler fact that a real-valued Lipschitz function defined on a nonempty subset of the space has a Lipschitz constant preserving extension to the entire space. In the second half of the note, we use this theorem to give an elementary proof of the equivalence of the most important characterizations of metric spaces in which the real-valued uniformly continuous functions form a ring. These characterizations of such a basic property, due to Cabello-Sanchez and separately Bouziad and Sukhacheva, are remarkably recent.
Voronoi Tessellation Optimization : A Local/Global Optimization Hybrid for Electromagnetics Design

This paper introduces a new hybrid local-global optimizer called the Voronoi Tessellation Optimization (VTO) algorithm which leverages precomputed gradients and a space partitioning technique to improve single objective convergence speed and robustness. VTO has been herein compared with other well-known optimization algorithms used in electromagnetics and optics and has demonstrated commensurate or improved performance on two multimodal test problems.
Global imprint of mycorrhizal fungi on whole-plant nutrient economics

Mycorrhizal fungi are critical members of the plant microbiome, forming a symbiosis with the roots of most plants on Earth. Most plant species partner with either arbuscular or ectomycorrhizal fungi, and these symbioses are thought to represent plant adaptations to fast and slow soil nutrient cycling rates. This generates a second hypothesis, that arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal plant species traits complement and reinforce these fungal strategies, resulting in nutrient acquisitive vs. conservative plant trait profiles. Here we analyzed 17,764 species level trait observations from 2,940 woody plant species to show that mycorrhizal plants differ systematically in nitrogen and phosphorus economic traits. Differences were clearest in temperate latitudes, where ectomycorrhizal plant species are more nitrogen use- and phosphorus use-conservative than arbuscular mycorrhizal species. This difference is reflected in both aboveground and belowground plant traits and is robust to controlling for evolutionary history, nitrogen fixation ability, deciduousness, latitude, and species climate niche. Furthermore, mycorrhizal effects are large and frequently similar to or greater in magnitude than the influence of plant nitrogen fixation ability or deciduous vs. evergreen leaf habit. Ectomycorrhizal plants are also more nitrogen conservative than arbuscular plants in boreal and tropical ecosystems, although differences in phosphorus use are less apparent outside temperate latitudes. Our findings bolster current theories of ecosystems rooted in mycorrhizal ecology and support the hypothesis that plant mycorrhizal association is linked to the evolution of plant nutrient economic strategies.
Lock-free transactional vector

The vector is a fundamental data structure, offering constant-time traversal to elements and a dynamically resizable range of indices. While several concurrent vectors exist, a composition of concurrent vector operations dependent on each other can lead to undefined behavior. Techniques for providing transactional capabilities for data structure operations include Software Transactional Memory (STM) and transactional transformation methodologies. Transactional transformations convert concurrent data structures into their transactional equivalents at an operation level, rather than STM's object or memory level. To the best of our knowledge, existing STMs do not support dynamic read/write sets in a lock-free manner, and transactional transformation methodologies are unsuitable for the vector's contiguous memory layout. In this work, we present the first lock-free transactional vector. It integrates the fast lock-free resizing and instant logical status changes from related works. Our approach pre-processes transactions to reduce shared memory access and simplify access logic. This can be done without locking elements or verifying conflicts between transactions. We compare our design against state-of-the-art transactional designs, GCC STM, Transactional Boosting, and STO. All data structures are tested on four different platforms, including x86_64 and ARM architectures. We find that our lock-free transactional vector generally offers better scalability than STM and STO, and competitive performance with Transactional Boosting, but with additional lock-free guarantees. In scenarios with only reads and writes, our vector is as much as 47% faster than Transactional Boosting.
Red Sea Geothermal Brine Deposits: Their Mineralogy, Chemistry, and Genesis

Chemical and mineralogical analyses were performed on samples from ten specially selected cores from the Red Sea geothermal deposit. The deposit was divided into seven bedded and laterally correlative facies as follows: (1) detrital (2) iron-montmorillonite (3) goethite-amorphous (4) sulfide (5) manganosiderite (6) anhydrite (7) manganite
Extracranial-Intracranial Bypass for Cerebral Revascularization

Cerebral revascularization for ischemia remains a viable treatment option in the armamentarium of the neurovascular surgeon. The International Cooperative Study of Extracranial to Intracranial Arterial Anastomoses has helped to redefine the indications for these procedures and has improved our understanding of the pathophysiology of cerebrovascular ischemia. In this monograph we will outline our approach to cerebral revascularization, discuss patient selection criteria, and review our surgical techniques and results.
Graphene Nanoribbon Plasmonic Conveyor Belt Network for Optical Trapping and Transportation of Nanoparticles

Optical tweezers based on metallic plasmonic structures can achieve stable trapping of objects with deep subwavelength dimensions. However, due to the lack of real-time tunability of metallic plasm...
Optical Coherence Tomography in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease: What Can It Tell Us?

Purpose Although Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a leading cause of dementia worldwide, its clinical diagnosis remains a challenge. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT with angiography (OCTA) are non-invasive ophthalmic imaging tools with the potential to detect retinal structural and microvascular changes in patients with AD, which may serve as biomarkers for the disease. In this systematic review, we evaluate whether certain OCT and OCTA parameters are significantly associated with AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods PubMed database was searched using a combination of MeSH terms to identify studies for review. Studies were organized by participant diagnostic groups, type of imaging modality, and OCT/OCTA parameters of interest. Participant demographic data was also collected and baseline descriptive statistics were calculated for the included studies. Results Seventy-one studies were included for review, representing a total of 6757 patients (2350 AD, 793 MCI, 2902 healthy controls (HC), and 841 others with a range of other neurodegenerative diagnoses). The mean baseline ages were 72.78±3.69, 71.52±2.88, 70.55±3.85 years for AD, MCI and HC groups, respectively. The majority of studies noted significant structural and functional decline in AD patients when compared to HC. Although analysis of MCI groups yielded more mixed results, a similar pattern of decline was often noted amongst patients with MCI relative to HC. OCT and OCTA measurements were also shown to correlate with established measures of AD such as neuropsychological testing or neuroimaging. Conclusion OCT and OCTA show great potential as non-invasive technologies for the diagnosis of AD. However, further research is needed to determine whether there are AD-specific patterns of structural or microvascular change in the retina and optic nerve that distinguish AD from other neurodegenerative diseases. Development of sensitive and specific OCT/OCTA parameters will be necessary before they can be used to detect AD in clinical settings.
Neck Strength and Endurance and Associated Personal and Work-Related Factors

ObjectiveThe present study aimed to establish a normative database of neck strength and endurance while exploring personal and work-related factors that can significantly influence neck strength an...
C. difficile exploits a host metabolite produced during toxin-mediated disease

Several enteric pathogens can gain specific metabolic advantages over other members of the microbiota by inducing host pathology and inflammation. The pathogen Clostridium difficile is responsible for a toxin-mediated colitis that causes 450,000 infections and 15,000 deaths in the United States each year1; however, the molecular mechanisms by which C. difficile benefits from this pathology remain unclear. To understand how the metabolism of C. difficile adapts to the inflammatory conditions that its toxins induce, here we use RNA sequencing to define, in a mouse model, the metabolic states of wild-type C. difficile and of an isogenic mutant that lacks toxins. By combining bacterial and mouse genetics, we demonstrate that C. difficile uses sorbitol derived from both diet and host. Host-derived sorbitol is produced by the enzyme aldose reductase, which is expressed by diverse immune cells and is upregulated during inflammation—including during toxin-mediated disease induced by C. difficile. This work highlights a mechanism by which C. difficile can use a host-derived nutrient that is generated during toxin-induced disease by an enzyme that has not previously been associated with infection. RNA-sequencing experiments determine that sorbitol, a metabolite produced by the host enzyme aldose reductase, is exploited by Clostridium difficile in its adaptation to inflammatory conditions in the gut.
Thermal conductivity of magnesium selenide (MgSe)–A first principles study

Abstract Wide bandgap semiconductor has recently attracted attraction for power electronics, thermoelectric and high temperature applications. Magnesium Selenide (MgSe) is a wide bandgap semiconductor extensively studied for its electronic, magnetic, optical and structural properties. In this work, we report the temperature and length dependence lattice thermal conductivity of magnesium selenide (MgSe) with different crystallographic phase; zincblende (ZB), rocksalt (RS), wurtzite (WZ) and nickel arsenic (NiAs) using first principles computations. Our first principles calculations results shows a low thermal conductivity of MgSe with kNiAs
Complex Euclidean Space

This chapter develops basic properties of complex Euclidean space. Some of the main ideas are unitary transformations, the holomorphic automorphism group of the unit ball, the use of Hermitian forms, and proper holomorphic mappings. We also gather some elementary combinatorial information.
Music in the Wound Care Center: Effects on Anxiety Levels and Blood Pressure Measurements in Patients Receiving Standard Care.

BACKGROUND Chronic wounds require frequent assessment, minor procedures, and dressing changes. Discomfort, anxiety, and stress are commonly reported during treatment procedures. PURPOSE To examine the effect of music during treatment on post-wound care treatment anxiety levels and blood pressure measurements in patients with chronic wounds. METHODS This randomized controlled trial was conducted in a wound care center within a nonprofit academic medical center with a before-and-after intervention measurement. A total of 222 consecutive patients were randomly allocated to either an intervention group (n = 112; classical music was played during treatment) or a control group (n = 110; no music was played during treatment) at their scheduled routine outpatient visits. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was administered and blood pressure measurements were obtained automatically by machine before and after the intervention. Pretreatment and posttreatment scores were compared using the paired t-test in SPSS 25. RESULTS Patient age and sex did not differ between the intervention and control groups and pretreatment and posttreatment STAI scores; blood pressure measurements were almost identitical in the control group. In the intervention group, statistically significant differences between the pretreatment and posttreatment STAI scores (M = 45.94 and 40.83), systolic blood pressure measurements (M = 141.94 and 135.72), and diastolic blood pressure measurements (M = 70.93 and 66.23) were observed (P < .001). CONCLUSION In this study, playing classical music in the treatment room during wound care interventions resulted in a significant decrease in patient anxiety scores and blood pressure measurements.
Radiology resident selection factors predict resident performance.

Abstract Purpose To determine selection factors that predict radiology resident performance. Methods 59 consecutive radiology residents from 2002 to 2015 were ranked on performance during residency. Correlations and multiple regression analyses were performed to predict resident performance from the following selection factors: United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 1 score, medical school rank, Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) membership, honors in clinical rotations, Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE), and interview score. Results were compared against predictions from Match rank position. Results Five selection factors showed significant or marginally significant correlations with resident performance (r = 0.2 to 0.3). The interview score was not significantly correlated. A multiple regression model comprised of the USMLE Step 1 score, medical school rank, AOA membership, and interview score predicted resident performance, with an adjusted R2 of 0.19. The interview score was included in the model but did not achieve statistical significance. Match rank did not predict resident performance, with an R2 of 0.01. Conclusions A multiple regression model comprised of the USMLE Step 1 score, medical school rank, and AOA membership predicted radiology resident performance and may assist with resident selection.
Studies on phosphodiesterase from oxyntic cells of bullfrog gastric mucosa. I. Intracellular localization, partial purification, and properties.

Cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase (cAMP-PDE) was assayed in cell fractions derived from homogenates of oxyntic (acid secreting) cells of bullfrog gastric mucosa. Most enzyme activity remained in the supernatant fraction and is thus assumed to be a soluble, nonparticulate enzyme. Partial purification was accomplished by (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 fractionation. The bulk of enzyme characterization reported here was carried out on the 34% (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 fraction, since further purification procedures introduced new variables associated with activator and inhibitor moieties. The cAMP-PDE complex of bullfrog oxyntic cells is a Mg 2+ -requiring system, with an optimum pH of about 8.5 and an estimated K m of 5×10 −5 m . Different cyclic nucleotides inhibit cAMP-PDE activity with cyclic GMP being the most effective inhibitor. Stimulation by imidazole and inhibition by methyl xanthines agrees with observations on enzyme from other sources. Known gastric secretagogues, such as histamine, pentagastrin, and methylcholine were without effect on gastric cAMP-PDE activity Possible reationships between these results, physiological secretion data, and the cyclic AMP hypothesis for activation of gastric secretion are discussed.
The Establishment of Research Ethics Consultation Services (RECS): An Emerging Research Resource

Emphasis on translational research to facilitate progression from the laboratory into the community also creates a dynamic in which ethics and social policy questions and solutions are ever pressing. In response, academic institutions are creating Research Ethics Consultation Services (RECS). All Clinical Translational Science Award institutions were surveyed in early 2010 to determine which institutions have a RECS in operation and what is their composition and function. Of the 46 institutions surveyed, 33 (70%) have a RECS. Only 15 RECS have received any consult requests in the last year. Issues that are common among these relatively nascent services include relationships with institutional oversight committees, balancing requestor concerns about confidentiality with research integrity and human subjects protection priorities, tracking consult data and outcomes, and developing systems for internal evaluation. There is variability in how these issues are approached. It will be important to be attentive to the institutional context to develop an appropriate approach. Further data about the issues raised by requestors and the recommendations provided are necessary to build a community of scholars who can navigate and resolve ethical issues encountered along the translational research pathway.
Control of deoxynucleotide biosynthesis in Escherichia coli: II. Effect of deoxythymidylate on the biosynthesis of both deoxynucleotides and ribonucleotide reductase

Abstract Growth of E. coli 15 in the presence of 10−4 m deoxythymidine 5′-monophosphate (dTMP) resulted in a 40% increase of the total thymine deoxynucleotide pool. In addition, there were (a) approximately 40% decreases of the uracil and cytosine deoxynucleotide pools, and of the contribution de novo to the thymine deoxynucleotide pool, (b) no significant changes in both the purine deoxynucleotide and pyrimidine ribonucleotide pools and (c) no change in ribonucleotide reductase activity. These results indicate that the decrease in pyrimidine deoxyribonucleotide biosynthesis is due to feedback inhibition rather than repression of ribonucleotide reductase. Greater than 65% inhibition of CDP reduction in vitro was observed when ATP, dATP, dGTP, dTTP, and dCTP were added at concentrations which approximated their normal intracellular concentrations. Alkaline phosphatase resistant nucleotides constituted a small percentage of the deoxynucleotide pools but as much as 46% of the ribonucleotide pools. The measureable uracil deoxynucleotide pool was composed entirely of alkaline phosphatase resistant nucleotides.
RNA Priming of DNA Replication

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this essay is to review the development of our current understanding of what was, until 1971, the enigma of DNA chain initiation. It is now proposed that the start of a DNA chain is primed by a short RNA transcript. Synthesized by an RNA polymerase, the transcript is covalently extended by DNA polymerase action and later removed from the DNA. This mechanism has been demonstrated in vitro for the start of DNA chains in some prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems and is an attractive model for others. This essay will focus on RNA polymerase action in the priming event. COMPARISON OF DNA AND RNA POLYMERASES The basic elements in the synthesis of a nucleic acid are the same whether the chain produced is DNA or RNA or whether template directions are taken from DNA or RNA (Kornberg 1974). DNA polymerases probably follow these directions with greater fidelity than do RNA polymerases, but the most profound difference between them is in the capacity to initiate a new chain. Among the many DNA polymerases of viral, bacterial and animal origins, none can start a chain in vitro. An RNA polymerase by contrast is designed to start chains. The essence of transcription is the selective copying of passages from the chromosome record starting at a promoter. Thus DNA polymerases, remarkable for their error-free copying of the entire chromosome, are apparently blind to initiation signals, including the one promoting the origin of a replication cycle. In addition, at least some DNA...