cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Finite Temperature Behavior of a Relativistic Field Theory with Dynamical Symmetry Breaking

Recently, Gross and Neveu have studied a two-dimensional field theory of an $N$-component fermion in the large-$N$ limit. This theory is asymptotically free and has dynamical spontaneous symmetry breaking. In this paper we study certain finite-temperature properties of this theory, especially those related to the survival of the "condensate," or symmetry breaking. Within the mean-field approximation, we find that the symmetry breaking disappears at a finite temperature ${T}_{0}$, which is of the same order of magnitude as the physical mass of a fermion. However, the mean-field approximation is not good for any finite $N$. At any nonzero temperature, however small, the system prefers to be in space-dependent field configurations such that the condensate vanishes. The critical temperature is thus zero.
Recent advances in radiosurgical management of brain metastases.

Abstract Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has become a widely available treatment option for patients with brain metastases. Recent clinical trials suggest that SRS can be used without upfront whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), resulting in several clinical dilemmas in the current daily practice of SRS. The proper patient selection for SRS or WBRT continues to evolve. Statistical models to predict when new brain metastases will occur as well as who will experience neurologic death have been developed. The optimization of imaging continues for both detection of brain metastases and response assessment. Larger brain metastases continue to pose a challenge to practitioners to find options to optimize the therapeutic ratio. The current review addresses the current state of the scientific literature for these clinical dilemmas.
The Ozone Problem in Rural Areas of the United States

A comparison of ozone measurements from rural sites in the eastern and western United States indicates that daily maximum values are 15–25 ppb higher in the east than the west in late spring and summer, and that high values (>80 ppb) are common in the east but rare in the west. We present the results of an analysis of ozone measurements in the east, which shows that high values of ozone occur frequently during episodes of large spatial scale (1000- >1600 km). Ozone episodes occurred 9 and 7 times, in 1978 and 1979, between May and September. They persisted for 3–4 days on average, with a range of 2–8 days, and were most common in June. Analysis of the tracks of anti-cyclones for each year indicates that ozone episodes occurred preferentially in the presence of weak, slow moving and persistent high pressure systems.
Variation in lipid mediator and cytokine levels during mouse femur fracture healing

Fracture healing is regulated by a variety of inflammatory mediators and growth factors which act over time to regenerate the injured tissue. This study used a mouse femur fracture model to quantify the temporal expression pattern of lipid mediators, cytokines, and related mRNAs during healing. Cyclooxygenase (COX-1 and COX-2) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) derived lipid mediators, cytokines, and mRNA levels were quantified using mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), bead-based multiplex assays (xMAP), and quantitative PCR of cDNA (RTqPCR), respectively. Our analysis found that, the early inflammatory response (between 0 and 4 days after fracture) in the mouse femur fracture model coincided with elevated levels of COX-derived lipid mediators and inflammatory cytokines but with decreased levels of 5-LO-derived lipid mediators. Further, the COX-derived lipid mediators remained elevated for at least 7 days after fracture, suggesting that the COX-derived lipid mediators have additional functions during later phases of the fracture healing response. Differences were also found between mRNA levels and corresponding cytokines and lipid mediator levels, supporting a role for post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. The temporal changes in fracture callus lipid mediator levels and inflammatory cytokines support a general positive role for inflammatory cytokines and COX-derived lipid mediators on fracture healing and a general negative role for 5-lipoxygenase derived lipid mediators during the initial stages of repair. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 34:1883-1893, 2016.
Waveform synthesis via alternating projections with ambiguity function, peak-to-average power ratio, and spectrum requirements

A method is presented which synthesizes a radar waveform with desirable ambiguity function properties, while simultaneously meeting user-specified requirements on the waveform's peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) and spectrum. The result is a radar waveform optimization providing desired range-Doppler resolution, spectral compliance, and power efficiency capability. The waveforms are generated via projection and are not constrained to any set of basis functions. A brief overview of the projection process is given, as well as the outline for the methodology to ensuring PAPR and spectral compliance. Simulation and measurement results show successful operation of the approach.
FEDERAL–LOCAL COOPERATION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES FOR STATE LEVEL POLICY PARTICIPATION: WATER RESOURCES IN ARIZONA

Intergovernmental sharing of responsibility for planning and administering programs of public policy is generally accepted as descriptive of American federalism. Sharing implies that "significant decision-making power" in the United States for shaping and implementing public programs is exercised equally by public officials in federal, state, and local units of government. More importantly, the exponents of the sharing thesis argue, although shared relationships are both cooperative and conflicting, intergovernmental cooperation is the key attribute of American federalism.1 In the present discussion, I wish to expand on the sharing concept by asking: What are the consequences of specific intergovernmental cooperative relationships on policy participation of public officials in federal, state, and local governments? The major aim of this case is to offer some insights into this broad question by an analysis of how state level policy making in the state of Arizona on the issue of water resources is affected by a federal-local cooperative relationship between the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior, and special purpose local water users' associations.2 I am concerned
cis-Trimedlure: Attraction for the Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) and Isomeric Structural Assignments

trans -Trimedlure, 1,1-dimethylethyl 4(and 5)-chloro- trans -2-methylcyclohexane-1-carboxylate (TML), is a mixture of four isomers and is the survey and detection lure for the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). It is significantly more attractive than cis -TML, 1,1-dimethylethyl 4(and 5)-chloro- cis -2-methylcyclohexane-1-carboxylate, which is also a mixture of four isomers. Relatively large quantities of cis -TML can be added to trans -TML without affecting attraction, thus, commercial TML, which normally contains 5–10% cis -TML, is as attractive as pure trans -TML. This finding is important in establishing quality control standards for TML used in survey and detection programs. By use of epimerization reactions, the four trans -isomers, whose structures are known, were converted to their cis counterparts. The structural identification of each cis isomer was, thus, established.
ON SOME MATHEMATICAL MODELS OF SOCIAL PHENOMENA

Publisher Summary Practicers of almost all academic disciplines, as well as interdisciplinary buffs, are using computers in some way, which forces them to characterize the subjects of their investigation more precisely in mathematical terms. Such a characterization will motivate a certain number of investigators to improve their mathematical skills and to be concerned with styles of mathematical model making. Physical scientists have developed a style of subtle interplay between organization of numerical data and introduction of mathematical models to classify and/or mimic the data. All new branches of mathematical physics start with some simple model. At the later stages of development of the science, more global models (or, as they are called, principles) evolve which imply a wide variety of the more primitive models.
Digital Image Correlation Analysis and Numerical Simulation of the Aluminum Alloys under Quasi-static Tension after Necking Using the Bridgman’s Method

The Bridgman method of true stress correction in tensile loading is revisited. With the current advances in 3D DIC technique, the implementation of the Bridgman method becomes very simple. The equivalent true stress-strain relation from the correction is readily and directly implementable into FEM simulation. The Bridgman method can yield a high degree of accuracy in predicting flow stress in post-necking for some aluminum alloys, especially where the radius of curvature around the neck is small before failure. However, if the actual triaxiality deviates too much from the uniaxial assumption that it is constant across the neck radius, the Bridgman’s correction would still over estimate the equivalent stress. Subsequent FEM simulation can determine whether the Bridgman’s correction is adequate to predict the true stress-strain relation beyond necking.
Impact of Instruction on Word Identification Skills in Children with Phonological Processing Problems

Children were identified in kindergarten as at risk for reading disability based on poor performance on measures of phonological proresring (phonological analysis and phonological recoding). At-risk students were taught in grades one and two using either a Code approach (structured phonics) or a Context approach to reading instruction. A third group of at-risk students was designated as a passive control group. At the end of grades one and two, children in the Code group earned higher scores on word identification and significantly higher scores on nonword reading than children in either the Context or Control groups. Classification of children as having general phonological analysis or recoding problems indicated that problems in phonological analysis were the most common. A smaller group of subjects had problems only in phonological recoding. In addition, a small group of children had problems in both analysis and recoding. Although the majority of children in each of the treatment groups showed general deficits in phonological analysis, only phonological receding measures were significantly correlated with reading outcome. It was concluded that direct instruction in the alphabetic code can have a positive impact on the development of nonword reading skills in children with differing types and degrees of phonological processing deficits.
Pelvic hemangiopericytoma: Report of 4 patients and review of the literature

Review of the literature revealed 42 patients with uterine hemangiopericytoma (HPC) and nine with extrauterine tumors. Three additional patients with uterine and one with extrauterine are described. The primary treatment should be aggressive surgery, but high doses of irradiation and chemotherapy may be of benefit in extensive disease or recurrences. The prognosis of uterine HPC is better than that of the extrauterine tumors. Cells from the extrauterine tumor were grown in tissue culture. The culture consisted of two cell types resembling pericytes and endothelial cells. The cells in culture retain most of the ultrastructural characteristics of the in vivo tumor.
A Case of Thyroid Storm Associated with Cardiomyopathy and Poststreptococcal Glomerulonephritis

Thyroid storm has a high mortality rate and is often associated with a precipitating factor such as intercurrent illness or infection. It is rare in pediatric patients. Cardiac disease in hyperthyroidism mostly manifests itself as tachycardia but more serious cardiac findings have also been described. A 5-year-old male with recent strep throat infection presented with dilated cardiomyopathy, hematuria, and symptoms and lab findings consistent with severe hyperthyroidism. He was diagnosed with thyroid storm secondary to concurrent Graves’ disease and poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (PSGN). After starting the treatment with methimazole and a beta-blocker, his cardiac disease gradually improved and the PSGN resolved over time. There are no specific pediatric criteria for thyroid storm. Adult criteria can be difficult to apply to pediatric cases. Criteria for diagnosis of thyroid storm are less clear for pediatric patients. Dilated cardiomyopathy is a rare cardiac manifestation of hyperthyroidism. PSGN is due to glomerular immune complexes and can complicate group A strep infection. Providers should be aware of cardiac disease as a complication of hyperthyroidism. PSGN should not mechanistically be related to hyperthyroidism but can precipitate the signs of thyroid storm such as hypertension. This association has not been previously reported in the literature.
Seeing Life Through a Sacred Lens: The Spiritual Dimension of Meaning

This chapter reviews the growing research on sanctification, one aspect of spirituality that involves perceiving a deeper dimension in life. Sanctification can be defined as individuals interpreting aspects of life as having sacred qualities and/or as being a manifestation of God(s)/higher power(s). Various dimensions of life can be seen through this sacred lens including life as a whole, specific life domains, and particular moments. In this chapter, we summarize the current literature on sanctification, suggesting that seeing life through a sacred lens is a common experience that has important implications for human functioning across several clinically relevant domains including family relationships, work, and personal strivings. We conclude that being attentive to clients’ experiences of sacred meaning can offer a point of contact between clients’ spiritual beliefs and their treatment goals, encouraging them to engage with their longing to find a deeper, more ultimate meaning and purpose in their lives.
Could There Be a Silver Lining to Zika

Public health crises around Thalidomide and Rubella changed American public opinion around abortion policy. But could the spread of Zika do the same amid an outbreak of new state-level abortion restrictions?
In Defense of Pluralism: Religiously Affiliated Law Schools, Olympianism, and Christophobia

Daniel Webster observed that “Christianity, general, tolerant, Christianity, Christianity independent of sects and parties” was the foundation of our liberties and legal system. In the spirit of this tradition, I have explained in my scholarship that the law must zealously guard religious liberty for all, while the substance of law should be based on principles of truth knowable by and accessible to all and not on principles unique to one faith. In other words, a Christian-based jurisprudence does not inherently involve the imposition of uniquely Christian principles and, thus, is not theocratic. This Essay responds to direct challenges to religiously affiliated educational institutions and explains why a principled pluralism rooted in the enduring traditions upon which this nation was built must include accommodating the right of religiously affiliated institutions to act in accordance with their faith principles.
Expression of Rap 1 suppresses genomic instability of H-ras transformed mouse fibroblasts

Among the multiple genetic changes that occur during cancer progression are the activation of proto-oncogenes and the inactivation or loss of genes encoding tumor suppressors. The potential roles for these genes in the perturbation of genome stability continues to be of major interest. We have previously shown that conditional expression of H-ras in NIH3T3 cells increases genetic instability in these cells, rendering them more permissive to gene amplification and to the generation of chromosome aberrations which can be induced within a single cell cycle. In the present study we show that genetic instability induced by H-ras expression can be suppressed by co-expressions ofRap 1, aRas-related tumor suppressor gene. An NIH3T3 cell line transformed with activated human H-ras was transfected withRap 1. Expression of theRap 1 gene reverted the transformed cells to a flat morphology. The reverted cells reestablished contact inhibition of growth and lost the capacity to form colonies in soft agar. These cells were subsequently studied for the role ofRap 1 on the suppression of genomic instability induced by oncogenic H-ras. Cells transformed with H-ras manifest an increase in methotrexate resistance as measured by an increase inDhfr gene amplification. Cells which concommitantly expressRap 1 showed reduced levels of methotrexate resistance as well as reduction of gene amplification capacity. Furthermore fluorescent-in-situ hybridization (FISH) with a pancentromeric mouse probe showed that elevated levels of chromosome aberrations in cells expressing H-ras were also suppressed after co-expression ofRap 1.
Diagnostic play interview. Its role in comprehensive psychiatric evaluation.

This article describes the importance of including a diagnostic play session as a major component of a comprehensive psychiatric assessment of young children. It is through observing a young child's play that a clinician can gather a wealth of information about a child's developmental level in the cognitive, social, language, and motor domains and some insight into the development of a child's personality and his or her inner world. This data, combined with the results of developmental testing, school observations, and parent interviews, can be important in making formulations and diagnoses and planning interventions.
Review: the discourse of neoliberalism

The term ‘neoliberalism’ has long occupied a principal place in scholarly debates and inquiries regarding the contemporary functioning of power and socioeconomic inequality. It has achieved enough ...
Effect of prenatal mindfulness training on depressive symptom severity through 18-months postpartum: A latent profile analysis.

Objective We examined whether prenatal mindfulness training was associated with lower depressive symptoms through 18-months postpartum compared to treatment as usual (TAU). Method A controlled, quasi-experimental trial compared prenatal mindfulness training (MMT) to TAU. We collected depressive symptom data at post-intervention, 6-, and 18-months postpartum. Latent profile analysis identified depressive symptom profiles, and multinomial logistic regression examined whether treatment condition predicted profile. Results Three depressive symptom severity profiles emerged: none/minimal, mild, and moderate. Adjusting for relevant covariates, MMT participants were less likely than TAU participants to be in the moderate profile than the none/minimal profile (OR = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.03-0.54, p = .005). Conclusions Prenatal mindfulness training may have benefits for depressive symptoms during the transition to parenthood.
Developing a Sampling Plan for Brown Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Field Corn.

Brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), is a damaging pest of corn, Zea mays (L.), in the southeastern United States. Developing a reliable and practical sampling plan for population monitoring of this pest is essential for implementing integrated pest management measures. E. servus was sampled from commercial corn fields (n = 14) in North Carolina in 2016 and 2017. Both the adults and nymphs had a predominantly aggregated spatial distribution, estimated using the variance to mean ratio and Taylor’s power law constant (b). Using the Taylor’s power law constants, the optimum sample size required to estimate population density with a given level of reliability was calculated. For early vegetative stage corn (V4–V6), using whole plant visual sampling and an economic threshold density of 2 adult stink bugs per 20 plants, 27 sample units were required to estimate population density within 30% of the mean. At the same growth stage, using partial plant sampling and an economic threshold density of 1.73 adult stink bugs per 20 plants, 28 sample units were required to estimate population density with the same level of reliability. Reproductive stage corn (R1–R4) required eight sample units for whole plant sampling and nine sample units for partial plant sampling (Dx = 0.3). For E. servus adults, the partial plant sampling method was equally or more cost-reliable than the whole-plant sampling method for pest management in all corn growth stages tested.
1963–1974: Employment at Danebank School

In 1963, after her children had reached the ages of 12 (Peter) and 10 (Fiona), Ruby Payne-Scott took a position as a part-time science and senior mathematics teacher at the Danebank Church of England School for Girls in Hurstsville, only 5 km distant from her home in Oatley. Hurstville was easily accessible by train from Oatley, and Ruby’s children were, of course, at local schools. At Danebank School, she was known as Mrs. Ruby Hall. Two photographs of the school in early 2007 are shown in Fig. 13.1a, b.
Learning to Detect Vandalism in Social Content Systems: A Study on Wikipedia

A challenge facing user generated content systems is vandalism, i.e. edits that damage content quality. The high visibility and easy access to social networks makes them popular targets for vandals. Detecting and removing vandalism is critical for these user generated content systems. Because vandalism can take many forms, there are many different kinds of features that are potentially useful for detecting it. The complex nature of vandalism, and the large number of potential features, make vandalism detection difficult and time consuming for human editors. Machine learning techniques hold promise for developing accurate, tunable, and maintainable models that can be incorporated into vandalism detection tools. We describe a method for training classifiers for vandalism detection that yields classifiers that are more accurate on the PAN 2010 corpus than others previously developed. Because of the high turnaround in social network systems, it is important for vandalism detection tools to run in real-time. To this aim, we use feature selection to find the minimal set of features consistent with high accuracy. In addition, because some features are more costly to compute than others, we use cost-sensitive feature selection to reduce the total computational cost of executing our models. In addition to the features previously used for spam detection, we introduce new features based on user action histories. The user history features contribute significantly to classifier performance. The approach we use is general and can easily be applied to other user generated content systems.
Changes in Self-Reported Health and Psychosocial Outcomes in Older Adults Enrolled in Sedentary Behavior Intervention Study

Purpose:To estimate changes in self-reported health and psychosocial factors associated with a 12-week sedentary behavior intervention for older adults.Design:Exploratory secondary analysis of pilo...
A Probabilistic Method for Pruning CADJ Graphs with Applications to SOM Clustering

We introduce a Bayesian Dirichlet-Multinomial model of the edge weights of the Cumulative ADJacency (\(CADJ\)) graph [1] with the goal of intelligent graph pruning. As a topology representing graph, \(CADJ\) is an effective tool for cluster extraction from the learned prototypes of SOMs, but for complex data the graph must typically be pruned to elicit meaningful cluster structure. This work is a first attempt to guide this pruning in a formal modeling framework. Our model, dubbed DM-Prune, earmarks edges for removal via comparisons to a novel null model and provides an internal assessment of information loss resulting from iterative removal of edges. We show that DM-Pruned \(CADJ\) graphs lead to clusterings comparable to the best previously achieved on highly structured real data.
Why the embryo rescue case is a bad argument against embryonic personhood

The embryo rescue case (ERC) is a thought experiment that is used to argue against the view that embryos have a right to life (i.e., are persons). I will argue that cognitive science undermines the intuition elicited by the ERC. I will show that whether or not embryos have a right to life, our mental tools will make it very difficult to believe that they do have the said right. This suggests that the intuition elicited by the ERC is not truth-indicative. The upshot of this is that we have an undercutting defeater for our intuition that embryos do not have a right to life. Thus, the ERC is a bad argument against embryonic personhood.
Feature extraction for predicting the probability of detecting buried explosive objects using GPR data

Detection of buried explosive objects has been studied extensively and several sensors have been developed. In particular, ground penetrating radar (GPR) has proved to be one of the most successful modalities and many machine learning algorithms have been developed for buried threat detection using this sensor. Large scale experiments that involved multiple detection algorithms and very large data collections have indicated that the relative performance of different algorithms can vary significantly depending on the explosive objects, geographical site, soil and weather conditions, and burial depth. In fact, it is possible for an algorithm that performs well on training data to have low probability of target detection (PD), or high false alarm rate (FAR), on new data collected in a different environment. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of developing an algorithm that can predict the performance of a discrimination algorithm on GPR data collected in different environments. This can be used to select the optimal sensor/algorithm for a given location. It can also be used to select the optimal parameters of a given discriminator for a given site. Our approach combines predictive analysis with adequate feature selection methods to boost PD modeling and improve its prediction accuracy. Starting from raw GPR data, we extract and investigate a large set of potential descriptors that can quantify noise, surface roughness, and (implicit) soil properties. Our objectives are to: (i) Identify the optimal subset of features that can affect the target PDs of a given discriminator; and (ii) Learn a regression model for PD prediction. To validate our approach, we use data collected by a GPR sensor mounted on a vehicle. We extract over 50 different features from background regions and investigate feature selection and regression algorithms to learn a model that can predict the targets PD of a given discrimination algorithm for a given lane segment. We validate our results using different cross-validation methods.
High Stakes Require More Than Just Talk: What to Do About Corruption in Health Systems; Comment on “We Need to Talk About Corruption in Health Systems”

Reluctance to talk about corruption is an important barrier to action. Yet the stakes of not addressing corruption in the health sector are higher than ever. Corruption includes wrongdoing by individuals, but it is also a problem of weak institutions captured by political interests, and underfunded, unreliable administrative systems and healthcare delivery models. We urgently need to focus on corruption as a health systems problem. In addition to supporting research to better understand the context and implications of corruption in health systems, this article suggests actions that public health professionals can do now to fight corruption.
The Role of Typhoid Toxin in Salmonella Typhi Virulence .

Unlike many of the nontyphoidal Salmonella serovars such as S. Typhimurium that cause restricted gastroenteritis, Salmonella Typhi is unique in that it causes life-threatening typhoid fever in humans. Despite the vast difference in disease outcomes that S. Typhi and S. Typhimurium cause in humans, there are few genomic regions that are unique to S. Typhi. Of these regions, the most notable is the small locus encoding typhoid toxin, an AB toxin that has several distinct characteristics that contribute to S. Typhi's pathogenicity. As a result, typhoid toxin and its role in S. Typhi virulence have been studied in an effort to gain insight into potential treatment and prevention strategies. Given the rise of multidrug-resistant strains, research in this area has become increasingly important. This article discusses the current understanding of typhoid toxin and potential directions for future research endeavors in order to better understand the contribution of typhoid toxin to S. Typhi virulence.
Class Precarity and Solidarity in Education

This paper builds on my previous work in this journal (Hafiz, 2017) on the potentialities of prosociality as a remedy and response to widespread precarity. The aim is to ground prosociality in co-operative social and educational practices rooted in the conscientisation of social and solidarity economy. Pedagogical practices based on principles of solidarity, reciprocity and sustainability can be directed to the production of knowledge (and its associated benefits) in order to meet the basic needs of food, energy, housing, energy production, social caring and well-being in general. This paper deepens the account of prosociality by treating it as a means for cooperation to produce social infrastructures that have a protective function. These infrastructures provide important underpinnings of a universal basic security to be delivered through a social and solidarity economy. I illustrate this from precarity in higher education in the North-West of England with particular reference to the widening participation agenda. This enables me to extend the previous analysis by linking it to the sociospatial complexities of class in higher education and precarity. Specifically, I argue that class differences should be analysed in relation to a differential relationship to the interrelated variables of global dependence – glocal potential that interact with the generative mechanisms of precarity.
Determination of background doping type in type-II superlattice using capacitance-voltage measurements with double mesa structure

We present a method of determining the background doping type in semiconductors using capacitance-voltage measurements on overetched double mesa p-i-n or n-i-p structures. Unlike Hall measurements, this method is not limited by the conductivity of the substrate. By measuring the capacitance of devices with varying top and bottom mesa sizes, we were able to conclusively determine which mesa contained the p-n junction, revealing the polarity of the intrinsic layer. This method, when demonstrated on GaSb p-i-n and n-i-p structures, determined that the material is residually doped p-type, which is well established by other sources. The method was then applied on a 10 monolayer InAs/10 monolayer AlSb superlattice, for which the doping polarity was unknown, and indicated that this material is also p-type.
The influence of phase distribution and microstructure of the carbon steel on its chloride threshold value in a simulated concrete pore solution

Abstract The influence of steel microstructure and phase distribution on the corrosion initiation and chloride threshold value was investigated in a simulated concrete pore solution. Normalizing and cyclic heat-treatment were employed to change the grain size, pearlite, and MnS morphology of the conventional reinforcement carbon steel. The oxidation behavior of obtained microstructures was compared with non-treated steel specimens using the cyclic voltammetry technique. Chloride was added periodically in the solution, and threshold chloride value for each microstructure was determined using potentiostatic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Results revealed that the normalized steel lowered the chloride threshold value while cyclic heat treatment around eutectoid temperature increased the corrosion initiation resistance. Post-corrosion microscopic observation showed that corrosion initiated and propagated preferentially through the pearlite phase, while proeutectoid ferrite was intact. Isolating pearlite and fragmentation of cementite lamella and MnS inclusions through cyclic heat-treatment retarded pit nucleation and slowed down corrosion propagation.
A Point-of-Care, Real-Time Artificial Intelligence System to Support Clinician Diagnosis of a Wide Range of Skin Diseases

Dermatological diagnosis remains challenging for nonspecialists because the morphologies of primary skin lesions widely vary from patient to patient. Although previous studies have used artificial intelligence (AI) to classify lesions as benign or malignant, there have not been extensive studies examining the use of AI on identifying and categorizing a primary skin lesion's morphology. In this study, we evaluate the performance of a standalone AI tool to correctly categorize a skin lesion's morphology from a test bank of images. To provide a marker of performance, we evaluate the accuracy of primary care physicians to categorize skin lesion morphology in the same test bank of images without any aids and then with the aid of a simple visual guide. The AI system achieved an accuracy of 68% in determining the single most likely morphology from the test image bank. When the AI’s top prediction was broadened to its top three most likely predictions, accuracy improved to 80%. In comparison, the diagnostic accuracy of primary care physicians was 36% without any aids and 68% with the visual guide (P
Effect of Tempering on the Ductile-to-Brittle Transitional Behavior of Ni-Cr-Mo Low-Alloy Steel

About 10 years ago, super-high energy Charpy specimens at the National Institute of Standards and Technology were removed from inventory due to unacceptable variability in absorbed energy, leading to the advent of new methods and materials to reduce the variability and maintain the prescribed energy levels. In this paper, we investigated the ductile-to-brittle transitional behavior of Ni-Cr-Mo low-alloy steel by testing Charpy specimens with side-grooves as a function of the final temper temperature to define the processing conditions for these super-high energy levels. For each temper, absorbed energy and force-displacement data were measured as a function of test temperature; the former was used to assess transition temperature and upper-shelf energy and the latter was used to estimate shear fracture appearance (SFA). From the upper-shelf energy results, it was found that two of the temper conditions yielded energies in the super-high energy range and that side-grooves reduced the variability of the energy by preventing the formation of shear lips. From the SFA data, it was shown that the instrumented striker data and fractography were in excellent agreement, with the minor discrepancies attributed to difficulties with transitional fracture surfaces in the fractography and multiple crack arrest points in the instrumented striker data. In all, the data provided clear evidence that Ni-Cr-Mo low-alloy steel is a good solution for super-high energy Charpy indirect verification specimens.
Temporally Separated Data Sets Reveal Similar Traits of Birds Persisting in a United States Megacity

We present an analysis of life history and behavioral traits associated with urbanization for 53 breeding bird species on 173 survey blocks in the Los Angeles area of southern California, USA, across two time periods, 1995–99 and 2012–16. We used observational data from two community science efforts and an estimate of urban land cover in each block to develop an index of urban association, and then modeled the relationship between species occurrence and eight traits likely associated with urban tolerance. We found two traits to be significantly associated with urbanization in both eras: Structure-nesting (i.e., the tendency to build nests on human-built structures) was positively associated, and cavity-nesting (i.e., the tendency to build nests in natural tree cavities) was negatively associated. Our analysis provides a template for mining historical community science data, and for “retrofitting” contemporary data to gain insights into ecological trends over time, and illustrates the persistence of ecological traits of species associated with urban areas even as the makeup of these species communities may change.
Optimization of frequency domain impedances for time-domain response analyses of building structures with rigid shallow foundations:

The effects of dynamic soil–structure interaction (SSI) have been extensively studied in the last few decades, and proper analysis for the linear elastic case in frequency domain has been establish...
Children and Firearms: Inevitable Interactions or Needless Calamities?

Pediatric healthcare clinicians and public health advocates can play an important role in harm prevention to decrease intentional and unintentional firearm injuries and deaths in children and youth. Alarmingly, pediatric firearm death rates have increased 20% from 2009 to 2018 in the USA, driven by the 56% increase in pediatric firearm suicide rates. Firearm safety drills in schools have become a routine part of many US public school students’ lives. This has occurred as a result of tragic, well-publicized school shootings, including at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012 and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida in 2018. These school shootings, however, account for only a small number of pediatric firearm deaths and injuries each year. In 2018, children and young adults 0–24 years old accounted for 20% of the 39,740 US firearm deaths. This book will first focus on the epidemiology and risk factors of pediatric firearm injuries and deaths. Then it will address firearm injury prevention with approaches for clinicians, mechanisms for gun safety, and policy. Finally, the book will provide guidance for future interventions, policies, and research. Like other public health epidemics, a multidimensional strategy is essential to address the increasing rates of firearm injuries and deaths. Understanding risk factors and interventions for injury prevention is critical for pediatric clinicians and public health advocates to work together towards decreasing firearm injuries and deaths of US children and youth.
The regenerating skeletal muscle niche guides muscle stem cell self-renewal

Summary Skeletal muscle stem cells (MuSCs) are essential for muscle regeneration and maintenance. While MuSCs typically are quiescent and reside in an asymmetric niche between the basal lamina and myofiber membrane: to repair or maintain muscle, MuSCs activate, proliferate and differentiate to repair injured tissue, and self-renew to replenish MuSCs. Little is known about the timing of MuSC self-renewal during muscle regeneration and the cellular processes that direct MuSC self-renewal fate decisions. Using DNA-based lineage tracing, we find that during muscle regeneration most MuSCs self-renew from 5-7 days post-injury, following fusion of myogenic cells to regenerate myofibers. Single cell sequencing of the myogenic cells in regenerating muscle reveals that non-cell autonomous signaling networks regulate MuSC self-renewal allowing identification of asymmetrically distributed proteins in self-renewing MuSCs. Cell transplantation experiments verified that the regenerating environment signals MuSC self-renewal. Our results define the critical window for MuSC self-renewal emphasizing the temporal contribution of the regenerative muscle environment on MuSC fate, establishing a new paradigm for restoring the MuSC pool during muscle regeneration.
Mitoquinone Mesylate (MitoQ) Prevents Sepsis Induced Diaphragm Dysfunction.

This is the first study to show that mitoquinone mesylate (MitoQ), a mitochondrially targeted antioxidant, treats sepsis-induced skeletal muscle dysfunction. This biopharmaceutical agent is without...
Association and risk factors of healthcare-associated infection and burden of illness among chemotherapy-induced ulcerative mucositis patients

To evaluate the association and risk factors of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) and burden of illness among chemotherapy-induced ulcerative mucositis (UM) patients. For this research, US National Inpatient Sample database 2017 was utilized to study UM patients. The association of healthcare-associated infection-related burden of illness among UM patients was assessed on the outcome––length of hospital stays (LOS), total charges, in-hospital mortality, and discharge disposition. In 2017, there were 11,350 adult (> 18 years of age) UM patients, among them there were 415 (3.5%) HAI. After adjusting for patient and clinical characteristics, UM patients with HAI were most likely to have higher total charges and longer LOS (1.91; 95% CIs: 1.51–2.41; P < 0.001; 1.84; 95% CIs: 1.53–2.21; P < 0.001) than those without HAI. Further, mortality was not significantly different. UM patients with HAI were less likely to have higher burden of illness who were younger, females, those living in non-metropolitan or micropolitan counties, and those with lower co-morbidity score. Additionally, UM patients with HAI were more likely to discharge to skilled nursing facility (SNF), intermediate care facility (ICF), and another type of facility (ATF), (aOR = 2.58 (1.16–5.76), P = 0.02), than they were to discharge to self-care or home care. UM patients with HAI were more likely to have higher burden of illness and more likely to discharged to the SNF, ICF, and ATF rather than to home or self-care. Clinical relevance UM patients when associated with HAI have higher burden of illness; a tailored approach to oral care might prevent HAIs and burden of illness among UM.
Weight Loss, Lifestyle, and Dietary Factors in Cardiovascular Disease in African Americans and Hispanics

A variety of lifestyle behaviors can have direct and indirect influences on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Unfortunately, while most Americans fall short of meeting recommendations for levels of physical activity and dietary intake patterns that are associated with lower risk of CVD, African Americans and Hispanic Americans are more likely than other race/ethnic groups in the United States to fall short of meeting many of these recommendations. When considering the persistent disparities in CVD, understanding how to help individuals from these racial and ethnic backgrounds improve risk factors for CVD using lifestyle interventions is a highly pertinent starting point. Several clinical trials have shown that engaging in healthful lifestyle interventions is beneficial to individuals from racial/ethnic minority groups for improving CVD risk. In this chapter, we review that evidence base and highlight the impact that healthful lifestyle behaviors can have in addressing CVD risk disparities, ranging from lower body weight to reduced CVD mortality. Additional research is needed to determine how to effectively engage populations of racial/ethnic minority groups with the goal of reducing CVD health disparities.
Mass conservation of the unified continuous and discontinuous element-based Galerkin methods on dynamically adaptive grids with application to atmospheric simulations

We perform a comparison of mass conservation properties of the continuous (CG) and discontinuous (DG) Galerkin methods on non-conforming, dynamically adaptive meshes for two atmospheric test cases. The two methods are implemented in a unified way which allows for a direct comparison of the non-conforming edge treatment. We outline the implementation details of the non-conforming direct stiffness summation algorithm for the CG method and show that the mass conservation error is similar to the DG method. Both methods conserve to machine precision, regardless of the presence of the non-conforming edges. For lower order polynomials the CG method requires additional stabilization to run for very long simulation times. We addressed this issue by using filters and/or additional artificial viscosity. The mathematical proof of mass conservation for CG with non-conforming meshes is presented in Appendix B.
Benthic Fauna of Lakes

The animals living on and in the sediments and large plants of lakes are usually highly diverse. Much emphasis in the study of benthic fauna has been given to the immature stages of insects that often make up the dominant part of the total animal biomass of these habitats. Nearly all insect orders are represented. Some orders of insects are entirely aquatic; others inhabit fresh waters only during certain life stages. Segmented worms (oligochaetes and leeches), microcrustacea (ostracods), and macrocrus-tacea (mysids, isopods, decapods, and amphi-pods) often form major components of benthic fauna of fresh waters.
A simplified, low power 25 MHz CMOS equalizer for disk drive read channels

After an extensive study of waveforms measured on several popular disk head-medium combinations, we have found that the combination of the head and medium itself often distorts the read pulse in phase, and a simple equalizer correcting for this phase distortion yields dramatic improvements in bit error rate. This equalizer surprisingly requires only four poles and one zero in the right-half s-plane to perform as well as a conventional flat group delay filter, and its constellation seems to apply to all the packing densities and drive types we have evaluated. We describe here a 2-/spl mu/m CMOS monolithic implementation of this new equalizing filter, with a maximum pole frequency of 25 MHz and an active core power dissipation of only 40 mW from a 5 V supply, including all tuning and subsidiary circuits.
Implications of increased infectivity in early-stage HIV infection. Application of a Bernoulli-process model of HIV transmission.

Recent reports suggest that the infectivity of sexually transmitted HIV (i.e., the probability of transmission on a single sexual contact) may be up to 1,000 times greater during the first few months of infection than during the long asymptomatic period that precedes the development of AIDS. Assuming the validity of this estimate, a simple Bernoulli-process model of HIV transmission indicates that, in some cases, the expected number of secondary infections is greater for the brief period of primary infection than for the much longer asymptomatic phase. The implications of these findings for current HIV/AIDS prevention practices are analyzed with particular attention to the role of condom use in preventing HIV transmission.
Optimal planning of life-depleting maintenance activities

This article considers a system with a deterministic initial lifetime that generates reward at a decreasing rate as its virtual age increases. Maintenance can be performed to reduce the virtual age of the system; however, maintenance also shortens the remaining lifetime of the system. Given this tradeoff, the lifetime reward-maximizing maintenance policies under perfect maintenance for non-failure-prone systems, and both perfect and imperfect maintenance for failure-prone systems are analyzed. For each combination considered, structural properties of the resulting optimal policies are derived and exploited to develop solution techniques. Insightful numerical examples are also provided.
New non-local currents in the quantum sine-Gordon model

We obtain new conserved and Lorentz covariant non-local currents of the sine-Gordon system by treating this integrable, off-conformal system in the traditional canonical quantisation scheme. Our work and our currents are to be contrasted with those of Bernard and LeClair who employ Zamolodchikov's method, couched in the conformal perturbation theoretic framework, to obtain conserved currents [A.B. Zamolodchikov, Intern. J. Mod. Phys. A. 3 (1989) 743; A 4 (1989) 4235. D. Bernard and A LeClair, Commun. Math. Phys. 142 (1991) 99; Phys. Lett. 247 (1990) 309].