cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Bacterial iprA Gene Is Conserved across Enterobacteriaceae, Is Involved in Oxidative Stress Resistance, and Influences Gene Expression in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium

ABSTRACT The iprA gene (formerly known as yaiV or STM0374) is located in a two-gene operon in the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium genome and is associated with altered expression during spaceflight and rotating-wall-vessel culture conditions that increase virulence. However, iprA is uncharacterized in the literature. In this report, we present the first targeted characterization of this gene, which revealed that iprA is highly conserved across Enterobacteriaceae. We found that S . Typhimurium, Escherichia coli, and Enterobacter cloacae Δ iprA mutant strains display a multi-log-fold increase in oxidative stress resistance that is complemented using a plasmid-borne wild-type (WT) copy of the S . Typhimurium iprA gene. This observation was also associated with increased catalase activity, increased S . Typhimurium survival in macrophages, and partial dependence on the katE gene and full dependence on the rpoS gene. Our results indicate that IprA protein activity is sensitive to deletion of the N- and C-terminal 10 amino acids, while a region that includes amino acids 56 to 80 is dispensable for activity. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis revealed several genes altered in expression in the S . Typhimurium Δ iprA mutant strain compared to the WT, including those involved in fimbria formation, spvABCD -mediated virulence, ethanolamine utilization, the phosphotransferase system (PTS) transport, and flagellin phase switching from FlgB to FliC (likely a stochastic event) and several genes of hypothetical or putative function. IMPORTANCE Overall, this work reveals that the conserved iprA gene measurably influences bacterial biology and highlights the pool of currently uncharacterized genes that are conserved across bacterial genomes. These genes represent potentially useful targets for bacterial engineering, vaccine design, and other possible applications.
Identification of Multiple Proteins Coupling Transcriptional Gene Silencing to Genome Stability in Arabidopsis thaliana

Eukaryotic genomes are regulated by epigenetic marks that act to modulate transcriptional control as well as to regulate DNA replication and repair. In Arabidopsis thaliana, mutation of the ATXR5 and ATXR6 histone methyltransferases causes reduction in histone H3 lysine 27 monomethylation, transcriptional upregulation of transposons, and a genome instability defect in which there is an accumulation of excess DNA corresponding to pericentromeric heterochromatin. We designed a forward genetic screen to identify suppressors of the atxr5/6 phenotype that uncovered loss-of-function mutations in two components of the TREX-2 complex (AtTHP1, AtSAC3B), a SUMO-interacting E3 ubiquitin ligase (AtSTUbL2) and a methyl-binding domain protein (AtMBD9). Additionally, using a reverse genetic approach, we show that a mutation in a plant homolog of the tumor suppressor gene BRCA1 enhances the atxr5/6 phenotype. Through characterization of these mutations, our results suggest models for the production atxr5 atxr6-induced extra DNA involving conflicts between the replicative and transcriptional processes in the cell, and suggest that the atxr5 atxr6 transcriptional defects may be the cause of the genome instability defects in the mutants. These findings highlight the critical intersection of transcriptional silencing and DNA replication in the maintenance of genome stability of heterochromatin.
Nietzsche e "Hitler"

This article deals with the limits of Nietzsche´s immoralism, taking as a central thread the figure of the hero of the evil. It defends the thesis that there is a limit to this immoralism, since some questions must remain in the sphere of the moral treatment, in the lightly pejorative sense given to the term among the critics of the morality.
Weight loss support seeking on twitter: the impact of weight on follow back rates and interactions

People seek weight loss support on online social networks, but little is known about how to build a supportive community. We created four Twitter accounts portraying women interested in weight loss (two obese, two normal weight/overweight) and followed health care professional and peer accounts for 2-5 weeks. We examined follow back rates, interactions, and organic follows from professionals and peers by weight status. Follow back rates did not differ by weight status when following professionals (6.8 % normal weight/overweight vs 11.0 % for obese; p = 0.4167) or peers (6.7 % for normal weight/overweight vs 10.8 % for obese; p = 0.1548). Number of interactions and organic followers also did not differ by weight status. Peers interacted with study accounts significantly more than professionals (p = 0.0138), but interactions were infrequent. Women seeking weight loss support on Twitter may need to be present for more than 5 weeks to build an interactive weight loss community.
Treatment of IgG4-related pachymeningitis in a patient with steroid intolerance: The role of early use of rituximab

IgG4-related pachymeningitis is a serious inflammatory condition that can present with symptoms of mass effect and focal deficits. The first-line therapy is steroids and second-line is chemotherapy (methotrexate, azathioprine, etc.). We describe a patient with IgG4-related pachymeningitis in whom steroid use was contraindicated and methotrexate was ineffective. During the course of treatment, the patient presented to the emergency department with receptive and expressive aphasia, slurred speech, right-sided neglect, and loss of sensation. After a single infusion of rituximab and anticonvulsants, her symptoms resolved. Our unique case suggests that patients with IgG4-related pachymeningitis might benefit from early initiation of rituximab.
Art-Inspired Techniques For Visualizing Time-Varying Data

Time-varying data is huge and contains specific features of interest to an application expert. Standard techniques for visualizing time-varying data such as snapshots and animations are limited in their ability to convey change and draw the user's attention to regions of interest. Art-inspired techniques are presented to provide temporal context to the domain expert. I present novel visualization techniques that convey change over time in a single image. Illustrators convey change over time using illustrative cues. Time-varying data, in which three-dimensional features are moving over time, can be effectively visualized using illustrative techniques such as speedlines, flow ribbons, strobe silhouettes and opacity¯ based techniques. I applied these techniques to computational fluid dynamics data and evaluated the effectiveness of our techniques with the help of a formal user study. The illustration-inspired techniques were also applied to the field of atmospheric physics, where I generated novel hurricane visualizations that allowed collaborators to obtain insight into the evolution and intensification of a hurricane. For effectively visualizing time-varying data, such as infant mortality over eight years or global rainfall over an entire century, we developed a novel pointillism-based technique. This technique was inspired by paintings by Seurat, applied the visual color blending theory to place brush strokes close to each other. We applied techniques from pointillistic paintings to convey variability in time-varying data and to convey trends over time in a single image. The formal user evaluation conducted to evaluate these techniques gave us insight into the strengths of our techniques and led us to the result that users though correct were less confident of their answers as compared to snapshots-based and animation-based techniques.
The Need to Prepare Prospective Teachers to Engage in Mathematics Consultations

The mathematics consultation represents a powerful opportunity for mathematics teachers to leverage the knowledge base of special education professionals to advance equity for students with special education needs. Yet, most teacher preparation programs do not specifically prepare prospective teachers to engage in mathematics consultations. We designed this baseline study to understand the consequences of this lack of preparation. We provided an opportunity for prospective elementary teachers of mathematics and prospective special education teachers to engage in a consultation about the mathematics learning of a student with special education needs. We analysed the characteristics of these consultations and found that the prospective teachers’ questions and responses lacked mathematics context and ignored student engagement in mathematical practices. Given these findings, we provide recommendations for how mathematics teacher educators might better prepare prospective teachers for the questioning and answering stages of mathematics consultations.
Breaking the Principle of Secrecy: An Examination of Judicial Dissent in the European Constitutional Courts

As “oracles of the law,” judges are trained to provide certainty and guidance within an often-uncertain legal landscape. Nowhere is this statement truer than in the civil law tradition, where the idea of legal certainty has been prized as a “supreme value.” Despite this tradition, dissenting opinions are now quite common within most European constitutional courts. Using new data from five countries and interviews with constitutional court judges and clerks, I investigate factors that contribute to dissent on constitutional courts. Results indicate that legal and policy characteristics matter, but so do judicial backgrounds and the issues reviewed.
Subclinical Rhythmic EEG Discharge of Adults (SREDA): Further Observations

Subclinical rhythmic EEG discharge of adults (SREDA) is an unusual rhythmic EEG pattern seen in adults. We present the findings in 23 cases of this pattern and compare this group of patients with the earlier group of 65 patients reported by Westmoreland and Klass in 1981. The findings in both groups were similar with regard to age distribution, morphology, type of onset and location of the discharge. Some additional variations, however, were noted in the present study, including location of the discharges and type of onset. As previously noted, the SREDA pattern was seen in patients with diverse complaints and showed no relationship to seizure disorders, cerebrovascular disease, or other specific disease entities. Therefore, the pattern should be considered as a nonspecific finding that is of little diagnostic significance.
Direct Numerical Simulation of Hypersonic Turbulent Boundary Layer inside an Axisymmetric Nozzle

As a first step toward a study of acoustic disturbance field within a conventional, hypersonic wind tunnel, direct numerical simulations (DNS) of a Mach 6 turbulent boundary layer on the inner wall of a straight axisymmetric nozzle are conducted and the results are compared with those for a flat plate. The DNS results for a nozzle radius to boundary-layer thickness ratio of 5:5 show that the turbulence statistics of the nozzle-wall boundary layer are nearly unaffected by the transverse curvature of the nozzle wall. Before the acoustic waves emanating from different parts of the nozzle surface can interfere with each other and undergo reflections from adjacent portions of the nozzle surface, the rms pressure fluctuation beyond the boundary layer edge increases toward the nozzle axis, apparently due to a focusing effect inside the axisymmetric configuration. Spectral analysis of pressure fluctuations at both the wall and the freestream indicates a similar distribution of energy content for both the nozzle and the flat plate, with the peak of the premultiplied frequency spectrum at a frequency of [(omega)(delta)]/U(sub infinity) approximately 6.0 inside the free stream and at [(omega)(delta)]/U(sub infinity) approximately 2.0 along the wall. The present results provide the basis for follow-on simulations involving reverberation effects inside the nozzle.
Exception Points and Body Size Contribute to Gender Disparity in Liver Transplantation

Background & Aims Women are significantly less likely than men to receive a liver transplant and more likely to die on the waitlist. We investigated potential reasons for these disparities, including match run positioning and organ declines caused by small stature of female recipients. Methods We analyzed data from the United Network of Organ Sharing registry of candidates placed on the waitlist from May 10, 2007, through June 17, 2013. Primary outcomes included ranked in first position on a match run, having an organ declined while in first position, declining an organ while in first position because of size mismatch between donor and recipient (body surface area discordance), and death or becoming too sick for liver transplantation. Results Among 64,995 patients on the waitlist for liver transplantation, 23.1% of men and 15.6% of women received exception points ( P Conclusions In an analysis of data from the United Network of Organ Sharing registry, we found that women when compared with men on the waitlist for liver transplantation are disadvantaged by an imbalance in exception point allocation and organ declines because of small stature.
Whistleblowing studies in accounting research: A review of experimental studies on the determinants of whistleblowing

We review and summarize accounting literature that examines whistleblowing in the accounting context. We organize our review around the five determinants of whistleblowing identified by Near and Miceli (1995). The first determinant is characteristics of the whistleblower. Studies related to this determinant examine whistleblowers’ personality characteristics, moral judgment, and demographic characteristics. Studies related to the second determinant, characteristics of the report recipient, examine characteristics of the individual or individuals who receive the report and characteristics of the reporting channel. The third determinant is characteristics of the wrongdoer. Studies in this area focus on the wrongdoer’s power and credibility. Fourth, accounting studies related to characteristics of the wrongdoing examine factors that affect the dependence of the organization on the wrongdoing and evidence credibility. Studies related to the final determinant, characteristics of the organization, examine organizational perceptions of the appropriateness of whistleblowing, organizational climate, and organizational structure. For each determinant, we first summarize and analyze the findings of prior research, and then we present suggestions for future accounting research in whistleblowing.
Updates in Polycythemia Vera

Polycythemia vera (PV) is a chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) characterized by erythrocytosis and clonal Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) V617F or JAK2 exon 12 mutations. The 2016 World Health Organization update has incorporated clinical and laboratory findings, molecular testing, and bone marrow pathology in its new classification, thereby improving the sensitivity to detect patients with PV and distinguishing the disease from other MPNs. Crystal structures and modeling of the JAK2 molecule have offered insight into possible therapeutic strategies with novel small molecules. These small molecules provide precision by affecting the mutated protein over the activity of wild type protein. Newer molecular techniques, especially next-generation sequencing, are revolutionizing molecular biology with the identification of somatic mutations modifying the course and prognosis of the disease. These mutations are found to have a potential role in responsiveness to therapy and may guide therapy decisions as well. Here we review recent advances in the clinical features, the diagnosis, the approaches, and the treatment of PV.
Quantification of Specific Nucleic Acids, Regulated RNA Processing, and Genomic Polymorphisms Using Reversed-Phase HPLC

The ability to make accurate quantitative measurements of specific nucleic acid molecules is becoming increasingly significant in biomedical science. One important clinical application is the quantification of viral nucleic acids in patients’ serum and tissues to assess viral burden for determination of disease course and efficacy of treatment. In this case, accuracy and precision of measurement are of primary importance, as decisions concerning selection of medication and dose may depend entirely on perceived change in viral load in an otherwise asymptomatic patient. A second utility in basic biomedical research is the quantification of specific mRNA molecules in functionally characterized cell types. These measurements are useful because they provide a prediction of protein abundance in cell samples in which proteins cannot be quantified directly. These studies often require microdissection to separate the tissues of interest from neighboring tissues. Again, accurate quantification is important for the effective comparison of the expression of multiple genes in multiple tissues and at different laboratories, often under conditions of physiological or pharmacological manipulation.
Does warning reduce obvious malingering on memory and motor tasks in college samples

Recent research has found that warning analogue malingerers about the ability to detect simulated symptoms of mild brain injury significantly reduced malingering behavior, but they still exhibited mildly impaired performance compared to controls. The present study re-examined the impact of warning about the ability to detect malingering on college students' simulation of mild brain injury sequelae and their ability to elude detection by a short form of the MMPI-2. Unwarned Simulators (n = 25), Warned Simulators (n = 26), and Controls (n = 28) did not differ significantly on finger and hand dexterity. Both groups of simulators exhibited more deficits in attention-concentration, memory, and some executive functions than the control group, but the MMPI-2 F scale invalidated the results of most simulators. Warning about detection of malingering did not significantly reduce simulation on any measure. These data and qualitative analysis of the comments offered by participants about their simulation efforts suggest that it may be difficult for naive individuals to simulate brain injury sequelae successfully across a variety of measures.
Enhancing tritium release from diffusion-limited solid lithium compounds

Mathematical modeling and numerical calculations have been performed to examine methods for exploiting recoil effects to increase the release of tritium from solid lithium compounds whose release rates are limited by the diffusion process. The basic concept is to employ the kinetic energy of the tritons from the exothermic /sup 6/L(n,/sup 4/He)T reaction in order to move them out of the low-diffusivity region where they are born and into a thin, high-diffusivity region from which they can more easily migrate for eventual removal by a stream of purge gas. In the recoil-enhanced release approach, the lithium-containing blanket particles would consist of coated spheres. The inner region of the spherical particles would have a small diameter (30 to 40 {mu}m) and would contain the lithium compound for tritium production. The outer region of the spherical particles would consist of a thin, highly diffusive coating whose thickness would be approximately one-half the range of a 2.7-MeV triton in the coating material. Tritium concentration profiles are presented parametrically in terms of dimensionless space and time variables and in terms of the ratio of the tritium diffusion coefficients for the inner and outer materials of a spherical particle. Calculations of tritium diffusion were performedmore » for lithium-compound-to-coating diffusion coefficient ratios of 1.0,0.5,0.1, and 0.05. The results indicate that, at steady state, the tritium inventory is directly proportional to the diffusion coefficient in the coating and the time to reach steady state is reduced as the diffusion coefficient ratio is decreased.« less
Early retinal development in Drosophila.

Like other insects, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has a compound eye, made up of approximately 800 individual eyes or ommatidia. The eye arises from the eye imaginal disk, which is part of the compound eye-antennal disk. The cells that will form this disk invaginate from the ectoderm during late embryogenesis (Jurgens and Hartenstein 1993); the disk primordium then grows inside the larva, where it consists of an epithelial bilayer. One columnar layer will give rise to all the cell types of the retina; it is covered by a squamous epithelial sheet called the peripodial membrane, which later contributes to the surface of the head (Haynie and Bryant 1986). Differentiation of the retina begins in the third of the three larval stages, known as instars, and continues during the first few days of pupal development (Ready et al. 1976; Fig. 1). In spite of the many morphological and developmental differences between fly and vertebrate eyes, many of the molecules involved appear to be conserved.
Bridging the semantic gap between heterogeneous modeling formalisms and FMI

FMI (Functional Mockup Interface) is a standard for exchanging and co-simulating model components (called FMUs) coming from potentially different modeling formalisms, languages, and tools. Previous work has proposed a formal model for the co-simulation part of the FMI standard, and also presented two co-simulation algorithms which can be proven to have desirable properties, such as determinacy, provided the FMUs satisfy a formal contract. In this paper we discuss the principles for encoding different modeling formalisms, including state machines (both untimed and timed), discrete-event systems, and synchronous dataflow, as FMUs. The challenge is to bridge the various semantic gaps (untimed vs. timed, signals vs. events, etc.) that arise because of the heterogeneity between these modeling formalisms and the FMI API.
Scene Transitions and Teleportation in Virtual Reality and the Implications for Spatial Awareness and Sickness

Various viewing and travel techniques are used in immersive virtual reality to allow users to see different areas or perspectives of 3D environments. Our research evaluates techniques for visually showing transitions between two viewpoints in head-tracked virtual reality. We present four experiments that focus on automated viewpoint changes that are controlled by the system rather than by interactive user control. The experiments evaluate three different transition techniques ( teleportation , animated interpolation , and pulsed interpolation ), different types of visual adjustments for each technique, and different types of viewpoint changes. We evaluated how differences in transition can influence a viewer's comfort, sickness, and ability to maintain spatial awareness of dynamic objects in a virtual scene. For instant teleportations, the experiments found participants could most easily track scene changes with rotational transitions without translational movements. Among the tested techniques, animated interpolations allowed significantly better spatial awareness of moving objects, but the animated technique was also rated worst in terms of sickness, particularly for rotational viewpoint changes. Across techniques, viewpoint transitions involving both translational and rotational changes together were more difficult to track than either individual type of change.
Critical Mathematics Education and Statistics Education: Possibilities for Transforming the School Mathematics Curriculum

This chapter discusses how ideas from critical mathematics education and statistics education intersect and could be used to transform the types of experiences that students have with both mathematics and statistics in the school mathematics curriculum. Key ideas from the critical mathematics literature are described to provide a background from which to discuss what a critical statistics education could be. The chapter ends with a discussion of some of the major barriers that need to be considered to make such a vision a reality and possible future directions for moving towards making a critical statistics education a reality.
Capabilities of the Additive Manufacturing in Rapid Prototyping of the Grippers’ Precision Jaws

Nowadays, additive manufacturing is becoming increasingly popular, cheap and easily accessible. It got particularly useful in industry. While the engineering designs need to be verified as quickly as it is possible, it is hardly unmanageable due to their high costs and a long time of production. 3-D printing enables a totally different approach towards these problems. This technique lets the mechanic apply the changes in a design on spot and test it under the real conditions. Even though it gives the crucial advantage of the price and the save of time, it brings some major problems as well. The 3-D printers offer the accuracy and precision limited to much lower standards than traditional machining. Moreover, the filaments used for the additive manufacturing have usually much worse material parameters than the most common metals. This study assesses the capabilities of the additive manufacturing in the production of the small elements for the tests. It is based on the real-life case of rapid prototyping of the grippers’ precision jaws used for assembling the cylindrical objects in the casings. The paper contains an overview of grippers, 3-D printers and filaments, finite element strength tests and the summary of the method’s potential. Its result is a method of creating models and testing fragile elements so to guarantee their coherence and to verify their applicability for the particular intent.
Systemic Treatment Options for Carcinoid Syndrome: A Systematic Review

Background: Carcinoid syndrome symptoms significantly reduce quality of life in patients with neuroendocrine tumors. Evidence supporting the use of somatostatin analogues in carcinoid syndrome symptom control dates back 30 years. The introduction of new treatment options for carcinoid syndrome, such as telotristat ethyl in 2017, highlights the need for a review of high-level evidence of new and established systemic treatments. Objective: To examine the efficacy and safety of systemic treatment options for patients with carcinoid syndrome. Method: A systematic review of English language articles was conducted using PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register using the search terms carcinoid syndrome, clinical trial, clinical study, and prospective study. Additional studies were identified by searching abstracts from oncology or neuroendocrine tumor congresses during the previous year. Prospective, interventional, phase II or III clinical trials or pivotal trials leading to drug approval were included. Studies were required to have >85% of patients with carcinoid syndrome; secondary publications were excluded. Results: The search identified 233 unique records, of which 12 trials met the criteria for inclusion. Interventions assessed in these trials included short-acting and long-acting octreotide, lanreotide prolonged-release and autogel/depot, short-acting and long-acting pasireotide, telotristat ethyl, everolimus, and peptide receptor radionuclide therapy. Somatostatin analogues provided substantial symptom relief for patients with carcinoid syndrome. For refractory symptoms, an increased dose of somatostatin analogue or addition of telotristat ethyl were valuable options. Interventions were generally well tolerated, with few serious treatment-related adverse events. Conclusions: By critically evaluating high-level evidence in a rigorous manner, this review highlights the general lack of consensus regarding what defines symptom control in studies of carcinoid syndrome and the need for standardized treatment guidelines for this disease. More prospective trials of treatments for carcinoid syndrome are warranted to assist oncologists with optimizing treatment selection and sequencing in this patient population.
Ludwig's Angina: Anesthetic Management

Ludwig's angina (LA) is a gangrenous cellulitis of the neck that spreads via continuity of the fascial planes. Treatment of LA includes aggressive antibiotic therapy as well as surgical drainage in many cases. The most common cause of infection is odontogenic and can be due to both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Signs and symptoms of LA include bilateral cervical swelling, dysphagia, drooling, neck tenderness, elevation and posterior distension of the tongue, restricted neck movement, trismus, dyspnea, and stridor, which can result in difficult airway management. Proper preoperative assessment of patients with LA should include identifying features that may cause difficulties with mask ventilation, direct laryngoscopy, and intubation. Alternative methods of ventilation should be considered and immediately accessible, including a plan on how and when they would be used in the event that a patient cannot be mask ventilated or intubated. Marking external anatomical airway landmarks prior to manipulating the airway can save vital time if an emergent airway becomes necessary.
Visualizing cancer pathogenesis at the nanoscale

We present the technical development of a high-throughput super-resolution imaging system based on optimized stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy. This system enables robust and reliable super-resolution imaging of nanoscale chromatin folding over a large field of view on standard pathological tissue. Super-resolution microscopy revealed fragmented chromatin folding throughout all stages of carcinogenesis.
Fingerprint Spoof Detector Generalization

We present a style-transfer based wrapper, called Universal Material Generator (UMG), to improve the generalization performance of any fingerprint spoof (presentation attack) detector against spoofs made from materials not seen during training. Specifically, we transfer the style (texture) characteristics between fingerprint images of known materials with the goal of synthesizing fingerprint images corresponding to unknown materials, that may occupy the space between the known materials in the deep feature space. Synthetic live fingerprint images are also added to the training dataset to supervise the CNN to learn generative-noise invariant features which discriminate between lives and spoofs. The proposed approach is shown to improve the generalization performance of two state-of-the-art spoof detectors, namely Fingerprint Spoof Buster and Slim-ResCNN, winner of the LivDet 2017 spoof detection competition. Specifically, the performance is improved from TDR of 75.24% and 73.09% to TDR of 91.78% and 90.63% @ FDR = 0.2% for Spoof Buster and Slim-ResCNN, respectively. These results are based on a large-scale dataset of 5,743 live and 4,912 spoof images fabricated using 12 different materials. In addition to generalization across different spoof materials, the proposed approach is also shown to improve the average cross-sensor spoof detection performance from 67.60% and 64.62% to 80.63% and 77.59%, for Fingerprint Spoof Buster and Slim-ResCNN, respectively, when tested on the LivDet 2017 dataset.
Economic MPC of Nonlinear Processes via Recurrent Neural Networks Using Structural Process Knowledge

Abstract This work proposes three methods that incorporate a priori process knowledge into recurrent neural network (RNN) modeling of nonlinear processes to improve prediction accuracy and provide insights on the structure of neural network models. Specifically, we discuss a hybrid modeling method that integrates first-principles models and RNNs together, a partially-connected RNN modeling method that designs the RNN structure based on a priori structural process knowledge, and a weight-constrained RNN modeling method that introduces weight constraints in the optimization problem of RNN model training, respectively. The proposed RNN modeling methods are applied in the context of economic model predictive control of a chemical process example to demonstrate their improved approximation performance compared to a fully-connected RNN model that is developed as a black box model.
Engineering Impacts of Anonymous Author Code Review: A Field Experiment

Code review is a powerful technique to ensure high quality software and spread knowledge of best coding practices between engineers. Unfortunately, code reviewers may have biases about authors of the code they are reviewing, which can lead to inequitable experiences and outcomes. In principle, anonymous author code review can reduce the impact of such biases by withholding an author's identity from a reviewer. In this paper, to understand the engineering effects of using author anonymous code review in a practical setting, we applied the technique to 5217 code reviews performed by 300 software engineers at Google. Our results suggest that during anonymous author code review, reviewers can frequently guess authors identities; that focus is reduced on reviewer-author power dynamics; and that the practice poses a barrier to offline, high-bandwidth conversations. Based on our findings, we recommend that those who choose to implement anonymous author code review should reveal the time zone of the author by default, have a break-the-glass option for revealing author identity, and reveal author identity directly after the review.
Thrombocytopenia including immune thrombocytopenia after receipt of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to assess cases of thrombocytopenia, including immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) following vaccination with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. METHODS: This case-series study analyzed VAERS reports of thrombocytopenia after vaccination with Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. RESULTS: Fifteen cases of thrombocytopenia were identified among 18,841,309 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and 13 cases among 16,260,102 doses of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. The reporting rate of thrombocytopenia was 0.80 per million doses for both vaccines. Based on an annual incidence rate of 3.3 ITP cases per 100,000 adults, the observed number of all thrombocytopenia cases, which includes ITP, following administration of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines is not greater than the number of ITP cases expected. CONCLUSIONS: The number of thrombocytopenia cases reported to VAERS does not suggest a safety concern attributable to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines at this time.
Accuracy of self-reported birth outcomes relative to birth certificate data in an Internet-based prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND The accuracy of birth outcome data provided by Internet-based cohort study participants has not been well studied. METHODS We compared self-reported data on birth characteristics in Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO), an Internet-based prospective cohort study of North American pregnancy planners, with birth certificate data. At enrolment, participants were aged 21-45 years, attempting conception, and not using fertility treatment. Women completed online questionnaires during preconception, early and late pregnancy, and postpartum. We requested birth certificate data during 2014-2019 from seven health departments in states with the most participants. After restricting to singleton births, we assessed specificity, sensitivity, and agreement comparing self-reported data from postpartum questionnaires with birth certificate data for gestational age at delivery (GA) and birthweight (grams). Our primary measure of self-reported GA (weeks) was calculated as [280-(due date-birth date)]/7. We used log-binomial regression to assess predictors of agreement. RESULTS We linked 85% (771/909) of women in selected states. Median age of women was 30 years (range: 21-42), 84% had ≥ 16 years of education, nearly 96% were married, 12% had household incomes <$50 000, 32% were parous, and 85% identified as non-Hispanic White. Median recall interval was 6 months. Among those with self-reported data, 89% reported the same GA as the birth certificate and 98% reported GA within 1 week of the birth certificate. Self-report of preterm birth (GA < 37 weeks) agreed with information from birth certificates for 100% of women; sensitivity was 100%, and specificity was 99%. Self-reported low birthweight (<2500 grams) agreed with birth certificates for 93% of women; sensitivity and specificity were 93% and ≥99%, respectively. Predictors of poorer agreement included higher parity and longer pregnancy attempt time for GA, and lower education and longer recall interval for birthweight. CONCLUSION Self-reported data on GA and birthweight from an Internet-based cohort showed high accuracy compared with birth certificates.
The Effects of Footshock on the Reinforcing Efficacy of Cocaine in Male Long-Evans Rats

THE EFFECTS OF FOOTSHOCK ON THE REINFORCING EFFICACY OF COCAINE IN MALE LONG-EVANS RATS Elizabeth S. Hendrick. B.A. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2005 Director: Keith Shelton, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology Many links exist between cocaine abuse and stress. The literature and laboratory studies in rats suggest that this could be because stress increases the reinforcing efficacy of cocaine. Using male Long-Evans rats, experiments in this thesis tested effects of footshock on the reinforcing efficacy of cocaine using a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement. They also examined effects of footshock on the reinforcing efficacy of a half-maximal dose of cocaine. Finally, they tested the effects of footshock on cocaine self-administration in rats initially resistant to acquisition of cocaine self-administration. Footshock did not increase reinforcing efficacy of cocaine on a PR schedule of reinforcement, nor did it enhance sensitivity to a half-maximal dose of cocaine. Footshock did, however, cause acquisition of cocaine self-administration in acquisitionresistant rats. Therefore, while footshock stress may be capable of sensitizing X acquisition-resistant rats to the reinforcing efficacy of cocaine, it does not appear that it significantly increases the reinforcing efficacy of cocaine in rats with a history of cocaine self-administration.
Integrated Tools and Technologies for Concurrent Engineering of Mechanical Systems

Computer Aided Engineering tools and technologies that hold the potential for creating a simulation based Concurrent Engineering environment in the near-term and a design optimization based capability for the future are analyzed. Technical challenges and opportunities associated with integrating these tools into a software environment that can support multidisciplinary engineering teams are defined and illustrated. A road map for evolutionary creation of a simulation based Concurrent Engineering design environment in the near-term and a design optimization environment in the longer term is presented. Projects underway to create the capability advocated by the road map are presented, to illustrate technical considerations peculiar to Concurrent Engineering of mechanical systems and challenges associated with network based multidisciplinary CAE system integration for Concurrent Engineering.
WE‐AB‐303‐01: FEATURED PRESENTATION: A Dual‐Detector Phase‐Matched Digital Tomosynthesis (DTS) Imaging Scheme Using Aggregated KV and MV Projections for Intra‐Treatment Lung Tumor Tracking

Purpose: To develop a dual-detector phase-matched DTS technique for continuous and fast intra-treatment lung tumor localization. Methods: Tumor localization accuracy of limited-angle DTS imaging is affected by low inter-slice resolution. The dual-detector DTS technique aims to overcome this limitation through combining orthogonally acquired beam’s eye view MV projections and kV projections for intra-treatment DTS reconstruction and localization. To aggregate the kV and MV projections for reconstruction, the MV projections were linearly converted to synthesize corresponding kV projections. To further address the lung motion induced localization errors, this technique uses respiratory phase-matching to match the motion information between on-board DTS and reference DTS to offset the adverse effects of motion blurriness in tumor localization.A study was performed using the CIRS008A lung phantom to simulate different on-board target variation scenarios for localization. The intra-treatment kV and MV acquisition was achieved through the Varian TrueBeam Developer Mode. Four methods were compared for their localization accuracy: 1. the proposed dual-detector phase-matched DTS technique; 2. the single-detector phase-matched DTS technique; 3. the dual-detector 3D-DTS technique without phase-matching; and 4. the single-detector 3D-DTS technique without phase-matching. Results: For scan angles of 2.5°, 5°, 10°, 20° and 30°, the dual-detector phase-matched DTS technique localized the tumor with average(±standard deviations) errors of 0.4±0.3 mm, 0.5±0.3 mm, 0.6±0.2 mm, 0.9±0.4 mm and 1.0±0.3 mm, respectively. The corresponding values of single-detector phase-matched DTS technique were 4.0±2.5 mm, 2.7±1.1 mm, 1.7±1.2 mm, 2.2±0.9 mm and 1.5±0.8 mm, respectively. The values of dual-detector 3D-DTS technique were 6.2±1.7 mm, 6.3±1.2 mm, 5.3±1.3 mm, 2.0±2.2 mm and 1.5±0.5 mm, respectively. And the values of single-detector 3D-DTS technique were 9.7±8.9 mm, 9.8±8.8 mm, 10.0±9.7 mm, 3.9±2.7 mm and 2.2±1.3 mm, respectively. Conclusion: The dual-detector phase-matched DTS technique substantially improves the tumor localization accuracy, which can be applied to real-time intra-treatment lung tumor localization. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health Grant No. R01-CA184173 and a grant from Varian Medical Systems.
Systems Analyst’s View of Noise and Urban Planning

THE PROBLEM OF NOISE IN URBAN AREAS IS AMENABLE TO SOLUTION BY THE CONTROL OF LOCATIONAL ACTIVITIES OR BY TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS LOCATED AT THE SOURCE OF NOISE, AT RECEIVER, OR BETWEEN THE SOURCE AND RECEIVER. SOME BASIC BASIC CONCEPTS OF SYSTEMS ANALYSIS MAY BE USED TO DETERMINE INFORMATIONAL REQUIREMENTS TO MAKE PLANNING WITH RESPECT TO NOISE MORE REALISTIC AND MORE EFFECTIVE. /AUTHOR/
Graph-based segmentation of lymph nodes in CT data

The quantitative assessment of lymph node size plays an important role in treatment of diseases like cancer. In current clinical practice, lymph nodes are analyzed manually based on very rough measures of long and/or short axis length, which is error prone. In this paper we present a graph-based lymph node segmentation method to enable the computer-aided three-dimensional (3D) assessment of lymph node size. Our method has been validated on 22 cases of enlarged lymph nodes imaged with X-ray computed tomography (CT). For the signed and unsigned surface positioning error, the mean and standard deviation was 0.09±0.17 mm and 0.47±0.08 mm, respectively. On average, 5.3 seconds were required by our algorithm for the segmentation of a lymph node.
Catalytic Oxidation of CH3Cl by Cr2O3

Abstract The oxidation of CH3Cl in air using a commercially available Cr2O3 catalyst was studied in a packed-bed, isothermal reactor in the temperature range of 340-470°C and at I atm. Reaction rates were independent of the concentration of oxygen for CH3Cl partial pressures below 0.043 atm. A non-linear second order rate model was satisfactory in correlating the data.
Reimagining nursing homes: the art of the possible.

Long-term care (LTC) needs to be reconceptualized. The current efforts to reinvent the nursing home perpetuate a flawed model of care. The heritage of the nursing home as the dominant model for LTC needs to be reexamined. The basic LTC building blocks—housing, services, and medical care—can be combined in various ways to meet consumers' needs and preferences. We need innovative solutions that can offer reasonable service while recognizing the value of acceptable risk taking. Modest personal care should not come at the price of surrendering one's autonomy.
Progressive Political Theory and Separation of Powers Law on the Burger and Rehnquist Courts

This article proposes a positive explanation why the Supreme Court has erratically veered from functionalism to formalism and back in its separation of powers law for almost 30 years. The explanation suggests that most members of the Court are drawing on normative ideas about separation of powers heavily influenced by Progressive political theory. The Progressives generated a theory of government the article identifies as the Progressive theory of apolitical administration. The Progressives held that politics, the formation of a national will, needed to be kept separate from administration, the rational implementation of that will. The basic distinction between politics and administration became an important staple of legal education during and shortly after the New Deal - when most of the Justices on the Burger and Rehnquist Courts went to law school. Most of the Justices on these Courts have relied on Progressive norms about independent administration in deciding separation of powers cases since the 1970s. These Justices have applied formalism and functionalism selectively to promote the Progressive theory of apolitical administration in the Court's case law. If a law transfers power to independent agency administrators, most Justices apply functionalism, cite Progressive normative values in the functionalist analysis, defer to Congress, and uphold the law. If, however, a law enables politicians, and especially members of Congress, to supervise agency administration closely, the same Justices apply formalism to justify striking it down. The article has two main lessons. First, it explains in positive terms a phenomenon that has puzzled administrative-law commentators for years. Second, it offers a useful correction to several leading retrospectives written to date about the Rehnquist Court. The Progressive/New Deal influence in the Court's separation of powers law suggests that there are strong intellectual limits on the extent to which the Rehnquist Court or a future Court may repudiate the constitutional achievements of the New Deal.
Rabbit muscle phosphofructokinase. II. Product and dead end inhibition.

Abstract Product inhibition patterns and patterns for dead end inhibition by 1-deoxy-d-fructose-6-P and the chromium complex of ATP have been determined for rabbit muscle phosphofructokinase at pH 7.4, 25°. Nucleotides are mutually competitive, as are sugars, with nucleotides being noncompetitive versus sugars and vice versa, except that MgATP appears competitive versus fructose-P2. These data establish that the kinetic mechanism is random, with the formation of a dead end E-MgADP-fructose-6-P complex, but little or no E-MgATP-fructose-P2 complex. Quantitative analysis of the inhibitions and comparison with the initial velocity data from the previous paper suggest that the rapid equilibrium assumption holds in the reverse reaction, but that with MgATP and fructose-6-P as substrates the rate constants for release of these substrates are less than Vmax, with the result that the initial velocity patterns appear parallel or nearly so. In the absence of nucleotides, fructose-6-P binds to phosphofructokinase 30-fold more tightly than 1-deoxyfructose-6-P, showing that the 1-OH is important for binding, but in the presence of MgATP the affinities are the same, suggesting that the conformation change which normally produces catalysis by generating compression between the two substrates causes deoxyfructose-6-P and MgATP to move closer to each other and thus be more tightly bound when the 1-OH is missing. Similarly, in the absence of sugars MgATP is bound 20-fold more tightly than the chromium complex of ATP, but in the presence of fructose-6-P the affinities are the same. The chromium complex of ADP does not show the effect, although its affinity for free enzyme is the same as that of the chromium complex of ATP.