cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Retinal neurons and vessels are not fractal but space-filling.

Many branched patterns in nature are hypothesized to be fractal, i.e., statistically self-similar across a range of scales. We tested this hypothesis on the two-dimensional arbors of retinal neurons and blood vessels. First, we measured fractalness on synthetic fractal and nonfractal patterns. The synthetic fractal patterns exhibited self-similarity over a decade of scale, but the nonfractal "controls" showed hardly any self-similarity. Neuronal and vascular patterns showed no greater self-similarity than the controls. Second, we manipulated a synthetic fractal pattern to remove its self-similarity and found this to be reflected in a loss of measured fractalness. The same manipulation of the nonfractal control and also of the neural and vascular patterns did not alter their measured fractalness. Third, we "grew" patterns of branched line segments according to a variety of nonfractal algorithms. These patterns were, if anything slightly more fractal than the neural and vascular patterns. We conclude that the biological patterns studied here are not fractal. Finally, we measured extended versions of these patterns: a contiguous array of homotypic neuron arbors and a vascular pattern with a high degree of total detail. These patterns showed a "fractal dimension" of 2, which implies that down to some cut-off scale they fill space completely. Thus, neural and vascular patterns might best be described as quasi-regular lattices.
Low complexity code design for lossless and near-lossless side information source codes

The instantaneous side of information source code (SISC) design is considered. In the SISC configuration, the encoder describes source X to the decoder; the decoder uses this description and side information Y, to reconstruct X. Prior work on lossless and near-lossless SISC design demonstrates that globally optimal design is NP-hard. A family of polynomial complexity code design algorithms is introduced that approximates the optimal solution for lossless and near-lossless SISCs. The algorithm may be used to design both Huffman and arithmetic SISCs for an arbitrary probability mass function p(x,y). Experimental results comparing the resulting performances to each other and to the theoretical limit are included.
A genome-wide screen identifies conserved protein hubs required for cadherin-mediated cell–cell adhesion

Cadherins and associated catenins provide an important structural interface between neighboring cells, the actin cytoskeleton, and intracellular signaling pathways in a variety of cell types throughout the Metazoa. However, the full inventory of the proteins and pathways required for cadherin-mediated adhesion has not been established. To this end, we completed a genome-wide (~14,000 genes) ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) screen that targeted Ca(2+)-dependent adhesion in DE-cadherin-expressing Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells in suspension culture. This novel screen eliminated Ca(2+)-independent cell-cell adhesion, integrin-based adhesion, cell spreading, and cell migration. We identified 17 interconnected regulatory hubs, based on protein functions and protein-protein interactions that regulate the levels of the core cadherin-catenin complex and coordinate cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion. Representative proteins from these hubs were analyzed further in Drosophila oogenesis, using targeted germline RNAi, and adhesion was analyzed in Madin-Darby canine kidney mammalian epithelial cell-cell adhesion. These experiments reveal roles for a diversity of cellular pathways that are required for cadherin function in Metazoa, including cytoskeleton organization, cell-substrate interactions, and nuclear and cytoplasmic signaling.
Brief report: parent verbal responsiveness and language development in toddlers on the autism spectrum.

This study examined the longitudinal associations between parent verbal responsiveness and language 3 years later in 34 toddlers with a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. Parent–child play samples were coded for child engagement and communication acts and for parent verbal responsiveness. Measures of responsive verbal behaviors were used to predict language gain scores 3 years later. Parent directives for language that followed into the child’s focus of attention were predictive of child receptive language gains. Parent comments that followed into the child’s focus of attention yielded differential effects depending on initial levels of child language. Children who were minimally verbal at age 2½ benefited from parent comments that followed into the their focus of attention, whereas children who were verbally fluent did not demonstrate such a benefit.
The Role of Innovation in Scaling Up Educational Innovations

Getting innovations to scale is an increasingly important mandate for educational research, yet also a vexing challenge for researchers who have attempted to take this on. A common perspective on scaling considers it fundamentally as an issue of how to take interventions that have been shown to work in a small number of settings and transfer them to a larger number of settings. In this chapter, we develop an argument that the principal aim of scaling up is not merely to expand the use of a particular educational innovation, but to improve education. When scaling up is viewed as a matter of improving education, the focus shifts from transfer of research to practice, where the researcher is primarily concerned with specifying the right conditions for the best fit, toward transformation of practice supported by research, where researchers become intermediaries who work with practitioners to improve the education system so that the essential principles of an innovation can be sustained. This shift in how we view scale-up has significant implications for research on the process of scaling up; for the relationship between research, policy, and practice; and for the sustainable and long-term improvement of education.
Fibroblast–myocyte coupling in the heart: Potential relevance for therapeutic interventions

Cardiac myocyte-fibroblast electrotonic coupling is a well-established fact in vitro. Indirect evidence of its presence in vivo exists, but few functional studies have been published. This review describes the current knowledge of fibroblast-myocyte electrical signaling in the heart. Further research is needed to understand the frequency and extent of heterocellular interactions in vivo in order to gain a better understanding of their relevance in healthy and diseased myocardium. It is hoped that associated insight into myocyte-fibroblast coupling in the heart may lead to the discovery of novel therapeutic targets and the development of agents for improving outcomes of myocardial scarring and fibrosis.
Benefits and Harms of Screening Mammography by Comorbidity and Age: A Qualitative Synthesis of Observational Studies and Decision Analyses

We conducted a systematic review to assess the quality and limitations of published studies examining benefits and harms of screening mammography in relation to comorbidity and age. We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE from January 1980 through June 2013 for studies that examined benefits or harms of screening mammography in women aged 65 years or older in relation to comorbidity. For each study, we extracted data regarding setting, design, quality, screening schedule, measure of comorbidity, and estimates of benefits and/or harms. We reviewed 1760 titles, identifying 7 articles that met the inclusion criteria: prospective cohort (two studies), retrospective cohort (two studies), and decision analyses (three studies). No randomized controlled trials were identified. At least one measure of life expectancy or reduction in the risk of breast cancer death as a marker of benefit was examined in four studies, whereas three studies addressed the harms of screening mammography, including false-positive results. Both cohort studies and decision analyses showed that screening benefits decreased with increasing age and comorbidity burden. The limited evidence currently available suggests that, apart from older women with severe comorbidity, women 65 and older may experience improvements in life expectancy from screening. Given the potential for harm, it is unclear whether the magnitude of the benefit is sufficient to warrant regular screening. Women, clinicians and policymakers should consider these factors in deciding whether continue screening.
Maternal Cigarette Smoking and the Risk of Tubal Pregnancy

The association between maternal smoking and the occurrence of tubal pregnancy was evaluated in a population-based case-control study of members of the Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Seattle, Washington. Women hospitalized with tubal pregnancy from October 1981 through September 1986 (n = 274) were compared with reproductive-age women who were at risk of becoming pregnant during the same time period (n = 727). The relative risk of tubal pregnancy associated with ever having smoked cigarettes was 1.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0-1.8). Compared with women who had never smoked, those who smoked at the time of conception had a 40% increase in the risk of tubal pregnancy (95% CI 1.0-2.0). These results support earlier epidemiologic and nonepidemiologic reports of a greater risk of tubal pregnancy associated with current or recent maternal cigarette smoking.
A Universal BCD-on-SOI Based High Temperature Short Circuit Protection for SiC Power Switches

In recent years, the rapid increase in the market for hybrid electric vehicles has generated great demand for low-cost, high-volume, high-temperature power converters that can work in harsh environment (temperature ≥ 150°C) conditions. Most of the commercially available power semiconductor devices and associated control electronics are rated for maximum of 85°C ambient temperature. Under this circumstance, wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors have become a better alternative due to their ability to operate at much higher temperatures (≥500°C) than conventional bulk silicon based devices. As with any other power devices, SiC switches also require fault detection and protection mechanisms for their reliable application to real systems. One severe fault situation is the short circuit at the load end, which can cause very high surge currents that flow through the power switches. Quick detection and removal of the short circuit fault current by external circuitry is required to protect the power switch as well as...
Alignment and integration of a hybrid, external-cavity InP-SOI laser

A 1550nm external-cavity hybrid III-V/SOI laser with a room-temperature threshold current of 18mA and output powers up to 4mW was demonstrated with a novel assembly technique. An edge-coupled 1×6 laser array was passively aligned with sub-micron positional tolerance.
On the Electrochemical Response of Porous Functionalized Graphene Electrodes

Electrodes used in electroanalysis, which are based on carbonaceous nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes or graphene, often exhibit large degrees of porosity. By systematically varying the morphology of functionalized graphene electrodes from nearly flat to highly porous, we demonstrate experimentally that minute amounts of electrode porosity have surprisingly significant effects on the apparent reaction kinetics as determined by cyclic voltammetry, both in the reversible and the irreversible regime. We quantify electrode porosity using a coulometric approach and, with the help of numerical simulations, determine the correlation between electrode pore volume and apparent electrode kinetics. We show that in the reversible and quasi-reversible regime, the voltamperometric response constitutes a superposition of thin film diffusion-related effects within the porous electrode and of the standard flat electrode response. For irreversible kinetics, however, we show that diffusive coupling between the electrode and the electrolyte can, under suitably chosen conditions, result in effective electrocatalytic behavior. Confirming past theoretical work by Compton and others, our experiments demonstrate that for a comparison of electroanalytical data obtained with different electrode materials it is not sufficient to only consider differences in the materials' chemical structure but equally important to take into account differences in electrode morphology.
Hydrogen Dissociation, Spillover, and Desorption from Cu-Supported Co Nanoparticles

Co-Cu nanoparticles have recently been explored for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) as a way to combine the long chain selectivity of Co with Cu's activity for alcohol formation in order to synthesize oxygenated transportation fuels. Depending on particle size, hydrogen dissociation can be a rate-determining step in cobalt-catalyzed FTS. To understand the fundamentals of uptake and release of hydrogen from the Co/Cu bimetallic system, we prepared well-defined Co nanoparticles on Cu(111). We demonstrate that hydrogen spills over from dissociation sites on the Co nanoparticles to the Cu(111) surface via the Co-Cu interface and that desorption of H occurs at a temperature that is lower than from Co or Cu alone, which we attribute to the Co-Cu interface sites. From this data, we have constructed an energy landscape for the facile dissociation, spillover, and desorption of hydrogen on the Co-Cu bimetallic system.
Bullying as a Display of Social Dominance Orientation

The study employed Social Dominance Theory in a communicative assessment of bullying in secondary education. Participants were 189 college students who completed a survey about their bullying perpetration in secondary school (physical victimization, verbal victimization, social manipulation, and attacks on property) and their current propensity to accept social hierarchy myths (social dominance orientation). Social dominance orientation was correlated positively with all four types of bullying behavior. Moreover, bullies’ sex moderated the relationships between social dominance orientation and physical forms of bullying (physical victimization, attacks on property). For communication scholars assessing bullying, these findings propose that this single variable (social dominance orientation) be included when addressing the psychological underpinnings of bullying behaviors.
A novel mosaicking algorithm for in vivo full-field thickness mapping of the human tympanic membrane using low coherence interferometry (Conference Presentation)

Tympanic membrane (TM) thickness can provide crucial information for diagnosing several middle ear pathologies. An imaging system integrating low coherence interferometry (LCI) with the standard video otoscope has been shown as a promising tool for quantitative assessment of in-vivo TM thickness. The small field-of-view (FOV) of TM surface images acquired by the combined LCI-otoscope system, however, makes the spatial registration of the LCI imaging sites and their location on the TM difficult to achieve. It is therefore desirable to have a tool that can map the imaged points on to an anatomically accurate full-field surface image of the TM. To this end, we propose a novel automated mosaicking algorithm for generating a full-field surface image of the TM with co-registered LCI imaging sites from a sequence of multiple small FOV images and corresponding LCI data. Traditional image mosaicking techniques reported in the biomedical literature, mostly for retinal imaging, are not directly applicable to TM image mosaicking because unlike retinal images, which have several distinctive features, TM images contain large homogeneous areas lacking in sharp features. The proposed algorithm overcomes these challenges of TM image mosaicking by following a two-step approach. In the first step, a coarse registration based on the correlation of gross image features is performed. Subsequently, in the second step, the coarsely registered images are used to perform a finer intensity-based co-registration. The proposed algorithm is used to generate, for the first time, full-field thickness distribution maps of in-vivo human TMs.
Designing of High Speed FIFO Base on EDA Technology

Application ispLSI6192 Device to make four-bidirectional high speed data memory(FIFO) of 128×9 bit;We can make address counter and address register base on high-speed adding logic of the device,and make controlling logic base on programmable gate array and programmable register array;Controlling logic manage and control reading or writing operation of FIFO1～4 data memory;And because system′s high speed data memory and it′s controlling logic are in same device,so we can improve efficiency and speed of computer data managing and communications,and improve system′s integer and reduce system′s error.
Research on multi-functional IED for three-state supervision

The conversion from the traditional substation to the digital substation is the trend of electrical power system, and the kernel component is the IED. The developments of highly integrated and high-performance hardware technology as well as IEC 61850 provide the foundation for the new multi-functional IED. This paper analyzes the critical questions of the current substation automation system, presents the approach of a new multi-functional IED for three-state supervision, and analyzes the structure and performance of the communication network. The characteristics and advantages of the multi-functional IED are summarized in this paper. The multi-functional IED will play an important role in the development of the smart grid.
The infectivity of scabies (mange) mites, Psoroptes ovis (Acarina: Psoroptidae), to sheep in naturall contaminated enclosures.

Psoroptes ovis, the common scabies (mange) mite, is responsible for a highly contagious skin disease of sheep and cattle. The disease is prevalent among cattle herds in the southwestern USA and occurs in sheep and/or cattle in many areas of the world including Great Britain. Sheep were used as experimental hosts for the study of this parasitism. Scabies mites may be transmitted from host to host by direct contact or by various inanimate vectors. Tests conducted in the southwestern USA show that mite-contaminated corrals and other enclosures may remain infectious to clean sheep when unoccupied for three days. Enclosures unoccupied for four days were non-infective; this was shown in 10 essentially parallel tests in which a standard procedure was followed. Results of related tests designed to show infectivity of scabies mites under experimental conditions showed: (1) that mite populations removed from ovine hosts and starved for up to 10 days at room temperature (24°C – 26°C) could be successfully transplanted to clean sheep; (2) that mites of sheep origin maintained out of doors produced infestations after starvation periods of up to 12 days; and (3) that mites refrigerated at 2°C – 6°C were successfully transplanted and produced a viable infestation on a recipient host after a maximum 17-day starvation period. On the basis of these data it is recommended that, when time permits and where disinfestation is not practicable, enclosures suspected of scabies mite contamination be vacated for at least two weeks and if possible for one month, before occupancy by clean sheep. There is reason to believe that these observations are very closely applicable to cattle corrals and vehicles as well.
Effects of intermittent hypoxia on structural vascular adaptation in chick embryos.

We explored whether the blood vascular system of the chick embryo adapts its structure to meet the maximum or average oxygen needs of the tissue cells. Chick embryos were grown in continuous 12% oxygen, continuous 16% oxygen, and intermittent 12% oxygen in which the embryos were exposed to 12% oxygen for 4 h each day. Control groups were grown in room air. Measurements of structural vascular resistance (SVR), i.e., the resistance of the maximally dilated vasculature, were used to estimate the whole body vascularity of the 14- or 15-day-old embryos. Continuous exposure to 12% oxygen decreased SVR by 63.1 +/- 1.2 (SE) %, and intermittent exposure to 12% oxygen decreased SVR by 55.6 +/- 0.5% when compared with a 15-day-old normoxic control group. Based on studies with continuous exposure to different levels of low oxygen, it was predicted that exposure to 19.5% oxygen, the average concentration for the intermittent hypoxia group, would decrease SVR by 15.0 +/- 0.3%. These results indicate that intermittent hypoxia at 12% oxygen was approximately 90% as effective as continuous hypoxia at the same level in decreasing SVR and about four times more effective than 19.5% continuous oxygen. Therefore, the results support the hypothesis that the blood vascular system adapts its structure to meet almost entirely the maximum oxygen needs of the tissue cells.
Platforms, People, and Perception: Using Affordances to Understand Self-Presentation on Social Media

The popularity of social media platforms today makes them an important venue for self-presentation, but the unique affordances of these platforms challenge our existing models for understanding self-presentation behavior. In particular, social media provide multiple platforms on which the self may be presented, expand the role other individuals can play in one's own self-presentation, and expand the audience while often simultaneously providing less information about who is in that audience. This paper presents an affordance-based approach to self-presentation on social media platforms rooted in these three challenges and presents a systematic taxonomy for considering aspects of platforms that affect self-presentation. Results from an exploratory study of 193 users suggest significant variation in user perception of our proposed affordances across social media platforms, participant experience levels, and participant personality traits.
Renegotiating Sexuality Following an Acquired Disability: Best Practices for Counselors

Acquired physical disabilities are a critical issue that confronts many adults today, and they are projected to continue to increase over the next several years. For many individuals with acquired physical disabilities, the disabilities affect sexuality, thus requiring a renegotiation of disability and sexuality. This article reviews the extant literature on physical disabilities and sexuality and provides best practices for counselors to effectively address the needs of this growing population.
Sex differences in the Big Five model personality traits: A behavior genetics exploration

Abstract The importance of genetic influences for the Five Factor/Big Five Model (BFM) traits is well established. Relatively understudied, however, are the presence and magnitude of sex differences in genetic and environmental variance of these traits. The current study tested if men and women differ (1) qualitatively in the genetic mechanisms, or (2) quantitatively, on the genetic and environmental variance, contributing to BFM personality domains. Results from a nationally representative U.S. adult twin sample (N = 973 pairs) supported phenotypic (i.e., mean level) sex differences in three of five personality traits (Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness) but did not support genetic or environmental sex differences in any trait.
Processing-microstructure relationships in advanced cast aluminum alloys

ABSTRACT Premium quality aluminum alloy castings are used extensively in various applications requiring a high strength to weight ratio such as in aerospace, automotive and other structural components. The mechanical properties in these structure-sensitive alloys are determined primarily by the secondary dendrite arm spacing and the morphology of interdendritic phases. In addition, the amount of porosity in the casting and the inclusion concentration have strong influence on fracture, fatigue and impact properties. During the production of the casting, various molten metal processing techniques can be implemented to control the microstructural parameters. These melt treatments include grain refinement with Ti-B, eutectic modification with Sr or Na, degassing with purge gases and filtration of inclusions. Recent developments in these areas are reviewed and salient results of ongoing investigations in our laboratory are presented.
Secondary Hydrogen Isotope Effects

Encouraged by the vast amount of knowledge gathered in years of study of all types of chemical catalysis and armed with the plethora of information available concerning chemical reactions of every conceivable nature, scientists have recently begun to explore the most elegant of all catalytic systems—enzymes. Only in the relatively recent past have scientists gained the skills and confidence necessary to tackle such a formidable task as the elucidation of the mechanism of enzymic catalysis. And a formidable task it is! The elucidation of the mechanism of many “simple” bimolecular reactions has not been an easy task. And what a different goal it is to study reactions between two (or more) relatively simple, low-molecular-weight compounds containing relatively few atoms or to study an enzyme mechanism. Even the simplest enzymes are proteins containing hundreds or thousands of atoms. It is little wonder then that 50 years after Sumner’s(1) demonstration that urease was a protein still relatively little is known about the mechanism of enzymic catalysis.
Sparse Sets in Time and Frequency Related to Diophantine Problems and Integrable Systems

Reconstruction of signals and their Fourier transforms lead to the theory of prolate functions, developed by Slepian and Pollack. We look at prior contributions by Szego to these problems. We present a unified framework for solutions of Szego like problems for signals supported by an arbitrary union of intervals, using the techniques of Garnier isomonodromy equations. New classes of completely integrable equations and Darboux–Backlund transformations that arise from this framework are similar to the problems encountered in transcendental number theory. A particular example for the Hilbert matrix is studied in detail.
Student Voice and Linguistic Identity: Digital Badging as a Tool for Retention of First Year and First Generation Undergraduates:

This article describes the role that linguists can play in the retention of first year and first generation college students through both collaborative and cross-disciplinary work. By drawing on ou...
Campaign fund-raising abuses and money laundering in recent U.S. elections: Criminal networks in action

This study describes some of the campaign fundraising abuses perpetuated by Republican and Democratic operatives in connection with recent U.S. elections. Efforts to conceal the source of campaign contributions or to evade contribution and spending limits involved a variety of money laundering techniques including the use of shell companies, straw donors, and the funnelling of money through political action committees and non profit tax-exempt organizations. In addition to the brazen sale of political access, some of the more serious infractions involved the infusion of foreign money into the Republican and Democratic National Committees as well as the Clinton-Gore reelection campaign. The author concludes the crimes that were committed are explained best as organized criminality manifested as complex networks of patron-client relationships.
Modeling of MAl12 Keggin Heteroatom Reactivity by Anion Adsorption

Heteroatom-substituted Keggins, of general formula MAl12 (M = Al, Ga, Ge), are a class of nanoclusters whose properties are sensitive to changes in composition and intermolecular interactions. Previous studies have shown that they display significant differences in oxygen-isotope exchange rates, depending on the identity of heteroatom M. By exploring the intermolecular interactions of these nanoclusters with a series of anions using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we find bond length changes and adsorption energy values that track with experimentally measured oxygen exchange reactivity trends: Ga < Al < Ge. We compare elongations in μ4O–Alo bond lengths to known heteroatom reactivity trends and anion pKa properties, suggesting a window for producing isolable products. To yield insights into the atomistic interactions that dictate the crystallization process, we investigate trends in adsorption energy, DFT-optimized geometries, and vibrational modes and calculate the distribution of charge in...
A single loss of photosynthesis in the diatom order Bacillariales (Bacillariophyta).

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Loss of photosynthesis is a common and often repeated trajectory in nearly all major groups of photosynthetic eukaryotes. One small subset of "apochloritic" diatoms in the genus Nitzschia have lost their ability to photosynthesize and require extracellular carbon for growth. Similar to other secondarily nonphotosynthetic taxa, apochloritic diatoms maintain colorless plastids with highly reduced plastid genomes. Although the narrow taxonomic breadth of apochloritic Nitzschia suggests a single loss of photosynthesis in their common ancestor, previous phylogenetic analyses suggested that photosynthesis was lost multiple times. METHODS We analyzed genes from the nuclear, plastid, and mitochondrial genomes for a broad set of taxa to test whether photosynthesis was lost one or multiple times in Bacillariales. We also sequenced and characterized the plastid genome of a nonphotosynthetic Nitzschia species. KEY RESULTS Phylogenetic analyses showed that genes from all three genetic compartments either supported or failed to reject monophyly of apochloritic Nitzschia species, consistent with a single loss of photosynthesis in this group. The plastid genomes of two apochloritic Nitzschia are highly similar in all respects, indicating streamlining of the plastid genome before the split of these two species. CONCLUSIONS A better understanding of the phylogeny and ecology of apochloritic Nitzschia, together with emerging genomic resources, will help identify the factors that have driven and maintained the loss of photosynthesis in this group of diatoms. Finally, some habitats host diverse communities of co-occurring nonphotosynthetic diatoms, reflecting resource abundance or resource partitioning in ecologically favorable habitats.
Automated Vehicles in Hazardous Merging Traffic: A Chance-Constrained Approach

Abstract To realize the energy efficiency and productivity benefits of automated driving, control algorithms must function safely among conventional vehicles. Prototype tests on public roads have revealed a trend of human-driven vehicles rear-ending automated ones. A popular belief holds that unusually conservative control algorithms play a role in such collisions. In August 2018, an automated vehicle was rear-ended while waiting to merge. Inspired by that incident, this paper examines a resemblant scenario in simulation using model predictive control for the automated vehicle. Constraint setup alternatives to avoid collisions with inattentive following vehicles are proposed and assessed in this simulation environment. In one variant, imminent rear-end collisions are detected and constraints are modified to promote more aggressive merging during such an event. Results show that higher-performing chance constraint designs can reduce collision probability, but may have other adverse effects depending on the particular algorithm.
A bibliometric study of research pertaining to the oldest-old (age eighty-five and older).

Objective: This bibliometric study investigated literature pertaining to a quickly growing population worldwide: the oldest-old, individuals age eighty-five and older. The current state of research was surveyed, based on top authors, publishers, authorship networks, themes in publication titles and abstracts, and highly cited publications. Methods: Bibliographic data was abstracted from the Web of Science database. Microsoft Excel was used for data analyses related to top author, publishers, and terms. VosViewer bibliographic visualization software was used to identify authorship networks. Results: Publications pertaining to the oldest-old have increased dramatically over the past three decades. The majority of these publications are related to medical or genetics topics. Citations for these publications remain relatively low but may be expected to grow in coming years, based on the publication behavior about and increasing prominence of this population. Claudio Franceschi and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society were found to be the author and journal with the most publications pertaining to the oldest-old, respectively. Conclusions: The oldest-old is a population of rapidly growing significance. Researchers in library and information science, gerontology, and beyond can benefit themselves and those they serve by participating in research and specialized services to marginalized populations like the oldest-old. This bibliometric study hopefully serves as a launch-point for further inquiry and research in the years to come.
The Kāvyaprakāśa in the Benares-Centered Network of Sanskrit Learning

This article tells an intellectual history of Mammaṭa Bhaṭṭa’s Kāvyaprakāśa in the Benares-Centered Network of Sanskrit Learning from c. 1600–1750 CE. The core narrative proposed herein is that the discourse on Sanskrit Poetics reaches a bifurcated state by the 1400s and 1500s: the Kāvyaprakāśa commentarial tradition constitutes a distinct domain, wherein commentators debate exclusively among themselves on lower-order issues (e.g. the bases for Mammaṭa’s categories). This period of normalcy is ruptured by Appayya Dīkṣita, who effectively destabilizes the discourse, overhauling the conventional wisdom via his empiricist polemics and via the importation of a new doxographical methodology from Vedānta in his magnum opus on Sanskrit Poetics, the Citramīmāṃsā. Shortly thereafter, Jayarāma Nyāyapancānana, the Benares-based Naiyāyika from the East, substantially defends Mammaṭa’s system of poetic ornaments against Appayya’s polemics within his Kāvyaprakāśa commentary, marking the beginning of the bifurcation’s erosion. The tension of how to resolve Appayya’s system(s) with Mammaṭa’s dominates the literature for the ensuing century, and commentators such as Kamalākara Bhaṭṭa, Bhīmasena Dīkṣita, and Nāgeśa Bhaṭṭa all champion defenses of the Kāvyaprakāśa’s authoritative and conservative system against Appayya. This tension culminates in the discourse’s last major treatise, the Alaṅkārakaustubha of Viśveśvara Paṇḍita, wherein Viśveśvara situates himself on a continuum with Jayarāma and defends the core contours of Mammaṭa’s system against Appayya and Jagannātha Paṇḍitarāja. Viśveśvara systematically utilizes the most up-to-date frameworks and positions of Nyāya, entailing radical transformations for the core terminology, standards of debate, and philosophical underpinnings in Sanskrit Poetics. The article concludes by way of contextualizing Jagannātha Paṇḍitarāja within this new narrative.
Optimal effectiveness and efficiency of a fin in steady-state: multiobjective approach

A fin serves as an extended surface to enhance the heat transfer from a larger heated mass to which it is attached. We use a multiobjective optimization (MO) approach for a fin in steady-state to analyze the dynamics of effectiveness and efficiency simultaneously. Our approach is based on a piecewise linear approximation of the design. We use the $$\epsilon$$ -constraint method of MO to identify Pareto points for effectiveness and efficiency and hence the Pareto design of the fin. We conduct several numerical experiments using the fmincon routine from the MATLAB. The numerical experiments show that our approach provides a unique interaction between effectiveness and efficiency independent from the initial profiles within the user-defined tolerance range of the fmincon routine.
Modern Roundabouts: Access by Pedestrians Who Are Blind.

This article describes the key differences between roundabouts and traditional intersections that have traffic signals or stop signs and discusses how these differences may affect the mobility of p...
Semi-quantitative detection of a vanillactic acid/vanillylmandelic acid ratio in urine is a reliable diagnostic marker for aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency.

Abstract Background Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) deficiency is a primary neurotransmitter defect of the biosynthesis of catecholamines and serotonin. The phenotype consists of varying degrees of neurological impairment, including motor and non-motor symptoms. Treatment outcomes correlate with the time point of diagnosis and treatment initiation; therefore, reliable diagnostic markers are necessary. Increased vanillactic acid (VLA) concentrations in the analysis of organic acids in urine have been reported in AADC deficiency. However, this elevation is often subtle and easily missed. In this study, we evaluate the semi-quantitative determination of VLA and vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) concentrations and establish the ratio of a VLA/VMA as a novel diagnostic marker for AADC deficiency. Methods Urine samples obtained from 10,095 non-AADC deficient controls and 14 confirmed AADC deficient patients were used for organic acid analysis by liquid-liquid extraction of the acidified samples and gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric separation after trimethylsilylation. The semi-quantitative determination of VLA and VMA concentrations and the calculation of a VLA/VMA ratio were evaluated as a diagnostic marker for AADC deficiency. Results The mean VLA and VMA concentrations in 10,095 non-AADCD samples was 0.3 mmol/mol creatinine (SD = 1.18, range 0–57.79) and 5.59 mmol/mol creatinine (SD = 3.87, range 0.04–60.62), respectively. The mean concentration of VLA in 14 patient-derived samples was 10.24 mmol/mol creatinine, (SD = 11.58, range = 0.37–33.06) and 0.45 mmol/mol creatinine for VMA (SD = 0.29, range 0.11–1.27). The mean VLA/VMA ratio in non-AADC controls was 0.07 (SD = 0.37, range 0.0–23.24), whereas AADC deficient patients revealed a mean VLA/VMA ratio of 23.16 (SD = 22.83, range 0.97–74.1). The VLA/VMA ratio thus allows a reliable identification of patients with AADC deficiency, especially in the young age cohort as it decreases with age. To take this into account, age-adjusted thresholds have been developed. Conclusion Determination of individual concentrations of VLA and VMA in urine does not allow a reliable diagnosis of AADC deficiency. In this study, we could demonstrate that a semi-quantitative analysis of organic acids in urine allows the formation of metabolite ratios and that the VLA/VMA ratio is a reliable, easily accessible, new parameter for the diagnosis of AADC deficiency.
Foreign Agents Registration Act: a user’s guide

Foreign entities are among the most active interest groups that lobby policymakers in the US government. There is a long history of concern about foreign powers’ influence on public opinion and government policies in the USA, but little is known about the scope and magnitude of their influence. I introduce a new dataset that facilitates the measurement of lobbying activities by foreign entities: information extracted from lobbying reports submitted under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The FARA requires that lobbyists representing foreign entities submit semi-annual reports detailing all their lobbying contacts. I highlight the difference in the disclosure requirements between the Lobbying Disclosure Act and the FARA and provide detailed guidance on how to extract information from reports submitted under the FARA. FARA data provide a unique opportunity to address unresolved questions in studies of interest groups as well as foreign entities’ lobbying activities in the USA.
Pathfinding for 2.5D interconnect technologies

As conventional technology scaling becomes harder, 2.5D integration provides a viable pathway to building larger systems at lower cost. Therefore recently, there has been a proliferation of multiple 2.5D integration technologies that offer different interconnect characteristics such as wiring pitch, bump/pad pitch, inter-die distance, etc. All these factors affect the interconnect metrics of bandwidth, latency and energy-per-bit which ultimately determine system performance. There are other factors such as the choice of ESD circuitry, dicing technology and signaling voltage that also influence these interconnect metrics. In this work, we propose a novel pathfinding methodology for 2.5D interconnect technologies, which seeks to identify the trade-offs among the different factors which affect the performance metrics. We show that incessant scaling of the critical dimensions of the interconnect is not very useful. We emphasize the importance of managing ESD and dicing in improving energy efficiency of these interconnects. We also show that a heterogeneous chiplet ecosystem comes with significant I/O energy penalties. Overall, we demonstrate that a holistic approach considering features of 2.5D integration technology, chiplet technology and various other factors need to be considered and optimized simultaneously to maximize the performance and cost benefits of these integration solutions.
Models and Analysis of Fuel Switching Generation Impacts on Power System Resilience

This paper presents model formulations for generators that have the ability to use multiple fuels and to switch between them if necessary. These models are used to generate different scenarios of fuel switching penetration from a test power system. With these scenarios, for a severe disruption in the fuel supply to multiple generators, the paper analyzes the effect that fuel switching has on the resilience of the power system. Load not served is used as the proxy metric to evaluate power system resilience. The paper shows that the presence of generators with fuel switching capabilities considerably reduces the amount and duration of the load shed by the system facing the fuel disruption.
Synthetic protein antigens for COVID-19 diagnostics

Abstract There is an urgent need for inexpensive, rapid and specific antigen-based assays to test for infection with SARS-CoV-2 and distinguish variants arising as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads. We have identified a small, synthetic protein (JS7), representing a region of maximum variability within the receptor binding domain (RBD), which binds antibodies in sera from nine patients with PCR-verified COVID-19 of varying severity. Antibodies binding to either JS7 or the SARS-CoV-2 recombinant RBD, as well as those that disrupt binding between a fragment of the ACE2 receptor and the RBD, are proportional to disease severity and clinical outcome. Binding to JS7 was inhibited by linear peptides from the RBD interface with ACE2. Variants of JS7, such as N501Y, can be quickly synthesized in a pure form in large quantities by automated methods. JS7 and related synthetic antigens can provide a basis for specific diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Differentiation between primary CNS lymphoma and atypical glioblastoma according to major genomic alterations using diffusion and susceptibility-weighted MR imaging.

Abstract Purpose We aimed to differentiate primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) from atypical glioblastoma (GB) and distinguish major genomic subtypes between these tumors using susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) along with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Methods Thirty-one immuno-competent patients with PCNSL stratified by BCL2 and MYC rearrangement, and 57 patients with atypical GB (no visible necrosis) grouped according to isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) mutation status underwent 3.0-Tesla MRI before treatment in this retrospective study. Region of interest analysis with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and SWI signal intensity values of the tumors were normalized by dividing those of contralateral white matter. The independent-samples t-test and Kruskal-Wallis test were utilized to compare parameters. The diagnostic ability of each parameter and their optimal combination was evaluated by logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic. Results PCNSL with rearrangement of both MYC and BCL2 (n = 7) [mean relative (r) ADCmean:0.87 ± 0.06, rADCmin:0.72 ± 0.08] demonstrated significantly lower rADCmean, and rADCmin compared to other PCNSLs (n = 24) (rADCmean:1.19 ± 0.18, rADCmin:1.03 ± 0.17;p Conclusions Combined analysis of SWI and DWI could differentiate atypical GB from PCNSL and distinguish major genomic subtypes between these tumors.
Understanding the role of left and right ventricular strain assessment in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can cause cardiac injury resulting in abnormal right or left ventricular function (RV/LV) with worse outcomes. We hypothesized that two-dimensional (2D) speckle-tracking assessment of LV global longitudinal strain (GLS) and RV free wall strain (FWS) by transthoracic echocardiography can assist as markers for subclinical cardiac injury predicting increased mortality. Methods: We performed 2D strain analysis via proprietary software in 48 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Clinical information, demographics, comorbidities, and lab values were collected via retrospective chart review. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality based on an optimized abnormal LV GLS value via ROC analysis and RV FWS. Results: The optimal LV GLS cutoff to predict death was -13.8%, with a sensitivity of 85% (95% CI 55-98%) and specificity of 54% (95% CI 36-71%). Abnormal LV GLSâ¯>â¯-13.8% was associated with a higher risk of death [unadjusted hazard ratio 5.15 (95% CI 1.13-23.45), pâ¯=â¯0.034], which persisted after adjustment for clinical variables. Among patients with LV ejection fraction (LVEF) >50%, those with LV GLSâ¯>â¯-13.8% had higher mortality compared to those with LV GLSâ¯ â¯-13.8% (-13.7â¯±â¯5.9 vs. -19.6â¯±â¯6.7, pâ¯=â¯0.003), but not associated with decreased survival. Conclusion: Abnormal LV strain with a cutoff of >-13.8% in patients with COVID-19 is associated with significantly higher risk of death. Despite normal LVEF, abnormal LV GLS predicted worse outcomes in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. There was no mortality difference based on RV strain.
Critical Learning Periods in Federated Learning.

Federated learning (FL) is a popular technique to train machine learning (ML) models with decentralized data. Extensive works have studied the performance of the global model; however, it is still unclear how the training process affects the final test accuracy. Exacerbating this problem is the fact that FL executions differ significantly from traditional ML with heterogeneous data characteristics across clients, involving more hyperparameters. In this work, we show that the final test accuracy of FL is dramatically affected by the early phase of the training process, i.e., FL exhibits critical learning periods, in which small gradient errors can have irrecoverable impact on the final test accuracy. To further explain this phenomenon, we generalize the trace of the Fisher Information Matrix (FIM) to FL and define a new notion called FedFIM, a quantity reflecting the local curvature of each clients from the beginning of the training in FL. Our findings suggest that the {\em initial learning phase} plays a critical role in understanding the FL performance. This is in contrast to many existing works which generally do not connect the final accuracy of FL to the early phase training. Finally, seizing critical learning periods in FL is of independent interest and could be useful for other problems such as the choices of hyperparameters such as the number of client selected per round, batch size, and more, so as to improve the performance of FL training and testing.
Candida-induced asthma steps up to the plate-lets.

Fungal proteases are well-known allergens. In this issue of Immunity, Wu et al. (2021) observe that allergic airway responses to Candida albicans are mediated by the peptide toxin candidalysin rather than proteases. Candidalysin promotes these responses by stimulating platelets to release the Wnt antagonist Dickkopf-1.