cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Three-dimensional colloidal interference lithography

Light interactions with colloidal particles can generate a variety of complex three-dimensional (3D) intensity patterns, which can be utilized for nanolithography. The study of particle-light interactions can add more types of intensity patterns by manipulating key factors. Here we investigate a novel 3D nanolithography technique using colloidal particles under two-beam coherent illuminations. The fabricated 3D nanostructures are hollow, nested within periodic structures, and possess multiple chamber geometry. The effects of incident angles and particle size on the fabricated nanostructures were examined. The relative phase shift between particle position and interference pattern is identified as another significant parameter influencing the resultant nanostructures. A numerical model has been developed to show the evolution of nanostructure geometry with phase shifts, and experimental studies confirm the simulation results. Through the introduction of single colloidal particles, the fabrication capability of Lloyd's mirror interference can now be extended to fabrication of 3D nanostructure with complex shell geometry. The fabricated hollow nanostructures with grating background could find potential applications in the area of photonics, drug delivery, and nanofluidics.
Agent-oriented simulation

Metaphors play a key role in computer science and engineering. Agents bring the notion of locality of information (as in object-oriented programming) together with locality of intent or purpose. The relation between multi-agent and simulation systems is multi-facetted. Simulation systems are used to evaluate software agents in virtual dynamic environments. Agents become part of the model design, if autonomous entities in general, and human or social actors in particular shall be modeled. A couple of research projects shall illuminate some of these facets.
A Springloaded Metal-Ligand Mesocate Allows Access to Trapped Intermediates of Self-Assembly.

A strained, “springloaded” Fe2L3 iminopyridine mesocate shows highly variable reactivity upon postassembly reaction with competitive diamines. The strained assembly is reactive toward transimination in minutes at ambient temperature and allows observation of kinetically trapped intermediates in the self-assembly pathway. When diamines are used that can only form less favored cage products upon full equilibration, trapped ML3 fragments with pendant, “hanging” NH2 groups are selectively formed instead. Slight variations in diamine structure have large effects on the product outcome: less rigid diamines convert the mesocate to more favored self-assembled cage complexes under mild conditions and allow observation of heterocomplex intermediates in the displacement pathway. The mesocate allows control of equilibrium processes and direction of product outcomes via small, iterative changes in added subcomponent structure and provides a method of accessing metal-ligand cage structures not normally observed in mult...
The pyrotechnics of gender and terrorism in Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se

The politically charged narrative of Mani Ratnam’s 1998 thriller Dil Se focuses upon center-state tensions in India, as well on the conscription of women into the violence of those tensions as comb...
Ethical considerations in podiatric care of the older patient

Ethical issues are constantly changing. Today, there is a greater consideration of the social issues as they relate to medical care. The questions of comfort are of greater concern for as we deal with increasing numbers of aging patients and chronic disease, cure may not always be possible; thus, patient management is a key issue. There are greater concerns for the rights of patients, their privacy, and the relationships that need to be maintained between doctors and their patients. There is a greater focus on the quality of life and not just saving a life. There are new questions posed in relation to the termination of treatment, particularly in relation to aging and at what point is there harm and not good from treatment. There is also the issue of public rights and whether the system should be permitted to develop without a freedom of choice or restrictions on podiatric care that are not imposed on any other professional service. Ethics and bioethics in itself is more than a statutory issue, it is more than policy. It also must be an educational issue that considers societal issues in the changing delivery of health care. It must now deal with professional liability and cost containment because now there are mechanisms for the rationing of care based on costs alone. Ethics must be based on respect, obligation, professional responsibility, as well as care issues. It must be an issue of moral relevance. Ethics must continue to deal with conduct, professional relationships, and human dignity. It must deal with improved knowledge and skills. It must consider and maintain the highest possible level of professional judgement. Ethics must also consider professional responsibility and obligation beyond what might be required to meet the legal basis of practice. Simply being "this side of legal" is not adequate in both an ethical and moral sense. If we recognize that it is the public that ultimately will determine our future health care system, partly on a preconceived need, partly on cost, partly on opinion, and partly on political impression, then we in podiatric medicine must assume a greater responsibility in protecting and promoting quality care, ethical conduct, and serving as a moving force in the changes that will take place in our health care delivery system in the future. Foot care is both basic and needed. Our state practice acts and laws and regulations have established this fact and demonstrated a public need for podiatry. Our obligation is to protect that need with integrity.
Historisierung der Wissenschaften im Heidelberger Kreis

Um 1790 spielte an deutschen Universitaten der historische Sinn kaum eine Rolle.1 In den juristischen Fakultaten herrschte das Naturrecht, ein rein theoretisches Rechtssystem, das mit keinem bestehenden Recht zusammenhangt. So wurde das Recht immer mehr zu einer rein philosophischen Angelegenheit: 1795 veroffentlichte Schelling seine Neue Deduktion des Naturrechts, im folgenden Jahr erschien Fichtes Grundlage des Naturrechts und 1797 Kants Metaphysische Anfangsgrunde der Rechtslehre. Aus diesem Grund verzweifelte der junge Heinrich von Kleist 1800 als Student der Jurisprudenz, wie er seiner Verlobten schrieb: „(N)icht die Rechte will ich studieren, nicht die schwankenden ungewissen, zweideutigen Rechte der Vernunft will ich studieren, an die Rechte meines Herzens will ich mich halten, und ausuben will ich sie, was auch alle Systeme der Philosophen dagegen einwenden mogen.“2
Problem Solving II: Brain Stem and Cranial Nerves

LESION DIAGRAMS: for each of the following diagrams indicate the structures involved by the cross hatched lesion(s). For each structure involved, indicate the expected clinical signs or symptoms with appropriate lateralization i.e. left or right (ipsilateral or contralateral). Where appropriate ,indicate the vascular territory involved or the designation of the type of pathology and or the various names of the syndrome.
Factors associated with obtaining sterile syringes from pharmacies among persons who inject drugs in 20 US cities.

Abstract Background Increased access to sterile syringes has been shown to reduce HIV risk among people who inject drugs (PWID). Where syringe services programs (SSPs) are limited, pharmacies are an important sterile syringe source. We assessed factors associated with using pharmacies as the primary source of syringes among PWID from 20 US cities. Methods PWID ages ≥18 years were recruited for the 2015 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance using respondent-driven sampling. Using generalized estimating equation (GEE) models, we assessed demographic characteristics independently associated with participant-reported primary syringe source: pharmacies vs. SSPs. We calculated associations between primary syringe source and various behavioural outcomes, adjusted for participant characteristics. Results PWID who were Conclusions Pharmacies can play an important role in comprehensive HIV prevention among PWID. Linkage to HIV interventions and syringe disposal services at pharmacies could strengthen prevention efforts for PWID who cannot access or choose not to utilize SSPs.
Deep Learning Approaches to Chemical Property Prediction from Brewing Recipes

Despite the explosion of craft beer brewing over the last decade, there is virtually no work in the public domain exploring machine learning approaches to understand and optimize the brewing process. Learning to map between representations of an object across different domains is one of the fundamental challenges in machine learning. There are at least three distinct representations of beer that one may wish to learn to map between: 1) the brewing recipe, 2) the chemical composition of the resulting beer and 3) the written reviews of the beer. The mapping between any pair of these three domains is highly non-linear. Brewing beer involves complicated biological and chemical processes, while the human qualitative perception of a beer may be even more complex. In the work described in this paper, we focus on the former: mapping between the recipe and chemical attribute domains. We use two deep learning architectures to model the non-linear relationship between beer in these two domains, classifying coarse- and fine-grained beer type and predicting ranges for original gravity, final gravity, alcohol by volume, international bitterness units and color. Such models could be used to optimize recipes to produce desired chemical properties of the beer, allowing brewers to design better tasting beer, faster and with less waste. Using a set of approximately 223K brewing recipes from homebrewing site http://brewtoad.com, we find that deep and recurrent neural network models significantly outperform several baselines in predicting these attributes, offering relative reductions in classification error by 20%+ and reducing the root mean squared error for the attribute ranges by 44% relative to the best baseline.
SYSTEMIC REACTIONS TO SCIT: EFFECTS OF DOSING AND AEROALLERGEN CONTENT

Introduction The aim of this study was to identify the dose of subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) that caused the most systemic reactions (SCITSR), and identify any other risk factors for SCITSR. Methods We performed a retrospective review of all SCIT encounters from 2013-2017 at a multi-site Allergy/Immunology practice. SCIT was administered in doses consistent with practice parameters. SCITSR were identified through immunotherapy encounters in which epinephrine was administered. Collected data included patient demographics, along with the dose of SCIT at time of the SR, the presence or absence of asthma, and aeroallergen content. The control group was generated randomly from the same cohort during the same time period. Results There were 86,949 SCIT visits, with 81 SCITSR (0.9/1000). 77.8% of reactions occurred at dose of 1:1 0.1 ml and above. The presence of cat (81.5% vs. 63%, p=.014), dog (67.9% vs. 37.0%, p Conclusions Risk factors for SCITSR in a multisite Allergy/Immunology practice included administration of the highest immunotherapy doses, inclusion of cat, dog, and grass extracts, and the number of aeroallergenic groups included in the extract. This information helps further characterize risk for patients receiving SCIT.
Distributed learning from multiple EHR databases: Contextual embedding models for medical events.

Abstract Electronic health record (EHR) data provide promising opportunities to explore personalized treatment regimes and to make clinical predictions. Compared with regular clinical data, EHR data are known for their irregularity and complexity. In addition, analyzing EHR data involves privacy issues and sharing such data is often infeasible among multiple research sites due to regulatory and other hurdles. A recently published work uses contextual embedding models and successfully builds one predictive model for more than seventy common diagnoses. Despite of the high predictive power, the model cannot be generalized to other institutions without sharing data. In this work, a novel method is proposed to learn from multiple databases and build predictive models based on Distributed Noise Contrastive Estimation (Distributed NCE). We use differential privacy to safeguard the intermediary information sharing. The numerical study with a real dataset demonstrates that the proposed method not only can build predictive models in a distributed manner with privacy protection, but also preserve model structure well and achieve comparable prediction accuracy. The proposed methods have been implemented as a stand-alone Python library and the implementation is available on Github ( https://github.com/ziyili20/DistributedLearningPredictor ) with installation instructions and use-cases.
Investigating intestinal permeability and gut microbiota roles in acute coronary syndrome patients

Abstract Background Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Perturbed gut-microbiota (dysbiosis) and increased intestinal permeability (leaky-gut) with translocation of bacterial antigens, play critical role in obesity and metabolic syndrome, which are also major ACS risk factors. Additionally, Trimethylamine-N-Oxide (TMAO), a metabolite produced by phylum Proteobacteria in gut is implicated in developing ACS. As Proteobacteria is a major source of translocated antigen lipopolysaccharides (LPS), we hypothesized that ACS patients have leaky-gut condition characterized by dysbiosis with increased Proteobacteria, leading to elevated blood levels of TMAO and LPS. Methods In a pilot case-control study, we enrolled 19 ACS patients (within 72-h of cardiac events) and 19 healthy-controls. Gut barrier function was determined using lactulose-to-mannitol urinary excretion ratio (L/M ratio). Stool microbiome composition was examined using16S sequencing and predictive functional analysis for LPS biosynthesis pathway by PICRUSt tool. Serum TMAO and LPS levels were measured. Results ACS patients had increased Gammaproteobacteria compared to controls:1.8 ± 3.0 vs. 0.2 ± 0.4% (P = 0.04). Though Proteobacteria level was increased but not statistically significant: 4.1 ± 3.8 vs. 2.1 ± 1.7% (P = 0.056). L/M-ratio was three times higher in ACS patients; 0.06 ± 0.07 vs 0.023 ± 0.02, (P = 0.014). Surprisingly, there was no difference in the mean serum LPS or TMAO levels. However, PICRUSt analysis indicated increased Proteobacteria population increasingly contributed to LPS biosynthesis in ACS patients only. Conclusions ACS patients likely to have leaky-gut and perturbed gut microbiota. Further studies are required to precisely define the role of dysbiosis in ACS.
Feminism, Masculinity, and Active Representation: A Gender Analysis of Representative Bureaucracy:

Representative bureaucracy examines how identity impacts bureaucratic decision-making. Under certain circumstances, identity congruence between government officials and citizens will result in posi...
Re-membering the Mission: Institutional Impacts of an Interdisciplinary Community Outreach Project

AbstractUniversity efforts to galvanize work that is often siloed and disconnected across departments is supported by collaborative and creative initiatives. Campbell University’s mission to suppor...
Evaluation of Global Water Resources Reanalysis Products in the Upper Blue Nile River Basin

AbstractWater resources reanalysis (WRR) can be used as a numerical tool to advance our understanding of hydrological processes where in situ observations are limited. However, WRR products are ass...
Interventional cardiology today

It is fascinating to see the interest in aortic valvuloplasty which has grown from a curiosity to nearly 100 communications being submitted to the American Heart Association on the subject. One point of confusion has been the differing results between the Rouen group and the groups in the United States. However, as one considers patients who are truly inoperable from the group in Rouen, we see that the results are very similar to those from groups in the United States who have taken on valvuloplasty only when surgery is rejected. The results of valvuloplasty based on a number of individual communications and also the registries that have been instituted show similar trends. The in-hospital mortality to this point in the U.S. has ranged somewhere between 5 % and 10 %. What is the cause of that mortality? In our group, we do not have a vast experience with valvuloplasty because we have a very aggressive surgical group who will operate on almost all patients who could be candidates for valvuloplasty. If they reject the patient for surgery, we then do valvuloplasty.
Optimal resource allocation and prolonged dormancy strategies in herbaceous plants

Understanding the fitness consequences of different life histories is critical for explaining their diversity and for predicting effects of changing environmental conditions. However, current theory on plant life histories relies on phenomenological, rather than mechanistic, models of resource production. We combined a well‐supported mechanistic model of ontogenetic growth that incorporates differences in the size‐dependent scaling of gross resource production and maintenance costs with a dynamic optimization model to predict schedules of reproduction and prolonged dormancy (plants staying below ground for ≥1 growing season) that maximize lifetime offspring production. Our model makes three novel predictions: First, maintenance costs strongly influence the conditions under which a monocarpic or polycarpic life history evolves and how resources should be allocated to reproduction by polycarpic plants. Second, in contrast to previous theory, our model allows plants to compensate for low survival conditions by allocating a larger proportion of resources to storage and thereby improving overwinter survival. Incorporating this ecological mechanism in the model is critically important because without it our model never predicts significant investment into storage, which is inconsistent with empirical observations. Third, our model predicts that prolonged dormancy may evolve solely in response to resource allocation trade‐offs. Significance. Our findings reveal that maintenance costs and the effects of resource allocation on survival are primary determinants of the fitness consequences of different life history strategies, yet previous theory on plant life history evolution has largely ignored these factors. Our findings also validate recent arguments that prolonged dormancy may be an optimal response to costs of sprouting. These findings have broad implications for understanding patterns of plant life history variation and predicting plant responses to changing environments.
Gaps in Sexually Transmitted Infection Screening Among Men who Have Sex with Men in Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Care in the United States.

BACKGROUND The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends comprehensive sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening every 3-6 months for men who have sex with men (MSM) using human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The gaps between these recommendations and clinical practice by region have not been quantified. METHODS We used survey data collected from the internet-based ARTnet study between 2017 and 2019 on STI screening among MSM across the United States, stratified by current, prior, and never PrEP use. Poisson regression models with robust error variance were used to model factors, including residence in the Southeast, associated with consistent ("always" or "sometimes") exposure site-specific STI screening during PrEP care. RESULTS Of 3259 HIV-negative MSM, 19% were currently using PrEP, 6% had used PrEP in the past, and 75% had never used PrEP. Among ever PrEP users, 87%, 78%, 57%, and 64% reported consistent screening for STIs by blood sample, urine sample or urethral swab, rectal swab, or pharyngeal swab, respectively, during PrEP care. Compared to PrEP users in all other regions, PrEP users in the Southeast were significantly less likely to be consistently screened for urogenital (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], .76-.98) and rectal STIs (aPR, 0.76; 95% CI, .62-.93) during PrEP care. CONCLUSIONS Substantial gaps exist between CDC recommendations for STI screening during PrEP care and current clinical practice, particularly for rectal and pharyngeal exposure sites that can harbor asymptomatic infections and for MSM in Southeast states where the STI burden is substantial.
Yes-Associated Protein Is Crucial for Constitutive Androstane Receptor-Driven Hepatocyte Proliferation But Not for Induction of Drug Metabolism Genes in Mice.

Background and aims Constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) agonists, such as 1,4-bis [2-(3,5-dichloropyridyloxy)] benzene (TCPOBOP), are known to cause robust hepatocyte proliferation and hepatomegaly in mice along with induction of drug metabolism genes without any associated liver injury. Yes-associated protein (Yap) is a key transcription regulator that tightly controls organ size, including that of liver. Our and other previous studies suggested increased nuclear localization and activation of Yap after TCPOBOP treatment in mice and the potential role of Yap in CAR-driven proliferative response. Here, we investigated a direct role of Yap in CAR-driven hepatomegaly and hepatocyte proliferation using hepatocyte-specific Yap-knockout (KO) mice. Approach and results Adeno-associated virus 8-thyroxine binding globulin promoter-Cre recombinase vector was injected to Yap-floxed mice for achieving hepatocyte-specific Yap deletion followed by TCPOBOP treatment. Yap deletion did not decrease protein expression of CAR or CAR-driven induction of drug metabolism genes (including cytochrome P450 [Cyp] 2b10, Cyp2c55, and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1a1 [Ugt1a1]). However, Yap deletion substantially reduced TCPOBOP-induced hepatocyte proliferation. TCPOBOP-driven cell cycle activation was disrupted in Yap-KO mice because of delayed (and decreased) induction of cyclin D1 and higher expression of p21, resulting in decreased phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein. Furthermore, the induction of other cyclins, which are sequentially involved in progression through cell cycle (including cyclin E1, A2, and B1), and important mitotic regulators (such as Aurora B kinase and polo-like kinase 1) was remarkably reduced in Yap-KO mice. Microarray analysis revealed that 26% of TCPOBOP-responsive genes that were mainly related to proliferation, but not to drug metabolism, were altered by Yap deletion. Yap regulated these proliferation genes through alerting expression of Myc and forkhead box protein M1, two critical transcriptional regulators of CAR-mediated hepatocyte proliferation. Conclusions Our study revealed an important role of Yap signaling in CAR-driven hepatocyte proliferation; however, CAR-driven induction of drug metabolism genes was independent of Yap.
Sexual Health Inventory for Men Questionnaire as a Screening Method for Erectile Dysfunction in a General Urology Clinic.

Abstract Introduction Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) is a validated questionnaire that is widely used in urology clinics to evaluate and assess treatment efficacy for erectile dysfunction (ED). Aim In this study, we evaluated the benefit of using the SHIM questionnaire as a screening tool for ED in a general urology clinic Material and Methods We retrospectively reviewed records of patients presenting to our general urology clinic from October 2018 to June 2019. During this period, all new male urology patients who are 40 years of age or older visiting the general urology clinic for any urologic condition received the SHIM questionnaire. We excluded all patients whose chief complaint was ED, Peyronie's disease, and hypogonadism. Patients were then asked if they want treatment for ED, and those patients who did, received a full ED evaluation and treatment. Factors associated with desire for ED treatment were analyzed using logistic regression. Main Outcome Measures SHIM score, desire for ED treatment, and factors influencing desire for treatment. Results Three hundred seventy-nine patients received the SHIM questionnaire. Of which, 48 patients (12.7%) declined to fill the questionnaire. We excluded all patients presenting for sexual health issues (67 patients, 17.7%). We included the remaining 264 patients (69.6%). The mean age was 61.7 years (range 40 to 85). Older patients were more likely to want ED treatment and had lower SHIM scores. However, older than the age of 70 years, there was a decline in the number of patients wanting treatment. In a multivariate regression analysis, age between 61 and 70 years and having diabetes mellitus were associated with the desire for ED treatment. Conclusions The SHIM questionnaire is a useful tool in the general urology clinic. It can serve as an efficient tool to screen for and quantify ED in patients presenting for other urologic issues. Maximum benefit is seen in patients between the age of 51 and 70 years and in patients with diabetes. Alwaal A, Awad M, Boggs N, et al. Sexual Health Inventory for Men Questionnaire as a Screening Method for Erectile Dysfunction in a General Urology Clinic. Sex Med 2020;8:660–663.
Geriatric Oncology Workshop (GrOW): Development and Evaluation of a Nationwide Nursing Curriculum.

Abstract Introduction Oncology nurses are key in caring for older adults with cancer, but few have received specialized training in gerontology. To address this, a geriatric oncology curriculum was developed for oncology nurses. Materials & Methods The Geriatric Oncology Workshop (GrOW) was developed and delivered to oncology nurses (n = 387) from 2016 to 2019. Workshops were evaluated using: 1) Assessment of preparedness, comfort, and skills; 2) Knowledge gained; 3) Participant evaluations of workshop (4-point Likert-type scale); 4) Faculty evaluations (10-point Likert-type scale); and 5) Follow-up assessment of goals. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, proportions, medians, means) were used to describe participants and results. Paired t-test was used to evaluate participants' knowledge gain, and linear mixed modeling was used to evaluate longitudinal changes in preparedness, comfort, and skill levels. Results Overall, 387 oncology nurses participated in GrOW. Participant-rated workshop evaluation means were 3.7 to 3.9. Overall, nurses had statistically significant increases in pre- to post- questionnaire scores of 18.8% (p Discussion A geriatric oncology curriculum designed for oncology nurses can improve levels of evidence-based knowledge and provide more skill, comfort, and preparedness in caring for this population.
Remixing the Script? Associations Between Black-Oriented Media Consumption and Black Women’s Heteropatriarchal Romantic Relationship Beliefs:

Black-oriented media may offer Black women an opportunity to produce and consume empowering messages that challenge heteropatriarchal relationship beliefs, but they may also foster their endorsemen...
Analysis of Lymph Node Volume by Ultra-High-Frequency Ultrasound Imaging in the Braf/Pten Genetically Engineered Mouse Model of Melanoma.

Tyr::CreER+,BrafCA/+,Ptenlox/lox genetically engineered mice (Braf/Pten mice) are widely used as an in vivo model of metastatic melanoma. Once a primary tumor has been induced by tamoxifen treatment, an increase in metastatic burden is observed within 4-6 weeks after induction. This paper shows how Ultra-High-Frequency UltraSound (UHFUS) imaging can be exploited to monitor the increase in metastatic involvement of the inguinal lymph nodes by measuring the increase in their volume. The UHFUS system is used to scan anesthetized mice with a UHFUS linear probe (22-55 MHz, axial resolution 40 µm). B-mode images from the inguinal lymph nodes (both left and right sides) are acquired in a short-axis view, positioning the animals in dorsal recumbency. Ultrasound records are acquired using a 44 µm step size on a motorized mechanical arm. Afterward, two-dimensional (2D) B-mode acquisitions are imported into the software platform for ultrasound image post-processing, and inguinal lymph nodes are identified and segmented semi-automatically in the acquired cross-sectional 2D images. Finally, a total reconstruction of the three-dimensional (3D) volume is automatically obtained along with the rendering of the lymph node volume, which is also expressed as an absolute measurement. This non-invasive in vivo technique is very well tolerated and allows the scheduling of multiple imaging sessions on the same experimental animal over 2 weeks. It is, therefore, ideal to assess the impact of pharmacological treatment on metastatic disease.
Hybrid physics-informed neural networks for lithium-ion battery modeling and prognosis

Abstract Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used to power unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs). The ability to model and forecast remaining useful life of these batteries enables UAV reliability assurance. Building principled accurate models is challenging due to the complex electrochemistry that governs battery operation. Alternatively, reduced order models have the advantage of capturing the overall behavior of battery discharge, although they suffer from simplifications and residual discrepancy. This paper presents a hybrid modeling approach that directly implements physics within deep neural networks. While most of the input–output relationship is captured by reduced-order models, data-driven kernels reduce the gap between predictions and observations. A reduced-order model based on Nernst and Butler–Volmer equations represents the overall battery discharge, and a multilayer perceptron models the battery non-ideal voltage. Battery aging is characterized by time-dependent internal resistance and the amount of available Li-ions, which are modeled through an ensemble of variational Bayesian multilayer perceptrons. The approach is validated using data publicly available through the NASA Prognostics Center of Excellence website. Results showed that our hybrid battery prognosis model can be successfully calibrated, even with a limited number of observations. Moreover, the model can help optimizing battery operation by offering long-term forecast of battery capacity.
“‘I’m not weird. I’m just like everybody else’: intersections of embodiment, incarceration, and mental illness on Wentworth and Orange Is the New Black”

Applying a critical feminist disability studies framework, I look closely at televisual women inmates with mental illness to demonstrate how the dynamics between one’s body and one’s environment co...
Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty: A PearlDiver study evaluating complications rates, opioid use and utilization in the Medicare population.

Despite increased utilization of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) for unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis, outcomes in Medicare patients are not well-reported. The purpose of this study is to analyze practice patterns and outcome differences between UKA and TKA in the Medicare population. It is hypothesized that UKA utilization will have increased over the course of the study period and that UKA will be associated with reduced opioid use and lower complication rates compared to TKA. Using PearlDiver, the Humana Claims dataset and the Medicare Standard Analytic File (SAF) were analyzed. Patients who underwent UKA and TKA were identified by CPT codes. Postoperative complications were identified by ICD-9/ICD-10 codes. Opioid use was analyzed by the number of days patients were prescribed opioids postoperatively. Survivorship was defined as conversion to TKA. In the Humana dataset, 7,808 UKA and 150,680 TKA patients were identified. 8-year survivorship was 87.7% (95% CI [0.861,0.894]). Postoperative opioid use was significantly higher after TKA (186.1 days) compared to UKA (144.7 days) (p 80 years old and lowest in patients < 70 years old. In both datasets, postoperative complication rates were higher in TKA patients compared to UKA patients in nearly all categories. UKA represents an increasingly utilized treatment for osteoarthritis in the Medicare population and may be comparatively advantageous to TKA due to reduced opioid use and complication rates after surgery. Level III
Real-Time Social Network Data Mining For Predicting The Path For A Disaster

Traditional communication channels like news channels are not able to provide spontaneous information about disasters unlike social networks namely, Twitter. The present research work proposes a framework by mining real-time disaster data from Twitter to predict the path a disaster like a tornado will take. The users of Twitter act as the sensors which provide useful information about the disaster by posting first-hand experience, warnings or location of a disaster. The steps involved in the framework are – data collection, data preprocessing, geolocating the tweets, data filtering and extrapolation of the disaster curve for prediction of susceptible locations. The framework is validated by analyzing the past events. This framework has the potential to be developed into a full-fledged system to predict and warn people about disasters. The warnings can be sent to news channels or broadcasted for pro-active action. INDEX WORDS: Data mining, Disaster computing, Real-time disaster prediction, Early warning system, Prediction path, Regression REAL-TIME SOCIAL NETWORK DATA MINING FOR PREDICTING THE PATH FOR A DISASTER
The Penalties for Piracy: An Empirical Study of National Prosecution of International Crime

This Article examines the sentences imposed by courts around the world in prosecutions of Somali pirates captured on the high seas. As with other international crimes, international law is silent on the subject of penalties. With piracy, the large number of parallel prosecutions of offenders from a single international “situation” offers an empirical window into the interactions between international and national law in municipal courts; into factors affecting punishment for international crimes and the hierarchy of international offenses; and of course into potential concerns with the current model of punishing piracy. Using a new comprehensive data set of all Somali piracy sentences in foreign courts (256 sentences), the Article finds that the global average sentence for piracy is just over 14 years, comparable to the average penalties for more serious human rights offenses in international courts. Yet few pirates receive the “average” sentence. The Article finds massive variance in sentences imposed in Somali pirate cases around the world, ranging from four years to life for substantively similar conduct. There are roughly two kinds of sentencing jurisdictions – lenient and strict. The former includes European countries, the latter primarily the United States and Asian states. The gulf in sentencing between these two rough groups is quite significant. Finally, regression analysis of particular sentencing factors shows that the particular characteristics do not contribute significantly to the variance in sentences. Most variation that can be accounted for can be attributed the characteristics of the prosecuting state. The empirical results suggest that there can be an international consensus about a crime’s international illegality without a corresponding consensus on the severity or magnitude of the crime. It also suggests that the distributed prosecution of a single international criminal situation across multiple municipal courts raises potential problems of inequity for similarly situated defendants. This may be an inevitable consequence of a lack of an international tribunal, but it also suggests the challenges of establishing one.
SL(2, ℝ) covariant conditions for $ \mathcal{N} = {1} $ flux vacua

Four-dimensional supersymmetric \( \mathcal{N} = 1 \) vacua of type IIB supergravity are elegantly described by generalized complex geometry. However, this approach typically obscures the \( {\text{SL}}\left( {{2},\mathbb{R}} \right) \) covariance of the underlying theory. We show how to rewrite the pure spinor equations of Grana, Minasian, Petrini and Tomasiello (hep-th/0505212) in a manifestly \( {\text{SL}}\left( {{2},\mathbb{R}} \right) \) covariant fashion. Solutions to these equations fall into two classes: “charged” solutions, such as those containing D5-branes, and “chargeless” solutions, such as F-theory solutions in the Sen limit and AdS4 solutions. We derive covariant supersymmetry conditions for the chargeless case, allowing general SU(3) × SU(3)structure. The formalism presented here greatly simplifies the study of the ten-dimensional geometry of general supersymmetric compactifications of F-theory.
Racial/ethnic disparities in inflammatory gene single-nucleotide polymorphisms as predictors of a high risk for symptom burden in patients with multiple myeloma 1 year after diagnosis

BACKGROUND This study was conducted to determine whether any regulatory single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in an inflammatory gene was associated with a high symptom burden in patients 1 year after the diagnosis of multiple myeloma (MM). METHODS MM patients rated symptoms with the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory multiple myeloma module (MDASI-MM) and provided buccal-swab DNA samples. SNPs for 4 cytokine genes (interleukin 6 [IL6] −174G>C, IL1β −511C>T, tumor necrosis factor α [TNFα] −308G>A, and IL10 −1082G>A) were tested. Logistic regression models were used to identify SNPs that might predict moderate/severe symptoms (rated ≥4 on the MDASI-MM 0-10 scale). For the evaluation of the relationship between SNPs and overall symptom burden, a 2-step cluster analysis was used to divide patients into subgroups with high or low symptom levels. RESULTS Forty-one percent of the 344 patients enrolled had a high overall symptom burden. The most prevalent moderate/severe symptoms were fatigue (47%), pain (42%), numbness (38%), and bone aches (32%). For non-Hispanic whites, the IL1β −511 CC genotype was associated with a high overall symptom burden (odds ratio [OR], 2.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.25-4.72; P = .004), whereas the IL6 −174 GG genotype predicted less moderate/severe fatigue (OR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.29-0.88; P = .013). For other patients, the IL6 −174 GG genotype predicted moderate/severe pain (OR, 3.36; 95% CI, 1.23-13.64; P = .010). CONCLUSIONS These results support growing evidence showing that inflammation is associated with cancer-related symptoms, and they suggest that racial/ethnic factors contribute to this association. Cancer 2015;121:1138–1146. © 2014 American Cancer Society.
The Role of Hemagglutinin in Influenza Virus Transmission

Influenza is a rapidly mutating RNA virus causing mortality and morbidity in humans.The three different strains of influenza are characterized by different surface glycoproteins. Hemagglutinin (HA)...
Stability of the helium-antiproton system

In the course of their Born-Oppenheimer calculations of this system Todd and Armour noted that the lowest-lying state closely resembles the hydrogen negative ion, since the antiproton lies very close to the helium nucleus and shields one unit of nuclear charge. In the present paper this observation will be taken seriously to produce a variationally correct estimate of the total energy of this system, along with a similar estimate of the energy of the once-ionized system. The nonadiabatic effect of exactly treating the reduced masses improves the results.
Work: meaning on Monday morning (and every other day)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on all people who search for meaning at work. It explains some simple strategies to achieve greater fulfillment in the workplace.Design/methodology/approach – The input for this paper was achieved through dialogues executed in the course of three years with business students and business executives about the topic of workplace fulfillment. The approach to the topic was to find out if and how it could be possible to create enhanced meaning at any level of the organization.Findings – The paper finds that the dialogues led to the insight that creating meaning at work and anywhere else consists of a tripartite approach: it starts internally, is subsequently implemented in an integrated format, and finally expanded externally.Research limitations/implications – Because the research for this paper was based on conclusions from informal dialogues with a wide variety of business stakeholders (students and executives at various levels), the findings should be further...
Credit Rating Agencies and Conflicts of Interest: Comparative Study of the Post-Credit Crisis Regulatory Reforms

When things go wrong, it is always good to find someone to blame. As the credit crisis started to unfold in 2007, credit rating agencies (“CRAs”) emerged as the villain – or scapegoat, one might say – for commentators and regulators alike. To sum up, observers accused CRAs of doing a poor job assessing complex structured products, which contributed to the crisis, especially because these products made investors extremely dependent on ratings. In particular, conflicts of interest have been seen as one of the main factors, if not the main one, why CRAs failed. To address these concerns, the United States and the European Union put forward a number of reform initiatives. These initiatives vary in their scope but they all seek to enhance the accountability and independence of CRAs.The purpose of this paper is to examine these new reforms in a comparative manner against the background of the regulatory regime in force before the credit crisis.
Coexistence of DS CDMA PCN and analog FM: performance degradation of the SSSC-FM channels due to spread spectrum overlay

The spectrum overlay of a CDMA PCN on a preexisting narrowband, analog, corrupted by AWGN FM channel is considered. This overlay can increase communications capacity, within a geographical area, and spectral efficiency. The overlayed PCN is assumed to employ DS spreading, using maximal length pseudorandom sequences. The interference the FM channel experiences is estimated, and an extremely severe test is simulated using a PCN overlayed on a preexisting 600-channel SSSC-FM FDM microwave line-of-sight radio link. It is found that the interference caused by the PCN depends on the carrier frequency separation between the two systems, the power of the EM system, the length of the SS system pseudorandom sequences, and the data rate and power of the PCN users. >
EFFECTS OF FURFURAL ON NEMATODE POPULATIONS AND GALLING ON TOMATO AND PEPPER

Kokalis-Burelle, N. 2007. Effects of furfural on nematode populations and galling on tomato and pepper. Nematropica 37:307-316. A commercial formulation of furfural (Multiguardr Protect) was evaluated in greenhouse trials over three seasons for effects on parasitic and beneficial nematode populations in roots and soil, plant growth, and galling on tomato and bell pepper caused by Meloidogyne incognita. 'Tiny Tim' tomato (Solanum lycopersicum = Lycopersicon esculentum) and 'Capistrano' bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) were transplanted into pots containing treated and untreated field soil which was naturally infested with M. incognita, microbivorous nematodes, and soil microorganisms. In several tests, furfural increased M. incognita J2 populations in tomato and pepper roots but reduced galling. High rates of furfural provided effective management of galling on tomato. On pepper, populations of M. incognita were lower than on tomato, and no reduction in galling occurred. No furfural treatments exhibited consistent levels of phytotoxicity to either tomato or pepper. Effects of furfural on beneficial microbivorous nematodes were mild, with substantial populations surviving in soil and roots treated with both post-plant, and high preplant rates of furfural.
Interdecadal‐decadal climate variability from multicoral oxygen isotope records in the South Pacific Convergence Zone region since 1650 A.D.

[1] In the South Pacific, interdecadal-decadal oceanic and atmospheric variability, referred to as the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO), is most pronounced in the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) salinity front region. Here we have used annual average oxygen isotope (δ18O) time series from five coral cores collected from Fiji and Tonga in this region to construct a Fiji-Tonga Interdecadal-Decadal Pacific Oscillation (F-T IDPO) index of low-frequency (>9 and <55 years) climate variability back to 1650 A.D. We first demonstrate the consistency between this F-T IDPO index and a mean sea level (MSL) pressure-based SPCZ position index (SPI) (1891–2000), thus verifying the ability of coral δ18O to record past interdecadal-decadal climatic variations in this region back to 1891. The F-T IDPO index is then shown to be synchronous with the IPO index (1856–2000), suggesting that this coral-based index effectively represents the interdecadal-decadal scale climate variance back to 1650. The regularity of the F-T IDPO index indicates that interdecadal-decadal variability in the SPCZ region has been relatively constant over the past 350 years with a mean frequency of ∼20 years (variance peaks near 11 and 35 years). There is a consistent antiphase correlation of the F-T IDPO index and the interdecadal-decadal components in equatorial Pacific coral δ18O series from Maiana and Palmyra. This observation indicates that the eastward expansion (westward contraction) of the eastern salinity front of the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) occurs simultaneously (±<1 year) with the westward (eastward) shift of the SPCZ salinity front during positive IPO (negative IPO) phases. This is the same relationship observed during the phases of the El Nino Southern Oscillation.
GHB Free Acid: I. Solution Formation Studies and Spectroscopic Characterization by 1HNMR and FT-IR

In forensic evidence, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) has frequently been encountered in one of its salt forms (gamma-hydroxybutyrate), but has also been encountered in its free acid form (GHB). Owing to the physical properties, encounters of the free acid have been largely restricted to forensic exhibits comprising aqueous solutions, such as acidic beverages that have been "spiked" or formulated with GHB salts or gamma-butyrolactone (GBL). The analysis of GHB free acid presents particular difficulties including the potential for altering the original proportions of GHB free acid, GHB carboxylate, and GBL in the course of analysis, and discrimination between GHB free acid and carboxylate forms. In this work, the formation of GHB free acid in aqueous solutions (water and/or D2O) was studied as a function of solution pH. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR) and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) measurements were obtained on freshly prepared mixtures of NaGHB and HCl stock solutions representing a series of points along the GHB titration curve. Both 1HNMR and FT-IR were shown to track the changing proportions of GHB free acid and carboxylate forms as a function of pH, while simultaneously monitoring for the formation of the lactone (GBL). The results were consistent with acid-base conversion behavior for a carboxylic acid. 1HNMR was shown to provide an ideal means for analysis of aqueous-based GHB/GBL forensic exhibits based on simple dilution of the neat liquid exhibit, without altering the original proportions of GHB free acid, carboxylate, and GBL in the samples.
Stability of control systems and graphs of linear systems

New conditions for internal stability of a closed-loop control system are given in terms of the graphs of the multiplication operators induced by the transfer functions of the plant and the controller. These conditions can be given a geometrical interpretation. This relates closed-loop stability to the minimal angle between the graph space associated with the system and the graph space associated with the controller. The maximally stabilizing controller is defined as the controller that maximizes the minimum angle between the graph space associated with the system and the graph space associated with the controller. It is shown that this controller can be calculated as a Nehari extension of the coprime factors of the system.