cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Unraveling Enigma in the Z-Disks

See related article, pages 348–356 The Z-disk, a fascinating structure in myofibrils, demarcates sarcomeres and serves as not only a mechanical focal point but also a likely signaling nexus in mediating and regulating the functions of striated muscle. In the Z-disk, the barbed end of actin filaments and the titin filaments from the 2 opposing sarcomeres are cross-linked primarily by α-actinin, allowing transmission of tension between sarcomeres during contraction. At the Z-disk level, myofibrils are registered laterally to one another, to the cell membrane, and to the nuclear envelope by a network of desmin-containing intermediate filaments.1 Additionally, the Z-disk may forge linkages with integrin and dystrophin-glycoprotein complexes through interactions with proteins such as filamin C.2 Therefore, the Z-disk is the focal point in myofibrils that arguably best communicates with both intramyofibrillar and extramyofibrillar cytoskeletons, with physical linkages to the cell membrane where both inside-out and outside-in signaling occur, and to the nucleus where gene expression takes place. Notably, mutations of many genes encoding Z-disk constituents and associated proteins have been linked to myofibrillar myopathies.3–,4 Hence, these proteins have attracted a broad interest for a better understanding of the structure and genesis of myofibrils, signaling events and protein homeostasis in cardiomyocytes, and the function of the heart. It becomes increasingly tempting to believe that the Z-disk is not simply a mechanical joint responsible for force reception, transduction, and transmission, but also functions to sense mechanical stress and strain, and subsequently initiate signaling pathways to alter gene expression in response to this stress.5,–,7 In most cases, Z-disk proteins function as scaffolds to bring the signaling effectors to the substrates, thereby facilitating their …
Method and computer-aided investigation of microwave lens for 360-degree scanning

Novel way of design 360° multi-beam lens antenna is presented. A square lens is formulated for microstrip implementation and simulated using MoM. Simulation results demonstrated that the designed lens achieved 360-degree electrical scanning beams of prominent properties.
Transmission of single-flux-quantum pulses along superconducting microstrip lines

The authors analyzed, designed, and tested drivers and receivers which make it possible to connect distant circuits of the rapid single-flux-quantum (RSFQ) logic/memory family by passive superconducting microstrip lines. Using these circuits implemented with a niobium trilayer fabrication technology, reliable transmission and reception of the SFQ pulses over distances up to 1 cm, with margins of bias currents as wide as +or-30%, have been demonstrated. The pulses can be passed along wide lines (20 mu m for 3.5 mu Nb-Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/-Nb Josephson junction technology) over such distances and can be picked up by the RSFQ receiver. >
Use of a Genetic Algorithm for Neuron Model Specification

We have used a genetic algorithm (GA) to develop simple firing neuron models consisting of a single compartment with one inward and one outward current. The GA not only chooses the model parameters, but also chooses the formulation of the ionic currents (i.e. single-variable, two-variable, instantaneous, or leak). The fitness function of the GA compares the output of the GA generated models to an I-F curve of a nominal Morris-Lecar (ML) model. Initially, several different classes of models compete among the population. However, the GA converges to a population containing only ML-type firing models with an instantaneous inward and single-variable outward current. Simulations where ML-type models are not allowed in the population are also investigated. This GA approach allows the exploration of a universe of feasible model classes that is less constrained by model formulation assumptions than traditional parameter estimation approaches
The association of tryptophan synthetase subunits from Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium in homologous and heterologous combinations.

The association of α and β2 subunits of tryptophan synthetase from Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium in homologous and heterologous combinations was studied by sucrose density gradient centri-fugation. Under conditions allowing for optimal association of subunits derived from the same source, subunit association in the mixture E. coli α–S. typhimurium β2 was weaker than normal while in the reciprocal combination of S. typhimurium α–E. coli β2 it was tighter than normal.These observations suggest that a certain degree of binding between the α and β2 subunits of tryptophan synthetase could have had a selective advantage during the evolutionary divergence of the species of Entero-bacteriaceae, so that a mutation leading to the substitution of an amino acid involved in α–β2 association in one of the subunits could have been compensated by a mutation in the complementary one.
Large deformations of elastic cylindrical capsules in shear flows

The nonlinear problem of the steady-state interaction of a closed fluid-filled cylindrical elastic membrane with a slow viscous shear flow has been solved by a series-expansion technique. The problems of successive orders were both formulated and solved by a symbolic manipulation program, and the calculations were carried to sixth order in a dimensionless parameter related to the applied shear rate. Moderately large deformations (aspect ratios approaching 3) fall within the range of this analysis, which yields the dependences of the following global variables on the system parameters: membrane deformation, orientation, and strain, as well as tank-treading frequency, and mean internal pressure. The solution for the flow field around an isolated capsule is also used to calculate the apparent viscosity of a dilute suspension of flexible cylindrical particles, which yields the paradoxical result that the apparent viscosity decreases as the internal viscosity increases.
Genetic Analysis of Cytomegalovirus in Malignant Gliomas

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has been found in malignant gliomas at variable frequencies with efforts to date focused on characterizing the role(s) of single gene products in disease. Here, we reexamined the HCMV prevalence in malignant gliomas using different methods and began to dissect the genetics of HCMV in tumors. HCMV DNA was found in 16/17 (94%) tumor specimens. Viral DNA copy numbers were found to be low and variable, ranging from 102 to 106 copies/500 ng of total DNA. The tumor tissues had incongruences between viral DNA copy numbers and protein levels. However, nonlatent protein expression was detected in many tumors. The viral UL83 gene, encoding pp65, was found to segregate into five cancer-associated genotypes with a bias for amino acid changes in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in comparison to the low-grade tumors. Deep sequencing of a GBM-associated viral population resulted in 81,224 bp of genome coverage. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of intact open reading frames and higher numbers of high-frequency variations within the repeat long region compared to the unique long region, which harbors many core genes, and the unique short region (P = 0.001). This observation was in congruence with phylogenetic analyses across replication-competent viral strains in databases. The tumor-associated viral population was less variable (π = 0.1% and πAA = 0.08%) than that observed in other clinical infections. Moreover, 42/46 (91.3%) viral genes analyzed had dN/dS scores of <1, which is indicative of high amino acid sequence conservation. Taken together, these findings raise the possibility that replication-competent HCMV may exist in malignant gliomas.
Biological experiments: The viking Mars lander

From the biological point of view, the Viking 1975 mission might be regarded as a test of the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis concerning the chemical evolution of living systems. Mars is a planet whose early history was probably similar to that of the earth and whose present environmental conditions may be compatible with the maintenance of living organisms. Thus, the biological experiments aboard the Viking I spacecraft are primarily concerned with the question of whether chemical evolution on Mars took place, and, if so, whether the process reached a level of complexity characteristic of replicating systems.
TSIOPAK—a proposal for a new Sharp APL file system

Communication between OS files is often necessary when information that is manipulated and stored in Sharp APL files is required to be used by non-APL routines. For example, one may use APL for number crunching and have the output processed by SAS or FORTRAN to plot the data.The arising demand for procedures that would make data accessible from APL to other systems motivated the author to take action.TSIOPAK was developed with the intention to provide a standard interface between Sharp APL and the MVS operating system facilitating the accessibility of data created through APL and other languages. In addition, the reader will find that starting from the section titled the TSIOPAK File System, the format for each section looks very much like the Sharp APL Reference Manual. This is not a coincidence, what the author has tried to achieve with this work is to have a file system functionally identical to Sharp's using OS files. The author's efforts have gone as far as trying to replicate the format of Sharp's manual.In addition, parts of the Sharp APL File System have not been implemented in TSIOPAK due to the lack of time and resources. Hence, this paper is a proposal for a new file system which would make APL-generated data generally available.
Crosshatch disk array for improved reliability and performance

Redundant disk array architecture provides fault tolerance against disk drive failures. However, a storage subsystem consists of more than just disk drives. There must also be controllers for interfacing with the disk drives, cabling for providing data/control paths, power supplies, etc. For the subsystem to be fault tolerant, it must also be able to tolerate failure in any one of these components. While currently known array architectures can be designed to be tolerant to single failure in the support hardware, little attention has been paid to performance in the event of such failures. The recovery procedures required after such failures have been repaired were also not fully considered. In this paper a new array architecture is presented which outperforms other currently known array architectures when some supporting hardware such as a controller or cable has failed. Furthermore, this architecture is fault tolerant to at least double failures in the support hardware and is, therefore, a more reliable and robust architecture.
The association between length of post‐kidney transplant hospitalization and long‐term graft and recipient survival

: Background: There has been a general trend towards shortened length of post-kidney transplant hospitalization (LOH). The decision regarding patients's discharge from the hospital theoretically may be based on several factors, including, but not limited to, patient well being, insurance status, family situation and other, mostly socio-economic factors, as opposed to hard medical evidence. However, the appropriate LOH in kidney transplant recipients is not well studied regarding long-term outcomes. Methods: This study retrospectively analysed the association between LOH and graft and recipient survival based on United States Renal Data System dataset. In total, 100 762 patients who underwent transplant during 1995–2002 were included. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and Cox models were applied to the whole patient cohort and on sub-groups stratified by the presence of delayed graft function, patient comorbidity index and donor type (deceased or living). Results: In recipient survival, both short ( 5 d) LOH showed a significant adverse effect (p<0.01) on survival times. In the analysis of graft survival, long LOH (≥2 wk) also showed significant adverse effects (p<0.001) on survival times. However, short LOH (<4 d) did not reach statistical significance, although it was still associated with adverse effects on graft survival. These observations were consistent across the whole patient cohort and sub-groups stratified by the presence of delayed graft function, patient comorbidity index and donor type. Conclusion: Clinical considerations should be used to make the decision regarding appropriate time of post-kidney transplant recipient discharge. Based on this study, shorter than four d post-kidney transplant hospitalization may potentially be harmful to long-term graft and recipient survival.
Decline in Medicaid-Funded One-to-One Behavioral Support Use in School as Children Age

This study compared in-school and out-of-school behavioral health service use and associated expenditures among children of different ages and with different psychiatric disorders. Medicaid claims from one city provided a sample of 24,271 children aged 5–17 years with psychiatric disorders who received one or more Medicaid-funded behavioral health services between October 1, 2008, and September 30, 2009. Children were categorized as having autism, conduct disorder/oppositional defiant disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other psychiatric disorders. Logistic regression and generalized linear regression were used to estimate differences in in-school and out-of-school behavioral health service use and associated Medicaid expenditures by age group (5–11 years and 12–17 years old) within and across psychiatric disorders. Significant differences were found in Medicaid service use by age group and by disorder. Significantly fewer children 12 years of age or older used in-school and out-of-school behavioral health services than children 5–11 years of age. Among service users, Medicaid expenditures for out-of-school service use were higher for older children. In-school behavioral health service use decreased significantly with age and more than out-of-school services, suggesting the need for access to appropriate school services for adolescents. Differences in these changes by disorder may point to the need for disorder-specific strategies to provide appropriate care as children age.
Intercorrelations between personal orientation inventory and Gordon personal inventory scores.

The Personal Orientation Inventory (POI; Shoscrom, 1966) yields 12 scores purporting to measure aspects of self-actualization. Contrary ro the results of an earlier study (Braun, 1966), the POI has been found recently co show a resistance to faking which makes it unique among self-report inventories (Braun & LaFaro, in press). The Gordon Personal Inventory (GPI; Gordon, 1956) is a forced-choice instrument yielding scores on foiu personality characterisrics. Table 1 presents the Pearson product-moment correlations between POI and GPI scores derived from 30 introductory psychology students (17 males, 13 females) who completed the two inventories in a regular class meeting.
Can private markets provide professional liability insurance coverage

To insure against the financial claims of patients injured while receiving medical treatment, physicians, hospitals, and nursing homes in the United States have traditionally purchased professional liability insurance coverage. The insurance has been sold mainly by commercial carriers operating in the private market seeking to match insurance buyers and sellers. However, the experience of the last 30 years would indicate that insurance provided by private markets may not be a satisfactorily efficient means to compensate victims of medical injury. Given the involvement of state-established insurance mechanisms which seek to support private market coverage, perhaps the private market should be abandoned altogether in favor of public programs which seek to provide funding for compensation of medical injury victims.
Reaching Faculty During the Summer: Taking Inspiration from the Blogosphere

Librarians at Western Carolina University have performed scholarship-focused summer outreach to the teaching faculty for many years, primarily via in-person workshops. Since faculty often focus on scholarship rather than instruction during summers, our emphasis on research and publication was timely and appropriate. However, the in-person research workshops were poorly attended, as faculty who do not teach summer courses often do not come to campus.
Research on the Police's Knowledge Related to HIV/AIDS Occupational Exposure in Foshan City

Objective To understand knowledge related to HIV/AIDS occupational exposure of police so as to provide the basis and data for AIDS health education and training. Method Samples were taken from participated in the police training school. Survey was designed to conduct survey to 255 police as to their knowledge related HIV/AIDS occupational exposure. Results ①The police had a high knowledge about HIV/AIDS,86.65%.②Their knowledge of HIV "window period "was very poor,only 42.75%.③Police knew little knowledge on occupational exposure to HIV/AIDS. After occupational exposure,only 52.94% of the people think that to do security work. About how to deal with wounds 53.33% armored choice to press the wound. Conclusion Police have a high knowledge about HIV/AIDS information,but knew less on some specifi c information of HIV/AIDS occupational exposure. In order to increase their awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention and self protection,targeted AIDS training should be carry out,especially in the poor information
Compatibility Assessment of Fuel System Elastomers with Bio-oil and Diesel Fuel

Bio-oil derived via fast pyrolysis is being developed as a renewable fuel option for petroleum distillates. The compatibility of neat bio-oil with six elastomer types was evaluated against the elastomer performance in neat diesel fuel, which served as the baseline. The elastomers included two fluorocarbons, six acrylonitrile butadiene rubbers (NBRs), and one type each of fluorosilicone, silicone, styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), polyurethane, and neoprene. Specimens of each material were exposed to the liquid and gaseous phases of the test fuels for 4 weeks at 60 °C, and properties in the wetted and dried states were measured. Exposure to bio-oil produced significant volume expansion in the fluorocarbons, NBRs, and fluorosilicone; however, excessive swelling (over 80%) was only observed for the two fluorocarbons and two NBR grades. The polyurethane specimens were completely degraded by the bio-oil. In contrast, both silicone and SBR exhibited lower swelling levels in bio-oil compared to neat diesel fuel. T...
Rule-based classification models: flexible integration of satellite imagery and thematic spatial data

A framework for automated land-cover classification based on a concept of a classification model was developed and tested. The framework employs a user-specified rule base to describe a classification model, defined as the series of spatial data operations and decisions used in landcover classification. Both evidential and hierarchical inference are supported utilizing a set of spatial data operators. The concept was tested through the development and application of a set of computer programs which support classification models. A rule base, thematic spatial data, and satellite image data were then used to define a classification model for conditions in northeastern Wisconsin.
Isolated Language Varieties

The term ‘isolation’ and its corollary ‘mobility’ have continued to be key factors in the determination of the actuation, embedding, and trajectory of linguistic change. Dialectologists have been irresistibly drawn to isolated communities (and to isolated speakers for that matter) for their import descriptively and theoretically. Recently, though, the concept of isolation and its assumed affects on dialect maintenance and change have come under considerable scrutiny, and this criticism has led to dynamic definitions of isolation itself as well as the formulation of comprehensive principles by which to measure the influence of insular and postinsular communities on language change.
A single-line-to-ground fault diagnosis method in small-current-grounding system based on fuzzy-integral decision fusion technique

With the purpose of improving reliability and adaptability of SLG fault diagnosis, a diagnosis method based on fuzzy-integral decision fusion technique is proposed in this paper. The method firstly constructs a criterion set which covers all types of commonly used criteria for SLG fault diagnosis. And through comparison between criteria's application scope and DN's actual status at fault moment, confidence degree for each criterion is obtained and converted into fuzzy measure distribution in criterion set. On this basis, according to fault characteristics, criterion in the set is respectively used to do SLG fault diagnosis, and fault measure is generated from each criterion. Afterwards, the fault measure is fuzzy-integrated about fuzzy measure in the criterion set to realize effective integration of multiple diagnosis results and obtain more reliable conclusion for SLG fault diagnosis. Simulation shows that, under various conditions of different DN neutral-point grounding modes, different initial fault voltage angle and different fault resistance, this method could always locate fault line accurately no matter whether the local diagnosis results are consistent or not.
Stable roles, changed skills: teacher candidate responses to instruction about adolescent psychosocial support practices

AbstractBy virtue of their day-to-day contact with students, teachers are uniquely positioned to notice and respond to student psychosocial issues, both mental health problems and issues like peer harassment that can contribute to mental health problems. Yet, teachers’ opportunities to learn about providing psychosocial support remain scattered. The present study investigates the impact of one teacher education program’s efforts to promote productive teacher interactions with students experiencing psychosocial issues. The intervention – a six-week module that comprised part of a master’s-level teacher education practicum support course – aimed to increase candidates’ ability to recognize and respond to student psychosocial issues in the classroom. This study’s pre-test/post-test design asked 72 candidates to respond to vignettes portraying situations of student psychosocial distress, and also gauged candidates’ preference for working with populations experiencing psychosocial distress. Pre- to posttest ch...
Insect Immunity to Entomopathogenic Nematodes and Their Mutualistic Bacteria.

Entomopathogenic nematodes are important organisms for the biological control of insect pests and excellent models for dissecting the molecular basis of the insect immune response against both the nematode parasites and their mutualistic bacteria. Previous research involving the use of various insects has found distinct differences in the number and nature of immune mechanisms that are activated in response to entomopathogenic nematode parasites containing or lacking their associated bacteria. Recent studies using model insects have started to reveal the identity of certain molecules with potential anti-nematode or antibacterial activity as well as the molecular components that nematodes and their bacteria employ to evade or defeat the insect immune system. Identification and characterization of the genes that regulate the insect immune response to nematode–bacteria complexes will contribute significantly to the development of improved practices to control insects of agricultural and medical importance, and potentially nematode parasites that infect mammals, perhaps even humans.
Development of Standardized Material Testing Protocols for Prosthetic Liners

A set of protocols was created to characterize prosthetic liners across six clinically relevant material properties. Properties included compressive elasticity, shear elasticity, tensile elasticity, volumetric elasticity, coefficient of friction (CoF), and thermal conductivity. Eighteen prosthetic liners representing the diverse range of commercial products were evaluated to create test procedures that maximized repeatability, minimized error, and provided clinically meaningful results. Shear and tensile elasticity test designs were augmented with finite element analysis (FEA) to optimize specimen geometries. Results showed that because of the wide range of available liner products, the compressive elasticity and tensile elasticity tests required two test maxima; samples were tested until they met either a strain-based or a stress-based maximum, whichever was reached first. The shear and tensile elasticity tests required that no cyclic conditioning be conducted because of limited endurance of the mounting adhesive with some liner materials. The coefficient of friction test was based on dynamic coefficient of friction, as it proved to be a more reliable measurement than static coefficient of friction. The volumetric elasticity test required that air be released beneath samples in the test chamber before testing. The thermal conductivity test best reflected the clinical environment when thermal grease was omitted and when liner samples were placed under pressure consistent with load bearing conditions. The developed procedures provide a standardized approach for evaluating liner products in the prosthetics industry. Test results can be used to improve clinical selection of liners for individual patients and guide development of new liner products.
New Quality Assurance Tests for Building Quality Concrete Pavement

Concrete materials and paving technologies have evolved considerably during the past century. However, testing technologies for concrete during construction have not kept pace. Some of the tests that are routinely used are not necessarily performance indicators and some are not made in real time. Seven new technologies are presented that are simple, real-time, field implementable, and economical and in many cases are performance indicators. Although some of these technologies could be used during the mixture design stage, others could be used during construction and some for both purposes. These technologies can be used to supplement or, in some cases, to replace the traditional tests for paving concrete. The discussion focuses on three items: (a) traditional tests for paving concrete, (b) new tests and technologies that could be used to supplement or replace the traditional tests, and (c) suggested future specifications. Data collected by the FHWA Mobile Concrete Laboratory from its technology implementa...
CXCR4 is required for progression of T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Of the most common childhood cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), 15% of cases are caused by transformation of T cell progenitors (T-ALL). While survival rates have vastly improved for newly diagnosed T-ALL, substantial challenges remain in the treatment of relapsed disease and in the minimization of side-effects from central nervous system prophylaxis. Hence, the search for more effective, less toxic treatments continues. Homing receptors play multiple roles in cancer progression, yet little is known about the trafficking of T-ALL. Upon profiling homing receptor expression, we found high levels of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 on the surface of mouse and primary human T-ALL cells. Furthermore, T-ALL cells localized in close proximity to CXCL12-producing stromal cells in mouse femoral bone marrow. Deletion of Cxcl12 in vascular endothelial cells limited leukemia progression, suggesting a vascular niche for T-ALL. In parallel, we found CXCR4 expression to be essential for T-ALL maintenance and progression. Deletion of Cxcr4 in mouse T-ALL after disease onset led to disease remission and prolonged survival, and CXCR4 antagonism using the small molecule inhibitor AMD3465 suppressed human disease in a patient-derived xenograft model. Loss of CXCR4 signaling in T-ALL cells reduced Myc abundance, which was previously reported to regulate leukemia-initiating cell activity. In line with this, CXCR4-deficient T-ALL cells failed to establish disease when adoptively transferred into secondary hosts. Together, our findings highlight an important contribution of microenvironment in regulating T-ALL pathogenesis, and suggest targeting CXCL12:CXCR4 signaling as a powerful new strategy for treating this aggressive disease.
Functionalizing Hydrogels to Regulate Cellular Phenotype

Stem and progenitor cells have emerged as a new generation of therapies to regenerate tissues and to treat a number of chronic diseases. For the successful use of these cells, it will be critical to precisely understand and regulate their fate, and we have studied the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) cues via biomimetic functionalization of hydrogels. The stiffness of ECM-mimic hydrogels, the nanoscale organization of cell adhesion motifs, and the degradation rate of the gels together regulate cell phenotypes [1], non-viral gene delivery [2], and tissue development [3]. Fluorescent resonance energy transfer (FRET) techniques which allow one to examine the nanoscale rearrangements of cell adhesion motifs in the ECM-mimic hydrogels following cell adhesion [1], and association/dissociation of condensed plasmid DNA taken up by cells [2] have been developed to examine the relation between gel variables and cell response.
Structural Identification of the Model

A central problem in linear compartmental studies is discussed in this section. The question is whether or not the system parameters aij in the model \( {\dot x = Ax(t) + b,\;A \equiv [a_{ij} ]} \) can be uniquely determined from experimental observation or measurement of certain components of the solution vector x. The closely related problem of getting actual numerical estimates of the aijs will be considered later in Section 19.
Vaccine coverage levels after implementation of a middle school vaccination requirement, Florida, 1997-2000

Objective.Little information is available about the effectiveness of school entry vaccination requirements at the middle school level. This study examined coverage levels among students entering se...
Bayesian Model Updating Approach for Systematic Damage Detection of Plate-Type Structures

This paper presents a model-based monitoring framework for the detection of fatigue-related crack damages in plate-type structures commonly seen in aluminum ship hulls. The monitoring framework involves vibration-based damage detection methodologies and finite element modeling of continuum plate structures. A Bayesian-based damage detection approach is adopted for locating probable damage areas. Identifying potential damage locations by evaluating all possible combinations of finite elements in the model is computationally infeasible. To reduce the search space and computational efforts, initial knowledge of the probable damage zones and a heuristic-based branch-and-bound scheme are systematically included in the Bayesian damage detection framework. In addition to an overview of the model-based monitoring framework, preliminary results from numerical simulations and experimental tests for a plate specimen with a welded stiffener are presented to illustrate the Bayesian damage detection approach and to demonstrate the potential application of the approach to detect fatigue cracks in metallic plates.
Comparison between buprenorphine provider availability and opioid deaths among US counties

Abstract Background Buprenorphine is an effective medication for the treatment of opioid addiction, but current barriers to buprenorphine access limit treatment availability for many patients. We identify and characterize regions within the United States (US) with poor buprenorphine access relative to the observed burden of overdose deaths. Methods This cross sectional study includes US county-level data on the number of available buprenorphine providers (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Buprenorphine Treatment Practitioner Locator) and the number of opioid-related overdose deaths between 2013 and 2015 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WONDER Database). Counties with fewer than 10 deaths during this time period were excluded to maintain patient privacy. Population-adjusted county death rates and provider availability were compared to identify locations with high disease burdens and limited buprenorphine access. The presence of significant clustering across the dataset was evaluated using Global Moran's I and zones of significant spatial clusters and anomalies were identified using Local Indicator of Spatial Autocorrelation. Results County data were available for 846 counties from 49 states and the District of Columbia, comprising 83% of the US population. The median number of opioid overdose deaths per county was 20.0 deaths per 100,000 residents (interquartile range 13.4–29.9, range 2.9 to 108.8). The number of buprenorphine providers per 100,000 county residents ranged from 0 to 45, with a median of 5.9 (interquartile range 3.2 to 9.5). Global Moran's I analysis yielded significant clustering in the distribution of both providers and deaths, with notable significant clusters of higher than average providers and deaths in the Northeast, and scattered mismatched regions of lower-than-average providers and higher-than-average deaths across the Southern, Midwestern, and Western US. Graphical analysis of buprenorphine provider availability and overdose burden reveals limited treatment access relative to overdose deaths throughout much of the Midwestern and Southern US. Conclusions Substantial county-level imbalances between the availability of buprenorphine providers and the burden of opioid overdose deaths are present within the US.
The Link between Social Responsibility Orientation, Motive Appeals, and Voting Intention: A Case of an Anti-littering Campaign:

This study deals with public policy issues relating to an antilittering campaign. The objectives are: (1) determine the relationship between socially responsible consumption (SRC) orientation and v...
Integrase Inhibitors: After 10 Years of Experience, Is the Best Yet to Come?

The era of the integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection began with raltegravir in 2007. Since that time, several other INSTIs have been introduced including elvitegravir, dolutegravir, and, most recently, bictegravir, that have shown great utility as part of antiretroviral regimens in both treatment-naive and treatment-experienced patients. At present, antiretroviral guidelines fully endorse the INSTI class as part of all first-line treatment regimens. After 10 years of experience with INSTIs, newer agents are on the horizon such as cabotegravir and MK-2048 for potential use as either HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis or maintenance therapy. This review provides a brief overview of the INSTI class including agents currently available and those still in development, reviews available data from both completed and ongoing clinical trials, and outlines simplification strategies using INSTIs.
Estimates of Saturn Radiation Output Scaling versus Machine Design Parameters

Saturn is a short-pulse (~ 40 ns FWHM) x-ray generator capable of delivering up 10 MA into a bremsstrahlung diode to yield up 5 × 10^12 rad/s (Si) per shot at an energy of 1 to 2 MeV. With the machine now over 30 years old it is necessary to rebuild and replace many components, upgrade controls and diagnostics, design for more reliability and reproducibility, and, as possible upgrade the accelerator to produce more current at a low voltage (~ 1 MV or lower). Thus it has been necessary to reevaluate machine design parameters. The machine is modeled as a simple LR circuit driven with an equivalent a sine-squared drive waveform as peak voltage, drive impedance, and vacuum inductance are varied. Each variation has implications for vacuum insulator voltage, diode voltage, diode impedance, and radiation output. For purposes of this study, radiation is scaled as the diode current times the diode voltage raised to the 2.7 power. Results of parameter scans are presented and used to develop a design that optimizes radiation output. Results indicate that to maintain the existing short pulse length of the machine but to increase output it is most beneficial to operate at an even higher impedance than originally designed. Also discussed are critical improvements that need to be made.
Mode I fracture toughness of hybrid co-cured Al-CFRP and NiTi-CFRP interfaces: An experimental and computational study

Abstract In the spirit of advancing joining concepts as well as adoption of hybrid composites, the interface of a metallic foil and carbon fabric reinforced polymer matrix composite was explored experimentally and computationally. An out-of-autoclave manufacturing method, double-infusion VARTM, was successfully employed to create a hybrid composite laminate that was composed of a layer of metal foil (Al or NiTi) placed at the center of sixteen layer plain weave T300 carbon fabric with epoxy Epikote-Epikure 04908 matrix. The fracture behavior was obtained via the Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) tests at room and elevated temperatures and were monitored on-line using Rayleigh backscattering fiber optics technique. Distributed strain profiles were measured on both at the top and bottom surfaces of the specimen to validate/assist computational models. This new technique to measure distributed strains in-situ during testing has introduced a new dimension to the visualization of strain energy release upon crack propagation.The virtual crack closure method was employed to simulate crack propagation at the hybrid interface. The experimental results revealed the dominant mode of failure as cohesive. Load-displacement and strain profiles measured from the experiments were in good agreement with the numerical results. The foremost research highlight is the novel integration of computational simulation with fiber optics Distributed Strain System (DSS) in DCB experiments to elucidate crack growth at a hybrid interface.
The immediate and prolonged effects of military body armor on the relative timing of thorax and pelvis rotations during toe-touch and two-legged squat tasks.

Abstract Although military body armor is an effective life saver, it considerably loads more weight on the warfighters, increasing the risk of musculoskeletal injury. This study investigated the immediate and prolonged effects of wearing body armor on timing aspect of lumbo-pelvic coordination during the toe-touch (TT) and two-legged-squat (TLS) tests. A cross-over study design was used wherein twelve asymptomatic and gender-balanced individuals completed two experimental sessions with and without body armor. A session included two similar sets of tests, before and after exposure to a treadmill walk, containing a TT and a TLS test with ten cycles of fast bending and return. Reflective markers were attached on the participants to capture the kinematics of body segments in conjunction with a motion capture system. The mean absolute relative phase (MARP) and deviation phase (DP) between the thorax and pelvis were calculated for each test. The pre-walk MARP in the return was significantly larger with versus without body armor (p = 0.022), while there were no significant effects of body armor on the other outcome measures. In addition, the pre-walk MARP and DP in the bending and return, as well as the walk-induced changes in the MARP in the bending phase were significantly larger in TLS versus TT (p
Learning a Continuous Representation of 3D Molecular Structures with Deep Generative Models

Machine learning in drug discovery has been focused on virtual screening of molecular libraries using discriminative models. Generative models are an entirely different approach that learn to represent and optimize molecules in a continuous latent space. These methods have been increasingly successful at generating two dimensional molecules as SMILES strings and molecular graphs. In this work, we describe deep generative models of three dimensional molecular structures using atomic density grids and a novel fitting algorithm for converting continuous grids to discrete molecular structures. Our models jointly represent drug-like molecules and their conformations in a latent space that can be explored through interpolation. We are also able to sample diverse sets of molecules based on a given input compound and increase the probability of creating valid, drug-like molecules.
Multi-Wavelength Variability of the Synchrotron Self-Compton Model for Blazar Emission

Motivated by recent reports of strongly correlated radio and X-ray variability in 3C279 (Grandi, etal 1995), we have computed the relative amplitudes of variations in the synchrotron flux at $\nu$ and the self-Compton X-ray flux at 1 keV ($R(\nu)$) for a homogeneous sphere of relativistic electrons orbiting in a tangled magnetic field. Relative to synchrotron self-Compton scattering without induced Compton scattering, stimulated scattering reduces the amplitude of $R(\nu)$ by as much as an order of magnitude when $\tau_T \gtwid 1$. When $\tau_T$ varies in a fixed magnetic field, $R_{\tau}$ increases monotonically from 0.01 at $\nu_o$, the self-absorption turnover frequency, to $0.5$ at $100 \nu_o$. The relative amplitudes of the correlated fluctuations in the radio-mm and X-ray fluxes from 3C279 are consistent with the synchrotron self-Compton model if $\tau_T$ varies in a fixed magnetic field and induced Compton scattering is the dominant source of radio opacity. The variation amplitudes are are too small to be produced by the passage of a shock through the synchrotron emission region unless the magnetic field is perpendicular to the shock front.
Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity Across Metastases and Organ-Specific Response Informs Drug Efficacy and Patient Survival in Colorectal Cancer

The sum of target lesions is routinely used to evaluate patient objective responses to treatment in the RECIST criteria, but it fails to address response heterogeneity across metastases. This study argues that spatiotemporal heterogeneity across metastases and organ-specific response is informative for drug efficacy and patient survival. We analyzed the longitudinal data of 11,404 metastatic lesions in 2,802 colorectal cancer patients from five phase III clinical trials. Initially, a metric Gower distance was applied to quantify response heterogeneity across metastases. Next, the spatiotemporal response heterogeneity across anatomic sites, therapies, and KRAS mutation status was assessed and examined for its association with drug efficacy and long-term patient survival. The response of metastatic lesions broadly differed across anatomic sites and therapies. About 60% of patients had at least one lesion respond contrarily from total tumor size. High interlesion heterogeneity was associated with shorter progression-free survival and overall survival. Targeted therapies (bevacizumab or panitumumab) combined with standard chemotherapy reduced interlesion heterogeneity and elicited more favorable effects from liver lesions (P 30% shrinkage) were associated with extended patient overall survival (P < 0.001), in contrast to lesions in the lungs and lymph nodes. Altogether, the spatiotemporal response heterogeneity across metastases informed drug efficacy and patient survival, which could improve the current methods for treatment evaluation and patient prognosis. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings support the modification of RECIST criteria to include individual lesion response to improve assessments of drug efficacy.
Special Topic on Monolithic 3-D Integration for Energy-Efficient Computing

As the traditional 2-D scaling is approaching its physical limit, there is a great motivation to explore the third dimension for future integrated circuit design. The memory industry has already adopted monolithic 3-D integration (e.g., in 176-layer 3-D NAND Flash), while the 3-D vertical integration structure of logic transistors (e.g., 3-D stacked nanosheets, NMOS on top of PMOS) is emerging for sub-3-nm logic nodes. The other trend is to stack the embedded nonvolatile memories [e.g., resistive random access memory (RRAM), phase change memory (PCM), magnetic random access memory (MRAM), and ferroelectric field-effect-transistor (FeFET)] on top of CMOS using the back-end-of-line (BEOL) processing. Taking one step further, the integration of multiple tiers of active transistors with embedded memories is expected to offer significant improvements in the throughput and energy efficiency thanks to the massive connectivity between logic and memories. Besides the technological breakthroughs, circuit design automation methodologies have become key enablers to optimize the tier partitioning in monolithic 3-D architectures. In addition, heat dissipation should be taken care of by accurate thermal modeling in these monolithic 3-D architectures. New heat spreading materials and advanced embedded cooling techniques are also important.
BANKING POLICY IN RELATION TO SMALL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTION Small community growth or decline is largely the result of economic conditions over which local leaders can exert influence. Some have argued that economic dominants tend tp guide local affairs by proxy (SChulze 1958). However there is increasing empirical support for the rather intensive involvement of local elites in the everydayconcerns of both large and small communities (Ratcliffe 1979). Particularly in small communities, economic control of community development may be concentrated in the hands of afew powerful leaders, and those leaders are often bankers. Their commitment of scarce developmental resources is a key factor in the success or failure of community development goals. Bankers have received little explicit attention in the sociology of community and community development literature. This is strange, since bankers are generally regarded by the public as powerful influentials in the structure of the American community. Sociologists generally have failed to examine the extent of control over resources that bankers can exercise, and have overlooked the significance of the banker's role in community development. This is unfortunate, since bankers have more reason to be involved in such activities than many local leaders which sociologists have assumed to be important community decision makers (A SChaffer, R SChaffer 1970; Walton 1970; Molotch 1976).
Synthesis of the Major Bacteriophage f1 Coat Protein

A method which allows one to follow the synthesis of the major f1 coat protein in normal, unirradiated f1-infected cells is reported. The N-terminal tryptic peptide of this protein, labeled with (14)C-lysine, has a negative charge at pH 4.5 and is readily separated from the contaminating peptides of host cell proteins. This technique was used to study several aspects of the synthesis of the major f1 coat protein in infected cells.
Modeling spatial-temporal patterns in facial articulation

In this paper, a new method of modeling human facial articulation is proposed. The approach contains three major parts: the spatial dimension reduction through principal component analysis; the temporal function approximation using the sample basis function which is similar to the facial articulation process; and the learning algorithm which can improve the recognition and the compression capability. This scheme is also used for encoding facial articulation parameter sequences. Though developed based on FAPS (MPEG4 facial animation parameter set), the algorithm can be easily applied to other parameter representations.
An Approach to the Specification of Distributed Software

In this paper we first characterize distributed systems. Next we survey recently proposed programming constructs designed to facilitate communication amongst software elements of a distributed system. We then give the basis of a methodology for the formal specification of distributed systems, and follow with an example to clarify the technique. We close with a discussion of necessary extensions to the methodology and a review of the objectives of specification.