cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nitric Oxide Signalling, Long-Term Potentiation and Long-Term Depression

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses nitric oxide signaling, long-term potentiation (LTP), and long-term depression (LTD). LTP is the long-lasting increase in synaptic transmission that occurs when postsynaptic neurons experience depolarization coupled with presynaptic activity. At the synapses between the Schaffer collaterals and the CA1 pyramidal neurons, LTP is induced when postsynaptic neurons are sufficiently depolarized to relieve the Mg 2+ block of the N -methyl- D -aspartate (NMDA) receptor channel and glutamate is released from presynaptic terminals. The block of LTP observed in the presence of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitors is due to a reduction of the summed postsynaptic depolarization, which occurs during theta burst stimulation. LTD involves a reduction in synaptic strength at synapses on postsynaptic Purkinje cells. The net effect of LTD in the cerebellum is a reduction in inhibition. LTD underlies a form of behavioral plasticity, known as the vestibular ocular reflex. NO functions as an important signal in the cellular events that underlie cerebellar LTD.
Quadratic scalarization for decomposed multiobjective optimization

Practical applications in multidisciplinary engineering design, business management, and military planning require distributed solution approaches for solving nonconvex, multiobjective optimization problems (MOPs). Under this motivation, a quadratic scalarization method (QSM) is developed with the goal to preserve decomposable structures of the MOP while addressing nonconvexity in a manner that avoids a high degree of nonlinearity and the introduction of additional nonsmoothness. Under certain assumptions, necessary and sufficient conditions for QSM-generated solutions to be weakly and properly efficient for an MOP are developed, with any form of efficiency being understood in a local sense. QSM is shown to correspond with the relaxed, reformulated weighted-Chebyshev method as a special case. An example is provided for demonstrating the application of QSM to a nonconvex MOP.
Electrophoretic Transport of Na(+) and K(+) Ions Within Cyclic Peptide Nanotubes.

One of the most important applications of cyclic peptide nanotubes (CPNTs) is their potential to be used as artificial ion channels. Natural ion channels are large and complex membrane proteins, which are very expensive, difficult to isolate, and sensible to denaturation; for this reason, artificial ion channels are an important alternative, as they can be produced by simple and inexpensive synthetic chemistry paths, allowing manipulation of properties and enhancement of ion selectivity properties. Artificial ion channels can be used as component in molecular sensors and novel therapeutic agents. Here, the electrophoretic transport of Na+ and K+ ions within cyclic peptide nanotubes is investigated by using molecular dynamic simulations. The effect of electric field in the stability of peptide nanotubes was studied by calculating the root mean square deviation curves. Results show that the stability for CPNTs decreases for higher electric fields. Selective transport of cations within the hydrophilic tubes ...
Excimer Laser Microstructuring of InP and GaAs Semiconductor Compounds

Due to unique features and the ease with which laser beams can be introduced into a processing chamber, laser beam processing has become increasingly attractive in the investigation of methods for the fabrication of advanced microelectronic and opto-electronic systems. We have studied laser-assisted dry etching ablation (LADEA) with the aim of developing in-situ fabrication of novel opto-electronic devices. The method is based on the application of an excimer laser (λ = 308 nm) for the removal of the products of chemical reaction between chlorine and a semiconductor. We have investigated the mechanism of laser-assisted dry etching and implementation of LADEA for the structuring of InP and GaAs wafers. An atomic force microscopy study has shown the feasibility of LADEA in maintaining atomic level control of the surface morphology. The anisotropy of etching and the direct fabrication of surface gratings with sub-half-μm periods have been analyzed. The methods of contact mask etching and diffraction image printing have been examined and the applicability of this approach for nanostructuring of III-V semiconductors has been discussed.
Type I vs. Type II Extensions

In this chapter, we identify extensions of the initially give positive definite (p.d.) functions F which are associated with operator extensions in the RKHS \(\mathcal{H}_{F}\) itself (Type I), and those which require an enlargement of \(\mathcal{H}_{F}\), Type II. In the case of \(G = \mathbb{R}\) (the real line) some of these continuous p.d. extensions arising from the second construction involve a spline-procedure, and a theorem of G. Polya, which leads to p.d. extensions of F that are symmetric around x = 0, and convex on the left and right half-lines. Further these extensions are supported in a compact interval, symmetric around x = 0.
Heisenberg Algebras, Grassmannians and Isospectral Curves

The connection between Heisenberg algebras and the geometry of branched covers of P1 by Riemann surfaces is discussed using infinite Grassmannians.
Efficient simulation for large scale transistor level electrostatic discharge analysis and simulation

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) has become an important reliability problem of today's semiconductor design. As a result of chip complexity and process scaling, higher resistance in power and ground nets along with increased device density have made ESD protection circuit design and verification quite critical for the proper chip operation over the time. An efficient simulation method coupled with the high capacity linear equations solver has been developed for ESD analysis of extremely large scale processor design. The method has been applied to the power grid meshes of various size and complexity, consistently achieved up to 5X run time improvement over the traditional Spice simulation with accuracy contained below 0.5%.
Women in University Leadership Positions: Comparing Institutions with Strong and Weak Gender Equity Track Records

Using AAUP 2006 faculty gender equity indicators, we compare structural dimensions of the top and bottom ten doctoral-granting institutions. We examine incidence of women in academic and nonacademic leadership positions, expecting higher representation of women in academic leadership roles in the “top” schools. We further examine in detail one “bottom” university’s representation of women in administrative ranks over time, revealing a pattern of an acceptable proportion of nonacademic positions being held by women, but a longstanding low percentage of women in academic leadership positions.
SigmaKB: multiple probabilistic knowledge base fusion

The interest in integrating web-scale knowledge bases (KBs) has intensified in the last several years. Research has focused on knowledge base completion between two KBs with complementary information, lacking any notion of uncertainty or method of handling conflicting information. We present SigmaKB, a knowledge base system that utilizes Consensus Maximization Fusion and user feedback to integrate and improve the query results of a total of 71 KBs. This paper presents the architecture and demonstration details.
Hetero-emitter GaP/Si solar cells with high Si bulk lifetime

III-V/silicon solar cells which have an active silicon bottom solar cell are promising for multi-junction solar cell applications. In such solar cell structures, a high minority carrier lifetime in the bulk silicon substrate is necessary. Annealing silicon wafers at high temperature (> 500oC) in the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) high-vacuum chamber revealed significant lifetime degradation. In this work, we developed a practical method to maintain high Si bulk lifetime. SiN x layer deposited on Si back side helps maintain millisecond level minority carrier lifetime. By this procedure high minority carrier lifetime in the Si substrate is preserved while high quality thin GaP layer is achieved. We demonstrate GaP as a hetero-emitter layer with high Si bulk lifetime in GaP/Si structure solar cell with 524mV open circuit voltage.
Clear Cell Papillary Renal Cell Carcinoma: New Clinical and Imaging Characteristics.

Objective To investigate clear cell papillary (CCP) renal cell carcinoma (RCC), an uncommon tumor of low malignant potential characterized by low-grade, clear cells, showing papillary and tubular architecture. This relatively newly described entity is still being characterized. We present our series of CCP RCC with new clinical and imaging findings. Materials and Methods We reviewed the clinical, pathologic, and imaging findings of 28 CCP RCCs in 21 patients identified from our institution between 2010 and 2016. Results Sixteen of 21 (76%) patients were African American with an equal male-to-female ratio. Mean follow-up was 26.1 ± 16.9 months. Mean age at diagnosis was 58.3 ± 10.7 years, and mean preoperative creatinine was 2.7 ± 2.9 mg/dL. End-stage renal disease or chronic kidney disease was present in 10 of 21 (47.6%) patients. Mean tumor size was 2.2 ± 1.5 cm. All cases were stage pT1, and 25 of 28 (89%) tumors were grade 2. No necrosis or sarcomatoid features were identified. Two patients had synchronous clear cell RCC and 1 patient had synchronous papillary RCC. No recurrence or metastases were identified. On imaging, the majority of the lesions were solid, with relatively low-level enhancement, similar to papillary RCC, with regions of heterogeneous hyper-enhancement, similar to clear cell RCC. The rate of growth on serial imaging was comparable with that observed for other low-staged RCCs. Conclusion In our series, CCP RCC was seen more commonly in African American patients and associated with end-stage renal disease or chronic kidney disease. Imaging characteristics are similar in both clear cell RCC and papillary RCC. A nephron-sparing approach is recommended when surgically feasible.
Process control education using inventory management in supply chains

Abstract Supply chain management (SCM) is concerned with the efficient movement of goods through a network of suppliers and retailers. Effective SCM represents a crucial imperative for all modern, global enterprises. As delayed and uncertain dynamical systems, supply chains provide an excellent opportunity for demonstrating the benefits of control principles to what is traditionally perceived as a “business” problem. This paper describes a series of control systems for a standard production-inventory system (the basic unit of a supply chain) which have been used at Arizona State University as MATLAB®-based exercises in both undergraduate and graduate-level process control courses. Among the important control concepts illustrated by these exercises are: 1) modeling of supply chain dynamics using fluid analogies, 2) the benefits of multi-degree-of-freedom feedback-feedforward control over feedback-only control, and 3) the application of Internal Model Control and Model Predictive Control.
Boosting radiation efficiency of photoconductive nano-antennas through 3D light confinement

We present a novel optically-pumped terahertz antenna array, which offers much higher radiation efficiencies compared to the state-of-the-art. The key novelty of the device is tight confinement of the optical pump beam around the antenna elements. The tight light confinement is provided by a specially-designed plasmonic nano-antenna array and photo-absorbing semiconductor substrate, which operates as a reflector. We experimentally demonstrate a record-high pulsed terahertz radiation power of 4 mW and a radiation bandwidth of 0.1–5 THz, exhibiting one order of magnitude enhancement in radiation efficiency compared to the state-of-the-art.
On the martensitic transformation at temperatures approaching absolute zero

Plastic deformation and straight-cooling experiments on 18-8 and 1 pct C, 20 pct Ni steels demonstrate that the martensitic transformation proceeds with characteristic rapidity even at temperatures approaching absolute zero. These results indicate that the atom-by-atom growth mechanism for martensite formation is invalid, at least in the alloys studied.
Exposure of Seventh and Eighth Grade Urban Youth to Dentistry and Oral Health Careers

While pipeline programs for students from underrepresented minority groups have been established at the high school and college levels, fewer programs have been developed for middle school students. In an effort to reach this cohort, the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry embarked on a grassroots collaborative pipeline program with two distinct segments: Urban Impressions and Dental Imprint. Their purpose is to expose Detroit-area seventh and eighth grade students to careers in dentistry, provide oral health education, and introduce role models. The aim of this pilot study was to determine outcomes for the middle school participants in Urban Impressions (n=86) and Dental Imprint (n=68). Both segments featured hands-on dental activities at the dental school. Outcomes were assessed by pretest-posttest surveys. Across the three cohorts, a total of 86 students participated in one or more sessions, with 57 completing the pre- and post-program surveys, for a 66% response rate. The results showed that the Dental Imprint respondents' knowledge of oral health, dental admissions, and specialties increased by an average 26% over three years. The gain in knowledge for each cohort was statistically significant (p<0.001). Overall, 91% of Urban Impressions and 95% of Dental Imprint respondents were positive about the value of the program. Thirty-one of 57 Urban Impressions respondents indicated interest in dentistry as a career following the program. These results suggest that the two segments of this program are meeting their goals of increasing middle grade students' awareness of oral health professions including dentistry and providing access to role models. Institutions may benefit from the description of strategies used by this program to address challenges related to establishing early pipeline programs.
Food Instability and Academic Achievement: A Quasi-Experiment Using SNAP Benefit Timing:

Although social policies aimed at low-income families are thought to promote children’s educational success, little research has examined how these policies are related to children’s academic achievement. This article focuses on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the United States’ largest food assistance program. Using administrative data on over 148,000 SNAP-receiving public school children, we analyze the recency of SNAP benefit transfer and children’s end-of-grade math and reading achievement test scores. Results indicate differences in students’ math and reading performance based on the recency of SNAP benefit transfer. Although the relationship is stronger for reading than for math, the relationship between students’ test scores and SNAP transfer is roughly curvilinear. Test scores peak in the third week following benefit transfer.
Nichtinvasive Messung von Darmischämie mit dem SQUID Magnetometer

Introduction: Acute mesenteric ischemia is an abdominal catastrophe that carries high morbidity and mortality rates. Current diagnostic methods, however, lack sensitivity and specifity and do not provide information about the viability of the affected bowel. The basic electrical activity of the gastrointestinal tract is characterized by BER (basic electrical rhythm). The frequency of BER decreases early after induction of intestinal ischemia. SQUID (Superconducting QUantum Interference Device) magnetometers can non-invasively record the intestinal BER. SQUIDs measure magnetic fields that are created by the electrical activity of the gastrointestinal smooth muscle. Methods: A midline laparotomy was performed on 10 male adult New Zealand rabbits under general anesthesia (acepromazine, xylazine, ketamine). One segment of small bowel was lateralized to the right and one to the left side and sutured to the abdominal wall. The animal was positioned under the SQUID (GutSQUID I, one Channel, Conductive, San Diego,USA). After baseline recordings of 15 min, ischemia was induced in one of the lateralized bowel segments by ligation of its vascular supply. Alternate 2 min recordings were taken from the ischemic and the normal segment for 120 min. In a second experiment, 4 rabbits were measured for 15 min baseline and 45 min ischemia with GutSQUID II (19 Kanale, Tristan, San Diego, USA). Here, the animal was kept in one position under the SQUID. Data from each channel was filtered and spectrally analyzed using an autoregressive technique. We produced false-color isoharmonic frequency (IHF) maps of magnetic field spectra in different frequency bands (only GutSQUID II). Two independent investigators blinded to the experimental preparation evaluated the results (mean ± SEM). Results: Both SQUID magnetometers recorded oscillatory magnetic fields with frequencies typical for BER in all animals. In experiment 1 (GutSQUID I), the baseline BER was 11.8 ± 0.9 cpm (cycles per min). After 120 min of ischemia, BER decreased to 7.8 ± 0.6 cpm but stayed unchanged in the not ligated segment (p < 0.001). In experiment 2, BER decreased from baseline 18.4 ± 1.25 cpm to 12.7 ± 0.75 cpm after 15 min and further to 10.1 ± 0.7 cpm after 1 hour. GutSQUID II allowed mapping of gastrointestinal activity and exact localization of the ischemic segment. The blinded investigators correctly identified healthy and ischemic magnetic recordings with a sensitivity of 94% and a specifity of 100%. Conclusion: Ischemia leads to characteristic changes in the bioelectrical activity of small bowel, which can be non-invasively detected by SQUID magnetometers. Multi-channel SQUIDs allow exact localization of ischemic bowel segments.
Epigenomics and Human Obesity

Abstract Obesity has become one of the most urgent public health problems globally with the steepest increases in prevalence reported among socioeconomically disadvantaged and ethnic minorities. Obesity is associated with sizable reductions in life expectancy and quality of life. Although evidence from model systems supports that epigenetic dysregulation may cause obesity, the affected pathways are still unclear. This chapter summarizes human data on CpG methylation, the most studied epigenetic mechanism in humans, in the context of causal inference, in adults and children. Recent technological advances in the measurement of CpG methylation have led to the identification of multiple obesity-related sequence regions. Still limited are data on the temporal stability of regions identified thus far, and the extent to which obesity-related sequence regions remain significant in ethnic minorities. We conclude with a call for sex- and ethnic-specific data, together with data demonstrating that obesity-associated DNA methylation marks identified precede obesity.
State Space and ARMA Representation

This chapter establishes the equivalence of time series model descriptions in terms of well-known ARMA models and less familiar Markovian (state space) models, introduces the notion of minimal dimensional models and the associated minimal dimensional state vectors, and presents several methods for putting models into state space forms in general and into the observable canonical form in particular. Although econometricians and statisticians are perhaps less accustomed to the state space representation of time series, this representation is quite useful in building innovation models of times series.
A Case of Suspected Bilateral Ophthalmic Artery Occlusion, Spinal Cord Infarction, and Agranulocytosis in a Cocaine User (P07.234)

OBJECTIVE: To describe a case of suspected bilateral ophthalmic artery occlusion, spinal cord infarction, and agranulocytosis that we propose was secondary to smoking levamisole-tainted crack cocaine. BACKGROUND: Cocaine use is associated with vascular complications, including ischemic infarcts, hemorrhagic infarcts, and central retinal artery occlusion. Levamisole is a cocaine adulterant that is used either as a cutting agent or for possible pharmacological effects. It can cause reversible agranulocytosis and cutaneous vasculitis. DESIGN/METHODS: We describe the clinical presentation and results of relevant diagnostic testing, including computed tomography angiography (CTA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). RESULTS: A 50-year-old male who frequently smoked crack cocaine presented with progressive binocular vision loss (right then left) and left lower back pain and numbness with subsequent development of bilateral lower extremity paralysis, loss of sensation, and urinary retention. Ophthalmological examination revealed dilated and non-reactive pupils, absence of light perception in both eyes, disc edema, attenuated arteries, and venous engorgement as well as delayed filling and disc leakage on intravenous fluorescein angiography. Laboratory work-up was notable for an ANC of 0, mildly elevated ESR/CRP, elevated anti-cardiolipin antibodies, positive rheumatoid factor, elevated dsDNA, positive HLA-B27, and positive p-ANCA. Serum and CSF NMO-antibody were both negative. Head CTA showed right ophthalmic artery narrowing with a nearly occluded mid-portion. While initial head MRI was unrevealing, subsequent MRIs showed bilateral optic nerve enhancement and restricted diffusion as well as lesions within the brainstem and cerebral white matter. MRI of the spinal cord showed a high T2 signal lesion at the level of T9-T10. CONCLUSIONS: We describe the clinical presentation and diagnostic test results of a case of suspected cocaine and levamisole related complications. Clinicians should be aware not only of the potential vascular complications of cocaine use but of the potential complications associated with the adulterant levamisole. Disclosure: Dr. Schneider has nothing to disclose. Dr. Samkoff has nothing to disclose.
Embolic Materials Used for Portal Vein Embolization

The gamut of embolic materials has been used for portal venous embolization. Local preferences appear to dictate the choice of embolic material, as there are no clear data supporting a superior choice among absolute ethanol, cyanoacrylate, fibrin glue, and small particle embolization with or without coils – the techniques accounting for the majority of recent PVE series. Among these, differing technical demands include the need for specialized catheters for the delivery of ethanol and fibrin glue. The contralateral approach, which carries risk for injury to the future liver remnant, is most commonly used when ethanol or cyanoacrylate is used. Standard angiographic catheters inserted from an ipsilateral approach can be used to deliver small particles with or without coils, making this potentially the simplest technique. The results of embolization using any of these methods are fairly consistent and therefore the strategy best adapted to the skills of local operators should be employed.
Adhesion of ungerminated Colletotrichum musae conidia

Abstract Conidia of Colletotrichum musae adhered to a greater extent on hydrophobic than on hydrophilic substrata. Polystyrene was chosen as a model substratum to study adhesion of conidia since surface hydrophobicity on polystyrene and the banana fruit was similar and conidia adhered equally well to both surfaces. Conidia adhered several hours before germ tubes emerged. On polystyrene, 47% and 94% of the conidia adhered when incubated for 2 h at 1 and 24 °C, respectively. After 4 h at either temperature, > 84% conidia adhered. Concentrations of Triton X-100 and SDS which did not affect spore viability inhibited adhesion. Conidia were relatively non-adhesive when killed with heat, formaldehyde, or UV light. Conidia incubated with the proteolytic enzyme pronase E adhered significantly less than controls. Conidia that were treated with pronase E and then washed regained adhesiveness, suggesting that cell-surface protein(s) are involved in adhesion of conidia and that the adhesive material can be produced at more than one time prior to germ tube emergence.
Further characterization of the autoantibody response of Palmerston North mice.

PN mice spontaneously develop, with age, a lupus-like disease. The present study further evaluated autoantibody production in female PN mice. As early as 1 month of age, all PN mice had detectable IgM antibodies to dsDNA and ssDNA and two-thirds produced IgM anticardiolipin antibodies. By 3 months of age, all PN mice exhibited evidence of isotype switch in their autoantibody response; 88–100% had serum IgG antibodies to ssDNA and dsDNA, respectively. By 6–12 months of age, essentially all female PN mice had IgG antibodies to ssDNA, dsDNA, cardiolipin and other phospholipids (PS, PC, PI, and PG), and IgG and 63% produced IgG anti-mouse erythrocyte antibodies. In addition, 50–100% produced IgA antibodies to dsDNA and ssDNA, and one-third produced IgA anti-IgG antibodies. Antibodies to U1RNP and Sm were present in 81% of 6- to 12-month-old PN mice and 39–94% had IgG or IgM antibodies to mouse thymocytes. Although all four IgG isotypes were represented in the anti-dsDNA response, IgG1 antibodies dominated the IgG anticardiolipin response. The presence of IgA autoantibodies and the predominance of IgG1 in the IgG anticardiolipin response suggest that IL-4 and either IL-5 and/or TGF-β serve as B cell stimulatory cytokines for autoreactive B cells in PN mice.
Beyond the immigrant enclave: Differentiating between coethnic neighborhoods for the study of health and social problems.

Where one lives relates to various health risks and social problems, and the ways in which neighborhoods are changing may have implications for the health and well-being of ethnic minority populations. Much of the extant research relating coethnic neighborhoods, or ethnically dense geographic areas, to health and risk behaviors use broader measurements such as proportion of coethnics or immigrants to capture this construct. I argue that using a single variable to define a coethnic neighborhood oftentimes does not account for social processes in these areas that may be related to health and risk. This study uses a mixed methods approach to establish criteria to differentiate between ethnic enclaves and ethnoburbs in Los Angeles County, California. The process of classifying the two coethnic neighborhood types for five Asian ethnic subgroups underwent an iterative process of using (1) administrative data to identify neighborhood areas within zip codes and (2) interviews with key community stakeholders. The final criteria for establishing neighborhood typologies included percent ethnicity, population density, and percent families in poverty. Operationalizing the ethnoburb in comparison to the ethnic enclave will enable a more nuanced study of coethnic neighborhood effects on health and social problems for diverse populations.
Center Variation in Hospital Costs for Pediatric Heart Transplantation: The Relationship Between Cost and Outcomes

There are limited published data addressing the costs associated with pediatric heart transplantation and no studies evaluating the variation in costs across centers. We aimed to describe center variation in pediatric heart transplant costs and assess the association of transplant hospitalization costs with patient outcomes. Using a linkage between the Pediatric Health Information System and Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients databases, hospital costs were assessed for patients (< 18 years of age) undergoing heart transplantation (2007–2016). Severity-adjusted patient costs were calculated using generalized linear mixed-effects models with a random hospital intercept. Center variation in hospital cost was described after adjusting for the predicted risk of in-hospital mortality. Post-transplant survival was compared between low- and high-cost centers using Cox proportional hazard models. A total of 2156 patients were included from 24 centers. There was 3.7-fold variation in transplant hospitalization costs across centers, ranging from $329,477 to $1,226,507. Patients transplanted at high-cost centers have a higher predicted risk of in-hospital mortality (8.1% vs. 6.1%, p < 0.001). Both early (p = 0.008) and long-term (p = 0.003) post-transplant survival were better in patients transplanted at low-cost centers. Transplant at low-cost centers was associated with improved post-transplant survival, independent of patient-specific risk (adjusted hazard ratio 0.72; 95%CI 0.57–0.92, p = 0.008). There is wide variation in cost for pediatric heart transplant inpatient care among U.S. centers with low-cost centers demonstrating the best patient survival. Differences in patient populations likely contribute to these findings, but cannot account for all the variation seen. This suggests that variability in the delivery of care across centers may influence post-transplant survival.
Reflections on Teaching The Wire: Developing a Radical Pedagogy

This essay applies the concept of the white racial frame (Feagin 2010) in a critical reflection of the authors use of the popular HBO series The Wire. By positioning the authors subjectivity and experiences teaching the series as a pedagogical tool, the author argues that issues of race, gender, and agency are problematic for classroom use. Despite its popularity in academia students are generally ill-prepared to understand a long history of housing policy and residential segregation to their understanding of The Wire. By default, the white spatial imaginary undermines the critical nature of the show because it only depicts the ghetto where the critical task is to explain the structures that created the modern American ghetto.
inLaneCom: Enabling In-lane Vehicular Communication Using on-Board Smartphones

This paper introduces inLaneCom - a framework to facilitate message exchange between vehicles on the same lane. Given the GPS infeasibility for a lane-level accuracy, inLaneCom utilizes smartphone's inertial sensors to generate a unique lane signature used as lane ID in the exchanged messages. Lane signature consists of combined features extracted from phone's inertial sensors. Two main features types were exploited: physical features and traffic features. Physical features capture the characteristics of the lane surface such as bumps, potholes, and energy. Traffic features capture traffic characteristics such as speed, number of stops, waiting time per stop, acceleration, and deceleration. inLaneCom was evaluated under various road conditions, on highways and urban roads, using different types of vehicles. To the best of our knowledge, inLaneCom is the first framework to enable communication between vehicles on the same lane. This framework would enable several safety and navigation applications that require data exchange between vehicles on the same lane.
Fundamentals of Arabic Grammar

Fundamentals of Arabic Grammar provides an authoritative guide to Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) grammar. It has been organised to promote a thorough understanding of MSA grammar and presents its complexities in a cohesive and user-friendly format, filling many gaps left by other textbooks. Explanations are clear, full and accessible and extensive cross-referencing, two generous indices and six appendices provide users with easy access to the information they require. No prior knowledge of linguistic terminology is required. Features include: Expert treatment of a full range of grammar topics and structures, including the case system, Idhaafa, the equational sentence, quantifiers and the vocative, generously spread across thirty eight chapters Special attention to parts of speech, such as nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs and propositions, given at the beginning of the book to acquaint students with the basic units of Arabic and provide a solid foundation for further learning A wide range of contemporary examples drawn from real life to provide solid context to grammar points, further supported by word glosses and idiomatic translations of sentences Grammatical terms given in both Arabic and English A wide variety of supplementary learning resources such as practice sheets, exercises and verb tables available for free download at http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415710046/ Substantial bibliography incorporating primary Arabic grammar sources in addition to secondary sources in Arabic and in English Fundamentals of Arabic Grammar has been field tested over a number of years and has been written by a highly experienced teacher of Arabic. It will be an essential resource for students and teachers of Arabic at all university levels and is suitable for use both as a companion reference text in Arabic language courses and as a standalone text in independent grammar classes.
Are we listening to everything the PARK genes are telling us

The cardinal motor symptoms that define Parkinson's disease (PD) clinically have been recognized for over 200 years. That these symptoms arise following the loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra has been known for the last 50. These long-established facts have fueled a broadly held expectation that degenerating dopaminergic neurons alone hold the key to understanding and curing PD. This prevalent expectation is at odds with the observation that many nonmotor symptoms, including depression and cognitive inflexibility among others, can appear years earlier than the overt dopaminergic neuron degeneration that drives motor abnormalities and are not improved by levodopa treatment. Thus, preserving or rescuing dopamine neuron health and function is of paramount importance, but this alone fails to capture the underlying neurobiology of earlier-appearing nonmotor symptoms. Insight into the complete landscape of disease-related abnormalities and the context in which they arise can be gleaned from a more comprehensive consideration of the PARK genes that are known to cause PD. Here, we make the case that a full incorporation of research showing when and where PARK genes are expressed as well as the impact of gene mutation on function throughout life, in tandem with research studying how dopaminergic neuron degeneration begins, is essential for a full understanding of the multi-dimensional etiology of PD. A broad view may also reveal something about long-term adjustments cells and systems make in response to gene mutation and help to identify mechanisms conferring the resilience or susceptibility of some cells and systems over others.
Pali Buddhist Ideas about the Future

This article surveys ideas of the future?€”specifically whether it will be (i) worse, (ii) the same, or (iii) better, for individuals and/or society?€”in the Pali imaginaire, a corpus of texts produced and circulated in the agrarian states of premodern South and Southeast Asia and which survives as a resource for Buddhists in the vastly changed conditions of the modern, globalized world.
Leveraging SDN to Enable Short-Term On-Demand Security Exceptions

Network security devices intercept, analyze and act on the traffic moving through the network to enforce security policies. They can have adverse impact on the performance, functionality, and privacy provided by the network. To address this issue, we propose a new approach to network security based on the concept of short-term on-demand security exceptions. The basic idea is to bring network providers and (trusted) users together by (1) implementing coarse-grained security policies in the traditional way using conventional in-band security approaches, and (2) handling special cases policy exceptions in the control plane using user/application-supplied information. By divulging their intent to network providers, trusted users can receive better service. By allowing security exceptions, network providers can focus inspections on general (untrusted) traffic. We describe the design of an on-demand security exception mechanism and demonstrate its utility using a prototype implementation that enables high-speed big-data transfer across campus networks. Our experiments show that the security exception mechanism can improve the throughput of flows by trusted users significantly.
Solution processible statistical poly(3-methoxythiophene)-co-poly(3-hexylthiophene) copolymer

Abstract Growing energy demand is provoking researchers to investigate semiconducting polymers for use in a wide variety of applications such as organic-based thermoelectric generators, solar panels, and thin-film transistors. Polythiophene has attracted wide interest in organic-based electronics due to the high stability of its (un)doped states, ease of structural modification, and solution processability. Herein, is described the synthesis of a thiophene monomer, 3-methoxythiophene, and its polymerization, (poly(3-methoxythiophene)) (PMoT), and statistical copolymerization with 3-hexylthiophene, poly((3-methoxythiophene)-co-(3-hexylthiophene)) (PMoT-P3HT), using Grignard Metathesis polymerization in place of more traditional electropolymerization of alkoxy thiophenes. 3-methoxythiophene synthesis is verified at each intermediate step using 1H NMR spectroscopy. PMoT-P3HT exhibited improved solubility in common organic solvents over PMoT due to the presence of the alkyl side chain. Analysis using the Spano model reveals PMoT-P3HT has a similar optical band gap and stretching mode energy to P3HT while absorbing a greater portion of the UV spectrum. Quantum chemical calculations by way of Density Functional Theory (DFT) were used to estimate polymer structures and electronic properties, which were found to capture experimental trends very well.
Deepfake news: AI-enabled disinformation as a multi-level public policy challenge

The advent of ‘DeepFake' content that is increasingly difficult for humans and machines to distinguish as artificial portends a number of challenges to democratic societies. In order to effectively...
Adjuvant treatment improves overall survival in women with high-intermediate risk early-stage endometrial cancer with lymphovascular space invasion

Background Adjuvant therapy in early-stage endometrial cancer has not shown a clear overall survival benefit, and hence, patient selection remains crucial. Objective To determine whether women with high-intermediate risk, early-stage endometrial cancer with lymphovascular space invasion particularly benefit from adjuvant treatment in improving oncologic outcomes. Methods A multi-center retrospective study was conducted in women with stage IA, IB, and II endometrial cancer with lymphovascular space invasion who met criteria for high-intermediate risk by Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) 99. Patients were stratified by the type of adjuvant treatment received. Clinical and pathologic features were abstracted. Progression-free and overall survival were evaluated using multivariable analysis. Results 405 patients were included with the median age of 67 years (range 27–92, IQR 59–73). 75.0% of the patients had full staging with lymphadenectomy, and 8.6% had sentinel lymph node biopsy (total 83.6%). After surgery, 24.9% of the patients underwent observation and 75.1% received adjuvant therapy, which included external beam radiation therapy (15.1%), vaginal brachytherapy (45.4%), and combined brachytherapy + chemotherapy (19.1%). Overall, adjuvant treatment resulted in improved oncologic outcomes for both 5-year progression-free survival (77.2% vs 69.6%, HR 0.55, p=0.01) and overall survival (81.5% vs 60.2%, HR 0.42, p Conclusion Adjuvant therapy improves both progression-free survival and overall survival in women with early-stage endometrial cancer meeting high-intermediate risk criteria with lymphovascular space invasion. External beam radiation or adding chemotherapy did not confer additional survival advantage compared with vaginal brachytherapy alone.
The pattern of electrolyte excretion in normal and hypertensive subjects before and after saline infusions: A simple electrolyte formula for the diagnosis of primary aldosteronism☆

Abstract Electrolyte excretion and serum electrolytes were studied in 99 subjects—19 normal subjects, 62 patients with essential hypertension, 10 with hypertension and renal disease, and 8 patients with primary aldosteronism—during administration of a low sodium diet and during 2 days of intravenous sodium loading. With saline infusions patients with primary aldosteronism gained significantly less weight, excreted significantly more potassium on each day of infusion, and excreted significantly more sodium on the first day of infusion only, than the other groups studied. Mean serum potassium levels fell significantly with saline infusions in patients with primary aldosteronism but remained unchanged in the other groups. From these observations a diagnostic formula based on potassium clearance corrected for sodium excretion was derived by which patients with primary aldosteronism could be separated completely from the other groups, with the exception of 1 patient with renal disease. Although patients with primary aldosteronism tended to have lower salivary sodium/potassium ratios than patients with essential hypertension, the difference was not significant.
44. DO IT FOR THE “GRAM”: USING INSTAGRAM TO EDUCATE THE MILLENNIAL LEARNER

The millennial learner has a characteristic learning style. Studies have shown that millennial's want their teaching to be creative, and to take place in an informal, relaxed environment. Millennial's spend upwards of 2.5 hours on social media each day. Chief residents at a large pediatric residency program (101 residents) created a private, resident-only Instagram page through which educational material is delivered. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the utility of social media for the advancement of medical education. On the account, “One Minute Teaching” stories were posted on a regular basis. Topics were chosen by the pediatric residents. Examples include stories on pyloric stenosis, mastoiditis, and Henoch-Schonlein Purpura. At the beginning of the 2019-2020 academic year, a series of “Tips and Tricks of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR)” was also presented to introduce the incoming interns to several basic best practices for using the EMR. Stories were created by both the chief residents and pediatric third year residents during a dedicated “Resident as Teachers” rotation. After the stories were posted, viewers were surveyed if they felt the information presented was helpful in a yes/no poll. To date, eight clinical “One Minute Teaching” stories and seven “Tips and Tricks of the EMR” stories have been created and posted. An average of 40 residents watched each clinical teaching story and 51 residents watched each EMR teaching story. 99% of residents who viewed the clinical teaching stories and 98% of residents who viewed the EMR teaching stories reported that they found the information helpful. Social media is heavily used by the millennial population, but has not yet been largely adopted for use in a teaching capacity, specifically in medical education. The success of this large pediatric residency program in using Instagram to teach focused, clinically-relevant topics suggests that there is a role for social media to be used in this teaching context.
Inflammatory and Antioxidant Gene Transcripts: A Novel Profile in Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation

Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is the most common complication after cardiac surgery; however, antiarrhythmic strategies have not lowered the rate of POAF. This study aimed to identify specific gene transcripts of atrial inflammation, inflammatory handling, and oxidative stress associated with POAF. Left atrial tissue was obtained from 50 patients undergoing intended degenerative mitral repair who did not have any of the following risk factors for POAF: history of atrial fibrillation or other arrhythmia, left atrial diameter greater than 6.0 cm, or left ventricular ejection fraction less than 40%. Postoperative outcomes and left atrial tissue messenger ribonucleuc acid (mRNA) levels were recorded. Parametric 2-sample t-tests and chi-square tests were used to evaluate for statistical significance in comparing POAF and non-POAF groups. Within 30 days of surgery, 19 of 50 of patients (38%) developed POAF. There were no significant preoperative, intraoperative, or postoperative differences between POAF and non-POAF patients. In the tissue transcriptome analysis, POAF patients were found to have a worse preoperative inflammatory state with higher levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha, Interleukin-6, and nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells mRNA, worse inflammatory handling capacity with lower levels of nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor mRNA, and reduced antioxidant defenses with lower levels of glutathione synthetase, glutathione reductase, and mitochondrial superoxide dismutase 2 mRNA. This study found POAF patients to have preoperative left atrial tissue profiles suggestive of more inflammation, worse inflammatory handling, and reduced antioxidant defenses against oxidative stress. Investigation of therapies targeted to the tissue-specific inflammatory transcriptome of POAF patients is warranted.
A Method of Filter Implementation Using Heterogeneous Computing System for Driver Health Monitoring

Research in any field of study requires analysis and comparisons or real-time predictions to extract useful information. To prove that the results have practical potential, various filtering techniques and methodologies should be designed and implemented. Filters being a class of signal processing helps innovate new technologies with various kinds of outcomes, using filters there are always various methods to solve a problem. Considering the current COVID-19 situation, researchers are working on sequencing the novel coronavirus and the genomes of people afflicted with COVID-19 using CPUs and GPUs along with various filtering techniques. In this paper we are using a method of filter implementation to collect raw heart rate data samples from fingertip and ear lobe and process those results on CPUs and GPUs. Our method of implementation to collect raw heart rate data is using a photoplethysmography method. We all know that the moving average filtering technique is the most commonly usedfor averaging an array of sampled data but in this paper we reconstructed the entire moving average filter with a slightly different averaging method where we will prove how our filter technique is better than the traditional moving average filter. This filtering technique is implemented and compared on both GPUs and CPUs. However, the filters on GPUs are slightly altered as per the GPU framework and CUDA programming techniques to optimize and output challenging results. We will also conduct Human trials for this concept and talk about how the heart rate changes while driving and also considering environmental conditions and scenarios. The findings of this work are also compared with apple watch heart rate data as it is the most accurate heart rate sensing device in the market with less than 2% error rate. © 2021 SAE International. All rights reserved.
‘Una piccola Italia.’ L’Argentina e il lavoro degli Italiani: breve storia di un tema che partì socialista e arrivò fascista

This essay analyses the development of a crucial idea: the concept of human work in Italian culture and literature during the final decades of the Nineteen Century and the first four decades of the...
Applying Newman's theory of health expansion to bridge the gap between nursing faculty and Generation Z.

Abstract Background The Generation Z nursing student presents with a set of unique challenges from a faculty perspective since they have experienced technology and the use of screens since infancy. Nursing faculty require a different approach to this generation in order to communicate with, engage, effectively teach, and retain these students, all while revisiting their ideology of what defines student success. Approach Newman's (1994) Theory of Health as Expanding Consciousness serves as a framework that nursing faculty can use to guide interactions and build relationships with Generation Z students to promote autonomy and critical thinking. The use of the mnemonic PROVE can help faculty outline strategies for use to improve metacognition and higher levels of consciousness in students of Generation Z. Outcome By not prescribing to students “what to think”, faculty can focus on helping students learn “how to” think and attain higher levels of consciousness.