cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Everyone's watching: the remarkably public reorganization of the Nevada department of motor vehicles

In 1996 he Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety launched the "Genesis" project, a technology-enabled reengineering endeavor. In September of 1999, after four years of planning, organizational restructuring and system development, the new system was released. To the accompaniment of great publicity, it fell dramatically short of expectations. This case provides the background necessary to understand the origins and shortcomings of the system, then focuses on the turn-around effort that took the system to a point of successful operation within a year of its going into production. The turn around was accomplished under great pressure to retreat to the legacy system. The effort involved a synergy of manual and technical corrections to bring overall system performance to acceptable levels. The DMV now faces the formidable challenge of taking full responsibility for the long-term maintenance of a system that was designed and implemented by outside contractors.
Historical Rights to Land: How Latin American States Made the Past Normative and What Happened to History and Historical Education as a Result

Herzog analyzes how nineteenth- and twentieth-century Latin American states used and misused history to make claims to territory. Appealing to the idea that they each had “historical rights” to certain lands, these countries pretended to solve their territorial and border conflicts by recreating what they imagined was their extension during the colonial period, under Spanish or Portuguese rule. Recruiting history to what were essentially political and legal pretensions affected the way it was taught and researched. This chapter explores these important relations between past and present, history and claim making, arguing that there was a considerable discrepancy between what professional historians concluded and what politicians and teachers instructed. While the former believed the past was complex and constantly mutating and without moral lessons to offer, the latter suggested it had an unequivocal meaning and clear message.
Deglaciation of the North Cascade Range, Washington and British Columbia, from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene

Glacial retreat from the North Cascade Range after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) at approximately 21 ka until the end of the Pleistocene at 11.6 ka was complex and included both continental and alpine glaciers. Alpine valley glaciers reached their maximum extent before 21.4 ka, then underwent a punctuated retreat to valley heads. In the south, beyond the reach of ice sheet glaciation, several end moraines were deposited after the LGM. Moraines marking a re-advance of alpine glaciers to <5 km below modern glaciers were deposited from 13.7 to 11.6 ka. The Cordilleran Ice Sheet flowed south from near 52° north latitude in British Columbia into the North Cascades. At its maximum size the ice sheet covered more than 500 km 2 and had a surface elevation of 2200 m in upper Skagit valley. Deglaciation commenced about 16 ka by frontal retreat of ice flanking the mountains. Surface lowering eventually exposed regional hydrologic divides and stranded ice masses more than 1000 m thick in valleys. Isolated fragments of the ice sheet disintegrated rapidly from 14.5 to 13.5 ka, with the pattern of deglaciation in each valley controlled by valley orientation, topography, and climate. Like alpine glaciers to the south, retreat of the ice sheet remnants was slowed by millennial scale climate fluctuations that produced at least one large recessional moraine, and multiple lateral moraines and kame terraces from elevations of 200-1400 m in most valleys. Large volumes of glacial meltwater flowed through the North Cascades and was concentrated in the Skagit and Methow rivers. Outburst floods from deep proglacial lakes spilled across divides and down steep canyons, depositing coarse gravel terraces and alluvial fans at valley junctions. Climate at the LGM was characterized by a mean summer temperature 6 to 7 oC cooler than today, and 40% lower mean annual precipitation. Persistence of this climate for thousands of years before the LGM caused a 750-1000 m decrease in alpine glacier equilibrium line altitudes (ELA). In the southern North Cascades at 16 ka, glacial ELAs were 500-700 m lower than today, and during advances from 13.7 to 11.6 ka alpine glacier ELAs were 200-400 m lower.
Abstract IA31: Phthalimide conjugation as a strategy for targeted protein degradation

Ligand-induced target protein destabilization is an efficacious therapeutic strategy in cancer, but discovery in this field has historically been serendipitous given the lack of rational design principles. Building on the molecular logic of immunomodulatory drugs (“IMiDs”), we innovated a facile chemical solution for targeted protein degradation using bifunctional small molecules capable of recruiting the E3 ligase cereblon (CRBN). These bifunctional molecules induce immediate, and complete proteasomal degradation of their target proteins and thus represent a novel class of small molecule therapeutics with an entirely uncharted and unique molecular pharmacology. Focusing our initial efforts on degraders of the BET family of proteins, we observed that they exhibit superior efficacy than BET inhibitors through unknown mechanisms. In order to dissect and mechanistically explain that differential molecular pharmacology, we used optimized small-molecule degraders and kinetic measures of chromatin structure and function to unveil an unrecognized, essential role for BRD4 in global control of transcriptional pause-release. Targeted BET degradation nucleates a collapse in the transcriptional core regulatory circuitry and thus enabled us to exploit transcriptional addictions in T-Cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) that were intractable using competitive BET bromodomain inhibitors. Citation Format: Georg E. Winter, Dennis L. Buckley, James E. Bradner. Phthalimide conjugation as a strategy for targeted protein degradation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Precision Medicine Series: Targeting the Vulnerabilities of Cancer; May 16-19, 2016; Miami, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2017;23(1_Suppl):Abstract nr IA31.
Optimal Signaling Mechanisms in Unobservable Queues with Strategic Customers

We study the problem of optimal information sharing in the context of a service system. In particular, we consider an unobservable single server queue offering a service at a fixed price to a Poisson arrival of delay-sensitive customers. The service provider can observe the queue, and may share information about the state of the queue with each arriving customer. The customers are Bayesian and strategic, and incorporate any information provided by the service provider into their prior beliefs about the queue length before making the decision whether to join the queue or leave without obtaining service. We pose the following question: which signaling mechanism and what price should the service provider select to maximize her revenue? We formulate this problem as an instance of Bayesian persuasion in dynamic settings. The underlying dynamics make the problem more difficult because, in contrast to static settings, the signaling mechanism adopted by the service provider affects the customers' prior beliefs about the queue (given by the steady state distribution of the queue length in equilibrium). The core contribution of this work is in characterizing the structure of the optimal signaling mechanism. We summarize our main results as follows. (1) Structural characterization: Using a revelation-principle style argument, we find that it suffices to consider signaling mechanisms where the service provider sends a binary signal of "join" or "leave", and under which the equilibrium strategy of a customer is to follow the service provider's recommended action. (2) Optimality of threshold policies: For a given fixed price for service, we use the structural characterization to show that the optimal signaling mechanism can be obtained as a solution to a linear program with a countable number of variables and constraints. Under some mild technical conditions on the waiting costs, we establish that there exists an optimal signaling mechanism with a threshold structure, where service provider sends the "join" signal if the queue length is below a threshold, and "leave" otherwise. (In addition, at the threshold, the service provider randomizes.) For the special case of linear waiting costs, we derive an analytical expression for the optimal threshold i terms of the two branches of the Lambert-W function. (3) Revenue comparison: Finally, we show that with the optimal choice of the fixed price and using the corresponding optimal signaling mechanism, the service provider can achieve the same revenue as with the optimal state-dependent pricing mechanism in a fully-observable queue. This implies that in settings where state-dependent pricing is not feasible, the service provider can effectively use optimal signaling (with the optimal fixed price) to achieve the same revenue.
Producción de melón (Cucumis melo L.) en invernadero: efecto de poda y densidad de siembra.

Se evaluo el efecto de dos densidades de siembra (1,5 y 2,0 plantas/m2) y dos tipos de poda (un tallo secundario y dos tallos secundarios) sobre el rendimiento y la calidad del melon tipo Amarillo JMX-904 F-1 (Cucumis melo L. var. inodorus), en Alajuela, Costa Rica, entre marzo y julio de 2011. No se presentaron diferencias estadisticamente significativas entre tratamientos para el numero total de frutos por planta, el peso promedio del fruto, el porcentaje de solidos solubles totales, la firmeza de la pulpa, y la relacion pulpa:cavidad del fruto. Se presentaron diferencias estadisticamente significativas entre tratamientos para el rendimiento total; el mejor tratamiento correspondio a plantas con poda a un tallo secundario y con una densidad de siembra de 2,0 plantas/m2, el cual produjo un rendimiento total de 27,5 ton/ha.
Studying Politics Across Media

High quality cross-platform research is difficult and expensive to perform in political communication. Yet studying media platforms in isolation ignores the realities of the contemporary media experience. As platforms multiply, the media environment itself has become more complicated, as classic understandings of media ecology give way to a growing recognition of the hybrid media system. In studying political communication across platforms, we can better understand what types of experiences and effects are universal, and which are specific to a particular platform. This special issue highlights the diverse methods needed to study a complex media environment and the nuance and richness of understanding we gain by doing so. We urge researchers to extend their research outside of a single platform, to consider the context and affordances of multiple platforms, and to focus on a more ecological approach to the modern media environment.
Paleoclimate Records from Speleothems

Speleothems, mainly stalagmites, are yielding continuous, high-resolution records of past climate. Because calcite in these speleothems can be dated with exceptional accuracy, these records are matching and in some cases exceeding records from lakes, trees, glaciers, and oceans in their importance, and are providing remarkable detail about regional and global climate change history. Multiple records are offered and discussed in this article and show the significance of caves to the field of paleoclimatology.
A developmental approach to cyberbullying: prevalence and protective factors

Abstract Recent years have witnessed a plethora of research on cyberbullying. However, many of the published studies have yielded mixed findings related to cyberbullying and its relation to demographic variables such as age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Review papers have been published on some of these topics, but comprehensive reviews of the relation between age and cyberbullying victimization and perpetration are lacking, particularly with regard to protective factors. Thus, the current paper takes a developmental approach to examine age and cyberbullying. The review focuses specifically on age variations in technology use, prevalence of cyberbullying involvement, risk and protective factors, and outcomes. Directions for future research, including implications for prevention and intervention, are discussed.
Intensive blood pressure lowering reduces adverse cardiovascular outcomes among patients with high-normal glucose: An analysis from the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial database.

The objective of this analysis is to determine the effect of intensive (<120 mm Hg) versus standard (<140 mm Hg) systolic blood pressure (SBP) targets on cardiovascular (CV) outcomes among SPRINT participants with low-normal or high-normal fasting glucose (FG). We categorized the 5425 SPRINT participants with FG <100 mg/dL into 2 groups: <85 mg/dL (low-normal) and 85 to <100 mg/dL (high-normal). Among participants with low-normal glucose, there was no significant difference in the primary outcome (PO) between the 2 treatment arms (adjusted hazard ratio, HR: 1.27 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.68-2.37, P = .46). However, the intensive SBP target was associated with 27% lower risk for the PO compared with the standard SBP target in those with high-normal glucose (HR 0.73, 0.57-0.93, P = .01). Our results indicate that hypertensive patients with high-normal FG may benefit from intensive SBP lowering, whereas benefits were inconclusive among those with low-normal FG.
Experiential Augmentation: Uncovering The Meaning of Qualitative Visualizations when Applied to Augmented Objects

As we move toward commercial usage of ubiquitous computing and augmented reality, it is important to think about how computing should communicate with us when it is distributed in our environment. This paper proposes that qualitative indexical visualizations based on learned understanding of physical phenomena (Experiential Augmentation) can enhance our interaction design language and aid digital interfaces in communicating in a real-world context. We present a study that gathers data on how participants interpret such visualizations, and propose a model with which to analyze their responses. Finally, we also give a set of design recommendations for those interested in creating similar augmentations.
Researchers' experiences with and perceptions of returning results to participants: Study protocol.

Abstract Background Health research participants want to receive the results from research studies in which they have participated, and health research funding agencies encourage the returning of results to research participants. However, researchers rarely return results to research participants. This study protocol aims to fill the significant gap in knowledge that exists regarding experiences, perceptions, and challenges health researchers have with returning results to research participants. Design The study will use a mixed-methods concurrent triangulation design that will collect qualitative and quantitative data in one simultaneous phase to allow researchers to utilize each type of data to corroborate the findings from the other. The research team developed a mixed-methods survey to assess the experiences, perceptions, and challenges health researchers have with returning results to research participants. Method The survey includes both quantitative and qualitative (open-ended) questions and will be implemented online and will take approximately 10–15 min for respondents to complete. The survey is divided into four topics areas, which include respondents': 1) general opinion of returning results to participants in health research studies, 2) experiences with a specific study in which they did not return results to participants, 3) perceptions of specific challenges they face in returning results to participants, and 4) demographic characteristics and professional background information. Summary The study to be conducted will address knowledge gaps related to researchers' experiences, perceptions, and challenges with returning research results. The study is an important step toward pragmatic solutions that can improve researchers' ability to return results to participants.
Computed Tomographic Angiography in the Assessment of Congenital Heart Disease

The adult congenital heart disease (CHD) population is becoming increasingly prevalent. Approximately 6 per 1,000 live births in the United States are affected by complex CHD, and as many as 75 per 1,000 live births have simple lesions such as ventricular septal defects [1]. Improved medical and surgical care has decreased early and late mortality resulting in the increased number of patients surviving well into adulthood with both simple and complex forms of CHD. As a result of these improvements, the number of adult survivors with CHD surpassed the number of pediatric patients with CHD in the year 2000. Currently, it is estimated there are approximately 800,000 adults with CHD in the United States [2].
Continuous-time quantum mechanical filter

Attempts in recent years to detect gravitational radiation have led to the introduction of a new concept called Quantum Nondemolition Measurement. We apply this concept to the problem of demodulating optical signals and obtain a continuous time quantum mechanical filter. The advantage of our approach over previous approaches is that no optimization is necessary and we can construct the filter systematically.
Project EX: Outcomes of a teen smoking cessation program

Project EX is an eight-session teen school-based clinic tobacco use cessation program that involves the inclusion of enjoyable, motivating activities (''games,'' ''talk show,'' and alternative medicine- type) to try to enhance quit rates among youth. This clinic program was tested in a three-group experimental design: clinic-only, clinic plus a school-as-community (SAC) component, and standard care control. Eighteen schools were assigned to the three conditions using a randomized block design. A total of 335 smokers participated in the study, making this the largest controlled teen smoking cessation field trial conducted to date. Seventeen percent of the smokers enrolled in the clinics had reports of having quit smoking for at least the last 30 days at 3-month follow-up (5 months after the program quit day), compared to only 8% of the control condition smokers over than same time period. The Project EX clinic component appears to be an effective means of tobacco use cessation among teens. D 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Ultrasound for Vascular Access

The use of ultrasound for vascular access has been shown to decrease complications and improve success rates. Ultrasound guidance of internal jugular vein cannulation has become the standard of care, but the technique has still not been universally adapted. One of the barriers to the use of ultrasound is a lack of training among providers. In this chapter we will discuss the use of ultrasound for internal jugular, subclavian, and femoral vein, as well as radial artery cannulation, as these are the most common uses of this technology in daily practice.
Construction quality acceptance performance-related specifications for chip seals

Abstract The research described herein details the establishment of a framework for construction quality acceptance performance-related specifications (PRS) for chip seal surface treatments. This paper establishes acceptance quality characteristics (AQCs) and relationships between the AQCs and related chip seal performance measures. This work is a critical step in developing PRS for constructed chip seal treatments and establishing suitable guidelines for the PRS. The main objective of this paper is to determine appropriate test methods to evaluate each defined AQC. The relationships that are established between the AQCs and chip seal performance are used to define performance ranges and threshold values for a particular performance measure. These performance ranges and threshold values then can be used to define pay factors for the constructed chip seal section. The threshold values and pay factors for each AQC described herein are preliminary recommendations and require further validation prior to implementation. However, this research demonstrates how these PRS would be utilized to ensure acceptable chip seal construction quality in the field. The developed construction quality acceptance PRS framework uses the percent within limits (PWL) concept to determine whether a chip seal lot passes the PRS threshold values and whether the contractor receives full pay, is subject to a pay penalty, or fails the construction PRS and must correct the chip seal within the first year in service, which constitutes the typical warranty period for contracted chip seal work. Finally, recommendations are made as to the next steps in the development and validation of these construction quality acceptance PRS that are needed for implementation by contractors and state roadway maintenance agencies.
Humidity-Dependent Decay of Viruses, but Not Bacteria, in Aerosols and Droplets Follows Disinfection Kinetics

The transmission of some infectious diseases requires that pathogens can survive (i.e., remain infectious) in the environment, outside the host. Relative humidity (RH) is known to affect the survival of some microorganisms in the environment; however, the mechanism underlying the relationship has not been explained, particularly for viruses. We investigated the effects of RH on the viability of bacteria and viruses in both suspended aerosols and stationary droplets using traditional culture-based approaches. Results showed that viability of bacteria generally decreased with decreasing RH. Viruses survived well at RHs lower than 33% and at 100%, whereas their viability was reduced at intermediate RHs. We then explored the evaporation rate of droplets consisting of culture media and the resulting changes in solute concentrations over time; as water evaporates from the droplets, solutes such as sodium chloride in the media become more concentrated. Based on the results, we suggest that inactivation of bacteria is influenced by osmotic pressure resulting from elevated concentrations of salts as droplets evaporate. We propose that the inactivation of viruses is governed by the cumulative dose of solutes or the product of concentration and time, as in disinfection kinetics. These findings emphasize that evaporation kinetics play a role in modulating the survival of microorganisms in droplets.
Scripts and Strategies for Discussing Stopping Cancer Screening with Adults > 75 Years: a Qualitative Study

Despite guidelines recommending not to continue cancer screening for adults > 75 years old, especially those with short life expectancy, primary care providers (PCPs) feel ill-prepared to discuss stopping screening with older adults. To develop scripts and strategies for PCPs to use to discuss stopping cancer screening with adults > 75. Qualitative study using semi-structured interview guides to conduct individual interviews with adults > 75 years old and focus groups and/or individual interviews with PCPs. Forty-five PCPs and 30 patients > 75 years old participated from six community or academic Boston-area primary care practices. Participants were asked their thoughts on discussions around stopping cancer screening and to provide feedback on scripts that were iteratively revised for PCPs to use when discussing stopping mammography and colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Twenty-one (47%) of the 45 PCPs were community based. Nineteen (63%) of the 30 patients were female, and 13 (43%) were non-Hispanic white. PCPs reported using different approaches to discuss stopping cancer screening depending on the clinical scenario. PCPs noted it was easier to discuss stopping screening when the harms of screening clearly outweighed the benefits for a patient. In these cases, PCPs felt more comfortable being more directive. When the balance between the benefits and harms of screening was less clear, PCPs endorsed shared decision-making but found this approach more challenging because it was difficult to explain why to stop screening. While patients were generally enthusiastic about screening, they also reported not wanting to undergo tests of little value and said they would stop screening if their PCP recommended it. By the end of participant interviews, no further edits were recommended to the scripts. To increase PCP comfort and capability to discuss stopping cancer screening with older adults, we developed scripts and strategies that PCPs may use for discussing stopping cancer screening.
Palatability of common cover crops to voles (Microtus)

Abstract Use of cover crops in intensive row-crop agriculture has dramatically increased over the last decade. Cover crops provide vegetative cover and forage that may support more diverse and abundant rodent communities than those found in conventional row-crop agroecosystems. However, increasing vole populations can lead to depredation of the soybean (Glycine max) commodity crop. We tested for selection of 13 commonly planted cover crops and 4-5 additional benchmark species by meadow (Microtus pennsylvanicus) and prairie (M. ochrogaster) voles using cafeteria-style feeding trials conducted in semi-natural outdoor enclosures. Red clover (Trifolium pratense), alfalfa (Medicago sativa), and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) were commonly preferred among vole species, and canola (Brassica napus) was avoided. Meadow and prairie voles consistently chose or avoided highly and minimally preferred species, respectively, but were more variable in choosing moderately preferred species. Consumption scores were negatively associated with the number of plants offered in a trial, and the relationship was stronger for males than females. The interaction of protein and fiber content of plants, and vole identity included as a random effect, were also important in predicting score probability for both vole species. Identifying minimally preferred plants and factors that influence selection may allow farmers to manage cover-cropped soybean fields to discourage immigration of small mammals into fields, thus reducing negative consequences that might otherwise limit future adoption of a valuable soil conservation practice.
Observing web damage response variability in Zygiella x-notata

The foraging success of orb-web spiders depends primarily on the structure and maintenance of their webs. The purpose of this study was to examine how the presence and degree of web damage affected web-building responses in Zygiella x-notata. Part 1 of the study investigated the severity of damage with: a control, a partial web damage group, and a complete web damage group. Part 2 investigated frequency of damage over a 5-day period with: a control group, an infrequent web damage group, and a frequent web damage group. Four spiders were allocated randomly to each experimental group, and four trials for each were conducted. Results suggested that spiders were unlikely to relocate, regardless of the type of web damage that occurred. Web sizes exhibited a decreasing trend for all experimental groups after web damage, except for controls and partial damage groups, with the largest decreases seen in frequent and complete damage groups. Anchor thread count increased after partial and complete damage; however, it decreased after damage in both repetitive web damage groups. Overall, these preliminary findings suggest that web-building spiders will likely rebuild instead of relocate in areas where damage occurs to their webs. When the damage is partial and non-repetitive, they expend more energy repairing and reinforcing their webs. However, when faced with repetitive and complete damage, their behavior is an adaptation to reduce the amount of energy expended in web repair.
Association of genetic polymorphisms in the COX-2 (PTGS2), prostaglandin E synthase (PTGES), and prostacyclin synthase (PTGIS) genes with risk of breast cancer.

5398 Considerable evidence from in vitro, animal model, and epidemiologic studies suggests that COX-2 (PTGS2) may play an important role in breast cancer initiation and progression. The COX-2 enzyme catalyzes a key step in the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandin H2 (PGH2), which is further converted by prostaglandin systhases to bioactive prostaglandins including PGE2, PGI2, PGF2α, PGD2, and TXA2. Of them, PGE2 is a major downstream COX-2 mediator that promotes carcinogenesis, while PGI2, which differs from other prostaglandins, may exert cancer-inhibitory effects. In this study, we evaluated genetic polymorphisms in the genes involved in the production of PGH2 (PTGS2), PGE2 (prostaglandin E synthase, PTGES), and PGI2 (prostacyclin synthase, PTGIS) in relation to breast cancer risk using data from the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study, a large population-based case-control study conducted in urban Shanghai during 1996 to 1998. Included in this study were 1103 cases and 1160 age-matched community controls who had completed an in-person interview and donated a blood sample to the study. Genotyping of polymorphisms in the PTGS2 (C8473T in 3’UTR, rs5275), PTGES (C→A in 3’UTR, rs2302821), and PTGIS (C1117A, Arg373Arg, rs5629) genes was performed using TaqMan assays. For the PTGIS C1117A polymorphism, the AA genotype was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer (OR=1.49, 95% CIs: 1.00-2.23) compared to the CC genotype, and the elevated risk was mainly confined to pre-menopausal women. For the PTGES C→A polymorphism, however, the AA genotype was associated with increased risk of breast cancer primarily in post-menopausal women (OR=1.61, 95% CI: 1.03-2.52) compared to the CC genotype. No significant association of the PTGS2 C8473T polymorphism with breast cancer risk was found. Results of this study indicate that the PTGES and PTGIS genes may be involved in the development of breast cancer and their effect may differ by menopausal status.
NeuroSLAM: A 65-nm 7.25-to-8.79-TOPS/W Mixed-Signal Oscillator-Based SLAM Accelerator for Edge Robotics

Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is a quintessential problem in autonomous navigation, augmented reality, and virtual reality. In particular, low-power SLAM has gained increasing importance for its applications in power-limited edge devices such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and small-sized cars that constitute devices with edge intelligence. This article presents a 7.25-to-8.79-TOPS/W mixed-signal oscillator-based SLAM accelerator for applications in edge robotics. This study proposes a neuromorphic SLAM IC, called NeuroSLAM, employing oscillator-based pose-cells and a digital head direction cell to mimic place cells and head direction cells that have been discovered in a rodent brain. The oscillatory network emulates a spiking neural network and its continuous attractor property achieves spatial cognition with a sparse energy distribution, similar to the brains of rodents. Furthermore, a lightweight vision system with a max-pooling is implemented to support low-power visual odometry and re-localization. The test chip fabricated in a 65-nm CMOS exhibits a peak energy efficiency of 8.79 TOPS/W with a power consumption of 23.82 mW.
Restrictive allograft syndrome after lung transplantation.

Despite recent advances over the past decade in lung transplantation including improved surgical technique and immunotherapy, the diagnosis and treatment of chronic lung allograft dysfunction remains a significant barrier to recipient survival. Aside from bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, a restrictive phenotype called restrictive allograft syndrome has recently been recognized and affects up to 35% of all patients with CLAD. The main characteristics of RAS include a persistent and unexplained decline in lung function compared to baseline and persistent parenchymal infiltrates on imaging. The median survival after diagnosis of RAS is 6 to 18 months, significantly shorter than other forms of CLAD. Treatment options are limited, as therapies used for BOS are typically ineffective at halting disease progression. Specific medications such as fibrinolytics are lacking large, multicenter prospective studies. In this manuscript, we discuss the definition, mechanism, and characteristics of RAS while highlighting the similarities and differences between other forms of CLAD. We also review the diagnoses along with current and potential treatment options that are available for patients. Finally, we discuss the existing knowledge gaps and areas for future research to improve patient outcomes and understanding of RAS.
Acute Thoracic Complications of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Procedures

Complications of minimally invasive cardiac procedures range from self-limiting to life-threatening. This review article will highlight the incidence, risk factors, and imaging features of acute thoracic complications of three of the most common minimally invasive cardiac procedures encountered in practice: transcatheter aortic valve replacement, cardiac implantable electronic devices, and pulmonary vein isolation. Most minimally invasive cardiac procedures have a relatively low risk profile. Acute thoracic complications are usually detected during the procedure; however, delayed presentations are not uncommon, and therefore imaging with computed tomography or x-ray, in conjunction with echocardiography, plays an important role. As most of the imaging-relevant acute thoracic complications are secondary to catheter and device deployment within a vessel or cardiac chamber, the highlighted complications in this article can be extrapolated to a majority of the several other minimally invasive techniques not discussed here. Radiography and computed tomography demonstrate readily recognizable abnormalities that confirm or suggest procedure related complications and guide further management.
Quality by Design Methodology Applied to Process Optimization and Scale up of Curcumin Nanoemulsions Produced by Catastrophic Phase Inversion

In the presented study, we report development of a stable, scalable, and high-quality curcumin-loaded oil/water (o/w) nanoemulsion manufactured by concentration-mediated catastrophic phase inversion as a low energy nanoemulsification strategy. A design of experiments (DoE) was constructed to determine the effects of process parameters on the mechanical input required to facilitate the transition from the gel phase to the final o/w nanoemulsion and the long-term effects of the process parameters on product quality. A multiple linear regression (MLR) model was constructed to predict nanoemulsion diameter as a function of nanoemulsion processing parameters. The DoE and subsequent MLR model results showed that the manufacturing process with the lowest temperature (25 °C), highest titration rate (9 g/minute), and lowest stir rate (100 rpm) produced the highest quality nanoemulsion. Both scales of CUR-loaded nanoemulsions (100 g and 500 g) were comparable to the drug-free optimal formulation with 148.7 nm and 155.1 nm diameter, 0.22 and 0.25 PDI, and 96.29 ± 0.76% and 95.60 ± 0.88% drug loading for the 100 g and 500 g scales, respectively. Photostability assessments indicated modest loss of drug (<10%) upon UV exposure of 24 h, which is appropriate for intended transdermal applications, with expected reapplication of every 6–8 h.
Global Financial Markets and the Risk Premium on U.S. Equity

Abstract There is a significant foreign influence on the risk premium for U.S. assets. Using a bivariate GARCH-in-mean process, we find that the conditional expected excess return on U.S. stocks is positively related to the conditional covariance of the return of these stocks with the return on a foreign index but is not related to its own conditional variance. Further, we are unable to reject the international version of the CAPM. We present evidence for different model specifications, multiple-day returns, and alternative proxies for foreign stock returns.
CASE STUDY: DEVELOPING TANZANIA’S TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (TIMS)

This case study profiles the steps taken to develop a process for developing a transportation information management system protype. The case study was initiated in response to a pattern of growth whereas, Tanzania is increasingly becoming a mobile society that suffers severely from traffic congestion, delay and mobile source pollution. Meeting the challenges of greater mobility, accessibility, land use development, economic growth and revenue constraints requires that transport investment and maintenance strategies be optimized. In this case study we define transportation information management system (TIMS), in the context of the Tanzania 2014 transportation network. In doing so an argument is made for developing a base line digital transport network analysis, as a starting point. In doing so, we identify a suite of decision-making tools and a stable of performance variables. As well, this case study presents a draft: work plan which emerged during this effort. Developing effective congestion relief strategies requires going beyond the collection of geotechnical like shoulder width, guardrails, vegetation, road length and width, culverts, volume, drainage, terrain, rail crossing, number of lanes, bridges locations, and type of terrain. A comprehensive analysis of congestion requires a fully loaded transportation database with the following characteristics: regional, trunk line, and local roads; travel, time, ADT, population, employment, landuse, and income data at the regional and ward level and; transit line and multi modal infrastructure data. To test multiple congestion mitigation strategies advanced analysis tools are helpful to analyze the impact that network connectivity, pedestrian flows, population growth, travel demand, landuse, and community have accessibility. Equally important is the need have a skilled professional, and technical workforce that has not only the theoretical knowledge but also the technical training to use buffer, proximity, travel demand and simulation tools to assess the impacts of population concentrations, vehicle travel and goods movement.
Behavioral and electrophysiological correlates of Simon and flanker conflict interference in younger and older adults.

Conflict processing and interference control have been popular topics of research in the study of pathological brain aging. However, there remains much to be learned about how these cognitive proce...
INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN PENNSYLVANIA APPLE ORCHARDS

Integrated pest management systems that achieve economic control of the European red mite, Panonychus ulmi (Koch), and the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, by the predator Stethorus punctum (LeConte) while holding injury by insect pests below economic levels with applications of reduced amounts of insecticides are viable, successful management techniques practiced by Pennsylvania apple growers. Development of these management systems required much painstaking research as well as trial and error in actual orchard situations.
Evidence that abnormal myoelectrical activity produces colonic motor dysfunction in the irritable bowel syndrome.

Although the irritable bowel syndrome is characterized as an abnormality in colonic motor activity occurring in response to certain stimuli, the etiology of this disorder is unclear. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship of altered slow wave activity and the abnormal motility of the distal colon seen in patients with the irritable bowel syndrome. Myoelectrical activity was recorded using a bipolar electrode clipped to the distal colonic mucosa and motor activity was measured by perfused catheters. Colonic slow waves and contractions were present at two frequencies, 6 and 3 cycles per min. The slow wave frequency seemed to determine the frequency of colonic motor activity. Patients with the irritable bowel syndrome had increased 3-cycle per min slow wave activity in the basal state (P 0.05). When colonic motor activity was increased with cholecystokinin or pentagastrin, patients with irritable bowel syndrome showed a marked increase in 3-cycle per min contractile activity, occurring simultaneously with 3-cycle per min slow wave activity. These studies suggest that increased colonic 3-cycle per min slow wave activity in patients with the irritable bowel syndrome may be the basic abnormality that leads to colonic motor dysfunction in response to various physiological stimuli.
SHORT-TIME SOLUTION OF THE TIME DEPENDENT POTENTIAL FLOW EQUATION IN THE WEDGE

Consider the time dependent potential flow equation. At first we shall study the case n = 2, i.e. the case of two variables. The generalization to the case of three space variables will be considered in chapter 8.
Polarimetric Passive Remote Sensing of Periodic Surfaces

The concept of polarimetry in active remote sensing is extended to passive remote sensing. The potential use of the third and fourth Stokes parameters U and V, which play an important role in polarimetric active remote sensing, is demonstrated for passive remote sensing. It is shown that, by the use of the reciprocity principle, the polarimetric parameters of passive remote sensing can be obtained through the solution of the associated direct scattering problem. These ideas are applied to study polarimetric passive remote sensing of periodic surfaces. The solution of the direct scattering problem is obtained by an integral equation formulation which involves evaluation of periodic Green's functions and normal derivative of those on the surface. Rapid evaluation of the slowly convergent series associated with these functions is observed to be critical for the feasibility of the method. New formulas, which are rapidly convergent, are derived for the calculation of these series. The study has shown that the brightness temperature of the Stokes parameter U can be significant in passive remote sensing. Values as high as 50 K are observed for certain configurations.
Cross Cultural Exploration of the Perceived Health Competence Scale

The eight-item Perceived Health Competence Scale (PHCS) is a measure of self-efficacy in general health management that is used to predict health outcomes and behaviors. The PHCS has been shown to be a reliable and valid instrument but has been used in primarily white European Americans. The PHCS is positively correlated to health status and coping abilities. Younger, healthier populations score higher on the PHCS compared to elderly who are managing chronic illness. This study examined the PHCS in three Midwestern samples: African American elders which revealed two separate factors in PHCS; Native Americans who evaluated the PHCS as a single construct; and a Spanish speaking sample. In the latter sample, findings suggest health competence may be a multi-dimensional construct. Further evaluation of the Spanish version of the PHCS and population characteristics are needed to measure health competence beliefs.
Aortic pressure estimation for the Penn State electric ventricular assist device

A computer simulation of the Penn State rollerscrew electric ventricular assist device (EVAD) and the mock circulatory system has been developed for the purpose of control system design. The system model and simulation were verified for accuracy with a mock circulatory system using an EVAD. An observer based on a Luenberger observer was used to predict unmeasurable system pressures necessary for pump output control. From the simulation, accurate aortic pressure values were obtained using the observer during systole at a beat rate of 60 beats/min. The gains used in the observer were judiciously chosen, but a method for optimizing the feedback gains was developed. This method of selecting the observer gains which minimizes the error between the observer and the system is by pole placement rather than by statistical techniques. >
The Effect of Statutory Regulations on Social Workers’ Decisions to Report Child Maltreatment

This study examined social workers’ perceptions of the New York State law requiring the reporting of child maltreatment and the relationship of those perceptions with the likelihood that workers would report incidents of maltreatment to child protective services. Data were collected by a mailed questionnaire from a sample of 710 social workers belonging to the New York City chapter of NASW. Findings show that social workers differ in their understanding of the law and that the worker’s understanding is related to reporting behavior. The worker’s understanding of the law had a small but significant effect on the likelihood of reporting, accounting for 6% of the variance. The binomial effect size of the relationship (r = .24) is such that a worker’s understanding of the law is sufficient to increase the likelihood of reporting a case of maltreatment from 38% to 62%. Implications for practice are discussed.
Stability, buckets and flotation

Open containers of liquids, such as ordinary buckets, have stable and unstable configurations like those for floating bodies. Parallel analyses of the two systems yield comparable results, sorne of which are intriguing. The analyses are simple for elementary shapes, and among these, circular and square cylinders are buth familiar and representative. The stability of floating bodies is a classic problem with a weil known solution which has not been extended to include the stability of a bucket with a pivoted handle. The latter appears to be recognized in practice, however, in that most paint cans and milk buckets have comparatively stable configurations. Both problems can be treated by the familiar method in which the body of the bucket is tipped slightly and the system is then examined to see whether it tends to return to equilibrium or continue to overturn. A cylindrical bucket is shown both upright and tippeu in Figure 1. If the weight of the bucket is neglected, the problem reduces to a consideration of two opposing couples. One is that caused by the small segment of water which seems to move from one side to the other when the bucket is tipped. It is an overturning couple of 2FX, in which Fis the weight of the
POSTER: PsychoRithm: A Framework for Studying How Human Traits Affect User Response to Security Situations

User studies to investigate which human traits affect a user's response to cyber security related situations are typically conducted via self-reported surveys. However, it has been observed that factors such as peer perception, socially desirable responding, and responder bias etc. frequently impact the results, which then do not necessarily reflect the actual behavior of the user when subjected to real world security incidents. To mitigate such biases, we developed PsychoRithm - a software system that presents different real-world security scenarios for the subjects and records their real-time reactions to these scenarios. This paper describes the architecture of PsychoRithm, the design choices we had to make, and the challenges we faced in the design process.
Ice formation in aqueous systems

SUMMARY A recent treatment of the energetics of homogeneous nucleation brings classical nucleation theory into conformity with classical thermodynamic limits for supersaturated phase stability called spinodals. This energetic treatment, when extended to crystal nucleation from the liquid state, predicts that nucleation of ice cannot be avoided simply by rapid quenching. Nucleation will occur on cooling an aqueous system to a temperature called the physical spinodal because at and below this temperature icelike clusters in the aqueous system can grow without any free energy barrier whatsoever. Interpretation of microscopic observations of rapidly quenched biological systems must account for the fact that ice nuclei are certain to have been present throughout.