cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Experiences with lengthening of the femur over n intramedullary rod.

1. The intramedullary rod has been used to control the alignment of the osteotomized fragments in twenty-three operations performed for the lengthening of the femur, and it has been found to be eminently satisfactory, eliminating many of the difficulties which were formerly encountered in maintaining the position of the osteotomized fragments. 2. In addition to the conventional osteotomies by step-cut or oblique section, a transverse osteotomy has been performed. The combination of the intramedullary rod and the transverse osteotomy has simplified the femoral-lengthening operation and has afforded the best means yet known for the control of the fragments. 3. A primary union of the bone fragments occurred as readily after a transverse osteotomy as it did after the other types of osteotomy which provide for a contact of the bone fragments throughout the lengthening procedure. This indicates that during its growth the bone callus may be stretched out in length. 4. A delayed union of the bone occurred with an undesirable frequency. From their experience with this series the authors could not determine the cause of the delayed union nor can they present any definite information concerning the optimum time for starting the lengthening procedure after the performance of the osteotomy. 5. It would appear that the more the bone is lengthened, the longer is the time required for the union of the fragments and the more likelihood there is of non-union. 6. While the etiology of the shortening has no bearing upon whether union of the fragments will occur or not, it does have some influence on the success of the procedure for lengthening. Shortening of an acquired nature responded more readily to the lengthening procedure than did that resulting from a congenital failure of the growth of the limb. It may he concluded, in the latter instance, that the soft tissues are structurally adapted to the shortened bone and therefore less elastic than those in the limb which has become shortened because of an acquired disturbance of its growth. 7. In addition to the complications involving the healing of the osteotomy, many other complications have occurred. While the intramedullary rod and the transverse osteotomy have simplified the operation, this method has not influenced the occurrence of the complications resulting from the resistance of soft tissues and the stretching of the vessels and the nerves of the thigh. Much more attention must be directed toward these problems in order to avert neurovascular complications and deformities of the knee joint.
Effect of Excess Metabolizable Protein Supplementation from Corn Gluten Meal or Soybean Meal on Plasma Amino Acid Concentrations of Beef Cows Consuming Low Quality Forage

With increased availability of fractionated (de-oiled) coproducts, supplementing excess dietary CP is likely when utilizing these high protein and energy coproducts as an energy source. At this time, the effects of these excessive CP diets on beef cow reproduction have not been extensively studied. In addition, the effects consuming excess dietary CP from feedstuffs that differ in rumen degradability with low quality forage on plasma amino acid concentrations of cows have not been extensively characterized. As part of a larger study analyzing the effects of diets containing 150% of metabolizable protein (MP) requirements from a moderately high (corn gluten meal) or low (soybean meal) rumen undegradable protein (RUP) fraction on ovarian function around the time of ovulation, blood samples were taken near ovulation to evaluate the effects of excess MP on circulating plasma amino acid (AA) concentrations. We observed that cows supplemented with excess CP from sources differing in rumen degradability had similar total circulating AA profiles; however, the relative proportions of each AA were different based on protein source. Based on these data, supplementing excess dietary MP from sources differing in degradability differentially affects circulating plasma AA profiles. However, the mechanisms by which these different AA profiles will alter biological, and specifically, reproductive processes are unknown at this time.
Effect of Nano Silica on the Compressive Strength of Harden Cement Paste at Different Stages of Hydration

This study investigated the compressive strength of hardened cement paste and the formation of Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H) with the addition of nano silica (SiO2). Compressive strength testing was performed using MTS and Forney testing machines to determine stress-strain curves and compressive strength of the materials. The hydration process and formation of C-S-H and Calcium Hydroxide (CH) was examined using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). This study also incorporates the use of vacuum curing, in comparison to that of the traditional water curing method. Results indicate an increase in compressive strength using 1, 3 and 5% of nano silica to cement replacement by volume in comparison to the control mix (without nano silica). The optimum cement replacement to yield maximum strength was of the 1% nano silica content. The formation of C-S-H increases significantly during the early testing days which correspond with the drastic increase in compressive strength. The hydration process continues to increase throughout the 56 day trails at a moderate rate. The traditional water curing method proves to be more efficient and beneficial than of the vacuum curing method. However, vacuum cured results showed only about a 5% reduction in compressive strength after 56 day tests in comparison to the water curing method.
Diffuse Vs. Localized Instability in Compacting Geomaterials Under Undrained Conditions

The coupling between the pore fluid diffusion and deformation of geomaterials can alter the mechanical response and facilitate or delay material failure. Dilatant or contractive material behavior under conditions of limited drainage and/or of loading rate exceeding the pore fluid diffusion rate causes a reduction or increase in pore pressure, respectively. The latter, via the effective stress principle, results in dilatant strengthening or contractive weakening of frictional materials, namely, an increase or decrease in shear stress that can be sustained by the material from the corresponding value in the underlying drained response. In this work, we use perturbation theory to examine how the contractive weakening affects the stability of undrained deformation and what are the possible instability modes (localized vs. diffuse) on the example of a one-dimensional simple shear of a layer under partially strain-controlled boundary conditions. The effect of material rate-sensitivity on undrained stability is examined. INTRODUCTION Deformation of fluid-infiltrated solids is generally coupled with pore fluid flow. The presence of pore fluids can alter deformation processes and facilitate or delay material failure. Some of geomechanics applications where the coupling of inelastic deformation and pore fluid flow is important include the problems of slope stability and liquefaction in saturated soil deposits (Ishihara 1993), stability of slip in fault gouge zones in the Earth’s crust (Rice 1992), efficient underground storage of natural gas, and terrestrial sequestration of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide) to mitigate adverse effects on the atmosphere (Rudnicki 1996). It has been recognized for a long time that dilation or contraction of frictional geomaterials in the course of inelastic shear is the key mechanism to cause the coupling. The micro-mechanism of macroscopic inelastic volume changes varies from shear-induced opening of micro-fissures in tight rocks (Brace et al. 1966) to the rearrangement of grains into more loose or dense configuration depending on the initial packing density in sands. 1In Proceedings of the First Japan-U.S. Workshop on Testing, Modeling and Simulation in Geomechanics, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, June 27-29, 2003. 2Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Clarkson University, 8 Clarkson Ave., Potsdam NY 13699-5710, garagash@clarkson.edu
Effect of Ionic Strength and Surface Charge on Convective Deposition.

Particle–particle and particle–substrate interactions play a crucial role in capillary driven convective self-assembly for continuous deposition of particles. This systematic study demonstrates the nontrivial effects of varying surface charge and ionic strength of monosized silica microspheres in water on the quality of the deposited monolayer. Increase in particle surface charge results a broader range of parameters that result in monolayer deposition which can be explained considering the particle-substrate electrostatic repulsion in solution. Resulting changes in the coating morphology and microstructure at different solution conditions were observed using confocal microscopy enabling correlation of order to disorder transitions with relative particle stability. These results, in part, may explain similar results seen by Muangnapoh et al., 2013 in vibration-assisted convective deposition.
Advances in the biology and treatment of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of leukemia in the western hemisphere. Diagnosis and staging of CLL are usually straightforward, but predicting an individual patient's prognosis is still a challenge. Cytogenetic abnormalities provide important prognostic information in CLL and may show its molecular heterogeneity. A search for oncogene abnormalities continues, although no consistent defects have been identified. New agents such as fludarabine produce high complete remission rates and have generated interest in earlier treatment as a first step in a potential cure. Fludarabine also makes autologous bone marrow transplant feasible as a consolidation therapy. Immunologic abnormalities and minimal residual disease persist in most patients in remission. Combining fludarabine with other active agents and devising effective postremission strategies may change the natural history of CLL.
Coming in handy: utilization of mobile devices in an active nuclear medicine practice

1961 Learning Objectives We Discuss the Following utilization of Mobile Devices in Nuclear Medicine : -Resident and Attending Education (webinars, education sites, obtaining CME) -Calculation of Patient dose and radiation exposure -Medication interactions with various radio-isotopes -Conversions (lbs to kilograms, etc) -Access To Patient Portals -Review of Nuclear Medicine Protocols -Access important research or clinical information in daily practice -Access To Nuclear Images On Call -Transfer of critical results -Video Conferencing and Patient and Physician Contact -Review NRC Regulations and Response to Common Radiation Safety Issues Mobile devices enhance the way we practice nuclear medicine with respect to communication, interactions and organization. The introduction of portable handheld devices allow for on-the-go interpretation of medical images and allow access to protocols, radioisotope doses, medication interactions and viewing of nuclear images on call. In solo practice, the mobile device allows the physician to contact others for consults when there is a difficult case, and allows easy access to nuclear textbooks and journals. In addition, the availability of high-speed wireless bandwidth on mobile devices allows for immediate transfer of images for emergent nuclear medicine examinations. The use of mobile devices allows rapid access to pertinent patient information and access to references such as nuclear medicine protocols. Mobile devices also assist in calculations of proper dosing and conversions when orders need to be written. In this presentation, we describe a number of different ways mobile devices can be used to assist the nuclear medicine physician during his daily duties.
Application of ACS300-MM Data Collector in Water Resources Information Acquisition System

This paper presents the functions and characteristics of ACS300-MM data collector,Construction technology for reference of water resources real-time monitoring system,Combined with the characteristics of the domestic water resources information acquisition system,communication,sensor network data transmission,A detailed description of the design and application of ACS300-MM data collector in water resources information acquisition system,And introduces the application of the data collector in the first stage project of Jiangsu water resources management information system of Xuzhou City branch in engineering.
Comparison of Susceptibility of Plutella xylostella to Nine Insecticides in Different Areas of Jiangxi Province

The susceptibility of field populations of Plutella xylostella from five areas of Jiangxi province to nine insecticides was tested by using leaf-dipping method in 2013.It was found that 5 field populations of Plutella xylostella showed sensitive or low resistance to BT,Chlorfenapyr and Diafenthiuron,moderate or middle-low resistance to Chlorfluazuron,Chlorantraniliprole and Indoxacarb,and high resistance to Abamectin and beta-Cypermethrin.Among the tested five populations,the field population in Jishui revealed a high resistance to Spinosad,while the others showed a moderate or middle-low resistance to this insecticide.
Kelly's hospital ship.

The JN-4 "Jennie" and DH-4 air ambulance conversions used by the U.S. Army during the period 1918-1924 are well-known to those interested in the history of air evacuation. However, another "unknown" craft was also used during this period. The author unravels the mystery of this craft converted for use as an air ambulance at Kelly Field, TX.
Violence by Municipal Police in Canada: 1977–1992

In general, three organizations of the modern state exert violent coercive power: the military, national security organizations, and various police agencies. Of all these groups, municipal police engage in the most acts of physical violence. This is largely a result of their function, which brings them into far more frequent contact with other citizens than is the case for employees of the state's other coercive agencies.Police violence has been defined in various ways. Most definitions, however, treat it as a type of misconduct and deviance. The term is used to cover a wide range of phenomena. Depending on the context, violent police behaviors are variously referred to as police abuse, brutality, extra-legal or excessive force, riots, torture, shootings, death squad activity killings and deadly force.The rest of the chapter will briefly survey the literature on the causes of police violence, examine the prevalence of police violence in Canada, review existing controls on police behavior, and make a number of recommendations for the future.
N-Substituted Derivatives of the Azadithiolate Cofactor from the [FeFe] Hydrogenases: Stability and Complexation

Experiments are described that probe the stability of N-substituted derivatives of the azadithiolate cofactor recently confirmed in the [FeFe] hydrogenases (Berggren, G., et al. Nature 2013, 499, 66). Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of bis(thioester) BnN(CH2SAc)2 gives [BnNCH2SCH2]2 rather than azadithiol BnN(CH2SH)2. Treatment of BnN(CH2SAc)2 with NaOtBu generates BnN(CH2SNa)2, which was trapped with NiCl2(diphos) (diphos = 1,2-C2H4(PR2)2; R = Ph (dppe) and Cy (dcpe)) to give fully characterized complexes Ni[(SCH2)2NBn](diphos). The related N-aryl derivative Ni[(SCH2)2NC6H4Cl](diphos) was prepared analogously from 4-ClC6H4N(CH2SAc)2, NaOtBu, and NiCl2(dppe). Crystallographic analysis confirmed that these rare nonbridging [adtR]2– complexes feature distorted square planar Ni centers. The analogue Pd[(SCH2)2NBn](dppe) was also prepared. 31P NMR analysis indicates that Ni[(SCH2)2NBn](dppe) has basicity comparable to typical amines. As shown by cyclic voltammetry, the couple [M[(SCH2)2NBn](dppe)]+/0 is reversible ...
Coherent Phonon Scattering by Submicron Structures

Using densely packed monolayers of Latex spheres as masks, we have evaporated two-dimensional regular arrays of metal dots onto polished silicon wafers[1]. Performing thermal conduction experiments in the boundary scattering regime[2], we observe peak phonon scattering when the dominant phonon wavelength in the silicon equals the spacing of such a diffraction grating on the silicon surface[3].
Outliving love: marital estrangement in an African insurance market

Marital estrangement and formal divorce are vital conjunctures for married women’s kinship relations and life course, where a horizon of future possibilities are revalued and negotiated at the interstices of custom, law, and social and ritual obligations. In this article, after delineating the forms of customary and civil marriage and the possibilities for divorce or estrangement from each, I describe how some married women in Swaziland and South Africa mediate this complex social field for their children and families through pensions and continuing to pay for their partners’ insurance coverage. This was not solely out of avarice to reap future benefits as spouses. Rather, in a context of patriarchal relations, gender-based violence and economic dispossession, women seek to maintain potential financial grounds through insurance resources, acknowledge their children’s paternity, and fulfil enduring obligations to in-laws by partially contributing to the eventual funerals of their spouses and kin.
Data on serologic inflammatory biomarkers assessed using multiplex assays and host characteristics in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS).

This article contains data on the associations between fixed and modifiable host characteristics and twenty-three biomarkers of inflammation and immune activation measured longitudinally in a cohort of 250 HIV-uninfected men from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (1984–2009) after adjusting for age, study site, and blood draw time of day using generalized gamma regression. This article also presents associations between each biomarker and each host characteristic in a sample restricted to 2001–2009. These data are supplemental to our original research article entitled “Host factors associated with serologic inflammatory markers assessed using multiplex assays” (McKay, S. Heather, Bream, H. Jay, Margolick, B. Joseph, Martinez-Maza, Otoniel, Phair, P. John, Rinaldo, R. Charles, Abraham, G. Alison, L.P. Jacobson, 2016) [1].
Persistence and Transmission of Cytomegalovirus

The herpesviruses comprise a diverse group of double-stranded DNA-containing viruses. As a virus group they are unpredictable in that individual group members exhibit different basic characteristics, including host specificity and genome complexity. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a herpesvirus that is particularly interesting from an academic as well as a clinical viewpoint (Table 1). Also known as salivary gland virus (Weller, 1970), it was originally named for the enlarged cells containing intranuclear and cytoplasmic inclusions produced by infection with the virus. Cytomegalovirus was first isolated by three investigators working independently in their laboratories. Smith (1956) in St. Louis isolated the virus from submaxillary salivary gland tissue of a dead infant; Rowe et al. (1956) in Bethesda discovered the virus in cultures of adenoidal tissues from three children; and Weller and his associates (1957) in Boston isolated a CMV from an infant with cytomegalic inclusion disease (CID). From this time on, many investigation have focused on CMV and its role in diseases of man.
Navigation sensor data fusion for the AUV Remus

The development of a navigation sensor data fusion algorithm for the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Remus is described. Remus is a small, low-cost AUV designed and built at the Ocean Systems Laboratory of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. The navigation sensors for Remus include an acoustic navigation system, a Doppler velocity sonar, and a compass. The data from these sensors are integrated in an extended Kalman filter, with the objective of producing a more accurate vehicle track. Postprocessing results using data from two recent field trials are presented.
TCT-267 Agreement Between Pre-Hospital and Emergency Department ECG in the Diagnosis of STEMI – Patterns of Concordance and Discordance

Pre-hospital (PH) ECG enables field diagnosis and triage of STEMI patients to specialized STEMI receiving centers. Despite the proven benefits of early identification, false-positive ECG interpretations and unnecessary cardiac catheterization laboratory activations remain a common, challenging
Incorporating learning characteristics into automatic essay scoring models: What individual differences and linguistic features tell us about writing quality.

This study investigates a new approach to automatically assessing essay quality that combines traditional approaches based on assessing textual features with new approaches that assess individual differences in writers such as demographic information, standardized test scores, and survey results. The results demonstrate that combining text features and individual differences increases the accuracy of automatically assigned essay scores over using either individual differences or text features alone. The findings presented here have important implications for both educators and researchers because they reveal that essay scoring methods can benefit from the incorporation of features taken not only from the essay itself (e.g., features related to lexical and syntactic complexity), but also from the writer (e.g., vocabulary knowledge and writing attitudes). Such findings expand our knowledge of textual and non-textual features that are predictive of writing success.
Using Reflective Journaling to Promote Achievement in Graduate Statistics Coursework

By encouraging students to reflect on their own learning processes and identify areas that they understand as well as areas that require further improvement, student performance can be improved. This reflection promotes the development of metacognitive skills, and may be especially beneficial for students facing novel and challenging material, notably statistics coursework. Students from two different semesters of a graduate-level introductory statistics course were compared. In the experimental group, students were encouraged to complete a weekly reflective journal about their learning progress in a graduate-level statistics course. The control group followed the same course structure as the experimental group, but did not complete the journals. Independent samples t -tests were conducted on assignment and test scores as well as the final course grade for the experimental semester and the control semester. The experimental group performed significantly better than the control group on one assignment and one test. The experimental group had a marginally higher average than the control group on a second assignment. The results and analysis of journal content show support for the use of reflective journaling to improve the student learning experience.
A Portable Software Library that Implements the Gillespie Direct Method

A common approach to simulating chemical reaction systems is to formulate the problem as a set of ordinary differential equation and solve them using standard numerical procedures. Such a formulation works well when the number of molecules involved in the simulation is large and assumes a deterministic formulation for the underling chemical kinetics. However for systems such as gene regulatory networks where the number of molecules of a specific species can be of the order of 10s of molecules, the deterministic approach fails to capture important dynamical features. At low molecular numbers stochastic events dominate the dynamics. As a result much research has been devoted to developing numerical algorithms for computing the stochastic trajectories. One of the most common approaches is based on Gillespie's stochastic simulation algorithm, for example the direct method. Due to its simplicity the direct method has been implemented many times in software. However, unusually, there does not appear to be a C based reusable software library. This article describes the development of such a library. All source code is licensed under the liberal Apache 2.0 open source license and is available at Github: https://github.com/sys-bio/libStochastic.
C-31: Coping with water loss: Protecting your proteome under stress

The nematode C. elegans is a powerful model system for defining the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which animal cells cope with water loss. We have demonstrated using genome wide RNAi screening that highly conserved genes required for proteostasis are also critical components of a cellular osmosensing and osmoprotective network. Proteostasis is the maintenance of protein function and is mediated by the tightly integrated activities of gene transcription, RNA metabolism and protein synthesis, folding, assembly, trafficking, disassembly and degradation. Hypertonic stress induced water loss causes widespread and striking protein aggregation and misfolding in C. elegans. Survival in desiccating environments requires the function of gene products that detect and destroy those damaged proteins. Synthesis of new proteins is rapidly inhibited in response to cellular water loss via activation of the GCN-2 kinase signaling cascade and phosphorylation of the translation initiation factor eIF2a. Reduction of translation rate minimizes hypertonic stress induced protein damage. Inhibition of protein synthesis by hypertonic stress, knockdown of genes required for translation, or protein synthesis inhibitors also functions as a signal that activates osmoprotective gene transcription via the WNK and GCK-VI subfamily kinases WNK-1 and GCK-3. WNK and GCK-VI kinases are highly conserved and play central roles in cellular and systemic osmoregulation in humans. Taken together, these findings provide the foundation for ongoing development of an integrated understanding of the genetic, molecular and cellular pathways by which animal cells detect osmotic perturbations and cope with osmotic stress induced cellular and molecular damage.
PLASTIC BUCKLING OF FLAT, SIMPLY SUPPORTED, RECTANGULAR SANDWICH PANELS OF ORTHOTROPIC CORE WITH DIFFERENT FACE THICKNESSES

A derivation of the differential equations of the displacement function based on the principle of minimum potential energy is given for a sandwich panel with faces in the plastic range and under a uniform, uniaxial loading in the plane of the panel. The effect of compressibility, orthotropy of the core and dissimilar faces are taken into account. These equations are simplified and solved for the case of a simply supported panel to yield an implicit solution for the critical (buckling) stress. Curves are presented for several values of panel parameters for a panel with faces of 17-7PH stainless steel.
Peer-mediated intervention improves the conversational skills of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder1

Q What are the effects of a peer-mediated intervention on the initiations, follow-up questions, conversation acts, and assertive acts of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)?Design: Nonc...
Climate, Ecology, and Infectious Human Disease

This chapter provides an historical overview of the relationship between climate change, ecological change, and infectious human disease. It argues that the forces of climate have long been determinative in establishing the ecological parameters within which human beings and the pathogens that have caused infectious disease have coexisted. Our best understandings of the interactions of climate, ecology, and infectious human disease are based on the integration of perspectives from the biological, social, and historical sciences.
Perspectives of a Transgender Music Education Student.

The purpose of this study was to present a narrative account of one gender-variant music student and his experiences as a music education major at a small private college. The question guiding this...
Identifying the barriers to gastric cancer care at safety-net hospitals: A novel comparison of a safety-net hospital to a neighboring quaternary referral academic center in the same healthcare system

BACKGROUND The three-delays model describes delays in seeking, reaching, and receiving care for vulnerable populations needing treatment. The dominant delay for patients with gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) is unknown. We aimed to define patients with GAC who reached and received care at our regional safety-net hospital (Grady Memorial Hospital [GMH]) and our neighboring quaternary referral hospital (Emory University Hospital [EUH]). METHODS Clinicopathologic data from National Cancer Database (NCDB) participating academic centers were compared with GMH from 2004 to 2014. Outcomes of patients undergoing surgery at GMH were compared to those at EUH. RESULTS At presentation, compared to NCDB centers (n = 69 662), GMH patients (n = 154) were more often black (85.1 vs 17.2%; P < 0.001), uninsured (30.5 vs 4.7%; P < 0.001), have stage IV disease (43.5 vs 30.1%; P = 0.017), and received no treatment (40.3 vs 18.4%; P < 0.001). When only comparing patients who underwent curative-intent resection at GMH (n = 23) to EUH (n = 137), median overall survival was similar between both groups (GMH: median not reached; EUH: 59.8 mos; P = 0.785). CONCLUSION Although vulnerable patients with GAC within a safety-net hospital present with later stages of the disease, those who received surgery have acceptable outcomes. Thus, efforts should be made to overcome barriers in seeking care.
Centrifuged supernatants from FNA provide a liquid biopsy option for clinical next-generation sequencing of thyroid nodules.

Background Molecular testing is recommended as an adjunct to improve the preoperative diagnosis of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of thyroid nodules. Centrifuged supernatants from FNA samples, which are typically discarded, have recently emerged as a novel liquid-based biopsy for molecular testing. This study evaluates the use of thyroid FNA supernatants for detecting clinically relevant mutations. Methods Supernatants from thyroid FNA samples (n = 156) were evaluated. A 50-gene next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay was used, and mutation analysis results from a subset of samples were further compared with those of paired FNA smears and/or cell blocks. Results All 156 samples yielded adequate DNA (median, 135 ng; range, 11-3180 ng), and 129 of these samples (83%) were successfully sequenced by NGS. The most frequently detected somatic mutations included BRAF and RAS mutations, which were followed by RET, TP53, PTEN, CDKN2A, and PIK3CA mutations. Eleven of 31 cases with an indeterminate cytologic diagnosis and 9 of 12 cases that were suspicious for malignancy had somatic mutations, including the BRAF V600E mutation, which is highly definitive for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Seven of the 9 indeterminate and suspicious cases with the BRAF V600E mutation had surgical follow-up, and they were all confirmed to be PTC. A comparison of the mutation profiles derived from supernatants with those of paired smears and/or cell blocks in a small subset of cases (n = 8) showed 100% concordance. Conclusions This study provides evidence that FNA supernatants can be used as a surrogate for thyroid molecular testing to improve diagnostic accuracy in indeterminate nodules, provide prognostic/predictive information, and improve overall patient management.
Does the Presumption of Validity Matter? An Experimental Assessment

Few doctrines in patent law are perceived to be as important as the presumption of validity. Despite its perceived importance, the impact of informing the jury of the presumption has not been examined empirically, but rather has remained the province of assumptions and speculation.Because the presumption is, at bottom, a procedural device that assigns the burden of proof, the Federal Circuit has held that it need not be included in the jury instructions so long as the jury is informed of the clear and convincing standard for proving invalidity. Underlying this holding is the assumption that the presence or absence of the presumption instruction would not materially affect the jury’s decision-making on invalidity issues. But litigants often view the presumption not simply as a procedural device, but also as a mechanism for influencing the jury with potentially outcome-determinative effects. This mismatch in perception between the Federal Circuit and litigants regarding the impact of the presumption instruction has gone largely unnoticed and unexamined. This Article reports the first experimental study on the impact of instructing the jury on the presumption of validity. The data reveal statistically significant differences in the rate of invalidation depending on whether the mock jurors were informed of the presumption. Based on this finding, the Article analyzes the selection of a validity baseline in light of both procedural considerations and error costs.
Design of Secure Reconfigurable Power Converters

In recent years, attacks against the power grid and the connected smart grid infrastructure have increased and have become a national security issue. The communication-based attacks include attacks with physical access to a network, as well as remote-networked attacks. The resource constrained end devices such as smart meters, power converters as well as third party appliances open additional opportunities for malicious actors. In this paper, we present a low overhead secure communication framework for the critical power infrastructure, which incorporates secure processors, such as Trusted Platform Modules to introduce secure communication in the end nodes. As a use case scenario, we demonstrate security framework for power converters.
Development of a Novel Oral Delivery Vehicle for Probiotics.

Background There is a significant interest in effective oral drug delivery of therapeutic substances. For probiotics, there is a particular need for a delivery platform that protects the bacteria from destruction by the acidic stomach while enabling targeted delivery to the intestine where microbiota naturally reside. The use of probiotics and how they impact the gut microbiota is a growing field and holds promise for the treatment of a variety of gastrointestinal diseases, including irritable bowel disease Crohn's disease and C. diff and other diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's diseases. Objective The aim of this research was to use our newly developed chemically-modified alginate hydrogel with the characteristic feature of stability in acidic environments but disintegration under neutral-basic pH conditions to design a novel system for effective targeted delivery of ingested probiotics. Methods and results We have used the approach of encapsulation of bacterial cells in the hydrogel of the modified alginate with in vitro studies in both simulated stomach acid and intestinal fluid conditions to demonstrate the potential application of this novel platform in oral delivery of probiotics. Our data provide a proof-of-concept that enables further studies in vivo with this delivery platform. Conclusion We have demonstrated in the present study that our chemically modified alginate hydrogel is resistant to acidic conditions and protects bacterial cells encapsulated in it, but it is sensitive to neutral-basic pH conditions under which it disintegrates and releases its viable bacteria cell payload. Our data provide a proof-ofconcept that enables further studies in vivo with this delivery platform for the efficacy of therapeutic bacteria in various disease conditions.
Reward design for driver repositioning using multi-agent reinforcement learning

Abstract A large portion of passenger requests is reportedly unserviced, partially due to vacant for-hire drivers’ cruising behavior during the passenger seeking process. This paper aims to model the multi-driver repositioning task through a mean field multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) approach that captures competition among multiple agents. Because the direct application of MARL to the multi-driver system under a given reward mechanism will likely yield a suboptimal equilibrium due to the selfishness of drivers, this study proposes a reward design scheme with which a more desired equilibrium can be reached. To effectively solve the bilevel optimization problem with upper level as the reward design and the lower level as a multi-agent system, a Bayesian optimization (BO) algorithm is adopted to speed up the learning process. We then apply the bilevel optimization model to two case studies, namely, e-hailing driver repositioning under service charge and multiclass taxi driver repositioning under NYC congestion pricing. In the first case study, the model is validated by the agreement between the derived optimal control from BO and that from an analytical solution. With a simple piecewise linear service charge, the objective of the e-hailing platform can be increased by 8.4 % . In the second case study, an optimal toll charge of $ 5.1 is solved using BO, which improves the objective of city planners by 7.9 % , compared to that without any toll charge. Under this optimal toll charge, the number of taxis in the NYC central business district is decreased, indicating a better traffic condition, without substantially increasing the crowdedness of the subway system.
Infections in the Immunocompromised Host

With advances in the management of patients with hematological malignancies, solid tumors, and organ transplantation, a large population of immunocompromised patients has emerged at risk of developing serious infections. The implicated pathogens are largely dependent on the degree and type of immune suppression. In general, the most common definable sites of infection in the immunocompromised host are bloodstream, lung, and mucosal surfaces.
Complication of Late Presenting STEMI Due to Avoidance of Medical Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Patients are avoiding hospitals for fear of contracting severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). We are witnessing a re-emergence of rare complications of myocardial infarctions (MI) due to delayed revascularization. Herein, we describe a case of hemorrhagic pericarditis from thrombolytics administered to a patient with late presenting MI. (Level of Difficulty: Beginner.).
GloFlow: Global Image Alignment for Creation of Whole Slide Images for Pathology from Video.

The application of deep learning to pathology assumes the existence of digital whole slide images of pathology slides. However, slide digitization is bottlenecked by the high cost of precise motor stages in slide scanners that are needed for position information used for slide stitching. We propose GloFlow, a two-stage method for creating a whole slide image using optical flow-based image registration with global alignment using a computationally tractable graph-pruning approach. In the first stage, we train an optical flow predictor to predict pairwise translations between successive video frames to approximate a stitch. In the second stage, this approximate stitch is used to create a neighborhood graph to produce a corrected stitch. On a simulated dataset of video scans of WSIs, we find that our method outperforms known approaches to slide-stitching, and stitches WSIs resembling those produced by slide scanners.
Police Violence and the African-American Procedural Habitus

How should an African American respond to a race-based police stop? What approach, disposition, or tactic will minimize his risk within the context of the police stop of being subject to police violence? This Essay advances a conversation among criminal procedural theorists about citizen agency within the field of police-administered criminal procedure, highlighting “The Talk” that parents have with their African American children regarding how to respond to police seizure. It argues that the most prominent version of The Talk — the one in which parents call for absolute deference to police authority in the event of a police stop — may be as reasonable as it is ineffective. If African Americans, as a matter of course, respond to the race-based stop with unqualified submission to police authority, the race-based stop becomes a tidy and efficient exercise, the ease of which is likely to raise the rate at which African Americans are stopped and battered by police. Blanket conformity would seem to create a deleterious feedback loop for this targeted racial cohort. African Americans could instead opt for a discrete, transactional form of nonconformity in response to the race-based stop — one that accords with the principle of police accountability. Rather than reflexive submission, when subject to such stops African Americans could follow a nonconformist protocol that includes a request for the name and badge number of the seizing officer(s) followed by the filing of a formal complaint. I identify these and similar discretionary maneuvers taken during and after the race-based police stop as “administrative nonconformity.” Such practices require an alternative disposition toward the race-based stop — a reformulation of the African American procedural habitus.
Using Statistical Analysis and Computer Vision to Understand Uncertainty in Subsurface Exploration

As part of the 4th annual Smoky Mountains Data Challenge hosted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, we sought to quantify uncertainty in subsurface exploration of the underground to facilitate decision-making. To provide some context, in the collection of seismic data, sounds waves are transmitted into the ground and their reflections recorded by a receiver. However, due to inconsistencies of the subsurface medium, accurate localization of underground layers is difficult without directly digging down to confirm. To combat this issue, we used several statistical and computer vision to quantify uncertainty of seismic data images by labelling each pixel of a seismic survey (realistic models of subsurface density) to indicate its volatility. After thorough analysis, we could conclude that not one “good” metric exists to accomplish our de- fined goal; uncertainty is defined differently depending on the specific methods one employs. Every uncertainty map that was generated using a unique technique highlighted distinct areas of the seismic surveys. More experimentation and feedback from experts are needed to identify what optimal combination of these (or other) techniques would be best to arrive at the best measurement by which to measure subsurface uncertainty.
Spiders (Araneae) Collected as Prey by the Mud-Dauber Wasps Sceliphron caementarium and Chalybion californicum (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) in Southeastern Nebraska

Predator diets represent a potential interaction between local prey availability, prey antipredator defenses, and predator foraging behavior. Female spider-specialist mud-dauber wasps (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) collect spiders and provision them intact, but paralyzed, to their developing larvae, providing a unique means of quantifying the diversity and abundance of prey that they capture. Mud-dauber wasps are hypothesized to be a major source of selection on antipredator defenses in web-building spiders, and the spiny and thickened abdomens of female spiny orb-weaving spiders (Araneae: Araneidae) are hypothesized to function as antiwasp defenses. We inventoried spider prey from nests of the mud-dauber wasps Sceliphron caementarium (Drury) and Chalybion californicum (Saussure), and surveyed for spider fauna in areas surrounding nest collection sites, to specifically investigate if the spiny orb-weaver Micrathena gracilis (Walckenaer) was collected as prey by these wasps. We collected nests from six sites in southeastern Nebraska from two regions that we classify based on habitat—a forest corridor and agricultural land. We collected 761 intact spider prey from 87 nests and identified them to the family level. None of these spiders were M. gracilis. Micrathena gracilis were rare in faunal surveys on agricultural land and, surprisingly, absent in forest corridor surveys. Mud-dauber wasps were more common; we collected more spiders on agricultural land than in the forest corridor. We propose that in agricultural landscapes, the lack of certain spiders in mud-dauber wasp nests is driven by habitat use differences between predators and prey rather than physical antipredator defenses.
Next Generation Practitioner-Scholars Navigating Community Engagement Professional Development: A Collaborative Autoethnography

This collaborative autoethnographic research study examines the motivations, experiences, and professional outcomes of seven community engagement practitioner-scholars who served in a high-level elected position in a community engagement research association and its affiliated graduate student network. The findings highlight the role of professional associations and graduate student networks in facilitating professional development for next generation community engagement practitioner-scholars, such as supporting them in creating connections, expanding networks, developing professional identities, and cultivating cultural capital.
On the Estimation of Derivatives Using Plug-in KRR Estimators

We study the problem of estimating the derivatives of the regression function, which has a wide range of applications as a key nonparametric functional of unknown functions. Standard analysis may be tailored to specific derivative orders, and parameter tuning remains a daunting challenge particularly for high-order derivatives. In this article, we propose a simple plug-in kernel ridge regression (KRR) estimator in nonparametric regression with random design that is broadly applicable for multi-dimensional support and arbitrary mixed-partial derivatives. We provide a non-asymptotic analysis to study the behavior of the proposed estimator, leading to two error bounds for a general class of kernels under the strong $L_\infty$ norm. In a concrete example specialized to kernels with polynomially decaying eigenvalues, the proposed estimator recovers the minimax optimal rate up to a logarithmic factor for estimating derivatives of functions in Holder class. Interestingly, the proposed estimator achieves the optimal rate of convergence with the same choice of tuning parameter for any order of derivatives. Hence, the proposed estimator enjoys a remarkable \textit{plug-in property} for derivatives in that it automatically adapts to the order of derivatives to be estimated, enabling easy tuning in practice. Our simulation studies show favorable finite sample performance of the proposed method relative to several existing methods.
Altered behavior and distribution of pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Homoptera: Aphididae), infected with Pandora neoaphidis (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales)

The distribution and mobility of infected aphid hosts can have a great effect on the ability of a pathogen to spread throughout a population. The distribution of dead and living pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) infected with Pandora neoaphidis was compared with that of their healthy conspecifics. Infected aphids were significantly more likely to be found on the undersides of alfalfa leaves and off of the plants than were healthy aphids. These two shifts in microhabitat location have potential costs and benefits for both the host and the pathogen.
A Markov Decision Process Model of Tutorial Intervention in Task-Oriented Dialogue

Designing dialogue systems that engage in rich tutorial dialogue has long been a goal of the intelligent tutoring systems community. A key challenge for these systems is determining when to intervene during student problem solving. Although intervention strategies have historically been hand-authored, utilizing machine learning to automatically acquire corpus-based intervention policies that maximize student learning holds great promise. To this end, this paper presents a Markov Decision Process (MDP) framework to learn an intervention policy capturing the most effective tutor turn-taking behaviors in a task-oriented learning environment with textual dialogue. The model and its learned policy highlight important design considerations, including maintaining tutor engagement during student problem solving and avoiding multiple consecutive interventions.