cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
EXAMINATION OF HOUSTON'S QUICKRIDE PARTICIPANTS BY FREQUENCY OF QUICKRIDE USAGE

QuickRide is an innovative project designed to more effectively use the capacity of the high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lanes on the Katy (I-10) and Northwest (US-290) freeways in Houston. Under this project, two-person carpools could pay $2 to use the HOV lanes during the peak period, even though the lanes were normally restricted to vehicles with three or more occupants. This form of HOV lane is typically termed a high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane and can be an effective travel demand management and congestion mitigation tool. However, relatively little is known about drivers who choose to use the HOT lane option. The commute and socioeconomic characteristics of Houston's QuickRide participants are examined by their frequency of QuickRide usage. The study is based on a survey of QuickRide enrollees conducted in March 2003. It was found that QuickRide participation increases with increasing trip length, perceived time savings, and frequency of trips in the travel corridor. Participation decreases with increasing carpool formation times but is generally irresponsive to minor changes in the $2 toll. QuickRide is also more likely to be used for commute trips than other trips. Socioeconomic characteristics such as age, household type, and education also have significant effects on QuickRide trip frequency. However, household size, occupation, and hourly wage rate were not good indicators of the frequency of QuickRide usage.
A note on ion–dust streaming instability in a collisional dusty plasma

This note investigates an ion-dust streaming instability with frequency ω less than the dust collision frequency νd, in an unmagnetized collisional dusty plasma. Under certain conditions, a resistive instability can be excited by an ion drift on the order of the ion thermal speed, even when the dust acoustic wave is heavily damped. The effect of weak collisions on the usual dust acoustic instability in the regime ω > νd is also considered. Applications to experimental observations of low-frequency fluctuations in laboratory d.c. glow discharge dusty plasmas are discussed.
Physical Illness among Psychiatric Patients

Psychiatric patients do not live as long as other people. This fact of psychiatric life was first reported early in the 20th century, and recent epidemiologic studies indicate that it continues to be true. It is a matter of central concern for all psychiatrists.
Visualizing urban systems: revealing city infrastructures

Modeling urbanism affects urban understanding. This paper introduces a layered pedagogy focusing on urban design representation. It emphasizes the ephemeral and experiential dimensions of the contemporary metropolis. While this research-oriented coursework has targeted a visual study of infrastructural systems found in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan region, the topical nature of the urban discourse remains universal: urban systems and social production they elucidate transpire across the city at large. Beginning with geographic tools, initial mappings become subjective endeavors with specific intentions or empowered by a design agency (political). This information then is filtered through an algorithm oriented process to efficiently reconstitute 3d attributed data into modeling software for further interrogation and speculation (computation and visual). By running simulations driven by this data, urban systems reveal visible and invisible relationships upon urban space. Cinematic techniques are developed through film analysis studies which are then employed to integrate these animated models with live-action video footage. The resulting work of the lessons aims to produce short videos that animate, analyze and link disparate spatial qualities together. The videos make visible the various latent relationships of how infrastructural systems work and what they mean and do for people in cities.
The Structure and Role of Vendors' Discounts in State Sales Tax Systems

The author examines the role of the vendors' discount in state sales tax systems. He believes that governments should have to pay for services rendered, as they do with the vendors' discount. He says that the discount can be viewed as privatizing part of the collection process.
Insurgency and Advocacy: Unauthorized Foreign Workers and Civil Society in South Korea:

Due to major structural changes in the 1980s, South Korea initiated an international contract labor program known as the industrial trainee system in 1991. Started ostensibly as a temporary measure to deal with domestic labor shortage in the declining manufacturing sector, the program has spread recently to other sectors, including fisheries, construction and agriculture. Currently, over 300,000 unskilled foreigners reside in South Korea, of which two out of every three persons are identified as unauthorized workers. This article examines how the South Korean industrial trainee program systematically produces unauthorized workers and highlights the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in protecting the human rights of foreign workers. The successful collaboration of South Korea's civil society stems from its unique historical formation, rooted in democracy movements of earlier decades. It also implicates strong prospects for substantive integration of foreign workers and, as a consequence, sugges...
Terminology of the Pretarsus

It is often the case in Entomology, as well as the other sciences, that authors, not realizing a specific structure has been previously named and described, create another homonym or synonym. Only through searching the literature is one able to discover the many confusing and interchangeable terms that have been used for a structure, and, unfortunately, this also applies to the pretarsus. With the growth of the pretarsus as a taxonomic unit of definite value, and the increased interest in the physiology of the pretarsus, a stable terminology is necessary. Hence, it is my desire that the following glossary will bring order from the chaos in which the terminology of the pretarsus now exists.
Gas shale; relationships between permeability and intrinsic composition

The quantitative mineralogical data, TOC and porosity were used to increase understanding there relationships to permeability, and permeability anisotropy of gas shale based on lab measurements. Four different productive gas shales were used to study these relationships. There is a general increase in permeability with increase gas-felling porosity. At the same time, all samples, regardless of the flow direction, show a nonlinear reduction in permeability with increase of effective pressure (up to 3 orders of magnitude), with large variations from sample to sample and flow direction. This is more consistent with the microcracks model than with the capillary tube one. This reduction in permeability is found to follow a cubic k- law and explained by preferential flow through pore likecracks. There is a good relationship between permeability and mineralogical composition of the studied samples where the quartz-rich samples are more permeable than carbonate–rich samples, and permeability increases with increasing quartz content. Also permeability shows an increase when pyrite content is higher. On the other hand, permeability shows a decrease with increase carbonate and clay minerals especially illite. While the microstructure studies show a lot of microand nano-pores within the TOC, there is no clear relationship between TOC and permeability or porosity. Further intensive studies to establish these relationships are needed.
Abstract 4807: Identification of pre-invasive pancreatic cancer serum biomarkers using genetically engineered mouse models and mass spectrometry techniques

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Surgery is the only curative treatment approach if the tumor is diagnosed early at an organ confined stage. Therefore, serum biomarkers specific for early stage pancreatic neoplasia would be of tremendous value in the treatment of this disease. Genetically engineered mouse models (GEM) of pancreatic neoplasia have been generated that closely recapitulate the molecular and biological properties of human PDAC. Here we take advantage of these GEMs and a high-throughput proteomics approaches to “dig deep” into the serum proteome of these mice to identify representative biomarkers of early stage pancreatic neoplasia. Methods: Serum was collected from 9 Pdx1-Cre (control) and 9 Pdx1-Cre;LSL-RasG12D (pre-invasive PDAC model) mice at 4 months of age. Serum was then pooled into 3 sets of 3 samples for each arm. The top 7 most abundant proteins were depleted from each pooled sample prior to labeling with a tandem mass tag (TMT) sixplex isobaric labeling system and long-column MudPIT analysis. Data were searched in SEQUEST, and quantified in ProteoIQ. Candidate proteins were accepted only with 97-99% confidence, and at least 2 unique TMT tagged peptides. Only biomarkers with >2 fold change and passing 2 non-parametric statistical tests were further evaluated. The same samples were also analyzed with a 1D MALDI-TOF MSMS approach to survey the low-mass serum proteome. In addition, a multi-dimensional MALDI-TOF approach was carried out on whole protein serum samples using spectral counting to quantify proteins instead of TMT labeling. Results/Discussion: Long-column MudPIT analysis resulted in identification of 3001 proteins with high confidence. Seventy of these proteins passed fold change and statistical filters, with 25 of these having known biological connections to pancreatic disease or function. A number of these proteins are currently being validated by immune assays. Multi-dimensional MALDI-TOF analysis resulted in identification of 8 differentially abundant proteins. Two of these proteins have been validated by Western blot. Taken together, these mass spectrometry techniques allow for a relatively in-depth survey of the serum proteome with accurate quantitation of potentially novel early stage pancreatic neoplasia biomarkers. Ultimately, the biomarkers identified in this study will be validated in human studies with the expectation that high risk patients will benefit from the application of these biomarkers for early diagnosis and improved treatment of disease. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4807. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4807
Practical method of fatigue crack growth analysis for damage tolerance assessment of aluminum structure in fighter type aircraft

The relationship between crack growth rate under variable amplitude spectrum "da/dF" and the stress intensity per unit stress W" is found to be unique for similar loading spectra. Once this relationship, f (a), is established, the cycle-by-cycle integration is not needed and simple integration of "f ( O r ) ! ' can be applied to obtain the crack growth curve. An illustration of the da/dF YS. c1 approach as recommended for the A-10A Damage Tolerance Reassessment is demonstrated. It includcstwo different stress spectra applied on coupon tests with various geometry and loading configurations. The function "f (a)" assumes the form used by the Forman equation for da/dN, normalized about some reference stress. This function is shown to fit best the data points gcnerated by the coupon test.
Microstructural Characterization of a Mg Matrix U-Mo Dispersion Fuel Plate Irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor to High Fission Density: SEM Results

Low-enriched (U-235 <20 pct) U-Mo dispersion fuel is being developed for use in research and test reactors. In most cases, fuel plates with Al or Al-Si alloy matrices have been tested in the Advanced Test Reactor to support this development. In addition, fuel plates with Mg as the matrix have also been tested. The benefit of using Mg as the matrix is that it potentially will not chemically interact with the U-Mo fuel particles during fabrication or irradiation, whereas with Al and Al-Si alloys such interactions will occur. Fuel plate R9R010 is a Mg matrix fuel plate that was aggressively irradiated in ATR. This fuel plate was irradiated as part of the RERTR-8 experiment at high temperature, high fission rate, and high power, up to high fission density. This paper describes the results of the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of an irradiated fuel plate using polished samples and those produced with a focused ion beam. A follow-up paper will discuss the results of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. Using SEM, it was observed that even at very aggressive irradiation conditions, negligible chemical interaction occurred between the irradiated U-7Mo fuel particles and Mg matrix; no interconnection of fission gas bubbles from fuel particle to fuel particle was observed; the interconnected fission gas bubbles that were observed in the irradiated U-7Mo particles resulted in some transport of solid fission products to the U-7Mo/Mg interface; the presence of microstructural pathways in some U-9.1 Mo particles that could allow for transport of fission gases did not result in the apparent presence of large porosity at the U-7Mo/Mg interface; and, the Mg-Al interaction layers that were present at the Mg matrix/Al 6061 cladding interface exhibited good radiation stability, i.e. no large pores.
Knock-in editing: it functionally corrects!

In this issue of Blood, Hubbard et al provide important proof-of-concept data on the utility of using genome editing to knock-in a wild-type (WT) complementary DNA (cDNA) to functionally correct disease-causing mutations in a gene in primary human T cells.
Podocyte Depletion in Thin GBM and Alport Syndrome.

The proximate genetic cause of both Thin GBM and Alport Syndrome (AS) is abnormal α3, 4 and 5 collagen IV chains resulting in abnormal glomerular basement membrane (GBM) structure/function. We previously reported that podocyte detachment rate measured in urine is increased in AS, suggesting that podocyte depletion could play a role in causing progressive loss of kidney function. To test this hypothesis podometric parameters were measured in 26 kidney biopsies from 21 patients aged 2-17 years with a clinic-pathologic diagnosis including both classic Alport Syndrome with thin and thick GBM segments and lamellated lamina densa [n = 15] and Thin GBM cases [n = 6]. Protocol biopsies from deceased donor kidneys were used as age-matched controls. Podocyte depletion was present in AS biopsies prior to detectable histologic abnormalities. No abnormality was detected by light microscopy at 70% podocyte depletion. Low level proteinuria was an early event at about 25% podocyte depletion and increased in proportion to podocyte depletion. These quantitative data parallel those from model systems where podocyte depletion is the causative event. This result supports a hypothesis that in AS podocyte adherence to the GBM is defective resulting in accelerated podocyte detachment causing progressive podocyte depletion leading to FSGS-like pathologic changes and eventual End Stage Kidney Disease. Early intervention to reduce podocyte depletion is projected to prolong kidney survival in AS.
Microbial Fuel Cells: Plug-in and Power-on Microbiology

If scientists have their way, “green” beer won't be limited to St. Patrick's Day celebrations anymore. Breweries are taking their wastewater, which is rich in organic material, and turning it into electricity with bacteria in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). MFCs can generate valuable commodities from a variety of organic wastes that are abundant and essentially free—bacteria have generated electricity from industrial wastewaters, sewage, and even sediment. In MFCs, bacteria act as living catalysts to convert organic substrates into electricity. While this technology may sound like an answer to our energy crisis, MFCs are not yet viable for most applications. Ongoing research is dedicated to optimizing their performance, with only recent attention being given to the microbial details of waste-towattage conversion.
Editor's Highlight: Transplacental and Lactational Transfer of Firemaster® 550 Components in Dosed Wistar Rats.

UNLABELLED Firemaster® 550 (FM 550) is a commercial mixture of organophosphate and brominated flame retardants currently in use as a replacement for pentaBDE. Its organophosphate components include triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) and a suite of isopropylated triarylphosphate isomers (ITPs); its brominated components include 2-ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (EH-TBB) and bis (2-ethylhexyl)-2,3,4,5-tetrabromophthalate (BEH-TEBP). Taken together, these chemicals have been shown to be endocrine disrupting and potentially toxic, and human exposure to them is widespread. In this study, maternal transfer of FM 550 components, and in some cases their metabolites, was investigated in dosed Wistar rats. Gestational and lactational transfer were examined separately, with dams orally exposed to 300 or 1000 µg of FM 550 for 10 consecutive days during gestation (gestational day [GD] 9-18) or lactation (postnatal day [PND] 3-12). Levels of parent compounds were measured in fetus and whole pup tissue homogenates, and in dam and pup serum, and several metabolites were measured in dam and pup urine. EH-TBB body burdens resulting from lactational transfer were approximately 200- to 300-fold higher than those resulting from placental transfer, whereas low levels of BEH-TEBP were transferred during both lactation and gestation. TPHP and ITPs were rapidly metabolized by the dams and were not detected in whole tissue homogenates. However, diphenyl phosphate (DPHP) and mono-isopropylphenyl phenyl phosphate (ip-PPP) were detected in urine from the dosed animals. This study is the first to confirm ip-PPP as a urinary metabolite of ITPs and establish a pharmacokinetic profile of FM 550 in a mammalian model. KEY WORDS Firemaster 550 ;: lactational transfer ;: gestational transfer; metabolites; rodent.
Recientes avances en la clasificación de explosiones de rayos gamma cortas en astrofísica

RESUMEN Las explosiones de rayos gamma (tambien conocidas como GRBs por sus siglas en ingles: Gamma-ray Bursts) han sido un enigma desde su descubrimiento hace mas de 40 anos. Son los eventos explosivos mas energeticos del universo despues del Big Bang y se dan a distancias cosmologicas. El presente articulo explora el conocimiento alcanzado sobre estos fenomenos astrofisicos, en la ultima decada, ya que se ha logrado un gran avance en el entendimiento y esclarecimiento de algunos de sus procesos fisicos intrinsecos, gracias a los adelantos teoricos, observacionales y de instrumentacion. Investigaciones recientes proponen la existencia de al menos un nuevo tipo de GRB, lo cual modificaria la concepcion, que en la actualidad tenemos sobre su clasificacion y la asignacion de sus progenitores. Palabras clave : Explosiones de rayos gamma, GRB, astrofisica. ABSTRACT Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBx) have been an enigma since its discovery more than 40 years ago. They are the most energetic events of the universe after the Big Bang and take place at cosmological distances. This article explores the progress in knowledge which has been achieved in the last decade, as the advances in knowledge resulted in a dramatic breakthrough in the understanding and clarification of some of their intrinsic physics processes, thanks to the theoretical, observational and instrumentation advances. Recent investigations suggest the existence of at least one new type of GRB, which would change the concept we currently have on their classification and the assignment of their progenitors. Keywords : Gamma ray-bursts, GRB, astrophysics.
Gesture Interfaces: Minor Change in Effort, Major Impact on Appeal

Making gestures easy for imaging systems to reliably recognize often comes at the expense of user effort. But what is the impact of increasing a gesture's effort, even slightly, on user preference? We investigate physical effort, system reliability, and user satisfaction in two experiments. The first explores eight basic command gestures. Participants preferred the less effortful gestures in two of the three easy-difficult gesture pairs when they perceived the difference in effort to be significantly different. The second experiment explores two separate three-dimensional pointing and selection conditions that differ only in the movement distance required to finish the task. In both experiments, there is a significant negative correlation between a gesture's effort and its appeal. The results show the great impact that effort has on a user's willingness to utilize the system. The findings provide evidence that the trade-off between user effort and system reliability must be carefully considered to build an effective gesture interface.
Child’s Number of Activities as a Moderator of Depressive Symptoms

Children with depressed parents are at greater risk of developing depression than children whose parents do not have depression. Activity scheduling has been shown to mitigate depressive symptoms; however, research has yet to fully determine what components of activities (i.e., physical activity of sports vs. socialization of organizations) impact the strength of the relationship between parental and child depressive symptoms. This study investigated the relationship between maternal and child depressive symptoms and the degree to which youth involvement in activities impacted the strength of the relationship between maternal and child depression. Participants included 116 treatment-seeking mother–child dyads (M = 10.99; SD = 2.39). Results of multiple regressions suggested that maternal depressive symptoms was a significant predictor of children’s depressive symptoms. In addition, the number of sports a child participated in was a predictor of child depressive symptoms (p = .006) and was a significant moderator of the relationship between maternal and child depressive symptoms (p = .005). Visual analysis of a regression line plot suggested that participation in a higher number of sports was associated with less severe child depressive symptoms across level of maternal depressive symptoms (i.e., high vs. low). Number of organizations and hobbies were not significant moderators of the relationship between maternal and child depressive symptoms. Results suggest that involvement in multiple sports may decrease the strength of the association between maternal and child depressive symptoms, although more research is needed to demonstrate causality. Nevertheless, this study suggests the clinical utility of increased participation in sports for children.
Psychophysiological biomarkers: Working around behavioral response limitations.

Limitations in participants’ repertoire of reliable behavioral responses, due to immaturity or intellectual and developmental disabilities, frequently present a challenge for evaluating cognitive s...
Unplugged Cybersecurity: An Approach for Bringing Computer Science into the Classroom.

The United States Naval Academy (USNA) STEM Center for Education and Outreach addresses an urgent Navy and national need for more young people to pursue careers in STEM fields through world-wide outreach to 17,000 students and 900 teachers per year. To achieve this mission, the STEM Center has developed a hands-on and inquiry-based methodology to be used with K-12 educators at professional development workshops and with students through camps, festivals and fairs, and STEM days.According to recent data, math and computer science (CS) are the fastest growing fields among STEM careers (US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). The Computer Science for All initiative (2016) urges communities to bring more computer science education into the classroom to meet the rapidly rising need for more CS graduates. As a result, the USNA STEM Center has developed a number of unplugged (without a computer) cybersecurity modules to promote engagement and increase awareness. Topic areas include encryption, networking and social media, viruses and malware, programming, hardware components, authentication and authorization, and hacking.This article describes the methodology for developing unplugged computer science activities and adapting computer science undergraduate curriculum for K-12 educators and students as an introduction to complex computer science topics.
Initializing type-2 residual stresses in crystal plasticity finite element simulations utilizing high-energy diffraction microscopy data

Abstract Crystal plasticity finite element models have advanced in recent years by increasing their fidelity via incorporating physically based deformation mechanisms and more realistic microstructures. In order to better understand their effectiveness, researchers have looked at comparing their results with that of experiments at the grain level. In most of these efforts, the importance of incorporating initial residual stresses, representing the true grain morphologies, and imposing correct boundary conditions, which may have a significant effect on the results, is often overlooked. This work utilizes an available dataset of high-energy X-ray diffraction microscopy experiments conducted on a titanium alloy, Ti-7Al, providing complete grain averaged elastic strain tensors to investigate these three issues in crystal plasticity models. In this study, a method to initialize grain-level residual stresses is formulated and its effect on the correlation of results between simulations and experiments, is evaluated. The effect of grain morphology on the simulation results is evaluated by comparing results from simulations using exact 3D grain morphology with that of simulations using tessellated grain structures. In addition, the importance of applying physically realistic boundary conditions, obtained directly from experiments is also investigated. The findings of this work indicate that initial residual stresses and physically realistic boundary conditions play a key role in the results obtained from CPFE simulations and it is imperative that more importance is given to them. On the other hand, using exact grain morphology is not of much benefit while comparing data on the grain averaged scale as long as the microstructure contains information about the position of the grains, as is the case with tessellations, although grain morphology plays an important role in predicting intragranular strain localization.
Merging the Cultures of Design and Engineering: A Case Study

This paper presents a case study of a web application development project, in which user-centered design (UCD) was successfully integrated in an environment with strong historical and cultural roots in traditional engineering. The case study details the key factors that led to the success of the project in a deeply traditional risk-averse engineering culture, and how the lessons learned apply beyond its scope. Key factors included a design team with experience in the worlds of both design and engineering, a careful selection of UCD methods, and finally a management structure that embraced cultural change.
Attitudes Toward Stereotyped Behaviors

This investigation examined trait inferences that people make of individuals who engage in body rocking. In Study 1, participants interacted with either a rocking or a nonrocking individual. In Study 2, participants observed video-clips of rocking and nonrocking individuals in various settings. In Study 3, participants observed video-clips of a person engaging in body-rocking, head-rolling, or no-stereotyped behavior. Results of the 3 studies suggest that people hold specific negative attitudes toward people who engage in body-rocking, and that amplitude of body-rocking is a factor in determining these negative attitudes. People tend to attribute body-rocking to high-neuroticism and anxiety, and to low-agreeableness.
Experiments on the Heavy Electron Superconductors UBe13 and URu2Si2

A variety of ground states have been found in heavy electron compounds; nonmagnetic-normal conducting, nonmagnetic-superconducting, magnetic-normal conducting, and coexisting antiferromagnetic-superconducting. Superconducting heavy electron compounds, in particular, have attracted a great deal of attention because the superconductivity was unexpected and the superconducting properties are very unusual. This has led to the speculation that these materials may exhibit an unconventional type of superconductivity involving a new type of pairing and/or pairing mechanism. In this paper, we briefly review some recent experiments we have carried out on the heavy electron superconductors UBe13 and URu2Si2 in an effort to obtain information concerning the origin and nature of superconductivity in these remarkable materials.
Thermal Brillouin Scattering Study of the Attenuation of Hypersound in Quartz

The velocity and attenuation of 28 GHz longitudinal phonons along the X-axis of α-quartz have been measured in a temperature range from 100° to 600 °K. High resolution Brillouin scattering techniques are employed in this regime where conventional ultrasonics methods are not applicable.
Spatial Print Trajectory

Current digital clay fabrication techniques comply with the innate material behavior of clay by extruding in two-dimensional layers. This method inevitably uses an excess amount of material and is a time-consuming process that does not take advantage of the viscous properties of clay. However, by utilizing spatial print trajectories with embedded print parameters (e.g. print speed and extrusion rate), the extrusion behavior of the material can be controlled via simulating actions like anchor, drag, and pull of the clay at the nozzle tip. The aforementioned spatial print trajectory can then form a voxel that can be heterogeneously controlled in order to quickly form self-supporting complex geometries with different density, macro-porosity, and structural rigidity. The print path can also be scaled up to exploit the potential of digital fabrication at the construction scale.
Proton Transfer in 1,2,4-Triazolium Dinitramide: Effect of Aqueous Microsolvation

The gas phase proton transfer process in 1,2,4-triazolium dinitramide (TD) was studied using second-order perturbation theory to determine how the presence of one and two water molecules modifies the potential energy surface that connects the ion pair to the neutral pair. The presence of one water molecule can introduce small proton transfer energy barriers that separate the ion pair from the lower-energy neutral pair. These energy barriers are easily surmounted. Reaction paths were determined for single proton transfers and double proton transfers via one water molecule. In the presence of two water molecules, the global minimum is an ion pair, as are most of the lower-energy local minima. Energy barriers for single, double, and triple proton transfers were also found for TD in the presence of two water molecules. One TD ion pair structure with two water molecules has no corresponding neutral pair energy minimum. A quasi-atomic orbital analysis is used to understand the nature of the bonding in the vario...
Mutation burden in conjunction with MAPK-pathway mutation status as a prognostic biomarker of overall melanoma survival.

9584Background: The high tumor mutation burden (TMB) in melanoma triggers the increased presentation of neoantigens, which are required to elicit an immune response. As a result, TMB has been propo...
Greater Rates of Acute Kidney Injury in African American Total Knee Arthroplasty Patients.

BACKGROUND This retrospective study compared the change in serum creatinine between African American and Caucasian total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients. The authors hypothesized that African Americans would demonstrate significantly greater change, and that a significantly greater proportion would demonstrate creatinine changes consistent with acute kidney injury (AKI). METHODS Primary TKAs performed at a single institution between July 2011 and June 2016 were identified: 1035 primary TKAs met inclusion and exclusion criteria (110 African American, 925 Caucasian, excluding Hispanic and Asian patients). None were excluded based on gender, age, body mass index, preoperative diagnosis, or comorbidities. All patients had preoperative and postoperative creatinine levels available in the electronic medical records. Each patient received the same preop and postop protocol for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use along with other drugs administered including anesthesia. All patients received 1 g of intravenous vancomycin with some patients additionally receiving 1 g of vancomycin powder administered locally at the end of surgery. All patients were controlled for fluid intake and blood loss, along with no patient receiving a transfusion or intravenous contrast. Patient demographics and preoperative/postoperative serum creatinine were recorded and then analyzed for presence of AKI (≥0.3 mg/dL). Preoperative/postoperative serum creatinine concentrations were compared between African American and Caucasian patients using 2 × 2 repeated measures analysis of variance. Prevalence of patients in each group demonstrating AKI was calculated using Fisher's exact test. RESULTS African American patients had significantly greater serum creatinine preoperatively (1.00 ± 0.26 vs 0.90 ± 0.22, P < .001) and a significantly greater increase postoperatively (0.10 vs 0.03, P < .001). A significantly greater number of African American patients demonstrated AKI (10.9% vs 5.1%, P = .03). Furthermore, a significantly greater number of African American patients stayed in the hospital an additional 2 or more days for renal issues (2.7% vs 0.4%, P = .03). CONCLUSION Altered renal function was significantly more common in African American TKA patients. Future studies are necessary to determine if tailoring anti-inflammatories, perioperative medications, and preoperative comorbidities reduce the risk of renal injury and/or a longer hospital stay for this subset of patients.
LEFT VENTRICULAR MASS INDEX IMPROVES RISK ASSESSMENT OVER THE POOLED COHORT EQUATION (PCE) OR CORONARY ARTERY CALCIUM (CAC) SCORE IN THE INTERMEDIATE RISK POPULATION

In order to improve PCE-based ASCVD risk prediction, especially for those with intermediate risk (i.e. 5-7.5%), the ACC/AHA risk assessment working group had called for research into novel risk markers. We therefore evaluated the incremental benefit of LV mass index (LVMI) over the PCE We included
Detecting Healthcare Fraud through Patient Sharing Schemes

The United States loses at least $60 billion in health-care fraud every year, and some estimates put the cost as high as 10% of the nation’s total health-care spending, which exceeds $2 trillion. The federal government is putting tremendous efforts in combating health frauds and safeguard the two largest government sponsored programs: Medicare and Medicaid. Using data analysis techniques to discover and prevent health care frauds is an important focus in all of the efforts. In this paper, we propose a new method for identifying patient sharing schemes that are prevalent in many parts of this country. Our proposed method is based on the PageRank algorithm that has been used by Google’s Web search engine. We describe our approach, discuss the similarities and differences with PageRank, and demonstrate the applicability of this method by applying it to datasets simulated from real-life scenarios.
Efficacy of teacher-implemented good behavior game despite low treatment integrity

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a well-documented group contingency designed to reduce disruptive behavior in classroom settings. However, few studies have evaluated the GBG with students who engage in severe problem behavior in alternative schools, and there are few demonstrations of training teachers in those settings to implement the GBG. In the current study, 3 teachers were trained to implement the GBG in a restrictive setting for students with histories of emotional and behavioral disorders and delinquency. The teachers used the GBG to produce substantial reductions in problem behavior despite low treatment integrity. Clinical implications and future directions for research are discussed.
Assessment and Management of the Patient with Cirrhosis Undergoing Surgery

A significant number of cirrhotic patients require nonhepatic surgery, most frequently repair of hernias, cholecystectomy, and peripheral surgery. The perioperative management of these patients can be challenging and there are limited controlled data to guide clinical decision making. Similarly, there are few controlled studies on pain management in cirrhotic patients, such that both the management of pain and surgical management of these patients are largely empirical, guided by clinical outcomes and case series. In this chapter, we review the perioperative management and use of analgesics in this population.
In situ hybridization for high risk HPV E6/E7 mRNA in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Abstract Objectives To report a single institution's experience using human papillomavirus (HPV) E6/E7 mRNA in-situ hybridization (mRNA ISH) for HPV detection in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). To review the literature on HPV detection methods. Study design Retrospective chart review, literature review. Setting Tertiary care academic hospital. Subjects and methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of 122 OPSCC biopsy specimens. mRNA ISH was performed on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue with a pool of 18 high risk HPV probes using an automated stainer; p16 immunohistochemistry (IHC) was also performed. We conducted a literature review on HPV detection methods including p16 IHC, mRNA ISH, DNA ISH, and PCR. Results In our cohort, mRNA ISH had a sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 100% with reference to p16 (100% concordance). 2-year OS was 87.5% vs. 94.5% for p16/HPV-negative vs. positive patients. 2-year DFS was 60.0% vs. 84.2%. On literature review, mRNA ISH demonstrated consistently high sensitivity and specificity ranging from 88–98% and 90–100% respectively. In comparison, the specificity of p16 was 85–95%. Conclusions Our report supports the use of mRNA ISH for HPV detection in OPSCC and validates its feasibility using automated tissue staining methods on FFPE tissue. Our findings and literature review support that mRNA ISH may have superior specificity and be easier to interpret than p16. Further study on the prognostic value and cost-effectiveness of mRNA ISH is warranted and may establish this HPV detection method as the “gold standard.”
Kicking Yourself Awake: Towards self-powering mats for room-level localization and occupancy detection

Motivated by the desire to reduce wiring costs in building occupancy monitoring systems, we explore the feasibility of waking a sensor node precisely when an event of interest occurs. We realize this through the use of piezoelectric devices that can be used to sense pressure and to harvest enough energy to wake and power a wireless sensor node. We envision their use in self-powering floor mats that can be placed at the entrance of each room that are awoken by a footstep and send footstep counts to an occupancy monitoring system. Early prototype measurements suggest that sufficient energy is generated from a footstep and that the piezo signal is accurate enough to identify footsteps and their direction.
New patient access via telehealth in neuromuscular medicine during COVID-19.

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the face of health care delivery. Health care institutions rapidly transitioned to telehealth to provide care to patients. Prior to the pandemic, telehealth services extended mostly to patients with established diagnoses. Driven by a necessity to provide care to all patients during the pandemic, neurologists started evaluating new patients also via telehealth. Objective To explore opportunities, challenges, and feasibility of telehealth for new patients with neuromuscular disorders. Methods New patient visits performed in our neuromuscular clinic were analyzed from March 18, 2020 - July 31, 2020. Data collected included visit volume, demographics, geographic distance of patient's residence from our institution, and no-show and cancellation rates. Results Total number of patients seen was 1,471; 472 (32%) were new patients. No-show and cancellation rates for telehealth visits were lower than historical in-person visits. There was a wide range of ages (35-74 years) with representation of new patients from a large geographical territory. Conclusion This study advances our understanding regarding the adoption and implementation of telehealth for new patients. Our clinic was able to provide timely access and care to a significant number of patients who could not travel to our institution during COVID-19.
Coupled Parametrically Driven Modes in Synchrotron Dynamics

This work concerns the dynamics of a type of particle accelerator called a synchrotron, in which particles are made to move in nearly circular orbits of large radius. The stability of the transverse motion of such a rotating particle may be modeled as being governed by Mathieu’s equation. For a train of two such particles the equations of motion are coupled due to plasma interactions and resistive wall coupling effects.In this paper we study a system consisting of a train of two such particles which is modeled as two coupled nonlinear Mathieu equations with delay coupling. In particular we investigate the stability of two coupled parametrically forced linear normal modes.
Two real critical constraints for real parameter margin computation. Examples

For pt.I, see ibid., vol.1, pp.651-655, (1992). Several examples in the literature are used to illustrate the proposed concept and approach of two real critical constraints developed by the authors in a companion paper. The examples are those of A. Vicino and A. Tesi (1990), R.E. De Gaston and M.G. Safonov (1988), J. Ackermann's multilinear polynomial, B.C. Chang et al. (1991), and B.R. Barmish (1989). >
Characterization of the inhibition of U46619-mediated human platelet activation by the trimetoquinol isomers: Evidence for endoperoxide/thromboxane A2 receptor blockade

Abstract Sites of inhibition for the trimetoquinol (TMQ) isomers on 15S-hydroxy-11α,9α-(epoxymethano)prosta-5Z, 13E-dienoic acid (U46619)-, 12- O -tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA)- and A23187-induced human platelet activation were investigated. Experiments using washed human platelets were designed to characterize relationships among functional (aggregation, secretion) and biochemical (protein phosphorylation, metabolism of inositol phospholipids and radioligand displacement analysis) processes of platelet activation by U46619 and the specificity of inhibition by the TMQ isomers. Thromboxane A 2 receptor stimulation by U46619 in human platelets resulted in a time- and concentration-dependent breakdown of inositol phospholipids [phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP 2 ), phosphatidylinositol 4-monophosphate (PIP), and phosphatidylinositol (PI)], phosphatidic acid (PA) accumulation, phosphorylation of 20 and 45 kD proteins, aggregation and serotonin secretion. The TMQ isomers stereoselectively inhibited all U46619-mediated platelet activation processes. R (+)TMQ was 40- and 22-fold more potent than S (−)-TMQ as an inhibitor of U46619-induced platelet aggregation and serotonin secretion respectively. In addition, R (+)-TMQ blocked U46619-induced 20 kD protein phosphorylation, 45 kD protein phosphorylation, PIP 2 , PIP and PI breakdown, and PA accumulation with a potency which was 8-, 13-, 45-, 37-, 33- and 33-fold greater than the S (−)-isomer respectively. In contrast to S (−)-TMQ, R (+)-TMQ produced a concentration-dependent inhibition of specific [ 3 H]U46619 binding to endoperoxide/thromboxane A 2 receptor sites in washed platelets. In other experiments, S (−)-TMQ was more potent than R (+)-TMQ as an inhibitor of TPA- and A23187-induced platelet aggregation and serotonin secretion, and of TPA-induced phosphorylation of 45 and 20 kD proteins. The inhibitory potencies of S (−)-TMQ against TPA- or A23187-induced responses were similar to those needed for antagonism of U46619-mediated platelet activation. In contrast, much higher concentrations of R (+)-TMQ were required for blockade of TPA or A23187 versus U46619-mediated responses in human platelets. Taken collectively, the data show that the TMQ isomers interfered with the endoperoxide/thromboxane A 2 receptor-mediated phospholipase C-signal cascade of inositol phospholipid hydrolysis, calcium mobilization, and protein phosphorylation leading to platelet aggregation and secretion. R (+)-TMQ acted as a pharmacologically selective and highly stereospecific [ R (+)-TMQ S (−)-TMQ] antagonist of endoperoxide/thromboxane A 2 receptor sites in platelets. Additionally, S (−)-TMQ was more potent than R (+)-TMQ as an antagonist of platelet activation by inducers of protein kinase C activity and calcium mobilization. Thus, the isomers of TMQ may also interfere by a yet undefined mechanism with calcium-regulated cytosolic processes in platelets.
Acoustic imaging, visualization, and quantification of buoyant hydrothermal plumes in the Ocean

We develop and apply visualization and quantification methods to reconstruct hydrothermal plumes in 3D from acoustic images and to make the first direct measurements from the reconstructions of scalar properties that describe the behavior of two buoyant plumes discharging from adjacent black smoker chimneys. The actual behavior is then compared to that predicted by a classic simple buoyant plume model. The images are reconstructed as isointensity surfaces of backscatter from particulate matter suspended in the plumes. The measurements pertinent to the role of the plumes as agents of dispersal of heat and mass into the ocean include change with height of diameter, particle distribution, dilution, centerline attitude, surface protrusions, and connectivity. The protrusions are the surface expression of eddies and appear to follow a bifurcating helical flow pattern that resemble simulation of the naturally forced flow of coherent vortex rings as the eddies rise with the buoyant plume. These direct measurements and the derived entrainment coefficient are generally consistent with behavior predicted by the simple buoyant plume model and support engulfment by vortex shedding as a primary mechanism for entrainment of surrounding seawater. Deviations from predicted buoyant plume behavior are diagnostic of particle dynamics.
Studying interrelationships of safety and security for software assurance in cyber-physical systems: Approach based on bayesian belief networks

The paper discusses mutual relationships of safety and security properties in cyber-physical systems (CPS). Generally, safety impacts the system's environment while environment impacts security of a CPS. Very frequently, safety and security of a CPS interact with each other either synergistically or conflictingly. Therefore, a combined evaluation of safety and security that considers their interrelationships is required for proper assessment of a CPS. Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN) can be used for this evaluation where factors related to safety and security of a CPS are assumed to be randomly distributed. The result of this evaluation is an assessment that is non-deterministic in nature but gives a very good approximation of the actual extent of safety and security in a CPS. Using a case study of a SCADA system in an oil pipeline control, the authors present a BBN approach for assessing mutual impacts of security and safety violations. This approach is compared with the Non-Functional Requirements approach (NFR), used previously, which is largely qualitative in nature. This study demonstrates that the BBN approach can significantly complement other techniques for joint assessment of safety and security in CPS.