cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DDEL-15MANIPULATION OF THE BLOOD-BRAIN-BARRIER RESTORES THE EFFICACY OF MDM2 INHIBITION IN ORTHOTOPIC GLIOBLASTOMA MODELS

BACKGROUND: Blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity is heterogeneous in GBM, and controversy surrounds whether associated heterogeneous delivery may limit efficacy for otherwise highly active drugs. Using a MDM2-amplified patient-derived xenograft model, the small-molecule MDM2 inhibitor SAR405838 was tested for both heterotopic and orthotopic efficacy under BBB-intact and disrupted conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS: A panel of 55 patient-derived GBM xenograft lines was screened for MDM2 expression. Four p53 wild-type lines were selected for in vitro testing with SAR405838. Treatment with 100 nM of SAR405838 induced a significantly higher reduction in neurosphere formation for MDM2 over-expressed lines (GBM108, 143) when compared with lines without MDM2 over-expression (GBM10, 102). SAR405838 also profoundly suppressed flank tumor growth in GBM108 but not GBM102 during in vivo testing. GBM108 tumors regressed to undetectable and remained undetectable for over 3 weeks after cessation of therapy. In contrast to the profound efficacy observed in flank models, the identical SAR405838 dosing regimen was ineffective in GBM108 orthotopic tumors. The impact of the BBB was subsequently tested by over-expressing VEGFA in GBM108 via lentiviral transduction. Consistent with a leakier vasculature, orthotopic GBM108-VEGFA exhibited markedly more pronounced accumulation of Texas Red-3 kDa dextran and extent of contrast enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging when compared to GBM108-EV(empty-vector). Using MALDI-MS, SAR405838 delivery into orthotopic GBM108-VEGFA tumors was also found to be more homogeneous and significantly higher than corresponding GBM108-EV controls. Enhanced drug delivery in GBM108-VEGFA models translated into a marked enhancement in orthotopic treatment efficacy in comparison to GBM108-EV with a median survival prolongation of 37 vs 4 days (p = 0.0055.) CONCLUSIONS: SAR405838 provided remarkable efficacy in heterotopic but not orthotopic tumors. BBB disruption by VEGFA expression markedly enhanced drug delivery and treatment efficacy in orthotopic tumors, demonstrating the critical importance of BBB penetration for targeted therapies in gliomas.
Valvular heart disease, part 2: Mitral valve disease in older adults

Mitral valve disease is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in patients over age 65. The etiology, physical findings, and natural history of rheumatic mitral stenosis, rheumatic mitral regurgitation, chronic non-rheumatic mitral regurgitation, and acute mitral regurgitation may differ in older and younger patients. In addition, symptoms of mitral valve disease may be masked or exacerbated by coexistent coronary artery disease, pulmonary disease, hypertension, and other systemic disorders that commonly occur in older adults. The clinical evaluation, along with various non-invasive cardiac procedures, is important for identifying mitral valve disease as the cause of abnormal signs and symptoms in older patients. Recognition of mitral valve abnormalities has important implications, because mitral valve repair or replacement is usually associated with favorable short- and long-term results, even in patients over age 65.
‘The Immortal Puzzle’: Hardy and John Fowles

John Fowles has been as great an admirer of Alain-Fournier as of Thomas Hardy, and for much the same reason. In an interview in 1974, when asked about the importance of Le Grand Meaulnes to his fiction, Fowles replied: ‘I was brought up really in a French tradition in literature.’1 Fowles was quite possibly recalling his work at Bedford School, where French was his favourite subject, as well as his studies at New College, Oxford, where he read French, achieving his BA in 1950. In yet another interview (in 1964), he stated that his knowledge of French literature ‘makes me feel by acquired instinct more interested in what I say than how I say it; it makes me impatient with the feeble insularity of so much English writing. France is, among other things, what we were always too hypocritical or too puritanical or too class-ridden or too empire-minded to be.’2 The French element in Fowles’s education probably affected his attitude toward Hardy, for in 1969, while at work on The French Lieutenant’s Woman, he acknowledged Hardy’s influence (in the remark quoted in the epigraph) and observed that Hardy’s later novels stand out among nineteenth-century English novels for their candour: they exhibit ‘how [men and women] made love, what they said to each other in their most intimate moments, what they felt then’.3
Progress in hyperspectral imaging of vegetation

This paper presents a summary of results published during the last decade of analysis of vegetation canopies using data from hyperspectral imaging systems. The fundamentals of vegetation spectral reflectance are reviewed along with atmospheric correction. Applications of hyperspectral imaging analysis for plant stress, leaf water, canopy and foliar chemistry and species identification are reviewed.
Matter density versus distance for the neutrino beam from Fermilab to Lead, South Dakota, and comparison of oscillations with variable and constant density

The densities passed through for neutrinos going from Fermilab to Sanford lab are obtained using two recent density tables, crustal [1] and Shen-Ritzwoller[2], as well as the values from an older table PEMC[3].
The Comparisons of Whole Body Vibration Exposures and Supporting Musculature Loading between Single- and Multi-axial Suspension Seats during Agricultural Tractor Operation

Due to rough terrain, agricultural tractor drivers are likely exposed to a high level of whole body vibration, especially impulsive shocks. These WBV exposures are often predominant in the fore-aft...
Meta-Analysis of Determinants of Executive Turnover and its Effect on Post-Acquisition Performance

Studies indicate higher than normal turnover of acquired firm executives following acquisitions. Extant literature has focused on explaining the reasons for this turnover, and its implications for ...
Update of Dual-Energy CT Applications in the Genitourinary Tract.

OBJECTIVE. Dual-energy CT (DECT) is being increasingly used for abdominal imaging because it provides incremental benefit of material characterization without significant increase in radiation dose. This article provides an overview of current DECT techniques and use of DECT in urinary tract imaging for assessment of renal masses and urinary calculi characterization and in CT urography. CONCLUSION. Incorporation of DECT into clinical practice and use of its material characterization capabilities in urinary tract imaging enable characterization of urinary calculi and incidental renal lesions and can reduce radiation dose by allowing generation of virtual unenhanced images.
Orientation of Navel Orangeworm (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) Larvae and Adults Toward Volatiles Associated With Almond Hull Split and Aspergillus flavus.

The navel orangeworm Amyelois transitella (Walker, 1863, Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), a pest of California tree nuts, is associated with the fungus Aspergillus flavus, and previous research suggests these species are facultative mutualists. Because navel orangeworm larvae exhibit improved performance on diets containing this fungus, orientation toward hostplants infected with A. flavus may be adaptive. We conducted behavioral assays to determine if larvae respond to chemical cues produced by almond hull split and fungal infection. In petri dish arenas, larvae showed a preference for 1-octen-3-ol and 2-phenylethanol, volatiles characteristic of damaged plants, as well as methanolic extracts of almond meal with 1-octen-3-ol and the fungal volatile conophthorin. In contrast, larvae displayed aversion to ethyl benzoate, an inhibitor of fungal growth. When we assessed oviposition behavior relative to substrates with and without A. flavus, females laid almost twice as many eggs near inoculated surfaces. Moreover, an average of 63% of eggs laid near inoculated substrates were fertilized, compared with 24% of eggs near uninoculated sites. We also tested the hypothesis that unfertilized eggs are laid on nutrient-poor substrates to provide supplemental nutrition for larvae in an assay comparing larval survivorship in the presence and absence of unfertilized eggs. Neonates given eggs survived 2.5 times longer on an average than unprovisioned neonates (208.8 h vs. 85.2 h), indicating that this species may compensate with cannibalism for oviposition on lower-quality food sources. We conclude that larvae orient to probable host plant and fungal volatiles associated with hull split and document a possible strategy for larvae to establish on low-quality hosts.
Monitoring the Retention of Human Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen at Primer/Template Junctions by Proteins That Bind Single-Stranded DNA

In humans, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) sliding clamps encircling DNA coordinate various aspects of DNA metabolism throughout the cell cycle. A critical aspect of this is restricting PCNA to the vicinity of its DNA target site. For example, PCNA must be maintained at or near primer/template (P/T) junctions during DNA synthesis. With a diverse array of cellular factors implicated, many of which interact with PCNA, DNA, or both, it is unknown how this critical feat is achieved. Furthermore, current biochemical assays that examine the retention of PCNA near P/T junctions are inefficient, discontinuous, and qualitative and significantly deviate from physiologically relevant conditions. To overcome these challenges and limitations, we recently developed a novel and convenient Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay that directly and continuously monitors the retention of human PCNA at a P/T junction. Here we describe in detail the design, methodology, interpretation, and limitations of this...
Modeling Human–Structure Interaction Using a Close Loop Control System

Human interaction with structural systems is not totally understood, leading to either overdesign or extreme vibrations. Different numerical models have been proposed to represent this interaction. Most of these models use masses, springs and dampers to model the human. One could argue that the interaction between structural system and human is more complicated, specially, that the human might react with the structure even though he or she is still at a particular location. This paper proposes the use of a close loop controller system to model the human–structure interaction. The model is updated in a probabilistic sense using experimental data collected in the laboratory.
ED chest radiography for children with asthma exacerbation is infrequently associated with change of management.

Abstract Background Acute asthma exacerbations (AAE) account for many Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) visits. Chest radiography (CXR) is often performed in these patients to identify practice-changing findings such as pneumonia (PNA). Limited knowledge exists to balance the cost and radiation dose of CXR with expected yield of clinically meaningful information. Objective To determine in children with AAE with CXR, whether patient characteristics are associated with radiographic PNA; and significant practice change by initiation of antibiotic. Design/Methods Retrospective chart review of AAE patients with CXR performed in a PED in 2014. We examined univariate associations between patient characteristics and PNA on CXR and administration of antibiotic. Multiple logistic regression models then subsequently examined adjusted associations between patient characteristics and both outcomes. Results Of 288 patients, 43 (15%) had PNA on CXR and 51 (17.8%) received antibiotics. There were no statistically significant univariate associations between either outcome and age, race, gender, insurance status, mode of PED arrival, fever or hypoxia (all p > 0.11). Crackles were associated with antibiotic administration (p = 0.03), but not PNA on CXR (p = 0.07). Only previous antibiotic use within 7 days had both significant univariate associations (p = 0.002) and adjusted associations with both PNA on CXR (aOR 3.6) and antibiotic administration (aOR 3.3). Conclusion CXR infrequently adds valuable information in children with AAE. Patients treated with antibiotic within 7 days are more likely to have PNA identified on CXR and receive antibiotics. A larger study is needed to examine potential significance of hypoxia and crackles.
Endocrine Regulation of Leptin Production

The LEP gene (originally termed ob gene in rodents) was discovered through a molecular genetics search for the defective gene that resulted in morbid obesity in ob/ob mice (Zhang et al., 1994). Early observations demonstrated that leptin, the protein product of the LEP gene, was synthesized by adipose tissue and released into the bloodstream to provide a signal to the central nervous system of the size of the adipose tissue mass, thus linking energy stores to mechanisms regulating energy intake and expenditure (reviewed in Matson et al., 1996; Considine and Caro, 1997; Friedman, 1998). It has since been recognized that leptin can be synthesized by cells other than adipocytes, and that this hormone participates in other physiologic processes (Considine and Caro, 1999). A substantial amount of work has provided insight into the mechanisms that regulate leptin synthesis and secretion from the adipose tissue, although many details remain to be elucidated. This chapter will summarize the endocrine regulation of leptin production in adipose tissue, focusing on findings in humans and human tissue manipulated in vitro. Regulation of leptin synthesis in tissues other than adipose tissue, and the possible regulatory function(s) of the hormone produced by these tissues will be discussed.
Transfer Functions with a Given Local Zero-Pole Structure

Poles and zeros of a transfer function G, and their multiplicities, can be read off from the Smith-McMillan form of G. Many factorization problems involve, however, more refined notions of zero-pole structure. Pole structure and zero structure of a transfer function can be conveniently characterized in a coordinate-free way by pole and zero modules, introduced by Wyman-Sain-Conte-Perdon. Here we show that an extra invariant, the null-pole coupling operator, gives a more complete characterization of null-pole structure. We also derive the necessary and sufficient condition for existence of a transfer function with a preassigned zero module, pole module and a null-pole coupling operator.
Assessment of the economic effects of flooding

This paper presents frameworks and methods for assessing the economic effects of flooding. The primary assessment framework applies the principles of welfare economics to identify and measure the economic effect of floodings. Other approaches that incorporate more explicit equity and distributional issues, however, are explored.
Distance Labels with Optimal Local Stretch

This paper studies distance oracles and distance labeling scheme with local stretch. Informally we would like to provide stretch guarantees for the r closest nodes of each node. A distance oracle has local stretch k for r neighborhoods if for any u,v such that v = M(u,r′) and r′ ≤ r: \({\bf dist}(u,v) \le \tilde{\bf dist} (u,v) \le k {\bf dist}(u,v)\), where M(u,r′) is the r′ closest node to u and \(\tilde{\bf dist}(u,v)\) is the estimated distance returned by the distance oracle.
Comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of cell lines as models of primary tumor samples across 22 tumor types

Cancer cell lines are commonly used as models for cancer biology. While they are limited in their ability to capture complex interactions between tumors and their surrounding environment, they are a cornerstone of cancer research and many important findings have been discovered utilizing cell line models. Not all cell lines are appropriate models of primary tumors, however, which may contribute to the difficulty in translating in vitro findings to patients. Previous studies have leveraged public datasets to evaluate cell lines as models of primary tumors, but they have been limited in scope to specific tumor types and typically ignore the presence of tumor infiltrating cells in the primary tumor samples. We present here a comprehensive pan-cancer analysis utilizing approximately 9,000 transcriptomic profiles from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia to evaluate cell lines as models of primary tumors across 22 different tumor types. After adjusting for tumor purity in the primary tumor samples, we performed correlation analysis and differential gene expression analysis between the primary tumor samples and cell lines. We found that cell-cycle pathways are consistently upregulated in cell lines, while no pathways are consistently upregulated across the primary tumor samples. In a case study, we compared colorectal cancer cell lines with primary tumor samples across the colorectal subtypes and identified three colorectal cell lines that were derived from fibroblasts rather than tumor epithelial cells. Lastly, we propose a new set of cell lines panel, the TCGA-110, which contains the most representative cell lines from 22 different tumor types as a more comprehensive and informative alternative to the NCI-60 panel. Our analysis of the other tumor types are available in our web app (http://comphealth.ucsf.edu/TCGA110) as a resource to the cancer research community, and we hope it will allow researchers to select more appropriate cell line models and increase the translatability of in vitro findings.
Transient electrohydrodynamics of a liquid drop in AC electric fields

The transient behavior of a leaky dielectric liquid drop under a uniform AC electric field of small strength is investigated, using a closed form analytical solution. The drop settles to a quasi-steady state in a relaxation time that is set by the viscosities of the drop and the ambient fluid and the surface tension, and oscillates around a mean deformation with a frequency that is twice the electric field frequency. The mode of instantaneous deformation remains the same (oblate or prolate) or switches between oblate and prolate, depending on the relative importance of the time-periodic component of the deformation compared to that of the time-exponential. The structure of the flow field and its evolution is studied for representative fluid systems at a high and a low electric field frequency. The individual contribution of the net tangential and normal electric stresses, which are the driving forces of the problem, on the flow structure and drop deformation is characterized. On the basis of the mean (time-independent) and time-periodic components of the driving forces, the flow field is represented as the superposition of three different flow patterns. It is shown that the interplay of these flow patterns leads to formation and destruction of toroidal vortices, and that the residence time of these vortices correlates inversely with the field frequency.
Lenin and Philosophy: On the Philosophical Significance of Materialism and Empiriocriticism

This chapter discusses the philosophical importance of Lenin’s thought. It reevaluates Lenin’s philosophical legacy by examining his major and perhaps most controversial philosophical work, Materialism and Empiriocriticism. A sympathetic yet critical assessment of the work offered in this chapter reveals important details about Lenin’s version of Marxism, bringing into light his contributions to philosophical thought, such as the defense of materialism against idealism, the rigorous advocacy of dialectical approach to reality, and the ability to identify and, to some extent, overcome problems of previous philosophy, particularly positivism. The chapter also reconstructs the historical context in which Lenin’s book was written and discusses the political and social situation to which it responds.
Robot Model Learning with Gaussian Process Mixture Model

The mechanical design of a modern robot system is becoming more and more complex as robots are often required to do physical interactions with an unforeseen changing environment. To deal with challenging contexts in the field of robotics, capability to learn a model of kinematics and dynamics is becoming mandatory for a robot. In this paper, we proposed a novel on-line learning algorithm based on a mixture of local sparse Gaussian process. By segmenting a data domain into smaller regions and handling each region with an independent local Gaussian process model, the algorithm achieved linear computational cost with comparable accuracy. The algorithm was validated in experiments with real robot data. In the experiments, the algorithm achieved comparable performance to existing on-line regression approaches.
The Role of Fuel Bed Geometry and Wind on the Burning Rate of Porous Fuels

The vast majority of wildland fires occur in windy conditions. However, most operational wildland fire models do not account for changes in burning rate or duration due to wind as no simple model exists. To gain some understanding of how wind and fuel bed properties interact to influence the burning rate and duration of wildland fuels, a relatively simple fuel bed, wood cribs, was first considered. The burning rate of twenty three crib designs was measured in a wind tunnel under a range of windspeeds from 0 to 0.7 m/s. Fuel element thickness varied from 0.32 cm to 1.27 cm and fuel bed width from 12.7 cm to 60.96 cm. A range of crib porosities was tested as well covering the loosely-packed to densely-packed regime. A clear threshold behavior of the burning rate was seen depending on fuel bed geometry. For fuel beds with element length to thickness ratio (l/b) less than 30, the burning rate increased with wind. However, for fuel beds with element length to thickness ratio larger than 30, the burning rate actually decreased with wind. This change in burning rate was linked to a visual change in burning behavior. When the burning rate increased, the wind and flames were observed to penetrate the internal portions of the fuel bed and the crib would burn uniformly. When the burning rate decreased, the wind and flames did not penetrate the entire fuel bed and the burning front would most often propagate from the upwind edge to the downwind edge. It appeared that for these fuel bed geometries the wind was forced around the fuel, preventing any horizontal or, more importantly, vertical flow through the bed. These results are likely most applicable to isolated, small clumps of elevated fuel where the wind has the opportunity to divert around the fuel bed. Future work will include experiments that force the airflow through the fuel bed.
Scalable fabrication of sub-10 nm polymer nanopores for DNA analysis

We present the first fabrication of sub-10 nm nanopores in freestanding polymer membranes via a simple, cost-effective, high-throughput but deterministic fabrication method. Nanopores in the range of 10 nm were initially produced via a single-step nanoimprinting process, which was further reduced to sub-10 nm pores via a post-NIL polymer reflow process. The low shrinkage rate of 2.7 nm/min obtained under the conditions used for the reflow process was the key to achieving sub-10 nm pores with a controllable pore size. The fabricated SU-8 nanopore membranes were successfully employed for transient current measurements during the translocation of DNA molecules through the nanopores. Researchers in the United States have developed a method to create nanopores smaller than 10 nanometers in a simple, controllable, cost-effective way. Sunggook Park’s team at Louisiana State University pressed an array of silicon microneedles into a polymer layer to produce pores of around 10 nm. The polymer is then briefly heated to make it reflow, causing the pores to shrink. The size of the nanopores can be controlled by regulating the duration of the reflow process. Using this technique with and without the reflow step, the team fabricated nanopores of 12 nm and 6 nm diameter, respectively, and used them to detect single DNA molecules in a solution passed through the pores. This new approach enables researchers to produce with high throughput nanopore devices with precisely positioned sub-10 nm pores which can be used to detect and analyze individual biomolecules.
How Academic Support Professionals Can Better Support LGBTQ Law Students – and Why We Should

This short essay addresses the unique role that academic support professionals can play in supporting LGBTQ students.
Learning Moral Graphs in Construction of High-Dimensional Bayesian Networks for Mixed Data.

Bayesian networks have been widely used in many scientific fields for describing the conditional independence relationships for a large set of random variables. This letter proposes a novel algorit...
A randomized trial of a multi-level intervention to improve advance care planning and symptom management among low-income and minority employees diagnosed with cancer in outpatient community settings.

Abstract Introduction Equitable delivery of advance care planning and symptom management among patients is crucial to improving cancer care. Existing interventions to improve the uptake of these services have predominantly occurred in clinic settings and are limited in their effectiveness, particularly among low-income and minority populations. Methods The “Lay health worker Educates Engages and Activates Patients to Share (LEAPS)” intervention was developed to improve advance care planning and symptom management among low-income and minority hourly-wage workers with cancer, in two community settings. The intervention provides a lay health worker to all patients newly diagnosed with cancer and aims to educate and activate patients to engage in advance care planning and symptom management with their oncology providers. In this randomized clinical trial, we will evaluate the effect on quality of life (primary outcome) using the validated Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – General Survey, at enrollment, 4- and 12- months post-enrollment. We will examine between-group differences on our secondary outcomes of patient activation, patient satisfaction with healthcare decision-making, and symptom burden (at enrollment, 4- and 12-months post-enrollment), and total healthcare use and healthcare costs (at 12-months post-enrollment). Discussion Multilevel approaches are urgently needed to improve cancer care delivery among low-income and minority patients diagnosed with cancer in community settings. The current study describes the LEAPS intervention, the study design, and baseline characteristics of the community centers participating in the study. ClinicalTrials.gov Registration # NCT03699748 .
SIR Beam Selector for Amazon Echo Devices Audio Front-End

The Audio Front-End (AFE) is a key component in mitigating acoustic environmental challenges for far-field automatic speech recognition (ASR) on Amazon Echo family of products. A critical component of the AFE is the Beam Selector, which identifies which beam points to the target user. In this paper, we proposed a new SIR beam selector that utilizes subband-based signal-to-interference ratios to learn the locations of the audio sources and therefore further improve the beam selection accuracy for multi-microphone based AFE system. We analyzed the performance of a Signal to Interference Ratio (SIR) beam selector with a comparison to classic beam selector using the datasets collected under various conditions. This method is evaluated and shown to simultaneously decrease word-error-rate (WER) for speech recognition by up to 46.20% and improve barge-in performance via FRR by up to 39.18%.
Chapter 5 – Polyatomic Molecules

Polyatomic molecules are electrically neutral groups of three or more atoms held together by covalent bonds. Absolute partial cross-sections of polyatomic molecules (NH3, CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, CH3OH, SiH4) are studied experimentally and theoretically from various sources and assignments, taking their ground state electronic configuration into consideration. An overview of the valence shell photoelectron spectrum (PES) of each polyatomic molecule has been provided in the beginning, and adiabatic ionization potentials (AIP) have been obtained from various sources for this study. The data of geometries, AIPs, and molecular parameters of outer and inner valence and core orbitals have been listed and tabulated and used for further studies. Absolute partial cross-section of polyatomic molecules for outer and inner valence shells, parent and fragment ions, and core orbitals have been studied, drawing conclusions from various sources. For NH3 and CH4, we have combined the branching ratios with the absolute total photoionization cross-sections of Samson et al. (Sam 89) to arrive at the absolute partial orbital cross-sections. At low resolution, step-like features are observed indicating direct ionization. At higher resolution, weak autoionization features are superimposed. Double-to-single photoionization ratio has been obtained from PIPICO studies. Pseudophoton (e, e + ion) coincidence spectroscopic study from threshold to 80 eV provided absolute partial cross-sections in ethylene. We have adopted the newer total absorption cross-sections and utilized the quantum yield of ionization and ion branching ratios from sources to deduce absolute partial cross-sections for ions in silane. Several pieces of evidence have been collected from statistical RRKM theory and synchrotron-based experiments to correlate and draw results. The absolute photoionization cross-sections of polyatomic molecules and ions have been studied in the vicinity of the k-edge. Decay mechanisms have been studied by resonant and normal Auger spectra and the results have been plotted. At and above the K-edge, double ionization ensues. At higher energy states, there is a sudden change in the direction from participator to spectator decay, where low-energy states indicate participator decay.
Cognitive consequences of our grandmothering life history: cultural learning begins in infancy.

Postmenopausal longevity distinguishes humans from our closest living evolutionary cousins, the great apes, and may have evolved in our lineage when the economic productivity of grandmothers allowe...
Dollar Stores, Retailer Redlining, and the Metropolitan Geographies of Precarious Consumption

For the last twenty years, scholarly research has relied primarily on food deserts as a way to frame geographic disparities in access to healthy foods. The results of this research have been empiri...
Discounting Environmental Benefits for Future Generations

The standard approach to evaluating a long-term project is to use the social rate of time preference to discount the benefits and costs of future generations. A difficulty with this approach is tha...
Development and validation of a questionnaire assessing weighing tendencies: the Approach/Avoidance of Weighing Questionnaire (AAWQ)

Frequent weighing to assess shape and weight is common in eating disorders, as is going to great lengths to avoid knowledge of weight. However, few tools exist to measure these different weighing t...
A cross-sectional analysis of demographic and behavioral risk factors of SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity among a sample of U.S. college students

Abstract Background Colleges and universities across the United States are developing and implementing data-driven prevention and containment measures against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Identifying risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity could help to direct these efforts. Objective To estimate the associations between demographic factors and social behaviors and SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and self-reported positive SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic test. Methods In September 2020, we randomly sampled Indiana University Bloomington (IUB) undergraduate students. Participants completed a cross-sectional, online survey about demographics, SARS-CoV-2 testing history, relationship status, and risk behaviors. Additionally, during a subsequent appointment, participants were tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using a fingerstick procedure and SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG rapid assay kit. We used unadjusted modified Poisson regression models to evaluate the associations between predictors of both SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and self-reported positive SARS-CoV-2 infection history. Results Overall, 1,076 students were included in the serological testing analysis, and 1,239 students were included in the SARS-CoV-2 infection history analysis. Current seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was 4.6% (95% CI: 3.3%, 5.8%). Prevalence of self-reported SARS-CoV-2 infection history was 10.3% (95% CI: 8.6%, 12.0%). Greek membership, having multiple romantic partners, knowing someone in one’s immediate environment with SARS-CoV-2 infection, drinking alcohol more than 1 day per week, and hanging out with more than 4 people when drinking alcohol increased both the likelihood of seropositivity and SARS-CoV-2 infection history. Conclusion Our findings have implications for American colleges and universities and could be used to inform SARS-C0V-2 prevention and control strategies on such campuses.
Neural Network Modeling for the Rotational Viscosity of Reacted and Activated Rubber-Modified Binders

Crumb rubber surface activation and pretreatment are considered one of the promising newly introduced methods for asphalt rubber production. Reacted and activated rubber (RAR) is an elastomeric asphalt extender produced by the hot blending and activation of crumb rubber with asphalt and activated mineral binder stabilizer. Besides RAR’s ability to enhance the performance of asphaltic mixtures, its dry granulate industrial form enables its addition directly into the mixture utilizing the pugmill or dryer drum with very minimal to no modification required on the plant level. This study aims to develop an artificial neural network (ANN) viscosity prediction model for extracting a standalone viscosity prediction equation. Three different performance graded (PG) asphalt binders modified by 10 dosages of RAR were tested and evaluated under this study. Sixty-six samples that generated more than 3,000 viscosity data points were utilized in ANN modeling. The developed ANN model as well as the extracted standalone viscosity prediction equation had a high value of the coefficient of determination and were statistically valid. Both have the ability to predict the RAR-modified binder viscosity as a function of binder grade, temperature, testing shearing rates, and RAR content.
SecNVM: Power Side-Channel Elimination Using On-Chip Capacitors for Highly Secure Emerging NVM

Emerging nonvolatile memories (NVMs), such as resistive RAM (RRAM) and spin-transfer-torque RAM (STTRAM), present exciting opportunities for data storage applications and offer improved access speeds, retention times, power consumption, and scalability. However, these technologies leak the Hamming weight of data through power side-channel during read and write operations. We propose a technique leveraging on-chip capacitor and voltage regulator (VR) that powers the NVM read/write operations. The side-channel leakage is eliminated due to the isolation of memory array from the external power supply during read/write operations. The residual charge on capacitor bank is discarded safely to prevent information leakage during capacitor recharging. The VR ensures a steady voltage during the entire read/write operations even though the capacitor discharges. The design presents a performance (instructions per cycle) degradation of 0.53%–1.2% under parsec and splash-2 benchmarks and incurs an area overhead of $\sim 3.54\times 10^{-5}$ % and an energy overhead of $\sim 3.05 \times 10^{-5}$ % for a 4-Mb RRAM memory array. For a 64-bit word, the design improves security by 2.7 $\times \,\,10^{19} \times $ to $2^{64} \times $ . SecNVM should be used in small security-critical memory macros to limit the overhead. SecNVM is generic and could protect any security module such as encryption engines, against power side-channel attacks.
Autonomous learning and interpretation of channel multipath scattering using braid manifolds in underwater acoustic communications

In this work, we explore machine learning through a model-agnostic feature representation known as braiding, that employs braid manifolds to interpret multipath ray bundles. We generate training and testing data using the well-known BELLHOP model to simulate shallow water acoustic channels across a wide range of multipath scattering activity. We examine three different machine learning techniques—k-nearest neighbors, random forest tree ensemble, and a fully connected neural network—as well as two machine learning applications. The first application applies known physical parameters and braid information to determine the number of reflections the acoustic signal may undergo through the environment. The second application applies braid path information to determine if a braid is an important representation of the channel (i.e., evolving across bands of higher amplitude activity in the channel). Testing accuracy of the best trained machine learning algorithm in the first application was 86.70% and the testing accuracy of the second application was 99.94%. This work can be potentially beneficial in examining how the reflectors in the environment changeover time while also determining relevant braids for faster channel estimation.
Neuroscience of Musical Improvisation

One of the most remarkable abilities of the human brain is to create. Creativity is the cornerstone of human culture, and is the core cognitive capacity that has enabled music throughout history. Much of the act of creating new music, such as in music composition, is an effortful process that requires prolonged persistence, motivation, and dedication. However, other aspects of musical creativity, such as musical improvisation, have an appearance of spontaneity and automaticity, and appear to depend on states of flow that seize the improviser as they encounter musical ideas and produce novel musical output seemingly in real time. How is this real-time creativity possible: how does the brain tackle the problem of musical improvisation, and how does it accomplish this feat? Can improvisation be learned, and if so, how?
Why Empathy Is Not a Reliable Source of Information in Moral Decision Making

Although empathy drives prosocial behaviors, it is not always a reliable source of information in moral decision making. In this essay, I integrate evolutionary theory, behavioral economics, psycho...
Artificial intelligence methods in navigator decision support system

The decision system in ship steering at sea should help the navigator to learn and enhance his intuition about a given decision. In the process computer modelling and simulation are preliminaries for decision making. The decision support system is a collection of procedures (data and parameters of the situation at sea, model of own ship, algorithms etc.) necessary to make decision. One of the accepted ways of supporting in solving such problem is a multi-criterion and multi-level decision process. The navigator is supported during controlling the process of generating and evaluating various options of efficient decision in a multi-objective and optimum way. Multi-criterion and multi-level decision problem of safe ship steering has to be based on the criterion of own ship's cost and the safe pass condition for own ship.
Health Behavior in Persons with HIV and AIDS

In just over a decade, from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has become a universal health problem challenging virtually every branch of the health sciences. For behavioral scientists, the challenge posed by AIDS is accompanied by the frustration of knowing that AIDS is preventable. Unlike previous diseases that devastated communities around the globe, AIDS can be halted at the behavioral level without a vaccine, physician visit, or medical system intervention. Infection with and transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), in most cases, can be stopped by responsibly governing one’s behavior. Behavioral choices accurately predict susceptibility to HIV exposure. For the millions of individuals infected with HIV, health behaviors are crucial to one’s livelihood and longevity. Certain health behaviors (e.g., coping styles, social support utilization) are known to affect the rate of HIV disease progression and subsequently determine the quality of life for those living with HIV and AIDS (Ostrow, 1990; Thomason, Jones, McClure & Brantley, 1996).
Post-translational Modification of the Hepatitis C Virus Core Protein by Tissue Transglutaminase

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein is a structural protein that packages the viral genomic RNA. In this study, we demonstrate that a stable core protein dimer could be produced in liver cells. The production of this protein could be enhanced by calphostin C and serum deprivation. This protein was determined to be the core protein dimer because of its reactivity with the anti-core antibody, its similar electrophoretic mobility compared with that of the core protein dimer generated by cross-linking with glutaraldehyde, and its increase in size by a hemagglutinin tag fused to the core protein sequence. This core protein dimer was highly stable and resistant to SDS and beta-mercaptoethanol. The enzyme that mediated the formation of this stable core protein dimer was determined to be the tissue transglutaminase (tTG) because, first, tTG could be activated by calphostin C and serum deprivation; second, the formation of this dimer was suppressed by monodansylcadaverine, a tTG inhibitor; and third, the core protein could be cross-linked by tTG in vitro. Thus, the HCV core protein represents the first known viral structural protein substrate of tTG. The post-translational modification by tTG reduced the RNA binding activity of the core protein, raising the possibility that tTG may regulate the biological functions of the HCV core protein.
Remedying a Lose-Lose Situation: How 'No Win, No Fee' Can Incentivize Post-Conviction Relief for the Wrongly Convicted

This Article proposes a policy measure that will likely lead to an increase in exonerations by creating economic incentives for attorneys to represent clients post-conviction.
An architecture for knowledge based deduction

This paper describes the design of a general purpose deduction engine for use in expert systems. It represents an extension of a natural deduction theorem prover that has eliminated the negation symbol in favor of certainty factors and has an improved method of splitting problems into subproblems. Formulas are object-centered and are stored at nodes which are designed to control and provide sharper focus to the search. These nodes either are pointed to by words in a dictionary or are created by the deduction engine in its attempt to solve a specific problem.
Anatomy and propagation dynamics of continuous-flux release bottom gravity currents through emergent aquatic vegetation

The anatomy and propagation dynamics of non-Newtonian fluid mud gravity currents through emergent aquatic vegetation were investigated experimentally. The motivation of this study was related to the pipeline disposal of the dredged fluid mud into vegetated wetlands and near-shore areas, during which bottom gravity currents form. Our experimental observations showed that the presence of vegetation affects the propagation dynamics, hence the anatomy, of the gravity currents significantly. Vegetation-induced drag force dominated the resisting forces acting on the gravity current, forcing the current to transition into a drag-dominated propagation phase. During this transition, the gravity current profile evolved into a well-defined triangular/wedge shape. The onset of the fully established drag-dominated propagation phase was marked by the establishment of an equilibrium slope angle for the upper interface of the current with the ambient fluid. This equilibrium/terminal slope angle value remained constant throughout the rest of the drag-dominated propagation phase. Parameterizations for the required propagation distance for the onset of the fully established drag-dominated propagation phase, the array-averaged drag coefficient at the onset of this propagation phase, and the value of the terminal slope angle were proposed. Our experimental observations on the anatomy of gravity currents during the drag-dominated propagation phase were discussed in detail. This study documented significant effects of the vegetation in the propagation dynamics and anatomy of gravity currents, which warrants future detailed studies.
Directional control of site-specific recombination by bacteriophage λ: Evidence that a binding site for Int protein far from the crossover point is required for integrative but not excisive recombination☆

Phage lambda controls its integration and excision by differential catalysis of the forward and reverse reactions. The lambda Int protein is required for both directions, but Xis for excision only. To investigate the substrate requirements for directional control, we have characterized two mutations of the phage attachment site that are defective in integrative but not excisive recombination. Both of these mutations produce the same base change in the P'3 binding site for Int protein 79 base-pairs from the center of the crossover region for site-specific recombination. We infer that differential utilization of this distant binding site is crucial for directional control of recombination.
Labeling Products of Biotechnology: Towards Communication and Consent

Recently, both consumers and producers ofbiotechnology products have insisted thatcommunication between the two be improved. The formerdemand more democratic participation in the riskassessment process of biotechnology products. Thelatter seek to correct misinformation regardingalleged risks from these products. One way to resolvethese concerns, I argue, is through the use ofbiotechnology labels. Such labeling fosters consumerautonomy and moves toward more participatory decisionmaking, in addition to ensuring that informed consentfrom consumers is maintained. Furthermore, althoughvoluntary biotech-free labeling in lieu of biotechlabels may uphold consumer sovereignty, the latterremains a more effective strategy for achievingethical communication between consumers and producersof biotechnology products.
Erratum: Optical theorem for acoustic non-diffracting beams and application to radiation force and torque: erratum.

We correct minor errors in four equations in our recent paper [Biomed. Opt. Express 4(9), 1610–1617 (2013)]. They are equations (11), (14), (15), and (17) therein, where a factorial ratio (n−m)!(n+m)! was mistakenly omitted. All the other equations and analysis in the paper were correct.
On the tri-ambiguous status of any: The view from child language

This paper examines the monolingual acquisition of the English polarity-sensitive item 'any', and uses evidence from child language acquisition to shed light on two questions that arise from the theoretical semantics literature. First, evidence from child spontaneous speech production is used to argue that children are grammatically conservative in their acquisition of negative polarity item (NPI) licensing. The same child data are then used to argue the following: (i) there is only one NPI 'any', subject to a disjunctive licensing condition; (ii) NPI 'any' differs in some way from free choice (FC) 'any', resulting in the later emergence of FC 'any'.