cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Blame After Forgiveness

When a wrongdoing occurs, victims, barring special circumstance, can aptly forgive their wrongdoers, receive apologies, and be paid reparations. It is also uncontroversial, in the usual circumstances, that wronged parties can aptly blame their wrongdoer. But controversy arises when we consider blame from third-parties after the victim has forgiven. At times it seems that wronged parties can make blame inapt through forgiveness. If third parties blame anyway, it often appears the victim is justified in protesting. “But I forgave him!” In other cases, however, forgiveness seems irrelevant: B can forgive A, but it can still seem that third parties can aptly blame A for the wrong against B. This perplexity adds a dimension to ongoing discussion regarding criteria for apt blame and the related issues of standing and fittingness. This paper explores the status of third party blame after forgiveness. I argue that while post forgiveness blame is often inapt, in many other cases forgiveness is irrelevant. This difference is explained by appeal to the various relationships third parties might have to wronged parties, and how these differences affect the ways we blame and thereby blame’s aptness.
Active hyperbolic metamaterials (Presentation Recording)

Hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs) have become one of the most attractive classes of metamaterials due to their wide array of applications in combination with ease of realization. Here we will discuss our recent work on “active hyperbolic metamaterials” where demonstrate enhanced light emission and extraction from metamaterials embedded with quantum dots. We will also discuss our recent efforts on realizing tunable HMMs as well as sub-wavelength cavities.
Analysis of the Integral Operator

This chapter contains several properties of the PSWFs and related quantities, whose derivation is based on an analysis of the integral operator F c defined via (2.7) in Sect. 2.4 (see also [46–48]).
Cautious Thoughts on “A Social Priming Data Set With Troubling Oddities”

ABSTRACTPashler, Rohrer, Abramson, Wolfson, and Harris (2016/this issue) identify a number of features of the data in Chatterjee, Rose, and Sinha (2013), particularly in Study 3, that cause them to question the scientific validity of the conclusions drawn from the data. Based on the critics’ analyses and my own investigation, I concur that Study 3 data are likely unreliable. However, Pashler et al. question the scientific validity of all three studies while providing support for their skepticism only for Study 3, clearly an overgeneralization. The processes leading to the original publication and the critics’ challenge to the original work highlight some crucial questions regarding trust, loyalty, mentorship, and oversight in multiple authored articles.
Yield stress predictions for magnetorheological fluids from a kinetic theory based particle pair model

The paper introduces a kinetic theory based particle pair model for magnetorheological fluid characterization. Fluid constitutive equations are derived from an analysis of the motion of a pair of particles subject to hydrodynamic and magnetic field forces. The effect of neighboring particles from the same chain on the magnetic force is included. The model can predict fluid behavior when particles separate or remain in contact during flow. For yield stress predictions, the case when particles separate is considered. Predictions for the yield stress are compared with experimental data and with other theoretical models. Predictions from the proposed model are in good agreement with experimental data.
Estrogens, progestins, and coronary heart disease in cynomolgus monkeys.

Objective: To determine the effects of estrogen deprivation and estrogen replacement on coronary artery atherosclerosis. Design: Randomized trials using female cynomolgus monkeys as subjects. Setting: Comparative Medicine Clinical Research Center of an academic medical center. Patients: Premenopausal and postmenopausal female cynomolgus monkeys fed diets comparable in fat and cholesterol to those consumed by human beings. Interventions: Menopause was induced by ovariectomy; coronary vasomotion was evaluated during coronary angiography. Treatments involved estrogens and progestins, and coronary artery atherosclerosis was evaluated at necropsy. Main Outcome Measure: Coronary artery atherosclerosis extent
Research for Social Justice in Contexts of Student and Family Homelessness

This chapter addresses several contextual and theoretical issues associated with social justice research and contexts of student and family homelessness. I began by describing student homelessness and poverty as being associated with systems of injustice and I situate educational researchers as potentially important actors in working to improve these conditions. The chapter highlights some central complexities and possibilities of this work, paying particular attention to the role of theory in providing analytic traction into matters of poverty, policy, and interorganizational collaboration as they relate to schooling and homelessness. I offer several examples of how research and practice can – and should – be integrated to fix the “dirty, rotten systems” that perpetuate inequity in our society.
The distribution and adipogenic potential of perivascular adipose tissue adipocyte progenitors is dependent on sexual dimorphism and vessel location

Abstract There are sex associated differences in the risk for cardiovascular comorbidities in obesity and metabolic syndrome. A common clinical finding in these diseases is the expansion of perivascular adipose tissues (PVAT) which is associated with alterations in their role as regulators of vessel function. PVAT hyperplasia and hypertrophy are dependent on the biology of populations of adipocyte progenitor cells (APC). It is currently unclear if PVAT enlargement diverges between males and females and the mechanisms linking APC biology with sexual dimorphism remain poorly understood. This study tested the hypothesis that vessel location and sexual dimorphism affect the distribution and adipogenic capacity of APC in cardiovascular disease risk relevant PVAT sites. PVAT from thoracic aorta (aPVAT) and mesenteric resistance arteries (mPVAT) was collected from 10‐week‐old female and male Sprague–Dawley rats. Differences in APC distribution in stromal vascular fraction cells from PVAT were determined. APC were defined as cells expressing CD34, CD44, and platelet derived growth factor α . In both sexes aPVAT had fewer APC compared to mPVAT and perigonadal adipose tissue (GON). Sex‐related differences were observed in the expression of CD34, where females had fewer CD34 + cells in PVATs. APC proliferation and adipogenic capacity in vitro were not affected by sex. However, APC from aPVAT had a lower proliferation capacity compared to mPVAT. These data demonstrate that the distribution of APC within PVAT exhibits sexual dimorphism and is affected by anatomical location.
Circuit reliability simulator-oxide breakdown module

A computer program which generates statistics about circuit failures due to MOS oxide breakdown has been developed. The program, CORS (Circuit Oxide Reliability Simulator), predicts the probability of circuit failure as a function of operating time, temperature, power supply voltage, and input waveforms. It consists of a preprocessor and postprocessor for SPICE. CORS calculates the probability of failure by using the node voltages provided by SPICE and oxide defect statistics provided by the user. The effect of burn-in on oxide reliability can also be simulated. CORS is linked to a hot electron and an electromigration reliability simulator. Simulation results are presented. >
A small-molecule allosteric inhibitor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis tryptophan synthase

New antibiotics with novel targets are greatly needed. Bacteria have numerous essential functions, but only a small fraction of such processes-primarily those involved in macromolecular synthesis-are inhibited by current drugs. Targeting metabolic enzymes has been the focus of recent interest, but effective inhibitors have been difficult to identify. We describe a synthetic azetidine derivative, BRD4592, that kills Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) through allosteric inhibition of tryptophan synthase (TrpAB), a previously untargeted, highly allosterically regulated enzyme. BRD4592 binds at the TrpAB α-β-subunit interface and affects multiple steps in the enzyme's overall reaction, resulting in inhibition not easily overcome by changes in metabolic environment. We show that TrpAB is required for the survival of Mtb and Mycobacterium marinum in vivo and that this requirement may be independent of an adaptive immune response. This work highlights the effectiveness of allosteric inhibition for targeting proteins that are naturally highly dynamic and that are essential in vivo, despite their apparent dispensability under in vitro conditions, and suggests a framework for the discovery of a next generation of allosteric inhibitors.
Health Care Discrimination, Sex Behavior Disclosure, and Awareness of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Among Black Men Who Have Sex With Men

Background Perceived healthcare-related discrimination and disclosure of same-sex sex behaviors to healthcare providers may act as barriers to awareness of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for Black/African-American men who have sex with men (BMSM). Given the elevated rates of HIV transmission among young BMSM in particular, age is likely an important factor for determining the correlates of PrEP awareness unique to BMSM of different ages. Method 147 BMSM (M age = 30.6 years, SD = 10.3 years) located in the Southeastern United States were recruited from gay-identified bars, clubs, bathhouses, parks, and street locations, via online classifieds (e.g., Craigslist) and social media (e.g., Facebook). Participants completed surveys that included questions about demographic characteristics, perceived healthcare-related discrimination, disclosure of same-sex sex behavior to healthcare providers, and PrEP awareness. Results Perceived healthcare-related discrimination was significantly, negatively associated with PrEP awareness, and same-sex sex behavior disclosure to healthcare providers was significantly, positively related to awareness of PrEP among BMSM. A moderation analysis, with participant age as the moderator, revealed that higher perceived healthcare-related discrimination was significantly, negatively associated with PrEP awareness beginning at 30.2 years of age, and that the relationship strengthened as age increased. Discussion Perceived healthcare-related discrimination plays a particularly important role in PrEP awareness for BMSM who are 30 years of age and older. Discrimination in healthcare settings may impact BMSM's ability, particularly those who are older, to access PrEP information. Healthcare professionals must establish procedures for identifying appropriate patients for PrEP, and prioritize addressing the psychosocial factors that impede PrEP awareness for their BMSM patients.
Cold Front Driven Flows Through Multiple Inlets of Lake Pontchartrain Estuary

With in situ observations using acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) and numerical experiments using the Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model (FVCOM), this study investigates atmospheric cold front induced exchange of water between Lake Pontchartrain Estuary and coastal ocean through multiple inlets. Results show that the sub-tidal hydrodynamic response is highly correlated with meteorological parameters. Northerly and westerly winds tend to push water out of Lake Pontchartrain, while south and east winds tend to produce currents flowing into it. For most cases, the sub-tidal water level is inversely correlated with the east wind, with the correlation coefficient being ∼ 0.8. The most important finding of this work is that, contrary to intuition, the cold front induced remote wind effect has the greatest contribution to the overall water level variation, while the local wind stress determines the surface slope inside the estuary. It is found that wind driven flow is roughly quasi-steady state: the surface slope in the north-south direction is determined by the north-south wind stress, explaining ∼ 83% of the variability but less so in the east-west direction (∼ 43%). In other words, the north-south local wind stress determines the water level gradient in that direction in the estuary while the overall water level change is pretty much controlled by the open boundary which is the "remote wind effect", a regional response that can be illustrated only by a numerical model for a much larger area encompassing the estuary.
Laboratory Diagnosis and Monitoring of Diabetes Mellitus

The American Diabetes Association emphasizes fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels, rather than the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), to diagnose diabetes mellitus. The diagnostic cutoff for FPG is 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L). A 2-hour plasma glucose level of 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) or more during an OGTT or a random plasma glucose level of 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) or more also is diagnostic of diabetes. The 100-g, 3-hour OGTT remains the "gold standard" for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Two of 4 samples exceeding cutoffs (fasting, > or = 105 mg/dL [5.8 mmol/L]; 1 hour, > or = 190 mg/dL [10.5 mmol/L]; 2 hours, > or = 165 mg/dL [9.2 mmol/L]; 3 hours, > or = 145 mg/dL [8.0 mmol/L]) indicate GDM. An effective GDM screening test is plasma glucose 1 hour after a 50-g oral glucose load. Tight control, which requires self-monitoring of blood glucose, reduces microvascular complications for patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Patients with well-controlled diabetes have glycohemoglobin concentrations of 7% AIc (0.07 AIc/A) or less. Microalbuminuria indicates early, reversible, diabetic nephropathy. The random urine albumin-creatinine ratio is a convenient effective screening test. Albumin-creatinine ratios in the 0.03 to 0.30 (g/g) range indicate microalbuminuria.
Green teams: A collaborative training model

Abstract While higher education usually focuses on curriculum development and research to advance sustainability, an alternative approach is to collaborate with business. Collegiate green teams were formed to offer an innovative means to effectively promote business action on sustainability. This paper (a) describes a pilot multidisciplinary student/business internship program, and (b) uses program outcomes and surveys to discern benefits and refine a collaborative approach to taking action on sustainability. Evidence was gathered from participant surveys, administrator's observations, and the managerial assessments of green team reports and presentations to assess the collaborative model. Substantive evidence for effective team building was indicated by high scores among student team participants on measures of team cohesion, viability, satisfaction, and performance. Post-program observations by supervisors further indicated significant team learning and performance on tasks among teams. Collaborative training clearly boosted and broadened engagement among business employees and this spurred action on sustainability. The internship provided students with real-world experience and helped link managers to their local communities.
Multi-faceted immunomodulatory and tissue-tropic clinical bacterial isolate potentiates prostate cancer immunotherapy

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have not been effective for immunologically "cold" tumors, such as prostate cancer, which contain scarce tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. We hypothesized that select tissue-specific and immunostimulatory bacteria can potentiate these immunotherapies. Here we show that a patient-derived prostate-specific microbe, CP1, in combination with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy, increases survival and decreases tumor burden in orthotopic MYC- and PTEN-mutant prostate cancer models. CP1 administered intra-urethrally specifically homes to and colonizes tumors without causing any systemic toxicities. CP1 increases immunogenic cell death of cancer cells, T cell cytotoxicity, and tumor infiltration by activated CD8 T cells, Th17 T cells, mature dendritic cells, M1 macrophages, and NK cells. CP1 also decreases intra-tumoral regulatory T cells and VEGF. Mechanistically, blocking CP1-recruited T cells from infiltrating the tumor inhibits its therapeutic efficacy. CP1 is an immunotherapeutic tool demonstrating how a tissue-specific microbe can increase tumor immunogenicity and sensitize an otherwise resistant cancer type to immunotherapy.
Thinking in hashtags: exploring teenagers’ new literacies practices on twitter

This research investigates how three high school students in the USA developed new literacies practices through their participation in teenage Twitter. Data was collected from two sources, includin...
Elastoplastic Arching in Two Dimensional Granular Heaps

This paper is a continuation of our previous work [1] on the modeling of the stress distribution in deep two-dimensional granular heaps or “wedges”. We amend the previous treatment of symmetric heaps and consider asymmetric heaps or “berms”, with one face at the angle of repose. We find continuous families of solutions and asymmetric pressures under symmetric heaps.
Some History of Libraries, Library and Information Science, Information Technology

Information is a form of social capital, and information institutions of all sorts are disseminators of the cultures in which they arise. Therefore it is important also to understand the culture of the institutions themselves. Libraries, museums, archives, and repositories of knowledge artifacts have existed as long as societies have considered themselves organized. History demonstrates how such institutions have evolved from simple repositories to service providers. The introduction of scientific method applied to the problems of information service helped information workers move up a social ladder from custodians of artifacts to valued professionals. The evolution of ever more sophisticated information technologies accompanied the evolution of the discipline to the complex, interdisciplinary status it enjoys today.
Smart Sensor Interfaces: An Introduction

This paper is an introduction to smart sensor interfaces. Definitions are given and some market numbers are shown. Most smart sensors require low-offset, low-noise amplifiers. Dynamic offset-cancellation techniques are the solution for that and principles of autozeroing and chopping are shown. Examples of a smart temperature sensor, flow sensor and magnetic sensor are shown.
An Estate Planner's Guide to the Uniform Partition of Heirs' Property Act

The Uniform Partition of Heirs' Property Act is designed to protect family members who receive land via intestacy or a will and own that property as tenants in common with other family members. The goals of the Act are laudable. However, a prudent estate planner must be aware that the UPHPA may apply in situations where at first glance it would appear that no compliance with the statute would be necessary. For example, if just two of ten cotenants are related, compliance with the UPHPA may be required. In addition, the UPHPA is highly complex containing many technical steps with rigid time requirements. Accordingly, practitioners must tread carefully when representing a plaintiff in a partition action. Likewise, judges must be vigilant as they maneuver the UPHPA to assure they are in compliance. This article provides an overview of the workings of the UPHPA.
Differential copper-induced death and regeneration of olfactory sensory neuron populations and neurobehavioral function in larval zebrafish.

Abstract Fish rely heavily on their sense of smell to maintain behaviors essential for survival, such as predator detection and avoidance, prey selection, social behavior, imprinting, and homing to natal streams and spawning sites. Due to its direct contact with the outside environment, the peripheral olfactory system of fish is particularly susceptible to dissolved contaminants. In particular, environmental exposures to copper (Cu) can cause a rapid loss of olfactory function. In this study, confocal imaging of double-transgenic zebrafish larvae with differentially labeled ciliated and microvillous olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) were used to examine cell death and regeneration following Cu exposure. Changes in cell morphologies were observed at varying degrees within both ciliated and microvillous OSNs, including the presence of round dense cell bodies, cell loss and fragmentation, retraction or loss of axons, disorganized cell arrangements, and loss of cells and fluorescence signal intensity, which are all indicators of cell death after Cu exposure. A marked loss of ciliated OSNs relative to microvillous OSNs occurred after exposure to low Cu concentrations for 3 h, with some regeneration observed after 72 h. At higher Cu concentrations and 24-h exposures, ciliated and microvillous OSNs were damaged with increased severity of injury with longer Cu exposures. Interestingly, microvillous, but not ciliated OSNs, regenerated rapidly within the 72-h time period of recovery after death from Cu exposure, suggesting that microvillous OSNs may be replaced in lieu of ciliated OSNs. An increase in bromodeoxyuridine labeling was observed 24 h after Cu-induced OSN death, suggesting that increased proliferation of the olfactory stem cells replaced the damaged OSNs. Olfactory behavioral analyses supported our imaging studies and revealed both initial loss and restoration of olfactory function after Cu exposures. In summary, our studies indicate that following zebrafish OSN damage by Cu, regeneration of microvillous OSNs may occur exceeding ciliated OSNs, likely via increased proliferation of the cellular reservoir of neuronal OSC precursors. Transgenic zebrafish are a valuable tool to study metal olfactory injury and recovery and to characterize sensitive olfactory neuron populations in fish exposed to environmental pollutants.
Control of a Hydrogen Gas Processing System

In this chapter, we present a reduced-order observer-driven controller design for a linearized model of a fuel cell hydrogen gas processing system (also called a hydrogen gas reformer or simply a reformer), which produces hydrogen from natural gas. To solve this control problem, we first design a reduced-order observer to estimate state space variables needed for feedback at all times. Then, we design two feedback control loops, one of them with an integrator (integral control, Khalil 2002; Sinha 2007) and another one with proportional feedback from the estimated state variables (obtained from the observer). In the third step, a feed-forward controller is designed whose role is to offset for the impact of the disturbance caused by the fuel cell current. Both the feedback controller and the feed-forward controller are obtained through a rigorous dynamic optimization process of a quadratic performance criterion along trajectories of a linear continuous-time dynamic system. According to the presented simulation results, the proposed controller clearly copes well with the disturbance and reduces its impact within a few seconds from the time when the disturbance occurs, despite large jumps in the fuel cell current (disturbance). Even more, it outperforms the corresponding full-order observer-based controller developed in Pukrushpan et al. (2004a, b) for the same hydrogen gas reformer processing system. The use of observers in controlling fuel cells was considered also in Pilloni et al. (2015).
“Every time someone comes forward, it makes it easier for the next survivor to be heard”: Sport as a triggering agent to break the silence of child sexual abuse

This research explored cultures of silence around child sexual abuse (CSA). On July 10, 2018, in response to multiple sexual abuse cases occurring in sport, sport news site Deadspin published a rea...
Minimizing alteration of posterior tibial slope during opening wedge high tibial osteotomy: a protocol with experimental validation in paired cadaveric knees

Introduction The High Tibial Osteotomy (HTO) is a reliable procedure in addressing uni- compartmental arthritis with associated coronal deformities. With osteotomy of the proximal tibia, there is a risk of altering the tibial slope in the sagittal plane. Surgical techniques continue to evolve with trends towards procedure reproducibility and simplification. We evaluated a modification of the Arthrex iBalance technique in 18 paired cadaveric knees with the goals of maintaining sagittal slope, increasing procedure efficiency, and decreasing use of intraoperative fluoroscopy. Methods Nine paired cadaveric knees (18 legs) underwent iBalance medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomies. In each pair, the right knee underwent an HTO using the modified technique, while all left knees underwent the traditional technique. Independent observers evaluated postoperative factors including tibial slope, placement of hinge pin, and implant placement. Specimens were then dissected to evaluate for any gross muscle, nerve or vessel injury. Results Changes to posterior tibial slope were similar using each technique. The change in slope in traditional iBalance technique was -0.3° ±2.3° and change in tibial slope using the modified iBalance technique was -0.4° ±2.3° (p=0.29). Furthermore, we detected no differences in posterior tibial slope between preoperative and postoperative specimens (p=0.74 traditional, p=0.75 modified). No differences in implant placement were detected between traditional and modified techniques. (p=0.85). No intraoperative iatrogenic complications (i.e. lateral cortex fracture, blood vessel or nerve injury) were observed in either group after gross dissection. Discussion & conclusions Alterations in posterior tibial slope are associated with HTOs. Both traditional and modified iBalance techniques appear reliable in coronal plane corrections without changing posterior tibial slope. The present modification of the Arthrex iBalance technique may increase the efficiency of the operation and decrease radiation exposure to patients without compromising implant placement or global knee alignment.
Questioning Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: a Case Report of Multiple Etiological Factors

A 14-year-old, Caucasian, right-handed male presented for neuropsychological evaluation for diagnostic clarification due to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, bipolar I disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder diagnoses and to rule-out fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) due to aggression, impulsivity, difficulties with authority, and history of legal issues. Patient was born at 29 weeks gestation without complications. Patient’s adoptive mother reported delays in walking, as well as regression in talking, with suspected prenatal alcohol exposure, neglect, and abuse in first 2 years of life prior to being adopted. Patient is currently in detention setting due to recent homicidal ideation toward family member. Neuropsychological and psychological tests were administered to assess for FAS and clarify previous diagnoses, for which psychostimulant and antipsychotic medications have proven ineffective. Results suggest minimal intellectual impairment beyond low general processing speed abilities, minor academic achievement concerns in only sentence comprehension, executive dysfunction specifically in inhibition, inefficient learning with early plateau, and externalizing behaviors. Adaptive functioning difficulties are limited to self-direction and safety. No evidence of brain atrophy, delayed physical development, or facial dysmorphia in childhood but significant behavioral concerns suggestive of FASDs. A wide range of etiological factors with unconfirmed prenatal alcohol exposure, such as neglect, trauma, and poor school attendance, suggests that FAS may be diagnostically restrictive as it pertains to the broad spectrum of prenatal alcohol effects and common comorbidities. FAS criteria may be revisited as it relates to confirmed alcohol exposure when history does not permit.
Deletion of the Cardiomyocyte Glucocorticoid Receptor Leads to Sexually Dimorphic Changes in Cardiac Gene Expression and Progression to Heart Failure.

Background The contribution of glucocorticoids to sexual dimorphism in the heart is essentially unknown. Therefore, we sought to determine the sexually dimorphic actions of glucocorticoid signaling...
Evidence that Criegee intermediates drive autoxidation in unsaturated lipids

Autoxidation is an autocatalytic free-radical chain reaction responsible for the oxidative destruction of organic molecules in biological cells, foods, plastics, petrochemicals, fuels, and the environment. In cellular membranes, lipid autoxidation (peroxidation) is linked with oxidative stress, age-related diseases, and cancers. The established mechanism of autoxidation proceeds via H-atom abstraction through a cyclic network of peroxy–hydroperoxide-mediated free-radical chain reactions. For a series of model unsaturated lipids, we present evidence for an autoxidation mechanism, initiated by hydroxyl radical (OH) addition to C=C bonds and propagated by chain reactions involving Criegee intermediates (CIs). This mechanism leads to unexpectedly rapid autoxidation even in the presence of water, implying that as reactive intermediates, CI could play a much more prominent role in chemistries beyond the atmosphere.
Interventional Stroke Care in the Era of COVID-19

The current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has led to immense strain on healthcare systems and workers. Patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19 may also present with acute neurological emergencies such as ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke in these patients may result from COVID-19 related complications or decompensation of previously asymptomatic cerebrovascular disorders, or concurrent ischemic stroke from common stroke risk factors in a patient with COVID-19. Acute ischemic stroke patients with large vessel occlusions require emergent triage, intensive care, and mechanical thrombectomy. Management of patients with large vessel occlusions (LVO) requires special considerations in the current pandemic. Physicians must now account for prognosis of severe COVID-19, resource utilization, and risk of infection to healthcare workers when determining eligibility for mechanical thrombectomy (MT). Here, we describe important prognostic factors including age, laboratory, and imaging findings to consider for MT selection and provide suggestions for taking care of patients with LVO and possible or confirmed COVID-19. It is recommended to perform MT in patients within the established guidelines, and consider a conservative approach in cases where there is clinical equipoise to minimize futile reperfusion. Lastly, we describe an illustrative case of a patient with ischemic stroke and COVID-19.
Computer-assisted separation of design-build contract requirements to support subcontract drafting

Abstract Construction projects delivered using the Design-Build (DB) method include a single contract which defines requirements associated with various disciplines involved in the project. Consequently, DB contractors often need to develop several subcontracts including only a subset of requirements from the main contract. The current manual practices for subcontract drafting are error-prone and time-consuming. The study developed a novel classification model using machine learning for classifying DB requirements into three predefined categories including design, construction, and operation and maintenance. The paper compared various training approaches to perform DB requirement classification including traditional algorithms (i.e., Naive Bayes, support vector machine, logistic regression, decision tree, and k-nearest neighbor), and two state-of-the-art deep neural networks architectures (i.e., convolutional neural network and recurrent neural network). In addition, it examined the effect of different feature types, feature selection, feature weighting, and ensemble methods on the model training performance. The classification models were trained on a large dataset of over 3000 contractual clauses, and the best model achieved an impressive precision of 93.20%, a recall of 93.08%, and an F-score of 92.98%. The study is expected to assist contract administrators in extracting the precise scope of subcontractors in less time and effort.
NREL’s Wind Turbine Drivetrain Condition Monitoring and Wind Plant Operation and Maintenance Research During the 2010s: A US Land-Based Perspective

The wind industry has seen tremendous growth during the past two decades, with the global cumulative installation capacity reaching more than 650 gigawatts by the end of 2019. Despite performance and reliability improvements of utility-scale wind turbines over the years, the industry still experiences premature component failures, leading to increased operation and maintenance (OM novel monitoring technique investigation (specifically, compact filter analysis) during the middle years; and data and physics domain modeling for fault detection and prediction in recent years. A high-level summary of these activities is provided in this paper along with some key observations from each activity. Most of the work discussed has been published and can be referred to for more information. They reflect the expected evolution of wind turbine condition monitoring and O&M in the US market—primarily, a land-based perspective. In addition, we have identified several R&D opportunities that can be picked up by the research community to help industry advance in related areas, making wind power more cost competitive in the future.
The artistic program of the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Dante’s liturgical imagination:

This paper1 re-examines the relationship between Dante’s Commedia and the Baptistery of San Giovanni from an art historical perspective. Drawing on –– and then departing from –– earlier work by Dan...
Under (Y)our skin: Rachel Dolezal and the elasticity of whiteness

Rachel Dolezal’s infamous self-proclamation of blackness has become an important snippet of public discourse contributing to US American attitudes about race. The recent Netflix documentary, The Ra...
The Association of Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Geographic Factors with Potentially Preventable Emergency Department Utilization.

Introduction: Prevention quality indicators (PQI) are a set of measures used to characterize healthcare utilization for conditions identified as being potentially preventable with high quality ambulatory care. These indicators have recently been adapted for emergency department (ED) patient presentations. In this study the authors sought to identify opportunities to potentially prevent emergency conditions and to strengthen systems of ambulatory care by analyzing patterns of ED utilization for PQI conditions. Methods: Using multivariable logistic regression, the authors analyzed the relationship of patient demographics and neighborhood-level socioeconomic indicators with ED utilization for PQI conditions based on ED visits at an urban, academic medical center in 2017. We also used multilevel modeling to assess the contribution of these variables to neighborhood-level variation in the likelihood of an ED visit for a PQI condition. Results: Of the included 98,522 visits, 17.5% were categorized as potentially preventable based on the ED PQI definition. On multivariate analysis, age < 18 years, Black race, and Medicare insurance had the strongest positive associations with PQI visits, with adjusted odds ratios (aOR) of 1.41 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.29, 1.56), 1.40 (95% CI, 1.22, 1.61), and 1.40 (95% CI, 1.28, 1.54), respectively. All included neighborhood-level socioeconomic variables were significantly associated with PQI visit likelihood on univariable analysis; however; only level of education attainment and private car ownership remained significantly associated in the multivariable model, with aOR of 1.13 (95% CI, 1.10, 1.17) and 0.96 (95% CI, 0.93, 0.99) per quartile increase, respectively. This multilevel model demonstrated significant variation in PQI visit likelihood attributable to neighborhood, with interclass correlation decreasing from 5.92% (95% CI, 5.20, 6.73) in our unadjusted model to 4.12% (95% CI, 3.47, 4.87) in our fully adjusted model and median OR similarly decreasing from 1.54 to 1.43. Conclusion: Demographic and local socioeconomic factors were significantly associated with ED utilization for PQI conditions. Future public health efforts can bolster efforts to target underlying social drivers of health and support access to primary care for patients who are Black, Latino, pediatric, or Medicare-dependent to potentially prevent emergency conditions (and the need for emergency care). Further research is needed to explore other factors beyond demographics and socioeconomic characteristics driving spatial variation in ED PQI visit likelihood.
Impact of Energy Balance on Chemically Induced Mammary Carcinogenesis in a Rat

Energy balance quantifies the amount of energy available to an organism, i.e., its energy exposure over any timeframe of interest. This chapter examines how energy availability impacts the carcinogenic response in a well-defined animal model for breast cancer with demonstrated relevance to the human disease. When animals are in positive energy balance , there is a direct association between the carcinogenic response and energy availability across a broad range of energy inputs. Both host systemic and cell autonomous processes are implicated in accounting for these effects. At the cellular level, the interplay between cell proliferation and apoptosis appears to dictate the rate of tumor mass accumulation with the integration of internal and external inputs regarding energy availability via the signaling network of which the mammalian target of rapamycin is a component. Gaps in the existing knowledge and research opportunities are identified, and new paradigms are presented with the goal of stimulating debate and discussion that will advance the field.
Rachitic syndrome after disodium etidronate therapy in an adolescent

A 12-year-old patient with a severe traumatic brain injury developed heterotopic ossification (HO) with rapidly decreasing range of motion in multiple joints despite intensive passive range of motion exercises and the use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). His alkaline phosphatase was markedly elevated. Etidronate, 20mg/kg/d was used to control the ossification. After 7 months of continual etidronate use, the patient developed periarticular pain with widened growth plates, suggesting a rachitic syndrome. Serum laboratory panel including calcium, phosphorous, alkaline phosphatase, and vitamin D were normal. After 3 months off etidronate, radiological studies showed growth plate calcification, though not before development of bilateral slipped femoral capital epiphyses. Further improvement and resolution of all complications occurred 5 months after discontinuation of etidronate. Rachitic syndromes secondary to didronel use in a clinical setting has not been previously reported. Other possible causes for a rachitic syndromes were not present. Alternate treatments for children with or at risk for HO should be considered.
A 200-MSPS 6-bit flash ADC in 0.6-/spl mu/m CMOS

This paper describes a 6-bit flash analog-to-digital converter (ADC) which performs the sampling function in a partial-response, maximum-likelihood (PRML) disk drive read channel. It operates with sampling frequencies up to 200 MSPS and achieves an effective number of bits (ENOB) of 5.5 bits with F/sub in/=50 MHz and 5.0 bits at F/sub in/=100 MHz. It consumes 380 mW at 5 V and occupies 2.7 mm/sup 2/. Other features include a bit-error rate of <1e-10 and a programmable nonlinear transfer function.
Abstract T P134: Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 and Risk of Incident Stroke in the Regards Study

Objective: Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is a hormone that regulates phosphorus and vitamin D metabolism. Elevated levels of FGF23 are strongly associated with heart disease and death, particularly in persons with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Whether FGF23 is also associated with stroke risk is unclear. Methods: Using a case cohort design we examined the association of plasma FGF23 with incident stroke in the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, a cohort of black and white participants from across the United States. Baseline assessment occurred between 2003 and 2007. All physician-adjudicated stroke cases through July 1, 2011 were included in the analysis. Using stored samples, FGF23 was measured on 610 stroke cases and 939 cohort members, all of whom were stroke-free at baseline. The cohort random sample was selected to ensure approximately equal numbers of black and white participants and an equal distribution across ages. We used Cox proportional hazards models weighted back to the original 30,239 participants sampled by the REGARDS study to account for oversampling of stroke cases. Results: Participants were followed for a mean of 4.4 years. Higher FGF23 was associated with older age, female sex, lower socioeconomic status, diabetes, and CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/min or urinary albumin to creatinine ratio ≥ 30 mg/g). After adjustment for age, race, sex, education, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, atrial fibrillation, heart disease, physical activity, calcium, phosphorus, and serum vitamin D, higher FGF23 levels were associated with greater risk of incident stroke (HR per doubling of FGF23=1.19; 95%CI=1.03, 1.37). After further adjustment for CKD, this association was attenuated and no longer statistically significant (HR per doubling of FGF23=1.06, 95%CI 0.90, 1.25). Discussion: Higher FGF23 is associated with greater risk of stroke, but this association is largely explained by CKD.
Building Faster Connectionist Systems With Bumptrees

This paper describes “bumptrees”, a new approach to improving the computational efficiency of a wide variety of connectionist algorithms. We describe the use of these structures for representing, learning, and evaluating smooth mappings, smooth constraints, classification regions, and probability densities. We present an empirical comparison of a bumptree approach to more traditional connectionist approaches for learning the mapping between the kinematic and visual representations of the state of a 3 joint robot arm. Simple networks based on backpropagation with sigmoidal units are unable to perform the task at all. Radial basis function networks perform the task but by using bumptrees, the learning rate is hundreds of times faster at reasonable error levels and the retrieval time is over fifty times faster with 10,000 samples. Bumptrees are a natural generalization of oct-trees, k-d trees, balltrees and boxtrees and are useful in a variety of circumstances. We describe both the underlying ideas and extensions to constraint and classification learning that are under current investigation.
A blind wavelet based digital signature for image authentication

A content based digital image signature scheme for image authentication is proposed. The signature is implemented by image watermarking in the wavelet domain. We introduce interdependency between the watermark and the image data sequence, so that the detection and verification of the signature are independent of the original image and the knowledge of the original watermark sequence or location are not needed. The signature is embedded and tested within the Entropy Zerotree Wavelet Coding (EZW) model. The information capacity of the algorithm is determined.
La verifica dell'ipotesi di non stazionarietà nelle serie temporali

Classical asymptotic theory cannot be applied to the estimation of nonstazionary autoregressive processes. Unit-root tests have been developed by Fuller (1976), and Dickey and Fuller (1979,1981). Later contributions by Evans and Savin (1981,1984), Sargan and Bargawa (19839, and Phillips (1987a,1987b,1988) have developed a new asymptotic theory for integreted stochastic processes. However, the application to economic time series appears to be unable to discriminate between stochastic and deterministic trends, as both can be nested in a model whose empirical characteristics can hardly be distinguished on a pure statistical ground, due to the low power of the tests and to the small samples that are available.
Counting the Children: The Role of Children in the Production of Finger Flutings in Four Upper Palaeolithic Caves

Summary Children and young adults are believed to have represented up to 40 per cent of Upper Palaeolithic populations, yet little is known of their engagement in deep caves besides evidence of their hand and footprints. In this study we examine finger flutings, lines drawn with fingers in soft surfaces, in 12 Franco-Cantabrian Upper Palaeolithic caves to look for forensic evidence of unique individuals. We find evidence of children as finger fluters in four caves (El Castillo, Las Chimeneas, Rouffignac and Gargas). We discuss the types, locations and frequency of their flutings, as well as the relationship between their flutings and those made by non-children in the same caves and chambers. The small number of participants calls into question past theories of children's engagement in ritual and initiation in these particular caves.
Patients as Their Own Controls: Use of the Computer to Identify "Laboratory Error"

I describe a system of quality control based on computer detection of changes in individual patient test results. This system, called "delta check," was used to follow all the tests performed by the clinical chemistry laboratory in a 1200-bed hospital. Analysis of 22 months' experience indicates that specimen misidentification is a serious problem in the clinical chemistry laboratory. Over a nine-month period, errors were most frequent in the results for total thyroxine, total calcium, and total protein. Instances of laboratory error detectable by the delta check system are not detected by other currently used methods of quality control. This system therefore appears to be a valuable asset to the clinical laboratory.
The binding of N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene to DNA and repair of the adducts in primary rat hepatocyte cultures.

Primary cultures of rat hepatocytes were exposed to [ring-3H]-N-hydroxy-2-acetylaminofluorene (N-OH-AAF) for 4 h, and the RNA and DNA nucleoside adducts were isolated and identified by h.p.l.c. The DNA adducts were shown to be N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-acetylaminofluorene (dG-C8-AAF), N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene (dG-C8-AF), and 3-(deoxyguanosin-N2-yl)-2-acetylaminofluorene (dG-N2-AAF), while the RNA adducts were N-(guanosin-8-yl)-2-acetyl-aminofluorene, and N-(guanosin-8-yl)-2-aminofluorene. The removal of these adducts was measured up to 38 h following the cessation of exposure of the hepatocytes to N-OH-AAF. The dG-C8-AAF adduct was removed with a half-life of approximately 10 h, while dG-N2-AAF and dG-C8-AF remained constant for 14 h, followed by a slow rate of removal. The dG-C8-AAF adduct initially composed about 60% of the total DNA adducts of primary hepatocytes in contrast to the 20% found in liver in vivo. The formation of the 3 DNA adducts and the different rates of repair indicate that primary cultured rat hepatocytes may be a valuable system to study initiation of liver carcinogenesis by N-OH-AAF.
Nanostructures for medical diagnostics

Nanotechnology is the art of manipulating materials on atomic or molecular scales especially to build nanoscale structures and devices. The field is expanding quickly, and a lot of work is ongoing in the design, characterization, synthesis, and application of materials, structures, devices, and systems by controlling shape and size at nanometer scale. In the last few years, much work has been focused on the use of nanostructures toward problems of biology and medicine. In this paper, we focus on the application of various nanostructures and nanodevices in clinical diagnostics and detection of important biological molecules. The discussion starts by introducing some basic techniques ofmicro-/nanoscale fabrication that have enabled reproducible production of nanostructures. The prospects, benefits, and limitations of using these novel techniques in the fields of biodetection and medical diagnostics are then discussed. Finally, the challenges of mass production and acceptance of nanotechnology by the medical community are considered.