cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Investigation of potential plague focus at Wushan county of Chongqing

Objectives To find out the composition and distribution of host animals for plague and to check the F1 antibody in host animals so as to determine whether there exists plague focus.Methods Rodents were captured by cages and fleas were seized to identify and calculate the rate of infected fleas and flea index.Antibody of plague F1 was detected with IHA from host animals.Results Sixty-three rodents were captured in Wushan,and the density of rodents was 1.26%.One hundred and thirty-two fleas were caught in Wushan,the rate of rodents with fleas was 49.21%,the total flea index was 2.10.One thousand two hundred and seventeen pieces of sticky papers were placed and no floor fleas were captured in Wushan.All captured rodents were tested by serological test with no F1 antibody of plague was detected.Conclusion Though no plague happened,nor the focus existed at Wushan,based on the information of geographical landscape,host animals,vector insects and epidemiological investigation,there is the possibility of the plague epidemic in this area.
Uterine Perforation During Dilation and Evacuation Prior to Fetal Extraction--Now What? A Case Report.

Background Uterine perforation is an infrequent but serious complication of dilation and evacuation (O&E). The purpose of this case report is to describe management strategies once a uterine perforation is identified. Case A 15-year-old female at 15 weeks' gestation presented to a freestanding clinic for elective abortion. After serial cervical dilation, omentum was seen in the suction curette. The patient was transferred to a nearby hospital, she underwent an exploratory laparotomy. A 1.5-cm anterior uterine perforation was found. The uterus was evacuated under direct visualization prior to repair of the defect. Conclusion Uterine perforation during D&E often requires laparotomy to repair the defect and to evaluate for injury to adjacent organs. Evacuation can be completed transcervically under direct visualization or through the perforation site.
SFS3: a simulation framework for self-stabilizing systems

A protocol is self-stabilizing if its actions guarantee the eventual satisfaction of a given legitimacy predicate beginning from an unknown initial state, including states which may arise after a finite number of transient faults. Such protocols are increasingly relevant in the design of large-scale networked systems, including sensor network applications and mobile computing substrates. Application of these protocols requires a precise characterization of their expected convergence time, which often varies substantially from their provable worst-case behavior. The network simulation tools currently used to support this characterization are inadequately tailored to self-stabilizing systems.In this paper, we present an object-oriented framework for simulating the behavior of self-stabilizing systems. The hook-and-template architecture provides inherent support for configurability, enabling experimentation across an extensible set of convergence models, network topologies, and daemon schedulers. We detail the design and implementation of the framework and demonstrate its utility in the context of three protocol examples. We conclude with an analysis of its performance and identify opportunities for future work.
Fusion splice techniques for multicore fibers

Abstract Fusion splice techniques for multicore fibers (MCFs) are discussed here. We demonstrate a swing electrode system for uniform discharge and an end-view function for automatic and precise core alignment. The influence of the cleaved angle was investigated for stable and low-loss fusion splicing. Using these techniques, we achieved a low-loss splicing of not greater than 0.3 dB at all cores for a 32-core fiber and for all modes for a 2-LP-mode 12-core fiber, in which a precise core alignment and a uniform discharge of wide range were required. These results indicate that the techniques we proposed are promising for fusion splicing of MCFs.
Career exploration strategies.

This article is directed to students, postdoctoral scholars and professionals exploring their career paths. As one begins to move to the next step in their career, there are many variables that have to be considered along the way. Regardless of your education, experience and interests, it can be a little daunting when faced with the question, ‘what will I do next in my career?’ The purpose of this article is to provide you with some guidance and a strategy that will assist you whether you are considering the academic track, industry or both at this time. Your career planning process will take on many phases as you move forward. And, keep in mind that your career path can change multiple times throughout your life. You may establish yourself within your profession and take on many roles, from staff level to leadership positions. You may also change professions based on your growth and newfound interest during your life. Regardless of where you go and what you do, you will always need a strategy that will help get you there most effectively. An effective career exploration strategy involves a three-step process. 1. Self-assessment . Who am I, what are my skills, interest, traits, values and what work environment is right for me? Using assessment instruments such as the myIDP http://myidp.sciencecareers.org/ and the MBTI can also help you better understand yourself. 2. Career research. What positions fit my skills, what industries/institutions can use my skills and what options do I have within my current profession? 3. Creating and executing your action plan. Building relationships/networking, creating an effective communications plan and branding myself as a professional. Step 1: Self-assessment. Let's answer some basic questions. What are my strongest skills? Am I good at research, problem solving, leadership, communications, programming, writing, managing projects, inventing, etc. Assess your skills …
Catheter tracking in an interventional photoacoustic surgical system

In laparoscopic medical procedures, accurate tracking of interventional tools such as catheters are necessary. Current practice for tracking catheters often involve using fluoroscopy, which is best avoided to minimize radiation dose to the patient and the surgical team. Photoacoustic imaging is an emerging imaging modality that can be used for this purpose and does not currently have a general tool tracking solution. Photoacoustic-based catheter tracking would increase its attractiveness, by providing both an imaging and tracking solution. We present a catheter tracking method based on the photoacoustic effect. Photoacoustic markers are simultaneously observed by a stereo camera as well as a piezoelectric element attached to the tip of a catheter. The signals received by the piezoelectric element can be used to compute its position relative to the photoacoustic markers using multilateration. This combined information can be processed to localize the position of the piezoelectric element with respect to the stereo camera system. We presented the methods to enable this work and demonstrated precisions of 1-3mm and a relative accuracy of less than 4% in four independent locations, which are comparable to conventional systems. In addition, we also showed in another experiment a reconstruction precision up to 0.4mm and an estimated accuracy up to 0.5mm. Future work will include simulations to better evaluate this method and its challenges and the development of concurrent photoacoustic marker projection and its associated methods.
Allomorph Selection in Vedic Sanskrit Perfects of the Form C i e:C j -

A pattern of radical allomorphy in a category of reduplicated formations in Vedic Sanskrit is argued to occur predictably on the basis of poorly-cued repetition effects combined with bigram phonotactics. This pattern of allomorphy is further argued to be a kind of phonologically conditioned suppletive allomorphy, in which markedness constraints adjudicate the selection of competing URs, rather than a case of typical phonologically driven allomorphy.
Learnability and falsifiability of Construction Grammars

The strength of Construction Grammar (CxG) is its descriptive power; its weakness is the learnability and falsifiability of its unconstrained representations. Learnability is the degree to which the optimum set of constructions can be consistently selected from the large set of potential constructions; falsifiability is the ability to make testable predictions about the constructions present in a dataset. This paper uses grammar induction to evaluate learnability and falsifiability: given a discovery-device CxG and a set of observed utterances, its learnability is its stability over sub-sets of data and its falsifiability is its ability to predict a CxG.
Teaching parallel computing in a small college: meeting a renewed demand

Fitting scientific computing training in a small liberal arts college curricula has always been a challenge, and even more so in an era when new hardware and architecture are emerging almost on a yearly basis which makes some of the learning objectives a moving target. When video game consoles are commanded by the 'supercomputing on a chip' processor CELL, and multi-core CPUs become the mainstream of lower end desktop solution, we are witnessing a renewed demand from students to offer a course in parallel computing. This paper attempts to address these challenges by weighing the interest of students, the efficiency of various parallel programming models as well as the resource limitations of a small college. In a progressive way, we present a pragmatic approach of teaching parallel computing designed particularly in response to the changing landscape in scientific computing and the wide adoption of multi-core processors.
EVOLVING MIXED-MEDIA MESSAGES AND GRAMMATICAL LANGUAGE: SECONDARY USES OF THE NEURAL SEQUENCING MACHINERY NEEDED FOR BALLISTIC MOVEMENTS

A possible preadaptation for the neural machinery underlying language and thought can be seen in the neural circuitry required for planning sequential hand-arm movements such as hammering and throwing. If it isn’t a standardized movement sequence such as the basketball free-throw, the thrower has to plan: to generate a family of variations on an approximate string of commands, and then judge each of those candidate strings against memories of what strings succeeded in the past for similar-but-not-identical conditions. Thus one needs an array of planning tracks rather like a railroad marshalling yard, with a “good-enough” train only occasionally let loose on the main track to overt action. Since hand-arm sequencing circuitry in the brain has a strong spatial overlap with where language circuitry is located in left brain, perhaps the same massively-serial architecture can do double-duty for language and planning ahead. The well-formed sentence and the reliable plan of action have some strong analogies to more familiar darwinian successes. But the transition during hominid evolution to humanlike language would seem to have faced some transitional tasks, and I suggest that a mixed economy of gestures, depictions, and vocalizations might have eventually led to a subject-predicate message format — and that syntax may have been introduced to deal with subject-object ambiguity when two nouns were present in a sentence.
Lifetime marijuana and alcohol use, and cognitive dysfunction in people with human immunodeficiency virus infection.

ABSTRACTBackground: Substance use is common among people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Alcohol, marijuana, and HIV can have negative effects on cognition. Associations between current and lifetime marijuana and alcohol use and cognitive dysfunction in people with HIV infection were examined. Methods: Some 215 HIV-infected adults with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) substance dependence or ever injection drug use were studied. In adjusted cross-sectional regression analyses associations were assessed between current marijuana use, current heavy alcohol use, lifetime marijuana use, lifetime alcohol use, duration of heavy alcohol use (the independent variables), and 3 measures of cognitive dysfunction (dependent variables): both the (i) memory and (ii) attention domains from the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the (iii) 4-item cognitive function scale (CF4) from the Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey (MOS-HIV). Analyses were ad...
An Mll4/COMPASS-Lsd1 epigenetic axis governs enhancer function and pluripotency transition in embryonic stem cells

Chromatin regulators control cellular differentiation by orchestrating dynamic developmental gene expression programs, and hence, malfunctions in the regulation of chromatin state contribute to both developmental disorders and disease state. Mll4 (Kmt2d), a member of the COMPASS (COMplex of Proteins ASsociated with Set1) protein family that implements histone H3 lysine 4 monomethylation (H3K4me1) at enhancers, is essential for embryonic development and functions as a pancancer tumor suppressor. We define the roles of Mll4/COMPASS and its catalytic activity in the maintenance and exit of ground-state pluripotency in murine embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Mll4 is required for ESC to exit the naive pluripotent state; however, its intrinsic catalytic activity is dispensable for this process. The depletion of the H3K4 demethylase Lsd1 (Kdm1a) restores the ability of Mll4 null ESCs to transition from naive to primed pluripotency. Thus, we define an opposing regulatory axis, wherein Lsd1 and associated co-repressors directly repress Mll4-activated gene targets. This finding has broad reaching implications for human developmental syndromes and the treatment of tumors carrying Mll4 mutations.
The Content of Knowledge

The history of the theory of knowledge from the Greeks through the 17th Century can be written as a history of attempts to construct an account of knowledge as certainty (i.e., infallibilism). This history might also be written from a variety of other points of view, for example, as the conquest of reason, as the accumulation of truth, and as the continuing quest for rationality, among other candidates. No particular view has a clear lien on accuracy. But the question here is not which of the many historical perspectives that there are is the correct one. Rather, the problem is how to choose among these perspectives. Despite what was said earlier against simple-minded wholesale categorizations of individual thinkers, we need to provide at least a working Solution to this problem because without a systematic rendering of the past we cannot employ contemporary categories of analysis to best advantage. As noted earlier, my purpose is not merely to explicate Galileo’s epistemological views, but to understand how those views contribute to our understanding of science. It is for this reason that I am making the effort to translate some of Galileo’s concerns into our modern idiom. And, as we have seen, he raises the issue of certainty himself fairly early. Thus, it is important to locate the issue of certainty on the historical screen, but only in broad and, we grant, not indelible strokes.
Pharmacological Control of Mediator Release from Leukocytes

Basophils and mast cells are the only two cell types known that are capable of tightly binding IgE antibody to their cell surfaces. Antigen specific for this IgE antibody can, by interacting with it, cause the release of histamine and other mediators of anaphylaxis from these two cell types. The properties and pharmacological control of mediator release from mast cells are described in Chapter 7. This chapter will deal almost exclusively with release from circulating basophils, and will consider largely the properties of histamine release, since much more is known about the release of this substance than about the release of other mediators. Two themes will be stressed: The first is that the release of histamine from basophils is a process of secretion analogous to the secretion (exocytosis) of hormones and enzymes (i.e., endocrine and exocrine secretion). The second is that this release process is negatively modulated by cyclic AMP (cAMP), and that perhaps histamine, which raises cAMP through interaction with histamine H-2 receptors, plays a special role as a modulator of this response and other immune responses.
Thick rectangular plates—I: The generalized Navier solution

Abstract Navier's classical solution for the problem of a statically loaded, rectangular plate which is simply-supported on all edges is generalized so as to provide a solution for the problem when transverse shear deformations are taken into account. Such solutions are provided for both Mindlin's plate theory and a new plate theory, recently published, which allows for warping of transverse sections of the plate. The results of the analyses are simple expressions for the Fourier coefficients in the expansions representing the transverse deflection and rotations of normals to the plate midsurface. Although both theories predict the same transverse deflection, the rotations and inplane stresses are different for the two theories. Some observations and comments concerning the effects of transverse shears on the deflections of plates and inplane stresses are made.
Endothelial Protrusions in Junctional Integrity and Barrier Function

Endothelial cells of the microcirculation form a semi-permeable diffusion barrier between the blood and tissues. This permeability of the endothelium, particularly in the capillaries and postcapillary venules, is a normal physiological function needed for blood-tissue exchange in the microcirculation. During inflammation, microvascular permeability increases dramatically and can lead to tissue edema, which in turn can lead to dysfunction of tissues and organs. The molecular mechanisms that control the barrier function of endothelial cells have been under investigation for several decades and remain an important topic due to the potential for discovery of novel therapeutic strategies to reduce edema. This review highlights current knowledge of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to endothelial hyperpermeability during inflammatory conditions associated with injury and disease. This includes a discussion of recent findings demonstrating temporal protrusions by endothelial cells that may contribute to intercellular junction integrity between endothelial cells and affect the diffusion distance for solutes via the paracellular pathway.
E-cigarettes and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: What Clinicians and Researchers Need to Know

Electronic cigarettes, commonly known as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), e-cigarettes, or vapes, are growing in use and popularity. E-cigarettes are not one distinct type of product. These devices have evolved from the initial “cigarette-alike” designs to larger tank-style devices and most recently, smaller “mod-pods” that can be easily hidden. E-cigarettes can deliver nicotine at levels similar to conventional cigarettes. As with conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes expose users to chemicals and particulates that affect many biological systems including the heart, lungs, and circulation. Most e-cigarettes contain and emit potentially toxic but highly variable substances. Only by using them in total abstinence from combustible tobacco products can users reduce (not eliminate) their exposure to these harmful chemicals. However, most adults smoking e-cigarettes are dual users, meaning they smoke both conventional and e-cigarettes. This review of the current cardiovascular-specific literature related to e-cigarette use explores what is known (and unknown) about the short- and long-term effects of using these devices. Specifically, the effects of nicotine, oxidizing agents, and particulates in e-cigarettes are examined in the context of cardiovascular and lung health. The goal is to assist clinicians when discussing e-cigarettes with their patients and to help them analyze the impact of use on cardiovascular health. Recommendations are provided related to clinical treatment and research to address gaps in the literature.
Screening for Learning Difficulty Using Teacher Ratings on the Colorado Learning Difficulties Questionnaire.

The present study examined clinical utility of teacher ratings on the Colorado Learning Difficulties Questionnaire (CLDQ) learning difficulties screening within a referred, school-aged sample ( N =519, 5-18 years). Of this sample, 419 youth had CLDQ reading scale scores from a reading or general education teacher, and 338 had CLDQ math scale ratings from a math or general education teacher. Sensitivity, specificity and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were examined for specific reading and math difficulties (achievement SS<85). Cut-scores were identified to maximize sensitivity (reading: 60–91%; math: 85–89%), but specificity was low (reading: 60–64%, math: 47–48%); AUCs ranged from .70-.87 for reading and .75-.77 for math. Discrimination was comparable in an elementary subsample. Conditional probabilities suggested CLDQ ratings more accurately predicted children without learning difficulties (i.e., true negatives) than with learning difficulties. Parent and teacher ratings were well correlated ( r =.71), but addition of teacher ratings improved classification accuracy and model fit ( p <.001) across domains. Furthermore, CLDQ teacher ratings were helpful in reducing false positives based upon parent ratings alone. Findings suggest teacher ratings via CLDQ can be used to screen children at risk for learning difficulties, with teacher ratings showing added value over and above parent ratings. Subscribe to LDMJ
Correlation functions for M**N / S(N) orbifolds

We develop a method for computing correlation functions of twist operators in the bosonic 2-d CFT arising from orbifolds M N /S N , where M is an arbitrary manifold. The path integral with twist operators is replaced by a path integral on a covering space with no operator insertions. Thus, even though the CFT is defined on the sphere, the correlators are expressed in terms of partition functions on Riemann surfaces with a finite range of genus g. For large N, this genus expansion coincides with a 1/N expansion. The contribution from the covering space of genus zero is “universal” in the sense that it depends only on the central charge of the CFT. For 3-point functions we give an explicit form for the contribution from the sphere, and for the 4-point function we do an example which has genus zero and genus one contributions. The condition for the genus zero contribution to the 3-point functions to be non-vanishing is similar to the fusion rules for an SU(2) WZW model. We observe that the 3-point coupling becomes small compared to its large N limit when the orders of the twist operators become comparable to the square root of N – this is a manifestation of the stringy exclusion principle.
Using Wikipedia to promote acoustics knowledge for the International Year of Sound 2020

Wikipedia is an important mechanism to share science information with the public. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) adopted a multi-component strategy to improve the health content on Wikipedia. For the International Year of Sound (IYS 2020), the Acoustical Society of America and NIOSH organized the online event Wiki4YearOfSound2020, to facilitate the improvement of Wikipedia content related to acoustics. IYS 2020 is a global initiative to highlight the importance of sound in all aspects of life and improve our understanding of sound-related issues at an international level. The Wiki4YearOfSound2020 platform (available in several languages) provides guidance to all who join. Ways to participate include promoting the project, suggesting a topic that should have a Wikipedia article, improving or translating existing articles, or writing new ones. Educational programs can take advantage of the easy-to-use platform and tools to train students to contribute high-quality content to Wikipedia as part of their class assignments. Throughout 2020 the Wikimedia outreach dashboard will allow anyone to monitor contributions and reach. This campaign is an opportunity to make acoustics one of the better-developed areas within Wikipedia, while providing quality information to everyone in the world – where they are actually looking for it.
Inducible Expression of Mutant ELANE Correlates with Disruption of Differentiation Program, but Not the Unfolded Protein Response

Background. Severe congenital neutropenia (SCN) is characterized by a critical reduction in absolute neutrophil count (ANC Methods.We created a doxycycline inducible expression system of ELANE, consisting of wild type (wt) and point mutation (G185R) variant associated with SCN, in the murine myeloblast cell line 32D and the human promyelocytic leukemia cell line NB4. We determined the effect of mutant ELANE expression on cell proliferation (Trypan blue exclusion), survival (Trypan blue exclusion, AnnexinV-PI staining) and differentiation (Wright-Giemsa staining, CD11b expression). Underlying molecular changes were investigated using immunoblotting and qPCR based gene expression analysis. Results. Induction of wt or mutant ELANEexpression with doxycycline did not have any detrimental effects on cell proliferation and survival. However, a partial block in differentiation with an accumulation of myeloid progenitors was observed in cells expression mutant ELANE. Profiling of gene expression for markers of differentiation identified reduced expression of key transcriptional factors (Cebpa, Cebpe, Cebpb, Cebpd, Gfi1, Spi1) coupled with reduced levels of other markers of differentiation (e.g., Mpo, Ltf). Increased transcript levels were also observed in some cell cycle genes (Pola1, Ccnd1). We did not observe an increase in expression of UPR genes upon mutant ELANEinduction. Conclusion.Our data demonstrate that expression of mutant ELANE promotes an aberrant differentiation gene expression profile that leads to a partial block in differentiation. In addition, our data also suggest that mutant ELANE expression does not promote UPR. We also show a concomitant upregulation of cell proliferation genes upon mutant ELANE expression. This detour from a differentiation profile may indicate pre-leukemic underpinnings for G-CSF treatment in SCN. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
CS Student Laptop and Computer Lab Usage as a Factor of Success in Computing Education

Computing Education Research (CER) implicitly assumes that CS undergraduate students have no barrier to access a learning platform or software package. The assumption that "everyone has access to and uses a device" endangers the validity of CER studies by overlooking a critical element in what students access and how students use computing resources. First, in this work, we explicitly investigate undergraduate student usage (how often) of computing resources (laptops and computer labs) on a university campus. Furthermore, we investigate whether CS student usage of laptops and computer labs are factors of success in computing education to close a crucial feedback loop for CER and CS educators. Second, previous studies studying student's technology equipped used qualitative surveys, and lacked a systematic and continuous view of the student population. In this work, we address this shortcoming by developing a method to use operational data sets from the wireless networks and computer labs on campus. Operational data sets provide a systematic and continuous coverage of all students, that is, a student's absence of usage becomes a data point instead of a missing point. Results indicate that the use of equipment levels may be lower than national average. Nevertheless, there exists a positive correlation between higher frequency of laptop usage and success in computing education.
Effects of noise and linewidth on in vivo analysis of glutamate at 3 T.

Abstract Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) can noninvasively detect metabolites in vivo, including glutamate (Glu). However, quantification is known to be affected by the overlaps among metabolite resonance lines and background macromolecule signals. We found that adding a moderate amount of noise or line broadening (2 Hz) caused large variations in concentration of Glu and other metabolites, when determined by LCModel analysis of in vivo short-echo time (TE) spectra. Theses variations were largely attributed to strong spectral baselines in short TE spectra, especially near 2.35 ppm, as well as overlapping metabolite resonance lines. To address this issue, we acquired in vivo data at 3 T using both short-TE and the multiple echo time J-resolved point-resolved spectroscopy (JPRESS) MRS techniques. We found that one-dimensional (1D) JPRESS, by simultaneously fitting the two cross-sections of JPRESS at J = 0 and J = 7.5 Hz, was highly resistant to variations in noise levels and spectral linewidths. Our results demonstrate that LCModel analysis of short-TE data is highly sensitive to variations in noise levels and spectral linewidths and this sensitivity is greatly reduced by 1D JPRESS given its substantially reduced baselines and enhanced spectral resolution.
The Association Between 24-Hour Urine and Stone Recurrence Among High Risk Kidney Stone Formers: A Population Level Assessment.

Abstract OBJECTIVE To determine if obtaining a 24-hour urine collection (24HU) in stone formers is associated with decreased recurrent stone episodes. METHODS Using the MarketScan database, adults 17-62 years old with nephrolithiasis were identified between 2007 and 2017 with a minimum of 3-year follow up. High-risk stone formers, those undergoing stone surgery, and those with history of recurrent stones were identified. The exposure was a 24HU within 6 months of primary diagnosis. The outcome was recurrent stone episodes—defined by stone-related emergency room visits, hospitalizations, or stone surgery 90 days to 3 years after diagnosis. Logistic regression was used to estimate recurrence risk by 24HU exposure for the overall cohort and sub-cohorts limited to known recurrent stone formers, high-risk subjects, and those having stone surgery. RESULTS Of 434,055 subjects analyzed, 30,153 (6.9%) had a 24HU. An annual decline in 24HU utilization was seen (7.5%-5.8%). Regional variation in usage rate was also observed. On multivariate analysis, completing a 24HU was not associated with risk of recurrence in any of the following cohorts: recurrent stone formers (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.9-1.07), both high risk and recurrent stone formers (OR 0.95 [0.8-1.13]), those undergoing surgery (OR 1.02 [0.97-1.07]); a positive association with 24HU and recurrence was seen in those labeled high-risk (OR 1.08 [1.01-1.16]) and in all-comers (OR 1.15 [1.12-1.19]). CONCLUSION The 24HU was not associated with decreased recurrence rates in the overall population nor in higher risk sub-cohorts.
From Material to Infrastructure: Germaine Krull's Métal

This article reexamines Germaine Krull's seminal 1928 photo book Metal, tracing the implications of the speculative analogy drawn by the project between metal and photography. Following this analog...
Generation of Ultrashort Pulses in Synchronous Pumping of Near-Millimeter Wave Lasers

The generation of high power, ultrashort (τ p << 1 nsec) near-millimeter wave pulses of radiation is of significant interest in many potential applications. In the optically pumped molecular gases, which form an important class of FIR/NMM coherent sources, there are further questions about the ability of these generally narrow band systems to support wideband pulse amplification and oscillations. We have experimentally examined the character of NMM wave emission in selected gases when optically pumped with pulsed excitation in an arrangement which synchronously matches pump laser and NMM wave cavities. Under optimal conditions we observe high power NMM wave emission in bursts which are significantly shorter than the approximately nanosecond pump laser excitation.
Parenting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in South India.

Abstract Purpose There is limited research on the needs and expectations of parents of children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and associated complex communication needs (CCNs) in South India. The current paper will present the findings from a study that explored parents' needs and expectations, including those related to rehabilitation. Method This study adopted an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis framework to understand the needs and expectations of 16 parents of 15 children with IDD and associated CCNs. Data were analyzed for the whole group, and two subgroups: parents of children 12 years or younger, and parents of adults and adolescents older than 12 years. Result Data analysis highlighted the following: (1) unmet or undermet needs and expectations with regard to children’s social participation, societal and familial support, childcare needs, financial requirements, and need for information; (2) changing needs and expectations of parents as their children grow older; (3) inadequacy of social participation and interaction opportunities for the participants’ children. Conclusion It was concluded that rehabilitation providers including Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) need to be aware of parents’ needs and expectations and collaborate with the families to attain rehabilitation goals that facilitate social participation.
Comparative intravital imaging of human and rodent malaria sporozoites reveals the skin is not a species-specific barrier

Malaria infection starts with the injection of Plasmodium sporozoites into the host's skin. Sporozoites are motile and move in the skin to find and enter blood vessels to be carried to the liver. Here, we present the first characterization of P. falciparum sporozoites in vivo, analyzing their motility in mouse skin and human skin xenografts and comparing their motility to two rodent malaria species. These data suggest that in contrast to the liver and blood stages, the skin is not a species-specific barrier for Plasmodium. Indeed, P. falciparum sporozoites enter blood vessels in mouse skin at similar rates to the rodent malaria parasites. Furthermore, we demonstrate that antibodies targeting sporozoites significantly impact the motility of P. falciparum sporozoites in mouse skin. Though the sporozoite stage is a validated vaccine target, vaccine trials have been hampered by the lack of good animal models for human malaria parasites. Pre-clinical screening of next-generation vaccines would be significantly aided by the in vivo platform we describe here, expediting down-selection of candidates prior to human vaccine trials.
Comparison of Efficacy of Systemic Therapies in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Updated Systematic Review and Frequentist Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background Several systemic agents have been approved for use in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (aHCC). However, it is unclear which treatment is superior in either the first- or second-line settings due to the paucity of head-to-head comparative trials. Therefore, we have conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis for the indirect comparison of the systemic agents in the first line and second line settings. Methods Randomized clinical trials evaluating systemic agents in first and second line settings in aHCC from inception to April 2020 were identified by searching PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Databases and the annual ASCO and ESMO conferences from 2017 to 2020. Studies in English reporting clinical outcomes including overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and objective response rate (ORR) were included. The primary outcomes of interest were pooled hazard ratios (HR) of OS and pooled odds ratios (OR) of ORR in first line studies and pooled HR of PFS and OR of ORR for second line studies. Additionally, OS for second line agents were reported in the qualitative analysis. Results Overall, first line studies comprised 8335 patients (13 studies) and second line studies comprised 4612 patients (11 studies). In the first line setting, atezolizumab plus bevacizumab was associated with the highest OS benefit over sorafenib (HR 0.58, 95% CI, 0.42-0.80; P-score 0.993). Additionally, lenvatinib was associated with the greatest ORR benefit (OR 3.34, 95% CI, 2.17-5.14; P-score 0.080) in the first line setting. In the second line setting, cabozantinib was associated with the highest PFS benefit over placebo (HR 0.44, 95% CI, 0.29-0.66; P-score 0.854) as well as the highest ORR benefit (OR 9.40, 95% CI, 1.25-70.83, P-score, 0.266). Conclusion Atezolizumab plus bevacizumab appears to have superior efficacy among first line agents whereas cabozantinib appears to be superior in the second line setting. Further studies are warranted to determine whether the type of prior therapy received affects the efficacy of subsequent second line therapy.
Planners in Politics, Politicians in Planning

This volume of Planning Theory & Practice includes a review of Louis Albrechts’ (2020) edited volume, Planners in Politics: Do They Make a Difference? In it, ten executive branch politicians with b...
Schmoozers, not snoozers: Busting the Kevin and Angela stereotype in public accounting

Abstract In contrast to the well-known stereotype of the boring, unsociable accountant, today’s public accounting professionals argue that they are boundary-spanners. Working at the intersection of the firm/client interface, these professionals contend that sociability is a requisite skill for routinely navigating the many interactions they have with multiple personnel at client organizations. This research aims to address this disconnect and confront whether the public perception is warranted. Using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue), we assess the sociability of 176 public accounting professionals and discover that, contrary to the stereotype, male public accountants are more sociable than males in the general population. Our analysis also demonstrates that female public accountants are no more or less sociable than females in the general population. Additional analysis shows that while male public accountants are more sociable than female public accountants, this effect is attributable to differences at lower levels of the profession and that male-female differences disappear when comparing male managers and partners to female managers and partners. Given the importance of sociability in public accounting, this research offers recruiting strategies which will help to dispel the myth of the unsociable accountant and provides training tips for enhancing sociability within the ranks.
Modulation and Noise

In the preceding chapters we have considered two aspects of radio transmission: Path loss between antennas, and the noise which is mixed with a radio frequency carrier signal of constant amplitude. We have specified the noisiness of a receiver in terms of a noise temperature. We have discussed the noise performance of an ideal receiver which is, of course, better than that of any actual receiver. Given transmitter power, antenna sizes including aperture efficiencies and separation, wavelength, the temperature of space, and receiver bandwidth, we can calculate the carrier-to-noise ratio for an electromagnetic transmission system in free space.
A Choice-of-Law Solution to the Marriage Debates

The debate over the changing institution of marriage is marked by the clash of ideas about social institutions. Recent marriage reform proposals highlight these differences. Covenant marriages, in which spouses waive the right to a no-fault divorce, appeal to social conservatives but are regarded with suspicion by social liberals. Authorization of same sex marriages appeals to social liberals but is strongly opposed by social conservatives. Previous articles have focused on same sex marriage and have proclaimed a total victory to one side or the other in the debate. We offer a compromise based on jurisdictional choice and enforcement of contracts. Objections to recognizing covenant or same sex marriages in one's own state are stronger than those to enforcing at least the contractual elements of marriages solemnized elsewhere. At the same time, a state need not give a non-standard foreign marriage the same effect internally as to government-conferred subsidies and benefits as it has in the state of celebration. In other words, we would reject the all-or-nothing principle by which a marriage is either wholly valid or wholly invalid in other states for all purposes. This compromise approach is preferable to absolutist, top-down solutions because it offers a chance of building a consensus between the two sides in the debate.
Genetic monitoring and complex population dynamics: insights from a 12-year study of the Rio Grande silvery minnow

The endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow persists as a remnant population in a highly fragmented and regulated arid-land river system. The species is subject to dramatic annual fluctuations in density. Since 2003, the wild population has been supplemented by hatchery-reared fish. We report on a 12-year (1999–2010) monitoring study of genetic diversity and effective population size (Ne) of wild and hatchery stocks. Our goals were to evaluate how genetic metrics responded to changes in wild fish density and whether they corresponded to the number and levels of diversity of hatchery-reared repatriates. Genetic diversity and all measures of Ne in the wild population did not correlate with wild fish density until hatchery supplementation began in earnest. Estimates of variance and inbreeding effective size were not correlated. Our results suggest source–sink dynamics where captive stocks form a genetically diverse source and the wild population behaves as a sink. Nevertheless, overall genetic diversity of silvery minnow has been maintained over the last decade, and we attribute this to a well-designed and executed propagation management plan. When multiple factors like environmental fluctuation and hatchery supplementation act simultaneously on a population, interpretation of genetic monitoring data may be equally complex and require considerable ecological data.
Gravitational Radiation from Initial Data

The choice of free gravitational data for the characteristic initial value problem strongly affects the production of gravitational waves. From model calculations it is shown that the shear of the initial null cone must be properly matched to the matter distribution or a spurious flux of incoming radiation will mask outgoing emission. An algorithm for choosing the initial shear is given which successfully suppresses incoming radiation in numerical studies.
Impacts of extreme 2013–2014 winter conditions on Lake Michigan's fall heat content, surface temperature, and evaporation

Since the late 1990s, the Laurentian Great Lakes have experienced persistent low water levels and above average over-lake evaporation rates. During the winter of 2013–2014, the lakes endured the most persistent, lowest temperatures and highest ice cover in recent history, fostering speculation that over-lake evaporation rates might decrease and that water levels might rise. To address this speculation, we examined interseasonal relationships in Lake Michigan's thermal regime. We find pronounced relationships between winter conditions and subsequent fall heat content, modest relationships with fall surface temperature, but essentially no correlation with fall evaporation rates. Our findings suggest that the extreme winter conditions of 2013–2014 may have induced a shift in Lake Michigan's thermal regime and that this shift coincides with a recent (and ongoing) rise in Great Lakes water levels. If the shift persists, it could (assuming precipitation rates remain relatively constant) represent a return to thermal and hydrologic conditions not observed on Lake Michigan in over 15 years.
Axial inductively coupled plasma time-of-flight mass spectrometry using direct liquid sample introduction

This report is concerned with the first investigation of a direct injection high efficiency nebulizer (DIHEN) as a microliter-solution introduction system for axial inductively coupled plasma time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ICP-TOFMS). The effect of rf generator frequency on analytical performance indices is investigated at both 27 and 40 MHz at operating conditions suitable for the DIHEN: a solution uptake rate of 100 µL min−1, nebulizer gas flow rate of 0.2 L min−1, and rf power from 800 to 1700 W. Four observations indicate an increased secondary discharge at 27 MHz compared to 40 MHz for the DIHEN compared to conventional solution introduction: (1) higher background count rates, (2) faster and wider ion deflection pulse times, (3) increased doubly-to-singly charged ion ratios (Ba2+/Ba+ = 0.03 vs. 0.02), and (4) reduced oxide-to-metal ion ratios (CeO+/Ce+ = 8.5 vs. 51) at 27 MHz in comparison with 40 MHz. Analytical figures of merit achieved, including detection limits, sensitivity, and precision using DIHEN-ICP-TOFMS are superior in both normal and cool plasma conditions to those obtained with a conventional nebulizer-spray chamber arrangement operated at a solution uptake rate of 1 mL min−1. For example, typical precision (percent relative standard deviation, %RSD) for the DIHEN at 27 MHz is less than 0.6% for an integration time of 10 s. The signal intensity is nearly a factor of 2 higher with the DIHEN compared to the conventional nebulizer-spray chamber arrangement. Isotope ratio precision acquired by the DIHEN-ICP-TOFMS system closely approximates values predicted by Poisson counting statistics for both steady-state and transient signals. Finally, fast transient analysis (ca. 12.75 ms) is demonstrated for Sn and Cr isotopes in human lung fibroblast cells.
Providing Opportunities: A Sixth Column for the Techniques of Situational Crime Prevention

This paper adds to Situational Crime Prevention’s (SCP) techniques that are used to prevent or reduce criminal behavior. We create a sixth column of techniques to “provide opportunities” for offenders to do something else, i.e., to commit a less serious crime or a legal behavior. Our orientation is based upon a “hard” SCP approach. We respond to recent developments in SCP that have incorporated “soft” strategies and somewhat deemphasized the rational choice assumptions of SCP’s initial formulation.
Artificial diets used in mass production of the New World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax

The New World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), has been eradicated from North and Central America using the sterile insect technique. This success has been based on mass production of high-quality screwworms using artificial diets since 1958. Many diet formulations for both larvae and adults have been developed, mainly driven by cost efficiency and material supply. However, only four larval and two adult diet formulations have been applied in the six sterile fly mass production plants in the USA, Mexico and Panama. Herein, we briefly review the history of screwworm diet research and development, introduce the diet formulations used in mass rearing and discuss their advantages and disadvantages in terms of plant application. Finally, we propose future research on screwworm nutrition, potential protein sources, feeding stimulants, further optimization of screwworm formulations and possible methods to reduce the negative qualities of waste generated during the mass production.