cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Image gathers of SV-waves in homogeneous and factorized VTI media

Reflection moveout of SV-waves in transversely isotropic media with a vertical symmetry axis (VTI media) can provide valuable information about the model parameters and help to overcome the ambiguities in the inversion of P-wave data. Here, to develop a foundation for shear-wave migration velocity analysis, we study SV-wave image gathers obtained after prestack depth migration. The key issue, addressed using both approximate analytic results and Kirchhoff migration of synthetic data, is whether long-spread SV data can constrain the shear-wave vertical velocity VS0 and the depth scale of VTI models. For homogeneous media, the residual moveout of horizontal SV events on image gathers is close to hyperbolic and depends just on the NMO velocity Vnmo out to offset-to-depth ratios of about 1.7. Because Vnmo differs from VS0, flattening moderate-spread gathers of SV-waves does not ensure the correct depth of the migrated events. The residual moveout rapidly becomes nonhyperbolic as the offset-to-depth ratio approaches two, with the migrated depths at long offsets strongly influenced by the SV-wave anisotropy parameter σ . Although the combination of Vnmo and σ is sufficient to constrain the vertical velocity VS0 and reflector depth, the tradeoff between σ and the Thomsen
Enteropathogenic E. coli effectors EspG1/G2 disrupt microtubules, contribute to tight junction perturbation and inhibit restoration

Summary Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) uses a type 3 secretion system to transfer effector proteins into the host intestinal epithelial cell. Several effector molecules contribute to tight junction disruption including EspG1 and its homologue EspG2 via a mechanism thought to involve microtubule destruction. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of EspG-mediated microtubule disruption to TJ perturbation. We demonstrate that wild type EPEC infection disassembles microtubules and induces the progressive movement of occludin away from the membrane and into the cytosol. Deletion of espG1/G2 attenuates both of these phenotypes. In addition, EPEC infection impedes barrier recovery from calcium switch, suggesting that inhibition of TJ restoration, not merely disruption, prolongs barrier loss. TJs recover more rapidly following infection with ΔespG1/G2 than with wild type EPEC, demonstrating that EspG1/G2 perpetuate barrier loss. Although EspG regulates ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) and p21-activated kinase (PAK), these activities are not necessary for microtubule destruction or perturbation of TJ structure and function. These data strongly support a role for EspG1/G2 and its associated effects on microtubules in delaying the recovery of damaged tight junctions caused by EPEC infection.
Alteration of the Amount and Morphology of Wear Particles by the Addition of Loading Profile Transitions During Artificial Hip Wear Testing

Current validation tests of total hip arthroplasty endo-prostheses capture only a single activity performed by patients: continuous walking. A more representative test that includes transitions from a static loaded position to dynamic motion would simulate common motions by patients in which they change from standing to walking. The introduction of such transitions into a traditional test protocol could provide insight into actual wear behaviours and more realistic wear particle properties such as size and shape. First, the introduction of transitions will increase the measured wear rate. Second, the amount of wear will be positively correlated to the number of transitions per day. Finally, the size and shape of polyethylene particle produced via testing with transitions will differ from those of a conventional continuous walking test. Three identical sets of four cobalt chromium femoral heads and sterilized acetabular cups sterilized in ethylene oxide were tested in 30 per cent bovine serum under three conditions: continuous walking (0 transitions/day), 10 transitions/day, and 100 transitions/day. A day was defined as 2500 steps. The static and peak dynamic loads were 260 N and 1.9 kN respectively. A testing duration of 106 cycles was completed for each of the three tests. The wear rate was found to be inversely related to the number of transitions. Particle analysis showed that the particle size decreased as the number of transitions increased. Particles from the 100 transitions/day test were more fibular and produced more particles of the size known to promote an immune reactive response. Contrary to our hypothesis, as the number of transitions performed by patients increased, the wear rate and accumulated wear decreased. In addition, as the number of transitions increased, a larger percentage of wear particles were in the submicron size range. Consequently, despite a decrease in wear due to the presence of loading profile transitions, there is a potentially greater risk of osteolysis owing to the increased production of immunoreactive particles.
Germination Protein Levels and Rates of Germination of Spores of Bacillus subtilis with Overexpressed or Deleted Genes Encoding Germination Proteins

Deletion of Bacillus subtilis spores' GerA germinant receptor (GR) had no effect on spore germination via the GerB plus GerK GRs, and loss of GerB plus GerK did not affect germination via GerA. Loss of one or two GRs also did not affect levels of GRs that were not deleted. Overexpression of GRs 5- to 18-fold increased rates of germination via the overexpressed GR and slowed germination by other GRs up to 15-fold. However, overexpression of one or two GRs had no effect on levels of GRs that were not overexpressed. These results suggest that either interaction between different GRs reduces the activity of GRs in triggering spore germination or all GRs compete for interaction with a limiting amount of a downstream signaling molecule in the germination pathway. Overexpression or deletion of GRs also had no effect on spores' levels of the GerD protein needed for normal GR-dependent germination or of the SpoVAD protein likely involved in dipicolinic acid release early in germination. Loss of GerD also had no effect on levels of GRs or SpoVAD. Spores of a strain lacking the only B. subtilis prelipoprotein diacylglycerol transferase, GerF, also had no detectable GerD or the GerA's C subunit, both of which are most likely lipoproteins; GerA's A subunit was also absent. However, levels of GerB's C subunit, also almost certainly a lipoprotein, and GerK's A subunit were normal in gerF spores. These results with gerF spores were consistent with effects of loss of GerF on spore germination by different GRs.
GRANULOCYTE-MACROPHAGE COLONY STIMULATING FACTOR EXPANDS THE CIRCULATING HAEMOPOIETIC PROGENITOR CELL COMPARTMENT IN MAN

The effect of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) on bone-marrow and peripheral-blood progenitor cells was investigated in a three-phase study in 13 patients with sarcoma. In the first phase patients were given GM-CSF alone. In phase II, which started a week after completion of phase I, patients received a course of cytotoxic chemotherapy, then a course of GM-CSF. Phase III consisted only of cytotoxic chemotherapy. GM-CSF (phase I) alone produced an 18-fold increase in peripheral blood granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units (CFU-GM) and an 8-fold increase in erythroid burst-forming units (BFU-E) in the peripheral blood. GM-CSF had no effect on bone-marrow CFU-GM and BFU-E in the group as a whole. Three patients were investigated after phases II and III. GM-CSF increased the absolute number of peripheral blood CFU-GM by approximately 60-fold compared with the pretreatment baseline. These effects of GM-CSF may be of clinical importance with regard to facilitating the harvest of peripheral blood progenitor cells for autotransplantation.
A Wideband, Pressure-Driven, Liquid-Tunable Frequency Selective Surface

A wideband, liquid-metal-based, tunable frequency selective surface is presented. The structure consists of a periodic array of liquid mercury (Hg) volumes separated by gaps of mineral oil, encapsulated by an array of parallel polytetrafluoroethylene tubes. Tunability is achieved via pressure-driven fluidic control over the respective volumes of Hg and oil. A tuning range of 4.08-16.96 GHz (122.4% fractional bandwidth) is demonstrated.
Upwelling and estuary flushing1

Salinity data collected during 1965-1969 in Grays IJarbor, Washington, along with river discharge data, were used to determine the water and salt budgets of the inner harbor. The fluxes of water at the seaward end of the inner harbor, T, seaward at the surface and Ti inward at depth, were calculated. T, was proportional to but larger than the river discharge throughout the year except for the months of August through October, when T, was related to T1 and Z’i was driven by the influx of dense water into the harbor caused by upwelling along the boast. Thus the flushing rate of the inner harbor, as determined by its volume divided by T,, is much greater during late summer than previously suspected. The calculated rate of removal of material associated with the water in the inner harbor, based on a T, derived from river flow and the percentages of river and harbor water making up To, is 19% per day, in agreement with a previous flushing study.
Stresses of Composite Laminates Containing Holes and Cracks

Stress functions for anisotropic plates, containing 3 holes and subjected to plane stress, were derived using complex variables and superpositioning the solutions of one and two hole plates. MacLaurin series expansion was used to calculate the stresses around the contour of the openings. Effects of openings’ sizes, shapes, and relative positions on stress concentration factors were investigated. Results indicated that adjacent holes may be ignored if the distance between the center of the openings is at least five times the length of the major axis of the openings. Also, the SCF of a circular hole, located between the larger and a smaller hole, was affected more by the presence of the larger hole. For an elliptical hole located between an elliptical hole and a circular hole, the circular hole exerted more influence on the SCF of the elliptical hole when the plate was under vertical tension. Under bi-axial tension, the other elliptical hole had greater influence on the SCF of the center elliptical hole. When the holes were arranged in triangular pattern, the SCF decreased as the angle between the holes increased. By reducing the ratio of the major and minor axis of the elliptical holes, the influence between cracks was also studied.
Argument by Comparison

Although much has been written about ancient rhetorical theories of example, few scholars have examined the subtypes of example contained in these ancient rhetorical theories. As a corrective to this scholarly blind spot, this article explores the lesser-known conceptual history of “comparison,” which Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian all theorize as a subtype of example. Taken together, their rhetorical theories suggest that arguments by comparison are hypothetical, contentious, indirect, interrogative, and frequently deceptive. Moreover, Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian all theorize comparison by calling attention to the persuasive artistry of Socrates, notably his use of arguments by comparison to provoke interlocutors without challenging them directly. Understanding and explaining these rhetorical theories of comparison is the primary task of this article.
Caminante no hay camino, se hace camino al andar

"Wayfarer, there is no path; in going the path is made". There is no path automatically open in the future of epidemiology: paths will be, as in Antonio Machado's verses, the result of choices of ends and means, scientific as much as political. Power has indeed to be taken into account as melancholically suggests the closing quotation of Professor Miettinen's paper (Epidemiology: Qua vadis, this issue, pp. 713-718).
EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL ANALYSIS CORRELATION OF HAIL ICE IMPACTING COMPOSITE STRUCTURES

Many composite aircraft structures such as fuselage and wing skins, engine nacelles, and fan blades are situated such that hail ice impacts are a realistic threat. To investigate this threat, high velocity impact experiments and subsequent numerical analyses were performed to study hail ice impacts on composite structures. As hail ice is not a well characterized impact material, cast ice spheres made to simulate hail ice were projected onto a force measurement transducer system with the motivation of studying and gaining insight into ice as a projectile. Simulated hail ice was then projected onto thin carbon/epoxy composite fabric panels to study their impact damage resistance. Several of the tests involved impacts onto instrumented panels in which no damage occurred. For these test panels, their dynamic response was measured with the intent of future analytical correlation. This paper presents a numerical simulation of impacts onto a force measurement transducer and an instrumented panel impact test in which no damage occurred. The analyses were correlated with the experimental data and have been found to adequately model the impact behavior of ice and the elastic response of a thin composite panel.
Structural Features of the Oothecae of Certain Species of Cockroaches (Orthoptera, Blattidae)

Preliminary insecticidal experiments with egg capsules of common species of cockroach led directly into the observations reported in this paper. Results of early tests using oil base liquids indicated clearly that toxic action was taking place within the egg case, which immediately raised a question as to the mode of entry; respiration of the enclosed embryos was another basic point brought up for consideration at this time. Since it is known that a certain amount of gas exchange takes place through the shell of the egg of various insects, it did not seem logical that cockroach species should be different. Yet the blattid ootheca has heretofore been considered a sealed structure.
A 46-year-old man with fever, ST-segment elevation.

ST-segment elevation commonly represents acute myocardial infarction, but it is also associated with other conditions.
Magnetic resonance imaging in sinonasal disease.

AbstractComputed tomography (CT) is often the primary imaging modality for the evaluation of sinonasal disease. For some indications, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may provide additional information. There are established indications for using MRI in complicated sinonasal inflammatory disease, in
Abstract SY21-04: Wnt signaling, stem cells, and cancer.

We are interested in the regulation of growth, development and integrity of animal tissues. We study multiple different organs, trying to identify common principles, and extend these investigations to cancer and injury repair. In most organs, different cell types are generated by stem cells; cells that also make copies of themselves and thereby maintain the tissue. A right balance between the number of stem and differentiated cells is essential for the proper function of the organs. Locally acting signals are important to maintain this balance in a spatially organized manner and these signals are key to understanding the regulation of growth. A common theme linking the work together is the Wnt family of signals. Work from many laboratories has shown that Wnt proteins are essential for the control over stem cells. How this is achieved is far from clear and is the subject of studies in the lab, both in vivo and in cell culture. In vivo, a particular question we address is how physiological changes, such as those occurring during hormonal stimuli, injury or programmed tissue degeneration have an impact on the self-renewal signals and on stem cell biology. Current research includes: 1) Identifying and tracing Wnt-responsive stem cells in tissues; 2) mapping cis-acting transcriptional control elements (enhancers) that control Wnt gene expression in normal and injured tissues; 3) the use of active Wnt proteins to maintain stem cells (including embryonic stem cells) in cell culture; 4) presenting Wnt protein in a vectorial manner to stem cells to direct asymmetric cell division. Citation Format: Roel Nusse. Wnt signaling, stem cells, and cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr SY21-04. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-SY21-04
Output Based Dimensionality Reduction of Geometric Variability in Compressor Blades

A method for reducing the dimensionality of systems with high stochastic dimension is presented. The singular value decomposition of randomly sampled Jacobian matrices is used to determine the directions in the input space that have the largest impact on the behavior of the system. By considering only these dominant directions, it is possible to dramatically reduce the number of dimensions required to parameterize the system. This approach is used to reduce the number of dimensions required to predict the performance of turbomachinery components subject to geometric variability introduced during the manufacturing process. We apply this framework to analyze a compressor blade with random geometric variability and construct a surrogate model of performance that accurately predicts the compressor performance.
Synthesis and Characterization of Tungsten(VI) Alkylidene Complexes Supported by an [OCO]3− Trianionic Pincer Ligand: Progress towards the [tBuOCO]W≡CC(CH3)3 Fragment

The synthesis and characterization of trianionic [tBuOCO]3− pincer-supported tungsten alkylidene and alkylidyne complexes are described. The reaction of an equimolar ratio of (tBuO)3W≡CC(CH3)3 (where tBuO = tert-butoxide) with [tBuOCO]H3 (9) and 2,6-diisopropylphenol affords the alkylidene [tBuOCO]W═CHC(CH3)3(O-2,6-C6H3-iPr2) (10), with a five-coordinate tungsten center that adopts a distorted square-pyramidal geometry. Treatment of (Np)3W≡CC(CH3)3 (11) with 9 provides an equilibrium mixture of the two isomeric alkylidenes with the general formula [(tBuOCO)W═CHC(CH3)3(μ-tBuOCHO)W═CHC(CH3)3(tBuOCO)] (12kin and 12therm). Single crystals of the two isomers cocrystallize and were amenable to X-ray diffraction studies, which revealed subtle differences in their molecular structures, most notably the orientation of the bridging ligand. The complexes are each comprised of two square-pyramidal tungsten ions linked by the diphenolate form of the OCO ligand. Isomer 12kin could not be isolated independently; however...
Multicultural Grand Rounds: Competency-Based Training Model for Clinical Psychology Graduate Students:

Preparing students to enter the field of psychology as competent professionals requires that multicultural practices be infused into all areas of training. This article describes how the Grand Rounds model was adapted to a graduate clinical psychology training program to foster applied learning in multicultural competence. This extension of Grand Rounds as A? student-driven program to enhance multiculturalism may help others in doctoral psychology training programs develop experiential learning opportunities to further enhance professional competence.
Non-Obstructive Megacystis and Refluxing Megaureter in Pre-Teen Enuretic Boys with Minimal Symptoms

AbstractWe herein describe 4 older boys with non-obstructive, non-neurogenic refluxing megacystis-megaureter syndrome. These patients require immediate investigation and aggressive surgical intervention, the goal being total reconstruction of the bladder and upper tracts in continuity. This goal was achieved in 3 patients with followup in excess of 4 years. Failure to recognize the syndrome, as with our fourth patient, may result in improper classification and treatment. A plea is made for urological investigation of pernicious nocturnal enuresis in older boys and in all children with a history of urinary tract infection.
Fixation of Tetrahymena cells for electron microscopy.

Publisher Summary Fixation and preparation of Tetrahymena cells for electron microscopy is similar to procedures used for most cells. As with all fixation procedures, one should use the method most suited for fixation of the structures in which one is interested. This chapter describes the methods that are the best for routine preservation of the cilia, cortex, and cytoplasm. They can be carried out in any conventional laboratory equipped for electron microscopy. The same procedures are used to fix and stain cells for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). For SEM, unfixed cilia, pellicles, or other organelles are attached to polyethylenimine-coated coverslips and the coverslips are processed through the fixation and drying procedures followed by critical point drying. For TEM, organelles are pelleted and the pellets are fixed using the conventional fixation and embedding procedures, with the exception that pellets are generally embedded in flat molds.
Effects of smoking on drug action

The effects of smoking on drug metabolism in 3 categories of cigarette smokers (nonsmokers, light smokers, and heavy smokers) were studied in patients in 22 hospitals in 7 countries in a collaborative program. The data collected by monitors along with a smoking history on consecutively admitted patients were recorded on self-coding forms. Details were obtained on all drugs administered, and the judgment of efficacy by the prescribing physician was included. Propoxyphene was rated ineffective in 10% of nonsmokers, 15% of light smokers, and 20% of heavy smokers, the difference being statistically significant (p 0.05). The relation between cigarette smoking and the benzodiazepines was evident at all dose levels; drowsiness was less common in smokers regardless of sex. The relation with smoking held for each of the diagnoses (chronic obstructive lung disease, cirrhosis of the liver, and lung cancer), and an inverse relation between drowsiness and alcohol consumption was evident at all levels of alcohol intake. Among recipients of chlorpromazine in a psychiatric population, drowsiness was highest in nonsmokers, intermediate in light smokers, and lowest in heavy smokers. Drowsiness was dose-related but not related to smoking status; alcohol consumption correlated strongly with smoking habits and drowsiness was more frequent among nonsmokers than among light and heavy smokers in each category of alcohol consumption. The data are compatible with the hypothesis that substances in cigarette smoke induce liver microsomal enzymes which increase the metabolism of these drugs.
Anaphylaxis and anaphylactoid reactions: A guide to prevention, recognition, and emergent treatment

Anaphylaxis and anaphylactoid reactions are adverse immunologic responses that require early intervention to prevent life-threatening consequences. The initial symptoms, such as nasal congestion or pruritus, can quickly progress to cardiac collapse or asphyxiation. In this article, Drs Rusznak and Peebles discuss the mechanisms of these reactions, common causative agents, preventive strategies, recognition, and treatment.
Effect of ketamine on ventricular dynamics of unanesthetized baboons.

Ketamine hydrochloride is commonly employed to sedate or anesthetize laboratory primates but its cardiac actions have not been previously described in these animals. Four baboons, Papio cynocephalus, were chronically instrumented with electromagnetic flow detectors on the ascending aorta and common carotid artery. Cardiac output, peak aortic flow velocity and peak aortic flow acceleration are all depressed by Ketamine, 5 mg/kg i.m. Peak aortic flow acceleration and peak carotid flow acceleration were equally depressed. Thus, peak carotid flow acceleration is a useful indirect index of the left ventricular response to Ketamine in the baboon.
Wilbur Clinton Knight Portrait of a pioneer geologist in Wyoming

Profiles of Rocky Mountain Geologists – a continuing series The State of Wyoming could do no better service to the youth of the State, no greater honor to itself than by erecting a fitting and lasting memorial at the university where he worked so faithfully, to the memory of Professor Wilbur Clinton Knight, a sincere and a faithful man, and an earnest student. —S. W. Williston, 1904 Wilbur Clinton Knight (Fig. 1), accomplished geologist and teacher, the son of a farmer, was born on 13 December 1858 at Rochelle, Illinois, then near the limit of civilization on the Great Plains (Williston, 1904). By 1859, petroleum production commenced at Titusville, Pennsylvania, in time reducing the demand for whale oil, coal gas, and lard burned in lamps (Trager, 1992, p. 479). Also this year, Charles Darwin's revolutionary research, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection , appeared, to great public interest and debate. Thus, Knight's birth occurred at the dawn of momentous industrial and intellectual changes. Figure 1. Wilbur Clinton Knight, about 1900, very near the time that his dissertation was published. Wilbur was around 42 years old. Courtesy American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming. While he was still a child, Wilbur Knight's family moved to a farm in Nebraska near Blue Springs, thirty miles south of Lincoln and a few miles north of the Kansas border. This remote hamlet lies between Beatrice to the northwest and Barneston on the southeast. It was a frontier life, hard and challenging. Fittingly, he was an exceptional marksman and greatly skilled with a fishing rod. Like many other village and farm-and-ranch boys, Knight never really left the land, but became one with it, discovering there the allure of geology. He began very early to roam the plains of southeastern Nebraska, picking up a …
Case XIV: Hand Weakness 2

A 26-year-old male complains of pain in the right side of the neck and scapular area, as well as numbness in the ulnar aspect of the forearm and pain in the ring finger. He has had those symptoms for almost 3 years. They are worse when the arm is elevated beyond 90°. His right forearm and hand fatigue easily especially with typing, writing, and driving. PMH: positive for migraine headaches and endoscopic sinus surgery. Motor examination revealed weakness of his right triceps 4+, APB 4+, ADQ 4+, and IO 5−. The remaining muscle groups are 5/5. There is decreased light touch sensation over the right ulnar aspect of the forearm and hand. He had a Tinel’s sign over the right ulnar n at the elbow and the right supraclavicular area.
Resource Redeployment and Corporate Strategy

This volume examines the differences between resource sharing and resource redeployment, and the subsequent effects on firm value creation and industry evolution.
Antigen exposure shapes the ratio between antigen-specific Tregs and conventional T cells in human peripheral blood

The T-cell receptor (TCR) is required for maturation and function of regulatory T cells (Tregs), but the ligand specificities of Tregs outside the context of transgenic TCRs are largely unknown. Using peptide–MHC tetramers, we isolated rare specific Foxp3+ cells directly ex vivo from adult peripheral blood and defined their frequency and phenotype. We find that a proportion of circulating Tregs recognize foreign antigens and the frequency of these cells are similar to that of self-reactive Tregs in the absence of cognate infection. In contrast, the frequencies of Tregs that recognize some common microbial antigens are significantly reduced in the blood of most adults. Exposure to peripheral antigens likely has a major influence on the balance between Tregs and conventional T-cell subsets because a larger proportion of flu-specific T cells has a regulatory cell phenotype in the cord blood. Consistent with this finding, we show that lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection can directly modulate the ratio of virus-specific effectors and Tregs in mice. The resulting change in the balance within an antigen-specific T-cell population further correlates with the magnitude of effector response and the chronicity of infection. Taken together, our data highlight the importance of antigen specificity in the functional dynamics of the T-cell repertoire. Each specific population of CD4+ T cells in human peripheral blood contains a subset of Tregs at birth, but the balance between regulatory and effector subsets changes in response to peripheral antigen exposure and this could impact the robustness of antipathogen immunity.
A bi-directional communication paradigm between parallel NEURON and an external non-neuron process

In order to accurately model the pattern of activation due to electrical stimulation of the hippocampus, a multi-scale computational approach is necessary. At the system level, the Admittance Method (ADM) is used to calculate the extracellular voltages created by a stimulating electrode. At the network and cellular levels, a large-scale multi-compartmental neuron network is used to calculate cellular activation. This paper presents a bi-directional communication paradigm between the NEURON model and an external surrogate for the ADM solver, where at each time step, neurons share their membrane currents with the external process, and the external process shares calculated extracellular voltages with the neuronal network. This work constitutes an important first step towards a full multi-scale NEURON-ADM model with bi-directional communication.
Community-Based Secure Information and Resource Sharing in AWS Public Cloud

A public cloud provides enterprises and organizations with a secure and efficient environment to deploy their systems. While organizations and companies benefit from moving to cloud platform, it is likely that similar cyber attacks will happen to organizations which share the same cloud platform. One way to mitigate this risk is to share cyber security information among these organizations. Unfortunately, popular public cloud platform AWS is lacking an accepted access control model for cyber security information sharing. We propose an access control model for customers who use AWS platform as their infrastructure platform to securely share cyber attack information. Our model enables secure cyber information sharing and collaborations in public cloud environment on a community basis.
The Paris Global Climate Agreement: Impacting Economic Consequences and the Legacy of Future Generations

Prior to China and the USA’s ratification of the 2015 Paris Global Climate Agreement, and according to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, 23 nations, had ratified the Agreement and their ratification had constituted just about 1.08% of the global emissions.The Agreement, pursuant to Article 2, as embodied within – particularly with reference to Article 2 (a), (b) and (c) of Agreement, clearly highlights its objectives and goals aimed at the eradication of poverty, as well as a recognition of the need to adapt to adverse consequences and impacts of climate change.Even though the announcements to ratify the 2015 Paris Agreement pave way for historical developments in the global fight to reduce carbon emissions, critics have described the move as long overdue. However, in view of current global levels of greenhouse gases, the evident impacts of global warming on the environment – as well as current migration crises in Europe – which according to some, is partly attributed to the detrimental effects of global climate change, economic and other far-reaching consequences of ignoring the need to address present global climate and conditions should weigh more heavily than criticisms related to current efforts aimed at addressing the problem. This paper aims to highlight why, rather than criticizing those Parties which have recently ratified the Agreement, or initiatives being undertaken to ratify the Agreement, countries should be lauded for ratifying the Agreement – whilst encouraging other Parties (who are yet to ratify the Agreement) to do the same.
Investigating the role of exiting vehicles and turn indicator usage in gap acceptance at single-lane roundabouts

Roundabouts are becoming a preferred form of intersection control type due to their safety and capacity benefits. Yield control at roundabout entries inherently reduces fuel consumption and emissions when compared to other conventional intersection types. However, these benefits can be limited by poor driver behavior and judgment when entering the roundabout. This research addresses the nature of gap distributions and use of turn indicators by exiting vehicles at three single-lane roundabouts in Vermont, New York, and Alaska. Presented here is a comparison of vehicle headways measured at two different locations in each roundabout. Rejected headways are analyzed in the context of priority abstaining events when entering drivers yield to vehicles exiting on the same leg of the roundabout suggesting that “true” critical gaps are being overestimated. Results indicate that exiting vehicles, particularly those that do not use their turn indicators when departing from the major-stream of traffic have an influence on the entry decision of drivers on the same approach. This behavior is of particular concern for intersection efficiency (i.e., delay) and sustainability (i.e., excess fuel consumption and emissions). Results prompt the consideration of more consistent guidance on and enforcement of turn indicator use during roundabout negotiations.
LEVERAGING THE ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORD TO REDUCE THE RATE OF HOSPITAL ACQUIRED CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE AT AN ACADEMIC SAFETY NET HOSPITAL

Background Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) are the leading cause of health care-associated diarrhea, and is reported to cause 500,000 patient infections in the United States per year. A target for reducing the number of CDIs have been established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Boston Medical Center9s reported CY2013 Standardized Infection Ration (SIR) for Hospital Onset CDI was 1.573, above the US National Benchmark of 1. Objectives Reduce the SIR Hospital Onset C. difficile to CMS expected ratio of =1 by June, 2016. Methods Using Quality Improvement methodologies a multidisciplinary team addressed the appropriateness of CDI PCR testing and increased patient isolation through the use of the electronic medical record. PDSAs included: The CDI order was modified to include instructions on appropriate test frequency and sample consistency. Past lab results are displayed within the order as an automated reminder. A Best Practice Alert “fires” when writing an order if a laxative has been administered within the past 72 hours, recommending that the laxative is discontinued prior to testing Created a CDI testing and Contact Plus Isolation order panel to reduce the risk of environmental contamination. Negative lab results include instructions to discontinue isolation. Results Decreased test volume by 39%; reduced inappropriate repeat testing by 80%, 7 day negative and 66%, 30 day positive. Achieved SIR 4 quarter average 0.78, better than national goal. Conclusions Through the use of QI and leveraging changes in the eMAR improves appropriate testing and patient isolation reducing the risk of hospital acquired CDI.
Does Insurance Status Influence a Patient’s Hospital Charge?

There is obscurity regarding how US hospitals determine patients’ charges. Whether insurance status influences a patient’s hospital charge has not been explored. The objective of this study was to determine whether hospitals charge patients differently based on their insurance status. This was an analysis of the Florida Hospital Inpatient Data File for fiscal years 2011–2012 (N = 4.7 million). Multivariable regression analysis was used to adjust for patients’ age, sex, length of stay, priority of admission, principal ICD-9-CM diagnosis, and All Payer Refined Diagnosis-Related Group subdivided by Severity of Illness subclass. Hospital fixed effects were included to account for differences in hospitals’ markups. Compared with those with no insurance, patients with private insurance received hospital bills that were an average of 10.7% higher and patients with Medicare received bills that were an average of 8.9% higher. The impact of Medicaid coverage was imprecisely estimated, but the magnitude of the point-estimate was consistent with 3.5% higher charges to Medicaid patients, relative to the uninsured. Conditional on patient characteristics, length of stay, and expected intensity of resource utilization, patients with private insurance and patients with Medicare were charged more (before discounting) than their uninsured counterparts within the same hospital.
Performance Evaluation of a Mobile Touchscreen Interface for Assistive Robotic Manipulators: A Pilot Study

Background: Assistive robotic manipulators (ARMs) have been developed to provide enhanced assistance and independence in performance of daily activities among people with spinal cord injury when a caregiver is not on site. However, the current commercial ARM user interfaces (UIs) may be difficult to learn and control. A touchscreen mobile UI was developed to overcome these challenges. Objective: The object of this study was to evaluate the performance between 2 ARM UIs, touchscreen and the original joystick, using an ARM evaluation tool (ARMET). Methods: This is a pilot study of people with upper extremity impairments (N = 8). Participants were trained on 2 UIs, and then they chose one to use when performing 3 tasks on the ARMET: flipping a toggle switch, pushing down a door handle, and turning a knob. Task completion time, mean velocity, and open interviews were the main outcome measurements. Results: Among 8 novice participants, 7 chose the touchscreen UI and 1 chose the joystick UI. All participants could complete the ARMET tasks independently. Use of the touchscreen UI resulted in enhanced ARMET performance (higher mean moving speed and faster task completion). Conclusions: Mobile ARM UIs demonstrated easier learning experience, less physical effort, and better ARMET performance. The improved performance, the accessibility, and lower physical effort suggested that the touchscreen UI might be an efficient tool for the ARM users.
A test of imagined contact as a means to improve cross-partisan feelings and reduce attribution of malevolence and acceptance of political violence

ABSTRACTIn this study, we test the depolarizing potential of intrapersonal communication through imagined intergroup political contact. A randomized experiment was embedded into a quota-stratified online survey distributed to 583 U.S. adults drawn from an online panel proportioned to match the U.S. population. Structural equation modeling was used to test the direct, indirect, and conditional effects of imagined contact. We found that imagined contact with a political outgroup directly reduced negative affect toward the political outgroup regardless of the primed valence of the imagined interaction. Furthermore, we found that imagined contact indirectly reduced attribution of malevolence to the political outgroup as well as the acceptance of political violence. Implications for intergroup theory and political polarization are discussed.
Patient-reported outcomes after surgical stabilization of spinal tumors: symptom-based validation of the Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score (SINS) and surgery.

Abstract Background Context Neoplastic spinal instability is movement-related pain or neurologic compromise under physiologic loads with the Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score (SINS) developed to facilitate diagnosis. There is a paucity of evidence that mechanical instability correlates with patient-reported symptoms and that surgical stabilization significantly improves these patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Purpose The objective of this study was to determine if SINS correlates with patient-reported preoperative pain and disability, and if surgical stabilization significantly improves PRO. Study Design A single-institution prospective cohort study was carried out. Patient Sample A total of 131 patients who underwent stabilization for metastatic spinal tumor treatment between July 2014 and August 2016 were included. Outcomes Measures Preoperative baseline and mean difference in perioperative PROs as assessed by the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) were the outcome measures. Methods The SINS was analyzed as a continuous, ordinal, and categorical variable (Stable: 0–6, Indeterminate: 7–12, Unstable: 13–18). Statistical analysis was performed using Spearman rank coefficient (rho), the Kruskal-Wallis test, and an extension of the Cochran-Armitage trend test. The SINS and association between the mean differences in post- and preoperative PRO scores was analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results There was a statistically significant positive correlation between increasing SINS and severity of preoperative pain with BPI average pain (rho=0.20; p=.03) and MDASI pain (rho=0.19; p=.03). Increasing SINS correlated with severity of preoperative disability with BPI walking (rho=0.19; p=.04), MDASI activity (rho=0.24; p=.006), and MDASI walking (rho=0.20; p=.03). Similar associations were noted when SINS was analyzed as an ordinal categorical variable. Stabilization significantly improved nearly all PRO measures for patients with indeterminate and unstable SINS. Significant correlations persisted when controlling for neurologic status and were not affected based on the technique of surgical stabilization used. Conclusions Patient-related outcome-based validation of SINS confirms this scoring system for diagnosing neoplastic spinal instability and provides surgeons with a tool to determine which patients will benefit from stabilization. Surgical stabilization of cancer patients with SINS consistent with mechanical instability provides significant reduction in pain and improves patient mobility independent of neurologic status and stabilization technique.
Simulation-Based Methods for Studying Reliability and Preventive Maintenance of Public Infrastructure

In recent times, simulation has made significant progress as a tool for improving the performance of complex stochastic systems that arise in various domains in the industrial and service sectors. In particular, what is remarkable is that simulation is being increasingly used in diverse domains, e.g., devising strategies needed for emergency response to terrorist threats in homeland security systems and civil engineering of bridge structures for motor vehicle transport. In this chapter, we will focus on (1) describing some of the key decision-making problems underlying (a) response to emergency bomb-threat scenarios in a public building, and (b) prevention of catastrophic failures of bridges used for motor-vehicle transport; (2) providing an overview of simulation-based technologies that can be adopted for solving the associated problems. Our discussion will highlight some performance measures applicable to emergency response and prevention that can be estimated and improved upon via discrete-event simulation. We will describe two problem domains in which measurement of these metrics is critical for optimal decision-making. We believe that there is a great deal of interest currently, within both the academic world and the government sector, in enhancing our homeland security systems. Simulation already plays a vital role in this endeavor. The nature of the problems in this chapter is unconventional and quite unlike that seen commonly in classical simulation-based domains of manufacturing and service industries.
Epidermal growth factor receptors containing a single tyrosine in their C-terminal tail bind different effector molecules and are signaling-competent

The EGF receptor is a classic receptor tyrosine kinase. It contains nine tyrosines in its C-terminal tail, many of which are phosphorylated and bind proteins containing SH2 or phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) domains. To determine how many and which tyrosines are required to enable EGF receptor-mediated signaling, we generated a series of EGF receptors that contained only one tyrosine in their C-terminal tail. Assays of the signaling capabilities of these single-Tyr EGF receptors indicated that they can activate a range of downstream signaling pathways, including MAP kinase and Akt. The ability of the single-Tyr receptors to signal correlated with their ability to bind Gab1 (Grb2-associated binding protein 1). However, Tyr-992 appeared to be almost uniquely required to observe activation of phospholipase Cγ. These results demonstrate that multiply phosphorylated receptors are not required to support most EGF-stimulated signaling but identify Tyr-992 and its binding partners as a unique node within the network. We also studied the binding of the isolated SH2 domain of Grb2 (growth factor receptor-bound protein 2) and the isolated PTB domain of Shc (SHC adaptor protein) to the EGF receptor. Although these adapter proteins bound readily to wild-type EGF receptor, they bound poorly to the single-Tyr EGF receptors, even those that bound full-length Grb2 and Shc well. This suggests that in addition to pTyr-directed associations, secondary interactions between the tail and regions of the adapter proteins outside of the SH2/PTB domains are important for stabilizing the binding of Grb2 and Shc to the single-Tyr EGF receptors.
Biological variants of tobacco etch virus that induce morphologically distinct nuclear inclusions.

The presence of distinctive nuclear inclusions has been used for many years as a diagnostic character for tobacco etch virus (TEV). Cytological examinations of isolates of TEV in both weeds and solanaceous crops from areas widely separated geographically have demonstrated the presence of a variety of nuclear inclusions that vary considerably in form. Such inclusions can, in many cases, be related to differences in symptom expression. It is suggested that distinctive nuclear inclusions may be used to select biological variants of TEV that may be useful in the study and manipulation of closely related “strains” of this potyvirus.
Tuning the morphological, ignition and combustion properties of micron-Al/CuO thermites through different synthesis approaches

Abstract Aluminum (Al)-based thermite, due to its high energy density and low cost, has found wide applications in aerospace propulsion, explosion, pyrotechnics, thermal batteries, and power generations. Though significant efforts have been devoted to improving the ignition and combustion performance of Al-based thermites by using nano-Al, micron-Al (m-Al) remains of practical importance over nano-Al due to its lower cost and smaller dead mass. For m-Al based thermite, the main approach to improve its ignition and combustion performance is to bring Al and metal oxide as close as possible to facilitate the oxidizer diffusion process. Herein, we demonstrated two simple synthesis methods, i.e., the precipitation (PC) method and displacement (DP) method, to prepare m-Al/CuO thermites with the intention to bring Al and CuO to shorter diffusion distance and achieve better dispersion. The PC-thermites have flocculent nanostructured CuO closely attached to the surface of m-Al, and the DP-thermites have a dense shell of CuO coated on the surface of m-Al. Both PC- and DP-thermites have reduced agglomeration and diffusion distance over the traditional mechanically mixed (MM)-thermites that have randomly distributed and agglomerated CuO and m-Al. Consequently, both PC- and DP-thermites exhibit shorter ignition delay time, lower reaction onset temperatures, higher heat release, larger pressure rise, and extended reactivity limits than MM-thermites. Particularly, PC-thermites, due to their flocculent structures, exhibit the shortest ignition delay time, lowest reaction onset temperature, and highest amount of heat release. Moreover, the superior ignition and combustion performance of PC- and DP-thermites is more pronounced under high heating rates over low heating rates. Similar PC and DP methods are applicable to prepare diverse thermites with reduced diffusion distance and improved dispersion to improve their ignition and combustion properties.