cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ESTIMATION OF DENDROCTONUS BREVICOMIS (COLEOPTERA: SCOLYTIDAE) MORTALITY CAUSED BY INSECT PREDATORS

Laboratory and field experiments were designed to determine the effect of insect predators on the immature broods of Dendroctonus brevicomis LeConte. The results indicate that predation is dependent on the predator density and the time predator and prey are exposed together. Prey density was generally very high and had little effect on the rate of predation. The corroboration of laboratory and field experiments give confidence to the conclusion that the constant predation rate (0.261 prey per predator per day) can be used to estimate western pine beetle mortality from predation, provided temperatures remain within the 60° to 70°F range.
Lithium ion transport through nonaqueous perfluoroionomeric membranes

The transport properties of lithiated perfluorinated ionomers imbibed with nonaqueous solvents and solvent mixtures were studied. Polymeric ion-exchange membranes have potential use in the next generation single-ion secondary lithium polymer batteries, where the lithiated form of the membrane is used as a polymer electrolyte. The novelty of the approach for lithium battery applications lies in the advantage offered by a transference number of unity, no additional salt (e.g., LiPF 6 ) is needed, and the excellent physical and chemical stability of the fluoropolymers. Ion-exchange membranes were converted to the Li + salt form and analyzed for total conversion using FT-IR. Nonaqueous solvents and solvent mixtures were imbibed into the membranes in a glove box, and the uptake was measured over time. A four-point probe was used to determine the ionic conductivity based on impedance measurements performed over a frequency range of 10 to 35,000 Hz. Conductivities exceeding 10 -4 S/cm with transference numbers of unity were achieved making these ionomeric membranes potentially useful in rechargeable lithium polymer batteries.
Ethnicity and other factors that may affect the prevalence of echogenic intracardiac foci in the fetus

Purpose. To study ethnicity and other possible factors that may affect the incidence of echogenic intracardiac foci (EIF) when detected via sonographic examination. Materials and Methods. Patients were referred to our institution for sonographic evaluation from a wide range of practice formats, including both private obstetric practices as well as community outpatient clinics. The study protocol included presence or absence of EIF, maternal age, ethnicity, gestational age during the examination, optimal versus suboptimal scans, presence of other fetal malformations and sonographic markers, and presence of chromosomal anomalies. Fetal outcome was ascertained in 90% of the study group. For statistical analysis, the chi-square test and the Student t-test were used. Results. The study group included 1,543 patients who had a fetal anatomy survey between 16 and 24 weeks' gestation. The prevalence of EIF was similar in all 4 ethnic groups (Asian, Hispanic, black, and white). There were 76 cases of EIF—an overall prevalence of 4.9%. Seventy-one of these cases were isolated in the left ventricle, 2 were isolated in the right ventricle, and 3 showed multiple foci. The prevalence of EIF was similar between younger and older patients, early and late gestational age at the time of sonographic examination, and optimal and suboptimal sonograms. Fetuses with EIF had significantly more congenital anomalies and other sonographic markers compared with fetuses without EIF. Conclusions. We did not find any significant difference in the prevalence of EIF among the 4 different ethnic groups. The association between congenital anomalies and other sonographic markers should be studied further. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 34:327–329, 2006
A circuit rerouting algorithm for all-optical wide-area networks

Rerouting for a circuit-switched wavelength-division-multiplexed all-optical network is considered in the paper. Due to the wavelength continuity constraint, a new connection may be blocked even if bandwidth is available between the origin and the destination. Rerouting can make the available bandwidth wavelength-continuous by changing the routes of certain existing connections to accommodate the new connection. To avoid disruptions of existing connections, move-to-vacant wavelength-retuning (MTV WR) is proposed as the basic operation of circuit migration, in which a circuit is moved to a vacant wavelength on the same path, and the parallel MTV WR rerouting scheme is considered to reroute multiple circuits on disjoint sets of links. The authors design the optimal algorithm which minimizes the weighted number of rerouted circuits with the parallel MTV WR rerouting scheme. Numerical results using simulation show that rerouting can effectively reduce the blocking probability due to the wavelength continuity constraint while minimizing the incurred disruptions. >
Random complex field code design for security over wiretap channels

Wiretap channel has caught a lot of attention recently in secured communications. A commonly adopted wiretap model is that the main channel is noiseless and the eavesdroppers channel is binary erasure channel (BEC). LDPC codes have been applied to achieve strong secrecy. However, it lacks design flexibility balancing on security and reliability, and cannot illustrate the fundamental tradeoffs among erasure rate, secrecy rate, and the security performance. In this paper, we propose a random complex field code (RCFC) design for such wiretap channels. The design of RCFCs is systematic and flexible for any secrecy rate. By using the proposed code design, the desired receiver can decode the confidential information without any error (in the absence of noise). Simultaneously, when the secrecy rate is below or equal to the secrecy capacity, we prove that the mutual information between the confidential message and the decoded message given by the eavesdropper converges to zero with the codeword length goes to infinity. Additionally, our RCFC design is the first one which provides a platform to tradeoff secrecy rate with the security performance.
Comparison of Muscle Exertion and Fatigue Between Standard Bag Valve Mask and NuMask

Ventilation is an important part of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performed by medical professionals. The self-inflating bag valve mask (BVM) is often used to deliver rescue breaths during CPR. As resuscitation may last for extended periods of time, it is important that the equipment used reduces the potential of operator fatigue, which could lead to decreased performance and substandard patient care. The NuMask is an intraoral mask designed as an alternative to the pre-inflated mask typically used with a BVM. This pilot study uses muscle exertion electromyography, Borg’s CR10 pain scale, and a Likert-scale questionnaire to compare muscle contraction, fatigue, and user preference between these two interfaces when ventilating a difficult airway mannequin. No significant differences were found in muscle pain or interface preference, but significantly lower muscular exertion by the non-dominant thenar eminence when using the NuMask suggests this interface could reduce user fatigue during extended perio...
Health professionals' pain management decisions are influenced by their role (nurse or physician) and by patient gender, age and ethnicity

Implications for practice and research: Healthcare providers from different fields may respond differently to patients with pain. On average, nurses rated pain intensity higher than physicians and were more likely to prescribe opioids. Patient demographic characteristics may influence nurses' and physicians' perceptions of pain intensity and decisions to treat pain with opioid analgesics. This study must be replicated with a more robust study design before findings can be translated into recommendations for intervention.
Price-Fixing Hits Home: An Empirical Study of U.S. Price Fixing Conspiracies

This paper analyzes all Section 1, Sherman Act price fixing cases brought by the U.S. Department of Justice between 1961 and 2013. Over 500 cartels were prosecuted during this period. The determinants of cartel formation and cartel breakup are estimated, including analysis of the impact of the discount rate, business cycles, and antitrust policy. We find that cartels are more likely to breakup during periods of high real interest rates, presumably because higher interest rates are associated with greater impatience. The adoption of a stronger amnesty policy has no significant impact on cartel breakup over this period, although the results suggest some association with lower cartel formation rates.
The impact of Mad Money recommendations during bull and bear markets

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine semi-strong market efficiency by observing the behavioral finance implications of Jim Cramer’s recommendations in bull vs bear markets. The authors extend the literature by analyzing investor reaction through the lenses of prospect theory, overreaction, and herding. Design/methodology/approach – The authors test for abnormal returns in response to Mad Money buy and sell recommendations. The authors use a sample of buy and sell recommendations from MadMoneyRecap.com from July 28, 2005 through February 9, 2009. The 3.5-year time period is the most recent and comprehensive set of Mad Money recommendations that has been tested to date. Findings – The results indicate market inefficiency at the semi-strong level. Furthermore, the findings highlight the loss aversion tendencies of investors in regards to prospect theory of Kahneman and Tversky (1979) as well as the disposition effect of Shefrin and Statman (1985). Evidence also exists consistent with the herding...
राजस्थान वैट प्रणाली - उदयपुर शहर में प्रभावी घटकों का एक विष्लेषण

वट स परव कर विकरय कर क अधिन विभाग एक वयापारी दवारा माल की खरीद को अनय वयापारी की विकरय स मिलान नही करता था जिस कारण कर चोरी का पता लगाना समभव नही हो पाता था। इस हत वट को एक सरल तथा पारदरषी परणाली क रप म वरष 2006 म राजसथान म लाग किया गया। वट आउटपट कर म स इनपट कर क समायोजन की वयवसथा पर आधारित ह। परसतत शोध म वट क लाग होन तथा कर समायोजन परणाली का विषलषण किया गया ह। वट दवारा राजसव वदधि, पारदरषिता, कर चोरी, सामगरी लागत, मदरा सफीति, परकरियागत कठिनाईया, वयापारियो की आरथिक सथिति, इनपट आउटपट मिलान समसया आदि ततवो को आधार मानकर उपरयकत विषलषण किया गया। टी टसट क माधयम स परापत परिणामो म पाया गया कि जहा वट दवारा राजसव वदधि, पारदरषिता म वदधि तथा कर चोरी म कमी हई ह वही इसक कारण परदष म सामगरी लागत, मदरा सफीति, परकरियागत कठिनाईया तथा मिलान समसया म भी वदधि हई ह।
Drug Interactions with Lithium: An Update

Lithium has been used for the management of psychiatric illnesses for over 50 years and it continues to be regarded as a first-line agent for the treatment and prevention of bipolar disorder. Lithium possesses a narrow therapeutic index and comparatively minor alterations in plasma concentrations can have significant clinical sequelae. Several drug classes have been implicated in the development of lithium toxicity over the years, including diuretics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory compounds, but much of the anecdotal and experimental evidence supporting these interactions is dated, and many newer medications and medication classes have been introduced during the intervening years. This review is intended to provide an update on the accumulated evidence documenting potential interactions with lithium, with a focus on pharmacokinetic insights gained within the last two decades. The clinical relevance and ramifications of these interactions are discussed.
The Burned-Over District Reconsidered: A Portent of Evolving Religious Pluralism in the United States

The hell’s-fire revivalism of western New York, christened the Burned-Over District by nineteenth-century contemporaries, was a colorful and important chapter in the Second Great Awakening. The main characters—Joseph Smith, the Fox sisters, Charles Finney, and the like—led a religious rejuvenation that presumably reorganized spiritual life in the Finger Lakes vicinity between 1820 and 1850.
Chelating resin method for determination of food in the enrichment of Pb and Cd method is discussed

Objective:To study the determining method of Pb and Cd in food.Methods:Making use of chelate resin selective concentration technic to concentrate and purify the sample by adsorption-desorption procedure,which could be detected by the graphite furnace atomic absorption method.Results:Using this method to determine two kinds of metals came to a more satisfactory result,while the relative standard deviation was controlled between 90% to 104%,and the detection limit of Pb Cd were 0.3 μg/L,0.02 μg/L.Conclusion:The method was convenient,accurate and safe,which can be used for determination of Pb Cd in food.
CILT2000: Ubiquitous Computing—Spanning the Digital Divide

This paper discusses the role of ubiquitous and handheld computers in education. CILT contributions in this area are summarized, the Ubiquitous Computing sessions at the CILT2000 Conference are described, and future directions are highlighted. It is posited that handheld computers have the potential to reduce the digital divide, while also providing for a wide array of learning activities that can benefit all students.
Copper transport and kinetics in cultured C6 rat glioma cells

C6 rat glioma cells accumulate and efflux 67Cu. Both processes showed saturation kinetics with increasing 67Cu concentration. The Michaelis constant (Km) for uptake was 0.63 +/- 0.14 microM; maximum velocity (Vmax) was 3.29 +/- 0.57 pmol Cu.mg protein-1.min-1. The Km for efflux was 0.15 +/- 0.06 microM; Vmax was 1.08 +/- 0.71 pmol Cu.mg protein-1.min-1. p-Chloromercuribenzoate (p-CMB) totally blocked 67Cu efflux but had no effect on Km or Vmax of uptake. Total 67Cu in the cell after 50 min was partitioned equally between particulate and soluble fractions. p-CMB-treated cells accumulated more 67Cu, but < 10% was bound to the particulate (membrane) fraction. Pb also increased 67Cu accumulation without affecting Km and Vmax of 67Cu uptake. These data suggest that carriers for import and export of Cu in C6 cells are distinct or operate in two different cellular environments. Efflux is a sulfhydryl-dependent process subject to inhibition by Pb. The data are consistent with a P-type ATPase in the efflux of Cu from cells and the potential for Pb to inhibit the efflux mechanism.
Real-time fluorescence imaging with 20 nm axial resolution

Measuring the nanoscale organization of protein structures near the plasma membrane of live cells is challenging, especially when the structure is dynamic. Here we present the development of a two-wavelength total internal reflection fluorescence method capable of real-time imaging of cellular structure height with nanometre resolution. The method employs a protein of interest tagged with two different fluorophores and imaged to obtain the ratio of emission in the two channels. We use this approach to visualize the nanoscale organization of microtubules and endocytosis of the epidermal growth factor receptor.
Ludwig Von Mises’ Neoclassical Analysis of Dumping

The paper explores similarity in the analysis of dumping by Ludwig von Mises, which he labels as margin monopoly, in Human Action: A Treatise on Economics (1949), and by Joan Robinson in The Economics of Imperfect Competition (1933). Mises, though, does not admit to similarity with Robinson, and five reasons are suggested why he was unwilling to acknowledge Robinson. Robinson’s analysis is neoclassical, and so is that of Mises, which is an anomaly for Mises, an Austrian economist who generally focuses on activity in disequilibrium.
Peer mentors delivering a physical activity intervention for cancer survivors: effects among mentors.

To further inform implementation efforts of a telephone-based physical activity (PA) intervention for breast cancer survivors, we assessed the PA, fatigue, mood, and quality of life of the peer mentors/coaches who delivered the program. The coaches were volunteers with the American Cancer Society’s Reach to Recovery program. The coaches (n = 18) delivered the PA intervention to 76 breast cancer survivors in a randomized controlled trial. Coaches completed assessments of PA (self-report), motivational readiness for PA, and standardized measures of psychosocial variables at the start of coaching and at study exit. At study exit, they also responded to an open-ended question on the benefits that they accrued from the study. We used generalized linear models to analyze the PA data and psychosocial variables. Chi-squared analyses were used for motivational readiness. The written responses to the open-ended question were analyzed to identify themes. Coaches’ PA exceeded national recommendations at study entry and exit with no significant changes over time. Sixty-one percent were in the maintenance stage of motivational readiness, and 61% remained in the same stage at study exit. Psychosocial functioning also remained stable over time. Qualitative data revealed that the coaches’ gains included helping themselves (with four subthemes) and helping others. Intervention delivery had no unintended negative consequences (PA, motivational readiness, and psychosocial functioning) among coaches. They reported gains that were not reflected in standardized psychosocial assessments. These data support further implementation of peer-delivered PA programs to enhance the reach of interventions.
Diffusion characterization of In(Ga)As/InAsSb type-II superlattices via electron beam induced current and time-resolved photoluminescence

We present the temperature-dependent characterization of minority carrier diffusion length, minority carrier lifetime, diffusivity, surface recombination velocity and mobility on In(Ga)As/InAsSb type-II superlattices by using electron beam induced current and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements.
Piecewise flat embeddings for hyperspectral image analysis

Graph-based dimensionality reduction techniques such as Laplacian Eigenmaps (LE), Local Linear Embedding (LLE), Isometric Feature Mapping (ISOMAP), and Kernel Principal Components Analysis (KPCA) have been used in a variety of hyperspectral image analysis applications for generating smooth data embeddings. Recently, Piecewise Flat Embeddings (PFE) were introduced in the computer vision community as a technique for generating piecewise constant embeddings that make data clustering / image segmentation a straightforward process. In this paper, we show how PFE arises by modifying LE, yielding a constrained l 1 -minimization problem that can be solved iteratively. Using publicly available data, we carry out experiments to illustrate the implications of applying PFE to pixel-based hyperspectral image clustering and classification.
Public health and prevention of war: the power of transdisciplinary, transnational collaboration.

Can health professionals prevent the occurrence of war? What ethical obligations do health professionals have to prevent militarism, conflict and war as upstream determinants of health? How can the...
About the 500-Year Tsunami History

The Caribbean Tsunami History is a comprehensive 500-year compendium of 127 tsunamis from the earliest available report dated 1498, through 1998. The intent is to portray as accurately as possible the occurrence of tsunamis, both great and small. Many still do not consider a wave a tsunami unless it is gigantic. Most tsunamis are not so. Nor are they all detrimental. Many small tsunamis can go entirely unnoticed, depending on where and when they occur.
Methods for Determining Who Lives in a Household

Accurately assessing who lives in a household is often a critical step in both identifying the randomly selected respondent and understanding household composition and dynamics more generally. This is particularly important for large government surveys of social infrastructure. Many surveys begin by asking a series of questions aimed at generating a roster of individuals that compose the target household. However, in practices, there is substantial variation in how these rosters are assembled, which may result in different definitions of what constitutes a household across different surveys and lead to confusion. This chapter reviews some of the most common methods of rostering and suggests future research focused on harmonizing and standardizing these methods across different surveys.
Modeling in Laser Materials Processing: Melting, Alloying, Cladding

With the advent of high power lasers, the laser technology has taken an important place in the areas of manufacturing and materials processing. To utilize this technology in the economical and efficient ways, a proper understanding of the phase changes occurred during laser processing is required. Both theoretical and experimental studies are required to achieve this goal. This paper presents several mathematical models for various types of laser processing. Most of the laser processing involves the melting, vaporization, and solidification of materials. Due to the inherent rapid cooling rate, novel microstructures with metastable phases are produced during laser processing. Laser cladding is a technique to coat a substrate with a thick layer of other materials to improve the surface properties of the substrate. If the cladding powder is a mixture of more than one type of materials, the resulting coating is usually found to have metastable phases with nonequilibrium compositions. The solidification rate, which affects the composition of the nonequilibrium alloys, is obtained by solving the energy conservation equations in the melt, solidified clad, and substrate regions. Also, the mass transfer equation is solved to determine the distribution of solute atoms in the liquid and solid regions. Finally, the model is used to obtain the nonequilibrium phase diagrams for Ni-Al, Ni-Hf, and Nb-Al systems. The partition coefficient is found to be an important parameter for this model, and for this reason, an expression for the nonequilibrium partition coefficient for the concentrated binary systems is also presented in this paper.
An Adaptive Forward Collision Warning Framework Design Based on Driver Distraction

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a promising Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) to mitigate rear-end collisions. The deterministic FCW approaches may occasionally lead to the issuance of annoying false warnings, as they cannot be individualized for different drivers. This application oversight, which may cause the driver to deactivate the system, has been tackled with some adaptive methods. However, driver distraction, which is one of the most influential driver-specific factors on FCW warnings acceptability, has not been considered yet and is analyzed in this paper for the first time. Specifically, the adaptive FCW method proposed in this paper generates the warnings by continuously comparing Time Headway with a flexible threshold. The core of the proposed threshold updating mechanism is a real-time monitoring of the driver reactions against the previously generated warnings using the available indicators such as braking history. This method considers the driver distraction in parallel to fine-tune the calculated threshold in accordance with driver cognitive state. In order to incorporate the driver distraction in the system framework, a learning-based approach is designed which continuously estimates driver distraction by the virtue of different available Controller Area Network (CAN) bus time series, such as throttle pedal position, velocity, acceleration, and yaw rate. Neural network, as a widely adopted classification method, is nominated to detect driver distraction. The framework performance is evaluated over two realistic driving datasets. An approximately 80% false warning reduction is observed in analyzed safe scenarios, while no critical warning is missed in the dangerous ones.
Let's Require the "T-Word".

A response is provided to an article in the issue by author Miguel A. Hernan on disease causation and causality, including in regard to the theory of causal mechanism. It compares the use of statistical methods and observational studies in conducting research on disease causation.
Structural basis for transfer RNA mimicry by a bacterial Y RNA

Noncoding Y RNAs are present in both animal cells and many bacteria. In all species examined, Y RNAs tether the Ro60 protein to an effector protein to perform various cellular functions. For example, in the bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans, Y RNA tethers Ro60 to the exoribonuclease polynucleotide phosphorylase, specializing this nuclease for structured RNA degradation. Recently, a new Y RNA subfamily was identified in bacteria. Bioinformatic analyses of these YrlA (Y RNA-like A) RNAs predict that the effector-binding domain resembles tRNA. We present the structure of this domain, the overall folding of which is strikingly similar to canonical tRNAs. The tertiary interactions that are responsible for stabilizing tRNA are present in YrlA, making it a close tRNA mimic. However, YrlA lacks a free CCA end and contains a kink in the stem corresponding to the anticodon stem. Since nucleotides in the D and T stems are conserved among YrlAs, they may be an interaction site for an unknown factor. Our experiments identify YrlA RNAs as a new class of tRNA mimics.
IGG3 anti-HLA donor-specific antibodies and graft function in pediatric kidney transplant recipients.

Anti-HLA DSAs are associated with ABMR and graft loss in KT recipients, yet the influence of DSA IgG subclass on outcomes in pediatric KT recipients is not completely understood. We performed a single-center retrospective chart review of pediatric KT recipients with anti-HLA DSAs, aiming to study the association between specific DSA IgG subclasses and graft outcomes, including ABMR and significant graft dysfunction (graft loss or 50% decrease in eGFR). Thirty-six patients (mean age 15.4y) with DSAs initially detected 1 month-14.3 years post-transplantation were followed for a median of 2.8 years. Rates of IgG1, 2, 3, and 4 subclass detection were 92%, 33%, 58%, and 25%, respectively. Twenty-two patients (61%) had clinical ABMR, whereas 19% had subclinical ABMR, and 13 (36%) experienced significant graft dysfunction. Patients with IgG3+ DSAs had a higher risk of graft dysfunction compared with IgG3- patients (52% vs 13%, P = .03). In a multiple Cox proportional regression analysis, the presence of IgG3+ DSA was independently associated with significant graft dysfunction (HR 10.45, 95% CI 1.97-55.55, P = .006). In conclusion, IgG3 subclass DSAs are associated with graft dysfunction and may be useful for risk stratification and treatment decisions in DSA-positive pediatric KT recipients.
Climate Variability and Change Data and Information for Global Public Health

Using climate data correctly is a critically important challenge that underpins robust science and decision making about the health effects of climate change. Researchers in this interdisciplinary field must be informed enough to ask the right questions, to find and understand the right data that ultimately provide scientifically sound information to help people make the right decision. This requires active recognition of the need to really understand the caveats and best uses of a particular dataset or product. Some more widely used data and products such as those developed for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change may have well-defined tutorials and use parameters. In most cases, however, it is wiser to find the owner or originator of the data, and work with them to ensure appropriate use of the data and therefore robust scientific findings that inform decisions and move this interdisciplinary field forward in both science and policy contexts.
Novel Agents in Multiple Myeloma

The past decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in the therapeutic options for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) with the introduction of novel biologically targeted agents which in turn have resulted in significantly improved outcomes. However, myeloma remains incurable, and ongoing efforts to identify novel therapeutic approaches remain an urgent priority. Newer agents that target tumour and stromal compartments can be categorized as those that target protein dynamics (such as ubiquitin–proteasome system and heat-shock protein 90), drugs modulating anti-MM immune response (IMiDs), antibodies targeting membrane-bound receptors (including CS1, CD38, CD138), epigenetic modulators (DNA methyltransferase and histone deacetylase inhibitors), intracellular-signalling kinase inhibitors (PI3k/Akt/mTOR, MAPK pathways) and compounds disrupting the cell-cycle molecular machinery (such as CDKIs and Aurora kinase inhibitors). This chapter focuses on new therapeutic targets which have shown promising preclinical results and early evidence of anti-MM activity in clinical studies.
Possible Dopaminergic Basis for Perceptual Motor Dysfunction

There are at least two different forms of intellectual impairment in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Approximately 30% of patients may eventually become demented (1). This dementia is difficult to differentiate from dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) (2) and may be associated with similar neuropathologic and neurochemical changes (3,4). In particular, changes in the cholinergic system may be similar (5). The majority of parkinsonians, however, carry on relatively normal lives with unimpaired social and occupational functioning, and meet no recognized criteria for dementia. In these non-demented patients, careful neuropsychological testing often reveals subtle intellectual deficits, most commonly perceptual motor dysfunction (1).
The double life of PX domains.

Recent structural and cell biological studies show that the previously uncharacterized PX domain can bind both phospholipids and SH3 domains, suggesting that this module may play a critical role in coordinating membrane localization and protein complex assembly during cell signaling.
Analysis of Myeloproliferative Disorders Using Cell Markers in Culture

We have used cell markers to study aspects of marrow regulation in selected patients with hematological neoplasms. While this report focuses on studies of normal individuals and of patients with polycythemia vera, the principles are widely applicable to any one of a number of disorders.
Drop breakup dynamics of dilute polymer solutions: Effect of molecular weight, concentration, and viscosity

The large extensional viscosity of dilute polymer solutions has been shown to dramatically delay the breakup of jets into drops. For low shear viscosity solutions, the jet breakup is initially governed by a balance of inertial and capillary stresses before transitioning to a balance of viscoelastic and capillary stresses at later times. This transition occurs at a critical time when the radius decay dynamics shift from a 2/3 power law to an exponential decay as the increasing deformation rate imposed on the fluid filament results in large molecular deformations and rapid crossover into the elasto-capillary regime. By experimental fits of the elasto-capillary thinning diameter data, a relaxation time of less than 100 μs has been successfully measured. In this paper, we show that, with a better understanding of the transition from the inertia-capillary to the elasto-capillary breakup regime, relaxation times close to 10 μs can be measured with the relaxation time resolution limited only by the frame rate and spatial resolution of the high speed camera. In this paper, the dynamics of drop formation and pinch-off are presented using dripping onto substrate capillary breakup extensional rheometry (CaBER-DoS) for a series of dilute solutions of polyethylene oxide (PEO) in water and in a viscosified water and glycerin mixture. Four different molecular weights between 100 k and 1 M g/mol were studied with varying solution viscosities between 1 and 22 mPa s and at concentrations between 0.004 and 0.5 times the overlap concentration, c*. The dependence of the relaxation time and extensional viscosity on these varying parameters was studied and compared to the predictions of dilute solution theory while simultaneously searching for the lower limit in solution elasticity that can be detected. For PEO in water, this limit was found to be a fluid with a relaxation time of roughly 20 μs. These results confirm that CaBER-DoS can be a powerful technique characterizing the rheology of a notoriously difficult material to quantify, namely, low viscosity inkjet printer inks.
HQuad: Statistics of Hamiltonian Cycles in Wireless Rechargeable Sensor Networks

The rise of wireless rechargeable sensor networks calls for an analytical study of planned charging trips of wireless charging vehicles (WCVs). Often times, the WCV receives a number of charging requests and form a Hamiltonian cycle and visit these nodes one-by-one. Therefore, it is important to learn the statistics of such cycles. In this work, we use a heuristic algorithm, which we term HQuad, that takes O(N) to generate a Hamiltonian cycle in a 2-D network plane before we analyze its statistics. HQuad is based on a recursive approximation of dividing the region into four quadrants and the non-empty quadrants will be visited one-by-one. Our analysis is based on Poisson point distribution of nodes and models such Hamiltonian cycles surprisingly well in both expected values and the distribution functions of lengths as a function of different network parameters. Numerical results of our analysis model are compared with simulations and demonstrated to be accurate.
Standard setting for a novel esophageal conduit questionnaire: CONDUIT Report Card

The purpose of this study was to establish the clinical thresholds for five domains (dysphagia, reflux, dumping-hypoglycemia, dumping-GI symptoms, pain) to support the use of the CONDUIT questionnaire as a screening tool to identify patients who might benefit from an educational or clinical intervention. A panel of 16 experts met to develop descriptions of “poor,” “moderate,” and “good” conduit performance. They were trained to use the modified and extended Angoff standard-setting method. Each judge provided item ratings that reflected borderline good and borderline moderate patients. The average item ratings were summed and transformed to a 0–100 scale to derive final cut scores. Panelist evaluation of the process and confidence with the rating tasks were collected. Panelists expressed that the training on the method gave them information they needed to complete their assignment. Among other factors, their experience with patients was most influential on their ratings. On the 0–100 score scale, good/moderate cuts ranged from 7.2 to 20.8, and moderate/poor cuts ranged from 37.9 to 64.3, depending on domains and weights. Standard errors of one or both cut scores increased for dysphagia and dumping-GI with weighting. We described the selection and training of panelists and panelists’ evaluations of the processes they were asked to follow in detail to defend the cut scores. Further prospective validation studies are underway to compare cut scores from this study and clinicians’ judgments and further refine the categorization.
Reliability in evaluator-based tests: using simulation-constructed models to determine contextually relevant agreement thresholds

Indices of inter-evaluator reliability are used in many fields such as computational linguistics, psychology, and medical science; however, the interpretation of resulting values and determination of appropriate thresholds lack context and are often guided only by arbitrary “rules of thumb” or simply not addressed at all. Our goal for this work was to develop a method for determining the relationship between inter-evaluator agreement and error to facilitate meaningful interpretation of values, thresholds, and reliability. Three expert human evaluators completed a video analysis task, and averaged their results together to create a reference dataset of 300 time measurements. We simulated unique combinations of systematic error and random error onto the reference dataset to generate 4900 new hypothetical evaluators (each with 300 time measurements). The systematic errors and random errors made by the hypothetical evaluator population were approximated as the mean and variance of a normally-distributed error signal. Calculating the error (using percent error) and inter-evaluator agreement (using Krippendorff’s alpha) between each hypothetical evaluator and the reference dataset allowed us to establish a mathematical model and value envelope of the worst possible percent error for any given amount of agreement. We used the relationship between inter-evaluator agreement and error to make an informed judgment of an acceptable threshold for Krippendorff’s alpha within the context of our specific test. To demonstrate the utility of our modeling approach, we calculated the percent error and Krippendorff’s alpha between the reference dataset and a new cohort of trained human evaluators and used our contextually-derived Krippendorff’s alpha threshold as a gauge of evaluator quality. Although all evaluators had relatively high agreement (> 0.9) compared to the rule of thumb (0.8), our agreement threshold permitted evaluators with low error, while rejecting one evaluator with relatively high error. We found that our approach established threshold values of reliability, within the context of our evaluation criteria, that were far less permissive than the typically accepted “rule of thumb” cutoff for Krippendorff’s alpha. This procedure provides a less arbitrary method for determining a reliability threshold and can be tailored to work within the context of any reliability index.
Iraq, the United States, and the long shadow of the Cold War

From 1975 to 1990, Iraq and the US engaged in a relationship of mutual misunderstanding structured by the Cold War. As Saddam Hussein fixated on the threat of US conspiracies coordinated with Iran ...
Site-Resolved and Quantitative Characterization of Very Weak Protein–Ligand Interactions

Very weak interactions between small organic molecules and proteins have long been predicted and are expected to have dissociation constants of hundreds of millimolar and above. Unfortunately, quantitative evaluation of binding in a high-resolution structural context for this affinity regime is particularly difficult and often impossible using existing experimental approaches. Here, we show that nanoscale encapsulation of single protein molecules within the water core of reverse micelles enables the detection and evaluation of weak binding interactions at atomic resolution using solution NMR spectroscopy. This strategy is used to survey the interactions of a set of small molecules with the cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β). The interaction of IL-1β with these molecules is found to vary from more diffuse and weak binding modes to more specific and with a relatively higher affinity. The interactions detected here cover a large portion of the protein surface and have dissociation constants mostly in the low mo...
The effect of target/masker fundamental frequency contour similarity on masked-speech recognition

Greater informational masking is observed when the target and masker speech are more perceptually similar. Fundamental frequency (f0) contour, or the dynamic movement of f0, is thought to provide cues for segregating target speech presented in a speech masker. Most of the data demonstrating this effect have been collected using digitally modified stimuli. Less work has been done exploring the role of f0 contour for speech-in-speech recognition when all of the stimuli have been produced naturally. The goal of this project was to explore the importance of target and masker f0 contour similarity by manipulating the speaking style of talkers producing the target and masker speech streams. Sentence recognition thresholds were evaluated for target and masker speech that was produced with either flat, normal, or exaggerated speaking styles; performance was also measured in speech spectrum shaped noise and for conditions in which the stimuli were processed through an ideal-binary mask. Results confirmed that similarities in f0 contour depth elevated speech-in-speech recognition thresholds; however, when the target and masker had similar contour depths, targets with normal f0 contours were more resistant to masking than targets with flat or exaggerated contours. Differences in energetic masking across stimuli cannot account for these results.
dnAQET: a framework to compute a consolidated metric for benchmarking quality of de novo assemblies

Accurate de novo genome assembly has become reality with the advancements in sequencing technology. With the ever-increasing number of de novo genome assembly tools, assessing the quality of assemblies has become of great importance in genome research. Although many quality metrics have been proposed and software tools for calculating those metrics have been developed, the existing tools do not produce a unified measure to reflect the overall quality of an assembly. To address this issue, we developed the de novo Assembly Quality Evaluation Tool (dnAQET) that generates a unified metric for benchmarking the quality assessment of assemblies. Our framework first calculates individual quality scores for the scaffolds/contigs of an assembly by aligning them to a reference genome. Next, it computes a quality score for the assembly using its overall reference genome coverage, the quality score distribution of its scaffolds and the redundancy identified in it. Using synthetic assemblies randomly generated from the latest human genome build, various builds of the reference genomes for five organisms and six de novo assemblies for sample NA24385, we tested dnAQET to assess its capability for benchmarking quality evaluation of genome assemblies. For synthetic data, our quality score increased with decreasing number of misassemblies and redundancy and increasing average contig length and coverage, as expected. For genome builds, dnAQET quality score calculated for a more recent reference genome was better than the score for an older version. To compare with some of the most frequently used measures, 13 other quality measures were calculated. The quality score from dnAQET was found to be better than all other measures in terms of consistency with the known quality of the reference genomes, indicating that dnAQET is reliable for benchmarking quality assessment of de novo genome assemblies. The dnAQET is a scalable framework designed to evaluate a de novo genome assembly based on the aggregated quality of its scaffolds (or contigs). Our results demonstrated that dnAQET quality score is reliable for benchmarking quality assessment of genome assemblies. The dnQAET can help researchers to identify the most suitable assembly tools and to select high quality assemblies generated.
IMPACT OF FIELD OF VIEW AND SCATTER INDUCED NOISE IN DETECTION OF MB2 CANALS

Background Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) units provide different fields of view (FOVs) for different clinical applications. Small FOV scans are often used in endodontic treatment planning. However, endodontic pathology is also detected as an incidental finding in large FOV scans. Some machines have introduced a new feature known as zoom reconstruction. This essentially allows for a specific area of interest to be carved out of the original data set and made into an independent scan that will allow for evaluation of the area in better detail. Objective(s) The objective of this study was to evaluate the number of missed canals on small FOV scans and zoom reconstruction gleaned from large field of scans. Study Design A total of 30 extracted maxillary first molars were used in this study. The teeth were scanned with small FOV to locate MB2 canals. The results were used as the gold standard. The teeth were endodontically treated and restored. The MB2 canal was not instrumented when it was present or detected clinically. The prepared teeth were mounted on a dry human skull and secured with sticky wax. The skull was scanned with large and small FOV scans. The areas of interest were zoom reconstructed from large FOV scans. Interobserver variations were calculated using kappa statistics. Nonparametric tests were used to compare the reading of the observers with gold standard. Results Kappa statistics from 0.605 to 0.650 for small FOV, from 0.350 to 0.650 for large FOV, and from –0.305 to 0.590 for zoom reconstruction. In general, the smaller FOV scans had better agreement with gold standard. Discussion/Conclusions Small FOV scans were found to have better detection accuracy compared with small scans gleaned out of a larger FOV scan through zoom reconstruction in its ability to detect missing root canals and pathology.
Primary reverse shoulder arthroplasty did not result in increased blood metal ion levels regardless of glenosphere size: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background The utilization of reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) has increased over time. Toxic increases of metal ion levels have been reported selectively after hip arthroplasty. However, studies evaluating the effect of RSA on in vivo metal ion levels have not been evaluated. Therefore, the purposes of this study were (1) to determine in vivo levels of cobalt, chromium, and nickel in a randomized controlled trial of patients undergoing reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) with one of four glenosphere sizes, and (2) to identify possible factors affecting changes in metal ion levels. Methods Between May 2016 and September 2018, 72 shoulders with cuff tear arthropathy, massive irreparable cuff tears, or glenohumeral osteoarthritis with posterior subluxation were randomized to undergo RSA using a single implant system and four possible glenosphere options based on size (36 or 40 mm) and offset (+2 mm, +6 mm). In vivo metal ion levels (cobalt, chromium, nickel) and complete blood count (CBC) were assessed preoperatively, 3-months, and 1-year after surgery. Clinical evaluation included pain, motion, Subjective Shoulder Value, ASES scores, and Oxford Shoulder Scores. Results Reverse shoulder arthroplasty led to statistically significant improvements in all outcome measures considered (p Conclusion In this randomized controlled trial of patients undergoing reverse total shoulder arthroplasty with a single design, in vivo levels of cobalt, chromium, and nickel remained reassuringly low. In addition, increase in glenosphere size, offset, or both, did not appear to affect in vivo metal ion levels over the short-term. Longer term studies are needed to further assess the effects of implant modularity on metal ion levels and their potential adverse effects in patients undergoing reverse shoulder arthroplasty. Level of evidence Level I; Randomized Controlled Trial