cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Statistical analysis of SRAM cell stability

The impact of process variation on SRAM yield has become a serious concern in scaled technologies. In this paper, we propose a methodology to analyze the stability of an SRAM cell in the presence of random fluctuations in the device parameters. We provide a theoretical framework for characterizing the DC noise margin of a memory cell and develop models for estimating the cell failure probabilities during read and write operations. The proposed models are verified against extensive Monte-Carlo simulations and are shown to match well over the entire range of the distributions well beyond the 3-sigma extremes.
NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 regulates neutrophil elastase-induced mucous cell metaplasia

Mucous cell metaplasia (MCM) and neutrophil-predominant airway inflammation are pathological features of chronic inflammatory airway diseases. A signature feature of MCM is increased expression of ...
A Cross-National Study of Adolescent Peer Concordance on Issues of the Future

Adolescents in 4 nations were surveyed about theirperceptions regarding adulthood and perceptions they assumed peers to hold. Central tenets of Dynamic Functional Interaction were tested. This theory of adolescent psychological development argues that adolescents try to see themselves in concordance with age-mates to reduce uncertainties associated with transition to adulthood. Approximately 3,500 individuals participated in the cross-national study that explored the association of nationality, age, and gender with level of perceived concordance. Findings disclosed presence of universals as well as national effects. Significant levels of concordance in each nation, at all ages, and in both genders indicated commonalities in the developmental process irrespective of nationality. Scottish youths perceived themselves in concordance with peers almost 50% more often than did U.S. youths. The concordance pattern with respect to age was different markedly in the Philippines. Overall, age and nation had a stronge...
A = U for Locally Acyclic Cluster Algebras ?

This note presents a self-contained proof that acyclic and locally acyclic cluster algebras coincide with their upper cluster algebras.
Causal Inference Considerations for Endocrine Disruptor Research in Children's Health

Substantial population exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals, combined with available biomarkers and public concern, has resulted in an explosion of human health effects research. At the same time, remarkable shifts in the regulations governing the composition of some consumer products that contain endocrine disruptors (EDs) has occurred. However, important questions remain as to the weight of evidence linking EDs to human health end points. In this review, we critically examine the literature linking ED exposures to child neurodevelopment, focusing in particular on two model exposures to demonstrate issues related to bioaccumulative [e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)] and rapidly metabolized (e.g., phthalates) compounds, respectively. Issues of study design, confounding, and exposure measurement are considered. Given widespread exposure to these compounds, the potential public health consequences of even small effects on human health are substantial. Therefore, advancing our understanding of an...
Policy Inertia and the Persistence of Systemic Fragility

Many observers have diagnosed a fundamental shift in financial regulation since the 2008 crisis. In contrast, this article argues that changes have mostly been superficial. The ideas underpinning regulation have been adapted rather than overturned. Our financial system remains highly fragile, even if exceptionally loose monetary policy obscures such fragility temporarily. Governments show little appetite to correct the lopsided relationship between the financial sector and the real economy and turn the sector into a reliable engine of prosperity and stability rather than a continued source of systemic risk.
Using Data Mining and Recommender Systems to Facilitate Large-Scale, Open, and Inclusive Requirements Elicitation Processes

Requirements related problems, especially those originating from inadequacies in the human-intensive task of eliciting stakeholderspsila needs and desires, have contributed to many failed and challenged software projects. This is especially true for large and complex projects in which requirements knowledge is distributed across thousands of stakeholders. This short paper introduces a new process and related framework that utilizes data mining and recommender technologies to create an open, scalable, and inclusive requirements elicitation process capable of supporting projects with thousands of stakeholders. The approach is illustrated and evaluated using feature requests mined from an open source software product.
Use of Microcracking to Reduce Shrinkage Cracking in Cement-Treated Bases

Shrinkage cracking occurs in cement-treated bases because of desiccation and cement hydration; eventually these cracks start to reflect through the pavement surfacing. Although initially considered cosmetic, these cracks open the pavement to water infiltration and increase the likelihood of accelerated pavement distress. Numerous options exist for minimizing the amount of reflective cracks that appear; microcracking is a promising approach. The microcracking concept can be defined as the application of several vibratory roller passes to the cement-treated base at a short curing stage, typically after 1 to 3 days, to create a fine network of cracks. In addition to the microcracked test sites, the contractor constructed moist-cured, dry-cured, and asphalt membrane–cured sites for comparison. Researchers used falling weight deflectometer (FWD) tests to control the microcracking process, periodic crack surveys to monitor crack performance, and FWD tests through time to track base moduli. Microcracking proved quite effective at reducing shrinkage cracking problems in the base; applying the procedure with three passes of the roller after 2 to 3 days of curing resulted in the best performance. In addition, researchers observed that, without microcracking, excessively high cement contents resulted in problematic cracking in the base even if they were cured according to good construction practice. Microcracking did not result in pavement damage or diminished in-service modulus; thus, microcracking should be considered a viable and inexpensive option to incorporate shrinkage crack control into the construction of cement-treated bases.
Jobless Recoveries and the Revolving Credit Revolution (Preliminary)

Access to revolving credit more than doubled between 1983 and 1992 among both employed and unemployed households, and new evidence suggests that close to 20% of unemployed households use revolving credit to replace lost income. Labor markets have also experienced sluggish recoveries following the 1991, 2001, and 2007 recessions. These two facts motivate the question posed in this study: how has access to 'on-demand' credit changed the way labor markets respond to downturns? To answer this question, I build a model with risk averse agents who face both search frictions in the labor market and search frictions in the credit market. In the model, easy credit conditions provide a safety net that incentivizes agents to search for better paying jobs. Following a downturn, I find that an economy with easy credit access experiences a 10% larger drop in employment per capita compared to an economy in which credit is tight (e.g. a 2.2% drop in employment per capita with easy credit access versus a 2% drop with tight credit access).
Checking the Reliability of Information Sources in Recommendation Based Trust Decision Making

Trust is one of the measures commonly used to evaluate the effectiveness of agents in cooperative societies. For building trust of a specific target, agents utilize their direct experiences and recommendations from agents who had mutual experience with the target. Some agents may provide false data due to misjudgment. Some others may have biased or extreme behavior toward evaluating others. Having the possibility of false data necessitate the existence of reliability checking mechanisms in building trust. This research focuses on showing the effect of reliability checking mechanisms on recommendation-based trust decision making.
Nonlinear Dynamics of Granular Chains

We study strongly nonlinear traveling waves in one-dimensional granular chains with no pre-compression. We directly study the discrete, strongly nonlinear governing equations of motion of these media without resorting to continuum approximations or homogenization, which enables us to compute families of stable multi-hump traveling wave solutions with arbitrary wavelengths. We develop systematic semi–analytical approaches for computing different families of nonlinear traveling waves parametrized by spatial periodicity (wavenumber) and energy. Our findings indicate that homogeneous granular chains possess complex nonlinear dynamics, including the capacity for intrinsic nonlinear energy transfer.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Power System Reliability Evaluation Considering Load Redistribution Attacks

The increased complexity of power system makes the power dispatch heavily rely on the condition monitoring and state estimation functions. However, with the massive deployment of cyber technologies, the power grid is becoming more vulnerable to malicious cyber attacks, including various kinds of false data injection attacks. This paper quantifies the influence of load redistribution (LR) attack on the long-term power supply reliability. The intrusion process for manipulating the measurements is modeled by the semi-Markov models. Considering the practical cross-check for suspicious measurements, the regional LR attack model is proposed. A holistic framework incorporating the physical failures and the LR attack is proposed for cyber-physical power system reliability evaluation. The simulation is carried out on the IEEE RTS79 system. The influences of critical factors and strategies are analyzed. It is concluded that the LR attacks have a non-negligible impact on the power system reliability.
Syllogistic Logic with Cardinality Comparisons

This paper enlarges classical syllogistic logic with assertions having to do with comparisons between the sizes of sets. So in addition to assertions like All x are y and Some x are y, we also have There are at least as many x as y, and There are more x than y. Our work also allows all nouns to be complemented. We thus obtain sentences equivalent to No x are y and At least half of the universe are x. We work on finite models exclusively. We formulate a syllogistic logic for our language. The main result is a soundness/completeness theorem. The logic has a rule of ex falso quodlibet, and reductio ad absurdum is admissible. There are efficient algorithms for proof search and model construction, and the logic has been implemented.
Verification of a μ Opioid Receptor Model by Site-Directed Mutagenesis

Based on the published rhodopsin X-ray crystal structure [1] we constructed a homology-based model of the µ opioid receptor. Comparison of our previously published model [2] to the homology model showed that the position of residues in the putative ligand binding pockets was quite similar in both models, especially in transmembrane domains 6 and 7. Single and double point mutations of residues around the binding pocket, together with various analogs of the cyclic, dithioether-containing opioid peptide, JOM6, Tyr-c(S-Et-S)[D-Cys-Phe-D-Pen]NH2 [3], test our proposed model of ligand docking inside the μ opioid receptor.
Abnormally High Dislocation Rates of Total Hip Arthroplasty After Spinal Deformity Surgery.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of concurrent spinopelvic fusion and THA and identify the risk of THA dislocation in patients with concurrent spinopelvic fusion. Methods We retrospectively reviewed an institutional database of spinal deformity patients and the Humana Inc data set to identify patients with concurrent THA and spinopelvic fusion. The prevalence of concurrent THA and spinopelvic fusion was identified, as was the risk of dislocation for all cohorts. Results Of 328 patients with spinopelvic fusions at our institution, 15 patients (4.6%) were found to have concurrent THA. Similarly, within the Humana database among 1049 patients with spinopelvic fusion, 4.6% had a concurrent THA. Among the 58,692 THA patients identified, only 0.1% had a concurrent spinopelvic fusion. A THA dislocation was observed in 3 of 15 patients (20.0%) and 3 of 18 THA (16.7%) within our institutional review. Within the Humana database, 8.3% of patients with THA and spinopelvic fusion went on to have a dislocation of their THA compared to 2.9% of patients with THA and no history of spinopelvic fusion (relative risk: 2.9 [1.2-7.6]). Conclusion Among patients with spinopelvic fusion, the prevalence of concurrent THA is 4.6%, and among primary THA patients, the prevalence of concurrent spinopelvic fusion is 0.1%. An alarmingly high THA dislocation rate has been demonstrated among THA patients with concurrent spinopelvic fusion at our institution (20%) and within a large national database (8.3%).
Optimal Use of BRAF Targeting Therapy in the Immunotherapy Era

Purpose of Review The therapeutic landscape for metastatic melanoma has been revolutionized in recent years. This review will discuss existing evidence for therapeutic approaches for BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma.
A clinical and safety review of paracetamol and ibuprofen in children

The antipyretic analgesics, paracetamol, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents NSAIDs are one of the most widely used classes of medications in children. The aim of this review is to determine if there are any clinically relevant differences in safety between ibuprofen and paracetamol that may recommend one agent over the other in the management of fever and discomfort in children older than 3 months of age.
Do extralegal variables impact the post-inspection process of the occupational safety and health administration?

Regulatory law enforcement bias in the inspection, charging, and sanctioning process has been linked to the characteristics of offenses, the attributes of the regulatory agencies and the corporation, and the political and economic environment. However, the bargaining process of regulatory agencies has been less thoroughly investigated. To fill this gap in the literature, this study investigates whether certain extralegal variables affect the post-inspection bargaining process at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In particular, since previous studies have focused exclusively on fine reductions, this study examines the full range of bargaining options, including count, charge, and fine reductions. Further, this is one of the first studies to directly examine whether company financial resources impact bargaining at OSHA. Because the data are multilevel data, I use multilevel logistic and linear regressions to examine whether extralegal variables affect the reductions given to facilities in the steel, oil, pulp, and paper industries. Specifically, I test whether facility level variables (unionization and experience with the system), company level variables (financial performance and size) and state level variables (political and economic environment) affect the reductions received by facilities during the post-inspection process at OSHA. Although there was some evidence to support the idea that state political views and system familiarity affect bargaining, the results overall tend to cast doubt on the notion that extralegal variables impact the decision-making process at OSHA. Due to sample limitations, the multilevel models employed here are exploratory, but they suggest that previous studies may have overestimated the effects of extralegal variables.
THE ROLE OF TASK REPETITION IN LEARNING WORD-STRESS PATTERNS THROUGH AUDITORY PRIMING TASKS

This study focused on an instructional component often neglected when teaching the pronunciation of English as either a second, foreign, or international language—namely, the suprasegmental feature of lexical stress. Extending previous research on collaborative priming tasks and task repetition, the study investigated the impact of task and procedural repetition on eliciting target-stress patterns during collaborative priming tasks. It employed a pretest-posttest design with 57 Korean high school students who were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a control, priming with task repetition, and priming with procedural repetition. Learners participated in a pretest, two priming sessions, and two posttests over a 4-week period. Learners’ ability to produce target-stress patterns was measured through sentence read-aloud tasks. The task repetition group repeated the same primes and prompts twice, whereas the procedural repetition group performed priming tasks with different primes and prompts during two sessions. Results indicate that the amount of primed production was significantly more than unprimed production. Additionally, both experimental conditions promoted learners’ accurate production of target-stress patterns, though, in relation to long-term impacts, repeating the same task (i.e., same procedure and same content) twice was more effective than repeating the procedure for a second time with different content. The results are discussed in light of pronunciation teaching using auditory priming tasks.
The Effects of Repeated Simulation on Nursing Students Self-Confidence and Practice Readiness in Safe Medication Administration

This paper describes the impact that a repeat simulation in medication administration on associate degree nursing students’ self-confidence and readiness for practice. National nursing simulation leaders, including the National League of Nursing, promote simulation as an innovative teaching and learning strategy in nursing education. Learning through simulation has been shown to help bridge the gap between academia and professional practice. The literature research demonstrates a positive relationship between simulation and an increase in nursing students’ self-confidence, competence, and critical thinking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the impact of a repeated simulation on self-confidence and readiness for practice of Sheridan College Associate Degree nursing students. This study incorporated a quantitative exploratory design to determine if exposure to a repeated simulation promoted nursing student self-confidence and readiness for practice. This study supports previous research and literature which describes patient safety as the utmost concern in healthcare and simulation as a tool to prevent such issues. There were a total of 32 second year associate degree nursing students that participated in the study. The primary evaluation method was a pre-test/post-test self-confidence survey which had been adapted from a self-confidence instrument published by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and a repeated measured one-way analysis of variation. All participants in the study reported an increase in self-confidence and practice readiness at the highest point (4.4 ± 0.57) post the repeat simulation (Wilks Lambda .356; p=.0001; CI 95%). As demonstrated by this study, integrating a repeated simulation within nursing curriculum allows for students to build skills through repeated exposure and deliberate practice, and gain self-confidence preparing them to provide safe, quality care.
Monitoring Workers’ Rights: The Limits of Voluntary Social Compliance Initiatives in Labor Repressive Regimes

Since the early 1990s, a range of corporate monitoring and multi-stakeholder initiatives have sought to address the violation of workers’ rights by monitoring suppliers in global supply chain and attempting to remediate violations. However, their effectiveness in the area of freedom of association rights has been limited, particularly in labor-repressive regimes. This is because these initiatives have pursued inadequate strategies and lack either traditional forms of state power, notably the ability to sanction violators, or the leverage provided by activist campaigns. Recent social compliance program approaches, such as forming of worker-management committees, are largely of limited effectiveness in regimes in which workers face employer or state controlled unions. And most production in light industry supply chains such as apparel takes place in labor repressive regimes.
Foundations of Generalized Reversible Computing

Information loss from a computation implies energy dissipation due to Landauer’s Principle. Thus, increasing the amount of useful computational work that can be accomplished within a given energy budget will eventually require increasing the degree to which our computing technologies avoid information loss, i.e., are logically reversible. But the traditional definition of logical reversibility is actually more restrictive than is necessary to avoid information loss and energy dissipation due to Landauer’s Principle. As a result, the operations that have traditionally been viewed as the atomic elements of reversible logic, such as Toffoli gates, are not really the simplest primitives that one can use for the design of reversible hardware. Arguably, a complete theoretical framework for reversible computing should provide a more general, parsimonious foundation for practical engineering. To this end, we use a rigorous quantitative formulation of Landauer’s Principle to develop the theory of Generalized Reversible Computing (GRC), which precisely characterizes the minimum requirements for a computation to avoid information loss and the consequent energy dissipation, showing that a much broader range of computations are, in fact, reversible than is acknowledged by traditional reversible computing theory. This paper summarizes the foundations of GRC theory and briefly presents a few of its applications.
Abstract P199: Mas Receptor Deficiency Regulates Obesity-Hypertension and Cardiac Function in Female and Male Mice

Angiotensin-1-7 (Ang-(1-7)) counteracts angiotensin II through effects at Mas receptors (MasR). We demonstrated that sexual dimorphism of obesity-hypertension was associated with dysregulated production of Ang-(1-7). However, the role of MasR in sexual dimorphism of obesity-hypertension has not been examined. MasR deficient mice have also been reported to exhibit deficits in cardiac function. In this study, we hypothesized that deficiency of the MasR would differentially regulate obesity-hypertension in male versus ( vs ) female mice. In addition, we quantified effects of MasR deficiency on cardiac function in obese male mice. Male and female MasR +/+ and -/- mice were fed a low fat (LF, 10%kcal) or high fat (HF, 60% kcal) diet for 16 weeks, and blood pressure was quantified by radiotelemetry. As demonstrated previously, male MasR +/+ mice (24 hr diastolic blood pressure, DBP: LF, 90 ± 3; HF, 96 ± 2 mmHg; P MasR -/- mice exhibited reduced DBP compared to HF-fed MasR +/+ males (90 ± 1 vs 96 ± 2 mmHg; P MasR -/- mice, we performed cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in both genotypes at 1 month of HF feeding. MasR -/- mice had significantly reduced ejection fraction (EF) compared to MasR +/+ mice at baseline (51.4 ± 2.5 vs 59.3 ± 2.1%; P vs 52.6 ± 1.9%; P MasR -/- mice with 1 month of HF-feeding. MasR +/+ , but not MasR -/- mice, exhibited diet-induced reductions in EF (by 16%; P
Pricing of emergency dynamic microgrid power service for distribution resilience enhancement

Abstract Extreme weather events can cause significant damage to power distribution grids, leading to extended power outages. Intentional islanding enables the use of distributed energy resources (DERs) to power critical loads and accelerate grid restoration. In this study, an innovative dynamic microgrid islanding scheme was investigated as a means of enhancing distribution grid resilience. If customers in a dynamic microgrid request emergency electricity services during an outage, the question of how the distribution system operator should price the DER emergency power service arises. To answer this question, an economic load dispatch model was implemented in a single-bid auction market to forecast the market-clearing price of electricity in the dynamic microgrid island. The results show that the cost of emergency service is impacted by the power supply and demand in the island. When the combined heat and power plant capacity of the dynamic microgrid exceeded the demand, the market-clearing price of electricity in the island could be even less than the on-grid electricity price during normal periods. Thus, the dynamic microgrid scheme provides a low-cost means of supplying end-users with emergency power.
Injury patterns and outcomes in late middle age (55-65): The intersecting comorbidity with high-risk activity - A retrospective cohort study.

Abstract Background Late middle age (LMA), is a watershed between youth and old age, with unique physical and social changes and declines in vitality, but a desire to remain active despite increasing comorbidity. While post-injury outcomes in the elderly are well studied, little is known regarding LMA patients. We analyzed the injured LMA population admitted to a rural, regional Level 1 Trauma Center relative to outcomes for both younger and older patients. Materials and methods Our registry was queried retrospectively for patients admitted 7/2008- 12/2015; they were divided into three cohorts: 18–54, 55–65, and >65 years. Demographics, injury details, comorbidities, and outcomes were compiled and compared using ANOVA and Chi-square; p Results During the study period, 10,543 were admitted; 1419 (14%) were LMA who experienced overall injury mechanisms, severities and patterns that mirrored the younger cohort. However comorbidity rates were high (56.4%) and comparable to the elderly. LMA patients had the highest rates of alcohol abuse, morbid obesity, and psychiatric illness (p Conclusions The LMA population has similar mechanisms and injury patterns to younger patients, while exhibiting comorbidity rates similar to the elderly. High-energy injuries exact a greater toll in LMA with poorer outcomes and greater resource utilization. Targeted outreach for injury prevention, and future studies, are needed to address high-risk behavior, substance abuse, and societal contributors.
Understanding the mechanism of bias signaling of the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor: Effects of LL37 and HASF.

Abstract The development of biased agonist drugs is widely recognized to be important for the treatment of many diseases, including cardiovascular disease. While GPCR biased agonism has been heavily characterized there is a distinct lack of information with respect to RTK biased agonism both in the identification of biased agonists as well as their attendant mechanisms. One such RTK, the Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 Receptor (IGF1R) plays an important role in a range of biological and disease processes. The micropeptide LL37 has been described as a biased agonist of the IGF1R. We were interested to further understand the mechanism by which LL37 promotes biased signaling through the IGF1R. We found that LL37 biased agonism is dependent on β-arrestin 2. Moreover, BRET assays indicated that LL37 biased agonism is explained by the inability of LL37 to promote the recruitment of IRS1 to the IGF1R compared to IGF1. LL37 promotes an altered association of IGF1R with GRK6, which could also serve as an explanation for bias. We also demonstrated a functional consequence of this bias by showing that while LL37 can promote cell proliferation, it does not induce protein synthesis, unlike IGF1, which does both. We have recently identified HASF, a natural protein released by mesenchymal stem cells, as a novel ligand of the IGF1R. HASF is a paracrine factor with potent cardioprotective and cardio-regenerative properties which also acts via IGF1R biased signaling, preferentially activated ERK over Akt.
Nuclear Energy Centers

U. S. Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, Section 207 (a) (2): “For the purposes of this section the terms ‘nuclear energy center site’ means any site, including a site not restricted to land, large enough to support utility operations or other elements of the total nuclear fuel cycle, or both, including, if appropriate, nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities, nuclear fuel fabrication plants, retrievable nuclear waste storage facilities and uranium enrichment facilities.”
Modeling UAS swarm system using conceptual and dynamic architectural modeling concepts

In this paper, three conceptual architectures for modeling of control architectures for UAS swarms are evaluated according to the criteria of reliability, availability, performance, and adaptability. The digital pheromone conceptual control architecture is proposed as optimal solution satisfying the above criteria. The conceptual architecture for the digital pheromone control architecture could be implemented using dynamic three-tier software architecture. The three-tier architectural style provides a context in which quality attributes such as reliability, availability, performance, and adaptability can be realized. The proposed three-tier software architecture is then specified in the Darwin architecture description language.
Do DPP-4 Inhibitors Cause Heart Failure Events by Promoting Adrenergically Mediated Cardiotoxicity? Clues From Laboratory Models and Clinical Trials.

Rationale:DPP-4 (dipeptidyl peptidase-4) inhibitors have increased the risk of heart failure events in both randomized clinical trials and observational studies, but the mechanisms that underlie th...
Refining the Benefit/Risk Profile of Anti-Epileptic Drugs in Headache Disorders

Anti-epileptic drugs are among the most effective drugs for migraine prophylaxis, and will likely continue to have a role even as new therapies emerge. Topiramate and valproate are effective for the preventive treatment of migraine, and other medications such as gabapentin or lamotrigine may have a role in the treatment of those with allodynia or frequent aura, respectively. Oxcarbazepine, carbamazepine, phenytoin, gabapentin, and others may alleviate pain in trigeminal neuralgia. While many anti-epileptic drugs can be effective in those with migraine or other headaches, most of these agents can potentially cause serious side effects. In particular, valproate, topiramate, carbamazepine, and phenytoin may lead to adverse outcomes for infants of exposed mothers. Valproate should not be given to women of childbearing potential for migraine prevention.
Attentional Focus and Feedback Frequency among First Graders in Physical Education.

Purpose: External attentional focused instructions and feedback have shown to enhance motor performance among adults, adolescents, and older children. This study examined type and frequency of inst...
Exploring the relationship between actions, habits, and automaticity in an action sequence task

It is tempting to equate the automatization of an action sequence with the formation of a habit. However, the term "habit" specifically implies a failure to evaluate future consequences to guide behavior. To test if automatized sequences become habitual, we trained rats on an action sequence task for either 20 or 60 d and then conducted reward devaluation tests. While both groups showed equivalent goal-directed performance of the trained action sequence on a global measure of behavior, sequence initiation and completion times were differentially sensitive to outcome devaluation in moderately and extensively trained rats.
Bathymetric Surveying in Lake Superior: 3d Modeling and Sonar Equipments Comparing

Abstract. This paper represents the overview of hydrographic surveying and different types of modern and traditional surveying equipment, and data acquisition using the traditional single beam sonar system and a modern fully autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) IVER3. During the study, the data sets were collected using the vehicles of the Great Lake Research Center at Michigan Technological University. This paper presents how to process and edit the bathymetric data on SonarWiz5. Lastly, it compares the accuracy of the two different sonar systems in the different missions and creates 3D models to display and understand the elevations changes. Moreover, the 3D models were created after importing the data sets in the same coordinate system. In this study, the data sets were recorded by two different sensors in the two study locations in the Keweenaw Waterway in Michigan, U.S. between the cities of Houghton and Hancock. The first one equipment is the Lowrance HDS-7 sonar on the surveying boat, and other one is the EdgeTech 2205 sonar on the fully AUV of IVER3. One of the purposes of this study is to explore the sonar post processing programs, which are very important to interpret sonar and bathymetric data, and obtained the same coordinate system of the study areas. During the project, three main processing programs were used. The first one is UnderSee Explorer 2.6, which has been used to process the data sets of Polar SV boat. Secondly, EdgeTech Discover 4600 bathymetric software used EdgeTech 2205 sonar data sets to create bathymetric files that were used in SonarWiz5. Lastly, SonarWiz5 sonar processing software can be used to process the data sets. After the data acquisition and the data process, six profiles from the first study area and the five profiles from the second study are created to compare the data sets and elevations difference. It is shown that single beam sonar might miss some details, such as pipeline and quick elevation changes on seabed when we compare to the side scan sonar of IVER3 because the single side scan sonar can acquire better resolutions to understand the 3D features, such as pipelines, reliefs etc.
Storm: program reduction for testing and debugging probabilistic programming systems

Probabilistic programming languages offer an intuitive way to model uncertainty by representing complex probability models as simple probabilistic programs. Probabilistic programming systems (PP systems) hide the complexity of inference algorithms away from the program developer. Unfortunately, if a failure occurs during the run of a PP system, a developer typically has very little support in finding the part of the probabilistic program that causes the failure in the system. This paper presents Storm, a novel general framework for reducing probabilistic programs. Given a probabilistic program (with associated data and inference arguments) that causes a failure in a PP system, Storm finds a smaller version of the program, data, and arguments that cause the same failure. Storm leverages both generic code and data transformations from compiler testing and domain-specific, probabilistic transformations. The paper presents new transformations that reduce the complexity of statements and expressions, reduce data size, and simplify inference arguments (e.g., the number of iterations of the inference algorithm). We evaluated Storm on 47 programs that caused failures in two popular probabilistic programming systems, Stan and Pyro. Our experimental results show Storm’s effectiveness. For Stan, our minimized programs have 49% less code, 67% less data, and 96% fewer iterations. For Pyro, our minimized programs have 58% less code, 96% less data, and 99% fewer iterations. We also show the benefits of Storm when debugging probabilistic programs.
Mechanisms in blood-brain barrier opening and metabolism-challenged cerebrovascular ischemia with emphasis on ischemic stroke

Stroke is the leading cause of disability among adults as well as the 2nd leading cause of death globally. Ischemic stroke accounts for about 85% of strokes, and currently, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), whose therapeutic window is limited to up to 4.5 h for the appropriate population, is the only FDA approved drug in practice and medicine. After a stroke, a cascade of pathophysiological events results in the opening of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) through which further complications, disabilities, and mortality are likely to threaten the patient's health. Strikingly, tPA administration in eligible patients might cause hemorrhagic transformation and sustained damage to BBB integrity. One must, therefore, delineate upon stroke onset which cellular and molecular factors mediate BBB permeability as well as what key roles BBB rupture plays in the pathophysiology of stroke. In this review article, given our past findings of mechanisms underlying BBB opening in stroke animal models, we elucidate cellular, subcellular, and molecular factors involved in BBB permeability after ischemic stroke. The contribution of each factor to stroke severity and outcome is further discussed. Determinant factors in BBB permeability and stroke include mitochondria, miRNAs, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), immune cells, cytokines, chemokines, and adhesion proteins. Once these factors are interrogated and their roles in the pathophysiology of stroke are determined, novel targets for drug discovery and development can be uncovered in addition to novel therapeutic avenues for human stroke management.
Keys to success in clinical trials: A practical review

Clinical research is a highly specialized and rapidly evolving field of expertise. Clinical trial (CT) sites face a continually changing legal and regulatory landscape, making research conduct and program operations challenging. Despite the high number of CTs being conducted, few sources provide a comprehensive summary of key elements essential to the success of clinical trials units (CTUs). Consequently, we set out to provide a practical review on this topic based on collective experience of CT professionals from major academic medical centers. The ultimate result of our group's work is the list of “top 11” essential components of a successful academic CTU implementation. Specific topics discussed in this manuscript include financial and organizational management, new trial feasibility assessment, standardization of procedures, centralization of resources, compliance and safety monitoring, pharmacy support, patient recruitment, effective marketing, institutional support, building (and working with) diverse teams, encouraging clinician engagement, and the importance of continuing professional education. Academic CTUs able to successfully implement key components of the above 11-point program are more likely to perform better in the high-intensity, complex, extensively regulated, and competitive CT environment of today. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Interpersonal and communication skills, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, professionalism, systems-based practice.
Chapter 17 – Endocrine System

Publisher Summary The zonae reticularis and fasciculata appear to be the principal target of xenobiotic chemicals. The adrenal cortex is predisposed to toxic effects due to adrenocortical cells storage of lipids, which enables lipophilic compounds to accumulate, and they have enzymes, including many enzymes of the cytochrome P450 family capable of the biotransformation of xenobiotic chemicals. Depending on the toxicant, the biotransformation may result in increased or decreased toxicity. Classes of chemicals known to be toxic for the adrenal cortex include short chain aliphatic compounds, lipidosis inducers, and amphiphilic compounds. These compounds frequently produce necrosis, particularly in the zonae fasciculata and reticularis, and lipidosis. Biologically active cationic amphiphilic compounds, such as chloroquine, triparanol, and chlorphentermine, tend to produce a generalized phospholipidosis that primarily involves the zonae reticularis and fasciculata. Hormones, particularly natural and synthetic steroids, also affect the adrenal cortex by causing functional inactivity and morphological atrophy during prolonged exogenous use. However, other steroid hormones have been reported to cause proliferative lesions in the adrenal cortex of laboratory animals.
Allocating Scarce Health Care Resources During Pandemics: Making the Case for Patients with Advanced and Metastatic Cancer.

The oncology community is concerned that patients with cancer will be unfairly classified in pandemic allocation guidance. Past guidance either excluded patients with metastatic cancer from consideration or categorized them as having a survival of less than 1 year. Given recent improvements in treatments, we recommend that the prognosis of an individual patient with cancer be determined with input from a cancer specialist or, if this is impractical, that the presence of active metastatic solid cancer or relapsed hematologic malignancy is graded as a major comorbidity, with a likelihood that survival will be less than 5 years; severe limitation in physical functioning (3 or 4 on the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status) would define a patient with advanced cancer as having a severe comorbidity, with a likelihood of less than 1 year of survival. Cancer may be the "Emperor of all Maladies," but it is no longer a certain death sentence.
Effects of primordial black holes on dark matter models

We investigate the effects of producing dark matter by the Hawking evaporation of primordial black holes (PBHs) in scenarios that may have a second well-motivated dark matter production mechanism, such as freeze-out, freeze-in, or gravitational production. We show that the interplay between PBHs and the alternative sources of dark matter can give rise to model-independent modifications to the required dark matter abundance from each production mechanism, which in turn affect the prospects for dark matter detection. In particular, we demonstrate that for the freeze-out mechanism, accounting for the evaporation of PBHs after freeze-out demands a larger annihilation cross section of dark matter particles than its canonical value for a thermal dark matter. For mechanisms lacking thermalization due to a feeble coupling to the thermal bath, we show that the PBH contribution to the dark matter abundance leads to the requirement of an even feebler coupling. Moreover, we show that when a large initial abundance of PBHs causes an early matter-dominated epoch, PBH evaporation alone cannot explain the whole abundance of dark matter today. In this case, an additional production mechanism is required, in contrast to the case when PBHs are formed and evaporate during a radiation-dominated epoch.
The impact of digital information technology on improving the competitiveness of high-tech enterprises

The article discusses the need to develop information technology in the context of digital transformation in order to increase the competitiveness of high-tech industries. It is determined that in connection with the rapid development of the digital economy, the adaptation of high-tech enterprises to new operating conditions, as well as increasing their competitiveness, is of particular relevance. The need to stimulate investment and entrepreneurial activity in the high-tech industry has been identified. The digital economy implies the automation of business processes within a high-tech enterprise, as well as in relations with contractors and government agencies through the use of modern information technologies. It is proved that the paramount task of the development of the digital economy in Russia is the implementation in the coming years of training the required number of IT specialists capable of providing a qualitative technological breakthrough. A special role in the digital economy is given to high-tech production. The competitiveness of high-tech enterprises is largely due to the use of modern digital technologies in management and production activities. In conditions of high-tech production, factors affecting the competitiveness of enterprises are unstable. A list of external and internal factors affecting the level of competitiveness of high-tech enterprises is established from the standpoint of the greatest degree of influence of information technologies on them. Ignoring the transition to a digital economy can even deprive a successful high-tech company of its competitive advantage. Creation of new and improvement of existing network information technologies in the digital economy and their implementation in domestic high-tech enterprises will increase the competitiveness of enterprises, and as a result, the country's competitiveness.
Utilization of Three-Dimensional Printing in Burn Mask Production.

ABSTRACT Hypertrophic scarring is a significant complication of severe face and neck burns. Burn masks offer an effective treatment. However, the conventional method of making these masks has notable shortcomings. Most notably, the use of alginate to form an impression is a laborious and uncomfortable process, especially for younger patients. To optimize this practice, the authors present a novel method of burn mask production that utilizes a 3-dimensional-printed positive mold to avoid the direct placement of alginate onto burned patient skin.
Repurposing waste plastics into cleaner asphalt pavement materials: A critical literature review

Abstract Current practice of recycled waste plastics includes 7 major types: polyethylene terephthalate (PETE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and others such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polycarbonate (PC), and polyurethane (PU). This paper provides a comprehensive and in-depth literature review on the feasibility and the state-of-art repurposing waste plastics into cleaner asphalt pavement materials. Optimum dosage of waste plastics should be identified based on appropriate engineering performance parameters such as viscosity of asphalt, and rutting, fatigue cracking, thermal cracking, and moisture resistance of asphalt mixtures. If the appropriate amount of plastic is not determined, adverse impacts on the performance of the pavement could occur. Plastic wastes are incorporated into asphalt mixes by the dry (aggregate substitute) or wet (binder modifier, extender, or substitute) methods. In general, the incorporation of plastic wastes into asphalt mixes showed improvements in performance parameters such as stiffness, and rutting and fatigue resistance. However, HDPE, PVC, LDPE, PP, and PS yielded conflicting performance measures. Overall, the capability of recycling waste plastics into asphalt mixes would minimize landfilling, reduce dependence on nonrenewable resources, and diversify asphalt pavement building options. Additional research is needed to fully understand the effects of various plastics on the performance of the pavement, and potential environmental and economic impacts this process could implicate. Another area where further study is needed are methods to improve the compatibilization between plastic and asphalt.