cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Data mining for gaze tracking system

An eye tracking system has been developed to control a computer cursor by tracking the userpsilas gaze. This tracking is achieved via a small form factor camera mounted near the userpsilas eye, which communicates image data to a computer system. The computer system processes the image and determines the direction of the userpsilas gaze. This position data is used to move a cursor on a display. By using this as an input method, the system allows full hands-free use of the computer. Additionally, an augmented reality system has been created using a head mounted micro display. This creates a heads-up display for the user.
Mitosis-Specific Hyperphosphorylation of Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen 2 Suppresses Its Function

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen 2 (EBNA-2) is a key gene expressed in EBV type III latent infection that can transactivate numerous promoters, including those for all the other type III viral latency genes as well as cellular genes responsible for cell proliferation. EBNA-2 is essential for EBV-mediated immortalization of primary B lymphocytes. We now report that EBNA-2, a phosphoprotein, is hyperphosphorylated specifically in mitosis. Evidence that the cyclin-dependent kinase p34cdc2 may be involved in this hyperphosphorylation includes (i) coimmunoprecipitation of EBNA-2 and p34cdc2, suggesting physical association; (ii) temporal correlation between hyperphosphorylation of EBNA-2 and an increase in p34cdc2 kinase activity; and (iii) ability of purified p34cdc2/cyclin B1 kinase to phosphorylate EBNA-2 in vitro. Hyperphosphorylation of EBNA-2 appears to suppress its ability to transactivate the latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) promoter by about 50%. The association between EBNA-2 and PU.1 is also decreased by about 50% in M-phase-arrested cells, as shown by coimmunoprecipitation from cell lysates, suggesting that hyperphosphorylation of EBNA-2 impairs its affinity for PU.1. Finally, endogenous LMP-1 mRNA levels in M phase are around 55% of those in asynchronously growing cells. These results suggest that regulation of gene expression during type III latency may be regulated in a cell-cycle-related manner.
2000 ACC/AHA guidelines for the management of patients with unstable angina and non–ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: A practical summary for emergency physicians

There have been numerous significant clinical advances in both the diagnosis and therapy of acute coronary syndrome during the past several years. Even the term "acute coronary syndrome" is a recent creation meant to expand clinical attention in patients with chest pain of coronary origin beyond identification of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and prompt initiation of reperfusion therapy and to include the evaluation and management of those patients with unstable angina (UA) or myocardial injury that does not cause ST-segment elevation. Many of these advances have been studied and first implemented outside the emergency department, leading some emergency physicians to be slow to embrace them, and leaving others without a viable practical option to use them outside of the cardiac catheterization laboratory or the coronary care unit. In September 2000, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association issued practice guidelines for the care of patients with UA and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. The guidelines specifically address the diagnosis and management of UA and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction in the ED, suggesting evidence-based standards for risk stratification, for the use of biologic markers of myocardial damage and other adjunctive diagnostic tests, and for the appropriate use of antiplatelet and antithrombin therapeutic agents. This article provides an overview of the ED-pertinent analyses and recommendations from the 93-page document. A commentary on the implementation of these recommendations in the ED follows in a separate article.
Observations of submesoscale eddies using high-frequency radar-derived kinematic and dynamic quantities

Abstract The spatio-temporal variability of submesoscale eddies off southern San Diego is investigated with two-year observations of subinertial surface currents [O(1) m depth] derived from shore-based high-frequency radars. The kinematic and dynamic quantities — velocity potential, stream function, divergence, vorticity, and deformation rates — are directly estimated from radial velocity maps using optimal interpolation. For eddy detection, the winding-angle approach based on flow geometry is applied to the calculated stream function. A cluster of nearly enclosed streamlines with persistent vorticity in time is identified as an eddy. About 700 eddies were detected for each rotation (clockwise and counter-clockwise). The two rotations show similar statistics with diameters in the range of 5–25 km and Rossby number of 0.2–2. They persist for 1–7 days with weak seasonality and migrate with a translation speed of 4–15 cm s−1 advected by background currents. The horizontal structure of eddies exhibits nearly symmetric tangential velocity with a maximum at the defined radius of the eddy, non-zero radial velocity due to background flows, and Gaussian vorticity with the highest value at the center. In contrast divergence has no consistent spatial shape. Two episodic events are presented with other in situ data (subsurface current and temperature profiles, and local winds) as an example of frontal-scale secondary circulation associated with drifting submesoscale eddies.
A real-time specification method for specifying and validating real-time concurrent systems

A real-time specification method is presented for specifying and validating the behavior of real-time concurrent software systems. The method consists of the Descartes-RT specification into an extended Petri net. Descartes-RT is a formal language, which is an extension of the executable Descartes specification language for sequential systems. Communicating processes specified by Descartes-RT use local data for modifying and transmitting shared information. A timer as a Descartes specification module is used to impose timing constraints on concurrent processes for synchronization and lossless data transmission between concurrent processes. The execution sequence and timing constraints of a specification for a concurrent system are converted into an extended Petri net model which is used to analyze the correctness of the specified software. The analysis is focused on the safety and liveness of concurrent processes. Those properties of concurrent systems can be examined and proved by inspecting the movement of tokens. >
Integration of the military and civilian nuclear fuel cycles in Russia

This paper describes the close integration of the civil and military nuclear fuel cycles in Russia. Individual processing facilities, as well as the flow of nuclear material, are described as they existed in the 1980s and as they exist today. The end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet Union weakened the ties between the two nuclear fuel cycles, but did not separate them. Separation of the military and civilian nuclear fuel cycles would facilitate Russia's integration into the world's nuclear fuel cycle and its participation in international non-proliferation regimes.
Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) Characterization of Uranium and Uranium Alloys

Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was used to examine the microstructures of unalloyed uranium, U-6Nb, U-10Mo, and U-0.75Ti. For unalloyed uranium, we used EBSD to examine the effects of various processes on microstructures including casting, rolling and forming, recrystallization, welding, and quasi-static and shock deformation. For U-6Nb we used EBSD to examine the microstructural evolution during shape memory loading. EBSD was used to study chemical homogenization in U-10Mo, and for U-0.75Ti, we used EBSD to study the microstructure and texture evolution during thermal cycling and deformation. The studied uranium alloys have significant microstructural and chemical differences and each of these alloys presents unique preparation challenges. Each of the alloys is prepared by a sequence of mechanical grinding and polishing followed by electropolishing with subtle differences between the alloys. U-6Nb and U-0.75Ti both have martensitic microstructures and both require special care in order to avoid mechanical polishing artifacts. Unalloyed uranium has a tendency to rapidly oxidize when exposed to air and a two-step electropolish is employed, the first step to remove the damaged surface layer resulting from the mechanical preparation and the second step to passivate the surface. All of the alloying additions provide a level of surface passivation and different onemore » and two step electropolishes are employed to create good EBSD surfaces. Because of its low symmetry crystal structure, uranium exhibits complex deformation behavior including operation of multiple deformation twinning modes. EBSD was used to observe and quantify twinning contributions to deformation and to examine the fracture behavior. Figure 1 shows a cross section of two mating fracture surfaces in cast uranium showing the propensity of deformation twinning and intergranular fracture largely between dissimilarly oriented grains. Deformation of U-6Nb in the shape memory regime occurs by the motion of twin boundaries formed during the martensitic transformation. Deformation actually results in a coarsening of the microstructure making EBSD more practical following a limited amount of strain. Figure 2 shows the microstructure resulting from 6% compression. Casting of U-10Mo results in considerable chemical segregation as is apparent in Figure 2a. The segregation subsists through rolling and heat treatment processes as shown in Figure 2b. EBSD was used to study the effects of homogenization time and temperature on chemical heterogeneity. It was found that times and temperatures that result in a chemically homogeneous microstructure also result in a significant increase in grain size. U-0.75Ti forms an acicular martinsite as shown in Figure 4. This microstructure prevails through cycling into the higher temperature solid uranium phases.« less
Treatment of Monteggia and Transolecranon Fracture-Dislocations of the Elbow: A Critical Analysis Review.

The uninjured elbow is an inherently stable joint. The skeletal articulations, surrounding capsuloligamentous structures, and muscular attachments maintain stability. The primary stabilizers of the elbow are the coronoid process, olecranon, trochlea, and collateral ligaments1. Traumatic dislocations without substantial skeletal injury are considered simple and usually do not require operative repair. In contrast, complex dislocations, which are associated with fracture and may involve one or more of the primary stabilizing structures of the elbow, are unstable and typically require operative reduction and internal fixation to achieve stability. Complex elbow fracture-dislocations follow a subluxation or dislocation event. These injuries range from ulnohumeral dislocations with radial head and coronoid process fracture (“terrible triad” injuries) to ulnar fractures with an associated injury of the proximal part of the radius, proximal radioulnar joint, radiocapitellar joint, or ulnohumeral joint. Monteggia injuries involve a proximal ulnar fracture with disruption of the proximal radioulnar joint. Transolecranon fracture-dislocations involve a proximal ulnar fracture at the greater sigmoid notch and anterior dislocation of the elbow, without disruption of the proximal radioulnar joint. Some fracture-dislocations do not follow either pattern but have features consistent with one or the other that help to guide treatment. The focus of this article …
Role of UMKLAPP in Acoustic Boundary Resistance

We consider the transmission and reflection of ultrasonic waves at the interface between a real periodic solid and a continuum liquid. If the sound velocity in the liquid is considerably smaller (as e.g. in He) than that of the solid then at sufficiently high frequencies the wavelength in the liquid can be smaller than a lattice spacing of the solid. In that case the periodicities in the boundary plane become important and there is an additional transmission with the modified Snell’s law, $$\overrightarrow {{{\text{k}}_T}} = \overrightarrow {{{\text{k}}_i}} + \overrightarrow G$$ where \(\overrightarrow {{k_T}}\) and \(\overrightarrow {{\user2{k}_i}}\) are the projections on the boundary plane of the transmitted and incident wave vectors, respectively, and \(\overrightarrow G\) is a reciprocal lattice vector in the boundary plane.
Near-IR to visible light face matching: Effectiveness of pre-processing options for commercial matchers

The use of near-IR images for face recognition has been proposed as a means to address illumination issues that can hinder standard visible light face matching. However, most existing non-experimental databases contain visible light images. This makes the matching of near-IR face images to visible light face images an interesting and useful challenge. Image pre-processing techniques can potentially be used to help reduce the differences between near-IR and visible light images, with the goal of improving matching accuracy. We evaluate the use of several such techniques in combination with commercial matchers and show that simply extracting the red plane results in a comparable improvement in accuracy. In addition, we show that many of the pre-processing techniques hinder the ability of existing commercial matchers to extract templates. We also make available a new dataset called Near Infrared Visible Light Database (ND-NIVL) consisting of visible light and near-IR face images with accompanying baseline performance for several commercial matchers.
Surfactant-enhanced Desorption of Organic Pollutants from Natural Soil

The use of surface-active agents (i.e., surfactants) to increase the efficiency of pump-and-treat has been investigated for remediation sites where clean-up is limited by non-aqueous phase liquid dissolution and contaminant desorption. For both types of limitations, successful applications of the enhancement technologies have occurred at the laboratory scale and in a few small-scale field operations. For this chapter, emphasis is placed on assessing the use of surfactants to increase the rate of organic pollutant desorption from soil to water. The mechanisms of surfactant-enhanced desorption are introduced and factors affecting the efficiency and applicability of surfactant-enhanced remediation are discussed. To conclude the chapter, data are presented that show the effects of several different surfactants on the rate of trichloroethene (TCE) desorption from a peat soil. The surfactant Triton X-100 is shown to increase the rate of TCE desorption from a peat soil at several different concentrations. The increased rate of TCE desorption was caused by an increase in the desorption mass-transfer rate coefficient, as well as by increasing the concentration gradient driving desorption. This latter mechanism was only present at a surfactant concentration roughly twenty times the critical micelle concentration of Triton X-100. For the other surfactants tested - Tween 20, sodium dodecylsulfate, sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, and Triton X-405 - the rate of TCE desorption remained the same or was decreased. Results from this section emphasize the need for a better mechanistic understanding of the effects of surfactants on sorbed pollutants.
Short-term storage of sterlet Acipenser ruthenus testicular cells at -80 °C.

The conservation of sturgeons is of critical importance, and optimization of long-term storage is crucial to cell survival. This study aimed to examine the viability rates of several variations of sturgeon testicular cells storage at -80 °C for purpose of a short-term storage in a deep freezer or shipment on dried ice. Testes extracted from three immature fish were cut into small pieces, immersed in a cryomedium composed of phosphate buffered saline with 0.5% bovine serum albumin, 50 mM glucose, and 1.5 M ethylene glycol as a cryoprotectant, chilled from 10 to -80 °C at a cooling rate of 1 °C per min, and stored under varying conditions. Our results revealed a significant effect of storage conditions on the number of living and dead cells (p > 0.05). Samples that were stored for 7 days at -80 °C showed a considerable decline in terms of cell viability compared to samples stored for 2 days storage at -80 °C or in LN. This result indicated that testicular cells can be stored at -80 °C and/or on dry ice, for 2 days with minimum loss of viability.
Surface-enhanced raman scattering immuno-assay using diatom frustules

An immunoassay based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering has been developed using diatom frustules to detect antigens with high sensitivity. It was found that the diatom frustules provide 6× higher sensitivity than traditional glass substrates.
The Role of Relevance in Education Research, as Viewed by Former Presidents:

American Educational Research Association presidents’ presidential addresses have only intermittently considered relevance as a criterion of quality for education research. A few, though, argued that education research could only distinguish itself from research in the disciplines through attention to improving educational outcomes. David Krathwohl (1969) called for a coherent community encompassing practitioners, policymakers, and researchers. Philip Jackson (1990) urged that local research knowledge, rather than research-based dictates, be communicated. Alan Schoenfeld (1999) challenged education researchers simultaneously to build knowledge and offer solutions to practical problems. He anticipated current research-practice partnerships and shifts toward practice-embedded research supports. But only if the larger education research enterprise supports these efforts will the shift be radical and robust enough to persist and survive.
How will SOA change in the future

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) plays a significant role in the Earth system by altering its radiative balance. Here we use an Earth system model coupled with an explicit SOA formation module to estimate the response of SOA concentrations to changes in climate, anthropogenic emissions, and human land use in the future. We find that climate change is the major driver for SOA change under the representative concentration pathways for the 8.5 future scenario. Climate change increases isoprene emission rate by 18% with the effect of temperature increases outweighing that of the CO2 inhibition effect. Annual mean global SOA mass is increased by 25% as a result of climate change. However, anthropogenic emissions and land use change decrease SOA. The net effect is that future global SOA burden in 2100 is nearly the same as that of the present day. The SOA concentrations over the Northern Hemisphere are predicted to decline in the future due to the control of sulfur emissions.
Fracture rate of monolithic zirconia restorations up to 5 years: A dental laboratory survey

Abstract Statement of problem The demand for ceramic restorations has increased over the past years because of their esthetic properties and the high cost of noble metals. However, the lack of long-term clinical studies and the difficulty of interpreting in vitro studies have placed the durability of ceramic restorations in doubt. Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the failure rate of monolithic zirconia restorations due to fracture up to 5 years of clinical performance. Material and methods Data were collected over 5 years from 2 commercial dental laboratories. Restorations that were returned to the laboratory for remake because of catastrophic failure (fracture) were identified and included. Restorations were categorized as anterior or posterior. Each category was further divided into complete-coverage single crowns (SCs) and multiple-unit fixed dental prostheses (FDPs). Fracture rates were compared and analyzed using a chi-square test (α=.05). Results A total of 39 827 restoration records were reviewed and included 3731 anterior restorations (1952 SC; 1799 FDP) and 36 096 posterior restorations (29 808 SC; 6288 FDP). The overall fracture rate of up to 5 years for all restorations (anterior and posterior) was 1.09%. Fracture rates were 2.06% for all anterior restorations and 0.99% for all posterior restorations. Fracture rates were 0.97% for anterior SCs and 0.69% for posterior SCs, and the combined fracture rate (anterior and posterior) was 0.71%. For FDPs, 3.26% restorations fractured anteriorly and 2.42% fractured posteriorly, and the combined fracture rate (anterior and posterior) was 2.60%. Conclusion Within the relative short-term evaluation of 5 years, restorations fabricated from monolithic zirconia material displayed relatively low fracture rates. Anterior restorations fractured at a slightly higher rate than posterior restorations, and FDPs fractured at a rate double that of SCs.
Evidence Based Teaching Practices in CS (Abstract Only)

In this workshop participants will receive an overview of teaching practices in computer science that research indicates are effective. While the field of computer science education is young, it has uncovered several teaching practices that can be adopted by instructors that can improve both the retention and performance of students. These evidence based teaching practices include active learning techniques such as peer instruction and prior-knowledge activities, pair programming, and use of subgoal labels. Participants will experience firsthand many of these techniques and will be provided with resources on where to find more information, including the original research papers, on each technique. If you want to attend a workshop that will have an immediate impact in your class -- attend this one. The workshop will be interactive, engaging, and show you how to incorporate teaching practices that are empirically proven to provide benefits. You are guaranteed to leave with a list of many freely available resources and ideas to use in your next class. You will also have the opportunity to "ask the experts" as the authors of many of these research papers will be leading that session of the workshop.
Advances in the Modeling and Control of Batch Crystallizers

Abstract Despite the widespread application of crystallization, there are still a disproportionate number of problems associated with its control. These problems have become important in recent years as increased interest has been directed towards the crystallization of pharmaceuticals and proteins, which have additional complications compared to the inorganic crystallizations studied extensively in the past 50+ years. This paper covers recent advances in batch crystallization modeling and control. This includes a comparison in simulations and experiments between the classical temperature control approach developed in the 1970-90s with new concentration control approach developed in the last few years. The new approach, which uses ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and feedback control to follow a setpoint trajectory in the solution concentration as a function of temperature, results in reduced sensitivity of the product quality to disturbances. The resulting guidelines from the simulations are applied to the crystallization of paracetamol in water.
Scanning thermo-ionic microscopy (Conference Presentation)

Traditional electrochemical characterization microscopy methods based on charge measurement do not provide nanometer spatial resolution. The recently developed electrochemical scanning microscopy (ESM) which is based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) provides nanoscale measurements, however, the electrochemical measurements consist of other effects such as electromechanical and electrostatic effects. We developed a scanning thermo-ionic microscopy (STIM) to probe local electrochemical activities at the nanoscale regime. The microscopy mechanism is based on imaging the Vegard strain induced by thermally driven stress and temperature oscillation. The Vegard strain linearly correlates with material lattice constant and can be used as a measure of ionic species concentration. Through theoretical analysis and experimental validation, we have demonstrated that second and fourth harmonic components of the AFM deflection signal contains information about species concentration. It is demonstrated that the second harmonic response predominantly correlates with the local thermal expansion information, while the fourth harmonic one is characteristic of local transport activities that is presented only in ionic systems. All our measurements are resonance enhanced and since the tip-sample resonance varies during scanning, four lock-in units and a PID controller are integrated with the AFM to track the resonance frequency. The technique has been applied to probe Sm-doped nanocrystalline Ceria and LiFePO4, both of which exhibit higher STIM amplitude near grain boundaries as expected. The STIM is an innovative tool to study local electrochemistry with high sensitivity and spatial resolution for a wide range of systems, without any electrical cross-talk which makes it suitable to be applied in operando.
Causality of an extreme harmful algal bloom in Monterey Bay, California, during the 2014-2016 northeast Pacific warm anomaly

An ecologically and economically disruptive harmful algal bloom (HAB) affected much of the northeast Pacific margin in 2015, during a prolonged oceanic warm anomaly. Caused by diatoms of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia, this HAB produced the highest particulate concentrations of the biotoxin domoic acid (DA) ever recorded in Monterey Bay, California. Bloom inception followed strong upwelling during the spring transition, which introduced nutrients and eliminated the warm anomaly locally. Subsequently, moderate and intermittent upwelling created favorable conditions for growth and accumulation of HAB biomass, which was dominated by a highly toxigenic species, P. australis. High cellular DA concentrations were associated with available nitrogen for DA synthesis coincident with silicate exhaustion. This nutrient influence resulted from two factors: (1) disproportionate depletion of silicate in upwelling source waters during the warm anomaly, the most severe depletion observed in 24 years, and (2) silicate uptake by the dense diatom bloom.
Poster Abstract: Interdependent Component Framework for Simulating Indoor Internet-of-Things Systems (Intercom)

In this paper, we present Intercom, a simulator framework that provides separate components to address the interdependent aspects of IoT systems, such as sensing, physical interaction, wireless communication, and computation. We initially evaluate a scalable sensing and communication model, which simulates wireless signal strength measurements with an average error of 6.1dBm.
The Pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease: General Overview

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease and the leading cause for cognitive decline in the elderly. The disease results in relentlessly progressive decline in intellectual function and gradual loss of activities of daily living. Ninety percent of AD patients have late onset “sporadic” AD. Only 10% become symptomatic before age 65. Two percent of AD is familial and is caused by autosomal dominant genetic mutations. AD is caused by the aberrant folding and aggregation of two proteins: β-amyloid and tau. The disease is also characterized by synaptic dysfunction and neuronal loss. Protein metabolic disturbances lead to a variety of secondary cell injury and death mechanisms including oxidation, inflammation, excitotoxicity, and apoptosis. Emerging therapies are largely directed at amyloid beta protein production or accumulation or the cascade of secondary consequences. The current U.S. FDA-approved therapy includes the anticholinesterase inhibitors and the N-methyl-D-aspartate blocker memantine. New drug trials with disease-modifying agents are currently on their way.
Party Rules and Equitable Representation in U.S. Presidential Nominating Contests

Party rules for determining allocation of delegates to the Democratic and Republican national conventions once again drew criticism in 2016. Analyses of the effects of various rules indicate that t...
Vascular mechanisms leading to myocardial ischemia and their relation to hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy and arrhythmias

Experimental and clinical research have recently revealed a sequence of events in patients with coronary disease that precedes the clinical problems of ischemia and arrhythmias. These early pathogenic mechanisms appear worthy of future research. In this scheme, hypertension, along with the other well known risk factors, lead to dysfunctional vascular endothelium in large conduit coronary arteries and resistance vessels. In the former, atherosclerosis follows with failure of growth control, inappropriate endothelium dependent dilation and loss of an anticoagulant surface. Later in the development of atherosclerosis, loss of dilation, development of constriction and the development of a procoagulant surface will intermittently worsen the resistance to blood flow at stenoses and these mechanisms contribute significantly to the occurrence of ischemia and intermittent vessel occlusion in myocardial infarction. In addition, the dysfunctional endothelium leads to loss of normal regulation of blood flow by resistance vessels. While hypertension plays a role in developing vascular dysfunction, it is also associated with left ventricular hypertrophy which further disturbs resistance vessel vasomotor function and delivery of nutrient perfusion to the myocardium. The combination of transient ischemia, intermittent vessel occlusion, ventricular hypertrophy and patchy scarring of the left ventricle all lead to arrhythmias and poor clinical outcomes. Therefore, a dysfunctional endothelium appears to be an early and persistent pathogenic problem. It is our hope and expectation that this is reversible.
Dual-time point positron emission tomography (PET) using [F-18]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) in patients with autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS)

1686 Objectives: ALPS is an inherited disease associated with mutations in genes mediating lymphocyte apoptosis. The resulting defect in lymphocyte apoptosis leads to adenopathy, splenomegaly, autoimmune disorders and increased CD4 and CD8 double negative T-cells. ALPS has been misdiagnosed and treated as lymphoma. Yet, there is an elevated risk that ALPS patients will develop lymphoma. Imaging techniques that can differentiate between reactive, but benign adenopathy of ALPS versus ALPS associated lymphoma would help in their long term evaluation and care. Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) has proven useful in evaluating lymphomas. Since dual time point imaging may help differentiate benign from malignant lesions, we investigated the characteristics of dual time point FDG imaging in ALPS patients. Methods: 24 well characterized ALPS patients underwent dual-timepoint FDG imaging: 20 without associated lymphomas; 3 with confirmed lymphomas in remission, and 1 with untreated lymphoma at the time of FDG imaging (who was excluded from the present analysis).. All subjects received 3.5-15 mCi of FDG based on age and weight and underwent dynamic imaging over an enlarged index lymph node selected based on contemporaneous CT. The early summed image (ESI) was the summed frames acquired during 45-60 minutes, while late images were whole body scans beginning approximately 90min post injection, with the exact time of acquisition of the index lesion varying with its position in the body. Mean and maximum SUVs normalized to lean body mass were calculated in regions over the index lesion on both ESI and late images. Results: Images of patients with ALPS revealed abundant uptake of FDG in nodes, which in many patients were visually indistinguishable from lymphomas. The SUV values shown in the Table have significant overlap with previously reported values in lymphomas. There was an increase in SUV in late images. Conclusions: Adenopathy associated with ALPS show elevated FDG uptake, with SUV ranges overlapping with those described for lymphomas. Dual time point imaging in FDG shows an increase in SUV at late times and contrasts with findings described in literature for benign lesions. Further studies in more ALPS patients with lymphoma are needed to determine possible cutoff SUV values that can reliably predict whether a lesion is more likely lymphomatous than benign. Research Support (if any): NIH
Essays on private information and choice

This paper provides new evidence on the existence and nature of imperfect information in health insurance markets that has important implications for assessing market-based health care reform proposals. Empirical research has traditionally concentrated on testing for positive correlation between coverage and risk predicted by standard moral hazard and adverse selection models. Recent theoretical advances demonstrate that the lack of such correlation does not signal the absence of informational asymmetries and is consistent with more complex models with unobserved risk-aversion. I extend the empirical literature by testing for selection on more than one type of latent information risk type and risk-aversion type. In order to separate an incentive (moral hazard) effect from effects of selection on multiple types of unobservables, I specify a hybrid endogenous treatment model with explicit modeling of indicators of latent attitudes toward risk-taking behavior. The model is estimated using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. I use data from the 2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), which contains a set of attitudinal variables necessary to estimate the model. Although the overall selection effect appears to be insignificant, the results indicate that individuals do, in fact, possess private information which increases their propensity to be insured and to utilize health care. This suggests that lack of conditional correlation between insurance coverage and health care utilization results from informational asymmetries of multiple types inducing selection in opposite directions. In addition, I find strong evidence of moral hazard in outpatient
Assessing the validity of proxy caregiver reporting for potential palliative care outcome measures in Parkinson's disease.

Background:There is increasing interest in applying palliative care approaches for patients with Parkinson’s disease. Methodological studies are needed to validate palliative care outcome measures ...
Evidence-Based Psychosocial Interventions for Ethnic Minority Youth: The 10-Year Update.

This is the official update on the status of evidence-based psychosocial interventions for ethnic minority youth. Compared to a decade ago, there has been expansion of well-designed intervention st...
How Much Anesthesia Research Has Academia in the United States Contributed in the Past 50 Years

We have noted an increase in regulations controlling research performed in the United States. We believe regulations have good intentions but cause performing research to be costly and difficult. In addition, we have noted that universities have more regulations than private practice settings
Athlete's nodules. Treatment by surgical excision.

Athlete’s nodules are connective tissue nevi of the collagen type (collagenomas) which appear as thick dermal masses at sites of chronic trauma. They have been described as occurring on the dorsum of the feet, knees, and knuckles of surfers, boxers and marble players. Recurrent minor blunt trauma and pressure are aetiological factors in this condition. We report a 54-year-old man with dermal nodules on the dorsal surface of his feet. These lesions initially appeared during his participation as a player on a high school football team. They were attributed to the chronic pressure of his high-laced athletic sneakers and frequent minor injuries to the involved areas. We describe the successful treatment of our patient’s lesions by surgical excision. We also discuss the differential diagnosis and other therapeutic options for athlete’s nodules.
Taxonomy of Two Dimensional Bio-Inspired Locomotion Systems

This paper introduces a new approach to characterize the locomotion of self-assembling modular systems. By establishing the necessary components for a locomotive modules and a hierarchy of locomotive systems, further research can be done into each category. The systems are broken into three primary groups: limbed, limbless, and rolling. The majority of the variations exist within the legged domain, and hence the largest area of study rests there. This study contributes to the literature inasmuch as creating a hierarchical framework that can be used for the creation of algorithms for self-assembling micro and nano robots for drug delivery and surgery.
Self-antigen driven affinity maturation is required for pathogenic monovalent IgG4 autoantibody development

Pathogenic IgG4 autoantibodies in autoimmune myasthenia gravis (MG) are functionally monovalent as a result of Fab-arm exchange. The origin and development of these unique autoantibodies are not well understood. We examined MG patient-derived monoclonal autoantibodies (mAbs), their corresponding germline-encoded unmutated common ancestors (UCA) and monovalent antigen-binding fragments (Fabs) to investigate how antigen-driven affinity maturation contributes to both binding and immunopathology. Mature mAbs, their UCA counterparts and mature monovalent Fabs bound to the autoantigen and retained their pathogenic capacity. However, monovalent UCA Fabs still bound the autoantigen but lost their pathogenic capacity. The mature Fabs were characterized by very high affinity (sub-nanomolar) driven by a rapid on-rate and slow off-rate. However, the UCA affinity was approximately 100-fold less than the mature Fabs, which was driven by a rapid off-rate. Crystal structures of two Fabs shed light on how mutations acquired during affinity maturation may contribute to increased MuSK binding affinity. These collective findings indicate that the autoantigen initiates the autoimmune response in MuSK MG and drives autoimmunity through the accumulation of somatic hypermutation such that monovalent IgG4 Fab-arm exchanged MG autoantibodies reach a high affinity threshold required for pathogenic capacity.
Antagonism between killer yeast strains as an experimental model for biological nucleation dynamics

Abstract Antagonistic interactions are widespread in the microbial world and affect microbial evolutionary dynamics. Natural microbial communities often display spatial structure, which affects biological interactions, but much of what we know about microbial warfare comes from laboratory studies of well-mixed communities. To overcome this limitation, we manipulated two killer strains of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, expressing different toxins, to independently control the rate at which they released their toxins. We developed mathematical models that predict the experimental dynamics of competition between toxin-producing strains in both well-mixed and spatially structured populations. In both situations, we experimentally verified theory’s prediction that a stronger antagonist can invade a weaker one only if the initial invading population exceeds a critical size. Finally, we found that toxin-resistant cells and weaker killers arose in spatially structured competitions between toxin-producing strains, suggesting that adaptive evolution can affect the outcome of microbial antagonism.
Information Pursuit in Financial Statement Analysis: Effects of Choice, Effort, and Reconciliation

Prior research provides evidence that information affects financial statement users' judgments less when that information is provided in a less accessible format (e.g., information disclosed in a footnote or less prominent financial statement rather than being recognized on the income statement [Maines and McDaniel 2000]). We provide evidence that, conditional on users performing the analysis necessary to transform the financial statements to appear as if disclosed information had been recognized, that information may affect users' judgments more than it would have if it had been recognized initially. Our experiments are set in the context of constructive capitalization of operating leases. The first experiment manipulates three variables that we hypothesize will contribute to this effect: choice to use transformed financial statements, effort spent on the transformation process, and reconciliation of pre‐ and post‐transformation numbers. We provide evidence that, in the constructive‐capitalization settin...
Depressive and Anxiety Disorders

Depressive and anxiety disorders are common among primary care patient populations and disproportionately impact women annually and across their lifetime. Due to a variety of systemic and intrapersonal factors, women may not recognize or seek help for these conditions from mental health providers. Patients’ needs are often initially addressed by primary care providers, who need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to assess, diagnose, and treat these concerns. This chapter introduces key diagnostic criteria and considerations for differential diagnosis for several common depressive and anxiety disorders. Guidelines are provided on the patient-centered assessment of psychosocial factors contributing to depression and anxiety, the impact of trauma on presenting symptoms and healthcare engagement, and comprehensive suicide risk assessments. Finally, treatment options are explained, with an emphasis on medication management, psychotherapy, behavioral lifestyle changes, and triage and collaboration with other disciplines.
The causes and consequences of curb parking management

Abstract The curb is a monopoly good: it is network infrastructure owned entirely by cities. Unlike most network infrastructure, however, it is not managed primarily by prices. Cities instead allocate the curb with a confusing patchwork of meters, time limits, permits, and—perhaps most notably—fines. Urban parking thus stands out among network infrastructure for its low level of payment, low level of quality, and large share of revenue derived from punishment. We develop an explanation for why this is so, which emphasizes the curb’s public ownership and low production costs. We then use both qualitative and quantitative methods to examine some of our theory’s implications. We draw on descriptive data from a variety of US cities, but focus primarily on the city of Los Angeles as a case study.
Intersectionality and the Election of Bolsonaro

News coverage of Jair Bolsonaro’s 2018 presidential campaign routinely focused on his misogynistic, homophobic, and racist rhetoric. He derided women and Afro-Brazilians, even though both groups are majorities of the Brazilian population. Notwithstanding his offensive rhetoric, Bolsonaro was elected president with significant support from both members of both groups. In this paper, we use public opinion data to investigate why women and Afro-Brazilians voted for him. Informed by intersectionality research, we explore why individuals voted for him. The results of a quantitative analysis point to important distinctions among women and Afro-Brazilians. In particular, our results show that Afro-Brazilian women were least likely to support him. These results underscore the importance of using an intersectional perspective to understand political behavior in Brazil.
Diffusion MRI tractography of the locus coeruleus-transentorhinal cortex connections using GO-ESP.

Purpose The locus coeruleus (LC) is implicated as an early site of protein pathogenesis in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Tau pathology is hypothesized to propagate in a prion-like manner along the LC-transentorhinal cortex (TEC) white matter (WM) pathway, leading to atrophy of the entorhinal cortex and adjacent cortical regions in a progressive and stereotypical manner. However, WM damage along the LC-TEC pathway may be an earlier observable change that can improve detection of preclinical AD. Theory and methods Diffusion-weighted MRI (dMRI) allows reconstruction of WM pathways in vivo, offering promising potential to examine this pathway and enhance our understanding of neural mechanisms underlying the preclinical phase of AD. However, standard dMRI analysis tools have generally been unable to reliably reconstruct this pathway. We apply a novel method, geometric-optics based entropy spectrum pathways (GO-ESP) and produce a new measure of connectivity: the equilibrium probability (EP). Results We demonstrated reliable reconstruction of LC-TEC pathways in 50 cognitively normal older adults and showed a negative association between LC-TEC EP and cerebrospinal fluid tau. Using Human Connectome Project data, we demonstrated replicability of the method across acquisition schemes and scanners. Finally, we compared our findings with the only other existing LC-TEC tractography template, and replicated their pathway as well as investigated the source of these discrepant findings. Conclusions AD-related tau pathology may be detectable within GO-ESP-identified LC-TEC pathways. Furthermore, there may be multiple possible routes from LC to TEC, raising important questions for future research on the LC-TEC connectome and its role in AD pathogenesis.
Binaries of the Type W UMa

High quality observations of complicated light curves have accumulated in recent years and efforts are being made to render large irradiation effects more tractable. The optical properties of the stellar atmosphere with respect to irradiation need be considered to arrive at a light-curve solution matching the observational precision. With this technical background, the short-period pairs of the W UMa type (cf. Figure 35 for comparison with other types) have commanded particular interest. The bona-fide identification with contact pairs, the possible models underlying the observed features, and the apparently isolated evolutionary status of this objects are interlocking problems, all related to the basic, unsolved question of their life span.
The circuit designs of an SRAM based look-up table for high performance FPGA architecture

Look-up table (LUT) circuits are the core component of all Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA's) architectures. Although considerable research has been done regarding the high-level architecture of different LUT's, very little has been done on the circuit-level description of the LUT. Though traditional LUT designs use NMOS transistors to implement pass-gates that save area and increase speed, large LUT designs require several pass gates in series. Unfortunately, multiple pass transistors in series will degrade the logic high level and thus jeopardize signal integrity. This paper explores different circuit-level implementations of the LUT circuitry with consideration towards the relative design trade-offs.
Analysis and Improvement of Anti-Phishing Schemes

The problem of phishing has attracted considerable attention recently, and a number of solutions and enhanced security measures have been proposed. We perform a detailed analysis of several anti-phishing schemes, and attacks and improvements. While several anti-phishing technologies address commonly observed phishing tactics, the space evolves rapidly, and a good prevention technique should be robust to anticipated as well as observed attacks. We present a number of attacks and techniques that might be easily employed by phishers and examine the robustness of a recently proposed password reuse anti-phishing system. We compare with other proposed phishing prevention techniques and find that it withstands several attacks that render current anti-phishing approaches obsolete and fares better in a large scale deployment than others.