cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Early, accurate and fast yield estimation through Monte Carlo-alternative probabilistic behavioral analog system simulations

Monte Carlo analysis has so far been the corner stone for analog statistical simulations. Fast and accurate simulations are necessary for stringent time-to-market, design for manufacturability and yield concerns in the analog domain. Although Monte Carlo attains accuracy, it does so with a sacrifice in run-time for analog simulations. In this paper, we propose a fast and accurate probabilistic simulation method alternative to Monte Carlo using deterministic sampling and weight propagation. We furthermore propose accuracy improvement algorithms and a fast yield calculation method. The proposed method shows accuracy improvement combined with a 100-fold reduction in run-time with respect to a 1000-sample Monte Carlo analysis.
Oxygen control of intracellular distribution of mitochondria in muscle fibers.

Mitochondrial density in skeletal muscle fibers is governed by the demand for aerobic ATP production, but the heterogeneous distribution of these mitochondria appears to be governed by constraints associated with oxygen diffusion. We propose that each muscle fiber has an optimal mitochondrial distribution at which it attains a near maximal rate of ATP consumption (RATPase) while mitochondria are exposed to a minimal oxygen concentration, thus minimizing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. We developed a coupled reaction-diffusion/cellular automata (CA) mathematical model of mitochondrial function and considered 4 fiber types in mouse extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and soleus (SOL) muscle. The developed mathematical model uses a reaction - diffusion analysis of metabolites including oxygen, ATP, ADP, phosphate and phosphocreatine (PCr) involved in energy metabolism and mitochondrial function. A CA approach governing mitochondrial life cycles in response to the metabolic state of the fiber was superimposed and coupled to the reaction-diffusion approach. The model results show the sensitivity of important model outputs such as the RATPase, effectiveness factor (η) and average oxygen concentration available at each mitochondrion to local oxygen concentration in the fibers through variation in the CA model parameter θdet, which defines the sensitivity of mitochondrial death to the oxygen concentration. The predicted optimal mitochondrial distributions matched previous experimental findings. Deviations from this optimal distribution corresponding to higher CA model parameter values (a more uniform mitochondrial distribution) lead to lower aerobic rates. In contrast, distributions corresponding to lower CA model parameter values (a more asymmetric distribution) lead to an increased exposure of mitochondria to oxygen, usually without substantial increases in aerobic rates, which would presumably result in increased ROS production and thus increased risks of cytotoxicity.
Quality-control materials in the USDA National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program (NFNAP).

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Nutrient Data Laboratory (NDL) develops and maintains the USDA National Nutrient Databank System (NDBS). Data are released from the NDBS for scientific and public use through the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR) (http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/ndl). In 1997 the NDL initiated the National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program (NFNAP) to update and expand its food-composition data. The program included: 1) nationwide probability-based sampling of foods; 2) central processing and archiving of food samples; 3) analysis of food components at commercial, government, and university laboratories; 4) incorporation of new analytical data into the NDBS; and 5) dissemination of these data to the scientific community. A key feature and strength of the NFNAP was a rigorous quality-control program that enabled independent verification of the accuracy and precision of analytical results. Custom-made food-control composites and/or commercially available certified reference materials were sent to the laboratories, blinded, with the samples. Data for these materials were essential to ongoing monitoring of analytical work, to identify and resolve suspected analytical problems, to ensure the accuracy and precision of results for the NFNAP food samples.
LATE CLASSIC MAYA DRAINAGE AND FLOOD CONTROL AT COPAN, HONDURAS

Recent research on pre-Hispanic Maya water management has revealed a diverse array of water-control techniques that were employed in the Maya Lowlands. Since much of this research has focused on water management for consumption and agriculture, other forms of water management—namely, for drainage and flood control—remain poorly understood. This report describes the various water-control techniques dedicated to drainage and flood control at Late Classic Copan, Honduras (a.d. 600–900), and explores the social implications of this form of water control. Technological variation in water control throughout urban Copan and between Copan and Palenque, the other major Maya center where drainage and flood control have been investigated, suggests that water management at Copan may have been organized differentially across the urban center.
But That’s Not Fair! An Exploratory Study of Student Perceptions of Instructor Fairness:

Whereas research points to desirable educational outcomes that are enhanced by fairness in the classroom, this study addresses a fundamental question: what do professors do that students perceive as fair or unfair? Using the critical incident technique, the authors elicit specific course-related behaviors by college professors that are perceived as fair and unfair by marketing students. The authors find that the drivers of perceptions of fairness and unfairness are not simple mirror images. Procedural and interactional dimensions appear to be present, in addition to student reactions to outcomes. Some reported behaviors did seem unfair, whereas students appear to misinterpret other behaviors that likely had no malicious intent. The article assesses the current state of research related to fairness and relates this knowledge to fairness in the classroom. After describing the study and its results, the authors discuss the implications for teachers and for future research on classroom fairness.
Effects of survey methods on burrowing owl behaviors

Monitoring wildlife populations often involves intensive survey efforts to attain reliable estimates of population size. Such efforts can increase disturbance to animals, alter detection, and bias population estimates. Burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) are declining across western North America, and information on the relative effects of potential survey methods on owl behaviors is needed. We designed a field experiment to compare burrowing owl flight distances, times displaced, and probabilities of being displaced between 4 potential population survey methods (single walking surveyor, single vehicle stop, single vehicle stop with 2 surveyors, and double vehicle stop with 2 surveyors), and an experimental control in the agricultural matrix of Imperial Valley, California. Between 25 April and 1 May 2008, we randomly applied survey methods to 395 adult male owls during daylight hours (0700 hours through 1900 hours). All survey methods increased odds of displacing owls from perches. Survey methods with observers outside the vehicle were 3 times more likely to displace an owl than a single vehicle stop where observers remained inside the vehicle. Owls were displaced farther distances by all survey methods compared to control trials, but distances and time displaced did not differ among survey methods. We recommend that surveys for counting owls during the breeding season in agroecystems like the Imperial Valley where high densities of owls nest primarily along the borders of fields be conducted using single vehicle stops with or without 2 surveyors, depending on conditions for locating owls from roads. 2011 The Wildlife Society. Monitoring wildlife populations of management or conser- vation concern often involves intensive survey efforts to attain reliable estimates of abundance. An increase in survey effort with a carefully selected experimental design can improve precision of estimates and increase statistical power to detect population change (Caughley 1977, Montgomery 1997). However, increased survey efforts may increase disturbance, leading to changes in frequency, distance, and duration of animal displacement during a survey. These short-term behavioral responses may introduce unknown levels of bias into population estimates by altering detection rates and increasing the risk of double counting individuals. Human disturbance during the breeding season can also decrease productivity and survivorship by disrupting normal
Tofacitinib (CP-690,550), a Janus kinase inhibitor for dry eye disease: results from a phase 1/2 trial.

Objective To evaluate safety and efficacy of topical ophthalmic tofacitinib (CP-690,550), a novel Janus kinase inhibitor, in treating dry eye disease (DED). Design A phase 1/2 prospective, randomized, double-masked, multicenter, vehicle- and comparator-controlled trial (NCT00784719). Participants Patients (n = 327) 18 years of age and older with a DED diagnosis for 6 months or more. Methods Tofacitinib (0.0003% twice daily, n = 46; 0.001% in both eyes twice daily, n = 47; 0.003% twice daily, n = 48; 0.005% twice daily, n = 48; 0.005% once daily, n = 44) results were compared with those of groups receiving active treatment cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% twice daily (n = 47) and vehicle twice daily (n = 47). Safety and efficacy evaluations were performed at baseline and throughout the 8-week study. Main outcome measures Schirmer wetting, corneal staining, tear film break-up time, conjunctival staining, Ocular Comfort Index (OCI), and Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI). Results All tofacitinib doses were well tolerated, exhibiting better patient-reported ocular tolerability than cyclosporine. For the proportion of patients achieving 10 mm or more Schirmer wetting (without anesthesia) at week 8 (primary end point), greater response rates were observed in the tofacitinib 0.001% twice daily (27.3%), 0.005% twice daily (25.5%), and 0.005% once daily (26.1%) groups versus vehicle (20.0%); however, the differences were not statistically significant. Mean increase in Schirmer wetting (without anesthesia) from baseline was statistically significant (P Conclusions This phase 1/2 study of tofacitinib demonstrated a trend for improving both signs and symptoms of dry eye. All doses of tofacitinib exhibited a reasonable safety profile and were well tolerated by patients with DED.
Place, Space, Identity: A Spatial Semiotics of the Urban Vernacular in Global Cities

Although urban communities in global cities appear quite different, particularly at first glance, spatial semiotic analysis reveals similarities in ‘glocalized’ spaces. People change the meaning of social spaces by changing the way these places look, through their activities and by their presence. Understanding how this meaning-making happens is critical to the study of urban places and cultures. Because of globalization, diverse people frequently live within the same political boundaries, but the real test of community takes place during the course of everyday life on the streets, in the shops, and in public spaces of neighborhoods. Class, racial, and ethnic hierarchies mark urban space with differential meanings. Though disadvantaged in conflicts with elites, ordinary urban dwellers express their agency in the ways they challenge and sometimes subvert the ‘official’ uses of social space. This entails, in part, remaking the space to look familiar in order to make the space their own place. Through their social interactions and their material traces, urban dwellers fill social space with expressive, conative and phatic signs of their collective identity. The spatial semiotic perspective, we argue, offers a way to transcend the usual global/local dichotomy of globalization research. Immigrant urban cultures produce spaces of mixture, where both similarity and difference co-exist. We present data from urban neighborhood communities in US and European cities. Our spatial semiotic analysis reveals how micro-segregation and group interactions produce urban culture, constrained by and challenging existing power arrangements, at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Analysis of Converging-Diverging Beveled Nozzle Jets Using Large Eddy Simulation with a Wall Model

Accurate predictions of jet noise require inclusion of the nozzle in large eddy simulations (LES). This is especially true for jets with complicated nozzle geometries such as those used on actual aircraft and those suggested for noise reduction. However, the additional cost of resolving the near-wall turbulence at realistic Reynolds numbers is often prohibitive. To make such simulations more economical, a wall model based on the logarithmic velocity profile was previously developed and validated for nearly incompressible flat plate boundary layers (BLs). In this work, the wall model is validated for simulations of convergingdiverging (CD) nozzles for supersonic jet aeroacoustics predictions. Two simulations are performed of military-style nozzles based on the GE F400-series engines; one is axisymmetric while the other has a beveled exit plane. The impact of the beveling on the flowfield and farfield acoustics is examined and compared with available experimental data. Reasonable results are obtained and possible causes of discrepancies are highlighted. Beveling the nozzle exit plane is recommended for future research based on promising reductions in peak noise amplitude for some listener locations.
(Z,E)-9,12-Tetradecadien-1-ol: A Chemical Released by Female Plodia interpunctella That Inhibits the Sex Pheromone Response of Male Cadra cautella

A compound released by females of Plodia interpunctella (Hubner) inhibits the responses of male Cadra cautella (Walker) to the sex pheromone ( Z,E )-9,12-tetradecadien-1-ol acetate. The material was isolated and identified as ( Z,E )-9,12-tetradecadien-1-ol.
Consolation in Philippians: The rhetorical situation of Philippians

Let rhetoric be defined as the art of perceiving the available means of persuasion in any given situation. Aristotle, Ars rhet . 1.2.1 Letters are to be composed from those types that are always fitted to the situation. Ps.-Demetrius, Epist. Types , praef. To say, as many New Testament scholars now do, that Paul's letters must be studied in light of their respective rhetorical situations is to do more than simply repeat Historical Criticism's familiar creed that documents rooted in a specific historical context can be understood only in reference to that context. It is to say, rather, that Paul's letters were written in response to specific situations (the nature of which I will attempt to define below) and that each letter stands in relation to its situation in much the same way that an answer exists relative to a question or a solution to a problem. Furthermore, it is to say that a fairly detailed description of this generative situation is an early and important step in any critical study of a Pauline letter. In this chapter I will attempt to reconstruct the rhetorical situation of Philippians. Such a reconstruction is, of course, a work of synthesis that can exist only in dialogue with the more detailed exegetical analysis of the letter. As far as possible I will try to indicate the exegetical basis of my reconstruction; at times, however, I will refer to the exegetical chapters in part II below. I begin with a few theoretical considerations. The rhetorical situation: some theoretical observations Bitzer's theory of the rhetorical situation The current emphasis on the rhetorical situation in Pauline studies derives from the theoretical work of Lloyd Bitzer whose programmatic essay, “The Rhetorical Situation,” articulates a theory of “rhetoric-as-essentially-related-to-situation.”
Flocking in the hook-billed kite

Observation, le 2 sept. 1978 au-dessus d'une zone semi-boisee du sud-est de San Francisco de Apure, Venezuela, d'une bande de 25 Chondrohierax uncinatus, oiseau rarement observe en groupes. Notes sur la structure de la bande et precisions sur les plumages
Epigenetics and Carcinogenesis

Traditional studies on the combined effects of genetics and the environment on individual variation in disease susceptibility primarily focus on genetic sequence variants, including single-nucleotide polymorphisms, which influence toxicant uptake and metabolism. A growing body of evidence, however, suggests that epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation, such as DNA methylation and chromatin modification, are also influenced by the environment, and play an important role in the fetal basis of adult disease susceptibility, including carcinogenesis. Inherited and spontaneous or environmentally induced epigenetic alterations are now recognized as early molecular events in the formation of many cancers. Furthermore, such epigenetic alterations are potentially more adverse than nucleotide mutations since their effects on regional chromatin structure can spread, thereby affecting multiple genetic loci. Understanding the influence of early environmental and nutritional exposures on environmentally labile genes, including metastable epialleles and imprinted genes, offers insight into the mechanisms affecting the epigenome and subsequent disease susceptibility. This chapter introduced the field of environmental epigenomics, provided information on the important epigenetic control mechanisms and epigenetic phenomena in mammals, discussed the role of epigenetics in carcinogenesis, and summarized nutritional and environmental influences affecting the epigenome.
Sex-dependent effects of cannabis-induced analgesia

Abstract Background Preclinical studies demonstrate that cannabinoid-mediated antinociceptive effects vary according to sex; it is unknown if these findings extend to humans. Methods This retrospective analysis compared the analgesic, subjective and physiological effects of active cannabis (3.56–5.60% THC) and inactive cannabis (0.00% THC) in male (N = 21) and female (N = 21) cannabis smokers under double-blind, placebo-controlled conditions. Pain response was measured using the Cold-Pressor Test (CPT). Participants immersed their hand in cold water (4 °C); times to report pain (pain sensitivity) and withdraw the hand (pain tolerance) were recorded. Subjective drug ratings were also measured. Results Among men, active cannabis significantly decreased pain sensitivity relative to inactive cannabis (p Conclusions These results indicate that in cannabis smokers, men exhibit greater cannabis-induced analgesia relative to women. These sex-dependent differences are independent of cannabis-elicited subjective effects associated with abuse-liability, which were consistent between men and women. As such, sex-dependent differences in cannabis’s analgesic effects are an important consideration that warrants further investigation when considering the potential therapeutic effects of cannabinoids for pain relief.
Book Review: Reading Style: A Life in Sentences

To become better writers, students need to read great authors. For this reason, I always recommend that law students who want to become the best legal writers read great literature and novels especially those with subtle themes and complicated plots. Any good story with a subtext can help students develop better legal communication skills. The use of subtext, both psychosocial and historical, by many authors influences the reader’s perception and opinion of the characters. A compelling story can also be told with strong allusions and a variance between embellished details and short, direct descriptions. By working at the micro level with each sentence, students can craft a full brief that will glimmer from start to finish.
User Activity in Context: Technical Communicators as Articulators of Google Analytics Data

This technical report addresses questions raised by technical communication scholars concerning who or what may have rhetorical agency [1] in technology tools used to organize and manage information. One such tool is Google Analytics, a self-contained third-party system that technical communicators deploy by adding tracking code to web pages. Data collected through Google's algorithms are processed and presented through the Analytics reporting tool. Customizable reports are managed by the Analytics account administrator and shared with web developers, designers, and writers to assess rhetorical value, defined as whether the page reached its audience and achieved its communicative purpose. The data are also frequently shared with administrators, supervisors, and data technicians to demonstrate ongoing value of website work and technical communicator labor. Report data, in the form of metrics and customizable visual interfaces, not only visualize the rhetorical value of web pages, but also represent Google's rhetorical agency as designer and presenter of metrics. The paper encourages technical communicators to do symbolic-analytic work [34] to contextualize and remediate report data in their organizations. It reframes Analytics reports as "network exchanges" [29] in which responses, not resolution, are the goal of the Analytics report's rhetorical work. In this way, Google Analytics reports generate responses, rather than results, where technical communicators become part of the rhetorical network exchange and articulate Analytics data for stakeholders seeking website user and visit metrics.
Abstract 4853: A bioinformatics approach to drug discovery: patient based connectivity mapping

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States (5% of cancer deaths). The standard treatment for patients with advanced EOC is initial debulking surgery followed by carboplatin-paclitaxel combination chemotherapy. Unfortunately, even with modern chemotherapy, most patients relapse and die with the five-year overall survival around 45%. In addition, those patients that initially respond to taxane-platinum therapy eventually develop platinum-resistant tumors and relapse. Thus, finding novel therapeutics for treating EOC is essential. One approach that has been used widely in cancer drug discovery is Connectivity Mapping (CMAP) using gene expression data and drug phenotype data assessed on cancer cell lines (CCL) (i.e. “sensitive” or “resistant” based on dose-response drug data). However, recent publications have highlighted some issues with the use of these standard CCL sets that are often used in these drug screening studies. Therefore, instead of CMAP analysis based on gene expression signatures developed on drug response data collected on a small set of EOC cell lines, we took a novel CMAP approach based on information collected on EOC patients and clinical endpoints. That is, we determined the gene expression signature (e.g., set of genes) that were associated with time to recurrence in data collected on EOC patients within TCGA (n = 518) and a Mayo Clinic study (n = 474). The set of genes associated with time to recurrence (with and without adjustment for additional clinical covariates) was completed separately for TCGA and Mayo Clinic studies, restricting all analyses to EOC tumor of high-grade serous histology. Each of these 4 sets of genes, where genes with hazard ratios (HR) > 1 coded as “positively” associated and genes with HR Note: This abstract was not presented at the meeting. Citation Format: Brooke L. Fridley, Rama Raghavan, Gottfried E. Konecny, Chen Wang, Ellen L. Goode, Harsh B. Pathak, Stephen Hyter. A bioinformatics approach to drug discovery: patient based connectivity mapping. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 4853. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-4853
Force-Fields, Risk-Taking, and Termination Pay: Severance's Barrier to Internal Governance

CEO Compensation used to induce risk-taking is a complicated issue which requires the interpretation of numerous endogenous factors including severance pay, change-in-control pay, and vega and delta of the CEO’s portfolio. New and exciting hypotheses in the literature indicate that prior interpretation of the risk-inducing effects of severance may no longer be the norm. This paper investigates the new hypotheses and forwards a new hypothesis: that risk-reduction by CEOs is a result of rational reduction of cash-levels leading to reduced likelihood of termination and allowing the CEO to make investments which may be self-serving and increasing in overall firm risk — optimizing their personal compensation. Such manipulation of cash-levels in order to reduce governance efficacy of the Board of Directors is proposed as the ‘force-field’ hypothesis. I find evidence to suggest that severance induces CEOs to implement the ‘force-field’ hypothesis and allows them to optimize their compensation in a way that may ultimately be value-destructive to shareholders due to increased agency costs and poor investment decisions.
Local Culture, Global Habits

Computing technology has changed local culture and has been changed by it. The web extra at https://youtu.be/StKxA4SaplU is an audio recording of author David Alan Grier reading the first installment of his new Global Code column, in which he contemplates how computing technology has both changed and been changed by local culture--and what this might mean for our field and for the world.
Electroencephalographic discontinuity during sevoflurane anesthesia in infants and children.

SummaryBackground Deep anesthesia in adults may be associated with electroencephalographic (EEG) suppression and higher rates of postoperative complications. Little is known about the impact of anesthetic depth on short- or long-term outcomes in pediatrics. Brain activity monitoring may complement clinical signs of anesthetic depth. This prospective observational study aimed to assess the frequency and degree of profound EEG suppression using multichannel EEG in children during sevoflurane general anesthesia. Methods Children aged 0–40 months who required general anesthesia for elective surgery were included. Continuous EEG recordings were performed starting from when anesthesia began and until recovery. Discontinuity was defined as EEG amplitude <25 uV, lasting ≥2 s, and observed in all electrodes across the scalp. Frequency, duration, and inter-event interval of discontinuity events were measured. Relationships between discontinuity events and postnatal age, endtidal sevoflurane concentration (etSEVO), and multiple clinical parameters were analyzed. Results Discontinuity events were observed in 35/68 children, with a median duration of 10 s (95%CI: 8–12) and a median of 4 events per patient (95%CI: 2–7). Children who had discontinuity events were younger (5.5 months, 95%CI: 3.6–6.5) compared to children who did not have discontinuity events (10.2 months, 95%CI: 6.1–14); (difference between medians, 4.7 months, 95%CI: 2.3–8, P = 0.0002). Younger infants exhibited a higher number of discontinuity events, and the incidence decreased with postnatal age (r68 = −0.53, P 3%. Few discontinuity events were observed during maintenance and none during emergence. Blood pressure, heart rate, tissue oxygen saturation, and endtidal CO2 partial pressure did not change during these events. Conclusions Electroencephalographic monitoring may complement clinical signs in providing information about brain homeostasis during general anesthesia. The impact of discontinuity events on immediate and long-term outcomes merits further study.
Preoperative frailty is predictive of complications after major lower extremity amputation

Abstract Objective Preoperative clinical frailty is increasingly used as a surrogate for predicting postoperative outcomes. Patients undergoing major lower extremity amputation (LEA) carry a high risk of perioperative morbidity and mortality, including high 30-day mortality and readmission rates. We hypothesized that preoperative frailty would be associated with an increased risk of postoperative mortality and readmission. Methods A retrospective review was performed for all patients who underwent transfemoral or transtibial amputation for any indication within a multi-institution system during a 5-year period. Standard demographics and all components of the Modified Frailty Index (mFI) were used to determine preoperative frailty status for each patient. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality, with secondary outcomes of 30-day readmission, unplanned revision, and composite adverse events. Results Among 379 patients who underwent LEA, the overall readmission and mortality rates for the group were 22.69% and 6.06%, respectively. Readmission rates increased with increasing mFI score: rates were 8.6%, 13.5%, 16.3%, 19.7%, 31.4%, and 37.0% for mFI scores of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and ≥5, respectively ( P = .015). On multivariate logistic regression, only mFI (odds ratio, 1.49, 95% confidence interval, 1.24-1.77) and sex (odds ratio, 1.81, 95% confidence interval, 1.00-2.98) were significant predictors of 30-day readmission. Conclusions Preoperative clinical frailty is associated with an increased 30-day readmission rate in patients undergoing LEA and should be incorporated into preoperative counseling and risk stratification, as well as postoperative planning and care.
Megaregion Projections 2015 to 2045 with Transportation Policy Implications

A megaregion is characterized by common economic structures, culture, history, topography, and climate, among other factors. The United States is composed of 10 megaregions. Together they account for three-quarters of the nation’s population, but they make up a fifth of the land located in the contiguous states. Moreover, the U.S. megaregions are more densely settled than are megaregions in Western Europe. It would seem that America’s future is in the policies, planning, and investments aimed at the megaregion scale. To help advance such a proposition, this paper generates population, economic, and employment projections for the nation’s megaregions as well as for the nation as a whole. Implications and recommendations for next steps are offered.
Dynamic reduced-order models of integrated physics-specific systems for carbon sequestration

$$\text {CO}_2$$ leakage from a deep storage reservoir into a shallow groundwater aquifer through a wellbore is simulated using physics-specific models conceptualized as nonisothermal two-phase flow in a deep storage reservoir and through the wellbore, and reactive transport in the aquifer. Supercritical $$\text {CO}_2$$ is injected into the reservoir subsystem with uncertain permeabilities of reservoir and injection strategies (rate and duration as decision variables). The simulated pressure and $$\text {CO}_2$$ saturation at an uncertain location are connected to the wellbore model as a boundary condition to output $$\text {CO}_2$$ flux to the reactive transport model in the shallow aquifer. Uncertainties are propagated from the deep reservoir model, to the wellbore leakage model, and eventually to the reactive transport model, thus contributing to system performance. To minimize the risk associated with the $$\text {CO}_2$$ leakage, we develop dynamic reduced order models for quantifying and managing the uncertainty propagation.
Connections between Transcription Downstream of Genes and cis-SAGe Chimeric RNA.

cis-Splicing between adjacent genes (cis-SAGe) is being recognized as one way to produce chimeric fusion RNAs. However, its detail mechanism is not clear. Recent study revealed induction of transcriptions downstream of genes (DoGs) under osmotic stress. Here, we investigated the influence of osmotic stress on cis-SAGe chimeric RNAs and their connection to DoGs. We found, the absence of induction of at least some cis-SAGe fusions and/or their corresponding DoGs at early time point(s). In fact, these DoGs and their cis-SAGe fusions are inversely correlated. This negative correlation was changed to positive at a later time point. These results suggest a direct competition between the two categories of transcripts when total pool of readthrough transcripts is limited at an early time point. At a later time point, DoGs and corresponding cis-SAGe fusions are both induced, indicating that total readthrough transcripts become more abundant. Finally, we observed overall enhancement of cis-SAGe chimeric RNAs in KCl-treated samples by RNA-Seq analysis.
Head Pain from Diseases of the Ear, Nose, and Throat

The authors discuss evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with otolaryngic causes of head pain. Anatomy, physiology, and diseases of the head and neck are discussed
Some Numerical Methods

In this chapter, we will explain some numerical methods to deal with two person stochastic differential games that are developed by Kushner ([107, 108] and [109]). Almost all of the materials of this chapter are extracted from these three excellent works of Kushner. The Markov chain approximation method is a powerful and more popularly used class of methods introduced in early 1990s by Kushner for the numerical solution of almost all of the standard forms of stochastic strategy problems [106, 109], Kushner and Ramachandran [113], and Kushner and Chamberlain [110]. The idea of the Markov chain approximation method is to first approximate the controlled diffusion dynamics by a suitable Markov chain on a finite state space with a discretization parameter h > 0, then approximate the payoff functions. One solves the game problem for the simpler chain model, and then proves that the value functions associated with equilibrium or δ -equilibrium strategies for the chain converge to the value functions associated with equilibrium or δ -equilibrium strategies for the diffusion model, as δ → 0. This is method is intuitive and it uses approximations which are “physically” close to the original problem. Extensions to approximations for two-person differential games with discounted, finite time, stopping time, and pursuit-evasion games were given in Kushner [108] for reflected diffusion models where the strategies for the two players are separated in the dynamics and payoff rate functions. An extension to two-player stochastic dynamic games with the same systems model, but where the payoff function is ergodic is given in Kushner [107].
Prevention and treatment of obstetric fistula: Identifying research needs and public health priorities.

From July 28 to 29 2005 The Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health hosted a meeting on the prevention and treatment of obstetric fistula (OF). The 2-day meeting was cosponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO). More than 70 clinicians and public health experts from the United States Canada the United Kingdom Benin Cote dIvoire Eritrea Ethiopia Ghana India Malawi Myanmar Niger Nigeria Peru Romania and Tanzania participated in the meeting to discuss the extent of the problem and the best ways to address it. The meeting continued on July 30 with a subgroup to review the meeting deliberations define country-specific research priorities and needs and outline a multicountry research plan. The meeting had several objectives: (A) Advance scientific knowledge on OF risk and treatment; (B) prioritize research questions concerning clinical and public health responses to OF; (C) inform the design of a study addressing one or more key research needs; and (D) inform the public health response to and management of OF. (excerpt)
Status, trends and significance of American hydropower in the changing energy landscape

Abstract Despite the considerable contribution of hydropower in driving the American economy for over a century, the rationale for hydropower in the U.S. energy mix needs to be reassessed in the context of advanced science and technology. Other alternative-yet-cheaper energy resources have been identified and hazards associated with aging hydro-dams have escalated in recent years. Furthermore, research has shown more negative environmental consequences associated with hydro-dams—and dams in general. To compare the contribution of hydro-electricity to the total energy production in the U.S., and to identify its regional distribution and contemporary patterns, we conducted a systematic analysis of large-scale multi-year data from U.S. federal agencies and tallied the nameplate capacities of major hydro-dams against their existing energy production values. We found that despite continuous efforts at upgrading hydro-facilities, since 2000 the mean contribution of hydroelectricity has remained less than 10% of the total generated energy in the U.S. and has been declining since then. Based on our results, we conclude that reservoir- and dam-based hydroelectricity may not be an efficient energy resource—at least from the American perspective, and perhaps it is timely to consider promoting other non-conventional renewable resources for energy production.
Deterring Deception: Approaches to Maximize Ethical Behavior in Social Interactions and Organizations

People may assume that dishonesty is due to dispositional differences in morality. However, situational cues and social influences often have strong effects on a person’s level of deception. Social norms, ease of rationalization, and ambiguity of the unethicality of the behavior all play a role in increasing or decreasing deceptive behavior by making the ethical and moral implications of one’s behavior more or less salient. When the moral implications of a deceptive action are out of awareness, then deceptive behavior is more likely. In this chapter, we review ways that ethical behavior can be nudged into awareness in social interactions and organizations. We review five nudges that could affect deceptive behavior, including the framing of message or situation, social norms on what is deceptive or unethical, moral licensing, the salience of the deceptive action, and perceptions of fairness and justice.
Local Anesthetic Additives for Regional Anesthesia: a Review of Current Literature and Clinical Application

Improving perioperative pain management with regional anesthesia has become prevalent and extremely important, due in part to the opioid epidemic and increased emphasis on enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols. Perineural catheters offer extended duration of nerve blockade as compared with single dose of local anesthetic at the cost of increased risk of catheter-related complications like displacement and higher infection rate. Also, many practices lack the infrastructure to manage catheters. We are continuously exploring options to extend block duration without catheters, and local anesthetic additives offer a viable option to prolong the benefits of plain local anesthetics. A recent randomized cross-over study has suggested that the efficacy of local anesthetic additives like dexamethasone on the duration of nerve block remains uncertain despite several supporting systematic reviews and meta-analysis data. This article reviews current literature to provide clinically relevant information about common nerve block additives, describing rationale for their use, effect on block onset, extension of block duration, and safety profiles of the additives.
A Novel Triple Inverter Design for CMOS Clocks and Oscillators

Single inverter gate CMOS oscillator designs have been used for decades based on the CMOS technology of the time. While a single inverter gate can deliver very good performance dependent on the application, it presents design limitations due to parameter trade-offs of transconductance, output impedance, and bias current. This paper introduces a novel CMOS sustaining amplifier design that significantly increases the design flexibility beyond what a single inverter can provide. It uses a three-stage inverter with the center inverter incorporating negative feedback to allow for a wide range of transconductance with wide operational bandwidth. High transconductance can provide operation for high-resistance resonators and or resonators that have significant activity dips [1]. This design is resistant to parasitic oscillations seen with high transconductance sustaining amplifiers. An equation and model describing the circuit transconductance is derived and accurately determines this circuit gain using a small number of circuit parameters. Given a desired transconductance, this new amplifier operates with lower power and higher output impedance than an equivalent single inverter. Engineers at Sandia National Laboratories have fabricated and implemented this type of design with approximately 20 mS of transconductance at frequencies of 50 MHz and has been applied to frequencies up to 100 MHz.
P496 X- linked infantile spinal muscular atrophy (smax2) caused by novel c.1681g>a substitution in the uba1 gene, expanding the phenotype

Aims We report the case of a male infant who presented following a normal pregnancy with typical symptoms of X-linked infantile spinal muscular atrophy including hypotonia, weakness, areflexia and respiratory insufficiency, however contractures were absent. X-linked infantile spinal muscular atrophy (SMAX2), OMIM 301830, is a rare, severe form of spinal muscular atrophy, caused by variants in the Ubiquitin like modifier-activating enzyme 1 (UBA1) gene1. Clinical features reported to date include marked hypotonia, areflexia, arthrogryposis, contractures, myopathic facies, tongue fibrillations and cryptorchidism2. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of SMAX2 to present without contractures. Methods This infant was born at 40+4 weeks following a normal pregnancy to non-consanguineous Irish parents. Intermittent stridor was noted following delivery, laryngomalacia was diagnosed following review by ENT. At 8 weeks old there was an acute event at home with colour change and poor feeding for 2 days. On presentation to ED, there was marked increased work of breathing, weakness, absent deep tendon reflexes, hypotonia, myopathic facies and weak cry. Eyes were bright and there was no ophthalmoplegia or contractures. A significant family history of neuromuscular disease on the patient’s maternal side was noted, with several male relatives all dying before the age of six months. Creatine Kinase was mildly elevated, MRI Brain was normal and neurophysiological testing revealed a diffuse motor neuronopathy. Genetic testing for SMN1 gene was normal. UBA1 sequencing revealed a maternally inherited hemizygous familial variant [c.1681G>A p. (Asp561Asn)], which has not been previously reported. Results To our knowledge, only six families with SMA2 have been confirmed at a molecular level to date. Conclusions After ruling out 5q SMA,×linked infantile spinal muscular atrophy should be considered in male patients with anterior horn cell disease in the absence of contractures.
Perspectives on: ion selectivity: design principles for K+ selectivity in membrane transport.

Selection among competing alternatives is always interesting, but when organisms select between K+ and Na+ for transport across biological membranes, it is especially intriguing for a couple of reasons ([Hille, 2001][1]). First, the results are physiologically significant. Second, K+ and Na+ are
Incidence and survival patterns of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors over the last two decades: A SEER database analysis.

629Background: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) are rare neoplasms with outcome varying by stage, grade, and clinical presentation. We present an analysis of the epidemiology and prognosis ...
Isabel Catez: Genésis de una Vocación

Attempting to reconstruct the vocational path of Elisabeth Catez, let us enter the world of her letters. Through her spiritual writings, she helps us see a set of small missions that are seemingly isolated from one another. However, when they are combined we can observe that from Elisabeth’s perspective there was Someone who merged all the events of her into a one whole. This study aims at demonstrating that any religious vocation must go through a set of events related to the life of the given person. The world of spiritual events is parallel to the world of daily life. Indeed, an authentic religious calling is born within one’s normal life. In fact, speaking about vocations means speaking about minor challenges that will change into small missions leading to a serious, magnificent religious vocation.
Association Between Oral Pain Medications and Intrathecal Opioid Dose Escalation: A Retrospective Analysis.

Objectives Patients treated with intrathecal therapy frequently require opioid dose increases to maintain analgesia. The kinetics of intrathecal opioid dose escalation are poorly understood. We hypothesized that antidepressant use, antiepileptic use, and lower baseline oral opioid intake prior to intrathecal pump implantation will be protective against intrathecal opioid dose escalation. Materials and methods Targeted drug delivery medication doses were collected from patients who had an intrathecal pump implanted between 2007 and 2016. From a sample size of 136 patients, the association between antidepressant, antiepileptic, and oral opioid use with intrathecal dose escalation was assessed using statistical models. Results Individuals using an antiepileptic had an estimated ratio of means (97.5% CI) of opioid consumption of 0.91 (97.5% CI: [0.48, 1.73], p = 0.74) at six months, 0.83 ([0.43, 1.58], p = 0.51) at 12 months, and 0.77 ([0.40, 1.45], p = 0.36) at 24 months. Patients prescribed antidepressants had an estimated ratio of means (97.5% CI) of 1.43 ([0.77, 2.65], p = 0.19) at six months, 1.41 ([0.76, 2.63], p = 0.22) at 12 months, and 1.33 ([0.70, 2.51], p = 0.31) at 24 months. In our secondary analysis of pre-implant oral opioid use, patients treated with high oral opioid doses had a similar pattern of intrathecal dose escalation when compared to patients using low doses of oral opioids. Conclusions Use of antiepileptics, antidepressants, or low oral opioid doses was not associated with attenuation of intrathecal dose escalation. Intrathecal opioid dose escalation was observed to occur similarly, regardless of baseline oral analgesics concomitantly employed.
Utility of Red Tide (Karenia brevis) Monitoring Data as a Predictive Tool to Estimate Brevetoxin Accumulation in Live, Free-Ranging Marine Mammals

Exposure of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to brevetoxins (PbTx) produced by Karenia brevis blooms frequently results in large-scale mortality events, but data on relationships between bloom severity and corresponding PbTx concentrations in exposed live animals are lacking. Here we present results of PbTx analysis of samples from live, free-ranging dolphins (n=253) from Sarasota Bay, Florida during 2000-2018, and investigate the relationship between PbTx concentrations detected and corresponding K. brevis cell abundances associated with each individual. 28% of dolphins were associated with elevated K. brevis abundances (>10,000 cells/L), and 41% (n=104) of dolphins were PbTx-positive. The proportion of PbTx-positive animals was significantly greater in animals exposed to elevated cell abundances vs. those exposed to background cell abundances (<10,000 cells/L), with 60% and 34% testing positive, respectively. PbTx was detected most frequently in feces (57%), followed by gastric (35%), urine (32%), and blood (7%). PbTx concentrations were highest in feces (2-231 ng/g; mean 46), followed by urine (0.8-90 ng/g; mean 7.2), gastric (0.8-61 ng/g; mean 12), and blood (0.3-5 ng/g; mean 1.3). Analyses of K. brevis cell abundance as an index of exposure vs. corresponding PbTx concentration found no statistically significant relationship for feces, gastric, urine, or blood samples. PbTx concentrations typically did not scale with corresponding indices of exposure. Our results indicate that K. brevis cell abundance alone is a poor predictor of brevetoxin accumulation in bottlenose dolphins, and alternative biomarkers should be investigated as more appropriate methods for determining the severity of health impacts due to red tides.