cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Moderate correlation between breath-holding and CO(2) inhalation/hyperventilation methods for transcranial doppler evaluation of cerebral vasoreactivity.

Background. Both CO2 inhalation followed by hyperventilation and breath-holding have been utilized to measure cerebral vasomotor reactivity (VMR) but their correlation has been poorly studied and understood. Methods. A retrospective study was conducted in 143 subjects (62.6 ± 15.8 years old, 64% men) with transcranial Doppler ultrasonography measurement of mean flow velocity (MFV) at baseline, after 30 seconds of breath-holding, and after CO2 inhalation followed by hyperventilation, in the left and right middle cerebral artery. Breath-holding index (BHI) was calculated as the percentage of MFV increase from baseline per second of apnea. CO2 inhalation/hyperventilation index (CO2/HV) was calculated as the percentage of MFV difference between CO2 inhalation and hyperventilation. Results. There were 75 carotid arteries with >70% stenosis or occlusion, and 18 middle cerebral arteries with >50% stenosis or occlusion. The mean BHI was 0.93 ± 0.7 and 0.89 ± 0.6, whereas the mean CO2/HV was 61 ± 26% and 60 ± 26%, respectively, on the right and left sides. The correlation between BHI and CO2/HV was moderate on the right (r = 0.33; p < 0.01) and left sides (r = 0.38; p < 0.01). Multivariate linear regression analysis indicated that age (p = 0.01) and history of stroke (p = 0.007) were associated independently with an impaired VMR on the right as measured by CO2/HV. No predictors for impaired VMR by CO2/HV on the left and by BHI on either side were found. Conclusions. CO2/HV and BHI are only moderately correlated. Further studies are necessary to determine which method more accurately predicts clinical morbidity. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library
Regulation of nif gene expression and the energetics of N 2 fixation over the diel cycle in a hot spring microbial mat

Nitrogen fixation, a prokaryotic, O2-inhibited process that reduces N2 gas to biomass, is of paramount importance in biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen. We analyzed the levels of nif transcripts of Synechococcus ecotypes, NifH subunit and nitrogenase activity over the diel cycle in the microbial mat of an alkaline hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. The results showed a rise in nif transcripts in the evening, with a subsequent decline over the course of the night. In contrast, immunological data demonstrated that the level of the NifH polypeptide remained stable during the night, and only declined when the mat became oxic in the morning. Nitrogenase activity was low throughout the night; however, it exhibited two peaks, a small one in the evening and a large one in the early morning, when light began to stimulate cyanobacterial photosynthetic activity, but O2 consumption by respiration still exceeded the rate of O2 evolution. Once the irradiance increased to the point at which the mat became oxic, the nitrogenase activity was strongly inhibited. Transcripts for proteins associated with energy-producing metabolisms in the cell also followed diel patterns, with fermentation-related transcripts accumulating at night, photosynthesis- and respiration-related transcripts accumulating during the day and late afternoon, respectively. These results are discussed with respect to the energetics and regulation of N2 fixation in hot spring mats and factors that can markedly influence the extent of N2 fixation over the diel cycle.
The Core Symptoms of Schizophrenia

The diagnosis of schizophrenia is made on the basis of a diverse set of characteristic signs and symptoms. These include disturbances in perception and inference, abnormalities in communication, behaviour and motor activity, and deficits in emotional expressivity, hedonic capacity and drive. No single symptom or set of symptoms is pathognomonic, and the question of which symptoms are indeed at the ‘core’ of schizophrenia has been an issue of much debate, opinion and study since the disorder was first described a century ago. In this review, the symptoms emphasized in current diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia are described and the relative importance of these symptoms in the evolution of the schizophrenia construct is discussed.
Efficient Frequency-Domain Simulation of Massive Clock Meshes Using Parallel Harmonic Balance

High performance IC designs impose stringent design specifications on clock distribution networks, where clock skews must be well controlled even under the presence of environmental and process variations. As a result, clock meshes are gaining increasing popularity due to their inherent low skew and immunity to variations. While clock meshes are often analyzed in time-domain for the purpose of verification as well as tuning, the massive couplings within the passive mesh structure and in between a large number of clock drivers are challenging to handle. In contrast, frequency-domain steady-state simulation techniques such as harmonic balance (HB) are specifically advantageous since the massive passive mesh structure can be rather compactly represented using matrix transfer function matrices at a discrete set of harmonic frequencies. The remaining challenge, however, is to develop harmonic balance techniques that can efficiently simulate highly nonlinear steady-steady problems corresponding to a large number of tightly coupled clock drivers. In this paper, we present a hierarchically preconditioned algorithm that is particularly suitable to clock mesh analysis. Moreover, we show that the parallelizable nature of our algorithm allows further runtime improvement of large clock mesh analysis via parallel processing.
A Randomized, Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Evaluation of Calcium Chloride and Epinephrine for Inotropic Support After Emergence From Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Forty hemodynamically stable patients were randomized to receive an intravenous bolus of either calcium chloride (5 mg/kg) (n = 20) or placebo (n = 20) (phase I). Six minutes later, they received either an epinephrine (30 ng.kg-1.min-1) (n = 20) or placebo (n = 20) infusion (phase II). Hemodynamic and ionized calcium measurements were obtained in phase I at baseline and at 3 and 6 min after the bolus, and in phase II, at 3 and 6 min (study times 9 and 12 min) after initiation of the infusion. Compared with placebo, calcium did not significantly increase cardiac index but significantly increased mean arterial pressure. Calcium improved cardiac index from 2.46 +/- 0.12 (mean +/- SEM) to 2.74 +/- 0.12 L.min-1.m-2; likewise, placebo improved cardiac index from 2.51 +/- 0.15 to 2.74 +/- 0.15 L.min-1.m-2. Mean arterial blood pressure increased with calcium from 74 +/- 2 to 82 +/- 3 mm Hg compared with a placebo change of 74 +/- 2 to 76 +/- 2 mm Hg. Patients who received the epinephrine infusion (n = 20) demonstrated a significant increase in cardiac index at time 12 min compared with patients receiving only placebo (n = 20). Cardiac index of the epinephrine group increased from 2.56 +/- 0.15 to 2.92 +/- 0.22 L.min-1.m-2, whereas in the placebo group it decreased from 2.86 +/- 0.13 to 2.78 +/- 0.12 L.min-1.m-2. Prior administration of calcium did not alter the subsequent response to epinephrine (n = 10) compared with patients receiving epinephrine alone (n = 10). We conclude that cardiac index improves with time without drug therapy after bypass. Calcium chloride increases mean arterial blood pressure but not cardiac index immediately after cardiopulmonary bypass, whereas low-dose epinephrine significantly increases both cardiac index and mean arterial blood pressure without causing tachycardia in these patients. Calcium chloride (5 mg/kg) did not augment or inhibit the hemodynamic response to an epinephrine infusion.
Breath-Hold Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy (BH-IMPT) for Lung SBRT: Feasibility Study

tumors with DE 4 mm. Pearson correlation was performed to associate clinical factors with DE. Continuous variables were analyzed with an independent samples t-test and categorical variables with chi-square. Results: Eight hundred forty-four 4D-CBCT’s were analyzed (495 CRT, 349 HRT). DE was largest in the SI direction overall, with mean (SD) of 0.5 ( 3) mm (-25 17). Mean DE (mm) in the SI direction was larger in HRT as compared to CRT, with smaller SD (1.1 ( 2.3) v 0.03 ( 3.3), p 4 mm (38% HRT, 62% CRT). For treatments with DE > 4 mm, overall mean target dose reduction was largest in the SI direction, -7.4 4.2%. The following factors were significantly correlated with DE: age, weight, tumor location, performance status (KPS), smoking history, pre-RT O2 use, and planning 4D-CT excursion. Tumor size and right v left lung did not correlate. Tumors with 4 mmDE in any directionwere found in younger patientswith higherweight and KPS, male gender, and lower lobe (LL) location (Table 1). Conclusions: The largest degree of DE is seen in the SI direction for both CRT and HRT, causing > 5% target dose reduction in 11% of daily RT deliveries. Target margins designed based only on pre-treatment 4D-CT without considering clinical variables could under compensate for target motion during treatment. Large DE seems predictable, and seen more in young patients with higher baseline weight, KPS, male gender, and LL tumors. Online 4D-CBCT provides a means to monitor excursion and adapt RT, and further analysis to optimize timing is underway.
Polymers and copolymers of o-acetoxystyrene and o-hydroxystyrene†

o-Hydroxystyrene did not copolymerize with styrene and butadiene in GR-S-type systems. A terpolymer of these three monomers was obtained by copolymerizing o-acetoxystyrene, styrene and butadiene in carbon tetrachloride solution by the action of stannic chloride followed by hydrolysis of the acetate groups in the polymer with dilute hydrochloric acid in dioxane solution. The polymer thus obtained did not improve the tack of GR-S.
In planta production of the highly potent resveratrol analogue pterostilbene via stilbene synthase and O‐methyltransferase co‐expression

Resveratrol and related stilbenes are thought to play important roles in defence responses in several plant species and have also generated considerable interest as nutraceuticals owing to their diverse health-promoting properties. Pterostilbene, a 3,5-dimethylether derivative of resveratrol, possesses properties similar to its parent compound and, additionally, exhibits significantly higher fungicidal activity in vitro and superior pharmacokinetic properties in vivo. Recombinant enzyme studies carried out using a previously characterized O-methyltransferase sequence from Sorghum bicolor (SbOMT3) demonstrated its ability to catalyse the A ring-specific 3,5-bis-O-methylation of resveratrol, yielding pterostilbene. A binary vector was constructed for the constitutive co-expression of SbOMT3 with a stilbene synthase sequence from peanut (AhSTS3) and used for the generation of stably transformed tobacco and Arabidopsis plants, resulting in the accumulation of pterostilbene in both species. A reduced floral pigmentation phenotype observed in multiple tobacco transformants was further investigated by reversed-phase HPLC analysis, revealing substantial decreases in both dihydroquercetin-derived flavonoids and phenylpropanoid-conjugated polyamines in pterostilbene-producing SbOMT3/AhSTS3 events. These results demonstrate the potential utility of this strategy for the generation of pterostilbene-producing crops and also underscore the need for the development of additional approaches for minimizing concomitant reductions in key phenylpropanoid-derived metabolites.
Detecting similarities and differences in images using the PFF and LGG approaches

This paper presents two methods for comparison of images and evaluation of visibility of artifacts due to hidden information, changes or noise. The first method is based on pixel flow functions (PFF) able to detect changes in images by projecting the pixel values vertically, horizontally and diagonally. These projections create "functions" related with the average values of pixels summarized horizontally, vertically and diagonally. These functions represent image signatures. The comparison of image signatures defines differences in images. The second method is based on a heuristic graph model, known as local-global graph (LGG), for evaluating visibility of modifications in digital images. The LGG is based on segmentation and comparing the segments while thresholding the differences in their attributes. The methods have been implemented in C++ and their performance is presented.
Far-Field Speaker Recognition

In this paper we study robust speaker recognition in far-field microphone situations such as meeting scenarios. By applying reverberation compensation and feature warping we achieved significant improvements under mismatched training-testing conditions. To capture useful information from multiple distant microphones, two approaches for multiple channel combination are investigated. This leads to 84.1 % and 78.1% relative improvements on the distant microphone database. Furthermore, we tested the resulting system on the ICSI Meeting Corpus. The improvements are also very high on this task, which indicates that our system is robust to changing conditions in a remote microphone setting
A review of the clinical efficacy, safety and tolerability of the antidepressants vilazodone, levomilnacipran and vortioxetine

Introduction: As a leading cause of disability, major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by reduced quality of life and altered functioning. Current pharmaceutical treatment options are limited in their success by modest effects and adverse events that often lead to discontinuation. One current trend in antidepressant development is to combine inhibition of the serotonin transporter with other pharmacological targets, including the norepinephrine transporter or different serotonin receptors.Areas covered: In a span of < 3 years, the FDA approved three new antidepressants for the treatment of MDD: vilazodone in January 2011, levomilnacipran in July 2013 and vortioxetine in September 2013. This article reviews the efficacy, safety and tolerability of these three drugs mainly from the Phase III trial data.Expert opinion: All three drugs are effective in the treatment of MDD, but data comparing them to other antidepressants is currently lacking. Vilazodone was proposed to produce a more rapid onset an...
Using embryonic stem cells to introduce mutations into the mouse germ line.

It is now possible, through the use of a number of experimental technologies, to transfer genetic information into mouse embryos to stably alter the genetic constitution of mice, This experimental approach, namely the generation of so.termed “transgenie” animals, is affording new insights into a wide variety of biological problems. This review focuses on one system for the generation of transgenic mice, which utilizes tissue culture cell lines of embryonic stem cells, termed ES cells. The remarkable property of ES cells is that they retain the potential to reform an embryo; when they are replaced inside a carrier embryo, they resume normal development and contribute to all the tissues of the live-born chimeric animal. Recent experiments, using a repertoire of gene transfer techniques, have shown that ES cells are amenable to a variety of experimental manipulations in tissue culture. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that these genetically altered cells can be transferred into the germ line of chimeric mice, thus allowing the production of unique strains of animals for study. The applications of the ES cell system are reviewed, with particular emphasis on their use for the generation of random insertional mutations using a retrovirally mediated mutagenesis approach. Finally, the use of ES cells in conjunction with the recently described technique of homologous recombination, or ‘gene targeting,” is discussed. This technology allows the generation of animals carrying extremely precise genetic modifications of endogenous genes.
Treatment, Outcomes, and Clinical Trial Participation in Elderly Patients With Metastatic Pancreas Adenocarcinoma

Abstract Background Pancreas adenocarcinoma has a median age at diagnosis of 71 years. Limited studies have focused on the treatment of elderly patients with pancreas cancer. Patients and Methods An analysis of systemic therapy use, clinical trial participation, and overall outcomes of 237 patients with metastatic pancreas adenocarcinoma ≥ 75 years of age evaluated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center between 2005 and 2013 was undertaken. Results Median overall survival was 7 months for the entire study population. A total of 197 (83%) patients received systemic therapy, which was significantly associated with longer overall survival ( P P = .49). Seventy-seven (32%) patients participated in a clinical trial of whom 13 (5%) patients were enrolled in a therapeutic trial, including no patients aged ≥ 85 years. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that presence of liver metastases ( P P P Conclusion Receipt of systemic therapy was associated with longer survival in elderly patients ≥ 75 years of age with metastatic pancreas adenocarcinoma. Therapeutic clinical trial participation among these patients was low and future development of prognostic models for appropriate patient selection is warranted.
Survey and alignment data analysis for the ALS storage ring

The survey and alignment effort for the Advanced Light Source (ALS) accelerator complex has been described elsewhere. Data analysis for this task comprises the creation of ideal data, comparison of measured coordinates with ideal ones, and computation of alignment values, taking into account the effects caused by finite observation accuracy. A novel approach has been taken, using personal computer spreadsheets rather than more conventional programming methods. This approach was induced by the necessities to create and frequently refine the analysis procedures while measurements were already underway, and further by hardware constraints that limited the use of an available surveying code. A major benefit consists in the ability to identify and deal with discrepancies that occasionally arise when different techniques are used to observe the same object, in a timely and efficient manner. As a result of the performed survey and alignment work, the ALS lattice magnets have been positioned with accuracies well exceeding the original specifications. >
Relationship and prognostic value of coronary artery calcification by electron beam computed tomography to stress-induced ischemia by single photon emission computed tomography

Background Stress single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is commonly performed in patients with abnormal electron beam computed tomography (EBCT) to define risk stratification, but the published prognostic data for patients undergoing both SPECT and EBCT are limited. The objective of the study was to examine the association and prognostic value between EBCT, coronary artery calcium score (CACS), and stress SPECT imaging. Methods We identified 835 patients (age 54.8 ± 10.0 years, 77% male) who underwent EBCT and stress SPECT within a 3-month period. Coronary artery calcium score was categorized as normal (0), minimal (1-10), mild (11-100), moderate (101-400), and severe (>400). Single photon emission computed tomography summed stress score (SSS) was categorized as normal, low risk, intermediate risk, and high risk per Cedar Sinai criteria. Average follow-up was 4.8 ± 3.2 years. End points were all-cause death, death/myocardial infarction (MI), and death/MI/late revascularization. Results The correlation of CACS to SSS was weak but statistically significant ( r = +0.19, P 2 = 11.4, P 2 = 4.6, P = .031), and chest pain class (χ 2 = 8.7, P = .003) were independently associated with high-risk SPECT. The SSS (χ 2 = 6.9, P = .009) and CACS (χ 2 = 7.8, P = .005) were independently associated with mortality, as well as with both secondary end points of death/MI and death/MI/late revascularization. Only CACS predicted mortality in the 408 asymptomatic patients (χ 2 = 5.2, P = .02), but these patients had an annual mortality of only 0.4% over the next 5 years. Conclusions In selected patients undergoing both EBCT and SPECT, CACS is weakly correlated with SPECT SSS, likely reflecting the different information provided by EBCT and SPECT. Coronary artery calcium score is independently associated with high-risk SPECT after adjustment for clinical variables. Coronary artery calcium score and SSS are complementary for the prediction of mortality in symptomatic patients. Only CACS predicted mortality in the asymptomatic patients, but they had a low annual mortality.
The rapid disintegration of projections: The West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

How and why did the scientific consensus about sea level rise due to the disintegration of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), expressed in the third Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment, disintegrate on the road to the fourth? Using ethnographic interviews and analysis of IPCC documents, we trace the abrupt disintegration of the WAIS consensus. First, we provide a brief historical overview of scientific assessments of the WAIS. Second, we provide a detailed case study of the decision not to provide a WAIS prediction in the Fourth Assessment Report. Third, we discuss the implications of this outcome for the general issue of scientists and policymakers working in assessment organizations to make projections. IPCC authors were less certain about potential WAIS futures than in previous assessment reports in part because of new information, but also because of the outcome of cultural processes within the IPCC, including how people were selected for and worked together within their writing groups. It became too difficult for IPCC assessors to project the range of possible futures for WAIS due to shifts in scientific knowledge as well as in the institutions that facilitated the interpretations of this knowledge.
Dopant Control and Diffusion at the Si/Si1-xGex Interface for High-Speed Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors

Abstract Optimum high-frequency performance of Si/Si1-xGex heterojunction bipolar transistors can be obtained only with precise control of doping profiles within the heterostructure. With low-temperature chemical vapor deposition and advanced SIMS depth profiling techniques, we demonstrate the capability to place and measure hyperabrupt boron junctions relative to the Si/Si1-xGex heterointerface with an accuracy of 20 Angstroms. Capacitance-voltage measurements as a function of junction displacement from the heterojunction are also presented. Measurements of boron diffusivity in Si1-xGex strained layers are combined with data on boron segregation in the Si/Si1-xGex system to accurately model dopant motion across the heterointerface.
Effect of Compatibility between Fluxes and Cyanate Ester Underfill on Lead Free Flip Chip Assembly and Reliability

The quality and reliability of flip-chip assembly is severely impacted by the compatibility between various materials used in the package. Currently, no-clean fluxes are widely used for the assembly of flip chips. Poor compatibility between the flux residue and the underfill can lead to the formation of voids, and consequently, reliability problems. Therefore, a major concern for flip-chip assembly is the compatibility between the flux residues and the underfill. The principal objective of this research was to develop a flux for lead-free packaging, which would be compatible with high performance moisture resistant cyanate ester-based underfills. During this study, commercially available fluxes, along with tailor made epoxy-based flux, were tested for their compatibility with the underfill. The results indicated that the assembly process window for the rosin-based fluxes was much wider than the epoxy-based fluxes. Synthetic flux had poor soldering performance and relatively poor compatibility with the cya...
Influence of Sucrose upon Production of Serologically Reactive Material by Certain Streptococci.

SummaryWhen grown in sucrose broth some strains of group H streptococci produced large amounts of material reactive with types 2 and 20 antipneumococcus and with antileuconostoc serums; little or none was produced by the same streptococci when grown in dextrose broth. This reactive material was different from the streptococcus antigen involved in the usual Lancefield grouping test; as much of the latter was produced in dextrose as in sucrose broth culture.In addition to indicating an interrelationship of the different Gram-positive cocci the data furnished an example of the influence of a particular carbohydrate upon the capacity of some microorganisms to elaborate a serologically reactive polysaccharide.
Bile duct brushing cytology: Cytohistologic/fine-needle aspiration correlation and diagnostic pitfalls

Introduction Bile duct brushings are a mainstay in the work-up of patients who present with clinical findings of pancreaticobiliary disease. This study presents the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics Cytopathology Laboratory's experience over a 10.5-year period with histologic and fine-needle aspiration (FNA) correlation. Materials and methods From January 1, 2005, through June 30, 2015, 676 bile duct brushings were processed, of which 408 (60%) were negative, 84 (12%) were atypical, 65 (10%) were suspicious, and 119 (18%) were malignant. Histologic and FNA follow-up was available in 285 (42%) of the cases and forms the basis of this study. Results There were 59 (21%) positive, 38 (13%) suspicious, 54 (19%) atypical, and 134 (47%) negative bile duct brushings with follow-up. Of the 59 positive cases, 57 (97%) were malignant and 2 (3%) were negative on histologic/FNA follow-up. Thirty-three (87%) of the suspicious brushing were malignant on follow-up and 5 (13%) were negative; 43 (80%) of the atypical brushings were malignant and 11 (20%) were negative; and 94 (70%) of the negative brushings were malignant and 40 (30%) were negative on histologic/FNA follow-up. The sensitivity was 38%; specificity, 95%; positive predictive value, 97%; negative predictive value, 30%. Conclusions Bile duct brushing cytology is highly specific in the detection of malignant pancreatobiliary lesions with few false positives, but has low sensitivity with many false negatives.
Calculation of Vehicle Specification Power for Heavy-duty Vehicles

In the field of transportation and environmental research,the quantification of vehicle emissions by using vehicle specific power(VSP) has become a hot issue.However,there are important problems that need to be addressed: the applicability of the VSP algorithm of the light-duty vehicles for the other vehicle models and the VSP algorithm for heavy-duty vehicles.In this context,this paper synthesizes the source and basic theories of VSP,and discusses the derivation of coefficients in the VSP formulas.Then,VSP formulas for different weights of heavy-duty vehicles are provided based on the typical situation in China.Further,a comparative analysis on the errors of different algorithms is presented by using the real-world testing data,especially for the errors caused by using the algorithm of light-duty vehicles on the calculation of the VSP for heavy-duty vehicles.The study shows that the use of VSP algorithm of light-duty vehicles on heavy-duty vehicles will lead to significant errors.The errors increase with the decrease of absolute values of VSP,and the maximum errors occur at the acceleration range of-0.5~0 m/s2.
Division of labor is not a process or a misleading concept

Deborah Gordon (Behav Ecol Sociobiol. doi: 10.1007/s00265-015-2045-3 , 2016) advocates abandoning the term “division of labor” (DOL) on the grounds that it implies a process by which individual colony members become persistent specialists by virtue of their “essential internal attributes.” She claims that there is little evidence for such links, and that continued use of the term distracts us from focusing on how distributed processing leads to task allocation (TA) in the colony, which she considers to be sufficient explanation of how colonies organize work. I argue instead that the term DOL as understood by most social insect researchers today is descriptive, useful, and carries no such implications of process or links to internal attributes. I suggest that the confusion can be addressed by recognizing the distinction between the ontogenetic causes of DOL, which set individuals’ response thresholds (RT) during their development, and the behavioral and physiological mechanisms that act in the moment to determine TA via distributed processing. I further suggest that the term “specialization” as applied to social insects should be understood to mean simply “to concentrate on,” without requiring that it be accompanied by increased performance efficiency.
Irreversible hydrocolloid: an unusual presentation of esophageal obstruction.

Upper digestive tract obstruction can occur after ingestion of various types of foreign bodies. However, to the best of our knowledge, no case of a near-total obstruction caused by an irreversible ...
Modern Room Temperature Ionic Liquids, a Simple Guide to Understanding Their Structure and How It May Relate to Dynamics.

Modern room temperature ionic liquids are structurally defined by symmetries on different length scales. Polar–apolar alternation defines their nanoscale structural heterogeneity, whereas positive–negative charge alternation defines short length scale order. Much progress has been made in the past few years as it pertains to the theoretical interpretation of X-ray scattering experiments for these liquids. Our group has contributed to the development of theoretical interpretation guidelines for the analysis of their structure function. Perhaps less well developed is our understanding of how transport and dynamics in general couple to the very unique structure of ionic liquids which are often dynamically and structurally heterogeneous. This article attempts to present our most current understanding of ionic liquid structure in general and its coupling to transport and dynamics in minimally technical terms for the benefit of the broadest audience.
Psychophysiology of slow breathing exercises using heart rate variability measurements for stress reduction

Slow breathing exercises, associated with meditation and other eastern style modalities like tai chi and hatha yoga, are now increasingly employed in mainstream medicine to reduce stress, attenuate moderate hypertension, and alleviate symptoms of lifestyle-related illnesses. The clinical literature on slow breathing exercises includes studies employing various physiological measurements, including heart rate variability (HRV), galvanic skin response, and changes in skin temperature. HRV has been increasingly used to measure the activity of the autonomic nervous system in various human studies employing healthy and chronically ill subjects. 1. Objective: To understand the effects of slow breathing exercises on heart rate variability as a complementary intervention for stress reduction. 2. Method: Four subjects, through repetitive trials, were instructed to slow down their breathing following a metronome at 10 breaths per minute or 6 breaths per minute or spontaneously relax to slow down their respiratory rate. The ECG, heart rate, and respiratory rate were recorded using a Powerlab set-up (ADI). 3. Key Results: Results showed an increase in amplitude of heart rate variability during these slow breathing exercises, either through the metronome-guided or spontaneous slow-breathing exercises, especially around a breathing frequency of 6 breaths per minute. The increased amplitude of heart rate variability can be seen as a positive sign, a marker for sympathovagal balance. 4. Conclusion: HRV measurements have shown that slow breathing exercises can increase heart rate variability. Future protocols for clinical trials are being projected using the HRV technique and other physiological measurements for studying effects of yoga-based complementary interventions for stress reduction.
Factual Errors in the Gunning of America: Is this Scholarly History or Polemic?

Pamela Haag’s The Gunning of America: Business and the Making of American Gun Culture (Basic Books, 2015) makes the argument that gun culture was developed largely through vigorous marketing of guns to people that neither needed nor wanted them. Examination of some of Haag’s factual statements demonstrate errors that cast doubt on either her research quality or honesty. Her conclusions are therefore suspect, except as an unlikely coincidence.
Multitasking Performance and Workload during a Continuous Monitoring Task

In this paper, we used signal detection theory (SDT) and an eye-head integrated tracking system as a tool to measure the multitasking performance and workload in a continuous monitoring task. By using both eye-gaze/head position data from the tracking system and the performances of all tasks, we developed metrics which can represent the overall performance and workload in a multitasking environment. The primary task was a process monitoring task, which contained total 52 gauges (flow, level, temperature, and pressure). The secondary task was Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB), which consisted of system monitoring, target tracking, and dynamic resource management. The results of this study showed the developed metrics could evaluate various levels of multitasking performance and workload in the gauge-monitoring task. In addition, participant’s Situation Awareness accuracy and NASA-TLX were used to validate these metrics under different complexity scenarios.
A new way to estimate disease prevalence from random partial-mouth samples.

Aim Standard partial-mouth estimators of chronic periodontitis that define an individual's disease status solely in terms of selected sites underestimate prevalence. This study proposes an improved prevalence estimator based on randomly sampled sites and evaluates its accuracy in a well characterized population cohort. Methods Importantly, this method does not require determination of disease status at the individual level. Instead, it uses a statistical distributional approach to derive a prevalence formula from randomly selected periodontal sites. The approach applies the conditional linear family of distributions for correlated binary data (i.e., the presence or absence of disease at sites within a mouth) with two simple working assumptions: 1) the probability of having disease is the same across all sites; and 2) the correlation of disease status is the same for all pairs of sites within the mouth. Results Using oral examination data from 6,793 participants in the Arteriolosclerosis Risk in Communities study, the new formula yields chronic periodontitis prevalence estimates that are much closer than standard partial mouth estimates to full mouth estimates. Conclusions Resampling of the cohort shows that the proposed estimators give good precision and accuracy for as few as six tooth sites sampled per individual. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Handoffs in Neurology and the Influence of Challenging Factors (P04.264)

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the challenges faced by hospital residents during the handoff process to improve patient care. BACKGROUND: The handoff is a complex social interaction influenced by a large number of factors. In hospitals, handoffs are episodes in which responsibility for a patient passes from one health professional to another. DESIGN/METHODS: A one-time survey of neurology residents in an academic hospital regarding their opinion of challenges faced during handoff process and transition of patient care. Questions regarding the duration of handoffs, language, hierarchy, and mode of conduction of handoffs were posed. Satisfaction and sign-out accuracy were also assayed. RESULTS: All responders agree that new patients and existing patients demand different kinds of interactions and conversations. Most responders (61.9%) agree that the average total time that should be spent on handoffs should be approximately 10 to 20 minutes, while 28.6 % agree that the average time for handoffs should be 20 to 30 minutes. The majority of responders (66.5 %) agree that face-to-face verbal handoffs are essential, while 23.8% agree that a recorded media such as a computer should also be utilized. Assessing whether ambiguity in language and second language issues impact the handoffs, 33.3% of responders did not think this makes a difference. Majority of the responders (71.4%) agree that hierarchies in hospital can affect an individual9s willingness to ask questions or seek clarification. CONCLUSIONS: The handoff is quite significant for patient safety and a substantial investment is needed for improvement. Face to face interaction, limiting time to 10 to 30 minutes, and using unambiguous language are favored by Neurology residents. This may be more difficult to achieve as Handoffs are also sensitive to variations in context and the process has other challenges such as transition of care for a new versus an existing patient or handoffs conducted within a hierarchical structure. Disclosure: Dr. Varade has nothing to disclose. Dr. Basha has nothing to disclose. Dr. Madhavan has received research support from Genentech.
CONE: Metrics for Automatic Evaluation of Named Entity Co-Reference Resolution

Human annotation for Co-reference Resolution (CRR) is labor intensive and costly, and only a handful of annotated corpora are currently available. However, corpora with Named Entity (NE) annotations are widely available. Also, unlike current CRR systems, state-of-the-art NER systems have very high accuracy and can generate NE labels that are very close to the gold standard for unlabeled corpora. We propose a new set of metrics collectively called CONE for Named Entity Co-reference Resolution (NE-CRR) that use a subset of gold standard annotations, with the advantage that this subset can be easily approximated using NE labels when gold standard CRR annotations are absent. We define CONE B3 and CONE CEAF metrics based on the traditional B3 and CEAF metrics and show that CONE B3 and CONE CEAF scores of any CRR system on any dataset are highly correlated with its B3 and CEAF scores respectively. We obtain correlation factors greater than 0.6 for all CRR systems across all datasets, and a best-case correlation factor of 0.8. We also present a baseline method to estimate the gold standard required by CONE metrics, and show that CONE B3 and CONE CEAF scores using this estimated gold standard are also correlated with B3 and CEAF scores respectively. We thus demonstrate the suitability of CONE B3 and CONE CEAF for automatic evaluation of NE-CRR.
Simulation analysis of UHV ± 1600kVDC generator electric field distribution

UHVDC(ultra high voltage direct current) is an important method for State Grid Corporation of China to achieve inter-regional long-distance power transmission. ± 1600kV ultra high voltage DC generator is an important equipment to provide high voltage DC test voltage, mainly used for testing the DC electrical equipment. In order to guarantee the safe operation of DC transmission equipment, Using electric field analysis software to simulate the electric field distribution in the space around the DC generator and carry out numerical Analysis. Through analyzing of changes in the radius of curvature and variation of the electric field strength and influencing factors, providing a favorable numerical basis for laboratory layout of DC voltage generator and preparation of safety regulations in field trials. Finally proposing targeted measures to optimize the electric field distribution.
Legal Issues: Congress Explores the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) involves the concept of using the Internet’s communications infrastructure to allow things–non-human and non-computer–to exchange information either with other things or with human or computer controllers. Not surprisingly, the proliferation of the IoT has gather some attention in Congress as the benefits of the IoT come with drawbacks as well. The flow of information back and forth across both wired and wireless networks has lead to concerns about data security and hacking. As the IoT transitions from industrial platforms to consumer platforms, concerns have also been raised about privacy – could the same IoT features that allow you to lock your car from a beach allow the car manufacturer to monitor your driving or vehicle maintenance habits?
Strategic Coalitions Against Exclusion at the Intersection of Race and Disability—A Rejoinder

Here Kathleen A. King Thorius and Federico R. Waitoller respond to Harvard Educational Review's Spring 2017 forum on their 2016 article “Cross-Pollinating Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and Universal Design for Learning: Toward an Inclusive Pedagogy That Accounts for Dis/Ability.” The forum invited six scholars from the field of disability studies who have helped create and spread culturally sustaining pedagogy to discuss the opportunities and challenges of “cross-pollinating” these two approaches. The authors rejoin the conversation, clarifying and expanding on the forum's comments.
Opiates and Plasticity in the Ventral Tegmental Area.

Opioids are among the most effective pain relievers, however their abuse has been on the rise worldwide evident from an alarming increase in accidental opioid overdoses. This demands for an urgent increase in scientific endeavors for better understanding of main cellular mechanisms and circuits involved in opiate addiction. Preclinical studies strongly suggest that memories associated with positive and negative opioid experiences are critical in promoting compulsive opiate-seeking and opiate-taking behaviors, and relapse. Particular focus on synaptic plasticity as the cellular correlate of learning and memory has rapidly evolved in drug addiction field in the past decade. Several critical addiction-related brain areas are identified, one of which is the ventral tegmental area (VTA), an area intensively studied as the initial locus for drug reward. Here, we provide an update to our previous review on “Opiates and Plasticity” highlighting the most recent discoveries of synaptic plasticity associated with op...
Tetraterpene Synthase Substrate and Product Specificity in the Green Microalga Botryococcus braunii Race L

Recently, the biosynthetic pathway for lycopadiene, a C40 tetraterpenoid hydrocarbon, was deciphered from the L race of Botryococcus braunii, an alga that produces hydrocarbon oils capable of being converted into combustible fuels. The lycopadiene pathway is initiated by the squalene synthase (SS)-like enzyme lycopaoctaene synthase (LOS), which catalyzes the head-to-head condensation of two C20 geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) molecules to produce C40 lycopaoctaene. LOS shows unusual substrate promiscuity for SS or SS-like enzymes by utilizing C15 farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) and C20 phytyl diphosphate in addition to GGPP as substrates. These three substrates can be combined by LOS individually or in combinations to produce six different hydrocarbons of C30, C35, and C40 chain lengths. To understand LOS substrate and product specificity, rational mutagenesis experiments were conducted based on sequence alignment with several SS proteins as well as a structural comparison with the human SS (HSS) crystal str...
In the Heat of the Moment: ZTL-Mediated Protein Quality Control at High Temperatures

Sometimes, bad things happen to good proteins. During maturation, folding may go awry and expose hydrophobic residues normally buried in their core. Exposure to high temperatures, or oxidative stress, which is kind of a big deal for photosynthetic organisms, can also lead to protein misfolding.
Oral glucan synthase inhibitor SCY-078 is effective in an experimental murine model of invasive candidiasis caused by WT and echinocandin-resistant Candida glabrata.

Background Echinocandins are recommended as first-line therapy against Candida glabrata infections, although increased resistance to this class has been reported worldwide and they are currently only available for parenteral administration. SCY-078 is an investigational glucan synthase inhibitor that is orally available. Objectives To evaluate the in vivo efficacy of SCY-078 in an experimental model of invasive candidiasis due to WT and echinocandin-resistant C. glabrata isolates. Methods Neutropenic ICR mice were inoculated intravenously with a WT isolate (SCY-078 and caspofungin MICs 0.25 and 0.125 mg/L, respectively) or an echinocandin-resistant isolate (SCY-078 and caspofungin MICs 1 and 0.5 mg/L, respectively). Treatment with placebo, SCY-078 (8, 30 or 40 mg/kg orally every 12 h) or caspofungin (1 mg/kg by intraperitoneal injection once daily) began 24 h later. Kidney fungal burden was measured on day 8 post-inoculation. Results Significant reductions in kidney fungal burden were observed with 30 mg/kg SCY-078 against both isolates and with the 40 mg/kg dose against the echinocandin-resistant isolate. These results were supported by SCY-078 plasma concentration data at the higher doses, where levels above the MICs for both isolates were observed 12 h after the last oral dose. Reductions in fungal burden were also observed with caspofungin against the WT isolate, but not against the resistant isolate. Conclusions SCY-078 demonstrated in vivo efficacy against infections caused by both WT and echinocandin-resistant C. glabrata isolates in this experimental model. This orally available glucan synthase inhibitor has potential as a therapy against echinocandin-resistant C. glabrata infections.
Satellite-Based Assessment of Rainfall-Triggered Landslide Hazard for Situational Awareness

Determining the time, location, and severity of natural disaster impacts is fundamental to formulating mitigation strategies, appropriate and timely responses, and robust recovery plans. A Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness (LHASA) model was developed to indicate potential landslide activity in near real-time. LHASA combines satellite-based precipitation estimates with a landslide susceptibility map derived from information on slope, geology, road networks, fault zones, and forest loss. Precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission are used to identify rainfall conditions from the past seven days. When rainfall is considered to be extreme and susceptibility values are moderate to very high, a nowcast is issued to indicate the times and places where landslides are more probable. When LHASA nowcasts were evaluated with a Global Landslide Catalog, the probability of detection (POD) ranged from 8 to 60%, depending on the evaluation period, precipitation product used, and the size of the spatial and temporal window considered around each landslide point. Applications of the LHASA system are also discussed, including how LHASA is used to estimate long-term trends in potential landslide activity at a nearly global scale and how it can be used as a tool to support disaster risk assessment. LHASA is intended to provide situational awareness of landslide hazards in near real-time, providing a flexible, open source framework that can be adapted to other spatial and temporal scales based on data availability.
Breaking Stalemates: Using the Method to Upset the Genetically Modified Foods Impasse

After explaining the ideological stalemate of proponents and opponents of genetically modified food products, the author argues for virtue-imbued casuistry as a method to facilitate discussions, defuse antipathies, and break down the intransigence that has led to the impasse.