cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SP0179 The Scleroderma-Cancer Connection: New Insights

Although the mechanisms of the autoimmune rheumatic diseases remain incompletely understood, there is a striking association of autoimmune responses against specific antigens with distinct clinical phenotypes. In some instances, specific immune responses are associated with an increased prevalence of cancer, with the diagnosis of both processes frequently occurring within a short time. For example, scleroderma patients with antibodies against the large subunit of RNA polymerase-3 (POLR3A, RPC1) have an increased prevalence of cancer, which is frequently coincident with the onset of severe, diffuse scleroderma. In cancers from scleroderma patients, we have found genetic alterations of the POLR3A locus in six of eight patients with antibodies to RPC1 but not in eight patients without these antibodies. 3 RPC1 antibody-positive patients had somatic mutations in POLR3A; 5 RPC1 patients had loss of heterozygosity at the POLR3A locus. Analyses of peripheral blood lymphocytes and serum suggested that POLR3A mutations sparked cellular immunity and cross-reactive humoral immune responses. These results offer insight into the pathogenesis of scleroderma, and potentially other autoimmune syndromes. They also provide support for the idea that acquired immunity helps to control naturally occurring cancers in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases; it is possible that this immune response may sometimes be fully effective, preventing the emergence of cancer. Disclosure of Interest None declared
Long-term followup of spinal cord injury patients managed by intermittent catheterization.

AbstractIntermittent catheterization was used for permanent management in 41 patients with neurogenic vesical dysfunction. Patients with reflex and arefiexic vesical dysfunction were managed satisfactorily by the technique. Positive urine cultures were relatively infrequent, febrile urinary tract infections were rare and upper urinary tract function was stable.
Ventanas al mundo

Mientras que Chile, Brasil y Mexico son lideres en numero de computadores y conexiones a Internet, otros paises de la region –especialmente en Centroamerica– aun no logran siquiera las exigencias tecnicas minimas para establecer comunicaciones fluidas. Y aunque en la mayoria de los paises la tendencia es a privatizar las telecomunicaciones, en otros el Estado se ha arrogado la facultad de controlar las conexiones. Sin embargo, se aprecia una caracteristica comun, sostiene Eliza Tanner: el uso que se le esta dando a la red en America Latina responde muchas veces al intento de solucionar problemas regionales, como el hambre o las amenazas al medioambiente, lo que pone en duda la tesis de un flujo unidireccional desde el Norte. Palabras clave: conexion a internet; comunicaciones fluidas; alcance mundial; telecomunicaciones; regulaciones.
Nucleosome Positioning by a Yeast Repressor Complex

Publisher Summary Repression of yeast a cell type specific genes in α cells is tightly linked to the positioning of nucleosomes adjacent to the α2/MCM1 operator. In the presence of α2, nucleosomes are stably and precisely positioned 15 bp from the edge of the operator, incorporating promoter regions of the α cell specific genes. Positioning is propagated downstream for several nucleosomes, reflecting the packaging of these genes into repressive chromatin subdomains. Moreover, mutations in histone H4 that alter nucleosome stability partially derepress a cell specific gene expression, affirming the importance of these nucleosomes to repression. Recent data indicate that several global repressors, including SSN6 and TUP1, are also involved in the organization of chromatin. Positioning of nucleosomes adjacent to the α2/MCM1 operator provides a model system for understanding how multiple proteins cooperate in the formation or maintenance of regulatory chromatin structures. Because packaging of promoter regions into chromatin represses transcription initiation both in vitro and in vivo, much attention has been focused on the interplay between transcriptional activators and chromatin. Indeed, current models of transcriptional activation often invoke nucleosome destabilization via formation of ternary complexes between activator proteins, histone octamers, and DNA.
The November 25, 1988 Saguenay Earthquake: Isoseismal Survey In Ithaca Region, Central New York

The Saguenay, Quebec Earthquake of November 25, 1988 was widely felt in southeast Canada and in northeast U.S. (Figure 1a). In Ithaca, New York, 795 km southwest of the epicenter, reports of the intensity of shaking caused by this earthquake varied considerably. Intrigued by these variations, we took advantage of this rare event to construct an isoseismal map of the Ithaca area. The results of our study, detailed below, provide a good example of the variability in the intensity of seismic shaking associated with areas of variable surface topography and lithology. The Saguenay earthquake was an unusually deep crustal event (28 km) of moderate magnitude (M = 6) (Gariel and Jacob, 1989; Basham and Adams, 1989). Its focal mechanism indicates thrusting on north-to-northwest trending, intermediate-dipping planes (Wetmiller et al., 1989). The epicenter was near structures related to a failed Paleozoic rift within the Grenville Basement (Adams and Basham, 1989). Felt areas were reported as far (1100 km) as Washington, D.C. (N.Y. Times, November 26, 1988). That the felt area was exceptionally large for an earthquake of this magnitude was not surprising. It has been previously noted (Nuttli, 1973; Nuttli and Zollweg, 1974) that earthquakes in the eastern United States have much larger felt areas than earthquakes of the same magnitude in the western U.S. Nuttli (1973) reports, for example, that the seismic quality factor, Q, for 1-sec waves is 10 times greater in the east than in the west. Questionnaires were printed in a local newspaper and circulated through Cornell . . .
Analysis of Var benefits with application to Var planning

This paper will first discuss the quantitative economic benefits from reactive power (Var) compensation. The benefits can be categorized as reduced losses (B1), exchanging reactive power flow to real power flow (B2), and increased transfer capability (B3). Then, the benefits in the three categories are applied to Var planning considering different locations and amounts of Var compensation. The study on Var planning presented in this paper is a straightforward, two-step approach: 1) it utilizes an Optimal Power Flow (OPF) model to update the Total Transfer Capability (TTC) in order to give a more accurate evaluation of Var benefits; 2) it then performs three OPFs for each Var location and amount combination to evaluate the Var benefits in three categories. Although this approach may be time- consuming, it does give a full spectrum and insightful information about the benefits under different categories if a Var compensator is installed at a specific location in various amounts. Hence, the sensitivity of economic benefits under different categories will be easily obtained. This approach may be used for future researches for benchmarking. It is also interesting to observe that the test results from a seven-bus system in this paper shows that it is not always economically efficient if Var compensation increases continuously.
Value-added assessment of teacher preparation programs in the United States: a critical evaluation

The purpose of this study is to critically evaluate value-added accountability measures currently enacted in the United States at the federal and state levels to assess teacher preparation programme (TPP) effectiveness. We draw on Newton and Shaw’s framework for the evaluation of testing policy to evaluate the technical quality and social acceptability of using K-12 student test scores to assess TPP effectiveness. Through six guiding questions, we examine the assumptions and arguments that support value-added assessment, culminating in overall judgments about the acceptability of implementing (or continuing to implement) the testing policy. Findings suggest policy-makers may have more pragmatic concerns about the efficiency of value-added assessment, while TPPs may have more theoretical concerns about the validity of value-added assessment. The relevance of this evaluation approach to improving policy-related decision-making will also be discussed.
Williams Syndrome and 15q Duplication: Coincidence versus Association

Williams syndrome is a multisystem disorder caused by contiguous gene deletion in 7q11.23, commonly associated with distinctive facial features, supravalvular aortic stenosis, short stature, idiopathic hypercalcemia, developmental delay, joint laxity, and a friendly personality. The clinical features of 15q11q13 duplication syndrome include autism, mental retardation, ataxia, seizures, developmental delay, and behavioral problems. We report a rare case of a girl with genetically confirmed Williams syndrome and coexisting 15q duplication syndrome. The patient underwent treatment for central precocious puberty and later presented with primary amenorrhea. The karyotype revealed 47,XX,+mar. FISH analysis for the marker chromosome showed partial trisomy/tetrasomy for proximal chromosome 15q (15p13q13). FISH using an ELN-specific probe demonstrated a deletion in the Williams syndrome critical region in 7q11.23. To our knowledge, a coexistence of Williams syndrome and 15q duplication syndrome has not been reported in the literature. Our patient had early pubertal development, which has been described in some patients with Williams syndrome. However, years later after discontinuing gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue treatment, she developed primary amenorrhea.
Attojoule optoelectronics — Saving even more energy with optics

Sub-micron optoelectronic devices promise sub-fJ/bit operating energies. Efficient device mechanisms, tight integration, low-loss nanophotonics, and new approaches to eliminate most link circuitry, including 2D array communications enabled by silicon photonics, could enable us to take full advantage of such devices for low-energy processing and communication.
Inhibition of the receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) protects from secondhand smoke (SHS)-induced intrauterine growth restriction IUGR in mice

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a disease affecting 10% of all pregnancies. IUGR is associated with maternal, fetal, or placental abnormalities. Studies investigating the effects of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and IUGR are limited. The receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) is a pro-inflammatory transmembrane receptor increased by SHS in the placenta. We tested the hypothesis that inhibition of RAGE during SHS exposure protects from smoke-induced IUGR. C57BL/6 mice were exposed to SHS or SHS + semi-synthetic glycosaminoglycan ethers (SAGEs) known to inhibit RAGE signaling. Trophoblast cells were treated with cigarette smoke extract (CSE) with or without SAGEs in order to address the effects of RAGE inhibition during trophoblast invasion in vitro. SHS-treated mice demonstrated a significant reduction in fetal weight (7.35-fold, P ≤ 0.0001) and placental weight (1.13-fold, P ≤ 0.0001) compared with controls. Mice co-treated with SHS and SAGEs were protected from SHS-induced fetal weights decreases. SHS treatment of C57BL/6 mice activated placental extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) (3.0-fold, P ≤ 0.05), JNK (2.4-fold, P ≤ 0.05) and p38 (2.1-fold, P ≤ 0.05) and the expression of inflammatory mediators including TNF-α (1.34-fold, P ≤ 0.05) and IL-1β (1.03-fold, P ≤ 0.05). SHS-mediated activation of these molecules was reduced to basal levels when SAGE was co-administered. Invasion of trophoblast cells decreased 92% (P < 0.002) when treated with CSE and CSE-mediated invasion was completely reversed by SAGEs. We conclude that RAGE inhibition protects against fetal weight loss during SHS-induced IUGR. These studies provide insight into tobacco-mediated IUGR development and clarify avenues that may be helpful in the alleviation of placental complications.
Birthing Injustice: Pregnancy as a Status Offense

Over the last thirty years, pregnant women, particularly pregnant women of color, have increasingly come under the supervision and control of the criminal justice system. In July 2014, Tennessee became the first state in the country to pass a law criminalizing illegal drug use during pregnancy. Within weeks of its enactment, several women were arrested and subjected to prosecution under the statute. In Alabama, the State Supreme Court upheld convictions of several women after finding that the state’s chemical endangerment statute applied to fetal life. The women convicted of these crimes joined hundreds of other pregnant women arrested for or convicted of similar offenses. Indeed, according to recent studies, over 1000 women have been convicted of crimes ranging from child endangerment to second-degree murder as a result of conduct during pregnancy. In almost all of these cases, the conduct of the women prosecuted would have been lawful or subject to a lesser penalty had it been committed by a nonpregnant person. This Article makes two central claims about the increasing number of criminal prosecutions of pregnant women. First, this Article contends that pregnant women are subject to a form of status offense. Status offenses, which criminalize the behavior of individuals within a select group of people that would be noncriminal if committed by persons outside of the group, have been utilized to regulate disfavored classes. Pregnant women, especially those who are poor and of color, are similarly constructed as a disfavored class and are therefore subject to unique forms of criminal regulation. Through the imposition of criminal liability, the state is enforcing gendered norms and policing the line between “good” and “bad” motherhood. As such, criminalization and incarceration play a significant role in the regulation of the reproductive autonomy of women. Second, the Article asserts that the prosecution of pregnancy- based status offenses violates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Infection with anthroponotic Cryptosporidium parvum does not fully protect the host against a subsequent challenge with C. hominis.

Abstract Cryptosporidium hominis and Cryptosporidium parvum are the major Cryptosporidium species that infect humans. Earlier studies in gnotobiotic piglets, model susceptible to both, showed that piglets recovered from infection with C. hominis were fully protected against challenge with same species but incompletely protected against C. parvum challenge. In the present study, piglets were infected with C. parvum first, and after recovery were re-challenged with C. parvum or C. hominis. Again, full protection was only observed when piglets were challenged with the homologous parasite strain. Although the two species are genetically/antigenically almost identical, they do not confer complete protection against each other.
Aldicarb contamination of groundwater.

Aldicarb, [2-methyl-2-(methylthio)propionaldehyde O-(methylcarbamoy1)-oxime], the active ingredient in TEMIK® insecticide/nematicide, was discovered in 1962 (Weiden et al. 1965) and is currently registered in over 60 countries for a large number of crops. It is applied to the soil for nematode control and for insect or mite control as a result of its efficient translocation (systemic activity) by the plant. Toxic metabolites, primarily a result of soil microbial action, are the sulfoxide, [2-methyl-2-(methylsulfinyl)propionaldehyde O-(methylcarbamoyl)oxime], and the sulfone, [2-methyl-2-(methylsulfonyl)-propionaldehyde O-(methylcarbamoyl)oxime]. Aldicarb, aldicarb sulfoxide, and aldicarb sulfone are all white crystalline materials at room temperature with water solubilities of 6, 330, and 8 mg/mL, respectively (Hornsby et al. 1983).
Convergent shifts in host-associated microbial communities across environmentally elicited phenotypes

Morphological plasticity is a genotype-by-environment interaction that enables organisms to increase fitness across varying environments. Symbioses with diverse microbiota may aid in acclimating to this variation, but whether the associated bacteria community is phenotype specific remains understudied. Here we induce morphological plasticity in three species of sea urchin larvae and measure changes in the associated bacterial community. While each host species has unique bacterial communities, the expression of plasticity results in the convergence on a phenotype-specific microbiome that is, in part, driven by differential association with α- and γ-proteobacteria. Furthermore, these results suggest that phenotype-specific signatures are the product of the environment and are correlated with ingestive and digestive structures. By manipulating diet quantity over time, we also show that differentially associating with microbiota along a phenotypic continuum is bidirectional. Taken together, our data support the idea of a phenotype-specific microbial community and that phenotypic plasticity extends beyond a genotype-by-environment interaction.
The Distribution and Detection of Grapevine red blotch virus in its Host Depend on Time of Sampling and Tissue Type.

Grapevine red blotch virus (GRBV) is the causal agent of grapevine red blotch, an emerging disease that affects cultivated grapevine such as Vitis vinifera. The ability to detect viruses in grapevi...
Utilizing Flow Cytometry Effectively

Flow cytometry uses a laser-based instrument to measure optical and fluorescence characteristics of biological particles such as nuclei, microorganisms or latex beads, or single cells as they pass through a light source. The instrument looks like a microscope, but on the stage there is a capillary tube, so that as cells pass in single file they can be illuminated by the light emitted through the objective. In the 1950s several improvements were made to the prototype that allowed particles to be counted in suspension. Advancements continued in the 1960s with an instrument, still microscope-based, able to detect light from abnormal cells. At the end of the decade, however, the flow cytometer design was altered and no longer resembled a microscope. Although the appearance of the instrument had changed, it still functioned in the same fashion as the original prototype—i.e., illumination of cells as they passed through a beam of light in a single file. This overriding principle of flow cytometry—the illumination of cells (or particles) by a light source—has remained unchanged even though advances in technology have evolved the manner in which this is performed. This chapter serves to highlight the principles, clinical application, analysis, and future prospects of flow cytometry.
Pathology of Mucinous Tumors

Mucinous tumors include mucinous cystadenomas (a benign tumor which comprises 13% of benign ovarian epithelial neoplasms); atypical proliferative mucinous tumors (APMT or borderline tumors); mucinous tumors with mural nodules, and invasive mucinous carcinomas. This chapter describes these tumors’ macroscopic and microscopic features, clinical outcomes, immunophenotype, molecular biology, differential diagnoses, and diagnostic pitfalls.
Tobacco Goes to College: Cigarette Advertising in Student Media, 1920–1980

Between the 1920s and the 1960s, American tobacco companies sponsored extensive advertising campaigns to promote cigarettes to college students. These efforts included advertisements in campus news...
Examining the Impact of Antimicrobial Fluoroquinolones on Human DNA Topoisomerase IIα and IIβ

Fluoroquinolones are a class of widely prescribed antibiotics with a broad range of activity against Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and some atypical microbes. Unfortunately, these drugs are associated with significant adverse events including neuropathy, tendinopathy, cardiac rhythm abnormalities, and mental health side effects. The mechanism by which fluoroquinolones cause many of these toxicities is unknown. The antibacterial mechanism of action involves disruption of the catalytic mechanism of type-II topoisomerases in bacteria, namely topoisomerase IV and DNA gyrase. Fluoroquinolones inhibit the ability of the enzymes to ligate cleaved DNA and result in single- and double-stranded DNA breaks. Thus, there is an interest in investigating whether human topoisomerase II is involved in mediating the adverse events associated with quinolones. Previous studies demonstrate some response of human topoisomerase IIα and IIβ to high levels of ciprofloxacin. However, it is not clear whether the concentration of ciprofloxacin utilized in those studies corresponds to concentrations that would be routinely achievable in patients. Therefore, this study set out to examine three clinically relevant fluoroquinolones along with two older agents to determine whether these compounds display activity against topoisomerase IIα and IIβ at drug concentrations that more closely approximate typical patient plasma values. On the basis of our evidence, none of the quinolones studied were able to poison DNA cleavage by either human enzyme. Ciprofloxacin, desethylene-ciprofloxacin, and the recently removed from market gemifloxacin were able to inhibit topoisomerase II-mediated DNA relaxation at concentrations of 200-300 μM. On the basis of these data, we propose that human topoisomerase II is not likely to be the main cause of these adverse events and that additional targets need to be identified to clarify the mechanisms underlying quinolone toxicities.
Fabrication of SS316L-IN625 functionally graded materials by powder-fed directed energy deposition

In this work, functionally graded materials of Stainless Steel 316L and Inconel 625 were fabricated using Directed Energy Deposition. Intermediate layers were built in between of SS316L and IN625. ...
On Distributing the Intelligence of Economic Processes

Abstract The principles that characterize automated market systems are inherently different from traditional general equilibrium models of economic systems. Typically, in an automated market system separate auctions occur for each individual good or security. Drawing on previous work by the author, economic processes are taken to be analogous to goal-directed behavior based on logical inference, rather than on the implicit optimizing behavior that underlies general equilibrium theory. Message passing, in a way that preserves a fundamental invariant in the auction for each good, is used to link auctions so that trade in bundles of goods is facilitated
A partial two sector banking model with interest on reserves

This paper develops a two-sector theoretical partial equilibrium model with interest on reserves (IOR) in the banking sector. It also constructs standard vector autoregression models with empirical data including IOR. The objective of this paper is to analyse the monetary policy transmission effects of the Federal Reserve's interest on reserve policy. Impulse response functions are applied to both the theoretical and empirical models. The estimated impulse response functions are then compared to the theoretical models impulse response functions in order to see how well the model fits the data. This paper's model finds that the interest on reserve tool and open market operations (OMO) have the same effect on the macroeconomy.
Detection and Location for In-pipe Detector Block Accident Based on Image Edge Processing

It is very dangerous for the in-pipe detector to block during operation. In this paper, based on the idea that negative pressure waves detect leaks in pipelines, the theory of pressure-based in-pipe detector blocked positioning is proposed. Image processing methods is applied to quickly detect and accurately locate the positive and negative pressure waves on the pressure curve. The pressure curve is converted into a one-dimensional gray image and the image edge detection method is utilized to determine the starting point of the pressure mutation. Specifically, pressure data is expressed as gray scale to make the positive and negative pressure waves more obvious. The simulation and application shows the effective and good performance of the proposed methods.
Empirical assessment of road network resilience in natural hazards using crowdsourced traffic data

Climate change and natural hazards pose great threats to road transport systems which are ‘lifelines’ of human society. However, there is generally a lack of empirical data and approaches for asses...
Fast and Regular Electric Vehicle Charging Impacts on the Distribution Feeders

In recent years, integration of renewable energy sources to the traditional power system has involved the attention of researchers as well as industries. Due to the limited availability of renewable energy sources e.g. solar, accompanying energy storage systems e.g. battery with renewables is a must. Electric Vehicles (EVs) as a major consumer of the batteries, have a considerable influence on the power grids. Therefore, smart charging profiles of the electric vehicles as battery storage systems, play a substantial role in the power system energy management. Considering the notable share of the commercial sector in the power grid peak along with the electric vehicles (EVs) growth, potential impacts of EVs on stability and operation of the power grid should be taken into account. In this paper, we develop an optimization algorithm for a commercial customer to investigate the effect of the EV connection to the grid under different charging modes along with the consideration of the tariff. To simulate the average EV trip, an arbitrary load profile based on EV consumption rate has been defined. Simulation results show that the customer's load profile is highly affected by the electricity tariff and the EV charging methods.
Biomarkers of Depression Symptoms Defined by Direct Intracranial Neurophysiology

Quantitative biomarkers of depression are critical for development of rational therapeutics, but limitations of current low-resolution, indirect brain assays may impede their discovery. We applied graph theory and machine learning to a large unique dataset of intracranial electrophysiological recordings to generate a four-dimensional whole-brain model of neural activity. Using this model, we found patterns of network activity that correctly classified depression in over 80% of individuals. These complex patterns were especially evident in alpha and beta spectral power across frontal and occipital brain regions, respectively. Our findings reveal a widespread network of abnormal activity that may inform advanced personalized treatment.
Carbon footprint of global natural gas supplies to China.

As natural gas demand surges in China, driven by the coal-to-gas switching policy, widespread attention is focused on its impacts on global gas supply-demand rebalance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Here, for the first time, we estimate well-to-city-gate GHG emissions of gas supplies for China, based on analyses of field-specific characteristics of 104 fields in 15 countries. Results show GHG intensities of supplies from 104 fields vary from 6.2 to 43.3 g CO2eq MJ−1. Due to the increase of GHG-intensive gas supplies from Russia, Central Asia, and domestic shale gas fields, the supply-energy-weighted average GHG intensity is projected to increase from 21.7 in 2016 to 23.3 CO2eq MJ−1 in 2030, and total well-to-city-gate emissions of gas supplies are estimated to grow by ~3 times. While securing gas supply is a top priority for the Chinese government, decreasing GHG intensity should be considered in meeting its commitment to emission reductions. The carbon footprints of natural gas supplies at the field level are unclear. Here the authors analysed the GHG intensities of gas supplies from 104 fields and show that their GHG intensities range from 6.2 to 43.3 g CO2eq MJ-1.
Confronting the missing epistasis problem: on the reproducibility of gene–gene interactions

Epistasis (gene–gene interaction) is thought to play an integral role in the genetic basis of complex traits, and a significant amount of research has been invested into identifying this phenomenon in human disease. However, the overall success of empirical studies of epistasis in humans is unclear, as such studies are rarely systematically evaluated. Here, we have selected asthma as an example of a well-studied, complex human disease, and provide a critical analysis and replication attempt of nearly all prior reports of epistasis for this disease. Of 191 previously reported interactions, we find that 39.8 % were not originally identified using an explicit test for interaction and thus may not have been true epistatic effects to begin with. Moreover, directions of effect were not described for 46.1 % of the interactions, which prevents their rigorous replication. In the original studies, attempts at replication were made for 15.2 % of the interactions, and 7.3 % were actually replicated. In the current study, we were able to evaluate 85.9 % of the interactions using a large asthma dataset from the GABRIEL Consortium. None of these interactions could be replicated based on strict criteria. However, we found nominally significant (p < 0.05) evidence in support of 23.8 % of the evaluated interactions. Although many reports of epistasis are not robustly supported in the published literature, our results suggest that at least some of these reports may have been true-positive examples of epistasis. In general, improvements in empirical studies of epistasis are called for, in order to better understand the importance of this phenomenon in human disease.
Is Modern Cosmology in Crisis

Two well-regarded measurements for the expansion rate of the universe disagree, leaving cosmologists very puzzled. It may be that something large has been overlooked in our theory of the Big Bang. This discrepancy is called the Hubble tension and it has led to a very interesting conversation within the cosmology community.
Site-Controlled Generation of Tin-Vacancy Centers in Diamond via Shallow Ion Implantation and Diamond Overgrowth

We generate tin-vacancy (SnV-) centers in patterned arrays by shallowly implanting Sn ions into diamond through an implantation mask and subsequently growing diamond. This method eliminates extraneous emission lines present in vacuum-annealed SnV-samples.
The Impact of Color Fidelity on Evaluation of Patients in the Outpatient Dermatologic Setting

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES To demonstrate that high color fidelity light-emitting diode (LED) sources are preferred by dermatologists for the evaluation of patients during standard-of-care, outpatient visits when compared to low color fidelity LED sources similar to fluorescent lighting. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS Three different LED sources were installed in exam rooms at a single, academic, medical institution (low color fidelity [82 color rendering index (CRI)] similar to fluorescent lighting, and high color fidelity [97 CRI and 96+red CRI]). A cross-sectional survey study was conducted in three parts. Naturalness (i.e. ability to reproduce natural, daylight conditions), effectiveness, color contrast, comfort, and overall performance of each LED source were rated on a 5-point scale from 0 to 4 with 0 being the worse, and 4 being the best. The first part included a survey of board-certified dermatologists (n = 3) assessing their visual experience while clinically evaluating a subset of patients during standard-of-care outpatient visits. The second survey was completed by dermatologic medical providers (n = 55) at three separate monthly departmental Grand Rounds sessions in which standardized patients were evaluated with the LED sources. Lastly, patients (n = 75) finished a survey assessing the comfort level of the LED sources. RESULTS In the first part of the study, all dermatologists significantly preferred the high color fidelity sources over low color fidelity sources based on all five evaluation criteria, with two preferring the 97 CRI LED source overall, while the third dermatologist favored 96+red CRI. Assessments provided by the 55 participants at Grand Rounds demonstrated that the 97 CRI was most "liked." Patients also preferred the high color fidelity LED source, reporting the 96+red CRI source was the "most comfortable." CONCLUSION Dermatologists, dermatologists-in-training and mid-level providers significantly prefer high color fidelity LED sources for outpatient evaluation of dermatologist patients in enclosed spaces, rating them the more natural, effective, comfortable, and providing superior color contrast than low color sources. Patients also favor high color fidelity LED sources as being the most comfortable in the clinic room. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
ENERGY LOCALIZATION IN RAPIDLY DEFORMING CRYSTALLINE SOLIDS

The deformation that occurs in crystalline solids subjected to shear wave loading due to either a shock or impact often occurs in narrow, almost discontinuous, regions often referred to as shear bands. These local regions contain high densities of dislocations and concentrated plastic flow. They are the sites of considerable local heating and often are the locations at which failure begins. In this paper this energy localization process will be examined for two different systems, that of a simple metal such as titanium and a simple molecular crystal such as quartz, as they undergo shear wave loading during shock or impact.
Standalone 2-D Nanosheets and the Consequent Hydrogel and Coacervate Phases Formed by 2.5 nm Spherical U 60 Molecular Clusters in Dilute Aqueous Solution.

Unexpected hydrogel and coacervate are observed for dilute (1 mM) uranyl peroxide molecular cluster (Li68K12(OH)20[UO2(O2)(OH)]60, U60) solution in the presence of di- or trivalent salts. We report the mechanism as the formation of anisotropic two-dimensional (2-D) single-layer nanosheets, driven by counterion-mediated attraction due to the size disparity between U60 and small counterions. With weak monovalent cations, the nanosheets are bendable, resulting in hollow, spherical blackberry-type supramolecular assemblies in a homogeneous solution. With extra strong divalent or trivalent cations, the tough, free-standing sheets lead to gelation at ∼1 mM U60. These stiff nanosheets are difficult to bend into spherical blackberry-type structures; instead, they stay in solution and form hydrogel based on their significant excluded volumes. At higher ionic strength, the large, thin filmlike nanosheet structures stack together more compactly and consequently lead to the transition from gel phase to a coacervate phase, another surprise since it was formed without the presence of bulky polycations.
Oxide confinement: A revolution in VCSEL technology

In just three years since its first introduction,1,2 the oxide-confined VCSEL has come to dominate much of the semiconductor laser research effort.3-9
Industry and City-Level Audit Market Concentration

We extend prior research examining the competitiveness of the US audit market by measuring concentration levels within client industry and within client location before and after the merger between Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand and before and after the dissolution of Arthur Andersen. We also conduct multivariate analysis to identify factors that affected concentration at the industry and at the city level. We find that most concentration levels within client industries and within city markets increased after the merger and after the dissolution, with a slight decrease in the years between the two events. The multivariate results at the industry and city level highlight that the changes in concentration are associated with factors such as industry size, concentration in the client industry, city population, and the ratio of active audit firms to the number of company headquarters.
Radiative shocks and nonequilibrium chemistry in the early universe - Galaxy and primordial star formation

Shock waves in primordial composition gas occur in a wide range of circumstances in the theory of galaxy and pregalactic star formation. The radiative cooling of the postshock gas is crucial to the successful production of gravitationaily bound fragments. Without such fragmentation, the models do not form stars and galaxies. We have studied in detail the nonequilibrium radiative cooling, recombination, and molecule formation behind steady-state shock waves in primordial composition gas. We have solved the hydrodynamical conservation equations, along with the rate equations fo nonequilibrium ionization, recombination, and molecule formation and the equation of radiative transfer. We find that the shocked gas cools faster than it can recombine and, as a result, is able to form an H2 concentration as high as 10−3 or higher via the formation of H− and H 2 + intermediaries due to the enhanced nonequilibrium ionization at 104 K. With such an H2 concentration, the gas cools by rotational-vibrational line excitation of H2 molecules to well below the canonical final temperature of 104 K for a molecule-free gas without metals. This cooling below 104 K significantly lowers the characteristic gravitationaily unstable mass estimated for shocks relative to the value if the gas cooling stops at 104 K. We show that, as the level of external ionizing and dissociating radiation flux is increased, the formation of and cooling by H2 molecules can be inhibited and delayed. In addition to their relevance to the pregalactic and intergalactic medium, shocks such as these may be responsible for the formation of globular clusters inside protogalaxies. The implications of our shock calculations for this model of the origin of globular clusters will also be discussed.
Identification of Hammerstein system using nonparametric estimation and best uniform approximation polynomial

A novel polynomial identification method for the Hammerstein system is proposed. By using a nonparametric estimation method and best approximation theory, an approximating polynomial of the memoryless nonlinear element, with its order being selected adaptively, is obtained. The approximating polynomial can converge to the nonlinearity uniformly, and under the Lipschitz condition its convergence rate is considerable. >
[30] Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of hyperthermophile ferredoxins

Publisher Summary The single cubane cluster ferredoxins, Fds, contain a [4Fe:4S] cluster typically coordinated by four cysteinyl residues. The Fds from three hyperthermophiles, the bacterium Thermotoga maritima , Tm , which thrives optimally at 80°, and the archaea Thermococcus litoralis , Tl , and Pyrococcus furiosus , Pf , which thrive optimally at 90° and 100°, respectively, have been investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). In each case, the purified Fds have been found to be hyperthermostable, exhibiting undetectable denaturation after 24 hr at 95°. NMR can provide a detailed molecular model (structure) for the complete protein comparable to that obtained by X-ray crystallography and can serve as a unique probe of important aspects of the electronic structure and magnetic properties of the invariably paramagnetic cluster, 16-18 as well as allow the characterizafion of a variety of relevant dynamic properties of either the cluster or the protein as a whole. Hyperthermostable Fds do not pose any experimental problems to the profitable application of NMR to study molecular and electronic structure of dynamic properties. Rather, they provide significant advantages in that molecular and electronic structures such that it can be studied over an extremely wide temperature range and in the presence of organic solvents that generally denature Fds from mesophiles. This wide temperature range, moreover, broadens the range of rate processes that can be studied and facilitates more quantitative description of molecular conformational equilibria. The wide temperature range provides exceptional opportunities for determining if, and how, molecular structure differs at the temperature extremes.
Fracture Mechanics of Fiber-Reinforced Materials

In plane stress of materials composed of two orthogonal families of strong fibers, the analysis based on the assumption of fiber inextensibility is so simple that it becomes possible to predict the course of an advancing crack or tear, and to determine how the shape of the crack depends on the failure criterion.
Foreign and Security Policy Diversification in Eurasia: Issue Splitting, Co-alignment, and Relational Power

The foreign policies of the Central Asian republics are widely qualified as “multivector.” Yet this concept remains vague in terms of both its underlying causal mechanism and the goals this policy can serve. Departing from received wisdom, this article recasts the notion both conceptually, in terms of co-alignment, and theoretically, by integrating it into a neoclassical realist framework that emphasizes how the geopolitical characteristics of the Eurasian region interact with the nature of the domestic political regimes to explain multivector foreign policy as a form of statecraft beyond the popular catchphrase.
Analysis of wind measurements from a moored buoy

Summary form only given. The wind data from remotely located heave-pitch-roll buoy stations operated by the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) have both climatological and operational uses. In this study, the author investigated the wind measurements and its relation to buoy motions during severe seas. Wind data were collected from a NDBC 3-m heave-pitch-roll discus buoy during high seas caused by the Hurricane Gordon. The data were from a on-board time series data recorder that recorded measurements of wind speed, wind direction, and buoy motions. The wind speed and direction measurements were shown to be closely related to the buoy motions at frequencies higher than 0.03 Hz, which, as a result, significantly affects the 8-second gust wind speed. But the 8-minute average wind speed and direction were not affected. Depending on the wind direction and the wave direction, the wind speed measured at the peak of the wave crest could be higher or lower than that in the wave trough. This study indicated that any attempt to measure high-frequency wind turbulence near the ocean surface boundary from a moored heave-pitch-roll buoy is subject to possible distortions caused by buoy motions. The magnitude and characteristics of such effects could depend on buoy hull-mooring design, wave direction, and wind direction.
Waveform-agile track-before-detect for low observable targets

We investigate waveform agile selection for dynamic target tracking under low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions. Our approach combines two techniques aimed at increasing tracking performance. It uses track-before-detect (TBD) that employs unthresholded delay-Doppler measurements and is implemented using particle filtering. Integrated into the TBD is an adaptive waveform configuration algorithm that selects the transmit waveform parameters at each time step by minimizing the predicted mean-squared estimation error of the target's state. Using simulations to track a low SNR target, we demonstrate the increased performance of waveform-agile sensing (WAS)-TBD over TBD with fixed transmit waveforms.
Using Meta-Analyses Results and Data Gathering to Support Human Performance Model Development

Human performance modeling provides a tool to facilitate the development of well-designed systems that support their users. However, models need to be based on and compared against empirical human-in-the-loop data to ensure that the human performance predictions are correct. This paper describes an approach to gathering already-existing empirical data to support the development of a model of astronaut performance in long-duration space missions.
Domain Analysis of SIG/CR 2012

Domain analytic techniques are applied to the abstracts approved for the 2012 SIG/CR Classification Workshop. Results of preliminary metric analyses are described.
The CUBE workstation —a 3-D voxel-based graphics environment

TheCUBE workstation is a 3-D versatile graphics system centered around a largecubic frame-buffer ofvoxels. A softwarebased prototype has been integrated on a SUN workstation with a 6-D Polhemus input device. The user interacts directly with the geometric objects and the voxel images, employing inherent 3-D interactive tools. A reduced-resolution hardware prototype has been built and has been running in real-time. The cubic frame buffer is uniquely organized for parallel beam access by three processors which input sampled and synthetic images, manipulate, project, and render them. Projections are speeded-up by a special bus which selects along a beam in onlylog time.
Gadolinium chloride reduces cytochrome P450 : Relevance to chemical-induced hepatotoxicity

The Kupffer cell inhibitor, gadolinium chloride (GdCl3), protects the liver from a number of toxicants that require biotransformation to elicit toxicity (i.e. 1,2-dichlorobenzene and CCl4), as well as compounds that do not (i.e. cadmium chloride and beryllium sulfate). The mechanism of this protection is thought to result from reduced secretion of inflammatory and cytotoxic products from Kupffer cells (KC). However, since other lanthanides have been shown to decrease cytochrome P450 (P450) activity, the following studies were designed to determine if GdCl3 pretreatment alters hepatic P450 levels or activity. The toxicological relevance of GdCl3-mediated alterations in P450 activity was also estimated by determining the effect of GdCl3 pretreatment on the susceptibility of primary cultured hepatocytes to CCl4 and cadmium chloride (CdCl2). Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were given GdCl3 (i.v., 10 mg/kg). Twenty-four hours later, livers were either processed for preparation of microsomes or for primary cultures of hepatocytes. Gadolinium chloride treatment reduced total hepatic microsomal P450 as well as aniline hydroxylase activity by approximately 30% in males and 20% in females. In hepatocytes isolated from rats pretreated with GdCl3, the toxicity caused by CCl4, but not CdCl2 was reduced. Interestingly, when GdCl3 was administered in vitro to microsomes, there was no effect on either the microsomal P450 difference spectra or p-hydroxylation of aniline. However, when GdCl3 was incubated with isolated hepatocytes, the cytotoxicity of CCl4 (but not CdCl2) was partially attenuated. These results suggest that, in addition to its inhibitory effects on KC, GdCl3 produces other effects which may alter the susceptibility of hepatocytes to toxicity caused by certain chemicals.
Evidence of weaning stress and catch-up growth in the long bones of a Central California Amerindian sample

SummaryDiaphyseal growth patterns are described and analysed for a cross-sectional sample of immature Central California Amerindian skeletal remains. This collection is housed at the Lowie Museum of Anthropology, Berkeley, California, and comprises the largest immature skeletal sample of prehistoric Amerindians from the West Coast of North America examined to date. Mean long bone length values and estimates of growth velocity are compared to data reported for the Indian Knoll and Arikara skeletal samples. The Central California long bone growth curves are very similar to the Indian Knoll and Arikara from birth through dental age 2. A period of growth retardation is evident in the Central California sample at dental age 3, both in comparison to the Central California 2-year-olds and the Indian Knoll and Arikara 3-year-olds. However, estimated growth velocity indicates a comparable decline in growth rates for all three groups between ages 2 and 3. Catch-up growth is exhibited in the Central California long ...