cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A simulation-based investigation of a dynamic advanced traveler information system

Traffic congestion is a source of significant economic and social costs in urban areas. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are a promising means to help alleviate congestion by utilizing advanced sensing, computing, and communication technologies. This paper investigates a basic ITS framework - Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) - using wireless vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-roadside communication and assuming an ideal communication environment. Utilizing an off-the-shelf microscopic simulation model this paper explores both a centralized (CA) and decentralized (DCA) ATIS architecture. Results of this study indicate that an ATIS using wireless communication can save travel time given varying combinations of system characteristics: traffic flow, communication radio range, and penetration ratio. Challenges are also noted in relying solely on instrumented vehicle data in an ATIS implementation.
The development of the Body Morph Assessment version 2.0 (BMA 2.0): tests of reliability and validity.

This study tested the psychometric characteristics of the Body Morph Assessment version 2.0 (BMA 2.0). A sample of 563 adults composed of four groups classified by gender and ethnicity (Caucasian men and women and African-American men and women) were studied. Support for the internal consistency and test–retest reliability of the BMA 2.0 was found for both men and women. A study of convergent validity was conducted. The BMA 2.0 was found to have adequate reliability and validity. Norms were established for the BMA 2.0 estimates of current body size (CBS), ideal body size (IBS), and acceptable body size (ABS) for Caucasian and African-American men and women. In summary, the BMA 2.0 is a reliable and valid computerized measure of CBS, IBS, ABS, the CBS–IBS discrepancy (body dissatisfaction), and provides an estimate of over/underestimation of body size as compared to individuals of the same sex and body mass index.
A thermodynamically general theory for convective vortices

Convective vortices are common features of atmospheres that absorb lower-entropy-energy at higher temperatures than they reject higher-entropy-energy to space. These vortices range from small to large-scale and play an important role in the vertical transport of heat, momentum, and tracer species. Thus, the development of theoretical models for convective vortices is important to our understanding of some of the basic features of planetary atmospheres. The heat engine framework is a useful tool for studying convective vortices. However, current theories assume that convective vortices are reversible heat engines. Since there are questions about how reversible real atmospheric heat engines are, their usefulness for studying real atmospheric vortices is somewhat controversial. In order to reduce this problem, a theory for convective vortices that includes irreversible processes is proposed. The paper's main result is that the proposed theory provides an expression for the pressure drop along streamlines that includes the effects of irreversible processes. It is shown that a simplified version of this expression is a generalization of Bernoulli's equation to convective circulations. It is speculated that the proposed theory not only explains the intensity, but also sheds light on other basic features of convective vortices such as their physical appearance.
Does Public Access Computing Really Contribute to Community Development? Lessons from Libraries, Telecenters and Cybercafés in Colombia

The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) can contribute to local community development and help connect local communities to global issues. Public access computing (PAC) venues such as telecenters, public libraries and cybercafes make ICT more broadly available and extend the benefits of ICT to underserved populations. This paper discusses findings from a study of the contribution of PAC to community development in Colombia, with particular attention to the town of Carmen de Bolivar. This town has a strong tradition of community organization for social development, and a long history of violence that has shaped its social fabric. While the introduction of PAC may not have contributed significantly to community development, use of ICT gives the local population a sense of belonging to a larger, global community, which in turn may help local activities in support of community development. We conclude that personal friendships and entertainment are perceived as stronger benefits of PAC, not community development or social transformation. Future research can explore if personal friendships and entertainment can be indirect contributors to community development.
Quantitative framework for ordered degradation of APC/C substrates

During cell-cycle progression, substrates of a single master regulatory enzyme can be modified in a specific order. Here, we used experimental and computational approaches to dissect the quantitative mechanisms underlying the ordered degradation of the substrates of the ubiquitin ligase APC/CCdc20, a key regulator of chromosome segregation in mitosis. We show experimentally that the rate of catalysis varies with different substrates of APC/CCdc20. Using a computational model based on multi-step ubiquitination, we then show how changes in the interaction between a single substrate and APC/CCdc20 can alter the timing of degradation onset relative to APC/CCdc20 activation, while ensuring a fast degradation rate. Degradation timing and dynamics depend on substrate affinity for the enzyme as well as the catalytic rate at which the substrate is modified. When two substrates share the same pool of APC/CCdc20, their relative enzyme affinities and rates of catalysis influence the partitioning of APC/CCdc20 among substrates, resulting in substrate competition. Depending on how APC/CCdc20 is partitioned among its substrates, competition can have minor or major effects on the degradation of certain substrates. We show experimentally that increased expression of the early APC/CCdc20 substrate Clb5 does not delay the degradation of the later substrate securin, arguing against a role for competition with Clb5 in establishing securin degradation timing. The degradation timing of APC/CCdc20 substrates depends on the multi-step nature of ubiquitination, differences in substrate-APC/CCdc20 interactions, and competition among substrates. Our studies provide a conceptual framework for understanding how ordered modification can be established among substrates of the same regulatory enzyme, and facilitate our understanding of how precise temporal control is achieved by a small number of master regulators to ensure a successful cell division cycle.
Quality of drug treatment of childhood persistent asthma in Maryland medicaid recipients in transition from managed fee for service to managed capitation.

BACKGROUND: From December 1991 to June 1997, approximately 80% of Marylands' Medicaid recipients were served through a fee-for-service (FFS) managed care delivery system in which assigned primary care providers served as gatekeepers for hospital and specialty services. The remaining 20% of recipients were voluntarily enrolled in 1 of 5 available health maintenance organizations (HMOs). Beginning in June 1997, Maryland required most Medicaid recipients to enroll in capitated managed care organizations (MCOs), also referred to as managed Medicaid plans. Although research has been conducted on the quality of asthma care among MCOs and in MCOs for Medicaid versus non-Medicaid members, the quality of asthma care has been less well studied for MCO patients than for FFS patients. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether quality of drug use among Medicaid children with persistent asthma was different after the transition from the managed care FFS system to a capitated managed Medicaid system. METHODS: This 4-year retrospe...
Towards Efficient Spectrum Utilization with Polarization-Based Architectures

Space-polarization MIMO architectures are proposed as a contributing technology to advance efficient spectrum utilization. These architectures have the advantage of leveraging both space and polarization channel correlations, opening the door to diversities and to the effective application of technologies at both the transmit side and the receive side to support spectrum efficiency and sharing. In this paper the authors review some of their work associated with polarization and space-polarization architectures, including channel modeling, sounding and parameter estimation to assist in the development of frequency-selective parametric models for performance characterizations; wideband polarimetric signal suppression; adaptive transmission for interference avoidance; and linear precoding with adaptive power control for energy-efficient communications in packet erasure channels.
Synthesis of an optically switchable salicylaldimine substituted naphthopyran for selective and reversible Cu2+ recognition in aqueous solution

A light controlled reversible switch for copper ion was synthesized by substituting photochromic naphthopyran with a salicylaldimine moiety. The naphthopyran based photoreversible receptor was characterized using IR, NMR, HRMS and single crystal X-ray crystallographic techniques. The photochromic properties of the receptor under light irradiation were investigated by UV-visible spectroscopy. The affinity towards transition metal ions in both closed and open forms were determined. The open form of the receptor displayed an increased affinity towards copper ions. A 3.25 × 104 fold difference in binding affinity for copper ions between the closed and open forms in aqueous methanol solution suggested that the receptor can act as a selective photoswitch for copper ions. Theoretical investigations at the molecular level supported the experimental observations.
Phenotypic developmental plasticity induced by preincubation egg storage in chicken embryos (Gallus gallus domesticus)

The developing chicken blastoderm can be temporarily maintained in dormancy below physiological zero temperature. However, prolonged preincubation egg storage impairs normal morphological and physiological development of embryos in a potential example of fetal programming (in this case, “embryonic programming”). We investigated how preincubation egg storage conditions (temperature, duration, hypoxia, and hypercapnia) affects viability, body mass, and physiological variables and functions in day 15 chicken embryos. Embryo viability was impaired in eggs stored for 2 and 3 weeks, with the effects greater at 22°C compared to 15°C. However, embryo size was reduced in eggs stored at 15°C compared with 22°C. Phenotypic change resulting from embryonic programming was evident in the fact that preincubation storage at 15°C diminished hematocrit (Hct), red blood cell concentration ([RBC]), and hemoglobin concentration ([Hb]). Storage duration at 15°C more severely affected the time course (2, 6, and 24 h) responses of Hct, [RBC], and [Hb] to progressive hypoxia and hypercapnia induced by submersion compared with storage duration at 22°C. The time‐specific regulation of acid–base balance was changed progressively with storage duration at both 22 and 15°C preincubation storages. Consequently, preincubation egg storage at 22°C resulted in poor viability compared with eggs stored at 15°C, but size and physiological functions of embryos in eggs stored for 1–2 weeks were worse in eggs stored in the cooler than stored under room conditions. Avian eggs thus prove to be useful for examining developmental consequences to physiology of altered preincubation thermal environment in very early stages of development (embryonic programming).
Management of bleeding complications after bariatric surgery

RESULTS: Overall, 1532 patients underwent either LRYGB or LSG. Twenty-nine patients (2%) had a bleeding complication. All of the bleeding complications occurred after LRYGB; one patient underwent a concurrent Nissen fundoplication takedown. Twenty patients (62%) with bleeding complications required a transfusion, and 8 (28%) were taken back to the OR for re-exploration during their index hospitalization. Seven patients were readmitted for bleeding complications at a median of 9 days (range 2e15) postoperative. Location of bleeds included the gastrojejunostomy (n1⁄44), jejunojejunostomy (n1⁄42), port sites (n1⁄42), and staple line (n1⁄45). The site of bleeding was not determined in 2 patients. Thirteen (45%) patients were transfused for acute blood loss anemia. In 2004, we revised our anticoagulant from enoxaparin to heparin. This change resulted in decreased rates of bleeding complications, from 6% (14/239) to 1% (14/1293). There were no 30-day mortalities.
Benign Odontogenic Tumors: Origins, Immunophenotypic Features, and Genetic Alterations

Odontogenic tumors are lesions derived from the epithelial and/or mesenchymal elements of the tooth-forming apparatus and are therefore found within the jaw bone or soft tissue overlying teeth. These tooth development-associated tumors are generally benign, but several odontogenic tumors are capable of aggressive growth and locally invasive behavior with a high rate of recurrence. Benign odontogenic tumors can pose diagnostic challenges because of overlapping histology, a lack of distinct phenotypic and molecular features, and an unclear pathogenesis of the tumors. In this article, we will review the possible origins, immunophenotypic features, and genetic alterations of the common benign odontogenic tumors.
Ion-Beam-Assisted Deposition

The beneficial roles energetic ions play in thin film vacuum processes have long been recognized by the vacuum coating community. Optical coaters were among the first to adopt the process in the form of concurrent, low energy, directed ion beam bombardment of physical vapor deposition [electron beam] coatings for producing dense, adherent, robust, and environmentally resistant optical coatings. The international research and development community has also been actively pursuing the study of ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) for both studying the mechanisms of ion/solid interactions during thin film growth as well as for developing coating protocols for specific application areas, including: tribological coatings, anti-corrosion coatings, optical coatings, superconducting buffer layers and coatings for temperature sensitive substrates such as polymers. This paper will review selected areas of this active field and will attempt to identify emerging application areas.
Headache: differentiating among the types, use of imaging, and medication overuse headache.

Gary A. L’Europa MD, FASH  wHat CliniCal findings are Most useful for differentiating aMong tHe various types of HeadaCHes? When asked to comment on this topic I immediately thought of the advice that Seymour Diamond, founder of the Diamond Headache Center and the godfather of headache gave to his daughter Merl when she succeeded him as director, “Merl, it’s all migraine.” About 90% of all the patients that we see at The Headache Center are diagnosed with probable Medication Overuse Headache (Analgesic Rebound) on their first visit. Once they are successfully treated, their underlying headache disorder is usually migraine or a combination of migraine and tension type headache. In a primary care setting, the vast majority of patients you will see with headache have migraine. As in all of medicine the history remains the key to diagnosis, however with primary headaches the history is the only means for diagnosis. There were no accepted ways to diagnose migraine until 1988 when The International Headache Society developed a classification of headache with criteria to diagnose each headache. There are 14 categories that are divided into 3 groups: Primary, Secondary and Cranial Neuralgias. Primary headaches are those that exist independent from any other medical condition. Secondary headaches are those caused by another medical disorder. Even the members of the classification committee cannot remember all the criteria however in clinical practice it is helpful to know the criteria for migraine. The diagnostic criteria for migraine are as follows:
Associations of urinary phthalate and phenol biomarkers with menarche in a multiethnic cohort of young girls

To study potential environmental influences on puberty in girls, we investigated urinary biomarkers in relation to age at menarche. Phenols and phthalates were measured at baseline (6-8 years of age). Menarche was ascertained over 11 years for 1051 girls with menarche and biomarkers. Hazards ratios were estimated from Cox models adjusted for race/ethnicity and caregiver education (aHR, 95% confidence intervals [CI] for 5th vs 1st quintile urinary biomarker concentrations). 2,5-Dichlorophenol was associated with earlier menarche (aHR 1.34 [1.06-1.71]); enterolactone was associated with later menarche (aHR 0.82 [0.66-1.03]), as was mono-3-carboxypropyl phthalate (MCPP) (aHR 0.73 [0.59-0.91]); the three p-trends were <0.05. Menarche differed by 4-7 months across this range. Enterolactone and MCPP associations were stronger in girls with below-median body mass index. These analytes were also associated with age at breast development in this cohort. Findings from this prospective study suggest that some childhood exposures are associated with pubertal timing.
To Emigrate or Not to Emigrate: A Sociocultural Understanding of Mexican Professionals’ Logic of (Im)mobility

Languishing labor market conditions throughout Latin America, along with pull factors in countries such as the United States, point to continued and increased skilled migration from Latin America. The outflow of well-educated Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Peruvians, Venezuelans, Brazilians, and Mexicans in search of better incomes and career opportunities is well noted. Yet, there exists important qualitative differences in terms of who does—and, important in this context, who does not—emigrate and why? Drawing on interview data with Mexican professionals in Mexico City, in this article I suggest that social network theory is insufficient for understanding skilled migration from Mexico. Focusing on those who stay behind, I offer instead a sociocultural framework; one that privileges individuals’ own discursive renderings and one that acknowledges that individuals’ decisions not to migrate are rooted in class-based dispositions, cultural beliefs, and social practices.
Suicide Intervention Training for K–12 Schools: A Quasi-Experimental Study on ASIST

This quasi-experimental study investigated differences between 104 school personnel who received a standardized suicide awareness and prevention training (i.e., Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) and 45 control group participants. Pre- and posttraining data included experimental and control group participants' (a) suicide intervention skills; (b) attitudes toward suicide; (c) knowledge of suicide; and (d) comfort, competence, and confidence in responding to individuals at risk of suicide. Results indicated a significant positive effect for training on all measures. Implications for training of school personnel and future research are discussed.
Watch out! How a fearful face adds credibility to warnings of danger

Abstract People display facial expressions of fear to communicate danger to others and sometimes to exaggerate danger to manipulate an audience. Here we test whether fear expressions add credibility to a speaker's warnings of danger. Participants played an incentivized lie detection game in which they guess whether a confederate partner is lying or telling the truth. Participants viewed a video of their partner's message, after reading that there was a good chance (75%) their partner was instructed to lie. We manipulated across conditions whether the partner stated the message with a neutral or fearful expression. Experiment 1 finds that participants were more likely to believe the speaker's warning of danger when it was conveyed with a fear expression compared to a neutral expression. Experiment 2 finds that when a speaker instead claimed that a danger was absent, a fearful expression no longer added credibility to their message. These findings provide evidence that fear expressions add credibility to statements of danger, specifically, rather than any claim.
Taking the Sociopolitical Turn in Postsecondary Mathematics Education Research

In this paper, we argue for a need to attend to issues of equity in postsecondary mathematics education. In the United States, the broader mathematics education field has begun a shift toward attending to sociopolitical aspects of research, which focus on the interrelatedness of knowledge, identity, power, and social discourses. We argue that explicit uptake of sociopolitical perspectives has the potential to offer new insights to current research and to advance efforts to address inequities in meaningful and theoretically well-informed ways. Situating our argument within the social and political context of the United States, we draw on existing studies that examine inequities in undergraduate mathematics classrooms. We highlight studies that focus on the impact of social discourses and institutional contexts on the negotiations of power and identity in postsecondary mathematics. We end by proposing future research directions and discuss challenges for equity work in postsecondary mathematics education.
Estimation of the Tropical Pacific Ocean State 2010–13

AbstractA data-assimilating ⅓° regional dynamical ocean model is evaluated on its ability to synthesize components of the Tropical Pacific Ocean Observing System. The four-dimensional variational data assimilation (4DVAR) method adjusts initial conditions and atmospheric forcing for overlapping 4-month model runs, or hindcasts, that are then combined to give an ocean state estimate for the period 2010–13. Consistency within uncertainty with satellite SSH and Argo profiles is achieved. Comparison to independent observations from Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) moorings shows that for time scales shorter than 100 days, the state estimate improves estimates of TAO temperature relative to an optimally interpolated Argo product. The improvement is greater at time scales shorter than 20 days, although unpredicted variability in the TAO temperatures implies that TAO observations provide significant information in that band. Larger discrepancies between the state estimate and independent observations from Spray g...
Mega-FTAs and Plurilateral Trade Agreements: Implications for the Asia-Pacific

During the first twenty years of the World Trade Organization’s history, the multilateral trading system has increasingly been accompanied by (1) free trade agreements (FTAs) and (2) preferential trade arrangements (PTAs). Such agreements have proliferated steadily, with several hundred having been notified to the WTO as of early 2016. However, there have been some significant changes in the types of trade agreements being negotiated outside the WTO in recent years. Since 2010, there has been a continued proliferation of “traditional” FTAs, but there have also been notable new developments. These include: an increase in multi-party FTAs; an increase in FTAs featuring more than one major economy; FTA coverage extending beyond the scope of the WTO Agreements; and subject-specific plurilateral negotiations being conducted outside the WTO negotiating structure. This chapter documents the rapid ascendancy of mega-FTAs and plurilateral trade agreements and explores the implications of these larger, more complicated and arguably more powerful trade agreements, with an emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region.
Follow-Up Care Provider Preferences of Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors.

Purpose: To explore the experiences and perspectives of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors regarding patient–provider relationships and their preferences surrounding type of healthca...
Native freshwater mussel effects on nitrogen cycling: impacts of nutrient limitation and biomass dependency

AbstractLike many aggregating animals, unionid mussels occurring at high densities can create patches or ‘hotspots’ of biogeochemical activity directly through nutrient regeneration and material fl...
Projection-Based Correlated Wave Function in Density Functional Theory Embedding for Periodic Systems.

We present a level shift projection operator-based embedding method for systems with periodic boundary conditions—where the “active” subsystem can be described using either density functional theory (DFT) or correlated wave function (WF) methods and the “environment” is described using DFT. Our method allows for k-point sampling, is shown to be exactly equal to the canonical DFT solution of the full system under the limit that we use the full system basis to describe each subsystem, and can treat the active subsystem either with periodic boundary conditions—in what we term “periodic-in-periodic” embedding—or as a molecular cluster—in “cluster-in-periodic” embedding. We explore each of these methods and show that cluster WF-in-periodic DFT embedding can accurately calculate the absorption energy of CO on to a Si(100)-2×1 surface.
Strand-specific antisense oligonucleotides for C9ORF72-ALS/FTD (S25.004)

Objective: To determine the therapeutic need for strand-specific antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) in C9ORF72 ALS/FTD, and gain insight into the pathogenic role of the antisense strand. Background: A hexanucleotide repeat expansion (HRE) in C9ORF72 (C9) is the most common known cause of ALS and FTD, thought to cause disease by a gain of function involving RNA toxicity and/or dipeptide repeat proteins (DPRs). Our laboratory and others have previously demonstrated a protective effect of ASOs targeting the sense strand (G4C2) in models of C9-ALS/FTD. In particular, these ASOs attenuate defects in nucleocytoplasmic transport, which is a key feature of C9-ALS/FTD pathogenesis. However, RNA foci and DPR aggregates from the antisense (C4G2) strand are also found in patient tissue and BAC transgenic mice, and overexpression models suggest that antisense DPRs (particularly PR) also confer toxicity. Therefore, ASOs targeting the antisense strand may be needed to fully neutralize C9 toxicity. Design/Methods: Strand-specific ASOs were developed and tested in C9 patient-derived iPS motor neurons. Specificity for sense vs. antisense strand was determined by qPCR. In ongoing studies, lead ASO molecules are being tested for the ability to prevent C9-mediated nuclear transport disruption, nuclear pore complex abnormalities, TDP-43 mislocalization, and aberrant gene expression. Results: ASOs that confer robust, strand-specific knockdown of the C9 HRE (without altering total C9 expression), have been identified and validated in C9 iPS neurons by qPCR. Both the sense and the antisense ASOs independently and fully rescue deficits in nuclear transport and nuclear pore complex disruption. Conclusions: Strand-specific ASO treatment confers targeted knockdown of sense and antisense repeat transcripts in C9 iPS motor neurons. Our results to date indicate that both the sense and antisense strands make a substantial contribution to nuclear transport pathology, a finding with important implications for clinical trial design and understanding C9 pathogenesis. Study Supported by: AAN/ALSA Clinical Development Award (LH), NIH/NINDS K08 Award (LH), MDA, and Target ALS. Disclosure: Dr. Hayes has nothing to disclose. Dr. Coyne has nothing to disclose. Dr. Jafar-Nejad has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Ionis pharmaceuticals. Dr. Rigo has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Ionis pharmaceuticals. Dr. Rothstein has nothing to disclose.
Cloning of Genes Encoding Phaseolotoxin

A study of genes involved in the biosynthesis of phaseolotoxin is in progress. Phaseolotoxin is a low molecular weight, chlorosis-inducing toxin produced by Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola, the causal agent of halo blight of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). The toxin is composed of a tripeptide (Ornithinylalanylhomoarginine) moiety to which is attached an inorganic substituent group consisting of sulfur and phosphorus. We have recently revised the structure of phaseolotoxin to -03SNHP(0)(NH2)NH(CH2)CH(NH3+)Co - alanylhomoarginine (1).
Phenomenology and the Absolute

We have seen in the last chapter that a phenomenological understanding of truth effectively undercuts the extreme skepticism engendered by Cartesian objectivism, a skepticism which holds any rational justification of belief to be impossible. However, in the absence of a further demonstration that at least some Evidenz is absolute, Husserl’s theory of truth remains compatible with a more moderate skepticism, one according to which all our beliefs are or might be false, even if rationally justified to some limited degree. Moreover, this potential weakness of Husserl’s analysis in relation to skepticism will necessarily weaken it in relation to relativism as well. For unlike a formal approach (which, as we saw in Chapter One, can show only that relativism is inconsistent, and not that relativism’s opposite is correct), a positive overcoming of relativism requires a justification of the possibility of knowledge of non-relative truth. This in turn presupposes a justification of the possibility of knowledge as such. Thus any positive overcoming of relativism can be no stronger than the overcoming of skepticism which supports it.
An empirical study of economies of scope in home healthcare.

OBJECTIVE: To apply the economic theory of economies of scope to the home healthcare industry. DATA SOURCES: Data on 488 observations obtained from the Cost Report (HCFA Form 1728-86) of all Connecticut state-licensed, Medicare-certified home health agencies. STUDY DESIGN: The Cost Report was the primary source of data for this study. Information on total cost, scope, and other related factors was collected. Logarithmic and nonlinear regression analyses were used to identify factors related to scope and also to test for economies of scope. DATA COLLECTION METHOD: Data collected were both cross-sectional and time series (from 1988-1992). Data accuracy was verified using description of frequencies, measures of central tendency and variation, and a calculation package so that a computer calculation on the data could be compared with the agency's calculation. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: It was determined that initially as scope increases, costs go down, thus proving economies of scope. For larger values of scope, it was determined that costs go up, proving diseconomies of scope. CONCLUSIONS: Many of the home health agencies included in this study provide more services than is cost effective given the economic theory of economies of scope.
Mesh Design: Network Issues

We continue our discussion of traditional design problems in mesh networks, preparatory to the discussion of joint design in a following chapter. In this chapter, we focus on network-wide issues in mesh design, or issues that in some sense emerge at the network level. In particular, we focus on routing, deployment planning, performance modeling, rate control, and spectrum sensing and access. As before, we describe the problems, as well as discuss some representative approaches in recent literature.
Use of ultrasound to assess acute fracture reduction in emergency care settings

Objective: There is a need to develop tools for the rapid diagnosis and treatment of fractures and intraosseous pathology in remote and austere environments. Several emergency and orthopedic studies have demonstrated ultrasound to be a reliable tool in diagnosing these conditions in both adult and pediatric patients. The purpose of this pilot study is to assess the ability of the ultrasound to assess in “real-time” the success of fracture reduction in adult patients in the emergency department (ED), in comparison with the accepted standard, plain film radiography, for the purposes of future application in austere environments. Design: Case series. Setting: Emergency department at an academic medical center. Patients/Participants: Convenience sample of five patients presenting to an ED with clinical evidence of fractures (three radial, one phalangeal, and one metacarpal). Interventions: A Sonosite Titan portable ultrasound system with L38/10-5: 38-mm broadband linear array transducer was used to assess prereduction and postreduction angulations and alignment. Alignment was reconfirmed with use of fluoroscopy and plain radiography. Results: The ultrasound confirmed proper reduction and realignment in all five cases, from an average prereduction angle of alignment of 37.4 degrees to an average postreduction angle of 4.4 degrees. The use of the ultrasound resulted in adequate visualization of the reduction in all cases. Regional anesthesia or sedation and limited pressure with the probe resulted in no verbalization of pain by any of the subjects. Conclusions: In this pilot study, emergency physicians demonstrated the use of ultrasound in place of traditional radiography to either confirm adequate reduction or assess the need for further manipulation. Our pilot study suggests that ultrasound has a possible future role in fracture reduction management in both the ED as well as “austere” prehospital locations.
Endoscopic Treatment of Early-Stage Esophageal Cancer

Esophageal cancer is a leading cause of global cancer-related mortality. Here, we discuss the major endoscopic treatment modalities for management of early esophageal cancer (EEC). Advances in endoscopic imaging and therapy have shifted the paradigm of managing early esophageal cancers. Though esophagectomy remains the preferred management for advanced cancers, guidelines now recommend endoscopic resection followed by ablative therapy for early (Tis and T1a) cancers. Available data suggests endoscopic treatment is comparable to surgery with regard to overall and cancer-specific survival with lower procedural morbidity and mortality. Endoscopic modalities are emerging as frontline treatment options for patients with early esophageal cancers. Accurate clinical staging with assessment of disease extent, tumor grade, and risk of nodal metastases is crucial when determining eligibility for endoscopic management of EEC. High-quality routine surveillance endoscopy is critical in patients who have undergone resection and/or ablation.
Assessment of Salmonella Prevalence in Lymph Nodes of U.S. and Mexican Cattle Presented for Slaughter in Texas.

ABSTRACT Foodborne salmonellosis has been traced to undercooked ground beef and other beef products in the past, and peripheral lymph node (LN) presence in the fatty tissues of beef carcasses is on...
Utilization of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell Therapy in Adults.

Objective To discuss the mechanism of action and nursing care of adults receiving chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Data Source Peer reviewed articles and pharmaceutical drug labels. Conclusion CAR T-cell therapy is among the most exciting therapies in the evolution of cancer treatment. The efficacy of research with CAR T-cell therapy has shown promising results in hematologic malignancies as well as in solid tumors. Implications for Nursing Practice Understanding the complexity of care for these patients from the bedside to the outpatient setting is vital for their survival and quality of care.
The post-crisis Irish voter: voting behaviour in the Irish 2016 general election

This edited collection analyses the voting behaviour of the Irish electorate eight years after the Irish economic crash. The collapse dramatically changed Irish electoral outcomes in the first post...
Does simplifying the college financial aid process matter

Abstract The IRS Data Retrieval Tool, a financial aid simplification tool accessed by 7 million students (nearly 40% of FAFSA filers) a year, was suddenly removed during the middle of the 2017 application cycle. Exploiting variation in 1,600 institutional deadlines influencing the amount of time students lacked access to the tool, I find a null effect of its paperwork reduction properties on college access outcomes. Form simplification alone seems unlikely to have the same beneficial impacts as personal assistance in the college financial aid setting, calling into question the notion that small hassle costs by themselves meaningfully deter program take-up.
Experimental and theoretical analysis of a pressure-driven logging piston during the liquid displacement process

Abstract Liquid displacement by a pressure-driven piston is a common phenomenon encountered in different industries. The main challenge of the displacement process is its inherent fast transient nature. The objective of the current work is to study such a process experimentally and to describe the hydrodynamic behavior of the system. An experimental facility was built to conduct transient measurements of pressure as well as piston and liquid slug velocities. Additionally, the piston itself was equipped with pressure and accelerometer sensors in order to conduct local measurements during its movement. The employed instrumentation was capable of sampling data at a frequency of 1000 Hz. The experiments were conducted for three initial pressure conditions and one liquid slug size. The core finding of the current study was the fact that piston and liquid slug velocities are different, which can be explained by the flow topology forming during the displacement process. It was also determined that the piston drag and friction forces are negligible for the studied conditions. A good agreement (within 10% error range) was observed between experimental velocity data and the solution of momentum and force balances.
Benchmarking 2D/3D/MD-QSAR Models for Imatinib Derivatives: How Far Can We Predict?

Imatinib, a 2-phenylaminopyridine-based BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is a highly effective drug for treating Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). However, cases of drug resistance are constantly e...
Evolving Utility of Endovascular Treatment of Juxtarenal, Pararenal, and Suprarenal Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Associated With Increased Risk of Mortality Over Time

Background Continued advances in endovascular technologies are resulting in fewer open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repairs. In addition, more complex juxtarenal, pararenal, and suprarenal (JPS) AAAs are being managed with various endovascular techniques. This study sought to evaluate the evolving trends in endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of AAAs, hypothesizing increased rate of JPS AAA repair by EVAR. We also sought to evaluate the risk for morbidity and mortality for EVAR and open aneurysm repair (OAR) of JPS AAAs over time. Methods The 2011–2017 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Procedure-Targeted Vascular database was queried for patients undergoing OAR or EVAR for AAAs. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed for both infrarenal and JPS AAA repairs. Results Of 18,661 patients who underwent AAA repair, 3,941 (21.1%) were OAR and 14,720 (78.9%) were EVAR. The rate of OAR decreased from 29.5% in 2011 to 21.3% in 2017 (P 0.05). However, in patients undergoing EVAR for JPS AAAs, the associated risk of mortality increased with each incremental year (odds ratio [OR]: 1.30, confidence interval [CI]: 1.01–1.69, P = 0.039), whereas there was no difference in the risk of mortality for OAR of JPS AAAs with each incremental year (OR: 1.11, CI: 0.99–1.23, P = 0.067). Conclusions The rate of OAR for AAA has decreased over the past seven years with an increase in EVAR, particularly for more complex JPS AAAs. The associated risk for morbidity and mortality for treatment of infrarenal AAAs was not significantly affected by this increased utility of EVAR. The associated risk of mortality for JPS AAAs treated by EVAR increased over time, whereas this trend for associated risk of mortality was not seen for OAR of JPS AAAs. These findings, especially the increased associated risk of mortality over time with EVAR for JPS AAAs, warrant careful prospective analysis.
The soybean Rhg1 amino acid transporter protein becomes abundant along the SCN penetration path and impacts ROS generation

ABSTRACT Rhg1 mediates soybean resistance to soybean cyst nematode. Glyma.18G022400, one of three resistance-conferring genes at the complex Rhg1 locus, encodes the putative amino acid transporter AATRhg1 whose mode of action is largely unknown. We discovered that AATRhg1 protein abundance increases 7- to 15-fold throughout root cells penetrated by SCN. These root cells develop increased abundance of vesicles and larger vesicle-like bodies. AATRhg1 was often associated with these vesicles. AATRhg1 abundance remained low in syncytia (plant reprogrammed feeding cells), unlike the Rhg1 α-SNAP protein whose abundance was previously shown to increase in syncytia. In N. benthamiana, if soybean AATRhg1 was present, oxidative stress promoted formation of larger macrovesicles and they contained AATRhg1. AATRhg1 was found to interact with GmRBOHC2, a soybean ortholog of Arabidopsis RBOHD previously found to exhibit upregulated expression upon SCN infection. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was more elevated when AATRhg1 and GmRBOHC2 abundance were co-expressed. These findings suggest that AATRhg1 contributes to SCN resistance along the penetration path as SCN invades the plant, and does so at least in part by interactions with GmRBOHC2 that increase ROS production. The study also shows that Rhg1 resistance functions via at least two spatially and temporally separate modes of action.
Adaptive Deep Forest for Online Learning from Drifting Data Streams.

Learning from data streams is among the most vital fields of contemporary data mining. The online analysis of information coming from those potentially unbounded data sources allows for designing reactive up-to-date models capable of adjusting themselves to continuous flows of data. While a plethora of shallow methods have been proposed for simpler low-dimensional streaming problems, almost none of them addressed the issue of learning from complex contextual data, such as images or texts. The former is represented mainly by adaptive decision trees that have been proven to be very efficient in streaming scenarios. The latter has been predominantly addressed by offline deep learning. In this work, we attempt to bridge the gap between these two worlds and propose Adaptive Deep Forest (ADF) - a natural combination of the successful tree-based streaming classifiers with deep forest, which represents an interesting alternative idea for learning from contextual data. The conducted experiments show that the deep forest approach can be effectively transformed into an online algorithm, forming a model that outperforms all state-of-the-art shallow adaptive classifiers, especially for high-dimensional complex streams.
Clinical Applications of Noninvasive Prenatal Testing

Prenatal screening for aneuploidy provides individualized risk assessment that helps patients and clinicians decide who may choose invasive diagnostic testing. Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is a new technology that analyzes cell-free fetal DNA in maternal serum to screen for trisomy 21 and other common aneuploidies. Compared to existing prenatal screening tests, NIPT can be performed earlier in pregnancy, around 9–10 weeks of gestation, and has the best detection accuracy for screening. However, it does not replace invasive, diagnostic testing such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling. Current guidelines recommend that women at an increased risk for aneuploidy can be screened using NIPT. There is insufficient data to recommend that low-risk patients or women with multiple gestations may benefit from NIPT. Various technologies achieve results with high sensitivity and specificity that significantly decrease the number of invasive diagnostic procedures performed. Limitations of NIPT include detection of only a few chromosomal abnormalities, test failure, and false positive and false negative results from various maternal, placental, and fetal conditions. A confirmatory diagnostic test is recommended following a positive NIPT result. The American College of Genetics and Genomics recommends use of the term noninvasive prenatal screening instead of NIPT to emphasize the screening nature of this test. It is essential that women are offered pre-test and post-test counseling to explain the performance and limitations of the test and the significance of a positive result.
Modeling Multi-organ Infection by SARS-CoV-2 Using Stem Cell Technology.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the current COVID-19 pandemic, primarily targets the airway epithelium and in lungs can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome. Clinical studies in recent months have revealed that COVID-19 is a multi-organ disease causing characteristic complications. Stem cell models of various organ systems-most prominently, lung, gut, heart, and brain-are at the forefront of studies aimed at understanding the role of direct infection in COVID-19 multi-organ dysfunction.
Strategic Advertising: Fat-Cat Effect and Stability

In this paper we use the theory of social situations (TOSS) to examine the stability in advertising and (price) competition games. In this context, we derive the interesting result that with endogenous and exogenous advertising the incumbent need not maintain a hungry-look, i.e., under-investment in advertising expenditure, in order to deter entry.
Improving Satisfaction in Crowdsourcing Platforms

Crowdsourcing platforms have gained popularity in recent years. They allow requesters to quickly find workers to complete small tasks and workers to undertake pieces of work for self-fulfillment. The current crowdsourcing models do the task assignment either from the requester's side (server assigned task mode) or the worker's side (worker selected task mode). The satisfaction of both sides is not fully considered. Furthermore, there is a lack of tools to help them make decisions based on complex information and their preferences. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a new crowdsourcing platform that takes the satisfaction of both the requesters and workers into account so as to improve the quality of the platform. We adopt Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to automatically generate preference lists for both parties that best reflect their interests. We propose a stable matching (SM) algorithm to pair the workers and tasks according to their preference lists. Simulation results show that our platform has higher satisfaction scores than the existing ones and the one that uses random assignment.
"Everything is Either Sent by God or Used by God": An Exploratory Study on the Impact of COVID-19 Upon the Religious Lives of Black Families Living with Dementia.

The purpose of this research study was to explore the impact of COVID-19 on church engagement for Black families affected by dementia in the USA. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with current caregivers, church leaders, and persons with dementia (n = 16). The following themes emerged: (a) Ability to continue religious practices, (b) Increased church engagement, (c) Importance of fellowship, (d) Role of technology, and (e) New normal. As the Internet becomes the new church building, online worship services enabled more families affected by dementia to engage. Many church leaders expressed the intent of continuing to provide online worship services post-pandemic. Families highlighted their need to fellowship with other congregants. Technology was perceived as a double-edged sword serving as both a motivator and a barrier to religious engagement. These findings will support faith leaders in understanding the needs of their congregants during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as allowing families living with dementia to continue engaging in religious practices and living in meaningful ways.
Measuring thermodynamic preferences to form non-native conformations in nucleic acids using melting experiments reveals a rich sequence-specific DNA conformational landscape

Thermodynamic preferences to form non-native conformations are crucial for understanding how nucleic acids fold and function. However, they are difficult to measure experimentally because this requires accurately determining the population of minor low-abundance (