cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quality assurance and dosimetric evaluation for an endocavitary unit.

Abstract The use of endocavitary contact therapy for selected rectal carcinomas continues to be an effective treatment option. Very small volumes are treated with an extremely high dose rate associated with rapid fall-off in depth and an overall high dose. The clinical benefits of the high dose rate leads to dosimetric and quality-assurance challenges. In addition, the operating room environment creates concerns in terms of dosimetry and radiation safety due to varying room line voltages and uncontrolled environments. The unit at our facility delivers 50 kVp X-rays using an SSD of 35 mm with lead-lined procotscopes of 24 and 29 mm. The dose rate is approximately 10 Gy per minute. Establishment of daily, monthly, and annual quality assurance reviews have been made and assessed. Parallel-plate ionization chambers measure outputs and relative depth dose with different phantoms. Silver bromide film is used to evaluate beam profiles. An electron diode system was chosen for day-of-treatment output checks. An ion chamber survey meter measures scatter and leakage exposure rates. Day-of-treatment output checks have assured output stability in various operating rooms. Trends in output have been confirmed by monthly ion chamber checks. Percent depth dose measurements carried out in liquid water compared well with accepted published data as did corrected polystyrene measurements. Radiation survey measurements detected acceptable exposure rate levels. The established comprehensive quality assurance program incorporates cross checking with multiple dosimetry systems. The confidence level of dose delivery has increased with the introduction of a day-of-treatment output checks. Polystyrene for depth dose data has been confirmed to be an accurate medium. Radiation exposure rates were found to be within safe limits for the uncontrolled environment of the operating room.
Respiratory therapy in the neonatal intensive care unit.

The role of respiratory therapy in selection, use, and maintenance of equipment is emphasized. Types of equipment are differentiated according to function, advantages, and disadvantages.
A tool for teaching reverse engineering

Tigress is a freely available source-to-source, C language code obfuscator. The tool allows users to obfuscate existing programs or programs randomly generated by Tigress itself. Tigress is highly flexible, providing a large number of standard obfuscating code transformations, and many variants of each transformation. Tigress may be used in many contexts, but in this paper we describe its use in teaching code reverse engineering techniques. In order to make Tigress easily available and usable to educators and students, we have integrated Tigress into a web application. In addition to directly benefiting education, this new web application offers unique ways to advance research on code obfuscation and reverse engineering.
Anomalous Java cooling at the initiation of positive Indian Ocean Dipole events

Anomalous sea surface temperature (SST) cooling south of Java, initiated during May–July, is an important precursor to positive Indian Ocean Dipole (pIOD) events. As shown previously, the Java SST anomalies are spatially and temporally coincident with seasonal upwelling induced locally by southeasterly trade winds. However, we confirm earlier findings that interannual variability of the Java cooling is primarily driven by remote wind forcing from coastal Sumatra and the equatorial Indian Ocean (EqIO); we also find an influence from winds along the Indonesian Throughflow. The wind forcing in the EqIO and along coastal Sumatra does not initiate SST cooling locally due to a deep thermocline and thick barrier layer, but can force upwelling Kelvin waves that induce substantial surface cooling once they reach the seasonally shallower thermocline near the coast of Java. Satellite altimetry is used to obtain a Kelvin wave coefficient that approximates Kelvin wave amplitude variations along the equator. All pIOD years in the satellite record have anomalous levels of upwelling Kelvin wave activity along the equator during April–June, suggesting that upwelling waves during this season are necessary for pIOD event development. However, a change to wind-forced downwelling Kelvin waves during July–August can abruptly terminate cool Java SST anomalies and weaken the pIOD event. Upwelling Kelvin wave activity along the equator and wind stress anomalies west of Sumatra are both robust predictors of the IOD index later in the calendar year, while values of the Kelvin wave coefficient are the most reliable predictor of pIOD events specifically.
Microaggressions and Perceptions of Cultural Humility in Counseling

The purpose of this study was to explore how microaggressions affect counseling outcomes. Participants were 128 racial/ethnic minority individuals who had been in counseling within the past year. Results indicated that identity attributions were associated with counseling outcomes (i.e., working alliance and perceived improvement in counseling). Furthermore, perceptions of cultural humility mediated the relationship between negative emotion due to rupture and counseling outcomes (i.e., working alliance and perceived improvement in counseling).
How cops see themselves: Self-regard and physical confidence

This study provides the first assessment of officer self-regard and physical confidence among a sample of state police officers. Specifically, this study aims to identify health and wellness predic...
Updating the Law and Economics of Legal Parochialism

In my original article, I observed that Law and Economics is influential in American legal scholarship, but not as much elsewhere and argued that the problems faced by law and economics outside of the United States were neither particular to the field nor to the local context. I offered an interpretation based on the similarities between legal parochialism and trade protectionism. In this updated version of my Article, I discuss recent developments and future trends.
Can Health Care Plans Afford Hemophilia Costs? Yes.

Abstract Hemophilia care has high annual recurring costs. 80–90% of these costs are to cover replacement therapy. Managed care programs have, in general, not recruited specialists to help determine the guidelines of care, the use of hemophilia treatment centers (HTC) by their patients or the multiple sources and charges for acquiring these expensive biologics. Aetna has 700–750 hemophilia patients in a typical year whose medical costs are upward of $60 million. These patients represent only.005% of the total membership, and 0.198% of the health care dollars spent. A hemophilia specialist was asked to evaluate these patients vis-a-vis site of care, optimal treatment plan, and potential savings for covered members, payers and employers. Methods: working with the Aetna nurse case managers, individual patients were evaluated for the above issues. Results: From June 2004 to June 2005, 190 patient files were reviewed. Of these, 18% had lifetime caps, and 30% were not treated in an HTC. 16% of these patients decided to transfer to an HTC for either their care or product procurement. The remainder decided not to pursue this path. Table I . Patients Issue 1) 4.5 % Altered regimen, product or product procurement 2) 3 % Contemplating altered regimen, product or product procurement 3) 17 % Physician contacted regarding optimal therapy 4) 9.5 % Prices of product negotiated downward 5) 12 % Product procurement switch to PHS pricing 6) 3 % Adhering to previous regimen Table II . $ Savings (using above categories) Real Potential 1) 2,978,028 2) --- 353,972 3) 0 4) 1,157,504 5) 4,334,523 6) --- 1,904,360 Total 8,470,055 2,258,332 The potential savings represent those who are either contemplating change but, in the main, are physicians and/or patients who chose not to accept the recommendations made. Realized annualized savings of more than $8 million affect all aspects of the care system. It is particularly revelant to those with lifetime caps. If this model were expanded for other high cost disorders, medical expenses could diminish and premium inflation could eventually decrease. Hemophilia biologics have continued to increase in costs from cryoprecipitate in the 1960s to current recombinant products. Fostering access to HTCs substantially improves quality of care and reduces medical expenditures. In conclusion, we believe that by using this approach, hemophilia care and its costs can be appropriately managed.
Normal dispersion high conversion efficiency Kerr comb with 50 GHz repetition rate

We demonstrate a 50 GHz, low noise Kerr comb with 34% conversion of the pump light into the comb based on a normal dispersion, silicon nitride microring resonator.
Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Leading to False Allelic Fraction by Droplet Digital PCR.

Background: Molecular-based diagnostics have great utility for cancer detection. We have used droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) as a platform for identifying mutations in circulating plasma tumor DNA (ptDNA). We present the unexpected finding of a spurious mutant allele fraction that was discovered to be artifactual because of the presence of a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in a patient sample. Design and Methods: Probe and primer combinations for the K700 and V701 loci of the SF3B1 spliceosome gene were designed for ddPCR to identify the percentage of mutant and wild-type alleles. Clinical samples from patients with cancer with known SF3B1 mutations were collected and tested to evaluate the assays’ ability to detect SF3B1 mutations in ptDNA. Results: Patient samples showed SF3B1 K700E mutations within the ptDNA, which is known to harbor this mutation, of 4 patients with acute leukemia and 3 with myelodysplastic leukemia. A blood sample from a patient with lung cancer with a known SF3B1 V701F mutation was also analyzed and this mutation was successfully identified in ptDNA. However, 1 of the patients with a K700E mutation was found to have a mutational burden of 98%. After careful analysis of this locus by Sanger sequencing and ddPCR, this patient was found to have an SNP (R702R), which prevented binding of the ddPCR wild-type probe to its cognate allele. Conclusions: These results further support that ddPCR-based assays may be valuable companion diagnostics for the identification and monitoring of patients with cancer, but the results also emphasize the need to identify SNPs at loci that are being analyzed.
Abstract 1077: Extra-virgin olive oil Met inhibitor oleocanthal-lapatinib: a novel synergistic combination for HER2-dependent breast malignancies

Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of women each year. The Mediterranean diet is known to reduce BC and colon cancer incidence. Extra‐virgin olive oil (EVOO) represents a main ingredient in this diet. The EVOO‐derived (‐)‐oleocanthal was shown to target the Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) c‐Met. Oleocanthal exerted potent in‐vivo efficacy in an orthotopic athymic nude mouse breast cancer xenograft model much greater than its modest in‐vitro potency. Dysregulation of RTKs, specifically EGFR/HER‐2 pathways, correlates with poor prognosis and more aggressive breast cancer phenotypes. Dysregulation of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its receptor c Met correlates with aggressive proliferation, invasive character, and pathological motility. c‐Met amplification correlates with escape from the anticancer effects of EGFR/HER2 inhibitors and cetuximab. (‐)‐Oleocanthal (OC) is a naturally occurring phenolic secoiridoid from EVOO showed significant in vivo activity against invasive breast cancers through targeting HGF/Met axis. The Dual EGFR/HER‐2 inhibitor lapatinib (LP) has already been in clinical practice for HER2‐amplified breast cancer, which occasionally develops resistance through c‐Met upregulation. Lapatinib’s therapeutic dose induced significant hepatotoxicity. The combined use of OC and LP was hypothesized not only for therapeutic synergy but also to notably reduce LP’s effective doses and therefore minimize its hepatotoxicity. Combined treatment of subeffective doses of lapatinib and OC caused significant in vitro and in vivo synergistic antiproliferative effects against the HER‐2‐dependent BT‐474 and SKBR‐3 BC cells. Interestingly, OC induced 4‐fold lapatinib dose reduction index with improved potency. Protein microarray and Western blot analyses of OC‐LP combination treatments synergistically reduced EGFR, HER‐2, FAK, JAK1, MEK, and c‐Met activation. These results propose OC use as dietary supplement to synergize the chemotherapeutic effects of LP, reduce its therapeutic dose to ¼ and therefore can minimize its morbidity. Combinatorial inhibition of c‐Met‐HER‐2‐EGFR is an effective strategy for the control of HER‐2 positive breast cancer. This study was supported by NIH/NCI project 1R15CA167475‐01. Citation Format: Abu Bakar Siddique, Hassan Y. Ebrahim, Mohamed R. Akl, Mohamed M. Mohyeldin, Khalid A. El Sayed. Extra-virgin olive oil Met inhibitor oleocanthal-lapatinib: a novel synergistic combination for HER2-dependent breast malignancies [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1077. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1077
Factors associated with vocal fry among college students

AbstractPurpose: Vocal fry is increasingly used in everyday speech. The purpose of this study was to identify associated factors of vocal fry among young US college-age students. Methods: Forty college students participated in a cross-sectional study. Participants produced speech under nine different room acoustic conditions (simulated). The recorded speech was perceptually evaluated by three speech-language pathologists. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify variables (individual, environmental) associated with the perceptual assessment of vocal fry. Results: A high occurrence of perceptually identified vocal fry was identified among college students. Two factors were significantly associated with lower occurrence of perceptually identified vocal fry: one individual (sporadic consumption of caffeinated beverages) and one environmental factor (speaking in an environment with background noise). Conclusions: Similar to modal phonation, fry-like phonation seems to be influenced by in...
Abstract 119: Protective Effects of Chloroquine on Ischemic and Nutrient Depleted Muscle are Mediated by HMGB1 and Caspase-1

Introduction: Millions of Americans are at risk for amputation from severe peripheral arterial disease (PAD) when surgery is not possible. Pro-regenerative and angiogenic agents may improve outcome...
Bioengineered microRNA-1291 effects on pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and xenograft tumor growth.

307Background: MicroRNAs (miR) have proved to be vital regulators in the control of tumor progression. Our recent studies have revealed miR-1291 is downregulated in patient pancreatic cancer (PC) s...
Bifurcation and stability of structures with interacting propagating cracks

A general method to calculate the tangential stiffness matrix of a structure with a system of interacting propagating cracks is presented. With the help of this matrix, the conditions of bifurcation, stability of state and stability of post-bifurcation path are formulated and the need to distinguish between stability of state and stability path is emphasized. The formulation is applied to symmetric bodies with interacting cracks and to a halfspace with parallel equidistant cooling cracks or shrinkage cracks. As examples, specimens with two interacting crack tips are solved numerically. It is found that in all the specimens that exhibit a softening load-displacement diagram and have a constant fracture toughness, the response path corresponding to symmetric propagation of both cracks is unstable and the propagation tends to localize into a single crack tip. This is also true for hardening response if the fracture toughness increases as described by an R-curve. For hardening response and constant fracture toughness, on the other hand, the response path with both cracks propagating symmetrically is stable up to a certain critical crack length, after which snapback occurs. A system of parallel cooling cracks in a halfspace is found to exhibit a bifurcation similar to that in plastic column buckling.
Trading Places - An Effective Tax-Planning Tool (Like-Kind Exchanges)

Media coverage of post-Enron, Tyco, HealthSouth (and now on an international basis Parmalat) has heightened public awareness to the red alert stage. Consumers and employees are increasingly aware of the potential for financial improprieties. New corporate governance rules, new and innovative business transactions and revisions in tax regulations have initiated closer scrutiny by the IRS. As a result the IRS has clarified recent developments in the rules for 1031 exchanges. The authors contrast some historical problems with the new regulations. Examples of appropriate transactions are given along with considerations and caveats.
Mechanisms and detection of chromosome malsegregation using Drosophila and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Chromosome aneuploidy in humans may have severe consequences in the individuals in which it occurs or in the following generation (35; Evans, this Volume). Approximately 15% of recognized pregnancies result in spontaneous abortion (78). Approximately half of these result from chromosome abnormalities (13,67). The rate of aneuploidy may actually be much higher than this because early fetal losses may go undetected (12) and certain types of aneuploidy are underrepresented in this sample (5). In fact, the frequency of aneuploids among human sperm is 1.5–5% (47; Martin, this Volume). Among livebirths the frequency of aneuploidy is roughly 0.3% (4). Most of these result from trisomy of one of three autosomes, primarily chromosome 21 (Down syndrome), or from trisomy or monosomy for the sex chromosomes. Although it is generally assumed that meiotic nondisjunction is responsible for the aneuploidy in these spontaneous abortions and birth defects, mitotic aneuploidy may contribute substantially to these incidences. Mason (49) and Vig (77) have pointed out that mitotic nondisjunction in the germline will mimic meiotic nondisjunction, which may serve to explain some otherwise anomalous observations such as the paucity of monosomies among early abortuses and the high frequency of apparent meiosis 2 errors.
The Effect of Video-Based Peer Education on the Social Acceptability of Adults With Tourette's Syndrome

Research has consistently shown that persons with Tourette's Syndrome (TS) are perceived as less socially acceptable by peers than persons who do not exhibit tics. Despite the calls for peer education about the syndrome, little research has actually been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of peer education in altering the negative social impact. In this study, 112 college students were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups. Two groups viewed an educational video about TS and the remaining groups received no education about the syndrome. Next, both groups viewed a video of an actor or actress portraying a person with TS. Subjects were then asked to rate their attitudes toward the actor or actress. Finally, a social proximity measure was taken to assess the actual behavioral impact of the educational video. Results showed that persons who viewed the educational video about TS had more positive attitudes toward persons with TS and chose to sit closer to that person than individuals who did not view the educational video. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
The Multi-Mode Resonance in AlN Lamb Wave Resonators

The characteristics of the multi-mode resonance behavior of AlN Lamb wave resonators (LWRs) are theoretically and experimentally investigated for the first time in this paper. Adler’s approach and finite element method (FEM) are used to calculate the dispersive characteristics of the phase velocity ( $v_{p}$ ), group velocity ( $v_{g}$ ), effective coupling coefficient ( $k^{2}_{\text {eff}}$ ), and temperature coefficient of frequency for the first eight Lamb wave modes with different transducer configurations. The FEM is performed to take an insight into the mode shapes of the S0 mode and S1 mode specifically: the S0 mode is more contour-like and exhibits the largest $k^{2}_{\text {eff}}$ when $h_{\text {AlN}}/\lambda $ is close to 0.5; the S1 mode is strong in vertical direction and can enable high resonance frequency ( $f_{s}$ ) and large $k^{2}$ simultaneously when AlN thickness is very thin. Experimentally, AlN LWRs with different AlN thicknesses are designed and fabricated. The measured results are fitted into the multi-resonance BVD model so that the device performance parameters, as well as the equivalent, lumped element values are extracted and compared. By choosing different normalized AlN thicknesses, the performance of different Lamb wave modes varies largely due to the dispersive characteristics and agrees well with theoretically predicted acoustic characteristics. This paper lays the foundation for characterizing the multi-resonance behaviors of AlN LWRs and gives guidance on choosing the optimal design parameters and Lamb wave modes for different applications. [2018-0040]
Nonlinear optics at exceptional point (Conference Presentation)

Radiative emission experienced by a subwavelength particle near a resonant cavity is typically characterized by the well-known Purcell factor figure of merit. In recent work, we presented a generalization of Purcell enhancement that applies to situations involving exceptional points (EP)---spectral singularities in non-Hermitian systems where two or more eigenvectors and their corresponding complex eigenvalues coalesce, leading to a non-diagonalizable, defective Hamiltonian. EPs are attended by many intriguing physical effects and have been studied in various contexts, including lasers, atomic and molecular systems, photonic crystals, parity-time symmetric lattices, and optomechanical resonators. Thus far, the main focus of these works has been on analyzing the impact of second-order exceptional points on scattering from eternally incident light, e.g. for unidirectional transmission. An important but little explored property of EPs related to light-matter interactions is their ability to modify and enhance the local density of states (LDOS). Recently, we showed that EPs can modify the spontaneous emission rate or Purcell factor of narrow-band emitters embedded in resonant cavities. In this talk, we show that EPs can have an even greater impact on nonlinear optical processes like frequency conversion. In particular, we derive a general formula quantifying radiative emission from a subwavelength emitter in the vicinity of a triply resonant χ(2) cavity that supports an EP near the emission frequency and a bright mode at the second harmonic. We show that the resulting frequency up-conversion process can be enhanced by up to two orders of magnitude compared to nondegenerate scenarios and that, in contrast to the recently predicted spontaneous-emission enhancements, nonlinear EP enhancements can persist even when considering spatial distributions of broadband emitters, provided that the cavity satisfies special nonlinear selection rules. This is demonstrated via a two-dimensional proof-of-concept PhC designed to partially fulfill the various criteria needed to approach the derived bounds on the maximum achievable up-conversion efficiencies. Along these lines, we show that similar enhancements can arise in quantum systems consisting of single and multi-level atoms embedded in photonic cavities. Our predictions suggest an indirect but practically relevant route to experimentally observe the impact of EPs on spontaneous emission and related light–matter interactions, with implications to quantum information science.
Internal Curing to Mitigate Cracking in Rapid Set Repair Media

Rapid hydration and high early strength portland cement and calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) concretes are commonly used as pavement repair media. Field trials reveal a tendency to crack along the longitudinal axis of the repair. The authors hypothesized that internal curing with saturated lightweight aggregate would prevent or delay restrained shrinkage cracking in the rapid repair media. The fresh properties (slump, setting time), mechanical properties (elastic modulus, compressive and tensile strength), and volume stability (autogenous shrinkage, drying shrinkage, restrained ring shrinkage, creep) of the rapid repair media were evaluated with and without internal curing with saturated lightweight aggregate. Despite delayed hydration and reduced early-age strength, internally cured concretes could retain the requisite minimum 4-hour compressive strength of 4,000 psi. Significant improvements in volume stability were also noted. Drying and autogenous shrinkage were reduced by factors up to 20 % and 50 %. However, detrimentally, creep shrinkage was increased by factors up to 45 %, respectively. The time to cracking in restrained ring shrinkage tests was increased by factors up to 60 %. These results indicate that internal curing can successfully improve volume stability and mitigate restrained shrinkage cracking in rapid repair media without compromising fresh properties or ultimate mechanical strength.
First-principles study of structural, elastic, electronic, vibrational and thermodynamic properties of uranium aluminides

Abstract The structural, elastic, electronic, vibrational and thermodynamic properties of uranium aluminides UAlx (x = 2, 3, 4) were studied by density functional theory calculations. The single crystal elastic constants of UAlx were predicted using the stress-strain method, which were further used to calculate the polycrystalline aggregate properties of UAlx, including bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young’s modulus, and Poisson’s ratio, etc. The calculated electronic density of states confirm that UAlx compounds are metallic phases with majority states at the Fermi level contributed by U 5f electrons. The phonon dispersion relations and density of states show that the low frequency acoustic phonon modes of UAlx are dominated by the lattice vibration of uranium atoms while high frequency optical phonon modes are from the vibration of aluminum atoms. Using quasiharmonic approximation, thermodynamic properties of UAlx, including Gibbs free energy, entropy, heat capacity, and linear thermal expansion coefficient, were predicted by including both lattice vibrational and thermal electronic contributions. The thermal electronic energy was found to be crucial for the description of the temperature dependence of the thermodynamic properties. The derived Gibbs energy functions of UAlx are expected to be useful to the thermodynamic modeling of the ternary U-Mo-Al system.
Item nonresponse on the Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Symptom Assessment Form (MPN-SAF): a comparison of missing data strategies.

Administering questionnaires to patients is an efficient and effective method for assessing patients’ symptoms. However, item nonresponse (skipped questions) potentially compromises the utility of ...
Reimagining Outlines as Visual Representations of Essay Structure

NOTE: This teaching activity showcase is one of two during the 1:00pm-2:30pm session. Â It will be presented within that session from 1:50pm to 2:30pm.BRIEF SESSION DESCRIPTION:Many students understand outlines for writing assignments to be in the traditional format with numbers, letters, and Roman Numerals, but todayâ€™s students are often more familiar with the visual than the written. This activity showcases and analyzes visual representations of essay outlines from John McPheeâ€™s New Yorker essay, â€œStructure,â€ and then asks students to visually represent the structure or organization of their own writing assignments. Faculty across the disciplines will be able to use this short activity for any major writing assignment. Instructors can also reverse it by having students create a visual representation of the structure of a piece of discipline-specific writing in order to better understand the genreâ€™s conventions. Participants will be able to describe how to use outlines as visual representations in their course.________________________________________________________________FULL ABSTRACT:Student writing can take many paths and many forms. In my English classes, I have found that although longer writing assignments often require students to write an outline, that outline does not always help students to see the importance of an essayâ€™s structure. This session proposes a visual learning alternative to the traditional writing assignment format. The first part of this activity asks students to analyze drawings of essay organizations from John McPheeâ€™s essay, â€œStructure.â€ Students will view each drawing and consider the writing assignments and topics that would be best suited for that structure. The key to this part of the activity is the emphasis on creativity, and showing students the variety of structures that they can choose from. The second part of the activity asks them to create a visual representation of their own writing assignment. Students can emphasize a particular element of their essay, make a drawing that represents a detailed plan, or visually represent the structure as a whole. No matter what path they take, thinking visually about their writing assignments can help students to see the options that they have, and the power that organization has to change an assignment.
The Global AI Supercomputer

The number of computers in the world is still growing at an exponential rate. For instance, there are 9 Billion new micro-controllers shipped every year and that is on top of other devices such as mobile phones and servers in the cloud and on-premise. This talk takes a different perspective on this trend and argues that it makes sense to look at all these micro-controllers, devices, and servers as one big supercomputer.The talk gives examples that illustrate how to make this supercomputer sustainable, secure, programable, and useful.
Additive manufacturing of compositionally graded laser deposited titanium-chromium alloys

Abstract Ti-xCr (9 ≤ x ≤ 28) at% graded alloys fabricated via laser engineered net shaping (LENS™) are potential candidate materials for graded implants in spinal fixation surgeries due to their tunable Young’s modulus. This is achievable by various phase transformations on the laser deposited graded alloys by subjugating them to different β-solutionizing heat treatments. The microstructure of the as-deposited (AD) Ti-xCr alloy was comprised of a metastable β-Ti(Cr) matrix phase along with α-Ti and TiCr2 (an intermetallic Laves phase) at different regions of the graded alloy. In comparison, the microstructure of the rapidly air cooled (RAC) Ti-xCr alloy contained ω and TiCr2 precipitate phases, while the slowly furnace cooled (SFC) Ti-xCr alloy has α-Ti and TiCr2 precipitate phases along different regions of the graded alloys. An extreme change in micro-hardness values at different regions of the RAC and SFC alloys due to these various phase transformations indicates that the alloy fabricated may be qualified as a potential graded implant material. Additionally, the phase evolution along the compositional gradient of the AD Ti-xCr alloy was correlated to theories of reheating in the lower build layers, thermal gradient effect, rapid solidification rates, and enthalpy of mixing between Ti-Cr powders. A detailed explanation to variation in microstructures and mechanical properties observed at compositions of Ti∼29at%Cr (a lower build layer) and Ti∼28at%Cr (an upper build layer) in the AD Ti-xCr graded alloy is also provided.
Improving the Validity and Generalizability of Adult Autism Research Through Incorporating Family and Cultural Contexts.

The relatively nascent empirical knowledge base regarding autism in adulthood provides an opportunity to adopt a contextual approach that conceptualizes autism features, outcomes, and supportive se...
The Hot Spot of Coastal Container Transport Port Finance Development Mode

Gao, S., 2020. The hot spot of coastal container transport port finance development mode. In: Yang, Y.; Mi, C.; Zhao, L., and Lam, S. (eds.), Global Topics and New Trends in Coastal Research: Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 103, pp. 614–618. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.In order to improve the average throughput of coastal container transport port and establish a relatively perfect financial development promotion model, this paper studies the financial development model and reform hotspot of coastal container transport port. Based on the external analysis of the coastal container transport environment, the characteristics of the development of the maritime transport network of the container transport port shall be studied, and the relevant economic behavior indicators of the financial industry of the container transport port shall be defined. Then, a unified measurement indicator for the financial reform of the coastal container transport port shall be established by means of informatization treatment of the port financial development and logistics mode. From the practical research results, at this stage in a port, the container throughput level is higher, but the financial income level of the whole port is relatively low. On the one hand, it balances the relationship between container throughput and the financial income of coastal ports, on the other hand, it makes the existing financial development model better applied and reformed.
The rise of disease ecology

Disease ecology is an interdisciplinary field that has recently rapidly grown in size and influence. We described the composition and educational experiences of disease ecology practitioners and identified changes in research foci. We combined a global survey with a literature synthesis involving machine-learning topic detection. Disease ecology practitioners have diversified in the last decade in terms of gender identity and institution, with weaker diversification in terms of race and ethnicity. Topic detection analysis of over 18,500 research articles revealed research foci that have declined (e.g., HIV), increased (e.g., infectious disease in bats), and have remained common (e.g., malaria ecology, influenza). The steady increase in topics such as climate change, and emerging infectious diseases, superspreaders indicate that disease ecology as a field of research will continue advancing our understanding of complex host-pathogen interactions and forms a critical and adaptable component of the global response to emergent health and environmental threats.
A sequential pattern mining driven framework for developing construction logic knowledge bases

Abstract One vital task of a project's owner is to determine a reliable and reasonable construction time for the project. A U.S. highway agency typically uses the bar chart or critical path method for estimating project duration, which requires the determination of construction logic. The current practice of activity sequencing is challenging, time-consuming, and heavily dependent upon the agency schedulers' knowledge and experience. Several agencies have developed templates of repetitive projects based on expert inputs to save time and support schedulers in sequencing a new project. However, these templates are deterministic, dependent on expert judgments, and get outdated quickly. This study aims to enhance the current practice by proposing a data-driven approach that leverages the readily available daily work report data of past projects to develop a knowledge base of construction sequence patterns. With a novel application of sequential pattern mining, the proposed framework allows for the determination of common sequential patterns among work items and proposed domain measures such as the confidence level of applying a pattern for future projects under different project conditions. The framework also allows for the extraction of only relevant sequential patterns for future construction time estimation.
Safety Surveillance of Bivalent Meningococcal Group B Vaccine, Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, 2014-2018.

Background In October 2014, MenB-FHbp (Trumenba, Pfizer) became the first meningococcal group B vaccine licensed in the United States. It is approved for use in individuals aged 10-25 years. Our objective was to evaluate the safety of MenB-FHbp postlicensure. Methods The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is a national passive vaccine safety surveillance system. We analyzed US VAERS reports for MenB-FHbp received from the date of licensure in October 2014 through December 2018. We described the characteristics of the persons and adverse events (AEs) reported and calculated reporting rates using the number of doses distributed. We used empirical Bayesian data mining to identify AEs reported at least twice as often as expected compared with all other vaccines. Results VAERS received 2106 reports involving MenB-FHbp, representing 698 reports per million doses distributed. The median age of vaccinees was 17 years, and 55% were female. MenB-FHbp was given simultaneously with other vaccines in 37% of reports. Most reports (57%) described AEs that started on the day of or day after vaccination. The most common AEs reported were pyrexia (27%), headache (25%), and pain (16%). There were 44 serious reports (2% of all reports), among which 42 reported a hospitalization. Data mining identified disproportional reporting of headache, pyrexia, chills, and myalgia. Conclusions The AEs most commonly or disproportionately reported following MenB-FHbp were consistent with those identified in clinical trials as described in the US package insert. We did not identify any new safety issues.
Iran’s Nuclear Deal (JCPOA): Threats and Opportunities for the Regional Peace and Security

In July 2015, the Iranian government and the six global powers, the US, UK, China, Russia, France, and Germany, after a long phase (almost 20 months) of passionate discussions and deliberations, reached a nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and it aimed to end the nuclear stalemate regarding Iran’s nuclear quest. This study investigated the challenges and opportunities originating from JCPOA for the Persian Gulf, using two aspects of SWOT analysis. It was discovered through quantitative and qualitative data that JCPOA has more prospective to be opportunities for regional peace and security.
Performance evaluation of a prescription medication image classification model: an observational cohort

Technology assistance of pharmacist verification tasks through the use of machine intelligence has the potential to detect dangerous and costly pharmacy dispensing errors. National Drug Codes (NDC) are unique numeric identifiers of prescription drug products for the United States Food and Drug Administration. The physical form of the medication, often tablets and capsules, captures the unique features of the NDC product to help ensure patients receive the same medication product inside their prescription bottle as is found on the label from a pharmacy. We report and evaluate using an automated check to predict the shape, color, and NDC for images showing a pile of pills inside a prescription bottle. In a test set containing 65,274 images of 345 NDC classes, overall macro-average precision was 98.5%. Patterns of incorrect NDC predictions based on similar colors, shapes, and imprints of pills were identified and recommendations to improve the model are provided.
Transportation Amenities and High-Tech Firm Location: An Empirical Study of High-Tech Clusters

Clustering and active transportation infrastructures have a significant impact on economic development strategies for attracting high-tech firms. High-tech firms cluster to create economies of scal...
Counseling After CRISPR

This Article explores the implications of Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) gene editing and its emergent ability to treat human diseases by altering prenatal DNA. After surveying current scientific capabilities, this Article narrows its scope to focus on how this rapidly evolving technique will impact prenatal genetic counseling, an area in which there has been both federal and state legislation in recent years and one in which the most spirited debates relating to human genome editing are likely to emerge. Whereas recent scholarly debates surrounding prenatal genetic counseling have addressed how genetic counselors can and should assist potential parents in deciding whether to bring genetically anomalous fetuses to term, the arrival of CRISPR — a relatively simple and cost-effective method of editing genomes that has the potential to mitigate or eliminate many fetal genetic abnormalities — presents a new set of questions for prenatal genetic counselors. As CRISPR’s ability to alter human genomes expands and becomes more refined, a number of ethical, financial, and regulatory challenges will emerge. This Article describes these novel challenges and sets forth a framework for how prenatal genetic counseling can best meet them. In doing so, it focuses on three questions. First, under what medical circumstances might it be appropriate for a prenatal genetic counselor to raise the possibility of a genetic intervention? Second, what role, if any, should state and federal legislation play in promoting awareness of genetic interventions? Third, to what extent might it be appropriate medically, ethically, and financially to subsidize access to gene therapy?
Impact of Transportation Network Companies on Ground Access to Airports: A Case Study in Austin, Texas:

This study proposes using intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and open-data sources to evaluate the impact of transportation network companies (TNCs) on ground access to airports. The unexpect...
Thermal and electrical analysis of Mars Rover RTGs

The radionuclide thermoelectric generator (RTG) designs described in these proceedings (A. Schock et al., p.2681-2691) were analyzed for their thermal and electrical performance. Coupled thermal, thermoelectric, and electrical analyses were carried out using specialized computer codes. These were supplemented by preliminary structural and mass analyses. For each design, various cases representing different operating conditions (water-cooled/radiation-cooled, BOM/EOM, summer/winter, day/night) and different thermoelectric performance assumptions (from conservative to optimistic) were analyzed, and for every case the heat flow rates, temperatures, and electrical performance of each layer of thermoelectric elements and of the overall RTG were determined. The analyses were very detailed, to provide accurate answers permitting meaningful comparisons between different designs. The results are presented, showing the RTG performance achievable with current technology, and the performance improvements that would be achievable with various technology developments. >
Trimming the Fat: A Study of MandatoryNutritional Disclosure Laws andExcessive Judicial Deference

Table of ContentsI. Introduction 788II. History of Nutritional Labeling Laws and Regulations 790A. General History 790B. New York's Current Regulation 793III. Challenges to Nutritional Labeling Laws and Regulations 795A. Libertarian Arguments 795B. Legal Challenges 797C. Restrictions on Commercial Speech 800D. Sorrell md Zauderer Versus NYSRA II 8031. Zauderer 8042. Sorrell 8053. Differentiating Sorrell and Zauderer from NYSRAII 8054. Amestoy 8065. Sorrell and Amestoy 8076. Sorrell and Amestoy in NYSRA II 8097. Why are Sorrell and Amestoy Different? 811E. Zauderer and Central Hudson: Imperfect Fits for Regulation 81.50 812TV. Applying Central Hudson to Regulation 81.50 814A. Past Applications of Central Hudson 816B. Applying Central Hudson to Regulation 81.50 817C. A New Test? Finding a Middle Way Between Zaudererand Central Hudson 819D. Applying Proposed Test to Real- World Regulations 8231. Regulation 8 1.50 8232. California Law 824V. Conclusion 825I. IntroductionOur nation has long struggled with the question of how much government regulation is ideal in various areas of our lives. From the founding to the present day, pitched battles have raged over whether government should, among other things, mandate minimum wages, regulate abortion, institute military drafts, or intervene to rescue the economy. With today's obesity epidemic, a new front has been opened: What steps should the government take to slim down our nation's collective waistline, and how intrusive should those steps be? Some states and cities already have decided what initial steps to take. New York City garnered national attention when it banned trans fats in restaurant food,1 and California followed suit.2 Recently, New York Governor David Paterson attempted to narrow his state's budget gap - and waistline - by imposing a "fat tax" on sugary beverages.3 Now, both New York City and California are at the forefront of another trend: Requiring restaurants to post nutritional information on their menus.4At a glance, requiring the posting of nutritional information should be an uncontroversial and unalloyed good. Given that the proportion of obese Americans more than doubled between the 1970s and the early 2000s, and that more than half of New Yorkers were either overweight or obese by 2006,5 the city and the country at large have a clear incentive to do something to reverse the trend towards larger waistlines. Because calories are arguably the critical piece of information governing weight gain,6 and because Americans also consume one-third of their calories away from home (for example, at restaurants),7 requiring restaurants to post caloric information does not seem unreasonable. …
Dissimilation of Methionine by a Demethiolase of Aspergillus Species

Enzyme preparations obtained from the mycelium of Aspergillus species broke down methionine by co-dissimilation. The deaminase and demethiolase activities of crude extracts were increased 100-fold by precipitation with (NH4)2SO4 and column chromatography on diethylaminoethyl cellulose. The enzyme acted on d-methionine but not on l-methionine. The enzyme was labile: it was inactivated by oxygen and ascorbic acid but ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and mercaptoethanol preserved its activity. Enzyme activity decreased even at 4 and −30 C and was lost rapidly above 45 C. It was most rapid at 35 C and at pH 8.0 to 9.0. For the following reasons, it was concluded that deamination and demethiolation of methionine were effected by the same enzyme: both activities increased equally at each stage of purification; ammonia, methanethiol, and α-keto butyric acid were formed in amounts equivalent to the amount of methionine dissimilated; the Km and optimal pH for formation of both keto acid and methanethiol were the same; both activities remained in the same fractions that were separated by electrophoresis and the activities were equivalent. The purified enzyme demethiolated α-keto methionine and α-hydroxy methionine and split the sulfur linkage of ethionine but did not cleave cystathionine. Few amino acids were deaminated. The enzyme was sensitive to some carbonyl and sulfhydryl reagents and was relatively insensitive to heavy metals other than Hg++. The Km was 1.3 × 10−3 to 1.5 × 10−3m at pH 7.0. No requirement for cofactors was noted, and attempts to dissociate the enzyme, including dialysis with hydroxylamine, were unsuccessful.