cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Two dimensional model for coherent synchrotron radiation

Understanding coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) effects in a bunch compressor requires an accurate model accounting for the realistic beam shape and parameters. We extend the well-known 1D CSR analytic model into two dimensions and develop a simple numerical model based on the Li\'enard-Wiechert formula for the CSR field of a coasting beam. This CSR numerical model includes the 2D spatial dependence of the field in the bending plane and is accurate for arbitrary beam energy. It also removes the singularity in the space charge field calculation present in a 1D model. Good agreement is obtained with 1D CSR analytic result for free electron laser (FEL) related beam parameters but it can also give a more accurate result for low-energy/large spot size beams and off-axis/transient fields. This 2D CSR model can be used for understanding the limitation of various 1D models and for benchmarking fully electromagnetic multidimensional particle-in-cell simulations for self-consistent CSR modeling.
Notch-1 and Notch-2 exhibit unique patterns of expression in human B-lineage cells.

The Notch genes encode a conserved family of receptors that influence developmental fate in many species. Prior studies have indicated that Notch-1 and Notch-2 signaling influence the development of hematopoietic stems cells and thymocytes, but little is known regarding Notch expression and function in B-lineage cells. We analyzed the expression of Notch receptors and Notch ligands in human B-lineage cells and bone marrow (BM) stromal cells. Notch-1 mRNA and protein is expressed throughout normal B cell development and in leukemic B-lineage cells. In contrast, Notch-2 expression is limited to pre-B cells expressing low levels of surface μ. The Notch ligand Delta is expressed in BM B-lineage cells. The Notch ligand Jagged-1 is not expressed in B-lineage cells, but is expressed in BM stromal cells. These results suggest a model wherein lateral signaling between Notch and Delta on B-lineage cells and/or Notch/Jagged-1 interactions between B-lineage cells and BM stromal cells may regulate human B cell development.
Clarify function

The biggest obstacle in understanding large software systems is the sheer quantity of information that has to be explicitly remembered by a programmer. Our ability to understand a system directly determines the ease with which it can be modified, maintained or extended; programmers are hence in need of techniques which, when applied, result in systems that can be understood quickly and effectively. In this paper, some practical techniques for constructing such "highly understandable" systems are presented. The paper starts with an analysis of how we humans understand a system --- it is demonstrated that we do so by identifying the functions of various entities in it. On the basis of this important observation, the argument for naming entities by the function that they perform is developed. Some concrete rules for naming procedures, variables, pointers, etc. are subsequently suggested and the reasons why these rules should obviate the need to remember are explored. We further argue why inability to name according to the given criteria should be interpreted as an indication of poor quality of the system. Thus, we conclude that the way to construct systems that can be understood quickly and effectively is to name entities in the system by the function that they perform.
Monitoring beef carcass surface microbial contamination with a luminescence-based bacterial phosphatase assay.

A commercially available microbial phosphatase test kit (Fast Contamination Indicator; FCI) was evaluated as a rapid method for estimating microbial contamination levels on beef carcass tissues. A set of actual beef carcass surface sample swabs (n = 70) was tested using the assay as a means to rapidly (10 min) monitor carcass swab sample microbial contamination. A regression equation was developed in experiment I and tested on an independent population. There was agreement between this assay and the conventional plating method for total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (r =0.93). The predicted total mesophilic aerobic bacteria count generated from the fitted regression line (predicted log 10 CFU/cm 2 =0.7505 X log 10 FCI microbial phosphatase test values + 0.6726) showed a high correlation with actual aerobic mesophilic total counts (r = 0.88). The FCI test offers a simple and rapid method to estimate microbial contamination levels on beef carcasses. Un kit commercial de test d'activite de la phosphatase bacterienne par mesure de luminescence est evalue comme methode de mesure de la contamination de la carcasse de boeuf. Une comparaison est faite avec la methode classique de comptage sur boite. Les correlations pour la numeration des bacteries aerobies mesophiles sur la viande fraiche ou refrigeree sont bonnes. Ce kit est donc adapte pour un test simple et rapide de la contamination des carcasses de boeuf a l'abattoir.
Oxygen Activation and Oxidation Reactions on Metal Surfaces

Over the years we have developed ways of dissecting the kinetics and mechanisms of increasingly complex reactions using metal single crystals in ultra high vacuum as model reaction systems, and I would like to discuss that work today, particularly with regard to oxidation processes. The strengths of this approach primarily lie in the ability to dissect mechanistic processes and determine the activation energies, frequency factors, and rate-limiting steps for reactions of metastable intermediates. The major difficulties arise in attaching relationships between the structure of these intermediates to their reactivity; structure of surface species is currently very difficult to determine. We do not have the equivalent of NMR, so it is painstaking, as I think you will see, to begin to understand the relationship between the disposition of bonds with respect to the metal atoms on the surface and the reactions taking place. We are, however, beginning to make some progress there, as well, and I find that most exciting.
Atom-surface force pinned down

The importance of the vander Waals force cannot be overestimated. The force was introduced by Johannes Diderik van der Waals in 1873 to explain the non-ideal behaviour of gases. Its effects in bulk matter are just as fundamental in condensed matter physics, chemistry and biology, and it is also the basis of the atomic-force microscopes.
Alternative approaches to second language acquisition

Introduction Dwight Atkinson Chapter 1: The Sociocultural Approach to Second Language Acquisition: Sociocultural Theory, Second Language Acquisition, and Artificial L2 Development James P. Lantolf Chapter 2: A Complexity Theory Approach to Second Language Development/ Acquisition Diane Larsen-Freeman Chapter 3: An Identity Approach to Second Language Acquisition Bonny Norton & Carolyn McKinney Chapter 4: Language Socialization Approaches to Second Language Acquisition: Social, Cultural, and Linguistic Development in Additional Languages Patricia A. Duff & Steven Talmy Chapter 5: A Conversation-analytic Approach to Second Language Acquisition Gabriele Kasper & Johannes Wagner Chapter 6: A Sociocognitive Approach to Second Language Acquisition: How Mind, Body, and World Work Together in Learning Additional Languages Dwight Atkinson Chapter 7: Discussion - SLA after the Social Turn: Where Cognitivism and its Alternatives Stand Lourdes Ortega
Voices for environmental action? Analyzing narrative in environmental governance networks in the Pacific Islands

Abstract As climate change pushes against the shorelines of the Pacific Islands, strategies to coalesce power to mitigate for and adapt to environmental degradation become even more relevant. One mechanism employed by the Pacific Islands to overcome conflict is the formation of climate networks that work together to meet the needs of the islands as a region. During this process of networked governance, however, contestations occur between the local and global strategies and knowledges that must be navigated by state and nonstate organizations in these networks in order to achieve their respective aims. In order to gain authority to make decisions and govern on climate issues, these networks employ particular narratives—constructions of the hero, victim, and villain, both human and nonhuman, in the story of climate policy—that both produce and are produced by these local/global contestations. This article explores these issues in the context of the Pacific Island Forum and Pacific Island Development Forum summits leading up to the 2015 Conference of the Parties, and their final climate declarations. Through this investigation, two competing narratives are found—the global technical narrative and the local power narrative. These narratives impacted the deliberations and subsequent climate declarations in these Pacific summits, with both the global technical narrative of the Pacific Island Forum summit and the local power narrative of the Pacific Island Development Forum summit being evident in their final declarations. These narrative constructions have consequences for the representativeness of the decisions made in these networks.
An update on the advancements in the treatment of agitation in Alzheimer's disease.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are associated with significant negative outcomes for patients and their caregivers. Agitation, one of the most distressing NPS, lacks safe and effective long term interventions. Nonpharmacological interventions are suggested as first-line treatment, but aren’t effective for every patient, resulting in pharmacological interventions for some patients, consisting of off-label use of antipsychotics, sedative/hypnotics, anxiolytics, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, memantine, and antidepressants; where efficacy doesn’t necessarily outweigh associated risks.Areas covered: Gains in understanding neurobiological mechanisms underlying agitation have fueled several recent clinical trials. This article updates our review published in 2014. Comprehensive literature search for published articles from January 2014 to December 2016 evaluating pharmacologic interventions for agitation in AD was done. A review of several clinical trials was...
Spherically capped membrane probes for low contact pressure tribology

Abstract Low contact pressure measurements are needed for biotribology studies on cells, cell layers, and tissues. Such studies typically require low forces to achieve kPa range contact pressures, but such methods frequently come at the expense of contact area and, in turn, relevance. In seeking lower contact pressures, the corresponding contact areas can become too small to be physiologically relevant or important. The recently developed method creates probes that are thin spherical shells, specifically designed to create low contact pressures. These polyethylene glycol and polyacrylamide hydrogel probes were polymerized with embedded fluorescent nanoparticles, and indentation experiments were performed in situ on a confocal microscope to determine the deformation mechanics. The indentation load versus contact width behavior revealed that this design has the ability to achieve pressures in the kPa range at macroscopic contact areas that are independent of the applied load (i.e., the area grows linearly with the applied load, leading to a constant contact pressure).
Artificial Compressibility Method

The artificial compressibility method is quite different from the pressure projection approach in both the nature of the formulation and the subsequent numerical algorithm. In an artificial compressibility method, a fictitious time derivative of pressure is added to the continuity equation so that the set of equations modified from the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations can be solved implicitly by marching in pseudo time. When a steady-state solution is reached, the original equations are recovered. To obtain time accuracy, an iterative technique can be employed at each time level, which is equivalent to solving the governing equations for steady state at each time level. Using a large, artificial compressibility parameter to spread artificial waves quickly throughout the computational domain, and allowing some residual level of the mass conservation equation, the computing time requirement for time accurate solutions may be controlled within approximately one order-of-magnitude higher than the steady-state computations. In the artificial compressibility approach, the mass conservation does not have to be strictly enforced at each time step, and this gives robustness during iteration.
The effect of antipsychotic medications on acoustic startle latency in schizophrenia.

Abstract Prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle reflex (PPI) is extensively studied as a biomarker of schizophrenia (SCZ); however, antipsychotic medication can confound the measure. Latency, the time between the startling stimulus and the reflexive eye blink, provides an index of neural processing speed and is 90% heritable. SCZ subjects have slower latency than controls (CON). This study examined the effects of antipsychotic medication on startle latency. 108 CON and 132 SCZ subjects in three medication subgroups (94 on second-generation antipsychotics (SGA), 25 on first-generation antipsychotics (FGA), 13 unmedicated (NoMed)) were tested on a standard acoustic startle paradigm designed to measure startle magnitude, PPI, and latency. Latency was slower in SCZ compared to CON subjects (p = 0.005). Latency did not differ between the three SCZ medication groups. When CON were added to that model, both the NoMed subjects (p = 0.04) and the SGA subjects (p = 0.003) were slower than CON subjects. For PPI, CON did not differ from SCZ analyzed as a single group. When SCZ subjects were divided into medication groups, PPI was lower in NoMed subjects than the CON group (p = 0.03), the SGA group (p = 0.02) and the FGA group (p = 0.05). SCZ subjects on any medication did not differ from CON. Thus, latency was partially normalized by antipsychotic medication, but this did not obscure the slower latency in SCZ compared to CON. Therefore latency is both trait and state related, whereas medication normalized PPI and obscured any difference between SCZ and CON.
Hemodynamic correlates of nutritional indexes in heart failure.

Abstract Background Malnutrition in heart failure (HF) is related to altered intestinal function, which could be due to hemodynamic changes. We investigated the usefulness of novel nutritional indexes in relation to hemodynamic parameters. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 139 HF patients with reduced ejection fraction who underwent right heart catheterization. We investigated correlations between right side pressures and nutritional indexes, which include controlling nutritional (CONUT) score and geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to investigate the prognostic accuracy of CONUT score and GNRI for a composite of death or HF hospitalization in 12 months. Logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate whether hemodynamic correlates were associated with malnutrition, which was defined based on CONUT sore or GNRI. Results Higher right side pressures were positively correlated with worse nutritional status according to CONUT score, but were negatively correlated with worse nutritional status according to GNRI. Area under ROC curve for the composite endpoint was 0.746 in CONUT score and 0.576 in GNRI. The composite endpoint occurred in 40% of CONUT score ≥ 3 and in 11% of CONUT score Conclusions CONUT score was associated with right side congestion, while no association between GNRI and right side congestion was noted. CONUT score had better predictive value than GNRI.
Phosphatase-Mediated Hydrolysis of Linear Polyphosphates.

Polyphosphates are a group of phosphorus (P) containing molecules that are produced by a wide range of microorganisms and human activities. Although polyphosphates are ubiquitous in aquatic environments and are of environmental significance, little is known about their transformation and cycling. This study characterized the polyphopshate-hydrolysis mechanisms of several representative phosphatase enzymes and evaluated the effects of polyphosphate chain length, light condition, and calcium (Ca2+). 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to monitor the dynamic changes of P molecular configuration during polyphosphate hydrolysis and suggested a terminal-only degradation pathway by the enzymes. Such mechanism enabled the quantification of the hydrolysis rates by measuring orthophosphate production over time. At the same initial concentration of polyphosphate molecules, the hydrolysis rates were independent of chain length. The hydrolysis of polyphosphate was also unaffected by light condit...
Functions Containing at Least One Group 15 Element (and No Halogen or Chalcogen)

This chapter describes synthetically useful methods that have led to the construction of methanes bearing four heteroatoms, with at least one attached heteroatom belonging to group 15 and no attached halogen or chalcogen. The contents cover the literature since 1995, and are organized according to the number of attached group 15 elements. All compounds described possess at least one nitrogen function or one phosphorus function. Compounds bearing only one nitrogen function or one phosphorus function were prevalent, with the other three functions being a metal or metalloid. Several examples of methanes bearing only group 15 elements have also been reported. While many of the methods were limited to the reaction of a single substrate, others were more widely applied.
STEPQ: spatio-temporal engine for complex pattern queries

With the increasing complexity and wide diversity of spatio-temporal applications, the query processing requirements over spatio-temporal data go beyond the traditional query types, e.g., range, kNN, and aggregation queries along with their variants. Most applications require support for evaluating powerful spatio-temporal pattern queries (STPQs) that form higher-order correlations and compositions of sequences of events to infer real-world semantics of importance to the targeted application. STPQs can be supported by neither traditional spatio-temporal databases (STDBs) nor by modern complex-event-processing systems (CEP). While the former lack the expressiveness and processing capabilities for handling such complex sequence pattern queries, the later mostly focus on the Time dimension as the driving dimension, and hence lack the power of the special-purpose processing technologies established in STDBs over the past decades. In this paper, we propose an efficient and scalable spatio-temporal engine for complex pattern queries (STEPQ). STEPQ has several innovative features and ideas that will open the research in the area of integration between spatio-temporal databases and complex event processing.
The effects of nafamostat mesilate (FUT-175) on caerulein-induced acute pancreatitis in the rat

We examined the ability of a highly potent synthetic protease inhibitor, nafamostat mesilate (FUT-175), to protect the rat pancreas against AP induced by a supramaximal dose of caerulein (CR). Rats received a 6-h, continuous intravenous (iv) infusion of either CR alone or CR + a 6-h infusion of either 2.5, 5.0, 10.0, 25.0, or 50.0 mg of FUT-175/kg/h. Pancreas weights and serum chymotrypsinogen concentrations were significantly elevated by approximately 85 and 75%, respectively, over values in saline infused rats. Pancreas weights in rats treated with CR+ FUT-175 at doses from 2.5–25.0 mg/kg/h were significantly reduced by approximately 20% compared to rats given CR along, and histology showed a reduction in the extent and size of acinar cell vacuolization and reduced interstitial edema compared to rats treated with CR alone. Serum chymotrypsinogen concentrations in rats treated with CR and either 5.0 or 10.0 mg of FUT-175/kg/h were significantly lower than in rats given CR alone. Significant mortality occurred in rats infused with FUT-175 at doses of either 25.0 or 50.0 mg of FUT-175/kg/h. These data indicate that serine proteases appear to be involved in the pathogenesis of CR induced AP in rats and that FUT-175 administered in low doses (2.5–10.0 mg/kg/h) provides significant protection against this form of pancreatitis.
Coronary artery disease in South Asian immigrants living in New York City: angiographic findings and risk factor burdens.

BACKGROUND : The prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) among South Asians (SAs) significantly exceeds that of Caucasians. South Asians also suffer from more premature, clinically aggressive and angiographically extensive (3-vessel) disease. The role of conventional CAD risk factors (CCRFs) remains controversial. OBJECTIVES : We sought to determine if the CCRF burdens of SA immigrants differed from Caucasians. We also sought to determine whether angiographic CAD was more extensive among SAs and whether SA ethnicity was an independent predictor of 3-vessel disease. METHODS : We reviewed the CCRFs and angiograms of 520 SAs and 219 Caucasians consecutively referred with stable angina pectoris or acute coronary syndrome. RESULTS : Three-vessel CAD was significantly more common among SAs than Caucasians (32.5% vs 22.4%; P = .006). Diabetes mellitus (DM), age and male sex independently predicted 3-vessel disease. South Asian ethnicity showed a trend toward predicting 3-vessel disease (P = .06). The frequency of DM (55% vs 31.1%; P < .001), hypertension (77.5% vs 68.5%; P = .01), obesity (63.1% vs 44.3%; P < .001) and dyslipidemia (75.6% vs 61.6%; P < .001) were significantly greater among SAs; however, smoking was significantly more common among Caucasians (44.3% vs 21.3%; P < .001). Compared to Caucasians, SAs were significantly younger at the time of presentation for coronary angiography (58.5 vs 61.1 yrs; P = .001). CONCLUSIONS : SAs referred for coronary angiography with stable angina and acute coronary syndromes are younger, have significantly higher rates of 3-vessel disease, as well as higher rates of DM, hypertension, obesity and dyslipidemia than Caucasians. Aggressive screening, prevention and treatment may be warranted in this population. ( Ethn Dis .2013;23[3]:292-295)
Action Research Communities: Professional Learning, Empowerment, and Improvement Through Collaborative Action Research

Action Research Communities presents a new perspective on two current and proven educational practices: classroom-/school-based action research and professional learning communities. Implementation of one or the other of these practices often results in a variety of possible benefits for the teaching–learning process, for student achievement, and for overall school improvement. While these might seem to be separate, isolated practices, the author has taken the beneficial aspects of each practice and merged them into a cohesive and potentially powerful concept, coined "action research communities." Each of the two concepts or approaches (action research and professional learning communities) is presented and discussed in detail. Because they both focus on local-level improvement of educational practice and share several overlapping features, the two concepts are then merged into a single entity—action research communities, or ARCs. These professional learning communities, with action research at their core, hold an immense amount of power and potential when it comes to enhanced professional growth and development for educators, increased student achievement, school improvement, and educator empowerment. ARCs essentially capitalize on all the individualized benefits and strengths of action research and of professional learning communities, and merge them into a single educational concept and practice. ARCs have the potential to help educators everywhere experience: •a common and collective focus and vision; • sustained collaborative inquiry; •individualized, customizable—and meaningful—professional growth; and •true empowerment that comes with this form of collaborative, inquiry-based, and reflective practice. Practical guidance for the development and implementation of ARCs is also provided, by focusing on ways in which professional educators (teachers, administrators, support staff, etc.) can implement, sustain, and extend the impact of their respective action research communities. Specific roles for district administrators, building administrators, and teachers are presented and discussed in depth, as are ways that ARCs can be used both to deepen professional learning for educators and to improve student learning.
Proceedings of the 2015 Workshop on Automated Decision Making for Active Cyber Defense

It is our great pleasure to welcome you to SafeConfig 2015 -- the Workshop on Automated Decision Making for Active Cyber Defense. SafeConfig'15 offers a unique opportunity by bringing together researchers from academic, industry, as well as government agencies to discuss challenges, exchange experiences, and propose plans for promoting research and development for resilient cyber and cyber-physical systems. SafeConfig'15 solicits the submission of original unpublished ideas in 8-page long papers and 4-page short papers on cyber security analytics, intelligence and automation area, which includes provable synthesis, refinement, validation, and tuning of configurations parameters, such as policies and rules in order to support assurable, secure, and sustainable networked services. The call for papers attracted submissions from Asia, Europe, and the United States. SafeConfig'15 received twenty-seven submissions. We have accepted only eight of them as full papers (acceptance ratio 29.6%) and one as a short paper to be presented in this workshop, after a rigorous review process (at least 3 reviews for each paper) and discussion phase. We also encourage attendees to attend the keynote talk and the panel discussion. Dr. Wende Peters from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory will deliver the keynote talk, "Integrated Adaptive Cyber Defense: Integration Spiral Results". This valuable and insightful talk will guide us to a better understanding of the adaptive cyber defense, which is the secure integration and automation across a diverse, changeable set of cyber defense capabilities. The panelists will discuss active cyber defense strategies for resilient infrastructure. This discussion will provide the audience with the global requirements of secure and resilient systems, current challenges, and future directions.
Mn Porphyrin-Based Redox Active Drugs As Novel Anti-Adhesive and Anti-Inflammatory Agents Targeting Sickle Red Blood Cell Oxidative Damage In Vivo

Abstract In sickle cell disease (SCD), painful vaso-occlusive crises and end-organ damage are caused by occlusion of the vessels due largely to sickle red blood cell (RBC) adhesion to both the endothelium and adherent leukocytes. RBC oxidative damage caused by continuous endogenous and exogenous oxidative stress may participate in the occurrence of vaso-occlusive crises. We have evaluated the effects of scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) in sickle RBCs on cell adhesion and vaso-occlusion in a humanized mouse model of vaso-occlusion in vivo analyzed by intravital microscopy. To scavenge RBC ROS, we used our manganese porphyrin-based superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimics MnTnBuOE-2-PyP5+ (MnBuOE) and MnTE-2-PyP5+ (MnE), powerful catalysts of superoxide dismutation, and reductants of peroxynitrite, peroxide and hypochlorite. Intravital microscopy observations of enflamed vessels visible through dorsal skin-fold window chamber implants was performed after the inflammatory trigger of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) to induce vaso-occlusion in transgenic sickle mice followed by subcutaneous injection of MnBuOE at 0.1, 0.2 or 2 mg/kg, or MnE at 0.5 or 2 mg/kg. Treatment of sickle mice with only one dose of 0.1, 0.2 and 2 mg/kg MnBuOE decreased dose-dependently adhesion of both sickle cells and leukocytes in enflamed vessels by 68±4% (p The long-term anti-adhesive and anti-inflammatory effects of MnBuOE and MnE in sickle mice were next examined. Subcutaneous administration for 28 days of MnBuOE at 0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg inhibited significantly adhesion of RBCs and leukocytes in enflamed venules by 34±13% (p These results suggest that our SOD mimics may represent a valuable novel therapeutic intervention for not only vaso-occlusive crises, but inflammation as well, that should be further evaluated in patients with SCD. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Virtual Flânerie Teju Cole and the Algorithmic Logic of Racial Ascription

This article reads Teju Cole's award-winning novel Open City (2011) as an extended allegory for the operations of a 'technological unconscious' recently theorized by critics including Nigel Thrift, David Beer, Alexander Galloway, and Katherine Hayles. Cole is widely recognized for being an innovative social media activist; and yet Open City has almost uniformly been labeled an 'antiquarian' text, the highly lettered account of a Nigerian-German flâneur (Julius) who 'aimlessly wanders' New York in search of his racial identity. Yet an emphasis exclusively on Cole's 'antiquarian' style risks missing his novel's formal engagement with the technological present. Drawing on Lev Manovich's account of the flâneur as a figural precursor to the Internet user, I argue that the twenty-one short chapters that serialize Julius's 'aimless wandering' also chart his gradual slotting into an implicitly preferred racial identity category, as Julius is repeatedly hailed by African and African American persons and objects eager to gain his attention. Carefully yoking Julius's flânerie to the protocols of now-ubiquitous systems for user tracking and content personalization notably deployed by Internet browsers like Google, Open City subsequently shows how Julius's 'aimless' desire for serendipitous and diverse social encounters yields, instead, a subtly curated journey through New York cued by his perceived racial indicators. In this way, the novel presents the 'Open City' as a metonym for the 'open' Web in order to lay bare the ideology of 'openness' itself, giving the lie to pervasive cultural investments in the Internet as a 'postracial' global mode of production, and illustrating race's systemic drag within a current phase of tech-intensified capitalism whose putatively neutral proxies reiterate global class formations along racial lines.
Dynamic Behavior and Output Charge Analysis of a Bistable Clamped-Ends Energy Harvester

Vibration energy harvesting systems are an excellent power source alternative to batteries or other green energy alternatives, given that many application environments feature vibration sources significant enough for power scavenging. The most important challenge faced by these types of energy harvesters is their general operating inefficiency when driven by the chaotic, low frequency vibration sources characteristic of most real-life scenarios. Prediction of power for these systems requires a detailed understanding of their performance under dynamic conditions. In this study, an analytical method is applied to dynamically analyze the output electrical charge of a piezoelectric-based bistable energy harvester under harmonic excitation. This system is made of a clamped-clamped buckled beam with attached piezo patches and a lump mass at the center. The bistability is created by a compressive load applied at the beam ends. In order to appropriately analyze the dynamic behavior of the structure, the beam is divided into two components in a way that the dynamic effect of the tip mass appears in the boundary conditions as a matching relation between two parts. First, natural frequencies and mode shapes of the system are found by theoretically solving the free undamped linear system. These obtained mode shapes are then used in a Galerkin approach to discretize the nonlinear equations of the buckled structure. By solving the nonlinear equations, Poincare’ plot and output electrical charge for a buckled case under three different exciting frequencies are investigated to analyze the performance of the bistable energy harvester.
Gon\v{c}arov Polynomials in Partition Lattices and Exponential Families

Classical Goncarov polynomials arose in numerical analysis as a basis for the solutions of the Goncarov interpolation problem. These polynomials provide a natural algebraic tool in the enumerative theory of parking functions. By replacing the differentiation operator with a delta operator and using the theory of finite operator calculus, Lorentz, Tringali and Yan introduced the sequence of generalized Goncarov polynomials associated to a pair $(\Delta, Z)$ of a delta operator $\Delta$ and an interpolation grid $Z$. Generalized Goncarov polynomials share many nice algebraic properties and have a connection with the theories of binomial enumeration and order statistics. In this paper we give a complete combinatorial interpretation for any sequence of generalized Goncarov polynomials. First, we show that they can be realized as weight enumerators in partition lattices. Then, we give a more concrete realization in exponential families and show that these polynomials enumerate various enriched structures of vector parking functions.
High spatiotemporal variability of bacterial diversity over short time scales with unique hydrochemical associations within a shallow aquifer.

Understanding microbial community structure and function within the subsurface is critical to assessing overall quality and maintenance of groundwater; however, the factors that determine microbial community assembly, structure, and function in groundwater systems and their impact on water quality remains poorly understood. In this study, three shallow wells (FW301, FW303, FW305) in a non-contaminated shallow aquifer in the ENIGMA-Oak Ridge Field Research Center (Oak Ridge, TN) were sampled approximately 3 times a week over a period of three months to measure changes in groundwater geochemistry and microbial diversity. It was expected that the sampled microbial diversity from two historic field wells (FW301, FW303) would be relatively stable, while diversity from a newer well (FW305) would be less stable over time. The wells displayed some degree of hydrochemical variability over time unique to each well, with FW303 being overall the most stable well and FW301 being the most dynamic based upon dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and nitrate. Community analysis via ss-rRNA paired-end sequencing and distribution-based clustering revealed higher OTU richness, diversity, and variability in groundwater communities of FW301 than the other two wells for diversity binned over all time points. Microbial community composition of a given well was on average > 50% dissimilar to any other well at a given time (days), yet, functional gene diversity as measured with GeoChip remained relatively constant. Similarities in community structure across wells were observed with respect to the presence of 20 shared bacterial groups in all samples in all wells, although at varying levels over the tested time period. Similarity percentage (SIMPER) analysis revealed that variability in FW301 was largely attributed to low abundance, highly-transient populations, while variability in the most hydrochemically stable well (FW303) was due to fluctuations in more highly abundant and frequently present taxa. Additionally, the youngest well FW305 showed a dramatic shift in community composition towards the end of the sampling period that was not observed in the other wells, suggesting possible succession events over time. Time-series analysis using vector auto-regressive models and Granger causality showed unique relationships between richness and geochemistry over time in each well. These results indicate temporally dynamic microbial communities over short time scales, with day-to-day population shifts in local community structure influenced by available source community diversity and local groundwater hydrochemistry.
PET-enabled Dual-energy CT: A Proof-of-Concept Simulation Study

Standard dual-energy CT uses two different x-ray energies to obtain energy-dependent tissue attenuation information to allow quantitative material decomposition. Combined use of dual-energy CT and PET may provide a more comprehensive characterization of disease states in cancer and many other diseases. However, integration of dual-energy CT with PET is not trivial, either requiring costly hardware upgrade or increasing radiation dose. This paper proposes a novel dual-energy CT imaging method that is enabled by the already-available PET data on PET/CT. Instead of using a second x-ray CT scan with a different energy, this method exploits time-of-flight PET image reconstruction to obtain a 511 keV gamma-ray attenuation image from PET emission data and combines the high-energy gamma-ray CT image with the low-energy x-ray CT of PET/CT to provide a pair of dual-energy CT images. We conducted a computer simulation to test the concept for material decomposition using air, soft tissue, fat and calcium. The simulations results indicate that this PET-enabled dual-energy CT method is promising for quantitative material decomposition, though future work is needed for noise supression. The proposed method can be readily implemented on time-of-flight PET/CT scanners to enable simultaneous PET and dual-energy CT for multiparametric imaging.
Leveraging Integrated Science and Disciplinary Literacy Instruction to Teach First Graders to Write Like Scientists and to Explore Their Perceptions of Scientists

The purpose of the study was to examine how integrated science and disciplinary literacy instruction influenced the quality of science informational text produced by first-grade students and student perceptions these young children held about scientists. The disciplinary literacy instruction took place over the course of 8 weeks (three 20–30-min lessons/week) and incorporated reading, writing, speaking, and listening as literacy tools to make sense of science content. A single-subject design (N = 76) using a paired sample t test was used to compare results of the scores from the informational text writing samples using a writing rubric and the Draw-a-Scientist Test. Results revealed that students were able to produce higher-quality science informational texts in all areas being examined on the weighted writing rubric. However, the perceptions the first graders had regarding scientists remained essentially unchanged from beginning to end of the study. Implications for these findings are discussed. Educators should consider disciplinary literacy instruction as a way to support young children in learning to write science informational texts effectively.
Malignancy and Infection Risk During Adalimumab Therapy in Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Background The association of adalimumab therapy with malignancy and infection is established in other inflammatory diseases; however, rates of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) are based on case reports or retrospective healthcare data and the effect of adalimumab therapy on these rates is unknown. Previously reported rates in the PIONEER OLE Phase 3 study reported on rates only in a subpopulation of 88 participants rather than the entire cohort. Aim To quantify rates of malignancy and serious infection in all patients with HS treated with adalimumab 40 mg weekly. Methods Reanalysis was undertaken of individual patient data from the PIONEER 1, PIONEER 2 and PIONEER open-label extension Phase 3 trial data encompassing 591 unique patients with HS administered adalimumab 40 mg weekly without concurrent antibiotic exposure. Incidence rates of serious infection and malignancy were calculated. Results Incidence rates of serious infection and malignancy were 2.14 and 0.46 per 100 patient-years, respectively. Rates of infection and malignancy were comparable to those in other inflammatory conditions examined. Conclusion Incidence of serious infection in patients with HS on adalimumab is comparable to those with psoriasis and inflammatory arthropathies, but the incidence of malignancy is increased. This may reflect disease-specific malignancy risk rather than an effect of adalimumab.
How biased media generate support for the ruling authorities: Causal mediation analysis of evidence from Russia:

If a medium has a monopoly in covering political news and daily distorts the news in favor of the ruling autocrat, how large will the persuasion effect be? Through which channels will such persuasi...
Defining low-risk lesions in early-stage esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Abstract Objective As endoscopic approaches become more widely used to treat early-stage esophageal cancer, reliably identifying patients with less-aggressive tumors is paramount. We sought to identify risk factors for recurrence in patients with completely resected T1 esophageal adenocarcinoma. Methods We retrospectively analyzed a single-institutional database for all patients with completely resected pathologic T1 esophageal adenocarcinoma (1996-2016). Risk factors for recurrence were identified using competing-risk regression methods. Risk stratification was performed on the basis of known preoperative clinicopathologic factors; this model's discriminative power for overall survival was evaluated using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results Of 243 patients, 32 experienced recurrence. At a median follow-up among survivors of 4 years (range, 0.05-19 years), the 5-year cumulative incidence of recurrence was 15%, and median time to recurrence was 2 years (range, 0.26-6.13 years). On univariable analysis, submucosal invasion, N1 disease, poor differentiation, tumor length, lymphovascular invasion, and multicentricity were significantly associated with recurrence. On multivariable analysis, N1 disease (hazard ratio, 2.93; 95% confidence interval, 1.17-7.34; P = .022) and tumor length (hazard ratio, 1.44; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-1.86; P = .004) were independently associated with recurrence. Risk stratification showed that patients without lymphovascular invasion and a with median tumor length of 0.8 cm (range, 0.10-1.70 cm) had a Conclusions Pathologic T1 tumors have a 5-year cumulative incidence of recurrence of 15%. Nodal involvement and tumor length were independent risk factors for recurrence, whereas tumors
Comparison of Bone Turnover Biomarkers in Serum and Urine Measured on an Automated Analytical Platform.

BACKGROUND Matched serum and urine samples from patients who had total hip replacement were used to assess serum-validated immunoassay reagents for use in urine. METHODS Samples were evaluated by an automated electrochemiluminescent immunoassay (cobas e411; Roche Diagnostics) for C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen isoform β (β-Crosslaps), osteocalcin N-terminal midfragment (N-MID OC), N-terminal propeptide of type I collagen (PINP), and interleukin 6 (IL-6). Spike and recovery experiments were utilized to assess urinary matrix effects. Correlations between serum and both raw and creatinine-corrected urinary measures were assessed. Short-term precision was assessed. RESULTS Spike and recovery experiments indicated minimal matrix effects of urine for the β-Crosslaps assay. Potential matrix effects were observed for the other analytes because N-MID OC and IL-6 tended to be slightly overrecovered, whereas PINP was underrecovered. There were strong correlations between serum β-Crosslaps and raw (Spearman ρ [rs] = 0.725, P < 0.0001) and creatinine-corrected (rs = 0.793, P < 0.0001) urinary measures and moderate correlations between serum N-MID OC and raw (rs = 0.582, P < 0.0001) and creatinine-corrected (rs = 0.482, P < 0.0001) urinary measures. PINP was not detected in urine, and no significant serum-urine correlations were found for IL-6. Short-term precision for urinary levels of β-Crosslaps, N-MID OC, and IL-6 were 1.6%, 6.3% and 14.4%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Urinary measurements of β-Crosslaps and N-MID OC assays were correlated with serum measurements and had good short-term precision. Urinary PINP was not detectable. IL-6 can be measured in urine using this technology, but the levels did not correlate with serum levels, and the short-term precision was variable.
A Systematic Review of the Utility of Indocyanine Angiography in Autologous Breast Reconstruction.

Background In the last decade, a number of studies have demonstrated the utility of indocyanine green (ICG) angiography in predicting mastectomy skin flap necrosis for immediate breast reconstruction. However, data are limited to investigate this technique for autologous breast reconstruction. Although it may have the potential to improve free flap outcomes, there has not been a large multicenter study to date that specifically addresses this application. Methods A thorough literature review based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines was conducted. All studies that examined the use of intraoperative ICG angiography or SPY to assess perfusion of abdominally based free flaps for breast reconstruction from January 1, 2000, to January 1, 2020, were included. Free flap postoperative complications including total flap loss, partial flap loss, and fat necrosis were extracted from selected studies. Results Nine relevant articles were identified, which included 355 patients and 824 free flaps. A total of 472 free flaps underwent clinical assessment of perfusion intraoperatively, whereas 352 free flaps were assessed with ICG angiography. Follow-up was from 3 months to 1 year. The use of ICG angiography was associated with a statistically significant decrease in flap fat necrosis in the follow-up period (odds ratio = 0.31, P = 0.02). There was no statistically significant difference for total or partial flap loss. Conclusions From this systematic review, it can be concluded that ICG angiography may be an effective and efficient way to reduce fat necrosis in free flap breast reconstruction and may be a more sensitive predictor of flap perfusion than clinical assessment alone. Future prospective studies are required to further determine whether ICG angiography may be superior to clinical assessment in predicting free flap outcomes.
Using the Risk Analysis Index to Assess Frailty in Veteran Cohort Undergoing Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair.

ABSTRACT Objective Surgical frailty is strongly associated with increased perioperative morbidity and mortality. The Risk Analysis Index (RAI) is a validated frailty score system that has been shown to predict short-term outcomes and long-term mortality in various surgical subspecialties. This study applies the frailty score to the veteran aneurysm population undergoing non-emergent endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR). Methods After obtaining IRB approval, Veteran Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP) data was queried for endovascular repair of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm or dissection CPT codes (34800, 34803, and 34805) from 2001 to 2018. Preoperative variables were used to calculate a RAI score. Patients were placed into six cohorts based on RAI score (≤20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, 35-40, and ≥41). Chi-squared test and ANOVA test were used compare cohorts. Forward logistic regression modeling was used to determine risks of each cohort. Results Between 2001 and 2018, 5,568 patients underwent EVAR. 99.6% of patients were male with a mean age of 71 ± 8 years. The cohorts contained 4.5%, 43.8%, 33.9%, 11.7%, 4.2%, and 1.8% for RAI scores ≤20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, 35-40, and ≥41 respectively. Frailty was associated with increased rates of overall complications, death, and increased length of stay. When risk adjusted, frailty at the highest vs lowest level was associated 2.7 times the odds of having any complication and 4.4 times the odds of having a mortality in 30 days. Conclusions Frailty as determined by RAI was associated with post-operative outcomes in a dose-dependent manner. Frailty was associated with higher rates of major cardiac (MI, cardiac arrest), pulmonary (pneumonia, failure to wean vent, reintubation), renal (renal failure), overall complications, length of stay, and death. We recommend the use of this frailty index as a screening tool to guide discussions with patients undergoing endovascular aortic aneurysm repair.