cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Investigation of Image Processing Steps for Reconstruction of Three-Dimensional Flow Visualization Images

The process of reconstructing and correcting three-dimensional flow visualization images created using a high-speed laser sheet scanning technique is explored. 3-D images are formed from a sequence of 2-D images obtained using laser sheet illumination with a MHz rate pulse burst laser system, a scanning mirror and a high-speed intensified camera capable of framing rates of 500,000 fps. Due to some unique properties of the high-speed camera, special image processing steps are required in order to form high quality 3-D images. Image processing steps described here include flat-field correction, dark field image subtraction, correction for non-uniform laser sheet intensity and image normalization. In addition, consideration is given to calibration of the 3-D image in 3-D physical space and correction of a ghosting phenomenon associated with the high-speed camera.Examples of visualizations compiled from sets of corrected image data are presented, the sources of remaining distortions are considered, and future system upgrades are described.
QOL-20LOW-DOSE NALTREXONE IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED HIGH-GRADE GLIOMA: PLACEBO-CONTROLLED, DOUBLE-BLIND, RANDOMIZED PILOT STUDY

At diagnosis and throughout disease course, patients with high-grade glioma (HGG) experience a diminished quality of life (QoL), increase in fatigue, and reduction in cognition. Naltrexone, an orally semisynthetic opiate antagonist, is FDA-approved for treatment of heroin/ alcohol addiction, and low dose naltrexone (LDN) has been observed to improve QoL and lower fatigue in other neurological illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis. LDN is believed to function as a partial agonist and can lead to shifts in neurochemicals that reduce fatigue. Based on this, we sought to study whether LDN has an impact on QoL, fatigue, sleepiness, and cognition in patients with HGG. In a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized study, 110 HGG patients were randomized to receive placebo (N = 56) or LDN 4.5 mg orally at night (N = 54). Treatment was initiated at day 1 of concurrent radiation and temozolomide and continued for 16 weeks. Change from baseline was evaluated in all study assessments including patient-reported outcomes of QoL (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Brain), fatigue (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue), sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), depression (Beck Depression Inventory II), and cognitive testing. Safety of LDN was monitored with standard laboratory testing and adverse event reporting. Demographics were WHO grade IV (85%), male (56%), KPS 90-100 (51%), grossly resected (55%) and mean age of 56 years. For all QoL, fatigue, depression, and cognition measures, change from baseline at 16 weeks was not significantly different in patients receiving LDN or placebo. At 16 weeks, LDN patients reported a significantly greater increase in sleepiness from baseline compared to placebo (p = 0.0088). Adverse events were seen in similar frequencies for LDN and placebo. Of note, overall survival did not significantly differ between treatment groups. While LDN is safe to administer, LDN has no effect on QoL, fatigue, cognition, or survival, but may increase sedation, in HGG patients.
Protein folding and the secret of life

One of the most charming pieces of Russian children's literature is a story called "It is alive, and shining" by Victor Dragunskii. The main character is a boy who exchanges his birthday present, an expensive toy truck, for a tiny box with a glow-worm inside. "The bug is kicking...and beaming," the boy explains to his mother. Like the child, we are all aware of the difference between animate and inanimate matter, but the challenge of actually understanding what it means for something to be alive has puzzled the best minds for centuries.
Mechanism of potassium ion intercalation staging in few layered graphene from in situ Raman spectroscopy

Recently emerging potassium ion (K-ion) batteries offer a lower-cost alternative to lithium-ion batteries while enabling comparably high storage capacity. Here, we leverage the strong Raman spectroscopic response of few-layered graphene to provide the first insight into the electrochemical staging sequence for K+ ions in graphitic carbons. Our analysis reveals the signature of a dilute stage I compound that precedes formation of ordered intercalation compounds transitioning from stage VI (KC72), stage II (KC24), and stage I (KC8) and correlates electrochemical responses to the stage formation. Overall, our study emphasizes a minimum barrier to transfer the general understanding acquired for lithium-ion battery anodes to cheaper, earth abundant K-ion battery systems ideally suited for grid-scale storage.
Semantic internetworking of sensor systems

Deployed wireless sensor networks are usually tightly coupled with specific tasks and therefore present unique communication needs. With technological advances that are making easy deployment of wireless sensor networks a reality, mechanisms that allow data exchange between sensor systems deployed at different times and initially for different purposes are necessary. Otherwise, sensors which are co-located and can collaborate with one another to increase capacity and/or performance may be prevented from doing so due to the inability to exchange data with one another. To this end we propose a semantic-based routing architecture that enables internetworking of sensor systems. In this architecture each sensor system can define its own address names that reflect application-level needs, but which follows a specific naming structure. Semantic routers are elected in the network and process packets based on both the address name and the naming structure. Processing is based on rules that can be modified according to changes in application-level requirements or changes in the naming structure. We describe this architecture and show that it enables easy internetworking of sensor systems deployed at different times and for different applications, enables data forwarding to only relevant regions in the network (as opposed to network-wide flooding), supports application-level communication needs, and supports hierarchical routing schemes.
Chapter 34 – Er blood group collection

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the terminology, history, occurrence, expression, and clinical significance of Era antigen and Erb antigen. The effects of enzymes/chemicals on Era antigen and Erb on intact RBCs are discussed. The in vitro characteristics of alloanti-Era and alloanti-Erb; and clinical significance of alloanti-Era and Erb are also described in the chapter.
Cure of Murine Medulloblastoma by Adoptive Transfer of Tumor-Specific T Cells.

Abstract Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor of childhood. Although the current overall survival has increased due to more aggressive therapy, the involved surgery, radiation and in some diseases high-dose chemotherapy have significant acute and long-term toxicities. T cell immunotherapy is a promising adjuvant for medulloblastoma because the immune response is specific for targeted antigens and is highly anatomically focused, occurring at the level of cell-to-cell interactions, thereby sparing adjacent normal brain tissue. Adoptive transfer of tumor-sensitized T cells has demonstrated therapeutic efficacy in animal tumor models, and clinical trials involving transfer of T lymphocytes are ongoing. Previous strategies have employed cultured human medulloblastoma cell lines as therapeutic targets, however priming of T cells using a spontaneously-arising medulloblastoma cell line in an immunocompetent mice model may be more representative of human cancer and more applicable to clinical practice. Spontaneous Murine medulloblastoma cell lines were created from knock-out Ptc+/−p53−/− mice and passaged in vivo. Brain tumors were established by transcranial inoculation of a single-cell suspension of murine medulloblastoma tumor cells in immunocompetent, C57BL/6N mice. Murine Medulloblastoma cell lines were rapidly tumorigenic and consistently fatal following intracranial inoculation in a dose-dependent manner. T-cells were obtained surgically from tumor draining lymph nodes (TDLN) in syngeneic mice and after initial purification, antigen-stimulated CD62Llow T cells were isolated by depletion of CD62Lhigh cells using MACS beads. T-cells were further activated ex vivo by incubation with anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody and exposure to media containing Interleukin-2 and Interleukin-7. Mice carrying 3-day established tumors receive systemic transfer of T cells by injection through the tail vein after 10 days of ex vivo culture. Mice typically receive sub-lethal total body irradiation (5 Gy) from a Cesium irradiator for lympho-depletion several hours before adoptive transfer. Mice were followed for survival and sacrificed when neurological symptoms were apparent as per Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee established guidelines. The activated T cells adoptively transferred to irradiated hosts with 3-day established intracranial MM1 tumors resulting in complete regression of established tumors (see figure). In addition, the above therapy demonstrated a dose-dependent effect, and the mice were cured without any evidence of neurological dysfunction caused by the anti-tumor response. This research suggests anti-medulloblastoma T cell vaccines may be promising for subsequent clinical testing. Download : Download high-res image (70KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure 4 . Active Immunology of 3-day MMI medulloblastoma
Peer-Assessed Emotional Expressivity: Unique Association With Status in the Peer Group

We examined the association between peer-assessed emotional expressivity and children’s status in the peer group after controlling for social behavior. Participants were 417 elementary school children (X¯ age = 10 years) from a Midwestern urban community and their teachers. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used. After controlling for gender, race, and other emotionality, happiness was positively associated with likability and popularity. Sadness was positively associated with disliking and unpopularity, and negatively associated with popularity. Anger was positively associated with disliking and popularity. Overall, emotional expressivity uniquely predicted status after controlling for social behavior. Regarding gender and race effects, girls were perceived as happier than boys and an inverse pattern was found for anger; White children were perceived as happier than Black children. The association between emotionality and status did not differ by gender. Findings expand the literature on pre...
Bariatric Surgery as a Bridge to Renal Transplantation in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease.

Obesity is a relative contraindication to organ transplantation. Preliminary reports suggest that bariatric surgery may be used as a bridge to transplantation in patients who are not eligible for transplantation because of morbid obesity. The Bariatric Center at Tampa General Hospital, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida. We reviewed the outcomes of 16 consecutive patients on hemodialysis for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who underwent bariatric surgery from 1998 to 2016. Demographics, comorbidities, weight loss, as well as transplant status were reported. Data is mean ± SD. Six men and ten women aged 43–66 years (median = 54 years) underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB, n = 12), laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB, n = 3), or laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG, n = 1). Preoperative BMI was 48 ± 8 kg/m2. Follow-up to date was 1–10 years (median = 2.8 years); postoperative BMI was 31 ± 7 kg/m2; %EBWL was 62 ± 24. Four patients underwent renal transplantation (25%) between 2.5–5 years after bariatric surgery. Five patients are currently listed for transplantation. Five patients were not listed for transplantation due to persistent comorbidities; two of these patients died as a consequence of their comorbidities (12.5%) more than 1 year after bariatric surgery. Two patients were lost to follow-up (12.5%). Bariatric surgery is effective in patients with ESRD and improves access to renal transplantation. Bariatric surgery offers a safe approach to weight loss and improvement in comorbidities in the majority of patients. Referrals of transplant candidates with obesity for bariatric surgery should be considered early in the course of ESRD.
The Accident of My Career and Academic Life

The accident of my career and my academic life began with a high school dream that crashed and burned.
Oral nerve tissue repair and regeneration

Nerve tissue engineering is a multidisciplinary topic relevant to medicine and dentistry. Repairing nerves with bioengineered scaffolds not only relies on the types of the biomaterials used to produce a mechanically stable and biocompatible environment for regeneration, but also may require the application of stem cells and growth factors to induce differentiation and bioactivity. Multiple techniques have led to development of a number of scaffolds with unique advantages and limitations. Innovations in neural tissue engineering have already yielded positive results in medical capacities, including spinal nerve repair. With the increasing utilization of stem cell therapy and advances in the field of material science, research in neural tissue regeneration in the head and neck region, especially the repair of the trigeminal nerve, has gradually become very prominent. The use of reproducible, rapid, and patient-specific approaches are evolving to treat nerve injuries and reverse sensory and motor deficits, ultimately restoring a functional and healthy patient lifestyle.
Numerical simulation of FENE-P viscoelastic fluids flow and heat transfer in grooved channel with rectangular cavities

The forced convection heat transfer for non-Newtonian viscoelastic fluids obeying the FENE-P model in a parallel-plate channel with transverse rectangular cavities is carried out numerically using ANSYS-POLYFLOW code. The flow investigated is assumed to be two-dimensional, incompressible, laminar and steady. The flow behavior and temperature distribution influenced by the re-circulation caused by the variation of cross-section area along the stream wise direction have been studied. The constant heat flux condition has been applied and the effects of the different parameters, such as the aspect ratio of channel cavities (AR = 0.25, 0.5), the Reynolds number (Re = 25, 250, and 500), the fluid elasticity defined by the Weissenberg number (We), and the extensibility parameter of the model (L 2), on heat transfer characteristics have been explored for channels of three successive cavities configuration. Different levels of heat transfer enhancement were obtained and discussed.
Isodose feature-preserving voxelization (IFPV) for radiation therapy treatment planning.

PURPOSE Inverse planning involves iterative optimization of a large number of parameters and is known to be a labor-intensive procedure. To reduce the scale of computation and improve characterization of isodose plan, this paper presents an isodose feature-preserving voxelization (IFPV) framework for radiation therapy applications and demonstrates an implementation of inverse planning in the IFPV domain. METHODS A dose distribution in IFPV scheme is characterized by partitioning the voxels into subgroups according to their geometric and dosimetric values. Computationally, the isodose feature-preserving (IFP) clustering combines the conventional voxels that are spatially and dosimetrically close into physically meaningful clusters. A K-means algorithm and support vector machine (SVM) runs sequentially to group the voxels into IFP clusters. The former generates initial clusters according to the geometric and dosimetric information of the voxels and SVM is invoked to improve the connectivity of the IFP clusters. To illustrate the utility of the formalism, an inverse planning framework in the IFPV domain is implemented, and the resultant plans of three prostate IMRT and one head-and-neck cases are compared quantitatively with that obtained using conventional inverse planning technique. RESULTS The IFPV generates models with significant dimensionality reduction without compromising the spatial resolution seen in traditional downsampling schemes. The implementation of inverse planning in IFPV domain is demonstrated. In addition to the improved computational efficiency, it is found that, for the cases studied here, the IFPV-domain inverse planning yields better treatment plans than that of DVH-based planning, primarily because of more effective use of both geometric and dose information of the system during plan optimization. CONCLUSIONS The proposed IFPV provides a low parametric representation of isodose plan without compromising the essential characteristics of the plan, thus providing a practically valuable framework for various applications in radiation therapy.
A Correspondence Course in Astronomy

As do most universities in the United States, the University of New Mexico (UNM) offers a one-semester introductory course in astronomy aimed at the vast audience of non-science majors. UNM is a non-selective, minimally-funded state research university with an undergraduate enrollment of about 20,000 students — with a median age of 26. Many of the students have jobs and families and attend on a part-time basis. The Physics and Astronomy Department usually offers three sections of Astronomy 101 to accommodate students’ schedules: in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Total enrollments per semester range between 400 to 600; the course is also regularly taught during the summer. The class has no prerequisites of any kind, is advertised as “non-mathematical,” and does not have a required lab for observations. (A related lab course, Astronomy 111, is available, and is taken by about 100 students per semester.) The course attempts to cover “all” of astronomy with a special emphasis on the theme of cosmic evolution. Instructors tend to use visual aids (slides, videos, films, laser disks, and microcomputers) heavily. Students usually rate the instructors and the course in the top 10 to 30% of all instructors who choose to use a university-wide class evaluation instrument, compared to a group of other lower-division courses.
More general classes of functions; conditional convergence

In the problems with which we started in § 1, we had a basic class of functions ϕ (decreasing, or positive, or with decreasing or positive Fourier coefficients) and multipliers t−γ and nγ−1; the problem was to show that ∫|ϕ(t)t−γ dt exists if and only if ∑ nγ−1 |λ n | is finite, or at least that the existence of one of these implies the existence of the other. In looking for generalizations we could, for example, (A) keep the same basic class for ϕ and {λ n } but use a class of multipliers more general than powers; (B) widen the basic class; (C) widen the basic class but show only that absolute convergence of integral or series implies conditional convergence of series or integral; (D) widen the basic class and show that conditional convergence of series or integral implies conditional convergence of the other; (E) generalize (A) or (B) to L p , p > 1. A number of examples of such generalizations have already turned up in a natural way in the preceding sections. Here we mention a number of others, and refer to the literature for additional results.
Neural Substrate of Cognition and Literacy: Biology as Wish Fulfillment?

Aristotle recognized that the human brain is disproportionately large when compared with the brains of other animals but he concluded that the heart is the source of mental activity and that the large brain serves merely as a radiator which cools the blood (Kolb & Whishaw, 1985). Opinions have changed during the 2,300 years that have elapsed since Aristotle’s death. We no longer regard the brain as a cooling device and, our poetry and popular music notwithstanding, we no longer regard the heart as an organ of thought. Since the early nineteenth century, Western philosophy and Western science have firmly accepted the brain as the organ of the mind (Boring, 1950). Nonetheless, nearly all of our scientific knowledge about brain functioning has been acquired during the past 150 years, a brief period in the history of civilization.
6 Anxiety Disorders

The purpose of this chapter is to review what is known about the diagnosis, etiology, and pathology of anxiety disorders, particularly from the perspective of vulnerability theory. We consider the clinical presentation, prevalence, demographics, cultural features, comorbidity, and course (especially developmental features). We review in particular separation anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, specific phobias, panic disorder with and without agoraphobia, and generalized anxiety disorder. We currently tend to focus clinical research and attention on what is specific and unique to each anxiety disorder. In the future we may need to focus more parsimoniously on their commonalities. Keywords: anxiety; separation anxiety; obsessive-compulsive; phobia; panic; agoraphobia; generalized anxiety; DSM; diagnosis; vulnerability; etiology
Current Concepts in the Diagnosis and Staging of Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States and accounts for more deaths than colorectal, breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancers combined. The eighth edition of the tumor-node-metastasis staging system (TNM-8), which has been accepted by the Union for International Cancer Control and the American Joint Committee on Cancer based on proposals from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, includes key changes to T and M descriptors and overall stage groups and introduces new recommendations for classifying patterns of disease with multiple sites of pulmonary involvement. As accurate staging is necessary for the formulation of appropriate treatment strategies, radiologists must be able to identify these features on imaging studies.
Optimal Income Taxation with Social Preferences

This paper characterizes optimal nonlinear income taxation of individuals who exhibit social preferences. If individuals exhibit equity concerns, above and beyond the government's social welfare criterion, how is the shape of the marginal tax schedule impacted? In particular, I consider individuals who are concerned not only with their own consumption and labor supply, but also care positively or negatively about some aggregate consumption reference point. In addition, I allow for individuals to differ with respect to their attitudes towards this reference point. This framework flexibly allows for the specification of preferences that may be concerned with baseline altruism, inequality aversion, or social efficiency. A generalization of the optimal tax rate formula is derived in terms of the distribution of skills, the elasticity of labor supply, the government's distributional objectives, and new in this setting, the distribution of other-concerning preferences across the population.
Neurodynamics of time consciousness: An extensionalist explanation of apparent motion and the specious present via reentrant oscillatory multiplexing.

Abstract This paper situates an original model of reentrant oscillatory multiplexing within the philosophy of time consciousness to argue for an extensionalist theory of the specious present. I develop a detailed differential latency model of apparent motion to show how the ordinality of experiential content is isomorphic to the ordinality of relevant brain processes. I argue that the theory presented has resources to account for other key features of the specious present, including the representational discreteness between successive conscious moments as well as the phenomenological continuity between them. This work not only shows the plausibility of an extensionalist philosophical theory, it also illustrates the utility of differential latency views in squaring temporal illusions with empirically supported neurodynamics.
Measurement of rolling resistance and scrub torque of manual wheelchair drive wheels and casters

The effort needed to maneuver a manual wheelchair is a function of the occupied wheelchair's inertia and energy loss. The primary source of energy loss is due to the resistance of the drive wheels and casters on the ground. Specifically, manual wheelchairs have two major sources of frictional energy loss: rolling resistance and scrub torque. The objective of this study was to develop and validate component-level test methods to evaluate the energy loss properties of drive wheels and casters on different surfaces and with different applied loads. Rolling resistance is measured using a weighted coast-down cart and scrub torque is calculated by measuring the force required to rotate a plate that is loaded onto the tire's surface. Each test method was iterated and then applied to a cohort of drive wheels and casters. Both test methods demonstrated acceptable repeatability and the ability to distinguish energy loss parameters between common wheelchair components. The results show that caster and drive wheel energy losses can vary significantly across surfaces and with increased load on the casters. However, the findings also illuminate complex relationships between rolling resistance and scrub torque performance that embody a tradeoff in performance as applied to mobility during everyday life.
Menstrual bleeding, cycle length, and follicular and luteal phase lengths in women without known subfertility: A pooled analysis of three cohorts.

Background There is variability between women for days of menstrual bleeding, cycle lengths, follicular phase lengths, and luteal phase lengths, related to age and parity. Objective To describe total cycle length; anovulatory cycles; follicular and luteal phase lengths; and days and intensity of menstrual and non-menstrual bleeding in women without known subfertility over the course of 1 year. Methods 581 women (3,324 cycles) with no known subfertility (18-40 years of age) were followed for up to 1 year. Women recorded vaginal bleeding and mucus discharge daily. We used the peak day of cervical mucus as the estimated day of ovulation and the last day of the follicular phase. We used generalised linear mixed models stratified by age and parity to describe menstrual cycle parameters. Results The majority of women were 3 days, total cycle length >7 days, follicular phase >7 days, and luteal phase >3 days were found in 11.6%, 43.0%, 41.7%, and 58.8% of women, respectively. Conclusions Our findings confirm variability between women of menstrual cycle parameters related to age and parity, and also highlight within-woman variability in the follicular and luteal phases.
Negotiated positionalities and ethical considerations of fieldwork on migration: Interviewing the interviewer

The ethics of the interview process is an essential part of empirical field research with migrants, especially when the work involves individuals who are in a partially vulnerable situation. The unprecedented numbers of migrants who recently tried and/or succeeded in entering Europe now find themselves extremely vulnerable within its borders. Research involving these migrants is particularly challenging, as it needs to take into account migrant susceptibility while conducting field research. This paper discusses a research method that aims to disrupt the asymmetrical power hierarchies that exist between researcher and interviewee by allowing the research subject the opportunity to interview the interviewer about her personal life as well as national perceptions and discourses. By negotiating the power and performative agency of the interview process, this method worked to transfer some of the power of the researcher to the participant and diminish the constitutive violence of interviewing. By sharing some of the vulnerabilities of an interview, this method resulted in an increased number of interviewees, generated enthusiastic participation, and enriched conversations. This methodology can be effective in assuring participation and quality of information gathered in a variety of difficult research environments.
Donner de la voix : Prostituées postcoloniales dans le roman marocain contemporain

Cette contribution etudie la figure de la prostituee dans Un Pays pour mourir d’Abdellah Taia (2015) et La Verite sort de la bouche du cheval de Meryem Alaoui (2018). A la rencontre de diverses traditions, la subversion de ce type litteraire par l’exploration de « deviances » sexuelles (agentivite feminine, homosexualite, transidentite, etc.) articule une critique des rapports de genre dans la societe marocaine, mais aussi du stigmate colonial, au cœur de la metropole. La narration a la premiere personne permet a la prostituee elle-meme – comme projection de l’ecrivain – de donner voix a cette critique, devenant a la fois juge et victime de la realite postcoloniale. This article explores the literary archetype of the prostitute in two novels: Abdellah Taia’s Un Pays pour mourir (2015) and Meryem Alaoui’s La Verite sort de la bouche du cheval (2018). At the encounter of various cultural traditions, the subversion of this archetype combined with the depiction of sexual « deviancy » (female agency, homosexuality, transidentity, etc.) offer both a critique of gender relations in Moroccan society and a commentary on France’s colonial history. The first-person narrative allows the prostitute herself – a projection of the writer – to give voice to this critique, becoming simultaneously judge and victim of postcolonial reality.
Outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections from a Contaminated Gastroscope Detected by Whole Genome Sequencing Surveillance.

Background Traditional methods of outbreak investigations utilize reactive whole genome sequencing (WGS) to confirm or refute the outbreak. We have implemented WGS surveillance and a machine learning (ML) algorithm for the electronic health record (EHR) to retrospectively detect previously unidentified outbreaks and to determine the responsible transmission routes. Methods We performed WGS surveillance to identify and characterize clusters of genetically-related Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections during a 24-month period. ML of the EHR was used to identify potential transmission routes. A manual review of the EHR was performed by an infection preventionist to determine the most likely route and results were compared to the ML algorithm. Results We identified a cluster of 6 genetically related P. aeruginosa cases that occurred during a 7-month period. The ML algorithm identified gastroscopy as a potential transmission route for 4 of the 6 patients. Manual EHR review confirmed gastroscopy as the most likely route for 5 patients. This transmission route was confirmed by identification of a genetically-related P. aeruginosa incidentally cultured from a gastroscope used on 4of the 5 patients. Three infections, 2 of which were blood stream infections, could have been prevented if the ML algorithm had been running in real-time. Conclusions WGS surveillance combined with a ML algorithm of the EHR identified a previously undetected outbreak of gastroscope-associated P. aeruginosa infections. These results underscore the value of WGS surveillance and ML of the EHR for enhancing outbreak detection in hospitals and preventing serious infections.
Application of combined gas chromatography and dielectric spectroscopy in SF6 gas insulated high voltage converter transformer bushing insulation performance

High voltage converter transformer bushing is widely used in the outlet part of high-end converter transformer, and its operation safety and stability directly determine the operation effect of converter transformer. The bushing of SF6 gas insulated high voltage converter transformer is a typical multi-media insulation structure. The air end of the bushing includes SF6 gas insulation medium, and the bushing tail is in contact with transformer oil. The bushing body is generally epoxy impregnated paper composite insulation structure. For the complex insulation system, the running state of converter transformer bushing should be monitored in real time. For gas phase insulation, gas chromatography is generally used to dynamically analyze the composition of SF6 gas; for epoxy impregnated paper solid insulation, dielectric spectrum technology is generally used to analyze its wide frequency domain dielectric characteristics. Therefore, the combination of gas chromatography and dielectric spectroscopy technology can effectively characterize the insulation performance of SF6 gas insulated high-voltage converter bushing. In view of this, this paper first gives the basic theory of frequency domain dielectric spectroscopy technology and gas chromatography technology, and further analyzes the current carrying and heating conditions of the central conductor of high-voltage converter bushing under overload and short-circuit conditions. The dielectric spectrum characteristics of the converter bushing core under different temperature conditions are obtained by experiment, and the Cole-Cole model is used for fitting analysis. The decomposition characteristics of SF6 insulation gas in epoxy resin composite insulator under overload and short-circuit conditions are analyzed experimentally, and the variation curve of SF6 characteristic decomposition gas with time is obtained. Combined with the above relationship between gas chromatography and dielectric spectrum, an operational evaluation strategy for the performance of SF6 gas insulated high voltage converter bushing is proposed. In this paper, for the first time, the internal insulation performance of high-voltage converter bushing is comprehensively evaluated by gas chromatography and dielectric spectrum analysis technology for the first time, which has certain theoretical and practical application value for the operation, maintenance and overhaul of converter bushing.
Characterization of Ultralow‐Density Cellular Solids: Lessons from 30 years of Bone Biomechanics Research

Advances in additive manufacturing techniques have enabled the development of micro-architectured materials displaying a combination of low-density and lightweight structures with high specific strength and toughness. The mechanical performance of micro-architectured materials can be assessed using standard techniques; however, when studying low- and ultralow density micro-architectured materials, standard characterization techniques can be subject to experimental artifacts. Additionally, quantitative assessment and comparisons of microarchitectures with distinct lattice patterns is not always straightforward. Cancellous bone is a natural, ultralow density (porosity often exceeding 90%), irregular, cellular solid that has been thoroughly characterized in terms of micro-architecture and mechanical performance over the past 30 years. However, most the literature on cancellous bone mechanical properties and micro-structure-function relationships is in the medical literature and is not immediately accessible to materials designers. Here we provide a brief review of state-of-the-art approaches for characterizing the micro-architecture and mechanical performance of ultralow density cancellous bone, including methods of addressing experimental artifacts during mechanical characterization of ultralow density cellular solids, methods of quantifying microarchitecture, and currently understood structure-function relationships.
Basic Deal Structures

This technical notes discusses three basic deal structures used to acquire another corporation. Asset acquisitions, stock acquisitions, and mergers under state law are the three common legal forms discussed. Excerpt UVA-F-1862 Rev. Jul. 24, 2019 Basic Deal Structures Introduction There are three basic deal structures for acquiring another corporation: Asset purchase . . .
Hypoglossal nerve stimulator placement in a child with severe refractory OSA: a novel procedure in the paediatric population

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in children is primarily managed surgically with adenotonsillectomy and/or with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).[1][1] Adherence to CPAP in children is generally poor due to discomfort, inconvenience or cognitive delay. The hypoglossal nerve stimulator (HNS
The Influence of High-Fat Diet in Early Life on Intestinal Tumorigenesis in APC1638N Mice

Objectives Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent cancer worldwide. Evidence from epidemiological studies shows that the incidence rate of CRC among elders with age ≥ 50 years is gradually decreased, whereas the rate continuously rise in adults with age < 50 years. Along with the rise of CRC in young adults, a significantly increasing trend in obesity is also observed in youth. The present study aims to investigate how the early-life nutrition influences the intestinal tumorigenesis later in mouse with an age equivalent to an age < 50 years in human.
When the Sorting Hat Sorts Randomly: A Natural Experiment on Culture

Culture is a central but elusive concept in the social sciences, and so are its effects. We leverage a natural experiment in the oldest university in East Africa-a cradle of economic and political elites-where students are randomly assigned to live in halls of residence that have maintained distinct student cultures since the 1970s. A broad consensus at the university characterizes certain halls as sociable and activist, and others as academically-minded and respectful. Using an original survey of current students and behavioral games, we find that hall cultures influence a mixture of individual and interpersonal outcomes, specifically students' time preferences, identity, and interpersonal trust and generosity. However, they do not influence students' academic performance, social habits, or political preferences. An alumni survey suggests that some cultural effects endure, notably participation in activism. Our results provide novel evidence that cultural influence extends to several social domains.
Towards improved post‐processing of hydrologic forecast ensembles

Forecast ensembles of hydrological and hydrometeorologial variables are prone to various uncertainties arising from climatology, model structure and parameters, and initial conditions at the forecast date. Post-processing methods are usually applied to adjust the mean and variance of the ensemble without any knowledge about the uncertainty sources. This study initially addresses the drawbacks of a commonly used statistical technique, quantile mapping (QM), in bias correction of hydrologic forecasts. Then, an auxiliary variable, the failure index (γ), is proposed to estimate the ineffectiveness of the post-processing method based on the agreement of adjusted forecasts with corresponding observations during an analysis period prior to the forecast date. An alternative post-processor based on copula functions is then introduced such that marginal distributions of observations and model simulations are combined to create a multivariate joint distribution. A set of 2500 hypothetical forecast ensembles with parametric marginal distributions of simulated and observed variables are post-processed with both QM and the proposed multivariate post-processor. Deterministic forecast skills show that the proposed copula-based post-processing is more effective than the QM method in improving the forecasts. It is found that the performance of QM is highly correlated with the failure index, unlike the multivariate post-processor. In probabilistic metrics, the proposed multivariate post-processor generally outperforms QM. Further evaluation of techniques is conducted for river flow forecast of Sprague River basin in southern Oregon. Results show that the multivariate post-processor performs better than the QM technique; it reduces the ensemble spread and is a more reliable approach for improving the forecast. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Blurness and focusing-defocusing for through the wall radar imaging with wall ambiguities

One of the main problems facing through the wall radar imaging (TWRI) application is determining the wall characteristics at small or large stand-off distances. Wall ambiguities cause the image to change in intensity and shift in position. Several contrast based metrics have been introduced in the past to auto-focus the image in both radar and sonar applications. These metrics, although useful under high wall ambiguities, they are not sensitive to incremental errors. In this paper, we introduce new criteria that are sensitive to small errors in wall thickness and dielectric constant. These criteria use higher order statistics. The gamma correction, widely used in image processing, is used to preprocess the image to enhance the sensitivity to wall errors. Simulation results show that the new metrics assume large drop in values with small deviations from the correct wall parameters.
Flipping coins in the fly retina.

Color vision in Drosophila melanogaster relies on the presence of two different subtypes of ommatidia: the “green” and “blue.” These two classes are distributed randomly throughout the retina. The decision of a given ommatidium to take on the “green” or “blue” fate seems to be based on a stochastic mechanism. Here we compare the stochastic choice of photoreceptors in the fly retina with other known examples of random choices in both sensory and other systems.
Assessment and Treatment of Adolescent Sex Offenders

ABSTRACT This article reviews the assessment and treatment strategies for adolescent sex offenders (ASOs). In addition, building on both the current literature and the author's own experience in working with this population, a multicultural perspective is utilized to enhance the rehabilitation of ASOs from non-dominant cultures. The necessity of family involvement is called for. and the culturally sensitive treatment for such families. The article concludes with suggestions for future study and a continued emphasis on the cultural dimensions in understanding and treating adolescent sex offenders.
Quantum M2→2Λ/3 discontinuity for massive gravity with a Λ term

Abstract In a previous paper we showed that the absence of the van Dam–Veltman–Zakharov discontinuity as M 2 →0 for massive spin 2 with a Λ term is an artifact of the tree approximation, and that the discontinuity reappears at one loop, as a result of going from five degrees of freedom to two. In this Letter we show that a similar classical continuity but quantum discontinuity arises in the “partially massless” limit M 2 →2 Λ /3, as a result of going from five degrees of freedom to four.
Director agent intervention strategies for interactive narrative environments

Interactive narrative environments offer significant potential for creating engaging narrative experiences. Increasingly, applications in education, training, and entertainment are leveraging narrative to create rich interactive experiences in virtual storyworlds. A key challenge posed by these environments is building an effective model of the intervention strategies of director agents that craft customized story experiences for users. Identifying factors that contribute to determining when the next director agent decision should occur is critically important in optimizing narrative experiences. In this work, a dynamic Bayesian network framework was designed to model director agent intervention strategies. To create empirically informed models of director agent intervention decisions, we conducted a Wizard-of-Oz (WOZ) data collection with an interactive narrative-centered learning environment. Using the collected data, dynamic Bayesian network and naive Bayes models were learned and compared. The performance of the resulting models was evaluated with respect to classification accuracy and produced promising results.
Association of reactive nitrogen species metabolites, myeloperoxidase, and airway inflammation in lung transplants

Background We have previously reported that patients who had single or double lung transplants had higher concentrations than controls of nitrite and nitrate, which are metabolites of reactive nitrogen species (RNS), in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum. Methods This study investigates implications of RNS metabolites as markers of airway inflammation in a distinct group of lung transplant patients (n=40). All patients underwent spirometry, routine surveillance transbronchial lung biopsies, and bronchoalveolar lavage as required by clinical protocol. Four normal controls also had bronchoscopy for measurement of BALF nitrite (NO 2 - ) and nitrate (NO 3 - ). BALF NO 2 - and NO 3 - , myeloperoxidase (MPO), protein, and urea were assayed. Total nitrite (NO 2 - plus enzymatically reduced NO 3 - ) and urea were measured in serum. Results BALF RNS metabolites were mainly NO 3 - . Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ) obtained near bronchoscopy was compared with best postoperative FEV 1 . Total nitrite in transplant patients9 BALF and serum were 3.8±0.2 and 49±5 μM, respectively. Total nitrite in controls9 BALF and serum were 2.2±0.7 and 19±2 μM, respectively ( P R =0.650, P R =0.431, P =0.0055), change in FEV 1 from baseline (ΔFEV 1 ) ( R =-0.348, P =0.0298), and days after transplantation ( R =0.345, P =0.0294). None of the associated variables, airway inflammation (quantified as a score, “B”), ΔFEV 1 , serum, or BALF total nitrite, were explained by infection. Univariate analysis of airway inflammation in patients showed that it was associated with BALF neutrophils, ΔFEV 1 , and serum total nitrite. Conclusions Serum nitrite appears to reflect the degree of airway inflammation in this lung-transplant study group.
A dynamic generalization of the tobin model

Abstract The paper studies the stability and the non-neutrality of money issues of the neoclassical monetary growth theory when the liquidity preference function and the price dynamics equation are generalized in the Tobin model. Our generalization introduces Tobin's real purchasing power into the liquidity preference function, thereby allowing real balance flows to exert direct income effects. Such effects allow a number of separate cases in the price dynamics behavior, some of which lead to results that differ from the neoclassical propositions. Thus, these propositions are sensitive to the choice of a particular proxy measure of the transactions motives of the demand for money.
The atmospheric lifetime of methylchloroform (CH3CCl3)

The lifetime of atmospheric methyl chloroform (CH 3 CCl 3 ) is estimated to be about 6 (±1.5) years based on extensive measurements taken over the past seven years at remote locations of the world, ranging from inside the Arctic Circle to the South Pole. The average level of tropospheric hydroxyl radicals (OH) deduced from the lifetime of CH 3 CCl 3 is about 8 x 10 5 molecules/cm 3 , but this value is uncertain by up to ±75 %. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.1984.tb00252.x
Shooting War Or Peace Photographs? An Examination of Newswires’ Coverage of the Conflict in Gaza (2008-2009):

According to Galtung, a peace journalism frame is one that highlights peace initiatives and tones down differences by promoting conflict resolution. A war journalism frame, in his view, is one that...
Cationic imidazolium polymer monoliths for efficient solvent exchange, activation and fluorination on a continuous flow system

Polystyrene-imidazolium (PS-Im+Cl−) monolith was synthesized within a flow-through microfluidic chip and Teflon tubing for activating [18F]fluoride ions. The [18F]fluoride ions were trapped on the PS-Im+ monolith and were subsequently released with various phase-transfer catalysts (PTC) and carbonate or bicarbonate bases in microliter volumes of organic solvents containing 0.5% of water. The activated [18F]fluoride complex released from the PS-Im+ monolith was used to fluorinate various known PET probe precursors with diverse reactivity in a subsequent flow-through microfluidic chip without performing additional azeotropic distillation. The fluorination yields under the optimized condition for the protected [18F]FDG, protected [18F]FLT, 4-[18F]fluoroethylbenzoate, and [18F]fallypride were 93%, 96%, 77% and 73%, respectively. This method, utilizing the PS-Im+ monolith on a flow through microfluidic platform, enables the entire fluorine-18 radiochemistry to be performed on a flow-through microfluidic device within a shorter synthesis time and with fluorination efficiency that is comparable to or higher than conventional means.