cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Steady-state and pulse behavior of light transmitted through dispersive nonlinear media in a ring cavity

We study the propagation of electromagnetic radiation through a ring-cavity device containing a dispersive nonlinear medium. Under conditions appropriate for introducing the slowly varying envelope approximation and for adiabatically eliminating the atomic variables, we calculate analytical expressions between the steady-state-output intensity and the input-field amplitude for two models of the nonlinear susceptibility, the two-level atomic medium and the Kerr medium. The stability of these curves is determined, with special attention given to changes in the thresholds by varying the return-trip phase shift, the linear absorption, and the reflection coefficients of the mirrors. We investigate the positive-branch instabilities resulting in a pulsing output intensity and calculate the bifurcation rate for the period-doubling hierarchy and the fractal dimension of our two-dimensional maps for the Kerr medium. The convergence of the bifurcation rate to a constant is slow, and we find, as in the publications of Snapp et al. [ Opt. Commun.40, 68 ( 1981)] and Carmichael et al. [ Phys. Rev. A26, 3408 ( 1982)], that this constant is consistent with that found for the class of one-dimensional maps with a quadratic maximum. This universal constant is observed over a large range of fractal dimensions for the chaotic attractor. Discussions of pulse-output bistability, intermittency, and anomalous switching are given.
Formal Explanation of Religion: A Progress Report

While written in response to a critique by Roy Wallis and Steve Bruce, this article provides an overview of the first five years of a project designed to develop and test a general scientific theory of religion.
Case Report: Reversible Hepatomegaly and Diabetes Mellitus in an Adult with Disseminated Histiocytosis X

ABSTRACT Histiocytosis X rarely disseminates in an adult. The authors describe an unusual patient who presented with multiple areas of cutaneous and bone involvement. During the course of his disease he developed massive hepatomegaly. Aggregates of vacuolated histiocytes were found on liver biopsy. He subsequently developed diabetes mellitus complicated by ketoacidosis. Both his hepatomegaly and diabetes resolved spontaneously. No pancreatic nor pituitary abnormalities were identified. The combination of histiocytosis X, hepatomegaly, and diabetes mellitus has not been previously reported. The medical literature is reviewed with an emphasis on disseminated histiocytosis X in adults and the mechanism of glucose intolerance in liver disease.
Ion-induced electrostatic charging of ice at 15–160 K

We studied electrostatic charging of ice films induced by the impact of 1\ensuremath{-}200-keV Ar${}^{+}$ ions and their subsequent discharging postirradiation. We derived the positive surface electrostatic potential from the kinetic energy of sputtered molecular ions and with a Kelvin probe. Measurements were performed as a function of film thickness, temperature, and ion energy. Charging requires that the projectile ions are stopped in the ice and that the ice temperature is below 160 K. The decay of the electrostatic charge after irradiation is determined by two time constants, corresponding to the detrapping of trapped charges in shallow and deep traps within the ice. Amorphous solid water films are found to charge to a higher electrostatic potential than crystalline ice films. The surface potential of crystalline ice increases and decreases during cooling and warming, respectively, without hysteresis. We present a model to describe the charging and discharging processes.
Comparative Study of Hot-Wire Chemical Vapor Deposition onto (100) Si Near 600°C: Epitaxial and Polycrystalline Silicon Films

Previously, we reported improved silicon epitaxy by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) between about 600 and 650°C. Such temperatures are compatible with the thickening of large-grained Si seed layers on borosilicate glasses or other inexpensive substrates. Here, we provide detailed real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of two films grown near 600°C. A film grown at 594°C shows breakdown to a polycrystalline phase, while a film grown at 627°C is entirely epitaxial. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of this epitaxial film shows dislocation defects that originate at the substrate/film interface, suggesting that an optimized surface preparation could yield lower defect densities.
Crystal structure of a spirophosphonium compound, C24H18ClN2P,CH3OH

10,10′-(5H,5′H)-spirobiphenophosphazinium chloride is one of the few examples of a spirophosphonium salt reported in the literature. This compound crystallized in space groupP21/c witha = 12·293(7),b = 13·279(8),c = 17·56(1) A, β = 130·43(3) ° andZ = 4. The finalR index was 0·057. The results of the X-ray analysis indicated that this phosphorus heterocycle may indeed possess aromatic character. This contention was supported in solution by a31P nmr study.
Ovipositional Repellency of Fatty Acids and Their Derivatives Against Culex and Aedes Mosquitoes

Lower aliphatic carboxylic acids are known to induce negative ovipositional responses in various species of mosquitoes. Straight-chain higher fatty acids from C5 to C13 and some of their methyl and ethyl esters and amides were evaluated for ovipositional activity in a laboratory olfactometer system against two species of Culex and one species of Aedes mosquitoes. Of these higher acids, nonanoic acid (C9) was the most repellent against C. quinquefasciatus and C. tarsalis , demonstrating significant repellency at 1 × 10−4 M. Nonanoic acid was also the most active acid against A. aegypti , significantly repelling the ovipositing mosquito at as low as 1 × 10−5 M. Some of the higher acids, such as C8, C9, and C10 acids, were as active as, or more active than, the lower acids from C2 to C6 against these three species of mosquitoes. Among the methyl and ethyl esters of C8 to C10 acids, only ethyl nonanoate showed considerable repellency. The amides of C8 to C10 acids did not exhibit any activity.
RESIDUAL CELLS DETECTION IN CHRONIC MYELOCYTIC LEUKEMIA WITH RT-PCR

Objective: To detect the residual cells in chronic myelocytic leukmia. Methods:RT-PCR method was used to study the bcr/abl mRNA in 20 cases chronic leukemia (including 6 cases allogeneic bone marrow transplantation).Results:At the beginning, chromosome Ph was negative in 1,and positive in19 of 20 cases. All cases expressed bcr/abl gene. Continue monitoring found that chromosome Ph had become into negtive in 5,and still positive in 1 of 6 allogeneic bone marrow transplantation patients. Conclution: RT-PCR is a useful method to study the residual cells in choronic myelocytic leukemia.
A Study on Gun Structure Design for Automobile Body Manufacturing

According to the characteristics of body structure of automobile,this article introduces the structure characters of guns of various kinds,which are used for welding automobile body(for example long arm X-type gun,three-quarter arm X-type gun,short arm X-type gun,C-type gun),and detailedly explains how to use them in different body structures with idiographic pictures.
Carbon Dioxide-Urethral Pressure Profile in Female Incontinence

AbstractHerein we describe a method to assess urethral dynamics in women with urinary incontinence, using a carbon dioxide cystometer. The parameters evaluated are the maximum urethral closing pressure, functional urethral length, active continence, transmission of intra-abdominal pressure to the urethral pressure and changes when patients are in the supine and erect positions.
Psychological factors related to donor insemination

Objective To survey a sample of couples who had completed therapeutic donor insemination (TDI) regarding several psychological variables. Design Couples who had conceived through TDI in the past 7years completed a retrospective survey. Participants Thirty-five of seventy couples returned completed questionnaires. Measures Demographic questionnaire, TDI, and confidentiality questionnaire (created for this study), Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Results The majority of the subjects told at least one person about the TDI but 81% of subjects who told someone reported that, if they had to do it over again, they would tell no one. Eighty-six percent reported that they have not and will not tell the child. Time from diagnosis to beginning TDI was not correlated with marital adjustment after TDI. Overall, the couples reported average marital adjustment. For both men and women, the biggest concern was the genetic/medical history of the donor. Most couples did not have psychological counseling, but 39% thought it should be mandatory. Conclusions Retrospectively, most couples regretted telling others about TDI. Most couples do not plan to tell the TDI child about its genetic origin. The major concern about TDI is the genetic and medical background of the donor. Psychological counseling should be available to couples undergoing TDI.
Design of an atmospheric water generator: Harvesting water out of thin air

Water scarcity affects 1.2 billion people on a global scale, representing nearly one fifth of the human population. In some regions, current water sources are being depleted faster than they are renewed and the majority of this depletion is being used for irrigation and agricultural purposes. At any given time, the atmosphere contains 3400 trillion gallons of water vapor, which would be enough to cover the entire Earth in 1 inch of water. Herein, we describe the design of an innovative solution to water scarcity in regions with medium to high humidity — Atmospheric Water Generators (AWG). This device converts water vapor into liquid water and is designed for agricultural and irrigation purposes in regions where water scarcity exists. More specifically, two AWG concepts were developed by our team, one utilizing Peltier devices and the other a heat exchanger, in order to allow multiple design alternatives to be considered. The Peltier-based concept works by applying current to induce a temperature gradient in order to cool and condense the surrounding air. The heat exchanger concept works by cycling a coolant that is cooled by a lower ground temperature. Both AWG concepts were designed utilizing sustainable engineering principles to minimize energy consumption and cost (particularly when compared to AWGs currently on the market). The designs are estimated to create enough water daily to grow 2 fruit trees (1 gallon a week) at an example test condition of 60% relative humidity and 85°F.
Predicting Success of Preliminary Surgical Residents: A Multi-Institutional Study

Objective A nondesignated preliminary surgery (NDPS) position encompasses 1 year of training provided by many general surgery residencies. Our aim was to assess factors predicting success and provide evidence for program directors to support career guidance to preliminary residents. Methods Retrospective cohort study of 221 NDPS residents who entered 5 university-based institutions were identified from 2009 to 2013. Records for trainees were reviewed. We defined primary success as obtaining a categorical position in the specialty of choice and secondary success as obtaining a categorical position in any specialty immediately after finishing their NDPS training. Statistical evaluation was performed using chi-square analysis, independent t -test and logistic regression using α Results Of the 221 NDPS residents, 217 (98%) completed postgraduate year (PGY)-1 and 65 (29%) completed PGY-2. Totally, 90 (41%) obtained categorical general surgery positions, 89 (40%) obtained categorical positions in other specialties, and 42 (19%) failed to obtain a categorical position immediately after their NDPS years. Ultimately, 139 (63%) of residents achieved primary success and 40 (18%) additional residents obtained categorical positions in specialties other than their first choice, resulting in a total of 179 (81%) of residents obtaining categorical positions. Mean United States Medical Licensing Examination step 1 and step 2 scores for those who obtained secondary success were 227 and 234 vs. 214 and 219, respectively, for those who failed to secure a categorical position (p Conclusions NDPS training provides a viable and successful opportunity for at least 81% of young physicians to pursue their career goals even after an unsuccessful first match.
Activation of AMPK: A necessary element in effective targeted tumor therapy

A89 Background: LKB1 and AMPK are master regulators of cellular metabolism that monitor intracellular glucose levels and AMP:ATP ratios. When cells are in a low, anabolic energy state, LKB1 activates AMPK through phosphorylation that triggers a cascade of events including the inhibition of the Akt/mTOR pathway and protein translation, a reduction of fatty acid synthesis and, in extreme cases, the activation of p53 to induce cell cycle arrest. The great metabolic demands of constantly dividing tumor cells position the LKB1/AMPK axis as an interesting target for tumor therapy. Here we have shown that the killing of tumor cells by targeted therapy requires both the effective disruption of Her-2/ErbB2 signal transduction and the induction of AMPK activity. Methods: Western Blot: pHer-2, pErk, pAkt, pAMPKα, pACC, and Actin (Cell Signaling); and LKB1 (Abcam). Cells: AU565 IBC and A549 cells were grown in RPMI 1640 media supplemented with 10% FBS. MCF7 cells were grown in IDMEM media supplemented with 10% FBS. BT474 cells were grown in DMEM media supplemented with 10% FBS. Treatments: GW-2974 (Sigma), TNF-alpha (R&D Systems), AICAR (Sigma), Compound C (Calbiochem), Heregulin (Neomarkers). Results: Our results show that treatment of AU565 and BT474 cells with GW-2974 and other Her1/2 inhibitors effectively ablates Her-2/ErbB2 signal transduction pathways while simultaneously activating AMPK. Associated with the phosphorylation of AMPK was the effective reduction in anabolic activity, inhibiton of mTOR and the decline of amino acid synthesis. Interestingly, the addition of Heregulin, a ligand for Her-3/ErbB3, to AU565 cells ablated the activation of AMPK and reduced cell killing. In addition, the intact LKB1/AMPK/ACC pathway correlated with TKI response whereas the LKB1-mutant cell line A549 was unable to activate the AMPK pathway and was non-responsive to the TKI therapies. This was shown by the inability of AMPK to activate downstream effecter proteins pACC and peEF2 in the context of LKB1 mutation. However, activation of AMPK through AICAR resulted in cell killing. Furthermore, even in the presence of an intact LKB1/AMPK pathway, GW-2974 treatment of MCF7 cells that express a dominant negative p53 showed both inefficient Her-2 signal inhibition and reduced AMPK activation. Conclusion: Our findings support the notion that effective targeted tumor therapy requires not only down-regulating the over-active ErbB growth pathways, but also the shutting down of the highly metabolic state of the tumor cell through activation of AMPK. In the context of LKB1 or p53 mutations, a combinatorial approach would be warranted.
Case Study – The Making of an Institutional Crisis: The Mass Release of Inmates by a Correctional Agency

A US state correctional agency inadvertently released a large numbers of inmates before expiration of their sentences. This created an institutional crisis, for three reasons. First, the correctly timed release of inmates is unequivocally central the agency's core mission. Second, the early releases were consequential, in that serious crimes were committed by those only out of prison because of early release. Third, a citizen alerted the agency of an early-release calculation for a particular offender, but the agency failed to act on this information. The correctional agency responded to this crisis by changing both its operating procedure and its culture.
Assessment of tumor proliferation with 68Ga-EC-guanine by PET

1837 Objectives: [18F]FDG has shown promising in the assessment of cell proliferation, however, it is also accumulated in the infectious lesions. Though [18F]FLT is involved in tumor proliferation, yet it is with low tumor uptake and complex chemistry with low yield. The purpose of this study was to develop an efficient 68Ga- and 64Cu-labeled guanine using ethylenedicysteine (EC) as a chelator and to evaluate their potential in the assessment of tumor proliferation by positron emission tomography (PET). Methods: EC-Guanine was synthesized by reacting the amino analogue of guanine with EC and carbodiimide. 64Cu-and 68Ga- EC-Guan were prepared by adding 64Cu-acetate and 68Ga-chloride to EC-Guan. In vitro cellular uptakes of 68Ga-EC-guanine were determined in head and neck, lung and breast tumor cells at 0.5–4 h. Tumor cells were separated using cell sorters then incubated with 68Ga- and 64Cu-EC-Guanine for cell cycle analysis. Confluency studies and cellular fraction uptake studies were also performed. Thymidine incorporation assays were performed in lung cancer cells incubated with EC-Guan at various doses (0.1-1 mg/well). The tissue distribution of 68Ga-EC-guanine, 64Cu-EC-Guanine ,and [18F]-FDG were conduced using mammary tumor-bearing rats. PET imaging studies were performed with 68Ga-EC-guanine in mammary tumor-bearing rats with or without inflammation. Autoradiographic studies were performed with 64Cu-EC-Guanine in glioma tumor-bearing mice. Results: Radiochemical purity was >95%. In vitro cell culture assays indicated both 68Ga- and 64Cu-EC-Guan were incorporated into cell cycles. S-Phase showed higher uptake than other phases. Confluency studies showed that 68Ga-EC-guanine had uptake plateaued at 250x103 cells/well. 68Ga-EC-guanine had higher uptake than [18F]-FDG and 68Ga-citrate. Cell nuclei fraction uptake was higher than cytosolic fraction. Biodistribution of 68Ga-EC-guanine and [18F]-FDG in breast tumor bearing rats showed that increased tumor-to-blood and tumor-to-muscle count density ratios as a function of time. 68Ga-EC-Guanine had slightly higher tumor uptake (%ID/g) than 18F-FDG (0.69-0.90 for [18F]-FDG vs 0.63-1.82 for 68Ga-EC-guanine). MicroPET images confirmed that the tumor-to-muscle ratios of 68Ga-EC-guanine ranged from 3.5 to 9 over a period of 2 h. 68Ga-EC-guanine could differentiate inflammation from tumor. Autoradiography of 64Cu-EC-Guan showed that glioma could be visualized at 2hrs post-administration. Conclusions: 68Ga- and 64Cu-EC-guanine are useful to assess tumor proliferation by PET.
Early recognition of multiple sclerosis using natural language processing of the electronic health record

Diagnostic accuracy might be improved by algorithms that searched patients’ clinical notes in the electronic health record (EHR) for signs and symptoms of diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The focus this study was to determine if patients with MS could be identified from their clinical notes prior to the initial recognition by their healthcare providers. An MS-enriched cohort of patients with well-established MS (n = 165) and controls (n = 545), was generated from the adult outpatient clinic. A random sample cohort was generated from randomly selected patients (n = 2289) from the same adult outpatient clinic, some of whom had MS (n = 16). Patients’ notes were extracted from the data warehouse and signs and symptoms mapped to UMLS terms using MedLEE. Approximately 1000 MS-related terms occurred significantly more frequently in MS patients’ notes than controls’. Synonymous terms were manually clustered into 50 buckets and used as classification features. Patients were classified as MS or not using Naive Bayes classification. Classification of patients known to have MS using notes of the MS-enriched cohort entered after the initial ICD9[MS] code yielded an ROC AUC, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.90 [0.87-0.93], 0.75[0.66-0.82], and 0.91 [0.87-0.93], respectively. Similar classification accuracy was achieved using the notes from the random sample cohort. Classification of patients not yet known to have MS using notes of the MS-enriched cohort entered before the initial ICD9[MS] documentation identified 40% [23–59%] as having MS. Manual review of the EHR of 45 patients of the random sample cohort classified as having MS but lacking an ICD9[MS] code identified four who might have unrecognized MS. Diagnostic accuracy might be improved by mining patients’ clinical notes for signs and symptoms of specific diseases using NLP. Using this approach, we identified patients with MS early in the course of their disease which could potentially shorten the time to diagnosis. This approach could also be applied to other diseases often missed by primary care providers such as cancer. Whether implementing computerized diagnostic support ultimately shortens the time from earliest symptoms to formal recognition of the disease remains to be seen.
The Technique of Assisting Farmers in Individual Farm Adjustments

In as much as the writer's experience in assisting farmers in business adjustments has been limited to New York State, he will confine this discussion to that experience. The conditions and problems in New York State are not unlike those in most of the Eastern States, and the method of procedure suggested for assisting farmers in their business problems may be adapted to any section of the country. Over a long period of time, the type of farming in any section is the result of experimenting by a large number of farmers. Farm practices gradually become adapted to the local conditions. When conditions change, adjustments are made slowly. Climate, soil and topography are practically the same as when New York State was first settled, but there have been many changes in other conditions.
A seismic shift in continental tectonic plates.

Continents have tolerated billions of years of tectonic stresses and disfigurement, yet they continue to survive. Compared with their oceanic counterpart, where a sinking demise is an almost certainty, continents and their internal cores, or cratons, are much thicker (>175 km), older (>2 billion years), colder, and more buoyant. However, their basic attributes, such as size and shape, are a still a matter of debate because of large uncertainties in deceivingly straightforward, but entirely complicated, measurements. Continental cratons are rigid bodies composed of both crust and mantle, and their thickness was thought to be related to temperature and extend to depths of 250 to 350 km. On page 580 of this issue, Tharimena et al. ( 1 ) use reflections of seismic waves within the cratons to constrain their thickness globally. The strength of the reflections suggests that the base of the cratonic plate is defined by a partial melt of carbon-laced silicate mantle, not temperature.
Containing the Global Spread of HIV

The pandemic continued to wreak havoc across the world as the number of AIDS cases increased, especially in Africa. Each country had its own unique epidemic, and thus national governments needed to tailor their programs accordingly. This chapter details the efforts made in particular countries, their successes and challenges, and the assistance provided to them by the Global Programme on AIDS. In particular, we focus on programs in Uganda, Thailand, Brazil, and Senegal as successful case studies in HIV prevention. All were characterized by strong national commitment, a multisectoral response, participation of non-governmental organizations, and sufficient resources. However, despite these successful examples, most countries were still struggling to slow down the spread of the disease within their borders and provide care and support to those infected.
Experience matters: A psycholinguistic investigation of predicates of personal taste

We discuss two psycholinguistic experiments on subjective adjectives, with the aim of testing the idea that predicates of personal taste (PPTs, e.g. fun, tasty ) and non-PPT multidimensional adjectives (e.g. smart, healthy ) differ in terms of the perspective-taking they involve. Although both are widely regarded as involving a judge/evaluator, it has recently been proposed that the judge of a PPT needs to be an experiencer, while judges of multidimensional non-PPT adjectives do not have this requirement. We report a new study investigating this claim that builds on and extends our earlier work, by using sentences with one animate and one inanimate argument. This allows us to avoid potential complications from pronoun ambiguity. We manipulated verb argument structure (Experiencer-Theme vs. Agent-Patient verbs) to test if PPTs prefer experiencer judges. The results confirm that PPTs, but not non-PPT multidimensional adjectives, are sensitive to the presence of an experiencer thematic role.
Same Story Different Channel? Broadcast News and Information

We present a positive model in which consumers derive uncertain utility from media output, in particular news. We suggest that consumer welfare is enhanced by the existence of diversity in news output and that diversity of news output might be related to market structure. We employ two novel databases measuring broadcast news content at the local and national levels in order to quantify news diversity. We find evidence that measures of market structure among broadcast media firms are a statistically significant determinant of diversity, conditional upon a variety of demographic and economic determinants. We also present evidence that a broader indicator of market structure, capturing the level of competition from cable programming, displays a positive, significant, and robust relationship with diversity.
Impact of transgenic immune deployment on mosquito fitness

Mosquitoes are the vectors of pathogens causing numerous human diseases, including dengue and malaria. Due to increases in drug resistance among pathogens or the lack of effective treatments for these diseases and increasing insecticide resistance among mosquito populations, new methods of control are urgently needed to limit the morbidity and mortality caused by vector-borne diseases. Mosquitoes possess an innate immune system capable of limiting infection with human pathogens, and the creation and deployment of transgenic mosquitoes with an enhanced immune system has been suggested as a novel means to reduce mosquito vector competence. However, activation of the immune system is often associated with a cost to the host, which could limit the ability of the transgenic insects to replace their wild-type conspecifics. Here, we discuss recent research into the effects of increased immune deployment and insect transgenesis on the fitness of the mosquitoes.
The impact of buffers and surfactants from micellar electrokinetic chromatography on matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry of peptides. Effect of buffer type and concentration on mass determination by MALDI-time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

This paper describes the effect of various buffers, surfactants, and organic additives commonly encountered in capillary zone electrophoresis and micellar electrokinetic chromatography on the molecular weight determination of peptides by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Signal-to-noise ratio generally decreased with increasing buffer concentration without affecting mass accuracy, but the type of buffer was also important. Good spectra were obtained with an ammonium acetate buffer up to a concentration of 500 mM without impacting ionization of either peptides or other mobile phase constituents. Ionization of organic additives, such as anionic surfactants, non-ionic surfactants, and cyclodextrins was buffer dependent and presented a problem when the mass of the additive was in the range of the peptide mass. Brij®-35, Tween®-80, and cyclodextrins all produced prominent spectra of their own in the presence of sodium or potassium containing buffers, but not with ammonium acetate. Cationization of these neutral species with sodium or potassium ions allowed them to acquire a positive charge and produce spectra. In contrast, the ammonium ion appears to be a poor cationizating agent. Ionization of neutral surfactants was suppressed in ammonium acetate without impacting the spectra of peptides. Ammonium acetate buffers containing 30 mM sodium dodecyl phosphate also gave spectra with good signal intensity and no interference from the surfactant. Suppression of peptide ionization in MALDI was a problem when methanol, tetrabutyl amine, or poly(vinyl alcohol) were used with either ammonium acetate, sodium phosphate, and N-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-N-(2-ethansulfonic acid).
Dermatologic manifestations of arthropod-borne diseases

The arthropod-borne rickettsial, borrelial, and bacterial diseases of North America are a diverse group of disorders that produce a wide variety of cutaneous abnormalities. These dermatologic abnormalities are often valuable clinical clues that may reveal or suggest the correct diagnosis to the astute clinician. We review the usual and unusual dermatologic manifestations of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, murine and sylvatic typhus, rickettsialpox, ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, tick-borne relapsing fever, Colorado tick fever, and tularemia. In some of these diseases, skin manifestations may be diagnostic; in others, dermatologic findings may be the initial and only clues that leads to the initiation of life-saving therapy. In other arthropod-borne infections, the appearance or evolution of the skin rash may be characteristic enough to suggest the proper diagnosis.
Implicit glass model for simulation of crystal nucleation for glass-ceramics

Predicting crystal nucleation behavior in glass-ceramic materials is important to create new materials for high-tech applications. Modeling the evolution of crystal microstructures is a challenging problem due to the complex nature of nucleation and growth processes. We introduce an implicit glass model (IGM) which, through the application of a Generalized Born solvation model, effectively replaces the glass with a continuous medium. This permits the computational efforts to focus on nucleating atomic clusters or undissolved impurities that serve as sites for heterogeneous nucleation. We apply IGM to four different systems: binary barium silicate (with two different compositions), binary lithium silicate, and ternary soda lime silicate and validate our precipitated compositions with established phase diagrams. Furthermore, we nucleate lithium metasilicate clusters and probe their structures with SEM. We find that the experimental microstructure matches the modeled growing cluster with IGM for lithium metasilicate. The evolution of growing clusters in glass-ceramic materials can be predicted computationally with an implicit glass model (IGM). An inter-disciplinary team at Corning Incorporated, the Pennsylvania State University, and ANL developed the IGM to gain insight into the underlying physical mechanism governing the nucleation process of crystal microstructures in glass-ceramic materials. The computational approach uses an extended Generalized Born Model that treats the liquid/glass matrix as an implicit solvent, thus allowing considerable computational savings. By replacing the glass with a continuous medium, the computational effort is predominantly dedicated to tracking the evolution of the nucleating atomic clusters. The method was applied to a number of solid-state systems including barium silicate, lithium disilicate, and soda lime silicate, and the IGM was validated on experimentally synthesized compounds.
Improved Multiple Hypothesis Tracker for Joint Multiple Target Tracking and Feature Extraction

Feature-aided tracking can often yield improved tracking performance over the standard multiple target tracking (MTT) algorithms. However, in many applications, the feature signal of the targets consists of sparse Fourier-domain signals. It changes quickly and nonlinearly in the time domain, and the feature measurements are corrupted by missed detections and misassociations. In this paper, we develop a feature-aided multiple hypothesis tracker for joint MTT and feature extraction in dense target environments. We use the atomic norm constraint to formulate the sparsity of feature signal and use the $\ell _1$ -norm to formulate the sparsity of the corruption induced by misassociations. Based on the sparse representation, the feature signal are estimated by solving a semidefinite program. With the estimated feature signal, refiltering is performed to estimate the kinematic states of the targets, where the association makes use of both kinematic and feature information. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed algorithm.
Community Programs for Hypertension: A Means of Identification and Intervention in the Highest-Risk Population

The prevalence rate of hypertension among blacks in the United States currently exceeds 41 % and is among the highest in the world. Black men in particular have the greatest burden of death from hypertension (HTN), with death rates from hypertension being three times greater for black men compared to whites. A major reason for the disproportionate morbidity and mortality from HTN and its complications in blacks is suboptimal blood pressure (BP) control. In fact, the disparity in hypertension control between blacks and whites accounts for nearly 8,000 excess cardiovascular deaths annually for African Americans. Widespread hypertension control requires the engagement of patients and physicians and other clinical providers alike, and the involvement of individuals, health systems, and communities to facilitate two critical processes: (1) identification of individuals who have hypertension or at risk for developing hypertension and (2) therapeutic intervention to lower blood pressure and prevent complications of uncontrolled hypertension. Community-based hypertension programs have long been recognized as means to achieve these two requisite steps to achieve blood pressure control, particularly among high-risk populations such as black men who tend to underutilize primary care settings. In this chapter, we will briefly review the history of community-based hypertension control efforts and highlight selected community-based strategies from the peer-reviewed literature that have aimed to address blood pressure control in hypertensive African Americans.
Inverse design based metamaterial concentrator and its applications and realization

Abstract Unlike the previous design method in which one must know the transformation function beforehand, an inverse design method is proposed to build a metamaterial concentrator in this paper. The required material parameters are independently obtained and expressed as functions of the introduced generator. Scattering magnifying ability of the concentrator and two applications for antenna miniaturization and military camouflage are also investigated. Moreover, to remove the anisotropic parameters and simplify the practical realization of the concentrator, a fan-shaped layered concentrator composed of only alternating isotropic materials is presented based on the effective medium theory. Full-wave simulation results are provided for verification. This work paves a new way for designing metamaterial devices without the need to know the underlying transformation function, and has great guiding significance for the fabrication and application of the concentrator.
Poetry as Reflexivity: (Post) Reflexive Poetic Composition:

Arts-based research offers avenues for in-depth explorations into self and others. Poetic inquiry as a form of arts-based research provides a medium for attending to (post) reflexivity throughout t...
234 CATASTROPHIC KATRINA: SURVIVAL OF THE TRAINING PROGRAMS.

Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans with unprecedented and devastating damage to the city and its medical institutions. The effect on graduate medical education (GME) at LSU Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC-NO) was immediate and profound. Initial problems were (a) preserving education and training for the many dispersed house officers who were also regarded as evacuees and (b) overcoming our closed Charity Hospital, a historic and major public teaching facility (380 house officers for all LSUHSC-NO residency programs). We describe the survival and recovery of our GME programs. Some residents stayed and performed heroic service at public and community-isolated or damaged hospitals in New Orleans and throughout southeast Louisiana. All house officers and their families became evacuees to other cities as residents of LSUHSC-NO were dispersed throughout the state following the hurricane. House officers treated evacuated patients and others in outlying public institutions. As the year progressed, more innovative partnership opportunities were quickly established among outlying public hospitals and, ultimately, the private institutions closer to New Orleans. We present data (see tables and figures) that reflect house officers pre-Katrina, leading to the recovery of LSUHSC-NO9s GME programs within the New Orleans community. These newly established alliances show that the 621 pre-Katrina residency positions became 501 positions post-Katrina. Attempts were made to align available house officer positions to compatible teaching and patient care opportunities in regional sites. Residency program reviews demonstrated continuation of quality education and patient care delivery. For the future, we anticipate the imminent reopening of our university hospital and construction of a new teaching hospital proposed as a partnership between LSU and the Veterans Administration Medical Center. A fully functional and effective GME program is essential to any health sciences center. The final Katrina impact remains uncertain, yet LSU has maintained its vitality, with minimal losses to its mission. Lessons learned offer numerous implications for other health care institutions confronted with planning for or surviving major disasters. Many challenges lie ahead, but the recovery groundwork has been established and the future remains bright.
The Role of Heat Shock Protein-90 in the Pathogenesis of Birt-Hogg-Dubé and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Syndromes

Birt-Hogg-Dube (BHD) and tuberous sclerosis (TS) syndromes share many clinical features. These two diseases display distinct histologic subtypes of renal tumors: chromophobe renal cell carcinoma and renal angiomyolipoma, respectively. Early work suggested a role for mTOR dysregulation in the pathogenesis of these two diseases, however their detailed molecular link remains elusive. Interestingly, a growing number of case reports describe renal angiomyolipoma in BHD patients, suggesting a common molecular origin. The BHD-associated proteins FNIP1/2 and the TS protein Tsc1 were recently identified as regulators of the molecular chaperone Hsp90. Dysregulation of Hsp90 activity has previously been reported to support tumorigenesis, providing a potential explanation for the overlapping phenotypic manifestations in these two hereditary syndromes.
Air Leak Syndrome in Two Very Preterm Infants Born to Mothers with Coronavirus Disease 2019: An Association or a Coincidence?

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mostly affects adults with limited information on possible vertical transmission from pregnant mothers. We present here two very preterm infants born to mothers with COVID-19, whose respiratory course was significant for initial mild respiratory distress syndrome who developed acute onset severe air leak syndrome at approximately 24 to 36 hours of age requiring thoracentesis. Their respiratory status improved gradually with resolution of air leak and respiratory failure by 2 weeks of age. Both infants tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction of multiple respiratory specimens collected beyond 24 hours after birth. As the incidence of severe air leak syndrome is relatively low in preterm infants without risk factors, this presentation in two very preterm infants born to mothers with COVID-19 is intriguing and needs to be further evaluated in larger cohorts. If confirmed, this data could potentially be the first step toward generating hypotheses for mechanisms of lung injury, intrauterine transmission, or how to detect COVID-19 in preterm infants. In addition, these data will be critical for developing evidence-based guidelines for perinatal management of these infants as we continue to battle against the COVID-19 pandemic for the foreseeable future.
A Generative Approach for Socially Compliant Navigation

Robots navigating in human crowds need to optimize their paths not only for their task performance but also for their compliance to social norms. One of the key challenges in this context is the lack of standard metrics for evaluating and optimizing a socially compliant behavior. Existing works in social navigation can be grouped according to the differences in their optimization objectives. For instance, the reinforcement learning approaches tend to optimize on the comfort aspect of the socially compliant navigation, whereas the inverse reinforcement learning approaches are designed to achieve natural behavior. In this paper, we propose NaviGAN, a generative navigation algorithm that jointly optimizes both of the comfort and naturalness aspects. Our approach is designed as an adversarial training framework that can learn to generate a navigation path that is both optimized for achieving a goal and for complying with latent social rules. A set of experiments has been carried out on multiple datasets to demonstrate the strengths of the proposed approach quantitatively. We also perform extensive experiments using a physical robot in a realworld environment to qualitatively evaluate the trained social navigation behavior. The video recordings of the robot experiments can be found in the link: https://youtu.be/61blDymjCpw.
Compiler-based Hardware Profiling for Software-Defined Architecture

Software-defined architecture is a promising solution to keep performance and power scaling. However, development of the system requires a concurrent software and hardware development flow and experienced engineers for development. To reduce the design effort of the system, a high-level hardware profiling tool is proposed in this work. It converts a hardware design to a C++ cycle accurate model and then analyzes the model with a modern compiler infrastructure for performance and security concerns. The tool makes hardware profiling like a general program profiling by combining the C++ cycle accurate model and resource allocation represented by the compiler infrastructure. It supports both static and dynamic profiling, making it practical to address challenges in the development of software-defined architecture.
Responding to Social Disruptions and Urban Complexities in Post-Pandemic Dhaka Using Resilience Framework: Implications for Low-Income Urban Populations

Social, economic, and spatial inequalities are not unknown in megacities like Dhaka, which have a degree of urbanization that could be termed “hyperurbanization” or “overurbanization.” Currently, D...
Neutrophil Elastase Triggers the Release of Macrophage Extracellular Traps: Relevance to CF.

Neutrophil extracellular traps increase cystic fibrosis (CF) airway inflammation. We hypothesized that macrophage exposure to neutrophil elastase (NE) would trigger the release of macrophage extracellular traps (METs), a novel mechanism to augment NE-induced airway inflammation in CF. To test whether human blood monocyte derived macrophages (hBMDM) from CF and non-CF subjects take up proteolytically active NE resulting in clipping of chromatin binding proteins and the release of METs. Human BMDM from CF and non-CF subjects were treated with FITC-NE to determine NE localization. Intracellular NE activity was determined by DQ-elastin assay. MET DNA release was detected by Pico-green for hBMDM, and visualized by confocal microscopy for hBMDM, and for alveolar macrophages harvested from intratracheal NE-exposed Cftr-null and wild-type littermate mice. Immunofluorescence assays for histone citrullination and western analyses for histone clipping were performed. FITC-NE was localized to cytoplasmic and nuclear domains, and NE retained proteolytic activity in hBMDM. NE (100 to 500 nM) significantly increased extracellular DNA release from hBMDM. NE activated MET release by confocal microscopy in hBMDM, and in alveolar macrophages from Cftr-null and Cftr wild-type mice. NE-triggered MET release was associated with H3 citrullination and partial cleavage of Histone H3 but not H4. Exposure to NE caused release of METs from both CF and non-CF hBMDM in vitro and murine alveolar macrophages in vivo. MET release was associated with NE-activated H3 clipping, a mechanism associated with chromatin decondensation, a prerequisite for METs.
Field assessment of environmental factors constraining the development and expansion of Schoenoplectus californicus marsh at a California tidal freshwater restoration site

The effective restoration of wetland habitats requires understanding the establishment requirements, growth responses, and expansion dynamics of targeted plant species. This is particularly true when restoring areas that have been previously managed for other activities, such as agriculture, which can have legacy effects on the local environment. We investigated environmental factors (specifically hydrology and soil physicochemical conditions) that may influence the establishment, growth and expansion of Schoenoplectus californicus in a tidal freshwater marsh restoration site in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, USA. This study site was previously leveed, drained, and utilized for agricultural production. A 1997 levee breach restored tidal connectivity and wetland vegetation has re-established in portions of the area. Our approach coupled an intensively-sampled transect study in S. californicus-dominated marshes with a spatially-extensive survey of S. californicus lateral expansion rates and elevation. Lateral expansion of S. californicus marsh edge was significantly less in lower elevation areas (0.61 ± 0.04 m NAVD88), whereas the marsh edge at higher elevations (0.84 ± 0.03 m NAVD88) exhibited greater expansion, often at rates greater than 1.0 m year−1. These elevation means correspond to percentages of time that the marsh surface was flooded of 100 and 94 %, respectively. Although marsh edge expansion was influenced by elevation and the resultant hydrology, other factors, such as physical exposure of marsh shorelines and compacted agricultural soils also appear to be important. However, once established, S. californicus appears to be able to ameliorate high soil bulk densities over time as the advancing marsh platform develops.