cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Trailing Edge Blowing of Fan Blades

*† ‡ The wakes of model fan blades containing internal flow passages and trailing edge slots were carefully documented to investigate the potential for reductions in tone and broadband noise produced by aircraft engines. Measurements were taken at four locations downstream of the blade row of the Virginia Tech Low Speed Linear Cascade Wind Tunnel at a variety of blowing rates ranging from 0 to 2.7% of the blade passage mass flow. Low blowing rates were actually found to increase the wake deficit compared to the no blowing case, whereas higher blowing rates greatly reduced it and attenuated turbulence levels. Changes in wake structure produced by blowing are actually completed over a fairly short region close to the trailing edge. Blowing produces significant reduction of the pitchwise spatial correlation of all the components of velocity in the wakes and, at the higher blowing rates, tends to isotropize the turbulence. Integral lengthscales decrease with increased blowing rate. Proper orthogonal decomposition revealed that the blown wakes have a more organized, although less intense, turbulence structure. Implications of these results for noise reduction are discussed.
The Export-Import Bank and Its Victims Which Industries and States Bear the Brunt?

The charter of the Export-Import Bank of the United States is set to expire on September 30. Proponents of reauthorization claim that by increasing exports and jobs, Ex-Im benefits the U.S. economy. But in that advocacy, the benefits are exaggerated and the costs totally ignored.The Bank’s skeptics speak of the opportunity costs that arise when government attempts to allocate resources according to nonmarket criteria. They also note that subsidies provided for the benefit of one exporter put competing firms at an artificial disadvantage. In addition to these opportunity and intra-industry costs, there is a third set of significant costs that are too often forgotten: the downstream industry cost.Using official input-output tables and seven years of Export-Import Bank transactions records, this analysis estimates the downstream costs of Ex-Im subsidies that are inflicted on manufacturing firms in every industry across every U.S. state. These victims populate 189 of 237 manufacturing sub-industries and all 21 broad manufacturing industry categories identified under the North American Industry Classification System, and they incurred a net cost of $2.8 billion per year or $14.7 million per sub-industry per year as a result of Ex-Im policies.Among the specific sub-industry victims bearing the largest costs are U.S. manufacturers of motor vehicle bodies; computer storage devices; and, photographic and photocopying equipment. The 5 broad manufacturing industries incurring the greatest net costs are producers of electrical equipment, appliances and components; furniture; food; nonmetallic mineral products; and, chemicals. These 5 most ill-affected manufacturing industries account for 50 percent or more of manufacturing GDP in 7 U.S. states, and the 10 largest victims account for two-thirds or more of manufacturing GDP in 22 states.In their efforts to win reauthorization from Congress, supporters of the Export-Import Bank rely on exaggerated claims about the Bank’s benefits, while ignoring its costs. Ex-Im policies reward some companies (in the short run) and penalize many others in the process. These kinds of data are often obscured or ignored, but they are essential to any informed judgments about the propriety and efficacy of the Export-Import Bank.
The application about proteus emulation technique on teaching of μC

Based on analysing Proteus emulation technique,builded a 51 μC basic system of test,designed a typical application example.Proteus emulation on 51 μC and peripheral deivce,the test system is easy for building,the produce of emultion is alive and intuitionistic,and it offered a fit test means for teaching μC.
Components analysis of ketonic,aldehyde,and ester compounds in atmosphere of Hangzhou urban area

Objective:To investigate categories and concentration levels of volatile ketone,aldehyde,and ester in the atmosphere of Hangzhou urban area.Methods:The method of thermal desorption gas chromatographic-mass spectrometry(GC-MS) was applied to analyze components and concentrations of volatile ketonic,aldehyde,and ester compounds in the atmosphere of Hangzhou urban area.Results:Totally,6 ketonic compounds,10 aldehyde compounds,and 5 ester compounds were detected.And acetone,2-butanone,6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one,pentanal,octanal,nonanal,decanal,ethyl acetate,and butyl acetate were main contaminations.In the atmosphere,the average concentration level of overall ketone was 4.46 μg/m3,aldehyde 14.43 μg/m3,and ester 2.46 μg/m3.Conclusion:The average concentration levels of overall ketone and ester in different places of the whole urban area are similar.The concentration level of overall aldehyde in the west is very near to that in the center,but they are significantly higher than those in the east and the south.And as for aldehyde and ester compounds and some ketonic compounds,there is an increasing trend of their concentration levels from morning toward afternoon.A linear relation is found significant between main ketonic compounds and aldehyde compounds.
The relative capital structure of agricultural grain and supply cooperatives and investor owned firms [The cooperative capital constraint revisited]

A recent set of articles in Choices identified some of the major issues facing agricultural cooperatives. Among these are the challenges related to identifying the financing activities and equity capital management strategies that will lead to growth and longevity of cooperatives (Barton, et al 2011). Like their investor-owned counterparts, cooperatives must be profitable and competitive in the markets they face. However, cooperatives face unique challenges in managing equity capital. Because they are limited in their access to outside investments and have nontradable stock, cooperatives rely on member-provided equity through voting shares and equity accumulation through the allocation of profits as retained patronage as the primary sources of equity. Thus, a number of theoretical and empirical investigations identify that cooperatives are constrained in their ability to access capital and, therefore, are limited and perhaps inefficient in their investment activities. This paper seeks to examine the issue of capital constraints on U.S. agricultural supply and grain cooperatives and investor-owned firms (IOFs). A variant of the DuPont model â€“ a technique that breaks down a firmâ€™s rate of return to equity into measures that relate to profitability, efficiency in asset use, and leverage â€“ permits an empirical comparison between IOFs and cooperatives on their activities, debt structure, equity, and liquidity factors. Using firm-level panel data of financial information for cooperativeand IOF agricultural grain and supply firms in Iowa, the two ownership types are compared to identify whether significant differences exists in their investment activities and financial efficiency. Whether capital structure is impacted by firm type and the financial determinants which may contribute to such differences is highlighted.
Gene expression levels in lymphoma

[Comment on Sakhinia et al, page 3922][1]In the United States, 59 000 people were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma during 2006, and 19 000 died of the disease. Translational molecular research is a high priority; however, routine measurement of predictive gene expression levels has been
Phenomenological Modeling Approach to Anisotropic Ablation in Molten Core–Concrete Interactions

This work proposes a model to explain concrete anisotropic ablation by corium during a molten core–concrete interaction (MCCI). As a result of recent MCCI prototypic material experiments, core-conc...
Evaluation of the Listertest method for quantitation of Listeria monocytogenes in seafoods

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration most probable number (MPN) method and the Listertest™ (immunomagnetic capture) were used to enumerate Listeria monocytogenes on laboratory-inoculated cooked crabmeat ( Callinectus sapidus ) and cold-smoked salmon ( Salmo salar ). The products were inoculated with <1.0 to 4.0 log CFU of L. monocytogenes per g and analyzed immediately. In the analyses of crabmeat, the results obtained by the MPN method were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than counts produced by the Listertest™. There was no significant difference (P < 0.05) between results produced by MPN and the Listertest™ in analyses of smoked salmon. The methods had the same variance in the quantitation of L. monocytogenes in these seafood products.
Attenuation of the Type IV Pilus Retraction Motor Influences Neisseria gonorrhoeae Social and Infection Behavior

ABSTRACT Retraction of the type IV pilus (Tfp) mediates DNA uptake, motility, and social and infection behavior in a wide variety of prokaryotes. To date, investigations into Tfp retraction-dependent activities have used a mutant deleted of PilT, the ATPase motor protein that causes the pilus fiber to retract. ΔpilT cells are nontransformable, nonmotile, and cannot aggregate into microcolonies. We tested the hypothesis that these retraction-dependent activities are sensitive to the strength of PilT enzymatic activity by using the pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae as a model. We constructed an N. gonorrhoeae mutant with an amino acid substitution in the PilT Walker B box (a substitution of cysteine for leucine at position 201, encoded by pilTL201C). Purified PilTL201C forms a native hexamer, but mutant hexamers hydrolyze ATP at half the maximal rate. N. gonorrhoeaepilTL201C cells produce Tfp fibers, crawl at the same speed as the wild-type (wt) parent, and are equally transformable. However, the social behavior of pilTL201C cells is intermediate between the behaviors of wt and ΔpilT cells. The infection behavior of pilTL201C is also defective, due to its failure to activate the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) pathway. Our study indicates that pilus retraction, per se, is not sufficient for N. gonorrhoeae microcolony formation or infectivity; rather, these activities are sensitive to the strength of PilT enzymatic activity. We discuss the implications of these findings for Neisseria pathogenesis in the context of mechanobiology. IMPORTANCE Type IV pili are fibers expressed on the surface of many bacteria. Neisseria gonorrhoeae cells crawl, take up DNA, and communicate with each other and with human cells by retracting these fibers. Here, we show that an N. gonorrhoeae mutant expressing an enzymatically weakened type IV pilus retraction motor still crawls and takes up DNA normally. However, mutant cells exhibit abnormal social behavior, and they are less infective because they fail to activate the epidermal growth factor receptor. Our study shows that N. gonorrhoeae social and infection behaviors are sensitive to the strength of the retraction motor enzyme.
Selection of DNA Aptamers for Ovarian Cancer Biomarker CA125 Using One-Pot SELEX and High-Throughput Sequencing

CA125 is a mucin glycoprotein whose concentration in serum correlates with a woman’s risk of developing ovarian cancer and also indicates response to therapy in diagnosed patients. Accurate detection of this large, complex protein in patient samples is of great clinical relevance. We suggest that powerful new diagnostic tools may be enabled by the development of nucleic acid aptamers with affinity for CA125. Here, we report on our use of One-Pot SELEX to isolate single-stranded DNA aptamers with affinity for CA125, followed by high-throughput sequencing of the selected oligonucleotides. This data-rich approach, combined with bioinformatics tools, enabled the entire selection process to be characterized. Using fluorescence anisotropy and affinity probe capillary electrophoresis, the binding affinities of four aptamer candidates were evaluated. Two aptamers, CA125_1 and CA125_12, both without primers, were found to bind to clinically relevant concentrations of the protein target. Binding was differently influenced by the presence of Mg2
Re: Commission's Request for Comments on the Use of Disgorgement in Antitrust Matters

This is a submission to the FTC that discusses this agency's use of disgorgement as a remedy in Antitrust matters. It strongly supports the Commission's use of the disgorgement remedy, and gives reasons why the public interest would be enhanced if the agency used this remedy more often. This document was submitted on behalf of the American Antitrust Institute.
Family-Centered Early Intervention Visual Impairment Services through Matrix Session Planning.

Early intervention visual impairment services are built on a model that values family involvement. Legislative provision for these services is found under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997, the Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Act. An early intervention professional is a teacher of visually impaired students or an orientation and mobility (OM Dote-Kwan & Chen, 2014; Petersen & Nielsen, 2005). We organized these ideas into several steps that could be taught to scholars with subsequent evaluation for fidelity of implementation. In this paper, we will describe the method we call matrix session planning, followed by a discussion of the advantages and challenges scholars experienced as they used the matrix session planning method with families. Description of the matrix session planning method Matrix session planning pulls together parent priorities, family routines, and identified strategies in a way that helps families and early intervention professionals outline a plan that can both highlight long-term goals and focus on what can be done today. First, the early intervention professional interviews the parents to learn about their concerns, hopes, and dreams for their child. We have found the Routines-Based Interview (McWilliam, Casey, & Sims, 2009) or the Parent Assessment of Needs from Parents and Their Infants with Visual Impairments (Chen, Calvello, & Taylor Friedman, 2015) to be helpful interview protocols. This professional also completes a functional vision assessment. From the interview and assessment, outcomes are identified. These priorities are entered in the left-hand column of a matrix with one outcome per row (see Table 1). Next, family routines are identified in one of two ways. The family may identify specific daily routines as being difficult for the child, or a desired outcome may naturally fit into a specific routine. Identified routines are listed across the top row of the matrix. Then, the parent and provider brainstorm solutions using the child's strengths, preferences, and adaptive needs. These solutions are based on information from the interview and assessment. The ideas are entered into the matrix in the corresponding row and column. …
Biodiversity and Disturbance

As patch-generating and patch-modifying phenomena, disturbances have profound effects on the temporal and spatial dynamics of biodiversity, including aspects such as species composition, species richness, and species diversity. Less well documented are the effects of disturbance on phylogenetic or functional dimensions of biodiversity. The temporal dynamics of biodiversity in response to disturbance are captured in studies of ecological succession. If trade-offs exist between species dispersal and density-dependent competitive abilities, dominance-controlled dynamics stimulate ecological succession in which species composition changes over time in a predictable manner, with richness and diversity peaking at intermediate times after the impact of a disturbance, and terminal “climax communities” remaining relatively invariant over time in the absence of additional disturbances. Alternatively, if all species in the regional pool have equivalent dispersal abilities and equivalent density-dependent competitive abilities (i.e., no trade-offs), the temporal dynamics in species composition are more or less random; species richness and diversity increase over time until space becomes limiting, at which time they remain invariant (although species composition is in flux). The spatial dynamics of the effects of disturbance on biodiversity are complex and captured in studies of landscape ecology. To the extent that disturbances create heterogeneous patches of various compositions and configurations, they are expected to enhance landscape-level (γ-component) biodiversity, primarily by increasing between-patch differences in species composition (β-component). The intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) posits that biodiversity should be highest at intermediate time periods after a disturbance, at intermediate frequencies of disturbance, and at intermediate extents of disturbance. Nonetheless, empirical studies suggest that the humped-shape pattern is neither common nor strong. Moreover, theoretical studies suggest that foundational assumptions of the IDH are logically flawed and should be replaced by models in which species have negative frequency-dependent growth rates or by models in which both the frequency and intensity of disturbance can interact to affect species-specific growth rates.
Left axillary to right atrium anterior chest wall graft using bovine carotid artery conduit.

Introduction Central venous occlusive (CVO) disease involving the superior vena cava (SVC) and inferior vena cava (IVC) can occur frequently in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on chronic dialysis. Dialysis access is essential for the survival of these patients. Case description We report a case of a chest wall graft creation using bovine carotid artery conduit in a patient who was experiencing life-threatening loss of dialysis access secondary to her SVC and IVC occlusion along with a hypercoagulable state. We did a subcutaneous anterior chest wall graft from the left axillary artery to the right atrium (RA) using a mini thoracotomy incision. Conclusions ESRD patients with CVO pose a unique challenge. We believe our approach can provide an excellent option for dialysis access in patients with exhausted conventional access options.
Dynamical mean-field theory, density-matrix embedding theory, and rotationally invariant slave bosons: A unified perspective

We present a unified perspective on dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT), density-matrix embedding theory (DMET), and rotationally invariant slave bosons (RISB). We show that DMET can be regarded as a simplification of the RISB method where the quasiparticle weight is set to unity. This relation makes it easy to transpose extensions of a given method to another: For instance, a temperature-dependent version of RISB can be used to derive a temperature-dependent free-energy formula for DMET.
Fibroblast-derived CXCL12 promotes breast cancer metastasis by facilitating tumor cell intravasation

The chemokine CXCL12 has been shown to regulate breast tumor growth, however, its mechanism in initiating distant metastasis is not well understood. Here, we generated a novel conditional allele of Cxcl12 in mice and used a fibroblast-specific Cre transgene along with various mammary tumor models to evaluate CXCL12 function in the breast cancer metastasis. Ablation of CXCL12 in stromal fibroblasts of mice significantly delayed the time to tumor onset and inhibited distant metastasis in different mouse models. Elucidation of mechanisms using in vitro and in vivo model systems revealed that CXCL12 enhances tumor cell intravasation by increasing vascular permeability and expansion of a leaky tumor vasculature. Furthermore, our studies revealed CXCL12 enhances permeability by recruiting endothelial precursor cells and decreasing endothelial tight junction and adherence junction proteins. High expression of stromal CXCL12 in large cohort of breast cancer patients was directly correlated to blood vessel density and inversely correlated to recurrence and overall patient survival. In addition, our analysis revealed that stromal CXCL12 levels in combination with number of CD31+ blood vessels confers poorer patient survival compared to individual protein level. However, no correlation was observed between epithelial CXCL12 and patient survival or blood vessel density. Our findings describe the novel interactions between fibroblasts-derived CXCL12 and endothelial cells in facilitating tumor cell intrvasation, leading to distant metastasis. Overall, our studies indicate that cross-talk between fibroblast-derived CXCL12 and endothelial cells could be used as novel biomarker and strategy for developing tumor microenvironment based therapies against aggressive and metastatic breast cancer.
A GENETIC APPROACH TO CYTOPATHOGENICITY, VIRUS SPREAD, AND VIRULENCE OF NEWCASTLE DISEASE VIRUS (NDV)

ABSTRACT The noncytopathic (nc) mutants of the virulent AV strain of NDV, selected to form hemadsorbing spots but not plaques on chicken embryo cells (1,2) are restricted in viral RNA synthesis, accumulate less L protein intracellularly, and complement with the Group E ts RNA - mutant, but not the Group A ts RNA - mutants of NDV. Plaque-forming revertants of 5 of these mutants show at least partial co-reversion of each of these properties, suggesting that RNA synthesizing capacity and cytopathogenicity are causally related. At least 3 of the nc mutants (those chosen originally as small hemadsorbing spot-formers) have a second mutation resulting in either the accumulation of an F protein precursor (nc7) or an altered polypeptide (X) related to viral polypeptide p55 (nc4 and nc16). A small plaque-forming revertant of the F protein mutant shows no reversion of the F alteration but reversion for RNA synthesis. A large spot-forming revertant of the X protein mutant shows no increased RNA synthesis, but loss of the X protein. A second step plaque-forming revertant of this spot-size revertant shows increased RNA synthesis. The independent reversion of properties relevant to cytopathogenicity and spread suggest that these are separate properties. Incremental effects of each of these mutations on mean embryo death times suggest that each contribute to virulence.
Games, Motivation, and Integrating Intuitive and Formal Understanding

A central goal of education involves helping students develop deep understandings of complex models at the heart of core learning goals. Interestingly, an analogous goal of commercial recreational digital games involves helping players develop deep understandings of the models at the heart of those games. Given that games can motivate players to engage voluntarily over extended periods of time in developing understandings of complex game models, one may ask whether and how one might foster similar engagement with educational concepts and models. Much fanfare has accompanied claims about games’ potential for engagement and motivation, but many of those claims have focused on a shallow idea of “fun”. This talk takes a deeper view of motivation and learning by considering motivation and games through the lens of research on motivation to learn in classrooms. The talk then considers how research from the learning sciences, psychology, and science education can expand this motivation framework to scaffold the integration of intuitive and formal understanding through games for learning. Discussion of these ideas is framed in terms of examples from commercial game design and from our ongoing research and development of games to support physics learning. This talk builds on a submitted paper [3].
Computational design of RNA parts, devices, and transcripts with kinetic folding algorithms implemented on multiprocessor clusters.

Abstract With progress toward inexpensive, large-scale DNA assembly, the demand for simulation tools that allow the rapid construction of synthetic biological devices with predictable behaviors continues to increase. By combining engineered transcript components, such as ribosome binding sites, transcriptional terminators, ligand-binding aptamers, catalytic ribozymes, and aptamer-controlled ribozymes (aptazymes), gene expression in bacteria can be fine-tuned, with many corollaries and applications in yeast and mammalian cells. The successful design of genetic constructs that implement these kinds of RNA-based control mechanisms requires modeling and analyzing kinetically determined co-transcriptional folding pathways. Transcript design methods using stochastic kinetic folding simulations to search spacer sequence libraries for motifs enabling the assembly of RNA component parts into static ribozyme- and dynamic aptazyme-regulated expression devices with quantitatively predictable functions (rREDs and aREDs, respectively) have been described (Carothers et al., Science 334:1716-1719, 2011). Here, we provide a detailed practical procedure for computational transcript design by illustrating a high throughput, multiprocessor approach for evaluating spacer sequences and generating functional rREDs. This chapter is written as a tutorial, complete with pseudo-code and step-by-step instructions for setting up a computational cluster with an Amazon, Inc. web server and performing the large numbers of kinefold-based stochastic kinetic co-transcriptional folding simulations needed to design functional rREDs and aREDs. The method described here should be broadly applicable for designing and analyzing a variety of synthetic RNA parts, devices and transcripts.
A new species of Palaeocarya (Juglandaceae) from the Ningming Basin in Guangxi, South China

A new species of fossil winged fruits of Palaeocarya (Juglandaceae) is recognized from the Oligocene Ningming Formation in Guangxi, South China. The fruits of Palaeocarya huashanensis sp. nov. consist of a trilobate wing with an oblong median lobe, pinnate and eucamptodromous lobe venation, a hispid nutlet, and a very short pedicel. This new species, along with other four species reported previously from the same locality, represents the Oligocene Palaeocarya occurrence in the lowest latitude and provides additional evidence of diversity of Juglandaceae in the Paleogene in South China, and new data for the investigation of the origin and evolution of the tribe Engelhardieae.
Syntheses and Crystal Structures of Copper(II) Bis (pyrazolyl)acetic Acid Complexes

The reaction of bis(pyrazol-1-yl)acetic acid (L) with copper(II) bromide provides two new complexes: [Cu(L-H)Br(µ-Br)]2 (1) and [Cu(L)2]⋅4H2O (2). Complex 1 is prepared by the stoichiometric reaction of L-H with copper(II) bromide in tetrahydrofuran. Dissolution of 1 in methanol causes its conversion into the bis-ligated complex (2), a highly hygroscopic material. Complex 2 can also be synthesized directly by the stoichiometric reaction of L-H with CuBr2 in methanol. Complex 1 is dimeric, interlinked by two bridging bromide ligands, and possesses terminal bromide ligands on each copper atom. The two pyrazolyl ligands in 1 coordinate with the nitrogen atoms to complete the coordination sphere of copper, resulting in a highly distorted geometry that lies between a trigonal bipyramidal or square pyramidal geometry with wide bond angles between the trans-oriented pyrazolyl nitrogen atoms and bromide ligands. Complex 2 assumes a pseudo-trigonal prismatic geometry with the deprotonated carboxylic acid that interacts weakly with copper. Reaction of bis(pyrazol-1-yl)acetic acid (L-H) with copper(II) bromide provides two new complexes: [Cu(L-H)Br(µ-Br)]2 (1) and [Cu(L)2]⋅4H2O (2), these compounds represent the first, well-defined, independent copper(II) compounds supported by the base bis(pyrazolyl)acetic acid ligand.
Effects of Curcumin on the Oxidative Stress Response to a Dual Stress Challenge in Trained Men.

Firefighters and military personnel are exposed to a variety of stressors. The combination of mental and physical stress (i.e., dual stress challenges [DSCs]) results in significant oxidative stres...
Modifying dietary risk behaviors to prevent obesity and dental caries in very young children: results of the Baby Steps to Health pediatric dental pilot

Objectives To describe the design, feasibility, and acceptability of a theory-informed obesity and dental caries prevention pilot study, Baby Steps to Health, conducted in an academic dental clinic among a primarily Asian immigrant population. Methods Baby Steps used self-determination theory and behavioral motivation strategies for a caregiver/child (6-36 months) nutrition and oral health behavior change intervention implemented in a pediatric dental clinic. Caregivers completed a dietary practice assessment to identify risk behaviors and potential courses of action. With assistance from dental providers, caregiver responses were matched to customized dietary behavioral guidance and a behavior change goal to reinforce caregivers' autonomous motivation to improve feeding practices. A 1-month, post-visit phone caregiver interview assessed adherence to the behavioral goal(s) and solicited qualitative input for further program development. Results Fifty caregivers (82 percent Asian) participated in the initial visit, and 46 (92 percent) participated in the follow-up interview. Reported obesogenic/cariogenic risk behaviors were prevalent: 57 percent of bottle-fed children consumed non-water beverages in bottles to aid sleep and 38 percent of parents offered snacks ad libitum. At follow-up, 93 percent of caregivers who selected goals reported positive behavior change and 91 percent said they would participate in a similar future program. Conclusions Tailored guidance delivered in a program that uses self-determination theory may represent a strategic use of the dental encounter to impart actionable information and motivate health-related behavior change for families with very young children. Partnerships between dental and nutrition professionals offer opportunities to address key dietary behaviors that may prevent obesity and improve oral health, particularly among at-risk children.
A Novel Tensor-Based Temporal Multi-Task Survival Analysis Model

Survival analysis aims at predicting the time to event of interest along with its probability on longitudinal data. It is commonly used to make predictions for a single specific event of interest at a given time point. However, predicting the occurrence of multiple events of interest simultaneously and dynamically is needed in many real-world applications. An intuitive way to solve this problem is to simply apply the standard survival analysis method independently to each prediction task at each time point. However, it often leads to a sub-optimal solution since the underlying dependencies between these tasks are ignored. This motivates us to analyze these prediction tasks jointly in order to select the common features shared across all the tasks. In this paper, we formulate a temporal ( M ultiple T ime points) M ulti- T ask learning framework (MTMT) for survival analysis problems using tensor representation. More specifically, given a survival dataset and a sequence of time points, which are considered as the monitored time points for the events of interest, we reformulate the survival analysis problem to jointly handle each task at each time point and optimize them simultaneously. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed MTMT model on important real-world datasets, including employee attrition and medical records. We show the superior performance of the MTMT model compared to several state-of-the-art models using standard metrics. We also provide the list of important features selected by our MTMT model thus demonstrating the interpretability of the proposed model.
Calibration and registration of a freehand video-guided surgical drill for orthopaedic trauma

Pelvic trauma surgical procedures rely heavily on guidance with 2D fluoroscopy views for navigation in complex bone corridors. This “fluoro-hunting” paradigm results in extended radiation exposure and possible suboptimal guidewire placement from limited visualization of the fractures site with overlapped anatomy in 2D fluoroscopy. A novel computer visionbased navigation system for freehand guidewire insertion is proposed. The navigation framework is compatible with the rapid workflow in trauma surgery and bridges the gap between intraoperative fluoroscopy and preoperative CT images. The system uses a drill-mounted camera to detect and track poses of simple multimodality (optical/radiographic) markers for registration of the drill axis to fluoroscopy and, in turn, to CT. Surgical navigation is achieved with real-time display of the drill axis position on fluoroscopy views and, optionally, in 3D on the preoperative CT. The camera was corrected for lens distortion effects and calibrated for 3D pose estimation. Custom marker jigs were constructed to calibrate the drill axis and tooltip with respect to the camera frame. A testing platform for evaluation of the navigation system was developed, including a robotic arm for precise, repeatable, placement of the drill. Experiments were conducted for hand-eye calibration between the drill-mounted camera and the robot using the Park and Martin solver. Experiments using checkerboard calibration demonstrated subpixel accuracy [−0.01 ± 0.23 px] for camera distortion correction. The drill axis was calibrated using a cylindrical model and demonstrated sub-mm accuracy [0.14 ± 0.70 mm] and sub-degree angular deviation.
Constitutionalism and the Future of Presidential Term Limits in Africa

In the aftermath of the end of the Cold War, the vast majority of African presidential regimes adopted the constitutional rule limiting the number of terms their chief executives could serve in office. Among other political and institutional reforms initiated at that time, this cardinal rule of democratic governance was intended to create constitutionally binding constraints on the presidents in order to move the countries past the era of “big men” that had defined Cold War politics, and anchor them on the path of democratic transition.
Accelerating and Decelerating Space-Time Optical Wave Packets in Free Space

Although a plethora of techniques are now available for controlling the group velocity of an optical wave packet, there are very few options for creating accelerating or decelerating wave packets whose group velocity varies controllably along the propagation axis. Here we show that "space-time" wave packets in which each wavelength is associated with a prescribed spatial bandwidth enable the realization of optical acceleration and deceleration in free space. Endowing the field with precise spatiotemporal structure leads to group-velocity changes as high as ∼c observed over a distance of ∼20 mm in free space, which represents a boost of at least ∼4 orders of magnitude over X waves and Airy pulses. The acceleration implemented is, in principle, independent of the initial group velocity, and we have verified this effect in both the subluminal and superluminal regimes.
Illuminating the mysteries of wolf history.

One of the most enduring surprises about the genetic history of Late Pleistocene populations is that continuity is often disturbed by upheaval. In fact, studies that support population continuity are increasingly rare in humans, a variety of vertebrate taxa, and vascular plants (Hofreiter & Stewart 2009; Burbrink et al. 2016). Perhaps such continuity should not be expected as the Pleistocene is marked by episodes of climate change, glaciation and the invasions of humans into previously isolated areas. Although fossils are one of the primary sources for inferring population continuity, a problem with fossil material is that, even if similar morphological forms might exist in a place over time, they may not be from the same genetic lineage. There are now readily available methods to assess genetic continuity solely from DNA found in fossil material, provided the record is fairly continuous. In a From the Cover article in this issue of Molecular Ecology, Loog et al. (2020) apply some of these readily available methods to analyse mitochondrial genomes and model the demography of wolves over the last 50,000 years.
Impact of simulated patients on students' self-assessment of competency in practice of geriatric dentistry.

PURPOSE The evaluation of the effectiveness of simulation training in dentistry has previously been focused primarily on psychomotor hand skills. This study explored the impact of simulated patient (SP) encounters in simulation on students' self-assessment of competency in their clinical and communication abilities with geriatric patients. METHODS Students from 2 cohorts were recruited for this study. Cohort 1 (n = 30) participated in the standard curriculum with no simulation training and served as the control group. Cohort 2 (n = 34) participated in a SP experience, simulating the initial stages of a care visit for 2 nursing home patients. Students' perceptions of competency to perform these clinical and communication tasks were assessed. A group debriefing session was held 5 weeks post-simulation where Cohort 2 completed a student feedback form. RESULTS A statistically significant change (P < 0.00001) was noted for both cohorts in their self-reported competence to perform clinical tasks following exposure to an independent clinical experience. In addition to this gain, individuals in Cohort 2 demonstrated improvements following simulation and expressed different responses of impact to questions related to treatment, pharmacology, and managing a complex medical history. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that simulation of patient interactions using SPs can strengthen students' self-assessment of competency in their abilities, leading to more genuine interactions with actual patients. These findings will help inform the design of future SP encounters as a component of an evolving humanistic curriculum.
Semantic Analysis of Concurrent Computing in Decentralized IoT and Robotics Applications

As IoT and robotics applications continue to become increasingly complex and decentralized, there is an increase in the difficulty of verifying requirements such as guarantees of reliability, efficiency, and correctness of the entire system. Modern IoT and robotics research and applications employ a variety of technologies to accommodate the distribution of real world IoT devices. Many of these technologies support the orchestration of these devices with concurrent computation and workflow-based processing, e.g., Intel Service Orchestration Layer. We developed a new workflow-based programming language VIPLE (Visual IoT/Robotics Programming Language Environment), which supports the orchestration of decentralized IoT and robotics devices through concurrent computation. VIPLE has been used by many universities for teaching robotics programming, event-driven computing, service-oriented computing, and parallel computing concepts. Historically, simple single threaded applications could be verified by employing formal systems such as Hoare logic. It is difficult to verify parallel and distributed computing. In our recent research, we developed a novel system to verify the semantics and other requirements of decentralized applications written in VIPLE. This system is developed using a combination of the techniques offered in Hoare logic and Rely-Guarantee logic, and it is applied using the automatically generated Pi-Calculus representation of VIPLE applications. This paper focuses on the foundations of this system, its ability to handle concurrent computing and decentralized applications, as well as its ability to support automated verification and semantic analysis.
The Loss of Nuclear PTEN Increases Tumorigenesis in a Preclinical Mouse Model for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Summary The PTEN gene is highly mutated in many cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma. The PTEN protein is located at different subcellular regions—PTEN at the plasma membrane suppresses PI3-kinase signaling in cell growth, whereas PTEN in the nucleus maintains genome integrity. Here, using nuclear PTEN-deficient mice, we analyzed the role of PTEN in the nucleus in hepatocellular carcinoma that is induced by carcinogen and oxidative stress-producing hepatotoxin. Upon oxidative stress, PTEN was accumulated in the nucleus of the liver, and this accumulation promoted repair of DNA damage in wild-type mice. In contrast, nuclear PTEN-deficient mice had increased DNA damage and accelerated hepatocellular carcinoma formation. Both basal and oxidative stress-induced localization of PTEN in the nucleus require ubiquitination of lysine 13 in PTEN. Taken together, these data suggest the critical role of nuclear PTEN in the protection from DNA damage and tumorigenesis in vivo.
Bridging Professionalism: Dispositions as Means for Relating Competency across Disciplines

Work In Progress: this work-in-progress submission, we unpack the learning goals related to competency development in two disparate professional disciplines: Software Engineering and Occupational Therapy. Using competency modeling as a springboard, this research analyzes dispositions as a means of comparing and contrasting the competency goals for different majors. Leveraging recent research in competency modeling, professional competency, is structurally composed of Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions performed in a particular context. While knowledge, skills and context can vary significantly across disciplines, this paper explores how dispositions vary between two significantly different professional settings: Software Engineering (SE) and Occupational Therapy (OT).
Healthy, Wealthy and Wise? The Impact of the Old Age Assistance Program on Elderly Mortality in the United States

How much have government programs improved the well-being of the most vulnerable elderly? To analyze this question, I examine the impact of Old Age Assistance (OAA) —the first significant U.S. welfare program for the elderly—on the mortality of older Americans from 1930-1955. I construct two new data sets: a database of OAA benefits and rules, and a database of mortality by age, race, gender, and cause of death. To control for the joint determination of income and mortality, I use a simulated instrumental variables approach that relies on exogenous changes in OAA legislation at the state and year level. I find a substantial reduction in mortality for many vulnerable elderly groups, especially poor males. Mortality decreased mainly because of declines in risky behavior, infectious diseases (after the introduction of antibiotics) and suicides. Household survey analyses reveal changes in consumption consistent with these patterns. Overall, OAA income transfers were highly effective in preventing deaths among the elderly poor by increasing their access to health care and altering their behavior.
More than Skin Deep: Sea Surface Temperature as a Means of Inferring Atlantic Water Variability on the Southeast Greenland Continental Shelf Near Helheim Glacier

Outlet glaciers account for almost half of the Greenland Ice Sheet's mass loss since 1990. Warming subsurface Atlantic Water (AW) has been implicated in much of that loss, particularly along Greenl...
The trajectory of a low-velocity bullet from the chest to the pituitary gland.

Abstract The diagnosis and treatment of gunshot injuries requires an understanding of the trajectory of the bullet in each individual case. The majority of gunshot wounds present with easily understandable trajectories resulting in a concise, stream-lined work-up. Occasionally, the initial work-up may reveal a trajectory that is atypical. This can be due to internal bullet deflection, bullet embolism, or bullets that traverse multiple body cavities. Here we present the case of a gentleman who was shot in the left posterior chest, with the bullet ultimately lying-in profile with the patient's pituitary gland. The patient suffered injuries to his left lung, left internal jugular vein, and right optic nerve. On hospital day 1, he required neurosurgical operative intervention for increased somnolence and computed tomography findings which revealed tension pneumocephalus. On hospital day 15, he was discharged home after making a full recovery with the exception of continued blindness in the right eye. Gunshot wounds involving multiple body cavities can increase the complexity of a patient's injury pattern and require increased vigilance and complete history, physical examination, and imaging to ensure optimal outcomes.
Spiked Singular Values and Vectors under Extreme Aspect Ratios

The behavior of the leading singular values and vectors of noisy low-rank matrices is fundamental to many statistical and scientific problems. Theoretical understanding currently derives from asymptotic analysis under one of two regimes: ${\it classical}$, with a fixed number of rows, large number of columns or vice versa; and ${\it proportional}$, with large numbers of rows and columns, proportional to one another. This paper is concerned with the ${\it disproportional}$ regime, where the matrix is either `tall and narrow' or `short and wide': we study sequences of matrices of size $n \times m_n$ with aspect ratio $ n/m_n \rightarrow 0$ or $n/m_n \rightarrow \infty$ as $n \rightarrow \infty$. This regime has important `big data' applications. Theory derived here shows that the displacement of the empirical singular values and vectors from their noise-free counterparts and the associated phase transitions -- well-known under proportional growth asymptotics -- still occur in the disproportionate setting. They must be quantified, however, on a novel scale of measurement that adjusts with the changing aspect ratio as the matrix size increases. In this setting, the top singular vectors corresponding to the longer of the two matrix dimensions are asymptotically uncorrelated with the noise-free signal.
Analysis and stabilization of CCM flyback converters supplying constant power loads

This paper proposes a control scheme for stabilization and voltage regulation of a continuous conduction mode (CCM) flyback converter supplying constant power loads (CPL)s. A two-stage controller is proposed for the non-linear system. The first stage involves inserting a virtual resistor in series with the primary winding of the flyback transformer. The virtual resistance, inserted through control action damps limit cycle oscillations due to CPL. This stage is referred to as active damping stage. The second stage enables voltage restoration and performs voltage regulation in the event of source and load variations. This stage is referred to as voltage compensation stage. Stability conditions are derived for equilibrium points. A method to choose one of the control parameters to minimize the output capacitance of the converter is proposed. Simulation results are presented using both averaged and switched models to verify the proposed control scheme.
Identifying the Optimal Storage to Solar Panel Ratio for a Grid-Tied PV System

The power grid is facing an unprecedented increase in penetration from solar energy resources. Solar panels are often installed together with battery storage systems to reduce the variability and uncertainty of the intermittent solar energy. In this paper, a methodology for finding the optimal ratio of storage for a given number of solar panels is presented. The methodology is based on an iterative approach that uses real weather data and load data to simulate the different system configurations. The configurations were found as a function of the desired level of system autonomy from the grid which would run for a user-defined amount of time without falling out of specifications due to component aging. Identifying the optimal ratio of storage per panel for a given autonomy requirement has a large impact on both the cost and the performance of the system.