cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sampling minority groups in health surveys

Sampling racial and ethnic minority groups in population-based health studies presents the statistical designer with a variety of notable challenges, many of which can be traced to the manner in which the sampling frame maps into the set of group members. A brief review of sampling approaches aimed at race/ethnic groups is followed by findings on two particularly important statistical issues one may face when sampling minorities: the implications of the geographic diffusion of minorities within sampled area clusters, and the relative utility of different forms of space and time sampling to deal with sometimes dramatic change over time in the linkage between entries on a sampling frame and members of relatively mobile minority groups. Simulated findings from practical illustrations involving the sampling of Hispanics are presented to address each issue.
Point Four, Utah State University Technicians, and Rural Development in Iran, 1950–64

In 1950 Iran and the United States signed the first Point Four agreement, establishing a program now known as USAID. It fulfilled President Harry S. Truman's desire to control the Soviet bloc and to share technology with third world countries. Utah State University contracted with the U.S. Point Four program to provide technicians in agriculture from 1951 to 1954. This paper examines the successes and the frustrations that the Utahns felt in transporting technology to Iran. While there were some successes, the cultural and economic difficulties were hard to overcome. As a result, the technicians in the 1960s experienced the same problems faced by those in the 1950s. These included a negative reaction to farm machinery in a land with many laborers, problems training machinery operators, and language barriers.
Technique for Integration of a Wireless Switch in a 2.4 GHz Single Chip Radio

Abstract-A technique for integrating a wireless switch into an M&M™ sized radio operating at 2.4 GHz that can turn a radio on or off is demonstrated using a 130-nm digital CMOS process. The switch circuit like a passive radio frequency identification system picks up an amplitude modulated 5.8-GHz carrier and converts it to DC to power up a portion of radio connected to a coin-cell battery. The radio uses a 2.4/5.8 GHz dual band antenna, and the wireless switch is added between the antenna, and transmit/receive (T/R) switch of the radio. By incorporating an input impedance transformation network, the wireless switch achieves input sensitivity of ~ -13 dBm. Inclusion of this circuit degrades the maximum transmitted power and sensitivity of 2.4-GHz transceiver by 0.3-0.5 dB. The RF clamp of wireless switch also limits the input power above ~ 12 dBm to protect the switch and transceiver. The wireless switch occupies an area of ~ 400 X 590 μm2.
On the Wind-Driven Circulation of the Uncoupled and Coupled NCAR Climate System Ocean Model*

Abstract The time-mean wind-driven circulation of the uncoupled and coupled National Center for Atmospheric Research Climate System Model ocean model is investigated. Although the coupled surface wind stress and wind stress curl magnitudes are, in general, larger than the uncoupled distributions, the coupled wind stresses are realistic, given the substantial uncertainties in the observational estimates. The Sverdrup balance, which represents a simple dynamical relation, can indeed describe the model depth-integrated transports to a large degree and shows that the increase in the coupled ocean barotropic transports is mainly due to the larger wind stress curl of the coupled system. Another simple dynamical tool, the Ekman transport analysis, shows that the coupled ocean upwelling and downwelling velocities are, in general, larger than in uncoupled ocean, consistent with the larger wind stress curl. Both models have similar upper-ocean upwelling magnitudes in the equatorial Atlantic. In the equatorial Pacif...
Photobiomodulation and implants: implications for dentistry

The use of dental implants has become a mainstay of rehabilitative and restorative dentistry. With an impressive clinical success rate, there remain a few minor clinical issues with the use of implants such as peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis. The use of laser technology with implants has a fascinating breadth of applications, beginning from their precision manufacturing to clinical uses for surgical site preparation, reducing pain and inflammation, and promoting osseointegration and tissue regeneration. This latter aspect is the focus of this review, which outlines various studies of implants and laser therapy in animal models. The use of low level light therapy or photobiomodulation has demonstrated its efficacy in these studies. Besides more research studies to understand its molecular mechanisms, significant efforts are needed to standardize the clinical dosing and delivery protocols for laser therapy to ensure the maximal efficacy and safety of this potent clinical tool for photobiomodulation.
POETRY AGAINST EVIL: A BULGAKOVIAN THEOLOGY OF POETRY1

The essay introduces Sergei Bulgakov's theology of creation and evil in order to develop a theology of language, conceiving language as the path along which humans receive their own givenness, but also participate in the creation of the world. Poetry's attention to the difficulty of language, its acceptance of artificial disciplines, and its nonrational mode of knowledge uniquely attune it to language's creative—and destructive—potential. Like a monastery for language, poetry enacts a linguistic askesis, schooling its language and its readers in conversion. The essay includes a close reading of Gjertrud Schnackenberg's poem, “Supernatural Love.” A conclusion situates the essay's program for a theology of literature in relation to Henri de Lubac's work on spiritual exegesis and Hans Urs von Balthasar's use of literature in his theology.
PREPARATION OF FINE MULTICOMPONENT OXIDE CERAMIC POWDER BY A COMBUSTION SYNTHESIS PROCESS

An important, rather novel procedure for the synthesis of submicron crystalline multicomponent oxide ceramic powders has been studied. The synthesis of CuFe2O4 powder, a ferrite material, has been used as a model system for understanding the synthesis process. The effect of the fuel content, powder packing, and surface heat loss has been investigated in terms of the maximum reaction temperature and reaction period, phase formation, and particle size and morphology. It has been shown that the maximum temperature and reaction period can be tailored to produce different phases. The submicron features of the synthesized powders are indicated by the large surface area values obtained from BET measurement.
Social Meaning, Compliance Conditions, and Law's Claim to Authority

Political authorities claim to be able to impose moral duties on citizens by the mere expedient of legislating. This claim is problematic -- in fact, among theorists, it is widely denied that political authorities have such powers. I argue that the legitimacy of political authority is not contingent upon the truth of its claim to be able to impose moral duties by mere legislation. Such claims are better seen as exercises of semiotic techniques to alter social meanings. These alterations serve to facilitate desirable social change that may not have been antecedently obligatory because of the nonfulfillment of a compliance condition, which normally attaches to any "fair-play" duty. Where political authority uses the semiotic technique of announcing a legal -- and by implication moral -- duty, thereby altering social meaning as a means of bringing about the satisfaction of a compliance condition, it makes a claim whose literal falsehood (if false it be) does not derogate from the authority's legitimacy.
First-Order Reliability Method for Probabilistic Liquefaction Triggering Analysis using CPT

The potential for liquefaction triggering of a soil under a given seismic loading is measured herein by probability of liquefaction. The first order reliability method (FORM) is used to calculate reliability index, from which the probability of liquefaction is obtained. This approach requires the knowledge of parameter and model uncertainties; the latter is the focus of this paper. An empirical model for determining liquefaction resistance based on cone penetration test (CPT) is established through "neural network learning" of case histories. This resistance model along with a reference seismic loading model forms a performance function or limit state for liquefaction triggering analysis. Within the framework of the FORM, the uncertainty of this limit state model is characterized through an extensive series of sensitivity studies using Bayesian mapping functions that have been calibrated with a set of quality case histories. In addition, a deterministic model for assessing liquefaction potential in terms of factor of safety is presented, and the probability-safety factor mapping functions for estimating the probability of liquefaction for a given factor of safety in the absence of the knowledge of parameter uncertainty are also established. Examples are presented to illustrate the proposed methods.
Change in lipid profile in celiac disease: beneficial effect of gluten-free diet.

Abstract Purpose Celiac disease is associated with hypocholesterolemia, which is thought to contribute to a favorable cardiovascular risk profile. This led to suggestions that the diagnosis of celiac disease and its treatment with a gluten-free diet may result in elevation of the serum cholesterol level and worsen this risk profile. However, no study proves this in adults. We therefore examined the effect of a gluten-free diet on the lipid profile in patients with celiac disease. Subjects and methods We identified 132 patients with celiac disease who adhered to a gluten-free diet and had lipid profiles performed before and after a median of 20.5 months on the diet. The patients lacked diseases that may affect serum lipids. Results There were significant increases in total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ( P P =.06). The LDL/HDL ratio decreased by 0.36±0.7 ( P P =.02). The greatest increase in lipid values was seen in those with the lowest initial values. The largest increase in HDL was seen in subjects with more severe disease as indicated by low albumin level and presence of total villous atrophy. Conclusions Diagnosis of celiac disease and its treatment with a gluten-free diet resulted in improvement in the lipoprotein profile, which included an increase in HDL and a decrease in the LDL/HDL ratio.
Pharmacological Facilitation of Coronary Intervention in ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction: Time Is of the Essence⁎

The dawn of the reperfusion era more than 3 decades ago revolutionized the management of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Over the years, reperfusion therapy has matured, a consequence of numerous trials that have defined the optimal class of fibrinolytic drugs (fibrin-specific
Ubiquitous Technology-Enhanced Learning of Complex Financial Concepts

Technology-based finance education is designed to fully engage students during lectures and individual study times in order to increase their learning efficiency. Students are immersed in a new teaching environment where the emphasis is on achieving high knowledge retention rate by synchronously presenting the material through non-sequential links of learning objects such as graphics, multimedia files, and links to external documents. While studying, students have possibilities to refer to earlier material when learning more complex ideas in the later part of a lecture, as well as to relate to the material that may be following the topics being introduced. The integrative technology-enhanced approach to learning provides students with a possibility to maintain the overall view of the material, while absorbing detailed explanations of the individual study components. We have conducted a preliminary pilot program testing this approach, and found, based on student feedback, that the integrative technology-enhanced approach to teaching improves student overall learning experience in face-to-face as well as in online courses. Moreover, course material organization and instructor presentation of the material contribute significantly to the overall student satisfaction while technology per se is not a statistically significant factor for overall course experience.
Transient Response of Cross-and-Angle-Plied Composite Plates due to Transverse Loading

Various lamination schemes are considered for square and rectangular plates excited by an instantaneously applied sinusoidal pressure distribution. Duhamel’s equation is utilized to obtain both temporal displacement and stress response on a modal basis. Modelling is based on an assemblage of quadrilateral finite elements that account for the effects of transverse deformation and rotatory inertia. The finite element formulation relaxes the Kirchhoff-Love assumptions and thereby provides good results for thin to moderately-thick plate geometries. Results compare quite well with those found in the literature and thus demonstrate the utility of the formulation in obtaining time-dependent results.
Hemoglobin Oxygen Saturation Tomography: Calibration in Phantom Studies and Patient Data Analysis

Oxygen saturation imaging has been calibrated relative to the measured pO2 values in tissue phantoms of Intralipid and blood. These calibration results are used to interpret the oxygen saturation of patient tumors and normal tissues.
BeamSpy: enabling robust 60 GHz links under blockage

Due to high directionality and small wavelengths, 60 GHz links are highly vulnerable to human blockage. To overcome blockage, 60 GHz radios can use a phased-array antenna to search for and switch to unblocked beam directions. However, these techniques are reactive, and only trigger after the blockage has occurred, and hence, they take time to recover the link. In this paper, we propose BeamSpy, that can instantaneously predict the quality of 60 GHz beams, even under blockage, without the costly beam searching. BeamSpy captures unique spatial and blockage-invariant correlation among beams through a novel prediction model, exploiting which we can immediately select the best alternative beam direction whenever the current beam's quality degrades. We apply BeamSpy to a run-time fast beam adaptation protocol, and a blockage-risk assessment scheme that can guide blockage-resilient link deployment. Our experiments on a reconfigurable 60 GHz platform demonstrate the effectiveness of BeamSpy's prediction framework, and its usefulness in enabling robust 60 GHz links.
The Effect of Matrix Type on Self-Assembly of Nanoparticles for Mechanical and Magnetic Applications

The controlled synthesis of nanostructured particles with uniform size, shape, composition, and preferred orientation is a formidable task. Some conventional techniques have been demonstrated with limited success; however, reproducible processing schemes for heterogeneous multifunctional materials are still not satisfactory. To realize the advantageous technical applications of nanostructured materials, self-assembly or self-organizing methods are currently under investigation. Our results show that the matrix or template used for directed growth of nanoparticles (Fe, Ni) significantly affects the resultant mechanical properties of the multilayered structure. For example, a crystalline material like TiN, which grows epitaxially on silicon, results in embedded epitaxial nanoparticles. Conversely, an amorphous template like Al2 O3 results in polycrystalline magnetic particles. In this work, we will discuss the effect of matrix type, specifically yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ), on the orientation of nanoparticle assemblies. The resultant mechanical and magnetic properties of the multilayer structures will be discussed in the oral presentation.© 2005 ASME
Toxicity Analysis of Common Carp Transferred Salmon Growth Hormone Gene

In order to investigate the toxicity of transgenic carp with salmon growth hormone gene, mice were fed diet containing flesh of transgenic carp with salmon growth hormone gene or non-transgenic carp. The diets containing flesh of transgenic carp with different proportions of 10%, 5% and 2.5% were given to mice for 90 consecutive days. Acute oral toxicity experimental results revealed that mice fed transgenic carp were normal as the control group fed non-transgenic carp during the period of 90 days. The mice exhibited free movements and shining coats without any abnormal symptoms and abnormal secretions in their noses, eyes and mouths. Meanwhile, no obvious difference in toxic indices between experi- mental group and control group was observed. Moreover, no abnormal change in hematological and biochemical indices, routine urine test, viscera coefficients and histopathological examinations was observed in mice fed transgenic carp with salmon growth hormone gene. Therefore, salmon growth hormone gene has no toxicity and transgenic carps are safe to mice as edible foods.
An Agent-Based Framework for Active Multi-level Modeling of Organizations

Agent-based models of organizations have traditionally had a single level of agency, whether at the individual or organizational level, but many interesting organizational phenomena, including organizational resilience and turnover, involve agency at multiple organizational levels. We propose an extensible multi-modeling framework, realized in software, to model these phenomena and many more. Two applications will be given to demonstrate the framework’s versatility.
Lithium increases synaptic GluA2 in hippocampal neurons by elevating the δ-catenin protein

Lithium (Li+) is a drug widely employed for treating bipolar disorder, however the mechanism of action is not known. Here we study the effects of Li+ in cultured hippocampal neurons on a synaptic complex consisting of δ-catenin, a protein associated with cadherins whose mutation is linked to autism, and GRIP, an AMPA receptor (AMPAR) scaffolding protein, and the AMPAR subunit, GluA2. We show that Li+ elevates the level of δ-catenin in cultured neurons. δ-catenin binds to the ABP and GRIP proteins, which are synaptic scaffolds for GluA2. We show that Li+ increases the levels of GRIP and GluA2, consistent with Li+-induced elevation of δ-catenin. Using GluA2 mutants, we show that the increase in surface level of GluA2 requires GluA2 interaction with GRIP. The amplitude but not the frequency of mEPSCs was also increased by Li+ in cultured hippocampal neurons, confirming a functional effect and consistent with AMPAR stabilization at synapses. Furthermore, animals fed with Li+ show elevated synaptic levels of δ-catenin, GRIP, and GluA2 in the hippocampus, also consistent with the findings in cultured neurons. This work supports a model in which Li+ stabilizes δ-catenin, thus elevating a complex consisting of δ-catenin, GRIP and AMPARs in synapses of hippocampal neurons. Thus, the work suggests a mechanism by which Li+ can alter brain synaptic function that may be relevant to its pharmacologic action in treatment of neurological disease.
Learning the Structure of Social Influence.

We routinely observe others’ choices and use them to guide our own. Whose choices influence us more, and why? Prior work has focused on the effect of perceived similarity between two individuals (self and others), such as the degree of overlap in past choices or explicitly recognizable group affiliations. In the real world, however, any dyadic relationship is part of a more complex social structure involving multiple social groups that are not directly observable. Here we suggest that human learners go beyond dyadic similarities in choice behaviors or explicit group memberships; they infer the structure of social influence by grouping individuals (including themselves) based on choices, and they use these groups to decide whose choices to follow. We propose a computational model that formalizes this idea, and we test the model predictions in a series of behavioral experiments. In Experiment 1, we reproduce a well-established finding that people's choices are more likely to be influenced by someone whose past choices are more similar to their own past choices, as predicted by our model as well as dyadic similarity models. In Experiments 2–5, we test a set of unique predictions of our model by looking at cases where the degree of choice overlap between individuals is equated, but their choices indicate a latent group structure. We then apply our model to prior empirical results on infants’ understanding of others’ preferences, presenting an alternative account of developmental changes. Finally, we discuss how our model relates to classical findings in the social influence literature and the theoretical implications of our model. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that structure learning is a powerful framework for explaining the influence of social information on decision making in a variety of contexts.
College and Career Readiness and the Every Student Succeeds Act

Purpose: This study addressed the current policy push to improve students’ college and career readiness (CCR) as manifested within the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and examined CCR policy in t...
MHC-restricted cytotoxic T cells: studies on the biological role of polymorphic major transplantation antigens determining T-cell restriction-specificity, function, and responsiveness.

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the important discovery that virus-specific cytotoxic T cells are dually specific for virus and for a self cell surface antigen encoded by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The initial work was carried out on the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus system but it soon became evident that the same phenomenon applied to many other viruses. In addition, the same principle has been found to hold for other antigenic systems, such as trinitrophenyl coupled to cells, minor histocompatibility antigens, and the H-Y model. Graft rejection and the need for genetically homogeneous inbred mouse strains for cancer research led to the development of transplantation immunology and immunogenetics. The result is that the gene complex coding for major transplantation antigens is one of the better understood mammalian genetic regions. Cytotoxic T-cell specificity is comparable to serological specificity. Because quantification of specificity or cross-reactivity is difficult, and because of the technical limitations of these cytotoxic T-cell assays, results are interpreted with great reservation. MHC restriction reflects the fact that the effector function of T cells is determined by the kind of Self-H recognized together with the foreign antigen on cell surfaces: K and D are receptors for lytic signals, I determinants are receptors for cell differentiation signals that are delivered antigen-specifically by T cells.
Plasma amino acids stimulate uncoupled respiration of muscle subsarcolemmal mitochondria in lean but not obese humans

Context Obesity is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction in skeletal muscle. Increasing the plasma amino acid (AA) concentrations stimulates mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production in lean individuals. Objective To determine whether acute elevation in plasma AAs enhances muscle mitochondrial respiration and ATP production in subsarcolemmal (SS) and intermyofibrillar (IMF) mitochondria in obese adults. Design Assessment of SS and IMF mitochondrial function during saline (i.e., control) and AA infusions. Participants Eligible participants were healthy lean (body mass index, 30 kg/m2; age 35 ± 3 years; n = 11) subjects. Intervention Single trial of saline infusion followed by AA infusion. SS and IMF mitochondria were isolated from muscle biopsies collected at the end of the saline and AA infusions. Main outcomes Mitochondrial respiration and ATP production. Results AA infusion increased adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP)-stimulated respiration and ATP production rates of SS mitochondria in the lean (P 0.05). Conclusions Increasing the plasma AA concentrations enhances the capacity for respiration and ATP production of muscle SS, but not IMF, mitochondria in lean individuals, in parallel with increases in uncoupled respiration. However, neither of these parameters increases in muscle SS or IMF mitochondria in obese individuals.
Nonlinear dynamics-based adaptive hardware

In this paper we briefly review some recent results in the field of nonlinear dynamics-based computing and how it can be utilized to implement flexible, reprogrammable hardware. Then we propose that such internal flexibility can be utilized to compensate for the negative effects of both internal and external changes. More specifically, we report results of an experimental study that we performed on an integrated circuit fabricated for nonlinear dynamics-based computing, where we overheated the circuit to a point that its operation and performance changed, but then we reprogramed the circuit so that the overheated circuit could again perform the same operations reliably. This inherent flexibility and reprogrammability opens the door to implementing adaptive circuits and systems that can withstand both variable environments and adverse conditions.
Supplementary score test for sparse signals in large-scale truncated one-sided sequential tests

ABSTRACTFor large-scale one-sided sequential tests from independent panels, the detection of sparse signals is considered when the signals only appear in a small portion of panels. By treating the ...
Longitudinal Changes in Left Ventricular Stiffness: A Community-Based Study

Background—Cross-sectional studies suggest that left ventricular (LV) and arterial elastance (stiffness) increase with age, but data examining longitudinal changes within human subjects are lacking. In addition, it remains unknown whether age-related LV stiffening is merely a reaction to arterial stiffening or caused by other processes. Methods and Results—Comprehensive echo-Doppler cardiography was performed in 1402 subjects participating in a randomly selected community-based study at 2 examinations separated by 4 years. From this population, 788 subjects had adequate paired data to determine LV end-systolic elastance (Ees), end-diastolic elastance (Eed), and effective arterial elastance. Throughout 4 years, blood pressure, arterial elastance, and LV mass decreased, coupled with significantly greater use of antihypertensive medications. However, despite reductions in arterial load, Ees increased by 14% (2.10±0.67–2.26±0.70 mm Hg/mL; P<0.0001) and Eed increased by 8% (0.13±0.03–0.14±0.04 mm Hg/mL; P<0.00...
NANOPI: Extreme-Scale Actively-Secure Multi-Party Computation

Existing actively-secure MPC protocols require either linear rounds or linear space. Due to this fundamental space-round dilemma, no existing MPC protocols is able to run large-scale computations without significantly sacrificing performance. To mitigate this issue, we developed nanoPI, which is practically efficient in terms of both time and space. Our protocol is based on WRK but introduces interesting and necessary modifications to address several important programmatic and cryptographic challenges. A technique that may be of independent interest (in transforming other computation-oriented cryptographic protocols) is a staged execution model, which we formally define and realize using a combination of lightweight static and dynamic program instrumentation. Our techniques are integrated in nanoPI, an open-source tool for efficiently building and running actively-secure extreme-scale MPC applications. We demonstrate the unprecedented scalability and performance of nanoPI by building and running a suit of bench- mark applications, including an actively-secure four-party logistical regression (involving 4.7 billion ANDs and 8.9 billion XORs) which finished in less than 28 hours on four small-memory machines.
Effectiveness of Pictogram Instructions for Donning Smoke Hoods

Smoke hoods or respiratory protective emergency devices (RPEDs) are marketed to assist in evacuation from fire emergencies. Many smoke hood manufacturers often rely on pictograms to instruct proper...
Epidemiology of vector-borne diseases

Abstract Epidemiology has an important history and increasing relevance for understanding the public, veterinary, and wildlife health significance of vector-borne diseases in our rapidly changing world. For more than a century, epidemiology has been an integrative science, combining entomology and microbiology with mathematics, statistics, and a wide range of other disciplines to characterize patterns in vector-borne diseases, understand their transmission cycles, and develop effective methods for surveillance and control. Novel molecular methods and modelling approaches are providing exciting new tools to advance our capacity to understand and respond to the growing number of threats from emerging vector-borne diseases.
Pathological Findings of Epineurial Microvasculitis in Neuralgic Amyotrophy (P6.123)

Objective: To discuss the clinical and pathological features, pathophysiology, and treatment of neuralgicamyotrophy. Background: Neuralgic amyotrophy, also referred to as brachial neuritis or Parsonage-Turner syndrome, is a rareneurological disorder affecting the brachial plexus and/or its individual nerves. It is characterized by abrupt onset of unilateral shoulder or upper extremity pain and weakness followed by atrophy in the muscles of shoulder girdle or upper and lower plexus. Pathophysiology remains unclear and there ispaucity of pathology data in most cases. However, recent evidence suggests an immune epineurial microvasculitis. This case provides further evidence that ischemic injury from microvasculitis is implicated in neuralgic amyotrophy. Design/Methods: Case report Results: A 67-year-old male presented with abrupt onset left arm pain 2 weeks following influenza vaccination. Approximately 1 month later, he developed left wrist drop accompanied by sensory loss. Neurologic exam revealed weakness predominantly in the left greater than right radial and median innervated muscles, right scapular winging, sensory loss in the left radial nerve distribution, and hyporeflexiain the upper extremities. Electrodiagnostic studies showed bilateral radial nerve palsy, left greater than right. A left superficial radial sensory nervebiopsy, done within a month of onset showed clear evidence of epineurial microvasculitis and axonal degeneration. He was treated with solumedrol and subsequently cyclophosphamide was added. At 6-month follow-up, he made remarkable recovery with complete resolution of pain and slow but definite improvement of strength. Conclusions: A number of asymmetric sudden onset neuropathies in diabetics as well as non-diabetics, including neuralgic amyotrophy, have been shown to be immune mediated and related to ischemic injury from epineurial vasculitis or microvasculitis. Our case highlights the importance of doing nerve biopsy and convincingly shows evidence for microvasculitis in this case. Role of immunosuppression is not clear but may play a role in expediting favorable outcomes. Disclosure: Dr. Mozaffar has received personal compensation for activities with Sanofi Genzyme, Grifols, Amicus, Biomarin, Idera Pharmaceuticals and Ultragenyx. Dr. Mozaffar has received research support from Cytokinetics, Alexion, Amicus, Biomarin, Grifols, GlaxoSmithKline, Ultragenyx, and Novartis. Dr. Lai has nothing to disclose. Dr. Goyal has nothing to disclose.
Lung surfactant: some historical perspectives leading to its cellular and molecular biology

By appreciating the influence of surface forces on lung mechanics, discovering pulmonary surfactant, and then recognizing its deficiency states a small number of investigators began the first 30 years of pulmonary surfactant research. These investigators had different backgrounds and took diverse approaches to understand surface forces in the lung. Their careers provide a fascinating study of the means by which new discoveries are made. After recognizing the critical importance of surfactant, investigators turned to a series of questions that obviously needed to be answered and they attempted to learn the following: 1) how to quantitate surfactant; 2) its biochemical and structural composition; 3) how it leaves the alveolar surface after secretion; and 4) its role in lung diseases. This research established the basis for pursuing the cellular and molecular biology of surfactant.
Reducing overprescribing of antibiotics for suspected urinary tract infections in a health sciences campus student health service.

Aims Recommendations for the management of women with suspected uncomplicated lower urinary tract infections (UTIs) include presumptive antibiotics with or without obtaining a urine culture (UCx). However, with increasing antibiotic resistance, efforts to decrease antibiotic usage are vital. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine if the presumptive treatment of women with suspected uncomplicated UTIs is contributing to unnecessary antibiotic usage. Methods We retrospectively reviewed all nonpregnant female patients presenting to our student health services clinic with UTI symptoms from December 2016 to May 2017 who had UCx sent. Clinical information, symptoms, office urine dip, and UCx results were reviewed. Patients with positive and negative UCx were compared. Results A total of 67 patients were included for analysis. Presenting symptoms included dysuria (59/60, 98%), frequency (41/45, 91%), and urgency (27/27, 100%). Office urine dip was performed on 33 of 67 (49%) patients. Dips were positive for leukocytes (88%), blood (79%), and nitrites (18%). All patients in the study were prescribed antibiotics, most commonly nitrofurantoin (82%). Culture results were negative in 29 of 67 (43%). There were no significant differences in duration of symptoms, presenting symptoms, or urine dip results between patients with a negative UCx and those with a positive UCx. Conclusions In our study, we found a significant negative UCx rate in women with symptoms of uncomplicated UTI, representing a cohort of patients who were exposed to antibiotics unnecessarily. In addition, we found no difference in presenting symptoms or urine dip results to help distinguish patients with a positive UCx.
Theoretical studies of surface diffusion: Self-diffusion in the bcc (211) system

Abstract Surface self-diffusion in the bcc (211) system is studied using numerical molecular dynamics simulations. Calculations based on Lennard-Jones pair potentials extracted from fits to bulk thermodynamic data produce self-diffusion constants in excellent agreement with available experimental data. These same potentials have been shown previously to yield similar agreement with experimental self-diffusion data for the bcc (110) system.
Real-time and noninvasive detection of UV-Induced deep tissue damage using electrical tattoos.

Understanding longterm deep tissue damage caused by UV radiation is imperative for ensuring the health and safety of living organisms that are regularly exposed to radiation sources. While existing UV dosimeters can quantify the cumulative amount of radiation to which an organism is exposed, these sensors cannot reveal the presence and extent of internal tissue damage caused by such exposure. Here we describe a method that uses conducting polymer tattoos to detect UV radiation-induced deep tissue damage in living organisms using bioimpedance analysis (BIA), which allows for noninvasive, real-time measurements of body composition and point-of-care assessment of clinical condition. To establish a performance baseline for this method, we quantify the effects of UVA radiation on live plant leaves. Low-energy UVA waves penetrate further into biological tissue, as compared to UVB, UVC and ionizing radiation, and cause longlasting deep tissue damage that cannot be immediately and readily detected using surface-sensitive techniques, such as photogrammetry and epidermal sensors. We show that single-frequency bioimpedance analysis allows for sensitive, real-time monitoring of UVA damage: as UVA dose increases, the bioimpedance of a plant leaf measured at a frequency of 1 kHz linearly decreases until the extent of radiation damage saturates and the specimen is effectively necrotized. We establish a strong correlation between radiation fluence, internal biological damage and the bioimpedance signal measured using our conducting polymer tattoos, which supports the efficacy of our method as a new type of internal biodosimetry.
Low Cost Paper Based Electrochemical Sensing System

We present the development of a graphite-based sensor interfaced with a custom potentiostat circuit for electrochemical detection. Paper-based electrodes offer significant cost advantage compared to electrodes fabricated using standard clean room microfabrication techniques. The three-electrode system used in this paper does not use inks or pastes, and can be prepared easily by writing on chromatography paper with store-bought pencils. The electrode fabrication procedure is simple and uses widely available materials making them easy and usable for fabrication and use in remote areas and underdeveloped countries. The potentiostat is implemented using discrete electronics for the control amplifier and two versions of the transimpedance amplifier are presented. The system is characterized using cyclic voltammetry and amperometry. Along with a custom potentiostat, the system eliminates the need for benchtop devices and makes a system that is usable in remote and low resource locations.
Tumor-targeted oncolytic adenovirus demonstrates high cytotoxicity for human lung and renal cell carcinomas independently of the level of tumor PD-L1 expression.

3596Background: Immuno-checkpoint (IC) inhibitors targeting PD1-PD-L1 pathway have proven highly effective at extending survival of cancer patients. However, the clinical benefits of IC inhibitors ...
Biennial Upsurge and Molecular Epidemiology of Enterovirus D68 Infection in New York, USA, 2014 to 2018.

ABSTRACT Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) infection has been associated with outbreaks of severe respiratory illness and increased cases of nonpolio acute flaccid myelitis. The patterns of EV-D68 circulation and molecular epidemiology are not fully understood. In this study, nasopharyngeal (NP) specimens collected from patients in the Lower Hudson Valley, New York, from 2014 to 2018 were examined for rhinovirus/enterovirus (RhV/EV) by the FilmArray respiratory panel. Selected RhV/EV-positive NP specimens were analyzed using two EV-D68-specific real-time RT-PCR assays, Sanger sequencing and metatranscriptomic next-generation sequencing. A total of 2,398 NP specimens were examined. EV-D68 was detected in 348 patients with NP specimens collected in 2014 (n = 94), 2015 (n = 0), 2016 (n = 160), 2017 (n = 5), and 2018 (n = 89), demonstrating a biennial upsurge of EV-D68 infection in the study area. Ninety-one complete or nearly complete EV-D68 genome sequences were obtained. Genomic analysis of these EV-D68 strains revealed dynamics and evolution of circulating EV-D68 strains since 2014. The dominant EV-D68 strains causing the 2014 outbreak belonged to subclade B1, with a few belonging to subclade B2. New EV-D68 subclade B3 strains emerged in 2016 and continued in circulation in 2018. Clade D strains that are rarely detected in the United States also arose and spread in 2018. The establishment of distinct viral strains and their variable circulation patterns provide essential information for future surveillance, diagnosis, vaccine development, and prediction of EV-D68-associated disease prevalence and potential outbreaks.
Associational effects of plant ontogeny on damage by a specialist insect herbivore

Intraspecific variation in plant traits is a major cause of variation in herbivore feeding and performance. Plant defensive traits change as a plant grows, such that ontogeny may account for a substantial portion of intraspecific trait variation. We tested how the ontogenic stage of an individual plant, of an individual in the context of its neighboring plants, and of a patch of plants with mixed or uniform stages affect plant-herbivore interactions. To do this, we conducted an experimental study of the interactions between Lepidium draba, a perennial brassicaceous weed, and Plutella xylostella, a common herbivore of L. draba. We found that L. draba foliar glucosinolates, secondary metabolites often implicated in defense, decreased in concentration with plant age. In single-stage patches, herbivores performed similarly on L. draba plants of different ages. Furthermore, we found no difference in the cumulative performance of herbivores reared on mixed- or even-staged patches of L. draba. However, in mixed-stage patches, the damage experienced by a focal plant depended on the stage of neighboring plants, suggesting a preference hierarchy of the herbivore among plant stages. In our study, the amount of herbivory depended on the ontogenic neighborhood in which the plant grew. However, from the herbivore's perspective, variation in plant ontogenic stage was unimportant to its success in terms of feeding rate and final weight.
Non-expansive directions for ℤ2 actions

We show that any direction in the plane occurs as the unique non-expansive direction of a ℤ 2 action, answering a question of Boyle and Lind. In the case of rational directions, the subaction obtained is non-trivial. We also establish that a cellular automaton acting on a subshift can have zero Lyapunov exponents and at the same time act sensitively; and, more generally, for any positive real θ there is a cellular automaton acting on an appropriate subshift with λ + =− λ − = θ .
Bi-lateral Energy Resonant Converter (BERC) with Merged Two-Stage Inductor for 48-to-12V Applications

Resonant switched capacitor (ReSC) based converters are enticing with their high performance in high- and fixed-ratio applications, due to their efficient utilization of both active semiconductors and passive components. This paper proposes a bi-lateral energy resonant converter (BERC), that further improves the passive utilization by merging the inductors in two adjacent cascaded stages without additional components and switch stress; therefore, yielding simultaneously high efficiency and very compact size. The proposed BERC features a new current-type ReSC and comprises an interleaving technique that relocates the output inductor to the input for step-down applications, providing more design freedom when cascading multiple stages and allocating passive devices. To demonstrate the concept, a 48-to-12 V converter prototype, with a very small volume of 0.184 in3, is implemented. The prototype is tested up to 50 A, thus achieving an excellent power density of 3200 W/in3. Meanwhile, a peak efficiency of 98.9% is achieved by realizing a zero voltage switching (ZVS) technique designed for BERC.
Hyperspectral Band Selection Using Moth-Flame Metaheuristic Optimization

Metaheuristic optimization algorithms have been popular band selection methods in hyperspectral imaging (HSI) over the years due to their ability to find good solutions in reasonable time frames. Nature-inspired metaheuristics imitate processes in nature to determine solutions and should be investigated in detail stochastically. In this research, the authors propose to use moth-flame optimization (MFO), inspired by the flight of moths around artificial light sources for HSI band selection. The MFO algorithm explores a search space with moths as search agents that circle inwards logarithmically to a flame or artificial light. At every step, the best solution is updated until the exploration is complete. In this paper, a pilot study of MFO based band selection for Indian Pines HSI benchmark dataset is presented. The results of MFO are compared with particle swarm optimization (PSO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA). Preliminary results show that MFO is a promising strategy for HSI band selection when compared to PSO and GA.
Price Subsidies and the Demand for Automobile Insurance

This paper tests for regulation-induced adverse selection in the Massachusetts automobile insurance market during the regulated period 1990-2005. The paper demonstrates the application of the Poterba-Finkelstein (2014) unused-observables test for adverse selection in a regulated insurance market using group-level panel data. Differences between rates that incorporate state-mandated restrictions and those based on actuarial estimates provide data on the unused-observables needed for the test. Consistent with regulation-induced adverse selection, unused observables are statistically significant and positive in estimated models of both insurance purchases and loss costs. Robustness checks support the inference that higher-risk drivers account for the results.
Turtling the Salamander: Tail Movements Mitigate Need for Kinematic Limb Changes during Walking in Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) with Restricted Lateral Movement.

Lateral undulation and trunk flexibility offer performance benefits to maneuverability, stability, and stride length (via speed and distance traveled). These benefits make them key characteristics of the locomotion of tetrapods with sprawling posture, with the exception of turtles. Despite their bony carapace preventing lateral undulations, turtles are able to improve their locomotor performance by increasing stride length via greater limb protraction. The goal of this study was to quantify the effect of reduced lateral flexibility in a generalized sprawling tetrapod, the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum). We had two potential predictions: (1) either salamanders completely compensate by changing their limb kinematics, or (2) their performance (i.e., speed) will suffer due to the reduced lateral flexibility. This reduction was performed by artificially limiting trunk flexibility by attaching a 2-piece shell around the body between the pectoral and pelvic girdles. Adult tiger salamanders (n = 3; SVL = 9-14.5 cm) walked on a 1-m trackway under three different conditions: unrestricted, flexible shell (Tygon tubing), and rigid shell (PVC tubing). Trials were filmed in a single, dorsal view, and kinematics of entire midline and specific body regions (head, trunk, tail), as well as the fore and hind limbs, were calculated. Tygon individuals had significantly higher curvature than both PVC and unrestricted individuals for the body, but this trend was primarily driven by changes in tail movements. PVC individuals had significantly lower curvature in the trunk region compared with unrestricted individuals or Tygon; however, there was no difference between unrestricted and Tygon individuals suggesting the shells performed as expected. PVC and Tygon individuals had significantly higher curvature in the tails compared with unrestricted individuals. There were no significant differences for any limb kinematic variables among treatments including average, minimum, and maximum angles. Thus, salamanders respond to decreased lateral movement in their trunk by increasing movements in their tail, without changes in limb kinematics. These results suggest that tail undulations may be a more critical component to sprawling-postured tetrapod locomotion than previously recognized.