cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design of Equivalent Accelerated Life Testing Plans under Different Stress Applications

Accelerated Life Testing (ALT) is an efficient approach to obtain failure observations by subjecting the test units to stresses severer than design stresses and utilize the test data to predict reliability at normal operating conditions. ALT is usually conducted under constant-stresses which need a long time at low stress levels to yield sufficient failure data. Many stress loadings, such as ramp-stresses obtain failure times faster than constant-stresses but the accuracy of reliability predictions based on such loadings has not yet been investigated. We develop test plans under different stress applications such that the reliability prediction achieves equivalent statistical precision to that of the constant-stress. The research shows indeed there are such equivalent plans that reduce the test time, minimize the cost and result in the same accuracy of reliability predictions.
Improving influenza vaccination rates in pregnancy through text messaging: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE:To estimate whether text messages sent to ambulatory pregnant women could improve influenza vaccine uptake.METHODS:Obstetric patients at less than 28 weeks of gestation were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial from an academic center's outpatient clinic during two consecutive influen
Synchronized sampling of process layer in digital substation

It is proposed to issue the unified sampling sync pulse by MU(Merging Unit) to ensure the synchronized sampling of all ECT/EVT(Electric Current Transducers and Electric Voltage Transducers) in one cell.The signal processing system of ECT/EVT divides or multiplies locks the frequency of local clock signal to lock its phase according to the sync pulse and sends the sampling time sequence to every A/D converter.The synchronization scheme of multi-reference clock is designed based on IEEE1588.The performance of synchronization system and the influence of network flow on it are tested and evaluated for clock synchronization between substations,between MUs within substation and between A/D sampling signals in ECT/EVT.It is also proposed to equip the synthetic time meter to online monitor the synchronization performance.
Commentary: coronary interventions--overview of a 16-year odyssey based on pathoanatomy: angioplasty, atherectomy, and calcifectomy

The last 16 years have seen the development of a variety of coronary interventional procedures based on pathoanatomy. New terms have been introduced, such as atherectomy for excision of atheroma. Coronary calcification occurs in the intima and is an important marker of significant coronary artery disease. Echocardiography of the coronary arteries can detect atheroma and calcification. Ultrafast computed tomography can quantify extent of coronary calcium. New devices, such as the rotablator, can specifically treat calcified lesions, and a lesion-specific approach is now possible. The removal of atheroma is called atherectomy. The removal of calcium is called calcifectomy. New procedures spawn new terms. Atherectomy and calcifectomy complement each other, and enable us to be specific about the pathoanatomy and the matched interventional device used. This article is an overview of the evolution of lesion-specific devices and the terminologies pertaining to their use.
Single Canonical Model of Reflexive Memory and Spatial Attention.

Many neurons in the dorsal and ventral visual stream have the property that after a brief visual stimulus presentation in their receptive field, the spiking activity in these neurons persists above their baseline levels for several seconds. This maintained activity is not always correlated with the monkey’s task and its origin is unknown. We have previously proposed a simple neural network model, based on shape selective neurons in monkey lateral intraparietal cortex, which predicts the valence and time course of reflexive (bottom-up) spatial attention. In the same simple model, we demonstrate here that passive maintained activity or short-term memory of specific visual events can result without need for an external or top-down modulatory signal. Mutual inhibition and neuronal adaptation play distinct roles in reflexive attention and memory. This modest 4-cell model provides the first simple and unified physiologically plausible mechanism of reflexive spatial attention and passive short-term memory processes.
Recoding Embedded Assumptions: Adaptation of an Open Source Tool to Support Sustainability, Transparency and Participatory Governance

This chapter traces the adoption of Envision Tomorrow, an open source planning support tool, in a large-scale planning effort within the Austin metropolitan region. A regional consortium of public, nonprofit, and private organizations was awarded a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Sustainable Communities grant to create and deploy an analytical tool for the assessment of district, community and regional-scale scenarios. Several dimensions of Envision Tomorrow are described in the chapter including its use: as a tool in participatory plan-making; as an analytical process that extends and structures how planners perform analysis; as a PSS that focuses on quantifiable sustainability indicators and thus supports the inscription of particular definitions of sustainability; and as a conduit of exchange between planners and university researchers and between planners and members of the public. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the virtues of transparency and adaptability. It also reveals embedded assumptions that represent both sources of promise and concern in the application of a PSS in planning processes.
‘Now I see how my students feel’: expansive learning in a language awareness workshop

ABSTRACTThis study looks at a case study research on a language awareness workshop in a New York public school with a dual language (Spanish/English) program. A learner-centred lesson, taught in Spanish, focused on basic personal information exchanges for in-service teachers who taught only in English and who had some limited knowledge of Spanish. The instructors’ charge was to teach participants how to exchange basic personal information in Spanish. Working from a cultural historical activity theory perspective, the interactions that took place in a videotaped session were analysed, using tools from discourse analysis, conversation analysis, and linguistics. The focus was set on the interactions of the instructors with one of the teachers in the workshop to examine how she moved from resisting a new language to embracing an understanding of the role of a new language in learning by paying attention to the dynamics of identity production. By exploring moment-to-moment identity moves and moves across time,...
Decision Making on the United States Supreme Court

To understand these chapters it is necessary to know something about the procedures involved in decision making on the Court. We present a short summary of these procedures. The Supreme Court receives requests for review by a number of methods. The most common method is a petition for a writ of certiorari. Certiorari (cert) petitions are of two kinds: paid petitions, in which the petitioner pays the required fees, submits the appropriate number of copies, and follows the other guidelines for submission; and petitions in forma pauperis (i.e., in the form of a pauper), mostly submitted by federal and state prisoners, in which the fees and most of the other requirements are waived. The cert petitions are typically filed by a litigant who has lost in a U.S. Court of Appeals or in a state supreme court. The cert petitions are read by a law clerk from the cert pool and by a law clerk from Justice Steven's office (who does not read all of them). The law clerks read the petition and the lower court record, prepare a memo that summarizes the case, and recommends whether cert ought to be granted or denied. With the help of his law clerks, the chief justice prepares a list of cases to be placed on the Discuss List. Any other justice can add a case to the list. Any case not placed on the Discuss List is automatically denied cert. The justices meet in secret conference to decide whether to grant or to deny the petitions of the cases on the Discuss List. The justices vote in order of seniority, with the chief justice voting first, the senior associate justice (in terms of tenure on the Court), voting second, and so on. If eight or nine justices are voting, it takes four votes to grant cert. But if only six or seven are voting, it takes three votes. […]
Evaluation of Hospital Floors as a Potential Source of Pathogen Dissemination Using a Nonpathogenic Virus as a Surrogate Marker

Hospital floors are frequently contaminated with pathogens, but it is not known whether floors are a potential source of transmission. We demonstrated that a nonpathogenic virus inoculated onto floors in hospital rooms disseminated rapidly to the hands of patients and to high-touch surfaces inside and outside the room. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;1-4.
Exclusion from Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Clinical Trials of Patients Unlikely To Respond.

Introduction: Patients with newly diagnosed AML are increasingly being enrolled on industry-sponsored clinical trials. These trials routinely exclude patients with Zubrod performance status (PS) >2, bilirubin >1.9 mg/dL, or creatinine >1.9 mg/dL; such patients are well-known to be relatively unlikely to respond (UTR). Here we quantify the effect of this practice on inclusion of UTR patients in clinical trials. Patients and Methods: Overall, 2323 adults with newly-diagnosed AML (no acute promyelocytic leukemia) were registered on clinical trials (industry-sponsored and other) from 1991–2006. Considering patients as UTR if they fulfilled any of the criteria noted above, we examined rates of enrollment of UTR patients over time: Results: Thus, while more patients are being enrolled on clinical trials, fewer UTR patients are being enrolled particularly over the last 5 years (p = .04) with a concomitant decrease in the proportion of such patients enrolled (p Conclusion: Newer clinical trials may be less applicable to UTR patients than previous trials. There is a need for clinical trials specific to the UTR population, the group most in need of novel therapies.
Strengthening Electoral Integrity

Today a general mood of pessimism surrounds Western efforts to strengthen elections and democracy abroad. If elections are often deeply flawed or even broken in many countries around the world, can anything be done to fix them? To counter the prevailing ethos, Pippa Norris presents new evidence for why programs of international electoral assistance work. She evaluates the effectiveness of several practical remedies, including efforts designed to reform electoral laws, strengthen women's representation, build effective electoral management bodies, promote balanced campaign communications, regulate political money, and improve voter registration. Pippa Norris argues that it would be a tragedy to undermine progress by withdrawing from international engagement. Instead, the international community needs to learn the lessons of what works best to strengthen electoral integrity, to focus activities and resources upon the most effective programs, and to innovate after a quarter century of efforts to strengthen electoral integrity.
In Situ Microtensile Testing for Ion Beam Irradiated Materials

Understanding the changes in mechanical properties and failure mechanisms as a function of radiation damage is important for long-term operation of structural components in nuclear reactors. Due to the expense, the activation of the sample, and the long duration of neutron irradiation, ion beam irradiations (proton-irradiation and, increasingly, heavy-ion irradiation) are used as surrogates for neutron irradiation. However, the shallow irradiation depths of ion-beam irradiation have restricted mechanical property measurements until the recent advent of small-scale mechanical testing. In previous studies, nano-hardness and yield strength of proton-irradiated 304SS were measured using nanoindentation and in situ microcompression respectively. This study develops an in situ microtensile testing method to provide direct stress-strain curves, including the strain to failure, which previous studies do not provide. In addition, a novel way of quantifying irradiation-induced susceptibility to slip band formation in microscale specimens was demonstrated. Lastly, the paper introduces a new technique for measuring grain boundary strength, demonstrated on an oxidized grain boundary of Alloy 600 exposed to primary water chemistry environment.
Sex differences in the developing brain: insights from multimodal neuroimaging

Youth (including both childhood and adolescence) is a period when the brain undergoes dramatic remodeling and is also a time when neuropsychiatric conditions often emerge. Many of these illnesses have substantial sex differences in prevalence, suggesting that sex differences in brain development may underlie differential risk for psychiatric symptoms between males and females. Substantial evidence documents sex differences in brain structure and function in adults, and accumulating data suggests that these sex differences may be present or emerge during development. Here we review the evidence for sex differences in brain structure, white matter organization, and perfusion during development. We then use these normative differences as a framework to understand sex differences in brain development associated with psychopathology. In particular, we focus on sex differences in the brain as they relate to anxiety, depression, psychosis, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms. Finally, we highlight existing limitations, gaps in knowledge, and fertile avenues for future research.
Actigraphy-based modeling of patient recovery following breast reconstruction surgery

An estimated 266,120 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018. A mastectomy is recommended in over a third of breast cancer patients, with the option to undergo breast reconstruction. Despite 90,000 breast reconstruction surgeries being performed annually, there is limited quantitative patient-centered recovery information to guide patient decision-making. The primary objective of this paper is to improve recovery for breast reconstruction patients. Preoperatively, the objective is to inform decisions on breast reconstruction options and postoperatively, the objective is to improve the recovery experience. Our study seeks to expand understanding of recovery through the deployment of actigraphy and daily surveys. We outline a preliminary study of four patients and found that patient-generated data can be employed to measure recovery projections across patients with acceptable compliance. We have not found statistically significant differences in time to normal between the types of reconstruction. However, our preliminary results indicate significant linear trends in the recovery of our patients as measured by various predictors. A larger sample size could be beneficial when exploring predictors of recovery.
Sintering and Redispersion of Supported Metal Catalysts

The free energy of formation σ(h) of a film of metal of thickness h on a substrate is used to identify conditions under which sintering or redispersion of the metal crystallites over the substrate can take place. If σ(h) is positive for all values of h the metal cannot spread over the substrate. In this case migration and coalescence is the mechanism of sintering. However, when σ(∞) > 0 but α(h) o ≪ ∞ a thin film (probably a submonolayer) can coexist with the crystallites. As long as the surface concentration in this film is lower than the saturation concentration corresponding to the largest crystallite present, all the crystallites will lose molecules to the substrate. On the other hand, if the surface concentration becomes larger, then the crystallites with sizes smaller than a critical value will decrease in size, while those with larger sizes will grow (Ostwald ripening). This thermodynamic point of view is used to explain experimental data concerning sintering and redispersion of Pt crystallites deposited on a thin film of alumina heated alternatively in oxygen and hydrogen.
Discovery of Potent GOAT inhibitors to Elucidate the In Vivo and In Vitro Mechanism Of Action of GOAT

Ghrelin (AG) is the only known orexigenic peptide in human and rodents. It is converted from its precursor, unacylated ghrelin (UAG), to the biologically active peptide, acylghrelin. Two independen...
Unique prostate cancer marker, prostate specific membrane antigen or PSMA and its role in prostate cancer metastasis.

3292 Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen, PSMA is a type II transmembrane glycoprotein, overexpressed in prostate carcinoma. PSMA is negatively regulated by androgen. PSMA is a unique cell surface marker for imaging of hormone refractory carcinomas and metastatic foci. PSMA has two important enzymatic function, namely, folate hydrolase and NAALADase. Folate hydrolase function of PSMA is required to cleave terminal gamma-linked glutamates from poly-gamma-glutamated folates and NAALADase activity, where it cleaves the terminal glutamate from neuro-dipeptidase, N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate. Apart from its enzymatic function, PSMA also exhibits an endocytic function, where it spontaneously recycles through endocytic vesicles or it can internalize with its own monoclonal antibody. It is not known at this moment, whether PSMA has its own natural ligand. It is not clear whether PSMA has any role in the invasion of prostate cancer cells through extracellular matrix, i.e., in metastasis. For that purpose, we have tried to use PSMA overexpressed cell line PC3-PIP (PC3 cells derived, over-expressing PSMA), as well as other prostate cancer cell lines, which express PSMA endogenously (e.g., LNCaP, C4-2, CWR22, MDAPCa2b etc.), showed reduction in invasion capability compared to PC3, DU145 cells (which do not express PSMA normally) indicates that PSMA has anti-metastatic role, in prostate cancer cell invasion. To rule out the possibility that this reduction in the invasion capability of PSMA expressing cells are due to PSMA expression, not due to intrinsic properties of different prostate cancer cell lines, the PSMA expressing PC3-PIP cells were tested against PC3-FLU cells. We found that PC3-PIP cells expressing PSMA showed about 5-fold reduction in the invasion capability compared to PC3-FLU cells mediated inhibition of invasion. Same observation holds true for other PSMA over-expressing cell lines. We have also observed that different kinds of sugar residues have significant effect on the prostate cancer cells ability to invade though extracellular matrix. We have tried to dissect different biological functions of PSMA whether that has any role in the metastatic progression of prostate cancer cells. We have studied role of sugar modifications as well as the function of internalization motif on the invasion of PSMA expressing prostate cancer cells. We have found that altering sugar residues at various attachment sites has dramatic effect on this novel function of PSMA. Further work is being carried out in which we have knocked off the expression of PSMA in prostate cancer cell lines by RNAi method and analyzing their invasion properties. These interesting findings will be discussed.
Quality Assurance on Un-Doped CsI Crystals for the Mu2e Experiment

The Mu2e experiment is constructing a calorimeter consisting of 1,348 un-doped CsI crystals in two disks. Each crystal has a dimension of $34 \times 34 \times200$ mm3, and is readout by a large area SiPM array. A series of technical specifications on mechanical and optical parameters was defined according to the calorimeter physics requirements. Pre-production CsI crystals were procured from three firms: Amcrys, Saint-Gobain and SIC. We report the quality assurance on crystal’s scintillation properties and their radiation hardness against ionization dose and neutrons. With a fast decay time of about 30 ns and a light output of more than 100 p.e./MeV measured by a bi-alkali PMT, un-doped CsI crystals provide a cost-effective solution for Mu2e.
In‐hospital mortality of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation among children with nonmalignancies: A nationwide study in the United States from 2000 to 2012

BACKGROUND Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) can cure or alleviate a wide range of nonmalignant childhood conditions. However, few studies have examined longitudinal national trends of frequency or short-term complications of HSCT before 2006 when an HSCT became a reportable procedure by US law. By using a US nationally representative database, we conducted nationwide longitudinal analyses on demographics, in-hospital mortality, and short-term complications in nonmalignant HSCT from 2000 to 2012. PROCEDURE We analyzed 2504 admissions for children < 20 years old who underwent an allogeneic HSCT for a nonmalignant condition by using the Kids' Inpatient Database for the years 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2012. Changes in in-hospital mortality and other outcomes were assessed over the study period using weighted analyses, which enabled generation of national estimates in each year. RESULTS The number of admissions for HSCT increased from 334 to 667 from 2000 to 2012, respectively; among them, the use of bone marrow decreased (66.5% to 34.1%, P < 0.001). In-hospital mortality declined (13.4% to 7.1%, P = 0.04), as did bacteremia (28.7% to 10.1%, P < 0.001) and vascular catheter infections (18.8% to 8.7%, P = 0.006), but cytomegalovirus infections increased (4.9% to 15.9%, P < 0.001), as did adenovirus infections (1.8% to 6.9%, P < 0.001) from 2000 to 2012. CONCLUSION Population-based analyses demonstrated a substantial expansion of the utilization of HSCT occurred for pediatric nonmalignancies from 2000 to 2012 in the United States, whereas the in-hospital mortality declined by approximately a half. Further research is needed to identify distinct contributing factors.
Trends in the method and gestational age of abortion in high-income countries.

Background Examining the distribution of abortions by method of abortion and gestational age at time of termination provides insight about the options women may have to terminate their pregnancies. Comparing these distributions across countries and over time is an important step toward understanding the factors that can drive these distributions, including regulations and practices related to the provision of abortion services, and women’s preferences and needs. Methods We sought official statistics on gestational age and method of abortion for all high-income countries with liberal abortion laws. For the 24 high-income countries with available data, we calculated percentage distributions of abortions by gestational age of pregnancy and method of abortion for 2017 or the most recent year for which data were available, and assessed trends in the preceding 10 years whenever possible. Results Medication (or medical) abortion accounts for at least half of all abortions in the majority of countries. In the majority of countries over 90% of all abortions were completed before 13 weeks, and more than two-thirds of abortions occurred before the first 9 weeks of gestation. Over the past 10 years there has been an increase in both the proportion of abortions that were medication abortions and the proportion that were obtained before 9 weeks gestation. Conclusions These findings highlight changes in abortion provision in the past decade. More research is needed to understand whether the observed distributions are a function of women’s preferences or of barriers to the timing and type of care they would prefer.
Becoming Imperial Citizens: Jews and Freemasonry in the British Caribbean (Early Nineteenth Century)

Historians have discovered recently the considerable colonial history of freemasonry, a central element of cosmopolitan sociability in Enlightenment Europe. Jews—and especially Sephardim—played a major role in masonic lodges popping up throughout the imperial Atlantic world beginning in the 1730s. Based on empirical evidence from the major masonic and Jewish hubs in the British West Indies (particularly Jamaica), this chapter sets out to explore this relationship more thoroughly. It argues that freemasonry functioned as a locus of a “transitory sociability” (Eric Saunier) in a period of fundamental transformation for the Jewish diaspora in the late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century British Caribbean. With the gradual weakening and dissolution of transimperial diasporic ties, Jews turned toward an institution that promised to support their becoming “imperial citizens,” while at the same time allowing them to retain and refashion certain diasporic ties beyond the British imperial realm.
Intricate Structure of the Analyticity Set for Solutions of a Class of Integral Equations

We consider a class of compact positive operators $$L:X\rightarrow X$$ given by $$(Lx)(t)=\int ^t_{\eta (t)}x(s)\,ds$$ , acting on the space X of continuous $$2\pi $$ -periodic functions x. Here $$\eta $$ is continuous with $$\eta (t)\le t$$ and $$\eta (t+2\pi )=\eta (t)+2\pi $$ for all $$t\in \mathbf{R}$$ . We obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for the spectral radius of L to be positive, in which case a nonnegative eigensolution to the problem $$\kappa x=Lx$$ exists for some $$\kappa >0$$ (equal to the spectral radius of L) by the Krein–Rutman theorem. If additionally $$\eta $$ is analytic, we study the set $${\mathcal {A}}\subseteq \mathbf{R}$$ of points t at which x is analytic; in general $${\mathcal {A}}$$ is a proper subset of $$\mathbf{R}$$ , although x is $$C^\infty $$ everywhere. Among other results, we obtain conditions under which the complement $${\mathcal {N}}=\mathbf{R}{\setminus }{\mathcal {A}}$$ of $${\mathcal {A}}$$ is a generalized Cantor set, namely, a nonempty closed set with empty interior and no isolated points. The proofs of this and of other such results depend strongly on the dynamical properties of the map $$t\rightarrow \eta (t)$$ .
Perceived neighborhood social disorder as a predictor of depressive symptoms among unmarried older women and the stress-buffering effect of friends support

The current study examined whether perceived neighborhood social disorder predicted depressive symptoms among unmarried older women (N = 823) drawn from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study. This s...
A Unique "Reverse" Crescent Fragment in an Anterior-Posterior Compression Fracture: A Case Report.

CASE We describe a patient with an anterior-posterior compression type pelvic fracture sustained after a motorcycle crash, with pubic symphysis disruption and a "reverse" crescent fragment. The injury force ruptured the anterior sacroiliac ligaments and travelled posterior medially, creating a complete Denis zone 2 sacral fracture, rather than rupturing the posterior sacroiliac ligaments as would be expected. The patient underwent open reduction and internal fixation of the pubic symphysis and closed reduction and percutaneous pinning of the right sacroiliac joint. CONCLUSIONS This case presents a unique "reverse" crescent fragment not previously described in the literature as an anterior-posterior compression type III variant.
Nested Column Generation decomposition for solving the Routing and Spectrum Allocation problem in Elastic Optical Networks

With the continued growth of Internet traffic, and the scarcity of the optical spectrum, there is a continuous need to optimize the usage of this resource. In the process of provisioning elastic optical networks using the flexible frequency grid paradigm, telecommunication operators must deal with a combinatorial optimization problem that is NP-complete namely the Routing and Spectrum Allocation(RSA) problem. Following on our previous study, where we used Integer Linear Programming, and proposed a Column Generation algorithm based on a Lightpath decomposition, which proved to be the most efficient so far, we now consider the traditional Configuration decomposition that has been studied in other works in the past. In the process, we created an new mathematical model using two variable sets instead of a single variable set. Equally important,we independently rediscovered the Nested Column Generation technique, and we used it to propose an algorithm that led to a considerable improvement on the previous algorithms that use the same Configuration decomposition. When compared to the latest such existing study, our algorithm achieved an accuracy gap of 1% as opposed to 14.3% for the previous study, and a running time two orders of magnitude faster on average.
Discrete Model of Backscattering Drift in Fiber Optic Gyroscopes

We present a new model of backscattering drift in a fiber-optic gyroscope (FOG) using square-wave modulation and demodulation and interrogated with light of arbitrary lineshape and linewidth. By modeling the effect of the linewidth on the drift via a coherence function, the convergence and computation time of numerical simulations of the drift at broad linewidths is significantly improved. Numerical solutions show that for square-wave modulation and demodulation, the drift has no dependence on coil length and a steep dependence on linewidth Δ ν at broad linewidths (Δ ν −1.5). A simple single-scatterer model is presented to explain these dependencies physically, and to show that the different dependencies on the coil length and linewidth predicted by previous models are solely due to the different modulation and/or demodulation waveforms used in these models. This article also shows that the backscattering drift can be reduced by using sine-wave demodulation and a Lorentzian-lineshape source.
Rendering promise: Enhancing motivation for change in hoarding disorder using virtual reality

Abstract Treatment ambivalence is commonly associated with hoarding disorder (HD), representing a public health challenge. One possible innovative approach to reducing problematic treatment ambivalence leverages virtual reality (VR) technology as a motivational strategy. For this pilot study, 23 adults with HD were immersed in a VR environment depicting rooms in their own homes without existing clutter. At pre-VR immersion, participants completed diagnostic interviews; self-reported on HD symptoms and correlates, as well as valid measures of motivation for change; and described a cluttered series of rooms on a floor of their home that was then rendered in a VR environment minus the clutter. After immersing participants for 10 min in the VR environment and asking them to explore the rendering, they completed the measures of motivation again, plus items about acceptability of the VR protocol. The VR immersion was rated as acceptable by participants in many ways and with no indication that it was unacceptable. Pre-to post-immersion results indicate an increase in some indices of motivation, as well as in confidence to change. This pilot study provides preliminary support for the VR immersion as a motivation strategy and warrants further investigation.
Transdimensional material platforms for tunable metasurface design

As plasmonic materials transition from three-dimensional to two-dimensional (2D) form, unique optical and electronic phenomena arise that are unattainable in bulk materials and conventional thin films. Exceptional sensitivity to external perturbations, including electrical biasing and optical excitation as well as quantum effects, are expected to emerge, as has been demonstrated in graphene. Similarly, metallic or plasmonic films with thicknesses down to a few monolayers, called transdimensional materials (TDMs), are predicted to exhibit remarkably strong tunability of their optical response. The unique properties of 2D materials and TDMs have established them as promising platforms for dynamic nanophotonic devices. While novel 2D materials have been widely explored for nanophotonic devices, until recently, there have been minimal studies on the evolution of the optical properties of plasmonic TDMs. In this article, we highlight progress in exploring the thickness-dependent optical response of plasmonic materials as they approach the 2D regime. Experimental and theoretical investigations of the plasmonic properties of 2D materials, such as graphene and tungsten diselenide, TDMs, and plasmonic thin films, are discussed, with a focus on prospects for their utilization in dynamically tunable flat optical devices or metasurfaces.
Chapter 21 – Sap Flow

This chapter describes the two main methods used to determine the flow of sap in plants. They are the heat-pulse method used on woody plants and the heat-balance method usually used on herbaceous plants. In the heat-pulse method, flow is obtained from the time required for a heat input (the pulse) to travel from its source to a sensor up or down the stem. Sap flow is measured in units of length/time. In the heat-balance method, a heater is wrapped around a portion of a stem, and flow is obtained by balancing heat fluxes into and out of the stem. Sap flow is measured in units of mass/time. The heat-pulse method was developed in 1932. The heat-balance method was developed about 30 years later and was promulgated by Cornelius van Bavel. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, and they are discussed. A biography of van Bavel is given in the appendix.
UHECR Acceleration around Filaments of Cosmological Structure Formation

A mechanism for proton acceleration to ∼ 1021eV is suggested. It may operate in accretion flows onto thin dark matter filaments of cosmic structure formation. The flow compresses the ambient magnetic field to strongly increase and align it with the filament. Particles begin the acceleration by the E×B drift with the accretion flow. The energy gain in the drift regime is limited by the conservation of the adiabatic invariant p⊥/B(r). Upon approaching the filament, the drift turns into the gyro-motion around the filament so that the particle moves parallel to the azimuthal electric field. In this ’betatron’ regime the acceleration speeds up to rapidly reach the electrodynamic limit cpmax = eBR for an accelerator with magnetic field B and the orbit radius R (Larmor radius). The periodic orbit becomes unstable and the particle slings out of the filament to the region of a weak (uncompressed) magnetic field, which terminates the acceleration. To escape the filament, accelerated particles must have gyro-radii comparable with the filament radius. Therefore, the mechanism requires pre-acceleration that is likely to occur in structure formation shocks upstream or nearby the filament accretion flow. Previous studies identify such shocks as efficient proton accelerators to a firm upper limit ∼ 1019.5eV placed by the catastrophic photo-pion losses. The present mechanism combines explosive energy gain in its final (betatron) phase with prompt particle release from the region of strong magnetic field. It is this combination that allows protons to overcome both the photo-pion and the synchrotron-Compton losses and therefore attain energy ∼ 1021eV .
Study of Electromigration Failure in Solder Interconnects under Low Frequency Pulsed Direct Current Condition

This paper concerns the electromigration (EM) failure mechanisms in solder interconnects under low frequency pulsed direct current (DC) conditions. In our study, the accelerated EM tests of Wafer-level Chip Scale Package (WCSP or WLCSP) samples are conducted under 4 different pulsed DC conditions: 0.1 Hz pulsed DC with duty factors (DFs) of 33%, 50%, 75%, and 100% (DC). The result of our testing suggests that there are at least two competing factors affecting the failure rate in an opposite manner under pulsed DC EM conditions. Specifically, when compared with the cumulative damage model (estimates the damage only during the on period), the failure kinetics is found to be more accelerated at high DF and decelerated at a lower DF. This conclusion is drawn from the observation that the EM failure rate shows an extremely nonlinear relationship with the DF and also that the failure occurs faster under a high DF than under solely DC conditions, which is not possible without a mechanism assisting the EM failure. Furthermore, it is found that there is a 2- stage resistance change before EM failure, an indication of the change in the dominant failure mechanism. The results may indicate that the pulsed DC effect on the EM failure mechanism is far more complex than anticipated with the possible involvement of a damage mechanism other than EM such as thermal fatigue.
Early regeneration of axons following peripheral nerve injury is enhanced if p75NTR is eliminated from the surrounding pathway.

The common neurotrophin receptor, p75NTR , has been proposed to be an inhibitor of axon regeneration after peripheral nerve injury, but whether this effect is on the regenerating axons, immune cells migrating into the injury site, or cells in the pathway surrounding the axons is not clear. Cut nerves in mice expressing fluorescent proteins in axons were repaired with grafts from non-fluorescent hosts to study axon elongation when p75NTR was eliminated separately from axons and immune cells in the proximal stump of cut nerves, from cells in the regeneration pathway, or both. Two weeks later, axons from wild type mice regenerating into grafts devoid of p75NTR had elongated more than twice as far as axons in grafts from wild type mice. No enhancement of regeneration of axons in p75NTR knockout mice was observed, whether nerves were repaired with grafts from wild type mice or from p75NTR knockout mice. To evaluate whether inhibition of p75NTR could be used to improve regeneration, nerves in wild type mice repaired without grafts were exposed to a specific inhibitor of the p75NTR receptor, LM11A-31, at the time of nerve repair. This local blockade of p75NTR resulted in successful regeneration of axons of nearly three times as many motoneurons and reinnervation of twice as many muscle fibers by regenerating motor axons as untreated controls. Expression of p75NTR surrounding regenerating axons contributes to poor regeneration during the first 2 weeks after peripheral nerve injury. Inhibition of p75NTR might be a therapeutic target for treatments of peripheral nerve injuries.
Synthesis and Characterization of Fe Doped CdS Quantum Dot

Transition metal ion doped quantum dots finds their wide range of use in the field of photonics and photovoltaics. In this research work, CdS quantum dots, with Fe ion doping, are synthesized using simple One Pot Synthesis chemical method. The polymer matrix used in the synthesis is Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) matrix, which restricts the size of quantum dot while not itself participating in the reaction. Three doping concentrations are 3%, 6%, and 9%, by weight of Fe have been used for doping of CdS. The synthesized quantum dots are also analyzed using Ultraviolet Visible (UV-Vis) Absorption, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and HRTEM microscopy to study their optical and crystallographic properties.
Abstract 5383: Design, optimization, and validation of multiplex immunofluorescence assay for detecting biomarker expression on circulating tumor cells in breast cancer

Majority of breast cancer-related deaths occur due to metastasis. In the metastatic process, tumor cells travel from the primary site to distant organs. Tumor cells traveling in the blood stream are called circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which can serve as liquid biopsies as representative of the tumor bulk in patients. A major advantage of liquid biopsies for the analysis of tumor cells is its less-invasive collection, which allows more frequent and real-time monitoring of treatment response over conventional tissue biopsies. CTCs are being evaluated for early diagnosis and screening, treatment selection, and monitoring of treatment response. In our research, we are investigating CTCs as a tool to evaluate presence of prognostic and predictive markers in breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to design, optimize, and validate a multiplex immunofluorescence (IF) assay to identify a panel of unique biomarkers for CTCs. The panel of biomarkers to be tested on CTCs included estrogen receptor (ER), B-cell lymphoma (Bcl2), retinoblastoma protein (RB), and phosphorylated-RB (pRB). CTCs were defined as pan-cytokeratin-positive, CD45-negative, and nuclear stain-positive cells. First, antibodies for individual protein markers were tested on breast cancer cells spiked into control mouse blood. Positive and negative controls were used to test the selectivity and specificity of the antibodies against the key biomarkers. Multiple parameters including different fixative reagents, direct and indirect antibody conjugation, and varying antibody incubation time were examined to increase the sensitivity of the IF assay for individual markers as well as multiplexed assay. Our results indicated that various antigen staining was similar with both fixation reagents, 4% paraformaldehyde and 2% formaldehyde. In comparing the direct (single step) and indirect (two-step) antibody additions, a more intense signal for the CTCs and leukocytes were observed for the latter. Additionally, overnight incubation with primary antibodies allowed for better binding between the antibody and the antigen on cells as indicated by strong fluorescence signal with less exposure time. On the other hand, incubation for only one hour with primary antibodies had a weaker signal with high non-specific background from other blood components. The validated assay has been successfully applied to our ongoing CTC investigation using the blood from breast cancer patient-derived xenograft models. Citation Format: Tanya Kumar, Hariprasad Thangavel, Raksha Bhat, Noor M. Abdulkareem, Lacey E. Dobrolecki, Michael T. Lewis, Meghana V. Trivedi. Design, optimization, and validation of multiplex immunofluorescence assay for detecting biomarker expression on circulating tumor cells in breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 5383.
Local adaptation to precipitation in the perennial grass Elymus elymoides: Trade‐offs between growth and drought resistance traits

Understanding local adaptation to climate is critical for managing ecosystems in the face of climate change. While there have been many provenance studies in trees, less is known about local adaptation in herbaceous species, including the perennial grasses that dominate arid and semiarid rangeland ecosystems. We used a common garden study to quantify variation in growth and drought resistance traits in 99 populations of Elymus elymoides from a broad geographic and climatic range in the western United States. Ecotypes from drier sites produced less biomass and smaller seeds, and had traits associated with greater drought resistance: small leaves with low osmotic potential and high integrated water use efficiency (δ13C). Seasonality also influenced plant traits. Plants from regions with relatively warm, wet summers had large seeds, large leaves, and low δ13C. Irrespective of climate, we also observed trade-offs between biomass production and drought resistance traits. Together, these results suggest that much of the phenotypic variation among E. elymoides ecotypes represents local adaptation to differences in the amount and timing of water availability. In addition, ecotypes that grow rapidly may be less able to persist under dry conditions. Land managers may be able to use this variation to improve restoration success by seeding ecotypes with multiple drought resistance traits in areas with lower precipitation. The future success of this common rangeland species will likely depend on the use of tools such as seed transfer zones to match local variation in growth and drought resistance to predicted climatic conditions.
Using Fourier-Plane Imaging Microscopy for Determining Transition-Dipole-Moment Orientations in Organic Light-Emitting Devices

We use Fourier-plane imaging microscopy (FIM) to determine the transition-dipole-moment orientation in doped organic emissive thin films. The use of FIM enables precise, sensitive, and rapid measurement of dipole orientation in the emission layer of an organic light-emitting device (OLED). An optical model of a stratified birefringent multilayer is introduced for interpreting results obtained by FIM. Using the model, we determine the average orientation of transition-dipole-moment vectors of three phosphorescent dopant emitters. The dipole alignment measured by FIM quantitatively explains the difference in OLED efficiencies using these archetype dopant molecules. FIM provides a nondestructive tool to measure and ultimately improve the outcoupling efficiency of OLEDs and other light-emitting devices.
Markov-Induced CM Model

Conditionally Markov (CM) sequences are powerful mathematical tools for modeling random phenomena. There are several classes of CM sequences one of which is the reciprocal sequence. Reciprocal sequences have been widely used in many areas including image processing, intelligent systems, and acausal systems. To use them in application, we need not only their applicable dynamic models, but also some general approaches to designing parameters of dynamic models. Dynamic models governing two important classes of nonsingular Gaussian (NG) CM sequences (called $CM_L$ and $CM_F$ models), and a dynamic model governing the NG reciprocal sequence (called reciprocal $CM_L$ model) were presented in our previous work. In this paper, these models are studied in more detail and general approaches are presented for their parameter design. It is shown that every reciprocal $CM_L$ model can be induced by a Markov model and parameters of the reciprocal $CM_L$ model can be obtained from those of the Markov model. Also, it is shown how NG CM sequences can be represented in terms of an NG Markov sequence and an independent NG vector. This representation provides a general approach for parameter design of $CM_L$ and $CM_F$ models. In addition, it leads to a better understanding of CM sequences, including the reciprocal sequence.
The association of the affordable care's Medicaid expansion on survival in gynecologic cancer: A National Cancer Database study.

1501Background: Under the Affordable Care Act’s 2014 Medicaid expansion, more than 12 million Americans gained health insurance. Whether such gains in insurance improve survival in gynecologic canc...
Examining differences in prescription opioid use behaviors among U.S. adults with and without disabilities

Abstract We aimed to identify differences in prescription opioid-related behaviors between adults with and without disabilities in the U.S. We analyzed data from the 2015–2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (128,740 individuals; weighted N of 244,831,740) to examine disability-based differences in (1) reasons and sources of last prescription opioid misuse and, in multivariate models overall and stratified by disability, the likelihood of (2) prescription opioid use, and if used, (3) misuse and prescription opioid use disorder (OUD), overall and stratified by disability. Adults with disabilities were 11% more likely than adults without disabilities to report any past-year prescription opioid use, adjusted for sociodemographic, health, and behavioral health characteristics. However, among adults with any prescription opioid use, which is more common among people with disabilities, likelihood of prescription OUD did not vary by disability status. Pain relief as the reason for last misuse was associated with 18% increased likelihood of prescription OUD, if any use. To reduce risk of opioid misuse among people with disabilities, accessible and inclusive chronic pain management services are essential. Further, the substance use treatment field should provide accessible and inclusive services, and be aware of the need for pain management by many people with disabilities, which may include the use of prescription opioids. These findings highlight essential opportunities for public health and policies to improve access, accommodations, and quality of health and behavioral health care for people with disabilities, and to encourage a holistic perspective of people with disabilities and their needs.