cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electrical Remodeling After Continuous-Flow Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation

s S129 Results: Figure shows representative waveforms of pump speed, AoP, and pump flow with sinusoidal pump speed modulations of 0%, ±15% and ±25%. The AoP pulse pressure significantly increased to 12.7 mm Hg and 17.7 mmHg with ±15% and ±25% speed modulations, respectively (Table). There were no changes in the mean AoP, mean pump flow, or left atrial pressure. Conclusion: The feasibility to generate pressure pulsatility by pump speed modulation with the CFTAH was validated. This unique platform is suitable for evaluating the physiologic impact of pulsatility and allows determination of the best speed modulations in term of magnitude, frequency, and profiles.
Correlation of spherical nanoindentation stress-strain curves to simple compression stress-strain curves for elastic-plastic isotropic materials using finite element models

Abstract The stress-strain fields realized in spherical indentation tests are highly heterogeneous, and present a significant challenge to the recovery of bulk stress-strain responses such as those measured in simple compression tests performed on samples with a uniform cross section in the gauge section. In this paper, we critically explore the correlations between indentation stress-strain curves and the simple compression stress-strain curves using the finite element model of indentation as a surrogate for the actual experiment. The central advantage of using a finite element model is that it allows us to critically explore the sensitivity of various assumptions or values of parameters or other choices made in the analyses protocols on the extracted results. Based on this study, a general protocol has been established to reliably recover the uniaxial stress-strain response directly from the indentation stress-strain curve for isotropic elastic-plastic materials. The protocols developed are validated for a range of hardening behaviors.
Large Magnetoresistance at Room Temperature in Organic Molecular Tunnel Junctions with Nonmagnetic Electrodes

We report room-temperature resistance changes of up to 30% under weak magnetic fields (0.1 T) for molecular tunnel junctions composed of oligophenylene thiol molecules, 1–2 nm in length, sandwiched between gold contacts. The magnetoresistance (MR) is independent of field orientation and the length of the molecule; it appears to be an interface effect. Theoretical analysis suggests that the source of the MR is a two-carrier (two-hole) interaction at the interface, resulting in spin coupling between the tunneling hole and a localized hole at the Au/molecule contact. Such coupling leads to significantly different singlet and triplet transmission barriers at the interface. Even weak magnetic fields impede spin relaxation processes and thus modify the ratio of holes tunneling via the singlet state versus the triplet state, which leads to the large MR. Overall, the experiments and analysis suggest significant opportunities to explore large MR effects in molecular tunnel junctions based on widely available molec...
Role of Vaginal Colonization in Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common of urologic and bacterial diseases, ranging from asymptomatic bacteriuria to severe kidney infection and occasional renal failure.1 Acute lower UTIs affect an estimated 10–20% of American women during their lifetime and result in over 5 million office visits to physicians, costing nearly $1 billion annually for diagnosis and treatment.2–4 Approximately 20 percent of these women have frequent (3–6 per year) recurrences of infection following the initial episode, producing additional morbidity and time lost from work;5 these cases of recurrent UTIs cost the health care system at least $200—350 million annually.4–5 Additionally, 1.5 million cases of more advanced forms of UTIs, including cystitis and acute pyelonephritis, necessitate hospitalization costing over $4 billion.1 The bacteria responsible for UTIs are normally present in the bowel, however, the factors mediating their ability to colonize, invade and damage the urinary tract are not well known. Research leading to improved prevention or treatment at the early stages of disease progression can result in significant savings to the health care system.
Genetics of Suicidality

Suicide is the 15th leading cause of death, making it a serious public health problem. While external life influences tend to be the focus of why suicide attempts occur, there is consistent evidence that underlying genetic determinants contribute substantially to suicidal ideation. In this article, we first review the general epidemiology of suicide and then discuss the various ways genetic determinants result in suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and suicide itself. Specifically, we discuss how other psychiatric illnesses, including depression, bipolar disorder, alcoholism and schizophrenia are comorbid with suicidality, thereby making the genetic determinants for these other psychiatric conditions also genetic risk factors for suicidality. We do this by reviewing the current genetic research findings from these psychiatric conditions and link the findings to suicidality. Key Concepts Suicidality is a complex disease that is a result of both genetic and environmental influences. Suicidality often cooccurs with other psychiatric conditions. There is often an environmental trigger, which, in conjunction with a genetic predisposition, can result in suicide attempts. Several of the genetic underpinnings for other psychiatric disorders are likely also associated with suicidality. More research is necessary to identify and confirm genetic variants for suicidality. Keywords: suicidal ideation; suicidality; genetics; genome-wide association studies; candidate gene studies; bipolar disorder; depression; schizophrenia
Hormonal contraception and bone mineral density

This article offers a review of the relevant literature over the past decade on the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and selected forms of hormonal contraception, specifically, depot medroxyprogesterone (DMPA) and oral contraceptives (OC) in women younger than 30 yr of age. In summary, findings to date suggest an adverse impact of DMPA and ultra-low-dose (20 μg ethinyl estradiol) OCs on BMD in young women. The effects appear independent of age; however, the acquisition of optimal peak bone mass, particularly in adolescents, may be impeded in young women utilizing these types of hormonal contraception. Several mitigating issues also need to be considered in evaluating prescription of DMPA and OCs in young women. These include the following: (1) likelihood of at least partial recovery of BMD after cessation of contraceptive method; (2) the short duration of use common among young women, thereby self-limiting loss; (3) the real need for and benefit of effective and appealing contraceptives in this age group; (4) the feasible management approach that appears to ameliorate the problem, i.e., adding estrogen supplementation, in those receiving DMPA or in prescribing a low-dose in stead of an ultra-low-dose OC in a young woman.
An Unintended Consequence of the 21st-Century Cures Act for Patients With Heart Failure.

Most of the discussion after the passage of the 21st-Century Cures Act has focused on the law’s increased funding for biomedical research and its more controversial changes to drug and device approval. Little attention has been paid to the legislation’s changes to reimbursement for home infusion drugs. However, this less publicized aspect may ultimately limit patient access to home inotropic infusions, which are associated with decreased hospital admissions, lengths of hospital stay, and total spending for patients with advanced heart failure.1 The epidemiology of heart failure is changing and with it the epidemiology of home inotrope use. Patients are living longer with heart failure, now often not requiring advanced therapies, until they have become medically ineligible for ventricular assist devices or transplantation. At the same time, hospitals are facing increasing pressure to decrease lengths of stay and readmission rates. Home inotropic infusions can offer a practical solution to both challenges. As a result, the recent diffusion of home inotropic drugs, which include dobutamine or milrinone, has increased. Between 2010 and 2014, a 63% increase occurred in the number of beneficiaries receiving home milrinone and a 44% increase in the number receiving home dobutamine. As a result, in 2014, Medicare spent $243 million ($64 152 per beneficiary on average) for home milrinone, an increase of 55% …
Critical Point Confluence Phenomenon

Experimental observation of coexisting isotropic chiral liquids for a single molecular substance has motivated creation of a simple lattice model to investigate phase transitions in such systems. Specifically, this model permits the simultaneous existence of two distinct types of critical points, the familiar liquid–vapor case, and a case involving spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking within the fluid system. The molecular interactions involved may extend beyond nearest neighbor lattice cells. The mean field approximation has been invoked to attain explicit results, which include a description of the singular situation for which the two critical points undergo confluence in the temperature–density plane. In particular, this confluence enhances the chiral symmetry breaking phenomenon, leading to a modified critical exponent.
Reframing "The Patient's Best Interest": The Burden of The Caregiver.

What is most striking about this case is that based on the facts, it does not appear that the patient was hospitalized. Our consultation service is limited to in-patient services and currently, the...
Leukemic Retinopathy: Relationship Between Fundus Lesions and Hematologic Parameters at Diagnosis+++

The authors examined 117 consecutive patients with acute leukemia within a few days of diagnosis. Sixty-six patients had acute nonlymphocytic leukemia, and 51 had acute lymphocytic leukemia. Forty-two percent of the patients had abnormal ocular findings related to leukemia. The authors found an association between the presence of intraretinal hemorrhages and thrombocytopenia for all patients. In addition, patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia and intraretinal hemorrhages had lower hematocrit levels than did those without such hemorrhage. The presence of anemia was related to the findings of white-centered hemorrhages in patients with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia. The presence of cotton-wool spots was not associated with hematologic parameters. Intraretinal hemorrhages, white-centered hemorrhages, and cotton-wool spots were all found more frequently in adults than in children.
The Effectiveness of Individual Synaptic Inputs with Uniform and Nonuniform Patterns of Background Synaptic Activity

The effectiveness of a synaptic input in changing the potential at the soma depends strongly on the resistance of the dendritic membrane (Barrett and Crill, 1974b; Rall, 1959), which, in turn, depends on the density and degree of opening of ionic channels in the membrane. Since ionic channels are presumed to be most highly concentrated near synapses, and since the distributions and types of synapses and their frequencies of activation may be highly nonuniform, the resistance of dendritic membrane can be expected to be nonuniform (Barrett, 1975; Eaton, 1980). Furthermore, synaptic activity, which is responsible for opening and closing ionic channels varies from moment to moment. Spatial and temporal variations in membrane resistance may cause the effectiveness of an individual synaptic input to be quite different at one moment than at another.
The Inverse Spectral Method on the Plane

A method for solving the Cauchy problem for decaying initial data for integrable equations in 1 + 1 (i.e. evolution equations in one spatial variable) was discovered in 1967 [1] in connection with the Korteweg-deVries (KdV) equation, and is usually referred to as the inverse spectral method or the inverse scattering transform method. This method reduces the solution of the Cauchy problem to the solution of an inverse scattering problem for an associated linear eigenvalue equation. This inverse problem can be formulated as a Riemann-Hilbert (RH) problem. This formulation expresses the important fact that the underlying eigenfunction is sectionally meromorphic.
Diagnostic, Taxonomic, and Assessment Issues

Diagnostic concepts are widely used by mental health professionals, despite disagreement about the role of diagnosis in helping troubled children. Taxonomic concepts are less familiar to mental health professionals, however, and may seem quite remote from their everyday activities. In this chapter, we outline the relations between different concepts of diagnosis, their relations to taxonomy, and the role of assessment in both enterprises. Thereafter, we consider practical applications of assessment procedures to questions of diagnosis and taxonomy.
Axillary Impella insertion under regional nerve block: A case report

Percutaneous coronary interventions with the Impella (Abiomed, MA) catheter-based, micro-axial mechanical left ventricular assist device is a safe option for patients undergoing higher risk interventions. However, severe peripheral arterial disease limits vascular access for Impella insertion. Upper extremity arterial access has been traditionally obtained under general anesthesia. We present the first case, to our knowledge, of using peripheral nerve blocks for Impella 3.5 CP insertion into the axillary artery.
Predictive risk stratification using HEART (history, electrocardiogram, age, risk factors, and initial troponin) and TIMI (thrombolysis in myocardial infarction) scores in non-high risk chest pain patients: An African American urban community based hospital study.

Validated risk scoring systems in African American (AA) population are under studied. We utilized history, electrocardiogram, age, risk factors, and initial troponin (HEART) and thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) scores to predict major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in non-high cardiovascular (CV) risk predominantly AA patient population.A retrospective emergency department (ED) charts review of 1266 chest pain patients where HEART and TIMI scores were calculated for each patient. Logistic regression model was computed to predict 6-week and 1-year MACE and 90-day cardiac readmission. Decision curve analysis (DCA) was constructed to differentiate between clinical strategies in non-high CV risk patients.Of the 817 patients included, 500 patients had low HEART score vs. 317 patients who had moderate HEART score. Six hundred sixty-three patients had low TIMI score vs. 154 patients had high TIMI score. The univariate logistic regression model shows odds ratio of predicting 6-week MACE using HEART score was 3.11 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.43-6.76, P = .004) with increase in risk category from low to moderate vs. 2.07 (95% CI 1.18-3.63, P = .011) using TIMI score with increase in risk category from low to high and c-statistic of 0.86 vs. 0.79, respectively. DCA showed net benefit of using HEART score is equally predictive of 6-week MACE when compared to TIMI.In non-high CV risk AA patients, HEART score is better predictive tool for 6-week MACE when compared to TIMI score. Furthermore, patients presenting to ED with chest pain, the optimal strategy for a 2% to 4% miss rate threshold probability should be to discharge these patients from the ED.
Hyperosmotic stress in Chlamydomonas induces metabolomic changes in biosynthesis of complex lipids

To study the early stress response of the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii CC-503, we exposed cells to hyperosmotic conditions for a period of 5 hours, sampling at eight time points. We pe...
Trends in Confidentiality and Disclosure.

Three areas in which rules governing confidentiality have rapidly evolved are examined: the duty to warn or protect potential third-party victims, the establishment of psychotherapist-patient privi...
Improvement of Selection Effectiveness

Abstract Selection among a set of genotypes is the most powerful tool for the plant breeder to affect changes in population allelic frequencies over generations. Many factors impact the rate of progress in allele frequency changes over time based on phenotypic selection, including heritability (both narrow sense and broad sense), the range of phenotypic variation, and selection intensity (proportion of population selected). The most fruitful way that the plant breeder can improve selection effectiveness is to increase the heritability of the phenotypes being selected. By choosing level sites with uniform soil structure and moisture for growing plant populations and organizing the plantings in a regimented fashion, VE can be minimized, thus enhancing h2. It is also possible to grow plants under controlled environments such as pot culture in greenhouses or medium in environmental chambers to minimize the proportion of VP attributable to VE. Other ways to increase h2 include progeny testing to infer the genetic impact of the individual genotype on phenotype or breaking a complex phenotype such as harvest yield into components. The development of models to quantify phenotypic value based on a numerical composite score can enhance the ability of a plant breeder to select simultaneously for many diverse phenotypes. The most powerful method to date, however, is marker assisted selection (MAS). By identifying phenotype-neutral molecular markers that are linked to desirable alleles that contribute proportionally to a complex phenotype, the efficiency and effectiveness of selection can be improved tremendously. The elucidation of polymorphic markers that are tightly linked to quantitative trait loci (QTL) is an arduous process, but one that provides lasting tools for the plant breeder to use in moving targeted alleles among populations at will. Many new marker systems have been developed that exhibit features that fit the unique needs of breeding programs. Advanced DNA sequencing capabilities have further accelerated the identification of marker-QTL associations and enabled plant breeders to affect selection based on imputed breeding value of genomic DNA sequences. Ultimately, the understanding of the stepwise molecular process of phenogenesis from gene to whole plant, or functional genomics, will enable the plant breeder to select directly the alleles that impart plant performance.
Finding the Dose for Hydroxychloroquine Prophylaxis for COVID-19: The Desperate Search for Effectiveness.

Hydroxychloroquine is an antimalarial drug being tested as a potential treatment for the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Although the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 remains uncertain, it may serve as a potential prophylactic agent especially in those at high risk, such as healthcare workers, household contacts of infected patients, and the immunocompromised. Our aim was to identify possible hydroxychloroquine dosing regimens through simulation in those at high risk of infections by optimizing exposures above the in vitro generated half maximal effective concentration (EC50 ) and to help guide researchers in dose-selection for COVID-19 prophylactic studies. To maintain weekly troughs above EC50 in > 50% of subjects at steady-state in a pre-exposure prophylaxis setting, an 800 mg loading dose followed by 400 mg twice or 3 times weekly is required. In an exposure driven, post-exposure prophylaxis setting, 800 mg loading dose followed in 6 hours by 600 mg, then 600 mg daily for 4 more days achieved daily troughs above EC50 in > 50% subjects. These doses are higher than recommended for malaria chemoprophylaxis, and clinical trials are needed to establish safety and efficacy.
Optimizing In-Motion Wireless Charging Service Efficiency for Electric Vehicles: A Game Theoretic Approach

With the application of Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) techniques for Electric Vehicles (EVs), public transportation EVs are expected to be continuously operable without recharging downtime. A road segment equipped with an inmotion wireless charger is called a charger lane. To maximize the service efficiency of deployed in-motion wireless chargers without suffering from traffic congestion, we must properly manage the traffic of the EVs and coordinate their arrivals at the charger lanes to avoid the generation of traffic congestion at the charger lanes and on the road segments to them. In this paper, we propose WPT-Opt, a game theoretic approach for Optimizing in-motion wireless charging service efficiency, minimizing EVs' time spent on the way to the charger, and avoiding traffic congestion at the charger lanes, to fulfill this task. We studied a metropolitan-scale dataset of public transportation EVs, and observed the EVs' spatial and temporal preference in selecting chargers, competition for chargers during busy charging times, and the relationship between vehicle density and driving velocity on a road segment. Then, we formulate a non-cooperative Stackelberg game between all the EVs and a central controller, in which each EV aims at minimizing its charging time cost to its selected target charger, while the central controller tries to maximally avoid the generation of congestion on the in-motion wireless chargers and the road segments to them in the near future. Our tracedriven experiments on SUMO demonstrate that WPT-Opt can maximally reduce the average charging time cost of the EVs by approximately 200% during different hours of a day.
The Effect of Computer-Assisted Instruction on Challenging Behavior and Academic Engagement:

Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) require intensive supports, including those that target behavior, to make progress on literacy goals. In this study, we investigated ...
The parallel power in organizations’ defense: Exploring faith-holders and their crisis communication

Abstract Publics can be active participants of discussions around organizational crises. Through digital media, they can provide information about a crisis, criticize crisis participants or defend the organization experiencing the crisis (Coombs & Holladay, 2014). Limited research exists on the active role of publics in defending the organization. A handful of studies have looked at crisis communication of active organization supporters, including faith-holders (Luoma-aho, 2015); however there is a limited amount of public relations scholarship about the nature of faith-holders, their communication under crisis circumstances, and whether they in fact attempt to help organizations in times of crisis. By using a combination of content analysis and rhetorical analysis, this paper examined the crisis communication strategies offered by the organization’s faith-holders in the comments to the crisis-related articles published on the websites of media outlets. Through a case study of Tesla Motors’ crisis, the paper determined that faith-holders are a powerful force in defending the organization during the crisis, using both traditional reputation repair strategies identified by Coombs (2015) as well as new strategies identified by the study. Faith-holders were not a monolithic group and differed in terms of what aspects of the organization they had faith. Their communication was not restricted by legal and ethical demands. The results provide insights into understanding of faith-holders’ communication during crises, and also highlight the need for reconsidering the situational crisis communication theory in respect to organizations' faith-holders.
Search processes with stochastic resetting and multiple targets

Search processes with stochastic resetting provide a general theoretical framework for understanding a wide range of naturally occurring phenomena. Most current models focus on the first-passage-time problem of finding a single target in a given search domain. Here we use a renewal method to derive general expressions for the splitting probabilities and conditional mean first passage times (MFPTs) in the case of multiple targets. Our analysis also incorporates the effects of delays arising from finite return times and refractory periods. Carrying out a small-r expansion, where r is the mean resetting rate, we obtain general conditions for when resetting increases the splitting probability or reduces the conditional MFPT to a particular target. This also depends on whether π_{tot}=1 or π_{tot}<1, where π_{tot} is the probability that the particle is eventually absorbed by one of the targets in the absence of resetting. We illustrate the theory by considering two distinct examples. The first consists of an actin-rich cell filament (cytoneme) searching along a one-dimensional array of target cells, a problem for which the splitting probabilities and MFPTs can be calculated explicitly. In particular, we highlight how the resetting rate plays an important role in shaping the distribution of splitting probabilities along the array. The second example involves a search process in a three-dimensional bounded domain containing a set of N small interior targets. We use matched asymptotics and Green's functions to determine the behavior of the splitting probabilities and MFPTs in the small-r regime. In particular, we show that the splitting probabilities and MFPTs depend on the "shape capacitance" of the targets.
Determination of Mg2+ Speciation in a TFSI–-Based Ionic Liquid With and Without Chelating Ethers Using Raman Spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy was employed to assess the complex environment of magnesium salts in the n-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (BMPyrTFSI) room-temperature ionic liquid (RTIL). At room temperature, Mg(TFSI)2 was miscible with BMPyrTFSI and formulated by [Mg(TFSI)2]x[BMPyrTFSI]1–x (x ≤ 0.55). Results suggest that at low concentrations of Mg(TFSI)2, anionic complexes in which Mg2+ is surrounded by at least four TFSI– were formed. Above x = 0.2 an average of three TFSI– surround each Mg2+. Below x = 0.12, there is a greater number of monodentate interactions between TFSI– oxygens and Mg2+ cations, whereas above x = 0.12 bidentate ligands dominate. The fraction of TFSI– existing in the cis conformation increased with increasing Mg2+ concentration. Mg(ClO4)2 was also studied as a Mg2+ source. At equivalent mole fractions to those of the Mg(TFSI)2 salt, Mg2+ from Mg(ClO4)2 was surrounded by only two TFSI– anions as ClO4– appeared to compete with TFSI– for coordination with Mg2+. Sim...
Piezoelectric response of energetic composites under an electrostatic excitation

Several high-explosive (HE) crystals are known to be piezoelectric. However, no systematic study has been carried out on how this effect can be utilized. In this paper, we report the results of an analysis on the response of composites consisting of HE crystals and a polymeric binder under electrostatic excitation. The HE crystals considered are 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine, octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine, pentaerythritol tetranitrate, and ammonium perchlorate. To explore avenues for enhancing the piezoelectric effect, the binder of the composites is taken to be piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride. The focus is on the distributions of induced electric field vector and mechanical stress in the microstructures. The effects of crystal–binder volume fraction, HE crystal size, and dielectric constants of the HE crystals are investigated. To further explore the effect, microparticles of lead zirconate titanate piezoelectric ceramic are introduced to some microstructures. For the HE crystals considered here, a coupled electromechanical analysis shows that the microstructural heterogeneities can enhance the local electric fields to as high as 1.34 times the applied E-field, causing the dielectric breakdown field strength of the overall composite to be much lower than the breakdown strengths of the constituents in the microstructure. In addition, the induced stress levels just prior to dielectric breakdown are well below the yield strengths of the respective constituents. As such, controlled dielectric breakdown, rather than mechanical damage, should primarily be used to facilitate hotspot formation, ignition, and chemical reaction. The likelihood of local dielectric breakdown within the HE crystals is systematically quantified as a function of applied electric field, microstructural attributes, and constituent behavior. To gauge the effect of the direct piezoelectric effect, one material case is also subjected to mechanical excitation in the form of compression. Under an applied external stress, the results show that the direct piezoelectric effect can lead to local yielding and thereby serve as a hotspot generation mechanism. On the other hand, the induced E-field is weak and unlikely to serve as a practical or efficient means of effecting hotspots within an energetic material. The analysis points out that simultaneous application of electrostatic excitation and mechanical excitation can also be considered.
QoS-Aware Data Center Operations Based on Chance- and Risk-Constrained Optimization

Because data centers are energy-intensive industries, data centers have made significant efforts to improve energy efficiency to save energy cost and utilize renewable energy to contribute to environmental sustainability. In addition, data centers have been considered as a potential application of demand response because they can possibly adjust energy consumption to process workload in response to time-of-use prices and intermittent renewable generation. Quality of service (QoS) should be guaranteed at the desired level to respond to users' requests with their satisfaction in an effort to achieve energy-efficient and sustainable data center operations. Given this context, this study intends to develop a two-stage stochastic program that can be used to investigate optimal data center operations based on demand response that results in minimum energy cost with QoS guarantee against the stochastic workloads. Then, an additional chance constraint and risk constraint are considered as means of managing the level of QoS guarantee, and comprehensive numerical experiments are conducted with various parameter settings to evaluates the impact of the QoS guarantee with different levels on overall performance. The results show that the risk associated with the QoS guarantee for data centers needs to be properly managed to improve energy efficiency.
Mining for strong gravitational lenses with self-supervised learning

We employ self-supervised representation learning to distill information from 76 million galaxy images from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Legacy Imaging Surveys' Data Release 9. Targeting the identification of new strong gravitational lens candidates, we first create a rapid similarity search tool to discover new strong lenses given only a single labelled example. We then show how training a simple linear classifier on the self-supervised representations, requiring only a few minutes on a CPU, can automatically classify strong lenses with great efficiency. We present 1192 new strong lens candidates that we identified through a brief visual identification campaign, and release an interactive web-based similarity search tool and the top network predictions to facilitate crowd-sourcing rapid discovery of additional strong gravitational lenses and other rare objects: github.com/georgestein/ssl-legacysurvey
Connections to Chemical Reaction Types

This chapter discusses several issues related to chemical reactions, such as oxidation–reduction (redox) reactions, precipitation and dissolution, thermal decomposition, and photodecomposition. These issues are provided with their chemical basics and chemical details. One of the issues is why there is abundant white smoke from the space shuttle booster rockets on their lift-off. The ignition provided by the reaction of the solid aluminum powder and ammonium perchlorate powder generates a finely divided white powder known as alumina, various gases, and an extensive amount of heat. The dispersal of the white powder in the gases streaming from the boosters creates the billowy white appearance. In the formation of alumina, three elements, namely, aluminum, nitrogen, and chlorine undergo changes in oxidation number and two of the oxidation–reduction reactions occur. In both reactions aluminum is oxidized from the zero oxidation state to the +3 oxidation state, and chlorine is reduced from the +7 to the –1 oxidation state.
Shiphulls, B-Spline Surfaces and CADCAM

A Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing (CADCAM) system for the design of ship hulls and the production of towing tank models is described. The design portion of the system is implemented on and supported by a three dimensional interactive graphics device and a minicomputer.
Towards a mobile content marketplace

In this paper, we study the possibility of data contents peer-to-peer trading. Motivated by recent findings on proactive resource allocation, we focus on the scenario whereby end-users harness their predictable demands and the possibility of being connected together to pre-cache data contents and resell them in order to minimize their expected payments. The carrier, on the other hand, maximizes its profit by taking a commission from each trade and deploying a dynamic pricing scheme to spread-out the peak load and hence reduce the operational cost. A marketplace based on risk sharing concept is achieved where the tension between carrier and end-users and the competition between end-users themselves is formulated as a Stackelberg game. We compare the new gains with the baseline scenario of flat pricing model that is being employed by most carriers these days. Despite the uncertainty about future demand, and the freshness of proactively downloaded contents, we characterize equilibria point that yield to a win-win situation with respect to the baseline equilibrium. We show that the diversity of users' activity patterns can be harnessed to minimize their payment and maximize the carrier's profit.
State Economic Development Information Systems

The expanded role of state governments in economic development has increased their need for a wide variety of economic, demographic, and marketing information. Many state governments have responded to these needs by developing systems to deliver economic and related information to state and local economic development offices, businesses, and the general public. This paper reports the results of a survey of economic development officials designed to disclose information about how extensive automated system development is, as well as to learn about system structure and operating characteristics, the quality and quantity of the data distributed, and any particular system strengths and weaknesses. A clear definition of agency goals, cooperation among state agencies, and communication with the targeted users are found to be important to the success of a development data system.
Faster, higher-quality training of feedforward neural networks by select updating

A new training method for feedforward neural networks is presented which exploits results from matrix perturbation theory for significant training time improvement. This theory is used to assess the effect of a particular training pattern on the weight estimates prior to its inclusion in any iteration. Data which do not significantly change the weights are not used in that iteration obviating the computation expense of updating. >
Estimation of Cardiopulmonary Parameters using Quasi-Optimal Inputs

The present study demonstrates that accurate estimates of cardiac output and other related cardiopulmonary parameters can be obtained noninvasively from respiratory data by driving the system with an appropriately designed ventilatory input. This input consists of a sequence of 3 larger-than-normal breaths and a 12-second breathhold performed 3 times in succession over a total duration of 1 minute. Close attention is given to modeling and computational details in order to minimize the effects of random and systematic errors. The estimated total error is less than 9 percent in all the parameters.
High-Throughput Yeast Two-Hybrid Screening

Charting the interactions among proteins is essential for understanding biological processes. While a number of complementary technologies for detecting protein interactions are available, the yeast two-hybrid system is one of the few that have been successfully scaled up. Two-hybrid screens have been used to construct extensive protein interaction maps for humans and several model organisms, and these maps have proven invaluable for studies on a variety of biological systems. These maps, however, have not come close to covering all proteins or interactions detectable by yeast two-hybrid. This is due in part to the difficulty of using library screening methods to sample all possible binary combinations of proteins. Ideally, every binary pair of proteins would be tested individually to ensure that every detectable interaction is identified. For organisms with large proteomes, however, this is not economically feasible and instead efficient pooling schemes must be implemented. The high-throughput two-hybrid screening methods presented here are designed to efficiently maximize coverage for selected sets of proteins or entire proteomes. We present two high-throughput screening protocols. Both methods are designed to identify interactors for any number of bait proteins expressed as DNA-binding domain (BD) fusions. The choice of which protocol to use depends largely on the nature of the available library of proteins fused to an activation domain (AD). The first protocol is appropriate for screening a library of AD clones, such as a cDNA library, a domain library, or a large pool of AD clones. By contrast, the second protocol is appropriate for screening a large array of individual sequence-verified AD clones. This protocol screens small pools of AD clones from the array in a two-phase scheme. Although the methods presented were developed using the LexA version of the yeast two-hybrid system, we include notes as appropriate to accommodate users of other versions.
Secondary production of neutral pi-mesons and the diffuse galactic gamma radiation

Isobaric and scaling model predictions of the secondary spectra of neutral pi-mesons produced in proton-proton collisions, at energies between threshold and a few GeV, are compared on the basis of accelerator data and found to show the isobaric model to be superior. This model is accordingly used, in conjuction with a scaling model representation at high energies, in a recalculation of the pi exp (0) gamma-radiation's contribution to the diffuse galactic gamma background; the cosmic ray-induced production of photons (whose energy exceeds 100 MeV) by such radiation occurs at a rate of 1.53 x 10 to the -25 photons/(s-H atom). These results are compared with previous calculations of this process as well as with COS-B observations of the diffuse galactic gamma-radiation.
The equivalence principle in classical mechanics and quantum mechanics

We discuss our understanding of the equivalence principle in both classical mechanics and quantum mechanics. We show that not only does the equivalence principle hold for the trajectories of quantum particles in a background gravitational field, but also that it is only because of this that the equivalence principle is even to be expected to hold for classical particles at all.
Illustrating the Impact of Performance Measurement Systems on Organizational Performance: The Blue‐Green Game

Business students are thoroughly schooled about the importance of measurement systems that, by their very nature, are designed to accurately measure the past performance of organizations, departments, and individuals. This article describes a team-based, active-learning exercise that clearly illustrates an additional important and often underemphasized aspect of performance measurement systems—their influence on individuals’ future behaviors and organizations’ future performance.
Dynamic properties of the first enzymatic reaction steps of porcine pancreatic elastase. How rigid is the active site of the native enzyme? Molecular dynamics simulation.

Two molecular dynamics simulations (100 and 50 ps) of native porcine pancreatic elastase i.e., without bound substrate and with the active site hydrated by a dome of water (630 molecules) have been performed. Dynamical properties of the catalytic tetrad have been examined. While relative conformations of the Asp 102, His 57, and Ser 214 are rather stable in time, the side chain of Ser 195 undergoes several conformational changes. No preferences are observed for the formation of a hydrogen bond between the O gamma-H group (Ser 195) and nitrogen N, (His 57). A cluster of ordered water molecules effectively competes with the H-O gamma group (Ser 195) and thereby prevents the formation of this H bond, which is generally agreed to be crucial for catalysis.
Posterior approach for thoracolumbar corpectomies with expandable cage placement and circumferential arthrodesis: a multicenter case series of 67 patients.

Object The purpose of this multicenter trial was to investigate the outcome and durability of a single-stage thoracolumbar corpectomy using expandable cages via a posterior approach. Methods The authors conducted a retrospective chart review of 67 consecutive patients who underwent single-stage thoracolumbar corpectomies with circumferential reconstruction for pathological, traumatic, and osteomyelitic pathologies. Circumferential reconstruction was accomplished using expandable cages along with posterior instrumentation and fusion. Correction of the sagittal deformity, the American Spinal Injury Association score, and complications were recorded. Results Single-stage thoracolumbar corpectomies resulted in an average sagittal deformity correction of 6.2° at a mean follow-period of 20.5 months. At the last follow-up, a fusion rate of 68% was observed for traumatic and osteomyelitic fractures. Approximately one-half of the patients remained neurologically stable. Improvement in neurological function occurre...
Transmission of Influenza Virus in a Mammalian Host Is Increased by PB2 Amino Acids 627K or 627E/701N

Since 2003, more than 380 cases of H5N1 influenza virus infection of humans have been reported. Although the resultant disease in these cases was often severe or fatal, transmission of avian influenza viruses between humans is rare. The precise nature of the barrier blocking human-to-human spread is unknown. It is clear, however, that efficient human-to-human transmission of an antigenically novel influenza virus would result in a pandemic. Influenza viruses with changes at amino acids 627 or 701 of the PB2 protein have been isolated from human cases of highly pathogenic H5 and H7 avian influenza. Herein, we have used the guinea pig model to test the contributions of PB2 627 and 701 to mammalian transmission. To this end, viruses carrying mutations at these positions were generated in the A/Panama/2007/99 (H3N2) and A/Viet Nam/1203/04 (H5N1) backgrounds. In the context of either rPan99 or rVN1203, mutation of lysine 627 to the avian consensus residue glutamic acid was found to decrease transmission. Introduction of an asparagine at position 701, in conjunction with the K627E mutation, resulted in a phenotype more similar to that of the parental strains, suggesting that this residue can compensate for the lack of 627K in terms of increasing transmission in mammals. Thus, our data show that PB2 amino acids 627 and 701 are determinants of mammalian inter-host transmission in diverse virus backgrounds.
Cost-effectiveness analysis in health policy decision making: Direct methods for progressive multi-state processes

Discrete-event simulation (DES) techniques are commonly used for cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) in health policy decision making. This paper develops direct approaches for conducting CEA under a progressive multi-state framework, with a focus on semi-Markov processes. Analytical expressions are developed for the stationary case, and sensitivity analysis is considered. The advantages of these direct methods over DES are discussed, with most benefit in the case of time-stationary models, and only limited benefits in non-stationary situations. The method is demonstrated on illustrative applications.
Frictional behavior of the sliding interface between an A2 steel die and zinc-coated steel sheet

The forming of coated sheet steel products is performed for a wide range of processing conditions. This article examines the effects of die history on the frictional nature of the sheet-die interface. It has been found that as successive tests are performed on a die from the as-lapped condition to the “run-in” condition, the die surface morphology changes significantly and the coefficient of friction, μ, decreases. Changes in surface roughness as well as scratch formation on the die are believed to affect the nature of the die-workpiece, lubricant interaction. The findings in this study suggest that the extensive polishing procedures used in the manufacture of new stamping dies should be carefully reevaluated.
Religion, Medicine, Politics and Spices

It has long been assumed that spices in the Middle Ages were used either to mask the flavor of tainted meat or for their preservative effect. The author shows that these assumptions are mistaken or overstated and then points out the religious, medical, and political concerns which motivated spice use in fourteenth-century England.
Parallel Molecular Dynamics with the Embedded Atom Method

Parallel computing offers new capabilities for using molecular dynamics (MD) to simulate larger numbers of atoms and longer time scales. In this paper we discuss two methods we have used to implement the embedded atom method (EAM) formalism for molecular dynamics on multiple-instruction/multiple-data (MIMD) parallel computers. The first method (atom-decomposition) is simple and suitable for small numbers of atoms. The second method (force-decomposition) is new and is particularly appropriate for the EAM because all the computations are between pairs of atoms. Both methods have the advantage of not requiring any geometric information about the physical domain being simulated. We present timing results for the two parallel methods on a benchmark EAM problem and briefly indicate how the methods can be used in other kinds of materials MD simulations.