cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A new clustering algorithm applicable to multispectral and polarimetric SAR images

The authors applied a scale-space clustering algorithm to the classification of a multispectral and polarimetric SAR image of an agricultural site. After the initial polarimetric and radiometric calibration and noise cancellation, a 12-dimensional feature vector for each pixel was extracted from the scattering matrix. The clustering algorithm partitioned a set of unlabeled feature vectors from 13 selected sites, each site corresponding to a distinct crop, into 13 clusters without any supervision. The cluster parameters were then used to classify the whole image. The classification map is much less noisy and more accurate than those obtained by hierarchical rules. Starting with every point as a cluster, the algorithm works by melting the system to produce a tree of clusters in the scale space. It can cluster data in any multidimensional space and its insensitive to variability in cluster densities, sizes and ellipsoidal shapes. This algorithm, more powerful than existing ones, may be useful for remote sensing for land use. >
A utility based resource allocation scheme with delay scheduler for LTE service-class support

LTE standard defines strict requirements for service classes in order to provide end users with exceptional QoS characteristics including fast connectivity and high data rates. However there is no standard scheduling algorithm defined for LTE and the task of protecting end user satisfaction while maintaining service class restrictions is left upon the service provider and currently is an open issue. To address this challenge, in this work we proposed a two-level scheduler with a utility based game theoretic application in the first level that distributes physical resource blocks among classes with different QoS requirements and a delay based air interface scheduling algorithm in the second level that satisfies the strict levels of delay budget requirements defined for LTE classes. A cooperative game is formed between different service class flows by use of a sigmoid utility function that allows for distribution of resources. Lagrangian formulation is used to find the associated Pareto Optimality. The delay based scheduler checks each user's packet delay in its respective service class and makes scheduling decisions in the downlink direction utilizing current channel conditions. Simulation results carried out with key performance matrices including throughput, packet loss ratio, system delay and fairness index proved the usefulness and efficacy of the proposed approach as compared to existing Proportional Fair, Exponential Rule and M-LWDF algorithms.
Non-invasively determined ambulatory venous pressure:

In view of the resemblance of exercise-induced plethysmographic changes with those obtained by direct venous pressure measurement, we decided to use a combination of photo- plethysmography (PPG) and hydrostatic pressure calibration to determine the PPG/pressure relationship. A standard foot dorsiflexion exercise involving stepwise position changing was performed which induced hydrostatic pressure changes that were recorded as the heart-probe distance. A logarithmic PPG/pressure relationship was identified and the resulting ambulatory venous pressure (AVP) was obtained from the PPG/pressure curve. Simultaneous direct AVP was recorded in 14 patients scheduled for venous surgery. 'Non-invasive AVP only' was determ- ined in 24 normal control subjects with a mean value of 19.24 mmHg (∠8.79 SD). In the patient group, the direct AVP values were 40.00 mmHg (∠10.83 SD) compared with the PPG values of 33.07 mmHg (∠12.94 SD). The resulting correlation was r = 0.8850. By utilizing stepwise leg elevation, a reliable PPG/pressure curve can be established which, in turn, permits AVP determi- nation. It is suggested that this non-invasive AVP determination may serve as a screening test to evaluate non-invasively venous hemodynamics.
Collaborative Care Intervention Targeting Violence Risk Behaviors, Substance Use, and Posttraumatic Stress and Depressive Symptoms in Injured Adolescents: A Randomized Clinical Trial

RESULTS The investigation attained more than 95% adolescent follow-up at each assessment point. At baseline, approximately one-third of the participants endorsed the violence risk behavior of carrying a weapon. Regression analyses demonstrated that intervention patients experienced significant reductions in weapon carrying compared with controls during the year after injury (group × time effect, F3,344 =3 .0;P = .03). At 12 months after the injury, 4 (7.3%) intervention patients vs 13 (21.3%) control patients reported currently carrying a weapon (relative risk, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.11-0.90). The intervention was equally effective in reducing the risk of weapon carrying among injured adolescents with and without traumatic brain injury. Other treatment targets, including alcohol and drug use problems and high levels of PTSD and depressive symptoms, occurred less frequently in the cohort relative to weapon carrying and were not significantly affected by the intervention. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Collaborative care intervention reduced the risk of adolescent weapon carrying during the year after the injury hospitalization. Future investigation should replicate this preliminary observation. If the finding is replicated, orchestrated investigative and policy efforts could systematically implement and evaluate screening and intervention procedures targeting youth violence prevention at US trauma centers.
Sleeping with technology: cognitive, affective, and technology usage predictors of sleep problems among college students

Abstract Objectives Sleep problems related to technology affect college students through several potential mechanisms including displacement of sleep due to technology use, executive functioning abilities, and the impact of emotional states related to stress and anxiety about technology availability. Design In the present study, cognitive and affective factors that influence technology usage were examined for their impact upon sleep problems. Participants and measurements More than 700 US college students completed an online questionnaire addressing technology usage, anxiety/dependence, executive functioning, nighttime phone usage, bedtime phone location, and sleep problems. Results A path model controlling for background variables was tested using the data. The results showed that executive dysfunction directly predicted sleep problems as well as affected sleep problems through nighttime awakenings. In addition, anxiety/dependence increased daily smartphone usage and also increased nighttime awakenings, which, in turn, affected sleep problems. Conclusions Thus, both the affective and cognitive factors that influence technology usage affected sleep problems.
The SDS-PAGE Analysis of Seed Glutelin in Some Cultivated and Wild Rice

Abstract: The glutelin characteristics in 5 classes of rice cultivars and 6 wild rice species were analysed by SDS-PAGE. The glutelin polypeptides can be classified into 3 groups with mol.wts.18-23 kDa. 30-36 kDa and 49-100 kDa, respectively. There are obvious distinctions in glutelin polypeptide patterns between 2 genus (Oryza L. and Rhynchoryza). Some species of AA genome are of 2 or 3 feature peptides with approximate mol.wt. 50 kDa, and species of CCDD genome are of other feature peptide (mol. wt.23 kDa). The glutelin pattern of indica is different from that of japonica, and the pattern of javanica is quite similar to that of upland rice (japonica type). The polypeptide patterns of varieties in the same ecotype do not shown valuable difference except some lightly diversity occasionally. The results suggest that the rice glutelin polypeptide pattern might be used as a supplementary tool to classify rice species and ecotypes.
Successful implementation of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy at a medical respite facility for homeless patients

Background Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) is a safe way to administer intravenous (IV) antimicrobial therapy to patients with the potential to decrease hospital length of stay (LOS). Often, homeless patients with complex infections, who could otherwise be treated as an outpatient, remain in the hospital for the duration of IV antibiotic treatment. Injection drug use (IDU) is a barrier to OPAT. Objective To evaluate our experience with administering OPAT to homeless patients at a medical respite facility and determine if patients could complete a successful course of antibiotics. Design Using retrospective chart review, demographics, diagnosis, and comorbidities including mental illness, current IDU, and remote IDU (>3 months ago) were recorded. Surgical, microbiologic, and antimicrobial therapy including route (IV or oral), duration of therapy, and adverse events were abstracted. Participants Homeless patients >18 years old who received OPAT at medical respite after discharge, no exclusions. Main measurements Primary outcome was successful completion of OPAT at medical respite. Secondary outcome was successful antimicrobial course completion for a specific diagnosis. Results Forty-six (87%) patients successfully completed a defined course of antibiotic therapy. Thirty-four (64%) patients were successfully treated with OPAT at medical respite. Readmission rate was 30%. The average length of OPAT was 22 days. The cost savings to our institution (using $1500/day inpatient cost) was $25,000 per episode of OPAT. Conclusions OPAT can be successful in a supervised medical respite setting for homeless patients with the help of a multidisciplinary team, and can decrease inpatient LOS resulting in cost savings. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016;11:531-535. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine.
Tuning the Phase and Optical Properties of Ultrathin SnSx Films

Novel materials suitable for optoelectronics are of great interest due to limited and diminishing energy resources and the movement toward a green earth. We report a simple film growth method to tune the S composition, x from 1 to 2 in semiconductor ultrathin SnSx films on quartz substrates, that is, single phase SnS, single phase SnS2, and mixed phases of both SnS and SnS2 by varying the sulfurization temperature from 150 to 500 °C. Due to the ultrathin nature of the SnSx films, their structural and optical properties are characterized and cross-checked by multiple surface-sensitive techniques. The grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) shows that the single phase SnS forms at 150 °C, single phase SnS2 forms at 350 °C and higher, and mixed phases of SnS and SnS2 form at temperature between. GIXRD shows structures of SnS film and SnS2 film are orthorhombic and 2H hexagonal, respectively. To complement the GIXRD, the reflection high energy electron diffraction pattern analysis shows that both pure pha...
Who Provides the Most Investment Incentives: EU vs. US

Competing for Capital concluded that the EU’s state aid policy was largely successful in its goals of controlling subsidies in general, and subsidies likely to go to mobile investment in particular. One then-recent development was the adoption of the Multi-Sectoral Framework, which for the first time specifically addressed investment incentives. Now over ten years old and incorporated into the EU’s regional aid guidelines, it is necessary to ask if it really has affected the incentives received by large investors. The strategy of this chapter will be to compare both the largest incentives and aggregate incentives (to the extent it can be estimated) in the EU and the US. Preliminary work (Wishlade, 2008a) suggests that the EU has indeed lowered incentives relative to those in the US, but I propose to calculate US incentives on a net present value basis as the EU does, and to compare the aid intensities (incentive as percentage of investment, incentive per job) in both regions.
Electrochemical Study of the Energetics of the Oxygen Evolution Reaction at Nickel Iron (Oxy)Hydroxide Catalysts

Iron-doped nickel (oxy)hydroxide catalysts (FexNi1–xOOH) exhibit high electrocatalytic behavior for the oxygen evolution reaction in base. Recent findings suggest that the incorporation of Fe3+ into a NiOOH lattice leads to nearly optimal adsorption energies for OER intermediates on active Fe sites. Utilizing electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and activation energy measurements, we find that pure NiOOH and FeOOH catalysts exhibit exceedingly high Faradaic resistances and activation energies 40–50 kJ/mol−1 higher than those of the most active FexNi1–xOOH catalysts. Furthermore, the most active FexNi1–xOOH catalysts in this study exhibit activation energies that approach those previously reported for IrO2 OER catalysts.
The balbiani body and the concept of physiological amyloids.

Amyloids (insoluble β-sheet polymers) and prions (proteinaceous infectious particles) have long been known for their roles in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson Disease (PD) and Alzheimer...
Abstract P240: Gender Differences in the Association of Adiponectin and BMI in a Rural Cohort of African Americans

Gender differences in the association of adiponectin with visceral and subcutaneous fat have been reported among African Americans (AAs). Specifically, adiponectin is negatively associated with visceral and subcutaneous fat in women but positively associated in males. The previous findings were obtained, however, under a controlled environment using expensive scanning equipment. In this study we wanted to determine if similar gender differences could be observed when sampling from a rural cohort of African Americans under less controlled conditions. African Americans (11 males; 36 females) attending a health fair at a local school were recruited and the following were measured or collected: resting blood pressure, weight, self reported height, blood sample, and spot urine. Both males and females tended to be hypertensive (SBP: 148 ± 6 in males vs 129 ± 3 mmHg in females; p=0.002; DBP: 79 ± 5 and 70 ± 2mmHg, p=0.047) and obese (35.6 ± 2 vs. 33.4 ± 1 in males and females, respectively; p=0.52). Although there was no difference in BMI between males and females, total adiponectin levels were significantly higher in males as compared to females (6.9 ± 1 vs. 3.9 ± 0.5 μg/ml; p=0.026). Interestingly, BMI was positively associated with adiponectin in males (p=0.004) but there was no significant association between BMI and adiponectin in females (p=NS). These findings are similar to what has been previously reported when sampling under controlled conditions and suggest that sampling from the field could be a viable means to further investigate the gender differences in adiponectin and adiposity in African Americans, particularly among rural residents.
Virus-like Particle and Viral Vector Production Using the Baculovirus Expression Vector System/Insect Cell System

The ability to make a large variety of virus-like particles (VLPs) has been successfully achieved in the baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS)/insect cell system. The production and scale-up of these particles, which are mostly sought as candidate vaccines, are currently being addressed. Furthermore, these VLPs are being investigated as delivery agents for use as therapeutics. Recently, adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors, which can be potentially used for human gene therapy, have been produced in insect cells using three baculovirus vectors to supply the required genes. The use of host insect cells allows mass production of VLPs in a proven scaleable system. This chapter focuses on the methodology, based on the work done in our lab, for the production of AAV-like particles and vectors in a BEVS/insect cell system.
Molecular cytology for prostate cancer detection: Multiplex fluorescent staining of urine sediment in the era of new prostate-specific biomarkers

3644 Purpose: Prostate cancer (PCa) molecular markers are detectable in urine after prostatic manipulation, suggesting that whole prostate cells might also be detectable and useful for diagnosis. However, identification of PCa cells by traditional cytology has been hampered by low numbers of PCa cells present, and by high false negative rates. Identification of new molecular markers of prostate cancer, plus significant advances in antibody and in situ nucleic acid detection methods, led us to re-visit the cell-based approach to prostate cancer detection in urine samples. The aims of this study were to develop a highly sensitive and non-invasive method to detect small numbers of PCa cells via fluorescent staining for multiple molecular markers in urinary sediments. Procedures: We optimized methods for sample collection, cell preservation and staining using antibodies plus FISH for identification of prostate cancer cells in urine specimens. Elevated staining by anti-alpha-methylacyl CoA racemase (AMACR) antibody and decreased telomere FISH staining were used as markers of PCa cells, anti-Nkx3.1 to confirm prostatic origin, anti-nucleolin as a marker of nucleoli and DAPI as a marker of nuclei. For the optimization studies, LNCaP (prostate cancer) and TR4 (bladder cancer) cells were spiked into human urine, isolated, cytospun onto glass slides and stained. For clinical specimens, urine samples were obtained after DRE from 35 patients in the urology clinic and from 15 normal or NED men without DRE, for a total of 50 specimens (positive controls; N=27, negative controls; N=23). Results: PCa cells were successfully visualized in urine cytospins by combined staining for AMACR, Nkx3.1, Nucleolin, and telomeres in addition to abnormal nuclear morphology revealed by DAPI. In normal cells from urine, the nucleoli were small and scant, and either or both of the AMACR and Nkx3.1 stains were negative. Of the 27 samples from men with biopsy-proven prostate cancer, 8 were noted to have prostate cancer cells or cells highly suspicious for prostate cancer by morphologic and staining criteria. All of the negative controls were read as negative. Sensitivity was 29.6% (8/27), and specificity was 100% (8/8). Conclusion: Staining voided urine sediment with multiple molecular markers has the potential to diagnose prostate cancer. Our data show that prostate cancer cells can be isolated intact from urine and specifically identified by a multi-staining cytology protocol, even when very few cancer cells are present. Specificity was 100%, however sensitivity was only 29.6%, thus we are currently evaluating other markers and techniques in order to improve this assay for potential diagnostic use.
Multimodal concepts for social robots

Whether they try to mimic human cognition or give us a new glimpse of it as modelling tools, robots have become an essential component of cognitive sciences. My doctoral work embraces this duality of robotic research along two topics that are the study of language acquisition and learning by imitation.
A phase field model for simulating the stress corrosion cracking initiated from pits

Abstract This manuscript presents a new phase field model for simulating the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) phenomenon in metallic materials. To derive the phase field governing equations, the film rupture-dissolution-repassivation model is adopted as the operating mechanism for SCC. The effect of mechanical stresses is incorporated by relating the interface kinetics parameter to the stress intensity factor and stress field near the crack tip. Several numerical examples are presented to verify the accuracy of the proposed model. We also employ this model to investigate the effects of pit morphology, mechanical loading, and the metal microstructure on the SCC evolution.
Flow Cytometric Analysis of Ligand Binding and Endocytosis

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the basic principles and characteristics of flow cytometry as a method for studying receptor-mediated endocytosis. A number of methods for using flow cytometry to study ligand binding, endocytosis, and processing have been developed. It is noted that many of these methods may also be used in conjunction with real-time and quantitative fluorescence imaging. A major goal of research in this area is obtaining information on the kinetics of ligand-receptor processes. Ligand internalization is normally followed by mild acidification to approximately pH 6, a pH at which most ligand-receptor complexes dissociate to allow receptor recycling. Vesicles containing ligands that have not been recycled are then further acidified to approximately pH 5. Evidence from studies using fluorogenic enzyme substrates suggests that ligands and receptors are exposed to lysosomal enzymes early in the endocytic pathway. The mildly acidic endosomal pH may play an important role in regulating the activity of these enzymes so that receptor degradation is minimized. High-resolution kinetic measurements on whole cells, in combination with measurements on individual organelles from cell lysates, provide additional information on the mechanisms and pathways of ligand and receptor processing.
The effect of exercise on sleep in adults with type 1 diabetes

The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the effect of exercise on sleep and nocturnal hypoglycaemia in adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D). In a 3-week crossover trial, 10 adults with T1D were randomized to perform aerobic, resistance or no exercise. During each exercise week, participants completed 2 separate 45-minutes exercise sessions at an academic medical center. Participants returned home and wore a continuous glucose monitor and a wrist-based activity monitor to estimate sleep duration. Participants on average lost 70 (±49) minutes of sleep (P = .0015) on nights following aerobic exercise and 27 (±78) minutes (P = .3) following resistance exercise relative to control nights. The odds ratio with confidence intervals of nocturnal hypoglycaemia occurring on nights following aerobic and resistance exercise was 5.4 (1.3, 27.2) and 7.0 (1.7, 37.3), respectively. Aerobic exercise can cause sleep loss in T1D possibly from increased hypoglycaemia.
Arterial allograft allows in-line reconstruction of prosthetic graft infection with low recurrence rate and mortality.

Surgical management of infected prosthetic vascular grafts is associated with a significant risk of recurrent infection, limb loss, and mortality. Treatment options include graft excision with extraanatomic bypass and in-line repair with prosthetic graft, vein, or artery. We hypothesized that in-line reconstruction using cryopreserved arterial allografts would be associated with a lower recurrent infection rate, limb loss, and mortality than other alternatives. We reviewed all cases where adults underwent surgical management of infected prosthetic aortic, iliac, or femoral bypass grafts with cryopreserved arterial allograft at our medical center from 2001 to 2008. Cryopreserved arterial allografts were used in 21 patients. There were nearly equal number of men (n = 11, 52%) and women (n = 10, 48%). The median age was 63 years and median time since cryoartery repair was 4 years. There have been no deaths in the follow-up period. Complications (19%) included colon perforation (n = 1), lower extremity compartment syndrome (n = 1), limb ischemia (n = 1), and reinfection with pseudoaneurysm and subsequent limb amputation (n = 1). These positive findings of low morbidity and absence of mortality in high risk patients have resulted in a shift at our institution to the preferential use of cryopreserved arterial allograft with in-line reconstruction for infected prosthetic grafts.
More Basic Solutions

The purpose of this chapter is to extend the results of Chapters 2–4 in three ways. This will be carried out in Sections 5.1–5.3 that follow. In Section 5.1, we briefly indicate how to modify Theorems 3.2 and 4.40 to obtain more complex heteroclinic solutions of (PDE). These new solutions, Uk, \(3 \leq k \leq n, \ \) are higher-dimensional analogues of U1 of Theorem 3.2 and U2 of Theorem 4.40. By higher-dimensional we mean that Uk is periodic in xk+1,...,xn, lies between Uk-1 and \(\tau_{-1}^{k-1} U_k-1,\ \) and is heteroclinic in xk from Uk-1 to \(\tau_{-1}^{k-1} U_{k-1}. \) All of these new solutions have rotation vector α = 0.
Meta-analysis: Many factors affect mortality from community-acquired pneumonia

Source Citation Fine MJ, Smith MA, Carson CA, et al. Prognosis and outcomes of patients with community-acquired pneumonia: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 1996 Jan 10;275:134-41.8531309
Rome Criteria and a Diagnostic Approach to Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) account for at least 40% of all referrals to gastroenterologists. Of the 33 recognized adult FGIDs, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most prevalent, with a worldwide prevalence estimated at 12%. IBS is an important health care concern as it greatly affects patients’ quality of life and imposes a significant economic burden to the health care system. Cardinal symptoms of IBS include abdominal pain and altered bowel habits. The absence of abdominal pain makes the diagnosis of IBS untenable. The diagnosis of IBS can be made by performing a careful review of the patient’s symptoms, taking a thoughtful history (e.g., diet, medication, medical, surgical, and psychological history), evaluating the patient for the presence of warning signs (e.g., “red flags” of anemia, hematochezia, unintentional weight loss, or a family history of colorectal cancer or inflammatory bowel disease), performing a guided physical examination, and using the Rome IV criteria. The Rome criteria were developed by a panel of international experts in the field of functional gastrointestinal disorders. Although initially developed to guide researchers, these criteria have undergone several revisions with the intent of making them clinically useful and relevant. This monograph provides a brief overview on the development of the Rome criteria, discusses the utility of the Rome IV criteria, and reviews how the criteria can be applied clinically to diagnose IBS. In addition, a diagnostic strategy for the cost-effective diagnosis of IBS will be reviewed.
Teaching health-care providers coping: results of a two-year study

This study examined coping strategies and occupational burnout in a sample of 118 health-care providers. Subjects who participated in a 6-week program designed to improve coping reported significant short-term decreases in emotional exhaustion and lack of personal accomplishment, two dimensions of burnout. Subjects who received 1-hr coping "refresher" sessions at 5, 11, and 17 months showed consistent decreases in burnout throughout the 2-year period. However, those who did not receive the refresher sessions following the 6-week course showed only temporary improvement. Results indicate that health-care providers can be taught to employ adaptive coping strategies that improve levels of burnout, but long-term changes are achieved only through long-term coping training.
SOME NEW THOUGHTS ON THE FETOPLACENTAL UNIT AND PARTURITION IN PRIMATES

Publisher Summary A striking aspect of human pregnancy is the variability of blood estrogen and progesterone levels that are consistent with a normal outcome. If, indeed, characteristic changes in estrogen and progesterone or possibly in the ratio of these two hormones are prerequisites to parturition, they have yet to be identified by measurements in maternal blood. The extreme hour-to-hour variability and the broad range of serum levels in normal pregnant women have made it difficult to detect a decline in progesterone or an increase in estrogen before parturition. The source of this variability is unknown. Rapid changes in placental synthesis and secretion related to fetal adrenal activity, alterations in uterine blood flow, or alterations in steroid binding to serum proteins may be involved. The failure to find clear-cut patterns in maternal blood does not rule out the possibility that important intrauterine hormonal changes have profound effects on the activation of myometrial contractions or cervical softening. This chapter presents a model for parturition in primates based upon an increased fetal adrenal secretion of dehydroepiandrosterone and its utilization for estrogen synthesis within the fetal membranes.
Biomarkers in Demographic Research

The integration of biological measures into demographic research bridges the gap between field- and clinic-based approaches to understanding human health, and it has the potential to transform the study of human biology. This article discusses the benefits, as well as potential costs, of collecting biomarker data in large-scale, social science surveys. It reviews methodological options for field-based biomarker data collection, and highlights recent applications to demonstrate their utility for promoting innovative research into the causes and consequences of human biological variation.
CRA-W grad cohort

The Computing Research Association Women (CRA-W) Grad Cohort was held in San Francisco, California, USA on April 13-14, 2018. Two participants in the event contributed the following comments about their experience.
Is Parkour a Problem? College and University Liability for Extreme Sport Activities:

Parkour, an extreme recreational activity in which one overcomes obstacles in the most quick, efficient, and flowing way, encompasses running, jumping, vaulting, and climbing. The activity is gaining popularity on college campuses. The purposes of this study were to survey campus recreation administrators’ views and policies on parkour and explore the potential legal liability higher education institutions face with the rise in participation in this potentially dangerous activity. The results showed little sanctioned parkour activity on college campuses and that recreation administrators do not appear to be worried. The legal analysis indicated that currently colleges and universities would not likely face legal liability for students who are injured while participating. However, prudent college recreational professionals must remain aware of new activities on campus and may want to take additional steps to insulate themselves from risks of legal liability.
Sparse Recovery of Sign Vectors under Uncertain Sensing Matrices

In general, uncertainties in the sensing matrix weakens the system performance and reduces the reliability of recovered signals. In some applications, the sign values of signals instead of their exact values may be needed. In this paper, we show that as long as the uncertainty in the sensing matrix is sparse, a thresholding mechanism can be developed to recover the sign vector. In particular, provided that the true signal satisfies certain conditions, the exact sign vector can be recovered with high probability even under uncertain sensing matrices. Simulations are also presented to verify our theoretical results.
MP21-03 CD-70 BLOCKADE AS A NOVEL IMMUNOTHERAPY FOR THE TREATMENT OF CLEAR-CELL RENAL CELL CARCINOMA

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES:Although normally restricted to activated B and T-cells, CD70 has been shown to be overexpressed in several types of solid tumor types including RCC, specifically the cl...
Zollinger Ellison Syndrome in a Patient with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1: A Classic Presentation

Zollinger Ellison Syndrome (ZES) is characterized by a wide spectrum of conditions including severe gastroesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcer disease, watery diarrhea, and weight loss. We present a case of a 60-year-old woman being evaluated for severe dyspepsia, vomiting, and chronic diarrhea, who was diagnosed to have ZES associated with a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, in the setting of multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) type 1. Although cases of ZES have been reported previously, we believe that our case is a classic presentation of ZES diagnosed on the basis of typical radiologic, endoscopic, and endosonographic features.
Measuring the Weizsaecker-Williams distribution of linearly polarized gluons at an electron-ion collider through dijet azimuthal asymmetries

The Weizsaecker-Williams transverse momentum dependent (TMD) gluon distributions can be probed in the production of a hard dijet in semi-inclusive DIS. This process is sensitive not only to the conventional but also to the linearly polarized gluon distribution. The latter gives rise to an azimuthal dependence of the dijet cross section and therefore can be distinguished from the former. Feasibility study of a measurement of these TMDs through dijet production at a future electron-ion collider shows that the extraction of the distribution of linearly polarized gluons with a statistical accuracy of 5% will require estimated luminosity of 20 fb^{-1} /A.
The development of the Making Meals Performance Measure (MMPM): construct identification to computerized scoring

Date Presented 04/04/19 This poster will highlight the need for and development of the Making Meals Performance Measure (MMPM). This assessment has been used in an occupation-based program to help people living in poverty maximize their food resources. Current assessments focus largely on knowledge acquisition and are self-report measures. The creation of performance measures such as the MMPM help demonstrate the value of occupation-based interventions and the distinct contribution of OT. Primary Author and Speaker: Laura Schmelzer Additional Authors and Speakers: Rebecca Hughes, Hannah Stanger
Optimizing Aerosolization Using Computational Fluid Dynamics in a Pediatric Air-Jet Dry Powder Inhaler

The objective of this study was to optimize the performance of a high-efficiency pediatric inhaler, referred to as the pediatric air-jet DPI, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations with supporting experimental analysis of aerosol formation. The pediatric air-jet DPI forms an internal flow pathway consisting of an inlet jet of high-speed air, capsule chamber containing a powder formulation, and outlet orifice. Instead of simulating full breakup of the powder bed to an aerosol in this complex flow system, which is computationally expensive, flow-field-based dispersion parameters were sought that correlated with experimentally determined aerosolization metrics. For the pediatric air-jet DPI configuration that was considered, mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) directly correlated with input turbulent kinetic energy normalized by actuation pressure and flow kinetic energy. Emitted dose (ED) correlated best with input flow rate multiplied by the ratio of capillary diameters. Based on these dispersion parameters, an automated CFD process was used over multiple iterations of over 100 designs to identify optimal inlet and outlet capillary diameters, which affected system performance in complex and unexpected ways. Experimental verification of the optimized designs indicated an MMAD 90% of loaded dose. While extrathoracic depositional loss will be determined in future studies, at an operating flow rate of 15 L/min, it is expected that pediatric mouth-throat or even nose-throat aerosol deposition fractions will be below 10% and potentially less than 5% representing a significant improvement in the delivery efficiency of dry powder pharmaceutical aerosols to children.
Journeys of Social Justice: Women of Color Presidents in the Academy, edited by Menah Pratt-Clarke and Johanna B. Maes

Women of color are significantly under-represented in senior administrative positions within US higher education institutions. About 30% of US college and university presidents are women, and about...
Blocking EGFR palmitoylation suppresses PI3K signaling and mutant KRAS lung tumorigenesis

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is often characterized by mutually exclusive mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or the guanosine triphosphatase KRAS. We hypothesized that blocking EGFR palmitoylation, previously shown to inhibit EGFR activity, might alter downstream signaling in the KRAS-mutant setting. Here, we found that blocking EGFR palmitoylation, by either knocking down the palmitoyltransferase DHHC20 or expressing a palmitoylation-resistant EGFR mutant, reduced activation of the kinase PI3K, the abundance of the transcription factor MYC, and the proliferation of cells in culture, as well as reduced tumor growth in a mouse model of KRAS-mutant lung adenocarcinoma. Knocking down DHHC20 reduced the growth of existing tumors derived from human KRAS-mutant lung cancer cells and increased the sensitivity of these cells to a PI3K inhibitor. Palmitoylated EGFR interacted with the PI3K regulatory subunit PIK3R1 (p85) and increased the recruitment of the PI3K heterodimer to the plasma membrane. Alternatively, blocking palmitoylation increased the association of EGFR with the MAPK adaptor Grb2 and decreased that with p85. This binary switching between MAPK and PI3K signaling, modulated by EGFR palmitoylation, was only observed in the presence of oncogenic KRAS. These findings suggest a mechanism whereby oncogenic KRAS saturates signaling through unpalmitoylated EGFR, reducing formation of the PI3K signaling complex. Future development of DHHC20 inhibitors to reduce EGFR-PI3K signaling could be beneficial to patients with KRAS-mutant tumors.
Patterns and Anti-Patterns, Principles and Pitfalls: Accountability and Transparency in AI

This article discusses a set of principles for accountability and transparency in artificial intelligence as well as a set of antipatterns or harmful trends too often seen in deployed systems. It provides concrete suggestions for what can be done to shift the balance away from these antipatterns and toward more positive ones.
Pulmonary oxalosis in pulmonary aspergillosis syndrome

The presence of pulmonary oxalosis in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) or biopsied tissue samples is considered pathognomonic for Aspergillus disease etiology. The finding of calcium oxalate crystals in the tissue samples infected with aspergillosis can serve as a vital diagnostic clue. Detection of calcium oxalate crystals is achievable within 24 hours by most hospital microbiology laboratories. It is much quicker than the time it takes to receive results of other tests like histopathology, sputum cultures, and aspergillus antigen assays. We present this case to emphasize the importance of pulmonary oxalosis as a crucial early diagnostic factor in pulmonary aspergillosis syndromes.
Electrostatic Field Effect Light-Emitting Diode

Gallium Nitride (GaN) based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) suffer from the persistent issue of high resistivity of the p-type layer, due to inefficient dopant activation at room temperature. Here, a novel Electrostatic Field Effect LED (EFELED) is demonstrated to solve this issue by introducing significantly more holes into the LED active region for the first time. An increase in drive current is observed through application of positive biases to a capacitor layer on top of a 436 nm InGaN/GaN LED. With a positive bias of 5 V applied to the capacitor, the EFELED showed more than a two-fold increase in optical output from electroluminescence (EL) measurements, as well as over 115% enhanced external quantum efficiency (EQE). Modulation of holes can also be achieved through the novel capacitor integration in the EFELED, which leads to light output control. This proposed EFELED provides an alternative method to efficiently improve hole injection for the active region through energy band bending, which addresses the fundamental p-type doping issue for LED devices.
The Utilization of Joint Mobilization As Part of a Comprehensive Program to Manage Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Systematic Review.

Abstract Objective The purpose of this review is to identify the role of joint mobilization for individuals with Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Methods A systematic search of 5 electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and SPORTDiscus) was performed to identify eligible full-text randomized clinical trials related to the clinical question. Joint mobilization had to be included in one arm of the randomized clinical trials to be included. Two reviewers independently participated in each step of the screening process. A blinded third reviewer assisted in cases of discrepancy. The PEDro scale was used to assess quality. Results Ten articles were included after screening 2068 titles. In each article where joint mobilization was used, positive effects in pain, function, or additional outcomes were noted. In most cases, the intervention group integrating joint mobilization performed better than the comparison group not receiving joint techniques. Conclusion In the articles reviewed, joint mobilization was associated with positive clinical effects for persons with CTS. No studies used joint mobilization in isolation; therefore, results must be interpreted cautiously. This review indicates that joint mobilization might be a useful adjunctive intervention in the management of CTS.
Volatiles from Serratia marcescens, S. proteamaculans, and Bacillus subtilis Inhibit Growth of Rhizopus stolonifer and Other Fungi

abstract The common soil bacteria Serratia marcescens, Serratia proteamaculans, and Bacillus subtilis produce small molecular weight volatile compounds that are fungistatic against multiple species, including the zygomycete mold Rhizopus stolonifer (Mucoromycota) and the model filamentous mold Neurospora crassa (Ascomycota). The compounds or the bacteria can be exploited in development of biological controls to prevent establishment of fungi on food and surfaces. Here, we quantified and identified bacteria-produced volatiles using headspace sampling and gas chromatographymass spectrometry. We found that each bacterial species in culture has a unique volatile profile consisting of dozens of compounds. Using multivariate statistical approaches, we identified compounds in common or unique to each species. Our analysis suggested that three compounds, dimethyl trisulfide, anisole, and 2-undecanone, are characteristic of the volatiles emitted by these antagonistic bacteria. We developed bioassays for testing concentration dependent inhibition of each compound and found dimethyl trisulfide and anisole were the most potent with the highest inhibition at the lowest concentration (.7 mg/cm3). This work establishes a pipeline for translating volatile profiles of cultured bacteria into high quality candidate fungistatic compounds which may be useful in combination antifungal control products. importance Bacteria may benefit by producing fungistatic volatiles that limit fungal growth providing a mechanism to exclude competitors for resources. Volatile production is potentially mediating long distance biological control and competitive interactions among microbes, but the specific bioactive compounds are poorly characterized. This work provides evidence that fungistatic compounds in complex blends can be identified using machine-learning and multivariate approaches. This is the first step in identifying pathways responsible for fungistatic volatile production in order to phenotype and select natural strains for biocontrol ability, or engineer bacteria with relevant pathways.
First-Principle Insight into the Ru-Doped PtSe2 Monolayer for Detection of H2 and C2H2 in Transformer Oil.

Using first-principles theory, this paper investigates the sensing behavior of the Ru-doped PtSe2 (Ru-PtSe2) monolayer for two dominant gases, namely, H2 and C2H2, in the transformer oil to explore its potential as a gas sensor to evaluate the operation status of the electrical transformers. Ru-doping prefers to go through the S1 site with the largest Eb of -3.71 eV. Chemisorption is identified in the H2 and C2H2 systems with Ead obtained as -0.83 and - 2.09 eV, respectively, indicating the stronger performance of the Ru-PtSe2 monolayer upon C2H2 adsorption. Meanwhile, the obvious improvement of bandgap in the C2H2 system suggests the potential of Ru-PtSe2 monolayer as a resistance-type gas sensor for C2H2 detection. Moreover, the applied biaxial strains ranging at 1-5% give rise to various QT and Eg in two systems, indicating the tunable sensing response of the Ru-PtSe2 monolayer for gas detection with modulated strains. Our calculation proposes a novel 2D sensing material for H2 and C2H2 detection, which would be beneficial to stimulate more edge-cutting research in the gas sensing field as well.
CrowdTrace: Visualizing Provenance in Distributed Sensemaking

Capturing analytic provenance is important for refining sensemaking analysis. However, understanding this provenance can be difficult. First, making sense of the reasoning in intermediate steps is time-consuming. Especially in distributed sensemaking, the provenance is less cohesive because each analyst only sees a small portion of the data without an understanding of the overall collaboration workflow. Second, analysis errors from one step can propagate to later steps. Furthermore, in exploratory sensemaking, it is difficult to define what an error is since there are no correct answers to reference. In this paper, we explore provenance analysis for distributed sense-making in the context of crowdsourcing, where distributed analysis contributions are captured in microtasks. We propose crowd auditing as a way to help individual analysts visualize and trace provenance to debug distributed sensemaking. To evaluate this concept, we implemented a crowd auditing tool, CrowdTrace. Our user study-based evaluation demonstrates that CrowdTrace offers an effective mechanism to audit and refine multi-step crowd sensemaking.
Dietary Fat and Fatty Acids Intake in Relation to Risk of Colorectal Cancer

Objectives Epidemiologic evidence for specific types and sources of dietary fat and individual fatty acid with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk remains inconclusive. We aimed to comprehensively examine the associations of intake of specific types (saturated-, monounsaturated-, polyunsaturated-, and trans-) and sources (animal-, dairy-, and vegetable-) of dietary fat and fatty acids with CRC risk.