cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of Silicate Polymers on Erythrocytes in Presence and Absence of Complement

The effects of silicates upon erythrocytes depend upon the degree of polymerization. Monomeric silicate does not appear to be taken up by red cells. Polymerized silicates are taken up and bound tightly. In the presence of small polymeric forms erythrocytes are lysed by complement. Larger polymers are bound to erythrocytes but do not sensitize to complement hemolysis. Larger polymers, however, are directly toxic and cause hemolysis in the absence of complement. Red cells exposed to complement-active polymers show characteristic alteration in morphology with the assumption of irregular bell shapes. Larger polymers cause the cells to become spherical before spontaneous rupture occurs. Large polymers cause erythrocyte agglutination but this is minimal or absent with small complement-active polymers. Complement-active polymers cause little or no change in osmotic fragility. Increase in mechanical fragility is a sensitive indication of the presence of larger, agglutinating polymers. The conversion of pneumococci from Gram positivity to negativity appears to be caused principally by complement-active polymers. Possible implications of polymer size and complement activity are discussed in relation to production of silicotic lesions by silica-containing ores.
Remarks on "Comments on the limitations of the Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits for a receiving antenna"

Collin (see IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, no.45, p.119-124, 2003) remarks that Love (see IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, vol.45, no.4, p.98-99, 2003) has misinterpreted his. In the paper under discussion, he did not discuss the efficiency of a receiving antenna or give any comment on the maximum efficiency a parabolic receiving antenna could have. Love's statement that it appears that Collin believes most receiving antennas cannot have an efficiency greater than 50% is speculation on his part.
An electroencephalographic recording platform for real-time seizure detection

There are currently no clinical devices that can be worn by epilepsy patients who suffer from intractable seizures to warn them of seizure onset. Here we summarize state-of-the-art therapies and devices, and present a second-generation hardware platform in which seizure detection algorithms may be programmed into the device. Bi-polar electrographic data is presented for a prototype device and future implementations are discussed.
Isolated subaxial cervical spine stenosis in achondroplasia

Abstract Although isolated subaxial cervical spine stenosis in achondroplasia is less common than narrowing at the foramen magnum, thoracolumbar junction, or lumbar spine, it should be recognized as a distinct entity. These congenital changes usually become symptomatic when combined with degenerative changes in early adult life. Yearly monitoring of adult achondroplastic patients for signs and symptoms of cervical myelopathy or radiculopathy is recommended. When this develops, early surgical decompression should be considered, as these patients generally do not respond well to nonoperative treatment. The altered anatomy and small size make these cases particularly challenging. A thorough history and examination and complete diagnostic testing are necessary to gain an understanding of the exact etiology of the symptoms. Wide laminectomies and foraminotomies are then usually required to decompress the spinal cord and nerve roots. Fusion using internal fixation may be required to stabilize the spine if excessive bone is removed. (Curr Surg 57:354–356)
Ultrastructural evaluation of thyroid parafollicular cells of pigs with naturally occurring atrophic rhinitis.

Recent investigations have directed attention to the role of the thyroid gland in maintaining calcium homeostasis19. The thyroid glands of mammals contain an independent population of endocrine cells responsible for the synthesis and secretion of thyrocalcitonin (calcitonin), the recently characterized hypocalcemic and hypophosphatemic hormone. The immunofluorescent studies of BUSSOLATI and PEARSE~ localized the synthesis and storage of thyrocalcitonin to the parafollicular (thyroid C-) cells. Ultrastructurally the cytoplasm of parafollicular cells in different species contains numerous membranebound, electron-dense secretory granules89 239 27, 33. Investigations by BAUER and TEITELBAUM3 suggest that the hypocalcemic activity in the thyroid gland be associated with these granules. The active particulate fraction of porcine thyroid homogenates contained membranelimited granules resembling morphologically the secretory granules of intact parafollicular cells. The number and distribution of secretory granules within parafollicular cells have been shown to be responsive to changes in the concentration of calcium in the blood. Hypercalcemic perfusion of the thyroid gland resulted in a rapid degranulation of the cytoplasm in rats and dog@, 17. The synthesis and release of thyrocalcitonin are known to be regulated by changes in the level of calcium in the bloodll. Thyrocalcitonin acts mainly on bone where it inhibits resorption stimulated by parathyroid hormone or other factors but also may stimulate formation of bone183 22928. Some investigators have postulated that the difficulties in demonstrating a physiologic role for thyrocalcitonin at
Low-frequency scattering by rectangular cylinders

An integral equation formulation is used to investigate potential problems associated with low-frequency scattering by both dielectric and perfectly conducting cylinders of rectangular cross section. Induced dipoles and scattering cross sections are obtained for 1) waves with \bar{E} or \bar{H} parallel to the axis, and 2) directions of propagation perpendicular and parallel to the broad side of the rectangle.
An Attack Simulator for Systematically Testing Program-based Security Mechanisms

The use of insecure programming practices has led to a large number of vulnerable programs that can be exploited for malicious purposes. These vulnerabilities are often difficult to find during traditional software testing. In response to these difficulties, various program-based security mechanisms have been proposed to help protect potentially vulnerable programs. Testing these security mechanisms, however, also can be difficult and is currently rather ad hoc. In this paper, we describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of an attack simulator that enables the systematic and semi-automatic testing and evaluation of the effectiveness of current and future security mechanisms by automatically providing numerous contexts for testing the reliability of the mechanisms. Capable of automatically creating attacks on running programs by dynamically adding code (but not modifying existing code), the attack simulator can run in different modes and simulate attacks at various program points systematically. Through a case study, we demonstrate how our tool can be used to test two well-known security mechanisms for stack smashing attacks in several different testing modes
Minitubular transcortical microsurgical approach for gross total resection of third ventricular colloid cysts: technique and assessment.

Objective “Open” transcortical and transcallosal approaches allow gross total colloid cyst resection but require a wider surgical corridor through normal brain tissue compared with endoscopic techniques. Although the use of tubular retractor systems has been previously reported, the minimum required diameter size for the retractor tube has been approximately 16 to 22 mm. Our objective was to explore the use of smaller retractor tubes for total resection of colloid cysts. Methods A minitubular retractor with a 12-mm diameter was used to access and resect colloid cysts using microsurgical techniques while preserving stereoscopic vision as an alternative to open and endoscopic surgical routes. Results This technique was adopted in five patients with larger than 10-mm colloid cysts to allow for gross total resection of the cysts in every case without any complication. Conclusions Smaller retractor tubes may be used for resection of colloid cysts while minimizing brain retraction injury and potentially improving outcomes.
A New Species of Gaultheria (Ericaceae) from Mount Kinabalu, Borneo, Malaysia

Abstract. We describe Gaultheria paucinervia P. W. Fritsch & C. M. Bush (Ericaceae: Gaultherieae), a new species apparently restricted to the eastern slopes of Mt. Kinabalu in Sabah State, Borneo, Malaysia. This species has been confused with G. borneensis Stapf, but differs in its more erect habit and larger stature, longer nonappressed leaf trichomes, purple (vs. white) fruiting calyx, and lower elevation range, among other features. The two species are furthermore well separated in molecular phylogenetic analyses, with G. paucinervia grouping in a clade of other eastern Asian species sharing whitish green abaxial leaf surfaces, racemose inflorescences, and a fleshy calyx surrounding a dry capsule.
Developmental stages of the chondrocranium in some selachians

Serial sections of seven embryos were examined, in four of which the chondrocrania were reconstructed. Parachordals appear as independent precartilages on each side of the notochord in the otic region. Later chondrification occurs, and they fuse with the notochord. Orbitals and trabeculae appear as independent precartilages; later, as cartilages they fuse with the basal plate and with each other, forming the cranial wall between the orbital cavity and brain. An apparent shifting posteriorly of the bases of the fifth, seventh, and eighth cranial nerves, in respect to the anterior end of the notochord and to the otic vesicles, occurs between the 10-mm. and the 60-mm. stages. The otic vesicles, proportionately small in the 10-mm. stage, reach their relatively largest size in the 19-mm. embryo. The floors of the otic capsules begin as lateral extensions of the basal plate at the 25-mm. stage, and from these anlagen chondrifications extend, forming the anterior and posuerior cupolas. Most of the tegmen cranii forms by chondrifications that approach the median plane from each side. It is practically complete in the 60-mm. embryo. The cervical neural arches also contribute in forming the tegmen cranii and the occipital region. The ventrally recurved end of the notochord of the 10-mm. stage persists through the 60-mm. embryo.
Fundamentally-based kinetic model for propene pyrolysis

Abstract The primary objective of this work is to develop an improved fundamentally-based mechanism that describes the molecular weight growth kinetics observed during propene pyrolysis. Earlier attempts to describe the kinetics in terms of theoretically plausible reactions generally under-predicted the low temperature reactivity. To address this issue, propene pyrolysis experiments were performed at 575–875 °C with nominal residence times of ∼2.4, 1.2 and 0.5 s at ∼0.83 atm. These data were compared to a kinetic model that includes several reactions that involve allyl radicals. Specifically, electronic structure calculations at the CBS–QB3 level were performed for various allyl radical reactions, including addition, recombination, and hydrogen abstraction. This updated model is able to capture the observed fuel conversion, production of major products, and formation of molecular weight growth species. The sensitivity and rate of production analyses show that allyl reactions play important roles for both fuel conversion and product formation. In particular, allyl addition to propene leads to production of CH3 and H. The H-atoms can add to propene to form CH3 radicals, and both CH3 and H can abstract from propene to regenerate allyl, completing the reaction chain. This model also successfully predicts the fuel conversion and major products for selected literature propene pyrolysis data.
Stochastic costly state verification and dynamic contracts

Abstract I consider a dynamic costly state verification environment in which a risk-averse agent enters into a contract with a risk-neutral principal. The agent has random income which is unknown to the principal but can be verified at a cost. The principal can commit to executing random verifications. I extend the standard recursive methods to study the problem and show that it is optimal to set verification probabilities strictly less than 1. If the agent׳s absolute risk aversion declines sufficiently slowly, the principal will use verification regardless of its cost. If the agent's income is verified then he would get consumption and continuation utility strictly higher than if his income were not verified.
Relationships between nutrition-related knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavior for fifth grade students attending Title I and non-Title I schools

The Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) is a widely used theory for nutrition education programming. Better understanding the relationships between knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavior among children of various income levels can help to form and improve nutrition programs, particularly for socioeconomically disadvantaged youth. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavior among fifth grade students attending Title I (≥40% of students receiving free or reduced school meals) and non-Title I schools (<40% of students receiving free or reduced school meals). A validated survey was completed by 55 fifth grade students from Title I and 122 from non-Title I schools. Differences in knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavior scores between groups were assessed using t test and adjusted for variations between participating schools. Regression analysis was used to determine the relationships between knowledge, self-efficacy, and behavior. In adjusted models, the Title I group had significantly lower scores on several knowledge items and summary knowledge (P = 0.04). The Title I group had significantly lower scores on several behavior variables including intakes of fruits (P = 0.02), vegetables (P = 0.0005), whole grains (P = 0.0003), and lean protein (P = 0.047), physical activity (P = 0.002) and summary behavior (P = 0.001). However the Title I group scored higher on self-efficacy for meal planning (P = 0.04) and choosing healthy snacks (P = 0.036). Both self-efficacy (β = 0.70, P < 0.0001) and knowledge (β = 0.35, P = 0.002) strongly predicted behavior; however, only self-efficacy remained significant in the Title I group (self-efficacy, β = 0.82, P = 0.0003; knowledge, β = 0.11, P = 0.59). Results demonstrate disparities in nutrition knowledge and behavior outcomes between students surveyed from Title I and non-Title I schools, suggesting more resources may be necessary for lower income populations. Findings suggest that future nutrition interventions should focus on facilitating the improvement of children's self-efficacy.
Dispute Resolution and Power Project Permitting in China

China's alternative dispute resolution processes (ADR) allow arms-length citizen input into power projects, but citizens only had limited meaningful input into several power projects that are among those that added more than 330 gigawatts to China's grid in the past four years. This article analyzes dispute resolution tools in China and it presents case studies that explore citizen involvement in two projects: the Nu River hydropower project and the Nansha refinery. Although citizens' influence is primarily indirect, some of China's permitting processes have been influenced by after-the-fact xinfang dispute resolution and government citizen-interest "champions." The studies demonstrate a tentative movement towards greater, but still highly limited, citizen participation while China continues to rapidly expand its power capacity. (The final version is on the TJOGEL website, which I cannot link to due to SSRN policy; this is the draft version that was submitted to TJOGEL).
Allende’s Chile and the Inter-American Cold War

Tanya Harmer’s international history of Salvador Allende’s Chile is a welcome addition to Cold War historiography on conflict in the global south. She presents the strategy for a peaceful path to s...
Disability and physical and communication-related barriers to health care related services among Florida residents: A brief report

Abstract Background Research has not fully characterized barriers to health care faced by persons with disabilities (PWD) which constitutes a critical gap given the increased risk of chronic illness faced by PWD. Objective To understand the current barriers to seeking health care-related services for PWD in Florida. Methods The study was based on a random-digit-dial telephone interview survey of respondents aged 18 and over ( n = 1429). Multivariable logistic regression assessed the relationship between disability and physical and communication barriers. Results One thousand four hundred and twenty-nine Florida residents participated in the survey. Thirty-three percent of respondents ( n = 471) reported having a disability. PWD were significantly older (mean age 68 vs. 61) and had lower levels of income and education than persons without disabilities (PWOD) ( p Conclusions PWD disproportionately face health care access difficulties that can impede the receipt of high quality care within and between provider visits. Efforts to reduce physical barriers and improve communication between providers and PWD may improve functional status and quality of life for these patients.
Nutritional Management of Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes Mellitus

Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes Mellitus (CFRD) is a serious and common complication of cystic fibrosis. CFRD is a unique form of diabetes, which is different in cause and in approach to nutrition therapy from the more well-known type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. CFRD is a silent disease and one of the first manifestations may be nutritional failure. CFRD leads to more rapid lung function decline and earlier death in patients with CF and therefore screening and treatment of this disorder are essential to the care of CF patients. As with all forms of diabetes, nutrition therapy is essential to the care of the CF patient with CFRD. However, the nature of CF nutritional needs and the nature and pathophysiology of CFRD itself means that typical diabetic nutrition education is not sufficient for the patient with CF and diabetic nutrition education must be tailored to the specific needs of the patient with CF and diabetes. Additional concerns can be alterations in insulin sensitivity with illness, need for supplemental feeding, the use of steroid therapy, and potential for disordered eating, as well as the overarching need for high caloric intake. The only acceptable treatment for CFRD is insulin, which means that carbohydrate counting and management are essential to the successful management of this disease. However, treatment of CFRD normally results in reversal of nutritional failure and improvement in overall health of the patient with CF.
Multivariate conditional outlier detection and its clinical application

This paper overviews and discusses our recent work on a multivariate conditional outlier detection framework for clinical applications.
Mechanisms and Developmental Roles of Promoter-proximal Pausing of RNA Polymerase II

RNA polymerase II (Pol II) temporarily stops transcription after synthesizing 30-50 bases, and resumes elongation only after stimulations by various signaling molecules and developmental cues. This phenomenon, called promoterproximal pausing, is observed in 10-50% of the entire genes from Drosophila embryos to human cells. Release of paused Pol II is primarily mediated by the activated form of positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) initially sequestered in the inhibitory 7SK small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (7SK snRNP) complex. Many proteins and RNAs have been discovered and studied in detail to explain the process of the pausing and release of Pol II in relation to P-TEFb. At the functional level, promoter-proximal pausing regulates genes involved in stimulus-response and development in Drosophila. In mammalian stem cell biology, pausing is important for proliferation and signaling in embryonic stem cells and the formation of induced pluripotent stem cells. Other than this, however, little is known about the biological significance of pausing in mammalian cell differentiation. Further study on pausing mechanisms as well as its functions will contribute to the development of stem cell biology and its clinical applications.
Establishing that the VM-M3 Model of Metastatic Cancer Exhibits Cancer Cachexia

While most cancer deaths are a result of metastatic disease, an estimated one-third can be attributed to cachexia. Cancer cachexia is characterized by the loss of body weight and skeletal muscle ma...
Syntactic structure of Spanish parasynthesis: towards a split little-v via affectedness

In this paper, I claim that the syntactic structure of Spanish parasynthetic verbs a-…-ar (e.g. a-bland-ar ‘to soften’) and en-…-ar (en-dulz-ar ‘to sweeten’) provides (further) evidence for a decomposed vP structure. I propose that these verbs are represented with a structure where v.Caus and verbalizer-v are distinct. In particular, I analyze transitive a-/en-…-ar verbs as complex predicates with a v.Caus-headed vP and a Small Clause (SC) that denotes change of state/location for the theme. These verbs differ in the properties of a projection (XP), located between vP and SC, whose head expresses how specific the result state/location for the internal argument is: a-...-ar specifies a (particular) result state/location for the internal argument whereas en-...-ar remains underspecified with regard to a (particular) result state/location.
Leveraging the Crowd to Capture Highly Variable Task Models

Crowdsourcing has been shown to be effective for collecting large-scale data for many applications due to its low cost, low individual effort, and propensity for high variability. These qualities can greatly benefit learning from demonstration (LfD), where resource constraints typically prevent practical large-scale demonstration collection. We present and evaluate novel interaction techniques and interfaces for task LfD, for use within an approach that leverages crowdsourced demonstrations to capture more complete and varied task models.
Design Principles for Barrier-Screw Extruders (Abstract)

As early as in 1959 the first barrier screws were introduced to make the melting process in single screw extruders more efficient. The operating principles of most barrier screws are based on a separation of the molten and unmolten polymer by an auxiliary flight gradually transversing the main screw channel.
Undergraduate Educational Pathways for Developing a High-Performance Computing Workforce

The need for college graduates with high-performance computing (HPC) skills is rapidly increasing with the greater interest in tasks requiring big data processing. Major needs in medicine, geosciences, and data analytics, among other disciplines, drive demand for an HPC literate workforce. This paper presents a new Computer Science minor for high-performance computing (HPC) and a state-wide competition that provide a structured environment for development of graduates with the skills needed to enter the HPC workforce. The HPC minor is designed to provide undergraduate science and engineering students with a foundation in HPC basics to pursue advanced HPC study in graduate school or enter the HPC workforce. The minor is available to a wide range of disciplines with a minimum of additional required coursework to minimize cost. The HPC cluster competition provides a structured environment for high-school, undergraduate, and graduate students to gain experience in HPC and to spark their interest in the field.
Flow of a gravity current in a porous medium accounting for drainage from a permeable substrate and an edge

A propagating viscous gravity current that leaks fluid through a permeable substrate and a fixed edge is studied. Results address the time evolution of the profile shape, the amount of fluid loss through each drainage mechanism, and practical implications for CO${}_{2}$ sequestration and leakage problems.
Phantomia vadimii (Dicranaceae), a New Moss Genus and Species from Northern Vietnam

Phantomia vadimii S. He & W. R. Buck, a new moss genus and species, is described from Lao Cai Province, northern Vietnam. The new taxon is characterized by its abruptly convolute leaf shoulders; the presence of a median row of stereid cells in the upper lateral costal cross sections; a weakly differentiated marginal border at the leaf base; and the absence of a central strand in the stem. The new genus shares some characteristics with Chorisodontium (Mitt.) Broth. in having a narrow basal costa that flares outward at the midleaf and persistent, inflated alar cells. It also has an anatomical similarity to the leaf costal cross sections (especially the upper leaf costa) of Dicranodontium Bruch & Schimp. The similarities and differences of the new genus in comparison with the genera of Campylopodioideae and Dicranoideae are discussed.
The Wrong Pocket: Union Liability for Health and Safety Hazards

In the past several years, certain courts have permitted employees to sue their unions to recover damages caused by occupational hazards. The author contends that unions should not be liable to their members for neg ligent failure to enforce health and safety standards. Rather, unions should be held only to the duty of fair representation toward their mem bers, and to their contractual promises to the employer.
Risk and Uncertainty in Environmental Management

When it comes to environmental conflict, what makes some decisions more difficult than others? For example, the state of California routinely experiences thousands of wildfires each year, hundreds of which are the natural result of lightning strikes. If these naturally occurring phenomena are so common, what makes decisions related to the management of these situations so challenging?
Reversal of normal pressure hydrocephalus symptoms by subdural collections.

sous-durale. Introduction: La pathogenese des symptomes de l'hydrocephalie normotensive (HNT) est mal connue. Selon une theorie, les ventricules lateraux sont agrandis, le liquide ventriculaire exerce une force accrue sur les parois ventriculaires et la pression demeure normale, selon le principe de Pascal F = P x S. Il n'a pas ete possible d'obtenir de preuve directe en faveur de cette theorie. Methode: L'occasion d'en connaitre davantage sur ce sujet s'est presentee quand on a constate que deux patients presentant une HNT symptomatique ont ete soulages de leurs symptomes quand ils ont developpe une collection sous-durale bilaterale, l'un apres un traumatisme crânien et l'autre apres une derivation ventriculo-peritoneale pour son HNT. Resultats: Dans chaque cas, avec la formation de collections sous-durales et la disparition des symptomes, le systeme ventriculaire a retreci. Chez le premier patient. les symptomes sont reapparus quand les collections sous-durales se sont resorbees Chez l'autre, les symptomes sont reapparus quand les collections sous-durales sont devenues importantes. Conclusion: Bien que la documentation n'ait pas ete aussi exhausive que souhaitee, le soulagement des symptomes a ete attribue a la diminution de la taille ventriculaire plutot qu'a une diminution de la pression intraventriculaire. ce qui est en faveur du principe F = P x S comme mecanisme responsable des symptomes de l'HNT.
Formal properties of the conjugations in modern Aramaic

A typical Semitic language has verbs of several inflectional classes which are constituted not by differences in the prefixes or suffixes that are taken by verbs of the different classes but by differences in the canonical syllabic shape of the stems and in the vowel melodies assigned to them. The inflectional classes also have derivational implications, though these are, like most derivational relationships, rather loose and full of idiosyncracies. The phonology and morphology of such classes has been treated by McCarthy (1981) and McCarthy and Prince (MS: 64–67) for Arabic, where there are fifteen, though five of them are sparsely attested, and by Bat-El (1989) and Inkelas (in press) for Hebrew, where there are five. In the theoretical literature the traditional Hebrew term for such classes, binyan (pl. binyanim) has been applied to the classes in other Semitic languages as well, and it will be used here.
Modeling Correlations Between Diagnostic Tests in Efficacy Studies with an Imperfect Reference Test

In the Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) study, we compare five screening tests in terms of sensitivity and specificity for detecting CT in endocervical specimens. The five tests are correlated, and the reference test (cell culture test) is subject to error. The conventional method which ignores both the correlations between the tests and the misclassifications of the reference test cannot provide valid analysis. We propose a model by which one can evaluate and compare the sensitivities and specificities for correlated diagnostic tests with an imperfect reference test, or even without any reference test. We use a hybrid algorithm, which consists of the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm and the Newton-Raphson method, for its maximum likelihood estimation.
A review of the reproductive habitat preferences and conservation challenges of a rare, transient, and ecologically restricted darner dragonfly: Rhionaeschna mutata

Rhionaeschna mutata is a rare North American dragonfly that is considered a species of concern or threatened throughout its range. It is most widely distributed in the eastern USA, but recent adult...
Management of brain metastases from large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung: improved outcomes with radiosurgery.

Objectives: Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) of the lung is a rare pulmonary tumor, having similar natural history and management strategy as small cell lung cancer. Therefore, the manag...
A practical guide to the use of psychotropic medications during pregnancy and lactation

The use of psychotropic medications during the perinatal period is often met with fear and discomfort on the part of both clinicians and patients. There is a great deal of misinformation about the risks of medication use during pregnancy and lactation. The risk of untreated or undertreated mental illness during this time is an important consideration when making treatment recommendations. This paper serves as a practical guide for clinicians who may be treating patients with psychotropic medication during the perinatal period. A heuristic tool for making treatment decisions will be introduced, and coverage of specific psychiatric disorders and medication classes will be provided.
Associations between Weight Loss, Food Likes, Dietary Behaviors, and Chemosensory Function in Bariatric Surgery: A Case-Control Analysis in Women

We tested the hypothesis that successful weight loss post-bariatric surgery would be associated with healthier chemosensory function, food likes, and dietary behaviors than either unsuccessful weight loss or pre-surgery morbid obesity. In a case-control design, pre-surgical women with morbid obesity (n = 49) were compared with those 1-year post-surgery (24 Roux-en-Y Bypass, 24 Sleeve Gastrectomy) and defined by excess or percent weight loss as successful/unsuccessful. For self-reported smell/taste perception, more post-surgery than pre-surgery reported improved/distorted perception, especially if weight loss successful. Measured taste function (perceived quinine and NaCl intensity) was lower among weight loss unsuccessful versus pre-surgery patients, yet a genetic variation in taste probe (propylthiouracil bitterness) matched expected frequencies without significant pre/post-surgery difference. Regarding survey-reported liking, higher diet quality was seen in the weight loss successful (independent of surgery type) versus pre-surgical patients, with differences driven by lower sweet and refined carbohydrate liking. The post versus pre-surgical patients had greater restraint but less hunger and disinhibition. Patients reporting both higher diet quality and lower hunger showed greater % weight loss, independent of surgery type. Thus, successful weight loss 1-year post-bariatric surgery was associated with improved or distorted chemosensation and patterns of liking associated with healthier diets, especially if coupled with less hunger.
Redox Characteristics of Covalent Derivatives of the Higher Fullerenes C70, C76, and C78

The electrochemical properties of covalent derivatives of the higher fullerenes C70, C76, C2v-C78, and D3-C78, bearing bis(alkoxycarbonyl)methano addends, were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and/or steady-state voltammetry (SSV). Included in this study were a series of previously prepared mono- to tetrakisadducts of C70, monoadducts of C76, and bis- and trisadducts of C2v-C78 and D3-C78. For all compounds, several (up to five) reduction steps and one or two oxidation steps were observed. The reduction steps usually required more energy than the corresponding processes in the parent fullerenes whereas the oxidation steps became facilitated with increasing degree of addition. A notable exception to this trend was the observation that two C76 monoadducts were more readily reduced than the parent fullerene and one was more difficult to oxidize. The electrochemical properties of C70 derivatives were found to closely resemble those of C60 adducts. Constitutional isomers displayed nearly identical redox...
An Efficient Preparation of 2,6-Di-t-Butyl-1,4-Benzoquinone

Abstract A convenient and high yielding preparation of 2,6-di-t-butyl-1,4-benzoquinone from the iron-catalyzed oxidation of 2,4,6-tri-t-butylphenol with t-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) under acidic conditions is reported.
Winning the ICCV 2019 Learning to Drive Challenge.

Autonomous driving has a significant impact on society. Predicting vehicle trajectories, specifically, angle and speed, is important for safe and comfortable driving. This work focuses on fusing inputs from camera sensors and visual map data which lead to significant improvement in performance and plays a key role in winning the challenge. We use pre-trained CNN's for processing image frames, a neural network for fusing the image representation with visual map data, and train a sequence model for time series prediction. We demonstrate the best performing MSE angle and best performance overall, to win the ICCV 2019 Learning to Drive challenge. We make our models and code publicly available.
Inferring TF activation order in time series scRNA-Seq studies

Methods for the analysis of time series single cell expression data (scRNA-Seq) either do not utilize information about transcription factors (TFs) and their targets or only study these as a post-processing step. Using such information can both, improve the accuracy of the reconstructed model and cell assignments, while at the same time provide information on how and when the process is regulated. We developed the Continuous-State Hidden Markov Models TF (CSHMM-TF) method which integrates probabilistic modeling of scRNA-Seq data with the ability to assign TFs to specific activation points in the model. TFs are assumed to influence the emission probabilities for cells assigned to later time points allowing us to identify not just the TFs controlling each path but also their order of activation. We tested CSHMM-TF on several mouse and human datasets. As we show, the method was able to identify known and novel TFs for all processes, assigned time of activation agrees with both expression information and prior knowledge and combinatorial predictions are supported by known interactions. We also show that CSHMM-TF improves upon prior methods that do not utilize TF-gene interaction.
Utilization of Hydroxyl-Methyl Butyrate, Leucine, Glutamine and Arginine Supplementation in Nutritional Management of Sarcopenia—Implications and Clinical Considerations for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Risk Modulation

While onset characteristics may vary, sarcopenia gradually develops over time as a result of the aging process, leading to muscle loss, disturbance of the muscle to fat ratio, and a variety of negative symptoms undermining the wellbeing, quality of life, and lifespan in the aging population globally. There is evidence that sarcopenia may be a cause and consequence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the aging population. The importance of nutritional management in the prevention and/or deceleration of sarcopenia is critical, with the main focus placed on the amount and quality of protein intake. Significant efforts are being made towards the development of medical nutrition therapies involving certain amino acids and amino compounds, as well as their combinations, for the improvement in muscle strength, muscle function and protein synthesis. This may reduce hospitalization times and hasten the recovery of patients with sarcopenia. The administration of protocols with varying dose and frequencies, as well as their efficacy, is being investigated. In the work herein, we present and evaluate data derived from human trials regarding the utilization of hydroxyl-methyl butyrate (HMB), L-leucine (Leu), L-glutamine (Gln) and L-arginine (Arg) supplementation for optimal management of sarcopenia in geriatric patients, a topic of significant clinical nutrition interest which may have important implications in T2DM status.
Revealing the critical role of radical-involved pathways in high temperature cyclopentanone pyrolysis

Abstract Cyclopentanone (CPO) is a promising biofuel for spark-ignition engines due to its ring strain and high auto-ignition resistance. Understanding CPO decomposition is crucial for building a high-temperature combustion model. Here we present a comprehensive kinetic model for high-temperature pyrolysis of CPO with verified results from high-pressure shock tube (HPST) measurements. The time-histories of carbon monoxide (CO), ethylene (C2H4), and CPO absorbances over the temperature range of 1156–1416 K and pressure range of 8.53–10.06 atm were measured during current experiments. A corresponding detailed kinetic model was generated using the Reaction Mechanism Generator (RMG) with dominant unimolecular/radical-involved decomposition pathways from either previous studies or quantum calculations within the current work. The obtained model containing 821 species and 79,859 reactions exhibited a good agreement with the experimental results. In this study, the absorbance ratio between C2H4 and CO was used as an important factor to validate models and to prove that radical-involved bimolecular pathways were as significant as unimolecular decomposition of CPO. The rate of production (ROP) analysis showed H radicals play a major role in the decomposition, and the whole decomposition process could be divided into three stages based on the H radical concentration. The insights from present work can be used to generate a better CPO combustion model and help evaluate CPO as an advanced biofuel.
Optimal Selection of Shale Gas Processing and NGL Recovery Plant from Multiperiod Simulation

The advent of unconventional oil and gas has resulted in a plethora of shale gas production, and it has been predicted to increase from 1 in 2000 to 40% in 2035 of the total US domestic gas produced. Since shale gas is both industrially economical and environmentally clean compared to oil or coal as a resource, many studies are focused on developing technologies to monetize shale gas. However, one of the key challenges in utilizing shale gas is its varied flow rate and uncertain compositional behavior. The flow rate of a shale gas well dwindles over a period of time, and the composition differs from well to well in the same shale play. This provides a challenge in designing a plant of optimum capacity for shale gas processing and natural gas liquids (NGL) recovery. In this study, the periodic variation in feed flow rate is addressed while designing shale gas processing and NGL recovery plant. Different shale gas flow rates as obtained from average shale gas rate declination curve of a shale play over the period of well life is used for the design of five different plants with varied capacities. The corresponding economics of different plants are compared to find optimal plant capacity. The base case scenario is further improved through incorporation of heat integration and optimization of individual units of the process using pinch and sensitivity analyses, respectively. Economic analysis of the optimum plant size is also performed with a constant feed flow rate over its entire life. From the economic analysis of various period studies, it is observed that the optimum plant design with highest ROI percentage has more than minimum ROI requirement both with declining and constant flow rate case, implying that the proposed processing plant is economically viable to implement. Finally, environmental impact of the base case and improved design is also discussed.
Metastatic cardiac PEComa presenting as a hemorrhagic pleural effusion: Case presentation and review of literature

Abstract PEComas are a family of mesenchymal tumors with perivascular epithelioid cell (PEC) differentiation that show immunoreactivity for both melanocytic and smooth muscle markers. The most common site for PEComas is the abdominopelvic cavity, specifically retroperitoneal and uterine. Cardiac localization for PEComas is extremely rare and PEComas are rarely of malignant potential. We present the case of a metastatic PEComa of cardiac origin in a patient initially admitted with a hemorrhagic pleural effusion. The patient had metastatic pleural involvement, multiple pulmonary nodules as well as a splenic and right gluteal metastatic lesion. A biopsy of the right gluteal lesion was consistent with PEComa. Further analysis revealed a TFE3 gene rearrangement. The patient was treated with Sirolimus and is tolerating treatment well, two months later. The optimal management of cardiac PEComas is unclear in light of the rarity of this disease. Complete resection appears to be the only curative approach. However, if this is not feasible, systemic therapy is associated with a poor response and there is no prospective data to guide treatment. We therefore proceed to review the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management of this rare entity, looking at prior cases of cardiac PEComas in the English literature.
Understanding the Daily Experiences and Perceptions of Homebound Older Adults and Their Caregivers: A Qualitative Study:

More than 7.3 million older adults in the United States have difficulty leaving their homes or are completely homebound, yet little data exist on the experiences of homebound older adults and their caregivers. We conducted 30 semi-structured qualitative interviews with homebound older adults and caregivers recruited through home-based medical care practices in Baltimore and San Francisco. Thematic template analyses revealed that homebound older adults experience varying degrees of independence in activities of daily living, although their degree of dependence increases over time. Caregivers have a multifaceted, round-the-clock role. Both patients and caregivers experience burdens including social isolation and guilt. Navigating medical care and caregiving was further complicated by the complexity of the U.S. health care system; however, home-based medical care was viewed as a high-quality alternative to hospitals or nursing homes. Our findings suggest that providers and health care systems should expand the availability and accessibility of home-based care and improve caregiver support opportunities.
A Sensitive-eigenvalues based Global Algorithm for Penalized SDP Relaxation of ACOPF

The general difficulty of power and energy optimization problems has a direct impact on power and energy systems management. This is one of the most fundamental concerns that must be dealt with in electrical power system management. In fact, there is a critical and urgent need for developing smart and robust OPF solvers since the conventional options currently available for OPF problems are quite limited. This research is based on AC Optimal Power Flow (ACOPF) with active and reactive quadratically constrained quadratic programming optimization problems of a form that arises in operation and planning applications of the power system. Besides being nonconvex, these problems are identified to be NP-hard. This paper combines successive linear programming (SLP) based on semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation with rank-one reduction algorithm to get a globally optimal solution for ACOPF. Also, this paper briefly introduces the research about utilizing minimum number of $W$ terms in the objective function to improve the computation efficiency. The proposed algorithm is tested on the three test case systems.
Modern Blood Banking

Transfusion medicine is a rapidly evolving discipline. In this chapter we introduce red blood cell antigen and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) systems and their impact on clinical practices. We will also touch on transfusion practice adaptations in an era of limited inventory and considerations of infectious disease risk in blood products.
Probabilistic profiling of stateful data planes for adversarial testing

Recently, there is a flurry of projects that develop data plane systems in programmable switches, and these systems perform far more sophisticated processing than simply deciding a packet's next hop (i.e., traditional forwarding). This presents challenges to existing network program profilers, which are developed primarily to handle stateless forwarding programs. We develop P4wn, a program profiler that can analyze program behaviors of stateful data plane systems; it captures the fact that these systems process packets differently based on program state, which in turn depends on the underlying stochastic traffic pattern. Whereas existing profilers can only analyze stateless network processing, P4wn can analyze stateful processing behaviors and their respective probabilities. Although program profilers have general applications, we showcase a concrete use case in detail: adversarial testing. Unlike regular program testing, adversarial testing distinguishes and specifically stresses low-probability edge cases in a program. Our evaluation shows that P4wn can analyze complex programs that existing tools cannot handle, and that it can effectively identify edge-case traces.
Myoepithelial Carcinoma Ex-Pleomorphic Adenoma: A Rare Pathology Misdiagnosed as Pleomorphic Adenoma; With a Novel TERT Promoter Mutation and High PD-L1 Expression

Myoepithelial carcinoma (MECA) is a rare salivary gland (SG) neoplasm (0.1–0.45% of all SG tumors) that often presents with bland cytomorphology and can be misclassified as cellular pleomorphic adenoma (PA) or myoepithelioma. This is particularly challenging in MECA ex-PA cases, especially if tumor shows minimal to no capsular invasion. We report a rare case of a 76-year-old female; history of left superficial parotidectomy with diagnosis (outside hospital) of cellular PA, who re-presented 9 months post surgery with enlarging left parotid mass, neck lymphadenopathy and facial nerve deficits. FNAB of parotid and neck lymph node revealed cellular aspirates with loosely cohesive clusters of myoepithelial cells with occasional chondromyxoid stroma. Prior resection slides were reviewed, and diagnosis of MECA ex-PA was made. Patient underwent left radical parotidectomy, selective neck dissection, with facial nerve sacrifice (due to extensive encasing by tumor). Histology showed a multinodular tumor with pushing borders, zonal arrangement comprising of a hypocellular, necrotic/myxoid center, and a peripheral rim of myoepithelial cells, confirmed by positive S100, and p63. Tumor extensively infiltrated peri parotid soft tissues with multiple foci of lymphovascular and perineural invasion; and metastatic neck lymph nodes. Next generation sequencing revealed a novel TERT promoter mutation (c.-124C > T), not usually described in SG neoplasms. Further, PD-L1 immunohistochemistry showed positive expression, making patient eligible for anti-PDL-1 immunotherapy. This case highlights importance of recognizing the subtle malignant features of MECA in distinguishing it from benign mimics like PA. In addition, presence of TERT mutation opens a new arena for future research to explore potential treatment targets.