cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Synchronizing disparate video streams from laparoscopic operations in simulation-based surgical training

In this paper, we propose a novel approach for synchronizing multiple videos captured from common laparoscopic operations in simulation-based surgical training. The disparate video sources include two hand-view sequences and one tool-view sequence that does not contain any visual overlap with the hand views. The synchronization of the video is essential for further visual analysis tasks. To the best of our knowledge, there is no prior work dealing with synchronization of completely different visual streams capturing different aspects of the same physical event. In the proposed approach, histograms of dominant motion (HoDM) are extracted and used as features for each frame. Multi-view sequence correlation (MSC), computed as accumulated products of pairwise correlations of HoDM magnitudes and co-occurrence rate of pairwise HoDM orientation patterns, is proposed for ranking possible configurations of temporal alignment. The final relative shifts for synchronizing the videos are determined by maximizing both the overlap length of all sequences and the MSC scores through a coarse-to-fine search procedure. Experiments were performed on 41 groups of videos of two laparoscopic operations, and the performance was compared to start-of-the-art method, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Parameterizing total storm conduction currents in the Community Earth System Model

Electrified clouds are known to play a major role in the Global Electric Circuit. These clouds produce upward currents which maintain the potential difference between earth's surface and the upper atmosphere. In this study, model output from two simulations of the Community Earth System Model (CESM) are compared with conduction currents and other data derived from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite, including both the lightning imaging sensor (LIS) and precipitation radar (PR). The intention is to determine CESM's skill at representing these microphysical and dynamical properties of clouds. Then, these cloud properties are used to develop a model parameterization to compute conduction currents from electrified clouds. Specifically, we evaluate the ability of global mean convective mass flux, ice water path and convective precipitation to represent conduction current sources. Parameterizations using these variables yield derived global mean currents that agree well with the geographical patterns of TRMM currents. In addition, comparing the diurnal variations of modeled global mean current to the observed diurnal variations of electric potential gradient, root mean square (RMS) errors range between 6.5% and 8.1%, but the maximum occurs 4 to 6 hours early in all three variables. Output currents derived from the model variables generally match well to the currents derived from TRMM, and the total global current estimates agree well with past studies. This suggests that cloud parameters are well suited for representing the global distribution and strength of currents in a global model framework.
Patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells in cancer research and precision oncology

Together with recent advances in the processing and culture of human tissue, bioengineering, xenotransplantation and genome editing, Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) present a range of new opportunities for the study of human cancer. Here we discuss the main advantages and limitations of iPSC modeling, and how the method intersects with other patient-derived models of cancer, such as organoids, organs-on-chips and patient-derived xenografts (PDXs). We highlight the opportunities that iPSC models can provide beyond those offered by existing systems and animal models and present current challenges and crucial areas for future improvements toward wider adoption of this technology.
Artificial potential field implementation of flying animal gap-aiming behavior in 3D

This paper presents an artificial potential field implementation of flying animal gap-aiming behavior to autonomously navigate collision-free in an unknown and disordered indoor environment. Current methods for autonomous navigation on small unmanned aerial systems use obstacle detection for relative navigation or bio-inspired techniques, but lack the ability to operate in three dimensions or would not perform in an environment with closely spaced obstacles. Using flying animals as inspiration, a behavior-based robotics approach is taken to implement and test their observed gap-aiming behavior in three dimensions. Simulations are run to determine the best approach for perceiving gaps in the environment for action from three available options: largest, closest, or all gaps in the field of view. The results of each approach are compared by the time, straightness, and safety of the flight path produced. The results of the simulation experiment show the implementation can successfully produce the desired gap-aiming behavior. However, the best approach could not clearly be determined because there was no statistical significance between the values for two of the three measured metrics. Four avenues to improve the gap-aiming behavior are discussed and left to future work.
How can coaches build mental toughness? Views from sport psychologists

ABSTRACTMuch has been written about athlete mental toughness in the past 15 years. Most of this literature is based on interviews with coaches, athletes, and to a lesser degree, parents. The present article presents views of sport psychologists who had applied and research experience in mental toughness and thus more integrated views of how coaches should build mental toughness. Results revealed that to build mental toughness, sport psychologists believe coaches need to be thoughtful and purposeful both in how they think about athletes (i.e., be instructive and encouraging, foster autonomy, see them as individuals) and their staff (i.e., be multidimensional and educate), as well as what they do (i.e., create adversity and at the same time teach mental skills).
A single exercise bout augments the ex vivo expansion and anti-tumor activity of Vdelta2 T-cells: Implications for allogeneic adoptive transfer immunotherapy

Gamma-delta T-Cells are emerging candidates for allogeneic (donor to patient) adoptive transfer immunotherapy to treat both solid and ‘liquid’ tumors. However, the numbers of γ - δ T-cell in blood are relatively low and new, cost effective methods are sought to facilitate their mobilization and ex vivo expansion from healthy donors. The aim of this study was to determine if a single exercise bout would augment the ex vivo expansion and function of γ - δ T-cells using a clinical grade protocol designed to preferentially expand the Vdelta2 subtype. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from healthy donors (n = 12) before and immediately after 30-min of steady state cycling exercise were expanded with zoledronic acid and IL-2 for 14 days. Exercise doubled the rate of γ - δ T-cell expansion, even after adjusting for pre-expansion gamma-delta T-cells numbers. Exercise did not affect γ - δ T-cell phenotypic shifts following expansion. Using a series of standard allogeneic tumor target cells in a 4 h cytotoxicity assay, γ - δ T-cells expanded after exercise were better at killing target cells of leukemia (K562), lymphoma (721.221) and multiple myeloma origin (U266) (increase: 1.5-fold compared to pre-exercise). We conclude that a single exercise bout in healthy donors markedly augments the ex vivo expansion and anti-tumor activity of gamma-delta T-cells. Exercising donors prior to blood donation for adoptive T-cell therapy may elicit better clinical outcomes in cancer patients after transplant.
Skeletal muscle autophagy and mitophagy in endurance-trained runners before and after a high-fat meal.

Abstract Objective We tested the hypothesis that skeletal muscle of endurance-trained male runners would exhibit elevated autophagy and mitophagy markers, which would be associated with greater metabolic flexibility following a high-fat meal (HFM). Methods Muscle biopsies were collected to determine differences in autophagy and mitophagy protein markers and metabolic flexibility under fasting conditions and 4 h following a HFM between endurance-trained male runners (n = 10) and sedentary, non-obese controls (n = 9). Results Maximal oxygen consumption (ml·kg·min−1) was approximately 50% higher (p 0.05), but increased in response to the HFM in endurance-trained athletes only (p Conclusion In summary, mitophagy may be enhanced in endurance-trained runners based on elevated markers of mitophagy and mitochondrial dynamics. The HFM did not alter autophagy or mitophagy in either group. The absence of a relationship between mitophagy markers and metabolic flexibility suggests that mitophagy is not a key determinant of metabolic flexibility in a healthy population, but further investigation is warranted.
Insights into the metabolic functioning of a multipartner ciliate symbiosis from oxygen-depleted sediments

Symbioses between anaerobic or microaerophilic protists and prokaryotes are common in anoxic and oxygen-depleted habitats ranging from marine sediments to gastrointestinal tracts. Nevertheless, little is known about the mechanisms of metabolic interaction between partners. In these putatively syntrophic associations, consumption of fermentative end products (e.g., hydrogen) by the prokaryotic symbionts is thought to facilitate protistan anaerobic metabolism. Here, we employed metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing of a microaerophilic or anaerobic karyorelictid ciliate and its prokaryotic symbionts from oxygen-depleted Santa Barbara Basin (CA, USA) sediments to assess metabolic coupling within this consortium. This sequencing confirmed the predominance of deltaproteobacterial symbionts from the Families Desulfobacteraceae and Desulfobulbaceae and suggested active symbiont reduction of host-provided sulphate, transfer of small organic molecules from host to symbionts and hydrogen cycling among the symbionts. In addition, patterns of gene expression indicated active cell division by the symbionts, their growth via autotrophic processes and nitrogen exchange with the ciliate host. Altogether, this research underscores the importance of symbiont metabolism to host fermentative metabolism and, thus, likely its success in anoxic and low-oxygen habitats, but also suggests ciliate-associated prokaryotes play a role in important biogeochemical processes.
Relevance of Perpetrator Identity to Reporting Elder Financial and Emotional Mistreatment

Objective: The National Elder Mistreatment Study (NEMS) found that 5.2% of community older adults experienced financial abuse, and 4.6% experienced emotional mistreatment in the past year. Unfortunately, the majority of abuse was not reported to the authorities. This study investigated reasons for non-reporting. Method: In all, 774 NEMS participants were surveyed 8 years later via telephone to assess past-year financial and emotional mistreatment, perpetrator status, and whether any of these episodes were reported to authorities. Results: In total, 87.5% of financial abuse by family, friends, or acquaintances was not reported versus 33% of that perpetrated by strangers; for emotional mistreatment, 89.9% of that perpetrated by family, friends, and acquaintances was not reported, compared with 83.3% by strangers. Reasons for non-reporting of emotional abuse centered largely around with "not wanting publicity" and "not wanting to get the perpetrator in trouble," while no consistent reason emerged for failure to report stranger-perpetrated mistreatment.
An Attempt to Quantitate "Value" In Medical Oncologic Therapy.

Objective We wanted to examine the incremental cost-effective ratio (ICER) for a variety of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved oncology drugs in the adjuvant or curative setting to determine the value provided. Design We examined the annualized incremental drug costs of a variety of FDA approved chemotherapeutic drugs used in an adjuvant or curative setting based on National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) category 1 practice guidelines for melanoma, Her2/neu over-expressive breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma, stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer, myeloma, B cell lymphoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma. The studies we examined were randomized clinical trials on which the NCCN guidelines are based; we solely examined the incremental cost-effectiveness of the trial drug as we assumed that the costs of the health care provided were equivalent between the two treatment arms. We used a formula to determine the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). The ICER compares a new intervention (C new) with its alternate (C alt) divided by the quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) that results from the new intervention (QALY new) versus the alternate (QALY alt) and is expressed as ICER = (C new-C alt)/(QALY new-QALY alt). The QALY’s were derived from what was reported in the study and based on the incremental disease-free survival. Results Drugs such as rituximab provide high value in the curative therapy for lymphoma. Drugs such as adjuvant dabrafenib and trametinib provide intermediate value in the treatment of melanoma, and similarly with maintenance lenalidomide in myeloma and adjuvant trastuzumab in breast cancer. Oncologic drugs that provide low value include adjuvant ipilimumab in melanoma, adjuvant sunitinib in renal cell carcinoma, adjuvant neratinib in breast cancer, adjuvant durvalumab in lung cancer, and brentuximab in the curative therapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Conclusion The ICER needs to be evaluated for newly approved FDA oncology chemotherapeutic drugs before incorporating them into routine clinical practice.
Combining memory and landmarks with predictive state representations

It has recently been proposed that it is advantageous to have models of dynamical systems be based solely on observable quantities. Predictive state representations (PSRs) are a type of model that uses predictions about future observations to capture the state of a dynamical system. However, PSRs do not use memory of past observations. We propose a model called memory-PSRs that uses both memories of the past, and predictions of the future. We show that the use of memories provides a number of potential advantages. It can reduce the size of the model (in comparison to a PSR model). In addition many dynamical systems have memories that can serve as landmarks that completely determine the current state. The detection and recognition of landmarks is advantageous because they can serve to reset a model that has gotten off-track, as often happens when the model is learned from samples. This paper develops both memory-PSRs and the use and detection of landmarks.
Temperature in Weathering

From the shape of the earth, its axis angle of 23 1/2 °, its tilting, and its rotation around the sun, it is evident that there should be seasonal variations in weathering produced at different temperatures. Although there are differences caused by topography and other factors in any particular area (Fig. 4, Section 2-2), the following major facts cause the weathering in different zones: high average temperatures in moist regions increase vegetation and chemical weathering; high average temperatures in arid regions decrease vegetation, decrease chemical weathering, and promote mechanical disintegration; low average temperatures in moist regions cause permafrost and soil freezing, and slow down soil-forming processes generally—water movement is prevented or only occurs in a thin layer above the permafrost in summer; low average temperatures in dry regions produce maximum physical disintegration, and chemical weathering is either nonexistent or very slight. As well as regional climatic differences there are regimes of soil climates which are in part described as microclimates. Each soil has a particular climate within which the soil flora and fauna live, and within which chemical changes take place. The soil climate is dependent on the overall climate of the region, but it is modified by the material of the soil itself, whether sandy or clayey, light colored or dark, and by the water regime. The soil climate is responsible for the chemical environment of the weathering processes. Farmers producing crops have always known from observation about variations in soil temperatures, some fields being “warm,” others “cold.” In recent years two important books describing soil climates and microclimates have appeared: The Temperature Regime of Soils by A. M. Shul’lgin (translated from Russian by the Israel Program for Scientific Translations; 1965), and The Climate near the Ground by R. Geiger (Harvard University Press, 1965). There is now a wealth of information about the temperature in soils of the temperate zone, but not very much about tropical soil temperatures.
Chaotic Versus Stochastic Dynamics: A Critical Look at the Evidence for Nonlinear Sequence Dependent Structure in Dopamine Neurons

The firing pattern of midbrain dopamine neurons is thought to have important behavioral consequences. Although these neurons fire regularly in vitro when deprived of their afferent inputs, they usually fire irregularly in vivo. It is not known whether the irregularity is functionally important and whether it derives from the intrinsic properties of dopamine neurons or network interactions. It is also not known whether the irregular firing pattern is fundamentally stochastic or deterministic in nature. Distinguishing between the deterministic nonlinear structure associated with chaos and other sources of structure including correlated noise is an inherently nontrivial problem. Here we explain the geometric tools provided by the field of nonlinear dynamics and their application to the analysis of interspike interval (ISI) data from midbrain dopamine neurons. One study failed to find strong evidence of nonlinear determinism, but others have identified such a structure and correlated it with network interactions.
Banking on Social Change: Grameen Bank Lending to Women

The Grameen Bank in Bangladesh has become an international model for “microcredit” as a poverty alleviation strategy. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to evaluate the Grameen Bank as a strategy for empowering and improving the socioeconomic status of women in Bangladesh, and to identify lessons from the Grameen Bank experience that can inform development policy more generally. Arguments for and against Grameen Bank are evaluated in the light of evidence from studies of the Bank and knowledge of women and development. The conclusions that are drawn from this evaluation are that Grameen Bank is not a panacea for poverty alleviation and improving women's lives, that it has increased the income of borrowers, has led to improvements in specific aspects of their lives, and that it has potential if used in conjunction with other progressive social and economic policies to contribute to long-term, sustainable, progressive social change.
Catalytic gasification activity of iron enhanced by spilt-over hydrogen

Abstract Gasification rate increases remarkably by mechanical mixing of iron loaded carbon with supported hydrogenation catalyst, when the carbon is gasified in hydrogen or steam-hydrogen mixture. It is concluded that the catalytic activity of iron is enhanced by atomic hydrogen which is produced by adsorption and dissociation of the molecular hydrogen on the supported hydrogenation catalyst and spills-over to the iron through the support and the carbon.
Walmart vs. Festival Foods - David and Goliath?

This case describes an actual situation in a suburban Minnesota shopping mall where a local mall tenant was forced to react to a proposed expansion of a Walmart store in an adjoining retail location. He needs to consider the possibility of persuading the local authorities to deny permission for the expansion, and if that should not be possible, he must develop a plan to effectively compete with the expanded Walmart supercenter.
Incidence of spirea aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae) in apple orchards in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland.

Spirea aphid, Aphis spiraecola Patch, greatly outnumbered [87% A. spiraecola (S.D. ± 3.4)] apple aphid, Aphis pomi DeGeer, in apple orchards sampled in spring of 1986 in Virginia, West Virginia and...
Evaluation of acquisition time by BGO and LSO in 18F-FDG PET/CT scan

2074 Objectives PET image quality is limited in obese patients because of the prominent photon attenuation and high scatter fractions resulting in increased image noise. We evaluate the image quality of both PET/CT systems which have different crystal type in the changing-acquisition times on weight-sorted groups in this study. Methods In both PET/CT systems, the images acquired on 6-sphere phantom for 5minutes in the List mode. Eighty patients divided into 6groups and underwent the PET/CT scan on both systems {G1:≤50, G2:51~60, G3:61~70, G4:71~80, G5:81~90, G6:>91(kg); 10 patients in each groups}. The images were acquired for 5minutes on List mode in liver. VOIs were drawn in the liver for each acquired images and perform the subjective and objective analysis. Results As the acquisition time was increasing, %-Noise showed the increase. In the results of subjective and objective analysis on clinical data, as the weight was increasing, %-Noise showed the increase. But as acquisition time was increasing, %-Noise was decreased. In the comparison of the crystal type, BGO showed low deviation than LSO (P Conclusions As the weight was increasing, the image quality was decreased. However, it could be possible to increase the image quality by adjusting the acquisition time. The specificity of each PET/CT systems can make differences in the image quality. It will help diagnosing through the figuring out the specificity of each PET/CT systems
Survival and success of family‐owned small businesses after hurricane Katrina: Impact of disaster assistance and adaptive capacity

The study's purpose is to examine the relative importance of direct disaster assistance to family‐owned small firms on their survival and success while considering the components of their adaptive capacity after experiencing Hurricane Katrina. This study employed data from the 2013 and 2015 Small Business Survival and Demise after a Natural Disaster Project (SBSD), a project funded by the National Science Foundation. The logistic regression results show that family businesses with SBA loans (or loan guarantees) were significantly more likely to survive. In addition, family businesses where household and family issues were more frequently in conflict with work demands were more likely to survive. On the other hand, the OLS regression results indicate that family businesses with more stress and more family–business conflict were less likely to succeed.
Backscatter Radiography as a Non-Destructive Examination Tool for Concrete Structures

Concrete is widely used in different applications like bridges, tunnels, railroad crossties, etc. Assessing the damage and replacing these concrete structures in the early stages is crucial to prevent any catastrophic events. The x-ray backscatter imaging has the advantage of being single-sided imaging technique, which can be used for the non-destructive examination of the concrete structures. The x-ray radiography by selective detection and the x-ray fan beam radiography systems at the University of Florida were used for testing and comparison in order to develop an efficient and a high-resolution x-ray backscatter imaging system. GEANT4 was also used to simulate and study the feasibility of a high-speed rotating pencil beam radiography system. The backscatter images of different concrete contrast tools were produced and analyzed in this paper.
Shadow Education and the Curriculum and Culture of Schooling in South Korea. Edited by Y. C. Kim, New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016, 211 pp., $99

Young Chun Kim positions Shadow Education and the Curriculum and Culture of Schooling in South Korea within the field of curriculum studies, more specifically in one of the threads born out of the ...
Single-Source Shortest Path Tree for Big Dynamic Graphs

Computing single-source shortest paths (SSSP) is one of the fundamental problems in graph theory. There are many applications of SSSP including finding routes in GPS systems and finding high centrality vertices for effective vaccination. In this paper, we focus on calculating SSSP on big dynamic graphs, which change with time. We propose a novel distributed computing approach, SSSPIncJoint, to update SSSP on big dynamic graphs using GraphX. Our approach considerably speeds up the recomputation of the SSSP tree by reducing the number of map-reduce operations required for implementing SSSP in the gather-apply- scatter programming model used by GraphX.
Causal Disturbance Analysis: A Novel Graph Centrality Based Method for Pathway Enrichment Analysis

Pathway enrichment analysis models (PEM) are the premier methods for interpreting gene expression profiles from high-throughput experiments. PEM often use a priori background knowledge to infer the underlying biological functions and mechanisms. A shortcoming of standard PEM is their disregarding of interactions for simplicity, which potentially results in partial and inaccurate inference. In this study, we introduce a graph-based PEM, namely Causal Disturbance Analysis (CADIA), that leverages gene interactions to quantify the topological importance of genes' expression profiles in pathways organizations. In particular, CADIA uses a novel graph centrality model, namely Source/Sink, to measure the topological importance. Source/Sink Centrality quantifies a gene's importance as a receiver and a sender of biological information, which allows for prioritizing the genes that are more likely to disturb a pathways functionality. CADIA infers an enrichment score for a pathway by deriving statistical evidence from Source/Sink centrality of the differentially expressed genes and combines it with classical over-representation analysis. Through real-world experimental and synthetic data evaluations, we show that CADIA can uniquely infer critical pathway enrichments that are not observable through other PEM. Our results indicate that CADIA is sensitive towards topologically central gene-level changes that and provides an informative framework for interpreting high-throughput data.
Impact of groundwater quality and associated byproduct formation during UV/hydrogen peroxide treatment of 1,4-dioxane

Abstract In this study, a semi-batch, bench-scale UV/hydrogen peroxide (UV/H2O2) advanced oxidation process system was used to investigate how typical groundwater quality parameters (pH, alkalinity, natural organic matter (NOM), nitrate, and iron) influence the treatment of 1,4-dioxane. Deionized (DI) water spiked with 1,4-dioxane (100 μg L−1), treated using H2O2 (10 mg L−1) in a commercially available UV system (40 W low-pressure lamp) showed an UV fluence-based first-order rate constant (k’) and electrical energy-per-order (EEO) of 4.32✕10−3 cm2-mJ−1 and 0.15 kWh-m−3-order−1, respectively. The most abundant byproduct generated in spiked-DI water was oxalic acid (up to 55 μg L−1), followed by formic and acetic acids. The k’ showed no significant difference at pH ranging from 5 to 7 and at low alkalinity concentrations ( 0.05) in predicting k’ for the removal of 1,4-dioxane from groundwater. This study provides the first systematic evaluation of the impacts of groundwater quality on UV/H2O2 process to remove environmentally relevant levels of 1,4-dioxane and reports standardized performance-related parameters to aid in the design and evaluation of full-scale systems.
Forethought and intelligence: How conscientiousness, future planning, and general mental ability predict net worth

Abstract This study examined a model in which conscientiousness is related to net worth through its relationship with future planning, and in which general mental ability (GMA) moderates the effects of future planning on net worth. Data for this study were drawn from 1,135 participants in the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States. Results from an analysis of conditional indirect effects suggest that conscientiousness shared a positive, indirect association with net worth through its relationship with future planning that was realized only for individuals higher in GMA. In contrast, conscientiousness had no indirect association with net worth for those low in GMA. This study helps add to the understanding of how noncognitive (personality) and cognitive (ability) traits affect individual-level economic outcomes and offers an explanation for both how and when conscientiousness influences net worth. These findings may be particularly important given efforts to design interventions that help improve individual financial outcomes.
Beneficial association of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and statins on the occurrence of possible Alzheimer’s disease after traumatic brain injury

Pathological analysis of brain tissue from animals and humans with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) suggests that TBI could be one of the risk factors facilitating onset of dementia with possible Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but medications to prevent or delay AD onset are not yet available. This study explores four medication classes (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI), beta blockers, metformin, and statins) approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for other indications and evaluates their influence when used in combination on the risk of possible AD development for patients with a history of TBI. We identified patients with history of TBI from an existing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national database. Among 1,660,151 veterans who used VA services between the ages of 50 to 89 years old, we analyzed 733,920 patients, including 15,450 patients with a history of TBI and 718,470 non-TBI patients. The TBI patients were followed for up to 18.5 years, with an average of 7.7 ± 4.7 years, and onset of dementia with possible AD was recorded based on International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD) 9 or 10 codes. The effect of TBI on possible AD development was evaluated by multivariable logistic regression models adjusted by age, gender, race, and other comorbidities. The association of ACEI, beta blockers, metformin, statins, and combinations of these agents over time from the first occurrence of TBI to possible AD onset was assessed using Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for demographics and comorbidities. Veterans with at least two TBI occurrences by claims data were 25% (odds ratio (OR) = 1.25, 95% confidence intervals (CI) (1.13, 1.37)) more likely to develop dementia with possible AD, compared to those with no record of TBI. In multivariable logistic regression models (propensity score weighted or adjusted), veterans taking a combination of ACEI and statins had reduced risk in developing possible AD after suffering TBI, and use of this medication class combination was associated with a longer period between TBI occurring and dementia with possible AD onset, compared to patients who took statins alone or did not take any of the four target drugs after TBI. The combination of ACEI and statins significantly lowered the risk of development of dementia with possible AD in a national cohort of people with a history of TBI, thus supporting a clinical approach to lowering the risk of dementia with possible AD.
Does mixed-use development in the metropolis lead to less carbon emissions?

Abstract In the last two decades, mixed-use has taken center stage in urban planning development in the United States. This study examined the relationship between mixed-use development and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the zip code level in the U.S. This research uses different implementation methods of a mixed-use development with different cultural and historical backgrounds to examine the data. The study adopts five models that present different methodological interactions between socioeconomic spatial metrics and urban forms. The results indicated that there were correlations between spatial indices of urban form and CO2 emissions. The inverse relationship between the mixed-use density and CO2 emissions in our study suggests that low, dense metropolis with more businesses emit less CO2 than the hybrid metropolis, so it provides a healthier environment. A likely explanation is that low density and more recreation facilities attract people to live in these areas, which present the importance of density cities as a source of CO2. Also, there is a need for monitoring and reporting of emissions. This study contributes to the study of how mixed-use development models shift because of various environmental, social, and economic conditions.
A New High-Frequency Multilevel Boost Power Factor Correction Approach With GaN Semiconductors

In this paper, a new high-frequency multilevel bridgeless boost power factor correction approach is presented. The proposed topology is a multilevel boost power factor correction circuit that significantly reduces voltage stress on switching devices, the input inductor, and the DC link capacitors. The effective switching frequency of the input current is also multiplied allowing for a significantly smaller input inductor, which improves power density. The design also reduces the voltage rating of all DC link capacitors. Additionally, the design allows access to fractional voltage levels, which can be beneficial for designs which immediately buck the DC link voltage to a lower voltage. A design example and simulation results are presented for a 100 W design and hardware results are presented for a 100 W design.
Paediatric nasal dermoid: evaluation and management.

Purpose of review The aim of this study was to present the evaluation and current management of congenital paediatric nasal dermoid. Recent findings There has been a trend towards less invasive surgical excision techniques, including purely endoscopic excision, endoscopic-assisted approaches and midline excision with nasal bone osteotomies and bone flap. These approaches allow adequate access for both total resection and nasal contour and skull base reconstruction. Following resection, if nasal bone osteotomies are insufficient for restoring nasal appearance, free temporoparietal fascial graft and/or conchal cartilage can be considered. For nasal tip deformities, interdomal sutures and free fat grafting are a suitable option. Summary Complete surgical excision remains the treatment of choice for nasal dermoid lesions. The surgical approach taken and reconstruction depends on the type of lesion (cyst versus sinus or fistula), location (intranasal versus extranasal), whether or not there is intracranial extension, and experience of the surgical team.
Which Policies Are Useful

This chapter explores the usefulness of different kinds of policies for, about and also against GLBTIQ students, using data from an online survey of 3,134 Australian GLBTIQ students aged 14–21. It describes the GLBTIQ students surveyed to establish their own framings of their sexual subjectivity. It then examines the usefulness of state policies in contributing school policy protection for GLBTIQ students, discourses affirming GLBTIQ students, social and structural supports for GLBTIQ students and a supportive climate. It links particular types of policies at the state and school level with significant reductions in homophobic abuse, suicide and self-harm for GLBTIQ students.
A new Saccharomyces cerevisiae mnn mutant N-linked oligosaccharide structure.

We find that the N-linked Man8GlcNAc2- core oligosaccharide of Saccharomyces cerevisiae mnn mutant mannoproteins is enlarged by the addition of the outer chain to the α1→3-linked mannose in the side chain that is attached to the β1→4-linked mannose rather than by addition to the terminal α1→6-linked mannose. This conclusion is derived from structural studies on a phosphorylated oligosaccharide fraction and from mass spectral fragment analysis of neutral core oligosaccharides.
A New approach to SNAP-tag technology as a possible imaging tool for translational research

The SNAP-tag is a modified protein designed from the DNA repair protein O6-alkylguanine-DNA-alkyltransferase that recognizes benzylguanine derivatives and covalently attaches to the tag (Johnsson, ...
Calcium-dependent, Interleukin 1β-converting Enzyme Inhibitor-insensitive Degradation of Lamin B1 and DNA Fragmentation in Isolated Thymocyte Nuclei

Recent work suggests that the proteolytic degradation of the nuclear lamins is a common event in apoptosis, although the nature of the proteases involved is still not clear. Our previous work showed that the degradation of lamin B1 in glucocorticoid-treated thymocytes occurs via a Ca2+-sensitive mechanism and that exogenous Ca2+ promotes lamin degradation in isolated thymocyte nuclei from untreated cells. Here we demonstrate that peptide-based inhibitors of the interleukin 1beta-converting enzyme family of cysteine proteases (Tyr-Val-Ala-Asp fluoromethyl ketone) and of the nuclear scaffold multicatalytic proteinase (Ala-Pro-Phe chloromethyl ketone) block the degradation of lamin B1 to a 21-kDa fragment in thymocytes treated with glucocorticoid, the Ca2+-mobilizing agent thapsigargin, or antibodies to the T cell receptor. However, among a panel of inhibitors specific for several different proteases implicated in apoptosis, only tosylphenylalanyl chloromethyl ketone and the nuclear scaffold protease inhibitor block lamin degradation, histone H1 cleavage, and DNA fragmentation in isolated thymocyte nuclei incubated with Ca2+. Overexpression of human BCL-2 in nuclei by stable transfection resulted in an inhibition of Ca2+-stimulated lamin degradation and DNA fragmentation, suggesting that endogenous nuclear BCL-2 regulates activation of the nuclear scaffold protease. The results demonstrate the existence of an alternative pathway of lamin degradation and DNA fragmentation mediated by a resident Ca2+-stimulated nuclear protease that is not directly dependent upon activation of the interleukin 1beta-converting enzyme family of cell death regulators.
On Facts and Theories in Psychophysics: Does Ekman’s Law Exist?

A classical treatment of JND has been to make some assumption about its subjective size in order to construct a scale relating sensation to stimulus intensity; Fechner’s law is one result of this tactic. Ekman’s law asserts that sensations one JND apart define a constant ratio, and leads to the conclusion that sensation is a power function of stimulus intensity. However, reconsideration of the cited evidence suggests that Ekman’s law is tautological with Weber’s law.
A linkage map of chromosome 6 based on 2 large kindreds segregating bipolar affective disorder.

Twenty-eight markers, both simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs), were genotyped on members of 2 large pedigrees (OOA, BIP167) segregating bipolar affective disorder. Using the multipoint program “build” of CRIMAP and odds of placement 1000:1, a unique sex-averaged map was generated that spans 227 cM and includes 26 markers. The two other markers were placed on the map with a lower likelihood. The female recombination map is larger than the male recombination map by about 80%. Linkage analysis between the polymorphisms and the disease in the OOA screening pedigree did not result in any significantly positive lod scores nor did a non-parametric, identity-by-descent, method generate any significant p-values. BIP167 was analyzed for allele sharing at the simple sequence repeat loci and significant associations were not found. At present we conclude, that the pedigrees under study do not have a major predisposition gene for bipolar affective disorder on chromosom...
Crystallization and Enthalpy Relaxation of Physically Associating, End-Linked Polymer Networks: Telechelic Pyrene-Labeled Polydimethylsiloxane

The effects of physical crosslinking or gelation and molecular weight on the crystallization behavior of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) are determined by thermal analysis of telechelic, pyrene-end-labeled PDMS and its precursor, telechelic, amine-end-labeled PDMS. The pyrene-end-labeled PDMS forms physical crosslinks while the amine-end-labeled PDMS does not. The presence of physical crosslinks leads to a major reduction in PDMS crystallinity achieved during a 5 °C/min quench that is a striking function of molecular weight. In going from the amine-end-labeled PDMS to the pyrene-end-labeled PDMS, a 25 kg/mol sample exhibits a reduction in PDMS crystallinity from 59% to 30% while a 4-7 kgimol sample exhibits a reduction in PDMS crystallinity by more than an order of magnitude, from 53% to 2 to 4%, with the latter value depending on the extent of physical crosslinking achieved by the pyrenyl units at the start of the cooling cycle. The PDMS melting temperature is a strong function of physical crosslinking, while the PDMS glass transition temperature is invariant with molecular weight and type of end unit. However, the extent of enthalpy relaxation or physical aging of the PDMS achieved during a brief quench is reduced in the presence of pyrenyl end units and thus physical crosslinking.
A Standard Addition Technique To Quantify Photoacid Generation in Chemically Amplified Photoresist

A technique to determine the efficiency of the decomposition of photoacid generators to produce photoacid and the concentration of acid necessary to image chemically amplified photoresists was designed, implemented, and validated. The technique is analogous to a standard addition experiment; known concentrations of a base quencher are added to a series of otherwise identical resist formulations. To produce the same free acid concentration within the resist films after neutralization, the concentration of photogenerated acid must increase by an amount equal to the known concentration of added base. The increase in exposure dose required to create this additional acid is indirectly determined as a function of base loading using resist dissolution behavior (contrast curves). The main assumptions implicit in the model to extract the Dill C parameter (a parameter proportional to the quantum yield) from experiments were validated using X-ray exposure and a positive tone photoresist system consisting of poly(p-t-butoxycarbonyloxystyrene-co-p-hydroxystyrene) as the base resin, norbornene dicarboximidyl triflate as the photoacid generator, and 1-piperidineethanol as the base quencher. Resin deprotection monitored by FTIR and dissolution rate measurements provided independent evidence that the bulk dissolution rate, the dissolution induction time, and the extent of deprotection as a function of the free acid concentration remained the same for resists with and without base.
Tight binding of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate to recombinant Escherichia coli pyridoxine 5'-phosphate oxidase.

Escherichia coli pyridoxine (pyridoxamine) 5'-phosphate oxidase (PNPOx) catalyzes the oxidation of pyridoxine 5'-phosphate and pyridoxamine 5'-phosphate to pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) using flavin mononucleotide (FMN) as the immediate electron acceptor and oxygen as the ultimate electron acceptor. This reaction serves as the terminal step in the de novo biosynthesis of PLP in E. coli. Removal of FMN from the holoenzyme results in a catalytically inactive apoenzyme. PLP molecules bind tightly to both apo- and holoPNPOx with a stoichiometry of one PLP per monomer. The unique spectral property of apoPNPOx-bound PLP suggests a non-Schiff base linkage. HoloPNPOx with tightly bound PLP shows normal catalytic activity, suggesting that the tightly bound PLP is at a noncatalytic site. The tightly bound PLP is readily transferred to aposerine hydroxymethyltransferase in dilute phosphate buffer. However, when the PNPOx. PLP complex was added to aposerine hydroxymethyltransferase suspended in an E. coli extract the rate of reactivation of the apoenzyme was several-fold faster than when free PLP was added. This suggests that PNPOx somehow targets PLP to aposerine hydroxymethyltransferase in vivo.
Grain boundary and surface energies of fcc metals.

Interfacial energies of five high-angle singular grain boundaries (GB's) in seven fcc metals---Ag, Al, Au, Cu, Ni, Pd, and Pt---are calculated employing lattice statics at 0 K using embedded-atom-method potentials. The results disagree with predictions of broken-bond models. The GB energies, however, exhibit a good linear relationship with the ${c}_{44}$ elastic constants of these elements. This implies the existence of a characteristic GB length serving as a proportionality coefficient between GB energy and ${c}_{44}$. The results for GB energies are compared with theoretical results on surface/vacuum interfacial energies for the same metals.
A Midlatitude Cirrus Cloud Climatology from the Facility for Atmospheric Remote Sensing. Part III: Radiative Properties

Abstract In Part III of a series of papers describing the extended time high-cloud observations from the University of Utah Facility for Atmospheric Remote Sensing (FARS) supporting the First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) Regional Experiment, the visible and infrared radiative properties of cirrus clouds over Salt Lake City, Utah, are examined. Using ∼860 h of combined ruby (0.694 μm) lidar and midinfrared (9.5–11.5 μm) radiometer data collected between 1992 and 1999 from visually identified cirrus clouds, the visible optical depths τ and infrared layer emittance ϵ of the varieties of midlatitude cirrus are characterized. The mean and median values for the cirrus sample are 0.75 ± 0.91 and 0.61 for τ, and 0.30 ± 0.22 and 0.25 for ϵ. Other scattering parameters studied are the visible extinction and infrared absorption coefficients, and their ratio, and the lidar backscatter-to-extinction ratio, which has a mean value of 0.041 sr−1. Differences among cirrus clouds generated by g...
Black and white control of numbers gambling : A cultural assets-social capital view

The relationship between race, ethnicity, and illegal business enterprise is addressed through an analysis of black and white involvement in illegal numbers gambling in a large eastern state. The a...
Turbulent reactive mixing of reversible reactions

The convective diffusion equations were used to obtain mean concentrations and concentration fluctuation covariances during turbulent reactive mixing of fast reversible reactions. The mean concentrations are directly applicable to reactions that are much faster than the mixing, while the covariances can serve as a first approximation closure for slower reactions. The covariances should also be useful for testing more general closure models. Numerical examples are presented for the simple mass-action rate law with stoichiometric coefficients of unity.
The Art of The Lord of the Rings: A Defense of the Aesthetic

This article provides something of a corrective to the ongoing trend in Tolkien studies to read his fiction theologically and attach aspects of it to specific Christian doctrine and practice. Tolkien made his resistance to such “symbolic or allegorical” interpretation very clear in his letters. I argue that recognizing and reading Tolkien as a literary artist provides a more appropriate method by which we may appreciate The Lord of the Rings as the author intended, as literary art. Through such an approach, we may also come to a more accurate understanding of how Tolkien’s faith, as a Catholic Christian writer, enriches his masterpiece. Evidence for my argument comes from Tolkien’s writings and The Lord of the Rings, in which Tolkien’s aesthetic criteria for the art of story-telling is most fully embodied and demonstrated.