cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modeling Relationships among 217 Fires Using Remote Sensing of Burn Severity in Southern Pine Forests

Pine flatwoods forests in the southeastern US have experienced severe wildfires over the past few decades, often attributed to fuel load build-up. These forest communities are fire dependent and require regular burning for ecosystem maintenance and health. Although prescribed fire has been used to reduce wildfire risk and maintain ecosystem integrity, managers are still working to reintroduce fire to long unburned areas. Common perception holds that reintroduction of fire in long unburned forests will produce severe fire effects, resulting in a reluctance to prescribe fire without first using expensive mechanical fuels reduction techniques. To inform prioritization and timing of future fire use, we apply remote sensing analysis to examine the set of conditions most likely to result in high burn severity effects, in relation to vegetation, years since the previous fire, and historical fire frequency. We analyze Landsat imagery-based differenced Normalized Burn Ratios (dNBR) to model the relationships between previous and future burn severity to better predict areas of potential high severity. Our results show that remote sensing techniques are useful for modeling the relationship between elevated risk of high burn severity and the amount of time between fires, the type of fire (wildfire or prescribed burn), and the historical frequency of fires in pine flatwoods forests.
Simulation of carrier transport and nonlinearities in quantum-well laser diodes

The two-dimensional (2-D) quantum-well (QW) laser diode simulator Minilase-II is presented in detail. This simulator contains a complete treatment of carrier dynamics including bulk transport, quantum carrier capture, spectral hole burning, and quantum carrier heating. The models used in the simulator and their connectivity are first presented. Then the simulator is used to demonstrate the effects of various nonlinear processes occurring in QW lasers. Finally, modulation responses produced by Minilase-II are compared directly with experimental data, showing good quantitative agreement.
Intimate justice. II: Fostering mutuality, reciprocity, and accommodation in therapy for psychological abuse.

This article presents part of the findings of a study of psychological abuse and physical violence in couples who voluntarily entered therapy. The study found that most of the men exhibited patterns of deception, devaluation, and dictatorial attitudes with their women partners and that these patterns were a considerable barrier to mutuality, reciprocity, and accommodation in the partnership. The researchers developed four interventions to challenge the men to change these patterns: true intentions, no free rides, the perception paradox, and the infallibility fallacy. The study was based on intimate justice theory, a developing clinical approach the therapy based on ethical theory.
Optimal buffering policy for downloading music in heterogeneous wireless networks

We consider a heterogeneous network of wireless LAN providing cheap, high speed coverage to local areas and wide area cellular networks providing a more expensive and slower coverage to a wider region. The movement of the mobile is modeled with a two state continuous time Markov chain. We consider the application where the mobile wants to download and listen to music. To reduce the download cost, the mobile downloads and buffers a lot of music in the lower cost area and plays it when it is in the more expensive areas. We formulate a mathematical model for this problem and present the optimal buffering policy for the mobile.
Toughening by Crack Bridging in Heterogeneous Ceramics

The toughening of a ceramic by crack bridging is considered, including the heterogeneity caused simply by spatial randomness in the bridge locations, The growth of a single planar crack is investigated numerically by representing the microstructure as an array of discrete springs with heterogeneity in the mechanical properties of each spring, The stresses on each microstructural element are determined, for arbitrary configurations of spring properties and heterogeneity, using a lattice Green function technique. For toughening by (heterogeneous) crack bridging for both elastic and Dugdale bridging mechanisms, the following key physical results are found: (i) growing cracks avoid regions which are efficiently bridged, and do not propagate as selfsimilar penny cracks; (ii) crack growth thus proceeds at lower applied stresses in a heterogeneous material than in an ordered material; (iii) very little toughening is evident for moderate amounts of crack growth in many cases; and (iv) a different R-curve is found for every particular spatial distribution of bridging elements. These results show that material reliability is determined by both the flaw distribution and the ''toughness'' distribution, or local environment, around each flaw. These results also demonstrate that the ''microstructural'' parameters derived from fitting an R-curve to a continuum model may not have an immediate relationship to the actual microstructure; the parameters are ''effective'' parameters that absorb the effects of the heterogeneity. The conceptual issues illuminated by these conclusions must be fully understood and appreciated to further develop microstructure-property relationships in ceramic materials.
The exploitation of "exploitation" in the tenofovir PrEP trial in Cameroon: Lessons learned from media coverage of an HIV prevention trial.

media coverage influences how clinical trials are perceived internationally and in communities where trials occur, affecting recruitment, retention, and political support for research. We conducted a discourse analysis of news coverage from 2004-2005 of a trial in Cameroon on oral PrEP for HIV prevention, to identify messages, communication techniques, and sources of messages that were amplified via media. We identified two parallel discourses: one on ethical concerns about the Cameroon trial, and a second, more general "science exploitation" discourse concerned with the potential for trials with vulnerable participant populations to be conducted unethically, benefiting only wealthy populations. Researchers should overtly address exploitation as an integral, ongoing component of research, particularly where historical or cultural conditions set the stage for controversy to emerge.
Improving I/O performance using soft-QoS-based dynamic storage cache partitioning

Resources are often shared to improve resource utilization and reduce costs. However, not all resources exhibit good performance when shared among multiple applications. The work presented here focuses on effectively managing a shared storage cache. To provide differentiated services to applications exercising a storage cache, we propose a novel scheme that uses curve fitting to dynamically partition the storage cache. Our scheme quickly adapts to application execution, showing increasing accuracy over time. It satisfies application QoS if it is possible to do so, maximizes the individual hit rates of the applications utilizing the cache, and consequently increases the overall storage cache hit rate. Through extensive trace-driven simulation, we show that our storage cache partitioning strategy not only effectively insulates multiple applications from one another but also provides QoS guarantees to applications over a long period of execution time. Using our partitioning strategy, we were able to increase the individual storage cache hit rates of the applications by 67% and 53% over the no-partitioning and equal-partitioning schemes, respectively. Additionally, we improved the overall cache hit rates of the entire storage system by 11% and 12.9% over the no-partitioning and equal-partitioning schemes, respectively, while meeting the QoS goals all the time.
Addressing Multidimensional Perfectionism in Gifted Adolescents with Affective Curriculum

This study investigated the effects of an affective curriculum on multiple dimensions of perfectionism among middle school (grades 6–8) gifted students. A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control g...
Impacts of Feedstock Composition on Alcohol Yields and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the NREL Thermochemical Ethanol Conversion Process

There has been great attention focused on the effects of first and second generation biofuels on global warming. The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) have mandated production levels and performance criteria of biofuels in the United States. The thermochemical conversion of biomass to ethanol shows potential as a biofuel production pathway. The objective of this research was to examine the alcohol yields and GHG emissions from the thermochemical conversion process for six different feedstocks on a gate-to-gate basis. GHG analyses and life cycle assessments were performed for natural hardwood, loblolly pine, eucalyptus, miscanthus, corn stover, and switchgrass feedstocks using a NREL thermochemical model and SimaPro. Alcohol yield and GHG emission for the hybrid poplar baseline feedstock conversion were 105,400 L dry metric ton−1 and 2.8 kg CO2 eq. per liter, respectively. Compared with the baseline, loblolly pine produced the highest alcohol yields, an 8.5% increase, and the lowest GHG emissions per liter of ethanol, a 9.1% decrease. Corn stover, due to its high ash content, had the lowest yields and the highest GHG emissions per liter of ethanol. The results were highly sensitive to the ash and water content of the biomass, indicating that biomass properties can significantly affect the environmental impact of the thermochemical ethanol conversion process.
Localization of the Appendix at MR Imaging during Pregnancy: Utility of the Cecal Tilt Angle

Purpose: To determine whether the cecal tilt angle on sagittal magnetic resonance (MR) images in pregnant patients correlates with the location of the appendix and gestational age and whether the cecal tilt angle can help predict the location of the appendix. Materials and Methods: This HIPAA-compliant retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board. Informed consent was waived. Of 146 consecutive pregnant patients suspected of having appendicitis (mean age, 29 years) who underwent MR imaging, 143 had MR images in which the appendix and cecum were identifiable in the sagittal plane. Two observers reviewed the MR images; findings were agreed upon by consensus. With use of sagittal single-shot fast spin-echo MR images, the cecal tilt angle was calculated as the angle between the imaging table and a line drawn between the cecal tip and the luminal center of the most proximal inflection point in the ascending colon. The location of the appendiceal base relative to the lumbosacral spine was ...
The Stress Cascade and Schizophrenia: Etiology and Onset

Psychosocial stress is included in most etiologic models of schizophrenia, frequently as a precipitating factor for psychosis in vulnerable individuals. Nonetheless, the stress-diathesis model has not been tested prospectively in prodromal patients as a predictor of psychosis. The biological effects of stress are mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which governs the release of steroids, including cortisol. The past few decades have witnessed an increased understanding of the neural effects of stress and cortisol, including both normal and abnormal diatheses. As few biological markers have been evaluated as risk factors for psychosis in prodromal patients, the HPA axis and its interaction with intervening life events are apt candidates for study. In this article, we review the HPA axis and its neural effects, present a model for how stress might precipitate psychosis in vulnerable individuals, review the empirical evidence of a link between stress and schizophrenia symptoms, and propose a research design and appropriate statistical models to test the stress-diathesis model for psychosis onset in prodromal patients.
School—University Partnerships in Special Education Field Experiences A National Descriptive Study

A national survey was conducted in which universities and colleges that provided special education teacher preparation programs described and evaluated their relationships with schools in terms of field experiences for preservice teachers. Surveys were mailed to randomly selected institutions of higher education (IHEs) that provided special education teacher preparation programs. Nearly three fourths (72.2%) of the IHEs reported having formal written partnerships with districts, schools, or teachers; however, such formal partnerships only partially influenced the identification and placement of preservice teachers in special education field experiences. Some IHEs used either university supervisors or cooperating/mentor teachers only, but not both, when evaluating the students' performance in field experiences. This phenomenon occurred, however, only in pre—student teaching field experiences. Less than half (41.4%) of the IHEs allowed teacher candidates to complete the student teaching requirement while em...
Stimulus concordance and risk-assessment in hermit crabs (Coenobita clypeatus): Implications for attention

Recent research has demonstrated that the topography of defensive reactions depends on factors that are extraneous to the stimulus that elicits the defensive response. For example, hermit crabs will withdraw more slowly to the approach of a simulated visual predator (i.e., the eliciting stimulus) when in the presence of a coincident acoustic stimulus. Multiple properties related to the magnitude (e.g., duration, amplitude) of the acoustic stimulus have been found to modulate the crabs’ withdrawal response (Chan et al., 2010b). We demonstrate that the proximity in spatial location between a threatening visual stimulus and a potentially distracting extraneous auditory stimulus is an important determinant of anti-predator behavior in hermit crabs. We suggest that a distal relationship between the eliciting stimulus and an unrelated signal may produce greater distraction. This marks the first reported experimental evidence of this relationship in an invertebrate species.
Understanding and assessing preservice teachers’ reflective thinking

Abstract This study reviews the criteria for assessing reflective thinking, and investigates how the process of reflective thinking develops in preservice teachers. Reflections of preservice teachers are assessed from two perspectives: content and depth. The findings include variations in the content, and that the pace at which reflective thinking deepens depends on personal background, field experience contexts, and the mode of communication. The study includes insights into how to measure the quality of reflective thinking and how to enhance reflective thinking and cultivate reflective practitioners, including the kinds of experiences that could be incorporated in a teacher education program.
Molecular genetics in neurology

There has been remarkable progress in the identification of mutations in genes that cause inherited neurological disorders. Abnormalities in the genes for Huntington disease, neurofibromatosis types 1 and 2, one form of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, fragile X syndrome, myotonic dystrophy, Kennedy syndrome, Menkes disease, and several forms of retinitis pigmentosa have been elucidated. Rare disorders of neuronal migration such as Kallmann syndrome, Miller-Dieker syndrome, and Norrie disease have been shown to be due to specific gene defects. Several muscle disorders characterized by abnormal membrane excitability have been defined as mutations of the muscle sodium or chloride channels. These advances provide opportunity for accurate molecular diagnosis of at-risk individuals and are the harbinger of new approaches to therapy of these diseases.
A Simplified Equivalent Circuit Model of Series Resonant Converter

Equivalent circuit models are useful design tools for control and have already well served their purposes in pulse width modulation dc–dc converters. However, no simple equivalent circuit model is available yet for resonant-type dc–dc converters. Up to now, the most successful equivalent circuit model of series resonant converter (SRC) is based on extended describing function concept, which was proposed by Yang et al. [30]. However, the equivalent circuit is a complicated fifth order with the cross-coupling effect and no analytical solution is provided for transfer functions. This paper proposes a simple third-order equivalent circuit model of SRC. The equivalent circuit model is derived by simplification of the original fifth-order equivalent circuit, based on the fact that the resonant capacitor behaves like an equivalent resonant inductor with respect to the modulation frequency. The equivalent circuit model can predict the dynamic behavior very well when the switching frequency is below, close to, or above the resonant frequency. Furthermore, for the first time, analytical expressions of all transfer functions, i.e., control-to-output, input-to-output, output impedance, and input impedance are provided. These analytical transfer functions will serve as a useful tool for the feedback design. The equivalent circuit model is verified by Simplis simulation and experimental results.
The Future of Adaptive Learning: Does the Crowd Hold the Key?

Due to substantial scientific and practical progress, learning technologies can effectively adapt to the characteristics and needs of students. This article considers how learning technologies can adapt over time by crowdsourcing contributions from teachers and students – explanations, feedback, and other pedagogical interactions. Considering the context of ASSISTments, an online learning platform, we explain how interactive mathematics exercises can provide the workflow necessary for eliciting feedback contributions and evaluating those contributions, by simply tapping into the everyday system usage of teachers and students. We discuss a series of randomized controlled experiments that are currently running within ASSISTments, with the goal of establishing proof of concept that students and teachers can serve as valuable resources for the perpetual improvement of adaptive learning technologies. We also consider how teachers and students can be motivated to provide such contributions, and discuss the plans surrounding PeerASSIST, an infrastructure that will help ASSISTments to harness the power of the crowd. Algorithms from machine learning (i.e., multi-armed bandits) will ideally provide a mechanism for managerial control, allowing for the automatic evaluation of contributions and the personalized provision of the highest quality content. In many ways, the next 25 years of adaptive learning technologies will be driven by the crowd, and this article serves as the road map that ASSISTments has chosen to follow.
The Two Faces of Law and Inequality: From Critique to the Promise of Situated, Pragmatic Policy

Over the course of my career, I have navigated a research agenda that moves between scholarly and policy-oriented research. Building on this experience, I argue that it is time for law and society scholars to take seriously a commitment to engaged scholarship that speaks to a wider audience of stakeholders and policymakers. Three themes frame my proposal to get back in the game of advocacy and policy. First, I consider why we need to rekindle this commitment at this historical moment: inequalities in wealth, income, and social mobility and the rise of mass incarceration and its collateral consequences diminish the foundation required for effective democratic governance to thrive. Second, what our scholarship has to say is key to the framing of pragmatic policy: law and society's focus on law in action and the culture of law are key to understanding the ways in which most policies tend to deliver unintended consequences. Finally, we need to consider how to go about the next step to make our work visible to a wider audience of stakeholders?
Influence of Molecular Structure on the Laser-Induced Plasma Emission of the Explosive RDX and Organic Polymers

A series of organic polymers and the military explosive cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) were studied using the light emission from a femtosecond laser-induced plasma under an argon atmosphere. The relationship between the molecular structure and plasma emission was established by using the percentages of the atomic species (C, H, N, O) and bond types (C—C, C═C, C—N, and C≡N) in combination with the atomic/molecular emission intensities and decay rates. In contrast to previous studies of organic explosives in which C2 was primarily formed by recombination, for the organic materials in this study the percentage of C—C (and C═C) bonds was strongly correlated to the molecular C2 emission. Time-resolved emission spectra were collected to determine the lifetimes of the atomic and molecular species in the plasma. Observed differences in decay rates were attributed to the differences in both the molecular structure of the organic polymers or RDX and the chemical reactions that occur within the plasma. These d...
2-Hydroxyglutarate Production by Mutant Isocitrate Dehydrogenase is Independent of Substrate Channeling but Sensitive to Compartment-Specific Metabolite Levels

Monoallelic point mutations in the cytosolic, NADP+-dependent enzyme isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) are associated with elevated production of the oncometabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG) in multiple cancers. Production of 2-HG by mutant R132H IDH1 requires activity of a retained wild-type (WT) allele, suggesting possible channeling of α-ketoglutarate and NADPH in WT/R132H IDH1 heterodimers [1]. We report a mechanistic characterization of IDH1 2-HG production using a combination of mathematical modeling, in vivo kinetic measurements, and diffusion calculations. Numerical simulation of a biochemically realistic mathematical model of the IDH1 heterodimer indicated that substrate channeling would have a large impact on the dynamics of 2-HG generation. We then examined conversion of 13C labeled glucose and 13C labeled glutamine into labeled 2-HG in HT1080 cells and found that the dynamics are nearly identical in both cases. This result provides strong evidence against channeling because the production of 2-HG from glucose, but not glutamine, is dependent on WT IDH1. Calculations of substrate diffusion between the WT and mutant active sites of both isolated and agglomerated IDH1 heterodimers further support the absence of channeling. We propose instead that 2-HG production is sensitive to the global availability of substrates in the appropriate intracellular compartment, consistent with prior observations that 2-HG production by structurally analogous mutants of the mitochondrial isoform IDH2 is not WT-dependent [1]. Building on this observation, we report a strategy for inferring compartment-specific NADPH/NADP+ ratios using our model and steady-state measurements of 2-HG production by native IDH1 and by IDH1 artificially targeted to the mitochondrion.[1] Ward, P.S., C. Lu, J.R. Cross, O. Abdel-Wahab, R.L. Levine, G.K. Schwartz, and C.B. Thompson. 2013. J. Biol. Chem. 288: 3804-3815
My Experince of Physical Experiments(Continued)

The author discussed the relationship between basic research and technology application first,and pointed out that technological development is rooted in the basic research. Then he introduced the contents and significance of four physical experiments conducted by author himself,and comprehending from each experiment
Epidemiological characteristics of syphilis in Kunshan during years 2004-2011

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of syphilis in recent years in Kunshan , and to provide scientific evidence for perfecting the strategies for the treatment and prevention on syphilis. Methods The information of the epidemics of syphilis from the computer disease reporting system in Kunshan during years 2004-2011 were analysed. Results 2 424 cases of syphilis were reported in the past 8 years. The average incidence of the disease was 18.09 per 100 000. The incidence of the disease showed an upward trend. The incidence of syphilis in urban areas was 28.40 per 100 000 , was and the incidence was higher than other viollages (16.18 per 100 000, P0.01). The incidence in the male and female subjects was 20.17 per 100 000 and 23.33 per 100 000, respectively (P0.01). The age of syphilis patients (61.92%) was in the range of 20～39 years old. There was no obvious associate between the morbidity seasonal change. Conclusion The monitoring program of latent syphilis should be strengthened. The propaganda and testing of STD and AIDS in the urban floating population, especially in the female population, should be increased.
Placental and fetal involvement by maternal malignancy: a report of rectal carcinoma and review of the literature.

A case of maternal adenocarcinoma of the rectum with extensive intervillous involvement is presented and the western world’s literature is reviewed. Detectable fetal involvement by maternal malignancy is rare, although maternofetal transmission of malignant cells is probably more frequent than realized. The factors affecting transmission of tumor to the fetus are: (1) tumor cell type, (2) maternal arterial dissemination, (3) intervillous sequestration, (4) transvillous passage, (5) fetal dissemination, and (6) fetal response.
Unilateral fixators and mechanical axis realignment.

Abstract Unilateral fixators have been used successfully for mechanical axis realignment. Immediate correction of angular deformity is usually preferred with monolateral fixation. This article discusses the principles of immediate versus gradual correction and the range of acceptable malalignment. The principles, technique, and results of complex deformity correction also are discussed.
Willie Sutton Was Right: It's Time to Turn to the Synovium to Drive Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapy.

Treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have come a long way in the past 20 years. Fifteen years of widespread use of methotrexate generated a paradigm shift in the management of RA; the advent of biologic response modifiers launched the next big shift. Coupled with early, aggressive therapy, these agents have made it possible to look beyond merely controlling symptoms to a treatment landscape where remission is now a reasonable possibility for nearly 50% of our patients with early disease1. At the same time, challenges remain for appropriately using available therapies. As effective as these agents are, they do not work for all patients, and despite years of searching, we still do not have systemic biomarkers that can reliably identify those patients who will respond. Combined with the tremendous costs of these drugs, this uncertainty means that RA treatment in 2016 remains an expensive, empiric proposition. We believe that it is time for the next paradigm shift, one that does not involve new therapies, but precision, targeted application of existing and future treatments. Willie Sutton was right2. And while much work remains to be done, we believe that it will soon be time to move beyond the bloodstream and look for guidance to the most critical tissue in this disease, the synovium. One needs to look no further than the world of oncology to see the path that we must begin to take in rheumatology. In just a generation, oncologists have moved from the use of broad-based chemotherapeutic agents to personalized genetic profiling that allows them in many cases to identify the specific agent or agents most likely to effectively treat the patient’s malignancy. Cancer therapy has moved from a disease-guided approach to a pathology-guided approach, then in turn to a molecular-guided approach, in which specific molecular … Address correspondence to Dr. E.M. Ruderman, 675 North St. Clair, Suite 14-100, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA; E-mail: e-ruderman{at}northwestern.edu
Transgenic Mouse Modeling of Therapeutic Responses in Myeloma

While myeloma is still considered a fatal disease, new therapeutic approaches, including combination of drugs that target different intracellular pathways, have shown marked improvements in response and survival. Yet there are wide variations in responses seen in the patient population. One major source is the variation in chromosomal abnormalities and the genes deregulated among the plasma cell (PC) tumors. Another may be in inherited variations (SNPs) that can have a major influence on drug distribution, transport and metabolism. Our laboratory has developed a transgenic mouse model targeting overexpression of c-myc and bcl-xL in late B cells, that results in early expansion of non-malignant PCs, followed by development of clonal plasma cell malignancies in 100% of the mice. We have reported on cell surface, chromosomal abnormalities, and gene expression profiles of the mouse plasma cell tumors, that demonstrate a very similar profile and heterogeneity to human myelomas. The mouse PC tumors can be adoptively transferred to syngenic recipient mice, as well as grown in culture. The advantage of this model is that the impact of tumor heterogeneity can be assessed in a common germline genetic background in the mice; and an intact immune system is maintained, unlike many common xenograft models. We find that disease progression is variable among tumors and have extended this observed heterogeneity of progression to analysis of drug sensitivity; for example, identifying tumors that are highly sensitive to dexamethasone, and others extremely resistant, and others that show protection in the presence of IL-6. Although bcl-xL expression is important in the initiation of the transgenic malignancy, it was not clear if Bcl-xL was required to maintain the transformed phenotype. To test this, we blocked Bcl-xL with the inhibitor BH3I-2′(Calbiochem). We find that inhibition of Bcl-xL is effective in killing the PC tumors in vitro, and dose is directly related to levels of bcl-xL expression. We also examined various dose combinations of dexamethasone and BH3I-2′ and found an antagonistic relationship of the two drugs. We are in the process of expanding the tumor mouse population to target other therapeutic approaches in the transgenic mouse that models tumor heterogeneity in a common genetic background.
High-sensitivity supercontinuum-based parallel line-field optical coherence tomography with 1 million A-lines/s (Conference Presentation)

While traditional, flying-spot, spectral domain OCT systems can achieve MHz linerates, they are limited by the need for mechanical scanning to produce a B-mode image. Line-field OCT (LF OCT) removes the need for mechanical scanning by simultaneously recording all A-lines on a 2D CMOS sensor. Our LF OCT system operates at the highest A-line rate of any spectral domain (SD) LF OCT system reported to date (1,024,000 A-lines/s). This is comparable with the fastest flying-spot SDOCT system reported. Additionally, all OCT systems face a tradeoff between imaging speed and sensitivity. Long exposure times improve sensitivity but can lead to undesirable motion artifacts. LF OCT has the potential to relax this tradeoff between sensitivity and imaging speed because all A-lines are exposed during the entire frame acquisition time. However, this advantage has not yet been realized due to the loss of power-per-A-line by spreading the illumination light across all A-lines on the sample. Here we use a supercontinuum source to illuminate the sample with 500mW of light in the 605-950 nm wavelength band, effectively providing 480 µW of power-per-A-line, with axial and lateral resolutions of 1.8 µm and 14 µm, respectively. With this system we achieve the highest reported sensitivity (113 dB) of any LF OCT system. We then demonstrate the capability of this system by capturing the rapidly beating cilia of human bronchial-epithelial cells in vitro. The combination of high speed and high sensitivity offered by supercontinuum-based LF SD OCT offers new opportunities for studying cell and tissue dynamics.
Trend and Return Level of Extreme Snow Events in New York City

A major winter storm brought up to 42 inches of snow in parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states for January 22–24, 2016. The blizzard of January 2016 impacted about 102.8 million people, cla...
Compensated Ferrimagnetism in the Zero-Moment Heusler Alloy Mn 3 Al

Preventing stray magnetic interactions is important to improving technology that relies upon manipulating an electron's charge and spin. To this end, the authors investigate a binary intermetallic that has an internal magnetic field, yet does not affect the spin of surrounding components. As-grown epitaxial thin films of Mn${}_{3}$Al on GaAs(001) present the the ideal D0${}_{3}$ Heusler phase. This compound should be quite interesting for optimizing tomorrow's spintronic devices.
Abstract 1867: Near infrared fluorescent imaging of brain tumor with IR780 dye incorporated phospholipid nanoparticles

Background: Near-IR fluorescence (NIRF) imaging is becoming a promising approach in preclinical tumor detection and clinical image-guided oncological surgery. While heptamethine cyanine dye IR780 has excellent tumor targeting and imaging potential, its hydrophobic properties limit its clinical use. In this study, we developed nanoparticle formulations to facilitate the use of IR780 for fluorescent imaging of malignant brain tumor. Methods: Self-assembled IR780-liposomes and IR780-phospholipid micelles were prepared and their NIRF properties were characterized. The intracellular accumulation of IR780-nanoparticles in glioma cells were determined using confocal microscopy. The in vivo brain tumor targeting and NIRF imaging capacity of IR780-nanoparticles were evaluated using U87MG glioma ectopic and orthotopic xenograft models and a spontaneous glioma mouse model driven by RAS/RTK activation. Results: The loading of IR780 into liposomes or phospholipid micelles was efficient. The particle diameter of IR780-liposomes and IR780-phospholipid micelles were 95 nm and 26 nm, respectively. While stock solutions of each preparation were maintained at ready-to-use condition, the IR780-phospholipid micelles were more stable. In tissue culture cells, IR780-nanoparticles prepared by either method accumulated in mitochondria, however, in animals the IR780-phospholipid micelles showed enhanced intra-tumoral accumulation in U87MG ectopic tumors. Moreover, IR780-phospholipid micelles also showed preferred intracranial tumor accumulation and potent NIRF signal intensity in glioma orthotopic models at a real-time, non-invasive manner. Conclusion: The IR780-phospholipid micelles demonstrated tumor-specific NIRF imaging capacity in glioma preclinical mouse models, providing great potential for clinical imaging and image-guided surgery of brain tumors. Citation Format: Shihong Li, Jennifer Johnson, Anderson Peck, Qian Xie. Near infrared fluorescent imaging of brain tumor with IR780 dye incorporated phospholipid nanoparticles [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1867. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1867
Writing in CS: Why and How?

The importance of written communication and critical thinking in Computer Science is widely acknowledged. It was called out specifically in the curriculum guidelines ACM CS2013 [6] and has been the topic of a number of previous SIGCSE papers, for example [1-4]. Moreover, writing as a pedagogical practice can help make CS more accessible for a broader population. However, special challenges may arise for students who are English-language learners or have writing-specific learning differences.
Serum BDNF is positively associated with negative symptoms in older adults with schizophrenia

Author(s): Binford, Sasha | Advisor(s): Leutwyler, Heather | Abstract: Objectives: Older adults with chronic schizophrenia are at greater risk for functional disability and poorer health outcomes than those without serious mental illness. This population makes up 0.6% to 1% of the elderly population in the US and is projected to number approximately 15 million by 2030. The symptoms of schizophrenia can be disabling for individuals, significantly reducing their quality of life. Often, the negative symptoms are the most resistant to treatment and are considered a marker of illness severity, although challenging to measure objectively. Biomarkers can provide an objective indicator of health status. Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a potential biomarker for schizophrenia and may serve as an indicator of illness severity. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study with 30 older adults with chronic schizophrenia. Participants were assessed on serum levels of BDNF and psychiatric symptoms (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale; PANSS). Pearson’s bivariate correlations (two-tailed) and linear regression models were used. Results: Average serum levels of BDNF were 24.4 ng/mL (SD = 6.0). A significant positive association (p l .05) was found between higher serum levels of BDNF and greater severity for the negative symptom items that included passive, apathetic, social withdrawal, and emotional withdrawal. In multivariate analyses, the association remained significant. Conclusions: Although the association between BDNF and negative symptoms was not in the expected direction, the data corroborate findings from previous work in patients with schizophrenia. It is possible that higher serum levels of BDNF reflect compensatory mechanisms resulting from neurodevelopmental dysfunction.
A video is worth a thousand words: innovative uses of videolaryngoscopy.

Intubation is a technically challenging but important skill for neonatal trainees to master. Trainees’ opportunities to perform neonatal intubation have decreased over time, due to less use of invasive ventilation, limited duty hours and changes in practice for infants born through meconium-stained fluid. Contemporary studies report suboptimal neonatal intubation success rates, ranging from 20% to 70% for paediatric residents and neonatology fellows.1 Videolaryngoscopy is a novel tool for performing, teaching and supervising intubation. Videolaryngoscopes include a camera on the laryngoscope blade which provides a wider, magnified view of the patient’s airway on a video screen. Most videolaryngoscopes, and the ones we are referring to here, can be used for either direct laryngoscopy by the intubator or indirect laryngoscopy (where the intubator uses images from the screen to perform the intubation). Both techniques allow for a supervisor to view the screen and coach the intubator during the procedure. In addition, several devices can also record videos of intubation attempts, which facilitate postintubation review and teaching. Robinson et al 2 and O’Shea et al 3 explore the use of videolaryngoscopy to define success rates and determine reasons for failure in neonatal intubations. In a randomised trial, O’Shea et al studied elective, premedicated intubations performed by …
Pattern Discovery from High-Order Drug-Drug Interaction Relations

Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and associated adverse drug reactions (ADRs) represent a significant public health problem in the USA. The research presented in this manuscript tackles the problems of representing, quantifying, discovering, and visualizing patterns from high-order DDIs in a purely data-driven fashion within a unified graph-based framework and via unified convolution-based algorithms. We formulate the problem based on the notions of nondirectional DDI relations (DDI-nd’s) and directional DDI relations (DDI-d’s), and correspondingly developed weighted complete graphs and hyper-graphlets for their representation, respectively. We also develop a convolutional scheme and its stochastic algorithm $\text {SD}^{2}\text {ID}^{2}\text {S}$ to discover DDI-based drug-drug similarities. Our experimental results demonstrate that such approaches can well capture the patterns of high-order DDIs.
Muscle Spasm in Fibromyalgia — Documentation in Clinical Practice

Der Muskelspasmus (MSp) ist eine unwillkurlich anhaltende und gewohnlich schmerzhafte Kontraktion, die starker ist, als es fur eine Korperhaltung oder eine Tatigkeit physiologisch notwendig ware. MSp ist eine haufig symptomatisch therapierbare Schmerzursache bei generalisierter Tendomyopathie. Die Palpation ist die wichtigste diagnostische Methode zur Erfassung des MSp, der sich durch eine harte Beschaffenheit und Verspannung des ganzen Muskels manifestiert. Dieser Befund unterscheidet den MSp von Verhartungen der Muskulatur bei myofaszikularen „trigger points“, bei denen die Verspannung auf eine Gruppe von Fasern innerhalb des Muskels begrenzt ist. Objektive Methode zum Nachweis von MSp: (1) Der „tissue compliance meter“ (TCM) ist ein mechanisches Gerat, mit dem die Beschaffenheit der Weichteile und damit auch eine Verhartung des Muskels objektiv und quantitativ gemessen wird. Der TCM ist nach dem Prinzip der Federwaage konstruiert mit einem langen Griff, der in einem Gummistift endet. Wenn der Stift in das zu untersuchende Gewebe gedruckt wird, gleitet eine um den Griff des Gerates angebrachte Scheide nach oben und zeigt so an, wie tief der Stift in das Gewebe eindringt. Die Gewebe„complicance“ (-weichheit, d. h. der Gegensatz der Gewebeharte) wird ausgedruckt in mm/kg der beim Eindringen angewandten Kraft. Fur die Gewebeweichheit (Tissue compliance) wurden Standardwerte festgesetzt. Die Wirkung einer spasmolytischen Behandlung, wie beispielsweise Kalte- oder Hitzeanwendung, tetansierende Elektrostimulation, Muskelentspannung, Nerven-Blockierungen, last sich mit einem TCM quantitativ nachweisen.
Orthogonal Polynomials and Reflection Groups

Classical orthogonal polynomials of one variable are studied by means of differential equations, standard definite integrals like the gamma and beta functions, and other tools such as Rodrigues’ relations. In this survey article we show how these ideas can be extended to several variables. We start with some simple examples which serve to motivate the use of reflection groups as symmetry groups of the weight functions. It is necessary to generalize differential operators to differential-difference operators (parametrized commutative algebras associated to reflection groups). Proofs are omitted in this survey, but references are given to the research literature as well as to the monograph by Yuan Xu and the author [11]. Orthogonal polynomials of several variables are studied for their applicability in topics such as harmonic analysis on homogeneous spaces, solutions of partial differential equations, quantum-mechanical wave functions, eigenvalues of random symmetric matrices, algebraic combinatorics, approximation and numerical cubature.
Limitations and Tradeoffs in Minimum Input Selection Problems

In this paper, the problem of the actuator selection for linear dynamical networks is investigated. We develop a framework to design a sparse actuator schedule for a given large-scale linear system with guaranteed performance bounds using a polynomial-time algorithm. We first introduce a notion of systemic controllability metrics for linear dynamical networks that are monotone, convex, and homogeneous with respect to the controllability Gramian matrix of the network. It is shown that several popular and widely used optimization criteria in the literature belong to this new class of controllability metrics. By leveraging recent advances in sparsification literature and the famous Kadison-Singer conjecture, we then prove that there exists a sparse actuator schedule that chooses on average a constant number of actuators at each time, to approximate all systemic controllability metrics.
Utilizing Social Norms Marketing to Address E-Cigarette Use on College Campuses

E-cigarette use is a serious health concern among adolescents and young adults. This study identifies factors associated with e-cigarette use in an effort to better understand what impacts college students’ decisions to use this tobacco product. This study utilizes data from a survey conducted at a research institution and two community colleges located in Hawaii. A multivariate logistic regression analysis identified key risk factors associated with college student e-cigarette use. Independent factors associated with e-cigarette use included use of traditional cigarettes and having one or more family members or friends who currently used e-cigarettes. Exposure to online e-cigarette information was also associated with increased odds of e-cigarette use. The study findings have important implications for e-cigarette control among adolescents and young adults. Service learning students can take an active role in developing social norms marketing campaigns designed to communicate the risks of e-cigarette use and counter marketing ploys that foster unsubstantiated beliefs regarding the benefits of e-cigarette use.
Finite Element Modeling of Demagnetization Fault in Permanent Magnet Direct Current Motors

This paper presents the results of a demagnetization effect on the Permanent Magnet Direct Current (PMDC) Motors. A Finite Element Model (FEM) of a PMDC motor has been developed and analyzed for healthy and faulty conditions. The model of a faulty machine can be developed by changing one or more parameters of the machine to incorporate a fault. Since this paper focuses on the demagnetization fault, therefore this fault is incorporated by changing the magnetic coercivity (HC) parameter of a permanent magnet in the rotor of the machine. The change in coercivity parameter is used as the demagnetization factor which changes the machine parameters such as flux linkage and current in the coil. The Finite Element (FE) analysis on the developed models of healthy and faulty machines is done to obtain the profile of flux linkage, magnetic flux density, torque and current plots. The deviation brought in the current and flux linkage of the machine identifies the demagnetization fault in PMDC. The equivalent change in HC causes change in magnetic flux density (BM) that validates the direct relation of HC with BM. This work builds on the existing research on modeling demagnetization faults in Permanent Magnet Synchronous (PMSM) Motors. Future work will be on FE modeling of demagnetization fault in PMSM and conducting lab experiments to validate the findings.
Thinking in Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, Phospholipids, and the Brain

Abstract The brain is frequently described as being particularly enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), potentially explaining the brain’s vulnerability to ischemia/reperfusion. However, recent findings call this notion into question. Implementing normal-phase HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography), we analyzed phospholipid profiles in brain, heart, kidney, and liver mitochondria and whole tissues and demonstrated that the brain in rats was the least enriched with PUFAs. Although the least enriched with PUFAs, brain phospholipids were the most significantly altered by ischemia using our rat model of cardiac arrest. Furthermore, the brain was unable to repair phospholipid alterations caused by ischemia following reperfusion. Overall, brain phospholipids are the least enriched with PUFAs, yet undergo the most significant alterations following ischemia/reperfusion. These findings demonstrate the need for a more global approach to the role of phospholipids and PUFAs in brain health and disease.
Anteile, Konzentrationen und Dichte

Im Labor kommt es oft vor, dass man nicht mit Reinsubstanzen, sondern mit Gemischen oder Losungen arbeitet. Hierbei machen die jeweiligen Wirkstoffe nur einen Teil der Gesamtmenge aus. Bei Feststoffgemischen wird der Anteil des Wirkstoffes in der Regel als Massenanteil angegeben. Bei Losungen dagegen als Massen- oder Stoffmengenkonzentration. Um mit letzterem rechnen zu konnen, wir eine kurze Einfuhrung zur chemischen Stoffmenge und den Begriff des Mol bzw. der Molmasse gegeben.