cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rapid detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in seafood by LAMP

Objective To evaluate the feasibility and reliability of loop- mediated isothermal amplification( LAMP) as a rapid detection method. Methods Vibrio parahaemolyticus in seafood was detected with LAMP and GB / T 4789. 7- 2008 method,and the detection rate and efficiency of the two methods were compared. Results Twelve Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains were found by LAMP,as same as the GB method. However,LAMP only need 1h ~ 1. 5h from the DNA extraction to results identification. Conclusion LAMP is an effective and low- cost procedure in detection of Vibrio parahaemolyticus with high specificity and sensitivity,and it is very suitable for application in basic- level laboratories.
Abstract 17300: Acute Kidney Injury is Associated With High Mortality in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Introduction: The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is high in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The mortality risk of AF in the presence of CKD is also significantly high. Multiple theories of which importantly, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system activation causing increased ventricular remodeling and heart failure, explain the increased incidence of AF in CKD. However, there are no data available on the effects of acute kidney injury (AKI) on mortality in patients with AF. We sought to investigate the prevalence and association of AKI with in-hospital mortality in patients presenting with AF. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the 2011 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS). Using logistic regression methods appropriate for the NIS sample design, we estimated the mortality risk associated with AKI in AF patients and evaluated factors that might modify this association. Results: In 2011, AF accounted for 457662 (1.4%) of overall adult admissions in the United States with ...
Viral neurologic infections in children.

The incidence of acute viral encephalitis has been rising sharply, with most such illnesses involving relatively common viruses. A virus-by-virus discussion of the different syndromes encountered includes evaluation of therapeutic approaches, including chemotherapy.
Optimizing the Presentation of Mental Health Information in Social Media: The Effects of Health Testimonials and Platform on Source Perceptions, Message Processing, and Health Outcomes

ABSTRACTUsing social media for the purpose of disseminating mental health information is a critical area of scientific inquiry for health communication professionals. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the presence of a first-person testimonial in educational mental health information placed in Facebook and Twitter messages influenced college students’ (N = 257) source perceptions, information processing, cognitive elaboration, health information recall, beliefs, and behavioral intentions. Results show that exposure to social media messages that featured mental health information embedded with a testimonial predicted less source homophily and more critical thoughts about the social media source, less systematic message processing, and less cognitive elaboration. Health information recall was significantly impacted by both the social media platform and message content such that participants in the testimonial condition on Facebook were more likely to recall the health facts in those messa...
Development and Evaluation of an Evolutionary Algorithm-Based OnLine Energy Management System for Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have been regarded as one of several promising countermeasures to transportation-related energy use and air quality issues. Compared with conventional hybrid electric vehicles, developing an energy management system (EMS) for PHEVs is more challenging due to their more complex powertrain. In this paper, we propose a generic framework of online EMS for PHEVs that is based on an evolutionary algorithm. It includes several control strategies for managing battery state-of-charge (SOC). Extensive simulation testing and evaluation using real-world traffic data indicates that the different SOC control strategies of the proposed online EMS all outperform the conventional control strategy. Out of all the SOC control strategies, the self-adaptive one is the most adaptive to real-time traffic conditions and the most robust to the uncertainties in recharging opportunity. A comparison to the existing models also employing short-term prediction shows that the proposed model can achieve the best fuel economy improvement but requiring less trip information.
Benzocoumarin Hydrazine: A Large Stokes Shift Fluorogenic Sensor for Detecting Carbonyls in Isolated Biomolecules and in Live Cells

Detection and quantification of biomolecule carbonylation, a critical manifestation of oxidative stress, allows better understanding of associated disease states. Existing approaches for such analyses require further processing of cells and tissues, which leads to loss of both spatial and temporal information about carbonylated biomolecules in cells. Live cell detection of these species requires sensors that are nontoxic, sufficiently reactive with the biocarbonyl in the intracellular milieu, and detectable with commonly available instrumentation. Presented here is a new fluorescent sensor for biomolecule carbonyl detection: a hydrazine derivative of a benzocoumarin, 7-hydrazinyl-4-methyl-2H-benzo[h]chromen-2-one (BzCH), which meets these requirements. This probe is especially well suited for live cell studies. It can be excited by a laser line common to many fluorescence microscopes. The emission maximum of BzCH undergoes a substantial red shift upon hydrazone formation (from ∼430 to ∼550 nm), which is t...
Synthesis and structure determination of Ce6Cd23Te: a new chalcogen-containing member of the RE6Cd23T family (RE is a rare-earth metal and T is a late group 14, 15 and 16 element).

The ternary phase hexa­cerium tricosa­cadmium telluride, Ce6Cd23Te, was synthesized by a high-temperature reaction of the elements in sealed Nb ampoules and was structurally characterized by powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structure, established from single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods, is isopointal with the Zr6Zn23Si structure type (Pearson symbol cF120, cubic space group Fm\overline{3}m), a filled version of the Th6Mn23 structure with the same space group and Pearson symbol cF116. Though no Cd-containing rare-earth metal binaries are known to form with this structure, it appears that the addition of small amounts of a p-block element allows the formation of such inter­stitially stabilized ternary compounds. Temperature-dependent direct current (dc) magnetization measurements suggest local-moment magnetism arising from the Ce3+ ground state, with possible valence fluctuations at low temperature, inferred from the deviations from the Curie–Weiss law.
CAUSAL INFERENCE AND THE SPATIAL–MATH LINK IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Verdine et al. (2017) present compelling evidence for a causal effect of spatial skills on children's mathematics achievement in early childhood. In additional analyses of the correlation matrix reported by Verdine et al., I present evidence that the spatial-math link is not merely an epiphenomenon of general cognitive demands of both tasks. However, the question of whether the link is due to a causal effect of spatial skills on mathematics skills, a causal effect of mathematics skills on spatial skills, or common factors influencing both during this developmental period is a more difficult one to answer. I present a well-fitting model that implies factors influencing both are largely responsible for the correlations among mathematics and spatial skills across this developmental period. This analysis is far from a complete account of the spatial-math link in early childhood; however, I end with recommendations for moving forward most efficiently.
Addicted to the ‘life of methamphetamine’: Perceived barriers to sustained methamphetamine recovery

AbstractAims: This qualitative study explores and characterises barriers to methamphetamine recovery that emerge from users discussing anonymously their challenges in an online discussion forum. Methods: Anonymous letters and stories (N = 202), which were submitted to an online support forum for methamphetamine users and their loved ones, were analysed in Dedoose software using grounded theory methodology. Findings: Six perceived barriers emerged from the narratives, which were categorised as internal or external. The first three perceived barriers – low self-efficacy, conflicting thoughts about methamphetamine use, and side effects of withdrawal – were related to internal barriers, and the other three perceived barriers – escaping the drug environment, friends and family prevented recovery, and inadequate drug rehabilitation programmes – were related to external barriers. Conclusions: Methamphetamine users participating in an online discussion forum faced many internal and external barriers that impeded ...
Direct care workers’ experiences of grief and needs for support

Background A paucity of information is available on direct care workers’ (DCWs’) experiences with loss when their clients (people with intellectual and developmental disabilities [I/DD]) die. This study explored DCWs’ grief experiences, their coping methods and their needs for support. Methods A thematic analysis approach was used to examine data from nine focus groups with 60 DCWs from five community-based organizations that provide services to people with I/DD. Results Three themes (factors affecting DCW loss, ways that DCWs cope with loss and organizational issues affecting the bereavement experience) and associated subthemes emerged from the data. This highlighted not only DCW professional grief experiences but how organizational communication and policy affected their grief experience. Conclusions DCWs experience grief in the workplace but may receive insufficient organizational bereavement supports. Recommendations are made for organizational policies and resources to improve organizational communication and assist DCWs in coping with their grief.
Semantics and chunking in written and conversational discourses: A corpus study of two near-synonymous words in Mandarin

Although much has been written about the differences between written and conversational discourses, less work has been done on how these two discourse types differ in terms of chunking patterns. This study investigates the different meanings and chunking patterns two words have in Mandarin written and conversational discourses. To overcome the problem of comparability between written and conversational corpora, instead of using a single word, I use two near-synonymous Mandarin words, zhihou and yihou , both of which mean roughly ‘after’ or ‘later,’ and compare their meaning and chunking patterns in written and spoken corpora. The investigation regarding semantic distinctions revealed that in both writing and conversation, zhihou favors past and yihou favors future, and that in writing but not in conversation zhihou is more often used with immediate high transitivity actions and causal relations, whereas yihou is more often used with low transitivity states. Regarding chunking patterns, whereas conversation preserves different stages of chunking, written discourse mainly has the final clear-cut stage. This study demonstrates the importance of grounding grammatical investigations on discourse types and of the possible usefulness of using near-synonymous words or grammatical constructions as a way of getting round the problem of comparability.
Abstract 198: Endovascular Biopsy: in vivo Brain Aneurysm Endothelial Cell Sampling and Gene Expression Analysis

Introduction: Cerebral aneurysms affect 1-6% of the population and their rupture carries significant mortality and morbidity. The paucity of data related to histopathological features of aneurysms ...
Stress-dependent behavior and rutting resistance of modified asphalt binders: An MSCR approach

Abstract In this paper, the stress-dependent behavior of modified asphalt binders was studied using multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR) tests. A neat binder was modified with different amounts of styrene–butadienestyrene (SBS), ground tire rubber (GTR) or polyphosphoric acid (PPA) to investigate the effects of these modifiers on the stress-dependent behavior of asphalt binders. Two non-standard MSCR testing regimes, each representing different stress levels and varying numbers of cycles, were applied at 64 °C to each of the modified binders. The nonrecoverable creep compliance ( J nr ) and the percentage recovery ( R ) values were calculated at each cycle. In addition, the average J nr and the average R values were also calculated at each stress level. All of the modified binders studied in this research showed that a higher degree of non-linear behavior is associated to the higher stress levels. Likewise, all of the binders (except those modified with SBS) showed a decreasing trend of average percent recovery as the stress level increased. In the case of the SBS-modified binders exposed to cumulative incremental stress testing conditions, the initially increasing trend in the average percent recovery was followed by a decreasing trend. This might be due to the fact that, initially, the polymer network in the modified binder got stretched until it reached its highest extension capacity. After reaching this point, the polymer network likely started to rearrange itself while still remaining stronger than neat asphalt.
Higher Education: A Platonic Ideal

What form should a non vocational, liberal arts education take in the 21st century? Three facets stand out. Curriculum should foreground those ways of thinking that young adults are capable of: philosophical and semiotic reflection, interdisciplinary connecting, synthesizing and systemic thinking. Character should help to form the kinds of professional workers and citizens which are needed at the local as well as the global level. Context should model and epitomize the kinds of institutions that are worthy of admiration and encourage students to seek and to foster such contexts for the rest of their lives and for posterity. The key components of such an education should be valorized around the world, even as, consistent with the goals of the PLATO Project, it should be perennially adapted to changing conditions. While it is especially appropriate for young adults, it can and should be pursued across the life span.
Characterization and Localization of Lipopolysaccharides Following the Ingestion of E. Coli by Murine Macrophages in Vitro

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) isolated from the outer membranes of gram negative bacteria have been demonstrated to modulate a spectrum of pathological and immunological events both in vitro and in vivo (14,15,23). Several lines of evidence have suggested that macrophages are not only stimulated by bacterial LPS (3,4,7,16) but may also be involved in the detoxification of this bacterial product (9,17,18). In recent studies designed to follow the fate of E. coli LPS after the uptake and catabolism of whole E. coli by macrophages, we demonstrated that LPS are exocytosed slowly from the macrophage. Furthermore, the LPS remaining within the macrophage at 72 hours, and the LPS released from the macrophage over that period, retain endotoxic activity (5,6). In this chapter, we provide evidence that the LPS remaining within the macrophage at 48–s72 hours is associated with macrophage phagocytic vacuoles, and that both the retained LPS and the exocytosed LPS have a significantly enhanced capacity to stimulate splenocytes. Parenthetically, our results also indicate that, as assessed by SDS-PAGE, macrophage processed LPS is enriched for higher molecular weight subunits relative to control LPS. Althrough the precise macrophages-induced biochemical altertions in LPS which contribute to enhances immunostimulatory activity remain to be elucidated, these data nevertheless provide evidence that macrophage processing of LPS may contribute to the local amplification of immunologicallly relevant events.
Conservatively Approximable Functions

In the study of computable functions on the Cantor space 2ℕ, it is well-known that the image of such a function is an effectively closed set, or \(\Pi^0_1\) class and in fact a decidable closed set. Here a closed subset Q of the Cantor space is decidable if the set of finite strings w which have an extension in Q is a computable set. It was shown recently by Cenzer, Dashti and King that the set of itineraries of a computable function is also a decidable closed set. Now the set of itineraries of a continuous function is always a subshift, meaning that it is closed under prefixes. It was also shown that any decidable shift is the set of itineraries of some computable function on 2ℕ. This paper defines the new notion of a conservatively approximable function on the Cantor space in order to have a family of functions whose images, and itineraries, can be arbitrary \(\Pi^0_1\) classes.
Real Sets and Functions

This chapter covers the basic topology of the real line. Many of the notions of this chapters, such as derived sets, closed sets, dense-in-itself sets, and perfect sets, were first introduced by Cantor during his study of the real continuum.
Operant Reductive Procedures

In this chapter, we shall examine the use and efficacy of reductive procedures that are based on the principles of operant conditioning. Like positive reinforcement, these procedures have a rather lengthy history although they have only recently been subjected to rigorous experimental evaluation. The following procedures will be examined: extinction, differential reinforcement, response cost, timeout, overcorrection, and physical punishment. Although these procedures vary considerably, they share a common goal: the reduction of inappropriate behaviors. A variety of inappropriate behaviors have been reduced with these procedures, including oppositional and noncompliant behavior, aggressive and disruptive behavior, and self-stereotypic and self-injurious behavior. Such behaviors have been observed in children described as “conduct problems” (Bernal, Duryee, Pruett, & Burns, 1968), delinquent (Burchard & Harig, 1976), mentally retarded (Birnbrauer, 1976), and psychotic (Lovaas & Newsom, 1976). Although less severe than self-stereotypic and self-injurious behaviors, oppositional and noncompliant behaviors and aggressive and disruptive behaviors are the major reasons children are referred for professional intervention (Bernal et al., 1968; Kent & O’Leary, 1976; Patterson, 1974; Wahler, 1969a).
CRISPR Methods for Nucleic Acid Detection Herald the Future of Molecular Diagnostics.

The ideal diagnostic test is sensitive, specific, simple to execute, and capable of providing rapid results at or near the point of care. The latter holds true particularly for the diagnosis of infectious diseases. Whether to stem a global pandemic or to treat an individual patient, the swift and accurate identification of the infectious agent is vital to taking appropriate action and achieving a positive outcome. The identity of an infectious agent is most accurately established by the observation of its genomic sequences in a patient's sample. Indeed, the past 2 decades have witnessed an increase in the development of diagnostic tests based on the amplification and detection of nucleic acids (1). Most nucleic acid amplification methods rely on PCR and can detect a pathogen of interest with high sensitivity and specificity; however, the need for a thermocycler, which requires electric power, prohibits the use of such diagnostic tests in regions that have limited resources, such as on the battlefield or in developing countries. Thus, improved technologies are needed to ensure effective patient management and disease surveillance in all healthcare settings. Against this backdrop, diagnostic techniques based on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)2-Cas systems have emerged as potentially more accessible and versatile alternatives to PCR-based methods. CRISPR-Cas systems are a class of adaptive immune systems in bacteria and archaea that naturally protect against invasive genetic elements such as plasmids and viruses that infect these organisms (2). These systems capture small (35- to 45-nucleotide) segments of foreign DNA and insert them into the CRISPR locus to build a genetic memory of past invaders. These small snatches of DNA are transcribed, and the transcript is trimmed to generate small CRISPR RNA (crRNA) guides. crRNAs, in conjunction with one or more CRISPR-associated (Cas) nucleases, are capable of sensing and …
Fabrication of Cellulose Acetate/Polyaziridine Blended Flat Sheet Membranes for Dialysis Application

Polyaziridine or polyetyleneimine (PEI) was introduced as filler in cellulose acetate (CA) to fabricate mixed matrix membrane (MMM) for hemodialysis. Diffusion-induced phase separation (DIPS) method was followed for making PEI/CA MMM membranes. Effect of variation in the amount PEI was also examined on the morphology and performance of CA membrane. The surface morphology of pure and MMM membranes was studied by SEM, AFM, contact angle, and FTIR. Results of all characterization techniques revealed homogenous and significant blending of PEI content into pure CA matrix. Moreover, performance efficiency of MMM membranes was investigated in terms of pure water flux (PWF), urea clearance, and bovine serum albumin (BSA) rejection. The concomitant decrease of contact angle from 78° to 69° in PEI/CA MMM membranes of varying composition successfully demonstrates enhancement in surface hydrophilicity of MMM membranes. For protein rejection, all PEI/CA MMM membranes rejected > 90% of BSA relative to 25% for pure CA membrane. Furthermore, urea clearance behavior for PEI/CA MMM membranes was 67.6% in comparison to 52% for pure CA membrane. The incorporation PEI appreciably enhanced the PWF, BSA rejection, and urea clearance of CA membrane for hemodialysis application.
Oh, the things you don’t know: awe promotes awareness of knowledge gaps and science interest

Awe is described as an a “epistemic emotion” because it is hypothesised to make gaps in one’s knowledge salient. However, no empirical evidence for this yet exists. Awe is also hypothesised to be a...
Association of genomic subtypes of lower-grade gliomas with shape features automatically extracted by a deep learning algorithm.

Abstract Recent analysis identified distinct genomic subtypes of lower-grade glioma tumors which are associated with shape features. In this study, we propose a fully automatic way to quantify tumor imaging characteristics using deep learning-based segmentation and test whether these characteristics are predictive of tumor genomic subtypes. We used preoperative imaging and genomic data of 110 patients from 5 institutions with lower-grade gliomas from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Based on automatic deep learning segmentations, we extracted three features which quantify two-dimensional and three-dimensional characteristics of the tumors. Genomic data for the analyzed cohort of patients consisted of previously identified genomic clusters based on IDH mutation and 1p/19q co-deletion, DNA methylation, gene expression, DNA copy number, and microRNA expression. To analyze the relationship between the imaging features and genomic clusters, we conducted the Fisher exact test for 10 hypotheses for each pair of imaging feature and genomic subtype. To account for multiple hypothesis testing, we applied a Bonferroni correction. P-values lower than 0.005 were considered statistically significant. We found the strongest association between RNASeq clusters and the bounding ellipsoid volume ratio (p
On Assessing Risks to Fish Habitats and Populations Associated with a Transportation Corridor for Proposed Mine Operations in a Salmon-rich Watershed

Natural resource extraction in large undeveloped areas—such as the Bristol Bay watershed in Southwest Alaska—often necessitates construction of roads that contribute substantial environmental risks. Herein, we attempt to address risks from a proposed mine transportation corridor in a virtually roadless watershed that crosses important salmon streams and rivers. The Bristol Bay watershed supports the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world. A proposed 138 km permanent access road would connect a porphyry copper/gold deposit to a deep-water port. Of 64 potential stream crossings, salmonid spawning migrations may be impeded by culverts at 36 crossings, 32 of which contain restricted upstream habitat. After cessation of mine operations, assuming typical maintenance practices, 10 or more of the 32 streams with restricted upstream habitat would likely be entirely or partly blocked at any time. Consequently, salmon passage—and ultimately production—would be reduced in these streams, and they would likely not be able to support long-term populations of resident species. Additional long-term risks associated with operation of the road include filling or alteration of National Wetland Inventory aquatic habitats; spills of highly toxic xanthate or cyanide due to truck accidents; and reduced habitat quality due to dust production from traffic. We discuss our methodology, and information needs, in the context of Environmental Impact Statements that set the stage for decisions regarding future mining projects.
Southern New Mexico Dietary Practices and Impacts on Carotenoid Content of Traditional Mexican Meals (P06-115-19)

Identify and measure beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin and total carotenoids within traditional Southern New Mexican meals. Three traditional New Mexican meals, red chile enchiladas, squash calabacitas, and red chile posole were chosen based on their inclusion of carotenoid containing vegetables. Seven community health educators, promotoras, were recruited from the La Semilla Food Center (Anthony, NM, USA) to prepare each meal, as commonly consumed with traditional Mexican practices and ingredients, on two separate cooking days. The red chile enchilada meal included Spanish rice, pinto beans and a side salad with tomatoes and orange bell peppers. Calabacitas were served with panela cheese and a corn tortilla and the posole, a red chile pork stew with hominy, was topped with cabbage and avocado. Once prepared, one plate (approximately 240 g) of each meal was blended and frozen in liquid nitrogen for carotenoid analysis. Carotenoid extractions were performed with 10 g samples in duplicate for each meal and analyzed against beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin standards via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Carotenoid content for the entire portion of each meal was calculated and remaining samples of the meals were saved for future in vitro digestions to determine carotenoid micellar efficiencies. Beta-carotene and zeaxanthin were found in all three meals from both cooking days, whereas lutein was predominately found in calabacitas. The enchilada plate prepared on the second cooking day contained the highest total carotenoid amount with approximately 6.11 ug/g (1.47 mg/plate) and the highest beta-carotene and zeaxanthin amounts with 1.68 ug/g (403.2 ug/plate) and 0.55 ug/g (132 ug/plate), respectively. Lutein content in calabacitas was approximately 0.47 ug/g or 112.8 ug/plate. Carotenoid content within each complex food matrix varied between cooking days indicating that minor differences in preparation practices and ingredients impact nutrient content. Future work including in vitro digestions of the meals will provide a basis for determining bioavailability of health-promoting carotenoids from traditional Southern New Mexican meals. New Mexico State University Vice President for Research Grant.
A Tightly Coupled Array Loaded On a Miura-Ori Pattern

In this paper the electromagnetic performance of an array of tightly coupled dipoles is investigated when it is loaded on a modified Miura-ori pattern. The ability of the Miura-ori structure to change its shape is used to adjust the scanning capabilities of the array. Based on our results, as the structure is deformed from 0° to 45°, the arrays’ reception is improved compared to the unfolded/flat state for both the E and H planes.
Preoperative Maximization to Reduce Complications in Spinal Surgery

Study design:Invited narrative review.Objectives:The aim of this review was to summarize current literature regarding risk factors that surgeons can optimize in the preoperative setting in the spin...
Interdisciplinary and Professional Development Outside of the Classroom

The need to solve 21st century problems has driven higher education institutions to change how they educate engineers. Interdisciplinary (ID) curricular and co-curricular programs have shown promise for developing professional skills in students that prepare them to solve 21st century problems; however, there is still much to be understood about how these programs prepare students to succeed in the current workforce. This project proposes a longitudinal, qualitative study to deeply examine ID student development through two programs outside of the classroom (co-curriculars), specifically seeking to identify features of the experience that promote ID development and examining how ID development relates to biomedical engineering career preparedness. This study has potential to provide insights into previously unexamined features of co-curricular environments that develop students’ ID competence, as well as critically examines the assumption that ID development prepares students for a professional engineering workplace.
Deep-Sea Debris in the Central and Western Pacific Ocean

Marine debris is a growing problem in the world’s deep oceans. The naturally slow biological and chemical processes operating at depth, coupled with the types of materials that are used commercially, suggest that debris is likely to persist in the deep ocean for long periods of time, ranging from hundreds to thousands of years. However, the realized scale of marine debris accumulation in the deep ocean is unknown due to the logistical, technological, and financial constraints related to deep-ocean exploration. Coordinated deep-water exploration from 2015 to 2017 enabled new insights into the status of deep-sea marine debris throughout the central and western Pacific Basin via ROV expeditions conducted onboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer and RV Falkor. These expeditions included sites in U.S. protected areas and monuments, other Exclusive Economic Zones, international protected areas, and areas beyond national jurisdiction. Metal, glass, plastic, rubber, cloth, fishing gear, and other marine debris were encountered during 17.5% of the 188 dives from 150 m to 6,000 m depth. Correlations were observed between deep-sea debris densities and depth, geological features, and distance from human-settled land. The highest densities occurred off American Samoa and the main Hawaiian Islands. Debris, mostly consisting of fishing gear and plastic, were also observed in most of the large-scale marine protected areas, adding to the growing body of evidence that even deep, remote areas of the ocean are not immune from human impacts. Interactions with and impacts on biological communities were noted, though further study is required to understand the full extent of these impacts. We also discuss potential sources and long-term implications of this debris.
BlueJourney for AI – A Study Beyond Design Thinking to Develop Artificial Intelligence Solutions

BlueJourney is a program from ThinkLab Brazil, the innovation laboratory of IBM Research. BlueJourney was designed to connect customers, IBM researchers and other technical areas by using Design Thinking techniques. We have a specific space of immersion and co-creation and a team of professionals specialized in software development, business, engagement, design, ecosystem, education, marketing and content production. BlueJourney was created on 2018 to attend our clients’ transformation needs. We study their challenges, and with clients’ specialists, researchers and technical areas from IBM, we explore deeply their problems and opportunities to innovate. Therefore, we create viable solutions that truly meet people’s needs and expectations. In 2019, some clients brought the challenge to develop projects by using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Sometimes because they knew exactly how AI could help their business and sometimes just because it’s a buzz word, it’s a movement that they don’t want to stay out. In all the cases, we run the BlueJourney program to find out viable solutions with AI. But as AI is already a theme of solution with technology, we had problems to seek a perfect way to do it. Design Thinking is a method to study problems and opportunities and to create solutions. So, it’s an assumption not starting with a predetermined technology. For these cases, when we need to discuss how to apply AI as a solution for some problems, we already have the technology determined. Also, for most of AI solution we need to have the data available to build the solution, that is not always the true in client reality. For these reasons, we decided to create a way to work with Design Thinking methodology when we have the premise to work with AI. In this paper, we will present a study about Design Thinking for AI. We will show how we simulated a challenge and developed the steps this method suggested, and all the conclusion about this process. We will also propose an approach about Design Thinking and AI based in the study.
Compiling Chapel: Keys to Making Parallel Programming Productive at Scale

Chapel is a parallel language designed to support productive programming from laptops to supercomputers. Unlike typical general-purpose approaches to large-scale computing, Chapel supports a global namespace and a global view of control. These make programming at scale more productive and natural by avoiding the need to utilize a Single Program, Multiple Data (SPMD) approach. Chapel is being developed as portable, open-source software and has demonstrated its ability to match or beat C/C++/MPI/OpenMP performance using code that's as easy to read as Python or Swift. In this talk, I will introduce some of Chapel's key features for those who are new to the language. However, most of the talk will focus on unique aspects of compiling Chapel. I will illustrate the transformations and analyses we use to implement Chapel's global view of data and control. I will also describe some optimizations that make use of Chapel's feature set to improve performance without sacrificing ease-of-use. In doing so, I will argue that when designed well, a productive language can enhance a compiler's ability to achieve performance and scalability rather than thwarting it. I'll wrap up by touching on some upcoming challenges for the Chapel compiler, including code generation for GPUs, reducing compilation time, and supporting interactive programming.
Reviewing Major Mechanisms of β-Cell Regeneration: A Prospective Treatment for Diabetes Mellitus

Regeneration of human pancreatic β cells has the direct ability to treat type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus because important characteristics of diabetes include compromised function and/or reduced mass of β cells. While there has been limited success in transplanting pancreatic islets to supplement β cells in patients with diabetes, the low supply of donors requires a continuation of the search for sustainable sources of β cells. Research investigating different mechanisms of β-cell regeneration has been promising. First, neogenesis of β cells in vivo can be conducted by precisely differentiating embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. Second, duplication of β cells occurs in vivo but significantly slows down after infancy. Studies using animal models have suggested ways to induce β-cell duplication in the adult pancreas. Third, the potential to induce endogenous transdifferentiation of other mature pancreatic cells into β cells has recently attracted attention, especially in research involving the use of α cells as progenitor cells. This review summarizes the 3 major mechanisms through which β cells are regenerated and discusses the challenges associated with translating this research into clinical therapeutics for patients with diabetes. Furthermore, current findings suggest that transdifferentiation of existing pancreatic progenitor cells has the most potential as a source of β cells in this field of regenerative medicine.
Prospects Of Non-Coding Elements In Genomic Dna Based Gene Therapy.

Gene therapy has made significant development since the commencement of the first clinical trials a few decades ago and has remained a dynamic area of research regardless of obstacles such as immune response and insertional mutagenesis. Progression in various technologies like next-generation sequencing (NGS) and nanotechnology has established the importance of non-coding segments of a genome, thereby taking gene therapy to the next level. In this review, we have summarized the importance of non-coding elements, highlighting the advantages of using full-length genomic DNA loci (gDNA) compared to complementary DNA (cDNA) or minigene, currently used in gene therapy. The focus of this review is to provide an overview of the advances and the future of potential use of gDNA loci in gene therapy, expanding the therapeutic repertoire in molecular medicine.
Obesity: Overview of Weight Management.

Abstract Introduction Obesity is a chronic illness that requires a multifaceted personalized treatment approach. Methods & Findings Using current guidelines and recent studies in weight management, this article reviews the multiple components of weight management: lifestyle intervention (dietary intervention, physical activity, and behavioral interventions), pharmacotherapy, endoscopic procedures, and surgical procedures. This review briefly discusses specific diets and dietary strategies, compensatory mechanisms acting against weight loss, recent changes to Food and Drug Administration approved antiobesity medications, and technological advances in weight management delivery. Conclusion Current literature is lacking large studies on the safety and efficacy of combination therapies involving pharmacotherapy plus 1 or more procedures.
PL15 Development of immunotherapeutic approaches against gonorrhea

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ng) is a global health problem. Targeting virulence factors can circumvent the ability of gonococci to resist conventional antimicrobials. Resistance to such agents, if it were to occur, would result loss of bacterial fitness; attenuated ‘escape mutants’ would be susceptible to host immune defenses. A unique gonococcal immune evasion strategy involves capping of lipooligosaccharide (LOS) with sialic acid by gonococcal sialyltransferase (Lst), utilizing host-derived CMP-sialic acid (CMP-Neu5Ac in humans). LOS Neu5Ac renders gonococci resistant to complement (by binding the complement inhibitor, factor H (FH)) and cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs). LOS sialylation is important for gonococcal virulence in humans and in experimental mouse models. A chimeric protein that fuses the gonococcal binding domains of human FH (lacks complement-inhibiting activity) with human IgG1 Fc (FH/Fc) enhances complement activation on the bacterium and mediates complement-dependent killing of a wide array of gonococcal isolates in vitro. Intravaginal administration of FH/Fc attenuates bacterial burden in the mouse vaginal colonization model. Gonococcal Lst has broad substrate specificity and can utilize CMP salts of sialic acid analogs, such as legionaminic (CMP-Leg) or ketodeoxynonulosonic (CMP-Kdn). Incorporation of Leg or Kdn into LOS substitutes for the Neu5Ac sialic acid cap and restores bacterial susceptibility to complement and CAMPs. Intravaginal CMP-Leg or CMP-Kdn administration mediates CAMP-dependent clearance of MDR Ng in mice. An LOS epitope that is recognized by monoclonal antibody (mAb) 2C7 is expressed by ~95% of Ng isolates in vivo, can also be sialylated and is critical for virulence. The 2C7 epitope has also been fashioned as a vaccine candidate and is pending a human trial. mAb 2C7 delivered either intravaginally or systemically, or as a DNA-encoded mAb (passive vaccination) clears gonococci from mouse vaginas in a complement-dependent manner. In conclusion, targeting LOS-related virulence mechanisms is an innovate approach to combat MDR Ng.
Three-Component Difunctionalization of Cyclohexenyl Triflates Direct Access to Versatile Cyclohexenes via Cyclohexynes

Difunctionalization of strained cyclic alkynes presents a powerful strategy to build richly functionalized cyclic alkenes in an expedient fashion. Herein we disclose an efficient and flexible approach to achieve carbohalogenation, dicarbofunctionalization, aminohalogenation and aminocarbonation of readily available cyclohexenyl triflates. We have demonstrated the novel use of zincate base/nucleophile system for effective formation of key cyclohexyne intermediates and selective addition of various carbon and nitrogen nucleophiles. Importantly, leveraging the resulting organozincates enables the incorporation of a broad range of electrophilic partners to deliver structurally diverse cyclohexene motifs. The importance and utility of this method is also exemplified by the modularity of this approach and the ease in which even highly complex polycyclic scaffolds can be accessed in one step.
Characterization and comparative analysis of the tensile properties of five tempered martensitic steels and an oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic alloy irradiated at ≈295 °C to ≈6.5 dpa

Abstract Tensile test results at 25 and 300 °C on five 9-12Cr tempered martensitic steels and one 14Cr oxide dispersion strengthened alloy, that were side-by side irradiated to 6.5 dpa at 295 °C in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), are reported. The engineering stress–strain curves are analyzed to provide true stress–strain constitutive σ(e) laws for all of these alloys. In the irradiated condition, the σ(e) fall into categories of: strain softening, nearly perfectly plastic and strain hardening. Increases in yield stress (Δσy) and reductions in uniform strain ductility (eu) are observed, where the latter can be understood in terms of the alloy's σ(e) behavior. Increases in the average σ(e) in the range of 0–10% strain are smaller than the corresponding Δσy, and vary more from alloy to alloy. The data are also analyzed to establish relations between Δσy and coupled changes in the ultimate stresses as well as the effects of both test temperature and the unirradiated yield stress (σyu). The latter shows that higher σyu correlates with lower Δσy. In five out of six cases the effects of irradiation are generally consistent with previous observations on these alloys. However, the particular heat of the 12Cr HT-9 tempered martensitic steel in this study has a much higher eu than observed for earlier heats. The reasons for this improved behavior are not understood and may be microstructural in origin. However, it is noted that the new heat of HT-9, which was procured under modern quality assurance standards, has lower interstitial nitrogen than previous heats. Notably lower interstitial solute contents correlate with improved ductility and homogenous deformation in broadly similar steels.
The TREC-5 Confusion Track: Comparing Retrieval Methods for Scanned Text

A known-item search is a particular information retrieval task in which the system is asked to find a single target document in a large document set. The TREC-5 confusion track used a set of 49 known-item tasks to study the impact of data corruption on retrieval system performance. Two corrupted versions of a 55,600 document corpus whose true content was known were created by applying OCR techniques to page images. The first version of the corpus used the page images as scanned, resulting in an estimated character error rate of approximately 5%. The second version used page images that had been down-sampled, resulting in an estimated character error rate of approximately 20%. The true text and each of the corrupted versions were then searched using the same set of 49 questions. In general, retrieval methods that attempted a probabilistic reconstruction of the original clean text fared better than methods that simply accepted corrupted versions of the query text.
Poorer Cognitive Performance in Patients with Essential Tremor-Parkinson's Disease vs. Patients with Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Patients with essential tremor (ET) seem to be at increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (PD). Surprisingly little has been written about this clinical entity, ET-PD. Cognitive dysfunction is a well-known feature of PD, and can also be an issue in patients with ET. Whether the presence of the combined diagnosis, ET-PD, is associated with additive cognitive effects as compared with PD, has not been studied. Methods: Thirty ET-PD patients and 53 age-matched PD patients were enrolled in a clinical-epidemiological study. Two cognitive screens, the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS, score = 0 – 41) and Folstein Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE; range 0 - 30), were administered. Results: The MMSE score was lower in ET-PD than PD (26.5 ± 3.1 [median 28.0] vs. 28.4 ± 2.2 [median 29.0], p = 0.001). The TICS score was lower in ET-PD than PD (31.7 ± 3.9 [32.0] vs. 35.0 ± 2.0 [35.0], p<0.001). Subscores of these tests that related to orientation (p<0.001), language (p<0.001) and working memory (p = 0.001) were lower in ET-PD than PD, whereas the delayed memory subscore was only marginally lower in ET-PD than PD (p = 0.06), and the two groups did not differ with respect to the motor/construction subscore (p = 0.22). Both global cognitive scores were inversely correlated with disease duration (for MMSE score, Spearman’s r = -0.46, p<0.001; for TICS score, Spearman’s r = -0.53, p<0.001). Conclusions: The combined diagnosis, ET-PD, seemed to be associated with additive cognitive effects as compared with PD alone.
Discovering New Particles at Colliders

We summarize the activities of the New Particles Subgroup at the 1996 Snowmass Workshop. We present the expectations for discovery or exclusion of leptoquarks at hadron and lepton colliders in the pair production and single production modes. The indirect detection of a scalar lepton quark at polarized $e^+e^-$ and $\mu^+\mu^-$ colliders is discussed. The discovery prospects for particles with two units of lepton number is discussed. We summarize the analysis of the single production of neutral heavy leptons at lepton colliders.
Influence of Substrate Wettability on the Attachment of Marine Bacteria to Various Surfaces

The effect of the initial substrate surface condition, as indicated by the critical surface tension for wetting, on the rate of attachment of marine bacteria to a variety of solid surfaces has been measured. The techniques used to determine the number of bacteria attached per unit surface area were a lipopolysaccharide test utilizing Limulus lysate and direct examination of the surface by scanning electron microscopy. The results obtained by the two techniques are compared and their significance to the control of microbiological slime film formation (microfouling) is discussed.
Why wakeful leadership is more important now than ever

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to underscore the need for wakeful leadership, which is manifested through regular reflection. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by a leadership scholar/practitioner based on a blend of theory and practice. Findings – Today’s leadership, whether in a formal or informal setting, and whether with others involved or not, requires reflection to refrain from mindless continuance of obsolete mindsets and behaviors. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking aimed at constructively influencing current and future leaders. Originality/value – A brief but critical emphasis on the urgent need of reflectively leading ourselves, others and our organizations today, considering past and future.