cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamic Simulation Platform for Power Market and Power System Part One Function Design

This three-part paper introduces the design of dynamic simulation platform for power market power system(DSPMPS),which is a novel simulation platform for the dynamic interactive simulation study of power market and power system.As part one,requirements of power market simulation and technical supports for simulation platform are reviewed;the design objective is presented.The function design of DSPMPS is introduced through the three essential elements of simulation platform,namely information acquisition,knowledge extraction and decision support.The function design will be the design basis for both support layer and application layer.Important tasks are the implementation of experimental economics,multi-discipline dynamic interactive simulation,on-line quantitative risk analysis,multi-criterion and multi-control decision supports.Research work already carried out has validated the effectiveness of DSPMPS.
Retinoids. A window into vertebrate development.

Vitamin A is required for maintaining healthy epithelial tissues, e.g., skin and gut, normal reproductive capacity, and vision. Vitamin A deficiency also causes premalignant changes in epithelial tissues. These observations led to the use of retinoids (vitamin A-related compounds) in treating various skin diseases and more recently to inhibit cancer growth. Retinoids are extremely teratogenic to developing vertebrate embryos, a fact which limits their clinical usefulness. In particular, specific malformations of skeletal structures are often observed; for instance, retinoic acid induces craniofacial and limb deformities in avian and mammalian embryos. Recent technological advances have increased our understanding of how retinoids affect vertebrate development. Some newly discovered mechanisms underlying these actions are reviewed.
Team coordination and organizational routines: bottoms up – and top down

Purpose – Conceptualizations of work coordination historically assumed that work systems are put into place and that these systems shape the ability of workers to accomplish tasks. Formalization has thus long been invoked as an explanatory mechanism for work coordination. Recent studies have extended interest in emergent implicit and relational coordination, yet their underlying mechanisms of bottom-up coordination have yet to be explicated such that formal top-down coordination can be approached as a complementary mechanism rather than an alternative substitute. The purpose of this paper is to integrate the literatures related to coordination and routines, and extend analysis of bottom-up coordination toward an understanding of how it can be complemented by top-down formalized coordination of routines within organizations. Implications of this work, for both theory and practice, are discussed. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual review was conducted. Findings – By integrating the literatures related to coordination and routines, the authors extend analysis of bottom-up coordination toward an understanding of how it can be complemented by top-down formalized coordination of routines within organizations. Research limitations/implications – From a theory-based point of view, in the present work, the authors integrated the literatures related to coordination and routines and arrived at the conclusion that bottom-up coordination can be complemented by top-down formalized coordination of routines within organizations. Practical implications – The authors suggest that there is a need in the contemporary workplace for implicit, relational processes to enable individuals to continuously assess what changes are needed and adapt coordinated routines to accomplish the task at hand. This propensity will continue to increase as technology facilitates even more seamless communication among employees, organizations, and external partners. Originality/value – For the first time the authors integrate the literatures related to coordination and routines, in order to extend analysis of bottom-up coordination toward an understanding of how it can be complemented by top-down formalized coordination of routines within organizations.
Undergraduate Social Welfare Policy Debates: An Assessment of Outcomes Using the Policy Debate Rating Scale

This research empirically assessed the learning outcomes of structured debates in an undergraduate social welfare policy course. The longitudinal mixed-method study represents the only one in the literature on social policy debates in undergraduate social work education. For the five cohorts of students surveyed, the Policy Debate Rating Scale assessed learning outcomes on cognitive, behavioral/affective, and comparative perspective dimensions. The results showed strong evidence of higher level learning and supports the use of active learning to promote critical thinking, public speaking, and policy practice skills among social workers. Implications for future policy practice such as the need for more instruction on dialectics, differential perspectives, and improved designs for future research are discussed.
Product recommendation with latent review topics

Online customer reviews complement information from product and service providers. While the latter is directly from the source of the product and/or service, the former is generally from users of these products and/or services. Clearly, these two information sets are generated from different perspectives with possibly different sets of intentions. For a prospective customer, both these perspectives together provide a complementary set of information and support their purchase decisions. Given the different perspective and incentive structure, the information from these two source sets tends to be necessarily biased, clearly with the high probability of negative information omission from that provided by the product/service providers. Moreover, customers oftentimes face information overload during their attempts at deciphering existing online customer reviews. We attempt to alleviate this through mining hidden information in online customer reviews. We use a variant of the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model and clustering to generate equivalent options that the customer could then use in their purchase decisions. We illustrate this using online hotel review data.
Measuring time-frequency importance functions of speech with bubble noise.

Listeners can reliably perceive speech in noisy conditions, but it is not well understood what specific features of speech they use to do this. This paper introduces a data-driven framework to identify the time-frequency locations of these features. Using the same speech utterance mixed with many different noise instances, the framework is able to compute the importance of each time-frequency point in the utterance to its intelligibility. The mixtures have approximately the same global signal-to-noise ratio at each frequency, but very different recognition rates. The difference between these intelligible vs unintelligible mixtures is the alignment between the speech and spectro-temporally modulated noise, providing different combinations of “glimpses” of speech in each mixture. The current results reveal the locations of these important noise-robust phonetic features in a restricted set of syllables. Classification models trained to predict whether individual mixtures are intelligible based on the locatio...
The Heme Connection: Linking Erythrocytes and Macrophage Biology

Erythroid function and development is intimately linked to macrophages. The primary function of erythrocytes is oxygen delivery, which is mediated by iron-containing hemoglobin. The major source of this iron is a recycling pathway where macrophages scavenge old and damaged erythrocytes to release iron contained within the heme moiety. Macrophages also promote erythropoiesis by providing a supportive niche in the bone-marrow as an integral component of ‘erythorblastic islands’. Importantly, inflammation leads to alterations in iron-handling by macrophages with significant impact on iron homeostasis and erythropoiesis. The importance of macrophages in erythropoiesis and iron homeostasis is well established and has been extensively reviewed. However, this developmental relationship is not one-way and erythrocytes can also regulate macrophage development and function. Erythrocyte-derived heme can induce the development of iron-recycling macrophages from monocytes, engage pattern recognition receptors to activate macrophages, and act as ligand for specific nuclear receptors to modulate macrophage function. Here we discuss the role of heme as a signaling molecule impacting macrophage homeostasis. We will review these actions of heme within the framework of our current understanding on the role of micro-environmental factors in macrophage development and function.
An Ecological Momentary Assessment of Primiparous Women’s Breastfeeding Behavior and Problems From Birth to 8 Weeks

Background:Primiparous women are at risk for early, unintended breastfeeding reduction and cessation. Breastfeeding patterns that contribute to these outcomes require further exploration.Research aim:This study aimed to describe early, “real-time” breastfeeding behaviors and perceived problems of primiparous women.Methods:First-time mothers intending to exclusively breastfeed downloaded a commercial infant-feeding app during their postpartum hospitalization. Women logged feedings and their breastfeeding experiences, as they occurred, through 8 weeks postpartum. Additional feeding and background data were collected via electronic medical records and questionnaires administered at enrollment and 2 and 8 weeks postpartum. Summary statistics were compiled to examine weekly breastfeeding behaviors and problems.Results:In this sample of 61 primarily highly educated, White women committed to breastfeeding, 38% (n = 23) used formula during the postpartum hospitalization and 68% (n = 34) used formula at least once...
Synthesis and integration of 2D Iron Phosphate sheets for energy storage devices

This work presents the synthesis, assembly, and integration of two-dimensional (2D) phosphate sheets Lithium-ion energy storage devices. Three achievements have been accomplished in this work: (1) synthesis and assembly of 2D, poly-crystalline phosphate sheets greater than 50μm2 in area, and (2) 3× improved capacitance of an Iron-Phosphate-Polypyrrole battery/supercapacitor (3.6 mF/cm2) over bare Polypyrrole (PPY) films, and (3) 20× improved capacitance of an FePO 4 -Carbon Nanotube (CNT) battery/supercapacitor (20.8 mF/cm2) over bare CNT-based electrodes.
Einstein Frequency Measurement for a Strongly Coupled Dusty Plasma

The Einstein frequency $\Omega _{E}$ was experimentally determined for a 2-D dusty plasma. We found $\Omega _{E}= 49.4 ~\text{s}^{-1}$ and 50.2 s−1 for the collection of microspheres in a crystalline and liquid-like state, respectively. Comparing to the nominal 2-D dust plasma frequency $\omega _{\mathrm {pd}}$ , we found the ratio $\Omega _{ E}$ / $\omega _{\mathrm {pd}}\approx 1$ / $\surd 3$ . This experimental ratio is consistent with previous predictions of Yukawa simulations. Our results were obtained by analyzing images of the microspheres to obtain their positions, charge, and the screening length; we used these measurements to calculate resonant frequencies of test particles.
Modeling the broadband electromagnetic induction response of three-dimensional targets

Broadband electromagnetic induction sensors are effective at detecting and classifying buried metal. Electromagnetic induction sensors operate by exciting eddy currents in conducting targets using a primary magnetic field and measuring the scattered magnetic response. Broadband sensors gather increased information about the flow of eddy currents relative to narrowband sensors. A dipole model can be fitted to the scattered response, which allows the scattering mechanism to be represented using a frequency-dependent magnetic polarizability tensor. This tensor can be decomposed into a pole expansion of frequency-independent tensors, which represent the scattering of the natural modes of the eddy current problem, and a corresponding relaxation frequency that characterizes the mode’s exponential decay in time. The pole-expansion coefficients are valuable for target classification and for discriminating targets from clutter. In this paper, a volume integral method is used to compute the pole-expansion coefficient of a few canonical three-dimensional targets. These coefficients can be used to compute the eddy-current response of a larger subset of targets.
Computational Study of the Magnus Effect on Boattailed Shell at Supersonic Speeds

The thin-layer Parabolized Navier-Stokes computational technique developed recently by Schiff and Steger has been shown to be a viable computational tool for predicting Magnus effects at small angle of attack for 2 < M < 4 for slender shell as verified by comparison to wind tunnel force measurements. This computational technique is applied here to examine the ability of the code to predict aerodynamic forces at angles of attack up to 10-degrees and to study the Magnus effect at small angle of attack for a parametric variation of boattail configuration. The model geometries in this study include boattail angles of 0°, 5°, 7–1/2°, and 10° for lengths of one and two calibers. This range of boattail angle and length effectively spans the range for practical shell application. Results are shown which quantize the significant effects of boattail length and angle on the Magnus force at supersonic velocity.
Surface Integrity When Machining Metal Matrix Composites

Traditional machining operations normally lead to the alterations of surface and subsurface that makes it different from the bulk material. In order to avoid undesirable alterations that may have adverse affect on the quality of the machined components it is essential to know the various types of alteration and their origin. It is also important to know the cutting parameters and tool geometry that will lead to machined components of high-quality.
Putting Imagination to Work

Major or radical innovations cannot happen without imagination synergized with creativity. Imagination is thinking outside of the box, and creativity is functioning within the box. These two must interact and reach for a higher plateau. Not all radical innovations are of the same level of importance or the same level of societal impact. Radical innovations may be loosely categorized as either major breakthroughs or superior radical innovations. Imagination and creativity may not be functioning equally in these two types, but they are powerful influences and are critical for the society first and the corporate entity second. This chapter explores how imagination and creativity and may be brought into action on the way to innovation.
Progress and Priorities in Research to Improve Outcomes for Students With or at Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

The Peacock Hill Working Group (PHWG) published a seminal position article nearly 30 years ago on the state of the field of special education for children with emotional and behavioral disorders (E...
The Development of Cohesiveness and Self Esteem in an Experientially Oriented Training Group

Cohesiveness is an important phenomena in the development and functioning of groups. The results of the present study indicate that although there were no direct interventions focused on cohesivene...
Asymptomatic myocardial ischemia forecasts adverse events in cardiovascular magnetic resonance dobutamine stress testing of high-risk middle-aged and elderly individuals

Current guidelines for assessing the risk of experiencing a hospitalized cardiovascular (CV) event discourage stress testing of asymptomatic individuals; however, these recommendations are based on evidence gathered primarily from those aged 55 years without CV-related symptoms nor known coronary artery disease, but otherwise at increased risk for a future CV event due to pre-existing hypertension or diabetes mellitus for at least 5 years. After adjusting for the demographics and CV risk factors, log-rank test and Cox proportional hazards models determined the additional predictive value of the stress test results for forecasting hospitalized CV events/survival. Either stress-induced LV wall motion abnormalities or perfusion defects were used to indicate myocardial ischemia. Participants averaged 68 ± 8 years in age; 39% men, 75% Caucasian. There were 38 hospitalized CV events or deaths which occurred during a mean follow-up of 58 months. Using Kaplan-Meier analyses, myocardial ischemia identified future CV events/survival (p < 0.001), but this finding was more evident in men (p < 0.001) versus women (p = 0.27). The crude hazard ratio (HR) of myocardial ischemia for CV events/survival was 3.13 (95% CI: 1.64–5.93; p < 0.001). After accounting for baseline demographics, CV risk factors, and left ventricular ejection fraction/mass, myocardial ischemia continued to be associated with CV events/survival [HR: 4.07 (95% CI: 1.95–8.73) p < 0.001]. Among asymptomatic middle-aged individuals with risk factors for a sentinel CV event, the presence of myocardial ischemia during dobutamine CMR testing forecasted a future hospitalized CV event or death. Further studies are needed in middle aged and older individuals to more accurately characterize the prevalence, significance, and management of asymptomatic myocardial ischemia. ( ClinicalTrials.gov identifier): NCT00542503 and was retrospectively registered on October 11th, 2007.
From Distributed Generation to Virtual Power Plants: The Future of Electric Power Systems

Due to the reduction of fossil fuel production quantities, the communities started to ask: what is the future of electric power systems? Alternative answers and solutions are proposed to be applied instead of conventional fossil fuel power plants. Renewable energy sources are leading these alternatives like wind energy and photovoltaics. From 1990s, consumers start to use dispersed stochastically renewable energy sources in a small scale, in the so called distributed generation. Gradually, the distributed generations started to interconnect together. Developments in communications, computers and information systems, forced these interconnections to take a new shape of electric power systems and called smart grids. The future look to move from smart grids to super grids is really lead to a new concept; microgrids. With deregulation roles, digital power networks, is started to take a place as a new energy-on-demand approach to electric power systems. To serve the approach of digital power networks, the active network management, internet of -thinking- things and the transactive energy concepts are carried out for the adequate operation of these digital networks. This paper will demonstrate the eight terminologies and technologies: distributed generation, smart grid, super grid, microgrid, digital power network, active network management, internet of -thinking- things, and transactive energy concept. Also, it will study the leading reasons to consider the virtual power plants to be the suitable future type of electric power systems.
Does Screw Location Affect the Risk of Subtrochanteric Femur Fracture After Femoral Neck Fixation? A Biomechanical Study.

Background Case reports suggest that there is an increased risk of subtrochanteric femur fracture after femoral neck fixation with cannulated screws when the distal-most screw is placed distal to the lesser trochanter. However, to our knowledge, there are no biomechanical data supporting this observation. Questions/purposes (1) Is there an increased risk of subtrochanteric femur fracture after femoral neck fixation with cannulated screws in normal density and osteoporotic Sawbones when the distal-most screw is started distal to the lesser trochanter? (2) Does the screw starting point position after femoral neck fixation with cannulated screws affect load to failure when normal density and osteoporotic Sawbones are loaded through their mechanical axis? Methods Normal density and osteoporotic Sawbones femora were instrumented with three cannulated screws in a triangular apex distal configuration with the distal-most screw starting either proximal to, at, or distal to the level of the lesser trochanter. Specimens were loaded along the mechanical axis to failure. The fracture location and ultimate load to failure were compared between groups. Results The screw start point distal to the lesser trochanter resulted in a greater proportion of subtrochanteric femur fractures compared with screw start points at or proximal to the lesser trochanter in the subset of osteoporotic specimens (three of 10 specimens versus 0 of 20 specimens; p = 0.030). No subtrochanteric femur fractures were observed in the normal density specimens. Load to failure was lower when the distal-most screw was started distal to the lesser trochanter than when it was started at or proximal to the lesser trochanter (normal density subset 13,502 ± 1980 N versus 14,675 ±1528 N; osteoporotic subset 8946 ± 1509 N versus 10,026 ± 1256 N; linear regression coefficient 1127 N [95% CI 298 to 1956 N]; adjusted r = 0.71; p = 0.009). Conclusions A screw start point distal to the lesser trochanter was associated with subtrochanteric femur fractures in the osteoporotic subset. Additionally, there was decreased load to failure when the distal-most screw was started distal to the lesser trochanter. Clinical relevance These data suggest that avoiding a screw start point distal to the level of the lesser trochanter in femoral neck fracture fixation may decrease the risk of catastrophic subtrochanteric femur fractures, especially in patients with osteoporosis. However, it should be noted that a more overall varus screw alignment could theoretically compromise the ability to achieve compression across the fracture, with attendant implications with regard to fracture union in the acute setting.
The Emergence of Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems (RMSs)

The reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) was introduced in the last decade of the twentieth century as a novel engineering response to volatile global markets that instigated large uncertainty in product demand. Today, most automotive engines and powertrain components in Europe and in the USA are produced on RMS. The RMS has matrix-type system architecture and contains CNC machines arranged in operational stages and in-line inspection machines. To enable the rapid responsiveness, the RMS possesses six characteristics: scalability, convertibility, diagnosability, modularity, integrability and customization. This chapter discusses the emergence of reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMSs).
Goodbye is Just the Beginning

Loss is universal. Loss is inevitable. Loss of a parent is an experience we all face. For some of us we face the loss of the people we grew up with. Those who do not grow up with their parents face...
Emergency room endotracheal intubation in children with bronchiolitis: A cohort study using a multicenter database.

Background and Aims Bronchiolitis and asthma have a clinical overlap, and it has been shown that pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients with asthma undergoing endotracheal intubation in a community hospital emergency room (ER) have a shorter duration of mechanical ventilation (MV) and PICU length of stay (LOS) vs children undergoing intubation in a children's hospital. We aimed to determine if the setting of intubation (community vs children's hospital ER) is associated with the duration of MV and PICU LOS among children with bronchiolitis. Methods With IRB approval, data in the Virtual Pediatric Systems (VPS, LLC) database were queried for bronchiolitis patients <24 months of age admitted to one of 103 predominantly North American PICUs between 1/2009 and 1/2016 who had an endotracheal tube in place at PICU admission. There were no exclusion criteria. Extracted data included ER type (community/external or children's hospital/internal), demographics, and reported comorbidities. Outcomes analyzed were duration of MV and PICU LOS. Multivariable linear regression was used to evaluate if intubation location was independently associated with the outcomes of interest. Results Among 1934 patients, median age was 2.0 (IQR: 1.0-4.8) months, 51% were admitted from an external ER, 41% were White, 61% were male, and 28% had ≥1 comorbidity. Median duration of MV was 6.6 (4.6-9.5) days and the median PICU LOS was 7.0 (4.6-10.6) days. Children who underwent endotracheal intubation in a children's hospital ER had a modestly longer duration of MV (6.7 [4.4-9.4] vs 6.5 [5.2-9.6] days, P < .001, Mann-Whitney U) and longer PICU LOS (7.2 [4.8-10.8] vs 6.9 [4.2-10.1] days, P = .004, Mann-Whitney U). After adjusting for confounding variables, we did not observe a significant association between the location of endotracheal intubation and duration of MV or PICU LOS. Conclusion In this cohort, and unlike outcomes of near-fatal asthma, we observed that clinical outcomes of critical bronchiolitis were similar regardless of location of endotracheal intubation.
Finding Missing Skills for High-Level Behaviors

Recently, Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) has been used as a formalism for defining high-level robot tasks, and LTL synthesis has been used to automatically create correct-by-construction robot control. The underlying premise of this approach is that the robot has a set of actions, or skills, that can be composed to achieve the high- level task. In this paper we consider LTL specifications that cannot be synthesized into robot control due to lack of appropriate skills; we present algorithms for automatically suggesting new or modified skills for the robot that will guarantee the task will be achieved. We demonstrate our approach with a physical Baxter robot and a simulated KUKA IIWA arm.
A time-independent trajectory optimization approach for connected and autonomous vehicles under reservation-based intersection control

Abstract Rule-based and optimization-based autonomous intersection management (AIM) policies have been evaluated against traditional signal controls in terms of intersection safety, efficiency and emission. As one of AIM policies, reservation-based control has further taken advantage of the benefits of AIM, especially via optimization approaches. This paper presents a time-independent trajectory optimization approach for connected and autonomous vehicles under reservation-based intersection control. The existing approaches assign an arrival time and speed to vehicles ahead of entering the intersection. However, the vehicles may not follow the planned trajectory once the traffic condition varies sharply and thus the trajectory solution becomes infeasible with respect to the assigned arrival time and speed. The proposed approach aims to solve the fail-follow problem by separating the optimization between arrival time, speed, and trajectory planning by optimizing the trajectory without arrival time and speed predetermined. The approach finds the optimal solution in terms of the intersection efficiency meanwhile keeps the feasibility of trajectory planning by formulating the variation of acceleration rate and breaking a whole trajectory into an enlarged set of segments. Two different control strategies, BATCH and ZONE, are also proposed to test the performance of the optimization approach in comparison with another Dynamic Batch strategy. The results validate that the proposed approach can adapt to extremely high traffic demand scenario. Sensitivity analyses also evaluate the performance of the proposed approach under different problem settings in terms of intersection efficiency.
Musculoskeletal ultrasound assessment in pediatric knee hypermobility: a case control study

While musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) use in pediatric rheumatology is becoming more common, the majority of pediatric MSUS literature continues to focus on ultrasound findings in healthy children and juvenile idiopathic arthritis with little discussion of other musculoskeletal problems that may mimic arthritis such as joint hypermobility. Chronic joint pain related to hypermobility is a common referral to pediatric rheumatology clinics. Our aim is to describe the musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) characteristics of the knee in a population with joint hypermobility and pain in comparison to control participants. Participants were recruited into three groups for a case-control study. Case group participants had knee hypermobility and pain symptoms (H + P). Participants in one control group had knee hypermobility without pain symptoms (H-P), and participants in the other control group had no knee hypermobility or pain symptoms (NP). B-mode and Doppler MSUS images were obtained and scored for each knee. Descriptive statistics are used for demographic variables and MSUS findings. Regression analysis is used to evaluate risk of synovial effusion and higher synovial effusion/hypertrophy quantitative score. MSUS assessment was performed on 91 knees of 50 participants. H + P knees were more likely to have positive findings noted on MSUS (94% vs. 70% of H-P and 74% of NP knees, p = 0.043). Patellar tendon hyperemia was more common in H + P knees (52%, vs. 19% among H-P and 23% among NP, p = 0.025). Participants who reported taking scheduled non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) had an increased risk of synovial effusion (RR = 1.83, 95% CI = 1.07–2.30, p = 0.026) and a trend towards increased risk of a higher synovial effusion/hypertrophy quantitative score (RR = 1.77, 95% CI = 0.92–3.38, p = 0.086). While positive MSUS findings were frequent in all participants, patellar tendon hyperemia was more frequent in participants with knee hypermobility and pain symptoms. Additionally, reported use of NSAIDs was associated with an increased risk of synovial effusion and higher synovial effusion/hypertrophy quantitative score. Further study should assess correlation between tendon abnormalities and degree of pain symptoms as well as the effect of NSAIDs on MSUS findings.
Recurrent restorying through language teacher narrative inquiry

Abstract We propose a novel methodology for analyzing language teacher narrative inquiry: recurrent restorying, teachers engaging in narrative analysis and re-storying of their own previously storied learning-to-teach experiences, concepts, and self-understandings as unbounded by time and place. In recurrent restorying, language teacher narrative inquiry is a tool-and-result activity (Vygotsky, 1978) in that the variously storied learning-to-teach experiences within a teacher education program are the narrative data, and the teachers themselves are the data analysts who trace their own professional development. We present two preservice teachers’ return to their previously storied experiences of learning-to-teach in an MA TESL program and work through the process of recurrent restorying to trace their conceptual development as language teachers. We argue that recurrent restorying has dual transformative powers; it maximizes internalization (the process through which social relations and cultural artifacts take on psychological status for individuals) by allowing teachers to trace how external forms of social interaction serve as the source of their internalized psychological tools for thinking; and it concretizes the mediational role that engagement in recurrent restorying plays in enabling teachers to articulate their conceptual development as teachers (person) and in their teaching (activity).
“Switching On” Enzyme Substrate Specificity Analysis with a Fluorescent Competitive Inhibitor

Enzymatically driven change to the spectroscopic properties of a chemical substrate or product has been a linchpin in the development of continuous enzyme kinetics assays. These assays inherently necessitate substrates or products that naturally comply with the constraints of the spectroscopic technique being used, or they require structural changes to the molecules involved to make them observable. Here we demonstrate a new analytical kinetics approach with enzyme histidine triad nucleotide binding protein 1 (HINT1) that allows us to extract both useful kcat values and a rank-ordered list of substrate specificities without the need to track substrates or products directly. Instead, this is accomplished indirectly using a "switch on" competitive inhibitor that fluoresces maximally only when bound to the HINT1 enzyme active site. Kinetic information is extracted from the duration of the diminished fluorescence when the monitorable inhibitor-bound enzyme is challenged with saturating concentrations of a nonfluorescent substrate. We refer to the loss of fluorescence, while the substrate competes for the fluorescent probe in the active site, as the substrate's residence transit time (RTT). The ability to assess kcat values and substrate specificity by monitoring the RTTs for a set of substrates with a competitive "switch on" inhibitor should be broadly applicable to other enzymatic reactions in which the "switch on" inhibitor has sufficient binding affinity over the enzymatic product.
Inferring the mode and strength of ongoing selection

Genome sequence data is no longer scarce. The UK Biobank alone comprises 200,000 individual genomes, with more on the way, leading the field of human genetics towards sequencing entire populations. Within the next decades, other model organisms will follow suit, especially domesticated species such as crops and livestock. Having sequences from most individuals in a population will present new challenges for using these data to improve health and agriculture in the pursuit of a sustainable future. Existing population genetic methods are designed to model hundreds of randomly sampled sequences, but are not optimized for extracting the information contained in the larger and richer datasets that are beginning to emerge, with thousands of closely related individuals. Here we develop a new method called TIDES (Trio-based Inference of Dominance and Selection) that uses data from tens of thousands of family trios to make inferences about natural selection acting in a single generation. TIDES further improves on the state-of-the-art by making no assumptions regarding demography, linkage or dominance. We discuss how our method paves the way for studying natural selection from new angles.
A challenging case of intractable seizures in a pediatric patient with anti-GAD65 encephalitis (P2.2-019)

Objective: We describe a case of autoimmune encephalitis associated with anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD 65) antibodies in a girl with type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM). Background: Anti-GAD65 antibodies are associated with neurological syndromes such as limbic encephalitis, refractory epilepsy, stiff-person syndrome, Miller-Fisher syndrome, cerebellar ataxia, and opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome and non-neurological conditions such as T1DM and thyroiditis. Very few pediatric cases with anti-GAD65 encephalitis are reported to date. Concomitant T1DM is even rarer and complicates management. Design/Methods: Case Report Results: A 13 year old girl with developmental delay, ventriculomegaly, hyperglycemia managed with metformin and remote history of seizures, well controlled on topiramate for 5 years, was hospitalized for breakthrough seizures and altered mental status. She had head jerking and generalized convulsion with right temporal electrographic onset; and 3 Hz repetitive eye blinking, initially without electrographic correlate, but later with right temporal electrographic onset. Seizures were initially managed with addition of levetiracetam. As inpatient, she had worsening of mental status and developed diabetic ketoacidosis requiring airway protection. Insulin was started post clinical diagnosis of T1DM. Clinical and electrographic seizures worsened in frequency. Interictal EEG showed independent bilateral frontal; left temporal spikes; independent right temporal periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges; and multifocal stimulus-induced rhythmic, periodic, or ictal discharges. Addition of fosphenytoin, lacosamide and continuous midazolam infusion could not control seizures. Infectious work-up was non-revealing. Anti-GAD65 antibody levels were elevated in serum (207 nmol/L) and CSF (24 nmol/L). No other testable autoimmune antibodies were detected. Intravenous high dose corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin resulted in complete resolution of clinical and electrographic seizures but minimal improvement in her mental status. Plasma exchange (PLEX) improved mental status. She is receiving further rounds of PLEX. Conclusions: Physicians should be aware of this rare entity of anti-GAD65 encephalitis. This can occur in conjunction with T1DM. Prompt recognition and aggressive immunological treatment is critical. Disclosure: Dr. Kairamkonda has nothing to disclose. Dr. Arya has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gabriel has nothing to disclose. Dr. Veerapandiyan has nothing to disclose.
"Look at Me:" Portraiture and Agency

Keywords: disability, methodology, portraiture, social justice, special education Historically, the dominant research paradigms involving the study of people with disabilities involved experimentally designed studies or other medically orientated approaches. This paper examines portraiture as a form of qualitative inquiry offering emancipatory possibilities for children with significant disabilities and transformative positive reinterpretations of disability as a social construct for their teachers and other people in their lives. Three narrative portraits of young people with disabilities were created based on a year-long portraiture study involving the collection of observational data, informal interviews, artifacts, and discourse analysis to capture the “essence” of their humanness. Through an examination of this portrait study and others from across the humanities, this paper provides examples where the “subjects” asserted themselves in ways akin to Giroux’s agency (1987) suggesting portraiture might provide a unique and credible avenue to respectfully study and learn more about people with disabilities too often left on the fringe of society.
Equality between Functionals Revisited

In this note we shall try to place Friedman's remarkable little paper ([3]) in the context of what we know today about the model theory of the typed λ-calculus. In order to do this, it is appropriate to survey recent work in this area, in so far as it touches on issues raised by Friedman. We don't intend a general survey; much will be left out. In particular, we shall omit discussion of unification, fragments of L.C.F., and polymorphic types, which are areas of interest to the author, and the specialist will surely find other omissions. However, we will try to show the reader how Friedman's paper lays the foundation for the general model theory of the typed λ-calculus. The plan of this note is the following. We shall begin by a brief, informal introduction to the subject. The reader is then advised to read Friedman's paper. It is, after all, quite accessible and easy to read. We shall then proceed to consider the three major issues touched on in “Equality between functionals” as we view them today. These issues are (1) completeness theorems, (2) the solvability of higher type functional equations, and (3) logical relations.
Slow-rate utility-based resource allocation in wireless networks

We consider forward-link power allocation in a wireless network with stochastically varying data requests. We assume a user's service preferences are specified via a utility function that depends on the received data rate. The allocation of power across users is studied, where this allocation may depend on both a user's channel and utility. The objective is to maximize the time-averaged utility rate subject to a stochastic total power constraint at the transmitter. For a large, heavily loaded network, we introduce a Gaussian approximation for the total transmitted power, which is used to decompose the power constraint into three more tractable constraints. We present a solution to this problem that is a combination of admission control and pricing of power. The optimal trade-off between these approaches is characterized. Numerical examples are given to illustrate these ideas.
The weakness of Russian nationalism

The non-appearance of mass nationalist mobilisation among Russians - especially in the 'Russian diaspora' - has played a critical role in limiting the spread of ethnic conflict in the 1990s. This failure of Russians to mobilise along ethno-national lines forms a striking contrast with many of the stereotypes of Russian nationalism advanced by Western commentators. The failure stems from two main factors: the absence of civil and social institutions capable of acting as the basis for mass mobilisation; and the fact that, historically, Russian nationalism was subsumed by two multinational empires based not on ethnicity but on ideology. Russian nationalism now cannot easily be recast in ethno-national terms. The legacy of 'Soviet internationalism' thus continues to play a positive role in Russia and among its neighbours.
Inducing Search Keys for Name Filtering

This paper describes ETK (Ensemble of Transformation-based Keys) a new algorithm for inducing search keys for name filtering. ETK has the low computational cost and ability to filter by phonetic similarity characteristic of phonetic keys such as Soundex, but is adaptable to alternative similarity models. The accuracy of ETK in a preliminary empirical evaluation suggests that it is well-suited for phonetic filtering applications such as recognizing alternative cross-lingual transliterations.
Predicting Affective States expressed through an Emote-Aloud Procedure from AutoTutor's Mixed-Initiative Dialogue

This paper investigates how frequent conversation patterns from a mixed-initiative dialogue with an intelligent tutoring system, AutoTutor, can significantly predict users' affective states (e.g. confusion, eureka, frustration). This study adopted an emote-aloud procedure in which participants were recorded as they verbalized their affective states while interacting with AutoTutor. The tutor-tutee interaction was coded on scales of conversational directness (the amount of information provided by the tutor to the learner, with a theoretical ordering of assertion > prompt for particular information > hint), feedback (positive, neutral, negative), and content coverage scores for each student contribution obtained from the tutor's log files. Correlation and regression analyses confirmed the hypothesis that dialogue features could significantly predict the affective states of confusion, eureka, and frustration. Standard classification techniques were used to assess the reliability of the automatic detection of learners' affect from the conversation features. We discuss the prospects of extending AutoTutor into an affect-sensing intelligent tutoring system.
Pediatric clinicians' support for parents makes a difference: an outcome-based analysis of clinician-parent interaction.

Pediatric clinicians frequently must offer support (eg, reassurance) to anxious, stressed parents. Supportive clinician behaviors were studied to determine their impact on parents. Forty initial health supervision visits to a pediatric clinic were videotaped through a one-way mirror. Mothers were interviewed immediately before and 1 week after the visits to ascertain changes in concerns, opinions of clinicians, perceptions of infants, and self-confidence. Mothers also completed a postvisit satisfaction questionnaire. Coders blinded to these outcomes identified and enumerated three supportive clinician behaviors: encouragement, reassurance, and empathy. Analyses compared visit outcomes according to high and low levels of maternal exposure to clinician support. Mothers exposed to high levels of encouragement had significant improvement in their opinions of clinicians and higher satisfaction (P = .02). Mothers exposed to high levels of empathy had higher satisfaction and greater reduction in concerns (P less than .05). No significant differences in outcome were found for exposure to reassurance. Differences in visit outcomes were not related to either maternal demographic factors or clinician type (pediatricians v pediatric nurse practitioners). These results suggest that pediatric clinicians' support for parents makes a difference. Additional outcome-based analyses are needed to identify the full range of effective pediatric communication.
Interactions of Antidepressants With Neurotransmitter Transporters and Receptors and Their Clinical Relevance

This review discusses the pharmacology of antidepressants as it relates to their blockade of human transporters for norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine, as well as their blockade of several different human neurotransmitter receptors. This blockade by antidepressants of transporters and receptors is thought to relate to therapeutic and adverse effects of these compounds. Knowledge of the preclinical pharmacology of antidepressants will help the clinician to identify adverse effects and drug interactions that may occur with these agents. The article also reviews drugs that have dual action (effects on serotonin and norepinephrine), which may provide a therapeutic advantage in treating depressed patients.
Benzene Metabolism and Toxicity

Chronic exposure to benzene leads to blood dyscrasias characterized by progressive depression in the levels of circulating leukocytes, thrombocytes, and/or erythrocytes, eventually leading to pancytopenia and aplastic anemia (1). The literature contains many descriptions of human benzene toxicity following chronic inhalation (2–4) and the process has been reproduced in several animal species either by exposing animals to atmospheric benzene (5,6) or by parenteral administration of benzene (7,8). The mechanism by which benzene produces bone marrow depression has been explored in a series of studies by Kissling and Speck (9,10) and by Boje et al. (11), who demonstrated that nucleic acid synthesis in bone marrow was inhibited in chronic benzene toxicity, but the molecular site of action is as yet unknown.