cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Uncertainty quantification in reliability estimation with limit state surrogates

Model-based reliability analysis is affected by different types of epistemic uncertainty, due to inadequate data and modeling errors. When the physics-based simulation model is computationally expensive, a surrogate has often been used in reliability analysis, introducing additional uncertainty due to the surrogate. This paper proposes a framework to include statistical uncertainty and model uncertainty in surrogate-based reliability analysis. Two types of surrogates have been considered: (1) general-purpose surrogate models that compute the system model output over the desired ranges of the random variables; and (2) limit-state surrogates. A unified approach to connect the model calibration analysis using the Kennedy and O'Hagan (KOH) framework to the construction of limit state surrogate and to estimating the uncertainty in reliability analysis is developed. The Gaussian Process (GP) general-purpose surrogate of the physics-based simulation model obtained from the KOH calibration analysis is further refined at the limit state (local refinement) to construct the limit state surrogate, which is used for reliability analysis. An efficient single-loop sampling approach using the probability integral transform is used for sampling the input variables with statistical uncertainty. The variability in the GP prediction (surrogate uncertainty) is included in reliability analysis through correlated sampling of the model predictions at different inputs. The Monte Carlo sampling (MCS) error, which represents the error due to limited Monte Carlo samples, is quantified by constructing a probability density function. All the different sources of epistemic uncertainty are quantified and aggregated to estimate the uncertainty in the reliability analysis. Two examples are used to demonstrate the proposed techniques.
Probabilistic Analysis for Reliable Logic Circuits

i List of Tables v List of Figures vi Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Motivation 1 1.1.1 Shrinking Feature Size 1 1.1.2 Application to Architecture 3 1.2 Summary of Paper 4 1.3 Paper Organization 6 Chapter 2: State of the Art 8 Chapter 3: Probabilistic Modeling for Reliability 11 3.1 Gate Error Estimation 11 3.1.1 Errors Due to Physical Attributes 11 3.1.2 Error at the Output of a Gate 12 3.1.3 Examples 13 3.2 DTMCs 18
A Weakly Supervised Approach for Adaptive Detection of Cyberbullying Roles

As human communication increasingly occurs through online social networks, online harassment and cyberbullying are becoming a serious social health threat. In this talk, I will introduce an automated, data-driven method for adaptive detection of bullying roles. The model represents whether social media users are instigating bullying, whether they are victimized by bullying, and how indicative certain key phrases are of bullying behavior. The algorithm simultaneously estimates these variables by extrapolating from social media graph data and an expert-provided set of highly indicative bullying phrases. This weak supervision provides training input without requiring excessive effort from human annotators. I will describe quantitative and qualitative experiments on three social media datasets from networks with frequent incidences of cyberbullying: Twitter, Ask.fm, and Instagram. I will conclude by describing a vision of a future where technology helps prevent and mitigate the harm of cyberviolence, placing detection algorithms like the main topic of this talk in context.
Epo Receptor Circuits to Irs2, Foxo3a, Trb3 and Bim1 Expression, and Erythroblast Survival.

Epo cytoprotection of developing erythroblasts mechanistically is thought to involve 1] PI3K and Akt pathways (eg. mTOR, Foxo3A inhibition) as engaged via a distal EpoR PY479 site, and 2] anti-apoptotic effects as exerted by EpoR proximal box1 and PY343 signals (eg. Bcl-xl transcription). To globally assess Epo-regulation of survival- associated genes, a maximally Epo-responsive cohort of bone-marrow derived Kit pos CD71 high erythroblasts was prepared, purified and used in Affymetrix 430–2.0 array based profiling of Epo responsive genes. Quadruplicate array analyses and RT-QPCR revealed selective modulation of PI3K pathway associated factors Irs2, p85-alpha, Trb3, and Foxo3a as well as the Bcl2-related factor Bim1. Irs2, p85-alpha and Trb3 were induced three- to five-fold, while Foxo3a was rapidly down-modulated. As studied using knocked-in minimal EpoR alleles, induction of Irs2 and Trb3 (a pseudo-kinase Akt inhibitor) depended sharply upon an EpoR PY343 Stat5 binding site. Epo down-modulation of Foxo3a (as well as Trb2 and Bim1), in contrast, occurred via EpoR PY-independent routes. Unexpectedly, the EpoR allele, EpoR-H-Y343 also protected erythroblasts from LY294002 and wortmanin induced apoptosis, while an EpoR-HM-F343 allele was hyper-sensitive. For EpoRH, this proved to correlate specifically with Y343 dependent phosphorylation of GAB2. PY343 couples specifically to Stat5, and phospho-Stat5 therefore is proposed to recruit GAB2 and enable its PY452 phosphorylation. GAB2 then provides a shunt to PI3K activation. Findings provide new insight into Epo-regulation of a select set of PI3K-associated genes, and core EpoR cytoprotective mechanisms.
Etiology and complications of thrombocytopenia in hospitalized medical patients

To determine incidence, risk factors, hematologic complications, and prognostic significance of thrombocytopenia in the general medicine population, we performed a single-institutional, retrospective study of all adult patients admitted to a general medical ward from January 1st, 2014 to December 31st, 2014 with hospital-acquired thrombocytopenia. Those with moderate thrombocytopenia, defined as a platelet count nadir of 50% relative decline, were compared to those with less severe thrombocytopenia. Of the 7420 patients admitted, 465 (6.3%) developed hospital-acquired thrombocytopenia. Infection and moderate thrombocytopenia were present in 56 and 23%, respectively. Severe sepsis and antibiotic use were both associated with moderate thrombocytopenia, and proton pump inhibitor use was statistically significant in both univariate and multivariate analysis. Hematologic complications were more frequent with moderate thrombocytopenia, including frequency of HIT testing and red blood cell transfusions. Outcome metrics including transfer to an intensive care unit (OR 6.78), death during admission (OR 6.85), and length of stay (10.6 vs. 5.1 days) were all associated with moderate thrombocytopenia. Thrombocytopenia is associated with poor prognosis, and the association between moderate thrombocytopenia and proton pump inhibitor use is relatively novel and should be validated in prospective studies.
Sickle cell trait and the risk of ESRD in blacks

Blacks, compared with whites, have an increased risk of progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Emerging evidence suggests that, in addition to APOL1 high-risk genotypes, hemoglobin variants, including sickle cell trait (SCT) and hemoglobin C trait, have a role in kidney disease in blacks. However, the association between these hemoglobin traits and ESRD remains unknown. In a large population-based cohort, the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, we evaluated 9909 self-reported blacks (739 with SCT and 243 with hemoglobin C trait). Incident ESRD occurred in 40 of 739 (5.4%) individuals with SCT, six of 243 (2.5%) individuals with hemoglobin C trait, and 234 of 8927 (2.6%) noncarriers. The incidence rate for ESRD was 8.5 per 1000 person-years for participants with SCT and 4.0 per 1000 person-years for noncarriers. Compared with individuals without SCT, individuals with SCT had a hazard ratio for ESRD of 2.03 (95% confidence interval, 1.44 to 2.84). Hemoglobin C trait did not associate with prevalent CKD or ESRD. The incidence rate for ESRD among participants with APOL1 high-risk genotypes was 6.6 per 1000 person-years, with a hazard ratio for ESRD of 1.77 (95% confidence interval, 1.31 to 2.38) for participants with, compared with those without, APOL1 high-risk genotypes. In this cohort, SCT strongly associated with risk of progression to ESRD in blacks, and this degree of risk for ESRD was similar to that conferred by APOL1 high-risk genotypes. These results may have important public policy implications for genetic counseling of SCT carriers.
Crospovidone: a pharmaceutical filler found commonly in gastrointestinal pathology specimens.

Several recent studies have investigated the presence of foreign material derived from pharmaceuticals in the gastrointestinal tract.1-3 Some of these, such as Kayexalate1 and sevelamer,2 can cause tissue damage, while others, including bile acid sequestrants,3 cannot. These are all active substances in their respective medication tablets and typically appear polygonal and crystalline microscopically. However, inert filler substances (used to increase tablet bulk and/or to improve drug absorption and solubility) can also be observed in gastrointestinal tract specimens. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Strategies, Scaffolding, and Social Positioning in Interaction

The present study investigates how and when learners decide to correct one another in interaction. In exploring how two learners used strategies in interaction to scaffold or be scaffolded by their interlocutor in an effort to negotiate and communicate meaning, this study finds that the two participants primarily used recasts as their preferred form of corrective feedback. As a means to cue scaffolding by her interlocutor, each participant also used pausing and reversion to first language as strategies in communication. However, not all corrective feedback is well received. Social positioning of the speakers and how that relates to learner-to-learner corrective feedback is discussed; this may have an effect on the less proficient participant's motivation. Related teaching implications are raised for further consideration.
The physical approximation of APP and BACE-1 - a key event in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation of insoluble deposits of Amyloid β (Aβ) in brains. Aβ is derived by sequential cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) by β-site secretase enzyme (BACE-1) and γ-secretase. Proteolytic processing of APP by BACE-1 is the rate-limiting step in Aβ production, and this pathway is a prime target for AD drug development. Both APP and BACE-1 are membrane-spanning proteins, transported via secretory and endocytic pathways; and the physical interaction of APP and BACE-1 during trafficking is a key cell biological event initiating the amyloidogenic pathway. Here, we highlight recent research on intracellular trafficking/sorting of APP and BACE-1, and discuss how dysregulation of these pathways might lead to enhanced convergence of APP and BACE-1, and subsequent β-cleavage of APP. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 78: 340-347, 2018.
Breeding soybeans with resistance to soybean rust (Phakopsora pachyrhizi)

Soybean rust, caused by the fungal pathogen Phakopsora pachyrhizi, continues to be a global threat to soybean production, decreasing productivity and increasing the pesticide burden of cropping systems. However, breeders now have access to resistance genes that map to at least seven independent loci which can help protect crops against soybean rust infection. Efficient greenhouse screening protocols have been developed, and low‐cost SNP genotyping technology is available for marker‐assisted selection and backcrossing of resistance to Phakopsora pachyrhizi (Rpp) loci. Soybean breeders can now employ these technologies for the development of high‐yielding soybean cultivars with two, three, or even four pyramided Rpp genes. Such cultivars should provide resistance against the most virulent P. pachyrhizi populations and would be of great help to both large‐scale growers in the Americas and subsistence farmers in developing countries. We hope that a better understanding of the history and unique characteristics of P. pachyrhizi, the discovery of Rpp resistance alleles and the latest molecular breeding techniques will empower breeders across the globe to develop cultivars with durable resistance.
Factors that influence secondary mathematics teachers' integration of technology in mathematics lessons

Abstract While many studies describe the use of technology in the mathematics classroom, few explore the factors that influence teacher decisions around its use. The participants in this study were 21 early career secondary mathematics teachers who had completed an undergraduate mathematics teacher preparation program in the USA with a strong emphasis on the use of technology to teach mathematics. In this qualitative study, interview data were collected and analyzed with attention toward why teachers choose to use technology to teach mathematics, what tools they chose to use and why, as well as the general factors they consider when selecting particular technology tools. Findings indicate that one of the most important factors when deciding whether to use technology was how well it aligned with the goals of a lesson. The range of technology used spanned mathematical action tools, collaboration tools, assessment tools, and communication tools. When selecting particular tools teachers most heavily considered ease of use for both themselves and their students. These findings suggest that when considering how to infuse technology into teacher education programs we suggest that it is important to focus more broadly on types of tools, ways teachers can position them, and how particular activities align with specific mathematics learning objectives.
Social Justice and the Ethics of Care: A Nursing Perspective

Nursing has a key role in promoting positive outcomes for patients who seek AMA discharges. Their practice is informed by professional obligations to social justice and the ethics of care. Nurses can facilitate quality care for these patients by understanding their social context, committing to creative action, providing consistency, collaborating with multiple disciplines, attending to care transitions, planning for the next admission, and engaging in healthcare system design and policy. Ensuring safe, just, and responsive institutions will facilitate improved transitions for patients and more satisfying relationships between patients and professionals.
Turbulent Flows in Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines

In this section some of the fundamental assumptions underlying the description of a turbulent flow are presented.1 First, it is useful to discuss the basic features of a turbulent flow. Turbulent flows are highly diffusive. This high diffusivity results in increased rates of momentum, heat and energy transfer. For example, turbulent flames propagate faster than laminar flames and turbulent heat transfer allows the heating of a room to occur in seconds rather than hours. Another feature of turbulent flows is that they always occur at high Reynolds numbers. This implies that turbulence originates from instabilities in the laminar flow. These instabilities originate from the interaction of viscous and inertial forces which are highly non-linear. Turbulent flows are always three-dimensional and rotational. They contain distributed regions of vorticity which undergo vortex stretching in order to maintain or increase the amount of vorticity. Without this vortex stretching mechanism, the turbulence would decay rapidly. This implies that turbulent flows are highly dissipative: that is, without a supply of energy to maintain the loss to viscosity, the turbulence will decay rapidly. Finally, turbulence is a characteristic of the flow. It is not a property of the fluid like viscosity or density but rather a feature of a particular flow field.
Stream computing on graphics hardware

The raw compute performance of today's graphics processor is truly amazing. With peak performance of over 60 GFLOPS, the compute power of today's graphics processor (GPU) dwarfs that of the commodity CPU at a price of only a few hundred dollars. As the programmability and performance of modern graphics hardware continues to increase, many researchers are looking to graphics hardware to solve computationally intensive problems previously performed on general purpose CPUs. The challenge, however, is how to re-target these processors from game rendering to general computation, such as numerical modeling, scientific computing, or signal processing. Traditional graphics APIs abstract the GPU as a rendering device, involving textures, triangles, and pixels. Mapping an algorithm to use these primitives is not a straightforward operation, even for the most advanced graphics developers. In this dissertation, we explore the concept of stream computing with GPUs. We describe the stream processor abstraction and how this abstraction and corresponding programming model can efficiently represent computation on the GPU. To formalize the model, we present Brook for GPUs, a programming system for general-purpose computation on programmable graphics hardware. Brook extends C to include simple data-parallel constructs, enabling the use of the GPU as a streaming co-processor. We present a compiler and runtime system that abstracts and virtualizes many aspects of graphics hardware. In addition, we present an analysis of the effectiveness of the GPU as a streaming processor and evaluate the performance of a collection of benchmark applications in comparison to their CPU implementations. For a variety of the applications explored in this dissertation, we demonstrate that our Brook implementations performs up to seven times faster than their CPU counterparts. We also discuss some of the algorithmic decisions which are critical for efficient execution when using the stream programming model for the GPU.
Epistemic Considerations on Expert Disagreement, Normative Justification, and Inconsistency Regarding Multi-criteria Decision Making

This paper discusses some epistemic aspects of legitimate expert disagreement between domain scientists, while considering domain specific multi-criteria decision-making problems. Particularly, it articulates both 1) the problem of the normative justification for explaining conflicting expert propositional knowledge, and also 2) the handling of disagreement derived from non-conclusive evidence, standing-in as descriptive properties of expert beliefs. Further, 3) it considers some preliminary consequences of the resulting inconsistency in the automation of conflicting expert multi-criteria decision making, and suggests that the epistemic treatment of this procedure may help to clarify what types of solution and difficulties may be there regarding the many dimensions of knowledge justification.
In Vivo Monitoring of Toxic Metals: Assessment of Neutron Activation and X-Ray Fluorescence Techniques

Excessive exposure to heavy metals has been associated with a variety of health effects in humans. These findings have usually been reported for both acute and chronic exposure conditions, mainly involving industrial workers. The health consequences associated with low level environmental exposures are more difficult to evaluate. Assessment of toxic metal exposure in most human studies has generally relied on monitoring biological tissues such as blood, urine, saliva, hair, or nail clippings. The relationship between these biological monitoring media and the body burden of the toxic metal, particularly for long-term exposures, can be of special interest. Depending on the metal, the values obtained for these biological tissues may be significantly influenced by recent exposure conditions and may be only marginally useful as accurate indices of body burden. It becomes desirable, therefore, to have direct in vivo monitoring techniques that quantify the toxic metal burden in the body or in specific target organs.
Isolation and identification of ribosyl-cis-zeatin from transfer RNA of Corynebacterium fascians.

Abstract The cytokinin-active nucleoside 6-(4-hydroxy-3-methyl- cis -2-butenylamino)-9-β- D -ribofuranosylpurine, i.e. ribosyl- cis -zeatin, has been isolated from an hydrolysate of tRNA from Corynebacterium fascians . The identification of ribosyl- cis -zeatin is based on biological activity, liquid chromatographic mobility and uv spectrum of the purified material as well as the mass spectrum and gas chromatographic mobility of its trimethylsilylated derivative.
Mannose Receptor-positive Macrophage Infiltration Correlates with Prostate Cancer Onset and Metastatic Castration-resistant Disease.

Abstract Background M2 tumor-associated macrophages (M2-TAMs) can suppress inflammation in the tumor microenvironment and have been reported to modulate cancer progression. We and others have previously reported M2-TAM infiltration in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Objective To determine whether the extent of M2-TAM infiltration correlates with PC aggressiveness. Design, setting, and participants Normal prostate tissue, localized PC, and mCRPC samples from 192 patients were retrospectively analyzed. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis We analytically validated an immunohistochemistry assay for detection of the human mannose receptor (CD206) to assess M2 macrophage involvement. Results and limitations Multiplex immunofluorescent staining showed that a small fraction of CD206 staining co-localized with the endothelial cells of lymphatic vessels, while the vast majority of staining occurred in CD68-positive macrophages. The area fraction of staining for CD206-positive macrophages increased in a stepwise fashion from normal (ie, no inflammation) prostate tissue, to primary untreated carcinomas, to hormone-naive regional lymph node metastases, to mCRPC. Complementary studies using flow cytometry confirmed CD206-positive M2-TAM infiltration. Limitations include the small number of rapid autopsy samples and the lack of neuroendocrine PC samples. Conclusions Our results revealed a progressive increase in CD206-positive macrophages from normal prostate to mCRPC. Given the immunosuppressive nature of macrophages and the lack of clinical success of immunotherapy for PC patients, our results provide a rationale for therapeutic targeting of macrophages in the PC microenvironment as a potential method to augment immunotherapeutic responses. Patient summary In this report we used 192 prostate cancer samples to determine if M2 macrophage infiltration is correlated with castration resistance in prostate cancer.
Communicating with Warmth in Distributive Negotiations Is Surprisingly Counterproductive

When entering into a negotiation, individuals have the choice to enact a variety of communication styles. We test the differential impact of being “warm and friendly” versus “tough and firm” in a d...
Nanoparticle Size Effects on Cadmium Uptake on Hematite: Revisiting the Sorption Edge Approach

Abstract Mineral nanoparticles (NPs) can play important roles in metal fate and transport; yet, they often exhibit different behaviors with respect to metal sorption, especially when NP size drops ...
Designing AR Visualizations to Facilitate Stair Navigation for People with Low Vision

Navigating stairs is a dangerous mobility challenge for people with low vision, who have a visual impairment that falls short of blindness. Prior research contributed systems for stair navigation that provide audio or tactile feedback, but people with low vision have usable vision and don't typically use nonvisual aids. We conducted the first exploration of augmented reality (AR) visualizations to facilitate stair navigation for people with low vision. We designed visualizations for a projection-based AR platform and smartglasses, considering the different characteristics of these platforms. For projection-based AR, we designed visual highlights that are projected directly on the stairs. In contrast, for smartglasses that have a limited vertical field of view, we designed visualizations that indicate the user's position on the stairs, without directly augmenting the stairs themselves. We evaluated our visualizations on each platform with 12 people with low vision, finding that the visualizations for projection-based AR increased participants' walking speed. Our designs on both platforms largely increased participants' self-reported psychological security.
Deficiency of Metals in Population II Stars

I PROPOSE the following as an explanation for the deficiency of heavy elements in Population II stars.
A 50-Year-Old Woman With Confusion and Facial Rash.

Case Presentation A 50-year-old woman presented to the ED with a 3-day history of increasing confusion. Prior to her presentation, the patient had been in her usual state of health as reported by her family. She had a history of bipolar disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder but had stopped her psychiatric medications for the past 4 days secondary to loss of insurance coverage. History was limited due to the patient's altered state and confusion, and was obtained from family. There was no history of headache, loss of consciousness, weakness of extremities, seizures, fever, or recent trauma. The patient's medical history also included cocaine abuse. The patient's family believed she had been abstinent from cocaine use for several years.
Heat Treatment Studies of Nb 3 Sn Wires for Superconducting Planar Undulators

A project aiming to fabricate a full-length 2.8-m long Nb3Sn superconducting undulator for the storage ring was started last year at the ANL APS. These Nb3Sn undulators operate at a maximum magnetic field on the conductor of about 5 T. To address instabilities at this field, two Nb3Sn wires with small subelement size were used. Specifically, Restacked Rod Processed wires of 0.6 mm in diameter and with 144 and 150 superconducting subelements respectively, over 169 total. The equivalent subelement diameter, DS , of these wires is ∼35 μm. At these small DS values, the critical current density is known to deteriorate, and the Residual Resistivity Ratio is very sensitive to heat treatment. A delicate balance has therefore to be found to obtain parameters within operation specifications. In this paper we show performance results from different heat treatments.
Data-driven Stabilization of Nonlinear Systems via Tree-Based Ensemble Learning

We present an approach for the stabilization of an unknown nonlinear dynamical system when only data samples from its dynamics are available. Our approach is based on approximating the system dynamics with an ensemble of regression trees. As a result of our approximation, we obtain a model that is a piecewise-affine dynamical system defined over a partition of the state space. In general, the stabilization of the resulting piece-wise affine system requires, in the worst case, solving an exponential number of linear matrix inequalities (with respect to the state dimension). To overcome this computational limitation, we propose a stabilization procedure having a complexity that grows linearly with the number of partitions. This stabilization procedure explicitly exploits the fact that our model is described via an ensemble of regression trees. In addition, we derive probabilistic conditions under which the stabilization of the model implies that the original nonlinear system is also stabilized. Finally, we validate our approach by performing numerical simulations over trajectories of two coupled Van der Pol oscillators.
RADIOCIRURGIA ESTEREOTÁXICA NO TRATAMENTO DE METÁSTASES CEREBRAIS: UMA REVISÃO NARRATIVA

INTRODUCAO: A Radiocirurgia Estereotaxica (RCE) e uma modalidade de radioterapia, minimamente invasiva e indolor, que utiliza altas doses de radiacao em uma unica secao para tratamento de lesoes intracranianas extereotaxicamente definidas. Por apresentar resultados satisfatorios ou superiores aos obtidos por intervencao cirurgica ou outros tratamentos, e indicada para o tratamento de patologias como as metastases cerebrais. OBJETIVO: Compreender as aplicacoes da radiocirurgia no tratamento das metastases cerebrais, apontando as vantagens e desvantagens da sua utilizacao, enfatizando a efetividade da tecnica para este tipo de tratamento. METODOLOGIA: Foi realizada uma revisao narrativa descritiva utilizando os bancos de dados SCIELO, BVS, e LILACS. Obteve-se uma populacao de 9.687 arquivos em portugues, sem delimitacao temporal. E amostra de 38 artigos que se mostraram pertinentes ao tema. RESULTADOS E DISCUSSOES: Desde a decada de 80 a RCE vem obtendo sucesso, com pouca agressividade ao paciente, no tratamento de lesoes metastaticas cerebrais. CONCLUSAO: A radiocirurgia estereotaxica demonstra ser uma tecnica eficiente no tratamento das metastases cerebrais. Tendo como maior vantagem a administracao maxima da dose prescrita somente no volume alvo, protegendo assim as regioes ao redor. Porem a tecnica possui algumas limitacoes como baixa aplicabilidade em lesoes metastaticas maiores que 3cm, e o fato das respostas ao tratamento nao serem imediatas.
Continuous Intelligent Pandemic Monitoring (CIPM)

This proposal applies measurement science (accounting), assurance science (auditing), and machine learning predictive analytics to epidemic research. It utilizes accounting frameworks, such as Continuous Monitoring, to establish a system that can assess the realistic parameters and continuously monitor the evolution of COVID-19 by using exogenous variables. Continuous Intelligent Pandemic Monitoring (CIPM) can generate alerts following risk assessments from the time series, machine learning models, and cross-sectional analytics. CIPM provides policy guidance based on epidemic simulations. The goal is to validate the epidemic related numbers and to provide guidance to policymakers so that sufficient resources can be allocated to the upcoming high risk areas in order to control the spread and lower the impact of the disease. Through this study, we hope to provide different knowledge and perspectives to COVID-19 analysis and a different pandemic measurement and data validation approach.
Assessment of Software Methods for Estimating Protein-Protein Relative Binding Affinities

A growing number of computational tools have been developed to accurately and rapidly predict the impact of amino acid mutations on protein-protein relative binding affinities. Such tools have many applications, for example, designing new drugs and studying evolutionary mechanisms. In the search for accuracy, many of these methods employ expensive yet rigorous molecular dynamics simulations. By contrast, non-rigorous methods use less exhaustive statistical mechanics, allowing for more efficient calculations. However, it is unclear if such methods retain enough accuracy to replace rigorous methods in binding affinity calculations. This trade-off between accuracy and computational expense makes it difficult to determine the best method for a particular system or study. Here, eight non-rigorous computational methods were assessed using eight antibody-antigen and eight non-antibody-antigen complexes for their ability to accurately predict relative binding affinities ({Delta}{Delta}G) for 654 single mutations. In addition to assessing accuracy, we analyzed the CPU cost and performance for each method using a variety of physico-chemical structural features. This allowed us to posit scenarios in which each method may be best utilized. Most methods performed worse when applied to antibody-antigen complexes compared to non-antibody-antigen complexes. Rosetta-based JayZ and EasyE methods classified mutations as destabilizing ({Delta}{Delta}G < -0.5 kcal/mol) with high (83-98%) accuracy and a relatively low computational cost for non-antibody-antigen complexes. Some of the most accurate results for antibody-antigen systems came from combining molecular dynamics with FoldX with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.46, but this was also the most computationally expensive method. Overall, our results suggest these methods can be used to quickly and accurately predict stabilizing versus destabilizing mutations but are less accurate at predicting actual binding affinities. This study highlights the need for continued development of reliable, accessible, and reproducible methods for predicting binding affinities in antibody-antigen proteins and provides a recipe for using current methods.
Design and Fabrication of an Origami Multimode Ring Antenna

In this work, a multimode multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) ring antenna is proposed. Through characteristic mode analysis, two modes of the ring antenna are identified and excited. By mounting the antenna on an origami water-bomb pattern, the electromagnetic properties of both modes are simultaneously reconfigured through folding/unfolding. Notably, resonant frequencies at 1.91 GHz, 1.86 GHz, and 1.46 GHz are attained with different radiation patterns. By exciting multiple orthogonal modes at various frequencies, MIMO operation is realized within a reduced volume as compared to designs that employ traditional spatial diversity techniques. This origami multimode antenna provides a compact and adaptive solution for next generation communication systems.
Helicobacter pylori : Infection, Inflammation and the Host Immune Response

Publisher Summary Gastric diseases ranging from gastritis and ulcers to adenocarcinoma have historically been major health concerns which afflict millions of people worldwide. Recent work involving a novel bacterial pathogen, Helicobacter pylori, suggests that this microorganism plays an etiologic role in the development of gastric disease. Helicobacter pylori requires a microaerophilic environment for culture, and is associated with the gastric epithelium of man. Despite a number of reports confirming spiral organisms associated with the presence of gastritis and ulcers, the medical community remained skeptical regarding the etiologic role this microorganism played in the development of gastroduodenal disease. A number of laboratories have begun to study the feasibility of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccination for the prevention and treatment of H. pylori infection. The animal models that most investigators have used to investigate H. pylori vaccination is an adaptation of the germ-free/H. felis mouse model. Originally, this model employed 6-week-old germ-free outbred Swiss–Webster mice and has since been adapted for conventional inbred strains of mice.
Enhancing student learning through classroom discussions in circuits courses

Increasing classroom interactions between instructor and students and among students has been found to be an effective way of helping student learning. In this paper, we discuss three techniques that have been employed in circuits classes to promote student discussions and instructor-student interactions. These techniques are embedded group lab sessions, open-discussion quizzes, and student presentation of problem solving procedures. The effectiveness of the techniques are evaluated by examining student test and exam grade distributions in spring 2004, fall 2004 and spring 2005 semesters. We also present our observations of in-classroom student behavior when these techniques were applied, as well as our improvement of these teaching techniques. Finally, plans to extend these teaching methods to other computer engineering courses are addressed
Long-term consequences of exposure to ozone. I. Lung collagen content

Lung collagen content of rats and monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) exposed to ozone for 1 to 13 weeks and for 1 year, respectively, was quantified by measurement of 4-hydroxyproline in hydrolysates of whole lungs. In addition, ratios of type I to type III collagen in the lungs of the same monkeys were also evaluated by cyanogen bromide peptide mapping techniques. We observed elevated levels of collagen in lungs of both species of animals exposed to ozone. We conclude that elevations in collagen synthesis rates in lungs of rats and monkeys acutely exposed to high levels of ozone are reflected by corresponding increases in lung collagen content over subchronic and chronic time frames. Preliminary results on young rats also suggest that removal of rats from atmospheres containing ozone does not cause reversal of such increases in lung collagen content. To the contrary, recovery periods of up to 6 weeks seem to exacerbate the observed increases in lung collagen content.
Property, Natural Monopoly, and the Uneasy Legacy of INS v. AP

International News Service v. Associated Press held that a wire service had the right to prevent rivals from copying its bulletin. It established the doctrine of misappropriation and justified it on the ground that someone that invests in gathering and disseminating information is entitled to the fruits of its labor. The Supreme Court, however, missed the strong anti-competitive undercurrents in the case. INS and AP were not conventional rivals. The most important AP member (and the person who stood to gain the most from AP's anticompetitive activities) - also owned INS. Far from being about first principles, the case illustrates how common-law reasoning quickly loses its moorings in the absence of a bona fide dispute. The long-recognized failing of the case - that it sets out a principle with no obvious boundaries - was deeply embedded in the facts and illustrates, even in this iconic environment, that the domains of intellectual property and antitrust cannot be easily separated. Portions of this paper are adapted from a chapter to be published in JANE C. GINSBURG AND ROCHELLE C. DREYFUSS, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STORIES (forthcoming, Foundation Press, 2005).
Incremental Case-Based Plan Recognition Using State Indices

We describe a case-based approach to the keyhole plan-recognition task where the observed agent is a state-space planner whose world states can be monitored. Case-based approach provides means for automatically constructing the plan library from observations, minimizing the number of extraneous plans in the library. We show that the knowledge about the states of the observed agent's world can be effectively used to recognize agent's plans and goals, given no direct knowledge about the planner's internal decision cycle. Cases (plans) containing state knowledge enable the recognizer to cope with novel situations for which no plans exist in the plan library, and to further assist in effective discrimination among competing plan hypothesis.
Nonlinear Deformations of Cantilever Beams With Piezoelectric Patches

One of the common structures of smart compliant systems is in the form of slender beams, which have the ability of undergoing large deformations due to non-mechanical stimuli. In this study, large deformations of cantilever beams having piezoelectric patches are investigated. The nonlinear kinematics relation of finite beams reported by Reissner (1972) is adopted. The electric field inputs are applied through the thickness of the piezoelectric patches in order to induce curvature changes. Analytical solutions of the governing equations of the deformations of the electro-active beams under actuation of arbitrary number of patches are presented.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
The Embodied Politics of Pain in US Anti-Racism

Scholarship in geography has underscored the importance of emotions to our understanding of space and society. However, the dimension of emotion in politics, particularly anti-racist politics, has not been adequately explored. This paper reads these politics through a largely feminist poststructural conceptual framework. The ideas of race and racism underlying anti-racist training and activism promote tears and anger – a politics of pain. Anti-racism training elicits sadness and contrition as a means to bring white people to cognizance of privilege. This could make participation more difficult. Strategies adequate to the task of confronting manifold racisms require more than tears and guilt, thus I make some proposals for anti-racist politics. Though not a comparison with Australian race politics, the paper does draw on several antipodean scholars to suggest an embodied anti-racist ethics. The critiques and proposals made here owe a debt to feminist theories of embodiment and difference as they have been articulated by geographers, cultural studies theorists and philosophers.
Negative Regulation of Peptidyl-Prolyl Isomerase Activity by Interdomain Contact in Human Pin1

Pin1 is a modular peptidyl-prolyl isomerase specific for phosphorylated Ser/Thr-Pro (pS/T-P) motifs, typically within intrinsically disordered regions of signaling proteins. Pin1 consists of two flexibly linked domains: an N-terminal WW domain for substrate binding and a larger C-terminal peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) domain. Previous studies showed that binding of phosphopeptide substrates to Pin1 could alter Pin1 interdomain contact, strengthening or weakening it depending on the substrate sequence. Thus, substrate-induced changes in interdomain contact may act as a trigger within the Pin1 mechanism. Here, we investigate this possibility via nuclear magnetic resonance studies of several Pin1 mutants. Our findings provide new mechanistic insights for those substrates that reduce interdomain contact. Specifically, the reduced interdomain contact can allosterically enhance PPIase activity relative to that when the contact is sustained. These findings suggest Pin1 interdomain contact can negatively regulate its activity.
A quantitative electron microscopic study of the intracellular localization of wheat germ agglutinin in retinal neurons.

Previous work has established that, following endocytosis, wheat germ agglutinin, like a number of other plasma membrane bound ligands, is transported to the Golgi apparatus-complex. Previous studies that provided qualitative information about the intracellular distribution of internalized wheat germ agglutinin used techniques that precluded any quantitative conclusions about the relative magnitude of the labeling of endosomes, lysosomes, and the Golgi apparatus-complex. Using quantitative ultrastructural autoradiography, this study compares the time course and relative magnitude of labeling of various intracellular compartments to the labeling in the Golgi area. Fifteen minutes after intraocular injection, wheat germ agglutinin is confined to the inner surface of the retina and the immediate subsurface neuropil with little labeling of the retinal ganglion cell perikarya. Thirty minutes after injection, the plasma membrane (6.97 +/- 1.17), endosomes (10.27 +/- 3.98), smooth vesicles and tubules (1.94 +/- 1.66), and lysosomes (2.42 +/- 1.21) of the retinal ganglion cells are labeled, while the Golgi apparatus-complex is not labeled (0.29 +/- 0.25). The relative labeling density of the plasma membrane and endosomes decreases somewhat during the next 90 minutes (plasma membrane, 4.76 +/- 0.67; endosomes, 7.23 +/- 2.02), while the labeling density of smooth vesicles and tubules and of lysosomes risesmore » (smooth vesicles and tubules, 5.56 +/- 0.94; lysosomes, 7.76 +/- 1.56). The Golgi apparatus-complex, which is unlabeled at 30 minutes, is weakly labeled at 2 hours (1.26 +/- 0.28).« less
Miniemulsion polymerization of styrene with chain transfer agent as cosurfactant

Miniemulsion polymerization of styrene with the chain transfer agent n-dodecyl mercaptan (DDM) used as cosurfactant was studied. Droplet size and shelf life for unpolymerized miniemulsions were measured and compared with those of equivalent macroemulsions. The miniemulsion monomer droplets with dodecyl mercaptan as cosurfactant were very stable. Shelf lives were from 17 h to 3 months. The kinetics of miniemulsion polymerization were studied. Unlike other miniemulsion systems where the cosurfactant does not act as a chain transfer agent, the polymerization rate falls with cosurfactant level because the chain transfer agent enhances radical desorption from the particles. The polymerization rate in all the miniemulsions was lower than that of the corresponding macroemulsions. Polymerized particles were larger than in the corresponding macroemulsions, but molecular weights were lower. Results indicate that DDM can serve as an effective cosurfactant as well as a chain transfer agent. The fact that the molecular weights are lower in the miniemulsion reactions indicates predominant droplet nucleation. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
THE IMMUNOMODULATORY EFFECT OF BUDESONIDE (BD) AND METHYLPREDNISOLONE(MP) ON THE HUMAN GUT IMMUNE SYSTEM † 693

THE IMMUNOMODULATORY EFFECT OF BUDESONIDE (BD) AND METHYLPREDNISOLONE(MP) ON THE HUMAN GUT IMMUNE SYSTEM † 693
Effects of temperature and medium composition on inhibitory activities of gossypol-related compounds against aflatoxigenic fungi.

Aims To investigate the effects of temperature and medium composition on growth/aflatoxin inhibitory activities of terpenoids gossypol, gossypolone and apogossypolone against Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. Methods and Results The compounds were tested at a concentration of 100 μg ml−1 in a Czapek Dox (Czapek) agar medium at 25, 31 and 37°C. Increased incubation temperature marginally increased growth inhibition caused by these compounds, but reduced the aflatoxin inhibition effected by gossypol. Gossypolone and apogossypolone retained good aflatoxin inhibitory activity against A. flavus and A. parasiticus at higher incubation temperatures. However, increased temperature also significantly reduced aflatoxin production in control cultures. The effects of the terpenoids on fungal growth and aflatoxin production against the same fungi were also determined in Czapek, Czapek with a protein/amino acid addendum and yeast extract sucrose (YES) media. Growth of these fungi in the protein-supplemented Czapek medium or in the YES medium greatly reduced the growth inhibition effects of the terpenoids. Apogossypolone displayed strong anti-aflatoxigenic activity in the Czapek medium, but this activity was significantly reduced in the protein-amended Czapek and YES media. Gossypol, which displayed little to no aflatoxin inhibitory activity in the Czapek medium, did yield significant anti-aflatoxigenic activity in the YES medium. Conclusions Incubation temperature and media composition are important parameters involved in the regulation of aflatoxin production in A. flavus and A. parasiticus. These parameters also affect the potency of growth and aflatoxin inhibitory activities of these gossypol-related compounds against aflatoxigenic fungi. Significance and Impact of the Study Studies utilizing gossypol-related compounds as inhibitory agents of biological activities should be interpreted with caution due to compound interaction with multiple components of the test system, especially serum proteins.