cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Idiopathic Ventricular Arrhythmias Originating From the Infundibular Muscles: Prevalence, Electrocardiographic and Electrophysiological Characteristics, and Outcome of Catheter Ablation

Background: This study investigated the prevalence, electrocardiographic and electrophysiological characteristics, and ablation outcome of idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) originating from the infundibular muscles (IFMs) in the right ventricle consisting of the parietal band (PB) and septal band (SB). Methods and Results: We studied 19 patients with idiopathic VA origins in the PB in 14 and SB in 5 among 294 consecutive patients with VA origins in the right ventricle. PB and SB VAs exhibited left bundle branch block with a left inferior (n=12) or superior (n=2) axis and left (n=4) or right inferior (n=1) axis pattern, respectively. In lead I, all PB VAs exhibited R waves while SB VAs often exhibited S waves. A QS pattern in lead aVR and the presence of a notch in the mid-QRS were common in all IFMs VAs. During IFMs VAs, a far-field ventricular electrogram with an early activation was always recorded in the His bundle region regardless of the location of the VA origins. With 9.2±6.9 radiofrequency applications and a duration of 972±946 seconds, catheter ablation was successful in 15 patients. VAs recurred in 4 during a follow-up period of 43±24 months. A change in the QRS morphology was observed spontaneously in 5 patients, immediately after ablation in 4, and at the time of the VA recurrence in 2. Conclusions: Idiopathic VAs originating from the IFMs are rare (PB>SB). Catheter ablation of these IFMs VAs was challenging, requiring a large amount of the radiofrequency energy delivery for a successful ablation with a relatively high recurrence rate.
Psychosocial Correlates of Monocyte Activation and HIV Persistence in Methamphetamine Users

This cross-sectional study investigated the associations of psychosocial factors relevant to recovery from substance use disorders with monocyte activation and HIV persistence in a sample of 84 HIV-positive, methamphetamine-using sexual minority men with undetectable HIV viral load (<40 copies/mL). We examined if psychosocial factors were associated with decreased soluble CD14 (sCD14) and lower proviral HIV DNA. Multiple linear regression models adjusted for age, anti-retroviral therapy regimen, and CD4+ T-cell count. Time on ART was also included in models examining proviral HIV DNA. Greater self-efficacy for managing methamphetamine triggers and higher social support for abstinence were independently associated with lower sCD14. Greater social support for abstinence was also independently associated with lower proviral HIV DNA. Psychosocial factors relevant to recovery from substance use disorders are associated with lower monocyte activation and decreased proviral HIV DNA. Findings underscore the need for longitudinal research to identify plausible mechanisms linking psychosocial factors and substance use with biological processes relevant to HIV pathogenesis.
A method for computing volumetric fish density using stereo cameras

Abstract Cameras are an important tool for sampling marine environments, providing estimates of fish size and abundance for ecological studies and resource management. In addition to length estimates, calibrated stereo-cameras can be used to provide precise locations (i.e. range and angle) of objects within the view frame of both cameras. We present a general method to exploit this information to estimate the density of fishes from stereo-camera measurements. This includes deriving the jointly sampled volume from stereo-camera images, accounting for the presence of the sea floor within the camera view, and accounting for detectability of fishes as a function of range. The method was demonstrated on a set of paired still images collected by stationary camera platforms deployed on the seafloor. Estimates of fish range, camera sampling volume, and seafloor position were used to model volumetric density as a function of range from the camera. A comparison of volumetric density estimates and traditional count metrics found that these metrics differ substantially in inferred relative species composition. The potential value of volumetric density for camera-based marine surveys, the potential for deriving absolute abundance, and the possibility of range-induced bias in count data are discussed.
Influence of geographic origin on post-stocking survival and condition of European grayling (Thymallus thymallus) in a small river

The post-release survival and condition of 1+ year old European grayling Thymallus thymallus reared in a local (Husinec) and two 250–300 km distant, hatcheries (Pardubice and Hyncice) were evaluated by the recapture of tagged fish five months after release into the Blanice River, Czech Republic, the fish population of which was depleted by cormorant predation during several previous winters. The fish were marked using Visible Implant Elastomer tags and released into six sites along the river in May 2014: 100 locally sourced fish and 100 of a strain from a distant source per site. Significantly higher recapture of Husinec (33%) than Pardubice (20%) was found at one site but was offset by results in the remaining two sites into which they were stocked. Significantly higher site fidelity was shown by Husinec (12%) than Hyncice (7%) fish in the three sites. Lower initial weight and condition factor of the Husinec fish was equal to or higher than fish from the distant hatcheries at recapture. Some differences in final weight, length, and condition factor were found among groups regardless of release site. Lower recapture rate, growth, and condition were displayed in fish released into the three downstream sites (Husinec 1 and Hyncice). The results indicated the potential for successful use of non-autochthonous stock for grayling population recovery.
Design of Low-Loss Transmission Lines with Common Mode Suppression for Packages

Increasing data rates of high speed serial interfaces forces the insertion loss and common mode (CM) noise requirements to be tighter. This paper addresses both of these challenges by introducing a new low-loss transmission line design with simultaneous common mode filtering property. The line is composed of periodical repetitions of narrow and wide sections, which generates a CM impedance contrast to filter out the CM noise, while differential impedance is kept constant by locally voiding the planes below and above the wide trace sections. As a result of the wider sections, the loss is also smaller.
Heteronormativity and women’s psychosocial functioning in heterosexual and same-sex couples

ABSTRACTHeteronormativity has been implicated as afoundational contributor to both heterosexism and sexism. While exposure to sexism and heterosexism consistently predict negative psychosocial outc...
Abstract 243: Modeling of Diastolic Dysfunction in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Cardiomyocytes From Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Patients

Aims: Diastolic dysfunction (DD) is common among hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients, causing major morbidity and mortality. Yet its cellular mechanisms are not fully understood, and present...
Virtual cycles of stable (quasi-)maps with fields

Abstract We generalize the results of Chang–Li, Kim–Oh and Chang–Li on the moduli of p-fields to the setting of (quasi-)maps to complete intersections in arbitrary smooth Deligne–Mumford stacks with projective coarse moduli. In particular, we show that the virtual cycle of stable (quasi-)maps to a complete intersection can be recovered by the cosection localized virtual cycle of the moduli of p-fields of the ambient space.
Systematic Assessment of the Impact of Ultrasound-Enhancing Agents upon Measurements of Cardiac Size and Function by Echocardiography

Background Echocardiography with an ultrasound-enhancing contrast agent (CON) is a powerful tool for identifying the endocardial border. However, the precise relationship of measurements obtained from CON to the reference values of two-dimensional unenhanced echocardiography (BASL) remains undefined, especially regarding wall thickness. The aim of this study was to systematically determine the differences between unenhanced and enhanced images for a broad range of left ventricular (LV) measurements and to define reference values for the relationship between the two methods. Methods We examined the echocardiograms of 624 consecutive patients in whom CON was performed for clinical indications. We excluded 192 patients in whom studies were technically difficult for measurement by either or both methods. Echocardiograms were from standard parasternal and apical views according to American Society of Echocardiography guidelines. Recordings were measured for wall thickness and chamber dimension in 343 patients and for LV volumes and ejection fraction in 212 patients. Results LV wall thickness measurements were systematically reduced with a bias of 0.2 cm with limits of agreement (LOA) from −0.5 to 0.16 cm in interventricular septal thickness, and from −0.46 to 0.13 cm in posterior wall thickness in CON. LV dimensions and volumes systematically increased with a bias of 0.2 cm (LOA, −0.19 to 0.58 cm) and 14 to 16 mL (LOA, −11.9 to 42.8 mL), respectively. LV ejection fraction systematically decreased with a bias of 3.4% (LOA, −13.5% to 6.8%) in CON compared to BASL. All differences showed normal distribution in the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Conclusion CON yields significantly different measurements of cardiac size and function compared to unenhanced imaging. These data define the systematic differences in measurements between CON and BASL images; the range of differences is narrow. These differences may influence management when the measurement value is a borderline.
Nanostructured Materials for Photoelecrochemical Hydrogen Production

Highly ordered TiO2 nanotubes (TiNTs) were produced via an anodization process. Nanoscale gold nanoparticles were deposited onto the TiO2 surfaces using a deposition-precipitation method. The addition of gold nanoparticles to the TiO2 nanotubes is expected to significantly improve the water oxidation activities. In addition to a modest improvement in the electrocatalytic properties, deposition of the Au nanoparticles caused a slight reduction in the TiO2 bandgap. This would allow the TiO2 to absorb more light in the visible portion of the spectrum. The performance of the TiNTs was compared to that for a commercial TiO2 powder (P25 from Degussa). The TiNT based electrodes achieved higher current densities than the powder based electrodes.
Dihedral deformation and rigidity

Abstract We consider defining the embedding of a triangle mesh into R 3 , up to translation, rotation, and scale, by its vector of dihedral angles. On the theoretical side, we show that locally the map from realizable vectors of dihedrals to mesh embeddings is one-to-one almost everywhere. On the implementation side, we are interested in using the dihedral parameterization in shape analysis. This demands a way to visualize statistical results, for instance an average shape. To this end, we give a heuristic method for mapping interpolations in dihedral space to interpolations between input mesh embeddings, and we visualize statistical analyses of several families of organic shapes.
Single cell atlas of beige remodeling of white adipose tissue reveals a myeloid to lymphoid shift during cold exposure compared to beta 3 adrenergic stimulation

SUMMARY White adipose tissue (WAT) is a dynamic tissue, which responds to environmental stimuli and dietary cues by changing its morphology and metabolic capacity. The ability of WAT to undergo a beige remodeling has become an appealing strategy to combat obesity and its related metabolic complications. Within the cell mixture that constitutes the stromal vascular fraction (SVF), WAT beiging is initiated through expansion and differentiation of adipocytes progenitor cells, however, the extent of the SVF cellular changes is still poorly understood. Additionally, direct beta 3 adrenergic receptor (Adrb3) stimulation has been extensively used to mimic physiological cold- induced beiging, yet it is still unknown whether Adrb3 activation induces the same WAT remodeling as cold exposure. Here, by using single cell RNA sequencing, we provide a comprehensive atlas of the cellular dynamics during beige remodeling within white adipose tissue. We reveal drastic changes both in the overall cellular composition and transcriptional states of individual cell subtypes between Adrb3- and cold-induced beiging. Moreover, we demonstrate that cold exposure induces a myeloid to lymphoid shift of the immune compartment compared to Adrb3 activation. Further analysis, showed that Adrb3 stimulation leads to activation of the interferon/Stat1 pathways favoring infiltration of myeloid immune cells, while repression of this pathway by cold promotes lymphoid immune cells recruitment. These findings provide new insight into the cellular dynamics during WAT beige remodeling and could ultimately lead to novel strategies to identify translationally-relevant drug targets to counteract obesity and T2D.
A 68-Year-Old Man with Chronic Wrist Pain

Pain of the hand and wrist secondary to osteoarthritis is a common condition encountered by the pain physician. It is a non-inflammatory process which results in the destruction of cartilage of the affected joint, eventually resulting in mechanical pain and reduced strength and range of motion. Due to the progressive nature of the disease process, where early stages may be asymptomatic or tolerable, the prevalence is difficult to determine. A systematic review of 4000 radiographs found a prevalence of 5% (Watson and Ballet, J Hand Surg 9A:358–365, 1984), and a randomized cross-sectional national prevalence survey found a lifetime prevalence of 3.58% in employed individuals (Dillon et al., Am J Ind Med 42(4):318–327, 2002). The etiology of osteoarthritis of the wrist can be categorized as either traumatic, where injury to the ligaments or bones of the wrist result in altered joint loading and kinematics leading to joint degradation, or idiopathic, such as from carpal avascular necrosis (Kienbock’s disease) or congenital abnormalities of the wrist. The first approach to the diagnosis of wrist arthritis is the patient history paying special attention to hand dominance, occupational risk factors, functional requirements, and the progression of pain and any limitations in range of motion. This is then followed by a physical exam pinpointing the pain-generating joints. Radiographic imaging is essential in detecting the location and pattern of degenerative changes and therefore guiding management. Management begins with conservative measures such as immobilization with splints, the use of oral analgesics, and then progresses to more invasive interventions such as intra-articular local anesthetic/steroid injections with the goal of relieving pain and improving function. However, these techniques may only be temporary as the disease process advances requiring definitive surgical interventions, which are selected based upon the joints involved, the age of the patient, and functional requirements.
Preliminary Results on Density Poincare Plot Based Atrial Fibrillation Detection from Premature Atrial/Ventricular Contractions *

Detection of Atrial fibrillation (AF) from premature atrial contraction (PAC) and premature ventricular contraction (PVC) is challenging as frequent occurrences of these ectopic beats can mimic the typical irregular patterns of AF. In this paper, we present a preliminary study of using density Poincare plot based machine learning method to detect AF from PAC/PVCs using electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings. First, we propose creation of this new density Poincare plot which is derived from the difference of the heart rate. Next, from this density Poincare plot, template correlation and discrete wavelet transform are used to extract suitable image-based features, which is followed by infinite latent feature selection algorithm to rank the features. Finally, classification of AF vs PAC/PVC is performed using K-Nearest Neighbor, discriminant analysis and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers. Our method is developed and validated using a subset of Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC) III database containing 8 AF and 8 PAC/PVC subjects. Both 10-fold and leave-one-subject-out cross validations are performed to show the robustness of our proposed method. During the 10-fold cross-validation, SVM achieved the best performance with 99.49% sensitivity, 94.51% specificity and 97.29% accuracy with the extracted features while for the leave-one-subject-out, the highest overall accuracy is 90.91%. Moreover, when compared with two state-of-the-art methods, the proposed algorithm achieves superior AF vs. PAC/PVC discrimination performance.Clinical Relevance—This preliminary study shows that with the help of density Poincare plot, AF can be separated from PAC/PVC with better accuracy.
American Survivors: Trans-Pacific Memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

American Survivors is a fresh and moving historical account of U.S. survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings, breaking new ground not only in the study of World War II but also in the public understanding of nuclear weaponry. A truly trans-Pacific history, American Survivors challenges the dualistic distinction between Americans-as-victors and Japanese-as-victims often assumed by scholars of the nuclear war. Using more than 130 oral histories of Japanese American and Korean American survivors, their family members, community activists, and physicians - most of which appear here for the first time - Naoko Wake reveals a cross-national history of war, illness, immigration, gender, family, and community from intimately personal perspectives. American Survivors brings to light the history of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that connects, as much as separates, people across time and national boundaries.
Obesity and the prevention of thyroid cancer: Impact of body mass index and weight change on developing thyroid cancer - Pooled results of 24 million cohorts.

Abstract Background Body weight may be a modifiable risk factor predisposing to different cancers. To establish a potential impact of weight change on thyroid cancer risk, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of body mass index (BMI) and weight change over time as a risk of developing thyroid cancer (TC). Methods A systematic search was performed up to February 25, 2020. Pooled relative risk (RR) were estimated using fixed and random models. Heterogeneity between articles was examined using Q-test and I2 index. Evaluation of publication bias was conducted with Egger’s regression test. Results A total of 31 studies including 24,489,477 cohorts were eligible. Pooled analysis revealed that normal and underweight cohorts were associated with a decreased risk of TC (RR = 0.68, 95%CI = 0.65–0.71, p Conclusions Obesity is associated with higher risk of developing TC in women. However, maintaining a healthy weight is associated with reduced risk of TC in both women and men. Shifting our practice to include weight control strategies will help lead to cancer prevention.
A Frontal Account of False Alarms.

Prior research has demonstrated that the frontal lobes play a critical role in the top–down control of behavior, and damage to the frontal cortex impairs performance on tasks that require executive...
Navigable Space Construction from Sparse Noisy Point Clouds

Robot navigation with noisy perception is a fundamental but challenging task. We present a framework for creating navigable space from cluttered point clouds generated by low-end sensors with high sparsity and noise. Our method incrementally seeds and creates local convex regions free of obstacle points along robot's trajectory. Then a dense version of the point cloud is reconstructed through a map point regulation process where the original noisy map points are first projected onto a series of local convex hull surfaces, after which those points falling inside the convex hulls are culled. We have tested our proposed framework using a public autonomous driving dataset and a manually built structured environment for various performance evaluation, as well as inside our research building for ground robot navigation tasks. Our results reveal that the reconstructed navigable space has small volume loss (error) comparing with the ground truth, and the method is highly efficient, allowing real-time navigation computation.
Inhaled Nitric Oxide Delivery With a Noninvasive Single-Limb Circuit

Background: Invasive mechanical ventilation is associated with costly complications such as ventilator-associated pneumonia, muscle atrophy, and line sepsis.1 For patients with persistent need for inhaled nitric oxide (INO), extubation may be delayed by limited options for noninvasive ventilation (NIV) compatibility with INO. Studies suggest that NIV with INO may be appropriate and effective.2 There is insufficient data on NIV INO delivery via systems with leaks. Our current standard of practice is to utilize a non-vented mask (NVM) in conjunction with FP28(1):39-55. 2. Priyanka Patel, et al. Safety and efficacy of noninvasive inhaled nitric oxide in pediatric cardiac intensive care unit. Pediatrics 2019;144:403.
Wednesday, 9:20 p.m., September 1, 2010—West Lafayette, IN

Delta finished another interview for her project on the communicative framing of abusive relationships, and as she packed her worn, dusty, black canvas bag she forced herself not to think of the desperate situations these women face.
TH‐E‐304‐00: Reference Dosimetry for Beam Modalities Other Than MV Photons

It is fair to say that the clinical determination of absorbed dose in a high-energy photon beam is the only situation where there is currently a direct chain of traceability from the standards laboratory to the end-user and the protocol requires only ‘simple’ conversion/ correction factors. For all other modalities the primary standard is in a different quantity (e.g., air kerma) or in the right quantity but a different radiation beam (e.g., for proton dosimetry) from what is required for the clinical dose delivery. Complex conversion factors are often then required in applying protocols to give the desired final quantity. Such conversion factors can be from kerma to dose (in the case of kilovoltage x-rays or brachytherapy) or from one type of radiation beam to another (in the case of electron or proton beams). Even non-standard MV photon beams (e.g. non-standard geometry, presence of a magnetic field) can have a significant impact on the procedure that must be followed compared to what is found in TG-51. While national and international bodies, such as the AAPM and the IAEA, primarily address the end-user’s needs with protocols and guidelines, calibration laboratories are developing new measurement standards and approaches that should simplify the calibration chain and therefore lead to simpler, more robust procedures to yield absorbed dose in the beam of interest in the radiation therapy clinic. This session will provide a broad overview of the worldwide developments currently in progress, and also planned for the near future, of absorbed dose standards for a range of beam modalities including: Proton beams HDR and LDR brachytherapy Non-standard photon fields (small fields, impact of magnetic fields, etc) Learning Objectives: 1. Understand the present traceability chain for all beam modalities in regular use in the radiation therapy clinic. 2. Understand the current and planned development of absorbed dose standards for modalities other than linac photon beams. 3. Understand the physical basis of these standards and the potential impact on end-user dosimetry. 4. Understand the likely impact of these standards developments on dosimetry protocols in the coming 5–10 years.
The Effects of Personal and Group Level Factors on the Outcomes of Simulated Auditor-Client Teams

The way that auditors and their clients develop team resources that they can later use in negotiating with their counterparts is a critical but unexplored issue in auditing research. This study explores several important issues that may affect the development of these team resources. Specifically, it uses interacting groups to evaluate the dynamic interplay between personal and perceived group level factors in determining individual team member's satisfaction with the teams' solution, and the development of perceptions of the team's atmosphere. First, a model of the intra-person and intra-team decision processes is introduced. This model posits that individual's personalities and hierarchical levels influence their choice of conflict styles, the development of their perceptions of the team's atmosphere, and ultimately their satisfaction with the solution reached by the team. Conflict style also is posited to affect perceptions of the team's atmosphere and solution satisfaction. We then test the model using structural equation modeling. We also examine the development of consensus within the teams. Students working on their MBA and MS in Business and Accounting at two AACSB-accredited universities participated in this study. The results provide dramatic evidence of the influence of the factors of interest on the resources that each team brings to the ultimate negotiation with its counterpart team.
The Atmospheric Response to Realistic Reduced Summer Arctic Sea Ice Anomalies

The impact of reduced Arctic summer sea ice on the atmosphere is investigated by forcing an atmospheric general circulation model, the Community Climate Model (CCM 3.6), with observed sea ice conditions during 1995, a low-ice year. The 51 experiments, which spanned April to October of 1995, were initiated with different states from a control simulation. The 55-year control was integrated using a repeating climatological seasonal cycle of sea ice. The response was obtained from the mean difference between the experiment and control simulations. The strongest response was found during the month of August where the Arctic displays a weak local thermal response, with warmer surface air temperatures and lower sea level pressure (SLP). However, there is a significant remote response over the North Pacific characterized by an equivalent barotropic (anomalies are collocated with height and increase in magnitude) structure, with anomalous high SLP collocated with a ridge in the upper troposphere. The ice anomalies force an increase (decrease) in precipitation north of (along) the North Pacific storm track. A linear baroclinic model forced with the transient eddy vorticity fluxes, transient eddy heat fluxes, and diabatic heating separately demonstrated that transient eddy vorticity fluxes are key to maintaining the anomalous high over the North Pacific. The model's sensitivity to separately imposed ice anomalies in the Kara, Laptev-East Siberian, or Beaufort seas includes SLP, geopotential height, and precipitation changes that are similar to but weaker than the response to the full sea ice anomaly.
Storage and commodity markets: Inventories of raw materials, finished goods, and goods in process

In the recent macroeconomics literature, discussion of inventories has revolved around a “production-smoothing” function for holding stocks. As Blinder (1986, p. 12) puts it: “A firm is said to smooth production if its production responds less to a sales [that is, a demand] shock than it would if it could not carry inventories.” At first glance this role for stockholding appears to be different from the consumption-smoothing buffering effect emphasized so far in this book. It also seems intuitively plausible. Because of unforeseeable fluctuations in the demand for final goods, a firm would have to alter its contemporaneous production schedule a great deal and at considerable expense, unless it held inventories of finished goods. By extension (so the argument goes), aggregate production should be less variable than aggregate final consumption, both for particular industries and for the economy as a whole. Nevertheless, this production-smoothing role of inventories, at least as formally modeled, appears to be contrary to the facts in the U.S. economy. As Blinder (1986) observes, a broad stylized fact is that aggregate current production is more variable than aggregate current final consumption. West (1986) also tests the model for particular industries, specifically food, tobacco, apparel, chemicals, petroleum, and rubber, and decisively finds final consumption to be less variable than production. In the model and its variations here - by construction a model of inventories and production rationally atuned to the costs of irregular production - inventories smooth production, by Blinder's standard, even though they conform to the stylized fact of production (i.e., processing) being more variable than consumption.
Left ventricular sphericity independently predicts appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy.

Background Whether echocardiographic markers of remodeling are associated with ventricular tachyarrhythmias is unknown. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether a transthoracic echocardiographic (TTE) marker of spherical left ventricular (LV) remodeling is associated with appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy in patients with primary prevention ICDs. Methods From TTE images, we calculated sphericity index (SI), the ratio of biplane LV end-diastolic volume to the volume of a hypothetical sphere with a diameter of the LV end-diastolic length, and examined the relation between SI and therapy for ventricular tachyarrhythmias in 278 patients with primary prevention ICDs and in 50 controls without structural heart disease or ventricular arrhythmias. Results SI in normal healthy adult subjects and in subjects receiving ICDs was 0.44 ± 0.02 and 0.65 ± 0.04, respectively (P Conclusion SI is associated with appropriate ICD therapy, but not total mortality, in patients receiving primary prevention ICDs. These observations suggest spherical LV remodeling may predispose to ventricular arrhythmias. Furthermore, SI appears to add predictive accuracy for appropriate ICD therapy in patients with reduced ejection fraction.
Review: Cancer‐Induced Autoimmunity in the Rheumatic Diseases

Tantalizing connections between autoimmune rheumatic diseases and cancer have become increasingly evident over the past several decades. These connections are complex, with different relationships in frequency, timing and types of cancers observed in different diseases or disease subgroups. Several recent advances from disparate fields have begun to illuminate the dynamic and bidirectional interactions occurring at the cancer-immune system interface which may be relevant to understanding the origins of autoimmunity (1). These interactions include the existence of potent anti-cancer immune responses which limit tumor growth, as well as multiple immune and inflammatory pathways that can contribute to tumor growth and robustness. The striking ability of immune checkpoint inhibitors to reveal powerful anti-cancer immune responses in patients with cancer highlight that natural immune responses to cancers exist, and may regulate the emergence of cancer (2). Recent data in systemic sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma) patients suggests that, in some cases, autoimmunity may be initiated by autoantigen mutation in that patient’s cancer (3, 4). Interestingly, there exist patients with the same form of scleroderma and an identical autoimmune response who do not have a detectable cancer, raising the possibility that in these patients, the disease mechanism is the same except that the anti-tumor immune response has successfully eliminated the cancer. Similar striking associations with cancer are also apparent in other rheumatic phenotypes, particularly dermatomyositis (DM). The autoimmune rheumatic diseases therefore provide an exceptional opportunity to study cancer-immune interactions, and interrogate the mechanisms of the autoimmune rheumatic diseases, as well as the natural immune response to cancers in humans. This review highlights the relationships between cancer and rheumatic diseases, focused on kinetics (how closely in time the cancer and rheumatic disease present) and immune response (the frequency of cancer in rheumatic disease patients with different autoantibody specificities). We will highlight similarities to various paraneoplastic, immune-mediated processes, and will introduce important new tumor immunoediting concepts. While space constraints require that this review focus on specific immune responses associated with cancer in SSc and DM, the principles outlined are likely relevant to other autoimmune rheumatic syndromes.
Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ Is Required for Regulatory CD4+ T Cell-Mediated Protection against Colitis

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma activation has been implicated in the prevention of immunoinflammatory disorders; however, the mechanisms of regulation of effector and regulatory CD4+ T cell functions by endogenously activated PPAR-gamma remain unclear. We have used PPAR-gamma-deficient CD4+ T cells obtained from tissue-specific PPAR-gamma null mice (i.e., PPAR-gamma fl/fl; MMTV-Cre+) to investigate the role of endogenous PPAR-gamma on regulatory T cell (Treg) and effector CD4+ T cell function. Overall, we show that the loss of PPAR-gamma results in enhanced Ag-specific proliferation and overproduction of IFN-gamma in response to IL-12. These findings correlate in vivo with enhanced susceptibility of tissue-specific PPAR-gamma null mice to trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced colitis. Furthermore, the transfer of purified PPAR-gamma null CD4+ T cells into SCID recipients results in enteric disease. To test the assertion that the deficiency of PPAR-gamma in Treg impairs their ability to prevent effector T cell-induced colitis, we performed cotransfer studies. These studies demonstrate that PPAR-gamma-expressing, but not PPAR-gamma null Treg, prevent colitis induced by transfer of naive CD4+ T cells into SCID recipients. In line with these findings, the production of IFN-gamma by spleen and mesenteric lymph node-derived CD4+ T cells was down-regulated following transfer of PPAR-gamma-expressing, but not PPAR-gamma null, Treg. In conclusion, our data suggest that endogenous PPAR-gamma activation represents a Treg intrinsic mechanism of down-regulation of effector CD4+ T cell function and prevention of colitis.
Mechanism-based design of a protein kinase inhibitor.

Protein kinase inhibitors have applications as anticancer therapeutic agents and biological tools in cell signaling. Based on a phosphoryl transfer mechanism involving a dissociative transition state, a potent and selective bisubstrate inhibitor for the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase was synthesized by linking ATPγS to a peptide substrate analog via a two-carbon spacer. The compound was a high affinity competitive inhibitor against both nucleotide and peptide substrates and showed a slow off-rate. A crystal structure of this inhibitor bound to the tyrosine kinase domain of the insulin receptor confirmed the key design features inspired by a dissociative transition state, and revealed that the linker takes part in the octahedral coordination of an active site Mg2+. These studies suggest a general strategy for the development of selective protein kinase inhibitors.
Neurobehavioral effects from exposure to dental amalgam Hgo: new distinctions between recent exposure and Hg body burden

Potential toxicity from exposure to mercury vapor (Hgo) from dental amalgam fillings is the subject of current public health debate in many countries. We evaluated potential central nervous system (CNS) toxicity associated with handling Hg-containing amalgam materials among dental personnel with very low levels of Hgo exposure (i.e., urinary Hg 50 μg/l, presents convincing new evidence of adverse behavioral effects associated with low Hgo exposures within the range of that received by the general population.—Echeverria, D., Aposhian, H. V., Woods, J. S., Heyer, N. J., Aposhian, M. M....
Hot-carrier-induced degradation of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors: Oxide charge versus interface traps

Whether hot‐carrier‐induced degradation of metal‐oxide‐semiconductor field‐effect transistors is caused by charge trapping in the oxide or interface‐trap generation is a subject of considerable interest. We show that both processes take place in the hot‐carrier‐induced degradation. The relative importance of the two mechanisms depends on the stressing condition and the electron‐trap density in the oxide. Charge trapping may be a dominant mechanism for devices with high trap density in the gate oxide. When subjected to severe degradation either by very‐high‐voltage stressing or by long‐term stressing, the degradation of n‐channel transistors seems to be mostly due to charge trapping as a result of oxide‐trap generation by channel hot electrons. Under pulse stress, if the gate voltage turns off in the presence of high drain voltage, the ratio of charge trapping to interface‐trap generation appears to be larger than under dc stress. This may be due to the generation of oxide traps by electron‐hole recombination in the oxide. For a normal good oxide fabricated in the state‐of‐the‐art technology under the worst‐case dc bias condition or under pulse stress with inverterlike waveforms, hot‐electron trapping contributes less than 10% to the device degradation and interface‐trap generation is the dominant mechanism of device degradation.
Thermospheric Space Weather Modeling

We review impacts of satellite drag and describe past, current and future capabilities designed to meet evolving operational requirements. Historically, thermospheric research has been data starved. Thus, from the early space age to the end of the 20th century little progress was made in satellite-drag modeling. This condition improved greatly with the development of empirical assimilative models and recent availability of comprehensive drag measurements. The resurgence in orbital drag analyses to specify thermospheric densities has been particularly useful for addressing input requirements of assimilation models as well as their development and validation. With the new Jacchia-Bowman 2006 model the status of empirical modeling improved significantly. It builds on the expanded satellite drag database and incorporates improved estimates of solar flux changes as well as semiannual and local time variations of the thermosphere. However, magnetic storm representations of Jacchia-Bowman 2006 are similar to those used in other current models. Satellite-borne accelerometers and optical sensors now provide complementary spatial and temporal capabilities that permit monitoring the thermosphere over a wide range of altitudes under most solar and geomagnetic conditions. Long-standing shortfalls during periods of high geomagnetic activity are now being attacked with these data and through new analyses of solar wind and IMF measurements, correlations with magnetosphere-based magnetic indices and emerging theoretical tools. These advances in understanding thermospheric coupling during magnetic storms will be incorporated into empirical model upgrades. The analyses of new data sets joined with on-going research on physical thermosphere-ionosphere- magnetosphere coupling processes support the pursuit of our ultimate goal, an assimilative and predictive operational model of thermospheric neutral densities.
Vibration Serviceability of a Building Floor Structure. II: Vibration Evaluation and Assessment

People are generally very sensitive to unexpected vibrations. Very small levels of building floor movements due to activities such as walking can become annoying to occupants. Accurate prediction, evaluation, and assessment of vibrations can greatly assist engineers and architects to design cost-effective building structures without such problems. In an attempt to clarify some of the issues related to this common serviceability problem, this paper presents a study of the various parameters used for the evaluation and assessment of building vibrations. Provisions of several current standards and design guides commonly used in North America and U.K. to evaluate and assess building vibrations as related to human perception and comfort are reviewed. These provisions are then applied using the vibrations measured during a number of walking tests conducted on a large cantilevered office building floor. Based on the results of this study, it is concluded that the vibration dose value (VDV) recommended by some st...
Infrared Spectrum of the Cyclopentylmethyl Free Radical

Abstract The cyclopentylmethyl free radical has been generated in argon matrices by UV irradiation of the corresponding diacyl peroxide at T = 20K. The infrared spectrum of the radical reveals an out-of-plane deformation of the radical center at 563 cm−1 characteristic of primary alkyl radicals.
Potential induced degradation of pre-stressed photovoltaic modules: Influence of polarity, surface conductivity and temperature

Potential induced degradation (PID) is one of the factors that could contribute to the long-term degradation of PV modules. It is, therefore, essential to carry out the PID test for different open-air conditions as well as both voltage polarities for modules that maybe designated by the manufacturer to operate in either polarity. This paper evaluates the influence of PID test temperature, humidity-based and carbon-based surface conductivity of glass, and system voltage polarity on the degree of PID effects on fresh and pre-stressed (thermal-cycling or damp-heat) mono- and poly-crystalline silicon modules. Irrespective of PID test temperature (85°C or 60°C) and pre-history (fresh or pre-stressed in damp-heat or thermal-cycling), this work indicates that the positive-voltage has little or no PID effect on all the tested modules when humidity or carbon is used for the glass surface conductivity. In contrast, irrespective of PID test temperature (85°C or 60°C) and pre-history (fresh or pre-stressed in damp-heat or thermal-cycling), all the tested modules appear to be susceptible to the negative-voltage when conductive carbon (carbon layer) is used for the glass surface conductivity. However, when humidity is used for the surface conductivity instead of carbon, only the fresh and damp-heat stressed modules, excluding thermal-cycling stressed modules, appear to be susceptible to the negative voltage irrespective of PID test temperature (85°C or 60°C). It is also concluded that the humidity based approach may be a better replication of the field degradation (if any) pattern as compared to the metallic/carbon conductive layer approach.
Determining the Effective Thermal Conductivity of a Nanofluid Using Brownian Dynamics Simulation

A nanofluid is a fluid containing suspended solid particles, with sizes of the order of nanometers. Normally the fluid has a low thermal conductivity compared to the suspended particles. Therefore introduction of these particles into the fluid increases the effective thermal conductivity of the system. It is of interest to predict the effective thermal conductivity of such a nanofluid under different conditions like varying particle volume fraction, varying particle size, changing fluid conductivity or changing fluid viscosity, especially since only limited experimental data are available. Also, some controversy exists about the role of Brownian motion in enhancing the nanofluid’s thermal conductivity. We have developed a novel technique to compute the effective thermal conductivity of a nanofluid using Brownian dynamics simulation, which has the advantage of being computationally less expensive than molecular dynamics. We obtain the contribution of the nanoparticles towards the effective thermal conductivity using the equilibrium Green-Kubo method. Then we combine that with the thermal conductivity of the base fluid to obtain the effective thermal conductivity of the nanofluid, and thus are able to show that the Brownian motion contributes greatly to the thermal conductivity.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Surface pressure fluctuations on aircraft flaps and their correlation with far-field noise

This paper discusses unsteady surface pressures on aircraft flaps and their correlation with far-field noise. Analyses are made of data from a 4.7% DC-10 aircraft model test, conducted in the 40 × 80 feet wind tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center. Results for various slat/wing/flap configurations and various flow conditions are discussed in detail to reveal major trends in surface pressure fluctuations. Spectral analysis, including cross-correlation/coherence, both among unsteady surface pressures and between far-field noise and near-field fluctuations, is used to reveal the most coherent motions in the near field and identify potential sources of noise related to flap flows. Dependencies of surface pressure fluctuations on mean flow Mach numbers, flap settings and slat angles are discussed. Dominant flow features in flap side edge regions, such as the formation of double-vortex structures, are shown to manifest themselves in the unsteady surface pressures as a series of spectral humps. The spectral humps are shown to correlate well with the radiated noise, indicating the existence of major noise sources in flap side edge regions. Strouhal number scaling is used to collapse the data with satisfactory results. The effects of flap side edge fences on surface pressures are also discussed. It is shown that the application of fences effectively increases the thickness of the flaps so that the double-vortex structures have more time to evolve. As a result, the characteristic timescale of the unsteady sources increases, which in turn leads to a decrease in the dominant frequency of the source process. Based on this, an explanation is proposed for the noise reduction mechanism of flap side edge fences.
High flux boiling in low flow rate, low pressure drop mini-channel and micro-channel heat sinks

Abstract Due to the need for practical cooling technologies which could dissipate high heat fluxes, an experimental study of pressure drop and CHF in mini-channel ( D = 2.54 mm ) and micro-channel ( D = 510 μm ) heat sinks of 1 cm heated length was performed using R-113. Test conditions included inlet subcooling ranging from 10 to 32°C and a range of low flow rates up to a maximum of 95 ml min−1. The tests yielded CHF values for both heat sinks in excess of 200 W cm−2 with the advantage of both low flow rates and low pressure drops ( ΔP ) as compared to high-flux, single-phase micro-channel heat sinks. Key features of the miniature heat sinks include a lack of inlet subcooling effect on CHF and superheated outlet conditions at the lowest flow rates. A single CHF correlation was developed for both heat sinks. The paper will illustrate the use of the CHF correlation and a generalized model for pressure drop as predictive tools in assessing the merits of different channel sizes in incorporating miniature heat sink technology into high heat flux cooling schemes. Overall, the mini-channel's performance proved superior to the micro-channel due to pressure drops less than 0.01 bar for comparable CHF values as well as the reduced likelihood of clogging and the relative ease in fabricating the mini-channel.
Spindle dynamics identification using particle swarm optimization

Abstract Optimal parameters to eliminate machining chatter may be identified using analytical stability models which require the dynamics of the tool-holder-spindle-machine assembly. Receptance coupling substructure analysis (RCSA) provides a useful analytical tool to couple measured spindle-machine dynamics with tool-holder models to predict the tool point frequency response function for the assembly. Previous research has demonstrated a procedure to determine all required spindle receptances from a single measurement, where each mode within the measurement bandwidth was modeled as a fixed-free Euler–Bernoulli beam and fit using a manual, iterative procedure. Here, a particle swarm optimization technique is described for fitting the spindle-machine measurement using a fixed-free Euler–Bernoulli beam model for each mode. The performance of the optimization process and RCSA in predicting the tool tip frequency response is evaluated and the results are presented.