cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Epidemic Status of Acute Flaccid Paralysis in Ji'an City,2007-2011

Objective To evaluate the operational conditions of the flaccid paralysis(AFP) surveillance work,so as to facilitate maintaining polio-free status.Methods Descriptive methods were applied to analyze data of AFP cases monitoring system from 2007 to 2011.Results Totally 74 AFP cases were reported and 72 cases were confirmed.Amount of 15 cases were reported in 2007,17 cases in 2008,10 cases in 2009 and 15 cases in 2010-2011 each.Children under the age of non polio AFP incidence rates were 1.37/105,1.55 /105,1.085 /105,1.61/105 and 1.61/105,from 2007 to 2011 respectively.Conclusion The incidence of non polio AFP cases among children under 15 years old in Ji'an met the requirements of both WHO and National Ministry of Health.High sensitivity was kept in AFP case surveillance system.
Role of Neutrophils in Inflammatory Tissue Injury

Neutrophilic leukocytes account for about half the number of circulating white blood cells. Their primary role is to protect against infection by killing invading microorganisms. However, the same neutrophil activities important in host-defense can damage other blood cells and the tissues.
The appressorium of Magnaporthe oryzae remains mitotically active during post- penetration hyphal growth in rice cells

To investigate the mitotic dynamics of an appressorium, we used time-lapse confocal imaging of a fluorescence-based mitotic reporter strain of Magnaporthe oryzae. We present evidence that: (i) appressoria remain viable and mitotically active after host penetration, (ii) appressorial mitosis, like invasive hyphal mitosis, is semi-closed, (iii) sister chromatids separate within the appressorium, (iv) a mitotic appressorial nucleus undergoes extreme constriction and elongation as it migrates through the penetration peg in a manner analogous to mitosis during cell-to-cell movement of invasive hyphae. These results provide new insight into the potential roles of the appressorium after host penetration and highlight the unique mitotic dynamics during rice blast infection.
Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Legal Complexity

The American legal system is often accused of being “too complex.” For example, most Americans believe the Tax Code is too complex. But what does that mean, and how would one prove the Tax Code is too complex? The descriptive claim that an element of law is complex, and the normative claim that it is too complex, should be empirically testable hypotheses, yet in fact very little is known about how to measure legal complexity, much less to monitor and manage it. Legal scholars have begun to employ the science of complex adaptive systems, also known as complexity science, to probe these kinds of descriptive and normative questions about the legal system. This body of work has focused primarily on developing theories of legal complexity and positing reasons for, and ways of, managing it. Legal scholars thus have skipped the hard part — developing quantitative metrics and methods for measuring and monitoring law’s complexity. But the theory of legal complexity will remain stuck in theory until it moves to the empirical phase of study, and thinking about ways of managing legal complexity is pointless if there is no yardstick for deciding how complex the law should be. In short, the theory of legal complexity cannot be put to work without more robust empirical tools for identifying and keeping track of complexity in legal systems. This Article explores legal complexity at a depth not previously undertaken in legal scholarship. Part I orients the discussion by briefly reviewing the scholarship using complexity science to develop descriptive, prescriptive, and ethical theories of legal complexity. Parts II through IV then shift to the empirical front, identifying potentially useful metrics and methods for studying legal complexity. Part II draws from complexity science to develop methods that have or might be applied to measure different features of legal complexity, including metrics for agents, trees, networks, computation, feedback, and emergence. Part III proposes methods for monitoring legal complexity over time, in particular by conceptualizing what we call Legal Maps — a multi-layered, active representation of the legal system network at work. Part IV concludes with a preliminary examination of how the measurement and monitoring techniques could inform interventions designed to manage legal complexity through use of currently available machine learning and user interface design technologies.
Predicting the Need for Neoaortic Arch Intervention in Infants with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome Through the Glenn Procedure.

Neoaortic recoarctation is present in up to over one-third of patients having undergone the Norwood procedure for hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Some of these patients will require reintervention by catheterization or surgery through the time of the Glenn procedure. Echocardiography and catheterization are often utilized in this period to assess hemodynamics although no specific criteria have been identified to predict whether and when neoaortic arch reintervention will be needed. We sought to identify predictors, including but not limited to echocardiographic and catheterization gradients, to predict such intervention. A retrospective analysis was conducted including patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Patients with significantly comorbid lesions such as isomerism, anomalous pulmonary venous connections, and significant atrioventricular valve insufficiency were excluded as were patients without interstage echocardiographic and catheterization data. Receiver operator curve analysis was performed to establish peak-value gradients by echocardiography and catheterization that were predictive of neoaortic reintervention from the time of the Norwood through the time of the Glenn. These values were then entered into a multivariate regression with several other factors to determine what factors were predictive of need for such intervention. Bland–Altman analysis was conducted to compare echocardiographic and catheterization gradients. A peak echocardiographic gradient of 26 mmHg (100 % sensitivity, 85 % specificity) and a peak-to-peak catheterization gradient of 8.5 mm Hg (83 % sensitivity, 86 % specificity) were found to be predictive of need for neoaortic arch reintervention after multivariate analysis. Echocardiographic and catheterization gradients were found to have poor correlation with one another. A peak gradient of 26 mmHg or greater by echocardiography and a peak-to-peak gradient of 8.5 mmHg or greater by catheterization after the Norwood but prior to the Glenn are predictive of need for neoaortic reintervention through the time of the Glenn hospitalization.
IMPLEMENTATION OF A STANDARDIZED APPROACH TO PEDIATRIC POSTOPERATIVE URINARY RETENTION DECREASES RATE OF INTERVENTION

Background To date, the literature contains no information regarding incidence, definitions, or evidence-based management guidelines for pediatric postoperative urinary retention. Prior to our project, up to 20% of pediatric orthopedic patients at our institution required intervention for suspected urinary retention prompting a multidisciplinary team to draft an algorithm incorporating patient-specific data to identify and manage retention. Objectives Increase the percentage of pediatric orthopedic patients with postoperative Foley catheters who had patient-specific management plans for urinary retention (defined as EMR order indicating bladder scan timing utilizing recent urine output and expected bladder capacity). Monitor urinary retention and catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) rates. Methods All orthopedic patients admitted to a single acute care unit in our freestanding children9s hospital with postoperative Foley catheters were included; patients with neurogenic bladders were excluded. Multiple plan-do-study-act cycles were employed to increase the percentage of patient-specific management plans ordered. Key interventions included templated EMR order text, job aid-guided order entry, provider redundancy, and automated calculations. The primary outcome measure, percentage of eligible patients with complete/correct plans, was plotted on a run chart. Results Median weekly percentage of included patients with complete/correct patient-specific management plans increased from 0% to 83% within 4 months. Patients requiring intervention for urinary retention decreased from an average of 20% to 9%. No CAUTIs occurred before or after implementation. Conclusions Utilizing quality improvement methods, we implemented a standardized approach to define and manage postoperative urinary retention. Standardization led to decreased interventions such as repeat catheterization for clinically insignificant retention.
Depth Calibration and Validation of the Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar, EAARL-B

ABSTRACT Wright, C.W.; Kranenburg, C.; Battista, T.A., and Parrish, C., 2016. Depth calibration and validation of the Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar, EAARL-B. In: Brock, J.C.; Gesch, D.B.; Parrish, C.E.; Rogers, J.N., and Wright, C.W. (eds.), Advances in Topobathymetric Mapping, Models, and Applications. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 76, pp. 4–17. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The original National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL), was extensively modified to increase the spatial sampling density and improve performance in water ranging from 3–44 m. The new (EAARL-B) sensor features a 300% increase in spatial density, which was achieved by optically splitting each laser pulse into 3 pulses spatially separated by 1.6 m along the flight track and 2.0 m across-track on the water surface when flown at a nominal altitude of 300 m. Improved depth capability was achieved by increasing the total peak laser...
Fighting for Respeto: Latinas’ Stories of Violence and Resistance Shaping Educational Opportunities:

Background/ContextThe experiences of Latina youth in the United States are embedded within a larger social context influenced by gender, ethnic/racial identity, socioeconomic status, language, and ...
The Economic Pamphleteer: Sustainability: Part of the New Women’s Movement

First paragraph: At recent local food conference in Toronto, Canada, I opened my presentation by com­menting on the impressively large numbers of women, young people, and racial and ethnic minorities in the audience. I suggested that the stereotypical old, white men were not going to give up control of the food system without a fight, so we need to be prepared to take it away from them. When I sat down, a female fellow panel member remarked to me that the women’s movement is very comple­mentary to the sustainable food movement. I replied, almost without thinking, “The sustainable food movement is a women’s movement.” I per­haps should have called it a women-led movement, for the sake of accuracy....
Estimation of State-Level Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection, US States and District of Columbia, 2010.

Background. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the most common chronic blood-borne infection in the United States and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Previous analyses of the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) indicated approximately 3.6 million noninstitutionalized persons with antibody to HCV (anti-HCV). However, state-level prevalence remains less understood and cannot be estimated reliably from NHANES alone. Methods. We used 3 publicly available government data sources to estimate anti-HCV prevalence in each US state among noninstitutionalized persons aged ≥18 years. A small-area estimation model combined indirect standardization of NHANES-based prevalence with logistic regression modeling of mortality data, listing acute or chronic HCV infection as a cause of death, from the National Vital Statistics System during 1999-2012. Model results were combined with US Census population sizes to estimate total number and prevalence of persons with antibody to HCV in 2010. Results. National anti-HCV prevalence was 1.67% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.53-1.90), or 3 911 800 (95% CI, 3 589 400- 4 447 500) adults in 2010. State-specific prevalence ranged from 0.71% (Illinois) to 3.34% (Oklahoma). The West census region had the highest region-specific prevalence (2.14% [95% CI, 1.96-2.48]); 10 of 13 states had rates above the national average. The South had the highest number of persons with anti-HCV (n = 1561600 [95% CI, 1 427 700-1 768 900]). The Midwest had the lowest region-specific prevalence (1.14% [95% CI, 1.04%-1.30%]). Conclusions. States in the US West and South have been most impacted by hepatitis C. Estimates of HCV infection burden are essential to guide policy and programs to optimally prevent, detect, and cure infection.
Economic Inequality and Higher Education

Issues related to economic inequality have become perhaps even more problematic now than when community colleges first began multiplying in towns and cities across the USA after World War II. The data on this subject are definitive and alarming. Economist Joseph Stiglitz concludes, in fact, that “it has increasingly been noted that America is becoming a plutocracy—not the land of opportunity that it perhaps once was, and that it likes to think of itself as still being” (Reforming 23). Despite great strides forward in the years following the Truman Commission Report, the last 30 years have been characterized by systematic disinvestment in higher education on both the state and national levels.
Coalescence and Interaction of Blast Waves Using Multiple Munitions

The focusing of shock waves is a phenomenon known to generate extreme conditions in the focal region of the converging shock. In nature, the curved shock fronts that appear in a variety of circumstances can lead to focusing effects during propagation. In the ocean, the collapse of cavitation bubbles is one of the most prevalent ways for shock focusing to occur. For large swimmers at shallow depth, the maximum speed of the swimmers is limited by the physical pain caused by cavitation collapse near the caudal fin [1]. On the other hand, in human society, many fields such as industrial and civil engineering, chemical, nuclear, biomedical, and aerospace industry can benefit from shock focusing. One of the most common applications is extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). It is a minimally invasive therapy to pulverize kidney stones into smaller fragments. During the procedure, shock waves are generated and focused to the localized area in a patient’s body, a process that will lead to stone fragmentation. Thus, studying the physics behind the mechanisms of shock focusing can not only help us to understand the nature better but also improve many applications valuable to human life.
Association Between Symptomatic Versus Asymptomatic Recurrence and Survival in Bladder Cancer.

Abstract Background The benefit of surveillance after curative cystectomy in bladder cancer is unproven, but might be justified if detection of asymptomatic recurrence improves survival. Previous studies showing a benefit of surveillance might have been affected by lead-time or length-time bias. Materials and Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study among 463 cystectomy patients at the University of Pennsylvania. Patients were followed according to a standardized protocol and classified according to asymptomatic or symptomatic recurrence detection. Primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Adjusted Cox regression models were used to assess the effect of mode of recurrence on survival from time of cystectomy (model 1) and time of recurrence (model 2) to account for lead and length time. Results One hundred ninety-seven patients (42.5%) recurred; 71 were asymptomatic (36.0%), 107 were symptomatic (54.3%), and 19 (9.6%) were unknown. Relative to patients with asymptomatic recurrence, patients with symptomatic recurrence had significantly increased risk of death (model 1: hazard ratio [HR], 1.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-2.61; model 2: HR, 1.74, 95% CI, 1.13-2.69) and had lower 1-year overall survival from time of recurrence (29.37% vs. 55.66%). Symptomatic patients were diagnosed with recurrence a median of 1.7 months before asymptomatic patients, yet their median survival from recurrence was 8.2 months less. Conclusion Symptomatic recurrence is associated with worse outcomes than asymptomatic recurrence, which cannot be explained by lead- or length-time bias. Similar methods to account for these biases should be considered in studies of cancer surveillance. Shortening surveillance intervals might allow for detection of more recurrences in an asymptomatic phase.
Screenprinting and TEI: Supporting Engagement with STEAM through DIY Fabrication of Smart Materials

This paper focuses on manual screenprinting as a DIY fabrication technique for embedding interactive behavior onto a rage of substrates such as paper, fabric, plastic, wood, or vinyl. We frame screenprinting as a process that operates at the intersection of art, technology, and material science and iteratively examine its potential in two STEAM contexts. We conducted youth and adult workshops whereby participants worked with our low-cost thermochromic, UV-sensitive, and conductive screenprinting inks to develop a range of concepts and final projects. Our findings highlight several unique features of screenprinting: it affords a low barrier to entry for smart material fabrication, supports a collaborative maker practice, and scaffolds creative engagement with STEAM concepts. By being widely-accessible and substrate-agnostic, screenprinting presents exciting opportunities for TEI: DIY fabrication of smart materials in domains such as fine arts, information visualization, and slow technology; and bridging diverse disciplines through STEAM screenprinting initiatives at youth and adult levels.
Guest editorial: selected papers from trusted internet workshop (TIW) 2004

Security was not an inherent feature of the Internet when it was originally deployed. The tremendous success and growth of the wired Internet has led to a wealth of applications ranging from e-commerce to grid computing. Quality of Service (QoS), reliability, and security are necessities for many of the applications. Furthermore, the growing number of wireless devices capable of connecting to Internet has made QoS, reliability, and security important issues in the wireless world as well. A considerable amount of research has been done on all aspects highlighted above, and much more remains to be done to secure the next-generation Internet and provide QoS. The term Trusted Internet refers to the next generation Internet that is capable of providing QoS, reliability, and security guarantees to the applications and end-users. We are pleased to present before you this special issue of the Journal of High Speed Networks (JHSN) consisting of selected papers from the Third Annual Trusted Internet Workshop (TIW) 2004 that was held in conjunction with the International Conference on High-Performance Computing (HiPC) on December 22, 2004 in Bangalore, INDIA. The goal of the workshop was to provide a forum for researchers and practitioners to present and discuss their work and exchange ideas in the areas of Internet QoS, Internet Reliability, and Internet Security. A similar special issue consisting of selected papers from the 2003 workshop was published last year as JHSN special issue, Vol. 13, no. 4, Dec. 2004. The workshop received 30 paper submissions. Each submission was reviewed by at least three reviewers, following which nine papers, some of which were regular and the remaining short, were selected for presentation at the workshop. For this special issue, we have selected six of these papers. Each of these six papers is an enhanced version of their workshop counterparts, and have been reviewed again by the special issue co-editors. The papers represent a good sample of the ongoing research in this area, and we hope that these will stimulate further advances in this area. The paper titled “SCIT-DNS: Critical infrastructure protection through secure DNS server dynamic updates” by Y. Huang, D. Arsenault and A. Sood presents a secure implementation framework for DNS servers. The framework called “Self-Cleaning Intrusion Tolerance” eliminates the risk of keeping the private keys of the DNS server online to sign dynamic updates, and uses hardware redundancy. An implementation of the framework is also presented. The paper titled “SPEE: A Secure Program Execution Environment tool using code integrity checking” by O. Gelbart, B. Narahari and R. Simha attempts to create a secure program execution environment by complementing the existing code security tools with the addition of program checking and program/user authentication. To this
Crossed Products and Duality

We begin now systematic study of automorphism actions of a locally compact group on a von Neumann algebra. For those readers who are unfamiliar with a locally compact group or unwilling to spend extra minute on the general theory of locally compact groups should assume that your group is simply the additive group R of real numbers or Z of integers. We will take these two groups for applications in the later chapters.
The Influence of Charge on the Deposition Behavior of Aerosol Particles with Emphasis on Singly Charged Nanometer Sized Particles

The particle number concentration in ambient air is dominated by nanometer sized particles and most airborne particles carry a few charges. Our deposition studies in hollow airway casts demonstrate that electrical forces can result in significantly enhanced deposition of these particles in human airways. Deposition of highly charged airborne particles by electrical forces has been previously demonstrated experimentally in the respiratory tract in animals and people. Theory predicts that image forces will increase deposition of charged compared with neutral particles. However, modeling and experiments with particles whose deposition is dominated by inertial and gravitational forces suggest the effect is only discernible for highly charged particles. Our results show that the effect of single electrostatic charges carried by ultrafine particles cannot be neglected in modeling lung deposition.
Mechanism of Action of Guinea Pig Liver Transglutaminase: III. THE METAL-DEPENDENT HYDROLYSIS OF p-NITROPHENYL ACETATE; FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON THE ROLE OF METAL IN ENZYME ACTIVATION

Abstract Evidence is presented that transglutaminase catalyzes the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate and that this esterolysis occurs at or near a site involved in the other activities of the enzyme. Calcium or strontium is required for this reaction. p-Nitrophenyl acetate hydrolysis is effectively inhibited by another transglutaminase substrate, carbobenzoxy (CBZ)-l-glutaminylglycine. Parallel losses in the esterolytic and hydroxamate incorporation activities are observed following treatment of transglutaminase with iodoacetamide. The pH profile for esterolysis is similar, in certain respects, to that for hydroxamate incorporation. The turnover number, 92 ± 13 moles of p-nitrophenol formed min-1 mole of enzyme-1 at pH 6, 24°, in 5% isopropyl alcohol and at saturating levels of calcium ion, is approximately 20- and 100-fold those at pH 8 reported for rabbit muscle 3-phosphoglyceraldehyde dehydrogenase and chymotrypsin, respectively. A kinetic evaluation of this calcium-dependent transglutaminase-catalyzed esterolysis reaction shows that the mechanism differs from that of the hydroxamate incorporation reaction. The activator constant (Ka) of calcium (0.8 ± 0.25 x 10-3 m at pH 6, 24°) and the apparent dissociation constant (K'd) determined for the metal-enzyme complex by equilibrium dialysis (1 ± 0.6 x 10-3 m at pH 7, 2°) are approximately an order of magnitude lower than the Ka of calcium reported for the hydroxamate incorporation reaction and the Kd values derived from calcium-induced conformational changes in the enzyme protein. The Ka of calcium in the esterolysis reaction shows a marked decrease as the pH is increased with an apparent pK at 6.4, while the Kd for this cation, as measured by ultraviolet difference spectrophotometry, is independent of pH over the range studied. The calcium ion level required for reactivity of an essential —SH group of transglutaminase was found to be in the range of the Ka of calcium in the esterase reaction and the K'd for the calcium-enzyme complex as measured by equilibrium dialysis. Re-examination of the hydroxamate incorporation reaction at pH 5.4 and at high substrate and low calcium ion levels revealed a dependence of maximum velocity on cation concentration and a nonlinear relationship between reciprocal velocity and reciprocal metal ion concentration. These observations support and extend a previous suggestion that transglutaminase functions in combination with divalent cation as a metal-enzyme complex. They also form the basis for a proposition that metal ion combines in two different positions on the enzyme, thus giving rise to three possible enzyme-metal complexes. A complex containing only 1 metal ion serves to catalyze the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate, whereas the complex in which cation is bound at both sites in the enzyme is essential for amine incorporation into the glutamine substrate.
Transformer-DARwIn: A Hybrid Locomotion Humanoid Designed to Walk or Roll

We present an innovative design solution to increase a humanoid robot's mobility with future prospects of companionship service application. Bipedal robots often exhibit unstable gaits while walking on rough terrain. Even small obstacles can yield catastrophic falls. Therefore, we have designed wheel attachments which allow a humanoid to move faster and more effectively. Moreover, such attachments do not interfere with the robot's overall mobility, and these attachments can be implemented with low costs. This paper explores the performance of a hybrid locomotion robot capable of switching from bipedal to wheeled mode. The anthropomorphic miniature humanoid, DARwIn-OP, was used for experiments and performance evaluation.
Annexin A2 (ANX A2): An Emerging Biomarker and Potential Therapeutic Target for Aggressive Cancers.

ANX A2 is an important member of annexin family of proteins expressed on surface of endothelial cells (ECs), macrophages, mononuclear cells and various types of cancer cells. It exhibits high affinity binding for calcium (Ca++ ) and phospholipids. ANX A2 plays an important role in many biological processes such as endocytosis, exocytosis, autophagy, cell-cell communications and biochemical activation of plasminogen. On the cell surface ANX A2 organizes the assembly of plasminogen (PLG) and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) for efficient conversion of PLG to plasmin, a serine protease. Proteolytic activity of plasmin is required for activation of inactive pro-metalloproteases (pro-MMPs) and latent growth factors for their biological actions. These activation steps are critical for degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) and basement proteins (BM) for cancer cell invasion and metastasis. Increased expression of ANX A2 protein/gene has been correlated with invasion and metastasis in a variety of human cancers. Moreover, clinical studies have positively correlated ANX A2 protein expression with aggressive cancers and with resistance to anticancer drugs, shorter disease-free survival (DFS), and worse overall survival (OS). The mechanism(s) by which ANX A2 regulates cancer invasion and metastasis are beginning to emerge. Investigators used various technologies to target ANX A2 in preclinical model of human cancers and demonstrated exciting results. In this review article, we analyzed existing literature concurrent with our own findings and provided a critical overview of ANX A2-dependent mechanism(s) of cancer invasion and metastasis.
Reshaping and sintering of 3D fcc metal nanoclusters: Stochastic atomistic modeling with realistic surface diffusion kinetics

Far-from-equilibrium evolution of metallic nanocluster shapes is highly sensitive to the atomistic-level details of surface diffusion for diverse local surface configurations. A stochastic model was developed incorporating realistic values for the multiple diffusion barriers (contrasting previous unrealistic generic prescriptions) based upon insights from homoepitaxial film growth. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulation then elucidates the conversion of Ag nanocubes to Wulff polyhedra mediated by nucleation of new ${100}$ facets, the pinch-off of sufficiently elongated Ag nanorods, and key aspects of sintering for orientationally aligned Ag and Au nanoclusters. The time scale for sintering of Au nanoclusters observed in high-resolution transmission electron microscopy studies was also recovered.
Understanding Personalities and Not Just Skills in Radiology

To work well together as a radiology team, understanding of each other's personality would be useful. Personalities are like jigsaw puzzles and when placed together there can be may rewards to the individual, section, department or company. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator can be used to help assess individuals on four different dichotomies. It is important to harness the strength of each individual's personality to achieve optimal teamwork in radiology.
U.S. Church Leaders’ Responses to the Charleston Church Shooting: An Examination Based on Speech Act Theory

ABSTRACTThis paper uses Speech Act Theory to examine the content of twenty pastors’ responses to the Charleston Church Shooting in June 2015. Speech Act Theory rests on the premise that speakers us...
Elucidating how particle packing controls rheology and strength development of dense cementitious suspensions

Abstract Although maximizing particle packing strategy is primarily applied to formulate high performance cementitious suspensions, this may induce constraints for the growth of hydration products, resulting in reduced microstructural evolution at later ages. This paper elucidates the effects of particle packing on rheology and strength development of dense suspensions containing ordinary portland cement (OPC) and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). The particle packing was altered through tuning water film thickness to examine its impact over transition of cementitious suspensions from concentrated state to the onset of flow state. This transition was characterized by determining the optimum water demand to achieve maximum solid concentration and minimum water demand to initiate flow. A series of virtual microstructural simulations were also performed to examine the effect of excess water on inter-particle spacing and formation of the connected solid network through formation of main cement hydrate (i.e., calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H)). The results indicate that although transition of the cementitious suspension from concentrated state to the onset of flow state reduces particle packing and elevates separation between neighboring particles, these effects become less pronounced for the OPC-SCM systems than the plain OPC system. The synergistic effect between OPC and SCMs on strength development is controlled by water extent. An account of saturated surface area effect, rate of strength evolution slows down at concentrated state. The outcomes of this study can be applied to optimize the design of dense cementitious suspensions by exploiting optimal particle packing while enabling strength development by providing pore space for growth of hydration compounds.
Mandatory use of prescription drug monitoring program and benzodiazepine prescribing among U.S. Medicaid enrollees

AbstractBackground: In the past two decades, the U.S. saw an alarmingly increasing trend of benzodiazepine prescribing. Mandatory use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) was suggested ...
Optimal Default Retirement Saving Policies: Theory and Evidence from OregonSaves

I theoretically analyze and empirically identify the optimal default savings rate in automatic enrollment retirement saving plans. I derive a formula for the optimal default as a function of sufficient statistics that can be empirically identified. I estimate individual adherence to the default using exogenous increases in the default rate of OregonSaves, the first state-sponsored auto-enrollment plan in the U.S. I also use survey data to infer the degree of undersaving if workers actively switch to a non-default rate. Combining estimates from administrative and survey data with the optimal default formula, I find the optimal default is 7% of income.
Liquidus Curves of AgNO3(aq) Calculated from the Modified Adsorption Isotherm Model for Aqueous Electrolytes

The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) adsorption isotherm as modified by Robinson and Stokes is used to calculate the liquidus curve of AgNO3(aq) including the eutectic point and metastable phases. The simplified approach described here predicts the liquidus curves by using sparse data and readily available constants.
Estimating SNP heritability in presence of population substructure in large biobank-scale data

SNP heritability of a trait is measured by the proportion of total variance explained by the additive effects of genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Linear mixed models are routinely used to estimate SNP heritability for many complex traits. The basic concept behind this approach is to model genetic contribution as a random effect, where the variance of this genetic contribution attributes to the heritability of the trait. This linear mixed model approach requires estimation of relatedness among individuals in the sample, which is usually captured by estimating a genetic relationship matrix (GRM). Heritability is estimated by the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) or method of moments (MOM) approaches, and this estimation relies heavily on the GRM computed from the genetic data on individuals. Presence of population substructure in the data could significantly impact the GRM estimation and may introduce bias in heritability estimation. The common practice of accounting for such population substructure is to adjust for the top few principal components of the GRM as covariates in the linear mixed model. Here we propose an alternative way of estimating heritability in multi-ethnic studies. Our proposed approach is a MOM estimator derived from the Haseman-Elston regression and gives an asymptotically unbiased estimate of heritability in presence of population stratification. It introduces adjustments for the population stratification in a second-order estimating equation and allows for the total phenotypic variance vary by ethnicity. We study the performance of different MOM and REML approaches in presence of population stratification through extensive simulation studies. We estimate the heritability of height, weight and other anthropometric traits in the UK Biobank cohort to investigate the impact of subtle population substructure on SNP heritability estimation.
Resveratrol: Friend or Foe?

In this issue of Molecular Cell, Benslimane et al. (2020) perform a CRISPR-Cas9 chemogenomic screen, identifying a network of DNA replication and genome integrity genes with the nutraceutical compound Resveratrol and its analog Pterostilbene, linking these compounds to the induction of DNA replication stress in mammalian cells.
Introduction: Stories Across Media

The early 1990s was a heady time for interactive digital stories. Just a few years earlier, in 1987, Amanda Goodenough had used the newly-released HyperCard to write the first interactive digital story, Inigo Gets Out. Her motivation? To capture the traditional storytelling atmosphere her grandmother had created for her when she was a young child: a vital interactive environment in which her grandmother would say, “what do you think happens next?” and in which the lines were never the same. The stories her grandmother told became Amanda’s as she helped shape them with her own interpretations and brought them into her everyday reality. In Amanda’s interactive story, children make Inigo’s actions their own. “Children know intuitively where to click,” and how to make the story happen. It is no longer a “print” story, with words and pictures on a page, but a virtual story environment with which to interact and in which things can be made to happen.
Control of Deformation Rates in Soil Testing

CONTROLLED-RATE-OF-DEFORMATION TESTS USUALLY INVOLVE AN ELECTRIC MOTOR WITH A RELATIVELY EXPENSIVE MULTIGEAR- REDUCTION UNIT. EQUIPMENT IS DESCRIBED THAT IS OF REASONABLE COST AND ALLOWS CONTINUOUS, NEARLY INSTANTANEOUS SPEED VARIATIONS FROM MAXIMUM TO ESSENTIALLY ZERO. THE MOTOR CAN BE STALLED BY OVERLOADING WITHOUT DAMAGE. THE APPARATUS IS CONSIDERED ESPECIALLY SUITED FOR AUTOMATIC ELECTRONIC CONTROL THROUGH USE OF FEEDBACK MECHANISMS AND CAN THUS BE USED FOR A WIDE RANGE OF SOIL TESTING. THE USUAL SCREW-JACK MECHANICAL LOADER IS COMPLEMENTED BY A STEPPING MOTOR AND ELECTRONIC CONTROL SYSTEM IN PLACE OF A MOTOR--TRANSMISSION UNIT. THE MOTOR SHAFT ROTATES THROUGH AN ANGLE OF 1.8 DEG PER COMMAND AND THEN LOCKS IN PLACE; OTHER FIXED ANGLES CAN BE USED. THIS MOTION DEFORMS THE SOIL SPECIMEN BY ONLY 0.00001 IN. THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNITS PRESENTLY IN USE ALLOW TRIAXIAL COMPRESSION TESTS TO BE PERFORMED ON SPECIMENS 3 IN. HIGH WITH FAILURE TIMES RANGING FROM ABOUT 15 MIN. TO SEVERAL YEARS. A SCHEMATIC OF THE DEVICE IS PRESENTED, AND ITS OPERATING PRINCIPLES ARE DESCRIBED. ADDITIONAL ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT REQUIRED FOR OTHER SOIL- TESTING APPLICATIONS IS NOTED.
Human carboxylesterases and fluorescent probes to image their activity in live cells

Human carboxylesterases (CESs) are serine hydrolases that are responsible for the phase I metabolism of an assortment of ester, amide, thioester, carbonate, and carbamate containing drugs. CES activity is known to be influenced by a variety of factors including single nucleotide polymorphisms, alternative splicing, and drug-drug interactions. These different factors contribute to interindividual variability of CES activity which has been demonstrated to influence clinical outcomes among people treated with CES-substrate therapeutics. Detailed exploration of the factors that influence CES activity is emerging as an important area of research. The use of fluorescent probes with live cell imaging techniques can selectively visualize the real-time activity of CESs and have the potential to be useful tools to help reveal the impacts of CES activity variations on human health. This review summarizes the properties of the five known human CESs including factors reported to or that could potentially influence their activity before discussing the design aspects and use considerations of CES fluorescent probes in general in addition to highlighting several well-characterized probes.
Placement of Observations for Variational Data Assimilation: Application to Burgers’ Equation and Seiche Phenomenon

Observation placement in variational data assimilation determines cost function structure in the space of control. The presence of flatness in the cost function’s gradient presents problems in the iterative passage to the cost function’s minimum. Determination of observation placement that avoids these flat zones generally permits expeditious passage to the cost function minimum. A contribution to this volume (Lakshmivarahan S, Lewis JM, Maryada SKR (2020b) Observability Gramian and its role in the placement of observations in dynamical data assimilation. In: Data assimilation for atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic applications. Springer Pub. Co., New York) has theoretically determined methodology that identifies observation placement that avoids these flat zones. The placement relies on the norm of a semi-definite positive Gramian matrix G—a matrix derived from forecast sensitivity to control. Two dynamical systems are tested with this methodology: (1) Burgers’ Equation, and (2) Seiche phenomenon, the normal mode oscillations in lakes. Analytic solutions to both constraints have been found. For each dynamical system, two sets of observation placement are considered: one where observations locations correspond to places where the norm of G is large, and one where the norm is small. Results indicate that observation placement where the norm of G was large led to well-defined structure of the cost function at the operating point in control space, a structure where the cost-function gradient was bound away from zero, whereas choices for observation locations where the norm of G was small-magnitude led to troublesome cost function structure, a structure where small-magnitude gradient presented difficulty in advancing toward the cost-function minimum.
Targeting and limiting surgery for patients with node-positive breast cancer

The presence of axillary nodal metastases has a significant impact on locoregional and systemic treatment decisions. Historically, all node-positive patients underwent complete axillary lymph node dissection; however, this paradigm has changed over the last 10 years. The use of sentinel lymph node dissection has expanded from its initial role as a surgical staging procedure in clinically node-negative patients. Clinically node-negative patients with small volume disease found on sentinel lymph node dissection now commonly avoid more extensive axillary surgery. There is interest in expanding this role to node-positive patients who receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy as a way to restage the axilla in hopes of sparing women who convert to node-negative status from the morbidity of complete nodal clearance. While sentinel lymph node dissection alone may not accomplish this goal, there are novel techniques, such as targeted axillary dissection, that may now allow for reliable nodal staging after chemotherapy.
Formal Reasoning Ability in Preservice Elementary Education Students: Matched to the Technology Education Task at Hand?.

AbstractApplications of computers and associated technologies in education often call for students to use and develop formal reasoning skills. Preservice teachers are often expected to possess the formal reasoning skills needed to use technology in this manner and later, as teachers, to instruct their students in such applications of technology. This study examines the formal reasoning abilities of 147 preservice elementary education students enrolled in a computer education course at a large mid-western university via the Arlin Test of Formal Reasoning (ATFR). A descriptive picture of students’ abilities for the categories of concrete, high concrete, transitional, low formal, and formal reasoning is presented. Possible correlations between subjects’ ages and self-reported grade point averages and their scores on the ATFR are investigated. Implications for the schools and for computer and technology courses for preservice teachers are discussed.
Upregulation of Quinone Reductase by Glucosinolate Hydrolysis Products From Dietary Broccoli

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the upregulation of the detoxification enzyme quinone reductase (QR) by crucifers, particularly broccoli, as it relates to cancer prevention. It is suggested that the upregulation of QR and other phase II detoxification enzymes may be the means by which cruciferous vegetables provide protection from cancer, either by destroying carcinogens before they have their effects, or more generally, by inhibiting the ability of reactive oxygen species to initiate or support carcinogenesis. Compounds that activate a battery of phase II enzymes, without activation of cytochrome P450, have been termed monofunctional inducers. The monofunctional inducers appear to share anticarcinogenic properties, making induction of QR a good biomarker of anticarcinogenic action. There are several advantages to the measurement of QR, rather than other detoxification enzymes, as a bioassay or biomarker of anticarcinogenic activity. Synergistic effects of glucosinolate metabolites are described. The chapter analyzes the variability in the effect of dietary cruciferous vegetables on induction of QR. Genotype variation in glucosinolate content of cruciferous vegetables is also elaborated in the chapter. The chapter describes the environmental effects on glucosinolate content of crucifers.
Linear and Nonlinear Spectroscopy with the Tunable AC Scanning Tunneling Microscope

The tunable microwave frequency AC scanning tunneling microscope (ACSTM) has opened the possibility of recording local spectra and local chemical information on insulator surfaces much as the conventional STM has done for metals and semiconductors. We describe the various types of spectroscopies that can be performed with the ACSTM. These include linear spectroscopies where the amplitude at the modulation frequency is measured as well as nonlinear spectroscopies utilizing the amplitudes of the harmonics of the modulation frequency generated in the tunneling junction. Spectroscopy in the microwave frequency range also enables heretofore unrealizable measurements on conducting substrates such as the rotational spectroscopy of a single adsorbed molecule.
Design of lattice wave digital filter banks

A lattice wave digital filter (LWDF) is a two-port modeled after a classic lattice filter. LWDFs derived from lossless lattice filters are inherently branching filters. Applying a simple transform to the transfer functions of a pair of proper prototype filters leads to a complete filter bank design. An example for such a design using LWDFs, an octave filter bank, is given. The magnitude of the sum of all transfer functions can be forced to be one. Unfortunately, the transformation increases the number of delays very fast. In this paper, it is shown how to reduce the number of delays with an analytic method.
Design of the delay-dependent /spl Lscr//sub 2/-gain filters for a general class of LPV time-delayed systems

In this paper, we address the problem of designing parameter-dependent H/sup /spl infin// filters for output estimation in an LPV plant that includes known state delay. We assume that state-space data depend on parameters that are not known a priori but are measurable in real-time. We investigate the required conditions to satisfy both asymptotic stability and H/sup /spl infin// performance in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The designed filters are looked for being capable of tracking the desired plant outputs in the presence of external disturbances. Two sets of LMI formulation are presented: one for a family of memoryless filters and another one for a class of filters which include state-delay in their dynamics. A simulation-based comparison is also provided in order to show the competence of our design methodology and superiority of the delayed filters relative to the memoryless ones.
The diffusion of Radon shape

In 1977, D. G. Kendall [J. Appl. Probab. 28 (1991), no. 1, 225--230; MR1090460 (92f:60135)] considered diffusions of shape induced by independent Brownian motions in Euclidean space. In this paper, we consider a different class of diffusions of shape, induced by the projections of a randomly rotating, labelled ensemble. In particular, we study diffusions of shapes induced by projections of planar triangular configurations of labelled points onto a fixed straight line. That is, we consider the process in $\Sigma^3_1$ (the shape space of triads in $\Bbb R$) that results from extracting the `shape information' from the projection of a given labelled planar triangle as this evolves under the action of Brownian motion in SO(2). We term the thus-defined diffusions Radon diffusions and derive explicit stochastic differential equations and stationary distributions. The latter belong to the family of angular central Gaussian distributions. In addition, we discuss how these Radon diffusions and their limiting distributions are related to the shape of the initial triangle, and explore whether the relationship is bijective. The triangular case is then used as a basis for the study of processes in $\Sigma^k_1$ arising from projections of an arbitrary number, $k$, of labelled points on the plane. Finally, we discuss the problem of Radon diffusions in the general shape space $\Sigma^k_n$.