cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Irradiation temperature influences product quality factors of frozen vegetables and radiation sensitivity of inoculated Listeria monocytogenes.

Four frozen vegetables (broccoli, corn, lima beans, and peas) were gamma irradiated at subfreezing temperatures ranging from -5 to -20 degrees C to determine (i) the radiation sensitivity of an inoculated outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 49594), (ii) the effect of changing irradiation conditions (i.e., temperature) on that sensitivity, and (iii) the effect of the recommended radiation dose on the texture and color of irradiated frozen vegetables. The amounts of radiation necessary to reduce the bacterial population by 90% (D10-values) for L. monocytogenes differed significantly among vegetables at each irradiation temperature. D10 increased significantly with decreasing temperature for all vegetables, with each vegetable showing a different response pattern. At an irradiation temperature of -5 degrees C, D10 ranged from 0.505 kGy for broccoli to 0.613 kGy for corn. At -20 degrees C, D10 ranged from 0.767 kGy for lima beans to 0.916 kGy for peas. At -20 degrees C, radiation doses sufficient to achieve a 5-log10 kill (3.9 to 4.6 kGy) caused significant softening of peas and broccoli stems but not of corn or lima beans. Lower doses of comparable antimicrobial efficacy delivered at -5 degrees C (2.5 to 3.1 kGy) did not cause significant changes in texture in any vegetable. Color varied significantly among the dose-temperature combinations only for broccoli florets; this variation did not demonstrate a clear pattern of quality changes in response to irradiation.
Support for the placement of Chilesaurus within Ornithischia: a reply to Müller et al.

In our recent study [[1][1]], we recovered the Late Jurassic dinosaur Chilesaurus diegosuarezi within the clade Ornithischia. This result contrasted with those presented in the original study on Chilesaurus by Novas et al. [[2][2]], in which this enigmatic taxon was recovered as a tetanuran theropod
On the torsion rank of divisible multiplicative groups of fields

Abstract In his characterization of the divisible abelian groups which are isomorphic to the unit group of a field, Greg Oman asked the following question: if G is a divisible abelian group that can be realized as the multiplicative group of a field, must the torsion rank of G be either 0 or infinite? The purpose of this paper is to provide a positive answer to this question.
Mental health in patients with advanced cancer at the end of life: evaluation of evidence and future directions

Introduction: The mental health of patients with advanced cancer at the end of life is a strong contributor to suffering on the part of both the patient and family. A closer look is needed to addre...
Trauma, Law, and Advocacy for Animals

The intent of this article is to examine the issue of trauma among animal advocates and ways of addressing the problems that arise in this context. The discussion will include background on the development of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, and general theories related to treatment of healing of this trauma. I will also consider a number of specific conditions in contemporary society that contribute to the trauma faced by advocates for animals. Next, I will look at the negative impact on animals and their advocates of the few laws that exist to protect animal welfare. Finally, I will consider activities in which all animal advocates can engage, and in which legal advocates for animals, in particular, can become involved. I propose that some forms of legal advocacy will advance the cause of animal protection, and, at the same time, aid in the healing of traumatic exposure to animal suffering.
Fundamental tests of galaxy formation theory

The structure of the universe as an environment where traces exist of the seed fluctuations from which galaxies formed is studied. The evolution of the density fluctuation modes that led to the eventual formation of matter inhomogeneities is reviewed, How the resulting clumps developed into galaxies and galaxy clusters acquiring characteristic masses, velocity dispersions, and metallicities, is discussed. Tests are described that utilize the large scale structure of the universe, including the dynamics of the local supercluster, the large scale matter distribution, and the anisotropy of the cosmic background radiation, to probe the earliest accessible stages of evolution. Finally, the role of particle physics is described with regard to its observable implications for galaxy formation.
Tolerance, Historical Review

Ischemic tolerance is now a well-recognized, endogenous protective response to impaired blood flow in multiple organ systems. Tolerance occurs when ischemia, experienced for a duration less than required for injury, occurs prior to a potentially harmful duration of ischemia which the target organ is now “tolerant” to. Although ischemic tolerance is generally assumed to have been discovered in the heart, the story of tolerance dates back to at least that of fever therapy. Accordingly, the history of ischemic tolerance is reviewed, and the key discoveries are put in historical context.
The Impact of Culturally Inclusive Pedagogy on Student Achievement in a Multicultural Urban School Setting

In response to a critical need for culturally inclusive pedagogy for multicultural, urban classrooms, this study describes a project in which 43 in-service and preservice teachers and 175 multicult...
A CMOS V-Band PLL With a Harmonic Positive Feedback VCO Leveraging Operation in Triode Region for Phase-Noise Improvement

This paper presents a 53–61 GHz low-power charge-pump integer-N type-II PLL, employing a class-D V-band voltage control oscillator. Transistors in the VCO enter deep triode region to achieve low DC power and phase noise. Pros and cons of the triode region are studied in this paper. We have explained how this region has been accurately exploited to reduce the phase-noise. This is unlike the general notion that the triode region degrades phase-noise performance in oscillators. The phase locked loop is fabricated in a standard 65 nm CMOS process. The VCO consumes the minimum power of 10.6 mW from 0.8 V supply. The PLL achieves a wide tuning range of 13% from 53.35–60.83-GHz and a phase noise of −88 dBc/Hz at 1–MHz offset, while consuming a minimum DC power of 48 mW. This PLL can be used as part of the LO generation network for millimeter-wave phased-array transceivers.
Robotic extralevator excision of a retrorectal giant aggressive angiomyxoma

Aggressive angiomyxoma (AA) is a very rare mesenchymal tumor most commonly found in the pelvic and perineal regions. For the complete excision of retrorectal tumors, with extension through the levator muscle into the ischioanal space, open anterior and posterior approaches are typically required. Herein, we report our experience with robotic excision of a giant presacral AA with extralevator extension into the ischioanal space and extraction via Pfannenstiel incision, which we found to be technically feasible, efficacious, and safe to perform. Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board exemption status was obtained for this study.
A Gradient-Free Three-Dimensional Source Seeking Strategy With Robustness Analysis

Distributed source seeking in a three-dimensional (3-D) environment without explicit estimation of the gradient of the field is challenging. Nevertheless, for a swarm of an arbitrary number of agents, we develop a strategy to perform a source seeking behavior by requiring agents to synchronize their direction of motion using only local interactions while modulating their speed based only on the field value measured by each agent. The agents collectively move toward the source without estimating gradient and without sharing measurements of the field. We formulate a cascaded input-to-state stability problem from which we obtain Lyapunov-based convergence and robustness results. We validate the convergence of the swarm to the minimum of the field through simulated source seeking behavior in a 3-D scalar field.
Reconstructing granular particles from X-ray computed tomography using the TWS machine learning tool and the level set method

X-ray computed tomography (CT) has emerged as the most prevalent technique to obtain three-dimensional morphological information of granular geomaterials. A key challenge in using the X-ray CT technique is to faithfully reconstruct particle morphology based on the discretized pixel information of CT images. In this work, a novel framework based on the machine learning technique and the level set method is proposed to segment CT images and reconstruct particles of granular geomaterials. Within this framework, a feature-based machine learning technique termed Trainable Weka Segmentation is utilized for CT image segmentation, i.e., to classify material phases and to segregate particles in contact. This is a fundamentally different approach in that it predicts segmentation results based on a trained classifier model that implicitly includes image features and regression functions. Subsequently, an edge-based level set method is applied to approach an accurate characterization of the particle shape. The proposed framework is applied to reconstruct three-dimensional realistic particle shapes of the Mojave Mars Simulant. Quantitative accuracy analysis shows that the proposed framework exhibits superior performance over the conventional watershed-based method in terms of both the pixel-based classification accuracy and the particle-based segmentation accuracy. Using the reconstructed realistic particles, the particle-size distribution is obtained and validated against experiment sieve analysis. Quantitative morphology analysis is also performed, showing promising potentials of the proposed framework in characterizing granular geomaterials.
The United Nations as a Platform for Education Diplomacy

Internationalization activities of academic institutions are forms of Education Diplomacy, advancing the intrinsic role of education for peace and security, development, and human rights. When univ...
Accelerating Dissociative Events in Molecular Dynamics Simulations by Selective Potential Scaling

ABSTRACT Molecular dynamics (or MD) simulations can be a powerful tool for modeling complex dissociative processes such as ligand unbinding. However, many biologically relevant dissociative processes occur on timescales that far exceed the timescales of typical MD simulations. Here, we implement and apply an enhanced sampling method in which specific energy terms in the potential energy function are selectively “scaled” to accelerate dissociative events during simulations. Using ligand unbinding as an example of a complex dissociative process, we selectively scaled-up ligand-water interactions in an attempt to increase the rate of ligand unbinding. By applying our selectively scaled MD (or ssMD) approach to three cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2)-inhibitor complexes, we were able to significantly accelerate ligand unbinding thereby allowing, in some cases, unbinding events to occur within as little as 2 ns. Moreover, we found that we could make realistic estimates of the unbinding as well as the binding free energies (∆Gsim) of the three inhibitors from our ssMD simulation data. To accomplish this, we employed a previously described Kramers’-based rate extrapolation (KRE) method and a newly described free energy extrapolation (FEE) method. Because our ssMD approach is general, it should find utility as an easy-to-deploy, enhanced sampling method for modeling other dissociative processes.
A fracture model for exfoliation of thin silicon films

The direct exfoliation of thin films from silicon wafers has the potential to significantly lower the cost of flexible electronics while leveraging the performance benefits and established infrastructure of traditional wafer-based fabrication processes. However, controlling the thickness and uniformity of exfoliated silicon thin films has proven difficult due to a lack of understanding and control over the exfoliation process. This paper presents a new silicon exfoliation process and model which enables accurate prediction of the thickness and quality of the exfoliated thin-film based on the exfoliation process parameters. This model uses a parametric, finite element, linear elastic fracture mechanics study with nonlinear loading to determine how each process parameter affects the crack propagation depth. A metamodel is then constructed from the results of numerous simulations to inform the design and operation of a novel exfoliation tool and predict thickness of produced films. In order to manufacture uniform, high-quality films, the tool creates a controlled peeling load that is able to propagate a crack through the silicon in a controlled manner. Finally, exfoliated silicon samples produced with the prototype tool are evaluated and compared to metamodel projections, confirming the ability of the tool to steer crack trajectory within ± 3 microns of the crack depth predictions.
Mitigating barriers to implementing evidence-based interventions in child welfare: Lessons learned from scholars and agency directors

Abstract Decades of research shows that casework services as usual are ineffective in reducing risk factors associated with child welfare involvement. Although child welfare leaders recognize the impetus to implement evidence-based practice (EBP), they aren't privy to how to optimize provider, organizational, and political contexts to promote implementation. Qualitative data collected from scholars and leaders in this study furthers the development of theories and guidance on how to promote EBPs that are effective, relevant, and responsive to racial and ethnic diversity. Findings reveal that future efforts should be devoted to cultivating an optimal implementation climate to increase efficacy and relevancy of cultural exchanges with colleagues.
HOW THEY MEASURE UP: RATING SCALES IN GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY: Session 110

Abstract Clinical assessment in geriatric psychiatry is complex. It involves detection of subtle signs, separation of psychiatric symptoms from co-occurring medical and neurological manifestations, and work with families. Rating scales are a useful complement to clinical skills in ensuring all relevant questions have been asked, objectively detecting the presence or absence of an illness, quantifying its severity, as well as tracking response to treatment, and the course of an illness over time. This presentation will touch upon multiple available rating scales, with focus on the ones which will be of use to the busy clinician. The first section of the presentation will be a discussion on rating scales for depression, namely the Geriatric Depression Rating Scale (GDS), the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), the Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS), and the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). In the next section, we will describe an overview of the various types of assessment scales for dementia, such as the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), St. Louis University Mental Status Exam (SLUMS), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale – Cognitive sub-scale (ADAS-cog), and the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3-MS). The third section of the presentation will constitute a discussion of rating scales to detect neuropsychiatric disturbances, such as the Neuropsychiatry Inventory (NPI), the Neurobehavioral Rating Scale (NBRS), and the Cohen Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI). The final section will be a discussion of common rating scales used in assessing anxiety such as the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) and the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS). This section will also explore caregiver burden scales, with focus on the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview. Every sub-section of the presentation will provide an overview of the literature and comparison in terms of clinical utility, practicality, and psychometric properties. Since primary care physicians provide majority of the medical care for the elderly, screening tools for primary care that can be incorporated in a busy clinical practice will also be discussed.
Microbial vs Environmental Influences on the Morphology of Late Archean Fenestrate Microbialites

Stromatolite morphology is the most abundant record of Archean life, but interpretations of the role of microbial communities in stromatolite growth are difficult because stromatolites are the result of complex interactions among abiotic and biotic processes. Archean fenestrate microbialites are a group of structures in which the roles of biotic and abiotic processes can be constrained more than in most stromatolites. Fenestrate microbialites from the 2.52 Ga Gamohaan and Fairfield formations, South Africa, the 2.6 Ga Bulawayo greenstone belt, Zimbabwe, and the ~2.8 Ga Steep-rock greenstone belt, Ontario, each contain two morphologically distinct microbial communities that grew contemporaneously. One community grew as very fine, filmy laminae, and the other grew as wider, often vertically oriented “supports”. The distinction of filmy laminae and supports persists with various microbialite structures over hundreds of millions of years and with two carbonate precipitation styles. Comparisons of these microbialites imply that the growth structure was determined by the microbial communities, and the timing and location of carbonate precipitation influenced preserved morphology.
‘I Gave You More’: Discretionary Power in a Corruption Experiment:

Bribes are gifts that are given with an expectation of favourable treatment from a public official or an authority figure. In some cultures, gift giving is a widely accepted part of social interact...
Postoperative surgical trainee opioid prescribing practices (POST-OPP): A national survey

Background: Increasing opioid-related deaths have heightened focus on combating the opioid epidemic. The impact of surgical trainees on opioid-related deaths is unclear, and there is little data examining the association between trainee pain management education and opioid prescribing practices. Methods: An anonymous, online survey was distributed to members of the Resident and Associate Society of the American College of Surgeons. The survey covered five themes: education and knowledge, prescribing practices, clinical case scenarios, policy, and beliefs and attitudes. Linear mixed models were used to evaluate the influence of respondent characteristics on reported morphine milligram equivalents (MME) prescribed for common general surgery clinical scenarios. Results: Of 427 respondents, 54 percent indicated receiving training in postoperative pain management during medical school and 66 percent during residency. Only 35 percent agreed that they had received adequate training in prescribing opioids. There was a significant association between undergoing formal pain management training in medical school and prescribing fewer MME for common outpatient general surgery scenarios (94 ± 15.2 vs 108 ± 15.0; p = 0.003). Similarly, formal pain management training in residency was associated with prescribing fewer MME in the survey scenarios (92.6 ± 15.2 vs 109 ± 15.2; p = 0.002). Conclusion: In this survey, nearly two-thirds of surgical residents felt that they were inadequately trained in opioid prescribing. Our findings additionally suggest that improving education may result in increased resident comfort with managing surgical pain, potentially leading to more responsible opioid prescribing. Further work will facilitate residency programs’ development of educational curricula for opioid prescribing best practices.
Fully Automated Estimation of Spacing and Density for Retinal Mosaics.

Purpose To introduce and validate a novel, fully automated algorithm for determining pointwise intercell distance (ICD) and cone density. Methods We obtained images of the photoreceptor mosaic from 14 eyes of nine subjects without retinal pathology at two time points using an adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope. To automatically determine ICD, the radial average of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of the image was analyzed using a multiscale, fit-based algorithm to find the modal spacing. We then converted the modal spacing to ICD by assuming a hexagonally packed mosaic. The reproducibility of the algorithm was assessed between the two datasets, and accuracy was evaluated by comparing the results against those calculated from manually identified cones. Finally, the algorithm was extended to determine pointwise ICD and density in montages by calculating modal spacing over an overlapping grid of regions of interest (ROIs). Results The differences of DFT-derived ICD between the test and validation datasets were 3.2% ± 3.5% (mean ± SD), consistent with the differences in directly calculated ICD (1.9% ± 2.9%). The average ICD derived by the automated method was not significantly different between the development and validation datasets and was equivalent to the directly calculated ICD. When applied to a full montage, the automated algorithm produced estimates of cone density across retinal eccentricity that well match prior empiric measurements. Conclusions We created an accurate, repeatable, and fully automated algorithm for determining ICD and density in both individual ROIs and across entire montages. Translational relevance The use of fully automated and validated algorithms will enable rapid analysis over the full photoreceptor montage.
Genome-Resolved Proteomic Stable Isotope Probing of Soil Microbial Communities Using 13CO2 and 13C-Methanol

Stable isotope probing (SIP) enables tracking the nutrient flows from isotopically labeled substrates to specific microorganisms in microbial communities. In proteomic SIP, labeled proteins synthesized by the microbial consumers of labeled substrates are identified with a shotgun proteomics approach. Here, proteomic SIP was combined with targeted metagenomic binning to reconstruct metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of the microorganisms producing labeled proteins. This approach was used to track carbon flows from 13CO2 to the rhizosphere communities of Zea mays, Triticum aestivum, and Arabidopsis thaliana. Rhizosphere microorganisms that assimilated plant-derived 13C were capable of metabolic and signaling interactions with their plant hosts, as shown by their MAGs containing genes for phytohormone modulation, quorum sensing, and transport and metabolism of nutrients typical of those found in root exudates. XoxF-type methanol dehydrogenases were among the most abundant proteins identified in the rhizosphere metaproteomes. 13C-methanol proteomic SIP was used to test the hypothesis that XoxF was used to metabolize and assimilate methanol in the rhizosphere. We detected 7 13C-labeled XoxF proteins and identified methylotrophic pathways in the MAGs of 8 13C-labeled microorganisms, which supported the hypothesis. These two studies demonstrated the capability of proteomic SIP for functional characterization of active microorganisms in complex microbial communities.
Physiological Adaptability and Parametric Versatility in a Simple Genetic Circuit

The intimate relationship between the environment and cellular growth rate has remained a major topic of inquiry in bacterial physiology for over a century. Now, as it becomes possible to understand how the growth rate dictates the wholesale reorganization of the intracellular molecular composition, we can interrogate the biophysical principles underlying this adaptive response. Regulation of gene expression drives this adaptation, with changes in growth rate tied to the activation or repression of genes covering enormous swaths of the genome. Here, we dissect how physiological perturbations alter the expression of a circuit which has been extensively characterized in a single physiological state. Given a complete thermodynamic model, we map changes in physiology directly to the biophysical parameters which define the expression. Controlling the growth rate via modulating the available carbon source or growth temperature, we measure the level of gene expression from a LacI-regulated promoter where the LacI copy number is directly measured in each condition, permitting parameter-free prediction of the expression level. The transcriptional output of this circuit is remarkably robust, with expression of the repressor being largely insensitive to the growth rate. The predicted gene expression quantitatively captures the observations under different carbon conditions, indicating that the bio-physical parameters are indifferent to the physiology. Interestingly, temperature controls the expression level in ways that are inconsistent with the prediction, revealing temperature-dependent effects that challenge current models. This work exposes the strengths and weaknesses of thermodynamic models in fluctuating environments, posing novel challenges and utility in studying physiological adaptation. Significance. Cells adapt to changing environmental conditions by repressing or activating gene expression from enormous fractions of their genome, drastically changing the molecular composition of the cell. This requires the concerted adaptation of transcription factors to the environmental signals, leading to binding or releasing of their cognate sequences. Here, we dissect a well characterized genetic circuit in a number of physiological states, make predictions of the response, and measure how the copy number of a regulator and its gene target are affected. We find the parameters defining the regulators behavior are remarkably robust to changes in the nutrient availability, but are susceptible to temperature changes. We quantitatively explore these two effects and discuss how they challenge current models of transcriptional regulation.
Effects of Diiodo-Alkane Additives to P3HT Thin Films for High Performance Electronic Applications

Polymeric conjugated materials are very promising for developing future soft material-based semiconductors, conductors, electronic and optoelectronic devices due to their inherent advantages such as lightweight, flexible shape, low-cost, ease of processability, ease of scalability, etc. There are a number of ways to tune material properties via post-processing treatments such as annealing, solvent additives, or doping. One challenge of solution processed organic thin film electronics is the repeatable and well-defined morphological control of the resulting films after deposition. In this study, we observed how the addition of diiodo-alkanes to poly-3-hexyl-thiophene (P3HT) solutions effect the formation of resulting thin films. These additives have various boiling points that will affect the drying properties of cast thin films. We also sought to observe if any halogen bonding interaction between iodine and sulfur occurs and if this interaction can be used to promote polymer morphological self-assembly. Techniques such as UV/Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Atomic Force Microscopy were used to probe the evolution of the film morphology as the additives were added to the solutions. 1,8-diiodooctane doped films showed the best overall device performance. This could be due to its favorable interaction with the side chain of P3HT as seen in it morphological properties. This study may result in a new technique that can be used to enhance the solid-state morphology of thin films for high performance electronic applications.
Epidemiological characteristics and short-term epidemiological trend prediction of human brucellosis in Baotou City, Inner Mongolia, 2003- 2017

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of human brucellosis in Baotou City, Inner Mongolia in 2003 - 2017, conduct short-term forecasting of incidence of brucellosis in 2018 - 2020, and provide evidence for early warning and scientific prevention of brucellosis. Methods The epidemic data of human brucellosis in Baotou City from 2003 to 2017 came from the Infectious Disease Monitoring Information System of China Disease Prevention and Control Information System, and the demographic data came from the statistical yearbook of Baotou City. Descriptive epidemiological method was used to analyze the prevalence, time distribution, regional distribution, and population distribution of brucellosis. According to the monthly incidence of human brucellosis in 2003 - 2017, autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model was established using R language, and the ARIMA model was used to predict the incidence of human brucellosis in Baotou City in 2018 - 2020. Results From 2003 to 2017, there were 5 180 cases of human brucellosis in Baotou City, among them, 354 cases in 2016 and 357 cases in 2017. The age of onset was concentrated in 35 - 64 years old (4 046 cases); the high-incidence areas were pastoral areas (2 218 cases) and rural areas (1 975 cases); the occupational distribution was dominated by farmers (3 930 cases) and herders (552 cases); the peak incidence was from April to July every year. The prediction model of human brucellosis onset in Baotou City was ARIMA (2, 1, 2) × (1, 0, 1)12, and the average absolute scale error predicted by the model was 0.585. The constructed ARIMA model predicted that the annual incidence of human brucellosis in Baotou City will be 349, 331, and 324 cases in 2018 - 2020. Conclusions There are seasonal, regional and population distribution characteristics of human brucellosis in Baotou City. Compared with those of 2016 and 2017, the incidences of human brucellosis in Baotou City are relatively stable in 2018 - 2020, but the possibility of high incidence is not ruled out. We should pay close attention to the trend of epidemic disease, and adopt comprehensive prevention and treatment measures according to epidemiological characteristics, to effectively control human brucellosis. Key words: Brucellosis; Epidemics; Forecasting
A Clinic-Based School Readiness Coaching Intervention for Low-Income Latino Children: An Intervention Study

This intervention study assessed school readiness (SR)-related parent behaviors and perceived barriers for Latino parent-child pairs (N = 149, Mage = 4.5) after a clinic-based SR intervention (n = 74) or standard well-child care (n = 75). Intervention was a 1-hour visit with a community health worker (CHW) to assess child SR, model SR interactions, and provide SR tools and resources. Primary outcomes were parent behaviors and barriers collected by phone questionnaire. Regression analyses revealed that parents in the intervention were more likely to tell their child a story and visit the library in the last week and less likely to report barriers of limited SR knowledge. A brief, SR coaching intervention with a CHW increased SR-related parent behaviors and reduced barriers to SR. Evaluation with school entry data is underway.
Effectiveness of a Multidisciplinary Neuropathy Clinic in Diagnosis and Treatment of Peripheral Neuropathy (P1.133)

Objective: To analyze the diagnostic and therapeutic effectiveness of a multidisciplinary neuropathy clinic with on-site physical (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) at a tertiary center in 2017. Background: Peripheral neuropathy is a broad term that encompasses different types of neurological disorders having different causes and risk factors. Despite the high prevalence rate of the disease, the diagnosis has been shown to remain idiopathic in up to 46.1% of cases. Improved understanding about prevalence, risk factors and outcomes could help improve diagnostic accuracy and treatment selection. Design/Methods: This is a retrospective study of patients from a multidisciplinary clinic, with data collected from 11/21/2014–7/31/2017. 91 patients were included after they were found to have newly diagnosed neuropathy, typically confirmed via EMG and/or skin biopsy. Data regarding age, gender, race, symptoms, exam findings, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes were collected. Analysis was completed to determine any trends regarding certain diagnoses, treatments, or outcomes. Results: Of the patients studied, 47.3% were female, 52.7% male. The majority of patients, 41.8%, were black; 28.6% white and 5.5% hispanic. The most common symptoms were numbness and tingling, 73.6% and 70.3% respectively; 60.4% had neuropathic pain. The spectrum of diagnoses was broad and included diabetes, vitamin deficiencies/toxicities, and immune mediated, among many others. The most common diagnosis was diabetic neuropathy, making up 31.1% of cases. The number of idiopathic cases was 18.9%. Medical symptomatic treatment showed improvement in 34.1% of cases. Only 14.3% of cases received disease modifying treatment (DMT). Follow up is ongoing to monitor improvement after DMT. Conclusions: The rate of idiopathic diagnoses was far less in our clinic than published rates. An algorithmic approach to neuropathy work-up and inclusion of PT and OT maximizes the diagnostic yield and treatment effectiveness. Disclosure: Dr. Cruz has nothing to disclose. Dr. Bai has nothing to disclose. Dr. Zeidman has nothing to disclose.
Alimentos Ciencia e Ingeniería 23-1

La Facultad de Ciencia e Ingenieria en Alimentos de la Universidad Tecnica de Ambato, se complace en presentar en volumen 23 (1) de la Revista Alimentos, Ciencia e Ingenieria. En este numero, se presentan comunicaciones, de grupos de investigacion de diversas instituciones nacionales e internacionales, enfocadas al desarrollo de alimentos funcionales mediante la utilizacion de productos nativos como el amaranto y la quinua en la elaboracion de productos carnicos; uso de productos enzimaticos para determinar su efecto en la elaboracion de vino de mortino; nuevas opciones tecnologicas de uso de edulcorantes no caloricos para la optimizacion del secado osmotico de uvillas y la mejora de la calidad de hortalizas frescas minimamente procesadas, mediante el empleo de aceites esenciales y tratamientos desinfectantes alternativos al uso de compuestos clorados. En esta edicion plasmamos los resultados obtenidos en investigaciones realizadas con equipos analiticos como espectroscopia derivada para determinar amilosa en presencia de amilopectina en almidon de arroz, el uso de tecnicas de extraccion de polifenoles en plantas aromaticas y medicinales mediante fluidos supercriticos y diversos estudios sobre el empleo de la tecnica de microencapsulacion, aplicada a los aceites esenciales de calabaza amarga o salvia, a antioxidantes como la manguiferina y diversas sustancias saborizantes, de indudable interes por su enfoque a la mejora de las tecnologias alimentarias. Finalmente, desde estas lineas deseo agradecer la colaboracion del sector empresarial, tanto publico como privado, por apoyar esta publicacion mediante su aporte economico; considero que esta alianza nos permitira lograr retos mas importantes en el proceso de generacion y difusion de conocimiento util, que a la postre contribuira a que nuestro pais a futuro logre ocupar el espacio que le corresponde en el cada vez maas competitivo mundo del que formamos parte.
Magnetohydrodynamic stability of magnetars in the ultrastrong field regime I: the core

We study magnetohydrodynamic stability of neutron star core matter composed of neutrons, protons and leptons threaded by a magnetar-strength magnetic field $10^{14}$--$10^{17}$ G, where quantum electrodynamical effects and Landau quantization of fermions are important. Stability is determined using the Friedman--Schutz formalism for the canonical energy of fluid perturbations, which we calculate for a magnetizable fluid with $H\neq B$. Using this and the Euler--Heisenberg--Fermi--Dirac Lagrangian for a strongly magnetized fluid of Landau-quantized charged fermions, we calculate the local stability criteria for a fluid slab as a stand-in for a segment of a neutron star core, accounting for magnetic and composition gradient buoyancy. The slab is threaded by a field orthogonal to the gravitational field, the Cartesian analogy to a toroidal field. We find that, for sufficiently strong fields $B\gtrsim10^{15}$ G, the magnetized fluid is unstable to a magnetosonic-type instability with growth times of order $10^{-3}$ s. The instability is triggered by sharp changes in the second-order field derivative of the Euler--Heisenberg--Fermi--Dirac Lagrangian which occur where additional Landau levels start being populated. These sharp changes are divergent at zero temperature, but are finite for nonzero temperature, so realistic neutron star core temperatures $5\times10^7$ K$<T<5\times10^8$ K are used. We conjecture that this mechanism could promote the formation of magnetic domains as predicted by Blandford and Hernquist (1982) and Suh and Mathews (2010).
Patterns of Pen Stocking Density on Dry lot and Freestall Dairy Farms in the Western United States

Stocking density in dairy cattle pens appears to affect resting time, feed intake, milk production, lameness, reproduction, hygiene, behavior, and health of the cows. Stocking density can be calculated by the number of linear feet of bunk space per cow, number of cows per freestall, or number of cows per drylot area. Stocking density measures are part of animal welfare auditing guidelines and are important for veterinary investigation of herd health and performance concerns. The purpose of this project was to describe the features of all the cattle pens on large dairy farms in the west and assess farm-level stocking density by pen.
Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in newly diagnosed treatment-naïve chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

A 78-year-old man with newly diagnosed treatment-naive chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) was referred to a pulmonary clinic for 1 month of dry cough and dyspnoea on exertion. Further workup with CT of the chest showed patchy ground-glass opacities predominantly on the right side. The patient was started on empiric antibiotic for presumed community-acquired pneumonia but did not have any improvement in his symptoms and eventually required supplemental oxygen. Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage from the right middle lobe showed Pneumocystis jirovecii cysts on Grocott methenamine silver stains. The patient was HIV negative. He was placed on P. jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) treatment with clindamycin and primaquine due to history of significant allergy to sulfa drugs. The patient's symptoms completely resolved after a 21-day course of treatment and no longer needed supplemental oxygen. This case highlights the importance of keeping PJP infection in differential diagnosis in both treated and untreated patients with CLL with dyspnoea and pulmonary infiltrates.
Novel Peptide Therapeutic Approaches for Cancer Treatment

Peptides are increasingly being developed for use as therapeutics to treat many ailments, including cancer. Therapeutic peptides have the advantages of target specificity and low toxicity. The anticancer effects of a peptide can be the direct result of the peptide binding its intended target, or the peptide may be conjugated to a chemotherapy drug or radionuclide and used to target the agent to cancer cells. Peptides can be targeted to proteins on the cell surface, where the peptide–protein interaction can initiate internalization of the complex, or the peptide can be designed to directly cross the cell membrane. Peptides can induce cell death by numerous mechanisms including membrane disruption and subsequent necrosis, apoptosis, tumor angiogenesis inhibition, immune regulation, disruption of cell signaling pathways, cell cycle regulation, DNA repair pathways, or cell death pathways. Although using peptides as therapeutics has many advantages, peptides have the disadvantage of being easily degraded by proteases once administered and, depending on the mode of administration, often have difficulty being adsorbed into the blood stream. In this review, we discuss strategies recently developed to overcome these obstacles of peptide delivery and bioavailability. In addition, we present many examples of peptides developed to fight cancer.
Differences in Occupational Burnout Among Primary Care Professionals.

Background: Occupational burnout is a major concern for personal well-being and patient care. We examined burnout among primary care providers (PCPs), medical residents, behavioral health providers (BHPs), nurses, and other clinical and nonclinical primary care team members. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, nested within a larger randomized trial. Participants completed a validated 9-item burnout measure with 3 domains: depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and personal accomplishment. Multivariable multilevel linear regression with a random intercept for each practice was used to determine mean differences in burnout across professional roles. Results: Overall burnout rates varied by professional role: PCPs 70%, medical residents 89%, BHPs 59%, nurses 66%, other clinicians 68%, and nonclinical professionals 70%. Compared with nonclinical professionals, residents experienced more burnout in more domains, followed by PCPs. PCPs, residents, and nurses reported significantly worse depersonalization and exhaustion scores. Nonclinical professionals had worse accomplishment scores than all clinical professionals except for residents. This study revealed moderate-to-high levels of burnout among primary care professionals. Discussion: Clinicians may be experiencing aspects of burnout more intensely than their nonclinical colleagues, and this may be most true for residents and PCPs. Based on these variations, interventions to mitigate burnout may need to be tailored by professional role.
Die Erschließung vorhandener Wasserkraftpotenziale in Österreich im Spannungsfeld von Energiepolitik und ökologischen Schutzzielen

Die intensivierte Nutzung der Wasserkraft ist zentraler Bestandteil der osterreichischen Energieund Klimastrategie, mit dem Ziel die Treibhausgasemissionen zu reduzieren bzw. den Anteil erneuerbarer Energiequellen am Endenergieverbrauch zu erhohen. Insbesondere im Bereich der Kleinwasserkraft besteht nach Meinung von Experten ein betrachtliches Ausbaupotenzial. Dieses Ausbauziel steht jedoch in einem unmittelbaren Konflikt mit okologischen Schutzzielen wie etwa der EUWasserrahmenrichtlinie. Investitionen in die Nutzung der Wasserkraft sind also mit positiven und negativen Auswirkungen verbunden. Positive Effekte beziehen sich auf die emissionsfreie Stromerzeugung, regionalwirtschaftliche Effekte und eine Verringerung der Abhangigkeit von fossilen Brennstoffen. Negative Effekte, die sich in Zusammenhang mit der Wasserkraftnutzung ergeben, betreffen die Schadigung des Okosystems sowie die Beeintrachtigung des naturlichen Landschaftsbildes. Mit Hilfe eines diskreten Entscheidungsmodells (Choice Experiment) konnte ein detaillierter Einblick in die Praferenzen der osterreichischen Bevolkerung fur einen Ausbau der Wasserkraft gewonnen werden. Wahrend die Schaffung neuer Arbeitsplatze und die Reduktion klimaschadlicher CO2-Emissionen positiv bewertet werden, fuhren Eingriffe in das Okosystem und das naturliche Landschaftsbild zu deutlichen Wohlfahrtsverlusten. Auch zeigte sich die Bestatigung der „Not in my backyard“ Theorie, wonach die Bevolkerung grundsatzlich fur einen Ausbau der Wasserkraft ist, neue Anlagen jedoch moglichst weit entfernt vomWohnsitz errichtet werden sollten.
Nutrient Cycling in Green Roof Ecosystems

In this chapter we consider the cycling of Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) in green roof ecosystems. The focus is placed primarily on N and P because these are the nutrients most often limiting to plant growth in terrestrial ecosystems, and because leaching of these elements to downstream aquatic ecosystems is a concern due to their potential to contribute to eutrophication. Extensive green roofs are commonly sources of phosphorus and dissolved organic carbon in runoff, while they may be either a source or a sink for nitrogen. Plant communities, substrate characteristics, substrate depth, and roof age all play a role in regulating nutrient export. Seasonal variation in runoff nutrient concentrations suggests the importance of temperature and light-mediated processes. Nitrogen leaching may drop off rapidly with the age of the ecosystem and vary with new inputs (atmospheric deposition of N, new fertilizer additions), while roofs leach out P for years or decades under current construction regimes, likely resulting from mineralization of P-rich organic matter in the roof substrate. Conceptual models of nutrient cycling developed from natural terrestrial ecosystems provide a useful starting point for interpreting the important nutrient cycling processes on green roofs. However, the engineered nature of green roof ecosystems, often with a high-nutrient substrate coupled to plants adapted to low-nutrient, extreme environments, gives rise to unique characteristics. There is still little known of the dynamics of important processes for recycling of nutrients within green roof ecosystems, and more studies which include modeling, full roof-scale experiments, and long-term monitoring are needed for improved understanding of these ecosystems.
Coupled atmosphere-wildland fire modeling with WRF 3.3 and SFIRE 2011

Abstract. We describe the physical model, numerical algorithms, and software structure of a model consisting of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, coupled with the fire-spread model (SFIRE) module. In every time step, the fire model inputs the surface wind, which drives the fire, and outputs the heat flux from the fire into the atmosphere, which in turn influences the atmosphere. SFIRE is implemented by the level set method, which allows a submesh representation of the burning region and a flexible implementation of various kinds of ignition. The coupled model is capable of running on a cluster faster than real time even with fine resolution in dekameters. It is available as a part of the Open Wildland Fire Modeling (OpenWFM) environment at http://openwfm.org , which contains also utilities for visualization, diagnostics, and data processing, including an extended version of the WRF Preprocessing System (WPS). The SFIRE code with a subset of the features is distributed with WRF 3.3 as WRF-Fire.
A progressive edge-based stereo correspondence method

Local stereo correspondence is usually not satisfactory because neither big window nor small window based methods can accurately match densely-textured and textureless regions at the same time. In this paper, we present a progressive edge-based stereo matching algorithm, in which big window and small window based matches are progressively integrated based on the edges of disparity map of a big window based matching. In addition, an arbitrarily-shaped window based matching is used for the regions where big windows and small windows can not find matches, and a novel optimization method, progressive outlier remover, is used to effectively remove outliers and noise. Empirical results show that our method is comparable to some state-of-the-art stereo correspondence algorithms.
Rising Inequality Not a Surge at the Top

In a brief reminder of what the data show, this sociologist demonstrates that incomes at the top have been growing no faster since 1980 than they did in earlier decades--and in some cases more slowly. Instead, greater inequality is a consequence of stagnation of incomes for middle- and lower-level families.