cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Refinement of the Flow Map Using Sparse Samples

We present a new efficient and scalable method for the high quality reconstruction of the flow map from sparse samples. The flow map describes the transport of massless particles along the flow. As such, it is a fundamental concept in the analysis of transient flow phenomena and all so-called Lagrangian flow visualization techniques require its approximation. The flow map is generally obtained by integrating a dense 1D, 2D, or 3D set of particles across the domain of definition of the flow. Despite its embarrassingly parallel nature, this computation creates a performance bottleneck in the analysis of large-scale datasets that existing adaptive techniques alleviate only partially. Our iterative approximation method significantly improves upon the state of the art by precisely modeling the flow behavior around automatically detected geometric structures embedded in the flow, thus effectively restricting the sampling effort to interesting regions. Our data reconstruction is based on a modified version of Sibson's scattered data interpolation and allows us at each step to offer an intermediate dense approximation of the flow map and to seamlessly integrate regions that will be further refined in subsequent steps. We present a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of our method on different types of flow datasets and offer a detailed comparison with existing techniques.
Antiphonal Responses to Loud Contact Calls Produced by Saguinus oedipus

We report the results of an experiment designed to investigate whether captive cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) selectively call back to an absent cagemate. We removed 2 individuals living in separate cages (cycling through the colony so that each individual was removed 10 times) from the homeroom and played back calls produced by one of them. The caller’s cagemate, residing in the homeroom, was more likely to be the first individual to call back antiphonally than any other individual in the colony was. In support of previous work using both habituation-discrimination and phonotaxic techniques, our results show that cotton-top tamarins can recognize cagemates and possibly individuals by voice alone, and that the antiphonal playback method provides yet another tool for investigating acoustic perception in nonhuman primates.
Brain signatures of monetary loss and gain: outcome-related potentials in a single outcome gambling task

This study evaluates the event-related potential (ERP) components in a single outcome gambling task that involved monetary losses and gains. The participants were 50 healthy young volunteers (25 males and 25 females). The gambling task involved valence (loss and gain) and amount (50¢ and 10¢) as outcomes. The outcome-related negativity (ORN/N2) and outcome-related positivity (ORP/P3) were analyzed and compared across conditions and gender. Monetary gain (compared to loss) and higher amount (50¢ compared to 10¢) produced higher amplitudes and shorter latencies in both ORN and ORP components. Difference wave plots showed that earlier processing (200–400 ms) is dominated by the valence (loss/gain) while later processing (after 400 ms) is marked by the amount (50¢/10¢). Functional mapping using Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) indicated that the ORN separated the loss against gain in both genders, while the ORP activity distinguished the 50¢ against 10¢ in males. This study further strengthens the view that separate brain processes/circuitry may mediate loss and gain. Although there were no gender differences in behavioral and impulsivity scores, ORN and ORP measures for different task conditions had significant correlations with behavioral scores. This gambling paradigm may potentially offer valuable indicators to study outcome processing and impulsivity in normals as well as in clinical populations.
Microgenomics: Genome-Scale, Cell-Specific Monitoring of Multiple Gene Regulation Tiers

The expression of nuclear protein-coding genes is controlled by dynamic mechanisms ranging from DNA methylation, chromatin modification, and gene transcription to mRNA maturation, turnover, and translation and the posttranslational control of protein function. A genome-scale assessment of the spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression is essential for a comprehensive understanding of gene regulatory networks. However, there are major obstacles to the precise evaluation of gene regulation in multicellular plant organs; these include the monitoring of regulatory processes at levels other than steady-state transcript abundance, resolution of gene regulation in individual cells or cell types, and effective assessment of transient gene activity manifested during development or in response to external cues. This review surveys the advantages and applications of microgenomics technologies that enable panoramic quantitation of cell-type-specific expression in plants, focusing on the importance of querying gene activity at multiple steps in the continuum, from histone modification to selective translation.
Computerization and social transformations

This article examines the relationship between the use of computer-based systems and transformations in parts of the social order. Answers to this question rest heavily on the way computer-based systems are consumed -not just produced or dissemtnated. The discourse about computerezation advanced in many professional magazines and the mass media is saturated with talk about "revolution, " and yet substantial social changes are often difficult to cdentcfy in carefully designed empirical studies. The article examines qualitative case studies of computerization in welfare agencies, urban planning, accounting, marketing, and manufacturing to examine the ways that computerization alters social life in varced ways: sometemes restructuring relationships and in other cases reinforcing existing social relationships. The article also examines some of the theoret ical issues in studies of computerization, such as drawing boundaries. It concludes with some observations about the sociology of computer sctence as an aca...
Learning to Predict Case Markers in Japanese

Japanese case markers, which indicate the grammatical relation of the complement NP to the predicate, often pose challenges to the generation of Japanese text, be it done by a foreign language learner, or by a machine translation (MT) system. In this paper, we describe the task of predicting Japanese case markers and propose machine learning methods for solving it in two settings: (i) monolingual, when given information only from the Japanese sentence; and (ii) bilingual, when also given information from a corresponding English source sentence in an MT context. We formulate the task after the well-studied task of English semantic role labelling, and explore features from a syntactic dependency structure of the sentence. For the monolingual task, we evaluated our models on the Kyoto Corpus and achieved over 84% accuracy in assigning correct case markers for each phrase. For the bilingual task, we achieved an accuracy of 92% per phrase using a bilingual dataset from a technical domain. We show that in both settings, features that exploit dependency information, whether derived from gold-standard annotations or automatically assigned, contribute significantly to the prediction of case markers.
Nutritional Status: A Determinant of Severity of Diarrhea in Patients with Cholera

This study investigates the severity of cholera as related to status of protein-calorie nutrition in both tetracycline-treated and non-antibiotic-treated male patients (n=97) at the Cholera Research Hospital in Dacca Bangladesh during the cholera epidemic of October through December 1974. Stool and urine samples were analyzed. 54 of the patients were severely dehydrated (plasma specific gravity >1.034) and 43 were moderately dehydrated (plasma specific gravity 1.030-1.034). Results show that 95% of both adults and children patients were below their median in weight as related to height and that more than 15% of each group showed 2nd degree protein-calorie malnutrition. Prolongation of diarrhea was marked in all patients. 30 to 70% increase in duration of diarrhea was seen in patients with severe malnutrition. Increased stool loss was not associated with antibiotic usage presence of intestinal parasites or to refeeding diet given. The findings show that malnutrition enhances risk of infection and particularly of diarrheal illness which in turn produces more profound malnutrition. Increased stool losses and prolonged diarrhea in malnourished patients may result in large increases in fluid electrolyte and nursing needs.
Electronic key management system (EKMS)

Summary form only given, as follows. To enhance protection of unencrypted cryptography and match the speed, robustness, and interoperability of C4I for the Warrior, the NSA is pursuing a joint initiative with the user community, i.e. DOD and other federal agencies, to provide an electronic replacement for the current paper-based crypto-material system. This development, called electronic key management system (EKMS), will use computer technology to provide automated responsive cryptographic key ordering, generation, distribution, accounting, and destruction. Importantly, distribution will be encrypted from generation to end COMSEC device using a tiered system architecture comprised of a common suite of hardware and software. The components are the central facility (NSA), local management device (LMD) with local COMSEC management software (LCMS) and key processor (KP) peripheral, and a data transfer device (DTD). The paper provides an EKMS architecture overview, technical description of system components, program update, and tactical applications. >
Do multimodal signals need to come from the same place? Crossmodal attentional links between proximal and distal surfaces

Previous research has shown that the use of multimodal signals can lead to faster and more accurate responses compared to purely unimodal displays. However, in most cases response facilitation only occurs when the signals are presented in roughly the same spatial location. This would suggest a severe restriction on interface designers: to use multimodal displays effectively all signals must be presented from the same location on the display. We previously reported evidence that the use of haptic cues may provide a solution to this problem as haptic cues presented to a user's back can be used to redirect visual attention to locations on a screen in front of the user (Tan et al., 2001). In the present experiment we used a visual change detection task to investigate whether (i) this type of visual-haptic interaction is robust at low cue validity rates and (ii) similar effects occur for auditory cues. Valid haptic cues resulted in significantly faster change detection times even when they accurately indicated the location of the change on only 20% of the trials. Auditory cues had a much smaller effect on detection times at the high validity rate (80%) than haptic cues and did not significantly improve performance at the 20% validity rate. These results suggest that the use haptic attentional cues may be particularly effective in environments in which information cannot be presented in the same spatial location.
γ-glutamyltranspeptidase expression regulates the growth-inhibitory activity of the anti-tumor prodrug γ-L-glutaminyl-4-hydroxy-3-iodobenzene

gamma-L-glutaminyl-4-hydroxy-3-iodobenzene (I-GHB), a novel iodinated analog of gamma-L-glutaminyl-4-hydroxybenzene (GHB), demonstrates greater anti-tumor activity in human and in murine melanoma cell lines. These phenolic amides are substrates for gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGTP; E.C. 2.3.2.2), a cell-membrane-associated ecto-enzyme which is elevated in a number of tumor systems. We now present data to show that the growth-inhibitory activity of I-GHB and GHB may be mediated via GGTP-catalyzed reactions. The growth-inhibitory activity of I-GHB and GHB in pigmented B16-BL6 melanoma cells was blocked significantly by rabbit anti-rat GGTP polyclonal antibodies. The combination of L-serine and sodium borate, a specific transition-state inhibitor of GGTP, as well as acivicin, a glutamine antagonist and irreversible GGTP inhibitor, inhibited the killing of BL6 cells by GHB and I-GHB. To further define the role of GGTP expression in the regulation of phenolic amide cytotoxicity, GGTP-negative Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO-K1) were transfected with a functional rat renal cDNA representing the full-length GGTP transcript. I-GHB and GHB were significantly more cytotoxic in GGTP cDNA transfected Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1-GGTP) cells than in non-transfected CHO-K1 cells. The combination of L-serine and sodium borate blocked the cytotoxic activity of these pro-drugs and also inhibited GGTP-catalyzed formation of polymerized products from these phenolic amides in intact BL6 melanoma and CHO-K1-GGTP cells. Furthermore, melanin formation from GHB was not observed in non-transfected CHO-K1 cells lacking GGTP expression. The combined data strongly suggest that GGTP-catalyzed hydrolysis of the anti-tumor pro-drugs I-GHB and GHB to 4-aminophenols mediates the expression of antitumor activity.
A Novel Protein Polymorphism Differentiates the California Serotype of Infectious Bronchitis from other Serotypes Common to California

The California (Cal) serotype of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) was isolated from layer flocks in southern California in the early 1980s. Since then, it has spread to the broiler-producing regions of central California, where it has been implicated in respiratory disease outbreaks in vaccinated flocks. Lack of a procedure for quickly identifying IBV serotypes in commercial chicken flocks has prevented the causal association of the IBV Cal serotype with respiratory disease outbreaks. A protein polymorphism has been identified in the matrix protein of the Cal serotype; it appears to be unique among other common serotypes of infectious bronchitis virus found in California. This polymorphism can be identified on western blots using raw or concentrated infectious allantoic fluid as the source material. Identification of the Cal serotype and of serotypes in the Mass and Conn groups can be performed rapidly using field samples from suspect flocks. The identification of this polymorphism provides an alternative method for the rapid identification of the Cal serotype of IBV.
Mental and emotional aspects of long-distance running

Abstract Ordinary nonprofessional runners were surveyed about the psychological aspects of running. Many of the respondents had started running to improve their health, and almost all noted mental and emotional benefits including relief of tension, improved self-image, and better mood. About one half describe trance-like states, enhanced visual imagery, and creative episodes. Two thirds have experienced the familiar "runnerh's high" in slightly less than half of their runs. Several possible explanations for the high are described, including self-hypnosis, increased CNS norepinephnne, and increased endorphin release.
Neuron-glia signaling in developing retina mediated by neurotransmitter spillover

Neuron-glia interactions play a critical role in the maturation of neural circuits; however, little is known about the pathways that mediate their communication in the developing CNS. We investigated neuron-glia signaling in the developing retina, where we demonstrate that retinal waves reliably induce calcium transients in Muller glial cells (MCs). During cholinergic waves, MC calcium transients were blocked by muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonists, whereas during glutamatergic waves, MC calcium transients were inhibited by ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonists, indicating that the responsiveness of MCs changes to match the neurotransmitter used to support retinal waves. Using an optical glutamate sensor we show that the decline in MC calcium transients is caused by a reduction in the amount of glutamate reaching MCs. Together, these studies indicate that neurons and MCs exhibit correlated activity during a critical period of retinal maturation that is enabled by neurotransmitter spillover from retinal synapses.
Present and future high-energy accelerators for neutrino experiments

There is an active neutrino program making use of the high-energy (larger than 50 GeV) accelerators both in USA at Fermilab with NuMI and at CERN in Europe with CNGS. In this paper we will review the prospects for high intensity high energy beams in those two locations during the next decade.
Design of polarization-insensitive components using geometrical and stress-induced birefringence in SOI waveguides

We review the use of the oxide cladding stress induced photoelastic effect to eliminate the modal birefringence in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) ridge waveguide components, and highlight characteristics particular to high index contrast (HIC) systems. The birefringence in planar waveguides has its origin in the electromagnetic boundary conditions at the waveguide boundaries, and can be further modified by the presence of stress in the materials. It is shown that geometrical constraints imposed by different design and fabrication considerations become increasingly difficult to satisfy with decreasing core sizes. On the other hand, with typical stress levels of -100 MPa to -400 MPa (compressive) in SiO2 used as the upper cladding, the effective indices are altered up to the order of 10-3 for ridges with heights ranging from 1 μm to 5 μm. We demonstrate that the stress can be effectively used to balance the geometrical birefringence. Birefringence-free operation is achieved for waveguides with otherwise large birefringence by using properly chosen thickness and stress of the upper cladding layer. This allows the waveguide cross-section profiles to be optimized for design criteria other than zero-birefringence. Since the index changes induced by the stress are orders of magnitude smaller than the waveguide core/cladding index contrast, changes in the mode profiles are insignificant and the associated mode mismatch loss is negligible. We study the stress-induced effects in two parallel waveguides of varying spacing, to emulate the condition in directional couplers and ring-resonators. In the arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) demultiplexers fabricated in the SOI platform, we demonstrated the reduction of the birefringence from 1.3x10-3 (without the upper cladding) to below 1x10-4 across the spectral band by using a 0.6 μm oxide upper cladding with a stress of -320 MPa (compressive). Design options for relaxed dimensional tolerance and improved coupler performance made available by using stress engineering are discussed.
Is system control entirely by price feasible

This paper revisits the possibility of controlling the power system entirely by means of price signals. It expands on notions introduced in an earlier paper and addresses several unresolved issues: problems with linear cost structures, response delays, varying costs, market power, and stability problems caused by market/system interactions. The results suggest that control by price can, in fact, be made to work with some caveats.
Minimizing the Null Message Exchange in Conservative Distributed Simulation

The performance of a conservative time management algorithm in a distributed simulation system degrade s significantly if a large number of null messages are exchanged across the logical processes in order to avoid deadlock. This situation gets more severe when the exchange of null messages is increased due to the poor selection of key parameters such as lookahead values. However, with a mathematical model that can approximate the optimal values of parameters that are directly involved in the performance of a time management algorithm, we can limit the exchange of null messages. The reduction in the exchange of null messages greatly improves the performance of the time management algorithm by both minimizing the transmission overhead and maintaining a consistent parallelization. This paper presents a generic mathematical model that can be effectively used to evaluate the performance of a conservative distributed simulation system that uses null messages to avoid deadlock. Since the proposed mathematical model is generic, the performance of any conservative synchronization algorithm can be approximated. In addition, we develop a performance model that demonstrates that how a conservative distributed simulation system performs with the null message algorithm (NMA). The simulation results show that the performance of a conservative distributed system degrades if the NMA generates an excessive number of null messages due to the improper selection of parameters. In addition, the proposed mathematical model presents the critical role of lookahead which may increase or decrease the amount of null messages across the logical processes. Furthermore, the proposed mathematical model is not limited to NMA. It can also be used with any conservative synchronization algorithm to approximate the optimal values of parameters.
Bridging the Divide? The European Court of First Instance Judgment in GE/Honeywell

This short comment analyzes the history and outcome of the judicial review of the European Commission’s landmark decision blocking the 2001 GE/Honeywell merger, the first case where the European antitrust regulator enjoined an M&A transaction between two U.S.-incorporated companies that had already cleared the U.S. merger review process. The comment situates the GE/Honeywell case in the larger context of transatlantic economic governance and cooperation by using it to (1) illuminate some of the structural fault lines between the U.S. and EU approaches to antitrust law prior to the start of the EU’s antitrust modernization program, and (2) assess the extent to which these fault lines are being erased as a result of institutional and judicial developments relating to the implementation of the modernization program.
Analysis of Modified Compressibility Corrections for Turbulence Models

Two modified compressibility corrections are introduced based on the notion that the reduction in the growth rate in compressible free shear flows levels off at a certain turbulence Mach number, as seen in experiments and direct numerical simulation (DNS). The OVERFLOW code is used to assess Sarkar’s compressibility correction and two modifications when used with the SST turbulence model. Test cases include an axisymmetric jet, a 3-D jet with crossflow, a generic boundary layer, and a generic mixing layer. The modified corrections do not disturb the beneficial behavior of the standard correction observed for the axisymmetric jets. For the 3-D cases, which have a higher Mach number, the modified corrections show significant improvement over the Sarkar and uncorrected models. The compressible boundary layer test case shows that there is still an underprediction of the wall skin friction coefficient with the compressibility corrections, but this can be solved by using a simple modification in the turbulence model, as is already done in OVERFLOW. Finally, analysis of the compressible mixing layer shows that the modified corrections exhibit the correct trend in limiting the reduction of the growth rate, but do not match the level of reduction seen with experimentally-obtained results.
A Field Trip to the Archaean in Search of Darwin’s Warm Little Pond

Charles Darwin’s original intuition that life began in a “warm little pond” has for the last three decades been eclipsed by a focus on marine hydrothermal vents as a venue for abiogenesis. However, thermodynamic barriers to polymerization of key molecular building blocks and the difficulty of forming stable membranous compartments in seawater suggest that Darwin’s original insight should be reconsidered. I will introduce the terrestrial origin of life hypothesis, which combines field observations and laboratory results to provide a novel and testable model in which life begins as protocells assembling in inland fresh water hydrothermal fields. Hydrothermal fields are associated with volcanic landmasses resembling Hawaii and Iceland today and could plausibly have existed on similar land masses rising out of Earth’s first oceans. I will report on a field trip to the living and ancient stromatolite fossil localities of Western Australia, which provided key insights into how life may have emerged in Archaean, fluctuating fresh water hydrothermal pools, geological evidence for which has recently been discovered. Laboratory experimentation and fieldwork are providing mounting evidence that such sites have properties that are conducive to polymerization reactions and generation of membrane-bounded protocells. I will build on the previously developed coupled phases scenario, unifying the chemical and geological frameworks and proposing that a hydrogel of stable, communally supported protocells will emerge as a candidate Woese progenote, the distant common ancestor of microbial communities so abundant in the earliest fossil record.
Pregnane X Receptor Represses HNF4α Gene to Induce Insulin-Like Growth Factor–Binding Protein IGFBP1 that Alters Morphology of and Migrates HepG2 Cells

Upon treatment with the pregnane X receptor (PXR) activator rifampicin (RIF), human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2-derived ShP51 cells that stably express PXR showed epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like morphological changes and migration. Our recent DNA microarrays have identified hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF) 4α and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP) 1 mRNAs to be downregulated and upregulated, respectively, in RIF-treated ShP51 cells, and these regulations were confirmed by the subsequent real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analyses. Using this cell system, we demonstrated here that the PXR-HNF4α-IGFBP1 pathway is an essential signal for PXR-induced morphological changes and migration. First, we characterized the molecular mechanism underlying the PXR-mediated repression of the HNF4α gene. Chromatin conformation capture and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays revealed that PXR activation by RIF disrupted enhancer-promoter communication and prompted deacetylation of histone H3 in the HNF4α P1 promoter. Cell-based reporter and ChIP assays showed that PXR targeted the distal enhancer of the HNF4α P1 promoter and stimulated dissociation of HNF3β from the distal enhancer. Subsequently, small interfering RNA knockdown of HNF4α connected PXR-mediated gene regulation with the PXR-induced cellular responses, showing that the knockdown resulted in the upregulation of IGFBP1 and EMT-like morphological changes without RIF treatment. Moreover, recombinant IGFBP1 augmented migration, whereas an anti-IGFBP1 antibody attenuated both PXR-induced morphological changes and migration in ShP51 cells. PXR indirectly activated the IGFBP1 gene by repressing the HNF4α gene, thus enabling upregulation of IGFBP1 to change the morphology of ShP51 cells and cause migration. These results provide new insights into PXR-mediated cellular responses toward xenobiotics including therapeutics.
NASA'S PLANETARY GEOLOGIC MAPPING PROGRAM: OVERVIEW

Abstract. NASA’s Planetary Science Division supports the geologic mapping of planetary surfaces through a distinct organizational structure and a series of research and analysis (R&A) funding programs. Cartography and geologic mapping issues for NASA’s planetary science programs are overseen by the Mapping and Planetary Spatial Infrastructure Team (MAPSIT), which is an assessment group for cartography similar to the Mars Exploration Program Assessment Group (MEPAG) for Mars exploration. MAPSIT’s Steering Committee includes specialists in geological mapping, who make up the Geologic Mapping Subcommittee (GEMS). I am the GEMS Chair, and with a group of 3-4 community mappers we advise the U.S. Geological Survey Planetary Geologic Mapping Coordinator (Dr. James Skinner) and develop policy and procedures to aid the planetary geologic mapping community. GEMS meets twice a year, at the Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in March, and at the Annual Planetary Mappers’ Meeting in June (attendance is required by all NASA-funded geologic mappers). Funding programs under NASA’s current R&A structure to propose geological mapping projects include Mars Data Analysis (Mars), Lunar Data Analysis (Moon), Discovery Data Analysis (Mercury, Vesta, Ceres), Cassini Data Analysis (Saturn moons), Solar System Workings (Venus or Jupiter moons), and the Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools (PDART) program. Current NASA policy requires all funded geologic mapping projects to be done digitally using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software. In this presentation we will discuss details on how geologic mapping is done consistent with current NASA policy and USGS guidelines.
Comment on “Thermal properties of magnons in yttrium iron garnet at elevated magnetic fields”

Rezende and L\'opez Ortiz [Phys. Rev. B 91, 104416 (2015)] published a calculation for the magnon specific heat and thermal conductivity of yttrium iron garnet in the presence of large magnetic fields. The results reproduced our previous temperature-dependent measurements of both quantities in fields up to 70 kOe [Phys. Rev. B 90, 064421 (2014)]. Here, we point out that the experimentally observed magnetic-field dependence of thermal conductivity shows a faster saturation than their model explains. Furthermore, their results do not affect the main conclusion of our paper regarding the magnon thermal mean-free path.
Evaluating Cancer Costs in NCI Trials

Historically, the evaluation of new, therapeutic strategies for cancer have depended exclusively on safety and clinical efficacy.[1] Today, there is an increasing recognition by health care providers and financing organizations of the resource constraints on the provision of these services, lending greater importance to their economic evaluation.[1]–[4] Further, as costs for such services continue to rise, there is also a heightened desire for information on the value for each dollar spent in providing these technologies.
Black Twitter Asks Rachel: Racial Identity Theft in “Post-Racial” America

ABSTRACTOn Monday, June 15, 2015, Rachel Dolezal resigned from her post as president of the Spokane chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People amid allegations that she had been lying about her race. Dolezal, her White parents claimed, had been “presenting herself as a black person when she is not.” This article explores Black Twitter's response to Dolezal's “outing” as a White woman with particular emphasis on the #AskRachel hashtag, to which users posted a series of questions intended to discern Dolezal's “true” racial identity. Although the hashtag has been alternately praised for its wit and critiqued for its cruelty, this article suggests that both critiques underestimate the hashtag's significance. This article argues that the hashtag provided a site for the articulation, contestation, and negotiation of Blackness, capturing larger cultural anxieties surrounding racial identity in a “post-racial” United States.
Comorbid Substance Use and Anxiety Disorders in Adolescents

To explore the coexistence of substance use disorders and anxiety disorders in adolescents, we assessed adolescents presenting for treatment to an inpatient substance abuse treatment facility (SUH), an inpatient psychiatric treatment facility (IPH), and a community-based psychiatric facility (CMHC) for comorbid substance use and psychiatric diagnoses. Thirty subjects from each facility (N=90) were interviewed using the revised Child Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS) and the Structured Clinical Interview DSM-III-R (SCID-R) for substance use diagnoses. Overall, comorbidity (anxiety and substance use disorders) prevalence was 67% (20/30) of adolescents in the SUH group, 33% (10/30) of the CMHC adolescents, and 33% (10/30) of the IPH adolescents. Alcohol and marijuana were the most frequently abused substances. Anxiety disorders commonly coexist with substance use disorders in adolescents. Early identification and treatment of anxiety disorders may in fact prevent substance abuse in this population.
Complete Genome Sequence of Acetobacter tropicalis Oregon-R-modENCODE Strain BDGP1, an Acetic Acid Bacterium Found in the Drosophila melanogaster Gut.

Acetobacter pomorum Oregon-R-modENCODE strain BDGP5 was isolated from Drosophila melanogaster for functional host-microbe interaction studies. The complete genome is composed of a single chromosomal circle of 2,848,089 bp, with a G+C content of 53% and three plasmids of 131,455 bp, 19,216 bp, and 9,160 bp.
Numerical convergence study of some iterative algorithms for coupled physics electrical conductivity imaging

One of the new modalities of quantitative imaging, Coupled Physics Electrical Conductivity Imaging (CPECI), utilizes interactions between the electric field injected into an object and electromagnetic fields exploited in Magnetic Resonance Imaging systems. Such coupling is capable of improving low resolution inherent to the traditional electrical impedance tomography. From a mathematical point of view, a mathematical model of CPECI is given by a boundary value problem for the weighted p-Laplace equation, which is nonlinear. The analysis of any CPECI model is a challenging problem, and the main issue is establishing the uniqueness and stability results. The lack of the global stability result motivates the numerical convergence study of computational algorithms for CPECI. In this paper, we present some results of this study utilizing a finite-difference approximation of a new mathematical model of CPECI and two iterative procedures, the Picard-like and Bregman iterations, for recovering the electrical conductivity from one measurement of the magnitude of current density field inside an object to be investigated. This work is a part of the long-term research project pursuing in collaboration with Prof. A. Nachman (University of Toronto, Canada) and Prof. A. Tamasan (University of Central Florida, USA).
Ecological Interface Design for Computer Network Defense.

Objective:A prototype ecological interface for computer network defense (CND) was developed.Background:Concerns about CND run high. Although there is a vast literature on CND, there is some indicat...
Publisher Correction: High power surface emitting terahertz laser with hybrid second- and fourth-order Bragg gratings.

The original PDF version of this Article contained an error in Equation 1. The ‘Λ’ was missing from the denominator. This has been corrected in the PDF version of the Article. The HTML version was correct from the time of publication.
Interpretation of Spinal Radiographic Parameters in Patients With Transitional Lumbosacral Vertebrae.

Retrospective radiographic review. To understand the effect of variability in sacral endplate selection in transitional lumbosacral vertebrae (TLSV) and its impact on pelvic, regional, and global spinal alignment parameters. TLSV can have the characteristics of both lumbar and sacral vertebrae. Difficulties in identification of the S1 endplate may come from nomenclature, number of lumbar vertebrae, sacra, and morphology and may influence the interpretation and consistency of spinal alignment parameters. Patients with TLSV were identified and radiographic measurements including pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), sacral slope (SS), lumbar lordosis (LL), sagittal vertical axis (SVA), T1-pelvic angle (TPA), pelvic incidence-lumbar lordosis (PI-LL) mismatch, thoracic kyphosis (TK), and spinal inclination (T1SPi) were obtained. Radiographic measurements were performed twice with the sacral endplate at the cephalad and caudal options. Paired t tests assessed the difference between different selection groups. Of 1,869 patients, 70 (3.7%) were found to have TLSV on radiographic imaging. Fifty-eight (82.9%) had lumbarized sacral segments whereas 12 (17.1%) had sacralized lumbar segments. T1-SPi (mean: −1.77°) and TK (mean: 34.86°) did not vary from altering sacral endplate selection. Selection of the caudal TLSV as the sacral endplate resulted in an increase in all pelvic parameters (PI: 66.8° vs. 44.3°, PT: 25.1° vs. 12.7°, and SS: 41.6° vs. 31.6°), regional lumbar parameters (LL: −54.1° vs. 44.0°, PI-LL: 12.7° vs. 0.3°), and global parameters (SVA: 46.1 mm vs. 28.3 mm, TPA: 23.3° vs. 10.8°) as compared to selecting the cephalad TLSV. All mean differences between radiographic parameters were found to be statistically significant (p < .001). Variation in sacral endplate selection in TLSV significantly affects spinal alignment parameter measurements. A standardized method for measuring TLSV is needed to reduce measurement error and ultimately allow more accurate understanding of alignment targets in patients with TLSV. Level III.
DEHP Nanodroplets Leached From Polyvinyl Chloride IV Bags Promote Aggregation of IVIG and Activate Complement in Human Serum

Abstract Concerns regarding the impact of subvisible particulate impurities on the safety and efficacy of therapeutic protein products have led manufacturers to implement strategies to minimize protein aggregation and particle formation during manufacturing, storage, and shipping. However, once these products are released, manufacturers have limited control over product handling. In this work, we investigated the effect of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) nanodroplets generated in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) bags of intravenous (IV) saline on the stability and immunogenicity of IV immunoglobulin (IVIG) formulations. We showed that PVC IV bags containing saline can release DEHP droplets into the solution when agitated or transported using a pneumatic tube transportation system in a clinical setting. We next investigated the effects of emulsified DEHP nanodroplets on IVIG stability and immunogenicity. IVIG adsorbed strongly to DEHP nanodroplets, forming a monolayer. In addition, DEHP nanodroplets accelerated IVIG aggregation in agitated samples. The immunogenicity of DEHP nanodroplets and IVIG aggregates generated in these formulations were evaluated using an in vitro assay of complement activation in human serum. The results suggested DEHP nanodroplets shed from PVC IV bags could reduce protein stability and induce activation of the complement system, potentially contributing to adverse immune responses during the administration of therapeutic proteins.
Financial Education and Coaching: A Lifestyle Medicine Approach to Addressing Financial Stress:

Economic stability is a well-documented social determinant of health, and financial stress is an important driver for the health disparities observed in the poor. Persons under financial stress are more likely to engage in smoking, alcohol consumption, overspending, poor diet, and reduced exercise. Financial education and coaching is one strategy that can be used to reduce financial stress and potentially improve engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviors, quality of life, and objective health outcomes. A conceptual model describing the link between financial education/coaching and health is described along with preliminary data from a randomized controlled trial evaluating this intervention.
Lipid Bodies: Structurally Distinct, Non-Membranous Intracellular Sites of Eicosanoid Formation

Lipid bodies are non-membrane bound cytoplasmic inclusions characteristically more abundant in cells associated with inflammatory reactions. Our investigations of cytoplasmic lipid bodies, which have studied aspects of lipid body occurrence, formation, and protein and lipid composition, indicate that lipid bodies have novel functions as specialized intracellular domains involved in the formation of eicosanoids by cells engaged in inflammatory reactions.
Reimagining Engineering Ethics: From Ethics Education to Character Education

Ethics education is a requirement in undergraduate engineering education, but evidence suggests that there is a limited improvement, and perhaps even diminishment, in moral commitments and capacities in engineering students during college. In the present paper, we gauge the current state of ethics education and identify opportunities for improvement given current trends in teaching ethics in engineering. We find that engineering ethics education has a number of suboptimal characteristics. First, engineering ethics does not show clear links to varying ethical theories that might inform ethical reasoning and decision making. Second, engineering ethics education places a heavy emphasis on compliance or rule-following, which provides fewer opportunities for internalizing moral values and virtues. Third, ethics lessons often emphasize case studies of rare or extreme circumstances, like the NASA space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986, reinforcing the perception that morality is an infrequent professional concern. In the interest of improving ethics education, we introduce character education as a valuable approach to undergraduate engineering ethics education, one grounded in philosophical and psychological work on developing virtuous dispositions as well as personal, professional, and societal flourishing. We describe what character education in engineering might look like and sketch how it could help the profession and its stakeholders achieve both personal and professional outcomes.
Validation and optimization of enhanced volumetric laser endomicroscopy scoring systems for Barrett's esophagus dysplasia

Abstract Background Volumetric laser endomicroscopy (VLE) is an advanced imaging modality used in Barrett's esophagus (BE) surveillance. VLE interpretation relies on identification of specific features associated with BE dysplasia and can be enhanced by intelligent real-time image segmentation (IRIS). The diagnostic performance of established VLE interpretation systems has not been validated. This study uses a dataset of histology-matched regions of interest (ROI) to determine the diagnostic performance of VLE with and without IRIS enhancement. Methods VLE scans with ROIs laser-marked for targeted biopsy and matching histopathology were performed in patients undergoing BE surveillance. ROIs were rated independently for BE dysplasia by 3 blinded VLE experts using established VLE interpretation systems. Following a washout period, ROIs were rated using IRIS adapted to the VLE interpretation systems. Inter-rater agreement, diagnostic performance, and optimal diagnostic thresholds were calculated for each scoring system. Results A total of 71 laser-marked ROIs from 44 patients (mean age: 68 years) and BE length of 5 cm were included. About 45.1% of ROIs contained dysplasia. Inter-rater agreement was uniformly very good or excellent and only the surface intensity scoring agreement was enhanced by IRIS. The scoring systems’ AUC ranged from 0.59 to 0.74 and 0.60 to 0.75 for VLE with and without IRIS, respectively. When diagnostic thresholds of the existing scoring systems were optimized, the adjusted AUC ranged from 0.70 to 0.78. Conclusions This is the first study to validate and optimize the diagnostic performance of established VLE interpretation systems for BE dysplasia. IRIS image enhancement adapted to these interpretation systems demonstrated similar diagnostic performance.
The Effectiveness of College Football Recruiting Ratings in Predicting Team Success: A Longitudinal Study

American college football is a multibillion-dollar industry for the 130 schools that play at the highest level. College football is unique in that it must recruit student athletes, unlike high school or pro football. An entire multimillion-dollar industry has developed to provide recruiting ratings and team-specific information for rabid fans. The question in this study is “Do recruiting rankings matter?” This study uses the 247Sports class ratings and team ratings to predict the future success of teams. The Sagarin final ratings are used as a proxy for team success. The results indicate that knowing recruiting rankings explains up to 36% of the variability of the Sagarin ratings.
Incidence and risk factors of sepsis in hemodialysis patients in the United States.

Abstract Background Sepsis is one the most serious and life-threatening complication in patients with chronic hemodialysis (HD) access. Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) use is associated with a lower risk of infection. However, several prior studies identified significantly higher number of patients initiating HD using a catheter (HC) or arteriovenous graft (AVG). The aim of this study was to use a large national renal database to report the incidence and risk factors of sepsis in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) initiating HD access using AVF, AVG, or HC in the United States. Methods All patients with ESRD initiating HD access (AVF, AVG, HC) between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2014, in United States Renal Data System were included. International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition–Clinical Modification diagnosis code (038x, 790.7) was used to identify patients who developed first onset of sepsis during follow-up. Standard univariate (Students t-test, χ2, and Kaplan-Meier) and multivariable (logistic/Cox regression) analyses were performed as appropriate. Results A total of 870,571 patients were identified, of whom, 29.8% (n = 259,686) developed sepsis. HC (31.2%) and AVG (30.6%) were associated with a higher number of septic cases compared with AVF (22.9%; P Conclusions Sepsis risk in HD patients is clearly related to access type and is associated with dramatic increase in mortality. Initiating HD access with AVF to meet the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality recommendations should be implemented to reduce the incidence of sepsis and improve survival in patients with ESRD.
Sex Differences in Substance Use and Misuse: A Toxicology Investigators' Consortium (ToxIC) Registry Analysis.

Background Variations between male and female populations are previously reported in classes of harmfully used/misused drugs, severity of substance use disorder and risk of relapse. The aim of this study was to provide a review of bedside medical toxicologist managed, sex-specific poisonings in adults that present with harmful drug use/misuse. Methods ToxIC Registry cases ≥19 and ≤65 years old, with harmful drug use or misuse during the timeframe June 2010-December 2016, were studied. Demographics, primary agents of toxic exposure, administration route and complications were analyzed. Descriptive methods were used in the analysis. Results The database included 51,440 cases. Of these, 3426 cases were analyzed in which the primary reason for the encounter was harmful substance use/misuse. Females were found to harmfully use/misuse pharmaceutical drugs (N=806, 65.6%) more than nonpharmaceutical drugs (N=423, 34.4%). Males more frequently used nonpharmaceutical drugs (N=1189, 54.1%) than pharmaceutical drugs (1008, 45.9%). Analgesics were used by females (N= 215, 18.2%) and males (N=137, 6.6%). Sedative hypnotics were used by females (N=165, 14%) and males (N=160, 7.8%). Psychoactive agents were used by males (N=325, 15.8%) and females (N=67, 5.7%). Sympathomimetics were used by males (N=381, 18.5%) and females (N=151, 12.8%). The majority of both male and female participants, 1712 (57.9%), utilized an oral route of administration. However, 312 (16.5%) of males utilized inhalation vs 73 (6.8%) of females inhaled their substance. Conclusion There were sex-specific differences among patients evaluated for harmful substance use/misuse by toxicologists. Considering these differences in regards to management and preventive approaches may be indicated.