cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hard gap in a normal layer coupled to a superconductor

The ability to induce a sizable gap in the excitation spectrum of a normal layer placed in contact with a conventional superconductor has become increasingly important in recent years in the context of engineering a topological superconductor. The quasiclassical theory of the proximity effect shows that Andreev reflection at the superconductor/normal interface induces a nonzero pairing amplitude in the metal but does not endow it with a gap. Conversely, when the normal layer is atomically thin, the tunneling of Cooper pairs induces an excitation gap that can be as large as the bulk gap of the superconductor. We study how these two seemingly different views of the proximity effect evolve into one another as the thickness of the normal layer is changed. We show that a fully quantum-mechanical treatment of the problem predicts that the induced gap is always finite but falls off with the thickness of the normal layer $d$. If $d$ is less than a certain crossover scale, which is much larger than the Fermi wavelength, the induced gap is comparable to the bulk gap. As a result, a sizable excitation gap can be induced in normal layers that are much thicker than the Fermi wavelength.
Deflection by kinetic impact: Sensitivity to asteroid properties

Impacting an asteroid with a spacecraft traveling at high speed delivers an impulsive change in velocity to the body. In certain circumstances, this strategy could be used to deflect a hazardous asteroid, moving its orbital path off of an Earth-impacting course. However, the efficacy of momentum delivery to asteroids by hypervelocity impact is sensitive to both the impact conditions (particularly velocity) and specific characteristics of the target asteroid. We numerically model asteroid response to kinetic impactors under a wide range of initial conditions, using an Adaptive Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics code. Impact velocities spanning 1–30 km/s were investigated, yielding, for a particular set of assumptions about the modeled target material, a power-law dependence consistent with a velocity-scaling exponent of μ = 0.44. Target characteristics including equation of state, strength model, porosity, rotational state, and shape were varied, and corresponding changes in asteroid response were documented. Moreover, the kinetic-impact momentum-multiplication factor, β, decreases with increasing asteroid cohesion and increasing porosity. Although increased porosity lowers β, larger porosities result in greater deflection velocities, as a consequence of reduced target masses for asteroids of fixed size. Porosity also lowers disruption risk for kinetic impacts near the threshold of disruption. Including fast (P = 2.5more » h) and very fast (P = 100 s) rotation did not significantly alter β but did affect the risk of disruption by the impact event. Asteroid shape is found to influence the efficiency of momentum delivery, as local slope conditions can change the orientation of the crater ejecta momentum vector. Our results emphasize the need for asteroid characterization studies to bracket the range of target conditions expected at near-Earth asteroids while also highlighting some of the principal uncertainties associated with the kinetic-impact deflection strategy.« less
Determining the Effect of Carrier Water pH and Bicarbonate Concentration on Final pH of Plant Growth Regulator Solutions

Chemical plant growth regulators (PGRs) are important tools in greenhouse ornamental crop production because growers must increasingly meet specifications for plant shipping and marketability. However, the role of water quality parameters such as pH or alkalinity (bicarbonate in this study) on final PGR solution pH is not well documented and could impact efficacy. We assessed the interaction of PGR type and concentration on the final spray solution pH when combined with carrier water of varying pH and bicarbonate concentration. Eleven PGRs commonly used in floriculture (ancymidol, benzyladenine, chlormequat chloride, daminozide, dikegulac-sodium, eth- ephon, flurprimidol, gibberellic acid, gibberellic acid/benzyladenine, paclobutrazol, and uniconazole) at three concentrations (low, medium, and high recommended rates for each product) were added to reverse osmosis (RO) carrier water adjusted to four pH (5.3, 6.2, 7.2, 8.2) levels or added to tap carrier water adjusted to four bicarbonate concentrations (40, 86, 142, 293 mg·L L1 of CaCO3). Resultant solution pH levels were measured. Plant growth regulators were categorized as acidic, neutral, or basic in reaction based on the change of the carrier water pH on their addition. Benzyladenine, chlormequat chloride, gibberellic acid, and gibberellic acid/benzyladenine acted as weak acids when added to RO water, whereas daminozide, ethephon, and uniconazole reduced final solution pH from 1.25 to 5.75 pH units. Flurprimidol and paclobutrazol were neutral in reaction with final solution pH being similar to that of the RO carrier water before their addition. Ancymidol and dikegulac-sodium were basic in reaction, in- creasing final solution pH in RO carrier water up to 2.3 units. There was an interaction between chlormequat chloride concentration and RO carrier water pH on change in pH. When added to tap carrier water, final solution pH increased for all except the stronger acids, daminozide, ethephon, and uniconazole, where it decreased up to 3.5 units, and benzyladenine, where it decreased 0.35 units at 40 mg·L L1 bicarbonate. There was an interaction between PGR concentration and bicarbonate concentration in tap carrier water for daminozide and ethephon. The magnitude of change in pH (final solution pH minus initial carrier water pH) with the addition of each PGR was greater for RO than for tap water containing 40 to 293 mg·L L1 bicarbonate for all 11 PGRs tested.
Sex Differences and Job Attitudes: Some Unexpected Findings

This note questions the traditional assumption that males and females hold different attitudes toward various aspects of their jobs and job environment. Many of these differences may be more clearly associated with status as a household head than with sex per se.
Coronary artery distensibility is impaired in HIV patients without significant coronary atherosclerosis

Background HIV infection is associated with an increased likelihood of coronary artery disease (CAD) and related events, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Reduced coronary distensibility (CD) may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis and is present in CAD patients. While aortic distensibility (AD) is known to be reduced in HIV, CD in HIV patients has not been studied. We tested the hypothesis that CD is reduced in HIV patients, even before the development of CAD, and that the reduction in CD correlates with changes in AD, reflecting diffuse changes in vascular material properties in HIV+ patients.
Effect of the Bollworm, Heliothis zea, on Yield and Quality of Cotton

Various levels of bollworm infestation were maintained on cotton grown under screen cages. Seasonal average infestation records indicated 10 or more larvae per 100 plants may cause significant yield losses. Because of the variability among replicates in the numbers of plants per acre, larval counts were made also on a per-foot-of-row basis. These records showed that more than 2 larvae per 10 ft of row are required to cause significant yield losses. Bollworm infestations severe enough to cause great yield losses apparently had little or no effect on the quality of limit and fiber. There was no evidence to support the common belief that bollworm infestations may result in “spotted” grades of lint.
Care of the Postmenopausal Patient

The physician has a responsibility to the growing number of postmenopausal women in our society. With proper treatment these women can stay youthful, useful, healthy and happy. Properly administered estrogen replacement therapy will provide a feeling of well-being and eliminate many postmenopausal problems. Postmenopausal attention also may consist of guidance and possibly treatment to improve marital relations, prescribing a course of self-improvement, activity or a change of scenery, and “just listening.”
The Virology Lab—Pitfalls and Potentials

“Instead of depending on second-rate virus testing, the physician would be wiser to rely on his own clinical judgment.”…“I am convinced that the creation of quality virus testing services will go hand in hand with the practitioner's growing sophistication in utilizing these services.” These two apparently contradictory statements embody the dilemma encountered in deciding whether to establish hospital virology labs. In this article Dr. Schaeffer proposes a solution.
Electricity, Magnetism, and Light

At a simple level one can think of our world as a complex swirl of four elementary constituents: the electron, proton, neutron, and photon. You are familiar with the first three as the building blocks of atoms: neutrons and protons make up the nucleus (the subject of the next chapter), and electrons orbit the nucleus to make an atom. Finally, the photon is another way to think of light. But a simple list of ingredients is not enough to give understanding. This chapter will sketch the modern interpretation of light. We will see how the theories of James Clerk Maxwell resolved 2500 years of controversy and set the stage for the quantum revolution. Along the way we will explore the important concepts of force and field.
Photonastic effects in ruthenium sulfoxide polymers

We have established that film morphology and laser induced heating from dye absorption are important parameters in the creation of new photonastic materials. Photonastic is defined as regular, repeatable movement in a pre-programmed direction following exposure to light. This work builds upon the development of photonastic polymers of ruthenium sulfoxide complexes, where the action of bending is ascribed to phototriggered isomerization of a sulfoxide ligand in a ruthenium coordination complex that is covalently attached to polynorbornene. The bending is analyzed in terms of a bilayer cantilever model.
Conjunctival Tumors in 5002 Cases. Comparative Analysis of Benign Versus Malignant Counterparts. The 2016 James D. Allen Lecture.

Purpose To evaluate frequency of conjunctival tumors in all ages and compare benign vs malignant counterparts. Design Retrospective series. Methods setting: Tertiary referral center. study population: Total of 5002 patients. observation: Clinical features. main outcome measure: Differentiation of benign from malignant counterparts. Results The tumor was benign (52%), premalignant (18%), or malignant (30%). Malignant tumors included melanoma (12%), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (9%), lymphoma (7%), and others. Comparison of primary acquired melanosis vs melanoma revealed melanoma with greater median patient age (54 vs 61 years, P P P = .0016) and tarsus (1% vs 4%, P = .0018), larger median basal diameter (6 vs 8 mm, P P P P P P = .0001). Comparison of conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) vs SCC revealed SCC with greater diffuse involvement (1% vs 8%, P P P P P P P Conclusion In an ocular oncology practice, conjunctival tumors are benign (52%), premalignant (18%), or malignant (30%). Malignant tumors tend to occur in older patients and demonstrate greater basal diameter and thickness, compared with benign counterparts.
Case Report of Clinical Vignette: Osteopetrosis.

ABSTRACT Introduction: Osteopetrosis is a connective tissue disorder resulting from abnormally dense bone predisposing patients to fracture. The clinical pattern of fractures across time and space as well as suggestive radiographic findings usually raises diagnostic suspicion. Multiple genetic mutations resulting in dysfunctional osteoclasts have been implicated in the pathogenesis of osteopetrosis with variable inheritance patterns. In severe cases, usually inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, the medullary cavity important in the production of normal blood cell progenitors is replaced by defective endochondral bone, leading to pancytopenia and consequential extramedullary hematopoiesis. Materials and Methods: This is a case report from a patient presenting to Naval Medical Center San Diego, a large Military Treatment Facility constituting a regional referral center for Navy Medicine West and serving approximately 250,000 eligible patients with more than 6,200 military and civilian staff. The gen...
Simultaneous estimation of means of two sensitive variables

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we introduce a new problem of simultaneous estimation of means of two quantitative sensitive variables by using only one randomized response another pseudo response from a respondent in a sample. The proposed estimators are extended to stratified random sampling, and the relative efficiency values are computed for equal, proportional, and optimum allocation with respect to the newly introduced naive estimators.
Design and Self-Calibration Techniques for Inductor-Less Millimeter-Wave Frequency Dividers

This paper presents several design techniques to widen the operating frequency range and increase the locking range of dynamic current-mode latch-based inductor-less millimeter-wave frequency dividers. A self-calibration technique is introduced to guarantee frequency locking over a wide frequency range with low-input amplitude and over process, voltage, and temperature variations, thereby optimizing power consumption and ensuring robustness. Three divide-by-four prototypes incorporating the aforementioned techniques are designed to cover a frequency range exceeding 16–67 GHz. Fabricated in a 65-nm CMOS technology, the prototypes achieve min-average-max increases of 10%–47.5%–121.4% in fractional bandwidth over the state of the art. The first and third prototypes consume 3.7/6.2 mA (min/max) from a 1-V supply and achieve a figure of merit of 4.1/7.15 GHz/mW (min/max), while the second prototype consumes 3.9/6.7 mA (min/max) from a 1.1-V supply and achieves a figure of merit of 3/6.98 GHz/mW (min/max). The prototypes occupy the active areas of $11 \times 42/11 \times 53~\mu \text{m}^{2}$ (min/max). Finally, with the self-calibration scheme, the dividers operate with input power less than −10 dBm, supply voltage variation of ±100 mV.
Average glandular dose coefficients for pendant-geometry breast CT using realistic breast phantoms.

Purpose To design volume-specific breast phantoms from breast CT (bCT) data sets and estimate the associated normalized mean glandular dose coefficients for breast CT using Monte Carlo methods. Methods A large cohort of bCT data sets (N=215) was used to evaluate breast volume into quintiles (plus the top 5%). The average radius profile was then determined for each of the six volume-specific groups and used to both fabricate physical phantoms and generate mathematical phantoms (V1-V6; “V” denotes classification by volume). The MCNP6 Monte Carlo code was used to model a prototype bCT system fabricated at our institution; and this model was validated against physical measurements in the fabricated phantoms. The mathematical phantoms were used to simulate normalized mean glandular dose coefficients for both monoenergetic source photons “DgNCT(E)” (8–70 keV in 1 keV intervals) and polyenergetic x-ray beams “pDgNCT” (35–70 kV in 1 kV intervals). The Monte Carlo code was used to study the influence of breast size (V1 vs. V5) and glandular fraction (6.4% vs. 45.8%) on glandular dose. The pDgNCT coefficients estimated for the V1, V3, and V5 phantoms were also compared to those generated using simple, cylindrical phantoms with equivalent volume and two geometrical constraints including; (1) cylinder radius determined at the breast phantom chest wall “Rcw”; and (2) cylinder radius determined at the breast phantom center-of-mass “RCOM”. Results Satisfactory agreement was observed for dose estimations using MCNP6 compared with both physical measurements in the V1, V3, and V5 phantoms (R2 = 0.995) and reference bCT dose coefficients using simple phantoms (R2 = 0.999). For a 49 kV spectrum with 1.5 mm Al filtration, differences in glandular fraction (6.5% (5th percentile) vs. 45.8% (95th percentile)) had a 13.2% influence on pDgNCT for the V3 phantom, and differences in breast size (V1 vs. V5) had a 16.6% influence on pDgNCT for a breast composed of 17% (median) fibroglandular tissue. For cylindrical phantoms with a radius of RCOM the differences were 1.5%, 0.1%, and 2.1% compared with the V1, V3, and V5 phantoms, respectively. Conclusion Breast phantoms were designed using a large cohort of bCT data sets across a range of six breast sizes. These phantoms were then fabricated and used for the estimation of glandular dose in breast CT. The mathematical phantoms and associated glandular dose coefficients for a range of breast sizes (V1 – V6) and glandular fractions (5th to 95th percentiles) are available for interested users. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Ruptured Retinal Arterial Macroaneurysm Secondary to Toxoplasmic Kyrieleis Arteriolitis: A Case Report.

Purpose The aim of this report was to describe multimodal ocular imaging findings in a patient who presented with a ruptured retinal arterial macroaneurysm (RAM) associated with toxoplasmic Kyrieleis arteriolitis. Methods We report the case of a 64-year-old man with a history of systemic hypertension and dense amblyopia of the left eye who presented with decreased vision and new floaters in the left eye. Color fundus photography, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, fluorescein angiography, and indocyanine green angiography were used as diagnostic imaging tools. Results No signs of hypertensive retinopathy were noted in the right eye. Multiple chorioretinal scars characteristic of previous toxoplasmosis were revealed in the left eye, with one covering most of the macula. Periarterial plaques or Kyrieleis arteriolitis were observed in retinal arteries surrounding the toxoplasmic retinal scars. Multiple RAMs were observed in these vessels, one of which was acutely ruptured. A perivenular plaque associated with a chronic branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) was noted along the same arcade at the arteriovenous crossing. Conclusion RAM formation and BRVO can present as possible long-term complications of toxoplasmic Kyrieleis arteriolitis. This is the first reported case demonstrating an association between toxoplasmic Kyrieleis arteriolitis and RAM formation.
The impact of Rhodiola rosea on the gut microbial community of Drosophila melanogaster

The root extract of Rhodiola rosea has historically been used in Europe and Asia as an adaptogen, and similar to ginseng and Shisandra, shown to display numerous health benefits in humans, such as decreasing fatigue and anxiety while improving mood, memory, and stamina. A similar extract in the Rhodiola family, Rhodiola crenulata, has previously been shown to confer positive effects on the gut homeostasis of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Although, R. rosea has been shown to extend lifespan of many organisms such as fruit flies, worms and yeast, its anti-aging mechanism remains uncertain. Using D. melanogaster as our model system, the purpose of this work was to examine whether the anti-aging properties of R. rosea are due to its impact on the microbial composition of the fly gut. Rhodiola rosea treatment significantly increased the abundance of Acetobacter, while subsequently decreasing the abundance of Lactobacillales of the fly gut at 10 and 40 days of age. Additionally, supplementation of the extract decreased the total culturable bacterial load of the fly gut, while increasing the overall quantifiable bacterial load. The extract did not display any antimicrobial activity when disk diffusion tests were performed on bacteria belonging to Microbacterium, Bacillus, and Lactococcus. Under standard and conventional rearing conditions, supplementation of R. rosea significantly alters the microbial community of the fly gut, but without any general antibacterial activity. Further studies should investigate whether R. rosea impacts the gut immunity across multiple animal models and ages.
Engineered Airway Models to Study Liquid Plug Splitting at Bifurcations: Effects of Orientation and Airway Size

Delivery of biological fluids, such as surfactant solutions, into lungs is a major strategy to treat respiratory disorders including respiratory distress syndrome that is caused by insufficient or dysfunctional natural lung surfactant. The instilled solution forms liquid plugs in lung airways. The plugs propagate downstream in airways by inspired air or ventilation, continuously split at airway bifurcations to smaller daughter plugs, simultaneously lose mass from their trailing menisci, and eventually rupture. A uniform distribution of the instilled biofluid in lung airways is expected to increase the treatments success. The uniformity of distribution of instilled liquid in the lungs greatly depends on the splitting of liquid plugs between daughter airways, especially in the first few generations from which airways of different lobes of lungs emerge. To mechanistically understand this process, we developed a bioengineering approach to computationally design three-dimensional bifurcating airway models using morphometric data of human lungs, fabricate physical models, and examine dynamics of liquid plug splitting. We found that orientation of bifurcating airways has a major effect on the splitting of liquid plugs between daughter airways. Changing the relative gravitational orientation of daughter tubes with respect to the horizontal plane caused a more asymmetric splitting of liquid plugs. Increasing the propagation speed of plugs partially counteracted this effect. Using airway models of smaller dimensions reduced the asymmetry of plug splitting. This work provides a step toward developing delivery strategies for uniform distribution of therapeutic fluids in the lungs.
Marine Tephrochronology and Quaternary Explosive Volcanism in the Lesser Antilles Arc

Explosive volcanism in the Lesser Antilles arc has been tackled by combined tephrochronologic studies of land deposits and 100 deep-sea piston cores from the adjacent Atlantic and Grenada Basins. Volcanic production in the arc during the late Quaternary has been estimated from deep-sea core data for a 105 year period as 527 km3 (285 km3 D.R.E.), with the majority of this material (445 km3) deposited in the marine environment. Marine tephra deposits are principally of two types: ash-fall layers and a variety of subaqueous pyroclastic gravity flow deposits. Ash-fall layers and associated air-borne dispersed ash represent about 1/3 of total production. They have been deposited almost exclusively in the Atlantic east of the arc and their dispersal is entirely controlled by westerly high-altitude winds. A variety of pyroclastic sediment gravity flow deposits account for approximately 2/3 of the volcanic production. Most important are deposits which form as a result of the entry of ignimbrites directly into the sea during major eruptions. They have travelled up to 250 km from source along the back-arc basin and form massive, poorly graded deposits up to 5 m thick. Pyroclastic gravity flow deposits occur predominantly in the Grenada Basin, west of the arc and their distribution is aided by the steep (9°) slopes of the western arc flank. Microprobe analyses of glass shards in tephra deposits from the deep-sea and land show that rhyodacites are the dominant products of volcanism in this arc.
Platelet Physiology and Pharmacology: An Overview

Clinical, experimental and epidemiological studies have demonstrated a ubiquitous role for platelets in the pathogenesis of thromboembolic events and hemorrhagic disorders (1–19). Therefore, there is great need for developing specific and effective drugs capable of modulating platelet function. A thorough understanding of the mechanisms involved in regulating platelet function will facilitate the development of better antiplatelet drugs. Agonists interact at specific sites on the plasma membrane of platelets and initiate a series of signaling events (20–37). Activation signals are communicated to intracellular effector enzymes through transmembrane receptors that are coupled to GTP-binding proteins (29).
Percutaneous ureteral biopsy: safety and diagnostic yield

To evaluate safety and diagnostic yield of percutaneous CT-guided biopsy of extrarenal upper urinary tract lesions. Retrospective review of our institutional database of image-guided biopsies yielded 44 CT-guided percutaneous biopsies in 44 unique patients that targeted ureteral (30, 68%) or other non-renal upper urinary tract lesions (14, 32%) between January 1, 2000 and May 1, 2017. Indications, pre-biopsy imaging, biopsy technique, peri-procedural antithrombotic use, complications including bleeding defined by Society of Interventional Radiology criteria, pathology results, and subsequent imaging were reviewed up to 3 months after the procedure to evaluate safety and diagnostic yield. Mean patient age was 66 (range 27–88) and 23/44 patients were male. The majority (34/44) of lesions were sampled with an 18-gauge biopsy device via a 17-gauge introducer needle, and the remaining 10/44 lesions were sampled with a 19/20 gauge system. The mean number of core samples obtained was 4 (range 2–10). No major complications occurred. Specifically, no patient developed a urine leak or urinary obstruction. Minor complications occurred in 3/44 (7%) biopsies, all retroperitoneal hemorrhages that did not require transfusion or other intervention. Biopsy was adequate for pathologic examination in 41 of 44 (93%) cases. Among patients undergoing surgical resection, biopsy diagnosis was concordant with surgical pathology in 9/10 (90%) cases and discordant in 1/10 (10%). CT-guided percutaneous biopsy of upper urinary tract lesions can be performed safely, with high diagnostic yield, and with a high rate of concordance on subsequent surgical pathology.
Production and Perception of Voice

The goal of this chapter is to present the human speech production process in sufficient detail for the reader to understand why profiling should be possible, and to provide sufficient information to reason about the effects of different parameters on voice, so that profiling efforts may be better guided. The details are sufficient, but not complete since the area is too vast to be covered within one chapter of this book.
1‐(1‐Alkylsulfonic)‐3‐methylimidazolium Chloride Broensted Acidic Ionic Liquid Catalyzed Skraup Synthesis of Quinolines under Microwave Heating.

The ionic liquid promoted Skraup synthesis of quinolines involving the in situ formation of acrolein by dehydration of glycerol under microwave conditions.
Time in Therapeutic Range for Dialysis Patients on Warfarin: Determination and the Effect of Dietary Intervention.

Abstract This study aimed to identify the time in therapeutic range (TTR) for dialysis patients on warfarin, and improve TTR with dietary review and intervention of interacting foods. We identified 151 patients undergoing hemodialysis in two units who were being treated with warfarin from January 1, 2010, through February 1, 2018, who were included in the overall TTR study. Of these, 15 patients were available to undergo the dietary intervention. International normalized ratio values were collected retrospectively for all eligible hemodialysis patients, and TTR was calculated for each period in which the patient was on hemodialysis. Patients who were available and agreed to the intervention underwent targeted dietician review of interacting foods, and their TTR post-treatment was calculated. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) TTR was 44 (IQR, 29 to 53) % among the 151 patients. Among the 15 patients who underwent the intervention, median (IQR) TTR was 52 (IQR, 32 to 56) pre-intervention and 51 (IQR, 38 to 69) post-intervention (P=0.53). TTR for dialysis patients is low in this overall cohort despite patients being seen at an integrated health care system. Focused improvement projects such as dietary review of interacting foods may help increase a patient's TTR.
Genomics of natural history collections for understanding evolution in the wild

A long-standing question in biology is how organisms change through time and space in response to their environment. This knowledge is of particular relevance to predicting how organisms might respond to future environmental changes caused by human-induced global change. Usually researchers make inferences about past events based on an understanding of current static genetic patterns, but these are limited in their capacity to inform on underlying past processes. Natural history collections (NHCs) represent a unique and critical source of information to provide temporally deep and spatially broad time-series of samples. By using NHC samples, researchers can directly observe genetic changes over time and space and link those changes with specific ecological/evolutionary events. Until recently, such genetic studies were hindered by the intrinsic challenges of NHC samples (i.e. low yield of highly fragmented DNA). However, recent methodological and technological developments have revolutionized the possibilities in the novel field of NHC genomics. In this Special Feature, we compile a range of studies spanning from methodological aspects to particular case studies which demonstrate the enormous potential of NHC samples for accessing large genomic data sets from the past to advance our knowledge on how populations and species respond to global change at multiple spatial-temporal scales. We also highlight possible limitations, recommendations and a few opportunities for future researchers aiming to study NHC genomics.
The Tent of Meeting

The visual arts have always been important to me, both as a resource for education and also for the sheer joy and esthetic pleasure the arts bring. Sometimes an artistic image will take up residenc...
The Story Behind the Story: Examining Transparency About the Journalistic Process and News Outlet Credibility

This three-study project sought to test how news organizations can boost perceptions of credibility of their news outlet by improving journalistic transparency. Three experiments (Study 1: n = 75...
Advancements in Biologic Therapy for Psoriasis: the IL-23 Inhibitors

The purpose of this article is to review clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of IL-23 inhibitors in the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Guselkumab, tildrakizumab, and risankizumab have been approved for the treatment of psoriasis. Mirikizumab is still under investigation in phase 3 studies. IL-23 inhibitors show excellent efficacy and outperform other biologic therapies in multiple head-to-head trials. Network meta-analyses have demonstrated that IL-23 inhibitors have superior long-term efficacy, while IL-17 inhibitors have superior short-term efficacy. Guselkumab is the only IL-23 inhibitor approved for use in patients with psoriatic arthritis. Risankizumab and tildrakizumab are currently under investigation for psoriatic arthritis. Phase 3 clinical studies have shown excellent efficacy and safety of IL-23 inhibitors in the treatment of psoriasis. While IL-17 inhibitors have faster onset of action, IL-23 inhibitors are more effective long-term.
Advancing macromolecular hoop construction: recent developments in synthetic cyclic polymer chemistry

The exploration of macromolecular topology provides common ground amongst chemists, material scientists, mathematicians, and artists. Fascinating polymer architectures, ranging from linear to branched to cyclic to star, can be constructed from myriad building blocks; their topological-dependent properties merge the beauty of symmetry with the intricacies of polymer physics. Specifically in cyclic macromolecules, the lack of chain ends result in unique physical characteristics (e.g., smaller hydrodynamics volume, lower viscosity, and lack of chain entanglement) compared to their linear counterparts. In this review, developments in the synthesis of cyclic polymers will be addressed, with an emphasis of recent advances in the past five years.
SELF-PROPAGATION HIGH-TEMPERATURE SYNTHESIS OF TiB_2-χAl COMPOSITE SYSTEM

The effect of composition, metallic and diluent content of the TiB_2-xAl com- posites upon the combustion temperature, propagating rate and volume change of samples during self-propagation high-temperature synthesis (SHS) has been studied. Different tem- peratures of ignitor may result in different ignition delay time, but the combustion tempera- ture and propagation rate of the SHS process are uninfluenced.
Vertical inheritance governs biosynthetic gene cluster evolution and chemical diversification

ABSTRACT While specialized metabolites are thought to mediate ecological interactions, the evolutionary processes driving their diversification, particularly among closely related lineages, remain poorly understood. Here, we examine the evolutionary dynamics governing the distribution of natural product biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) using 118 strains within the marine actinomycete genus Salinispora. While previous evidence indicated that horizontal gene transfer (HGT) largely contributed to BGC diversity, we find that a majority of BGCs in Salinispora genomes are conserved through processes of vertical descent. In particular, vertical inheritance maintained BGCs over evolutionary timescales (millions of years) allowing for BGC diversification among Salinispora species. By coupling the genomic analyses with high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), we identified that BGC evolution in Salinispora proceeds largely through gene gain/loss events and constrained recombination that contributes to interspecies diversity at the gene, pathway, and metabolite levels. Consequently, the evolutionary processes driving BGC diversification had direct consequences for compound production and contributed to chemical diversification, as exemplified in our case study of the medically relevant proteosome inhibitors, the salinosporamides. Together, our results support the concept that specialized metabolites, and their cognate BGCs, represent functional traits associated with niche differentiation among Salinispora species. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT SIGNIFICANCE Natural products are traditionally exploited for their pharmaceutical potential; yet what is often overlooked is that the evolution of the biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) encoding these small molecules likely affects the diversification of the produced compounds and implicitly has an impact on the compounds’ activities and ecological functions. And while the prevailing dogma in natural product research attributes frequent and widespread horizontal gene transfer (HGT) as an integral driver of BGC evolution, we find that the majority of BGC diversity derives from processes of vertical descent, with HGT events being rare. This understanding can facilitate informed biosynthetic predictions to identify novel natural products, in addition to uncovering how these specialized metabolites contribute to the environmental distribution of microbes.
Acquired Brain Injury in Adults: A Review of Pathophysiology, Recovery, and Rehabilitation.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to summarize existing literature from a range of fields (i.e., neurology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, neuroimaging, rehabilitation, speech-language pathology...
The Family in Past Perspective: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Familial Relationships Through Time: edited by Ellen J. Kendall and Ross Kendall, London, Routledge, 2021, 233 pp., £34.99 (softcover), ISBN: 978-1-032-01510-1

In the last forty years women and children have become key focuses in the study of the past. Initial searches for these ‘invisible’ people have given way to a myriad of methods and histories. In th...
The Kind of Conception Affects the Kind of Cesarean Delivery in Primiparous Women.

Background So far, multiple factors have been found to be related to the IVF procedure, the most prevalent being extremes of maternal age, infections, previous gynecological history, infertility and others. Although women achieve the coveted pregnancy with the development of IVF technology, the rapid increase contributes to the increase of primary cesarean sections rates. Objective The aim of the study was to identify if the kind of conception affects the kind of cesarean delivery among primiparous women in Greece. Methods This cross-sectional observational study took place from September 2019 to February 2020 at the University Hospital of Larisa in Greece. One hundred and sixty-two primiparous women who underwent a cesarean section (c-section) after IVF (n=27) and natural conception (n=135) participated in the study. Results The mean age of the IVF and natural conception groups were 36.22 and 31.08 years, respectively. Nineteen (70.4%) women of the IVF group had a previous medical or gynecological history in contrast to 48 (35.6%) women of the natural conception group. Only 55.6% of the IVF group had a full-term pregnancy unlike 88.1% of women in the natural conception group. An elective c-section was performed in 18 (66.7%) of the women who conceived after IVF, as opposed to 45 (33.3%) of the women who conceived naturally. Conclusion This cross-sectional study showed that IVF conception was associated with high rates of elective cesarean section as opposed to women with natural conception. The causes of c-sections must be evidence based because the primary cesarean delivery is a major factor contributing to increased c-section rates.
Privacy-Preserving Computation for Large-Scale Security-Constrained Optimal Power Flow Problem in Smart Grid

In this paper, we present a distributed privacy-preserving quadratic optimization algorithm to solve the Security Constrained Optimal Power Flow (SCOPF) problem in the smart grid. The SCOPF problem seeks the optimal dispatch subject to a set of postulated constraints under the normal and contingency conditions. However, due to the large problem size and real-time requirement, a fast and robust technique is required to solve this problem. Moreover, due to privacy concerns, it is important that the data remains confidential and processed on local computers. Therefore, a fully privacy-preserving algorithm is proposed which performs computation directly over the encrypted SCOPF problem. The SCOPF is decomposed into smaller subproblems corresponding to individual pre-contingency and post-contingency cases using the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) and gradient projection algorithms. Both algorithms are presented for solving the SCOPF problem in a privacy-preserving and distributed manner. Security analysis shows that our algorithm can preserve both system confidentiality and data privacy. Performance evaluations validate the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Crop Identification Based on Remote Sensing Data using Machine Learning Approaches for Fresno County, California

With the advancement of machine learning algorithms, different models are being used in agriculture monitoring and food industries. Due to the significant growth in sensor technologies, a great deal of data has been made available in the public domain. The potential of machine learning models in satellite remote sensing data has earned a significant amount of attention. Agriculture plays a vital role in the United States economy with California being the foremost state in agriculture production. The availability of remote sensing images through open-source platforms, such as Google Earth Engine, has enabled researchers to work on data-driven agriculture mapping. For our research, we chose Fresno County in California as the area of interest, as it has more than a hundred types of crops grown each year as well as an abundance of ground available for surveying and collecting data. Landsat 7 satellite image data from Google Earth Engine has been used to calculate various vegetation indexes such as normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference water index (NDWI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and leaf area index (LAI). Cropland Data Layer (CDL), which is the product of National Statistics Service (NASS), has been used for classifying crop types and ground survey data for Fresno County has been used for testing the model. In this paper, we implemented traditional machine learning models like Random Forest, Decision Tree and SVM. We achieved the highest classification accuracy of 95% with a voting classifier ensemble.
The Use of HPLC and Mass Spectrometric Techniques to Quantify Endogenous Opioid Peptides

State-of-the-art mass spectrometry (MS) analytical methods have been developed to quantify endogenous peptides in the peptide-rich fraction derived from brain, pituitary, tooth pulp, and CSF samples. Current target peptides include enkephalins with a further goal to include other neuropeptides such as endorphins, dynorphins, and substance P. These MS methods are used in conjunction with reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), radioimmunoassay (RIA), and radioreceptor assay (RRA) in experiments aimed towards taking experimental advantage of the unique features of each analytical system and to determine qualitative and/or quantitative differences of endogenous peptides in the normal versus stressed physiological states. MS offers the highest level of molecular specificity currently available for analytical measurement of important endogenous peptides, and RIA the highest level of detection sensitivity. In the MS quantitative analytical mode, fast atom bombardment (FAB) MS produces the protonated molecular ion - (M+H)+ - of an HPLC-purified peptide, mass spectrometry- mass spectrometry (MS-MS) selects a unique amino acid sequence- determining fragment ion, and a stable-isotope incorporated peptide internal standard added to the biological extract provides optimal quantification accuracy. RRA uses a receptor-rich preparation derived from the canine limbic system to effectively screen for the presence of opioid receptoractive (ra-) peptides in each HPLC fraction and to provide a semi-quantitation of a peptide. Furthermore, RIA is done on selected fractions.
Temporal Development of Absorption Spectra in Alkali Halide Crystals Subsequent to Band-Gap Excitation

The electronic states of a semiconducting or of an insulating crystal often are treated as though the lattice were rigid, quite indifferent to the presence of carriers. However, departures from this picture are well known. In polar AB crystals, conduction-band electrons have enhanced mass, existing as polarons; and in many halide salts the hole is actually immobilized. Fields associated with an electron in the vicinity of such a hole, a self-trapped exciton (STE), can give rise to substantial displacements of nuclei and even to photochemistry. Transient lattice defects [1], with near-unity yields [2], can be recognized in optical absorption or in emission. Such absorption may cover much of the spectrum, from the near-infrared to the near-ultraviolet. For the alkali halides, there are minor yields of stable or long-lived defects; these populations have been studied for many years by conventional spectroscopic techniques. At low temperatures the ground-state 3Σu + STE is stable except for a spin-forbidden radiative transition to the electronic ground state of the crystal. However, certain higher states of the STE lead to generation of F-H defect pairs; this has been demonstrated in double-excitation experiments [3]. The stability of the ground-state STE against such defect creation is associated with only a small barrier — about 110 meV in NaCl [4]. We have employed short-pulse white-light spectroscopy to record absorption of STE, F, and F-like species early after band-gap excitation by two 266 nm photons. We interpret the temporal evolution of the spectra in terms of thermal migration of Cl atoms over the above barrier [5,6]. In this system, photochemical defect production follows promotion to a potential sheet on which the barriers to halogen diffusion are small.
Intracardiac electrocardiography; observations during left heart catheterization in man.

Abstract Observations are reported of intracardiac electrocardiography recorded during left heart catheterization, performed by the direct transthoracic puncture of the left atrium. The report deals with 14 cases of rheumatic mitral or aortic valvular lesions, and 1 case of syphilitic aortic insufficiency. Three other cases were discarded because of failure of the catheter to pass through the mitral valve. In eight cases catheterization of the right chambers was also performed with recording of intracardiac potentials. Right and left heart catheterizations and i.e. ECGs obtained in a case of atrial septal defect and one case of primary pulmonary hypertension are also presented. The maneuver of multiple pullbacks was used. Attention is called to the proper technique so as to prevent artefacts. When normal sinus rhythm is present, the intracardiac P wave in the left atrium falls in the second part of a simultaneously recorded standard lead P. The asynchronism between the intracardiac and peripheral P waves was found to vary between 0.05 and 0.09 sec in cases with predominant mitral stenosis, with variations of less than 0.02 sec in a single case. This increased asynchronism is due to the late inscription of the intrinsicoid deflection of the P wave in the left atrium, as shown by the findings in three cases in which right and left heart catheterizations were performed. The degree of asynchronism was found to be inversely proportional to the voltage of the intracardiac P wave. No correlation was seen between the voltage of the P wave recorded in either atrium and the P in a standard lead. No relationship was found between the P wave inside of the left atrium and the values of atrial pressure, or calculated mitral valve area or resistance. In cases of atrial fibrillation, polymorph and irregular waves were recorded in both atria. In atrial flutter, “f” waves were recorded. The ventricular complex within the left atrium was strictly related to the QRS as recorded within the left ventricle. The P waves inside the ventricle were normally flat; only one exception was encountered. In atrial fibrillation or flutter, no atrial activity was recorded in either ventricle. The patterns of premature ventricular beats and of subendocardial injury are presented. Normal left ventricular complexes were recorded in cases of isolated right ventricular hypertrophy. In cases of left ventricular hypertrophy, on the contrary, increased voltage of the intraventricular QRS was recorded. ST and T wave changes were found in the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy or “strain.” Comparison between intracardiac unipolar leads and left precordial leads was made; discordant points were presented and an explanation was attempted. Occasional rS patterns within the left ventricle were observed and are discussed.