cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Plasmonics-enhanced broadband graphene photodetector (Conference Presentation)

Graphene is a promising two-dimensional material for photo-detection owing to its high mobility, broadband optical absorption, zero band gap nature, and tunable carrier concentration through electrical gating. Despite these unique properties, its 2.3% optical absorption from ultraviolet to infrared wavelengths and short carrier lifetime has limited its usage for practical applications. In this work, we present a broadband, high responsivity, and high speed graphene photodetector. By use of plasmonic nanoantennas, an incident optical field can be strongly concentrated in close proximity to the metallic nanoantennas. This significantly reduces the drift path length of the majority of photo-generated carriers in graphene to the plasmonic nanoantennas that serve as the photodetector contact electrodes. As a result, a large number of the photo-generated carriers can drift to the photodetector contact electrodes despite the short carrier lifetime of graphene, offering high responsivity levels. Moreover, the photodetector is designed to offer high speed operation by minimizing the capacitive parasitics induced by the plasmonic nanoantennas. We demonstrate a broadband photo-detection operation covering the wavelength regime from 800 nm to 1800 nm. We achieve responsivity levels as high as 0.6 A/W at 800 nm, which is close to the theoretical limit of 0.65 A/W. In summary, the combination of the high-responsivity, broad bandwidth, and high-speed performance of the presented plasmonics-enhanced graphene photodetector could find many applications in future optical communication, imaging and sensing systems.
INNOVATION DIFFUSION ANALYSIS FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOCHEMICALS

Objective As multi-national firms and governments are increasing the demand for biofuels and biochemicals through policies and incentives the implications of the adoption of these emerging technologies is underexplored. This research examines the role of sustainability as explored through a traditional view and a Natural Resource Based View and its implications for global supply chain management. Method An empirically derived model of innovation adoption for biological resources is presented incorporating Rogers and Shoemaker’s five attributes of innovations using two distinct theoretical lenses: the “Traditional” and the “Natural-Resource-Based-View” (NRBV) of the firm. Results In terms of an overall assessment, the NRBV provides a much more positive view of biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels. In the traditional view, fossil fuels indeed appear to be more compatible, less complex, and much more familiar. Our analysis here provides an important input into market intelligence for industries considering a foray into the biofuels sector. Early adopters in this case will help to set the stage, and also be able to drive regulatory mandates and competitive advantage for biofuels and biochemicals as the landscape continues to evolve. They represent not only a technology that can help drive sustainability performance, but also competitive performance and strategic advantage. Conclusions Our analysis provides an important input into market intelligence for industries considering a foray into the biofuels / biochemicals sector. Early adopters in this case will help to set the stage, and also be able to drive regulatory mandates and competitive advantage for biofuels and biochemicals as the landscape continues to evolve. Biofuels / biochemicals represents not only a technology that can help drive sustainability performance, but also competitive performance and strategic advantage.
Rapid Response Team activation for pediatric patients on the acute pain service

INTRODUCTION Untreated pain or overly aggressive pain management may lead to adverse physiologic consequences and activation of the hospital's Rapid Response Team. This study is a quality improvement initiative that attempts to identify patient demographics and patterns associated with Rapid Response Team consultations for patients on the acute pain service. METHODS A retrospective review of all patients on the acute pain service from February 2011 until June 2015 was cross-referenced with inpatients requiring consultation from the Rapid Response Team. Two independent practitioners reviewed electronic medical records to determine which events were likely associated with pain management interventions. RESULTS Over a 4-year period, 4872 patients were admitted to the acute pain service of whom 135 unique patients required Rapid Response Team consults. There were 159 unique Rapid Response Team activations among 6538 unique acute pain service consults. A subset of 27 pain management-related Rapid Response Team consultations was identified. The largest percentage of patients on the acute pain service were adolescents aged 12-17 (36%). Compared to this age group, the odds of Rapid Response Team activation were higher among infants <1 year old (odds ratio = 2.85; 95% confidence interval: 1.59, 5.10; P < .001) and adults over 18 years (odds ratio = 1.68; 95% confidence interval: 1.01, 2.80; P = .046). DISCUSSION Identifying demographics and etiologies of acute pain service patients requiring Rapid Response Team consultations may help to identify patients at risk for clinical decompensation.
Characteristics of unintentional drowning deaths in children with autism spectrum disorder.

The reported prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased markedly in the past two decades. Recent research indicates that children with ASD are at a substantially increased risk of injury mortality, particularly from unintentional drowning. The purpose of this study was to explore the circumstances of fatal unintentional drowning incidents involving children with ASD under 15 years of age. During January 2000 through May 2017, US newspapers reported a total of 23 fatal drowning incidents involving 18 boys and 5 girls with ASD. Age of victims ranged from 3 to 14 years (mean = 7.7 ± 2.9 years). These drowning incidents most commonly occurred in ponds (52.2%), followed by rivers (13.0%), and lakes (13.0%). For 11 incidents with location data available, the distance between victim residence and the water body where drowning occurred averaged 290.7 m (± 231.5 m). About three-quarters (73.3%) of the drowning incidents occurred in the afternoon hours from 12:00 to 18:59. Wandering was the most commonly reported activity that led to drowning, accounting for 73.9% of the incidents. Fatal drowning in children with ASD typically occur in water bodies near the victims’ homes in the afternoon hours precipitated by wandering. Multifaceted intervention programs are urgently needed to reduce the excess risk of drowning in children with ASD.
Self-assembly of rhodamine 6G on silver nanoparticles

Abstract Understanding interactions between nanoparticles and small molecules is of significance for design of nanoparticle-based materials. Each citrate-coated silver nanoparticle (AgNP, 24 nm) in solution attracts 210,000 rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecules to assemble on its surface to form 170 nm “micelle-like” structures, where the fluorescence of the R6G molecules is efficiently quenched. The “micelles” can form agglomerates of 370 nm at higher concentrations. The R6G-AgNP self-assembly does not occur at higher R6G concentrations (≥5 µM) or can be prevented if AgNP is coated with polymers such as polyethylene glycol or polyvinyl pyrrolidone.
Chapter 1 Technological determinants of firm and industry structure

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the cost concepts required for analyzing the role of technology in the determination of firm and industry structure. It focuses on the general multiproduct case, although important single product aspects of the problem are also discussed. An analysis of the role these cost concepts play in determining efficient industry structure is presented in the chapter. The most basic concept with which to characterize the productive technology available to the firm is the technology set, a list of the combinations of inputs and outputs that are available to the firm. In a private enterprise economy, any industry structure that persists in the long run must yield the firms in the industry at least zero economic profits. This places certain restrictions on the relative locations of the cost and demand curves. In an empirical application that attempts to estimate the cost function of an individual firm, the data available may be better suited for estimating a short-run cost function: a specification that assumes that only some of the inputs available to the firm are set at their cost-minimizing levels.
C-12: MEMS Coulter counters for dynamic impedance measurement of time sensitive cells

There is a long history of cryobiologists adapting a Coulter counter to measure cellular biophysical parameters including establishing that cells are ideal osmometers, estimating water and solute permeabilities and their activation energies, and measuring isosmotic volume. These techniques have been used in many cell types to facilitate prediction of optimal protocols for CPA addition and removal as well as optimal cooling and warming protocols. While it has advantages over other techniques in some aspects, the Coulter counter technique is also challenging in several scenarios. First, the technique requires large sample volumes and cell counts, and introduces a several second time lag between exposure to anisosmotic media and cell volume detection. In many cell types and at low temperatures, this lag may not critical, but for cells with very high surface area to volume ratios, or cells with very high water permeability, this lag makes accurate biophysical measurement nearly impossible. Moreover, it is experimentally challenging to perform measurements at temperatures other than ambient. Finally, volume measurements are taken from individual cells only once as they pass through an aperture. This yields a “population” permeability estimate, and requires considerable data reduction and advanced parameter estimation techniques to obtain mean biophysical parameter values. Here we describe the design, fabrication and testing of a MEMS Coulter counter specifically designed for dynamic biophysical measurements. In particular, as opposed to several existing MEMS Coulter counters that size static cells, ours has an ultrarapid mixing region in which individual cells are rapidly mixed with desired reagents (e.g. anisosmotic media) and their volumes are measured at ten specific time points. Our new approach allows initial measurement of cell responses in less than 100 ms, provides a much improved estimate of the population variance of water and solute permeability, and facilitates very simple temperature control of the system. We present initial data and analysis of system output.
The Polya-1 Property for Convex Approximation

If f∈Lp[0, 1], let fp be its best Lp-approximant by convex functions. It is shown that if $$f \in \mathop \cup \limits_{p > 1} L_p [0,1], then \mathop {lim}\limits_{p \to 1} f_p (x)$$ exists uniformly on closed subintervals of (0,1).
Psychiatric Syndromes in Prisoner of War and Concentration Camp Survivors

One of the most tragic of the extraordinary syndromes of psychiatry is one brought about by prolonged exposure to extreme stress in captivity. The extraordinary feature of the syndrome lies in the horrifying levels of stress that produce it rather than its rarity. In fact, millions of humans in our century exhibit features characteristic of this entity. The syndrome has various names: concentration camp syndrome, repatriation neurosis, concentration camp survivor syndrome, or KZ syndrome, whcih is abbreviated from the German word Konzentrationslager (Arthur, 1974; Bloch, 1946-47; Chodoff, 1959, 1963; Dor-Shav, 1978; Eitinger, 1964, 1975; Hoppe, 1971b; Krystal, 1968; Strom, 1968). The existence of this sickness stands as evidence of massive brutality on an unprecedented scale. That there are lasting effects of such cruelty upon virtually all who were incarcerated in concentration camps or certain prisoner-of-war camps for a period longer than a few weeks is now incontrovertible. In past centuries, humans who suffered as prisoners of the Inquisition or as galley slaves in situations with a high incidence of torture and death doubtlessly had adverse somatic and psychological consequences, but their later suffering was not recorded. However, in the 20th century there have been captivity experiences on a scale without precedent, as well as systematic refinements of cruelty. The permanent injury suffered by the survivors of our time have been amply recorded and documented (Eitin-ger, 1964, 1975; Mattussek et al, 1975).
Chapter 10 Diagenesis of Subsurface Waters1

Summary In the present chapter, the writers are concerned with the origin and geochemical make-up of subterranean waters. The chemical properties of surface waters are only considered as long as they have some bearing on the subsurface water cycle. Aside from the common electrolytes present in natural waters, the nature and geological significance of dissolved organic molecules, and stable and radioactive isotopes are briefly discussed here. Special consideration is given to the mechanisms that in one way or another may alter the geochemistry of water during its residence in the lithosphere. Some ideas on the significance of water studies for the elucidation of the petroleum problem are also briefly outlined.
Pharmacogenetic Issues in Biopharmaceutical Drug Development

Several converging factors, including the sequencing of the human genome, fine manufacturing and chemical synthesis processes, and the advent of targeted biotherapeutic molecules, make this an exciting era in personalized medicine. Pharmacogenetics, the term used to describe idiosyncratic responses to drug therapy having a genetic basis, has become much more than a few SNPs in some drug-metabolizing enzymes. With the advent of biopharmaceutical drugs such as monoclonal antibodies, cytokines, and peptidomimetics, the term “pharmacogenetics” must be interpreted in a much broader sense. Indeed, biopharmaceutical agents are often subject to traditional pharmacogenetic polymorphisms. But much more than that, pharmacogenetics encompasses the use of any and all genetic information available or obtainable from an individual and/or pathogenic organisms that can be put into use in clinical practice. By their very nature, many of the diseases in question are multigenic and do not lend themselves to simple pharmacogenetic analysis. Some key examples of these and other issues surrounding the use of genetic information to combat human diseases are presented.
Laser-Assisted Patterning of a Flexible Microplasma Discharge Device for Heavy Metal and Salt Detection in Ambient Air

This paper reports on the development of a novel low-power, microplasma discharge device (MDD) which when compared to the state-of-the-art is fabricated, for the first time, using laser-assisted patterning to detect heavy metals and salts, in ambient air. The MDD was formed by sandwiching a flexible polyimide substrate between flexible copper tapes (electrodes). The MDD was implemented for detecting varying concentrations (1 mM, 1 µM, 1 nM, 1 pM) of lead nitrate (Pb(NO 3 ) 2 ) and potassium chloride (KCl) using optical emission spectroscopy (OES), in ambient air. The OES response demonstrated pico-molar (pM) concentration detection of Pb(NO 3 ) 2 and KCl. The response of the MDD is analyzed and presented in this paper.
$\hat{Z}$ invariants at rational $\tau$

$\hat{Z}$ invariants of 3-manifolds were introduced as series in $q=e^{2\pi i\tau}$ in order to categorify Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev invariants corresponding to $\tau=1/k$. However modularity properties suggest that all roots of unity are on the same footing. The main result of this paper is the expression connecting Reshetikhin-Turaev invariants with $\hat{Z}$ invariants for $\tau\in\mathbb{Q}$. We present the reasoning leading to this conjecture and test it on various 3-manifolds.
Allocating limited deicing resources in winter snow events

As the number and severity of snowfall events continue to grow, the need to direct road maintenance intelligently during these snowfall events will also grow. In several locations, local governments lack the resources to treat all roadways completely during snow events. Furthermore, some governments utilize only traffic data to determine which roads should be treated. As a result, many schools, businesses, and government offices must be unnecessarily closed, which directly impacts the social, educational, and economic well-being of citizens and institutions. In this work, we propose a mixed integer programming (MIP) formulation to allocate resources to manage snowfall on roads using meteorological, geographical, and environmental parameters. Given that MIPs often scale poorly with problem size, we also present a constructive heuristic designed for the problem. Additionally, we evaluate the impacts of an increase in budget for winter road maintenance on snow control resources.
Differences in acute reinforcement across reduced nicotine content cigarettes

The smallest difference in nicotine that can change a smoker’s cigarette preference is not clearly known. A procedure to efficiently identify the difference in nicotine needed to change cigarette preference could help inform research to gauge effects of a nicotine reduction policy. Using a within-subject design, we assessed preference for research cigarettes varying in nicotine contents (NIC; 18.7, 10.8, 5.3, 2.3, and 1.3 mg/g of tobacco), relative to a very low nicotine cigarette (VLNC; 0.4 mg/g), in 17 adult-dependent non-menthol smokers abstinent overnight. Only one NIC was compared vs. the VLNC per session, with order of the five NIC contents randomized across sessions on five separate days. Preference for each NIC vs. VLNC was determined by validated forced choice procedure, with those NIC chosen more than VLNC indicating greater reinforcement due to greater nicotine per se. Secondarily, less preference for lower NIC (vs. VLNC), relative to choice for the highest NIC, 18.7 mg/g (vs. VLNC), indexed reduced reinforcement. Overall, NIC choices increased as their nicotine increased, as anticipated. Relative to the 0.4 mg/g VLNC, choice was greater for NIC ≥ 5.3 mg/g but not ≤ 2.3 mg/g. Correspondingly, relative to choice for 18.7 mg/g, choice was less for NIC ≤ 2.3 mg/g but not ≥ 5.3 mg/g. Although replication with larger samples and longer access is needed, results indicate that nicotine reduction to ≤ 2.3 mg/g in cigarettes would attenuate reinforcement. This choice procedure may efficiently inform future clinical trials to assess relative reinforcing effects of smoking reduced nicotine cigarettes.
Maintaining Transmission: DirecTV’s Work-at-home Technical Support, Virtual Surveillance, and the Gendered Domestication of Distributive Labor:

This article draws upon interviews with work-at-home (WAH) agents who did technical support for DirecTV between 2009 and 2016. Satellite television technical support workers comprise an important n...
TUBB3 E410K syndrome: Case report and review of the clinical spectrum of TUBB3 mutations

The tubulinopathies refer to a wide range of brain malformations caused by mutations in one of the seven genes encoding different tubulin's isotypes. The β-tubulin isotype III (TUBB3) gene has a primary function in nervous system development and axon generation and maintenance, due to its neuron-specific expression pattern. A recurrent heterozygous mutation, c.1228G > A; p.E410K, in TUBB3 gene is responsible of a rare disorder clinically characterized by congenital fibrosis of the extraocular muscle type 3 (CFEOM3), intellectual disability and a wide range of neurological and endocrine abnormalities. Other mutations have been described spanning the entire gene and genotype-phenotype correlations have been proposed. We report on a 3-year-old boy in whom clinical exome sequencing allowed to identify a de novo TUBB3 E410K mutation as the molecular cause underlying a complex phenotype characterized by a severe bilateral palpebral ptosis refractory to eye surgery, psychomotor delay, absent speech, hypogonadism, celiac disease, and cyclic vomiting. Brain MRI revealed thinning of the corpus callosum with no evidence of malformation cortical dysplasia. We reviewed available records of patients with TUBB3 E410K mutation and compared their phenotype with the clinical outcome of patients with other mutations in TUBB3 gene. The present study confirms that TUBB3 E410K results in a clinically recognizable phenotype, unassociated to the distinct cortical dysplasia caused by other mutations in the same gene. Early molecular characterization of TUBB3 E410K syndrome is critical for targeted genetic counseling and prompt prospective care in term of neurological, ophthalmological, endocrine, and gastrointestinal follow-up.
Coagulopathy, Venous Thromboembolism, and Anticoagulation in Patients with COVID-19

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to a worldwide pandemic, and patients with the infection are referred to as having COVID-19. Although COVID-19 is commonly considered a respiratory disease, there is clearly a thrombotic potential that was not expected. The pathophysiology of the disease and subsequent coagulopathy produce an inflammatory, hypercoagulable, and hypofibrinolytic state. Several observational studies have demonstrated surprisingly high rates of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in both general ward and intensive care patients with COVID-19. Many of these observational studies demonstrate high rates of VTE despite patients being on standard, or even higher intensity, pharmacologic VTE prophylaxis. Fibrinolytic therapy has also been used in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Unfortunately, high quality randomized controlled trials are lacking. A literature search was performed to provide the most up-to-date information on the pathophysiology, coagulopathy, risk of VTE, and prevention and treatment of VTE in patients with COVID-19. These topics are reviewed in detail, along with practical issues of anticoagulant selection and duration. Although many international organizations have produced guidelines or consensus statements, they do not all cover the same issues regarding anticoagulant therapy for patients with COVID-19, and they do not all agree. These statements and the most recent literature are combined into a list of clinical considerations that clinicians can use for the prevention and treatment of VTE in patients with COVID-19.
Intraoperative endoluminal pyloromyotomy as a novel approach to reduce delayed gastric emptying after pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy—a retrospective study

Delayed gastric emptying (DGE) is one of the most common complications after pylorus-preserving partial pancreaticoduodenectomy (ppPD). The aim of this retrospective study was to assess whether an intraoperative pyloromyotomy during ppPD prior to the creation of duodenojejunostomy reduces DGE. Patients who underwent pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy between January 2015 and December 2017 were divided into two groups on the basis of whether an intraoperative pyloromyotomy was performed (pyloromyotomy (PM) group) or not (no pyloromyotomy (NP) group). The primary endpoint was DGE according to the ISGPS definition. The confirmatory analysis of the primary endpoint was performed with multivariate analysis. One hundred and ten patients were included in the statistical analysis. Pyloromyotomy was performed in 44 of 110 (40%) cases. DGE of any grade was present in 62 patients (56.4%). The DGE rate was lower in the PM group (40.9%) compared with the NP group (66.7%), and pyloromyotomy was associated with a reduced risk for DGE in univariate (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.16–0.76; P = 0.008) and multivariate analyses (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.13–0.77; P = 0.011). The presence of an intra-abdominal complication was an independent risk factor for DGE in the multivariate analysis (OR 5.54, 95% CI 2.00–15.36; P = 0.001). Intraoperative endoluminal pyloromyotomy during ppPD was associated with a reduced risk for DGE in this retrospective study. Pyloromyotomy should be considered a simple technique that can potentially reduce DGE rates after ppPD.
Variability in fitness effects and the limitations of fitness optimization

Evolutionary biologists commonly assess the evolutionary advantage of an allele based on its effects on the lifetime survival and reproduction of individuals. However, alleles affecting traits like sex, evolvability, and cooperation can cause fitness effects that depend heavily on differences in the environmental, genetic, and social context of individuals carrying the allele. This variability makes it difficult to summarize the evolutionary fate of an allele based solely on its effects on any one individual. In this review we show how attempts to average over variability in the fitness effects of an allele can sometimes cause misleading results. We then describe a number of intriguing new evolutionary phenomena that have emerged in studies that explicitly model the fate of alleles that influence long-term lineage dynamics. We conclude with prospects for generalizations of population genetics theory and discuss how this theory might be applied to the evolution of infectious diseases. Expected final online...
Three-body decays of heavy Dirac and Majorana fermions

Nonzero neutrino masses imply the existence of degrees of freedom and interactions beyond those in the Standard Model. A powerful indicator of what these might be is the nature of the massive neutrinos: Dirac fermions versus Majorana fermions. While addressing the nature of neutrinos is often associated with searches for lepton-number violation, there are several other features that distinguish Majorana from Dirac fermions. Here, we compute in great detail the kinematics of the daughters of the decays into charged-leptons and neutrinos of hypothetical heavy neutral leptons at rest. We allow for the decay to be mediated by the most general four-fermion interaction Lagrangian. We demonstrate, for example, that when the daughter charged-leptons have the same flavor or the detector is insensitive to their charges, polarized Majorana-fermion decays have zero forward-backward asymmetry in the direction of the outgoing neutrino (relative to the parent spin), whereas Dirac-fermion decays can have large asymmetries. Going beyond studying forward-backward asymmetries, we also explore the fully differential width of the three-body decays. It contains a wealth of information not only about the nature of the new fermions but also the nature of the interactions behind their decays.
Early-time behavior of quantum subharmonic generation

A few years ago Avetissian et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 023904 (2014); Phys. Rev. A 92, 023820 (2015)] discovered that the exponential growth rate of the stimulated annihilation photons from a singlet positronium Bose-Einstein condensate should be proportional to the square root of the positronium number density, not to the number density itself. In order to elucidate this surprising result obtained via a field-theoretical analysis, we point out that the basic physics involved is the same as that of resonant subharmonic transitions between two quantum oscillators. Using this model, we show that nonlinearities of the type discovered by Avetissian et al. are not unique to positronium and in fact will be encountered in a wide range of systems that can be modeled as nonlinearly coupled quantum oscillators.
Unexpected failure of Ixodes scapularis nymphs to transmit a North American Borrelia bissettiae strain

Abstract Globally, the Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) complex comprises more than 21 species of spirochetes. Although the USA is home to a diverse fauna of Lyme disease group Borrelia species, only two are considered responsible for human clinical disease: Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu stricto) and Borrelia mayonii. However, evidence has implicated additional B. burgdorferi (s.l.) species in human illness elsewhere. While much research has focused on the B. burgdorferi (s.s.)-tick interface, tick vectors for most of the other North American Lyme disease group Borrelia species remain experimentally unconfirmed. In this report we document the ability of Ixodes scapularis to acquire but not transmit a single strain of Borrelia bissettiae, a potential human pathogen, in a murine infection model. Pathogen-free I. scapularis larvae were allowed to feed on mice with disseminated B. burgdorferi (s.s.) or B. bissettiae infections. Molted infected nymphs were then allowed to feed on naive mice to assess transmission to a susceptible host through spirochete culture and qPCR throughout in ticks collected at various developmental stages (fed larvae and nymphs, molted nymphs, and adults). In this study, similar proportions of I. scapularis larvae acquired B. bissettiae and B. burgdorferi (s.s.) but transstadial passage to the nymphal stage was less effective for B. bissettiae. Furthermore, B. bissettiae-infected nymphs did not transmit B. bissettiae infection to naive susceptible mice as determined by tissue culture and serology. In the tick, B. bissettiae spirochete levels slightly increased from fed larvae to molted and then fed nymphs, yet the bacteria were absent in molted adults. Moreover, in contrast to B. burgdorferi (s.s.), B. bissettiae failed to exponentially increase in upon completion of feeding in our transmission experiment. In this specific model, I. scapularis was unable to support B. bissettiae throughout its life-cycle, and while live spirochetes were detected in B. bissettiae-infected ticks fed on naive mice, there was no evidence of murine infection. These data question the vector competence of Ixodes scapularis for B. bissettiae. More importantly, this specific B. bissettiae-I. scapularis model may provide a tool for researchers to delineate details on mechanisms involved in Borrelia-tick compatibility.
Subcutaneous immunoglobulin treatment for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) therapy is an established long-term treatment in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) that is commonly administered intravenously (IVIg). The subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg) administration route is a safe and effective alternative option, approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2018, for maintenance treatment of adults with CIDP. Physicians and patients alike need to be aware of all their treatment options in order to make informed decisions and plan long-term treatment strategies. In this review, we collate the evidence for SCIg in CIDP from all published studies and discuss their implications and translation to clinical practice. We also provide guidance on the practicalities of how and when to transition patients from IVIg to SCIg and ongoing patient support. Evidence suggests that IVIg and SCIg have comparable long-term efficacy in CIDP. However, SCIg can provide additional benefits for some patients, including no requirement for venous access or premedication, and reduced frequency of systemic adverse events. Local-site reactions are more common with SCIg than IVIg, but these are mostly well-tolerated and abate with subsequent infusions. Data suggest that many patients prefer SCIg following transition from IVIg. SCIg preference may be a result of the independence and flexibility associated with self-infusion, whereas IVIg preference may be a result of familiarity and reliance on a healthcare professional for infusions. In practice, individualizing maintenance dosing based on disease behavior and determining the minimally effective IgG dose for individuals are key considerations irrespective of the administration route chosen.
Educating for diversity, equity, and inclusion: A review of commonly used educational approaches.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are fundamentally important concepts for advancing clinical and translational science (CTS) education. CTS education spans a wide range of disciplines from cell biology to clinical and community/population research. This large scope both in terms of intellectual areas and target groups requires an understanding of existing educational approaches for DEI as we translate DEI from mere concepts into equitable actions within CTS education. In this review, we provide the readers with the most common DEI educational approaches, including cultural humility, bias training, and improving mentoring to diversify the workforce. DEI educational materials can achieve maximal success and long-term impact when implemented as institutional-wide interventions, and the materials are not seen as an isolated or independent curriculum. Approaches, strategies, and programs to achieve this are many. However, many questions remain unanswered about what the best approach, strategies, and programs are to be implemented in institutional-wide education that will be embedded in CTS education.
A picogram- and nanometre-scale photonic-crystal optomechanical cavity

The dynamic back-action caused by electromagnetic forces (radiation pressure) in optical and microwave cavities is of growing interest. Back-action cooling, for example, is being pursued as a means of achieving the quantum ground state of macroscopic mechanical oscillators. Work in the optical domain has revolved around millimetre- or micrometre-scale structures using the radiation pressure force. By comparison, in microwave devices, low-loss superconducting structures have been used for gradient-force-mediated coupling to a nanomechanical oscillator of picogram mass. Here we describe measurements of an optical system consisting of a pair of specially patterned nanoscale beams in which optical and mechanical energies are simultaneously localized to a cubic-micron-scale volume, and for which large per-photon optical gradient forces are realized. The resulting scale of the per-photon force and the mass of the structure enable the exploration of cavity optomechanical regimes in which, for example, the mechanical rigidity of the structure is dominantly provided by the internal light field itself. In addition to precision measurement and sensitive force detection, nano-optomechanics may find application in reconfigurable and tunable photonic systems, light-based radio-frequency communication and the generation of giant optical nonlinearities for wavelength conversion and optical buffering.
Pavor misógino: La mujer como monstruo excelso en "El infierno tan temido", de Juan Carlos Onetti

El relato de Juan Carlos Onetti «El infierno tan temido», permite observar en detalle al monstruo femenino. Segun Mary Helene Huet, como la mujer, el monstruo —signo de desorden en un sistema que busca la normalizacion de los cuerpos—, se define por su impostura, por su capacidad de mutar y adoptar otras identidades en un despliegue increible de mascaradas. El relato culmina con el suicidio del protagonista y la supervivencia de las mujeres, gestos cruciales para la exaltacion de la mujer como monstruo sublime. El imaginario grotesco (Bajtin), que privilegio en esta lectura, permite revelar el alcance de este monstruo, pues lo «grotesco», que veo como una extension del monstruo, evoca la imagen del cuerpo femenino y cavernoso.
Sb incorporation at GaAs(0 0 1)-(2 × 4) surfaces

Abstract We examine the Sb incorporation and resulting surface reconstructions of Sb and GaSb deposited on GaAs(0 0 1). These films exhibit a mixed surface reconstruction of α2(2 × 4) and α(4 × 3). Initially, Sb reacts with Ga on the surface to form 2D islands of GaSb with an α(4 × 3) surface reconstruction. The 2D islands grow to a critical size of 30 nm 2 , beyond which the atomic surface structure of the 2D island transforms to a α2(2 × 4) reconstruction in order to reduce the strain induced surface energy. This transformation is limited by the availability of Ga, which is necessary in higher quantities for the α2(2 × 4) reconstruction than for the α(4 × 3). The transformation results in a mixed α2(2 × 4)-α(4 × 3) surface where the surface reconstruction is coupled to the surface morphology, which may in the future provide a pathway for self-assembly of structures.
The Poet in the Age of Prose: Reflections on Hegel's Aesthetics and Rilke's Duino Elegies

With Hegel's observations in his Lectures on Aesthetics, on the dif ference between the epic poetry of the ancients and the novel as the dominant literary form of the present, we are at the center of these meditations. The great epic poems of antiquity, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, for instance, or Virgil's Aeneid, reflect not only the minds of certain poets; they are, at the same time, as are all great literary works, recognizable as the product of an age; and the age of Homer, the age of epic poetry, Hegel characterizes as a "fundamentally poetic state of the world," that is a world in which poetry is not merely written, but, as it were, lived. The active intervention and par ticipation of gods in the lives of mortals; groves and springs and hills as the habitats of nymphs and fauns; the poetic comprehension of what is, was at that time not a matter of the poetic imagination at work in the minds of a few chosen individuals, of artists whose successors, much later in history, more often than not lamented their separation from their contemporary sur roundings, but was "natural," a matter of fact, of ways of thinking and feel ing shared by the whole community. It is not absurd to say that in such a world our distinctions between imagination and fact were of little impor tance, if not unknown. It is this that led the young Nietzsche to accuse the first great analytical rationalist of Greece, Socrates, the indefatigable questioner, of having destroyed mythology (or what now goes by that name), of having helped to bring about the end of tragedy, indeed, of Greek art. But back to Hegel: of .his own epoch he said that it was the age of prose, and in this respect it certainly is still ours. The age of prose: this meant for him that prose had become the ruling mode of perception. Understanding is prosaic understanding. Our science is, of course, written in prose, and this implies not merely a manner of writing, but a style of comprehension, and prose is our psychology, our economics, our sociology?all our efforts intel ligently to grasp the nature of the world. For Hegel all articulate religious beliefs of the past, Greek mythology, for instance, are part and parcel of a poetic understanding of the world although the purified religion of the future would be, he asserted, beyond any kind of truth that can manifest itself entirely in images, or in works of art. Still, with regard to the past and the present he distinguishes between "two spheres of hurflan consciousness: Poetry and Prose." Yes, of course, he was
Experimental evaluation of query fingerprinting with embedded search term markers

Previous studies have shown that visualization is an effective solution in finding relevant information from a huge collection of information. This paper presents experimental results of an information visualization system, which presents retrieved articles through visual abstraction. In order to address the difficulties in interpreting the color codes, the Query Fingerprinting system has been reinforced with embedded search term markings on the color codes. For a non-biased evaluation of the developed algorithms, a series of experiments has been executed on TREC-5 text collection with their corresponding queries and relevance judgments. The results show that the participants who utilized the developed method in judging the relevancy of articles showed better performance while maintaining the accuracy than the users who utilized a system based on the traditional approach. The participants also have shown a high degree of satisfaction with the search term markings in understanding the distributional patterns of queries. The experiment acknowledges the feasibility of the Query Fingerprinting with embedded search term markers as a search-supporting tool, which assists users' decision-making processes and lessens the search activities.
Detections of the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid in surface waters of three agricultural regions of California, USA, 2010-2011.

Seventy-five surface water samples were collected from three agricultural regions of California and analyzed for the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid. Samples were collected during California’s relatively dry-weather irrigation seasons in 2010 and 2011. Imidacloprid was detected in 67 samples (89%); concentrations exceeded the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s chronic invertebrate Aquatic Life Benchmark of 1.05 μg/L in 14 samples (19%). Concentrations were also frequently greater than similar toxicity guidelines developed for use in Europe and Canada. The results indicate that imidacloprid commonly moves offsite and contaminates surface waters at concentrations that could harm aquatic organisms following use under irrigated agriculture conditions in California.
Programming Intelligent Problem Solvers

How do problem-solving programs work? How much has been accomplished with them so far? What kinds of developments may be anticipated over the next few years? Two research programs under development are discussed as illustrations of the evolution of heuristic programming systems. Applications of these techniques in studies of problem solving in mathematics and symbolic logic, in industrial and business problems, in laboratory tasks, chess playing and the understanding of language also are considered. The emphasis throughout is on exposition of methods and goals. The paper concludes with a discussion of longer range problems, aspirations, and research strategies in work on artificial intelligence.
Anthropology 3: An Experiment in the Multimedia Teaching of Introductory Archaeology

The introductory archaeology course at the University of California at Santa Barbara has undergone a dramatic metamorphosis in the past two years. The course has gone from a largely passive, lecture-centered learning experience to a much more student-centric one. One aspect of that shift has been the incorporation of interactive computer exercises and simulations. While a substantial change in itself, the incorporation of computer exercises is only a small part of the total transformation of the course. The key to the successful use of the new technology in the course was a fundamental shift in our approach to teaching the material. Some elements of that shift include: reducing lecture time; increasing opportunities for one-on-one interaction between instructors and students; mixing small-group and individual exercises; and creating a more democratized information network incorporating instructors, teaching assistants, computer resources, readings, and students into a learning community.
Trial-Heat Forecasts of the Presidential Vote

This research examines Gallup poll trial-heat forecasts of the two-party presidential popular vote for the incumbent presidential party. First, several existing forecasting equations are updated and evaluated. Trial-heat results at six points throughout campaigns from 1948 to 1988 are then examined. These trial-heats are used in several ways to produce presidential vote forecasts: (a) in raw form as direct forecasts, (b) alone in regression estimated forecasts, and (c) in conjunction with economic growth in regression estimated forecasts. As Lewis-Beck and Rice found in 1985, the earliest and most accurate trial-heat forecasts are those using early September trial-heats and second-quarter real growth in the gross national product. These forecasts are also more accurate than forecasts based on previous models. The early September trial-heat/economy forecast equation has an average "within-sample" error of only ±1 percentage point (adjusted R2 = .94, SEE = 1.5) and a mean "out-of-sample" error of ±1.1 perce...
Pair correlation function for Ising spins with competing dynamics

An interacting Ising spin system on a lattice with the competing influence of spin-flip (Glauber) and spin-exchange (Kawasaki) dynamics is studied. The exact nonequilibrium steady-state solution of the pair correlation function in one dimension is derived and compared with the simulation data. The two-dimensional solution, under some Ansatz, is also discussed.
Political opinion leadership and advertisement attitude:The moderating roles of cognitive and affective responses to political messages

Abstract Political opinion leadership is a type of viewer involvement measure that may be relevant to predicting the viewer's attitude toward an advertisement with political content. This study was designed to investigate if cognitive and affective responses to political messages in fashion advertisements play any moderating roles in the relationship between political opinion leadership and advertisement attitude. The results suggest that effectiveness of political content in the advertisement for politically involved consumers may be determined by how clearly the message is communicated to the viewers. Discussions were also made as to the distinction between textual and pictorial messages and to how the viewer's recognition of a pictorial message can be a factor affecting the impact of political opinion leadership on attitude toward advertisement with political content.
PIF Genes Mediate the Effect of Sucrose on Seedling Growth Dynamics

As photoautotrophs, plants can use both the form and amount of fixed carbon as a measure of the light environment. In this study, we used a variety of approaches to elucidate the role of exogenous sucrose in modifying seedling growth dynamics. In addition to its known effects on germination, high-resolution temporal analysis revealed that sucrose could extend the number of days plants exhibited rapid hypocotyl elongation, leading to dramatic increases in ultimate seedling height. In addition, sucrose changed the timing of daily growth maxima, demonstrating that diel growth dynamics are more plastic than previously suspected. Sucrose-dependent growth promotion required function of multiple phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs), and overexpression of PIF5 led to growth dynamics similar to plants exposed to sucrose. Consistent with this result, sucrose was found to increase levels of PIF5 protein. PIFs have well-established roles as integrators of response to light levels, time of day and phytohormone signaling. Our findings strongly suggest that carbon availability can modify the known photomorphogenetic signaling network.
Update on imbalanced distribution of endodontists: 1995-2006.

Abstract Introduction Past studies on the number of endodontists in the United States indicated an imbalanced distribution of private practice endodontic practitioners in most regions, states, counties, and zip code areas of the country. The availability of more recent studies by the American Dental Association (ADA) provides an opportunity to follow up on these previous studies. Methods The 2006 and past ADA surveys on the Distribution of Dentists in the United States, Advanced Dental Education, and Dental Practice were used to evaluate the number of graduates from advanced education programs in endodontics, the changing number and distribution of endodontists, full-time and part-time work patterns, and the income of private practicing endodontists. Results A gradual increase in the number of graduates from advanced education programs in endodontics is reflected in a continuing increase in the overall number of private practicing endodontists, but with ongoing differences in endodontists-to-population ratios at the regional and state levels. Conclusion The findings follow previous study results confirming the increasing numbers of endodontists and continuing differences in the endodontists-to-population ratios at both the regional and state levels. Concerns about the distribution of endodontists in the future need to be considered in terms of evolving dental disease patterns, changing demands for services, evolving third-party mechanisms, and the increased number of female practitioners (with fewer reported working hours than their male counterparts).