cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A distributed query processing strategy using decomposition, pipelining and intermediate result sharing techniques

The future data systems are likely to be integrated data networks (IDNs) consisting of a mix of general-purpose computer systems and special-purpose functional processors that are produced by different vendors and have quite different computational power and database management capabilities. Data stored in these networks need to be integrated and shared by the network users. It is important to have a query processing strategy in this type of network that can take advantage of the diverse functional capabilities of the component systems and the parallel processing potential of the network. In this paper, we present a query processing strategy which combines three known techniques: 1) query decomposition, 2) pipelined and data-flow processing of queries, and 3) intermediate result sharing among concurrent queries. The strategies for controlling and managing query and data pipelines are presented. Algorithms for the pipelined execution of the relational join operation are also described. Selected results of the evaluation of the query processing strategy, pipeline control strategies, and parallel algorithms are presented.
Progress in rational methods of cryoprotection in macromolecular crystallography

Cryogenic cooling of macromolecular crystals is commonly used for X-ray data collection both to reduce crystal damage from radiation and to gather functional information by cryogenically trapping intermediates. However, the cooling process can damage the crystals. Limiting cooling-induced crystal damage often requires cryoprotection strategies, which can involve substantial screening of solution conditions and cooling protocols. Here, recent developments directed towards rational methods for cryoprotection are described. Crystal damage is described in the context of the temperature response of the crystal as a thermodynamic system. As such, the internal and external parts of the crystal typically have different cryoprotection requirements. A key physical parameter, the thermal contraction, of 26 different cryoprotective solutions was measured between 294 and 72 K. The range of contractions was 2–13%, with the more polar cryosolutions contracting less. The potential uses of these results in the development of cryocooling conditions, as well as recent developments in determining minimum cryosolution soaking times, are discussed.
Source and function of keto elaidic acids from lungs of cotton workers.

Abstract A series of cytotoxic oxygenated derivatives of oleic acid, 8-oxo-9, 9-oxo-10, 10-oxo-8-, and 11-oxo-9 trans octadecenoc acid, uniquely found at post-mortem in airway cells of cotton workers, were synthesized and shown to be cytotoxic, i.e., inhibitory of growth for several cell lines, including HL-60 and U-937 promyelocytes and Eagle's KB carcinoma cells. At μM concentrations, the B- and 11- keto acids: (1) are chemokinetic for human neutrophils; (2) activate production of O2 and H2O2; (3) stimulate promyelocytes in culture to differentiate into neutrophils; and (4) increase diglyceride metabolism in inflammatory cells. These results indicate that these four monooxygenated fatty acids, which are found in airways of cotton workers and initiate both inflammation and differentiation in vitro, may be etiologic in the abnormal differentiation and inflammation seen in small airways of cotton workers.4,5 This abnormal differentiation in bronchi may result from altered diglyceride metabolism with result...
Suppression of silent ischemia by metoprolol without alteration of morning increase of platelet aggregability in patients with stable coronary artery disease

To determine the effect of metoprolol on silent ischemia and platelet aggregability, 10 patients with coronary artery disease were studied with a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. Patients were treated with metoprolol (200 mg b.i.d.) or placebo for 1 week and then received the alternate therapy. Two days before the end of each treatment period, platelet aggregability was studied for 24 hours, and a 48-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram was obtained. Compared with placebo, metoprolol significantly decreased the total number (from 26 to 4, p less than 0.1) and duration (from 735 to 84 minutes, p less than 0.01) of silent ischemic episodes. This decrease was accompanied by a decrease in the mean blood pressure (from 127/81 to 118/71 mm Hg, p less than 0.01) and the mean heart rate (from 70 to 54 beats/min, p less than 0.01). The incidence of silent ischemic episodes in the morning was significantly higher in untreated patients than in treated patients. The few episodes observed during metoprolol treatment occurred at the same time as the peak incidence observed during placebo treatment. During placebo treatment, platelet aggregability increased from 6:00 to 9:00 AM as reflected by a decrease in the threshold concentrations of ADP and epinephrine required to induce biphasic platelet aggregation (from 4.8 +/- 0.8 to 2.6 +/- 0.4 microM, p less than 0.02; and from 7.3 +/- 2.3 to 1.8 +/- 0.9 microM, respectively, p less than 0.02). Metoprolol did not alter the basal level nor blunt the morning increase of platelet aggregability.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Mama’s Baby, Papa’s Slavery? The Problem and Promise of Mothering in Octavia E. Butler’s “Bloodchild”

On planets ravaged by war and in civilizations plagued by oppression, Octavia E. Butler’s mothers invest themselves in caring for their communities. Whether biological mothers, such as Lilith from the Lilith’s Brood trilogy (1987-1989), or adoptive and community othermothers, such as Dana of Kindred (1979) and Lauren of the Parable series (1993, 1998), Butler’s mothers work to improve the circumstances of their people by destroying hierarchical power structures and developing more egalitarian societies. As Dorothy Allison famously asserts, the heroines of Butler’s science fiction are “independent, stubborn, difficult, and insistent on trying to control their own lives” (471), but they eschew the peace of solitude and accept the power of maternity, forging connections that allow them to effect social and political change. Readers will discover powerful mothers throughout Butler’s body of work, yet only in “Bloodchild” (1984) does Butler extend both the emotional potency of motherhood and the physical possibility of pregnancy beyond women, giving the men of her story—including her adolescent male protagonist, Gan—the ability to continue what Naomi Ruth Lowinsky calls the “motherline,” the tradition of maternal care that unites parent and child and, in Butler’s story, human and alien (Lowinsky 12-13). Butler writes in her afterword to “Bloodchild” that she “wanted to see whether [she] could write a dramatic story of a man becoming pregnant as an act of love—choosing pregnancy in spite of as well as because of surrounding difficulties” (30). By claiming that she composed a “love story” (30), Butler seeks to quell questions and criticism concerning the presence of reproductive “domination” (Butler, “Interview” by McCaffery 56) and “enslavement” (Helford 266) in “Bloodchild.” However, critics such as Jane Donawerth continue to describe “Bloodchild” as a tale of “exploitation” (40), while Amanda Thibodeau and Marty Fink offer more ambivalent responses to the tenor of human-alien relationships in Butler’s story and maintain that the author depicts a “parasitic” partnership (Thibodeau 270) resulting in the “violent physical invasion” and “alien appropriation of human bodies” (Fink 417, 418).
Optimal interleaved pulsewidth modulation considering sampling effects

Previous works on interleaved operation of switching power converters are based on the assumption that natural-sampling pulsewidth modulation (PWM) is used. Various interleaving strategies have been reported to minimize EMI filtering requirements, eliminate system resonance at certain frequencies, or minimize total harmonic current distortion through optimization of the interleaving phase shift angles. In a digitally controlled converter, the PWM reference is updated only at discrete sampling points, which is equivalent to using regularly sampled PWM. Harmonic cancellation effects among interleaved converters are affected by such regular sampling such that interleaving strategies optimized based on natural-sampling become non-optimal or suboptimal. This work first presents mathematically models that can be used to quantify the sampling effects on interleaved voltage-source converter harmonic behavior. The effects of different sampling methods are analyzed and compared using the models. Possible modifications to the interleaved carrier phase shift angles to compensate for the sampling effects are developed and demonstrated for different system optimization objectives including minimization of total harmonic distortion in dc-link or phase output currents.
Aberrant splicing of the DMP1-ARF-MDM2-p53 pathway in cancer

Alternative splicing (AS) of mRNA precursors is a ubiquitous mechanism for generating numerous transcripts with different activities from one genomic locus in mammalian cells. The gene products from a single locus can thus have similar, dominant-negative or even opposing functions. Aberrant AS has been found in cancer to express proteins that promote cell growth, local invasion and metastasis. This review will focus on the aberrant splicing of tumor suppressor/oncogenes that belong to the DMP1-ARF-MDM2-p53 pathway. Our recent study shows that the DMP1 locus generates both tumor-suppressive DMP1α (p53-dependent) and oncogenic DMP1β (p53-independent) splice variants, and the DMP1β/α ratio increases with neoplastic transformation of breast epithelial cells. This process is associated with high DMP1β protein expression and shorter survival of breast cancer (BC) patients. Accumulating pieces of evidence show that ARF is frequently inactivated by aberrant splicing in human cancers, demonstrating its involvement in human malignancies. Splice variants from the MDM2 locus promote cell growth in culture and accelerate tumorigenesis in vivo. Human cancers expressing these splice variants are associated with advanced stage/metastasis, and thus have negative clinical impacts. Although they lack most of the p53-binding domain, their activities are mostly dependent on p53 since they bind to wild-type MDM2. The p53 locus produces splice isoforms that have either favorable (β/γ at the C-terminus) or negative impact (Δ40, Δ133 at the N-terminus) on patients' survival. As the oncogenic AS products from these loci are expressed only in cancer cells, they may eventually become targets for molecular therapies.
Hartree--Fock--Bogoliubov theory with applications to nuclei

The enormous usefulness of the HBF theory is demonstrated. Among the topics covered are pairing interactions, backbending, symmetry properties, nuclear deformation, quasiparticle transformations. (AIP)
Social Network Effects on Coordination: A Laboratory Investigation

Does social network structure influence coordination? We examine a coordination game in which each player engages with an exogenously connected “local” subset of the player population, the pattern of links defining a social network. Players know the number of local links they possess but otherwise have incomplete information about the global network structure. All networks in our experiment have the same pooling equilibria. Each also exhibits separating equilibria in which player actions differ by the number of local social links they possess. We investigate two potential network effects on equilibrium selection: the global network effect as represented by the density of the grand network, and the local network effect as represented by the number of local links an individual has. In high-density networks, we observe coordination consistent with the payoff-dominant pooling equilibrium. In the sparser networks, more connected players exhibit higher levels of coordination than do players having fewer social links, with overall coordination levels consistent with separating equilibria. Our findings indicate that network density, individual connectivity, and economic return modulate the amount of strategic risk in coordinating and can account for the pattern of equilibrium selection we observe.
6.8 A 1.5V 33Mpixel 3D-stacked CMOS image sensor with negative substrate bias

3D stacking and computational imaging are two major driving forces for CMOS image sensors. In addition, 3D stacking separates pixel array and peripheral circuits. As such, computational imaging blocks (stereo vision, array camera, reconfigurable instruction cell array, etc.) can integrate with sensor circuits while leveraging advanced CMOS technologies including FinFET. To accommodate this trend, we need to design blocks such as comparators, readouts, transmitters, and PLLs, using digital architectures in logic processes with a minimum number of resistors and capacitors.
Conjunction challenges of low-thrust geosynchronous debris removal maneuvers

Abstract The conjunction challenges of low-thrust engines for continuous thrust re-orbiting of geosynchronous (GEO) objects to super-synchronous disposal orbits are investigated, with applications to end-of-life mitigation and active debris removal (ADR) technologies. In particular, the low maneuverability of low-thrust systems renders collision avoidance a challenging task. This study investigates the number of conjunction events a low-thrust system could encounter with the current GEO debris population during a typical re-orbit to 300 km above the GEO ring. Sensitivities to thrust level and initial longitude and inclination are evaluated, and the impact of delaying the start time for a re-orbiting maneuver is assessed. Results demonstrate that the mean number of conjunctions increases hyperbolically as thrust level decreases, but timing the start of the maneuver appropriately can reduce the average conjunction rate when lower thrust levels are applied.
Effect of interleukin-1beta and tumor necrosis factor-alpha on gene expression in human endothelial cells.

Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are two major cytokines that rise to relatively high levels during systemic inflammation, and the endothelial cell (EC) response to these cytokines may explain some of the dysfunction that occurs. To better understand the cytokine-induced responses of EC at the gene expression level, human umbilical vein EC were exposed to IL-1β or TNF-α for various times and subjected to cDNA microarray analyses to study alterations in their mRNA expression. Of ∼4,000 genes on the microarray, expression levels of 33 and 58 genes appeared to be affected by treatment with IL-1β and TNF-α, respectively; 25 of these genes responded to both treatments. These results suggest that the effects of IL-1β and TNF-α on EC are redundant and that it may be necessary to suppress both cytokines simultaneously to ameliorate the systemic response.
Hypoglycemia and Increased Insulin Sensitivity Following Hypothalamic Lesions.

An occasional demonstrable fall in the blood sugar level, in the dog, following traumatic transverse lesions in the hypothalamus at the level of the optic chiasm was observed by us1 (see 1, Fig. la). Later profound hypoglycemic crises were encountered, also occasionally, when the ventral third or half of the hypothalamus was severed free by a sweeping semicircular cut made with a small blunt instrument2 (see 2, Fig. la). Subsequently Ingram and Barris described persistent mild hypoglycemia and increased insulin sensitivity following bilateral lesions placed in the region of the paraventricular nuclei in the cat.3The question as to the mechanism involved in the precipitation of hypoglycemia, particularly the crises, has attracted our active attention. Below are interpretations drawn from the results obtained thus far in the investigation. The results pertain to experiments on a large series of dogs.The possibility of the hypothalamic lesions eliminating a normally tonic descending innervation (brainstem) i...
Internalizing symptoms mediate the relationship between sleep disordered breathing and pain symptoms in a pediatric hematology/oncology sample

ABSTRACTObjective: To examine caregiver ratings of children’s internalizing symptoms as a potential mediator between sleep disordered breathing and pain symptoms. Caregiver depression/anxiety symptoms were further examined as a potential moderator of the mediation model. Methods: Participants were 96 caregivers (82% mothers) of children with cancer, sickle cell disease, or other hematological conditions (M age = 10.45 years; 46.9% female, 78.1% African American). Caregivers completed questionnaires on child patient symptoms during regular clinic visits. Results: As hypothesized, the effect of sleep on pain (β = 0.31) was reduced (β = 0.15) after accounting for child internalizing symptoms (β = 0.17, 95% confidence interval = 0.03 to 0.42). The indirect effect accounted for 54.8% of the total effect. However, caregiver depression/anxiety symptoms were not a significant moderator of this mediation model. Conclusions: Sleep may play an important role in the experience of pain in children with hematology/onco...
Predictors for Airway Complications Following Single- and Multilevel Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion.

Study design A retrospective, multivariate analyses of a prospectively collected multicenter database. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk factors for postoperative airway complications following single- and multilevel anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Summary of background data Airway compromise following ACDF may result in catastrophic outcome. However, its predictors have not been identified by a multi-institutional study. Methods Patients who underwent ACDF between 2011 and 2013 were selected from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for airway compromise following ACDF. Results Twelve thousand one hundred eighty-five patients were analyzed in this study. Our multivariate analysis identified older age, male gender, dependent functional status, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bleeding disorder, American Society of Anesthesiology class >2, Wound Class >2, and prolonged operative durations as significant predictors of postoperative airway compromise following ACDF. Surprisingly, multilevel and corpectomy procedures were not significant risk factors for airway complication following ACDF. Conclusion We identified significant risk factors for airway compromise following ACDF procedures. While ACDF is considered a safe procedure, postoperative airway complication can lead to disastrous outcome. Continued efforts to elucidate preoperative risk factors and subsequent optimization are warranted to improve outcomes in ACDF. Level of evidence 3.
Inducing theta oscillations in the entorhinal hippocampal network in vitro

The hippocampal theta rhythm emerges as rhythmic and synchronized activities among the hippocampus and hippocampus-associated brain regions during active exploration, providing a potential means for inter-regional communication. However, after decades of research, the origins of the theta rhythm remain elusive, at least partly due to the difficulty in recording from all three essential regions for theta generation, namely the hippocampus itself, the septum, and the entorhinal cortex. For this reason, we established an in vitro theta model in a septo-entorhinal-hippocampal brain slice tri-culture system by pairing septal cholinergic inputs with hippocampal local activities. Our study shows that the local entorhinal cortical circuit may play an active and critical role in hippocampal theta rhythm generation. Our study also reveals a potential mechanism for theta rhythms to emerge as the functional results of dynamic interactions among the septum, hippocampus, and the entorhinal cortex, in the absence of clear pace makers.
Professions based on law and pedagogy in the Weimar era

LAW-BASED PROFESSIONS As we saw in Chapter 9, the market situation of attorneys by World War I was becoming sufficiently worrisome that some lawyers, although not the DAV, had begun to call for restrictions on admission to the profession. Having almost doubled (from 6,600 to 13,000) between 1899 and 1915, the number of attorneys in Germany remained relatively stable (under 13,000) until 1925, when it began to grow. By 1928 it had reached 15,500, and law enrollments were also rising, producing a pool of attorneys approaching 19,000 by 1935. Despite some population growth, this meant an increase from 19 attorneys per 100,000 in 1919 to 24 per 100,000 in 1928. At the same time, the field of activity for lawyers was being reduced by various measures, for example, by raising the income ceilings for those eligible to use the (lawyer-free) Gewerbe- und Kaufmanngerichte , special courts set up to settle disputes between employers and their employees. Similarly, new or reorganized courts such as the national Financial Court, Economic Court, and Administrative Court limited or excluded representation of parties by lawyers. The tendency in Weimar was away from the older principle of Anwaltszwang . The bureaucrats claimed such streamlined justice was cheaper and faster for the people; attorneys claimed it weakened the rights of the parties. One compulsory aspect of legal practice that remained from the old Reich was the fee schedules.
Impact of Pesticide Resistance on Toxicity and Tolerance of Hostplant Phytochemicals in Amyelois Transitella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

For some polyphagous insects, adaptation to phytochemically novel plants can enhance resistance to certain pesticides, but whether pesticide resistance expands tolerance to phytochemicals has not been examined. Amyelois transitella Walker (navel orangeworm) is an important polyphagous pest of nut and fruit tree crops in California. Bifenthrin resistance, partially attributable to enhanced cytochrome P450 (P450)-mediated detoxification, has been reported in an almond-infesting population exposed to intense pesticide selection. We compared the toxicity of bifenthrin and three phytochemicals–chlorogenic acid, and the furanocoumarins xanthotoxin and bergapten–to three strains of A. transitella : pyrethroid-resistant R347 (maintained in the laboratory for ∼10 generations), fig-derived FIG (in the laboratory for ∼25 generations), and CPQ–a laboratory strain derived from almonds ∼40 years ago). Whereas both Ficus carica (fig) and Prunus dulcis (almond) contain chlorogenic acid, furanocoumarins occur only in figs. Both R347 and FIG exhibited 2-fold greater resistance to the three phytochemicals compared with CPQ; surprisingly, bifenthrin resistance was highest in FIG. Piperonyl butoxide, a P450 synergist, increased toxicity of all three phytochemicals only in CPQ, implicating alternate tolerance mechanisms in R347 and FIG. To test the ability of the strains to utilize novel hostplants directly, we compared survival on diets containing seeds of Wisteria sinensis and Prosopis pallida , two non-host Fabaceae species; survival of FIG was highest and survival of R347 was lowest. Our results suggest that, while P450-mediated pesticide resistance enhances tolerance of certain phytochemicals in this species, it is only one of multiple biochemical adaptations associated with acquiring novel hostplants.
The health and sanitation of postbellum Harpers Ferry

This paper examines the documentary and archaeological evidence for health reform in 19th-century postbellum Harpers Ferry. The analysis reviews the cultural logic embodied in the national health reform ideals, a late 19th-century social movement aimed at abolishing unhealthy living conditions. The model that guides this analysis is based on the premise that cultural categories and principles cannot be viewed as normative sociocultural systems regulating human action. As a result, social action and therefore cultural interpretation must be seen as an active and contested discourse. The diverse interpretations of the national ideals of health reform as suggested by the documentary and material evidence for Harpers Ferry are explained as conscious decisions framed in particular social, economic, and political contexts.
Hide and seek: How do DNA glycosylases locate oxidatively damaged DNA bases amidst a sea of undamaged bases?

The first step of the base excision repair (BER) pathway responsible for removing oxidative DNA damage utilizes DNA glycosylases to find and remove the damaged DNA base. How glycosylases find the damaged base amidst a sea of undamaged bases has long been a question in the BER field. Single molecule total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (SM TIRFM) experiments have allowed for an exciting look into this search mechanism and have found that DNA glycosylases scan along the DNA backbone in a bidirectional and random fashion. By comparing the search behavior of bacterial glycosylases from different structural families and with varying substrate specificities, it was found that glycosylases search for damage by periodically inserting a wedge residue into the DNA stack as they redundantly search tracks of DNA that are 450–600 bp in length. These studies open up a wealth of possibilities for further study in real time of the interactions of DNA glycosylases and other BER enzymes with various DNA substrates.
Detection of Airborne Collision-Course Targets for Sense and Avoid on Unmanned Aircraft Systems Using Machine Vision Techniques

Detecting collision-course targets in aerial scenes from purely passive optical images is challenging for a vision-based sense-and-avoid (SAA) system. Proposed herein is a processing pipeline for detecting and evaluating collision course targets from airborne imagery using machine vision techniques. The evaluation of eight feature detectors and three spatio-temporal visual cues is presented. Performance metrics for comparing feature detectors include the percentage of detected targets (PDT), percentage of false positives (POT) and the range at earliest detection (Rdet). Contrast and motion-based visual cues are evaluated against standard models and expected spatio-temporal behavior. The analysis is conducted on a multi-year database of captured imagery from actual airborne collision course flights flown at the National Research Council of Canada. Datasets from two different intruder aircraft, a Bell 206 rotor-craft and a Harvard Mark IV trainer fixed-wing aircraft, were compared for accuracy and robustness. Results indicate that the features from accelerated segment test (FAST) feature detector shows the most promise as it maximizes the range at earliest detection and minimizes false positives. Temporal trends from visual cues analyzed on the same datasets are indicative of collision-course behavior. Robustness of the cues was established across collision geometry, intruder aircraft types, illumination conditions, seasonal environmental variations and scene clutter.
The Development and Initial Validation of the Citizen Disaster Communication Assessment

Current U.S. federal disaster management approaches advocate for citizens to engage in local efforts to cope with the negative consequences of disasters. In line with this approach, this project de...
Mapping of a non-spatial dimension by the hippocampal–entorhinal circuit

During spatial navigation, neural activity in the hippocampus and the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) is correlated to navigational variables such as location, head direction, speed, and proximity to boundaries. These activity patterns are thought to provide a map-like representation of physical space. However, the hippocampal-entorhinal circuit is involved not only in spatial navigation, but also in a variety of memory-guided behaviours. The relationship between this general function and the specialized spatial activity patterns is unclear. A conceptual framework reconciling these views is that spatial representation is just one example of a more general mechanism for encoding continuous, task-relevant variables. Here we tested this idea by recording from hippocampal and entorhinal neurons during a task that required rats to use a joystick to manipulate sound along a continuous frequency axis. We found neural representation of the entire behavioural task, including activity that formed discrete firing fields at particular sound frequencies. Neurons involved in this representation overlapped with the known spatial cell types in the circuit, such as place cells and grid cells. These results suggest that common circuit mechanisms in the hippocampal-entorhinal system are used to represent diverse behavioural tasks, possibly supporting cognitive processes beyond spatial navigation.
A protocol-driven approach to automatically finding authoritative answers to consumer health questions in online resources

The purpose of this research was to establish an upper bound on finding answers to health-related questions in MedlinePlus and other online resources. Seven reference librarians tested a set of protocols to determine whether it was possible to use the types and foci of the questions extracted from customer requests submitted to the National Library of Medicine to find authoritative answers to these questions. Librarians tested the protocols manually to determine if the process was sufficiently robust and accurate to later automate. Results indicated that the extracted terms provide enough information to find authoritative answers for about 60% of questions and that certain question types are more likely to result in authoritative answers than others. The question corpus and analysis performed for this project will inform automatic question answering systems, and could lead to suggestions for new content to include in MedlinePlus. This approach can serve as an example to researchers interested in methods of evaluating question answering tools and the contents of online databases.
Improved Verbal Learning in the Semantic Variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia When Using Semantic Cues (P07.164)

OBJECTIVE: To describe a patient with the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (PPA-S) who showed significant improvement in a verbal learning task when given semantic category cues. BACKGROUND: PPA-S is characterized by impairments in confrontation naming and single word comprehension. Although episodic memory may be relatively spared, there can be significant impairment in verbal learning tasks. DESIGN/METHODS: A 70 year old right handed woman who presented with a 2 year history of progressive difficulties with word finding, naming, and memory was tested for language and memory deficits using the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT). She was then retested on the HVLT after being given semantic category cues. RESULTS: Confrontation naming was poor, correctly naming only 5/15 objects on the Boston Naming Test. Repetition was normal. Comprehension testing with word picture matching and sentence comprehension was normal. On a test of semantic associations, Pyramids and Palm Trees, she was impaired. Initially on the three trials of the 12 word HVLT her learning was impaired with scores of 1, 5, and 7 words recalled (total score: 13). She was, however, able to recall 6 of these words after a delay. When a different version of the HVLT was given with the semantic categories of the words given beforehand, her scores improved to 8, 8, and 10 words (total: 26). CONCLUSIONS: This patient with PPA-S had an impairment of verbal learning, but not delayed recall. When given a semantic category cue beforehand, her verbal learning performance significantly improved. This observation suggests that this patient did not spontaneously use semantic encoding. Using a semantic cueing strategy may help other patients with PPA-S improve their capacity for verbal learning. Disclosure: Dr. Milano has nothing to disclose. Dr. Heilman has received personal compensation for activities with law firms as a consultant. Dr. Heilman has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Journal Watch.
Photo-induced-heat localization on nanostructured metallic glasses

Materials with large photo-thermal energy conversion efficiency are essential for renewable energy applications. Photo-excitation is an effective approach to generate controlled and localized heat at relatively low excitation optical powers. However, lateral heat diffusion to the surrounding illuminated areas accompanied by low photo-thermal energy conversion efficiency remains a challenge for metallic surfaces. Surface nanoengineering has proven to be a successful approach to further absorption and heat generation. Here, we show that pronounced spatial heat localization and high temperatures can be achieved with arrays of amorphous metallic glass nanorods under infrared optical illumination. Thermography measurements revealed marked temperature contrast between illuminated and non-illuminated areas even under low optical power excitation conditions. This attribute allowed for generating legible photo-induced thermal patterns on textured metallic glass surfaces.
Political Pragmatism, Humanist Ideals, and Early Modern Orientalism in Busbecq’s Turkish Letters

This article revisits Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq’s (1520/21–1591) Turkish Letters in the light of recent debates on early modern Orientalism. The Letters, widely circulated in the original Latin and several European vernaculars, constitute a significant pro-Habsburg contribution to contemporary debates about the Ottomans, as well as the divisions among European Christians and various European political entities. Busbecq’s Letters are among the most eloquent representatives of early modern Orientalism, through their imbrication of fantasy and fear with factual observation and political pragmatism, and their mixture of self-congratulation and self-scrutiny. Rather than functioning as the cultural instrument of Western European superiority, early modern Orientalist discourse, as exemplified by Busbecq’s Letters, denotes a state of cultural ambiguity that defies teleological interpretations, and nudges us towards a more nuanced reading of early modern history.
Topological transformations of Hopf solitons in chiral ferromagnets and liquid crystals

Liquid crystals are widely known for their facile responses to external fields, which forms a basis of the modern information display technology. However, switching of molecular alignment field configurations typically involves topologically trivial structures, although singular line and point defects often appear as short-lived transient states. Here, we demonstrate electric and magnetic switching of nonsingular solitonic structures in chiral nematic and ferromagnetic liquid crystals. These topological soliton structures are characterized by Hopf indices, integers corresponding to the numbers of times that closed-loop-like spatial regions (dubbed "preimages") of two different single orientations of rod-like molecules or magnetization are linked with each other. We show that both dielectric and ferromagnetic response of the studied material systems allow for stabilizing a host of topological solitons with different Hopf indices. The field transformations during such switching are continuous when Hopf indices remain unchanged, even when involving transformations of preimages, but discontinuous otherwise.
A novel method to investigate cement-casing bonding using digital image correlation

Abstract The main focus of current industry practices on the cementing of oil and gas wells is short-term cement-design goals such as high strength, adequate pumpability and proper placement of cement in the wellbore. However, the bond between cement and casing is a major factor for long-term integrity of wellbore which requires more attention with the current increasing trend in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations in unconventional resources. These wells experience various kinds of forces throughout their life in which the casing and cement bond can play a critical role in the integrity or failure of these wells. In this paper, we apply digital image correlation (DIC) technique to monitor strain development over the surface of a casing filled with cement while it is diametrically compressed. In this technique, the casing/cement sample is painted with random white and black speckles and the surface of sample is recorded by camera. Finally, strain development with time is calculated using image processing technique. This visualization helps to find out the points of weakness for strain accumulation which eventually end up for fracture initiation and propagation. In this laboratory setup, the tensile strain accumulation is the highest on the casing/cement interface 90-degree away from casing/loading point and the strain gradually increases at the casing/cement interface toward the casing/loading point. Then there is fracture generation at the center of cement sample propagating toward casing/loading point. We also review the impact of cement contamination, barite and water-cement ratios on cement/casing bonding and their associated DIC results.
Constrained dynamical systems, robust model reference adaptive control, and unreliable reference signals

In this paper, we address the robust control design problem for nonlinear dynamical systems tracking unreliable reference signals. Specifically, we present robust model reference adaptive control l...
Examining Social Capital in the Conference Setting: A Case Study of College Student Participants

This study examined students' social networking experiences at the 2006 National Parks and Recreation Association (NRPA) Congress. Students' perceptions of feelings of inclusion, enjoyment, goal at...
Coronary heart disease risk assessment.

A coronary heart disease (CHD) risk assessment was conducted on 883 patients enrolled in two primary-care rural practices in western Maryland to evaluate the relationship among presence of cardiovascular disease, major risk factors, and selfperception for CHD among the clients. Patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease other than peripheral vascular disease were more likely to perceive themselves at increased risk. However, 16% (39/246) regarded themselves to be at below average risk. These patients tended to have lower income, education, and anxiety levels. Nineteen percent of patients without peexisting cardiovascular diseases regarded themselves to be at above average risk. These patients tended to be disabled, unemployed, and have increased anxiety levels. Regardless of the presence or absence of preexisting cardiovascular disease, a patient’s self-perceived risk was not altered significantly by the presence of one or more risk factors other than a positive family history of CHD. Based on Framingham risk profiles, 7.3% (29/395) of the white patients 35–74 years of age without preexisting cardiovascular disease had scores of 0.301 and above. Women had 1.4 times lower estimates of risk compared to men. The discrepancy that can occur between perceived and actual risk for CHD among a significant percentage of patients attending a primary-care rural practice underscores the importance of ascertaining both prior to prescribing risk reduction interventions.
The Effects of Surface Films on Mechanical Behavior of B2 Ordered Intermetallic Alloys

Surface films deposited on body-centered cubic metals can greatly reduce the yield and flow stresses and increase the ductility at low homologous temperatures. This softening process is associated with the ability of the film-substrate interface to generate large populations of mobile edge dislocations. This phenomenon is extended to B2 ordered intermetallic alloys, which display many deformation characteristics of bcc metals. Single crystal NiAl coated with thermally formed oxide films and polycrystalline FeAl with electrochemically formed Fe-Al-O films display film softening at and below room temperature. The extent of film softening is shown to depend on many factors, including crystal orientation, deformation temperature, operative slip systems, film thickness, film adherence, and film and substrate properties.
Trade-off-oriented development: making quality attribute trade-offs first-class

Implementing a solution for a design decision that precisely satisfies the trade-off between quality attributes can be extremely challenging. Further, typically quality attribute trade-offs are not represented as first-class entities in development artifacts. Hence, decisions might be sub-optimal and lack requirements traceability as well as changeability. We propose Trade-off-oriented Development (ToD), a new concept to automate the selection and integration of reusable implementations for a given design decision based on quality attribute trade-offs. Implementations that vary in quality attributes and that solve reoccurring design decisions are collected in a design decision library. Developers declaratively specify the quality attribute trade-off, which is then used to automatically select the best fitting implementation. We argue that thereby, software could satisfy the trade-offs more precisely, requirements are traceable and changeable, and advances in implementations automatically improve existing software.
Do Neighborhood Characteristics Contribute to Anxiety? A National Study of 12 to 17-Year-Olds

ABSTRACTBackground: Anxiety is a mental health issue affecting many adolescents in the United States. Limited research on neighborhood characteristics and adolescent anxiety is available. Purpose: Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between adolescent anxiety and neighborhood characteristics in a national sample. Methods: A secondary data analysis of the 2016 National Survey on Children’s Health was conducted for this study. Univariate analyses were conducted to determine associations between anxiety and demographic characteristics and neighborhood characteristics. Significant items from the univariate analyses were then retained and included in a final multivariate logistic regression model. Results: Results of the final model indicated that being female and white increased the risk of adolescent anxiety. Findings from this study also revealed that neighborhood characteristics significantly predicted adolescent anxiety. Discussion: Greater than one in ten adolescent...
Immunosuppression for pancreas allo-transplantation

Abstract Pancreas transplantation is recognized as a form of autoregulating total pancreatic endocrine replacement therapy that reliably achieves normal glucose homeostasis for many diabetic patients. The goal of immunosuppression therapies is to prevent acute rejection and prolong allograft survival while avoiding morbidity for the patient and harm to the transplanted organ. Advances in immunosuppression strategies have led to progressive improvements in patient and graft survival for pancreas transplant recipients, with depleting antibody induction followed by tacrolimus/mycophenolate or tacrolimus/sirolimus, with or without early steroid withdrawal maintenance therapy, becoming the backbone of pancreas transplant immunosuppression. Despite this, immunosuppressive medications still carry significant morbidity for patients based on side effect profiles and predispose recipients to certain infections and malignancies. The future of pancreas transplant immunosuppression will be aimed at precision medicine strategies with non-nephrotoxic, non-diabetogenic, and non-gastrointestinal medication side effect profiles that are inherent in the current medication options.
Three-dimensional characteristics of the jet flows induced by a pitching plate in a quiescent fluid

Jet flows induced by pitching cantilever plates provide a power-efficient solution for fluid acceleration and cooling enhancement. In such applications, the time-averaged (mean) properties of the induced jet flows are of great importance. We report a combined experimental and numerical study on the three-dimensional (3-D) characteristics of the mean jet downstream of a harmonically pitching cantilever plate in a quiescent fluid. These characteristics are then correlated with the transient 3-D vortex structures emanated from the trailing and side edges. Our particle image velocimetry and 3-D numerical simulations reveal that the mean induced jet has two distinct regions – a shrinking region immediately downstream of the trailing edge followed by an abrupt expansion region – separated by a necking point. We investigate the transient 3-D wake vortex evolution downstream of the plate to help elucidate the physics underlying the geometry of the mean jet. Our observations suggest that the breakdown of the shed vortex structure and reorientation of the consequent substructures are the primary factors governing the shape of the jet. These factors in turn are controlled primarily by the plate width and the amplitude of the oscillations. The results presented in this study improve our understanding of the complicated 3-D geometry of the induced mean jet in oscillating plates and facilitate optimal design of devices that operate based on this principle, such as piezoelectric fans.
Regionalist Gaze in Paul Theroux’s Deep South

The aim of this essay is to conceptualize the regionalist gaze enacted upon the American South. The essay proceeds through an evaluation of the panoptic gaze and subsequent iterations to understand...
Three-Dimensional Model of the Saturn Accelerator Water Tri-Plate Transmission Line Connection to the Vacuum Insulator Stack

Calculation of the power flow from the 36 pulse forming lines to the vacuum region of Saturn has always been complicated by the three-dimensional structure of the rod and bottle connections to the vacuum insulator stack. Recently we have completed a 3-D calculation of the bottle configuration and found a large error in previous impedance estimates. We have used this calculation to determine impedance and to construct a 2-D model of each of the 36 bottles of each level of the insulator using the Transmission Line Matrix (TLM) technique. These TLM models are then used in a 2-D model for each of the three levels of the insulator. Each model starts at a measured forward-going pulse in the water tri-plate and ends at the Brehmstrahlung load at the center of the machine. Because of long transmission line lengths and short pulse lengths, each level can be considered independent of the others. A combination of the three models then represents a quasi-3-D model of the load region of the machine. The results of these calculations agree well with measurement and thereby provide confidence in simulation predictions for those areas where measurements are not possible. Details of the 3-D bottle calculation, the TLM model, and results of the load region simulations using this model are given.
The effect of high dietary fiber intake on gestational weight gain, fat accrual, and postpartum weight retention: a randomized clinical trial

Interventions to prevent excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) have had limited success This pilot study examined the effectiveness of a single goal (SG) high dietary fiber intervention to prevent excessive GWG. Twelve weekly lessons focused on consuming a high fiber diet (≥30 g/day). Snacks containing 10–12 g of dietary fiber were given for the first 6 weeks only. Body composition was measured at baseline and at the end of the intervention. At one-year postpartum, body weight retention and dietary practices were assessed. A p-value is reported for the primary analysis only. For all other comparisons, Cohen’s d is reported to indicate effect size. The SG group increased fiber intake during the study (32 g/day at 6 weeks, 27 g/day at 12 weeks), whereas the UC group did not (~ 17 g/day). No differences were found for the proportion of women classified as excessive gainers (p = 0.13). During the intervention, the SG group gained less body weight (− 4.1 kg) and less fat mass (− 2.8 kg) (d = 1.3). At 1 year postpartum, the SG group retained less weight (0.35 vs. 4.4 kg, respectively, d = 1.8), and reported trying to currently eat high fiber foods. The SG intervention resulted in less weight gain, fat accrual, and weight retention at 1 year postpartum. A residual intervention effect was detected postpartum with the participants reporting continued efforts to consume a high fiber diet. NCT03984630 ; Trial registered June 13, 2019 (retrospectively registered).