cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Macroeconomic Analysis of Malware

Malware harms infected individuals by stealing computational resources and possibly authenticating information. Malware also creates negative externalities for all users by enabling the creation of botnets for criminal enterprise, e.g. DDoS or phishing. Why is there such a variance in the percentage of malware infections across nations? While there may be idiosyncratic or ad-hoc explanations for concentrations of malicious actors or innocent victims, there has been an absence of systematic cybercrime science. Computer scientists have focused primarily on empirical work without concurrent focus on potentially applicable theories in macroeconomics and criminology. This extended abstract tersely provides the results of why botnets vary by jurisdiction and region, but the focus is on an explanation of and argument for our method: macroeconomic analysis informed by crime science.
Distribution and pharmacokinetics of a potent peptide antagonist of parathyroid hormone and parathyroid hormone-related protein in the rat.

Humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy results from the production by cancer cells of parathyroid hormone related protein that activates receptors in bone. Peptide antagonists that block parathyroid hormone receptors in vivo would be instrumental in the clinical treatment of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy. We report the in vivo whole body distribution and blood plasma pharmacokinetics of the parathyroid hormone receptor antagonist [Nle8,18,D-Trp12,monoiodinated Tyr34]bPTH(7-34)amide to determine parameters that are likely to affect its administration regimen. A single intravenously injected dose of [Nle8,18,D-Trp12,monoiodinated Tyr34]bPTH(7-34)amide was rapidly cleared from blood plasma. The plasma concentration reaches a maximum at 10 min (Cmax = 1.93 +/- 0.27% of total injected CPM/ml), and the intact PTH derivative was detectable in plasma by HPLC analysis at this time. In vivo binding to plasma proteins was noncovalent. The peptide was rapidly cleared from blood by the liver, and more slowly by the kidney. Radiolabel was detected in excreted feces at 8 hr, but the preferred route of excretion was renal as judged by significant counts in excreted urine. Absorption of labeled peptide by skin and bone was sustained. Strong and sustained absorption also occurred in the vas deferens, seminal vesicle and hypothalamus. Given the rapid clearance of antagonist, multiple or sustained dosing schemes might be necessary to achieve the desired pharmacological effect. The high counts in liver at early time points after i.v. injection suggest that other routes of administration that do not bypass the hepatic first-pass effect would result in very low blood levels of drug.
Base Properties of H2CO in the Excited 1n→π* State

CCSD and EOM-CCSD calculations with the aug‘-cc-pVDZ basis set have been carried out to investigate the structures, energies, and vibrational spectra of H2CO, protonated H2CO, and hydrogen-bonded HF:H2CO complexes in ground and excited 1n→π* states. The computed structures, vibrational spectra, and excitation energies of H2CO are in agreement with experimental data. In the 1n→π* state two protonated isomers, H2COH+ and H3CO+, exist. These differ in stability by 14 kcal/mol, with H2COH+ being more stable. The proton affinity of excited H2CO is 17 kcal/mol less than the ground-state proton affinity. Two hydrogen-bonded complexes HF:H2CO also exist in the excited 1n→π* state. The more stable complex has hydrogen bond formation occurring at the oxygen and is approximately 2 kcal/mol less stable than the corresponding ground-state complex. The complex with hydrogen bonding at the carbon is only a weakly bound, Born−Oppenheimer minimum.
Modularity for maximum mobility and manipulation: Control of a reconfigurable legged robot with series-elastic actuators

We present a set of modular series-elastic actuators (SEAs) that allow rapid and robust prototyping of mobile legged robots. The SEA modules were originally developed for a snake robot, SEA Snake, and have recently been reconfigured into Snake Monster, a multi-modal walking robot that can be easily adapted to hexapod, quadruped, and biped configurations. The use of SEAs allows the implementation of a compliant hybrid controller using both position and force-based walking. This paper presents the mechanical design, control architecture, and initial locomotion experiments using the Snake Monster platform. Additionally, we discuss the enhanced capabilities, pertaining particularly to search and rescue applications, enabled by the use of our modular hardware. Finally, we highlight how these modules provide a powerful tool for both field deployment requiring locomotion and manipulation tasks.
Patients with Refractory Crohn's Disease Successfully Treated with Ustekinumab.

BACKGROUND Ustekinumab is a new biologic therapy targeting interleukin-12 and interleukin -23. It is currently approved for the treatment of psoriasis, but clinical trials have shown that it can induce and maintain remission in Crohn's disease (CD). We aim to evaluate effectiveness of ustekinumab in the treatment of CD. METHODS A retrospective chart review was performed including patients (pts) from 2 academic medical centers with complicated, refractory CD started on ustekinumab between June 2011 and June 2014. Pts were treated based on a novel subcutaneous dosing schedule designed to simulate the intravenous load used in clinical trials. RESULTS Forty-five pts were treated with ustekinumab during this study period. Of the pts who had clinical parameters available before and after medication start, 46% achieved clinical response (Harvey-Bradshaw index decrease ≥ 3) and 35% achieved clinical remission (Harvey-Bradshaw index ≤ 3). Short inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire scores increased significantly (46 [20, 68] to 55 [32, 70], P < 0.05). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate decreased significantly (20 [3, 54] to 12 [0, 42] mm/h, P < 0.05). C-reactive protein decreased significantly (4.9 [0.3, 111] to 3.3 [0.2, 226] mg/L, P < 0.05). Seventy-six percent of patients demonstrated an endoscopic response and 24% achieved complete endoscopic remission. Twelve patients (26%) were hospitalized for IBD-related issues. Four pts had infection-related complications. Six pts (13%) underwent surgery for IBD-related issues. Three pts stopped ustekinumab, 1 for pt preference and 2 for the lack of response. CONCLUSIONS Using a novel subcutaneous dosing schedule, ustekinumab was successful in improving clinical, laboratory, and endoscopic markers of disease activity in patients with severe, refractory CD.
Comparison of Analytical Model to Experimental Results and Numerical Simulations for Tailor Welded Blank Forming

Tailor Welded Blanks offer several notable benefits including decreased part weight, reduced manufacturing costs, and improved dimensional consistency. However the reduced formability and other characteristics of the forming process associated with TWBs has limited the industrial utilization of this blank type. One concern with TWB forming is that weld line movement occurs which alters the final location of the various materials in the TWB combination. In this paper, an analytical model to predict the initial weld line placement necessary to satisfy the desired, final weld line location is presented. Good agreement between the model, experimental results, and numerical simulations with respect to weld line movement and initial placement was obtained for a symmetric, steel TWB case and a non-symmetric, Aluminum TWB case.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Surveillance of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Anhui province,2005-2010

Objective To determine the epidemiology of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS) in Anhui province and provide preventive measures against HFRS.Methods Data collected from epidemiological surveillance and the laboratorial detection was analyzed.Suspected cases of HFRS,healthy persons in surveillance sites and infections of host animals were detected using immunodiagnostic techniques.Results A total of 902 cases of HFRS were reported in Anhui province from 2005 to 2010,of whom 24 were dead,with annual incidence rate of 0.2459 per hundred thousand and mortality rate of 0.0065 per hundred thousand.The peak incidence was found during the period of October to January of the following year.HFRS cases were mainly distributed in Huaibei Plain and Jianghuai Hilly regions,which accounted for 84.04% of the total cases in the whole province.Most cases were farmers and ranged from 20 to 60 years old.Mus musculus was the dominant species in residence community and Apodemus agrarius was the dominant species outdoors.The sero-prevalence of suspected HFRS patients was 31.42%,and the latent infection rate of healthy persons in surveillance sites was 6.75%.Conclusions Epidemic areas with Apodemus agrarius and Mus musculus as major hosts were widely distributed in Anhui province.The incidence rate of HFRS showed a declining trend in Anhui province in recent years.However,there were a high density of rats in Huaibei Plain,low rate of virus-carrier rats in mountain area of southern Anhui province and high latent infection rate of healthy persons in Jianghuai Hilly region.
On Robustness in Multilayer Interdependent Networks

Critical Infrastructures like power and communication networks are highly interdependent on each other for their full functionality. Many significant research have been pursued to model the interdependency and failure analysis of these interdependent networks. However most of these models fail to capture the complex interdependencies that might actually exist between the infrastructures. The Implicative Interdependency Model that utilizes Boolean Logic to capture complex interdependencies was recently proposed which overcome the limitations of the existing models. A number of problems were studied based on this model. In this paper we study the Robustness problem in Interdependent Power and Communication Network. The robustness is defined with respect to two parameters \(K \in I^{+} \cup \{0\}\) and \(\rho \in (0,1]\). We utilized the Implicative Interdependency Model to capture the complex interdependencies between the two networks. The problem is solved using an Integer Linear Program and the solution is used to study the robustness of power and communication interdependent network of Maricopa County, Arizona, USA.
Acetazolamide Mitigates Astrocyte Cellular Edema Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Non-penetrating or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is commonly experienced in accidents, the battlefield and in full-contact sports. Astrocyte cellular edema is one of the major factors that leads to high morbidity post-mTBI. Various studies have reported an upregulation of aquaporin-4 (AQP4), a water channel protein, following brain injury. AZA is an antiepileptic drug that has been shown to inhibit AQP4 expression and in this study we investigate the drug as a therapeutic to mitigate the extent of mTBI induced cellular edema. We hypothesized that mTBI-mediated astrocyte dysfunction, initiated by increased intracellular volume, could be reduced when treated with AZA. We tested our hypothesis in a three-dimensional in vitro astrocyte model of mTBI. Samples were subject to no stretch (control) or one high-speed stretch (mTBI) injury. AQP4 expression was significantly increased 24 hours after mTBI. mTBI resulted in a significant increase in the cell swelling within 30 min of mTBI, which was significantly reduced in the presence of AZA. Cell death and expression of S100B was significantly reduced when AZA was added shortly before mTBI stretch. Overall, our data point to occurrence of astrocyte swelling immediately following mTBI, and AZA as a promising treatment to mitigate downstream cellular mortality.
Effective Field Theory

If we take quantum gravity to be a theory that replaces GR at high energy scales (i.e. a micro-theory of spacetime), then GR must be understood as an effective theory, meaning it is thought to be valid only at large length-scales compared to the characteristic length-scale of quantum gravity (perhaps the Planck length). The framework of effective field theory is a means of formalising this idea for a particular class of theories (field theories, including quantum field theories and field theories in condensed matter physics), under particular assumptions (including a clear separation of scales); though the term “EFT” is also used to refer to any given EFT that satisfies this framework. An EFT is typically contrasted against the higher-energy theory “underlying” it (often termed the “(more) fundamental” theory), and, when discussing emergence, will be said to be emergent from this higher-energy theory.
Selenium and Selenium–Sulfur Chemistry for Rechargeable Lithium Batteries: Interplay of Cathode Structures, Electrolytes, and Interfaces

In the search for a transformative new energy storage system, the rechargeable Li/sulfur battery is considered as one of the promising candidates due to its much higher energy density and lower cost than state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries. However, the insulating nature of sulfur and the dissolution of intermediary polysulfides into the electrolyte significantly hinder its practical application. Very recently, selenium and selenium–sulfur systems have received considerable attention as cathode materials for rechargeable batteries owing to the high electronic conductivity (20 orders of magnitude higher than sulfur) and high volumetric capacity (3254 mAh/cm3) of selenium. In this Perspective, we present an overview of the implications of employing selenium and selenium–sulfur systems with different structures and compositions as electroactive materials for rechargeable lithium batteries. We also show how the cathode structures, electrolytes, and electrode–electrolyte interfaces affect the electrochemist...
Associations between teaching effectiveness and participant self-reflection in continuing medical education

AbstractEffective medical educators can engage learners through self-reflection. However, little is known about the relationships between teaching effectiveness and self-reflection in continuing medical education (CME). We aimed to determine associations between presenter teaching effectiveness and participant self-reflection in conference-based CME. This cross-sectional study evaluated presenters and participants at a national CME course. Participants provided CME teaching effectiveness (CMETE) ratings and self-reflection scores for each presentation. Overall CMETE and CME self-reflection scores (five-point Likert scale with one as strongly disagree and five as strongly agree) were averaged for each presentation. Correlations were measured among self-reflection, CMETE, and presentation characteristics. In total, 624 participants returned 430 evaluations (response, 68.9%) for the 38 presentations. Correlation between CMETE and self-reflection was medium (Pearson correlation, 0.3–0.5) or large (0.5–1.0) fo...
Low parental awareness about energy (calorie) recommendations for children's restaurant meals: findings from a national survey in the USA.

Objective To assess parental awareness of per-meal energy (calorie) recommendations for children's restaurant meals and to explore whether calorie awareness was associated with parental sociodemographic characteristics and frequency of eating restaurant food. Design Cross-sectional online survey administered in July 2014. Parents estimated calories (i.e. kilocalories; 1 kcal=4·184 kJ) recommended for a child's lunch/dinner restaurant meal (range: 0-2000 kcal). Responses were categorized as 'underestimate' (600 kcal). Confidence in response was measured on a 4-point scale from 'very unsure' to 'very sure'. Logistic regressions estimated the odds of an 'accurate' response and confident response ('somewhat' or 'very sure') by parental sociodemographic characteristics and frequency of eating from restaurants. Sampling weights based on demographics were incorporated in all analyses. Setting USA. Subjects Parents (n 1207) of 5-12-year-old children. Results On average, parents estimated 631 (se 19·4) kcal as the appropriate amount for a 5-12-year-old child's meal. Thirty-five per cent answered in the accurate range, while 33·3 and 31·8 % underestimated and overestimated, respectively. Frequent dining at restaurants, lower income and urban geography were associated with lower odds of answering accurately. Parents' confidence in their estimates was low across the sample (26·0 % confident) and only 10·1 % were both accurate and confident. Conclusions Parent education about calorie recommendations for children could improve understanding and use of menu labelling information in restaurants. Targeted strategies are recommended to ensure that such efforts address, rather than exacerbate, health disparities.
Etiology and Treatment of Early Ejaculation

(1994). Etiology and Treatment of Early Ejaculation. Journal of Sex Education and Therapy: Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 5-6.
Direct observation of surface-state thermal oscillations in SmB 6 oscillators

${\mathrm{SmB}}_{6}$ is a mixed valence Kondo insulator that exhibits a sharp increase in resistance following an activated behavior that levels off and saturates below 4 K. This behavior can be explained by the proposal of ${\mathrm{SmB}}_{6}$ representing a new state of matter, a topological Kondo insulator, in which a Kondo gap is developed, and topologically protected surface conduction dominates low-temperature transport. Exploiting its nonlinear dynamics, a tunable ${\mathrm{SmB}}_{6}$ oscillator device was recently demonstrated, where a small dc current generates large oscillating voltages at frequencies from a few $\text{Hz}$ to hundreds of $\text{MHz}$. This behavior was explained by a theoretical model describing the thermal and electronic dynamics of coupled surface and bulk states. However, a crucial aspect of this model, the predicted temperature oscillation in the surface state, has not been experimentally observed to date. This is largely due to the technical difficulty of detecting an oscillating temperature of the very thin surface state. Here we report direct measurements of the time-dependent surface-state temperature in ${\mathrm{SmB}}_{6}$ with a ${\mathrm{RuO}}_{2}$ microthermometer. Our results agree quantitatively with the theoretically simulated temperature waveform, and hence support the validity of the oscillator model, which will provide accurate theoretical guidance for developing future ${\mathrm{SmB}}_{6}$ oscillators at higher frequencies.
Occupational Therapy Essentials for Clinical Competence

At first glance, the book appears to be a reference for students or clinicians for advanced clinical strategies and treatment solutions. However, a deeper look reveals the text is a broad stroke of...
A VAR optimization model in distribution networks with precise linear modelling for OLTC of transformer

In this paper, a reactive power (VAR) optimization model is proposed combining the precise linear modelling of transformer on-load tap changer (OLTC) to reduce power losses and voltage deviations. In the proposed method, the distributed generator, static and discrete VAR compensators, and transformer OLTC are chosen as control variables. The nonconvex optimization model is transformed into a convex problem through cone relaxation and precise linear modelling of OLTC. The numerical tests show that the model can significantly reduce the network losses and voltage deviation.
Simplified modeling of plunger-lift assisted production in gas wells

Abstract Liquid loading has been an issue for mature gas wells due to declining reservoir energy. In older fields, one of the methods used to mitigate this problem is plunger lift. However, the optimum design of a plunger lift is nontrivial. This paper presents a simplified modeling approach for the design of plunger lift for wells in gas reservoirs with significant water production. The proposed model allows for an efficient design of plunger lift by incorporating energy balance in the wellbore. The wellbore/reservoir model presupposes the presence of some liquid in the tubing and in the tubing/casing annulus, but most of the tubing and annular space is assumed to be filled with gas. Closure of the tubinghead valve initiates recuperation of reservoir energy, thereby allowing fluid influx to occur in the tubing and annulus. Eventually, accumulation of sufficient pressurized gas in the annulus lifts the plunger along with the liquid and gas on top of it. The model accounts for the pressure-volume (pV) work done by the pressurized gas in the annulus, including the energy needed to lift the liquid and gas on top of the plunger, and friction during the plunger movement. Because the dimensions and trajectory of the wellbore have such profound impact on the operability of plunger lift, operators can use this model by just providing the known input parameters to determine the design variables, target casing pressure, and duration of the plunger cycle.
Assessing Cerebral Hemodynamic Stability After Brain Injury.

Objective: Following brain injury, unstable cerebral hemodynamics can be characterized by abnormal rises in intracranial pressure (ICP). This behavior has been quantified by the RAP index: the correlation (R) between ICP pulse amplitude (A) and mean (P). While RAP could be a valuable indicator of autoregulatory processes, its prognostic ability is not well established and its validity has been questioned due to potential errors in measurement. Here, we test (1) whether RAP is a consistent measure of intracranial hemodynamics and (2) whether RAP has prognostic value in predicting hemodynamic instability following brain injury.
Outcomes of a Behavioral Intervention for Sleep Disturbances in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study evaluated the effectiveness of Bedtime Fading with Response Cost (BFRC) in decreasing sleep disturbances in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using parents as change agents by implementing treatment in the home environment. A non-concurrent multiple baseline design across three participants was used. Results indicate that BFRC was effective in eliminating unwanted co-sleeping, frequent night awakenings, and dependent sleep onset. Secondary improvements include reducing sleep onset latency, bedtime resistance, and disruptive sleep-related behaviors. Follow-up data demonstrate gains were maintained. Parents reported high satisfaction with BFRC and sleep outcomes for their children. This study extends both the practice and science of parent-implemented behavioral interventions as treatment options for children with ASD and co-occurring sleep disturbances.
Inventory Planning in Large Assembly Supply Chains

Large assembly supply chains, such as those found in the computer, consumer electronics, and automobile industries, usually support the production of multiple end-products where each end-product has a complex multi-level bill of material (BOM) consisting of hundreds, if not thousands, of components and subassemblies with widely varying lead times and costs. The end-products typically have many of these components and subassemblies in common. The supply chains are subject to demands for end-products which are highly volatile and notoriously difficult to forecast, yield and other quality problems, periodic engineering changes, frequent new product introductions, rapid obsolescence of end-products and components, and geographically dispersed production and vendor locations.
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Metabolism in Endothelial Cells: Relationship to Eicosanoid Formation

Arachidonic acid, a member of the omega-6 (n−6) class of polyunsaturated fatty acids, plays a very important role in endothelial function. This is illustrated in Fig. 1. When the endothelium is stimulated by agonists such as thrombin or histamine, arachidonic acid (20:4) is hydrolyzed from phospholipids and converted to several vasoactive compounds. One of the major products is prostacyclin (PGI2), a potent platelet anti-aggregatory agent and vasodilator1. Many other prostaglandin (PG) and lipoxygenase (LX) products are produced by various kinds of endothelial cells2, among the major ones being prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE).
Sources of Error

Exact interpolation using the cardinal series assumes that (a) the values of the samples are known exactly, (b) the sample locations are known exactly and (c) an infinite number of terms are used in the series. Deviation from these requirements results in interpolation error due to (a) data noise (b) jitter and (c) truncation respectively. The perturbation to the interpolation from these sources of error is the subject of this chapter.
Study on plant-wide optimization based on interval number for gold hydrometallurgical process

Considering the difficulty of accurate online-measurement of some key variables in hydrometallurgy plant-wide production process, which leads to process modeling difficult and optimization control based on conventional plant-wide optimization methods is difficult to realize, it is very necessary to establish an accurate plant-wide optimization model of the gold hydrometallurgical process. A plant-wide optimization method based on interval number is proposed for realizing the gold hydrometallurgy plant-wide process modelling and optimization in this paper. By using interval numbers to replace the key variables that cannot be measured, the established plant-wide optimization model can further satisfy with practical productive process. Furthermore, considering the optimization solution based on non-linear mechanism model is very time-consuming, a back propagation neural network is constructed and used to represent the local procedures models in this paper. Finally, a second-order oscillation partical swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm with high gloval convergence is used to solve the optimization problems. Simulation results indicate that the proposed model has a better optimization performance in gold hydrometallurgical process.
FakeNewsTracker: a tool for fake news collection, detection, and visualization

Nowadays social media is widely used as the source of information because of its low cost, easy to access nature. However, consuming news from social media is a double-edged sword because of the wide propagation of fake news, i.e., news with intentionally false information. Fake news is a serious problem because it has negative impacts on individuals as well as society large. In the social media the information is spread fast and hence detection mechanism should be able to predict news fast enough to stop the dissemination of fake news. Therefore, detecting fake news on social media is an extremely important and also a technically challenging problem. In this paper, we present FakeNewsTracker, a system for fake news understanding and detection. As we will show, FakeNewsTracker can automatically collect data for news pieces and social context, which benefits further research of understanding and predicting fake news with effective visualization techniques.
Una reina de novela: Isabel de Inglaterra y la ejemplaridad en Cervantes, Ribadeneyra y Yepes

Este ensayo analiza la ejemplaridad cervantina desde La espanola inglesa en relacion a la Historia eclesiastica del cisma de Inglaterra del jesuita Pedro de Ribadeneyra y a la Historia particular de la persecucion de Inglaterra , por fray Diego de Yepes. El ensayo propone que La espanola inglesa sugiere una alternativa a la ejemplaridad medieval de la hagiografia empleada en estas historias y a cambio propone ejemplos novelisticos complejos. Esta estrategia cervantina se ve en la transformacion del personaje de Isabel de Inglaterra desde una figura monstruosa y estatica a un personaje novelesco.
Spears Against Shields: Are Defenders Winning the Phishing War?

Phishing is the act of using deceptive methods to lure users into taking harmful and dangerous actions against themselves and/or the company they work for. Hackers have been using this method to bypass various security systems, steal personal information, make sensitive data public, and all of this while raking millions of dollars. On the attack side, hackers are using phishing kits and employ all possible phishing techniques to build a successful campaign. On the defense side, we find spam/phishing filters and malicious website detection in addition to anti-phishing simulation training. In this study, we assess the current phishing landscape by testing the tools used on both sides of the war. We generated 1,000 phishing emails containing phishing links semi-automatically using natural language generation technology and tested five popular tools with anti-phishing modules. The number of undetected emails ranged from 77 to 927. We also evaluate several anti-phishing training technologies and reveal their shortcomings. Our results suggest that both anti-phishing filters and current training tools have a long way to go and thus improving these defense mechanisms is still essential.
Somatically-Based Art Therapy for Transforming Experiences of Shame

This somatically based model of therapy utilizes the nonverbal artistic languages of sensing, gesturing, breathing, visualizing and sounding to identify, explore and transform experiences of shame within individuals and groups. The three artistic exercises presented herein are particularly designed to promote healing from shame and include the shame to self-esteem healing sequence, the cutting negative voices sequence and the self-parenting sequence. These artistic exercises create images for new growth and healing of shame and are particularly suitable for children, adolescents and adults who prefer bodily sensate therapeutic experiences rather than verbal interventions alone. These art therapy exercises provide precise directions for diagnosis and interventions and are grounded in the socio-cultural soil of the individual’s life. They are used to direct insight and awareness into the broader contextual factors that shape the individual’s self-esteem and shame. They provide precise interventions for transforming these experiences from negative to positive self esteem enhancing experiences and opportunities. These nonverbal exercises have been effectively used in multicultural contexts to explore and transform shame experiences resulting from trauma and abuse within the family, community and society.
The Relationship between Perceived Alcoholics Anonymous Social Group Dynamics and Getting an AA Sponsor

Research has shown that aspects of group dynamics of AA meetings are associated with AA attendance, alcohol use, and engagement in prescribed AA behaviors. This study investigated whether perceptions of AA meeting group dynamics changed over 12-months and whether these dynamics predicted the probability that a new member would get a sponsor. Results showed that perceptions of the group dynamics of AA meetings did not change over the 12-month assessment period. Member perception of group cohesion was the only AA meeting group dynamic that predicted a new member getting a sponsor. Findings suggest that group cohesion plays an important role in AA members recovery efforts.
Slow dynamics in a single glass bead

Slow dynamic nonlinearity is ubiquitous amongst brittle materials, such as rocks and concrete, with cracked microstructures. A defining feature of the behavior is the logarithmic-in-time recovery of stiffness after a mechanical conditioning. Materials observed to exhibit slow dynamics are sufficiently different in microstructure, chemical composition, and scale (ranging from the laboratory to the seismological) to suggest some kind of universality. A consensus of theoretical understanding of the universality in general and the log(time) recovery in particular is lacking. Seminal studies were focused on sandstones and other natural rocks, but in recent years other experimental venues have been introduced with which to inform theory. One such system is unconsolidated glass bead packs. However, bead packs still contain many contact points. The force distribution amongst the contacts is unknown. Here, we present slow dynamics measurements on a yet simpler system---a single glass bead confined between two large glass plates. The system is designed with a view towards rapid control of the contact zone environment. Ultrasonic waves are used as a probe of the system, and changes are assessed with coda wave interferometry. Three different methods of low-frequency conditioning are applied; all lead to slow dynamic recoveries. Results imply that force chains do not play an essential role in granular media slow dynamics, as they are absent in our system.
Erectile Dysfunction is a Transient Complication of Prostate Biopsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Purpose:Because the association between erectile dysfunction and prostate biopsy is variable in the available literature, we sought to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of sexual dysfun...
Myeloid neoplasms associated with t(3;12)(q26.2;p13) are clinically aggressive, show myelodysplasia, and frequently harbor chromosome 7 abnormalities.

Sporadic reports of t(3;12)(q26.2;p13) indicate that this abnormality is associated with myeloid neoplasms, myelodysplasia, and a poor prognosis. To better characterize neoplasms with this abnormality, we assessed 20 patients utilizing clinicopathological data, cytogenetic, and targeted next-generation sequencing analysis. We also performed literature review of 58 prior reported cases. Patients included ten men and ten women with median age 55.8 years (range, 27.8–78.8). Diagnoses included 11 acute myeloid leukemia (AML, 5 de novo and 6 secondary), 5 myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS, 3 de novo excess blasts-2 and 2 therapy-related), 2 chronic myeloid leukemia BCR-ABL1-positive blast phase (1 de novo and 1 secondary), 1 primary myelofibrosis (secondary), and 1 mixed-phenotype acute leukemia T/myeloid (MPAL, secondary). Morphologic dysplasia was identified in all AML cases (5/5), MDS cases (4/4), therapy-related cases (3/3), half of myeloproliferative neoplasm cases (1/2), and one MPAL case assessed. The t(3;12) was detected de novo and in subsequent workups in 9 and 11 patients, respectively. Seven patients had t(3;12) only and eight patients had additional chromosome 7 abnormalities. Fluorescence in-situ hybridization detected MECOM (n = 11) and ETV6 (n = 7) rearrangements in all cases assessed. FLT3 internal tandem duplication was identified in five (25%) patients. We identified 13 genetic abnormalities in the de novo group (n = 9), and 25 in the secondary disease group (n = 11). All patients received chemotherapy, with seven allogeneic and two autologous stem cell transplantations. At last follow-up, 14 (70%) patients died with median survival of 6.3 months (range, 0.1–17.3) after detection of t(3;12). In summary, t(3;12)(q26.2;p13) is a rare cytogenetic abnormality in myeloid neoplasms. Myelodysplasia, chromosome 7 abnormalities, and high blast counts are common, and the prognosis is poor. Given the close relationship between the presence of this cytogenetic abnormality and the MDS-related changes, we recommend adding t(3;12)(q26.2;p13) to the list of AML with myelodysplasia-related changes defining abnormalities of the World Health Organization 2017 classification of myeloid neoplasms.
Treatment of Sarcoidosis: A Multidisciplinary Approach

Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease of unknown etiology defined by the presence of noncaseating granulomatous inflammation that can cause organ damage and diminished quality of life. Treatment is indicated to protect organ function and decrease symptomatic burden. Current treatment options focus on interruption of granuloma formation and propagation. Clinical trials guiding evidence for treatment are lacking due to the rarity of disease, heterogeneous clinical course, and lack of prognostic biomarkers, all of which contribute to difficulty in clinical trial design and implementation. In this review, a multidisciplinary treatment approach is summarized, addressing immunuosuppressive drugs, managing complications of chronic granulomatous inflammation, and assessing treatment toxicity. Discovery of new therapies will depend on research into pathogenesis of antigen presentation and granulomatous inflammation. Future treatment approaches may also include personalized decisions based on pharmacogenomics and sarcoidosis phenotype, as well as patient-centered approaches to manage immunosuppression, symptom control, and treatment of comorbid conditions.
Overview and Lessons From the Preclinical Chemoradiotherapy Testing Consortium.

Purpose: In the current molecular-targeted cancer treatment era, many new agents are being developed so that optimizing therapy with a combination of radiation and drugs is complex. The use of emerging laboratory technologies to further biological understanding of drug-radiation mechanisms of action will enhance the efficiency of the progression from preclinical studies to clinical trials. In 2017, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) solicited proposals through PAR 16-111 to conduct preclinical research combining targeted anticancer agents in the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program's portfolio with chemoradiation. Methods and Materials The Preclinical Chemo-Radiotherapy Testing Consortium (PCRTC) was formed with 4 U01 programs supported to generate validated high-quality preclinical data on the effects of molecular therapeutics when added to standard-of-care therapies with a concentration on cancers of the pancreas, lung, head and neck, gastrointestinal tract, and brain. Results The PCRTC provides a rational basis for prioritizing NCI-supported investigational new drugs or agents most likely to have clinical activity with chemoradiotherapy and accelerate the pace at which combined modality treatments with greater efficacy are identified and incorporated into standard treatment practices. Conclusions Herein, we introduce and summarize the course of the PCRTC to date and report 3 preliminary observations from the consortium's work to date.
Biocatalytic oxidative cross-coupling reactions for biaryl bond formation

Despite their varied purposes, many indispensable molecules in medicine, materials, and asymmetric catalysis share a biaryl core. The necessity of joining arene building blocks to access these valuable compounds has inspired multiple approaches for biaryl bond formation and challenged chemists to develop increasingly concise and robust methods for this task. Oxidative coupling of two C–H bonds offers an efficient strategy for the formation of a biaryl C–C bond, however, fundamental challenges remain in controlling the reactivity and selectivity for uniting a given pair of substrates. Biocatalytic oxidative cross-coupling reactions have the potential to overcome limitations inherent to small molecule- mediated methods by providing a paradigm with catalyst-controlled selectivity. In this article, we disclose a strategy for biocatalytic cross-coupling through oxidative C–C bond formation using cytochrome P450 enzymes. We demonstrate the ability to catalyze cross-coupling reactions on a panel of phenolic substrates using natural P450 catalysts. Moreover, we engineer a P450 to possess the desired reactivity, site- selectivity, and atroposelectivity by transforming a low-yielding, unselective reaction into a highly efficient and selective process. This streamlined method for constructing sterically hindered biaryl bonds provides a programmable platform for assembling molecules with catalyst-controlled reactivity and selectivity.
Exact Timing Analysis

Chapters 2 and 3 developed a theoretical formulation of the constraints for correct clocking of wave pipelined systems. Throughout the formulation, circuit timing parameters such as the maximum and minimum delays in each combinational block ( t max and t min ) and the maximum and minimum delays from each register to each internal circuit node \((t\mathop {\max }\limits^{(i,j)} (x)\;and\;t\mathop {\min }\limits^{(i,j)} (x))\) were assumed to be known a priori. Based on the necessary constraints for correct clocking, it was shown that the maximum clock frequency directly relates to the difference in maximum and minimum delays through combinational logic blocks. This chapter begins a discussion of methodology and algorithms for accurately determining these critical circuit delays.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Global Nuclear Detection Architecture Using Multiobjective Decision Analysis

The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office DNDO of the Department of Homeland Security was created to increase the United States' ability to detect radiological and nuclear RN material that could be obtained and then used by terrorists. The office coordinates the Global Nuclear Detection Architecture GNDA, an international and interagency strategy for detecting, analyzing, and reporting of RN materials outside of regulatory control. In 2012, the Government Accountability Office expressed concern about the prioritization of GNDA resources as well as the documentation of GNDA improvements over time. As a result, the DNDO asked the National Research Council NRC for advice on how to develop performance measures and metrics to quantitatively assess the GNDA's effectiveness. The result of the NRC study was a report titled "Performance Metrics for the Global Nuclear Detection Architecture." In the report, the committee created a notional strategic planning framework for evaluating the performance of the GNDA. Using the data from the public report, multiobjective decision analysis techniques, and notional data from our research, this paper expands the NRC framework to a complete value model and demonstrates that it is possible to evaluate the potential performance of the GNDA over time and use the model to evaluate the cost effectiveness of potential improvements.
Analysis and improvement of the genetic discovery component of XCS

XCS is a learning classifier system that uses genetic algorithms to evolve a population of classifiers online. When applied to classification problems described by continuous attributes, XCS has demonstrated to be able to evolve classification models - represented as a set of independent interval-based rules - that are, at least, as accurate as those created by some of the most competitive machine learning techniques such as C4.5. Despite these successful results, analyses of how the different genetic operators affect the rule evolution for the interval-based rule representation are lacking. This paper focuses on this issue and conducts a systematic experimental analysis of the effect of the different genetic operators. The observations and conclusions drawn from the analysis are used as a tool for designing new operators that enable the system to extract models that are more accurate than those obtained by the original XCS scheme. More specifically, the system is provided with a new discovery component based on evolution strategies, and a new crossover operator is designed for both the original discovery component and the new one based on evolution strategies. In all these cases, the behavior of the new operators are carefully analyzed and compared with the ones provided by original XCS. The overall analysis enables us to supply important insights into the behavior of different operators and to improve the learning of interval-based rules in real-world domains on average.
Man on Mars: A Turnabout

In his article commenting on the lack of direction in the U.S. space program, Colin Norman (News & Comment, 28 Aug., p. 965) makes the point that the Planetary Society is now leading the charge for a manned mission to Mars. To those who know the officers of the society (Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman) and who, like them, have spent years in unmanned planetary science, it comes as no small surprise to learn that they are now calling for manned exploration of Mars. The reason for this sudden turnabout can be found in their May 1987 statement to the Senate Appropriations Committee (1). Here, the three authors give it as their view that the manned exploration of Mars is an "coptimal goal" that will restore life to NASA. Unfortunately, they are silent about recent history which demonstrates that, for NASA, manned spaceflight and planetary science are opposed goals. A large manned program-and this one would be very large indeed-practically guarantees that science will be un- or underfunded for the indefinite future.
FaLL: A fair and low latency queuing scheme for data center networks

Low latency, high throughput, and fairness are the stringent performance requirements of data center networks. For web applications continue to thrive, data center must remain effective by addressing these challenges. While most of the challenges have been handled by data center specific transport protocols (e.g. DCTCP), these transport protocols are not default options for data center users. Free choice of transport protocols demands careful consideration for an effective solution. We argue that queuing scheme at layer-2 switches hold the key to address these issues. Therefore, in this paper, we present FaLL, a queuing scheme for data center networks that meets following performance requirements: fair share of bandwidth, low queuing latency, high throughput, and ease of deployment. FaLL uses an efficiency module, a fairness module and a target delay based dropping scheme to meet these goals. FaLL requires very small amount of state information. Through rigorous experiments on real testbed, we show that FaLL outperforms various peer solutions in variety of network conditions.
Efficient agent communication in multi-agent systems

In open multi-agent systems, agents are mobile and may leave or enter the system. This dynamicity results in two closely related agent communication problems, namely, efficient message passing and service agent discovery. This paper describes how these problems are addressed in the Actor Architecture (AA). Agents in AA obey the operational semantics of actors, and the architecture is designed to support large-scale open multi-agent systems. Efficient message passing is facilitated by the use of dynamic names: a part of the mobile agent name is a function of the platform that currently hosts the agent. To facilitate service agent discovery, middle agents support application agent-oriented matchmaking and brokering services. The middle agents may accept search objects to enable customization of searches; this reduces communication overhead in discovering service agents when the matching criteria are complex. The use of mobile search objects creates a security threat, as codes developed by different groups may be moved to the same middle agent. This threat is mitigated by restricting which operations a migrated object is allowed to perform. We describes an empirical evaluation of these ideas using a large scale multi-agent UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) simulation that was developed using AA.