cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Disorders of sleep and circadian rhythms

Sleep is fundamental to the survival of humans. However, knowledge regarding the role of sleep and its regulation is poorly understood. Genetics in flies, mice, and humans has led to a detailed understanding of some aspects of circadian regulation. Sleep homeostasis (the effect of increasing periods of wakefulness on our sleep propensity) is largely not understood. Sleep homeostasis is distinct from, but also linked to, the circadian clock. It is only in the last two decades that our understanding of some sleep disorders has been revealed. These breakthroughs were mostly fueled by intensive investigation using genetic tools. Although modern human genetics has revolutionized scientific research of neurologic disorders beginning ~35 years ago, studies of sleep and sleep disorders have lagged behind those of many neurologic diseases. This is due to the complexity in phenotyping behaviors like sleep and the fact that sleep is strongly influenced by environmental and other factors. We have long been aware that the amount of sleep required by individuals is normally distributed in the general population with small proportions of people being natural short or natural long sleepers. However, it has been less than a decade since Mendelian families of natural short sleepers have been recognized. Recent work has made significant advances and mechanistic insights of several sleep disorders as well as familial natural short sleepers by using ever-improving human genetic and cellular molecular tools. Given recent advances into genetic and biologic understanding of sleep, the hope of understanding this indispensable process is closer. Ultimately, our growing understanding will lead to more effective treatments of human sleep disorders.
Key distribution scheme for aircraft equipped with secure ADS-B IN

We propose a new framework to verify the authenticity and integrity of Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) messages that extends our previous work by enabling in aircraft equipped with ADS IN technology to validate the integrity of location updates received from nearby aircraft. We include security metadata in each ADS-B message, to be used instead of the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC), consisting of a pair of keyed hash message authentication code (HMAC) digests. Each digest is obtained by running a HMAC algorithm with a different key which could be used to authenticate ADS-B messages at ground component and nearby aircraft. The novelty of this paper consists of our usage of a commutative group key management scheme that does not send the group key over the air, but instead provides mechanisms to update it. Given that many aircraft may join or leave the group at a given time, this protocol creates a robust mechanism with minimum overhead in maintaining keying material.
Blunt splenic injury during colonoscopy: Is it as rare as we think?

Abstract Background Post colonoscopy blunt splenic injury (PCBSI) is a rarely reported and poorly recognized event. We analyzed cases of PCBSI managed at our hospital and compared them to existing literature. Methods We identified 5 patients admitted with PCBSI through chart review. Results There were 5 cases of PCBSI identified from April 2016–July 2017. Four of the patients were older than 65 years, three had prior surgeries, and all were women. CT scans showed splenic laceration in 4 cases, hemoperitoneum in 4 cases, and left pleural effusion in 2 cases. Three patients were treated with coil embolization, 1 had open splenectomy, and 1 was observed. Conclusions Although blunt splenic injury is an infrequently reported complication of colonoscopy, it can result in high-grade injury requiring transfusion and invasive treatment due to significant hemorrhage. As previously reported, we demonstrate a high rate of PCBSI in women over 55 with a history of prior abdominal surgery. These data suggest that a high index of suspicion for splenic injury post-colonoscopy should be present in this population.
Consider the source: Children link the accuracy of text-based sources to the accuracy of the author.

The present research investigated whether young children link the accuracy of text-based information to the accuracy of its author. Across three experiments, three- and four-year-olds (N = 231) received information about object labels from accurate and inaccurate sources who provided information both in text and verbally. Of primary interest was whether young children would selectively rely on information provided by more accurate sources, regardless of the form in which the information was communicated. Experiment 1 tested children's trust in text-based information (e.g., books) written by an author with a history of either accurate or inaccurate verbal testimony and found that children showed greater trust in books written by accurate authors. Experiment 2 replicated the findings of Experiment 1 and extended them by showing that children's selective trust in more accurate text-based sources was not dependent on experience trusting or distrusting the author's verbal testimony. Experiment 3 investigated this understanding in reverse by testing children's trust in verbal testimony communicated by an individual who had authored either accurate or inaccurate text-based information. Experiment 3 revealed that children showed greater trust in individuals who had authored accurate rather than inaccurate books. Experiment 3 also demonstrated that children used the accuracy of text-based sources to make inferences about the mental states of the authors. Taken together, these results suggest children do indeed link the reliability of text-based sources to the reliability of the author. Statement of Contribution Existing knowledge Children use sources' prior accuracy to predict future accuracy in face-to-face verbal interactions. Children who are just learning to read show increased trust in text bases (vs. verbal) information. It is unknown whether children consider authors' prior accuracy when judging the accuracy of text-based information. New knowledge added by this article Preschool children track sources' accuracy across communication mediums - from verbal to text-based modalities and vice versa. Children link the reliability of text-based sources to the reliability of the author.
Clinically Integrated Sequencing Alters Therapy in Children and Young Adults With High-Risk Glial Brain Tumors.

PurposeBrain tumors have become the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in young patients. Novel effective therapies on the basis of the unique biology of each tumor are urgently needed. The goal of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, utility, and clinical impact of integrative clinical sequencing and genetic counseling in children and young adults with high-risk brain tumors.Patients and MethodsFifty-two children and young adults with brain tumors designated by the treating neuro-oncologist to be high risk (> 25% chance for treatment failure; mean age, 10.2 years; range, 0 to 39 years) were enrolled in a prospective, observational, consecutive case series, in which participants underwent integrative clinical exome (tumor and germline DNA) and transcriptome (tumor RNA) sequencing and genetic counseling. Results were discussed in a multi-institutional brain tumor precision medicine teleconference.ResultsSequencing revealed a potentially actionable germline or tumor alteration in 25 (63%) of 4...
The Developmental Cycle of Families: Clinical Implications

The developmental frame of reference in child psychiatry views the goal of therapeutic work to be the freeing of a troubled child or adolescent from inner hindrances to age-appropriate development. Our therapeutic efforts are most successful when we are able to reduce regressive or repressive or divisive interpersonal patterns in the family of the child, and when parenting skills are augmented at the same time. Accordingly, an understanding of the historical phases and the associated developmental tasks of families is an essential aide to our clinical effort.
Uterine artery embolization: the role in obstetrics and gynecology.

Abstract Objective: Evaluation of the studies for the use of uterine artery embolization in various conditions in both obstetrics and gynecology. Design: Literature review. Results: Uterine artery embolization was successful in controlling postpartum hemorrhage in 94.9% of the cases. It was effective in controlling the bleeding in 96% of cases with uterine arteriovenous malformations and in 100% of the cases with abdominal and cervical pregnancies. Recently, it has been introduced as a line of treatment for uterine fibroids. It controlled bleeding in 82–92% of cases, and lead to 20–64% reduction in size of fibroids. Conclusions: Uterine artery embolization is of significant value in treating certain hemorrhagic conditions in obstetrics and gynecology including postpartum hemorrhage, ectopic pregnancy, and arteriovenous malformations. Its use in treatment of uterine fibroids is new and needs more collaborative studies by gynecologists and intervention radiologists to evaluate issues related to necrosis of the tumor, sepsis, and the long-term effect on size and recurrence rate.
Analysis of radioligand binding experiments: A collection of computer programs for the IBM PC

It is now well accepted that graphic methods are a poor choice of analytical technique for analyzing radioligand binding data given the complexity of some radioligand-binding sites interactions; this is true not only for studies performed at equilibrium but also for those examining kinetic properties of the radioligand. As a consequence the computer plays an important role in all forms of radioligand binding experiments because it reduces the labor-intensive calculations associated with such experiments and it allows the use of more appropriate weighted nonlinear curve-fitting techniques that more accurately describe the radioligand-binding site interaction. This paper describes a collection of four programs (KINETIC, EBDA, LIGAND, and LOWRY) that can be used to analyze most forms of radioligand binding experiments. The programs have been adapted for use on an IBM PC, which is a popular, inexpensive microcomputer and which is well suited to the analysis of radioligand binding data.
The International Significance of Human Rights

A comparative examination of four alternative ways of understanding what human rights are supports an institutional understanding as suggested by Article 28 of the Universal Declaration: Human rights are weighty moral claims on any coercively imposed institutional order, national or international (as Article 28 confirms). Any such order must afford the persons on whom it is imposed secure access to the objects of their human rights. This understanding of human rights is broadly sharable across cultures and narrows the philosophical and practical differences between the friends of civil and political and the champions of social, economic, and cultural human rights. When applied to the global institutional order, it provides a new argument for conceiving human rights as universal - and a new basis for criticizing this order as too encouraging of oppression, corruption, and poverty in the developing countries: We have a negative duty not to cooperate in the imposition of this global order if feasible reforms of it would significantly improve the realization of human rights.
Old Ideas for New Times: Radical History in International Political Economy

This article suggests that the field of international political economy ( IPE ) would benefit from greater engagement with radicalism. Radical political economy ( RPE ) continues to be a relevant counterweight to moderate forms of IPE . Radicalism is portrayed in this work as a vision of history, distinct from static and evolutionary interpretations of the past. And, like their moderate counterparts, radicals are divided as to what will happen in the twenty-first century. Some scholars believe that the capitalist nation-state system will stabilize, while others predict it will transform into some type of post-capitalist and post-national system. By pairing visions of history with expectations for the future, this article offers a typology of six distinct world-historical opinions. It concludes that radicals offer an important alternative perspective to the writings of moderates and yet, in being split about the future, are remarkably similar to others wrestling with questions of transformation.
PRACTI replication

We present PRACTI, a new approach for large-scale replication. PRACTI systems can replicate or cache any subset of data on any node (Partial Replication), provide a broad range of consistency guarantees (Arbitrary Consistency), and permit any node to send information to any other node (Topology Independence). A PRACTI architecture yields two significant advantages. First, by providing all three PRACTI properties, it enables better trade-offs than existing mechanisms that support at most two of the three desirable properties. The PRACTI approach thus exposes new points in the design space for replication systems. Second, the flexibility of PRACTI protocols simplifies the design of replication systems by allowing a single architecture to subsume a broad range of existing systems and to reduce development costs for new ones. To illustrate both advantages, we use our PRACTI prototype to emulate existing server replication, client-server, and object replication systems and to implement novel policies that improve performance for mobile users, web edge servers, and grid computing by as much as an order of magnitude.
Synthesis of fused indoles by sequential palladium-catalyzed Heck reaction and N-heteroannulation

A route to 3,4-fused indoles via two consecutive palladium-catalyzed reactions; an intramolecular Heck reaction followed by a reductive N-heteroannulation is described. Using this route, a number of indoles have been prepared having a variety of ring sizes anchored to the 3- and 4-position of the indole nucleus. Furthermore, a number of functional groups, both carbon and heteroatom substituents can be introduced in (and on) the additional ring without any detrimental effects on the two reactions.
CAMEL: An Adaptive Camera With Embedded Machine Learning-Based Sensor Parameter Control

Today’s cameras are designed to approximate what they observe in a manner that preserves entropy. However, time critical autonomous applications such as autonomous driving, surveillance and defense systems require task critical information at the highest quality. With rapid advances in frame rates and resolutions, observing scenes at the highest quality raises concerns for the transmission bandwidth. In this paper, we introduce a new paradigm of smart camera that captures only task-critical information at the highest quality. Embedded deep neural network (DNN) algorithms within the camera enhance quality of information through real-time control of sensor parameters. We show the hardware feasibility of this camera by demonstrating a 3D-stacked architecture with a Digital Pixel Sensor (DPS). We demonstrate a number of high-level vision applications that benefit through this task-guided control including object detection, object tracking and activity recognition. Finally, we present the unique challenges faced created as a result of feedback and show how software/hardware innovations can be used to mitigate them.
Diaper Need Met Among Low-Income US Children Younger Than 4 Years in 2016.

Objectives. To document the collective effort of diaper banks in the United States and to estimate the percentage of low-income children whose diaper need is met through these efforts.Methods. For ...
Identification and Characterization of the Lactating Mouse Mammary Gland Citrullinome

Citrullination is a post-translational modification (PTM) in which positively charged peptidyl-arginine is converted into neutral peptidyl-citrulline by peptidylarginine deiminase (PAD or PADI) enzymes. The full protein citrullinome in many tissues is unknown. Herein, we used mass spectrometry and identified 107 citrullinated proteins in the lactation day 9 (L9) mouse mammary gland including histone H2A, α-tubulin, and β-casein. Given the importance of prolactin to lactation, we next tested if it stimulates PAD-catalyzed citrullination using mouse mammary epithelial CID-9 cells. Stimulation of CID-9 cells with 5 µg/mL prolactin for 10 min induced a 2-fold increase in histone H2A citrullination and a 4.5-fold increase in α-tubulin citrullination. We next investigated if prolactin-induced citrullination regulates the expression of lactation genes β-casein (Csn2) and butyrophilin (Btn1a1). Prolactin treatment for 12 h increased β-casein and butyrophilin mRNA expression; however, this increase was significantly inhibited by the pan-PAD inhibitor, BB-Cl-amidine (BB-ClA). We also examined the effect of tubulin citrullination on the overall polymerization rate of microtubules. Our results show that citrullinated tubulin had a higher maximum overall polymerization rate. Our work suggests that protein citrullination is an important PTM that regulates gene expression and microtubule dynamics in mammary epithelial cells.
Checkpoint inhibitor-induced myocarditis and myasthenia gravis in a recurrent/metastatic thymic carcinoma patient: a case report.

Background Pembrolizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI), is an IgG4 antibody that blocks interaction between programmed cell death protein 1 and programmed death-ligand 1. Myocarditis, an immune-related adverse event, has been reported in thymic epithelial tumours. Pembrolizumab has also been associated with development/exacerbation of myasthenia gravis (MG). Case summary A 70-year-old woman with metastatic thymic cancer presented to the hospital with shortness of breath, 21 days after initiation of pembrolizumab. She was diagnosed with ICI-related myocarditis and was subsequently intubated due to respiratory failure. A dual-chamber pacemaker was placed due to complete heart block with asystole. Her troponin levels were elevated, an electrocardiogram was suspicious for myocardial infarction, but coronary angiogram revealed normal coronary arteries and endomyocardial biopsy confirmed the presence of myocarditis. Treatment was started with high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone and cardiovascular status improved. However, the patient was unable to be weaned from mechanical ventilation and tested positive for acetylcholine receptor binding/blocking antibodies due to de novo MG. After 50 days of hospitalization, she was discharged home in stable condition. A computed tomography scan was performed 6 weeks after pembrolizumab; results showed significant decrease/resolution of all measurable sites of metastatic disease in the lungs. Discussion This is the first reported case of a patient developing single-agent pembrolizumab-induced myocarditis concomitant with new-onset MG after treatment for advanced thymic malignancy. Additional studies are needed to explore the association between myocarditis, MG, and ICI therapy.
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Prevalence Differs by Appalachian Residence in Ohio.

BACKGROUND Areas within the Appalachian region may have a greater burden of under diagnosed Alzheimer's disease and related disorders (ADRD). OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of ADRD in the Appalachian counties of Ohio, and to determine if differences exist by geographic location (Appalachian/non-Appalachian and rural/urban) and across time among Medicare beneficiaries. METHODS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Public Use Files from 2007-2017 were used to estimate county-level ADRD prevalence among all fee-for-service beneficiaries in Ohio. Negative binomial regression was used to estimate prevalence overall, by Appalachian Regional Commission's Appalachian/non-Appalachian designation, and by rural/urban (Rural-Urban Continuum Codes) classification. Models were repeated, adjusting for county-level demographics and comorbidities. RESULTS The prevalence of ADRD varied by both Appalachian residence and rural status (p = 0.008). Before adjustment by county-level demographics and comorbidities, the prevalence of ADRD in urban Appalachian counties was 1-3% lower than in urban non-Appalachian counties, while rural Appalachian counties had 2-3% higher prevalence compared to rural non-Appalachian counties. After adjustment, the differences between prevalence ratios were accentuated; the prevalence ratio was consistently higher for rural Appalachian counties, yet varied across the study period for urban counties (1.03 in 2007 to 0.97 in 2017). CONCLUSION The results suggest a disparate burden of ADRD in Ohio with higher prevalence in rural Appalachian counties. This potential difference by Appalachian region is important to consider for availability of services and subsequent delivery of care. In order to better understand the disparity, further epidemiologic studies are necessary to better estimate the burden of ADRD.
Bubble Bubble, Senescent Cells Are a Cauldron of Tumor Trouble

Senescent cells release a melange of factors that drive multiple forms of pathology, including cancer aggressiveness. In this issue of Cancer Research, Han and colleagues show that small extracellular vesicles (sEV), membrane-enclosed bubbles that carry signaling molecules, from senescent stromal cells can promote tumorigenesis and multidrug resistance in prostate or breast cancer cells. They find that loss of SIRT1 activity drives senescence-associated sEV release, and treatment with a SIRT1 agonist prevented this effect. This adds another mechanism by which senescent cells can promote tumorigenesis and offers another activity of senescent cells that might be targeted to limit the spread of cancer.See related article by Han et al., p. 3383.
RNF8 is not required for histone-to-protamine exchange in spermiogenesis

Summary A member of the PIWI family of proteins, MIWI, binds to Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) and is essential in mouse spermiogenesis. A recent study demonstrated that MIWI is an essential regulator of the histone-to-protamine exchange in spermiogenesis and that this function is mediated by its binding to an ubiquitin ligase, RNF8. However, here we confirm that RNF8 is not required for histone-to-protamine exchange in spermiogenesis. We show that histone-to-protamine exchange takes place in Rnf8-deficient mice, while RNF8 mediates ubiquitination of H2A on the sex chromosomes in meiosis, the prior stage of spermatogenesis. Therefore, the infertile phenotype of MIWI mutant mice cannot be explained by a RNF8-mediated mechanism in spermiogenesis.
Application Prospect Analysis of Civil Nuclear Ships

Through the analysis of the development status and prospects of nuclear ships, the challenges facing the development of nuclear ships are explained. Based on the statistics of the design of nuclear ship reactors and their bunkers, the layout position and protection suggestions of reactor compartments are put forward. A formula for estimating the volume of the reactor compartment and its auxiliary compartment based on the reactor power is given, which can provide support for the preliminary design of nuclear ships.
Degradation of Polyvinyl Alcohol in US Wastewater Treatment Plants and Subsequent Nationwide Emission Estimate

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a water-soluble plastic commercially used in laundry and dish detergent pods (LDPs) for which a complete understanding of its fate in the environment and subsequent consequences is lacking. The objective of this study was to estimate the US nationwide emissions of PVA resulting from domestic use of LDPs, corroborated by a nationwide, online consumer survey and a literature review of its fate within conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Peer-reviewed publications focusing on the degradation of PVA in critical processes of WWTPs were shortlisted as a part of the literature review, and subsequent degradation data was extracted and applied to a model with a set of assumptions. Survey and model results estimated that approximately 17,200 ± 5000 metric ton units per year (mtu/yr) of PVA are used from LDPs in the US, with 10,500 ± 3000 mtu/yr reaching WWTPs. Literature review data, when incorporated into our model, resulted in ~61% of PVA ending up in the environment via the sludge route and ~15.7% via the aqueous phase. PVA presence in the environment, regardless of its matrix, is a threat to the ecosystem due to the potential mobilization of heavy metals and other hydrophilic contaminants.
Rethinking Disparities in Minimally Invasive Myomectomy: Identifying Drivers of Disparate Surgical Approach to Myomectomy Between African American and White Women.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To identify drivers of disparities among patients undergoing surgical management of fibroids when stratified by self-identified patient race. DESIGN This is a retrospective IRB-approved chart review of all patients who underwent a myomectomy at a large academic center. Surgical approach to myomectomy was classified as abdominal, laparoscopic, or robotic-assisted laparoscopic. Fibroid burden was quantified preoperatively using uterine volume, intra-operatively by number of fibroids listed on operative report, and postoperatively by fibroid weight from pathology reports. SETTING A large tertiary care hospital containing a comprehensive fibroid treatment center. PATIENTS 265 white patients and 121 African American patients who underwent a myomectomy between January 2012 and October 2018 were included in the study population. INTERVENTIONS Abdominal, laparoscopic, and robotic-assisted myomectomy. Laparoscopic and robotic-assisted myomectomy were classified as minimally invasive myomectomy. Multivariable logistic regression models and a propensity score matching algorithm were used to match African American women and white women for fibroid burden. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS A total of 386 women were included in the study. African American (AA) (31%; n=121) women had higher fibroid burden (p 8 AA: 31% vs. white 13%, p<.01). Despite this, African American women underwent minimally invasive myomectomy at similar rates as compared to white women when adjusted for fibroid burden, BMI, preoperative hematocrit, HTN, and surgical indication (adjusted OR: 1.3, 95% CI: 0.8 to 2.2, p<.01).. Sensitivity analysis using propensity score matching found similar results. CONCLUSION In this population, African American women had a higher fibroid burden as compared to white women. When matched for fibroid burden, however, there was no statistically significant difference between rates of minimally invasive myomectomy and abdominal myomectomy. This finding was consistent when controlling for fibroid burden measured by preoperative, intraoperative, or postoperative methods of measurement. Further studies are needed to better characterize this disparity at other hospitals, and to investigate ways to increase access and equity among patients undergoing minimally invasive myomectomy.
Hippocampal - prefrontal connectivity prior to COVID-19 pandemic predicts stress reactivity

Abstract Background By adolescence, foundational cognitive and affective neurobehavioral processes specialize based on environmental demands, such as stress, to determine the basis of adult trajectories. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has increased stress for everyone, particularly adolescents who face unique stressors such as restrictions in socialization and education. However, variability in brain processes supporting stress reactivity is not well understood. Here, we leverage pre-pandemic brain development studies to identify how maturity of prefrontal connectivity with the amygdala and hippocampus (HPC) is associated with response to COVID-19. We hypothesized that age-related changes in connectivity of affective and cognitive brain systems may underlie the emotional response of adolescents during the pandemic. Methods In this study, 10- to 31-year-old participants (n = 111) completed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans prior to the pandemic and then completed a questionnaire 9 months into the pandemic measuring worry, COVID-related stress, sadness, perceived stress, and positive affect. Associations between pairwise functional connectivity of HPC/amygdala subregions with prefrontal cortex subdivisions and affective reactivity during the pandemic were examined. Results Regression analyses indicated that both worry and COVID-19–related stress increased with age (false discovery rate–corrected p Conclusions Taken together, our results indicate that increases in stress reactivity to the COVID-19 pandemic across the transition to adulthood are driven by maturation of posterior HPC–ventromedial prefrontal cortex coupling, which integrates stress response and emotional memory processing.
The Impact of Increased Segment Disclosure on Trading Profits of Corporate Managers: Evidence from SFAS No. 131

This paper examines the impact of segment disclosure on the trading profits of corporate insiders. We focus specifically on the firms that increased their number of reported segments after the adoption of a new segment disclosure standard – SFAS No. 131 (CHG firms). Using a difference-in-differences method, we show that the insider profits of CHG firms are significantly greater than those of NOCHG firms in the pre-131 era. Additionally, we show that CHG firms exhibit a significant decline in insider profits relative to NOCHG firms in the post-131 era, which is consistent with Baiman and Verrecchia’s (1996) finding that the enhanced disclosure mitigates insiders’ ability to earn abnormal profits. This decrease is particularly pronounced in large firms whose segment information is more complex and difficult to disentangle, in firms not covered by analysts, and in pre-131 single-segment firms. Our results are robust to an alternative definition of insider trading activities and to alternative disaggregation measures. Overall, the results of this paper suggest that insiders use private segment information to obtain abnormal trading profits and that these profits are reduced when firms provide more segment data.
The Role of Ex Situ Solid Electrolyte Interphase in Lithium Metal Batteries

Lithium metal anode (LMA) is arising as a strong anode candidate for the next-generation high energy density lithium metal batteries (LMBs) due to their high theoretical capacity, low mass density, and low redox potential. However, the practical application of LMA is hindered due to its inherent problems such as infinite volume expansion and the highly reactive nature. The infinite volume expansion issues lead to the pulverization of the Li electrode and the formation of unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), resulting in Li dendrite growth. The hyperactive nature of Li consumes both Li and electrolyte, resulting in low Coulombic efficiency (CE). As a result, there is a challenge in the safety concern of the battery and poor cycling life span. Here, we provided a summary of the recent development of facile and low-cost ex situ-derived SEI. The commonly used physical and chemical deposition technique for the development of stable ex situ-based SEI can revive the LMA. We highlighted the preparation method, electrochemical performance, as well as some drawbacks of ex situ-based SEIs to provide readers a concise overview of the field for developing novel, effective, low-cost, and stable ex situ-based artificial SEIs.
Confinement and Flux Attachment

Flux-attached theories are a novel class of lattice gauge theories whose gauge constraints involve both electric and magnetic operators. Like ordinary gauge theories, they possess confining phases. Unlike ordinary gauge theories, their confinement does not imply a trivial gapped vacuum. This paper will offer three lessons about the confining phases of flux-attached $\mathbb Z_K$ theories in two spatial dimensions. First, on an arbitrary orientable lattice, flux attachment that satisfies a simple, explicitly derived criterion leads to a confining theory whose low-energy behavior is captured by an action of a general Chern-Simons form. Second, on a square lattice, this criterion can be solved, and all theories that satisfy it can be enumerated. The simplest such theory has an action given by a difference of two Chern-Simons terms, and it features a kind of subsystem symmetry that causes its topological entanglement entropy to behave pathologically. Third, the simplest flux-attached theory on a square lattice that does not satisfy the above criterion is exactly solvable when the gauge group is $\mathbb Z_2$. On a torus, its confined phase possesses a twofold topological degeneracy that stems from a sum over spin structures in a dual fermionic theory. This makes this flux-attached $\mathbb Z_2$ theory an appealing candidate for a microscopic description of a $\mathrm U(1)_2$ Chern-Simons theory.
Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan

Karl Friday, an internationally recognised authority on Japanese warriors, provides the first comprehensive study of the topic to be published in English. This work incorporates nearly twenty years of on-going research and draws on both new readings of primary sources and the most recent secondary scholarship. It overturns many of the stereotypes that have dominated views of the period. Friday analyzes Heian -, Kamakura- and Nambokucho-period warfare from five thematic angles. He examines the principles that justified armed conflict, the mechanisms used to raise and deploy armed forces, the weapons available to early medieval warriors, the means by which they obtained them, and the techniques and customs of battle. A thorough, accessible and informative review, this study highlights the complex casual relationships among the structures and sources of early medieval political power, technology, and the conduct of war.
Finite correlation time effects in nonequilibrium phase transitions: II. Some exact moment results

Abstract We present exact analytic results for the inverse moments of a nonlinear stochastic process with multiplicative fluctuations of arbitrary correlations. The process we study has recently recieved considerable attention as a prototype system and has been simulated experimentally by Sancho et al. We compare our exact steady state moments with those obtained via approximate techniques, and also present the first time-dependent results for such a system.
The Effect of Platinum Catalysts on Propane Oxidation at Elevated Pressure

Abstract : The potential for catalytically enhanced ignition in low-heat rejection Diesel engines has been experimentally studied under engine simulated conditions in a high pressure chemical flow reactor. Results are presented for propane oxidation on platinum at 6 and 10 atmospheres, at temperatures from 800K to 1050K, and at equivalence ratios from 0.5 to 4.0. For turbulent transport rates which are typical of those in an engine, as much as 20% of the fuel was found to react on the catalyst before the onset of the gas-phase ignition reactions. Depending on the adiabaticity of the combustion chamber walls, this could lead to significant thermal enhancement of the gas-phase ignition process. Evidence of chemical enhancement was also observed, at 10 atm under very fuel rich conditions, in terms of a change in the concentration and distribution of the hydrocarbon intermediate species. Possible mechanisms for the observed chemical enhancement due to surface generated species are discussed.
Color Coding to Facilitate Performance of Focused Attention Tasks with Object Displays

A study was performed to test the hypothesis that color coding can be used to enhance the speed and accuracy of performance on a focused attention task when object displays are employed. Subjects performed both a focused attention and an integration task while viewing a rectangle display that represented the readings of four system parameters. The object displays were presented to subjects in one of four color coding conditions: (1) monochrome; (2) parameter type; (3) parameter state; or (4) system state. Study results indicated that the system state color code significantly reduced integration task response time without degrading integration task accuracy. For the focused attention task, there was no significant difference between monochrome and the remaining color code conditions for either response time or accuracy.
Comparison of full pitch and concentrated coil switched reluctance machines

While the switched reluctance machine (SRM) is traditionally a concentrated coil machine, efforts with full pitch windings have spurred interest. With the full pitch winding, twice the area of copper is energized at any given time as compared to the concentrated winding SRM, leading to potentially higher machine efficiency. This paper investigates the performance of 15 kW full pitch winding SRM under the following three current excitation patterns: unipolar, bipolar 120-degree conduction, and bipolar 180-degree conduction. In addition, the full pitch winding SRM is compared with the standard concentrated coil SRM. Finite element analysis (FEA) shows the highly nonlinear behavior of the mutual inductance of full pitch winding SRM. It is shown that the mutual inductance and self inductance change significantly depending on the current excitation patterns. Simulation results based on Simulink for each full pitch topology and concentrated coil SRM are presented at low and high speeds.
The Four Umpires: A Paradigm for Ethical Leadership

Theories of leadership have traditionally focused on leadership traits, styles, and situational factors that influence leader behaviors. We propose that The Four Umpires Model described herein, which examines how four leadership types view reality and perception, provides a useful example of an effective steward leader. We use the Five Beliefs Model identified by Edgar Schein and Peter Senge to frame the implicit assumptions underlying the core beliefs and mental models of each of the four umpires. We suggest that the stewardship model of Umpire Number Four, the Facilitating Idealist, is the best model for leadership of the four umpires described. In our review of the Four Umpires Model we also explain why it is importance for every leader to thoughtfully assess the assumptions that form the ethical basis for leadership decisions and actions.
The role of climate, habitat, and species co‐occurrence as drivers of change in small mammal distributions over the past century

Species distribution models are commonly used to predict species responses to climate change. However, their usefulness in conservation planning and policy is controversial because they are difficult to validate across time and space. Here we capitalize on small mammal surveys repeated over a century in Yosemite National Park, USA, to assess accuracy of model predictions. Historical (1900-1940) climate, vegetation, and species occurrence data were used to develop single- and multi-species multivariate adaptive regression spline distribution models for three species of chipmunk. Models were projected onto the current (1980-2007) environmental surface and then tested against modern field resurveys of each species. We evaluated models both within and between time periods and found that even with the inclusion of biotic predictors, climate alone is the dominant predictor explaining the distribution of the study species within a time period. However, climate was not consistently an adequate predictor of the distributional change observed in all three species across time. For two of the three species, climate alone or climate and vegetation models showed good predictive performance across time. The stability of the distribution from the past to present observed in the third species, however, was not predicted by our modeling approach. Our results demonstrate that correlative distribution models are useful in understanding species' potential responses to environmental change, but also show how changes in species-environment correlations through time can limit the predictive performance of models.
Reflections on José Ortega Y Gasset’s Notion of Àlétheia

One may distinguish between several different, albeit interconnected, senses of the word verdad, or truth, in Ortega’s work, namely: 1. Adaequatio, correspondence, or veracity; 2. Coherence or compatibility (or even logicality, the name he assigned to it when it was carried to the limit with the greatest possible rigor); 3. Self-coincidence, authenticity, or the lived agreement between one’s thought and experience, on the one hand, and the beliefs at the core of one’s life, on the other;1 and 4. Aletheia, unconcealment, or dis-covery.
Blood Tests to Diagnose Fibrosis or Cirrhosis in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection: A Systematic Review

Background Many blood tests have been proposed as alternatives to liver biopsy for identifying fibrosis or cirrhosis. Purpose To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of blood tests to identify fibrosis or cirrhosis in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Data sources MEDLINE (1947 to January 2013), the Cochrane Library, and reference lists. Study selection Studies that compared the diagnostic accuracy of blood tests with that of liver biopsy. Data extraction Investigators abstracted and checked study details and quality by using predefined criteria. Data synthesis 172 studies evaluated diagnostic accuracy. For identifying clinically significant fibrosis, the platelet count, age-platelet index, aspartate aminotransferase-platelet ratio index (APRI), FibroIndex, FibroTest, and Forns index had median positive likelihood ratios of 5 to 10 at commonly used cutoffs and areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUROCs) of 0.70 or greater (range, 0.71 to 0.86). For identifying cirrhosis, the platelet count, age-platelet index, APRI, and Hepascore had median positive likelihood ratios of 5 to 10 and AUROCs of 0.80 or greater (range, 0.80 to 0.91). The Goteborg University Cirrhosis Index and the Lok index had slightly lower positive likelihood ratios (4.8 and 4.4, respectively). In direct comparisons, the APRI was associated with a slightly lower AUROC than the FibroTest for identifying fibrosis and a substantially higher AUROC than the aspartate aminotransferase-alanine aminotransferase ratio for identifying fibrosis or cirrhosis. Limitation Only English-language articles were included, and most studies had methodological limitations, including failure to describe blinded interpretation of liver biopsy specimens and inadequate description of enrollment methods. Conclusion Many blood tests are moderately useful for identifying clinically significant fibrosis or cirrhosis in HCV-infected patients. Primary funding source Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Optical Design Method for Free Form Optics

In this paper we propose a method based on the generalized Sine condition for the design of aplanatic optical systems that are generally made of free form optics. As a proof of concept we present the design of a two mirrors fast aplanatic telescope.
Active vibration damping using magnetostrictive miniactuators

The feasibility of implementing embedded magnetostrictive mini actuators (MMA) for smart structure applications, such as vibration suppression of beams, is investigated in this paper. Based on the Euler-Bernoulli's beam theory and previously reported magnetothermoelastic theory of MMA, an integrated mathematical model of the beam embedded with MMA is formulated. In addition, different forms of control schemes for MMA are investigated. Simulation results, based on the open-loop control, shows that it is possible to attenuate the vibration by embedding MMA in the beam. Further work on the investigation of the merits of nonlinear closed-loop control is in progress.
Immunchemical study of cell differentiation in gill epithelium of euryhaline oncorhynchus (walbaum)

Abstract 1. 1. Utilizing immunochemical techniques, the existence of specific salt-inducible antigens in the cells of the gill filaments of Oncorhynchus tshawytscha was studied. Comparison of homologous reactions of antisera using the ring-precipitin technique indicated that the salt-water-adapted gill epithelium gave four- to eightfold greater response tna tha of fresh-water gill epithelial antigens. 2. 2. Ouchterlony method of immunodiffusion assay indicated that multiple antigen-antibody complexes exists for antigens obtained from the microsomal fraction of the gill filaments. 3. 3. Adsorption of antisera with homologous and heterologous antigenic material resulted in loss of various precipitin reactions. However, using noncellular serum antigen adsorbed against the antisera, positive reactions still occurred for each subcellular fraction. 4. 4. Treatment of antigenic fraction with trypsin prior to assay resulted in complete loss of antigenicity, whereas tretment of the antigens with ribonuclease A and α-amylase did not effect the antigenicity.
First-trimester 3-dimensional power Doppler of the uteroplacental circulation space: a potential screening method for preeclampsia

Objective The objective of the study was to compare 3-dimensional power Doppler (3DPD) of the uteroplacental circulation space (UPCS) in the first trimester between women who develop preeclampsia (PEC) and those who do not and to assess the 3DPD method as a screening tool for PEC. Study Design This was a prospective observational study of singleton pregnancies at 10 weeks 4 days to 13 weeks 6 days. The 3DPD indices, vascularization index (VI), flow index (FI), and vascularization flow index (VFI), were determined on a UPSC sphere biopsy with the virtual organ computer-aided analysis (VOCAL) program. Results Of 277 women enrolled, 24 developed PEC. The 3DPD indices were lower in women who developed PEC. The area under the receiver-operating characteristics curve for the prediction of PEC was 78.9%, 77.6%, and 79.6% for VI, FI, and VFI, respectively. Conclusion Patients who develop PEC have lower 3DPD indices of their UPCS during the first trimester. Our findings suggest that this ultrasonographic tool has the potential to predict the development of PEC.
Verification of satellite observations of stratospheric minor constituents

Abstract The TIROS-N operational meteorological satellite observing system will have the capability of determining global ozone amounts from two instruments by 1985. The TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) yields total ozone amounts through measurements of atmospheric infrared radiances. The Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV/2) spectrometer yields total ozone amounts and vertical ozone profiles through measurements of the solar ultraviolet radiation backscattered by the atmosphere. The current operations plan calls for single satellites containing both instruments system with local afternoon equator crossing times. They will be launched at approximately 18 month intervals. The satellite ozone products will require verification using commonly accepted references. For total ozone, Dobson spectrophotometer determinations are to be used. For vertical profiles, no clear choice now exists among balloon-launched chemical sondes, rocket-launched optical sondes or Dobson Umkehr measurements. The applicability and use of these measurement systems are discussed with emphasis on the need for the verification data consistent with the operational satellite lifetimes. Another major source of data for verification is other satellite systems. Comparisons of vertical ozone profiles from several concurrent satellites is discussed. This includes results from SAGE, LIMS and SBUV.
Building for Peace in New York City

“To be political, to live in a polis. meant that everything was decided through words and persuasion and not through force and violence.”—Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition (1958)1“Talks not Troops...