cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Generalized Lyapunov Feature for Dynamical Systems on Riemannian Manifolds

Dynamic phenomena such as human activities, dynamic scenes, and moving crowds are commonly observed through visual sensors, resulting in feature trajectories sampled in time. Such phenomena can be accurately modeled by taking the temporal variations and changes into account. For problems where the trajectories are sufficiently different, elastic metrics can provide distances that are invariant to speed, but for more complex problems such as fine grained activity classification, one needs to exploit higher order dynamical properties. For features in the Euclidean space, applications such as crowd monitoring, dynamic scene recognition and human movement quality analysis have found a lot of success this way. In this paper we propose the largest Riemannian Lyapunov exponent (L-RLE), which is the first generalization of the largest Lyapunov exponent to Riemannian manifolds. The largest Lyapunov exponent is a classic measure to quantify the amount of chaos within signals in the Euclidean space, and allows us to exploit higher order dynamics for various applications. We show the effectiveness of the L-RLE on two manifolds the Grassmann and the SO(3) lie group. By modeling human actions as dynamic processes evolving on Riemannian manifolds, we show that L-RLE can measure the amount of chaos within each action accurately. We show that our measure is a good generalization of largest Euclidean Lyapunov exponent (L-ELE), and is less susceptible to arbitrary distortions.
Ptolemy's Inequality and the Chordal Metric

(1967). Ptolemy's Inequality and the Chordal Metric. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 40, No. 5, pp. 233-235.
If, as Verba Says, the State Functions as a Religion, What Are We to Do Then to Save our Souls? *

Sidney Verba has argued that the state in modern societies may function as a religion. He is certainly not the only one to adopt such a point of view. But his work is especially notable in that he has strengthened the argument by welding together a theoretical perspective that seems to be derived from structural-functional analysis and a good deal of varied and interesting, though not crystal-clear data. Verba's discussion of the functions of the state is most explicit in his article on the Kennedy assassination—in which he seeks to interpret the many studies of public reaction to the President's death. In this article, appropriately titled “The Kennedy Assassination and the Nature of Political Commitment,” Verba attempts to go to essentials. He speaks of the deeper levels of political involvement made evident by the psychological crisis of the assassination. Repeatedly he employs the term “primordial” to describe the character of the underlying political commitment to the nation-state and its symbols in modern societies—the foremost of these symbols in America being the President. But let Verba speak for himself since he is explicit about these matters: first, on the nature of public reactions and the larger meaning of those reactions: The Kennedy assassination … illustrates the close meshing of the sacred and the secular in the top institutions of a political system. In a society in which the formal ideology is officially secular … the close linkage of religious institutions to the events of the crisis weekend is particularly striking … a larger proportion of the American population responded to the assassination with prayer or attendance at special church services and religious ceremony and imagery abounded in the events of the weekend.
Optimal design of the mechanism parameters of the crusher based on the minimum eigenvalue

The design of the crusher mechanism parameters is the key to determine product quality.This paper chooses the PE600×900 jaw crusher which is used extensively and produced in large quantity as the research object.By establishing an optimization mathematical model with the minimum traveling eigenvalue of moving jaw as the objective function,making use of the sequential quadratic programming(SQP) algorithm of MATLAB optimal toolbox and adopting the way directly calling fmincon function,an optimal solution of the crusher mechanism parameters under constraint condition was obtained.The result of optimization shows that the output traveling eigenvalue of crusher is 2.47,21.84% lower than the original.While the vertical travel is reduced from 56.80 mm to 55.24 mm,the horizontal travel is increased from 17.99 mm to 22.36 mm.Kinematic characteristics of the mechanism are significantly improved.The calculated results show that the production capacity is raised from 49.59 m3/h to 55.04 m3/h,an increase of 18.11%,and the transmission angle meets the requirements ranging from 45° to 55°.Although the optimal crank offset is reduced slightly to 18.5 mm,the necessary horizontal travel breaking material is not affected,the material can be fully broken,and both of the resistance torque on the crank and the power consumption of crusher is reduced.By using MATLAB optimization toolbox and the sequential quadratic programming in optional design,nonlinear optimization problem can be resolved the computational efficiency and accuracy can be increased.Since the programming workload of SQP is smaller,the number of variables in optimization design can be increased to achieve more accurate optimization sizes of mechanism parameters.
Macronutrient Composition of Menu Offerings in Fast Food Restaurants in the U.S.

Introduction A high intake of fast food is associated with increased obesity risk. This study assessed recent changes in caloric content and macronutrient composition in large U.S. fast food restaurants. Methods Data from the MenuStat project included 11,737 menu items in 37 fast food restaurants from 2012 to 2014. Generalized linear models were used to examine changes in the caloric content and corresponding changes in the macronutrient composition (non-sugar carbohydrates, sugar, unsaturated fat, saturated fat, and protein) of menu items over time. Additionally, macronutrient composition was compared in menu items newly introduced in 2013 and 2014, relative to 2012. Analyses, conducted in January 2016, controlled for restaurant and were stratified by menu categories. Results Overall, there was a 22-calorie reduction in food items from 2012 to 2014. Beverages had a 46-calorie increase, explained by an increase in calories from sugar (12 calories) and saturated fat (16 calories). Newly introduced main courses in 2014 had 59 calories fewer than those on 2012 menus, explained by a 54-calorie reduction in unsaturated fat, while other macronutrient content remained fairly constant. Newly introduced dessert items in 2014 had 90 calories more than those on 2012 menus, explained primarily by an increase of 57 calories of sugar. Conclusions Overall, there were relatively minor changes in menu items' caloric and macronutrient composition. Although declines in caloric content among newly introduced fast food main courses may improve the public's caloric intake, it appears that the macronutrient composition of newly introduced items did not shift to a healthier profile.
Inhibitors of myosin light chain kinase and phosphodiesterase reduce ventilator-induced lung injury.

Alveolar overdistension due to high peak inflation pressures (PIP) is associated with an increased capillary filtration coefficient (K fc). To determine which signal pathways contribute to this inj...
The Effect of Customary Law on Trust and Reciprocity in Mexico

Mexico is an ethnically diverse country. Most Mexicans have (mixed) indigenous ancestry; 10-12 million Mexicans speak indigenous languages (of which there are some 60 to 70); indigenous communities with distinct cultures, histories, and institutions can be found throughout the country, particularly in the south. In recent decades, trends in juridical and political reforms in Mexico have moved in the direction of greater recognition of indigenous history and heritage. For example, the Mexican Constitution was amended in 2001 to recognize that “the nation has a multicultural composition originally nourished by (sustentada en) its indigenous peoples,” and to declare that indigenous pueblos have certain rights to autonomy and self-determination. Even if some of these changes are intended to be more symbolic than substantive, there have been a few prominent cases of true institutional reform that have the potential to fundamentally alter the development of indigenous communities and the relationship between indigenous peoples and the Mexican state.
Citizens doing science in public spaces: Rhetorical invention, semiotic remediation, and simple little texts

In this chapter, we explore relationships between two issues. The first is the place of semiotic remediation in the discursive work of a community environmental organization. More specifically, we are interested in describing this organization’s inventional work as it attempted to influence the public discourse of an environmental problem in their community. The second issue is the role of rhetorical activity in the formation and maintenance of organizations themselves, which is a part of a larger chain of agencies required to make and maintain issues of public concern. We understand our work to be concerned with problems of public rhetoric more generally and risk communication more particularly. By ‘public rhetoric,’ we are referring to work in rhetorical theory explicitly concerned with the definition and function of a public in relation to issues of concern (for example, Ackerman and Coogan, forthcoming; Asen and Brouwer, 2001; Banning, 2005). What is meant by public and what counts as a public issue is complex. It is not unreasonable to suggest that these problems are central to the enterprise of rhetorical inquiry and theory itself. Public typically refers to either a forum of deliberation (such as a publication or venue like a legislature) or those groups and individuals who can speak and write in that forum. Or public refers to both. What counts as a public issue of concern can be a matter of philosophical debate (What are proper public issues?’) or rhetorical pragmatism (What can we make a public issue?’).
Western Theories of Male and Female Personality Differences

Before we begin to analyse the Soviet writings on sex differences in personality, we should look briefly at the Western theories concerning the development of these differences. This will provide an intellectual context for the Soviet writings. Western psychology and sociology have applied themselves directly to the question of how these differences arise, and hence provide a useful point of comparison with Soviet psychological theory and the pedagogical writings.
Density-functional-theory calculations of matter in strong magnetic fields. II. Infinite chains and condensed matter

We present calculations of the electronic structure of one-dimensional infinite chains and three-dimensional condensed matter in strong magnetic fields ranging from $B={10}^{12}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{G}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\text{to}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{15}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{G}$, appropriate for observed magnetic neutron stars. At these field strengths, the magnetic forces on the electrons dominate over the Coulomb forces, and to a good approximation the electrons are confined to the ground Landau level. Our calculations are based on the density functional theory, and use a local magnetic exchange-correlation function appropriate in the strong field regime. The band structures of electrons in different Landau orbitals are computed self-consistently. Numerical results of the ground-state energies and electron work functions are given for one-dimensional chains ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\infty}}$, ${\mathrm{He}}_{\ensuremath{\infty}}$, ${\mathrm{C}}_{\ensuremath{\infty}}$, and ${\mathrm{Fe}}_{\ensuremath{\infty}}$. Fitting formulae for the $B$ dependence of the energies are also provided. For all the field strengths considered in this paper, hydrogen, helium, and carbon chains are found to be bound relative to individual atoms (although for $B$ less than a few $\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{12}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{G}$, carbon infinite chains are very weakly bound relative to individual atoms). Iron chains are significantly bound for $B\ensuremath{\gtrsim}{10}^{14}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{G}$ and are weakly bound if at all at $B\ensuremath{\lesssim}{10}^{13}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{G}$. We also study the cohesive property of three-dimensional condensed matter of H, He, C, and Fe at zero pressure, constructed from interacting chains in a body-centered tetragonal lattice. Such three-dimensional condensed matter is found to be bound relative to individual atoms, with the cohesive energy increasing rapidly with increasing $B$.
State-of-the-art mass spectrometry for point-of-care and other applications: A hands-on intensive short course for undergraduate students

Abstract Current mass spectrometry techniques and applications, especially those which achieve high speed by using ambient ionization and/or miniature instruments are presented with emphasis on the nature of the instrumentation and methodology. This is done in the context of describing an intensive two-day workshop for upper division undergraduate students (9th annual meeting for the Center for Analytical Instrumentation Development, CAID, Purdue University). Six hands-on demonstrations are detailed. Multiple ionization sources, types of mass spectrometers, and ion manipulation techniques are covered. The meeting “State-of-the-Art Mass Spectrometry for Point-of-Care and other Applications” might serve as a model for intensive short courses that other institutions might wish to develop in their particular research specialties. A hallmark is the emphasis on methodology, fundamental theory, and current applications. The effectiveness of the CAID short course to deeply immerse, motivate, and educate students was confirmed through formal student assessment and feedback.
Antigen dose in the human immune response. Dose-relationships in the human immune response to Keyhole limpet hemocyanin.

Abstract The primary immune response to Keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) was studied in 39 normal adults; 8 were immunized with 5,000 μg, 6 with 100 μg, 6 with 10 μg, 10 with 1 μg, and 9 with 0.1 μg. Immunity to KLH was assessed by delayed hypersensitivity skin testing, hemagglutinin determinations, and KLH-stimulated in vitro lymphocyte blastogenesis. Thirty-three of the 36 persons skin-tested had positive delayed hypersensitivity reactions. The magnitude of the skin test reactions was not related to antigen dose. Immunization with 10 μg or more of KLH induced formation of lymphocytes capable of undergoing increased KLH-stimulated blastogenesis. The lymphocytes of the 19 persons immunized with less than 10 μg did not develop increased in vitro blastogenic responses to KLH. All 39 subjects produced KLH hemagglutinins. Maximal hemagglutinin responses were observed after immunization with 100 μg or more of KLH. The formation of both 7S and 19S antibodies was reduced after immunization with doses of KLH less than 100 μg.
Enhancing the Nobel Prize schema

This paper describes the Nobel Prize schema available on the Nobel Prize official website. The Noble Prize schema only caters major facts regarding the prize data, a lot of details about the prize are still unstructured and stored in the form of html files. This research identifies some shortcomings in the schema and proposes additions in the schema to cater some of the html files.
A new model for calculating the transient displacement field within a linear elastic isotropic solid with a through hole under dynamic impact: A 3D model is developed and a 2D case study is examined

Abstract This paper presents an exact analytical solution in tensor notation for solving the elastic wave propagation for any 3-dimensional shape objects with a hole (from infinitesimal to finite). For validating the proposed model, a case study of an axisymmetric thick walled cylindrical metallic tube with finite length under a dynamic impact, was modeled and computed. The case study was also computed and validated by using an explicit time integration finite element method, LS-Dyna, for comparison purpose. The LS-Dyna simulation results were used to calculate the boundary conditions for the proposed model for obtaining the analytical solution because in the real world applications these boundary conditions can be obtained through measurement data or the signals of sensors. Based on the virtual boundary conditions obtained from simulation, the proposed model can compute the displacement field (transient response) of the object under dynamic impact. Once the displacement field is available, all transient stress, strain, rotation etc. can be computed as needed. The obtained analytical displacement fields as a function of time and coordinates were compared with the simulation results from LS-Dyna. It has been proven in this paper that the efficiency, accuracy and robustness of the proposed model meet the needs of any potential applications.
Morphological and functional maturity of the oral jaws covary with offspring size in Trinidadian guppies

Large size of individual offspring is routinely selected for in highly competitive environments, such as in low-predation populations of the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Large guppy offspring outcompete their smaller conspecifics, but the functional mechanisms underlying this advantage are unknown. We measured jaw kinematics during benthic feeding and cranial musculoskeletal morphologies in neonates and juveniles from five populations of Trinidadian guppy and found that both kinematics and morphologies vary substantially with neonatal size. Rotation at the intramandibular joint (IMJ), but not the quadratomandibular joint (QMJ), increases with size among guppy offspring, from 11.7° in the smallest neonates to 22.9° in the largest neonates. Ossification of the cranial skeleton varies from 20% in the smallest neonates to 90% in the largest. Relative to standard length (SL; jaw tip to caudal fin base distance), the surface area of jaw-closing musculature scales with positive allometry (SL2.72) indicating that muscle growth outpaces body growth. Maximum gape also scales with positive allometry (SL1.20), indicating that larger neonates are capable of greater jaw excursions. These findings indicate that size is not the sole adaptive benefit to producing larger offspring; maturation provides a potential functional mechanism underlying the competitive advantage of large offspring size among Trinidadian guppies.
Mapping the Consequences of Impaired Synaptic Plasticity in Schizophrenia through Development: An Integrative Model for Diverse Clinical Features

Schizophrenia is associated with alterations in sensory, motor, and cognitive functions that emerge before psychosis onset; identifying pathogenic processes that can account for this multi-faceted phenotype remains a challenge. Accumulating evidence suggests that synaptic plasticity is impaired in schizophrenia. Given the role of synaptic plasticity in learning, memory, and neural circuit maturation, impaired plasticity may underlie many features of the schizophrenia syndrome. Here, we summarize the neurobiology of synaptic plasticity, review evidence that plasticity is impaired in schizophrenia, and explore a framework in which impaired synaptic plasticity interacts with brain maturation to yield the emergence of sensory, motor, cognitive, and psychotic features at different times during development in schizophrenia. Key gaps in the literature and future directions for testing this framework are discussed.
Patient‐centered and experience‐aware mining for effective adverse drug reaction discovery in online health forums

Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) have become a serious health problem and even a leading cause of death in the United States. Pre-marketing clinical trials and traditional post-marketing surveillance using voluntary and spontaneous report systems are insufficient for ADR detection. On the other hand, online health forums provide valuable evidences in a large scale and in a timely fashion through the active participation of patients, caregivers, and doctors. In this article, we present patient-centered and experience-aware mining framework for effective ADR discovery using online health forum data. Our experimental evaluation with both an official ADR knowledge base and human-annotated ground truth verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method for ADR discovery.
Skepticism and freedom : a modern case for classical liberalism

With this book, Richard A. Epstein provides a spirited and systematic defense of classical liberalism against the critiques mounted against it over the past thirty years. One of the most distinguished and provocative legal scholars writing today, Epstein here explains his controversial ideas in what will quickly come to be considered one of his cornerstone works. He begins by laying out his own vision of the key principles of classical liberalism: respect for the autonomy of the individual, a strong system of private property rights, the voluntary exchange of labor and possessions, and prohibitions against force or fraud. Nonetheless, he not only recognizes but insists that state coercion is crucial to safeguarding these principles of private ordering and supplying the social infrastructure on which they depend. Within this framework, Epstein then shows why limited government is much to be preferred over the modern interventionist welfare state. Many of the modern attacks on the classical liberal system seek to undermine the moral, conceptual, cognitive, and psychological foundations on which it rests. Epstein rises to this challenge by carefully rebutting each of these objections in turn. For instance, Epstein demonstrates how our inability to judge the preferences of others means we should respect their liberty of choice regarding their own lives. And he points out the flaws in behavioral economic arguments which, overlooking strong evolutionary pressures, claim that individual preferences are unstable and that people are unable to adopt rational means to achieve their own ends. Freedom, Epstein ultimately shows, depends upon a skepticism that rightly shuns making judgments about what is best for individuals, but that also avoids the relativistic trap that all judgments about our political institutions have equal worth. A brilliant defense of classical liberalism, "Skepticism and Freedom" will rightly be seen as an intellectual landmark.
Different profiles of decision making and physiology under varying levels of stress in trained military personnel

Abstract Decision making is one of the most vital processes we use every day, ranging from mundane decisions about what to eat to life-threatening choices such as how to avoid a car collision. Thus, the context in which our decisions are made is critical, and our physiology enables adaptive responses that account for how environmental stress influences our performance. The relationship between stress and decision making can additionally be affected by one's expertise in making decisions in high-threat environments, where experts can develop an adaptive response that mitigates the negative impacts of stress. In the present study, 26 male military personnel made friend/foe discriminations in an environment where we manipulated the level of stress. In the high-stress condition, participants received a shock when they incorrectly shot a friend or missed shooting a foe; in the low-stress condition, participants received a vibration for an incorrect decision. We characterized performance using signal detection theory to investigate whether a participant changed their decision criterion to avoid making an error. Results showed that under high-stress, participants made more false alarms, mistaking friends as foes, and this co-occurred with increased high frequency heart rate variability. Finally, we examined the relationship between decision making and physiology, and found that participants exhibited adaptive behavioral and physiological profiles under different stress levels. We interpret this adaptive profile as a marker of an expert's ingrained training that does not require top down control, suggesting a way that expert training in high-stress environments helps to buffer negative impacts of stress on performance.
DISTRIBUTIONS OF CHARACTERISTIC ROOTS OF RANDOM MATRICES

This is a review of the author’s work in the area of distributions of characteristic roots of random matrices done in the last four to five years.
Faithful Aging and the Development of Character

The author tests the kinship of the concepts “faithful aging,” the centerpiece of her book, The Art of Growing Old: A Guide to Faithful Aging (1998), and “development of character,” central to James Hillman's book, The Force of Character and the Lasting Life (1999). Faithful aging is assessed in characters from two plays: Graham Greene's The Potting Shed and Robert Anderson's I Never Sang for My Father. Finally, Saussy reflects on the development of character as a theological issue.
Testing the Integrity of Non-monotonic Knowledge Bases Containing Semi-Normal Defaults.

This paper presents a methodology for testing general non-monotonic knowledge bases for logical and semantic inconsistencies. It extends the CTMS-based verification framework introduced in our previous work with an additional integrity test. This test aims to ensure that a logically consistent non-monotonic knowledge base is also free of semantic inconsistencies, resulted from violated integrity constraints. Generally, semantic inconsistencies are detected during dynamic validation of the KBS. We argue, however, that some types of semantic inconsistencies can be explicated during the formal V&V analysis, and we describe a logical procedure that carries out this validation task.
The Energy That Runs the World

At their roots, territorial conflicts in human and nonhuman species alike are attempts to control more of the products of solar energy conversion. More land means a greater share of incident solar radiation. In human societies, the resulting wealth can be obtained indirectly through the payment of taxes or tribute by subject peoples. This point is pertinent to our energy future, and we have much more to say about it in Chaps. 5 and 6. Solar energy can also be stored underground, and for the past 250 years humans have gained access to vast quantities of compressed and chemically transformed fossil organisms in the form of oil, coal, and natural gas. Without these concentrated stores of solar energy, which we call fossil fuels, the technological triumphs and economic progress of the past 150 years would have been the stuff of deluded imaginations.
Clinical Consequences of Cardiomyopathy in Children With Biliary Atresia Requiring Liver Transplantation

Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CCM), a comorbidity of end-stage cirrhotic liver disease, remains uncharacterized in children, largely because of a lack of an established pediatric definition. The aim of this retrospective cohort analysis is to derive objective two-dimensional echocardiographic (2DE) criteria to define CCM associated with biliary atresia (BA), or BA-CCM, and correlate presence of BA-CCM with liver transplant (LT) outcomes in this population. Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, optimal cut-off values for left ventricular (LV) geometrical parameters that were highly sensitive and specific for the primary outcomes: A composite of serious adverse events (CSAE) and peritransplant death were determined. These results were used to propose a working definition for BA-CCM: (1) LV mass index (LVMI) ≥95 g/m2.7 or (2) relative wall thickness of LV ≥0.42. Applying these criteria, BA-CCM was found in 34 of 69 (49%) patients with BA listed for LT and was associated with increased multiorgan dysfunction, mechanical and vasopressor support, and longer intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stays. BA-CCM was present in all 4 waitlist deaths, 7 posttransplant deaths, and 20 patients with a CSAE (P < 0.01). On multivariable regression analysis, BA-CCM remained independently associated with both death and a CSAE (P < 0.01). Utilizing ROC analysis, LVMI was found to be a stronger predictor for adverse outcomes compared with current well-established markers, including Pediatric End-Stage Liver Disease (PELD) score. Conclusion: BA-CCM is highly sensitive and specific for morbidity and mortality in children with BA listed for LT. 2DE screening for BA-CCM may provide pertinent clinical information for prioritization and optimal peritransplant management of these children.
endo-siRBase: A multi-species developmental endo-siRNA repository and searchable database

Endogenous short interfering RNAs (endo-siRNAs) play an important role in gene regulation in many different model systems, yet to our knowledge there is no database that contains information for those that are experimentally validated. The endo-siRbase platform reported in this paper fills this void by housing endo-siRNA fasta files from several species. These files were generated from reads derived from small RNA datasets that did not map to miRNA, piRNA, or any other non-coding RNA but that did map antisense to annotated mRNA. This repository of endo-siRNAs is groundbreaking because it is the first to provide an official annotation while also citing the endo-siRNA experimental source and any available developmental information, such as stage or regional expression. In addition to providing validated endo-siRNA sequence information, endo-siRbase also provides a search tool that reports potential mRNA targets of an endo-siRNA sequence as well as any documented endo-siRNAs that are antisense to a specified mRNA. Due to the exponential growth of small RNA datasets and the mounting evidence for the critical role endo-siRNAs play in development, this database and search tool will benefit developmental biologists not only by providing an official annotation and a uniform identification procedure, but also by consolidating datasets into one location.
Acute effects of air pollutants on spontaneous pregnancy loss: a case-crossover study.

Objective To investigate the relationship between acute exposure to air pollutants and spontaneous pregnancy loss. Design Case-crossover study from 2007 to 2015. Setting An academic emergency department in the Wasatch Front area of Utah. Patient(s) A total of 1,398 women who experienced spontaneous pregnancy loss events. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) Odds of spontaneous pregnancy loss. Result(s) We found that a 10-ppb increase in 7-day average levels of nitrogen dioxide was associated with a 16% increase in the odds of spontaneous pregnancy loss (odds ratio [OR] = 1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.33; P=.04). A 10-μg/m3 increase in 3-day and 7-day averages of fine particulate matter were associated with increased risk of spontaneous pregnancy loss, but the associations did not reach statistical significance (OR3-day average = 1.09; 95% CI 0.99–1.20; P=.05) (OR7-day average = 1.11; 95% CI 0.99–1.24; P=.06). We found no evidence of increased risk for any other metrics of nitrogen dioxide or fine particulate matter or any metric for ozone. Conclusions We found that short-term exposure to elevated levels of air pollutants was associated with higher risk for spontaneous pregnancy loss.
A Mononuclear, Nonheme FeII-Piloty's Acid (PhSO2NHOH) Adduct: An Intermediate in the Production of {FeNO}7/8 Complexes from Piloty's Acid.

Reaction of the mononuclear nonheme complex [FeII(CH3CN)(N3PyS)]BF4 (1) with an HNO donor, Piloty’s acid (PhSO2NHOH, P.A.), at low temperature affords a high-spin (S = 2) FeII–P.A. intermediate (2)...
Cyclegan Bandwidth Extension Acoustic Modeling for Automatic Speech Recognition

Although narrowband (NB) and wideband (WB) speech data primarily differ in sampling rate, these two common input sources are difficult to simultaneously model for automatic speech recognition (ASR). Meanwhile, cycle consistent generative adversarial networks (CycleGANs) have been shown value in a number of acoustic tasks such as mapping between domains due to their powerful generators. We apply Cycle-GAN to the task of bandwidth extension (BWE) and test a variety of architectures. The CycleGANs produce encouraging losses and reconstructed spectrograms. In order to further reduce word error rates (WER) we add an additional discriminative loss to the CycleGAN BWE architecture. This more closely matches our ASR goal and we show gains in WER compared to a standard BWE model discriminatively trained only to map from upsampled narrowband (UNB) to WB data.
Expansion of CRISPR loci with multiple memories of infection enables the survival of structured bacterial communities

Abstract Type II CRISPR-Cas systems provide immunity against phages and plasmids that infect bacteria. Following infection, a short sequence of the phage genome known as the “spacer” is inserted into the CRISPR locus to capture a memory of the infection and immunize the host. Spacers are transcribed and processed into guide RNAs that direct the Cas9 nuclease to its target on the invader. Thousands of spacers are acquired to target the viral genome at multiple locations and neutralize phage mutants that evade the immunity specified by a single guide RNA. In liquid cultures, where phages and their hosts are constantly mixed, spacer diversity is generated at the population level, and a single immunization per cell is sufficient to confer robust immunity. Although rare, bacteria that acquire multiple spacers can also be found, demonstrating that type II CRISPR-Cas systems also have the capability of generating spacer diversity at the cellular level. However, conditions in which this feature is important for survival are poorly understood. Here we found that when phage infections occur on solid media, a high proportion of the surviving colonies display sectored morphologies that contain individual cells with multiple spacers. We show that this is the result of the bacteria-host co-evolution, in which the immunity provided by the initial acquired spacer is easily overcome by escaper phages that decimate all the progeny of the founder cell that do not acquire additional spacers. Our results reveal the versatility of type II CRISPR-Cas immunity, which can respond with both single or multiple spacer acquisition schemes to solve challenges presented by different environments.
Heterogeneity of Neuroepithelial Cells and Radial Glia

The human cortex is comprised of diverse cell types that emerge from an initially uniform neuroepithelium that, following neural tube closure, gives rise to radial glia, the neural stem cells of the cortex. Radial glia initially reside in the ventricular zone of the cortex, and contribute to cortical expansion which is particularly pronounced in the human compared to other mammals and non-human primates. To characterize the molecular signatures of cellular subtypes that may exist at the earliest stages of neurogenesis we performed single-cell RNA-sequencing across regions of the developing human brain. We observe similar progenitor programs across brain regions that each express region-specific transcription factors. In the telencephalon, we identify nine progenitor populations, suggesting more heterogeneity among neuroepithelial cells and radial glia than previously described, including a highly prevalent mesenchymal-like population that disappears after the onset of neurogenesis. Using velocity analysis, we find that genes implicated in various neurodevelopmental diseases drive the specification and maintenance of neuroepithelial cells and radial glia. Comparison of these progenitor populations to corresponding stages of mouse development identifies two progenitor clusters that are unique to the early stages of human cortical development. Organoid systems display a low fidelity to neuroepithelial and early radial glia cell types, but this improves as neurogenesis progresses. Overall, we provide a comprehensive molecular and spatial atlas of early stages of human brain and cortical development.
Open Questions in Formal Methods

Formal methods have a long history of use within the cybersecurity community, but their adoption remains limited to a small segment of the population of system developers.
Chapter 46 – Platelet-Derived Growth Factor and the Skeleton

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the effects of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) on the skeleton. PDGFis a polypeptide with a molecular mass of 30 kDa, which is composed of two polypeptide chains, and may be combined in a homodimeric or heterodimeric form. PDGF was initially isolated from human platelets, but subsequently its presence was found in selected tissues, including bones. In the circulation, PDGF is transported in platelet granules, where its composition is 70% PDGF AB heterodimer, 25% PDGF BB, and 5% PDGF AA homodimer. As PDGF is present in platelets and is expressed by various cell types, it is considered to act both as a systemic and as a local regulator of cell metabolism. Osteoblasts and osteosarcoma cell lines synthesize PDGF, and these cells express the PDGF A and B genes. PDGF stimulates bone cell replication and DNA synthesis, both in intact calvariae and in isolated rat osteoblasts. The primary effect of PDGF in bone is related to its mitogenic activity and it increases the number of cells capable of synthesizing collagen. IGFs stimulate bone collagen synthesis and matrix apposition rates, whereas BMPs induce the differentiation of immature cells into cells of the osteoblastic lineage and stimulate the function of mature osteoblasts. In addition to its effects on bone formation, PDGF increases bone resorption and collagen degradation. This effect is secondary to an increase in the expression of the matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), collagenase 1 and 3. An increase in MMP expression by PDGF has also been observed in nonskeletal fibroblasts. PDGF increases osteoclast number in calvariae, which could be due to an increase in osteoclastogenesis or a decrease in osteoclast apoptosis.
Genetic variants of GSTM5, SULT1C2 and CYP39A1 and the risk of breast cancer in Caucasians and African-Americans

1907 Breast cancer is one of the most frequently occurring cancers and is the major cause of death in women worldwide. Expression and activity of drug metabolizing enzymes play a key role in the etiology of breast cancer, since these enzymes are involved in activation and/or detoxification of xenobiotics including carcinogens. Genetic variations in drug metabolizing genes may alter their enzymatic activity (expression) and in turn vary individuals’ susceptibility to breast cancer. SULT1C2 catalyzes the sulfate conjugation of many compounds and a recent study reported that SULT1C2 Glu5Asp polymorphism was associated with lower acute myeloblastic leukemia relapse rate and increased disease-free survival; GSTM5 belongs to Glutathione S-transferases (GST) family that metabolizes a broad battery of xenobiotics and carcinogens, and a C to T transition at the codon 179 causes Pro to Leu amino acid substitution in GSTM5 protein; CYP39A1 is a member of cytochrome P450 family that plays an important role in xenobiotic activation, and a polymorphism in CYP39A1 leads a Lys to Asn amino acid change in codon 324. We hypothesized that these genetic polymorphisms could contribute to the etiology of breast cancer due to the fact that they change the enzymatic activities of the corresponding enzymes. Therefore, we conducted a case-control study with 1243 cases and 1307 controls in Caucasians and African-Americans. All genotypes were determined by Taqman SNP Genotyping Assays. Logistic regression analysis revealed that a significantly decreased risk of breast cancer is associated with CYP39A1 324 Asn/Asn or 324 Lys/Asn genotype in African-Americans (OR=0.60; 95%CI=0.37-0.96), but not in Caucasians. We also found that the SULT1C2 Glu/Glu carriers had increased breast cancer susceptibility compared to those with Asp/Asp genotype (OR=1.55; 95% CI=1.04-2.30) in Caucasians, but not in African-Americans. Compared to the subjects having GSTM5 179 Leu/Leu genotype, GSTM5 179 Pro/Pro African-American carriers had a lower OR (0.62) for breast cancer, however, without statistical significance (P=0.07). We did not find a significant difference of breast cancer risk for GSTM5 genotypes in Caucasians. These results suggest that these genetic variants in SULT1C2, GSTM5 and CYP39A1 may be associated with altered risk of breast cancer in different ethnic groups.
Use of Anticoagulants in Patients With Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation Who Are at Risk of Falls.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a relatively common clinical entity with significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in the elderly. Stroke is one of the most significant complications of AF, which can be prevented with the use of anticoagulation. Elder population are at an increased risk of falls and the use of anticoagulation in this group can lead to intracranial hemorrhage. Therefore, it is unclear whether patients at high risk of falls should be anticoagulated. This review article discusses the epidemiology of AF and falls in the elder population, and whether the benefit of anticoagulation outweighs the risks in this group.
Far-Lateral Transcondylar Approach to a Right Cervicomedullary Dural Arteriovenous Fistula of the Posterior Fossa.

Objectives Dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) at the cervicomedullary junction are uncommon and often accompanied by subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We aim to illustrate in detail the microsurgical procedure for treating a DAVF located at the cervicomedullary junction. Design We present a two-dimensional operative video that includes clinical history, preoperative imaging, surgical strategy, still images with labels, clinical course, and postoperative imaging. Setting The microsurgery was performed at an academic medical center. Participant The patient is a 55-year-old female who presented with SAH, acute onset headache, nausea, and vomiting. Angiography demonstrated right vertebral artery vasospasm and a persistent arteriovenous shunt at the cervicomedullary junction supplied by small perforating arteries of the right vertebrobasilar junction ( Fig. 1 ). Main Outcome Measures The patient was placed in the park-bench position with the head turned to the contralateral side. A hockey stick incision was made, followed by a right-side far-lateral transcondylar approach. Indocynanine green videoangiography was performed to help identify the areas of arteriovenous shunting. Multiple clips were placed to interrupt vessels that corresponded to arterial feeders at the level of the C1 and C2 nerve root sleeves ( Fig. 2 ). The dura was closed in a water tight fashion and the posterior fossa was reconstructed with a titanium mesh. Results Postoperative imaging showed no evidence of continued arteriovenous shunting. The patient was discharged in good clinical condition with an uneventful postoperative course. Conclusion A deep understanding of the microsurgical vascular anatomy is necessary for successful occlusion of a cervicomedullary DAVF. The link to the video can be found at: https://youtu.be/-LfOcNB05BY .
An intelligent method for dynamic distribution of electric taxi batteries between charging and swapping stations

Abstract Taxis are often motivated to drive in crowded areas to earn more money by serving customers. Clean taxicab fleets in cities will have a significant impact on reducing air pollution and cutting emissions. Use of electric taxis is a highly efficient solution to address the issue of greenhouse effects, because electric cars are cleaner and cheaper than gasoline-powered cars. Battery swapping is an efficient and fast recharging method enabling taxi drivers to go to a battery swapping station (BSS) and replace their empty batteries with full ones. We study a new dynamic optimization model that helps the planning process in joint consideration of inventory, routing, and dynamic pricing to distribute electric taxi batteries between a BSS and a battery charging station (BCS). A novel dynamic programming (DP) model is proposed to incorporate a Markov decision process (MDP) with an actual demand function, operator cost, customer delay, and a dynamic pricing strategy using a social optimization function through a look-ahead policy. The results indicate that the average response time to transfer batteries from BCS nodes to BSS nodes under the look-ahead policy is reduced by up to 9% compared to the myopic case. We also observe that the average social welfare under the look-ahead policy increases by 22 % compared to a policy without look-ahead. The numerical analyses highlighted the benefits of supplying batteries at a socially efficient price instead of the standard monopoly price.
Regulation of Intestinal Inflammation by Soybean and Soy-Derived Compounds

Environmental factors, particularly diet, are considered central to the pathogenesis of the inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. In particular, the Westernization of diet, characterized by high intake of animal protein, saturated fat, and refined carbohydrates, has been shown to contribute to the development and progression of IBD. During the last decade, soybean, as well as soy-derived bioactive compounds (e.g., isoflavones, phytosterols, Bowman-Birk inhibitors) have been increasingly investigated because of their anti-inflammatory properties in animal models of IBD. Herein we provide a scoping review of the most studied disease mechanisms associated with disease induction and progression in IBD rodent models after feeding of either the whole food or a bioactive present in soybean.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Complementary and alternative medicine in western medicine has had a more prominent role over the past few years, especially in multidisciplinary pain management. Of the physical modalities helpful in the concurrent management of pain, yoga and mindfulness meditation have emerged as effective options, and literature has identified acupuncture as efficacious and safe. Nutraceuticals have a role in the management of pain, but mechanisms of action need to be elucidated and regulatory bodies need to ensure quality control and dosage safety.
Determination of fluorine concentrations in mineralizing fluids of the Hansonburg, New Mexico Ba-F-Pb district via SEM-EDS analysis of fluid inclusion decrepitates

Abstract The Hansonburg, New Mexico district in the southwestern U.S.A. contains anomalously fluorite rich carbonate-hosted base metal sulfide deposits. A long-standing hypothesis for this fluorite enrichment is that the Hansonburg mineralizing fluids were correspondingly enriched in F relative to the typical sedimentary brines that formed carbonate-hosted base metal deposits. The purpose of the present study was to test this hypothesis by determining the F concentration in fluid inclusions hosted by drusy quartz that paragenetically overlaps fluorite. The fluid inclusions were thermally decrepitated creating evaporative solute mounds, which were then analyzed via scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Fluorine was detected in all evaporative solute mounds analyzed, equating to fluid inclusion F concentrations of 320 to 2500 ppm. These F concentrations are significantly greater than the F concentrations of tenth's to 10s of ppm F typical of sedimentary brines. Further, these high F concentrations indicate that the Hansonburg mineralizing fluid must have been very acidic during the time of fluorite mineralization with a pH of 1 to 2.4. This pH is much lower than the pH of 4.3 to 5.1 predicted in earlier studies and also much lower than the pH of 4 to 5.5 considered typical of carbonate-hosted Zn Pb mineralizing fluids. High mineralizing fluid F concentrations in combination with low pH would have provided conditions favorable for the formation of the observed Hansonburg mineral assemblage, i.e. fluorite-barite rich and metal sulfide mineral poor.