cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Large area mapping of southwestern forest crown cover, canopy height, and biomass using the NASA Multiangle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer

A rapid canopy reflectance model inversion experiment was performed using multi-angle reflectance data from the NASA Multi-angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer(MISR)ontheEarthObservingSystemTerrasatellite,withthegoalofobtainingmeasuresofforestfractionalcrowncover,mean canopy height, and aboveground woody biomass for large parts of south-eastern Arizona and southern New Mexico (N200,000 km 2 ). MISR red band bidirectional reflectance estimates in nine views mapped to a 250 m grid were used to adjust the Simple Geometric-optical Model (SGM). The soil-understory background signal was partly decoupled a priori by developing regression relationships with the nadir camera blue, green, and nearinfrared reflectance data and the isotropic, geometric, and volume scattering kernel weights of the LiSparse–RossThin kernel-driven bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model adjusted against MISR red band data. The SGM's mean crown radius and crown shape parameters were adjusted using the Praxis optimization algorithm, allowing retrieval of fractional crown cover and mean canopy height, and estimation of aboveground woody biomass by linear rescaling of the dot product of cover and height. Retrieved distributions of crown cover, mean canopy height, and aboveground woody biomass for forested areas showed good matches with maps from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, with R 2 values of 0.78, 0.69, and 0.81, and absolute mean errors of 0.10, 2.2 m, and 4.5 tons acre -1 (10.1 Mg ha -1 ), respectively, after filtering for high root mean square error (RMSE) on model fitting, the effects of topographic shading, and the removal of a small number of outliers. ThisisthefirstuseofdatafromtheMISRinstrumenttoproducemapsofcrowncover,canopyheight,andwoodybiomassoveralargeareabyseeking
The incorporation of hydroxyl into zircon

We investigated the incorporation of hydrogen into zircon at 1650 and 1550 °C, and pressures of 2.5 and 1.5 GPa under water-saturated conditions in a piston-cylinder apparatus. Concentrations were determined by polarized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy using the zircon absorption coefficient e i = 36 241 cm−2 per mol H2O/L and range from ~90 to 200 ppm H2O by weight. Crystals grown in the presence of Ti4+ or Th4+ do not differ significantly in their H2O content. We also synthesized zircons with various concentrations of Lu2O3 and Al2O3 to characterize changes in band positions and hydrogen concentrations related to coupled substitutions in zircon. Trivalent cations correlate in a nearly 1:1 molar fashion with hydrogen highlighting a potentially important coupled substitution in high water activity environments. Bands from undoped and doped zircons in the OH stretching region of the infrared spectrum show broad agreement when compared to spectra from natural samples. Heating experiments at 1 atm and 1000 °C produce a decrease in the integrated area; while some bands disappeared entirely, others are particularly stable with little decrease in integrated area after 128 h at 1000 °C. Results presented here help eliminate uncertainties that arose from Fourier transform infrared studies of natural zircons and provide further clarification for the origin of band positions in natural samples. In addition to the water activity of the crystallizing medium, the H2O content of natural grains will likely be significantly influenced by trivalent cation concentrations. In crustal zircons especially, trivalent atomic contents generally exceed those of phosphorus, meaning that hydrogen may be particularly important for trivalent cation charge compensation. An unanticipated result of this study was the development of a reasonably effective technique that produces relatively homogenous zircons doped with minor impurities. This technique could potentially be utilized in studies aimed at developing zircon standards, because it yields crystals that appear to be more homogenous than those produced by the flux method, and are generally free of inclusions.
Abnormal Neural Synchrony in Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia has been conceptualized as a failure of cognitive integration, and abnormalities in neural circuitry (particularly inhibitory interneurons) have been proposed as a basis for this disorder. We used measures of phase locking and phase coherence in the scalp-recorded electroencephalogram to examine the synchronization of neural circuits in schizophrenia. Compared with matched control subjects, schizophrenia patients demonstrated: (1) absence of the posterior component of the early visual gamma band response to Gestalt stimuli; (2) abnormalities in the topography, latency, and frequency of the anterior component of this response; (3) delayed onset of phase coherence changes; and (4) the pattern of anterior-posterior coherence increases in response to Gestalt stimuli found in controls was replaced by a pattern of interhemispheric coherence decreases in patients. These findings support the hypothesis that schizophrenia is associated with impaired neural circuitry demonstrated as a failure of gamma band synchronization, especially in the 40 Hz range.
Simple Veridical State Equations for Thermofluid Simulation

As outlined in previous and concurrent papers, thermofluid modeling, simulation, dynamics and control will always entail the equilibrium properties of at least one pure substance. Moreover, in many applications, two-phase and mixture properties may be required, say to represent boiling processes or else the perturbing effects of a noncondensible gas. Furthermore the general nature of process constraints may require at various times and locations all four classical thermodynamic potentials (i.e. energy, enthalpy, [Helmholtz] free energy, [Gibbs] free enthalpy). This need has always posed an analytical obstacle. Just over a century ago Johannes Diderik Van der Waals made a giant step for mankind by providing his elegant simple state equations yielding a continuous analytic path between the liquid and vapor states of matter. Unfortunately, while the Van der Waals model is qualitatively realistic, so to yield a model for understanding, it is quantitatively invalid, so failing to yield accurate veridical models for prediction. Surely continuing this quest for simple yet accurate state equations for working fluids thus poses a real and worthy challenge for us all. This paper suggests a very simple improvement to the Van der Waals model which can serve at least temporarily as a posada (Spanish for "way-station") enroute to better solutions.
Infrared-Frequency Coplanar Striplines: Design, Fabrication, and Measurements

We investigate the feasibility of coplanar striplines (CPSs) in conjunction with infrared (IR) detectors. Because of unique attenuation and dispersion issues, the analytical formulas for transmis- sion-line parameters valid below a few hundred GHz are not applicable at IR. Therefore, we perform numerical modeling to determine these parameters (at 28.3 THz). A comparison of the modeling and the mea- sured response is presented. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 47: 17-20, 2005; Published online in Wiley Inter- Science (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.21068
Statistical analysis of wear of biplanar deterministically-arrayed surfaces for load bearing applications

Abstract The use of microscale deterministic surface features has been investigated in many bearing and seal applications in recent research. This paper considers a class of surface textures that are comprised of periodic arrays of deterministic geometric shapes created using photolithography-based manufacturing processes. These features are unique in that they can be modeled as biplanar: the topography of the entire surface ideally lies on one of two parallel horizontal planes. A total of eight such surface textures are analyzed: three comprised of electroplated nickel cavities and five comprised of metal-impregnated polymer asperities. It is shown that for this class of surface textures, closed form solutions for perfectly-manufactured surfaces exist for eleven areal surface parameters—including amplitude ( S a , S q , S t and S z ), spatial ( S sk , S ku and S td ) and functional ( S bi , S ci and S vi )—and these are derived and presented for each case. These surface parameters are then used to evaluate manufacturing process errors for the surface textures and to quantify and evaluate the impact of wear on the performance of such surface textures when placed in a tribological application, in this case a radial lip seal. In particular it was found that useful correlations exist between the surface parameters of S q and S vi and the operating torque in the lip seal application.
Elevated Carbon Dioxide and Ozone Effects on Peanut: II. Seed Yield and Quality

Many adverse effects of tropospheric O 3 on C 3 crop plants are ameliorated by elevated concentrations of atmospheric CO 2 , but the extent of the interaction can vary, depending on the species, gas concentrations, and other experimental conditions. A 2-yr open-top fi eld chamber experiment was conducted to examine this interaction in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) by testing the effects of O 3 and CO 2 mixtures on yield and seed quality. Treatments were ambient CO 2 (375 μmol mol −1 ) and CO 2 additions of approximately 173 and 355 μmol mol −1 in combination with charcoal-fi ltered (CF) air (22 nmol O 3 mol −1 ), nonfi ltered (NF) air (46 nmol O 3 mol −1 ), and NF air plus O 3 (75 nmol O 3 mol −1 ). At ambient CO 2 , pod number was suppressed 16% in NF air and 44% in elevated O 3 . Pod and seed mass were not signifi cantly affected in NF air but were lowered 33 to 37% in elevated O 3 . Elevated CO 2 increased yield parameters 7 to 17% for plants grown in CF air and restored yield in NF air and elevated O 3 treatments to control or higher levels. Gas treatment effects on peanut market grade characteristics were small. No treatment effects were observed on the protein and oil contents of seeds, but there were changes in fatty acid composition. Overall results indicate that increasing concentrations of tropospheric O 3 will suppress yield of O 3 –sensitive peanut cultivars, while elevated CO 2 will moderate this response. Elevated O 3 and CO 2 are not expected to have major effects on peanut seed composition and quality.
Progress towards understanding the mechanism of cytokinesis in fission yeast

We use fission yeast to study the molecular mechanism of cytokinesis. We benefit from a long history in genetic analysis of the cell cycle in fission yeast, which provided the most complete inventory of cytokinesis proteins. We used fluorescence microscopy of proteins tagged with fluorescent proteins to establish the temporal and spatial pathway for the assembly and constriction of the contractile ring. We combined biochemical analysis of purified proteins (myosin-II, profilin, formin Cdc12p and cofilin), observations of fluorescent fusion proteins in live cells and mathematical modelling to formulate and test a simple hypothesis for the assembly of the contractile ring. This model involves the formation of 65 nodes containing myosin-II and formin Cdc12p around the equator of the cell. As a cell enters anaphase, actin filaments grow from formin Cdc12p in these nodes. Myosin captures actin filaments from adjacent nodes and pulls intermittently to condense the nodes into a contractile ring.
Tract Profiles of White Matter Properties: Automating Fiber-Tract Quantification

Tractography based on diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) data is a method for identifying the major white matter fascicles (tracts) in the living human brain. The health of these tracts is an important factor underlying many cognitive and neurological disorders. In vivo, tissue properties may vary systematically along each tract for several reasons: different populations of axons enter and exit the tract, and disease can strike at local positions within the tract. Hence quantifying and understanding diffusion measures along each fiber tract (Tract Profile) may reveal new insights into white matter development, function, and disease that are not obvious from mean measures of that tract. We demonstrate several novel findings related to Tract Profiles in the brains of typically developing children and children at risk for white matter injury secondary to preterm birth. First, fractional anisotropy (FA) values vary substantially within a tract but the Tract FA Profile is consistent across subjects. Thus, Tract Profiles contain far more information than mean diffusion measures. Second, developmental changes in FA occur at specific positions within the Tract Profile, rather than along the entire tract. Third, Tract Profiles can be used to compare white matter properties of individual patients to standardized Tract Profiles of a healthy population to elucidate unique features of that patient's clinical condition. Fourth, Tract Profiles can be used to evaluate the association between white matter properties and behavioral outcomes. Specifically, in the preterm group reading ability is positively correlated with FA measured at specific locations on the left arcuate and left superior longitudinal fasciculus and the magnitude of the correlation varies significantly along the Tract Profiles. We introduce open source software for automated fiber-tract quantification (AFQ) that measures Tract Profiles of MRI parameters for 18 white matter tracts. With further validation, AFQ Tract Profiles have potential for informing clinical management and decision-making.
A generalized self-consistent polycrystal model for the yield strength of nanocrystalline materials

Abstract Inspired by recent molecular dynamic simulations of nanocrystalline solids, a generalized self-consistent polycrystal model is proposed to study the transition of yield strength of polycrystalline metals as the grain size decreases from the traditional coarse grain to the nanometer scale. These atomic simulations revealed that a significant portion of atoms resides in the grain boundaries and the plastic flow of the grain-boundary region is responsible for the unique characteristics displayed by such materials. The proposed model takes each oriented grain and its immediate grain boundary to form a pair, which in turn is embedded in the infinite effective medium with a property representing the orientational average of all these pairs. We make use of the linear comparison composite to determine the nonlinear behavior of the nanocrystalline polycrystal through the concept of secant moduli. To this end an auxiliary problem of Christensen and Lo (J. Mech. Phys. Solids 27 (1979) 315) superimposed on the eigenstrain field of Luo and Weng (Mech. Mater. 6 (1987) 347) is first considered, and then the nonlinear elastoplastic polycrystal problem is addressed. The plastic flow of each grain is calculated from its crystallographic slips, but the plastic behavior of the grain-boundary phase is modeled as that of an amorphous material. The calculated yield stress for Cu is found to follow the classic Hall–Petch relation initially, but as the gain size decreases it begins to depart from it. The yield strength eventually attains a maximum at a critical grain size and then the Hall–Petch slope turns negative in the nano-range. It is also found that, when the Hall–Petch relation is observed, the plastic behavior of the polycrystal is governed by crystallographic slips in the grains, but when the slope is negative it is governed by the grain boundaries. During the transition both grains and grain boundaries contribute competitively.
Avenging 'Amy': Compensating Victims of Child Pornography Through 18 U.S.C. § 2259

Child Pornography is a vicious and heinous crime that preys on the most vulnerable and innocent members of our society. In recognition of the devastating impact that child pornography can have on its victims, Congress has enacted multiple anti-child-pornography statutes designed to address the problem. Among these statutes is the Mandatory Restitution for Victims of Sex Crimes Act, codified at 18 U.S.C. section 2259. Section 2259 was specifically enacted to ensure that victims of any defendant convicted of producing, distributing, or possessing child pornography would receive restitution for the full amount of the victim’s losses.Although Congress intended for Section 2259 to apply in any case in which a victim has “suffered harm” as a result of a defendant’s conduct, its inclusion of the term “proximate result” in the Act’s catchall loss provision has created much confusion amongst federal courts. As a result of this confusion, several courts have simply ignored the mandatory language of Section 2259 and have flatly refused to award victims of child pornography with restitution, ultimately rendering the Act mere rhetoric.To resolve this debate, and to end the further victimization of child pornography victims by courts refusing to grant restitution, the United States Supreme Court should grant certiorari to resolve this issue, or alternatively, Congress should amend the Act to make the requisite level of causation more clear. Only by resolving this issue will Congress’ intent to provide all victims harmed by child pornography with full compensation be achieved, ensuring that those who harm the “Amys” of this world will be held fully responsible for their abhorrent conduct.
Brain-Specific Mitochondrial Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetase Disorders: Mitochondrial Arginyl-Transfer RNA Synthetase Deficiency

Abstract Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are essential enzymes required for translation. Mutations in the mitochondrial-specific arginyl-tRNA synthetase, RARS2, have been shown to induce progressive pontocerebellar atrophy/hypoplasia. The exact etiology for its organ specificity remains unclear. The case described had profound global developmental delay. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed only a small cerebellum at age 2 years. Over time, she developed severe medically refractory epilepsy with a progressive microcephaly. A second MRI scan performed a decade later demonstrated progressive cerebellar loss, pontine atrophy, cerebral atrophy, and cystic encephalomalacia. With the exception of arterial elevations of lactate and proton MRI finding of lactate peaks within the brain, all biochemical testing and muscle biopsy studies returned normal. Diagnosis was made by massive parallel gene sequencing demonstrating a compound heterozygous mutation in the RARS2 gene.
PhagePhisher: a pipeline for the discovery of covert viral sequences in complex genomic datasets.

Obtaining meaningful viral information from large sequencing datasets presents unique challenges distinct from prokaryotic and eukaryotic sequencing efforts. The difficulties surrounding this issue can be ascribed in part to the genomic plasticity of viruses themselves as well as the scarcity of existing information in genomic databases. The open-source software PhagePhisher (http://www.putonti-lab.com/phagephisher) has been designed as a simple pipeline to extract relevant information from complex and mixed datasets, and will improve the examination of bacteriophages, viruses, and virally related sequences, in a range of environments. Key aspects of the software include speed and ease of use; PhagePhisher can be used with limited operator knowledge of bioinformatics on a standard workstation. As a proof-of-concept, PhagePhisher was successfully implemented with bacteria–virus mixed samples of varying complexity. Furthermore, viral signals within microbial metagenomic datasets were easily and quickly identified by PhagePhisher, including those from prophages as well as lysogenic phages, an important and often neglected aspect of examining phage populations in the environment. PhagePhisher resolves viral-related sequences which may be obscured by or imbedded in bacterial genomes.
Keeping Great Teachers: A Case Study on the Impact and Implementation of a Pilot Teacher Evaluation System:

A growing body of research examines the impact of recent teacher evaluation systems; however, we have limited knowledge on how these systems influence teacher retention. This study uses a mixed-met...
Ritornello: High fidelity control-free chip-seq peak calling

With the advent of next generation high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies, omics experiments have become the mainstay for studying diverse biological effects on a genome wide scale. ChIP-seq is the omics technique that enables genome wide localization of transcription factor binding or epigenetic modification events. Since the inception of ChIP-seq in 2007, many methods have been developed to infer ChIP target binding loci from the resultant reads after mapping them to a reference genome. However, interpreting these data has proven challenging, and as such these algorithms have several shortcomings, including susceptibility to false positives due to artifactual peaks, poor localization of binding sites, and the requirement for a total DNA input control which increases the cost of performing these experiments. We present Ritornello, a new approach with roots in digital signal processing (DSP) that addresses all of these problems. We show that Ritornello generally performs equally or better than the peak callers tested and recommended by the ENCODE consortium, but in contrast, Ritornello does not require a matched total DNA input control to avoid false positives, effectively decreasing the sequencing cost to perform ChIP-seq.
A vertical microfluidic probe.

Performing localized chemical events on surfaces is critical for numerous applications. We earlier invented the microfluidic probe (MFP), which circumvented the need to process samples in closed microchannels by hydrodynamically confining liquids that performed chemistries on surfaces (Juncker et al. Nat. Mater.2005, 4, 622−628). Here we present a new and versatile probe, the vertical MFP (vMFP), which operates in the scanning mode while overcoming earlier challenges that limited the practical implementation of the MFP technology. The key component of the vMFP is the head, a microfluidic device (∼1 cm2 in area) consisting of glass and Si and having microfluidic features fabricated in-plane in the Si layer. The base configuration of the head has two micrometer-size channels that inject/aspirate liquids and terminate at the apex which is ∼1 mm2. In scanning mode, the head is oriented vertically with the apex parallel to the surface with typical spacing of 1−30 μm. Such length scales and using flow rates fro...
A chemistry spell-check dictionary for word processors

A free, downloadable spell-checker add-on for word processors, created by the author, is described. The add-on checks the spelling (in American English) of over 100,000 technical chemistry words. The file includes words not found in the user’s native dictionary: chemical compounds, systematic nomenclature fragments, laboratory techniques, and chemical descriptors are included. The spell-check file supplements, but does not overwrite, any native or custom dictionaries already functioning on the user’s computer.
PIAS1 Regulates Mutant Huntingtin Accumulation and Huntington's Disease-Associated Phenotypes In Vivo

The disruption of protein quality control networks is central to pathology in Huntington's disease (HD) and other neurodegenerative disorders. The aberrant accumulation of insoluble high-molecular-weight protein complexes containing the Huntingtin (HTT) protein and SUMOylated protein corresponds to disease manifestation. We previously identified an HTT-selective E3 SUMO ligase, PIAS1, that regulates HTT accumulation and SUMO modification in cells. Here we investigated whether PIAS1 modulation in neurons alters HD-associated phenotypes in vivo. Instrastriatal injection of a PIAS1-directed miRNA significantly improved behavioral phenotypes in rapidly progressing mutant HTT (mHTT) fragment R6/2 mice. PIAS1 reduction prevented the accumulation of mHTT and SUMO- and ubiquitin-modified proteins, increased synaptophysin levels, and normalized key inflammatory markers. In contrast, PIAS1 overexpression exacerbated mHTT-associated phenotypes and aberrant protein accumulation. These results confirm the association between aberrant accumulation of expanded polyglutamine-dependent insoluble protein species and pathogenesis, and they link phenotypic benefit to reduction of these species through PIAS1 modulation.
Analysis of Medical Resources Distribution in One City

Objective The aim of the study was to analyze medical resources distribution of Baoji city to provide useful reference for the rational allocation of medical resources. Method Literature review,investigation,data analysis were used for the study. Result The hospital beds of Baoji city increased too fast with relative deficiency of professionals. Average level of county level medical resources was relatively low,the use of the basic medical resources should be improved. The layout and structure of medical resources should be adjusted. Conclusion The government should implement the main responsibility; the service capacity of basic level should be improved; mechanism of public medical institutions including compensation,supervision,appraisal,and cooperation should be improved; private and other source of medicine should be supported,in order to promote the achievement of reform goals.
Cowdria ruminantium: stability and preservation of the organism

Blood collected in either sodium heparin or disodium edetate vacutainers from febrile goats infected with 4 isolates of Cowdria ruminantium and cryopreserved with 10% dimethyl sulphoxide at -70 degrees C and -196 degrees C was an effective stabilate to initiate heartwater infections in goats. A homogenized pool of whole Amblyomma variegatum ticks in Snyder's buffer, maintained at -196 degrees C, was used to infect a goat with C. ruminantium. Liver and spleen collected from Swiss mice infected with the Kwanyanga isolate of C. ruminantium were homogenized in Snyder's buffer, maintained at -196 degrees C and were used to initiate infections in mice. Fresh blood collected from febrile goats and maintained at 4 degrees C for as long as 72 h was infectious to mice. Neutrophils separated from blood of C. ruminantium infected goats and maintained in modified RPMI medium at 37 degrees C for 68 h were infectious for a goat. Similarly neutrophils from a 2nd infected goat maintained for 96 h at 37 degrees C were infectious for mice.
Arrhythmias in the PACU. A review.

The patient recovering from surgery and anesthesia has a serious potential for cardiac rhythm disturbances. Pain, anxiety, electrolyte disarray, acid-base imbalance, residual anesthetics, and inadequate ventilation are a few of the predisposing causes of arrhythmias in the PACU. A knowledge of the pathogenesis and etiology of arrhythmias in the perioperative period, as well as basic principles of arrhythmia recognition and management, are necessary for optimal patient care.
Cognitive Components of Developmental Writing Skill.

A significant number of studies have examined the cognitive components of basic academic skills, which has led to major changes in both teaching and early identification assessment practices. However, the majority of previous research has focused solely on reading. This study examines the cognitive components of academic writing skills across early grade levels (1–4) while controlling for basic word identification skills. Results from this study suggest writing skill requires several cognitive skills of differing emphasis depending on the level of writing skill. Perceptual and rapid perceptual processing skills are important during the early acquisition of writing skills followed by a transition to language and language retrieval skills and later still to working memory skills. Applications for education and cognitive assessment are discussed.
[Varicella breakthrough infection and vaccine effectiveness with 1-dose varicella].

Objective To evaluate the breakthrough varicella infection rate and varicella vaccine effectiveness(VE) among children who received 1-dose varicella vaccine. Methods A total of 57 180 subjects for the consecutive 4-year birth cohorts were selected from the local children born between 2007 and 2010 in Yinzhou District, Ninghai County and Yuyao City.And they were followed up for varicella from 2008 to 2013. The recipients of the vaccinations were identified through Ningbo Immunization Information System and data on breakthrough infections among the recipients were collected by using China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention. The breakthrough varicella rate and the VE were calculated and the trends of them were described from 2008 to 2013 among 4-year birth cohorts.The cumulative incidence of varicella was compared between vaccinated and unvaccinated children among the consecutive 4-year birth cohorts. Results The rate of varicella vaccine coverage, vaccine cumulative incidence among the cohorts was 96.74% (55 317/57 180) and 0.56% (321/57 180) . The breakthrough varicella infection for 4-year birth cohorts was 0.44% (244/55 317), and for each birth cohort was 0.95% (142/14 928) ,0.44% (61/13 855) ,0.22% (29/13 433) and 0.09% (12/13 101) , respectively. It was on the rise from 2008 to 2013 and the 2007 birth cohort of it increased fastest from 0.04% (6/14 928) in 2007 to 0.32% (48/14 834) in 2013.The vaccine cumulative incidence of these who vaccinated 1-dose varicella(the breakthrough varicella infection) was lower than these who were unvaccinated (the incidence: 6.25% (37/592) ,3.52% (15/426) ,3.69% (17/461) and 2.08% (8/384) ) by each birth cohort(χ2=130.27,P<0.001 for 2007 birth cohort;χ2=74.11,P<0.001 for 2008 birth cohort;χ2=162.80,P<0.001 for 2009 birth cohort;χ2=100.01,P<0.001 for 2010 birth cohort). The vaccine effectiveness for 4-year birth cohorts was 89.33% (95%CI: 86.7%-92.1%) and for each birth corhort was 84.78% (95%CI: 77.94%-89.50%) ,86.82% (95%CI: 77.82%-92.95%) ,93.99% (95%CI: 89.27%-96.81%) and 95.60% (95%CI: 89.18%-98.21%) , respectively. The effectiveness of each birth cohort declinedgradually from 2008 to 2013 and the 2009 birth cohort of it decreased fastest from 98.86% in 2010 to 66.83% in 2013. Conclusions The 1-dose varicella vaccine effectiveness was good, but breakthrough varicella infection rate was on the rise with time and the VE declined gradually from 2008 to 2013. Key words: Chickenpox vaccine; Vaccination; Incidence; Varicella breakthrough infection
Body size and symbiotic status influence gonad development in Aiptasia pallida anemones.

Pale anemones (Aiptasia pallida) coexist with dinoflagellates (primarily Symbiodinium minutum) in a mutualistic relationship. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of these symbionts in gonad development of anemone hosts. Symbiotic and aposymbiotic anemones were subjected to light cycles that induced gametogenesis. These anemones were then sampled weekly for nine weeks, and gonad development was analyzed histologically. Anemone size was measured as mean body column diameter, and oocytes or sperm follicles were counted for each anemone. Generalized linear models were used to evaluate the influence of body size and symbiotic status on whether gonads were present and on the number of oocytes or sperm follicles produced. Body size predicted whether gonads were present, with larger anemones being more likely than smaller anemones to develop gonads. Both body size and symbiotic status predicted gonad size, such that larger and symbiotic anemones produced more oocytes and sperm follicles than smaller and aposymbiotic anemones. Overall, only 22 % of aposymbiotic females produced oocytes, whereas 63 % of symbiotic females produced oocytes. Similarly, 6 % of aposymbiotic males produced sperm follicles, whereas 60 % of symbiotic males produced sperm follicles. Thus, while gonads were present in 62 % of symbiotic anemones, they were present in only 11 % of aposymbiotic anemones. These results indicate that dinoflagellate symbionts influence gonad development and thus sexual maturation in both female and male Aiptasia pallida anemones. This finding substantiates and expands our current understanding of the importance of symbionts in the development and physiology of cnidarian hosts.
Bismuth- and lithium-loaded plastic scintillators for gamma and neutron detection(Conference Presentation)

Plastic scintillators are widely deployed for ionizing radiation detection, as they can be fabricated in large sizes, for high detection efficiency. However commercial plastics are limited in use for gamma spectroscopy, since their photopeak is too weak, due to low Z, and they are also limited in use for neutron detection, since proton recoils are indistinguishable from other ionizing radiation absorption events in standard plastics. We are working on scale up and production of transparent plastic scintillators based on polystyrene (PS) with high loading of bismuth metallorganics for gamma spectroscopy, and with lithium metallorganics for neutron detection. When activated with standard organic fluors, PS scintillators containing 8 wt% bismuth provide energy resolution of 11% at 662 keV. A PS plastic formulation including 1.3 wt% lithium-6 provides a neutron capture peak at 525 keVee, with 11% resolution for the capture peak and 90% efficiency for thermal neutron capture in 2mm thickness. Acknowledgements This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. DOE by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344, and has been supported by the US DOE National Nuclear Security Administration, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development under Contract No. DE-AC03-76SF00098
Characterization of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from wind electricity generation systems

This study characterized and evaluated the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from different wind electricity generation systems by (a) performing a comprehensive review of the wind electricity generation system life cycle assessment (LCA) studies and (b) statistically evaluating the life cycle GHG emissions (expressed in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt hour, gCO2e/kWh). A categorization index (with unique category codes, formatted as ‘axis of rotation-installed location-power generation capacity’) was adopted for use in this study to characterize the reviewed wind electricity generation systems. The unique category codes were labeled by integrating the names from the three wind power sub-classifications, i.e., the axis of rotation of the wind turbine [horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT), vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT)], the location of the installation [onshore (ON), offshore (OFF)], and the electricity production capacity [small (S), intermediate (I), large (L)]. The characterized wind electricity generation systems were statistically evaluated to assess the reduction in life cycle GHG emissions. A total of five unique categorization codes (HAWT-ON-S, HAWT-ON-I, HAWT-ON-L, HAWT-OFF-L, VAWT-ON-S) were designated to the 29 wind electricity generation LCA studies (representing 74 wind system cases) using the proposed categorization index. The mean life cycle GHG emissions resulting from the use of HAWT-ON-S (N = 3), HAWT-ON-I (N = 4), HAWT-ON-L (N = 58), HAWT-OFF-L (N = 8), and VAWT-ON-S (N = 1) wind electricity generation systems are 38.67, 11.75, 15.98, 12.9, and 46.4 gCO2e/kWh, respectively. The HAWT-ON-I wind electricity generation systems produced the minimum life cycle GHGs than other wind electricity generation systems.
A multiphysics model for charged liquid droplet breakup in electric fields

Abstract A computational multiphysics model for simulating the formation and breakup of droplets from axisymmetric charged liquid jets in electric fields is developed. A fully-coupled approach is used to combine two-phase flow, electrostatics, and transport of charged species via diffusion, convection, and migration. A conservative level-set method is shown to be robust and efficient for interface tracking. Parametric simulations are performed across a range of fluid properties corresponding to commonly used liquids in inkjet printing and spray applications to examine their role in jet evolution and droplet formation. Specifically, the effects of electric potential drop, surface tension, viscosity, and mobility are investigated. Droplet velocity and size distributions are calculated, and the corresponding mean values are found to increase and decrease respectively with increasing electric field strength. The variations in droplet velocity and size are quantified, and droplet size and charge levels agree well with experimental values. Increasing mobility of charged species is found to enhance jet velocity and accelerate droplet formation by shifting charge from the liquid interior to the interface.
Basic Methodology for Single Population Stochastic Models

This chapter introduces the basic theoretical tools utilized subsequently for solving single population stochastic models. Most of these tools are developed more extensively in the basic textbooks in stochastic processes, including the leading applied texts by Bailey [4], Chiang [12] and Renshaw [82]. The basic methodology is also described and illustrated specifically as applied to standard compartmental models in Jacquez [28]. This monograph will build on Jacquez’ development, most notably by including “births” into the stochastic compartmental models.
NIMG-05IDENTIFICATION OF IMAGING SIGNATURES OF THE EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR RECEPTOR VARIANT III (EGFRvIII) IN GLIOBLASTOMA

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive adult brain tumor, with 14 months average survival. Epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGFRvIII) mutation is an important factor in driving tumor progression and defining prognosis in GBM patients, hence evidence of its presence can affect treatment decisions. The aim of this study is to identify quantitative imaging signatures of EGFRvIII. We used preoperative multi-parametric (T1-Gad, T2-FLAIR, Dynamic-Susceptibility-Contrast) magnetic resonance imaging data from a retrospective cohort of 64 patients (42 EGFRvIII-negative) with de novo GBM. We hypothesized that EGFRvIII-positive tumors, the more aggressive subtype, have a uniformly dense distribution of tumor cells throughout the peritumoral edematous region, as opposed to EGFRvIII-negative tumors, where tumor cell burden decreases farther from the tumor. To assess this peritumoral heterogeneity, we defined one region of interest (ROI) adjacent to the tumor and another at the farthest from the tumor but still within the edematous tissue. Perfusion temporal dynamics of each ROI were summarized via principal component analysis. The Bhattacharyya coefficient was used as a measure of separability (range [0,1]) between the dynamics of the two ROIs, for each patient. Values close to 0 indicate similar perfusion dynamics between the ROIs, which is consistent with uniformly and aggressively infiltrating tumors. Conversely, values close to 1 indicate substantial difference between the two ROIs, which would be consistent with less infiltrative tumors. The distributions of these separability measurements between EGFRvIII-negative and EGFRvIII-positive patients were very highly separable, with median values of 0.48 (Interquartile range: 0.251-0.647) and 0.209 (Interquartile range: 0.064-0.309), respectively. A two-tailed paired t-test confirmed the statistical significance of the results (p-value = 0.00007). These results suggest that discrimination of the EGFRvIII mutation status, which is critical for personalized treatment decisions and response evaluation, can be achieved based solely on assessing the peritumoral heterogeneity on in vivo imaging data.
Transitioning From Medicaid Disability Coverage to Long-Term Medicare Coverage: The Case of People Living With HIV/AIDS in California

Medicaid can serve as a bridge to Medicare coverage for the long-term disabled with sufficient covered work experience. We perform multinomial logistic regression on 2007–2010 Medicare and Medicaid claims data to examine transitions to Medicare for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in California who had Medicaid coverage in 2007. We find only 16% had obtained Medicare coverage by 2010. African-Americans, women, individuals with schizophrenia diagnoses, alcohol or substance abuse disorders, and any physical comorbidity were significantly less likely than others to obtain Medicare (p < 0.001). This study contributes new information on the impact of eligibility requirements for Medicare long-term disability insurance for PLWHA. About one-third of PLWHA under age 65 are covered by Medicaid. Many PLWHA get stuck in Medicaid because their disability prevents them from obtaining the additional employment experience needed to qualify for Medicare.
Membranes with Surface-Enhanced Antifouling Properties for Water Purification

Membrane technology has emerged as an attractive approach for water purification, while mitigation of fouling is key to lower membrane operating costs. This article reviews various materials with antifouling properties that can be coated or grafted onto the membrane surface to improve the antifouling properties of the membranes and thus, retain high water permeance. These materials can be separated into three categories, hydrophilic materials, such as poly(ethylene glycol), polydopamine and zwitterions, hydrophobic materials, such as fluoropolymers, and amphiphilic materials. The states of water in these materials and the mechanisms for the antifouling properties are discussed. The corresponding approaches to coat or graft these materials on the membrane surface are reviewed, and the materials with promising performance are highlighted.
Superconvergence of a modified weak Galerkin approximation for second order elliptic problems by L2 projection method

Abstract This paper derives a superconvergence result for the modified weak Galerkin (MWG) finite element method of the second order elliptic problem. The convergence rate of the MWG approximation is improved by 30% after applying a low cost L 2 projection post-processing technique. These superconvergence phenomena are proved theoretically and confirmed numerically.
Update On PGC Bipolar Disorder

Abstract The PGC Bipolar group continues to expand. With genotypes from participating cohorts and augmented by the PsychChip and iPSYCH samples, the numbers of cases will soon exceed 30,000. In addition, new data are providing insight into exonic variation and gene expression in the bipolar brain. We are working with the PGC CNV group to conduct consistent recalling of CNVs from intensity data followed by consistent QC and analysis. These analyses are in progress. Confident results will be available by the time of the Jerusalem meeting. We anticipate adding to the ~20 genome-wide significant results now in hand.
Hippocampal Dentate Mossy Cells Improve Their CV and Trk into the Limelight.

The impact of dentate mossy cells on hippocampal activity remained uncertain despite a long history of investigation. In this issue of Neuron, Hashimotodani et al. (2017) discover a presynaptically expressed form of long-term potentiation at mossy cell outputs, shedding light on their mysterious function.
Developing Librarian Competencies for the Digital Age, by Jeffrey G. Coghill and Roger G. Russell: Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017, 166pp., Hardcover $85.00, ISBN 9781442264434

Part of the Medical Library Association Books series, Developing Librarian Competencies for the Digital Age offers information that addresses librarian competencies for all library types but is mor...
Comparing Speech and Text Input in Interactive Narratives

Intelligent user interfaces are finding new applications in interactive narratives, where players take on the role of a character in a fictional storyline. A recent example is the interactive audio narrative "Traveler", in which a combination of technologies for speech recognition and unsupervised text classification allow players to navigate a branching storyline via open-vocabulary spoken input. We hypothesize that the affordances of audio-based interaction in interactive narratives are different than text-based interaction, and that these differences change the player experience and their understanding of their fictional role. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a controlled experiment (n=39) to compare player interaction in "Traveler" with a text-only variant of the same storyline. We found significant differences in the types of input provided by players, suggesting that interaction modality impacts how players conceive of their relation to narrators of fictional storylines.
Electrophoretic Separations on Parafilm-Paper-Based Analytical Devices.

Abstract Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (mPADs) have gained significant attention in recent years for applications ranging from clinical diagnostics to environmental testing. However, separation on mPADs remains challenging to implement, particularly in complex samples. This has revived interest in revisiting paper chromatography and paper electrophoresis in mPADs to address these needs. Here, laminated Parafilm-paper (l-paper) is applied to fabricate electrophoretic devices. This approach yields a free-standing channel, leading to improved peak resolution relative to previous electrophoretic separations in traditional wax-printed mPADs. Major factors influencing the separation, including Joule heating, electroosmotic flow, and electrophoretic mobility, were investigated. As a result of paper’s high ratio of surface area (78%) to pore volume (22%) resulting in slow heat dissipation, a usable applied field strength range of 0–200 V cm−1 was employed to avoid Joule heating. The electroosmotic flow of the system was found to be 2.5 × 10−5 ± 7.7 × 10−7 cm2 V−1 s−1 and the electrophoretic mobility of chlorophenol red was 1.2 × 10−4 ± 7.7 × 10−7 cm2 V−1 s−1. Basic separation protocols were optimized using colorimetric detection of chlorophenol red and indigo carmine dyes as representative molecules. Paper type, channel width, and applied potential were then used to optimize the separations. Addition of an injection port to the device improved resolution and reduced peak broadening. Finally, the separation of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and l -glutamic acid (Glu) labeled with FITC, was successfully carried out using the l-paper electrophoretic device. Imaging with a microscope was found to achieve reduced peak broadening and increased resolution relative to imaging with a mobile camera, due to elimination of background signal, achieving a 72 ± 4% conjugation of Glu and FITC.
Amenorrhea following chemotherapy for breast cancer: effect on disease-free survival

Adjuvant chemotherapy, which is known to be a cause of premature ovarian failure, is now recommended for most women diagnosed with breast cancer, and it has been postulated that the effects of chemotherapy are of the same order as those of ovarian ablation. Thus, it is important to correlate disease-free survival with induction of early menopause. We examined the literature for papers reporting the effects of chemotherapy on menstruation and ovarian changes in premenopausal women. Few studies reported such effects, but of those papers reviewed here, no such benefits in terms of disease-free survival were found. Thus, the benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy must be carefully weighed against the risk of early menopause in premenopausal women with good prognosis breast cancer.
A Puzzle in Plato: Theaetetus 189B — 190E

In Part Two of the Theaetetus (187b — 201c) Plato is supposed to be considering whether knowledge is true belief. In fact he devotes most of that section to a series of puzzles over false belief (or false judgment; I shall not try to distinguish in this paper between beliefs and judgments). Put into a Kantian cadence, Plato’s question is this: ‘How is false belief possible?’