cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nucleol - a minimal list processor

NUCLEOL is a low-level list processor designed as a basis in terms of which higher-level list- and string-processing languages could be implemented easily and efficiently. Hence its design aims at:a) Simplicityb) Complete and concise descriptionc) General data structures and a small, well-chosen set of primitive operationsd) A scheme for implementation which makes it easy to transfer the system from one computer to another.The system is currently implemented as a PL/1 program.
Isobutylamide numbing agents of toothache grass, Ctenium aromaticum.

Ctenium aromaticum Panz. (Aegilops aromatica Walter, Monocera aromatica Elliott, Chloris monostachya Michaux,) is a grass restricted to wet areas of the coastal forest of the S.E. US. Knowledge of the pungent taste and numbing caused by chewing this grass dates from the 18th century or earlier (Walter, 1788; Michaux, 1805; Elliott, 1821), but use of this grass for allaying toothache was overshadowed by the more plentiful bark of toothache tree (Zanthoxylum americanum Miller, Rutaceae) in the same coastal areas of the southeastern US C. aromaticum was collected for this study in open, long leaf pine forests near Havelock, NC and deposited in the NC State University Herbarium (Voucher no. 124425-7).
Investigation of laser-induced iodine fluorescence for the measurement of density in compressible flows

Laser induced fluorescence is an attractive nonintrusive approach for measuring molecular number density in compressible flows although this technique does not produce a signal that is directly related to the number density. Saturation and frequency detuned excitation are explored as means for minimizing the quenching effect using iodine as the molecular system because of its convenient absorption spectrum. Saturation experiments indicate that with available continuous wave laser sources of Gaussian transverse intensity distribution only partial saturation could be achieved in iodine at the pressures of interest in gas dynamics. Using a fluorescence lineshape theory, it is shown that for sufficiently large detuning of a narrow bandwidth laser from a molecular transition, the quenching can be cancelled by collisional broadening over a large range of pressures and temperatures. Experimental data obtained in a Mach 4.3 underexpanded jet of nitrogen seeded with iodine for various single mode argon laser detunings from a strong iodine transition at 5145 A are discussed.
Changes in Mottled Sculpin and Johnny Darter Trawl Catches after the Appearance of round Gobies in the Indiana Waters of Lake Michigan

Abstract We investigated the response of the mottled sculpin Cottus bairdi and the johnny darter Etheostoma nigrum to the invasion and proliferation of the round goby Neogobius melanostomus at three near-shore locations in southern Lake Michigan. Fish were collected by trawling from June through August, 1984–2002. Mean annual catches of mottled sculpin in trawl samples ranged from 0 to 4.4 fish/h from 1984 to 1998, whereas mean annual johnny darter catches ranged from 0 to 29 fish/h in the same period. Round gobies were first sampled in 1998, and the relative population abundance increased in the following years, ranging up to 371 fish/h at one site by 2001. From 1999 to 2002, only a single mottled sculpin and only 12 johnny darters were collected in 72 h of trawling. This study documents the rapid decline of the mottled sculpin and johnny darter following the round goby invasion to this portion of the lake.
Conical refraction and nonlinearity

We study conical refraction in crystals where both diffraction and nonlinearity are present. We develop a new set of evolution equations. We find that nonlinearity induces a modulational instability when it is defocussing as well as focussing. We also examine the evolution of incident beams which contain analytic singularities, and in particular optical vortices, which do not feel the effect of conical refraction.
Design of low rank estimators for higher-order statistics based on the second-order statistics

Higher-order statistics (HOS) are well known for their robustness to additive Gaussian noise and their ability to preserve phase. HOS estimates on the other hand, have been criticised for high complexity and the need of long data in order to maintain low variance. Rank reduction offers a general principle for reduction of estimator variance and complexity. In this paper we consider the problem of designing low-rank estimators for third-order statistics (TOS). We propose a method for choosing the rank reduced transformation matrix based on the second-order statistics of the signal. Results indicate that the proposed approach significantly reduces the mean square error associated with the TOS estimates. Simulation results are presented to also demonstrate the advantages of using low rank TOS estimates for blind system estimation.
Novel prevention strategies for bacterial infections in cirrhosis

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Bacterial infections are a serious complication of cirrhosis, as they can lead to decompensation, multiple organ failure, and/or death. Preventing infections is therefore very relevant. Because gut bacterial translocation is their main pathogenic mechanism, prevention of infections is mostly based on the use of orally administered poorly absorbed antibiotics such as norfloxacin (selective intestinal decontamination). However, antibiotic prophylaxis leads to antibiotic resistance, limiting therapy and increasing morbidity and mortality. Prevention of bacterial infections in cirrhosis should therefore move away from antibiotics.Areas Covered: This review focuses on various potentially novel methods to prevent infections in cirrhosis focusing on non-antibiotic strategies. The use of probiotics, nonselective intestinal decontamination with rifaximin, prokinetics and beta-blockers or fecal microbiota transplant as means of targeting altered gut microbiota, bile acids and FXR agonists are ...
The Low Rider Ritual: Social Mobility on Wheels

During the course of the Second World War, America was confronted by the social evolution of a subcultural phenomenon emanating from the depths of the inner city, and characterized by highly distinctive modes of dress, behavior, and speech. "Pachuquismo," as known among Mexican-American youth "gangs" of the Los Angeles area of southern California, was described by George C. Barker (1950:8) as being characterized by highly discreet social variables, of which age, sex, and socio-economic factors were considered of particular relevance. Accordingly, Barker (1950:15) noted that "there is a strong trend among the younger Mexican-Americans to glamorize the pachucos —- or to see them as a type of beloved vagabond or Robin Hood," and furthermore "the jargon borrowed by the pachucos from the El Paso-Juarez underworld has become an important part of colloquial slang or jive talk, and thus has come to symbolize the ways and attitudes of the pachucos and of Mexican-American youth in general."
The effect of material properties on the radiation of impact sound from cylinders - The stiffness and damping properties of billet materials are shown to affect radiated energy and spectrum from candiate forge-construction materials

A number of studies have investigated engineering methods of reducing forge-hammer noise by means of enclosure, blow reduction and external application of damping materials. Another alternative, in which parts and units are manufactured from metals with high internal damping, has yet to be fully investigated. In a theoretical and experimental study of sound radiation from cylindrical samples, candidate hammer materials are evaluated for potential reduction of radiated energy and energy spectrum. It is shown that the quantity of radiated sound is strongly dependent on the stiffness and damping properties of the candidate tool-steel, forged-iron and cast-iron samples. The rate of attenuation of sound radiation is also shown to be affected in a predictable manner from the (tabulated) properties of the metals.
External Morphology of Xestocephalus subtessellatus (Homoptera: Cicadellidae: Xestocephalinae)

The adult external morphology of Xestocephalus subtessellatus Linnavuori (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) is described. Morphology of the external sclerites and their current terminology are discussed. Scanning electron micrographs are included to show microsculpturing.
PAEs Pollution in Soils from Typical Agriculture Area of Leizhou Peninsula

In order to assess and analyze the pollution level and distribution character of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in soils of Leizhou peninsula, south of China, 71 topsoil samples and 3 soil profile samples were collected from 4 functional agriculture areas of Leizhou peninsula, 16 PAEs including dimethyl phthalate(DMP), diethyl phthalate(DEP), diisobutyl phthalate(DIP), di-n-butyl phthalate(DnBP), bis(methoxyethyl) phthalate (BMP), hexyl-2-ethylhexyl phthalate(HEP),Bis(ethoxyethyl)phthalate (BEHP), di-amyl phthalate(DAP), di-n-hexyl phthalate(DHP), butylbenzyl phthalate(BBP),bis(4-methyl,2-pentyl)phthalate(BMPP), bis(2-n-butoxyethyl)phthalate(BnBP), dicyclohexyl phthalate(DCP), di-n-octyl phthalate(DnOP), di-nonyl phthalate(DnP) and di-2-ethylhexyl) phthalate(DEHP) were determined by gas chromatography- FID detector (GC-FID). Total contents of the 16 PAE compounds(∑PAEs) in all top soils ranged from ND to 5452.7μg·kg-1, with the average 736.5μg·kg-1. Among 6 U.S.EPA priority pollutants of PAEs, the contents of DMP, DEP and DnBP in all top soils exceeded the control limits of PAEs in American soil by 1.4%, 45.07% and 91.55% respectively, but the contents of DEHP, DnOP and BBP were less than the control limits. The pollution level of PAEs in topsoil of Leizhou peninsula was lower than that reported in the country. The main components of PAE compounds in soils of Leizhou peninsula were DnBP, DEHP, DIP, BEHP and DAP, and their averaged concentrations in soils was 282.3, 140.7, 92.55, 79.63 and 45.94μg·kg-1 respectively. Although distribution of ∑PAEs in the samples was not well defined, the data suggested the order of pollution potential was sugarcane soilpaddy fieldpot gardenfruit garden among 4 functional agriculture areas, and that was LeizhouXiashanChikanWuchuanXuwenLianjiangMazhangPotouSuixi among 9 districts of Leizhou peninsula. The con tents of ∑PAEs and DEHP decreased with the depth of soil profile, but when the contents of DnBP were higher, the contents of ∑PAEs and DEHPy increased with depth earlier then decreased.
Finite Element Analysis of Stator of Single Progressive Cavity Pump

The progressive cavity pump stator is the key components of progressive cavity pump.The stator of the general single progressive cavity pump is studied in this paper,using finite element analyzing software,at 5 MPa uniformity pressure of the stator,which concluded the stress,the strain and inner-figure deformation of the progressive cavity pump stator,the stator rubber and the stator steel thimble.Besides,the characteristics and rules of the single-progressive cavity pump deformation are summarized as well.
Parties and Agenda-Setting in the Senate, 1973-1998

We analyze the influence of party and preferences on Senate agenda-setting. We find a significant majority party advantage in getting bills reported from committee, but otherwise little variation within parties based on preferences. In addition, our results suggest that Senate committees are more likely to report bills written by committee leaders and senior members, or bills with cosponsors. This suggests that Senate agenda-setters are sensitive to cues that bills are high-quality and relatively easy to pass.
Pneumocystis carinii Subtelomeres

Pneumocystis carinii is a yeast-like fungus that dwells exclusively in rats, where it is subjected to the host immune response. Immune pressure is countered by three subtelomeric gene families that generate antigenic diversity in populations of P. carinii. Members of the three gene families are grouped together in tandem arrays that appear to have been generated by recombination and modified by further recombination events after array formation. One of these gene families, MSG, encodes various forms of a major surface glycoprotein. In a given P. carinii organism, all but one of the members of the MSG gene family appear to be transcriptionally silent. The expressed MSG gene is adjacent to a unique locus (the expression site). Different MSG genes can occupy the expression site, suggesting that recombination can take a gene from a pool of silent donors and install it at the expression site, thereby extinguishing transcription of the previous expression site resident, activating transcription of the newly installed MSG gene, and changing the surface of the microbe. Switching at the expression site is probably facilitated by the subtelomeric locations of expressed and silent MSG genes. A second subtelomeric gene family, MSR, is not strictly regulated at the transcriptional level, but may contribute to phenotypic diversity via high-frequency frameshifting caused by coding poly(G) tracts in some MSR genes.
Using Interdisciplinary Workgroups to Educate Surgery Residents in Systems-Based Practice.

BACKGROUND Meaningful education of residents in systems-based practice is notoriously challenging, despite its recognition as 1 of the 6 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education core competencies. To address this challenge, surgery residents and other members of the health care team were organized into interdisciplinary workgroups that were tasked with developing solutions to “systems issues” confronted on a daily basis. The project’s goals included providing more meaningful, hands-on educational experience for residents in system-based practice, while also generating practical solutions to workflow issues through interprofessional collaboration. PROJECT DESIGN Project participants included all surgery residents at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA, as well as surgical health care professionals across all disciplines. Participants were organized into workgroups. Over the course of 3 sessions, each of 1-hour, each workgroup identified commonly encountered systems issues, chose 1 issue to address, and determined an implementable solution for this issue. In total, 140 participants were divided among 13 workgroups. PROJECT EXECUTION Workgroup topics ranged from improving paging etiquette to standardizing interdisciplinary communication. In total, 9 of the 13 proposals have been piloted or fully implemented as standard practice at our institution, either within a single unit or over the entire health system. DISCUSSION This project demonstrates an innovative approach toward resident education in system-based practice, providing residents with a hands-on experience in problem solving from a systems perspective. These interdisciplinary workgroups generated effective solutions to issues that were meaningful to frontline health care providers. Interdisciplinary collaboration within the workgroups served as a valuable team-building exercise to improve relations between the disciplines. This project can serve as a model for other institutions desiring meaningful education in the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competency of systems-based practice.
Relational Exchanges: A Theoretical Model of Negotiation

Marketing research has narrowly focused on the dynamics of the negotiation process within a relational exchange context. The purpose of this paper is to offer a theoretical model that explains how the negotiation process may affect long-term buyer-seller relations.
Biodegradable, in Situ-Forming Cell-Laden Hydrogel Composites of Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles for Bone Regeneration

Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HANPs) were suspended in injectable, biodegradable, phosphate-containing, dual-gelling macromer solutions that were used to encapsulate mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) within stable hydrogel composites when elevated to physiologic temperature. The suspension of HANPs at 0.75%w/v within the hydrogels was found to have no significant effect on the swelling ratio or the compressive modulus. The MSCs were shown to survive the encapsulation process, and live cells were detected within the hydrogel composites for up to 28 days. The activity of osteogenic marker alkaline phosphatase increased with time in cell-laden hydrogel composites over the 28 days in osteogenic medium, suggesting that the joint combination of encapsulated MSCs within a HANP- and phosphate-containing hydrogel can enhance enzyme activity to assist in hydrogel mineralization. This is observed in the calcium biochemical assays, where the incorporation of HANPs significantly improved both cell-laden and acellular hydr...
Stroke Simulation Enhances Resident's Confidence in Acute Stroke/TIA Management (P05.003)

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to determine if clinical simulation improved resident9s confidence in delivering Acute Stroke(AS)care including patient interaction in acute setting,rapid neurological assessment including NIHSS and ABCD2 and medical decision making. BACKGROUND: AS management is time dependent and obviously frightening for new residents,ways to overcome this apprehension needs to be looked at. DESIGN/METHODS: Between 2010-2012, a total of 9 neurology residents participated in AS simulation by the end of PGY-1 year before starting stroke calls. Four different case scenarios using standardized patients were used – TIA, Intraparenchymal hemorrhage, acute ischemic stroke within 3 hours (1st case) and within eight hours (4th Case) over 60 days with set time limit for each encounter. The simulation was video & audio taped. Historic controls consisting of PGY2 residents without simulation were used. Pre & post simulation survey, SP comments and debriefing was done for each scenario. RESULTS: Residents reported 100 % satisfaction with quality of demonstrations and hands-on learning experience. The accuracy and timing of decision making-IV thrombolytic, No Thrombolytic or catheter based reperfusion was significantly better to historic control and from 1 st to the 4 th case scenario. Significant improvement was also seen in patient interaction, utilizing NIHSS and ABCD2 score in decision making, indications and contraindications to thrombolytic, utilization of resources including CT & CTA, CT perfusion and MRI of brain, door to needle time and consulting Neurointerventionalist. CONCLUSIONS: Simulation training using SP9s is a superior teaching method in the management of AS/TIA and helps to manage real life patients better. Residents felt that this way of learning was superior to classroom didactics. Acute stroke simulation can be utilized for other time critical diagnoses- MI, seizure and Trauma. It may be a useful teaching tool for smaller hospitals where patient volume is low, in addition to being utilized as an annual competency test. Disclosure: Dr. Uppal has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sandhu has nothing to disclose. Dr. Vellipuram has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sanders has nothing to disclose. Dr. Phillips has nothing to disclose. Dr. Nanda has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lardizabal has received personal compensation for the speakers bureau for UCB pharmaceutical and Cyberonics, Inc. Dr. Singh has nothing to disclose.
Pd Nanoparticle Formation during Constant Potential Electrodepositions in Ionic Liquids

The palladium film deposited on a nickel substrate in 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium dicyanamide using a constant potential electrodeposition method was shown to be composed of nanoparticles under transmission electron microscopy. The electrodeposition was carried out by applying a potential hold of -2.3 V vs Fc/Fc+ for 16 h. The size distribution of palladium nanoparticles was unimodal and narrow with an average size of 6.3 ± 1.6 nm. The Pd nanoparticles were polycrystalline with (111) plane being the most prevalent. The implications of this include the having to reconsider the properties of electrodeposited Pd thin films from ionic liquids and opening further applications of electrodeposition of Pd to include nanoparticle synthesis.
DEVELOPMENT OF FAST WAVE SYSTEMS TOLERANT OF TIME-VARYING LOADING *

A new approach to fast wave antenna array design based on the traveling wave antenna has been successfully demonstrated on the JFT-2M tokamak. A traveling wave antenna is powered though a single feed and the power flow from element to element is only via mutual reactive coupling. A combine is a particular type of traveling wave antenna, in which only the fed element and the element at the downstream end of the array are connected to vacuum feed troughs, while the intermediate elements are terminated with reactances inside the vacuum chamber. A twelve element combine for operation at 200 MHz was designed and fabricated at General Atomics, and installed and operated on the JFT-2M tokamak. The full output power of a single transmitter, 0.2 MW, was coupled to tokamak discharges with very little conditioning required. The input impedance of the combine was well matched to the transmission line impedance for all loading conditions, including vacuum (no plasma), Taylor discharge cleaning plasmas, and ohmic, L- and H-mode tokamak discharges with neutral beam heating without any adjustment of tuning elements.
A Critical Approach to Integrating Christian Disability Theology in Clinical Rehabilitation

The integration of disability studies into clinical rehabilitation is a minimally explored area. Based on current literature, the field of disability studies alone provides insufficient resources f...
Quantification of intractable membrane proteins in genetically engineered crops by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry

Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods to quantify a membrane protein in genetically engineered maize leaves and another in soybean seeds were developed and validated. An extraction buffer containing 100 mM ammonium bicarbonate, 0.5% CHAPS (w/v) and 0.1% Triton X-100 (v/v) was determined to be suitable. High recovery (>88%) and good reproducibility (coefficient of variance ≤ 15%) were demonstrated for both membrane proteins. Recombinant proteins were used as standards to prepare calibration curves with good linearity (correlation coefficient > 0.997) and accuracy (deviation from nominal concentration <15%). Our study demonstrates the suitability of LC-MS/MS for quantification of intractable membrane proteins in genetically engineered crops.
Integrating the Entrepreneurial Mindset as an Engineering Educator

The purpose of this section is to provide faculty motivation for being entrepreneurial in our teaching approach and at the institutional level.
The stories behind a CV

Based on my CV, you might think my path to becoming a tenured faculty member was pretty smooth: master's degree, Ph.D., two postdocs, faculty position. The true story, however, is much more twisted. During my graduate work in physics, I was so out of my depth that, as an escape, I spent more time on
Global disclosure risk for microdata with continuous attributes

In this paper, we introduce three global disclosure risk measures (minimal, maximal and weighted) for microdata with continuous attributes. We classify the attributes of a given set of microdata in two different ways: based on its potential identification utility and based on the order relation that exists in its domain of value. We define inversion factors that allow data users to quantify the magnitude of masking modification incurred for values of a key attribute. We create vicinity sets from microdata for each record based on distance functions or interval vicinity for each key attribute value. The disclosure risk measures are based on inversion factors and the vicinity sets’ cardinality computed for both initial and masked microdata.
Predicting Adversarial Cyber-Intrusion Stages Using Autoregressive Neural Networks

Current cybersecurity approaches are response-driven and ineffective, as they do not account for dynamic adversarial movement. Using empirical evidence from observations of two Red Team-Blue Team cybersecurity training exercises held at Idaho National Laboratory and the Michigan Cyber Range, we used four different models to make temporal predictions of how adversaries progress through cyberattacks: nonlinear autoregressive (NAR) neural network, NAR neural network with exogenous input (NARX), NAR neural network for multi-steps-ahead prediction, and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA). The obtained results demonstrate that the trained models can capture different variations in adversarial movement across the two datasets with reliable accuracy.
Fluoride-salt-cooled high-temperature test reactor thermal-hydraulic licensing and uncertainty propagation analysis

An important fluoride-salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (FHR) development step is to design, build, and operate a test reactor. The uncertainties of the coolant thermophysical properties range b...
P-Map: an intuitive plot to visualize, understand, and compare variable-gain PI controllers

This paper introduces P-map, an intuitive plot to visualize, understand and compare variable-gain PI controllers. The idea is to represent the difference between a target controller and a baseline controller (or a second controller for comparison) by an equivalent proportional controller. By visualizing the value of the proportional gain and examining how it changes with inputs, it is possible to qualitatively understand the characteristics of a complex variable-gain PI controller. Examples demonstrate that P-map gives more useful information than control surface for variable-gain PI controllers. So, it can be used to supplement or even replace the control surface.
Chemotherapy for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lip

Lip cancer is a rare type of oral cancer, mostly comprised of squamous cell carcinoma but can also include basal cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and mucoepidermoid carcinoma of salivary glands. It accounts for approximately 25 % of all oral cavity cancers. Cancers of the lip occur 3–13 times more frequently in fair-skinned males over 50 years old, likely secondary to both occupational sun exposure and greater tobacco and alcohol use. The incidence of locoregional spread and lymph node spread depends on the location, size, grade, and overall stage at the time of diagnosis. Overall, the early stages of disease have <10 % incidence of lymph node spread. Due in part to their easily visible location, lip cancers are frequently detected and treated early. However, approximately 10–15 % patients have systemic metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis. The majority of lip cancers occur in the lower lip as was shown in one 25-year retrospective study of over 2,000 patients. Up to 95 % of the cancers of the lower lip are squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). The upper lip and commissures are also most frequently SCC and have a worse prognosis with faster growth rates and ulceration. Additionally, the lymphatic system of the upper lip is distinct and more extensive than the lower lip. Therefore, SCC of the upper lip are more likely to invade the nasal cavity and premaxilla via the deep superior jugular nodes and require more aggressive treatment. Embryologic fusion in the midline prevents contralateral spread in the SCC of the upper lip. However, for SCC of the lower lip, evaluation of both the ipsilateral and contralateral lymph nodes (levels I–III) needs to be completed. In addition, the specific location of the tumor on the lip itself also affects its course. A midline primary cancer has an increased risk for contralateral lymph node disease and therefore warrants a bilateral neck evaluation.
Viable but Nonculturable Cells in Plant-Associated Bacterial Populations

Plants in terrestrial ecosystems are colonized by complex microbial communities composed of bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous fungi. These microbial communities have received much attention because of their effects on plant productivity. While these communities contain some deleterious organisms, such as phytopathogenic bacteria and fungi, they also contain beneficial organisms, such as nitrogen-fixing bacteria, bacteria capable of suppressing plant disease, and bacteria capable of promoting plant growth. Quantification of bacterial populations in these plantassociated microbial communities in epidemiological, pathological, and ecological studies has to date relied almost exclusively upon either plate counts using selective media (4, 48, 87) or upon quantitative immunofluorescence microscopy (13, 28). Only recently have techniques for the quantification of viable or metabolically active bacterial cells become available. Relatively few attempts have been made with plant-associated bacterial species to relate the population size of culturable cells, determined by plating on selective media, with the population size of viable or metabolically active cells (9, 10, 74, 107). The occurrence in these plantassociated microbial communities of a substantial proportion of viable or metabolically active cells which are not culturable would have serious implications for the disciplines of plant pathology, microbial ecology, and phytoremediation.
Epigenomic Reprogramming in Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract Epigenetic mechanisms are essential for regulating gene expression and chromatin architecture in mammalian cells, and not surprisingly they play critical roles in both normal cardiac development and heart diseases. Epigenomics refers to the study of epigenetic features at a genome-wide level. Recently, the epigenomic dynamics in heart development and cardiovascular diseases has been suggested by increasing amounts of large-scale epigenomic profiling data, including genome-wide distribution of histone modifications and DNA methylations and three-dimensional configuration of chromatin. Direct cardiac reprogramming, which serves as a promising therapeutic strategy for cardiac diseases, also involves global epigenetic changes during cell fate conversion. Thoroughly understanding epigenomic changes with computational analyses of multi-omics data will identify key epigenomic signatures in cardiac development, reprogramming, and diseases, which will provide new insights in decoding the epigenetic mechanisms in the regulation of cell plasticity and inspire novel therapeutic strategies for cardiovascular diseases.
The Highs and Lows of an Unknown Pheochromocytoma in an Elderly Patient.

Pheochromocytomas are rare catecholamine producing neuroendocrine tumors. The incidence of these tumors is estimated to affect 0.8 per 100,000 person-years and is most common in the fourth to fifth decade of life with equal prevalence in men and women. We describe a case of an 84-year-old male who presented with cycling episodes of severe hypertension and hypotension after an elective cardiac catheterization. Workup of the labile blood pressure revealed a large suprarenal mass and free serum metanephrines (MN) 104 nmol/L (reference range 0.0-0.49 nmol/L) and normetanephrines (NMN) of 24 nmol/L (reference range 0.0-0.89 nmol/L), confirming the diagnosis of a pheochromocytoma. The patient’s labile blood pressure was a challenge to manage medically and improved only after aggressive hydration and an alpha-adrenergic antagonist. Of note, this is the second eldest patient known to be published to date with a pheochromocytoma.
VC-Dimensions of Short Presburger Formulas

We study VC-dimensions of short formulas in Presburger Arithmetic, defined to have a bounded number of variables, quantifiers and atoms. We give both lower and upper bounds, which are tight up to a polynomial factor in the bit length of the formula.
Disability advocacy messaging and conceptual links to underlying disability identity development among college students with learning disabilities and attention disorders.

Abstract Background Learning disabilities and attention disorders (LD/AD) are highly prevalent neurodevelopmental conditions that influence developmental trajectories and whose impacts exist throughout the life course. Self-advocacy skills are critical for college students with LD/AD, which are underpinned by understanding of self and one's disability. Objective This study examined disability advocacy messaging included in projects created by college students with LD/AD, compared patterns in disability messaging to existing disability identity models, and explored changes in disability messaging during receipt of holistic campus-based LD/AD supports. Methods Participants were 52 undergraduates with LD/AD enrolled in a larger study. This one-group analysis involved qualitative exploration of the projects’ topical content, use of grounded theory procedures for conceptualizing the data, and quantitative analysis to explore changes over time in disability advocacy messaging. Results Participants messaged a broad range of disability-related topics. A five-level theoretical model of disability messaging was created from the textual data. The model evinces parallels to existing disability identity development models. A significant (p Conclusion Study findings support conceptual linkages among disability messaging and disability identity development. The resultant continuum model suggests a potential extension of existing disability identity development paradigms. Shifts in disability messaging provide preliminary evidence for potential personal and institutional benefits of engaging college students with LD/AD in disability-focused project creation.
TCT-706 Can Clinical Predictive Models Identify Patients Who Should Not Receive TAVR?

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is routinely offered to patients with very high predicted risk. Although most patients benefit from TAVR, a significant minority have persistent symptoms or die within 1 year of treatment. There is interest in identifying patients for whom this procedure
Mobile and Efficient Temperature and Humidity Control Chamber for Point-of-Care Diagnostics

Point-of-care (PoC) testing systems aim to bring affordable and convenient diagnostics to resource limited locations. In our previous work in detecting human papilloma virus (HPV) via lateral flow immunoassays and fluorescence detection, we determined that the performance of the assay depends on the temperature and humidity. Thus, we need to maintain a fixed environment for the assay to produce reliable results. Therefore, we define the need for a portable, climate-controlled chamber for field work in low resource settings. By combining low-cost electronics and household items, a simple feedback loop is designed to regulate the internal conditions of the testing environment. The ability of our chamber to maintain a desired climate will be tested for accuracy and stability to ensure that it is competent for in-field usage.
Monitoring Patient Recovery After THA or TKA Using Mobile Technology

BackgroundSmartphones offer the possibility of assessing recovery of mobility after total hip or knee arthroplasty (THA or TKA) passively and reliably, as well as facilitating the collection of pat...
Simulation of Alfvénic avalanche onset in NSTX

In some tokamak discharges, a number of Alfven eigenmodes (AEs) have been observed to cause a large-scale collapse of the high energy particle distribution, a phenomenon referred to as an avalanche. We examine the necessary conditions for an avalanche using the available experimental information from NSTX on the equilibrium and mode properties for two cases, one with a measurable but benign AE activity and one with an AE activity leading up to an avalanche. To produce an avalanche, the modes present in the discharge must possess resonances that can overlap with a modest increase in instability magnitude, providing a path to global particle stochastic motion. We find that the modes present in the avalanche-free discharge do not provide such a path even at a very large amplitude. During the discharge which subsequently produces an avalanche, the high energy population is growing and the Alfven frequency is dropping due to increasing density, and we find that both these changes, producing a small increased drive or an increased resonance width for the Alfven modes, can lead in this case to uncontrolled mode growth and large-scale beam particle loss.
Pediatric brexpiprazole toxicity.

Brexpiprazole (Rexulti®) is a second-generation antipsychotic first approved in 2015 in the United States to treat schizophrenia and as an adjunctive therapy for the treatment of major depressive d...
A Multiscale Theoretical Analysis of the Mechanical, Thermal, and Electrical Characteristics of Rough Contact Interfaces Demonstrating Fractal Behavior

The highly complex contact interface phenomena require analysis at different length scales ranging from nanometer up to nearly centimeter scales. When two nominally smooth surfaces are brought into contact, solid-solid interaction across their contact interface is confined at multiple protrusions (asperities) of various shapes, sizes, and heights. The deformation mechanisms encountered at the asperity level control the surface conformity, which, in turn, influences the transmission of traction, heat, and electric current across the contact interface. Thus, the multiscale roughness of real surfaces necessitates the advance of methodologies and contact models that bridge the spectrum of relevant length scales. Rough surfaces have been traditionally charac¬terized by statistical parameters, which cannot be uniquely deter-mined because they depend on the sampling interval and the resolution of the mea¬sur¬ing device. On the contrary, the scale-invariant parameters employed in fractal geometry provide an unbiased representa¬tion of the surface topography. This article provides an appraisal of the multiscale mechanical, thermal, and electrical characteristics of rough contact interfaces demonstrating fractal behavior. Theoretical treatments of elastic, elastic-plastic, and fully plastic deformation, heat conduction, temperature rise, and electrical contact resistance are presented for contact interfaces characterized by fractal geometry, providing a fundamental basis for developing multiscale thermo-electro-mechanics analytical treatments for contacting solid bodies.
COVID-19 in hospitalized adults with HIV

Background The spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 pandemic have caused significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 and HIV co-infection remain uncertain. Methods We conducted a matched retrospective cohort study of adults hospitalized with a COVID-19 illness in New York City between March 3, 2020, and May 15, 2020. We matched 30 people with HIV (PWH) with 90 control group patients without HIV based on age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Using electronic health record data, we compared demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, and clinical outcomes between PWH and control patients. Results In our study, the median age (interquartile range) was 60.5 (56.6-70.0) years, 20% were female, 30% were black, 27% were white, and 24% were of Hispanic/Latino/ethnicity. There were no significant differences between PWH and control patients in presenting symptoms, duration of symptoms before hospitalization, laboratory markers, or radiographic findings on chest x-ray. More patients without HIV required a higher level of supplemental oxygen on presentation than PWH. There were no differences in the need for invasive mechanical ventilation during hospitalization, length of stay, or in-hospital mortality. Conclusions The clinical manifestations and outcomes of COVID-19 among patients with SARS-CoV-2 and HIV co-infection were not significantly different than patients without HIV co-infection. However, PWH were hospitalized with less severe hypoxemia, a finding that warrants further investigation.
Comparison of hearing protector ratings for statistically significant differences

During the development of the American National Standards Institute S12.68 standard for estimating effective A-weighted sound pressure levels when hearing protector device (HPD) are worn, the need to provide a mechanism to compare HPD ratings was identified. The current Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) is a single number that describes the potential of a product to reduce noise at the user’s ears. The Noise Reduction Statistic for A-weighting (NRSA) describes a range of protection performance and estimates the uncertainty associated with the rating. The uncertainty for NRSA is estimated using a bootstrap procedure. This method can be applied to current ratings and comparisons between rating evaluations from different laboratories. This paper will discuss NRR and NRSA error bars ratings and present a modification of the bootstrap method to estimate directly the statistical significance of differences. Results from two different studies of hearing protector attenuation measurements and training protocols will be examined. The studies’ results will also be compared against the manufacturers’ published attenuation values.
A Comparison of Collection Methods for Microbial Volatiles

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of reports that highlight the role of microbes and their volatile metabolites in interactions with plants and insects, including interactions which may benefit agricultural production. Accurate and reproducible volatile collection is crucial to investigations of chemical-mediated communication between organisms. Accordingly, accurate detection of volatiles emitted from microbe-inoculated media is a research priority. Though numerous classes of volatile organic compounds are emitted from plants, insects, and microbes, emissions from microbes typically contain polar compounds of high volatility. Therefore, commonly used plant or insect volatile collection techniques may not provide an accurate representation of microbe-specific volatile profiles. Here, we present and compare the volatile data derived via three solventless collection techniques: direct headspace injection, solid-phase microextraction (SPME), and active sampling with a sorptive matrix blend specifically designed to prevent collection filter breakthrough of VOCs (solid-phase extraction, SPE). These methods were applied to a synthetic floral nectar media containing a nectar-inhabiting yeast, Metschnikowia reukaufii, and sunflower (Helianthus annus) pollen. The yeast contributed alcohols, ketones, and esters, and the pollen provided terpenoids. Direct headspace injections were not effective, and the resultant chromatography was poor despite the use of on-column cryofocusing. SPME and SPE detected a similar number of volatiles, but with varying relative abundances. SPE collected a greater abundance of microbial volatiles than SPME, a difference driven by high ethanol capture in SPE. Both SPE and SPME are appropriate for analysis of microbial volatiles, though the sorbent type and amount, and other collection parameters should be further evaluated for each studied system.
Volunteering Served as a Transitional Role That Enhances the Well-Being and Cognitive Health Among Older Adults With Cognitive Impairments.

Objectives:We examined whether volunteering among older adults with cognitive impairments serves as a transitional role that can enhance these older persons’ well-being and cognitive health.Methods...
Metabolic syndrome and the aging retina.

Purpose of review This review explores metabolic syndrome (MetS) as a risk factor that accelerates aging in retinal neurons and may contribute to the neurodegeneration seen in glaucomatous optic neuropathy (GON) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Recent findings Both animal model experiments and epidemiologic studies suggest that metabolic stress may lead to aberrant regulation of a number of cellular pathways that ultimately lead to premature aging of the cell, including those of a neuronal lineage. Summary GON and AMD are each leading causes of irreversible blindness worldwide. Aging is a significant risk factor in the specific retinal neuron loss that is seen with each condition. Though aging at a cellular level is difficult to define, there are many mechanistic modifiers of aging. Metabolic-related stresses induce inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, endoplasmic reticulum stress, alterations to the unfolded protein response, defects in autophagy, alterations to the microbiome, and deposition of advanced glycation end products that can all hasten the aging process. Due to the number of variables related to metabolic health, defining criteria to enable the study of risk factors at a population level is challenging. MetS is a definable constellation of related metabolic risk factors that includes enlarged waist circumference, dyslipidemia, systemic hypertension, and hyperglycemia. MetS has been associated with both GON and AMD and may contribute to disease onset and/or progression in each disease.
Cardiorespiratory and Immunologic Effects of Electronic Cigarettes.

Although e-cigarettes have become popular, especially among youth, the health effects associated with e-cigarette use remain unclear. This review discusses current evidence relating to the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and immunological effects of e-cigarettes. The use of e-cigarettes by healthy adults has been shown to increase blood pressure, heart rate, and arterial stiffness, as well as resistance to air flow in lungs. Inhalation of e-cigarette aerosol has been shown to elicit immune responses and increase the production of immunomodulatory cytokines in young tobacco-naive individuals. In animal models, long-term exposure to e-cigarettes leads to marked changes in lung architecture, dysregulation of immune genes, and low-grade inflammation. Exposure to e-cigarette aerosols in mice has been shown to induce DNA damage, inhibit DNA repair, and promote carcinogenesis. Chronic exposure to e-cigarettes has also been reported to result in the accumulation of lipid-laden macrophages in the lung and dysregulation of lipid metabolism and transport in mice. Although, the genotoxic and inflammatory effects of e-cigarettes are milder than those of combustible cigarettes, some of the cardiorespiratory effects of the two insults are comparable. The toxicity of e-cigarettes has been variably linked to nicotine, as well as other e-cigarette constituents, operating conditions, and use patterns. The use of e-cigarettes in humans is associated with significant adverse cardiorespiratory and immunological changes. Data from animal models and in vitro studies support the notion that long-term use of e-cigarettes may pose significant health risks.