cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Flood Risk, Flood Mitigation, and Location Choice: Evaluating the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System

Climate change is expected to worsen the negative effects of natural disasters like floods. The negative impacts, however, can be mitigated by individuals' adjustments through migration and relocation behaviors. Previous literature has identified flood risk as one significant driver in relocation decisions, but no prior study examines the effect of the National Flood Insurance Program's voluntary program-the Community Rating System (CRS)-on residential location choice. This article fills this gap and tests the hypothesis that flood risk and the CRS-creditable flood control activities affect residential location choices. We employ a two-stage sorting model to empirically estimate the effects. In the first stage, individuals' risk perception and preference heterogeneity for the CRS activities are considered, while mean effects of flood risk and the CRS activities are estimated in the second stage. We then estimate heterogeneous marginal willingness to pay (WTP) for the CRS activities by category. Results show that age, ethnicity and race, educational attainment, and prior exposure to risk explain risk perception. We find significant values for the CRS-creditable mitigation activities, which provides empirical evidence for the benefits associated with the program. The marginal WTP for an additional credit point earned for public information activities, including hazard disclosure, is found to be the highest. Results also suggest that water amenities dominate flood risk. Thus, high amenity values may increase exposure to flood risk, and flood mitigation projects should be strategized in coastal regions accordingly.
Binding proteins from animals with possible transport function.

Several proteins from various animal tissues with possible transport function have been briefly described, with emphasis given to a vitamin D-induced calcium-binding protein (CaBP) implicated in calcium translocation across epithelial membranes. The latter protein was shown to be present in the small intestine, colon, kidney, and the uterus (shell gland) of the chicken. CaBP was also found in the small intestine of the rat, dog, bovine, and monkey. This protein has been isolated in high purity from chick intestinal mucosa and some of its properties determined. Its molecular weight is about 28,000, its formation constant, about 2.6 x 105 M-1, and its binding capacity, 1 calcium atom per protein molecule. Correlative studies have shown that CaBP concentration in intestinal mucosa varies with the calcium absorptive capacity of the gut, thereby suggesting that CaBP is intimately involved in the process of calcium absorption. CaBP has been localized in the brush border region of the intestinal absorptive cell and within goblet cells. Among other proteins mentioned were the intrinsic factor required for vitamin B12 absorption and the protein(s) associated with iron translocation.
Automatic in-plane rotation for doubly-oblique cardiac imaging.

A METHOD IS PROPOSED FOR automatically calculating the in-plane rotation for doubly-oblique slice geometry. Doubly-oblique slice orientation is commonly used in applications such as cardiac imaging, and results in an in-plane rotation of the body cross-section. For torso imaging with oblique geometry, the body cross-section is approximately elliptical, with major and minor axes and ellipticity in the approximate range of 1.5–2.5. It is often desirable to adjust the in-plane orientation for frequency encoding (readout) along the major axis and to adjust the phase encoding along the minor axis to ensure a minimum alias-free field-of-view (FOV) in the phase-encoding direction. In other words, with the proper in-plane rotation, the FOV in the phase encoding direction may be reduced to the minor axis dimension. This is particularly important for reduced FOV imaging, such as UNFOLD (1) or parallel MR methods, SENSE (2), or SMASH (3), as well as general imaging with an asymmetric FOV. An example illustrating the in-plane rotation problem for an oblique imaging plane is shown in Figure 1. A body ellipse (with ellipticity = 2) is intersected by a doubly-oblique plane with normal vector, n = [1, 1, 1], resulting in the ellipse shown in bold in Figure 1, which has an in-plane rotation of θ = 23° in the plane defined by the box labeled “a.” After in-plane rotation, the plane defined by the box labeled “b,” with the same dimensions, is aligned with the body ellipse and will not have wrap artifacts for phase encoding along the minor axis direction. Figure 1 Illustration of doubly-oblique imaging plane intersecting an elliptical cylinder resulting in an ellipse (bold) with in-plane rotation (plane a), which may be rotated for minimum alias-free FOV (plane b) with phase encoding direction along minor axis ...
Demodulation and tracking with dirty templates for UWB impulse radio: algorithms and performance

Major challenges in ultrawideband (UWB) communications include timing acquisition, tracking, and low complexity demodulation. Timing with dirty templates (TDT) is a recently proposed acquisition algorithm with attractive features. Starting with a performance analysis of TDT, this paper goes on to considerably broaden its scope by developing novel tracking loops and detectors by naturally following the TDT operation. Specifically, upper bounds on the mean square error of the blind and data-aided TDT estimators are derived, along with TDT-based demodulators, obviating the need to know the underlying channel and time hopping code. Analytical comparisons reveal that TDT demodulators outperform RAKE with limited number of fingers in the medium-high SNR range. TDT demodulation performance in the presence of timing errors is evaluated and shown to be robust to mistiming. In order to follow timing offset variations, an adaptive loop is also introduced to track the first multipath arrival of each symbol. For a given input disturbance, parameters of the loop are selected to optimize jointly transient and steady state performance. Analytical results are corroborated by simulations.
Isopotential surfaces and the corrugated wall model for gas-solid interactions

Abstract The relationship between the gas-solid interaction energy u s ( r ), where r is the position of a gas atom relative to the solid lattice, and corrugated wall models is discussed. It is argued that the corrugation in these models, which are often used to calculate intensities of diffracted atom beams, can be identified with the position of an isopotential surface extracted from the repulsive branches of the u s ( z ) curves for various positions over the unit surface cell. Results of numerical evaluations for several specific potentials are given, including a model for the interactions in a helium-graphite system. The effects of including more than one type of sinusoidal term in the corrugation equation is discussed. It is argued that one can make a useful connection between corrugated wall models and isopotential surfaces.
Difficulties with multiple time stepping and fast multipole algorithm in molecular dynamics

Numerical experiments are performed on a 36,000-atom protein)DNA)water simulation to ascertain the effectiveness of two devices for reducing the time spent computing long-range electrostatics interactions. It is shown for Verlet-Irr-RESPA multiple time stepping, which is based on approximating long-range forces as widely separated impulses, that a long time step of 5 fs results in a dramatic energy drift and that this is reduced by using an even larger long time step. It is also shown that the use of as many as six terms in a fast multipole algorithm approximation to long-range electrostatics still fails to prevent significant energy drift even though four digits of accuracy is obtained. Q 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 18: 1785)1791, 1997
General dynamic formations for non-holonomic systems along planar curvilinear coordinates

This paper describes a general geometric method for planar formations of non-holonomic systems. The approach directly provides the feasible controls that each individual robot has to execute in order for the team to maintain the formation based on the controls of a reference agent, either a real leader-robot or a virtual one. In order to directly satisfy the non-holonomic constraints, the geometric reasoning takes place in curvilinear coordinates, defined by the curvature of the reference trajectory, instead of the typical rectilinear coordinates. The generality of the approach lies on the ability to define dynamic formations so as to smoothly switch between static ones, where the robots can change both of their relative coordinates as they move, and the ability to acquire a desired formation given an initial random configuration. Furthermore, it is possible to correct errors in the achieved configuration of the vehicles on the fly. Simulated experiments are presented to verify the correctness of the provided derivations.
Calendar patterns in the occurrence of cardiac arrest

Abstract Our objective was to determine whether monthly and daily patterns existed in cardiac arrests in a 7 emergency department (ED) cohorts in New Jersey. We conducted a retrospective analysis of a computerized database over an 11-year period containing 2,370,233 patient visits and 6,827 nontraumatic cardiac arrests. Time-series regression revealed colder months having more cardiac arrests, especially for patients ≥65 years of age. In that age group, December and March were highest with 17% more ( P =.002) than the average of nonsignificant months. August was the lowest with 19% ( P =.001) fewer cardiac arrests. Day-of-week variation was found only for patients P P =.01), respectively. We conclude that there are monthly and daily patterns in cardiac arrests, with more arrests in the colder months for those ≥65 years of age, and more for ages
Ethonyms in Hausa

Hausa ethnonyms, terms indicating a person's or~g~n, ethnic affiliation, or professional or social position, are formed with a prefix ba?- in the singular and a suffix -aawaa in the plural. This paper provides a detailed specification of the segmental and tonal characteristics of 'these ethnonyms and a comprehensive list of currently acceptable forms. The paper illustrates the semi-productive nature of the construction and the imperfect pairing of forms with ba?- and -aawaa. The use of ethnonyms to indicate 'supporters or followers of a person' is documented as well as the overlooked functioning of ethnonyms as adjectival qualifiers. The paper explores the relationship between the suffix -aawaa and the identical suffix found with names of towns and villages. The major conclusion is that ba?- and -aawaa are suppletive derivational markers, the former originally denoting 'person ... ', the latter indicating 'community ... '.
Knowledge about Human Papillomavirus and Time to Complete Vaccination among Vulnerable Female Youth.

Objective To examine the association of knowledge about human papillomavirus (HPV) on the time to completion of the 3-dose quadrivalent vaccine series in an inner-city population of adolescent female subjects at high risk for infection. Study design We prospectively followed 139 female subjects aged 14-20 years enrolled in a vaccine surveillance study in New York City during a period of at least 24 months. Participants were given a 30-item true or false survey on HPV at enrollment and ranked according to the number of correct responses. Multivariate Cox regression was used to examine the association between level of knowledge about HPV and time to completion (in days) of vaccine dose 1-3, dose 1-2, and dose 2-3. Results Overall time to completion of the 3-dose vaccine ranged from 158 days to 1114 days. Participants in the high knowledge group (top quartile) were significantly more likely to complete the 3-dose series earlier (hazard ratio 1.69, 95% CI 1.03-2.77; P = .04), in particular doses 2-3 (hazard ratio 1.71, 95% CI 1.02-2.89; P = .04), than those with low-to-moderate knowledge (bottom 3 quartiles). Conclusions These findings suggest that knowledge of HPV is associated with shorter time to complete the 3-dose HPV vaccine series. Educational campaigns at time of vaccination may be important to improve vaccine adherence.
Transfer of Viral Communities between Human Individuals during Fecal Microbiota Transplantation

ABSTRACT Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a highly effective treatment for refractory Clostridium difficile infections. However, concerns persist about unwanted cotransfer of pathogenic microbes such as viruses. Here we studed FMT from a single healthy human donor to three pediatric ulcerative colitis patients, each of whom received a course of 22 to 30 FMT treatments. Viral particles were purified from donor and recipient stool samples and sequenced; the reads were then assembled into contigs corresponding to viral genomes or partial genomes. Transfer of selected viruses was confirmed by quantitative PCR. Viral contigs present in the donor could be readily detected in recipients, with up to 32 different donor viral contigs appearing in a recipient sample. Reassuringly, none of these were viruses are known to replicate on human cells. Instead, viral contigs either scored as bacteriophage or could not be attributed taxonomically, suggestive of unstudied phage. The two most frequently transferred gene types were associated with temperate-phage replication. In addition, members of Siphoviridae, the group of typically temperate phages that includes phage lambda, were found to be transferred with significantly greater efficiency than other groups. On the basis of these findings, we propose that the temperate-phage replication style may promote efficient phage transfer between human individuals. In summary, we documented transfer of multiple viral lineages between human individuals through FMT, but in this case series, none were from viral groups known to infect human cells. IMPORTANCE Transfer of whole communities of viruses between humans has rarely been studied but is of likely medical importance. Here we studied fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), a highly successful treatment for relapsing Clostridium difficile infection and, potentially, other gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. We investigated the transfer of viral communities during FMT and documented transfer of multiple viral lineages between humans. None of these were viruses that replicated on animal cells or that are known to be pathogenic. We found that temperate bacteriophage, which form stable associations with their hosts, were significantly more likely to be transferred during FMT. This supports a model in which the viral temperate replication style may have evolved in part to support efficient viral transmission between environments.
Numerical Investigation of Separation Control for Flow Over a Wall Mounted Hump

This work describes the development of a high-order k turbulence model and application to flow over a wall-mounted hump. The high-order turbulence model is validated for a flat plate and subsequently applied to the more complex wall-mounted hump for conditions with and without flow control. Results for the hump flow are compared to previous numerical and experimental data. The turbulence model is incorporated into an implicit parallel flow solver that is based on an approximately-factored time-integration method coupled with spatial fourth- and sixth-order compact-dierence formulations and a high-order filtering strategy. Both a second-order and high-order version of the k turbulence model were included in the compact solver. Validation using flow over a flat plate demonstrated that use of a second-order turbulence model dominates the solution even when high-order compact dierencing is used for the flow equations. This validation also demonstrated that significant computational savings are possible since less mesh resolution is required when using a high-order turbulence model. Comparison of the high-order compact solver and turbulence model with a second- order flow solver and turbulence model were also performed for the wall-mounted hump. Qualitative agreement was achieved with experimental data for both high- and low-order schemes. High-order solutions on a coarse grid agreed very well with second-order solutions on a considerably finer grid. Significant net computational savings were realized for both cases by using high-order compact schemes for the flow equations and the turbulence model.
What Shall We do with Surplus Foods

EDITOR's NOTE: The proposal to subsidize the food consumption of the great mass of families getting low incomes raises important problems, among which would be: the matter of estimating the total cost and the question as to which classes of people would bear the burden of the subsidies, the effects of the program on the wise utilization of productive agents and its probable ultimate success orfailure in meeting the problem of bringing uncontrolled (or controlled) production and subsidized consumption into balance, and the probable effects upon the American system of the governmental controls required.
Chemical studies of mucopolysaccharides of rat blood platelets.

SummaryTwo mucopolysaccharide fractions have been extracted from blood platelets of rats. Paper electrophoresis and paper chromatography of the intact MPS of fraction 1 and paper chromatography of ...
The differential diagnosis of jaundice.

A most important clinical decision in the differential diagnosis of jaundice is whether the patient has a medical disease or one amenable to surgery.Jaundice is rarely an emergency condition; an unnecessary operation on a patient with acute hepatitis greatly increases the mortality, whereas failure to diagnose a surgical lesion early does not lessen the benefits of operation.
The efficiencies of meandering.

When we take the time to interact with one another face to face, we can actually become more productive and efficient.
Clinical pharmacy services in Florida hospitals--1984

To ascertain the progress made in the implementation of clinical services in Florida hospitals, a survey conducted in 1977 was readministered in 1984. Questionnaires were sent to the directors of pharmaceutical services of all 256 Florida hospitals. Nine questions on clinical services were identical to the 1977 survey and two additional questions were included on nutritional support services and pharmacokinetic dosing consultations. The directors were also asked if they had conducted studies to document the cost-effectiveness of their clinical pharmacy services. Questionnaires were returned by 75% of the directors. As in the 1977 survey, approximately half of the hospitals had less than 200 beds. Slightly more than 82% of the hospitals had total unit dose systems and about 7% had partial systems, which was considerably higher than the 58% with either total or partial systems found in the 1977 survey. Services such as patient monitoring, inservice education, and drug-use review were being offered substantially more than in 1977. Conducting patient medication histories, attending rounds with physicians, and providing discharge consultations were the least-performed clinical services. The reasons given for not implementing these services were similar in both surveys. However, while the lack of adequately trained pharmacists was frequently cited in 1977, very few respondents cited it as an obstacle in 1984. Several respondents indicated that they had documented cost savings attributable to their clinical pharmacy services. Clinical pharmacy programs are continuing to grow in Florida hospitals; however, pharmacy administrators appear to be having some of the same problems implementing these services as they did previously.
Tissue Optics and Photoimmunology

Whenever an organism, organ, or cell is exposed to UV or other optical radiation, the response, or lack of response, depends to some extent on the optical properties of the exposed tissues. Delineating the exact nature of this dependence is both necessary and instructive in experimental work. For example, cells in tissue culture are more sensitive to loss of viability by exposure to 254-nm radiation when they are adherent and flattened against their substrate than when they are rounded. In the latter case, a greater pathlength of cytoplasm intervenes between the plasma membrane and nucleus, resulting in more effective shielding of the DNA chromophore by cytoplasmic absorption and scattering. One can, in fact, use this to measure the optical absorbance of living cytoplasm.1 Thus, one of the first concerns in the study of tissue optics is to ascertain the fraction of incident radiation at specified wavelengths that reaches important chromophores and initiates responses, or perhaps for the immunologist, that reaches the tissues and cells mediating immune responses.
Real-time imaging and quantitative analysis of doxorubicin transport in a perfusable microvessel platform

Here we report on real-time imaging and quantitative analysis of solute transport in perfusable cylindrical microvessels formed from Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells embedded in a collagen matrix. Fluorescence microscopy was used to image the kinetics of doxorubicin transport following injection. To assess the role of efflux pumps on transport, experiments were performed in microvessels formed from MDCK.2, MDCKII-w/t, and MDCKII-MDR1 cells. MDCKII-w/t and MDCKII-MDR1 showed significant doxorubicin accumulation in the cells, characteristic of the pharmacokinetics of doxorubicin. We present a model for doxorubicin transport that takes into account transport across the cell layer. These results demonstrate how real-time imaging of cell microvessels can be used to analyze the mechanisms of transport and distribution following systemic delivery.
Advertising Role of Recommender Systems in Electronic Marketplaces: A Boon or a Bane for Competing Sellers?

Recommender systems have become the cornerstone of electronic marketplaces that sell products from competing sellers. Similar to traditional advertising, recommender systems can introduce consumers to new products and increase the market size which benefits sellers. The informative role of recommender systems in electronic marketplaces seems attractive to sellers because sellers do not pay the marketplaces for receiving recommendations. We show that in a marketplace that deploys a recommender system helping consumers discover the product that provides them the highest expected net utility, the sellers do not necessarily benefit from the “free” exposure provided by the recommender system. The impacts of the recommender system are the result of a subtle interaction between advertising effect and competition effect. The advertising effect causes sellers to advertise less on their own and the competition effect causes them to decrease prices in the presence of a recommender system. Essentially, sellers “pay” in the form of more intense price competition because of the recommender system. Furthermore, the competition effect is exacerbated by the advertising effect because the recommender system alters a seller's own strategies related to advertising intensity and price from being strategic substitutes in the absence of the recommender system to being strategic complements in the presence of the recommender system. As a result of these two effects, we find that sellers are more likely to benefit from the recommender system only when it has a high precision. The results do not change qualitatively whether sellers use targeted advertising or uniform advertising. However, we find that a recommender system that benefits sellers when sellers do not employ targeted advertising may actually hurt sellers when sellers adopt targeted advertising with a high precision. On the other hand, in the electronic marketplace with the recommender system, an increase in sellers' targeting precision beyond a threshold softens price competition, increases seller profits, and reduces consumer surplus.
Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementia Disorders

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementia disorders are characterized by a decline in cognitive abilities that interferes with daily functioning. Cognitive symptoms consist of progressive decline in memory, executive function, judgment, language, comprehension, and visuospatial ability, and cognitive profiles differ across dementia disorders (e.g., AD, frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, etc.). Dementia disorders are also associated with a range of neuropsychiatric symptoms and physical symptoms. Functionally, dementia disorders negatively impact the ability to maintain employment and engage in social activity, and conversely employment history and social participation have been shown to influence risk for dementia. Additionally, declining ability to complete daily activities such as grooming and meal preparation is a hallmark feature of dementia that is associated with negative outcomes. Methods of assessing everyday functioning include self- and informant-report as well as performance-based measures of everyday tasks that provide more objective assessment facilitated by standardized coding schemes. Everyday action research has revealed relations between cognitive/neuropsychiatric symptoms and functional decline in dementia and has highlighted the relevance of early functional changes to illness progression. Further, heterogeneity across dementia disorders in the extent and type of functional deficit has led to the development of a neurocognitive model that may help clarify the conceptualization and treatment of specific functional deficits. There are few empirical treatments to improve everyday function, but interventions targeting functional deficits and environmental adaptations have shown promise. Finally, racial/ethnic differences in dementia rates underscore the importance of a lifespan approach to examining socioeconomic, educational, and other lifestyle factors that interact with neurobiological components of risk and resilience and impact cognitive test performance.
Flawed Assumptions: Ethical Problems With Proposed Presumed Consent Legislation.

At present, there is a House bill in the Texas Legislature that would shift Texas from an opt-in organ donation model – a model requiring explicit consent for organ donation from the donor or donor's family – to an opt-out, or presumed consent, model. Under this new bill, the state would assume that a person agreed to organ donation unless the donor registered an objection. If passed, this law would be the first-of-its-kind in the United States, and it represents the direct inverse of the nation's current opt-in model as outlined by the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (although the bill does not violate federal law). (1) Recently, lawmakers in other states such as Delaware and New York have proposed similar bills. Proponents’ intentions are clear: to increase the number of available organs. They argue that data from other countries suggest that a shift from opt-in to opt-out could increase organ procurement. (2) This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Computation of the Component Randomization Test for Paired Comparisons

A computer-based algorithm for Fisher's component randomization test is developed for paired comparisons. The program operation is described and an example presented along with the program listing....
Comprehensive methodology to monitor longitudinal change patterns during EHR implementations: a case study at a large health care delivery network.

Abstract Objective To test a systematic methodology to monitor longitudinal change patterns on quality, productivity, and safety outcomes during a large-scale commercial Electronic Health Record (EHR) implementation. Materials and Methods Our method combines an interrupted time-series design with control sites and 41 consensus outcomes including quality (11 measures), productivity (20 measures), and safety (10 measures). The intervention consisted of a phased commercial EHR implementation at a large health care delivery network. Four medium-size hospitals and 39 clinics from 5 geographic regions implementing the new EHR were compared against a parallel control consisting of one medium-size and one large hospital and 10 clinics that had not implemented the new EHR at the time of this study. We collected monthly data from February 2013 to July 2017. Results The proposed methodology was successfully implemented and significant changes were observed in most measured variables. A significant change attributable to the intervention was observed in 12 (29%) measures in three or more regions; in 32 (78%) measures in two or more regions; and in 40 (98%) measures in at least one region. A similar pattern (i.e., same impact in three or more regions) was detected for nine (22%) measures, a mixed pattern (i.e., same impact in two regions, and different impact in other regions) was detected for nine (22%) measures, and an inconsistent pattern (i.e., did not detect the same impact across regions) was detected for 23 (56%) measures. Discussion Using a formal methodology to assess changes in a set of consensus measures, we detected various patterns of impact and mixed time-sensitive effects. With an increasing adoption of EHR systems, it is critical for health care organizations to systematically monitor their EHR implementations. The proposed method provides a robust and consistent approach to monitor EHR implementations longitudinally allowing for continuous monitoring after the system becomes stable in order to avoid unexpected effects. Conclusion Our results and methodology can guide the broader medical and informatics communities by informing what and how to continuously monitor EHR impact on quality, productivity, and safety.
“They Medicated Me Out”: Social Flesh and Embodied Citizenship in Addiction Treatment

Addiction, a cultural construct long framed in moral, psychological, and social terms, is increasingly understood as biological and treated with medications. In the United States, methadone, bupren...
Compositional and Lightweight Dependent Type Inference for ML

We consider the problem of inferring expressive safety properties of higher-order functional programs using first-order decision procedures. Our approach encodes higher-order features into first-order logic formula whose solution can be derived using a lightweight counterexample guided refinement loop. To do so, we extract initial verification conditions from dependent typing rules derived by a syntactic scan of the program. Subsequent type-checking and type-refinement phases infer and propagate specifications of higher order functions, which are treated as uninterpreted first-order constructs, via subtyping chains. Our technique provides several benefits not found in existing systems: 1 it enables compositional verification and inference of useful safety properties for functional programs; 2 additionally provides counterexamples that serve as witnesses of unsound assertions: 3 does not entail a complex translation or encoding of the original source program into a first-order representation; and, 4 most importantly, profitably employs the large body of existing work on verification of first-order imperative programs to enable efficient analysis of higher-order ones. We have implemented the technique as part of the MLton SML compiler toolchain, where it has shown to be effective in discovering useful invariants with low annotation burden.
Durability Properties of Bacterial Cellulose for Textile Applications

Cellulose used in apparel products often comes from plant sources; however, some bacteria of are also able to produce cellulose. Benefits of bacterial cellulose over plant cellulose include the absence of lignin and hemicelluloses and high crystallinity. Environmental benefits include the reduced need for water and processing chemicals. Current challenges to the material's development are the cost of raw materials and the growth rate of the material. The goal of this project was to address these concerns by comparing the material grown from low cost media. Additionally, materials were treated and dried using a variety of methods and analyzed for textile property impacts.
The Distribution of Myopia in Man and Monkey

A recently published national probability sample of the refractive characteristics of the United States population 4-74 years indicates that adults 18-44 1928 on Washington, D.C. school children six years plus and older are compared with refraction distributions of three groups of monkeys - wild, open space monkey, laboratory caged monkeys, and near-visual space monkeys. The children and wild monkey distributions are virtually identical. The adults and laboratory caged monkeys are very similar. The near-visual space monkeys are significantly (0.01 level) more myopic than any of the other groups.
Autoimmune regulator gene supports maternal-fetal immune tolerance during early pregnancy

Numerous mechanisms protect against immune responses between the mother and her fetus in order to maintain a healthy pregnancy. The autoimmune regulator gene (AIRE) is a crucial component of tolerance to self-antigens, but its relevance for maternal-fetal tolerance has not yet been explored. AIRE contributes to both central and peripheral tolerance via the presentation of tissue specific antigens (TSAs), leading to clonal deletion of self-reactive T cells. These TSAs include placental antigens, which we call “distant self” antigens, since they are encoded in the maternal genome, but have not been expressed since the mother was herself an embryo with a placenta. We hypothesize that maternal tolerance of “distant self” placental TSAs are critical for successful embryo implantation and development. To test this, we ablated AIRE-expressing cells during the first nine days of mouse pregnancy using an AIRE-diphtheria toxin receptor (DTR) model. We found significantly smaller litter sizes (p
Factors influencing business intelligence-enabled success in global companies: an empirical study

Global companies recently invested heavily in business intelligence (BI) with an expectation of achieving a long-term BI-enabled success. However, there is little statistical evidence in the past research to answer the following two questions: 1) which factors provide BI-enabled success in global companies?; 2) what is an acceptable model for achieving BI-enabled success? The study identifies three important factors that influence BI-enabled success in companies. We build a structural model to answer the above questions for global companies. The study concludes with important managerial implications.
A Test of Fit for Bivariate Distributions

Abstract : Tests of fit based on generalized minimum chi-square techniques are developed for bivariate distributions. The asymptotic null distribution of the test statistic is chi square while the asymptotic non-null distribution turns out to be that of a weighted sum of independent non-central chi square variates. The special case of testing the fit of a bivariate normal distribution is investigated in detail and the power is obtained for several alternative families of bivariate distributions. (Author)
The Neuromodulator Adenosine Regulates Oligodendrocyte Migration at Motor Exit Point Transition Zones

During development, oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) migrate extensively throughout the spinal cord. However, their migration is restricted at transition zones (TZs). At these specialized locations, unique glial cells in both zebrafish and mice play a role in preventing peripheral OPC migration, but the mechanisms of this regulation are not understood. To elucidate the mechanisms that mediate OPC segregation at motor exit point (MEP) TZs, we performed an unbiased small-molecule screen. Using chemical screening and in vivo imaging, we discovered that inhibition of A2a adenosine receptors (ARs) causes ectopic OPC migration out of the spinal cord. We provide in vivo evidence that neuromodulation, partially mediated by adenosine, influences OPC migration specifically at the MEP TZ. This work opens exciting possibilities for understanding how OPCs reach their final destinations during development and identifies mechanisms that could promote their migration in disease.
Difference in Cortical Modulation of Walking between Persons with Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls: An EEG pilot study

The overall goal of this study is to investigate the role of parietal cortex in the control of walking in persons with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS). We examined within-brain connectivity and cortico-muscular connectivity as pwMS and healthy control (HC) participants walked on an instrumented treadmill. Cortical activity was collected using EEG, muscle activity was collected using wireless EMG modules, and gait data were obtained by using the instrumented treadmill. Results show significant activation of sensorimotor and posterior parietal cortex during walking in both groups. Connectivity between parietal (posterior cingulate cortex PCC) and premotor regions (pars opercularis), and between PCC and contralateral muscles were higher in the healthy control group. Higher connectivity correlated with higher walking speed.
LONELINESS AND HYPOCHONDRIASIS AMONG OLDER ADULTS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF INTOLERANCE OF UNCERTAINTY AND ANXIETY

Loneliness is prevalent among older adults and is associated with adverse outcomes for health and mortality. Additionally, researchers have suggested that loneliness may cause a person to direct attention inward and become preoccupied with bodily symptoms which may subsequently lead to health anxiety. However, little extant research has examined the association among older adults. In this study, we proposed a loneliness model of hypochondriasis in which loneliness contributes to hypochondriasis through intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety. Healthy, community-dwelling older adults (N = 280; 64.4% female; age range: 65-95; M = 76.08, SD = 7.59) completed an interview survey. Loneliness was associated with higher hypochondriasis and had an indirect effect on hypochondriasis through intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety. Lonelier older adults may have an activated threat system which prompts greater intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety and thereby results in greater hypochondriasis.
Interactions of emerging contaminants with model colloidal microplastics, C 60 fullerene, and natural organic matter - effect of surface functional group and adsorbate properties

Surface adsorption of two commonly detected emerging contaminants, amlodipine (AMP) and carbamazepine (CBZ), onto model colloidal microplastics, natural organic matter (NOM), and fullerene nanomaterials have been investigated. It is found that AMP accumulation at these colloidal-aqueous interfaces is markedly higher than that of CBZ. Measurements of surface excess and particle zeta potential, along with pH-dependent adsorption studies, reveal a distinct influence of colloidal functional group on the adsorption properties of these pharmaceuticals. AMP shows a clear preference for a surface containing carboxylic group compared to an amine modified surface. CBZ, in contrast, exhibit a pH-dependent surface proclivity for both of these microparticles. The type of interactions and molecular differences with respect to structural rigidity and charge properties explain these observed behaviors. In this work, we also demonstrate a facile approach in fabricating uniform microspheres coated with NOM and C60 nanoclusters. Subsequent binding studies on these surfaces show considerable adsorption on the NOM surface but a minimal uptake of CBZ by C60. Adsorption induced colloidal aggregation was not observed. These findings map out the extent of contaminant removal by colloids of different surface properties available in the aquatic environment. The methodology developed for the adsorption study also opens up the possibility for further investigations into colloidal-contaminant interactions.
The impact of COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions on the future dynamics of endemic infections

Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) have been employed to reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, yet these measures are already having similar effects on other directly-transmitted, endemic diseases. Disruptions to the seasonal transmission patterns of these diseases may have consequences for the timing and severity of future outbreaks. Here we consider the implications of SARS-CoV-2 NPIs for two endemic infections circulating in the United States of America (USA): respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and seasonal influenza. Using laboratory surveillance data from 2020, we estimate that RSV transmission declined by at least 20% in the USA at the start of the NPI period. We simulate future trajectories of both RSV and influenza, using an epidemic model. As susceptibility increases over the NPI period, we find that substantial outbreaks of RSV may occur in future years, with peak outbreaks likely occurring in the winter of 2021-2022. Results for influenza broadly echo this picture, but are more uncertain; future outbreaks are likely dependent on the transmissibility and evolutionary dynamics of circulating strains.
Impactful Mutations in Mpro of the SARS-CoV-2 Proteome

We explore how amino acid mutations affect the stability of the 306 residue main protease of the COVID-19 proteome. We employ two computational approaches, Site Directed Mutagenesis (SDM) and short runs of Molecular Dynamics. We focus our attention on residues 25-32 that make up a beta sheet of a canonical beta barrel close to an active site which includes Histidine 41. We considered this region a good candidate for mutations because such a large perturbation of a highly structured region close to the active site may prove to be highly detrimental to the protein's stability and may affect catalytic efficiency. Understanding how amino acid mutations affect the stability of the protein can inform efforts to develop pharmacological interventions. We mutated the 8 residues in silico to all other possible amino acids, and analyzed the resulting 152 mutants. Both computational methods predict that only a few specific mutations to some of the 8 residues have a major effect on the structural stability of the protein.
Combined Model for Sensory-Based and Feedback-Based Task Switching: Solving Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning Problems Statically and Dynamically with Transfer Learning

An integral function of fully autonomous robots and humans is the ability to focus attention on a few relevant percepts to reach a certain goal while disregarding irrelevant percepts. Humans and animals rely on the interactions between the Pre-Frontal Cortex (PFC) and the Basal Ganglia (BG) to achieve this focus called Working Memory (WM). The Working Memory Toolkit (WMtk) was developed based on a computational neuroscience model of this phenomenon with Temporal Difference (TD) Learning for autonomous systems. Recent adaptations of the toolkit either utilize Abstract Task Representations (ATRs) to solve Feedback-Based (FB) tasks or storage of past input features to solve Sensory-Based (SB) tasks, but not both. We propose a new model, SBFBWMtk, which combines both approaches, ATRs and input storage, with a static or dynamic number of ATRs. The results of our experiments show that SBFBWMtk performs effectively for tasks that exhibit SB, FB, or both properties.
Cycad-Weevil Pollination Symbiosis Is Characterized by Rapidly Evolving and Highly Specific Plant-Insect Chemical Communication

Coevolution between plants and insects is thought to be responsible for generating biodiversity. Extensive research has focused largely on antagonistic herbivorous relationships, but mutualistic pollination systems also likely contribute to diversification. Here we describe an example of chemically-mediated mutualistic species interactions affecting trait evolution and lineage diversification. We show that volatile compounds produced by closely related species of Zamia cycads are more strikingly different from each other than are other phenotypic characters, and that two distantly related pollinating weevil species have specialized responses only to volatiles from their specific host Zamia species. Plant transcriptomes show that approximately a fifth of genes related to volatile production are evolving under positive selection, but we find no differences in the relative proportion of genes under positive selection in different categories. The importance of phenotypic divergence coupled with chemical communication for the maintenance of this obligate mutualism highlights chemical signaling as a key mechanism of coevolution between cycads and their weevil pollinators.
Subjective reasoning—dynamic games

Abstract A unified framework is developed for representation of, and reasoning about dynamic games. A game is described by the subjective knowledge of players at hypothetical situations—the epistemic game form. Subjective knowledge—termed confidence—allows us to replace objective reasoning about hypothetical events with reasoning about the confidence of hypothetical identities, i.e., the subjective reasoning of players in hypothetical situations. This leads to an endogenous definition for players' action sets. Applying subjective reasoning to games such as the “Beer–Quiche” signaling game, provides a characterization of the dynamic reasoning by players that leads to the suggested solutions for these games. For perfect information games we find that rationality and common confidence of future rationality imply backward induction, although common confidence of rationality can logically contradict the definition of the game.