cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Primary Care Healthy Choices Intervention Program for Overweight and Obese School-Age Children and Their Parents

Abstract Introduction The escalating crisis of childhood overweight and obesity creates an urgent demand for evidence-based interventions that can be used by primary care providers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a theory-based Healthy Choices Intervention (HCI) Program with fifteen 9-12 year old overweight and obese children and their parents in a primary care setting. Methods A 1-group, 7-week pre-/posttest study design was used. Outcome measures included: body mass index (BMI) percentile, physical activity and nutrition knowledge, beliefs, choices and behaviors, anxiety, depression, self-concept, and social competence. Results Children and parents found the HCI to be useful and informative. Positive effects of the HCI for the children included decreased BMI percentile, increased knowledge, beliefs, choices and behaviors, and self-control. Positive effects of the intervention for the parents included increased knowledge, beliefs, behaviors, and decreased anxiety. Discussion This study provides evidence to support the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of the HCI with overweight and obese school-age children and their parents within a primary care setting.
An integrity model based on knowledge and belief

This paper defines a formal model of database integrity using the concept of knowledge and belief. Knowledge are unrefutable facts and rules, while beliefs are refutable rules to be enforced. Transaction based integrity checking is used. Representation of knowledge and belief are given, and related work is discussed. >
Unsteady Phenomena in Supersonic Nozzle Flow Separation

This work considers the instability of the jet plume from an overexpanded, shockcontaining convergent-divergent nozzle and attempts to correlate this instability to internal shock-induced separation phenomena. Time resolved wall pressure measurements and Pitot measurements are used as primary diagnostics. For the conditions of this study flow separation is asymmetric resulting in a large separation zone on one wall and a small separation zone on the other wall. Correlations of wall pressures indicate a low-frequency, piston-like shock motion without any resonant tones. Correlations of Pitot pressure with wall pressures indicate strong coherence of shear-layer instability with the shock motion. The likely source of the plume instability is the interaction of unsteady waves generated past the main separation shock with the shear layer of the large separation region.
Addictions: what does biology have to tell?

The changes in the nervous system induced by the repeated use of dependence-producing drugs are not limited to those associated with tolerance and physical dependence (withdrawal syndromes). They also involve memory traces that link both positive and negative reinforcing effects of drugs to affective states and environmental stimuli. Long after the obvious signs of withdrawal have abated, these affective states and stimuli may evoke urges to use the drug again (craving), some component of withdrawal distress, or both. In those who were formerly drug dependent, ingestion of a drug that produces a positive reinforcement may have a ‘priming’ effect resulting in increased craving for the drug of dependence. In addition to traditional pharmacological approaches, which seek to reduce relapse by ameliorating changes associated with withdrawal, or to block the reinforcing actions of drugs, newer approaches to relapse-prevention teach former users how to avoid situations that evoke craving or to cope with it when ...
1.4.3 A Sustainable Energy Economy: The Next Challenge for Systems Engineers

The realities of shrinking fossil fuel reserves, growing global energy demand, and climate change concerns will force a change to a sustainable energy economy. Systems engineers need to take a leadership role in making the transition to this new energy economy. A study of large projects from the past provides some insights into methodologies that might be used to effect this transition; however, the complexity of the energy transition is far greater in some respects than on these earlier projects. The timeframe of this transition is measured in decades, the technologies involve numerous industries, and the spatial dimension involves the entire planet. Systems engineers will not only need new tools but will need to step into somewhat different roles than in the past. It is time to start planning for these new challenges, and INCOSE should play a key role in this planning.
Thermal Instabilities in the Solar Chromosphere

Thermal instability of small amplitude disturbances in solar chromosphere, showing linear wave amplification
How Metaphors About the Genome Constrain CRISPR Metaphors: Separating the "Text" From Its "Editor".

O'Keefe and colleagues (2015) present a thought-provoking analysis of metaphors used to discuss CRISPR in lay media, arguing that those currently in circulation fall short of accurately representin...
Impact of Mandatory Public Reporting of Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections on Blood Culture and Antibiotic Utilization in Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Units.

BACKGROUND As mandatory public reporting of healthcare-associated infections increases, there is concern that clinicians could attempt to decrease rates by avoiding the diagnosis of reportable infections. OBJECTIVE To determine whether blood culture and antibiotic utilization changed after mandatory public reporting of central line–associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI). DESIGN Interrupted time-series of blood culture and antibiotic rates before and after state-specific implementation of mandatory public reporting. We analyzed data from pediatric and neonatal intensive care units (ICUs) at 17 children’s hospitals that contributed to the Pediatric Health Information System administrative database. We used multivariable regression with generalized linear mixed-effects models to determine adjusted rate ratios (ARRs) after implementation of mandatory public reporting. We conducted subgroup analysis on patients with central venous catheters. To assess temporal trends, we separately analyzed data from 4 pediatric hospitals in states without mandatory public reporting. RESULTS There was no significant effect of mandatory public reporting on rates of blood culture (pediatric ICU ARR, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.82–1.28]; neonatal ICU ARR, 1.06 [0.85–1.33]) or antibiotic utilization (pediatric ICU ARR, 0.86 [0.72–1.04]; neonatal ICU ARR, 1.09 [0.87–1.35]). Results were similar in the subgroup of patients with central venous catheter codes. Hospitals with and without mandatory public reporting experienced small decreases in blood culture and antibiotic use across the study period. CONCLUSIONS Mandatory public reporting of central line–associated bloodstream infection did not impact blood culture and antibiotic utilization, suggesting that clinicians have not shifted their practice in an attempt to detect fewer infections. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2015;36(8):878–885
Psychopathic traits mediate the association of serotonin transporter genotype and child externalizing behavior

Although the promoter polymorphism of the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) gene is associated with externalizing behavior, its mediating pathways are unknown. Given their sensitivity to serotonin neurotransmission and unique association with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), we tested callous-unemotional (CU) traits and narcissism as separate mediators of the association of 5-HTTLPR with ADHD and ODD. We evaluated 209 5-9 year-old children with and without ADHD at baseline; approximately 2 years later (i.e., Wave 2), parents and teachers separately rated ADHD and ODD symptoms and youth self-reported antisocial behavior. Controlling for race-ethnicity and baseline ADHD/ODD, narcissism uniquely mediated predictions of multi-informant rated Wave 2 ADHD and ODD from variation in 5-HTTLPR; CU traits mediated predictions of Wave 2 ADHD from variations in 5-HTTLPR, but did not mediate the associations of 5-HTTLPR with ODD or youth self-reported antisocial behavior. Specifically, the number of 5-HTTLPR long alleles positively predicted CU traits and narcissism; narcissism was positively associated with Wave 2 ADHD and ODD symptoms, whereas CU traits were positively associated with Wave 2 ADHD. Child sex also moderated indirect effects of CU traits and narcissism, such that narcissism mediated predictions of ADHD/ODD in girls but not boys. Psychopathic traits may represent a relevant pathway underlying predictions of prospective change in ADHD and ODD from 5-HTTLPR, particularly in girls. We consider the role of psychopathic traits as a potential intermediate phenotype in genetically sensitive studies of child psychopathology. Aggr. Behav. 42:455-470, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Sensitivity analysis of surrogate-based methodology for real time structural assessment

This paper considers a surrogate-based methodology for real-time structural assessment, and studies its accuracy and computational runtime tradeoffs as a function of algorithmic and modeling parameters. The methodology is based on a combination of reduced-order modeling, data-fit surrogate modeling, clustering, and classification strategies. The particular implementation considered uses the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) to achieve information reduction, self-organizing maps to achieve model localization, and polynomial response surfaces to build localized models that map from measurement information to estimates of structural capabilities. Parametric investigations study the role of surrogate modeling choices, such as the number of POD modes retained and the polynomial degree of response surfaces employed, as well as the sensitivity of the approach to the amount of available sensor data. These investigations illustrate the effectiveness and adaptability of the strategy, and the resulting sensitivities provide a mechanism to tune the online process in order to meet problem-specific time and resource constraints.
Loose Connections: Joining Together in America’s Fragmented Communities: Robert Wuthnow; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002, 276 pages

Broadly conceived, civic involvement consists of participation in social activities that either mediate between citizens and government or provide ways for citizens to pursue common objectives with...
In Plato's Grove

The office of Professor Xanthias. A large, pleasant room, so filled with papers, books, and hardware that any order is apparent only to Xanthias himself. Papers are everywhere; on tables, spilling out of file-drawers, piled high upon the two desks. Books fill the many shelves, lie open on tables and atop the stacks of examination booklets, lab reports, anl dissertations. Down the center of the room runs what was once a chemical bench. It serves now merely as a surface, upon which are disposed a lettering set, a drawing board, a roll of vellum and some sheets of graph paper, a conductivity cell and a Wheatstone bridge, a disassembled cathode-ray oscillograph, a small colorimeter, a rat guillotine, seventeen bottles of wet and dry reagents, three reams of duplicator paper, photographic chemicals in yellow cans, a microscope in its case, parts of an unsuccessful Xanthias-designed micromanipulator, a 35 mm camera, boxes of outdated sheet film, an ancient pH meter in its mahogany case, and a bottle of well-cooked, but inexpensive sherry. Austere and elegant, the finely-machined rotor of a new ultracentrifuge sits alone on the shelf. At right, a large desk, with an old typewriter and a new dictating machine. Two filing cabinets alongside, and atop these many dusty lantern slides. The desk chair is one of the small posture-improving devices made for bottomless stenographers. At left, a metaland-glass partition with an open door encloses the smaller desk, this one buried under papers. The partition is eight feet high and is supposed to provide privacy, but it serves only to hinder communications across the room. Many chairs and stools scattered about. At right, a door opens from the corridor. On its frosted pane one can just make out "SAIHTNAX .FORP".
A Lost Manuscript of Eusebius's Demonstratio Evangelica Found

The textual condition of the Demonstratio Evangelica of Eusebius is unfortunately very defective. The only existing manuscripts appear to be copies of the great Paris codex 469, and the beginning and end of this manuscript are now missing.
FORMATION MECHANISM OF NON-DENDRITIC STRUCTURE OF ALUMINUM ALLOY PRODUCED BY SEMI-CONTINUOUS CASTING OF CREM PROCESS

The microstructure of 7075 Al alloy ingot produced by CREM process under the effect of electromagnetic field with low frequency was studied. The results show that the ingot consists of spheroid-shaped and rosette-shaped grains. With the increase of electromagnetic intensity, the quaatity of spheroid-shaped grain increase and rosette-shaped grains decrease. Meanwhile, the mi- crostructure of the ingot becomes more fine and uniform. The formation mechanism of non-dendritic structure can be explained as follows: Under the effects of electromagnetic field, crystal particles are easily dissociated from the crystallizer wall, which increases amount of the grain nuclei in the melt. Furthermore, the movement of free grains together with the melt convection as well as self-rotation of grains restrain them from growing into dendrite, and finally form a fine and uniform, non-dendritic structure.
Human Brain Imaging of Anger

Abstract Anger is among one of the basic human emotions underlying human behavior. Here, we review the neuroimaging studies of anger, specifically those studies investigating the subjective experience of anger as well as the perception of anger. In addition, we review the findings from studies in patient populations with an increased propensity for anger. Finally, we relate the research on neural correlates of anger to the research on aggression and violence.
H2S production by reactive oxygen species in the carotid body triggers hypertension in a rodent model of sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a prevalent respiratory disease in which episodic cessation of breathing causes intermittent hypoxia. Patients with sleep apnea and rodents exposed to intermittent hypoxia exhibit hypertension. The carotid body senses changes in blood O 2 concentrations, and an enhanced carotid body chemosensory reflex contributes to hypertension in sleep apnea patients. A rodent model of intermittent hypoxia that mimics blood O 2 saturation profiles of patients with sleep apnea has shown that increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the carotid body enhances the chemosensory reflex and triggers hypertension. CO generated by heme oxygenase-2 (HO-2) induces a signaling pathway that inhibits hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) production by cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE), leading to suppression of carotid body activity. We found that ROS inhibited CO generation by HO-2 in the carotid body and liver through a mechanism that required Cys 265 in the heme regulatory motif of heterologously expressed HO-2. We showed that ROS induced by intermittent hypoxia inhibited CO production and increased H 2 S concentrations in the carotid body, which stimulated its neural activity. In rodents, blockade of H 2 S synthesis by CSE, by either pharmacologic or genetic approaches, inhibited carotid body activation and hypertension induced by intermittent hypoxia. Thus, our results indicate that oxidant-induced inactivation of HO-2, which leads to increased CSE-dependent H 2 S production in the carotid body, is a critical trigger of hypertension in rodents exposed to intermittent hypoxia.
Determining the Safety of Enzymes Used in Food Processing

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. They are highly specific and needed in only minute quantities, Certain enzymes have long been used to produce specific foods (e.g., cheese). Today they have numerous applications and are increasing in commercial importance. There has never been a health problem traced to the use of an enzyme per se in food processing. However, it is important that scientific data be provided to show that enzyme preparations, particularly those lacking a long history of safe use, are in fact safe to consume. The purpose of this report is to propose guidelines for assessing enzyme safety. We conclude that the enzymes per se now used or likely to be used in the future in food processing are inherently nontoxic. Safety evaluation should focus on possible contaminants which could be present. Assuming that current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMPs) are followed, toxic contaminants could only come from the enzyme source itself (animal, plant or microbial). Hence, the safety of the source organism should be the prime consideration. Enzymes from animals or plants commonly regarded as food need not be subjected to animal feeding studies. Some food plants produce toxins and chemical assays may be used in these cases to assess safety. For enzymes from bacteria, it should be shown that antibiotics and acute toxins active via the oral route (enterotoxins and certain neurotoxins) are absent. Small molecular weight toxins (< 500 daltons) may be produced by certain fungi and actinomycetes. It should be shown that enzymes from such organisms are free of these materials. If it is established that a microbial culture does not produce antibiotics or toxins active via the oral route, then enzymes manufactured from that culture using CGMPs may be regarded as safe for use in food processing.
Vibrational and valence aloof beam EELS: A potential tool for nondestructive characterization of nanoparticle surfaces

Abstract In many materials systems, electron beam effects may substantially alter and destroy the structure of interest during observation. This is often true for the surface structures of catalytic nanoparticles where the functionality is associated with thin surface layers which are easily destroyed. The potential application of using aloof beam electron energy-loss spectroscopy as a non-destructive nanoscale surface characterization tool is discussed. Recent developments in monochromators make vibration and valence loss EELS possible in the electron microscope. The delocalization associated with these signals allows spectra to be acquired when the electron beam is position 2 nm or more away from the particle surface. This eliminates knock-on damage and significantly reduces ionization damage. Theoretical and experimental results are employed to explore the potential strengths and weaknesses of monochromated aloof beam EELS for surface analysis. The approach is most favored for surface layers on insulators because the bandgap lowers the background for detection of the vibrational signal and bandgap states. Guided light modes and relativistic effects can complicate the interpretation of the spectra. The effects are suppressed at lower accelerating voltages and particle size especially for low refractive index materials.
Systems engineering challenges for GSFC Space Science Mission Operations

The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Space Science Mission Operations (SSMO) project currently manages 19 missions for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, within the Planetary, Astrophysics, and Heliophysics Divisions. The mission lifespans range from just a few months to more than 19 years. The WIND spacecraft, the oldest SSMO mission, was launched in 1994. SSMO spacecraft reside in low earth, geosynchronous, highly elliptical, libration point, lunar, heliocentric, and Martian orbits. SSMO spacecraft range in size from 125 kg (Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM)) to over 4000 kg (Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope (Fermi)). The attitude modes include both spin and three-axis stabilized, with varying requirements on pointing accuracy. The spacecraft are operated from control centers at Goddard and off-site control centers; the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission were built at Goddard. The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) and Wind are operated out of a multi-mission operations center, which will also host several SSMO-managed cubesats in 2017. This paper focuses on the systems engineering challenges for such a large and varied fleet of spacecraft.
Turbulence Measurements Near the Free Surface in Stirred Grid Experiments

Turbulence measurements were made in a grid-stirred tank using a rotating split hot-film anemometer probe, which is able to measure both vertical and horizontal velocity fluctuations to within 0.4 mm of the surface. The shapes of spectra, profiles of velocity fluctuations, and profiles of integral length scales within the surface-influenced layer (roughly one integral length scale from the surface) are predicted to a good first approximation by the irrotational source theory of Hunt and Graham (1978). The magnitudes (as opposed to the shapes) of the turbulent velocity and integral length scale profiles scale according to the values that would otherwise occur in the vicinity of the surface-influenced layer were the surface not present, and are adequately predicted by the bulk relations of Hopfinger and Toly (1976) and Thompson and Turner (1975), with no apparent dependence on turbulent Reynolds number. This simple picture of the surface-influenced layer should help guide the development of better theoretical models describing the hydrodynamics and dissolved gas transport in the much thinner dissolved gas boundary layer at the surface.
Digital Civil Society: How Nigerian NGOs Utilize Social Media Platforms

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have the potential to contribute to a vibrant civil society and build social capital within countries, but the potential for social media to support these connections is unclear, particularly in the developing world. Building social capital requires constructing relationships between people, and social media will be most likely to accomplish this when it is used in an interactive way. Previous research has considered the issue of interactivity and social media usage in Western countries like the USA, but no research has focused on these issues within the developing world. Our paper explores the degree to which Nigerian NGOs are utilizing social media tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, in ways that are more interactive in nature, and thus in ways that are more likely to build robust and reciprocal relations. Utilizing a new coding scheme created by the authors and data on the use of Facebook and Twitter by 1988 Nigerian NGOs and the level of interactivity of tweets from 151 of these NGOs, we find that while few NGOs in Nigeria appear to utilize social media, those that do are more interactive in their usage than expected.
Killing them softly: degrees of inaccessible and Mahlo cardinals

This paper introduces the theme of killing-them-softly between set-theoretic universes. The main theorems show how to force to reduce the large cardinal strength of a cardinal to a specified desired degree. The killing-them-softly theme is about both forcing and the gradations in large cardinal strength. Thus, I also develop meta-ordinal extensions of the hyper-inaccessible and hyper-Mahlo degrees. This paper extends the work of Mahlo to create new large cardinals and also follows the larger theme of exploring interactions between large cardinals and forcing central to modern set theory.
Lymphocyte Teamwork in Tumor Rejection

Immune responsiveness depends on a complex interplay between the elements of innate and adaptive immunity. Several recent studies in various models of immune rejection, including ours in a mouse tumor model, yield new insights into the adaptive control of innate effector functions. This chapter provides a discussion of key observations indicating an indispensable T cell help for innate antitumor immunity.
Signal slope modulation method for high data transfer rates and reducing wiring density in high-speed digital systems

This paper presents a novel method of transferring data using a signal slope modulation method in high-speed digital systems. For the first time, this paper demonstrates that this signal slope modulation technique can be used for transferring high data per trace as well as for reducing wiring density in packages significantly. The unique combination of serial bus and parallel bus attributes of this method allows higher bit transfer rates, lower clock speeds, and lower trace and wiring counts.
Extraction Behavior of Ln(III) Ions by T2EHDGA/n-Dodecane from Nitric Acid and Sodium Nitrate Solutions

The diglycolamide extractant T2EHDGA has proven to be promising for the separation of lanthanides and minor actinides in high-level nuclear waste reprocessing. This neutral extractant has shown sig...
Epilogue: Body Double—Katharine Hepburn at Madame Tussauds

This epilogue looks at an unusual scene occurring at Madame Tussauds in the Katharine Hepburn film A Woman Rebels (1936). The mostly contrived plot of the movie hinges on the episode at the wax museum—where nothing and everything happens. For the spectator or fan, encountering a life size wax figure of a famous person highlights the boundaries between life and death, authenticity and artifice, creating an uncanny effect that is similar to being in close proximity to a celebrity. Famous people’s bodies are in many ways untouchable, sacred, and idealised. The epilogue highlights the collection’s emphasis on the ways in which various technologies work to enhance and promote the illusion of intimacy and identification with famous figures.
Abstract 714: A case for combining immunotherapy and targeted small molecule inhibitors: Immunoregulation by primary melanoma cells

Metastatic melanoma, leads to the highest number of skin cancer related deaths. Checkpoint inhibitor therapy has witnessed a high success rate in melanoma patients with anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1. However, checkpoint inhibitor molecules and their compensatory stimulatory counterparts are widely expressed on T cells and antigen presenting cells suggesting a robust redundancy in these molecules as clinical targets. Some of these molecules that include CTLA-4, PD-1, HVEM, VISTA, 41-BB, OX-40 and CD226 are also expressed on tumor cells. Their role in regulating an immune response whether it is cell killing or immune evasion remains to be elucidated. We isolated and characterized five primary patient derived melanoma cell lines: MEL-2, MEL-V, 3MM, KFM and GLM2. We screened these cells for the expression of a comprehensive panel of twenty-five co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory molecules by RT-PCR which revealed significant heterogeneity in expression of these molecules compared to normal adult melanocytes under normal conditions; underscoring the importance of understanding tumor tissue pleiotropy prior to designing a therapeutic regimen. Surprisingly, inhibitory molecules including PD-1, VISTA and LAIR1 and stimulatory molecules including 4-1BB, HVEM and ICOS were upregulated differentially in these cell lines by metabolic stress brought on by starvation conditions. Some of these molecules were restored to basal levels of expression on treatment with 10μM vemurafenib (PLX4032), a BRAFV600E inhibitor, for 24 hours. However the treatment led to concurrent upregulation of molecules such as LAG3, BTLA, CD226 and TIM1, suggesting a compensatory mechanism that could aid melanoma adaptation and escape from immune recognition. Exposing melanoma cells to classical activated dendritic cell cytokines, IL-6 and IL-12, led to a differential expression of these molecules. Additionally, experiments using tumor lysate loaded dendritic cells to study activation revealed an ability to modulate immune activation correlating with unique stimulatory and inhibitory molecule expression profile of each primary cell line. Our results underscore the importance of understanding the profile of co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory molecules expressed in tumor cells. With eighty percent of melanoma patients being positive for the BRAFV600E lesion, we make a case for designing a combinatorial therapeutic regimen, with targeted immunotherapies as well as targeting specific genetic lesions with small molecule inhibitors. Citation Format: Rachana R. Maniyar, Sanjukta Chakraborty, Neha Y. Tuli, Ghada Ben Rahoma, Sarnath Singh, Marc Wallack, Jan Geliebter, Raj K. Tiwari. A case for combining immunotherapy and targeted small molecule inhibitors: Immunoregulation by primary melanoma cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 714.
Disasters, the Whole Community, and Development as Capacity Building

Disasters provide opportunities to change patterns of development, new resources to support those changes, and incentives to become more resilient and sustainable, reducing losses in future disasters. Policy inertia is broken, new voices are heard, constituencies are mobilized, champions emerge, and new development tools are brought to bear. However, some communities are able to use the opportunity to address risks and sustainable development, while others are not able to do so. What distinguishes the successful communities from the less successful and how are capacities built? An integrated model is built for assessing community characteristics and recovery-related capacities, and critical variables are identified. The model includes social vulnerability, the structure of the local economy, business diversity, nonprofit density, and government capacity. Engagement of the “whole community” and building social capital, as well as having effective community leadership, can mean the difference between success and failure in disaster recovery and sustainable development.
Periosteal progenitors contribute to load-induced bone formation in adult mice and require primary cilia to sense mechanical stimulation

The original article [1] contained two minor errors affecting the labelling of Fig. 3d and Figs. 6b & 6c; these errors have now been corrected in the respective figures in the original article.
Weighted Residual Methods

This chapter discusses weighted residual methods applicable to ordinary differential equations and partial differential equations. By introducing approximations, this method changes the numerical calculation of an ordinary differential equation to the numerical calculation of a set of algebraic equations and a partial differential equation to the numerical calculation of a set of ordinary differential equations. The solution is approximated by taking a linear combination of an arbitrarily chosen set of functions. The coefficients of the functions, which may be constants or functions themselves are unknown. Within the “Galerkin” framework, it is possible to generate finite elements, finite difference and spectral methods.
Learner Autonomy and Vocabulary Development for Female Learners of English as a Foreign Language: Teachers’ Perspectives

The research reported here represents a qualitative case study that engaged teachers as participants over a prolonged period of time, examining their teaching practices and agentive roles in the language development of their students. This study draws on a social constructivist framework and transformative learning theory, both of which approach the learner as an agentive self and in the sociocultural context of language learning. Data collection took place at an all-female university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It includes face-to-face semistructured interviews of six teachers from two different classrooms, classroom observations (of two of the six teachers), and audio recordings of instructional practices. The findings reveal that the implementation of autonomous learning is a significant factor in students’ intrinsic engagement and motivation to develop vocabulary knowledge. This study aims to offer guidance to language teachers and researchers who advocate for learner autonomy and innovative classroom practices. It recommends new strategies for cultivating learner autonomy in English education, both in the KSA classroom and elsewhere.
Integrated light-sheet illumination using metallic slit microlenses

Light sheet microscopy (LSM) - also known as selective plane illumination microscopy (SPIM) - enables high-speed, volumetric imaging by illuminating a two-dimensional cross-section of a specimen. Typically, this light sheet is created by table-top optics, which limits the ability to miniaturize the overall SPIM system. Replacing this table-top illumination system with miniature, integrated devices would reduce the cost and footprint of SPIM systems. One important element for a miniature SPIM system is a flat, easily manufactured lens that can form a light sheet. Here we investigate planar metallic lenses as the beam shaping element of an integrated SPIM illuminator. Based on finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations, we find that diffraction from a single slit can create planar illumination with a higher light throughput than zone plate or plasmonic lenses. Metallic slit microlenses also show broadband operation across the entire visible range and are nearly polarization insensitive. Furthermore, compared to meta-lenses based on sub-wavelength-scale diffractive elements, metallic slit lenses have micron-scale features compatible with low-cost photolithographic manufacturing. These features allow us to create inexpensive integrated devices that generate light-sheet illumination comparable to tabletop microscopy systems. Further miniaturization of this type of integrated SPIM illuminators will open new avenues for flat, implantable photonic devices for in vivo biological imaging.
Effectiveness of Speech Analysis in Classification of Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Study on Parkinson's Disease

Neurodegenerative (ND) diseases have caused significant increase in the death rates across the world. The urgent need for biomarkers for diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is vastly growing area of research in biomedical engineering. Speech production is a complex neuromuscular task that get affected due to ND diseases. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of speech analysis in the classification of ND diseases focusing on PD. In the literature, existing methodologies in speech analysis using signal processing aim at extraction and usage of features to capture perturbations due to PD. A novel methodology is proposed in this paper that extracts features at a pitch synchronous level from the speech. Instead of the average, variance in these features at a syllabic level is used for classification. An unsupervised k-means clustering algorithm is used to perform classification. Feature selection based on statistical testing is performed to address dimensionality problem. With a total of 40 participants, this approach has provided encouraging Fl-Scores.
Improved application of RNAModMapper – An RNA modification mapping software tool – For analysis of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) data

Abstract Research into post-transcriptional processing and modification of RNA continues to speed forward, as their ever-emerging role in the regulation of gene expression in biological systems continues to unravel. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) has proven for over two decades to be a powerful ally in the elucidation of RNA modification identity and location, but the technique has not proceeded without its own unique technical challenges. The throughput of LC-MS/MS modification mapping experiments continues to be impeded by tedious and time-consuming spectral interpretation, particularly during for the analysis of complex RNA samples. RNAModMapper was recently developed as a tool to improve the interpretation and annotation of LC-MS/MS data sets from samples containing post-transcriptionally modified RNAs. Here, we delve deeper into the methodology and practice of RNAModMapper to provide greater insight into its utility, and remaining hurdles, in current RNA modification mapping experiments.
Outcome of strabismus surgery in patients of type 3 gaucher’s disease

Purpose Surgical correction of esotropia in patients of neuronopathic Gaucher’s disease (GD) type 3 aiming to improve the cosmetic appearance with the evaluation of the success rate, presence of residual angle, or recurrence during the follow-up period. Study design A retrospective, descriptive study. Patients and methods Ten patients with type 3 neuronopathic GD were referred from the Pediatric Gastroenterology and Neurology Units of Mansoura Children’s Hospital. All patients suffered from systemic, neurological, and ophthalmological manifestations such as hepatosplenomegaly, horizontal gaze palsy and esotropia, respectively. They received enzyme replacement therapy, and showed a stationary course for at least 1 year before strabismus surgery. Patients were admitted and operated for cosmetic correction of esotropia. They were followed up regularly every month for 1 year. Postoperative data were recorded at the end of 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. Results In all, 80% of cases showed improvement of the angle. Orthotropia (within 10 pd) was obtained at the end of 6 months and maintained till the end of 1 year postoperatively; 20% of the cases showed residual esotropia. Conclusion Surgical correction of strabismus in type 3 GD can achieve good cosmetic results with low risk of residual angle or recurrence.
Antimicrobial Activity in the Pallial Cavity Fluids of the Ribbed Mussel Geukensia Demissa from a Highly Impacted Harbor in Western Long Island Sound

Fluid and its associated mucus from the pallial (mantle) cavity of the ribbed mussel Geukensia demissa (Dwillyn) from Black Rock Harbor, Bridgeport, CT, inhibited the growth of both Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gramnegative (Escherichia coli) bacteria in antimicrobial assays. A significant reduction in size after 24 h was noted in E. coli grown in the presence of ribbed mussel fluid. Mussel-soluble lysozyme levels in the pallial cavity fluid averaged 0.019 + 0.018 relative fluorescence units/mg protein, and no seasonal pattern of lysozyme activity was found (P = 0.522). During the course of the study, copper concentrations ranged from 0.09 to 0.37 ppm and zinc concentrations from 0.17 to 0.66 ppm in the pallial cavity fluid. These values were only slightly higher than the concentrations of these metals found in seawater samples taken at the site, indicating only very low levels of sequestration of heavy metals by G. demissa in the pallial fluid cavity. A comparable study of oysters (Crassostrea virginica) from the same site found lysozyme levels 10 times higher and zinc concentrations two orders of magnitude greater than in that in mussels reported here (Brousseau et al. 2014). These results suggest substantial interspecies variation in profiles of defensive agents involved in antimicrobial activities of marine bivalves and highlight the need for additional studies to characterize these differences.
Economics of fumigation in tomato production: the impact of methyl bromide phase-out on the Florida tomato industry

The Florida tomato industry is facing challenges of increased production costs and decreased yields resulting from the methyl bromide (MBr) phase-out under the Montreal Protocol for environmental c...
Is blood cortisol or vateritic otolith composition associated with natal dispersal or reproductive performance on the spawning grounds of straying and homing hatchery-produced chum salmon ( Oncorhynchus keta ) in Southeast Alaska?

ABSTRACT Homing with high fidelity to natal spawning grounds for reproduction is a hallmark of anadromous Pacific salmon biology, although low rates of dispersal (‘straying’) also occurs. Currently little is known about the proximate factors influencing straying, which limits our understanding of this fundamental biological phenomenon and impedes options for reducing straying-mediated interactions between wild and hatchery-produced individuals. We explored the potential role of stress experienced in captivity prior to intentional release to manifest in developmental irregularities and potentially influence rates of straying by adults. We compared two proxies for stress between groups of hatchery-produced individuals that had homed back to the hatchery or strayed to non-natal streams compared to wild individuals that were presumed to have homed to a wild spawning stream. Blood plasma cortisol was used to assess stress at the terminus of their migration, and percent frequency of vateritic otolith development within groups as a measure of stresses incurred during development. We found no evidence that either proxy for stress was associated with straying. No differences in cortisol concentrations were found between wild and hatchery-produced chum salmon that had homed or strayed, either in males (wild=95.9±175.7 ng/ml; stray=113.4±99.7 ng/ml; home=124.7±113.8 ng/ml) or females (wild=307.6±83.4 ng/ml; stray= 329.0±208.9 ng/ml; home=294.1±134.8 ng/ml); however, significant differences between males and females occurred in each group. The percent frequency of vaterite occurrence in otoliths of hatchery-produced chum salmon that either strayed (40% vaterite) or homed (45% vaterite) did not differ significantly, though rates of vaterite occurred less frequently in wild chum salmon (24%), which is consistent with other studies. Mass thermal marking of juvenile fish in hatcheries is unlikely to increase vateritic development as neither intensity (number of temperature changes) or complexity (number of temperature change sequences) of the mark was associated with frequency of vaterite occurrence. Though not associated with straying, cortisol concentrations were associated with shorter instream lifespan of both hatchery and wild individuals but did not appear to influence rates of egg retention in spawning females, suggesting an equivocal role in reproductive ecology. Our results are suggestive that stress induced during the early stages of rearing in a hatchery environment from marking or other causes may not increase straying later in life, though the higher rates of vaterite observed in hatchery-produced fish may come at a cost of increased marine mortality, due to the otoliths9 role in navigation and hearing.
Does Organizational Forgetting Affect Quality Knowledge Gained Through Spillover?—Evidence from the Automotive Industry

In the automotive industry, when firms develop quality knowledge at their suppliers to address quality issues, some of the knowledge can spill over to other firms that use the same suppliers. We investigate how organizational forgetting affects such quality gains obtained from spillover. We analyze the quality data of 191 suppliers who supply similar products to two distinct businesses: a car and a commercial vehicle manufacturer. A latent class analysis identifies that the spillover of quality knowledge is significant at 93 of the 191 shared suppliers. Spillover is more likely at shared suppliers when there are higher product and process commonality between the components supplied to the different buyers, but less likely when suppliers use multiple facilities to cater to the requirements of the different buyers. Further investigation of the retention of quality knowledge of 93 suppliers with significant spillover reveals that forgetting erodes the quality gains obtained from spillover by 19.09% annually. This effect is larger than the depreciation of quality gains obtained from working directly with suppliers (10.93%). Moreover, the impact of forgetting depends on where the quality knowledge is retained: the quality knowledge embedded in routines erodes faster than the quality knowledge embedded in technology or organizational members. Furthermore, the impact of forgetting on spillover depends on where the quality improvement initiatives are implemented: gains from initiatives in the output activities depreciate less than gains from efforts in the in‐process activities. Our work provides managers guidance on managing the spillover of quality knowledge at suppliers.
An Arabidopsis DISEASE RELATED NONSPECIFIC LIPID TRANSFER PROTEIN 1 is required for resistance against various phytopathogens and tolerance to salt stress

Synchronous and timely regulation of multiple genes results in an effective defense response that decides the fate of the host when challenged with pathogens or unexpected changes in environmental conditions. One such gene, which is downregulated in response to multiple bacterial pathogens, is a putative nonspecific lipid transfer protein (nsLTP) of unknown function that we have named DISEASE RELATED NONSPECIFIC LIPID TRANSFER PROTEIN 1 (DRN1). We show that upon pathogen challenge, DRN1 is strongly downregulated, while a putative DRN1-targeting novel microRNA (miRNA) named DRN1 Regulating miRNA (DmiR) is reciprocally upregulated. Furthermore, we provide evidence that DRN1 is required for defense against bacterial and fungal pathogens as well as for normal seedling growth under salinity stress. Although nsLTP family members from different plant species are known to be a significant source of food allergens and are often associated with antimicrobial properties, our knowledge on the biological functions and regulation of this gene family is limited. Our current work not only sheds light on the mechanism of regulation but also helps in the functional characterization of DRN1, a putative nsLTP family member of hitherto unknown function.