cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Preliminary Description of a Polymerase Chain Reaction Test for Bluetongue and Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Viral RNA in Bovine Semen

Bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) are arthropod-borne orbiviruses of worldwide agricultural and economical importance. These viruses are transmitted from animal to animal by biting midges of the genus Culicoides. Several viruses, including BTV, can be isolated in bovine semen. 5 This finding is of considerable concern to the animal breeding industry. The potential presence of BTV and EHDV in bovine semen has resulted in time-consuming and expensive processes for certifying bovine semen free of these viruses. 9 BTV isolation from semen using cell cultures is difficult because of cell culture toxicity of the spermatozoa and seminal plasma. 4 This problem has been circumvented for bovine herpesvirus by the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedures on bovine semen samples. 12,13 Recently, capture nested PCR procedures were developed that utilize a reverse target capture for viral RNA extraction and reverse transcriptase/nested PCR for BTV and EHDV RNA detection. 11,14 These capture nested PCR tests are BTV and EHDV group specific and can detect all US stereotypes of these viruses. In this study, the capture nested PCR procedure was applied to the detection of BTV or EHDV RNA in virus-spiked raw semen samples. Dilutions of cell culture source viruses were added to virus-free bovine semen and incubated overnight at 4 C. Initially, samples were diluted 2-fold with 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8) and sonicated using a cup-horn sonicator for 1 minute. The samples were then microfuged at 12,000 3 g for 10 minutes at 4 C. The pellet was resuspended in 100 ml of sterile water, and 200 ml of extraction buffer 11 was added. The target RNA was denatured and captured using the biotinylated outer antisense primer and strepavidin-coated magnetic beads a as described previously. 11 The sonication and centrifugation step were useful for reducing the protein material, which could cause sample handling problems due to protein aggregates. However, this step was unnecessary for these samples but may be necessary for samples with a higher protein content. In the results reported here, the samples were diluted 2-fold directly with the extraction buffer, and the target RNA was captured as described previously. 11 The captured target RNA was then denatured with 33% formamide and heat, reverse transcribed, and amplified as described previously. 11,14 The products were detected using agarose gel electrophoresis. The BTV assay consistently detected viral RNA from 1‐100 CCID50/0.5 ml and with less consistency down to 0.1 CCID50/0.5 ml (Fig. 1). Samples spiked with 1,000 CCID50/0.5 ml of virus were not detected perhaps because of template inhibition of the PCR amplification. The EHDV assay with spiked raw semen was 100-fold less sensitive (100‐1,000 CCID50/0.5 ml) than
Combined Fault Tolerance and Scheduling Techniques for Workflow Applications on Computational Grids

Complex scientific workflows are now Increasingly executed on computational grids. In addition to the challenges of managing and scheduling these workflows, reliability challenges arise because of the unreliable nature of large-scale grid infrastructure. Fault tolerance mechanisms like over-provisioning and checkpoint-recovery are used in current grid application management systems to address these reliability challenges. In this work, we propose new approaches that combine these fault tolerance techniques with existing workflow scheduling algorithms. We present a study on the effectiveness of the combined approaches by analyzing their impact on the reliability of workflow execution, workflow performance and resource usage under different reliability models, failure prediction accuracies and workflow application types.
Analysis of Ag Corrosion Products

The corrosion behavior of Ag in outdoor environments and in a salt spray chamber was investigated. The coulometric reduction technique was applied to identify various silver corrosion products including Ag2SO4 and AgO. These corrosion products were observed on samples exposed in certain field environments. A plateau in the coulometric reduction curve associated with metastable hydrogen evolution was observed under conditions in which a considerable amount of Ag2S was formed and reduced. Soluble silver chloride complexes were the dominant corrosion product, instead of insoluble AgCl, when the chloride deposition rate was high enough. Under those conditions, the corrosion rate measured by coulometric reduction is lower than the actual corrosion rate. Ag particles formed on the surface during exposure to different environments. During exposure in a marine environment, photodecomposition of AgCl corrosion product resulted in the formation of Ag nanoparticles embedded in AgCl. Isolated Ag particles of a few micrometers in size formed during exposure in a salt spray chamber due to the high exchange current density for the Ag/Ag + reaction. © The Author(s) 2013. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 License (CC BY-NC-ND, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/),
Timing in multitasking: memory contamination and time pressure bias.

There can be systematic biases in time estimation when it is performed in complex multitasking situations. In this paper we focus on the mechanisms that cause participants to tend to respond too quickly and underestimate a target interval (250–400 ms) in a complex, real-time task. We hypothesized that two factors are responsible for the too-early bias: (1) Memory contamination from an even shorter time interval in the task, and (2) time pressure to take appropriate actions in time. In a simpler experiment that was focused on just these two factors, we found a strong too-early bias when participants estimated the target interval in alternation with a shorter interval and when they had little time to perform the task. The too-early bias was absent when they estimated the target interval in isolation without contamination and time pressure. A strong too-late bias occurred when the target interval alternated with a longer interval and there was no time pressure to respond. The effects were captured by incorporating the timing model of Taatgen and van Rijn (2011) into the ACT-R model for the Space Fortress task (Bothell, 2010). The results show that to properly understand time estimation in a dynamic task one needs to model the multiple influences that are occurring from the surrounding context.
The very offline k-vehicle routing problem in trees

The vehicle routing problem (VRP) in trees is a restriction of the general vehicle routing problem in which the underlying graph is a tree. In this paper we introduce several NP-complete variants of the problem (e.g., common-source, common-destinations, in-place, flexible-requests, and bring-it-back), and we present five fast approximation algorithms for these variants. We mainly focus on the 2-vehicle routing problems, but we also consider possible generalizations for the k-vehicle routing case. In our analysis, the underlying graphs consist of various types of trees: binary and non-binary weighted and unweighted.
Abdominal pain in hypertriglyceridemia

Hypertriglyceridemia increases the risk of acute pancreatitis, accounting for a minor but clinically relevant proportion of cases. We present a case of diabetic ketoacidosis, complicated by severe hypertryglyceridemia and pancreatitis. The pancreatitis was managed and controlled by managing the hypertryglyceridemia. We aim to review the specific management targeted for this subset of the population.
Blood Meal and Fish Meal as Supplements to Increase the Amino Acid to Energy Ratio in Steer Receiving Diets

ABSTRACT Three experiments were conducted toevaluate the growth response of newly arrived feedlot cattle to increasing the amino acid to energy ratio in receiving diets. To increase the amino acid to energy ratio, blood meal and fish meal (BMFM) were fed in combination at varying levels. Experiment 1 utilized 77 crossbred steers (238 ± 13 kg) in a completely randomized 21-d study. Diets were formulated to supply 1 of 3 amino acid to energy levels. Treatment did not alter (P > 0.05) weekly DMI, BW, or ADG. In Exp. 2, Simmental calves were randomly assigned to 9 pens. Treatments included a soybean meal control and 2 levels of BMFM. Intake was restricted during the first 21-d to model low intakes of newly received cattle. Initial, midterm, and final weights were similar (P > 0.10) among treatments. No differences (P > 0.10) were observed for ADG or G:F. In Exp. 3, 60 Angus-sired calves were randomly assigned to 12 pens in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Treatments investigated were level of CP (13 vs 16%) and form of protein (soybean meal vs BMFM). Diets were fed at similar levels for 21 d. No treatment differences (P > 0.10) were observed for initial and ending weights. Form or level of protein had no effect (P > 0.10) on ADG. Treatment differences were not significant for G:F and averaged 0.16. Increasing the level of ruminally undegradable protein from blood meal and fish meal in diets offered to receiving cattle did not significantly improve performance or efficiency in these studies.
The kinase inhibitor sorafenib induces cell death through a process involving induction of ER stress

B246 Sorafenib, also known as BAY 43-9006, is a multi-kinase inhibitor that induces apoptosis in human leukemia and other malignant cells. Recently, we demonstrated that sorafenib diminishes Mcl-1 protein expression by inhibiting translation through a MEK1/2/ERK1/2 signaling-independent mechanism, and that this phenomenon plays a key functional role in sorafenib lethality (Rahmani et al., Journal of Biologic Chemistry 280:35217-27, 2005). Here, we report that inducible expression of constitutively active MEK1 fails to protect U937 human leukemia cells from sorafenib-mediated lethality, indicating that sorafenib-induced cell death is unrelated to MEK1/2/ERK1/2 pathway inactivation. Notably, treatment with sorafenib induced ER stress manifested by immediate cytosolic calcium mobilization, GADD153 and GADD34 protein induction, PERK and eIF2α phosphorylation, XBP1 splicing, and a general reduction in protein synthesis as assessed by [ 35 S] methionine incorporation. Notably, genetic disruption of PERK (e.g., transfection of cells with DN-PERK), but not PKR, HRI, or CGN2, attenuated eIF2α phosphorylation, identifying PERK as the primary eIF2α kinase in this setting. These events were accompanied by the pronounced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) through a mechanism dependent upon cytosolic calcium mobilization and a significant decline in GRP78/Bip protein levels. Interestingly, enforced expression of IRE1α or XBP1 splice variant (XBP1s) significantly reduced sorafenib-mediated apoptosis, whereas knockdown of IRE1α or XBP1, disruption of PERK activity, or inhibition of eIF2α phosphorylation enhanced sorafenib-mediated lethality. Such observations suggest that these events comprise a cytoprotective component of the sorafenib-induced ER stress response. Finally, downregulation of caspase-2 or caspase-4 by siRNA or shRNA respectively significantly diminished apoptosis induced by sorafenib in these cells, providing further support for the notion that the lethal actions of sorafenib involve induction ER stress. Together, these findings demonstrate that ER stress represents a central component of a MEK1/2/ERK1/2-independent cell death program triggered by sorafenib. They also raise the possibility that induction of ER stress by sorafenib in human leukemia cells may play a role in determining interactions between this kinase inhibitor and other targeted agents.
Association of early β-human chorionic gonadotrophin values with pregnancy wastage and multiple implantation in a donor oocyte programme

An early marker predictive of a viable pregnancy would ease the anxiety associated with positive pregnancy tests after the use of donor oocytes. We examined the predictive value of an early serum quantitative human chorionic gonadotrophin (Q-HCG) concentration on pregnancy outcome following oocyte donation. Embryo transfers after oocyte donation resulting in a positive serum beta-HCG were examined beginning 9 days after embryo transfer from those samples assayed in our laboratory (n = 77). Q-HCG concentrations were measured in our laboratory by an immunoradiometric assay utilizing the first International Reference Preparation. Implantations were defined as the number of gestational sacs visualized by transvaginal ultrasound 21 days after embryo transfer. Biochemical pregnancies were those with transient elevations in beta-HCG concentration but without implantation sites. Spontaneous abortions were characterized by an implantation site with the eventual arrest of development. Ongoing/delivered pregnancies developed appropriately and proceeded beyond the first trimester. Day 9 Q-HCG concentrations did not differentiate between biochemical pregnancies/spontaneous abortions and ongoing/delivered pregnancies, although mean +/- SD concentrations for biochemical pregnancies were significantly lower than those for the other groups (P 10 mIU/ml was 0.91 (sensitivity 91%, specificity 75%). These initial data suggest that early day 9 serum Q-HCG determinations do not accurately identify viable pregnancies or multiple implantations. Even an early negative pregnancy test should be repeated because it can be associated with a normal pregnancy.
(E)-4-[(4-Nitro­phen­yl)diazen­yl]phenyl anthracene-9-carboxyl­ate

In the title compound, C27H17N3O4, the azo group displays a trans conformation and the dihedral angles between the central benzene ring and the pendant anthracene and nitro­benzene rings are 82.94 (7) and 7.30 (9)°, respectively. In the crystal structure, weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, likely associated with a dipole moment present on the mol­ecule, help to consolidate the packing.
Dental and Allergic Aspects of Sinusitis and Nasal Polyposis: A Review

The proximity of the maxillary sinus floor to the first, second, and third molar teeth predisposes it to contiguous dental disease. Infections of dental origin are usually mixed bacterial growth wi...
On Impact of Randomly Distributed PV Systems on Distribution Networks

In 2014, the capacity additions of PV systems in the world (and in USA) recorded unprecedented growth, seeing more than 1 GW of PV in new installations. During that time, prices of residential PV systems have declined from over $3.80/Wp to below $3.50/Wp (dollars/Watts of peak capacity), which also represents the largest decline over any of the market segments. Small-scale and decentralized renewable distributed generation (DG) systems are going to be increasingly dispersed into urban distribution networks. The goals of this paper are to propose some tools for analysis of the impact of randomly dispersed residential PV systems from the perspective of energy, especially regarding peak power, electricity generation costs, and emissions.
Phase-Change Nanowires for Non Volatile Memory

We report the synthesis of GeTe, Sb2Te3 and Ge2Sb2Te5 nanowires via a gold-catalyzed vapor-liquid-solid mechanism. The nanowires are studied via electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry and are found to be single crystalline. For electrical measurements contact to individual nanowires is made via electron-beam lithography. The nanowires can be switched from their initially low resistance state to a higher resistance state by applying a 200ns voltage pulse. Switching back to the low resistance state is possible via annealing. Electric force microscopy studies show the switching takes place at the metal-nanowire contact.
Corrections to “On the Design and Optimization of Three-Terminal Light-Emitting Device in Silicon CMOS Technology” [Jul/Aug 14 8201208]

Corrections to "On the Design and Optimization of Three-Terminal Light-Emitting Device in Silicon CMOS Technology" (Kaikai Xu). Presented here is a list of corrections.
The Role of Mathematics Education Specialists in a Mathematics Department

(1984). The Role of Mathematics Education Specialists in a Mathematics Department. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 91, No. 9, pp. 575-578.
Printed Aperiodic Cavity for Computational and Microwave Imaging

We demonstrate a frequency-diverse aperture for microwave imaging based on a planar cavity at K-band frequencies (18–26.5 GHz). The structure consists of an array of radiating circular irises patterned into the front surface of a double-sided printed circuit board. The irises are distributed in a Fibonacci pattern to maximize spatial diversity at the scene. The printed cavity is a phase-diverse system and encodes imaged scene information onto a set of frequencies that span the K-band. Similar to recently reported metamaterial apertures, the printed cavity imager does not require any mechanically moving parts or complex phase shifting networks. Imaging of a number of targets is shown; these reconstructed images demonstrate the ability of the system to perform imaging at the diffraction limit. The proposed printed cavity imager possesses a relatively large quality factor that can be traded off to achieve higher radiation efficiency. The general mode characteristics of the printed cavity suggest advantages when used in computational imaging scenarios.
Exploration of Low-Power High-SFDR Current-Steering D/A Converter Design Using Steep-Slope Heterojunction Tunnel FETs

Steep-slope heterojunction tunnel field-effect transistor (HTFET) devices promise new opportunities beyond CMOS in low-power high-performance communication applications. In this paper, the circuit design optimization of a low-power 14-bit 1-GS/s current-steering digital-to-analog converter (DAC) using 0.4/0.3 V mixed-supply HTFETs is explored. Based on the device characteristics comparison and circuit analysis, it is shown in this paper that HTFET endorses significant differences in both $I$ – $V$ and $C$ – $V$ due to the steep-slope tunneling mechanism and a nature of vertically fabricated structure. While such differences significantly affect the circuit design corners, this paper gives the device-circuit co-optimization for the HTFET DAC, reaching at higher current source output impedance, less nonlinear switching glitch distortions, and thus superior spectral performance over the Si-CMOS DAC. HTFET device variation is also discussed, and calibration techniques are adopted for the static matching accuracy.
Analysis of the Epidemiological Trend of the Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease during 2008-2011 in Liuzhou

Objective To analyze the epidemiological features and trend of the hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) inLiuzhou from 2008 to 2011 ,which provides enhanced scientific information for the effective prevention and controlmeasures. Method Descriptive epidemiological methods were administrated to analyze the data of HFMD obtained fromLiuzhou disease information reporting system from 2008 -2011. Results The number of cases of HFMD from 2008 to 2011 were 6 253,7 953,17 020 and 17 201 ,respectively,with an average incidence of 316.2225 / 100 000. Theincidence of urban area was significantly higher than that of country. Incidence peaked between April and June everyyear,which accounted for 62.43% of the total number of cases. Cases were mainly occurred in 1-3 years old , whichaccounted for 72.63% of the total number of cases , and 2 years old children were highest-risk group. Sex ratio was 1.51∶1. Scattered children were the majority of vocational distribution ,which occupied 62.24% of the total number of cases.Conclusions In Liuzhou,the incidences of HFMD showed a trend of increasing from 2008 to 2011 ,and showed aseasonal peak. Kindergarten and scattered children were the high-risk people.EV71 and CA16 were the major strainsalternatively causing the epidemics.
Timing of First Sexual Intercourse and Young Adult Health Outcomes.

Abstract Purpose To examine how age of onset of sexual intercourse is associated with past-year and lifetime sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and depression in young adulthood. Methods We examined how occurrence of a lifetime and past-year STI, lifetime diagnosis of depression, and past-week depressive symptoms differed as a function of age of onset of sexual intercourse using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health; N = 8,938 individuals). Time-varying effect models were used to examine how age of onset, measured as continuous age, was associated with these outcomes in young adulthood, with all analyses stratified to examine gender differences. Results Individuals who engaged in first intercourse before age 16 reported higher than average rates of all outcomes studied; for example, an estimated 35% of women and 12% of men who initiated at age 14 years reported a lifetime STI, compared with about 5% of those who initiated at age 24 years. Timing of first intercourse past the mid-twenties was associated with lower than average rates of STIs and lifetime depression diagnoses but was associated with a somewhat higher level of past-year depressive symptoms. Patterns were similar by gender, although there was little difference in men's depression diagnoses by age of onset. Conclusions Results suggest that sexual intercourse before age 16 years may be associated with higher rates of STIs and depression. Findings provide support for comprehensive programs that both promote delay of first intercourse and provide safe sex and psychological support for those who initiate early.
Cortical thickness asymmetries and surgical outcome in neocortical epilepsy

Abstract Purpose We evaluated if cortical thickness measures were associated with surgical outcome in patients with non-lesional neocortical epilepsy. Methods Twenty-one young patients (age: 2.4–19.7 years) with epilepsy of neocortical origin and normal MRI underwent two-stage epilepsy surgery with subdural EEG monitoring. Cortical thickness was measured on presurgical volumetric MRI using the FreeSurfer software. The prognostic value of hemispheric and lobar/regional cortical thickness measures for 1-year and 2-year post-surgical seizure outcome has been analyzed. Results At one-year follow-up, 14 patients (67%) were seizure-free. Hemispheric and frontal lobe cortical thickness showed no/minimal asymmetry in seizure-free patients but thinner cortex ipsilateral to the seizure focus in those with recurrent seizures (p = 0.02). More robust differences were found in patients ≥ 6 years of age (p = 0.006 for frontal asymmetries), whose cortical thickness asymmetries remained prognostic for 2-year post-surgical outcome (p = 0.007). By using an optimal cutoff threshold based on a receiver operating characteristic analysis, mean hemispheric asymmetry predicted one-year seizure freedom with 93% sensitivity and 71% specificity in the whole group, and with 100% sensitivity and 92% specificity in patients ≥ 6 years of age. Conclusion In patients with neocortical epilepsy and normal MRI, neocortical thinning in the epileptic hemisphere, particularly in frontal cortex, is associated with poor surgical outcome. Although these results require validation in a larger cohort prospectively, these data suggest that presurgical evaluation of cortical thickness may assist in identification of patients at high risk for surgical failure.
A Great Restlessness

In the mid-twentieth century most African Americans belonged to a church, often Baptist. Congregations ranged from storefronts to megachurches with eleven thousand members. Ministers might exert enormous sway over churchgoers, commanding resources in the millions of dollars, living handsomely, and influencing the black vote through their sought-after endorsements. Unsurprisingly, many clerics jealously guarded their perquisites. Baptist politics were tumultuous and could be violent. A photographer for Jet magazine sued after a burly preacher attacked him during the National Baptist Convention (NBC) meeting in Chicago in 1952. The photographer’s crime was having recorded men of the cloth “quarreling” on stage. Nearly ten years later, the dais remained a site of contestation as competing factions tried to crowd each other off the platform during the Baptist convention in Kansas City. Two men fell off the stage, with one sustaining a skull fracture and lapsing into a coma. As Taylor Branch relates it, “A staircase to the platform collapsed under the weight of the antagonists jammed on it, scattering and bruising dozens of people.” The Kansas City police arrived on the scene to break up skirmishes that had erupted among the expensively tailored pastors. What would lead the purveyors of Jesus’s message of peace to public brawls? The Chicago Defender slyly intimated that votes for Ike were for sale in the Windy City in 1956. Clergy identified as having supported Eisenhower’s reelection were angered that their names were used but they had not been paid. Sums as large as $30,000 were allegedly on offer.
Topological spin-transfer drag driven by skyrmion diffusion

We study the spin-transfer drag mediated by the Brownian motion of skyrmions. The essential idea is illustrated in a two-terminal geometry, in which a thin film of a magnetic insulator is placed in between two metallic reservoirs. An electric current in one of the terminals pumps topological charge into the magnet via a spin-transfer torque. The charge diffuses over the bulk of the system as stable skyrmion textures. By Onsager's reciprocity, the topological charge leaving the magnet produces an electromotive force in the second terminal. The voltage signal decays algebraically with the separation between contacts, in contrast to the exponential suppression of the spin drag driven by nonprotected excitations like magnons. We show how this topological effect can be used as a tool to characterize the phase diagram of chiral magnets and thin films with interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions.
Probabilistic structural integrity evaluation of a highway steel bridge under unknown trucks

AbstractThis paper presents fragility curves derived from a best-fit regression model that enable to quantify probabilistic structural integrity of an in-service highway steel bridge under multiple truck passages with uncertain characteristics. The regression model is able to be identified via analytical modelling techniques incorporating the bridge response quantities resulting from unknown five-axle trucks through structural health monitoring system. These quantities coupled with weigh-in-motion (WIM) data obtained from two weigh stations closest to the bridge are used (1) to identify which unknown trucks are presumably to travel over the bridge and (2) to quantify the plausible characteristics of the trucks and the corresponding load ratings determined following the AASHTO Manual. With this information, the regression models can be made to demonstrate load ratings as the truck characteristics change. Based on the best-fitted load ratings, nine significant truck characteristics were looked at in their r...
Interfacing nanoparticles to CMOS quad instrumentation amplifiers for gas sensing devices

In this study, we demonstrated a novel approach of a low noise performance gas sensory system, which is capable of minimizing the cross talk between four instrumentation amplifiers. These amplifiers will receive gas sensing information from four different nanoparticle assemblies using monolayer Graphene sheets. The cross talk was minimized by using guard rings surrounding the amplifiers. Guard rings serve as dummy collectors for the minority carriers crossing the parasitic BJT devices within the quad instrumentation amplifier System on chip (SOC). This study aims determination of the gas sensing signature array (GSSA), including the type of gas, its concentration, and dynamic performance (rise and fall times). The developed devices were based on the detection of the change in the graphene electrical characteristics when exposed to various gases. The paper presents the first phase of a long-term project, detailing hardware and circuit simulation software design, and its practical implementation, leading to the optimum gas sensing system resulting from the GSSA data. The practical model was based on monolayer graphene films deposited using CVD process on top of SiO2 layers of silicon substrate wafers. Gold electrodes were deposited with sputtering process. The device was then tested with CO2 gas with 100% and 5% concentrations to estimate its sensitivity. As high as 48% change in resistance was detected from 100% CO2 concentration, and near 4% change in response to 5% CO2 concentration, a level of change that can be easily monitored by the quad CMOS instrumentation chip. A gain of 83dB for the instrumentation amplifier was calculated from the circuit simulation. The Quad instrumentation amplifiers were developed using MOSIS service and showed as low attenuation as 90dB.
RadTrac: A System for Detecting, Localizing, and Tracking Radioactive Sources in Real Time

Within the homeland security and emergency response communities, there is a need for a low-profile system to detect and locate radioactive sources. RadTrac has been developed at Argonne National La...
The Disappearing Arctic? Scientific Narrative, Environmental Crisis, and the Ghosts of Colonial History

This chapter charts various trajectories of Arctic historiographies by addressing how climate change tourism is not new but continues a tradition of Arctic scientists concerned with the decay of the environment and society. The author examines the contradiction between the Arctic being “frozen in time” and yet being threatened, and how this relates to colonialism. He traces this contradiction through cultural ethnography. Focusing on anthropologist Vilhjalmur Stefansson, he shows how Stefansson engaged in exactly the kind of environmental intervention that he warned against. The Arctic thus needs to be shifted from the object of Euro-American and Asian expansion and representation to a homeland that has been inhabited for centuries.
Optical focusing through biological tissue and tissue-mimicking phantoms up to 9.6 centimeters thick with digital optical phase conjugation

Optical phase conjugation (OPC) based wavefront shaping techniques focus light through or within scattering media, which is critically important for deep-tissue optical imaging, manipulation, and therapy. However, to date, the sample thicknesses used in wavefront shaping experiments have been limited to only a few millimeters or several transport mean free paths. Here, by using a long-coherence-length laser and an optimized digital OPC system that efficiently delivers light power, we focused 532 nm light through tissue-mimicking phantoms up to 9.6 cm thick, as well as through ex vivo chicken breast tissue up to 2.5 cm thick.
Experiences and unmet needs of women with physical disabilities for pain relief during labor and delivery.

Abstract Background Childbirth is widely acknowledged as one of the most painful experiences most women will undergo in their lifetimes. Alleviating labor and delivery pain for women with physical disabilities can involve an additional level of complexity beyond that experienced by most women, but little research has explored their experiences. Objective The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of women with physical disabilities with respect to pain relief during labor and delivery with the goal of informing their care. Methods Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with twenty-five women with physical disabilities from across the United States. Results Women expressed specific preferences for the method of pain relief. Some confronted systemic barriers in exploring their options for pain relief, while others were given a choice. At times, anesthesiologists lacked knowledge and experience in caring for women with disabilities. Conversely, some women described how the administration of anesthesia was meticulously planned and attributed their positive labor and delivery experiences to this careful planning. Conclusions Advanced, individualized planning and evaluation of their options for pain relief was most satisfying to women and enabled them to make an informed choice. This approach is consistent with the recommendations of clinicians who have successfully provided pain relief during labor to women with complex physical disabilities. Clinicians who have successfully delivered babies of women with these and similar disabilities emphasize the importance of a team approach where the anesthesiologist and other specialists are involved early on in a woman's care.
Reconstruction of the conchal bowl

The auricular concha is derived from the cleft ectodermal tissue of the first branchial groove. Deformities of the concha may result from congenital malformations, traumatic injury, or oncological resection. Although multiple studies have demonstrated the negative psychosocial effect of auricular deformity, various surgical techniques have been developed to reconstruct the ear and obtain satisfactory cosmetic outcomes. Reconstruction of the concha will largely depend on depth and size of the overall defect with options largely varying among secondary intention, skin grafting, and soft tissue flaps.
Coronary artery bypass grafting with the right gastroepiploic artery

The excellent results of coronary artery bypass with the internal mammary artery and the increasing numbers of patients who need coronary reoperations, but for whom conventional bypass conduits are not available, have prompted us to evaluate alternative arterial bypass conduits. The right gastroepiploic artery has been used as a coronary bypass graft in 36 patients (32 men), whose ages ranged from 29 to 71 years. Twenty-two patients had had previous coronary bypass grafting and six of these were undergoing their third bypass operation. The right gastroepiploic artery was used as an in situ graft to the right coronary artery or circumflex branches for 17 patients and as an aorta-coronary (“free”) graft in 19 patients, six to the left anterior descending or diagonal, six to the circumflex, and seven to the right coronary artery. In conjunction with right gastroepiploic artery grafting, 16 patients received bilateral internal mammary artery grafts and 17 received one internal mammary artery graft. Histologically, right gastroepiploic artery segments from 18 patients could not be distinguished from internal mammary artery segments, and no evidence of atherosclerosis was found. Two patients died in the hospital, one intraoperatively and one 3 months after the operation, of a perioperative stroke. Perioperative morbidity included wound complication in three and reexploration for bleeding in two. At late follow-up 1 to 38 months after operation, two late deaths had occurred and 21 patients were free of symptoms. Postoperative angiography (postoperative interval 1 week to 13 months) was performed in nine grafts, three in situ grafts to the right coronary artery and six free grafts that included two to the left anterior descending, three to the circumflex, and one to the right coronary artery. All right gastroepiploic artery grafts were patent. The right gastroepiploic artery is an arterial conduit that can be used as an in situ graft to posterior coronary vessels and as a free graft to any coronary arterial system. Early graft patency has been excellent, and the histologic similarity between the right gastroepiploic artery and the internal mammary artery suggest that the long-term results will be favorable.
Exogenous and endogenous induction of the histidine-degrading enzymes in Aerobacter aerogenes.

Three different imidazole compounds are known to induce the enzymes that degrade histidine in Aerobackr aerogenes (l-4). Two of them, histidine and urocanate, are, respectively, the substrate and product of the first enzyme, histidine ammonialyase; the third, imidazolepropionate, is a nonmetabolizable analogue of urocanate. Previous studies with this system did not discriminate between the possibility that histidine and urocanate act as inducers independently, or that histidine is an inducer solely by virtue of its conversion to urocanate. In order to distinguish between these alternatives a number of mutants of A. aerogenes unable to degrade histidine were isolated. Some of the mutants are impaired in the ability to convert histidine to urocanate because of a low level of the histidine ammonia-lyase: in these mutants histidine is a poor inducer, whereas urocanate and imidazolepropionate behave as in the parent organism. Other mutants lack the enzyme urocanase; these mutants have high levels of the other histidine-degrading enzymes even in the absence of added inducer. These observations suggested that exogenously supplied or endogenously produced urocanate, rather than histidine, is the inducer. This view is strongly supported by a detailed biochemical study of these mutants.
CRT-100.24 Acute Myocardial Infarction in Patients with Paraplegia: Percutaneous Coronary Intervention or Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting?

Cardiovascular disease has become a leading cause of death for individuals with paraplegia. This is the first clinical study in the literature to investigate the clinical outcomes and treatment of AMI patients with paraplegia. We identified AMI patients with paraplegia cohort by using principal
Security game for cyber physical systems

The extensive use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in cyber physical systems (CPSs) make them vulnerable to cyber-attacks. One class of cyber-attack is advanced persistent threats where highly skilled attackers can steal user authentication information and then move laterally in the network, from host to host in a hidden manner until they reach an attractive target. The security modeling process of CPSs is divided into two phases of intrusion and disruption. In each phase, a game-theoretic paradigm with different parameters predicts the interactions between the attacker and the system. By solving the model, the security of CPSs is estimated in terms of probability of attack and probability of defend. After getting those the attackers and defenders can take optimized actions to maximize their gains. Most importantly, defender/systems can tune the system parameters to mitigate the attack.
Teacher Educator-Embedded Professional Learning Model

The author describes interactions with two middle grades (grades 6-8, student ages 11-14 years) and three secondary school (grades 9-12, student ages 14-18 years) mathematics teachers designed to increase and enhance teachers’ content knowledge and transform their classroom instruction by embedding the author (i.e., mathematics teacher educator) into teachers’ practices. In addition, the author operationalizes the teacher educator-embedded professional learning model. Embedding a teacher educator into grade K-12 (student ages 5-18 years) teachers’ practices, as presented in this study, involves more than simply implementing lessons with teachers. Rather, the mathematics teacher educator navigates iterative instructional cycles alongside the participating teacher, serving as sounding board, interventionist, epistemic student, and colleague. Results of teacher-educator embedding are presented, indicating participating teachers increased their content knowledge, engaged their students in more rigorous mathematics, demonstrated increased self-efficacy and more frequently engaged students in mathematical sense making, reasoning, modelling, generalizing, and communicating.
Inhaled Corticosteroids and LABAs - Removal of the FDA's Boxed Warning.

Inhaled Corticosteroids and LABAs In December, the FDA removed the boxed warning on combination products containing an inhaled corticosteroid and a long-acting beta-agonist. The decision was based on results from recently completed large safety trials that the agency required manufacturers to conduct.
Distributed Sensing in Geotechnical and Hydrological Applications

Distributed Sensing is a disruptive technology in many geotechnical and geo-hydrological applications and, among the different sensing techniques, Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry can be effectively used at different scales, in laboratory setups, physical models, and in-situ applications.
Excision of large cervical lymphatic malformations using a selective neck dissection approach

Abstract Objectives Lymphatic malformations (LM) are uncommon expansile lesions that may lead to aesthetic or functional impairment requiring intervention. Although recurrence and treatment-related complications are often reported for a subset of patients with extensive cervical LM, primary excision with a selective neck dissection approach is safe and effective. Study design Case series at a single academic tertiary care center. Methods Retrospective chart review was performed of clinical presentation, radiographic characteristics, operative notes, and pathology reports of three patients with large cervical LM who underwent complete surgical excision between July 2012 and December 2017. Results Two-thirds were female with a median age of 39 years (range 34–49 years) All patients had left-sided lesions ranging in size from 6 to 20 cm. Presenting symptoms included increasing neck discomfort and disfigurement. All patients had lesions that were mobile to palpation, macrocystic and well-circumscribed on preoperative imaging without invasion of the upper aerodigestive tract, and without cranial neuropathy. There were no postsurgical cranial nerve issues, complications, or recurrence at a median follow up of 14.7 months (range 10.0–74.9 months). Conclusion Adult patients with mobile, primarily macrocystic, and well-circumscribed cervical LM with no preoperative cranial nerve deficits are excellent candidates for primary surgical excision, even in cases of exceptionally large multicompartment lesions. If patients are carefully selected, surgery offers the distinct advantage of definitive treatment with a single modality in a single stage and minimal post-treatment morbidity.
Multiple Rapid Swallows (MRS) Complements Single-Swallow (SS) Analysis for High-Resolution Esophageal Manometry (HREM).

Multiple rapid swallows (MRS) during HREM assess post-deglutitive inhibition, LES relaxation, and subsequent esophageal contraction. (1) To determine the relationship between MRS and single-swallow (SS) responses and (2) to determine if MRS provides information for symptomatic patients. Healthy volunteers (HVs) and patients underwent HREM [30-s landmark, ten 5-mL SS, MRS (5 consecutive 2-mL swallows every 2–3 s)] and were analyzed with ManoView software version 3 with CC version 3.0. In 20 HVs, MRS response consisted of: (1) reduction in GEJ pressure; (2) absence of esophageal contractile activity during MRS; and (3) post-MRS peristaltic contraction greater than SS contractions. In 20 HVs and 403 patients, MRS IRP correlated with SS IRP (r = 0.65; p < 0.0001) and post-MRS contraction DCI correlated with SS DCI (r = 0.76; p < 0.0001). Abnormally elevated MRS IRP was seen in 68% type 2 achalasia, 50% type 3 achalasia, 47% EGJOO, and 9% jackhammer. Increased MRS DCI was seen in 53% type 2 achalasia, 92% type 3 achalasia, 10% EGJOO, 22% jackhammer, and 18% DES. Increased DCI post-MRS was seen in 38% patients with jackhammer, 8% type 3 achalasia, 12% EGJOO, and 9% DES. 14 out of 143 (10%) patients with normal or indeterminate results on SS analysis had at least one abnormality on MRS. MRS IRP correlated with SS IRP, and post-MRS DCI correlated with SS DCI. Patients with defined CC disorders have abnormalities on MRS. There were MRS abnormalities in some patients with normal SS studies, most notably suggesting impaired LES relaxation and/or spastic esophageal motility. MRS may complement the baseline SS study analysis.
Brain MRI classification based on machine learning framework with auto-context model

We propose to integrate patch-based anatomical signatures and an auto-context model into a machine learning framework to iteratively segment MRI into air, soft tissue and bone. The proposed segmentation of MRIs consists of a training stage and a segmentation stage. During the training stage, patch-based anatomical features were extracted from the aligned MRI-CT training images, and the most informative features were identified to train a serious of classification forests with auto-context model. During the segmentation stage, we extracted the selected features from the MRI and fed them into the well-trained forests for MRI segmentation. Our classified results were compared with reference CTs to quantitatively evaluate segmentation accuracy using Dice similarity coefficients (DSC). This segmentation technique was validated with a clinical study of 11 patients with both MR and CT images of the brain. The DSC for air, bone and soft-tissue were 97.79±0.76%, 93.32±2.35% and 84.49±5.50%. The corresponding CT Hounsfield units (HU) can be assigned to three segmented masks (air, soft tissue and bone) for generating the synthetic CT (SCT), which demonstrates the proposed method has promising potential in generating synthetic CT from MRI for MRI-only photon or proton radiotherapy treatment planning.
Abstract 1781: Transcriptional activation of CBFβ by CDK11p110 is necessary to promote osteosarcoma cell proliferation

Aberrant expression and activation of cyclin-dependent protein kinase (CDK) is a hallmark of cancer. CDK11 is a protein kinase in the CDK family and plays a crucial role in cancer cell growth and proliferation. However, the molecular mechanisms of CDK11 in osteosarcoma and CDK11 transcriptional regulated genes are largely unknown. In this study, we performed global transcriptional analysis using gene array technology to investigate the transcriptional role of CDK11 in osteosarcoma. The promoter luciferase assay, chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, and Gel Shift assay were used to identify direct transcriptional target of CDK11. Clinical significance relevance and function of CBFβ were further accessed in osteosarcoma tissue microarray and in osteosarcoma cell lines. We identified a transcriptional role of protein-DNA interaction for CDK11p110, but not CDK11p58, in the regulation of core-binding factor subunit beta (CBFβ) expression in osteosarcoma cells. The CBFβ promoter luciferase assay, chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, and Gel Shift assay confirmed that CBFβ is a direct transcriptional target of CDK11. High expression of CBFβ is associated with poor outcome in osteosarcoma patients. Expression of CBFβ contributes to the proliferation and metastatic behavior of osteosarcoma cells. These data establish CBFβas a mediator of CDK11p110dependent oncogenesis and suggest that targeting the CDK11-CBFβ pathway may be a promising therapeutic strategy for osteosarcoma treatment. Citation Format: Yong Feng, Francis Hornicek, Zhenfeng Duan. Transcriptional activation of CBFβ by CDK11p110 is necessary to promote osteosarcoma cell proliferation [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1781.
Hypolimnetic oxygenation 3: an engineered switch from eutrophic to a meso-/oligotrophic state in a California reservoir.

Horne AJ, Beutel M. 2019. Hypolimnetic oxygenation 3: an engineered switch from eutrophic to a meso-/oligotrophic state in a California reservoir. Lake Reserv Manage. 35:338–353. A long-term improv...
Comparison of Lightning Forecasts from the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh Model to Geostationary Lightning Mapper Observations

AbstractThe ability of the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model to forecast the location of convective storms is of interest for a variety of applications. Since lightning is often present wi...