cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Current Clinical and Research Developments in Cardiovascular Multi-Detector Computed Tomography

Across multiple medical specialties, it has since ena-bled novel diagnostic approaches for a variety of clinical conditions. Technical advances, in-cluding fast gantry rotation and multi-detector technology, subsequently allowed cardiovas-cular applications including imaging of the cor-onary arteries.
Damage-Based Seismic Reliability Concept for Woodframe Structures

In the United States the majority of modern residential and a portion of commercial structures are woodframe construction which typically consists of dimension lumber sheathed with 1.22×2.44 m ( 4×8 ft ) OSB or plywood panels. This paper presents the results of a study on the development of a damage-based seismic reliability model for light-frame wood structures subject to earthquake load. It is presented in conceptual form with a simple example for a symmetric one-story woodframe building. The concept presented here provides the basic methodology to calibrate a seismic damage model and compute the structural reliability using a damage-based limit state function. The illustrative example necessitated a small experimental program and the use of existing software. The mechanistic damage model chosen for the example expresses damage as a linear combination of the maximum displacement during an earthquake simulation and the hysteretic energy dissipated by each shearwall within a structure. In order to make th...
A neural model combining attentional orienting to object recognition: preliminary explorations on the interplay between where and what

We propose a model of primate vision that integrates both an attentional orienting ("where") pathway and an object recognition ("what") pathway. The fast visual attention front-end rapidly selects the few most conspicuous image locations, and the slower object recognition back-end identifies objects at the selected locations. The model is applied to classical visual search tasks, consisting of finding a specific target among an array of distracting visual patterns (e.g., a circle among many squares). The encouraging results obtained, in which substantial speedup is achieved by the combined attention recognition model while maintaining good recognition performance compared to an exhaustive search, suggest that the biologically-inspired architecture proposed represents an efficient solution to the difficult problem of rapid scene analysis.
Optimum routing protection against cumulative eavesdropping in multihop wireless networks

We investigate the risk associated with multihop wireless communications due to eavesdropping. When the same message traverses cross a multihop wireless network, potential security leaks may occur because of intelligent and collaborative eavesdroppers even if all individual links from source to destination have signal leakage below a security threshold. We termed this phenomenon “cumulative security leakage”. In this work, we quantify the cumulative security leakage problem in terms of received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the eavesdropper. We propose a cross-layer framework to mitigate such security vulnerability. Our solution involves a novel routing algorithm that uses physical (PHY) layer attributes such as SNR as security metric and is readily applicable in wireless mesh networks.
Magnetic properties and hyperfine interactions of amorphous Fe‐Hf alloys

Alloys of FexHf100−x (20≤x≤100) were fabricated by a vapor‐quench method. The amorphous state, as verified by x‐ray diffraction, is realized over a wide composition range of 20≤x≤94. The magnetic phase diagram was determined. The variation with Fe content of the magnetic ordering temperature (Tc) in Fe‐Hf amorphous alloys shows a maximum at xp≂87. In contrast, the effective magnetic hyperfine field and therefore the Fe moment increases monotonically with x. Amorphous pure Fe is likely to be magnetic (Tc ∼200 K) with a large magnetic moment. At higher Fe concentrations (x>95), the samples are crystalline alloys and strongly ferromagnetic. These sharp changes of the magnetic properties are consequences of structural differences, a fact which has been observed in every Fe‐early transition metal alloy system reported thus far. In general, the magnetic properties and hyperfine interactions of amorphous Fe‐Hf alloys are very similar to those of amorphous Fe‐Zr alloys.
Damping of Flexural Waves With Imbedded Viscoelastic Materials

This paper considers a passive damping method that can be applied to beam-like structures such as machine tool bases and columns. The method uses viscoelastic materials to dissipate energy in the manner of classic constrained-layer damping; however, the layers are embedded within the structure as opposed to being applied externally. This provides a robust means of incorporating damping without encountering several of the common disadvantages associated with external damping treatments. An analytical solution to the amount of damping that can be achieved using embedded layers is available, but is known to be inaccurate when the viscoelastic stiffness approaches that of the structural components. Therefore, a new prediction of the maximum damping level that can be expected in a structure is developed and presented here. This prediction gives good results in a wide variety of applications, and offers insight into the relationship between key design parameters. Finite element and experimental verification of the maximum damping predictor are also presented.
A general benders decomposition structure for power system decision problems

We propose a general structure of Benders decomposition for power system decision making. In this framework, three elements of decision-making problems in power systems are mapped into the three types of subproblems of the Benders decomposition approach. An information communication strategy is introduced. We also explain how the approach facilitates the unbundling of computational services.
Potential dependence of capacitance at a polarizable (blocked) liquid/liquid interface

Abstract Impedance behavior from 0.5 Hz to 50 kHz of a polarizable interface between nitrobenzene and aqueous electrolyte phases has been studied as a function of applied interfacial potential difference. Within 300 mV of the point of zero charge (pzc) the L/L (liquid/liquid) interface may be modeled as a diffuse layer capacitance in series with the solution resistance. Capacitance values obtained from impedance data thus analyzed agree well with values calculated from Gouy-Chapman theory. Diffuse layer capacitance varied from 10.0 μF/cm 2 at the pzc to nearly 100 μF/cm 2 at 300 mV applied interfacial potential.
An Essay on Some Topics Concerning Invasive Species

There is a tendency for both scientists and lay people to regard invading alien species as inherently 'bad' and native species as inherently 'good.' Past invasions occurred commonly without human assistance. They rarely caused large, lasting decreases in species richness or ecological damage. Current invasions provide opportunities for scientific study. They are unintentional, uncontrolled experiments, which can provide insights into attributes of successful colonists, relationships with native species, and impacts on the structure and function of ecological systems.
Hecke Algebras and Automorphic Forms

The goal of this paper is to carry out some explicit calculations of the actions of Hecke operators on spaces of algebraic modular forms on certain simple groups. In order to do this, we give the coset decomposition for the supports of these operators. We present the results of our calculations along with interpretations concerning the lifting of forms. The data we have obtained is of interest both from the point of view of number theory and of representation theory. For example, our data, together with a conjecture of Gross, predicts the existence of a Galois extension of Q with Galois group G 2(F5) which is ramified only at the prime 5. We also provide evidence of the existence of the symmetric cube lifting from PGL2 to PGSp4.
Uptake by Cucurbitaceae of Soil-Borne Contaminants Depends upon Plant Genotype and Pollutant Properties

Three Cucurbitaceae, Cucurbita pepo L. subsp. pepo (cv. Black Beauty, true zucchini), Cucurbita pepo L. intersubspecific cross (cv. Zephyr, summer squash), and Cucumis sativis (cv. Marketmore, cucumber), were grown in rhizotrons containing soil contaminated with three classes of highly weathered, hydrophobic organic contaminants: (1) technical chlordane, (2) dichlorodiphenylethanes (DDT and DDD) and -ethene (DDE), (3) polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy metal residues. Movement of the contaminants through the soil/plant system was studied by comparing contaminant concentration in the bulk soil, the rhizosphere soil pore water, the xylem sap, and aerial tissue. This permitted, for the first time, calculation of bioconcentration factors (BCFs) based on concentration in the xylem sap versus that in the rhizosphere soil pore water. The bioconcentration factors so determined for the sum of five chlordane residues (two enantiomers of trans-chlordane, TC; two enantiomers of cis-chlordane, CC; and achira...
Using Haplotypes to Monitor the Migration of Fall Armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Corn-Strain Populations from Texas and Florida

Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), infestations in most of North America north of Mexico arise from annual migrations of populations that overwinter in southern Texas and Florida. A comparison of the cytochrome oxidase I haplotype profiles within the fall armyworm corn-strain, the subgroup that preferentially infests corn (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum vulgare Pers.), identified significant differences in the proportions of certain haplotypes between the Texas and Florida populations. These proportional differences were preserved as the populations migrated, providing a molecular metric by which the source of a migrant population could be identified. The migratory pattern derived from this method for several southeastern states was shown to be consistent with predictions based on analysis of historical agricultural and fall armyworm infestation data. These results demonstrate the utility of haplotype proportions to monitor fall armyworm migration, and they also introduce a potential method to predict the severity of cotton crop infestations in the short term.
Influence of Fly Ash and Other Amendments on Leaching of Soil Nutrients and Metals from a Calcareous Soil

The influences on the leaching of soil nutrients and heavy metals by separate application to a calcareous soil of fly ash, biosolids, N-viro soil, co-compost, and yard waste compost in comparison to a control without an amendment were determined in a pot experiment. The results showed that the concentration of NO3-N in leachate from biosolids was significantly higher than in leachate from other treatments. The levels of heavy metals found in the leachates from all amended soils were so low as to suggest these amendments may be used without risk of leaching significant amounts of these elements. Nevertheless the level of heavy metals in leachate from fly ash amended soil was substantially greater than in leachates from the other treatments. The results suggest that at heavy loading rates of biosolids, leaching of NO3 − can be an important concern. Leaching of inorganic P can be increased significantly by application of both co-compost and biosolids, but significantly decreased by applying fly ash and N-viro soil. Biosolids, N-viro soil and fly ash applications significantly increased Ca and Mg concentrations in leachates. Copper concentration in leachate was increased by application of biosolids, while Fe concentration in leachates was increased by biosolids, fly ash and co-compost applications. The concentrations of Zn, Mo and Co in leachates were increased by application of fly ash. The concentrations of heavy metals in leachates were very low and unlikely to be harmful, although they were increased significantly by fly ash application.
Exploring the effectiveness of a novel feedback mechanism within an intelligent tutoring system

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a new feedback mechanism within an intelligent tutoring system called AutoTutor LITE. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three feedback manipulation conditions within the context of complex scientific material: 1 learners' characteristics curves; 2 random; 3 no feedback. Results revealed that the participants receiving the new feedback mechanism LCC showed significantly higher learning gains when compared to the random feedback or no feedback manipulations. Additionally, there were no differences discovered between random feedback and no feedback. Interpretation and implications of results are discussed.
Genetics and Prenatal Injury in Cortical Malformations

The interrelationship of genetics and prenatal injury in the genesis of malformations of cortical development (MCD) was studied at the University of Campinas, SP, Brazil.
Comment on "How Foreign Participation and Market Concentration Impact Bank Spreads: Evidence from Latin America"

During most of the 20th century, Latin American banking systems tended to be small, inefficient, and highly concentrated. Most were also characterized by regulatory barriers to entry. One component of these regulatory barriers was restrictions on the entry of foreign banks. Beginning in the early 1990s, most of the barriers to foreign investment in banking were lifted, and over time, foreign banks have come to play an increasingly larger role in most Latin American financial systems. Foreign banks now control roughly 45% of all Latin American bank assets. This change in ownership structure poses an interesting question for both academics and policy makers: what effect did the entry of foreign banks have on the spreads charged by banks? Did foreign banks increase competition and produce administrative innovations that reduced the gap between what banks paid for funds and charged for loans; or did the entry of foreign banks increase concentration, thereby allowing banks to behave less competitively? Answering this question requires careful econometric analysis. At the same time that foreign banks were entering, both creating de novo operations and purchasing existing banks, domestic banks were also merging with one another. Thus, independent of foreign bank entry, there was also an increase in concentration. In order to measure the independent impact of foreign bank entry, we need to be able to separate
Characteristics of Application and Operation on 1000 kV UHVAC Insulators

The use of insulators and operation experience in the Jindongnan-Nanyang-Jingmen 1000 kV a.c.project are presented.By analyzing the contamination of UHV insulator,the electrical,mechanical and aging performances etc.,the reliability of insulators and the porcelain insulator aging rate,hydrophobicity,and mechanical properties of composite insulators,periodic testing of steel corrosion and so on are studied,and the relevant operation for 1000 kV UHV insulators and optimal selection of insulators are formulated.It is indicated that the requirements of insulator disc diameter,structure height,creepage distance and specified mechanical load are higher than those in 500kV transmission line,and the requirements of insulator disc diameter and structure height are two times higher than those of 500kV substation,so the long-term operation reliability of insulators is important.The experimental verification and quality control were performed so as to make the insulators design and performance to meet the requirements of UHV project.
Construction of Reconfigurable Clock Trees for MCMM Designs Using Mode Separation and Scenario Compression

The clock networks of many modern circuits have to operate in multiple corners and multiple modes (MCMM). We propose to construct mode-reconfigurable clock trees (MRCTs) based on mode separation and scenario compression. The technique of scenario compression is proposed to consider the timing constraints in multiple scenarios at the same time, compressing the MCMM problem into an equivalent single-corner multiple-mode (SCMM), or single-corner single-mode (SCSM) problem. The compression is performed by combining the skew constraints of the different scenarios in skew constraint graphs based on delay linearization and dominating skew constraints. An MRCT consists of several clock trees and mode separation involves, depending on the active mode, selecting one of the clock trees to deliver the clock signal. To limit the overhead, the bottom part (closer to the clock sinks) of all the different clock trees are shared and only the top part (closer to the clock source) of the clock network is mode reconfigurable. The reconfiguration is realized using OR-gates and a one-input-multiple-output demultiplexer. The experimental results show that for a set of synthesized MCMM circuits, with 715 to 13, 216 sequential elements, the proposed approach can achieve high yield.
The lack of high-quality studies available and the methodological limitations of this review indicate that effectiveness of reading comprehension interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder is inconclusive

This review provides a summary and appraisal commentary on the treatment review by El Zein, F., Solis, M., Vaughn, S., & McCulley, L. (2014). Reading comprehension interventions for students with autism spectrum disorders: A synthesis of research. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44, 1303–1322.Source of funding and disclosure of interest: The review was supported by Grant R324C120006 from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. The authors did not report any conflicts of interests.
80 – Weight Reduction Therapies: Anorectants, Thermogenics, and Lipolytics

Males and females appear to have different types of obesity and different responses to dieting as well as discrepant attitudes toward eating and weight reduction. Body fat distribution differs between the genders, with men more likely to exhibit central obesity and women carrying more peripheral body fat. Men may substantially reduce central obesity by dietary measures alone, whereas women often require increased exercise along with reduced caloric intake to achieve the same fat loss. In addition, body fat distribution changes in women with reproductive phases and childbearing, and obesity can have adverse consequences on female fertility. In general, males show less desire to lose weight than females, with dieting beginning at a higher average BMI in men than in women. Historically, weight-loss therapies have been problematic, leading to a growing sense of distrust of antiobesity medications. Pharmacologic effects of weight-loss drugs are based on three types of mechanisms of action: decreased food intake by suppressing appetite, altered absorption, metabolism, or elimination of food, and increased energy expenditure. Some weight-loss drugs have combined mechanisms of action. Weight-loss agents may also be considered in the context of federal regulatory categories as being either prescription, over-the-counter drugs, or dietary supplements.
Testing Subtask Quantification Assumptions for Dynamic Human Reliability Analysis in the SPAR-H Method

Human reliability analysis (HRA) to date has relied almost entirely on static methods. To provide a more precise model of human performance, dynamic HRA has been developed. Dynamic HRA must model a...
EHF SATCOM Terminal Antennas

The Department of Defense (DOD) MILSATCOM community is rapidly moving toward deployment of Extremely High Frequency (EHF) earth terminals by the late 1980's. As a result, the communications system tradeoffs have solidified into more meaningful terminal specifications, including antenna requirements. Some aspects of antenna requirements at the selected EHF have not been encountered or emphasized in earlier SATCOM applications. It is the objective of this paper to review the system factors of antenna performance and to discuss some of the more pertinent tradeoffs leading to affordable solutions. This paper is aimed at the practicing antenna systems engineer and engineering management personnel of both equipment contractors and procuring agencies. The discussion attempts to distinguish between mobile and fixed platform applications, and concludes with a mobile antenna example at 20/45 gigahertz (GHz) which has been designed, built, and tested.
Optimal Day-Ahead Power Procurement With Renewable Energy and Demand Response

This study proposes the demand-side power procurement problem to optimally reduce consumer's energy cost. The motivation stems from pressing issues on an increase of energy cost in an industrial section. From an energy consumer's perspective, there exists an opportunity to reduce energy cost by adjusting purchase and consumption of energy in response to time-varying electricity price while utilizing renewable energy, which is called demand response. In this case, energy storage can be used to mitigate fluctuation of intermittent renewable supply and volatile electricity price. Although it is anticipated to serve a significant amount of energy consumption from renewable energy and to avoid peak electricity price, variability and uncertainty in power demand, renewable supply, and electricity price make it challenging to determine an optimal power procurement. The main objective of this study is to suggest a decision-making methodology that enables energy consumers to optimally determine power procurement against time varying and stochastic electricity price and renewable supply. Specifically, this study formulates an optimal day-ahead power procurement as a two-stage stochastic mixed-integer program and proposes a solution approach based on Benders decomposition. The proposed methodology can be successfully applied to energy-intensive industries, such as data centers.
Design of a new cost-effective head for a low-cost humanoid robot

It is challenging to design humanoid robots since the actuators must be meticulously coordinated to make their precise motions along with sensors. Many groups therefore who conduct various humanoid robotics research use commercially available robots. Unfortunately the price of the robots that are programmable with inputs from sensors is still high, which prohibits groups from conducting research using humanoid robots. In this paper we propose to develop an affordable but programmable humanoid robotics platform by adding a newly designed robot head to an existing low-cost humanoid robot. We conducted several experiments to show its feasibility. The results were promising. We expect the proposed design would expand the humanoid robotics research by providing a low-cost programmable humanoid robotics platform with sensor integration to the wider communities.
Mechanisms of HIV-1 Tat-Mediated Regulation of the Manganese-Superoxide Dismutase Promoter

The introduction of antiretroviral therapies is largely responsible for the development of chronic HIV infection, but long-term exposure to viral proteins can contribute to pulmonary and cardiac complications such as HIV-Associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (HA-PAH). Oxidative stress and inflammation are two major drivers of pulmonary pathology in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (iPAH) and could also be involved in the pathogenesis of HA-PAH. We have reported previously that the HIV transcriptional regulator, Tat (trans-activator of transcription), can induce oxidative responses by depleting cellular glutathione and contributing to the inhibition of mitochondrial manganese-superoxide dismutase (MnSOD, sod2). We also previously defined Tat-regulated elements within the proximal regions of the human sod2 promoter, designated Tat-sensitive Sp-responsive elements (TSS). We’ve seen that Tat alters the pattern of binding by the Sp1 and Sp3 transcription factors on the sod2 TSS, causing transcriptional repression. Recently we observed evidence of Sp-binding sites containing Tat-regulated regions within more distal sections of the sod2 promoter which we have termed the DTSS (Distal Tat-sensitive Sp elements). The previous discoveries that Tat regulates the proximal promoter by changing the patterns of Sp binding prompted us to investigate the mechanisms of Tat regulation on the distal regions of the promoter. In this study, we transiently transfected pGL3B luciferase-reporter plasmids containing varying regions of the sod2 promoter in the presence or absence of Tat to determine if Tat influences the transcription of this promoter through distal elements. Our data suggests that Tat-mediated regulation of the sod2 promoter is different in Human Pulmonary Artery Endothelial cells (HPAEC) than in HeLa cells. We also present evidence that the different isoforms of Tat, full-length Tat101 and Tat86, regulate the sod2 promoter differently. We therefore hypothesize that the interactions of Tat with Sp, and possibly other, transcription factors are contributing to the observed differences in sod2 regulation in the different cells types.
Cancer cachexia-induced muscle atrophy: evidence for alterations in microRNAs important for muscle size

Muscle atrophy is a hallmark of cancer cachexia resulting in impaired function and quality of life and cachexia is the immediate cause of death for 20–40% of cancer patients. Multiple microRNAs (mi...
Overgrowth Syndromes Caused by Somatic Variants in the Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase/AKT/Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Pathway

Somatic variants have been well described in tumorigenesis; however, they are only recently appreciated in other human disorders, such as mosaic overgrowth syndromes. Although overgrowth is a manifestation in many genetic syndromes, not all overgrowth syndromes are inherited. Mosaic somatic variants have been lately described in several overgrowth disorders, such as Proteus syndrome, CLOVES (congenital, lipomatous, overgrowth, vascular malformations, epidermal nevi, and spinal/skeletal anomalies and/or scoliosis) syndrome, and megalencephalyepolymicrogyria–polydactyly-hydrocephalus syndrome. These syndromes are caused by somatic variants in the genes associated with the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin pathway, resulting in a spectrum of overgrowth syndromes with overlapping features that could be difficult to distinguish based on phenotypic presentations alone. In addition, Sanger sequencing is ineffective for the detection of a causal variant because of the mosaic nature of these variants, whereas targeted next-generation sequencing technology offers a deeper sequencing coverage and allows the detection of low-level mosaicism. Recent studies have shown that the causal variants are only present in the affected tissues in most cases, and can be enriched by in vitro tissue culture. In this review, we describe several mosaic somatic overgrowth syndromes caused by variants in genes of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway, their phenotypic and molecular spectrum, and the clinical utility of next-generation sequencing technology in the diagnosis of these disorders.
Dual streaming for hardware-accelerated ray tracing

Hardware acceleration for ray tracing has been a topic of great interest in computer graphics. However, even with proposed custom hardware, the inherent irregularity in the memory access pattern of ray tracing has limited its performance, compared with rasterization on commercial GPUs. We provide a different approach to hardware-accelerated ray tracing, beginning with modifying the order of rendering operations, inspired by the streaming character of rasterization. Our dual streaming approach organizes the memory access of ray tracing into two predictable data streams. The predictability of these streams allows perfect prefetching and makes the memory access pattern an excellent match for the behavior of DRAM memory systems. By reformulating ray tracing as fully predictable streams of rays and of geometry we alleviate many long-standing problems of high-performance ray tracing and expose new opportunities for future research. Therefore, we also include extensive discussions of potential avenues for future research aimed at improving the performance of hardware-accelerated ray tracing using dual streaming.
Susceptibility Loci-Associated Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Invasiveness

Genome-wide association studies have identified genetic loci associated with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) risk, but single-nucleotide polymorphism associations with cSCC invasiveness have not been investigated. We examined associations between cSCC invasiveness and 23 reported single-nucleotide polymorphisms among 67,833 non-Hispanic white subjects. Additionally, we performed a genome-wide scan and identified one SNP with significantly different frequencies in 5,724 subjects with at least one invasive tumor and 1,943 subjects with in situ tumors only. We then compared genotype frequencies among the invasive and in situ groups with those of 60,166 control subjects. The genome-wide scan identified that the T allele in single-nucleotide polymorphism rs41269979 in the class II human leukocyte antigen region was more frequent in the invasive than the in situ group (P = 4.93 × 10–8). Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in five of the 23 previously associated loci showed odds ratio heterogeneity between the in situ and invasive groups: rs447510 in HLA-DQA1 (Phet = 2.93 × 10–3), rs12203592 in IRF4 (Phet = 3.94 × 10–4), rs1805007 in MC1R (Phet = 7.71 × 10–3), and two SNPs in DEF8 (rs4268748, Phet = 1.09 × 10–4 and rs8063761, Phet = 1.40 × 10–4). These findings may provide new insight into the genetic basis of cSCC invasiveness and may help identify individuals at higher risk for developing clinically aggressive cSCC.
Detecting Abnormal Speed of Marine Robots using Controlled Lagrangian Particle Tracking Methods

The ability to detect abnormal conditions is of great importance for the survivability of marine robots. However, false alarms can occur and may lead to unnecessary interruption of robotic missions. This paper presents recent results on anomaly detection, which may reduce the rate of false alarms in the framework of controlled Lagrangian particle tracking (CLPT), a theoretical tool that analyzes interactions between robot motion and ocean flow. Adaptive learning algorithms extract vehicle speed as an indicator of anomalies from trajectory information using a predicted trajectory to identify when abnormal motion is detectable. The methods are verified by simulation results.
Analysis of circulating tumor DNA in breast cancer as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker

Despite all the advances in diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, a large number of patients suffer from late diagnosis or recurrence of their disease. Current available imaging modalities do not reveal micrometastasis and tumor biopsy is an invasive method to detect early stage or recurrent cancer, signifying the need for an inexpensive, non-invasive diagnostic modality. Cell-free tumor DNA (ctDNA) has been tried for early detection and targeted therapy of breast cancer, but its diagnostic and prognostic utility is still under investigation. This review summarizes the existing evidence on the use of ctDNA specifically in breast cancer, including detection methods, diagnostic accuracy, role in genetics and epigenetics evaluation of the tumor, and comparison with other biomarkers. Current evidence suggests that increasing levels of ctDNA in breast cancer can be of significant diagnostic value for early detection of breast cancer although the sensitivity and specificity of the methods is still suboptimal. Additionally, ctDNA allows for characterizing the tumor in a non-invasive way and monitor the response to therapy, although discordance of ctDNA results with direct biopsy (i.e. due to tumor heterogeneity) is still considered a notable limitation.
Stroke Simulation Activity: A Standardized Patient Case for Interprofessional Student Learning.

Introduction Integration of interprofessional education (IPE) activities into health professions curricula aims to promote collaborative practice with a goal of improving patient care. Methods Thro...
What Should be Required for FDA Approvability of a New Antihypertensive Drug? What is the FDA’s Viewpoint?

I will try not to repeat what has been said earlier. The current guidelines and current policy on what is needed to market an antihypertensive drug are fairly clear. Antihypertensive drugs are approved on the basis of a demonstrated ability to lower blood pressure to a reasonable degree and a reasonably complete characterization of a drug’s pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties, with particular emphasis on dose-response and on patient characteristics that can alter this response. We have not, up to now, sought evidence of diminished end-organ damage or mortality for each new agent, relying instead on the past studies that showed such benefits of lowering blood pressure.
Clay particle charging in apolar media

Abstract Advancements in electrophoretic displays (e.g., the Amazon Kindle®) and new high-quality printing technologies (e.g., HP Indigo®) have been made possible by the ability to control and understand particle charging in apolar media. While previous work has investigated the acid-base charging mechanisms of oxides and similar particles which have only one charging mechanism in water, the purpose of this study was to determine if and how clay particles, which have two known aqueous charging mechanisms, charge in apolar media. Characterization of kaolinite and montmorillonite surface charging properties and mechanisms were conducted in apolar media utilizing different surfactants. It was found that clay particle charging behavior as a function of surfactant concentration mimicked the expected trend of previously studied oxides, which can charge only via an acid-base mechanism. Furthermore, by comparing the point of zero charge of the edge groups (edge PZC) or the point of zero net proton charge (PZNPC) of the clay particle to the empirical effective pH (pHEff) of the surfactant, the polarity of the particle charge can be predicted. In addition to particle charging, it was shown that the surfactants also improve the stability against aggregation and settling of the particles.
Towards Generating Personalized Hospitalization Summaries.

Most of the health documents, including patient education materials and discharge notes, are usually flooded with medical jargons and contain a lot of generic information about the health issue. In addition, patients are only provided with the doctor’s perspective of what happened to them in the hospital while the care procedure performed by nurses during their entire hospital stay is nowhere included. The main focus of this research is to generate personalized hospital-stay summaries for patients by combining information from physician discharge notes and nursing plan of care. It uses a metric to identify medical concepts that are Complex, extracts definitions for the concept from three external knowledge sources, and provides the simplest definition to the patient. It also takes various features of the patient into account, like their concerns and strengths, ability to understand basic health information, level of engagement in taking care of their health, and familiarity with the health issue and personalizes the content of the summaries accordingly. Our evaluation showed that the summaries contain 80% of the medical concepts that are considered as being important by both doctor and nurses. Three patient advisors (i.e. individuals who are trained in understanding patient experience extensively) verified the usability of our summaries and mentioned that they would like to get such summaries when they are discharged from hospital.
Witnessing quantum entanglement in ensembles of nitrogen–vacancy centers coupled to a superconducting resonator

A hybrid quantum device consisting of three ensembles of nitrogen-vacancy centers (NVEs) whose spins are collectively coupled to a superconducting coplanar waveguide resonator is shown to enable the generation of controllable tripartite macroscopic entangled states. The density matrix of such NVEs can be encoded to recast a three-qubit system state, which can be characterized in terms of the entanglement witnesses in relation to the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states. We identify the parameter space within which the generated entangled states can have an arbitrarily large overlap with GHZ states, indicating an enhanced entanglement in the system.
Testing Murphy, Shleifer and Vishny

We use the model developed by Murphy, Shleifer and Vishny (1991) to examine the causal relationship between institutions as measured by economic freedom and industry employment, and then given the causality, examine how the amount of employment in these causal industries influences economic growth. Only a small percentage of employment in each state has a causal relationship with economic freedom, but when the causal relationship is negative, greater employment in these industries generally leads to reductions in state per capita GDP. When the causal relationship between employment and economic freedom is positive, state per capita GDP tends to grow, even after accounting for overall economic freedom in the state. Policy implications are that removing the opportunities for firms to use government for special treatment will lead to greater economic growth.
Optimizing Family Intervention Programs: The Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST)

Multicomponent behavioral interventions are an important vehicle for improving the well-being of families. Evidence-based family interventions are those that have been evaluated by a randomized clinical trial (RCT). This chapter introduces to the family research community an alternative to sole reliance on the RCT, namely the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST). MOST is a comprehensive, engineering-inspired framework for optimization and evaluation of behavioral interventions. MOST includes the RCT, but also includes additional experimentation aimed at assessing the effectiveness of individual intervention components. In this chapter MOST is illustrated via a hypothetical example of an adolescent substance use treatment program. A number of considerations related to the use of MOST in family research are discussed.
Energy Deficiency During Cold Weather Mountain Training in NSW SEAL Qualification Students

Special operation forces participating in mountain warfare/cold weather (MWCW) training have higher energy demands, but adequate fueling is difficult to achieve. The purpose of the study was to det...
The requirement for the amino acid co-germinant during C. difficile spore germination is influenced by mutations in yabG and cspA

Clostridium difficile spore germination is critical for the transmission of disease. C. difficile spores germinate in response to cholic acid derivatives, such as taurocholate (TA), and amino acids, such as glycine or alanine. Although the bile acid germinant receptor is known, the amino acid germinant receptor has remained elusive. Here, we used EMS mutagenesis to generate mutants with altered requirements for the amino acid co-germinant, similar to the strategy used previously to identify the bile acid receptor, CspC. Surprisingly, we identified strains that do not require amino acids as co-germinants, and the mutant spores germinated in response to TA alone. Upon sequencing these mutants, we identified different mutations in yabG. In C. difficile, yabG expression is required for the processing of CspBA to CspB and CspA and preproSleC to proSleC during spore formation. A defined yabG mutant exacerbated the EMS mutant phenotype. Moreover, we found that various mutations in cspA caused spores to germinate in the presence of TA alone without the requirement of an amino acid. Thus, our study provides evidence that apart from regulating the CspC levels in the spore, CspA is important for recognition of amino acids as co-germinants during C. difficile spore germination and that two pseudoproteases (CspC and CspA) function as the C. difficile germinant receptors.
Estimation of Functional Dependence in High-Dimensional Spike-Field Activity

Behavior is encoded across spatiotemoral scales of brain activity, from small-scale spikes to large-scale local field potentials (LFP). Identifying the functional dependence between spikes and LFP networks during behavior can help understand neural encoding and improve future neurotechnologies, but is difficult to achieve. First, spikes and LFP have different statistical characteristics (binary spikes vs. continuous LFPs) and time-scales. Second, given the prohibitively large number of spike channels and LFP features recorded in today’s experiments, learning dependencies between all recorded signals is challenging and prone to overfitting. To solve this challenge, we present a model-based approach to estimate the functional dependence between high-dimensional field features and neuronal spikes. We model the binary time-series of spikes for each neuron as a point process dependent on the behavioral states and LFP features across the network. Given the prohibitively large number of possible spike-LFP dependency parameters, we first employ an Ll-regularization technique to learn the point process model during both supervised and unsupervised learning to ease detection of significant dependency parameters. We then use the Akaike information criterion (AIC) to enforce model sparsity by incorporating only a minimum number of non-zero dependency parameters into the point process model based on a trade-off between model complexity and its prediction power. Using extensive numerical simulations, we show that our method (i) can correctly identify the functional dependencies and thus improve the prediction of spiking activity and (ii) can improve the prediction of spiking activity with significantly fewer number of parameters compared to when regularization is not enforced. Our approach may serve as a tool to investigate brain connectivity patterns across spatiotemporal scales.
“I’m the King of Debt”: Pastoral Reflections on Debt in the Age of Trump

During the chaos surrounding the first two years of the Trump presidency in the United States, what may be missed is the extent to which Trump is a marker of financial capitalism, with its compulsive dependency on the production of debt. In this essay, the author does not assess Trump personally but rather what he signifies with regard to financialization. He begins by documenting the phenomenal increase in household and total global debt that began during the onset of neoliberalization, as Trump was beginning his business enterprises. This debt has created a global economic and moral emergency. Second, the author discusses the central role of debt in financial capitalism and in the neoliberal ideology, or faith narrative, that justifies the debt system. Debt has become so foundational that it is transforming not only the economy but also culture, relationships, and subjectivity. This yields a new form of moral injury that is becoming pervasive. In the third move, he considers debt as a social, interpersonal, and psychological conundrum. Many mainline progressives are insistent that debt can be reformed and thus serve societies, communities, and individuals in beneficent ways. The author contends that the proposed reforms would likely spell the end of capitalism, an outcome these theorists generally wish to avoid. Furthermore, he points to evidence from psychoanalytic psychotherapy indicating that even relational, nonmonetized forms of indebtedness may prove to be interpersonally and psychologically damaging. Relational obligations, he notes, do not have to follow the logic of debt. Finally, the author contests Christian theological narratives that understand sin and salvation in terms of debt and debt forgiveness, and he points to an alternative approach within the history of Christian theology that holds promise given the current environment of toxic and insufferable debt.
Bronchoscopy in the Intensive Care Unit

Diagnostic Verification of endotracheal (ET) tube position. Collection of bronchial secretions for cultures. Identification of hemoptysis source. Thoracic trauma. Evaluation of inhalation injuries. Therapeutic Awake intubation. Clearance of retained secretions. Foreign body/mucus plug removal. Guidance to bedside percutaneous tracheostomy placement. Balloon placement/selective airway intubation in cases of massive hemoptysis.
INSIGHTS FROM GLOBAL REGISTRY FOR DANON DISEASE HIGHLIGHTING DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN

Danon Disease (DD) is a rare X-linked disorder due to mutations in the Lysosomal Associated Membrane Protein 2. It is associated with severe cardiac and skeletal myopathies as well as cognitive impairment and hepatic dysfunction. Given its inheritance pattern, it has been assumed to be more severe
Magnetocaloric Effect of Micro- and Nanoparticles of Gd 5 Si 4

Materials exhibiting a large magnetocaloric effect (MCE) at or near room temperature are critical for solid-state refrigeration applications. The MCE is described by a change in entropy (ΔSM) and/or temperature (ΔTad) of a material in response to a change in applied magnetic field. Ball milled materials generally exhibit smaller ΔSM values compared to bulk; however, milling broadens the effect, potentially increasing the relative cooling power (RCP). The as-cast Gd5Si4 is an attractive option due to its magnetic transition at 340 K and associated MCE. Investigation of effect of particles size and transition temperature in the binary material, Gd5Si4, can lead to development of functionally graded bulk material with higher MCE and RCP than the traditional bulk materials. A two-step ball-milling process, in which coarse powder of Gd5Si4 was first milled with poly(ethylene glycol) followed by milling in heptane was used to produce fine particles of Gd5Si4 that showed a broad distribution in particle size. Magnetic measurement on the milled sample obtained after washing with water show a decrease in Curie temperature and significant broadening of the magnetic transition. Compared to bulk Gd5Si4, the maximum MCE of the milled samples is also reduced and shifted down by close to 30 K, but the MCE remains substantial over a broader temperature range. The RCP of both milled samples increased 75% from the bulk material.
Integrating Public Health into Climate Change Policy and Planning: State of Practice Update.

Policy action in the coming decade will be crucial to achieving globally agreed upon goals to decarbonize the economy and build resilience to a warmer, more extreme climate. Public health has an essential role in climate planning and action: “Co-benefits” to health help underpin greenhouse gas reduction strategies, while safeguarding health—particularly of the most vulnerable—is a frontline local adaptation goal. Using the structure of the core functions and essential services (CFES), we reviewed the literature documenting the evolution of public health’s role in climate change action since the 2009 launch of the US CDC Climate and Health Program. We found that the public health response to climate change has been promising in the area of assessment (monitoring climate hazards, diagnosing health status, assessing vulnerability); mixed in the area of policy development (mobilizing partnerships, mitigation and adaptation activities); and relatively weak in assurance (communication, workforce development and evaluation). We suggest that the CFES model remains important, but is not aligned with three concepts—governance, implementation and adjustment—that have taken on increasing importance. Adding these concepts to the model can help ensure that public health fulfills its potential as a proactive partner fully integrated into climate policy planning and action in the coming decade.