cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spectrum sharing with distributed interference compensation

We consider a spectrum sharing problem in which each wireless transmitter can select a single channel from a set of available channels, along with the transmission power. An asynchronous distributed pricing (ADP) scheme is proposed, in which users exchange "price" signals that indicate the negative effect of interference at the receivers. Given this set of prices, each transmitter chooses a channel and power level to maximize its net benefit (utility minus cost). We show that a sequential version of this single-channel (SC)-ADP algorithm converges with two users and an arbitrary number of channels, and observe via simulation that it exhibits rapid convergence with more users in the network. The pricing algorithm always outperforms the heuristic algorithm in which each user picks the best channel without exchanging interference prices. In a dense network with heavy interference, the SC-ADP algorithm can also perform better than the iterative water-filling algorithm where each user transmits over multiple channels but the users do not exchange any information. The performance of the SC-ADP algorithm is also compared with a multi-channel (MC)-ADP algorithm in which users can transmit over multiple channels and exchange interference prices over each channel
The medium temperature superconductor (MTS) design philosophy

This paper proposes basic principles for large-scale application design in the range 10-35 K, called medium temperature superconductor (MTS) design. Three separate categories of MTS design are analyzed, using LTS (e.g., A15), true MTS (e.g., MgB/sub 2/), and high-temperature superconductor (HTS) (e.g., BSSCO, YBCO) superconductors. Performance and limitations of each approach are quantified for critical current, stability and protection limits. The assumption that future applications will be dominated by high-temperature superconductors is challenged, arguing that MTS should be the preferred method for many energy, fusion, and high energy physics applications.
The oral pathology report: submission of specimens and interpretation of results

The most accurate histopathologic interpretation of an oral biopsy specimen is often dependent on a variety of factors that may influence the pathologist's analysis of the disease process. Clinical data are often as important as proper sampling or appropriate handling of the biopsy specimen. The oral and maxillofacial pathology laboratory should be considered a useful resource for the diagnosis of oral lesions, particularly those which seem to be more challenging.
Perforin activates clathrin- and dynamin-dependent endocytosis, which is required for plasma membrane repair and delivery of granzyme B for granzyme-mediated apoptosis.

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells destroy target cells via the polarized exocytosis of lytic effector proteins, perforin and granzymes, into the immunologic synapse. How these molecules enter target cells is not fully understood. It is debated whether granzymes enter via perforin pores formed at the plasma membrane or whether perforin and granzymes are first endocytosed and granzymes are then released from endosomes into the cytoplasm. We previously showed that perforin disruption of the plasma membrane induces a transient Ca2+ flux into the target cell that triggers a wounded membrane repair response in which lysosomes and endosomes donate their membranes to reseal the damaged membrane. Here we show that perforin activates clathrin- and dynamin-dependent endocytosis, which removes perforin and granzymes from the plasma membrane to early endosomes, preserving outer membrane integrity. Inhibiting clathrin- or dynamin-dependent endocytosis shifts death by perforin and granzyme B from apoptosis to necrosis. Thus by activating endocytosis to preserve membrane integrity, perforin facilitates granzyme uptake and avoids the proinflammatory necrotic death of a membrane-damaged cell.
Writing the Wrong Can Counter-Stereotypes Offset Negative Media Messages about African Americans?

Several studies show media messages activate or exacerbate racial stereotypes. This analysis, however, may be the first to examine which types of information—those that directly contradict media messages (i.e., crime-related) or general news (i.e., non-crime-related)—are most effective in abating stereotypes. Its findings suggest fear of crime is becoming more a human fear, not just a racial one. Furthermore, it suggests that for younger Americans, the concomitant dyad of the black criminal stereotype—race and crime—is fueled more by crime than by race.
Thyrotropin levels during hydrocortisone infusions that mimic fasting- induced cortisol elevations: A clinical research center study

Both short term fasting and administration of high doses of glucocorticoids lead to marked suppression of serum TSH levels in healthy subjects. However, it is not known whether the more mild serum cortisol elevations seen during fasting can account for fasting-induced TSH suppression. To study this question, eight healthy subjects each underwent three 2-day studies: 1) baseline (adlibitum diet), 2) fasting (56 h of total caloric deprivation), 3) hydrocortisone (HC) infusions at a dose and pulsatile pattern that reproduced cortisol levels measured during each subject's fasting study. Subjects required 34-46 mg HC/24 h to achieve these cortisol levels. During each study, blood samples were drawn every 15 min during the final 24 h for serum cortisol and TSH levels. A TRH stimulation test was performed at the end of each study. By design, fasting and HC infusions induced similar mild increases in 24-h serum cortisol levels (32% over baseline), with the most significant increases seen between 1400-0200 h. Fasting decreased 24-h mean and pulsatile TSH levels 65% from baseline, whereas HC infusions decreased mean and pulsatile TSH levels 51% from baseline. Daytime (0800-0200 h) TSH levels were identical in the two studies, whereas nocturnal (0200-0800 h) TSH levels during HC infusions fell midway between baseline and fasting studies. Serum total T3 and TSH responses to TRH were decreased to a similar degree by fasting or HC infusions. These results suggest that mild elevations in endogenous cortisol levels may mediate at least in part fasting-induced changes in TSH secretion and thyroid hormone levels. In addition, these data show that near-physiological doses of HC and resulting changes in serum cortisol levels within the normal range can cause significant decreases in serum TSH levels.
Enhancement of Internal Excellence & Its Measurement

In the article, the author describes and discusses his experimentations on enhancing internal excellence. The state of chakras has been selected for scrutiny in this investigation. If the chakras are on target, the rest of the system should be equally good. The notion of chakras, or energy channels, is an ancient Indian concept developed thousands of years ago. There are seven chakras, whose state is correlated with energies of the ten fingers. When the appropriate fingers of the right hand and the left both have the correct amount of energy, the associated chakra will be of the correct size and perfectly aligned at the central vertical line. The state of the chakras is influenced by both the physiological and psychoemotional state of the subject and so this is a 2-input 1-output problem. When the emotions come under control - they will with meditation, it will reduce to a 1-input 1-output problem. The selected meditation process should address both the size of all the chakras, and their balance, meaning closeness to the central line.
Food web design: causes and consequences

Now that I have discussed the patterns of species interactions in food webs, it is time for two questions whose answers require some synthesis: (i) what are the causes of these patterns and (ii) what are their consequences to the functioning of the ecosystems to which the species belong?
The fractal dimension of the inflationary universe

Abstract In cosmological scenarios of the new inflationary type, inflation never ends completely. The total volume of inflating regions grows exponentially with time, and they form a self-similar fractal of dimension slightly less than 3.
Performance Analysis of Secondary Users in the Presence of Attackers in Cognitive Radio Networks

Cognitive radio network is regarded as an emerging technology to solve 'spectrum scarcity' through dynamic spectrum access to support exponentially increasing wireless subscriptions. However, spectrum sensing and dynamic spectrum sharing in cognitive radio network invite more security attacks making security as one of the main concerns. In this paper, we analyze the performance of the secondary users in terms of physical-layer security in the presence of both eavesdroppers and jammers in cognitive radio networks. In this case, secondary users not only have to compete against eavesdroppers and jammers (who are trying to reduce the secrecy rates of secondary users) but also have to compete with other secondary users to gain access to idle channels to gain high secrecy rates. The main contribution of this work is to investigate game theoretical model to maximize utility of secondary users in the presence of eavesdroppers and jammers. The proposed approach can be particularized to a scenario with eavesdroppers only or jammers only while evaluating the performance of secondary user physical layer security. Performance of the proposed approach is evaluated with the help of numerical results obtained from simulations and the proposed approach outperforms other existing methods. Furthermore, there is sever impact on utilities (secrecy rates) of secondary users when both eavesdroppers and jammers are active in the network.
New and Unusual Discomycetes of Western Washington

(1936). New and Unusual Discomycetes of Western Washington. Mycologia: Vol. 28, No. 5, pp. 483-488.
Relation of Local Circulation between Ovaries and Uterus to Lifespan of Corpora Lutea in Rats

SummaryThe effects of sham operation, bilateral ligature of blood vessels joining the uterus to the ovary, and hysterectomy were determined on the length of pseudopregnancy in rats. Hysterectomy or bilateral ligature of blood vessels joining the uterus to the ovary significantly increased the length of pseudo-pregnancy when compared to sham-operated controls. These results indicate that the circulation between the uterus and ovaries is important in local control of luteal lifespan in the rat.
Neonatal end-of-life care: A review of the research literature

While advances in neonatal medicine have increased the possibility of sustaining life for many infants, more infants still die in the neonatal period (birth to 27 days of life) than those in any other time in childhood. Despite this statistic, there still remains much that is unknown about both the needs and the care of these critically ill babies. Palliative care is a viable option for many of these infants and their families. However, palliative care is rarely provided as an option for families. To provide healthcare providers with an overview of palliative and end-of-life care for infants in the neonatal period, we conducted an integrative review of the current research literature. A total of 10 articles were selected for the review. Findings from these studies were summarized in 1 of 4 categories: practices of withdrawing or withholding life-sustaining treatment, pain management during ventilator withdrawal, parents and the decision-making process, and the dying process.
The relation between hyperhomocysteine and pulmonary thromboembolism and the effects of folic acid on the levels

Objective:To investigate whether hyperhomocysteine(HHcy)increases the risk of pulmonary thromboembolism(PTE),and folio acid reduces HHcy in the disease in the Chinese population.Method:41 patients with PTE and 34 sex and age_matched healthy control were recruited,the patients conformed to the diagnostic criteria formulated by respiratory disease branch,Chinese medicine association.The concentration of plasma Hcy was measured with high performance liquid chromatography.The patients with HHcy were treated with 5 mg of folic acid combined with 0.5 mg of vitamine B_ 12 for 10 days.Result:The concentration of plasma Hey in PTE group was significantly higher than that in healthy control group[(20.1±7.8)μmol/L vs(13.8±4.7)μmol/L,t=4.79,P0.05)].Compared with normal plasma Hcy,HHcy was associated with a 2.44_fold risk of PTE.Folic acid in combination with vitamine B_ 12 would obviously decrease HHcy.Conclusion:Our results show that HHcy is an independent risk factor of PTE,and folic acid plus vitamine B_ 12 can effectively reduce HHcy in PTE in the Chinese population.
The Design for Discretional Signal Generator Based on SCM and AD9852

Bring forward a new design for discretional signal generator,which is based on SCM and AD9852.Introduce the hardware interface circuit of SCM and AD9852,the AD9852 serial working flow and the key technology of Broad Band filter.
The real security issues of the iPhone case

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pitched its recent court battle with Apple as one of national security versus privacy. But in the conflict over public use of cryptography, decades in the making, this latest battle is actually a collision over differing notions of security in a digital age ( 1 ). Law enforcement contends that there should be no “warrant-proof” spaces: When there is a valid court order, agents should be able to access communications devices and systems. Technologists ( 2 ) and many former government security officials ( 3 – 5 ) see this differently: Weakening smartphones' security provided by encrypted communications is counterproductive to long-term security. The ability to secure data on smartphones is crucial not just for the private information present on phones but also because of the ability of smartphones to securely authenticate users to online accounts. Rather than rely on out-of-date approaches to law enforcement, the FBI must develop 21st-century investigative capability.
Hot Hole Hopping in a Polyoxotitanate Cluster Terminated with Catechol Electron Donors

Fast hole hopping in Ti17cat4, a 1 nm diameter molecular polyoxotitanate cluster bearing four catechol ligands (Ti17(μ4-O)4(μ3-O)16(μ2-O)4(cat)4(OPri)16), was investigated by ultrafast spectroscopy and quantum dynamics simulations. The catechol moieties coupled to the TiO2 core of the cluster give rise to a charge-transfer band, the excitation of which promotes an electron from the highest occupied molecular orbital of the ligand to the inorganic core, resulting in the formation of {cat+•,Ti3+}, a vibrationally hot polaronic exciton. Dynamic depolarization measurements indicate that within less than 100 fs the Franck–Condon polaronic state formed at the interface evolves into a fully charge-separated state and the injected electron delocalizes over the quasi conduction band of the cluster. The positive charge (hole) resulting from the injection does not remain static either. The initial hole hopping between the catechol sites occurs with the rate of ∼5 × 1011 s–1 or more and competes with the intramolecul...
Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction: – Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Prognosis, Diagnosis, Risk Factors and Therapy –

Angina has traditionally been thought to be caused by obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). However, a substantial number of patients with angina are found to not have obstructive CAD when undergoing coronary angiography. A significant proportion of these patients have coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD), characterized by heightened sensitivity to vasoconstrictor stimuli and limited microvascular vasodilator capacity. With the advent of non-invasive and invasive techniques, the coronary microvasculature has been more extensively studied in the past 2 decades. CMD has been identified as a cause of cardiac ischemia, in addition to traditional atherosclerotic disease and vasospastic disease. CMD can occur alone or in the presence obstructive CAD. CMD shares many similar risk factors with macrovascular CAD. Diagnosis is achieved through detection of an attenuated response of coronary blood flow in response to vasodilatory agents. Imaging modalities such as cardiovascular magnetic resonance, positron emission tomography, and transthoracic Doppler echocardiography have become more widely used, but have not yet completely replaced the traditional intracoronary vasoreactivity testing. Treatment of CMD starts with lifestyle modification and risk factor control. The use of traditional antianginal, antiatherosclerotic medications and some novel agents may be beneficial; however, clinical trials are needed to assess the efficacy of the pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapeutic modalities. In addition, studies with longer-term follow-up are needed to determine the prognostic benefits of these agents. We review the epidemiology, prognosis, pathogenesis, diagnosis, risk factors and current therapies for CMD.
Energy improvements from subpanel DC-DC converters in PV arrays with distributed mismatch

Mismatch in solar arrays is caused by singular sources or as a combination of multiple smaller effects which supplement one another. Subpanel dc-dc converters have demonstrated the ability to handle mismatch in photovoltaic (PV) strings regardless of the source. This work will investigate the impact on power production of varying degrees of mismatch spread throughout a PV array. A comparison is made between PV strings with dc-dc converters and conventional strings employing bypass diodes. When mismatch is widespread, the power output of strings with dc-dc converters tends to favor the mean maximum power point (MPP) of the PV elements. Power output of strings with bypass diodes tends to be pulled down by low power outliers.
Eugenol specialty chemical production in transgenic poplar (Populus tremula × P. alba) field trials

A foundational study assessed effects of biochemical pathway introduction into poplar to produce eugenol, chavicol, p-anol, isoeugenol and their sequestered storage products, from potentially available substrates, coniferyl and p-coumaryl alcohols. At the onset, it was unknown whether significant carbon flux to monolignols vs. other phenylpropanoid (acetate) pathway metabolites would be kinetically favoured. Various transgenic poplar lines generated eugenol and chavicol glucosides in ca. 0.45% (~0.35 and ~0.1%, respectively) of dry weight foliage tissue in field trials, as well as their corresponding aglycones in trace amounts. There were only traces of any of these metabolites in branch tissues, even after ~4-year field trials. Levels of bioproduct accumulation in foliage plateaued, even at the lowest introduced gene expression levels, suggesting limited monolignol substrate availability. Nevertheless, this level still allows foliage collection for platform chemical production, with the remaining (stem) biomass available for wood, pulp/paper and bioenergy product purposes. Several transformed lines displayed unexpected precocious flowering after 4-year field trial growth. This necessitated terminating (felling) these particular plants, as USDA APHIS prohibits the possibility of their interacting (cross-pollination, etc.) with wild-type (native plant) lines. In future, additional biotechnological approaches can be employed (e.g. gene editing) to produce sterile plant lines, to avoid such complications. While increased gene expression did not increase target bioproduct accumulation, the exciting possibility now exists of significantly increasing their amounts (e.g. 10- to 40-fold plus) in foliage and stems via systematic deployment of numerous 'omics', systems biology, synthetic biology and metabolic flux modelling approaches.
An Integral Measurement of Plutonium-239 and Uranium-233 Alpha

Integral values of the capture-to-fission cross-section ratio for 239Pu and 233U have been measured in a soft spectrum fast reactor critical assembly using mass spectrometric techniques to determin...
ACQUISITION OF TIME-RESOLVED BRACHIAL PRESSURE WAVEFORMS FROM CUFF-BASED PULSE VOLUME RECORDINGS

Background: Time-resolved brachial pressure (BP) waveforms are informative regarding pulsatile arterial hemodynamics. In contrast to technically-demanding arterial tonometry (AT), noninvasive cuff-based pulse waveforms recordings (PVR) can be acquired without special training. Although similar in
Immigration Ethics and the Context of Justice (Review Essay)

This Review Essay, discussing David Miller's Strangers in Our Midst: The Political Philosophy of Immigration, (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2016), argues that Miller's mode of doing "contextualist" political theory encounters a uniquely complicating case in the immigration setting.
Predicting tree-seedling height distributions using subcontinental-scale forest inventory data

Abstract The importance of tree seedlings in determining future stand composition and structure is well-documented in forestry literature. When planned or unanticipated overstory removal events occur, subsequent regeneration success is often linked to the number of seedlings and their height distribution. Yet, in most forest inventories, only counts of seedlings are obtained as it is too time-consuming to measure individual seedlings. To better understand the expected height distribution, models were developed to predict Weibull distribution parameters based on seedling abundance information and stand/site characteristics. A number of these characteristics were found to be statistically significant predictors of the distribution parameters; however, a more parsimonious model using stand basal area, stand age, number of seedlings, and latitude provided essentially the same fit statistics. Models were fitted for all species and for selected species subgroups, but there was generally insufficient data at this time to develop species-level analyses.
Introducing a soybean oil-derived material as a potential rejuvenator of asphalt through rheology, mix characterisation and Fourier Transform Infrared analysis

The interest in rejuvenators has been growing rapidly in the past few years due to their ability to restore aged binders to their unaged state and the availability of aged recycled materials. The introduction of rejuvenators has made it possible to produce asphalt mixes with high recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) content. Typically rejuvenators need to be added to the RAP bitumen in high dosages, more than 10%, to achieve the desired effect. In this work a new soybean-derived additive is introduced as a rejuvenator, at 0.75% by weight of the bitumen. The effect of adding the soybean-derived rejuvenator on the rheological properties of both a performance grade (PG) 64-28 and a PG 58-28 bitumen is assessed using a dynamic shear rheometer, a bending beam rheometer and a rotational viscometer. Dynamic modulus specimens for both the control and modified blends were prepared using a mixing and compaction temperature of 120°C, as well as a temperature of 140°C, and master curves were constructed using test results...
New genus of dimeropygid trilobites from the earliest Ordovician of Laurentia

The new genus Tulepyge includes a type species, T. tulensis nov., from the Barn Canyon Member of the House Formation, western Utah, USA, and T. paucituberculata from the Broom Point Member of the Green Point Formation, western New− foundland, Canada. Both species are earliest Ordovician in age, with occurrence immediately above the Cambrian–Ordo− vician boundary. Together with the hystricurid taxon Millardicurus, the new genus is likely to serve as an indicator fossil for the Cambrian–Ordovician boundary in Laurentia, as it is already known from different biofacies on opposite margins of the continent. Tulepyge is not closely comparable with contemporaneous taxa assigned to Hystricuridae but in its dor− sally convex and coarsely tuberculate exoskeleton it resembles taxa which have been referred to Dimeropygidae, most of which are considerably younger in age.
Formal Systems, Logics, and Programs

This article connects certain writings of Raymond Smullyan on logic and formal systems with current research on constructive type theory. It also considers aspects of teaching logic to computer science students. Those students require logic in order to precisely define programming tasks and demonstrate that programs meet logical specifications of these tasks. Smullyan’s book First-Order Logic has been used for many years to teach logic to computer science students at Cornell. This article includes a brief account of an elegant result from this book. It is based on an extension of a fourteen page technical report that analyzes two pages on Boolean valuations in chapter one of his classic book. The analysis and results are formulated in a formal system of type theory and proved using the Nuprl proof assistant. The article also briefly considers the role of partial types, showing how they provide a new way to prove unsolvability results, another topic on which Smullyan has written with remarkable clarity. Partial types also provide a simple and faithful semantics for Hoare’s partial correctness logic, widely used to reason about programs and taught in computer science as an important applied logic. They also make it possible to state a clean rule for defined functions in Hoare logic.
Renal Physiology in Liver Disease

Interactions between the liver and the kidneys are complex and convoluted. Many primary disorders of liver disease have direct and immediate effects on renal physiology and function. Kidney injury and dysfunction are frequent problems in patients with acute liver failure. However, the etiology of acute kidney injury in patients with acute liver failure is usually multifactorial and involves insults similar to those seen in the general acute kidney injury population.
Individuals' Psychological Responses to the Economic Crisis and the Media: Lessons Learned From New York

In this paper we synthesize findings from two studies conducted in the context of a larger research project launched in the metropolitan area of New York City – the epicenter, in the U.S., of what evolved into a global economic crisis in 2008. The larger project’s overarching goal has been to investigate social factors, individual and contextual, that shaped residents’ responses to the crisis. In the first study we draw on data collected through an online survey in 2011 (N = 387), and data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Labor; in the second study we rely on survey data collected from New York City residents in 2012 (N = 338).
Assessment of temporally-related acute respiratory illness following influenza vaccination

Abstract Background A barrier to influenza vaccination is the misperception that the inactivated vaccine can cause influenza. Previous studies have investigated the risk of acute respiratory illness (ARI) after influenza vaccination with conflicting results. We assessed whether there is an increased rate of laboratory-confirmed ARI in post-influenza vaccination periods. Methods We conducted a cohort sub-analysis of children and adults in the MoSAIC community surveillance study from 2013 to 2016. Influenza vaccination was confirmed through city or hospital registries. Cases of ARI were ascertained by twice-weekly text messages to household to identify members with ARI symptoms. Nasal swabs were obtained from ill participants and analyzed for respiratory pathogens using multiplex PCR. The primary outcome measure was the hazard ratio of laboratory-confirmed ARI in individuals post-vaccination compared to other time periods during three influenza seasons. Results Of the 999 participants, 68.8% were children, 30.2% were adults. Each study season, approximately half received influenza vaccine and one third experienced ≥1 ARI. The hazard of influenza in individuals during the 14-day post-vaccination period was similar to unvaccinated individuals during the same period (HR 0.96, 95% CI [0.60, 1.52]). The hazard of non-influenza respiratory pathogens was higher during the same period (HR 1.65, 95% CI [1.14, 2.38]); when stratified by age the hazard remained higher for children (HR 1·71, 95% CI [1.16, 2.53]) but not for adults (HR 0.88, 95% CI [0.21, 3.69]). Conclusion Among children there was an increase in the hazard of ARI caused by non-influenza respiratory pathogens post-influenza vaccination compared to unvaccinated children during the same period. Potential mechanisms for this association warrant further investigation. Future research could investigate whether medical decision-making surrounding influenza vaccination may be improved by acknowledging patient experiences, counseling regarding different types of ARI, and correcting the misperception that all ARI occurring after vaccination are caused by influenza.
Preparing to Be a Medical Family Therapist: Bridging the Multiple Worlds of Health Care

Clinical practice in a healthcare setting provides medical family therapists (MedFTs) with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture(s) of medicine, which is remarkably different than conventional freestanding behavioral health clinics and/or academic institutions. Behavioral health providers (BHPs) functioning within healthcare settings encounter unique stressors that are often more intense and/or acute than compared to customary settings (e.g., caring for patients and families who are coping with serious accidents, injuries, chronic illnesses, and death). In this chapter, the authors describe concrete strategies for MedFTs to effectively enter and integrate themselves into healthcare contexts.
Nuclear Trafficking of STAT Proteins

Originally discovered in IFN signal transduction, JAK/STAT pathways are now known to play critical roles in development, immune response, and proliferation (reviewed in 1–5). The STATs are substrates of Janus kinases (JAKs), growth factor receptors, and oncogenic kinases. In normal signaling they serve as a communication link between cell surface receptors and specific gene expression in the nucleus. Many complementary chapters in this book describe the activation and function of JAK and STAT proteins in health and disease. In this chapter we will discuss molecular mechanisms that are known to regulate STAT cellular localization.
Scaling of speed with group size in cooperative transport by the ant Novomessor cockerelli

Working together allows social animals to accomplish tasks beyond the abilities of solitary individuals, but the benefits of cooperation must be balanced with the costs of coordination. Many ant species form cooperative groups to transport items too large for a single ant. However, transport by groups is often slower and less efficient than that of lone ants, for reasons that remain poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that groups are slower when porters must encircle the load to carry it, because this arrangement places ants in a variety of postures relative to the load and the direction of travel. Porters may therefore have difficulty maximizing individual forces and aligning them with those of other group members. Experiments on the desert ant Novomessor cockerelli, an adept cooperative transporter, did not support this hypothesis. Groups ranging in size from one to four ants were induced to carry loads such that all porters were aligned with one another. Load weight was adjusted so that all porters pulled the same per capita weight, but lone porters were nonetheless faster than groups of any size. As group size increased, porters persisted in carrying the load for longer periods before letting go. We used simulations to explore a scenario in which ants vary in their intrinsic speed and the group's speed is limited by that of its slowest member. This proposed mechanism is analogous to other social groups where group efficiency is determined by the weakest link. We discuss how interactions among porters, mediated by the load itself, might explain such a constraint.
The Policy Challenges and Securitization Implications of Down-Payment Assistance

Despite the resurgence of high loan-to-value ratio lending, saving for a down payment remains a big hurdle holding back would-be home buyers. This hurdle has led down-payment assistance (DPA) to become an important component of mortgage finance for a growing segment of low- and moderate-income first-time home buyers and a source of competitive advantage for state housing finance agencies (HFAs). The explosive growth of DPA and proliferation of lightly regulated DPA providers across the country—now exceeding 2,000—have important implications for policymakers and for MBS issuers and investors. For the former, the key issue is understanding more about whether the presence and form that DPA takes compounds the credit risk of very low down-payment lending, and for the latter, it is the extent to which prepay speeds are affected by various forms of DPA, thereby altering the economics of securitization. This article presents empirical analyses on both of these critical issues.
Conservation Spillovers: The Effect of Rooftop Solar on Climate Change Beliefs

Biased beliefs about climate change may lead to under-regulation of emissions. We study a new channel by which the public form beliefs about climate change: visible mitigation actions. By exploiting the rapid growth of rooftop solar panels, a large survey, and differences in incentives to install solar, we find that visible mitigation actions have a positive impact on belief in basic climate science. However, we also find that higher solar penetration reduces concern about the impacts of climate change, which may dampen demand for additional mitigation policy and individual abatement effort. Our results suggest that government policies that incentivize technology adoption can have subtle but important spillover effects on beliefs and other behaviors.
Depletion ages and factors of MORB mantle sources

Abstract Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb isotopes show that the depleted MORB mantle (DMM) is not homogeneous. The heterogeneity is attributed to different ages of depletion and/or various degrees of depletion for a given domain of DMM, as well as multiple depletion events, metasomatism, and mixing between DMM and other mantle components. A mid-ocean ridge basalt, in principle, should contain information about the depletion history of its mantle sources. Here we develop a model to extract the model depletion age and the composition of a MORB mantle source prior to MORB production using Sr-Nd isotopes or Sr-Hf isotopes in a MORB. The complexities of multiple depletion events, mixing, metasomatism, and enrichment are not addressed in this contribution. The model is based on two assumptions: (i) Isotope evolution in a MORB mantle follows a two-stage evolution model, the first stage in the primitive mantle from the beginning of the solar system to the time of mantle depletion at age T d , and the second stage in the depleted mantle from age T d to the present day. That is, there is only one single depletion event. The depletion age and degree of depletion of a given mantle source are to be determined. (ii) The trace element composition of a depleted mantle source corresponding to the given MORB can be related to a reference DMM by a log-linear relation with the compatibility index CoI ( Zhang, 2014 ). Applying the two assumptions to the available and large MORB database ( Gale et al., 2013 ), we calculate the global distribution of sub-ridge mantle age and composition. The results show: (i) Mean or reference MORB mantle composition of Salters and Stracke (2004) is close to the average depleted MORB mantle composition, whereas that of Workman and Hart (2005) is significantly more depleted than the average depleted MORB mantle. (ii) Model ages for sub-ridge mantle depletion are mostly between 0.8 to 3.0 Ga. (iii) There are large-scale patterns in depletion ages for sub-ridge mantle regions. For example, beneath Mid-Atlantic Ridge, mantle depletion ages are young (0.8 to 2.1 Ga) north of 30°N, older (1.6 to 4.5 Ga) between 25°N to 35°S), and mixed (0.6-4.4 Ga) south of 35°S. The Pacific sub-ridge mantle has a narrow range of model depletion ages of 1.6 to 3.0 Ga, with a mean of 2.3 Ga. Indian sub-ridge mantle has a younger mean depletion age of 1.7 Ga. These large-scale patterns reveal history of mantle depletion, mantle convection, and possible mixing between older and younger depleted mantles.
Multiscale imaging approaches for simultaneously mapping distribution of multiple components in infant formula powders

Abstract To improve simultaneous characterization of structural and compositional features of infant formula powder the objectives of this study were to: 1) advance micro and macroscale fluorescence imaging methods to characterize the distribution of sugars, proteins and lipids in infant formula powder and 2) understand the impact of processing conditions and storage on the microstructure of infant formula powder. For micro and macroscale fluorescence imaging of infant formula, the samples were pre-stained with a trace amount of fluorescently labeled milk proteins, a fluorescent analogue of a simple sugar and a lipid specific chemical stain prior to spray drying. The labeled samples of infant formula powder from evaporator, collection chamber and cyclone units of a spray dryer were collected and analyzed using particle size measurements, scanning electron microscopy, confocal laser microscopy and widefield fluorescence macroscopy. In addition, the powder samples were also analyzed after storage for 6 months. The results of this study demonstrate that pre-staining of the infant formula powder eliminates the potential artifacts introduced by post-staining labeling of the infant formula powders using solvents. The results demonstrate that significant (p
Varus-valgus constraint in 416 revision total knee arthroplasties with cemented stems provides a reliable reconstruction with a low subsequent revision rate at early to mid-term review

Aims Varus-valgus constrained (VVC) implants are often used during revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA) to gain coronal plane stability. However, the increased mechanical torque applied to the bo...
Burn Mass Casualty and Disaster

Background – The coordination of response to burn mass casualty incidents and disasters is complex and require coordination of medical resources and personnel. Casualties may have sustained thermal injury and/ or inhalation injury such as from a structural fire in an industrial complex or suffer combined thermal and poly-traumatic injury from an explosive device in an act of terrorism. These events require highly trained medical personnel for the initial response and for continued care in local medical facilities. Summary – We re-visit the fire in Cocoanut Grove night club in 1942. This incident led to the development of an organized response to a burn mass casualty incident. This also led to the refinement of burn care. Next, we re-examine the response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Many lessons learned from the response of an incident of this magnitude. The response to a mass casualty incident in which a significant proportion of patients have thermal injuries is reviewed and triage, transport to local medical facilities and transport to regional burn center phases are reviewed in detail. Finally, the role of the National Disaster Management System (NDMS), the Department of Defense (DOD), local/ state emergency response systems and the American Burn Association (ABA) are discussed. Conclusion – The response to burn disasters and mass casualty incidents is thoroughly reviewed in the manuscript.
Patient-Reported Outcomes for Measuring Sleep Disturbance in Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis: cross sectional study of PROMIS Pediatric Sleep Measures and Actigraphy.

Background Most children with atopic dermatitis(AD) suffer from sleep disturbance, but reliable and valid assessment tools are lacking. Objectives To test PROMIS (Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) sleep measures in pediatric AD and to develop an algorithm to screen, assess and intervene to reduce sleep disturbance. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with AD children ages 5-17 years and one parent(n=61), who completed sleep, itch, and AD-specific questionnaires; clinicians assessed disease severity. All children wore actigraphy watches for 1-week-objective sleep assessment. Results PROMIS sleep disturbance parent-proxy-reliability was high (Cronbach's α=0.90) and differentiated among Patient Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM)-determined disease severity groups (mean±SD in mild vs. moderate vs. severe was 55.7±7.5 vs. 59.8±10.8 vs. 67.1±9.5, p Limitations This was a local sample. Conclusions Sleep disturbance in pediatric AD should be screened using the POEM sleep question, with further assessment using the PROMIS sleep disturbance measure or objective sleep monitoring if needed.
Observation of an Internal p-n Junction in Pyrite FeS2Single Crystals: Potential Origin of the Low Open Circuit Voltage in Pyrite Solar Cells

Pyrite FeS2 has long been considered a potentially ideal photovoltaic material, but solar cells utilizing pyrite exhibit low open-circuit voltages (VOC) and have failed to achieve conversion effici...
Growing-season warming and winter soil freeze/thaw cycles increase transpiration in a northern hardwood forest.

Climate models project higher growing-season temperatures and a decline in the depth and duration of winter snowpack throughout many north temperate ecosystems over the next century. A smaller snowpack is projected to induce more frequent soil freeze/thaw cycles in winter in northern hardwood forests of the northeastern United States. We measured the combined effects of warmer growing-season soil temperatures and increased winter freeze/thaw cycles on rates of leaf-level photosynthesis and transpiration (sap flow) of red maple (Acer rubrum) trees in a northern hardwood forest at the Climate Change Across Seasons Experiment at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. Soil temperatures were warmed 5°C above ambient temperatures during the growing season and soil freeze/thaw cycles were induced in winter to mimic the projected changes in soil temperature over the next century. Relative to reference plots, growing-season soil warming increased rates of leaf-level photosynthesis by up to 85.32 ± 4.33%, but these gains were completely offset by soil freeze/thaw cycles in winter, suggesting that increased freeze/thaw cycles in winter over the next 100 yr will reduce the effect of warming on leaf-level carbon gains. Soil warming in the growing season increased rates of transpiration per kilopascal of vapor pressure deficit (VPD) by up to 727.39 ± 0.28%, even when trees were exposed to increased frequency of soil freeze/thaw cycles in the previous winter, which could influence regional hydrology in the future. Using climate projections downscaled from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, we project increased rates of whole-season transpiration in these forests over the next century by 42-61%. We also project 52-77 additional days when daily air temperatures will be above the long-term average daily maximum during the growing season at Hubbard Brook. Together, these results show that projected changes in climate across both the growing season and winter are likely to cause greater rates of water uptake and have no effect on rates of leaf-level carbon uptake by trees, with potential ecosystem consequences for hydrology and carbon cycling in northern hardwood forests.
Self-Supervised Training Enhances Online Continual Learning.

In continual learning, a system must incrementally learn from a non-stationary data stream without catastrophic forgetting. Recently, multiple methods have been devised for incrementally learning classes on large-scale image classification tasks, such as ImageNet. State-of-the-art continual learning methods use an initial supervised pre-training phase, in which the first 10% - 50% of the classes in a dataset are used to learn representations in an offline manner before continual learning of new classes begins. We hypothesize that self-supervised pre-training could yield features that generalize better than supervised learning, especially when the number of samples used for pre-training is small. We test this hypothesis using the self-supervised MoCo-V2, Barlow Twins, and SwAV algorithms. On ImageNet, we find that these methods outperform supervised pre-training considerably for online continual learning, and the gains are larger when fewer samples are available. Our findings are consistent across three online continual learning algorithms. Our best system achieves a 14.95% relative increase in top-1 accuracy on class incremental ImageNet over the prior state of the art for online continual learning.
Impact of 2018 UNOS Allocation Policy Change on VAD Outcomes

Purpose In October 2018 the UNOS Allocation Policy for heart transplantation was changed to prioritize more critically-ill patients. Before the allocation change, patients with ventricular assist devices (VADs) were listed as Status 1B which was changed to Status 4. We sought to investigate the impact this change in policy had on survival outcomes. Methods All adult patients who were registered for heart transplantation with VAD for the year before (PRE, n=633) and after (POST, n=567) the UNOS 2018 Allocation policy change were analyzed. Baseline characteristics were compared using Mann-Whitney U test and Chi-square test as appropriate. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed for 6 months post-transplantation. Results There was no difference in 6 month post transplantation survival in VAD patients in PRE and POST groups. Total days on the waiting list was lower in the POST group (median+IQR) (32 [10.0, 96] vs. 59.0 [22.0,121.0]), p Conclusion After the 2018 policy change there was no difference in 6 month survival among patients with VADs compared to prior. There was a shorter wait time to transplantation for patients with VADs in the POST group. Further analysis on implications of UNOS policy changes are warranted.
Probenecid increases renal retention and antitumor activity of DFMO in neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common extracranial solid tumor in children. Interference with the polyamine biosynthesis pathway by inhibition of MYCN-activated ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is a validated approach. The ODC inhibitor α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO, or Eflornithine) has been FDA-approved for the treatment of trypanosomiasis and hirsutism and has advanced to clinical cancer trials including NB as well as cancer-unrelated human diseases. One key challenge of DFMO is its rapid renal clearance and the need for high and frequent drug dosing during treatment. We performed in vivo pharmacokinetic (PK), antitumorigenic, and molecular studies with DFMO/probenecid using NB patient-derived xenografts (PDX) in mice. We used LC–MS/MS, HPLC, and immunoblotting to analyze blood, brain tissue, and PDX tumor tissue samples collected from mice. The organic anion transport 1/3 (OAT 1/3) inhibitor probenecid reduces the renal clearance of DFMO and significantly increases the antitumor activity of DFMO in PDX of NB (P < 0.02). Excised tumors revealed that DFMO/probenecid treatment decreases polyamines putrescine and spermidine, reduces MYCN protein levels and dephosphorylates retinoblastoma (Rb) protein (p-RbSer795), suggesting DFMO/probenecid-induced cell cycle arrest. Addition of probenecid as an adjuvant to DFMO therapy may be suitable to decrease overall dose and improve drug efficacy in vivo.