cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A production costing methodology for evaluation of direct load control

Direct load control (DLC) is a form of load management in which portions of the system load are under the direct operational control of the utility. Thus, the load can be modified, within limits, to match the available generating capacity, thereby minimizing events of uncontrolled load loss. It is shown that operating cost reductions produced by exogeneous models of DLC are different from those produced by dynamic models of DLC. The dynamics of DLC and an equal incremental cost scheme are described and then coupled with a Monte Carlo simulation model of the operation of thermal-based electric utilities. Various production cost measures produced by exogeneous and dynamic models of DLC are presented and discussed. >
Rewriting queries on SPARQL views

The problem of answering SPARQL queries over virtual SPARQL views is commonly encountered in a number of settings, including while enforcing security policies to access RDF data, or when integrating RDF data from disparate sources. We approach this problem by rewriting SPARQL queries over the views to equivalent queries over the underlying RDF data, thus avoiding the costs entailed by view materialization and maintenance. We show that SPARQL query rewriting combines the most challenging aspects of rewriting for the relational and XML cases: like the relational case, SPARQL query rewriting requires synthesizing multiple views; like the XML case, the size of the rewritten query is exponential to the size of the query and the views. In this paper, we present the first native query rewriting algorithm for SPARQL. For an input SPARQL query over a set of virtual SPARQL views, the rewritten query resembles a union of conjunctive queries and can be of exponential size. We propose optimizations over the basic rewriting algorithm to (i) minimize each conjunctive query in the union; (ii) eliminate conjunctive queries with empty results from evaluation; and (iii) efficiently prune out big portions of the search space of empty rewritings. The experiments, performed on two RDF stores, show that our algorithms are scalable and independent of the underlying RDF stores. Furthermore, our optimizations have order of magnitude improvements over the basic rewriting algorithm in both the rewriting size and evaluation time.
Identification of Atg2 and ArfGAP1 as Candidate Genetic Modifiers of the Eye Pigmentation Phenotype of Adaptor Protein-3 (AP-3) Mutants in Drosophila melanogaster.

The Adaptor Protein (AP)-3 complex is an evolutionary conserved, molecular sorting device that mediates the intracellular trafficking of proteins to lysosomes and related organelles. Genetic defects in AP-3 subunits lead to impaired biogenesis of lysosome-related organelles (LROs) such as mammalian melanosomes and insect eye pigment granules. In this work, we have performed a forward screening for genetic modifiers of AP-3 function in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Specifically, we have tested collections of large multi-gene deletions–which together covered most of the autosomal chromosomes–to identify chromosomal regions that, when deleted in single copy, enhanced or ameliorated the eye pigmentation phenotype of two independent AP-3 subunit mutants. Fine-mapping led us to define two non-overlapping, relatively small critical regions within fly chromosome 3. The first critical region included the Atg2 gene, which encodes a conserved protein involved in autophagy. Loss of one functional copy of Atg2 ameliorated the pigmentation defects of mutants in AP-3 subunits as well as in two other genes previously implicated in LRO biogenesis, namely Blos1 and lightoid, and even increased the eye pigment content of wild-type flies. The second critical region included the ArfGAP1 gene, which encodes a conserved GTPase-activating protein with specificity towards GTPases of the Arf family. Loss of a single functional copy of the ArfGAP1 gene ameliorated the pigmentation phenotype of AP-3 mutants but did not to modify the eye pigmentation of wild-type flies or mutants in Blos1 or lightoid. Strikingly, loss of the second functional copy of the gene did not modify the phenotype of AP-3 mutants any further but elicited early lethality in males and abnormal eye morphology when combined with mutations in Blos1 and lightoid, respectively. These results provide genetic evidence for new functional links connecting the machinery for biogenesis of LROs with molecules implicated in autophagy and small GTPase regulation.
Modeling behavioral manifestations of coordination and rapport over multiple conversations: speaking rate as a relational indicator for a virtual agent

Many potential applications of virtual agents require an agent to conduct multiple conversations with users. An effective and engaging agent should modify its behavior in realistic ways over these conversations. To model these changes, we gathered a longitudinal video corpus of human-human counseling conversations, and constructed a model of changes in articulation rates over multiple conversations. Articulation rates are observed to increase over time, both within a single conversation and across conversations. However, articulation rates increased mainly for words spoken separately from larger phrases. We also present a preliminary evaluation study, showing that implementing such changes in a virtual agent has a measurable effect on user attitudes toward the agent.
The Short-Sighted Attack on Patent Eligibility of Healthcare Related Patents

Over the last few years, there has been a sustained and worldwide attack on the scope of patent eligibility for inventions in general and healthcare and biologic inventions in particular. This assault on the availability of patents for inventions in some of the most complex and labor intensive areas of science bodes poorly for the future advances in these fields, and therefore for the availability of new breakthrough diagnostics and treatments for the patients. These attacks enjoy have popular appeal because the public prefers cheaper drugs and tests to the more expensive ones. However, this is very shortsighted. Limiting of patent rights today may lower the cost and increase availability of drugs and tests already on the market, but that approach will also simultaneously lower incentives for further innovation. If we are to hope that medicine will make as large strides in the next 30 years as it made in the past 30, courts, legislatures, and the public must be convinced that limiting the scope of patent eligibility is precisely the wrong way to go.
Arthrogryposis multiplex congenita in twins.

Two sets of twins are presented, in which one child in each set has arthrogryposis multiplex congenita and the other child in each set is entirely normal. These are sets of identical twins, as demonstrated by both clinical and serological data. The disease in these instances could not have been genetically produced, since there is no deformity in the monozygotic twin. Doubt is expressed whether maternal infection or intra-uterine environment could affect one child and not the other. No current concept of etiology adequately accounts for the manifestations of the disease.
Sleep history is neglected diagnostic information. Challenges for primary care physicians

Sleep problems are treatable causes of morbidity and mortality, but little is known about how often the history fundamental to diagnosis is obtained. We recorded the frequency of sleep histories during encounters with simulated patients by 20 experienced primary care practitioners, 23 uninstructed medical interns, and 22 interns who had previous instruction about sleep disorders. Sleep histories were uncommonly obtained by uninstructed physicians (0% of practitioners, 13% of interns), but trained interns more often (81.8%) asked about sleep. If sleep problems are to be prioritized, major changes in physician education and behaviors are essential. Focused instruction about sleep influences physician behavior.
Considering community allocations: Power and the politics of enclosure in the Gulf of Alaska

Abstract In 2012, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council initiated the process of designing a new management structure for the Gulf of Alaska trawl groundfish fleet. The new program is currently structured as a catch share program and driven by the need to end the ‘race for fish’ and provide the trawl fleet with the tools to reduce bycatch. To date much of the discussion among policy makers and stakeholders has centered on community protection measures and how best to avoid the negative social and economic impacts of catch share programs including impacts to crew, consolidation and the flight of quota and resource wealth from Gulf of Alaska fishery dependent communities. This paper examines how community protection measures related to the distribution of benefits and access to fishery resources are considered and challenged in the North Pacific today. Special attention is given to the ongoing debate surrounding the potential inclusion of an initial allocation to place-based Gulf of Alaska communities via a Community Fishing Association. As part of this effort, this paper examines the political space and underlying power dynamics in which consideration of alternatives to the commodification of fishing rights occurs.
Reversibility of Apixaban Anticoagulation with a Four-Factor Prothrombin Complex Concentrate in Healthy Volunteers.

It was hypothesized that the four-factor prothrombin complex concentrate (4F-PCC) Kcentra 25 unit/kg would reverse impairment of thrombin generation in healthy volunteers dosed with apixaban to steady state. In this randomized, two-period crossover, assessor-blinded trial, 12 healthy subjects received 5 mg apixaban every 12 h. Three h after the fifth dose, four-factor prothrombin complex concentrate (4F-PCC) 25 unit/kg or saline were infused. Serial blood samples were assessed for thrombin generation using PPP-reagent and PPP-reagent low, anti-Xa, PT, and PTT assays. Geometric mean ratio was calculated at 30 min postinfusion, and at 24, 48, and 72 h. Peak thrombin generation was 76% higher at 30 min postinfusion with 4F-PCC (p = 0.025). The difference declined to 24% at 24 h and resolved by 48 h. Other thrombin generation parameters were also partially normalized. There was no difference between 4F-PCC and saline in anti-Xa assessment at 30 min or later time points.
Soybean caused by food poisoning in report of detection of type A botulinum toxin

Objective:To discuss 1 example food poisoning caused by the ingestion of soybean paste and detect type A botulinum toxin.Methods:Used botulinum toxin type A rapid detection kit(immunogold method) for screening,and then confirmd by GB/T4789.12-2003 in accordance with national standard methods,using mice injected test methods.Results:After screening and confirmatory tests,detectd type A botulinum toxin in soybean paste.Conclusion:Immunogold method and national standard method confirmed the existence of botulinum toxin type A and indicated that ingestion of contaminated by clostridium botulinum and other unclean food is still the main cause of food poisoning reasons.
Launch Vehicle Development Risk Projection Methodology

A launch vehicle risk projection analysis is discussed, which produces an estimation of reliability and failure risk for future launch vehicle designs. The estimation is based on what is known at a given time about the vehicle configurations, their launch manifest, and the heritage of the major components that make up each configuration, including the actual flight record of such components in earlier launch vehicle families. The approach produces an initial risk projection for a new launch vehicle family and its subsequent evolution in time. The latter can be based on the “mix” of vehicle configurations that appear in a vehicle family launch manifest and the record of launches of each configuration, as they occur in time.
Oxygen driven soot formation

Abstract The emission standards of combustion have been steadily reduced in recent years, and a large research effort has been focused on lowering the emissions of hydrocarbons and particulate matter. Addition of oxygenates to fuel reduces these pollutants. In this paper, we report on a detailed investigation of the growth mechanisms for gas-phase species in ethylene/air and ethylene/ethanol/air flames in order to assess the importance of various chemical mechanisms for the molecular growth of soot precursors. We employ a variety of computational techniques that include stochastic and deterministic methods to study the formation of gas-phase species and their growth into soot precursors via chemical and physical mechanisms. We have drawn the following conclusions: 1) the chemistry of oxygenated compounds (specifically the high concentrations of O 2 and OH) is critical to reproduce the experiments; 2) using free energy simulations, we found out that the tendency of molecules to form dimers is mainly affected by the molecular shape rather than the mass of the aggregate. Finally we propose a different mechanism for the growth of soot precursors based on radical–radical recombination to form molecules of high molecular masses (>1200 u). These structures are then likely to promote physical aggregation to further the growth mechanism.
Supporting the modern research workflow

Libraries are uniquely positioned to support the quickly shifting landscape of modern research practice. The NCSU Libraries has paired user research approaches with iterative design practice to determine contextually relevant services to support researchers. This poster will showcase two case studies as examples of successful avenues of support through library services, the user research and application of frameworks that supported the development of these services, and the project management methodology that applied research to practice. Each case study will outline strategies used to develop services that support modern research practice through the investigation of a complex problem space.
Mobile to Mobile Computational Offloading in Multi-Hop Cooperative Networks

As the number of mobile devices that natively support ad hoc communication protocols increase, large ad hoc networks can be created not only to facilitate communication among the mobile devices, but also to assist devices that are executing computationally intensive applications. Prior work has developed computation offloading systems for mobile devices, but this work has focused exclusively on offloading to single hop neighbors, due in part to the practical challenges of setting up multi-hop networks using existing ad hoc communication protocols. However, limiting the offloading of computation to one-hop neighbors inherently restricts the number of devices that can participate in the distributed computation. In this paper, we propose and evaluate the performance of computational offloading within a multi-hop cooperative network, where mobile devices are able to share the computational load with all other nodes in the network. Additionally, we present an iterative task assignment algorithm that can optimize the assignment of computational tasks to devices in such a multi-hop cooperative network, taking into account the communication overhead of the multi-hop network. Experimental results, obtained from an implementation on Android devices, are integrated with an analytical model that enables the evaluation of system performance under a variety of conditions. These experimental and analytic results demonstrate the benefit of enabling computation offloading to all devices in a multi-hop cooperative network.
Abstract WMP89: Stroke Code De-escalation: Safety and Outcomes

Introduction: “Stroke codes” (SCs) facilitate the timely treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) with IV tPA or intra-arterial thrombectomy (IAT), but are inherently resource-intensive and can expose patients to unnecessary and potentially harmful interventions. While all healthcare providers are encouraged to activate SCs, this might lead to low SC-to-treatment-ratios (SCTR). We examined the impact of de-escalation of stroke codes (DSCs) on SCTR. Methods: DSCs were initiated in our institution in January 2015. All DSCs were reviewed for the patient’s eligibility for IV tPA or IAT, and reason for de-escalation. We reviewed all stroke codes 12 months before and after the initiation of this process and compared the SCTR by chi-squared testing. Results: In 2014, prior to DSCs, 253 SCs resulted in 22 AIS interventions (22 IV tPA) for a SCTR of 8.7%. In 2015, 348 SCs were activated with 64 subsequent DSCs (18.4%) and 45 AIS interventions (38 IV tPA, 7 IAT, 7 both), for a SCTR of 15.8%. The improvement in SCTR after introducing DSCs was statistically significant (p=0.012). When restricting the analysis to IV tPA interventions alone, there remained a trend (p=0.068) towards improvement in SCTR. Retrospective chart review did not reveal any DSC cases that resulted in missed opportunity for IV TPA or IAT treatment. No DSCs were due to an acute ICH. Justifications for de-escalations are summarized in figure 1. Conclusions: The introduction of DSCs resulted in a statistically significant absolute improvement in SCTR of 7.1%. Importantly, DSCs did not result in any eligible AIS patient forgoing IV tPA or IAT, nor missed ICH. More research is needed to increase the yield of stroke codes, refine the criteria for both activating and de-escalating them, and quantify the resource and cost implications of such de-escalations.
Supporting Undergraduate Research Symposia in the Sciences: Integrated Library Programming and Services

Libraries are always looking for innovative ways to support the undergraduate research process. One way to provide this support is to offer an integrated suite of programs and services for undergra...
Isolated orbital roof blow-in fracture.

Abstract We report a rare case of a right orbital roof blow-in fracture in a 40-year-old male with concomitant basal skull fracture and intracranial hemorrhage after a fall backward. Trauma, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and maxillofacial surgery consultations were obtained. Conservative, non-surgical management was recommended for all injuries, and outpatient follow up for orbital fracture with no surgery offered.
On the Security of Information Dissemination in the Internet-of-Vehicles

Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is regarded as an emerging paradigm for connected vehicles to exchange their information with other vehicles using vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications by forming a vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), with roadside units using vehicle-to-roadside (V2R) communications. IoV offers several benefits such as road safety, traffic efficiency, and infotainment by forwarding up-to-date traffic information about upcoming traffic. For instance, IoV is regarded as a technology that could help reduce the number of deaths caused by road accidents, and reduce fuel costs and travel time on the road. Vehicles could rapidly learn about the road condition and promptly respond and notify drivers for making informed decisions. However, malicious users in IoV may mislead the whole communications and create chaos on the road. Data falsification attack is one of the main security issues in IoV where vehicles rely on information received from other peers/vehicles. In this paper, we present data falsification attack detection using hashes for enhancing network security and performance by adapting contention window size to forward accurate information to the neighboring vehicles in a timely manner (to improve throughput while reducing end-to-end delay). We also present clustering approach to reduce travel time in case of traffic congestion. Performance of the proposed approach is evaluated using numerical results obtained from simulations. We found that the proposed adaptive approach prevents IoV from data falsification attacks and provides higher throughput with lower delay.
The influence of infill development on travel behavior

Abstract While the evidence that the built environment can influence travel behavior to date is fairly robust, the influence of specific, identifiable policy actions is limited. One policy action that can potentially change travel behavior is increasing infill development, particularly if that development is located near the center of a major metropolitan region. This study examines the influence of a large-scale, infill development, Atlantic Station, which opened in 2005 just west of Midtown Atlanta. The study uses propensity scores and differences-in-differences research designs to identify how travel patterns changed for new residents and for existing residents of the area around Atlantic Station, respectively. Atlantic Station reduced vehicle miles traveled and increased alternative mode share for its new residents, but it did not reduce the vehicle miles traveled or increase alternative mode share for the existing residents of the area around Atlantic Station.
Children as Research Subjects: Ethical and Legal Considerations

The ethics and regulation of clinical research are grounded in three basic ethical principles: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. Ethical codes and regulations consist of rules or norms designed to interpret the requirements of these three principles in the specific context of research involving human subjects. Children are regarded as vulnerable subjects by reason of their lack of capacity or competence to give informed consent. Accordingly, as a general rule the regulations require that children not be involved as research subjects unless their parents or guardians give permission. Obtaining the assent of those children who are capable of knowledgeable agreements is also required. Special justifications are required for the involvement of children in research projects in which greater than minimal risk is presented by procedures or interventions that do not hold out the prospect of direct benefit.
Human Skeletal Myocytes

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the procedure for the growth of human skeletal myocytes. All steps are to be performed under sterile conditions. One needs to collect muscle tissue in a 50-ml conical tube in 20 ml cold Hams F10 media. Transfer tissue in a small volume of Hams F10 to a 100-mm culture dish and mince it with sterile scalpels. Make pieces as small as possible. Stir 20‑30 min at room temperature in a sterile hood. Collect supernatant and place it on ice. Add 20 ml ATV to flask and repeat step 7 two more times. Cool the supernatants together with ice. When the cells are 60–70% confluent, aspirate media and rinse the cells once with 5 ml of custom ATV and aspirate. It is critical to use sterile technique to avoid cell contamination. Bacterial or fungal contamination can lead to altered metabolic activity of the muscle cells. Omit insulin from the SKBM if planning to investigate the effect of insulin on muscle cultures.
Response-Adaptive Allocation for Binary Outcomes: Bayesian Methods from the BASS Conference

Outcome- or response-adaptive allocation methods are used to adjust randomization probabilities in clinical trials based on observations from previously accrued patients. These methods aim to achieve one of several allocation goals, which have included maximizing statistical power, balancing for covariates, and maximizing treatment benefit. In the latter case, adaptive allocation strategies aim to treat patients as ethically as possible, often by minimizing the expected number of treatment failures. These “optimal designs” achieve this minimization through algorithms and functions of success probabilities in each group of subjects.
Understanding the energy resolution of liquid argon neutrino detectors

Available estimates for the energy resolution of DUNE vary by as much as a factor of 4. To address this controversy, and to connect the resolution to the underlying physical processes, we build an independent simulation pipeline for neutrino events in liquid argon, combining the public tools genie and fluka. Using this pipeline, we first characterize the channels of nonhermeticity of DUNE, including subthreshold particles, charge recombination, and nuclear breakup. Particular attention is paid to the role of neutrons, which are responsible for a large fraction of missing energy in all channels. Next, we determine energy resolution, by quantifying event-to-event stochastic fluctuations in missing energy. This is done for several sets of assumptions about the reconstruction performance, including those available in the literature. The resulting migration matrices, connecting true and reconstructed neutrino energies, are presented. Finally, we quantify the impact of different improvements on the experimental performance. For example, we show that dropping particle identification information degrades the resolution by a factor of 2, while omitting charge deposits from deexcitation gammas worsens it by about 25%. In the future, this framework can be used to assess the impact of cross section uncertainties on the oscillation sensitivity.
Perceptions of Health Behaviors and Mobile Health Applications in an Academically Elite College Population to Inform a Targeted Health Promotion Program.

College is a critical developmental time when many emerging adults engage in unhealthy behaviors (i.e., lack of exercise, poor diet, smoking) and consequently experience an increased risk for a decline in cardiovascular health. Understanding the beliefs and opinions of the target population is important to develop effective health promotion interventions. The goal of this study was to understand opinions regarding health and health-related mobile technology of college students at an academically elite Midwestern university in order to inform a mobile health promotion intervention following the integrated behavioral model framework. Eighteen college students between the ages of 18 and 22 participated in one of four focus groups, where they discussed perceptions of health behaviors, technology use, and their college environment. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis as well as consensus and conformity analysis. Students reported prioritizing academic success over health and believed in a cultural norm within the university that unhealthy behavioral practices lead to increased academic success. Other identified barriers to achieving good health were (a) low self-efficacy for engaging in healthy behaviors when presented with conflicting academic opportunities and (b) low estimation of the importance of engaging in health behaviors. Regarding mobile health applications (apps), students reported preferring apps that were visually attractive, personalized to each user, and that did not involve competing against other users. These results have implications for the development of mobile health promotion interventions for college students, as they highlight facilitators and barriers to health behavior change in an academically elite student body.
Considerations for emission monitoring and liner analysis of thermally manufactured sewer cured-in-place-pipes (CIPP).

Abstract Cured-in-place-pipes (CIPP) are plastic liners chemically manufactured inside existing damaged sewer pipes. They are gaining popularity in North America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Volatile and semi-volatile organic compound (VOC/SVOC) emissions from storm sewer CIPP installations were investigated at a dedicated outdoor research site. Tedlar bag, sorbent tube, and photoionization detector (PID) air sampling was conducted for five steam-CIPP installations and was coupled with composite characterizations. New CIPPs contained up to 2.21 wt% volatile material and only 6–31% chemical mass extracted per CIPP was identified. Each 6.1 m [20 ft] liner contained an estimated 5–10 kg [11–22 lbs] of residual chemical. Extracted chemicals included hazardous air pollutants and suspected and known carcinogens that were not reported by others. These included monomers, monomer oxidation products, antioxidants, initiator degradation products, and a plasticizer. PID signals did not accurately represent styrene air concentration differing sometimes by 10s- to 1000s-fold. Multiple VOCs found in air samples likely affected PID responses. Styrene (>86.4 ppmv) and methylene chloride (>1.56 ppmv) air concentrations were likely greater onsite and phenol was also detected. Additional studies are needed to examine pollutant emissions so process monitoring can be improved, and environment impacts and associated human exposures can be minimized.
DNA-BINDING SPECIFICITY OF A POSITIVELY REGULATING RNA POLYMERASE

ABSTRACT An RNA polymerase fraction from phage SP01-infected B. subtilis contains phage-specific subunits bound to the core subunits of the bacterial RNA polymerase. The enzyme is known to display transcriptional specificity that is consistent with one phase of positively regulated viral gene expression. These experiments demonstrate that the transcriptional specificity of the RNA polymerase is due to altered DNA binding and RNA chain initiation.
Comment on Sims et al. Proinsulin Secretion Is a Persistent Feature of Type 1 Diabetes. Diabetes Care 2019;42:258-264.

Due to our shared interest in this topic, we were eager to read the recent article by Sims et al. (1). We agree with the authors that proinsulin (PI) secretion can occur in individuals with long-standing type 1 diabetes (T1D), even in the absence of measurable serum C-peptide (2). However, our work is discordant with the observations of the authors, and we think it is important to understand the differences. We have previously reported (2) a 16% prevalence of PI secretion in the same T1D Exchange cohort, which is significantly less than the 89.9% reported by Sims et al. (1). In addition, we have similarly completed mixed-meal tolerance …
Gresham’s Law and News in a Post-Truth World:

Economists and finance experts have studied how ‘bad money drives out good’ and formulated Gresham’s law (Mokyr, 2003). The law states that the more expensive money tends to disappear from circulat...
Overshadow PLC to Detect Remote Control-Logic Injection Attacks

Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in industrial control systems (ICS) are vulnerable to remote control logic injection attacks. Attackers target the control logic of a PLC to manipulate the behavior of a physical process such as nuclear plants, power grids, and gas pipelines. Control logic attacks have been studied extensively in the literature, including hiding the transfer of a control logic over the network from both packet header-based signatures, and deep packet inspection. For instance, these attacks transfer a control logic code as data, into small fragments (one-byte per packet), that are further padded with noise data. To detect control logic in ICS network traffic, this paper presents Shade, a novel shadow memory technique that observes the network traffic to maintain a local copy of the current state of a PLC memory. To analyze the memory contents, Shade employs a classification algorithm with 42 unique features categorized into five types at different semantic levels of a control logic code, such as number of rungs, number of consecutive decompiled instructions, and n-grams. We then evaluate Shade against control logic injection attacks on two PLCs, Modicon M221 and MicroLogix 1400 from two ICS vendors, Schneider electric and Allen-Bradley, respectively. The evaluation results show that Shade can detect an attack instance (i.e., identifying at least one attack packet during the transfer of a malicious control logic) accurately without any false alarms.
Photoinduced Electron Transfer in a Radical SAM Enzyme Generates an S-Adenosylmethionine Derived Methyl Radical.

Radical SAM (RS) enzymes use S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) and a [4Fe-4S] cluster to initiate a broad spectrum of radical transformations throughout all kingdoms of life. We report here that low-temperature photoinduced electron transfer from the [4Fe-4S]1+ cluster to bound SAM in the active site of the hydrogenase maturase RS enzyme, HydG, results in specific homolytic cleavage of the S-CH3 bond of SAM, rather than the S-C5' bond as in the enzyme-catalyzed (thermal) HydG reaction. This result is in stark contrast to a recent report in which photoinduced ET in the RS enzyme pyruvate formate-lyase activating enzyme cleaved the S-C5' bond to generate a 5'-deoxyadenosyl radical, and provides the first direct evidence for homolytic S-CH3 bond cleavage in a RS enzyme. Photoinduced ET in HydG generates a trapped •CH3 radical, as well as a small population of an organometallic species with an Fe-CH3 bond, denoted ΩM. The •CH3 radical is surprisingly found to exhibit rotational diffusion in the HydG active site at temperatures as low as 40 K, and is rapidly quenched: whereas 5'-dAdo• is stable indefinitely at 77 K, •CH3 quenches with a half-time of ∼2 min at this temperature. The rapid quenching and rotational/translational freedom of •CH3 shows that enzymes would be unable to harness this radical as a regio- and stereospecific H atom abstractor during catalysis, in contrast to the exquisite control achieved with the enzymatically generated 5'-dAdo•.
Modeling of ZVS Transitions for Efficiency Optimization of the Phase-Shifted Full-Bridge Topology

The emergence of wide bandgap semiconductors paved the way for integration of high-efficiency, high-power-density converters into industrial applications. Key to achieving these performance goals is operation at high switching frequencies, which requires mitigation of switching losses by schemes, such as zero-voltage switching (ZVS). The phase-shifted full-bridge (PSFB) converter is a very appealing converter for such industrial applications. However, the mechanisms that underlie the operation of ZVS within this topology are complex, as they depend on the coupled influence of multiple system parameters. This article aims to provide a detailed analytical treatment of the ZVS mechanisms within this topology, along with a detailed study of the interdependence of the associated critical system parameters. A prototype 10-kW, SiC-based PSFB converter is employed to aid this discourse and provide empirical validations. The outcome of these studies is leveraged to identify a set of practical guidelines for tuning the ZVS mechanisms. These guidelines also consider the impact of practical nonidealities, which are often neglected in the literature. Overall, the theoretical formulations, parametric trade studies, and practical implementation suggestions presented in this article constitute a set of tools that designers can utilize to obtain the full performance entitlement of this topology in practice.
Social Support, Relationship Power, and Knowledge of HIV+ Serostatus in Sexual Risk Behavior Among Women in Psychiatric Treatment.

This study examined social support, perceived relationship power, and knowledge of HIV+ serostatus in relation to frequency of unprotected sex acts and number of partners among women with comorbid psychiatric illness receiving treatment. Data were drawn from an initial assessment of participants enrolled in an HIV risk reduction intervention (N = 284), and two generalized linear models were used to examine the potential associations. Relationship power was significantly associated with fewer unprotected sex acts. This relationship was stronger among those with greater social support. Knowledge of HIV+ serostatus was linked with fewer sexual partners and less unprotected sex. Findings also revealed that the protective nature of support varies by level of perceived relationship power, with higher power indicative of a stronger protective relationship. Study findings suggest that the potential protective benefits of social support may depend on one’s perceived relationship power. Implications for HIV prevention intervention for this at-risk group are discussed.
Chapter 6 – States of Pituitary Hypofunction

Hypopituitarism is defined as the deficiency of one or more of the anterior pituitary hormones: growth hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone, lutenizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, prolactin, and adrenocorticotrophic hormone. The deficiency of posterior pituitary hormones, specifically antidiuretic hormone, may also be present. Hypopituitarism is often a sequela of a previous neurological insult; however, many cases are considered idiopathic. The development of the pituitary gland has been shown to be a balanced and orchestrated sequence of events dependent on the temporal and spatial appearance of multiple developmental factors that will eventually produce specific pituitary cell types. A disruption in this cascade that leads to the decreased expression of one or more of these factors results in idiopathic hypopituitarism. The identification of proteins responsible for the development of the anterior pituitary gland and their genetic alterations has provided novel insights into the mechanisms responsible for hypopituitarism. Murine models, as well as patients with hypopituitarism due to specific mutations in these developmental proteins, have assisted in the elucidation of mechanisms leading to decreased pituitary gene expression and hormone production. Furthermore, the development of more sophisticated and efficient methods for genome sequencing offers greater promise in delineating the pathogenic mechanisms in patients with idiopathic hypopituitarism.
Effect of (Ag, Co) co-doping on the structural and antibacterial efficiency of CuO nanoparticles: A rapid microwave assisted method

Abstract In the last decade, a great interest in doped metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) has been fascinated, particularly, as alternative antibacterial agents due to the spread of multidrug resistant infections. A lot of methods are available for the synthesis of NPs, but the microwave assisted method is facile, rapid, and improving various properties of the synthesized material. To date, little work has been reported to investigate the effectiveness of co-doped CuO NPs synthesized by using microwave energy, against the multidrug resistant pathogens. The aim of present study, therefore, was to synthesize, pure and (Ag, Co) co-doped CuO NPs (Cu1-x-y AgxCoy O) (where x = 0.02 M and y = 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, and 0.08 M, respectively) by rapid microwave assisted method. The prepared materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), Fourier transforming infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and UV–vis (UV–vis) absorption spectroscopy. XRD patterns proved the existence of pure monoclinic crystalline structure of synthesized NPs. Interestingly, the morphology was found to change considerably from nanorods to grain-like then to nanospheres with the variation of Co concentration. The optical band gap was found to be 1.42 eV for pure CuO and increases up to 1.58 eV with increasing cobalt content. The effect of (Ag, Co) co-doping on the antibacterial efficiency of the CuO NPs has been tested against four bacteria, namely, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Generative Machine Learning for Robust Free-Space Communication

Free-space optical communications systems suffer from turbulent propagation of light through the atmosphere, attenuation, and receiver detector noise. These effects degrade the quality of the received state, increase cross-talk, and decrease symbol classification accuracy. We develop a state-of-the-art generative neural network (GNN) and convolutional neural network (CNN) system in combination, and demonstrate its efficacy in simulated and experimental communications settings. Experimentally, the GNN system corrects for distortion and reduces detector noise, resulting in nearly identical-to-desired mode profiles at the receiver, requiring no feedback or adaptive optics. Classification accuracy is significantly improved when these generated modes are demodulated using a CNN that is pre-trained with undistorted modes. Using the GNN and CNN system exclusively pre-trained with simulated optical profiles, we show a reduction in cross-talk between experimentally-detected noisy/distorted modes at the receiver. This scalable scheme may provide a concrete and effective demodulation technique for establishing long-range classical and quantum communication links. In practice, free-space optical communication systems are subjected to atmospheric turbulence in addition to attenuation and noise. Here, the authors develop a combined approach based on generative machine learning and convolutional neural networks, able to correct distortion effects due to turbulence and attenuation.
A particle swarm optimization based maximum torque per ampere control for a switched reluctance motor

The Switched Reluctance Machine (SRM) is known for being one of the oldest electric machine designs. Unfortunately, it is usually assumed that this implies that the machine is outdated. However with the advent of microprocessors, the SRM has become a suitable option for a number of applications because the shortcomings of the machine can be mitigated with control. Compared to other machines, the SRM is more rugged, has a simpler structure, and is less expensive to manufacture. The method presented is concerned with finding the turn-on and turn-off angles needed to generate maximum torque per ampere (MTPA). The method applies a particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique that searches for the angles that maximize the inductance of the SRM in order to achieve MTPA. The inductance function was obtained experimentally. The method was applied to a 4-phase 8/6 SRM. The proposed method was found to be effective at both low speeds (beneath the base speed) and high speeds (above the base speed), but MTPA could only be asserted for low speeds. The switched reluctance motor was modeled in Simulink.
On sequences of sums of independent random vectors

This paper is concerned with certain properties of the sequence S 1, S 2,…of the sums S n = X 1 + … + X n of independent, identically distributed, k-dimensional random vectors X 1 X 1, …, where k ≧ 1. Attention is restricted to vectors X n with integer-valued components. Let A 1, A 2, … be a sequence of k-dimensional measurable sets and let N denote the least n for which S 1 ∈ A 1. The values S 0 = 0, S 1, S 2, … may be thought of as the successive positions of a moving particle which starts at the origin. The particle is absorbed when it enters set A 1 at time n, and N is the time at which absorption occurs. Let M denote the number of times the particle is at the origin prior to absorption (the number of integers n, where 0 ≦n < N, for which S 1 = 0). For the special case P X n = -1 = P X n = 1} = 1/2 it is found that $$ E(M) = E\left( {\left| {S_N } \right|} \right) $$ (1.1) whenenr E(N) < ∞. Thus the expectcd number of times the particle is at the origin prior to absorption equals its cxpected distance from the origin at the moment of absorption, for any time-dependeut absorption boundary such that the expected time of absorption is finite. Some restriction like E(N) < ∞ is essential. Indeed, if N is the least n ≧ 1 such that S n = 0, equation (1.1) would imply 1 = 0. In this case E(N) = ∞.
Matrix algebras converge to the sphere for quantum Gromov--Hausdorff distance

On looking at the literature associated with string theory one finds statements that a sequence of matrix algebras converges to the 2-sphere (or to other spaces). There is often careful bookkeeping with lengths, which suggests that one is dealing with ``quantum metric spaces''. We show how to make these ideas precise by means of Berezin quantization using coherent states. We work in the general setting of integral coadjoint orbits for compact Lie groups.
Development of a crosslink channel simulator

Distributed spacecraft missions are an integral part of current and future plans for NASA and other space agencies. Many of these multi-vehicle missions involve utilizing the array of spacecraft as a single, dispersed instrument requiring communication via crosslinks to achieve mission goals. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is developing the formation flying test bed (FFTB) to provide a hardware-in-the-loop simulation environment to support mission concept development and system trades with a primary focus on guidance, navigation, and control (GNC an integral part of the FFTB is the crosslink channel simulator (CCS). The CCS is placed into the communications channel between the crosslinks under test, and is used to simulate on-mission effects to the communications channel such as vehicle maneuvers, relative vehicle motion, or antenna misalignment. The CCS is based on the Starlight/spl trade/ software programmable platform developed at the former general dynamics decision systems, which is part of a newly-integrated business unit now know as general dynamics CS systems (GDC4S), and provides the CCS with the ability to be modified on the fly to adapt to new crosslink formats or mission parameters. This paper briefly describes the formation flying test bed and its potential uses. It then provides detail on the current and future development of the crosslink channel simulator and its capabilities.
Algebraic Realization of Quark-Diquark Supersymmetry

Algebraic realizations of supersymmetry through SU(m,n) type superalgebras are developed. We show their applications to a bilocal quark-antiquark or a quark-diquark systems. A new scheme based on SU(6/1) is fully exploited and the bilocal approximation is shown to get carried unchanged into it. Color algebra based on octonions allows the introduction of a new larger algebra that puts quarks, diquarks and exotics in the same supermultiplet as hadrons and naturally suppresses quark configurations that are symmetrical in color space and antisymmetrical in remaining flavor, spin and position variables. A preliminary work on the first order relativistic formulation through the spin realization of Wess-Zumino super-Poincare algebra is presented.
Cerebrospinal fluid norepinephrine and cognition in subjects across the adult age span

Adequate central nervous system noradrenergic activity enhances cognition, but excessive noradrenergic activity may have adverse effects on cognition. Previous studies have also demonstrated that noradrenergic activity is higher in older than younger adults. We aimed to determine relationships between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) norepinephrine (NE) concentration and cognitive performance by using data from a CSF bank that includes samples from 258 cognitively normal participants aged 21–100 years. After adjusting for age, gender, education, and ethnicity, higher CSF NE levels (units of 100 pg/mL) are associated with poorer performance on tests of attention, processing speed, and executive function (Trail Making A: regression coefficient 1.5, standard error [SE] 0.77, p = 0.046; Trail Making B: regression coefficient 5.0, SE 2.2, p = 0.024; Stroop Word-Color Interference task: regression coefficient 6.1, SE 2.0, p = 0.003). Findings are consistent with the earlier literature relating excess noradrenergic activity with cognitive impairment.
Variation and taxonomy of Pyxidanthera (Diapensiaceae)

Morphological and ecological studies of seven populations ofPyxidanthera barbulata Michx. in North and South Carolina indicate that the variation among populations is clinal and associated with differences in soil moisture retaining capacity and other environmental parameters. Breeding experiments show that the morphologically extreme populations are interfertile.Pyxidanthera brevifolia Wells (=P. barbulata var.brevifolia (Wells) Ahles) is therefore rejected as a later taxonomic synonym. An evolutionary history of the genus is proposed.