cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Seismology in Sport

Large class sizes of several hundred students at U.S. public universities offer an exciting opportunity to create first-time interest in geophysics among many non-science majors who would not ordinarily experience earth sciences. Natural events such as earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions can be used to captivate students in these large classes through the empathy generated by the effects of these disasters on fellow humans. Sporting events can also be used as “teachable moments” in large classes but have, until now, received less attention. When David Beckham scores a soccer goal, the curved trajectory of the ball can be used to explain aerodynamic principles (Inside Science News Service 2003). Sporting events can serve to teach basic science facts, including seismological principles, because sports resonates with people of many ages and social groups across entire nations and even continents. When goals were scored by the Cameroon National Football Team during the 2006 African Cup of Nations, excited spectators created high-frequency tremors (>1 Hz) that registered simultaneously across the whole country (Euler et al. 2007). Figure 1. ▴ Paper record image of prolonged tremor activity associated with an American football game at nearby Louisiana State University. The most notable event begins at about 21:22:45 hr (local time), lasts ∼30 s, and is associated with a winning touchdown a few minutes before the end of the game (LSU Center for Coastal, Energy and Environmental Resources 1988). In the United States, American-style football is popular among all age groups and is played in high schools, colleges, and professionally. At my university, Louisiana State University, football and seismology have been inexorably intertwined for more than 20 years, thanks to the legendary “Earthquake Game” of 1988. During the final minutes of a game against Auburn University, the LSU home team turned the game around from a 6-0 …
Examining Contextual Effects in a Practice Analysis: An Application of Dual Scaling.

Practice analyses are routinely used in support of the development of occupational and professional certification and licensure examinations. These analyses usually survey incumbents to obtain importance ratings of (1) specific tasks and (2) knowledge, skill, and ability (KSA) statements deemed by subject matter experts as essential to safe and effective practice. Several researchers have made important criticisms of traditional practice analysis procedures, particularly the lack of attention to contextual constructs and the resulting problematic interpretation of mean importance ratings. The present study provides a framework for assessing the impact of context in practice analysis studies. It focuses on a practice analysis of a health profession that sought to enhance the meaning of incumbents' importance ratings by embedding the statements in the context of patient acuities. Results indicate that incumbents' importance ratings varied as a function of patient acuity. Dual scaling analysis was used to obtain a multidimensional visual representation of the associations between importance ratings and contextual content. The implications of the contextual component of the study design for future practice analysis studies are discussed as well as possible applications of this approach to professions in education.
Curly Encodes Dual Oxidase, Which Acts with Heme Peroxidase Curly Su to Shape the Adult Drosophila Wing.

Curly, described almost a century ago, is one of the most frequently used markers in Drosophila genetics. Despite this the molecular identity of Curly has remained obscure. Here we show that Curly mutations arise in the gene dual oxidase (duox), which encodes a reactive oxygen species (ROS) generating NADPH oxidase. Using Curly mutations and RNA interference (RNAi), we demonstrate that Duox autonomously stabilizes the wing on the last day of pupal development. Through genetic suppression studies, we identify a novel heme peroxidase, Curly Su (Cysu) that acts with Duox to form the wing. Ultrastructural analysis suggests that Duox and Cysu are required in the wing to bond and adhere the dorsal and ventral cuticle surfaces during its maturation. In Drosophila, Duox is best known for its role in the killing of pathogens by generating bactericidal ROS. Our work adds to a growing number of studies suggesting that Duox’s primary function is more structural, helping to form extracellular and cuticle structures in conjunction with peroxidases.
Taxation and Marriage: A Reappraisal

An income tax cannot simultaneously maintain progressive marginal tax rates, an equal tax burden for all married couples with identical incomes ("couples equity"), and neutrality with respect to the tax burden of married vs. unmarried couples ("marriage neutrality"). Existing treatments of this "trilemma" of marriage taxation argue that marriage neutrality is a more important principle than couples equity or vice-versa and advocate abandonment of the lesser principle. The literature also treats progressivity as inviolate and outside the scope of the trilemma. This paper argues that the prior literature is flawed. The costs of violating the principles of couples equity and marriage neutrality and progressivity are not linear but convex — large violations of any principle are considerably worse than small violations of all. Instead of solving the trilemma by strict adherence to two principles and disregard of the other, the taxation of marriage should violate all of marriage neutrality, couples equity, and progressivity to a lesser degree, sharing the burden of the trilemma more broadly.
Percolation Models in two and Three Dimensions

Let Zd, d = 2,3, denote the d-dimensional integer lattice. Call x, y € Zd neighbors if ∥x — y∥ = 1 (here and in what follows ∥x — y∥ = ∣x1 — y1∣ + |x2 — y2∣ for d = 2, with the corresponding definition for d = 3). Every pair of neighbors is joined by a bond. In the unoriented model, travel between neighbors can proceed in either direction along the bond; in oriented models some (or all) bonds permit travel in only one direction.
Intrahippocampal Glutamine Administration Inhibits mTORC1 Signaling and Impairs Long-Term Memory.

The mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (mTORC1), a key regulator of protein synthesis and cellular growth, is also required for long-term memory formation. Stimulation of mTORC1 signaling is known to be dependent on the availability of energy and growth factors, as well as the presence of amino acids. In vitro studies using serum- and amino acid-starved cells have reported that glutamine addition can either stimulate or repress mTORC1 activity, depending on the particular experimental system that was used. However, these experiments do not directly address the effect of glutamine on mTORC1 activity under physiological conditions in nondeprived cells in vivo. We present experimental results indicating that intrahippocampal administration of glutamine to rats reduces mTORC1 activity. Moreover, post-training administration of glutamine impairs long-term spatial memory formation, while coadministration of glutamine with leucine had no influence on memory. Intracellular recordings in hippocampal slices showed that glutamine did not alter either excitatory or inhibitory synaptic activity, suggesting that the observed memory impairments may not result from conversion of glutamine to either glutamate or GABA. Taken together, these findings indicate that glutamine can decrease mTORC1 activity in the brain and may have implications for treatments of neurological diseases associated with high mTORC1 signaling.
Combined Acetabular and Femoral Version Angle in Normal Male and Female Populations From CT Data

Combined anteversion angle of acetabular component and femeral neck is an important factor for total hip arthroplasty (THA) as it may affect impingement and dislocation. Previous studies have collected data mainly from direct measurements of bone morphology or manual measurements from 2D or 3D radiolographic images. The purpose of this study was to electronically measure the version angles in native acetabulum and femur in matured normal Caucasion population using a novel virtual bone database and analysis environment named SOMA™. 221 CT scans from a skeletally mature, normal Caucasian population with an age range of 30–95 years old. The population included 135 males and 86 females. CT data was converted to virtual bones with cortical and cancellous boundaries using custom CT analytical sofware. (SOMA™ V.3.2) Auxillary reference frames were constructed and measurements were performed within the SOMA™ design environment. Acetabular Anteversion (AA) angle as defined by Murray 1 was measured. The acetabular rim plane was constructed by selecting 3 bony land marks from pubis, ilium and ischium. A vector through acetabular center point and normal to the rim plane defined the plane for the AA measurement. The AA was defined as the angle of this plane relative to the frontal (Coronal) plane of the pelvis. The Femoral Neck Anteversion (FNA) angle was measured from the neck axis plane to the frontal (Coronal) plane as defined by the posterior condyles. The neck axis plane was constructed to pass through femoral neck axis perpendicular to the transverse plane. The combined anteversion angle was computed as the summation of acetabular and femoral anteversion angles. Student9s t tests were performed to compare gender difference with an assumed 95% confidence level. The mean AA angle for total population was 25.8°, SD=7.95°. The mean AA for male was 24.8°, SD=5.93° and for female was 27.3°, SD=7.14°. P=0.009. The mean FNA angle for total population was 14.3°, SD=6.52°. The mean FNA for male was 13.5°, SD=7.97° and for female was 15.5°, SD=7.80°. P=0.058. The mean combined anteversion angle for total population was 40.1°, SD=10.76°. The mean combined anteversion angle for male was 38.3° SD=10.39 ° and for female was 42.8° SD=10.83 °. P=.0002. The plot of AA as a function of FNA shows weak correlation for both male and female. (Figure 1) The frequency distribution is shown in Figure 2. The results showed the both AA, FNA and combined anteversion angles were significantly smaller in male population than that in female population. The FNA angle of the cementless femoral stem can be smaller than with the natural femur, therefore a higher AA or higher posterior build up may be required for the acetabular component for optimal function of a THA.
39 A SIDE EFFECT OF AZELASTINE ON A PREVIOUSLY CONTROLLED HYPERTENSIVE PATIENT

Rationale Azelastine is commonly used for allergic rhinitis and vasomotor rhinitis. To our knowledge, there is no published case report that azelastine nasal spray aggravates hypertension. We report a case of elevated blood pressure due to azelastine in a previously controlled hypertensive patient. Methods A 48-year-old African American woman seeking treatment for allergic rhinitis and with a history of hypertension presented at the Louisiana State University Health and Sciences Center Allergy and Immunology Clinic. She had tried many medications and only azelastine nasal spray relieved her nasal symptoms completely; however, azelastine caused an increase in her blood pressure. We measured the patient9s blood pressure 10 minutes after using 1 spray of azelastine in each nostril. Her blood pressure went up from 134/86 mm Hg to 138/98 mm Hg. Then we arranged for the patient to be tested in our clinic with and without azelastine. Results The blood pressure measurements at 2, 3, 5, and 6 minutes after the use of 2 sprays of azelastine in each nostril were 138/96, 138/96, 132/90, and 136/92 mm Hg, respectively. The baseline measurements at similar time points without azelastine use were 126/80, 112/80, 114/82, and 114/84 mm Hg, respectively. The test results revealed that the use of azelastine resulted in the elevation of her blood pressure. Conclusions Azelastine nasal spray may increase both systolic and diastolic blood pressures. This information may be particularly useful for patients who have both hypertension and chronic rhinitis.
Detection of insecticide resistance in mosquitoes

Timely and accurate knowledge of mosquito insecticide resistance is crucial to understanding current resistance levels and resistance mechanisms, in order to control resistance, extend the service life of new insecticides and improve the environment. This article introduces available assays for detecting insecticide resistance in mosquitoes.
Application of GPS in Passive Multistatic Surveillance System

a simple and feasible technique to calibrate and compare the frequency using GPS to the question of the high precision synchronization in passive multistatic surveillance system is described.
Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy children.

Influenza vaccines have good efficacy (i.e., prevention of influenza) in children older than two years, and live, attenuated vaccine is more efficacious than trivalent, inactivated vaccine. Effectiveness (i.e., prevention of influenza-like illness, perhaps a clinically more important measure) is poor for all influenza vaccines in healthy children. Safety outcomes have not been analyzed. In children younger than two years, trivalent inactivated vaccine is no better than placebo and there are no good-quality safety data. There is some evidence that vaccines are effective in reducing school absence.
An Unusual Case of Central Retinal Vein Occlusion and Review of the Toxicity Profile of Regorafenib in GIST Patients.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common sarcoma of the gastrointestinal tract with around 5000 new cases per year. Outcomes for patients with GIST dramatically improved after the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeted against the aberrant signaling pathways that drive GIST oncogenesis. Majority of patients derive benefit from first-line imatinib, and the type of driver mutation is predictive of response. However, almost half of the patients eventually develop resistance to initial targeted therapy and further lines of treatment do not have the same impact. Regorafenib is an oral multi-kinase inhibitor approved as a third-line therapy for advanced GIST and though its efficacy is limited in comparison to imatinib, it has activity across the various driver mutation categories in GIST even in the setting of imatinib resistance. Herein, we describe a case of central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) secondary to regorafenib and review regorafenib’s efficacy and toxicity profile.
Tonal Patterns and Extrametricality of Japanese 2-Pattern Accent Systems

This paper aims at providing a formal analysis of the tonal patterns of four Japanese dialects with n-pattern accent systems. Most of the dialects with n-pattern systems are spoken in the Southwestern part of Kyushu. These dialects share many characteristics but still show interesting differences in their tonal patterns. In this paper, I provide a new way of approaching two 2-pattern dialects, Kagoshima and Koshikijima Japanese, using extrametricality. Also, I extend this approach to other 2-pattern dialects, Wan and Kikaijima Japanese.
Robust Control of Distributed Parameter Systems with Structured Uncertainty

Consider the following abstract Cauchy problem on a Hilbert space H: $$ \eqalign{ & \dot x(t) = Ax(t) + Bu(t) \cr & x(0) = {x_0}. \cr} $$ (1.1) Here U is a Hilbert space, B ∊ L(U, H) and A is the infinitesimal generator of a strongly continuous semigroup T(t) on H.
Topology of Algebraic Curves in ℙ2(ℂ)

INTRODUCTION The gallery of real curves in Chapter 1 presented a wide range of behavior. It was so wide, we were led to ask “Where are the nice theorems” We've already seen how broadening curves' living space to ℙ 2 (ℂ) can lead to more unified results, Bezout's theorem in Chapter 3 being a prime example. But what about those real curves we met in Chapter 1 having more than one connected component? Or ones having mixed dimensions? Does working in ℙ 2 (ℂ) perform its magic for cases like this? Yes. In this chapter we'll see that individual curves in ℙ 2 (ℂ) are generally much nicer and properties more predictable than their real counterparts. For example, we will show that every algebraic curve in ℙ 2 (ℂ) is connected and that every irreducible curve is orientable. These are powerful theorems that help to smooth out the wrinkles in the real setting. Most algebraic curves in ℂ 2 or ℙ 2 (ℂ) are everywhere smooth. We will make this more precise in the next chapter, but any polynomial of a given degree with “randomly chosen” real or complex coefficients defines a real 2-manifold that is locally the graph of a smooth function. Such a curve in ℙ 2 (ℂ) is therefore a closed manifold (a manifold having no boundary) that is orientable and thus has a topological genus.
Fine-needle aspiration of Hürthle cell lesions : a cytomorphologic approach to diagnosis

Hurthle cells may be found in fine-needle aspirates of the thyroid (FNATs) from Hurthle cell tumors (HCTs) and nonneoplastic Hurthle cell lesions, including Hashimoto's thyroiditis and goiter. To differentiate the characteristic cytomorphologic features from these lesions, the authors studied 38 surgically excised Hurthle cell lesions of the thyroid. Preoperative FNATs were reviewed for a number of architectural and cytologic features. The chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests were used for statistical analysis. There were many statistically significant cytologic differences between HCTs and nonneoplastic Hurthle cell lesions
When stop makes sense.

In the age of computational biology, it is easy to envision the genetic code as a set of immutable instructions that the cell follows without exception. The recent discovery of ciliate ( 1 , 2 ) and trypanosomatid ( 3 ) species in which all three stop codons, which normally act to terminate protein translation by the ribosome, encode amino acids instead is a reminder that decoding the information in messenger RNA (mRNA) depends on molecular factors that we do not entirely understand. In these organisms, stop codons specify amino acids by default, and termination of mRNA translation only occurs in close proximity to the polyadenylate [poly(A)] tail. How do these species differentiate “true” stop codons from identical ones that encode amino acids? The answers to this puzzle may provide insights into translation termination and gene regulation in all eukaryotes.
On-site characterization of PV modules using a portable, MOSFET-based capacitive load

As PV systems gain popularity, more installers are in need of better, lighter and lower-cost measurement equipment that can be used to detect problems with PV modules and arrays both before and after installation. This paper describes the design and implementation of a portable I-V curve tracer based on MOSFETs, with the capability of measuring open-circuit voltages (V oc ) up to 600 V, and short-circuit currents (I sc ) up to 30 A The modular design allows for changing the maximum measurable voltage and current, to allow for better resolution. The power circuit consists of 4 main components: a capacitor, two switches and discharge resistors. I-V measurements are taken by charging a load capacitor, which tracks the I-V characteristics of a PV module, and then discharging the capacitor once the measurement is complete. Using a capacitor over other types of loads makes the measurement faster, and keeps the energy consumed during measurement to a minimum, resulting in a simple thermal design. The resulting measurements are specific to the module temperature and incident light, and a conversion process to standard testing conditions (STC) is outlined for improved and standardized results.
Global Sensitivity Analysis with Small Sample Sizes: Ordinary Least Squares Approach

A new version of global sensitivity analysis is developed in this paper. This new version coupled with tools from statistics, machine learning, and optimization can devise small sample sizes that allow for the accurate ordering of sensitivity coefficients for the first 10–30 most sensitive chemical reactions in complex chemical-kinetic mechanisms, and is particularly useful for studying the chemistry in realistic devices. A key part of the paper is calibration of these small samples. Because these small sample sizes are developed for use in realistic combustion devices, the calibration is done over the ranges of conditions in such devices, with a test case being the operating conditions of a compression ignition engine studied earlier. Compression–ignition engines operate under low-temperature combustion conditions with quite complicated chemistry making this calibration difficult, leading to the possibility of false positives and false negatives in the ordering of the reactions. So an important aspect of...
Electronic Syndromic Surveillance for Influenza-Like Illness Across Treatment Settings.

OBJECTIVE Syndromic surveillance for influenza-like illness (ILI) is predominantly performed in the outpatient setting. The objective of this study was to compare patterns of ILI activity in outpatient, emergency department (ED), and inpatient settings using an electronic syndromic surveillance algorithm. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study over 7.5 years. SETTING A large community health system comprised of 5 hospitals and >50 clinics. METHODS We applied an electronic syndromic surveillance algorithm for ILI to all primary-care outpatient visits, inpatient encounters, and ED encounters at our health system. Comparisons of ILI activity over time were performed using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Cross correlation was used to compare the timing of ILI activity among treatment settings. RESULTS Overall, 4,447,769 patient encounters occurred during the study period; 152,607 of these (3.4%) were consistent with ILI. The correlation coefficient for ILI activity in the outpatient versus ED setting was 0.877, and for the outpatient versus inpatient setting, the correlation coefficient was 0.699. ILI activity among outpatients preceded ILI activity among inpatients by 1 week. ILI activity among children in the outpatient setting preceded ILI activity among adults in all 3 settings by 1 week. CONCLUSIONS Syndromic surveillance for ILI in the outpatient setting yields similar results to surveillance in the ED setting, but it produces less similar results than ILI surveillance in the inpatient setting. ILI activity in the pediatric outpatient population is a potential predictor of future ILI activity in the general population. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:393–398
Intrusion prevention system of automotive network CAN bus

Automotive networks based on the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus (ISO 11898) family of protocols have been shown to be vulnerable to exploits by hackers who are outside the vehicle. These networks can be compromised in a manner which could jeopardize vehicle occupants. One well-publicized exploit led to a costly automotive recall that affected more than a million vehicles. Other exploits can allow criminals to steal cars without physically breaking into them. While no fatalities have yet occurred, hackers could trigger an event that led to accident involving serious injury or even death. The CAN bus connects electronic control units (ECUs), some of which are required for safety and emissions systems such as the anti-lock braking and fuel injection systems. In addition to controlling required functions, other ECUs provide consumer-oriented features such as infotainment and lighting. Whether factory installed or aftermarket add-ons, each ECU introduces attack vectors into the overall automotive network. This research focuses on securing these vehicle networks, specifically the CAN bus. This paper will analyze the current vulnerabilities and describe our design for a real-time intrusion prevention system (IPS) that neutralizes attacks by actively monitoring the CAN bus and eliminating malicious messages.
Neoantigen Vaccines Pass the Immunogenicity Test

Neoantigens arising from tumor-specific genomic alterations constitute authentic non-self antigens and represent a new class of targets for cancer immunotherapy. Recent reports on various vaccine platforms targeting neoantigens suggest a basis for precision therapies customized to each patient's tumor mutational profile.
Accelerating solutions of one-dimensional unsteady PDEs with GPU-based swept time-space decomposition

Abstract The expedient design of precision components in aerospace and other high-tech industries requires simulations of physical phenomena often described by partial differential equations (PDEs) without exact solutions. Modern design problems require simulations with a level of resolution difficult to achieve in reasonable amounts of time—even in effectively parallelized solvers. Though the scale of the problem relative to available computing power is the greatest impediment to accelerating these applications, significant performance gains can be achieved through careful attention to the details of memory communication and access. The swept time–space decomposition rule reduces communication between sub-domains by exhausting the domain of influence before communicating boundary values. Here we present a GPU implementation of the swept rule, which modifies the algorithm for improved performance on this processing architecture by prioritizing use of private (shared) memory, avoiding interblock communication, and overwriting unnecessary values. It shows significant improvement in the execution time of finite-difference solvers for one-dimensional unsteady PDEs, producing speedups of 2 – 9 × for a range of problem sizes, respectively, compared with simple GPU versions and 7 – 300 × compared with parallel CPU versions. However, for a more sophisticated one-dimensional system of equations discretized with a second-order finite-volume scheme, the swept rule performs 1.2 – 1.9 × worse than a standard implementation for all problem sizes.
Spatio-temporal event detection and reporting in mobile-sink wireless sensors networks

Spatio-temporal events are used to model various events such as animal movement, storms (tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.), traffic control, and oil or chemical leakage. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have been widely used in event monitoring for many applications. Depending on the application, network energy can be a constraint when sensors are battery powered and their batteries cannot be replaced or recharged. In this paper we propose an anchor-based routing protocol for detecting and reporting spatio-temporal events. Anchor nodes are nodes closer to the sink and they act as relays between the convergecast tree and the sink. The sink is assumed to be mobile. We use several mechanisms to save energy: reactive event reporting, constrained route request flooding with a shortcut mechanism, a shortcut mechanism for data reporting, and dynamic clustering for minimizing the number of active clusters in the network. The performance of our protocol is analyzed using WSNet simulator, which is specially designed for event based WSNs. Various metrics such as the average residual energy, the number of active clusters, and the percentage of events processed successfully at the sink are measured.
Pashtun Social Structure: Cultural Perceptions and Segmentary Lineage Organization - Understanding and Working Within Pashtun Society

The Pashtun are an ethnic group that straddles the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, and are the largest group in Afghanistan. Historically, when Afghanistan has been united, it has been under Pashtun rule. Pashtun rulers of Afghanistan have come from the Durrani Pashtun, who are a western Pashtun group. The Durrani learned governance from serving under Turko-Mongolian dynasties. These dynasties tried to rule only the most populous, productive areas, leaving marginal areas ungoverned. Pashtun social structure is what anthropologists term a segmentary lineage system. In such a system, there is a hierarchy of social groupings starting at the local level, then proceeding upward through various levels to an entire ethnic group. These relationships are based on kinship and shared culture. At any given level (local, regional, ethnic group), social segments operate only in opposition to equivalent segments (local kinship group vs. local kinship group, regional group vs. regional group, etc.). Leadership is situational rather than institutionalized. Both leadership and segmentary organization end when conflict ends. The cultural ideal is egalitarianism. Pashtun society is atomized in the sense that it is based on the most basic element, the individual (especially the individual man). Each man considers himself independent and self-sufficient, and simultaneously in competition with all others Pashtun men. This belief in self-sufficiency, and the perpetual competition, make it difficult for Pashtun to unite for cooperative projects, or even to engage in economic exchange. The ideal economic exchange among the Pashtun is reciprocal and balanced. The Pashtun consider all non-Pashtun to be inferior. A Pashtun man may engage in economic relations with non-Pashtun without losing honor, but also considers it acceptable to cheat non-Pashtun. On the other hand, because of competition within Pashtun society, Pashtun men look to establish friendships with outsiders. The social structure determines how the Pashtun understand the actions of outsiders, and limits their capacity for responding to external intervention. Members of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should understand and consider this social structure when dealing with the Pashtun. Segmentary lineage organization presents outsiders with both opportunities and challenges. It is highly important to understand this in such areas as (a) economic development), (b) Taliban force composition, (c) negotiation, and (d) the establishment of friendships and alliances. The report discusses these topics in some detail. The Pashtun on the one hand, and Western interveners on the other, are likely to have fundamentally different understandings in these areas. Pshtun conceptions of time are not fully understood. This is an important element of economic development, so it is vital to understand how the Pashtun view it.
Mathematical and computer modelling reports: Model of synthesis and release of insulin from rat islet β-cells and the effect of pretreatment with tolbutamide

A kinetic model involving synthesis of proinsulin in the rough endoplasmic reticulum, maturation through the Golgi apparatus and granules, with conversion to insulin, is proposed to account for data on the amount of insulin and of proinsulin both secreted during various time intervals and remaining in islets. Introducing three compartments for granules makes it possible to account for the measurement of both hot (pulse labeled with tritiated leucine) and cold proinsulin and insulin over a period of 212h under constant glucose. Data from islets from animals pretreated with tolbutamide are also presented and modeled. The model is then expanded so that it can be succesfully applied to available data on the effects of a period of glucose deprivation on secretion of both hot and cold hormone. Parameters have essentially the same values, where they overlap, as were obtained (Landahl and Grodsky, 1982. Bull. math. Biol.44, 399-410) from insulin secretion by perfused rat pancreas stimulated by a variety of temporal patterns of glucose concentration.
Variable-Length Stopping Rules for Multidimensional Computerized Adaptive Testing

In computerized adaptive testing (CAT), a variable-length stopping rule refers to ending item administration after a pre-specified measurement precision standard has been satisfied. The goal is to provide equal measurement precision for all examinees regardless of their true latent trait level. Several stopping rules have been proposed in unidimensional CAT, such as the minimum information rule or the maximum standard error rule. These rules have also been extended to multidimensional CAT and cognitive diagnostic CAT, and they all share the same idea of monitoring measurement error. Recently, Babcock and Weiss (J Comput Adapt Test 2012. https://doi.org/10.7333/1212-0101001) proposed an “absolute change in theta” (CT) rule, which is useful when an item bank is exhaustive of good items for one or more ranges of the trait continuum. Choi, Grady and Dodd (Educ Psychol Meas 70:1–17, 2010) also argued that a CAT should stop when the standard error does not change, implying that the item bank is likely exhausted. Although these stopping rules have been evaluated and compared in different simulation studies, the relationships among the various rules remain unclear, and therefore there lacks a clear guideline regarding when to use which rule. This paper presents analytic results to show the connections among various stopping rules within both unidimensional and multidimensional CAT. In particular, it is argued that the CT-rule alone can be unstable and it can end the test prematurely. However, the CT-rule can be a useful secondary rule to monitor the point of diminished returns. To further provide empirical evidence, three simulation studies are reported using both the 2PL model and the multidimensional graded response model.
Geochemistry of a thermally immature Eagle Ford Group drill core in central Texas

Abstract The Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Group displays significant lateral and vertical geochemical variability. Much of the work on the Eagle Ford Group has been focused southwest of the San Marcos arch. To more fully characterize the Eagle Ford across the entire region, a thermally immature drill core was acquired north of the San Marcos arch that recovered the Pepper Shale and the Eagle Ford Group. Molecular and isotopic analyses of rock extracts were combined with bulk organic and inorganic geochemistry and mineralogy to track the variability in organic matter source and depositional environment, as well as to identify drivers of organic enrichment. The Pepper Shale received significant terrigenous organic matter in its distal deltaic or prodeltaic setting compared to the more distally deposited Eagle Ford Group that primarily hosts marine organic matter. The upper Eagle Ford contains two chemofacies. The older upper Eagle Ford chemofacies has similar mineralogy and organic matter to the underlying lower Eagle Ford, and both intervals display good to excellent source rock potential. In contrast, the younger upper Eagle Ford chemofacies has a different sterane assemblage, a larger terrigenous component, and a higher clay mineral abundance. However, anoxic to euxinic depositional conditions distinguish the lower Eagle Ford from the upper Eagle Ford, which was deposited under oxic to dysoxic conditions. Redox chemistry and organic matter source are two important variables that determine source rock quality, but they did not change in parallel during Eagle Ford deposition. Differences in organic facies explain the Tmax variability, and depositional redox conditions governed organic-richness in the Eagle Ford Group in central Texas.
Improving the energy efficiency of relational and NoSQL databases via query optimizations

Abstract As big data becomes the norm of various industrial applications, the complexity of database workloads and database system design has increased significantly. To address these challenges, conventional relational databases have been constantly improved and NoSQL databases such as MongoDB and Cassandra have been proposed and implemented to compete with SQL databases. In addition to traditional metrics such as response time, throughput, and capacity, modern database systems are posing higher requirements on energy efficiency due to the large volume of data that need to be stored, queried, updated, and analyzed. While decades of research in the database and data processing communities has produced a wealth of literature that optimize for performance, research on optimizations for energy efficiency has been historically overlooked and only a few studies have investigated the energy efficiency of database systems. To the best our knowledge, there are currently no comprehensive studies that analyze the impact of query optimizations on performance and energy efficiency across both relational and NoSQL databases. In fact, the energy behavior of many basic database operations (e.g. insertion, deletion, searching, update, indexing, etc) remains largely unknown due to the lack of accurate power measurement methodologies for various databases and queries. In this paper, we investigate a series of query optimization techniques for improving the energy-efficiency of relational databases and NoSQL databases. We use both widely acceptable benchmarks (e.g. Yahoo! Cloud Server Benchmark) and customized datasets (converted from ˜100GB of Twitter data) in our experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of various optimization techniques. We conduct cross database analysis on relational database (MySQL) and NoSQL based databases (MongoDB and Cassandra) to compare their performance and energy efficiency. Additionally, we study a variety of optimization techniques that can improve energy efficiency without compromising performance on the databases derived from the Twitter data. Using these techniques, we are able to achieve significant energy savings without performance degradation. Moreover, we investigate the impact of Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS) on the performance and energy efficiency of MySQL, MongoDB and Cassandra.
Central Nervous System Involvement of Natural Killer and T Cell Neoplasms.

Peripheral natural killer (NK) and T cell neoplasms comprise approximately 10–15% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas. There are 27 different subtypes of peripheral NK and T cell neoplasms, each of which is relatively uncommon. Treatment has been largely extrapolated from case series, retrospective reports, and paradigms developed for the aggressive B cell lymphomas. This review explores the current knowledge of the characteristics, outcome, and treatment of CNS T cell and NK neoplasms. Primary and secondary CNS NK and T cell malignancies confer significant morbidity and poor prognosis. Despite clinical heterogeneity between the 27 subtypes, high-dose methotrexate–based regimens seem most effective overall. The role of prophylaxis against secondary CNS involvement remains controversial. Autologous stem cell transplant and immunotherapy are potential for promising future therapies. Current understanding of incidence, outcome, and optimal treatment strategies for CNS T cell and NK neoplasms is limited, in large part due to their diversity and rarity. Prognosis is poor, except in a few reports of long-term survival in patients most often treated with combination therapy including high-dose methotrexate. A future prospective study on treatment and outcome in CNS T cell and NK neoplasms is needed to better define these diseases.
Creating a Centralized Surveillance Program using Core Measures Data Abstractors

BACKGROUND Healthcare facilities are working to make Infection Prevention departments more efficient and cost-effective. One approach is implementation of centralized surveillance programs (CSP) allowing teams to specialize in applying healthcare-associated infection (HAI) surveillance definitions. However, staffing CSPs with Infection Preventionists (IP) may be difficult due to national shortages and cost. This study evaluates the use of data abstractors (DA) to perform initial HAI surveillance as a more cost-effective option. METHODS A five-hospital healthcare system with more than 1800 acute care beds began a CSP in May 2018. Two full-time DAs with prior Core Measures abstraction experience were hired to conduct all HAI surveillance. A 12-week training program was developed to apply the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) HAI protocols. Training consisted of video modules, case studies, supervised practice with a certified IP, and a post-test for each HAI protocol. Additional training was performed when post-test performance was less than 85%. A follow-up inter-rater reliability (IRR) program was used to validate post-training competency. All infections were confirmed by an IP. RESULTS Following the initial 12-week training program, DAs achieved IRR of higher than 90% for catheter-associated urinary tract infection, central line-associated bloodstream infection, surgical site infection (SSI), and ventilator-associated event (VAE) surveillance. Prior to implementation of the CSP, IP time constraints did not allow for daily review ofinternal reports designed to identify VAEs. An incidental finding following CSP implementation was an increase in the reported number of VAEs due to more comprehensive surveillance. CONCLUSIONS Professionals with experience in Core Measures data abstraction are highly-skilled in the application of standardized definitions. When considering implementation of a CSP, staffing with DAs rather than IPs may be a more cost-effective option while still maintaining high data quality.
Microfluidic DNA-based potassium nanosensors for improved dialysis treatment

Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have failed kidney function, and often must be treated with hemodialysis to extend the patient’s life by artificially removing excess fluid and toxins from the blood. However, life-threatening treatment complications can occur because hemodialysis protocols are adjusted infrequently, as opposed to the kidneys which filter blood continuously. Infrequent blood tests, about once per month on average, are used to adjust hemodialysis protocols and as a result, patients can experience electrolyte imbalances, which can contribute to premature patient deaths from treatment complications, such as sudden cardiac death. Since hemodialysis can lead to blood loss, drawing additional blood for tests to assess the patient’s kidney function and blood markers is limited. However, sampling multiple drops of blood per session using a microfluidic device has the potential to reduce not only the amount of blood drawn and avoid unnecessary venipuncture, but also reduce costs by limiting medical complications of hemodialysis and provide a more comprehensive assessment of the patient’s health status in real time. We present preliminary proof-of-concept results of a microfluidic device which uses DNA-based fluorescence nanosensors to measure potassium concentration in a flowing solution. In a matter of minutes, the flowing potassium solution reduced the fluorescence intensity of the nanosensors to a steady-state value. These proof-of-concept results demonstrate the ability of our DNA-based nanosensors to measure potassium concentration in a microfluidic device. The long-term goal is to integrate this technology with a device to measure potassium and eventually other blood contents multiple times throughout a hemodialysis session, enabling protocol adjustment similar to a healthy kidney.
B-mode targets

Abstract The CMB-S4 Science Book [1] , Simons Observatory report [2] , Astro2020 Science White Paper on gravitational waves [3] , and PICO report [4] contain an extensive discussion of many ongoing and planned efforts in the search for gravitational waves produced by inflation. Here we give a short executive summary of the results obtained in our papers [5] , [6] , [7] , which specify the simplest available inflationary models providing physically motivated targets for these searches. Our conclusions are specific for the 10 − 3 ≲ r ≲ 10 − 2 range, where we present the B-mode benchmarks of the U-duality symmetric class of α-attractors, and for r ≲ 10 − 3 , where we present B-mode targets, for which the future precision measurements of n s will be decisive. We show that a combination of the simplest α-attractors and KKLTI models of D-brane inflation covers most of the area favored by Planck 2018.
Concurrent learning-based approximate optimal regulation

In deterministic systems, reinforcement learning-based online approximate optimal control methods typically require a restrictive persistence of excitation (PE) condition for convergence. This paper presents a concurrent learning-based solution to the online approximate optimal regulation problem that eliminates the need for PE. The development is based on the observation that given a model of the system, the Bellman error, which quantifies the deviation of the system Hamiltonian from the optimal Hamiltonian, can be evaluated at any point in the state space. Further, a concurrent learning-based parameter identifier is developed to compensate for parametric uncertainty in the plant dynamics. Uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB) convergence of the system states to the origin, and UUB convergence of the developed policy to an approximate optimal policy are established using a Lyapunov-based analysis, and simulations are performed to demonstrate the performance of the developed controller.
Lung Nodule Classification Using Combined Deep and Spectral 3D Shape Features

Accurate diagnosis of lung nodules is essential for detection and assessment of lung cancer. The present contribution proposes a descriptive model for diagnostic classification of lung nodules by jointly using deep and spectral features from the 3D surface structure of nodules. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that utilizes a point cloud (PC)-based deep network for extracting nodule shape features. The PC-based deep network takes into account the 3D context of a nodule; meanwhile, it is extensively less computationally intensive. The spectral features prevent over-fitting, a common problem of deep networks trained by relatively small dataset in the medical imaging domain, and compensates for missing information of mesh connections. Experimental results reveal that our descriptive model demonstrates high sensitivity (87.23%) as well as high specificity (89.80%) with a total accuracy of 88.54% for reliable and accurate prediction of lung nodule malignancy.
Das Konzept der Interaktionsarbeit

Interaktion spielt in der Arbeit an und mit Menschen eine besondere Rolle. Denn Menschen sind besondere „Arbeitsgegenstande“. Zum einen haben sie eigene Interessen und Bedurfnisse; zum zweiten ist es auch von ihrem Handeln abhangig, dass die Dienstleistung gelingt. In diesem Beitrag wird das integrierte Konzept der Interaktionsarbeit vorgestellt, das diese besondere Arbeit mit ihren Merkmalen erfasst. Dabei geht es um die voraussetzungsreiche Herstellung einer Kooperationsbeziehung, den Umgang mit den eigenen Gefuhlen, die Beeinflussung der Gefuhle der Kunden, Klienten und Patienten und den Umgang mit den Unwagbarkeiten, die zur Arbeit an und mit Menschen gehoren. In der Hinfuhrung zum Konzept wird der vorliegende Forschungsstand umrissen, und am Ende werden weiterfuhrende Forschungsfragen gestellt. Praktische Relevanz: Das Konzept und die dadurch angeleitete empirische Forschung stellen wichtige Grundlagen fur eine Gestaltung der Arbeit an und mit Menschen dar. Denn Arbeitsgestaltung richtet sich nach wie vor weitgehend an der Arbeit an der Produktion und Verwaltung aus. Sie muss den Besonderheiten der Interaktionsarbeit gerecht werden, damit Belastungen der Beschaftigten reduziert und gute Dienstleistung ermoglicht wird.
EFFECTS OF CHIGGER MITE (ACARI: TROMBICULIDAE) INFECTIONS ON AMEIVA (SQUAMATA: TEIIDAE) FROM THE ANGUILLA BANK

We examined 152 Ameiva plei from four sites on Anguilla and from Scrub Island, a nearby satellite, and 12 A. corax from Little Scrub Island, another Anguillian satellite, generated indices of condition by dividing mass (g) by SVL (mm), and quantified degrees of eutrombiculid chigger mite infections by measuring the total areas (mm2) of each lizard covered by one or more clusters of mites. Prevalence in infected A. plei (N = 77) varied significantly by site, but frequencies of infected males and females within sites did not differ signifi cantly. Indices of condition of infected and mite-free lizards did not differ significantly, nor was area covered by mites significantly correlated with condition, suggesting that mite infections are relatively asymptomatic. All Ameiva corax were infected, and area covered by mites was not significantly correlated with condition. Indices of condition for A. corax were signifi cantly lower than for infected A. plei, probably refl ecting the poorer condition of lizards occupying a food-deficient habitat.