cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Second-order methods for L1 regularized problems in machine learning

This paper proposes a Hessian-free Newton method for solving large-scale convex functions with an L1 regularization term. These problems arise in supervised machine learning models in which it is important to seek a sparse parameter vector. The proposed method operates in a batch setting, which is well suited for parallel computing environments, and employs sub-sampled Hessian information to accelerate progress of the iteration. The method consists of two phases, an active-set prediction phase that employs first-order and second-order information, and subspace phase that performs a Newton-like step. Numerical results on a speech recognition problem illustrate the practical behavior of the method.
The critical need for pharmacist involvement in the management of patients with hepatitis C.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global and national health issue, affecting an estimated 170 million people worldwide and 4 million people in the United States.1,2 Approximately 80% of infected individuals will develop chronic HCV infection, which may result in substantial morbidity and mortality due to the development of hepatic fibrosis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.1 Annually, between 8,00010,000 deaths result from HCV infection in the United States.2 It has been estimated that direct medical costs secondary to HCV infection will reach $10.7 billion in the United States by the year 2019.2 The high cost of HCV drug therapy, close patient followup, and laboratory monitoring for virologic response and adverse effects contribute to this staggering figure. In this issue of JMCP, Marino et al. present the results of their study assessing the impact of pharmacists in management of patients with chronic HCV infection, specifically genotype 1 infection, in a secondary-care hospital in Catalonia, Spain.3 A convenience sample of 50 treatment-naive patients initiating therapy with once-weekly subcutaneous peginterferon alfa-2b and twice-daily oral ribavirin received consultation from pharmacists throughout the entire course of therapy. Pharmacists provided oral and written disease and drug information, including education about treatment of adverse drug reactions, proper storage of medications, methods of drug administration, and management of missed doses. These visits were provided in tandem with the attending hepatologists at the study site. The authors described an overall sustained virologic response (SVR) of 48%, which is comparable to that observed in other trials of patients with genotype 1 HCV.4 They noted that this SVR may have been increased by the low rate of early treatment discontinuation in the study. Additionally, the overall mean adherence rate was 85.7%; the adherence rate in the patients achieving SVR was an impressive 95.5%.3 The authors are commended for focusing their study on the benefits of pharmacist involvement in management of chronic HCV infection. They intervened on patients with genotype 1 virus, a type that is challenging to eradicate due to the lengthy treatment duration required. The study was strengthened by the visual assessment of adherence at each visit using inspection of patients’ pill boxes, providing a more accurate assessment of adherence than does patient self-report. The role of the pharmacist is clearly delineated in this study, from the pharmacist’s role as an educator to motivator for those patients experiencing an early virologic response at 12 weeks. Along with their face-toThe Critical Need for Pharmacist Involvement in the Management of Patients With Hepatitis C
Mode Selection in Flame-Vortex driven Combustion Instabilities

In this paper, we investigate flame-vortex interaction in a lean premixed, laboratory scale, backward-facing step combustor. Two series of tests were conducted, using propane/hydrogen mixtures and carbon monoxide/hydrogen mixtures as fuels, respectively. Pressure measurements and high speed particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) were employed to generate pressure response curves as well as the images of the velocity field and the flame brush. We demonstrate that the step combustor exhibits several operating modes depending on the inlet conditions and fuel composition, characterized by the amplitude and frequency of pressure oscillations along with distinct dynamic flame shapes. We propose a model in which the combustor's selection of the acoustic mode is governed by a combustion-related time delay inversely proportional to the flame speed. Our model predicts the transition between distinct operating modes. We introduce non-dimensional parameters characterizing the flame speed and stretch rate, and develop a relationship between these quantities at the operating conditions corresponding to each mode transition. Based on this relationship, we show that numerically-calculated density-weighted strained flame speed can be used to collapse the combustion dynamics data over the full range of conditions (inlet temperature, fuel composition, and equivalence ratio). Finally, we validate our strain flame based model by measuring the strain rate using the flame image and the velocity field from the PIV measurement. Our results show that the measured strain rates lie in the same range as the critical values at the transitions among distinct modes as those predicted by our model.
Multi-agent concurrent chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell cancer in the elderly.

Background. The reported decreasing benefit with increasing age from concurrent chemoradiotherapy in head and neck cancer patients prompted this retrospective review. Methods. Two courses of cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy were given to fit patients � 70 years with locoregionally advanced cancers. Clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcomes were compared with those for an identically treated cohort <70 years. Results. There were 44 patients � 70 and 137 patients <70 years. Clinical characteristics, treatment and toxicities were similar except that the elderly were less likely to receive both chemotherapy courses, experienced more myelosuppression, required more unplanned hospitalization, and were feeding-tube dependent longer. Projected 5- year disease-specific survival (71% vs 74%) and freedom from recurrence (69% v. 71%) were nearly identical. Conclusions. Although these selected elderly patients experienced greater myelosuppression and supportive care requirements, outcomes were the same as in younger patients. Age alone should not be considered a contraindication to aggressive chemoradiotherapy for this disease. V C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 34: 1147-1152, 2012
Development of Soil Properties and Nitrogen Cycling in Created Wetlands

Mitigation wetlands are expected to compensate for the loss of structure and function of natural wetlands within 5–10 years of creation; however, the age-based trajectory of development in wetlands is unclear. This study investigates the development of coupled structural (soil properties) and functional (nitrogen cycling) attributes of created non-tidal freshwater wetlands of varying ages and natural reference wetlands to determine if created wetlands attain the water quality ecosystem service of nitrogen (N) cycling over time. Soil condition component and its constituents, gravimetric soil moisture, total organic carbon, and total N, generally increased and bulk density decreased with age of the created wetland. Nitrogen flux rates demonstrated age-related patterns, with younger created wetlands having lower rates of ammonification, nitrification, nitrogen mineralization, and denitrification potential than older created wetlands and natural reference wetlands. Results show a clear age-related trajectory in coupled soil condition and N cycle development, which is essential for water quality improvement. These findings can be used to enhance N processing in created wetlands and inform the regulatory evaluation of mitigation wetlands by identifying structural indicators of N processing performance.
Operating experience with the Sandia terminal switching network and fiber optic loop

At Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, secure data communications are provided by a system whose major elements include a fiber loop, technical control centers, and a terminal switching network. The optical fiber loop supplies the advantages of high bandwidth, negligible cross talk, and immunity to interference. The technical control centers, as elements on the fiber-optic loop, focus regional communications and simplify distribution. The terminal switching network utilizes the optical fiber loop and the technical control centers' distribution and control capabilities to layer management and security onto the Sandia network. Other functions, such as Ethernet interconnections, also utilize the fiber loop and technical control centers. By designing data communications around this set of trusted elements, Sandia has implemented a robust, secure system without sacrificing performance or responsiveness. >
Rare-earth element geochemistry of the island-arc volcanic rocks of Rabaul and Talasea, New Britain

The island-arc volcanic rocks of Rabaul and Talasea, New Britain, range in composition from basalt through rhyolite. Rare-earth elements have been determined by mass-spectrometric isotope dilution in 16 samples. Chondrite-normalized rare-earth element patterns are distinct for each volcanic center, but all are relatively flat (Ce/Yb E.F. = 1.1 to 3.0). Within each center, rare-earth element concentrations increase from basalt to dacite, and Eu anomalies become progressively more negative from basalt to dacite (Eu/Eu* = 1.0 to 0.8). Lavas inferred to contain cumulate phenocrysts show positive Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* of up to 1.2). The observed variations are consistent with fractional crystallization of basalt or basaltic andesite by removal or accumulation of the observed phenocrysts, including olivine, plagioclase, pyroxene, and opaque minerals. Quantitative trace-element models for Talasea lavas indicate precipitation of 50 wt percent of phenocrysts from basalt to produce andesite and an additional 22 wt percent to produce dacite. A total-equilibrium model provides the best approximation to observed concentrations, implying that the process took place at a depth sufficient to allow slow cooling of the magma as precipitation proceeded. The “least fractionated” basalts and basaltic andesites are similar in rare-earth element pattern to those of corresponding type suites in other oceanic-island arcs, implying a widespread uniformity of source and process in the production of each magma type.
Simulating autonomous agents wtih augmented reality

In many critical applications such as airport operations (for capacity planning), military simulations (for tactical training and planning), and medical simulations (for the planning of medical treatment and surgical operations), it is very useful to conduct simulations within physically accurate and visually realistic settings that are represented by real video imaging sequences. Furthermore, it is important that the simulated entities conduct autonomous actions which are realistic and which follow plans of action or intelligent behavior in reaction to current situations. We describe the research we have conducted to incorporate synthetic objects in a visually realistic manner in video sequences representing a real scene. We also discuss how the synthetic objects can be designed to conduct intelligent behavior within an augmented reality setting. The paper discusses both the computer vision aspects that we have addressed and solved, and the issues related to the insertion of intelligent autonomous objects within an augmented reality simulation.
Analysis of controlled multiplexing systems via numerical stochastic control methods

The paper demonstrates the usefulness of numerical methods of stochastic control theory for the design, analysis and control of multiplexing type systems and networks, as well as ATM type systems. The sources are of the Markov-modulated type, although the final results hold for other types (e.g. low-order AR schemes). Control problems arise when we wish to control cell loss due to buffer overflows by regulating the sources. The basic control mechanism is the deletion of selected low-priority cells, according to an appropriate state dependent rule. But the same results hold for many other schemes (e.g. purchasing incremental bandwidth). By exploiting the large size of the system (large number of users), the systems can be efficiently approximated by diffusion type processes, whether there is a control term or not, and for many types of control mechanisms. The basic controls are of the "low-priority cell deletion" type, and various extensions. They might be state dependent, and we can obtain optimal controls for cost functions that weigh buffer overflow, controller cell deletion loss as well as queue length. The limit equations are an effective aggregation of the original system. It is shown that there are substantial savings in losses with the use of optimal control techniques. The numerical methods can be used to balance the losses at the control with those due to buffer overflow, to minimize losses at the controller subject to constraints on buffer overflow, and to explore various approximations, systems aggregations, the interaction of multiple source classes of different priorities. >
Telephone Reporting of Cardiac Procedure Results to Primary Care Physicians

We attempted telephone communication of the results of cardiac catheterization and/or intervention to primary care physicians for 100 patients in a health maintenance organization. Phone calls during work-day office hours required 3.5 minutes per patient and provided personal contact with the primary care physician for only 65% of the patients.
Detecting genotyping errors and describing American black bear movement in northern Idaho

Non-invasive genetic sampling has become a favored tool to enumerate wildlife. Genetic errors, caused by poor quality samples, can lead to substantial biases in numerical estimates of individuals. We demonstrate how the computer program DROPOUT can detect amplification errors (false alleles and allelic dropout) in a black bear (Ursus americanus) dataset collected in 2003 from northern Idaho, USA, and detect scoring and other database errors (misreads, shifts in scoring, and transcription errors). Removing errors from our sample via computer techniques reduced our minimum number alive index from 187 to 146 bears and was less expensive than commonly used multi-tube approaches. We subsequently estimated gene flow between our 2 study areas (Purcell and Selkirk Mountains), which are separated by a large, open, agricultural valley. Gene flow data suggested that, although this valley was not a complete barrier to movement, its effects on population substructure were not inconsequential. We documented a low level of substructure (G′ST = 0.097) between study areas. Assignment tests confirmed this, as assignment to the population where the animal was captured was 74% for the Purcell Mountains and 89% for the Selkirk Mountains.
Intracellular ATP does not inhibit Slo2.1 K+ channels

Under normal physiological conditions, the open probability of Slo2.1 K+ channels is low. Elevation of cytosolic [Na+] and [Cl−] caused by ischemia or rapid electrical pacing of cells increases the open probability of Slo2.1 channels and the resulting outward current can stabilize the resting state of cells. Initial characterization of heterologously expressed human Slo2.1 indicated that these channels were inhibited by physiological levels of intracellular ATP. However, a subsequent study found that intracellular ATP had no effect on Slo2.1 channels. Here, we re‐examine the effects of intracellular ATP on cloned human Slo2.1 channels heterologously expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Our studies provide both direct and indirect evidence that changes in intracellular [ATP] have no effect on Slo2.1 channels. First, we directly examined the effects of intracellular ATP on Slo2.1 channel activity in excised inside‐out macropatches from Xenopus oocytes. Application of 5 mmol/L ATP to the intracellular solution did not inhibit Slo2.1 currents activated by niflumic acid. Second, we lowered the [ATP]i in whole oocytes using the metabolic inhibitor NaN3. Depletion of [ATP]i in oocytes by 3 mmol/L NaN3 rapidly activated heterologously expressed KATP channels, but did not increase wild‐type Slo2.1 channel currents activated by niflumic acid or currents conducted by constitutively active mutant (E275D) Slo2.1 channels. Third, mutation of a conserved residue in the ATP binding consensus site in the C‐terminal domain of the channel did not enhance the magnitude of Slo2.1 current as expected if binding to this site inhibited channel function. We conclude that Slo2.1 channels are not inhibited by intracellular ATP.
Contrasting income shocks with asset shocks: livestock sales in northern Kenya

The literature on risk management in agrarian economies has predominantly focusedon the use of assets to buffer consumption against income shocks. However, house-holds in certain low-income, high-risk environments confront asset as well as incomeshocks. This study investigates livestock sales behavior in an environment where bothincome and asset shocks occur. The nature of each type of shock is analyzed, and theirrespective impact on sales behavior is identiﬁed. Results indicate income and assetshocks are positively correlated, but inﬂuence sales in an offsetting fashion. Thisprovides a possible explanation for the limited empirical support found by previousstudies investigating the role of livestock sales in buffering consumption. Marketingand savings institutions that reduce vulnerability to asset shocks in addition to incomeshocks offer the potential to reduce household risk exposure.
Preparation and Properties Of Cotton-Eastar Nonwovens

As biodegradable/compostable cotton-based nonwovens are sustainable materials, there is increasing interest in them, with the expansion of nonwovens into novel applications. Over the past few years, research has been done at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville to produce and evaluate nonwoven products containing cotton/cellulose acetate fibers. Nonwoven fabrics manufactured from cotton and Eastar, a biodegradable thermoplastic fiber have shown great promise. The production of nonwovens by the thermal bonding process from such compositions, and the structure and properties of the resulting products are investigated. The results have shown that, by appropriately selecting the combination of fibers and process conditions, nonwoven fabrics with good performance properties can be produced.
Impact of Bias Magnification on Supply Chain Costs: The Mitigating Role of Forecast Sharing

The impact of forecast error magnification on supply chain cost has been well documented. Unlike past studies that measure forecast error in terms of forecast standard deviation, our study extends research to consider the impact of forecast bias, and the complex interaction between these variables. Simulating a two-stage supply chain using realistic cost data we test the impact of bias magnification comparing two scenarios: one with forecast sharing between retailer and supplier, and one without. We then corroborate findings via survey data. Results show magnification of forecast bias to have a considerably greater impact on supply chain cost than magnification of forecast standard deviation. Particularly damaging is high bias in the presence of high forecast standard deviation. Forecast sharing is found to mitigate the impact of forecast error, however, primarily at higher levels of forecast standard deviation. At low levels of forecast standard deviation the benefits are not significant suggesting that engaging in such mitigation strategies may be less effective when there is little opportunity for improvement in accuracy. Furthermore, forecast sharing is found to be much less effective against high levels of bias. This is an important finding as managers often deliberately bias their forecasts and underscores the importance of exercising caution even with forecast sharing, particularly for forecasts that have inherently large errors. The findings provide a deeper understanding of the impact of forecast errors, suggest limitations of forecast sharing, and offer implications for research and practice alike. [web URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/deci.12208/full]
Do Obese Women Receive the Necessary Interventions to Achieve Vaginal Birth after Cesarean

Objective We aimed to determine if obese women undergoing trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC) were more likely to undergo repeat cesarean for arrest disorders prior to active labor, and whether this was due to decreased use of standard interventions to achieve vaginal birth. Study Design This was a secondary analysis of a prospective registry. Women undergoing TOLAC with one prior cesarean and a singleton, term gestation who had a repeat cesarean for an arrest disorder were included. The primary outcome was repeat cesarean prior to active labor (cervical dilation < 6 cm). Obese (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2) and nonobese women were compared. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the association between obesity and repeat cesarean prior to active labor. Clinical interventions were compared between groups using t-test and χ 2 test. Results Among 2,098 women undergoing TOLAC, 1,454 (69%) were obese. Obese women were more likely to undergo repeat cesarean for an arrest disorder prior to active labor (odds ratio, 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.1–1.7) despite being allowed longer labors and receiving higher maximum doses of oxytocin for a longer duration than nonobese women. Conclusion Obese women were more likely to undergo repeat cesarean prior to active labor despite more clinical interventions to achieve vaginal birth.
144 JUVENILE PERNICIOUS ANEMIA

Abstract submission of a clinical case report of a 17 year old black female with no significant past medical history presenting with fever and malaise to outside hospital and found to be pancytopenic and transferred to a university hospital secondary to difficulty to type and match the patient for blood. She was subsequently diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia and juvenile pernicious anemia. I plan to do a poster presentation of the case report with the patient9s history and physical examination and laboratory work and treatment results, followed by a discussion of pernicious anemia.
Influencing factors analysis on death age of pneumoconiosis patients

Objective To study the death features of pneumoconiosis cases in order to provide basis in the prevention and treatment of pneumoconiosis.Methods The data of 711 dead pneumoconiosis cases were classified and analyzed according to the age of occurrence pneumoconiosis,death cause,complicated by pulmonary tuberculosis,dead era,age starting to dust exposure,clinical and hygienic condition,duration of dust exposure,stage and type of pneumoconiosis.Results The contribution of the 9 factors to the death age(Beta)was: dead era(0.623) age starting to dust exposure(0.341) age of occurrence pneumoconiosis(0.268)death cause(0.085)complicated by pulmonary tuberculosis(0.076)stage of pneumoconiosis(0.055)clinical and hygienic condition(0.054)type of pneumoconiosis(0.015)duration of dust exposure(0.013).All factors had significant contributions to the death age(P0.05),except the type of pneumoconiosis and duration of dust exposure.There was significant difference among the dead era(P0.01).The group provided with clinical and hygienic service in the unit with death cause of pneumoconiosis and pulmonary tuberculosis was significantly higher than that of the group with none on the mean age of death(P0.05).The death age of pulmonary tuberculosis was the lowest(53.3±10.0) and was significantly different from other death causes(P0.01).Conclusion It is expected to prolong the life of pneumoconiosis by taking the measures to improve clinical and hygienic condition,and to actively prevent and treat complication,etc.
Technical Report: Algorithm and Implementation for Quasispecies Abundance Inference with Confidence Intervals from Metagenomic Sequence Data

This report describes the design and implementation of an algorithm for estimating relative microbial abundances, together with confidence limits, using data from metagenomic DNA sequencing. For the background behind this project and a detailed discussion of our modeling approach for metagenomic data, we refer the reader to our earlier technical report, dated March 4, 2014. Briefly, we described a fully Bayesian generative model for paired-end sequence read data, incorporating the effects of the relative abundances, the distribution of sequence fragment lengths, fragment position bias, sequencing errors and variations between the sampled genomes and the nearest reference genomes. A distinctive feature of our modeling approach is the use of a Chinese restaurant process (CRP) to describe the selection of genomes to be sampled, and thus the relative abundances. The CRP component is desirable for fitting abundances to reads that may map ambiguously to multiple targets, because it naturally leads to sparse solutions that select the best representative from each set of nearly equivalent genomes.
Cooling of Cryogenic Liquids by Gas Injection

Subcooling of cryogenic liquids by injection of a noncondensing gas was investigated as a means of preventing excess heating of the liquid oxygen In the suction lines of the Saturn booster during prelaunch. Because of ambient heating, the liquid oxygen at the pump inlet approaches the saturation state, precluding successful bootstrapping of the H-1 engine during start.
Exploring Wild Tomato Leaf Extracts in Pesticide Formulations

Crude extracts from the leaves of the wild tomato, Lycopersicon hirsutum f. glabratum accession PI 134417 possess a pestresistance mechanism in their glandular trichomes (plant hairs) and the exudates they produce due to the presence of a mixture of methyl ketones (MKs) that has insecticidal and acaricidal properties. Type IV and VI glandular trichomes on the leaves of PI 134417 grown under greenhouse conditions were counted. Major volatile oils from glandular leaf trichomes were extracted, purified, and quantified using gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The main objectives of this investigation were to: 1) monitor seasonal glandular trichomes density on PI 134417 for mass production of MKs and 2) prepare a simplified formulation of MKs for potential use of PI 134417 leaf extracts, which could become a valuable source of natural products, in plant protection against spider mites and cowpea aphids. Type IV and type VI trichomes were greatest (P<0.05) in September and October (97 and 238 trichomes mm-2), respectively. Quantification of MKs in emulsified extracts of PI 134417 revealed the dominance of 2-tridecanone (the 13-carbon methyl ketone) compared to other MKs (2-undecanone, 2-dodecanone, and 2-pentadecanone) on the leaf surface. Crude leaf extracts of PI 134417 prepared in water caused 33 and 22% mortality, whereas, water extracts containing 1% Alkamuls (an organic emulsifier) caused 93 and 82% mortality of spider mites and cowpea aphis, respectively, 1 d after exposure.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

With the introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have achieved tremendous gains in life expectancy. Persons with perinatal HIV infection now commonly live into adulthood but have comorbidities associated with pediatric HIV infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Youth and young adults who have been behaviorally infected with HIV will face the physical and psychological challenges of a lifetime of HIV infection as they continue to age. Common comorbidities for adolescents and young adults with HIV include conditions specific to HIV such as lipodystrophy, opportunistic infections related to prolonged immunodeficiency, neurocognitive effects, and an increased incidence of certain cancers. In addition, people living with HIV are also at risk for the psychosocial stressors related to HIV infection including HIV-related stigma and concerns regarding disclosure of HIV status, mood disorders and substance abuse, and prevention of secondary HIV transmission. Physicians who care for adolescents and young adults will begin to see these patients in their practice panels and must be aware of the unique characteristics and medical concerns of youth with HIV infection as they age. Primary care physicians are ideal partners for HIV providers to address the chronic disease management issues of the aging perinatal HIV population and growing numbers of youth with new HIV infection.
Temperature-Programmed Desorption (TPD) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) Study Comparing the Adsorption of Ethyl Halides on the Si(100) Surface

The differences between the dissociative adsorption of chloroethane-d5 (C2D5Cl) and iodoethane-d5 (C2D5I) on a Si(100)-2 × 1 surface are compared by analyzing the results of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) experiments. The adsorption mechanism for both chloroethane-d5 and iodoethane-d5 on a clean Si(100)-2 × 1 surface is based on a dissociative chemisorption following halogen–carbon bond cleavage. Further surface transformations upon heating cause hydrogen elimination by ethyl groups, followed by ethylene and hydrogen desorption. The key difference between iodo- and chloro-derivatives is that the corresponding sticking probabilities of chloroethane-d5 and iodoethane-d5 in the same reaction system are extremely different. The experimental study reveals that the exposure for the monolayer saturation of chloroethane-d5 is 20 times higher than that for iodoethane-d5. These differences are attributed to the stability of surface-mediated molecular adsorba...
An LQG Design for Large Sparse Systems

Abstract The objective of this paper is to present a “piece-by-piece” LQG design for large-scale systems. The proposed design procedure is develored for a hierarchical (block-triangular) representation of the system, which is obtained via a graphtheoretic decomposition algorithm. The estimator is built as a union of low-order estimators attached to each individual subsytem sequentially going fron top to bottom of the hierarchy. As the subsystm state estimates become available, optinal controllers can be designed for each subsystem separately resultinm in an overall closed-loop system which is stable and suboptimal. The hierarchical design offers a considerable reduction of both off-line and on-line computations, which is especially effective in large sparse systems.
Thomas Paul Hackett 1928-1988 in memoriam.

2 Tom's fascination with nature and biology marked an unusually early start to his scientific career. By age II he had his own sizable snake collection. By age 13, after working with University of Cincinnati professor of physiology Gustav Ekstein, Tom was appointed instructor of physiology at the school of medicine. By age 23 he had his M.D. degree, also from the University of Cincinnati. Work as a public health service physician in several federal penitentiaries, including Alcatraz, awakened his interest in the criminal mind, which he pursued for 20 years as a court psychiatrist in Cambridge's Third District Court. Long before he met me, Tom had good reason to be ill-disposed toward the Jesuits. While he was a junior in the Jesuit high school in Cincinnati, his voracious interest in Darwin flowered and he raised some questions about evolution in religion class. When he eventually refused to renounce his conviction that Darwin's theories deserved respect, he was expelled. Jesuit priest though I am, I feel most blessed that Tom showed none of that c1osed-mindedness to me. He became my lifelong mentor and friend. A man who once said, "1 consider myself first a physician, then a psychiatrist," Tom Hackett devoted his contagious energy to the psychiatric problems of the medically ill. He came to Massachusetts General Hospital in 1955 and the following year began to work as Avery Weisman's first resident on the newly formed Psychiatric Consultation Service. He eventually succeeded Avery as chief of that service in 1967. The majority of his 92 professional papers were devoted to research with patients suffering from cardiac diseases, cancer, or pain. An adventurer with a historian's thirst to know the personalities of daring heroes, Tom studied how patients coped with recovery, rehabilitation, and death and how they negotiated their encounters with the threat of fatal illness; delay in the face of serious symptoms; or denial offear, physical symptoms, or illness. Blessed with a detective's fascination with human behavior and
High-dimensional data analysis with subspace comparison using matrix visualization:

Due to the intricate relationship between different dimensions of high-dimensional data, subspace analysis is often conducted to decompose dimensions and give prominence to certain subsets of dimen...
TECHNIQUE AND UTILITY OF CT GUIDED TRANSCATHETER STENTING OF AORTIC COARCTATIONS IN ADULTS

3D rotational angiography (3DRA) and CT-fluoro image fusion can enhance fluoroscopy by optimizing C-arm angles and allowing real-time overlay of 3D regions of interest on 2D fluoroscopy. This case series demonstrates the techniques and utility of 3DRA and CT-fluoro image fusion during transcatheter
A Novel Bulk-Flow Model for Improved Predictions of Force Coefficients in Grooved Oil Seals Operating Eccentrically

Oil seals in centrifugal compressors reduce leakage of the process gas into the support bearings and ambient. Under certain operating conditions of speed and pressure, oil seals lock, becoming a source of hydrodynamic instability due to excessively large cross coupled stiffness coefficients. It is a common practice to machine circumferential grooves, breaking the seal land, to isolate shear flow induced film pressures in contiguous lands, and hence reducing the seal cross coupled stiffnesses. Published tests results for oil seal rings shows that an inner land groove, shallow or deep, does not actually reduce the cross-stiffnesses as much as conventional models predict. In addition, the tested grooved oil seals evidenced large added mass coefficients; while predictive models, based on classical lubrication theory, neglect fluid inertia effects. This paper introduces a bulk-flow model for groove oil seals operating eccentrically and its solution via the finite element method. The analysis relies on an effective groove depth, different from the physical depth, which delimits the upper boundary for the squeeze film flow. Predictions of rotordynamic force coefficients are compared to published experimental force coefficients for a smooth land seal and a seal with a single inner groove with depth equaling 15 times the land clearance. The test data represent operation at 10 krpm and 70 bar supply pressure, and four journal eccentricity ratios (e/c = 0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7). Predictions from the current model agree with the test data for operation at the lowest eccentricities (e/c = 0.3); discrepancies increasing at larger journal eccentricities. The new flow model is a significant improvement towards the accurate estimation of grooved seal cross-coupled stiffnesses and added mass coefficients; the later previously ignored or largely under predicted.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Establishment of Orthotopic Liver Tumors by Surgical Intrahepatic Tumor Injection in Mice with Underlying Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its advanced form, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), is increasing, and as such its contribution to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma is also rising. NAFLD has been shown to influence the immune tumor microenvironment. Therefore, development of pre-clinical mouse models in the context of NAFLD are increasingly important. Here, we describe a mouse model designed to recapitulate the findings of NAFLD followed by rapid induction of orthotopic liver tumors with intrahepatic tumor injection. Additionally, we utilized bioluminescent imaging to monitor tumor growth and response to therapy. The development of one dominant tumor nodule allows precise separation of tumor and liver tissue. This is useful for immunotherapy studies as mononuclear cells from the tumor and the surrounding liver tissue can be analyzed separately.
Measuring image distances via embedding in a semantic manifold

In this work we introduce novel image metrics that can be used with distance-based classifiers or directly to decide whether two input images belong to the same class. While most prior image distances rely purely on comparisons of low-level features extracted from the inputs, our metrics use a large database of labeled photos as auxiliary data to draw semantic relationships between the two images, beyond those computable from simple visual features. In a preprocessing stage our approach derives a semantic image graph from the labeled dataset, where the nodes are the labeled images and the edges connect pictures with related labels. The graph can be viewed as modeling a semantic image manifold, and it enables the use of graph distances to approximate semantic distances. Thus, we reformulate the task of measuring the semantic distance between two unlabeled pictures as the problem of embedding the two input images in the semantic graph. We propose and evaluate several embedding schemes and graph distance metrics. Our results on Caltech101, Caltech256 and ImageNet show that our distances consistently match or outperform the state-of-the-art in this field.
The Role of the Brain in Prehypertension

Prolonged blood pressure (BP) elevation causes changes in the structure and function of cardiovascular organs. Therefore, our research group focused on young patients with prehypertension.
Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein Positively Regulates PKA Anchor Rugose and PKA Activity to Control Actin Assembly in Learning/Memory Circuitry

Recent work shows Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP) drives the translation of very large proteins (>2000 aa) mediating neurodevelopment. Loss of function results in Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the leading heritable cause of intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using the Drosophila FXS disease model, we discover FMRP positively regulates the translation of the very large A-Kinase Anchor Protein (AKAP) Rugose (>3000 aa), homolog of ASD-associated human Neurobeachin (NBEA). In the central brain Mushroom Body (MB) circuit, where Protein Kinase A (PKA) signaling is necessary for learning/memory, FMRP loss reduces Rugose levels and targeted FMRP overexpression elevates Rugose levels. Using a new in vivo transgenic PKA activity reporter (PKA-SPARK), we find FMRP loss reduces PKA activity in MB Kenyon cells whereas FMRP overexpression elevates PKA activity. Consistently, loss of Rugose reduces PKA activity, but Rugose overexpression has no independent effect. A well-established PKA output is regulation of F-actin cytoskeleton dynamics. In the FXS disease model, F-actin is aberrantly accumulated in MB lobes and single MB Kenyon cells. Consistently, Rugose loss results in similar F-actin accumulation. Moreover, targeted FMRP, Rugose and PKA overexpression all result in increased F-actin accumulation in the MB circuit. These findings uncover a FMRP-Rugose-PKA mechanism regulating actin cytoskeleton. This study reveals a novel FMRP mechanism controlling neuronal PKA activity, and demonstrates a shared mechanistic connection between FXS and NBEA associated ASD disease states, with a common link to PKA and F-actin misregulation in brain neural circuits. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) arises from a wide array of genetic lesions, and it is therefore critical to identify common underlying molecular mechanisms. Here, we link two ASD states; Neurobeachin (NBEA) associated ASD and Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common inherited ASD. Using established Drosophila disease models, we find Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP) positively regulates translation of NBEA homolog Rugose, consistent with a recent advance showing FMRP promotes translation of very large proteins associated with ASD. FXS exhibits reduced cAMP induction, a potent activator of PKA, and Rugose/NBEA is a PKA anchor. Consistently, we find brain PKA activity strikingly reduced in both ASD models. We discover this pathway regulation controls actin cytoskeleton dynamics in brain neural circuits.
Comment: India's Development Projects, or Hinduism, a Love Story∗:

Martin J. Haigh's India Abroad is ill-informed and misleading in multiple ways. It presents a romanticized view of ‘Indian’ culture and, what the author calls, Hindu or Hinduism. The article repres...
A novel total variation based ring artifact suppression method for CBCT imaging with two-dimensional antiscatter grids.

Purpose Two-dimensional antiscatter grids (2DASG) for cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a new area of research to reduce scatter intensity, and consequently improve CBCT image quality. One of the challenges in implementation of 2DASGs is their septa shadows that are impinged on the projections. If these artifacts are not corrected, they may lead to ring artifacts in CBCT images. In this work, we present a novel method to suppress ring artifacts in FPD-based CBCT images. Methods Briefly, our method first detects the locations of 2DASG's septa shadows in projections and then, reduces projection pixel values in septa shadows iteratively until a residual-based convergence criterion is met. To suppress the 2DASG's septa shadows, we developed a total variation minimization (TVM) formulation, referred to as adaptive-diffusive total variation minimization (adTVM), where the diffusivity regularization parameter was adaptively adjusted during each iteration based on the magnitude of the local pixel gradients. To test our method, we have acquired CBCT scans of phantoms using three 2DASG prototypes with different grid geometries. Projections were acquired with a linac mounted CBCT system, operated in offset detector geometry. These projections were then corrected in the following steps: first, projections were corrected using a gantry angle-specific gain correction map; next, projections were corrected by applying our adTVM method. CBCT images were reconstructed using FDK filtered backprojection algorithm. To evaluate adTVM's performance, pixel value statistics and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were compared in CBCT images corrected with and without our adTVM method. Results Without our adTVM method, all three 2DASG prototypes introduced ring artifacts with varying intensities in CBCT images. With our method, significant reduction in ring artifacts was observed in all test cases. Standard deviation of CT numbers was reduced by 7-74% in uniform density phantom CBCT images, CNR was increased by 8-67%, and CT number accuracy of contrast objects embedded in the phantom was preserved. Conclusion We propose a new method to suppress ring artifacts caused by the 2DASG's septa shadows in CBCT images. Our initial investigations indicated that adTVM method could substantially reduce such ring artifacts while preserving CT number accuracy and maintaining good spatial resolution. Therefore, our method may potentially play an important role in enabling the implementation of 2DASGs in flat panel detector based CBCT systems.
(364) Administration of Pre-Operative Gabapentin to Patients Undergoing Laparoscopy: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Randomized Trial

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of immediate pre-operative gabapentin on postoperative pain in patients undergoing laparoscopy for benign gynecologic indications. We completed a double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized trial at an academic tertiary care hospital. One-hundred-nine gynecologic patients undergoing laparoscopy between June 2015 and January 2016 were included in our study. We randomized 109 patients to receive pre-operative gabapentin (300mg) or placebo. The patients were stratified based on a history of chronic pelvic pain. Pain scores were assessed at 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours post-operatively as well as post-operative days 1-7. We found no difference between the groups in terms of age, body mass index, gravidity, parity, or past surgical history. Post-operative pain was assessed using the numeric pain rating scale (NRS), rated as 0-10, and the visual analog scale (VAS), rated as 0-100. These values were adjusted for morphine dose received. Findings included, no significant difference in pain scores at any of the immediate post-operative hours. A secondary analysis stratified by procedure, hysterectomy or operative laparoscopy, showed no significant difference in pain scores. There was also no significant difference in pain scores on post-operative days one through seven. In this study, a single dose of pre-operative gabapentin did not significantly decrease post-operative pain in gynecologic patients undergoing laparoscopy for benign indications. The study was supported in part by an award from The Penn State Hershey Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Unorthodox Dimensional Interpolations for He, Li, Be Atoms and Hydrogen Molecule

We present a simple interpolation formula using dimensional limits D=1 and D= infinity to obtain the D=3 ground-state energies of atoms and molecules. For atoms, these limits are linked by first-order perturbation terms of electron-electron interactions. This unorthodox approach is illustrated by ground-states for two, three, and four electron atoms, with modest effort to obtain fairly accurate results. Also, we treat the ground-state of H2 over a wide range of the internuclear distance R, and compares well with the standard exact results from the Full Configuration Interaction method. Similar dimensional interpolations may be useful for complex many-body systems.
A Fog-based Approach to Secure Smart Grids Against Data Integrity Attacks

In this paper, a fog (edge) computing-based platform is proposed to realize distributed (localized) anomaly detection of data integrity attacks in smart grid applications aiming at addressing security and data privacy issues. To detect false data injection attacks, a distributed maximum likelihood (ML) estimator is implemented on the proposed fog-based platform. A series of simulation experiments are carried out to demonstrate the viability and efficacy of the proposed platform and, more importantly, of the distributed attack detection approach. The reported results, although preliminary in nature, move us a step closer to deploying fog computing technology in smart grid applications and in particular to further improving cyber-security of power networks.
Dihydrogen Adduct (Co‐H2) Complexes Displaying H‐atom and Hydride Transfer

The prototypical reactivity profiles of transition metal dihydrogen complexes (M-H2 ) are well-characterized with respect to oxidative addition (to afford dihydrides, M(H)2 ) and as acids, heterolytically delivering H+ to a base and H- to the metal. In the course of this study we explored plausible alternative pathways for H2 activation, namely direct activation through H-atom or hydride transfer from the σ-H2 adducts. To this end, we describe herein the reactivity of an isostructural pair of a neutral S= 1/2 and an anionic S=0 Co-H2 adduct, both supported by a trisphosphine borane ligand (P3B ). The thermally stable metalloradical, (P3B )Co(H2 ), serves as a competent precursor for hydrogen atom transfer to t Bu3 ArO⋅ . What is more, its anionic derivative, the dihydrogen complex [(P3B )Co(H2 )]1- , is a competent precursor for hydride transfer to BEt3 , establishing its remarkable hydricity. The latter finding is essentially without precedent among the vast number of M-H2 complexes known.