cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Robotic Microsurgery for Male Infertility and Chronic Orchialgia

Since the use of the operating microscope for microsurgery in 1975, there has been a steady increase in the use of such technology in the operative management of male infertility and chronic testicular or groin pain. Added to the reports relating to greater patency rates and fertility rates of vasovasostomy performed with the operating microscope, the concepts of magnification have been successfully applied to vasoepididymostomy and varicocele ligation. More recently, microscopic spermatic cord neurolysis has demonstrated applicability to the treatment of groin and testicular discomfort. These techniques require varying degrees of microsurgical skills and an array of supporting technology, neither of which may be part of many urologist’s personal or technical armamentarium. The melding of improved visualization with magnification to an ergonomic platform that can be operated remotely has a significant application to testicular and reproductive surgery. Robotic assistance during surgical procedures has been utilized in a wide array of surgical fields with the above mentioned benefits. This chapter covers the latest developments in the robotic microsurgical platform, robotic microsurgical tools, and current evaluations of various robotic microsurgical applications for male infertility and patients with chronic testicular or groin pain.
Severity of clinical presentation in youth with type 1 diabetes is associated with differences in brain structure.

Objective Differences in cognition and brain structure have been found in youth with type 1 diabetes compared with controls, even after relatively short disease duration. To determine whether severity of clinical presentation contributes to these differences, we obtained structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in youth ages 7–17 who were either newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (<3.5 months from diagnosis, n = 46) or a sibling without diabetes (n = 28). Research design and methods Severity of presentation was measured by the presence of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and degree of hyperglycemia exposure [hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)] at diagnosis. MRI were obtained using T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and diffusion-weighted sequences. Results Within the group with type 1 diabetes, 12 subjects presented in DKA and 34 did not. After controlling for age, sex, and multiple comparisons, the type 1 diabetes group had lower volume in the left temporal–parietal–occipital cortex compared with controls. Within the type 1 diabetes group, DKA at presentation was associated with lower radial, axial, and mean diffusivity (MD) throughout major white matter tracts and higher HbA1c was associated with lower hippocampal, thalamic, and cerebellar white matter volumes, lower right posterior parietal cortical thickness, and greater right occipital cortical thickness. Conclusion These data suggest that severity of clinical presentation is an important factor in predicting brain structural differences in youth with type 1 diabetes approximately 3 months after diagnosis.
Crystal growth and Scintillation properties of AGd 2 Cl 7 :Ce 3+ (A = Cs, K) for gamma and neutron detection

A new family of Ce-containing scintillator materials is introduced. In this work, we report on the crystal growth of KGd 2 Cl 7 :Ce and CsGd 2 Cl 7 :Ce via the Vertical Gradient Freeze method. Various Ce concentrations from 0.5 to 10 at% have been tested to study the effect of dopant concentration on scintillation performance. Both KGd 2 Cl 7 :Ce and CsGd 2 Cl 7 :Ce have demonstrated good properties for gamma ray and thermal neutron detection. Scintillation light yield was ∼30,000 ph/MeV for KGd 2 Cl 7 : 3% Ce and ∼38,000 ph/MeV for CsGd 2 Cl 7 : 3% Ce. The crystals exhibited layered structure with cleavage planes.
Paths of Glory and the Tyranny of the Greater Good

In Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957) the individual's moral intent is distorted, compromised, and eventually co-opted by the overriding utilitarian ethic of ensuring the survival of the system – the ultimate ‘greater good’ – at all costs. The individual may challenge the system in a noble quest for justice, like Dax. He may hypocritically seek professional advancement from striving to serve it, like Mireau. Or he may cynically manipulate it for political purposes, like Broulard. In each case, the consequences are ultimately the same – the individual is forced to align his particular moral vision, however noble or ignoble, with the imperative of the greater good. The individual may resist or affirm the system and achieve some level of moral consistency and purity, but only momentarily and with limited success. In the end, whatever the value or relevance of the individual conscience to a particular situation, it is overridden by the demands of the greater good.
Using the 4 pillars™ practice transformation program to increase adult influenza vaccination and reduce missed opportunities in a randomized cluster trial.

An evidence-based, step-by-step guide, the 4 Pillars™ Practice Transformation Program, was the foundation of an intervention to increase adult immunizations in primary care and was tested in a randomized controlled cluster trial. The purpose of this study is to report changes in influenza immunization rates and on factors related to receipt of influenza vaccine. Twenty five primary care practices were recruited in 2013, stratified by city (Houston, Pittsburgh), location (rural, urban, suburban) and type (family medicine, internal medicine), and randomized to the intervention (n = 13) or control (n = 12) in Year 1 (2013-14). A follow-up intervention occurred in Year 2 (2014-15). Demographic and vaccination data were derived from de-identified electronic medical record extractions. A cohort of 70,549 adults seen in their respective practices (n = 24 with 1 drop out) at least once each year was followed. Baseline mean age was 55.1 years, 35 % were men, 21 % were non-white and 35 % were Hispanic. After one year, both intervention and control arms significantly (P < 0.001) increased influenza vaccination, with average increases of 2.7 to 6.5 percentage points. In regression analyses, likelihood of influenza vaccination was significantly higher in sites with lower percentages of patients with missed opportunities (P < 0.001) and, after adjusting for missed opportunities, the intervention further improved vaccination rates in Houston (lower baseline rates) but not Pittsburgh (higher baseline rates). In the follow-up intervention, the likelihood of vaccination increased for both intervention sites and those that reduced missed opportunities (P < 0.005). Reducing missed opportunities across the practice increases likelihood of influenza vaccination of adults. The 4 Pillars™ Practice Transformation Program provides strategies for reducing missed opportunities to vaccinate adults. This study was registered as a clinical trial on 03/20/2013 at ClinicalTrials.gov, Clinical Trial Registry Number: NCT01868334 , with a date of enrollment of the first participant to the trial of April 1, 2013.
Integrating Control and Fault-Tolerant Wireless Network Design for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (Invited Paper)

There has been an increasing number of cyber-physical systems (CPSs) in the last decade. CPSs sometimes include wireless networks that incur delay and errors. In this paper, we have developed an integrated design approach to combine control system and faulttolerant wireless network design for an advanced, hightemperature, small, modular nuclear reactor (SMR). Our design approach is composed of two sub-problems: extracting network requirements from control systems and designing networks to meet such requirements. Focused on SMRs, our contributions are as follows: (1) we show how to derive a two-dimensional network performance requirement region in terms of network delay and error, (2) we propose a computation model to determine the network topology to meet network requirements with minimum energy consumption, (3) we conduct a case study with 12-hop and up to 78 nodes wireless sensor network to control a heat exchanger system in an SMR. The average difference between computation model results and simulation results is 4.1%, which confirms our computation model is accurate enough for such systems.
Isotope: ACID Transactions for Block Storage

Existing storage stacks are top heavy and expect little from block storage. As a result, new high-level storage abstractions—and new designs for existing abstractions—are difficult to realize, requiring developers to implement from scratch complex functionality such as failure atomicity and fine-grained concurrency control. In this article, we argue that pushing transactional isolation into the block store (in addition to atomicity and durability) is both viable and broadly useful, resulting in simpler high-level storage systems that provide strong semantics without sacrificing performance. We present Isotope, a new block store that supports ACID transactions over block reads and writes. Internally, Isotope uses a new multiversion concurrency control protocol that exploits fine-grained, subblock parallelism in workloads and offers both strict serializability and snapshot isolation guarantees. We implemented several high-level storage systems over Isotope, including two key-value stores that implement the LevelDB API over a hash table and B-tree, respectively, and a POSIX file system. We show that Isotope’s block-level transactions enable systems that are simple (100s of lines of code), robust (i.e., providing ACID guarantees), and fast (e.g., 415MB/s for random file writes). We also show that these systems can be composed using Isotope, providing applications with transactions across different high-level constructs such as files, directories, and key-value pairs.
A New Species of Rhyncholampas (Echinoidae: Cassidulidae) from the Chipola Formation: The First Confirmed Member of the Genus from the Miocene of the Southeastern U.S.A. and the Caribbean

The cosmopolitan echinoid genus Rhyncholampas is found in deposits ranging from the Paleocene to the Recent. In the southeastern United States and the Caribbean, the genus is a common constituent of Eocene, Oligocene and PlioPleistocene strata. Three different species of Rhyncholampas have been reported from "Miocene" units in Florida, North and South Carolina, and Cuba over the last seventy years. However, no verifiable records of the genus as occurring in the Miocene of the southeastern United States or the Caribbean can be substantiated.
CINÉTICA DE SECAGEM DE FOLHAS DE Cymbopogon citratus

O capim-cidreira ( Cymbopogon citratus) se destaca entre as plantas medicinais, e tem o citral como componente mais importante do seu oleo essencial. Tem ampla utilizacao na industria alimenticia e farmaceutica. A secagem e o armazenamento sao etapas fundamentais dentre os processos pos-colheita para a obtencao de produtos de qualidade, os quais sao a base para a fabricacao de medicamentos fitoterapicos. Diante do apresentado o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a cinetica de secagem de folhas de capim- cidreira, C. citratus , submetida a diferentes temperaturas do ar de secagem. O trabalho foi desenvolvido no Instituto Federal Goiano Câmpus Ceres. Determinou-se o teor de agua das folhas pelo metodo da estufa, em seguida utilizou-se a secagem com temperaturas do ar controladas de 30, 40, 50 e 60°C em câmara do tipo BOD. A cinetica de secagem das folhas de C. citratus apresentaram funcao direta com a temperatura do ar sendo que quanto maior a temperatura do ar de secagem menor foi o tempo gasto. O tempo necessario para obtencao do produto com teor de agua de 0,12 b.s. foi de 5 h para 60°C, 10 h para 50 °C, 11 h para 40°C e 12,33 para 30°C. O modelo matematico de secagem em camada fina de Midilli foi o que melhor se ajustou aos dados experimentais. A dependencia da difusividade em relacao a temperatura foi descrita pela equacao de Arrhenius, por meio da qual se obteve o valor da energia de ativacao de 53,76 kJ.
Implementation and Preliminary Results of an Emergency Department Nontargeted, Opt-out Hepatitis C Virus Screening Program.

Background Emergency department (ED) visits provide an opportunity for hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening for patients who otherwise might not be tested. We report on a novel nontargeted, opt-out HCV screening and linkage-to-care (LTC) program implemented in an urban ED. Methods This is a descriptive analysis from 3 months (November 2016-January 2017) of a nontargeted, opt-out ED HCV screening and LTC program among patients at least 13 years old undergoing phlebotomy for clinical purposes. A multipurpose best practice advisory (BPA) alerted providers to the program and generated order labels. For patients who authorized testing, specimens were drawn in the ED for HCV antibody (Ab) and reflex confirmatory RNA tests. Public health navigators attempted to contact RNA-positive patients and arrange outpatient visits. Results HCV Ab tests were performed on 3,808 patients, a 6,950% increase from preprogram. The proportion of HCV Ab test positivity was 13.2% (504/3,808, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 12.2%-14.3%) and of those 97.8% (493/504) had a follow-up RNA test performed. A total of 292 were confirmed positive for active infection, for an overall RNA positivity rate of 7.7% (95% CI = 6.8%-8.5%). Of those with active infection, 155 (53%) were outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention birth cohort for increased risk for HCV including 46 (15.8%, 95% CI = 11.8%-20.4%) who also did not report injection drug use. Linkage attempts were documented on 223 (76.4%) patients and appointments were scheduled for 102 (38% of attempted). Sixty-six patients attended their LTC visit (22.5% of all RNA-positive patients, 30% of linkage-eligible patients). Conclusions Nontargeted opt-out HCV testing can be successfully implemented in an ED setting. A number of patients diagnosed were outside traditional risk groups. Once diagnosed, an ED population may be difficult to engage in care, but a structured interdisciplinary program can successfully link patients to HCV care.
Problems of Practice As Stance

This piece describes a steadily changing, teacher leadership-oriented, CPED-affiliated, education doctorate (EdD) program that is housed in a department of curriculum and instruction. It situates the program design in relation to four key concepts—epistemology, praxis, efficacy, and iterative processes—while highlighting CPED’s core stance that the voice of the professional practitioner needs to be inserted into discussion of educational change, not as the target of policy, nor the object of research, but rather as a coequal partner in a research/policy/ practice triad in which practitioner insights related to context are key for the viability of educational efforts.
Semantic Feature Representation to Capture News Impact

This paper presents a study where semantic frames are used to mine financial news so as to quantify the impact of news on the stock market. We represent news documents in a novel semantic tree structure and use tree kernel support vector machines to predict the change of stock price. We achieve an efficient computation through linearization of tree kernels. In addition to two binary classification tasks, we rank news items according to their probability to affect change of price using two ranking methods that require vector space features. We evaluate our rankings based on receiver operating characteristic curves and analyze the predictive power of our semantic features. For both learning tasks, the proposed semantic features provide superior results.
Physiology of the Respiratory System

The respiratory system includes the upper respiratory system (mainly the nasal passages) and the lower respiratory system (the airways of the lungs). As mentioned earlier, the respiratory system is the primary route of exposure of the body to toxic substances. Respiratory rates vary tremendously by age, gender, size, and activity level. An average adult human inhales approximately 10,000 liters of air per day. We inhale and exhale approximately 500 ml of air with each breath and take about 12 breaths per minute during quite periods. Ventilation increases rapidly with exertion.
Comparing perceived and test-based knowledge of cancer risk and prevention among Hispanic and African Americans: an example of community participatory research.

BACKGROUND: Most theoretical formulations acknowledge that knowledge and awareness of cancer screening and prevention recommendations significantly influence health behaviors. This study compares perceived knowledge of cancer prevention and screening with test-based knowledge in a community sample. We also examine demographic variables and self-reported cancer screening and prevention behaviors as correlates of both knowledge scores, and consider whether cancer related knowledge can be accurately assessed using just a few, simple questions in a short and easy-to-complete survey. METHODS: We used a community-partnered participatory research approach to develop our study aims and a survey. The study sample was composed of 180 predominantly African American and Hispanic community individuals who participated in a full-day cancer prevention and screening promotion conference in South Los Angeles, California, on July 2011. Participants completed a self-administered survey in English or Spanish at the beginning of the conference. RESULTS: Our data indicate that perceived and test-based knowledge scores are only moderately correlated. Perceived knowledge score shows a stronger association with demographic characteristics and other cancer related variables than the test-based score. Thirteen out of twenty variables that are examined in our study showed a statistically significant correlation with the perceived knowledge score, however, only four variables demonstrated a statistically significant correlation with the test-based knowledge score. CONCLUSION: Perceived knowledge of cancer prevention and screening was assessed with fewer items than test-based knowledge. Thus, using this assessment could potentially reduce respondent burden. However, our data demonstrate that perceived and test-based knowledge are separate constructs. ( Ethn Dis. 2013;23[2]:210–216)
Discrete-time Adaptive Control for Periodically Time-varying Systems

Abstract In this paper a method is presented for doing discrete-time adaptive control of linear periodically time-varying systems. Bases of vector spaces are introduced to describe the unknown time variations in plant parameters. It is shown that the algorithm will ensure that the closed loop system is globally convergent and globally stable for both the deterministic and stochastic cases.
A delayed detached eddy simulation model with low Reynolds number correction for transitional swirling flow in a multi-inlet vortex nanoprecipitation reactor

Abstract The objective of the presented work is to verify a delayed detached eddy simulation (DDES) model for simulating transitional swirling flow in a micro-scale multi-inlet vortex reactor (MIVR). The DDES model is a k- ω based turbulence model with a low Reynolds number correction applied to the standard k- ω model such that the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) component of the DDES model is able to account for low Reynolds number flow. By limiting the dissipation rate in the k-equation, the large-eddy simulation (LES) part of the DDES model behaves similarly to a one-equation sub-grid model. The turbulent Reynolds number is redefined to represent both modeled and resolved turbulence level so that underestimation of the RANS length scale in the LES range can be reduced. Applying the DDES model to simulate both laminar and transitional flow in the micro-scale MIVR produces an accurate prediction of mean velocity and turbulent intensity compared with experimental data. It is demonstrated that the proposed DDES model is capable of simulating transitional flow in the complex geometry of the micro-scale MIVR. These simulation results also help to understand the flow and mixing patterns in the micro-scale MIVR and provide guidances to optimize the reactor for the application of producing functional nanoparticles.
Particle Size Distribution Equivalency as Novel Predictors for Bioequivalence

The use of particle size distribution (PSD) similarity metrics and the development and incorporation of drug release predictions based on PSD properties into PBPK models for various drug administration routes may provide a holistic approach for evaluating the effect of PSD differences on in vitro drug release and bioavailability of disperse systems. The objectives of this study were to provide a rational approach for evaluating the utility of in vitro PSD comparators for predicting bioequivalence for subcutaneously administered test and reference drug emulsions. Two types of in vitro comparators for test and reference emulsion products were evaluated: PSD characterization comparators (overlap metrics, median, and span ratios) and release profile comparators (f2 and various fractional time ratios). A subcutaneous-input PBPK disposition model was developed to simulate blood concentration-time profiles of reference and test emulsion products and pharmacokinetic responses (e.g., AUC, Cmax, and Tmax) were used to determine bioequivalence. A pool of 10,440 pairs of test and reference products was simulated using Monte Carlo experiments. The PSD and release profile comparators were correlated to pass/fail bioequivalence metrics using logistical regression. Based on the use of single in vitro comparators, the f2 method was the best predictor of bioequivalence prediction. The use of combinations of f2 and PSD overlap comparators (e.g., OVL or PROB) improved bioequivalence prediction to about 90%. Simulation procedures used in this study demonstrated a process for developing reliable in vitro BE predictors.
Fluorescent indicator displacement assays to identify and characterize small molecule interactions with RNA

Fluorescent indicator displacement (FID) assays are an advantageous approach to convert receptors into optical sensors that can detect binding of various ligands. In particular, the identification of ligands that bind to RNA receptors has become of increasing interest as the roles of RNA in cellular processes and disease pathogenesis continue to be discovered. Small molecules have been validated as tools to elucidate unknown RNA functions, underscoring the critical need to rapidly identify and quantitatively characterize RNA:small molecule interactions for the development of chemical probes. The successful application of FID assays to evaluate interactions between diverse RNA receptors and small molecules has been facilitated by the characterization of distinct fluorescent indicators that reversibly bind RNA and modulate the fluorescence signal. The utility of RNA-based FID assays to both academia and industry has been demonstrated through numerous uses in high-throughput screening efforts, structure-activity relationship studies, and in vitro target engagement studies. Furthermore, the development, optimization, and validation of a variety of RNA-based FID assays has led to general guidelines that can be utilized for facile implementation of the method with new or underexplored RNA receptors. Altogether, the use of RNA-based FID assays as a general analysis tool has provided valuable insights into small molecule affinity and selectivity, furthering the fundamental understanding of RNA:small molecule recognition. In this review, we will summarize efforts to employ FID assays using RNA receptors and describe the significant contributions of the method towards the development of chemical probes to reveal unknown RNA functions.
Right target; wrong tactics: the trump administration upends East Asian order

AbstractPresident Donald Trump initiated a tariff war claiming that the ultimate target was mercantile Chinese economic practices. Numerous countries share such concerns about China. Yet the Trump ...
Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Parents of Patients With Retinoblastoma

Purpose To assess depression, anxiety, and stress in parents of patients with retinoblastoma and to evaluate the impact of unifocal vs multifocal retinoblastoma. Methods A cross-sectional, self-reported psychological assessment of parents of patients with retinoblastoma at a tertiary care ocular oncology center was performed. The Beck Depression Inventory–II (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), The Parental Stress Index 4–Short Form, and a retinoblastoma Knowledge Assessment questionnaire were administered. Descriptive statistics for outcomes and comparative analyses were made. Results There were 138 parents of children with retinoblastoma (unifocal: n = 77, multifocal: n = 61). Overall, parents displayed mild, moderate, or severe depression (BDI) (n = 37, 26.7%); mild, moderate, or severe anxiety (BAI) (n = 49, 35.8%), and stress scores within normal limits (n = 138, 100%). A comparison (unifocal vs multifocal) revealed parents of children with multifocal retinoblastoma with severe depression (1.4% vs 10.2%, P Conclusions The majority of parents displayed minimal depression (73.3%), anxiety (64.2%), or stress (100%). However, severe depression is more often found in those whose children have multifocal disease, and previous history of depression and less education can impact psychological function. NOTE: Publication of this article is sponsored by the American Ophthalmological Society.
Heralds of global transparency: Remote sensing, nuclear fuel-cycle facilities, and the modularity of imagination:

How has commercial remote sensing influenced the framing of public narratives about nuclear programs and weapons of mass destruction? This article examines an early and formative case: In 2002, a Washington-based nongovernmental organization used commercial satellite images to publicly identify the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran. The episode helped inaugurate the 'Iran nuclear crisis' as we have known it since. But it also played a role in fomenting a commercial market for remote sensing, adjusting the role of 'citizen scientist' in the nuclear arms-control community, visualizing a new television journalism beat of 'covering the intelligence community', legitimizing a transforming role of nuclear safeguards inspectors at the International Atomic Energy Agency, and solidifying Iran's nuclear program as 'clandestine'. This article follows the images as they pass through these social worlds and examines how heterogenous actors incorporated remote sensing into their identities and commitments to global transparency.
Chip Scale Tunable Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Field Generator for Cell Electroporation

Electroporation is a process that uses a high voltage pulsed electric field to permeate the cell membrane for drug infusion into the cell. Changing the voltage level, pulse period or pulse width modifies the effect of the treatment to the cell. In this paper, we describe a miniaturized high-power pulsed electric field generator that reduces the system to a single chip. The proposed chip allows various customizations in terms of frequency or duty cycle of the applied pulse. The circuit is designed in 1 μm silicon-on-insulator CMOS process, named XDH, from X-FAB. The circuit schematic simulation showed a duty cycle variation from 12.5% to 34.9% and can generate 465 kHz, 500 V square wave.
The M16 in Vietnam: A History of the Weapon’s Effectiveness in the Vietnam War and the Necessity of its Creation

Based off the AR-15 and necessitated by the need for a superior weapon to that of the enemy, the M16 made its debut in the Vietnam War. The M16 was an icon for protagonists in movies and TV, a symbol for democracy, and it became the image for American or NATO forces for decades to come. It is still in service today as the standard issue weapon for 85 sovereign nations, including the United States. Few doubt the efficacy of the weapon’s later, more advanced models in the Gulf War, the invasion of Grenada, or the war in Afghanistan. The Vietnam War, however, was the debut of the M16. However, the weapon’s effectiveness has faced scrutiny within the context of the Vietnam War. So, the question remains: was the M16 an effective weapon in the Vietnam War, and was it a necessary implementation?
Tracing the origins of the solar wind with helium

A map of the helium abundance across much of the solar corona will allow us to connect in situ solar wind measurements to their sources and improve our understanding of the origins of the solar wind.
Abstract LB-378: Regional delivery of clinical-grade mesothelin-targeted CAR T cells with cell-intrinsic PD-1 checkpoint blockade: Translation to a phase I trial

Background: We previously established the safety and antitumor efficacy of regionally delivered mesothelin-targeted M28z chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells combined with programmed death-1 (PD-1) antibody (NCT02414269). As a next step, we developed next-generation CAR T cells equipped with a modified CD3z signaling domain with loss-of-function mutations within 2 of 3 ITAM motifs (1XX), and a PD-1 dominant negative receptor (PD1DNR) that provides T-cell intrinsic checkpoint blockade (M28z1XXPD1DNR CAR T cells). Herein, we provide evidence of the preclinical safety and enhanced antitumor efficacy of clinical-grade M28z1XXPD1DNR CAR T cells. Methods: Comparative cytotoxicity, proliferation, and cytokine secretion of human T cells engineered to express M28z or M28z1XXPD1DNR CAR were assessed by chromium-release, accumulation, and Luminex assays, respectively. The antitumor efficacy of a single dose (1x105 CAR T cells; E:T 1:1000) of intrapleurally administered M28z or M28z1XXPD1DNR CAR T cells was investigated in NSG mice with orthotopic pleural mesothelioma by serial bioluminescence imaging and by comparing survival. Following tumor eradication, functional persistence of CAR T cells was tested by repeated tumor challenge (increasing doses of 2x106 to 10x106 tumor cells). Results:In vitro, both M28z and M28z1XXPD1DNR CAR T cells exhibited antigen-specific cytotoxicity, accumulation, and effector cytokine secretion (table). In vivo, a single dose of M28z1XXPD1DNR CAR T cells led to tumor eradication, mice exhibited enhanced survival with weight gain, and resistance to tumor reestablishment upon 10 tumor rechallenges (table) versus a single dose of M28z CAR T cells. Conclusion: Supported by the safety, tumor eradication, and functional persistence, M28z1XXPD1DNR CAR T cells will advance to IND submission and initiation of a phase I clinical trial in patients with pleural mesothelioma, and further extend our investigation to other mesothelin-expressing solid tumors. Citation Format: Stefan Kiesgen, Camille Linot, Hue T. Quach, Jasmeen Saini, Rebecca Bellis, Srijita Banerjee, Zhaohua Hou, Navin K. Chintala, Michel Sadelain, Prasad S. Adusumilli. Regional delivery of clinical-grade mesothelin-targeted CAR T cells with cell-intrinsic PD-1 checkpoint blockade: Translation to a phase I trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-378.
A 71-76/81-86 GHz, E-band,16-Element Phased-Array Transceiver Module With Image Selection Architecture for Low EVM Variation

A 4-element, compact bidirectional phased-array transceiver die covers the full E-band (71-76 & 81-86GHz) and is tiled on PCB to demonstrate a 16-element antenna array. A Weaver image-selection architecture reduces the LORF tuning range to 3 GHz (4% FBW) while covering the 10 GHz band (20% FBW). The bidirectional architecture is proposed in a scalable array with a shared image-selection IF mixer. The 2x2 transceiver die is implemented in a 90-nm SiGe BiCMOS process and assembled on PCB with a compact differential aperture-coupled feed network for LO and IF distribution with low amplitude and phase mismatch between multiple chips input/output. The proposed 16-element array steers over a ±30° range and demonstrates 30-dBm EIRP and 32-dB RX conversion gain with 1.5 GHz modulation bandwidth for 64 QAM (9 Gb/s) and 2 GHz for 16 QAM with ± 2 dB EVM variation over the entire E-band under same calibration states. The power consumption is 250 mW for TX mode and 160 mW for RX mode at each element.
The Chinese Pursuit of Happiness: Meaning and Morality in Everyday Life (Draft Epilogue)

What is happiness? How do people in China get it? What are the social obstacles to having it? And what does this tell us about contemporary China’s moral order? These are the big questions addressed by the research that produced the essays in this book. Each essay uses empirical research to focus on part of the answers to the questions. Here, I will try to provide a synthesis, a holistic but inevitably more speculative response.
Stiff Person Syndrome: An Elusive Diagnosis in a Pediatric Patient (P5.6-068)

Objective: NA Background: Stiff person syndrome is a very rare disorder characterized by axial muscle rigidity, progressive stiffness mainly of the lower extremities and spontaneous, painful spasms of the abdomen, spinal or leg muscles. It is normally reported as being more common in women and affecting adults in their 4th or 5th decade of life. It is very rarely reported in the pediatric literature. Prompt diagnosis of this disease is of great importance due to progressive disability and pain these patients experience and most importantly due to the robust response of this disease to appropriate treatment. A case is presented of a seventeen-year-old male who was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome after one year of symptom onset. Prior to this diagnosis, multiple specialists did extensive testing and focused on symptomatic treatment without determining the underlying etiology. Numerous medical tests were performed including a CK that was mildly elevated, an MRI of the brain and spine that were noncontributory, and a positive ANA. Various medications including baclofen and cyclobenzaprine were minimally effective. On initial presentation to neurology, the patient was dependent upon a walker for mobility, had such extreme stiffness that he had lost the ability to sit upright and was debilitated by painful muscle spasms. On examination, he exhibited rigidity of the abdomen and lower extremities, which appeared to be contracting at rest. Diagnosis was made via EMG of the anterior tibialis, which showed continuous motor unit action potentials while at rest, indistinguishable from voluntary activity. Benzodiazepines and IVIG were initiated. The patient had such a dramatic response to treatment that he was walking independently within one day of treatment. Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase antibody levels resulted as greater than 250 IU/mL. The patient continues to require interval IVIG treatments to prevent symptom recurrence. Design/Methods: NA Results: NA Conclusions: NA Disclosure: Dr. Tuttrup has nothing to disclose. Dr. Miller has nothing to disclose. Dr. Weimer has nothing to disclose.
Theory of χ(2)-microresonator-based frequency conversion.

Microresonator-based platforms with ${\chi ^{(2)}}$ nonlinearities have the potential to perform frequency conversion at high efficiencies and ultralow powers with small footprints. The standard doctrine for achieving high conversion efficiency in cavity-based devices requires “perfect matching,” that is, zero phase mismatch while all relevant frequencies are precisely at a cavity resonance, which is difficult to achieve in integrated platforms due to fabrication errors and limited tunabilities. In this Letter, we show that the violation of perfect matching does not necessitate a reduction in conversion efficiency. On the contrary, in many cases, mismatches should be intentionally introduced to improve the efficiency or tunability of conversion. We identify the universal conditions for maximizing the efficiency of cavity-based frequency conversion and show a straightforward approach to fully compensate for parasitic processes such as thermorefractive and photorefractive effects that, typically, can limit the conversion efficiency. We also show the design criteria that make these high-efficiency states stable against nonlinearity-induced instabilities.
Application of positive-real functions in hyperstable discrete model-reference adaptive system design.

Proposal of an algorithmic procedure, based on mathematical programming methods, to design compensators for hyperstable discrete model-reference adaptive systems (MRAS). The objective of the compensator is to render the MRAS insensitive to initial parameter estimates within a maximized hypercube in the model parameter space.
Repetition and Reconfiguration: Demand‐Based Confabulation in Initial Eyewitness Memory

Repeated recall, as a result of repeated questioning, is typical of situations involving eyewitness evidence. The present study addressed questions of eyewitness performance with reference to repeated questioning in an initial interview, in a format based on actual police procedures. This experiment focused on eyewitness accuracy, eyewitness confidence, and the addition of false details to eyewitness accounts. Ninety-two adult respondents were asked to recall all the information they could from a single viewing of a scene depicting an assailant aiming a handgun at a victim. This initial question was followed by three additional questions, in which respondents were asked to report any additional details they could recall. On average, respondents provided several times as many correct as false details to the initial question. However, performance deteriorated significantly to the three subsequent questions; on average, across the three subsequent questions, witnesses recalled nearly as much false as accurate information. Witness confidence was positively related to amount of accurate information recalled. However, confidence was also positively related to the number of instances of erroneous recall. These results indicate that reconfigurative dynamics begin to operate, producing confabulated responses in response to questioning demands, as early as the initial interview. This work may also help to clarify the critical relationship between accuracy and confidence in eyewitness reportage, at least within the framework reflected by the present research. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mayer-Fermi Theory and the Long Sequences in the Periodic Table

58 years ago, Fermi1 employed the Thomas-Fermi (TF) statistical model of the atom to predict a collapse of the 4f orbital for atomic numbers between 55 and 60, and thereby explained the formation of the first rare-earth series of elements. In 1941, Maria Mayer2 used the same model to predict the onset of a second rare-earth series with the orbital collapse of the 5f electron for atomic numbers between 86 and 91. She also showed that the abrupt changes in the character of these electrons can be explained in terms of the f-electron effective potential which, in these regions of the periodic table, consists of two wells separated by a positive centrifugal barrier.
Countable algebra and set existence axioms

On considere des axiomes d'existence d'ensemble formules dans le contexte des sous-systemes faibles d'arithmetique d'ordre 2. On etudie des theoremes algebriques de 2 sortes: existence et unicite des fermetures algebriques denombrables; existence et unicite des fermetures reelles denombrables
Genetic derepression of a developmentally regulated lipopolysaccharide antigen from Rhizobium leguminosarum 3841.

Abstract Monoclonal antibody AFRC MAC 203 recognizes a developmentally regulated lipopolysaccharide antigen in Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841. Transposon-induced mutants that constitutively expressed MAC 203 antigen were isolated. These strains were morphologically normal, showed no gross abnormalities in lipopolysaccharide size distribution on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels, and induced normal nitrogen-fixing nodules. However, the mutants lacked lipopolysaccharide epitopes recognized by another rat monoclonal antibody, AFRC MAC 281, suggesting that the corresponding epitopes may be interconverted or share a common precursor. In conjugational crosses, the transposon insertion associated with both the loss of MAC 281 antigen and the constitutive expression of MAC 203 antigen showed linkage to the chromosomal rif allele. A derivative of strain 3841 with a deletion spanning the nod-fix region of the symbiotic plasmid showed no altered expression pattern for MAC 203 antigen, suggesting that the relevant genetic determinants map to genomic sites that are not associated with nifA or any known genes on the symbiotic plasmid.
Does Evolutionary Theory Offer Insight into Epistemology, Consciousness, Sex, Race, Religion, Ethics, and the Meaning of Life?

This relatively thin but provocative volume discusses whether evolutionary explanations (often from evolutionary psychology) are useful in understanding some of life’s deepest issues, including the foundations of ethics and religion. Each chapter considers a new “Big Question.” At the end of each chapter, David Stamos supplies his analysis, which often attempts to overturn pre-Darwinian thinking. The book’s strength is its breadth, and its weakness is its lack of depth on some rather thorny issues. It is a stimulating book for students to read and with supplementary additional readings serves successfully as a text for an upper-level philosophy of biology class.
The combustion synthesis of refractory nitrides

The self-sustaining combustion of niobium in a nitrogen atmosphere was investigated. The effect of initial porosity, nitrogen pressure, and the amount of added diluent on the combustion process and on the nature of the products of combustion was determined. Auxiliary investigations on the interaction between niobium and nitrogen were made under isothermal conditions. Results of X-ray analyses of these investigations are compared to those obtained under self-propagating reaction conditions.
Graded Lie Algebras and Intersection Cohomology

Let ι be a homomorphism of the multiplicative group into a connected reductive algebraic group over C. Let G ι be the centralizer of the image ι. Let LG be the Lie algebra of G and let L n G (n integer) be the summands in the direct sum decomposition of LG determined by ι. Assume that n is not zero. For any G ι-orbit \(\mathcal{O}\) in L n G and any irreducible G ι-equivariant local system \(\mathcal{L}\) on \(\mathcal{O}\) we consider the restriction of some cohomology sheaf of the intersection cohomology complex of the closure of \(\mathcal{O}\) with coefficients in \(\mathcal{L}\) to another orbit \(\mathcal{O}^\prime\) contained in the closure of \(\mathcal{O}\). For any irreducible G ι-equivariant local system \(\mathcal{L}^\prime\) on \(\mathcal{O}^\prime\) we would like to compute the multiplicity of \(\mathcal{L}^\prime\) in that restriction. We present an algorithm which helps in computing that multiplicity.
Development of a High-Resolution Gridded Daily Meteorological Dataset over Sub-Saharan Africa: Spatial Analysis of Trends in Climate Extremes

AbstractAssessing changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme meteorological events and their impact on water resources, agriculture, and infrastructure is necessary to adequately prepare and adapt to future change. This is a challenge in data-sparse regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, where a lack of high-density and temporally consistent long-term in situ measurements complicates the analysis. To address this, a temporally homogenous and high-temporal- and high-spatial-resolution meteorological dataset is developed over sub-Saharan Africa (5°S–25°N), covering the time period between 1979 and 2005. It is developed by spatially downscaling the National Centers for Environmental Prediction–National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP–NCAR) reanalysis to a 0.1° spatial resolution, detecting and correcting for temporal inhomogeneities, and by removing random errors and biases by assimilating quality-controlled and gap-filled Global Summary of the Day (GSOD) in situ measurements. The dataset is then u...
Optimal management of an R&D budget

Abstract This paper characterizes the optimal allocation of a budget between several stages of an R&D project. When intermediate stages are profitable, the optimal allocation involves greater expenditures in early stages. Increasing the budget does not necessarily increase expenditures in every stage but does increase the budget that remains unspent at each stage. A simple necessary and sufficient condition is given for the optimality of ‘bold play’ — the spending of all remaining budget on the current stage. If profits are realized only after all stages are successfully completed, decreasing returns in the innovation production function implies that the optimal strategy is to spread the budget evenly between the stages of the R&D project.
The time trend temperature-mortality as a factor of uncertainty analysis of impacts of future heat waves: Wu et al. respond.

We thank Linares et al. for their interest in our article and for broadening the discussion on the uncertainties in predicting the health impact of future heat waves. Linares et al. pointed out that the possible evolution over time can take place both in minimum mortality temperatures related to heat waves and in the modifications of these possible impacts due to socioeconomic improvements. Although such considerations were beyond the scope of our published analysis (Wu et al. 2014), we agree that socioeconomic and demographic factors can have profound impacts on the estimated excess mortality in a changing climate. A heat wave is defined as a period of consecutive days with temperatures exceeding a certain threshold based on physiologic effects (Robinson 2001). The threshold temperature is usually calculated based on local historical data, which can vary in both time and space. Linares et al. suggested that heat wave definition temperatures might be reduced to a consequence of population aging in time. Given these changes in the threshold temperature over time, the heat wave definition would indeed add an additional layer of uncertainty to the predicted health impact of future heat waves on top of what we have characterized in the paper. Such uncertainty, however, is difficult to quantify without detailed data on the structure of future populations, especially age. So far, the U.S. Census Bureau (2012) has issued only national-level, age-specific population projections. The health impacts of heat waves can be modified by many factors, such as race, age, sex, socioeconomic status, and geographic location (Hajat and Kosatky 2010). The changing impacts of heat waves on cardiovascular/circulatory and respiratory mortality (Ha and Kim, 2013; Miron et al. 2008) seem to be related to the improvements in health care services and living conditions over time. These trends may be generalizable in space if we are willing to assume that the U.S. health care system has improved its service to cardiovascular patients over the years in a fashion similar to that of Spain, Italy, or other developed countries. However, it may not be justifiable to extrapolate them in time because the impact of these improvements is likely to taper off unless significant technological advancement takes place in the future. In addition, early warning systems and adaptation strategies can strongly influence the impact of heat waves on a society (Lowe et al. 2011). However, the relative risk of heat waves must be estimated using existing health data records, making it very difficult to take any adaptation measures into consideration because we lack such examples in the past. In our study, we set future baseline mortality rate and relative health risk of heat waves as constant because robust estimates of these parameters for the 2050s are unavailable. Further research is needed to address these issues in order to provide a more comprehensive and realistic evaluation of the impact of future heat waves.