cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Leveraging the k-Nearest Neighbors classification algorithm for Microbial Source Tracking using a bacterial DNA fingerprint library

Fecal contamination in bodies of water is an issue that cities must combat regularly. Often, city governments must restrict access to water sources until the contaminants dissipate. Sourcing the species of the fecal matter helps curb the issue in the future, giving city governments the ability to mitigate the effects before they occur again. Microbial Source Tracking (MST) aims to determine source host species of strains of microbiological lifeforms and library-based MST is one method that can assist in sourcing fecal matter. Recently, the Biology Department in conjunction with the Computer Science Department at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) teamed up to build a database called the Cal Poly Library of Pyroprints (CPLOP). Students collect fecal samples, culture and pyrosequence the E. coli in the samples, and insert this data, called pyroprints, into CPLOP. Using two intergenic transcribed spacer regions of DNA, Cal Poly biologists perform studies on strain differentiation. We propose using k-Nearest Neighbors, a straightforward machine learning technique, to classify the host species of a given pyroprint, construct four algorithms to resolve the regions, and investigate classification accuracy.
Automated identification and clustering of subunits within delphinid vocalizations

Tonal vocalizations or whistles produced by many species of delphinids range from simple tones to complex frequency contours. Whistle structure varies in duration, frequency, and composition between delphinid species, as well as between populations and individuals. Categorization of whistles may be improved by decomposition of complex calls into simpler subunits, much like the use of phonemes in classification of human speech. We identify a potential whistle decomposition scheme and normalization process to facilitate comparison of whistle subunits derived from tonal vocalizations of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris), and short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis). Network analysis is then used to compare subunits within the vocal corpus of each species. By processing whistles through a series of steps including segmentation, normalization, and dynamic time warping, we are able to automatically cluster selected subunits by shape, regardless of differences in absolute frequency or moderate differences in duration. Using the clustered subunits, we demonstrate a preliminary species classification scheme based on rates of subunit occurrence in vocal repertoires. This provides a potential mechanism for comparing the structure of complex vocalizations within and between species.
Direct Observation of Complete Fermi Surface, Imperfect Nesting, and Gap Anisotropy in the High-Temperature Incommensurate Charge-Density-Wave Compound SmTe 3

We have carried out angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy of ${\mathrm{SmTe}}_{3}$, a quasi-two-dimensional material with an incommensurate high-temperature charge density wave (CDW). This is the first direct experimental view of the full detail of an imperfectly nested Fermi surface, and the momentum space gap anisotropy, for an incommensurate CDW.
Compounding and Properties of Low Modulus Silicone Rubber

The influence of various compounding systems on the properties of silicone rubber vulcanizate was researched by selected materials and the variable tests of the ingredients,and the base formulation of low modulus silicone rubber was determined.The results showed that the properties of vulcanized silicone rubber was satisfied with the desired values with tensile strength over 7.0MPa,elastic modulus less than 0.4MPa,shear strength over 2.4MPa,shear modulus less than 0.3MPa.
On the Characteristics and Causes of Flood in Yangzhou City and Its Countermeasures

An exceptionally severe flood in history affected Yangzhou city this year. The losses caused by the flood disaster were serious, which exerted great negative influence upon the sustainable development of social economy in Yangzhou city. Based on the analysis of the characteristics and causes of the flood, this paper presents the countermeasures for disaster reduction.
Jewish Life on Campus: From Backwater to Battleground

The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic shift in the extent and focus of concerns about Jewish life on campus. The Jewish community is increasingly occupied with the education of the next generation and the rise of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment on campus. Outreach to Jewish students—from the expansion of Hillel and Chabad to the flourishing of Birthright Israel, as well as the growth of Jewish and Israel Studies—have engaged formerly uninvolved students with Jewish education and Jewish life. This article describes the situation on campus: the proportion of Jewish students, Israel-related activity, and perceptions of anti-Semitism. It discusses academic programs such as Jewish and Israel Studies and informal programs, such as Hillel and Chabad, that engage students in Jewish life. It also describes organizations and programs, both experiential and advocacy-oriented, that help students identify and combat attempts to delegitimize Israel and intimidate Jewish expression.
Optic Disc Boundary and Vessel Origin Segmentation of Fundus Images

This paper presents a novel classification-based optic disc (OD) segmentation algorithm that detects the OD boundary and the location of vessel origin (VO) pixel. First, the green plane of each fundus image is resized and morphologically reconstructed using a circular structuring element. Bright regions are then extracted from the morphologically reconstructed image that lie in close vicinity of the major blood vessels. Next, the bright regions are classified as bright probable OD regions and non-OD regions using six region-based features and a Gaussian mixture model classifier. The classified bright probable OD region with maximum Vessel-Sum and Solidity is detected as the best candidate region for the OD. Other bright probable OD regions within 1-disc diameter from the centroid of the best candidate OD region are then detected as remaining candidate regions for the OD. A convex hull containing all the candidate OD regions is then estimated, and a best-fit ellipse across the convex hull becomes the segmented OD boundary. Finally, the centroid of major blood vessels within the segmented OD boundary is detected as the VO pixel location. The proposed algorithm has low computation time complexity and it is robust to variations in image illumination, imaging angles, and retinal abnormalities. This algorithm achieves 98.8%–100% OD segmentation success and OD segmentation overlap score in the range of 72%–84% on images from the six public datasets of DRIVE, DIARETDB1, DIARETDB0, CHASE_DB1, MESSIDOR, and STARE in less than 2.14 s per image. Thus, the proposed algorithm can be used for automated detection of retinal pathologies, such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and maculopathy.
Chamberlin Meets Ciriacy‐Wantrup: Using Insights from Experimental Economics to Inform Stated Preference Research

Many studies that use stated preference (SP) surveys to estimate the demand for private or public goods can be characterized as experiments, although they are not routinely labeled as such. This paper draws from the broader experimental economics literature to provide insights for SP practitioners and researchers, particularly as it pertains to survey development, mechanism design, external validity, data analysis, and the dissemination of findings.
The Stage Is Set for African Renaissance

As we come to the end of this book it is fitting to see where we have been. The authors have presented a diverse collection of chapters that see African leadership as a renaissance of human experience seeking a truly African Model of Leadership that functions in a diverse societal structure, but with common connections of people, culture, heritage and future.
A flexible and rapid frequency selective scheme for SRS microscopy

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is a label-free imaging technique suitable for studying biological systems. Due to stimulated nature by ultrafast laser pulses, SRS microscopy has the advantage of significantly higher sensitivity but often reduced spectroscopic information. In this paper, we present a newly constructed femtosecond SRS microscope with a high-speed dynamic micromirror device based pulse shaper to achieve flexible and rapid frequency selection within the C-H stretch region near 2800 to 3100 cm-1 with spectral width of 30 cm-1. This technique is applicable to lipid profiling such as cell activity mapping, lipid distribution mapping and distinction among subclasses.
A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study of Educational Techniques in Teaching Basic Arthroscopic Skills in a Low-income Country.

Background: Little is known about how to introduce complex technologies like arthroscopy into low-income countries. Thus, we compared low- versus high-resource intensive methods of teaching basic arthroscopic skills in a randomized controlled trial in Haiti. Methods: Forty-eight Haitian orthopaedic surgeons and residents attending an orthopaedic conference in Haiti were block randomized to receive instruction through a composite video (Control) or a composite video plus hands-on teaching with an expert visiting surgeon (Intervention). A low-fidelity surgical simulator tested visualization and triangulation skills. Participants completed a pre- and post-test where the goal was to sequentially tap the most numbers in 2.5 minutes. Outcome metrics included highest tapped number, number of errors, visualization loss, and number of lookdowns.Multivariate linear regression was used to confirm randomization and compare outcomes between groups. Results: Seventy-five percent of initially randomized attendees participated with similar attrition rates between both groups. All participants who performed a pre-test completed a post-test. In terms of highest tapped number, treatment and control groups significantly improved compared to pre-test scores, with mean improvement of 3.2% (P=0.007) and 2.2% (P=0.03), respectively. Improvement between treatment and control groups was not statistically different (P=0.4). No statistically significant change was seen with regard to other metrics. Conclusion: We describe a protocol to introduce basic arthroscopic skills in a low-income country using a low-resource intensive teaching method. However, this method of learning may not be optimal given the failure to improve in all outcome measures.
Machine Learning Approaches for Predicting High Utilizers in Health Care

We applied and developed several machine learning techniques, including linear model, tree-based model, and deep neural networks to forecast expenditures for high utilizers in a very large public health program. The results show promise for predicting health care expenditures for these high utilizers. To improve interpretability, we quantified the contributions of influential input variables to the prediction score. These results help to advance the field toward targeted preventive care to lower overall health care costs.
Case Study: Cystic Adventitial Disease of the Popliteal Artery:

Introduction—Adventitial cystic disease is an unusual cause of lower-extremity ischemia. It affects large arteries, typically where the artery is near a joint space, and the popliteal artery is mos...
The value of constrained conjugate-gradient least-squares migration in seismic inversion: Application to a fractured-basement play, Texas Panhandle

AbstractSeismic inversion has become almost routine in quantitative 3D seismic interpretation. To ensure the quality of the seismic inversion, the input seismic data need to have a high signal-to-noise ratio. With the current low oil price environment, seismic reprocessing is often preferred over reacquisition to improve data quality. Common filter pairs include forward and inverse f-k and Radon transforms. Forward and inverse migrations (i.e., migration and demigration) are a more recently introduced transform pair that, when used together in an iterative workflow, results in a least-squares migration algorithm. Least-squares migration compensates for surface variation in data density and, when combined with a filter applied to prestack migrated images, suppresses the operator and data aliasing. We apply a least-squares migration workflow to a fractured-basement data set from the Texas Panhandle to demonstrate the enhancement in signal-to-noise ratio, the reduction in acquisition footprint and migration ...
Photoelectrochemical ion concentration polarization: membraneless ion filtration based on light-driven electrochemical reactions

In this article we report a microelectrochemical system that is able to partially desalinate water. The underlying principles are similar to previous reports in which a local electric field resists passage of ions. However, in the present case, no membrane is required and, most interestingly, much of the power for desalination originates from light rather than electricity. This could greatly increase the power efficiency for desalination. The device is based on a TiO2 photoanode coupled to a Pt cathode. Illumination of the photoanode drives faradaic reactions at the cathode that lead to an ion depletion zone. The resulting local electric field limits transport of charged species. In situ conductivity and fluorescence measurements demonstrate the effectiveness of the device.
A Service Learning Project on Aluminum Recycling—Developing Soft Skills in a Material and Energy Balances Course

This paper describes a project carried out in a sophomore chemical engineering course, in which students studied the energetic differences between refining and recycling aluminum. They worked in teams to prepare a presentation about the importance of aluminum recycling to a lay audience. The project reinforced classroom learning and provided an opportunity to develop the professional skills addressed in the ABET student outcomes criterion.
Spin-Torque-Biased Magnetic Strip: Nonequilibrium Phase Diagram and Relation to Long Josephson Junctions.

Spin-torque-biased magnetic dynamics in an easy-plane ferromagnet (EPF) is theoretically studied in the presence of a weak in-plane anisotropy. While this anisotropy spoils U(1) symmetry, thereby quenching the conventional spin superfluidity, we show that the system instead realizes a close analog of a long Josephson junction (LJJ) model. The traditional magnetic-field and electric-current controls of the latter map, respectively, onto the symmetric and antisymmetric combinations of the out-of-plane spin torques applied at the ends of the magnetic strip. This suggests an alternative route towards realizations of superfluidlike transport phenomena in insulating magnetic systems. We study a spin-torque-biased phase diagram, providing an analytical solution for static multidomain phases in the EPF. We adapt an existing self-consistency method for the LJJ to develop an approximate solution for the EPF dynamics. The LJJ-EPF mapping has the potential for producing applications with superconductor-based circuit functionality at elevated temperatures. The results apply equally to antiferromagnets with suitable effective free energy in terms of the N\'eel order instead of in-plane magnetization.
Computation of a Theoretical Membrane Phase Diagram and the Role of Phase in Lipid-Raft-Mediated Protein Organization.

Lipid phase heterogeneity in the plasma membrane is thought to be crucial for many aspects of cell signaling, but the physical basis of participating membrane domains such as “lipid rafts” remains controversial. Here we consider a lattice model yielding a phase diagram that includes several states proposed to be relevant for the cell membrane, including microemulsion—which can be related to membrane curvature—and Ising critical behavior. Using a neural-network-based machine learning approach, we compute the full phase diagram of this lattice model. We analyze selected regions of this phase diagram in the context of a signaling initiation event in mast cells: recruitment of the membrane-anchored tyrosine kinase Lyn to a cluster of transmembrane IgE-FceRI receptors. We find that model membrane systems in microemulsion and Ising critical states can mediate roughly equal levels of kinase recruitment (binding energy ∼ −0.6 kBT), whereas a membrane near a tricritical point can mediate a much stronger kinase rec...
Sibling Experiences in Middle Childhood Predict Sibling Differences in College Graduation

To illuminate how within-family differences in achievement may emerge, this study examined sibling experiences in middle childhood as predictors of sibling differences in college graduation. First- and second-borns from 152 families reported on their experiences with siblings and parents at ages 11.80 (SD = 0.56) and 9.22 (SD = 0.90), respectively, and on their educational attainment at about age 26. Significant childhood predictors of sibling differences in college graduation status included low sibling warmth, fathers' differential time spent with siblings, and perceived unfair differential treatment by parents. Findings suggest long-term implications of early sibling dynamics for educational attainment and provided novel insights into families' role in achievement.
“Most of my students kept saying, ‘I never met a gay person’”: A queer English language teacher's agency for social justice

Abstract This article presents an interview-based case study of a language teacher agency from social justice, queer, and ecological perspectives. We use Pantic’s (2015) model of teacher agency for social justice to investigate four aspects (i.e., “sense of purpose,” “competence,” “autonomy,” “reflexivity”) of Jackson's agency, a queer language teacher. A central driving force of Jackson's agency was her identification of contradictions between her sense of purpose and the educational structure in which her work was located, and thus her sense of purpose changed based on her context—from tending to her students' pastoral needs and to educating students about homophobia and Queer culture. Favorable conditions at the institutional and classroom levels enabled Jackson to exercise agency. They were a supportive department, an institution located in a liberal region, a conducive curriculum, student-teacher rapport, and timing of an instructional module (on LGBTQIA Rights). Jackson exercised agency particularly through the means of identity as pedagogy and also by changing the program's materials, by decentering herself as the sole holder of knowledge, and by coming out in the classroom.
Paleotempestology: Geographic Solutions to Hurricane Hazard Assessment and Risk Prediction

Hurricanes are a meteorological phenomenon that can severely impact both the natural and socio-economic systems of the world (Elsner and Kara 1999). In terms of impacts on the natural environmental system, hurricanes and their associated storm surges and overwash processes can cause significant changes in coastal landforms and processes. Hurricanes can also cause perturbations in the hydrological and geomorphic systems, resulting in excessive rainfall, flooding, landslides, and storm deposition in lakes and waterways. As an ecological agent, hurricanes are an important disturbance mechanism that has long-term effects on the patterns of vegetation composition, biocomplexity, and successional pathways. In terms of societal impacts, hurricanes rank at the top of all natural disasters in terms of the number of deaths and the economic losses they caused in the United States. The Galveston (Texas) Hurricane of 1900, for example, resulted in more than 8,000 deaths — the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. The costliest hurricane in U.S. history — Hurricane Andrew of 1992 — devastated Miami and then southern Louisiana, resulting in economic losses totaling more than $30 billion, about $16 billion of which are paid out by insurance companies. As a natural hazard, hurricanes account for 62 percent of all catastrophic insurance losses, hence a major concern for the property catastrophic insurance industry (Elsner and Kara 1999).
Pheromonal Influences on Rodent Agonistic Behavior

The effects of odors on rodent agonistic behavior were unnoticed for many years. Attention was focused instead on examining the role of hormones in the regulation of attack and defensive responses. The impetus for study of the area was provided by Beeman’s (1947) discovery that androgen injections restored intraspecific sparring in castrated male rodents. Subsequent investigations demonstrated that female rodents exhibited fighting when treated with testosterone (Edwards, 1968) and males fought less when treated with estrogen or progesterone (Suchowski, Pegrassi, & Bonsignori, 1969; Erpino & Chappelle, 1971). These changes in agonistic behavior were thought to be mediated by an interaction between the hormones and a neural substrate for aggression (Edwards, 1969; Leshner, 1975).
Survey of Historic Costume Course Redesign Using Bloom's Taxonomy

The purpose of this teaching presentation is to demonstrate the ways in which a Survey of Historic Costume class was transformed from an active learning, yet lecture-style environment to a hybrid course in which developed learning assignments were guided by the five categories of Bloom's Taxonomy. The presenters will share each of the learning activities developed, as well as student examples, such that other instructors will be able to adapt and refine these to their specific dress history course.
Simultaneously evaluating the effect of baseline levels and longitudinal changes in disease biomarkers on cognition in dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract Introduction As the role of biomarkers is increasing in Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical trials, it is critical to use a comprehensive temporal biomarker profile that reflects both baseline and longitudinal assessments to establish a more precise association between the change in biomarkers and change in cognition. Because age of onset of dementia symptoms is highly predictable, and there are relatively few age-related comorbidities, the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network autosomal dominant AD population affords a unique opportunity to investigate these relationships in a well-characterized population. Methods A novel joint statistical model was used to simultaneously evaluate how a comprehensive AD biomarker profile predicts change in cognition using amyloid positron emission tomography (PET), CSF Aβ42, CSF total tau and Ptau181, cortical metabolism using [F-18] fluorodeoxyglucose–PET, and hippocampal volume from participants enrolled in the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (n = 262) with mean (SD) duration of follow-up of 2.7 (1.2) years. Results Baseline amyloid PET levels and CSF biomarkers were associated with change in cognition in contrast to the rate of change of brain metabolism and hippocampal volume, which predicted change in cognition. Conclusions This study suggests that the baseline value of amyloid PET and CSF Aβ42 measures may be useful for screening participants for AD trials; however, brain hippocampus atrophy and hypometabolism are only useful as repeated longitudinal assessments for tracking cognition and disease progression. This suggests that measures of amyloid plaques predict future cognitive decline, but only longitudinal measures of neurodegeneration correlate with cognitive decline. The novel statistical model used in this study can be easily applied to any pair of outcomes and has potential to be widely used by the AD research community.
Erratum for Underhill et al., "Intracellular Signaling by the comRS System in Streptococcus mutans Genetic Competence".

Volume 3, no. 5, e00444-18, 2018, [https://doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.00444-18][1]. In the originally published Fig. 1, the labels for panels C and D contain some incorrect values for XIP concentrations. The correct concentrations are given in the revised portion of the figure shown below. ![Figure][
Bodily pain among a cohort of breast cancer survivors.

e20623 Background: Breast cancer survivors often report bodily pain, but longitudinal data on this problem are lacking. Methods: Subjects were female, English-speaking survivors who completed sympt...
BCL2L1 is associated with γ-globin gene expression

Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) expression is partially governed by the trans-acting quantitative trait loci BCL11A and MYB and a cis-acting locus linked to the HBB gene cluster. Our previous analysis of the Genotype-Tissue Expression database suggested that BCL2L1 was associated with HbF gene expression. In erythroid progenitors from patients with sickle cell disease, BCL2L1 messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were positively correlated with HBG mRNA and total HbF concentration (r2 = 0.72, P = .047 and r2 = 0.68, P = .01, respectively). Inhibition of BCL2L1 protein activity in HbF-expressing HUDEP-1 cells decreased HBG expression in a dose-dependent manner. Overexpression of BCL2L1 in these cells increased HBG expression fourfold (P < .05) and increased F cells by 13% (P < .05). Overexpression of BCL2L1 in erythroid progenitors derived from primary adult CD34+ cells upregulated HBG expression 11-fold (P < .05), increased F cells by 18% (P < .01), did not significantly affect cell differentiation or proliferation, and had a minor effect on survival. Although the mechanism remains unknown, our results suggest that BCL2L1 is associated with HbF gene activation.
Computational front end to diverse therapeutic phage cocktails

New therapies are necessary to combat increasingly antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens. We have developed a technology platform of computational, molecular biology, and microbiology tools which together enable on-demand production of phages that target virtually any given bacterial isolate. Two complementary computational tools that identify and precisely map prophages and other integrative genetic elements (IGEs) in bacterial genomes are used to identify prophage-laden bacteria that are close relatives of the target strain. Phage genomes are engineered to disable lysogeny, through use of long amplicon PCR and Gibson assembly. Finally, the engineered phage genomes are introduced into host bacteria for phage production. As an initial demonstration, we used this approach to produce a phage cocktail against the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. Two prophage-laden P. aeruginosa strains closely related to PAO1 were identified, ATCC 39324 and ATCC 27853. Deep sequencing revealed that mitomycin C treatment of these strains induced seven phages that grow on P. aeruginosa PAO1. The most diverse five of these were engineered for non-lysogeny by deleting the integrase gene (int), which is readily identifiable and typically conveniently located at one end of the prophage. The {Delta}int phages, individually and in cocktails, showed killing of P. aeruginosa PAO1 in vitro as well as in a waxworm (Galleria mellonella) model of infection. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThe antibiotic-resistance crisis in medicine and agriculture has led to renewed interest in phage therapy as an alternative means of treating infection. However, conventional methods for isolating pathogen-specific phage are slow, labor-intensive, and frequently unsuccessful. We have demonstrated that prophages carried by near-neighbor bacteria can serve as starting material for production of engineered phages that kill the target pathogen. Our approach and technology platform offer new opportunity for rapid development of phage therapies against most, if not all, bacterial pathogens, a foundational advance for use of phage in treating infectious disease.
The specificity of H2A.Z occupancy in the yeast genome and its relationship to transcription

The incorporation of histone variants into nucleosomes has important functional consequences in all aspects of eukaryotic chromatin biology. H2A.Z is a conserved histone variant found in all eukaryotes from yeast to mammals. Recent studies in yeast have shed light on the questions of where and how nucleosomes containing this variant are situated at promoters and in relation to genes, and what its specificity implies with regard to transcription. In yeast, H2A.Z appears to be primarily incorporated into the first nucleosome in the direction of transcription initiation, either of an mRNA transcript or a divergently transcribed upstream antisense non-coding RNA. This specificity of H2A.Z is due in part to the localization at promoters of SWR1, the ATP-dependent chromatin remodeler that incorporates H2A.Z into nucleosomes. Replacement of H2A.Z with canonical H2A is dependent on the function of the transcription pre-initiation complex. The recent studies summarized in this review reveal that the directionality of H2A.Z occupancy in relation to transcription thus reflects a balance of incorporation and eviction activities, which likely have varying contributions at distinct sets of genes across the genome.
A tutorial on solving ordinary differential equations using Python and hybrid physics-informed neural network

Abstract We present a tutorial on how to directly implement integration of ordinary differential equations through recurrent neural networks using Python. In order to simplify the implementation, we leveraged modern machine learning frameworks such as TensorFlow and Keras. Besides, offering implementation of basic models (such as multilayer perceptrons and recurrent neural networks) and optimization methods, these frameworks offer powerful automatic differentiation. With all that, the main advantage of our approach is that one can implement hybrid models combining physics-informed and data-driven kernels, where data-driven kernels are used to reduce the gap between predictions and observations. Alternatively, we can also perform model parameter identification. In order to illustrate our approach, we used two case studies. The first one consisted of performing fatigue crack growth integration through Euler’s forward method using a hybrid model combining a data-driven stress intensity range model with a physics-based crack length increment model. The second case study consisted of performing model parameter identification of a dynamic two-degree-of-freedom system through Runge–Kutta integration. The examples presented here as well as source codes are all open-source under the GitHub repository https://github.com/PML-UCF/pinn_code_tutorial .
Experimental and Modeling Review of the Plutonium-Zirconium (Pu-Zr) System: Lost in Translation and Over Time?

This article presents a review of the phase equilibria of the Pu-Zr system and discusses the contradictory reports on the experimental phase diagram and misinterpretations that have led to confusion over time. In addition, a review of the few Pu-Zr CALculation of PHAse Diagrams (CALPHAD) assessments is presented with emphasis on the heat of formation of the bcc phase, highlighting a disagreement between CALPHAD and ab initio calculations. Based on the information gathered in this study, a critical re-assessment of the Pu-Zr system involving the ζ (Pu28Zr), θ (Pu4Zr), kinetically hindered κ (PuZr2), and once observed ι phases is called for.
Development of an Encoding Method on a Co-Simulation Platform for Mitigating the Impact of Unreliable Communication

This article presents a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) based modeling approach for simulating impacts of unreliable communication on the performance of centralized volt-var control and for developing an encoding method to mitigate the impacts. First, an asynchronous real-time HIL simulation platform is introduced to enable multi-rate co-simulation of a distribution system with many inverter-based distributed energy resources (DERs). The distribution system is modeled by milliseconds phasor-based models and the DERs are modeled by micro-seconds power electronic models. Communication connections between a centralized volt-var controller (modeled externally to the HIL testbed) and smart inverters are built by implementing Modbus links and the Long Term Evolution network. On this co-simulation platform, an enhanced, augmented Lagrangian multiplier based encoded data recovery (EALM-EDR) algorithm for mitigating the impact of unreliable communication is developed and validated. Simulation results demonstrate the efficacy of using the HIL-based co-simulation platform as a power grid digital twin for developing algorithms that coordinate a large number of heterogeneous control systems through wired and wireless communication links.
SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity after infection and antibody response to mRNA-based vaccination

The effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on response to mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is not well-described. We assessed longitudinal SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody responses pre- and post-vaccination among individuals with and without prior infection. The antibody response to the first vaccine dose was almost two-fold higher in individuals who were seropositive before vaccination compared to those who were seronegative, suggesting that prior infection primes the immune response to the first dose of mRNA-based vaccine.
Comparative efficacy of resorbable fiber wraps loaded with gentamicin sulfate or gallium maltolate in the treatment of osteomyelitis.

The high incidence of osteomyelitis associated with critical-sized bone defects raises clinical challenges in fracture healing. Clinical use of antibiotic-loaded bone cement as an adjunct therapy is limited by incompatibility with many antimicrobials, sub-optimal release kinetics, and requirement of surgical removal. Furthermore, overuse of antibiotics can lead to bacterial modifications that increase efflux, decrease binding, or cause inactivation of the antibiotics. Herein, we compared the efficacy of gallium maltolate, a new metal-based antimicrobial, to gentamicin sulfate released from electrospun poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) wraps in the treatment of osteomyelitis. In vitro evaluation demonstrated sustained release of each antimicrobial up to 14 days. A Kirby Bauer assay indicated that the gentamicin sulfate-loaded wrap inhibited the growth of osteomyelitis-derived isolates, comparable to the gentamicin sulfate powder control. In contrast, the gallium maltolate-loaded wrap did not inhibit bacteria growth. Subsequent microdilution assays indicated a lower than expected sensitivity of the osteomyelitis strain to the gallium maltolate with release concentrations below the threshold for bactericidal activity. A comparison of the selectivity indices indicated that gentamicin sulfate was less toxic and more efficacious than gallium maltolate. A pilot study in a contaminated femoral defect model confirmed that the sustained release of gentamicin sulfate from the electrospun wrap resulted in bacteria density reduction on the surrounding bone, muscle, and hardware below the threshold that impedes healing. Overall, these findings demonstrate the efficacy of a resorbable, antimicrobial wrap that can be used as an adjunct or stand-alone therapy for controlled release of antimicrobials in the treatment of osteomyelitis.
On the Impossibility of Statistically Improving Empirical Optimization: A Second-Order Stochastic Dominance Perspective

When the underlying probability distribution in a stochastic optimization is observed only through data, various data-driven formulations have been studied to obtain approximate optimal solutions. We show that no such formulations can, in a sense, theoretically improve the statistical quality of the solution obtained from empirical optimization. We argue this by proving that the first-order behavior of the optimality gap against the oracle best solution, which includes both the bias and variance, for any data-driven solution is second-order stochastically dominated by empirical optimization, as long as suitable smoothness holds with respect to the underlying distribution. We demonstrate this impossibility of improvement in a range of examples including regularized optimization, distributionally robust optimization, parametric optimization and Bayesian generalizations. We also discuss the connections of our results to semiparametric statistical inference and other perspectives in the data-driven optimization literature.
Effect of gender, self-efficacy, and interest on perception of the learning environment and outcomes in calculus-based introductory physics courses

Current learning environments in introductory calculus-based physics influence all students' physics-related motivational belief in a negative way and are more detrimental for female students than male students.
Cyber Security for the Cloud Infrastructure

The need to protect cyberspace through cloud security cannot be over-emphasized. Hence, this article aims to appraise the full meaning of Cloud security comprehensively, its essence, how it works, and the bountiful benefits associated with it. It also x-rayed how one can master the usage to prevent security bridges by encouraging the use of passwording for such protection.
Action and inertia in the study of hyphal growth

Abstract Hyphae are microscopic filaments that elongate and branch to create networks of interconnected tubes. Understanding how they work remains a formidable challenge in experimental mycology. Important advances in hyphal research in the 20th century came from electron microscopy, which revealed clusters of cytoplasmic vesicles in the cell apex, and biochemical studies that identified the cell wall materials that are assembled at the tip. Early genetic experiments on hyphae based on mutant analysis were disappointing and provided little information on the relationship between genotype and phenotype. Progress has come more recently, in the first decades of this century, by combining the techniques of molecular genetics with modern imaging methods. Live-cell imaging has allowed us to study the dynamics of cell components in strains of fungi engineered with plasmids encoding proteins fused to fluorescent probes. This technology has provided significant insights on the growth process and yet the fundamentals of hyphal growth remain elusive.
Faculty Format Preferences in the Performing Arts: A Multi-Institutional Study

Resources for teaching in higher education have undergone a tremendous evolution during the past several decades. The Internet and commercial services, such as YouTube and Google, have revolutionized the manner by which students and faculty access information to both conduct research and meet course requirements. This mixed methods study implemented an online survey and interviews to determine how performing arts faculty at three institutions integrate library resources and services into their teaching. Conclusions indicate that, while personal collections and Internet resources provide a majority of teaching content, the academic library still offers important access to materials for instruction.
Stability and Eigenvalue Monotonicity of Linear Systems

The matrices that occur most frequently in system modeling share with their submatrices, referred to as principal majors, a number of restrictive properties. In modeling, this situation arises naturally. Often, important properties of the system must be retained when the degrees of freedom are reduced.
Genetic estimates of population structure and dispersal in a benthic stream fish

– Comparing genetic and demographic estimates of dispersal in freshwater fish can improve understanding of movement distributions and population connectivity. Here we examined genetic variation among mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi) in the Nantahala River (North Carolina, USA) to compare genetic estimates of dispersal with estimates derived from mark–recapture studies of individual movement. Microsatellite-based analysis of gene flow revealed evidence of strong isolation by distance among locations spanning only 5.6 km and limited dispersal among clusters of sites separated by swift cascades. Estimates of between-cluster contemporary dispersal rates derived from Bayesian assignment tests ranged from 1% to 6%, with most movement occurring among adjacent clusters in a downstream direction. Evidence of a long-term net immigration asymmetry and decreasing genetic diversity from downstream to upstream locations indicates that historical patterns of stream colonisation contrast with contemporary dispersal patterns. Our findings are largely consistent with predictions from individual movement patterns but suggest that long moves (>500 m) are more frequent, and maximum dispersal distances are greater than what has been reported from mark–recapture studies. The discrepancy may reflect spatial limitations of mark–recapture methods or temporal variation in dispersal in individuals and populations.
Fluid particle dynamics and stokes drift in gravity and capillary waves generated by the faraday instability

In this paper we study particle motions in nearly square containers due to gravity and capillary waves generated by vertical, periodic oscillation of the container. The method of second order partial averaging is used to decompose the particle motions into periodic oscillations and a slow Stokes drift. In the case of gravity waves, it is shown that long distance (several wavelengths) particle transport is possible. In the case of capillary waves, it is shown that, in agreement with experimental observations of Ramshankar et al., particle trajectories can be chaotic even when the wave pattern is regular so long as the pattern is spatially modulated.
Understanding public-access cyberlearning projects using text mining and topic analysis

The federal government has encouraged open access to publicly funded federal science research results, but it is unclear what knowledge can be gleaned from them and how the knowledge can be used to improve scientific research and shape federal research policies. In this article, we present the results of a preliminary study of cyberlearning projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that address these issues. Our work demonstrates that text-mining tools can be used to partially automate the process of finding NSF's cyberlearning awards and characterizing the fine-grained topics implicit in award abstracts. The methodology we have established to assess NSF's cyberlearning investments should generalize to other areas of research and other repositories of public-access documents. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Clinical Neurogenetics: Fragile X–Associated Tremor/Ataxia Syndrome

This article summarizes the clinical findings, genetics, pathophysiology, and treatment of fragile X-associated tremor ataxia syndrome. The disorder occurs from a CGG repeat (55-200) expansion in the fragile X mental retardation 1 gene. It manifests clinically in kinetic tremor, gait ataxia, and executive dysfunction, usually in older men who carry the genetic abnormality. The disorder has distinct radiographic and pathologic findings. Symptomatic treatment is beneficial in some patients. The inheritance is X-linked and family members may be at risk for other fragile X-associated disorders. This information is useful to neurologists, general practitioners, and geneticists.
Deduction of potentials from scattering phase shifts: (I). Neutral particles

Abstract A summary is given of past attempts to find methods for deducing potential interactions from elastic scattering phase versus energy curves. The distorted plane wave approximation for tgηl(k) of the first author is improved by introducing energy dependent terms in the wave function. The phase-potential expression may then be made as accurate as the phase data supplied and is applied to obtain a practical method of deducing potentials from ηl(k) curves. The latter need only be over a finite range of k, and ηl(kmax) need not be small. Phase analysis of elastic scattering data provides smooth ηl(k) curves for particular l values, which may be least-square fitted by orthogonal polynomial series to give truncated polynomials, in powers of k2, of k2l+1cotgηl(k) or tgηl(k)/k2l+1. The scattering parameters (coefficients of k2) in principle identify the interaction potential, although they are in general functions of the total energy interval 0-Emax covered, as the corresponding infinite power series is divergent. The tgηl(k) approximation reduces to the shape-dependent expansion, the scattering parameters being given as linear combinations of moment and weighted moment integrals over the interaction potential. We employ the experimental values of the scattering parameters in these relations. If the potential is expanded as a finite series of short range functions, such as the exponential, the series coefficients may be found by solving a corresponding number of simultaneous equations based on the above. The resulting approximate potential has a strength function (first moment integral of the potential) accurate to within several per cent. A simple iterative procedure, based on the distorted plane wave function and equations, is used to improve the potential, the error in the strength function being reduced by a factor of 2–5 per iteration in typical cases. This method may also be used to improve arbitrary approximate potentials, any accuracy being possible.
Analysis of proteins associated with growth of Bacteroides ovatus on the branched galactomannan guar gum.

Bacteroides ovatus, a gram-negative obligate anaerobe from the human colon, can ferment the branched galactomannan guar gum. Previously, three enzymes involved in guar gum breakdown were characterized. The expression of these enzymes appeared to be regulated; i.e., specific activities were higher in extracts from bacteria grown on guar gum than in extracts from bacteria grown on the monosaccharide constituents of guar gum, mannose and galactose. In the present study, we used two-dimensional gel analysis to determine the total number of B. ovatus proteins enhanced during growth on guar gum. Twelve soluble proteins and 20 membrane proteins were expressed at higher levels in guar gum-grown cells than in galactose-grown cells. An unexpected finding was that the expression of the two galactomannanases was induced by glucose as well as guar gum. Three other proteins, one membrane protein and two soluble proteins, had this same expression pattern. The remainder of the guar gum-associated proteins seen on two-dimensional gels and the guar gum-associated alpha-galactosidase were induced in cells grown on guar gum but not in cells grown on glucose. Two transposon-generated mutants (M-5 and M-7) that could not grow on guar gum were isolated. Both mutants still expressed the galactomannanases and the alpha-galactosidase. They also still expressed all of the guar gum-associated proteins that could be detected in two-dimensional gels of glucose-grown or galactose-grown cells. A second transposon insertion that suppressed the guar gum-negative phenotype of M-5 was isolated and characterized. The characteristics of this suppressor mutant indicated that the original transposon insertion was probably in a regulatory locus.