cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Science and Technology of Nanostructures in the Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense maintains a research and development program in nanostructures with special attention to miniaturization of information technology devices, nanostructured materials, and nanobiotechnology for detection of biological agents. This article provides a brief guide to those DoD funding officers and research scientists actively interested in nanostructures.
In Memoriam: Charles W. Hackett 1888–1951

The Field of Latin-American Studies suffered a great loss when, on February 26, 1951, death terminated the scholarly career of Professor Charles W. Hackett of the University of Texas. For thirty-three years he contributed both as a teacher and a scholar to the development of sound scholarship in his chosen field of Latin-American history. His cheerful encouragement, his intelligent leadership, his deep understanding and sympathy and his high standards in research will be missed by his students, his friends and his associates in Texas, the United States and Latin America.
The other face of miR-17-92a cluster, exhibiting tumor suppressor effects in prostate cancer

// Richard Ottman 1 , Jenna Levy 1 , William E. Grizzle 2 , Ratna Chakrabarti 1 1 Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA 2 Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA Correspondence to: Ratna Chakrabarti, email: Ratna.Chakrabarti@ucf.edu Keywords: miR-17-92a cluster, prostate cancer, tumor suppressor Received: February 28, 2016 Accepted: September 02, 2016 Published: September 16, 2016 ABSTRACT miR-17-92a cluster miRNAs are transcribed from a polycistronic transcription unit C13orf25 that generates six mature miRNAs, miR-17, miR-18a, miR-19a, miR-19b, miR-20a and miR-92a that are overexpressed in lung and colon cancers. Here we show that the expression of miR-17-92a miRNAs are reduced in cancerous prostate tissues compared to uninvolved areas and also in aggressive prostate cancer cells. Restoration of expression of all members of miR-17-92a cluster showed, decreased expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins cyclin D1 and SSH1; and LIMK1 and FGD4 of RhoGTPase signaling pathway. Expression of miR-17-92a miRNAs caused decreased cell proliferation, reduced activation of AKT and MAP kinases, delayed tumorigenicity and reduced tumor growth in animals. Expression of miR-17-92a miRNAs inhibited EMT via reduced cell migration and expression of mesenchymal markers while elevating expression and surface localization of the epithelial marker E-Cadherin. Expression of miR-17-92a miRNAs improved sensitivity of androgen dependent LNCaP 104-S prostate cancer cells to anti-androgen drug Casodex, AKT inhibitor MK-2206 2HCl, and docetaxel. The androgen refractory PC-3 cells also showed increased sensitivity to docetaxel, MK-2206 2HCl and Aurora kinase inhibitor VX680 upon ectopic expression of miR-17-92a cluster miRNAs. Our data demonstrate a tumor suppressor effect of miR-17-92a cluster miRNAs in prostate cancer cells and restoration of expression of these miRNAs has a therapeutic benefit for both androgen-dependent and -independent prostate cancer cells.
NGOs and Grassroots Organizing

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are voluntary organizations that vary in scope and size. They are active in mobilizing people, particularly by taking on development initiatives. While scholars in development studies have typically researched NGOs, more recently feminist and social movement scholars have become interested in the ways that NGOs engage in global forums or participate in transnational networks. NGOs mobilize ideas, not just people, particularly as producers and disseminators of feminist discourse. In so doing, NGOs engage in global forums such as United Nations world conferences and also facilitate grassroots organizing. Grassroots groups are community-based and focus on feminist issues that directly impact members' lives. Grassroots organizing creates and expands spaces for women to articulate their experiences, listen to others, and consider individual and collective challenges to injustices. NGOs are recipients of development to facilitate feminist grassroots organizing which is largely used for capacity building. Capacity building can include training of members of feminist grassroots groups to seek formal power such as representation in formal political institutions and can contribute to the research skills of scholars and practitioners. However, initiatives directed towards capacity building inevitably reflect specific interests, particularly when donors predetermine activities to promote their own ideology. Keywords: NGOs; states; women in development/gender and development
Using Hybrid Model OpenSHMEM + CUDA to Implement the SHOC Benchmark Suite

This work describes the process of porting the Scalable HeterOgeneous Computing (SHOC) benchmark suite from the hybrid MPI + CUDA implementation to OpenSHMEM + CUDA. SHOC includes a wide variety of benchmark kernels used to measure accelerator performance in both single node and cluster configurations. The hybrid model implementation attempts to place all major computation on accelerator devices, and uses MPI to synchronize and aggregate results. In some cases, MPI Groups are used to gradually reduce the number of accelerators used for computation as the problem size drops. Porting this behavior to OpenSHMEM required implementing several synchronizing collective operations, and using SHMEM teams to replace MPI Group functionality. Benchmark results on a Cray XK7 system with one GPU per compute node show that SHMEM performance is equal to MPI performance in these hybrid tasks. These results and porting experience show that using OpenSHMEM for accelerator devices benefits from adding functionality for synchronization and teams, and would further benefit from adding support for communication within accelerator kernels. (Notice: This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE- AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). This research used resources of the Center for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. De-AC05-00OR22725.)
“I want to be beautiful and rich”: Consumer culture ideals internalization and their influence on fashion consumption

Within the US culture, two consumer culture ideals – namely, the body perfect and the material good life – are dominant. This study addressed the question – how are these two consumer culture ideal...
Balancing Truth Against Human Rights: A Theory of Modern Exclusionary Rules

This final chapter attempts to synthesize the different approaches to exclusion of illegally gathered evidence reflected in the preceding chapters, and to formulate a theory of balancing of truth-finding in the criminal trial against the respect for fundamental human rights. Absolute exclusionary regimes included in constitutions, statutes, or even in decisions of high courts reflect a kind of “pre-balancing” which leaves the trial judge no option but to exclude. Thus would apply to statements or evidence issuing from torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and in some countries, prima facie to constitutional violations affecting the right to counsel or wiretapping. Some jurisdictions, however, allow courts to determine whether a constitutional violation is “grave” and, if not, to then balance the violation against the seriousness of the charge before the court, or other interests. Many jurisdictions will also not exclude evidence even if it was the result of a violation of a fundamental right, if, after a balancing of the circumstances of the case show that the defendant was not deprived of a “fair trial”. The conclusion of the editor, is that courts are too willing to allow fundamental violation of human rights to be “balanced” away in favor of the search for truth, and that such balancing should be limited to situations where the violations are of subconstitutional legal rules. Courts should prima facie exclude evidence if there is a direct link between the evidence and a fundamental violation.
Measures of Financial Capacity: A Review.

Purpose of the study Capacity to manage finances and make financial decisions can affect risk for financial exploitation and is often the basis for legal determinations of conservatorship/guardianship. Several structured assessments of financial capacity have been developed, but have not been compared regarding their focus, validity, or reliability. Therefore, we conducted a review of financial capacity measures to examine these factors. Design and methods We searched electronic databases, reference lists in identified articles, conference proceedings and other grey literature for measures of financial capacity. We then extracted data on the length and domains of each measure, the population for which they were intended, and their validity and reliability. Results We identified 10 structured measures of financial capacity. Most measures could be completed in 25-30 min, and were designed to be administered to older adults with some level of cognitive impairment. Reliability and validity were high for most. Implications Measurement of financial capacity is complex and multidimensional. When selecting a measure of financial capacity, consideration should be made of the population of focus and the domains of capacity to be assessed. More work is needed on the cultural sensitivity of financial capacity measures, their acceptability, and their use in clinical work. Better understanding of when, and to whom, to administer different financial capacity measures could enhance the ability to accurately detect those suffering from impaired financial capacity, and prevent related negative outcomes like financial exploitation.
Compressive and Tensile Stress–Strain Responses of Additively Manufactured (AM) 304L Stainless Steel at High Strain Rates

Additively manufactured 304L stainless steel with different build orientations and post-manufacturing processes was dynamically characterized in compression and tension at various high strain rates (~500, 1500, and 3000 s−1) using Kolsky bar techniques. Wrought 304L stainless steel with a similar chemical composition as the additively manufactured material was also characterized at the same strain rates. The AM material exhibited higher yield and flow stresses in compression when the specimen strain is smaller than 0.3. In dynamic tension, the AM material also possessed higher yield and flow stresses but lower elongations to failure than the wrought material at all the strain rates tested. Depending on post processing and anisotropy, the high-rate yield strength of the AM 304L material is increased by 20–35%, compared to the yield strength of the wrought material.
DNA Mismatch Repair Deficiency Promotes Genomic Instability in a Subset of Papillary Thyroid Cancers.

Efficient DNA damage repair by MutL-homolog DNA mismatch repair (MMR) enzymes, MLH1, MLH3, PMS1 and PMS2, are required to maintain thyrocyte genomic integrity. We hypothesized that persistent oxidative stress and consequent transcriptional dysregulation observed in thyroid follicles will lead to MMR deficiency and potentiate papillary thyroid tumorigenesis. MMR gene expression was analyzed by targeted microarray in 18 papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), 9 paracarcinoma normal thyroid (PCNT) and 10 normal thyroid (NT) samples. The findings were validated by qRT-PCR, and in follicular thyroid cancers (FTC) and follicular thyroid adenomas (FTA) for comparison. FOXO transcription factor expression was also analyzed. Protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Genomic integrity was evaluated by whole-exome sequencing-derived read-depth analysis and Mann–Whitney U test. Clinical correlations were assessed using Fisher’s exact and t tests. Microarray and qRT-PCR revealed reduced expression of all four MMR genes in PTC compared with PCNT and of PMS2 compared with NT. FTC and FTA showed upregulation in MLH1, MLH3 and PMS2. PMS2 protein expression correlated with the mRNA expression pattern. FOXO1 showed lower expression in PMS2-deficient PTCs (log2-fold change −1.72 vs. −0.55, U = 11, p < 0.05 two-tailed). Rate of LOH, a measure of genomic instability, was higher in PMS2-deficient PTCs (median 3 and 1, respectively; U = 26, p < 0.05 two-tailed). No correlation was noted between MMR deficiency and clinical characteristics. MMR deficiency, potentially promoted by FOXO1 suppression, may explain the etiology for PTC development in some patients. FTC and FTA retain MMR activity and are likely caused by a different tumorigenic pathway.
On the Lagrangian and Eulerian analyticity for the Euler equations

Abstract We address preservation of the Lagrangian analyticity radius of solutions to the Euler equations belonging to natural analytic space based on the size of Taylor (or Gevrey) coefficients. We prove that if the solution belongs to such space, then the solution also belongs to it for a positive amount of time. We also prove the local analog of this result for a sufficiently large Gevrey parameter; however, we show that the preservation holds independently of the size of the radius. Finally, we construct a solution which shows that the first result does not hold in the Eulerian setting.
The design and development of MyT1DHero: A mobile app for adolescents with type 1 diabetes and their parents:

IntroductionType 1 diabetes impacts approximately 1.25 m Americans, many of them young children. As a child grows, there is a transition towards independence and they must learn to manage their dia...
Geometric approach to parametric sensitivity and gain suppression

This paper contains new results in the evaluation of sensitivity of eigenvalues of a closed-loop system to the perturbations in the state feedback gain elements using a geometric approach. A basis for the gain vector space is developed using large-scale perturbations of the eigenvalues such that movement of the gain vector along a direction in this space affects the position of only one real eigenvalue, or of a complex conjugate pair of eigenvalues. It is shown that this basis can be used to directly compute the incremental sensitivities of the eigenvalues to the individual gain vector elements. In addition, in the case where the system is not completely controllable, the degrees of freedom in selection of the feedback gain vector can be used to obtain gain suppression, thereby eliminating the sensitivities to the null gain elements. The set of possible solutions for the feedback gain vector is identified for this case using a geometric interpretation, and optimal solutions are defined in the sense of minimum 2-norm, minimum infinite-norm (minimum maximum gain), and maximum number of zero gain elements. Numerical examples are included to illustrate these theoretical concepts.
History of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes, Blood Pressure, and Subclinical Vascular Measures in Late Midlife: SWAN (Study of Women's Health Across the Nation).

BackgroundAdverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth (PTB), have been associated with elevated risk of maternal cardiovascular disease, but their effect on late midlife blood pressure (BP) a...
Giving Students the Competitive Edge: Selecting Clients for Client-Based Projects

During a period of diminishing employment opportunities for college graduates, client-based projects (CBPs) are a powerful tool in giving students much needed real-world experience. In today's job ...
Adaptive wavelet transform: Definition, parameter optimization algorithms, and application for concrete delamination detection from impact echo responses:

In this study, an amplitude-adaptive wavelet transform is proposed and defined as an average of overlapped short-time wavelet transforms with optimized time-varying resolution in a time–frequency d...
Chronic Granulomatous Disease: From Lethal Pediatric Mystery to Complex Chronic Disease

Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD) was first reported over 50 years ago by Heinz Berendes, Robert Bridges and Robert Good in Minnesota Medicine [1 ]. Four boys, starting with a one-year old who presented in 1950, were seen at the University of Minnesota Hospitals with a syndrome of chronic suppurative lymphadenitis, hepatosplenomegaly, pulmonary infiltrates, and eczematous dermatitis that did not match any then recognized diseases. Their short paper, published in 1957, defined the unique clinical entity of “Fatal Granulomatosus of Childhood” and outlined the clinical, laboratory, and pathologic findings in these patients, three of whom had died by the time of publication [1]. Later that year, Benjamin Landing and Harry Shirkey in Cincinnati described two more boys with a disease that closely matched this clinical picture [2].
THE BINDING SITES TO MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES ON A/USSR/90/77(H1N1) HEMAGGLUTININ

Publisher Summary An antigenic drift of the hemagglutinin (HA) molecule of type A influenza viruses has been thought to occur by the accumulation of a series of point mutations in the antigenically important regions of the molecule. This chapter discusses an experiment in which the antigenic variants of influenza A/USSR/90/77 (H1N1) strain with six monoclonal antibodies to the virus HA were selected to study the evolution of the antigenic variants of influenza viruses. In the study, the HA gene of B-l-23, a variant clone of A/USSR/90/77 virus selected by antibody 264, was cloned in bacteria as a double-stranded cDNA (dsDNA) copy in the Pst I site of plasmid pBR322. Total viral RNA was transcribed into a plus-stranded DNA (cDNA) using 5-specific dodecanucleotide primer. dsDNA was synthesized from cDNA using 3' terminal loop back of the cDNA as a selfprimer. The hairpin product of dsDNA was cut with nuclease S and then poly (dC) was added to the Si-treated dsDNA. The annealing of Pst I-cleaved pBR322 tailed with poly (dG) and dsDNA tailed with poly (dC) was carried out. Then E.coli K12 C600 strain was transformed with the annealed DNA. To guard against potential biohazards, the transformation and all subsequent manipulations with live bacteria, which might carry recombinant plasmids, were carried out in P2 physical containment. Six B-l group variants selected by antibody 264 and obtained from three independent experiments were studied for their changed amino acids.
Trust as a Social and Cognitive Construct

In this chapter, we concentrate on the study of trust as a social and cognitive construct. In particular, we concentrate on the role social networks and social institutions play in how people trust each other. A person’s trust for a specific institution impacts their trust evaluations as the trustor is able to draw inferences based on the role the trustee plays in an institution.
CHAPTER 30 – Flow Cytometry

Flow cytometry, a remarkably versatile tool for the study of platelet function, encompasses multiple assays for multiple purposes (Table 30-1). Flow cytometry can be used to: (a) measure the activation state of circulating platelets and their reactivity (by activation-dependent changes in platelet surface antigens, leukocyte-platelet aggregation, and procoagulant platelet-derived microparticles); (b) diagnose specific disorders (Bernard-Soulier syndrome, Glanzmann thrombasthenia, storage pool disease, and heparin-induced thrombocytopenia [HIT]); (c) monitor antiplatelet agents; (d) monitor thrombopoiesis (by the number of young, “reticulated” platelets); (e) perform assays relevant to blood banking (quality control of platelet concentrates, Identification of leukocyte contamination in platelet concentrates, immunophenotyping of platelet HPA-1a, detection of maternal and fetal anti-HPA-1a antibodies, and platelet cross-matching); (f) measure platelet-associated IgG; (g) measure the platelet count; and (h) perform other research assays (measurement of platelet survival and function in vivo, calcium flux, F-actin content, signal transduction, fluorescence resonance energy transfer, platelet recruitment, and bacteria-platelet interactions). All these applications of flow cytometry to the study of platelets are discussed in this chapter.
MONITORED NATURAL ATTENUATION OF CHLORINATED SOLVENT PLUMES

As specified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA, 1999), the term “monitored natural attenuation … refers to the reliance on natural attenuation processes … to achieve site-specific remediation objectives within a time frame that is reasonable compared to that offered by other more active methods. The ‘natural attenuation processes’ that are at work in such a remediation approach include a variety of physical, chemical, or biological processes that, under favorable conditions, act without human intervention to reduce the mass, toxicity, mobility, volume, or concentration of contaminants in soil or groundwater. These in situ processes include biodegradation; dispersion; dilution; sorption; volatilization; radioactive decay; and chemical or biological stabilization, transformation, or destruction of contaminants. When relying on natural attenuation processes for site remediation, EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] prefers those processes that degrade or destroy contaminants.”
Association of Helicobacter pylori with Epithelial Cells

The presence of Helicobacter pylori on gastric mucosa has been associated with type B gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. Despite its uncertain role in pathogenesis, gastric mucosa colonization by H. pylori is at least a good indicator for gastroduodenal inflammatory diseases [1,14,19].
Signed Graph Convolutional Networks

Due to the fact much of today's data can be represented as graphs, there has been a demand for generalizing neural network models for graph data. One recent direction that has shown fruitful results, and therefore growing interest, is the usage of graph convolutional neural networks (GCNs). They have been shown to provide a significant improvement on a wide range of tasks in network analysis, one of which being node representation learning. The task of learning low-dimensional node representations has shown to increase performance on a plethora of other tasks from link prediction and node classification, to community detection and visualization. Simultaneously, signed networks (or graphs having both positive and negative links) have become ubiquitous with the growing popularity of social media. However, since previous GCN models have primarily focused on unsigned networks (or graphs consisting of only positive links), it is unclear how they could be applied to signed networks due to the challenges presented by negative links. The primary challenges are based on negative links having not only a different semantic meaning as compared to positive links, but their principles are inherently different and they form complex relations with positive links. Therefore we propose a dedicated and principled effort that utilizes balance theory to correctly aggregate and propagate the information across layers of a signed GCN model. We perform empirical experiments comparing our proposed signed GCN against state-of-the-art baselines for learning node representations in signed networks. More specifically, our experiments are performed on four real-world datasets for the classical link sign prediction problem that is commonly used as the benchmark for signed network embeddings algorithms.
A comparison of models to predict medical procedure costs from open public healthcare data

In our earlier work, we presented BOAT, a big-data open source analytics toolkit and framework, and applied it to analyze trends and outliers in public healthcare data. In this paper, we extend this framework to predict the costs of different medical procedures that patients could incur, based on open healthcare data. Specifically, we analyze de-identified patient data from New York State SPARCS (statewide planning and research cooperative system), consisting of more than 2 million records. We investigated the three model classes consisting of multiple linear regression, regression trees and deep neural networks (DNNs). We conducted a grid-search to identify the best parameter choices. We determined that the best performance based on grid-search cross validation with the widely used R2 metric was achieved by an 8 layered DNN with size 5x5x10x25x25x10x5x5 using an Adam optimizer with learning rate of 0.01. We obtained an R2 value of 0.71 which is better than the values reported in the literature for similar problems.
A Propensity Score Matched Comparison of Intracorporeal and Extracorporeal Techniques for Robotic-Assisted Sigmoidectomy in an Enhanced Recovery Pathway.

Intracorporeal options for sigmoid resection have been recently developed but not extensively evaluated. This study was designed to assess outcomes comparing intracorporeal and extracorporeal techniques for robotic-assisted sigmoid resection in an established enhanced recovery pathway. This is a retrospective comparison of intracorporeal and extracorporeal techniques for robotic-assisted sigmoid resection for benign and malignant disease. Operative technique for the newer intracorporeal innovation is described in detail. Propensity score matching was performed using patient characteristics as predictors in the propensity score model. 169 cases met inclusion criteria. After propensity score matching, 114 cases were available for analysis (intracorporeal 57, extracorporeal 57). Almost 90% were for diverticulitis in each group. There were significantly fewer conversions in the intracorporeal group when compared to the extracorporeal group (5.26% vs. 19.3%, P = 0.029). Operative time was significantly longer in the intracorporeal group (193.33 vs. 159.89 min, P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between groups for time to flatus and bowel movements, hospital length of stay, postoperative 30-day complications, and readmission rates. There were significantly fewer extraction site hernias in the intracorporeal group (0 vs. 6 (10.53%), P = 0.027) likely because there were fewer midline extraction sites (8.77% vs. 38.6%, P < 0.001). When compared to extracorporeal techniques for robotic sigmoid resection in an enhanced recovery pathway, the intracorporeal approach is safe and associated with fewer conversions, fewer extraction site hernias, and longer operating times. As adoption of the intracorporeal approach continues to increase, further analysis of this technique in larger studies may be warranted.
Un paseo por nuestra ciudad

Cualquiera que haya estudiado idiomas en un pais extranjero ha experimentado, no solo la dificultad que supone el enfrentarse a una lengua que no se domina, sino tambien a una cultura y a una ciudad que, en los primeros dias de estancia, puede resultar hasta hostil, unicamente por el desconocimiento y lo ajeno del entorno. Concebida basicamente para familiarizarse con este entorno, la actividad que propongo surge, a la vez, como resultado de mi experiencia docente y como estudiante de lenguas extranjeras anos atras.
Myeloproliferative neoplasms: Diagnostic workup of the cythemic patient

Elevated peripheral blood (PB) cell counts, such as leukocytosis, thrombocytosis, and polycythemia, are often the presenting symptom in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). Because cythemias are nonspecific and may reflect either a reactive or neoplastic process, diagnostic workup of these patients is complicated and requires integration of numerous diagnostic modalities. Careful morphologic evaluation of the PB smear may provide insights into the underlying cause of the abnormal counts (such as the presence of teardrop erythrocytes in myelofibrosis or granulocytic dysplasia with left shift in atypical chronic myeloid leukemia). However, these morphologic findings need to be interpreted in concert with clinical findings and other laboratory results. In recent years, there has been a wealth of new genetic data in the field of MPN and many recurrent mutations have been identified, especially in cases lacking Philadelphia chromosome. Many of these genes impact the diagnosis and/or prognosis. Although certain mutations are preferentially enriched in specific MPN types, none of these mutations are disease defining; therefore, a thorough workup should always include a bone marrow biopsy for morphologic evaluation and diagnosis. This review will describe a comprehensive approach to the diagnosis of various MPN, with an emphasis on the diagnostic and prognostic implications of recurrent mutations in MPN.
Antiproliferative, antiangiogenesis, and reversal of chemoresistance by specific cathepsin L inhibitors

e14643 Background: Uncontrolled proliferation, enhanced angiogenesis and the development of resistance to therapy are hallmarks of cancer; therefore, the development of approaches to simultaneously...
The Role of Building Characteristics, Demographics, and Urban Heat Islands in Shaping Residential Energy Use

Abstract As global temperatures continue to rise, questions about infrastructure capacity to keep up with energy demand are increasingly germane. Energy demand is mediated by several structural and environmental conditions, though we have a limited understanding about the role of differences in local ambient temperatures as a predictor for energy demand. This study assesses the effects of residential building structure, socio-demographics, and ambient temperature conditions of a neighborhood to overall energy expenditures of a household. Using annual utility billing and demographic data, existing tax-lot records, and an unusually high-resolution description of ambient temperatures, we ask two research questions: (1) What role do differences in neighborhood ambient temperatures, building characteristics and demographics play in helping to explain residential energy use? And (2) In what ways do energy expenditures spatially cluster in relation to urban heat islands? Using linear regression, spatial regression, and spatial clustering techniques, we evaluated the role of physical location of these households in relation to ambient temperatures. Corroborating the existing literature, the results indicate significant positive relationships among energy expenditures and building size, average household size, and White population; also suggest significant negative relationships among energy expenditures and building density, renter population and population with a bachelor's degree or higher. Negative relationships among morning and afternoon measures of heat suggest that some areas spend less on energy use as a result of the neighborhood scale thermal environment. Spatial analysis of ambient temperature and energy expenditures show that energy use throughout the city is spatially clustered, with more affluent areas using more energy, regardless of whether heat islands are present. The results help to frame the role that increasing ambient temperatures in cities play in the spatial disparity in energy demand.
[Severe proximal renal tubular acidosis with ocular abnormalities caused by SLC4A4 gene variation: a case report].

患儿女，5岁3月龄，因肢体无力3个月余入院，生长发育落后于同龄儿、严重酸中毒，低钾血症；双眼玻璃体混浊，角膜基质灰白混浊；头颅磁共振成像示双侧基底节区可见对称性斑片状致密影。基因检测发现患儿SLC4A4基因外显子区域存在1个c.145C>T杂合变异，与其父检测结果一致；内含子区域存在一个c.1499+1G>A杂合变异，与其母检测结果一致。患儿以严重的代谢性酸中毒为特点，且伴有多系统病变，应注意先天遗传代谢性疾病，尽早行基因检测。.
Can fructose influence the development of obesity mediated through hypothalamic alterations

Epidemiological data from the last decades point to an exponential growth in the number of obese people. Different behavioral factors, mainly associated with food consumption, appear to contribute significantly to its development. Concomitant with increased obesity rates, an increase in the consumption of fructose has been observed; therefore, fructose consumption has been implicated as an important obesogenic factor. However, changes in brain activity due to fructose consumption are possible, especially in relation to hypothalamic satiety mechanisms. In addition, the obese state may provide an environment of chronic inflammation and further contribute to the discontinuation of satiety mechanisms in the hypothalamus. We briefly review the intrinsic alterations to the increased adipose tissue, its connections with the hypothalamus in the control of energy signaling mechanisms and, consequently, the participation of fructose as a co-adjuvant or trigger. Presenting the current context with clinical trials involving human and animal studies, we seek to contribute to a better understanding of the role of fructose in the progression of obesity.
Differential effects of tobacco cigarettes and electronic cigarettes on endothelial function in healthy young people.

Tobacco cigarette (TC) smoking has never been lower in the United States, but electronic cigarette (EC) vaping has reached epidemic proportions among our youth. Endothelial dysfunction, as measured by flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) is a predictor of future atherosclerosis and adverse cardiovascular events and is impaired in young TC smokers, but whether FMD is also reduced in young EC vapers is uncertain. The aim of this study in otherwise healthy young people was to compare the effects of acute and chronic tobacco cigarette (TC) smoking and electronic cigarette (EC) vaping on FMD. FMD was compared in 47 nonsmokers (NS), 49 chronic EC vapers, and 40 chronic TC smokers at baseline and then after EC vapers (n = 31) and nonsmokers (n = 47) acutely used an EC with nicotine (ECN), EC without nicotine (EC0), and nicotine inhaler (NI) at ~4-wk intervals and after TC smokers (n = 33) acutely smoked a TC, compared with sham control. Mean age (NS, 26.3 ± 5.2 vs. EC, 27.4 ± 5.45 vs. TC, 27.1 ± 5.51 yr, P = 0.53) was similar among the groups, but there were more female nonsmokers. Baseline FMD was not different among the groups (NS, 7.7 ± 4.5 vs. EC:6.6 ± 3.6 vs. TC, 7.9 ± 3.7%∆, P = 0.35), even when compared by group and sex. Acute TC smoking versus control impaired FMD (FMD pre-/postsmoking, -2.52 ± 0.92 vs. 0.65 ± 0.93%∆, P = 0.02). Although the increase in plasma nicotine was similar after EC vapers used the ECN versus TC smokers smoked the TC (5.75 ± 0.74 vs. 5.88 ± 0.69 ng/mL, P = 0.47), acute EC vaping did not impair FMD. In otherwise healthy young people who regularly smoke TCs or ECs, impaired FMD compared with that in nonsmokers was not present at baseline. However, FMD was significantly impaired after smoking one TC, but not after vaping an equivalent "dose" (estimated by change in plasma nicotine) of an EC, consistent with the notion that non-nicotine constituents in TC smoke mediate the impairment. Although it is reassuring that acute EC vaping did not acutely impair FMD, it would be dangerous and premature to conclude that ECs do not lead to atherosclerosis.NEW & NOTEWORTHY In our study of otherwise healthy young people, baseline flow-mediated dilation (FMD), a predictor of atherosclerosis and increased cardiovascular risk, was not different among tobacco cigarette (TC) smokers or electronic cigarette (EC) vapers who had refrained from smoking, compared with nonsmokers. However, acutely smoking one TC impaired FMD in smokers, whereas vaping a similar EC "dose" (as estimated by change in plasma nicotine levels) did not. Finally, although it is reassuring that acute EC vaping did not acutely impair FMD, it would be premature and dangerous to conclude that ECs do not lead to atherosclerosis or increase cardiovascular risk.
The future urban forest – A survey of tree planting programs in the Northeastern United States

Abstract Cities around the world are pursuing tree planting as a way to increase tree cover. Despite the growing interest in planting trees as a way to offset climate change, counter the negative impacts of urbanization, and provide benefits to city dwellers, there has not been a recent effort to quantify the number of trees being planted nor the species composition of these plantings. Because ecosystem services and ecosystem threats can transcend municipal boundaries, understanding trends in tree planting at multiple spatial scales is critical. To overcome this knowledge gap, we used a survey to collate recent tree planting data from 52 cities with populations greater than 50,000 people in the Northeastern USA. The four largest cities in our study (New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C.) planted over 87% of all the trees that were planted in the region. Smaller cities, which are numerous in region, planted proportionally fewer trees and, in over 40% of the small cities surveyed, planting palettes included invasive tree species, highlighting both a resource and a knowledge gap in smaller cities as compared with larger ones. Regardless of city size, records also illuminated an overreliance on certain genera for specific ecosystem services; nearly 20% of all shade trees were Quercus species and over 50% of ornamental trees were either Syringa or Prunus species. As cities continue to rely on tree-planting as a form of green infrastructure, our results demonstrate that more consideration to establishing diverse planting palettes will be an important way to ensure that ecological resilience is maintained. Achieving this will depend on increased opportunities to collaborate across municipal boundaries and promoting cross-learning from the experiences of more innovative urbanized regions to urban regions with less infrastructure and expertise.
Impact of high-dose gamma-ray irradiation on electrical characteristics of N-polar and Ga-polar GaN p–n diodes

We investigate the impact of high-dose gamma-ray irradiation on the electrical performance of Ga-polar and N-polar GaN-based p–n diodes grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. We compare the current density–voltage (J–V), capacitance–voltage (C–V), and circular transfer length method characteristics of the p–n diodes fabricated on Ga-polar and N-polar orientations before and after irradiation. The relative turn-on voltage increases for the Ga-polar diodes with an increasing irradiation dose, while it increases initially and then starts to decrease for the N-polar diodes. The p-contact total resistance increases for Ga-polar and decreases for N-polar samples, which we attribute to the formation of point defects and additional Mg activation after irradiation. The J–V characteristics of most of the tested diodes recovered over time, suggesting the changes in the J–V characteristics are temporary and potentially due to metastable occupancy of traps after irradiation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and photoluminescence measurements reveal the existence of different types of initial defects and surface electronic states on Ga-polar and N-polar samples. Gallium vacancies (VGa) are dominant defects in Ga-polar samples, while nitrogen vacancies (VN) are dominant in N-polar samples. The presence of a higher concentration of surface states on Ga-polar surfaces than N-polar surfaces was confirmed by calculating the band bending and the corresponding screening effect due to opposite polarization bound charge and ionized acceptors at the surface. The difference in surface stoichiometry in these two orientations is responsible for the different behavior in electrical characteristics after gamma-ray interactions.
Implementation of social equity metrics in an engineering-based framework for distributing disaster resources

Abstract Evidence has shown that populations within diverse communities are affected by natural hazards and disasters disproportionately. Critically, it is suggested that it is the fault of pre-existing socioeconomic conditions and systemic discrimination which lead to such inequitable disaster outcomes, as geophysical phenomena themselves are unable to discriminate between peoples. Despite this understanding, limited studies have been conducted in developing a systematic procedure for alleviating the inequities of disasters; a review of the concepts of equity and equality in the context of disaster resilience is presented. Given these issues, a novel framework for designing disaster resource distributions has been proposed. The Societally-Informed Optimization of Resource Distributions (SIORD) framework provides guidance on designing resource distributions which lead to equitable disaster outcomes. This framework uses both physical and societal indicators to model the characteristics of a community and to predict the resulting population impacts of a given natural hazard event. Computational optimization, through the use of genetic algorithms, serves as the main analytic tool for designing societally fair resource distributions. In order to place social equity metrics as the primary objective function, a novel measurement of social equity in a disaster setting was developed, and ready-to-use social equity metrics are described for use in the framework. Recommendations are provided towards the framework's implementation into practice in the context of the United States.
Design of Self-sustainable Wireless Sensor Networks with Energy Harvesting and Wireless Charging

Energy provisioning plays a key role in the sustainable operations of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Recent efforts deploy multi-source energy harvesting sensors to utilize ambient energy. Meanwhile, wireless charging is a reliable energy source not affected by spatial-temporal ambient dynamics. This article integrates multiple energy provisioning strategies and adaptive adjustment to accomplish self-sustainability under complex weather conditions. We design and optimize a three-tier framework with the first two tiers focusing on the planning problems of sensors with various types and distributed energy storage powered by environmental energy. Then we schedule the Mobile Chargers (MC) between different charging activities and propose an efficient, 4-factor approximation algorithm. Finally, we adaptively adjust the algorithms to capture real-time energy profiles and jointly optimize those correlated modules. Our extensive simulations demonstrate significant improvement of network lifetime (), increase of harvested energy (15%), reduction of network cost (30%), and the charging capability of MC by 100%.
Multilevel Signaling for High-Speed Chiplet-to-Chiplet Communication

Increasing memory bandwidth bottleneck, die cost, lower yields at scaled nodes and need for more compact and power efficient devices have led to sustained innovations in integration methodologies. While the semiconductor market has already started witnessing some of these in product forms, many other techniques are currently under investigation in both academia and industry. In this chapter, we explore a 2.5D integrated system where the interconnects are modelled in the form of coplanar microstrip lines. A model is developed to understand the behavior of these wireline structures and is used to study their signaling characteristics. Generally, the conventional NRZ signaling is used to transmit data. As an alternative, we explore a higher order modulation scheme, namely, PAM4. Through the simulation study, we demonstrate that PAM4 can provide up to 63% better energy efficiency and 27% higher bandwidth density than NRZ.
Pitfalls in Pipe Network Analysis Techniques

Pipe network analysis, wherein the steady state flows and the hydraulic heads are determined in a pipe network, is a basic engineering tool. Application of commonly used iterative solution techniques, particularly for problems of engineering significance, have potential subtleties and pitfalls. Different iteration techniques have difference convergence properties. A simple network is used to demonstrate that linear iteration techniques may never converge for some system characteristics. Different criteria for terminating iterative procedures can be used. Different criteria, as demonstrated by example for a large scale network, can result in significantly different solutions at the point of iteration termination. Multiple solutions may exist in networks with nonunique element characteristics or multiple operating modes. A simple network with two pressure reducing valves and three pumps provides an example. Thus, application of traditional network analysis techniques may not be as straightforward as might appear.
Electrical Impedance Tomography of Electrolysis

The primary goal of this study is to explore the hypothesis that changes in pH during electrolysis can be detected with Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT). The study has relevance to real time control of minimally invasive surgery with electrolytic ablation. To investigate the hypothesis, we compare EIT reconstructed images to optical images acquired using pH-sensitive dyes embedded in a physiological saline agar gel phantom treated with electrolysis. We further demonstrate the biological relevance of our work using a bacterial E.Coli model, grown on the phantom. The results demonstrate the ability of EIT to image pH changes in a physiological saline phantom and show that these changes correlate with cell death in the E.coli model. The results are promising, and invite further experimental explorations.
Localized Orbitals in Spectroscopy

Publisher Summary The concept of localized orbitals is one of the most important links between quantum molecular physics and interpretive physical chemistry. Most spectroscopic data can be explained by models that resort wholly or in part to localization. A distinction should be made, however, between the transferability of localized orbitals and Hartree–Fock (HF) matrix elements. The first case is far more restrictive and implies zero bond order between non-nearest neighbors or atoms that are not in a simple conjugated or aromatic system. Because many spectroscopic and thermodynamic properties have a close dependence on such bond order parameters, it is certain that the complex connectivity of a molecule is also reflected in this manner. Hence, the most flexible interpretive methods require a consideration of more general interatomic parameters. The HF matrix elements have the feature of providing a quantitative transferability scheme for zeroth-order localized orbitals. For simple ground-state properties, such as the dipole moment, the one-electron density matrix offers a viable alternative to localized self-consistent field (SCF) orbitals in situations where a more exact treatment than the HF calculation is required.
The Satellite Situation Center

Considerations related to the early planning for the International Magnetospheric Study (IMS) took into account the desirability of an establishment of specific entities for generating and disseminating coordination information for both retrospective and predictive periods. The organizations established include the IMS/Satellite Situation Center (IMS/SSC) operated by NASA. The activities of the SSC are related to the preparation of reports on predicted and actually achieved satellite positions, the response to inquiries, the compilation of information on satellite experiments, and the issue of periodic status summaries. Attention is given to high-altitude satellite services, other correlative satellite services, non-IMS activities of the SSC, a summary of the SSC request activity, and post-IMS and future activities.
Interventions for improving retention in antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs in people with HIV infection in resource‐limited settings

Reason for withdrawal from publication The authors have requested this protocol to be withdrawn. They have indicated that they will complete the review outside of a Cochrane framework.