cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
WLC02-2: A Distributed Size-bounded Multi-hop Clustering for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

During the last few years there has been a rapid development in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). To make the operations of a MANET more efficient, one approach is to construct and maintain a control structure. Clustering is such a natural approach to achieving local independent operations and control functions efficiently. In this paper we propose a weight-based distributed size-bounded multi-hop clustering (SMC) approach for MANETs. In SMC, clusters are formed and maintained autonomously with only local information. The multi-hop nature and the employment of Groupjoin of SMC reduce the number of changes in case of mobility. SMC bounds cluster size to alleviate clusterheads' workload. Simulation results show that in spite of mobility, SMC can achieve fewer consistent clusters with short communication paths between clusterheads and members and incurs fewer changes compared to other clustering methods, which is desirable for large scale MANETs.
On the dual of complex Ol'shanskii semigroups

LetG be a connected Lie group which sits in its universal complexification GC. If g denotes the Lie algebra of G and W ⊆ g is a non-empty open Ad(G)-invariant convex cone containing no affine lines, then a complex Ol’shanskii semigroup is defined by S = G exp(iW ) ⊆ GC. One knows that S is an open subsemigroup ofGC with holomorphic multiplication, and moreover S is invariant under the antiholomorphic involution g → g∗ = g−1, where g indicates complex conjugation in GC. In particular, (S, ∗) is an involutive semigroup. If H is a Hilbert space and B(H) denotes the bounded operators on it, then a holomorphic representation (π,H) of S is a holomorphic semigroup homomorphism π:S → B(H)with total image andwhich satisfies π(s∗) = π(s)∗ for all s ∈ S. A mapping α:S → [0,∞[ satisfying α(s∗) = α(s) and α(st) ≤ α(s)α(t) for all s, t ∈ S is called an absolute value of S. We call a holomorphic representation α-bounded for some absolute value α if ‖π(s)‖ ≤ α(s) holds for s ∈ S. The α-bounded holomorphic representations of S can be modelled via a certain C∗-algebra C∗ h(S, α) (cf. Definition I.3, Lemma II.6), i.e., there is a natural correspondence between α-bounded holomorphic representations of S and non-degenerate representations of C∗ h(S, α). An important result of K.-H. Neeb asserts that these C∗-algebras C∗ h(S, α) are CCR (cf. [Ne99, Ch. XI]). If we denote by Ŝα the set of equivalence classes of irreducible α-bounded representations of S, we therefore obtain a bijection
Factors Associated With Substance Use Disorders Among Traumatized Homeless Youth

This study aimed to identify homeless youths’ lifestyle and trauma-related risk factors as well as protective factors associated with alcohol use disorder or no disorder and drug use disorder or no disorder. Youth receiving homeless services in Denver (n = 201), Austin (n = 200), and Los Angeles (n = 200; N = 601) completed quantitative interviews assessing demographic information, alcohol and drug use, homeless lifestyle risk factors, trauma-related risk factors, and protective factors. Findings showed differences in trauma-related risk factors between alcohol and drug use disorders, but not homeless lifestyle risks. Protective factors predicted substance use disorders beyond risk factors. Understanding trauma-related risk and protective factors associated with substance use disorders could improve interventions.
Epigenetic diet: impact on the epigenome and cancer

A number of bioactive dietary components are of particular interest in the field of epigenetics. Many of these compounds display anticancer properties and may play a role in cancer prevention. Numerous studies suggest that a number of nutritional compounds have epigenetic targets in cancer cells. Importantly, emerging evidence strongly suggests that consumption of dietary agents can alter normal epigenetic states as well as reverse abnormal gene activation or silencing. Epigenetic modifications induced by bioactive dietary compounds are thought to be beneficial. Substantial evidence is mounting proclaiming that commonly consumed bioactive dietary factors act to modify the epigenome and may be incorporated into an 'epigenetic diet'. Bioactive nutritional components of an epigenetic diet may be incorporated into one's regular dietary regimen and used therapeutically for medicinal or chemopreventive purposes. This article will primarily focus on dietary factors that have been demonstrated to influence the epigenome and that may be used in conjunction with other cancer prevention and chemotherapeutic therapies.
The genre of the performance evaluation: Prompts for eliciting effective feedback

Recognizing the importance of performance evaluations in technical workplaces, this paper focuses on techniques for developing undergraduates' mastery of the conventions of the genre. All too often, these evaluations employ a kind of Prisoner's Dilemma-style of reasoning by which a student cooperates with her teammates. The workplace performance evaluation represents a much more nuanced communication situation. This paper analyzes the genre of the performance evaluation and a series of prompts from a course in technical and professional communication, assessing different ways to elicit feedback and reflection from individuals on their own and their teammates' performance. In particular, it surveys current critiques of corporate personnel evaluation practices and discusses the formal assessment techniques frequently suggested as alternatives. Best practices for classroom peer evaluation procedures are then formulated based on the professional models.
Equivalent secondary patency rates of upper extremity Vectra Vascular Access Grafts and transposed brachial-basilic fistulas with aggressive access surveillance and endovascular treatment

Objectives The 2006 update of the DOQI guidelines has stated that in patients with end-stage renal disease, autogenous radial-cephalic, or brachial-cephalic fistulas are the preferred access modalities, followed by transposed brachial-basilic (TBB) fistulas and prosthetic arteriovenous (AV) grafts. AV grafts are in general least preferred; however, there is very limited data comparing directly the last two modalities. The aim of the present study is to compare outcomes of the TBB fistula and the Vectra Vascular Access Graft. Methods Seventy-six patients had a prosthetic brachial-axillary Vectra graft placed, while in 41 patients brachial-basilic upper arm transposition was performed. Graft surveillance to detect a failing/failed access was followed by endovascular treatment, rheolytic thrombectomy (AngioJet, Possis Medical), and/or angioplasty ± stenting of the responsible anatomical lesion(s). Results Use of Vectra grafts and TBB fistulas started after a median (interquartile range) of 14 (7-30) and 70 (52-102) days, respectively ( P P = .032); total number of isolated angioplasty sessions, performed for failing graft or fistula was 31 and 45, respectively ( P = .004). Although primary patency of the two access modalities was equivalent, primary assisted patency was significantly reduced in Vectra grafts (70% at 12 months and 58% at 18 months), compared with TBB fistulas (82% at 12 months and 78% at 18 months, P = .033); however, as a result of endovascular intervention, secondary patency rates at 12 months (87% vs 88%) and 18 months (87% vs 83%) were equivalent ( P = .91). Presence of arterial anastomosis stenosis treated with angioplasty at any stage had a significant negative predictive value on secondary patency rates at 12 and 18 months which were 61%, compared with 96% for Vectra grafts that had any intra-graft, venous outflow, draining or central vein stenosis treated with angioplasty at any stage ( P = .010). Conclusions Aggressive graft surveillance and endovascular treatment methods can yield equivalent long-term secondary patency rates between Vectra graft and TBB fistulas. The advantage of earlier use of Vectra graft must be balanced against the need for more frequent secondary interventions and the risk of graft infection.
Transforms of generalized Walsh functions

The Laplace transforms of the generalized Walsh functions are presented, and from these the Fourier transforms and z transforms are easily deduced. The Fourier series representations of those generalized functions that are periodic are also given, and the bandwidth of finite-termed approximations is determined.
Antibiotic treatment of children with sore throat.

ContextOf children with sore throat, 15% to 36% have pharyngitis caused by group A β-hemolytic streptococci (GABHS). Performance of a GABHS test prior to antibiotic prescribing is recommended for children with sore throat. Penicillin, amoxicillin, erythromycin, and first-generation cephalosporins are the recommended antibiotics for treatment of sore throat due to GABHS.ObjectivesTo measure rates of antibiotic prescribing and GABHS testing and to evaluate the association between testing and antibiotic treatment for children with sore throat.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsAnalysis of visits by children aged 3 to 17 years with sore throat to office-based physicians, hospital outpatient departments, and emergency departments in the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 1995 to 2003 (N = 4158) and of a subset of visits with GABHS testing data (n = 2797).Main Outcome MeasuresNational rates of antibiotic prescribing, prescribing of antibiotics recommended and not recommended for GABHS, and GABHS testing.ResultsPhysicians prescribed antibiotics in 53% (95% confidence interval [CI], 49%-56%) of an estimated 7.3 million annual visits for sore throat and nonrecommended antibiotics to 27% (95% CI, 24%-31%) of children who received an antibiotic. Antibiotic prescribing decreased from 66% of visits in 1995 to 54% of visits in 2003 (P = .01 for trend). This decrease was attributable to a decrease in the prescribing of recommended antibiotics (49% to 38%; P = .002). Physicians performed a GABHS test in 53% (95% CI, 48%-57%) of visits and in 51% (95% CI, 45%-57%) of visits at which an antibiotic was prescribed. GABHS testing was not associated with a lower antibiotic prescribing rate overall (48% tested vs 51% not tested; P = .40), but testing was associated with a lower antibiotic prescribing rate for children with diagnosis codes for pharyngitis, tonsillitis, and streptococcal sore throat (57% tested vs 73% not tested; P<.001).ConclusionsPhysicians prescribed antibiotics to 53% of children with sore throat, in excess of the maximum expected prevalence of GABHS. Although there was a decrease in the proportion of children receiving antibiotics between 1995 and 2003, this was due to decreased prescribing of agents recommended for GABHS. Although GABHS testing was associated with a lower rate of antibiotic prescribing for children with diagnosis codes of pharyngitis, tonsillitis, and streptococcal sore throat, GABHS testing was underused.
Cortical Parcellations of the Macaque Monkey Analyzed on Surface-Based Atlases

Surface-based atlases provide a valuable way to analyze and visualize the functional organization of cerebral cortex. Surface-based registration (SBR) is a primary method for aligning individual hemispheres to a surface-based atlas. We used landmark-constrained SBR to register many published parcellation schemes to the macaque F99 surface-based atlas. This enables objective comparison of both similarities and differences across parcellations. Cortical areas in the macaque vary in surface area by more than 2 orders of magnitude. Based on a composite parcellation derived from 3 major sources, the total number of macaque neocortical and transitional cortical areas is estimated to be about 130-140 in each hemisphere.
A performance analysis method for autonomic computing systems

In an autonomic computing system, an autonomic manager makes tuning, load balancing, or provisioning decisions based on a predictive model of the system. This article investigates performance analysis techniques used by the autonomic manager. It looks at the complexity of the workloads and presents algorithms for computing the bounds of performance metrics for distributed systems under asymptotic and nonasymptotic conditions, that is, with saturated and nonsaturated resources. The techniques used are hybrid in nature, making use of performance evaluation and linear and nonlinear programming models. The workloads are characterized by the workload intensity, which represents the total number of users in the system, and by the workload mixes, which depict the number of users in each class of service. The results presented in this article can be applied to distributed transactional systems. Such systems serve a large number of users with many classes of services and can thus be considered as representative of a large class of autonomic computing systems.
Putting the Family Into Family Business Research

Much of the recent research on family businesses has focused on how the family affects business performance. This commentary suggests that researchers should also consider how certain variables aff...
Social Psychological Issues in Sex Discrimination.

National data on rank and salaries for academic men and women, and continuing reports on grievances and court cases, document the continuation of sex discrimination. Yet the literature reveals no conceptual framework to understand or alter this pervasive phenomenon. The authors apply formulations derived from organization theory and Lewin's concept of the life space in order to clarify factors that contribute to women's remaining predominantly marginal despite official commitment to equal opportunity. They recommend changes in the structure and procedures of academe, and a reevaluation of the roles of men and women. They suggest ways to strengthen affirmative action programs and mechanisms to more fully integrate faculty women into university life.
Characterization of Xylanolytic Enzymes in Clostridium cellulovorans: Expression of Xylanase Activity Dependent on Growth Substrates

Xylanase activity of Clostridium cellulovorans, an anaerobic, mesophilic, cellulolytic bacterium, was characterized. Most of the activity was secreted into the growth medium when the bacterium was grown on xylan. Furthermore, when the extracellular material was separated into cellulosomal and noncellulosomal fractions, the activity was present in both fractions. Each of these fractions contained at least two major and three minor xylanase activities. In both fractions, the pattern of xylan hydrolysis products was almost identical based on thin-layer chromatography analysis. The major xylanase activities in both fractions were associated with proteins with molecular weights of about 57,000 and 47,000 according to zymogram analyses, and the minor xylanases had molecular weights ranging from 45,000 to 28,000. High α-arabinofuranosidase activity was detected exclusively in the noncellulosomal fraction. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that cellulosomes derived from xylan-, cellobiose-, and cellulose-grown cultures had different subunit compositions. Also, when xylanase activity in the cellulosomes from the xylan-grown cultures was compared with that of cellobiose- and cellulose-grown cultures, the two major xylanases were dramatically increased in the presence of xylan. These results strongly indicated that C. cellulovorans is able to regulate the expression of xylanase activity and to vary the cellulosome composition depending on the growth substrate.
On degree zero semistable bundles over an elliptic curve

Motivated by the study of heterotic string compactifications on elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau manifolds, we present a procedure for testing semistability and identifying the decomposition type of degree zero holomorphic vector bundles over a nonsingular elliptic curve. The algorithm requires explicit knowledge of a basis of sections of an associated `twisted bundle'.
Designing an Optimum Controller for a Spray Drying Process that Produces Micro-particles

Spray dryers represent an important unit operation in many industries such as pharmaceuticals and food. However, the approach to the design and control of spray dryers has been based primarily on heuristics. The traditional, serial approach to process design and control ignores the effect that the process design has on the control structure synthesis. Thus, it is not surprising that the achievable control performance is limited by the process design decisions. One approach to address this issue is to solve the design and control problems simultaneously. However, the simultaneous strategy can lead to a large and numerically intractable problem. In this work, a spray drying process that produces micro-particles is used to investigate optimum controller designs using different approaches. The first approach assumes that both the process and controller designs are to be found sequentially, while the second seeks to couple the controller design to the process design. Results, using the spray dryer system, are presented to show the potential of using the coupled strategy to satisfy finding a design that admits a feasible controller.
Are depression and frailty overlapping syndromes in mid- and late-life? A latent variable analysis

Background Depression and frailty both predict disability and morbidity in later life. However, it is unclear to what extent these common geriatric syndromes represent overlapping constructs. Objective To examine the joint relationship between the constructs of depression and frailty. Methods Data come from 2004–2005 wave of the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study, and the analysis is limited to participants 40 years and older, with complete data on frailty and depression indicators (N = 683). Depression was measured using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, and frailty was indexed by modified Fried criteria. A series of confirmatory latent class analyses were used to assess the degree to which depression and frailty syndromes identify the same populations. A latent kappa coefficient (κ l ) was also estimated between the constructs. Results Confirmatory latent class analyses indicated that depression and frailty represent distinct syndromes rather than a single construct. The joint modeling of the two constructs supported a three-class solution for depression and two-class solution for frailty, with 2.9% categorized as severely depressed, 19.4% as mildly depressed, and 77.7% as not depressed, and 21.1% categorized as frail and 78.9% as not frail. The chance-corrected agreement statistic indicated moderate correspondence between the depression and frailty constructs (κ l : 66, 95% confidence interval: 0.58–0.74). Conclusions Results suggest that depression and frailty are interrelated concepts, yet their operational criteria identify substantively overlapping subpopulations. These findings have implications for understanding factors that contribute to the etiology and prognosis of depression and frailty in later life.
Supervised Learning: Can it Escape its Local Minimum?

Tremendous progress and new research horizons have opened up in developing artificial neural network (ANN) systems which use supervised learning as an elementary building block in performing more brain-like, generic tasks such as control or planning or forecasting across time [1, 2]. However, many people believe that research into supervised learning itself is stuck in a kind of local minimum or plateau. Limited capabilities in supervised learning have created a serious dilemma, forcing us to choose between fast real-time learning versus good generalization with many inputs, without allowing us to have both together.
Direct effects of lightning in temperate forests: a review and preliminary survey in a hemlock-hardwood forest of the northern United States

Lightning strikes millions of trees worldwide each year, yet structured lightning damage surveys are relatively rare. Estimates drawn from the literature suggest that lightning directly or indirectly kills up to 4% of large canopy trees in a stand annually. Lightning is a major cause of death for pines in southeastern US forests and for large cacti in some deserts, but its landscape-level effects exclusive of fire at higher latitudes are poorly known. We quantified damage to trees from lightning and other sources in hemlock–hardwood forests of the Huron Mountain Region of Michigan, USA. This region receives ca. 100 cloud-to-ground lightning flashes per year, with most occurring in May to August. We recorded abiotic and biotic damage on 309 trees distributed among nine transects, each >2 km long. None of the transect trees had lightning scars, and we observed only 14 clear cases of lightning damage among thousands of trees examined during associated meander surveys (each ca. 0.5 ha). This damage was more c...
Cognition and Local Changes in Brain Oscillations

Event related desynchronization (ERD) refers to the systematic diminution of level of spontaneous brain activity that accompanies the performance of many different tasks. Pfurtscheller and his colleagues (Klimesch et al. 1988; Pfurtscheller, 1988; Pfurtscheller & Aranabar, 1977; Pfurtscheller et al., 1988) introduced the term “ERD” to distinguish this phenomenon from conventional event related potentials (ERPs). These are voltage changes that are time- locked to some observable event, such as a visual stimulus or onset of a motor act. By contrast, voltage changes in, say, the band of alpha frequencies need not be time-locked to the observable event. Even so, the power in that band may be modulated in-step with the event. This modulation is not apparent in the straightforward average of the scalp-detected activity. However, the envelope of the alpha activity recovered by rectification reveals an amplitude modulation during motor acts and also when subjects perform some cognitive tasks.
Descent Equation for superloop and cyclicity of OPE

Abstract We study the so-called Descent, or Q ¯ , Equation for the null polygonal supersymmetric Wilson loop in the framework of the pentagon operator product expansion. To properly address this problem, one requires to restore the cyclicity of the loop broken by the choice of OPE channels. In the course of the study, we unravel a phenomenon of twist enhancement when passing to a cyclically shifted channel. Currently, we focus on the consistency of the all-order Descent Equation for the particular case relating the NMHV heptagon to MHV hexagon. We find that the equation establishes a relation between contributions of different twists and successfully verify it in perturbation theory making use of available bootstrap predictions for elementary pentagons.
Program optimization

Sandia Laboratories has established a consulting service designed to improve the overall efficiency of Fortran production programs in use by the scientific community. Since this service was inaugurated in May, 1971, approximately 40 jobs have been reviewed for optimization with varying degrees of success. In several instances it was not possible to improve the operating efficiency of a given program. However, in most cases it has been possible to achieve worthwhile reductions in the use of critical machine resources (primary attention is directed at use of central processor time and allocation of central memory). Average reduction of CPU usage is approximately 30% with one recorded instance of a 97% reduction.This paper addresses the problems encountered in launching and promoting a program optimization service in an open shop environment among users with widely varying levels of programming to indicate the method used to isolate and correct the sections of code that preempt the vital computer resources.
Urban Street Lighting Infrastructure Monitoring Using a Mobile Sensor Platform

We present a system for collecting and analyzing information on street lighting infrastructure. We develop a car-mounted sensor platform that enables collection and logging of data on street lights during night-time drive-bys. We address several signal processing problems that are key to mapping street illumination levels, identifying street lamps, estimating their heights, and geotagging them. Specifically, we highlight an image recognition algorithm to identify street lamps from the video data collected by the sensor platform and its subsequent use in estimating the heights of street lamps. We also outline a framework to improve vehicle location estimates by combining sensor observations in an extended Kalman filter framework. Our eventual goal is to develop a semi-live virtual 3-D street lighting model at urban scale that enables citizens and decision makers to assess and optimize performance of nighttime street lighting.
Biochemical mechanisms of HIV induced T cell apoptosis

1 Division of Rheumatology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3516 Civic Center Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA 2 Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA * Corresponding author: TH Finkel, Division of Rheumatology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3516 Civic Center Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA Tel: +1 215 59
Oral health services within community-based organizations for young children with special health care needs.

Purpose To identify the types of oral health services offered by community-based organizations to young children with special health care needs (CSHCN) and the barriers and facilitators to the provision of these in a nonfluoridated community. Methods Thirteen key informant interviews with representatives from early intervention agencies, advocacy groups, and oral health programs who provide services to CSHCN in Spokane county, Washington. We used a content analysis to thematically identify oral health services as proactive or incidental and the barriers and facilitators to their provision. Results We identified four types of oral health services: screenings, parent education, preventive dental care, and dental referrals. Barriers to providing all four services included limited agency resources, restrictive administrative and system-level policies, and low demand from parents. A barrier to providing education and preventive dental care was community disagreement regarding fluoride. A barrier to providing dental referrals was the perceived lack of dentists who could treat CSHCN. Facilitators included community partnerships among the organizations and utilization of the statewide oral health program. Conclusions Oral health services for young CSHCN are limited and often delivered in response to oral health problems. Coordinated efforts between community-based organizations, health providers, and advocates are necessary to ensure the provision of comprehensive care, including preventive and restorative services, to all young CSHCN.
Test Research on High Current Withstand Capability of Surge Arrester Used in Distribution Power System

High current tolerance is an important factor restricting arrester performance.We selected five representative resistor production factories and whole arrester as the research objects,and experimentally researched the capacity of high current impulse of polymer surge arrester.The test results show that one reason which results in less withstand capability of large current of whole polymer surge arrester is less withstand capability of large current of the resistor.Its improper use of internal insulation parts and poor quality is another factor.Results also show the best tolerance of the high current is to use the tube design of the arrester,poor high current tolerance is the predominate reason of arrester failure rate in strong lightning activity region,and the structure,process,manufacturing quality and resistor chip size are the main constraints.
Bites and parasites.

This article discusses the dermatologic findings and treatment of the conditions caused by a number of the most common arthropods and helminths.
Transplant and Stem Cell Immunobiology: Translational Directions for Cardiovascular Disease Research

1University Heart Center Hamburg, Transplant and Stem Cell Immunobiology (TSI)-Lab, Martinistrasse 52, Germany 2Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Heart Center Hamburg, Martinistrasse 52, Germany 3Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, 300 Pasteur Drive, Falk Cardiovascular Research Center, Stanford CA, USA 4Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, Germany 5Deutsches Zentrum fur Herz-Kreislaufforschung (DZHK), Standort Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse, Germany Received date: 23 Nov 2015; Accepted date: 24 Nov 2015; Published date: 30 Nov 2015.
Predictions from Coupled Stochastic Systems

The preceding several chapters contain detailed evidence in support of the idea that Coupled Stochastic Systems can provide a unified conceptual framework for the interpretation of a large body of diverse experimental data. This chapter as well as the next two are designed, in some sense, to undo all that; a variety of predictions will be described which are derived from such models, and which amount to ways of testing the proposed interpretations so as to identify specific difficulties, that is, to find out in what ways the models are wrong.
Marketing For Product Use: Its Potential Role In Reducing Product Liability Problems

Marketing can reduce product liability problems by assisting companies and consumers to understand their responsibilities and accountability in product use. Market research techniques can identify product liability risks taken by companies and identify appropriate means of risk reduction to consumers. Research is underway into whether a company’s marketing operation can design and implement a series of actions that will significantly lower the probability of its incurring heavy liability penalties in connection with consumer use of products and, moreover, control for the spread of damage once done. Product use instructions and brand advertising need testing to this end.
Toward Monitoring Electrochemical Reactions with Dual-Wavelength SERS: Characterization of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) Neutral Radical Species and Covalent Tethering of R6G to Silver Nanoparticles

The combination of electrochemistry (EC) and single molecule surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SMSERS) has recently proven to be a sensitive method to investigate electron transfer (ET) reactions at the single molecule level. SMSERS can both detect single redox-active molecules and potentially monitor both the oxidized (O) and reduced (R) forms of a one-electron ET reaction in a single experiment. Herein, we report progress toward complete monitoring of single ET reactions with EC-SMSERS. We first obtained the solution phase resonance Raman (RR) spectrum of the Rhodamine 6G (R6G) neutral radical (R) with thin-layer resonance Raman spectroelectrochemistry (EC-RRS). The experimental spectrum was then correlated with the spectrum calculated by density functional theory (DFT). We then describe our approach to address the problem of adsorbate (R) loss caused either by desorption or reaction of the neutral radical with trace water or oxygen during the EC-SMSERS experiment. We have investigated a covalent cro...
An innovative SNP genotyping method adapting to multiple platforms and throughputs

An innovative genotyping method designated as semi-thermal asymmetric reverse PCR (STARP) was developed for genotyping individual SNPs with improved accuracy, flexible throughputs, low operational costs, and high platform compatibility. Multiplex chip-based technology for genome-scale genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) has made great progress in the past two decades. However, PCR-based genotyping of individual SNPs still remains problematic in accuracy, throughput, simplicity, and/or operational costs as well as the compatibility with multiple platforms. Here, we report a novel SNP genotyping method designated semi-thermal asymmetric reverse PCR (STARP). In this method, genotyping assay was performed under unique PCR conditions using two universal priming element-adjustable primers (PEA-primers) and one group of three locus-specific primers: two asymmetrically modified allele-specific primers (AMAS-primers) and their common reverse primer. The two AMAS-primers each were substituted one base in different positions at their 3′ regions to significantly increase the amplification specificity of the two alleles and tailed at 5′ ends to provide priming sites for PEA-primers. The two PEA-primers were developed for common use in all genotyping assays to stringently target the PCR fragments generated by the two AMAS-primers with similar PCR efficiencies and for flexible detection using either gel-free fluorescence signals or gel-based size separation. The state-of-the-art primer design and unique PCR conditions endowed STARP with all the major advantages of high accuracy, flexible throughputs, simple assay design, low operational costs, and platform compatibility. In addition to SNPs, STARP can also be employed in genotyping of indels (insertion–deletion polymorphisms). As vast variations in DNA sequences are being unearthed by many genome sequencing projects and genotyping by sequencing, STARP will have wide applications across all biological organisms in agriculture, medicine, and forensics.
Investigating the behavioral significance of color pattern in a cichlid fish: firemouths Thorichthys meeki respond differently to color-manipulated video and dummy conspecifics

Red coloration is a conspicuous feature of many visual signals and can function to attract or deter its viewers. Among fishes, red is associated with specialized nuptial, territorial and aposematic (warning) displays. Both sexes of the firemouth cichlid fish Thorichthys meeki develop red ventral coloration at sexual maturity, along with temporally variable black (melanic) elements. Isolated adult firemouth cichlids sequentially presented paired dummy and paired video conspecifics, both with and without red ventral coloration. Subjects interacted more with red-containing stimuli, but with a significant interaction: dummy presentations revealed a strong, positive red bias that video presentations did not. In addition, the melanic color pattern displayed by subjects at the initiation of each trial had a significant effect on subject responsiveness. These results reveal the potential for between-subject differences and experimental design parameters to interact critically in the study of animal color patterns.
Australopithecus sediba and the emergence of Homo: Questionable evidence from the cranium of the juvenile holotype MH 1

Malapa Hominin (MH) 1, an immature individual whose second permanent molars had recently reached occlusion at the time of death, is the holotype of Australopithecus sediba, a 2-myr-old South African taxon that has been hypothesized to link phylogenetically australopith-grade hominins to the Homo clade. Given the existence of 2.8 myr-old fossils of Homo in eastern Africa, this hypothesis implies a ghost lineage spanning at least 800 kyr. An alternative hypothesis posits a unique relationship between A. sediba and Australopithecus africanus, which predates the Malapa hominins in southern Africa and whose phylogenetic relationships remain ambiguous. The craniofacial morphology of MH 1 looms large in the framing of the two hypotheses. We evaluated these alternatives in two ways. First, we investigated whether the craniofacial morphology of MH 1 was ontogenetically stable at death. Based on data from a late-growth series of chimpanzee, gorilla, and modern human crania, we found that key aspects of MH 1's resemblance to Homo can be accounted for by its immaturity. Second, we studied MH 1 with an eye to identifying craniofacial synapomorphies shared with A. africanus. In this case, MH 1 shows unambiguous affinities in its zygomaticomaxillary and supraorbital morphology to crania from Sterkfontein Member 4, which we found to exhibit unusual derived morphology compared to Homo and other australopiths. We argue that MH 1 provides clear evidence that A. sediba was uniquely related to A. africanus and that the hypothesis of an extensive ghost lineage connecting A. sediba to the root of the Homo clade is unwarranted.
Skin nodule reveals lung cancer in a patient with granulomatosis with polyangiitis

A 69-year-old male with granulomatosis with polyangiitis presented with new skin nodules. Skin biopsy showed metastatic poorly differentiated lung adenocarcinoma. The skin nodule was the initial presentation of his lung cancer. There is need for increased vigilance for cancer risk in ANCA-associated vasculitis patients.
“We Didn’t Know There Was a Women’s Camp”: The Haunting Qualities of Ravensbrück

The question of absence and loss is central to invoking and representing the atrocities of the Holocaust. One only needs to think of the piles of shoes and other belongings at Holocaust memorial sites that powerfully evoke the absence of the people to whom these items once belonged. Illustrations of absence also register the destruction that those who once wore the shoes and owned the belongings had to endure and suffer through. To learn about, and experience, the Holocaust through this lens of absence can often be traumatic, if not frightening, for students. In this chapter I borrow from scholars who use the vocabulary of “ghostly” and “haunted” qualities in relation to our intricate encounter with Holocaust sites that evoke feelings of absence. The concept of haunting offers a valuable framework to make intelligible the affective responses that I register with my students at the women’s camp Ravensbruck. What is distinctive about our encounter here is that the particular structure of the camp does not only gesture toward an intricate feeling of loss of lives, it also probes students to contemplate the fact that the narratives of female victims and perpetrators are also absent in the larger context of Holocaust teaching and learning.
Extreme high power density T-modular-multilevel-converter for medium voltage motor drive

The objective of the concept of T-type Modular Multilevel Converter (TMMC) is to improve the power density of the traditional Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) exploited in medium voltage motor drive. The size of the major volume contributor “capacitor” can be reduced by 30%∼40% with the proposed circuit operating at only half dc link voltage at low frequency low voltage region, which is enabled by an extra full bridge arm inserted between the middle point of the dc and the terminal of the output in each phase leg. It is also found to be a topology that is optimized for usage of SiC device because of its zero requirement for device serialization and its modest dv/dt and di/dt level.
Origins of the Mechanochemical Coupling of Peptide Bond Formation to Protein Synthesis.

Mechanical forces acting on the ribosome can alter the speed of protein synthesis, indicating that mechanochemistry can contribute to translation control of gene expression. The naturally occurring sources of these mechanical forces, the mechanism by which they are transmitted 10 nm to the ribosome’s catalytic core, and how they influence peptide bond formation rates are largely unknown. Here, we identify a new source of mechanical force acting on the ribosome by using in situ experimental measurements of changes in nascent-chain extension in the exit tunnel in conjunction with all-atom and coarse-grained computer simulations. We demonstrate that when the number of residues composing a nascent chain increases, its unstructured segments outside the ribosome exit tunnel generate piconewtons of force that are fully transmitted to the ribosome’s P-site. The route of force transmission is shown to be through the nascent polypetide’s backbone, not through the wall of the ribosome’s exit tunnel. Utilizing quantu...
Patient satisfaction as a function of in-house versus contract staffing models in Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinics.

ABSTRACTAs part of decision support for Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, this research evaluated patient satisfaction differences associated with contract versus Veterans Affairs (VA) staffing of community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs). The research question was as follows: What differences exist between contract versus VA-staffed outpatient clinics in the areas of patient perceptions of access, continuity of care, courtesy, education and information, emotional support, overall coordination, visit coordination, and patient preferences? The quarterly Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients provided satisfaction data necessary for this study. Results of Bonferonni-corrected z-tests of proportions indicated that the VA-staffed CBOCs had statistically higher scores for continuity of care, education and information, emotional support, overall coordination, and patient preferences. No statistically significant difference emerged for patient perception of access, courtesy, and visit coordinat...
Influence of Protein and Amino Acid Supply on Tissue Function and Metabolism

In a Symposium on the Pathophysiological Basis of Intensive Therapy, it is important to recognize the need to maintain the patient in a good nutritional state. In the past, it has not been sufficiently recognized that disease can cause poor nutritional status in two ways. First, there is the well-known loss of appetite in some diseases, so that less than an adequate food intake is eaten. This will be dealt with later in the symposium. Second, it is less well recognized that certain diseases can increase the requirements for nutrients. For example, Table 1 contains an analysis of the factors involved in the protein requirements of man and lists some of the diseases which cause increases in one or more of these components (Munro, 1964). Protein requirements are assessed by measuring the obligatory losses of nitrogen that occur in the feces and in the urine and from the skin when a
Program Evaluation Model: Training Future School Counselors Through Community Partnership:

This article presents an in-depth model to train school counseling students in program evaluation. Steps outlined in the model include partnering with a local nonprofit organization, conducting a l...
Do You Really Mean It? Assessing the Strength, Frequency, and Reliability of Applicant Commitment Statements During the Anesthesiology Residency Match.

BACKGROUND:Despite the critical nature of the residency interview process, few metrics have been shown to adequately predict applicant success in matching to a given program. While evaluating and ranking potential candidates, bias can occur when applicants make commitment statements to a program. Su
P013 Screening practices related to inconclusive neisseria gonorrhoeae and chlamydia trachomatis nucleic acid amplification testing

Background Given rising incidence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis (GC/CT), development of efficacious screening strategies is critical. While guidelines recommend nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) for GC/CT screening, a small proportion of NAAT results are inconclusive - resulting in delays in diagnosis and treatment. Our study seeks to determine rates as well as provider- and patient-related factors associated with inconclusive NAAT results with the goal of developing improved screening practices. Methods This is a cross-sectional, case-control study of individuals with inconclusive GC/CT NAATs at a single institution (University of California, Los Angeles) from 3/2016–6/2018. Clinical charts were abstracted for age, gender, HIV status, PrEP use, STI screening (GC/CT and syphilis), anatomic site of sample collection (urogenital, pharyngeal, or rectal), and whether repeat testing occurred within 6 months following an inconclusive result. Cases were defined as a specimen that resulted in inconclusive GC and/or CT NAAT. Controls were specimens randomly selected from all non-inconclusive samples that underwent GC/CT NAAT during the study period and were matched with inconclusive specimens by type (rectal, urine, or genital). Patient-level characteristics associated with inconclusive GC/CT testing were analyzed with Chi-square and logistic regression. Results During the study period, 6.1% (852/14,048) rectal, 0.3% (313/91,092) genital, and 0.01% (155/137,783) urine samples were inconclusive for one or both of GC and CT; no pharyngeal samples yielded inconclusive results. Among patients with inconclusive GC/CT NAAT, 64.6% (441/683) received repeat testing within six months, of which 6.4% were positive, 82.8% (365/441) negative, 10.7% (47/441) inconclusive, and 0.2% (1/441) indeterminate. While diabetes was associated with inconclusive urogenital GC/CT NAAT, HIV status, PrEP use, and positive STI screening were not associated with inconclusive results. Conclusion Despite having a clinical indication to receive GC/CT screening, fewer than two-thirds of inconclusive results were repeated, potentially missing an opportunity to interrupt the infection cycle. Disclosure No significant relationships.
Sexual Victimization Among Sexual and Racial/Ethnic Minority Women: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice

This chapter discusses the current state of the literature regarding sexual minority (e.g., lesbian, bisexual) women’s experiences of sexual victimization, their post-victimization recoveries, and the major gaps in the literature regarding these experiences. It also describes minority stress theory (Meyer, Psychological Bulletin 129: 674–697, 2003) and uses this contextual framework to define additional proximal and distal psychosocial stressors (i.e., microaggressions, coming out, internalized homophobia) that sexual minority and racial/ethnic minority women might encounter during their victimization and post-victimization recovery experiences. Cultural and ethical considerations for working with sexual minority women who have been victimized and avenues to improve cultural humility (i.e., cultural competence) among clinicians are reviewed. This chapter also highlights the necessity of using intersectionality framework (Crenshaw, K., The University of Chicago Legal Forum 1: 139–167, 1989) to further understand the unique experiences of sexual minority women and encourages researchers and clinicians to utilize this framework in both clinical and research settings. Suggested avenues for future research with sexual minority women are explored.
Alignment of educational aspirations and career plans in high school with Mobile app technology

Init2Winit is a gamified mobile application designed to promote college and career knowledge among adolescents. Init2Winit offers students multiple opportunities to explore college and career pathways using game tunnels; this tunnel play informs students’ understanding of how mis/aligned choices can have varying consequences for their future. Our study examines player performance in the career tunnel--where students attempt to align their educational expectations with chosen career pathways. Students earn points when their educational expectations are correctly aligned with their desired careers and expected salaries. Init2Winit was tested in Midwest urban and rural high schools using a sample of 186 high students. Results show that students who earned high alignment scores increased their college-going expectations. Subsequent game plays increased students’ alignment between college choices, career plans, and realistic salary projections.