cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Computationally Reconstructing Cotranscriptional RNA Folding Pathways from Experimental Data Reveals Rearrangement of Non-Native Folding Intermediates

The series of RNA folding events that occur during transcription, or a cotranscriptional folding pathway, can critically influence the functional roles of RNA in the cell. Here we present a method, Reconstructing RNA Dynamics from Data (R2D2), to uncover details of cotranscriptional folding pathways by predicting RNA secondary and tertiary structures from cotranscriptional SHAPE-Seq data. We applied R2D2 to the folding of the Escherichia coli Signal Recognition Particle (SRP) RNA sequence and show that this sequence undergoes folding through non-native intermediate structures that require significant structural rearrangement before reaching the functional native structure. Secondary structure folding pathway predictions and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of folding intermediates suggest that this rearrangement can proceed through a toehold mediated strand displacement mechanism, which can be disrupted and rescued with point mutations. These results demonstrate that even RNAs with simple functional folds can undergo complex folding processes during synthesis, and that small variations in their sequence can drastically affect their cotranscriptional folding pathways.
Authentication of turmeric powder using hyperspectral Raman system

Turmeric powder (Curcuma longa L.) is known for its use in foods, in medicine, and as a cosmetic. In recent years, economically driven contamination of turmeric powder with different chemicals is increasing. This study used a 1064 nm hyperspectral Raman imaging system for detection of Sudan Red G dye contamination in turmeric powder. Sudan Red was mixed with turmeric powder at five concentration levels (1%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%- w/w). Each mixture sample was packed in a sample container. A Raman chemical image of each sample was acquired across the 7.5 mm x 7.5 mm surface area using a 0.25 mm step size. The spectral fingerprint of turmeric and Sudan Red were identified and used to obtain a binary image from the Raman chemical image of each sample. A simple threshold method was applied to convert the contaminant pixels into white pixels and turmeric pixels into the black (background) pixels. The detected Sudan Red pixels were correlated with the actual concentration in the sample. The result shows that the Sudan Red pixels in the sample image is linearly correlated (R2 = 0.99) with the actual concentration of the sample. This study demonstrated the 1064 nm hyperspectral Raman imaging system as a potential tool to detect chemical contaminants in turmeric powder.
Association Between Recent Cannabis Use and Acute Ischemic Stroke (P3.3-012)

Objective: In this study we aim to determine the association of acute ischemic stroke and recent cannabis use among patients admitted in the only tertiary academic medical center in Mississippi. Background: Studies that have analyzed the association between cannabis use and acute ischemic stroke have provided conflicting results. Design/Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study was performed utilizing the institutional patient cohort explorer. All adult patients 18 years and older admitted from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017 were screened for the inclusion criteria. Only the patients who underwent urine toxicology testing were included in the analysis. Recent cannabis use was defined as having a positive urine drug screen for cannabinoid. The unadjusted risk ratio was determined. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was utilized to study the independent association between recent cannabis use and acute ischemic stroke. Results: A total of 9,350 patients with acute ischemic stroke and urine toxicology testing were included for analysis. Patients with TIA, intracranial hemorrhage, and those with polysubstance use were excluded. Eighteen percent (1,643) of the patients had a positive urine cannabis test. The unadjusted risk ratio showed a 50% decrease in risk of acute ischemic stroke among cannabis users (RR = 0.505, P Conclusions: This is the first study analyzing the association of cannabis use and acute ischemic stroke using the admission urine toxicology test. Consistent with some studies, this study shows that recent cannabis use is not an independent risk factor for ischemic stroke. Further studies utilizing urine toxicology tests with a larger sample size should be done. Disclosure: Dr. San Luis has nothing to disclose. Dr. Shekhar has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sugg has nothing to disclose. Dr. Nobleza has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gangadhara has nothing to disclose.
Formative assessments using text messages to develop students’ ability to provide causal reasoning in general chemistry

Formative assessment is critical in providing students the opportunity to self-assess their content knowledge and providing data to inform instructional decisions. It also provides students with in...
Deep learning analysis of nest camera video recordings reveals temperature-sensitive incubation behavior in the purple martin (Progne subis)

Incubation is a key life history stage for birds, and incubation attentiveness can have significant fitness consequences for both parents and offspring. Incubation is, however, a challenging phenomenon to observe and studies generally either measure some proxy of the target behavior, or risk disturbing birds through direct observation. More recently, nest cameras have provided a non-intrusive way to directly observe incubation, but analysis of these data is time-consuming. Here, we use the results of the first deep learning model which automated analysis of nest camera video recordings from eight purple martin (Progne subis) nests over the entire incubation period at a 1-s resolution. We mathematically define the initiation of incubation, characterize the change in nest attentiveness during incubation, and analyze the factors determining nest attentiveness and on- and off-bout duration during the incubation process. A random forest regression model identified the most important predictors of nest attentiveness. Attentiveness decreased with increasing temperature, but the strength of this response increased above the presumed physiological zero egg temperature, below which egg development ceases. This implies that the purple martins are able to adjust their incubation behavior in a complex, multiple-state manner to an extrinsic stimulus. Our study highlights the value of high-resolution datasets created using artificial intelligence for the analysis of nest camera video recordings of animal behavior. The use of artificial intelligence for image classification tasks is becoming commonplace in society. This technology is beginning to be used to automate the analysis of video recordings of wildlife behavior. Here, we use the results of the first such classification from nest camera video recordings of the purple martin (Progne subis) to determine the factors affecting incubation attentiveness (the proportion of time that the adults spend in contact with eggs). Incubation attentiveness is important because it can affect hatch rate and have carry-over effects both for the condition of the incubating adults and the quality of the resulting offspring. Our analysis found that attentiveness was mainly affected by ambient temperature, with incubating adults reducing their efforts as ambient temperature reaches the minimum threshold for egg development.
Performance Analysis and Characterization of Training Deep Learning Models on Mobile Device

Training deep learning models on mobile devices recently becomes possible, because of increasing computation power on mobile hardware and the advantages of enhancing user experiences. Most of the existing work on machine learning at mobile devices is focused on the inference of deep learning models, but not training. The performance characterization of training deep learning models on mobile devices is largely unexplored, although understanding the performance characterization is critical for designing and implementing deep learning models on mobile devices. In this paper, we perform a variety of experiments on a representative mobile device (the NVIDIA TX2) to study the performance of training deep learning models. We introduce a benchmark suite and a tool to study performance of training deep learning models on mobile devices, from the perspectives of memory consumption, hardware utilization, and power consumption. The tool can correlate performance results with fine-grained operations in deep learning models, providing capabilities to capture performance variance and problems at a fine granularity. We reveal interesting performance problems and opportunities, including under-utilization of heterogeneous hardware, large energy consumption of the memory, and high predictability of workload characterization. Based on the performance analysis, we suggest interesting research directions.
FLOWER and FaME: A Low Overhead Bit-Level Fault-map and Fault-Tolerance Approach for Deeply Scaled Memories

To maintain appropriate yields in deeply scaled technologies requires fault-tolerance of increasingly high fault rates. These fault rates far exceed traditional general approaches such as ECC, particularly when faults accrue over time. Effective fault tolerance at such high fault rates requires detailed bit-level knowledge of the location of faulty cells. We provide a solution to this problem in the form of a space efficient, bit-level fault map called FLOWER. FLOWER utilizes Bloom filters to provide detailed fault characterization for a relatively small overhead. We demonstrate how FLOWER can enable improved fault tolerance at high fault rates by enhancing existing fault tolerance proposals and yielding 10–100x improvements. Using in-memory processing, FLOWER can maintain a less than 2% performance overhead at 10E-4 fault rates with less than 2% loss of memory density to report bit-level faults with high accuracy. Using a tuned novel hashing technique called MinCI, FLOWER for memory achieves considerably lower false positives than with disk-level hashing techniques at a fraction of the performance overhead. With a new technique to protect against errors during in-memory operations, PETAL bits, FLOWER can remain resilient against random errors while efficiently targeting predictable errors. Furthermore, we propose a new fault tolerance scheme called FaME, which provides ultra-efficient bit-level sparing by using the FLOWER fault map to identify the location of faults. FLOWER+FaME can achieve 14x longer PCM memory lifetime with half the area overhead versus SECDED ECC.
Earth Day: 50 Years of Continuity and Change in Environmentalism

In April 1970, the first Earth Day engaged millions of people in thousands of events around the US. Those events reflected the emergence of a new form of environmentalism. Many of the themes present 50 years ago persist, but in the US environmental issues have become more politically polarized, and it is unclear whether such value conflicts will persist in the future.
The incidence of symptomatic postoperative epidural hematoma after minimally invasive lumbar decompression: A single institution retrospective review.

Abstract Objective Postoperative epidural hematoma (PEDH) after minimally invasive lumbar laminectomy (MILL) can lead to significant morbidity and healthcare cost. The incidence is not well characterized in the literature as compared with traditional open techniques. Our aim was to define the incidence of PEDH after MIS lumbar decompression procedures and evaluate strategies for reduction of PEDH. Patients and Methods A retrospective review of a prospectively collected database was queried from January 2013 to September 2018 for all patients that underwent a minimally invasive lumbar laminectomy or laminotomy, with or without discectomy, for which the goal was decompression alone. Charts were reviewed to see the operation type and whether the patient developed a postoperative epidural hematoma. Results 1004 cases were identified and reviewed. The overall PEDH rate was 1.4 % (14/1004). 78.5 % (11/14) of cases involved at least a single level laminectomy. 21.4 % (3/14) involved a laminotomy alone or with discectomy. 64.3 % (9/14) of patients presented with a neurological deficit. Conclusions The rate of PEDH after MIS lumbar decompression procedures is 1.4 %. A majority of patients presented with a neurological deficit.
“I Did What I Believe Is Right”: A Study of Neutralizations among Anonymous Operation Participants

Our knowledge of online activists or hacktivists is growing, but it is still far from complete. The reasons why some of these individuals violate computer laws or how they justify their behavior remains elusive, yet one particular framework that lends itself to understanding a hacker or hacktivist’s belief system is Sykes and Matza’s (1957) neutralization theory. The present study involved a content analysis of publicly available commentary found online and made by participants in Anonymous operations against United States targets from 2008-2013. Over 13,000 words were analyzed, and of the 384 passages of text and phrases, roughly 62% of passages contained some type of neutralizing statement, whereas 38% of passages were coded as containing no neutralization technique. Among the 238 passages and phrases of neutralizations, over half contained neutralizations that reflected condemnation of the condemners, appeal to a higher moral principle, and denial of the victim. Another important finding was that several participants in Anonymous operations justified their actions as simple acts of protest or civil disobedience. While this study sheds light on how hacktivists may justify their behavior, it also paves the way for exploring other neutralizing techniques and signals the need for developing crime-specific neutralizations.
Understanding and Comparing the Capabilities of On-Chip Voltage Sensors against Remote Power Attacks on FPGAs

This paper presents a study of two types of on-chip FPGA voltage sensors based on ring oscillators (ROs) and time-to-digital converter (TDCs), respectively. The performance of these sensors is evaluated in the presence of circuits that deliberately waste power, resulting in localized voltage drops. The effects of FPGA power supply features and sensor sensitivity in detecting voltage drops in an FPGA power distribution network (PDN) are evaluated for Xilinx Artix-7 and Zynq UltraScale+ FPGAs. We show that the two sensor types are both able to detect supply voltage drops, and that their measurements are consistent with each other. However, we find that TDC-based sensors are more sensitive and can detect voltage drops that are shorter in duration, while RO sensors have a higher dynamic range and are easier to implement because calibration is not required.
Development and Initial Validation of the Duke Misophonia Questionnaire

Abstract Misophonia is characterized by decreased tolerance and accompanying defensive motivational system responding to certain aversive sounds and contextual cues associated with such stimuli, typically repetitive oral (e.g., eating sounds) or nasal (e.g., breathing sounds) stimuli. Responses elicit significant psychological distress and impairment in functioning, and include acute increases in (a) negative affect (e.g., anger, anxiety, and disgust), (b) physiological arousal (e.g., sympathetic nervous system activation), and (c) overt behavior (e.g., escape behavior and verbal aggression toward individuals generating triggers). A major barrier to research and treatment of misophonia is the lack of rigorously validated assessment measures. As such, the primary purpose of this study was to develop and psychometrically validate a self-report measure of misophonia, the Duke Misophonia Questionnaire (DMQ). There were two phases of measure development. In Phase 1, items were generated and iteratively refined from a combination of the scientific literature and qualitative feedback from misophonia sufferers, their family members, and professional experts. In Phase 2, a large community sample of adults (n = 424) completed DMQ candidate items and other measures needed for psychometric analyses. A series of iterative analytic procedures (e.g., factor analyses and IRT) were used to derive final DMQ items and scales. The final DMQ is 86 items, and includes subscales: (1) Trigger frequency (16 items), (2) Affective Responses (5 items), (3) Physiological Responses (8 items), (4) Cognitive Responses (10 items), (5) Coping Before (6 items), (6) Coping During (10 items), (7) Coping After (5 items), (8) Impairment (12 items), and Beliefs (14 items). Composite scales were derived for overall Symptom Severity (combined Affective, Physiological, and Cognitive subscales) and Coping (combined the three Coping subscales). The analytic procedures used enable administration of the total DMQ, individual subscales, or the derived composite scales.
Brachial plexopathy after influenza vaccination in adults in the USA. A report from the CDC/FDA Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (1990–2017) (P2.431)

Objective: To determine the rate and characteristics of brachial plexopathy after influenza vaccination in adults in the USA. Background: There are isolated reports of brachial plexopathy after influenza vaccination. Design/Methods: Data from Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) from 1990–2017 was used. Brachial plexopathy cases obtained from VAERS were classified as definite or possible according to strict criteria. For definite cases, both clinical evidence (at least 2 peripheral nerves affected with motor and sensory symptoms) and positive EMG/NCS studies were reported. Cases without neurophysiologic testing were classified as possible brachial plexopathy. Results: 160 cases of brachial plexopathy (75 men, 84 women, 1 unknown sex, mean age 51.1 years ± 14.26, age range 18 – 81) were reported (84 definite, 76 possible). The reported rate of new post-vaccination brachial plexopathy is 6 per year which is within the range expected in the general population. 21% had onset after age 65. The onset was within 2 weeks in 78% of cases, 3 to 6 weeks in 10.75%, more than 6 weeks in 5%, and in 6.25% the time between plexopathy and vaccination was unknown. The average time of onset was 9.76 days ± 18.68. 6.25% patients required hospitalization and 17% experienced permanent disability. The average onset and distribution of brachial plexopathy after influenza vaccination was significantly different from both non-plexopathy events after vaccination (9.76 vs. 5.01, p Conclusions: Although the reporting rate of post influenza vaccination plexopathy is within the range expected in the general population, the unbalanced distribution of these cases in the first 6 weeks after vaccination suggests that the association between vaccination and some cases is not entirely coincidental. Continuous active monitoring of post-vaccination plexopathy is recommended. Study Supported by: Department funded Unrestricted funding from Ram Capital Disclosure: Dr. Shah has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sanghani has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hanumanthu has nothing to disclose. Dr. Souayah has nothing to disclose.
Bone Health in Pediatric Patients with IBD: What Is New?

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have increased bone fragility, demonstrated by increased fracture risk, and often have low bone density and altered bone geometry, but the underlying pathophysiology remains poorly understood. Children and adolescents with IBD appear to have decreased bone formation, at diagnosis, which frequently improves with treatment of their underlying IBD. There is a growing body of evidence regarding how the immune system interacts with bone metabolism. There are likely multi-factorial etiologies that contribute to suboptimal bone accrual and subsequent lack of peak bone mass attainment in growing patients with IBD. There appears to be differential effects dependent upon IBD sub-type and bone compartment. Pediatric patients with IBD require recognition of several risk factors that may adversely impact their bone accrual. Future studies are necessary to further delineate the effects of IBD on pediatric bone health.
Explaining Arctic peace: a human heritage perspective:

The Arctic is on fire. Warmed by the world’s soaring greenhouse gases, its ice cap is melting, and it is heating twice as fast as the rest of the planet, deepening the earth’s climate crisis. As it...
What Makes Special-Education Teachers Special? Teacher Training and Acheivement of Students with Disabilities

We analyze the impact of both pre-service preparation and in-service formal and informal training on the ability of teachers to promote academic achievement among students with disabilities. We employ rich student-level longitudinal data from Florida over a five-year period to estimate “value-added” models of student achievement. We find little support for the efficacy of in-service professional development courses focusing on special education. However, we do find that teachers who hold advanced degrees are more effective in boosting mathematics achievement of students with disabilities than are educators with only a baccalaureate degree. Further, pre-service preparation in special education has statistically significant and quantitatively substantial effects on the ability of teachers of special education courses to promote gains in achievement for students with disabilities, especially in reading. In particular, certification in special education, an undergraduate major in special education and the amount of special education coursework in college are all positively correlated with the performance of teachers in special education reading courses.
Extant and Possible Tests of Antitrust Illegality

This chapter delineates the tests of antitrust illegality promulgated by U.S. antitrust law and/or E.U. competition law as well as a number of other tests of antitrust illegality that could be promulgated. Section 3.1 provides operational definitions of the “basic” tests of antitrust illegality promulgated by U.S. antitrust law and/or E.U. competition law and delineates some “qualifications” to those tests that the relevant U.S. statutes or E.U. treaty provisions introduce. The basic tests in question are (1) a “specific-anticompetitive-intent” test of illegality, (2) a “lessening-competition” test of illegality, (3) a “distorting-competition” test of illegality, and (4) a seller-oriented “exploitative abuse of economic power” test of illegality. Footnotes to Sect. 3.1 list the various conduct-coverage and actor-coverage limitations of the legislation/treaty provisions that promulgate the tests in question. Section 3.2 articulates a number of alternative tests of antitrust illegality that could be promulgated—tests that focus on conduct’s or its prohibition’s impact on economic efficiency, liberal moral rights, or the instantiation of some morally-defensible conception of the moral good.
Subcooled Flow Boiling Critical Heat Flux (CHF) and Its Application to Fusion Energy Components. Part II. A Review of Microconvective, Experimental, and Correlational Aspects

Microconvective, instability, experimental, and correlational aspects of subcooled flow boiling critical heat flux (CHF) are summarized. The present understanding of CHF in subcooled flow boiling i...
Immunomodulation by Anticancer Drugs in Therapeutics

Despite the unquestionable successes achieved by cancer chemotherapy during the past 40 years, major obstacles still remain to be overcome before a large proportion of patients with the most common so-called solid tumors can be provided curative treatments. The limitations of chemotherapy are essentially related to the insufficient selectivity of antitumor activity of the drugs available and to the phenomenon of resistance. Intensive efforts are directed towards clarifying the mechanism of action of available drugs such that, based on the information accrued, greater selectivity of antitumor action may be achieved through optimization of regimens, particularly of combination chemotherapy. Likewise much work is being done to overcome and/or prevent resistance, taking advantage of recently obtained information on some of the mechanisms involved.
Preliminary Evidence That Bioactive Cements Occlude Artificial Marginal Gaps

Purpose The objective of this preliminary laboratory study was to explore whether bioactive dental cements have the ability to seal marginal gaps as compared with other classes of dental cements. Materials and Methods Tooth discs (dentin/enamel) were positioned adjacent to a second disc of one of five possible dental cements (two bioactive and three conventional) and separated by a 50-μm Mylar film, creating a controlled gap between the two discs. The edges of the tooth segments were abraded to expose dentin such that the dentin interface was positioned opposite the cement. The artificial gap assembly was stabilized with adhesive and composite resin. Artificial gap assemblies for each cement type were immersed in a phosphate-containing, simulated body fluid (phosphate buffered saline) for up to 8 months. Occlusion of artificial marginal gaps (including deposition of crystal-like, mineralized deposits within the gaps) was observed and scored categorically during the observation period. Deposition of radiodense material within the artificial marginal gap space was confirmed by micro-computerized tomography analysis. Results There was no evidence of marginal gap occlusion for the three conventional control cements, whereas both bioactive, surface apatite-forming cements demonstrated occlusion of the artificial marginal gaps. Conclusions The preliminary findings of this initial study suggest the possible capability of surface apatite-forming, calcium-based, bioactive dental cements to seal or reseal artificial marginal gaps in simulated aqueous physiological conditions. Clinical Significance The results of this laboratory study, although preliminary in nature, suggest a new functional property for bioactive dental materials, namely the ability to significantly improve marginal stability with tooth/restorative material interface. Such behavior in a restorative material could improve the survival and serviceability of dental restorations.
Acquired Eventration of the Diaphragm: A Complication of Chest Tube Placement in Neonatal Pneumothorax

Air leaks are frequently encountered in newborns with respiratory distress syndrome who require assisted ventilation.1 Tension pneumothorax is a lifethreatening emergency that requires prompt drainage of the pleural space with a chest tube. Hemorrhage,2 lung perforation, 34 and infarction,5 are reported complications of closed tube thoracostomy. Recently, Ayalon et al6 have reported an unusual complication: phrenic nerve injury with diaphragmatic eventration. This communication also describes an infant with acquired eventration of the diaphragm following chest tube insertion. CASE REPORT D. L., a 1,480-gm male infant of a 30-week gestational pregnancy developed respiratory distress that required 40% oxygen. Chest radiographs revealed diffuse bilateral reticulogranular pattern and air bronchograms.
Secure outsourcing of scientific computations

We investigate the outsourcing of numerical and scientific computations using the following framework: A customer who needs computations done but lacks the computational resources (computing power, appropriate software, or programming expertise) to do these locally would like to use an external agent to perform these computations. This currently arises in many practical situations, including the financial services and petroleum services industries. The outsourcing is secure if it is done without revealing to the external agent either the actual data or the actual answer to the computations. The general idea is for the customer to do some carefully designed local preprocessing (disguising) of the problem and/or data before sending it to the agent, and also some local postprocessing of the answer returned to extract the true answer. The disguise process should be as lightweight as possible, e.g., take time proportional to the size of the input and answer. The disguise preprocessing that the customer performs locally to “hide” the real computation can change the numerical properties of the computation so that numerical stability must be considered as well as security and computational performance. We present a framework for disguising scientific computations and discuss their costs, numerical properties, and levels of security. We show that no single disguise technique is suitable for a broad range of scientific computations but there is an array of disguise techniques available so that almost any scientific computation could be disguised at a reasonable cost and with very high levels of security. These disguise techniques can be embedded in a very high level, easy-to-use system (problem solving environment) that hides their complexity.
Treatment of N-Nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine-induced Pancreatic Cancer in Syrian Golden Hamsters with d-Trp-6-LH-RH and Somatostatin Analogue RC-160 Microcapsules

Antitumoral effects of the agonist of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (d-Trp-6-LH-RH) and the somatostatin analog RC-160 (d-Phe-Cys-Tyr-d-Trp-Lys-Val-Cys-Trp-NH2) on chemically induced ductal pancreatic adenocarcinomas were studied. The tumors were induced in female Syrian golden hamsters by weekly s.c. injections of N -nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine at a dose of 10 mg/kg b.w. for 6 weeks. 18 weeks after the last injection, the peptides in controlled-release microcapsule formulations were administered s.c. The animals received the following therapies: Group 1 ( N = 15), vehicle only; Group 2 ( N = 13), d-Trp-6-LH-RH microcapsules releasing 25 µg/day injected s.c. once a month; Group 3 ( N = 14), RC-160 microcapsules, liberating 25 µg/day administered s.c. every 15 days; Group 4 ( N = 14), the combination of d-Trp-6-LH-RH plus RC-160 microcapsules. The experiment was terminated on the 80th day when all hamsters in the control group were dead, but in the treated Groups 2, 3, and 4, we observed 71, 77, and 86% of survival rate, respectively. In addition to the prolongation of survival, the combination treatment resulted in a significant decrease in the tumorous pancreatic weight, increase in the body weight of the animals, reduction in ascites from 100 to 8.3% and regressive histological changes in 67% of the specimens. Our findings suggest that somatostatin analogues and d-Trp-6-LH-RH could be considered for the development of hormonal therapy for pancreatic cancer.
Predictors of refugee economic status : A replication

This study was conducted to determine the extent to which results of a previously-developed regression model of economic status of Southeast Asian refugees in California would generalize to other r...
Oxidation of Ti n + 1AlX n ( n = 1 ­ 3 and X = C , N) I. Model

In this, Part I of a two-part study, a generalized model for the oxidation of the ternary compounds, Ti n+1 AlX n . where n = 1-3 and X is carbon and/or nitrogen, is proposed. In all cases, the oxidation products in the 800-1100°C temperature range are rutile TiO 2 , in which some Al is dissolved, i.e., (Ti 1 -y Al y )O 2-y/2 , where y < 0.05 and Al 2 O 3 . The oxidation occurs by the inward diffusion of oxygen and the outward diffusion of Al 3+ and Ti 4+ ions through the (Ti 1-y Al y )O 2-y/2 layer. The C and N atoms are presumed to diffuse through the reaction layers and oxidize. The basic premises of the model are that the subjection of the (Ti 1 yAly)O2 y/2 layer to an oxygen chemical potential gradient results in its demixing, with the Al 3+ dissolving into the rutile at the low oxygen partial pressure and its precipitation as Al 2 O 3 at the high partial pressure side. If extensive, the demixing results in the formation of layers of porosity, through which the Al 3+ ions cannot diffuse but the O 2- ions can. The resulting microstructures can be highly striated where three layers; an Al 2 O 3 -rich layer, an (Ti 1 -y Al y )O 2-y/2 -rich layer, and a porous layer repeat numerous times. Comparison with previously published results on the oxidation of Ti 3 SiC 2 leaves little doubt that dissolution of the Al in the reaction layer enhances the oxidation kinetics. This is most probably accomplished by an increase in the oxygen vacancy concentration. The fact that the oxide scales are not fully dense is also believed to play an important role in enhancing the oxidation kinetics.
Two-quasiparticle-plus-rotor model calculations of /sup 76,78,80/Kr

Two-quasiparticle-plus-rotor model calculations have been performed for /sup 76,78.80/Kr to study the systematics of high-spin states of these nuclei. The negative parity states whose energies are well reproduced by the model are characterized as two-quasiproton states. The consistency of the parameters and the agreement of the experimental and theoretical levels support the tentative spin-parity assignments. Our results for /sup 80/Kr positive-parity, high-spin states indicate that these are zero- and two-quasiproton mixed states.
Millon's Evolutionary Model of Personality Assessment: A Case for Categorical/Dimensional Prototypes

Theodore Millon (1928-2014) was arguably one of the most influential figures in conceptualizing and detailing personality styles and disorders in the latter 20th and early 21st centuries. A prominent member of the Axis II Work Group of DSM-III, III-R, and IV, Millon continued refining his evolutionary model long after his active involvement with these committees, and remained focused on the future of personality assessment until his death in 2014. This article is an exploration of his latter works, critiques of recent DSM-5 developments, and commentary on the usefulness of his deductive methodology as it continues to apply to the study, classification, and clinical application of personality assessment.
Workplace dignity: : Communicating inherent, earned, and remediated dignity

Extant research on dignity at work has revealed conditions that contribute to indignity, employees’ responses to dignity threats, and ways in which employees’ inherent dignity is undermined. But while dignity – and specifically indignity – is theorized as a phenomenon subjectively experienced and judged by individuals, little research has privileged workers’ own perspectives. In this study, working adults reveal how they personally experience and understand meanings of dignity at work. I describe three core components of workplace dignity and the communicative exchanges through which dignity desires commonly are affirmed or denied: inherent dignity as recognized by respectful interaction, earned dignity as recognized by messages of competence and contribution, and remediated dignity as recognized by social interactions and organizational practices that conceal the instrumental and unequal nature of work. Based on theoretical insights drawn from examining the relationships between these components, I argue that workplace dignity is a phenomenon theoretically distinct from human dignity.
A molecular protocol for diagnosing myotonic dystrophy

Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is an autosomal dominant genetic disease caused by an unstable CTG repeat sequence in the 3' untranslated region of the myotonin protein kinase gene. The CTG repeat is present 5-30 times in the normal population, whereas DM patients have CTG expansions of 50 to several thousand repeats. The age of onset of the disorder and the severity of the phenotype is roughly correlated with the size of the CTG expansion. We developed a molecular protocol for the diagnosis of DM based on an initial polymerase chain reaction screen to detect normal-sized alleles and small expansions, followed by an improved Southern protocol to detect larger expansions.
Automated Determination of Serum Hexosaminidase A by pH Inactivation for Detection of Tay-Sachs Disease Heterozygotes

We have automated a manual test for detection of heterozygotes of Tay-Sachs disease by assay of hexosaminidase A in serum, based on pH inactivation [ Clin. Chim. Acta 43, 417 (1973)]. The same manifold is used both for the total hexosaminidase and pH-inactivation (hexosaminidase B) procedures. Automation expedites mass screening of the Ashkenazi Jewish population for carriers of the Tay-Sachs gene (prevalence rate, 1:30), because 100 or more tests can be performed daily. The mean percentage value and range (±2 SD) of hexosaminidase A for normal adults is 68.6 (58-79) and for carriers is 48.8 (39-59) with the automated pH-inactivation procedure. "Presumed carriers" (<53% hexosaminidase A) and individuals in the uncertain range (53 to 58%) should be retested by using leukocytes, to avoid the effect of certain physical ailments, before being labeled as carriers. The same automated system used for this assay can also be used to detect carriers of at least seven other sphingolipidoses for which artificial fluorogenic substrates are available.
GaAs ASIC design case study

A design experience with GaAs ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) is presented from the user's point of view. Vendor selection criteria, design experience, board considerations, and testings are discussed in detail. It is shown that through the application of GaAs ASICs a much greater understanding of what is required to implement them into a system has been achieved. Generally, these requirements do not differ greatly from those of other technologies, but there are some important differences to consider. It is concluded that the greater speed, temperature range, and radiation tolerance of GaAs, combined with the functionality and space-saving of ASICs, justify the additional design time. >
Energy-Delay Optimization of the STT MRAM Write Operation Under Process Variations

Due to an inherently high write current, spin-transfer torque magnetic random access memories suffer from high write time/energy. Typical write schemes using voltage sources aggravate write time/energy due to the source degeneration of the access transistor and high sensitivity to the process variations. In this paper, we propose a new write technique that uses “current sources” to mitigate the impact of process variations on the switching performance compared to “voltage sources.” Using current sources for write, we determine the optimal biasing conditions that minimize write energy or write energy-delay product (EDP). However, the optimal biasing conditions are different for “0”→“1” and “1”→“0” transition, and hence, we propose a two-step write. Writing an entire word in a memory array involves certain bit-cells being written “1” (“0”→“1”) and other bit-cells written “0” (“1”→“0”), if redundant writes (“0”→“0” and “1”→“1”) are ignored. As the first step of write, the bit-cells that require “0” to be written are suitably biased for low energy or low EDP, while the bit-cells requiring “0”→“1” transition are turned OFF (i.e., don't care bit-cells during step 1). In step 2, the bit-cells requiring “1” to be written are biased for low energy or low EDP (cells requiring “1”→“0” transition are don't care bit-cells during step 2). The proposed write results in the reduction of switching time by 52% and write energy by 73% compared to the typical one-step write based on voltage sources.
802.11 Wireless Network End-User Authentication Using Common Access Cards

The Department of Defense (DoD) and the US Army are actively incorporating Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) authentication as it aligns with organizational and security goals. A Federal focus on PKI has been a topic of discussion since the release of important policy documents, such as DoD Instruction 8520.2 - Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Public Key (PK) Enabling, dated April 1, 2004; DoD Directive 8100.2 ? Use of Commercial Wireless Devices, Services, and Technologies in the Department of Defense (DoD) Global Information Grid (GIG), dated April 14, 2004; and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), dated August 27, 2004. Relevant to these policies, several wired solutions have been adapted to support numerous authentication mechanisms. The most prevalent methodology is the use of wired common access card (CAC) readers to authenticate an end-user to the network as well as gain access to his/her assigned Windows PC simultaneously. This process is dependent on the availability of the wired infrastructure to allow the authentication protocol to verify the user credential before granting access. However, in the case of a wireless infrastructure, the end-user has limited access to the wired infrastructure. In addition, use of CAC authentication will require the establishment of a network connection to gain access to the appropriate Active Directory (AD) and/or Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) server. This conundrum is currently one of the key challenges to deploying wireless networks in the Federal government. This paper explains the current authentication methods as implemented in 802.
Retrospective review of intrauterine device in adolescent and young women.

Abstract Study Objective To examine our experience with intrauterine device (IUD) use in adolescents and young women. Design Retrospective descriptive study evaluating outcomes after IUD insertion for patients 21 years or less over an 8-year period. Setting Three sites including a Pediatric and Adolescent gynecology private practice, a Title X clinic, and community based, grant funded clinic serving a high risk teen population. Participants Females from menarche to age 21. Main Outcomes Measured The probability of IUD retention, differences in IUD retention probabilities between two age groups, and risk factors for IUD removal, expulsion, and infection were evaluated. Results 233 records showed 50% of the P P P P = 0.045), though age was not a statistically significant risk factor. Conclusions The rate of continuation was lower in adolescents under 18 compared to18–21-year-olds, but was still higher than for other hormonal contraceptives. Despite this groups' high risk for STI the IUD did not increase the risk of infection and may offer some degree of protection. IUDs appear to be a safe option in young adolescents (
A requirement for three cell types for in vitro generation of specific secondary cell-mediated cytotoxic response against SV40-induced tumor-associated antigens in mice

Abstract The present study demonstrates that a collaborative interaction among three cell types, namely, two distinct subsets of T cells and macrophages is needed for in vitro generation of specific secondary cell-mediated cytotoxicity against syngeneic SV40-transformed cells in mice. These data suggest a central role of three cell types in the generation of efficient antitumor immune response in syngeneic tumor systems.
Endoscopic-guided versus fluoroscopic-guided renal access for percutaneous nephrolithotomy: a comparative analysis.

Objective To evaluate the intraoperative outcomes of percutaneous renal access using fluoroscopic-guided access (FGA) vs endoscopic-guided access (EGA). Methods A retrospective record review was conducted of patients undergoing percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), categorized by the method of achieving renal access. Patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 endourologists: 1 practicing EGA and the other practicing FGA. Patient demographics, baseline characteristics, and operative and postoperative outcomes were compared using univariate and multivariate analysis. Results From August 2010 to January 2012, 159 patients underwent PCNL (40% EGA, 60% FGA). No significant difference was observed between groups in age (P = .06), American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification (P = .7), number of stones (P = .058), cumulative stone diameter (P = .051), number of calyces involved (P = .82), and stone density (P = .49). Body mass index (BMI) was higher in patients undergoing EGA (P = .013). Patients undergoing EGA had shorter fluoroscopy time (3.2 vs 16.8 minutes, P Conclusion EGA is safe and effective and leads to decreased fluoroscopy time, decreased need for multiple accesses, and decreased risk of early termination of the procedure or need for secondary procedures.
Testing Linkage Disequilibrium in Sibships

We describe the use of multivariate regression for testing allelic association in the presence of linkage, using marker genotype data from sibships. The test is valid, provided that the correct mean structure is modeled but does not require the correlation structure within families to be specified. The test can be implemented using standard statistical software such as the SAS programming language. In a simulation study, we evaluated this new test in comparison with one from a standard, matched–case-control analysis. First, we noted that the genetic effect needed to be quite extreme before residual familial correlation due to linkage led to false inference using the standard, matched-pair analysis. Second, we showed that under examples of extreme residual familial correlation, the new test had the correct test size. Third, we found that the test was more powerful than the sibship disequilibrium test of Horvath and Laird. Finally, we concluded that although the standard analysis may lead to correct inference for practical purposes, the new test is valid, even under extreme residual familial correlation and with no cost in power at the causal locus.
Non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection among lung transplant recipients: a 15-year cohort study

Background The incidence of infection with non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) after lung transplant is insufficiently defined. Data on the impact of NTM infection on lung transplant survival are conflicting. Methods To quantify the incidence and outcomes of colonization and disease with NTM in patients after lung transplantation, the medical records, chest imaging, and microbiology data of 237 consecutive lung transplant recipients between 1990 and 2005 were reviewed. American Thoracic Society (ATS)/Infectious Diseases Society of America and Centers for Disease Control criteria were used to define pulmonary NTM disease and NTM surgical-site infections (SSI), respectively. Incidence rates for NTM colonization and disease were calculated. Comparisons of median survival were done using the log-rank test. Results NTM were isolated from 53 of 237 patients (22.4%) after lung transplantation over a median of 25.2 months of follow-up. The incidence rate of NTM isolation was 9.0/100 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI), 6.8-11.8), and the incidence rate of NTM disease was 1.1/100 person-years (95% CI 0.49-2.2). The most common NTM isolated was Mycobacterium avium complex (69.8%), followed by Mycobacterium abscessus (9.4%), and Mycobacterium gordonae (7.5%). Among these 53 patients, only 2 patients met ATS criteria for pulmonary disease and received treatment for M. avium. One patient had recurrent colonization after treatment, the other one was cured. Four of the 53 patients developed SSI, 3 caused by M. abscessus and 1 caused by Mycobacterium chelonae. Three of these patients had persistent infection requiring chronic suppressive therapy and one died from progressive disseminated disease. A total of 47 (89%) patients who met microbiologic but not radiographic criteria for pulmonary infection were not treated and were found to have only transient colonization. Median survival after transplantation was not different between patients with transient colonization who did not receive treatment and those who never had NTM isolated. Conclusion Episodic isolation of NTM from lung transplant recipients is common. Most isolates occur among asymptomatic patients and are transient. Rapidly growing NTM can cause significant SSI, which may be difficult to cure. NTM disease rate is higher among lung transplant recipients than in the general population. In this cohort, NTM isolation was not associated with increased post-transplantation mortality.