cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Study on the Major Factors and Strategy forProfessionalized Development of Volleyball in China

If the questions of Chinese Volleyball professionalism are to be solved,the best choice is to take the way of sustainable development with Chinese characteristics. The study is enlightened by successful reform of social economy in China. It holds that Chinese Volleyball professionalism has to undertake a progressive reform. It puts forward a series of concrete countermeasures which takes the reform of game system as the point of contact and establishes and perfects the system of league matches and so on.
Preparation of spherical Co-Y_2O_3 composite powders by homogeneous precipitation

Co-Y2O3 composite powder precursors were prepared by homogeneous precipitation with cobalt powder, yttria and ammonium oxalate as raw materials, and then Co-Y2O3 composite powders were prepared by hydrogen reduction. The effects of the concentration of cobalt chloride, YCl3/CoCl2 molar ratio, and surfactant on the mean particle size and morphology of composite powders were studied. It is shown that the YCl3/CoCl2 molar ratio and surfactant have great effects on the morphology of composite powders. The morphology of composite powders changes from rod-like shape to plum blossom-like shape when the YCl3/CoCl2 molar ratio increases from 0 to 0.014. When the YCl3/CoCl2 molar ratio reaches 0.040 and 0.078, the composite powders are floc-like shape and thick stick shape, respectively. The morphology of composite powders changes from plum blossom-like shape to sphericity while adding the sodium dodecyl sulfate to the mixed solution, whose YCl3/CoCl2 molar ratio is 0.014. The concentration of cobalt chloride has a great effect on the mean particle size and dispersibility of composite powders. With the increasing of concentration of cobalt chloride from 0.2 mol/L to 0.5 mol/L, the mean particle size of composite powders reduce from 7 μm to 4 μm, and the dispersibility of composite powders are improved. When the concentration of cobalt chloride reaches 0.8 mol/L, the mean particle size of composite powders increase to 10 μm, and the dispersibility becomes worse.
Should neutralization be redefined

Abstract: Acoustical phonetic research has shown that several instances of putative neutralizations are not realized acoustically when domains greater than the segment are examined. However, the segment has always been considered the domain of neutralization. Some of the acoustic phonetic literature on neutralizations is reviewed: Fox & Terbeek (1977) on dental flaps in American English, whose results were supported by Zue & Laferriere (1979); the work of Maxwell (1981) and Weismer, Dinnsen & Elbert (1981) which has shown that several putative neutralizations in the speech of functionally misarticulating children were not realized completely, but traces of the underlying contrasts were left on neighboring segments; finally, other data from Catalan (Dinnsen, 1984) and German also indicate that when domains greater than the segment are examined, the neutralization of segmentally bound contrasts is incomplete. Thus, the term “neutralization” must either be abandoned or redefined. This paper proposes that the term be redefined and its domain extended to the word. This redefinition, it is pointed out, will have consequences for all work connected with the phonological and phonetic components of the grammar.
The metal dusting corrosion of steels with varying concentrations of chromium

Publisher Summary This chapter highlights that Metal Dusting (MD) involves the disintegration of bulk metals and alloys into metal particles at high temperatures in environments that are supersaturated with carbon. It is generally believed that the phenomenon is most widespread in the temperature range 400–700 °C. Such corrosion has been observed in processes in chemical and petrochemical industries where hydrocarbons or other strongly carburizing atmospheres are encountered. The chapter focuses on the metal dusting corrosion of steels with varying concentrations of chromium. Metal dusting corrosion of steels containing about 1.25 to 20 wt% Cr was investigated in CO–H2 environments at temperatures ranging from 650 °F (343 °C) to 1100 °F (593 °C). With increasing Cr content, the corrosion rate decreases and the corrosion becomes more localized. The corrosion process is strongly influenced by the chromium content of the steels.
Warheads and fissile materials: declarations and counting

The author reviews some of the issues related to verifying the dismantling of nuclear warheads and the controlling of nuclear materials in the context of arms control objectives. It is asserted that information about the stockpiles of nuclear warheads and materials is necessary to analyze the impacts and verification requirements of arms control measures including warhead dismantling and fissile material controls. It is proposed that the US and the Soviets engage in a series of declarations about their stockpiles of nuclear weapons and materials. It is also asserted that currently it is more important to verify that warheads ware retired to safe, secure facilities than to verify their dismantlement. It is proposed that production of new or rebuilt warheads be limited to less than the number retired each year. Verifying the number of new and rebuilt warheads deployed and the number retired avoids many of the difficulties in verifying dismantlement and material controls. >
Lessons learned from studying syndromic autism spectrum disorders

Syndromic autism spectrum disorders represent a group of childhood neurological conditions, typically associated with chromosomal abnormalities or mutations in a single gene. The discovery of their genetic causes has increased our understanding of the molecular pathways critical for normal cognitive and social development. Human studies have revealed that the brain is particularly sensitive to changes in dosage of various proteins from transcriptional and translational regulators to synaptic proteins. Investigations of these disorders in animals have shed light on previously unknown pathogenic mechanisms leading to the identification of potential targets for therapeutic intervention. The demonstration of reversibility of several phenotypes in adult mice is encouraging, and brings hope that with novel therapies, skills and functionality might improve in affected children and young adults. As new research reveals points of convergence between syndromic and nonsyndromic autism spectrum disorders, we believe there will be opportunities for shared therapeutics for this class of conditions.
Preparing Fission Yeast for Electron Microscopy

Freezing samples while simultaneously subjecting them to a rapid increase in pressure, which inhibits ice crystal formation, is a reliable method for cryofixing fission yeast. The procedure consists simply of harvesting cells and loading them into a high-pressure freezer (HPF), and then operating the device. If equipment for high-pressure freezing is not available, fission yeast can be frozen by plunging a monolayer of cells into a liquid cryogen, usually ethane or propane. Unlike the HPF, where relatively large volumes of cells can be frozen in a single run, plunge freezing requires cells to be dispersed in a layer <20 µm thick. Unless frozen cells are to be imaged in the vitreous state, they must be fixed, dehydrated, and embedded for subsequent study by transmission electron microscopy; warming frozen cells without fixation badly damages cell structure. Fixation is best accomplished by freeze-substitution, a process in which frozen water is removed from samples by a water-miscible solvent that is liquid at a temperature low enough to prevent the cellular water from recrystallizing. Low concentrations of chemical fixatives and stains are generally added to this solvent such that they permeate the cells as the water is replaced. The activity of these additives is quite limited at the low temperatures required for minimizing ice crystal formation, but they are in the right place to react effectively as the cells warm up. Step-by-step protocols for HPF, plunge freezing, and freeze-substitution are provided here.
New Robust Clustering Model for Identifying Cancer Genome Landscapes

In recent decades, the availability of comprehensive genomic data has facilitated the insight of molecular portraits of cancer. Specifically, by conducting cancer clustering, cancer samples can be divided into several groups according to their differences and similarities in molecular characteristics. Traditional cancer clustering usually analyzes cancer samples from a single tissue, but such analysis cannot reveal the connections among different types of cancer. Landscape analysis across human cancers can help discover molecular signatures shared across cancer tissues, providing an opportunity to design new gene therapy tailored for different cancer patients. However, the noise level in genomic data is high. The robust clustering method is crucial to tackle this problem. In this paper, we propose a new robust clustering method to approach the landscape analysis for TCGA cancer data from a novel view, which is to eliminate the noise and then perform clustering on the cleaned data rather than weaken the effect of noise as existing noise-resistant norm methods. Extensive experiments on both genomic datasets and clustering benchmark datasets confirm the effectiveness and correctness of our proposed method.
Abstract 2700: What Is The Expected Distribution of Ischemic Stroke Severity? Population-based Estimates of NIHSS From The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Stroke Study.

Background: There is little data concerning the distribution of stroke severity in contemporary ischemic stroke populations. Changes in the prevalence of stroke risk factors, as well as in the secondary prevention of stroke could be expected to influence the distribution of stroke severity at the population level . The collection of National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) data are frequently missing in clinical registries, and more complete data are often limited to clinical trial settings which typically include a select patient sample. We describe the distribution of NIHSS across major demographic sub-groups in a nationally representative, population-based study of ischemic stroke. Methods: Within a biracial population of 1.3 million, all strokes among area residents in 2005 were ascertained by screening discharge records at local hospitals and clinics. A sampling scheme was developed to ascertain additional cases in physician offices and nursing homes. All confirmed ischemic stroke cases underwent comprehensive chart abstraction, including generation of a retrospective NIHSS score (range 0 - 42), which described symptom severity on presentation. Descriptive statistics of NIHSS (median, IQR) were generated by demographic subgroup and surveillance location (hospital admission, in-hospital stroke, or out-of-hospital). To account for the sampling design and multiple stroke events within some subjects, statistically significant differences were tested using age-adjusted GEE-based linear models. Results: There were 2210 ischemic stroke cases identified during the 12-month study period. The overall median NIHSS score was 3.0 (IQR 1.0 - 7.0). The distribution of NIHSS by age, sex, race, and surveillance source are summarized in the Table. NIHSS score was statistically significantly higher in older age groups, and also differed significantly by surveillance location. There were no significant differences in NIHSS by sex or race. Conclusions: More than half of all ischemic stroke cases have mild symptom severity upon initial presentation (i.e., NIHSS
Who Speaks for Islam? Extreme Religious Groups, the Exception that Proves the Rule

This chapter examines the streams of thought contributing to the emergence of the Jihadi Salafism. It highlights the scholarly works of key Salafi scholars who have shaped the ideology of the al-Salafiyya al-Jihadiyya movement as we know it. While the primary sources of Sharia law provide written codes explaining a number of issues capable of being brought before a court, this chapter discusses how the final interpretation of key issues is largely determined by the presiding cleric (sheikh). The scholarly work of those radical clerics effectively enables extremist groups to ideologically justify the use of violent means to achieve their “political” ambitions. Treatment of civilians is a notable example where radical scholars have effectively re-written their own ideologically based rules of war to justify atrocities against innocent population.
Reflections on the Role of Reflection in Democracies

We end where we started by considering the most fundamental question in democratic theory: Are the people capable of self-governance? Rule by the people is a core tenant of democracy in all of its ideal forms (Dahl, 1989). If “the people” are not up to the task, then democracy is inherently impossible in practice. In electoral democracies, self-governance requires that voters are willing and able to hold elected officials accountable for their actions. The empirical study of democratic accountability is rich and replete with reasons for optimism and pessimism. In this book, we tackled what many scholars and observers see as a formidable threat to democratic accountability: partisan-motivated reasoning. If people are more interested in cheerleading their political party than they are in holding elected officials accountable, then it frees elected officials to pursue their own goals even at the expense of their constituents. To get a handle on this question, we began by articulating a model of political reasoning that builds on recent advances in cognitive psychology and neuroscience and, we believe, extends and updates preexisting models of political attitude formation. Our Intuitionist Model of Political Reasoning starts with the same foundation that contemporary models of motivated reasoning do. People initially process information (political or otherwise) outside of conscious awareness in a way that is heavily guided by emotions (i.e., System I processing). The intuitions that result from these System I processes nudge people in the direction of a particular decision. In the domain of politics, people's partisan identities shape their intuitions, leading them to root for their team even when they should not. The Intuitionist Model of Political Reasoning departs from the standard partisan-motivated reasoning framework in how it treats cognition. In the standard framework, thinking is for rationalizing. To the extent that partisans bother to think about their political decisions, they take a biased approach that discounts evidence that calls their intuitive response into question while latching onto evidence, no matter how weak, that lends support. In contrast, the Intuitionist Model allows people to be reflective – to use cognition (i.e., System 2 processing) as a way to critically evaluate their intuitive responses. Whether people choose to use System 2 processes to engage in reflection depends on psychological motivations that vary across individuals, space, and time.
Ovarian Cysts in Adolescence

Assuming to define as a “mass” whatever thing is occupying a physical space, ovarian masses can be generally divided into cystic masses (or, simply, cysts) if their content is liquid, and complex or solid masses if their content is (totally or partially) not liquid. Both cystic and complex masses are also differentiated according to their nature and biological behavior into benign and malignant masses. Most part of the ovarian masses in pediatric–adolescent age are cystic and benign but their presence can become of clinical relevance for their complications, such as torsion, bleeding, rupture, and for the possible consequences of these events and their treatment in terms of future fertility.
Discrete-valued gravity inversion using the guided fuzzy c-means clustering technique

The definition of boundaries, in a recovered model from an inversion, can be improved through the incorporation of known physical property values of a small number of geological units. Directly imposing strict physical property values into a Tikhonov regularized inversion transforms it into an integer programming problem. Solving an integer programming problem can be prohibitively expensive for large problems in practical applications. We propose a method to approximate a discrete-valued inverse problem by applying the guided fuzzy c-means clustering technique. This method enforces the discrete values to a high degree of approximation within the inversion by guiding the recovered model to cluster tightly around the known physical property values. Using this method, we are able incorporate the uncertainty in our physical property information and solve the corresponding minimization problem with derivative based minimization techniques, making this approach more efficient and broadly applicable. We apply th...
Chapter 1.4: Researching to Transgress and Transform

This paper draws on interviews with residents of Tivoli Gardens, an inner city community in Kingston, Jamaica in which 74 people were killed by the state in May 2010. Three researchers are collaborating to witness survivors’ stories of trauma in order to create a public art installation to memorialize loved ones lost and break historical silences thereby catalyzing conscientization. Taylor’s (Disappearing acts: spectacles of gender and nationalism in Argentina’s dirty war. Duke University, Durham, 1997) concept of percepticide – as the annihilation of the perception and understanding of atrocities – is proposed to account for ways in which interviewees simultaneously know but do not acknowledge the meaning of the violence. Freire’s (1987) idea of liberatory education – as a praxis that critically challenges psychic colonization (Oliver, The colonization of psychic space. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 2004) – is extended to research practices with emancipatory aims. Furthermore, this work explores the psychological conditions under which people living in death saturated environments begin to perceive the social structures that permit mass murder. It proposes a form of inquiry that transgresses social science research norms by empowering research participants to critically analyze the world in which they live.
Factors Affecting the Swelling of Nuclear Fuels at High Temperatures

The results of a series of irradiations of refractory fuels at cladding surface temperatures from 1000 to 1900°C were examined to determine which factors have the greatest influence on swelling rat...
Culture Systems: Fluid Dynamic Embryo Culture Systems (Microfluidics)

The tubal/uterine lumen is a dynamic environment in which oocytes, eggs, and early embryos are submitted to different forces generated by cilia and peristaltic flow of tubal fluid. The movement of the tubal/uterine fluid, the chemical diversity, and their interaction produce a unique environment able to support embryo development and modulate gene expression. Although culture of embryos is supported in static and low complexity chemical conditions, application of fluidic dynamics in assisted reproduction technology to improve outcomes has been in development for almost a decade. Several attempts to build devices able to facilitate fertilization and embryo culture have been made, but dynamic fluidic devices are not yet available for mass scale use in clinical embryology laboratories. Indeed, such devices for embryo culture have been constructed and they are under evaluation in IRB approved studies. Fluid dynamic devices appear to enhance embryo development and they may be innovative resources for clinical and experimental embryology laboratories. This chapter reviews the principles and results of dynamic fluid systems, and the materials and methods required to produce microfunnel dynamic culture systems for use with embryos.
A Scaling Law for Performance Evaluation of a Laser Time-of-Flight Velocimeter

During the past decade, a variety of laser techniques have been proposed and experimentally demonstrated for atmospheric wind speed measurements [1] with a varied degree of success and practical usefulness. In most cases, an investigator proposed a technique of laser velocimetry and/or reported a successful atmospheric wind-speed measurement at a convenient range without discussing the time required for such a measurement or the dependence of the measurement rate on laser power and aerosol condition. Such an investigation, in our view, is incomplete; the lack of theoretical understanding makes the evaluation of system performance obscure and the prediction of the potential usefulness of the laser velocimeter impossible.
Analyzing ordinal data with metric models: What could possibly go wrong?

Abstract We surveyed all articles in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP), Psychological Science (PS), and the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General (JEP:G) that mentioned the term “Likert,” and found that 100% of the articles that analyzed ordinal data did so using a metric model. We present novel evidence that analyzing ordinal data as if they were metric can systematically lead to errors. We demonstrate false alarms (i.e., detecting an effect where none exists, Type I errors) and failures to detect effects (i.e., loss of power, Type II errors). We demonstrate systematic inversions of effects, for which treating ordinal data as metric indicates the opposite ordering of means than the true ordering of means. We show the same problems — false alarms, misses, and inversions — for interactions in factorial designs and for trend analyses in regression. We demonstrate that averaging across multiple ordinal measurements does not solve or even ameliorate these problems. A central contribution is a graphical explanation of how and when the misrepresentations occur. Moreover, we point out that there is no sure-fire way to detect these problems by treating the ordinal values as metric, and instead we advocate use of ordered-probit models (or similar) because they will better describe the data. Finally, although frequentist approaches to some ordered-probit models are available, we use Bayesian methods because of their flexibility in specifying models and their richness and accuracy in providing parameter estimates. An R script is provided for running an analysis that compares ordered-probit and metric models.
Using Stable Carbon Isotopes of Seasonal Ecosystem Respiration to Determine Permafrost Carbon Loss

Author(s): Mauritz, M; Celis, G; Ebert, C; Hutchings, J; Ledman, J; Natali, SM; Pegoraro, E; Salmon, VG; Schadel, C; Taylor, M; Schuur, EAG
Gut organoids: mini-tissues in culture to study intestinal physiology and disease

In vitro, cell cultures are essential tools in the study of intestinal function and disease. For the past few decades, monolayer cellular cultures, such as cancer cell lines or immortalized cell li...
In Pursuit of 'Pursuits of Happiness'

A year after the publication in 1969 of Must We Mean What We Say?, Stanley Cavell observes in the elegant Preface he wrote for the 2001 edition, the effect on him, as he put it, “of putting the book behind me, or perhaps I should say, of having it to stand behind, freed me for I suppose the most productive, or palpably so, nine months of my life, in which I recast the salvageable and necessary material of my Ph.D. dissertation as the opening three parts of what would become The Claim of Reason and completed small books on film (The World Viewed) and Thoreau (The Senses of Walden). I consider those small books to form a trio with Must We Mean What We Say?, different paths leading from the same desire for philosophy.” If those three books form a trio, I take the fourth part of The Claim of Reason, completed in 1978, and Pursuits of Happiness, which in 1978 he was already writing, to form a duo—not, I would say, different paths leading from the same desire for philosophy, but from the trio’s achievement of philosophy.
Simplifying the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act: If a Foreign Sovereign Acts Like a Private Party, Treat it Like One

This article focuses on the commercial activities exception of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). That exception is at the heart of the FSIA and basically states that if a foreign sovereign engages in private commercial activities like a private party then it should not be immune from suit in the United States. Unfortunately, the special guidelines set forth in the FSIA for applying the commercial activities exception to foreign sovereigns are confusing and have resulted in split opinions among the federal circuit courts. My article argues that those guidelines should be thrown away. My proposal would first have courts assess whether foreign sovereigns are in fact engaging in private commercial activities. If the answer is yes, then the FSIA should direct courts to simply treat the foreign sovereign in the same way that it would treat a foreign private party for purposes of establishing jurisdiction. Namely, the courts should undertake the same minimum contacts due process analysis it has undertaken for decades with respect to foreign private parties. This solution avoids the complicated rubric established by the FSIA and accomplishing exactly what the FSIA had wanted to accomplish. It treats foreign sovereigns like private parties when and if they behave like them.
Estimating low-frequency (<100 Hz) sound speed in fine to very-fine sand sediment from the horizontal coherence of the head wave excited by a light helicopter

A series of shallow-water acoustic experiments has been conducted off La Jolla, California using a Robinson R44 helicopter as a low-frequency (≈13–2500 Hz) sound source. The sound speed of the sand sediment was recovered from the horizontal coherence of the head wave excited in the water column by the helicopter. Previously, on 14 December 2016, with a horizontal aperture of 3 m, this technique returned the sound speed of the sediment, from 800–2300 Hz, as 1682 ± 16 m/s, consistent with the known sediment type. An additional experiment was conducted on 6 February with larger horizontal apertures of 9, 12, and 15 m. The hydrophones, situated 0.5 m above the seabed, received the head-wave signals, allowing the coherence function to be formed over the bandwidth of the airborne source. The sediment sound speed was recovered by matching the zero crossings of the measured coherence function to those predicted by the theory of head-wave generation in shallow water. The dispersion in the sediment sound speed was estimated over a frequency range extending between 27 Hz, the lowest zero crossing of the coherence function, and 2.5 kHz, the bandwidth of the source. [Research supported by ONR, SMART(DOD), NAVAIR and SIO.]
Heat transfer analysis in an uncoiled model of the cochlea during magnetic cochlear implant surgery

Abstract Magnetic cochlear implant surgery requires removal of a magnet via a heating process after implant insertion, which may cause thermal trauma within the ear. Intra-cochlear heat transfer analysis is required to ensure that the magnet removal phase is thermally safe. The objective of this work is to determine the safe range of input power density to detach the magnet without causing thermal trauma in the ear, and to analyze the effectiveness of natural convection with respect to conduction for removing the excess heat. A finite element model of an uncoiled cochlea, which is verified and validated, is applied to determine the range of maximum safe input power density to detach a 1-mm-long, 0.5-mm-diameter cylindrical magnet from the cochlear implant electrode array tip. It is shown that heat dissipation in the cochlea is primarily mediated by conduction through the electrode array. The electrode array simultaneously reduces natural convection due to the no-slip boundary condition on its surface and increases axial conduction in the cochlea. It is concluded that natural convection heat transfer in a cochlea during robotic cochlear implant surgery can be neglected. It is found that thermal trauma is avoided by applying a power density from 2.265 × 107 W/m3 for 114 s to 6.6 × 107 W/m3 for 9 s resulting in a maximum temperature increase of 6∘C on the magnet boundary.
Extracellular vesicles restrict dengue virus fusion in Aedes aegypti cells

Aedes aegypti is the primary vector of dengue virus (DENV), and acquires this virus from a vertebrate host during blood feeding. Previous literature has shown that vertebrate blood factors such as complement protein C5a and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) influence DENV acquisition in the mosquito. Here, we show that extracellular vesicles in cell culture medium inhibit DENV infection in mosquito cells. Specifically, extracellular vesicles enter into mosquito cells and inhibit an early stage of infection. Extracellular vesicles had no effect on virus cell attachment or entry. Instead, extracellular vesicles restricted virus membrane fusion. Extracellular vesicles only inhibited DENV infection in mosquito cells and not vertebrate cells. These data highlight a novel virus-vector-host interaction that limits virus infection in mosquito cells by restricting virus membrane fusion.
Spatiotemporal dynamic monitoring of fatty acid–receptor interaction on single living cells by multiplexed Raman imaging

Numerous fatty acid receptors have proven to play critical roles in normal physiology. Interactions among these receptor types and their subsequent membrane trafficking has not been fully elucidated, due in part to the lack of efficient tools to track these cellular events. In this study, we fabricated the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based molecular sensors for detection of two putative fatty acid receptors, G protein-coupled receptor 120 (GPR120) and cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36), in a spatiotemporal manner in single cells. These SERS probes allowed multiplex detection of GPR120 and CD36, as well as a peak that represented the cell. This multiplexed sensing system enabled the real-time monitoring of fatty acid-induced receptor activation and dynamic distributions on the cell surface, as well as tracking of the receptors' internalization processes on the addition of fatty acid. Increased SERS signals were seen in engineered HEK293 cells with higher fatty acid concentrations, while decreased responses were found in cell line TBDc1, suggesting that the endocytic process requires innate cellular components. SERS mapping results confirm that GPR120 is the primary receptor and may work synergistically with CD36 in sensing polyunsaturated fatty acids and promoting Ca2+ mobilization, further activating the process of fatty acid uptake. The ability to detect receptors' locations and monitor fatty acid-induced receptor redistribution demonstrates the specificity and potential of our multiplexed SERS imaging platform in the study of fatty acid-receptor interactions and might provide functional information for better understanding their roles in fat intake and development of fat-induced obesity.
Enacting Reflection: A New Approach to Workplace Complexities:

The ProblemChange has changed, and workplaces are grappling with new complexities and ambiguities. Human resource development (HRD) scholar-practitioners are called upon to help workplaces learn to...
Updates in diagnosis of the inherited platelet disorders.

Purpose of review To provide a comprehensive update on the current available methodologies and techniques for diagnosis of inherited platelet disorders (IPD). Recent findings The contributions of many groups have resulted in the significant progress in the molecular diagnosis of IPD including the identification of many genes responsible for the various phenotypes. The widespread use and availability of next-generation sequencing has brought to the forefront ethical challenges associated with nontargeted sequencing as well as provided us with novel variants to functionally validate. These requirements have driven the development of novel tools for functional assessment of platelets, although none of the novel techniques beyond sequencing have yet taken clinical hold. Summary Much work is ongoing on functional and molecular assessment of platelet disorders and the incorporation of combined assessments is likely to yield the highest diagnostic results.
Gaussian Process-Based Spatiotemporal Modeling of Electrical Wave Propagation in Human Atrium *

Rhythm regularity of the heart depends on how electrical impulses spread through the cardiac conduction system. Any abnormal activities in the electrical impulses can lead to serious cardiac disorders or sudden death. It is important to understand the electrical activities of the human heart in both healthy and diseased conditions to determine the cause of cardiac disorders and explore the best therapeutic designs. Mathematical models calibrated with clinical and/or in-vitro data are popularly used to study cardiac function and investigate treatment effects. Most of the current human heart models are highly integrated and couple over a hundred equations across different organizational scales of ion channel, cell, and muscle. The model complex poses a significant computational challenge on cardiac simulation. This study developed a metamodel to replace the time-consuming simulation model. Specifically, Gaussian Process (GP) is used to reconstruct the spatiotemporal variations of the cell membrane potential in left atrium. Four different covariance functions were used to infer the potential distributions. The GP model provides an accurate estimation of the spatiotemporal propagation of electrical waves with a small set of data and shows great advantage in computations as compared to traditional models.
Spectral narrowing broadens applications

Four-wave mixing near atomic resonances offers new opportunities for spectral control of extreme ultraviolet pulses.
Potential Need for Pulmonary Rehabilitation Six Months after Hospital Discharge to Home Following COVID-19 Infection

Rationale: Individuals recovering from COVID-19 may have prolonged symptoms and functional limitations well after the acute illness has subsided. Pulmonary rehabilitation, with its interdisciplinary, holistic approach to individuals with complex and systematic manifestations from chronic respiratory disease may be a platform to provide comprehensive healthcare to these patients. Methods: We did a structured telephone interview and review of medical records from a random sample of patients discharged home from our hospital approximately five months after a COVID-19 hospitalization this spring. This was a hypothesis-generating study. Data categories included: 1) Demographics;2) Acute disease severity markers;3) Dyspnea (Modified MRC);4) A structured review of systems (ROS);and 5) Generic heath status (Medical Outcomes Study Short Form -12, Version 1). The SF-12 has 8 domains and physical and mental composite scores (PCS and MCS, respectively). Results: In our sample of 26 patients, 65% were male, age (mean ± SD) was 60 ± 16 years, hospital length of stay was 5.6 ± 3.5 days, interval from discharge to telephone contact was 154 ± 34 days, 85% had pneumonia, and 42% required > 4 L/min supplemental oxygen. The most common positive ROS categories were: (% for each) dyspnea (50), cognitive impairment (38), fatigue (27), and sleepiness (24). The MRC (range, 0-4 with higher scores indicating more dyspnea) was 0.87 ± 1.00, corresponding to breathlessness hurrying or walking up a slight hill;27% were MRC2 or higher. SF-12 Composite and its 8 domain scores for the sample are given in Table 1. Comparative reference values for these variables from a large sample are provided. Conclusions: Patients discharged from the hospital following COVID-19 infection approximately five months earlier had, on average, mild-to-moderate MRC dyspnea and mild-to-moderate impairments in general health status. It is uncertain whether these abnormalities are residual effects of the remote COVID -19 infection or represent unrelated medical or mental problems. Limitations of our study include its small size and potential selection bias from evaluating those discharged directly to home from the hospital. Based on these observations, pulmonary rehabilitation would not be uniformly indicated months after hospital discharge for COVID-19. However, in view of the considerable variability in dyspnea and health status, the intervention would be reasonable in selected patients with more substantial limitations.
Optimal Planning and Operation of Hidden Moving Target Defense for Maximal Detection Effectiveness

Moving target defense (MTD) in the power system is a promising defense strategy to detect false data injection (FDI) attacks against state estimation using distributed flexible AC transmission system (D-FACTS) devices. A hidden MTD (HMTD) is a superior MTD method, as it is stealthy to sophisticated attackers. However, the optimal planning and operation of D-FACTS devices that ensure the MTD hiddenness and maximal detection effectiveness are challenging yet unresolved issues. In this paper, we tackle these challenges by first deriving a novel hiddenness operation condition. Then, we propose an analytical sufficient condition on the D-FACTS placement for HMTDs using a graph-theory-based topology analysis. A depth-first-search-based D-FACTS placement algorithm is proposed to guarantee the MTD hiddenness while maximizing the rank of its composite matrix, i.e., an indicator of the MTD effectiveness, and covering all necessary buses. Additionally, we propose DC- and AC-HMTD operation models to determine the setpoints of D-FACTS devices. The optimization-based DC-HMTD model overcomes the drawbacks of the existing HMTD operation. The ACOPF-based HMTD operation model minimizes the generation cost to utilize the economic benefit of D-FACTS devices. Comparative numerical results on the IEEE 14-bus and IEEE 57-bus systems show the efficacy of the proposed planning and operation approaches.
Surface roughness simulation in topologically complex optical metadevices and metasystems

Optical metadevices are commonly simulated using ideal structures. These perfect geometries are useful for finding significant features of their optical response. In practice, fabrication of such metadevices often results in non-ideal rough structures. Surface roughness is relatively difficult to implement for non-parametrically generated metadevice geometries. We present a method of simulating the effects of surface roughness on the optical response of metastructures using open source Python packages to generate rough importable meshes. The optical response is then simulated using a FEM solver. By simulating many structures with identical roughness statistics, we demonstrate inhomogeneous broadening in the average response.
Utility of MODIS Aerosol Optical Depth for Estimating PM2.5 Exposure in Environmental Public Health Surveillance

As part of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (EPHTN) the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is leading a project called Health and Environment Linked for Information Exchange (HELIX-Atlanta). The goal of developing the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network is to improve the health of communities. Currently, few systems exist at the state or national level to concurrently track many of the exposures and health effects that might be associated with environmental hazards. An additional challenge is estimating exposure to environmental hazards such as particulate matter whose aerodynamic diameter is less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers (PM(2.5)) HELIX-Atlanta's goal is to examine the feasibility of building an integrated electronic health and environmental data network in five counties of Metropolitan Atlanta, GA (Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties). Under HELIX-Atlanta, pilot projects are being conducted to develop methods to characterize exposure; link health and environmental data; analyze the relationship between health and environmental factors; and communicate findings. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA/MSFC) is collaborating with CDC to combine NASA earth science satellite observations related to air quality and environmental monitoring data to model surface estimates of PM(2.5) concentrations that can be linked with clinic visits for asthma. From 1999-2000 there were over 9,400 hospitalizations per year in Georgia with asthma as the primary diagnosis. The majority of these hospitalizations occurred in medical facilities in the five most populous Metro-Atlanta counties. Hospital charges resulting from asthma in Georgia are approximately $59 million dollars annually. There is evidence in the research literature that asthmatic persons are at increased risk of developing asthma exacerbations with exposure to environmental factors, including PM(2.5). Thus, HELIX-Atlanta is focusing on methods for characterizing population exposure to PM(2.5) for the Atlanta metropolitan area that could be used in on-going surveillance. While use of the Air Quality System, (AQS) PM(2.5) data alone could meet HELIX Atlanta, specifications, there are only five AQS sites in the Atlanta area, thus the spatial coverage is not ideal. Also, the AQS ground observations are made at time intervals ranging from one hour to six days leaving some temporal gaps. NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) data have the potential for estimating daily ground level PM(2.5) at 10 km resolution over the metropolitan Atlanta area supplementing the AQS ground observations and filling their spatial and temporal gaps.
The Cardiac Ventricular Action Potential

The sections in this article are: 1 Fundamental Principles 2 The Ventricular Cell is A Complex Interactive System 3 Ionic Basis of the Action Potential 3.1 The Normal Action Potential 3.2 The Premature Action Potential and Adaptation to Rate 4 Heterogeneity of Ventricular Action Potentials 5 Abnormal Repolarization. Example—Early Afterdepolarizations 6 Effects of Ionic Concentrations on the Action Potential. Example—Sodium Overload 7 Pathological Action Potential Changes. Example—Acute Ischemia 8 Epilogue
Solitary Colonic Ganglioneuroma: A Rare Incidental Finding of Hematochezia

Ganglioneuromas (GNs) are hamartomatous tumors derived from the autonomic nervous system. It is rare to encounter GN in the gastrointestinal tract. Patients with these tumors usually present with abdominal pain, constipation, ileus, weight loss, or even bleeding. GNs are categorized into three different morphological subtypes, namely, polypoid GN, ganglioneuromatous polyposis, and diffuse ganglioneuromatosis. We present a case of hematochezia from GN in a colon polyp discovered on diagnostic colonoscopy. Due to a lack of guidelines, we reviewed the literature to discuss treatment and other associated conditions for GN.
How geographically concentrated is poverty in Fiji

In this paper, we present highly disaggregated estimates of expenditure-based poverty in Fiji using data from the 2007 national census and 2008–2009 Household Income and Expenditure Survey. Predicted poverty is estimated at provincial and tikina levels. Poverty in Fiji is marked by considerable spatial heterogeneity that cannot be gauged by the division level household survey estimates revealing pockets of poverty even within relatively well-off regions. Predicted poverty is highest in Cakaudrove province in Northern Division. Most strikingly, we find that 50% of all the poor in Fiji are concentrated in just 6 out of 85 tikinas, namely Suva, Labasa, Ba, Naitasiri, Vuda and Nadi. This finding has important implications for efficiency of targeted poverty alleviation programmes. We also focus on squatter settlements for which poverty headcount estimates using the Household Income and Expenditure Survey are not feasible. We find these settlements have rates of poverty headcount ratio that range from 38–55% depending on the Division the squatter settlement is located in; this range is significantly higher compared with the average urban poverty estimated at 26% and raises important social policy issues for addressing urban poverty.
Anemia of Lead Intoxication: A Role for Copper

Lead-induced anemia in rats, which is of a microcytic, hypochromic type, has been shown to be a result of an interference with the metabolism of copper and iron. In this complex interaction, copper may be the target upon which ingested lead has its antagonistic effect on hematopoiesis. The depressions in hematocrit and hemoglobin levels resulting from exposure to lead may occur secondarily to the effects of a lead-induced copper deficiency on iron mobilization and utilization. The metabolic fault induced by lead is seen in a reduction of serum iron, elevation of serum iron binding capacity, and increase in liver iron, all manifestations of systemic effects related to an interference with copper metabolism. These results relate many of the characteristics of the lead-induced anemia to those found in the copper-deficiency anemia. 22 references, 3 figures, 4 tables.
Including inductive effects in interconnect timing analysis

Including inductive effects in interconnect timing analysis has become increasingly important in today's deep submicron designs. In this tutorial paper we will describe the technology trends that brought us to this juncture, summarize when inductance should be included, and consider some of the extraction and modeling techniques available. This coverage will not be an exhaustive summary of all the extraction and analysis techniques available, but one that is primarily focused on extraction methods that efficiently capture frequency dependence due to proximity effects and moment-based analysis techniques.
Alpha Trianguli Australis (K2 II-III) - Hybrid or composite?

The prototype hybrid-spectrum giant Alpha Trianguli Australis exhibits a far-ultraviolet continuum which is considerably bluer than would be expected of a star of its optical colors, suggesting the presence of a previously unrecognized companion. If the K-type primary is as luminous as indicated by the widths of its Ca II and H-alpha lines, the companion could be an early F-type dwarf that only recently has arrived on the main sequence. Indeed, the flux of C IV from Alpha TrA - an important measure of hybridness - would not be inconsistent with that expected from a very young chromospherically active F star.
Manufacturing supply chain applications 2: parameterization of fast and accurate simulations for complex supply networks

More efficient and effective control of supply networks is conservatively worth billions of dollars to the world economy. Adopting an approach by which the basic disciplines of Industrial Engineering, Control Engineering, System Simulation and Business Re-Engineering are integrated into one comprehensive system has been known to produce impressive results. This paper discusses a modular approach to develop a discrete event simulation model that has the appropriate level of abstraction to capture the inherent complexities that exist in a supply chain and is yet simple, fast and produces results of high fidelity. It discusses a method to parameterize each module by fine-tuning a few parameters to make it represent an entire factory, a warehouse or a transportation link.
The social epidemiology of HIV transmission among African American women who use drugs and their social network members.

Abstract Despite 15 years of prevention efforts, recent increases in HIV infection have been documented for Black women in the US. Little is known about the role played by HIV status disclosure in high HIV prevalence communities. 180 Black women who used drugs in the past 30 days were recruited between May 2002 and May 2004 in New York City. Women were administered a structured network questionnaire and HIV serotested. Risk practices, HIV status disclosure within networks and mixing patterns by known HIV status are examined. Most (85%) women had used crack in the past 30 days; 48 (27%) had injected drugs, 65 (36%) reported anal sex, and 99 (55%) reported sex work at some time. Forty (22%) women were HIV-seropositive; 29 (16%) knew their seropositive status. Of high risk individual behaviours, only a history of sex work was associated with an HIV-seropositive status [(aOR=3.0; 95%CI: 1.3–7.3), p=.01]. Few (7%) of 600 network members disclosed an HIV positive status, although 73% were sex or drug use partne...