cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Review of Economic Legislation in October 2015

In November, the following amendments were introduced in the legislation: the rules were approved that exclusive titles to outputs of intellectual activities developed under a state contract before 1 January 2008 are vested in performers of that work provided that the customer did not implement those outputs until 1 January 2015; the period of privatization of land plots within the property complex included in the forecast plan of privatization of federal property from 1 January 2016 - ll 1 January 2021 was extended; funding of measures aimed at state support of leading universities to upgrade their competitive edge among the world’s leading research and education centres was extended - ll 2020; from 1 January 2016, the selection criteria for receipt of educational grants of the Government of the Russian Federation by students and postgraduates majoring in lines which are of high priority to modernization and development of the Russian economy were updated.
Decay of Ionium (Th-230)

Gamma-ray coincidence studies of the decay of ionium yield the total conversion coefficient of the 68-kev gamma ray as $\ensuremath{\alpha}=46\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5$, and a value of $f=0.52\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.05$ for the fluorescent yield from the $L$ shell of ${\mathrm{Ra}}^{226}$. The mean lifetime of the 68-kev state of ${\mathrm{Ra}}^{226}$ was found to be ${T}_{\frac{1}{e}}\ensuremath{\le}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}9}$ second.
Considerations for cardiac device lead extraction

Extraction of cardiovascular implantable electronic device leads is the removal of a lead that has been implanted for >1 year or that requires more than a standard stylet. The number of these procedures has greatly increased over the past few decades owing to the growing demand for primary and secondary implantations in ageing populations, and an accompanying rise in revisions for complications, infections, and lead advisory safety alerts. In this Review, we present the most common indications and techniques used for extraction. Particular consideration is given to the extraction of leads with large vegetations, recalled leads, stented leads, and those placed in the coronary sinus. We also summarize the most relevant and contemporary data on safety, efficacy, and outcomes of lead extraction.
Interviewer Bias in Selecting Households

The question raised in this article is: To what extent will noninterviewers be able to identify the households which interviewers themselves chose or rejected when they were assigned sex and age qu...
Pediatric Open Fractures

Open fractures in children are rare and are typically associated with better prognoses compared with their adult equivalents. Regardless, open fractures pose a challenge because of the risk of healing complications and infection, leading to significant morbidity even in the pediatric population. Therefore, the management of pediatric open fractures requires special consideration. This article comprehensively reviews the initial evaluation, classification, treatment, outcomes, and controversies of open fractures in children.
Analysis on death situation and causes of severe mental in remote mountainous areas

Objective To provide scientific basis for improving life quality through analyzing death situation and causes in three years of severe mental in remote mountainous areas. Methods Collected 266 cases information death causes of severe mental from 2011 to 2013 in Baoshan. Statistic analysis combined with national severe mental basic data. Results From 2011 to 2013, 266 severe mental was died, 3-years average mortality rate was 13.8‰, the highest of mortality rate was in 2012. The highest of mortality rate in aged 60 above or divorced or illiterate patients( 31.6‰、33.0‰、17.5‰).The mortality rate of physical illness was highest to 9.8‰, 3.2‰ was died in hematencephaion. The death status was different in different sex, age, nationality, education and marital status. Conclusions The mortality rate of severe mental(13.8‰) was higher than normal population(6.7‰) in remote mountainous areas. Main death causes was physical illness, suicide and accidents. So we must strengthen supervision and nursing measures to the patients in community, so as to improve life quality to these patients.
Insulin Infusion Pump Treatment of Type I Diabetes

This article examines the background studies that led to the use of portable infusion pumps for continuous administration of insulin and considers the applicability of pump treatment in current pediatric practice.
Thinking History Globally, Thinking Globalization Historically

The understanding of two of the major history branches, world history and global history, with which the current wave of history writing beyond borders is identified, is punctuated by three interrelated conceptual problems. First, there is not a widely accepted distinction between the two concepts. The aims of world history, as stated by Jerry Bentley in the Journal of World History editorial, are “to transcend national frontiers, and study forces such as population movements, economic fluctuations, climatic changes, transfer of technologies,” and so on from the very beginnings of human history.1 This definition was consolidated during the first two decades of world history’s use, as reflected in Patrick Manning’s definition of it as “the study of connections between communities and between communities and their environments” in the first encompassing book on the historiography of world history.2 The editorial of the Journal of Global History mentions a “subtle difference between the closely related endeavors of global and world history” without any further specification.3 In their survey on historiography in the last 18 years, Georg Iggers, Q. Edward Wang, and Supriya Mukherjee also point to the fact that it is not clear how the concepts of world history and global history differ: “The term ‘global history’ overlapped with ‘world history’ and was often identical with it, but tended to deal more frequently with the period after the explorations of the fifteenth century and often referred to the process of globalization since the last third of the twentieth century.”4
Macroeconomic Foundations: Global Imbalances and the Dollar

A leading historian once equated the US economy with the dinosaur (Ferguson, 2006). Like the diplodocus or brontosaurus, it roams the earth but must “consume almost incessantly to sustain its great heft.” What caused the dinosaur’s extinction? Presumably, a sudden meteor or global climate change provided “too little time to evolve and provided smaller and more dynamic life forms with an opportunity to take over.” Analogously, excessive foreign indebtedness has rendered the US — a veritable debtlodocus — vulnerable to one or another shock and on the verge of surrendering its global status.
Raft River Plants, Idaho, USA

The Raft River geothermal field in southeastern Idaho has been the site of two power plant developments. The original development was supported by the United States Department of Energy (DOE), and the other is a private project of U.S. Geothermal, Inc. The chapter begins with a description of the geologic setting of the two projects, followed by an in-depth discussion of the two projects, including maps, conceptual models, flow diagrams, design specifications, well characteristics, and performance assessments. The original pilot plant did not complete the anticipated five years of operation, but several important lessons were learned from the test program. Twenty years later U.S. Geothermal set about renewing the project, and a chronology of this project is outlined in the chapter. The new power plant has very similar design performance, but uses a quite different energy conversion system.
Earlier and broader roles of Mesp1 in cardiovascular development

Mesoderm posterior 1 is one of earliest markers of the nascent mesoderm. Its best-known function is driving the onset of the cardiovascular system. In the past decade, new evidence supports that Mesp1 acts earlier with greater breadth in cell fate decisions, and through cell-autonomous and cell non-autonomous mechanisms. This review summarizes these new aspects, with an emphasis on the upstream and downstream regulation around Mesp1 and how they may guide cell fate reprogramming.
Do local exports impact congressional voting on free trade agreements

Abstract The United States is currently a party to 14 free trade agreements, which cover 20 countries. This paper explores a new aspect of economic-interest models of legislative support for trade openness, using updated data on more recent trade agreements. I show that House and Senate members are more likely to vote in favor of trade agreements when their states have higher exports to the country that is the subject of the agreement.
Poorly differentiated high-grade urothelial carcinoma presenting as Paget's disease of the vulva with no overt urinary tract neoplasm detected

Objective There are few reported cases of secondary (non-cutaneous) vulvar Paget's disease related to urothelial carcinoma (UC), with only 7 of them presenting initially with Paget's disease and up to a 13-year lapse from detecting a urinary tract neoplasm after the onset of symptoms. This is a case of Paget's disease of urothelial origin with no urinary tract neoplasm detected on initial presentation.
cAMP-Dependent Protein Kinase

Publisher Summary This chapter sheds light on the structure of the catalytic (C) subunit that serves as a structural prototype for the entire protein kinase family and explains the structure of the dimerization/docking domain of RIIα. T hree isoforms of the C subunit have been identified in mammals that include α, β, and γ. The Cα subunit is expressed constitutively in all cells, whereas expression of Cβ is tissue-specific, and especially prominent in brain. Cγ is found primarily in testes. The C subunit is a highly concerted enzyme and all its energy is focused on transferring the γ-phosphate of ATP to an appropriate substrate protein. There are two general recognition motifs for protein kinase (PKA) substrates, Arg-Arg-X-Ser/Thr-Hyd and Arg-X-X-Arg-X-X-Ser/Thr-Hyd, where X is any residue and Hyd is a hydrophobic residue. The C subunit comprises a highly conserved core containing a smaller ATP binding domain that is dominated by β structure, and a larger, mostly helical lobe that provides a docking site for peptides/proteins as well as several essential residues that contribute to catalysis. The adenine ring of ATP is buried at the base of the cleft between the two lobes, and the peptide docks to the surface of the large lobe at the edge of the cleft. All mammalian regulatory (R) subunits share the same organization. At the N-terminus is a dimerization/docking domain that locks the enzyme into a stable dimmer. In the RI subunits, the two protomers are actually linked by a disulfide bond. This is followed by a flexible and variable linker region that also contains a pseudo-substrate inhibitor site.
pH-dependent structural modulation is conserved in the human small heat shock protein HSBP1.

The holdase activity and oligomeric propensity of human small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are regulated by environmental factors. However, atomic-level details are lacking for the mechanisms by which stressors alter sHSP responses. We previously demonstrated that regulation of HSPB5 is mediated by a single conserved histidine over a physiologically relevant pH range of 6.5–7.5. Here, we demonstrate that HSPB1 responds to pH via a similar mechanism through pH-dependent structural changes that are induced via protonation of the structurally analogous histidine. Results presented here show that acquisition of a positive charge, either by protonation of His124 or its substitution by lysine, reduces the stability of the dimer interface of the α-crystallin domain, increases oligomeric size, and modestly increases chaperone activity. Our results suggest a conserved mechanism of pH-dependent structural regulation among the human sHSPs that possess the conserved histidine, although the functional consequences of the structural modulations vary for different sHSPs.
Contrasting academic and lay press print coverage of the 2013-2016 Ebola Virus Disease outbreak

Under a traditional paradigm, only those with the expected background knowledge consume academic literature. The lay press, as well as government and non-government agencies, play a complementary role of extracting findings of high interest or importance and translating them for general viewing. The need for accurate reporting and public advising is paramount when attempting to tackle epidemic outbreaks through behavior change. Yet, public trust in media outlets is at a historic low. The Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) model for media reporting on public health emergencies was established in 2005 and has subsequently been used to analyze media reporting on outbreaks of influenza and measles as well as smoking habits and medication compliance. However, no media analysis had yet been performed on the 2013-2016 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak. This study compared the EVD information relayed by lay press sources with general review articles in the academic literature through a mixed-methods analysis. These findings suggest that comprehensive review articles could not serve as a source to clarify and contextualize the uncertainties around the EVD outbreak, perhaps due to adherence to technical accuracy at the expense of clarity within the context of outbreak conditions. This finding does not imply inferiority of the academic literature, nor does it draw direct causation between confusion in review articles and public misunderstanding. Given the erosion of the barriers siloing academia, combined with the demands of today's fast-paced media environment, contemporary researchers should realize that no study is outside the public forum and to therefore consider shifting the paradigm to take personal responsibility in the process of accurately translating their scientific words into public policy actions to best serve as a source of clarity.
Temporally resolved observations and implications for observing architectures: GEO vs LEO

Orbital observations of atmospheric temporal phenomena, require measurements with a cadence at least as frequent as the condition observed. This has basic architectural implications when one is designing a system to observe any particular atmospheric effect. We performed a study exploring the parameter space of low earth orbit constellations designed to retrieve temporal signatures, examining temporal resolution, constellation revisit time, regional coverage, spatial resolution, and data latency among other parameters, and assessed the results for mission cost, feasibility and technology maturity. We present the study results and discuss the implications for architectural trades particularly as they pertain to choices of geostationary versus low earth orbiting systems.
Characterization of 1,2-Propanediol Dehydratases Reveals Distinct Mechanisms for B12-Dependent and Glycyl Radical Enzymes

Propanediol dehydratase (PD), a recently characterized member of the glycyl radical enzyme (GRE) family, uses protein-based radicals to catalyze the chemically challenging dehydration of (S)-1,2-propanediol. This transformation is also performed by the well-studied enzyme B12-dependent propanediol dehydratase (B12-PD) using an adenosylcobalamin cofactor. Despite the prominence of PD in anaerobic microorganisms, it remains unclear if the mechanism of this enzyme is similar to that of B12-PD. Here we report 18O labeling experiments that suggest PD and B12-PD employ distinct mechanisms. Unlike B12-PD, PD appears to catalyze the direct elimination of a hydroxyl group from an initially formed substrate-based radical, avoiding the generation of a 1,1-gem diol intermediate. Our studies provide further insights into how GREs perform elimination chemistry and highlight how nature has evolved diverse strategies for catalyzing challenging reactions.
A Mini-Review of the Contribution of Benthic Microalgae to the Ecology of the Continental Shelf in the South Atlantic Bight

Benthic microalgae (BMA) inhabit the upper few centimeters of shelf sediments. This review summarizes the current information on BMA communities in the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) region of the Southeastern US continental shelf to provide insights into the potential role of these communities in the trophodynamics and biogeochemical cycling in shelf waters. Benthic irradiance is generally 2–6% of surface irradiance in the SAB region, providing sufficient light to support BMA primary production over 80–90% of the shelf width. BMA biomass greatly exceeds that of integrated phytoplankton biomass in the overlying water column on an areal basis. The SAB appears to have lower BMA biomass, but higher production than most temperate continental shelves. Annual production estimates average 101 and 89 g C m−2 year−1 for 5–20 and > 20 depth intervals, respectively. However, high variation in rates and biomass in time and space make comparisons between studies difficult. Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) rather than the water column or in situ N regeneration from organic matter maybe the major “new” N source for BMA. The estimated supply of N (1.2 mmol N m−2 day−1) by SGD closely approximates the rates needed to support BMA primary production (3.1 to 1.6 mmol N m−2 day−1) in the sediments of the SAB. Identifying the source(s) of fixed N supporting the BMA community is essential for understanding the carbon dynamics and net ecosystem metabolism within the large area (76,000 km2) of the continental shelf in the SAB as well other temperate shelves worldwide.
What are the drugs of the future

Are small molecules or biologics the drugs of the future? Small-molecule drugs have historically been the pillars of traditional medicine. However, recently, we seem to be amidst a scientific revolution with the rise of many FDA-approved biologic drugs. This opinion article looks at the current state of small molecules and biologics and assesses what the future holds for these two broad classes of drugs.
Nanotechnology Approaches to Improving Cancer Immunotherapy.

Abstract Cancer immunotherapy is a powerful, growing treatment approach to cancer that can be combined with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and oncosurgery. Modulating the immune system to enhance anticancer response by several strategies has yielded improved cancer survival. Despite this progress, the success rate for immunotherapy has been below expectations due to unpredictable efficacy and off-target side effects from systemic dosing. Nanotechnology offers numerous different materials and targeting properties to overcome many of these challenges in immunotherapy. In this chapter, we review current immunotherapy and its challenges as well as the latest nanotechnology applications in cancer immunotherapy.
Casts and costs: harmonizing safety and performance in gradual typing

Gradual typing allows programmers to use both static and dynamic typing in a single program. However, a well-known problem with sound gradual typing is that the interactions between static and dynamic code can cause significant performance degradation. These performance pitfalls are hard to predict and resolve, and discourage users from using gradual typing features. For example, when migrating to a more statically typed program, often adding a type annotation will trigger a slowdown that can be resolved by adding more annotations elsewhere, but since it is not clear where the additional annotations must be added, the easier solution is to simply remove the annotation. To address these problems, we develop: (1) a static cost semantics that accurately predicts the overhead of static-dynamic interactions in a gradually typed program, (2) a technique for efficiently inferring such costs for all combinations of inferrable type assignments in a program, and (3) a method for translating the results of this analysis into specific recommendations and explanations that can help programmers understand, debug, and optimize the performance of gradually typed programs. We have implemented our approach in Herder, a tool for statically analyzing the performance of different typing configurations for Reticulated Python programs. An evaluation on 15 Python programs shows that Herder can use this analysis to accurately and efficiently recommend type assignments that optimize the performance of these programs without sacrificing the safety guarantees provided by static typing.
Site-directed non-covalent polymer-drug complexes for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): Formulation development, characterization and pharmacological evaluation.

Abstract Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) is a debilitating condition that affects ~70,000 new people every year and has been described as “an expensive disease with no known cure”. In addition, IBD increases the risk of developing colon cancer. The current therapeutics for IBD focus on the established disease where the immune dysfunction and bowel damage have already occurred but do not prevent or delay the progression. The current work describes a polymer-based anti-inflammatory technology (Ora-Curcumin-S) specifically targeted to the luminal side of the colon for preventing and/or treating IBD. Ora-Curcumin-S was prepared by molecular complexation of curcumin with a hydrophilic polymer Eudragit® S100 using co-precipitation method. Curcumin interacted with the polymer non-covalently and existed in an amorphous state as demonstrated by various physicochemical techniques. Ora-Curcumin-S is a polymer-drug complex, which is different than solid dispersions in that the interactions are retained even after dissolving in aqueous buffers. Ora-Curcumin-S was >1000 times water soluble than curcumin and importantly, the enhanced solubility was pH-dependent, which was observed only at pHs above 6.8. In addition, around 90% of Ora-Curcumin-S was stable in phosphate buffer, pH 7.4 and simulated intestinal fluid after 24 h, in contrast to 10–20% unformulated curcumin. Ora-Curcumin-S inhibited Monophosphoryl Lipid-A and E. coli induced inflammatory responses in dendritic cells and cells over expressing Toll-Like Receptor-4 (TLR-4) suggesting that Ora-Curcumin-S is a novel polymer-based TLR-4 antagonist. Preliminary pharmacokinetics in mice showed targeted delivery of soluble curcumin to the colon lumen without exposing to the systemic circulation. Furthermore, Ora-Curcumin-S significantly prevented colitis and associated injury in a mouse model of ulcerative colitis estimated using multiple preclinical parameters: colonoscopy pictures, body weight, colon length, colon edema, spleen weight, pro-inflammatory signaling and independent pathological scoring. Overall, the outcome of this innovative proof-of-concept study provides an exciting and locally-targeted pathway for a dietary therapeutic option for IBD patients to help limit colonic inflammation and thus susceptibility to colitis-associated colorectal cancer.
Multi-channel Velocity Multiplexing of Single Virus Detection on an Optofluidic Chip

Liquid-core waveguide-based optofluidic devices have proven to be valuable tools for analysis of biological samples in fluid. They have enabled single bioparticle sensitivity while maintaining in-plane detection via light-induced fluorescence. The incorporation of multi-spot excitation with multimode interference (MMI) waveguides has enabled spatially and spectrally multiplexed detection of single viruses on an oxide-based optofluidic platform. Here, we introduce a new way of MMI-based multiplexing where multiple analysis channels are placed within a single multi-spot pattern. This stacked channel design enables both velocity and spectral multiplexing of single particles. The principle is demonstrated with differentiated detection of single H3N2 and H1N1 viruses on a polydimethylsiloxane platform.
Is age a real or perceived discriminator for bariatric surgery? A long-term analysis of bariatric surgery in the elderly

Abstract Background Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment of obesity. There are few studies evaluating long-term outcomes in elderly patients. Objectives Our study was designed to evaluate the safety and long-term outcomes of bariatric surgery in the elderly compared with a contemporary medically managed cohort. Setting University hospital. Methods Three hundred thirty-seven patients age ≥60 who underwent a sleeve gastrectomy or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass between January 2007 and April 2017 were identified (ElderSurg) and compared with a matched cohort of medically managed elderly patients with obesity (ElderNonSurg). Results Thirty-two patients underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, 190 underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and 115 underwent open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The cohort was a mean of 64.4-years old, 75.4% female, mean preoperative body mass index was 46.9, and 62.6% had type 2 diabetes. During a median follow-up period of 56.2 months (confidence interval 49.5–62.9), mean percent excess weight loss (EWL) at nadir was 72.1 ± 24.7% and EWL at 36 months or beyond was 60.9 ± 27.6%. On regression analysis, diabetes, body mass index, and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy were negatively associated with EWL at all time periods (P Conclusions Our study supports that bariatric surgery is safe in elderly patients with effective long-term control of obesity, diabetes, and with improved overall survival.
Interpreting Patients’ Beliefs About Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Depression: The Need for Caution and for Context

Lawrence et al. (2019) conducted a qualitative study examining the beliefs of patients with treatment-resistant depression about deep brain stimulation (DBS).There have been only a small number of ...
Repeat Cytoreductive Surgery-Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemoperfusion is Feasible and Offers Survival Benefit in Select Patients with Peritoneal Metastases

We hypothesized that repeat cytoreductive surgery-hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (CRS-HIPEC) for peritoneal metastases (PM) may be associated with suboptimal resection, more frequent postoperative complications, and worse oncologic outcomes. Using a prospectively maintained database, we compared clinicopathologic, perioperative, and oncologic outcome data in patients undergoing single or repeat CRS-HIPEC procedures. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate survival. Multivariate analyses identified associations with perioperative and oncologic outcomes. Of the 1294 patients undergoing CRS-HIPEC procedures at our institution, only one CRS-HIPEC procedure (single HIPEC cohort) was performed in 1169 patients (90.3%), whereas 125 patients (9.7%) underwent repeat CRS-HIPEC procedures (repeat HIPEC cohort). Of the 1440 CRS-HIPEC procedures at our institution, a first CRS-HIPEC procedure was performed in 1294 patients (89.9%), whereas subsequent second, third, and fourth CRS-HIPEC procedures were performed in 125 patients (8.7%), 18 patients (1.3%), and 3 patients (0.2%), respectively. Progression-free survival (PFS) following the second CRS-HIPEC procedure was negatively impacted by shorter PFS following the first CRS-HIPEC procedure, independent of other significant variables related to the second procedure, including completeness of cytoreduction and postoperative complications. Patients undergoing multiple CRS-HIPEC procedures were not at higher risk for suboptimal resection or postoperative complications and demonstrated equivalent PFS following each successive procedure compared to the first procedure. Repeat CRS-HIPEC procedures for PM were not associated with suboptimal perioperative and oncologic outcomes. Our data confirmed our ability to select patients appropriately for repeat CRS-HIPEC procedures.
Moral regret and moral feeling(s)

In cases of apparent moral dilemmas, the feeling of regret reminds us that there were competing, morally significant options. Because Kant denies the existence of genuine conflicts of obligation [1...
Phase II trial of nivolumab (nivo) plus ipilimumab (ipi) in patients with SMARCB1-deficient kidney malignancies.

TPS677Background: The potent tumor suppressor SMARCB1 (also known as INI-1, hSNF5, or BAF47) is inactivated in all cases of renal medullary carcinoma (RMC) and renal cell carcinoma unclassified wit...
Optimization and validation of ultrasound-assisted extraction for the determination of micro and macro minerals in non-centrifugal sugar by F AAS.

Abstract In this work, the ultrasound-assisted extraction was employed for the first time as a sample treatment in the determination of Mn, Zn, Fe, Mg and Ca in non-centrifugal sugar by F AAS. Parameters that influence the extraction, such as composition of the extraction solvent, sample mass and sonication time were optimized in this work. The optimum condition for the extraction was the proportion of 60:40% (v/v) of HNO3:H2O2 as an extraction solution, 0.100 g of non-centrifugal sugar and 60 min of sonication. Analytical curves were built in an aqueous solution. Low quantification limits for Mn (0.021), Zn (0.008), Fe (0.030), Ca (0.389) and Mg (0.009) mg L−1 were determined, suggesting a good detectability of the methodology. Estimates of repeatability and intermediate precision demonstrated that the precision observed was within the limits recommended in the literature. Good accuracy of the method was verified through the high recovery rates (91–108%).
Bubble-Nucleation-Based Method for the Selective and Sensitive Electrochemical Detection of Surfactants

We present the first bubble-nucleation-based electrochemical method for the selective and sensitive detection of surfactants. Our method takes advantage of the high surface activity of surfactant analyte to affect the electrochemical bubble nucleation and then transduces the change in nucleation condition to electrochemical signal for determining the surfactant concentration. Using this method, we demonstrate the quantitation of perfluorinated surfactants in water, a group of emerging environmental contaminants, with a remarkable limit of detection (LOD) down to 30 μg/L and a linear dynamic range of over 3 orders of magnitude. With the addition of a preconcentration step, we have achieved the LOD: 70 ng/L, the health advisory for perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in drinking water established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The experimental results are in quantitative agreement with our theoretical model derived from classical nucleation theory. Our method also...
Modular communications and software-defined networks for aerospace applications

This paper describes a modular strategy for communications in which each platform (being a satellite, airplane, missile/munition, even soldiers) carries a hub-and-spoke internal network integrating a variety of modems and other information devices. These embedded networks, referred to as “global network access terminals” (GNATs), are in fact information convergence devices that seek connection with other peers (subject to constraints, such as energy and security) to form basic “substrate networks” (a type of mobile ad hoc networks). Overlays are formed on top of these oftenunreliable substrates, permitting the virtualization of networks that can appear to be more reliable, hence a type of softwaredefined network (SDN). The concepts for this type of SDN is drawn from the rich base of SDN and network functional virtualization (NFV) concepts used in cloud computing , except that they are must be optimized for the heterogeneous and rapidly changing nature of the basic substrate network formed opportunistically by GNATs.
Management of lamotrigine overdose using hemodialysis.

Abstract Lamotrigine [LTG] is primarily an anti-epileptic drug used to treat seizure disorders, depression, and bipolar disease. It is generally well tolerated with limited side effects reported during routine use. Adverse events after overdose include neurotoxicity in the form of sedation and seizure activity, as well as cardiopulmonary toxicity in the form of sodium-channel blockade and cardiovascular collapse. There is no consensus regarding the role of hemodialysis (HD) in management of lamotrigine toxicity. Based on pharmacological properties, LTG is a candidate for extracorporeal removal, however, the successful use of HD for the treatment of this poisoning is not well described. We report the case of a 44 year-old female after a LTG overdose that experienced prolonged sedation that was ultimately treated with HD with an excellent response.
Electro-plasmonic nanoantenna: A nonfluorescent optical probe for ultrasensitive label-free detection of electrophysiological signals.

Harnessing the unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution capability of light to detect electrophysiological signals has been the goal of scientists for nearly 50 years. Yet, progress toward that goal remains elusive due to lack of electro-optic translators that can efficiently convert electrical activity to high photon count optical signals. Here, we introduce an ultrasensitive and extremely bright nanoscale electric-field probe overcoming the low photon count limitations of existing optical field reporters. Our electro-plasmonic nanoantennas with drastically enhanced cross sections (~104 nm2 compared to typical values of ~10−2 nm2 for voltage-sensitive fluorescence dyes and ~1 nm2 for quantum dots) offer reliable detection of local electric-field dynamics with remarkably high sensitivities and signal–to–shot noise ratios (~60 to 220) from diffraction-limited spots. In our electro-optics experiments, we demonstrate high-temporal resolution electric-field measurements at kilohertz frequencies and achieved label-free optical recording of network-level electrogenic activity of cardiomyocyte cells with low-intensity light (11 mW/mm2).
Olfaction: Repellents that Congest the Mosquito Nose

How does the common insect repellent DEET modify a mosquito's ability to detect humans? New research using GCaMP-expressing mosquitoes suggests that DEET works differently for different mosquito species. For An. coluzzii, DEET and other non-volatile repellents mask the mosquitoes' ability to detect odors.
Distributed machine learning for collaborative mobile robots: PhD forum abstract

The Internet-of-things (IoT) devices and technologies led to a revolutionary breakthrough over the data collection procedure and Machine Learning (ML) approaches of a distributed network. It is preferable to store sensitive data on-device without sharing with a centralized computation agent and carry-out computation at the edge devices to ensure security and privacy. A recently invented distributed ML technique, Federated Learning (FL) holds the same theme that allows the edge devices to perform training on their edges and obtains a final model by learning from the model information of all the distributed edge clients. As the clients' raw data remain at local and models are generated on clients' edge, so it enhances security, privacy, and reduces computation cost in large-scale ML problems. The FL technique deals with various distributed clients that may have statistical heterogeneity and systems heterogeneity. This paper aims at dealing with such heterogeneity within an FL environment by monitoring each client's activities and leveraging resources based on the required computation during the model training phase. For each training round, we consider the proficient and trustworthy client by inspecting their resource-availability and previous history. We assign a trust score to each client based on their performance and update that score after each training period. To bring systems heterogeneity within our FL environment, we consider distributed mobile robots as FL clients with heterogeneous system configurations in terms of memory, processor, bandwidth, or battery life to understand their performance and resource-constraint behavior in a real-world setting. We filter-out the weak clients who cannot perform computation based on their available resources and exclude the untrustworthy clients who has previous record of repeatedly infusing incorrect or diverge model information, or, become stragglers during FL training. After eliminating the stragglers and untrustworthy FL clients, we conduct local training on each selected FL clients. To further mitigate the straggler issue, we enable asynchronous FL technique that can handle the clients' variant response time and continue FL training without waiting for a particular client for a long period.
Political Conservatism in Russia

In this paper I discuss the conservative turn that took place in Russia in the last 15 years comparing it to the recent experience of Hungary and Poland. I show that to a large extent this backlash is of a socioeconomic nature and reflects the people’s frustration with the downsides of the economic liberalization. Moreover, the depth of the original social transformation determined a society’s ability to resist to the conservative trend. In Russia where the modernization processes were the shallowest, the old political elites could regain power sooner and roll back the society deeper. I also overview different conservative schools of thought in Russia and show Putin manipulated this ideology to strengthen his hold on power.
Reduced membrane cholesterol content in skeletal muscle is not essential for greater insulin-stimulated glucose uptake after acute exercise by rats.

One exercise session can elevate insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (GU) by skeletal muscle, but it is uncertain if this effect is accompanied by altered membrane cholesterol content, which is repor...
Optimization of the electron beam dump for a GeV-class laser electron accelerator.

Abstract The advances of laser-driven electron acceleration offer the promise of great reductions in the size of high-energy electron accelerator facilities. Accordingly, it is desirable to design compact radiation shielding for such facilities. A key component of radiation shielding is the high-energy electron beam dump. In an effort to optimize the electron beam dump design, different material combinations have been simulated with the FLUKA Monte Carlo code in the range of 1–40 GeV. The studied beam dump configurations consist of alternating layers of high-Z material (lead or iron) and low-Z material (high-density concrete or borated polyethylene) in either three-layer or five-layer structures. The designs of various beam dump configuration have been compared and it has been found that the iron and concrete stacking in a three-layer structure with a thick iron layer results in the lowest dose at 1, 10, and 40 GeV. The performance of the beam dump exhibits a strong dependence on the selected materials, the stacking method, the beam dump thickness, as well as the electron energy. This parametric study provides general insights that can be used for compact shielding design of future electron accelerator facilities.
Holomorphic Curves and Minimal Surfaces in ℂPn

Much attention has been paid to the investigation of minimal surfaces in ℂPn (and in more general spaces) in recent years. Inspired by the work of physicists Din and Zakrzewski [D—Z] Eells and Wood [E—W] first gave a rigorous mathematical treatment of the classification of minimal two—spheres in ℂPn. [R] later gave a classification of minimal two—spheres in the complex Grassmannian ℂG4,2. [U, C—W2] gave a description of minimal two—spheres in ℂGn,k in general. [G1, Y4] constructed a class of minimal surfaces in ℍPn.
Leukemoid reactions complicating colitis due to Clostridium difficile.

Background We sought to describe the characteristics of patients who had Clostridium difficile colitis complicated by leukemoid reactions (total leukocyte count greater than 35 x 10(9)/L) and to determine whether this complication is associated with higher morbidity or mortality than C difficile colitis without leukemoid reactions. Methods We performed a retrospective case series analysis of patients with a positive fecal assay for C difficile toxin and a peak leukocyte count greater than 35 x 10(9)/L during 1998 and 1999. Twenty cases that met these criteria were compared with 65 randomly selected control patients (patients with a positive C difficile toxin and a peak leukocyte count less than 35 x 10(9)/L). Results The mean peak leukocyte count was 52 +/- 18.2 x 10(9)/L (+/- SD) in the case group and 14.9 +/- 6.5 x 10(9)/L in the control group. Patients with a leukemoid reaction had a lower temperature, a lower serum albumin level, and a higher hematocrit value. Multivariable logistic regression showed respiratory tract infection and lower temperature to be independent predictors of a leukemoid reaction. There were 10 deaths (50%) in the leukemoid reaction group and 5 deaths (7.7%) in the control group. All seven patients with a peak leukocyte count greater than 50 x 10(9)/L died, compared with eight deaths (10.3%) among the remaining 78 patients whose peak leukocyte count was less than 50 X 10(9)/L. Conclusion Patients with C difficile colitis and a leukocyte count greater than 35 x 10(9)/L have a poor prognosis with a much higher mortality rate than patients who have C difficile colitis without a leukemoid reaction.
Derivation of a generalized gradient approximation: The PW91 density functional

Real-space analysis decomposes the exchange-correlation energy of a many-electron system into contributions from all possible interelectronic separations u. The density-gradient expansion of the exchange-correlation hole surrounding an electron has a characteristic structure. Its zeroth-order term, the local spin density (LSD) approximation, is a good approximation to both the hole and its cusp at u = 0. When the electron density varies slowly over space, addition of each successive term of higher order in ∇ improves the description of the hole at small u, but worsens it at large u. Starting with the second-order gradient expansion, we cut off the spurious large-u contributions in a way that restores the negativity and normalization constraints on the exchange hole, and the normalization constraint on the correlation hole. This procedure defines numerical generalized gradient approximations (GGA’s) for the exchange and correlation energies, using no empirical input. We report the results of this construction in detail. This numerical GGA satisfies the most important exact conditions respected by LSD, plus several more (but not all) exact conditions currently known. The PW91 functional is an analytic fit to this functional, designed to respect several further exact conditions including the Lieb-Oxford bound.
The Practice: Debunking Television Myths and Stereotypes

The Practice was a revolution in legal television. Although other modern serials had begun to explore some of the "realist" difficulties of the legal system, The Practice embraced and explored those dilemmas in a postmodernist way. It turned many of the conventions of legal television on their heads. The legal system was portrayed as arbitrary and subject to manipulation by the players-lawyers, judges and clients-who were shady, scheming, and in conflict with Hollywood stereotypes. This characterization of The Practice is not a criticism - its cynicism made it interesting and unpredictable. You could never be sure of the guilt or innocence of an accused, and even if you thought you knew, that person's culpability did not govern the outcome of the narrative. To be fair, some representations were so extreme that they approached satire. Nevertheless, many of the criticisms were justified. The legal system is not perfect. Guilty people are set free, innocent people are convicted, and lawyers sometimes act unethically. While the legal system of The Practice is not very close to reality, it is certainly closer than the sterile and flawless system portrayed in the iconic Perry Mason in the 50s and 60s. The Practice was in many respects a reaction to and the antithesis of L.A. Law, which stopped airing three years prior to The Practice's debut. David E. Kelley, the creator of The Practice, was a major creative force involved in L.A. Law. He created The Practice to contrast with the glamour of L.A. Law by showing the "nuts and bolts" of legal practice. The Practice is much different than L.A. Law's McKenzie, Brackman which was a successful civil law practice with beautiful high-rise offices and affluent attorneys. The Practice struggles to make ends meet. It is behind on its rent for a gritty, urban space where there is only one private office. The firm handles small or difficult civil cases, but its "bread and butter" is criminal defense work.The narratives of The Practice also represent the antithesis of L.A. Law. While L.A. Law recognized some difficult legal and social issues, and occasionally left the viewer a little uncomfortable with the outcome, those were the exceptions to fairly traditional plot resolutions. With The Practice, such discomfort is often the point. Where L.A. Law touches on an issue, The Practice delves into it and puts the dubious outcome directly in the viewer's face. Their differences were also reflected by their respective titles with L.A. Law suggesting that outcomes are governed by the "law," while The Practice suggests an on-going effort to get the result that the client wanted, regardless of the law. These general themes and their postmodern character will be explored in more detail in the following two sections. The first section will consider three illustrative narratives and the second will examine three main characters.
Dietary sucrose enhances processing of mRNA-S14 nuclear precursor.

Abstract The rapid response of rat hepatic mRNA-S14 to hormonal or dietary manipulation makes it an excellent model to study the control of lipogenic enzyme mRNA. The mechanism of regulation of this mRNA by triiodothyronine (T3) or sucrose remains controversial. Although initial studies suggested that T3 stabilized the nuclear precursor, subsequent studies suggest that T3 acts by increasing the transcriptional rate of this gene. More recently, the induction of mRNA-S14 by sucrose administration was shown to be associated with an increase in transcriptional "run-on" activity. Because T3 and carbohydrate feeding synergistically regulate this mRNA, we studied the response to short and long term high carbohydrate feeding in hypothyroid and euthyroid rats. We found the response to the lipogenic diet was rapid in hypothyroid rats, with maximal levels of mRNA-S14 attained by 4 h (2.2 +/- 0.6 chow fed versus 13.5 +/- 2.5 pg/micrograms RNA on lipogenic diet). The rapid induction by the lipogenic diet contrasts with the diminished response to sucrose by gastric gavage (4.6 +/- 1.2 pg/micrograms RNA) over the same time interval. Despite the large increase in the mature mRNA induced by the lipogenic diet, the rise in the nuclear precursor was small and not different from that observed after sucrose gavage (0.14 +/- 0.01 chow, 0.26 +/- 0.03 sucrose gavage, 0.25 +/- 0.04 pg/micrograms RNA lipogenic diet). The molar ratio of the mature to precursor mRNA-S14 showed progressive increases with the smallest level in the fasting rat, an intermediate level in the chow-fed and sucrose gavaged rats, and the highest level in the animals fed a lipogenic diet (2.1, 16.5, 16.3, 62.7, respectively). Based on the previously reported half-life for the mature mRNA-S14, these data show that feeding sucrose by gavage or by a lipogenic diet leads to enhanced fractional conversion of precursor to mature mRNA-S14 with a simultaneous stabilization of the precursor mRNA-S14.