cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A molecular genetic approach to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Disorders of the motor neurons may affect both the upper and lower neurons, primarily the lower motor neurons as in the spinal muscular atrophies are primarily the upper motor neurons as in the familial spastic paraplegias. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a degenerative disorder of the motor neuron that results in paralysis and wasting of voluntary muscles. Large motor neurons in the cerebral cortex, brain stem and spinal cord degenerate or are lost. Hyaline inclusions may be seen in the cytoplasm of surviving motor neurons. Acute axonal degeneration of peripheral motor fibers occurs at all levels, including the distal axon. Subclinical involvement of the spinecerebellar tracts, posterior column and Clarke's column as well as loss of large neurons in the dorsal root ganglia and neurons of oculomotor nuclei has been reported. The average duration of life onset of symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is three years and ninety per cent of patients died within 5 years. The basic mechanism of disease in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis remains unknown. There is no known treatment that will prevent, reverse or otherwise alter the course of the disease. Autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are genetic models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis which may provide insight into the disease mechanism of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, five to ten percent of adult cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with early onset of symptoms and a more benign course. It is conceivable that both genetic and sporadic forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis result from failure of the same or similar neuronal mechanism triggered by defective genes and by an environment agent in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
National Technology Planning: A Case Study of Nanotechnology for Thailand’s Agriculture Industry

This research develops a systematic approach for policy makers to strategically define the national technology policy for emerging technologies. In this approach, a hierarchical decision model is built and qualified expert opinions are used as measurements. There are four levels in the hierarchy: mission, objectives, technological goals, and research strategies. Three panels are formed based on their background and expertise in order to minimize and balance any possible biases among the members. The objectives, technological goals, and research strategies are evaluated and prioritized, according to their contribution to the country’s mission, by quantifying the experts’ judgments. This research also demonstrates several approaches for the validation of results. Inconsistency measure, intraclass correlation coefficient, and statistical test for the reliability of the experts and group agreement are used for that purpose. Finally, HDM sensitivity analysis is brought in to study the robustness of the rankings, especially at the technology level that may be caused by potential changes in the national strategic direction.
Conclusion: Secrecy and Silence

With some well-noted exceptions, there has been a general reluctance to consider secrecy within recent political theory. This reluctance can be explained because we do not, indeed cannot, know for sure what it is we are talking about. Only when there are official releases of documents, decades after the events took place, or a former government official is willing and/or permitted to release previously secret information, or there are official or unofficial leaks can we know what has taken place in the name of the people.
Abstract 760: Identifying candidate genes that regulate tumor cell dormancy

Tumor cells disseminate from the primary tumor site early in the disease process. These disseminated tumor cells may remain dormant for years and later become proliferative to cause clinical recurrence and morbidity. The goal of this study is to better understand the biological and genetic mechanisms driving this dormant to proliferative switch. We have developed a 3D culture system using the dormant murine mammary tumor cell line, D2.0R. D2.0R cells remain dormant when cultured on basement membrane extract (BME), and exit dormancy when supplemented with collagen-1 (col-1). We have characterized the gene expression profile of these cells exiting dormancy in 3D through microarray analysis, and developed a fourteen-gene dormancy signature by profile cross-referencing this expression profile to a tumor cell dormancy signature developed by Kim, R.S. et al (PLOS ONE 2012). We hypothesize that knocking down expression of genes upregulated in proliferative cells will hinder the ability of D2.0R cells to break dormancy in 3D culture supplemented with collagen-1. We have validated three genes by qPCR and are screening these upregulated genes for biological effects on proliferation by short-hairpin RNA or molecular inhibition of D2.0R cells in our 3D model. We conclude that this signature will provide useful insight into genetic drivers of the dormant to proliferative switch and potential candidates as therapeutic targets in recurrent disease. Citation Format: Ryan J. Nini, Lara H. El Touny, Meera Murgai, Rosandra N. Kaplan, Jeffrey E. Green. Identifying candidate genes that regulate tumor cell dormancy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 760.
Object-Oriented Programming Languages

This chapter surveys the major object-oriented programming languages. It begins with an overview of the features that are expected in these languages and then discusses Smalltalk, Objective-C, Eiffel, and an object-oriented version of Pascal in detail. Each of these languages has its own distinct style of syntax and its own interpretation and implementation of the basic concepts. For each language, examples illustrate the basic and special features. The examples are drawn from the course scheduling application discussed in Chapter 5.
Introduction to Gnedenko (1943) On the Limiting Distribution of the Maximum Term in a Random Series

Gnedenko’s paper was the first mathematically rigorous treatment of the fundamental limit theorems of extreme value theory. In its influence on the probabilistic theory of extremes, the paper set the agenda for the next 30 years. Its influence on statistical methodology was less direct, although many of the more recent statistical developments have exploited the probabilistic theory that Gnedenko’s paper spawned.
543. Efficient Neuronal But Limited Glia Transduction by AAVshH10 in Dorsal Root Ganglion and Spinal Cord of Adult Rats

Recombinant adeno-associated viral (AAV)-mediated therapeutic gene transfer is an effective and safe tool for the treatment of chronic pain. Activated glial cells play important roles in pain pathophysiology and are promising targets for the therapeutic intervention. However, the natural tropism of AAV vectors leads to gene transfer predominantly to neurons while glial cells are refractory to AAV transduction in both the central and peripheral nervous system (CNS and PNS). AAVshH10 is a recently engineered novel AAV6-like variant that demonstrates efficient and selective Muller glia transduction in the retina. The present study was designed to evaluate whether in vivo glia transduction in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and the spinal cord (SC) could be enhanced using AAVshH10. Titer-matched AAVshH10 and original AAV6, both encoding the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) reporter driven by the ubiquitous cell-potent CMV promoter, were injected into DRGs and spinal cords (SCs) of adult rats. Neurotropism of gene transfer by AAVshH10 in comparison to AAV6 was determined by immunohistochemistry. Results showed that injection of AAVshH10 into DRGs and SCs resulted in a similar profile to its parent AAV6, both showing efficient transduction of all sub-populations of sensory neurons in DRGs or the neurons in SCs, without significant transduction of glial cell populations in both sites. Together, this study demonstrates an efficient neuronal but limited glia transduction of AAVshH10, which can be used as a viable alternative to AAV6 for efficient neuronal transduction in DRGs and SCs.
EFFECT OF TRAUMATIC STRESS ON CATECHOLAMINE AND METABOLISM IN THE SPINAL CORD SYNTHESIS

Publisher Summary Elevated norepinephrine (NE) levels in traumatized spinal cords were implicated in the formation of the hemorrhagic necrosis or were thought to reflect the ingress of circulating amines as a result of disruption of the blood-spinal cord barrier rather than release from descending adrenergic fibers. The present study was undertaken to resolve the controversy concerning the role of catecholamines in traumatized spinal cord. Analysis of monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity in vitro demonstrates that one hour after impact activity of the enzyme is significantly reduced. The reduction in specific activity of DA after contusion of the spinal cord also indicates that the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of NE, is reduced. Since the incorporation of radioactivity into 3H-DA is reduced using the precursors 3H-tyrosine and -3H -dopa it follows that the activity of L-amino acid decarboxylase (L-AAD) is also impaired. In vitro provided with all co-factors including oxygen, dopamine β-hydroxylase (DβH) activity in the spinal cord after impact remains unchanged; within the time interval of the experiment little protein denaturation has taken place.
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg: Biography

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg was born, as the eighteenth child, in Ober-Ramstadt, a small village not far from Darmstadt, in 1742. His father, a Lutheran clergyman, died when Lichtenberg was only nine years of age. Although none of the children — several of them died at birth or during early infancy — suffered any physical wants, to finance their education must have been a depressive task for the bereaved mother, whose only source of income was a small pension and a few savings.
The US Safety Net in an Era of Middle Class Decline: Has it drifted from the poor?

A key feature of growing inequality today, and one often overlooked by scholars, is economic stagnation within the middle class. I take a fresh look at the relationship between middle class incomes and redistributive policies by spotlighting changes within the American middle class, and the role this may play in shaping the USâ€™s redistributive polices. Using four decades of household data, the paper brings new evidence to longstanding debates over how inequality influences income redistribution, whether a welfare retrenchment has occurred, and whether growing inequality within the middle class has resulted in an expansion of social policy or possibly a drift away from the poor. The evidence presented here unambiguously shows that the value of government transfers to individuals (which includes a combination of tax payments and social benefits) has increased over time across the income distribution. While family benefits have drifted from the poor to the middle class, overall I do not find evidence of a general policy drift. However, I do find that government transfers have increasingly targeted the middle class, particularly those in its lower ranges. I trace nearly all of the growth in government transfers to the middle to the Child Tax Credit and the EITC. Accompanying these tax credits, however, have been highly regressive changes in other features of income tax policy. The paperâ€™s results highlight the malleable features of US social policy, and shows how the widespread use of tax policy for dispensing social benefits fosters widely dispersed benefits that can also marginalize or possibly even harm the poor.
Exposure of articular chondrocytes to wear particles induces phagocytosis, differential inflammatory gene expression, and reduced proliferation

The production of wear debris particulate remains a concern due to its association with implant failure through complex biologic interactions. In the setting of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA), damage and wear of the components may introduce debris particulate into the adjacent, otherwise, healthy compartment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the in vitro effect of polymeric and metallic wear debris particles on cell proliferation, extracellular matrix regulation, and phagocytosis index of normal human articular chondrocytes (nHACs). In culture, nHACs were exposed to both cobalt-chromium-molybdenum (CoCrMo) and polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) wear debris particulate for 3 and 10 days. At 3 days, no significant difference in cell proliferation was found between control cells and cells exposed to both CoCrMo or PMMA particles. However, cell proliferation was significantly decreased for CoCrMo exposed nHACs at both 6 (P < 0.001) and 10 days (P < 0.001) and PMMA at 10 days (P < 0.001). Target gene expression displayed both a time- and material-dependent response to CoCrMo and PMMA particles. Significant differences in COL10A1, ACAN, VCAN, IL-1β, TNF-α, MMP3, ADAMTS1, CASP3, and CASP9 regulation were found between CoCrMo and PMMA exposed nHACs at day 3 with gene regulation returning to near baseline at 10 days. Results from our study indicate a role of wear debris induced cartilage degeneration after exposure to polymeric and metallic wear debris particulate, suggesting an additional pathway of cartilage breakdown, potentially manifesting in traditional clinical symptoms.
Prolegomena to the field

Adaptive Computing, vs. Classical Computing, is emerging to be a field which is the culmination during the last 40 and more years of various scientific and technological areas, including cybernetics, neural networks, pattern recognition networks, learning machines, selfreproducing automata, genetic algorithms, fuzzy logics, probabilistic logics, chaos, electronics, optics, and quantum devices. This volume of "Critical Reviews on Adaptive Computing: Mathematics, Electronics, and Optics" is intended as a synergistic approach to this emerging field. There are many researchers in these areas working on important results. However, we have not seen a general effort to summarize and synthesize these results in theory as well as implementation. In order to reach a higher level of synergism, we propose Adaptive Computing as the field which comprises of the above mentioned computational paradigms and various realizations. The field should include both the Theory (or Mathematics) and the Implementation. Our emphasis is on the interplay of Theory and Implementation. The interplay, an adaptive process itself, of Theory and Implementation is the only "holistic" way to advance our understanding and realization of brain-like computation. We feel that a theory without implementation has the tendency to become unrealistic and "out-of-touch" with reality, while an implementation without theory runs the risk to be superficial and obsolete.
A local agreement pattern measure based on hazard functions for survival outcomes.

Summary Assessing agreement is often of interest in biomedical and clinical research when measurements are obtained on the same subjects by different raters or methods. Most classical agreement methods have been focused on global summary statistics, which cannot be used to describe various local agreement patterns. The objective of this work is to study the local agreement pattern between two continuous measurements subject to censoring. In this article, we propose a new agreement measure based on bivariate hazard functions to characterize the local agreement pattern between two correlated survival outcomes. The proposed measure naturally accommodates censored observations, fully captures the dependence structure between bivariate survival times and provides detailed information on how the strength of agreement evolves over time. We develop a nonparametric estimation method for the proposed local agreement pattern measure and study theoretical properties including strong consistency and asymptotical normality. We then evaluate the performance of the estimator through simulation studies and illustrate the method using a prostate cancer data example.
The “War on Women” and the 9/11 Project

In this chapter Lugo-Lugo and Bloodsworth-Lugo conclude by highlighting the context informed by 9/11 as one that requires attention within feminist analyses and contemporary analyses of women and women’s bodies. They use the rhetoric about and conceptualizations of the “War on Women” to propose that a context-less or universal approach to feminism becomes stale, or worse, irrelevant in a 9/11 world. They urge thinkers and activists to re-imagine feminism and feminist methodologies and avoid taking existing ones for granted. Although intersectional analyses are helpful, the authors propose to empower them through 9/11 methods of inquiry. Since U.S. society is informed by and reconstructed via the 9/11 project, analytical tools must reflect this fact.
A Universal Correlation for the Calculation of Heating and Cooling Time of Any Steel

In this paper, a universal correlation is proposed for calculating heating and cooling times of any steel part during its hardening. The equation contains Kondratjev form factor K, Kondratjev number Kn, average thermal diffusivity of a material, and a function depending on how N times core temperature of a steel part differs from its initial temperature. It is shown that these parameters are enough to calculate recipes when heating and cooling the steel parts of any configuration. A tendency of thermal equilibrium establishment is considered, which depends on size and configuration of objects, thermal diffusivity of a material, and the condition of cooling (heating) characterized by Kondratjev number Kn. The proposed generalized equation provides engineers with extremely simple and understandable parameters for calculating heating (cooling) soak time of any objects. According to the proposed equation, the time of thermal equilibrium establishment is directly proportional to Kondrtajev form factor K, inversely proportional to thermal diffusivity of material and Kondratjev number Kn, and depends on accuracy of the thermal equilibrium measurement.
Test accommodations for individuals with neurological conditions completing the NIH Toolbox-Cognition Battery: An evaluation of frequency and appropriateness.

Objectives First, to evaluate the frequency with which individuals with neurological conditions require test administration accommodations for the NIH Toolbox-Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB). Second, to evaluate the appropriateness of accommodations provided by administrators, including adherence to NIHTB-CB Reasonable Accommodations Guidelines. Method Adults with traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, or stroke (n = 604) completed the NIHTB-CB and other assessments as part of a multisite study. We provide a descriptive, secondary analysis of test administrator notes to determine use and appropriateness of accommodations. Results Of the 604 participants, 450 (75%) completed the NIHTB-CB using standard administration procedures, but 137 (22.6%) encountered accessibility challenges that required accommodations. Participants with motor function impairments were most likely to receive at least 1 of 3 kinds of accommodations: (a) use of nonstandard methods of entering responses using standard input devices, (b) use of alternate input devices, or (c) help from the test administrator to enter a response. Fatigue and/or impulsivity led to nonstandard administration by 48 (7.9%) individuals. Post hoc audit of test administrator notes revealed that despite careful instructions and supervision, 49 (56.3%) of the accommodated administrations breached standardization and scores could not be interpreted using test norms. Conclusion Although the NIHTB-CB was developed for individuals without neurological impairment, most individuals with neurological conditions completed the standardized administration without accommodations. When accommodations were needed, administrators did not adhere to the official Reasonable Accommodations Guidelines in more than half of the cases. (PsycINFO Database Record
Optimisation method to maximise torque density of high-speed slotless permanent magnet synchronous machine in aerospace applications

This study presents an optimisation method for slotless permanent magnet synchronous machines to maximise torque density. The slotless structure with outer rotor and Halbach array has been selected to limit iron losses, torque ripple, cogging torque, and high-order harmonics. High-speed operation compounds both ac copper loss and mechanical stress. The former causes a temperature rise in the machine, while the latter is induced by strong centrifugal forces. A finite-element analysis-based optimisation method that utilises a parallel multistart, mesh adaptive direct search strategy is proposed to consider ac copper loss and mechanical stress as constraint variables. Finally, the torque densities of titanium and aermet shell designs were compared to show how material selection provides a trade-off in terms of torque production, mechanical stress, and weight.
Carbon Flux Explorer optical assessment of C, N and P fluxes

Abstract. The magnitude and controls of particulate carbon exported from surface waters and its remineralization at depth are poorly constrained. The Carbon Flux Explorer (CFE), a Lagrangian float-deployed imaging sediment trap, has been designed to optically measure the hourly variations of particle flux to kilometer depths for months to seasons while relaying data in near-real time to shore via satellite without attending ships. The main optical proxy for particle load recorded by the CFE, volume attenuance (VA; units of mATN cm 2 ), while rigorously defined and highly precise, has not been robustly calibrated in terms of particulate organic carbon (POC), nitrogen (PN) and phosphorus (PP). In this study, a novel 3-D-printed particle sampler using cutting edge additive manufacturing was developed and integrated with the CFE. Two such modified floats (CFE-Cals) were deployed a total of 15 times for 18–24 h periods to gain calibration imagery and samples at depths near 150 m in four contrasting productivity environments during the June 2017 California Current Ecosystem Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) process study. Regression slopes for VA : POC and VA : PN (units mATN cm 2 : mmol; R2 , n , p value in parentheses) were 1.01×104 (0.86, 12, 1.01×105 (0.86, 15, < 0.001), respectively, and were not sensitive to particle size classes or the contrasting environments encountered. PP was not well correlated with VA, reflecting the high lability of P relative to C and N. The volume attenuance flux (VAF) to POC flux calibration is compared to previous estimates.
“A Sure Thing” - Connecting Heart Failure Patients through the inpatient Heart Failure Navigator to the Outpatient Care Coordination Team: A Highly Successful Strategy to Reduce Readmissions

Introduction Heart Failure (HF) readmissions remain a critical issue for health care systems. HF Navigators (HFN) can streamline care transitions. Thus, we used an inpatient HFN to establish early follow up and “hand off” HF pts to an OP Care Coordinator (CC). Methods At our hospital, HF pts can be admitted to multiple IP units. A HF Unit (HFU) primarily admits higher risk pts. A single HFN was recruited to staff the HFU M-F. The HFN linked HF pts to a CC to at discharge. Most HF pts were referred to the OP CC although some pts received only HFN services and no CC due to difficulty identifying HF pts prior to discharge. Over the 14-month period, the HFN established early follow-up and the CC made regular telephone contact post discharge. The incremental contributions of the HFN and CC were evaluated to test the independent impact of each of these roles based on the serial implementation of these roles in distinct hospital units and based on whether or not a particular HF pt was cared for by the HFN and/or the CC. Results Thirty (30) day readmission rates were measured for pts admitted between October 17, 2016 and December 31, 2017. Patients with a primary, discharge diagnosis of HF were analyzed. HFN services were provided on the dedicated HF unit (HFU) as part of a pilot program and were not available on other IP units during this period. Concurrent 30-day all-cause readmission data were stratified and reported based on admitting unit, involvement of the HFN with or without CC. Of the 757 pts (non LVAD or Transplant) who were admitted to units other than the HFU, there were 160 pts readmitted (21.1%). There were 254 high risk (Includes LVAD and transplant pts) HF pts admitted to the HFU, and there were 75 pts readmitted (29.5%) in this cohort. There were 33 (non LVAD or transplant) pts admitted to the HFU with care provided by HFN but who did not receive a referral to CC, and 6 pts were readmitted (18.9%). Finally, of the 169 HF pts were admitted to the HFU and had access to a HFN and CC, with only 9 pts readmitted (5.33%). Conclusions In this analysis, there was a synergistic effect noted to drastically reduce HF readmission rates when an IP HFN and OP CC were involved in the care of hospitalized HF pts. The 5.33% 30 day all cause readmission rates noted is significantly better than rates reported in the literature and reflects the critical role of combining HFN care with care coordination in the OP setting. These data have solidified an interest to expand access to HFN and CC to all IP units and can serve as a model for care delivery to improve readmission rates for this high-risk population.
A Dynamical System on Bipartite Graphs

This paper poses a non-linear dynamical system on bipartite graphs and shows its stability under certain conditions. The dynamical system changes the weights on the nodes of the graph in each time step. The underlying weight transformation is non-linear, motivated by information gain in a document retrieval setting. Stability analysis of this problem is therefore more involved than that of PageRank-like algorithms. We show convergence using methods from Lyapunov theory and also provide some examples of how the algorithm performs when ranking keywords and sentences in a set of documents.
Distinguishing Dielectric Loss From Superconductor Loss Using Flexible Thin-Film Superconducting Resonator Structures

Flexible interconnects with superconducting (SC) traces and polyimide dielectric can provide low signal loss and low thermal conductivity at cryogenic temperatures, and are expected to find use in densely integrated cryogenic electronics systems. The ultra-low loss of SC interconnects at microwave frequencies can be accurately characterized through the use of weakly coupled SC resonators. The high-quality factor resonators provide sensitive measurements of the aggregate loss properties of the conductor and dielectric, as functions of frequency, temperature, and signal power. In this work, resonators with different linewidths were fabricated and tested to study how the linewidth impacts the overall internal resonator loss, in order to better characterize and separate the individual loss components (i.e., dielectric loss vs. conductor loss). The results of this work are important for understanding loss and transmission properties of similarly designed and fabricated transmission line interconnects.
Elevating low-emissivity film for lower thermal transmittance

Abstract To minimize the heat loss through single-pane windows, we investigate the effects of elevating low-emissivity (low-e) film from glass pane. With an insulating air gap, not only heat conduction but also radiative thermal transfer can be suppressed. The thermal transmittance is reduced from 5~7 W/(m2K) to less than 2.8 W/(m2K). The water condensation resistance is enhanced. The visual transmittance and haze are satisfactory. The structural resilience of the hollow structure is excellent.
Category of Metabolic-Replication Systems in Biology and Medicine

Metabolic-repair models, or (M,R)-systems were introduced in Relational Biology by Robert Rosen. Subsequently, Rosen represented such (M,R)-systems (or simply MRs) in terms of categories of sets, deliberately selected without any structure other than the discrete topology of sets. Theoreticians of life’s origins postulated that Life on Earth has begun with the simplest possible organism, called the primordial. Mathematicians interested in biology attempted to answer this important question of the minimal living organism by defining the functional relations that would have made life possible in such a minimal system- a grandad and grandma of all living organisms on Earth.
A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness: From Impostor Poodles to Purple Numbers

Preface. A Pain in the Brain. Believing Is Seeing. The Artful Brain. Purple Numbers and Sharp Cheese. Neuroscience -- The New Philosophy. Notes. Glossary. Bibliography. Acknowledgments. Index. About the Author.
Crystal Structure and Electronic Properties of New Compound Zr6.5Pt6Se19.

A new ternary nonstoichiometric Zr6.5Pt6Se19 has been discovered as a part of effort to dope Zr into the layered transitional metal chalcogenide PtSe2. With a new structure type (oC68), it is the f...
Abstract 14285: Scoring Tool to Accurately Predict 10 Year Major Adverse Cardiac Events Following Drug-eluding Stent Placement

Background: Although most drug-eluding stent (DES) patients live longer than 10 years, there is no generally accepted clinical tool to predict risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) after DES ...
PUSHING THE LIMITS OF GROUND-BASED PHOTOMETRIC PRECISION: SUBMILLIMAGNITUDE TIME-SERIES PHOTOMETRY OF THE OPEN CLUSTER NGC 6791

We present the results from a three-night, time-series study of the open cluster NGC 6791 using the Megacam wide-field mosaic CCD camera on the 6.5 m MMT telescope. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the ability to obtain very high precision photometry for a large number of stars. We achieved better than 1% precision for more than 8000 stars with 14.3 < R < 20.1 and submillimagnitude (as low as 0.36 mmag) precision for over 300 stars with 14.6 < R < 16.3 in the field of this cluster. We also discovered 10 new variable stars, including a possible δ Scuti variable with an amplitude of 2%, eight likely W UMa contact binaries, and a possible RS CVn star, and we identified seven suspected low-amplitude variables, including one star with an amplitude of 4 mmag. We comment on the implications of this study for a ground-based survey for transiting planets as small as Neptune.
Neural Volume Rendering: NeRF And Beyond

Besides the COVID-19 pandemic and political upheaval in the US, 2020 was also the year in which neural volume rendering exploded onto the scene, triggered by the impressive NeRF paper by Mildenhall et al. (2020). Both of us have tried to capture this excitement, Frank on a blog post (Dellaert, 2020) and Yen-Chen in a Github collection (Yen-Chen, 2020). This note is an annotated bibliography of the relevant papers, and we posted the associated bibtex file on the repository.
A Qualitative Exploration into Consumers’ Perceptions and Experiences with Cultural Appropriation

The purpose of this descriptive qualitative research was to understand students’ perceptions and experience with cultural appropriation and discuss how they can be better informed through education. A total of 116 business students in the Midwest participated in an online discussion forum and answered a list of questions. To further clarify findings and to reflect on their learning activity, we conducted a follow-up interview with 14 participants in the online discussion forum. Respondents defined cultural appropriation as follows: (1) done by outsiders, (2) for their personal interest, (3) in an inappropriate or disrespectful way, (4) without knowing the background of the culture, and (5) without permission or acknowledgment. A lack of credit or appreciation of the original culture is the main issue of cultural appropriation. To avoid appropriating or misrepresenting a culture or community, respondents indicated that education is the most important. Respondents suggested that marketers or designers should research the history of a culture before deciding to use its elements. Respondents also recommended that working with diverse groups at school or at work would be helpful in understanding and experiencing different cultures. Testing a design or advertisement with people of diverse backgrounds before releasing it to the public was also recommended.
What Is Genocide

This chapter is designed to explain the evolution of the concept of genocide and the definitional issues that exist in determining what acts qualify as genocide. A discussion of the work of Raphael Lemkin includes highlighting his early work on the subject, his development of the word, and his original definition of the crime. This includes exploring Lemkin’s methodology of genocide—how genocide could occur.
Identification and Estimation of Dynamic Structural Models with Unobserved Choices

This paper develops identification and estimation methods for dynamic structural models when agents’ actions are unobserved by econometricians. We provide conditions under which choice probabilities and latent state transition rules are non-parametrically identified with a continuous state variable in a single-agent dynamic discrete choice model. Our identification results extend to models with serially correlated unobserved heterogeneity, cases in which state variables are discrete or choices are partially unavailable, and dynamic discrete games. We propose a sieve maximum likelihood estimator for primitives in agents’ utility functions and state transition rules. Monte Carlo simulation results support the validity of the proposed approach.
Evaluation of the POP-UP programme: a multicomponent model of care for people living with HIV with homelessness or unstable housing.

Objective Homelessness is the greatest risk factor for HIV viremia in San Francisco. Innovative care models for people with HIV (PWH) with homelessness or unstable housing (HUH) are needed to address this inequity. We developed a novel low-barrier clinic-based program for PWH-HUH in an urban safety-net clinic ('POP-UP') and report outcomes on care engagement and viral suppression. Design A prospective cohort study. Setting San Francisco General Hospital HIV Clinic (Ward 86). Participants We enrolled PWH who are HUH, viraemic and for whom usual care is not working (at least one missed primary care appointment and at least two drop-in visits at Ward 86 in the last year). Intervention POP-UP provides drop-in comprehensive primary care, housing assistance and case management, financial incentives and patient navigation with frequent contact. Main outcome measures We describe uptake of eligible patients into POP-UP, and cumulative incidence of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation, return to care and virologic suppression 6 months post-enrolment, estimated via Kaplan--Meier. Results Out of 192 referred patients, 152 were eligible, and 75 enrolled. All 75 were off ART and viraemic; 100% had a substance use disorder; and 77% had a mental health diagnosis. Over three-quarters restarted ART within 7 days of enrolment, and 91% returned for follow-up within 90 days. The cumulative incidence of viral suppression at 6 months was 55% (95% confidence interval 43-68). Conclusion A novel care model for PWH-HUH demonstrates early success in engaging viraemic patients in care and improving viral suppression. Low-barrier, high-contact primary care programmes offering comprehensive services and incentives may improve outcomes for this vulnerable population.
Application-specific nuclear medical in vivo imaging devices

Nuclear medical imaging devices, such as those enabling photon emission imaging (gamma camera, single photon emission computed tomography, or positron emission imaging), that are typically used in today's clinics are optimized for assessing large portions of the human body, and are classified as whole-body imaging systems. These systems have known limitations for organ imaging, therefore application-specific devices have been designed, constructed and evaluated. These devices, given their compact nature and superior technical characteristics, such as their higher detection sensitivity and spatial resolution for organ imaging compared to whole-body imaging systems, have shown promise for niche applications. Several of these devices have further been integrated with complementary anatomical imaging devices. The objectives of this review article are to (1) provide an overview of such application-specific nuclear imaging devices that were developed over the past two decades (in the twenty-first century), with emphasis on brain, cardiac, breast, and prostate imaging; and (2) discuss the rationale, advantages and challenges associated with the translation of these devices for routine clinical imaging. Finally, a perspective on the future prospects for application-specific devices is provided, which is that sustained effort is required both to overcome design limitations which impact their utility (where these exist) and to collect the data required to define their clinical value.
Application of a new parallel column model to simulating maldistribution in packed columns

Abstract Parallel column models were first proposed in the 1950s for investigating the sensitivity of the HETP in a packed column to maldistribution. Although it is possible to develop a parallel column model using a process simulator, it may take considerable effort to arrange and specify the columns. Recently, we have described what we call a Parallel Column Model (PCM) with the aim of making it easier to model Dividing Wall Columns (DWCs), we realized that it should also be possible to use the PCM to model maldistribution in packed columns. Both equilibrium stage and rate-based column models can easily be used within this framework. In this paper we review the literature on simulating packed columns with maldistribution. We also show how easily our PCM may be used to describe maldistribution in packed columns and show how our results match the obtained results of earlier papers. We propose a simple bed effectiveness approximation that can use the results from a regular column simulation and assign stages to specific packed beds such that the resulting column suffers less from liquid maldistribution. We illustrate the use of this approximation with two practical examples involving the design of commercial scale columns.
An Empirical Study of Machine learning Algorithms for Social Media Bot Detection

Social media bots can change society's perspective in different aspects of life. This paper analyzes sentiment features and their effect on the accuracy of machine learning models for social media bot detection. Social bots can use tweet sentiment to create a backfire effect and confirmation bias to create a fake trend or change public opinion. We analyze bot detection problems based on sentiment features inspired by the work by Micheal Workman [1] and create new features based on textual information of online comments. We offer a quantitative approach to create new features and compare machine learning models for bot detection. This work is based on psychological and social effects inherent in tweets' text content based on the work by [1]. The new set of sentiment features are extracted from a tweet's text and used to train bot detection models. Also, we implement the new model for the Dutch language and achieve more than 87% accuracy for the Dutch tweets based on new sentiment features. Considering new sentiment features based on psychological and social factors for a tweet's text will open a potential research area for social media bot detection.
Unwinding the roles of RNA helicase MOV10

MOV10 is an RNA helicase that associates with the RNA-induced silencing complex component Argonaute (AGO), likely resolving RNA secondary structures. MOV10 also binds the Fragile X mental retardation protein to block AGO2 binding at some sites and associates with UPF1, a principal component of the nonsense-mediated RNA decay pathway. MOV10 is widely expressed and has a key role in the cellular response to viral infection and in suppressing retrotransposition. Posttranslational modifications of MOV10 include ubiquitination, which leads to stimulation-dependent degradation, and phosphorylation, which has an unknown function. MOV10 localizes to the nucleus and/or cytoplasm in a cell type-specific and developmental stage-specific manner. Knockout of Mov10 leads to embryonic lethality, underscoring an important role in development where it is required for the completion of gastrulation. MOV10 is expressed throughout the organism; however, most studies have focused on germline cells and neurons. In the testes, the knockdown of Mov10 disrupts proliferation of spermatogonial progenitor cells. In brain, MOV10 is significantly elevated postnatally and binds mRNAs encoding cytoskeleton and neuron projection proteins, suggesting an important role in neuronal architecture. Heterozygous Mov10 mutant mice are hyperactive and anxious and their cultured hippocampal neurons have reduced dendritic arborization. Zygotic knockdown of Mov10 in Xenopus laevis causes abnormal head and eye development and mislocalization of neuronal precursors in the brain. Thus, MOV10 plays a vital role during development, defense against viral infection and in neuronal development and function: its many roles and regulation are only beginning to be unraveled. This article is categorized under: RNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > RNA-Protein Complexes RNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > Protein-RNA Interactions: Functional Implications.
Longitudinal Experience With and Impressions of COVID-19-Related Clinical Research Changes.

PURPOSE:The COVID-19 pandemic has led to profound changes in clinical research, including remote consent, telehealth, off-site procedures, shipment of therapy, and remote study monitoring. We asses...
Cities, Preemption, and the Statutory Second Amendment

Most Americans live in urban areas and a disproportionate number of gun homicide victims die in them, despite the fact that gun ownership is much less common in cities than in rural areas. The balance of gun rights and regulation is thus an issue of particular concern for cities, and it is unsurprising that most gun regulation in the United States is and has always been done at the sub-federal—and especially local—level. And yet the past few decades have seen substantial convergence between state and local gun rules. It is unlikely that the explanation for this convergence is purely “political,” since support for gun regulation remains much higher in urban areas. Cities seem to be regulating guns less stringently than their residents would like. Are there legal explanations for this gap? The Second Amendment is the most common explanation, but its impact in litigation has in fact been relatively muted, even after the Supreme Court’s 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller articulated an “individual” right to keep and bear arms for certain private purposes. As a practical matter, nothing has done more to shape contemporary gun regulation than state preemption laws, which fully or partially eliminate cities’ ability to regulate guns at the local level. This short Article begins by telling the story of the first wave of preemption laws, and then turns to the current and more punitive preemption movement. The second Part of the Article then provides some brief thoughts on how to evaluate the distribution of gun regulation authority between states and cities.
Use of a Pressure Injury Bundle in a 101 Bed, Level IV NICU to Decrease Respiratory Device-Related Pressure Injuries

Background: The incidence of Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries (HAPIs) are a national concern due to patient morbidity, treatment cost, and reimbursement issues. Stage III, IV and unstageable pressure injuries that occur during hospitalization are among the conditions considered preventable by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Pressure injuries in total affect 2.5 million patients annually. Methods: In 2016, Norton Children9s Neonatal intensive care unit and respiratory therapy department began collaboration as part of our medical center9s "Reaching For Zero" campaign to eliminate preventable harm to our pediatric patients. With a focus on reducing the incidence of respiratory device related pressure injuries, a multidisciplinary approach was utilized. Education was provided to RT and RN staff regarding early recognition and treatment of pressure injuries. This education also included and focused on a NICU specific HAPI prevention bundle. Clinical staff were empowered to evaluate, monitor and institute preventable measures at the earliest stage. Bundle compliance, strengths, weaknesses, and 9days since9 last pressure injury were displayed and discussed in both daily nursing and multidisciplinary huddles. Components of the bundle include but are not limited to: padding under the respiratory device, frequent repositioning of the patient and assessment of proper fit of respiratory device every 3-4 hours. Results: To date, Norton Children9s Hospital NICU has effectively reduced patient harm and prevented Stage III, IV or unstageable pressure injuries from a respiratory devices. Focus on increased awareness with regular monitoring and assessment has proved beneficial in reducing our overall incidence of pressure injuries resulting in 790 days without a Stage III, IV or unstageable injury. Conclusions: Use of a care specific bundle has decreased respiratory device related pressure injuries which contribute to the majority of overall NICU pressure injuries. Utilizing a multidisciplinary team to raise awareness and regularly monitor incidence of respiratory device related pressure injuries has proven effective in reducing patient harm and the overall incidence of pressure injuries. Our work continues to further reduce and sustain zero stage III, IV and unstageable pressure injuries with development of a respiratory device pressure injury bundle. This specific bundle will further aid us in achieving our overall goal of "Reaching for Zero".
Quiescence, Fairness, Testing, and the Notion of Implementation (Extended Abstract)

Two different formalisms for concurrency are compared and are shown to have common foundations. The Input/Output automaton model and the theory of testing are analyzed in the framework of transition systems. The relationship between the fair and quiescent preorders of I/O automata is investigated and the two preorders are shown to coincide on a large class of automata. I/O automata are encoded into the theory of testing and the reversed MUST preorder is shown to be equivalent to the quiescent preorder for strongly convergent, finitely branching automata up to encoding. Conversely, a theory of testing is defined directly on I/O automata, and the new reversed MUST preorder is shown to coincide with the quiescent preorder on strongly convergent, finitely branching automata. Finally, some considerations are given on the issue of divergence, and on other existing theories with an I/O distinction.
Claiming Space: An Autoethnographic Study of Indigenous Graduate Students Engaged in Language Reclamation

This article explores the critical role of an emerging generation of Indigenous scholars and activists in ensuring the continuity of their endangered heritage languages. Using collaborative autoethnography as a research method, the authors present personal accounts of their pursuit of language reclamation through graduate degree programs. These accounts speak to the importance of access to Indigenous languages and the necessity of space at universities to engage in language reclamation. The authors view higher education as a tool—though one that must be improved—to support Indigenous language reclamation efforts.