cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Establishment and Characterization of Orthotopic Mouse Models for Human Uveal Melanoma Hepatic Colonization

Uveal melanoma (UM) is a rare type of melanoma, although it is the most common primary ocular malignant tumor in adults. Nearly one-half the patients with primary UM subsequently develop systemic metastasis, preferentially to the liver. Currently, no treatment is effective for UM hepatic metastasis, and the prognosis is universally poor. The main challenge in designing a treatment strategy for UM hepatic metastasis is the lack of suitable animal models. We developed two orthotopic mouse models for human UM hepatic metastases: direct hepatic implantation model (intrahepatic dissemination model) and splenic-implantation model (hematogenous dissemination model) and investigated the tumorgenesis in the liver. A human UM cell line, established from a hepatic metastasis and nonobese diabetic severe combined immunodeficient γ mice, were used for development of in vivo tumor models. In the direct hepatic implantation model, a localized tumor developed in the liver in all cases and intrahepatic dissemination was subsequently seen in about one-half of cases. However, in the splenic implantation model, multiple hepatic metastases were observed after splenic implantation. Hepatic tumors subsequently seeded intra-abdominal metastasis; however, lung metastases were not seen. These findings are consistent with those observed in human UM hepatic metastases. These orthotopic mouse models offer useful tools to investigate the biological behavior of human UM cells in the liver.
Time Variation in Expected Returns and Aggregate Asset Growth

Aggregate asset growth— …rst dierences of the logarithm of household net worth— can capture time variation in changes in expected returns in quarterly and annual horizons in which stock returns have virtually zero autocorrelations. Regressions of changes in stock returns on aggregate asset growth provide stable estimates of slope coe¢ cients over time, which improve out-of-sample predictability. In particular, aggregate asset growth performs better out of sample in terms of a mean squared predictive error suggested by Clark and West (2007) than other predictors, such as the dividend-to-price ratio, "cay"and labor income growth.
Chapter 8 – Managing Workload, Performance, and Situation Awareness in Aviation Systems

Publisher Summary This chapter aims to review recent work in aviation systems by providing a framework from which one can view the interplay among workload (WL), situation awareness (SA), and performance in complex systems. It describes a situation understanding subsystem, a workload subsystem, and a critical management subsystem. It then discusses what might be expected when considering WL, SA, and performance in the selection of displays, ending with a discussion of the role of strategies.
The Association of Patients’ Oral Health Literacy and Dental School Communication Tools: A Pilot Study

The aim of this pilot study was to assess adult patients' ability to read and understand two communication tools at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Dentistry: the dental school clinic website and a patient education brochure pertaining to sedation in children that was written by dental school personnel. A convenience sample of 100 adults seeking treatment at the school's general dental clinic during 2012-13 completed a health literacy screening instrument. They were then asked to read clinic educational and informational materials and complete a survey. Analyses were conducted to determine the association between the subjects' oral health literacy and sociodemographics and their ability to locate and interpret information in written oral health information materials. SMOG and Flesch-Kincade formulas were used to assess the readability level of the electronic and written communication tools. The results demonstrated an association between these adults' oral health literacy and their dental knowledge and ability to navigate health information website resources and understand health education materials. Health literacy was not associated with age or gender, but was associated with education and race/ethnicity. The SMOG Readability Index determined that the website and the sedation form were written at a ninth grade reading level. These results suggest that dental schools and other health care organizations should incorporate a health-literate approach for their digital and written materials to enhance patients' ability to navigate and understand health information, regardless of their health literacy.
The Islamic State's Evolving Chemical Arsenal

ABSTRACTThis article examines the growing chemical weapon capabilities of the Islamic State from the crude poisons and toxins of its founding father Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi to the current battlefield use of indigenously produced mustard gas in Iraq and Syria. By examining this evolution as a phenomenon separate from Al Qaeda, a clearer picture emerges of a dedicated and increasingly successful chemical weapons program that threatens military forces and civilian populations around the world.
Building a Buddhist Canon in Early Medieval China

This article analyses catalogues of the Chinese translations of Buddhist scriptures. The main goal for compiling these scriptural catalogues was to prove authenticity of the Chinese Buddhist canon. The influence of Confucian bibliographic tradition that developed long before Buddhism spread to China was one of the main reasons why Chinese Buddhists decided to preserve the orally-transmitted Buddha-word in a form of a critically evaluated bibliographic collection of written texts. In both Confucian and Buddhist catalogues, criteria of authenticity were found in the knowledge about the transmitter of the text. While Confucians proclaimed that only those versions of the classics that can be traced back to Confucius were authentic, Chinese Buddhists scholars declared that only those scriptures that came from known translators were true words of the Buddha. This approach appears to be typologically similar to that used by Christian scholars who attributed most important books to the apostles. This is why I con...
An Empirically-Simulated Investigation of the Impact of Demand Forecasting on the Bullwhip Effect: Evidence From U.S. Auto Industry

This study empirically examines the impacts of three major aspects of demand forecasting on the magnitude of the bullwhip effect. Three research questions are addressed to investigate the association between (1) forecast accuracy, (2) aggregate forecasting, and (3) responsive forecasting and the bullwhip effect. Using forecasted demand generated from popular time-series forecasting models and real-life demand data, the study investigates the relationship between the forecasted results and the consequential bullwhip effect. The findings show that the forecasting methods used lead to the variation of the bullwhip effect. Moreover, the lead time reduction and the stable demand forecast are beneficial to reduce the bullwhip effect. However, our empirical results differ from previous findings in two ways: (i) improving forecast accuracy does not necessarily reduce the bullwhip effect and (ii) aggregate forecasting does not always reduce the bullwhip effect.
Randall Davidson: Quietness, Compromise, Comprehension

The central part of every important royal ceremony between 1861 and 1914 was a religious service. No clergyman in that half century played a greater role in both planning and officiating at such services than Randall Thomas Davidson. First as chaplain to Archbishop Tait, then as chaplain to Queen Victoria, and ultimately as archbishop himself, Davidson won places of great influence at court and in the Church of England. Under Lord Esher’s influence, it was distinctly possible that ceremonial could have been transformed into pure theater. Davidson made sure that the religious acts that lay at the center of royal ceremonies were not forgotten. In shaping the character and quality of those acts, Davidson re-established the relevance of the monarchy to a critical age. His services and his sermons conveyed a rationale for retaining a hereditary monarchy in a democratic and increasingly secular state.
Application of Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy to Study Dynamics of Proteins Involved in Neuronal Synapse-to-Nucleus Signaling

Activity-dependent gene transcription is required for the long-term stabilization of synaptic plasticity, a process that is key to learning and memory. We are studying the transcription factor, NFAT, which has been shown to be actuated by postsynaptic signaling. Ca2+ influx through voltage-gated L-type calcium channels plays an exclusive role in initiating NFAT signaling via the action of the Ca2+/calmodulin- phosphatase calcineurin (CaN). CaN dephosphorylates multiple residues on NFAT, resulting in the exposure of its nuclear localization sequence and subsequent translocation to the nucleus. A required component of this cascade is the A-kinase anchoring protein (AKAP) 79/150, which serves to recruit CaN to the channel. New evidence from our group indicates that NFAT is also tethered to this complex via a transient association with AKAP.This scenario suggests a model wherein NFAT signaling is instigated by local synaptic activity and the actuated transcription factor is then conveyed to the nucleus over long intracellular distances via diffusion or active transport. However, the molecular mechanisms of this process have yet to be elucidated. A potentially powerful approach to investigate the dynamics of the signaling molecules in this pathway is fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). This technique yields quantitative information on protein mobility in living cells by measuring intensity fluctuations produced by fluorescent (or fluorescently tagged) molecules diffusing through a confined detection volume.Here we present FCS measurements characterizing NFAT dynamics in response to induced synaptic activity in cultured hippocampal neurons, utilizing models that account for dendritic morphology. Additionally, we have found that there is a prominent component in the autocorrelation curve due to GFP photophysics (triplet state transitions and dynamic quenching) in FCS data from these cells, which requires further modifications to the standard fitting models.
Dueling Interpretations of the Professional Organizing Industry

Professional organizers are depicted, in pop culture, as clutter cops, but see themselves, in real life, as helping others prioritize and make peace with the stuff of their lives.
Electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide with Mn(terpyridine) carbonyl complexes

The behavior of a series of Manganese (Mn) carbonyl compounds with 2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine (tpy) in κ2-N,N′ and κ3-N,N′,N′′ coordination modes under electrochemically reducing conditions is reported. In the presence of carbon dioxide (CO2) and Bronsted acid (phenol), two-electron reduction to carbon monoxide (CO) and water (H2O) is observed. Based on data obtained from cyclic voltammetry and infrared spectroelectrochemistry, the active state of the catalyst in the proposed mechanism for all cases is [Mn(κ3-N,N′,N′′-tpy)(CO)2]−. Under these conditions, competing decomposition reactions limit the overall Faradaic efficiency. These results suggest the possibility of developing new tridentate ligand frameworks suitable for catalytic systems with Mn carbonyl cores.
Analysis of Popularity of Game Mods: A Case Study

Video game mods have become an integral part of the gameplay experience for PC gamers and have drawn support of major game development companies. This area, nevertheless, is not well understood, especially in terms of what motivates mod creators and users. To explore this question we propose a data-driven approach that relies on data that can be obtained from online fora devoted for game mods. To illustrate our approach, we have collected data on deployment and popularity for the mods in six major PC games made by two companies and spanning more than a decade from different popular mod hosting websites. In particular, we investigate what features are present in the mods that are being developed and what features are popular among mod users. To accomplish that, we propose measures of popularity of the mods based on the number of unique downloads and define mod feature space by the tags associated with each mod. The preliminary investigation suggests, for example, that the features developed across the distinct games to be similar but the sets of features popular among users were only marginally similar to the sets of features being implemented by mod creators. We plan surveys of mod users and mod creators to determine causes for this discrepancy. We hope that our approach would allow answering important research and practical questions in the area of game mod development.
315. Optimization of the Capsid of Recombinant Adeno-Associated Virus 6 (AAV6) Vectors for Liver-, and Muscle-Directed Gene Therapy

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors are currently in use in a number of Phase I/II clinical trials. However, large vector doses are needed to achieve therapeutic effects. The ubiquitinproteasome pathway plays a critical role in the intracellular trafficking of AAV vectors, and phosphorylation of certain surface-exposed amino acid residues on the capsid provides the primary signal for ubiquitination. We have previously reported that substitution of critical amino acid residues dramatically increases the transduction efficiency of vectors based on AAV serotypes 2, 3, 5, and 8 by preventing capsid phosphorylation and subsequent proteasomal degradation.In the present studies, we document that the combination of mutations of specific tyrosine (Y), serine (S), threonine (T) and lysine (K) residues on the capsid of AAV6 vectors also significantly increases the transduction efficiency compared with the wild-type (WT) AAV6 vectors. AAV6 capsid contains 7 tyrosine, 17 serine, 19 threonine and 11 lysine residues, which are surface-exposed. Initially, 17 single-mutants were generated based on the AAV6 crystal structure and overlap of amino acid positions with previously studied serotypes: Y445F, Y705F, Y731F, S455V, S472V, S499V, S551V, S663V, S669V, T251V, T492V, T665V, T722V, K531E, K567E, K666E, K707E. Next, the best performing Y-, S-, T-, and K- mutations were combined onto a single AAV6 capsid to generate 9 double-mutants: Y705+731F, Y731F+T492V, T492V+S663V, T492V+S551V, T665V+S551V, S663V+S551V, T492V+K531E, S663V+K531E, T492V+K666E; 7 triple-mutants: Y445+705+731F, Y705+731F+S663V, Y705+731F+S551V, Y705+731F+T492V, Y705+731F+K531E, Y705+731F+K666E, T492V+S663V+K531E; and two quadruple-mutants: Y705+731F+T492V+S663V, and Y705+731F+T492V+K531E. We identified several AAV6-mutant vectors, such as S663+551V, Y705+731F+T492V and Y705+731F+K531E, which were particularly efficient. These vectors increased the transduction efficiency by approximately 5- to 8-fold in a murine hepatocyte cell line, H2.35, and approximately 3- to 5-fold in a murine myoblast cell line, C2C12, over the WT AAV6 vector in vitro. Similar results were obtained in murine hepatocytes and muscle in vivo after tail-vein or intra-muscular injections of these vectors, followed by whole-body bioluminescence imaging of C57BL/6 mice.These residues are localized towards the base of the protrusions surrounding the icosahedral 3-fold axes of the capsid (T492S, S551V and K531E), in the depression surrounding the 2-fold axes (Y705F and Y731Y), or the HI loop (Y663S). This study thus identifies these capsid surface regions as being critical for the trafficking and transduction properties of the AAV6 vectors.In summary, our studies have led to the generation of novel capsid-optimized AAV6 vectors for their potential use in liver-directed, and muscle-directed gene therapy in humans.
Economic impacts of cultural institutes

Abstract Since familiarization in language and culture enhances trust and reduces transaction costs, we hypothesize that there are positive economic effects of cultural institutes on trade and FDI. Data for the (German) Goethe-Insitut are used for the study. Our analysis based on gravity models finds significant positive effects from the establishment of the Goethe-Insitut on both trade and FDI, with stronger effects on FDI than on trade. In addition, the effects on outward FDI, imports and inward FDI are stronger for non-advanced economies than for advanced economies. The results of our analysis for the British Council are similar.
Using Graphics to Teach Evidence

As an Assistant United States Attorney in the general crimes unit of a metropolitan United States Attorney's Office, I regularly tried a variety of cases ranging from bank robberies and drug offenses to white collar crimes. Regardless of the type of crime, I frequently found various types of graphics useful in presenting the case. Examples included a chart providing a point by point comparison of modus operandi in two armed bank robberies and a map of the scene of a controlled purchase of cocaine showing the locations and movements of multiple defendants, an informant, and federal agents. Such graphics helped jurors understand the charges, the evidence, and the structure and theory of the prosecution's case. Graphics have also proved useful in teaching Evidence. I think of them as blueprints that expose the underlying architecture of an evidence rule or doctrine, an architecture that may not be obvious from the text of a rule or a verbal description of a doctrine. Anyone who has assembled a piece of furniture or a child's toy using written instructions is likely to have experienced how confusing purely verbal directions can be at times and how a well conceived diagram can cut through confusion and clearly convey what is sometimes difficult to get across using words alone. Many students find some of the structures and concepts of the law of evidence opaque when conveyed by words alone. The Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) made the law of evidence more accessible. But the conciseness of those rules at times renders them difficult to penetrate, and their significance is often not readily apparent to those uninitiated in the history and intricacies of evidence law. Graphic techniques prompt students to analyze evidence rules to discover the basic concepts that drive those rules. A number of pedagogical purposes propel my reliance on graphics: (1) reaching visual learners; (2) maintaining student interest and engagement; (3) promoting active learning; and (4) providing assessment to students.
Sequential drain amylase to guide drain removal following pancreatectomy.

Abstract Background Although used as criterion for early drain removal, postoperative day (POD) 1 drain fluid amylase (DFA) ≤ 5000 U/L has low negative predictive value for clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (CR-POPF). It was hypothesized that POD3 DFA ≤ 350 could provide further information to guide early drain removal. Methods Data from a pancreas surgery consortium database for pancreatoduodenectomy and distal pancreatectomy patients were analyzed retrospectively. Those patients without drains or POD 1 and 3 DFA data were excluded. Patients with POD1 DFA ≤ 5000 were divided into groups based on POD3 DFA: Group A (≤350) and Group B (>350). Operative characteristics and 60-day outcomes were compared using chi-square test. Results Among 687 patients in the database, all data were available for 380. Fifty-five (14.5%) had a POD1 DFA > 5000. Among 325 with POD1 DFA ≤ 5000, 254 (78.2%) were in Group A and 71 (21.8%) in Group B. Complications (35 (49.3%) vs 87 (34.4%); p = 0.021) and CR-POPF (13 (18.3%) vs 10 (3.9%); p Conclusions In patients with POD1 DFA ≤ 5000, POD3 DFA ≤ 350 may be a practical test to guide safe early drain removal. Further prospective testing may be useful.
Using molecular vibrations to probe exciton delocalization in films of perylene diimides with ultrafast mid-IR spectroscopy

Ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy in the mid-infrared was used to directly probe the delocalization of excitons in two different perylenediimide (PDI) derivatives that are predicted to preclude the formation of excimers, which can act as trap sites for excited state energy in organic semiconductors. We identified vibrational modes within the conjugated C-C stretch modes of PDI molecules whose frequencies reported the interactions of molecules within delocalized excitonic states. The vibrational linewidths of these modes, which we call intermolecular coordinate coupled (ICC) modes, provided a direct probe of the extent of exciton delocalization among the PDI molecules, which was confirmed using X-ray diffraction and electro-absorption spectroscopy. We show that a slip-stacked geometry among the PDI molecules in their crystals promotes delocalized charge-transfer (CT) excitons, while localized Frenkel excitons tend to form in crystals with helical, columnar stacking geometries. Because all molecules possess vibrational modes, the use of ultrafast mid-infrared spectroscopy to measure ICC vibrational modes offers a new approach to examine exciton delocalization in a variety of small molecule electron acceptors for optoelectronic and organic photovoltaic applications.
Cataract surgery in a monocular amblyopic patient

We report a case of restoration of vision in an amblyopic eye after cataract extraction and intraocular lens insertion after a traumatic event resulting in no light perception vision in the contralateral eye. The timing and indication for cataract removal in amblyopic eyes has not been well established. Because this patient was a special case, surgery was the only measure that could be taken to improve the patient's sight. Safe cataract surgery is never without risk and was approached with a long discussion and educational opportunity with the patient. Fortunately, the patient's vision and quality of life greatly improved. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a case in which such a unique decision was encountered.
Reptile and amphibian response to season of burn in an upland hardwood forest

Abstract Growing-season burns are increasingly used in upland hardwood forest for multiple forest management goals. Many species of reptiles and amphibians are ground-dwelling, potentially increasing their vulnerability to prescribed fire, especially during the growing-season when they are most active. We used drift fences with pitfall traps to experimentally assess how herpetofaunal species and communities responded to early, growing-season burns, dormant-season burns, and unburned controls. We documented no adverse effects of either growing-season burns or dormant-season burns on any common herpetofaunal taxa, but capture rates of total, adult, and juvenile five-lined skinks (Plestiodon fasciatus) were greater following growing-season burns. Most measurements reflected little or transient change in forest structure. However, canopy cover decreased by an average of 16% in growing-season burns within four growing-seasons of burning, with some tree mortality in patches where fire temperature likely was hotter. Our study suggests that even modest reductions in canopy cover may positively affect relative abundance and reproductive success of P. fasciatus. We cautiously suggest that a higher mean ground-level fire temperature and the physiologically active condition of vegetation in growing-season burns interacted to damage a greater proportion of trees, resulting in more canopy thinning than in dormant-season burns. However, weather, fuel types and condition, vegetation structure, and topography interact to affect fire intensity and the level of mortality or damage to canopy trees within and among stands, regardless of season conducted. We suggest that herpetofaunal response, for the species we studied, is more closely linked to change in canopy cover than to season of burn per se.
Vocation, Expressive Conduct, and Religious Liberty

Recent scholarship on religious liberty claims, perhaps following the lead of litigants raising claims for religious exemptions in the wake of Obergefell, has largely focused on arguments that certain forms of business activity are “expressive conduct” that government cannot compel. This Note aims to shift the focus of the debate, by arguing that the expressive conduct line of argument distracts from the real collision these cases involve, between two kinds of identity that are both worthy of protection. This Note's argument is twofold. First, it invokes the concept of vocation, understood as a religious obligation or set of obligations regarding work-related conduct, to suggest that, for many, how one acts in one's work is a key part of one's religious identity. Second, it argues that the concept of vocation can, and does, impose meaningful limits on the availability of exemptions from anti-discrimination laws, mitigating the fear that allowing such exemptions will eviscerate the law's ability to protect against discrimination.
A Search for the Predicted Magnetic 5d Surface Atoms W and Re

The magnetism of the 5d metals W and Re is investigated with the method of weak localization. We studied W on the surface of Au and Re on the surface of Ag. For both systems the impurity thicknesses are in the range between 1/100 of a monolayer (single impurities) and one monolayer. For single W and Re impurities the dephasing of weak localization is by two to three orders of magnitude smaller than that of a typical magnetic impurity. For the monolayers it is reduced by a factor of about five. A strong temperature dependence of the dephasing suggests that thermally activated fluctuating moments are present. An extrapolation of this temperature dependence towards T = 0 yields no dephasing and therefore no magnetic behavior at T = 0. Numerical calculations predicted that W and Re impurities possess a magnetic moment of about 3.5 μBon the surface of Ag. These large moments are not found in our experiments.
Anterior Mediastinal Mass

This case emphasizes the importance of performing a complete anesthetic evaluation of a patient with an anterior mediastinal mass. Having a well-developed plan for airway and cardiovascular management is essential to safe management. Finally, a discussion with involved team members for how to best manage the patient in the event of a catastrophic event.
Enhancing Anomaly Detection Using Temporal Pattern Discovery

Technological enhancements aid development and research in smart homes and . The temporal nature of data collected in a smart environment provides us with a better understanding of patterns that occur over time. Predicting events and detecting anomalies in such data sets is a complex and challenging task. To solve this problem, we suggest a solution using temporal relations . Our temporal pattern discovery algorithm, based on Allen’s temporal relations , has helped discover interesting patterns and relations from data sets. We hypothesize that machine learning algorithms can be designed to automatically learn models of resident behavior in a and, when these are incorporated with temporal information , the results can be used to detect anomalies. We describe a method of discovering temporal relations in data sets and applying them to perform anomaly detection on the frequently occurring events by incorporating information shared by the activity. We validate our hypothesis using empirical studies based on the data collected from real resident and virtual resident (synthetic) data.
Improving Clinical Outcomes in the Era of Information Ubiquity.

A “fourth industrial revolution”[1][1] that blends biologic, physical, and data sciences is currently reshaping biomedical research and our larger understanding of the spectrum of human health. However, although these developments are expanding important capacities, the convergence of an aging
Decomposition of the multimodal multidirectional M2 internal tide field

AbstractThe M2 internal tide field contains waves of various baroclinic modes and various horizontal propagation directions. This paper presents a technique for decomposing the sea surface height (...
A Decentralized Estimation of the Power System Bus Impedance Matrix Using the Jacobi Iterative Method

Maintaining the reliable operation of complex systems that span a large geographical area, such as power systems, can be a challenge. In the future, the complexity of power systems will increase following the increase in energy production from renewable sources. Renewable sources are much more variable (less controllable) than their conventional counterparts; moreover, an additional source of variability will be the increasing number of prosumers. Maintaining a reliable operation, under such highly variable conditions, will require power systems to be much more flexible. Additionally, the mathematical models used in the analysis of such power systems must be adaptive and be updated with the changes in the operating conditions. This requirement poses a significant challenge. A distributed and decentralized framework offers a practical solution for such a challenge. In this paper, we are proposing an algorithm based on such a framework to evaluate the bus impedance matrix of a power system. The algorithm is based on the Jacobi iterative method for the solution of simultaneous linear equations. The proposed method is applied on the IEEE 14-bus and IEEE 30-bus systems and the results are discussed.
Assessment and Measurement of Spasticity in MS: State of the Evidence

The purpose of this review is to familiarize the reader with assessments and measurement of spasticity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Spasticity affects 60–84% of people with MS, worsening as disability worsens and impacting activity, participation, and quality of life. Spasticity manifests in many ways, including spasms, resistance to passive stretch, pain, and perception of tightness, and can affect muscles throughout the body, making assessment and quantification of spasticity challenging but important. Assessment tools include those quantified by clinicians, instrumentation, and patients. Most tools for measuring spasticity are based on clinician scoring, were developed many years ago, and have undergone minimal recent advances. More recent developments are patient-reported outcome measures for spasticity, including the Numeric Rating Scale for Spasticity (NRS-S) and the disease-specific Multiple Sclerosis Spasticity Scale-88 (MSSS), and, most recently, imaging through elastography. MS-related spasticity is common and often disabling. There are various spasticity measurement tools available, each with advantages and limitations. Newer tools are likely to be developed as our understanding of spasticity in MS grows.
Intelligent Traffic Monitoring Systems for Vehicle Classification: A Survey

A traffic monitoring system is an integral part of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). It is one of the critical transportation infrastructures that transportation agencies invest a huge amount of money to collect and analyze the traffic data to better utilize the roadway systems, improve the safety of transportation, and establish future transportation plans. With recent advances in MEMS, machine learning, and wireless communication technologies, numerous innovative traffic monitoring systems have been developed. In this article, we present a review of state-of-the-art traffic monitoring systems focusing on the major functionality-vehicle classification. We organize various vehicle classification systems, examine research issues and technical challenges, and discuss hardware/software design, deployment experience, and system performance of vehicle classification systems. Finally, we discuss a number of critical open problems and future research directions in an aim to provide valuable resources to academia, industry, and government agencies for selecting appropriate technologies for their traffic monitoring applications.
Watching a virus grow.

One of the most powerful molecular motors discovered, to date, belongs to a phage, a type of virus that infects bacteria (1). The motor serves to package stiff, double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) into a preassembled, proteinaceous polyhedral container called the procapsid. The DNA is about 50 times longer than the size of the capsid and gets packaged and compressed by the motor at near-crystalline densities. The capsid holds up its end of the bargain, withstanding positive pressure differentials of up to 40 atm (2). The level of current understanding of this fascinating biological process was made possible, in great measure, by the development of in singulo approaches to packaging dynamics, adapted to phages. However, what works for one virus may hardly apply to another. Thus, in a great number of single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) viruses—the largest virus group on Earth—nucleic acid packaging occurs concurrently with, and indeed is part of, spontaneous assembly. No ATP-powered motor is involved here. Instead of great positive pressures, the final pressure exerted by the RNA, at equilibrium, is modest and negative (3). Disentangling the interplay between the 2 types of concurrent driving interactions—those among coat proteins and those between coat proteins and RNA—is far from trivial. Adding to the challenge, intermediates have a fleeting existence (milliseconds), while the sizes of ssRNA viruses that can assemble in vitro are small (tens of nanometers). This is why, up to now, the principal features of ssRNA virus assembly have been mainly supplied by theoretical models, structural arguments from static data, and ensemble-averaged dynamic experiments. In singulo methods that would offer the same level of real-time dynamics detail and direct insight as those applied to dsDNA phages 2 decades ago have been scarce. In PNAS, Garmann et al. (4) provide a compelling demonstration of the potential held by a wide-field optical … [↵][1]1Email: dragnea{at}indiana.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
High-power, frequency-doubled Nd:GdVO 4 laser for use in lithium cold atom experiments

We report on an 888 nm-pumped Nd:GdVO4 ring laser operational over a wavelength range from 1340.3 nm to 1342.1 nm with a maximum output power of 7.4 W at 1341.2 nm and a beam quality parameter M2<1.1. To our knowledge this is the highest single-longitudinal-mode power obtained with a Nd:GdVO4 crystal laser. We use a commercial frequency-doubling cavity to achieve 1.2 W at 671.0 nm and 4.0 W at 670.6 nm for use in lithium cold atom experiments. Respectively, these wavelengths are approximately resonant with and 250 GHz blue-detuned from the lithium D-lines. Thus, this source provides ample power for laser cooling of lithium atoms while also offering substantial power for experiments requiring light 10’s to 100’s of GHz blue-detuned from the primary lithium transitions.
Who Says What with Whom: Using Bi-Spectral Clustering to Organize and Analyze Social Media Protest Networks

Abstract Social media protest networks involve many participants, from long-time activists to individuals who are engaged only in a particular protest event. We propose a new approach to studying how various communities of users participate in protest events. Our approach combines two methodological innovations. First, rather than study tweets central to one event, we collect full timelines of user activity leading up to participation in a focal event. Second, we propose bi-spectral clustering as a scalable computational method for rapidly identifying communities of users by the words (hashtags) they use. Using a large sample of tweets from users who discussed the 2016 protests in Charlotte, North Carolina following the extrajudicial killing of Keith Lamont Scott as a case study, we demonstrate how bi-spectral clustering can be applied to sort, sample, and identify ideologically and thematically coherent clusters whose members participated in the protest on Twitter. Our proposed approach provides another tool in the mixed methods scholar’s toolkit to computationally sort and cluster large-scale network data by allowing researchers to look beyond focal hashtags or keywords and situate protest messages within the broader communication context of participating users.
Opioid Use and Misuse in Pregnancy.

The rate of pregnant women with an opioid use disorder has risen drastically in the past 20 years, paralleling that in the general population. Pregnancies associated with opioid use, abuse, or dependence have significantly higher rates of complications, such as neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, intrauterine growth restriction, neural tube defects, stillbirth, increased maternal mortality, greater postpartum pain, and longer inpatient stays. Patient education about the risks and benefits of multimodal analgesia and empowering shared decision making may help curb the opioid epidemic. Tailoring pain management to individual needs might be the solution to the problem.
The Oxford History of the Novel in English, Volume 10: The Novel in South and South East Asia since 1945: by Alex Tickell, Oxford, UK, Oxford University Press, 2019, 688 pp., $135 (hardcover), ISBN: 978-0198745419

Patrick Parrinder, the general editor of the 12-volume Oxford History of the Novel in English, sets out the guiding parameters for the series: he notes that novels “are written texts superseding th...
Interferometric polarimetry using full-poincare beams

A full-Poincare beam is an optical beam that contains every polarization state on the Poincare sphere over its cross-section. We present an interferometric method to measure the polarization state of a test beam by interfering it with a full-Poincare beam and analyzing it in the Fourier domain. This results in a Fourier peak whose shape and phase structure changes with the test polarization; with proper calibration, we are able to recover the test beam polarization. A Stress-Engineered Optic (SEO) is used to generate the full-Poincare beam. SEOs, when used at the pupil of an imaging system, have been used to create polarization-dependent PSFs. In this work, we are interferometrically creating a similar PSF in the Fourier domain while retaining the phase information. The effect of having a low photon number in the test beam is also investigated.
Trends in cannabis use among adults with children in the home in the United States, 2004-2017: impact of state-level legalization for recreational and medical use

Background and aims Cannabis use among parents may be increasing with legalization, but perception of associated risk has declined. The study investigated the association between cannabis legalization and cannabis use among adults with children in the home over time in the United States (US). Design A difference-in-difference approach was applied to public and restricted-use data from the 2004-2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an annual cross-sectional survey. Setting A representative sample of the United States. Participants/cases Respondents ages 18+ with children living in the home drawn from the NSDUH (n = 287,624), which is administered to non-institutionalized civilians in the 50 states and District of Columbia. Measurements Exposures were year and state-level cannabis policy in state of residence annually. Outcomes were past-30-day cannabis use and daily cannabis use. Sociodemographic variables included age, gender, marital status, annual family income, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and strength of state-level tobacco control. Findings In 2017, past-month cannabis use (11.9%, 9.3%, and 6.1%) and daily cannabis use (4.2%, 3.2%, and 2.3%) were more common in states with recreational marijuana laws (RML), followed by states with medical marijuana laws (MML) and without legal cannabis use, respectively. RML and MML were associated with significantly higher prevalence of past-month cannabis use (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12-1.46; AOR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.03-1.22) and daily cannabis use (AOR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.03-1.51; AOR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.02-1.32), respectively. The impact of MML was particularly salient among adults ages 50+ and the highest income and education subgroups. Conclusions Among adults with children living in the home, cannabis use appears to be more common in US states with legalized cannabis use compared with states with no legal cannabis use. Recreational legalization appears to increase use among adults with children in the home broadly across nearly all sociodemographic groups, whereas the effect of legalization for medical use is heterogeneous by age and socioeconomic status.
Scale Invariant Spatial and Temporal Fluctuations in Complex Systems

Dynamical systems with many degrees of freedom can evolve (or be driven) into a stationary state exhibiting scale invariant spatial and/or temporal fluctuations. General arguments are supported by numerical simulations of simple models. Scaling exponents are defined and calculated. We suggest that the concept presented here has wide potential applications, including fractal patterns, 1/f noise, randomly pinned surfaces or interfaces, glasses, and earthquakes. Some of the applications are discussed in detail.
Quantum energy-mass spectrum of Yang-Mills bosons

A non-perturbative quantization of the Yang-Mills energy-mass functional with a compact semi-simple gauge group entails an infinite discrete energy-mass spectrum of gauge bosons. The bosonic spectrum is bounded from below, and has a positive mass gap due to the quartic self-interaction term of pure Yang-Mills Lagrangian (with no Higgs term involved). This quantization is based on infinite-dimensional analysis in Kree nuclear triple of sesqui-holomorphic functionals of initial data for the the non-linear classical Yang-Mills equations in the temporal gauge.
Pivotal role of the B7:CD28 pathway in transplantation tolerance and tumor immunity

The above story illustrates the translation of basic scientific discoveries to the clinic. In vitro and preclinical in vivo experimentation suggests that modulation of the B7:CD28 pathway will result in either amplification or suppression of the immune response. Considering the frequency with which diseases characterized by either inadequate or dysregulated immune function present to the practicing hematologist or oncologist, it is not difficult to envisage clinical applications for reagents that modulate this pathway. However, we still have much to learn about the function and clinical potential of this and other potentially redundant costimulatory pathways and therefore we suspect that this story will become considerably more complex over the next few years.
Shear and Rayleigh Waves in Soil Dynamics

The main thrust of this paper is to compare the effects of Rayleigh waves to those of vertical shear waves on the dynamic response of a variety of realistic soil deposits. Using a modified version of the Thomson-Haskell-Harkrider method, the variation with depth of horizontal displacements and shear stresses resulting from the passage of the two types of waves is determined. Comparisons of their effects indicate that R- and S-waves produce similar attenuations with depth of horizontal motions, for periods close to or greater than the first natural period of the deposit in vertical shear waves, while the discrepancies observed at much shorter perids are of little practical significance since for typical soil profiles Rayleigh waves of such periods carry only a small portion of the total wave energy. However, the two waves may yield different distributions of shear stresses with depth and induce different motions of the soil particles.
Collisional removal of OH(X2Π, υ = 9) by O, O2, O3, N2, and CO2

[1] Total removal rate constants of OH(υ = 9) by O atoms, O2, O3, N2, and CO2 were measured at room temperature. Ozone photodissociation at 248 nm in a mixture containing H2 generates O atoms and OH(υ = 9) by the secondary reaction of H atoms with excess O3. Steady state OH(υ = 9) population measurements using laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) determine the relative rate constants for OH(υ = 9) removal by other species present in the gas mixture. Using available measurements of the absolute removal rate constants by O3 and CO2, we extract a value of (4 ± 1) × 10−10 cm3s−1 (2σ) for the OH(υ = 9) + O rate constant. Collisional removal by O2 and N2 is approximately 20 and 600 times slower, respectively. The result for OH(υ = 9) + O indicates that fast O-atom processes play an important role in determining the OH emission and chemical heating rates in the middle terrestrial atmosphere.
Idiopathic Retroperitoneal Fibrosis Producing Common Bile Duct and Pancreatic Duct Obstruction

Idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis is a rare finding usually confined to the retroperitoneal space. Symptoms caused by this fibrotic process are usually secondary to compression and constriction of local anatomic structures. The ureters are the most common site of involvement, although the biliary tree, duodenum, and vasculature may also be affected. This case report describes a patient with retroperitoneal fibrosis involving the pancreas and common bile duct, and whose clinical course and investigative results stimulated cancer of the pancreas.
Structured interview assessment of nonclinical panic

Numerous researchers have asserted that the study of nonclinical panic may have considerable utility to the evaluation of current conceptual models of panic and panic disorder. Despite evidence suggesting many similarities between nonclinical panic and panic disorder, the significance of these findings is mitigated by several methodological difficulties including the use of panic classification schemes involving questionnaire assessment and failure to consider DSM-III-R criteria for panic, particularly spontaneous panic. Accordingly, the present study examined the prevalence and nature of panic in a large nonclinical sample (N=171) using the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule-Revised (ADIS-R). Interrater agreement of ADIS-R panic classifications was high (kappa = .83). Whereas the one-year prevalence of panic (29.2%) was similar to rates obtained in previous studies that used questionnaire-based classifications, the rate of uncued panic was substantially lower (2.3%). Moreover, a large proportion of panics reported by subjects appeared to represent reactions to situations associated with actual threat (i.e., true alarm reactions). These data are discussed as suggesting potential caveats in the use of extant nonclinical panic findings to contribute to the understanding of panic disorder.
Reverse self-splicing of the tetrahymena group I intron: Implication for the directionality of splicing and for intron transposition

Abstract Using short oligoribonucleotides as ligated exon substrates, we show that splicing of the Tetrahymena rRNA group I intron is fully reversible in vitro. Incubation of ligated exon RNA with linear intron produces a molecule in which the splice site sequences of the precursor are reformed. Reversal of self-splicing is favored by high RNA concentration, high magnesium and temperature, and the absence of guanosine. 5′ exon sequences that can pair with the internal guide sequence of the intron are required, whereas 3′ exon sequences are not essential. Integration of the intron into ligated exon substrates that have the ability to form stem-loop structures is reduced at least one order of magnitude over short, unstructured substrates. We propose that the formation of these structures helps drive splicing in the forward direction. We also show that the Tetrahymena intron can integrate into a β-globin transcript. This has implications for transposition of group I introns.
Abiotic carbon and the formation of graphite deposits [discussion]

For reference to original paper by Salotti, Heinrich, and Giardini, see this Bibliography, Vol. 35, No. 11, 02 E71-31946