cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reduction of endogenous bacteria associated with catfish fillets using the Grovac process.

Fresh catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) fillets are known to be contaminated with a large number of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria. The Grovac method, a new patented (U.S. 5,543,163) process, was evaluated for its efficacy in reducing the number of pathogens and spoilage microorganisms associated with food. This process involves using a processing solution containing ascorbic acid (AA) and sodium chloride (NaCl), vacuum, and tumbling. A total of 51 bacterial isolates were isolated and identified from whole catfish and catfish fillets using both selective and nonselective media, phenotypic tests, and the Vitek identification system. Psychrotrophic foodborne pathogens included: Aeromonas hydrophila, Escherichia coli, Listeria sp., Plesiomonas shigelloides, Proteus sp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. High aerobic plate counts (2.6 x 10(7) CFU/g) for catfish fillets indicated that fillets were heavily contaminated during processing of catfish. The Grovac process showed that various treatment combinations of AA and NaCl resulted in a 1.2 to 2.3 CFU/g log reduction of microbial counts associated with catfish fillets. The effectiveness of the process may be related to the synergistic effect of tumbling, AA, NaCl, and vacuum. These results suggested that the Grovac process could be used as an alternative processing procedure to reduce microbial populations associated with catfish fillets and may be useful to improve the shelf-life and food safety of the product. Microbiological data from this study will be used for the development of a hazard analysis for the implementation of the hazard analysis critical control point program for processed catfish fillets.
Francisella tularensis: an arthropod-borne pathogen

Arthropod transmission of tularemia occurs throughout the northern hemisphere. Few pathogens show the adaptability of Francisella tularensis to such a wide array of arthropod vectors. Nonetheless, arthropod transmission of F. tularensis was last actively investigated in the first half of the 20th century. This review will focus on arthropod transmission to humans with respect to vector species, modes of transmission, geographic differences and F. tularensis subspecies and clades.
Migration-Driven Aggregation Behaviors of Job Markets in a Multi-Group Environment

This paper introduces a new model describing the aggregate growth of job markets. We divide the job market in each city into two groups: native job market of size and an immigrant job market of size . A reversible migration of jobs exists in both groups. In addition, the interaction between these two groups creates both native and immigrant jobs. A loss of native jobs also takes place due to the interaction. Through studying initial conditions, job-creation rate, and job-loss rate we discover some meaningful results. The size change of native job market is closely related to that of the migration rate, native job-creation rate, and native job-loss rate. We assume that these rates are proportional to the sizes of two groups and find out that for certain initial conditions, immigrants influence native job markets positively. They create more jobs for both job markets. In addition, we can make conclusions about the future trend of the flow of jobs. People will move to places like big cities where there is a higher concentration of job opportunities.
Recommendations for the Use of Mechanical Circulatory Support: Device Strategies and Patient Selection A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

The era of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) began in 1953 with the development of cardiopulmonary bypass to facilitate open heart surgery.1 In 1964, the National Heart Institute (now the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) funded the Artificial Heart Program and became actively involved in MCS development. This led to requests for Proposals issued in 1977 and 1980, which laid the foundation for the development of implantable MCS for long-term use, including devices capable of hospital discharge, in the 1990s. Although heart transplantation is now commonplace at many hospitals, the inadequate supply of donor hearts and patient contraindications to transplantation continue to severely restrict its application. As the demand for long-term replacement of diseased hearts increases, there is a clear need for innovative, safe, and durable MCS to treat the growing population of patients with advanced heart failure (HF). Many exciting changes in the field of MCS have occurred in the past few years, including the development of smaller portable pumps and the concept of destination therapy (DT), or permanent pump placement as an alternative to heart transplantation. Currently, there are no published guidelines for the use of MCS. Thus, it is our intent that this statement will provide the contemporary cardiologist and other HF providers with an understanding of general considerations when determining the appropriateness of MCS. There is little hope that complete consensus will ever be reached on the definition of advanced HF, but most physicians caring for such patients on a regular basis readily identify the characteristics of these patients. Advanced HF patients are those with clinically significant circulatory compromise who require special care, including consideration for heart transplantation, continuous intravenous inotropic therapy, MCS, or hospice.2,3 Typically, such patients have symptoms at rest or with minimal exertion and cannot perform many activities of …
Speech separation in humans and machines

Summary form only given. Any system for extracting information from sound must face the problem of interference between multiple overlapping sound sources. The human auditory system does this very successfully, but our computer systems have some way to go. In this talk, I would review various approaches to separating information from sound mixtures, particularly for the difficult case of target voice mixed with interfering voices. I also review some results in human abilities to understand sound mixtures, and what these may be able to tell us about promising automatic approaches
The Philosophy of Tort Law as a Subfield

This collection of masterful essays written by an array of distinguished scholars covers most of topics that arise at the cutting edge of modern tort theory. This review can consider only some of t...
SEASONAL DISTRIBUTION OF MIGRATORY TREE BATS (LASIURUS AND LASIONYCTERIS ) IN NORTH AMERICA

Despite evidence of migration in North American tree bats (genera Lasiurus and Lasionycteris), details regarding seasonal movements in these widely distributed species are few. This study attempted to clarify patterns of seasonal distribution by mapping museum occurrence records by month. Monthly changes in the distribution of records indicate seasonal movements of tree bats. Northward migration during spring by Lasiurus cinereus appears to stem from wintering grounds in California and Mexico. During summer, male L. cinereus is mainly distributed in western North America, whereas females dominate samples from eastern regions. Lasiurus borealis winters in southeastern areas and expands its range into more northern regions during warmer months. Seasonal dispersal of Lasiurus blossevillii from California is apparently limited, and it is unclear if this group mixes with others to the south and east. Lasionycteris noctivagansalso shows movement at the continental scale, although movements may differ between western and eastern groups. Museum records provide little evidence of major movement by any species between North and South America. Despite inherent biases, museum records are a viable means of investigating bat migration. words: Chiroptera, Lasionycteris noctivagans, Lasiurus blossevillii, Lasiurus borealis, Lasiurus cinereus, migration, occurrence records, seasonal distribution
Measures of Center

You have been exploring distributions of data, representing them graphically, and describing their key features verbally. For convenience, it is often desirable to have a single numerical measure to summarize a certain aspect of a distribution. In this topic you will encounter some of the more common measures of the center of a distribution, investigate their properties, apply them to some genuine data, and expose some of their limitations.
Advising Student Athletes: An Examination of Academic Support Programs with High Graduation Rates

Seven directors of academic support services for student athletes with relatively high graduation rates were interviewed about the elements of their programs that contribute to student athlete success. Data on current graduation rates among six Division I-A conferences and the results from interviews with directors are presented. Implications for administrators of academic support programs and advisors of student athletes are discussed.
Key to the Eight Species of Coexisting Erythroneura Leafhoppers (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) on American Sycamore

An illustrated key based on characters of the genitalia is provided for distinguishing 8 species of leafhoppers of the maculata group of the genus Erythroneura which occur sympatrically over much of the range of their specific host plant, the American sycamore, Platanus occidentalis L. These species are E. arta Beamer, E. bella McAtee, E. hymettana Knull, E. ingrata Beamer, E. lawsoni Robinson, E. morgani (DeLong), E. torella Robinson, and E. usitata Beamer. Studies of this ecologically important group of species are needed to help resolve debates on competition and coexistence of organisms. The key is provided to make these species generally available for study by field biologists.
Combined effects of autoregulation and vasoconstrictors on hindquarters vascular resistance.

Relative contributions of local autoregulatory tone and vasoconstrictor tone to skeletal muscle vascular resistance were studied in anesthetized rats during hypertension produced by vasoconstrictor infusion. Rats were instrumented with a Doppler flow probe on the sacral aorta (SA) to measure blood flow and to allow calculation of vascular resistance. An occluder was placed on the SA and used to produce stepwise reductions in local perfusion pressure. Pressure-flow curves for the hindquarters were obtained in the absence and presence of elevated mean arterial pressure (MAP) produced by infusion of angiotensin II (ANG II; 50-1,247 ng.kg-1.min-1) or phenylephrine (PE; 2.5-12.4 micrograms.kg-1.min-1). Both ANG II and PE infusion increased MAP. For example, MAP was increased by ANG II from 91 to 134 mmHg and by PE from 89 to 156 mmHg. In addition, infusions of ANG II and PE produced dose-dependent rightward shifts in the hindquarters pressure-flow relationship. To examine the effect of pressure on the dose-response relationships of ANG II or PE, local perfusion pressure was adjusted to remain constant at various pressure levels that were independent of MAP during drug infusions. This produced a series of distinct dose-response curves with each curve defined by a different pressure level and with each characterized by a different maximum change in vascular resistance. If local perfusion pressure was not held constant but was permitted to increase with MAP, a compound dose-response curve was obtained in which the combined effects of the change in local pressure (i.e., autoregulation) and vasoconstrictor dose on vascular resistance could be discerned. These data demonstrate that hindquarters blood flow autoregulation continues to occur in the presence of vasoconstrictors. Consequently, autoregulatory mechanisms may be stimulated by any increase in MAP whether associated with systemic vasoconstrictor infusion or activation of neurohumoral pressor systems. The result is an amplified rise in local vascular resistance.
THE EFFECT OF PROTEOSE PEPTONE CONCENTRATION ON CELL SIZE IN TETRAHYMENA PYRIFORMIS W.

Abstract Tetrahymena pyriformis W was grown in axenic cultures of 0.5, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10% (w/v) proteose peptone (PP), Difco. Length x width measurements of whole cells (LWC) were made from enlarged negatives of cells (430x) stained with an acetic acid — ink preparation. Data indicate that LWC is a function of the concentration of PP up to 4%, beyond which LWC would seem to be affected by the osmolarity of the medium. LWC is independent of the pH of the medium, the pH range being similar in all cultures, regardless of concentration of PP. The pH range, therefore, can serve as an index of the age of a given population of T . pyriformis W. Rate of stain uptake varies as the age of the cells.
EZH2 drives and defines an epigenetic subclass of lung cancer

Cancer is caused by molecular alterations to normal host cells, which act together to drive uncontrolled cell self-renewal, growth, invasion, and malignant transformation. Both genomic and epigenomic changes frequently occur in cancer cells, and it is often debated which of these changes are the
An Integrative Approach to Successional Dynamics: Tempo and Mode of Vegetation Change

Much of what is considered conventional wisdom about succession is not as clear cut as it is generally believed. Yet, the importance of succession in ecology is undisputed since it offers a real insight into the dynamics and structure of all plant communities. Part monograph and part conceptual treatise, An Integrative Approach to Successional Dynamics presents a unifying conceptual framework for dynamic plant communities and uses a unique long-term data set to explore the utility of that framework. The fourteen chapters, each written in a nontechnical style and accompanied by numerous illustrations and examples, cover diverse aspects of succession, including community, population and disturbance dynamics, diversity, community assembly, heterogeneity, functional ecology and biological invasion. This unique text will be a great source of reference for researchers and graduate students in ecology and plant biology, as well as others with an interest in the subject.
Race-Specific Predictors of Mortality in Intracerebral Hemorrhage: Differential Impacts of Intraventricular Hemorrhage and Age Among Blacks and Whites.

Background Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) carries high risk for short‐term mortality. We sought to identify race‐specific predictors of mortality in ICH patients. Methods and Results We used 2 databases, the Johns Hopkins clinical stroke database and the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS). We included 226 patients with the primary diagnosis of spontaneous ICH from our stroke database between 2010 and 2013; in the NIS, 42 077 patients met inclusion criteria. Logistic regression was used to assess differences in predictors of mortality in blacks compared to whites. In our clinical stroke database, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS; P =0.016), ICH volume ( P =0.013), intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH; P =0.023), and diabetes mellitus ( P =0.037) were predictors of mortality in blacks, whereas GCS ( P =0.007), ICH volume ( P =0.005), age ( P =0.002), chronic kidney disease ( P =0.003), and smoking ( P =0.010) predicted mortality in whites. Among patients with IVH, blacks had over 7 times higher odds of mortality compared to whites (odds ratio [OR], 7.27; P value for interaction, 0.017) and were more likely to present with hydrocephalus (OR, 2.76; P =0.026). In the NIS, black ICH patients had higher rates of external ventricular drain (EVD) placement compared to whites (9.7% vs 5.0%; P <0.001) and were more likely to develop hydrocephalus (OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.20–1.46). Comparison of a race‐specific ICH score to the original ICH score showed that the various ICH score components have differential relevance for ICH score performance by race. Conclusions IVH and age differentially predict mortality among blacks and whites. Blacks have higher rates of obstructive hydrocephalus and more frequently require EVD placement compared to their white counterparts.
Revealing the Molecular Structural Transformation of Hardwood and Softwood in Dilute Acid Flowthrough Pretreatment

To understand better the intrinsic recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass, the main hurdle to its efficient deconstruction, the effects of dilute acid flowthrough pretreatment on the dissolution chemistry of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin for both hardwood (e.g., poplar wood) and softwood (e.g., lodgepole pine wood) were investigated at temperatures of 200 to 270 °C and a flow rate of 25 mL/min with 0.05% (w/w) H2SO4. Results suggested that the softwood cellulose was more readily degraded into monomeric sugars than that of hardwood under same pretreatment conditions. However, while the hardwood lignin was completely removed into hydrolysate, ∼30% of the softwood lignin remained as solid residues under identical conditions, which was plausibly caused by vigorous C5-active recondensation reactions (C–C5). Effects of molecular structural features (i.e., lignin molecular weight, cellulose crystallinity, and condensed lignin structures) on the recalcitrance of hardwood and softwood to dilute acid pretr...
Efficient and low noise frequency downconversion from the 980 nm band to the 1550 nm band using Si 3 N 4 microrings

We demonstrate frequency downconversion from 980 nm to 1550 nm with an efficiency of 60% and pW-level background noise power, via four-wave-mixing Bragg scattering in Si 3 N 4 microrings using < 60 mW continuous wave pump power.
Linkages and Spillovers

The aim of this chapter is to analyze the linkages between and spillovers from foreign-owned (foreign) to domestic-owned (domestic) firms in the Czech automotive industry. Theoretically and conceptually, this chapter draws on two strands of literature: spillovers, linkages and effects of foreign direct investment on domestic firms and regional economic development; and literature on global production networks, global value chains and industrial upgrading. Empirical analysis is based upon unique data collected through a questionnaire completed by 317 foreign and domestic firms in 2009 and on site interviews with 100 firms conducted between 2009 and 2011. Data analysis has identified a low share of domestic suppliers in the total supplies of Czech-based foreign firms and diverse spillover effects from foreign to domestic firms. Domestic firms vary in their capabilities and absorptive capacity, which, along with the particular nature of the contemporary automotive value chain, significantly influence their ability and potential to benefit from linkages and spillovers.
Reflections of Catullus 38 in Allen Ginsberg's ‘Malest Cornifici Tuo Catullo’

For over two thousand years both Greek and Latin lyric poetry have remained remarkably consistent. The essence of ancient lyric poetry is as vibrant and refreshing in the 21st century as it was once. The Beat Generation of Allen Ginsberg and the Neoterics of Catullus share common ground. Both groups contained a close circle of friends who were attempting to "push the envelope" literarily.The points of comparison are metrical, narrative, and thematic. Ginsberg mirrors and closely approximates the hendecasyllabics of Catullus #38 in his own inimitable poetic voice. He substitutes Kerouac for Cornificius, and changes Catullus' sadness into happiness; thereby inverting Catullus' anger.This is a wonderful example of both translating and recapitulating an ancient poem into a modern idea. Concerning #38 Fordyce states: "A message written in physical illness...or, more probably perhaps, in mental distress." Ginsberg takes this apparent curmudgeonly poem and makes it into one of exultation. The sadness is not emanating from the addressee, but coming from the receiver of the poem. Through a careful line-by-line examination, we can see the way both Ginsberg and Catullus fashion a similar view of a lyric poetical world.I will compare and contrast these two poems in order to show the similarities between Catullus and Allen Ginsberg. As a result, we will be able to see that ancient lyric poetry is as modern as anything being written today.
Measuring the spin-dependent lateral force in evanescent fields

We report the quantitative measurement of the out-of-plane spin-dependent optical force acting on a microsphere in evanescent fields. The measurement was made via a thermally-limited floating-probe detection scheme with extreme sensitivity and high dynamic range.
Folding boxboard cartons

The folding boxboard carton is familiar as a retail pack in the distribution of food stuffs, confectionery, toiletry and cosmetics, tobacco products, light engineering goods, and toys and games. Prior to 1879, paperboard boxes were made by cutting, folding and gluing with much hand work but, in that year, Robert Gair in America took out a patent for the mechanized process of cutting and creasing board which is essentially the same as that used today. Initially, converted printing machines were used; now, cutting and creasing presses are purpose-designed with outputs to match the present- day demands for precision and productivity.
Are Clinicians Obliged to Disclose Their Immigration Status to Patients

Undocumented immigrants are part of the health care workforce, whether they are eligible to work in the United States through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program or other visa programs or permits. This case commentary considers whether-and if so, when-a clinician should reveal her immigration status to patients. After reviewing the literature on clinician self-disclosure, this commentary discusses how sharing immigration status could benefit the patient-particularly if the clinician has an immigration status that could interrupt care-but could also draw the focus away from the patient, possibly eroding trust between patient and physician. Finally, this commentary addresses mental health burdens experienced by undocumented and "DACA-mented" trainees and considers the roles that hospitals, residency programs, and health professions schools should play to support them.
143 Leveraging a community-academic partnership to increase lupus awareness in vulnerable communities

Background The Popular Opinion Leader (POL) model was developed by the Centers of Disease Control to train community leaders to increase awareness in their social networks about health-related issues that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. We established an academic-community partnership in Chicago and Boston and used a POL model to increase knowledge about lupus and to promote early care-seeking behaviors among African American individuals. With the knowledge that where a person lives directly influences his/her health, one of our goals was to understand the sociodemographic characteristics of the Chicago communities where the POLs disseminated lupus-related information. Methods Ten POLs were identified and participated in four two-hour session educational training program. All POLs were female, the mean age was 59% and 100% were African American. Over the course of 6 months, the POLs tracked their encounters throughout their social networks by recording addresses of venues where educational information was disseminated and the number of individuals contacted. Data were entered into the Geographic Information System to evaluate the reach of their networks. We utilized the Healthy Chicago Database to describe the sociodemographic factors and some of the health resources of the Chicago neighborhoods identified by the POLs social networks. Results The 10 POLs social networks were concentrated in four selected communities (Washington Heights, Morgan Park, Englewood and Roseland). These neighborhoods are located on the Southside of Chicago where health, educational, and financial resources are limited. All four communities were predominantly African-American, range 54.6%–96.1%. Individuals living in these neighborhoods with no health insurance ranged from 8.4%–17.2%, in Morgan Park and Englewood, respectively. Individual poverty was highest in Englewood (30.8%) and Roseland (27.2%) compared with approximately 18% in the other two neighborhoods. The percentage of individuals who did not complete high school was highest in Englewood (19.7%) and Englewood (13.5%) compared with approximately 10% in the other two areas. Conclusions Engagement of local community members through POL conversations tapped into neighborhoods that demonstrated concerning sociodemographic features such as individual poverty, lack of health insurance, and lack of education through high school. Since the POLs had strong social networks prior to recruitment, they selected these communities to facilitate dissemination of lupus awareness education where resources may be limited. This illustrates the importance of POL engagement with community stakeholders who can use this information to work towards reducing health disparities in lupus in communities with limited resources. Funding Source(s): DHHS, Office of Minority Health
An Immersive Visualization of Micro-climatic Data using USC AiR (demo)

The air pollution level is increasing globally at an alarming rate. In the last two decades, many cities have adopted policies to control the emission of pollutants to the atmosphere as well as to promote sustainable urban developments. However, many of these initiatives have concluded that a long term success would require investing in the environmental literacy of the general population. In this demonstration paper, we present USC AiR, a mobile application that translates the air quality sensor feeds from the CCITI smart campus testbed into augmented reality visualizations for the USC community. USC AiR also allows users to report alarming air quality conditions and recommend environmental interventions such as planting trees. We believe that the integration of augmented reality for air quality monitoring enables the citizens to become more engaged with the air quality data while encouraging them to contribute to the reduction of anthropogenic air pollutants.
Exploring Legal Issues in Tribal Public Health Data and Surveillance

Tribes are sovereign nations with a government-to-government relationship with the United States. Within the United States, there are 573 federally recognized Tribal nations with distinct governments, cultures, and histories. Each Tribe exercises both political sovereignty and cultural sovereignty through Tribal governance and their unique cultural teachings. As part of the exercise of this sovereignty, Tribes have the inherent authority to engage in public health activities that support the safety and welfare of their citizens. An essential component to public health practice includes the collection and surveillance of health data. Surveillance data allows for the identification of health issues as well as instances in which certain populations are being disproportionately burdened by these health issues. This data is essential to effective policy making. Law is the foundation of public health practice, including the underpinnings of public health data collection and surveillance and ensuring the privacy of such data. Much has been written on public health data and surveillance at the state and local level. Yet, Tribal law and the federal laws that define the relationships between Tribes, states, and the federal government add an additional complexity to the collection and surveillance of law for American Indian and Alaska Natives. This article explores legal issues in Tribal data and surveillance. First, this article provides a summary of Tribal public health and health care systems. Next, it outlines surveillance laws and practical challenges in Tribal surveillance. Finally, it describes some of the legal strategies used to promote effective data collection and surveillance.
Civil War Memories: Contesting the Past in the United States since 1865

Review of: "Civil War Memories: Contesting the Past in the United States since 1865" by Robert J. Cook
Left atrial stiffness in women with ischemia and no obstructive coronary artery disease: Novel insight from left atrial feature tracking

BACKGROUND Women with signs and symptoms of ischemia and no obstructive coronary artery disease (INOCA) are at risk of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF); however, the mechanism for HFpEF progression remains unclear. Studies in INOCA have largely focused on left ventricular function. The left atrium serves an important role in maintaining transmitral flow, and is impaired in HFpEF; however, it remains unclear if left atrial function is impaired in INOCA. HYPOTHESIS Left atrial function is progressively worse in INOCA and HFpEF compared to controls. METHODS We compared 39 reference control subjects to 64 women with INOCA and 22 subjects with HFpEF. Left atrial strain was assessed by feature tracking using magnetic resonance cine images. RESULTS Peak left atrial strain was reduced in HFpEF compared to controls (22.9 ± 4.8% vs 25.9 ± 3.2%, P < .01), but similar in INOCA (24.8 ± 4.5%) compared to HFpEF and controls (P = .18). However, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) was elevated in 33% of INOCA participants, suggesting that left atrial stiffness (LVEDP/LA strain) is elevated in a large portion of women with INOCA. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, we interpret these data to support our working hypothesis that INOCA is a pre-HFpEF state, with left atrial stiffness preceding overt left atrial dysfunction; representing a putative therapeutic target to prevent HFpEF progression in this at-risk population.
Privacy Enhanced Decision Tree Inference

In many areas in machine learning, decision trees play a crucial role in classification and regression. When a decision tree based classifier is hosted as a service in a critical application with the need for privacy protection of the service as well as the user data, fully homomorphic encrypted can be employed. However, a decision node in a decision tree can’t be directly implemented in FHE. In this paper, we describe an end-to-end approach to support privacyenhanced decision tree classification using IBM supported open-source library HELib. Using several options for building a decision node and employing oblivious computations coupled with an argmax function in FHE we show that a highly secure and trusted decision tree service can be enabled.
Discovery of Novel Small-Molecule Calcium Sensitizers for Cardiac Troponin C: A Combined Virtual and Experimental Screening Approach.

Heart failure is a leading cause of death throughout the world and is triggered by a disruption of the cardiac contractile machinery. This machinery is regulated in a calcium-dependent manner by th...
Error Estimates for an Immersed Finite Element Method for Second Order Hyperbolic Equations in Inhomogeneous Media

A group of partially penalized immersed finite element (PPIFE) methods for second-order hyperbolic interface problems were discussed in Yang (Numer Math Theor Methods Appl 11:272–298, 2018) where the author proved their optimal O(h) convergence in an energy norm under a sub-optimal piecewise $$H^3$$ regularity assumption. In this article, we reanalyze the fully discrete PPIFE method presented in Yang (2018). Utilizing the error bounds given recently in Guo et al. (Int J Numer Anal Model 16(4):575–589, 2019) for elliptic interface problems, we are able to derive optimal a-priori error bounds for this PPIFE method not only in the energy norm but also in $$L^2$$ norm under the standard piecewise $$H^2$$ regularity assumption in the space variable of the exact solution, rather than the excessive piecewise $$H^3$$ regularity. Numerical simulations for standing and travelling waves are presented, which corroboratively confirm the reported error analysis.
The autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine: its impact outside of Ukraine

The autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine had four significant consequences outside of Ukraine. First, it affected the relations between various Orthodox churches, with some recognizing the...
Fragile superconductivity at high magnetic fields.

Ever since the discovery of superconductivity by Kamerlingh Onnes’ group in 1911, this phenomenon has continued to intrigue successive generations of scientists. One of the most spectacular discoveries since 1911 was that of high-temperature superconductivity in a copper oxide (1). Tens of thousands of papers have been written on these cuprate materials, yet 35 years later, they continue to surprise us. In PNAS, Hsu et al. (2) demonstrate that a fragile form of superconductivity persists in a cuprate up to the highest magnetic field they can muster. The original superconductor discovered by Onnes’ group is of a class now known as type I superconductors. These superconductors expel a magnetic field, with superconductivity surviving up to a critical field where the energy gain due to superconductivity equals that associated with the magnetic field. However, in 1957, Abrikosov (3) proposed another class of superconductors, now known as type II superconductors. In these superconductors (as illustrated in Fig. 1, Left ), above a lower critical field, superconductivity survives in the form of a unique state of matter where the magnetic field penetrates as an array of quantized magnetic flux lines. Once the cores of these so-called vortices overlap, then superconductivity disappears at a higher field known as the upper critical field. Since superconductivity survives to much higher magnetic fields, most practical applications involve type II superconductors. This requires that the vortices be pinned, as their motion leads to dissipation and thus a finite resistance. Fig. 1. Left : The phases of a type II superconductor in the field–temperature plane (3). In the Meissner state, the magnetic field is expelled. Above this, the magnetic field penetrates as an array of quantized vortices (vortex lattice). Above the upper critical field, the vortex cores overlap and superconductivity disappears (normal state). Right : In cuprates and other low-dimensional … [↵][1]1Email: norman{at}anl.gov. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
TokenSmart: Distributed, Scalable Power Management in the Many-Core Era

Centralized power management control systems are hitting a scalability limit. In particular, enforcing a power cap in a many-core system in a performance-friendly manner is quite challenging. Today’s on-chip controller reduces the clock speed of compute domains in response to local or global power limit alerts. However, this is transparent to the operating system (OS), which continues to request higher clock frequency based on the workload characteristics acting against the centralized on chip controller. To address these issues, we introduce TokenSmart, which implements a scalable distributed frequency control heuristics within the OS, using a novel token-based mechanism. The compute units are connected in a ring-topology allowing minimal meta-data to be passed along with the token value for regulating power budget. We explore different heuristics to assign tokens smartly across the units. This results in efficient power regulation and sustenance of turbo frequencies over a longer duration. The methodology is implemented within the Linux kernel of a real IBM POWER9 many-core system. The experimental results show a considerable boost of about 4 percent in throughput of PostgreSQL benchmark with a tangible 18 percent decrease in power consumption.
Immunomagnetic sequential ultrafiltration (iSUF) platform for enrichment and purification of extracellular vesicles from biofluids.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from tumor cells have the potential to provide a much-needed source of non-invasive molecular biomarkers for liquid biopsies. However, current methods for EV isolation have limited specificity towards tumor-derived EVs that limit their clinical use. Here, we present an approach called immunomagnetic sequential ultrafiltration (iSUF) that consists of sequential stages of purification and enrichment of EVs in approximately 2 h. In iSUF, EVs present in different volumes of biofluids (0.5–100 mL) can be significantly enriched (up to 1000 times), with up to 99% removal of contaminating proteins (e.g., albumin). The EV recovery rate by iSUF for cell culture media (CCM), serum, and urine corresponded to 98.0% ± 3.6%, 96.0% ± 2.0% and 94.0% ± 1.9%, respectively (p > 0.05). The final step of iSUF enables the separation of tumor-specific EVs by incorporating immunomagnetic beads to target EV subpopulations. Serum from a cohort of clinical samples from metastatic breast cancer (BC) patients and healthy donors were processed by the iSUF platform and the isolated EVs from patients showed significantly higher expression levels of BC biomarkers (i.e., HER2, CD24, and miR21).
Imperatives in mitral valve interventions: long-term survival, valve durability and valve performance.

Surgical mitral valve repair produces exceptional long-term survival, durable relief from mitral regurgitation, and physiological valve performance. Percutaneous mitral valve repair might prohibit subsequent surgical reconstruction. This finding has important implications, including for patient consent and clinical trial design. The objectives of mitral valve intervention must focus on life expectancy and long-term valve function.
Happy gut, happy kidneys? Restoration of gut microbiome ameliorates acute and chronic kidney disease.

In a new study, Zhu et al. (2021) show that mitigating dysbiosis by the probiotic L. casei Zhang reduces kidney inflammation via restoring short-chain fatty acid-producing gut microbiome and nicotinamide metabolism. These findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms of probiotics in treating human kidney diseases.
Correlation between laboratory-based vicarious threat learning and emotional disorder symptom dimensions.

Abstract Background and objectives Vicarious threat conditioning abnormalities are theorized to confer vulnerability to a wide range of emotional problems. We tested two different conceptual models of this non-specificity. First, hypersensitivity to socially conditioned danger cues might predict standing on a general internalizing dimension that represents commonalities among various forms of anxiety and depression. Second, this hypersensitivity might predict specific symptom clusters, such as panic or social anxiety. Methods We examined university students' (N = 150) defensive responses during a vicarious threat conditioning task in relation to both broad and specific components of the internalizing domain. Results Vicarious conditioning was successful, such that participants exhibited larger subjective and skin conductance responses during their first direct encounters with threatening, as compared to nonthreatening, conditioned stimuli. But, contrary to hypotheses, individual differences in this threat learning process were not robustly correlated with any internalizing dimension. Limitations The threat value of the conditioned stimuli was readily apparent, possibly limiting individual differences in defensive responding and, in turn, the correlations between conditioned responses and symptom dimensions. Also, results may differ in clinical populations. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the association between vicarious threat learning and emotional disorder risk—whether it is conceptualized in terms of broad symptom dimensions that span many categorical diagnoses or more fine-grain symptom processes—is weaker than previously believed, at least in this population. Data, analysis code, and stimulus materials are available at https://osf.io/m3xst/ .
Ideating for Co-designing with Blind and Visually Impaired Users:

Access to information about the pandemic has been a major invisible barrier for people with visual impairments. As governments around the globe rush to distribute guidelines for the prevention of COVID-19 infections, the websites neglected to follow accessibility standards; thus, leaving out millions of users. Similar problems have been reported in acquiring information about medical help, such as locations for getting tested for COVID and even information about hospitals that accepted infected patients. On the other hand, digital-economy based rideshare services in many cases refused blind passengers, particularly if their destination was a medical facility. This problem has particularly been aggravated due to the absence of an easy-to-use, accessible reporting mechanism for the denial of such services by individual drivers. Those of us who have worked side by side with blind colleagues as participants in our design work, or as co-designers, are not unfamiliar with expressions of serious concern about the availability of information and reliability of technological infrastructure. Life for a majority of blind people, users, designers, academics, and citizens, was always unpredictable and it is definitely so in these pandemic times. This late-breaking poster paper presents the preliminary results of an in-progress survey of blind and low vision users in the United States which gauges the accessibility of healthcare information and related services during this pandemic. The results thus far reveal major identifiable access barriers to healthcare information on websites, HCI issues with telemedicine, information and reservation process about accessing COVID-19 vaccine sites, and digitally-dependent transportation.
Bewertungsprinzipien für Zukunftsbilder: Ein Überblick

Zur Bewertung von Szenarien wurden besonders am Anfang der achtziger Jahre vor allem mathematisch orientierte Verfahren vorgeschlagen. Die prinzipielle Arbeitsweise der wichtigsten Verfahrensgruppen sowie ein neuer, wissensbasierter Ansatz zur Szenariobewertung werden diskutiert, beurteilt und Vor-und Nachteile herausgearbeitet. Abschliesend werden die Verfahrensgruppen bezuglich ihrer Eignung fur den Einsatz in der Szenarioanalyse bewertet.
Glycogen synthase kinase-3: a potential preventive target for prostate cancer management

Abstract Objectives Prostate cancers are the frequently diagnosed cancers in men, and patients with metastatic disease only have 28% chance for 5-year survival. Patients with low-risk tumors are subjected to active surveillance, whereas high-risk cases are actively treated. Unfortunately, there is no cure for patients with late-stage disease. Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3, α and β) is a protein serine/threonine kinase and has diverse cellular functions and numerous substrates. We sought to summarize all the studies done with GSK-3 in prostate cancers and to provide a prospective direction for future work. Methods and materials A comprehensive search of the literature on the electronic databases PubMed was conducted for the subject terms of GSK-3 and prostate cancer. Gene mutation and expression information was extracted from Oncomine and COSMIC databases. Case reports were not included. Results Accumulating evidence indicates that GSK-3α is mainly expressed in low-risk prostate cancers and is related to hormone-dependent androgen receptor (AR)–mediated gene expression, whereas GSK-3β is mainly expressed in high-risk prostate cancers and is related to hormone-independent AR-mediated gene expression. GSK-3 has been demonstrated as a positive regulator in AR transactivation and prostate cancer growth independent of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Different types of GSK-3inhibitors including lithium show promising results in suppressing tumor growth in different animal models of prostate cancer. Importantly, clinical use of lithium is associated with reduced cancer incidence in psychiatric patients. Conclusions Taken together, GSK-3 inhibition might be implicated in prostate cancer management as a preventive treatment.
Chapter 4 DOS and BIOS

The DOS unit provides many procedures for direct access to various device drivers, particularly disk drives. We used one of these earlier, “GetTime”, to read the system clock. Now we are going to look at some of the procedures for handling disk directories and files.
SU‐E‐T‐364: Estimating the Minimum Number of Patients Required to Estimate the Required Planning Target Volume Margins for Prostate Glands

Purpose: To establish a minimum number of patients required to obtain statistically accurate Planning Target Volume (PTV) margins for prostate Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). Methods: A total of 320 prostate patients, consisting of a total number of 9311 daily setups, were analyzed. These patients had gone under IMRT treatments. Daily localization was done using the skin marks and the proper shifts were determined by the CBCT to match the prostate gland. The Van Herk formalism is used to obtain the margins using the systematic and random setup variations. The total patient population was divided into different grouping sizes varying from 1 group of 320 patients to 64 groups of 5 patients. Each grouping was used to determine the average PTV margin and its associated standard deviation. Results: Analyzing all 320 patients lead to an average Superior-Inferior margin of 1.15 cm. The grouping with 10 patients per group (32 groups) resulted to an average PTV margin between 0.6–1.7 cm with the mean value of 1.09 cm and a standard deviation (STD) of 0.30 cm. As the number of patients in groups increases the mean value of average margin between groups tends to converge to the true average PTV of 1.15 cm and STD decreases. For groups of 20, 64, and 160 patients a Superior-Inferior margin of 1.12, 1.14, and 1.16 cm with STD of 0.22, 0.11, and 0.01 cm were found, respectively. Similar tendency was observed for Left-Right and Anterior-Posterior margins. Conclusion: The estimation of the required margin for PTV strongly depends on the number of patients studied. According to this study at least ∼60 patients are needed to calculate a statistically acceptable PTV margin for a criterion of STD < 0.1 cm. Numbers greater than ∼60 patients do little to increase the accuracy of the PTV margin estimation.
Strain-Gradient Effects in Microlayers

Abstract : An analytic solution is obtained for two composite-body problems employing the strain-gradient theory of elasticity as developed by Mindlin. The investigation is concerned with the effects produced by strain-gradients, especially bonding stresses in the vicinity of an interface separating two dissimilar materials when higher order contact conditions prevail at the common boundary. The composite body under consideration consists of an infinite elastic strip ('microlayer') embedded in two semi-infinite elastic regions. The first problem concerns the case of uniform tension at infinity applied in a direction perpendicular to the microlayer. The second considers simple shear applied at infinity parallel to the microlayer. It is shown that the stresses that develop in the vicinity of an interface may be at large variance with the classical results. The magnitude of these stresses may be many times greater than the classical values, thus emphasizing the uncertainty of the classical approach in this instance. This variance is very significant when one material is much more rigid than the other, as encountered in the practical case of composite materials.
Fuzzy pattern classification using feedforward neural networks with multilevel hidden neurons

This paper introduces feedforward neural networks inherently capable of fuzzy classification of non-sparse or overlapping pattern classes. These networks are unique in that the hidden layers consist of multilevel neurons. The multilevel hidden neurons allow the networks to learn the fuzziness in the input data and also to minimize the within-class variances. The performance of the proposed networks over an overlapping pattern set is compared with that of conventional feedforward networks trained for crisp classification and those trained for fuzzy classification. The results show that the proposed networks reduce misclassification errors and have considerably better generalization ability. >