cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
BENEFITS OF AUTONOMOUS SELFING UNDER UNPREDICTABLE POLLINATOR ENVIRONMENTS

Pollinator unpredictability favors evolutionary shifts from outcrossing to autonomous selfing, which provides reproductive assurance. Our goal was to quantify the reproductive assurance benefit of autonomous selfing and the stochastic nature of pollinator- mediated pollen receipt using three wild populations of the annual species Collinsia verna (Scrophulariaceae) over three years. The timing of autonomous self-pollination in C. verna ranges from competing to delayed, with more than half of the autonomous pollen arriving late in floral life. Floral density, identity of insect floral visitors, and visitation rate varied within and among years, with significant variation in pollinator community between years within populations. Pollinator failure reduced fruit set within and among populations across years. However, reproductive assurance selfing increased fruit set on average by 8% overall and up to 30% in one population. Despite this fitness benefit, fruit set (fruits/Sflowers) estimated in pollinator-exclusion cages was significantly less than the fruit set in paired open-pollinated plots. In a series of experiments, we found no difference in fruit set from self- vs. outcross pollen, ruling out early inbreeding depression. However, flowers, hand- outcrossed at the same time that autonomous selfing naturally occurs, produced significantly more fruits relative to flowers that received pollen only through autonomous selfing. These results suggest that pollen type (self/outcross) is less important to fruiting success than is the timing or efficiency of autonomous pollination relative to vector-mediated pollination. Our results support the reproductive assurance hypothesis and suggest that autonomous selfing in C. verna is adaptive under variable pollinator conditions. Fruit set results from both pollinator-delivered and autonomous self-pollen, suggesting a ''best of both worlds'' scenario, with mixed mating a likely outcome.
A corpus analysis of rock harmony

In this study, we report a corpus analysis of rock harmony. As a corpus, we used Rolling Stone magazine's list of the ‘500 Greatest Songs of All Time’; we took the 20 top-ranked songs from each decade (the 1950s through the 1990s), creating a set of 100 songs. Both authors analysed all 100 songs by hand, using conventional Roman numeral symbols. Agreement between the two sets of analyses was over 90 per cent. The analyses were encoded using a recursive notation, similar to a context-free grammar, allowing repeating sections to be encoded succinctly. The aggregate data was then subjected to a variety of statistical analyses. We examined the frequency of different chords and chord transitions. The results showed that IV is the most common chord after I and is especially common preceding the tonic. Other results concern the frequency of different root motions, patterns of co-occurrence between chords, and changes in harmonic practice across time.
Targeting B cells in systemic lupus erythematosus: not just déjà vu all over again

Epratuzumab (anti-CD22) is a humanized monoclonal antibody that recognizes a pan-B-cell marker. It potentially downregulates B cell activity through negative signaling, as well as depleting B cells moderately. The uncontrolled series discussed by Dorner and colleagues in this issue of Arthritis Research & Therapy suggests that epratuzumab may be safe and efficacious for systemic lupus erythematosus. A randomized controlled trial is currently active to test this possibility.
The Changing Political Economy of Inflation

A type of conventional wisdom has developed among many scholars that industrialized countries with independent central banks produce lower relative inflation rates than countries that do not have these institutions. We argue that the relative importance of central bank independence for fighting inflation changed fundamentally from the 1970s to the 198os as a result of experiences in the advanced industrialized democracies, which led both Right and Left governments to move toward more neo-liberal macroeconomic policies. As governments made price stability more of a priority, the anti-inflationary effects of independent central banks would become much less pronounced. This hypothesis is tested and confirmed in the study in a multi-variate regression analysis using data from eighteen industrialized democracies.
Improving quantum efficiency with nanostructured semipolar III-nitride light emitters

We demonstrated nanostructured semipolar III-nitride light emitters on low cost c-plane GaN templates using one-step epitaxy. The total light emission efficiency is improved by a factor of 2.6 compared to polar emitters at room temperature.
Defect Detection and Prevention (DDP)

The Defect Detection and Prevention (DDP) decision support process, developed at JPL, has over the last 8 years been applied to assist in making a variety of spacecraft decisions. It was originally conceived of as a means to help select and plan hardware assurance activities (inspections, tests, etc) [1], generally late in the development lifecycle. However, since then it has been used predominantly in early phase of system design, when information is scarce, yet many critical decisions are made. Its range of application has extended to encompass a wide variety of kinds of systems and technologies. Its predominant role has been to assist in planning the maturation of promising new technologies to help guide the next steps in their development as they emerge from the laboratory and seek to mature sufficiently to become acceptable to spacecraft missions [2]. Although this may at first glance seem far removed from terrestrial considerations, the factors that come into play in this kind of decision-making are universal - unclear and inconsistent perceptions about requirements and capabilities, uncertainty of what are the driving concerns that should be addressed and how best to address them, challenges of gathering and combining information from experts of multiple difference disciplines, and inevitably the lack of sufficient resources (money, time, CPU, power, ...) to do everything one would wish. Other significant applications of DDP have been as the risk management tool for entire spacecraft projects in their early phases of development, as an aid to planning portfolios of mission activities (e.g., [3]), and as a means to help guide R&D decisions (e.g., [4], [5]).
Revision total hip arthroplasty without cement: subsidence of proximally porous-coated femoral components.

We prospectively studied the intermediate-term results of forty-nine revision total hip arthroplasties without cement that were performed because of aseptic loosening of a cemented femoral component in forty-five consecutive patients; the mean duration of follow-up was sixty-five months (range, forty-five to eighty-seven months). A curved, long-stem, titanium-alloy, non-circumferentially porous-coated femoral component was implanted in each hip. Preoperatively, a staging system was used to classify deficiencies of femoral bone stock according to the loss of cancellous or cortical bone in the metaphysis and diaphysis. Forty-one hips (84 per cent) had cortical or ectatic cavitary bone loss in the metaphysis. The mean Harris hip score significantly improved from 54 points preoperatively to 84 points at the time of the latest follow-up examination (p 0.50). There was no significant loss of bone in the hips with either a stable or a subsided femoral component (p > 0.50), and qualitative reconstitution of the cortex was noted in eleven (52 per cent) of the twenty-one most severely deficient (stage-III) femora. Survivorship analysis showed that, at seventy-two months, there was a 96 per cent chance of survival of the component (95 per cent confidence limits, 0.89 to 1.0) with revision as the end point but only a 37 per cent chance of survival (95 per cent confidence limits, 0.15 to 0.59) with revision or progressive subsidence as the end point.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Neurotoxicity of FireMaster 550® in zebrafish (Danio rerio): Chronic developmental and acute adolescent exposures.

Abstract Background FireMaster® 550 (FM 550) is the second most commonly used flame retardant (FR) product in consumer goods and has been detected in household dust samples. However, neurobehavioral effects associated with exposure have not been characterized in detail. We investigated the behavioral effects of FM 550 in zebrafish to facilitate the integration of the cellular and molecular effects of FM 550 with its behavioral consequences. The effects of developmental FM 550 exposure on zebrafish larvae swimming shortly after the end of exposure as well as the persisting effects of this exposure on adolescent behavior were studied. In addition, the acute effects of FM 550 on behavior with exposure during adolescence in zebrafish were studied. Methods Developmental exposure to 0, 0.01, 0.1 or 1 mg/L of FM 550 via immersion spanned 0–5 days post fertilization, with larval testing on day 6 and adolescent testing on days 40–45. Acute adolescent (45 dpf) exposure was to 0, 1.0 or 3.0 mg/L of FM 550 via immersion, for 24 h, with testing 2 h or 1 week later. The vehicle condition was colony tank water with .0004% (developmental) or .0012% (adolescent) DMSO. Zebrafish behavior was characterized across several domains including learning, social affiliation, sensorimotor function, predator escape, and novel environment exploration. Results Persisting effects of developmental FM 550 exposure included a significant (p Discussion Taken together, these data indicate that FM 550 may cause persisting neurobehavioral alterations to social behavior in the absence of perturbations along other behavioral domains and that developmental exposure is more costly to the organism than acute adolescent exposure.
Cold Erythrocyte Agglutination and Infectious Mononucleosis

We detected cold agglutinin-induced erythrocyte agglutination by reading a characteristic pattern on a Technicon H-l (Technicon Instruments Corp, Tarrytown, NY) erythrocyte cytogram. We describe this pattern’s role in the diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis in a 22-year-old patient. Recognition of this characteristic erythrocyte cytogram pattern can be used as a screening tool for erythrocyte agglutinins, and can help avoid confusion with comparatively serious erythrocytic cellular abnormalities.
Strong Steric Hindrance Effect on Excited State Structural Dynamics of Cu(I) Diimine Complexes

The metal-to-ligand-charge-transfer (MLCT) excited state of Cu(I) diimine complexes is known to undergo structural reorganization, transforming from a pseudotetrahedral D2d symmetry in the ground state to a flattened D2 symmetry in the MLCT state, which allows ligation with a solvent molecule, forming an exciplex intermediate. Therefore, the structural factors that influence the coordination geometry change and the solvent accessibility to the copper center in the MLCT state could be used to control the excited state properties. In this study, we investigated an extreme case of the steric hindrance caused by attaching bulky tert-butyl groups in bis(2,9-di-tert-butyl-1,10-phenanthroline)copper(I), [CuI(dtbp)2]+. The two bulky tert-butyl groups on the dtbp ligand lock the MLCT state into the pseudotetrahedral coordination geometry and completely block the solvent access to the copper center in the MLCT state of [CuI(dtbp)2]+. Using ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy and time-resolved emission spect...
Interactive propulsion system analysis using graphical software

This paper discusses the design of electronic scratch pad. worksheets that have been developed for the undergraduate propulsion systems course at The University of Alabama. The worksheets developed are based on the cycle analysis equations derived and presented in class. Students can use the worksheets with Mathsoft's MarhCAD software package and analyze numerous air-breathing propulsion systems (turbojet, turbofan, turboprop, etc.). Both on-design and off-design analyses are possible. The thought processes behind identifying the pedagogical concepts to be conveyed and reinforced by the software are also discussed The paper concludes by presenting detailed results of an actual problem solved with the software thus showing how the tool can be used to enhancc the undergraduate student experience in a propulsion system course.
Role of Class II Nuclear Receptors in Liver Carcinogenesis

Nuclear receptors (NRs) are ligand-activated transcription factors that are important to life by regulating a wide variety of physiological and pathological functions. There are three classes of NRs defined by ligands and heterodimer partners. The Class II NRs are involved in a broad range of pathophysiological functions in the liver, including cholesterol and bile acid homeostasis; lipid and glucose metabolism; inflammation; liver regeneration and hepatocellular carcinogenesis. Due to highly complicated molecular mechanisms in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), HCC is still one of the most common malignancies in the world. Given the pivotal functions of the Class II NRs in the liver, the roles of these NRs in hepatocellular carcinogenesis are emerging. This review summarizes the roles of Class II NRs in liver carcinogenesis and their potential application in the prevention and treatment of HCC.
Aligned Image Sets Under Channel Uncertainty: Settling Conjectures on the Collapse of Degrees of Freedom Under Finite Precision CSIT

A conjecture made by Lapidoth et al. at Allerton 2005 (also an open problem presented at ITA 2006) states that the degrees of freedom (DoF) of a two user broadcast channel, where the transmitter is equipped with two antennas and each user is equipped with one antenna, must collapse under finite precision channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT). That this conjecture, which predates interference alignment, has remained unresolved, is emblematic of a pervasive lack of understanding of the DoF of wireless networks—including interference and $X$ networks—under channel uncertainty at the transmitter(s). In this paper, we prove that the conjecture is true in all non-degenerate settings (e.g., where the probability density function of unknown channel coefficients exists and is bounded). The DoF collapse even when perfect channel knowledge for one user is available to the transmitter. This also settles a related recent conjecture by Tandon et al. The key to our proof is a bound on the number of codewords that can cast the same image (within noise distortion) at the undesired receiver whose channel is subject to finite precision CSIT, while remaining resolvable at the desired receiver whose channel is precisely known by the transmitter. We are also able to generalize the result along two directions. First, if the peak of the probability density function is allowed to scale as $O((\sqrt {P})^\alpha )$ , representing the concentration of probability density (improving CSIT) due to, e.g., quantized feedback at rate $({\alpha }/{2})\log (P)$ , then the DoF is bounded above by $1+\alpha $ , which is also achievable under quantized feedback. Second, we generalize the result to arbitrary number of antennas at the transmitter, arbitrary number of single-antenna users, and complex channels. The generalization directly implies a collapse of DoF to unity under non-degenerate channel uncertainty for the general $K$ -user interference and $M\times N$ user $X$ networks as well.
Frequency of leukochimerism in Holstein and Jersey twinsets

The current study was conducted to test breed difference in the frequency of leukochimerism. This study used leukochimerism as evidence of placental vascular anastomosis formation and compared its frequency in the Holstein and Jersey breeds. We test the null hypothesis that there is no difference in incidence of leukochimerism in the Holstein and Jersey breeds. Hair and blood samples were collected from 85 Jersey twinsets and 80 Holstein twinsets, ranging in age from 1 d to 8 yr. An additional 7 Holstein twinsets (6 complete and 1 partial where 1 twin died) were sampled originally 48 to 72 h after birth and resampled at 5 to 10 mo of age to provide an assessment of whether leukochimerism changed with age. DNA was extracted from white blood cells (potentially chimeric) and hair follicles (not chimeric). DNA samples were successfully genotyped for 19 SNP selected for high minor allele frequency in both breeds based on previous bovine 50K genotyping. The genotyping assays provided quantitative data that was used to assess chimerism in blood-derived DNA. Monozygotic twins, as a percentage of all twin births, were 3.5 and 9.1% for the Jersey and Holstein breeds, respectively. Jersey and Holstein breeds did not differ in proportion of nonchimeric twinsets at 20.1 and 15.7%, respectively ( > 0.05), providing no evidence for genetic variation in anastomosis. The degree of chimerism for members of a twinset was also evaluated with regard to representation of self vs. co-twin in the blood-derived DNA. For twinsets where the more chimeric twin was 45% or greater co-twin in its blood-derived DNA, there was a strong inverse relationship ( < 0.001) between percent co-twin in the blood-derived DNA of members of a twinset. For twinsets where the more chimeric twin was less than 45% co-twin, there was no significant relationship between the degrees of chimerism in members of the twinset. These results suggest that variation in chimerism in members of a twinset may be a function of degree of anastomosis and differences in timing of the migration of hematopoietic stem cells between members of the twinset.
Left Ventricular Involvement in ARVD/C: Is It Time to Readjust Our Views?

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) is an important cause of sudden death in young adults.1,2 The past decade has witnessed remarkable progress in the understanding of all aspects of this disease. This progress includes an improved understanding of (1) the natural history of ARVD/C, (2) optimal approaches for diagnosis, (3) the genetic basis of this condition, (4) the fundamental pathophysiologic mechanisms of ARVD/C, (5) the link between ARVD/C and exercise, (6) sudden death prevention, and (7) the importance of left ventricular (LV) involvement in ARVD/C. Article see p 1403 In the present issue of Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology , Berte et al3 report the results of their investigation of 32 patients with ARVD/C (47 + 14 years, 6 women). All patients underwent a comprehensive noninvasive evaluation. All patients underwent multidetector computerized tomography. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in 22 patients. The recently described Bordeaux high-dose isoproterenol infusion protocol was used in all patients (45 μg/min for 3 minutes).4 Genetic testing, although not part of the standardized evaluation, was performed in 20 patients, revealing mutations in PKP2 in 9 patients and ACTN2 , TNNC1 , DSC2 , TMEM43 in 1 each. A subset of 14 patients who were referred for ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation underwent endocardial and epicardial mapping. There are several interesting findings of this study. Right ventricular (RV) fibrosis and wall motion abnormalities were present in 91% and 95% of the 22 patients who underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. Fat was found on multidetector computerized tomography on the …
Signatures of adaptive molecular evolution in American pikas (Ochotona princeps)

The American pika (Ochotona princeps) is a small, winter-active mammal inhabiting alpine environments. For alpine mammals, metabolic heat production and cellular mechanisms to cope with hypoxia are critical for survival and reproduction. Thus, because of the pikas' long association with alpine environments, they may have genetically adapted to alpine conditions. Here, we present evidence for positive selection acting at 2 loci within the Ochotona genome. These loci were identified by first assembling a list of 50 candidate genes and collecting sequence data from 2 O. princeps draft genomes available from public databases. We then tested the possibility that positive selection acted on the Ochotona lineage, relative to other mammalian species, using the CODEML program in the PAML package. These analyses indicated positive selection at 4 loci—insulin-like growth factor 1 gene (IGF-1), enoyl-CoA hydratase/3-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase (EHHADH), inducible nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2), and transforming growth factor beta 1 gene (TGF-β1). To test this assumption further, we collected DNA sequence data from the 4 genes of interest from multiple O. princeps individuals across a broad geographic range, as well as individuals from the congeneric collared pika (O. collaris). We used multiple interspecific and intraspecific polymorphism-based tests to test the resulting sequence data for patterns of non-neutral evolution. These tests provide additional support for positive selection acting on the IGF-1 and EHHADH loci.
Methods for Estimating 2D Cloud Size Distributions from 1D Observations

AbstractThe two-dimensional (2D) size distribution of clouds in the horizontal plane plays a central role in the calculation of cloud cover, cloud radiative forcing, convective entrainment rates, and the likelihood of precipitation. Here, a simple method is proposed for calculating the area-weighted mean cloud size and for approximating the 2D size distribution from the 1D cloud-chord lengths measured by aircraft and vertically pointing lidar and radar. This simple method (which is exact for square clouds) compares favorably against the inverse Abel transform (which is exact for circular clouds) in the context of theoretical size distributions. Both methods also perform well when used to predict the size distribution of real clouds from a Landsat scene. When applied to a large number of Landsat scenes, the simple method is able to accurately estimate the mean cloud size. As a demonstration, the methods are applied to aircraft measurements of shallow cumuli during the Routine ARM Aerial Facility (AAF) Clou...
Potential of Metformin to Improve Cardiac Risk in Postpartum Women with Gestational Diabetes.

Objective: Pregnancy is associated with an increase in total cholesterol, high density lipoproteins (HDL), and low density lipoproteins (LDL). Postpartum, HDL and LDL decrease over the first 12 weeks postpartum. Oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) is a marker of oxidative stress-related inflammation, which is associated with obesity and also with development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cardiovascular protection and weight loss are benefits from metformin, especially in women with diabetes. The objective of this study was to compare changes in lipid profiles and biomarkers for obesity during the initial six weeks postpartum between women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) treated with metformin versus placebo. Methods: This was a planned ancillary study of a randomized controlled trial compares metformin versus placebo in women with GDM for postpartum weight loss. TTwo 3 mL blood samples were collected within 24 hours of delivery and six weeks postpartum immediately processed after collection then store at -20oC until analysis. Change in the median plasma concentrations of total cholesterol, HDL, oxidized LDL, glucose, insulin, leptin, and unacylated ghrelin were compared between study groups. Results: Of the 77 postpartum women were included, 35 received metformin and 42 received placebo. There was less of a reduction in HDL in the metformin group compared to placebo (-2.3 versus -7.5 mg/dL, p=0.019). In addition, there was a greater reduction in ox-LDL in those receiving metformin (-12.2 versus -3.8 mg/dL, p=0.038). No other differences were observed in the selected biomarkers evaluated. Conclusions: Biomarker levels of HDL and ox-LDL were positively affected during the initial 6 weeks postpartum in GDM women treated with metformin. Additional studies with a longer duration of metformin treatment in the postpartum period are warranted to evaluate long-term potential benefits.
Entrepreneurial manipulation with staged financing

Abstract Finance is staged in entrepreneurial settings. It has been argued that staging has a drawback: entrepreneurs manipulate short-term appearances to keep funds flowing. In contrast, this paper finds that staging can lead to either more or less manipulation than non-staged finance. Finally, behavior in early rounds induces a kind of “manipulation persistence” so that total manipulation is path-dependent. The model makes predictions regarding crowdsourced finance, switching of VCs, and lifecycle issues in entrepreneurial finance.
Fusion of iECO image descriptors for buried explosive hazard detection in forward-looking infrared imagery

ABSTRACT Data fusion is a powerful theory that often leads to signicant performance gain and/or improved robustness of a givensolution. In this article, we explore how fusion can be used to advance our previously established improved EvolutionaryCOnstructed (iECO) imagedescriptor framework. The goalof iECO isto learn adiverse set ofindividuals (variable lengthchromosome in a genetic algorithm). Each iECO individual encodes a unique composition of different low-level imagetransformations in the context of a high-level image descriptor. Herein, we investigate multiple kernel (MK) aggregationand MK learning (MKL) for feature-level fusion of iECO chromosomes. Specically, we explore MKL group lasso(MKLGL) and we put forth a new way to directly assign kernel weights from a mesure dened on the kernel matrices. Theproposed work is presented in the context of buried explosive hazard detection (EHD) in forward looking (FL) imagery.Experiments are reported using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves on data from a U.S. Army test site tha tcontains multiple target and clutter types, burial depths and times of day. We demonstrate that MK support vector machine(MKSVM) classication outperform single kernel SVM (SKSVM) classication and our weight assignment proceduregeneralizes well and outperforms MKLGL for EHD in FLIR.Keywords: Explosive hazard detection, iECO, feature learning, multiple kernel, long-wave infrared
Cancer screening in the United States, 2017: A review of current American Cancer Society guidelines and current issues in cancer screening

Answer questions and earn CME/CNE Each year, the American Cancer Society publishes a summary of its guidelines for early cancer detection, data and trends in cancer screening rates, and select issues related to cancer screening. In this issue of the journal, the authors summarize current American Cancer Society cancer screening guidelines, describe an update of their guideline for using human papillomavirus vaccination for cancer prevention, describe updates in US Preventive Services Task Force recommendations for breast and colorectal cancer screening, discuss interim findings from the UK Collaborative Trial on Ovarian Cancer Screening, and provide the latest data on utilization of cancer screening from the National Health Interview Survey. CA Cancer J Clin 2017;67:100-121. © 2017 American Cancer Society.
Abstract 003: The Impact of MHCII Loss in Myeloid Cells and Adipocytes on Atherosclerosis and Liver Fat Accumulation

The adipocyte is capable of functioning as an antigen presenting cell in the setting of diet induced obesity in both mouse models and humans; this adipocyte activity instigates adipose tissue (AT) ...
Machine Vision Techniques for Visual Inspection

Some of the above algorithms, together with the P3E architecture, can be used in real-world industrial applications. The most obvious case is that of non-destructive testing using CT reconstruction, as was shown in Sect. 6.5. However, there are other uses of P3E such as automated visual inspection. In this chapter, we will describe the application of P3E-based machine vision algorithms to automated visual inspection of thin-film disk-heads. A common experience in industrial applications of computer vision is that the problem of finding a set of image processing and image analysis algorithms cannot be separated from that of searching for a suitable architecture. In early studies, we estimated that a pipeline architecture should be appropriate for the inspection of thin-film heads. Having this possibility in mind, we tried to find algorithms amenable to raster-scan implementation.
Altogether Fitting and Proper: Civil War Battlefield Preservation in History, Memory, and Policy, 1861-2015

Review of "Altogether Fitting and Proper: Civil War Battlefield Preservation in History, Memory, and Policy, 1861-2015" by Timothy B. Smith
Immersive Insights: A Hybrid Analytics System forCollaborative Exploratory Data Analysis

In the past few years, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies have experienced terrific improvements in both accessibility and hardware capabilities, encouraging the application of these devices across various domains. While researchers have demonstrated the possible advantages of AR and VR for certain data science tasks, it is still unclear how these technologies would perform in the context of exploratory data analysis (EDA) at large. In particular, we believe it is important to better understand which level of immersion EDA would concretely benefit from, and to quantify the contribution of AR and VR with respect to standard analysis workflows. In this work, we leverage a Dataspace reconfigurable hybrid reality environment to study how data scientists might perform EDA in a co-located, collaborative context. Specifically, we propose the design and implementation of Immersive Insights, a hybrid analytics system combining high-resolution displays, table projections, and augmented reality (AR) visualizations of the data. We conducted a two-part user study with twelve data scientists, in which we evaluated how different levels of data immersion affect the EDA process and compared the performance of Immersive Insights with a state-of-the-art, non-immersive data analysis system.
Imaging in pancreas transplantation

Abstract Imaging of the pancreas transplant patient is valuable for sorting out complications that have similar clinical presentations. An understanding of the particular surgical anatomy is critical for optimal imaging assessment. Sonography is used for routine evaluation of the allograft and its vasculature. If sonography is limited or if complications are only partly visualized or not well assessed with this modality, computed tomography (CT) is beneficial for assessing complications outside the pancreatic graft, such as bowel obstruction or leak. If a patient cannot tolerate intravenous contrast, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an excellent method to visualize vasculature and duct. Interventional imaging is of assistance for this patient population, with ultrasound-guided biopsy being most common. Other procedures, such as image-guided fluid aspiration or abscess drainage and diagnostic and therapeutic angiography procedures, can improve the clinical course, if the patient has a complication.
X-ray circular dichroism versus orbital magnetization

The x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) sum rule yields an extremely useful ground-state observable, which provides a quantitative measure of spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking (T-breaking) in a given material. I derive here its explicit expression within band-structure theory, in the general case: trivial insulators, topological insulators, and metals. Orbital magnetization provides a different measure of T-breaking in the electronic ground state. The two observables belong to the class of "geometrical" observables; both are local and admit a "density" in coordinate space. In both of them one could include/exclude selected groups of bands, in order to acquire element-specific information about the T-breaking material. Only in the case of an isolated flat band the contributions to the two observables coincide. Finally, I provide the corresponding geometrical formula-in a different Hilbert space-for a many-body interacting system.
Combined membrane potential imaging and connectome of behavioral circuits in an annelid worm

In most animal phyla, nerve cells form highly specific connections with each other. The resulting intricate networks determine what activity patterns a nervous system can sustain, and hence what behaviors an animal can exhibit. Accordingly, understanding the relationship between connectivity and activity is a major goal of neuroscience. However, despite major recent advances, no current technology can comprehensively record activity in large nervous systems such as the human or even the mouse brain, nor can connectivity be reconstructed at synaptic level in such systems. Doing both at once in the same specimen remains a distant goal. However, smaller nervous systems offer exciting opportunities today, and here we report for the first time obtaining joint functional and anatomical data from a major functional unit of the nervous system of the medicinal leech, by combining voltage-sensitive dye (VSD) imaging with serial blockface electron microscopy (SBEM). We simultaneously recorded from the majority of the neurons in a segmental ganglion during several motor behaviors with a VSD sufficiently sensitive to record subthreshold neuronal activity. We then anatomically imaged the entire ganglion with SBEM. As a proof of concept, we have manually traced a critical motor neuron and identified all of its numerous presynaptic partners. The thorough reconstruction of individual synapses in combination with functional data enabled a quantitative analysis that revealed spatial clustering of synapses from functionally synchronized cell assemblies. All of our data is publicly available.
Independent finite approximations for Bayesian nonparametric inference

Bayesian nonparametric priors based on completely random measures (CRMs) offer a flexible modeling approach when the number of latent components in a dataset is unknown. However, managing the infinite dimensionality of CRMs typically requires practitioners to derive ad-hoc algorithms, preventing the use of general-purpose inference methods and often leading to long compute times. We propose a general but explicit recipe to construct a simple finite-dimensional approximation that can replace the infinite-dimensional CRMs. Our independent finite approximation (IFA) is a generalization of important cases that are used in practice. The independence of atom weights in our approximation (i) makes the construction well-suited for parallel and distributed computation and (ii) facilitates more convenient inference schemes. We quantify the approximation error between IFAs and the target nonparametric prior. We compare IFAs with an alternative approximation scheme -- truncated finite approximations (TFAs), where the atom weights are constructed sequentially. We prove that, for worst-case choices of observation likelihoods, TFAs are a more efficient approximation than IFAs. However, in real-data experiments with image denoising and topic modeling, we find that IFAs perform very similarly to TFAs in terms of task-specific accuracy metrics.
Corneal Cross-Linking

Corneal cross-linking was first introduced in 2003 as a novel approach to halt progression of corneal ectasia. Adopted early, and widely used abroad, the FDA approved a drug device combination product for corneal cross-linking in the United States in 2016. The treatment involves the application of a topical photosensitizing agent (0.146% riboflavin 5′-phosphate in 20% dextran ophthalmic solution) to the cornea followed by exposure to ultraviolet – a light (UVA) with a wavelength of 370 nm. This photochemical process strengthens the biomechanical properties of the cornea through formation of new covalent bonds within and between corneal collagen fibrils. Postoperatively, there is corneal compaction and reduction in corneal steepness.
New Program in the Field: Enhancing Wellness in Older Adults through Intergenerational Community-Engaged Learning Programs in Long-Term Care Settings

This paper offers intergenerational professionals a unique approach to enhancing the physical, social, and emotional health of older adults residing in nursing facilities. Authors present a flexibl...
Spending after Job Loss from the Great Recession through COVID-19: The Roles of Financial Health, Race, and Policy (preprint)

Using an administrative dataset covering 2 million job loss events we analyze the impact of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits on spending from 2008 to 2020. We find that during the Great Recession spending cuts after job loss were deeper than in the subsequent expansion, but in the COVID-19 recession spending increased after job loss for many, as government stimulus supported demand amid sharp declines in overall spending. Households’ tendency to spend out of income after job loss—their marginal propensity to consume (MPC)—has been fairly consistent over varying economic environments from 2008 to 2020. That said, across economic environments, there are large and consistent household-level differences in marginal propensity to consume. Specifically, following job loss, families with lower liquidity exhibit larger declines in spending in the face of income declines. In addition, Black and Latinx households cut their spending to a greater extent than White families after job loss, partially explained by their lower cash buffers and indicators of wealth. For policy, the findings suggest that countercyclical UI benefit levels are likely to be an effective means of stabilizing demand. Additional measures to target income supports with consideration to wealth inequality and racial equity can limit the welfare costs of job loss.
Rules for Magnetic Exchange in Azulene-Bridged Biradicals: Quo Vadis?

Electronic coupling through organic bridges facilitates magnetic exchange interactions and controls electron transfer and single-molecule device electron transport. Electronic coupling through alternant π-systems (e.g., benzene) is better understood than the corresponding coupling through nonalternant π-systems (e.g., azulene). Herein, we examine the structure, spectroscopy, and magnetic exchange coupling in two biradicals (1,3-SQ2Az and 1,3-SQ-Az-NN; SQ = the zinc(II) complex of spin-1/2 semiquinone radical anion, NN = spin-1/2 nitronylnitroxide; Az = azulene) that possess nonalternant azulene π-system bridges. The SQ radical spin density in both molecules is delocalized into the Az π-system, while the NN spin is effectively localized onto the five-atom ONCNO π-system of NN radical. The spin distributions and interactions are probed by EPR spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility measurements. We find that J = +38 cm-1 for 1,3-SQ2Az and J = +9 cm-1 for 1,3-SQ-Az-NN (H=-2JS^SQ·S^SQorNN). Our results highlight the differences in exchange coupling mediated by azulene compared to exchange coupling mediated by alternant π-systems.
“It makes me sad”: Archival Pedagogy in a Time of Covid-19

Abstract Despite COVID-19's devastating repercussions on higher education, scholars have yet to address its impact on Library and Information Science pedagogy. This exploratory qualitative case study centers on how archival educators weathered the onslaught of the pandemic. Drawing upon semistructured interviews with 31 archival educators and documentary evidence, this research addresses the sudden shift to online education;the concomitant loss of hands-on work opportunities and the workarounds educators developed;affectivity and an emergent ethics of pedagogical care among students and educators;and educators' lessons learned from the pandemic and their future projections regarding archival education. This paper illuminates the evolving landscape of pedagogy and its attendant challenges preparing the next generation of archival professionals during an unprecedented period of duress.
Supply-Chain Vulnerability Elimination via Active Learning and Regeneration

Software supply-chain attacks target components that are integrated into client applications. Such attacks often target widely-used components, with the attack taking place via operations (for example, file system or network accesses) that do not affect those aspects of component behavior that the client observes. We propose new active library learning and regeneration (ALR) techniques for inferring and regenerating the client-observable behavior of software components. Using increasingly sophisticated rounds of exploration, ALR generates inputs, provides these inputs to the component, and observes the resulting outputs to infer a model of the component's behavior as a program in a domain-specific language. We present Harp, an ALR system for string processing components. We apply Harp to successfully infer and regenerate string-processing components written in JavaScript and C/C++. Our results indicate that, in the majority of cases, Harp completes the regeneration in less than a minute, remains fully compatible with the original library, and delivers performance indistinguishable from the original library. We also demonstrate that Harp can eliminate vulnerabilities associated with libraries targeted in several highly visible security incidents, specifically event-stream, left-pad, and string-compare.
Lahore with Love Today: An Interview with Fawzia Afzal-Khan

Fawzia Afzal-Khan is a University Distinguished Professor of English and the Director of Women and Gender Studies at Montclair State University in New Jersey. She has published poetry, plays, and books of literary and cultural criticism, including Cultural Imperialism and the Indo-English Novel (Penn State University Press, 1993) and A Critical Stage: The Role of Secular Alternative Theatre in Pakistan (Seagull Press, 2005). Additionally, she is the editor of Shattering the Stereotypes: Muslim American Women Speak Out (Interlink Books, 2005), and co-editor of The PreOccupation of Postcolonial Studies (Duke University Press, 2000). Her memoir, Lahore with Love: Growing Up with Girlfriends, Pakistani Style, was originally published by Syracuse University Press in 2010, and received rave reviews from both magazines and notable individuals such as Nawal el Saadawi, Bapsi Sidhwa, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Mandy Van Deven. The book addresses Pakistan’s political, cultural, and social transformations over the past fifty years through the lens of Fawzia’s experiences, exploring the ways in which her life as an international literary figure and activist both parallels and diverges from the lives of her girlfriends who remained in Pakistan. Then, Syracuse University Press dropped the book after an inadmissible threat of lawsuit was issued by one of the “characters” in the memoir. Fawzia has spoken about the controversy, both in an appendix to the new edition, published by Insanity Ink Publications (self-publication), and on her website (http:fawziaafzalkhan.webs.com). In the following interview with University of North Texas PhD Candidate Hillary Stringer, Dr. Afzal-Khan addresses the issues and questions raised by a text that is both global and local, personal and political, and discusses the injustice inherent in the suppression of her memoir and the current reception of the book today. --------
Utility of spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) and laser speckle imaging (LSI) to non-invasively diagnose burn depth in a porcine model

Surgical intervention of second degree burns is often delayed because of the difficulty in visual diagnosis, which increases the risk of scarring and infection. Non-invasive metrics have shown promise in accurately assessing burn depth. Here, we examine the use of spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) and laser speckle imaging (LSI) for predicting burn depth. Contact burn wounds of increasing severity were created on the dorsum of a Yorkshire pig, and wounds were imaged with SFDI/LSI starting immediately after-burn and then daily for the next 4 days. In addition, on each day the burn wounds were biopsied for histological analysis of burn depth, defined by collagen coagulation, apoptosis, and adnexal/vascular necrosis. Histological results show that collagen coagulation progressed from day 0 to day 1, and then stabilized. Results of burn wound imaging using non-invasive techniques were able to produce metrics that correlate to different predictors of burn depth. Collagen coagulation and apoptosis correlated with SFDI scattering coefficient parameter [Formula: see text] and adnexal/vascular necrosis on the day of burn correlated with blood flow determined by LSI. Therefore, incorporation of SFDI scattering coefficient and blood flow determined by LSI may provide an algorithm for accurate assessment of the severity of burn wounds in real time.
From ‘Relief’ to ‘Justice and Protection’: The Maintenance of Deserted Wives, British Masculinity and Imperial Citizenship, 1870–1920

In the early twentieth century, local British poor law guardians’ concerns with the maintenance of deserted and neglected families were transformed into imperial, and later transnational, policy promoting justice for abandoned wives and children. Both local court cases concerning maintenance and policy debates at the national and imperial levels reveal the ways in which a breadwinner model of masculinity shaped maintenance policy and practice. Although the maintenance problem was framed differently by local welfare providers and imperial heads of state, concerns about welfare costs and human rights intersected in the figure of the irresponsible male citizen, who challenged the dominant model of British/imperial masculinity by refusing to maintain his wife.
New S1 state vibrational and T3, 2, 1 spin–rotational assignments in the vicinity of the acetylene A˜1Au–X˜1Σg+V03K01 band

Abstract Pulsed supersonic jet spectra of acetylene have been recorded in the vicinity of the A ˜ 1 A u – X ˜ 1 Σ g + V 0 3 K 0 1 band in two mutually exclusive detection channels: ultraviolet laser-induced fluorescence (UV-LIF) and surface electron ejection by laser excited metastables (SEELEM). No eigenstate of the upper state(s) can appear via transitions in both UV-LIF and SEELEM channels. The UV-LIF channel is blind to transitions into eigenstates that have lifetimes longer than a few microseconds, while the SEELEM channel is exclusively sensitive to transitions into electronically excited eigenstates that have lifetimes longer than ∼30 μs. It is observed that intersystem crossing from the A ( S 1 ) bright state to the dark triplet states is mediated through a single “doorway state” vibrational level of the T 3 electronic state. We have characterized the bright state, the doorway state, and the dark states (singlet as well as triplet) illuminated by the bright state. Rotational transitions that belong to several previously unassigned vibrational-symmetry-allowed but nominally Franck–Condon forbidden S 1 ← S 0 electronic-vibrational bands are detected and assigned in the UV-LIF spectrum. The UV-LIF spectrum reveals that the electronic symmetry of the T 3 state is 3 B u and the K ′ value of the observed T 3 ← S 0 vibrational band segment is 1. From the SEELEM spectrum, nine vibrational levels of dark triplet states are observed, spread over only ∼2.42 cm −1 . Unique N , K , and e / f quantum numbers are assigned for all of the observed triplet spin-rovibronic levels. Electronic symmetries for seven of the nine triplet states are determined. Most of the triplet state vibrational levels observed in the SEELEM spectrum belong to the T 1 surface ( 3 B u and 3 B 2 ) at energy well above the barrier to linearity. Despite the high vibrational state density, the upper levels of all of the assigned spin-rovibronic transitions fall onto surprisingly regular rotational term value plots [ E ′ vs. N ′ ( N ′ + 1)] and the intensities fall onto surprisingly smooth Boltzmann plots. The most remarkable thing about the SEELEM spectrum is its apparent regularity, combined with a vibrational density of states so high that anharmonic and a -type Coriolis coupling among the T 1 and T 2 vibrational levels is essentially complete. The spectroscopically observed density of K -assigned vibrational states is comparable to the calculated symmetry-sorted state density.