cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Coping with Traumatic Life Events

Through our work with a number of populations that have experienced traumatic negative events (e.g., rape victims, cancer patients, paralyzed accident victims) we have come to recognize the extent to which we ordinarily take for granted our very basic assumptions about ourselves and our world. These assumptions play a significant role in the emotional trauma and the coping process following severe negative events. In what follows we will consider the process of denial in light of the existence of people’s assumptive worlds, in hopes of providing a richer framework for considering the role of denial. We will argue that the often-maligned process of denial is natural and often necessary, and that it generally facilitates the process of adaptation to traumatic experiences. Unfortunately, denial has generally been evaluated solely with respect to some external reality and too infrequently in view of the victim’s internal reality. First, then, let us consider the nature of this internal world.
Being “Good” in “Bad” Places

The point of view that I have advocated throughout my analysis of the social distress of our times may be perceived by some to have certain irrefutably cynical overtones. In describing given psychosocial problems, I may seem to have reached some rather pessimistic conclusions. These might lead the reader to consider my evaluation of the current state of affairs to be a skeptical outlook, with bleak and dismal possibilities for the future.
Selective anion-induced crystal switching and binding in surface monolayers modulated by electric fields from scanning probes.

Anion-selective (Br– and I–) and voltage-driven crystal switching between two differently packed phases (α ⇆ β) was observed in 2D crystalline monolayers of aryl-triazole receptors ordered at solution–graphite interfaces. Addition of Br– and I– was found to stimulate the α → β phase transformation and to produce ion binding to the β phase assembly, while Cl– and BF4– addition retained the α phase. Unlike all other surface assemblies of either charged molecules or ion-templated 2D crystallization of metal-ligand or receptor-based adsorbates, the polarity of the electric field between the localized scanning tip and the graphite substrate was found to correlate with phase switching: β → α is driven at −1.5 V, while α → β occurs at +1.1 V. Ion-pairing between the countercations and the guest anions was also observed. These observations are supported by control studies including variation of anion species, relative anion concentration, surface temperature, tip voltage, and scanning time.
The SWOT Analysis of Beijing CBD Financial Development

In this article,the author analyzed the strengths and weaknesses,the opportunities and threats of Beijing CBD financial development on strategy with SWOT method;the author also made his own views and proposals.
Selective Association between Cortical Thickness and Reference Abilities in Normal Aging

A previous study of reference abilities and cortical thickness reported that association between reference abilities and cortical thickness summarized over large ROIs suppressed was suppressed after controlling for mean cortical thickness and global cognition. In this manuscript, we showed that preserving detailed spatial patterns of cortical thickness can identify reference-ability-specific association besides the association explained by global cognition and mean cortical thickness. We identified associations between cortical thickness and 3 cognitive reference abilities after controlling for mean thickness, global cognition, and linear chronological age: (1) memory, (2) perceptual speed, and (3) vocabulary. Global cognition was correlated with mean overall thickness but also was found to have a regionally specific pattern of associations. Nonlinear associations between cortical thickness and cognition were not observed, neither were nonlinear age effects. Age-by-thickness interactions were also absent. This implies that all thickness-cognition relations and age associations are independent of age and that consequently no age range is inherently special, since brain-behavioral findings are invariant across the whole age range.
Against Throne and Altar: The Ravages of an Ambitious Idleness

There is more to Machiavelli's argument than a mere description of what he termed “the effectual truth of the matter.” Behind the description lies an elaborate program. In the well-polished preface to the first book of his Discourses on Livy , as we have seen, the Florentine presents himself as an intrepid explorer of a political continent hitherto unknown, contending that it is “no less perilous to discover new modes and orders ( modi ed ordini nuovi ) than to search unknown waters and lands,” and claiming that the “new modes and orders” which he has discovered constitute “a path as yet untrodden by anyone.” It is this path that he is inviting his readers to follow. The phrase that Machiavelli deploys, modi ed ordini nuovi , is pregnant with meaning. When he speaks of orders, Machiavelli means magistracies and other institutions; in mentioning modes, he refers to the practices governing the operation of these magistracies and institutions. But there is far more to the significance of the Florentine's choice of words than this, for he has borrowed the pertinent expression from Thomas Aquinas, who used modus ed ordo in his commentary on Aristotle's Politics where that work's author had alluded to “the distribution and disposition of offices and honors ( taxis tōn archōn )” that constituted a polity's ruling order ( politeuma ) and thereby defined its political regime ( politeia ).
Energy Consumption and GHG Emissions in India:Analysis in Input-Output Framework

The paper identifies the sources of changes in energy consumption and GHG emissions in India using Input-Output Structural Decomposition Analysis (SDA) during the period 1993-1994 to 2003-2004. The result shows that changes in final demand structure and volume of changes in final demand are the key factors responsible for changes in energy requirements and GHG emissions respectively. It further develops few simulation exercises to estimate the energy requirements and GHG emissions during the Twelfth Plan. The implications of these scenarios provide a better insight for the derivation of future policy towards reduction in energy consumption resulting in climate change impact.
Role of mTORC1-S6K1 signaling pathway in regulation of hematopoietic stem cell and acute myeloid leukemia.

Dysregulation of the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1)–p70 ribosomal protein kinase 1 (S6K1) signaling pathway occurs frequently in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. This pathway also plays a critical role in maintaining normal cellular processes. Given the importance of leukemia stem cells (LSCs) in the development of minimal residual disease, it is critical to use therapeutic interventions that target the LSC population to prevent disease relapse. The mTORC1–S6K1 pathway has been identified as an important regulator of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) and LSC functions. Both HSC and LSC functions require regulation of key cellular processes including proliferation, metabolism, and autophagy, which are regulated by mTORC1 pathway. Despite the mTORC1–S6K1 pathway being a critical regulator of AML initiation and progression, inhibitors of this pathway alone have yielded mixed results in clinical studies. Recent studies have identified strategies to develop new mTORC1–S6K1 inhibitors such as RapaLink-1, which could circumvent the drug resistance observed in AML cells and in LSCs. Here, we review recent advances made in identifying the role of different components of this pathway in the regulation of HSCs and LSCs and discuss possible therapeutic approaches.
OR53 In vitro and in silico approach to identify HAS-MIR-374A targets associated with antibody mediated rejection

Micro-RNAs are short non-coding RNAs that plays important role in regulating mRNA expression. The role played by micro-RNAs in antibodies mediated rejection (ABMR) is understudied. We utilized a combination of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) to identify micro-RNAs and mRNAs that are involved in the endothelial cells signaling following Class I and Class II treatment. For these in vitro studies, mRNAs extracted from endothelial cells treated with HLA antibodies were subjected to gene expression analysis using Next Generation Sequencing. NGS was performed using 1 microgram of RNA with RINs ⩾8 used to prepare microRNA-Seq libraries using the small RNA Sample Prep Kit following the protocol as described by the manufacturer (Illumina, San Diego, CA). Libraries were clustered to ensure at least 15 million reads per sample on the cBot as described by the manufacturer (Illumina, San Diego, CA). Clustered RNA-seq libraries were paired-end sequenced using version 4 with 1 × 25 cycles on an Illumina HiSeq2500. De-multiplexing and adapter trimming was performed utilizing Illumina’s BaseSpace. The trimmed files were then analyzed utilizing Illumina’s BaseSpace Small RNA application using multiple aligners to align the sequences to multiple small RNA references. DeSeq2 Bioconductor package was used for annotation and differential expression analysis. A list of mRNAs with significant expression increase or decrease (two folds) was compared to either 5 or 3 prime predicted targets of mir-374a obtained from miRBase the database. The Reactome Pathway browser was used to predict most the significantly affected pathways. hsa-mir-374a were found to be up-regulated and down-regulated following treatment of endothelial cells with HLA Class I and Class II. In order to further investigate the role played by hsa-mir-374a in ABMR, we combined the mRNA expression data with mir-374a known published targets and targets identified in silico. The resultant combination was then used to identify a subset of genes known to be down-stream targets of this micro-RNA and are known to be playing a role in the activation of endothelial cells. A total of 30 mRNAs (i.e. 24 were up-regulated and 6 were down-regulated) were found to be associated with mir-374a in treated endothelial cell, compared with the untreated control. The combinatorial effect of the up- and down-regulated mRNAs is predicted to most significantly affect pathways associated with cell death, differentiation and growth, and several signaling pathways that contribute to ABMR.
Comparing the Aggregation Free Energy Landscapes of Amyloid Beta(1–42) and Amyloid Beta(1–40)

Using a predictive coarse-grained protein force field, we compute and compare the free energy landscapes and relative stabilities of amyloid-β protein (1–42) and amyloid-β protein (1–40) in their monomeric and oligomeric forms up to the octamer. At the same concentration, the aggregation free energy profile of Aβ42 is more downhill, with a computed solubility that is about 10 times smaller than that of Aβ40. At a concentration of 40 μM, the clear free energy barrier between the pre-fibrillar tetramer form and the fibrillar pentamer in the Aβ40 aggregation landscape disappears for Aβ42, suggesting that the Aβ42 tetramer has a more diverse structural range. To further compare the landscapes, we develop a cluster analysis based on the structural similarity between configurations and use it to construct an oligomerization map that captures the paths of easy interconversion between different but structurally similar states of oligomers for both species. A taxonomy of the oligomer species based on β-sheet stack...
Compton scattering of Bessel light with large recoil parameter

Compton scattering of light from a Bessel beam is investigated for which the energy of a photon in the beam is comparable to the mass energy of an electron. Using a fully relativistic treatment, we present numerical results on how the angular distribution and polarization of the scattered photons depend on the opening angle, projection of orbital angular momentum, and the energy of the twisted Bessel photons of the incident beam and compare these results to the standard case of incident plane waves. Compton scattering of a superposition of two Bessel beams is also investigated. The energy of the incident twisted Bessel photon is found to significantly affect the angular distribution and polarization of the scattered radiation and their sensitivity to the other parameters of the incident photon.
Simulation of HPC job scheduling and large-scale parallel workloads

The paper presents a simulator designed specifically for evaluating job scheduling algorithms on large-scale HPC systems. The simulator was developed based on the Performance Prediction Toolkit (PPT), which is a parallel discrete-event simulator written in Python for rapid assessment and performance prediction of large-scale scientific applications on supercomputers. The proposed job scheduler simulator incorporates PPT's application models, and when coupled with the sufficiently detailed architecture models, can represent more realistic job runtime behaviors. Consequently, the simulator can evaluate different job scheduling and task mapping algorithms on the specific target HPC platforms more accurately.
Galactic Dark Matter Population as the Source of Neutrino Masses

We propose that neutrino masses can be zero in vacuo and may be generated by the local distribution of dark matter through a feeble long range scalar force. We discuss potential phenomenological constraints and implications of this framework. Our model typically implies that the cosmic neutrino background left over from the big bang is mostly absent in our Galactic neighborhood. Hence, a positive detection signal from future proposed experiments, such as PTOLEMY, could in principle falsify our scenario.
Massive fetal cervical teratoma managed with the ex utero intrapartum treatment (EXIT) procedure.

Abstract Teratomas are rare congenital tumors typically comprising all 3 germ cell layers. Cervical teratomas arise in the neck and represent a minority of all teratomas. These are associated with high morbidity and mortality because of their propensity to cause airway obstruction. Demonstration on prenatal magnetic resonance imaging is uncommon, especially for a tumor of this size. Fetuses diagnosed with large neck masses are managed through cesarean section with the ex utero intrapartum treatment procedure to secure the airway, such as in our case of a large cervical teratoma in the female fetus of a 30-year-old mother who went into preterm labor.
The Medium Itself: Modernism in Art and Philosophy’s Linguistic Self-Analysis

Multiple definitions of Modernism have been put forward, often focusing on the character or features of the works of art and literature produced within this cultural movement. Here I want to focus, instead, on the sensibility of Modernism as this has manifested itself to be especially concerned not with the content of representation, but with the materials out of which a representation is made. Through an analysis of eighteenth-century English portraiture, nineteenth-century French political painting, and up to twentieth-century Modernist painting, I will show how one ceases to see the representational content through the materials and technique, and how we begin to see it depicted in them. I will furthermore examine some cases showing the progression into Modernism in those arts, and then consider the parallel movement in philosophy. Each, as we will see, casts important light on the other, and in the end, something essential to the Modernist achievement will emerge in high relief: just as paint and visible, attention-capturing brushstroke is constitutive of the content of modernist painting, and just as steel and glass and the purity of visible, exposed design is constitutive of architecture, so language is constitutive of us and a distinctively modern form of self-understanding. In this context we will see more of the significance of Wittgenstein’s claim that language itself is the vehicle of thought.
Pattern recognition in building energy performance over time using energy benchmarking data

Abstract In recent years, many cities have adopted energy disclosure policies to better understand how energy is consumed in the urban built environment and how energy use and carbon emissions can be reduced. The diffusion of such policies has generated large-scale streams of building energy data, creating new opportunities to develop the fundamental science of urban energy dynamics. Nevertheless, there is limited research that rigorously analyzes building energy performance patterns over time. This paper provides a comprehensive framework to analyze building energy time series data and identify buildings with similar temporal energy performance patterns. We use data from approximately 15,000 properties in New York City, covering a six-year reporting period from 2011 to 2016. After pre-processing and merging the data for each constituent year, we use an unsupervised learning algorithm to optimally cluster the energy time series and statistical tests and supervised learning methods to infer how building characteristics vary between clusters. Our results show that energy reductions in New York City are mainly driven by its commercial building stock, with larger, newer, and higher-value buildings demonstrating the largest improvements in energy intensity over the study period. Moreover, voluntary energy conservation schemes are found to be more effective in boosting energy performance of commercial properties, compared to residential buildings. Our results suggest two distinct temporal patterns of energy performance for commercial and residential buildings, characterized by energy use reductions and increases. This finding highlights the differential response to energy reporting and disclosure, and presents a more complex picture of energy use dynamics over time when compared to previous studies. In order to realize significant energy use improvements over time and reach energy and carbon reduction goals, cities need to design and implement comprehensive energy policy frameworks, bringing together information transparency and reporting with targeted mandates and incentives.
Multi-lectin Affinity Chromatography and Quantitative Proteomic Analysis Reveal Differential Glycoform Levels between Prostate Cancer and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Sera

Currently prostate-specific antigen is used for prostate cancer (PCa) screening, however it lacks the necessary specificity for differentiating PCa from other diseases of the prostate such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), presenting a clinical need to distinguish these cases at the molecular level. Protein glycosylation plays an important role in a number of cellular processes involved in neoplastic progression and is aberrant in PCa. In this study, we systematically interrogate the alterations in the circulating levels of hundreds of serum proteins and their glycoforms in PCa and BPH samples using multi-lectin affinity chromatography and quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics. Specific lectins (AAL, PHA-L and PHA-E) were used to target and chromatographically separate core-fucosylated and highly-branched protein glycoforms for analysis, as differential expression of these glycan types have been previously associated with PCa. Global levels of CD5L, CFP, C8A, BST1, and C7 were significantly increased in the PCa samples. Notable glycoform-specific alterations between BPH and PCa were identified among proteins CD163, C4A, and ATRN in the PHA-L/E fraction and among C4BPB and AZGP1 glycoforms in the AAL fraction. Despite these modest differences, substantial similarities in glycoproteomic profiles were observed between PCa and BPH sera.
The Hereditary and Acquired Deficiencies of Complement

The identification of hereditary and acquired complement deficiencies in humans has led to a better understanding of the biologic importance of the complement system in immunity and autoimmune disease. Although the understanding of the relevance of complement in the pathogenesis of disease is incomplete, several characteristic clinical syndromes associated with complement deficiencies have been recognized and should be known to the practicing clinician. In allergic diseases, one need recognize the C1 inhibitor deficiency syndromes which can present as severe, recurrent angioedema in childhood or in the adult as recurrent angioedema in association with a lymphoid malignancy or autoimmune disease. Complement analyses allow one to readily diagnose C1 inhibitor deficiency in angioedema. Correct diagnosis is critical because safe effective therapy is available. Chronic urticaria is also uncommonly associated with complement deficiencies, particularly acquired C1q deficiency. Again, effective therapy for hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis and C1q deficiency is available and differs significantly from the usual management of chronic urticaria. Homozygous and acquired deficiencies of C3 are associated with severe immune deficiency and recurrent infections with gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Recurrent meningococcemia and gonococcemia are being identified frequently in patients with a deficient membrane attack mechanism relating to deficiency of C5, C6, C7, or C8. Nearly one third of the patients developing meningococcemia may have an associated complement deficiency indicating the importance of complement determinations in understanding the treatment and prognosis for these patients. Deficiency of almost every complement component has been reported in association with one or more rheumatic diseases, particularly systemic lupus erythematosus. Extensive studies of C2 deficiency and limited studies of C4 deficiency indicate that these components of the classical pathway of complement are important in preventing the development of SLE or are linked to other genes predisposing to SLE. The clinical presentations of SLE in association with C2 or C4 deficiency are relatively uniform. The patients exhibit typical skin manifestations suggestive of SLE and DLE and often exhibit antibodies to SSA (Ro). The association of complement deficiencies with clinical syndromes is important for today's physician. The syndromes and deficiencies described here are the beginning of an expanding knowledge relating to the pathobiology of complement in human disorders.
Lipids surf the groove in scramblases

Lipid membranes have many fundamental roles in biology because they establish amphipathic and highly dynamic boundaries around cellular compartments. The plasma membrane and intracellular membranes are primarily composed of phospholipids that have a hydrophilic headgroup and a hydrophobic tail, enabling them to assemble into lipid bilayers (Fig. 1). Phospholipids differ greatly in their structure, and although they can rapidly diffuse within the plane of the membrane, they typically have asymmetrical distributions in the outer and inner leaflets of the bilayer, enabling them to play important roles in cellular signaling (1). For example, active transporters translocate phosphatidylserine (PS) into the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane to generate a pronounced asymmetry, and lipid scramblases catalyze the passive diffusion of PS into the outer leaflet, triggering blood coagulation in platelets or marking cells for phagocytosis following apoptosis (2). Although the mechanism by which ATPases transport lipids across membranes has been studied for some time, the mechanism by which scramblases catalyze diffusion of lipids across the membrane is unclear (3, 4). In PNAS, Malvezzi et al. (5) study the mechanisms of Ca2+-activated lipid scrambling mediated by TMEM16 proteins (6⇓⇓⇓–10) and Ca2+-independent scrambling mediated by opsin, a class A or rhodopsin-like G-protein—coupled receptor (11⇓–13). Fig. 1. Mechanisms of lipid scrambling. The credit card model (left protomer) and the out-of-the-groove model (right protomer) are depicted in the protomer of a TMEM16 dimer. In the credit card model, lipids diffuse through the groove at the protein–lipid interface, whereas in the out-of-the-groove model, the groove locally deforms the membrane by thinning the membrane (indicated by blue arrows) to lower the barrier for lipids to move from one leaflet to another. The nonselective permeation of ions is depicted as occurring within the groove. One model that … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: kenton.swartz{at}nih.gov. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
On-Line Ion Implantation: The SIMS Primary Ion Beam for Creation of Empirical Quantification Standards

The variation in ionization probability and sputter yield with changes in matrix composition in SIMS demands a quantification standard with a matrix that matches that of the sample of interest in order to obtain the most accurate quantitative analyses. To this end, ion implantation is commonly used to create external standards, and, in the case of analytes that are homogeneously distributed with depth, superimposed internal standards [1]. Publications that suggested the development of an in-situ ion implantation gun for SIMS instruments [2] and the use of the concentration profile of the continuously implanted primary beam for LTE quantification [3] motivated the use of the CAMECA IMS 3f primary ion beam in this laboratory to obtain a two-step, on-line ion implantation/depth profile quantification of carbon concentration in silicon [4], the result of hydrocarbon contamination in the chemical vapor deposition process. The empirical determination is performed by superimposing a 20 keV C+ implant at 40 nA upon residual levels of carbon in the Si matrix, followed by a depth profile of this implanted area with an O2 + beam. Both ion beams are produced from CO2 and were resolved with the primary beam mass analyzer, so that the entire experiment was performed in vacuo. This pilot experiment illustrates that such on-line ion implantation creates quantification standards of excellent accuracy and precision in comparison to conventional high-energy ion implant standards. The ability to quantify upon demand and to supervise implant purity and dose accuracy are attractive benefits of such an analytical scheme.
Multi-tribrackets

We introduce multi-tribrackets, algebraic structures for region coloring of diagrams of knots and links with different operations at different kinds of crossings. In particular we consider the case of component multi-tribrackets which have different tribracket operations at single-component crossings and multi-component crossings. We provide examples to show that the resulting counting invariants can distinguish links which are not distinguished by the counting invariants associated to the standard tribracket coloring. We reinterpret the results of [11] in terms of multi-tribrackets and consider futuredirections for multi-tribracket theory.
Hybrid and Mixed Finite Elements in Fluid Mechanics

In this paper certain new concepts in the solution of Navier Stokes equations, for an incompressible fluid flow problem, using mixed and hybrid finite elements, are presented. These new methods are compared and contrasted with the currently popular methods such as those based on primitive variable formulations and on penalty function formulations to treat incompressibility.
Early experience with homograft aortic root replacement for complex aortic pathology.

Background. Complex aortic valve and root pathology presents a serious operative challenge. Methods. During the last 45 months 27 cryopreserved homograft root replacements have been performed in 19 patients. The ages of the patients ranged from 28 to 77 years; there were 15 men and four women. Six patients had endocarditis, four prosthetic and two native valve endocarditis. One patient underwent homograft aortic root replacement twice; one underwent concomitant homograft right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction for pulmonic endocarditis. Causes of aortic pathology in the other 13 patients included ascending aortic aneurysm with valvular regurgitation in seven, Marfan syndrome in two, and four aortic dissections with aortic regurgitation
The behavioral response of basking Northern water (Nerodia sipedon) and Eastern garter (Thamnophis sirtalis) snakes to pedestrians in a New Jersey park

Considerable attention has been devoted to the effects of people on birds and mammals, usually in wilderness or semiwilderness, but relatively little has been directed at reptiles in heavily populated areas. This paper examines the role of investigators and pedestrians on Northern water (Nerodia sipedon) and Eastern garter (Thamnophis sirtalis) snakes basking along a canal in New Jersey. The protocol involved 1–3 investigators approaching snakes that were basking between a path and the Raritan Canal. Investigators walked along the path until they were perpendicular to the snake, observed them for 60 seconds, and then approached them directly. Nearly 40% of the variability in distance to first respond for water snakes (N = 135) was accounted for by distance the snake was from the path, number of observers, and number of people currently using the trail, while 27% of the variability in time to respond was accounted for by number of observers, distance to path and water, and air temperature. There was no significant model for garter snakes (N = 33). Nearly 30% of water snakes, but only 5% of garter snakes, responded during the approach of an observer, and another 32% of water and 45% of garter snakes responded within the first minute of stopping on the trail nearest to them. Water snakes responded when the observer was farther away from them than did garter snakes. As the number of pedestrians on the path increased, water snakes responded when people were farther from them, but there were no differences for garter snakes in response distance. These data indicate differences in response, with water snakes responding sooner than garter snakes. Few garter snakes responded when they were over 150 cm from the path, while a quarter of the water snakes responded when they were from 200 to 300 cm from the path, suggesting that paths should be at least 400 cm from water, providing safe basking sites for water snakes. Further, the data indicate that walking past snakes without stopping results in less disturbance than stopping to watch them.
Pulmonary Drug Delivery

This chapter provides an introductory overview on concepts related to drug delivery to the lungs. Physiological barriers to lung delivery are examined, as are the mechanisms for overcoming these barriers through delivery device and formulation design. A review is provided of delivery mechanisms and design of the three major classes of pulmonary drug delivery devices (pressurized metered dose inhalers, nebulizers, and dry powder inhalers). For each class of device, appropriate formulation approaches are discussed.
A local thresholding approach to flood water delineation using Sentinel-1 SAR imagery

Abstract Emergency response to floods requires timely information on water extents, which can be produced by satellite-based remote sensing. As the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can emit and receive signal in nighttime or cloudy conditions, it is particularly suitable to delineate water extent during flood events. Thresholding SAR imagery is one of the most widely used approaches to delineate water extent for its effectiveness and efficiency. However, most thresholding methods rely on a single threshold to separate water and land without considering the complexity and variability of different land surface types in an image. To account for the heterogeneous surface characteristics, this paper proposes a new local thresholding method to water delineation with SAR images. Specifically, our method follows four major steps. First, a global threshold is applied to the SAR imagery to delineate initial water pixels, from which non-water pixels are further clustered into several land surface types. This divides the SAR imagery into one water cluster and several land clusters. Second, local thresholds are estimated at each subset of land cluster paired with water cluster by fitting Gamma distributions to the backscatter intensities of the combined water/land pixels in each subset. Third, local water extents are delineated from each subset and then merged as the union of all subsets. The results are combined across multiple polarizations by taking an intersection operation to generate the global inundation extent. Finally, the flood water extent is further improved by imposing basic hydrologic constraints. This approach is fast and fully automated for flood detection. Our experiments using Sentinel-1 SAR imagery show that the proposed local thresholding approach could distinguish water from non-water with significantly higher accuracy (4–13% improvement in the harmonic mean of user’s and producer’s accuracy of water) than conventional global-thresholding methods.
Poor Outcomes in Kidney Transplant Candidates and Recipients With History of Falls.

Background Falls occur in 28% of hemodialysis patients and increase the risk of physical impairment, morbidity, and mortality. Therefore, it is likely that kidney transplantation (KT) candidates with recurrent falls are less likely to access KT and more likely to experience adverse post-KT outcomes. Methods We used a 2-center cohort study of KT candidates (n = 3666) and recipients (n = 770) (January 2009 to January 2018). Among candidates, we estimated time to listing, waitlist mortality, and transplant rate by recurrent falls (≥2 falls) before evaluation using adjusted regression. Among KT recipients, we estimated risk of mortality, graft loss, and length of stay by recurrent falls before KT using adjusted regression. Results Candidates with recurrent falls (6.5%) had a lower chance of listing (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 0.68, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.56-0.83) but not transplant rate; waitlist mortality was 31-fold (95% CI, 11.33-85.93) higher in the first year and gradually decreased over time. Recipients with recurrent falls (5.1%) were at increased risk of mortality (aHR = 51.43, 95% CI, 16.00-165.43) and graft loss (aHR = 33.57, 95% CI, 11.25-100.21) in the first year, which declined over time, and a longer length of stay (adjusted relative ratio [aRR] = 1.13, 95% CI, 1.03-1.25). In summary, 6.5% of KT candidates and 5.1% of recipients experienced recurrent falls which were associated with adverse pre- and post-KT outcomes. Conclusions While recurrent falls were relatively rare in KT candidates and recipients, they were associated with adverse outcomes. Transplant centers should consider employing fall prevention strategies for high-risk candidates as part of comprehensive prehabilitation.
The Awe in Awesome in Education Abroad

Few have examined how students perceive or make sense of their formal educational travel experiences, resulting in a dearth of knowledge about perceived educational value of experiences. To rectify this situation, this study addressed how students make meaning during their education abroad (EA) experience. Employing a constructivist grounded theory approach, students were found to process their experiences through four meaning-making structures labeled, “Seeking Novelty,” “Actually Being,” “Securing/Blending,” and “Living in a State of Awe,” all of which contributed to experiencing awe during their EA experience. The authors propose the Education Abroad Meaning-Making Framework, which can be used to understand students’ experiences while on EA and to serve as a theoretical foundation upon which further research on EA can be conducted. They also discuss implications of the Framework for pre- and post-experience advising, program, and curriculum development. Abstract in French Peu d’etudes ont examinees comment les etudiants percoivent et donnent du sens aux experiences formelles durant leurs voyages educatifs, resultant en un manque de connaissance quant a la valeur percue de ces experiences. Afin de rectifier cette situation, cette etude decrit comment les etudiants donnent du sens a leurs experiences durant leurs voyages educatifs (VE). Utilisant une approche theorique constructiviste, il est apparu que les etudiants traitent leurs experiences a travers quatre structures donneuses de sens appelees « Chercher la nouveaute », « Etre vraiment », « Confort/Immersion », et « Vivre emerveille », qui ont toutes contribuees a leur emerveillement durant leurs VE. Les auteurs proposent le Cadre de Voyage Educatif Donneur de Sens, qui peut etre utilise pour comprendre les experiences des etudiants pendant leur VE et servant de fondement theorique sur lequel baser de futures recherches sur les VE. Ils discutent aussi des implications de ce Cadre pour le developpement de l’encadrement, du programme et du curriculum avant et apres les VE.
The majority vote process and other consensus processes on trees

The majority vote process was one of the first interacting particle systems to be investigated. It can be described briefly as follows. There are two possible opinions at each site of a graph G. At rate 1−e, the opinion at a site aligns with the majority opinion at its neighboring sites and, at rate e, the opinion at a site is randomized due to noise, where e∈[0,1] is a parameter. Despite the simple dynamics of the majority vote process, its equilibrium behavior is difficult to analyze when the noise rate is small but positive. In particular, when the underlying graph is G=Zn with n≥2, it is not known whether the process possesses more than one equilibrium. This is surprising, especially in light of the close analogy between this model and the stochastic Ising model, where much more is known. Here, we study the majority vote process on the infinite tree Td with vertex degree d. For d≥5 and small noise, we show that there are uncountably many mutually singular equilibria, with convergence to such an equilibrium occurring exponentially quickly from nearby initial states. Our methods are quite flexible and extend to a broader class of models, consensus processes. This class includes the stochastic Ising model and other processes in which the dynamics at a site depend on the number of neighbors holding a given opinion. All of our proofs are carried out in this broader context.
I Can’t Breathe: Assessing the Role of Racial Resentment and Racial Prejudice in Whites’ Feelings toward Black Lives Matter

Since 2014, public opinion data suggests that whites have become more supportive of the Black Lives Movement. The recent murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have prompted a national debate about the need to address systemic racism in policing within the United States. Recent studies have shown how racial resentment has spilled over into a wide range of political issues that are not associated with race; however, no current research examines how racial resentment might shape whites’ views toward Black Lives Matter. Employing the racial reaction theory and the 2016 American Election Study Survey, we hypothesize and confirm that whites with high levels of racial resentment, conservative ideology, and those who indicated support for Donald Trump hold negative attitudes toward the Black Lives Matter movement. Our results also show that Asians and Hispanics hold negative attitudes toward the Black Lives Matter movement, but that whites have the highest racial resentment levels. The results raise doubts about whether the recent shift in white public opinion is sustainable. Given that racial resentment is a predictor of support for Black Lives Matter, scholars and activists should approach white support for Black Lives Matter with caution because it is likely that increased racial resentment may lead to sustained white opposition to the movement
SiC and GaN Devices With Cryogenic Cooling

This article presents the cryogenically cooled application for wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices. Characteristics of silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) at cryogenic temperatures are illustrated. SiC MOSFETs exhibit increased on-state resistance and slower switching speed at cryogenic temperatures. However, cryogenic cooling provides low ambient temperature environment and thus enables the SiC converter to operate at lower junction temperature to achieve higher efficiency compared to room temperature cooling. A cryogenically cooled MW-level SiC inverter prototype is developed and demonstrated the feasibility of operating high-power SiC converter with cryogenic cooling. GaN HEMTs exhibit more than five times on-state resistance reduction and faster switching speed at cryogenic temperatures which makes GaN HEMTs an excellent candidate for cryogenic power electronics applications. The significantly reduced on-state resistance of GaN devices provides the possibility to operate them at a current level much higher than rated current at cryogenic temperatures. A GaN double pulse test (DPT) circuit is constructed and demonstrated that GaN HEMTs can operate at nearly four times of rated current at cryogenic temperatures. Challenges of utilizing WBG device with cryogenic cooling are discussed and summarized.
Multicultural citizenship education as resistance: Student political development in an anti-immigrant national climate

Abstract This article examines multicultural citizenship education (MCE) as a form of teacher-driven resistance to oppressive macro-level policies and discourses. I present an analysis of how six English and History teachers at Castro Middle School describe their pedagogical changes following the election of Donald Trump. Findings reveal how teachers embedded MCE into the curriculum to resist the anti-immigrant national climate and support the cultural citizenship of Latinx, Asian, and immigrant-origin students. Teachers also strove to cultivate students’ critical awareness, political efficacy, and commitment to political action. I conclude that major political events, like elections, can be catalysts for resistance through MCE.
Enhancing CBT Consultation With Multicultural Counseling Principles

Abstract The use of multicultural principles to enhance cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for individuals of marginalized backgrounds has received increased attention in light of the heightened national awareness of systemic oppression and racialized violence directed towards Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. However, there has been less of a focus on applying such principles to consultation for skill development. If ethical guidelines are expected to influence the behavior of clinicians in session, guidance is needed to indicate how and where and when clinicians should receive training in implementing culturally responsive CBT. Individual reading and reflection are necessary but are not sufficient in acquiring new clinical skills. Consultation is recommended and strongly suggested when clinicians are working with new populations or delivering a new treatment, or even using a new modality. Consultation can also be useful when adopting a new approach or stance to therapy. For practicing clinicians who have not developed these skills, additional consultation can and should be used to address this gap. Moving forward, integration of cultural responsiveness into standard consultation will ensure that these skills are seen as a core competency, rather than an optional additional skill that may be (or not be) elected. This paper presents core experiences that may be integral to a CBT consultation model that aims to enhance providers’ ability to provide CBT in a way that is culturally responsive to their clients. These recommendations attend to both content and process within CBT consultation and reflect guiding assumptions for helping clinicians to develop the ability to practice CBT in a culturally responsive manner, including (a) normalizing discussions of cultural identity and oppression, (b) an emphasis on cultural self-awareness, (c) emphasizing culturally informed CBT case conceptualization, and (d) skill development in applying cultural elements to CBT interventions.
Epigenetic Silencing of BMP6 by the SIN3A-HDAC1/2 Repressor Complex Drives Melanoma Metastasis via FAM83G/PAWS1.

Aberrant epigenetic transcriptional regulation is linked to metastasis, a primary cause of cancer-related death. Dissecting the epigenetic mechanisms controlling metastatic progression may uncover important insights to tumor biology and potential therapeutic targets. Here, we investigated the role of the SIN3A histone deacetylase 1 and 2 (SIN3A–HDAC1/2) complex in cancer metastasis. Using a mouse model of melanoma metastasis, we found that the SIN3A–HDAC1/2 transcription repressor complex silences BMP6 expression, causing increased metastatic dissemination and tumor growth via suppression of BMP6-activated SMAD5 signaling. We further discovered that FAM83G/PAWS1, a downstream effector of BMP6–SMAD5 signaling, contributes critically to metastatic progression by promoting actin-dependent cytoskeletal dynamics and cell migration. Pharmacologic inhibition of the SIN3A–HDAC1/2 complex reduced the numbers of melanoma cells in the circulation and inhibited metastatic tumor growth by inducing disseminated cell dormancy, highlighting the SIN3A–HDAC1/2 repressor complex as a potential therapeutic target for blocking cancer metastasis. Implications: This study identifies the novel molecular links in the metastatic progression to target cytoskeletal dynamics in melanoma and identifies the SIN3A–HDAC1/2 complex and FAM83G/PAWS1 as potential targets for melanoma adjuvant therapy.
Scaling Bayesian Optimization With Game Theory.

We introduce the algorithm Bayesian Optimization (BO) with Fictitious Play (BOFiP) for the optimization of high dimensional black box functions. BOFiP decomposes the original, high dimensional, space into several sub-spaces defined by non-overlapping sets of dimensions. These sets are randomly generated at the start of the algorithm, and they form a partition of the dimensions of the original space. BOFiP searches the original space with alternating BO, within sub-spaces, and information exchange among sub-spaces, to update the sub-space function evaluation. The basic idea is to distribute the high dimensional optimization across low dimensional sub-spaces, where each sub-space is a player in an equal interest game. At each iteration, BO produces approximate best replies that update the players belief distribution. The belief update and BO alternate until a stopping condition is met. High dimensional problems are common in real applications, and several contributions in the BO literature have highlighted the difficulty in scaling to high dimensions due to the computational complexity associated to the estimation of the model hyperparameters. Such complexity is exponential in the problem dimension, resulting in substantial loss of performance for most techniques with the increase of the input dimensionality. We compare BOFiP to several state-of-the-art approaches in the field of high dimensional black box optimization. The numerical experiments show the performance over three benchmark objective functions from 20 up to 1000 dimensions. A neural network architecture design problem is tested with 42 up to 911 nodes in 6 up to 92 layers, respectively, resulting into networks with 500 up to 10,000 weights. These sets of experiments empirically show that BOFiP outperforms its competitors, showing consistent performance across different problems and increasing problem dimensionality.
Calcium-induced lysozyme secretion from human polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

Abstract Calcium ions, in the absence of other stimuli, are capable of provoking the release by exocytosis of the granule-associated enzyme, lysozyme, from human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Calcium-induced extrusion of lysozyme occurs in a concentration, time and temperature-dependent fashion. It is enhanced in the presence of extracellular inorganic phosphate and the ionophore, A-23187, and is not accompanied by the release from cells of cytoplasmic or lysosomal marker enzymes.