cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Fiber-Reinforced Composite Panels Subjected to Underwater Blast Loading

Fluid–structure interaction (FSI) experiments on monolithic and sandwich composite panels were performed to identify key failure mechanisms resulting from underwater blast loading. Panel performance was compared in terms of impulse deflection. Various failure mechanisms such as delamination between laminas, matrix damage and fiber rupture in laminas, and foam crushing were identified. A 3-D rate-dependent numerical model was developed to understand the experimentally observed failure mechanisms. A new failure criterion that includes strain-rate effects was formulated and implemented to simulate different damage modes in unidirectional composite plies. This rate-dependent numerical model predicted the responses of composite panels subjected to underwater blast loading with more correlated material damage patterns with the experimental observation than previously developed models. The model also revealed the important role of the soft foam core in sandwich composite panels for improving panel performance by mitigating the transmitted impulse to the back-side face sheet while maintaining overall bending stiffness.
Indium Antimonide Nanoparticles Synthesized using Inert Gas Condensation Technique.

Nanoparticles (NPs) of Indium Antimonide (InSb) were synthesized using a vapor phase synthesis technique known as Inert Gas Condensation. NPs were directly deposited, at room temperature and under high vacuum, on glass cover slides, TEM grid, 1 inch-square (111) p-type Silicon wafer and Sodium Chloride substrates. XRD study revealed the crystalline behavior of these NPs exhibiting a cubic symmetry with preferred growth direction of (111). The average grain size of the NPs obtained using XRD results and the Debye-Scherrer formula was 25.62 nm. TEM studies showed a bimodal distribution of NPs with average NPs size of 13.70 and 33.20 nm. These values are consistent with the value obtained using XRD. 1:1 composition ratio of In:Sb was confirmed by the Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy studies. The band gap of the NPs obtained using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was 0.413 eV at 300 K, which indicates quantum confinement in the band structure of these NPs.
A Critical Evaluation of Bioassay in Insecticide Research: Likelihood Ratio Tests of Dose-Mortality Regression

The use of discrete dependent variable regression models is well established in insecticide research. The policy impact of such research has increased due to concern over environmental effects of insecticides. One result of this concern was the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which registers insecticides and recommends dosages for their use (Anon. 1974). As part of the registration process, data to support minimum effective dosages and effective dosage ranges are required (Anon. 1975). The registration procedure is predicated on the hypothesis of a fixed relationship between dose and response for different populations.
Cryptic sequence features within the disordered protein p27Kip1 regulate cell cycle signaling.

Peptide motifs embedded within intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) of proteins are often the sites of posttranslational modifications that control cell-signaling pathways. How do IDR sequences modulate the functionalities of motifs? We answer this question using the polyampholytic C-terminal IDR of the cell cycle inhibitory protein p27Kip1 (p27). Phosphorylation of Thr-187 (T187) within the p27 IDR controls entry into S phase of the cell division cycle. Additionally, the conformational properties of polyampholytic sequences are predicted to be influenced by the linear patterning of oppositely charged residues. Therefore, we designed sequence variants of the p27 IDR to alter charge patterning outside the primary substrate motif containing T187. Computer simulations and biophysical measurements confirm predictions regarding the impact of charge patterning on the global dimensions of IDRs. Through functional studies, we uncover cryptic sequence features within the p27 IDR that influence the efficiency of T187 phosphorylation. Specifically, we find a positive correlation between T187 phosphorylation efficiency and the weighted net charge per residue of an auxiliary motif. We also find that accumulation of positive charges within the auxiliary motif can diminish the efficiency of T187 phosphorylation because this increases the likelihood of long-range intra-IDR interactions that involve both the primary and auxiliary motifs and inhibit their contributions to function. Importantly, our findings suggest that the cryptic sequence features of the WT p27 IDR negatively regulate T187 phosphorylation signaling. Our approaches provide a generalizable strategy for uncovering the influence of sequence contexts on the functionalities of primary motifs in other IDRs.
Examining the quality of evidence to support the effectiveness of interventions: an analysis of systematic reviews

Objective This analysis examines the quality of evidence (QOE) for 1472 outcomes linked to interventions where the QOE was rated in 42 systematic reviews of randomised clinical trials and/or observational studies across different topics. Setting Not applicable. Participants 76 systematic reviews. Primary and secondary outcome measures Strength of evidence ratings by initial reviewers. Results Among 76 systematic reviews, QOE ratings were available for only 42, netting 1472 comparisons. Of these, 57% included observational studies; 4% were rated as high and 12% as moderate; the rest were low or insufficient. The ratings varied by topic: 74% of the surgical study pairs were rated as low or insufficient, compared with 82% of pharmaceuticals and 86% of device studies, 88% of organisational, 91% of lifestyle studies, and 94% of psychosocial interventions. Conclusions We are some distance from being able to claim evidence-based practice. The press for individual-level data will make this challenge even harder.
The Application of Swing in Unified Platform for Smart Hydropower Plant

In this paper,the demand for smart hydropower plants,highlighting Swing in Unified Platform for smart hydropower plant.Details of Swing technical advantages,as well as how to take advantage of those smart hydropower plant Unified Platform for all aspects of performance,and ultimately to achieve an efficient,intelligent,secure system.
Normalizing decentralized metadata practices using business process improvement methodology: a data-informed approach to identifying institutional core metadata

The Emory University Libraries and Emory Center for Digital Scholarship have developed numerous digital collections over the past decade. Accompanying metadata originates via multiple business units, authoring tools and schemas, and is delivered to varied destination platforms. Seeking a more uniform metadata strategy, the Libraries' Metadata Working Group initiated a project in 2014 to define a set of core, schema-agnostic metadata elements relevant to local content types.
Protein-DNA Interactions at the Opossum Npt2a Promoter are Dependent upon NHERF-1

Background/Aims: Phosphate homeostasis is controlled by the renal reabsorption of Pi by the type IIa sodium phosphate cotransporter, Npt2a, which is localized in the proximal tubule brush border membrane. Regulation of Npt2a expression is a key control point to maintain phosphate homeostasis with most studies focused on regulating protein levels in the brush border membrane. Molecular mechanisms that control Npt2a mRNA, however, remain to be defined. We have reported that Npt2a mRNA and protein levels correlate directly with the expression of the Na+/H+ exchanger regulatory factor 1 (NHERF-1) using opossum kidney (OK) cells and the NHERF-1-deficient OK-H cells. The goal of this study was to determine whether NHERF-1 contributes to transcriptional and/or post-transcriptional mechanisms controlling Npt2a mRNA levels. Methods: Npt2a mRNA half-life was compared between OK and NHERF-1 deficient OK-H cell lines. oNpt2a promoter-reporter gene assays and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) were used identify a NHERF-1 responsive region within the oNpt2a proximal promoter. Results: Npt2a mRNA half-life is the same in OK and OK-H cells. The NHERF-1 responsive region lies within the proximal promoter in a region that contains a highly conserved CAATT box and G-rich element. Specific protein-DNA complex formation with the CAATT element is altered by the absence of NHERF-1 (OK v OK-H EMSA) although NHERF-1 does not directly contribute to complex formation. Conclusion: NHERF-1 helps maintain steady-state Npt2a mRNA levels in OK cells through indirect mechanisms that help promote protein-DNA interactions at the Npt2a proximal promoter.
Motion Planning Under Uncertainty Using Differential Dynamic Programming in Belief Space

We present an approach to motion planning under motion and sensing un-certainty, formally described as a continuous partially-observable Markov decision process (POMDP). Our approach is designed for non-linear dynamics and observation models, and follows the general POMDP solution framework in which we represent beliefs by Gaussian distributions, approximate the belief dynamics using an extended Kalman filter (EKF), and represent the value function by a quadratic function that is valid in the vicinity of a nominal trajectory through belief space. Using a variant of differential dynamic programming, our approach iterates with second-order convergence towards a linear control policy over the belief space that is locally-optimal with respect to a user-defined cost function. Unlike previous work, our approach does not assume maximum-likelihood observations, does not assume fixed estimator or control gains, takes into account obstacles in the environment, and does not require discretization of the belief space. The running time of the algorithm is polynomial in the dimension of the state space. We demonstrate the potential of our approach in several continuous partially-observable planning domains with obstacles for robots with non-linear dynamics and observation models.
V flo ® —Software for Distributed Hydrology

Vflo ® is a distributed model for hydrologic prediction and analysis that is based on: recently developed distributed modeling techniques; multisensor precipitation estimation; and secure client/server architecture. It utilizes GIS and remotely sensed data. Developed from the outset to utilize multisensor inputs, this model is suited for distributed hydrologic prediction in post-analysis and online for continuous forecasting. The hallmark of Vflo ® is its prediction of flow rates and stage in every grid cell defined by the hydraulics of overland and channel flow. An integrated network-based hydraulic approach to watershed modeling has advantages that make it possible to represent both local and main-stem flows with the same model setup and simultaneously. This integrated approach is useful for urban and natural watershed applications, reservoir inflow forecasting, flood prediction, and hydrologic analysis of land use and climate change.
Connecting Sarcomere Protein Mutations to Pathogenesis in Cardiomyopathies: The Development of "Disease in a Dish" Models.

Recent technological and protocol developments have greatly increased the ability to utilize stem cells transformed into cardiomyocytes as models to study human heart muscle development and how this is affected by disease associated mutations in a variety of sarcomere proteins. In this perspective we provide an overview of these emerging technologies and how they are being used to create better models of ‘disease in a dish’ for both research and screening assays. We also consider the value of these assays as models to explore the seminal processes in initiation of the disease development and the possibility of early interventions.
Alteration of Microbiome in Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis (P3.398)

Objective: We aimed to characterize the intestinal flora in subjects with Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis (RMS), either in an acute or stable stage, and in control individuals to test our hypothesis that the gut microbiome has different characteristics in active RMS versus stable RMS. Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. MS can present under different forms, the most common presentation being the Relapsing (RMS) form, in which episodes of acute exacerbations are interspersed among disease-free periods, when the disease is considered to be stable. Alterations in the gut microbiota may be influential in autoimmune diseases such as MS. There are only few studies, mainly in EAE-animal model of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) that support this hypothesis. Design/Methods: We collected fecal samples from 8 patients with RMS during acute attacks and 2 patients with RMS with stable disease, as well as 3 control individuals. DNA was extracted from stool samples using PowerSoil DNA Isolation Kit. Demographic and clinical data were obtained from medical record review. 16S rDNA community profiling and sequencing was used to assess the gut microbiome composition. Additional data are collected and will be presented to the meeting. Results: There is gut microbiota composition difference regarding alpha diversity and beta diversity between active cases and controls/stable cases. Firmicutes-Clostridium IV and Bacteroidetes and Barnesiella are enriched in active disease when compared to control and stable disease Conclusions: Our study showed specific bacteria that are enriched in active disease when compared to control and stable disease. Ultimately, the aim of our study is to translate the differences in intestinal flora into markers that could predict disease activity and eventually to find interventions that could stall the disease course. Disclosure: Dr. Nedelcu has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hall has nothing to disclose. Dr. Griffin has nothing to disclose. Dr. Maldonado-Contreras has nothing to disclose. Dr. McCormick has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ward has nothing to disclose. Dr. Aroian has nothing to disclose. Dr. Ionete has received personal compensation for activities with Genzyme-Sanofi, TEVA, and Biogen Idec as a member of the scientific advisory board.
A comparison of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure cloud platforms for high performance computing

Advances in commercial cloud computing necessitate continual evaluation of the cloud's performance on a variety of applications. This work looks at compute oriented instances from Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure cloud platforms and evaluates them with several high-performance computing benchmarks, including HPCC and HPCG. These benchmarks illustrate that the most cost competitive solution depends on the application to be run.
Dexmedetomidine Sedation for Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia Ablation Is Not Associated With Alteration of Arrhythmia Inducibility.

Background Dexmedetomidine (Dex) is an attractive agent for procedural sedation due to its unique pharmacodynamic profile, specifically affording predictable sedation without concurrent respiratory depression. However, Dex has previously been reported to prevent or terminate arrhythmias. The purpose of this study was to investigate paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) inducibility and homeostatic stability during electrophysiology studies (EPSs) and ablation when a standardized Dex protocol was used as the primary sedation agent. Methods We performed a retrospective review of 163 consecutive procedures for PSVT ablation that received Dex as the primary sedative with adjunct fentanyl and midazolam boluses (DEX-FENT-MIDAZ). This cohort was compared to 163 consecutive control procedures wherein strictly fentanyl and midazolam were used for sedation. The primary outcome reviewed was PSVT inducibility assessed before ablation. Reviewed secondary outcomes included level of sedation and intraprocedure hemodynamics and oxygenation. Results The arrhythmia profiles of the DEX-FENT-MIDAZ and control cohorts were very similar. The overall incidence of a "negative" EPSs in which arrhythmia was not induced was 24% in the DEX-FENT-MIDAZ group and 26% in the control group (P = .7). Unintended deep sedation was significantly less with DEX-FENT-MIDAZ (4.3% vs 27%; P ≤ .0001). However, DEX-FENT-MIDAZ use was associated with a higher incidence of intraprocedure hypotension. Conclusions Dex sedation during EPSs is not associated with a reduction in PSVT inducibility. The therapeutic utility of Dex during EPS arises from the predictable sedation Dex affords but is associated with an increased incidence of intraprocedure hypotension.
Self-sufficiency of 3-D printers: utilizing stand-alone solar photovoltaic power systems

A self-replicating rapid prototyper (RepRap) is a type of 3-D printer capable of printing many of its own components in addition to a wide assortment of products from high-value scientific or medical tools to household products and toys. There is some evidence that these printers could provide low-cost distributed manufacturing in underprivileged rural areas. For the most isolated communities without access to the electric grid, a low-cost alternative energy is needed. Solar energy can be harvested through a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) power system specifically designed to match the needs of the RepRap. The voltage and current requirement for the printer demands the use of buck along with a bidirectional DC converters to ensure proper operation. This paper provides the design for a stand-alone PV—lithium ion battery power system with an efficient controller. Robust and agile PI controller schemes are utilized to efficiently maintain the distribution of energy through the power system. The system was defined with ordinary differential equations, simulated and tested for two operational conditions in MATLAB/Simulink. The results showed that the controller developed operates the system in a stable condition and the simulation shows steady acceptable behavior that makes this system highly suitable for hardware implementation.
Extremely high strength and work hardening ability in a metastable high entropy alloy.

Design of multi-phase high entropy alloys uses metastability of phases to tune the strain accommodation by favoring transformation and/or twinning during deformation. Inspired by this, here we present Si containing dual phase Fe42Mn28Co10Cr15Si5 high entropy alloy (DP-5Si-HEA) exhibiting very high strength (1.15 GPa) and work hardening (WH) ability. The addition of Si in DP-5Si-HEA decreased the stability of f.c.c. (γ) matrix thereby promoting pronounced transformation induced plastic deformation in both as-cast and grain refined DP-5Si-HEAs. Higher yet sustained WH ability in fine grained DP-5Si-HEA is associated with the uniform strain partitioning among the metastable γ phase and resultant h.c.p. (e) phase thereby resulting in total elongation of 12%. Hence, design of dual phase HEAs for improved strength and work hardenability can be attained by tuning the metastability of γ matrix through proper choice of alloy chemistry from the abundant compositional space of HEAs.
Recovery rates of cryptobiotic crusts: inoculant use and assessment methods

Recovery rates of cyanobacterial-lichen soil crusts from disturbance were examined. Plots were either undisturbed or scalped, and scalped plots were either inoculated with surrounding biological crust material or left to recover naturally. Natural recovery rates were found to be very slow. Inoculation significantly hastened recovery for the cyanobacterial/green algal component, lichen cover, lichen species richness, and moss cover. Even with inoculation, however, lichen and moss recovery was minimal. Traditional techniques of assessing recovery visually were found to underestimate time for total recovery. Other techniques, such as extraction of chlorophyll a from surface soil and measurement of sheath material accumulation, were used and are discussed.
The online metric matching problem for doubling metrics

In the online minimum-cost metric matching problem, we are given an instance of a metric space with k servers, and must match arriving requests to as-yet-unmatched servers to minimize the total distance from the requests to their assigned servers. We study this problem for the line metric and for doubling metrics in general. We give O(logk)-competitive randomized algorithms, which reduces the gap between the current O(log2k)-competitive randomized algorithms and the constant-competitive lower bounds known for these settings. We first analyze the "harmonic" algorithm for the line, that for each request chooses one of its two closest servers with probability inversely proportional to the distance to that server; this is O(logk)-competitive, with suitable guess-and-double steps to ensure that the metric has aspect ratio polynomial in k. The second algorithm embeds the metric into a random HST, and picks a server randomly from among the closest available servers in the HST, with the selection based upon how the servers are distributed within the tree. This algorithm is O(1)-competitive for HSTs obtained from embedding doubling metrics, and hence gives a randomized O(logk)-competitive algorithm for doubling metrics.
Abstract 13757: Dilated Ascending Aorta in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Incidence and Predictors

Background: In many hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients, we observed that the proximal ascending aorta (AA) is dilated. We sought to determine the frequency & potential predictors of dilated AA in HCM patients. Methods: We studied 267 consecutive HCM patients, ≥18 years (68% men) that underwent clinical, echo and contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) assessment at a single center. Maximal (resting or provocable) left ventricular outflow tract gradient (LVOTG) was recorded on echo; LV mass recorded on CMR. True short-axis proximal AA (also aortic root) dimensions were measured using multiple CMR sequences. Expected aortic root dimensions, based on age, gender & height were calculated using the following formula: 1.519 + (age [years] х 0.010) + (height [cm] х 0.010)-(gender [1=man, 2=woman] х 0.247). If difference between actual & expected measurement was more than the product of 1.96 x 0.215 (standard error of mean for above equation), the root was considered dilated. Results: There were 49% hypertensives, 82% on betablockers & 28% on calcium blockers. Mean LV ejection fraction, LVOTG, LV thickness, LV mass, aortic root & AA dimensions were 63±5%, 105±51 mm Hg, 2±0.5 cm, 207±71 g, 3.1±0.5 cm & 3.2±0.5 cm, while 0.7% had ≥II+ aortic regurgitation. Dilated proximal AA was seen in 36 (14%) patients. After adjustment for age, gender & height, dilated AA was seen in 20 (8%) patients. Logistic regression analysis demonstrating the predictors of dilated AA (absolute as well as adjusted dimensions) are shown in Figures a-b. Conclusions: Dilation of proximal AA is frequently seen in HCM patients, & attention to AA should be paid during HCM evaluation. Hypertension is an independent predictor of dilated AA. Whether AA dilation represents a concomitant aortopathy or a secondary adaptive phenomenon remains to be elucidated. ![][1] [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif
Location-Specific Amenities, Equilibrium, and Constraints on Location Choices

This research considers how preferences for location-specific attributes might constrain migration destination choices. In particular, if, at any given time, most people are consuming their desired location-specific attributes, then unwillingness to give up these attributes may influence the decision to migrate. For those who migrate, these desired attributes might significantly constrain the locations they would consider. This perspective differs substantially from the normal approach that assumes people move toward "good attributes" and away from "bad attributes." The research provides an initial test of a "constrained destination choice" hypothesis by considering "locational attribute constraints" in the context of aggregate place-to-place migration flows for U.S. metropolitan areas during the 1995-2000 time period. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: I wish to acknowledge the Regional Research Institute at West Virginia University for supporting this research. I especially thank my graduate research assistant, Kerry King, for her diligent work.
AN UNUSUAL PRESENTATION OF AN INFERIOR ST ELEVATION MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

Acute coronary syndromes (ACS) usually results from plaque rupture arising from cap fibroatheromas. Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is characterized by abnormally dilated coronary arteries often associated with slow coronary flow. This may result in spontaneous thrombus formation, distal embolization
Naturalness, b → sγ, and SUSY heavy Higgses

We explore naturalness constraints on the masses of the heavy Higgs bosons H 0 , H ±, and A 0 in supersymmetric theories. We show that, in any extension of MSSM which accommodates the 125 GeV Higgs at the tree level, one can derive an upper bound on the SUSY Higgs masses from naturalness considerations. As is well-known for the MSSM, these bounds become weak at large tan β. However, we show that measurements of b → sγ together with naturalness arguments lead to an upper bound on tan β, strengthening the naturalness case for heavy Higgs states near the TeV scale. The precise bound depends somewhat on the SUSY mediation scale: allowing a factor of 10 tuning in the stop sector, the measured rate of b → sγ implies tan β ≲ 30 for running down from 10 TeV but tan β ≲ 4 for mediation at or above 100 TeV, placing m A near the TeV scale for natural EWSB. Because the signatures of heavy Higgs bosons at colliders are less susceptible to being “hidden” than standard superpartner signatures, there is a strong motivation to make heavy Higgs searches a key part of the LHC’s search for naturalness. In an appendix we comment on how the Goldstone boson equivalence theorem links the rates for H → hh and H → ZZ signatures.
AirSense: An Air Contaminant Detection System

Air pollution has been one of rising issues that are affecting people’s health around the world. The amount of air contaminants is enough to cause serious health diseases such as stroke, cancer, and respiratory infections which, in the long term, leads to premature deaths. To alleviate this risk, it comes first to allow people to know the dangerous level of the air contaminants around them to avoid their harmful effects and act upon it. Through the revolution of the Internet of Things that interconnects the digital information around us, we were able to design "AirSense", a device to measure the level of the toxic air contaminants in the atmosphere. AirSense captures the data through integrated sensors and provides users with the test results over a smartphone. The device is tested to measure the quality of the air around the University of Bridgeport, and a full plan is described with its feasibility strategy. Combining IoT with wearable technology may provide a way for users to stay notified of high air pollution levels and thus help reduce health concerns for many people.
Nonlinear reaction–diffusion process models improve inference for population dynamics

Partial differential equations (PDEs) are a useful tool for modeling spatiotemporal dynamics of ecological processes. However, as an ecological process evolves, we need statistical models that can adapt to changing dynamics as new data are collected. We developed a model that combines an ecological diffusion equation and logistic growth to characterize colonization processes of a population that establishes long‐term equilibrium over a heterogeneous environment. We also developed a homogenization strategy to statistically upscale the PDE for faster computation and adopted a hierarchical framework to accommodate multiple data sources collected at different spatial scales. We highlighted the advantages of using a logistic reaction component instead of a Malthusian component when population growth demonstrates asymptotic behavior. As a case study, we demonstrated that our model improves spatiotemporal abundance forecasts of sea otters in Glacier Bay, Alaska. Furthermore, we predicted spatially varying local equilibrium abundances as a result of environmentally driven diffusion and density‐regulated growth. Integrating equilibrium abundances over the study area in our application enabled us to infer the overall carrying capacity of sea otters in Glacier Bay, Alaska.
An incidental pure arterial malformation in a child: case report and review of the literature

Pure arterial malformations of the brain are rare vascular lesions. We present a 10-year-old healthy boy who presented with an incidental finding of pure arterial malformation. Our case seems to represent the second description of pure arterial malformation discovered incidentally in a child. We review the clinical presentation, angiographic findings, and management of our case in the context of other reported pediatric cases.
Effects of Manganese Porphyrins on Cellular Sulfur Metabolism.

Manganese porphyrins (MnPs), MnTE-2-PyP5+, MnTnHex-2-PyP5+ and MnTnBuOE-2-PyP5+, are superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetics and form a redox cycle between O2 and reductants, including ascorbic acid, ultimately producing hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). We previously found that MnPs oxidize hydrogen sulfide (H2S) to polysulfides (PS; H2Sn, n = 2–6) in buffer. Here, we examine the effects of MnPs for 24 h on H2S metabolism and PS production in HEK293, A549, HT29 and bone marrow derived stem cells (BMDSC) using H2S (AzMC, MeRho-AZ) and PS (SSP4) fluorophores. All MnPs decreased intracellular H2S production and increased intracellular PS. H2S metabolism and PS production were unaffected by cellular O2 (5% versus 21% O2), H2O2 or ascorbic acid. We observed with confocal microscopy that mitochondria are a major site of H2S production in HEK293 cells and that MnPs decrease mitochondrial H2S production and increase PS in what appeared to be nucleoli and cytosolic fibrillary elements. This supports a role for MnPs in the metabolism of H2S to PS, the latter serving as both short- and long-term antioxidants, and suggests that some of the biological effects of MnPs may be attributable to sulfur metabolism.
Chapter 4 – Detergents

Many of the components of biological membranes are hydrophobic or have extensive hydrophobic surfaces. These components, both lipids and proteins, are therefore not soluble in water. To isolate and purify these components requires a medium with which these components are compatible. Detergents provide such a medium. Just as detergents in the kitchen sink solubilize oily materials from food preparation, detergents solubilize the hydrophobic components of biological membranes. Detergents are amphipathic molecules. Because of their chemical structure, they form micelles (globular structures) with hydrophobic interiors and polar surfaces. Hydrophobic membrane components can be transferred from membranes to the detergent micelles. Both nonionic detergents and ionic detergents are used. The critical micelle concentration defines the concentration above which detergents form micelles (in equilibrium with monomers). Below that concentration, detergents are soluble in aqueous media (as monomers). Detergents can have complex phase diagrams, depending upon the detergent and the components that the detergent is solubilizing. Therefore the concept of detergent resistant membranes (which have been interpreted as representing rafts in the membranes from which they were derived) is actually the result of the interplay of the components rather than representing real structures in plasma membranes.
Microengineered three-dimensional collagen landscapes with independently tunable fiber anisotropy and directionality

Fibrillar collagen is abundant in the extracellular matrix (ECM), and cellular processes including differentiation, proliferation, and migration, have been linked to the directionality and degree of alignment (anisotropy) of collagen fibers. Given the importance of cell-substrate interactions in driving biological functions, several microfluidic approaches have been developed to create three-dimensional (3D) collagen gels with defined fiber properties that enable quantitative correlations between structural cues and observed cell responses. Although existing microfluidic methods provide excellent control over collagen fiber anisotropy, independent control over both fiber direction and anisotropy (that we collectively refer to as the collagen landscape) has not been demonstrated. Therefore, to advance collagen microengineering capabilities, we present a user-friendly approach that uses fluid flows to create well-defined collagen landscapes within a microfluidic channel network. These landscapes include: i) control over fiber anisotropy, ii) spatial gradients in fiber anisotropy, and iii) defined fiber directionality. Finally, we present two approaches to simplify procedures to allow cell interaction with the microengineered collagen landscapes.
Shear Wave Tensiometry Reveals an Age-Related Deficit in Triceps Surae Work at Slow and Fast Walking Speeds.

Prior studies have observed an age-related decline in net ankle power and work at faster walking speeds. However, the underlying changes in muscle-tendon behavior are not well-understood, and are challenging to infer from joint level analyses. This study used shear wave tensiometry to investigate the modulation of force and work done by the triceps surae across walking speeds. Fourteen healthy young (7F/7M, 26 ± 5 years) and older (7F/7M, 67 ± 5 years) adults were tested. Subjects walked on an instrumented treadmill at four walking speeds (0.75, 1.00, 1.25, and 1.50 m/s) while lower extremity kinematics and Achilles tendon shear wave speeds were collected. Subject-specific calibrations were used to compute Achilles tendon force from wave speed. Excursions of the soleus and gastrocnemius muscle-tendon units were computed from the kinematic data and subject-specific measures of the Achilles tendon moment arm. Work loop plots were then used to assess effective muscle-tendon stiffness during lengthening, and positive, negative, and net work production during stance. Two-way mixed ANOVAs were used to evaluate the effects of age group and walking speed on each outcome measure. Tendon loading during muscle-tendon lengthening (effective stiffness) did not differ between age groups, but did vary with speed. The soleus became effectively stiffer with increasing speed while the gastrocnemius became effectively more compliant. There was a marked age-related deficit in net soleus (-66% on average) and gastrocnemius (-36%) work across all walking speeds. We did not observe an age-speed interaction effect on net work production. These results suggest the age-related deficit in triceps surae output in walking is pervasive across speed, and hence seemingly not linked to absolute mechanical demands of the task.
External Validation of an Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Prediction Model Using Radiology Reports.

Objectives Acute respiratory distress syndrome is frequently under recognized and associated with increased mortality. Previously, we developed a model that used machine learning and natural language processing of text from radiology reports to identify acute respiratory distress syndrome. The model showed improved performance in diagnosing acute respiratory distress syndrome when compared to a rule-based method. In this study, our objective was to externally validate the natural language processing model in patients from an independent hospital setting. Design Secondary analysis of data across five prospective clinical studies. Setting An urban, tertiary care, academic hospital. Patients Adult patients admitted to the medical ICU and at-risk for acute respiratory distress syndrome. Interventions None. Measurements and main results The natural language processing model was previously derived and internally validated in burn, trauma, and medical patients at Loyola University Medical Center. Two machine learning models were examined with the following text features from qualifying radiology reports: 1) word representations (n-grams) and 2) standardized clinical named entity mentions mapped from the National Library of Medicine Unified Medical Language System. The models were externally validated in a cohort of 235 patients at the University of Chicago Medicine, among which 110 (47%) were diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome by expert annotation. During external validation, the n-gram model demonstrated good discrimination between acute respiratory distress syndrome and nonacute respiratory distress syndrome patients (C-statistic, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.72-0.84). The n-gram model had a higher discrimination for acute respiratory distress syndrome when compared with the standardized named entity model, although not statistically significant (C-statistic 0.78 vs 0.72; p = 0.09). The most important features in the model had good face validity for acute respiratory distress syndrome characteristics but differences in frequencies did occur between hospital settings. Conclusions Our computable phenotype for acute respiratory distress syndrome had good discrimination in external validation and may be used by other health systems for case-identification. Discrepancies in feature representation are likely due to differences in characteristics of the patient cohorts.
Domain-specific sentiment analysis for tweets during hurricanes (DSSA-H): A domain-adversarial neural-network-based approach

Abstract Hurricanes are one of the most frequent and destructive disasters in the United States. The events are large scale and have relatively long-term impacts. Social networking platforms such as Twitter can provide real-time information for disaster managers and affected populations during large-scale disasters (e.g., hurricanes), but extracting useful information and interpreting data accurately for disaster management is still challenging. Sentiment analysis of social media data helps detect the concerns of affected people and understand individuals' responses on the ground at unprecedented scales, but the method is known to be domain-dependent. The same words or expressions can indicate opposite sentiments in different domains. This paper proposes a domain-specific sentiment analysis approach specifically for tweets posted during hurricanes (DSSA-H). DSSA-H can retrieve hurricane-relevant tweets with a trained supervised-learning classifier, Random Forest (RF), and classify the sentiment of hurricane-relevant tweets based on a domain-adversarial neural network (DANN). We built a dataset of tweets posted during six recent hurricanes and applied the DSSA-H approach for sentiment analysis. After evaluation, we found that each classifier (i.e., RF and DANN) outperforms baseline classifiers and that DSSA-H outperforms two high-performing general sentiment classification approaches when classifying sentiments of tweets posted during hurricanes. We also applied DSSA-H in examining sentiment patterns across six recent hurricanes in the U.S. This domain-specific sentiment analysis approach can be used by the first responders and affected communities to more accurately and rapidly detect crises and emergent events, allocate resources, and assess disaster's impact during hurricanes. DSSA-H contributes to an intelligent and adaptive disaster information system for the data-rich human and the built environment system.
Towards Noise Resilient SLAM

Sparse-indirect SLAM systems have been dominantly popular due to their computational efficiency and photometric invariance properties. Depth sensors are critical to SLAM frameworks for providing scale information to the 3D world, yet known to be plagued by a wide variety of noise sources, possessing lateral and axial components. In this work, we demonstrate the detrimental impact of these depth noise components on the performance of the state-of-the-art sparse-indirect SLAM system (ORB-SLAM2). We propose (i) Map-Point Consensus based Outlier Rejection (MC-OR) to counter lateral noise, and (ii) Adaptive Virtual Camera (AVC) to combat axial noise accurately. MC-OR utilizes consensus information between multiple sightings of the same landmark to disambiguate noisy depth and filter it out before pose optimization. In AVC, we introduce an error vector as an accurate representation of the axial depth error. We additionally propose an adaptive algorithm to find the virtual camera location for projecting the error used in the objective function of the pose optimization. Our techniques work equally well for stereo image pairs and RGB-D input directly used by sparse-indirect SLAM systems. Our methods were tested on the TUM (RGB-D) and EuRoC (stereo) datasets and we show that they outperform existing state-of-the-art ORB-SLAM2 by 2-3x, especially in sequences critically affected by depth noise.
Uncomplicated Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair in Chronic Ipsilateral Upper Extremity Lymphedema: A Case Report.

CASE A 69-year-old woman with chronic upper extremity lymphedema secondary to bilateral mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection for breast cancer 10 years before presented to the clinic with a massive rotator cuff tear. Her shoulder pain and dysfunction persisted despite nonoperative treatment. She underwent left shoulder arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (RCR) and biceps tenotomy. Arm, forearm, and wrist circumference measurements were obtained, preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, and 1-week and 2-weeks postoperatively. No permanent increase in extremity circumference measurements was observed. CONCLUSION This case suggests that it is possible to perform an arthroscopic RCR in a patient with chronic upper extremity lymphedema without creating further morbidity.
Relation of Driving Under the Influence Laws to Access to Firearms Across US States.

Objectives. To determine differences among US states in how driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) laws activate federal firearm possession and purchase prohibitions.Methods. We performed pri...
Patient Motivations and Goals for Bariatric Surgery: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract Background Existing research has primarily focused on weight as the outcome of interest for bariatric surgery; however, patients frequently report other lifestyle and interpersonal surgery motivations and goals. Understanding the spectrum of bariatric surgery goals and motivations has important implications for enhancing patient-centered care and surgery outcomes. Objectives The current study characterized the nature of bariatric patient motivations and goals for surgery, described the extent to which motivations matched goals, and examined whether men and women differed in the specific motivations/goals described. Setting Teaching hospital, United States Methods Data were obtained via retrospective chart review of bariatric patient responses to the clinic’s standard open-ended questions about motivations and goals for bariatric surgery. A mixed method approach was used, including content analysis, to identify themes and χ2/t test analyses to test gender differences. Results Surgery motivations and outcome goals were reflected by 8 overarching and overlapping themes. The most common motivations were related to general health and quality of life. The most common goals were to improve health/longevity and mobility. Over a quarter of patients showed no overlap between motivations and goals. Few gender differences were observed. Conclusion Findings underscore the importance of goals beyond weight loss, as well as the utility of helping patients shape their goals in accordance with goal-setting theories.
The early death of Colonel Robert C. Tytler and the afterlife of his collection

A letter by Allan Octavian Hume and three by Bertram Bevan-Petman, all written between 1904 and 1911 to Ernst Hartert, bird curator of Rothschild's Tring Museum, are present in the Rothschild Tring archive, now held by the Natural History Museum. These shed light on both the probable cause of the early death in 1872 of Colonel Robert C. Tytler, British army officer and naturalist in colonial India, and on the somewhat convoluted fate of his collection subsequently.
The NAS and the Courts: A Three-Year Perspective

The 2009 report Strengthening Forensic Science, A Path Foward, provided an intensely critical assessment of forensic evidence as used in courts across the United States. The report concluded that, with the exception of DNA, no forensic discipline had been sufficiently validated to permit "individualization" testimony, a claim that an item of evidence came from one source to the exclusion of all other possible contributors. The report also castigated the legal community, finding that it had been ineffective in recognizing the limits of such evidence and addressing these deficiencies. This chapter assesses the impact of that report, in the courtroom, in the subsequent four years. It finds that, with rare exception, courts continue to admit such proof categorically and uncritically.
HVAD versus heartmate III bridge to heart transplantation: waitlist and posttransplant outcomes.

BACKGROUND This study compared outcomes of patients bridged with either the Heartware HVAD versus Heartmate 3 (HM3) device to orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT). METHODS The United Network of Organ Sharing registry was queried to perform two separate analyses of adult, isolated OHT candidates bridged with HVAD or HM3. First, waitlist outcomes were compared among patients waitlisted 1/1/2015-3/20/2020. Second, posttransplant survival was compared among those transplanted 1/1/2015-3/20/2020. RESULTS 2,255 candidates were waitlisted within the study period, 1,587 (70.4%) bridged with HVAD and 668 (29.6%) with HM3. At one year from waitlisting, cumulative incidence of OHT higher in the HVAD cohort (P<0.001). During the same time period, 2,643 patients underwent OHT, 2,154 (81.5%) with prior HVAD and 489 (18.5%) with HM3. Yearly proportions of patients bridged with HM3 increased across the study period and decreased for HVAD (P<0.001). HM3-bridged recipients had shorter waitlist times, longer graft cold ischemic times, and experienced a higher rate of posttransplant dialysis requirement. Unadjusted and risk-adjusted posttransplant mortality rates were similar between both groups. CONCLUSIONS Posttransplant survival is equivalent regardless of device type used for bridging. However, HM3 patients had lower likelihood of reaching transplantation, which may be a reflection of the recent heart allocation policy changes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Influenza-Virus-Induced Hyperplasia of the Respiratory Tract of the Hamster

Hamster-adapted A/PR/8 influenza virus infection followed by a secondary insult consisting of 0.25 ml of 0.5% gelatin-saline instilled directly into the trachea causes epithelial hyperplasia of both the trachea and lung. The extent of the response is related to, and dependent upon, the time interval between virus infection and gelatin-saline administration; the optimal time interval is between 12 and 18 hr. The presence of hyperplasia was measured by 3H-thymidine incorporation. Hyperplasia of the trachea is first apparent 3 days after virus infection, peaks at the fourth day, and is no longer present by the twentieth day. Hyperplasia in the lung begins 4 days after virus infection, peaks at the sixth day, and is undetectable by the twentieth day. Additional studies are in progress to determine the effect of virus-induced hyperplasia on benzo(a)pyrene-ferric oxide initiated respiratory carcinogenesis.