cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nontuberculous Mycobacteria: Community and Nosocomial Waterborne Opportunistic Pathogens

The nontuberculous mycobacteria are opportunistic water- and soilborne pathogens that include over 150 species. Though slow growing, they are the hardiest of bacteria, able to grow in drinking water and resistant to disinfectants, antibiotics, and heat. They are natural inhabitants of drinking water distribution systems and plumbing in houses, hospitals, condominiums, and apartments, commonly known as premise plumbing. Thus, humans are surrounded and continually exposed. Nontuberculous mycobacteria cause pulmonary and dermal infections in adults, cervical lymphadenitis in young children, and bacteremia in immunocompromised individuals. The frequency of pulmonary infections is 10/100,000, with the highest rates in persons older than 60 years (100/100,000). In addition to community-acquired infections, hospital-acquired infections are becoming increasingly prevalent, usually associated with surgery or injection. Multiple mycobacterial species or clones are common in pulmonary patients, necessitating isolation of multiple mycobacterial-like colonies from patient samples, as isolates from a single patient may belong to different species with different antibiotic susceptibilities. The reemergence of nontuberculous mycobacterial disease following successful antibiotic therapy is common.
Fundamental Requirements for Data Representations in Laser-Based Powder Bed Fusion

Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes intertwine aspects of many different engineering-related disciplines, such as material metrology, design, in-situ and off-line measurements, and controls. Due to the increasing complexity of AM systems and processes, data cannot be shared among heterogeneous systems because of a lack of a common vocabulary and data interoperability methods. This paper aims to address insufficiencies in laser-based Powder Bed Fusion (PBF), a specific AM process, data representations to improve data management and reuse in PBF. Our approach is to formally decompose the processes and align PBF process-specifics with information elements as fundamental requirements for representing process-related data. The paper defines the organization and flow of process information. After modeling selected PBF processes and sub-processes as activities, we discuss requirements for the development of more advanced process data models that provide common terminology and process knowledge for managing data from various stages in AM.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Trustworthy Digital Forensics in the Cloud

Digital forensics is used to help investigate cybercrime. Because of its characteristics and rapid adoption, the cloud requires its own form of forensics, which must be reliable. The authors have developed the Open Cloud Forensics (OCF) model and FECloud architecture, which would enable effective cloud forensics.
Potential role of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors in the treatment of atherosclerosis

Recent clinical data from the SOLVD (Studies on Left Ventricular Dysfunction) and SAVE (Survival and Ventricular Enlargement) studies have shown a significant reduction in ischaemic events with ACE inhibition. When the results of the two SOLVD and the SAVE trials were combined, the overall risk reduction in myocardial infarction with long-term ACE inhibitor treatment was 23% (P < 0.001) and the overall risk reduction for hospitalizations for unstable angina 15%. The time frame of the clinical effects suggests that ACE inhibitors may be working through an antiatherosclerotic mechanism, and genetic, epidemiological and mechanistic data suggest that the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system may play a role in the atherosclerotic process. Genetic and epidemiological evidence has shown that an activated renin-angiotensin aldosterone system is associated with a higher incidence of myocardial infarction, and mechanistic studies have demonstrated that ACE inhibition can produce antiatherosclerotic effects in animal models. The antiatherosclerotic effects of ACE inhibitors may be mediated at one of several steps in the atherosclerotic pathway: blocking plaque formation, plaque rupture, or thrombus formation.
Attractiveness of the Synthetic Carpenterworm Sex Attractant Increased by Isomeric Mixtures and Prolonged by Preservatives

In tests with isomeric mixtures, a 60:40 Z,E:E,E isomer ratio produced the highest mean catch of males. However, Z,E:E,E ratios of 90:10 to 30:70 also registered good catches, indicating that the active Z,E isomer of TDDA is synergized by adding (E,E)-TDDA. In trials of preservatives, traps baited with the attractant containing UOP-688/(Z,E)-TDDA at a 10:1 ratio caught significantly more carpenterworm moths than any other preservative/attractant combination. Sustane-6/(Z,E)-TDDA at a 20:1 ratio was 2nd best in capturing males and ratios from 10:1 to 100:1 also performed well in both degree of attractancy and longevity. Trioctanoin and olive oil performed poorly as preservatives.
Observations on Grylloblatta Campodeiformis Walker

Few modern insects have evoked greater interest or provoked more speculation than has the interesting Orthopteroid, Grylloblatta campodeiformis Walker. Since its discovery in the Canadian Rockies in 1913 by Dr. E. M. Walker, discussions rising to the intensity of controversies have punctuated our North American entomological literature.
Levels of Aggression in Fluctuating Populations of the Prairie Vole, Microtus ochrogaster, in Eastern Kansas

Levels of aggression, as seen through wounding, were examined throughout a density cycle of the prairie vole, Microtus ochrogaster , in eastern Kansas. Biweekly samples yielded 640 live-trapped voles for which reproductive and wounding assessments were made over a 23-mont:b period. At autopsy, the everted skin was examined for evidence of puncture wounds and scars caused by attacks from other small mammals. Wounds were graded by a wounding index and analyses performed by Chi-square tests. Levels of wounding were comparatively great in the winter season, in periods of intense reproduction, among males, and among adults. A model of population regulation based on the observed patterns of wounding is proposed.
Analysis of error resiliency of belief propagation in computer vision

Probabilistic inference is a versatile tool to solve a large variety of pixel-labeling problems in computer vision such as stereo matching and image denoising. Belief Propagation (BP) is an effective method for such inference tasks, and has also shown attractive error-resilience properties—the ability to converge to usable solutions in the presence of low-level hardware errors. This is of increasing interest, as the looming end of Moore's Law scaling brings with it a vast increase in the statistical variability of nanoscale circuit fabrics. In this work we seek to understand why certain combinations of BP and error-resilience mechanisms work so well in practice. We focus on Algorithmic Noise Tolerance (ANT) techniques for the resilience mechanisms, and Max-Product BP for inference. We analyze the error characteristics of BP in this hardware context, derive novel asymptotic error bounds, and provide theoretical reasoning to explain why ANT works well in this BP context. Experimental results from detailed resilient-BP simulations for various stereo matching tasks offer empirical support for this analysis.
Recent accelerated warming of the Laurentian Great Lakes: Physical drivers

The primary drivers of the recent accelerated warming of the Laurentian Great Lakes from 1982 to 2012 are explored through observations, remote sensing, and regional climate model experiments. The study focuses on the abrupt warming from 1997 to 1998 as a proxy for the long-term warming trend. The lake surface warming has been heterogeneous in both space and time, ranging from moderate warming in late spring over the southern lakes and shallow areas of the northern lakes to strong warming in mid-summer over the northern, deep lake areas. The greatest lake warming between 1997 and 1998 occurs over the deepest areas of Lake Superior during mid-summer, primarily arising from enhanced heat accumulation during the mild winter of 1997/1998 and amplified by greater incoming surface solar radiation and air temperature during the spring of 1998, according to model experiments. The mild winter condition, together with the increased solar radiation and air temperature during spring, causes an earlier onset of springtime stratification, resulting in enhanced heat absorption by surface water and thereby contributing to lake surface warming during the subsequent summer in 1998 compared with 1997. In contrast, the modest peak warming over southern lakes and shallow areas of northern lakes from 1997 to 1998 is a rapid response to synchronous increases in solar radiation and air temperature during May between the 2 yr. Changes in antecedent wintertime lake ice cover are found to have played only a minor role in the accelerated warming trend of the Laurentian Great Lakes.
Chapter 4 – Introduction to Retroviruses

This chapter reviews the fundamentals of retrovirus structure and replication, and provides the basic context to understand the biology of this agent. The focus is particularly on the most broadly conserved aspects of the life cycle. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is a lentivirus, a member of a subfamily of retroviruses with complex regulation of viral gene expression and replication. The retrovirus family is a large and diverse group of viruses found in all vertebrates. These viruses replicate through an extraordinary and unique life cycle, differentiating them sharply from other viruses. The virion particles generally contain a genomic RNA that is reverse transcribed into a DNA form of the genome that is integrated into the host chromosomal DNA. The integrated form of the viral DNA, the provirus, then serves as the template for the formation of viral RNAs and proteins that assemble progeny virions. These features of life cycle—especially the reverse flow of genetic information from RNA to DNA and the establishment of the DNA in an integrated form in the host genome—are the defining hallmarks of the retroviruses.
N-tert-butylmethanimine N-oxide is an efficient spin-trapping probe for EPR analysis of glutathione thiyl radical

The electron spin resonance (EPR) spin-trapping technique allows detection of radical species with nanosecond half-lives. This technique is based on the high rates of addition of radicals to nitrones or nitroso compounds (spin traps; STs). The paramagnetic nitroxides (spin-adducts) formed as a result of reactions between STs and radical species are relatively stable compounds whose EPR spectra represent "structural fingerprints" of the parent radical species. Herein we report a novel protocol for the synthesis of N-tert-butylmethanimine N-oxide (EBN), which is the simplest nitrone containing an α-H and a tertiary α'-C atom. We present EPR spin-trapping proof that: (i) EBN is an efficient probe for the analysis of glutathione thiyl radical (GS•); (ii) β-cyclodextrins increase the kinetic stability of the spin-adduct EBN/•SG; and (iii) in aqueous solutions, EBN does not react with superoxide anion radical (O2-•) to form EBN/•OOH to any significant extent. The data presented complement previous studies within the context of synthetic accessibility to EBN and efficient spin-trapping analysis of GS•.
Insecticide susceptibility screening against Culex and Aedes (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitoes from the United States.

Mosquitoes exposed to sublethal doses of insecticides may be selected for resistance to insecticide active ingredients (AIs). Mosquitoes are exposed to AIs through agricultural, public/private mosquito control programs, homeowners, and other sources. Hence, mosquito control programs should routinely measure the resistance/susceptibility status of mosquito populations of public health concern. The objectives here were to determine resistance status for six AIs used in adult mosquito control in the United States to assess how resistance/susceptibility differs between AI, mosquito species (states where > 1 species collected), and between years (some populations sampled for 2 yr). Field-collected eggs from 21 mosquito populations of six different species or hybrid species (Aedes albopictus Skuse [Diptera: Culicidae], Aedes aegypti L. [Diptera: Culicidae], Culex nigripalpus Theobald, Culex pipiens L. [Diptera: Culicidae], Culex quinquefasciatus Say [Diptera: Culicidae], Cx. pipiens/quinquefasciatus) were obtained. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bottle bioassays were used to assess the resistance/susceptibility status for six AIs (bifenthrin, deltamethrin, etofenprox, malathion, permethrin, and phenothrin). World Health Organization guidelines were used to classify mosquitoes as susceptible (98-100% mortality at diagnostic time [DT]), possibly resistant (80-97% mortality at DT), or resistant (<80% mortality at DT). Significant differences were observed in mosquito susceptibility/resistance between species and AIs. In states where both Aedes and Culex were collected, the odds of exhibiting resistance in Culex were 68-69 times higher than Aedes (Texas odds ratio: 69.30; 95% confidence interval: 5.86, 819.44; P = 0.001; North Carolina odds ratio: 67.99; 95% confidence interval: 15.21, 303.94; P < 0.0001). Some level of resistance was detected against all tested AIs in several mosquito populations and some varied between 2015 and 2016.
Re-Storying the Trauma Narrative: Fostering Posttraumatic Growth in Cambodian Refugee Women

The purpose of this article is to provide clinical recommendations in fostering positive well-being among Cambodian refugee women living in the United States. We first present a brief overview of C...
Detecting infrasound signals and sources with dense network data

New, massive, datasets can be used to examine atmospheric phenomena in more detail than before but require analytical methods that are both efficient and capable of extracting useful information from faint signals immersed in noise. We have developed the AELUMA (Automated Event Location Using a Mesh of Arrays) method that recasts any dense network of sensors as a distributed mesh of triangular arrays. Each array provides a local estimate of signal properties. This information from arrays across the network is combined to estimate the source origin time and location. The process is repeated without oversight to catalog events. A key challenge in attributing signals to their source occurs when a large number of signals are detected nearly concurrently from different sources. We apply a cluster (decision tree) analysis that takes the results of array processing at all arrays to iteratively parse out subsets of detections from distinct sources. We used recordings of infrasound signals made at an extensive network of sensors to build a catalog of infrasonic activity across the continental United States. The accuracy of AELUMA is assessed using events for which the origin time and location are well known. New, massive, datasets can be used to examine atmospheric phenomena in more detail than before but require analytical methods that are both efficient and capable of extracting useful information from faint signals immersed in noise. We have developed the AELUMA (Automated Event Location Using a Mesh of Arrays) method that recasts any dense network of sensors as a distributed mesh of triangular arrays. Each array provides a local estimate of signal properties. This information from arrays across the network is combined to estimate the source origin time and location. The process is repeated without oversight to catalog events. A key challenge in attributing signals to their source occurs when a large number of signals are detected nearly concurrently from different sources. We apply a cluster (decision tree) analysis that takes the results of array processing at all arrays to iteratively parse out subsets of detections from distinct sources. We used recordings of infrasound signals made at an extensive net...
The Use of Yoga, Meditation, Mantram, and Mindfulness to Enhance Coping in Veterans with PTSD

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is commonly diagnosed in veterans and can include a variety of debilitating symptoms including depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, anger, nightmares, flashbacks, and chronic pain. These symptoms can negatively impact many aspects of an individual's life and frequently result in decreased coping and overall quality of life. Recently, interventions using yoga, meditation, mantram, and mindfulness have been explored as avenues for improving symptoms of PTSD in this population.
Optimizing Phase Intervals for Phase-Coded SSVEP-Based BCIs With Template-Based Algorithm

Recent studies have shown that integrating individualized templates into a template-matching target identification method could significantly improve the performance of a steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain-computer interface (BCI). However, collecting the template (or calibration) data for each individual can be time-consuming and laborious. This issue can be alleviated by employing phase-coded visual stimuli because phase information could be discriminated by using templates synthesized from the template induced by a visual stimulus. Minimizing phase intervals between two adjacent visual stimuli could increase the number of stimuli without increasing the calibration cost. Nonetheless, no study has investigated the effects of the phase interval on the classification performance. This study compared the classification accuracy of SSVEPs with five different phase intervals (0.1 π, 0.2 π, 0.3 π, 0.4 π, and 0.5 π) using synthesized individual templates with task-related component analysis (TRCA)-based spatial filtering. From a public 12-class SSVEP dataset, phase-adjusted SSVEP data were created by adding time shifts according to the five phase intervals. The classification results showed that the accuracy was sufficiently high when the phase intervals were over 0.3 π, suggesting the use of up to six phase-shifted visual stimuli at a given frequency.
RF Near-Field Coupling System Using Reverse PDN and Considering Electromagnetic Effects

One of the more intriguing applications of wireless power transfer is power delivery for low-power Internet of Things (IoT) devices. By utilizing RF near-field coupling (NFC), an improved combination of small receiver coil area and system efficiency can be achieved, as is ideal for wireless charging for low-power IoT platforms. However, utilizing high efficiency RF NFC comes with a cost—various electromagnetic effects can lead to detuning of the resonant frequency if not properly modeled. In addition, integrating power regulation with high frequency ac–dc conversion can create large ripple voltage supply to a power distribution unit (PDU). This paper investigates the system level issues that arise in efficient, regulated RF NFC systems for milliwatt-scale output power. A method for modeling the various electromagnetic, frequency detuning effects is presented, as well as a selection process for the circuit component values in the design. Furthermore, a reverse power distribution network is designed to integrate the rectifier with a PDU, introducing a target impedance and phase considerations for an RF rectifier. The modeling and integration solutions are experimentally verified through two different RF NFC systems. The systems have measured peak efficiency of 68.4% at 3.3 V output and 58.6% for 1 V output with less than 100 mm $^2$ receiver coil area, demonstrating a unique combination of small coil area and high efficiency compared to other NFC systems to better support low-power IoT devices.
Angry Words: A Content Analysis of Emotion in Political Blogs and Op-Ed Columns

Since the Internet became widely available in the 1990s, scholars have studied the online discourse around public affairs and politics. Davis (1999, p. 162) studied political conversations on the now little-used Internet message board system Usenet and found what he calls “discussion dominance” in which posters “launch into rhetorical excess” and talk not to one another but past one another. Chait (2007), is his examination of the “netroots” movement, reported that bloggers avoid moderate ideas and language at all costs, seeing moderation as a concession. Johnson and Kay (2004) surveyed blog readers online and found that two-thirds wanted not fairness from blogs but bias that supports their views. Writers in both the popular press and academic journals have argued that political blogs have increased the rancor and divisiveness in public life. Keen (2007, p. 3) writes that blogs have “perfected” political extremism. Habermas (1999) believes that rational public discourse requires sincerity in a deliberative space, but Sunstein (2007) argues that the challenge to Habermas’ view is that blog readers who read primarily like-mind points of view are more extreme in their political stances. Utych (2011) found that readers of political blogs are more likely to hold extreme opinions than citizens who get their news from the traditional media. In a study of incivility in online media, Borah (2012) found that divisive rhetoric on political blogs could lead to polarization of attitudes and erode deliberative discourse. Over the past few years, scholars have begun to focus the language and rhetoric of American political discourse online. Sobieraj and Berry (2011), continuing a strain of research into incivility in American political life, had independent coders looks for incidents of “outrage” on cable TV, talk radio, political blogs and newspaper columns using 13 categories of outrage incidents, including “name calling,” “emotional display,” “mockery/sarcasm,” and “emotional language.” One hundred percent of TV episodes and 98.8% of talk radio programs contained outrage, while “only” 82.8% of blog posts incorporated outrage writing. Serfaty (2011) argues that political blogs thrive on strong emotions and that posts on these blogs are devised to arouse intense political emotion.
"All Smell is Disease": Miasma, Sensory Rhetoric, and the Sanitary-Bacteriologic of Visceral Public Health

In this essay, we interrogate the power of sensory rhetorics to craft what Jenell Johnson (2016) defines as a “visceral public”: a public bound by intense, shared feeling over a perceived threat of boundary violations. Specifically, we situate miasma—that environmental degeneracy produces bad smells carrying disease—as a historical disease etiology overtaken, but not fully displaced, by the insights of germ theory. This sanitary-bacteriological-synthesis is capable of constitutingvisceral publics so adeptly because germ theory’s explanatory power as a disease etiology continues to rely on the rhetoric of sight and smell as a set of publicly accessible sensory engagements. To illustrate the raced, classed, and gendered consequences of this sanitary-bacteriological-synthesis, we offer a comparative analysis of two images of disease capturing the public imagination: the early 20th century typhoid fever and the 2015–2016 Zika virus outbreak.
A Bridge to the Fridge? Changes in BMI Post Left Ventricular Assist Device Implant

Background Weight gain after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implant may result in transplant listing loss in obese patients. We studied weight changes post LVAD amid BMI categories based on the hypothesis that changes in BMI impact transplant candidacy. Methods We retrospectively reviewed patients of LVAD implant at an academic medical center between 1/1/2012 and 12/31/2018. We collected demographic and clinical data, then stratified them into 4 groups based on BMI at implantation: 40. BMI data was collected at 12 and 6 months prior to implant, time of implant, and post implant at 3 and 6 months. A BMI cutoff >35 provided contraindication for transplant listing candidacy. Descriptive summary of variables was given with median and range or group frequency and percentages or mean and standard deviation. Scatter plot visualized correlation between weight difference changes over time. Additional lines overlaid on the plots indicate correlation trend. Mixed effects model was performed to estimating associations between weight difference and variables (time, BMI Implant). Bar plots were performed displaying move from 35 BMI after 6 months post LVAD and the move from >35 BMI at the time of implant to Results A total of 108 patients underwent LVAD implant at our center with complete data available for 59 patients. Baseline characteristics included mean age: 56 ±11.9 years, gender (male 70%), mean implant BMI: 30.1 ±6.9 kg/m2. Number of patients in each implant BMI group ( 40) was 30, 16, 9, and 4 respectively. There was no consistent pattern with weight change across differing implant BMIs as illustrated in Figure 1. Among patients with implant BMI's of 40, the percentage that lost transplant candidacy due to high BMI were 0, 31, 55, and 100 percent respectively in Figure 2. Conclusion Patients with a BMI within 5 points of the typical threshold of 35 for transplant candidacy demonstrate significant variability in response to LVAD therapy. However, all patients with implant BMIs >40 failed to regain transplant candidacy due to high BMI. These data support the concept of implementing aggressive weight loss protocols as a standard of post LVAD treatment in obese patients.
Deep Learning Strategies for Differential Expansion Microscopy

Differential expansion microscopy (DiExM) achieves greater than 500-fold volumetric expansion of biological specimens without loss of cellular antigens. The anisotropic character of this expansion, which affects tissues, cells, organelles and even sub-organelle features, requires the application of novel machine learning approaches to extract accurate and meaningful morphological and biochemical information from DiExM images. Here we describe current strategies to achieve this goal.
Malicious nodes detection algorithm based on triangle module fusion operator in wireless sensor networks

The characteristics of wireless sensor networks and its deployment environment determine that wireless sensor networks is vulnerable to intrusion. In this paper, a malicious nodes detection algorithm based on triangle module fusion operator (MDTMO) is proposed for selective forwarding attack. The algorithm establishes the membership functions according to data packets that received and forwarded by the node, it uses the fusion method of triangle module operator to determine the suspected malicious node. Subsequently, the base station node detects the buffer occupancy and channel occupancy of the suspected malicious node to judge whether the network is in congestion. If the network quality is good, it is considered that the packets loss is due to the selective forwarding attack instead of congestion, so the node is judged to be a malicious node. The experimental results show that compared with the algorithm in [6], MDTMO has improved performance in both the malicious nodes detection rate and false positive rate.
Of Love and Papers: How Immigration Policy Affects Romance and Family

Of Love and Papers explores how immigration policies are fundamentally reshaping Latino families. Drawing on interviews with undocumented young adults, Enriquez investigates how immigration status creeps into the most personal aspects of everyday life, intersecting with gender to constrain dating, marriage, and parenting. She illustrates how the imprint of illegality remains, even upon obtaining DACA or permanent residency. Interweaving the perspectives of US citizen romantic partners and children, she exposes the multigenerational punishment that limits the upward mobility of Latino families. Of Love and Papers sparks an intimate understanding of contemporary US immigration policies and their enduring consequences for immigrant families. “By highlighting the ways US immigration policies shape the experiences of romantic love, intimacy, and family formation, Enriquez’s meticulous research calls attention to the enduring injurious effects on undocumented and DACAmented young adults, and on their citizen spouses and children. An innovative and sobering account of the far-reaching consequences of our punishing immigration policies. Timely and compelling.” PIERRETTE HONDAGNEU-SOTELO, Florence Everline Professor of Sociology, University of Southern California “In an engaging and methodologically rigorous narrative, Enriquez sheds novel light on the courtship and dating phase of family formation among undocumented and/or mixed status Mexican immigrant families. Undeniably, it will be of central interest to anyone who cares about immigrants and their families.” CECILIA MENJIVAR, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles LAURA E. ENRIQUEZ is Assistant Professor of Chicano/Latino Studies at the University of California, Irvine.
Effect of performance status on survival with pembrolizumab monotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

9533Background: Pembrolizumab (P) is now widely used as standard of care (SOC) in advanced NSCLC. We sought to identify prognostic factors influencing survival with it in a real-world setting. Meth...
Beyond genomics—technological advances improving the molecular characterization and precision treatment of heart failure

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a major cause of heart failure and cardiovascular mortality. In the past 20 years, there has been an overwhelming focus on developing therapeutics that target common downstream disease pathways thought to be involved in all forms of heart failure independent of the initial etiology. While this strategy is effective at the population level, individual responses vary tremendously and only approximately one third of patients receive benefit from modern heart failure treatments. In this perspective, we propose that DCM should be considered as a collection of diseases with a common phenotype of left ventricular dilation and systolic dysfunction rather than a single disease entity, and that mechanism-based classification of disease subtypes will revolutionize our understanding and clinical approach towards DCM. We discuss how these efforts are central to realizing the potential of precision medicine and how they are empowered by the development of new tools that allow investigators to strategically employ genomic and transcriptomic information. Finally, we outline an investigational strategy to (1) define DCM at the patient level, (2) develop new tools to model and mechanistically dissect subtypes of human heart failure, and (3) harness these insights for the development of precision therapeutics.
Trust: Recent concepts and evaluations in human-robot interaction

Abstract We present a survey of investigations of human trust in robots in the recent human-robot interaction literature. The included papers are all experimental HRI studies and were published in the years 2018 or 2019. We explore how trust is defined in these papers, as well as what types of questions about trust are investigated and how trust is being objectively measured. We divide trust into two categories, performance-based trust and relation-based trust, and examine how the definitions, questions, and measures fall into those two categories. We also examine how these two categories of trust line up across definition, question, and measure for a given paper. We found a conflation between performance-based trust and relation-based trust, and that while there is an interest in asking relation-based trust questions, there is a lack of objective means of measuring that trust. We offer recommendations for the formalization of trust, objective experimental paradigms, and trust-related questions to investigate.
Meteorological and Terrain Effects on RF Propagation

Both terrain profile and near-ground meteorological conditions can have significant effects on the propagation of Radio Frequency (RF) radiation, especially for near-ground propagation paths. High-resolution terrain data obtained from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and range-dependent gradient of the lower atmospheric refractive index calculated from near real-time weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were used as inputs to the Aerospace Radio Frequency Propagation Tool (APRT) propagation model. Field measurements show that the model using the near real-time weather data generates more accurate propagation loss predictions than the model using constant weather data.
Connected Dominating Set Enabled On-Demand Routing (CDS-OR) for Wireless Mesh Networks

In this letter, a connected dominating set based on-demand routing (CDS-OR) mechanism is proposed for wireless ad hoc networks. We argue that there exists a trade-off between CDS size and the amount of information exchanged for CDS formation in a fully distributed ad hoc network. Smaller CDS size is beneficial and essential in minimizing the routing cost, but the amount of information exchanged (via hello or topology control messages) for CDS formation adds significant traffic overhead to the network. The proposed CDS-OR protocol assures that the hello message sizes never exceed a small constant, and an increase in network size has no impact on the hello message sizes. At the same time, the proposed protocol yields a constant approximation to the minimum CDS (MCDS), while assuring network-wide reachability of broadcast messages. Extensive simulations against benchmark routing protocols reveal noticeable superiority of the proposed mechanism in terms of packet delivery ratio and routing cost.
Advancing integration of HIV, STD, and viral hepatitis services: state perspectives.

How can we advance the integration of prevention services in public health programs for adults at risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and viral hepatitis? From the perspective of the state acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) directors from the Florida and Hawaii Departments of Health (DOH), we describe principles of integration, identify potential benefits of and key barriers to integration, and recommend changes to advance integration.
Cell surface-binding sites for progesterone mediate calcium uptake in human sperm

Recent studies (e.g. Blackmore, P. F., Beebe, S. J., Danforth, D. R., and Alexander, N.) (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 1376-1380) have shown that in human sperm, progesterone produces a rapid increase in intracellular free calcium ([Ca2+]i) and an induction of the acrosome reaction (e.g. Osman, R. A., Andria, M. L., Jones, A. D., and Meizel, S. (1989) Biochem, Biophys. Res. Commun. 160, 828-833). In this study, the location of progesterone receptors on the cell surface of human sperm was identified using progesterone immobilized on bovine serum albumin (BSA) (progesterone 3-(O-carboxymethyl)oxime:BSA) as well as progesterone and its 3-O-carboxymethyloxime derivative. Using fluorescence microscopy, BSA-fluorescein isothiocyanate was shown to be excluded from intact sperm, thus validating the use of progesterone 3-(O-carboxymethyl)oxime:BSA to identify cell surface-binding sites for progesterone. The immobilized progesterone and the 3-O-carboxymethyloxime derivative rapidly increased [Ca2+]i and were full agonists, although they were approximately 1.5 orders of magnitude less potent than progesterone. They also displayed an identical time course to increase [Ca2+]i as free progesterone, and the entire increase in [Ca2+]i was due to the influx of Ca2+. This progesterone-mediated response displayed different steroid receptor characteristics since the very potent inhibitors of genomic progesterone responses, RU38486 and ZK98.299, were very ineffective at inhibiting the progesterone-mediated increase in [Ca2+]i. Also the synthetic progestins megestrol, medroxyprogesterone acetate, norgestrel, norethynodrel, norethindrone, R5020, and cyproterone acetate did not mimic the effects of progesterone to increase [Ca2+]i. It is proposed that a distinct nongenomic cell surface receptor for progesterone exists in human sperm.
α-Synuclein pathology accumulates in sacral spinal visceral sensory pathways.

Urinary urgency and frequency are common in α-synucleinopathies such as Parkinson’s Disease, Lewy Body Dementia and Multiple System Atrophy. These symptoms cannot be managed with dopamine therapy, and their underlying pathophysiology is unclear. We show that in individuals with Parkinson’s Disease, Lewy Body Dementia or Multiple System Atrophy α-synuclein pathology accumulates in the lateral collateral pathway, a region of the sacral spinal dorsal horn important for the relay of pelvic visceral afferents. Deposition of α-synuclein in this region may contribute to impaired micturition and/or constipation in Parkinson’s Disease and other α–synucleinopathies.
Friendship: Development in Childhood and Adolescence

Friendships are attachments between individuals marked by time spent with one another, shared interests, loyalty, trust, and other social reciprocities. Children expect to engage in different kinds of exchanges with their friends as they grow older. Social intimacy is a hallmark of friendships among older children and adolescents, but not younger children. These relationships are increasingly stable as children grow older. Friends are more similar to one another than nonfriends in gender, age, race, and certain behavioral characteristics. Having friends is a developmental advantage, but good prediction of developmental outcome also requires information about who a child's friends are, and the social and emotional qualities of their friendships.
Induction of regulatory alveolar macrophages in a biphasic model of house dust mite-induced asthma (HYP7P.279)

Alveolar macrophages (AMs) are among the first cells to encounter inhaled allergens. While pro-inflammatory AMs are known to enhance the severity of asthma, the role of regulatory (IL-10+TGF-β+) AMs in suppression of allergic inflammation is not well defined. To determine whether suppression of asthma is associated with an increase in regulatory AMs, Vert-X IL-10-eGFP mice (n=5-6 per group) were challenged daily with 2 or 11 wks intranasal (i.n.) house dust mite (HDM). We have established that acute (2 wk) HDM exposure induces hallmarks of allergic inflammation whereas chronic (11 wk) exposure promotes tolerance to HDM. Tolerant (11 wk) mice exhibited a 2-fold increase in frequency and number of AMs when compared to diseased (2 wk) mice (p<0.001). AMs isolated from 11 wk mice produced higher amounts of IL-10 than 2 wk AMs, as demonstrated by a significant increase in frequency of GFP+ AMs and in mean fluorescence intensity of GFP (p<0.001). AMs from 11 wk mice also exhibited a 3-fold increase in TGF-β production (p<0.06) and a 2-fold decrease in MHC-II expression (p<0.05) when compared to AMs from 2 wk mice, indicating conversion to a regulatory phenotype. Moreover, the appearance of regulatory AMs in 11 wk mice was associated with a decrease in pro-inflammatory AM populations (p<0.01). These findings suggest that skewing of AMs towards a regulatory phenotype may be of critical importance to the generation of immunological tolerance against chronically inhaled allergens.
The Changing International Status of Export Cartel Exemptions

In an attempt to create more consistently pro-competitive antitrust policies, many countries have eliminated or restricted antitrust exemptions for firms engaged in export activity. Of the fifty-six countries surveyed, we find only seventeen which offer exporters an exemption from domestic antitrust laws. Thirty-three countries provide no exemption from antitrust laws for export activity, but exempt such activity implicitly: their competition laws are silent on restrictive activities that affect foreign markets. Within the last decade, at least ten countries have rewritten their laws, moving from explicit exemptions to this more passive policy of speaking only to the domestic market. However, the construction of national antitrust laws that ban only activity that harms domestic competition leaves a vacuum in which export cartels can operate with no obvious institution to restrict their activities or limit adverse effects on competition. The elimination of reporting requirements has reduced the information that we have about their activities. International cooperation to regulate and prosecute collusive activity affecting international markets could rationalize these policies and promote competition more effectively than the current haphazard set of national laws.
Chemotherapy-induced hypersensitivity reactions.

Purpose/objectives To assist clinical nurses in understanding the complex nature of chemotherapy-induced hypersensitivity reactions as well as effectively preventing or managing these reactions. Data sources Published articles and abstracts, pertinent book chapters, computerized databases. Data synthesis Most available chemotherapy drugs can cause hypersensitivity reactions, but certain drug groups frequently are associated with these reactions (e.g., asparaginases, taxanes, platinum compounds, epipodophyllotoxins). Preventing hypersensitivity reactions is the primary goal; however, understanding the principles of managing these reactions is critical because hypersensitivity reactions can occur despite using appropriate prevention strategies. Conclusions Chemotherapy-induced hypersensitivity reactions are potentially life-threatening. Nurses working with chemotherapy drugs must understand which drugs are associated with a high risk of causing hypersensitivity reactions and must be prepared to attempt to prevent or manage reactions. Implications for nursing The potentially life-threatening nature of hypersensitivity reactions to chemotherapy requires that nurses have a plan to manage them. This may include a written policy on staff education and training, appropriate equipment, and medications.
Cost of Power Plant Effluent Standards

This paper summarizes results from a study to explore thermal pollution abatement possibilities for proposed steam electric generating units, and to develop methods for deriving approximate estimates of associated abatement costs. A procedure for developing functional relations between minimum abatement costs and degrees of effluent control, defined in terms of effluent flow rate and temperature, is presented. This procedure yields estimates of the costs of meeting alternative standards on effluent flow rate and temperature. Results of case study applications on fossil-fuel and nuclear generating units serve to clarify the description of the procedure and demonstrate its feasibility. The case study applications also demonstrate the importance of considering modifications in both the steam cycle and the cooling system in developing cost estimates. The integration of the cost-estimating procedure with temperature prediction models in establishing thermal quality standards is also examined.
Development of type transfer functions for regional‐scale nonpoint source groundwater vulnerability assessments

[1] Groundwater vulnerability assessments of nonpoint source agrochemical contamination at regional scales are either qualitative in nature or require prohibitively costly computational efforts. By contrast, the type transfer function (TTF) modeling approach for vadose zone pesticide leaching presented here estimates solute concentrations at a depth of interest, only uses available soil survey, climatic, and irrigation information, and requires minimal computational cost for application. TTFs are soil texture based travel time probability density functions that describe a characteristic leaching behavior for soil profiles with similar soil hydraulic properties. Seven sets of TTFs, representing different levels of upscaling, were developed for six loam soil textural classes with the aid of simulated breakthrough curves from synthetic data sets. For each TTF set, TTFs were determined from a group or subgroup of breakthrough curves for each soil texture by identifying the effective parameters of the function that described the average leaching behavior of the group. The grouping of the breakthrough curves was based on the TTF index, a measure of the magnitude of the peak concentration, the peak arrival time, and the concentration spread. Comparison to process-based simulations show that the TTFs perform well with respect to mass balance, concentration magnitude, and the timing of concentration peaks. Sets of TTFs based on individual soil textures perform better for all the evaluation criteria than sets that span all textures. As prediction accuracy and computational cost increase with the number of TTFs in a set, the selection of a TTF set is determined by a given application.
Reliability of two-dimensional and three-dimensional pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling perfusion MRI in elderly populations: comparison with 15O-water positron emission tomography.

Author(s): Kilroy, Emily; Apostolova, Liana; Liu, Collin; Yan, Lirong; Ringman, John; Wang, Danny JJ | Abstract: PurposeTo investigate the reliability and accuracy of two pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) sequences, using two-dimensional (2D) gradient-echo echo planar imaging (EPI) and 3D gradient and spin echo (GRASE) as the readout, respectively.Materials and methodsEach sequence was performed twice 4 weeks apart on six normal control subjects, six elderly subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and one participant with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Eight of these subjects also underwent H2 (15) O positron emission tomography (PET) scans on the same day or proximal to their second MRI scan. The longitudinal repeatability of EPI and GRASE pCASL were evaluated with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and within-subject coefficient of variation (wsCV).ResultsThe ICCs of global perfusion measurements were 0.697 and 0.413 for GRASE and EPI based pCASL respectively. GRASE pCASL also demonstrated a higher longitudinal repeatability for regional perfusion measurements across 24 regions-of-interests (ICC = 0.707; wsCV = 10.9%) compared with EPI pCASL (ICC = 0.362; wsCV = 15.3%). When compared with PET, EPI pCASL showed a higher degree of spatial correlation with PET than GRASE pCASL, although the difference was not statistically significant.ConclusionThe 3D GRASE pCASL offers better repeatability than 2D EPI pCASL, thereby may provide a reliable imaging marker for the evaluation of disease progression and treatment effects in MCI and early AD subjects.
There's no place like WormBase: an indispensable resource for Caenorhabditis elegans researchers

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is used extensively by scientists to study a wide variety of biological processes and is one of the most thoroughly characterized animals. Over the years, the community of C. elegans researchers has generated a wealth of information on the genetics, development, behaviour, and cellular and molecular biology of the worm. This body of data has grown even larger with the recent application of high throughput screening methodology to study gene function, expression and interactions. WormBase (http://www.wormbase.org) is the primary online source of biological data on C. elegans and related nematodes. Equipped with an assortment of powerful search tools, WormBase allows users to quickly extract a variety of information, including data on individual genes, DNA sequence, cell lineage and literature citations. As the database is well maintained and the functionalities constantly modified in response to evolving researcher needs, WormBase has become a vital component of the laboratories studying the worm and a model for other biological databases.
A multiresolution framework for dynamic deformations

We present a novel framework for the dynamic simulation of elastic deformable solids. Our approach combines classical finite element methodology with a multiresolution subdivision framework in order to produce fast, easy to use, and realistic animations. We represent deformations using a hierarchical basis constructed using volumetric subdivision. The subdivision framework provides topological flexibility and the hierarchical basis allows the simulation to add detail where it is needed. Since volumetric parameterization is difficult for complex models, we support the embedding of objects in domains that are easier to parameterize.