cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estimation of hydrodynamic forces and motion of ships with steady forward speed

The growing number of large ships demands predicting their optimum performance with respect to travel time, fuel efficiency and the safety of cargo and personnel in specified shipping routes. This can be achieved using efficient and easy to use numerical tools capable of predicting hydrodynamic loads on floating vessels with steady forward speed and solving their motion response in various wave conditions. A three-dimensional potential theory based code using the Green function method is developed with consideration of forward speed effects. The generalized coordinate system is used to allow motion response calculations with respect to any desired body coordinate system and a common quadrilateral meshing format. The formulation and calculation of added mass and damping coefficients at zero and infinite frequency in forward speed case has been also provided. A number of structures including simple geometries and full ship hull forms have been analyzed and validated against published theoretical, numerical and experimental results. The comparison results are found to be in excellent agreement. The theoretical formulation, numerical implementation and result comparisons are presented here.
Epidemiological analysis for bacillary dysentery in Shinjingshan district of Beijing during 2004～2010

Objective To explore epidemiological features of bacillary dysentery in Shijingshan district,Beijing from 2004 to 2010 and study its patterns of occurrence to provide scientific evidence in policy - making for its control and prevention inthe future. Methods Data of clinically diagnosed cases of bacillary dysentery during 2004 ～ 2010 in Shinjingshan were described and analyzed. Fifty strains of Shigella isolated during 2008 ～ 2010 there were serotyped. Results There were 7,726 clinical cases during 2004 ～ 2010 and one death in 2004 in Shijinshan,Beijing,with an average annual incidence rate of 214. 04 per 100,000. Incidence of bacillary dysentery presented a clearly seasonal pattern,with 4,980 cases occurred in June to September accounting for 64. 46 percent of all the cases. More cases occurred at age groups of 0 ～ 1,1 ～ 2,2 ～ 3 and over 80 years,and at groups of children living in scattered way,high school students,civil servants and staff. Twenty-six of 50 strains of Shigella were identified as Shigella sonnei (52% ),22 as Shigella flexneri (44% ),and two as Shigella dysenteriae (4% ). Fifteen of 22 strains of Shigella flexneri were serotyped as Shigella flexneri type 2 (68. 2% ). Conclusion Incidence of bacillary dysentery, mainly caused by Shigella sonnei and Shigella flexneri,presents a gradually decreasing trend during the past seven years in Shijinghsan,but it still listed in the top three of notifiable communicable diseases of the district. More attention in its prevention and control should be paid to some key population,such as children aged 0 ～ 3,seniors aged over 80 years,high school students,civil servants and staff. The summer and autumn are the high seasons for bacillary dysentery occurrence, so comprehensive preventative measures are needed for these high seasons.
Tensor subspace analysis for spatial-spectral classification of hyperspectral data

Remotely sensed data fusion aims to integrate multi-source information generated from diﬀerent perspectives, acquired with diﬀerent sensors or captured at diﬀerent times in order to produce fused data that contains more information than one individual data source. Recently, extended morphological attribute proﬁles (EMAPs) were proposed to embed contextual information, such as texture, shape, size and etc., into a high dimensional feature space as an alternative data source to hyperspectral image (HSI). Although EMAPs provide greater capabilities in modeling both spatial and spectral information, they lead to an increase in the dimensionality of the extracted features. Conventionally, a data point in high dimensional feature space is represented by a vector. For HSI, this data representation has one obvious shortcoming in that only spectral knowledge is utilized without contextual relationship being exploited. Tensors provide a natural representation for HSI data by incorporating both spatial neighborhood awareness and spectral information. Besides, tensors can be conveniently incorporated into a superpixel-based HSI image processing framework. In our paper, three tensor-based dimensionality reduction (DR) approaches were generalized for high dimensional image with promising results reported. Among the tensor-based DR approaches, the Tensor Locality Preserving Projection (TLPP) algorithm utilized graph Laplacian to model the pairwise relationship among the tensor data points. It also demonstrated excellent performance for both pixel-wise and superpixel-wise classiﬁcation on Pavia University dataset.
Determination of renal plasma flow using the gamma scintillation camera

An experimental technique has been devised to determine effective renal plasma flow, using the gamma scintillation camera. This involves a computer analysis of the first 3 min of the renal histogram and does not require serum or urine collections. This technique is not sufficiently accurate to provide an exact value of plasma flow, but it can be used to provide an approximate value and hence used as a screening tool.
The Role of the Host Immune Response in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine-based approaches commonly employ a combination of scaffolds, cells, and bioactive molecules. Regardless of the approach used for each clinical application, the objective is the same; specifically, the restoration of structure and function. Similarly, regardless of which strategy is selected, the response of the host to the implanted construct will dictate the success or failure of the eventual outcome. It is unlikely that the host response can be avoided and, therefore, designs which incorporate an in-depth understanding of the host immune response together with other requisite criteria will likely meet with improved success and downstream functionality. The present chapter briefly reviews the default mechanisms of wound healing, the foreign body response to non-degradable permanent implants, and the host response to various strategies employed within tissue-engineered constructs. Particular emphasis is placed upon newly defined paradigms surrounding the host macrophage response.
Abstract 1378: Generating quality control reference standards to evaluate ultrasensitive variant detection

Introduction: Ultrasensitive point mutation detection can facilitate minimal residual disease detection, early detection of cancer, and therapeutic monitoring of cancer patients. However, nearly identical mutant and wildtype molecules exhibit crosstalk with most technologies, thus producing high background levels. To evaluate technologies against each other for accurate ultrasensitive point mutation detection it is crucial to supply laboratories with reference samples of various dilutions. Methods: We tested a series of sample mixes with digital-droplet PCR and next generation sequencing. Using linearity and accuracy as the gold standard, we empirically introduced two corrections to generate improved quality control reagents. Baseline variant allele frequency (VAF) in the parental cell line was used to correct for copy number variation of variant, while haplotype counting was used to correct technical errors (cell counting and pipetting). Results: Correlation between the level of dilution and the measured VAF was relatively good (R2 = 0.80) when measured using ddPCR. However, correcting for the parental VAFs substantially improved the correlation (R2 = 0.97). In contrast, correlation of the cell count dilution and the measured VAF, as determined by next generation sequencing (AmpliSeq), was initially relatively poor (R2 = 0.63). However, substantial improvement in correlation was achieved by correcting for the parental VAFs (R2 = 0.94). In addition, correcting by haplotype counting alone only slightly improved accuracy in both technologies (ddPCR, from R2 = 0.80 to R2 = 0.81; AmpliSeq, from R2 = 0.63 to R2 = 0.64). Furthermore, correcting for both factors resulted in the best correlation for ddPCR-generated data (R2 = 0.99); however, introducing both corrections for AmpliSeq data did not prove more beneficial than correcting for parental VAFs alone (both corrections, R2 = 0.94 compared to parental VAF correction only, R2 = 0.94). Conclusions: Validation of ultrasensitive variant detection requires standardized reference samples. These will also permit assessing various ultrasensitive detection technologies against one another. Citation Format: Marija Debeljak, Lisa Haley, Derek A. Anderson, Emily M. Adams, Masaya Suenaga, Katie Beierl, Ming-Tseh Lin, Michael Goggins, Christopher D. Gocke, James R. Eshleman. Generating quality control reference standards to evaluate ultrasensitive variant detection. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1378.
Genetics of Type 2 Diabetes: From Candidate Genes to Genome-Wide Association Analysis

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is a heterogeneous and complex metabolic disease with a multifactorial etiology under the influence of both the genetic and environmental factors.1 The most prominent of these environmental factors is excess calorie intake and sedentary lifestyle, leading to obesity, a potent risk factor for T2D. Indeed, the recent epidemic of type 2 diabetes can be accounted for, in large part, to recent changes in these or other environmental factors; our genes have not changed appreciably over the past few decades.2 Emerging evidence indicates that like other age-related complex diseases, there are many T2D susceptibility gene variants, each relatively common in the population, each contributing a modest effect on disease risk.3
Statin use and risk of breast cancer recurrence in a prospective cohort study.

B214 Statins (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A [HMG-CoA] inhibitors) are widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering agents that have been shown in large randomized controlled trials to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Laboratory studies have demonstrated the ability of statins to induce apoptosis and inhibit tumor growth, particularly in colorectal and breast cancer models. However, observational studies have yielded mixed results about the possible chemopreventive effects of statins on breast cancer risk. With over two million breast cancer survivors in the US today, no studies to date have evaluated the effect of statins on breast cancer survivorship. We examined the association between any statin use (yes vs. no and duration) and breast cancer recurrence in a prospective cohort of 1944 early stage breast cancer survivors participating in the Life After Cancer Epidemiology (LACE) Study. Women who were diagnosed from 1997 to 2000 and identified from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) Cancer Registry entered the cohort on average 2 years post-diagnosis. Information on statin and nonstatin lipid-lowering agents such as generic name, date dispensed, and days supply were obtained from the KPNC pharmacy database while relevant demographic and tumor characteristic information was collected from a mailed questionnaire and the KPNC Cancer Registry, respectively. Health outcomes were ascertained every 6 months by mailed questionnaire and verified by medical record. Recurrence events included local, regional, and distant disease, new contralateral breast cancers, and breast cancer deaths if no previous recurrence was recorded. A total of 217 breast recurrences were confirmed as of September 14, 2006. Delayed entry Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), adjusting for age, cancer stage, tamoxifen treatment, race, and body mass index. Person-years were calculated for each subject, ranging from date of cohort entry to date of first confirmed cancer recurrence event, date of non-breast cancer death, drop-out date, or September 14, 2006, whichever occurred first. Any use of statins was associated with a statistically significant decreased risk of breast cancer recurrence (RR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.34-0.74). Among the statins, lovastatin was primarily prescribed (89%) and was indicative of a statistically significant reduced risk (RR = 0.52 (0.35-0.78). A significant trend in risk by increasing duration of statin use was apparent (p
Influence of exposure differences on city-to-city heterogeneity in PM2.5-mortality associations in US cities.

Multi-city population-based epidemiological studies have observed heterogeneity between city-specific fine particulate matter (PM2.5)-mortality effect estimates. These studies typically use ambient monitoring data as a surrogate for exposure leading to potential exposure misclassification. The level of exposure misclassification can differ by city affecting the observed health effect estimate. The objective of this analysis is to evaluate whether previously developed residential infiltration-based city clusters can explain city-to-city heterogeneity in PM2.5 mortality risk estimates. In a prior paper 94 cities were clustered based on residential infiltration factors (e.g. home age/size, prevalence of air conditioning (AC)), resulting in 5 clusters. For this analysis, the association between PM2.5 and all-cause mortality was first determined in 77 cities across the United States for 2001–2005. Next, a second stage analysis was conducted evaluating the influence of cluster assignment on heterogeneity in the risk estimates. Associations between a 2-day (lag 0–1 days) moving average of PM2.5 concentrations and non-accidental mortality were determined for each city. Estimated effects ranged from −3.2 to 5.1% with a pooled estimate of 0.33% (95% CI: 0.13, 0.53) increase in mortality per 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5. The second stage analysis determined that cluster assignment was marginally significant in explaining the city-to-city heterogeneity. The health effects estimates in cities with older, smaller homes with less AC (Cluster 1) and cities with newer, smaller homes with a large prevalence of AC (Cluster 3) were significantly lower than the cluster consisting of cities with older, larger homes with a small percentage of AC. This is the first study that attempted to examine whether multiple exposure factors could explain the heterogeneity in PM2.5-mortality associations. The results of this study were found to explain a small portion (6%) of this heterogeneity.
The danger of relying on the interpretation of p-values in single studies: Irreproducibility of results from clinical studies

Abstract P-values are a common component and outcome measure in most every published observational or randomized clinical trial. However, junior faculty, fellows, and residents have little or no training in statistics and are forced to rely on the interpretation of results based solely on the authors or secondary sources. This education gap applies to an even larger audience including many physicians, researchers, journalists, and policy makers. That is a dangerous approach. Statistical analysis of data often involves the calculation and reporting of the p-value as statistically significant or not, without much further thought. But p-values are highly un-replicable and their definition is not directly associated with reproducibility. Findings from clinical studies are not valid if they cannot be reproduced. Although other methodological issues relate to reproducibility, such as statistical power to reproduce an effect, the p-value is arguably at the root of the problem given its wide variability from study to study. Many common misinterpretations and misuses of the p-value are practiced. It is essential to bring more awareness to this critical issue by providing a deeper educational understanding of the p-value to the proper interpretation of study results. Recognizing this need the American Statistical Association (ASA) recently published its first ever policy statement concerning their proper use and interpretation of p-values for scientists and researchers. This policy statement addresses the misguided practice of interpreting study results based solely on the p-value, given that it is often irreproducible in subsequent, similar studies. To further educate and illustrate this issue we investigated the irreproducibility of the p-value by using simulation software and results reported from a published randomized control trial. We show that the probability of attaining another statistically significant p-value varied quite widely on replication. We also show that power alone determines the distribution of p, and will vary with sample size and effect size. The percentage of replication means which fell within the original confidence interval (CI) from each replicated experiment revealed that the 95% CI included only 85.4% of future replication means. In conclusion, p-values interpreted solely by themselves, can be misleading if interpreted devoid of context potentially leading to biased inferences from clinical studies.
m-tables: Representing Missing Data

Representation systems have been widely used to capture different forms of incomplete data in various settings. However, existing representation systems are not expressive enough to handle the more complex scenarios of missing data that can occur in practice: these could vary from missing attribute values, missing a known number of tuples, or even missing an unknown number of tuples. In this work, we propose a new representation system called m-tables, that can represent many different types of missing data. We show that m-tables form a closed, complete and strong representation system under both set and bag semantics and are strictly more expressive than conditional tables under both the closed and open world assumptions. We further study the complexity of computing certain and possible answers in m-tables. Finally, we discuss how to "interpret" m-tables through a novel labeling scheme that marks a type of generalized tuples as certain or possible.
Maintenance Outsourcing Contracts Based on Bargaining Theory

We address a maintenance outsourcing problem where the owner of a piece of critical equipment plans on outsourcing preventive and failure replacement services to a service agent. The owner (i.e., customer) and the agent negotiate on the maintenance policy and spare part ordering strategy in the service contract. We first provide the classical Nash bargaining solution to the problem and analytically determine the optimal threat values the decision makers can use in negotiation. We then extend the model and show how the decision makers can increase their profits through a price discount scheme, which requires the total profit to be achieved at the maximum level. The total maximum profit is analytically determined, and the effects of the price discount scheme and threats on the individual and total profits are illustrated through a numerical study.
An Integrative Review of Social Determinants of Health Assessment and Screening Tools Used in Pediatrics

Abstract Problem Social and physical contexts which make up social determinants of health (SDOH) have tremendous impacts on youth development, health and well-being. Despite knowledge and evidence of these impacts, few pediatric SDOH screening tools are known. The purpose of this review was to identify and evaluate available pediatric SDOH screening tools. Eligibility Criteria Articles were limited to studies in the English language, with pediatric populations, conducted in the United States, and were peer-reviewed, primary studies. Sample Search of 3 databases (PsychInfo, CINAHL and PubMed) yielded 499 articles, 486 were excluded. Total of 13 articles were appraised and synthesized using the SDOH framework outlined by Healthy People 2020. Results Thirteen articles relevant to the assessment of SDOH domains were evaluated. Majority of studies were limited in both the number of SDOH domains screened and the depth of screening. Tools were heterogeneous in methods used to assess SDOH risks and few were validated. Limited number of studies included youth or families in the initial development of tools. Conclusions Despite growing recognition across healthcare that SDOH greatly influence pediatric health risks, management and outcomes, there is a dearth of available high quality, multidimensional, comprehensive screening tools for pediatric care professionals. Implications This review emphasizes the need for the continued development of effective, comprehensive and practical tools for assessing pediatric SDOH risk factors. Pediatric nursing care includes the assessment of the youth and family context to effectively evaluate resource needs. Pediatric nurses are well poised to address this knowledge and resource gap.
Predicting Organ-Specific Risk Interactions between Radiation and Chemotherapy in Secondary Cancer Survivors.

Several studies have shown that pediatric patients have an increased risk of developing a secondary malignancy several decades after treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In this work, we use a biologically motivated mathematical formalism to estimate the relative risks of breast, lung and thyroid cancers in childhood cancer survivors due to concurrent therapy regimen. This model specifically includes possible organ-specific interaction between radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The model predicts relative risks for developing secondary cancers after chemotherapy in breast, lung and thyroid tissues, and compared with the epidemiological data. For a concurrent therapy protocol, our model predicted relative risks of 3.2, 9.3, 4.5 as compared to the clinical data, i.e., 1.4, 8.0, 2.3 for secondary breast, lung and thyroid cancer risks, respectively. The extracted chemotherapy mutation induction rates for breast, lung and thyroid are 10 −9 , 0.5 × 10 −6 , 0.9 × 10 −7 respectively. We found that there exists no synergistic interaction between radiation and chemotherapy for neither mutation induction nor cell kill in lung tissue, but there is an interaction in cell kill for the breast and thyroid organs. These findings help understand the risks of current clinical protocols and might provide rational guidance to develop future multi-modality treatment protocols to minimize secondary cancer risks.
Analysis of material selection on dielectric metasurface performance

Dielectric metasurfaces are ultra-thin devices that can shape optical wavefronts with extreme control. While an assortment of materials possessing a wide range of dielectric constants have been proposed and implemented, the minimum dielectric contrast required for metasurfaces to achieve high-efficiency performance, for a given device function and feature size constraint, is unclear. In this Article, we examine the impact of dielectric material selection on metasurface efficiency at optical frequencies. As a model system, we design transmissive, single-layer periodic metasurfaces (i.e., metagratings) using topology optimization, and we sweep device thickness and light deflection angle for differing material types. We find that for modest deflection angles below 40 degrees, materials with relatively low dielectric constants near 4 can be used to produce metagratings with efficiencies over 80%. However, ultra-high-efficiency devices designed for large deflection angles and multiple functions require materials with high dielectric constants comparable to silicon. We also identify, for all materials, a minimum device thickness required for optimal metagrating performance that scales inversely with dielectric constant. Our work presents materials selection guidelines for high-performance metasurfaces operating at visible and infrared wavelengths.
Reassessing “Pax Chaco”

This chapter will summarize the data collected on the human skeletal remains looking at evidence of dietary stress, disease, and trauma by site and mortuary context. What do the bodies reveal about the role of Chaco Canyon in the region? The goal was to assess if people were healthy and happy during the Chaco Phenomenon or there were indications of social inequality and violence. This chapter also demonstrates how a theory-centered bioarchaeological approach can provide insight into how an individual’s lived experience changed with the development of the “Chaco Phenomenon” during the late Pueblo I through the early Pueblo III period. As mentioned in Chap. 1, the major objective of this study was to investigate how complexity led to a system of social control in the ancient Southwest during the Chaco Phenomenon (c. AD 850–1300).
Oncogenic Epstein-Barr virus recruits Nm23-H1 to regulate chromatin modifiers.

In cancer progression, metastasis is a major cause of poor survival of patients and can be targeted for therapeutic interventions. The first discovered metastatic-suppressor Nm23-H1 possesses nucleoside diphosphate kinase, histidine kinase, and DNase activity as a broad-spectrum enzyme. Recent advances in cancer metastasis have opened new ways for the development of therapeutic molecular approaches. In this review, we provide a summary of the current understanding of Nm23/NDPKs in the context of viral oncogenesis. We also focused on Nm23-H1-mediated cellular events with an emphasis on chromatin modifications. How Nm23-H1 modulates the activities of chromatin modifiers through interaction with Epstein–Barr virus-encoded oncogenic antigens and related crosstalks are discussed in the context of other oncogenic viruses. We also described the current understanding of the cellular and viral interactions of Nm23-H1 and their reference to transcription regulation and metastasis. Further, we summarized the recent therapeutic approaches targeting Nm23 and its potential links to pathways that can be exploited by oncogenic viruses.
A Health-related quality of life and activities of daily living of Thai elderly people in Pathumthani Social Welfare Development Center for Older Persons

Background: Currently, Thailand is an ageing society. An increase of age related to changes of physical and physiology. These changes lead to body degradation that affects a health-related quality of life and activities of daily living. Objective: To study a health-related quality of life and activities of daily living in elderly at Pathumthani Social Welfare Development Center for older persons. Materials and methods: Using information form, Thai (Thailand) EQ-5D-5L paper version and Barthel Activities of Daily Living Index: Barthel ADL Index (Thai version). Data were analyzed in term of descriptive statistics and presented in form of frequency, percentage, average and standard deviation. Most of participants joined activities with the center. Most of participants had no problems regarding health-related quality of life in mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain or discomfort, and anxiety or depression. Furthermore, both male and female participants had an average EQ-VAS in good and moderate levels, respectively. All participants were independent to do their activities of daily living. Conclusion: Most of participants had no problems in health-related quality of life, had an EQ-VAS in moderate to good level and were independent to do their activities of daily living that were resulted from participating activities in the center. Therefore, the elderly should be encouraged to participate in appropriate activities to promote their health-related quality of life and ability to perform their activities of daily living.
Abstract 18983: Complex Left Atrial Appendage Morphology Increases Risk of Cryptogenic Ischemic Stroke

Introduction: A considerable proportion of embolic strokes are currently classified as being cryptogenic. Despite long term monitoring only a minority have been shown to have atrial fibrillation (A...
Framework for Infectious Disease Analysis: A comprehensive and integrative multi-modeling approach to disease prediction and management:

The impact of infectious disease on human populations is a function of many factors including environmental conditions, vector dynamics, transmission mechanics, social and cultural behaviors, and public policy. A comprehensive framework for disease management must fully connect the complete disease lifecycle, including emergence from reservoir populations, zoonotic vector transmission, and impact on human societies. The Framework for Infectious Disease Analysis is a software environment and conceptual architecture for data integration, situational awareness, visualization, prediction, and intervention assessment. Framework for Infectious Disease Analysis automatically collects biosurveillance data using natural language processing, integrates structured and unstructured data from multiple sources, applies advanced machine learning, and uses multi-modeling for analyzing disease dynamics and testing interventions in complex, heterogeneous populations. In the illustrative case studies, natural language processing from social media, news feeds, and websites was used for information extraction, biosurveillance, and situation awareness. Classification machine learning algorithms (support vector machines, random forests, and boosting) were used for disease predictions.
A Biological Theory of Death: Characterization, Justification, and Implications

John P. Lizza has long been a major figure in the scholarly literature on criteria for death. His searching and penetrating critiques of the dominant biological paradigm, and his defense of a theory of death of the person as a psychophysical entity, have both significantly advanced the literature. In this special issue, Lizza reinforces his critiques of a strictly biological approach. In my commentary, I take up Lizza’s challenge regarding a biological concept of death. He is certainly right to point out that science is not value-free; however, this does not imply that there cannot be a characterization of biological death that can be shown to be superior to other concepts. After characterizing and justifying such a theory of biological death, I show that patients who meet the diagnostic criteria for brain death are unequivocally biologically alive. However, with respect to concepts of personhood and related ideas (as opposed to biology), I urge the acceptance of a pluralism of such concepts for matters of public policy.
The Genetic Complexity of Alcohol Drinking in Rodents

This chapter first discusses the alcohol-drinking phenotypes most commonly used in rodent genetic studies. The emphasis is on the complexity of the phenotypic spaces encompassed by the drinking assays (many of which are amalgamations of multiple approaches). It then reviews the evidence for genetic contributions to those drinking traits. For several of them, there is unequivocal evidence for genetic contributions to individual differences in drinking, and for one of them, two-bottle preference drinking, there are voluminous data. Finally, it discusses the genetic singularity of each trait versus what appear to be pleiotropic genetic influences (those in which one or more genes influence multiple traits related to drinking). Sorting out this genetic complexity is difficult because genetic information is sparse for many drinking-related behaviors, and many procedures are used in combination with others.
Boundary Theory for Superdiffusions

Connections between diffusion processes and linear PDE involving second order uniformly elliptic operators L are known for a long time. Superdiffusions are related, in a similar way, to equations involving semi-linear differential operators Lu — ψ(u).
Optical spectroscopy study of organic-phase lanthanide complexes in the TALSPEAK separations process.

Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy and Fourier transform IR spectroscopy have been applied to characterize the coordination environment of lipophilic complexes of Eu3+ with bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (HDEHP) and (2-ethylhexyl)phosphonic acid mono(2-ethylhexyl) ester (HEH[EHP]) in 1,4-diisopropylbenzene (DIPB). The primary focus is on understanding the role of lactate (HL) in lanthanide partitioning into DIPB solutions of HDEHP or HEH[EHP] as it is employed in the TALSPEAK solvent extraction process for lanthanide separations from trivalent actinides. The broader purpose of this study is to characterize the changes that can occur in the coordination environment of lanthanide ions as metal-ion concentrations increase in nonpolar media. The optical spectroscopy studies reported here complement an earlier investigation of similar solutions using NMR spectroscopy and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Emission spectra of Eu3+ complexes with HDEHP/HEH[EHP] demonstrate that, as long as the Eu3...
Opiate Withdrawal in the Fetal Rat: A Behavioral Profile

Offspring of women exposed to opiate drugs such as heroin and methadone during pregnancy have a high incidence of morbidity and mortality. Infants also show opiate withdrawal. In this study, we examined the behavioral effects of precipitated withdrawal in morphine-dependent fetal rats at gestational day (GD) 20. The dam was implanted on GD 14 with a pellet containing 75.0 mg of morphine. On GD 20, the dam underwent chemoyelotomy at L1/L2. The uterine horns were externalized and four subject fetuses were selected for behavioral observation, two from each uterine horn. The fetus was then injected subcutaneously with either saline or naltrexone (1.0 mg/kg) and the behaviors of the fetus recorded every 15 sec for 20 min. The results show that naltrexone injected fetuses that had been chronically exposed to morphine demonstrated increased limb and mouth movements, face wiping, and body curls, and spent less time quiet as compared with control fetuses. These results indicate that a morphine withdrawal-like syndrome occurs in the fetal rat.
Techniques in Protein Methylation

Proteins can be methylated on the side-chain nitrogens of arginine and lysine residues or on carboxy-termini. Protein methylation is a way of subtly changing the primary sequence of a peptide so that it can encode more information. This common posttranslational modification is implicated in the regulation of a variety of processes including protein trafficking, transcription and protein-protein interactions. In this chapter, we will use the arginine methyltransferases to illustrate different approaches that have been developed to assess protein methylation. Both in vivo and in vitro methylation techniques are described, and the use of small molecule inhibitors of protein methylation will be demonstrated.
Geometry of Definable Sets

In the previous chapter we saw examples of mathematical structures that are simple enough to allow a complete analysis of the parametrically definable subsets of their domains. Those structures are of some interest, but the real objects of study in mathematics are richer structures such as \(({\mathbb {Q}},+,\cdot )\) or \(({\mathbb {R}},+,\cdot )\). To talk about them we first need to take a closer look into their definable sets. Definable sets in each structure form a geometry in which the operations on sets are unions, intersections, complements, Cartesian products, and projections from higher to lower dimensions. We will see how those operations correspond in a natural way to Boolean connectives and quantifiers, and how the name “geometry” is justified when it is applied to sets definable in the field of real numbers. The last two sections are devoted to a discussion of the negative solution to Hilbert’s 10th problem.
Evidence Versus Practice in Early Drain Removal After Pancreatectomy.

Abstract Background Early drain removal when postoperative day (POD) one drain fluid amylase (DFA) was ≤5000 U/L reduced complications in a previous randomized controlled trial. We hypothesized that most surgeons continue to remove drains late and this is associated with inferior outcomes. Methods We assessed the practice of surgeons in a prospectively maintained pancreas surgery registry to determine the association between timing of drain removal with demographics, comorbidities, and complications. We selected patients with POD1 DFA ≤5000 U/L and excluded those without drains, and subjects without data on POD1 DFA or timing of drain removal. Early drain removal was defined as ≤ POD5. Results Two hundred and forty four patients met inclusion criteria. Only 90 (37%) had drains removed early. Estimated blood loss was greater in the late removal group (190 mL versus 100 mL, P = 0.005) and pathological findings associated with soft gland texture were more frequent (97 [63%] versus 35 [39%], P Conclusions Despite level one data suggesting improved outcomes with early removal when POD1 DFA is ≤ 5000 U/L, experienced pancreas surgeons more frequently removed drains late. This practice was associated with known risk factors (estimated blood loss, soft pancreas) and may be associated with inferior outcomes suggesting potential for improvement.
Aging is just a state of marrow

Aging induces proliferation of bone marrow progenitor cells and disseminated tumor cells, leading to therapeutic resistance and bone metastasis.
Classifying Hate Speech Using a Two-Layer Model

Social media and other online sites are being increasingly scrutinized as platforms for cyberbullying and hate speech. Many machine learning algorithms, such as support vector machines, have been a...
Sumud and Food: Remembering Palestine Through Cuisine in Chile

For Palestinians in diaspora, memory establishes and validates national consciousness and embodies the ongoing struggles for Palestinian legitimacy on a global scale. Within this community, cuisine and the methods of its production are an essential medium for the retention of cultural knowledge. This paper examines the role of food in the experience of Palestinian collective memory in the Chilean diaspora through sensory ethnography of restaurants and home cooking, in addition to interviews with Palestinian chefs, storeowners, and local residents living in the Chilean towns of La Calera and Quillota. Based on this research, I suggest that the continued reproduction of Palestinian cuisine in Chile simultaneously constitutes an engagement with the local context and a form of diasporic sumud (steadfastness)—a long-term and long-distance connection to Palestine and a quotidian resistance to symbolic erasure. Memory as resistance occurs in the diaspora both through the practice of diasporization itself and the reproduction of Palestinian food culture in the private and public sphere, the intergenerational exchange of traditions and memory, and the voicing of the Palestinian cause within the Chilean context.
Independent Generation and Reactivity of 2′-Deoxyguanosin-N1-yl Radical

2'-Deoxyguanosin-N1-yl radical (dG(N1-H)•) is the thermodynamically favored one-electron oxidation product of 2'-deoxyguanosine (dG), the most readily oxidized native nucleoside. dG(N1-H)• is produced by the formal dehydration of a hydroxyl radical adduct of dG as well as by deprotonation of the corresponding radical cation. dG(N1-H)• were formed as a result of the indirect and direct effects of ionizing radiation, among other DNA damaging agents. dG(N1-H)• was generated photochemically (λmax = 350 nm) from an N-aryloxy-naphthalimide precursor (3). The quantum yield for photochemical conversion of 3 is ∼0.03 and decreases significantly in the presence O2, suggesting that bond scission occurs from a triplet excited state. dG is formed quantitatively in the presence of excess β-mercaptoethanol. In the absence of a reducing agent, dG(N1-H)• oxidizes 3, decreasing the dG yield to ∼50%. Addition of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodGuo) as a sacrificial reductant results in a quantitative yield of dG and two-electron oxidation products of 8-oxodGuo. N-Aryloxy-naphthalimide 3 is an efficient and high-yielding photochemical precursor of dG(N1-H)• that will facilitate mechanistic studies on the reactivity of this important reactive intermediate involved in DNA damage.
Behavioral Deficits in Animal Models of Blast Traumatic Brain Injury.

Blast exposure has been identified to be the most common cause for traumatic brain injury (TBI) in soldiers. Over the years, rodent models to mimic blast exposures and the behavioral outcomes observed in veterans have been developed extensively. However, blast tube design and varying experimental parameters lead to inconsistencies in the behavioral outcomes reported across research laboratories. This review aims to curate the behavioral outcomes reported in rodent models of blast TBI using shock wave tubes or open field detonations between the years 2008-2019 and highlight the important experimental parameters that affect behavioral outcome. Further, we discuss the role of various design parameters of the blast tube that can affect the nature of blast exposure experienced by the rodents. Finally, we assess the most common behavioral tests done to measure cognitive, motor, anxiety, auditory and fear conditioning deficits in blast TBI (bTBI) and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these tests.
Impact of School-Based Fitness Testing Awards on Physical Activity Guidelines for Children With Disabilities: NHANES 2013-2016.

Purpose:The purpose of this study is to determine the association between school-based fitness testing awards and meeting physical activity guidelines among children with disabilities.Design:Cross-...
Chimerism as the basis for organ repair

Organ and tissue repair are complex processes involving signaling molecules, growth factors, and cell cycle regulators that act in concert to promote cell division and differentiation at sites of injury. In embryonic development, progenitor fetal cells are actively involved in reparative mechanisms and display a biphasic interaction with the mother; and there is constant trafficking of fetal cells into maternal circulation and vice versa. This phenomenon of fetal microchimerism may have significant impact considering the primitive, multilineage nature of these cells. In published work, we have reported that fetal-derived placental cells expressing the homeodomain protein CDX2 retain all "stem" functional proteins of embryonic stem cells yet are endowed with additional functions in areas of growth, survival, homing, and immune modulation. These cells exhibit multipotency in vitro and in vivo, giving rise to spontaneously beating cardiomyocytes and vascular cells. In mouse models, CDX2 cells from female placentas can be administered intravenously to male mice subjected to myocardial infarction with subsequent homing of the CDX2 cells to infarcted areas and evidence of cellular regeneration with enhanced cardiac function. Elucidating the role of microchimeric fetal-derived placental cells may have broader scientific potential, as one can envision allogeneic cell therapy strategies targeted at tissue regeneration for a variety of organ systems.
Modeling of Ultrafast Propagation and Quantum Kinetics for Laser-Generated Electron-Hole Plasmas in Nanowires

Simulations solve a quantum-kinetic model for ultrafast carrier dynamics in nanowires coupled to resonant scattering of laser pulses. Both transverse and resulting longitudinal electric fields play significant roles in the nanowire dynamics.
STL Robustness Risk over Discrete-Time Stochastic Processes

We present a framework to interpret signal temporal logic (STL) formulas over discrete-time stochastic processes in terms of the induced risk. Each realization of a stochastic process either satisfies or violates an STL formula. In fact, we can assign a robustness value to each realization that indicates how robustly this realization satisfies an STL formula. We then define the risk of a stochastic process not satisfying an STL formula robustly, referred to as the "STL robustness risk". In our definition, we permit general classes of risk measures such as, but not limited to, the value-at-risk. While in general hard to compute, we propose an approximation of the STL robustness risk. This approximation has the desirable property of being an upper bound of the STL robustness risk when the chosen risk measure is monotone, a property satisfied by most risk measures. Motivated by the interest in data-driven approaches, we present a sampling-based method for calculating an upper bound of the approximate STL robustness risk for the value-at-risk that holds with high probability. While we consider the case of the value-at-risk, we highlight that such sampling-based methods are viable for other risk measures.
Exploring Pilot Workload During Professional Pilot Primary Training and Development: A Feasibility Study

Workload is an effective analytical attribute that helps to evaluate a pilot’s performance while operating an aircraft yet is an under-researched construct in aviation. In the foundational study, we sought to utilize electroencephalogram (EEG) and flight simulator performance data to explore the relationship between mental and physical workload of pilots as they completed routine flight activities. The study focused on two specific metrics- the EEG response (sensory inhibition, and attention) and a physical workload metric derived from flight control activity and the deviation from reference pitch and bank attitudes. Five pilots participated in the study, each completing five sessions in an Advanced Aviation Training Device (AATD). The results were inconclusive but seemed to indicate trends that were reasonably linked to pilot’s skill profile. A more complete and nuanced understanding of how mental and physical workloads relate to pilot activity may be determined from additional research with a larger sample size and broader range of performance metrics and assessment strategies.
Essential Uncontrollability of Discrete Linear, Time-Invariant, Dynamical Systems

The concept of a 'best approximating m-dimensional subspace' for a given set of vectors in n-dimensional whole space is introduced. Such a subspace is easily described in terms of the eigenvectors of an associated Gram matrix. This technique is used to approximate an achievable set for a discrete linear time-invariant dynamical system. This approximation characterizes the part of the state space that may be reached using modest levels of control. If the achievable set can be closely approximated by a proper subspace of the whole space then the system is 'essentially uncontrollable'. The notion finds application in studies of failure-tolerant systems, and in decoupling.
More effective teaching: one year after the National Effective Teaching Institute

There are many opportunities for instructors to learn new instructional techniques that can enhance their teaching experience and make the learning experience move rewarding for students. After attending some seminars at national conferences and on campus, one of the finest is the National Effective Teaching institute (NETI), held annually in conjunction with the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) National Conference. The NETI allows participants to try some of the techniques in the workshop setting, demonstrating how useful and interesting these techniques can be. One of the challenges after attending one of these workshops like the NETI is to decide which techniques to implement. Implementing a lot of new techniques and ideas at the same time can be counterproductive, and can create confusion the students. However, implementing some of these techniques at the appropriate time at the beginning and throughout the semester can make classroom instruction much move interesting and effective. This paper discusses different techniques that the author considered implementing, those implemented, and success stories associated with these techniques, many taken directly from the NETI.
K/sub /spl infin// generalized functions

This paper presents a theory of generalized functions that is much less abstract than the conventional ones. The theory presented is sufficiently general to encompass all singularity functions of the impulsive type without the need for abstract mathematics. Previous work has shown that it is possible to solve lumped linear circuits and other differential systems without leaving the time domain provided that the basic signal set consists of one-sided waveforms that are differentiable an arbitrary number of times. It is shown below that such a signal set can be constructed from the set of all one-sided K/sub /spl infin// waveforms on -/spl infin/<t</spl infin/.