cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pathological laughter and crying in patients with multiple system atrophy‐cerebellar type

In the cerebellar type of multiple system atrophy (MSA-C), the burden of pathological changes involves the cerebellum and its associated brainstem structures in the basis pontis and the inferior olivary nucleus, and as a result, the clinical phenotype is dominated early on by the cerebellar dysfunction. We report our clinical and post mortem findings in a patient with MSA-C who exhibited pathological laughter in the absence of any congruent changes of mood. A review of the clinical notes of 27 other patients with MSA-C revealed a problem with pathological laughter, or crying, or both in 9 more patients. Our finding of about 36% occurrence suggests that the problem of dysregulation of emotional expression is more prevalent in MSA-C than the paucity of reports in the literature suggests. Our findings are consistent with the view that the cerebellum and its interconnected structures may be involved in the regulation of emotional expression.
Predictive ability of childhood metabolic components for adult metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

Objective To estimate sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) during childhood for MetS and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in adulthood. Study design Data from 3 major studies—the Fels Longitudinal Study, the Muscatine Study, and the Princeton Follow-up Study—were combined to examine how thresholds of metabolic components during childhood determine adult MetS and T2D. Available metabolic components examined in the 1789 subjects included high-density lipoprotein, triglyceride levels, glucose, and percentiles for body mass index, waist circumference, triglycerides, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for a refined set of component threshold values were examined individually and in combination. Results Sensitivity and positive predictive values remained low for adult MetS and T2D for individual components. However, specificity and negative predictive values were fairly high for MetS and exceptionally so for T2D. In combination, having 1 or more of the components showed the highest sensitivity over any individual component and high negative predictive value. Overall, specificity and negative predictive values remained high whether considering individual or combined components for T2D. Conclusions Sensitivity and positive predictive values on the basis of childhood measures remained relatively low, but specificity and negative predictive values were consistently higher, especially for T2D. This indicates that these components, when examined during childhood, may provide a useful screening approach to identifying children not at risk so that further attention can be focused on those who may be in need of future intervention.
The fabrication of nonplanar spin-on glass microstructures

This paper presents a new application of spin-on glass to fabricate nonplanar dielectric structures (channel plate microstructures) with aspect ratios (i.e., ratio of channel length to channel width) of 20:1. A variety of microchannel geometries have been fabricated. The LIGA process is used to make nickel molds up to 150 /spl mu/m in height with mechanically planarized surfaces. Spin-on glass (SOG) is applied to obtain glass structures in nickel molds. A multiple dispensing/drying/curing process was developed resulting in crack-free SOG structures. Reverse electroplating is used to remove the nickel mold and release the glass structures. The resulting freestanding glass microchannel plates (>100 /spl mu/m in height) demonstrated good electrical properties (400-V//spl mu/m breakdown voltage) and good spatial definition.
Emergence of metastatic hormone-refractory disease in prostate cancer after anti-androgen therapy.

The anti-androgens used in prostate cancer therapy have been designed to interfere with the normal androgen receptor (AR)-mediated processes that ensure prostate cell survival, triggering tumor cells to undergo programmed cell death. While anti-androgens were originally designed to treat advanced disease, they have recently been used to debulk organ-confined prostate tumors, to improve positive margins prior to surgery, and for chemoprevention in patients at high risk for prostate cancer. However, tumors treated with anti-androgens frequently become hormone refractory and acquire a more aggressive phenotype. Progression toward metastatic hormone-refractory disease has often been regarded as the outgrowth of a small number of hormone-independent cells that emerge from a hormone-dependent tumor during anti-androgen treatment by natural selection. While a number of selective advantages have recently been identified, there is also considerable evidence suggesting that the progression toward metastatic hormone-refractory disease is an dynamic process which involves abrogation of programmed cell death as a result of the attenuation of DNA fragmentation and maintenance of mitochondrial membrane potential in tumor cells; the upregulation of stromal-mediated growth factor signaling pathways; and the upregulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) protease expression. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Practitioners’ web use and perceptions of their own roles and power: a qualitative study

Abstract Four focus group discussions with 35 practitioners were guided by theory about roles from public relations literature and power from strategic management literature to explore how World Wide Web use is related to practitioners’ perceptions of their own status and decision-making power. The web has become essential to public relations. Practitioners use the web extensively for research and evaluation, two-way communication, productivity and efficiency, issues management, and other applications. All four types of practitioners’ power, according to Finkelstein’s [Acad. Manage. J. 35 (3) (1992) 505–538] taxonomy—structural, expert, prestige and ownership—were enhanced by web use. Because, the web is such a great equalizer, web use may contribute to the blurring of practitioners’ roles.
Throughput analysis in automotive paint shops: a case study

In this paper, an overlapping decomposition method is used to estimate the throughput of a production system with multiple rework loops. The idea of the method is to decompose the system into a couple of serial lines and modify the parameters of overlapping machines to accommodate the effects of other lines. Using this method, the throughput of an automotive paint shop is analyzed and continuous improvement procedures are described. Note to Practitioners-Painting is an important element of vehicle production. A paint shop has been a system bottleneck in many automotive assembly plants due to its complexity. Fast and accurate analysis of its system throughput is important for design and continuous improvements. This paper introduces an iterative method to analyze the performance of paint shop type production systems, i.e., systems with multiple rework loops. The method has obtained good results in both theoretical study and applications on the factory floor. In addition, a case study at an automotive paint shop is introduced and continuous improvements process to identify and eliminate system bottlenecks is described. The presented method can also be applied to other production systems with similar structures.
Coronary disease surveillance: a public heath imperative.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in the Western world, thereby constituting an immense public health problem. While CHD mortality declined in the last four decades, the use of age-adjusted rates to describe CHD mortality obscures the fact that the decline largely represents the postponement of CHD deaths until older age. In fact, the burden of CHD is increasing in parallel with the increase in life expectancy.1 As the burden of prevalent CHD is increasing, identifying persons with CHD, measuring its incidence and outcome and how these vary over time and across populations is essential to understand the determinants of the trends in CHD. This in turn is crucial to define the relative contributions of risk factor reduction and therapeutic improvements, which is necessary to design effective interventions to reduce CHD. The monitoring (otherwise termed surveillance) of CHD requires several conditions. The availability of a defined population is indispensable to generate incidence rates, and valid definitions that actually measure the intended event are essential. The definitions should be standardized to enable reliable data collection and comparisons across studies. The definitions should also be relatively immune to temporal changes so that time trends in the occurrence of CHD can be appraised. Despite their apparent simplicity, these requirements are rarely met. Indeed, hospital discharges, while constituting an intuitive indicator of the occurrence of CHD, are event based, not person based, and allow for multiple hospitalizations for the same individual to be counted. The diagnoses are not standardized such that they may reflect different entities depending on care delivery patterns, themselves depending on insurance coverage, medical practice habits, etc. As they do not differentiate between first and subsequent admission for a given condition, hospital discharges cannot measure incidence. Finally, shifts in discharge … Corresponding author. Tel: +1 507 284 0519; fax: +1 507 266 0228. E-mail address: roger.veronique{at}mayo.edu
Numerical Analysis of Spaceborne Mesh Reflector Antennas: Extended PO and Periodic MoM Based Approach

Numerical analysis methods of mesh reflector antennas incorporating RF characteristics of the mesh surface are required for accurate performance prediction of mesh reflector antennas. In this paper, the periodic method of moments (MoM), which uses Rao, Wilton, and Glisson (RWG) basis and testing functions, is applied and combined with the extended physical optics (PO) to simulate the mesh surface with complex wire structures. All the analyses are performed at the frequency of 20 GHz for future application of mesh reflector antennas for satellite communications antennas in the Ka-band
“Once Upon a Time” Reconsidered The Developmental Dialectic between Function and Form

This article traces the evolution of “Once upon a time” in a child's classroom story writing, drawing upon data collected in a three-year study of writing development in an urban magnet school. The developmental literature on young children's literacy has treated story language as a set of structural routines that children learn from being read to, routines that serve the function of representing imaginary worlds. In contrast, this article assumes that stories are cultural discourse forms that serve multiple functions and that to internalize those forms, children must transform them into tools that are functional within their own social world. Moreover, children's discourse forms and functions are in a dialectical relationships: The initially awkward forms children produce may have limited social meaning—but those forms may elicit social responses that embue them with new functional possibilities and thus lead children to further grappling with forms. In brief, the story forms young children learn from ot...
Low-frequency arterial pressure fluctuations do not reflect sympathetic outflow: gender and age differences

Low-frequency arterial pressure oscillations (Mayer waves) have been proposed as an index of vascular sympathetic outflow. However, cross-sectional differences in these pressure oscillations may no...
Crust: A Bounded Verifier for Rust (N)

Rust is a modern systems language that provides guaranteed memory safety through static analysis. However, Rust includes an escape hatch in the form of "unsafe code," which the compiler assumes to be memory safe and to preserve crucial pointer aliasing invariants. Unsafe code appears in many data structure implementations and other essential libraries, and bugs in this code can lead to memory safety violations in parts of the program that the compiler otherwise proved safe. We present CRUST, a tool combining exhaustive test generation and bounded model checking to detect memory safety errors, as well as violations of Rust's pointer aliasing invariants within unsafe library code. CRUST requires no programmer annotations, only an indication of the modules to check. We evaluate CRUST on data structures from the Rust standard library. It detects memory safety bugs that arose during the library's development and remained undetected for several months.
The Depreciation of Precedent on the U.S. Supreme Court

An enduring piece of legal wisdom contends both that the value of court opinions depreciates as they age and that a variety of factors lead some cases to depreciate faster than others. We systematically test these expectations by examining the rate at which U.S. Supreme Court precedents depreciate between the 1946 and 2004 Terms. Our statistical results indicate, first, that a precedent’s age has the most pronounced influence of any variable on depreciation, and, second, that almost none of the other factors appreciably affect depreciation. There is only one exception to this latter conclusion, and the “history” of a case, as observed through the patterns in previous case citations, influences depreciation. But, even the strength of that relationship substantially depends on the age of a case. Third, we show studies overestimate the effect of nearly every variable previously used to explain case citations because those variables become less influential as cases age
A Review of “Paradosso terrestre”

If one had to quickly characterize Francesco Ciabattoni's first book of verses, the words that come to mind are “alliteration” and “paronomasia” (as Alessandro Carrera, in his preface, points out),...
The Training of Agricultural Economists in the USSR

This article is an account of the authors' visits to certain institutions in Moscow, Leningrad, and Kiev which train agricultural economists. The similarity of the agricultural academy to the A and M type of institution in the U.S. is noted. Undergraduate course requirements at Timiryazev Agricultural Academy are presented and a description is given of graduate programs and procedures for obtaining thesis approval. Several typical thesis topics are mentioned along with comments on use of research techniques.
Ultra-fast all-optical modulator using nano-waveguide embedded in high pressure buffer gas

We propose implementation of an ultra-fast, low power all-optical modulator at telecommunication wavelength via interaction of evanescent light field around a silicon nitride nano waveguide with Rubidium vapor under high pressure buffer gas.
Walking like a Man

SlutWalk marches have emerged to protest the blaming of women for their own sexual assault. Sociologists Kristen Barber and Kelsy Kretschmer consider the different ways men participate in SlutWalk, and how their participation at times both supports and undermines the feminist goals of the event.
Knowledge and influential factors of AIDS among migrant workers in Shaoxing County

Objective To learn about the knowledge on AIDS among migrant workers in Shaoxing county,and to provide evidence for health education.Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted among 260 migrant workers and 359 urban dwellers in Shaoxing county,selected by cluster sampling.Results The knowledge of non-transmission and transmission by blood of AIDS among migrant workers was lower than urban dwellers.Knowledge of migrant workers was 61.2 percent and lower than urban dwellers(71.3 percent),with a significant difference between them.The level of knowledge on AIDS of urban dwellers was 1.579 times than migrant workers and the main influential factors of knowledge among migrant workers were sex,degree and age based on Logistic regression.Conclusion Migrant workers have some knowledge about AIDS,but still have some misunderstandings.It is necessary to strengthen the its publicity and education among migrant workers.
Into the Twenty-first Century: Clinton and Beyond, 1993-Future

By 1992, the world as a whole seemed a much better, safer place than just a few years earlier: the Soviet empire, Warsaw Pact, and communism had crumbled; world trade and investments expanded steadily; more countries acquired or strengthened democratic governments; Washington and Moscow signed significant nuclear and conventional arms reduction treaties; international treaties were signed to combat environmental crises like the greenhouse effect, loss of biodiversity, and ozone depletion that threaten to eventually destroy the planet.
Preparing Future Faculty Symposium: The Socratic Portfolio - A Guide for Future Faculty

The apprentice relationship graduate students share with faculty mentors is founded on dialogue and collaboration. Under this faculty tutelage, graduate students learn to perform teaching, research, and service inform a faculty career. The Socratic portfolio, introduced and described in this essay, provides a tool and a method to facilitate and document the faculty-graduate student apprenticeship. The Socratic portfolio process encourages graduate students and faculty to engage in a conversation about faculty roles and responsibilities, while addressing and developing graduate students' goals and objectives. The resulting inquiry-based portfolio is, at its heart, a response to the Socratic adage, “Know thyself.”
News from NSLS-II

At NSLS-II, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility located at Brookhaven National Laboratory, there have been many significant developments in the areas of user operations and commissioning in the past year.
Mixed-signal VLSI layout design automation tool for transition region generation

This paper presents a smart “free and easy” solution to tackle the analog to digital transition region construction for our mixed-signal VLSI layout design. This analog to digital transition region is a must have VLSI layout drawing when the transition is happened from the area which is fully distributed with wide analog polysilicon gate (analog poly) to area which is distributed with narrow digital polysilicon gate (digital poly). In actual microprocessor layout design work, making an analog to digital transition region ring was used to be a painful and time consuming process due to big amount of analog IP (AIP) custom layout. The layout design rule for transition region is just too complex for layout designer to build it correct by construction. A smart ANALOGPOLY ID layer based method is applied where the method is capable to auto screen through the layout which is covered by the ANALOGPOLY ID layer and places in the appropriate transition cells which is grabbed from the special analog standard library cells. In this case, the correct number of transition cell is able to be placed in, as well as a corrected by construction transition region is generated. Our results illustrate that overall performance has been improved by at least 2×. The flow has eliminated all kind of manual works just with a click of button. The application of this flow is not only limited to one transition region generation but can be applied to many transition region generation in one layout design. Also it is capable to build the transition region in nonrectangular shape rather than only rectangular.
Rotoroa Island: building a designed ecosystem for conservation education, training and visitor engagement

Wildlife populations around the world are declining and becoming increasingly fragmented, and management efforts to support them have become more intensive. This means that the delineation between extensive wildlife-management systems (e.g. in national parks or large wildlife reserves) and intensive systems (e.g. zoos and aquariums) is becoming increasingly blurred. Furthermore, attitudes about how people fit into a traditional conservation or ecosystem-restoration framework are being challenged. In partnership with the Rotoroa Island Trust, Auckland Zoo in New Zealand is delivering a project on Rotoroa Island, which is located in the Hauraki Gulf. The aim of this project is to contribute to the conservation of wildlife, through education, training and visitor-engagement activities. To this end, Auckland Zoo has translocated seven native species to the Island, all selected to demonstrate a range of techniques across the spectrum of intensive and extensive wildlife-management systems. The creation of a designed ecosystem, primarily directed towards servicing education and training programmes, is unique in New Zealand. This project also aims to demonstrate an ecosystem where human intervention is integral to enabling higher levels of biodiversity in the available area than would otherwise be possible. At the time of writing the Rotoroa Wildlife Management and Translocation Plan 2013–2038 is being used to work towards the translocation of an additional 13 species to Rotoroa Island, which would expand the number of techniques and management systems that could be demonstrated to visitors.
A new competitive ratio for network applications with hard performance guarantees

Network applications in highly mobile systems need to employ online algorithms that do not rely on precise predictions about future events. In order to meet hard performance guarantees in the presence of unknown future events, common practice is to add redundancy to the systems. In this paper, we define a new competitive ratio that reflects the amount of redundancy needed to ensure some given performance guarantees. We study two special applications, namely, online job allocations in cloud computing and online scheduling in delayed mobile offloading, and propose online algorithms for each of them. We prove that our algorithms are optimal. By comparing our algorithms with commonly used other policies, we also show that our policies need much less redundancy than those commonly used policies to provide the same degree of performance guarantees.
[172-POS]: Comparative expression profiling of endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 2 and human leukocyte antigen-C expression in choriocarcinoma cell lines

Objectives Proper regulation of human leukocyte antigen-C (HLA-C) expression on trophoblast cells is essential for the immunological privilege of these cells. Endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 2 (ERAP2) is known to trim antigenic peptide precursors for loading onto HLA. Altered expression of the ERAP2 could play a critical role in shaping HLA-C expression and antigen presentation, but their relationships have not been defined. Methods We examined the genotype and expression levels of ERAP2 and HLA-C in several choriocarcinoma cell lines (BeWo, JAr, and JEG-3) by allelic discrimination qPCR, Western blotting and immunocytochemistry. Additionally, expression profiling of untreated versus gamma-interferon (IFN- γ , 20 ng/ml)-treated cells was performed. Lastly, to determine if there is a relationship between ERAP2 and HLA-C expression levels, transfection of major and minor allele ERAP2 variants was performed. Results JAr cells were homozygous for the rs2248374 minor A allele, and express ERAP2 protein. BeWo and JEG-3 cells are homozygous for ERAP2 genetic variant (major G allele of SNP rs2248374) that causes non-sense mediated RNA decay, and thus lack ERAP2 protein expression. Interestingly, BeWo and JEG-3 cells express HLA-C, whereas, JAr cells do not. IFN- γ treatment of BeWo and JEG-3 cells increased HLA-C expression by 2-fold ( p = 0.0037) and 3-fold ( p = 0.0446) above control levels, respectively, but ERAP2 remained undetectable. In contrast, JAr cells treated with IFN- γ had increased ERAP2 protein expression by 2-fold ( p = 0.003), but had no effect on HLA-C expression. Transfection of JEG-3 cells (ERAP2 null) with ERAP2 plasmids with the SNP rs2549782, encoding an amino acid substitution (N392K) that alters substrate specificities and antigen presentation, revealed that the different ERAP2 isoforms do not affect the expression level of HLA-C. Conclusions Our observations suggest that the expression patterns of ERAP2 and HLA-C allow choriocarcinoma cells to escape immune surveillance. Disclosures E.D. Lee: None. S. Brockett: None. D. Hilliard: None. M.E. Teves: None. R. Ramus: None. J.F. Strauss: None.
Spirit and the Obligation of Social Flesh: A Secular Theology for the Global City: Sharon V. Betcher (New York: Fordham University Press, 2014). x + 302 pp. Paper, $35.00, ISBN: 0-8232-5391-3.

The book under review is a sequel to the author's Spirit and the Politics of Disablement (2007)—see the book review in Journal of Religion, Disability & Health (Yong, 2008)—and extends the argument...
Novel superhard nanopolycrystalline materials synthesized by direct conversion sintering under high pressure and high temperature

Single-phase (binderless) superhard nanopolycrystalline diamond and cubic boron nitride (cBN) consisting of fine grains of several tens of nanometers without any secondary phases or binder materials have been developed. These nanopolycrystalline materials are synthesized by direct conversion sintering under ultrahigh pressure and high temperature with optimized and precisely controlled starting materials and synthesis conditions. Their hardness surpasses that of single crystals and conventional sintered compacts and is free from the characteristic cleavage and anisotropy of single crystals. They are especially promising materials for next-generation high-precision, high-efficiency cutting tools and wear-resistant tools. The nanopolycrystalline diamond has excellent potential for precision cutting of nonferrous hard materials, including cemented carbide and hard ceramics, as does the nanopolycrystalline cBN for cutting ferrous hard metals.
Recurrent chylothorax: a clinical mystery.

Chylothorax is an unusual cause of pleural effusion, typically caused by trauma or malignancy. Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinaemia (WM) is a clinicopathological entity demonstrating lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma in the bone marrow with an IgM monoclonal gammopathy in the blood. Recurrent chylous effusions are often resistant to conservative treatment and may require surgical intervention. We present a unique case of a 50-year-old woman with recurrent chylothorax secondary to WM that completely resolved with ibrutinib therapy. To our knowledge, this is the eighth such case reported in literature and the first case of successful resolution of chylothorax with monoclonal antibody therapy.
Towards Machine Equivalent Consciousness

Alan Turing’s fundamental inquiry asking “Can Machines think?” has given rise to a wide variety of contrasting approaches to building intelligent machines. Thinking requires that a computer must know what it processes and form conscious about meaningful concepts based on which subjective mental activities (e.g. seeing, knowing, learning, judging, evaluating, deciding, reasoning, etc.) can be carried on. However, a modern computer runs trillions of operations per second and is capable of performing complex computation, but still lack self-awareness—a basic element for thinking. So, how can a machine gain conscious awareness from bits of electronic signals it processes? This article explores whether generating self-awareness is possible through a mechanical procedure. Specifically, we examine patterns of human perception to identify a) what happens in the course of receiving external information and what the outputs that each sense produces are; b) how such outputs are bound into a meaningful concept; and c) the nature of self-awareness. Our research suggests that conscious awareness is a perceived pattern of physical energy. We show that the process of gaining awareness can be simulated and mechanized.
Functional Evaluation of the Heart by Transesophageal Echocardiography

The noninvasive echocardiographic evaluation of ventricular performance is an essential tool in the clinician’s assessment and management of children and adults with congenital heart disease (CHD). However the unique anatomic and physiologic features in these patients, which include nonstandard ventricular geometries as well as variable loading conditions, can make the quantitative assessment of ventricular function challenging, particularly by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Newer echocardiographic methods are enabling more accurate and quantitative evaluation of ventricular performance, both by the transthoracic as well as the transesophageal approach. This chapter discusses the current applications of TEE in the evaluation of ventricular function in patients with CHD.
Diversity of WD-Repeat proteins

The WD-repeat-containing proteins form a very large family that is diverse in both its function and domain structure. Within all these proteins the WD-repeat domains are thought to have two common features: the domain folds into a beta propeller; and the domains form a platform without any catalytic activity on which multiple protein complexes assemble reversibly. The fact that these proteins play such key roles in the formation of protein-protein complexes in nearly all the major pathways and organelles unique to eukaryotic cells has two important implications. It supports both their ancient and proto eukaryotic origins and supports a likely association with many genetic diseases.
Overview of IEPM-BW-Bandwidth Testing of Bulk Data Transfer

Grid Computing capabilities are needed for the High Energy and Nuclear Physics research of today and in the future. Groups such as the Particle Physics Data Grid are developing tools to meet these needs. An additional challenge is the evaluation and fine tuning of these applications, as well as support for long term monitoring, performance analysis, and troubleshooting. In September 2001, SLAC started the development of an infrastructure for measuring the available bandwidth and actual bandwidth utilization that is achievable by the network and various bulk data transfer applications. The purpose of these active and passive measurements is to understand what throughputs are achievable, the constraints, and how to optimize, and to make the data and predictions available for net-workers and application tuning. This paper discusses the measurement methodology and pathologies, analysis, results, and avenues for future development.
Elucidation of Chemical Species and Reactivity at Methylammonium Lead Iodide and Cesium Tin Bromide Perovskite Surfaces via Orthogonal Reaction Chemistry

We quantified the chemical species present at and reactivity of the (100) face of tetrahedral single-crystal methylammonium lead iodide, MAPbI3(100), and polycrystalline cesium tin bromide, CsSnBr3. For these ABX3 perovskites, experiments utilized the orthogonal reactivity of the A+-site cation, the B2+-site cation, and the X–-site halide anion. Ambient pressure exposure to BF3 solutions probed the reactivity of interfacial halides. Reactions with p-trifluoromethylanilinium chloride probed the exchange reactivity of the A+-site cation. A complex-forming ligand, 4,4′-bis(trifluoromethyl)-2,2′-bipyridine, probed for interfacial B2+-site cations. Fluorine features in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) quantified reaction outcomes for each solution-phase species. XPS revealed adsorption of BF3, indicating surface-available halide anions on both MAPbI3(100) and on CsSnBr3. Temperature-programmed desorption quantified a ∼200 kJ mol–1 desorption activation energy from MAPbI3(100) and a ∼215 kJ mol–1 desorpti...
Symmetry-protected localized states at defects in non-Hermitian systems

Understanding how local potentials affect system eigenmodes is crucial for experimental studies of nontrivial bulk topology. Recent studies have discovered many exotic and highly nontrivial topological states in non-Hermitian systems. As such, it would be interesting to see how non-Hermitian systems respond to local perturbations. In this work we consider chiral and particle-hole-symmetric non-Hermitian systems on a bipartite lattice, including the Su-Schrieer-Heeger model and photonic graphene, and find that a disordered local potential could induce bound states evolving from the bulk. When the local potential on a single site becomes infinite, which renders a lattice vacancy, chiral-symmetry-protected zero-energy mode and particle-hole-symmetry-protected bound states with purely imaginary eigenvalues emerge near the vacancy. These modes are robust against any symmetry-preserved perturbations. Our work generalizes the symmetry-protected localized states to non-Hermitian systems.
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)diet in chronic kidney disease: should we embrace it?

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet lowers blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk. In this issue, Banerjee et al. report that the DASH diet is associated with lower risk of end-stage kidney disease in individuals with stage 3 chronic kidney disease and hypertension. This association was particulary strong among those with diabetes. The DASH diet may have an important role in preventing end-stage kidney disease in select individuals with chronic kidney disease.
Modulation of the North Atlantic deoxygenation by the slowdown of the nutrient stream

Abstract. Western boundary currents act as transport pathways for nutrient-rich waters from low to high latitudes (nutrient streams) and are responsible for maintaining midlatitude and high-latitude productivity in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. This study investigates the centennial oxygen ( O2 ) and nutrient changes over the Northern Hemisphere in the context of the projected warming and general weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in a subset of Earth system models included in the CMIP5 catalogue. In all models examined, the Atlantic warms faster than the Pacific Ocean, resulting in a greater basin-scale solubility decrease. However, this thermodynamic tendency is compensated by changes in the biologically driven O2 consumption which dominates the overall O2 budget. These changes are linked to the slowdown of the nutrient stream in this basin, in response to the AMOC weakening. The North Atlantic resists the warming-induced deoxygenation due to the weakened biological carbon export and remineralization, leading to higher O2 levels. Conversely, the projected nutrient stream and macronutrient inventory in the North Pacific remain nearly unchanged.
It from Bit from It from Bit ... Nature and Nonlinear Logic

For the last decade I have been demonstrating that many of the so-called paradoxes generated by the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics have less puzzling analogs in nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory. This raises questions about the possibility of nonlinearities inherent in the foundations of quantum theory. Since most of us do not think intuitively with nonlinear logic, I take this opportunity to dwell on several peculiarities of nonlinear dynamics and chaos: nonlinear logic itself and the possible connection of infinite nonlinear regressions with free will. Superficially, nonlinear dynamics can be every bit as counterintuitive as quantum theory; yet, its apparent paradoxes are more amenable to logical analysis. As a result, using nonlinear dynamics to resolve quantum paradoxes winds up being more straightforward than many of the alternative interpretations currently being formulated to replace the orthodox interpretation. Chaos theory could be a candidate for bridging the gap between the determinism so dear to Einstein and the statistical interpretation of the Copenhagen School: For deterministic chaos is indeed deterministic; however, intrinsic limitations on precision in measuring initial conditions necessitate analyzing it statistically. Einstein and Bohr both could have been correct in their debates.
RF Energy Harvesting Wireless Communications: RF Environment, Device Hardware and Practical Issues

Radio frequency (RF) based wireless power transfer provides an attractive solution to extend the lifetime of power-constrained wireless sensor networks. Through harvesting RF energy from surrounding environments or dedicated energy sources, low-power wireless devices can be self-sustaining and environment-friendly. These features make the RF energy harvesting wireless communication (RF-EHWC) technique attractive to a wide range of applications. The objective of this article is to investigate the latest research activities on the practical RF-EHWC design. The distribution of RF energy in the real environment, the hardware design of RF-EHWC devices and the practical issues in the implementation of RF-EHWC networks are discussed. At the end of this article, we introduce several interesting applications that exploit the RF-EHWC technology to provide smart healthcare services for animals, wirelessly charge the wearable devices, and implement 5G-assisted RF-EHWC.
Assessing Teacher Beliefs Regarding Research-Based Practices to Improve Services for GT Students.

This study examined teacher beliefs regarding research-based practices in gifted education and how these beliefs or other barriers influenced the implementation of practices in their classroom. An ...
Books on demand: Just-in-time acquisitions

The Purdue University Libraries Interlibrary Loan unit proposed a pilot project to purchase patrons' loan requests from Amazon. com, lend them to the patrons, and then add the titles to the collection. Staff analyzed previous monograph loans, developed ordering criteria, implemented the proposal as a pilot project for six months, and evaluated the resulting patron comments, statistics, and staff perceptions. As a result of enthusiastic patron comments and a review of the project statistics, the program was extended.
Sequential Prediction for Large-Scale Traffic Incident Duration: Application and Comparison of Survival Models

A quick and accurate traffic incident duration prediction could greatly facilitate traffic incident management. However, at the very early stage of an incident, limited information is available for...
Systematic Review of English Early Literacy Interventions for Children Who Are Dual Language Learners

Children who are dual language learners (DLLs) often have more difficulty acquiring English early literacy skills than their English monolingual peers. Much remains to be learned about efficacious ...
Examining contextual and relational factors influencing perceptions of societal and interpersonal mattering among rural youth

Researchers have shown that interpersonal and societal mattering have important implications for adolescent development. Yet, few researchers have focused on what predicts mattering, particularly societal mattering, and even fewer have studied mattering among rural youth. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore how perceived contextual and relationship factors affect rural youths' perceptions of societal and interpersonal mattering. Participants for this study were 381 middle school youth from two rural school districts in Michigan. Using structural equation modeling, we found that more positive perceptions regarding opportunities for youth involvement, availability of community resources, student input in decision-making at school, and support for autonomy at school were associated with greater perceptions of societal mattering. In addition, greater support from friends, higher quality parent-child communication, and more parental involvement were associated with a greater sense of interpersonal mattering. This study identifies important relational and contextual factors that can be enhanced in an effort to foster greater perceptions of interpersonal and societal mattering among rural youth, and ultimately help us to promote positive youth development.
Adolescent EVALI in the Delaware Valley: A Report of 9 Cases

Introduction: E-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (EVALI) is an increasing concern in pediatrics due to a sharp uptick in use of nicotine and cannabis-containing products and an influx of respiratory related hospitalizations first noted in June 2019. There are few published reports describing the clinical features, co-morbidities, severity of disease and outcomes of treatment in adolescents. This report describes the experience of a single tertiary care children’s hospital in the Delaware Valley and reviews data from all patients diagnosed with EVALI from July 2019 to January …
Pull-Out Response of a Laboratory-Scale Energy Pile Subjected to Cooling Cycles

AbstractDuring winter, energy piles are subjected to cooling cycles due to the cyclic operation of the ground source heat pump (GSHP). The cyclic operation of the heat pump causes the energy pile t...
Cell-free DNA Profiling Informs Major Complications of Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) provides effective treatment for hematologic malignancies and immune disorders. Monitoring of post-transplant complications is critical, yet current diagnostic options are limited. Here, we show that cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in blood is a highly versatile analyte for monitoring of the most important complications that occur after HCT: graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a frequent immune complication of HCT; infection; relapse of underlying disease; and graft failure. We demonstrate that these different therapeutic complications can be informed from a single assay, low-coverage bisulfite sequencing of cfDNA, followed by disease-specific bioinformatic analyses. To inform GVHD, we profile cfDNA methylation marks to trace the cfDNA tissues-of-origin and to quantify tissue-specific injury. To inform on infections, we implement metagenomic cfDNA profiling. To inform cancer relapse, we implement analyses of tumor-specific genomic aberrations. Finally, to detect graft failure we quantify the proportion of donor and recipient specific cfDNA. We applied this assay to 170 plasma samples collected from 27 HCT recipients at predetermined time points before and after allogeneic HCT. We found that the abundance of solid-organ derived cfDNA in the blood at one-month after HCT is an early predictor of acute graft-versus-host disease (area under the curve, 0.88). Metagenomic profiling of cfDNA revealed the frequent occurrence of viral reactivation in this patient population. The fraction of donor specific cfDNA was indicative of cell chimerism, relapse and remission, and the fraction of tumor specific cfDNA was informative of cancer relapse. This proof-of-principle study shows that cfDNA has the potential to improve the care of allogeneic HCT recipients by enabling earlier detection and better prediction of the complex array of complications that occur after HCT.
Alcohol and Neurodegeneration

Strong association between alcohol abuse and an increase in both systemic and brain levels is evident from both humans and animal models. This chapter comprehensively reviews the interplay between progression of neuroinflammation and neurological disorders initiated by alcohol abuse. Recent observations of excitotoxicity associated with excessive neurotransmitter release, oxidative stress leading to free radical damage, and cell death through an enhanced inflammatory response provide important clues to the mechanisms that could mediate alcohol’s toxic effects on brain cells. Chronic alcoholics have the temporal hallmark of neurocognitive deficits, neuronal injury, and neurodegeneration. Studies suggest that the initiation and progression of alcohol-mediated neurodegeneration is driven in part by release of pro-inflammatory factors from activated microglia, oxidative stress, impairment of blood–brain barrier (BBB), and glutamate-associated neurotoxicity. Recent observation of strong associations between cannabinoid systems within the central nervous system in regulating neuroinflammation via the cannabinoid receptor 2 highlights the importance of this pathway in alcohol-driven neuroinflammation. Regulatory mechanisms that regulate alcohol-induced neuroinflammation, oxidative neuronal injury, and altered BBB are examined, as well as modalities to ameliorate these processes are discussed.
Genetic Algorithms for Inversion of Ultrasonic Data for the Elastic Constants Measurement in Orthotropic Material Systems

Fiber reinforced composite materials have been used in many structural applications varying from swimming pool diving boards to advanced aerospace components. The primary advantage of composites includes a high stiffness to weight ratio which in the past has come at an increased cost. Continued improvements in the development of cost effective manufacturing methods and development of low cost fibers and resin materials have increased the use of composites in infra-structural applications such as buildings, and bridges. As fiber reinforced composites become more widely used, the need for a reliable method to nondestructively characterize the material stiffness properties and identify material defects is becoming critical for ensuring a reliable level of performance.
Response to Comment on “Inflammasome Activation of IL-18 Results in Endothelial Progenitor Cell Dysfunction in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus”

We thank Drs. Duan et al. for their comments and for summarizing the observations of several of our recent publications that focus on the putative roles of type I IFNs in the development of premature cardiovascular damage in systemic lupus erythematosus. We agree with them that additional studies
Rat phenol sulfotransferase: Assay procedure, developmental changes, and glucocorticoid regulation

Abstract Phenol sulfotransferase (PST) catalyzes the sulfate conjugation of phenolic monoamines and phenolic drugs. It has been difficult to measure PST activity in tissue homogenates accurately because of the presence of potent endogenous PST inhibitors. Optimal conditions were determined for the assay of rat PST in very dilute tissue homogenates. These conditions negated the effects of endogenous enzyme inhibitors. Apparent K m values for 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol, the sulfate acceptor substrate used, were 0.15, 0.14, and 0.02 mM for liver, kidney, and brain homogenates respectively. Apparent K m values in the same tissues for 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-pnosphosulfate, the sulfate donor, were 0.11, 0.07, and 0.07 μM respectively. Rat PST activity expressed per mg protein increased 6.3-fold in the liver, 6.6-fold in the brain, and did not change in the kidney between birth and 10 weeks of age. There was a 5-fold increase in kidney PST activity in both adrenalectomized and sham-operated Sprague-Dawley rats after treatment with dexamethasone (7 μmoles/kg daily for 3 days). Brain enzyme activity was unchanged and liver PST activity increased only 41% during 72 hr of daily treatment with dexamethasone. Basal enzyme activities in all three tissues were no different in adrenalectomized and sham-operated animals. The increase in rat kidney PST activity in response to dexamethasone was dose dependent, and treatment of animals with cycloheximide, a protein synthesis inhibitor, blocked the elevation of kidney PST activity after dexamethasone. Treatment of eight inbred and two outbred rat strains with dexamethasone resulted in striking increases in renal PST, smaller increases in liver PST, and no changes in brain enzyme activity in all ten strains.
Cytomegalovirus Infections in Non-immunocompromised Critically III Patients

Patients with a prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay represent 5.6 % of ICU admissions and 39.7 % of ICU bed-days [1]. Based on these incidence rates, it would be useful to identify risk factors associated with prolonged ICU and hospital stays to help guide the delivery of ICU care. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection could be one of the markers for this subgroup of more critically ill patients. CMV is well recognized as an important pathogen in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) [2], and in solid organ [3] and hematopoetic stem-cell [4] transplant recipients. The direct (end-organ disease) and the indirect (allograft rejection, atherosclerosis, CMV-induced immunosuppression with increased risk of post-transplant lymphoprolipherative disorders and secondary bacterial and fungal infections) effects of CMV infection are well described in immunocompromised hosts [3, 5, 6].