cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Incremental and on-demand random walk for iterative power distribution network analysis

Power distribution networks (PDNs) are designed and analyzed iteratively. Random walk is among the most efficient methods for PDN analysis. We develop in this paper an incremental and on-demand random walk to reduce iterative analysis time. During each iteration, we map the design changes as positive or negative random walks for observed nodes. To update PDN analysis result, we only need to apply these extra positive or negative walks, instead of doing all walks from scratch. We show that different execution orders for these walks do not affect accuracy but do affect the runtime because of the cancellation between positive and negative walks. Considering this cancellation effect, we optimize the walk order by solving a min-energy electromagnetic particles placement problem and, as a result, further reduce the runtime to about 8x compared to the worst order. Experiments show that, compared to random walk from scratch, our algorithm has similar accuracy but reduces the iterative analysis time by up to 18x for on-chip PDN sizing, and by up to 13x for package ball assignment with substrate routing. In addition, our incremental random walk has a linear time complexity with respect to the number of observed nodes and is more suitable for on-demand analysis, compared to random walk from scratch and its big warm-up cost.
School Structural Characteristics, Student Effort, Peer Associations, and Parental Involvement: The Influence of School- and Individual-Level Factors on Academic Achievement

This research examines the extent to which individual-level and school structural variables are predictors of academic achievement among a sample of 10th-grade students abstracted from the National Educational Longitudinal Study database. A secondary analysis of the data produced the following findings. The study results show that individual-level predictors, such as student effort, parent—child discussion, and associations with positive peers, play a substantial role in increasing students' achievement. Furthermore, the results also suggest that school climate—in particular, the sense of school cohesion felt by students, teachers, and administrators—is important to successful student outcomes. In total, school structural characteristics were found to have relatively small effects on student achievement when compared with individual-level characteristics. Given these results, interventions aimed at improving academic achievement need take into consideration the impact of individual-level and school struct...
Effects of band hybridization on electronic properties in tuning armchair graphene nanoribbons

We explore a model of armchair graphene nanoribbons tuned by functionalizing the edge states. Edge modifications are modeled by changing the electronic energy of the edge states in specific periodic patterns. The model can be considered to mimic a controlled doping process with different elements. The band structure, density of states, conductance, and local density of states are calculated, using the tight binding approach, Green’s function methodology, and the Landauer formula. The results show interesting behaviors, which are considerably different from the properties of the perfect nanoribbons. The hybridization of conducting bands with non-conducting bands, which appear perfectly flat in the perfect ribbon, opens up and modifies gaps in conductance near the Fermi level. One particular pattern of edge functionalization causes a strong, symmetric, and systematic band gap change about the Fermi level, modifying the electronic characteristics in the energy dispersion, density of states, local density of ...
PARP-1 Activation Requires Local Unfolding of an Autoinhibitory Domain

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) creates the posttranslational modification PAR from substrate NAD(+) to regulate multiple cellular processes. DNA breaks sharply elevate PARP-1 catalytic activity to mount a cell survival repair response, whereas persistent PARP-1 hyperactivation during severe genotoxic stress is associated with cell death. The mechanism for tight control of the robust catalytic potential of PARP-1 remains unclear. By monitoring PARP-1 dynamics using hydrogen/deuterium exchange-mass spectrometry (HXMS), we unexpectedly find that a specific portion of the helical subdomain (HD) of the catalytic domain rapidly unfolds when PARP-1 encounters a DNA break. Together with biochemical and crystallographic analysis of HD deletion mutants, we show that the HD is an autoinhibitory domain that blocks productive NAD(+) binding. Our molecular model explains how PARP-1 DNA damage detection leads to local unfolding of the HD that relieves autoinhibition, and has important implications for the design of PARP inhibitors.
The Dynamic Reactivity Interpretation of Pulsed Neutron Measurements

A dynamic reactivity, not the reactivity in general use, is defined relative to prompt critical as ΔK = −lα, where α is the asymptotic (prompt) flux decay rate observed in a pulsed neutron experime...
Erotic Possession, the “Phantasm,” and Platonic Love in Two Neo-Victorian Novels

Employing the Greek concept of eros, as well as medieval and Renaissance notions of sexual possession by the “phantasm,” I consider the ways in which the erotic is represented in A. S. Byatt's Possession and John Fowles's The French Lieutenant's Woman. Both novels suggest that erotic love can lead to possessive madness. In addition, Byatt also represents the original idea of Platonic love as a possible antidote to acquisitive, destructive love.
Abstract WMP115: The Metabolic Syndrome Components and Cognitive Decline: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Background: Midlife obesity is associated with dementia in later life, but how the metabolic syndrome (MetS) relates to cognitive change is less understood. We hypothesized that MetS would be more predictive of 6-year cognitive decline than its individual components in a large biethnic cohort (the ARIC study) and that combinations of risk factors would further increase likelihood of change. Methods: The MetS was defined in 1987-89 on 10,687 participants with two cognitive assessments at two time points. In subjects aged 44 to 66, obesity measures included body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WTHR). The main outcome measure was change in 1990-92 to 96-99 of three cognitive tests: Delayed Word Recall (DWR), Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), and Word Fluency Test (WFT). Linear and logistic regressions were all adjusted for age, combined race-center, sex, education, smoking, drinking, coronary artery disease and prior stroke. Change was measured as the difference divided by the number of years between visits. Results: At baseline, the prevalence of MetS was 22% (mean age 54 years, 27% black, 55% female, and 28% BMI>30 kg/m2). Subjects with MetS performed in the lowest test quintile (adjusted ORs: DWR 1.3 95% CI 1.1-1.4) in 1996-99, and much of this effect size was explained by an elevated WTHR (DWR OR 1.3 CI 1.1-1.5) and diabetes (DWR OR 1.4 CI 1.2-1.7). MetS was not associated with annual cognitive change, and diabetes was the only significant component associated with change (adjusted beta: DWR 0.03 p=.01, DSST 0.2 p Conclusion: MetS at ages 44 to 66 was associated with worse cognitive function at follow-up, but not with annual cognitive decline over several years. Elevated WTHR and diabetes explained most of the association of MetS with cognitive function measures, and diabetes with cognitive decline. Until we have a definition of the MetS more based on pathophysiology, the components of the MetS should be the focus of analysis in future studies.
Metabolic studies on myelin. Evidence for a precursor role of a myelin subfraction.

Abstract Myelin prepared from brain tissue of the developing rat (15 days post partum) can be separated into several subfractions. These are (1) myel∈−like'andmyel∈-like′andpurified myelin', by the technique of Davison and co-workers (Agrawal et al., 1970b) and (2) membra≠tion,'membra≠tion,′light myelin' and heavymyel∈'bythediscont∈uous−sucrose−∇ientproceduredescribed∈thepresentpaper.heavymyel∈′bythediscont∈uous-sucrose-∇ientproceduredescribed∈thepresentpaper.Myelin-like' and membra≠−tion'⊂tionsappear→besimilar∈chemical∝erties,butd⇔erent∈detai≤dmorphologybye≤ctronmicroscopy.Bothtionsarerelated→myel∈,onthebasisofdemonstrab≤myel∈basicprote∈bypolyacrylam−≥le≤ctrophoresis∈sodiumdodecylsp–ˆeandthepresenceofamyel∈−markerenzyme,2':3'−cyclicνc≤ot3'−phosphohydrolase.Thesetwotionshavealowliπdcontent(17%formembra≠-tion′⊂tionsappear→besimilar∈chemical∝erties,butd⇔erent∈detai≤dmorphologybye≤ctronmicroscopy.Bothtionsarerelated→myel∈,onthebasisofdemonstrab≤myel∈basicprote∈bypolyacrylam-≥le≤ctrophoresis∈sodiumdodecylspe^andthepresenceofamyel∈-markerenzyme,2′:3′-cyclicνc≤ot3′-phosphohydrolase.Thesetwotionshavealowliπdcontent(17%formyelin-like' and 40% for `membrane-fraction' subfractions) compared with myelin (67–72%). No cerebroside was detected in these two fractions, whereas cerebrosides are a major component of myelin itself. The administration of [2,3-3H]tryptophan to young rats results in more rapid incorporation into proteins of the myel∈−like'andmyel∈-like′andmembrane-fraction' subfractions when compared with incorporation into myelin. Data are presented which are consistent with a precursor–product relationship for conversion of myel∈−like'andmyel∈-like′andmembrane-fraction' subfractions into myelin.
Complications Following Anorectal Surgery

Anorectal surgery is well tolerated. Rates of minor complications are relatively high, but major postoperative complications are uncommon. Prompt identification of postoperative complications is necessary to avoid significant patient morbidity. The most common acute complications include bleeding, infection, and urinary retention. Pelvic sepsis, while may result in dramatic morbidity and even mortality, is relatively rare. The most feared long-term complications include fecal incontinence, anal stenosis, and chronic pelvic pain.
Fiscal Support Mechanism for a New Rural Society

The establishment of a new rural society requires an adaptive fiscal system to serve as the guarantee. With this purpose, this paper analyzes the possible conflict between the orientation of fiscal system in 1994 and the object to build a new rural society, evaluates the positive effect of fiscal policy arrangement on the easing rural contradictions and enhancing of rural financial guarantee. Finally this paper presents some ideas on establishing a long-term fiscal guarantee mechanism for a new rural society.
The Hippocampus, Wayfinding and Episodic Memory

The hippocampal formation plays an important role in memory (Scoville & Milner, 1954; Milner, 1962) and spatial cognition (O’Keefe & Dostrovsky, 1971; O’Keefe & Nadel, 1978). The question of how these two relate is woven through several decades of discussions about hippocampal function, and an answer might help resolve apparently interminable debates (cf. Redish, 1999). In this paper we sketch out a path to a potential solution, although we do not claim to have fully solved the problem.
Phoenix Out of the Abyss: Lawrence, Heidegger and Responding to Our Nada

This paper will proceed from the assumption of Anne Fernihough that there are “very intricate links between Lawrence’s work and Heidegger’s philosophy” and that “some of Lawrence’s ideas” are “developed “in ways which have more in common with Martin Heidegger than with Lawrence’s predecessors.” Peter Fjagsund also notes that a “closer examination” of the German influences on Lawrence’s thought is justified while Michael Black says that the “Beyond” for which Lawrence was forever seeking can be described in terms of Heidegger’s bringing “into presence.” Michael Bell goes so far as to say that “the essential capacity underlying Lawrence’s oeuvre is best elucidated through the approach to Being which constitutes the central philosophical concern of Martin Heidegger” This paper will attempt to provide more evidence for what these scholars have been contending. The case will be made that while working in complete independence of one another the two thinkers came to remarkably similar points of argument and emphasis. Both Heidegger expound a “Death Philosophy” as central to their thought. Heidegger’s case is that the possibility of Death is a living part of human existence or Dasein. For his part Lawrence says that “Corresponding with the desire for absolute life," and immediately consequent to it “is the desire for death.” It is in his inability to admit that “Now I am single in my desire for destructive death” that mankind has gone astray. It is obvious from the above that we can hear in Lawrence echoes of Heidegger and vice versa. It can be readily allowed that Heidegger is an academic thinker who conducts his investigations in a very “technical” manner while Lawrence is a literary artist who writes in an "impressionistic" style. But for all that the paper will indicate that from the existential point of view these two metaphysicians have much in common. It will attempt to show how the "Rector" and the "Phoenix" can mutually illuminate each other's thoughts on the meaning of death, Western "logocentrism," and modern man's need to re-discover the importance of a "metaphysical" approach to life.
Economic Dispatch for an Agent-Based Community Microgrid

In this paper, an economic dispatch (ED) problem for a community microgrid is studied. In this microgrid, each agent pursues an ED for its personal resources. In addition, each agent is capable of trading electricity with other agents through a local energy market. In this paper, an energy market operating in the presence of the grid is introduced. The proposed market is mainly developed for an experimental community microgrid at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO, USA, and can be applied to other distribution level microgrids. To develop the algorithm, first, the microgrid is modeled and a dynamic ED algorithm for each agent is developed. Afterwards, an algorithm for handling the market is introduced. Lastly, simulation results are provided to demonstrate the proposed community market, and show the effectiveness of the market in reducing the operation costs of passive and active agents.
Laparoscopic Gastropexy Using Knotless Unidirectional Suture and an Articulated Endoscopic Suturing Device: Seven Cases

Objective To describe a technique for laparoscopic incisional gastropexy using an articulated endoscopic suturing device with knotless unidirectional barbed suture in healthy large breed dogs. Study Design Prospective case series. Animals Healthy client-owned dogs presented for prophylactic gastropexy and weighing >20 kg (n=7). Methods Incisional gastropexy was performed using a single port access system with an articulated endoscopic suturing device. An additional 5 mm cannula was placed in the right caudal abdomen. A 2-0 knotless unidirectional barbed suture was used to complete the gastropexy with 2 separate simple continuous suture lines. All dogs underwent a focal abdominal ultrasound to evaluate the gastropexy site 3–12 months postoperatively. Results Median weight of the dogs was 33.5 kg (range, 20–51 kg) and the median age was 2 years (range, 0.6–8.5 years). Median surgical time was 60 minutes (range, 39–88). The articulated suturing device malfunctioned twice. On abdominal ultrasound between 3 and 12 months, all gastropexy sites were intact. No motion was detected between the stomach and body wall during distal antral contractions or respiratory motion and a focal thickening of the gastric wall was present in dog. No complications were reported in the postoperative periods as of the 2 week suture removal visit or as of the time of their ultrasound appointment. Conclusion This technique using an endoscopic articulated suturing device with a knotless unidirectional barbed suture provides a feasible technique to perform laparoscopic gastropexy.
African origins of rice cultivation in the Black Atlantic

The African diaspora was one of plants as well as people. Rice (Oryza glaberrima) led the diffusion of African plants and agricultural systems that shaped environment, food preferences, economies and cultural identity during the era of plantation slavery. By the eighteenth century the cereal was widely established from South Carolina to Brazil in the Americas. Grown by slaves as well as maroons, on plantations for subsistence as well as for export, rice cultivation accompanied African settlement of the Americas. This article reviews the indigenous knowledge systems that informed the cultivation of rice along the African as well as American Atlantic. With identical methods and practices, slaves from West Africa adapted a favored dietary staple to new conditions in the Americas, thereby ensuring the cereal’s enduring significance in Diaspora cuisines. In illuminating the African origins of Carolina rice beginnings, this paper aims to recover a significant narrative of the Atlantic slave trade
Consumer underestimation of sodium in fast food restaurant meals: Results from a cross-sectional observational study.

Restaurants are key venues for reducing sodium intake in the U.S. but little is known about consumer perceptions of sodium in restaurant foods. This study quantifies the difference between estimated and actual sodium content of restaurant meals and examines predictors of underestimation in adult and adolescent diners at fast food restaurants. In 2013 and 2014, meal receipts and questionnaires were collected from adults and adolescents dining at six restaurant chains in four New England cities. The sample included 993 adults surveyed during 229 dinnertime visits to 44 restaurants and 794 adolescents surveyed during 298 visits to 49 restaurants after school or at lunchtime. Diners were asked to estimate the amount of sodium (mg) in the meal they had just purchased. Sodium estimates were compared with actual sodium in the meal, calculated by matching all items that the respondent purchased for personal consumption to sodium information on chain restaurant websites. Mean (SD) actual sodium (mg) content of meals was 1292 (970) for adults and 1128 (891) for adolescents. One-quarter of diners (176 (23%) adults, 155 (25%) adolescents) were unable or unwilling to provide estimates of the sodium content of their meals. Of those who provided estimates, 90% of adults and 88% of adolescents underestimated sodium in their meals, with adults underestimating sodium by a mean (SD) of 1013 mg (1,055) and adolescents underestimating by 876 mg (1,021). Respondents underestimated sodium content more for meals with greater sodium content. Education about sodium at point-of-purchase, such as provision of sodium information on restaurant menu boards, may help correct consumer underestimation, particularly for meals of high sodium content.
Reproducibility of point‐of‐care ultrasonography for central vein diameter measurement: Separating image acquisition from interpretation

Purpose Central vein point-of-care ultrasonography must be reproducible to detect intravascular volume changes. We sought to determine which measurement step, image acquisition or interpretation, could be more compromising for reproducibility. Methods Three investigators each acquired inferior vena cava (IVC) and internal jugular (IJV) vein ultrasonographic sequences (US) from a convenience sample of 21 hospitalized general medicine participants and then interpreted each US three separate times. We partitioned the random errors of acquisition and interpretation, attributing wider dispersions of each to larger reductions in reproducibility. Results We analyzed 351 interpretations of 39 IVC and 432 interpretations of 48 IJV US. Reproducibility of the maximum (standard error of measurement 3.3 mm [95% confidence interval, CI 2.7–4.2 mm]) and minimum (4.8 mm [3.9–6.3 mm]) IVC diameter measurements were worse than that of the mediolateral (2.5 mm [2.0–3.2 mm]) and anteroposterior (2.5 mm [2.0–3.1 mm]) IJV diameters. The dispersions of random measurement errors were wider among acquisitions than interpretations. Conclusions Among our investigators, central vein diameter measurements obtained by point-of-care ultrasonography are not sufficiently reproducible to distinguish clinically meaningful intravascular volume changes from measurement errors. Reproducibility could be most effectively improved by reducing the random measurement errors of acquisition. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound, 2017;
GPGPU implementation of VP9 in-loop deblocking filter and improvements for AV1 codec

This paper describes the algorithm and processing flow of the in-loop deblocking filter in the VP9 coding standard, one of the most computationally intensive toolsets of the VP9 codec. Due to its inherent data dependency, it is a great challenge to efficiently implement the algorithm on massively parallel computing architectures, such as a General Purpose Graphical Processing Unit (GPGPU). In this paper, we describe the challenges involved in a GPGPU implementation of the VP9 Deblocking filter and introduce an innovative thread dispatching approach to address the parallelization challenges. This approach has been successfully implemented and productized in the VP9 decoder and encoder solutions on Intel GPUs. In order to further improve the parallelism of the deblocking algorithm itself, an improved in-loop deblocking algorithm and process flow is jointly proposed by Intel and Microsoft for the upcoming AV1 codec standard, developed by the Alliance for Open Media (AOM). A description of the algorithm and evaluation of the quality impact of this algorithm is presented with respect to the current state of the art AV1 reference codec.
Key driven business reengineering—how to get reengineering more efficient and effective

Hardly any management concept has been discussed as much as the reengineering of business processes and numerous articles using many of todays buzz words of business have been published. In spite of the wealth of information that is available many reengineering projects fail because the quantum leaps expected do not take place with conversion. The reasons for this are varied, but the common characteristic of failure is the lack of a systematic implementation approach.
Energy-efficiency in interconnection fabrics for inter and intra-chip communication using Graphene-based THz-band antennas

Most computing platforms such as embedded systems to server blades comprise of multiple Systems-on-Chips (SoCs). Traditionally, these multichip platforms are interconnected using metal traces over a substrate such as a Printed Circuit Board (PCB). Communications in multichip platforms involves data transfer between internal nets and the peripheral I/O ports of the chips as well as across the PCB traces. This multi-hop communication leads to higher energy consumption, decrease in data bandwidth and increase in message latency. Novel devices based on graphene structures capable of establishing wireless links are explored in recent literature to provide high performance on-chip interconnections. In this work, we propose to extend Graphene-based wireless links to enable energy-efficient, phase-based chip-to-chip communication to create a seamless, wireless interconnection fabric for multichip systems. With cycle-accurate simulations we show that such a design with torus like folding based on THz links instead of global wires can outperform state-of-the-art wireline multichip systems.
Chapter 10 – Prostate Cancer Prevention: Strategies and Realities

The molecular and genetic events underlying prostate cancer begin decades before clinically significant disease is detected. The interaction of genetics and environmental influences in the development of prostate cancer is significant given the prolonged natural history of the disease. Most risk factors associated with significant prostate cancers including age, race, and genetics are non-modifiable. However, there is a growing awareness of modifiable risk factors such as diet and environmental factors, which require systematic study. Most previous disease prevention strategies have focused primarily on avoidance behaviors. However, currently, chemopreventive agents are increasingly used to disrupt one or more steps involved in carcinogenesis. The molecular targets for candidate prostate cancer prevention agents include sex steroid signaling differentiation and proliferation, angiogenesis, and pro-apoptotic pathways. Prostate cancer risk assessment programs such as the Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment Program (PRAP) and Prostate Cancer Risk Registry (PCRR) provide integrated multidisciplinary approaches to screening, counseling, and researching preventive efforts. For prostate-cancer-prevention efforts to be successful, they must be studied systematically across multiple medical, social, and economic disciplines. Chemopreventive strategies must start early in the disease process and follow-up must be rigorous and extend over decades. Programs such as PCRR and PRAP must be integrated into NCI-sponsored studies, such as SELECT and Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT). Finally, chemoprevention and risk assessment programs must serve as a catalyst for the development of educational training tools directed toward community-based health care professionals and their patients.
Understanding and addressing the impact of hearing acuity on healthcare and healthcare communication

Abstract Patient-professional relationships are essential to general well-being and resilience, and the cornerstone of those relationships is good communication. Yet, more than 33% of adults over the age of 65 have disabling hearing loss (World Health Organization, 2012) that hinders communication, and the incidence increases to about 50% among adults 75 years and older (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 2016). This is of particular concern because fewer than 25% of adults with hearing loss seek intervention (Hearing Loss Association of America, 2018). Thus, hearing acuity is a significantly underreported factor in patient care that must be addressed. The authors discuss the role of hearing and ways inter-professional teams can address hearing loss in an aim to improve patient communication and healthcare, and ultimately well-being.
The myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate differentially regulates kinase interacting with stathmin in vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells and potentiates intimal hyperplasia formation

Abstract Objective Restenosis limits the durability of all cardiovascular reconstructions. Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation drives this process, but an intact, functional endothelium is necessary for vessel patency. Current strategies to prevent restenosis employ antiproliferative agents that affect both VSMCs and endothelial cells (ECs). Knockdown of the myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS) arrests VSMC proliferation and paradoxically potentiates EC proliferation. MARCKS knockdown decreases expression of the kinase interacting with stathmin (KIS), increasing p27kip1 expression, arresting VSMC proliferation. Here, we seek to determine how MARCKS influences KIS protein expression in these two cell types. Methods Primary human coronary artery VSMCs and ECs were used for in vitro experiments. MARCKS was depleted by transfection with small interfering RNA. Messenger RNA was quantitated with the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Protein expression was determined by Western blot analysis. Ubiquitination was determined with immunoprecipitation. MARCKS and KIS binding was assessed with co-immunoprecipitation. Intimal hyperplasia was induced in CL57/B6 mice with a femoral artery wire injury. MARCKS was knocked down in vivo by application of 10 μM of small interfering RNA targeting MARCKS suspended in 30% Pluronic F-127 gel. Intimal hyperplasia formation was assessed by measurement of the intimal thickness on cross sections of the injured artery. Re-endothelialization was determined by quantitating the binding of Evans blue dye to the injured artery. Results MARCKS knockdown did not affect KIS messenger RNA expression in either cell type. In the presence of cycloheximide, MARCKS knockdown in VSMCs decreased KIS protein stability but had no effect in ECs. The effect of MARCKS knockdown on KIS stability was abrogated by the 26s proteasome inhibitor MG-132. MARCKS binds to KIS in VSMCs but not in ECs. MARCKS knockdown significantly increased the level of ubiquitinated KIS in VSMCs but not in ECs. MARCKS knockdown in vivo resulted in decreased KIS expression. Furthermore, MARCKS knockdown in vivo resulted in decreased 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine integration and significantly reduced intimal thickening. MARCKS knockdown enhanced endothelial barrier function recovery 4 days after injury. Conclusions MARCKS differentially regulates the KIS protein stability in VSMCs and ECs. The difference in stability is due to differential ubiquitination of KIS in these two cell types. The differential interaction of MARCKS and KIS provides a possible explanation for the observed difference in ubiquitination. The effect of MARCKS knockdown on KIS expression persists in vivo, potentiates recovery of the endothelium, and abrogates intimal hyperplasia formation.
P67 Flint Kids Cook: Feasibility and Preliminary Effectiveness of a Cooking and Nutrition Education Program for Children

Background Programs that include cooking may be more effective in improving diet quality among children than nutrition education alone. Flint Kids Cook was created in October 2017 as a pilot cooking and nutrition program for children in Flint, Michigan. Unique in design, the program was co-facilitated by a chef and dietitian and offered inside a farmers’ market commercial kitchen. Objective To assess feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of Flint Kids Cook. Study Design, Settings, Participants This pre-post pilot study included six weekly sessions (90 minutes each) at a local farmers’ market. Children were recruited from partnering pediatric offices and community-based organizations in Flint. Sessions included 10-12 children (8-18 years) who actively prepared two dishes that highlighted a specific food group. The final session was a celebratory meal that children prepared for their families. Measurable Outcome/Analysis Feasibility was assessed using retention rates. To evaluate effectiveness, baseline and exit scores related to attitude towards cooking and cooking self-efficacy were compared using paired samples t-tests. Attitude towards cooking scores ranged from 6-30 (lower scores indicated a more positive cooking attitude) and cooking self-efficacy from 8-40 (lower scores reflected greater cooking self-efficacy). Results Of the 71 children who attended the program, the majority (73%) completed at least four sessions. Most participants (mean age 10.8 ± 2.3 years) were African American (86%) and Flint residents (78%). Approximately half were female (51%). Among the 51 children who completed assessments, significant improvements ( P = .012) were observed in mean attitude towards cooking scores from baseline (8.75 ± 2.89) to program exit (7.87 ± 2.46). Mean cooking self-efficacy scores also improved significantly ( P = .002) from baseline (13.75 ± 4.50) to program exit (11.53 ± 3.88). Conclusion Flint Kids Cook could be modeled in similar communities to engage children and promote positive changes in cooking attitudes and self-efficacy.
Celestial images in artistic paintings

The subtitle of this book is: History, Artistry, and Cartography. Up to now, I have presented important historical and cartographic information related to the heavens, using beautiful illustrations to represent the artistry of the images. Symmetrical circles and forms, Baroque putti, and vegetation, people and places depicted in the borders—star maps have included many artistic elements. But what about the obverse: how have celestial images been used in art? Many examples come to mind, and this chapter will show and discuss some of these. Mirroring the predominant focus on ink and paint applied to paper-like material found in the previous chapters, the main focus of this chapter will be artistic drawings and paintings as opposed to other forms of artistic endeavors, such as sculpture, music, literature, etc. Unless otherwise indicated, the pieces shown are from the Nick and Carolynn Kanas collection.
Abstract 226: Apoai Mimetic Peptide 6f Prevent Pulmonary Hypertension Induced by Oxidized Lipids

Introduction: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by pulmonary arterial occlusion leading to increased pulmonary arterial pressure. Recently, a growing body of evidence demonstra...
FEA Consumer Needs Model: 25 Years Later:

This systematic review examined use of Lamb and Kallal’s (1992) Functional, Expressive, and Aesthetic (FEA) Consumer Needs Model and integrated Apparel Design (AD) Framework within scholarly journa...
Overlapping morphological and functional properties between M4 and M5 intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells

Multiple retinal ganglion cell (RGC) types in the mouse retina mediate pattern vision by responding to specific features of the visual scene. The M4 and M5 melanopsin-expressing, intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell (ipRGC) subtypes are two RGC types that are thought to play major roles in pattern vision. The M4 ipRGCs overlap in population with ON-alpha RGCs, while M5 ipRGCs were recently reported to exhibit opponent responses to different wavelengths of light (color opponency). Despite their seemingly distinct roles in visual processing, previous reports have suggested that these two populations may exhibit overlap in their morphological and functional properties, which calls into question whether these are in fact distinct RGC types. Here, we show that M4 and M5 ipRGCs are distinct morphological classes of ipRGCs, but they cannot be exclusively differentiated based on color opponency and dendritic morphology as previously reported. Instead, we find that M4 and M5 ipRGCs can only be distinguished based on soma size and the number of dendritic branch points in combination with SMI-32 immunoreactivity. These results have important implications for clearly defining RGC types and their roles in visual behavior.
Validation of use of billing codes for identifying telemedicine encounters in administrative data

Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication technology to remotely provide healthcare services. Evaluation of telemedicine use often relies on administrative data, but the validity of identifying telemedicine encounters in administrative data is not known. The objective of this study was to assess the accuracy of billing codes for identifying telemedicine use. In this retrospective study of encounters within a large integrated health system from January 2016 to December 2017, we examined the accuracy of billing codes for identifying live-interactive and store-and-forward telemedicine encounters compared to manual chart review. To further examine external validity, we applied these codes and assessed patient and visit characteristics for identified live-interactive telemedicine encounters and store-and-forward telemedicine encounters in a second data set. In manual review of 390 encounters, 75 encounters were live-interactive telemedicine and 158 were store-and-forward telemedicine. In weighted analysis, the presence of the GT modifier in the absence of the GQ modifier or CPT code 99444 yielded 100% sensitivity and 99.99% specificity for identification of live-interactive telemedicine encounters. The presence of either the GQ modifier or the CPT code 99444 had 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity for identification of store-and-forward telemedicine encounters. Applying these algorithms to a second data set (n = 5,917,555) identified telemedicine encounters with expected patient and visit characteristics. These findings provide support for use of CPT codes to perform telemedicine research in administrative data, aiding ongoing work to understand the role of non-face-to-face care in optimizing health care delivery.
Engineering materials in advanced space applications

Abstract Similar to high performance Damascus swords made possible by the advanced material used for their fabrication, the performance improvement of actual terrestrial and space nuclear reactors would not be possible without advanced engineered nano-hetero-structures. Several types of micro-nano-structures have been engineered, able to bring in harmony a nuclear reaction with the material structure, such as micro-heterostructures that self-separate fission products from the nuclear fuel; micro-fractal materials in self-repairing materials used for various nuclear structures against radiation damage; nano-clustered materials that accelerate separation and extraction of transmutation products from the material where it was generated; nuclear radiation guiding in nano-structured materials; passive structures good for shielding; and active structures for control applications, such as directing and pulsing radiation or criticality control of nuclear reactors. Nano-hetero-structures have been developed for direct nuclear energy conversion in electricity, and a branch of hetero-nano-materials have been found to be useful in active quantum nuclear systems, which are relied upon in recent developments in entanglement and teleportation. These novel materials, now in concept and early experimental phases, such as TRL = 3, 4, will allow for the construction of new generations of terrestrial nuclear power sources and improve space nuclear technology, which relies on compact, high-efficiency, and reliable devices. In space, high efficiency is required, because all energy on board becomes low-grade heat that requires ultra-large infrared heat sinks, which are heavy, vulnerable, and expensive to put into orbit where they are not always accessible. The nuclear reactor structures built using these materials will allow new applications on Earth, underwater, air, and in remote locations such as in space or Earth orbit, for strategic applications, or for solar system colonization used on another planet's surface.
Decline in Club Cell Secretory Proteins, Exosomes Induction and Immune Responses to Lung Self-antigens, Kα1 Tubulin and Collagen V, Leading to Chronic Rejection After Human Lung Transplantation

Background Chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD), is a major hurdle for long-term lung allograft survival after lung transplant and roughly 50% of lung transplant recipients (LTxRs) develop CLAD within 5 years. The mechanisms of CLAD development remain unknown. Donor-specific immune responses to HLA and lung self-antigens (SAgs) are vital to the pathogenesis of CLAD. Reduction in Club cell secretory protein (CCSP) has been reported in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid samples from LTxRs with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS). CCSP levels in BAL fluid and development of antibodies to lung SAgs in plasma were determined by ELISA. Cytokines in BAL fluid were analyzed by 30-plex Luminex panel. Exosomes from BAL fluid or plasma were analyzed for SAgs, natural killer (NK) cells markers, and cytotoxic molecules. Results We demonstrate that LTxRs with BOS have lower CCSP levels up to 9 months before BOS diagnosis. LTxRs with antibodies to SAgs 1-year posttransplant also developed DSA (43%) and had lower CCSP. BOS with lower CCSP also induced Interleukin-8 and reduced vascular endothelial growth factor. Exosomes from BOS contained increased SAgs, NK cells markers, and cytotoxic molecules. Conclusions We conclude lower CCSP leads to inflammation, pro-inflammatory cytokine production, immune responses to HLA and SAgs, and induction of exosomes. For the first time, we demonstrate that CCSP loss results in exosome release from NK cells capable of stimulating innate and adaptive immunity posttransplant. This increases the risk of BOS, suggesting a role of NK cell exosomes in CLAD development.
MRpredT: Using Text Mining for Metamorphic Relation Prediction

Metamorphic relations (MRs) are an essential component of metamorphic testing (MT) that highly affects its fault detection effectiveness. MRs are usually identified with the help of a domain expert, which is a labor-intensive task. In this work, we explore the feasibility of a text classification-based machine learning approach to predict MRs using their program documentation as the sole input. We compare our method to our previously developed graph kernelbased machine learning approach and demonstrate that textual features extracted from program documentation are highly effective for predicting metamorphic relations for matrix calculation programs.
Client Based Access Layer QoS Provisioning in Beyond 5G IoT Networks

Modern end-devices have an ever-increasing battery and processing power, a better view of the access layer, and a better understanding of the application and device-specific requirements. With the amount of expected increase in the number of nodes and data traffic in Beyond 5G networks, ensuring Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees would become very challenging. IoT networks are made up of heterogeneous IoT devices, where each device might have very different QoS requirements. The QoS parameters for the access network might also differ from the core network. This paper proposes a client-based optimal access device selection mechanism for QoS provisioning in heterogeneous IoT networks, while also reducing the load on network devices. Network devices are still responsible for QoS provisioning in the core network. Simulation-based experimental results for indoor hybrid Light Fidelity (LiFi) and Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) networks show that our proposed access point selection technique outperforms current commonly used access point selection strategies.
Eosinophils in Eosinophilic Esophagitis: The Road to Fibrostenosis is Paved With Good Intentions.

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an antigen-driven disease associated with epithelial barrier dysfunction and chronic type 2 inflammation. Eosinophils are the defining feature of EoE histopathology but relatively little is known about their role in disease onset and progression. Classically defined as destructive, end-stage effector cells, eosinophils (a resident leukocyte in most of the GI tract) are increasingly understood to play roles in local immunity, tissue homeostasis, remodeling, and repair. Indeed, asymptomatic esophageal eosinophilia is observed in IgE-mediated food allergy. Interestingly, EoE is a potential complication of oral immunotherapy (OIT) for food allergy. However, we recently found that patients with peanut allergy may have asymptomatic esophageal eosinophilia at baseline and that peanut OIT induces transient esophageal eosinophilia in most subjects. This is seemingly at odds with multiple studies which have shown that EoE disease severity correlates with tissue eosinophilia. Herein, we review the potential role of eosinophils in EoE at different stages of disease pathogenesis. Based on current literature we suggest the following: (1) eosinophils are recruited to the esophagus as a homeostatic response to epithelial barrier disruption; (2) eosinophils mediate barrier-protective activities including local antibody production, mucus production and epithelial turnover; and (3) when type 2 inflammation persists, eosinophils promote fibrosis.
An Analytical Framework for Understanding Persistent Scatterer Incidence in INSAR Imagery with Bandwidth and Wavelength

With the increasing availability of spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) has become a prominent technique to study geophysical phenomena. However, its application can be limited in natural terrain due to rapid changes in the surface known as decorrelation. Persistent scatterers (PS) are stable elements that can be exploited in InSAR imagery to allow fine deformation mapping of the Earth's surface even in areas that are highly decorrelated. Despite the widespread use of PS techniques, little research has been dedicated to studying the relationship in between key system parameters and observed PS statistics. Such knowledge is critical in creating effective detection algorithms and informing design choices for satellite missions. Here, we present an analytical expression for the probability density function (PDF) of PS density with respect to system wavelength and bandwidth. This equation could be directly implemented in traditional detection algorithms for PS detection. We offer comparisons with real data, describing how the model could be improved. Further work will extend this expression to the probability of PS incidence and examine performance over different types of terrain.
ViroMatch: A Computational Pipeline for the Detection of Viral Sequences from Complex Metagenomic Data.

ABSTRACT ViroMatch is an automated pipeline that takes metagenomic sequencing reads as input and performs iterative nucleotide and translated nucleotide mapping to identify viral sequences. We provide a Docker image for ViroMatch, so that users will not have to install dependencies.
Brain injury in preterm infants with surgical necrotizing enterocolitis: clinical and bowel pathological correlates.

The objective of this study was to determine the risk factors and outcomes of white matter brain injury (WMBI) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at term-equivalent age in infants with surgical necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). This retrospective study compared clinical/pathological information between infants with and those without WMBI. Out of 69 infants with surgical NEC, 17 (24.6%) had mild WMBI, 13 (18.8%) had moderate WMBI, and six (8.7%) had severe WMBI on the brain MRI. Several clinical factors (gestational age, more red blood cell (RBC) transfusions before NEC onset, pneumoperitoneum, earlier NEC onset age, postoperative ileus, acute kidney injury (AKI) by serum creatinine, postnatal steroids, hospital stay) and histopathological findings (necrosis, hemorrhage) had univariate associations with WMBI. Associations with RBC transfusion (odds ratio (OR) 23.6 [95% confidence interval (CI): 4.73–117.97]; p = 0.0001), age at NEC onset (OR 0.30 [95%CI: 0.11–0.84]; p = 0.021), necrosis (OR 0.10 [95%CI: 0.01–0.90]; p = 0.040), and bowel hemorrhage (OR 7.79 [95%CI: 2.19–27.72]; p = 0.002) persisted in multivariable association with grade 3–4 WMBI. The infants with WMBI had lower mean motor, cognitive, language scores, and higher ophthalmic morbidity at 2 years of age. The WMBI was most likely associated with earlier NEC onset, higher RBC transfusions, and less necrosis and greater hemorrhage lesions on intestinal pathology in preterm infants with surgical NEC.
Predictors of clinical outcomes in patients undergoing curative treatment for esophageal or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

e16067Background: Management of locally advanced esophageal and gastroesophageal junction (E/GEJ) adenocarcinoma is typically managed with neoadjuvant treatment followed by surgery. Clinical outcom...
Estimation of PV Location in Distribution Systems based on Voltage Sensitivities

This paper describes an efficient method to determine the location of solar PV systems in distribution circuits, based on voltage magnitude measurement streams. The method leverages the impact of solar injection variations on the circuit voltages. The estimation model enables recovering the most likely location of PV system based on the distribution system model and voltage magnitude measurements. The method is tested for the cases of 3-phase and 1-phase PV systems. A metric for the goodness of the estimation methods is proposed. Simulations on the IEEE 13-bus radial distribution feeder demonstrate the ability of the method to provide consistent estimation of PV locations.