cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Note on Critical-Point Drying of Mosquito Eggs for Scanning Electron Microscopy

To prevent collapse and buckling of the chorion during critical-point drying of mosquito eggs, it is advantageous to increase the depressurization rate of the containment chamber from the normally recommended rate (100–200 psi/min) to 300–400 psi/min. Faster decompression apparently maintains a slight positive pressure within the egg and preserves its natural shape. Because they lack surface artifacts, specimens obtained in this way are substantially superior, especially for low power microscopy.
NONADAPTIVE EVOLUTION OF DISEASE RESISTANCE IN AN ANNUAL LEGUME

Local populations of the plant Amphicarpaea bracteata often contain genetically di- vergent lineages that differ strongly in disease resistance toward the specialist pathogen Synchytrium decipiens. In one population, lineages with disease resistance were observed to significantly decrease in frequency over a two-year period, despite the continued presence of pathogens. Extensive self- pollination in A. bracteata restricts the opportunity for recombination of alleles affecting separate traits, resulting in strong correlations between disease resistance and other ecologically important characters, including plant morphology, phenology, and patterns of reproductive allocation. Natural selection on these correlated characters may thus cause nonadaptive changes in disease resistance. These results imply that A. bracteata's mating system is a basic constraint interfering with its adaptation to pathogen attack.
Robust face representation and recognition under low resolution and difficult lighting conditions

This dissertation focuses on different aspects of face image analysis for accurate face recognition under low resolution and poor lighting conditions. A novel resolution enhancement technique is proposed for enhancing a low resolution face image into a high resolution image for better visualization and improved feature extraction, especially in a video surveillance environment. This method performs kernel regression and component feature learning in local neighborhood of the face images. It uses directional Fourier phase feature component to adaptively lean the regression kernel based on local covariance to estimate the high resolution image. For each patch in the neighborhood, four directional variances are estimated to adapt the interpolated pixels. A Modified Local Binary Pattern (MLBP) methodology for feature extraction is proposed to obtain robust face recognition under varying lighting conditions. Original LBP operator compares pixels in a local neighborhood with the center pixel and converts the resultant binary string to 8-bit integer value. So, it is less effective under difficult lighting conditions where variation between pixels is negligible. The proposed MLBP uses a two stage encoding procedure which is more robust in detecting this variation in a local patch. A novel dimensionality reduction technique called Marginality Preserving Embedding (MPE) is also proposed for enhancing the face recognition accuracy. Unlike Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), which project data in a global sense, MPE seeks for a local structure in the manifold. This is similar to other subspace learning techniques but the difference with other manifold learning is that MPE preserves marginality in local reconstruction. Hence it provides better representation in low dimensional space and achieves lower error rates in face recognition. Two new concepts for robust face recognition are also presented in this dissertation. In the first approach, a neural network is used for training the system where input vectors are created by measuring distance from each input to its class mean. In the second approach, half-face symmetry is used, realizing the fact that the face images may contain various expressions such as open/close eye, open/close mouth etc., and classify the top half and bottom half separately and finally fuse the two results. By performing experiments on several standard face datasets, improved results were observed in all the new proposed methodologies. Research is progressing in developing a unified approach for the extraction of features suitable for accurate face recognition in a long range video sequence in complex environments.
The Theology of Earthism

Earthism remains a minor force in global affairs, but it is a growing one. Bits and pieces of its message are forcing themselves into public consciousness. More and more people are coming to grasp its integrated and holistic vision. Even while it remains a peripheral force it matters just how its teaching and vision are shaped. Although in general Earthism has less potential for destructiveness than Christianism, nationalism, and economism, it too is subject to formulations that could prove damaging. The right formulation is important.
Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry: Fact and fiction

Literature pertaining to fundamental studies of the operation of the graphite furnace is replete with contradictory observations, conclusions and models. Two such aspects, the interpretation of Arrhenius activation energy parameters derived from signal transients and the partial pressure of oxygen in the furnace are considered in some detail.
Representing Capital: Mimesis, Realism, and Contemporary Photography

“The (In)Visibility of Capital. Reflections on Film, Lukacs, and Contemporary Critical Realism” presents critical reflections on the possibility of a contemporary concept of aesthetic realism in connection with two photo artists and filmmakers, Edward Burtynsky and Allan Sekula, both concerned with globalization, the exploitation of the earth, labor, and global capital in their work. The basic question connected with their work is whether it is possible to represent the real abstractions of capital and the effects of global capital in images, photography, and other works of art. Lotz argues that Burtynsky’s work ultimately mystifies reality and falls back onto a subjective aesthetical position and discusses the possibility of renewing Lukacs’ concept of realism and mimesis for contemporary critical aesthetics.
A mouse model for MERS coronavirus-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a novel virus that emerged in 2012, causing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), severe pneumonia-like symptoms and multi-organ failure, with a case fatality rate of ∼36%. Limited clinical studies indicate that humans infected with MERS-CoV exhibit pathology consistent with the late stages of ARDS, which is reminiscent of the disease observed in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Models of MERS-CoV-induced severe respiratory disease have been difficult to achieve, and small-animal models traditionally used to investigate viral pathogenesis (mouse, hamster, guinea-pig and ferret) are naturally resistant to MERS-CoV. Therefore, we used CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to modify the mouse genome to encode two amino acids (positions 288 and 330) that match the human sequence in the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 receptor, making mice susceptible to MERS-CoV infection and replication. Serial MERS-CoV passage in these engineered mice was then used to generate a mouse-adapted virus that replicated efficiently within the lungs and evoked symptoms indicative of severe ARDS, including decreased survival, extreme weight loss, decreased pulmonary function, pulmonary haemorrhage and pathological signs indicative of end-stage lung disease. Importantly, therapeutic countermeasures comprising MERS-CoV neutralizing antibody treatment or a MERS-CoV spike protein vaccine protected the engineered mice against MERS-CoV-induced ARDS.
The Rational Character of Belief and the Argument for Mental Anomalism

If mental anomalism is to be interpreted as a thesisunique to psychology, the anomalousness must begrounded in some feature unique to the mental,presumably its rational nature. While the ground forsuch arguments from normativity has been notoriouslyslippery terrain, there are two recently influentialstrategies which make the argument precise. The firstis to deny the possibility of psychophysical bridgelaws because of the different constitutive essences ofmental and physical laws, and the second is to arguethat mental anomalism follows from the uncodifiabilityof rationality. In this paper I argue that bothstrategies fail – the latter because it conflates primafacie and all things considered rationality and theformer because it rests on a false premise, theprinciple of the rational character of belief. Idistinguish four different formulations of thisprinciple and argue that those formulations which areplausible cannot support the argument for mentalanomalism.
End-to-end efficiency of liquid piston based ocean compressed air energy storage

Intermittent ocean energy resources need energy storage system for their optimal utilization. Ocean compressed air energy storage (OCAES) is a promising way for a utility scale energy storage. In this paper, a liquid piston based ocean compressed air energy storage is analyzed for end-to-end efficiency. An analytical model for end-to-end efficiency based on efficiencies of individual components in the liquid piston based OCAES is presented. Numerical analysis based on the analytical model and experimental data is done using Monte Carlo simulations. End-To-End efficiency of the liquid piston based OCAES is observed to be highly dependent on the polytropic index of compression and expansion. End-to-End efficiency increases from 24% to 72% with decrease in polytropic index from 1.4 to 1. Experimentally observed polytropic index shows 45% end-to-end efficiency. Comparison of results with end-to-end efficiency of existing compressed air energy storage systems indicates that the isothermal liquid piston based OCAES shows significantly higher end-to-end efficiency.
Unsupervised quantification of abdominal fat from CT images using Greedy Snakes

Adipose tissue has been associated with adverse consequences of obesity. Total adipose tissue (TAT) is divided into subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Intra-abdominal fat (VAT), located inside the abdominal cavity, is a major factor for the classic obesity related pathologies. Since direct measurement of visceral and subcutaneous fat is not trivial, substitute metrics like waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) are used in clinical settings to quantify obesity. Abdominal fat can be assessed effectively using CT or MRI, but manual fat segmentation is rather subjective and time-consuming. Hence, an automatic and accurate quantification tool for abdominal fat is needed. The goal of this study is to extract TAT, VAT and SAT fat from abdominal CT in a fully automated unsupervised fashion using energy minimization techniques. We applied a four step framework consisting of 1) initial body contour estimation, 2) approximation of the body contour, 3) estimation of inner abdominal contour using Greedy Snakes algorithm, and 4) voting, to segment the subcutaneous and visceral fat. We validated our algorithm on 952 clinical abdominal CT images (from 476 patients with a very wide BMI range) collected from various radiology departments of Geisinger Health System. To our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind on such a large and diverse clinical dataset. Our algorithm obtained a 3.4% error for VAT segmentation compared to manual segmentation. These personalized and accurate measurements of fat can complement traditional population health driven obesity metrics such as BMI and WC.
Mapping healthcare systems: a policy relevant analytic tool.

Background In the past decade, an international consensus on the value of well-functioning systems has driven considerable health systems research. This research falls into two broad categories. The first provides conceptual frameworks that take complex healthcare systems and create simplified constructs of interactions and functions. The second focuses on granular inputs and outputs. This paper presents a novel translational mapping tool - the University of California, San Francisco mapping tool (the Tool) - which bridges the gap between these two areas of research, creating a platform for multi-country comparative analysis. Methods Using the Murray-Frenk framework, we create a macro-level representation of a country's structure, focusing on how it finances and delivers healthcare. The map visually depicts the fundamental policy questions in healthcare system design: funding sources and amount spent through each source, purchasers, populations covered, provider categories; and the relationship between these entities. Results We use the Tool to provide a macro-level comparative analysis of the structure of India's and Thailand's healthcare systems. Conclusions As part of the systems strengthening arsenal, the Tool can stimulate debate about the merits and consequences of different healthcare systems structural designs, using a common framework that fosters multi-country comparative analyses.
Optical switching using optical Kerr non-linear effect on photonic crystal fiber

This paper describes the results of the investigation of nonlinear propagation of short optical pulses in a photonic crystal fibers. It has been observed that nonlinear intensity-dependent effect can be used to determine the transmission and rejection of propagating pulses. The optical switching is achieved using Kerr nonlinear effect to shift the band gap in the Photonic crystal fiber. It is found that high intensity pulses and large nonlinearity effect is essential to allow easily discrimination between ON and OFF states.
Acceleration of the WRF Monin–Obukhov–Janjic Surface Layer Parameterization Scheme on an MIC-Based Platform for Weather Forecast

A state-of-the-art numerical weather prediction (NWP) model, comprising weather research and forecast (WRF) model and analysis techniques, has been extensively exercised for weather prophecy all over the world. The WRF model, the soul role in NWP, constitutes dynamic solvers and elaborate physical components for conducting fluid behavior, all of which are sketched for both atmospheric research analyses and operational weather foretell. One salient physical ingredient in WRF is the surface layer simulation, which provides surface heat and moisture fluxes through calculation of surface friction velocities and exchange coefficients. The Monin–Obukhov–Janjic (MOJ) scheme is one popular surface layer option in WRF. This is one of the schemes in WRF we choose to expedite toward an end-to-end accelerated weather model. One advantageous aspect in WRF is the independence among grid points that facilitates programming implementations in parallel computation. We here present a parallel construction on the MOJ module with application of vectorization elements and efficient parallelization essentials furnished by Intel many integrated core (MIC) architecture. To achieve high computing performance, apart from the fundamental usage of Intel MIC architecture, this paper offers some new approaches related to code structure and art of optimization skills. At the end, in comparison with the original code separately executing on one CPU core and on one CPU socket (eight cores) with Intel Xeon E5-2670, the optimized MIC-based MOJ module running on Xeon Phi coprocessor 7120P ameliorates the computing performance by 9.6× and 1.5×, respectively.
Compulsive methamphetamine taking in the presence of punishment is associated with increased oxytocin expression in the nucleus accumbens of rats

Methamphetamine addiction is mimicked in rats that self-administer the drug. However, these self-administration (SA) models do not include adverse consequences that are necessary to reach a diagnosis of addiction in humans. Herein, we measured genome-wide transcriptional consequences of methamphetamine SA and footshocks in the rat brain. We trained rats to self-administer methamphetamine for 20 days. Thereafter, lever-presses for methamphetamine were punished by mild footshocks for 5 days. Response-contingent punishment significantly reduced methamphetamine taking in some rats (shock-sensitive, SS) but not in others (shock-resistant, SR). Rats also underwent extinction test at one day and 30 days after the last shock session. Rats were euthanized one day after the second extinction test and the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and dorsal striatum were collected to measure gene expression with microarray analysis. In the NAc, there were changes in the expression of 13 genes in the SRvsControl and 9 genes in the SRvsSS comparison. In the striatum, there were 9 (6 up, 3 down) affected genes in the SRvsSS comparison. Among the upregulated genes was oxytocin in the NAc and CARTpt in the striatum of SR rats. These observations support a regional role of neuropeptides in the brain after a long withdrawal interval when animals show incubation of methamphetamine craving.
An evidence-based guide to the treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head

Non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head is a potentially devastating condition, the prevalence of which is increasing. Many joint-preserving forms of treatment, both medical and surgical, have been developed in an attempt to slow or reverse its progression, as it usually affects young patients. However, it is important to evaluate the best evidence that is available for the many forms of treatment considering the variation in the demographics of the patients, the methodology and the outcomes in the studies that have been published, so that it can be used effectively. The purpose of this review, therefore, was to provide an up-to-date, evidence-based guide to the management, both non-operative and operative, of non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2017;99-B:1267-79.
Simulation and Games in Environmental Education: A Workshop

Simulation — the representation of complex processes in simplified form — and gaming — activities involving competition/ cooperation and chance — appear to be promising tools for instruction, particularly for environmental education. Instruc­tional simulation/gaming puts the learner into an active participating mode in which he must make decisions concerning a dynamic, all-at-once problem. This format is also rich in feed­back, allowing constant modification of performance.
Pain Medications and Male Reproduction

The increasing use of opioid medications has become a crisis in developed countries. The profound negative effects of opioids on male reproduction are well known, but this topic is absent from the current conversations about these medications. In the fertility clinic, a significant proportion of our patients are using opioids for pain management, and the options for these men are unclear. Opioids exert their negative effects by a variety of mechanisms. At high doses, testosterone levels fall significantly and hypogonadism is seen. In part, this results from increased prolactin and inhibition of gonadotropin production/secretion by the pituitary. However, negative effects on the testis are seen even in the absence of decreased androgen levels. As we review in this chapter, Leydig and germ cells produce endogenous opioids, and receptors for these substances are present throughout the testis. For example, endogenous opioids produced by Leydig and germ cells provide paracrine inhibition at Sertoli cell receptors, decreasing the production of androgen binding protein, which is required for intra-testis transport of androgens. Morphine also increases the expression of aromatase in the brain and testis and acts directly on the testis and germ cells to decrease testicular function. Exogenous opioids in men reduce semen quality, including increased DNA fragmentation. All opioids have these effects, but less damage is caused by lower doses, shorter-acting opioids, and by some drugs with mixed receptor activity, such as tramadol and tapentadol. The non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) have much less effect on the male reproductive system, although there is a paucity of human studies. Paracetamol has been shown to cause sperm abnormalities, including DNA fragmentation, and to increase time to pregnancy and may prove to be of greater concern. In rodents, paracetamol has negative impacts on seminiferous tubule histology and fertility. Robust, well-designed studies in humans are needed.
Does Total Ankle Arthroplasty Belong in the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement

Abstract The Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model seeks to lower costs and improve quality for primary lower extremity joint replacements. This includes total ankle arthroplasty (TAA), which is performed far less frequently than total hip (THA) and knee (TKA) arthroplasty. We used the SPARCS database to identify 537 TAA and 239,053 elective primary THA or TKA procedures from 2009 to 2014, excluding hip fractures. Compared with THA and TKA, TAA had a shorter mean length of stay (2.2 versus 3.2 days), greater mean cost ($20,817 versus $17,613), lower rate of disposition to nursing and rehabilitation facilities (17% versus 52%), and lower rate of 90-day readmission (4.9% versus 5.8%). In multivariable-adjusted regression models of TAA versus THA and TKA, length of stay was 30% shorter ( p p p p = .957). Patients undergoing TAA had different patterns of short-term resource usage compared with patients undergoing THA and TKA, most notably higher short-term costs. The economic viability of TAA is threatened by alternative payment models that reimburse hospitals for TAA at the same rate as THA and TKA.
21 Tesla FT-ICR Mass Spectrometer for Ultrahigh-Resolution Analysis of Complex Organic Mixtures

We describe complex organic mixture analysis by 21 tesla (T) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS). Ultrahigh mass-resolving power (m/Δm50% > 2 700 000 at m/z 400) and mass accuracy (80 ppb rms) enable resolution and confident identification of tens of thousands of unique elemental compositions. We demonstrate 2.2-fold higher mass-resolving power, 2.6-fold better mass measurement accuracy, and 1.3-fold more assigned molecular formulas compared to our custom-built, state-of-the-art 9.4 T FT-ICR mass spectrometer for petroleum and dissolved organic matter (DOM) analyses. Analysis of a heavy petroleum distillate exemplifies the need for ultrahigh-performance mass spectrometry (49 040 assigned molecular formulas for 21 T versus 29 012 for 9.4 T) and extends the identification of previously unresolved Oo, SsOo, and NOo classes. Mass selective ion accumulation (20 Thompson isolation) of an asphalt volcano sample yields 462 resolved mass spectral peaks at m/z 677 and reveals pre...
Relationship style and glycaemic control in women with type 2 diabetes: The mediating role of psychological distress.

This study examined whether depressive symptoms and/or diabetes distress mediate the association between relationship style and glycaemic control in women with diabetes. Seventy-five women with type 2 diabetes completed the Relationship Questionnaire. Participants endorsing "secure" or "preoccupied" adult attachment were combined into the interactive relationship style and "dismissing/avoidant" or "fearful" adult attachment were combined into the independent relationship style. Glycaemic control was a latent variable composed of A1c and 48-hr continuously measured glucose. Diabetes distress was assessed with the Problem Areas in Diabetes scale and depressive symptoms with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale. A parallel multiple mediation model with relationship style as the independent variable, glycaemic control as the dependent variable, and Problem Areas in Diabetes and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale as mediators, tested indirect effects. Bias-corrected bootstrap with 10,000 replications was used to construct 95% confidence intervals. The indirect association of relationship style with glycaemic control through diabetes distress was significant (effect = -0.09, p = .036, 95CI = -0.19-0.01), but through depressive symptoms was not. A model testing the indirect association of relationship style with diabetes distress through glycaemic control was not significant. Results suggest that relationship style is associated with glycaemic control through diabetes distress in women with type 2 diabetes.
Can Self-Reported Personal Audio System Volume Predict Actual Listening Levels in Young Adults?

Most young adults report using personal audio systems (PAS) with earphones as part of their daily activities. PAS exposure is intermittent and research examining the levels these young adults are listening to is increasing. On average, preferred listening levels are below what would be considered at risk in an occupational setting. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how two questions predicted preferred listening level in young adults with normal hearing; specifically, whether these young adults could identify if they listen at a high level or not. One hundred and sixty young adults (111 women, 49 men) with normal hearing completed a questionnaire that had questions about PAS listening habits and then had preferred listening level assessed using a probe microphone system while listening to 1 hour of music through earphones. Otoscopy, tympanometry, and pure-tone thresholds were completed in a randomly determined test ear. As part of the Risk Factors Survey, two closed-set questions were completed. First, “For a typical day, what is the most common volume used during this day?” with the following response options “Low,” “Medium/Comfortable,” “Loud,” or “Very Loud.” And second, “Do you listen to your personal music system at a volume where you…” with the following response options “Easily hear people,” “Have a little trouble hearing people,” “Have a lot of trouble hearing people,” or “Cannot hear people.” Using a probe microphone, chosen listening level (A-weighted, diffuse-field correction and a conversion to free-field equivalent [L DFeq]) was calculated over 1 hour while the participant listened to music with earphones. Sensitivity and specificity were determined to see how well young adults could identify themselves as listening at a high level (>85 dBA) or not. Linear regression analyses were performed to determine the amount of variance explained by the two survey questions as predictors of measured L DFeq. Almost half of the participants reported a longest single use of a PAS as <1 hour daily and more than half reported listening at a medium/comfortable volume and had a little trouble hearing people. Mean L DFeq was 72.5 dBA, with young adult men having a significantly higher mean L DFeq (76.5 dBA) compared with young adult women (70.8 dBA). Sensitivity was 88.9% and specificity was 70.6% for the question asking about volume on a typical day. For the question asking about being able to hear other people while listening to music sensitivity was 83.3% and specificity was 82.5%. Two variables, listening volume on a typical day and sex, accounted for 28.4% of the variability associated with L DFeq; the answer to the question asking about being able to hear others and sex accounted for 22.8% of the variability associated with L DFeq. About 11% of young adults in the present study listen to a PAS with earphones at a high level (>85 dBA) while in a quiet background. The participants who do report listening at a high level, however, do well at self-reporting this risk behavior in survey questions.
Mesoscale simulations of radiation damage effects in Materials: A SEAKMC perspective

Abstract Radiation damage presents a unique challenge for material simulations, with processes ranging from picoseconds to decades in time and nanometers to meters in length. Particularly, the understanding of many processes and fundamental mechanisms at the mesoscale are still lacking. In this paper, the self-evolving kinetic Monte Carlo (SEAKMC) method and its application to study mesoscale defect interaction is presented. SEAKMC is an off-lattice atomistic kinetic Monte Carlo approach which conducts ‘on-the-fly’ saddle point searches (SPS) using selective active volumes. The main components of SEAKMC are examined with focus on the comparative benefits of this method. Future areas of improvement are outlined, including suggestions for general improvements to SPS methods by reducing redundant searching and making predictive initial guesses for point defect migration events. Previous applications of SEAKMC to radiation effects in materials are briefly reviewed. Some potential applications of SEAKMC are given, including discussion of dislocation bias, and the further study of interaction between dislocation loops and point defects, which provide useful insights to understand void swelling, radiation induced segregation, and other important radiation damage processes.
Multi-band optical photometry of geosynchronous satellites

We present the results of multi band optical photometry (B, V, R and I) for 66% of the sample of geosynchronous satellites observable from Flagstaff, AZ. Observations were done while the targets were at solar phase angle smaller than ±5°, to probe the period when they are expected to reach maximum brightness. We discuss the distribution of magnitudes and colors of the sample, how these properties correlate with satellite age, and the how the color information can be used to differentiate between satellite buses.
Research and development of new generation robotic exoskeleton for over ground walking in individuals with mobility disorders (Novel design and control)

The potential of improving ambulation and enhancing mobility for individuals with different types of neurological disabilities is possible through the use of robotic exoskeletons. Yet, current robotic technology, when used for rehabilitation or as assistive devices for over ground walking, should consider user intended movements to achieve more biologically similar gait patterns. Our robotic exoskeleton, the New Jersey Trekker, includes sufficient degrees of freedom, joint torque and sensing capabilities to permit the generation of a more natural gait controlled in real-time by the user's intended movements. The primary control strategy of the Trekker employs admittance control to convey user hand movements to control the exoskeleton's leg movement. We expect that this novel interface will transform user-exoskeleton control strategies and enable the user to independently ambulate in the real-world, and enhance community independence.
Vibrational Feedback Control

Abstract It is shown that in addition to closed loop pole placement, vibrational feedback controllers lead, in the sense specified below, to a possibility of open loop zeros assignability. On this basis, the superior performance characteristics of continuous time periodic controllers, discovered in [5]-[8], are explained. Furthermore, we show that periodic controllers have additional advantages in the strong and simultaneous stabilization problems.
SEMI-BLIND INFERENCE OF TOPOLOGIES AND SIGNALS OVER GRAPHS

Network science provides valuable insights across numerous disciplines including sociology, biology, neuroscience and engineering. A task of major practical importance in these application domains is inferring the network topology from noisy observations over a limited subset of nodes. This work presents a novel approach for joint inference of the network topology and estimation of graph signals from partial nodal observations based on structural equation models (SEMs). SEMs have well-documented merits in identifying the directed topology of complex graphs by capturing causal relationships among nodes. The resultant algorithm iterates between inferring a directed graph that “best” fits the data, and estimating the graph signals over the learned graph. Numerical tests with synthetic as well as real data corroborate the effectiveness of the joint inference approach.
Converting Unstructured System Logs into Structured Event List for Anomaly Detection

System logs provide invaluable resources for understanding system behavior and detecting anomalies on high performance computing (HPC) systems. As HPC systems continue to grow in both scale and complexity, the sheer volume of system logs and the complex interaction among system components make the traditional manual problem diagnosis and even automated line-by-line log analysis infeasible or ineffective. In this paper, we present a System Log Event Block Detection (SLEBD) framework that identifies groups of log messages that follow certain sequence but with variations, and explore these event blocks for event-based system behavior analysis and anomaly detection. Compared with the existing approaches that analyze system logs line by line, SLEBD is capable of characterizing system behavior and identifying intricate anomalies at a higher (i.e., event) level. We evaluate the performance of SLEBD by using syslogs collected from production supercomputers. Experimental results show that our framework and mechanisms can process streaming log messages, efficiently extract event blocks and effectively detect anomalies, which enables system administrators and monitoring tools to understand and process system events in real time. Additionally, we use the identified event blocks and explore deep learning algorithms to model and classify event sequences.
PhD Forum: Socially Optimal Multi-modal Routing Platform

The transportation industry is changing at a rapid pace today than at any point in history with the introduction of autonomous vehicles and ride-sharing platforms such as Uber, Lyft. The increasing rate of urbanization has added pressure on the already constrained transportation networks in our communities. Such disruptions provide us a unique opportunity to accelerate culture change towards low impact mobility options. The focus of this work is in the development of a Socially Optimal Multi-Modal Routing Platform, which will provide timely information and prompts to facilitate safe and convenient mobility options, provide incentives to motivate and reinforce alternative travel choices and provide social reinforcement for use of alternative travel.
Computational Investigations of Heme Carbenes and Heme Carbene Transfer Reactions.

Engineered heme proteins and biomimetic iron porphyrins have been found to possess excellent catalytic properties for numerous carbene transfer reactions. Computational studies, including the use of DFT calculations and molecular dynamics simulations, have been employed to help understand some important mechanistic aspects of heme carbene transfer reactions. This review summarizes advances in the computational results published in the following two areas: 1) the electronic and geometric structures of heme carbenes; spectroscopic properties; and effects of carbene substituent, porphyrin substituent, axial ligand, and spin state on heme carbene formation; and 2) mechanisms of heme carbenoid X-H (X=C, Si, B, N, S) insertions and cyclopropanation, including effects of heme carbene structural components and protein environment, as well as oxidation state and spin state. A brief outlook of future development is also addressed.
La poesía de autoría femenina de la Transición vista a través de Los Encuentros de Mujeres Poetas (1996-2005)

Los Encuentros de Mujeres Poetas, que tuvieron lugar entre 1996-2002 y en 2005 son una fuente historica valiosa para contextualizar la poesia escrita por mujeres durante el periodo de la Transicion a la democracia hasta el comienzo del siglo XXI. Los Encuentros constituyen un espejo retrovisor donde observar el inicio del emergente panorama de poesia de autoria femenina durante un momento de acelerada transformacion cultural. En los Encuentros hay un enfasis en la inclusividad—generacional, estetica, y linguistica—, en la genealogia de la poesia de autoria femenina, y en la internacionalizacion.
Giving nurses a voice during ethical conflict in the ICU

Background:Ethical conflict and subsequent nurse moral distress and burnout are common in the intensive care unit (ICU). There is a gap in our understanding of nurses’ perceptions of how organizati...
On Riemann sums and integrals for association operations in ISO Geometrical Product Specifications standards

Abstract Recent ISO Geometrical Product Specifications (GPS) standards have introduced multiple ways to define geometrical deviations in design and manufacturing. These definitions depend on an association operation, which fits an ideal-form surface to a nonideal-form feature. This paper describes new mathematical and computational challenges that stem from these recent developments and provides a unification of different points of view using classical definitions of Riemann sums and integration. It also provides important practical means to define association operations for verification using digital technologies.
Toll‐like receptor 2 (TLR2) engages endoplasmic reticulum stress sensor IRE1α to regulate retinal innate responses in Staphylococcus aureus endophthalmitis

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response has been implicated in a variety of pathophysiological conditions, including infectious and inflammatory diseases. However, its contribution in ocular bacterial infections, such as endophthalmitis, which often cause blindness is not known. Here, using a mouse model of Staphylococcus (S.) aureus endophthalmitis, our study demonstrates the induction of inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α) and splicing of X-box binding protein-1 (Xbp1) branch of the ER-stress pathway, but not the other classical ER stress sensors. Interestingly, S aureus-induced ER stress response was found to be dependent on Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), as evident by reduced expression of IRE1α and Xbp1 mRNA splicing in TLR2 knockout mouse retina. Pharmacological inhibition of IRE1α using 4µ8C or experiments utilizing IRE1α-/- macrophages revealed that IRE1α positively regulates S aureus-induced inflammatory responses. Moreover, IRE1α inhibition attenuated S aureus-triggered NF-κB, p38, and ERK pathways activation and cells treated with these pathway-specific inhibitors reduced Xbp1 splicing, suggesting a positive feedback inhibition. In vivo, inhibition of IRE1α diminished the intraocular inflammation and reduced PMN infiltration in mouse eyes, but, increased the bacterial burden and caused more retinal tissue damage. These results revealed a critical role of the IRE1α/XBP1 pathway as a regulator of TLR2-mediated protective innate immune responses in S aureus-induced endophthalmitis.
Hispanic Culture, Portfolio Decisions, and Asset Prices

We examine the effect of Hispanic culture on portfolio choice decisions and asset returns in the United States. We demonstrate that investors residing in predominantly Hispanic ZIP codes are significantly more likely to chase returns and overweight small, local stocks than the average U.S. investor. Importantly, we find that these results cannot be attributed to unobserved heterogeneity correlated with Hispanic population concentration. We also find evidence that Hispanic investors' preferences affect prices and returns in local asset markets. In particular, momentum in stock returns is more pronounced (nonexistent) among firms headquartered in MSAs with a high (low) proportion of Hispanics. Further, high-Hispanic MSAs experience larger housing booms and subsequent busts than low-Hispanic localities.
Birds of a Feather Flock Together: Institutional Investors with Disciplinary History and Aggressive Financial Reporting

This study examines the role of financial misconduct of institutional investors on aggressive financial reporting practices of investee firms. We find that firms held by institutional investors with disciplinary history (IDH) are more likely to engage in aggressive financial reporting practices. Our results support the non-monitoring channel: the lack of monitoring by IDH creates the right environment for firms to engage in aggressive financial reporting. Lastly, the impact of IDH is stronger in firms with higher incentives to engage in aggressive financial reporting (i.e., firms that barely meet analysts’ expectations and have CEOs with higher career concerns), suggesting that both IDH and management of investee firms benefit from aggressive financial reporting behavior. The results continue to hold after implementing various statistical tests to address potential endogeneity issues and alternative measures of aggressive financial reporting practices.
Electronic structure of van der Waals ferromagnet CrI$_{3}$ from self consistent vertex corrected GW approaches

Electronic structure of layered van der Waals ferromagnet CrI$_{3}$ is studied with self consistent diagrammatic approaches beyond GW approximation. Considerable improvement in the calculated band gap as compared to the non-self-consistent G0W0 results has been found. Certain spectral features in the valence bands discovered recently by the angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy, are reproduced better when we use full frequency dependent self energy. Density functional theory and quasiparticle self-consistent GW method which are based on frequency-independent self energy are unable to resolve these features. Non-locality effects in the diagrams beyond GW approximation are large for both polarizability and self energy. This finding can potentially have an impact on the development of methods like GW+DMFT.
Seasonal habitat suitability models for a threatened species: the Gunnison sage-grouse

Abstract Context The Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) has experienced range-wide declines and has been listed as Threatened by the USA Fish and Wildlife Service to receive protections under the USA Endangered Species Act. A draft Recovery Plan was recently completed. No seasonal habitat models have been developed for the small isolated populations. Aims To develop a habitat suitability model that was collaboratively developed between modellers and conservation practitioners to predict the probability of use by Gunnison sage-grouse during the breeding and summer seasons in designated occupied critical habitat, and extrapolate to adjacent designated unoccupied critical habitat. Methods We captured, marked and tracked Gunnison sage-grouse in nine different studies spanning 25 years. We used a suite of biotic, abiotic and vegetation local-level and population-scale covariates in a use-available resource selection function to develop models that predict the probability of use by Gunnison sage-grouse. Key results We used 9140 Gunnison sage-grouse locations from 406 individual birds to develop nine resource selection models for occupied habitat and extrapolated model predictions to adjacent unoccupied critical habitat in five small isolated Gunnison sage-grouse populations. A majority of our models validated well. Conclusions We report the first two-season resource use-based habitat suitability models for five of six small isolated Gunnison sage-grouse populations. Because of the unique habitat use by Gunnison sage-grouse in each population, we recommend that resource managers strategically target management actions in individual populations and avoid ‘one-size-fits-all’ habitat management prescriptions. Implications Our models will assist managers in the identification of seasonal habitats within populations to target management actions for Gunnison sage-grouse recovery.
Sex Disparity in the Effect of Obesity in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study From the New York City Metropolitan Area

Introduction Obesity has been recognized as a risk factor for poor outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) illness. We analyzed the impact of patient characteristics including obesity on hospital mortality and specifically analyzed the effect of obesity by body mass index (BMI) class and by sex. Methods This retrospective case series included adult patients consecutively hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 illness between March 12, 2020 and May 13, 2020, at a teaching hospital in the New York City (NYC) metropolitan area. Data were manually extracted from electronic health records by the authors and included demographics, comorbidities, laboratory parameters, and outcomes (hospital mortality or discharge). We used univariable and multivariable logistic regression methods to explore the risk factors associated with in-hospital death. Results Some 348 patients were included in this study, of whom 207 were discharged and 141 died in the hospital. Multivariable regression showed increasing odds of in-hospital death with older age and excess weight. Interestingly obesity increased mortality in women [odds ratio (OR) 4.4, confidence interval (CI) (1.4-13.5) p=0.01] but not among men [OR 1.4, CI (0.5-3.6) p=0.5]. Among women, the effect of excess weight on mortality was seen in a "dose-effect" fashion, with increasingly higher odds of mortality from progressively worsening obesity (OR ranging between 2.7 and 6.9). Out of all the comorbidities, only obesity positively correlated with peak levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). Conclusion Advancing age is a risk factor for in-hospital death during COVID-19 illness. Obese women could be at a higher risk for mortality due to COVID-19 and should take extra precautions to prevent contamination by social distancing and other measures. Immunomodulators may be more effective in obese women affected by COVID-19. Further studies are needed to help elucidate this association.
Zinc Chloride Supplemented during Ovarian Tissue Vitrification Improves In Vitro Follicle Development and Fertilization in Pigs

Ovarian tissue vitrification is a promising method to preserve follicles and gametes, but can be improved with mineral supplementation to the vitrification medium. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of supplementing 0.5 mg/mL zinc chloride to the media during cryopreservation of pig ovarian tissue. After thawing, the following criteria were evaluated: (1) follicular development and damage, (2) in vitro fertilization (IVF) characteristics, and (3) embryonic development. The number of damaged antral follicles (72.0 ± 3.8%) was less ( p < 0.05) in ovarian tissue vitrified in media supplemented with zinc chloride compared to those not supplemented with zinc chloride (86.7 ± 4.1%). Oocytes obtained from the antral follicles on ovarian tissue vitrified in media supplemented with zinc chloride had less ( p < 0.05) polyspermic penetration and higher ( p < 0.05) male pronuclear formation during IVF than oocytes obtained from ovarian tissue not supplemented with zinc chloride. There were no statistical differences in embryonic development rates. Based on these results, supplementing zinc chloride during the vitrification protocol improves follicular development and subsequent IVF in pigs.
Innovación pública en programas sociales a través de la generación de valor público. El caso del Programa Escuelas de Tiempo Completo 2018-2019 en el Estado de Puebla, México (Public Innovation in Social Programs Through the Generation of Public Value. The Case of the 2018–2019 Full Time Schools Program in the State of Puebla, Mexico)

Spanish abstract: Este analisis busca identificar la innovacion publica generada a traves del Programa Escuelas de Tiempo Completo en Mexico, en particular para el ciclo escolar 2018-2019, en las escuelas del estado de Puebla, evaluando la generacion de valor publico a traves de una encuesta de percepcion tipo censo, respondida por 612 directores de escuelas beneficiadas con este programa. Los hallazgos de la investigacion muestran que, si bien las reglas de operacion del programa cumplen con los criterios para generar valor publico, existen tramos de control operativo y politico que podrian mejorarse en la gestion publica estatal. English abstract: This paper seeks to identify the public innovation generated through the “Full Time Schools Program” in Mexico, particularly for the 2018- 2019 school year in the schools of the State of Puebla, evaluating the generation of public value through a survey perception answered by 612 principals of schools benefited from this program in the state. The research shows that although the program’s operating rules point out the criteria for generating public value, there are sections of political control in the operation that could be improved in the state public management.