cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Parathion and Methyl Parathion Residues on Cabbage and Southernpeas

Parathion and methyl parathion were applied to cabbage at rates of 1, 2, and 4 lb actual per acre and to Southern peas at 2 and 4 lb actual per acre and resulting residues were determined, Applications were made during the fruiting stage of the crops. Residues were determined by gas chromatographic methods, Analysis of cabbage samples indicated that residues following all treatments were below the present tolerance level of 1 ppm by 14 days after application. The short interval between applications and the high rates of application resulted in residues of methyl parathion and parathion in excess of 1 ppm in the peas and most hulls of Southern peas 5 days after the last application.
Control of Vortical Flows Using Simulated Plasma Actuators

An exploratory numerical study of the control of vortical flo ws by means of asymmetric dialectric-barrierdischarge (DBD) actuators is presented. The flow fields are si mulated employing a high-fidelity Navier-Stokes solver which is augmented with a phenomenological model representing the plasma-induced time-averaged body forces imparted by the actuator on the fluid. Simulation s of an isolated actuator in quiescent flow reproduce the wall jet feature typically observed in experiments. Under two-dimensional laminar conditions, the jet velocity relaxes to a similarity profile downstream of th e actuator. The interaction of a DBD actuator with an incoming flat-plate laminar boundary layer is explored fo r a range of body-force parameters and Reynolds numbers. For steady actuation, a laminar wall jet is formed, which significantly reduces the height of the viscous region downstream of the actuator. Pulsing the actuator with a duty cycle results in the formation of vortex dipoles, which for sufficiently high forcing frequen cy, propagate along the plate in a structurally stable manner. Below certain forcing frequency, however, these vortex dipoles are ejected away from the surface resulting in a less-focused wall jet. Three-dimensional computations of a finite-span actuator array demonstrate that, due to additional entrainment from the sides, a spanwise contraction of the wall jet region ensues. This process is much more pronounced for a pulsed actuator and limits the streamwise penetration of the wall jet. The use of a steady counter-flow DBD actuator as a boundar y-layer tripping device is also described. In this mode, the actuator induces transition and turbulence, and generates a fuller velocity profile. This feature is exploited to delay stall of a NACA 0015 airfoil at high angle of attack using a pulsed counter-flow actuator. Finally, the effect of a DBD actuator on the vortical flow above a swept delta wing is investigated. With the actuator located near the apex, significant movement of t he vortex breakdown location and a dramatic transformation of the shear-layer sub-structures are demonstrated.
Correlation of human sperm motility characteristics with an in vitro cervical mucus penetration test

Semen analysis was performed on 226 ejaculates by an integrated microcomputerized system employing the multiple-exposure photography (MEP) method. Mucus penetration tests were performed in vitro using commercial preparations of bovine cervical mucus. A highly significant (P
The social and scientific value of biomedical research.

Les ressources et credits pour la recherche, et particulierement la recherche biomedicale, ont ete reduits ces dernieres annees. Il semble alors indispensable de demontrer l'interet de la recherche et d'expliquer son but, son soutien et la raison pour laquelle elle fait appel aux fonds publics
Levels of Trehalose and Glycogen in Frankia sp. HFPArI3

The levels of soluble trehalose were compared in Frankia sp. HFPArI3 under various conditions in batch culture.
Neurological Diseases in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine

There are many pediatric neurological disorders that may require intensive care management. In this chapter, nontraumatic neurologic disorders that routinely challenge the pediatric intensivist including medical coma, disorders of muscular tone and strength, status epilepticus, and central nervous system infections will be considered. Lastly, the diagnosis of brain death will be discussed.
Economic Empowerment to Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health Among Women and Girls

The economic empowerment of women and girls has become increasingly recognized as an important strategy to reduce gender-based constraints that affect women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health outcomes across the globe. The primary purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of women’s economic empowerment programs and present research related to the effect of these programs on sexual and reproductive health outcomes among women and girls. Findings from the evaluation of economic empowerment programs highlight that changes at the structural level (i.e., addressing economic vulnerability) can improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes among women and girls, often without directly promoting specific health behaviors. Structural level change likely creates a broader impact across populations by reducing economic and social constraints that limit engagement in healthy behaviors and that increase exposure to health threats.
Ligand-Receptor Dynamics and Signal Amplification in the Neutrophil

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the pathways that regulate cell activation at molecular level and elaborates a conceptual framework to account for the sensitivity of cell function to the conditions of stimulation. The perspective is quantitative to the extent that the stoichiometry, amplification, and duration of receptor activation and signal generation are considered. This approach relies on a significant extent upon dynamic and kinetic measurements. In the chapter, preliminary data in the activation sequence has been employed and the quantitative relationships among the activation events are speculated. Quantitative studies of ligand–receptor interactions have been accomplished most successfully with high-affinity monovalent ligands that can be appropriately labeled. The potential signaling events in cell activation may be roughly divided into those that are generated inside the cell in response to transmembrane transduction or species that are permitted entry into the cell following transduction. There is a remarkable ferment in the molecular understanding of signal transduction in many cell types. In the neutrophil, information has become available that is beginning to permit an analysis of the most intimate details of amplification and termination of the biochemical pathways which lead to cell activation. The neutrophil is a remarkable cell type, exhibiting diverse and fascinating functions, distinct receptors for many classes of stimulatory molecules, and sensitivity to the conditions of stimulus application. The chapter attempts to provide a conceptual and quantitative outlook upon future developments that encompass biochemical, biophysical, and physiological investigations.
Labor market integration of returned educational migrants in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan has experienced increasing educational migration, and many of these students hope to return home after graduating. The ability of returned migrants to succeed in Turkmenistan’s labor m...
Counterfactuals and Explanatory Pluralism

Recent literature on noncausal explanation raises the question as to whether explanatory monism, the thesis that all explanations submit to the same analysis, is true. The leading monist proposal holds that all explanations support change-relating counterfactuals. We provide several objections to this monist position.
Coping trajectories in emerging adulthood: The influence of temperament and gender

OBJECTIVE The study of coping has far-reaching implications for understanding psychopathology and resilience, as well as for the treatment of psychological disorders. Developmental work has examined how the ability to cope changes across time in children and adolescents; however, work in emerging adulthood is still lacking. Coping is thought to emerge from basic biological and psychological processes, such as temperament and gender, which may influence the trajectory of coping use over time. METHOD Using a sample of college students (N = 1,000), our 4-year longitudinal study with yearly assessments sought to (a) examine the trajectory of coping styles in emerging adulthood and to (b) examine the influence of temperament and gender on these coping trajectories. RESULTS Our findings suggest that young adults' use of avoidance strategies decreased slightly over college, whereas the use of approach strategies and social support seeking remained stable. Temperament (BIS/BAS) and gender were related to certain coping styles at baseline and appeared to have an influence on some of these trajectories over time, though these associations were complex. CONCLUSIONS This work may inform intervention research attempting to promote adaptive coping because it may help identify young adults most in need of such interventions.
Turnaround strategies of American and Japanese electronics corporations

Abstract Greater competitive and economic pressures have made corporate turnaround strategies critical to the survival of many high-technology international business organizations. The traditional differences between American and Japanese firms in the areas of human resources, production, finance, and marketing have recently appeared to converge on some common strategies employed to reverse an adverse corporate situation. American and Japanese high-technology firms are examined in terms of the antecedents, actions, and results of varying levels of turnaround strategy implementation. Survey responses from American and US subsidiaries of Japanese electronics firms illustrate that significant differences exist among levels of strategy implementation in assessing the need for a turnaround strategy, the actions taken to reverse an adverse situation, and the relative success of the actions. In addition to greater capacity utilization, low turnaround plans are generally enacted by redesigning the product or process, but successful high turnaround plans are implemented most often by gain sharing or profit sharing, as well as by eliminating unprofitable products. American firms achieve greater return on investment, operating profit margin, and cash flow, but lower sales growth and less unit labor cost improvement than Japanese corporations. These results are discussed for managerial insights into the strategy formulation process of international high-technology firms for successful competitive advantage.
Geometrical Perspectives of a Solvated Electron

The path integral formulation of quantum theory provides a framework to describe the behavior of solvated electrons. Feynman used the approach to treat the slow moving electron in ionic crystals — the prototypical polaron problem. We have extended this theory, drawing on theories of the liquid state, to analyze the localization transition and related phenomena found with excess electrons in fluids.
Primary and Secondary Myelofibrosis: Its Relationship to “PNH-like Defect”

Twenty-two patients with primary myelofibrosis and myeloid metaplasia (MMM) and ten patients with MMM secondary to carcinoma were studied for the relationship of MMM to "PNH-like defect." Laboratory measurements included Ham’s test, sucrose hemolysis test, sugar-water test, leukocyte alkaline phosphatase, haptoglobin, and urinary hemosiderin. The defects of the red cell membrane, as evidenced by acid and sucrose lysis tests, were limited to those with primary MMM and occurred in 54% of the cases. Another 10% showed decreased haptoglobin level, positive sugar-water test, and/or hemosiderinuria suggestive of the syndrome.
Some aspects of Euler-Newton equations of motion

Euler-Newton's equations for a system of connected rigid bodies, written in a special state space form, provide a systematic method of arriving at the differential equations of the system. This method is amenable to programming and symbolic algebraic manipulation. The elimination of some or all forces of constraint is by projection, implementing the principle of virtual work, and is done by inner products. The computation of these forces requires symbolic inversion of a matrix for which an iterative scheme is proposed here. A method for construction of Lyapunov functions for stability of such systems in the vicinity of an arbitrary operating point is proposed. This construction may be achieved by symbolic manipulations and supplements applications of the Euler-Newton method.
Practical Approaches to the Current “On-Pump” Redo Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

The mortality (5–15%) (Ann Thorac Surg 58:359–65, 1994) and morbidity are higher for redo coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) operations than for primary CABG procedures. There are multiple causes for the higher mortality of patients in need of repeat CABG, including left ventricular dysfunction as coronary artery disease (CAD) has progressed and decreased function of multiple organs with advancing age. Several risk stratification models have evolved, over the years, to objectively assess the preoperative risk of patients undergoing cardiac surgery, and a patient can be well-informed about his or her surgical risk prior to the procedure.
Telogenetic Limestones and Island Karst

The development of flank margin caves in telogenetic carbonates is in most cases restricted to flow and mixing along fractures, joints and bedding planes, and the caves in this setting tend to have planar, two dimensional configuration. Under special circumstances, as when the telogenetic carbonates are highly fractured, as in New Zealand, or the telogenetic carbonates have been altered into a breccia faces, as in paleotalus in Croatia, a three dimensional series of phreatic chambers can develop. In both cases of fracturing and paleotalus, the three dimensional configuration of the void space and potential flow paths mimic eogenetic carbonates, and flank margin caves similar to those found in eogenetic carbonates have developed. These examples demonstrate that no single characteristic determines the morphological nature of dissolution in the coastal environment. While the coastal geochemical environment of mixing is unique, rock diagenetic maturity and structure also play an important role.
Area and International Studies: Sociology

Area studies and sociology constitute two overlapping academic communities with differing sets of assumptions and criteria for evaluating scholarship. Area studies scholars evaluate sociological research for its contribution to substantive knowledge of the area, and its ability to provide interpretive frameworks that clarify social patterns and social processes. Area studies training emphasizes language as a basic research tool and an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary approach, but pays less attention to the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of individual disciplines. By contrast, sociological training emphasizes theory and methods. The aim of sociological research is to contribute to the developing body of sociological theory; hence sociology views area studies knowledge as a resource for pursuing theoretical ideas through systematic comparative analysis. As sociological theories fall in and out of favor, or conditions in the area change, different area studies issues may gain new sociological relevance. While the differences between area and international studies and sociology make it difficult for the individual scholar to meet the standard of both fields, sociology is international in scope and increasingly accommodates area and international research on its own terms.
Depressive symptoms and suicidality among individuals with epilepsy enrolled in self-management studies: Results from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Managing Epilepsy Well (MEW) Network.

Depression is a common comorbidity in people with epilepsy (PWE) that negatively affects self-management and a variety of health outcomes. Suicidal ideation is also more common among PWE than the general population. We examined correlates of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation in adults using pooled data from epilepsy self-management studies conducted by sites in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Research Center's Managing Epilepsy Well (MEW) Network that assessed depression severity with the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Of the 770 subjects in the analysis (mean age 42.4 ± 13.0 years), the mean total PHQ-9 score was 9.4 ± 6.6 and 334 subjects (43.4%) had moderate to severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 10). Only ongoing seizures and low education were associated with moderate-severe depressive symptoms in multiple logistic regression analysis. Suicidality (PHQ-9, item 9 score ≥ 1) was endorsed by 155 subjects (20.1%). Only nonsuicidal depressive symptoms were associated with suicidality in multiple variable logistic regression analysis. We show in this large and regionally diverse dataset that both depression and suicidal ideation are common among PWE enrolled in self-management studies. Future studies are needed to examine whether suicidality exists independently of other depressive symptoms in some populations with epilepsy and investigate other correlates of suicidality that may inform screening practices.
Pediatric renal injury: which injury grades warrant close follow-up

Most children who suffer renal trauma recover fully; however, some have long-term consequences. We sought to determine what grades of injury carry concern for complication and warrant close follow-up. Data on children with grade II or higher renal injuries from a single center over 20 years were reviewed. Demographics, presenting symptoms, lab values, clinical course, management, and follow-up data were analyzed. One hundred seventy-one children suffered renal injuries: 75% boys, aged 11.6 ± 3.5 years. Falls-54 and sports-43 were leading injury mechanisms. Presentations included pain only-61, pain and hematuria-28 and hematuria alone-11. Eight had pre-existing abnormalities. Injury grades were: grade II-88 (52%), grade III-49 (29%), grade IV-28 (16%), and grade V-6 (3%). No grades II or III patient underwent intervention or suffered sequelae. Grade IV patients underwent: stenting-5, surgery-2, embolization-1, and drainage-1. Grade V patients underwent: surgery-2, embolization-1, and drain-1. Two grade IV patients underwent late interventions: nephrectomy-1 and stenting-1. Six patients, all grades IV–V, were newly hypertensive at follow-up. Grades II and III renal injuries carry a low risk of complication and repeat imaging and close follow-up are likely not necessary. However, grades IV and V injuries carry a meaningful risk of adverse outcome and close follow-up is warranted.
An ARC-Regulated IL1β/Cox-2/PGE2/β-Catenin/ARC Circuit Controls Leukemia–Microenvironment Interactions and Confers Drug Resistance in AML

The apoptosis repressor with caspase recruitment domain (ARC) protein is a strong independent adverse prognostic marker in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We previously reported that ARC regulates leukemia-microenvironment interactions through the NFκB/IL1β signaling network. Malignant cells have been reported to release IL1β, which induces PGE2 synthesis in mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC), in turn activating β-catenin signaling and inducing the cancer stem cell phenotype. Although Cox-2 and its enzymatic product PGE2 play major roles in inflammation and cancer, the regulation and role of PGE2 in AML are largely unknown. Here, we report that AML-MSC cocultures greatly increase Cox-2 expression in MSC and PGE2 production in an ARC/IL1β-dependent manner. PGE2 induced the expression of β-catenin, which regulated ARC and augmented chemoresistance in AML cells; inhibition of β-catenin decreased ARC and sensitized AML cells to chemotherapy. NOD/SCIDIL2RγNull-3/GM/SF mice transplanted with ARC-knockdown AML cells had significantly lower leukemia burden, lower serum levels of IL1β/PGE2, and lower tissue human ARC and β-catenin levels, prolonged survival, and increased sensitivity to chemotherapy than controls. Collectively, we present a new mechanism of action of antiapoptotic ARC by which ARC regulates PGE2 production in the tumor microenvironment and microenvironment-mediated chemoresistance in AML.Significance: The antiapoptotic protein ARC promotes AML aggressiveness by enabling detrimental cross-talk with bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells.
Forward Caching Hints to Reduce WASTE

The dominant HTML/HTTP-based web-centric means of networking application implementations have given rise to significant efforts to improve performance, predominantly through caching of web objects. Caching limitations force a common web object to refresh at pre-set time intervals, resulting in latency and data transmission inefficiencies we term Web object Access Setting Timeout Excess (WASTE). We provide an initial definition of the WASTE concept here paired with an example analysis for a small set of web sites where we highlight the relative amount of web objects and their data that are WASTE downloads when content did not change. We subsequently describe a methodology and practical implementation approach to limit WASTE that leans on principles found in Contend Information Centric and Named Data Networking (CCN/ICN/NDN). Specifically, we describe an implementation approach of transparently embedding explicit forward hinting of content details for caching purposes.
Prioritizing land for investments based on short- and long-term land potential and degradation risk: A strategic approach

Abstract The response hierarchy of “Avoid > reduce > reverse” is increasingly acknowledged as the best strategy for prioritizing actions designed to address land degradation at hectare to national scales. This hierarchy is based on the assumption that the economic return on investment (ROI) will usually be higher for actions that help avoid degradation than for those required to restore already degraded land. While a useful first step, the hierarchy fails to account for how differences in land potential, defined as its potential to sustainably generate ecosystem services, may affect the ROI of actions at each level of the response hierarchy. The objective of this paper is to present a strategy for improving ROI at the landscape scale and above by systematically applying a more holistic understanding of land potential to the identification and prioritization of land investments. This objective is addressed in three sections. The first section explains how the potential short- and long-term resistance and resilience of the land can be used together with its potential productivity to prioritize actions designed to avoid, reduce and reverse degradation. In the second section we explain how this prioritization can be further optimized based on an understanding of degradation risk as indicated by the land’s potential to generate relatively high short-term profits under management systems that are likely to increase degradation, or result in degradation of restored land. This potential, and land managers’ perception of it, depend on a wide variety of factors including markets, infrastructure, and access to technology. Together these first two sections provide a framework for increasing ROI, while reducing the risk of failure at hectare to national scales. In the final section we briefly describe the Land-Potential Knowledge System (LandPKS), a modular mobile app that makes it possible for virtually anyone with a smartphone to make the land potential determinations necessary to apply the framework described in the first two sections.
A New Physical Education Major and Minor Club

(1971). A New Physical Education Major and Minor Club. Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation: Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 65-65.
Estimated Age of First Exposure to Contact Sports Is Not Associated with Greater Symptoms or Worse Cognitive Functioning in Male U.S. Service Academy Athletes.

This study examined the association between estimated age of first exposure (eAFE) to contact sport participation and neurocognitive performance and symptom ratings in U.S. service academy National...
General anesthesia risk across pediatric surgical specialties: Low in otolaryngology.

Abstract Purpose To determine the relevance of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning regarding general anesthesia (GA) in children under 3 years of age for procedures lasting longer than 3 h, by surgical specialty and for otolaryngology specifically. Methods A one-year retrospective review was conducted at a tertiary-care medical center for all children younger than 3 years undergoing surgical procedures with durations greater than 3 h. De-identified data related to age, surgical service, procedure types, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification, and general anesthesia time were collected and examined. Results During 2017, 430 of 11,757 patients (3.7%) met the age and duration of anesthesia criteria. Procedures performed by the cardiothoracic surgery service were mostly likely to result in duration of surgery greater than 3 h (46.6%), followed by neurosurgery (12.9%), cardiology (9.3%), plastic surgery (7.1%), general surgery (6.6%), and urology (5.1%). Less than 2% of patients undergoing ophthalmology (1.9%), orthopedic surgery (1.7%), and otolaryngology (0.5%) procedures required anesthesia greater than 3 h. Conclusion Less than 4% of patients younger than 3 years undergoing surgery required general anesthesia for longer than 3 h. The theoretical risks of general anesthesia per the FDA warning are discussed and must be balanced against the known functional and neurodevelopmental consequences of not performing critical and time-sensitive surgery on children in this age group. A strategy for addressing parental and provider concerns is discussed.
A World Turned Upside Down

The article considers Edgar Allan Poe’s “Hop Frog” and American Horror Story: Freak Show in order to determine how and if any change in the portrayal of dwarfism occurs in the time between the publ...
Donaldson’s Theorem

The moduli space \(\mathcal{M}\) of anti-self-dual connections on the Hopf bundle SU(2) → S7 → S4 is a rather complicated object, but we have constructed a remarkably simple picture of it. We have identified \(\mathcal{M}\) with the open 5-dimensional unit ball B5 in \({\mathbb{R}}^{6}\). The gauge equivalence class [ω] of the natural connection sets at the center. Moving radially out from [ω] one encounters gauge equivalence classes of connections with field strengths that concentrate more and more at a single point of S4. Adjoining these points at the ends of the radial segments gives the closed 5-dimensional disc D5 which we view as a compactification of the moduli space in which the boundary is a copy of the base manifold S4. In this way the topologies of \(\mathcal{M}\) and S4 are inextricably tied together. In these final sections we will attempt a very broad sketch of how Donaldson [Don] generalized this picture to prove an extraordinary theorem about the topology of smooth 4-manifolds. The details are quite beyond the modest means we have at our disposal and even a bare statement of the facts is possible only if we appeal to a substantial menu of results from topology, geometry and analysis that lie in greater depths than those we have plumbed here. What follows then is nothing more than a roadmap. Those intrigued enough to explore the territory in earnest will want to move on next to [FU] and [Law].
Legal Liability and COVID-19 Recovery

As hope of a quick end to the COVID-19 pandemic fades, both policymakers and analysts are shifting focus to restarting the economy As of late April, more than
Marlovian Joan la Pucelle

The Joan episodes in 1 Henry VI have struck Shakespeareans as Marlovian from the era of the dual Victorian Fredericks, Fleay (1831-1909) and Furnivall (1825-1910), though Marlowe scholars have not reciprocated the attention with quite the same ardor. To this end, a careful reading of the scenes that the New Oxford Shakespeare (2016) attributed to the poet-playwright seems entirely in order. No matter who actually made Joan, or whether we view her as la Pucelle or de Arc, her lineage was Marlovian, even to his Ovidian core as descended from his speaker in his translation of the Amores, All Ovids Elegies, that book whose earlier edition, Certaine of Ovids Elegies, was burned at the order of Bishops Bancroft and Whitgift in 1599.
Comparison of intestinal permeability, morphology, and ileal microbial communities of commercial hens housed in conventional cages and cage-free housing systems.

The gastrointestinal health of poultry can be impacted by a variety of factors including their environment. As egg production moves from conventional cage housing (CC) toward cage-free housing (CF), it is important to understand this impact on intestinal health. This study was conducted to determine if housing type impacted intestinal permeability, morphology, and microbial communities in commercial hens across housing systems. Hens were randomly selected from 2 rooms of CC (n = 25) and CF (n = 25) at a commercial facility. Birds were given fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FITC-D) by oral gavage to measure intestinal permeability. Jejunal and ileal samples were collected to evaluate villus height, crypt depth, and their ratio. Ileal contents were collected for bacterial DNA isolation and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Serum FITC-D was similar between housing type (P = 0.709). Hens housed in the CF had increased jejunal villus height and crypt depth compared with hens from the CC (P < 0.002). Hens from the CC tended to have a greater villus height to crypt depth ratio in both the jejunum and ileum compared with the CF (P = 0.064; P = 0.091, respectively). Microbial community diversity measurements favored hens housed in the CC as ileal contents tended to have increased species richness (P = 0.059), had greater alpha diversity (P = 0.044), and had an increased number of over represented operational taxonomic units (46/64), including Romboutsia sp. (30.80%), Lactobacillus kitasatonis (17.16%), and Lactobacillus aviarius (11.15%). Correlations between microbial communities with intestinal traits identified significant association with the greatest number of correlations with FITC-D and ileal morphology. Many of these correlations identified microbial communities associated with expected traits; thus, providing limited functional data to microbial communities with limited information. The greater number of correlations of ileal morphology with ileal microbial communities suggesting local microbial communities contribute to the intestinal environment distant. In this limited study, several parameters favored hens from CC suggesting an advantage of this system for intestinal health. However, the lower intestinal health parameters observed in CF were not at levels to indicate detrimental effects.
Application of Machine Learning Techniques in Mineral Classification for Scanning Electron Microscopy - Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) Images

Abstract Mineral classification and segmentation is time-consuming in geological image processing. The development of machine learning methods shows promise as a technique in replacing manual classification. In this study, performances of five shallow machine classification algorithms and a deep learning algorithm were compared for the goal of pixel-level mineral classification of Scanning Electron Microscopy - Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) images. Five machine learning models, including Logistic Regression (LR), Linear Support Vector Machine (SVM), k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN), Random Forest (RF), and Artificial Neuron Networks (ANN), and a deep learning CNN U-Net model were used in this study. Thirteen mineral phases were classified on SEM-EDS images of a shale sample taken from the Bakken Formation. Hyperparameters of models were tuned using a grid-search method. Randomly selected balanced dataset was used for the shallow models, while the original cropped images were used for the U-Net. The experimental results showed that all classification algorithms resulted in high F1 scores ranging from 0.86 to 0.92. The RF demonstrated the best performance among the five machine learning models, with an F1 score of 0.92. Additionally, sensitivity analysis on the size of dataset demonstrated that the LR algorithm and the SVM were less sensitive to the dataset reduction, while the models of k-NN, RF, and ANN were more influenced. Sensitivity analysis of noise suggested that noises added on the element of Silicon, Aluminum, Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium, and Iron would decrease the performance of the RF. Furthermore, the noise in Silicon had the greatest effect on the prediction result compared to the other minerals. In addition, those non-linear classifiers showed a larger performance score drop when the noise was simultaneously included into all the elements density. Though U-Net shows poor performance on the segmentation of minority classes due to the negative effect of imbalanced dataset the U-Net model still outperformed the RF model when it comes to unseen shale samples.
Learning in two-player games between transparent opponents.

We consider a scenario in which two reinforcement learning agents repeatedly play a matrix game against each other and update their parameters after each round. The agents' decision-making is transparent to each other, which allows each agent to predict how their opponent will play against them. To prevent an infinite regress of both agents recursively predicting each other indefinitely, each agent is required to give an opponent-independent response with some probability at least epsilon. Transparency also allows each agent to anticipate and shape the other agent's gradient step, i.e. to move to regions of parameter space in which the opponent's gradient points in a direction favourable to them. We study the resulting dynamics experimentally, using two algorithms from previous literature (LOLA and SOS) for opponent-aware learning. We find that the combination of mutually transparent decision-making and opponent-aware learning robustly leads to mutual cooperation in a single-shot prisoner's dilemma. In a game of chicken, in which both agents try to manoeuvre their opponent towards their preferred equilibrium, converging to a mutually beneficial outcome turns out to be much harder, and opponent-aware learning can even lead to worst-case outcomes for both agents. This highlights the need to develop opponent-aware learning algorithms that achieve acceptable outcomes in social dilemmas involving an equilibrium selection problem.
Deepen electronic health record diffusion beyond breadth: game changers and decision drivers

Cloud computing, financial incentive and patient-centered care are the game changers that deepen EHR diffusion beyond breadth. Based on the innovation diffusion theory (IDT), technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework and alignment literature, this study examines how these changes shape business requirement, service value and society need that drive different phases of EHR diffusion in terms of planning, adoption, usage and upgrade. A longitudinal analysis with the USA National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) reveals the impacts of different drivers on EHR diffusion. In addition to quantitative results, interview observations corroborate the relationships among game changers, decision drivers and EHR diffusion. The findings provide healthcare providers, system vendors and policy-makers the insights on the best practices of promoting EHR diffusion for long-term success.
The ℓ1—Exact Penalty-Barrier Phase for Degenerate Nonlinear Programming Problems in Ipopt

Abstract Failure to satisfy Constraint Qualifications (CQs) leads to serious convergence difficulties for state-of-the-art Nonlinear Programming (NLP) solvers. Since this failure is often overlooked by practitioners, a strategy to enhance the robustness properties for problems without CQs is vital. Inspired by penalty merit functions and barrier-like strategies, we propose and implement a combination of both in Ipopt. This strategy has the advantage of consistently satisfying the Linear Independence Constraint Qualification (LICQ) for an augmented problem, readily enabling regular step computations within the interior-point framework. Additionally, an update rule inspired by the work of Byrd et al. (2012) is implemented, which provides a dynamic increase of the penalty parameter as stationary points are approached. Extensive test results show favorable performance and robustness increases for our l1 —penalty strategies, when compared to the regular version of Ipopt. Moreover, a dynamic optimization problem with nonsmooth dynamics formulated as a Mathematical Program with Complementarity Constraints (MPCC) was solved in a single optimization stage without additional reformulation. Thus, this l1— strategy has proved useful for a broad class of degenerate NLPs.
Awareness and acceptability of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among students at two historically Black universities (HBCU): a cross-sectional survey

Despite young African American adults (ages 18–24) being among the highest risk groups for HIV infection, little is known about their awareness of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) – a once daily pill shown to be > 90% effective in preventing HIV. To explore awareness and acceptability of PrEP among college students in this demographic, we conducted a survey of attendees at two large historically Black universities (HBCU) in North Carolina. We administered a 14-item questionnaire to students at two HBCUs in North Carolina between February and April 2018. Questions were formatted in a yes/no or multiple choice format. Questionnaire items specifically addressed PrEP awareness and acceptability. Surveys were administered to students at a campus health fair and while transiting the campus student union via iPad. Response to all questions was optional. We fit a logistic regression model to determine association of key demographic determinants with PrEP acceptability and awareness. Statistical analyses were conducted using SAS 9.4 (SAS, Cary, NC). Overall, 210 students participated in the survey, of which 60 completed all survey items as presented. The survey cohort was 75% female, 89% heterosexual and 39% freshmen. The mean age of respondents was 19.8 years (SD: 1.8). Fifty-two percent of survey respondents reported that they were aware of PrEP prior to the time of survey administration. Only 3% of respondents reported that they were on PrEP. The most common sources of information on PrEP were campus health services (24%) and non-social media advertising (15%). Of respondents who were aware of PrEP, 61% reported that they had heard about in the 6 months prior to survey administration, while only 19% say they were aware of it for more than a year. Regarding acceptability of PrEP, 58% of respondents reported that they would take a once a day pill for HIV if they were at risk. Our logistic regression analysis found no statistically significant associations between key demographic factors and PrEP awareness. However, persons who perceived themselves to be at risk for HIV acquisition were more likely to find once daily oral PrEP (relative risk 2.66 (95% CI 1.31–5.42)) as an acceptable prevention strategy than the rest of the survey cohort. African American HBCU students are becoming aware of PrEP, and generally perceive the intervention as acceptable and worth consideration.
Selenium and Mammary Resistance to Infectious Disease

We designed an experimental mastitis trial to study, under more controlled conditions, the effect of Se on mammary resistance to disease. We divided twenty Holstein heifers into two groups of ten. One group was maintained on a Se deficient (Se-) diet with 0.04ppm Se on a total ration basis. The other group was fed a selenium adequate (Se+) diet that contained 0.14ppm Se. We fed both groups identical rations, except the Se+ group received an additional 2 mg of Se per head per day. All other nutrients, including Vitamin E, were fed at or above NRC recommended levels. We challenged the heifers at about 14 weeks post-partum with 30 colony forming units (cfu) of Escherichia coli in one quarter. Quarters selected for challenge had SCC <250,000 cells / ml and no prior infections.
Interleukin-6 mediates delirium-like phenotypes in a murine model of urinary tract infection

BACKGROUND Urinary tract infection (UTI) is frequently implicated as a precipitant of delirium, which refers to an acute confusional state that is associated with high mortality, increased length of stay, and long-term cognitive decline. The pathogenesis of delirium is thought to involve cytokine-mediated neuronal dysfunction of the frontal cortex and hippocampus. We hypothesized that systemic IL-6 inhibition would mitigate delirium-like phenotypes in a mouse model of UTI. METHODS C57/BL6 mice were randomized to either: (1) non-UTI control, (2) UTI, and (3) UTI + anti-IL-6 antibody. UTI was induced by transurethral inoculation of 1 × 108 Escherichia coli. Frontal cortex and hippocampus-mediated behaviors were evaluated using functional testing and corresponding structural changes were evaluated via quantification of neuronal cleaved caspase-3 (CC3) by immunohistochemistry and western blot. IL-6 in the brain and plasma were evaluated using immunohistochemistry, ELISA, and RT-PCR. RESULTS Compared to non-UTI control mice, mice with UTI demonstrated significantly greater impairments in frontal and hippocampus-mediated behaviors, specifically increased thigmotaxis in Open Field (p < 0.05) and reduced spontaneous alternations in Y-maze (p < 0.01), while treatment of UTI mice with systemic anti-IL-6 fully reversed these functional impairments. These behavioral impairments correlated with frontal and hippocampal neuronal CC3 changes, with significantly increased frontal and hippocampal CC3 in UTI mice compared to non-UTI controls (p < 0.0001), and full reversal of UTI-induced CC3 neuronal changes following treatment with systemic anti-IL-6 antibody (p < 0.0001). Plasma IL-6 was significantly elevated in UTI mice compared to non-UTI controls (p < 0.01) and there were positive and significant correlations between plasma IL-6 and frontal CC3 (r2 = 0.5087/p = 0.0028) and frontal IL-6 and CC3 (r2 = 0.2653, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS These data provide evidence for a role for IL-6 in mediating delirium-like phenotypes in a mouse model of UTI. These findings provide pre-clinical justification for clinical investigations of IL-6 inhibitors to treat UTI-induced delirium.
Nicholson–Bailey Host–Parasite Interaction

Insects are often the host to specific parasites. The model of this chapter uses classical Nicholson–Bailey description of that interdependency to answer the following questions. What are the dynamics of such interconnections, and is chaos likely to emerge in these dynamics?
Toward a Valid Animal Model of Bipolar Disorder: How the Research Domain Criteria Help Bridge the Clinical-Basic Science Divide

Bipolar disorder is a diagnostically heterogeneous disorder, although mania emerges as a distinct phenotype characterized by elevated mood and increased activity or energy. While bipolar disorder's cyclicity is difficult to represent in animals, models of mania have begun to decode its fundamental underlying neurobiology. When psychostimulants such as amphetamine or cocaine are administered to rodents, a resulting upsurge of motor activity is thought to share face and predictive validity with mania in humans. Studying black Swiss mice, which inherently exhibit proclivity for reward seeking and risk taking, also has yielded some insight. Further, translating the biology of bipolar disorder in humans into animal models has led to greater understanding of roles for candidate biological systems such as the GRIK2 and CLOCK genes, as well as the extracellular signal-related kinase pathway involved in the pathophysiology of the illness. The National Institute of Mental Health Research Domain Criteria initiative seeks to identify building blocks of complex illnesses like bipolar disorder in hopes of uncovering the neurobiology of each, as well as how each fits together to produce syndromes like bipolar disorder or why so many mental illnesses co-occur together. Research Domain Criteria-driven preclinical models of isolated behaviors and domains involved in mania and bipolar disorder will ultimately inform movement toward nosology supported by neurobiology.
Assessing the Science-Based Information Needs of Stakeholders: A Case Study on Acid Rain Research and Policy

There is an increasingly recognized need for research teams experienced in science and policy to collect and examine scientific data, and use this information appropriately for the development of social and economic policy. One of the first Federal research programs to require this team approach was the joint NSF/EPA Water and Watersheds program in the mid-1990s. The Water and Watersheds RFP contained the now famous Venn diagram showing the desired intersection of three circles representing social science, physical science, and biological science which successful PIs had to address. The University of Maine Water and Watersheds project team included ecosystem scientists that had been researching acidic deposition (hereafter “acid rain”) for more than 20 years (Church 1999, Norton et al. 1999, Kahl et al. 2002), and social scientists who evaluated the information needs of stakeholders. This paper will evaluate the effectiveness of a stakeholder assessment at the local level concerning the relevance of findings from an ongoing acid rain research program.
Forced Distribution Method of Performance Evaluation

The forced distribution method of performance evaluation derives its name from the fact that those responsible for providing evaluations, the raters, are “forced” to distribute ratings for the individuals being evaluated into a “prespecified” performance distribution. Keywords: forced distribution method; performance evaluation
Language analytics for assessing brain health: cognitive impairment, depression and pre-symptomatic Alzheimer's disease

We present data demonstrating how brain health may be assessed by applying data-mining and text analytics to patient language. Three brain-based disorders are investigated - Alzheimer's Disease, cognitive impairment and clinical depression. Prior studies identify particular language characteristics associated with these disorders. Our data show computer-based pattern recognition can distinguish language samples from individuals with and without these conditions. Binary classification accuracies range from 73% to 97% depending on details of the classification task. Text classification accuracy is known to improve substantially as training data approaches web-scale. Such a web scale dataset seems inevitable given the ubiquity of social computing and its language intensive nature. Given this context, we claim that the classification accuracy levels obtained in our experiments are significant findings for the fields of web intelligence and applied brain informatics.
Relationship between Strength Loss in Pack Carrying and Certain Motor-Physical Fitness Criteria

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between strength loss from carrying military packs under field conditions and various motor-physical fitness tests. The subjects were conditioned from six marches carrying the combat load of the rifleman. On the final march, the subjects carried 61 pounds with rucksack for 7.5 miles at a rate of 2.5 miles in 50 minutes. The highest multiple correlation obtained was −.92 between strength loss and the Strength Index; similar correlation with the Army, Navy, and AAF motor fitness tests were between −.57 and −.49. Individual test items of special significance in this study were leg-lift strength, time in the 300-yard run, and number of squat thrusts in one minute. For most effective pack carrying, individuals with high Strength Indices should be utilized.