cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Decentralized adaptive control of manipulators

This article presents two new adaptive schemes for motion control of robot manipulators. The first controller possesses a partially decentralized structure in which the control input for each task variable is computed based on information concerning only that variable and on two “scaling factors” that depend on the other task variables. The need for these scaling factors is eliminated in the second controller by exploiting the underlying topology of the robot configuration space, and this refinement permits the development of a completely decentralized adaptive control strategy. The proposed controllers are computationally efficient, do not require knowledge of either the mathematical model or the parameter values of the robot dynamics, and are shown to be globally stable in the presence of bounded disturbances. Furthermore, the control strategies are general and can be implemented for either position regulation or trajectory tracking in joint-space or task-space. Computer simulation results are given for a PUMA 762 manipulator, and these demonstrate that accurate and robust trajectory tracking is achievable using the proposed controllers. Experimental results are presented for a PUMA 560 manipulator and confirm that the proposed schemes provide simple and effective real-time controllers for accomplishing high-performance trajectory tracking. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Susceptibility to seizure-induced injury and acquired microencephaly following intraventricular injection of saporin-conjugated 192 IgG in developing rat brain.

To study the role of neurotrophin-responsive neurons in brain growth and developmental resistance to seizure-induced injury, we infused saporin-conjugated 192-IgG (192 IgG-saporin), a monoclonal antibody directed at the P75 neurotrophin receptors (p75NTR), into the ventricles of postnatal day 8 (P8) rat pups. 7–10 days after immunotoxin treatment, loss of p75NTR immunoreactivity was associated with depletion of basal forebrain cholinergic projection to the neocortex and hippocampus. Kainic acid (KA)-induced seizures on P15 resulted in hippocampal neuronal injury in the majority of toxin-treated animals (13/16), but only rarely in saline-injected controls (2/25) (P < 0.001). In addition, widespread cerebral atrophy and a significant decrease in brain weight with preserved body weight were observed. Volumetric analysis of the hippocampal hilar region revealed a 2-fold reduction in perikaryal size and a 1.7-fold increase in cell packing density after 192 IgG-saporin injection. These observations indicate that neurotrophin-responsive neurons including basal forebrain magnocellular cholinergic neurons may be critical for normal brain growth and play a protective role in preventing excitotoxic neuronal injury during development.
Performance analysis of MUSIC employing conjugate symmetric beamformers

If one incorporates a beamformer composed of conjugate centro-symmetric weight vectors as a preprocessor to an eigenstructure direction finding algorithm, a real-valued decomposition can be employed to estimate the noise and signal subspaces from the sample covariance matrix. The effect of employing the real processing methodology on the angle estimation performance of beamspace MUSIC is explored. Specifically, the distribution of the real-valued signal subspace eigenvectors is derived and used in an asymptotic analysis of the bias and variance of the MUSIC estimator. The theoretical analysis shows that processing the real part of the beamspace sample covariance matrix offers significant performance gains, in addition to the obvious computational benefit, relative to the conventional complex-valued procedure, particularly in the case of correlated sources. Monte Carlo simulations are included to verify the theoretical expressions. A trade-off study of the estimation accuracy versus the desire to provide adequate rejection of unwanted signals in a sector-based interrogation scheme for various beamforming architectures is also presented. >
Testing passive DWDM components: uncertainties in swept-wavelength measurement systems

We discuss intrinsic compromises between measurement speed and accuracy of swept wavelength measurement systems. Side-effects from reducing measurement accuracy are demonstrated and explained. Setup precautions and post-processing improvements are suggested.
An Indirect Method for Effecting the Addition of Methylmalonate to 2-Methylcyclohex-2-enone

Abstract The adduct (1a) of methylmalonate and 2-methylcyclohex-2-enone (2a) is best made by adding malonate to 2a to give 1b, protecting the ketone 0 in 1b as a ketal (3b), methylation to 3a and finally removal of the ketal.
Implementing Euler/Venn Reasoning Systems

This chapter proposes an implementation of a Euler/Venn reasoning system using directed acyclic graphs(DAGs) and shows that this implementation is correct with respect to a slightly modified version of the mathematical model of Euler and Venn reasoning proposed by Shin and Hammer. This DAG system will be presented as an independent diagrammatic reasoning system that could easily be implemented. In proving the correctness of this alternative method of thinking about Euler/Venn reasoning it will also be shown that the proposed system preserves or inherits the soundness and completeness properties of the mathematical model of the Euler/Venn system. These results showing relationships between classes of Euler/Venn diagrams and the proposed DAGs then allow us to conclude that Euler/Venn diagrams can be represented as discrete objects and be employed in mechanical reasoning systems.
Modified extended aeration process for removal and recovery of cadmium from wastewaters

It has been reported in the literature that several microbial species have a considerable sorption capacity for heavy metals. Work herein reported, accomplished using a heterogeneous microbial population developed in a modified extended aeration activated sludge process, indicates sorption capabilities as good as, or better than, those for individual microbial species. The process herein described may have several advantages over pure or controlled culture processes and it offers the possibility for reuse of organic matter needed to regenerate metal-sorbing biomass, as well as autodigestion of excess biomass. The work also indicates that acclimation to high levels of a specific heavy metal (Cd) does not confer acclimation to another heavy metal (Cu).
PCBN: a high-performance partitionable circular bus network for distributed systems

The authors present a dynamically partitionable circular bus network (PCBN) and efficient algorithms for maximizing its utilization. In their approach, a distributed network is transformed into a graph, in which a vertex represents a communication request and an edge denotes the conflict between a pair of communication requests. A graph traversal algorithm is applied to the graph to identify some maximal independent sets of vertices. The communication requests corresponding to the vertices of a maximum independent set call proceed in parallel. By computing the expected size of the maximal independent sets of a graph, the improvement ratio of the network can be obtained. The network control and synchronization techniques of PCBN are described in detail. The idling problem in the execution of nonconflicting requests is also discussed. >
The role of direct-to-consumer advertising in shaping public opinion surrounding prescription drug use to treat depression or anxiety in youth.

This study investigated the impact of exposure to prescription drug advertisements for antidepressants and antianxiety medications on public opinion regarding preferred treatment options for youth suffering from depression or anxiety. The study randomly recruited a nationally representative adult sample (N = 402) through the 2007 Annenberg National Health Communication Survey. The study examined the distribution of public support for the use of antidepressant drugs to treat depression and anxiety disorders in youth. The analysis adjusted for the effects of demographic characteristics, prior knowledge about prescription drugs, and personal and familial drug history. Attitude toward direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA, for all products) moderated the effect of exposure to ads for these drug treatments on support for their use among youth as a preferred treatment. Among respondents with negative attitude toward direct-to-consumer advertising (for all products), with increased exposure to ads for antidepress...
Anxiety and depressive disorders and the five‐factor model of personality: A higher‐ and lower‐order personality trait investigation in a community sample

We describe in detail normal personality traits in persons with psychiatrist-ascertained anxiety and depressive disorders in a general population sample. We investigated Revised NEO Personality Inventory traits in 731 community subjects examined by psychiatrists with the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry. All of the lifetime disorders of interest (simple phobia, social phobia, agoraphobia, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD), and dysthymia) were associated with high neuroticism. Social phobia, agoraphobia, and dysthymia were associated with low extraversion, and OCD was associated with high openness to experience. In addition, lower-order facets of extraversion (E), openness (O), agreeableness (A), and conscientiousness (C) were associated with certain disorders (specifically, low assertiveness (E) and high openness to feelings (O) with MDD, low trust (A) with social phobia and agoraphobia, low self-discipline (C) with several of the disorders, and low competence and achievement striving (C) with social phobia). Neuroticism in particular was related to acuity of disorder. Longitudinal study is necessary to differentiate state versus pathoplastic effects.
Motor Vehicle Contributions to Fine Carbonaceous Aerosol in Los Angeles

The contributions to the fine (dp <3.5 μm) carbonaceous aerosol at Duarte, CA (a suburban site near Los Angeles) and in Lennox, CA (a site next to a Los Angeles freeway) by motor vehicles were estimated in 1983 and 1987–88 using Pb and CO as tracers. In 1983 motor vehicle emissions contributed about 50% of the ambient black carbon (BC) in Duarte and 80% in Lennox. In 1987–88 this contribution was increased to about 75% in Duarte though the ambient BC concentration was decreased. In contrast, the contribution of primary motor vehicle emissions to organic carbon (OC) remained virtually unchanged at about 20% in Duarte from 1983 to 1987–88 and 45% in Lennox for 1983.
Microelectrode measurements of local mass transport rates in heterogeneous biofilms.

Microelectrodes were used to measure oxygen profiles and local mass transfer coefficient profiles in biofilm clusters and interstitial voids. Both profiles were measured at the same location in the biofilm. From the oxygen profile, the effective diffusive boundary layer thickness (DBL) was determined. The local mass transfer coefficient profiles provided information about the nature of mass transport near and within the biofilm. All profiles were measured at three different average flow velocities, 0.62, 1.53, and 2.60 cm sec-1, to determine the influence of flow velocity on mass transport. Convective mass transport was active near the biofilm/liquid interface and in the upper layers of the biofilm, independent of biofilm thickness and flow velocity. The DBL varied strongly between locations for the same flow velocities. Oxygen and local mass transfer coefficient profiles collected through a 70 micrometer thick cluster revealed that a cluster of that thickness did not present any significant mass transport resistance. In a 350 micrometer thick biofilm cluster, however, the local mass transfer coefficient decreased gradually to very low values near the substratum. This was hypothetically attributed to the decreasing effective diffusivity in deeper layers of biofilms. Interstitial voids between clusters did not seem to influence the local mass transfer coefficients significantly for flow velocities of 1.53 and 2.60 cm sec-1. At a flow velocity of 0.62 cm sec-1, interstitial voids visibly decreased the local mass transfer coefficient near the bottom.
Public Opinion and the Second Amendment

Gallup polling data going back to 1959 shows a dramatic decline in public support for bans on handguns. This short comment suggests that we may have witnessed an important cultural shift that was driven in part by public policy experiments at the state level. The shift is likely to endure because those experiments proved successful and because of subsequent developments in constitutional law that are consistent with changed public attitudes.
Speculation and Recent Volatility in the Price of Oil

As the price of crude oil doubled from June 2007 to June 2008, suspicion grew that price was being driven higher by speculation rather than fundamental supply and demand. After having seen the price drop 70 percent from its peak, this explanation may appear more plausible than ever. This paper introduces a new methodology that uses convenience yield – imputed from futures prices – to detect the influence of speculation on the spot price of a storable commodity. The paper finds the evidence inconsistent with speculation having played a major role in the rise of price to $100 per barrel in March 2008. However, the evidence suggests that speculation did play a role in its subsequent rise to $140. Finally, the analysis finds that the collapse in price was caused by an unanticipated decline in demand rather than by speculators unloading their positions. This implies that, absent the discovery of vast new sources of energy, high oil prices will return with the recovery of the global economy.
Photosensitization of Hepatitis A Virus and Other Non-Enveloped RNA Viruses by Meso-Substituted Porphyrins in Water and Human Plasma

Some viruses that cause disease in humans are transmissible by consumption of contaminated water or through the transfusion of blood or its products. Human viruses such as hepatitis A virus (HAV) and parvovirus B19 (PVB19) have caused disease or have been detected in drinking water9 or in blood products such as pooled plasma15 and clotting factor11,18,21. HAV and PVB19 are small (22–27 nm), non-enveloped human viruses that contain ribonucleic acid or deoxyribonucleic genomes, respectively. A residual risk of infection from these agents is always present, because the effectiveness of bairiers (e.g., blood donor exclusion17, microbiological testing, inactivation or treatment techniques14,16) against HAV and other viral pathogens for the prevention of contaminated blood products and water from reaching patients and consumers is finite. Non-enveloped viruses such as HAV are resistant to the removal and inactivation procedures used in both water safety19,25 and transfusion medicine16. Procedures in transfusion medicine with demonstrated efficacy against lipid-enveloped viruses such as the human immunodeficiency virus, and hepatitis B and C viruses3 are ineffective against HAV, PVB19, and perhaps other viruses with similar biological features. Hence, alternative methods for virus inactivation in water and in blood components are needed.
Relationship Between Osmotic Activity and Sodium Content of Gastric Juice.

SummaryThe osmotic activity of pouch gastric juice samples relative to that of the plasma is presented as a function of the sodium content of the gastric juice.The general features of the resulting distribution are in qualitative agreement with the predictions based on the two-component theory of Hollander and the buffering process which it implies.
Surgery in patients with endocrine dysfunction

Patients with diabetes mellitus, thyroid dysfunction, and adrenal suppression from exogenous steroid therapy frequently undergo surgery. An understanding of the pathophysiology of these disorders enables the medical consultant to have valuable input into the preoperative evaluation and perioperative management of these patients. This article serves as a practical guide in following such patients through surgery, thereby decreasing overall morbidity and mortality.
Astroglial cell-induced expression of Na-K-Cl cotransporter in brain microvascular endothelial cells

Endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) are characterized by extensive tight junctions and asymmetric distribution of specific enzymes and transport systems. Maintenance of the BBB endothelial phenotype depends on astrocyte-endothelial interactions. We showed previously that cultured cerebral microvascular endothelial cells (CMEC) exhibit robust Na-K-Cl cotransport activity. In the present study, we evaluated the expression of Na-K-Cl cotransport protein in CMEC by quantitative Western blot analysis and found that a protein of approximately 170 kDa was recognized by a monoclonal antibody against the cotransporter. Exposure of CMEC to astroglial cells or their conditioned media increased the expression of the CMEC cotransport protein by approximately 55%. Using a monoclonal antibody against the alpha-subunit of chicken Na-K-ATPase, we found that these treatments also increased expression of Na-K-ATPase protein by a similar amount. By comparing bumetanide-sensitive K influx and [3H]bumetanide binding apical vs. basolateral surfaces of CMEC, we found both cotransporter activity and [3H]bumetanide binding to be approximately 90% apical and 10% basolateral. Coculture of the CMEC with astroglial cells increased cotransport activity and [3H]bumetanide binding at both surfaces, with the asymmetric distribution maintained. These results indicate that the cotransporter is regulated by astroglial cells and that an apically distributed CMEC cotransporter may function in tandem with the basolateral Na-K-ATPase to mediate vectorial transport of Na and Cl across the BBB.
Structure activity relationships of anxiolytics

Several strikingly different classes of compound bind at the benzodiazepine receptor and exhibit an anxiolytic profile. The conformational preferences of these compounds were ascertained by a variety of techniques. Their electrostatic features were also studied. The combined information has been utilised in the development of a receptor model for the binding site.
Sliding mode boundary control for vibration suppression in a pinned-pinned Euler–Bernoulli beam with disturbances

This work addresses the control of a pinned-pinned beam represented by the fourth order partial differential equation commonly known as the Euler–Bernoulli beam model. The system under consideration has pinned boundary conditions on one end (displacement and bending moment fixed at zero) and controlled boundary conditions on the other end (displacement and bending moment are prescribed by control functions). There are also unknown bounded disturbances included on the controlled boundary. A backstepping control technique which introduces arbitrary damping into the system is discussed, and a method for applying this control in the presence of unknown disturbances is developed using sliding mode control theory. Sliding mode controllers are developed in a way that does not create a chattering effect, which is a common issue with sliding mode control. Simulation results are presented to show how the system dampens out vibrations at an arbitrarily determined rate and how the control functions respond to unmodel...
Development and Validation of a Score to Predict the Risk of Readmission After Adult Cardiac Operations

Background The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a risk score for readmissions after cardiac operations. Methods Adults surviving to discharge after cardiac operations at a single institution from 2008 to 2013 were randomly divided 3:1 into training and validation cohorts. The primary outcome was readmission within 30 days of discharge. A multivariable model was constructed in the training cohort incorporating variables associated with 30-day readmission in univariate logistic regression. Points were assigned to predictors in the multivariable model proportional to their odds ratios. Results Among 5,193 patients undergoing cardiac operations and surviving to discharge, the 30-day readmission rate was 10.3% (n = 537). The most common reasons for readmission were volume overload (24%; n = 131) and infection (21%; n = 113). The risk score incorporated 5 multivariable predictors and was out of 20 possible points. The predicted rate of 30-day readmission based on the training cohort ranged from 5.9% (score = 0) to 54.7% (score = 20). Patients were categorized as low (score = 0; readmission 5.7%), moderate (score 1-7; readmission 11.0%), and high risk (score >7; readmission 24.2%) ( p p r = 0.95; p Conclusions We developed and validated a risk score for readmission after cardiac operations that may have utility in targeting interventions and modifying risk factors in high-risk populations.
The Application of Benchmarking to Marketing

A definition and explanation of benchmarking for total quality management demonstrates how this approach contributes to marketing thought and practice. The special considerations of marketing problems are highlighted along with the development of a systematic and analytical framework for the process of benchmarking. This framework begins with guidelines for selecting the most promising marketing processes in your firm for benchmarking. The next step is to break a process into activities. The third step is to analyze the activities considering such variables as throughput, capital and operating expenses and value added to the customer. The fourth step is to break selected activities into tasks and analyze the tasks. Finally, the workings of a process in another organization can be considered. Managerial implications for the overall process and consideration of how the results may impact the corporation operations are given.
PANDAS: A systematic review of treatment options.

Abstract Introduction Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus (PANDAS) is a rare but important condition for pediatric otolaryngologists to recognize. Several treatment options exist including tonsillectomy, antibiotic treatment/prophylaxis, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and psychiatric medications/therapy. Methods A systematic review of the PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus databases was performed searching for articles that focused exclusively on the aforementioned treatment modalities in the PANDAS population. Review articles, single patient case reports, and studies examining the natural history or diagnostic strategies were excluded. Results Five articles regarding tonsillectomy treatments with level of evidence (LOE) 4 were found but no clear benefit could be determined. Three articles were selected involving the use of antibiotic therapy. One prospective study and one double-blind randomized control trial (DB RCT) supported the use of antibiotics but a separate DB RCT showed no benefit. Two selected articles described the use of IVIG: one unblinded RCT and one retrospective study. One prospective study on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) showed benefit in PANDAS. Conclusion There is a paucity of high-level studies regarding this rare disorder and no hard treatment recommendations can be made. Tonsillectomy should only be performed in those who are surgical candidates based on current published guidelines. Antibiotics are an option but provide uncertain benefit. CBT remains a low-risk option. Studies support the use of IVIG, however more investigation is needed prior to widespread adoption of this treatment given its potential risks.
The SoS‐VEE Model: Mastering the Socio‐Technical Aspects and Complexity of Systems of Systems Engineering (SoSE)

Today, almost all defense systems are part of one or more system of systems (SoS, Dahmann and Baldwin 2014). Failure to consider SoS context early and throughout acquisition can result in significant risk to the effectiveness or successful fielding of the system (DoD 2008). The SoS-VEE model has been developed recognizing the complexity of SoS Engineering (SoSE), and that the acquisition and fielding of constituent systems (CS) in a SoS environment entails more than simply integrating physical systems. The SoS-VEE model focuses on early SoSE activities and addresses the socio-technical aspects of integrating people, processes, and products associated with the constituent system(s). The paper describes in a step-by-step process how the SoS-VEE was derived, its underlying principles, and uses an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operating as a constituent system of the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system of systems as an example to illustrate the practical application of the SoS-VEE model. The predominant viewpoint of this paper is from the systems engineer concerned with the acquisition or development of a (constituent) system of interest (UAV) in a System of Systems environment (NATO AGS SoS). The paper demonstrates how the systems engineer will be enabled to successfully integrate the constituent systems horizontally (physically) and vertically (socio-technically) into the larger SoS using the SoS-VEE model.
Efficient approach to dyspepsia

Unter dem Begriff Dyspepsie wird landlaufig ein Spektrum von Beschwerden zusammengefasst, die der Patient im Oberbauch lokalisiert und dem Magen zuordnet. Sie umfassen Schmerzen bzw. Unbehagen, Druck, Brennen oder Schmerzen am Mageneingang, Vollegefuhl bzw. fruhe Sattigung, Gefuhl der Magendehnung, Ubelkeit, Erbrechen und Luftaufstosen. Grundsatzlich konnen diese Beschwerden akut uber einige Stunden bis Tage, z. B. im Rahmen einer Gastroenteritis, oder chronisch uber viele Monate und Jahre auftreten. Hier erfahren Sie, wie Sie Ihren Patienten helfen konnen.
Adaptive Discretizations for Non-smooth Variational Vision

Variational problems in vision are solved numerically on the pixel lattice because it provides the simplest computational grid to discretize the input images, even though a uniform grid seldom matches the complexity of the solution. To adapt the complexity of the discretization to the solution, it is necessary to adopt finite-element techniques that match the resolution of piecewise polynomial bases to the resolving power of the variational model, but such techniques have been overlooked for nonsmooth variational models. To address this issue, we investigate the pros and cons of finite-element discretizations for nonsmooth variational problems in vision, their multiresolution properties, and the optimization algorithms to solve them. Our 2 and 3D experiments in image segmentation, optical flow, stereo, and depth fusion reveal the conditions where finite-element can outperform finite-difference discretizations by achieving significant computational savings with a minor loss of accuracy.
Cervical Cancer Screening Preferences Among Trans-Masculine Individuals: Patient-Collected Human Papillomavirus Vaginal Swabs Versus Provider-Administered Pap Tests

Abstract Purpose: Trans-masculine (TM, i.e., persons who have a masculine spectrum gender identity, but were assigned female sex at birth) individuals face disparities in cervical cancer screening ...
Handling write backs in multi-level cache analysis for WCET estimation

In this paper, we investigate how to soundly analyze multi-level caches that employ write-back policy at each level for worst-case execution time (WCET) estimation. To the best of our knowledge, there is only one existing approach for dealing with write backs in multi-level cache analysis. However, as shown in the paper, this existing approach is not sound. In order to soundly handle write backs, at a cache level, we need to consider whether a memory block is potentially dirty and when such a potentially dirty block may be evicted from the cache. To this end, we introduce a dirty attribute into persistence analysis for tracking dirty blocks, and over-approximate a write back window for each possible write back. Based on the overestimated write back occurring times, we propose an approach that can soundly deal with write backs in analysis of multi-level (unified) caches for WCET estimation. Possible write back costs are also integrated into path analysis. We evaluate the proposed approach on a set of benchmarks to demonstrate its effectiveness.
Impaired glucose tolerance: do pharmacological therapies correct the underlying metabolic disturbance?

Lifestyle intervention prevents or delays the conversion from impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) to type 2 diabetes. However, many subjects fail to achieve and/or maintain long-term weight loss and to follow a regular exercise regimen may require pharmacologic therapy. Insulin resistance in liver, muscle and fat, along with impaired beta-cell function, plays a central role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Insulin sensitising drugs, including metformin and the thiazolidinediones, have significantly reduced the conversion rate of IGT to type 2 diabetes in subjects in several large, well designed clinical trials. Insulin-sensitising drugs are likely to play an important role in future strategies for diabetes prevention.
The determination of free chlorine

Reprint. Originally published: Journal of the American Water Works Association ; v. 26, no. 11 (November 1934).
Anatomical-image aided PET reconstruction by the kernel method

44 Objectives We study a new approach to incorporating anatomical prior information into PET reconstruction using the kernel method. This method was originally developed for dynamic PET and is readily applicable to anatomical-image aided PET image reconstruction. Methods The kernel method computes a kernel matrix from an anatomical prior image, and represents the unknown PET image as a linear combination of the kernels. The linear model is incorporated into the maximum likelihood (ML) expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm to obtain an ML estimate. We conducted computer simulation studies to compare the kernel method with the conventional ML EM algorithm without anatomical prior and the Bowsher method utilizing the same anatomical prior image. A BrainWeb MRI phantom was used to simulate PET data as well as to provide anatomical prior information. One hundred noisy realizations were reconstructed to compute the bias-variance tradeoff and contrast recovery coefficient (CRC) for region-of-interest (ROI) quantification. Uncertainty in the estimates was computed by bootstrapping. Two sets of prior information with and without the lesion were simulated. For all methods studied, the reconstruction parameters were tuned to yield the best performance. Results Both anatomical-prior aided methods resulted in increased accuracy in ROI quantification when provided the lesion-present prior. Compared with the ML EM algorithm and the Bowsher method, the kernel method demonstrated a 9.8±3.0% and 6.0±3.8% reduction in ensemble noise standard deviation, respectively, at a matched bias of -9%, and a 18.4±3.2% and 7.0±5.8% reduction in CRC standard deviation, respectively, at a matched CRC of 0.9. In the case of the lesion-absent prior, the kernel method displayed similar performance to the ML EM algorithm in the lesion ROI quantification and outperformed the Bowsher method. Conclusions The kernel method shows improvement for ROI quantification compared to both the MLEM algorithm and the Bowsher method. It requires the same amount of preprocessing as the Bowsher method and is a promising method for MR/PET brain imaging. Research Support This work is supported by NIBIB under grant number R01EB014894.
Increase in crop losses to insect pests in a warming climate

Insect pests substantially reduce yields of three staple grains—rice, maize, and wheat—but models assessing the agricultural impacts of global warming rarely consider crop losses to insects. We use established relationships between temperature and the population growth and metabolic rates of insects to estimate how and where climate warming will augment losses of rice, maize, and wheat to insects. Global yield losses of these grains are projected to increase by 10 to 25% per degree of global mean surface warming. Crop losses will be most acute in areas where warming increases both population growth and metabolic rates of insects. These conditions are centered primarily in temperate regions, where most grain is produced.
Operational Readiness: Redesigning Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Curriculum for an Evolving Battlefield.

Introduction The Global War on Terror and the ensuing Overseas Contingency Operations has rapidly transformed the U.S. military's strategic philosophy for warfare. The paradigm shift to unconventional warfare has forced military medicine to adapt with the rapidly evolving battle space. To this end, large fixed facility hospitals are being replaced with highly mobile and austere medical platforms that serve farther forward. The transition in operational health care has challenged the role of all health care team members.Through the evolution of the modern battlefield, nursing roles have grown and expanded beyond the traditional roles and peacetime practice. Nurses are seeing greater autonomy and scope of practice in operational settings while caring for patient pathologies that are often different than at home. The expansion of practice extends beyond the registered nurse at the bedside to the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) that serves in the provider role. Through anecdotal reports, and a growing body of literature, that APRN operational practice is different than in the traditional health care setting. Materials and methods Although a variety of organizations have codified knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs) relevant to operational practice, no formal APRN operational curriculum currently exists. Using an adaptation of Kern's Six-Step Model of curriculum design, we describe a curriculum development process used to improve and focus educational experiences to better prepare APRNs for evolving operational roles. Results Through deliberate approaches the GSN has reimagined its operational readiness curriculum for the preparation of the military APRN on the evolving battlefield. The GSN has operationalized APRN operational readiness through the integration of operationally relevant curriculum designed around interprofessional education experiences. Through this curricular design, GSN APRN students are provided with operationally relevant experiences in the context of authentic military scenarios. Through these encounters, we believe, allows our students to successfully develop the clinical, operational and teamwork skills to successfully perform care in austere and operational settings. Conclusions This manuscript describes a novel approach to provide operational readiness education to military APRN students. Through an evaluation of the current literature, expert reports and information of the current operational requirements, the USU GSN has developed a model and curricula for APRN operational readiness that lie beyond the traditional skills in the peacetime setting. Through this plan of instruction, USU GSN APRN students will have the requisite skills to meet the evolving operational needs of the Department of Defense.
Privacy in Geospatial Applications and Location-Based Social Networks

The use of location data has greatly benefited from the availability of location-based services, the popularity of social networks, and the accessibility of public location data sets. However, in addition to providing users with the ability to obtain accurate driving directions or the convenience of geo-tagging friends and pictures, location is also a very sensitive type of data, as attested by more than a decade of research on different aspects of privacy related to location data.
Implicating or exonerating the gut microbiome in blood-borne infection.

StrainSifter is a tool that is able to identify the relatedness of a blood-borne infection to the gut microbiome using single-nucleotide variant data.
Torulopsis glabrata pelvic abscess and fungemia.

Background Serious infections caused by Torulopsis glabrata, once rarely encountered, have become common over the last 3 decades. The most frequent manifestations of serious fungal infections include septicemia, endocarditis, hepatosplenic infections, and meningitis. We report a case of fungemia and pelvic abscess caused by T glabrata following gynecologic surgery. Case A 43-year-old woman developed fever, abdominal pain, and abdominal distention following a total abdominal hysterectomy and right salpingo-oophorectomy. Empirical treatment with broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents was not successful. Three sets of blood cultures were positive for T glabrata, and radiologic investigations revealed pelvic and lesser sac fluid collections. Cultures of the pelvic abscess grew T glabrata. Treatment was changed to amphotericin B, with complete clinical recovery. Conclusion Serious T glabrata infections are rare following gynecologic surgery, especially in immunocompetent patients. Given the morbidity and mortality associated with these infections, aggressive treatment with amphotericin B and drainage of abscesses is warranted.
Isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamic studies for adsorption of pigments and oxidation products in oil bleaching from catfish waste

AbstractThe aim of this work was to study the bleaching of oil extracted from the heads of the catfish by thermomechanical process through equilibrium, kinetics, and thermodynamics adsorption studi...
USE OF 2-DIMENSIONAL SAGITTAL KINEMATIC VARIABLES TO ESTIMATE GROUND REACTION FORCE DURING RUNNING

Background Variations in vertical loading rates have been associated with overuse injuries of the lower extremity; however, they are typically collected using 3-dimensional motion capture systems and in-ground force plates not available to most clinicians because of cost and space constraints. Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine if kinetic measures commonly used to describe lower extremity loading characteristics could be estimated from step rate and specific sagittal plane kinematic variables captured using 2-dimensional motion analysis during treadmill running. Study design Observational Study. Methods Ten high school cross-country runners (4 men and 6 women) voluntarily consented to participate in this study. Reflective markers were placed on each lower extremity over multiple anatomical landmarks. Participants were then asked to run on the instrumented treadmill at their preferred running speed. When the participants indicated they were in their typical running pattern, they continued to run at their preferred speed for a minimum of five minutes. After three minutes of running at their preferred running speed, the participant's step rate was counted and after running for four minutes, video and ground reaction force data were recorded for 60 sec. All running motion data were recorded using a single high-speed camera at 240 frames per second and ground reaction force data were sampled at 1000 Hz. Results Mean kinematic values between the left and right extremities for all 10 participants were not significantly different. Consequently, data for the left and right extremities were grouped for all further analyses. The stepwise forward regression to predict vertical ground reaction force resulted in a five-variable model (step rate and four kinematic variables) with R2 = 0.56. The stepwise forward regression to predict average loading rate also resulted in a five kinematic variable model with R2 = 0.51. Conclusions Step rate and sagittal plane kinematic variables measured using a simplified 2-dimensional motion analysis approach with a single high-speed camera can provide the clinician with a reasonable estimate of ground reaction force kinetics during treadmill running. Level of evidence 4, Controlled laboratory study.
Using a Theoretical Framework as Infrastructure to Strengthen and Align Program Learning Outcomes and Assessments of an Online Leadership Program

Despite growth in online programs in general, and leadership programs in specific, uniform underlying infrastructure or theory models for the basis of leadership programs is lacking (Jones 2005). This paper journals the process undergone by a university faculty as they redesign courses of an online BA in Organizational Leadership. Seemiller’s (2014) Leadership Competencies provided the theoretical framework for each of the leadership courses. The process of selecting and integrating these competencies is explained: the value judgements made to connect the competencies with the design of courses, integration of similar or corollary competencies, and the philosophical reasons for these decisions are discussed
A method of rotations for Lévy multipliers

We use a method of rotations to study the $$L^p$$ boundedness, for $$1<p<\infty $$ , of Fourier multipliers which arise as the projection of martingale transforms with respect to symmetric $$\alpha $$ -stable processes, $$0<\alpha <2$$ . Our proof does not use the fact that $$0<\alpha <2$$ , and therefore allows us to obtain a larger class of multipliers which are bounded on $$L^p$$ . As in the case of the multipliers which arise as the projection of martingale transforms, these new multipliers also have potential applications to the study of the $$L^p$$ boundedness of the Beurling-Ahlfors transform.
A Pungent and Painful Toxin.

In this issue of Cell, King et al. (2019) have discovered a cell penetrating peptide isolated from the venom of the Australian Black Rock scorpion that activates the TRPA1 receptor in a unique way to induce pain. Their findings offer new insights into how animals evolved venoms to target specific ion channel functions.
Crystal Growth and Phase Diagrams

Given “all” thermochemical and thermophysical information on a specific material, one should be able to devise or select the optimum crystal growth method for it. The optimum method is defined as the sequence of preparative steps (preparation of starting material, growth and after-treatment of crystal) that leads to certain compositional (chemical) and structural properties of a real crystal which are desired for a specific experiment of application. “All information” goes far beyond the data needed to characterize the considered material itself under the envisioned range of preparative conditions. In addition, one needs a wealth of information to anticipate the interaction of the material with its environment during the preparation. Questions that must be answered include: How does the material chemically and physically interact with containers, “inert” atmospheres, vacua; what are the optical properties of the whole system, essential for estimates of radiative heat transfer; what are the consequences of fluctuations in environmental parameters like nutrient temperature and stresses on the growing solid, etc. The scheme presented in Fig.4.1 lists various parameters that are instrumental in selecting a specific crystal growth method. A good deal of these parameters, namely the ones shown in the left column, can be deduced from phase diagrams — if these are available. This will be illustrated in this chapter. The data on the right side have to be deduced from other sources. Beyond a mere listing of important system parameters, the scheme also illustrates their relation to growth parameters. Major portions of this text are concerned with the discussion and quantitative description of the relations that are qualitatively anticipated in Fig.4.1.
Synchronization of Earthquake Cycles of Adjacent Segments on Oceanic Transform Faults Revealed by Numerical Simulation in the Framework of Rate-and-State Friction

Synchronization behavior of large earthquakes (rupture of nearby faults close in time for many cycles) has been reported in many fault systems. The general idea is that the faults in the system hav...
Therapist and client attitudes toward client independent review of psychotherapy sessions.

OBJECTIVES Little consideration has been given to the possibility that clients may find therapeutic value in reviewing (i.e., watching, listening, or reading transcripts of) their own therapy sessions independently. This study aimed to evaluate prevalence, interest, and preferences in this practice, beliefs regarding potential benefits and concerns, and overall attitudes. METHODS A diverse sample of clients (N = 275) as well as trainee (N = 85) and Master's/doctoral-level (N = 89) therapists of different therapeutic approaches completed forms online. Descriptive statistics, frequency counts, and one-way analysis of variance tests were used to analyze the data. RESULTS Relatively few clients and therapists have engaged in this practice, but clients report interest in doing so. All participant groups identified several advantages and concerns. Clients rated overall helpfulness and harm significantly higher than therapists. CONCLUSION Client independent review of sessions may be a promising transdiagnostic and transtheoretical treatment intervention. Future research is needed to evaluate its impact on treatment.
Nucleotide Dynamics During Flossing of Polycation-DNA-Polycation through a Nanopore using Molecular Dynamics

The full potential of solid state nanopores is yet to be realized for genome sequencing. Due to its robustness it can handle strong voltage amplitude and frequency. The effect of strong alternating voltage on the dynamics of nucleotides during translocation has been explored. We proposed a setup consisting of single stranded DNA covalently linked with symmetric polycations at both ends fashioned after the proposal of Kasianowicz. Such a setup allows for repeated back and forth motion of the DNA along the nanopore (1.45 nm diameter and 1.53 nm thick) by simply switching the voltage polarity if the polycation tail is sufficiently long (greater than or equal to 10) and the applied voltage is below 0.72 volts, but the average residence time of the nucleotides are too small to be of any practical use (6-30 ns). When alternating voltage of higher frequency is applied, it enhances the average residence time of the nucleotides by an order of magnitude to approximately 0.1 microseconds relative to direct voltage but the individual trajectories are too stochastic. Since, we are able to collect repeated read on the dynamics of individual nucleotides, we obtained the most probable time of appearance of a nucleotide within the nanopore. With such construct we were able to get almost linear dependence of most probable time versus nucleotide index, after gaussian fitting.
Systematic review investigating the relationship between autism spectrum disorder and metabolic dysfunction

Abstract The objective of this systematic review is to examine metabolic dysfunction, specifically metabolic syndrome and its components, as well as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) as it relates to individuals with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, PsychInfo, and Scopus from January 1, 1998 to October 12, 2018 for English, peer-reviewed, original articles containing adult and pediatric populations with any form of ASD and metabolic dysfunction, including T2DM, hyperglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or central obesity. Exclusion criteria included studies without ASD-specific results, basic science research, review papers, case studies, and medication clinical trials. Eight studies were included in this review, with a total of 70,503 participants with ASD and 2,281,891 in comparison groups. Within ASD populations, higher prevalence for metabolic syndrome components hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia were observed, as well as increased incidence and prevalence of T2DM. However, heterogeneity of study definitions and measurements should be noted. While there is evidence of increased prevalence of T2DM, hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia for those with ASD, the relationship is poorly understood. There is also lack of research investigating central obesity and risk of metabolic syndrome as a diagnosis. More research addressing these gaps is warranted to evaluate the risk of metabolic dysfunction in populations with ASD.