cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Systems Approach to the Solid Lubrication of Foil Air Bearings for Oil-Free Turbomachinery

Foil air bearings are self-acting hydrodynamic bearings which rely upon solid lubricants to reduce friction and minimize wear during sliding which occurs at start-up and shut-down when surface speeds are too low to allow the formation of a hydrodynamic air film. This solid lubrication is typically accomplished by coating the non-moving foil surface with a thin, soft polymeric film. The following paper introduces a systems approach in which the solid lubrication is provided by a combination of self lubricating shaft coatings coupled with various wear resistant and lubricating foil coatings. The use of multiple materials, each providing different functions is modeled after oil-lubricated hydrodynamic sleeve bearing technology which utilizes various coatings and surface treatments in conjunction with oil lubricants to achieve optimum performance. In this study, room temperature load capacity tests are performed on journal foil air bearings operating at 14,000 rpm. Different shaft and foil coating technologies such as plasma sprayed composites, ceramic, polymer and inorganic lubricant coatings are evaluated as foil bearing lubricants. The results indicate that bearing performance is improved through the individual use of the lubricants and treatments tested. Further, combining several solid lubricants together yielded synergistically better results than any material alone.
Image Features Extraction for Multimedia Database Content Description

The new multimedia content description standard MPEG-7 and its related framework standard MPEG-21 have been gained lots of interests by the academic and multimedia industry recently. One of the key issues that need to be determined is how to correctly extract and measure the similarity of content features. In this paper, we focus on how to effectively extract the image features and select the similar images from database. We adopt the Principle Component Analysis (PCA), Wavelet Decomposition (WD) and Moment Invariants (MI) methods to extract image features. The head-and-shoulder images (standard test images and AR database 2 ) are the main interests. The simulation results shown that our proposed algorithms can successfully select the closest images from database according to the query image.
Prevalence and predictors of sexual risks among homeless youth

This study examined prevalence of sexual risks among homeless adolescents and described factors associated with those risks. Community-based outreach methods were used successfully to access this difficult-to-reach population. The sample included 203 homeless youth aged 15–22 recruited from community sites. Questionnaire items addressed demographics, sexual behaviors, alcohol/drug use, STI history and testing, and pregnancy history. In cross-sectional analysis, 58.7% of males and 75.6% of females reported recent sexual intercourse. Of those, one third of males and half of the females used no barrier method with at least one partner. Both gender (female) and race/ethnicity (non-Black) were associated with having intercourse without a barrier contraceptive method. Over one fifth reported a history of “survival sex” or receiving money, drugs, clothing, shelter, or food for sex. These results show disturbingly high rates of a number of sexual risks, reinforcing the need for targeted interventions with this highly vulnerable population.
Does Disparity in the Way Disabled Older Adults Are Treated Imply Ageism

Although the nearly one in seven Americans who have disabilities share many characteristics, the attitudes toward and the programs, care models, expenditures, and goals for people with disabilities differ substantially across age groups in ways that suggest ageism. Expenditures per recipient are substantially higher for younger individuals with disabilities, largely as a result of more effective advocacy. Programs that are rejected by younger people with disabilities are considered mainstream for older adults. As demographic, social, and economic circumstances change, preserving the programmatic separation will become more problematic. Increased competition for finite resources may motivate a closer examination of commonalities across disabilities in an effort to achieve greater equity.
How to transform peripheral extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in the simplest mid-term paracorporeal ventricular assist device

Abstract Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) provides excellent support to circulation. However, ECMO capacity to effectively assist the heart, and in particular the left ventricle, is limited. We herein review the modifications of left ventricular dynamics during peripheral ECMO, highlight the importance of left ventricle venting and describe a method for the conversion of a femoro-femoral ECMO into a paracorporeal left ventricular assist device.
Construction and characterization of an Escherichia coli strain genetically engineered for Ni(II) bioaccumulation

An Escherichia coli strain that accumulated Ni(II) was constructed by introducing the nixA gene (coding for a nickel transport system) from Helicobacter pylori into JM109 cells that expressed a glutathione S-transferase–pea metallothionein fusion protein. The resulting strain accumulated 15 μmol of Ni(II) per g (dry weight) from a 10 μM Ni(II) solution, four times the level taken up by JM109 cells. Ni(II) accumulation did not require an energy source, was inhibited by only 50% by 0.1 M NaCl, and occurred over the pH range from 3 to 9.
Meter-long plasma source for heavy ion beam space charge neutralization

Plasmas are a source of unbound electrons for charge neutralizing intense heavy ion beams to allow them to focus to a small spot size and compress their axial pulse length. The plasma source should be able to operate at low neutral pressures and without strong externally- applied electric or magnetic fields. To produce one- meter-long plasma columns, sources based upon ferroelectric ceramics with large dielectric coefficients have been developed. The source utilizes the ferroelectric ceramic BaTiO3 to form metal plasma. The drift tube inner surface of the neutralized drift compression experiment (NDCX) is covered with ceramic material, and high voltage (~8 kV) is applied between the drift tube and the front surface of the ceramics. A lead- zirconium-titanate prototype ferroelectric plasma source (FEPS), 20 cm in length, has produced plasma densities of 5times1011 cm-3. It was integrated into the neutralized transport experiment (NTX), and successfully charge neutralized the K+ ion beam. A one-meter-long BaTiO3 source comprised of five 20-cm-long sources has been tested and characterized, producing relatively uniform plasma over the one-meter length of the source in the mid-1010 cm-3 density range. This source has been integrated into the NDCX device for charge neutralization and beam compression experiments. Initial beam compression experiments with this source yielded current compression ratios near 100. Future research will develop longer and higher plasma density sources to support beam compression experiments for high energy density physics applications.
Problem-Based Learning In Accounting

Seasoned educators use an assortment of student-centered methods and tools to enhance their students learning environment. In respects to methodologies used in accounting, educators have utilized and created new forms of problem-based learning exercises, including case studies, simulations, and other projects, to help students become more active versus passive learners. New instructional technologies have also aided in and supported the development of more efficient and effective instructional and learning environments. As a result, these new innovations have proven very effective in delivering and using educational information. The increased utilization of new technologies, user-friendly software, and advanced forms of delivery systems has allowed teachers to engage more students in the learning process. As a result, these new methodologies and tools have enables the students to access, communicate, and share more information more efficiently and effectively in and out of the classroom. This article helps to review some of the more common methods and tools which are being utilized by seasoned instructors.
Individual differences in decision making: Drive and reward responsiveness affect strategic bargaining in economic games

Background: In the growing body of literature on economic decision making, the main focus has typically been on explaining aggregate behavior, with little interest in individual differences despite considerable between-subject variability in decision responses. In this study, we were interested in asking to what degree individual differences in fundamental psychological processes can mediate economic decision-making behavior. Methods: Specifically, we studied a personality dimension that may influence economic decisionmaking, the Behavioral Activation System, (BAS) which is composed of three components: Reward Responsiveness, Drive, and Fun Seeking. In order to assess economic decision making, we utilized two commonly-used tasks, the Ultimatum Game and Dictator Game. Individual differences in BAS were measured by completion of the BIS/BAS Scales, and correlations between the BAS scales and monetary offers made in the two tasks were computed. Results: We found that higher scores on BAS Drive and on BAS Reward Responsiveness were associated with a pattern of higher offers on the Ultimatum Game, lower offers on the Dictator Game, and a correspondingly larger discrepancy between Ultimatum Game and Dictator Game offers. Conclusion: These findings are consistent with an interpretation that high scores on Drive and Reward Responsiveness are associated with a strategy that first seeks to maximize the likelihood of reward, and then to maximize the amount of reward. More generally, these results suggest that there are additional factors other than empathy, fairness and selfishness that contribute to strategic decision-making.
Idiopatic Hemihypertrophy with Leg-Length Discrepancy A revew of twenty-four cases

We examined twenty-four patients with idiopathic hemihypertrophy at Fukuoka Children's Hospital and Medical Center from 1980 to 1989. All cases showed the leg-length discrepancy. The leg length was measured by scanogram from the top of the femoral head to the inferior articular surface of the tibia. We also evaluated the percentage discrepancy which expressed the leg-length discrepancy as a percentage of the longer limb.The leg-length discrepancy of all cases increased as growing, gradually or rapidly, continuously or irregularly. We found great difference in the growing pattern of discrepancy in each case. The percentage discrepancy of most cases tended to show to be fixed and stable after four or five years old. The results suggest that the leg-length discrepancy after growth of the idiopathic hemihypertrophy can be prospected even in the younger children, if the percentage discrepancy is invariable in the growth period.
Electronic Zipping: Ad Agency Views

Television viewers are no longer passive; they have become “adept manipulators of their media environment” (Hey 1987). Seventy-seven percent of U.S. households had television remote controls in 1990 (Shagrin 1990) and, no doubt, the figure is even higher today. The penetration rate for video cassette recorders (VCRs) is well over 70 percent (Hicks 1991). Television-related technology has dramatically influenced the viewing environment (Krugman 1985; Levy 1987). Most viewers routinely use the remote control to change channels in order to avoid commercials and simultaneously watch two or more programs (zapping) or to fast forward through playback of pre-recorded programming (zipping).
"The profession of dentistry:" the University of Kentucky's curriculum in professional ethics.

Among the most important learning that occurs in our nation's colleges of dentistry is learning to be a professional. While knowledge, perceptual-motor skills, and problem-solving abilities are basic to becoming a dentist, helping aspiring colleagues to apply their newly developing skills with integrity must be a fundamental concern. Increasingly, we are realizing that the quality of health care depends as significantly on the character of the health professional as it does on the individual's knowledge and skills. Concern for character, virtue, and integrity is the domain of ethics. This paper advances a justification for including a curriculum in professional ethics in our dental educational programs. The professional ethics curriculum at the University of Kentucky, "The Profession of Dentistry," extends through all four years of the Doctor of Dental Medicine program. The paper describes the major goals pursued in the curriculum and outlines the content of each of the four, sixteen-clock-hour courses. Learning ethics experientially through living in a college community is reviewed in the context of the College of Dentistry's comprehensive Code of Professional Conduct and Academic Responsibility. An assumption of the curriculum is, if the professional relationship of dentistry with society is to be sustained, each new generation of dentists must understand the nature of the profession and the ethical obligations of becoming a member of the dental profession.
Covert Channel Using Man-in-the-Middle over HTTPS

The goal of this covert channel is to prove the feasibility of using encrypted HTTPS traffic to carry a covert channel. The encryption key is not needed because the original HTTPS payload is not decrypted. The covert message will be appended to the HTTPS data field. The receiver will extract the covert channel and restore the original HTTPS traffic for forwarding. Only legitimate HTTPS connections will be used as the overt channel. A Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack at the sending and receiving ends will give access to modify the traffic streams. The HTTPS return traffic from the server can carry a covert channel. Without the original HTTPS traffic for comparison or the original encryption keys, this covert channel is undetectable.
Restorative proctocolectomy: an example of how surgery evolves in response to paradigm shifts in care

Background Surgical technique constantly evolves in response to the pressure of progress. Ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) is a good example. We analyzed the effect of changes in practice on the technique of IPAA and its outcomes. Methods Patients undergoing primary IPAA at this institution were divided into three groups by date of IPAA: those operated from 1983-1993, 1994-2004, and 2005 – 2015. Demographics, patient comorbidity, surgical techniques, post-operative outcomes, pouch function and quality of life were analyzed. Results 4525 patients had a primary IPAA. With each decade, increasing numbers of surgeons were involved (decade I=8, II=16, III=31), patients tended to be sicker (higher ASA score) and 3-staged pouches became more common. After an initial popularity of the S pouch, J pouches became dominant and a mucosectomy rate of 12% was standard. Laparoscopic technique blossomed in the last decade. 90 day postoperative morbidity by decade was 38.3% vs. 50% vs. 48% (p<0.0001), but late morbidity decreased from 74.2% through 67.1% to 30% (p<0.0001). Functional results improved, but Quality of Life scores did not. Pouch survival rate at 10 years was maintained (94% vs. 95.2% vs. 95.2% (p=0.06). Conclusions IPAA is still evolving. Despite new generations of surgeons, more accurate diagnosis, appropriate staging, and laparoscopic technique have made IPAA a safer, more effective and enduring operation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Unsupervised deep embedding for novel class detection over data stream

Data streams are continuous flows of data points. Novel class detection is an important part of data stream mining. A novel class is a newly emerged class that has not previously been modeled by the classifier over the input stream. This paper proposes deep embedding for novel class detection — a novel approach that combines feature learning using denoising autoencoding with novel class detection. A denoising autoencoder is a neural network with hidden layers aiming to reconstruct the input vector from a corrupted version. A nonparametric multidimensional change point detection approach is also proposed, to detect concept-drift (the change of data feature values over time). Experiments on several real datasets show that the approach significantly improves the performance of novel class detection.
Linear Inequalities and the Analysis of Multi-Attribute Value Matrices

Barron and Barrett, 1996(b) demonstrate empirically that a surrogate weight vector, rank order centroid (ROC) weights, based only on ranked swing weights, is surprisingly efficacious in general in selecting a best multi-attribute alternative. An Excel-based simulation, EMAR, allows one to assess the applicability of the general result to any particular value matrix. In this paper we extend EMAR to partial information sets of weights other than a strict ranking. We also apply these procedures to examine the effect of reducing the number of attributes.
Vulvar Dysplasia and Neoplasia

The differential diagnosis of abnormalities of the vulvar epithelium includes inflammatory diseases and changes caused by infection with human papilloma virus (HPV). Condyloma is the most common discrete lesion caused by HPV, the changes may be subtle and resemble seborrheic keratosis or there may be extensive koilocytosis. There is significant histological overlap between dysplasia associated with inflammatory processes such as lichen planus or lichen sclerosus and HPV associated dysplasia. The separation of these processes into classic/bowenoid and simplex/differentiated vulvar intraepidermal neoplasia (VIN) provides a framework for differential diagnosis.
Dementia and personal identity: implications for decision-making.

Abstract Changes in personality and judgment in dementia raise both practical and philosophic problems concerning personal identity. For example, if a patient’s values and preference have been altered by disease, should caregivers’ decisions for the patient be guided by their understanding of the patient’s premorbid values and preferences, or of the patient’s current values and preferences? Some authors have argued, based on philosophic accounts of personal identity, that the previously healthy person and the demented patient should be regarded as two different people; therefore, previous values and preferences lose their authority. Meanwhile, others have argued that when patients lose their ability to act autonomously, their “precedent autonomy” must be respected by following their earlier wishes. These debates can inform our thinking about the proper interpretation of advance directives, as well as other practical questions such as how carriers of dementia gene mutations should think about their future.
High-power 2.3 [micro sign]m laser arrays emitting 10 W CW at room temperature

High-power 2.3 /spl mu/m In(Al)GaAsSb/GaSb type-I double quantum-well diode laser arrays have been fabricated and characterised. Linear laser arrays with 19 100 /spl mu/m-wide elements on a 1 cm-long bar generated 10 W in continuous-wave (CW) mode and 18.5 W in quasi-CW mode (30 /spl mu/s/300 Hz) at a heatsink temperature of 18/spl deg/C.
Ventricular Tachycardia from the Aortic Cusps: Localization and Ablation

Repetitive monomorphic VT occurring in the absence of structural heart disease typically originates in the outflow tract regions of the right and less commonly the left ventricles [1–8]. An unusual origin for this tachycardia in the outflow tract region is the cusps of the aortic valve. Importantly, this site of origin may be more common than previously recognized [9, 10]. This review will 1) characterize the anatomic relationship of the pulmonic and aortic valves, 2) identify surface electrocardiographic clues that suggest an origin from the aortic cusps and 3) describe the use of magnetic electroanatomic recording and intracardiac echo for identifying precise catheter position when mapping and ablating in the aortic cusp region and finally 4) describe an ablation and energy delivery strategy at these sites which are in close proximity to the ostium of the coronary arteries.
The Tragedy of a False Dichotomy

Two false dichotomies have distorted our thinking about environmental issues since the mid-twentieth century. The first is a tendency to place human rights and ecological sustainability in opposition to each other. This tendency was epitomized by those Malthusian environmentalists who advocated both eugenics and strict governmental control over human reproduction in the name of ecological sustainability. The second false dichotomy is the tendency to view technology and nature as antithetical. This has been evident across the spectrum of popular culture, where some of the most acclaimed films with environmental themes frame nature and technology as inherently opposed to one another. Each of these false dichotomies must be transcended if we are to understand and address environmental challenges such as climate change.
Physical Activity and Physical Function: Moving and Aging

Evidence supports that the physical disablement process starts earlier than previously thought, in midlife when women still have many years to live. Physical activity participation and interventions have been successful in preventing disability in older adults and may be promising for maintaining function at younger ages. Changing the conversation to more relevant topics in midlife, like positive changes in body composition, sleep, and improved mood, may move the dial on participation, as midlife women do not meet guidelines for physical activity. Exploring the role of reproductive aging beyond chronologic aging may provide gender-specific insights on both disablement and participation.
High Performance Computing Techniques with Power Systems Simulations

Small electrical networks (i.e. microgrids) and machine models (synchronous generators, induction motors) can be simulated fairly easily, on sequential processes. However, running a large simulation on a single process becomes infeasbile because of complexity and timing issues. Scalability becomes an increasingly important issue for larger simulations, and the platform for running such large simulations, like the MIT Supercloud, becomes more important. The distributed computing network used to simulate an electrical network as the physical system presents new challenges, however. Different simulation models, different time steps, and different computation times for each process in the distributed computing network introduce new challenges not present with typical problems that are addressed with high performance computing techniques. A distributed computing network is established for some example electrical networks, and then adjustments are made in the parallel simulation setup to alleviate the new kinds of challenges that come with modeling and simulating a physical system as diverse as an electrical network. Also, methods are shown to simulate the same electrical network in hundreds of milliseconds, as opposed to several seconds - a dramatic speedup once the simulation is parallelized.
A partition function for atoms and bonds in molecules

A new weight function is proposed to work with the atoms and bonds in molecules theory. The molecular radial electron density ( $$\rho _{\mathrm{rad}}{({\mathbf {r}} )}$$ ) and bond electron density ( $$\rho ^{A-B}{({\mathbf {r}} )}$$ ) are visually illustrated using the proposed weight. The molecular properties including the total number of electrons, the electron–nuclear potential energy, and Coulomb potential energy are calculated numerically using the proposed weight. The computed molecular properties using the proposed weight are compared to those obtained using the Becke weight and as well with molecular properties calculated analytically. Our findings show that the proposed weight gives better bonding-region representations for both $$\rho _{\mathrm{rad}}{({\mathbf {r}} )}$$ and $$\rho ^{A-B}{({\mathbf {r}} )}$$ than those obtained using the Becke weight. In addition, the proposed weight performs equally well or better than the Becke weight at numerical integration of molecular properties.
Plant-Derived Supplements for Sexual Health and Problems, Part 2: Further Evidence for Specific Herbal Effects

In this review, we revisit and evaluate empirical research on six herbal supplements purported to affect sexual and/or reproductive function in men and women. We summarize and critically review recent evidence—both human and non-human—supporting the role of six commonly cited herbs on men’s and women’s sexual health, identifying possible mechanisms of action, as well as gaps in the literature. Burgeoning interest in phytochemical research over the past decade has helped to elucidate potential mechanisms of action through which these plant-derived supplements may exert pro-sexual benefits. More methodologically rigorous, large-scale clinical trials are still needed to determine the extent to which encouraging findings in rodent, cell culture, and ex vivo models are generalizable to human populations.
Deletion of Stk11 and Fos in BLA projection neurons alters their intrinsic excitability and impairs formation of long-term aversive memory

Conditioned taste aversion (CTA) is a form of one-trial learning dependent on basolateral amygdala projection neurons (BLApn), but its underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. RNAseq from BLApn during learning identified changes in Stk11, a kinase with well-studied roles in growth, metabolism and development, but not previously implicated in learning. Deletion of Stk11 restricted to BLApn completely blocks memory when occurring prior to training, but not following it. This manipulation does not alter BLApn-dependent encoding of taste palatability in gustatory cortex, or transcriptional activation of BLApn during training. Deletion of Stk11 in BLApn also increases their intrinsic excitability. Conversely, BLApn activated by CTA to express the immediate early gene Fos had reduced excitability. BLApn knockout of Fos also increased excitability and impaired learning. These data suggest that Stk11 and Fos expression play key roles in CTA long-term memory formation, perhaps by modulating the intrinsic excitability of BLApn.
Multiple Relay-Aided Massive MIMO NOMA

The feasibility of enabling massive wireless connectivity to cell-edge users is investigated by means of multiple relay-aided massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA). The key challenge of channel state information (CSI) acquisition is overcome by estimating the cascaded relay channel at the base-station via pilots sent by users. The achievable rates are derived by assuming that the users rely on statistical channel knowledge for signal decoding. Our analysis is useful to quantify the joint adverse effects of intra-cluster pilot contamination, imperfect CSI, precoding uncertainty, and imperfect successive interference cancellation. The achievable rates of the proposed relay-aided massive MIMO NOMA are compared against the orthogonal multiple access (OMA) counterpart. We reveal that although multiple relayaided massive MIMO NOMA is able to support overloaded case, massive MIMO OMA outperforms NOMA counterpart in terms of the achievable sum rate in the underloaded cases.
Investigating Relationships Between Hypertension, Sleep, and Cognitive Risk in an Underserved Community

Purpose: The aim of this descriptive correlational pilot study was to investigate the relationship between hypertension, sleep deprivation, and risk of Alzheimer’s disease in a rural, older, underserved, and ethnically diverse cohort.Sample: Residents (n = 52) from three independent subsidized housing units for retired farmer workers, located in a rural Florida area known as the Glades, volunteered for the study.Methods: A quantitative descriptive approach using Pearson correlations, t-tests, and scatter plot analysis was applied to surveys and Mini-CogTM results.Findings: About a quarter (23.1%) of the participants were identified as being at risk for cognitive impairment. Hypertension risk correlated moderately with cognitive impairment risk (r = 0.40, p = 0.01). However, in this ethnically, diverse cohort, sleep quality did not significantly influence either blood pressure or cognitive status. This is contrary to other studies that have found an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease among persons with hypertension (Carnevale, Perrotta, Lembo, & Trimarco, 2015) and insufficient sleep (Brzecka et al., 2018).Implications: These results suggest that further investigation is needed to examine if rural living or culture moderates Alzheimer’s disease risk factors of diminished sleep and hypertension. Future findings could impact the design of interventions aimed at reducing AD risk in diverse rural settings. Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, Sleep, Hypertension, Rural, Elders, Underserved, Diverse DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14574/ojrnhc.v20i1.584
Estimating the Impact of Verification Bias on Celiac Disease Testing.

Goal The goal of this study was to estimate the impact of verification bias on the diagnostic accuracy of immunoglobulin A tissue transglutaminase (IgA tTG) in detecting celiac disease as reported by an authoritative meta-analysis, the 2016 Comparative Effectiveness Review (CER). Background Verification bias is introduced to diagnostic accuracy studies when screening test results impact the decision to verify disease status. Materials and methods We adjusted the sensitivity and specificity of IgA tTG reported by the 2016 CER with the proportion of IgA tTG positive and negative individuals who are referred for confirmatory small bowel biopsy. We performed a systematic review from January 1, 2007, to July 19, 2017, to determine these referral rates. Results The systematic review identified 793 articles of which 9 met inclusion criteria (n=36,477). Overall, 3.6% [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1%-10.9%] of IgA tTG negative and 79.2.2% (95% CI: 65.0%-88.7%) of IgA tTG positive individuals were referred for biopsy. Adjusting for these referral rates the 2016 CER reported sensitivity of IgA tTG dropped from 92.6% (95% CI: 90.2%-94.5%) to 57.1% (95% CI: 35.4%-76.4%) and the specificity increased from 97.6% (95% CI: 96.3%-98.5%) to 99.6% (95% CI: 98.4%-99.9%). Conclusions The CER may have largely overestimated the sensitivity of IgA tTG due to a failure to account for verification bias. These findings suggest caution in the interpretation of a negative IgA tTG to rule out celiac disease in clinical practice. More broadly, they highlight the impact of verification bias on diagnostic accuracy estimates and suggest that studies at risk for this bias be excluded from systematic reviews.
Sex-specific effects of age and body mass index on antibody responses to seasonal influenza vaccines in healthcare workers.

Abstract Healthcare institutions with mandatory influenza vaccination policies have over 90% vaccination rates among healthcare workers (HCWs) resulting in a population that has received the influenza vaccine in many, consecutive years. This study explored the impact of sex and other host factors in pre- and post-vaccination neutralizing antibody (nAb) titers and seroconversion against the H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses (IAVs) among HCWs enrolled into a cross-sectional serosurvey during the annual Johns Hopkins Hospital employee vaccination campaign in the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons. The study enrolled 111 participants (male = 38, female = 73) in 2017–18 and 163 (male = 44, female = 119) in 2018–19. Serum samples were collected immediately prior to vaccination and approximately 28 days later and nAb titers to vaccine strains determined. An intersectional approach was used to disaggregate the combined effects of sex with age and body mass index (BMI) in the nAb response. Differences between the pre- or post-vaccination geometric mean nAb titers between male and female HCWs were not observed. Male HCWs were 2.86 times more likely to seroconvert compared to female HCWs in 2017–2018, but the same trend was not observed in the following year. When data were disaggregated by age and sex, older female HCWs had higher H1N1 pre- and post-vaccination nAb titers compared to male HCWs in the same age group for both vaccination campaign seasons. In both years, the decline in H3N2 pre-vaccination titers with increasing BMI was greater in female than male HCW. The sex-specific effects of age and BMI on nAb responses to seasonal influenza vaccines require greater consideration.
ArCode: A Tool for Supporting Comprehension andImplementation of Architectural Concerns

Integrated development environments (IDE) play an important role in supporting developers during program comprehension and completion. Many of these supportive features focus on low-level programming and debugging activities. Unfortunately, there is less support in understanding and implementing architectural concerns in the form of patterns, tactics and/or other concerns. In this paper we present ArCode, a tool designed as a plugin for a popular IDE, IntelliJ IDEA. ArCode is able to learn correct ways of using frameworks' API to implement architectural concerns such as Authentication and Authorization. Analyzing the programmer's code, this tool is able to find deviations from correct implementation and provide fix recommendations alongside with graphical demonstrations to better communicate the recommendations with the developers. We showcase how programmers can benefit from ArCode by providing an API misuse detection and API recommendation scenario for a famous Java framework, Java Authentication and Authorization (JAAS) security framework.
Travelling to polluted cities: a systematic review on the harm of air pollution on international travellers' health.

RATIONALE FOR REVIEW In 2019, approximately, 1.4 billion people travelled internationally. Many individuals travel to megacities where air pollution concentrations can vary significantly. Short-term exposure to air pollutants can cause morbidity and mortality related to cardiovascular and respiratory disease, with the literature clearly reporting a strong association between short-term exposure to particulate matter ≤2.5 μm and ozone with adverse health outcomes in resident populations. However, limited research has been conducted on the health impacts of short-term exposure to air pollution in individuals who travel internationally. The objective of this systematic review was to review the evidence for the respiratory and cardiovascular health impacts from exposure to air pollution during international travel to polluted cities in adults aged ≥18 years old. KEY FINDINGS We searched PubMed, Scopus and EMBASE for studies related to air pollution and the health impacts on international travellers. Of the initially identified 115 articles that fit the search criteria, 6 articles were selected for the final review. All six studies found indications of adverse health impacts of air pollution exposure on international travellers, with most of the changes being reversible upon return to their home country/city. However, none of these studies contained large populations nor investigated vulnerable populations, such as children, elderly or those with pre-existing conditions. CONCLUSIONS More research is warranted to clearly understand the impacts of air pollution related changes on travellers' health, especially on vulnerable groups who may be at higher risk of adverse impacts during travel to polluted cities.
0026 Saving lives beyond 2020 – the next steps; recommendations of the academic expert group for the 3rd global ministerial conference on road safety

Statement of purpose An Academic Expert Group (AEG) was established by the Swedish Transport Administration to develop recommendations for progress in global road safety between 2021 and 2030. The output of the AEG was intended to shape the agenda for the United Nations 3rd Ministerial Conference on Road Safety held in Stockholm, Sweden in February 2020. A Declaration from that conference subsequently shaped a United Nations General Assembly Resolution on Global Road Safety (A/74/L.86). Methods/Approach An expert opinion method was used to capture the scope of knowledge and experience of fifteen international road safety authorities. The recommendations were developed iteratively over a period of ten months, including three multi-day meetings and extensive review and comment. Results Nine recommendations were developed along with supporting rationale. Recommendations focus on priority populations such as children and youth, effective intervention strategies including reducing speed and utilizing advanced technology, and promising techniques such as the Safe System approach and engagement of the private sector. Conclusions The AEG describes an evolution of road safety strategies beginning with the basic components of Engineering, Education, Enforcement, Emergency Services, and leading to incorporation of the Safe System approach. A higher level of development is proposed consisting of integration of road safety practices in other social movements, such as climate change, gender equity and active lifestyles. Significance The recommendations and rationale in the report will shape additional guidance documents coming from the United Nations system, including an implementation agenda now being developed by the World Health Organization in consultation with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety. Governments, philanthropic organizations and safety activists around the world use these guidance documents to inform decisions about road safety priorities, strategies, investments and targets.
A morphological transformation in respiratory syncytial virus leads to enhanced complement activation

The complement system is a critical host defense against infection, playing a protective role that can also enhance disease if misregulated. Although many consequences of complement activation during viral infection are well-established, specific mechanisms that contribute to activation by different human viruses remain elusive. Here, we investigate complement activation by human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a respiratory pathogen that causes severe disease in infants, the immunocompromised, and the elderly. Using a strain of RSV harboring tags on the surface glycoproteins F and G, we were able to monitor opsonization of single RSV particles with monoclonal antibodies and complement components using fluorescence microscopy. These experiments revealed an antigenic hierarchy in complement activation, where antibodies that bind towards the apex of F in either the pre- or postfusion conformation are able to activate complement whereas other antibodies are not. Additionally, among antibodies that were able to activate complement, we observed preferential targeting of a subset of particles with globular morphology, in contrast to the more prevalent viral filaments. We found that enhanced complement activation on these particles arises from changes in surface curvature that occur when the viral matrix detaches from the surrounding membrane. This transformation occurs naturally over time under mild conditions, and correlates with the accumulation of postfusion F on the viral surface. Collectively, these results identify antigenic and biophysical characteristics of virus particles that contribute to the formation of immune complexes, and suggest models for how these factors may shape disease severity and adaptive immune responses to RSV.
Skeletal integration of energy homeostasis: Translational implications☆

New evidence has recently emerged defining a close relationship between fat and bone metabolism. Adipose tissue is one of the largest organs in the body but its functions vary by location and origin. Adipocytes can act in an autocrine manner to regulate energy balance by sequestering triglycerides and then, depending on demand, releasing fatty acids through lipolysis for energy utilization, and in some cases through uncoupling protein 1 for generating heat. Adipose tissue can also act in an endocrine or paracrine manner by releasing adipokines that modulate the function of other organs. Bone is one of those target tissues, although recent evidence has emerged that the skeleton reciprocates by releasing its own factors that modulate adipose tissue and beta cells in the pancreas. Therefore, it is not surprising that these energy-modulating tissues are controlled by a central regulatory mechanism, primarily the sympathetic nervous system. Disruption in this complex regulatory circuit and its downstream tissues is manifested in a wide range of metabolic disorders, for which the most prevalent is type 2 diabetes mellitus. The aim of this review is to summarize our knowledge of common determinants in the bone and adipose function and the translational implications of recent work in this emerging field.
Chapter 26 Update on diagnosis and treatment of hereditary and acquired polyneuropathies in childhood

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the diagnostic approach to hereditary and acquired polyneuropathies in childhood and better characterizing hereditary syndromes in light of current diagnostic tools and newly developed genetic and laboratory tests. It also describes the existing therapeutic possibilities for each of the most common entities. The diagnostic approach to peripheral neuropathies (PN) in children often relies on some combination of careful medical history, physical examination, electrodiagnostic studies, molecular genetics and metabolic studies, and occasionally sural nerve biopsy. Therefore, careful physical examination is necessary to exclude central nervous system signs, characteristic facies, cutaneous abnormalities, enlargement of liver, spleen lymph nodes or peripheral nerve, and scoliosis or other skeletal deformities that direct the physician to the primary cause of the PN. Obtaining a complete family history is crucial. It is not unusual that a history of clumsiness or foot deformity in other family members is under-diagnosed unless direct questioning and physical examination are performed in parents and siblings of the affected child.
A digital-optical system-on-package module architecture for high performance multiprocessors

This paper reports on the progress toward implementing optical-digital building blocks necessary to accomplish a system-on-package module architecture for high-performance multiprocessors. In this architecture, the memory access delay (MAD) bottleneck is minimized by using a 3-D distributed shared memory field in which high speed optical interconnects deliver data to and from each processor in a cluster to each memory controller/MX-DMX in the field, each memory controller being connected to a small cluster of main memory via a short, high aggregate speed copper bus that essentially matches the intrinsic MAD of the DRAM chip.
Firing Properties of Head Direction Cells in the Rat Anterior Thalamic Nucleus: Dependence on Vestibular Input

Vestibular information influences spatial orientation and navigation in laboratory animals and humans. Neurons within the rat anterior thalamus encode the directional heading of the animal in absolute space. These neurons, referred to as head direction (HD) cells, fire selectively when the rat points its head in a specific direction in the horizontal plane with respect to the external laboratory reference frame. HD cells are thought to represent an essential component of a neural network that processes allocentric spatial information. The functional properties of HD cells may be dependent on vestibular input. Here, anterior thalamic HD cells were recorded before and after sodium arsanilate-induced vestibular system lesion. Vestibular lesions abolished the directional firing properties of HD cells. The time course of disruption in the directional firing properties paralleled the loss of vestibular function. Arsanilate-treated rats exhibited only minor changes in locomotor behavior, which were unlikely to account for the loss of direction-specific firing. Vestibular lesions also disrupted the influence of angular head velocity on anterior thalamic single-unit firing rates. Finally, a subset of anterior thalamic neurons recorded from vestibular-lesioned rats exhibited a pattern of intermittent firing bursts that were distinctly unrelated to HD. This novel anterior thalamic firing pattern has not been encountered in any vestibular-intact rat. These data suggest that: (1) the neural code for directional bearing is critically dependent on vestibular information; and (2) this loss of HD cell information may represent a neurobiological mechanism to account for the orientation and navigational deficits observed after vestibular dysfunction.
An e-Learning Caregiving Program for Prostate Cancer Patients and Family Members

e-health interventions have the potential to augment caregiving training for management of chronic disease. Instruction on caregiving functions often key to patients and families' well being is time consuming but not reimbursable in our current health care system. A theoretically defined interactive multimedia program is described which would assess patient and family member's level of preparedness for specific caregiving functions for prostate cancer and provide tailored skill building vignettes on caregiving techniques. Maximizing today's technology, this program is best designed for a hybrid delivery utilizing both web-based resources and a CD-ROM. Feedback from 45 prostate patients and family members from a Midwest cancer center on perceived needs for caregiving training underscores the potential value of a computer supported intervention for some patients and families. Implementation of the software, marketing, and distribution will be guided in part by recent e-health experiences that leave many health professionals appropriately skeptical about the utility of such products.
Fast arithmetic architectures for public-key algorithms over Galois fields GF((2 n ) m )

This contribution describes a new class of arithmetic architectures for Galois fields GF(2k). The main applications of the architecture are public-key systems which are based on the discrete logarithm problem for elliptic curves. The architectures use a representation of the field GF(2k) as GF((2n)m), where k = nċm. The approach explores bit parallel arithmetic in the subfield GF(2n), and serial processing for the extension field arithmetic. This mixed parallel-serial (hybrid) approach can lead to very fast implementations. The principle of these approach was initially suggested by Mastrovito. As the core module, a hybrid multiplier is introduced and several optimizations are discussed. We provide two different approaches to squaring which, in conjunction with the multiplier, yield fast exponentiation architectures. The hybrid architectures are capable of exploring the time-space trade-off paradigm in a flexible manner. In particular, the number of clock cycles for one field multiplication, which is the atomic operation in most public-key schemes, can be reduced by a factor of n compared to all other known realizations. The acceleration is achieved at the cost of an increased computational complexity. We describe a proof-of-concept implementation of an ASIC for exponentiation in GF((2n)m), m variable.