cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Lexical Content on Dichotic Speech Recognition in Older Adults.

Background Age-related auditory processing deficits have been shown to negatively affect speech recognition for older adult listeners. In contrast, older adults gain benefit from their ability to make use of semantic and lexical content of the speech signal (i.e., top-down processing), particularly in complex listening situations. Assessment of auditory processing abilities among aging adults should take into consideration semantic and lexical content of the speech signal. Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of lexical and attentional factors on dichotic speech recognition performance characteristics for older adult listeners. Research design A repeated measures design was used to examine differences in dichotic word recognition as a function of lexical and attentional factors. Study sample Thirty-five older adults (61-85 yr) with sensorineural hearing loss participated in this study. Data collection and analysis Dichotic speech recognition was evaluated using consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) word and nonsense CVC syllable stimuli administered in the free recall, directed recall right, and directed recall left response conditions. Results Dichotic speech recognition performance for nonsense CVC syllables was significantly poorer than performance for CVC words. Dichotic recognition performance varied across response condition for both stimulus types, which is consistent with previous studies on dichotic speech recognition. Inspection of individual results revealed that five listeners demonstrated an auditory-based left ear deficit for one or both stimulus types. Conclusions Lexical content of stimulus materials affects performance characteristics for dichotic speech recognition tasks in the older adult population. The use of nonsense CVC syllable material may provide a way to assess dichotic speech recognition performance while potentially lessening the effects of lexical content on performance (i.e., measuring bottom-up auditory function both with and without top-down processing).
Approaches to Autoimmune Diseases Using Epigenetic Therapy

Autoimmune diseases affect about 5% of the population of the world. The concepts behind epigenetic therapy for autoimmune disease are derived from the experience in the use of these agents in the treatment of cancer. The ability of epigenetic agents to influence transcription of tumor-suppressive genes as a means to treat cancer has been extrapolated to the relevant cell types believed to be involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. However, autoimmune disease possesses the additional problem of involvement of cell types that would otherwise be functioning normally in a patient without the disease, as opposed to abnormal tumor cells in cancer. Unlike many forms of cancer, we cannot simply remove or “delete” these cells. The dysfunctional immune cells in autoimmune diseases must be allowed to continue their work in protecting the host from infection or neoplasm at the same time that epigenetic therapeutic agents are suppressing their action in the development of autoimmune disease. Moreover, the specific target cell or target gene may not be clearly defined in autoimmune disease, and there are always redundant systems. Most current research on the development of epigenetic drugs for the treatment of autoimmune disease involves regulation of DNA methylation or histone acetylation. Other more recent advances that may be promising avenues for drug development include microRNAs. Each microRNA may have multiple gene targets and vice versa. The biggest challenges to overcome in epigenetic therapy of autoimmune diseases include specificity, safety, and reversibility. Besides treatment, epigenetic changes such as levels of DNA methylation can potentially be used as biomarkers for the screening or ongoing monitoring of patients with autoimmune diseases.
Concepts, Terms, and Mental Models: Everyday Challenges to Older Adult Social Media Adoption

Social connection and social support are strong predictors of well-being, but maintaining social relations often becomes more difficult at older ages. Because social media enhance feelings of connectedness and reduce feelings of loneliness, they may present accessible and relatively low cost mechanisms to enhance life quality at older ages. Using data gathered from two focus groups of potential older adult social media learners, we explored the physical and cognitive challenges to social media use, perceptions of social media benefits, and conceptual barriers to use. Findings support earlier studies that identify perceived benefit as important to social media adoption at older ages, and extend these by identifying that a lack in conceptual knowledge of these technologies is an additional barrier to use. We then discuss the cognitive implications of gaining this knowledge.
Epigenetics Chapter: The Role of Allergy in Chronic Rhinosinusitis

The central question “What is the role of allergy in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS)?” has several facets. Rather than being amenable to a single answer, the research in this field has asked a series of questions addressing components of the relationship. First, “Does underlying allergic disease contribute to the development of CRS?” Although there are no prospective studies examining this relationship, this question has been addressed in terms of studies showing a relationship between allergic rhinitis and sinus mucosal abnormalities and studies of the incidence of acute bacterial rhinosinmusitis in allergic rhinitis versus nonallergic controls. Second, “Is CRS more severe in patients with underlying allergies?” This question has been addressed in cross-sectional studies examining the extent of sinus mucosal disease in allergic versus nonallergic CRS patients. Third, “Is systemic IgE-mediated allergy a feature of CRS pathology?” This question has been addressed in studies examining differences in CRS tissue pathology in allergic versus nonallergic CRS patients. Fourth, “Is there a special role for local IgE medicated allergy in CRS pathogenesis?” This question has been addressed in studies that have searched for local IgE production to staphylococcal exotoxins and fungal allergens. Fifth, “Is there a different role for allergy in CRS/NP compared to CRS?” This question has been addressed in cross-sectional studies of systemic IgE-mediated allergy in these two conditions as well as studies showing a differential role for local IgE-mediated allergy in CRS/NP patients. Sixth, “Does allergic status impact results of sinus surgery?” This question has been addressed in prospective studies of the outcomes of endoscopic sinus surgery. Finally, “Is there a special role for non-IgE fungal allergen-driven eosinophil accumulation in CRS?” This question has been examined in studies of systemic immune hyperresponsiveness to particular fungal allergens, particularly Alt a1 and direct histopathologic studies of CRS mucus samples.
Consumer willingness to pay for beef grown using climate friendly production practices

The cattle industry contributes to U.S. agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Prescribed grazing can help reduce GHG emissions. We examine a hypothetical third party certified labeling program for beef from livestock operations using prescribed grazing. Willingness to support and pay for beef with the label is estimated using data from a survey of U.S. consumers. The findings are encouraging for producers and retailers pursuing niche markets for beef products. Estimated annual household willingness to pay is $306 among program supporters and $64 among all beef-consuming households. Support and willingness to pay are influenced by demographics, attitudes toward the environment and food production-distribution system, as well as perceived policy consequences of their survey responses.
Waiting to Be Sold: Prediction of Time-Dependent House Selling Probability

Buying or selling a house is one of the important decisions in a person's life. Online listing websites like "zillow.com", "trulia.com", and "realtor.com" etc. provide significant and effective assistance during the buy/sell process. However, they fail to supply one important information of a house that is, approximately how long will it take for a house to be sold after it first appears in the listing? This information is equally important for both a potential buyer and the seller. With this information the seller will have an understanding of what she can do to expedite the sale, i.e. reduce the asking price, renovate/remodel some home features, etc. On the other hand, a potential buyer will have an idea of the available time for her to react i.e. to place an offer. In this work, we propose a supervised regression (Cox regression) model inspired by survival analysis to predict the sale probability of a house given historical home sale information within an observation time window. We use real-life housing data collected from "trulia.com" to validate the proposed prediction algorithm and show its superior performance over traditional regression methods. We also show how the sale probability of a house is influenced by the values of basic house features, such as price, size, # of bedrooms, # of bathrooms, and school quality.
An integrated perspective on diabetic, alcoholic, and drug-induced neuropathy, etiology, and treatment in the US

Neuropathic pain (NeuP) is a syndrome that results from damaged nerves and/or aberrant regeneration. Common etiologies of neuropathy include chronic illnesses and medication use. Chronic disorders, such as diabetes and alcoholism, can cause neuronal injury and consequently NeuP. Certain medications with antineoplastic effects also carry an exquisitely high risk for neuropathy. These culprits are a few of many that are fueling the NeuP epidemic, which currently affects 7%-10% of the population. It has been estimated that approximately 10% and 7% of US adults carry a diagnosis of diabetes and alcohol disorder, respectively. Despite its pervasiveness, many physicians are unfamiliar with adequate treatment of NeuP, partly due to the few reviews that are available that have integrated basic science and clinical practice. In light of the recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that advise against the routine use of μ-opioid receptor-selective opioids for chronic pain management, such a review is timely. Here, we provide a succinct overview of the etiology and treatment options of diabetic and alcohol- and drug-induced neuropathy, three different and prevalent neuropathies fusing the combined clinical and preclinical pharmacological expertise in NeuP of the authors. We discuss the anatomy of pain and pain transmission, with special attention to key ion channels, receptors, and neurotransmitters. An understanding of pain neurophysiology will lead to a better understanding of the rationale for the effectiveness of current treatment options, and may lead to better diagnostic tools to help distinguish types of neuropathy. We close with a discussion of ongoing research efforts to develop additional treatments for NeuP.
The role of rotational atherectomy in contemporary chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention

Rotational atherectomy is performed infrequently (∼3.5%) during chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for two indications: treatment of balloon uncrossable and balloon undilatable lesions. Use of rotational atherectomy in CTO PCI was associated with high success and acceptable complication rates. Rotational atherectomy remains a "must have" device for interventional cardiologists performing complex PCI.
Physical Ecological Intervention: Environmental Design

Earlier chapters have presented and examined site, neighborhood, and regional characteristics which, in interaction with person qualities, function as antecedents or correlates of crime and aggression. In seeking to reduce the occurrence of such antisocial behavior, criminology, sociology, and psychology have traditionally focused primarily on the person component of the person-environment duet. Crimes, such disciplines hold, grew from those person characteristics collectively finding expression in criminal motivation. Reducing crime, therefore, required preventive and rehabilitative actions directed toward potential and existing perpetrators—counseling, behavior modification, probationary or parole stipulations, diversion programming, and so forth. In major contrast to this broadly held and widely implemented dispositional perspective on crime and aggression control, there has emerged in recent decades a series of philosophies which concern themselves with environmental, rather than perpetrator, intervention. These are each primarily criminal-opportunity-altering, rather than criminal-motivation-altering approaches. Each places its targeting emphasis much more heavily on the prevention of crime or aggression yet to occur than on the rehabilitation of already-existing criminals. Their names clearly reflect this focus: crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED; Angel, 1968; Jacobs, 1961; Wood, 1991), situational crime prevention (Clarke, 1992; Jeffery, 1977), and environmental criminology (Brantingham & Brantingham, 1991).
Genomic testing for localized prostate cancer: where do we go from here?

Purpose of reviewThe goal of this article is to discuss current genomic testing options in localized prostate cancer.Recent findingsThere are multiple genomic tests currently available for men with localized prostate cancer. Prolaris, OncotypeDx, and Decipher can all be tested using biopsy tissue. P
Radiation containment at a 1 MW high energy electron accelerator: Status of LCLS-II radiation physics design

LCLS-II will add a 4 GeV, 1 MHz, SCRF electron accelerator in the first 700 meters of the SLAC 2-mile Linac, as well as adjustable gap polarized undulators in the down-beam electron lines, to produce tunable, fully coherent X-rays in programmable bunch patterns. This facility will work in unison with the existing Linac Coherent Light Source, which uses the legacy copper cavities in the last third of the linac to deliver electrons between 2 and 17 GeV to an undulator line. The upgrade plan includes new beam lines, five stages of state of the art collimation that shall clean the high-power beam well up-beam of the radio-sensitive undulators, and new electron and photon beam dumps. This paper describes the challenges encountered to define efficient measures to protect machine, personnel, public and the environment from the potentially destructive power of the beam, while maximizing the reuse of existing components and infrastructure, and allowing for complex operational modes.
Chapter 20 – Questioned Documents

A questioned document is any piece of writing or printing whose source or authenticity is in doubt. Questioned document examiners undergo years of apprenticeship training before being certified to take their own cases. Questioned document examination involves many activities, including handwriting comparisons to determine the source of handwriting, typewriting or printing comparison, analysis of paper and inks, and restoration of altered documents. They also determine if a document has been forged or fraudulently produced. Handwriting comparisons are the most familiar of the tasks of the document examiner. Many characteristics of handwriting are characterized and it is necessary to have sufficient, timely, representative known samples of the subject's handwriting for comparison. There is no standard number of characteristics that must be found in the known and unknown sample, in order for the examiner to determine that a particular person wrote a document. There is a similar need for reliable known samples of typewriting, computer printing, or electrostatic copiers. Inks and papers are being given more attention in recent years. This especially applies to inks, where much research is being carried out to identify dyes in the inks. This analysis can also be used to determine the age of a writing sample by tracking the chemical aging of the dyes. Document examiners also examine charred and obliterated documents and documents where one line is written over top of another one.
Short-Term Spatial and Temporal Carbonate Chemistry Variability in Two Contrasting Seagrass Meadows : Implications for pH Buffering Capacities

It has been hypothesized that highly productive coastal ecosystems, such as seagrass meadows, could lead to the establishment of ocean acidification (OA) refugia, or areas of elevated pH and aragonite saturation state (Ωa) compared to source seawater. However, seagrass ecosystems experience extreme variability in carbonate chemistry across short temporal and small spatial scales, which could impact the pH buffering capacity of these potential refugia. Herein, short-term (hourly to diel) and small-scale (across 0.01–0.14 km2) spatiotemporal carbonate chemistry variability was assessed within two seagrass meadows in order to determine their short-term potential to elevate seawater pH relative to source seawater. Two locations at similar latitudes were chosen in order to compare systems dominated by coarse calcium carbonate (Bailey’s Bay, Bermuda) and muddy silicate (Mission Bay, CA, USA) sediments. In both systems, spatial variability of pH across the seagrass meadow at any given time was often greater than diel variability (e.g., the average range over 24 h) at any one site, with greater spatial variability occurring at low tide in Mission Bay. Mission Bay (spatial ΔpH = 0.08 ± 0.08; diel ΔpH = 0.12 ± 0.01; mean ± SD) had a greater average range in both temporal and spatial seawater chemistry than Bailey’s Bay (spatial ΔpH = 0.02 ± 0.01; diel ΔpH = 0.03 ± 0.00; mean ± SD). These differences were most likely due to a combination of slower currents, a larger tidal range, and more favorable weather conditions for photosynthesis (e.g., sunny with no rain) in Mission Bay. In both systems, there was a substantial amount of time (usually at night) when seawater pH within the seagrass beds was lower relative to the source seawater. Future studies aimed at assessing the potential of seagrass ecosystems to act as OA refugia for marine organisms need to account for the small-scale, high-frequency carbonate chemistry variability in both space and time, as this variability will impact where and when OA will be buffered or intensified.
Commentary on accounts for breaking the silence: an Israeli discourse of dissent

What are critical scholars to do when their country has been occupying a neighbor’s land for over 50 years and when this occupation is widely condemned worldwide (Abraham 2014)? The country in ques...
Stochastic Deliberation Scheduling using GSMDPs.

We propose a new decision-theoretic approach for solving execution-time deliberation scheduling problems using recent advances in Generalized Semi-Markov Decision Processes (GSMDPs). In particular, we use GSMDPs to more accurately model domains in which planning and execution occur concurrently, planimprovement actions have uncertain effects and duration, and events (such as threats) occur asynchronously and stochastically. We demonstrate a significant improvement in expressibility over previous discrete-time approximate models in which mission phase duration was fixed, failure events were synchronized with phase transitions, and planning time was discretized into constant-size planning quanta.
Motivations for Indoor Tanning: Theoretical Models

This chapter reviews the literature applying health behavior theories to indoor tanning. Few studies have tried to fit full versions of health behavior models to indoor tanning. Theoretical models from the family of theories referred to as the reasoned action approach (e.g., theory of planned behavior, behavioral alternative model, prototype willingness model, etc.) have been most commonly used to study indoor tanning. Results indicate that these models fit indoor tanning data moderately to extremely well. Two lesser known models, problem behavior theory and the terror management health model, have also demonstrated a reasonable fit. Two other common models, the health belief model and social cognitive theory, have never been fully tested with indoor tanning. However, key constructs from these models (e.g., perceived susceptibility and threat, modeling) have been used to understand indoor tanning. Empirical research conducted represents a solid start toward developing strong, comprehensive models of indoor tanning that can guide intervention efforts. This initial work needs to be expanded by conducting longitudinal studies and by including a broader age range in studies because the majority of existing work has focused on young adults. Incorporating findings related to tanning dependency, peer group affiliation, media influences and other constructs into these foundational models will also improve our understanding and ability to develop efficacious interventions to reduce engagement in this health risk behavior.
Promoting Self-Sufficiency? How HRA's Exclusion of Incarceration from the Definition of 'Temporary Absence' Contradicts Statuatory Mandates and Hurts New York Families

The New York City Human Resources Administration has implemented a policy that has a punitive and disproportionate impact on poor families of color. The policy departs from the legislative mandate to support New York’s neediest and most at risk by arbitrarily excluding incarceration from the definition of “temporary absence,” as it applies to the Cash Assistance program. Aside from the discriminatory impact on poor children and families, the policy decision comes at a higher cost to New York taxpayers in the midst of a financial crisis. This comment evaluates the legal flaws in the policy, the persons it targets, the families it affects, and how it must be remedied in order to truly promote self-sufficiency and survival for New Yorkers in need.
Echocardiographic changes following rabbit coronavirus infection.

Much of our understanding of the mechanisms by which viruses cause myocarditis and/or dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is based on animal models of virus-induced heart disease. Information concerning cardiac function during acute and/or chronic viral infection in these models is limited (1). A well defined model in a species conducive to monitoring of cardiac function is needed to enhance our understanding of viral induced heart disease. We have previously demonstrated that rabbit coronavirus (RbCV) infection results in degeneration and necrosis of myocytes, myocarditis, and gross organ and histopathologic changes of DCM (2,3). We have also shown that electrocardiographic changes observed during RbCV infection mimic those in humans with myocarditis and DCM (submitted). This chapter describes the echocardiographic changes observed during RbCV infection.
Frog and Toad Communication

Most species of frogs and toads produce intense vocalizations that function to attract mates or to repel potential rivals. The physical properties of these unlearned signals are distinct for each species in a particular locality. Research using synthetic calls has identified the properties of signals that are used by receivers – primarily females – to assess prospective mates. Choices based on some of these properties result in offspring with qualities indicative of increased fitness. Neurophysiologists have identified neurons at various levels in the auditory system that respond selectively to the most behaviorally effective values of these same properties.
Physical Map of Papaya Genome

Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-based fingerprinted physical maps have been proven to be a powerful tool in genomic and genetic studies. A BAC-based physical map of papaya was developed from the hermaphrodite papaya BAC library using the high-information-content fingerprinting approach to assist the whole-genome shotgun sequence assembly. The entire library of the hermaphrodite papaya BAC library was fingerprinted, and a total of 30,824 high-quality fingerprints were used to assemble fingerprinted contigs. The assembled physical map consists of 963 contigs, representing 9.4× genome equivalents. The papaya physical map was integrated with the genetic map and genome sequence by mapping microsatellite markers derived from BAC end sequences (BES) and the whole-genome shotgun sequences. The genome coverage of the physical map is estimated to be about 95.8 %, while 72.4 % of the genome was aligned to the genetic map. In addition, a total of 1,181 high-quality short overlapping oligonucleotide (overgo) probes representing conserved sequences in Arabidopsis and genetically mapped loci in Brassica were anchored on the physical map, which provides a foundation for comparative genomics in the Brassicales. The integrated genetic and physical map aligned with the genome sequence revealed recombination hot spots and regions of suppressed recombination across the genome, particularly on the recently evolved sex chromosomes. The integrated map facilitated the genomic draft sequence assembly and has been a valuable resource for papaya sex chromosome research and, perhaps more importantly, for comparative genomics and map-based cloning of agronomically and economically important genes.
Strengthening Epidemiologic Competencies Among Local Health Professionals in New York: Teaching Evidence-Based Public Health

Starting in 2004, the New York State Department of Health and the University at Albany Prevention Research Center collaboratively developed a course entitled Evidence-Based Public Health for Local Health Practice to strengthen epidemiologic and other competencies of public health professionals in local health departments. This article describes the development of the course and its adaptation to the needs of local public health staff. The course utilizes didactic sessions, computer labs, and scenario-based exercises to demonstrate the use of data and evidence in the decision-making process. Follow-up surveys found that information and skills that emphasized epidemiologic competencies were likely to be used regularly or occasionally by the majority of participants. Half of the participants said that their agency's use of evidence-based public health practices had increased. Few respondents were trained as epidemiologists, yet most reported they used those skills in the workplace, suggesting a need to strengthen these competencies among non-epidemiologists.
Revival of an antidote: bedside experience with physostigmine

Anticholinergic activity is relevant for many medicinal and natural toxins. Delirium is a common consequence of toxicity. A direct antidote is available, but not often used. At one toxicology cente...
False-Positive Serum Cocaine Screening Results in Patients Undergoing Evaluation for Renal Transplant

Drug screening during pre-transplant evaluations can have major implications for patient care, particularly because drug abuse has been associated with poor transplant outcomes. Although urine drug screening is usually preferred, serum testing is available for situations such as anuria due to end stage renal disease. However, there are few studies evaluating serum drug screening in specific populations such as patients undergoing kidney transplant evaluation. All serum drug screens ordered between January 2015 and November 2017 on patients being evaluated for renal transplant were compared against a large population of serum drug screens ordered from other institutions. Cocaine screening and confirmation results were evaluated to determine false positives. Cocaine screens were positive in 23 of 537 (4.3%) pre-transplant samples, and 211 of 5,115 (4.1%) comparison samples. Confirmation testing demonstrated that 14 (60.9%) pre-transplant samples were false positives, which was significantly (P < 0.01) higher than the rate of false positives in the comparison group (47/211, 22.3%). No common medication or other cross-reacting substance could be identified in the pre-transplant cohort to explain the false-positive results. Although serum cocaine screening had a low overall false-positive rate, the proportion of false positives was significantly higher in pre-transplant patients. Given the poor transplant outcomes associated with drug abuse, failure to properly interpret screening results as being false positives could negatively affect patient care. All members of the transplant team should recognize the importance of confirmation testing in this setting, to avoid unintended consequences due to false-positive screening results.
A Practical Guide for Health Service Providers on the Design, Development, and Deployment of Smartphone Apps for the Delivery of Clinical Services

The availability of healthcare-focused smartphone applications, or “apps,” has grown exponentially over the last decade. Despite widespread usage, many have been concluded to lack both a research-informed design, and empirical testing, leading some healthcare providers to consider developing their own. Self-designing can not only lead to the addressing of potential concerns with commercially available apps, but could also allow for the creation and tailoring of such programs to the unique needs of the provider or their treated population. While development can be an exciting and mentally stimulating endeavor, there are many concerns and considerations that healthcare providers should evaluate when designing, creating, and assessing a smartphone app. Unfortunately, few resources currently exist to guide providers through such a process. As such, the purpose of this research- and experience-informed synthesis is to briefly outline the general process and considerations a healthcare provider should evaluate when developing an evidence-informed healthcare app.
Mydas clavatus (Diptera: Mydidae), a New State Record for Colorado, U.S.A.

The widespread eastern North American mydas fly, Mydas clavatus (Drury, 1773) is reported for the first time from eastern Colorado. Including M. clavatus, six species of Mydidae are now known from Colorado. these also include M. luteipennis Loew, 1866, M. xanthopterus Loew, 1866, Nemomydas solitarius (Johnson, 1926), N. venosus (Loew, 1866), and Phyllomydas phyllocerus Bigot, 1880.
Investigation of a dilated cardiomyopathy–associated variant in BAG3 using genome-edited iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes

Mutations in B cell lymphoma 2-associated athanogene 3 (BAG3) are recurrently associated with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and muscular dystrophy. Using isogenic genome-edited human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs), we examined how a DCM-causing BAG3 mutation (R477H), as well as complete loss of BAG3 (KO), impacts myofibrillar organization and chaperone networks. Although unchanged at baseline, fiber length and alignment declined markedly in R477H and KO iPSC-CMs following proteasome inhibition. RNA sequencing revealed extensive baseline changes in chaperone- and stress response protein-encoding genes, and protein levels of key BAG3 binding partners were perturbed. Molecular dynamics simulations of the BAG3-HSC70 complex predicted a partial disengagement by the R477H mutation. In line with this, BAG3-R477H bound less HSC70 than BAG3-WT in coimmunoprecipitation assays. Finally, myofibrillar disarray triggered by proteasome inhibition in R477H cells was mitigated by overexpression of the stress response protein heat shock factor 1 (HSF1). These studies reveal the importance of BAG3 in coordinating protein quality control subsystem usage within the cardiomyocyte and suggest that augmenting HSF1 activity might be beneficial as a means to mitigate proteostatic stress in the context of BAG3-associated DCM.
Interpretable Convolutional Neural Network Through Layer-wise Relevance Propagation for Machine Fault Diagnosis

As a state-of-the-art pattern recognition technique, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been increasingly investigated for machine fault diagnosis, due to their ability in analyzing nonlinear and nonstationary high-dimensional data that are typically associated with the performance degradation process of machines. A key issue of interest is how the inputs to CNNs that contain fault-related patterns are learned by CNNs to recognize discriminatory information for fault diagnosis. Understanding this link will help establish connection to the physical meaning of the diagnosis, contributing to the broad acceptance of CNNs as a trustworthy complement to physics-based reasoning by human experts. Using Layer-wise Relevance Propagation (LRP) as an indicator, this paper investigates the performance of a CNN trained by time-frequency spectra images of vibration signals measured on an induction motor. The LRP provides pixel-level representation of which values in the input signal contribute the most to the diagnosis results, thereby providing an improved understanding of how the CNN learns to distinguish between fault types from these inputs. Results have shown that the patterns learned by CNNs in the time-frequency spectra images are intuitive and consistent with respect to network re-training. Comparison with using raw time series and discrete Fourier transform coefficients as inputs reveals that time-frequency images allow for more consistent pattern recognition by CNNs.
Computational solutions for modeling and controlling plant response to abiotic stresses: a review with focus on iron deficiency

Computational solutions enable plant scientists to model protein-mediated stress responses and characterize novel gene functions that coordinate responses to a variety of abiotic stress conditions. Recently, density functional theory was used to study proteins active sites and elucidate enzyme conversion mechanisms involved in iron deficiency responsive signaling pathways. Computational approaches for protein homology modeling and the kinetic modeling of signaling pathways have also resolved the identity and function in proteins involved in iron deficiency signaling pathways. Significant changes in gene relationships under other stress conditions, such as heat or drought stress, have been recently identified using differential network analysis, suggesting that stress tolerance is achieved through asynchronous control. Moreover, the increasing development and use of statistical modeling and systematic modeling of transcriptomic data have provided significant insight into the gene regulatory mechanisms associated with abiotic stress responses. These types of in silico approaches have facilitated the plant science community's future goals of developing multi-scale models of responses to iron deficiency stress and other abiotic stress conditions.
Clinical pathway for the Fontan patient to standardise care and improve outcomes.

Introduction The Fontan procedure is the final stage of surgical palliation for the children with functionally single ventricle anatomy. The post-operative medical management of this patient population can be variable and hospital length of stay prolonged. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine if the implementation of an evidence-based clinical pathway for post-operative management of the Fontan patient at a large Midwestern academic paediatric medical centre would standardise care and decrease length of stay. Materials and methods The clinical pathway was developed using key components from three published pathways for the Fontan procedure from other paediatric institutions across the United States. Components of the clinical pathway included (1) supplemental oxygen until pleural drainage tubes are removed, (2) fluid restriction to 80% daily maintenance and a prescribed low-fat diet, (3) aggressive and standardised diuretic therapy while inpatient and (4) central venous access. The pathway was trialed using Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles in 2016, implemented in 2017 and sustained in 2018-2019. A retrospective electronic medical record review was performed to compare key outcomes from pre-pathway (2014-2015, 37 patients) with post-pathway implementation (2017-2018, 30 patients). Results Adherence to the pathway was nearly 100% with a statistically significant decrease in length of stay from 12 to 9 days (p = 0.007) and no increase in readmissions. Conclusion Standardising care can improve clinical and financial outcomes for the Fontan patient population without negatively impacting quality of care, thus providing a positive benefit to the healthcare institution, industry and patient.
Genome reconstruction of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) from archival Davidson's-fixed paraffin embedded shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) tissue

Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues are a priceless resource for diagnostic laboratories worldwide. However, DNA extracted from these tissues is often not optimal for most downstream molecular analysis due to fragmentation and chemical modification. In this study, the complete genome of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) was reconstructed from ~ 2-year-old archived Davidson’s-fixed paraffin-embedded (DFPE) shrimp tissue using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). A histological analysis was performed on archived DFPE shrimp tissue and a sample showing a high level of WSSV infection was selected for molecular analysis. The viral infection was further confirmed by molecular methods. DNA isolated from DFPE and fresh frozen (FF) tissues were sequenced by NGS. The complete genome reconstruction of WSSV (~ 305 kbp) was achieved from both DFPE and FF tissue. Single nucleotide polymorphisms, insertion and deletions were compared between the genomes. Thirty-eight mutations were identified in the WSSV genomes from the DFPE and FF that differed from the reference genome. This is the first study that has successfully sequenced the complete genome of a virus of over 300 kbp from archival DFPE tissue. These findings demonstrate that DFPE shrimp tissue represents an invaluable resource for prospective and retrospective studies, evolutionary studies and opens avenues for pathogen discovery.
Uses, Cost-Benefit Analysis, and Markets of Energy Storage Systems for Electric Grid Applications

Abstract Energy storage systems (ESS) are increasingly deployed in both transmission and distribution grids for various benefits, especially for improving renewable energy penetration. Along with the industrial acceptance of ESS, research on storage technologies and their grid applications is also undergoing rapid progress. We present an overview of ESS including different storage technologies, various grid applications, cost-benefit analysis, and market policies. First, we classify storage technologies with grid application potential into several groups according to the form of energy stored. This classification is presented to summarize technological and economic characteristics of storage technologies and also present the recent development of these technologies. Next, we categorize the grid applications of ESS into several groups based on the physical location, service type, and working principle. We also review the state-of-the-art optimization and control methodologies for each application group. Furthermore, we present the cost-benefit analysis for three types of investors and a comprehensive comparison among market policies for the participation of ESS in different wholesale markets. Finally, we highlight several future research directions that are derived from this review. To improve the performance and profitability of ESS for electric grid applications, future research should have a focus on developing decision-making tools for determining the storage technology, installed capacity, and operating strategy. This research focus should be supported by the further developments of component-level performance and aging models, system-level market frameworks, and cost-benefit analysis.
Swinburne’s Expansive Poetics

Elizabeth Helsinger argues for the co-constitutive influences of the Pre-Raphaelites and A. C. Swinburne. Swinburne was, of course, very much a part of the social and professional circles surrounding D. G. Rossetti in the late 1850s and the 1860s. Reading Atalanta in Calydon (1865) as well as later poems, Helsinger argues that Swinburne’s poetry relates to Pre-Raphaelite poetics by attending to their formal aims and practices applied on a wholly different scale. Both prosodically and philosophically, Swinburne is interested in scales of time and space far greater than those invoked by his Pre-Raphaelite friends, or indeed most of his Victorian contemporaries. Instead, Swinburne invokes an inhuman—or, a more than human—scale of time and space that reflects the formal and thematic strangeness of poetic Pre-Raphaelitism.
Managing dynamic group membership in the evolving digital spaces

Groups’ features in digital tools provide easy and simple ways to communicate with multiple members who share a common objective or participate together in activities to achieve certain shared goals. Number of groups in enterprises, institutions and social networks has grown tremendously. Groups have their identity and a membership list in the digital spaces that need to be managed efficiently. Addition of new members to groups or changing roles within a group has found a disciplined approach and adoption. However pruning of groups based on activity and participation has not been a strength in group management in most organizations which impacts information security and time of members in the groups from unnecessary calendar entries due to this sub-optimal group management. The paper analyzes impacts from efforts involved with the corrective measures undertaken today due to the deficiencies and proposes measures and steps to improve the group management activities to reduce the impacts. The paper discusses potential automation or feature enhancements in the digital tools that enables measurement to trigger improvements in the methods of groups’ management to mitigate the said impacts.
Enhanced spatiotemporal resolution imaging of neuronal activity using joint electroencephalography and diffuse optical tomography

Significance: Electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) are both commonly used methodologies for neuronal source reconstruction. While EEG has high temporal resolution (millisecond-scale), its spatial resolution is on the order of centimeters. On the other hand, in comparison to EEG, fNIRS, or diffuse optical tomography (DOT), when used for source reconstruction, can achieve relatively high spatial resolution (millimeter-scale), but its temporal resolution is poor because the hemodynamics that it measures evolve on the order of several seconds. This has important neuroscientific implications: e.g., if two spatially close neuronal sources are activated sequentially with only a small temporal separation, single-modal measurements using either EEG or DOT alone would fail to resolve them correctly. Aim: We attempt to address this issue by performing joint EEG and DOT neuronal source reconstruction. Approach: We propose an algorithm that utilizes DOT reconstruction as the spatial prior of EEG reconstruction, and demonstrate the improvements using simulations based on the ICBM152 brain atlas. Results: We show that neuronal sources can be reconstructed with higher spatiotemporal resolution using our algorithm than using either modality individually. Further, we study how the performance of the proposed algorithm can be affected by the locations of the neuronal sources, and how the performance can be enhanced by improving the placement of EEG electrodes and DOT optodes. Conclusions: We demonstrate using simulations that two sources separated by 2.3-3.3 cm and 50 ms can be recovered accurately using the proposed algorithm by suitably combining EEG and DOT, but not by either in isolation. We also show that the performance can be enhanced by optimizing the electrode and optode placement according to the locations of the neuronal sources.
Xavier de Maistre: A Voyage Around My Room

De Maistre wrote this while under house arrest for participating in a duel. The idea for the novel must have had at least some relationship to Sterne’s Sentimental Journey (1768) in which “the narrator, Yorick lists the different types of travelers, before describing his own type, the ‘Sentimental Traveller’.” In describing these types and throughout the work, Yorick often makes use of the same comedic immodesty Tristram used to such good effect in Sterne’s earlier work. We see that allusion to Sterne, but there is the implied notion that one is also reading a “travelogue,” a fictional travelogue to be sure, but a travelogue nonetheless and, by its structure, a pre-postmodern fictional travelogue.
Phenotype-Guided Inflammation-Related Long Non-Coding RNA Discovery in Heart Failure Survival Prediction

Purpose Disease associated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) may yield biomarkers to assess the risk of disease progression, facilitating treatment decisions. We hypothesize that identification of lncRNA genes related to recovery/survival outcome in Advanced Heart Failure (AdHF) patients after various surgical/interventional therapies (S/IT), and integration of these lncRNAs into our existing independently validated outcome prediction algorithm further improves the survival prediction precision vs clinical parameters alone. Methods Study was conducted on 77 AdHF patients undergoing various S/IT. Clinical data was collected within 30 days before and 1 year post S/IT. All patients were assigned survivor/non survivor status based on 1 year outcome. Blood samples were collected within 30 days pre-intervention. Total RNA was isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) for RNAseq genomic/transcriptomic analysis. Raw RNAseq data was aligned to Hg19 build and subjected to DESeq normalization in StrandNGS software (3.2). Genes with fold change of 2.0 were included in the analysis. Biological significance, functional characterization, pathway analysis were assessed using GO annotations/KEGG/DAVID/BioCarta/GeneCards/LNCipedia databases. Results Out of 161 differentially expressed and patented AdHF outcome prediction genes we identified 13 lncRNAs related to 1 year survival/functional recovery. SEPT5-GP1BB was upregulated in AdHF patients surviving after S/IT and its neighbor protein coding genes (SEPT5, GP1BB, synphilin1, PARK2) involved in proteolysis pathway responsible for degrading regulatory proteins, have a role in immune/inflammatory responses. HIF1A-AS2 was upregulated in surviving patients and can be predictive based on its effect on the organ failure/hypoxia induced angiogenesis. XIST was upregulated in surviving patients, it is known to co-occur with at least 14 coding genes. The predictive information of XIST on survival might be linked to its immunomodulatory effect. Conclusion Differentially expressed lncRNA genes from PBMCs are correlated with recovery/1 year survival outcomes in AdHF patients and can be systematically identified by a phenotype guided NGS strategy. Incorporation of lncRNA data will allow for optimization of our existing multidimensional outcome prediction algorithm.
Myofibroblast transcriptome indicates SFRP2+ fibroblast progenitors in systemic sclerosis skin

ABSTRACT Skin and lung fibrosis in systemic sclerosis (SSc) is driven by myofibroblasts, alpha-smooth muscle actin expressing cells that arise from a variety of cell types in murine fibrosis models. Utilizing single cell RNA-sequencing to examine the transcriptome changes, we show that SSc dermal myofibroblasts arise from an SFRP2/DPP4-expressing progenitor fibroblast population that globally upregulates expression of transcriptome markers, such as PRSS23 and THBS1. Only a fraction of SSc fibroblasts differentiate into myofibroblasts, as shown by expression of additional markers, SFRP4 and FNDC1. The myofibroblast transcriptome implicates upstream transcription factors that drive myofibroblast differentiation.