cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biofuels: A sustainable choice for the United States' energy future?

Abstract In the United States and elsewhere, climate change, peak oil, and other political and socioeconomic factors have spurred the development of alternate energy sources. Biofuels, derived from living organisms rather than petroleum-laden rock, are the focus of current energy research. To better understand the future composition and sustainability of biofuels within the U.S. energy portfolio the authors conducted an environmental scanning methodology and futures analysis. The authors developed a model representing the relationships between many important economic, environmental, political, and social factors to illuminate potential future trends in cellulosic and algal biofuel over the next twenty years. This innovative, flexible approach compared the sustainability of biofuel sources in many areas over time. The resulting analysis identifies environmental degradation as the most influential adverse factor. The environmental scanning exercise suggests that cellulosic biofuel may be a more sustainable option than algal biofuel under the model's assumptions. This analysis yields insightful trends that predict the sustainability of two biofuel sources over the next twenty years in relation to other important socio-politico-economic factors. In the future, this methodology can be applied to other biofuel sources and energy problems.
Fred Korematsu: All American Hero

Can the life of a Japanese American interned in World War II be relevant to a young girl today? This graphic novel tells the story of Fred Korematu, a young man who was imprisoned by the United States along with a hundred and twenty thousand other Japanese Americans, young and old, in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The text of the graphic novel is drawn from the historical records and reports on the debates both in the Japanese American community and in the courts. The novel carries the story from the 1940s internment and court challenges to the 1980s, when Fred, now in his sixties, reopened his case based on evidence that the government had withheld crucial information from the courts when Fred had been convicted of violating the internment orders. The story shows a young girl struggling with her identity as an American learning a key lesson from Fred’s life: If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.
Nonlinear Optics of a Single Slightly-Relativistic Cyclotron Electron

The interaction of microwave and optical radiation with a tiny relativistic single electron can result in strong nonlinear-optical effects1−7 based on the most fundamental mechanism of nonlinear interaction of light with matter 3 Even a slight relativistic change of mass of a single free electron may result in large nonlinear effects such as hysteresis and bistability in cyclotron resonance of the electron precessing in a dc magnetic field under the action of an EM wave1. The relativistic masse-ffect consists in the increase of the effective mass of electron, m, as its speed v, or energy W, or momentum p, increase: $$m/{{m}_{0}} = \gamma = {{(1 - {{v}^{2}}/{{c}^{2}})}^{{ - 1/2}}} = {{(1 + {{p}^{2}}/{{m}^{2}}{{c}^{2}})}^{{1/2}}},$$ where m0 is the electron rest mass, γ = W/m0c2 is the dimensionless electron energy, and c is the speed of light. Because of very low energy losses (which are due to synchrotron radiation), the relativistic change of mass to which the hystegetic resonance is attributed may be as strikingly small as 10−6 – 10−6 Consistent with predictions1, the hysteretic (bistable) cyclotron resonance of a free electron has been subsequently observed in an experiment in which a single electron has been trapped in a Penning trap for a period of time as long as 10 months.
Is Open-Mindedness Conducive to Truth?

Open-mindedness is generally regarded as an intellectual virtue because its exercise reliably leads to truth. However, some theorists have argued that open-mindedness’s truth-conduciveness is highly contingent, pointing out that it is either not truth-conducive at all under certain scenarios or no better than dogmatism or credulity in others. Given such shaky ties to truth, it would appear that the status of open-mindedness as an intellectual virtue is in jeopardy. In this paper, I propose to defend open-mindedness against these challenges. In particular, I show that the challenges are ill-founded because they misconstrue the nature of open-mindedness and fail to consider the requisite conditions of its application. With a proper understanding of open-mindedness and of its requirements, it is clear that recourse to it is indeed truth-conducive.
Measurement of absorption of vitamin B12 by whole-body gamma spectrometry.

A technic is described to measure directly the intestinal absorption of radiovitamin B/sub 12/ by using a whole-body gamma spectrometer. A double tracer technic is used, and the amounts of free and intrinsic factor bound vitamin B/sub 12/, respectively, retained in the body after final excretion of unabsorbed radioactivity, are measured. The present method is simple and quantitative. The primary advantage of the whole-body counter for measuring absorption of Cobalt- labeled B/sub 12/ is that is can measure less than 0.1 mu c with a high degree of accuracy. Whole-body counting substitutes a rapid and simple measurement for the difficult and tedious collection and radiochemical analysis of excreta. (auth)
Huagong and Huashang: The Chinese as Laborers and Merchants in Latin America and the Caribbean

For almost twenty years, I have been studying the history of migration and settlement of the Chinese in a part of the world not commonly associated with Chinese diaspora studies. Outside the U.S., the study of Chinese migration and resettlement is known as "overseas Chinese studies" (huaqiao shi).Although the Chinese in the U.S. and in sCanada have constituted a central focus of the field, the rest of the Americas-that is, Latin America and the Caribbean-have been largely ignored until recently. Similarly, the field of Latin American/Caribbean Studies has also slighted the study of Chinese immigrants and communities; this is true even for those who focus on social history, immigration history, the study of "foreigners" (extranjeros), and for U.S.-based and Latin America/Caribbean-based scholars. Until recently, the same kind of inattention can be said about studying the Japanese in this region, as well as another significant immigrant group from Asia, the East Indians or South Asians.
Ship airwake effects on the helicopter rotor aerodynamic loads

A previously developed approach to modeling and simulation of ship airwake has been used in the study of airwake effects on rotor aerodynamic loads of a four-bladed articulated rotor system. Using full scale at sea test data, the current study identifies a power spectral model for the vertical component of the ship airwake velocity. Also, a spline-fit model is developed for the rnean airwake velocities around the ship deck. Using simulated samples of vertical airwake velocities and a simplified rotor aerodynamic model, effects of airwake velocities on rotor rolling and pitching moments and rotor thrust are investigated.
Technical Section: Neural network-based symbol recognition using a few labeled samples

The recognition of pen-based visual patterns such as sketched symbols is amenable to supervised machine learning models such as neural networks. However, a sizable, labeled training corpus is often required to learn the high variations of freehand sketches. To circumvent the costs associated with creating a large training corpus, improve the recognition accuracy with only a limited amount of training samples and accelerate the development of sketch recognition system for novel sketch domains, we present a neural network training protocol that consists of three steps. First, a large pool of unlabeled, synthetic samples are generated from a small set of existing, labeled training samples. Then, a Deep Belief Network (DBN) is pre-trained with those synthetic, unlabeled samples. Finally, the pre-trained DBN is fine-tuned using the limited amount of labeled samples for classification. The training protocol is evaluated against supervised baseline approaches such as the nearest neighbor classifier and the neural network classifier. The benchmark data sets used are partitioned such that there are only a few labeled samples for training, yet a large number of labeled test cases featuring rich variations. Results suggest that our training protocol leads to a significant error reduction compared to the baseline approaches.
Applying robust neural networks to the OPAD system

Stennis Soace Center and at Rocketdyne's The Optical Plume Anomaly Detection (OPAD) system is under development to provide early-warning failure detection in support of ground-level testing of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). Failure detection is to be achieved through acquisition of spectrally resolved plume emissions and subsequent identification of abnormal levels indicative of engine corrosion or component failure. SPECTRA4 is a computer code used by the OPAD system to iteratively determine specific element concentrations in the SSME plume, given emission intensity and wavelength information. Since this analysis is extremely labor intensive, a study was initiated to develop neural networks that would model the "inverse" of SPECTRA4. Individual networks with imperceptible prediction error have been developed for each element modeled by SPECTRA4. A single network for seven elements has been successfully implemented and work towards a single network for all elements is encouraging.
Impact of High Energy Pulsed Systems on an Aircraft's Power and Thermal Management System

Many advances in technology are expected to increase the capabilities of next generation aircraft. One of the advancement areas is the integration of a high energy pulsed system (HEPS) onboard an aircraft. This enhancement, along with all the other potential advanced electronics that may be featured on next generation aircraft could cause a significant thermal load onboard an aircraft, where heat dissipation is already a challenge. HEPS generate excessive amounts of heat during operation, creating challenges in how to integrate them into an aircraft without overwhelming the vehicle’s power and thermal management systems. In order to evaluate the impact of the HEPS electrical and thermal load on the aircraft's mission, a vehicle level modeling and simulation (M&S) effort must be executed of the power and thermal management systems. To accurately evaluate the total effect on the aircraft, the HEPS must be integrated into a Tip to Tail (T2T) model of the system that includes the aircraft power and thermal management subsystems. With the HEPS system integrated into the T2T model, not only can its mass and volume effects can be found, but also the transient power and thermal loads created by the new system can be evaluated for their effect on other aircraft subsystems. Furthermore, the aircraft subsystems can be optimized to vehicle level metrics instead of at the subsystem level only. This will result in a more effective and balanced aircraft design overall. Using a T2T model to evaluate the integration of a HEPS system on an aircraft will enable assessment of its overall impact to next generation aircraft. Therefore, the significant impact of highly dynamic power and thermal loads on next generation aircraft are addressed.
Exosomal formulation enhances therapeutic response of celastrol against lung cancer

Celastrol (CEL), a plant-derived triterpenoid, is a known inhibitor of Hsp90 and NF-κB activation pathways and has recently been suggested to be of therapeutic importance in various cancers. However, the molecular mechanisms of celastrol-mediated effects in lung cancer are not systematically studied. Moreover, it suffers from poor bioavailability and off-site toxicity issues. This study aims to study the effect of celastrol loaded into exosomes against two non-small cell-lung carcinoma (NSCLC) cell lines and explore the molecular mechanisms to determine the proteins governing the cellular responses. We observed that celastrol inhibited the proliferation of A549 and H1299 NSCLC cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner as indexed by MTT assay. Mechanistically, CEL pre-treatment of H1299 cells completely abrogated TNFα-induced NF-κB activation and upregulated the expression of ER-stress chaperones Grp 94, Grp78, and pPERK. These changes in ER-stress mediators were paralleled by an increase in apoptotic response as evidenced by higher annexin-V/PI positive cells evaluated by FACS and immunoblotting which showed upregulation of the ER stress specific pro-apoptotic transcription factor, GADD153/CHOP and alteration of Bax/Bcl2 levels. Exosomes loaded with CEL exhibited enhanced anti-tumor efficacy as compared to free CEL against lung cancer cell xenograft. CEL did not exhibit any gross or systemic toxicity in wild-type C57BL6 mice as determined by hematological and liver and kidney function test. Together, our data demonstrate the chemotherapeutic potential of CEL in lung cancer and that exosomal formulation enhances its efficacy and reduces dose related toxicity.
Free Radical Scavengers and Spin Traps

This chapter explores the role of free radical scavengers and spin trapping agents in preventing cell death. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can be generated in ischemic/reperfused tissues by a number of pathways. Electron transport associated with mitochondrial membranes is a major contributor to ROS formation in the normoxic brain. Enhancement of oxidative metabolism during the reperfusion phase following an ischemic episode may result in an overwhelming of the endogenous antioxidant capacity of the tissues. Purine metabolism provides another potential source of ROS. Because of the failure of oxidative phosphorylation, ATP levels decline precipitously, with the formation of adenosine and its metabolites inosine and hypoxanthine. Experimental evidence strongly implicates ROS in the chain of events leading to ischemia/reperfusion-related neuronal injuries. Free radical scavengers, spin-trapping agents, and inhibitors of the ROS synthesizing enzymes are able to interrupt the chain reaction of lipid peroxidation which can cause extensive destruction of plasma, nuclear, and mitochondrial membranes, leading to a failure of cellular metabolism, homeostasis, and ultimately to cell death. Agents such as the spin trap agent N - t -butyl-α-phenylnitrone and the antioxidant 21-aminosteroid, tirilazad mesylate, appear to offer promising new avenues of approach to the prevention and treatment of cerebral ischemic injuries.
A nonlinear analytical procedure for electromagnetic transients in ferromagnetic shields with an exponential permeability model

Electrically conductive, ferromagnetic shielding materials exhibit nonlinear behavior (including saturation) under intense pulsed electromagnetic field conditions such as those associated with lightning, electromagnetic pulse (EMP), and electrostatic discharge (ESD). Previously, an analytical procedure was developed to characterize the nonlinear electric field transients induced at the inner surface of long, thin-walled, cylindrical, electrically conductive, ferromagnetic shields by axially-directed short-duration surface current pulses on the outer surface. For a general relative differential permeability function /spl mu//sub rd/(H), it was shown that the peak value of the electric field transient can be expressed in terms of an effective permeability /spl mu//sub E/(/spl beta/) and the time at which the peak occurs can be expressed in terms of effective permeability /spl mu//sub /spl tau//(/spl beta/), where the applied pulse parameter /spl beta//spl equiv/Q/sub 0///spl sigma/d/sup 2/ is a fundamental combination of the nonmagnetic problem parameters (the charge per unit circumference, Q/sub 0/, transported along the cylinder during the pulse; the electrical conductivity /spl sigma/, of the material; and the wall thickness, d, of the cylinder). For a simple exponential relative differential permeability model /spl mu//sub rd/(H)=/spl mu//sub ri/exp(-H/H/sub 1/), the analytical procedure can be extended significantly. An applied pulse parameter /spl zeta//spl equiv/Q/sub 0///spl sigma/d/sup 2/B/sub s/ has been identified that includes the saturation magnetization B/sub s/, which is a magnetic problem parameter. Furthermore, the effective permeabilities /spl mu//sub E/(/spl zeta/) can be expressed as /spl mu//sub /spl zeta//=/spl mu//sub ri//spl Omega//sub E/(/spl zeta/), where /spl Omega//sub E/(/spl zeta/) is a fundamental quantity that depends only on /spl zeta/. Similarly, /spl mu//sub /spl tau//(/spl zeta/) can be expressed as /spl mu//sub /spl tau//(/spl zeta/)=/spl mu//sub ri//spl Omega//sub /spl tau//(/spl zeta/), where /spl Omega//sub E/(/spl zeta/) is a fundamental quantity that depends only on /spl zeta/. Results of numerical calculations for /spl Omega//sub E/(/spl zeta/) and /spl Omega//sub /spl tau//(/spl zeta/) are presented.
Variations in Lichen Growth from Direct Measurements: Preliminary Curves for Alectoria Minuscula from Eastern Baffin Island, N. W. T., Canada

Direct measurement of thallus area of the subfruticose lichen Alectoria minuscula from eastern Baffin Island allows construction of preliminary lichen growth curves for this area. The tracing method of determining thallus diameters is accurate within ?0.5 mm, whereas the photogrammetric method is accurate within ?0.1 mm and is capable of even greater precision. The form of the growth curve for A. minuscula is sigmoidal with an average diameter increase ranging from 0.6 to 1.0 mm year-'.
Why Is the One-Group Pretest–Posttest Design Still Used?:

The one-group pretest-posttest pre-experimental design has been widely criticized, yet continues to be used in some clinical nursing research studies. This editorial explains what is wrong with the design, suggests reasons for its continued use, and gives some recommendations regarding what can be done about it.
On the chromospheric observations at the 1962 eclipse

A discussion is given of slitless spectrograms of the chromosphere obtained by an expedition of the High Altitude Observatory, Sacramento Peak Observatory, and National Bureau of Standards at the eclipse of 4–5 February 1962. The data which are considered consist of previously published line intensities plus continuum data presented here for the first time.
Purine Nucleotide Availability Regulates mTORC1 Activity through the Rheb GTPase

Pharmacologic agents that interfere with nucleotide metabolism constitute an important class of anticancer agents. Recent studies have demonstrated that mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) inhibitors suppress de novo biosynthesis of pyrimidine and purine nucleotides. Here, we demonstrate that mTORC1 itself is suppressed by drugs that reduce intracellular purine nucleotide pools. Cellular treatment with AG2037, an inhibitor of the purine biosynthetic enzyme GARFT, profoundly inhibits mTORC1 activity via a reduction in the level of GTP-bound Rheb, an obligate upstream activator of mTORC1, because of a reduction in intracellular guanine nucleotides. AG2037 treatment provokes both mTORC1 inhibition and robust tumor growth suppression in mice bearing non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) xenografts. These results indicate that alterations in purine nucleotide availability affect mTORC1 activity and suggest that inhibition of mTORC1 contributes to the therapeutic effects of purine biosynthesis inhibitors.
Uncovering a Troll in the Machine

A large campus steam generator used for domestic heating and cooling is described by operators as having a troll banging on the heat exchanger tubes and causing the walls of the three-story-high device to breath. A similar sister steam generator in the same heating and cooling plant is quiet during its operation. These oscillations are detrimental to the long-term operation of the machine. It is in constant use, it cannot be taken out of service, and very little access is available to measure pertinent variables. In this paper, the techniques used to non-invasively collect pertinent (ultimately very noisy) data and analyze the data using the techniques of big data time series analysis are presented. With the data partitioned into clearly delineated regions of information, a combustion instability was identified as the driving mechanism causing the oscillation. With the driving mechanism identified via the big data tools, low-order input/output models of the system were developed and parameter identified via the partitioned data. These data-driven models were then used to provide design change guidance for the system. This paper is presented as an application paper for this journal. It was an example for researchers in other fields to follow if they are dealing with limited experimental access. The techniques described in this paper are applicable to any time-dependent problem that has noisy minimally accessible highly coupled and transient data.
CHAPTER 5 – Growth hormone

This chapter discusses growth hormone (GH), also known as somatotropin, which is a molecule with diverse action due in part to the widespread distribution of its receptor. GH is a non-glycoslated polypeptide composed of 191 amino acids and can stimulate the growth and differentiation of muscle, bone and cartilage. In addition to the pituitary gland, GH is produced in many other tissues. This suggests that in addition to its function as a classic endocrine hormone, GH may also function in an autocrine/ paracrine fashion. In addition to direct receptor-mediated activity, GH stimulates the production of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) that mediate many growth promoting actions of the hormone. The structure and function of growth hormone and its receptors have been intensely studied in the chapter. These studies have contributed greatly to the understanding of receptor activation and signaling.
Volume-Outcome Relationships in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Retrospective Analysis of Administrative Data From Pennsylvania, 2007-2015

This article seeks to understand whether a volume-outcome relationship exists in adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). We examined primary administrative discharge data from the Pennsylvanian Health Care Cost Containment Council for all 2,948 consecutive adults treated with ECMO in Pennsylvania between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2015. We used a well-fitting backwards stepwise logistic regression to obtain patient-level predicted mortality. Number of cases and risk-adjusted mortality was aggregated by calendar quarter and by hospital. Graphical and correlation analysis was used to understand the volume-outcome relationship, focusing separately on the impact of a hospital's current scale (annual volume of adult ECMO) and a hospital's cumulative experience (total cumulative volume of adult ECMO since starting operations). We found that more than 9 years, there was essentially no reduction in overall risk-adjusted mortality in the state. For individual hospitals, once institutions had as few as 50 cases' total experience or performed just 10 cases annually, there was no clear improvement in outcomes. Patients in hospitals with fewer than 50 cases ever performed appeared objectively less sick compared with patients in hospital with more experience. We conclude that there is little evidence of volume-outcome relationships in adult ECMO in this state, although we acknowledge that the absence of clinical chart data limits these conclusions.
POSTER: Inaudible Voice Commands

Voice assistants like Siri enable us to control IoT devices conveniently with voice commands, however, they also provide new attack opportunities for adversaries. Previous papers attack voice assistants with obfuscated voice commands by leveraging the gap between speech recognition system and human voice perception. The limitation is that these obfuscated commands are audible and thus conspicuous to device owners. In this poster, we propose a novel mechanism to directly attack the microphone used for sensing voice data with inaudible voice commands. We show that the adversary can exploit the microphone's non-linearity and play well-designed inaudible ultrasounds to cause the microphone to record normal voice commands, and thus control the victim device inconspicuously. We demonstrate via end-to-end real-world experiments that our inaudible voice commands can attack an Android phone and an Amazon Echo device with high success rates at a range of 2-3 meters.
Elucidating the accelerated carbonation products of calcium silicates using multi-technique approach

Abstract This article features an investigation of the accelerated carbonation products of four calcium silicate phases, namely monoclinic-tricalcium silicate (3CaO·SiO2 or C3S), γ-dicalcium silicate (2CaO·SiO2 or γ-C2S), tricalcium disilicate (3CaO·2SiO2 or C3S2, rankinite), and monocalcium silicate (CaO·SiO2 or CS, wollastonite). During the carbonation reaction, the calcium silicate minerals form calcium carbonate and Ca-modified silica gel. These reaction products were examined using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), 29Si magic angle spining (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13C {1H} cross polarized (CP)/MAS NMR, and dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) techniques. Along with the crystalline forms of CaCO3 (i.e., calcite, vaterite, and aragonite), amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) was also found to be present in the carbonated calcium silicate systems. Based on the experimental results, it is proposed that the ACC particles were stabilized by the deposition of silica layers on their surfaces. Presence of ACC also affected the pore size distribution of the matrixes, which eventually influenced the diffusion based carbonation rate of the matrixes. Moreover, the degree of carbonation of CS was found to be most effective compared to other calcium silicates in terms of the percentage of the phase reacted for the experimental conditions used in this study.
Clonal rearrangement of 15p11.2, 16p11.2, and 16p13.3 in a case of nodular fasciitis: additional evidence favoring nodular fasciitis as a benign neoplasm and not a reactive tumefaction.

This article describes a case of nodular fasciitis with the karyotype 47,XY,+4[3]/46,XY,add(15)(p11.2), t(16;16)(p13.3;p11.2)[2]. The presence of clonal chromosomal abnormalities in this case, as well as in three previously reported cases, indicates that nodular fasciitis is a benign neoplasm and not a reactive lesion.
A Theoretical Study of LiHe+n, NaHe+n, and MgHe+n Complexes, with n=1, 2, 3, 4

The LiHe+ n , the NaHe+ n , and the MgHe+ n complexes with n=1, 2, 3, 4 were studied using ab initio calculations with the MP2/6-311+G(3df, 3pd) method. The complexes are found to be stable. For the n=1 complexes, previous results were available and the calculations performed are in good agreement with those results. This lends credibility to the results obtained for the complexes with higher n.
Delayed response to an injection of U-500 regular insulin is not rare

Highlights Since the PK/PD of U-500 regular insulin more closely resembles that of NPH insulin, it is commonly given before breakfast and dinner. However, a delayed response in which the major effect of the concentrated insulin takes place overnight occurs in about 10% of patients. This necessitates converting the regimen to a basal/bolus one in which the before breakfast injection serves as the basal insulin and short- or rapid-acting insulin is given before meals to control daytime hyperglycemia.
Lymphangitic carcinomatosis: A common radiographic manifestation of local failure following extended pleurectomy/decortication in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Abstract Introduction The lymphangitic carcinomatosis (LC) pattern of metastatic malignancy is associated with a poor prognosis but is currently not well defined in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Here, we report the incidence and prognostic significance of the radiographic development of LC in MPM following extended pleurectomy/decortication (EPD). Methods Consecutive patients with biopsy-proven MPM undergoing EPD with intraoperative photodynamic therapy (PDT) at our institution from 2008 to 2014 were included in this retrospective study. Patients without available post-surgical clinical or imaging data for direct review were excluded. CT images were reviewed by an experienced, board-certified thoracic radiologist and confirmed by consensus review. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated by Kaplan Meier methodology. Hazard ratios were compared with a cox proportional hazard model. Results 44 patients underwent EPD with PDT during the study period and had available clinical and imaging data. During the follow-up period (median 34 months), 17 patients (39%) developed LC at a median of 10 months after surgery (IQR 5–21 months). 16 of the 17 patients who developed LC (94%) died during the follow-up period, compared to 17 of the 27 who did not develop LC (63%). OS for the LC versus non-LC group was 53% versus 93% at 1 year and 18% versus 67% at 3 years. LC was significantly associated with a lower OS (HR 4.07; 95% confidence interval 1.44–11.48; p = 0.008). PFS for the LC group versus non-LC group was 8 months (IQR 5–9 months) compared to 17 months (IQR 11–24 months) (p Conclusion LC is a common form of failure in MPM following EPD and is associated with a poor prognosis. Thus, further studies are warranted to determine if any evidence of preoperative LC should be an absolute contraindication to EPD and may warrant an EPP or no surgery at all.
Quorum sensing modulates microbial efficiency by regulating bacterial investment in nutrient acquisition enzymes

Abstract Quorum sensing and quenching are components of chemical signaling that microorganisms use for gene regulation. These components regulate extracellular enzyme production and may subsequently mediate microbial efficiency. We performed a 30-day field-based common garden experiment to determine the effect of quorum sensing and quorum quenching on respiration, enzyme activity, and microbial efficiency. For nutrient acquisition enzymes (e.g. n-acetylglucosaminidase), we found that quorum sensing treatments had 1.4–2.2-fold greater activity than quorum quenching treatments. Furthermore, mass-specific respiration for quorum sensing treatments were ∼1.2-fold higher than quorum quenching treatments, indicating lower efficiency. This study highlights soil microbial quorum sensing as a mechanism that influences both enzyme production and mass-specific respiration, and as a potential regulator of enzyme evolutionary-economics.
Impact of an Antiretroviral Stewardship Team on the Care of Patients With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Admitted to an Academic Medical Center.

Background Interdisciplinary antiretroviral stewardship teams, comprising a human immunodeficiency virus pharmacist specialist, an infectious diseases physician, and associated learners, have the ability to assist in identification and correction of inpatient antiretroviral-related errors. Methods Electronic medical records of patients with antiretroviral orders admitted to our hospital were evaluated for the number of interventions made by the stewardship team, number of admissions with errors identified, risk factors for occurrence of errors, and cost savings. Risk factors were analyzed by means of multivariable logistic regression. Cost savings were estimated by the documentation system Clinical Measures. Results A total of 567 admissions were included for analysis in a 1-year study period. Forty-three percent of admissions (245 of 567) had ≥1 intervention, with 336 interventions in total. The following were identified as risk factors for error: multitablet inpatient regimen (odds ratio, 1.834; 95% confidence interval, 1.160-2.899; P = .009), admission to the intensive care unit (2.803; 1.280-6.136; P = .01), care provided by a surgery service (1.762; 1.082-2.868; P = .02), increased number of days reviewed (1.061; 1.008-1.117; P = .02), and noninstitutional outpatient provider (1.375; .972-1.946; P = .07). The 1-year cost savings were estimated to be $263 428. Conclusions Antiretroviral stewardship teams optimize patient care through identification and correction of antiretroviral-related errors. Errors may be more common in patients with multitablet inpatient regimens, admission to the intensive care unit, care provided by a surgery service, and increased number of hospital days reviewed. Once antiretroviral-related errors are identified, the ability to correct them provides cost savings.
Data Center Physical Security Training VR to Support Procedural Memory Tasks

The importance of physical security in a data center cannot be emphasized enough. Poor physical security would not only be out of compliance with government regulations, but also present an incredible risk to the integrity of the machines in question. Physical security means a set of policies, precautions, and practices must be adopted to avoid unauthorized access and manipulation of a data center’s resources. Physical security practices in data centers cover a great number of steps to follow, such as locking up the server room, setting up surveillance, using rack mount servers, and many other security protocols. Existing physical security programs use traditional learning methods such as online classes, books and onsite training. However, these materials have limitations to provide trainees practical and hands-on experiences that are based on procedural tasks.
Generation of polarization singularities with geometric metasurfaces.

The polarization singularities are directly generated by using plasmonic metasurfaces with the geometric phase profiles designed to form the Poincare beams. Different morphologies of polarization topological structures of lemon, star, monstar, spiral, dipole and quadrupole are created by the superpositions of Laguerre-Gauss modes with different orders under orthogonal circular or linear polarization basis. The polarization ellipse patterns and topological features of the produced optical vector fields are analyzed to reveal the properties of the polarization singularities of C-points and L-lines, and the orbital angular momentum states are also measured. The demonstrated polarization singularities generated from the geometric metasurfaces will promise many potential applications related to optical polarization imaging, metrology, optical trapping and quantum information processing.
AIDA: Using Social Scaffolding to Assist Workers with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

In this paper, we present a social robotics framework to assist workers with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). AIDA, which stands for artificially intelligent disability assistant, will help workers with IDD through social scaffolding techniques. For the experiments, we simulated disabilities with our participants and evaluated the impact of social scaffolding with the Pepper humanoid robot. The results show that stronger forms of scaffolding are required to provide more effective assistance workers with IDD.
Classification of COVID-19 and Other Pathogenic Sequences: A Dinucleotide Frequency and Machine Learning Approach

The world is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the 2019 novel SARS-CoV-2. To better understand this novel virus and its relationship with other pathogens, new methods for analyzing the genome are required. In this study, intrinsic dinucleotide genomic signatures were analyzed for whole genome sequence data of eight pathogenic species, including SARS-CoV-2. The genome sequences were transformed into dinucleotide relative frequencies and classified using the extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) model. The classification models were trained to a) distinguish between the sequences of all eight species and b) distinguish between sequences of SARS-CoV-2 that originate from different geographic regions. Our method attained 100% in all performance metrics and for all tasks in the eight-species classification problem. Moreover, the models achieved 67% balanced accuracy for the task of classifying the SARS-CoV-2 sequences into the six continental regions and achieved 86% balanced accuracy for the task of classifying SARS-CoV-2 samples as either originating from Asia or not. Analysis of the dinucleotide genomic profiles of the eight species revealed a similarity between the SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV viral sequences. Further analysis of SARS-CoV-2 viral sequences from the six continents revealed that samples from Oceania had the highest frequency of TT dinucleotides as well as the lowest CG frequency compared to the other continents. The dinucleotide signatures of AC, AG,CA, CT, GA, GT, TC, and TG were well conserved across most genomes, while the frequencies of other dinucleotide signatures varied considerably. Altogether, the results from this study demonstrate the utility of dinucleotide relative frequencies for discriminating and identifying similar species.
Highly Selective Production of Syngas from Chemical Looping Reforming of Methane with CO2 Utilization on MgO-supported Calcium Ferrite Redox Materials

Abstract Chemical looping reforming with CO2 splitting (CLRS) is an attractive process that can be used for conversion of hydrocarbons into syngas, an industrially important intermediate that serves as a building block for other value-added products. Under the chemical looping approach, the oxygen carrier that provides lattice oxygen, instead of molecular oxygen, is used for methane partial oxidation. This work focuses on MgO-supported Ca2Fe2O5 redox materials as the oxygen carriers for simultaneous syngas production and CO2 utilization through thermochemical CO2 splitting using a two-reactor chemical looping system. We experimentally achieve a near 100% CH4 conversion and a high syngas selectivity of >98%, which is by far the highest in chemical looping reforming systems. Complete regeneration of the reduced oxygen carriers is obtained using CO2 with ~78% conversion, thereby operating close to the thermodynamic limit. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the lattice oxygen in corner-sharing octahedra of brownmillerite structure possessed by Ca2Fe2O5 acts as the efficient active sites for CO and H2 production. The formed oxygen vacancy significantly reduces the energy barriers of C-H cleavage and CO formation, leading to the reactivity and selectivity enhancement. MgO assists in reactivity enhancement by enabling higher degree of Ca2Fe2O5 dispersion along with increasing Ca2Fe2O5′s tolerance towards sintering. These findings will contribute to the systematic design of high-performance redox materials and chemical looping processes for syngas production with CO2 utilization.
Parent-Reported Symptoms and Medications Used Among Children With Severe Neurological Impairment.

Importance Children with severe neurological impairment (SNI) often take multiple medications to treat problematic symptoms. However, for children who cannot self-report symptoms, no system exists to assess multiple symptoms and their association with medication use. Objectives To assess the prevalence of 28 distinct symptoms, test whether higher global symptom scores (GSS) were associated with use of more medications, and assess the associations between specific symptoms and medications. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study was conducted between April 1, 2019, and December 31, 2019, using structured parent-reported symptom data paired with clinical and pharmacy data, at a single-center, large, hospital-based special health care needs clinic. Participants included children aged 1 to 18 years with SNI and 5 or more prescribed medications. Data analysis was performed from April to June 2020. Exposure During routine clinical visits, parent-reported symptoms were collected using the validated 28-symptom Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS) and merged with clinical and pharmacy data. Main Outcomes and Measures Symptom prevalence, counts, and GSS (scored 0-100, with 100 being the worst) were calculated, and the association of GSS with medications was examined. To evaluate associations between symptom-medication pairs, the proportion of patients with a symptom who used a medication class or specific medication was calculated. Results Of 100 patients, 55.0% were boys, the median (interquartile range [IQR]) age was 9 (5-12) years, 62.0% had 3 or more complex chronic conditions, 76.0% took 10 or more medications, and none were able to complete the MSAS themselves. Parents reported a median (IQR) of 7 (4-10) concurrent active symptoms. The median (IQR) GSS was 12.1 (5.4-20.8) (range, 0.0-41.2) and the GSS was 9.8 points (95% CI, 5.5-14.1 points) higher for those with worse recent health than usual. Irritability (65.0%), insomnia (55.0%), and pain (54.0%) were the most prevalent symptoms. Each 10-point GSS increase was associated with 12% (95% CI, 4%-19%) higher medication counts, adjusted for age and complex chronic condition count. Among the 54.0% of children with reported pain, 61.0% were prescribed an analgesic. Conclusions and Relevance These findings suggest that children with SNI reportedly experience substantial symptom burdens and that higher symptom scores are associated with increased medication use. Paired symptom-medication data may help clinicians identify targets for personalized symptom management, including underrecognized or undertreated symptoms.
The use of midazolam as an appetite stimulant and anxiolytic in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

Background Food avoidance secondary to disease or stress can lead to weight loss and rapid deterioration of clinical condition in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). Currently, there are no data supporting the use of any pharmaceuticals as an appetite stimulant in this species; however, benzodiazepines are frequently used for this purpose in other species. Methods Six marmosets were used in a crossover study design to evaluate the benzodiazepine midazolam as an appetite stimulant and anxiolytic. Total food intake (TFI) and latency to eat (LTE) were measured following administration of oral and injectable midazolam in non-anxious and anxious states. Results Injectable midazolam increased TFI and decreased LTE in anxious marmosets, but had no effect in non-anxious animals. Oral midazolam had no effect on appetite in either state. Conclusions Injectable midazolam may be an effective treatment for anxiety-induced inappetence in marmosets. Individual response to both oral and injectable midazolam may vary.
Defense mechanisms and childhood abuse potential in pregnant mothers

This study aims to assess whether mothers reporting high and low child abuse potential differ in their experiences of childhood abuse and use of defense mechanisms, and to examine factors which might predict child abuse potential. 120 pregnant mothers in their third trimester completed demographic questionnaires, trauma and abuse potential measures, and a semi-structured parenting interview, which was coded for defense mechanisms. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance were conducted to determine group differences of mothers with high and low abuse potential. A stepwise linear regression was conducted to identify variables which significantly predicted abuse potential. Mothers reporting high abuse potential were found to have significantly greater emotional and physical childhood abuse experiences, greater immature defense use, and lower overall defensive functioning than mothers with low abuse potential. Emotional abuse and immature defense use significantly predicted total child abuse potential scores. Results are consistent with existing literature and provide a novel approach to understanding influences on child abuse potential including maternal history of childhood abuse and current defense mechanisms. These variables further serve as points of prevention and intervention for improving the negative outcomes associated with intergenerational risk for child abuse.
Does Machiavellianism meaningfully differ from psychopathy? It depends

Machiavellianism is a personality construct characterized by cynicism, callousness, and skillful manipulation of others to achieve personal gains. We review the Machiavellianism literature with a particular focus on its measurement alongside narcissism and psychopathy in the so-called "Dark Triad" (DT). We discuss criticisms of Machiavellianism on the grounds of insufficient construct validity as well as its virtual indistinguishability from psychopathy when assessed by commonly used instruments. As a response to these criticisms, we offer the super-short form of the Five Factor Machiavellianism Inventory (FFMI-SSF) as an alternative. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the FFMI-SSF in relation to psychopathy and basic personality traits (i.e., the Five Factor Model) and to compare it to widely used measures of the DT and psychopathy in a large undergraduate sample (n = 1004).
Technical Flaws in the Application of the U.S. Antidumping Law: The Experience of U.S.-Korean Trade

The U.S. antidumping law suffers from a series of defects in its implementation, resulting in the unwarranted finding of illegal predatory pricing by foreign companies. In light of the existing technical flaws outlined in this Article, it is clear that the U.S. antidumping law is merely a form of protectionism, designed to serve the interests of domestic industry at the expense of consumers. This article briefly profiles the U.S. antidumping law in light of the U.S.-Korean trade experience. Section 2 provides background information on the U.S. antidumping law. Section 3 discusses the current U.S.-Korean trade policy. Section 4 analyzes some of the shortcomings of the U.S. law, using the U.S. relationship with Korea as a model for understanding these problems. Section 5 discusses the threat that the existing antidumping law poses as a means of harassing foreign producers. Section 6 addresses the effects of antidumping that are often overlooked by policy makers. In light of both the protectionist nature of the statute as well as the defects in the implementation of the statute, this article concludes that a reexamination of the U.S. antidumping law is necessary, and that an outright repeal should be considered.
Formalism and Pluralism

This chapter introduces the reader to pluralism from the starting point of formalism. Formalism is in some ways the closest position to pluralism. The characterisation of formalism is taken from Detlefsen. Adding support to the pluralist’s argument in Chap. 3 against Maddy, about the philosophical conceptions of mathematicians not always being realist, we give support to the claim that many mathematicians see themselves as formalist. We also find support for this claim from the practice of mathematicians. We look at three test cases: the classification of finite simple groups, renormalisation and Lobachevsky’s model for indefinite integrals. With this de dicto and de re evidence, we then argue that pluralism reaches beyond formalism, and better fits the de dicto and de re evidence. In particular, we argue for a pluralism in methodology which is not permitted under the structures of formalism, as we characterise it.
FLUID BALANCE IN LOW BIRTH WEIGHT |[lpar]|LBW|[rpar]| INFANTS: RELATIONSHIP TO INTRACRANIAL HEMORRHAGE |[lpar]|ICH|[rpar]|

Alterations in cerebral transvascular pressure, associated with dehydration or hyperosmolality, have been implicated as contributing factors in ICH of LBW infants. If correct, fluid restriction of LBW infants (<1500 gms) with respiratory distress or patent ductus arteriosus should be curtailed. We reviewed the fluid balance of 80 LBW infants who had serial cranial ultrasound exams between birth and 5 days of age. The frequency of ICH was 55% (44/80), and ICH occurred in 40/44 infants by 2 days of age. Over this period, weight loss, fluid intake and serum Na+ did not differ in the infants with and without ICH (±SD).