cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
VeriSmall: verified smallfoot shape analysis

We have implemented a version of the Smallfoot shape analyzer, calling upon a paramodulation-based heap theorem prover. Our implementation is done in Coq and is extractable to an efficient ML program. The program is verified correct in Coq with respect to our Separation Logic for C minor; this in turn is proved correct in Coq w.r.t. Leroy's operational semantics for C minor. Thus when our VeriSmall static analyzer claims some shape property of a program, an end-to-end machine-checked proof guarantees that the assembly language of the compiled program will actually have that property.
Outcomes After Stent Implantation for the Treatment of Congenital and Postoperative Pulmonary Vein Stenosis in Children

Background—Pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS) is a rare condition that can lead to worsening pulmonary hypertension and cardiac failure in children, and it is frequently lethal. Surgical and transcatheter approaches are acutely successful but restenosis is common and rapid. Methods and Results—We reviewed outcomes among patients who underwent transcatheter pulmonary vein stent implantation for congenital or postoperative PVS at <18 years of age. A total of 74 pulmonary veins were stented with bare metal, drug-eluting, or covered stents in 47 patients. Primary diagnoses included PVS associated with anomalous venous return in 51%, PVS associated with other congenital cardiovascular defects in 36%, and congenital (“de novo”) PVS in 13% of patients. Median age at the time of pulmonary vein stent implantation was 1.4 years. During a median cross-sectional follow-up of 3.1 years, 21 patients died. Estimated survival was 62±8% at 1 year and 50±8% at 5 years after pulmonary vein stent implantation. Stent placement acu...
Inertial rotation center position estimation for a perching treaded vehicle

A method for estimating the rotation center position (RCP) of a rigid body in the x-y plane using two offset accelerometers is presented. RCP estimation via inertial measurement is motivated by the related problems of detecting foot slippage of legged robots and detecting stair edges for treaded robots, for applications in which alternative methods such as discontinuity recognition, visual tracking, and/or tactile feedback are impractical. The RCP may be directly solved for as a function of the two offset tangential acceleration measurements, when the RCP is colinear with the two accelerometers, and when the common-mode tangential accelerations, due to linear acceleration and/or gravity, can be independently measured or estimated. Angular velocity estimates may be enhanced by combining calculated angular acceleration with gyroscope measurements, even when both the RCP and common-mode tangential accelerations cannot be independently measured. An input variance modulated variable cutoff low-pass filter is also proposed for RCP estimation in the absence of independent measurements, which is validated on a balance-beam inverted-pendulum apparatus.
Superior Mesenteric Artery Pseudoaneurysm After Blunt Abdominal Trauma

True aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms of the visceral arteries are uncommon. Visceral artery aneurysms (VAAs) represent 0.1–0.2% of all vascular aneurysms and were also found in 0.1% of autopsies. VAAs most commonly affect the splenic (60%), hepatic (20%), and superior mesenteric (9%) arteries. Mesenteric injury caused by blunt abdominal trauma is relatively rare. A 30-year-old man arrived at our trauma hospital and was found to have a traumatic pseudoaneurysm of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) after a motor vehicle collision. To date, only 10 visceral arterial pseudoaneurysms have been reported in the literature. We present an 11th case of a pseudoaneurysm involving the SMA after blunt abdominal trauma.
Expression of a phosphorylated substrate domain of p130Cas promotes PyMT-induced c-Src-dependent murine breast cancer progression

Elevated expression of p130Cas (Crk-associated substrate)/BCAR1 (breast cancer antiestrogen resistance 1) in human breast tumors is a marker of poor prognosis and poor overall survival. p130Cas is a downstream target of the tyrosine kinase c-Src. Signaling mediated by p130Cas through its phosphorylated substrate domain (SD) and interaction with effector molecules directly promotes tumor progression. We previously developed a constitutively phosphorylated p130Cas SD molecule, Src*/SD (formerly referred to as Src*/CasSD), which acts as decoy molecule and attenuates the transformed phenotype in v-crk-transformed murine fibroblasts and human breast cancer cells. To test the function of this molecule in vivo, we established mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV)-long terminal repeat-Src*/SD transgenic mice in which mammary gland development and tumor formation were analyzed. Transgenic expression of the Src*/SD molecule under the MMTV-long terminal repeat promoter did not interfere with normal mammary gland development or induce tumors in mice observed for up to 11 months. To evaluate the effects of the Src*/SD molecule on tumor development in vivo, we utilized the MMTV-polyoma middle T-antigen (PyMT) murine breast cancer model that depends on c-Src. PyMT mice crossed with Src*/SD mice displayed accelerated tumor formation. The earlier onset of tumors can be explained by the interaction of the Src* domain with PyMT and targeting the fused phosphorylated SD to the membrane. At membrane compartments, it might integrate membrane-associated active signaling complexes leading to increased proliferation measured by phospho-Histone H3 staining. Although these results were unexpected, they emphasize the importance of preventing the membrane association of Src*/SD when employed as decoy molecule.
Are δ-Opioid Receptors Involved in Deep Brain Stimulation?

Despite its widespread use, the underlying mechanism of deep brain stimulation (DBS) remains unknown. Once thought to impart a “functional inactivation”, there is now increasing evidence showing that DBS actually can both inhibit neurons and activate axons, generating a wide range of effects. This implies that the mechanisms that underlie DBS work not only locally but also at the network level. Therefore, not only may DBS induce membrane or synaptic plastic changes in neurons over a wide network, but it may also trigger cellular and molecular changes in other cells, especially astrocytes, where together the glial-neuronal interactions may explain effects that are not clearly rationalized by simple activation/inhibition theories alone. Recent studies suggest that (1) High frequency stimulation (HFS) activates astrocytes and leads to the release of gliotransmitters that can regulate surrounding neurons at the synapse; (2) Activated astrocytes modulate synaptic activity and increase axonal activation; (3) Activated astrocytes can signal further astrocytes across large networks, contributing to observed network effects induced by DBS; (4) Activated astrocytes can help explain the disparate effects of activation and inhibition induced by HFS at different sites; and (5) Astrocytes contribute to synaptic plasticity through long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD), possibly helping to mediate the long term effects of DBS. More recently, we found that δ-Opioid receptor (DOR) activation reduces α-synuclein overexpression and oligomer formation, thus attenuating cellular injury after MPP+ exposure. Indeed, DOR activation protects both glial and neuronal cells against injury in our in-vitro studies. Furthermore, we demonstrate that PD pathophysiology is critically attributed to DOR impairment in the brain of a mouse PD model. Moreover, recent evidence suggests that DOR activation promotes the release of dopamine in the striatum. Since we have previously shown that brain stimulation increased the release of encephalin, an endogenous DOR agonist, in the brain, the mechanism of DBS may be, at least partially, attributed to DOR activity that confers protection in both neurons and astrocytes. Together, the plastic changes in these glial-neuronal interactions network-wide likely underlie the range of effects seen, from the variable temporal latencies to observed effect to global activation patterns. This chapter provides a broad review of our understanding of DBS mechanisms, and then presents recent research progress in the literature on how astrocytes play a key role in DBS efficacy and our novel observations on a potential DOR mechanism for DBS.
Performance of a Simple Mental Task following Various Treatments

Abstract A group of 108 male adults was randomly subdivided into four experimental treatment groups in order to test the hypothesis that the treatments would affect their performance on a symbol substitution test (simple mental task). The treatments and the post treatment simple mental task were each administered for periods of ten minutes. An analysis of variance revealed no significant difference among the performance of the groups. However, strong trends in favor of the exercise and the rest groups over the classroom instruction and the immediate retest groups did develop.
IS-056 Advances In The Diagnosis Of Allergy

The diagnosis of allergy has experienced a great progress during the last years. The aetiological diagnosis of allergy is based on skin prick tests and in vitro specific-IgE tests. However, until a few years ago, we only were able to identify by these methods the allergenic sources (pollens, epithelia, house dust mites, foods,...). Nevertheless the allergenic sources have many different proteins, but commonly only a few of them are able to induce allergic reactions. The identification of these allergenic proteins and the improvement of techniques for obtaining relevant quantities of recombinant allergens, have permitted to develop in vitro and in vivo products able to identify these specific allergenic proteins, beyond the mere identification of the allergenic source. This has meant the possibility to discover the proteins responsible for phenomena of cross-reactivity, to distinguish between true and false polysensitized patients, to uncover new allergenic proteins able to explain so far unexplainable reactions, to identify major and minor allergens, to predict the possibility to have an allergic reaction and the severity of it, to foresee the probability to overcome an allergic disease, to improve the composition and the prescription of specific immunotherapy, etc.
Ataxia-telangiectasia--clonal growth of translocation lymphocytes.

Abstract A clone of lymphocytes marked by a chromosome translocation was followed in a patient with ataxia-telangiectasia over a period of 52 months until death at the age of 23. The translocation involved both chromosomes 14. Initially, the patient had a small proportion (1 to 2 per cent) of lymphocytes with the translocation, markedly reduced response to phytohemagglutinin and increased chromosome breakage. Later studies showed increasing proportions (25 to 46 per cent) of translocation lymphocytes, more vigorous response to phytohemagglutinin and less chromosome breakage. The translocation lymphocytes gradually became the main (56 to 78 per cent) population. Data on this and other patients with ataxia-telangiectasia suggest that mutant clones of lymphocytes with specific translocations sometimes arise and proliferate, perhaps representing a step toward the lymphoid neoplasia to which such patients are predisposed. Lymphocyte clones for ataxia-telangiectasia may thus be analogous to chronic-myelogenous-...
RAPID MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGE IN CHANNEL ISLAND DEER MICE

Deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus, collected over 90 years from three California Channel Islands, were examined for evidence of morphological change. Rapid morphological change has occurred in the endemic subspecies from Santa Barbara (P. m. elusus), Anacapa (P. m. anacapae), and Santa Cruz Island (P. m. santacruzae). Data were divided into two temporal classes, 1897-1941 and 1955-1988. Of the 16 morphological characters measured, between five and 10 measures changed significantly (P ' 0.05) with temporal class in each subspecies, and multivariate test statistics were significant (P ? 0.05) for all three subspecies. For each subspecies, depth of braincase, total length, tail length, and hind foot length became smaller over time, except depth of braincase, which became larger in P. m. elusus. The rates of change dramatically exceed those estimated from paleontological records and are even higher than those reported in some experimental selection studies. Temporal change in two characters exceeds differentiation between subspecies. Although changing, each subspecies remained well differentiated, and incorporation of temporal change allowed correct classification of most specimens. Unlike nearly all previous reports of rapid evolution, the changes in these populations were not associated with a founder events or recent introductions. This study demonstrates that rapid phenotypic change can occur in long-established natural populations and temporal stability of morphological characters in such populations, even over short evolutionary time periods, cannot be assumed.
THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE PAYNE INVERSION AND GENETIC BACKGROUND IN THE TUMOROUS-HEAD STRAIN OF DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER.

Chromosomal polymorphisms are widespread in natural populations of Drosophila. Wright and Dobzhansky (1946) were the first to demonstrate that different inversion arrangements can be mutually adjusted (coadapted) in Drosophila pseudoobscura. Coadaptation was shown to be accomplished by selection acting on the heterokaryotypes so that they display greater fitness than homokaryotypes. These relationships have been extensively examined, and several pertinent references are given in Pavlovsky and Dobzhansky (1966). Mohn and Spiess (1963) demonstrated in Drosophila persimilis that different inversion arrangements in a given population are adapted not only to each other but also to the entire genetic background. Because the genetic background is difficult to control in species other than Drosophila melanogaster, there was a lag in demonstrating the interaction between an inversion and its genetic background. With the discovery of the Payne inversion (Jn(3L)P) and the recessive gene for scarlet eyes (st) in the tumorous-head strain of Drosophila melanogaster (Woolf and Phelps, 1960), a system was encountered in which a refined genetic analysis could be carried out on a strain showing an adaptive chromosomal polymorphism.
Natural Focus of Plague in Batang County

Objective To analysis the natural focus of plague for providing scientific basis for the prevention and control work of the plague. Methods Epidemic survey was conducted and the samples were tested in the lab. Results Two strains of Y. pestis were detected from 10 Marmota himalayana samples. Seventeen positive samples were detected by Indirect Hemagglutination Assay( IHA) in 156 serum samples of prairie dog and one positive sample was detected by IHA in 33 serum samples of Himalayana Marmota. Two F1 antigen positive samples were detected by RIHA in 2 Marmota himalayana bone marrow samples. Conclusion The natural focus of Marmota Himalayan plague stays in active and thus preventive and control work towards the plague should be strengthened.
Problems of discipline in early childhood.

Parental concern about children’s behavior is common. Increasingly, parents are requesting guidance from the pediatrician regarding behavior management. The pediatrician’s early and frequent contacts with children and their families provide a therapeutic advantage in the prevention and treatment of many childhood discipline problems.
Dissecting Aneurysms of the Aorta

The disorder, dissection and dissecting aneurysms of the aorta, has been recognized and described for several centuries.[1] In his classical treatise on the subject, Shennan[2] in 1934 provided the most extensive investigations and review of previous reports, resulting in the conclusion that the most significant underlying cause of dissection was medial degeneration. The rapidly fatal course of the disease has also long been recognized. In Shennan’s analysis of a collected series, death occurred within twenty-four hours in 58% of the patients. A number of other reports have since been published showing that more than half the patients die within a few weeks and about 90% within a few months after the initial dissection. More recently, Anagnostopoulos and associates[3] found, in a collected series of 963 patients, that death occurred within a week in 70% and within three months in 90%.
Repeated Spiral Drawings Can Distinguish Motor Learning from Tremor Changes in Patients with Essential Tremor (P4.300)

Objective: To investigate whether repeated spiral drawings distinguish motor learning from changes in tremor amplitude. Background: Computerized spiral analysis captures kinematic, dynamic, and spatial attributes of Archimedean spirals and calculates several indices to quantify disability and assess motor performance. Subjects with essential tremor (ET) show improved performance over repeated spiral drawings but it is unclear whether this is due to reduction in tremor amplitude or to motor learning. Methods: 170 ET (mean age 83.7±5.9 years) and 30 healthy (83.1±3.0 years) subjects freely drew ten spirals with each hand on a digitizing tablet. Drawing severity, incorporating curve smoothness, shape deviations, and tremor amplitude were measured. Amplitude calculations were not used in the severity index. Severity improvement was a measure of motor learning. Changes in severity and amplitude were assessed using slope evaluations, repeated measures, and post-hoc analyses. Results: 3,289 spirals from ET and 274 from controls were evaluated. Severity was greater in ET vs controls (2.95±0.94 vs 1.05±0.50, p<.001), which was maintained from the first trial (3.1±0.05 vs 1.33±0.10, p<.001) to the tenth trial (2.87±0.05 vs 1.01±0.13, p<.001). Pairwise evaluations showed that improvement in severity did not change after trial 4 in subjects who improved; however, fewer ET compared to controls (64[percnt] vs 77[percnt]) decreased their severity scores (p<0.05). In ET subjects, tremor amplitude (mean 7.33±9.3, range 0-90.1 mm) did not differ from trials 1-10 (7.0±8.4 mm vs 7.9±1.01 mm), with an equal tendency to increase or decrease regardless of change in severity. Conclusions: Repeated spiral drawings in ET subjects showed improvements due to quantifiable changes in drawing severity, unrelated to tremor amplitudes. These findings highlight the differences between motor learning and involuntary tremor movements. They also imply that ET subjects may exhibit deficits in motor learning compared to controls, possibly mediated by cerebellar circuitry thought to abnormal in ET. Disclosure: Dr. Luo has nothing to disclose. Dr. Yu has nothing to disclose. Dr. Mirallave has nothing to disclose. Dr. Louis has nothing to disclose. Dr. Pullman has nothing to disclose.
Comparing visual search and eye movements in bilinguals and monolinguals

Recent research has suggested that bilinguals show advantages over monolinguals in visual search tasks, although these findings have been derived from global behavioral measures of accuracy and response times. In the present study we sought to explore the bilingual advantage by using more sensitive eyetracking techniques across three visual search experiments. These spatially and temporally fine-grained measures allowed us to carefully investigate any nuanced attentional differences between bilinguals and monolinguals. Bilingual and monolingual participants completed visual search tasks that varied in difficulty. The experiments required participants to make careful discriminations in order to detect target Landolt Cs among similar distractors. In Experiment 1, participants performed both feature and conjunction search. In Experiments 2 and 3, participants performed visual search while making different types of speeded discriminations, after either locating the target or mentally updating a constantly changing target. The results across all experiments revealed that bilinguals and monolinguals were equally efficient at guiding attention and generating responses. These findings suggest that the bilingual advantage does not reflect a general benefit in attentional guidance, but could reflect more efficient guidance only under specific task demands.
Phase discrimination of uranium oxides using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Abstract Nuclear forensics goals for characterizing samples of interest include qualitative and quantitative analysis of major and trace elements, isotopic analysis, phase identification, and physical analysis. These samples may include uranium oxides UO2, U3O8, and UO3, which play an important role in the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle, from mining to fuel fabrication. The focus of this study is to compare the ratios of the intensities of uranium and oxygen emission lines which can be used to distinguish between different uranium oxide materials using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). Measurements at varying laser powers were made under an argon atmosphere at 585 Torr to ensure the oxygen emission intensity was originating from the sample, and not from the atmosphere. Fifteen uranium emission lines were used to compare experimental results with theoretical calculations in order to determine the plasma conditions. Using a laser energy of 26 mJ, the uranium lines 591.539 and 682.692 nm provide the highest degree of discrimination between the uranium oxides. The study presented here suggests that LIBS is useful for discriminating uranium oxide phases, UO2, U3O8, and UO3.
Frequency dependence of susceptibility in magnets with uniaxial and triaxial anisotropy

Characterization of minerals in rocks and soils provides a window into environmental processes and improves the interpretation of paleomagnetic measurements. Mineral composition, size and shape can be constrained using magnetic measurements. For small minerals, a promising measurement is the frequency dependence of magnetic susceptibility. The size and shape dependence of the in-phase component χ′(ω) and out-of-phase component χ″(ω) are derived for arbitrarily oriented superparamagnetic and single-domain magnets with uniaxial and triaxial anisotropy. In a fluctuating field, a single magnet has a thermal response parallel to the easy axis and instantaneous rotation of the moment perpendicular to it. The size and temperature variations have the same form as in earlier theories in which all the magnets are aligned with the field and can be easily adapted to the methods of Shcherbakov and Fabian [2005] and Egli [2009] for finding size distributions using multiple temperatures and frequencies. These inversions are inherently non-unique and complicated by non-SD contributions, but some robust constraints can be put on the volume distribution if the commonly used ratio χfd is 10% or greater. The anisotropy of the out-of-phase component (opAMS) has the same sense as thermoremanent magnetization (TRM) and can be used to correct the paleofield direction. Along with the anisotropy of the in-phase component (ipAMS), it can be used to gain quantitative information on the deformation of the host rock. For the line/plane, or March, deformation model, opAMS and ipAMS are calculated and it is shown how they can be used to accurately represent the strain anisotropy.
Principled Assessment of Student Learning in High School Computer Science

As K-12 computer science (CS) initiatives scale throughout the U.S., educators face increasing pressure from their school systems to provide evidence about student learning on hard-to-measure CS outcomes. At the same time, researchers studying curriculum implementation and student learning want reliable measures of how students apply their CS knowledge. This paper describes a two-year validation study focused on end-of-unit and cumulative assessments for Exploring Computer Science, an introductory high school CS curriculum. To develop the assessments, we applied a principled methodology called Evidence-Centered Design (ECD) to (1) work with various stakeholders to identify the important computer science skills to measure, (2) map those skills to a model of evidence that can support inferences about those skills, and (3) develop assessment tasks that elicit that evidence. Using ECD, we created assessments that measure the practices of computational thinking, in contrast to assessments that only measure CS conceptual knowledge. We iteratively developed and piloted the assessments with 941 students over two years and collected three types of validity evidence based on contemporary psychometric standards: test content, internal structure, and student response processes. Results show that reliability was moderate to high for each of the unit assessments; the assessment tasks within each assessment are well aligned with each other and with the targeted learning goals; and average scores were in the 60 to 70 percent range. These results indicate that the assessments validly measure students' computational thinking practices covered in the introductory CS curriculum. We discuss the broader issues we faced of balancing the need to use the assessment results for evaluation and research, and demands from teachers for use in the classroom.
A Methodology for Account Management in Grid Computing Environments

A national infrastructure of Grid computing environments will provide access for a large pool of users to a large number of distributed computing resources. Providing access for the complete pool of potential users would put an unacceptably large administrative burden on sites that participate in the Grid. Current approaches to solve this problem require an account for each user at a site, or maps all users into one account. This paper proposes an alternative approach to account allocation that provides the benefits of persistent accounts while minimizing the administrative burden on Grid resource providers. A technique for calculating the upper bound on the number of jobs and users offered to the system from the Grid that is based on historical use is presented. Finally, application of this approach to the National Institutes of Health Visible Human Project is described.
Abstract IA14: Understanding the complex biology of KRAS mutant cancers using genetic screens

Apart from identifying synthetic lethal genes, genetic screens have the potential to reveal much about the basic biology of cell lines. We utilize two techniques, one analytical and one experimental, to demonstrate how genetic screens can also reveal which pathways are on in cell lines and what are the phenotypic consequences of pathway perturbation. First, we apply a clustering analysis of genome-scale CRISPR screening data to map out active pathways in cancer cell lines and to discover novel members of signaling transduction pathways and protein complexes. Secondly, we performed a combinatorial siRNA screen that knocks out multiple genes at once and measures five functional parameters to comprehensively describe the effects of pathway inhibition. Application of these two techniques to KRAS mutant cancer cell lines reveals a trove of biological information that highlights the vast heterogeneity of this disease and subtype-specific opportunities for therapeutic intervention. Citation Format: Tina L. Understanding the complex biology of KRAS mutant cancers using genetic screens [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Precision Medicine Series: Opportunities and Challenges of Exploiting Synthetic Lethality in Cancer; Jan 4-7, 2017; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2017;16(10 Suppl):Abstract nr IA14.
Keynote speakers: Operation and control of inverter-interfaced microgrids

Power electronics based microgrids have advantages in terms of flexibility, reliability, and power density. However, such microgrids are hard to control due to reduced inertia, increased uncertainties, and wide range of operating conditions. In such systems, the strong physical couplings among subsystems (inverter-interfaced distributed generators) must be properly considered. Simply introducing existing control solutions in large-scale power systems and unmanned vehicles cannot provide expected performance. To fully unlock potentials of such systems, novel control solutions that are fast and accurate need to be developed. Related studies are important for both civilian smart grid and the high-performance military power systems. During Dr. Liu's talk, he will introduce his recent work on upper-level microgrid operation, current work on lower-level AC/DC microgrids controls, and the advanced cyber-physical energy system test-bed that his group developed with fundamental components. One will see that there are significant opportunity with the cross-disciplinary research on microgrids.
Aggressive infrainguinal revascularization in renal transplant patients is justifiable.

While studies demonstrate poor outcomes of lower extremity revascularization in patients with end-stage renal disease, little is known about results in renal transplant patients. We analyzed 2-year primary patency and limb salvage outcomes and associated risk factors of transplant (n = 202) and nontransplant patients (n = 25 274) in the Vascular Quality Initiative database undergoing infrainguinal bypass from 2003 to 2016. Multivariable Cox regression analysis and coarsened exact matching with many-to-one were used. Transplant patients were more likely to have critical limb ischemia and revascularization of more distal arteries and to receive vein conduits. Primary patency was similar between transplant and nontransplant patients at 1 year (80.8% vs 77.5%) and 2 years (67.9% vs 63.7%, P = .079). Amputation-free survival was higher for nontransplant patients (1 year: 82.4% vs 75.3%, 2 years: 68.8% vs 58.2%, P = .0060), although overall survival was equivalent (2 years: 84.6% vs 87.2%, 4 years: 75.9% vs 79.6%, P = .35). Risk factors for primary patency loss included being female, critical limb ischemia, prior bypass, and distal bypass. Age, diabetes, prior contralateral amputation, critical limb ischemia, prosthetic conduit, and more distal bypass were associated with limb loss. This is the largest series of infrainguinal revascularization in transplant patients. Outcomes for transplant patients are not inferior, and aggressive approaches at limb salvage are justifiable in appropriately selected patients.
A Methodology to Determine Recipe Adjustments for Multispectral Composites Derived from Next-Generation Advanced Satellite Imagers

AbstractThe European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) began creating multispectral [i.e., red–green–blue (RGB)] composites in the early 2000s with the advent of the Meteosat-8 Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI). As new satellite sensors—for example, the Himawari-8 Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI)—become available, there is a need to adjust the EUMETSAT RGB standard thresholds (i.e., recipes) to account for differences in spectral characteristics, spectral response, and atmospheric absorption in order to maintain an interpretation consistent with legacy composites. For the purpose of comparing RGB composites derived from nonoverlapping geostationary sensors, an adjustment technique was applied to the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) to create an intermediate reference sensor (i.e., SEVIRI pr...
Depth in Cultural Socialization in Families with Children Adopted from China

Parents raising children adopted from a different racial/ethnic group usually engage in cultural socialization-providing activities in adoptees' birth culture-hoping to instill pride and help adoptees develop a positive identity. Adoptive parents engage in a wide variety of socialization activities, yet adult adoptees have reported not having deep enough exposure from their parents. The present study explored the depth of cultural socialization in transracial adoptive families. Informed by Pinderhughes' Ethnic-Racial Socialization model, this study developed a continuum examining the depth in cultural socialization with three indicators: (1) the depth of cultural activities, (2) parents' motivation for cultural socialization, and (3) parental cultural attitudes. Qualitative analyses of 41 White parents raising children adopted from China found that parents' motivation and acknowledgement of cultural differences reflected deep appreciation of adoptees' birth culture, however, activities they provided were not as deep. Activities that facilitated close relationships with people who shared adoptees' background in a natural context appeared to provide the deepest cultural connection. Despite limitations, the study demonstrated that the depth continuum was able to capture variations and nuances in cultural socialization. Suggestions for future research and recommendation for practice were also included.
Progress towards a Robotic Aid for the severely Disabled

During the past several years a number of projects have studied the feasibility of using robots to serve the needs of the severely disabled (1–4). The goal has been to build a device for use in the performance of activities of everyday living, as well as in recreational and vocational tasks, by persons whose upper and lower limb functions are impaired due to disease or injury.
Novel Semiconductor Single-Photon Detectors

Abstract In this Chapter, we summarize the current status and future prospects of a number of novel semiconductor-based single-photon detectors, including visible-light photon counters (VLPCs), solid-state photo-multipliers (SSPMs), and quantum-dot-based detectors. SSPMs and VLPCs utilize the gain produced by impact ionization of the impurity band to detect single photons over a wide wavelength range between 0.4 and 28 μ m . Quantum-dot-based single-photon detectors use photoconductive gain associated with photogenerated carriers trapped in quantum dots. We cover the basic operating principles of these devices, describe experimental results that demonstrate their unique attributes, present mathematical models that quantify their performance, and discuss the future of these novel detector technologies.
Wnt7a and miR-370-3p: new contributors to bladder cancer invasion

In eukaryotes, microRNAs (miRNAs) are central regulators of gene expression. These small noncoding RNAs are about 19–24 nucleotides long (1). miRNAs can silence gene expression by binding to a complementary sequence in the 3'-UTR of the target gene, which then triggers mRNA degradation.
Family Systems Counseling

This paper describes the author's personal approach to family systems counseling, applied to both clinical cases and counselor training. Family systems counseling embraces and integrates a variety ...
Hemiarthroplasty vs Total Hip Arthroplasty for Femoral Neck Fractures: 2010-2017 Trends in Complication Rates.

Abstract Background Optimal treatment of femoral neck fractures (FNFs) remains debated. Recent data suggest that total hip arthroplasty (THA) confers improved functional outcomes compared to hemiarthroplasty (HA) in active patients. However, temporal trends in complication rates between these treatments lack study. Methods The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was retrospectively queried to compare differences between HA and THA over time (2010-2012, 2013-2015, and 2016-2017) in blood transfusions, operation time, major complications, minor complications, and 30-day readmission, among FNF patients aged ≥50 years. Analyses adjusted for age, gender, anesthesia type, smoking, body mass index, hypertension, bleeding disorder, steroid use, and American Society of Anesthesiologists classification. Results In total, 16,213 patients were identified. THA was associated with higher transfusion rates in 2010-2012 (mean = 0.34 vs 0.28, P = .001) and 2013-2015 (mean = 0.21 vs 0.19, P = .002), but not in 2016-2017 (mean = 0.13 vs 0.14, P = .146). Operation time was significantly higher for THA across all periods (P’s Conclusion THA was associated with less major and minor complications in recent time periods compared to HA for the treatment of FNF, controlling for comorbidities. THA trends in transfusions and operation duration have improved over time compared to HA.
Tailoring: encoding inductive biases by optimizing unsupervised objectives at prediction time

From CNNs to attention mechanisms, encoding inductive biases into neural networks has been a fruitful source of improvement in machine learning. Adding auxiliary losses to the main objective function is a general way of encoding biases that can help networks learn better representations. However, since auxiliary losses are minimized only on training data, they suffer from the same generalization gap as regular task losses. Moreover, by adding a term to the loss function, the model optimizes a different objective than the one we care about. In this work we address both problems: first, we take inspiration from \textit{transductive learning} and note that after receiving an input but before making a prediction, we can fine-tune our networks on any unsupervised loss. We call this process {\em tailoring}, because we customize the model to each input to ensure our prediction satisfies the inductive bias. Second, we formulate {\em meta-tailoring}, a nested optimization similar to that in meta-learning, and train our models to perform well on the task objective after adapting them using an unsupervised loss. The advantages of tailoring and meta-tailoring are discussed theoretically and demonstrated empirically on a diverse set of examples.
A Multispecialty Critical Airway Simulation Course for Medical Students.

OBJECTIVES To develop a novel multispecialty simulation-based course that teaches both technical and nontechnical skills in the management of adult and pediatric critical airways to graduating medical students and 2) to encourage a collaborative, multispecialty approach to the management of a difficult airway amongst fourth-year medical students who have enrolled in otolaryngology, anesthesia, and emergency medicine residency programs. METHODS Fourth-year medical student who had matched into otolaryngology, anesthesia, and emergency medicine participated in an intensive half-day course consisting of a series of hands-on skills stations with increasing complexity, followed by simulated complex patient scenarios designed for shared management of airway emergencies. Participants completed questionnaires prior to and immediately after the course. Fischer's exact test was utilized to compare data between the precourse and postcourse surveys. Free-text responses were qualitatively assessed to inform course development. RESULTS Thirty-four medical students were enrolled (6 otolaryngology, 15 anesthesia, 13 emergency medicine), and 30 students completed both surveys. Fisher's exact test demonstrated improved confidence (P < .05) for every skill. More than 85% of participants strongly agreed or agreed that the intervention was useful in developing their knowledge, technical skills, and self-confidence and in improving clinical performance prior to residency. CONCLUSIONS This critical airway course introduces a multispecialty simulation-based course designed to impart graduating medical students with the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors for critical airway management while fostering interprofessional collaboration. Our course was successful in improving confidence and was perceived as useful in developing knowledge, technical skills, self-confidence, and clinical performance prior to residency. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE NA Laryngoscope, 131:1482-1486, 2021.
Extracellular Vesicles in Hematological Malignancies: From Biomarkers to Therapeutic Tools

Small extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a heterogenous group of lipid particles released by all cell types in physiological and pathological states. In hematological malignancies, tumor-derived EVs are critical players in mediating intercellular communications through the transfer of genetic materials and proteins between neoplastic cells themselves and to several components of the bone marrow microenvironment, rendering the latter a "stronger" niche supporting cancer cell proliferation, drug resistance, and escape from immune surveillance. In this context, the molecular cargoes of tumor-derived EVs reflect the nature and status of the cells of origin, making them specific therapeutic targets. Another important characteristic of EVs in hematological malignancies is their use as a potential "liquid biopsy" because of their high abundance in biofluids and their ability to protect their molecular cargoes from nuclease and protease degradation. Liquid biopsies are non-invasive blood tests that provide a molecular profiling clinical tool as an alternative method of disease stratification, especially in cancer patients where solid biopsies have limited accessibility. They offer accurate diagnoses and identify specific biomarkers for monitoring of disease progression and response to treatment. In this review, we will focus on the role of EVs in the most prevalent hematological malignancies, particularly on their prospective use as biomarkers in the context of liquid biopsies, as well as their molecular signature that identifies them as specific therapeutic targets for inhibiting cancer progression. We will also highlight their roles in modulating the immune response by acting as both immunosuppressors and activators of anti-tumor immunity.
Coupled Experimental and Computational Investigation of the Interplay between Discrete and Continuous Reinforcement in Ultrahigh Performance Concrete Beams. II: Mesoscale Modeling

AbstractThe first experimental campaign presented in the preceding Part I of this study is used to calibrate and validate a comprehensive computational framework called the lattice discrete particl...
Determination of fetal viability

Assessment of the feto-placental unit is needed during maternal states of health and disease. This presentation will discuss practical approaches to assess reproductive efficiency and placental health. Biomarkers including pregnancy-associated glycoproteins, and the use of ultrasonography will be described. Current literature review will be presented describing the utilization of different markers to assess placental health during times of disease or determine fetal outcome following conception. The practitioner will be exposed to cutting-edge research in the area of placental health, yet walk away with a practical understanding where these progressive techniques can be used in practice.
Clostridium perfringens Type A Infection in Cattle

Clostridium perfringens is divided into five types on the basis of its ability to produce one or more of the so-called major toxins (Table 1). Type A strains are those which produce alpha toxin (a characteristic of all, or nearly all, isolates) and which do not produce beta, epsilon, and iota toxins. They are widespread in the intestines of warm-blooded animals and in the environment,36 and are well-known causes of wound contamination, anaerobic cellulitis, and gas gangrene in humans.15 Strains of type A are associated with a wide variety of disease processes in many organ systems of myriad species of domestic animals.
Teaching Workplace Genre Ecologies and Pedagogical Goals Through Résumés and Cover Letters

This study examines how and why 20 instructors (17 tenure-line and 3 nontenure-line) in introductory service courses enact their pedagogical values and address current concerns (e.g., personal bran...
Effect of bupivacaine concentration and formulation on canine chondrocyte viability in vitro.

OBJECTIVE To quantitate bupivacaine concentration and formulation effects on chondrocyte viability in vitro. STUDY DESIGN Controlled laboratory study. SAMPLE POPULATION Primary canine chondrocyte isolates. METHODS Cell passage 3 and 4 canine chondrocytes were exposed to 0.9% saline; canine chondrocyte growth medium; 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, or 5 mg/mL preservative-free standard formulation bupivacaine (SFB); or 13.3 or 6.65 mg/mL liposomal encapsulated bupivacaine (LEB) for 1 hour. Chondrocyte viability and clonogenicity were quantitated with 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-31 yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and clonogenic assays, respectively. Differences among concentrations and formulations were assessed with Kruskal-Wallis and Dwass-Steel-Critchlow-Fligner post hoc tests. RESULTS Growth medium had the highest cell viability based on MTT metabolism. Similarly, all LEB concentration groups had higher cell viability compared with SFB concentration cells treated with 3.5 or 5 mg/mL SFB (P < .03). Among SFB concentrations, cell viability was higher at 0.6 mg/mL compared with at 2.5 mg/mL or greater (P < .03). Cell clonogenicity was not significantly different between saline, culture medium, or 0.5 mg/mL SFB. Clonogenicity was lower with all tested LEB concentrations compared with saline or medium (P < .02). CONCLUSION In vitro toxicity of SFB on canine chondrocytes is concentration dependent. Liposomal encapsulated bupivacaine may have time-dependent effects resulting in chondrotoxicity. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE Clinically relevant concentrations of SFB after a single injection may not result in chondrotoxic effects in vitro. Liposomal encapsulated bupivacaine should not be used in the articular environment.
Treatment Plan Evaluation in Boron Neutron Capture Therapy

The improvement of technology has seen the advent of modem radiotherapy techniques, such as stereotactic radiosurgery, static and dynamic conformational radiotherapy, and intensity modulated radiotherapy. To use such techniques effectively and safely, a new generation of fully three-dimensional treatment planning programs have been developed. Such systems use multiple patient images (CT, MRI, etc.) and allow fall 3-D calculation of doses, using non-coplanar beams and improved calculation models. Such detailed and accurate calculation and treatment planning techniques have made it possible to escalate doses to normal tissues to higher values and thereby treat the tumor to higher radiation doses with greater confidence.
Vaccine-induced immunity against Helicobacter pylori in the absence of IL-17A

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a gram negative bacterium that can cause diseases such as peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. IL-17A, a proinflammatory cytokine that can induce the production of CXC chemokines for neutrophil recruitment, has recently been shown to be elevated in both H. pylori-infected patients and mice. Furthermore, studies in mouse models of vaccination have reported levels significantly increased over infected, unimmunized mice and blocking of IL-17A during the challenge phase in immunized mice reduces protective immunity. Because many aspects of immunity had redundant or compensatory mechanisms, we investigated whether mice could be protectively immunized when IL-17A function is absent during the entire immune response using IL-17A and IL-17A receptor knockout (KO) mice immunized against H. pylori. Materials and Methods: Gastric biopsies were harvested from naive, unimmunized/challenged, and immunized/challenged wild type (WT) and KO mice and analyzed for inflammation, neutrophil, and bacterial levels. Groups of IL-17A KO mice were also treated with anti-IFNγ or control antibodies. Results: Surprisingly, all groups of immunized KO mice reduced their bacterial loads comparably to WT mice. The gastric neutrophil counts did not vary significantly between IL-17A KO and WT mice, whereas IL-17RA KO mice had on average a four-fold decrease compared to WT. Additionally, we performed an immunization study with CXCR2 KO mice and observed significant gastric neutrophils and reduction in bacterial load. Conclusion: These data suggest that there are compensatory mechanisms for protection against H. pylori and for neutrophil recruitment in the absence of an IL-17A-CXC chemokine pathway.