cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Global analysis of gene function in yeast by quantitative phenotypic profiling

We present a method for the global analysis of the function of genes in budding yeast based on hierarchical clustering of the quantitative sensitivity profiles of the 4756 strains with individual homozygous deletion of nonessential genes to a broad range of cytotoxic or cytostatic agents. This method is superior to other global methods of identifying the function of genes involved in the various DNA repair and damage checkpoint pathways as well as other interrogated functions. Analysis of the phenotypic profiles of the 51 diverse treatments places a total of 860 genes of unknown function in clusters with genes of known function. We demonstrate that this can not only identify the function of unknown genes but can also suggest the mechanism of action of the agents used. This method will be useful when used alone and in conjunction with other global approaches to identify gene function in yeast.
Book Review - Emerging Markets, Financing Of SMEs, And Economic Growth: The Case Of Lebanon

The book entitled “Emerging Markets, Financing of SMEs, and Economic Growth: The Case of Lebanon”, by Viviane Y. Naimy is the first treaty in Lebanon analyzing the Lebanese economy in a scientific matter, far from purely descriptive analysis.
Design, Construction, and Performance of a Laboratory-Size Helium Liquefier

To fulfill a need for liquid helium at the Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory, a new helium liquefier having a capacity great enough to satisfy present demands for this liquid has been constructed.
Multiple calcium mobilization pathways in single avian salt gland cells

Agonist-induced changes in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in individual secretory cells from the avian salt gland were detailed using dual-wavelength microspectrofluorimetry of the Ca2(+)-sensitive fluorescent probe fura-2. Resting [Ca2+]i averaged 42 +/- 5 nM. Stimulation with the cholinergic agonist carbachol (1 microM) resulted in a rapid increase in [Ca2+]i to 308 +/- 26 nM, which was sustained at a nearly constant elevated level (328 +/- 31 nM) throughout agonist application. In the absence of extracellular Ca2+ or in the presence of an inorganic blocker of Ca2+ entry (Ni2+, 1 mM), only a transient increase in [Ca2+]i occurred on agonist stimulation, whereas subsequent readmission of Ca2+ or washout of Ni2+ reinitiated a sustained increase in [Ca2+]i. The initial transient response results from Ca2+ release from intracellular stores, whereas the sustained phase represents entry of extracellular Ca2+ into the cytoplasm. Repetitive stimulations in Ca2(+)-free medium alternating with Ca2(+)-containing medium were performed to examine the mechanisms involved in refilling of the agonist-sensitive intracellular pool. After depletion of the intracellular pool by stimulation in Ca2(+)-free medium, removal of the agonist and readmission of Ca2+ resulted in a rapid transient increase in [Ca2+]i that could be blocked by Ni2+, La3+, or elevated K+. Subsequent removal of extracellular Ca2+ and restimulation nonetheless showed that complete refilling of the intracellular pool had occurred in each case. These results suggest that two separate Ca2(+)-entry mechanisms, one sensitive to Ni2+, La3+, and elevated K+ and responsible for the agonist-induced increase in [Ca2+]i and one insensitive to the blockers and involved in refilling of the intracellular pool, may exist in salt gland cells. Spontaneous oscillations of [Ca2+]i that are independent of extracellular Ca2+ have also been observed in 10% of the cells. The abolition of the oscillations by depletion of the agonist-sensitive pool suggests this pool as the Ca2+ source for the oscillations.
Intraretinal cystoid spaces in a patient with retinitis pigmentosa due to mutation in the MAK gene.

ABSTRACTBackground: Cystoid macular edema (CME) and non-leaking intraretinal cystoid spaces (ICS) have different pathophysiologic mechanisms.Materials and methods: We report a patient with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) with ICS due to a mutation in the male germ cell-associated kinase (MAK) gene.Results: A 41-year-old Ashkenazi Jewish male was referred for abnormal visual field revealed by regular optometric examination. His visual acuity was 20/20 in each eye. Dilated examination revealed typical finding of RP. Optical coherence tomography showed cystoid changes in each fovea. Photoreceptors were also degenerated. Intravenous fluorescein angiography showed no leakage. Genetic testing identified a homozygous mutation in the MAK gene: a 353-bp Alu insertion (K429insAlu).Conclusions: Mak regulates microtubule stability via phosphorylating RP1. Abnormal Mak may impact retinal photoreceptor ciliary length and subcompartmentalization. Mak is required for the survival of photoreceptors in mice. ICS has been reporte...
The evolution of treatment resistance: biologic implications

The evolution of resistance of positive symptoms to antipsychotic therapy may represent a valuable means of subtyping schizophrenia. In contrast, resistance of negative symptoms and cognitive function to antipsychotic agents seems to be present from the first episode of psychotic symptoms and does not evolve over time to the same extent. If these findings are validated, this clearly points toward differences in the etiology of these components of schizophrenia. Data from a cohort of 223 patients with unsatisfactory responses to classical antipsychotic therapy are evaluated, at least 60% of whom responded to subsequent treatment with clozapine. Comparisons were made between the subgroups of patients with primary and delayed onset treatment resistance. Both subgroups responded to clozapine therapy, although better response was evident for patients with delayed resistance. The withdrawal of clozapine from patients who had previously been responsive to classical antipsychotic therapy was capable of inducing treatment resistance.
Introducing Charge Hydration Asymmetry into the Generalized Born Model.

The effect of charge hydration asymmetry (CHA)—non-invariance of solvation free energy upon solute charge inversion—is missing from the standard linear response continuum electrostatics. The proposed charge hydration asymmetric–generalized Born (CHA–GB) approximation introduces this effect into the popular generalized Born (GB) model. The CHA is added to the GB equation via an analytical correction that quantifies the specific propensity of CHA of a given water model; the latter is determined by the charge distribution within the water model. Significant variations in CHA seen in explicit water (TIP3P, TIP4P-Ew, and TIP5P-E) free energy calculations on charge-inverted “molecular bracelets” are closely reproduced by CHA–GB, with the accuracy similar to models such as SEA and 3D-RISM that go beyond the linear response. Compared against reference explicit (TIP3P) electrostatic solvation free energies, CHA–GB shows about a 40% improvement in accuracy over the canonical GB, tested on a diverse set of 248 rigid...
Field Evaluation of Candidate Insecticides for Control of the Southern Corn Rootworm on Peanuts in Virginia1

Selected, soil-applied, granular insecticides were tested for 3 years against larvae of Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi Barber attacking peanuts, Arachis hypogaea (L.). Percent damage of immature fruit was significantly reduced by treatments of Landrin® (4:1 mixture of 3,4,5- and 2,3,5-trimethylphenyl methyl carbamate) and diazinon. Bux® Insecticide (4:1 mixture of m -(1-methylbutyl) phenyl methylcarbamate and m -(1-ethylpropyl)-phenyl methylcarbamate), Landrin, aldicarb, UC-8454 (5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-I-naphthyl methylcarbamate), carbaryl, diazinon, parathion, and phorate significantly reduced damage to mature, fruit. At another site, carbaryl and parathion failed to significantly reduce rootworm damage on immature fruit, whereas phorate, diazinon, carbofuran. and Dyfonate® ( O -ethyl S -phenyl ethylphosphonodithioate) gave good control. All treatments except parathion reduced damage in mature fruit. Planting-time band applications of carbofuran at 2.0 and 4.0 lb AI/acre gave rootworm control equal to applications of phorate at planting followed by diazinon at pegging. Yields were significantly increased by pegging-time applications of Dyfonate at 1.5 lb AI/acre and carbofuran at 2.0 AI/acre in 1 test, by the application of carbofuran at 4.0 lb AI/acre at planting time, and by an application of 1.0 lb phorate at planting followed by 2.5 lb diazinon at pegging in a 2nd test.
LIKELIHOOD ANALYSIS OF MITOCHONDRIAL RESTRICTION-CLEAVAGE PATTERNS FOR THE HUMAN-CHIMPANZEE-GORILLA TRICHOTOMY.

In spite of considerable work by many evolutionary biologists, it has not been possible to separate convincingly the human (H) - chimpanzee (C) - gorilla (G) trichotomy into a pair of sequential dichotomies. There are three possible phylogenetic groupings ((HC)G, (HG)C, and (CG)H), and each has its proponents. The evidence remains ambiguous, and instead of choosing among the available phylogenies, it might be better to provide a statement of their relative prob- abilities. We develop a likelihood analysis of mtDNA restriction-pattern data that can be used to make such probability statements and illustrate it with data on humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and gibbons. The results of our analyses suggest that the best fitting model is that of the (CG)H grouping, but with a very short time span between the first and second splits. For either the (HC)G or (HG)C hypothesis, a true trichotomy is the best model (no elapsed time between the two splits). Chi- square tests indicate no compelling resolution among the three models, however, and all three retain nontrivial posterior probabilities. We also compare each model with an alternative allowing for rate heterogeneity among lineages, but there is no convincing evidence for such heterogeneity. Our results suggest that, while it may eventually be possible to resolve the trichotomy into a pair of unambiguously ordered (but very close) dichotomies, it is possible that the ancestors of all three taxa (H, C, and G) were still conspecific subsequent to the second split, perhaps no more different than the "major races" of extant Homo sapiens.
Mitigation of experimental inflammatory bowel disease in guinea pigs by selective elimination of the aerobic gram-negative intestinal microflora.

Experimentally induced ulcerative disease of the large intestine in guinea pigs was significantly mitigated by selective elimination of the aerobic gram-negative intestinal microflora. Lesions were induced with 2 or 5% degraded carrageenan administered in the drinking water for 30 to 44 days. Craterous cecal or colonic ulcers, crypt abscesses, mucosal distortion, mesenteric lymphadenopathy, marked cecal or colonic lymphoid hyperplasia, and other lesions were seen in conventional guinea pigs treated with degraded carrageenan. Other guinea pigs that were treated with 2% degraded carrageenan, but freed of Enterobacteriaceae species by the administration of trimethoprim with sulfamethoxazole, and subsequently maintained in isolators, exhibited virtually no lesions. Enterobacteriaceae-free animals that were treated with 5% degraded carrageenan had significantly fewer lesions than were observed in the conventional degraded carrageenan-treated animals. Biotyping of bacterial isolates indicated that the family of Enterobacteriaceae species generally, and not a single biotype, was associated with the lesions. The bacteria presumably stimulated an immunological response after penetration of the intestinal mucosal barrier; thus, inflammatory bowel disease in guinea pigs, induced with degraded carrageenan, may provide a useful model for investigating immunological aspects of human inflammatory bowel disease.
Sensory Properties of Milk Protein Ingredients

The importance of dairy protein ingredients to the domestic and global dairy industry is increasing. These ingredients possess an abundance of functional and nutritional properties, but flavor of these ingredients also plays an important role. Sensory characteristics of dairy protein ingredients are widely variable. There are a concurrent variety of flavor sources including raw product stream, processing and storage. The dairy protein ingredient category encompasses a wide variety of products, including dried milk, milk protein concentrates and isolates, whey protein concentrates, isolates, hydrolysates, caseinates, and serum protein concentrates. This chapter addresses the current body of work and continued research on the sensory properties and profiles of dairy proteins.
Comparative Pathogenesis of Cancers in Animals and Humans

As Guest Editor of Veterinary Sciences, I am honored to introduce the special issue, “Comparative Pathogenesis of Cancers in Animals and Humans”.[...]
Studies on masticatory efficiency: Part III. Muscle strength of normal and fluorosed rats

Abstract No remarkable difference was found between normal and fluorosed rats with respect to muscle strength, muscle fatigability, and masticatory efficiency.
Design and Simulation of Active External Trailing-Edge Flaps for Wind Turbine Blades on Load Reduction

AbstractA smart material–based active external trailing-edge flap was designed for wind turbine blades in this study. Its vibration-fatigue load reduction potential was evaluated during normal oper...
Anatomy, Head and Neck, Thyroid

The thyroid gland is a midline structure located in the anterior neck. The thyroid functions as an endocrine gland and is responsible for producing thyroid hormone and calcitonin, thus contributing to the regulation of metabolism, growth, and serum concentrations of electrolytes such as calcium.Many disease processes can involve the thyroid gland, and alterations in the production of hormones can result in hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. The thyroid gland is involved in inflammatory processes (e.g., thyroiditis), autoimmune processes (e.g., Graves disease), and cancers (e.g., papillary thyroid carcinoma, medullary thyroid carcinoma, and follicular carcinoma).In addition to considering its role in metabolism, growth, regulation of certain electrolytes, and its involvement in many disease processes, the thyroid gland deserves consideration for its anatomical location and its close relationship to important structures including the parathyroid glands, recurrent laryngeal nerves, and certain vasculature. Anatomy Overview The thyroid gland is divided into two lobes that are connected by the isthmus, which crosses the midline of the upper trachea at the second and third tracheal rings. In its anatomic position, the thyroid gland lies posterior to the sternothyroid and sternohyoid muscles, wrapping around the cricoid cartilage and tracheal rings. It is located inferior to the laryngeal thyroid cartilage, typically corresponding to the vertebral levels C5-T1. The thyroid attaches to the trachea via a consolidation of connective tissue, referred to as the lateral suspensory ligament or Berry’s ligament. This ligament connects each of the thyroid lobes to the trachea. The thyroid gland, along with the esophagus, pharynx, and trachea, is found within the visceral compartment of the neck which is bound by pretracheal fascia.The “normal” thyroid gland has lateral lobes that are symmetrical with a well-marked centrally located isthmus. The thyroid gland typically contains a pyramidal extension on the posterior-most aspect of each lobe, referred to as the tubercle of Zuckerkandl. Despite these general characteristics, the thyroid gland is known to have many morphologic variations. The position of the thyroid gland and its close relationship with various structures brings about several surgical considerations with clinical relevance.
Should high risk patients with concomitant severe aortic stenosis and mitral valve disease undergo double valve surgery in the TAVR era

Significant mitral regurgitation in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is associated with increased mortality. The aim of this study is to determine if surgical correction of both aortic and mitral valves in high risk patients with concomitant valvular disease would offer patients better outcomes than TAVR alone. A retrospective analysis of 43 high-risk patients who underwent concomitant surgical aortic valve replacement and mitral valve surgery from 2008 to 2012 was performed. Immediate and long term survival were assessed. There were 43 high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing concomitant surgical aortic valve replacement and mitral valve surgery. The average age was 80 ± 6 years old. Nineteen (44%) patients had prior cardiac surgery, 15 (34.9%) patients had chronic obstructive lung disease, and 39 (91%) patients were in congestive heart failure. The mean Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality for isolated surgical aortic valve replacement for the cohort was 10.1% ± 6.4%. Five patients (11.6%) died during the index admission and/or within thirty days of surgery. Mortality rate was 25% at six months, 35% at 1 year and 45% at 2 years. There was no correlation between individual preoperative risk factors and mortality. High-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis and mitral valve disease undergoing concomitant surgical aortic valve replacement and mitral valve surgery may have similar long term survival as that described for such patients undergoing TAVR. Surgical correction of double valvular disease in this patient population may not confer mortality benefit compared to TAVR alone.
Spatio-temporal analysis of groundwater levels and projection of future trend of Agra city, Uttar Pradesh, India

Access to water resources is one of the major challenges being faced worldwide. Water scarcity, particularly groundwater resource, is the major ubiquitous concern for the country. Almost half of the country is reeling under severe ground water crisis due to anthropogenic and natural reasons (basalt rock surface). Agra region situated in the western part of Uttar Pradesh state of India has a semi-arid climate. The study area, which has a history of water scarcity since medieval ages, has seen a spurt of acute water shortage in recent times owing to the expansion of a very dense built-up area and excessive haulage accompanied by decline in rainfall. A study was under taken for identifying the trends in pre- and post-monsoon groundwater levels for Agra city, Uttar Pradesh. Pre-monsoon and post-monsoon groundwater depth data of 16 observation wells for the 2007–2016 period were collected and analyzed using ARC GIS 10.2 software. The rainfall trend during the study period was also studied to understand its role in groundwater fluctuation level. Statistical tests like Mann-Kendall, Sen’s slope estimator, and linear regression model were applied to understand the trend and rate of change in groundwater level. The land use/land cover map of the study area was integrated with groundwater map to have a primary understanding of the spatial trend of groundwater scenario of the study area. The result obtained is quite alarming for the city’s groundwater scenario. Results showed that the groundwater levels had significantly declined during 2007–2016. Average rates of water level decline were 0.228 and 0.267 m/year during pre- and post-monsoon seasons, respectively. There was a rapid decline in water level between 2008 and 2009 and between 2013 and 2014. The average rate of decline of pre- and post-monsoon groundwater level in the city during this period is 0.32 and 0.30 m/year, respectively. Significant decrease in groundwater level is found in 84.21% of wells for pre- and post-monsoon as obtained through Mann-Kendall analysis at 95% confidence level. During pre-monsoon season, the rate of decline according to Sen’s slope estimator varied between 0.74 and 2.05 m/year. Almost similar picture of decline is portrayed through linear regression slope wherein the computed rate of decline varied between 0.75 and 2.05 m/year. During post-monsoon, the rate of decline according to Sen’s slope varied between 0.13 and 1.94 m/year. Similar trend statistic is obtained through linear regression method where the declining rate is between 0.14 and 1.91 m/year. Comparison of the three statistical tests indicates similar nature of declining trend. The result of this research raises concern about the future of groundwater resources in Agra city. The findings of this study will assist planners and decision-makers in developing better land use and water resource management.
Stream Processing with a Spreadsheet

Continuous data streams are ubiquitous and represent such a high volume of data that they cannot be stored to disk, yet it is often crucial for them to be analyzed in real-time. Stream processing is a programming paradigm that processes these immediately, and enables continuous analytics. Our objective is to make it easier for analysts, with little programming experience, to develop continuous analytics applications directly. We propose enhancing a spreadsheet, a pervasive tool, to obtain a programming platform for stream processing. We present the design and implementation of an enhanced spreadsheet that enables visualizing live streams, live programming to compute new streams, and exporting computations to be run on a server where they can be shared with other users, and persisted beyond the life of the spreadsheet. We formalize our core language, and present case studies that cover a range of stream processing applications.
UCAVs online collaborative path planning method based on dynamic task allocation

In order to minimize the UCAVs loss cost and maximize targets damage value, with the combination of task allocation and collaborative path planning, the online collaborative path planning method based on dynamic task allocation is presented. At first, collaborative path planning method based on task allocation is regarded as two synchronous relevant optimization problems by using layered strategy. Then Chaotic Local Search Grey Wolf Optimization algorithm is proposed to optimize online collaborative path planning method based on dynamic task allocation. In order to improve the planning efficiency, the initializing strategy based on solution space is proposed. The simulation results for four time slices show that the proposed method is feasible.
Evidence that the activation of aconitase involves a conformational change

Reduction of the iron-sulphur cluster of aconitase initiates a slow increase in catalytic activity. It has been proposed that activation involves a conformational change in the protein. Direct evidence for this is presented here in the demonstration that, after reduction of the cluster, the progressive increase in activity is parallelled by an increase in the fluorescence of the protein.
The half-bridge component Kar1 promotes centrosome separation and duplication during budding yeast meiosis.

Overproduction of the half-bridge component Kar1 induces premature centrosome separation and overduplication to form supernumerary centrosomes, leading to chromosome missegregation in budding yeast...
Arachidonoyl serotonin (AA-5-HT) modulates general fear-like behavior and inhibits mesolimbic dopamine release.

Abstract Cannabinergic and vanilloidergic signaling are potential mechanisms for the treatment of anxiety symptoms because of the anxiolytic properties of cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1R) activation and transient potential vanilloid type 1 channel (TRPV1) inhibition. Arachidonoyl serotonin (AA-5-HT), a fatty acid amide hydrolase and TRPV1 inhibitor provides a means of modulating these systems. We examined the effects of AA-5-HT on anxiety- and fear-like behaviors in male low (C57BL/6 J; [B6]) and high (BALB/cJ; [BCJ]) anxiety mice in light/dark box (LDB), open-field (OF), and fear extinction (FE) paradigms. AA-5-HT (1 mg/kg) did not affect anxiety-related behaviors in the LDB or OF in B6 mice. However, AA-5-HT attenuated generalized fear compared to vehicle treated B6s. AA-5-HT increased rearing and locomotion in the LDB in BCJ mice but did not affect fear-related behaviors. in vivo amperometry was used to determine the effects of AA-5-HT on dopamine release in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc). AA-5-HT inhibited dopamine release in the BLA of BCJs and the NAc of B6s. Our results indicate that context interacts with basal anxiety levels to modulate the effects of AA-5-HT on some anxiety- and fear-related behaviors. We also provide evidence of cannabinergic and dopaminergic interactions in the BLA which could affect anxiety and fear. We suggest that this dose of AA-5-HT exhibits limited utility as a treatment for anxiety symptoms because it affects only some aspects of anxiety- and fear-related behavior in a manner dependent on baseline anxiety and environmental context.
A Novel Phosphoglucomutase-Deficient Mouse Model Reveals Aberrant Glycosylation and Early Embryonic Lethality

Patients with phosphoglucomutase (PGM1) deficiency, a congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG) suffer from multiple disease phenotypes. Midline cleft defects are present at birth. Overtime, additional clinical phenotypes, which include severe hypoglycemia, hepatopathy, growth retardation, hormonal deficiencies, hemostatic anomalies, frequently lethal, early-onset of dilated cardiomyopathy and myopathy emerge, reflecting the central roles of the enzyme in (glycogen) metabolism and glycosylation. To delineate the pathophysiology of the tissue-specific disease phenotypes, we constructed a constitutive Pgm2 (mouse ortholog of human PGM1)-knockout (KO) mouse model using CRISPR-Cas9 technology. After multiple crosses between heterozygous parents, we were unable to identify homozygous life births in 78 newborn pups (P = 1.59897E-06), suggesting an embryonic lethality phenotype in the homozygotes. Ultrasound studies of the course of pregnancy confirmed Pgm2-deficient pups succumb before E9.5. Oral galactose supplementation (9 mg/mL drinking water) did not rescue the lethality. Biochemical studies of tissues and skin fibroblasts harvested from heterozygous animals confirmed reduced Pgm2 enzyme activity and abundance, but no change in glycogen content. However, glycomics analyses in serum revealed an abnormal glycosylation pattern in the Pgm2+/- animals, similar to that seen in PGM1-CDG.
Evaluation of cGnRH IIa for induction spawning of two ornamental Synodontis species

Abstract Efficacy, reliability, and safety are of principal concern for spawning aids used in reproduction protocols for aquaculture species. Ovaprim®, a salmon gonadotropin releasing hormone analog (sGnRH IIIa, D-Arg6-Pro9-Net, 20 μg/mL) and a dopamine antagonist (Domperidone, 10 mg/mL), is currently the preferred choice for induction spawning of ornamental fishes. However, this preparation may be unreliable or completely ineffective in some cases. cGnRH IIa (D-Arg6, Pro9-NHet) has garnered recent interest as an alternative GnRH subtype which offers increased biological activity, reliability, and may ultimately help to increase on farm productivity and expand the diversity of species able to be cultured. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of cGnRH IIa and Ovaprim® on various quantitative and qualitative measures of spawning performance in Synodontis nigriventris and Synodontis eupterus. Four hormone doses were evaluated (50, 100, 200 μg/kg cGnRH IIa; 10 μg/kg sGnRH IIIa), each of which also contained an equal concentration of a dopamine antagonist (5 mg/kg domperidone). Fish were palpated to check for ovulation at 16, 20, and 24 h post injection. Upon successful ovulation, eggs were manually stripped, weighed, and fertilized. A subsample was photographed under a dissecting microscope for subsequent determination of fertilization success and egg diameter. Hatching success for individual spawns was calculated from subsamples of fertilized eggs stocked into hatching containers. Results indicated similar ovulation success among the four hormone treatments at the 16, 20, and 24 h time periods. Total fecundity, fertilization, embryo diameter, hatching success, larval notochord length, and larval mortality did not vary significantly among treatments. These results suggest that cGnRH IIa exhibits comparable spawning performance to the industry standard Ovaprim®, for induced spawning of S. nigriventris and S. eupterus.
Development of a phase field method for modeling brittle and ductile fracture

Abstract This paper presents a phase field model for simulating brittle and ductile fracture. The new developments include the introduction of a degradation function to the yield surface and the modification of the crack driving force function by including the plastic contribution. As the phase field value increases, the yield surface is degraded at the same rate as the elastic modulus is, which maintains the integrity of the elasto-plastic constitutive equations. Parameters in the modified crack driving force function include the critical energy release rate and a plastic adjustment factor, which is an exponential function of the plastic strain. The conjoint effect of the plastic adjustment function and the value of the critical energy release rate on the crack driving force reflects the competition between the brittle and ductile fracture mechanisms. A numerical algorithm is proposed to implement the plasticity model with phase field and to solve the fully coupled system equations monolithically. A strategy using the crack driving force increment to control the size of solution increment is shown to be computationally efficient to assure solution accuracy. Various numerical examples are carried out to demonstrate the capability of the proposed model and to illustrate the influences of model parameters on the simulation results.
Recovery home networks as social capital

Ensuring recovery home residents' social integration into a home environment is important for preventing early dropout and facilitating sustained recovery. Social capital theory may provide an explanation for how recovery homes may protect residents and improve recovery rates. However, little is known about how social capital in recovery home environments is structured and accessed. Recovery homes may increase social capital by sharing bonds through friendships, lending money, and advice-seeking. The current study describes social network cross sectional data obtained from a study of 42 Oxford House recovery homes, in three locations in the US (North Carolina, Texas, and Oregon). The residents rated each member of their house on the dimensions of friendship, money loaning, and advice seeking to assess how each resident views one another on these dimensions. The research used baseline data from a larger longitudinal study, and although some data were presented for the full sample (APL, isolates, mean reciprocity and density), the results primarily focused on case studies for three of the participating Oxford Houses-with examples of low, median, and high "connected" houses respectively. Standard measures of network structures were calculated for each home. Although all Oxford Houses follow the same house rules, they were found to vary in network structure. Findings indicated a considerable range of interconnectedness among residents in these houses, with friendship being the most common relationship, willingness to lend money less common, and advice-seeking the least common. The findings on friendship, willingness to lend, and advice-seeking provide promising leads about what occurs among the social networks within these complex eco-systems, and may provide ways to better understand and facilitate resident social integration into these settings.
ITO ENZ photonics: from modulators to optical limiters (Conference Presentation)

The material class of transparent conductive oxides features a variety of properties that are interesting and useful for optical and opto-electronic applications. ITO belonging to this class has shown to be either processed (Gui et al, Nat. Sci. Rep. 2019), or electro-statically-biased (Sorger et al., Nanoph. 2012) into the ENZ regime. Here, I review our latest work including; (1) ITO ENZ material deposition control, (1) the first ITO-based phase-shifters in silicon photonics with VpL=0.5V-mm (Amin et al, APL 2018) and 0.06V-mm performance (Amin et al, arXiv 1907.11131 2019), (2) electro-optic nonlinear activation function in feed-forward photonic neural networks (Amin et al, APL Mat. 2019), (3), optical-phase array in silicon-ITO photonics for GHz-fast beam steering, (4) a metatronic circuit board towards an analog photonic computer for PDEs, and (5) strong nonlinearity in ENZ ITO showing ~10dB of optical limiting.
6B.001 Using death certificate literal text to identify the location of drowning deaths

Background ICD-10 codes provide limited information on the location of drowning deaths, particularly those occurring in natural water. Application of natural language processing (NLP) to literal text on death certificates can provide greater detail. Methods Records that include literal text were selected from 2011–2017 U.S. National Vital Statistics System mortality data using ICD-10 multiple cause codes W65-W74, V90, V92, X71, X92, Y21 and T75.1. SAS Contextual Analysis software was applied to literal text data from six fields on the U.S. standard death certificate to create a list of possible terms describing drowning locations. Terms were categorized as: Domestic (e.g., swimming pool, bathtub, spa), Non-Domestic Freshwater (e.g., lake, pond, river, reservoir, well), Saltwater (e.g., ocean), Other, and Unspecified. For Non-Domestic Freshwater, subcategories included Natural and Man-made. Results Of 26,638 drowning deaths, 32% were categorized to Domestic, 52% to Non-Domestic Freshwater, 10% to Saltwater, and 6% to Other or Unspecified. For Non-Domestic Freshwater, 90% occurred in natural settings and 10% involved a man-made source (e.g. well, reservoir, cistern, tank). Among the Natural Non-Domestic Freshwater drownings, about half (52%) occurred in still water (e.g., lake, pond, wetlands, marsh) and half (47%) occurred in moving water (e.g., river, creek, rapids, flooding). Conclusion Application of NLP methodology can provide more detailed information on location of drowning deaths. This information can be used to target prevention efforts to high risk populations by location. Learning Outcomes To learn about the application of NLP processing to death certificate literal text to identify and categorize locations of drowning deaths.
Human-Inspired Multi-Agent Navigation using Knowledge Distillation.

Despite significant advancements in the field of multi-agent navigation, agents still lack the sophistication and intelligence that humans exhibit in multi-agent settings. In this paper, we propose a framework for learning a human-like general collision avoidance policy for agent-agent interactions in fully decentralized, multi-agent environments. Our approach uses knowledge distillation with reinforcement learning to shape the reward function based on expert policies extracted from human trajectory demonstrations through behavior cloning. We show that agents trained with our approach can take human-like trajectories in collision avoidance and goal-directed steering tasks not provided by the demonstrations, outperforming the experts as well as learning-based agents trained without knowledge distillation.
Heh2/Man1 may be an evolutionarily conserved sensor of NPC assembly state

It remains unknown whether there are mechanisms that can recognize defective NPCs. Biochemical and genetic analyses of the interactions between Heh2 and NPCs suggest that Heh2 may be a sensor of th...
Risk of chronic kidney disease in patients with retained ureteral stents

Objective:Numerous publications describe the management of stent encrustations, but few address long-term risks. The purpose of this study is to analyze the incidence of new chronic kidney disease ...
HACIA OTRA DIMENSIÓN JURIDICA: EL DERECHO DE LOS ROBOTS

Un nuevo escenario en el cual el creciente y rapido desarrollo e interes por introducir robots artificialmente inteligentes en la vida cotidiana de los seres humanos hace necesario replantear la capacidad de nuestros sistemas legales actuales para manejar los casos que involucran a estos actores. Durante mucho tiempo la fabricacion y el diseno de robots han enfrentado la posibilidad de demandas por responsabilidad del producto. Ahora, sin embargo, se desarrollan robots sociales que estan disenados para interactuar con los humanos de forma intima cuando estamos en la forma mas humana y vulnerable. Con este cambio de proposito, la robotica se esta aventurando en ambitos legales que tradicionalmente han gobernado las interacciones sociales entre humanos, en lugar de las interacciones entre humanos y maquinas. Asistimos a una nueva generacion de sistemas roboticos como consecuencia de la evolucion tecnologica lo que significa que en el plano juridico empiezan a quedar atras los debates y cuestiones de caracter general sobre las telecomunicaciones e internet para ahora cobrar especial importancia la regulacion de las tecnologias emergentes y disruptivas. Consideramos que la regulacion juridica de los robots deviene en un tema de obligado analisis interdisciplinario. Mas aun cuando enfrentamos la posibilidad de que una nueva categoria de sujeto juridico -que se encontraria a medio camino entra la persona y el objeto- nos conducira, en algun momento, a abordar la sustantividad y viabilidad de un Derecho de los Robots.
Fully Inkjet Printed 60GHz Backscatter 5G RFID Modules for Sensing and Localization in Internet of Things (IoT) and Digital Twins Applications

The exponentially increasing demand for low-cost and high performance wireless devices and modules as a part of the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) and digital twins has made investigation into efficient means of manufacturing and integration of these devices necessary. In this effort, the authors report a simple low cost RFID module operating in the 60GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band equipped with an ultra sensitive flex sensor. The reported system is capable of detecting continuous flexing of the sensor while simultaneously able to report it's range to within 5 mm of error. In addition to the device presented, this work outlines a simple low cost additive manufacturing procedure that enables integration of the sensor with a communicating node in a single process.
Intraepithelial carcinoma of the vulva.

Abstract One hundred twelve cases of carcinoma of the vulva have been reviewed. In two cases the intraepithelial phase persisted for seven and eleven years, respectively, before the invasion occurred. In two cases there were large intraepithelial lesions with early central invasion. Four cases were grossly characteristic of invasive carcinoma with microscopic evidence of intraepithelial carcinoma at the periphery of the invasive neoplasm. It is reasonable to assume that invasive carcinoma of the vulva is preceded by an intraepithelial phase which may be of long or short duration, and which is recognizable by careful clinical and microscopic study.
Endocrine diagnosis of pituitary tumor in galactorrhea syndromes.

Abstract Endocrine aspects of 17 patients with inappropriate galactorrhea were evaluated. Six of the patients had radiographic evidence of pituitary tumor, and in two, on whom operation was performed, chromophobe adenoma was found. All patients suspected of having tumors had normal thyroid and adrenal function, and only one did not respond fully to metyrapone. Hypothyroidism and Cushing's syndrome were presumed causes of galactorrhea found among the "nontumor" group. All the "tumor" patients and three of the "nontumor" group had marginal or subnormal growth hormone responses to arginine. Serum luteinizing hormone (LH) levels displayed marked variability in both categories of patients. A sequence of gonadotropin loss secondary to tumor compression is suggested in which follicle-stimulating hormone is diminished prior to LH. The future usefulness of exogenous testing with l-dopa and synthetic LRF in galactorrheic syndromes is cited.
Non-parametric detection of unknown correlated multichannel transients with sequential and block hypothesis testing in multiresolution spaces

The problem of detecting transient multichannel signals of unknown waveform shape has been widely studied due to the numerous applications associated with it. Nevertheless, the particular case of unknown source waveforms impinging on an array of closely spaced sensors and buried in strong spatially and temporally correlated noise process has received little attention due to its inherent complexity, but yet arises in many array signal processing applications. In this work, we extend our multiresolution generalized likelihood ratio test detector (MRGLRT) to the problem of determining the number of observations needed to make a decision in the statistical hypothesis-testing problem. We reformulate the MRGLRT detector and compare two strategies for the hypothesis testing, namely, sequential and block tests. We show that, on the average, a smaller number of observations are needed to make a decision in either case. The strength of the proposed detector lies in the fact that it is derived under no assumptions about the signal and/or the noise process. We illustrate through simulated and experimental data the superiority of the new detector over the traditional time domain detector in many aspects.
Photoresponses of metamorphic double heterojunction photodiodes under high power optical illumination

Our previous study on double heterojunction InGaAs/InGaAlAs/InAlAs metamorphic photodiodes has shown photodiodes with dark currents as low as 500 pA, responsivity of 0.6 A/W, and bandwidths up to 38 GHz. In this paper, we report our results on the high power handling capability of metamorphic photodiodes under high power optical illumination up to 10 dBm. In ultra-high speed optical fiber communication systems operating at 40 Gbit/s or beyond, the photodiodes that can handle high optical input power are needed because an EDFA (erbium doped fiber amplifier) is often placed in front of the photoreceiver. It is imperative to study the frequency response of the metamorphic photodiodes under high power optical illumination to prove that these photodiodes based on metamorphic technology can be a strong candidate for high speed optical fiber communications.
A Viscoelastic Fictitious Crack Model for the Fracture of Sea Ice

The fracture of sea ice is modeled using a viscoelastic fictitious crack(cohesive zone) model. The sea ice is modeled as a linear viscoelastic material. The fictitious crack model is implemented via the weight function method. The associated stress-separation curve can be rate dependent. The impact of assuming viscoelastic behavior in the bulk as opposed to elastic behavior is studied. Results from the model are compared to the available exact results for various test cases. The model is applied to a large scale in situ sea ice fracture test. Various implications of such applications are pointed out. This viscoelastic fictitious crack model is found to be a promising tool in investigations pertaining to the fracture of sea ice.
Effects of lack of exercise on insulin secretion and action in trained subjects

We employed the hyperglycemic clamp technique to investigate the effects of short-term inactivity on insulin secretion in nine (8 men, 1 woman) well-trained subjects. A 3-h hyperglycemic clamp (plasma glucose approximately 180 mg/100 ml) was performed approximately 16 h after a usual training bout and again 14 days after stopping exercise training. There was no significant change in body composition during this short period of inactivity. The mean plasma insulin response to an identical glycemic stimulus was 67% higher after 14 days without exercise (45 +/- 7 after vs. 27 +/- 4 microU/ml before stopping exercise training). Marked increases in the early (0-10 min, 150 +/- 28 vs. 101 +/- 15 microU.ml-1.min) and late (10-180 min, 6,051 +/- 1,257 vs. 3,521 +/- 749 microU.ml-1.min) incremental insulin areas were observed as a result of the physical inactivity. Incremental areas for C-peptide were also elevated significantly in the inactive state for early (12 +/- 2.0 vs. 7 +/- 1 ng.ml-1.min) and late (567 +/- 90 vs. 467 +/- 85 ng.ml-1.min) phases. Urinary excretion of C-peptide increased from 12.1 +/- 1.5 ng/240 min in the exercising state to 21.8 +/- 3.6 ng/240 min in the inactive state. Rates of whole body glucose disposal were not different between exercising and inactive states, indicating a large increase in resistance to the action of insulin. These findings indicate that the decreased insulin secretory response to a glucose stimulus in people who exercise regularly is a relatively short-term effect of exercise.
Olfaction-related behavior in collared peccaries

and Summary In free-ranging collared peccaries (Tayassu tajacu) 20% of all social or socially-related acts recorded were olfaction-related. Mutual rubbing, in which two individuals rubbed their faces over each other's dorsal glands, occurred at elevated rates when herds were initiating movement, moving rapidly, or alarmed. Olfactory investigation of conspecifics, mostly nosing of the head, perineum, or dorsal gland, occurred in all contexts at a fairly constant rate, but at elevated rates when herds entered bedgrounds or played. When herds were near home range boundaries, scent marking occurred at much higher rates than when herds were further within home ranges. Scent marking and social olfactory investigation also were temporally associated with herd play bouts. Zusammenfassung Freilebende Herden von Halsbandpekkaris wurden in Arizona beobachtet. 20% aller sozialen Interaktionen enthielten geruchliche Signale. Gegeneinanderreiben von Individuen war das vorherrschende Verhalten in diesem Bereich und trat am haufigsten auf, wenn die Herden aufbrachen, sich rasch davonbewegten oder erschreckt wurden. Gegenseitiges Beschnuffeln richtete sich vorwiegend gegen Kopf, Perineum und Ruckendruse und trat in ziemlich konstanter Haufigkeit auf, gesteigert nur im Spiel und am Schlafplatz. Duftmarkieren trat gehauft an den Grenzen des Herden-Streifgebietes auf und haufiger als nach Zufallserwartung im Spiel. Gegenseitiges Korperreiben erzeugt wahrscheinlich eine Duftwolke uber der Gruppe, die ihren Ort anzeigt; das wurde erklaren, warum es gehauft in Situationen auftritt, in denen Zusammenbleiben wichtig. ist. Dieses Reiben fuhrt wohl auch zu einem kombinierten Herdengeruch auf jedem Kopf. Das regelmasige Beriechen deutet darauf hin, das standig die Herden-Mitglied-schaft uberpruft wird. Die herdeneigenen duftmarkierten Spielplatze zeigen an, das Gruppenspiele olfaktorisch beeinflust werden.
WATER BALANCE DELINEATES THE SOIL LAYER IN WHICH MOISTURE AFFECTS CANOPY CONDUCTANCE

To link variation in canopy conductance to soil moisture in the rooting zone, measurements of throughfall (PT), volumetric soil moisture (θ) to 0.7 m, transpiration from trees >10 mm in diameter (EC), and vapor pressure deficit (D) were made in a forest dominated by Pinus taeda. Total evapotranspiration (ET) was estimated from PT, changes in volumetric soil water content within a defined soil volume (ΔS), and drainage out of that volume (Q), calculated from unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivity and θ. Our calculations suggest that over 145 growing-season days, Q was negligible, and most of PT, averaging ∼2 mm/d, was partitioned between soil moisture recharge (0.4 mm/d) and ET (1.6 mm/d, not including ∼0.4 mm/d of interception, I, by canopy trees), of which EC was estimated from direct measurements at nearly 1.2 mm/d. Evapotranspiration by the subcanopy component accounted for slightly over 0.4 mm/d, about a third of ET (a fourth if I is included). Most of the water used for ET (>90%) was taken from the ...