cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The impact of large scale ionospheric structure on radio occultation retrievals

Abstract. We study the impact of large-scale ionospheric structure on the accuracy of radio occultation (RO) retrievals. We use a climatological model of the ionosphere as well as an ionospheric data assimilation model to compare quiet and geomagnetically disturbed conditions. The presence of ionospheric electron density gradients during disturbed conditions increases the physical separation of the two GPS frequencies as the GPS signal traverses the ionosphere and atmosphere. We analyze this effect in detail using ray-tracing and a full geophysical retrieval system. During quiet conditions, our results are similar to previously published studies. The impact of a major ionospheric storm is analyzed using data from the 30 October 2003 "Halloween" superstorm period. At 40 km altitude, the refractivity bias under disturbed conditions is approximately three times larger than quiet time. These results suggest the need for ionospheric monitoring as part of an RO-based climate observation strategy. We find that even during quiet conditions, the magnitude of retrieval bias depends critically on assumed ionospheric electron density structure, which may explain variations in previously published bias estimates that use a variety of assumptions regarding large scale ionospheric structure. We quantify the impact of spacecraft orbit altitude on the magnitude of bending angle and retrieval error. Satellites in higher altitude orbits (700+ km) tend to have lower residual biases due to the tendency of the residual bending to cancel between the top and bottomside ionosphere. Another factor affecting accuracy is the commonly-used assumption that refractive index is unity at the receiver. We conclude with remarks on the implications of this study for long-term climate monitoring using RO.
Vegetation index based technique for global agricultural drought monitoring

Droughts occurring every year all over the world have great impacts on human society, nature, and the global economy for example in declining crop yields, reduction of water supplies, and distressed vegetation. Satellite data have been widely used in drought monitoring. Vegetation condition is an excellent indicator of agricultural drought and can be quantified by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). One way to detect agricultural drought is to quantify it through calculation of drought indices, such as the Vegetation Condition Index (VCI). For this purpose, we have developed an agricultural drought portal under the name of Global Agricultural Drought Information Services System (GADISS), which is interoperable with the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GOESS) and follows Web standards for geospatial data recommended by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), on the top of remote sensing drought monitoring. This study investigates the performance of VCI drought maps, which is also scientific base of GADISS, against annual grape production. Taking severe drought in the Aegean region, Turkey in 2007 as an example, the VCI drought index derived from 8-day NDVI satisfactorily detect drought. It is also validated with the fluctuations of annual grape production capacity. The results suggest that agricultural droughts have negative impacts on grape production rate per tree, and they can be operationally monitored by VCI over a geographic region for an extended period of time.
Cholesterol Modulates Human Intestinal Sodium-Dependent Bile Acid Transporter

Bile acids are efficiently absorbed from the intestinal lumen via the ileal apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (ASBT). ASBT function is essential for maintenance of cholesterol homeostas...
FITS: framework-based instruction-set tuning synthesis for embedded application specific processors

We propose a new instruction synthesis paradigm that falls between a general-purpose embedded processor and a synthesized application specific processor (ASP). This is achieved by replacing the fixed instruction and register decoding of general purpose embedded processor with programmable decoders that can achieve ASP performance with the fabrication advantages of a mass produced single chip solution.
Meta-analysis of clinical studies of the purported deleterious effects of "old" (versus "fresh") red blood cells: are we at equipoise?

BACKGROUND: A meta-analysis examined whether the available data support an adequate suspicion that transfusion of old red blood cells (RBCs) is associated with increased mortality, organ failure, infection, prolonged mechanical ventilation, and prolonged stay in the hospital or the intensive care unit. Such suspicion is required for intentionally exposing patients enrolled in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to the known or probable—but rare—risks of old RBCs, to document (and prevent) purported common adverse effects of old RBCs. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Observational studies presenting adjusted results were eligible for analysis if the adequacy of the adjustment for confounding factors could be assessed. Three RCTs and 24 observational studies were retrieved. Medically and statistically homogeneous studies were integrated by fixed-effects methods. Otherwise homogeneous studies conducted in different clinical settings were integrated by random-effects methods. RESULTS: Based on “as-treated” analysis, transfusion of old RBCs was associated with a significant reduction in mortality (summary odds ratio, 0.38; 95% confidence interval, 0.14-0.99; p < 0.05) across two small RCTs. Integration of adjusted findings on the same outcome, from observational studies conducted in the same setting, produced summary results that were either negative (in six analyses) or impossible to evaluate owing to uncontrolled confounding by the number of transfused RBCs (in two analyses). CONCLUSION: The available data do not support an adequate suspicion that old RBCs may be associated with common adverse morbidity and/or mortality outcomes, so as to justify exposing experimental subjects to the other known or probable—but rare—risks of old RBCs.
The corporation and the historian

It is a kind of report on progress I am making this afternoon. In the last year or so a few of us have talked a good deal with corporation executives about opening their past records to historians now, and putting them in places where they can serve historians for generations to come. We have had some success; we have met some obstacles. I want to report on both to this Association, whose interest in the matter is the same as mine.
Better Women: The Cultural Politics of Gendered Expertise in Indonesia

Through analysis of an increasingly popular phenomenon of courses training feminine comportment in Indonesia, I argue in this article that the appeal and work of femininity can be analyzed as a form of what Timothy Mitchell has called the "rule of experts." Building on Mitchell, I suggest that expertise is central to authoritarian projects and postauthoritarian aftermath and is especially evident in zones that masquerade as least public and yet most self-evident. As a result, expertise gains its value from the conditions it claims to alleviate. Placing gender at the center of the analytical frame reveals these effects more clearly and can potentially expose the ideological contradictions that ground their allure.
A World Compared, Destroyed, and Connected

Esmeir’s essay considers the mission statement of the Journal of the Society of Comparative Legislation (1896–97) alongside the 2013 mission statement of Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East . Joining them, Esmeir contends, is the reference to the method of comparison, and separating them are the details of the comparative practice, its ends and its powers. More specifically, the main difference between the two journals concerns the fate of the world covered on their pages: the first engages in comparative destruction, the second in comparative construction. The essay makes an argument for the value of research projects that examine these two relationships to the world.
The Effect of the 2009 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations on Mammography Rates.

Objective To examine the effect of a change in U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) screening guidelines on mammography rates in the United States. Principal Findings In 2010, the year following the change in guidelines, 12-month mammography prevalence among women aged 40–49 years fell by 2.09 percentage points (95 percent confidence interval [CI]: −2.87 to −1.31) from 54.63 percent in 2008. For women aged 50–74 years, and aged 75 years and older, 12-month screening rates were 2.21 (95 percent CI: −2.65 to −1.77) and 3.60 (95 percent CI: −4.48 to −2.70) percentage points lower than those in 2008. In 2012, for women aged 40–49 years, 12-month prevalence fell to 52.51 percent, a decline of 2.12 percentage points (95 percent CI: −2.79 to −1.32) relative to screening rates prior the USPSTF announcement. For women aged 50–74 years and aged 75 years and older screening rates were 2.45 (95 percent CI: −2.96 to −2.07) and 5.71 (95 percent CI: −6.61 to −4.81) percentage points lower, respectively, in 2012 than in 2008. Conclusion This study demonstrates an immediate and lasting reduction in the rates of breast cancer screening among women of all age groups after the 2009 revision of screening guidelines by the USPSTF.
Plants That Remove Contaminants From the Environment

The study of botany is important to the laboratory for several reasons. Every day, laboratorians perform assays of pharmaceuticals derived from plants and occasionally are consulted by emergency departments about tests for toxic plants. Laboratories also create hazardous wastes that new plant technologies are able to clean up, as discussed in this article. Although several technologies are available for the cleanup of soil, wastewater, and groundwater, they often are not adaptable for specific problems or are not cost-effective. Recent research has indicated that green plants can be a viable alternative. A new technology, called phytoremediation, uses green plants to dewater, remove inorganic contaminants such as heavy metals and radionuclides, and degrade organic contaminants as plants absorb nutrients with their roots. Evapotranspiration is exploited to reduce the volume of aqueous waste. Free-living microorganisms of the rhizosphere that surrounds the root system participate in the degradation of man-made organic contaminants. This technology is important to the laboratory, which for years has contributed to pollution through the use of organic toxins, such as xylene, and heavy metals, such as mercury and chromium. This article explores recent developments in this field. This is the first in a four-part series on botany Other articles focus on traditional and modern plant medicines, and poisonous plants.
Diagnostic Usefulness of Serum Acid β-Glycerophosphatase Activities in Prostatic Disease

/^-Glycerophosphate is said to be a specific substrate for prostatic acid phosphatase in serum.' With this substrate, an elevated activity is found in over two-thirds of patients with skeletal metastases. However, these metastases are usually detected by radiology. It therefore appeared pertinent to determine whether, in a modern clinical setting, an elevated serum acid /3-glycerophosphatase activity will detect prostatic carcinoma before it has been discovered by other methods.
Influence of Tumbling Turkey Meat on Vitamin Retention

Abstract Studies were initiated to determine the effect of tumbling turkey meat in brine on the retention of thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), and niacin (N). A second study investigated the effect of tumbling time (1, 2, 4, 8, and 24 h) on the composition of extracted exudate. In Experiment 1, four thawed and halved turkey breasts were tumbled without vacuum at 15 rpm and 4.4 C for 2 hr in an 11.5% salt solution at a brine to meat ratio of .15:1 (w/w). Nontumbled halves served as controls. Three-inch (7.6-cm) cross-sectional samples were removed from the anterior lobe of each halved breast, individually ground, and analyzed in duplicate for vitamins using automated analytical methods. Losses were calculated as the difference between tumbled and nontumbled paired breast halves. Niacin concentrations in tissue were significantly affected by tumbling whereas no significant losses were found for B1 and B2. On a dry weight basis, tumbling caused vitamin tissue losses that averaged 2.0, 5.0, and 12% for B1, B2, and N, respectively. In extracted exudates, average dry weight vitamin levels were 3.8, 1.3, and 301 μg/g for B1, B2, and N, respectively. The results of Experiment 2 demonstrate that maximum rate losses of vitamins and proteins from tissues occur during the first hour of tumbling.
An analysis of children's vitamin deficiency in Shanghai

Objective To investigate the current situation of vitamin deficiency in Shanghai children by analyze their serum vitamin level. Methods A total of 1 875 blood samples were collected from healthy outpatients in Children's Hospital of Fudan University. Vitamin A,B1,B2,B6,B9,B12,C,D and E serum levels were tested by LK3000V Vitamin Detector. Results The deficiency rate of Vitamin C,A,B2 and D were 59. 20%,36. 48%,28. 32% and 25. 28% respectively. The deficiency rate of other vitamins was lower than 10%. The deficiency rate of Vitamin B2 showed significant difference between boys and girls( P 0. 05),while the deficiency rate of Vitamin A was remarkably higher in infants and young children( P 0. 05). Conclusion The phenomenon of vitamin deficiency is quite common in Shanghai's children,proper nutrition is called for to solve the problem.
Effect of ageing treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of HR3C steel

Microstructure and properties of HR3C steel after ageing treatment are studied based on the Larson-Miller parameter.The results show that the supplied HR3C steel is composed of big austenitic grains with twins,in which the second-phase particles of M23C6-type carbides and MX-type compounds are dispersed.After being annealed at 800 ℃ for 110.4 h,the semi-continuous M23C6 carbides are deposited along the austenitic grain boundaries,while the second-phase particles disperse inside the austenitic grains.Owing to the strengthening of dispersion effect,the strength and hardness of the heat-treated HR3C steel increase,however the toughness of it decreases.After being annealed at 900 ℃ for 17.7 h,the M23C6 carbides continuously distribute along the austenitic grain boundaries with a thickness of about 2 μm,while the coarse second-phase particles randomly distribute inside the austenitic grains.All of these result in the deterioration of mechanical properties of the heat-treated HR3C steel.The fractural mechanism of the heat-treated HR3C steel is of the intergranular fracture,different from the dimple-congregation-type fracture of the supplied HR3C steel.
ANALYSIS OF RETRIEVED REVERSE TOTAL SHOULDER ARTHROPLASTY

INTRODUCTION Retrieval analysis is an important aspect of medical device development. Examination of retrieved devices allows device developers to close the design loop, understand the performance of devices, and validate assumptions made and methods used during preclinical testing. We provide an overview of the implant retrieval analysis performed at the Implant Research Center at Drexel University on reverse total shoulder systems retrieved after short to medium term implantation. METHODS We have examined 18 reverse total shoulders, retrieved at revision surgery after short to mid-term implantation (average 1.4 years, maximum 3.3 years). The average age at revision was 71 years old (st dev 11 years). Our evaluations included analysis of glenosphere bearing surface damage, evaluation of tribocorrosion at the modular junctions, visual assessment of polyethylene humeral bearing surface damage, quantitative analysis of polyethylene wear. RESULTS and DISCUSSION We observed that polyethylene wear of the humeral bearing surface (mode I) is limited in the short to medium term and that wear and damage of revised devices are dominated by unintentional contact and impingement of the inferior rim of the bushing (mode II damage). This was in agreement with a previously published analysis of a smaller cohort (Figure 1). Scratching and damage of the glenosphere was a common observation, particularly in patients with a history of instability. The observed increase in glenosphere roughness was similar to that reported in association with hip dislocation (Figure 2). Damage at the modular junctions was limited and dominated by fretting rather than corrosive damage. Mild to moderate fretting was commonly observed at the interface between the glenosphere and metaglene (Figure 3). These observations provide an increased understanding of device performance and potential failure modes. Further studies will be necessary to characterize the long term performance of reverse total shoulder systems.
Morphological and functional characterization of a conditionally immortalized collecting tubule cell line

A conditionally immortalized collecting tubule cell line, mCT1, was derived from the H-2Kb-ts A58 transgenic mouse (ImmortoMouse), which harbors a temperature-sensitive mutant of the SV40 large T a...
Cone with the wind: a pelagie marine speeies deseribed as an endemie land snail From the Bahamas

Abaconia naufraga (Clench, 1938), hitherto assumed to rep­ resent a monotypical genus and species of Subulinidae (Gas­ tropoda, Pulmonata) endemic to the Bahamas, is shown to be a synonym of the marine pelagic. snaiJ Litiopa melanostoma Rang, 1829 (Caenogastropoda, Litiopidae). Instances of genera of land and freshwater gastropods originaJly mistakenly de­ scribed as marine, and vice versa, are reviewed. Of the 10 names involved, four are valid (Daronia, Karolus, Teretropoma) or potentiaJly vaJid (Digoniaxis), one (Brondelia) has been sup­ pressed by the ICZN, and the other five (Abaconia, Afrocan­ idea, Anaplocamus, Bullinopersilia, Pseudolibania) are syno­ nyms.
Passivation of Ag on SiO 2 by Annealing Ag-Ti Alloys in an Ammonia Ambient

Encapsulated Ag(Ti) films on oxidized silicon were obtained by nitridation of Ag(19 at.% Ti) alloys in a flowing NH 3 ambient at temperatures between 400-700°C for various times. Upon annealing at temperatures ? 350°C Ti segregates to the surface and alloy/SiO 2 interface. At the free surface Ti reacts with the ammonia to form a TiN(O) surface layer. The Ti that diffuses to the interface dissociates the SiO 2 and subsequently reacts with the freed Si and O to form a TiO/Ti 5 Si 3 interfacial bilayer structure. RBS data indicated that the dealloying and hence the encapsulation increases with increasing temperature up to 600°C, whereafter it levels off. Residual Ti concentrations of ~1 at.% was measured at temperatures ? 600°C. Resistivity values of ~3 ??-cm were measured in the encapsulated Ag alloys. The results suggest that resistivity is controlled by the residual Ti concentration.
Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura with Normal Initial Hemoglobin.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a life threatening multisystem disorder considered a true medical emergency. Usually patients are said to present with low hemoglobin as well as low platelets. This is a case of patient with early TTP having normal hemoglobin at presentation. A 37 year old male with history of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) about 20 years ago, Ulcerative Colitis s/p colon resection, Graves disease s/p ablation, Lupus anticoagulant, and TTP about 3 years prior to admission which was treated with plasma exchange, was in his usual state of health until the morning of admission when he developed red urine and petechiae on his shoulder after playing football with his son the day before. He also reported a small amount of blood when he blew his nose. He denied fevers, chills, headache, confusion, anuria or any recent viral illness. Physical exam on admission revealed stable vital signs without fever, mild scleral icterus, and diffuse petechiae on shoulders/chest and ankle. He was alert and oriented × 3. Lab data showed platelets 5 k/ul, hemoglobin 14.3 g/dl, white blood cells 7.7 k/ul, BUN 29 mg/dl, creatinine 1.0 mg/dl, total bilirubin 6.6 mg/dl, direct bilirubin 0.5 mg/dl, reticulocytes 1.3%, LDH 1245 u/l, and haptoglobin < 7 mg/dl. Direct Coombs was negative. Peripheral smear showed 5–6 schistocytes/HPF. DIC work up was negative. Urinalysis showed large occult blood, 83 RBCs and 300mg/dl of protein. We suspected an early presentation of recurrent TTP. He was treated with methylprednisolone 1mg/kg and FFP 2–3 units then therapeutic plasma exchange with initial good response. His hemoglobin dropped to 10.9 within the next 36 hrs. He required plasma exchange over 3 months as well as other treatments including steroids, vincristine, splenectomy, and rituximab. Eventually he remained in remission. This case is notable for the normal initial hemoglobin. Isolated thrombocytopenia is often said to be ITP, but we believe that in this case the patient presented so soon after the development of symptoms that the hemoglobin had not yet declined. As TTP can be fatal if not recognized and treated promptly, it may be prudent to evaluate all patients with acute profound thrombocytopenia for TTP.
Cell surface-engineering to embed targeting ligands or tracking agents on the cell membrane.

The key challenge to improve the efficacy of cell therapy is how to efficiently modify cells with a specific molecule or compound that can guide the cells to the target tissue. To address this, we have developed a cell surface engineering technology to non-invasively modify the cell surface. This technology can embed a wide variety of bioactive molecules on any cell surface and allow for the targeting of a wide range of tissues in a variety of disease states. Using our cell surface engineering technology, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC)s were modified with: 1) a homing peptide or a recombinant protein to facilitate the migration of the cells toward a specific molecular target; or 2) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents to allow for in vivo tracking of the cells. The incorporation of a homing peptide or a targeting ligand on MSCs facilitated the migration of the cells toward their molecular target. MRI contrast agents were successfully embedded on the cell surfaces without adverse effects to the cells and the contrast agent-labeled cells were detectable by MRI. Our technology is a promising method of cell surface engineering that is applicable to a broad range of cell therapies.
Kenosis, omniscience, and the Anselmian concept of divinity

The canonical gospels often portray Christ as limited in various ways, for example, with respect to knowledge. But how could Christ be divine yet fail to know certain true propositions? One prominent answer is known as kenoticism, the view that upon becoming incarnate Christ ‘emptied’ himself of certain divine properties, including omniscience. A powerful objection to kenoticism, however, is that it conflicts with Anselmian intuitions about divinity. Specifically, kenoticism implies that Christ was not the greatest conceivable being. I articulate a modified version of kenoticism that avoids this powerful objection while remaining faithful to the depiction of Christ found in the gospels.
Lessons from Crew Resource Management for Cardiac Surgeons

Crew resource management (CRM) describes a system developed in the late 1970s in response to a series of deadly commercial aviation crashes. This system has been universally adopted in commercial and military aviation and is now an integral part of aviation culture. CRM is an error mitigation strategy developed to reduce human error in situations in which teams operate in complex, high-stakes environments. Over time, the principles of this system have been applied and utilized in other environments, particularly in medical areas dealing with high-stakes outcomes requiring optimal teamwork and communication. While the data from formal studies on the effectiveness of formal CRM training in medical environments have reported mixed results, it seems clear that some of these principles should have value in the practice of cardiovascular surgery.
Decoding Memes: Barthes’ Punctum, Feminist Standpoint Theory, and the Political Significance of #YesAllWomen

This chapter explores the political significance of internet memes, pieces of popular commentary that pepper forum threads, fill YouTube playlists, and enliven Twitter hashtags. It argues that people encode themselves – their race, class, gender, sexuality, and ability – into the digitally mediated content they create, circulate, and transform. Even memetic engagement that is ‘merely’ entertaining must be understood in political terms; regardless of specific content, these participatory behaviours point towards broader cultural and ideological flows. The chapter focuses specifically on the #YesAllWomen and ‘not all men’ memes popularised in 2013, which illustrate memes’ ability to spur meaningful conversation, as well as the inescapably political standpoint of participants.
Community Matters in China

In China, a growing awareness that many areas have been left behind during an era characterized by market reform has raised concerns about the impact of community disadvantage on schooling. In this paper, I investigate whether villages exert distinct influences on student achievement. Building on these results, I explore the relationship between student achievement and resources present in the community. Results indicate that children who live in communities with higher levels of economic and social resources have higher mathematics scores, on average.
Digital media responses to a feminist scholarly article: a critical discourse analysis

AbstractIn this critical discourse analysis, I identified the linguistic tools and discourses used in the articles, blog posts, discussion forums, and tweets published in response to my article on ...
Nonhalogenated Solvent Processable and Printable High-Performance Polymer Semiconductor Enabled by Isomeric Nonconjugated Flexible Linkers

One major advantage of organic electronics is their superior processability relative to traditional silicon-based materials. However, most high-performing polymer semiconductors exhibit poor solubility and require toxic chlorinated solvents coupled with inefficient coating methods such as spin-coating for device fabrication. Therefore, developing polymer semiconductors that are processable in environmentally benign solvents and compatible with effective printing techniques while maintaining good charge transport properties is crucial for the industrialization of low-cost and lightweight plastic electronics. In this study, alkyl flexible linkers with branched tertiary carbon atoms are inserted to a high-mobility diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymer backbone to suppress polymer aggregation in solution, decrease crystallinity, and increase free volume. The polymer readily dissolves in industrial solvents and shows a 70-fold increase in solubility compared to its fully conjugated counterpart. Furthermore, due t...
An Overview of Technology and Learning

Information and communication technology (ICT) has been used in schools since the 1980s, but the advent of the World Wide Web, along with increases in computing power in low cost and portable forms, has made use of ICT much more prominent for learning. ICT is being used to support teaching, learning, and assessment. Current technology trends with the potential to further change learning practices include the increasing availability of open-source course content on the Internet; the rise of collaborative, user-generated content; and immersive, multi-user games with highly realistic dynamic graphics. Coupled with the rise in young people's access to technology outside of school, these trends are likely to make ICT an increasingly important factor in learning.
Genetics of Susceptibility to Mouse Skin Tumor Promotion

The protocol used in most two-stage carcinogenesis studies in mouse skin was first described by Mottram1 and forms the basis of the operational criteria defining a promoter. Mottram elicited skin tumors by treating the backs of mice with a single subcarcinogenic dose of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P], followed by repeated applications of croton oil, obtained from the seeds of Crown tiglium. Subsequently, the most active tumor-promoting component of croton oil was identified as the phorbol diester, 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA),2–5 and today it is the most frequently used promoter for mechanistic studies.
Modeling Physiological Data with Deep Belief Networks.

Feature extraction is key in understanding and modeling of physiological data. Traditionally hand-crafted features are chosen based on expert knowledge and then used for classification or regression. To determine important features and pick the effective ones to handle a new task may be labor-intensive and time-consuming. Moreover, the manual process does not scale well with new or large-size tasks. In this work, we present a system based on Deep Belief Networks (DBNs) that can automatically extract features from raw physiological data of 4 channels in an unsupervised fashion and then build 3 classifiers to predict the levels of arousal, valance, and liking based on the learned features. The classification accuracies are 60.9%, 51.2%, and 68.4%, respectively, which are comparable with the results obtained by Gaussian Naive Bayes classifier on the state-of-the-art expert designed features. These results suggest that DBNs can be applied to raw physiological data to effectively learn relevant features and predict emotions.
Precursor Concentration Affects Grain Size, Crystal Orientation, and Local Performance in Mixed-Ion Lead Perovskite Solar Cells

A key debate involving mixed-cation lead mixed-halide perovskite thin-films relates to the effects of process conditions on film morphology and local performance of perovskite solar cells. In this contribution, we investigate the influence of precursor concentration on the film thickness, grain size, and orientation of these polycrystalline thin-films. We vary the molar concentration of the perovskite precursor containing Rb, Cs, MA, FA, Pb, I, and Br from 0.4 to 1.2 M. We use optical and electrical probes to measure local properties and correlate the effect of crystallographic orientation on the inter- and intragrain charge-carrier transport. We find that, with increasing precursor concentration, the grain size of the polycrystalline thin-films becomes larger and more faceted. Films with small grains show mostly random grain orientation angles, whereas films with large grains are oriented with {100} planes around an angle of 20° relative to the surface normal. These films with oriented large grains also ...
A cost comparison of metallic and earth return path for HVDC transmission System case study: connection Algeria-Europe

Abstract The present paper exposes a methodology for cost comparison of metallic and earth return paths for HVDC transmission systems. The authors suggest a method based on an algorithm that can be used for any case of study. Two conceptions are taken into account by the algorithm: a bipolar circuit operating as mono-polar for emergency conditions and a circuit operating as mono-polar for normal conditions. The present method uses the approach of Similarity for cost estimation and allows providing the best option for current return. Similarly, it allows giving the break-even distance to switch from metallic to earth return path. This depends on energy cost and the two return path options costs. In order to calculate the energy loss in the earth return; contribution of the linear resistance, at the inter-electrode part, on the total earth resistance has been evaluated in view of large distances in the transmission field. This evaluation was performed (based on electrode dimensions and resistivity values) using COMSOL Multiphysics software. As a case study, an HVDC link carrying 1GW of Photovoltaic Power from the Algerian Sahara to Europe has been proposed. The link is evaluated considering various HVDC circuit designs and operation modes; namely an overhead line for the terrestrial part from the south to north of Algeria and a submarine cable across the Mediterranean Sea.
Complexities, variations, and errors of numbering within clinical notes: the potential impact on information extraction and cohort-identification

Numbers and numerical concepts appear frequently in free text clinical notes from electronic health records. Knowledge of the frequent lexical variations of these numerical concepts, and their accurate identification, is important for many information extraction tasks. This paper describes an analysis of the variation in how numbers and numerical concepts are represented in clinical notes. We used an inverted index of approximately 100 million notes to obtain the frequency of various permutations of numbers and numerical concepts, including the use of Roman numerals, numbers spelled as English words, and invalid dates, among others. Overall, twelve types of lexical variants were analyzed. We found substantial variation in how these concepts were represented in the notes, including multiple data quality issues. We also demonstrate that not considering these variations could have substantial real-world implications for cohort identification tasks, with one case missing > 80% of potential patients. Numbering within clinical notes can be variable, and not taking these variations into account could result in missing or inaccurate information for natural language processing and information retrieval tasks.
Vigilante video: digital populism and anxious anonymity among Japan’s new netizens

Over ten years before the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Japan was reckoning with its own wave of Internet-fueled xenophobic activism in public spaces. Amid a sec...
The Role of the Canine Gut Microbiome and Metabolome in Health and Gastrointestinal Disease

The gut microbiome contributes to host metabolism, protects against pathogens, educates the immune system, and, through these basic functions, affects directly or indirectly most physiologic functions of its host. Molecular techniques have allowed us to expand our knowledge by unveiling a wide range of unculturable bacteria that were previously unknown. Most bacterial sequences identified in the canine gastrointestinal (GI) tract fall into five phyla: Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. While there are variations in the microbiome composition along the GI tract, most clinical studies concentrate on fecal microbiota. Age, diet, and many other environmental factors may play a significant role in the maintenance of a healthy microbiome, however, the alterations they cause pale in comparison with the alterations found in diseased animals. GI dysfunctions are the most obvious association with gut dysbiosis. In dogs, intestinal inflammation, whether chronic or acute, is associated with significant differences in the composition of the intestinal microbiota. Gut dysbiosis happens when such alterations result in functional changes in the microbial transcriptome, proteome, or metabolome. Commonly affected metabolites include short-chain fatty acids, and amino acids, including tryptophan and its catabolites. A recently developed PCR-based algorithm termed "Dysbiosis Index" is a tool that allows veterinarians to quantify gut dysbiosis and can be used to monitor disease progression and response to treatment. Alterations or imbalances in the microbiota affect immune function, and strategies to manipulate the gut microbiome may be useful for GI related diseases. Antibiotic usage induces a rapid and significant drop in taxonomic richness, diversity, and evenness. For that reason, a renewed interest has been put on probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). Although probiotics are typically unable to colonize the gut, the metabolites they produce during their transit through the GI tract can ameliorate clinical signs and modify microbiome composition. Another interesting development is FMT, which may be a promising tool to aid recovery from dysbiosis, but further studies are needed to evaluate its potential and limitations.
Discovering the genes mediating the interactions between chronic respiratory diseases in the human interactome.

The molecular and clinical features of a complex disease can be influenced by other diseases affecting the same individual. Understanding disease-disease interactions is therefore crucial for revealing shared molecular mechanisms among diseases and designing effective treatments. Here we introduce Flow Centrality (FC), a network-based approach to identify the genes mediating the interaction between two diseases in a protein-protein interaction network. We focus on asthma and COPD, two chronic respiratory diseases that have been long hypothesized to share common genetic determinants and mechanisms. We show that FC highlights potential mediator genes between the two diseases, and observe similar outcomes when applying FC to 66 additional pairs of related diseases. Further, we perform in vitro perturbation experiments on a widely replicated asthma gene, GSDMB, showing that FC identifies candidate mediators of the interactions between GSDMB and COPD-associated genes. Our results indicate that FC predicts promising gene candidates for further study of disease-disease interactions. Complex diseases often share genetic determinants and symptoms, but the mechanistic basis of disease interactions remains elusive. Here, the authors propose a network topological measure to identify proteins linking complex diseases in the interactome, and identify mediators between COPD and asthma.
Geographical surveillance of COVID-19: Diagnosed cases and death in the United States

Abstract Background COVID-19 is a new coronavirus that has spread from person to person throughout the world. Geographical disease surveillance is a powerful tool to monitor the spread of epidemics and pandemic, providing important information on the location of new hot-spots, assisting public health agencies to implement targeted approaches to minimize mortality. Methods County level data from January 22-April 28 was downloaded from USAfacts.org to create heat maps with ArcMap™ for diagnosed COVID-19 cases and mortality. The data was analyzed using spatial and space-time scan statistics and the SaTScan™ software, to detect geographical cluster with high incidence and mortality, adjusting for multiple testing. Analyses were adjusted for age. While the spatial clusters represent counties with unusually high counts of COVID-19 when averaged over the time period January 22-April 20, the space-time clusters allow us to identify groups of counties in which there exists a significant change over time. Results There were several statistically significant COVID-19 clusters for both incidence and mortality. Top clusters with high rates included the areas in and around New York City, New Orleans and Chicago, but there were also several small rural clusters. Top clusters for a recent surge in incidence and mortality included large parts of the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic Region, and several smaller areas in and around New York and New England. Conclusions Spatial and space-time surveillance of COVID-19 can be useful for public health departments in their efforts to minimize mortality from the disease. It can also be applied to smaller regions with more granular data.
A note on solving DiDi’s driver-order matching problem

This paper investigates the combinatorial nonlinear programming model that DiDi proposed for solving their driver-order matching problem. The model is reformulated to an equivalent continuous nonlinear program which is amenable to efficient commercial solvers. A backward induction procedure for computing the lower bound is also proposed. Computational experiments demonstrate that the local solution produced by the reformulation becomes increasingly close to the global solution, thereby suggesting a diminishing marginal benefit of pursing global optimality as the problem size increases.
Dysregulated NF-κB-Dependent ICOSL Expression in Human Dendritic Cell Vaccines Impairs T-cell Responses in Patients with Melanoma.

Therapeutic cancer vaccines targeting melanoma-associated antigens are commonly immunogenic but are rarely effective in promoting objective clinical responses. To identify critical molecules for activation of effective antitumor immunity, we have profiled autologous dendritic cell (DC) vaccines used to treat 35 patients with melanoma. We showed that checkpoint molecules induced by ex vivo maturation correlated with in vivo DC vaccine activity. Melanoma patient DCs had reduced expression of cell surface inducible T-cell costimulator ligand (ICOSL) and had defective intrinsic NF-κB signaling. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed NF-κB-dependent transcriptional regulation of ICOSL expression by DCs. Blockade of ICOSL on DCs reduced priming of antigen-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells from naive donors in vitro Concentration of extracellular/soluble ICOSL released from vaccine DCs positively correlated with patient clinical outcomes, which we showed to be partially regulated by ADAM10/17 sheddase activity. These data point to the critical role of canonical NF-κB signaling, the regulation of matrix metalloproteinases, and DC-derived ICOSL in the specific priming of cognate T-cell responses in the cancer setting. This study supports the implementation of targeted strategies to augment these pathways for improved immunotherapeutic outcomes in patients with cancer.
Perioperative Evaluation and Management of Endocrine Disorders

Evaluation of endocrine issues is a sometimes overlooked yet important component of the preoperative medical evaluation. Patients with diabetes, thyroid disease, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis suppression are commonly encountered in the surgical setting and require unique consideration to optimize perioperative risk. For patients with diabetes, perioperative glycemic control has the strongest association with postsurgical outcomes. The preoperative evaluation should include recommendations for adjustment of insulin and noninsulin diabetic medications before surgery. Recommendations differ based on the type of diabetes, the type of insulin, and the patient's predisposition to hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia. Generally, patients with thyroid dysfunction can safely undergo operations unless they have untreated hyperthyroidism or severe hypothyroidism. Patients with known primary or secondary adrenal insufficiency require supplemental glucocorticoids to prevent adrenal crisis in the perioperative setting. Evidence supporting the use of high-dose supplemental corticosteroids for patients undergoing long-term glucocorticoid therapy is sparse. We discuss an approach to these patients based on the dose and duration of ongoing or recent corticosteroid therapy. As with other components of the preoperative medical evaluation, the primary objective is identification and assessment of the severity of endocrine issues before surgery so that the surgeons, anesthesiologists, and internal medicine professionals can optimize management accordingly.
Expert Failure and Pandemics: On Adapting to Life With Pandemics

In a pandemic, citizens and policy makers must rely on expert opinion. What are the institutional arrangements that allow for the best advice to come forward? Using the framework established by Koppl (2018) on expert failure, we analyze the COVID-19 pandemic to see where missteps in expertise occurred and suggest institutional arrangements to improve expert advice in future pandemics.
Mapping the proton’s fluctuating size and shape

We discuss a mechanism for the apparently universal scaling in the high-multiplicity tail of charged particle distributions for high-energy nuclear collisions. We argue that this scaling behavior originates from rare fluctuations of the nucleon density. We discuss a pair of simple models of proton shape fluctuations. A ``fat'' proton with a size of 3 fm occurs with observable frequency. In light of this result, collective flow behavior in the ensuing nuclear interaction seems feasible. We discuss the influence of these models on the large-$x$ structure of the proton and the likely influences on the distribution of initial-state spatial eccentricities ${\ensuremath{\epsilon}}_{n}$.
Evaluation of an ex-vivo neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation circuit on antiepileptic drug sequestration.

Antiepileptic dosing information used to manage neonatal patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is limited. The objective of this study is to quantify the extent of sequestra...
Effective Human–Artificial Intelligence Teaming

In 1998, the great social psychologist, (Jones, Gilbert et al.Fiske et al.Lindzey (eds), The Handbook of Social Psychology, McGraw-Hill, 1998), asserted that interdependence was present in every social interaction and key to unlocking the social life of humans, but this key, he also declared, had produced effects in the laboratory that were “bewildering,” and too difficult to control. Since then, along with colleagues and students, we have brought the effects of interdependence into the laboratory for detailed studies where we have successfully explored many of the aspects of interdependence and its implications. In addition, in a review led by the first author and a colleague, the National Academy of Sciences reported that interdependence in a team enhances the performance of the individual (Cooke and Hilton,.Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science. Authors: Committee on the Science of Team Science; Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences; Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; National Research Council, National Academies Press, 2015). This book chapter allows me to review the considerable research experiences we have gained from our studies over the years to consider the situations in which an artificial intelligence (AI) agent or machine begins to assist and possibly replace a human teammate on a team in the future.
Medicine by the Numbers

In today’s medical centers, what patients and family members alike are met with is numbers: Hypotheticals, probabilities and percentages. When combined with complex medical jargon, this can quickly lead to confusion and uncertainty, as those involved must make sense of the stats before they can understand the state of the patient’s condition. Without the proper frame of reference, this type of information can quickly exacerbate fears and increase emotional distress, when all they really want is an answer.
A Theory of Indirect Effects and Implications For The Natural Selection of Community Structures

The theory of natural selection plays a key role in the theory of evolution (Lewis 1980). Traditional evolution theory has dealt with the evolution of traits of individuals in some general relation to their environment. Recently, evolution theory has been extended to deal with change in the type of interaction between individuals of different species populations.
Fracture-toughness testing of ductile cast irons

The fracture toughness of ferritic, spheroidal graphite ductile cast iron has been measured by a single specimen J-integral technique. Two ductile cast irons were investigated; they had similar volume fractions of graphite, graphite nodule sizes, and ferrite grain sizes. One, however, contained approximately 15% pearlite, while the other had less than 1% pearlite. The alloy with greater pearlite content exhibited higher strength and higher ductile-to-brittle transition temperature. Although cast irons are generally perceived as being low in toughness, the toughness values measured on fully ferritic nodular iron were quite high (K/sub IC/ = 80 to 106 MPa..sqrt.. m or 73 to 96 ksi..sqrt.. in from -80 to 25/sup 0/C).