cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Managing bits instead of waves: large-scale photonic integrated circuits enable implementation of multi-wavelength "digital" optical networks

The practical development of large-scale photonic integrated circuits (PICs) has allowed the consolidation of many devices and functions into a single optical component. Beyond the obvious cost, space and power benefits this enables, large-scale PICs also act as a catalyst for the wide-spread use of feature-rich electronics in optical networks. Together this enables multi-wavelength optical networks to benefit from greater reconfigurability, better reliability, simpler operations and architecture, and increased service flexibility. These advances are becoming reality through the practical network deployment of large-scale photonic integrated circuits in real-world optical networks. (4 pages)
Labor organization and class alliance: Industries, communities, and the Knights of Labor

The analysis reported here helps to clarify the dual role played by craft organization in labor movement development. In the United States, as in France, community rather than industry was the more promising ground on which to build an inclusive working-class organization. Craft organization in the community always helped mobilize less-skilled workers, and the effect was strongest during the period when the labor movement was growing most rapidly. In contrast, craft organizations within a local industry may have impeded less-skilled workers' organization during the Knights' early years. Only later, when the Knights found themselves on the defensive - attacked by employers, the press, and the craft unions affiliated with the rival American Federation of Labor - did craft locals provide unambiguous support for the organizational efforts of less-skilled workers in their own industries.
A Robustness Theorem for Direct Adaptive Control of Nonlinear Systems.

Many systems must operate in the presence of bounded perturbations. In this paper we present a new robustness result for nonlinear systems. We use this result to show that for bounded perturbations, a simple adaptive controller with leakage can produce output regulation to a neighborhood with radius dependent upon the size of the perturbation. This regulation occurs in the presence of persistent disturbances and the convergence is exponential. We conclude with an example to illustrate the behavior of this adaptive control law.
Evaluation of traffic pollution exposure level of bus drivers in cities

Objective: To evaluate the exposure level of traffic pollution of bus drivers in cities.Methods:The concentrations of carbon monoxide(CO),nitrogen dioxide(NO2),sulfur dioxide(SO2) at the drivers′ respiratory level were monitored continuously for 3 days,2 times a day.Results:The air pollution caused by traffic was serious in Guangzhou.The concentrations of CO,SO2,NO2 highly exceeded the environmental standard.The time weighted average concentrations of the highest exposure level of high risk population were:CO 10.62 mg/(m3.h),SO2 0.99 mg/(m3.h),NO2 0.34 mg/(m3.h).Conclusion:The traffic pollution exposure level of bus drivers in Guangzhou is high and they are high-risk population.
Retention of HIV-Infected Children in the First 12 Months of Anti-Retroviral Therapy and Predictors of Attrition in Resource Limited Settings: A Systematic Review.

Current UNAIDS goals aimed to end the AIDS epidemic set out to ensure that 90% of all people living with HIV know their status, 90% initiate and continue life-long anti-retroviral therapy (ART), and 90% achieve viral load suppression. In 2014 there were an estimated 2.6 million children under 15 years of age living with HIV, of which only one-third were receiving ART. Little literature exists describing retention of HIV-infected children in the first year on ART. We conducted a systematic search for English language publications reporting on retention of children with median age at ART initiation less than ten years in resource limited settings. The proportion of children retained in care on ART and predictors of attrition were identified. Twelve studies documented retention at one year ranging from 71–95% amongst 31877 African children. Among the 5558 children not retained, 4082 (73%) were reported as lost to follow up (LFU) and 1476 (27%) were confirmed to have died. No studies confirmed the outcomes of children LFU. Predictors of attrition included younger age, shorter duration of time on ART, and severe immunosuppression. In conclusion, significant attrition occurs in children in the first 12 months after ART initiation, the majority attributed to LFU, although true outcomes of children labeled as LFU are unknown. Focused efforts to ensure retention and minimize early mortality are needed as universal ART for children is scaled up.
Accuracy of Laser Placement With Frameless Stereotaxy in Magnetic Resonance-Guided Laser-Induced Thermal Therapy.

BACKGROUND As magnetic resonance-guided laser-induced thermal therapy (MRgLITT) becomes more accepted, there needs to be an evaluation of the techniques required to achieve accurate laser placement. OBJECTIVE To report our experience with frameless stereotaxy and the ability to achieve accurate laser placements. We also evaluate the variables associated with proper placement. METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis from 3 years of MRgLITT. Demographics and operational parameters, including trajectory length, target alignment error, registration error, and radial error were recorded and compared. Blinded review was used for completeness of ablation. RESULTS In the study, 90 laser placements were evaluated for 72 cases. Trajectory length and target alignment error was 95.3 ± 26.0 mm and 0.7 ± 0.3 mm, respectively. Significant differences existed in registration error between 4 (0.6 ± 0.3 mm) and 5 (0.5 ± 0.2 mm) skull pins (P = .04), but no significant decreases in registration error as additional skull pins were registered. Fifteen laser placements resulted in subtotal ablations. The overall radial error using frameless stereotaxy was 0.9 ± 1.6 mm. In the study, 65% of lasers were exactly on the planned trajectory. Of the 30 that were not, the radial error = 2.6 ± 1.9 mm. Radial error of subtotal laser ablations was 0.5 ± 0.9 (range, 0-2.8 mm) and was not significantly different from 0.8 ± 1.7 (range, 0-7.1 mm) radial error of lasers with total ablations (P = .52). Lasers with radial error >0 mm resulted in an incomplete ablation in 26.7% of cases. CONCLUSION Skull pin-based frameless stereotaxy for MRgLITT results in consistent accuracy, with the majority of cases resulting in complete ablations. A significant proportion of lasers with RE >0 mm still result in complete ablations.
"Cracking" and Computer Security

This chapter contains sections titled: "Crackers" Versus "Hackers" Examples of "Cracker" Activities Profiles of Cracker Personalities Attitudes of and Toward Crackers Enhancing Computer Security Conclusion This chapter contains sections titled: Worksheet��-��What Makes a Cracker Instead of a Hacker? Worksheet��-��Cracking and Security Concepts and Terminology Worksheet��-��The "Wily Hacker" Incident Worksheet��-��The ��Internet Worm�� Incident Worksheet��-��The "Phantomd" Cracker Incident Worksheet��- Thompson's "Reflections on Trusting Trust" Worksheet��-��"SYN flooding" Denial-of-Service Attacks Worksheet��-��Distributed Denial-or-Service Attacks Worksheet��-��The "Melissa Virus" Incident Additional Assignments References Reflections on Trusting Trust Antivirus Technology Offers New Cures Collaring the cybercrook: an investigator's view The Threat from the Net Firewalls fend off invasions from the Net Is the US prepared for cyberwar? CERT Incident Response and the Internet Faults & failures: Phony connections gag Internet servers Melissa Virus Creates a New Type of Threat ]]>
Magnetic relaxation-based sensing of phosphate ion

We report a novel magnetic relaxation-based sensing method for sensitive and selective detection of phosphate ions in aqueous media using paramagnetic nanoparticles. The method can detect phosphate ions at physiological pH quantitatively with high selectivity, even in a commercial fertilizer without separation.
The most brutal of human skulls: measuring and knowing the first Neanderthal.

A fossilized skeleton discovered in 1856 presented naturalists with a unique challenge. The strange, human-looking bones of the first recognized Neanderthal confronted naturalists with a new type of object for which they had no readily available interpretive framework. This paper explores the techniques and approaches used to understand these bones in the years immediately following the discovery, in particular 1856–1864. Historians have previously suggested that interpretations and debates about Neanderthals hinged primarily on social, political and cultural ideologies. In this paper, I will argue that much of the scientific controversy surrounding the first recognized Neanderthal centred on questions of methodology and practice, and will demonstrate this through an exploration of the tools and approaches naturalists utilized in their examinations of the fossils. This will contribute to a growing historical recognition of the complex exchange between disciplines including geology, archaeology and comparative anatomy in the early study of fossil hominins, and provide a future framework for histories of Neanderthal debates in the twentieth century.
Effect of Lone Pairs on Molecular Resonance Energy.

In an effort to understand the theoretical parameters of charge-shift bonding, computational experiments have been designed to elucidate the factors effecting molecular resonance energy. Valence bond theory calculations have been used to calculate resonance energies of homonuclear bonds in the series [HnX–XHn]Z, where n = 0–3 and Z = 2n – 6, 2n – 4, 2n – 2, and 2n for X = C, N, O, and F, respectively. It is shown that the resonance energy decreases as the number of lone pairs increases. Calculated orbital contraction coefficients show that this unexpected result is due to the dominance of orbital size over the lone-pair effect. These results are irrespective of the HXX bond angles. It is also shown that the resonance energy increases with decreasing HXX bond angles due to the increase in p character in the bonding orbital.
Exploring how optimal composite design is influenced by model fidelity and multiple objectives

Abstract This paper explores how optimal configuration of a composite panel is influenced by the choice of analysis model – analytic or computational – and the consideration of multiple objectives. While past research has explored aspects of this problem separately – composite ply orientation, multiple load scenarios, and multiple performance objectives – there has been limited work addressing the interactions between these factors. Three loading scenarios are considered in this work, and it is demonstrated that for certain scenarios an analytical model likely over-predicts composite performance. Further, for complex loading scenarios it is impossible to develop an analytical model. However, this work also demonstrates that the use of analytical models can be advantageous. Analytical models can provide similar estimates to computational models for some loading cases at significantly reduced computational expense. More importantly, it is also shown how solutions from the analytical model, which can be relatively cheap to find computationally, can be used to seed the initial designs of a Finite Element-based optimization. Run time reductions as large as 80% are demonstrated when these informed seeded designs are used, even when the designs were created for a different set of loading scenarios.
Leaf age and methodology impact assessments of thermotolerance of Coffea arabica

Mature Coffea arabica leaves were more heat tolerant than expanding leaves, longer recovery time yielded more accurate thermotolerance assessments, and photochemistry was more heat sensitive than cell membranes. Given future climate predictions of increased heatwaves in the tropics, suitable habitat to grow ecologically, economically, and socially valuable Coffea arabica L. is threatened. Accurate assessments of high temperature tolerance or thermotolerance are critical for understanding C. arabica responses to increased temperature. Thermotolerance curves of C. arabica leaf discs were constructed by measuring chlorophyll fluorescence (ratio of variable to maximum fluorescence, F V/F M; minimum fluorescence, F O) across three leaf age classes and two recovery times (15 min, 24 h) after 15 min exposure to temperatures from 25 to 58 °C. Thermotolerance measured with electrolyte leakage after 20 min at 25–65 °C was compared with F V/F M thermotolerance curves. The temperature corresponding to 50 % damage (T 50) was 49.0 and 58.6 °C for the chlorophyll fluorescence and electrolyte leakage methods, respectively. The critical temperature at which the F O rise began on F O-temperature curves (T crit) was 46.0 °C. We found that the 24 h recovery time yielded more accurate estimates of T 50, and that thermotolerance based on T crit increased with leaf age. Differences between the fluorescence and electrolyte leakage methods showed that photosystem II processes were more sensitive to temperatures above 40 °C than cell membrane stability.
Radium-223 and Other Radiopharmaceuticals in Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is a bone-metastatic disease but until recently bone-targeted therapies had never demonstrated improvements in survival. Prior radiopharmaceuticals have demonstrated palliative responses in bone-metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) but no survival benefit. Radium-223 is a novel bone-seeking radionuclide that is predominately an alpha-emitter. It releases a total of four alpha particles with a half-life of approximately 11 days. Radium targets to bone as a calcium-mimetic and binds to the inorganic matrix of newly formed bone, which is typically found in osteoblastic metastases. A phase 3 trial demonstrated an improvement in overall survival in bone metastatic CRPC in patients without visceral disease. Radium-223 was given for six doses using monthly intravenous injections. The drug was well tolerated with minimal myelosuppression. Radium-223 has now been approved for use by multiple regulatory authorities around the globe.
Changes in Properties of Auditory Nerve Synapses following Conductive Hearing Loss.

Auditory activity plays an important role in the development of the auditory system. Decreased activity can result from conductive hearing loss (CHL) associated with otitis media, which may lead to long-term perceptual deficits. The effects of CHL have been mainly studied at later stages of the auditory pathway, but early stages remain less examined. However, changes in early stages could be important because they would affect how information about sounds is conveyed to higher-order areas for further processing and localization. We examined the effects of CHL at auditory nerve synapses onto bushy cells in the mouse anteroventral cochlear nucleus following occlusion of the ear canal. These synapses, called endbulbs of Held, normally show strong depression in voltage-clamp recordings in brain slices. After 1 week of CHL, endbulbs showed even greater depression, reflecting higher release probability. We observed no differences in quantal size between control and occluded mice. We confirmed these observations using mean-variance analysis and the integration method, which also revealed that the number of release sites decreased after occlusion. Consistent with this, synaptic puncta immunopositive for VGLUT1 decreased in area after occlusion. The level of depression and number of release sites both showed recovery after returning to normal conditions. Finally, bushy cells fired fewer action potentials in response to evoked synaptic activity after occlusion, likely because of increased depression and decreased input resistance. These effects appear to reflect a homeostatic, adaptive response of auditory nerve synapses to reduced activity. These effects may have important implications for perceptual changes following CHL. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Normal hearing is important to everyday life, but abnormal auditory experience during development can lead to processing disorders. For example, otitis media reduces sound to the ear, which can cause long-lasting deficits in language skills and verbal production, but the location of the problem is unknown. Here, we show that occluding the ear causes synapses at the very first stage of the auditory pathway to modify their properties, by decreasing in size and increasing the likelihood of releasing neurotransmitter. This causes synapses to deplete faster, which reduces fidelity at central targets of the auditory nerve, which could affect perception. Temporary hearing loss could cause similar changes at later stages of the auditory pathway, which could contribute to disorders in behavior.
Power system controllability through nontraditional generation

Power system electromechanical oscillation dynamics can be described using second-order consensus dynamics. The synchronizing torques that hold the machines together are determined by the Laplacian matrix of the consensus dynamics. This paper develops a framework to investigate the effect of connecting nontraditional generation (NTG), in the form of active and reactive current injection, on the consensus dynamics of a 2-machine power system. The damping of inter-area oscillations power systems control problem is investigated for the linear model of a two-area test power system using reactive as well as active current injection. The control design is based on solving a LQR control problem. Results show that it is possible to control the power system dynamics through the use of nontraditional current injection. The relative effectiveness of the active and reactive components of the current injection is investigated, and the impact of the location of the injection is studied.
Synthesis and characterization of iron nanoparticles on partially reduced graphene oxide as a cost-effective catalyst for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Partially reduced graphene oxide functionalized with Fe nanoparticles alone or combined with Au and Pt nanoparticles is synthesized and characterized, and their effects on Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) power output and carbon monoxide resistance are tested. Samples were prepared with various combinations of metal nanoparticles to create a cost-effective catalyst. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy revealed metal nanoparticles embedded on graphene sheets, some with magnetic susceptibility. PEMFC tests exhibited power output that was >180% of the control in a pure H2 gas feed and 250% of the control in a H2 gas feed with 1000 ppm of CO.
Impact of National Ambient Air Quality Standards Nonattainment Designations on Particulate Pollution and Health.

Background:Despite dramatic air quality improvement in the United States over the past decades, recent years have brought renewed scrutiny and uncertainty surrounding the effectiveness of specific regulatory programs for continuing to improve air quality and public health outcomes.Methods:We employ
Handling Stereotypes of Religious Professionals: Strategies Hospice Chaplains Use When Interacting with Patients and Families.

Stereotypes of religious professionals can create barriers for those who provide spiritual/pastoral care. Through interviews and journal entries, hospice chaplains (n = 45) identified the following...
Interpersonal Classroom Model: Learning from diversity in group practice courses

The Interpersonal Classroom Model (ICM) is a teaching approach designed for group practice courses. The ICM places development of interpersonal communication skills as the central focus of in-class time. Guided by Kolb’s experiential learning theory, this teaching approach posits that students can prepare to work with diverse client populations by first learning to communicate across lines of social identity difference existing within the classroom. This paper presents three examples of social identity dialogues students engaged in during ICM group practice courses. These examples include the topics of race, religion, and sexual orientation. This paper concludes with initial benefits of the ICM approach reported by professors and undergraduate students. Keywords: group work; interpersonal classroom model; race; religion; sexual orientation; groupwork
Reconstructing high-resolution cardiac MR movies from under-sampled frames

In medicine, high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging can aid accurate diagnosis. However, high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging usually necessitates a longer acquisition time than low-resolution imaging, since the resolution of magnetic resonance images is determined by the extent of k-space that is sampled. Long scan times can induce motion artifacts in the images and lead to patient discomfort, and therefore, scan times should be kept as low as possible. Although a short acquisition time comes at the expense of spatial resolution, the resolution of magnetic resonance images can be increased using post-processing methods. In this work, we present one such method designed for cardiac magnetic resonance movies. Our method uses deformable image registration to capture the motion of the heart, and an additional term to account for changes in pixel intensity. We demonstrate that our method has the potential to reconstruct high-resolution cardiac magnetic resonance movies from highly under-sampled data, using only a single high-resolution reference frame.
The State of Data in Healthcare: Path Towards Standardization

Coupled with the rise of data science and machine learning, the increasing availability of digitized health and wellness data has provided an exciting opportunity for complex analyses of problems throughout the healthcare domain. Whereas many early works focused on a particular aspect of patient care, often drawing on data from a specific clinical or administrative source, it has become clear such a single-source approach is insufficient to capture the complexity of the human condition. Instead, adequately modeling health and wellness problems requires the ability to draw upon data spanning multiple facets of an individual’s biology, their care, and the social aspects of their life. Although such an awareness has greatly expanded the breadth of health and wellness data collected, the diverse array of data sources and intended uses often leave researchers and practitioners with a scattered and fragmented view of any particular patient. As a result, there exists a clear need to catalogue and organize the range of healthcare data available for analysis. This work represents an effort at developing such an organization, presenting a patient-centric framework deemed the Healthcare Data Spectrum (HDS). Comprised of six layers, the HDS begins with the innermost micro-level omics and macro-level demographic data that directly characterize a patient, and extends at its outermost to aggregate population-level data derived from attributes of care for each individual patient. For each level of the HDS, this manuscript will examine the specific types of constituent data, provide examples of how the data aid in a broad set of research problems, and identify the primary terminology and standards used to describe the data.
Conjoint Measurement: Theory and Methods

Which of the two hotels do you prefer? $105 per night, small room restaurant facilities, convenient location in downtown, impersonal service, or $75 per night, large room, no restaurant facilities, one mile from downtown, warm and friendly service.
Methoden der Investitionsrechnung

Zur Erstellung eines Investitionsbudgets, das die genehmigten und auszufuhrenden Investitionsprojekte des Unternehmens enthalt, mus eine sorgfaltige Analyse gemacht werden. Falsche Investitions-Entscheidungen wirken sich langfristig aus. Um die Hohe der erforderlichen Mittel, die Dauer der finanziellen Verpflichtungen und das im EntscheidungsprozeB liegende Risiko so genau wie moglich zu bestimmen, ist wegen der Schwierigkeit rechnerischer Beurteilung ein betrachtlicher Aufwand an Nachforschungen und Untersuchungen notwendig. Die finanziellen Anforderungen, die gegenwartigen und die in der Zukunft zu erwartenden Kosten, die Gewinne, die Steuersituationen, gesetzliche Schwierigkeiten, die Personalfragen und die Entwicklungen des Absatzmarkts mussen untersucht werden, ehe eine endgultige Entscheidung fallen kann. Gewisse Investitionsvorschlage, die unter dem Budget-Titel „nicht-gewinnbringende“ Projekte verzeichnet sind, konnen ein „Mus“ bedeuten, besonders wenn sie Verbesserungen im Interesse der Mitarbeiter oder der Public Relations des Unternehmens zum Ziele haben oder der Unfallverhutung dienen oder gesetzliche Vorschriften erfullen. Obwohl ihre Durchfuhrung zwingend ist, konnen auch sie nur auf Grund flussiger Geldmittel realisiert werden. Derartige Investitionen stehen hier jedoch nicht zur Diskussion. Wir beschranken uns auf die gewinnbringenden Investitionen, fur die Analysen notwendig und genauere Bewertungen auch moglich sind.
Determining the most effective way in which to manage congestive heart failure patients

DETERMINING THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY IN WHICH TO MANAGE CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE PATIENTS Beatrice U giliweneza November 22,2010 Background: CHF is a chronic disease that affects nearly five million people each year; in which at least 500,000 are newly diagnosed cases. Patients diagnosed with this disease will be under a physician's care for the remainder of their life. It is of great importance that the strategy, used to manage these patients, maximizes their health outcomes in a cost effective manner. Objective: The objective of the current analysis is to compare the health outcomes with the available CHF management methods: the 'Case Management' (CM), the 'Self Management' (SM) and the current 'Standard of Care' (SC). Also, this study aims to identify the optimal management programs for CHF patients. Data: Data used are from a multicenter clinical trial funded by the AHRQ. The trial enrolled 134 patients randomized to three study arms representing the three management methods. These participants were followed for 12 months. Statistical methods: To describe the distributions of the outcome variables, summary statistics were used. For the inferential statistics, comparisons of means across the study
Physiological correlates of temporal integration

The decrease in detection and discrimination thresholds with increases in signal duration is usually attributed to long time-constant integration or summation. An alternative view is that no long-term integration occurs but rather that information is combined from multiple, short-duration samples or “looks”. According to this account the phenomenon of temporal integration simply reflects an increase in the number of looks rather than an increase in effective signal energy. To compare predictions of these approaches under reasonable constraints, spike data recorded from the auditory nerve in response to long-duration CF tones are considered. These data are analyzed according to multiple-look and summation schemes, and temporal integration functions are derived. The derived functions are very similar, indicating that a multiple look scheme can show summation-like behavior, and that such behavior does not imply long time constant integration. The analysis also indicates that the detectability of 5-ms looks near the onset of the tone can be considerably higher than those occurring later in the tone and that the derived psychometric functions generally do not show the ✓T dependence that would be expected from a Poisson process.
Gray Lady Bowdler: The Continuing Saga of the Crimson Spot

This is a short, true story about the Green Bag versus the New York Times, two periodicals doing their best according to their respective lights to serve their respective readerships. The story is told for the most part through recent email correspondence between, on one side, a variety of Times editors and, on the other side, one Green Bag editor. Reasonable minds might differ about the relative merits of the positions taken and the practices followed by the two periodicals and their spokespeople, but no reasonable person could deny the entertainment value of some of their exchanges. Those exchanges are reproduced in chronological order, starting on the next page. But first, a small dose of background...
Long-term stability of neural signals from microwire arrays implanted in common marmoset motor cortex and striatum

Current neuroprosthetics rely on stable, high quality recordings from chronically implanted microelectrode arrays (MEAs) in neural tissue. While chronic electrophysiological recordings and electrode failure modes have been reported from rodent and larger non-human primate (NHP) models, chronic recordings from the marmoset model have not been previously described. The common marmoset is a New World primate that is easier to breed and handle compared to larger NHPs and has a similarly organized brain, making it a potentially useful smaller NHP model for neuroscience studies. This study reports recording stability and signal quality of MEAs chronically implanted in behaving marmosets. Six adult male marmosets, trained for reaching tasks, were implanted with either a 16-channel tungsten microwire array (five animals) or a Pt-Ir floating MEA (one animal) in the hand-arm region of the primary motor cortex (M1) and another MEA in the striatum targeting the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). Signal stability and quality was quantified as a function of array yield (active electrodes that recorded action potentials), neuronal yield (isolated single units during a recording session), and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Out of 11 implanted MEAs, nine provided functional recordings for at least three months, with two arrays functional for 10 months. In general, implants had high yield, which remained stable for up to several months. However, mechanical failure attributed to MEA connector was the most common failure mode. In the longest implants, signal degradation occurred, which was characterized by gradual decline in array yield, reduced number of isolated single units, and changes in waveform shape of action potentials. This work demonstrates the feasibility of longterm recordings from MEAs implanted in cortical and deep brain structures in the marmoset model. The ability to chronically record cortical signals for neural prosthetics applications in the common marmoset extends the potential of this model in neural interface research.
Survey results of US radiation oncology providers’ contextual engagement of watch-and-wait beliefs after a complete clinical response to chemoradiation in patients with local rectal cancer

Background: Watchful waiting in rectal cancer patients with a complete clinical response (cCR) to chemoradiation therapy (CRT) forgo upfront resection has been proposed. Growing evidence suggests that a watch-and-wait approach using resection for salvage of local recurrence may improve quality of life without jeopardizing outcomes. The current acceptance of watch-and-wait by US radiation oncologists (ROs) is unknown. Methods: US ROs completed our IRB-approved anonymous e-survey regarding non-surgical management of patients who achieved a cCR to neoadjuvant CRT. Self-ranked knowledge of the OnCoRe Project—UK prospective observational study of watch-and-wait—was tested for its association with ROs’ attitudes using the Chi-squared or Fisher’s test, as indicated. Supporters of observation are self-identified. Results: Of the 220 respondents, 48% (n=106) of respondents support watchful waiting and 48% claimed familiarity with the OnCoRe Project. Respondents supporting observation were more likely to be familiar with the publication (P=0.029). Among watch-and-wait supporters, 59% (n=62) felt comfortable discussing this approach and 41% preferred the conversation be initiated by other specialists. There was no association between comfort level in discussing watch-and-wait and familiarity with the OnCoRe Project. ROs treating more than 10 locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients annually felt more comfortable discussing watch-and-wait (P=0.015) compared to ROs seeing fewer patients. Conclusions: Almost half of surveyed US ROs support watch-and-wait, though many do not feel comfortable discussing this paradigm with patients. Knowledge of the OnCoRe Project is associated with support of watch-and-wait, yet not comfort level in leading the discussion. These results inform provider attitudes toward future clinical study participation.
The Tethered Cord Syndrome and Its Occult Form

Congenital spinal defects may cause caudal stretching of the spinal cord and associated symptoms and signs known as the tethered cord syndrome (TCS). Natural history studies and experimental evidence that have emerged over nearly five decades have contributed to establishing TCS as a valid diagnostic entity. More recently, the existence of an occult form of TCS (OTCS) has been proposed, distinguished by neuro-urologic symptoms suggestive of distal spinal cord dysfunction, but in the absence of both external stigmata of spinal dysraphism and anatomic abnormalities on MR imaging. In the present chapter, we explore the historic and contemporary evidence surrounding the diagnosis and management of OTCS against a backdrop of comparable criteria for the standard of care of TCS. Through these discussions, we highlight important questions that have been raised regarding the level of evidence available to support these diagnoses, in light of contemporary evidence-based medicine standards.
Feasibility and clinical impact of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in patients with stage IV or recurrent malignancies.

e14697Background: Feasibility and outcomes of routine NGS in patients with stage IV or recurrent malignancies remain debatable. Methods: We reviewed patients who underwent Foundation One NGS betwee...
A deep learning model for predicting tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes from PDB structure

While cancer is a heterogeneous complex of distinct diseases, the common underlying mechanism for uncontrolled tumor growth is due to mutations in proto-oncogenes and the loss of the regulatory function of tumor suppression genes. In this paper we propose a novel deep learning model for predicting tumor suppression genes (TSGs) and proto-oncogenes (OGs) from their Protein Data Bank (PDB) three dimensional structures. Specifically, we develop a convolutional neural network (CNN) to classify the feature map sets extracted from the tertiary protein structures. Each feature map set represents particular biological features associated with the atomic coordinates appearing on the outer surface of protein's three dimensional structure. The experimental results on the collected dataset for classifying TSGs and OGs demonstrate promising performance with 82.57% accuracy and 0.89 area under ROC curve. The initial success of the proposed model warrants further study to develop a comprehensive model to identify the cancer driver genes or events using the principle cancer genes (TSG and OG).
Loretta M. Gaffney’s Young Adult Literature, Libraries, and Conservative Activism

A review of Young Adult Literature, Libraries, and Conservative Activism by Loretta M. Gaffney
All Things Being Equal: Distinguishing Proportionality and Equity in Moral Reasoning

Moral foundations theory (MFT) has been a useful framework for understanding moral judgment and its relationship to political leaning. However, some have argued that MFT omits key domains of moral ...
Intrinsic Twist in Iβ Cellulose Microfibrils by Tight-Binding Objective Boundary Calculations

Objective boundary conditions are used to simulate at the atomistic scale cellulose Iβ microfibrils. The method enables for the first time a direct calculation of the structural twist from a self-consistent charge density-functional-based tight-binding description of interatomic interactions. Calculations reveal that microfibrils are stabilized under a uniform right-handed twist whose magnitude depends on the area and the shape of the microfibril cross-section. The latter behavior highlights the distinct structural effects imprinted by the complex hydrogen bonding network and the differences in the relative shear strength between the hydrogen and van der Waals interactions: While the intrachain bonding gives a disposition for severe twisting in the glycosidic linkages, the interchain hydrogen and van der Waals bonding contribute to the development of twist at the microfibril level. The interchain hydrogen bonding is much more effective than the van der Waals one in counterbalancing the intrinsic tendency for twist of the microfibril.
A 21st Century View of Nuclear Structure

Exploiting exact and special symmetries to unmask simplicity within complexity, which remains the “holy grail” of nuclear physics, will be considered within its historical context and as evolving through 21st century ab initio methods, including emerging results linked to the internal structure of nucleons. Some exemplar results for very light to medium mass nuclei will be presented, and what these may portend for heavier systems, including species beyond known lines of stability, will be proffered.
Exploring Nonmotor Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of Parkinson Disease in a Comprehensive Care Setting

Parkinson disease (PD) is a debilitating neurological condition that includes both motor symptoms and nonmotor symptoms (NMS). Psychiatric complaints comprise NMS and are collectively referred to as neuropsychiatric manifestations. Common findings include atypical depressive symptoms, anxiety, psychosis, impulse control disorder, deterioration of cognition, and sleep disturbances. Quality of life (QoL) of patients suffering from NMS is greatly impacted and many times can be more debilitating than motor symptoms of PD. We expand on knowledge gained from treatment models within a comprehensive care model that incorporates multidisciplinary specialists working alongside psychiatrists to treat PD. Insight into background, clinical presentations, and treatment options for patients suffering from neuropsychiatric manifestations of PD are discussed. Identifying symptoms early can help improve QoL, provide early symptom relief, and can assist tailoring treatment plans that limit neuropsychiatric manifestations.
A Dual-Inhibitor of Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase and p38 Kinase Alleviating Tau Hyperphosphorylation and Amyloid Neurotoxicity for Potential Treatment of Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common dementia that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed. Neuroinflammation associated with tau hyperphosphorylation and amyloid toxicity is a major hallm...
Predicting Gemcitabine Delivery by 18F-FAC PET in Murine Models of Pancreatic Cancer.

[18F]-FAC (29-deoxy-29-[18F] fluoro-β-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine) has close structural similarity to gemcitabine, and thus offers the potential to image drug delivery to tumors. We compared tumor [18F]-FAC PET images to [14C]-gemcitabine levels, established ex vivo, in three mouse models of pancreatic cancer. We further modified tumor gemcitabine levels with injectable hyaluronidase (PEGPH20) to test whether changes in gemcitabine would be tracked by [18F]-FAC. Methods: [18F]-FAC was synthesized at MSKCC as described previously. Three patient derived xenografts (PDX) models were grown in the flanks of NSG mice. Mice were given PEGPH20 or vehicle i.v. 24 hours prior to co-injection of [18F]-FAC and [14C]-gemcitabine. Animals were euthanized and imaged one hour after tracer administration. Tumor and muscle uptake of both [18F]-FAC and [14C]-gemcitabine were obtained ex vivo. The efficacy of PEPGPH20 was validated through staining with hyaluronic acid binding protein. Additionally, an organoid culture initiated from a KPC (Pdx-1 Cre LSL-Kras G12D LSL-p53 R172H) tumor, was used to generate orthotopically growing tumors in C57BL/6J mice, which were then serially transplanted. Animals were injected with PEGPH20 and 14C gemcitabine as described above to validate increased drug uptake by ex vivo assay. PET-MR images were obtained using a PET insert on a 7T Brucker MR scanner. Animals were imaged immediately before injection with PEGPH20, and again 24 hours later. Results: Tumor/muscle ratios of [14C]-gemcitabine and [18F]-FAC correlated well across all PDX models and treatments (R2 = 0.78). There was a significant increase in the tumor PET signal in PEGPH20 treated PDX animals which was matched in ex vivo counts for 2 out of 3 models. In KPC-derived tumors, PEGPH20 raised [14C]-gemcitabine levels (T/M 1.9 vs 2.4, control vs treated, P = 0.013). PET-MR [18F]-FAC images showed a 12% increase in tumor [18F]-FAC uptake following PEGPH20 treatment (P = 0.023). PEGPH20 treated animals uniformly displayed clear reductions in hyaluronic acid staining. Conclusion: [18F]-FAC PET was shown to be a good surrogate for gemcitabine uptake, and when combined with MR, to successfully determine drug uptake in tumors growing in the pancreas. PEGPH20 had moderate effects on tumor uptake of gemcitabine.
Memory-Augmented System Identification With Finite-Time Convergence

This letter presents a memory-augmented system identifier with finite-time convergence for continuous-time uncertain nonlinear systems. A memory of events with significant effect on the performance of the identifier is formed, and reuse of historic data is leveraged in the identifier’s update law to guarantee that the identifier’s error converges to zero in finite time. An easy-to-check and verifiable metric defined on samples collected along the system’s trajectories is provided to certify the finite-time convergence. The robustness of the proposed identifier to mismatched modeling error is analyzed. Finally, a simulation example verifies the efficiency of the proposed identifier.
Microstructure Evolution of U–Zr System in A Thermal Cycling Neutron Diffraction Experiment: Extruded U–10Zr (wt. %)

Abstract Microstructure evolution of 1073 K extruded U–10Zr (wt. %) fuel during thermal cycling (303–1073 K with a ~9 hour hold at 873 K during cooling) was investigated using in situ neutron diffraction. Analysis was performed using Rietveld texture and crystal structure refinements from time–of–flight neutron diffraction data, with a focus on the evolution of textures and lattice parameters as a function of temperature. The α–U phase exhibits lattice contraction with increasing temperature along the b lattice direction and lattice expansion in the other directions while the other phases exhibit lattice expansion with temperature in all directions. Contrary to the established phase diagram, the β–U phase is absent at the temperatures of the thermal cycling. (001)α and (110)γ plane normals are observed with a strong preferred orientation along the extrusion direction. The variant selection of (001)α||(110)γ is observed for the first time.
Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome Presenting as Cardiomyopathy:

A 31-year-old male was referred for a stress test due to worsening palpitations and chest pressure. His clinic 12-lead electrocardiogram was normal. At the time of his stress test, his pre-exercise...
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the endothelium

Abstract The most commonly reported symptoms by patients affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are fatigue, fever, and respiratory distress. However, other major changes observed in COVID-19 patients such as high blood pressure, thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism seem to suggest that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is targeting the endothelium, one of the largest organs in the human body. This chapter reports on the role of the endothelium as a target of SARS-CoV-2.
Reevaluating the SIBTEST Classification Heuristics for Dichotomous Differential Item Functioning

A simulation study was conducted to investigate the heuristics of the SIBTEST procedure and how it compares with ETS classification guidelines used with the Mantel–Haenszel procedure. Prior heurist...
Text Analytics and Big Data in the Financial domain

This research attempts to provide some insights on the application of text mining and Natural Language Processing (NLP). The application domain is consumer complaints about financial institutions in the USA. As an advanced analytics discipline embedded within the Big Data paradigm, the practice of text analytics contains elements of emergent knowledge processes. Since our experiment should be able to scale up we make use of a pipeline based on Spark-NLP. The usage scenario is adapting the model to a specific industrial context and using the dataset offered by the "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau" to illustrate the application.
Physical Activity and the Prevention of Depression.

Physical activity appears to be associated with a lower risk of developing depression and depressive symptoms.
Characterization of ambient fine particles in the northwestern area and Anchorage, Alaska.

Abstract Ambient PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter) in the northwestern United States and Alaska is dominated by carbonaceous compounds associated with wood burning and transportation sources. PM2.5 source characterization studies analyzing recent PM2.5 speciation data have not been previously reported for these areas. In this study, ambient PM2.5 speciation samples collected at two monitoring sites located in the northwestern area, Olympic Peninsula, WA, and Portland, OR, and one monitoring site located in Anchorage, AK, were characterized through source apportionments. Gasoline vehicle, secondary sulfate, and wood smoke were the largest sources of PM2.5 collected at the Anchorage, Olympic, and Portland monitoring sites, respectively. Secondary sulfates showed an April peak at Anchorage and a November peak at Portland that are likely related to the increased photochemical reaction and long-range transport in Anchorage and meteorological stagnation in Portland. Secondary n...
Groundwater Monitoring, Detection, and Compliance

An overview of statistical issues and methods is provided relevant to the analysis of groundwater detection and compliance-monitoring problems. The rich methodology that has been used in this area goes well beyond groundwater monitoring applications to many other areas of interest in environmental monitoring and statistics. First, we provide an overview of statistical prediction limits for normal, lognormal, and gamma random variables, as well as nonparametric alternatives. Issues related to multiple comparisons, censored data, nonnormality, and verification sampling (i.e., sequential testing) are considered in the statistical developments. Second, we provide an overview of statistical methods that are relevant for compliance monitoring, where interest is often focused on whether on-site average concentrations exceed a health-based regulatory standard. This leads to discussion of a variety of statistical approaches based on confidence limits for normal and nonnormal distributions and nonparametric alternatives. A distinction is made between assessment monitoring where the null hypothesis is that contamination is not present and corrective action monitoring where the null hypothesis is that contamination is present. Keywords: prediction limits; verification resampling; background measurements; downgradient; nondetects
Switched linear state space modeling of soft faults in DC/DC converters using an observer

Detecting soft failures in a DC/DC converter can allow time to react and make scheduled system repairs before an unexpected hard failure occurs. A soft failure is defined as a failure of a component that degrades a system's performance but does not completely interrupt operation. A hard failure is a component failure that stops operation. Adding an observer or state estimator to a power supply's control loop can identify differences in power supply operation caused by a change in one of the main power plant component's characteristics. A list of the most prevalent types of power supply faults was determined and a switched linear state space model is generated in Simulink to view the ability to detect these faults.