cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Experimental Infection of Human Subjects with Strongyloides Species

Because of excellent and readily available animal models of infection with Strongyloides species, much of the basic biology of the parasite was understood by the early 1930s. Only selected issues of major physiologic importance were left to be addressed by intentional human infections. Concern about the strongyloides hyperinfection syndrome and the parasite's characteristic refractoriness to drug therapy led investigators of experimental human infections to act as subjects. This article reviews studies that describe experimental human infection with Strongyloides stercoralis and Strongyloides fulleborni as well as other Strongyloides species. These studies address two main issues: the clinical manifestations associated with the prepatent and early patent phases of infection, and the development of immunity to reinfection in individuals previously infected. The possible conclusions from these studies are discussed in the context of the current understanding of natural human and experimental animal infections.
Test-retest reliability of the vestibular sensory-evoked potential (VsEP) in C57BL/6J mice.

Background The vestibular sensory-evoked potential (VsEP) is an electrical potential that provides a direct test of vestibular function in animals. VsEP recordings are carried out using subcutaneous stainless steel electrodes placed over the nuchal crest (noninverting), behind either the left or right pinna (inverting), and at the hip (ground). A noninvasive head clip is used to secure the head to a mechanical shaker for delivery of a linear vestibular stimulus measured in units of jerk (g/msec). Frequent repositioning of the noninvasive head clip and skin electrodes may be necessary during recording for particular protocols; however, the test-retest reliability of the VsEP response (latency, amplitude, and threshold) has not been determined. Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the possible effects of frequent repositioning of the noninvasive head clip and skin electrodes on VsEP response parameters (latencies, amplitudes, and thresholds). We hypothesize that the VsEP response will remain stable and reliable with such repeated measurements in a given animal across time. Research design Linear VsEP responses were recorded from ten C57 mice (ages: 2.45 mo ±0.20; weights: 17.94 g ±1.51). Two standard threshold protocols and four repeated VsEP measurements at +6 dB re: 1.0 g/msec were performed, with four selected time points of head clip repositioning. In addition, three novice investigators performed measurements of noninverting electrode placement and head clip positioning. Results VsEP response latency, amplitude, and threshold means did not significantly change with frequent repositioning of the head clip and skin electrodes; however, increased variability was observed. Conclusions The findings demonstrate that repositioning does not introduce significant changes in mean parameter values of the recorded VsEP response waveform; however, mean absolute difference calculations demonstrated that frequent repositioning increased response variance. For VsEP protocols requiring frequent repositioning, standardized electrode montage, optimal placement of the noninverting electrode at the nuchal crest, and increased sample size are suggested.
Ectopic Pregnancy: Pregnancy of Unknown Location (PUL)

Pregnancy of unknown location (PUL) is a recognized diagnosis when ultrasound fails to identify a pregnancy’s location in patients with a positive hCG. Expectant management is appropriate in hemodynamically stable patients with a PUL, as most PULs represent failing intrauterine pregnancies. Appropriate and timely follow-up with serial hCG levels, serum progesterone levels in select cases, and high-level ultrasound will identify the location and viability status of most pregnancies.
Effects of combination of NK cells and CTL on B16 melanoma cells

Objective To explore the effects of combination of natural killer(NK) cells and cytotoxic T lymphocyte(CTL) on B16 melanoma cells.Methods NK cells and CTL were extracted,and activated with interleukin-2(IL-2)(6 000 IU/L),IL-2(600 IU/L) and phytohaemagglutinin(8 μg/ mL),respectively.Flow cytometry was employed to detect the cellular surface receptors.NK cells and CTL were served as target and effector cells each other,respectively,and the cytotoxicity experiments were conducted.B16 melanoma cells were used as target cells to assay the killing rate of CTL.Results The percentage of NK cellular surface receptor NK1.1+ was more than 87%,and that of NKp46+ was more than 90%.The percentage of CTL surface receptor CD3+ was more than 99%,and that of CD8+ was more than 98%.NK cells and CTL showed no mutual cytotoxicity,and combination of NK cells and CTL significantly increased the killing effects on B16 melanoma cells.Conclusion Combination of NK cells and CTL possesses synergistic killing effect on melanoma cells.
Measuring and expert assessment of environmental health quality by the public health office

The following points of emphasis were highlighted during a tour of the laboratory in which physicians participated who are interested in measurements in environmental hygiene (e.g. biomonitoring) and are therefore keen on installing such equipment themselves: Relevant substances in water, soil and air--Sampling procedures--Methods of analysis and price of equipment--Limit values, reference (standard) values, general principles of assessment--Legal aspects of measurement programmes conducted by Public Health Services. Possibilities were shown to gradually change over from the methods of measurement conventionally employed by the Public Health services, to more efficient methods, by discussing as examples the direct indicating air measurement tubes (standard size approx. 1 mg/m3 transverse sensitivity) as well as active sampling using Drager activated carbon tubes.
Quantum astrochemical spectroscopy

In this review, the origins of astrochemistry and the initial applications of quantum chemistry to the discovery of new molecules in space are discussed. Furthermore, more recent successes and failures of quantum astrochemistry are explored. Finally, the application of quantum chemistry to the chemical study of space is driving developments in large-scale computational science. Consequently, cloud computing and large molecule computations are discussed. Astrochemistry is a natural application of quantum chemistry. The ability to analyze routinely and completely the structural, spectroscopic, and electronic properties of any given molecule, regardless of its laboratory stability, make this tool a necessary component for astrochemical analysis. The sizes of the computations scaling with the number of electrons and degrees-of-freedom can become limiting, but proper choices of methods can provide unique insights. The chemistry of the Earth is a small snapshot of the chemistries available in the universe at large, and the flexibility inherent within computation make quantum chemistry an excellent driver of new knowledge in fundamental molecular science as well as in astrophysics. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Approaches to Breeding Soundness Examination and Interpretation of Results

Abstract The best indicator of stallion fertility is per-cycle pregnancy rate following cover or artificial insemination of fertile mares under good management conditions. This process can be lengthy, cumbersome, and impractical. As such, a laboratory-based examination is oftentimes performed to predict the fertility of a given stallion. This communication summarizes the approach to examination of a stallion for breeding soundness.
Privacy aware distributed computing of control strategy for smart grids — A separable function approach

In the coming era of smart grids, the merging of advanced information infrastructure and power system intrigues the concern of information exchanging and privacy. Here we investigate the optimal distributed control issue with information exchanging in a deregulated power system, in which all utility companies are competitors and collaborators at the same time. The objective is to design a distributed approximate controller that stabilizes the system load frequency through network without manifesting the original system parameters and states. To this end, we derive the existence of an upper bound for the approximation of separable functions, which extends the application of Leontief's Theorem. This proof is then applied to design a distributed control strategy in the context of load frequency control with the awareness of information privacy. Simulation demonstrates that the approximate control law obtained for a two-area system stabilizes the system with negligible sacrifice on the performance of control.
Abstract B25: Discovery of molecular probes inhibiting La:RNA interactions in cancer cells

Abstracts: AACR Special Conference on Translational Control of Cancer: A New Frontier in Cancer Biology and Therapy; October 27-30, 2016; San Francisco, CA The RNA-binding protein La is overexpressed in a number of tumor tissues and is proposed to support tumorigenesis via binding to mRNAs encoding tumor-promoting and anti-apoptotic factors to facilitate their translation. Our data suggest that those mRNAs might need La to be translated mainly in a cap-independent mechanism in cancer cells. Hence, small molecules able to block the binding of La to specific RNAs could represent a novel therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. In an attempt toward this approach we developed a high-throughput fluorescence polarization assay to screen small compound libraries for molecules inhibiting the binding of La to an RNA element derived from cyclin D1 mRNA. Herein we describe a robust fluorescence polarization assay and the validation of primary hits by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Using isothermal titration calorimetry we show that a compound binds to La and molecular modeling suggests an interaction between the compound and the RNA recognition motif of La. We have shown recently that La protects cells against cisplatin treatment by stimulating the protein synthesis of the anti-apoptotic factor Bcl2. Here we show by RNA immunoprecipitation experiments that one small compound specifically impairs the association of La with Bcl2 mRNA, reduces Bcl2 protein expression and sensitizes cells for cisplatin-induced cell death. Taken together, herein we report the development of a high-throughput fluorescence polarization assay to identify small compounds able to impair the binding of cancer-associated La to RNAs encoding tumor-promoting and anti-apoptotic factors in vitro and cancer cells. Citation Format: Gunhild Sommer, Alena Fedarovich, Venkatesh Kota, Yuri K. Peterson, Tilman Heise. Discovery of molecular probes inhibiting La:RNA interactions in cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Translational Control of Cancer: A New Frontier in Cancer Biology and Therapy; 2016 Oct 27-30; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(6 Suppl):Abstract nr B25.
Enhancement of CP-titanum wear resistance using a two-step CO2 laser-sustained plasma nitriding process

Abstract In this paper, a method of forming hard, wide-area, crack-free, and wear-resistant nitrided cases on commercially-pure titanium using a 3.5 kW CO2 laser-sustained plasma is described. This surface hardening method was comprised of two steps: (1) a laser-sustained nitrogen plasma was first used to nitride the titanium substrate; and (2) a laser-sustained argon plasma was then employed to remelt the nitrided layer deposited in the first step. Previous research using single laser trail experiments had shown that the (second) remelting step can eliminate cracks formed during the (first) nitriding step and homogenize the nitrided layer. In this work, the two-step nitriding-remelting process was extended to wider surface areas by depositing multiple overlapping trails at four different nitriding speeds and a constant remelting speed. The hardened layer was characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD), optical metallography, and hardness testing. Reciprocating ball-on-flat wear tests were conducted to assess the wear resistance of the nitrided case, with the wear scar being characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical profilometry. Crack-free, hard cases of depths up to 600 μm and average hardness values up to 641 ± 86 HV0.3 were observed. The LSP nitriding-remelting treatment was found to improve the wear resistance of the base metal (CP-Ti) by up to 80%.
Maternal Distraction During Breast- and Bottle Feeding Among WIC and non-WIC Mothers

Abstract Objective To explore the prevalence and correlates of maternal distraction during infant feeding within a sample of mothers enrolled or not in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC). Design Mothers kept diaries of their infants' feeding patterns. Participants Mothers (n = 75) with infants aged ≤6 months. Main Outcome Measures Within the diaries, mothers recorded what else, if anything, they did during the feeding. Mothers also completed questionnaires on demographics, feeding styles, and infant temperament and eating behaviors. Analysis Mothers' responses were coded into thematic categories. Feedings were classified as distracted when the mothers reported doing something other than feeding and/or interacting with the infant. Logistic regression was used to explore whether mothers exhibited different levels of distraction when breastfeeding (BF) vs bottle feeding. The researchers used multiple stepwise regression to explore associations between distracted feeding and characteristics of mothers and infants. Results Distractions were reported during 43% of feedings; 26% involved technological distractors. Mothers who were multiparous and perceived that their infants had greater appetites reported greater levels of any distraction during feeding. Mothers who were of racial/ethnic minorities, adhered to laissez faire feeding style, had younger infants, and perceived their infants to have lower food responsiveness and greater appetite reported greater levels of technological distraction. Being enrolled in WIC was not associated with mothers' levels of distracted feeding. Conclusions and Implications Mothers reported a wide variety of distractions during both BF and bottle feeding; higher levels of distraction were associated with characteristics of both mothers and infants. Further research is needed to understand whether and how maternal distraction affects feeding outcomes. Awareness of such distractions and their potential impact would be useful to practitioners working with pregnant and postpartum women.
Long-Run Volatility and Risk Around Mergers and Acquisitions

In this paper, we study the changes in volatility and risk of acquirers around mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and seek to understand the determinants of those changes. We find that there is a strong run-up in volatility and risk beginning four years before the merger. This pre-merger run-up is consistent with the view that M&As are a response to industry shocks as documented by Mitchell and Mulherin (1996). We find that for a period of about one year after the merger the cross-sectional average of the volatility measures (total, systematic and idiosyncratic) continue to increase. Beyond one year the systematic volatility and beta begin to decline but idiosyncratic volatility does not. The post-merger volatility pattern is consistent with the notion that the risk of integration of the acquirer and the target firms gets resolved over time. Interestingly, there is no difference between the volatility patterns of intra and inter industry mergers. Our findings have important implications for understanding several issues, including the announcement wealth effect of mergers, changes in the diversification discount, and the long-run underperformance of acquirers in M&A transactions.
The Role of Genetics in Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is an uncommon complication of pregnancy. Early case reports identified overlap between familial dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and PPCM, although the degree of overlap is largely unknown. Other evidence supporting a contribution from gene mutations in PPCM includes familial occurrence, genome-wide association studies, variable prevalence among different regions and ethnicities, and more recent investigations of panels of genes for mutations among women with PPCM. Murine models implicate the role of altered metabolism and increased free radical stress to the heart during pregnancy, which seems to be involved in the pathogenesis of this condition. Although the true incidence of genetic cardiomyopathy is not yet known among women with PPCM, there is substantial evidence demonstrating that at least 10–15% of affected women have a clear genetic contribution to their condition. With this in mind, family counseling, cascade phenotypic screening, and clinical genetic testing should be considered among women with PPCM.
Estimation-Theoretic Representation of Mutual Information

A fundamental relationship between information theory and estimation theory was recently unveiled for the Gaussian channel, relating the derivative of mutual information with the minimum mean-square error. This paper generalizes this fundamental link between information theory and estimation theory to arbitrary channels and in particular encompasses the discrete memoryless channel (DMC). In addition to the intrinsic theoretical interest of such a result, it naturally leads to an efficient numerical computation of mutual information for cases in which it was previously infeasible such as with LDPC codes.
Computing inter-encounter time distributions for multiple random walkers on graphs

For intermittently connected mobile networks such as sparsely-deployed vehicular networks, it is of great interest to characterize the distribution of encounter times. We consider a very general mobility model in which each device is assumed to be moving through a given graph following a general random walk with arbitrary transition probabilities. We consider first the pairwise inter-encounter time distribution for a pair of random walkers and present a recursive polynomial-time computation that yields the exact solution. We then consider the individual-to-any inter-encounter time (i.e., the time between contacts of a particular walker with any of the other walkers in the population). For this harder problem, we give an approximate computation that is also polynomial time. We validate the accuracy of the presented solutions using numerical simulations. We discuss how the model can be generalized to consider multiple populations.
PrPC expression and prion seeding activity in the alimentary tract and lymphoid tissue of deer.

The agent responsible for prion diseases is a misfolded form of a normal protein (PrPC). The prion hypothesis stipulates that PrPC must be present for the disease to manifest. Cervid populations across the world are infected with chronic wasting disease, a horizontally-transmissible prion disease that is likely spread via oral exposure to infectious prions (PrPCWD). Though PrPCWD has been identified in many tissues, there has been little effort to characterize the overall PrPC expression in cervids and its relationship to PrPCWD accumulation. We used immunohistochemistry (IHC), western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to describe PrPC expression in naive white-tailed deer. We used real-time, quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) to detect prion seeding activity in CWD-infected deer. We assessed tissues comprising the alimentary tract, alimentary-associated lymphoid tissue and systemic lymphoid tissue from 5 naive deer. PrPC was expressed in all tissues, though expression was often very low compared to the level in the CNS. IHC identified specific cell types wherein PrPC expression is very high. To compare the distribution of PrPC to PrPCWD, we examined 5 deer with advanced CWD infection. Using RT-QuIC, we detected prion seeding activity in all 21 tissues. In 3 subclinical deer sacrificed 4 months post-inoculation, we detected PrPCWD consistently in alimentary-associated lymphoid tissue, irregularly in alimentary tract tissues, and not at all in the brain. Contrary to our hypothesis that PrPC levels dictate prion accumulation, PrPC expression was higher in the lower gastrointestinal tissues than in the alimentary-associated lymphoid system and was higher in salivary glands than in the oropharyngeal lymphoid tissue. These data suggest that PrPC expression is not the sole driver of prion accumulation and that alimentary tract tissues accumulate prions before centrifugal spread from the brain occurs.
“Just When I Knew All of Life’s Answers, They Changed the Questions”: A Eudaimonist Perspective on Identity Flexibility During the Adult Years

Research on identity development has focused primarily on the stages of adolescence and emerging adulthood. The focus of this chapter is on identity development during the middle adult years (ages 35–50), with an emphasis on those adults who have had relative success in establishing a meaningful sense of personal identity during earlier developmental stages. The challenges of the middle adult years that threaten eudaimonic well-being involve all domains and may include job burnout, the loss of a romantic partner through divorce or death, difficulties in maintaining religious or political idealism, and generational differences in ethnic identity expression. In order to maintain or restore eudaimonic functioning, identity flexibility entails finding new outlets for current skills and values either along established or new types of endeavors, identifying and development of new talents, and/or resetting priorities and improving time management skills to promote goal attainment. The predictors of successful use of identity flexibility will also be considered.
Mood, body image, fear of kidney failure, life satisfaction, and decisional stability following living kidney donation: Findings from the KDOC study.

Prior studies demonstrate that most living kidney donors (LKDs) report no adverse psychosocial outcomes; however, changes in psychosocial functioning at the individual donor level have not been routinely captured. We studied psychosocial outcomes predonation and at 1, 6, 12, and 24 months postdonation in 193 LKDs and 20 healthy controls (HCs). There was minimal to no mood disturbance, body image concerns, fear of kidney failure, or life dissatisfaction, indicating no incremental changes in these outcomes over time and no significant differences between LKDs and HCs. The incidence of any new-onset adverse outcomes postdonation was as follows: mood disturbance (16%), fear of kidney failure (21%), body image concerns (13%), and life dissatisfaction (10%). Multivariable analyses demonstrated that LKDs with more mood disturbance symptoms, higher anxiety about future kidney health, low body image, and low life satisfaction prior to surgery were at highest risk of these same outcomes postdonation. It is important to note that some LKDs showed improvement in psychosocial functioning from pre- to postdonation. Findings support the balanced presentation of psychosocial risks to potential donors as well as the development of a donor registry to capture psychosocial outcomes beyond the mandatory 2-year follow-up period in the United States.
The Molecular Bases of Nerve Regeneration

Publisher Summary Nerve trunks are composed of bundles of axons organized by connective tissues into fascicles. Nonneural glial (Schwann) cells, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells are also present. Nerves can contain motor, sensory, or mixed fibers, depending on their target and related function. Motor fibers conduct electrical impulses at a more rapid rate than sensory fibers. The presence of myelin profoundly enhances the velocity of impulse transmission by allowing saltatory conduction. A myelinated fiber has a compact myelin sheath, a lipid and protein bilayer formed by a Schwann cell wrapped spirally around the axon. Individual Schwann cells meet along fibers at the nodes of Ranvier; here, small gaps in the myelin exist and the axon is surrounded only by the Schwann cell basal lamina. Small bundles of nonmyelinated axons can be encircled by a single Schwann cell, but no myelin is present.
Wrongful Death: Medical Malpractice and the Suicide of a Patient

Part II of The Forensic Examination will turn the focus toward education with using real-life examples of cases encountered in my practice. These mostly encompass topics that forensic psychiatrists are routinely hired to weigh in on. In this chapter, two cases will be presented that both involve what is referred to as “wrongful death,” in which a question of medical malpractice arose on the part of the psychiatrist providing care for a patient who ultimately committed suicide. The many nuances needed to address in a case like this will be tackled, as what may appear straightforward on the surface almost always proves to be much more complicated as the case unfolds. For instance, in these particular cases, we will be exploring suicide in what you may find to be a new context, in which standards of care, burdens of proof, and clinical assessments will interface while also covering aspects of how to conduct a psychological autopsy. Two separate cases will be presented in this chapter, one dealing with an outpatient psychiatric office visit and the other with a nonpsychiatric hospitalized patient, in the context of suicide. Medicolegal concepts will continue to be defined. We will often include the opposing expert witness’ opinion (when available) to better understand the overall context our reports frame and ultimately to garnish a feel for what we are to expect in practice. You should take particular note of the level of detail needed when describing material used in the process leading up to the report. At times using verbatim quotes from medical records can bolster a point being made to support our expert opinion, and at other times paraphrasing is a better option to use. The style in which the report is written is important (i.e., direct, and without challenging choice of words), and many pieces of the reports included are taken minimally altered from their original form, so as to retain as much authenticity as possible. The hope for the inclusion of these cases presented in this manner is for a narrative to take the place of the formal report and can ideally be used as the reader constructs their own forensic practices.
Renal Contrast on CT Myelography: Diagnostic Value in Patients with Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The significance of renal contrast on CT myelography is uncertain. This project examined different patient populations undergoing CT myelography for the presence of renal contrast to determine whether this finding is of diagnostic value in spontaneous intracranial hypotension. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four groups of patients were analyzed for renal contrast on CT myelography. The control group underwent CT myelography for reasons other than spontaneous intracranial hypotension (n = 47). Patients in study group 1 had spontaneous intracranial hypotension but CT myelography negative for dural CSF leak and CSF venous fistula (n = 83). Patients in study group 2 had spontaneous intracranial hypotension and CT myelography positive for dural CSF leak (n = 44). Patients in study group 3 had spontaneous intracranial hypotension and CT myelography suggestive of CSF venous fistula due to a hyperdense paraspinal vein (n = 17, eleven surgically confirmed). RESULTS: Renal contrast was present on the initial CT myelography in 0/47 patients in the control group, 10/83 patients in group one, 1/44 patients in group 2, and 7/17 patients in group 3. Renal contrast on initial CT myelography in patients with suspected or surgically confirmed CSF venous fistula was significantly more likely than in patients with a dural CSF leak (P = .0003). CONCLUSIONS: Renal contrast on initial CT myelography was seen only in patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension. This was more common in confirmed/suspected CSF venous fistulas compared with dural leaks. Early renal contrast in patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension should prompt scrutiny for a hyperdense paraspinal vein, and, if none is found, potentially advanced diagnostic studies.
Abstract TP563: White Matter Hyperintensities are Associated With Intracranial Internal Carotid Artery Calcifications in a Cohort of Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack

Introduction: Previous studies of the relationship between cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) lesions and carotid artery (CA) calcifications have yielded conflicting results. Hypothesis: We hypot...
Improving document representation by accumulating relevance feedback: the relevance feedback accumulation (rfa) algorithm

Document representation (indexing) techniques are dominated by variants of the term-frequency analysis approach, based on the assumption that the more occurrences a term has throughout a document the more important the term is in that document. Inherent drawbacks associated with this approach include: poor index quality, high document representation size and the word mismatch problem. To tackle these drawbacks, a document representation improvement method called the Relevance Feedback Accumulation (RFA) algorithm is presented. The algorithm provides a mechanism to continuously accumulate relevance assessments over time and across users. It also provides a document representation modification function, or document representation learning function that gradually improves the quality of the document representations. To improve document representations, the learning function uses a data mining measure called “support” for analyzing the accumulated relevance feedback. Evaluation is done by comparing the RFA algorithm to other four algorithms. The four measures used for evaluation are (a) average number of index terms per document; (b) the quality of the document representations assessed by human judges; (c) retrieval effectiveness; and (d) the quality of the document representation learning function. The evaluation results show that (1) the algorithm is able to substantially reduce the document representations size while maintaining retrieval effectiveness parameters; (2) the algorithm provides a smooth and steady document representation learning function; and (3) the algorithm improves the quality of the document representations. The RFA algorithm's approach is consistent with efficiency considerations that hold in real information retrieval systems. The major contribution made by this research is the design and implementation of a novel, simple, efficient, and scalable technique for document representation improvement.
Analysis on the change of coal consumption of low-pressure (low temperature) economizer unit

This paper discusses the calculation of coal consumption for power generation when the unit uses steam extraction as a low-pressure (low temperature) heat recovery source. The calculation of coal consumption for power generation when the unit uses low-pressure (warm) economizer as a low-pressure (low-temperature) heat source, the heat source is not recovered. At the same time, the coal consumption of power generation was compared, and finally the reduction of the heat rate of the turbine was discussed as a decrease in coal consumption.
Bible Study as Luminous Converting Encounter: Swiss Pietist Initiatives in 19th-Century French Canada:

This article examines the understanding and use of Scripture in the evangelistic endeavors of “awakened” pietistic francophone Swiss Protestant missionaries in 19th-century French Canada (after 186...
Data reduction prior to inference: Are there consequences of comparing groups using a t-test based on principal component scores?

Researchers often use a two-step process to analyze multivariate data. First, dimensionality is reduced using a technique such as principal component analysis, followed by a group comparison using a t -test or analysis of variance. Although this practice is often discouraged, the statistical properties of this procedure are not well understood, starting with the hypothesis being tested. We suggest that this approach might be considering two distinct hypotheses, one of which is a global test of no differences in the mean vectors, and the other being a focused test of a specific linear combination where the coefficients have been estimated from the data. We study the asymptotic properties of the two-sample t -statistic for these two scenarios, assuming a nonsparse setting. We show that the size of the global test agrees with the presumed level but that the test has poor power. In contrast, the size of the focused test can be arbitrarily distorted with certain mean and covariance structures. A simple method is provided to correct the size of the focused test. Data analyses and simulations are used to illustrate the results. Recommendations on the use of this two-step method and the related use of principal components for prediction are provided.
EMTF XML: New data interchange format and conversion tools for electromagnetic transfer functions

ABSTRACTInitial processing of magnetotelluric (MT) data collected at a site results in a small data file that defines the MT transfer functions (MT TFs) or variants at a discrete set of frequencies...
Family Perspectives on Newborn Screening for X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy in California

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is caused by gene variants in the ABCD1 gene, resulting in a varied clinical spectrum. Males with ALD present with symptoms ranging from isolated adrenal insufficiency and slowly progressive myelopathy to severe cerebral demyelination. Females who are heterozygous for ALD typically develop milder symptoms by late adulthood. Treatment for adrenal insufficiency associated with ALD exists in the form of cortisol, and cerebral ALD may be treated with stem cell transplantation. Currently, there is no treatment for myelopathy. Since 2013, at least 14 states have added ALD to their newborn screening (NBS) panel, including California in 2016. We examined the impact of a positive NBS result for ALD on families in California. Qualitative interviews were conducted with mothers of 10 children who were identified via NBS for ALD. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis by two coders. Mothers felt strongly that ALD should be included on California's NBS panel; however, many expressed concerns over their experience. Themes included stress at initial phone call, difficulty living with uncertainty, concerns regarding mental health support, and desire for more information on disease progression, treatments and clinical trials. Mothers exhibited diverse coping strategies, including relying on faith, information seeking, and maintaining hope. Mothers' recommendations for healthcare providers included: educating providers making the initial phone call, providing patient-friendly resources, offering information about ongoing research, and streamlining care coordination. Advice for parents of children with ALD focused on staying hopeful and appreciating the time they have with their children. As more states add ALD to their NBS panel, it is important to improve the current model to promote family resiliency and autonomy.
Deep Neural Network Reveals the World of Autism From a First-Person Perspective

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show atypical attention to social stimuli and aberrant gaze when viewing images of the physical world. However, it is unknown how they perceive the world from a first-person perspective. In this study, we used machine learning to classify photos taken in three different categories (people, indoors, and outdoors) as either having been taken by individuals with ASD or by peers without ASD. Our classifier effectively discriminated photos from all three categories, but was particularly successful at classifying photos of people with >80% accuracy. Importantly, visualization of our model revealed critical features that led to successful discrimination and showed that our model adopted a strategy similar to that of ASD experts. Furthermore, for the first time we showed that photos taken by individuals with ASD contained less salient objects, especially in the central visual field. Notably, our model outperformed classification of these photos by ASD experts. Together, we demonstrate an effective and novel method that is capable of discerning photos taken by individuals with ASD and revealing aberrant visual attention in ASD from a unique first-person perspective. Our method may in turn provide an objective measure for evaluations of individuals with ASD. LAY SUMMARY: People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate atypical visual attention to social stimuli. However, it remains largely unclear how they perceive the world from a first-person perspective. In this study, we employed a deep learning approach to analyze a unique dataset of photos taken by people with and without ASD. Our computer modeling was not only able to discern which photos were taken by individuals with ASD, outperforming ASD experts, but importantly, it revealed critical features that led to successful discrimination, revealing aspects of atypical visual attention in ASD from their first-person perspective.
Targeting ACE2–RBD Interaction as a Platform for COVID-19 Therapeutics: Development and Drug-Repurposing Screen of an AlphaLISA Proximity Assay

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is a pressing public health emergency garnering a rapid response from scientists across the globe. Host cell invasion is initiated through direct binding of the viral spike protein to the host receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Disrupting the spike protein-ACE2 interaction is a potential therapeutic target for treating COVID-19. We have developed a proximity-based AlphaLISA assay to measure the binding of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain (RBD) to ACE2. Utilizing this assay platform, a drug-repurposing screen against 3384 small-molecule drugs and preclinical compounds was carried out, yielding 25 high-quality primary hits, of which only corilagin was validated in cherry-picking. This established AlphaLISA RBD-ACE2 platform can facilitate evaluation of biologics or small molecules that can perturb this essential viral-host interaction to further the development of interventions to address the global health pandemic.
Interpretable Self-supervised Multi-task Learning for COVID-19 Information Retrieval and Extraction.

The rapidly evolving literature of COVID-19 related articles makes it challenging for NLP models to be effectively trained for information retrieval and extraction with the corresponding labeled data that follows the current distribution of the pandemic. On the other hand, due to the uncertainty of the situation, human experts' supervision would always be required to double check the decision making of these models highlighting the importance of interpretability. In the light of these challenges, this study proposes an interpretable self-supervised multi-task learning model to jointly and effectively tackle the tasks of information retrieval (IR) and extraction (IE) during the current emergency health crisis situation. Our results show that our model effectively leverage the multi-task and self-supervised learning to improve generalization, data efficiency and robustness to the ongoing dataset shift problem. Our model outperforms baselines in IE and IR tasks, respectively by micro-f score of 0.08 (LCA-F score of 0.05), and MAP of 0.05 on average. In IE the zero- and few-shot learning performances are on average 0.32 and 0.19 micro-f score higher than those of the baselines.
Integrating core concepts from the institutional analysis and development framework for the systematic analysis of policy designs: An illustration from the US National Organic Program regulation:

Public policies are structured by policy designs that communicate the key elements, linkages, and underlying logic through which policy objectives are to be realized. This paper operationalizes and...
Nucleation in alloys

Two aspects of nucleation in solid solutions are consi derede In Part I. a kinetic theory of nucleation and growth of precipitate particles in solid solutions is derived. This theory, which is applicable at low solute concentration and rather low solute-solute binding energy, is obtained by application of equilibrium conditions to the reversible chem­ ical rate equations of cluster formation. The equilibrium approximation permits sufficient cancellation of terms in the equations so that the remaining equations are integrable. Computer solutions for a variety of parameters of the kinetic equations were used to check the range of validity of the approximation necessary to obtain the analytic expression. The analytic expression describes the experimentally observed time dependence of the precipitation of carbon and nitrogen in e-lron. The analytic theory also predicts an average binding energy of precipitate atoms in a cluster which is in reasonable agreement with experimentally derived carboncarbon and nitrogen-nitrogen binding energies in iron. The size of the fundamental precipitate nucleus, as well as the distribution of sizes of precipitate particles, is also pre­ dicted, but no experiments exist to check these predictions. In Part II, experiments are described which demonstrate that neutron irradiation can introduce heterogeneous nuclea­ tion of precipitate particles in Al-Cu alloys. More than one
Performance comparison of GPU-accelerated particle flow and particle filters

This paper presents design, implementation, and performance evaluation results of a parallel particle filter (PF) and a particle flow filter (PFF) using a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) as a parallel computing environment to speedup the computation. Simulation results from a high dimensional nonlinear filtering problem show that, for the considered example, the parallel PFF implementation is significantly superior to the parallel PF implementation in both estimation accuracy and computational performance. It is demonstrated that using GPU can markedly accelerate both particle filters and particle flow filters through parallelization.
Rock joints: Theory, constitutive equations

Publisher Summary This chapter describes constitutive equations for rock joints that include phenomena, such as friction, dilatancy, damage of surface roughness, and the ability to treat arbitrary small deformation histories. The major features of the constitutive theories described in this chapter are that they are based on specific microstructural mechanisms that are easy to interpret, and the resulting constitutive equations are incremental and hence, easy to implement in analysis software based on techniques, such as the finite element method, the discrete element (rigid block) method, and the boundary element method. Because the equations are incremental, they are applicable to arbitrary small displacement sliding motions, which are likely to occur in a numerical simulation of a realistic problem. In addition, because the underlying microstructural mechanisms are easy to interpret, it is possible to develop simple and effective experimental protocols to determine the necessary constitutive law parameters.
Accounting for Estimation Optimality Criteria in Simulated Annealing

This paper presents both estimation and simulation as optimization problems that differ in the optimization criteria, minimization of a local expected loss for estimation and reproduction of global statistics (semivariogram, histogram) for simulation. An intermediate approach is proposed whereby an initial random image is gradually modified using simulated annealing so as to better match both local and global constraints. The relative weights of the different constraints in the objective function allow the user to strike a balance between smoothness of the estimated map and reproduction of spatial variability by simulated maps. The procedure is illustrated using a synthetic dataset. The proposed approach is shown to enhance the influence of observations on neighboring simulated values, hence the final realizations appear to be “better conditioned” to the sample information. It also produces maps that are more accurate (smaller prediction error) than stochastic simulation ignoring local constraints, but not as accurate as E-type estimation. Flow simulation results show that accounting for local constraints yields, on average, smaller errors in production forecast than a smooth estimated map or a simulated map that reproduces only the histogram and semivariogram. The approach thus reduces the risk associated with the use of a single realization for forecasting and planning.
Notes on Teaching Social Work as Unitary Practice

The author facilitated this interactional workshop at the Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education in 1971. As a member of the Curriculum Committee at Adelphi University’s School of Social Work she discusses the development of Adelphi’s first course in generic/generalist social work practice. The author goes on to present a conceptual scheme for analyzing a practice model and a course to teach it. Her “notes to myself”—her thoughts and reactions to the process in the workshop group—follow.
RhoB, Not RhoA, Represses the Transcription of the Transforming Growth Factor β Type II Receptor by a Mechanism Involving Activator Protein 1

The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) type I (T beta R-I) and type II (T beta R-II) receptors are responsible for transducing TGF-beta signals. We have previously shown that inhibition of farnesyltransferase activity results in an increase in T beta R-II expression, leading to enhanced TGF-beta binding, signaling, and inhibition of tumor cell growth, suggesting that a farnesylated protein(s) exerts a repressive effect on T beta R-II expression. Likely candidates are farnesylated proteins such as Ras and RhoB, which are both farnesylated and involved in cell growth control. Neither a dominant negative Ha-Ras, constitutively activated Ha-Ras, or a pharmacological inhibitor of MEK1 affected T beta R-II transcription. However, ectopic expression of RhoB, but not the closely related family member RhoA, resulted in a 5-fold decrease of T beta R-II promoter activity. Furthermore, ectopic expression of RhoB, but not RhoA, resulted in a significant decrease of T beta R-II protein expression and resistance of tumor cells to TGF-beta-mediated cell growth inhibition. Deletion analysis of the T beta R-II promoter identified a RhoB-responsive region, and mutational analysis of this region revealed that a site for the transcription factor activator protein 1 (AP1) is critical for RhoB-mediated repression of T beta R-II transcription. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays clearly showed that the binding of AP1 to its DNA-binding site is strongly inhibited by RhoB. Consequently, transcription assays using an AP1 reporter showed that AP1-mediated transcription is down-regulated by RhoB. Altogether, these results identify a mechanism by which RhoB antagonizes TGF-beta action through transcriptional down-regulation of AP1 in T beta R-II promoter.
Genetically Alterable Transport of Amethopterin in Diplococcus pneumoniae II. Impairment of the System Associated with Various Mutant Genotypes

Six mutations determining resistance to amethopterin were examined for their effects on the active transport of the drug. In strains bearing each of the mutations and exhibiting resistance levels varying from 10- to 100-fold, transport at limiting concentrations of H 3 -amethopterin was reduced from 2.5 to 10 times the rate characteristic of the wild type. Kinetic analysis of transport showed an increase in the value for K m of the system in all of the mutants. Values for the wild-type system were 0.9 × 10 −6 m and for the mutants varied between 2.5 × 10 −6 m and 9.0 × 10 −6 m. Values for V max were approximately the same for each system. The mutant transport systems also exhibited a shift in p H optimum from near 6.0 (wild-type) to below 5.0. The results were interpreted as an alteration in the binding properties of the permease in the mutant strains.