cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Study of a Differential Demasking Technic for Serum Zinc

A differential decomplexation technic for the determination of serum zinc in filtrates was studied. It involved the masking of zinc, copper, and iron by the addition of cyanide to a buffered aliquot of an acid filtrate, followed first by the destruction of the excess cyanide and then the cyanide attached to zinc. The release of ionic zinc allowed reaction with the color reagent to take place. Quantitation with internal blanking was thereby accomplished before interference by other cations became possible.
Great Moments in Financial Economics: I. Present Value

This is the first in a series of articles to appear in this Journal on the history of significant ideas in financial economics. Perhaps the most basic of these is the idea of present value. Early contributors include Johan de Witt (1671), the famous mathematician Abraham de Moivre (1725), and the famous scientist Edmund Halley (1761). But it was Irving Fisher who in 1930 laid the theoretical foundations behind the concept as a byproduct of the standard inter-temporal model of rational consumption choice. In 1938 John Burr Williams applied the model to the discounting of dividends and derived what later became known as the Gordon growth formula.
Quantitative breast MRI radiomics for cancer risk assessment and the monitoring of high-risk populations

Breast density is routinely assessed qualitatively in screening mammography. However, it is challenging to quantitatively determine a 3D density from a 2D image such as a mammogram. Furthermore, dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) is used more frequently in the screening of high-risk populations. The purpose of our study is to segment parenchyma and to quantitatively determine volumetric breast density on pre-contrast axial DCE-MRI images (i.e., non-contrast) using a semi-automated quantitative approach. In this study, we retroactively examined 3D DCE-MRI images taken for breast cancer screening of a high-risk population. We analyzed 66 cases with ages between 28 and 76 (mean 48.8, standard deviation 10.8). DCE-MRIs were obtained on a Philips 3.0 T scanner. Our semi-automated DCE-MRI algorithm includes: (a) segmentation of breast tissue from non-breast tissue using fuzzy cmeans clustering (b) separation of dense and fatty tissues using Otsu’s method, and (c) calculation of volumetric density as the ratio of dense voxels to total breast voxels. We examined the relationship between pre-contrast DCE-MRI density and clinical BI-RADS density obtained from radiology reports, and obtained a statistically significant correlation [Spearman ρ-value of 0.66 (p < 0.0001)]. Our method within precision medicine may be useful for monitoring high-risk populations.
Interprofessional pharmacy observation activity for third-year dental students.

Interprofessional learning is a key component of today’s health sciences education. Within a two-course series in dental pharmacology and therapeutics, a dental curriculum was revised to provide an interprofessional activity to expose dental students to a community pharmacy setting. The objectives of this activity were to augment students’ learning about drug laws and prescription writing, as well as to foster interprofessional relationships and collaboration between pharmacists and dentists. Dental students were scheduled for one-hour observations at community pharmacies on campus. Learning objectives to guide this activity focused on demonstrating community pharmacy operating procedures, identifying ways to minimize prescribing and dosing errors, and understanding how pharmacists can assist dentists in prescribing. Following the observation, students were required to submit a written assignment, which accounted for 14 percent of their course grade. All 119 dental students (100 percent) enrolled in the course for the summers of 2012 and 2013 completed the activity. The average grade on the written assignment was 96.2 out of 100. At the end of the course, students were asked to participate in an online course evaluation survey, for which response rates were 37 percent and 43 percent for 2012 and 2013, respectively. The students rated the pharmacy observation activity favorably on this course evaluation. The pharmacy observation activity provided a successful interprofessional component to the didactic pharmacy course and was well received by the dental students as well as the community pharmacists.
Subspecies specificity of response to a mammalian social odor

Two subspecies of deer, black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) and Rocky Mountain mule deer (O. h. hemionus) were exposed to the tarsal scents of both subspecies in a social setting. The scent was sprayed on one individual in a group. The responses, consisting of sniffing, licking, and following, were stronger to each subspecies' own tarsal scent. This discrimination may be important for sexual isolation in areas where the ranges of the two species overlap.
Ocular infection caused by a biological insecticide.

Legend. Slit lamp photograph showing corneal ulcer near the inferior limbus (arrow). (The two white dots in the pupil are reflections of the light source.) Inset, photomicrograph of Bacillus thuringiensis recovered from the corneal ulcer (Gram strain; x 1,600). The characteristic elipsoidal subterminal spores can be seen within the organisms. Some spores are seen outside the organisms.
Recent Advances in Biosensing With Photonic Crystal Surfaces: A Review

Photonic crystal surfaces that are designed to function as wavelength-selective optical resonators have become a widely adopted platform for label-free biosensing, and for enhancement of the output of photon-emitting tags used throughout life science research and in vitro diagnostics. While some applications, such as analysis of drug-protein interactions, require extremely high resolution and the ability to accurately correct for measurement artifacts, others require sensitivity that is high enough for detection of disease biomarkers in serum with concentrations less than 1 pg/ml. As the analysis of cells becomes increasingly important for studying the behavior of stem cells, cancer cells, and biofilms under a variety of conditions, approaches that enable high resolution imaging of live cells without cytotoxic stains or photobleachable fluorescent dyes are providing new tools to biologists who seek to observe individual cells over extended time periods. This paper will review several recent advances in photonic crystal biosensor detection instrumentation and device structures that are being applied towards direct detection of small molecules in the context of high throughput drug screening, photonic crystal fluorescence enhancement as utilized for high sensitivity multiplexed cancer biomarker detection, and label-free high resolution imaging of cells and individual nanoparticles as a new tool for life science research and single-molecule diagnostics.
Cause analysis of SF_6 gas leakage in electrical equipment

From each chain of the manufacture, assembly and application of the electrical equipment, analyzes the leakage characteristic and cause of SF6 gas, puts forward the preventive measures of SF6 gas leakage.
NMR study of Y2Fe17 nitrides

14 N, 57 Fe and 89 Y spin-echo NMR experiments have been carried out in Y 2 Fe 17 N x , 0 < x < 2.8. It is found that the N distribution in the octahedral sites is not random, and a preferred nitrided (with Y-2N configuration)/unnitrided configuration is present. The change in the Fe hyperfine field distribution with N content provides evidence that lattice expansion plays a major role in the Fe moment enhancement upon nitrogenation
The Electrotonic Variation with Strong Polarising Currents

Let AB (fig. 1) be a piece of nerve interposed in the galvanometer circuit, and CD in the battery circuit. Then, as has long been known, on closing the battery circuit, one obtains a current in the galvanometer circuit, the direction of which in the nerve is the same as that of the polarising current. If, now, stimulation be made, say at I, this current undergoes a negative variation. Hermann, who investigated the subject, after Bernstein, was at first inclined to explain the negative variation by his law of “polarisation increment.”
Spinal Cord Tumors, Treatment of

Tumors of the spinal column are classified according to anatomical location as extradural, intradural-extramedullary, or intramedullary. Spinal metastases account for the majority of extradural tumors. Ependymomas, astrocytomas, and hemangioblastomas account for most intramedullary tumors. Meningiomas and nerve sheath tumors are the most common intradural-extramedullary tumors. The treatment of spinal tumors depends on the histology, the presence of neurological symptoms, signs of spinal cord compression, and, in the case of metastatic disease, overall prognosis. Surgery is the first-line treatment for most spinal tumors, although radiation and chemotherapy may play a role in specific cases.
Founding of the National Woman Suffrage Association: New York, 1869

Two days after the Equal Rights Association adjourned, Stanton and Anthony held a reception that became the founding meeting of the National Woman Suffrage Association. The association’s goal was the passage of a sixteenth amendment to guarantee woman suffrage. That year Lucy Stone and other supporters of the Fifteenth Amendment organized the American Woman Suffrage Association in Boston. The two groups finally merged in 1890. Another thirty years of organizing were required to achieve the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, which guaranteed women’s right to vote in 1920.
Risk factors for mortality in adult patients with sickle cell disease: a meta-analysis of studies in North America and Europe

Although recent studies show an improved survival of children with sickle cell disease in the US and Europe, for adult patients mortality remains high. This study was conducted to evaluate the factors associated with mortality in adult patients following the approval of hydroxyurea. We first evaluated the association between selected variables and mortality at an academic center (University of North Carolina). Data sources were then searched for publications from 1998 to June 2016, with meta-analysis of eligible studies conducted in North America and Europe to evaluate the associations of selected variables with mortality in adult patients. Nine studies, combined with the UNC cohort (total n=3257 patients) met the eligibility criteria. Mortality was significantly associated with age (per 10-year increase in age) [7 studies, 2306 participants; hazard ratio (HR): 1.28; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10–1.50], tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity 2.5 m/s or more (5 studies, 1577 participants; HR: 3.03; 95%CI: 2.0–4.60), reticulocyte count (3 studies, 1050 participants; HR: 1.05; 95%CI: 1.01–1.10), log(N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide) (3 studies, 800 participants; HR: 1.68; 95%CI: 1.48–1.90), and fetal hemoglobin (7 studies, 2477 participants; HR: 0.97; 95%CI: 0.94–1.0). This study identifies variables associated with mortality in adult patients with sickle cell disease in the hydroxyurea era.
Decentralized adaptive search using the noisy 20 questions framework in time-varying networks

Abstract This paper considers the problem of adaptively searching for an unknown target using multiple agents connected through a time-varying network topology. Agents are equipped with sensors capable of fast information processing, and we propose a decentralized collaborative algorithm for controlling their search given noisy observations. Specifically, we propose decentralized extensions of the adaptive query-based search strategy that combines elements from the 20 questions approach and social learning. Under standard assumptions on the time-varying network dynamics, we prove convergence to correct consensus on the value of the parameter as the number of iterations go to infinity. The convergence analysis takes a novel approach using martingale-based techniques combined with spectral graph theory. Our results establish that stability and consistency can be maintained even with one-way updating and randomized pairwise averaging, thus providing a scalable low complexity method with performance guarantees. We illustrate the effectiveness of our algorithm for random network topologies.
BlueSkyNet: BLE Multi-Hop Network Management Architecture

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is aimed for Internet of Things (IoT) devices with limited battery capacity and small bandwidth. Despite the increasing number of IoT devices and the improving performance of BLE, the usage model is still limited to point-to-point with no mobility. This limitation prevents the devices to spread across a large field or a home. While multi-hop technologies had been studied and commercialized, they do not fully take advantage of the BLE's low-power feature; and their configurations cannot easily be changed once the network is deployed. We have designed an architecture called BlueSkyNet. It allows network administrators to form and manage a BLE multi-hop network that allows nodes to be mobile. It takes advantage of the improving performance of BLE, and allows the network configurations to be modified in a software-defined way.
On-demand gas-generating nanoparticles as an ultrasound imaging contrast agent

Microbubbles (MBs) are often used as ultrasound imaging contrast agents. Given their micrometer size, MBs are confined in vascular compartments because they cannot escape through endothelial barriers and, as such, MBs are primarily useful in microcirculation or vascular-targeting molecule imaging. To penetrate outside of vasculature, the size of the ultrasound contrast agent should be in the nanometer scale range. When gas bubbles are reduced to nanometer size, they have low echogenicity and limited response to acoustic field. A desired ultrasound contrast agent should consist of nanoparticles that are capable of escaping from vasculature, penetrating into tissue, and generating sufficient contrast once they reach the target site. Here we report the development of a novel contrast agent (panel A) consisting of gold nanoparticles that are covered by azide compounds and capable of on-demand laser-induced gas generation via photolysis.
The Effect of Focal Distance, Age, and Brightness on Near-Field Augmented Reality Depth Matching

Many augmented reality (AR) applications operate within near-field reaching distances, and require matching the depth of a virtual object with a real object. The accuracy of this matching was measured in three experiments, which examined the effect of focal distance, age, and brightness, within distances of 33.3 to 50 cm, using a custom-built AR haploscope. Experiment I examined the effect of focal demand, at the levels of collimated (infinite focal distance), consistent with other depth cues, and at the midpoint of reaching distance. Observers were too young to exhibit age-related reductions in accommodative ability. The depth matches of collimated targets were increasingly overestimated with increasing distance, consistent targets were slightly underestimated, and midpoint targets were accurately estimated. Experiment II replicated Experiment I, with older observers. Results were similar to Experiment I. Experiment III replicated Experiment I with dimmer targets, using young observers. Results were again consistent with Experiment I, except that both consistent and midpoint targets were accurately estimated. In all cases, collimated results were explained by a model, where the collimation biases the eyes’ vergence angle outwards by a constant amount. Focal demand and brightness affect near-field AR depth matching, while age-related reductions in accommodative ability have no effect.
Physiological Sensing Now Open to the World: New Resources Are Allowing Us to Learn, Experiment, and Create Imaginative Solutions for Biomedical Applications

With the advent of low-cost computing platforms, such as Arduino (http://www.arduino.cc) and Raspberry Pi (http://www.raspberrypi.org), it has become clear that lowering the cost barrier and shortening the learning curve, with the backing of a motivated community, would play a transformational role in the way people learn, experiment, and create imaginative solutions to outstanding problems that can benefit from embedded systems.
2017 SIGMOBILE Outstanding Contributions Award: Norman Abramson

Citation: Fundamental contributions to the theory and practice of random access wireless networking.
Ethical Considerations for Biotechnology Entrepreneurs

The dynamic world of corporate biotechnology is one of possibility, productivity, and progress. The biotechnology industry exists at the intersections of science, technology, and public policy, and there are successes, failures, and hazards along the way. This chapter will introduce you to ethical issues and dilemmas which are serious questions about what ought to be done, often in situations of uncertainty. Ethical “arguments” make use of judgments, rules, principles, and theories which form a rational response to a set of circumstances in which one must decide the best course of action. In this chapter I explain some important themes for biotechnology entrepreneurs which include informed consent, ownership of human tissues and cells and derivative products, intellectual property, patenting, and the possibility of biopiracy to name a few. The biotechnology entrepreneur should be equipped with an understanding of ethics, and embrace a broad concept of corporate social responsibility when making decisions that can benefit society and the industry as a whole.
Percutaneous Chest Intervention

The development and improvement of interventional tools and image guidance has allowed for expansion of the use of percutaneous interventions in pediatric thoracic disorders. In this chapter, we discuss the main thoracic pathologies for which the interventional procedures offer a safe, minimally invasive therapeutic alternative. Integration of interventional procedures into the management of many of these disorders has become the standard of care at many institutions and a key component of a successful, interdisciplinary treatment plan.
Defenses Against Aflatoxin Carcinogenesis in Humans

Aspects of work on aflatoxin mainly from the author’s studies are discussed, emphasizing procedures, strategies and insights related to protection against aflatoxin carcinogenesis in man due to transmission in the food chain. Five lines of defense are discussed. First, is the interfacing of the farm animal as a biologic filter between contaminated crop (feed) and human food derived from animal products. Second, is chemical detoxification of meals with ammonia and of contaminated milk by ultraviolet light. Third is prevention of mold growth and aflatoxin elaboration with ammonium carbonate for potential application during storage and drying of agricultural products. Fourth, is the development of ultrasensitive analytical methods for aflatoxins with structural proof of identity. And, fifth are natural defenses related to the role of hydroxylation of mammalian metabolism in detoxification, especially the pathway to aflatoxin Q1, a major detoxifying mechanism in primates, and the epoxidation pathway and its relation to prevention of aflatoxin residue transmission into edible tissues.
Command Responsibility—A Legal Obligation to Deter Sexual Violence in the Military

The United States should adopt the international doctrine of command responsibility within the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) as a solution to widespread reports of intra-military rape and sexual assault. Applying command responsibility to serious violations of the UCMJ, like rape, would establish a clear mandate for the military to prosecute any commander who fails to reasonably prevent, investigate, or punish serious UCMJ violations that he or she knew about, either via constructive or actual knowledge. Congress should limit the doctrine’s scope to serious UCMJ violations that commanders are aware of and recklessly choose to ignore in order to prevent significant, rather than trivial harms. Although the Department of Defense recently articulated a duty to prosecute intra-military rape and sexual assault, establishing a duty achieves nothing without proper enforcement—command responsibility is one solution.
Chemical Probes for the Geometry of Membrane Proteins

The position of the protein components of biological membranes both perpendicular to and in the plane of the permeability barrier has been the subject of much recent interest. The “sidedness” of the identifiable peptide chains has been examined with low-molecular-weight reagents similar to those used in modification studies on soluble proteins, and with such macromolecular reagents as enzymes or binding proteins. With the former category, use is made of nucleophilic groups on the exposed side chains of the proteins as the required reaction sites (BERG, 1969; BRETSCHER, 1971a, b, c; STECK, 1972; WHITELEY, BERG, 1974), while enzymes need exposed peptide bonds for proteolysis (BENDER et al., 1971; STECK et al., 1971; STECK, 1972; TRIPLETT, CARRAWAY, 1972) or aromatic side chains for iodination reactions (PHILLIPS, MORRISON, 1971a, b; 1973); lectins act as specific sugar binding reagents (e.g., NICOLSON, SINGER, 1974). These studies have recently been reviewed by WALLACH (1972), BRETSCHER (1973), ZWALL et al. (1973), STECK (1974), and SINGER (1974).
cTADA: The Design of a Crowdsourcing Tool for Online Food Image Identification and Segmentation

Measuring accurate dietary intake, the process of determining what someone eats during the course of the day is considered to be an open research problem in the nutrition and health fields. We have developed image-based tools to automatically obtain accurate estimates of what foods and how much energy/nutrients a user consumes. In this work, we present a crowdsourcing tool we designed and implemented to collect large sets of relevant online food images. This tool can be used to locate food items and obtaining groundtruth segmentation masks associated with all the foods presented in an image. We present a systematic design for a crowdsourcing tool aiming specifically for the task of online food image collection and annotations with a detailed description. The crowdsoucing tool we designed is tailored to meet the needs of building a large image dataset for developing automatic dietary assessment tools in the nutrition and health fields.
PD-L1 blockade enhances anti-tumor efficacy of NK cells

Anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 therapies have shown success in cancer treatment but responses are limited to ~ 15% of patients with lymphocyte infiltrated, PD-L1 positive tumors. Hence, strategies that incre...
We Need a New Approach to Prevent Obesity in Low-Income Minority Populations

* Abbreviations: COPTR — : Childhood Obesity Prevention and Treatment Research Consortium CPP — : community policy and program CPP-Strat — : community policy and program created to assess either nutrition or physical activity strategy GEMS — : Girls’ Health Enrichment Multi-site Studies HCS — : Healthy Communities Study In the last 2 decades, the National Institutes of Health invested in 2 major multicenter trials aimed at the prevention of obesity in high-risk populations of low-income Hispanic and African American children.1 The trials were the Childhood Obesity Prevention and Treatment Research Consortium (COPTR) and the Girls’ Health Enrichment Multi-site Studies (GEMS). Despite intensive, state-of-the-art, and often creative interventions conducted by seasoned investigators, all 5 of the studies considered below failed to alter the trajectory of weight gain in their participants compared with controls. In this issue of Pediatrics , Moore et al2 describe the most recent of the COPTR studies. This study, conducted in Cleveland, Ohio, is 1 of 4 randomized controlled intervention trials, 2 of which have already been published. In this trial, 360 predominantly African American middle school children (mean age 11.6 years) and their parents were randomly assigned to a HealthyChange intervention, which relied on cognitive behavioral and motivational interviewing strategies that focused on goal setting, problem solving, self-monitoring, and relapse prevention. The control group was a SystemChange intervention that sought to establish family routines, restructured to develop new healthy habits. Both interventions focused on improving diet, physical activity, sleep and stress management, and reducing sedentary behavior. Both interventions included intensive engagement through 25 small-group sessions in the first year, alternating face-to-face and individualized phone sessions in year 2, and 4 face-to-face sessions and 8 individualized phone sessions in year 3. At the end of the 3-year intervention, 90% of enrolled participants remained in the study. No significant differences were observed in annual changes of BMI, waist circumference, or triceps skinfold thickness. Furthermore, no significant differences were observed in diet, physical activity measured by accelerometry, sleep, perceived stress, or cardiometabolic factors. In 2 other COPTR studies that included randomized intensive obesity interventions in low-income, … Address correspondence to William H. Dietz, MD, PhD, Sumner M. Redstone Global Center for Prevention and Wellness, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Room 319, 950 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC 20052. E-mail: bdietz{at}email.gwu.edu
Chemo-Surgical Studies on Outer Segments

The outer segments of vertebrate photoreceptors contain photopigment and interact with light. They are therefore objects of investigation by those interested in the transduction process—i. e. the chain of causal events whereby the capture of quanta of light by photopigment molecules of the outer segment leads to signalling by the rods and cones. This leads to an interest in the molecular architecture of the membranes of the outer segments, since the visual photopigments seem to constitute very substantial fractions of the total protein of the outer segment (ca. 80% in frogs (1)), and the insolubility of the pigments, save in detergents, suggests that they are built into the proteinaceous membranes of the outer segments.
John Theophilus Desaguliers: A Natural Philosopher, Engineer and Freemason in Newtonian England

Audrey T. Carpenter is involved with a challenging task: namely, writing a massively detailed biography of the Huguenot, of the Newtonian, and of the major Speculative Masonic leader John T. Desagu...
On the compensation mechanism for urban medical services

Reform on medial service compensation mechanism,as a key point in the heahhcare system reform,runs through the entire reform process.It plays a key role for the establishment and improvement of urban medical care system,medical service system,medical management system and operating system,for its guidance and regulation effects.Such a refonn to build a scientific and perfect compensation model and mechanism will be highly significant for the smooth progress of the new round of healthcare reform and its success in the end. Key words: Government; Healthcare; Compensation mechanism; Reform
Individuals’ willingness to rent their personal vehicle to others: An exploratory assessment of peer-to-peer carsharing

Abstract The renting of personal vehicles for monetary compensation (peer-to-peer carsharing or abbreviated as P2P carsharing) has become increasingly popular in the U.S. In applications, the fleet of peer-to-peer carsharing vehicles typically consists of personally owned vehicles identified and coordinated by a third-party company. However, little is known about the attitudes, perceptions, and decision process through which individuals decide to offer their car for rent in such peer-to-peer carsharing. To explore individuals' attitudes and perceptions regarding the act of supplying a personal vehicle to peer-to-peer vehicle fleet, a stated preference survey was designed and disseminated between February and April of 2018 where survey respondents were asked how likely they would be to rent their car (extremely unlikely, unlikely, unsure, likely, extremely likely). The survey questionnaire collected detailed socio-demographic information, as well as data on travel behavior and travel patterns. These data were then used to estimate a random parameters ordered probit model of their likelihood of renting their car. Some of the variables found statistically significant determinants of the willingness to rent a personal vehicle were gender, age, income, household composition, vehicle ownership, living location with respect to a grocery store, and participation in other shared mobility modes. The above findings and especially the gender and income related variables were found to complement prior literature and offered additional layer of understanding of the factors determining the supply side of peer-to-peer carsharing. The findings of this study offer some initial insights into the factors that may determine the success or failure of this novel transportation alternative.
Impact of molecular subtype on presenting characteristics of T1a,b tumors

11111 Background: Gene expression profiling of breast cancers has identified molecular subtypes (Lum A and B, basal, HER2) which impact upon the risk of both local and distant recurrence. There is ...
Expanded Phylogenetic Diversity and Metabolic Flexibility of Mercury-Methylating Microorganisms

Methylmercury is a potent bioaccumulating neurotoxin that is produced by specific microorganisms that methylate inorganic mercury. Methylmercury production in diverse anaerobic bacteria and archaea was recently linked to the hgcAB genes. However, the full phylogenetic and metabolic diversity of mercury-methylating microorganisms has not been fully unraveled due to the limited number of cultured experimentally verified methylators and the limitations of primer-based molecular methods. Here, we describe the phylogenetic diversity and metabolic flexibility of putative mercury-methylating microorganisms by hgcAB identification in publicly available isolate genomes and metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) as well as novel freshwater MAGs. We demonstrate that putative mercury methylators are much more phylogenetically diverse than previously known and that hgcAB distribution among genomes is most likely due to several independent horizontal gene transfer events. The microorganisms we identified possess diverse metabolic capabilities spanning carbon fixation, sulfate reduction, nitrogen fixation, and metal resistance pathways. We identified 111 putative mercury methylators in a set of previously published permafrost metatranscriptomes and demonstrated that different methylating taxa may contribute to hgcA expression at different depths. Overall, we provide a framework for illuminating the microbial basis of mercury methylation using genome-resolved metagenomics and metatranscriptomics to identify putative methylators based upon hgcAB presence and describe their putative functions in the environment.IMPORTANCE Accurately assessing the production of bioaccumulative neurotoxic methylmercury by characterizing the phylogenetic diversity, metabolic functions, and activity of methylators in the environment is crucial for understanding constraints on the mercury cycle. Much of our understanding of methylmercury production is based on cultured anaerobic microorganisms within the Deltaproteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Euryarchaeota. Advances in next-generation sequencing technologies have enabled large-scale cultivation-independent surveys of diverse and poorly characterized microorganisms from numerous ecosystems. We used genome-resolved metagenomics and metatranscriptomics to highlight the vast phylogenetic and metabolic diversity of putative mercury methylators and their depth-discrete activities in thawing permafrost. This work underscores the importance of using genome-resolved metagenomics to survey specific putative methylating populations of a given mercury-impacted ecosystem.
Differences in the prevalence of childhood adversity by geography in the 2017-18 National Survey of Children's Health.

Abstract Background Previous efforts to examine differences in adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) exposure by geography have yielded mixed results, and have not distinguished between urban, suburban, and rural areas. Additionally, few studies to date have considered the potentially moderating role of geography on the relationship between ACEs and health outcomes. Objective To examine differences in exposure to ACEs by geography, and determine whether geography moderates the relationship between ACE exposure and health outcomes (overall health, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and special health care needs). Participants and setting The cross-sectional 2017−18 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). Methods Distributions of individual and cumulative ACEs by geography (urban, suburban, rural) were compared using chi-squared tests. Logistic regression was used to determine the association between geography and exposure to 4 + ACEs, and to explore whether the relationship between ACEs and health outcomes varied by geography, adjusting for sociodemographic covariates. Results Adjusting for covariates, rural residency was associated with 1.29 times increased odds of exposure to 4 + ACEs (95 % CI: 1.00, 1.66) compared to suburban residency. Statistically significant evidence for an interaction between geography and ACE exposure on overall health was not observed, but urban status was observed to increase the association between ACEs and asthma. Conclusions This analysis demonstrates a higher ACE burden in rural compared to suburban children. These findings underscore the importance of ACE screening and suggest investment of healthcare resources in the historically underserved rural population.
Optimal Resource and Demand Redistribution for Healthcare Systems Under Stress from COVID-19.

When facing an extreme stressor, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare systems typically respond reactively by creating surge capacity at facilities that are at or approaching their baseline capacity. However, creating individual capacity at each facility is not necessarily the optimal approach, and redistributing demand and critical resources between facilities can reduce the total required capacity. Data shows that this additional load was unevenly distributed between hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring some to create surge capacity while nearby hospitals had unused capacity. Not only is this inefficient, but it also could lead to a decreased quality of care at over-capacity hospitals. In this work, we study the problem of finding optimal demand and resource transfers to minimize the required surge capacity and resource shortage during a period of heightened demand. We develop and analyze a series of linear and mixed-integer programming models that solve variants of the demand and resource redistribution problem. We additionally consider demand uncertainty and use robust optimization to ensure solution feasibility. We also incorporate a range of operational constraints and costs that decision-makers may need to consider when implementing such a scheme. Our models are validated retrospectively using COVID-19 hospitalization data from New Jersey, Texas, and Miami, yielding at least an 85% reduction in required surge capacity relative to the observed outcome of each case. Results show that such solutions are operationally feasible and sufficiently robust against demand uncertainty. In summary, this work provides decision-makers in healthcare systems with a practical and flexible tool to reduce the surge capacity necessary to properly care for patients in cases when some facilities are over capacity.
Selective Actuation of Antisymmetric Lamb Waves Using Internal d 15 Transducers for SHM

Advanced capabilities of ultrasonic SHM in thin plates, like identification of damage type and compensation for environmental effects, regularly depend on the knowledge and analysis of specific wave propagation modes. Antisymmetric wave propagation modes have been identified as being particularly useful for these purposes because of their relatively slow propagation velocity and associated short wavelength at these frequencies.
Apple pomace pretreated with hydrochloric acid exhibited better adherence with the corn starch during extrusion expansion

Abstract Apple pomace (AP) was pretreated with hydrochloric acid (HCl) to evaluate its effectiveness in improving interactions between starch and pomace during extrusion. Cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin contents were reduced, and the sugar content increased after the HCl treatment. Four levels (5, 10, 15, and 20 g/100 g) of AP and modified apple pomace (MAP) were extruded with 17 g/100 g feed moisture, feeding rate of 60 g/min, barrel temperature of 140°C, screw speeds (200 and 250 rpm), and die diameter of 3.15 mm. MAP extrudates at 5 g/100 g had the highest expansion ratio of 3.87, followed by 3.75 for 5 g/100 g AP. Fourier Transform-Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy was used to identify the interactions between starch-pomace during extrusion. The FTIR spectra showed significant changes in the 1035 cm−1 moiety, representing the C-O bonds between cellulose and lignin present in extrudates with low ER.
Factors affecting the sale price of bulls consigned to a graded sale

Selection or replacement of a herd bull is an important decision for cow-calf producers. To justify the price paid for a bull, cattlemen may utilize several criteria. They must also determine if the specific selection criteria used add or detract from the value of a particular animal. The study reported here evaluated 13 years of data presented to bull buyers at a graded bull auction in Florida. Results of this study indicated that buyers placed significant emphasis on the following criteria: grade of bull, age, birth weight, sale weight, breed and year of sale. Buyers paid more for a bull evaluated as having superior phenotype and breeding potential. Younger bulls were preferred to older bulls, and bulls with increasing birth weights were discounted. While expected progeny differences (EPD) data are considered a useful selection tool, observations from this study suggest that progeny information had little or no effect on buying decisions, and thus the value of a particular bull. There was, however, a significant effect of breed on sale price: Angus bulls were the preferred breed and sold at a premium compared to other breeds consigned. Year of sale affected the price paid for a bull, with some years more significant than others. In general, producers at this sale did not discount or show prejudice to bulls brought from out-of-state.
Social Discounting towards Relatives and Nonrelatives

Social discount functions have been used as a quantitative description of altruistic choice. In support of kin altruism theories, previous research has found that participants discounted outcomes less to relatives than nonrelatives. However, weaknesses in those analyses, such as disproportionate value comparisons, limit the validity of those findings. The current study sought to amend those weaknesses by using individual social discount rates and explicit identification of the beneficiary to assess differences in altruistic choice. Like previous research, results demonstrated the same direction of altruism in favor of relatives, but a multilevel analysis demonstrated no significant difference between discounting towards relationship types. Moreover, explicit identification of beneficiaries did not alter altruism significantly. Implications for future research and determinants of altruistic choice are discussed.
Anti-theatricality in Twentieth-Century Opera

An anti-theatrical opera would seem to be a contradiction in terms. Theatricality, after all, suggests an exaggerated perspective on what we take to be reality, a certain inauthenticity that, as Jonas Barish demonstrated in his magisterial book The Antitheatrical Prejudice, has been an issue within Western thought since its beginnings. The term operatic implies the exaggeration of a theatrical stance already assumed to be exaggerated. Thus, an opera that questions the nature and value of theatricality would seem to put enormous constraints on composers and performers, not to speak of audiences eager to experience the enactment of those high emotions that they would not dare to reveal in their everyday lives.
Paleointensity in Hawaiian Scientific Drilling Project Hole (HSDP2): Results from submarine basaltic glass

[1] Paleointensity estimates based on the high quality Thellier-Thellier data from the early Brunhes (420–780 ka) are rare (only 30 in the published literature). The Second Hawaiian Scientific Drilling Project (HSDP2) drill hole recovered submarine volcanics spanning the approximate time period of 420–550 ka. These are of particular interest for absolute paleointensity studies owing to the abundance of fresh submarine basaltic glass, which can preserve an excellent record of ancient geomagnetic field intensity. We present here new results of Thellier-Thellier paleointensity experiments that nearly double the number of reliable paleointensity data available for the early Brunhes. We also show that the magnetizations of the associated submarine basalts are dominated by viscous magnetizations and therefore do not reflect the true ancient geomagnetic field intensity at the time of extrusion. The viscous contamination is particularly severe because of a combination of low blocking temperatures in the basalts and relatively high temperatures in the deeper parts of the drill core. Our new data, when placed on the approximate timescale available for HSDP and HSDP2, are at odds with other contemporaneous paleointensity data. The discrepancy can be reconciled by adjusting the HSDP timescales to be younger by about 35 kyr.
Testing the Psychological Reality of Phonemes

One important aspect of the current growing interest in testing claims about the psychological reality of various linguistic phenomena is the exploration of new experimental paradigms for accomplis...
Hydrodynamic response of inhomogeneous metallic systems

The response of an inhomogeneous metallic system is treated within the hydrodynamical theory in which the constitutive equation is obtained via a quasi-static extension of the theory of inhomogeneous electron gas. Formal expression for the frequency-dependent dielectric function of a metallic surface is derived and applications to other systems such as electron-hole drops in semiconductors are discussed.
Contemporary Challenges in Ambient Data Integration for Biodiversity Informatics

Biodiversity informatics (BDI) information is both highly localized and highly distributed. The temporal and spatial contexts of data collection events are generally of primary importance in BDI studies, and most studies are focused around specific localities. At the same time, data are collected by many groups working independently, but often at the same sites, leading to a distribution of data. BDI data are also distributed over time, due to protracted longitudinal studies, and the continuously evolving meanings of taxonomic names. Ambient data integration provides new opportunities for collecting, sharing, and analyzing BDI data, and the nature of BDI data poses interesting challenges for applications of ADI. This paper surveys recent work on utilization of BDI data in the context of ADI. Topics covered include applying ADI to species identification, data security, annotation and provenance sharing, and coping with multiple competing classification ontologies. We conclude with a summary of requirements for applying ADI to biodiversity informatics.
“I'm Not Your Typical ‘Homework Stresses Me Out’ Kind of Girl”: Psychological Anthropology in Research on College Student Usage of Psychiatric Medications and Mental Health Services

Research has established that a large minority of college students today are taking psychiatric medications and that college mental health services are overwhelmed by this relatively recent trend. Little is known about the subjective experience of these college students in regard to their medications and utilizations of services as they transition from home to a peer-based environment during a key developmental moment in the transition to adulthood. In this article we argue that theory and methods from psychological anthropology are ripe to guide data collection in this area. We provide data from a longitudinal mixed-methods pilot study with residential college students to argue that policy and practice regarding college mental health and psychiatric medication can benefit substantially from insights gained through psychological anthropology. In particular, college administrators, counseling and health centers, and their professional organizations can benefit from research examining student experience and meaning making in particular institutional and community settings.
Geometry and Discrete Velocity Approximations to the Boltzmann Equation

Publisher Summary This chapter describes some calculations, such as the simplest discrete velocity model of the Boltzmann equation. It describes how these discrete velocity models arise. The Boltzmann equation is an integro-differential equation for the density in configuration and momentum space, n(x,p,t), of a large number of particles, for example, the molecules of a gas. The Carleman model is the simplest discrete velocity model. The chapter explains that the geometry of the characteristics is crucial to the Boltzmann-like properties of the Carleman model.
Particle Acceleration by Magnetic Reconnection

Dissipation of magnetic energy during field-line reconnection could lead to runaway acceleration of charged particles to high energies. The particle energy gain is directly proportional to the product of the strength of the pre-merging magnetic field and the plasma resistivity. Particle acceleration to relativistic energies is possible provided that plasma turbulence or some form of instability leads to a drastic reduction of the classical (Coulomb) conductivity.
Combinatorial Preconditioning for Sparse Linear Systems

A key ingredient in the solution of a large, sparse system of linear equations by an iterative method like conjugate gradients is a preconditioner, which is in a sense an approximation to the matrix of coefficients. Ideally, the iterative method converges much faster on the preconditioned system at the extra cost of one solve against the preconditioner per iteration.
India’s Effort to Join 21st-Century Higher Education

India’s central government will create 12 new central universities, adding to the 18 that currently exist. This is a mammoth undertaking—Rs. 3,280 crores (about $73 million) has been allocated from the central government budget to it.
Novel regulatory therapies for prevention of Graft-versus-host disease

Graft-versus-host disease is one of the major transplant-related complications in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Continued efforts have been made to prevent the occurrence of severe graft-versus-host disease by eliminating or suppressing donor-derived effector T cells. Conventional immunosuppression does not adequately prevent graft-versus-host disease, especially in mismatched transplants. Unfortunately, elimination of donor-derived T cells impairs stem cell engraftment, and delays immunologic reconstitution, rendering the recipient susceptible to post-transplant infections and disease relapse, with potentially lethal consequences. In this review, we discuss the role of dynamic immune regulation in controlling graft-versus-host disease, and how cell-based therapies are being developed using regulatory T cells and other tolerogenic cells for the prevention and treatment of graft-versus-host disease. In addition, advances in the design of cytoreductive conditioning regimens to selectively target graft-versus-host disease-inducing donor-derived T cells that have improved the safety of allogeneic stem cell transplantation are reviewed. Finally, we discuss advances in our understanding of the tolerogenic facilitating cell population, a phenotypically and functionally distinct population of bone marrow-derived cells which promote hematopoietic stem cell engraftment while reducing the risk of graft-versus-host disease.