cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Automated Registration of 3-D Knee Implant Models to Fluoroscopic Images Using Lipschitzian Optimization

This paper describes an automated method for registering 3-D models of metallic knee implants to single-plane radiographic images. We develop a multistage approach that identifies the correct pose by matching altered dilations of an edge-detected image with the silhouette of an implant model. The location of the similarity function’s minimum is found using a novel optimization routine that combines the Dividing Rectangles algorithm with properties of the registration metric. Depending on the implant type (tibial or femoral), this technique reliably converges under maximum displacements of approximately 25 to 55 millimeters for translation components and 25° to 55° for Euler angles. The method proves to be robust to noise from bones and soft tissue. After an initial guess for the first image in the sequence, subsequent frames can be automatically registered from the optimum pose in the previous image.
Infrared Photodissociation Spectra of [Sn(CO2)n]− Cluster Ions

We present infrared spectra and density functional theory calculations of mass selected [Sn(CO2)n]− cluster anions (n = 2–6). The spectra and structures of these clusters exhibit less structural diversity than those of analogous clusters with first-row transition metals, but are more complex than those for the heavy coinage metals or for the related [Bi(CO2)n]− clusters. The most favorable core ion structure for all cluster sizes can be characterized as a Sn-oxalate complex, Sn[C2O4]−. Higher energy isomers based on a bidentate η2-(C,O) CO2 ligand tightly bound to the metal atom in SnCO2– complexes are also observed, even for the largest cluster sizes studied here. For n = 2, another high energy isomer is found, featuring a CO2 ligand weakly bound to the metal atom in a SnCO2– ion.
Transcriptome of Xenopus andrei, an octoploid frog, during embryonic development

Abstract Although polyploidy occurs throughout the fish and amphibian lineages, the Xenopus genus exhibits a high incidence of polyploidy, with 25 out of the 26 known species being polyploid. However, transcriptomic information is currently available for only one of these species, the tetraploid Xenopus laevis. Xenopus andrei, an octoploid species within the Xenopus genus, offers an opportunity for assessing a novel polyploid transcriptome during vertebrate development. RNA-Seq data was generated at nine different developmental stages ranging from unfertilized eggs through swimming tadpole stages and raw FASTQ files were deposited in the NCBI SRA database (accession number SRP134281 ). Additionally, RNA-seq data from all nine stages were pooled to create a de novo assembly of the transcriptome using Trinity and has been deposited in the NCBI GEO database (accession number GSE111639 ). To our knowledge, this represents the first published assembly of an octoploid vertebrate transcriptome. In total, 849 Mb were assembled, which led to the identification of 1,650,048 transcripts in the assembly with a contig N50 of 630 bases. This RNA-Seq and transcriptome data will be valuable for comparing polyploid transcriptomes across Xenopus species, as well as understanding evolutionary implications of whole-genome duplication and polyploidy in vertebrates.
Structurally Invariant Linear Models of Structurally Varying Linear Systems

In the process of model building, assumptions leading to linearity are routinely made since the resulting models can be thoroughly understood using analytical techniques. Another assumption that is also very commonly used along with linearity is the assumption of invariance, or uniformity, of structure with respect to some set of supporting variables which generally represent time (time-invariance) or space (space-invariance). The assumption of linearity and invariance permits harmonic analysis to be applied. Understanding model behavior and sensitivity to parameter settings is greatly simplified by using frequency domain representations, i.e., Fourier transforms, of appropriate functions.
Construction Procedures for t-designs and the Existence of New Simple 6–designs

We describe procedures for finding t-designs with prescribed automorphism groups and apply these methods to finding t-designs on 20 points with either PGL2(19) or PSL2(19) as an automorphism group. We produce two non-isomorphic simple 6-designs with parameters 6-(20,9,112) and automorphism group PSL2(19). It has been previously shown that if q < 19, simple 6-designs on v = q + 1 points do not exist with automorphism group PSL2(q). Hence v = 20 is the smallest v = q +1 where simple 6-designs occur with automorphism group PSL2(q).
Sharing of translation memory databases derived from aligned parallel text

Translation memory databases are used in order to avoid unnecessary retranslation of previously translated segments of text by automatic lookup and retrieval. Various commercial and in-house translation memory lookup tools derive translation memory databases from aligned parallel texts, but each tool uses a different internal representation for its translation memory database. In response to end-user requests, several developers of translation memory lookup tools have cooperated to define a standard intermediate format for exchanging translation memory databases from one translation technology application to another. This intermediate format, called TMX (Translation Memory eXchange), is an XML application and is thus platform independent and inspectable using a text editor. TMX can also be used as an intermediate format for aligned parallel texts in general, supporting reconstruction of original texts and optional separation of text and markup thanks to meta-markup tags. TMX was developed by OSCAR (Open Standards for Container/content Allowing Re-use), which is the data exchange standards group of LISA (Localization Industry Standards Association). The chapter describes translation memory databases, explains how they are used in the translation industry, and comments on the standard itself.
Power Outage Preparedness and Concern among Vulnerable New York City Residents.

Power outages can impact health, and certain populations may be more at risk. Personal preparedness may reduce impacts, but information on power outage preparedness and risk perception among vulnerable populations is limited. We examined power outage preparedness and concern among New York City residents, including vulnerable populations defined as older adults (≥ 65 years), and respondents with household members who require assistance with daily activities or depend on electric medical devices. A random sample telephone survey was conducted during November–December 2016. Preparedness was defined as having a three-day supply of drinking water, non-perishable food, and a working flashlight. Among all respondents (n = 887), 58% were prepared and 46% expressed concern about health. Respondents with electric-dependent household members (9% of all respondents) tended to have higher preparedness (70 vs. 56% of respondents without electric-dependent household members). Among this group, only 40% reported being registered with a utility company to receive early notification of outages. While the subgroup sample was small, respondents with registered electric-dependent household members had lower preparedness than those with non-registered users (59 vs. 76%). Respondents with household members who needed assistance had comparable levels of preparedness to respondents without someone who needed assistance (59 vs. 57%). Older adults had greater preparedness than younger adults (65 vs. 56%). Health concerns were greater among all vulnerable groups than the general population. Levels of preparedness varied among vulnerable respondents, and awareness of power outage notification programs was low. Our findings highlight the need to increase awareness and preparedness among at-risk people.
Adhesion of reactive silver inks on indium tin oxide

Many emerging photovoltaic technologies, such as silicon heterojunction (SHJ) cells and perovskites, are temperature sensitive and are not compatible with the high sintering temperatures required for commercial screen-printed metallization pastes. Newer, low-temperature reactive silver inks exhibit good electrical conductivity and are compatible with temperature-sensitive substrates. However, preliminary investigations showed that the adhesion and reliability of these metallizations could vary dramatically with ink composition. This work evaluates the adhesion performance of printed reactive inks on indium tin oxide-coated SHJ cells to show that puckering phenomena originating from the porous nature of the printed reactive inks are responsible for lowering the as-printed adhesion strength. Adhesion performance was qualitatively determined using 180° peel test followed by optical imaging to quantify the amount of adhesive failure. Post-print scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the surface morphology. Diluting the reactive ink to reduce silver ion concentration decreased the observed puckering phenomenon and improved adhesion performance. This new understanding enables a more systematic design of reactive inks for novel photovoltaic applications.
Political economy of growth with a taste for status

Abstract This paper investigates the political economy of growth when individuals prefer high levels of relative consumption. A pivotal voter determines the equilibrium tax on capital, the revenues from which fund the provision of productive public goods. The taste for status and the distributions of wealth and political power interact to generate stylized versions of oligarchies, middle-class democracies and populist democracies. A rise in the taste for status increases the role of distributional concerns in policy preferences, lowering growth in an oligarchy or populist democracy, but increasing it in a middle-class democracy. In addition, the egalitarian redistribution of wealth or political power causes growth to first rise and then fall as the equilibrium tax rate approaches and then exceeds its growth-maximizing level, generating inverse U-shaped relationships between democracy and growth and inequality and growth.
Identification of shark species in commercial products using DNA barcoding

Abstract Sharks are harvested globally and sold in a variety of commercial products. However, they are particularly vulnerable to overfishing and many species are considered protected or endangered. The objective of this study was to identify species in various commercial shark products and to assess the effectiveness of three different DNA barcoding primer sets. Thirty-five products were collected for this study, including fillets, jerky, soup, and cartilage pills. DNA barcoding of these products was undertaken using two full-length primer sets and one mini-barcode primer set within the cytochrome c oxidase subunit (COI) gene. Successfully sequenced samples were then analyzed and identified to the species level using sequence databases and character-based analysis. When the results of all three primer sets were combined, 74.3% of the products were identified to the species level. Mini-barcoding showed the highest success rate for species identification (54.3%) and allowed for a wide range of identification capability. Six of the 26 identified products were found to be mislabeled or potentially mislabeled, including samples of shark cartilage pills, shark jerky, and shark fin soup. Six products contained species listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices and 23 products contained near-threatened, vulnerable or endangered species according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Overall, this study revealed that a combination of DNA barcoding primers can be utilized to identify species in a variety of processed shark products and thereby assist with conservation and monitoring efforts.
Diagnosis and management of urinary extravasation after high-grade renal trauma

Renal trauma research has historically focused on parenchymal injuries and the risk of bleeding. However, much less is known about the diagnosis and optimal management of urinary extravasation, which complicates ~30% of high-grade renal injuries. Immediate or delayed ureteral stenting is the most common procedure used to treat collecting system injuries when intervention is needed. However, the lack of evidence-based guidelines leaves the diagnosis and management of urinary extravasation largely dependent upon physicians’ experience, initial and follow-up imaging protocols, and the definitions used for grading the injuries. The knowledge gaps in the management of urinary extravasation that need to be addressed include the timing of excretory-phase CT imaging, patterns of clinically significant urinary extravasation, predictors of complications when urinary extravasation occurs, protocols for obtaining and interpreting follow-up imaging, and the role of ureteral stenting and other interventions in management. To improve the management of urinary extravasation after high-grade renal trauma, large, multi-institutional prospective trails assessing different diagnostic and therapeutic protocols are needed. Urinary extravasation occurs in ~30% of patients with high-grade renal trauma, but the lack of evidence-based guidelines complicates its clinical management. Here, the authors discuss the diagnosis and management of urinary extravasation, highlighting important knowledge gaps and future research directions.
Where Am I? Where Am I Going, and How Do I Get There?: Increasing Learner Agency Through Large-Scale Self Assessment in Language Learning

This chapter explores the efficacy of Basic Outcomes Student Self Assessment (BOSSA), a fully integrated standardized second language self-assessment protocol. Designed for large-scale, sustainable use across languages, levels, and modalities, BOSSA supports learner awareness as a path to agency and empowerment.
Repeated cell transplantation and adjunct renal denervation in ischemic heart failure: exploring modalities for improving cell therapy efficacy.

Enthusiasm for cell therapy for myocardial injury has waned due to equivocal benefits in clinical trials. In an attempt to improve efficacy, we investigated repeated cell therapy and adjunct renal denervation (RDN) as strategies for augmenting cardioprotection with cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs). We hypothesized that combining CDC post-conditioning with repeated CDC doses or delayed RDN therapy would result in superior function and remodeling. Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) rats or spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were subjected to 45 min of coronary artery ligation followed by reperfusion for 12–14 weeks. In the first study arm, SHR were treated with CDCs (0.5 × 106 i.c.) or PBS 20 min following reperfusion, or additionally treated with CDCs (1.0 × 106 i.v.) at 2, 4, and 8 weeks. In the second arm, at 4 weeks following myocardial infarction (MI), SHR received CDCs (0.5 × 106 i.c.) or CDCs + RDN. In the third arm, WKY rats were treated with i.c. CDCs administered 20 min following reperfusion and RDN or a sham at 4 weeks. Early i.c. + multiple i.v. dosing, but not single i.c. dosing, of CDCs improved long-term left ventricular (LV) function, but not remodeling. Delayed CDC + RDN therapy was not superior to single-dose delayed CDC therapy. Early CDC + delayed RDN therapy improved LV ejection fraction and remodeling compared to both CDCs alone and RDN alone. Given that both RDN and CDCs are currently in the clinic, our findings motivate further translation targeting a heart failure indication with combined approaches.
Domain-specific Topic Model for Knowledge Discovery through Conversational Agents in Data Intensive Scientific Communities

Machine learning techniques underlying Big Data analytics have the potential to benefit data intensive communities in e.g., bioinformatics and neuroscience domain sciences. Today’s innovative advances in these domain communities are increasingly built upon multi-disciplinary knowledge discovery and cross-domain collaborations. Consequently, shortened time to knowledge discovery is a challenge when investigating new methods, developing new tools, or integrating datasets. The challenge for a domain scientist particularly lies in the actions to obtain guidance through query of massive information from diverse text corpus comprising of a wide-ranging set of topics. In this paper, we propose a novel "domain-specific topic model" (DSTM) that can drive conversational agents for users to discover latent knowledge patterns about relationships among research topics, tools and datasets from exemplar scientific domains. The goal of DSTM is to perform data mining to obtain meaningful guidance via a chatbot for domain scientists to choose the relevant tools or datasets pertinent to solving a computational and data intensive research problem at hand. Our DSTM is a Bayesian hierarchical model that extends the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model and uses a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm to infer latent patterns within a specific domain in an unsupervised manner. We apply our DSTM to large collections of data from bioinformatics and neuroscience domains that include hundreds of papers from reputed journal archives, hundreds of tools and datasets. Through evaluation experiments with a perplexity metric, we show that our model has better generalization performance within a domain for discovering highly specific latent topics.
Effects of early nutritional stress on physiology, life histories and their trade-offs in a model ectothermic vertebrate.

ABSTRACT Early-life experiences can have far-reaching consequences for phenotypes into adulthood. The effect of early-life experiences on fitness, particularly under adverse conditions, is mediated by resource allocation to particular life-history traits. Reptiles exhibit great variation in life histories (e.g. indeterminate growth), thus selective pressures often mitigate the effects of early-life stress, particularly on growth and maturation. We examined the effects of early-life food restriction on growth, adult body size, physiology and reproduction in the checkered garter snake. Animals were placed on one of two early-life diet treatments: normal diet (approximating ad libitum feeding) or low diet (restricted to 20% of body mass in food weekly). At 15 weeks of age, low-diet animals were switched to the normal-diet treatment. Individuals fed a restricted diet showed reduced growth rates, depressed immunocompetence and a heightened glucocorticoid response. Once food restriction was lifted, animals experiencing nutritional stress early in life (low diet) caught up with the normal-diet group by increasing their growth, and were able to recover from the negative effects of nutritional stress on immune function and physiology. Growth restriction and the subsequent allocation of resources into increasing growth rates, however, had a negative effect on fitness. Mating success was reduced in low-diet males, while low-diet females gave birth to smaller offspring. In addition, although not a direct goal of our study, we found a sex-specific effect of early-life nutritional stress on median age of survival. Our study demonstrates both immediate and long-term effects of nutritional stress on physiology and growth, reproduction, and trade-offs among them.
Context for implementing a gestational weight gain program nationally.

Objectives Use the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to describe the context in which a gestational weight gain (GWG) intervention, embedded within Parents as Teachers (PAT), will be implemented at PAT sites nationwide. Methods Ten site leaders and six parent educators from ten PAT sites in eight states participated in semi-structured interviews and a survey. Audio-recordings and systematic notes were used in a deductive analysis. Scales were descriptively analyzed. Results Surveys demonstrated positive perspectives of PAT+GWG. In interviews, participants described PAT+GWG filling a need for prenatal health education and confidence delivering this content, valued integration of PAT+GWG within the PAT curriculum, and recommended materials to meet their clients' needs. Conclusions Contextual information can help maximize PAT+GWG's impact.
Intravenous blood pool activity masquerading as gastrointestinal hemorrhage

Radiolabeled red blood cell (RBC) scintigraphy is a common study to detect and localize gastrointestinal hemorrhage. There are many potential entities that may result in false-positive RBC scintigraphy. Here, we present a case of enlarged feeding vessels of omental carcinomatosis which scintigraphically might be mistaken as intraluminal bowel activity and thus active hemorrhage. This case highlights the importance of reviewing correlative imaging in patients with a large neoplastic burden.
Detection of prey odours underpins dietary specialization in a Neotropical top-predator: How army ants find their ant prey

Deciphering the mechanisms that underpin dietary specialization and niche partitioning is crucial to understanding the maintenance of biodiversity. New world army ants live in species-rich assemblages throughout the Neotropics and are voracious predators of other arthropods. They are therefore an important and potentially informative group for addressing how diverse predator assemblages partition available prey resources. New World army ants are largely specialist predators of other ants, with each species specializing on different ant genera. However, the mechanisms of prey choice are unknown. In this study, we addressed whether the army ant Eciton hamatum: (a) can detect potential prey odours, (b) can distinguish between odours of prey and non-prey and (c) can differentiate between different types of odours associated with its prey. Using field experiments, we tested the response of army ants to the following four odour treatments: alarm odours, dead ants, live ants and nest material. Each treatment had a unique combination of odour sources and included some movement in two of the treatments (alarm and live ants). Odour treatments were tested for both prey and non-prey ants. These data were used to determine the degree to which E. hamatum are using specific prey stimuli to detect potential prey and direct their foraging. Army ants responded strongly to odours derived from prey ants, which triggered both increased localized recruitment and slowed advancement of the raid as they targeted the odour source. Odours from non-prey ants were largely ignored. Additionally, the army ants had the strongest response to the nest material of their preferred prey, with progressively weaker responses across the live ant, dead ant and alarm odours treatments respectively. This study reveals that the detection of prey odours, and especially the most persistent odours related to the prey's nest, provides a mechanism for dietary specialization in army ants. If ubiquitous across the Neotropical army ants, then this olfaction-based ecological specialization may facilitate patterns of resource partitioning and coexistence in these diverse predator communities.
Itch regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses in mice and humans

The E3 ubiquitin ligase Itch has long been appreciated to be a critical suppressor of inflammation, first identified as a regulator of Th2 differentiation and lung inflammation. Recent studies have revealed novel roles for this protein in mouse and human disease, and it is now clear that Itch also limits the function of other lymphocytes, innate immune cells, and nonhematopoietic cells to regulate immunity. In addition to Th2 cells, Itch also regulates Th17 and regulatory T cells. Itch regulates humoral immunity through direct roles in T follicular helper cells and T follicular regulatory cells, and B cells. Furthermore, Itch limits innate immune responses, such as macrophage cytokine production. Through these cell-intrinsic functions, Itch regulates the interplay between innate and adaptive immune cells, resulting in profound autoinflammation in Itch-deficient mice. Whereas Itch deficiency was previously thought to be an extremely rare occurrence humans, whole exome sequencing of patients with unexplained autoimmune disease has revealed at least two additional cases of Itch deficiency in the last year alone, each caused by distinct mutations within the Itch gene. The recent identification of these patients suggests that Itch mutations may be more common than previously thought, and demonstrates the need to understand how this protein regulates inflammation and autoimmune disease.
Employment at Older Ages and Social Security Benefit Claiming, 1980–2018

A retired worker’s Social Security benefit depends in part on the age at which he or she claims benefits. Working longer and claiming benefits later increase the monthly benefit. Information about trends in employment at older ages and the age at which individuals claim Social Security benefits can help policymakers assess the effectiveness of current policies in influencing the timing of retirement and benefit claims. Both the labor force participation rate (LFPR) among older Americans and the age at which they claim Social Security retirement benefits have risen in recent years. For example, from 2000 through 2018, the LFPR among individuals aged 65–69 rose from 30 percent to 38 percent for men and from 19 percent to 29 percent for women. Since 2000, the proportion of fully insured men and women who claim retirement benefits at the earliest eligibility age of 62 has declined substantially.
Vaccination Against Human Papillomavirus.

Clinical Question Who should receive human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination? Bottom Line Catch-up vaccination is now recommended for all persons through age 26 years. For persons aged 27 through 45 years, clinicians and patients should now jointly decide whether HPV vaccination is appropriate. Routine HPV vaccination at age 11 or 12 years (or as early as age 9 years) continues to be recommended.
Collaborative Learning Using LSTM-RNN for Personalized Recommendation

Today, the ability to track users’ sequence of online activities, makes identifying their evolving preferences for recommendation practicable. However, despite the myriad of available online activity information, most existing time-based recommender systems either focus on predicting some user rating, or rely on information from similar users. These systems, therefore, disregard the temporal and contextual aspects of users preferences, revealed in the rich and useful historical sequential information, which can potentially increase recommendation accuracy. In this work, we consider such rich, user online activity sequence, as a complex dependency of each user’s consumption sequence, and combine the concept of collaborative filtering with long short-term memory recurrent neural network (LSTM-RNN), to make personalized recommendations. Specifically, we use encoder-decoder LSTM-RNN, to make sequence-to-sequence recommendations. Our proposed model builds on the strength of collaborative filtering while preserving individual user preferences for personalized recommendation. We conduct experiments using Movielens (https://grouplens.org/datasets/movielens) dataset to evaluate our proposed model and empirically demonstrate that it improves recommendation accuracy when compared to state-of-the-art recommender systems.
A New Citation Recommendation Strategy Based on Term Functions in Related Studies Section

In the era of big scholarly data, researchers frequently encounter the following problems when writing scientific articles: 1) it's challenging to select appropriate references to support the research idea, and 2) literature review is not conducted extensively, which leads to working on a research problem that has been well addressed by others. Citation recommendation assists researchers to decide which article should be cited in a timely manner, as well as perform comprehensive and high-quality review of scientific literature. Some work has been done on this valuable and challenging task, but few of them focused on applying the semantic information of the citation context. This paper proposes a new citation recommendation strategy based on term function - the functions or roles of citation context in related studies section. We present 9 term functions as identified from the literature and annotated 531 research papers in 3 areas to evaluate our approach. The experiment results demonstrate that term functions are effective to identifying valuable references. The proposed method recommends more accurate citations for a given topic when compared to several baseline methods. The citation recommendation strategy can be helpful to generate automatic summaries and literature reviews.
RIG-I–Like Receptor LGP2 Is Required for Tumor Control by Radiotherapy

Dendritic cells (DC) play an essential role in innate immunity and radiation-elicited immune responses. LGP2 is a RIG-I like receptor (RLR) involved in cytoplasmic RNA recognition and anti-viral responses. Although LGP2 has also been linked to cell survival of both tumor cells and T cells, the role of LGP2 in mediating DC function and anti-tumor immunity elicited by radiotherapy remains unclear. Here we report that tumor DC are linked to the clinical outcome of breast cancer patients who received radiotherapy (RT) and the presence of DC correlates with gene expression of LGP2 in the tumor microenvironment. In preclinical models, host LGP2 was essential for optimal anti-tumor control by ionizing radiation (IR). The absence of LGP2 in DC dampened type I interferon production and the priming capacity of DC. In the absence of LGP2, MDA5-mediated activation of type I IFN signaling was abrogated. The MDA5/LGP2 agonist high molecular weight poly I: C improved the anti-tumor effect of IR. This study reveals a previously undefined role of LGP2 in host immunity and provides a new strategy to improve the efficacy of radiotherapy.
Tissue and Progenitor Cell Transplantation for the Management of Pituitary Disorders: From Harvey Cushing to the Next Frontier

The pituitary gland serves an important function in the regulation of growth, metabolism, and reproduction; in states of dysfunction, in particular, in states of hypofunction, clinical symptoms may cause tremendous effects on patient health and quality of life. Traditional treatments for hypopituitarism are pharmacological and require life-long dosing of multiple medications to maintain physiologic homeostasis. Although pharmaceuticals allow for repletion of pituitary hormones, they offer symptomatic relief rather than a cure for the disease. As the fields of immunobiology, regenerative medicine, transplantation, and stem cell research grow in the twenty-first century, the hope is that hypopituitarism may 1 day be cured through transplantation of pituitary stem cells, which may proliferate and differentiate to form functional pituitary tissue, rather than mitigated through synthetic hormones. Here, we present an overview of the various functions of the pituitary gland, the symptoms and treatments for hypopituitarism, the role of pituitary stem cells in restoring endogenous pituitary function, and a look at the past, present, and future of pituitary transplantation.
Ion Pair Dissociation Dynamics in an Aqueous Premelting Layer

Using molecular dynamics simulations and methods of importance sampling, we study the thermodynamics and dynamics of sodium chloride in the aqueous premelting layer formed spontaneously at the interface between ice and its vapor. We uncover a hierarchy of timescales that characterize the relaxation dynamics of this system, spanning the picoseconds of ionic motion to the 10s-100s of nanoseconds associated with fluctuations of the liquid-crystal interface in their presence. We find that ions distort both local interfaces, incurring restoring forces that result in the ions preferentially residing in the middle of the layer. While ion pair dissociation is thermodynamically favorable, these structural and dynamic effects cause its rate to vary by over an order of magnitude through the layer, with a maximum rate significantly depressed from the corresponding bulk value. The solvation environment of ions in the premelting layer is distinct from that in a bulk liquid, being dominated by slow reorganization of water molecules and a water structure intermediate between ice and its melt.
Macrophages at the nexus of mesenchymal stromal cell potency: The emerging role of chemokine cooperativity

Pharmacological depletion of macrophages in vivo with liposomal clodronate renders mice unresponsive to adoptive transfer of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for affecting outcomes of acute inflammatory pathology. This experimental observation identifies host macrophages as necessary in mediating the salutary anti-inflammatory properties of MSCs as a cellular pharmaceutical. This theory is supported by the observation that transfusion of MSCs leads to the prompt phagocytosis of nearly half of lung entrapped MSCs by lung resident macrophages, triggering an interleukin (IL)-10 suppressive efferocytotic response. In addition, non-phagocytosed MSCs with COX2 competency shape the immune milieu by inducing tissue macrophages to express IL-10. Additional experimental evidence identifies MSC-borne IL-6, IDO and TSG-6 as directly involved in macrophage polarization. Along similar lines of functional convergence, implantation of CCL2+ MSCs in the extravascular space where interaction with lung resident perivascular macrophages is not operative, also leads to IL-10 polarization of CCR2+ macrophages within acute injured tissue far removed from MSC depot. Intriguingly, MSC-derived CCL2 on its own is not sufficient to polarize macrophages and requires heterodimerization with MSC-borne CXCL12 to trigger macrophage IL-10 polarization via CCR2, but not CXCR4. Such chemokine cooperativity opens a new venue for analysis of MSC potency especially considering the rich chemokine secretome of MSC exposed to inflammatory stimulus. As an aggregate, these data highlight a necessary MSC and host macrophage functional dyad that may inform potency attribute analysis of MSCs-including the chemokine interactome-that may be directly linked to in vivo clinical anti-inflammatory and regenerative response.
Spiritual Significances of Vodoun as Demonstrated in Stout's 'Recurring Damballah Dream'

In this art exhibition paper, I work to demonstrate a more accurate examination of Vodoun culture and values than is often portrayed in mainstream American media. I use Renee Stout’s lithographic print Recurring Damballah Dream as a lens through which to analyze emblems of Vodoun culture, specifically within practices in Haiti and Louisiana, demonstrating the complexity and significance of Vodoun as a healing culture. Using Disney’s The Princess and The Frog as a misconstrued American representation of Vodoun, I attempt to characterize the ways in which Vodoun is belittled and demonized within colonial frameworks, projecting racial discrimination onto its practitioners.
The Equity Paradox Typology: An Application of Critical Race Methodology to Redress Racial Harm Against Faculty of Color:

This inquiry unearths the stratified nature of racial harm in higher education by applying counterstorytelling to fashion an equity case study on racial harm. Racial harm consists of four condition...
Effect of prebiotics on growth and health of dairy calves: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Prebiotic supplementation has been studied as a means to enhance growth and health in dairy calves; however, results seem to be inconsistent across studies. The first objective of the future review is to identify, summarize, appraise, and discuss the current literature on the prebiotic supplementation for dairy calves. The second objective is to evaluate the effect of prebiotic supplementation on growth and health of dairy calves. Eligible studies will be non-randomized and randomized controlled trials in English, Spanish, or Portuguese that examined the supplementation of prebiotics to dairy calves (up to 6 months of age) and reported growth or health outcomes. The main growth outcomes will be average daily gain, feed efficiency, and main health outcomes will be fecal score and diarrhea incidence. A search will be conducted in Biosis, CAB Abstracts, Medline, Scopus, and the Dissertations and Theses Database with the support of a UC Davis librarian. Two reviewers independently will screen the titles and abstracts of retrieved studies. The screening of full manuscripts will be performed by one reviewer. The data extraction will be executed based on pre-tested forms. Risk of bias will be assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool. If feasible, a random-effects meta-analysis will be conducted. Heterogeneity will be evaluated with I2 statistic. If possible, publication bias will be investigated by using funnel plots, Begg’s adjusted rank correlation, and Egger’s test. The certainty of the evidence will be determined using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations) approach. The proposed review will contribute to the current knowledge on prebiotic supplementation for dairy calves; this information may guide management decision at the farm level and identify gaps of knowledge to be addressed in future research. The protocol is registered in Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/ar5g2/) and available in the Systematic Reviews for Animals and Food (http://www.syreaf.org/contact/).
Enhanced strength and microstructure of dredged clay sediment-fly ash geopolymer by mechanochemical activation

Abstract A low reactivity dredged high plasticity clay rich in quartz and alumina was obtained from an intercoastal waterway in southeast Texas and mechanochemically treated with fly ash and sodium silicate and used to manufacture a geopolymer mortar. The treated dredged clay and fly ash precursor was activated with a liquid sodium hydroxide solution. Ten different mixes were considered to study the effects of mechanochemical treatment, mixing procedure, and fly ash replacement dosage. The compressive strength, the reactivity during thermal curing, degree of polymerization, and microstructure and morphology were investigated using isothermal calorimetry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, nano-indentation, and optical and scanning electron microscopy. Co-grinding fly ash, sodium silicate, and dredge clay enhances the bulk reactivity and dispersion of the blended precursor which enhances the connectivity of the geopolymer, intensifies the polymerized structure, increases compressive strength, and lowers the matrix pore size surface area despite increased water demand and some physical interferences from the dredge clay sediment. The efficacy of the mechanochemical treatment will largely depend on the quantity and reactivity of the fly ash present in the geopolymer. The inert dredge high plasticity clay sediment serves as an effective filling agent in geopolymer systems up to 50% replacement. However, the mechanochemical treatment of a blended fly ash-dredge clay system is most effective in increasing compressive strength (by ~ 30 MPa) when the inert dredge clay sediment is less than or equal to 25% of the total precursor mass.
Silicon rich silicon nitride for efficient thermo-optic switches

We demonstrate low loss ultra-compact bends in PECVD silicon rich silicon nitride and utilize them towards realizing efficient thermo-optic MMI switches with Pπ = 23 mW and a footprint of 68 x 68 µm2.
Examining the Aufbau Principle and Ionization Energies: A Computational Chemistry Exercise for the Introductory Level

While computational chemistry continues to play a growing role in chemical research, issues with access and the timing of when these tools are introduced to chemistry students remain as barriers to...
3-D Visualization of X-Ray and Neutron Computed Tomography (CT) and Full Waveform Ultrasonic (UT) Data

High-resolution inherently multi-dimensional data from a variety of different inspection modalities is now routinely available. Whereas maximum data density used to be severely restricted by available hardware, the limiting factor now is the software used to display and analyze the data. The current challenges are to perfect new techniques to capitalize on vastly increased hardware capacity, and to reconstruct the enormous quantities of raw data into standardized forms that can be easily interpreted, quantified, and compared against other datasets, including those taken at different sites using different machines and protocols.
Contrast enhancement by digital equalization in digital mammography

We evaluated an image processing algorithm based on contrast enhancement by digital equalization (CEDE), which is designed to enhance image contrast by employing digital equalization of digital mammograms. Digital images were obtained on a Digital Mammography imaging system (Lorad). Mammograms were obtained of an anthropomorphic breast phantom (Rachel) with added simulated lesions. A statistical analysis was made of the processed images, and observer compared the visibility of simulated lesions in the processed image with the original image. The display contrast in processed images increased by up to ∼40%, which correlated well with a subjective improvement in lesion conspicuity. Our result indicate that the CEDE algorithm has the potential to improve mass lesion visibility in digital mammography.
Hadoop Based Data Intensive Computation on IaaS Cloud Platforms

Cloud computing is a relatively new form of computing, which uses virtualized resources and is dynamically scalable and is often provided as pay for use service over the Internet or Intranet or both. With increasing demand for data storage in the cloud, study of data intensive applications is becoming a primary focus. Data intensive applications are those which involve a high CPU usage, processsing large volumes of data typically in size of hundreds of gigabytes, terabytes, or petabytes. This study was conducted on Amazon's Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2) and Amazon Elastic Map Reduce (EMR) using HiBench Hadoop Benchmark Suite. HiBench is a Hadoop benchmark suite and is used for performing and evaluating Hadoop based data intensive computation on both these cloud paltforms. Both quantitative and qualitative comparison was performed on both Amazon EC2 and Amazon EMR, including a study of their pricing models and measures are suggested for future studies and research.
The cytoskeleton and nuclear disassembly during germinal vesicle breakdown in starfish oocytes

In response to maturation-inducing hormone, prophase-arrested oocytes of the starfish Pisaster ochraceus resume meiosis and undergo nuclear disassembly during a process referred to as germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD). Time-lapse video recordings of maturing oocytes reveal that the nucleus lengthens along the animal-vegetal axis of the oocyte directly prior to GVBD. Neither taxol (10 μM) nor microtubule-depolymerizing agents [colcemid (50 μM), colchicine (250 μM), or nocodazole (1 μM)] prevent the pre-GVBD changes in nuclear shape from occurring, although correlative microscopical studies demonstrate that microtubules are nucleated (taxol) or depolymerized (colcemid, colchicine, nocodazole) at the concentrations listed above. The microtubule-altering drugs also do not affect the time at which GVBD begins or ends. A 10 μM solution of the microfilament-disrupting drug cytochalasin B (CB), on the other hand, essentially eliminates the pre-GVBD elongation of the nucleus. CB also slightly delays the onset of GVBD and significantly lengthens the time required to complete GVBD. Such studies suggest that: (i) drug-sensitive microtubules are not required for GVBD to proceed in a normal fasion; (ii) the pre-GVBD changes in nuclear shape involve microfilament-mediated events; and (iii) cytochalasin-induced depolymerization of microfilaments retards the normal timing of GVBD.
Educational robotics to promote 21 st century skills and technological understanding among underprivileged undergraduate students

This paper presents a case of a liberal art college serving predominantly African American and Hispanic populations. Many of those students are non-traditional and working students from nearby socio-economically disadvantaged communities. It introduces the difficulties that they face because of the lack of skills that the students come in with. The general education course provides learning experience aiming to foster critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills as well as creativity and innovation through the integration of robotics as a learning tool and trans-disciplinary approach in a learner-centered, collaborative, project-based learning environment. The results show that the students have achieved the learning outcomes that the course set.
Gender Differences in Retirement Planning Among Educators

Genger differences in amount of retirement financial planning were examined among 3,064 retirees from a major state retirement system. Significant gender differences were found in amount of personal financial planning, perceived adequacy of planning and attendance at retirement workshops with women planning less than men. Factors most important for retirement planning among women are identified and intervention strategies for practitioners to help women better prepare for retirement are suggested.
Cognitive Processing of Trauma and Attitudes Toward Disclosure in the First Six Months After Military Deployment

Objectives To examine the role of cognitive processing and attitudes toward trauma disclosure among newly returned veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Method In total, 110 veterans completed the Cognitive Processing of Trauma Scale, Disclosure of Trauma Questionnaire, and assessments of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), depression, and posttraumatic growth (PTG). Results Both maladaptive and adaptive processing were the strongest predictors of PTSS and depression, ss = .21 to .38. However, urge to discuss trauma was the main predictor of PTG, s = .53. Correlational findings suggested that veterans’ willingness to discuss their traumas and reactivity to doing so were related with their processing of these experiences, rs = .23 to .40. Conclusion This study provides further support for the critical intersection between cognitive processing and disclosure, while also suggesting the need for more research on the intra- and inter-personal dimensions of these constructs in negative and constructive outcomes after trauma.
A novel assay revealed that ribonucleotide reductase is functionally important for interstrand DNA crosslink repair

Cells have evolved complex biochemical pathways for DNA interstrand crosslink (ICL) removal. Despite the chemotherapeutic importance of ICL repair, there have been few attempts to identify which mechanistic DNA repair inhibitor actually inhibits ICL repair. To identify such compounds, a new and robust ICL repair assay was developed using a novel plasmid that contains synthetic ICLs between a CMV promoter region that drives transcription and a luciferase reporter gene, and an SV40 origin of replication and the large T antigen (LgT) gene that enables self-replication in mammalian cells. In a screen against compounds that are classified as inhibitors of DNA repair or synthesis, the reporter generation was exquisitely sensitive to ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) inhibitors such as gemcitabine and clofarabine, but not to inhibitors of PARP, ATR, ATM, Chk1, and others. The effect was observed also by siRNA downregulation of RNR. Moreover, the reporter generation was also particularly sensitive to 3-AP, a non-nucleoside RNR inhibitor, but not significantly sensitive to DNA replication stressors, suggesting that the involvement of RNR in ICL repair is independent of incorporation of a nucleotide RNR inhibitor into DNA to induce replication stress. The reporter generation from a modified version of the plasmid that lacks the LgT-SV40ori motif was also adversely affected by RNR inhibitors, further indicating a role for RNR in ICL repair that is independent of DNA replication. Intriguingly, unhooking of cisplatin-ICL from nuclear DNA was significantly inhibited by low doses of gemcitabine, suggesting an unidentified functional role for RNR in the process of ICL unhooking. The assay approach could identify other molecules essential for ICLR in quantitative and flexible manner.