cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mammographic breast density and risk of breast cancer in women with atypical hyperplasia: an observational cohort study from the Mayo Clinic Benign Breast Disease (BBD) cohort.

Atypical hyperplasia (AH) and mammographic breast density (MBD) are established risk factors for breast cancer (BC), but their joint contributions are not well understood. We examine associations of MBD and BC by histologic impression, including AH, in a sub﻿cohort of women from the Mayo Clinic Benign Breast Disease Cohort. Women with a diagnosis of BBD and mammogram between 1985 and 2001 were eligible. Histologic impression was assessed via pathology review and coded as non-proliferative disease (NP), proliferative disease without atypia (PDWA) and AH. MBD was assessed clinically using parenchymal pattern (PP) or BI-RADS criteria and categorized as low, moderate or high. Percent density (PD) was also available for a subset of women. BC and clinical information were obtained by questionnaires, medical records and the Mayo Clinic Tumor Registry. Women were followed from date of benign biopsy to BC, death or last contact. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) compared the observed number of BCs to expected counts. Cox regression estimated multivariate-adjusted MBD hazard ratios. Of the 6271 women included in the study, 1132 (18.0%) had low MBD, 2921 (46.6%) had moderate MBD, and 2218 (35.4%) had high MBD. A total of 3532 women (56.3%) had NP, 2269 (36.2%) had PDWA and 470 (7.5%) had AH. Over a median follow-up of 14.3 years, 528 BCs were observed. The association of MBD and BC risk differed by histologic impression (p-interaction = 0.03), such that there was a strong MBD and BC association among NP (p 50%) demonstrated marginal evidence of increased BC risk (SIR 4.98), but results were not statistically significant. We found no evidence of an association between MBD and subsequent BC risk in women with AH.
Abstract P267: A Pharmacist-Led, AHA Heart 360 Supported Home Blood Pressure Monitoring Program Improves Blood Control in Patients With Uncontrolled Hypertension

Objective: Treating hypertension (HTN) reduces morbidity and mortality, yet blood pressure (BP) remains inadequately controlled in a large proportion of patients with HTN. The purpose of this study was to determine if a pharmacist-led home BP monitoring (HBPM) program supported by the American Heart Association9s (AHA) Heart 360 website improves BP control for patients with uncontrolled HTN. Methods: This practical randomized controlled study was conducted at Kaiser Permanente Colorado. A total of 353 patients 18 to 85 years of age with uncontrolled HTN, receiving ≤ 3 antihypertensive medications, and with internet access were randomized to the Usual Care (UC, n=174) or the home BP monitoring (HBPM, n=179) group. All patients were seen in clinic at baseline and 6 months for BP measurements. The HBPM group used the AHA Heart 360 website to transmit home BP readings via the internet to clinical pharmacy specialists who made adjustments to patients9 antihypertensive medications and/or ordered labs as necessary based on collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) protocols. The primary endpoint was BP control at 6 months ( Results: Six-month follow-up data were available on 245 patients (245 of 353 (70%)) (n=120 HBPM, n=125 UC). The mean age of the participants was 58 years; 61% were male. There were no significant differences in age or gender between groups. Baseline mean systolic BP was 149 mm Hg in the HBPM group and 145 mm Hg in the UC group (p = 0.08). Rates of 6-month BP control were significantly higher in the HBPM ((58%) 69 of 120) versus the UC group ((38%) 47 of 125) (p Conclusion: A pharmacist-led, HBPM program supported by the AHA Heart 360 website improves BP control for patients with uncontrolled HTN compared to UC.
Inhibition and mental effort in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The efficiency of cognitive inhibition was contrasted in children diagnosed with ADHD and a control group of age- and IQ-matched average children. Two tasks were used to measure inhibitory ability: the negative-prime Stroop task and a directed-forgetting memory task. Based on contemporary theoretical perspectives that postulate deficits in inhibitory function in the ADHD population, it was predicted that ADHD children would be significantly less efficient inhibitors than the average children. Contrary to predictions, however, ADHD children showed no deficits in inhibitory abilities compared to controls. Average children were faster on the second administration of the Stroop task, whereas ADHD children were slower. These results were interpreted within the framework of the inhibition models. It was proposed that differences in inhibitory abilities, such as the ones tapped here, may appear earlier than age 8, and that the engaging aspects of tasks may have optimized the ADHD children's performance. The slower performance of the ADHD group on the second administration of the Stroop task is consistent with the hypothesis that although ADHD children can inhibit, they find it more effortful to do so than do average children.
Mesoscopic Adaptive Resolution Scheme toward Understanding of Interactions between Sickle Cell Fibers

Understanding of intracellular polymerization of sickle hemoglobin (HbS) and subsequent interaction with the membrane of a red blood cell (RBC) is important to predict the altered morphologies and mechanical properties of sickle RBCs in sickle cell anemia. However, modeling the integrated processes of HbS nucleation, polymerization, HbS fiber interaction, and subsequent distortion of RBCs is challenging as they occur at multispatial scales, ranging from nanometers to micrometers. To make progress toward simulating the integrated processes, we propose a hybrid HbS fiber model, which couples fine-grained and coarse-grained HbS fiber models through a mesoscopic adaptive resolution scheme (MARS). To this end, we apply a microscopic model to capture the dynamic process of polymerization of HbS fibers, while maintaining the mechanical properties of polymerized HbS fibers by the mesoscopic model, thus providing a means of bridging the subcellular and cellular phenomena in sickle cell disease. At the subcellular level, this model can simulate HbS polymerization with preexisting HbS nuclei. At the cellular level, if combined with RBC models, the generated HbS fibers could be applied to study the morphologies and membrane stiffening of sickle RBCs. One important feature of the MARS is that it can be easily employed in other particle-based multiscale simulations where a dynamic coarse-graining and force-blending method is required. As demonstrations, we first apply the hybrid HbS fiber model to simulate the interactions of two growing fibers and find that their final configurations depend on the orientation and interaction distance between two fibers, in good agreement with experimental observations. We also model the formation of fiber bundles and domains so that we explore the mechanism that causes fiber branching.
Understanding and managing the food-energy-water nexus – opportunities for water resources research

Abstract Studies on the food, energy, and water (FEW) nexus lay a shared foundation for researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and stakeholders to understand and manage linked production, utilization, and security of FEW systems. The FEW nexus paradigm provides the water community specific channels to move forward in interdisciplinary research where integrated water resources management (IWRM) has fallen short. Here, we help water researchers identify, articulate, utilize, and extend our disciplinary strengths within the broader FEW communities, while informing scientists in the food and energy domains about our unique skillset. This paper explores the relevance of existing and ongoing scholarship within the water community, as well as current research needs, for understanding FEW processes and systems and implementing FEW solutions through innovations in technologies, infrastructures, and policies. Following the historical efforts in IWRM, hydrologists, water resources engineers, economists, and policy analysts are provided opportunities for interdisciplinary studies among themselves and in collaboration with energy and food communities, united by a common path to achieve sustainability development goals.
Bactericera cockerelli vitellogenin-6 like, a vitellogenin without a direct reproductive function?

Vitellogenin-like proteins are members of the large lipid transfer proteins, a family of proteins involved in reproduction, lipid circulation and immune defences. In this study, we identified a new Bactericera cockerelli vitellogenin-like (Vg-like) transcript, and named it BcVg6-like based on its similarity to Acyrthosiphon pisum Vg6. In silico analyses predicted different conserved domains in BcVg6-like compared with the conventional Ba. cockerelli vitellogenin, BcVg1-like, previously described by our research group. Phylogenetic analyses determined that BcVg6-like clustered with Vg-like-B proteins and not the conventional vitellogenins involved in vitellogenesis. Also, the expression analyses showed differences in BcVg6-like transcript expression between 7-day-old males and 3- and 7-day-old females. BcVg6-like was not upregulated after exogenous application of juvenile hormone III, but its relative expression increased significantly in alimentary canals of adult females exposed to tomato plants infected by the bacterial plant pathogen 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum'. Our results suggest that in Ba. cockerelli, both vitellogenin genes may have different functions: BcVg1-like is a conventional vitellogenin that conserved its ancestral function as an egg yolk precursor whereas BcVg6-like might have acquired a function in lipid and/or other molecule transport, and could potentially play a role in immune defence.
Transposons, stress and the functions of the deep genome

The brain is responsible for both recognition and adaptation to stressful stimuli. Many molecular mechanisms have been implicated in this response including those governing neuronal plasticity, neurogenesis and, changes gene expression. Far less is known regarding effects of stress on the deep genome. In the hippocampus, stress appears to regulate expression of non-coding elements of the genome as well as the chromatin permissive for their transcription. Specifically, hippocampal retrotransposon (RT) elements are regulated by acute stress via the accumulation of the repressive H3K9me3 mark at RT loci. Further, corticosteroids appear to induce changes in heterochromatin status as well as RT expression in both adrenalectomized animal and rat cell culture models. Dysregulation of RT expression is predicted to result in functional deficits in affected brain areas. More broadly, however, transposons may have a variety of adaptive functions. As techniques improve to probe the deep genome, this approach to understanding stress neurobiology has the potential to yield insights into environment and genome interactions that may contribute to the physiology underlying a number of stress-related mental health disorders.
WHY ARE U.S. WOMEN DECREASING THEIR LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION IF THEIR WAGES ARE RISING

Given the traditional interpretation of women's labor force participation rate (LFPR) trends as movements along a positively sloped labor supply curve, it is surprising that the recent downward trend in U.S. women's LFPR has occurred over a period when women's real wages were commonly believed to be rising. I find that almost two‐thirds of the decline since 2000 is attributable to aging of the adult female population. The remainder, due to declining labor force participation for women under 55, becomes less puzzling in light of my evidence that the wage/education locus faced by women actually may have worsened since 2000. (JEL J21, J31, J82)
Creating a safe therapeutic space through naming: psychodynamic work with traditional Arab LGBT clients

LGBT Arab clients who enter psychotherapy typically wish to change their sexual orientation. This article draws on writings by Winnicott and Ogden and on current discourse about sexuality in the Ar...
Late Onset Hereditary Amyloidosis in a Family From Texas

A new kinship of German-English ancestry with familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) is described. Four siblings of a large Texan family have been studied with what appears to be an autosomal dominant transmission. The onset is very similar to the Andrade (Portuguese) type I FAP in that autonomic dysfunction and sensory findings precede motor involvement. This particular family however is unique in that the age of onset is the seventh decade in all members affected to date. Renal involvement appears to be less prominent and has occurred several years after onset of polyneuropathy symptoms. In contrast to other types of familial amyloid, scalloped pupils have not been seen. The clinical symptoms of cardiac and gastrointestinal involvement became manifest more slowly (10 or more years after first neuropathic symptoms) in this elderly onset Texan family. The pattern of disease, however, was similar to that of typical FAP type I. Immunohistochemical staining techniques have shown that the amyloid is prealbumin. These data indicate characteristics of FAP may be a broader continuum of disease processes rather than a single definite entity.
Differentiating Through Problem-Based Learning: Learning to ExploreMore! with Gifted Students

The rapid growth in student diversity in US public schools has created challenges leading to questioning and improvement of science teaching and learning approaches used in the science classroom. The mixed ability classroom requires instructional approaches that provide a framework for engaging students in authentic problem solving. While participating in a 6-week summer academy, Neporcha implemented a problem-based science unit to meet the academic needs of gifted students from low-income backgrounds in grades five through eight. As a result of this experience, Dr. Cone and her coauthors learned new strategies for differentiating instruction that inform the way they prepare preservice elementary-grades teachers to meet the needs of students from diverse backgrounds.
Smart blueprints: automatically generated maps of homes and the devices within them

Off-the-shelf home automation technology is making it easier than ever for people to convert their own homes into "smart homes". However, manual configuration is tedious and error-prone. In this paper, we present a system that automatically generates a map of the home and the devices within it. It requires no specialized deployment tools, 3D scanners, or localization hardware, and infers the floor plan directly from the smart home sensors themselves, e.g. light and motion sensors. The system can be used to automatically configure home automation systems or to automatically produce an intuitive map-like interface for visualizing sensor data and interacting with controllers. We call this system Smart Blueprints because it is automatically customized to the unique configuration of each home. We evaluate this system by deploying in four different houses. Our results indicate that, for three out of the four home deployments, our system can automatically narrow the layout down to 2-4 candidates per home using only one week of collected data.
Surface markers of human eosinophils

Peripheral blood eosinophils from patients with eosinophilia and from healthy subjects were studied for surface immunoglobulins, receptors for the Fc region of IgG, complement receptors, and spontaneous rosette formation with sheep and mouse erythrocytes. Eosinophils were found to have receptors for complement and for aggregated IgG, and to have the same two types of complement receptors as do lymphocytes and monocytes. Immune adherence type receptors were specific for C4 or C3b, while C3d receptors were specific for C3d but unreactive with C4. Eosinophils differed from fully mature neutrophils in that the former had C3d receptors and relatively weak immune adherence (C4 or C3b) receptors, while the later did not have the C3d receptors and had strong immune adherence receptors. Eosinophil phagocytosis of complement-receptor bound erythrocytes was dependent on the presence of IgG in the antibody coating the red blood cells; this requirement for IgG resembled that found in neutrophil phagocytosis. No surface Ig or spontaneous erythrocyte rosette formation was observed with eosinophils.
Nutrient Management in Recirculating Hydroponic Culture

There is an increasing need to recirculate and reuse nutrient solutions in order to reduce environmental and economic costs. However, one of the weakest points in hydroponics is the lack of information on managing the nutrient solution. Many growers and research scientists dump out nutrient solutions and refill at weekly intervals. Other authors have recommended measuring the concentrations of individual nutrients in solution as a key to nutrient control and maintenance. Dumping and replacing solution is unnecessary. Monitoring ions in solution is not always necessary; in fact the rapid depletion of some nutrients often causes people to add toxic amounts of nutrients to the solution. Monitoring ions in solution is interesting, but it is not the key to effective maintenance.
Religious diversity: Where exclusivists often go wrong

halls this year have been given the names of values students are to emulate. To get to my son's room, I start down Honesty Boulevard, take a left at Fairness Road and then finally turn down Respect Lane. And although the parents in our school district disagree on almost everything almost all of the time, I suspect that the school has not received a single complaint about this clear attempt to promote a specific set of values in the public school setting. The reason this is so, I assume, is that almost all of us, as parents, believe these values to be ones that children ought to learn and accept. But with respect to many, if not most issues - from sports to politics to religion - there usually do exist significant differences of opinion. Of course, as I will note in greater detail later, there are many contexts in which diversity of thought is not itself problematic for one who believes her perspective to be superior. Sometimes a person - hopefully, for instance, a philosophy professor in a debate with undergraduate students in the classroom - clearly has access to more relevant information than do those with whom she disagrees. At other times - for instance in the political arena - it may well be clear that those with whom one disagrees know the truth but do not want to acknowledge it. But what of those cases in which seemingly knowledgeable, sincere people differ on issues of significance? What, especially, of those cases in which seemingly knowledgeable, sincere people differ on religious issues? I have argued previously that religious exclusivists are under a prima facie obligation to attempt to resolve this type of epistemic peer conflict.1 The primary purpose of this essay, however, is to argue that, even if religious exclusivists are under no such obligation, there still remain good reasons for exclusivists to assess their relevant beliefs in the face of peer conflict
Identification of Species in the Aromatic Spice Family Apiaceae Using DNA Mini-barcodes.

The species of the aromatic plant family Apiaceae are mainly used as spices and foods, but the family also includes medicinal and some poisonous plant species. Due to the similar chemical compounds or aroma and morphology, the poisonous species are often mistaken for the edible aromatic species. It is therefore imperative to correctly identify the species present at the initial raw stage samples to ensure product safety and efficacy. At the molecular level, plant species can be identified using DNA loci either from nuclear or plastid genome with easily available universal oligonucleotides, a technique called DNA barcoding. However, this is possible when single-species plant material is present but may not work on a mixture of plants species. Another disadvantage is that using universal oligonucleotides is of limited help, especially if the adulterating material is present in low quantities. On the other hand, if using the species-specific oligonucleotides, only single specific adulterating plant material could be detected and, consequently, the unexpected adulterants may go undetected. Therefore, in the current work, four degenerated oligonucleotides from ITS1 and ITS2 regions of the nuclear genome were designed that can bind to a variety of Apiaceae genera only and not to other genera belonging to different plant families. These family-specific oligonucleotides were able to amplify a diagnostic PCR product from 16 Apiaceae species that, upon sequencing, revealed the identity of the plant it was derived from. The size of these products is around 140 bp for ITS1 and approximately 80 bp for the ITS2 region. The size range of the amplified products falls in the category of a desired mini-barcode size to be used for damaged/fragmented DNA and next generation sequencing.
Stable nitrification under sulfide supply in a sequencing batch reactor with a long fill period

Abstract Ammonia-containing wastewater often also contains sulfide, which severely inhibits biological nitrification. In this study, the applicability of a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with a long fill period to achieve stable nitrification of sulfide-containing anaerobic digestion effluent was evaluated. During the start-up period, in which no sulfide was supplied to the reactor (Phase I, experimental days 0–18), ammonium was oxidized to nitrate stably after day 6. During the period in which sulfide was supplied at 32 mg-S L−1 d−1 (Phase II, experimental days 18–30), the nitrification efficiency temporarily decreased to 79%, but recovered rapidly to 100% within two days. The sulfide tolerance of the sludge in the SBR was evaluated by batch bioassays at the end of the start-up period. The results showed that the half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) for the sludge was 0.73 mg-S L−1, which was a typical value. Therefore, pre-existing sulfide tolerance of the sludge was not the main factor enabling stable nitrification during the sulfide supply period. Throughout the experimental period, the reactor was operated using a long sludge retention time of 139 days. The effective sludge retention in the SBR with a long fill period probably promoted the acclimatization of the microbes to sulfide, allowing the nitrification performance to remain stable even under sulfide supply.
Distal splenorenal and mesocaval shunting at the time of pancreatectomy.

Abstract Background When pancreatic neoplasms occlude or encase the superior mesenteric-portal-splenic vein confluence with abutment of the posterior lateral wall of the superior mesenteric artery, a mesocaval shunt with or without a distal splenorenal shunt allows for safe dissection of the porta hepatis and separation of the pancreatic tumor from the superior mesenteric artery. Herein we report long-term results of the largest known series of portosystemic shunts performed at the time of pancreatectomy. Methods All patients who underwent pancreatic resection with a mesocaval shunt or distal splenorenal shunt were identified from our prospective database. Demographics, perioperative treatment, and outcomes were reviewed. Results A total of 34 patients underwent mesocaval shunt or distal splenorenal shunt, including 25 at the time of pancreatoduodenectomy, 6 during total pancreatectomy, and 3 after prior pancreatectomy. There were 15 mesocaval shunts, 16 distal splenorenal shunts, 2 combined mesocaval/distal splenorenal shunts, and 1 distal splenoadrenal vein shunt. The mesocaval group included 11 temporary and 6 permanent (3 delayed) shunts. Median operative time was 9 hours (range 6.5–13), median estimated blood loss was 950 mL (range 200–5,000), and median duration of hospital stay was 11 days (range 7–35). Four patients experienced complications that required intervention (Clavien-Dindo grade ≥III), but there were no 90-day mortalities. For patients with adenocarcinoma, median overall survival was 31 months at a median follow-up of 19 months. All but 1 shunt (distal splenorenal) were patent at last follow-up. Conclusion Mesenteric venous shunting facilitates a safe and complete tumor resection in patients who require a complex pancreatectomy, many of whom would otherwise be deemed inoperable.
Mass-independent Dunham analysis of the known electronic states of platinum sulfide, PtS, and analysis of the electronic field-shift effect.

Several new vibrational bands of the [12.5] Ω = 0+–X3Σ−Ω=0+ and the [15.9] B Ω = 0+–X3Σ−Ω=0+ transitions have been observed in high resolution absorption measurements recorded using Intracavity Laser Spectroscopy (ILS). These new bands have been rotationally analyzed and incorporated into a comprehensive PtS dataset that was fit to a mass-independent Dunham expression using PGOPHER. The comprehensive dataset included all reported field-free, gas phase spectroscopic data for PtS, including 32 Fourier transform microwave transitions (estimated accuracy: 1 kHz), 9 microwave/optical double resonance transitions (25 kHz), 51 millimeter and submillimeter transitions (25–50 kHz), 469 molecular beam-laser induced fluorescence transitions (0.003 cm−1), and 4870 ILS transitions (0.005 cm−1). The determined equilibrium constants have been used with the Rydberg-Klein-Rees method to produce potential energy curves for the four known electronic states of PtS. Isotopic shifts in electronic transition energy beyond expectations from the Born-Oppenheimer approximation were observed and treated as electronic field-shift effects due to the difference in the nuclear charge radius between Pt isotopes. The magnitude and sign of the determined field-shift parameters are rationalized through the analysis of the previously reported ab initio calculations.
THE EFFECT OF DIAGNOSTIC ULTRASOUND MEDIATED SONOTHROMBOLYSIS APPLIED IMMEDIATELY AFTER EMERGENT PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY ARTERY INTERVENTION IN ACUTE LEFT ANTERIOR DESCENDING ST SEGMENT ELEVATION MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

Microvascular obstruction (MVO) and large infarct size remains a significant problem following contemporary treatment of anterior ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Diagnostic ultrasound (DUS) mediated sonothrombolysis with intravenous microbubbles and intermittent high mechanical
Natriuretic Peptide Receptor 2 Locus Contributes to Carotid Remodeling

Background Carotid artery intima/media thickness (IMT) is a hallmark trait associated with future cardiovascular events. The goal of this study was to map new genes that regulate carotid IMT by genome-wide association. Methods and Results We induced IMT by ligation procedure of the left carotid artery in 30 inbred mouse strains. Histologic reconstruction revealed significant variation in left carotid artery intima, media, adventitia, external elastic lamina volumes, intima-to-media ratio, and (intima+media)/external elastic lamina percent ratio in inbred mice. The carotid remodeling trait was regulated by distinct genomic signatures with a dozen common single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with left carotid artery intima volume, intima-to-media ratio, and (intima+media)/external elastic lamina percent ratio. Among genetic loci on mouse chromosomes 1, 4, and 12, there was natriuretic peptide receptor 2 (Npr2), a strong candidate gene. We observed that only male, not female, mice heterozygous for a targeted Npr2 deletion (Npr2+/-) exhibited defective carotid artery remodeling compared with Npr2 wild-type (Npr2+/+) littermates. Fibrosis in carotid IMT was significantly increased in Npr2+/- males compared with Npr2+/- females or Npr2+/+ mice. We also detected decreased Npr2 expression in human atherosclerotic plaques, similar to that seen in studies in Npr2+/- mice. Conclusions We found that components of carotid IMT were regulated by distinct genetic factors. We also showed a critical role for Npr2 in genetic regulation of vascular fibrosis associated with defective carotid remodeling.
Effect of leaving group on the oligomerization of 5'-AMP on montmorillonite

The oligomerization of imidazole derivative of 5'-AMP (ImpA) in the presence of montmorillonite clay yields oligomers containing up to 10 monomer units. In these reactions, the heterocyclic base, imidazole is the leaving group. In our present study, we synthesized a series of activated nucleotides of 5'AMP using other leaving groups such as pyrazole, 1,2,4-triazole, piperidine, morpholine, 4-aminopyridine, 4-methylaminopyridine, 4-dimethylaminopyridine, 2-aminobenzimidazole etc. to determine the effect of amine leaving group on the products of the oligomerization reaction. Earlier results from our laboratory showed that the presence AppA in the clay reaction of ImpA enhances the oligomerization reaction to yield higher oligomers. We also studied the effect of AppA in the clay mediated oligomerization reaction of the activated nucleotides. Oligomerization of 2-amino-benzimidazole derivative of 5'-AMP gave higher oligomers containing up to nine monomer units in the presence of AppA.
Successful Global Collaborations in Higher Education Institutions

Successful Global Collaborations in Higher Education Institutions is an insightful read. This guide is geared towards university administrators, faculty, and staff who want to join forces with other institutions and make their universities preeminent institutions of the 21st century and beyond. The guide is broken into three sections with the first section being my favorite. The first section highlights King Abdulaziz University (KAU) who is the pioneer institution that created the blueprint for global collaborations. Personally, I have never heard of this university before opening the book. However, King Abdulaziz University collaborated with other academic and research institutions which catapulted them into their success in global ranks. The first section also highlights how institutions could create a climate that will assist in creating global partnerships.
Leveraging ML to handle the increasing complexity of the cloud

Cloud services are increasingly adopting new programming models, such as microservices and serverless compute. While these frameworks offer several advantages, such as better modularity, ease of maintenance and deployment, they also introduce new hardware and software challenges. In this talk, I will briefly discuss the challenges that these new cloud models introduce in hardware and software, and present some of of our work on employing ML to improve the cloud's performance predictability and resource efficiency. I will first discuss Seer, a performance debugging system that identifies root causes of unpredictable performance in multi-tier interactive microservices, and Sage, which improves on Seer by taking a completely unsupervised learning approach to data-driven performance debugging, making it both practical and scalable.
Rate of Growth of Preschool-Age Children’s Oral Language and Decoding Skills Predicts Beginning Writing Ability

Research Findings: This study examined the extent to which children’s development and growth in oral language and literacy skills during the early childhood period predicted writing ability in the ...
Choline and docosahexaenoic acid during the first 1000 days and children's health and development in low- and middle-income countries.

Choline and DHA are nutrients that, when provided during the first 1000 days from conception to age 2 years, may have beneficial effects on child neurodevelopment as well as related health factors, including birth outcomes and child growth, morbidity, and inflammation. Because these nutrients are found mainly in animal-source foods, they may be lacking in the diets of pregnant and lactating women and young children in low- and middle-income countries, potentially putting children at risk for suboptimal development and health. Prior reviews of these nutrients have mainly focused on studies from high-income countries. Here, a narrative review is presented of studies describing the pre- and postnatal roles of choline, docosahexaenoic acid, and a combination of the 2 nutrients on child neurodevelopment, birth outcomes, growth, morbidity, and inflammation in low- and middle-income countries. More studies are needed to understand the specific, long-term effects of perinatal choline and docosahexaenoic acid intake in various contexts.
Missed Congenital Heart Disease in Neonates

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of missed congenital heart disease in neonates in the state of Wisconsin leading to death or readmission during the first 2 weeks of life. Design. Wisconsin hospitalization and death records were reviewed from 2002 to 2006. Only those neonates discharged home after birth without a cardiac or major non-cardiac diagnosis were considered. Wisconsin hospital records identified those neonates readmitted during the first 2 weeks of life with a diagnosis of heart disease using International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) codes. Wisconsin death records also identified patients who died within the first 14 days of life who had a diagnosis of heart disease using International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes. Adverse events were attributed to congenital heart disease if the diagnosis was a left-sided obstructive lesion or a cyanotic heart defect. Other adverse events were attributed to heart disease if no other major diagnosis was present and the data suggested an intention to treat. The 114 Wisconsin hospitals, which delivered 340 203 babies during 2002–2006, were stratified into quartiles based on the total number of deliveries to determine if there was a difference in incidence of missed congenital heart disease based on hospital birth size. Results. Congenital heart disease led to death or rehospitalization during the first 2 weeks of life in 14 out of 345 573 births (1 : 24 684) in Wisconsin between 2002 and 2006. Coarctation of the aorta and hypoplastic left heart syndrome were the most common diagnoses. There did not appear to be a difference in the incidence of missed diagnosis of congenital heart disease based on the number of deliveries performed at the birth hospital. Conclusions. Death or readmission events in neonates under 2 weeks of age because of a missed diagnosis of congenital heart disease occurred in 1 : 24 684 neonates in the state of Wisconsin between 2002 and 2006. Critical left sided obstructive lesions were the most common cause of these events.
Polyphenols as regulators of plant-litter-soil interactions in northern California’s pygmy forest: A positive feedback?

The convergent evolution of polyphenol-rich plant communities has occurred on highly acidic and infertile soils throughout the world. The pygmy forest in coastal northern California is an example of an ecosystem on an extremely infertile soil that has exceptionally high concentrations of polyphenols. Many ‘negative feedbacks’ have been identified whereby plants degrade fertile soils through production of polyphenol-rich litter, sequestering soil nutrients into unavailable form and creating unfavorable conditions for seed germination, root growth, and nutrient uptake. But in the context of plant-litter-soil interactions in ecosystems adapted to soils that are inherently acidic and infertile (such as the pygmy forest), there are also many ‘positive feedbacks’ that result from polyphenol production. By inhibiting decomposition, polyphenols regulate the formation of a mor-humus litter layer, conserving nutrients and creating a more favorable medium for root growth. Polyphenols shift the dominant pathway of nitrogen cycling from mineral to organic forms to minimize potential N losses from the ecosystem and maximize litter-N recovery by mycorrhizal symbionts. Polyphenol complexation of Al, Mn and Fe reduce potential Al toxicity and P fixation in soil. Polyphenols regulate organic matter dynamics, leading to the accumulation of organic matter with cation exchange capacity to minimize leaching of nutrient cations. Humic substances derived from polyphenolic precursors coat rhizosphere soil surfaces, improving physical and chemical conditions for root growth and nutrient cycling. Although their long-accepted adaptive value for antiherbivore defense is now in doubt, polyphenol alteration of soil conditions and regulation of nutrient cycling illustrate how fitness can be influenced by the ‘extended’ phenotype in plant-litter-soil interactions.
Brushless DC motor drive for steer-by-wire and electric power steering applications

Due to the growing demand of cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in today's society, there becomes the need to create automobiles that are optimized in different aspects. In current cars, many mechanical systems are robbing the conventional internal combustion engine from valuable horsepower. For instance, the steering systems of the most later model vehicles could be observed to be one of these resource-robbing systems because of their inefficient use of either the rack and pinion system or the re-circulating ball system. In either case, they are both mechanical systems that incorporate the use of hydraulics (power steering), which prove to be very inefficient systems. The implementation of the electric power steering and steer-by-wire systems brings hope in creating steering systems for most vehicles, which will still be equipped with power steering. This is a much safer and more efficient choice for the future production of cars. This paper gives a state-of-the-art review of automotive steering systems, which present numerous application opportunities for advanced electric motor drives, specially brush-less DC (BLDC) motor drives.
Daño reversible del nodo auriculoventricular durante la crioablación de una vía accesoria parahisiana en un niño con preexcitación intermitente

Resumen es: El dano del nodo auriculoventricular (NAV) constituye una de las potenciales complicaciones de la ablacion por radiofrecuencia de vias accesorias parahis...
DNA sites buried in nucleosome become accessible at room temperature: a discrete-event-simulation based modeling approach

Conformation of a canonical nucleosome inhibits the direct access of the binding proteins to portions of nucleosomal DNA. Nucleosome dynamics establish certain pathways through which nucleosome gets remodeled (spontaneously, covalently or non-covalently) and the buried DNA sites become accessible. Currently for most pathways no single model is available to capture the temporal behavior of these pathways. Plus traditional diffusion-based models in most cases are not precise. In this work we have given a systematic overview of such pathways. Then, we manipulate the probability of a binding site on array of N nucleosomes and chromatin of length G base pairs . We further identify three of the widely accepted thermal-driven (passive) pathways and model those based on stochastic process and the Discrete-Event-Simulation. For the output of the models we have sought either the site access rate or the sliding rate of the nucleosome. We also show that results from these models match the experimental data where available.
Hydrophobic Moments as Tools for Analyzing Protein Sequences and Structures

This chapter deals with the two main themes of this book—prediction of protein structure from sequence and principles of protein conformation—but from a narrow point of view. The point of view is that the interaction with water of the amino acid side chains is a major determinant of protein structure. Charged and polar side chains seek contact with water, and apolar side chains avoid water, preferring to cluster together beneath the surface of the protein. This avoidance of water is the hydrophobic interaction, first described in detail by Kauzmann (1959). In this point of view, it is the simultaneous attraction of some amino acid side chains to water and the avoidance of water by others that is a major factor in dictating the conformation taken by the polypeptide backbone.
La dynamique sociorésidentielle d’une ville latino-américaine : Puebla au Mexique

Cet article presente une analyse des changements dans la repartition socioresidentielle des menages survenus a Puebla (Mexique) a la suite d’un imposant projet gouvernemental de revitalisation. La disponibilite limitee de variables socioeconomiques discriminantes dans les recensements mexicains a pu etre contournee grâce a l’usage de caracteristiques qui temoignent indirectement du statut des menages. L’introduction de ces variables dans une analyse par grappes, utilisant la technique de classification ascendante hierarchique, a permis de faire ressortir un continuum socio-professionnel qui a ete cartographie. Pour 1990, les resultats obtenus confortent des analyses menees anterieurement en presentant deux axes d’expansion ou se concentre la classe professionnelle. Cependant, les resultats pour 2000 mettent en doute l’expansion continue de ces axes. Ils ne montrent pas non plus de changements perceptibles du statut socioprofessionnel des menages dans le centre historique suite au projet de revitalisation.
Decentralized Fixed Modes and Stabilization in Large-Scale Systems

The relationship between decentralized fixed modes and decentralized stabilization using stationary state feedback is investigated for a special class of controllable system structures. Several examples are presented to illustrate the main results.
Distinguishing Between Multicultural and Global Education: The Challenge of Conceptualizing and Addressing the Two Fields

This qualitative study examines how a group of social studies teachers working in a suburban middle school with a predominantly affluent and white student body conceptualize multicultural and globa...
Ellipsoidal Techniques for Reachability Analysis

This report describes the calculation of the reach sets and tubes for linear control systems with time-varying coefficients and hard bounds on the controls through tight external and internal ellipsoidal approximations. These approximating tubes touch the reach tubes from outside and inside respectively at every point of their boundary so that the surface of the reach tube is totally covered by curves that belong to the approximating tubes. The proposed approximation scheme induces a very small computational burden compared with other methods of reach set calculation. In particular such approximations may be expressed through ordinary differential equations with coefficients given in explicit analytical form. This yields exact parametric representation of reach tubes through families of external and internal ellipsoidal tubes. The proposed techniques, combined with calculation of external and internal approximations for intersections of ellipsoids, provide an approach to reachability problems for hybrid systems.
Human microbiota-associated swine: Current progress and future opportunities

Gnotobiotic (GN) rodent models have provided insight into the contributions of the gut microbiota to host health and preventing disease. However, rodent models are limited by several important physiological and metabolic differences from humans, and many rodent models do not dependably replicate the clinical manifestations of human diseases. Due to the high degree of similarity in anatomy, physiology, immunology and brain growth, the domestic pig (Sus scrofa) is considered a clinically relevant model to study factors influencing human gastrointestinal, immune, and brain development. Gnotobiotic piglet models have been developed and shown to recapitulate key aspects of GN rodent models. Human microbiota-associated (HMA) piglets have been established using inocula from infants, children, and adults. The gut microbiota of recipient HMA piglets was more similar to that of the human donor than that of conventionally reared piglets harboring a pig microbiota. Moreover, Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides, two predominant bacterial groups of infant gut, were successfully established in the HMA piglets. Thus, the HMA pig model has the potential to be a valuable model for investigating how the gut microbiota composition changes in response to environmental factors, such as age, diet, vaccination, antibiotic use and infection. The HMA also represents a robust model for screening the efficacy of pre- and probiotic interventions. Lastly, HMA piglets can be an ideal model with which to elucidate microbe-host interactions in human health and disease due to the similarities to humans in anatomy, physiology, developmental maturity at birth, and the pathophysiology of many human diseases.
Recognition Memory for Words and Faces Before and After Temporal Lobectomy.

To assess the sensitivity of Warrington's Recognition Memory Test (RMT) “Words” and “Faces” subtests to lateralized temporal lobe seizure foci and effects of epilepsy surgery, 27 left- and 39 right-temporal lobectomy patients were tested before and after surgery. Only surgical patients who were seizure-free after surgery were studied. The temporal lobectomy patients were compared to 50 seizure patients who were tested twice without having undergone surgery. RMT scaled scores were analyzed using a 3 × 2 × 2, Group by Pre-post by Content repeated measures ANOVA, which revealed significant Group by Pre-post, Group by Content, and Pre-post by Content interactions. A 3 × 2, Group by Pre-post repeated measures ANOVA of the discrepancy between Words and Faces raw scores revealed a significant Group effect only. Left-temporal lobectomy patients tended to show smaller raw score discrepancies than right-temporal lobectomy patients and seizure controls. Attempts to classify patients as having left- or right-temporal...
Generalizing parallel and sequential mutual exclusions for Petri net synthesis of manufacturing systems/sup 1/

A parallel mutual exclusion concept has been formulated to model a resource shared by distinct independent processes and sequential mutual exclusion to model a resource shared by sequentially related processes. Both concepts were proven useful in synthesizing bounded, live, and reversible Petri nets for discrete event dynamic systems, especially for manufacturing systems. This paper generalizes these two concepts in order to model more complicated resource-sharing systems. Furthermore, this paper demonstrates their benefit to all the synthesis methods such as bottom-up, top-down, and rule-based approaches in order to build up a Petri net model with good properties.
Long-term nitrogen and tillage effects on soil physical properties under continuous grain sorghum

Grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is an important grain crop grown in both highly productive and marginal areas in the central Great Plains because of the crop's ability to use the erratic precipitation observed in this region. More effective capture and storage of this limited rainfall is needed to improve the productivity and profitability of dryland agriculture. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of long-term tillage and N fertilization on soil physical and hydraulic properties after long-term continuous grain sorghum production. Variables included conventional tillage (CT) and no-till (NT) and four rates of N fertilizer. Selected soil quality indicators included soil organic carbon (SOC), bulk density (BD), wet aggregate stability (WAS), and ponded infiltration. No-till accumulated more SOC in the surface 0 to 5 cm, and was less dense at all depths than CT. When tillage was compared across all N rates, NT contained 30% greater SOC than CT at the 0 to 5 cm. Mean weight diameter (MWD) was larger with increasing N fertilization and eliminating tillage. Ponded infiltration rates were greatest for the high N fertilization rate under NT, and lowest for the 0 kg N ha−1 rate under CT. In this long-term grain sorghum system, increasing N fertilization rate and NT both positively affected soil physical properties. These improvements in hydraulic properties will aid in more effectively capturing unpredictable precipitation, and further underscore the utility of NT management practices for the central Great Plains region.