cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chronic Health Conditions, Physical Activity and Dietary Behaviors of Bhutanese Refugees: A Houston-Based Needs Assessment

Bhutanese refugees resettling in the U.S. face many challenges including several related to health and health care. Limited health literacy and the relatively complicated US health care system may contribute to health disparities as well. A health assessment was conducted on adult refugees in Houston, Texas to provide healthcare providers, community organizations, and stakeholders baseline data to plan programs and interventions. A convenience sample of 100 participants had a mean age of 38.37 years, 56 % where males, and almost 80 % did not have high school level education. High blood pressure (27 %), dizziness (27 %), and arthritis (22 %) were the commonly identified chronic health conditions and trouble concentrating (34 %) and fatigue (37 %) were also reported. Sixty-two percent of the respondents reported that they consume recommended servings of fruits and vegetables and 41 %reported that they were currently getting at least 20–30 min of aerobic exercise per day. The assessment concluded with recommendations on how better provide care and services for the refugees.
WORLDWIDE GROWTH CONVERGENCE IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION †

Economic growth is an important ingredient for reducing poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals proposed by United Nations in 2000. Meeting these goals by the proposed 2015 target data depends on the ability of poor nations to grow their economies and improve their standards of living. Neoclassical and new growth theory suggests that there should be a negative relationship between a nation’s initial income and subsequent growth giving rise to either absolute convergence (income levels of all nations converge over time) or conditional convergence (each nation converges to its unique steady-state income level). Using the most recent (2000-2013) World Bank data and cross-country regression techniques, I evaluated whether convergence has been occurring in the world in the last decade. My results showed a robust negative relationship between starting income level and subsequent growth. Savings and education were also associated with growth whereas trade was not. Overall, these results support the notion of convergence which is an encouraging finding as the world approaches the 2015 post-development agenda.
CURRENT 3-D STRUCTURAL DYNAMIC FINITE ELEMENT MODELING CAPABILITIES

A joint research effort between the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Command (SSCOM), Natick Research, Development and Engineering Center and the University of Connecticut has further enhanced a 3-D Structural Dynamic Finite Element Code (SD) to predict the behavior of parachute systems. The code is being modified and coupled to Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes by SSCOM, UConn and Army High Performance Computing Research Center (AHPCRC) researchers. This paper will discuss the current state of development of the code and present examples. 3-D dynamic simulations to be presented include, 1) the inflation and spin control of a cross canopy, 2) the prediction of a ram-air parafoil's shape and steady state flight, and 3) the opening of a round canopy initially near a line stretch configuration. The approximations and assumptions used in the model and detailed results of the predicted time-dependent motions, orientations and stresses will be presented. Other modeling capabilities of the SD code will also be discussed which include its preparation for numerical coupling to CFD software.
Cathodic preconcentration of f-elements on a mercury film carbon fiber disk microelectrode.

Field detection and quantification of f-elements is an important problem in radioanalytical chemistry requiring small, portable devices. Here, characterization of a 10 μm Hg film carbon fiber disk ...
On the observation of discrete fluorine NMR spectra for uridine 5'-β,γ-fluoromethylenetriphosphate diastereomers at basic pH.

Jakeman et al. recently reported the inability to distinguish the diastereomers of uridine 5′-β,γ-fluoromethylenetriphosphate (β,γ-CHF-UTP, 1) by 19F NMR under conditions we previously prescribed for the resolution of the corresponding β,γ-CHF-dGTP spectra, stating further that 1 decomposed under these basic conditions. Here we show that the 19F NMR spectra of 1 (∼1:1 diastereomer mixture prepared by coupling of UMP-morpholidate with fluoromethylenebis(phosphonic acid)) in D2O at pH 10 are indeed readily distinguishable. 1 in this solution was stable for 24 h at rt.
Making Flowers at the Right Time

Different plant species flower in different seasons, but there is also annual variability depending on environmental conditions. In this issue of Developmental Cell, Hyun et al. (2016) show that Arabidopsis plants can flower without proper seasonal cues if they have developed past the juvenile phase and have high levels of gibberellin.
Laparoscopy in AIDS.

Surgical problems in the patient with HIV and AIDS are becoming more commonplace as the incidence of HIV seropositivity increases and patients with AIDS are living longer. Laparoscopic surgery is being applied more frequently in the diagnosis and therapy of these patients' problems as more surgeons become familiar with the techniques. Although no prospectively randomized trials exist, the benefits of the laparoscopic approach clearly have had an impact on the morbidity associated with surgery. The decreased perioperative immune depression may benefit these patients, and risks to the operative teams probably are lessened if basic tenets of laparoscopic surgery are observed.
Regulation of intracellular calcium oscillations in porcine tracheal smooth muscle cells

Using real-time confocal microscopy, we examined the dynamic intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) response of porcine tracheal smooth muscle (TSM) cells to acetylcholine (ACh). Exposure to ACh caused regenerative, propagating [Ca2+]i oscillations. The amplitude and fall time of the [Ca2+]i oscillations were inversely correlated to basal [Ca2+]i, whereas the frequency and rise time were directly correlated to basal [Ca2+]i. ACh-induced [Ca2+]i oscillations were initiated in the absence of extracellular Ca2+ and after membrane depolarization with KCl, suggesting that 1) [Ca2+]i oscillations primarily arise by release from internal stores such as the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), and 2) Ca2+ influx is necessary for maintenance of oscillations. Exposure to both caffeine and ryanodine inhibited ongoing ACh-induced [Ca2+]i oscillations, suggesting a role for caffeine-sensitive ryanodine receptor (RyR) SR Ca2+ channels. Inhibition of SR Ca2+ reuptake by thapsigargin increased basal [Ca2+]i and decreased [Ca2+]i oscillation amplitude, suggesting that Ca2+ reuptake is also essential. The present results suggest that [Ca2+]i oscillations in porcine TSM cells involve repetitive Ca2+ release and reuptake from RyR channels, perhaps through a Ca2+ -induced Ca2+ release mechanism.
Sport communication research: A social network analysis

Abstract Sport communication research has experienced exponential growth since the 1980s. As one of the four primary sport management functions, sport communication has formed a synergistic relationship with sport management. Researchers have documented this relationship and the continued role of communication within sport. The current study explored the evolution of sport communication research through social network analysis (SNA). This methodological approach offers a visual display of research collaborations and helps identify areas for growth—among researchers, academic institutions, and topics—in an effort to expand research productivity and diffusion. From January 1980 to June 2015, 1255 sport communication researchers shared 2537 collaborations and authored 1283 publications. Their studies most frequently examined topics such as gender, mass media, and sport consumption. The number of researchers, publications, collaborations, and researchers per publication increased over time. A select group of researchers hailed from a smaller number of universities and emerged as key contributors to the field. The findings underscore the importance of prominent researchers, academic institutions, and collaborations in the production of sport communication research. The study also outlines the benefits of using SNA to investigate a field's development and growth opportunities.
Bioequivalence of methylphenidate immediate-release tablets using a replicated study design to characterize intrasubject variability.

Purpose. To determine the relative bioavailability of two marketed,immediate-release methylphenidate tablets. The study used a replicatedstudy design to characterize intrasubject variability, and determinebioequivalence using both average and individual bioequivalencecriteria.
The Floating Body and the Disappearing Border

The 1980s witnessed the greatest exodus of Chinese poets to the West in the history of modern Chinese literature. Many major poets in the contemporary Chinese literary scene, such as Bei Dao, Gu Cheng, Duo Duo and Yang Lian who created new tidal waves and redefined poetry in China, have resettled in the Western landscape. In their company are quite a few lesser-known poets. Nobody knows the actual figure of Chinese poets who are now living overseas. By one unofficial account, they number more than fifty (Zhao, 1996: 25). That is a significant number in any national literature context and particularly so for China, which has also lost a considerable number of novelists, playwrights, filmmakers and other creative talents.
Direct and Systemic Administration of a CNS-Permeant Tamoxifen Analog Reduces Amphetamine-Induced Dopamine Release and Reinforcing Effects.

Amphetamines (AMPHs) are globally abused. With no effective treatment for AMPH addiction to date, there is urgent need for the identification of druggable targets that mediate the reinforcing action of this stimulant class. AMPH-stimulated dopamine efflux is modulated by protein kinase C (PKC) activation. Inhibition of PKC reduces AMPH-stimulated dopamine efflux and locomotor activity. The only known CNS-permeant PKC inhibitor is the selective estrogen receptor modulator tamoxifen. In this study, we demonstrate that a tamoxifen analog, 6c, which more potently inhibits PKC than tamoxifen but lacks affinity for the estrogen receptor, reduces AMPH-stimulated increases in extracellular dopamine and reinforcement-related behavior. In rat striatal synaptosomes, 6c was almost fivefold more potent at inhibiting AMPH-stimulated dopamine efflux than [3H]dopamine uptake through the dopamine transporter (DAT). The compound did not compete with [3H]WIN 35,428 binding or affect surface DAT levels. Using microdialysis, direct accumbal administration of 1 μM 6c reduced dopamine overflow in freely moving rats. Using LC-MS, we demonstrate that 6c is CNS-permeant. Systemic treatment of rats with 6 mg/kg 6c either simultaneously or 18 h prior to systemic AMPH administration reduced both AMPH-stimulated dopamine overflow and AMPH-induced locomotor effects. Finally, 18 h pretreatment of rats with 6 mg/kg 6c s.c. reduces AMPH-self administration but not food self-administration. These results demonstrate the utility of tamoxifen analogs in reducing AMPH effects on dopamine and reinforcement-related behaviors and suggest a new avenue of development for therapeutics to reduce AMPH abuse.
Strategic Tax Competition with a Mobile Population

espanolEste articulo analiza un modelo estrategico de competicion de impuestos donde el capital y los (identicos) consumidores pueden migrar entre jurisdicciones. Los resultados obtenidos son comparados con los resultados del modelo tradicional de competencia tributaria, donde la poblacion es inmovil. Ademas de los efectos fiscales y pecuniarios que aparecen en el modelo tradicional, el modelo con poblacion movil presenta un nuevo efecto que distorsiona la provision de bienes publicos. Como en el caso del efecto pecuniario, este nuevo efecto depende de si la jurisdiccion es exportadora neta o importadora neta de capital. De esta manera en el caso de jurisdicciones simetricas ambos efectos desaparecen resultando en subprovision de bienes publicos. En el caso donde las jurisdicciones son asimetricas, ambos modelos tienen los mismos resultados cualitativos, reforzando el modelo con poblacion movil los resultados de la externalidad pecuniaria. EnglishThis paper analyzes a model of strategic tax competition with mobile capital and mobile identical consumers. The results of the model are compared to the traditional strategic tax competition model with immobile population. In addition to the fiscal and pecuniary externalities present in the standard model, a new effect shows up in the mo-bility model to affect provision of the public good. As with the pecuniary externality, this new effect depends on whether the jurisdictions are net exporters or net importers of capital. Thus, in a symmetric set up, the mobility effect along with the pecuniary externality disappears, yielding unambiguous underprovision of the public good. While in the asymmetric case both models have the same qualitative results, the mobility model strengthens the effects of the pecuniary externality. The above results are obtained by comparing the form of the first-order conditions between the mobility and immobility cases. The remaining question is whether or not the equilibrium levels of the public goods conform to the predicted tendencies. This question is answered with an example. The results of this exercise show that when the jurisdiction is a net exporter of capital, the level of the public good is lower in the mobility case than in the immobility case. However, if the jurisdiction is a net importer of capital, the public good level is sometimes higher and sometimes lower in the mobility case, contrary to predictions.
Application of Evolutionary Computation to Bioinformatics

In solving a scientific problem, one of the most helpful possibilities is that you will see a pattern in your data. It is almost the definition of an interesting scientific problem that it contains some sort of pattern. The patterns that arise in nature are often subtle and escape notice until cleverness or hard work un-cover them. The field of machine learning is a collection of techniques intended to automate the process of pattern discovery. A broad survey of machine learning techniques applied to bioinformatics is given in Pierre Baldi and Soren Brunak (2001). This document introduces a single, relatively versatile machine learning technique called evolutionary computation. A collection of applications of evolutionary computation to bioinformatics is given in Fogel and Corne (2003). Both machine learning and evolutionary computation have applications far beyond bioinformatics but almost all of the techniques in the domain of machine learning and evolutionary computation have useful applications within bioinformatics. The introduction to evolutionary computation given here is in the form of three examples intended to showcase three substantially different applications of evolutionary computation. The first, while it solves a real problem, is an almost trivial instance of evolutionary computation. It seeks a gapless alignment of 315 sequences in a fashion that permits the discovery of a motif associated with
Effectiveness of Resistance Circuit-Based Training for Maximum Oxygen Uptake and Upper-Body One-Repetition Maximum Improvements: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

It is well known that concurrent increases in both maximal strength and aerobic capacity are associated with improvements in sports performance as well as overall health. One of the most popular training methods used for achieving these objectives is resistance circuit-based training. The objective of the present systematic review with a meta-analysis was to evaluate published studies that have investigated the effects of resistance circuit-based training on maximum oxygen uptake and one-repetition maximum of the upper-body strength (bench press exercise) in healthy adults. The following electronic databases were searched from January to June 2016: PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane. Studies were included if they met the following criteria: (1) examined healthy adults aged between 18 and 65 years; (2) met the characteristics of resistance circuit-based training; and (3) analysed the outcome variables of maximum oxygen uptake using a gas analyser and/or one-repetition maximum bench press. Of the 100 articles found from the database search and after all duplicates were removed, eight articles were analysed for maximum oxygen uptake. Of 118 healthy adults who performed resistance circuit-based training, maximum oxygen uptake was evaluated before and after the training programme. Additionally, from the 308 articles found for one-repetition maximum, eight articles were analysed. The bench press one-repetition maximum load, of 237 healthy adults who performed resistance circuit-based training, was evaluated before and after the training programme. Significant increases in maximum oxygen uptake and one-repetition maximum bench press were observed following resistance circuit-based training. Additionally, significant differences in maximum oxygen uptake and one-repetition maximum bench press were found between the resistance circuit-based training and control groups. The meta-analysis showed that resistance circuit-based training, independent of the protocol used in the studies, is effective in increasing maximum oxygen uptake and one-repetition maximum bench press in healthy adults. However, its effect appears to be larger depending on the population and training characteristics. For large effects in maximum oxygen uptake, the programme should include ~14–30 sessions for ~6–12 weeks, with each session lasting at least ~20–30 min, at intensities between ~60 and 90% one-repetition maximum. For large effects in one-repetition maximum bench press, the data indicate that intensity should be ~30–60% one-repetition maximum, with sessions lasting at least ~22.5–60 min. However, the lower participant’s baseline fitness level may explain the lighter optimal loads used in the circuit training studies where greater strength gains were reported.
Catheter Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardia in Structurally Normal Hearts: Indications, Strategies, and Outcomes-Part I

Catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia (VT) is being increasingly performed; yet, there is often confusion regarding indications, outcomes, and how to identify those patient populations most likely to benefit. The management strategy differs between those with structural heart disease and those without. For the former, an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is typically required due to an elevated risk for sudden cardiac death, and catheter ablation can be used as adjunctive therapy to treat or prevent repetitive ICD therapies. In contrast, VT or premature ventricular contractions in the setting of a structurally normal heart carries a low risk for sudden cardiac death; accordingly, there is typically no indication for an ICD. In these patients, catheter ablation is considered for symptom management or to treat tachycardiomyopathy and is potentially curative. Here, the authors discuss the pathophysiology, mechanism, and management of VT that occurs in the setting of a structurally normal heart and the role of catheter ablation.
Gender differences in substance use treatment and substance use among adults on probation.

Background: Although many formal and informal substance use treatment programs were originally designed for men, no studies have investigated how gender affects the use of substance use treatment m...
Evidence to Improve Physical Activity among Medically Underserved Older adults: A Scoping Review.

Background and objectives Participation in leisure physical activity (PA) and engagement in PA interventions among older adults is influenced by socioeconomic status (SES), race/ethnicity, and environment. However, studies of PA for medically underserved older adults have not yet been systematically evaluated. The objective of this study is to map the nature and extent of research conducted on PA participation, interventions, and components of effective leisure PA programs for medically underserved older adults. Research design and methods The five-stage approach was used to conduct this scoping review. We searched PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library for peer-reviewed studies published between 2006 and 2016. Data extracted from selected studies included study population, study type, purpose of intent, evidence level, barriers to PA participation, and components of PA intervention. Results Three hundred and ninety-two articles were identified, and 60 studies were included in the final data charting. Existing literature showed that most studies remained descriptive in nature, and few intervention studies have achieved a high level of evidence. Among 21 intervention studies, only 4 were explicitly conducted for older adults. Culturally adapted materials, race/ethnicity-specific barriers and facilitators, and form of intervention were important components for intervention programs. Discussion and implications Findings indicate that more studies are needed to reduce health disparities related to PA participation for medically underserved older adults. Intervention components such as race/ethnicity-relevant barriers and facilitators and culturally sensitive materials are also needed for PA interventions targeting underserved older adults in order to provide evidence for best practices.
Mobile high-performance computing (HPC) for synthetic aperture radar signal processing

The importance of mobile high-performance computing has emerged in numerous battlespace applications at the tactical edge in hostile environments. Energy efficient computing power is a key enabler for diverse areas ranging from real-time big data analytics and atmospheric science to network science. However, the design of tactical mobile data centers is dominated by power, thermal, and physical constraints. Presently, it is very unlikely to achieve required computing processing power by aggregating emerging heterogeneous many-core processing platforms consisting of CPU, Field Programmable Gate Arrays and Graphic Processor cores constrained by power and performance. To address these challenges, we performed a Synthetic Aperture Radar case study for Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) using Deep Neural Networks (DNNs). However, these DNN models are typically trained using GPUs with gigabytes of external memories and massively used 32-bit floating point operations. As a result, DNNs do not run efficiently on hardware appropriate for low power or mobile applications. To address this limitation, we proposed for compressing DNN models for ATR suited to deployment on resource constrained hardware. This proposed compression framework utilizes promising DNN compression techniques including pruning and weight quantization while also focusing on processor features common to modern low-power devices. Following this methodology as a guideline produced a DNN for ATR tuned to maximize classification throughput, minimize power consumption, and minimize memory footprint on a low-power device.
Aneurysms of the intracavernous ICA: Current treatment

Intracavernous aneurysms make up approximately 5% of all intracranial aneurysms. Their location makes them notoriously difficult to treat. Management of such lesions has evolved over the past decade through a better understanding of their natural history and advances in endovascular techniques. At the present time the senior author relies on bypasses and endovascular therapy rather than direct surgery for aneurysms confined to the cavernous sinus. We still favor intracavernous operations for paraclinoid aneurysms and small intracavernous aneurysms with extracavernous components.
Automatic lip-synchronization using linear prediction of speech

This paper presents a method of automatic lip-synchronization driven purely by an analysis of the underlying speech. Through the use of linear prediction, small segments of speech can be classified into phonemes and then mapped to a corresponding viseme. This sequence of viseme matches is then weighted based on previous matches in the stream in order to alleviate some of the problem caused by the co-articulation effect. The result is a very recognizable, fully automatic, relatively speaker system of lip-synchronization.
OPERATIONALIZING AND MEASURING CAPABILITIES: AN APPLICATION TO HIGH-TECHNOLOGY MARKETS

OPERATIONALIZING AND MEASURING CAPABILITIES: AN APPLICATION TO HIGH-TECHNOLOGY MARKETS ABSTRACT This paper attempts to operationalize and measure firm-specific capabilities using an extant conceptualization in the resource-based view (RBV) literature. Capabilities are conceived as the efficiency with a firm employs a given set of resources (inputs) at its disposal to achieve certain objectives (outputs). This view is operationalized using an input-output approach. We then proceed to suggest an estimation methodology, namely the Stochastic Frontier Estimation (SFE) technique that allows us to infer firm capabilities from archival data. This operationalization and estimation technique is illustrated with an empirical application in the semiconductor industry. Our findings underscore the heterogeneity in capabilities across firms in this industry, as well as the significant complementarity effects that exist between a firm's R&D and marketing resources.
Stimulus-Goal Associations

One objection to S-R theory (and the S-R model developed here) is that under many conditioning circumstances, what is acquired is clearly not a response, but a goal. To take perhaps the simplest example, finger withdrawal was classically conditioned to a tone, using shock from a flat electrode as the US (Wickens, 1938). After training in a palm-down position, the response was tested in a palm-up position. The result was that the conditioned response was appropriately directed up, and away from the electrode rather than downward as would be predicted by a strict S-R model. In another classic experiment, rats were capable of running a maze which they had been trained to swim through (Mac Farlane, 1930; Hintzman, 1978 p. 146), again demonstrating that they had not learned a particular motor pattern, but the more general goal of traversing the maze to reach the goal box. The evidence for “place learning” as opposed to “response learning” which was discussed in the previous chapter is also evidence for some form of goal setting.
The Structure and Splitting of Puffs in Transitional Pipe Flow

The structure of the turbulent puff in a laminar pipe flow is investigated experimentally. It is found that the rear interface of the puff appears to generate toroidal vortices by means of an inflectional instability. These vortices propagate through the puff and break up near the leading interface. The number of such vortices in the puff at any one time is typically two or three at the equilibrium Reynolds number of 2200. At Re = 2300, the puff elongates and supports three to four vortices at any one time. At this Reynolds number, the puff also undergoes a splitting process in which a vortex establishes itself independently from the rear interface, becoming a new puff which accelerates away from the parent. It is also found that the the puff is uniformly coherent around the pipe with a correlation coefficient close to 0.55.
Adaptation as Social Process

This chapter discusses adaptation as a social process. A particular adaptive strategy followed by individuals can be adaptive for them but either adaptive or maladaptive for the social and/or physical environment. The possibilities are multiple, and it is this multi-dimensionality or multipotentiality of human actions that creates the central problem of a policy-oriented cultural ecology. A cultural-ecological study can be examined from the standpoint of its comprehensiveness at least a theoretical awareness of the potential range of adaptive and maladaptive consequences of human actions and a clarification of just where in this range the particular study may focus. The problem is to move from the ecological contemplation of the small, relatively isolated community to the expanded community and its ties to the outside world. The anthropologist cannot share in an enlarged cultural ecological science since his preoccupation with the isolated community bars him from study of the more complex systems. Adaptive dynamics refers to behavior designed to attain goals and satisfy needs and wants and to the consequences of this behavior for the individual, the society, and the environment, which has two major analytic modes of this behavior.
Could there be scattered subjects of consciousness

There is a debate between David Barnett and Rory Madden concerning the features that “our naive conception of conscious subjects” has. While Barnett claims that our conception demands that conscious subjects be simple (that is, not composed of parts), Madden holds that our conception demands that conscious beings be topologically integrated (meaning, roughly, that you can travel from any proper part of the conscious subject to any other without breaking the subject’s boundaries). In this paper, I aim to bring some empirical results concerning the rubber-hand illusions and bilocation illusions to bear on this topic. While I do not reach a definitive resolution to the dispute between Barnett and Madden, I suggest that, provisionally, the empirical results favor Barnett’s proposal.
Evidence for Reduced Autobiographical Memory Episodic Specificity in Cognitively Normal Middle-Aged and Older Individuals at Increased Risk for Alzheimer's Disease Dementia

Objectives Alzheimer's disease (AD) typically eludes clinical detection for years, if not decades. The identification of subtle cognitive decline associated with preclinical AD would not only advance understanding of the disease, but also provide clinical targets to assess preventative and early intervention treatments. Disrupted retrieval of detailed episodic autobiographical memories may be a sensitive indicator of subtle cognitive decline, because this type of memory taxes a core neural network affected by preclinical AD neuropathology. Methods To begin to address this idea, we assessed the episodic specificity of autobiographical memories retrieved by cognitively normal middle-aged and older individuals who are carriers of the apolipoprotein E e4 allele - a population at increased risk for subtle cognitive decline related to neuropathological risk factors for AD. We compared the e4 carriers to non-carriers of e4 similar in age, education, and gender. Results The e4 carriers did not perform worse than the non-carriers on a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests. In contrast, as a group, the e4 carriers generated autobiographical memories that were reduced in "internal" or episodic details relative to non-carriers. Conclusions These findings support the notion that reduced autobiographical episodic detail generation may be a marker of subtle cognitive decline associated with AD. (JINS, 2018, 24, 1073-1183).
Influence of cooling rate on the ferrite content and microstructures in CD3MWCuN castings

Highly alloyed CD3MWCuN was chosen to investigate the influence of cooling rates on the ferrite content of duplex stainless steels. It is known that cooling rate can influence the overall ferrite/austenite ratio, and achieving the proper balance of phases is crucial in producing a casting with suitable mechanical and corrosion properties. Initial experiments were carried out to study the ferrite/austenite ratio as a function of cooling involved samples obtained using different cooling rates through the solidification temperature as well as different cooling rates from the homogenization temperature. A single keel bar was obtained, sectioned, and recast at six different solidification cooling rates. Each of the six castings was then sectioned into six pieces and each piece cooled from the homogenization temperature to produce six different homogenization cooling rates. Backscattered electron imaging was used to measure the phase percentages and observe the microstructures. The ferrite content was found to increase with increasing homogenization cooling rates. It was also found that the homogenization cooling rate should be higher than 200 °C/h in order to get high ferrite contents (> 40%). As the cooling rate slows, intermetallic phases such as sigma start to precipitate at the grain boundaries.
Lipopolysaccharide Potentiates PD-1 Targeted Therapies During Chronic Viral Infection

Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) targeted therapies improve exhausted T cell responses during chronic infections and cancers. However, the efficacy of PD-1 blockade as a treatment to revert CD8 T cell exhaustion declines as the chronic infection progresses. Moreover, the majority of tumors do not respond to PD-1 blockade, highlighting an important clinical limitation. Recent reports have demonstrated an association between particular microbiota and the clinical efficacy of PD-1 targeted therapies, suggesting that certain bacterial components may influence the outcome of these therapies. In this study, we interrogated synergistic effects of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a main component of Gram-negative bacteria and a strong inducer of TLR4 signaling. Using the model of chronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection in mice, we show that transient TLR4 stimulation with a low dose of LPS results in unprecedented potentiation of PD-1 targeted therapies via a dendritic cell intrinsic mechanism dependent on B7/CD28 costimulation. This profound synergy between PD-1 blockade and LPS was also observed in a model of advanced immune exhaustion that does not normally respond to PD-1 blockade. Taken together, our data demonstrate a potent synergy between LPS and PD-1 blockade at rejuvenating exhausted CD8 T cells during chronic infection, warranting the pre-clinical evaluation of TLR4 agonists to improve PD-1 targeted therapies.
Noisy Signals: The Impact of Economic Well-Being on Policy Attitudes Toward Trade and FDI

To what extent do subjective evaluations of personal and national economic well-being shape individuals’ policy attitudes toward international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI)? In this paper, I develop a theory to explain how informational and attributional shortcomings may limit individuals’ ability to form policy attitudes on the basis of distributional concerns, thereby forcing them to rely upon broader evaluations of economic well-being as noisy signals of the economic impact of a given policy. I test the relationship between well-being and policy attitudes in the context of the regional economic integration of Latin America. Using descriptive analysis of Latinobarometer survey data from 1995-2009 and multi-level regression analysis of data from 2006-2007, I find that well-being has a relatively small, but positive impact on public support for integration in the form of more liberal trade and FDI policies, and a somewhat larger positive impact on the extent to which individuals perceive integration as enhancing quality of life and economic development. These findings suggest that while well-being may influence policy attitudes, even sharp shifts in well-being are unlikely to have a major impact – either positive or negative – on support for more liberal trade and FDI policies and economic integration more broadly.
Common Animal Models in the Study of Pain

Animal models of pain are indispensable for the discovery of new pathophysiological mechanisms and therapeutic options. Advances have been made in identifying rodent model equivalents of various clinical pain conditions and this review endeavors to describe and discuss the most common ones used in today’s research.
Free Vitamin D: Relationship to Insulin Sensitivity and Vascular Health in Youth.

Objective To evaluate the relationship of free 25 hydroxy vitamin D [free 25(OH)D] or bioavailable vitamin D (BioD) concentrations to insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular disease risk markers in normal weight and overweight youth. Study design Cross-sectional study of 79 adolescents 15.4 ± 0.2 years, 18 normal weight, 30 overweight, and 31 overweight with prediabetes who underwent peripheral arterial tonometry, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, and hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp in subset (n = 71) for determination of reactive hyperemia index (RHI), body composition, and insulin sensitivity. 25(OH)D and vitamin D binding protein were measured; free 25(OH)D and BioD were calculated. Results Across tertiles of free 25(OH)D concentrations (4.0 ± 0.2, 7.5 ± 0.3, and 17.0 ± 2.1 pg/mL, P Conclusions Youth with low free 25(OH)D or BioD concentrations have lower insulin sensitivity and worse endothelial function and inflammatory biomarkers compared with those with more sufficient 25(OH)D. However, the effects of vitamin D on these biomarkers may not be independent of the effect of adiposity.
Positive HLA-B27 and sacroiliitis is not always spondyloarthritis

A 36-year-old man was treated for several years with multiple agents for ankylosing spondylitis based on positive human leukocyte antigen-B27 and sacroiliitis. He was also diagnosed with osteoporosis and hypophosphatemia. Over these years, from being an avid runner, he became dependent on a walker for ambulation. The lack of treatment response and the low phosphorus were clues that eventually led to a diagnosis of tumor-induced osteomalacia. This case discusses the importance of not solely relying on genetic markers and sacroiliitis for diagnosing ankylosing spondylitis as other conditions can cause similar presentations.
Clinical features may help to identify children and adolescents with greatest risk for thyroid nodules

Thyroid nodules (TN) are detected in a small number of asymptomatic children and adolescents but are more frequently malignant (22–26%) than in adults leading some clinicians to perform thyroid ultrasound (US) for all children with goiter or autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT). Our study was designed to determine if suspicious clinical features predict the presence of TN in children with goiter or AIT so that US could be performed on those at highest risk. This was a retrospective review of 223 children and adolescents with goiter or AIT evaluated at a single institution. US was not performed on all patients. It is our practice to define glands that are large, firm, or nodular to palpation as “suspicious”. Suspicious glands were interrogated by US and if TN was confirmed, this was further evaluated by fine-needle aspiration followed by surgery if indicated. The median age was 12.9 years with 74.4% female. TN were confirmed by US in 16.6% of all patients but only 4.8% of those with AIT. By univariate analysis, TN were more common in those with family history of TN or differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC), thyroid asymmetry, and lower thyrotropin (TSH) levels. Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) was identified in 10.8% of TN and 1.8% of all patients. Firmness was significantly more common in patients with DTC (p = 0.0013). TN were less common in those with AIT than reported in previous studies, suggesting that clinical features might fail to identify the majority of TN in patients with AIT. However, patients with asymmetric thyroid and a family history of TN or DTC have greatest risk for TN.
Deformable alignment of longitudinal postoperative brain GBM scans using deep learning

Longitudinal brain alignment is critical for disease monitoring and adaptive treatment planning in glioblastoma (GBM) patients. However, the current methods are either non-adaptive to pathological brains, or time and laborintensive. Here, we aim to develop a novel deep-learning-based framework for longitudinal postoperative brain GBM scan registration. The proposed pathology adaptive registration framework (PARF) adopts a double UNET architecture: a 2D 7-level UNET, NETseg, for pathology segmentation, and a 3D 5-level UNET, NETreg, for unsupervised image registration, connected through a spatial transformer and a volume combiner. NETseg was first trained separately and then combined with NETreg for pathology adaptive registration training. In aggregated registration testing of PARF, 36 registrations from 18 intra-subject pairs of post-operative follow-up MR scans were selected, and the results were compared to those from current state-of-the-art methods as well as non-adaptive NETreg alone. PARF is significantly faster and more accurate than comparison methods, in terms of sum-of-squared differences, segmentation alignment dice coefficients, and landmark mislignment errors. PARF may pave the path for various clinical and research applications that depend on the accurate registration of GBM longitudinal images.
Academic Law Libraries’ New Frontier–The Post Truth Cognitive Bias Challenge and Calls for Behavioral and Structural Reforms

This article recognizes the escalated concerns surrounding the post-truth phenomenon as it has robustly played out. Post-truth has been an emerging impetus and catalyst for another level of cognitive bias distorting information behavior, and the reasoning process, of the general public. The article highlights the functional vulnerability of academic law libraries to the post-truth challenge and explores their new frontier in the data-driven era. The article suggests that academic law libraries endeavor to implement behavioral and structural reforms. Thus, it maintains that academic law libraries should play the reoriented and reshaped role of information activists and they should consider technological renovation, inter alia blockchain application, for enhanced Integrated Library System design.
Provably Safe Controller Synthesis Using Safety Proofs as Building Blocks

We describe an approach to developing a verified controller using hybrid system safety predicates. It selects from a dictionary of sequences of control actions, interleaving them and under model assumptions guaranteeing their continuing safety in unbounded time. The controller can adapt to changing priorities and objectives during operation. It can confer safety guarantees on a primary controller, identifying, intervening, and remediating actions that might lead to unsafe conditions in the future. Remediation is delayed until the latest time at which a safety-preserving intervention is available. When the assumptions of the safety proofs are violated, the controller provides altered but quantifiable safety guarantees. We apply this approach to synthesize a controller for aircraft collision avoidance, and report on the performance of this controller as a stand-alone collision avoidance system, and as a safety controller for the FAA’s next-generation aircraft collision avoidance system ACAS X.
Human neurogenesis: single-cell sequencing and in vitro modeling

Abstract The brain contains immense cellular diversity. Early neuroanatomists identified broad structural brain features and used a variety of stains to characterize, draw, and name a number of constituent cell types. However, our granular understanding of what defines cellular identity, and how this relates to human neurogenesis, has been transformed by the sequencing of the human genome and subsequent technological advances. The genome enabled a translation of single gene level studies to genome-wide, unbiased characterization of gene expression patterns. Rapidly developing gene sequencing technology has revolutionized our understanding of cellular diversity, first based on microarray technology, then RNA-sequencing of 3′ fragments, to more recent whole-transcriptome sequencing, and ultimately single-cell sequencing. Single-cell sequencing allows for a heterogeneous tissue, like the brain, to be broken down into its component cell types based on fundamentally relevant single cell level gene programs. The advent of single-cell sequencing has been transformative for many fields, but using single-cell sequencing in the study of the brain and specifically brain development has enabled a convergence of the understanding of gene expression with features such as area, layer, age, connectivity, morphology, and ultimately cellular function, to achieve a core foundational understanding of cell type identity. While a number of these approaches are now being applied to human development, they have already been widely applied to rodent models, especially the mouse. Due to limitations of accessibility of human brain tissue, in vitro model systems such as the cerebral organoid have been developed to further our understanding of cellular and molecular developmental programs and to functionally test hypotheses gathered from sequencing studies. Here, we focus on established and emerging single-cell technologies, how they have enabled discovery in human brain development, and how organoid models recapitulate cellular developmental trajectories.
CubeSat-Based Lunar Map Refinement Utilizing Surface Beacons and a Monocular Camera

SpaceX, Blue Origin, NASA, and others have recently proposed autonomous missions in preparation for new manned missions to the moon. Traditional approaches based solely on inertial navigation are not accurate enough to autonomously land a vehicle on hazardous lunar terrain, therefore Terrain Relative Navigation is being explored to supplement inertial navigation. Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN) is a capability that uses images of local terrain captured with a camera and/or imaging LIDAR to estimate the position and/or velocity of a spacecraft. Many TRN methods estimate the craft's absolute position by comparing sensor imagery to a crater/landmark database, global map, or another similar reference set. Because of the limited availability of high resolution lunar maps, the global accuracy of lunar TRN is currently limited to approximately 100 m. One compelling solution to improving global map resolution is to utilize an array of low cost CubeSats to image the lunar surface and refine existing maps. This paper explores the effectiveness of such a mission. In particular, the objective of this analysis is to determine the sensitivity of mapping uncertainty to sensor errors.
The Chicago River

This chapter focuses on urban developments around the Chicago River, the birthplace of the City of Chicago. It offers first a brief history of important projects and forces that made Chicago a global city. Next, it examines the spatial arrangements of tall buildings along this water path and analyzes significant edges and clusters that support placemaking. Based on the research preliminary findings, the chapter discusses in-depth four unique groups of tall buildings, including a “Sublime Edge,” “Elegant Edge,” Exotic Confluence,” and “Welcoming Gateway.” It also brings a detailed architectural account on tall buildings that form these clusters. Lastly, the chapter illustrates how neighboring high-rises evoke captivating spatial dialogs. Overall, iconic buildings and intriguing spatial patterns in conjunction with a unique natural setting and public places promote the Chicago River as a stunning example of placemaking.