cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transmission Electron Microscopy Observation of Corrosion Behaviors of Platinized Carbon Blacks under Thermal and Electrochemical Conditions

Carbon blacks such as Vulcan XC-72 are widely used to support platinum (Pt) or Pt alloy catalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Despite their widespread use, carbon blacks are susceptible to corrosion during fuel cell operations. In this work, the corrosion behaviors of platinized Vulcan XC-72 nanoparticles under thermal and electrochemical conditions were monitored by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thermal corrosion experiment was carried out in a gas-cell TEM, which allows for a direct observation of the thermal oxidation behavior of the nanoparticles. The electrochemical corrosion experiment was performed outside of the TEM by loading the nanoparticles on a TEM grid and then electrochemically corroding them step by step followed by taking TEM images from exactly the same nanoparticles after each step. This work revealed four types of structural changes: (i) total removal of structurally weak aggregates, (ii) breakdown of aggregates via neck-breaking, (iii) center-hollowed primary particles caused by an inside-out corrosion starting from the center to outer region, and (iv) gradual decrease in the size of primary particles caused by a uniform removal of material from the surface. These structural changes took place in sequence or simultaneously depending on the competition of carbon corrosion dynamical processes. Themore » results obtained from this work provide insight on carbon corrosion and its effects on fuel cells' long-term performance and durability.« less
Unifying Vertical and Nonvertical Evolution: A Stochastic ARG-based Framework

Evolutionary biologists have introduced numerous statistical approaches to explore nonvertical evolution, such as horizontal gene transfer, recombination, and genomic reassortment, through collections of Markov-dependent gene trees. These tree collections allow for inference of nonvertical evolution, but only indirectly, making findings difficult to interpret and models difficult to generalize. An alternative approach to explore nonvertical evolution relies on phylogenetic networks. These networks provide a framework to model nonvertical evolution but leave unanswered questions such as the statistical significance of specific nonvertical events. In this paper, we begin to correct the shortcomings of both approaches by introducing the “stochastic model for reassortment and transfer events” (SMARTIE) drawing upon ancestral recombination graphs (ARGs). ARGs are directed graphs that allow for formal probabilistic inference on vertical speciation events and nonvertical evolutionary events. We apply SMARTIE to phylogenetic data. Because of this, we can typically infer a single most probable ARG, avoiding coarse population dynamic summary statistics. In addition, a focus on phylogenetic data suggests novel probability distributions on ARGs. To make inference with our model, we develop a reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo sampler to approximate the posterior distribution of SMARTIE. Using the BEAST phylogenetic software as a foundation, the sampler employs a parallel computing approach that allows for inference on large-scale data sets. To demonstrate SMARTIE, we explore 2 separate phylogenetic applications, one involving pathogenic Leptospirochete and the other Saccharomyces.
Diaspora activism in a non-traditional country of destination: the case of Filipinos in the Netherlands

ABSTRACTDiasporas have played important roles in democratization in their homelands. But how does diaspora mobilization occur when the country of settlement has a small and isolated ethnic community, the host and homeland governments have weak relations, and the conflict is invisible in the geographies of power? Using case study research, I analyse how solidarity groups in the Netherlands facilitated the emergence and growth of diaspora mobilization for democracy in the Philippines during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. My findings show that in cases where exiles and migrants lack pre-existing economic, political and social ties in the host society, solidarity groups can affect the political opportunity structure in the host country, permitting the promotion of certain claims and demands in the public sphere. Furthermore, diaspora mobilization can develop within the formal organizations or associational networks of solidarity groups.
Rheology of unsaturated polyester resins. I. Effects of filler and low‐profile additive on the rheological behavior of unsaturated polyester resin

Measurements were taken of the bulk rheological properties of concentrated suspensions of particulates in unsaturated polyester resins, using a cone-and-plate rheometer. The particulates used were clay, calcium carbonate, and milled glass fiber. With clay and milled glass fibers, shear-thinning behavior of suspensions was observed at low shear rates or low shear stresses as the concentration of particulates was increased, whereas concentrated suspensions of calcium carbonate exhibited Newtonian behavior over the range of shear stresses or shear rates investigated. The cone-and-plate rheometer was also used for measurements of the bulk rheological properties of various mixtures of polyester resin and low-profile additives. For low-profile additives, solutions, in styrene, of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were used. It was found that the bulk viscosities of all mixtures of polyester resin and PVAc solution lie between those of the individual components, whereas the bulk viscosities of some mixtures of polyester resin and PMMA solution go through a minimum and a maximum, depending on the composition of the mixture. While all mixtures of polyester resin and PVAc solution exhibited negligible normal stress, some mixtures of polyester resin and PMMA solution exhibited noticeable normal stresses. It should be mentioned that polyester resin follows Newtonian behavior. It turned out that all mixtures of polyester resin and PVAc solution exhibited clear, homogeneous solutions, whereas mixtures of polyester resin and PMMA solution exhibited optical heterogeneity, i.e., turbidity. When polyethylene powders were used as low-profile additives, suspensions of polyester resin and polyethylene powders exhibited negative values of normal stress as the concentrations of suspension reached a critical value. When both filler and low-profile additive were put together in polyester resin, the rheological behavior became quite complex, indicating that some interactions exist between the filler and the low-profile additive.
New clues to protein localization in neurons

The direction of information flow in individual neurons, and hence in neural networks, depends upon the spatial segregation of functions such as signal transduction, impulse conduction and transmitter release. These functions are localized in cytoplasmic compartments specific to nerve cells, such as dendrites, cell body and axon. Thus, understanding the mechanism of cytoplasmic compartmentation and functional localization in neurons presents a fundamental problem in neurobiology that extends into the area of basic cell biology as well. The approach to this problem involves first identifying specific proteins that are restricted to different cytoplasmic domains, and then explaining how they got there. Recent progress in the first part of this task has yielded some insights into the second.
Species Diversity of Microbial Communities in a Northern Temperate Humic Lake

Species richness and species diversity of bacterioplankton, phytoplankton and protoplankton were examined in Crystal Bog, a humic lake in northern Wisconsin, as part of an NSF sponsored Microbial Observatory Program. Crystal Bog is part of the North Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research site. Automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) was used to assess bacterial diversity. Phytoplankton and protoplankton were enumerated in a settling chamber with an inverted microscope. Four distinct phases in the ice-free season of the bog can be recognized based on microbial populations. The first phase extends from ice-out until about the first week of April. During this phase three species of dinoflagellates come to dominate the phytoplankton, with Glenodinium quadridens representing 60% of total phytoplankton biovolume. By mid-April the spring dinoflagellate blooms collapse. The second phase is a period of instability as a series of species dominates the phytoplankton. In mid-July dinoflagellates again dominate the third phase, and Peridinium limbatum alone represents 90% of the bog phytoplankton. The fourth phase is a stable period as P. limbatum slowly declines in late summer and fall. A strong correlation was found between bacterial and phytoplankton diversity (Shannon–Weaver Index) in this bog, suggesting the two microbial communities are linked. The protoplankton, however, were relatively uniform throughout the ice-free period. The ice-covered period may be treated as a fifth phase. When snow accumulates over the ice-covered bog, light penetration is blocked and photosynthesis shut off. Heterotrophic protozoa assume dominance in the plankton.
Monomeric Expression of Bovine β2-Integrin Subunits Reveals Their Role in Mannheimia haemolytica Leukotoxin-Induced Biological Effects

The ruminant-specific leukotoxin (Lkt) of Mannheimia haemolytica is the key virulence factor contributing to the pathogenesis of lung injury in bovine pneumonic pasteurellosis. Previous studies by us and others indicate that M. haemolytica Lkt binds to CD18, the β subunit of bovine β2-integrins on leukocytes, and that the species specificity of Lkt-induced effects is resident in the β subunit CD18 and not in the α subunit CD11. However, Lkt also binds to the CD11a subunit of LFA-1. Furthermore, antibodies specific for CD18 or CD11a inhibit signaling events leading to elevation of intracellular [Ca2+], tyrosine phosphorylation of the cytosolic domain of CD18, and cytolysis of bovine leukocytes. These observations underscore the need for further investigation to identify the precise subunit of bovine LFA-1 utilized by M. haemolytica Lkt as the functional receptor. For this purpose, monomeric bovine CD18 and CD11a and heterodimeric LFA-1 were expressed in the HEK-293 cell line by transfection, and the resulting transfectants were tested for susceptibility to Lkt-induced effects. All three transfectants effectively bound Lkt. However, Lkt-induced cytolysis was observed only with transfectants expressing monomeric bovine CD18 or LFA-1. Furthermore, intracellular [Ca2+] elevation following exposure to Lkt, which is a marker for postbinding signaling leading to cellular activation, was seen only with transfectants expressing monomeric bovine CD18 or LFA-1. These results clearly indicate that the bovine CD18 subunit of β2-integrins is the functional receptor for M. haemolytica Lkt.
Modeling the neutron yield of a therapeutic thermal neutron source driven with a repetitively pulsed electron linac

Summary form only given. Hampering the development of the medical application of thermal neutrons is the lack of a compact, low cost, high-flux thermal neutron generator. Presently, the only sources of high-flux thermal neutron beams are nuclear research reactors. These facilities are few in number and often lack the clinical environment necessary for medical research. For the therapeutic application of thermal neutrons to become a viable treatment modality, clinically deployable neutron generators need to be developed and tested. A thermal neutron generator driven by a repetitively pulsed electron linac would overcome these difficulties by being compact and relatively low cost. These devices have a long history in hospitals, such systems being found in virtually every major oncology department. Furthermore, the possibility exists for the conversion of these machines into neutron generators on either a full or part-time basis. The repetitively pulsed electron linac driven thermal neutron generator is based on the photonuclear dissociation of deuterium. Deuterium has a very low photonuclear threshold (2.225 MeV) and is available in a very convenient form, that of heavy water, which is also an excellent neutron moderator. Electrons of moderate energy (5 to 10 MeV) from the electron linac are directed onto a high Z target, generating bremsstrahlung. Very large photon fluxes can be generated in this manner. These photons impinge on the photoneutron target where the neutron generation takes place. The neutrons are subsequently moderated, filtered, and directed to the patient position through a beam port. This paper discusses the modeling of the neutron yield and neutron spectra within the photoneutron target. The Monte Carlo for N-Particle (MCNP) transport code is used for modeling the X-ray converter and the neutron generation within the photoneutron target. Current results are discussed.
Leveraging Correlations between Capacity and Available Bandwidth to Scale Network Monitoring

Recently, there has been a tremendous growth in the number of installed distributed computing platforms such as those for content distribution networks, cloud computing infrastructures, and distributed data centers. Such distributed platforms need a scalable end-to-end (e2e) network monitoring component to provide Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees to the services and improve the overall performance. An important challenge for a network monitoring infrastructure is the periodicity of the measurements as this aspect trades off the monitoring overheads with staleness of the results. In the Network Genome project, we explore the relationships between different e2e network metrics with the aim of leveraging such relationships for reducing monitoring costs while maintaining measurement accuracy. We perform our analysis using long range network measurements from PlanetLab, where we have been collecting e2e network data (route, number of hops, capacity bandwidth and available bandwidth) as part of the S3 system since January 2006. In this paper, we focus on the correlation between the Capacity and Available Bandwidth metrics between host pairs in the PlanetLab testbed. Our analysis shows that the ranking of hosts with respect to their Capacity to/from a set of nodes is a good indicator of the ranking of hosts with respect to their Available Bandwidth to/from the same set of nodes.
Parental reporting of response to oral cannabis extracts for treatment of refractory epilepsy.

Abstract Objective Oral cannabis extracts (OCEs) have been used in the treatment of epilepsy; however, no studies demonstrate clear efficacy. We report on a cohort of pediatric patients with epilepsy who were given OCE and followed in a single tertiary epilepsy center. Methods A retrospective chart review of children and adolescents who were given OCE for treatment of their epilepsy was performed. Results Seventy-five patients were identified of which 57% reported any improvement in seizure control and 33% reported a > 50% reduction in seizures (responders). If the family had moved to CO for OCE treatment, the responder rate was 47% vs. 22% for children who already were in CO. The responder rate varied based on epilepsy syndrome: Dravet 23%, Doose 0%, and Lennox–Gastaut syndrome (LGS) 88.9%. The background EEG of the 8 responders where EEG data were available was not improved. Additional benefits reported included: improved behavior/alertness (33%), improved language (10%), and improved motor skills (10%). Adverse events (AEs) occurred in 44% of patients including increased seizures (13%) and somnolence/fatigue (12%). Rare adverse events included developmental regression, abnormal movements, status epilepticus requiring intubation, and death. Significance Our retrospective study of OCE use in pediatric patients with epilepsy demonstrates that some families reported patient improvement with treatment; however, we also found a variety of challenges and possible confounding factors in studying OCE retrospectively in an open-labeled fashion. We strongly support the need for controlled, blinded studies to evaluate the efficacy and safety of OCE for treatment of pediatric epilepsies using accurate seizure counts, formal neurocognitive assessments, as well as EEG as a biomarker. This study provides Class III evidence that OCE is well tolerated by children and adolescents with epilepsy.
Spectrum scheduling and brokering based on QoS demands of competing WISPs

During the last years, several wireless Internet service providers (WISPs) install base stations to public areas in order to offer Internet feed or voice services to users and subscribers. These base stations use licensed-exempt spectrum, and limited regulations apply during their deployment. Thus, the providers offering wireless services in overlapping geographical areas need interference-free, access resolution mechanisms to reserve and use wireless resources. Moreover, to offer guaranteed level of services to end users, WISPs need to cooperate in terms of quality of service (QoS) scheduling. Additionally, each WISP might apply diverse criteria to charge the offered services. These issues are addressed here, and a distributed medium access control scheme, called distributed QoS based dynamic channel reservation (D-QDCR), is proposed. D-QDCR allows base stations of different wireless providers to compete and reserve a carrier, based on data volumes or QoS demands, to distribute the allocated carrier, as well as time, to the associated wireless terminals and to charge the offered services accordingly
New imidazoisoquinoline ladder polymers

In previous studies on poly{(7-oxo-7, 10H-benz[de]imidazo[4′,5′:5,6]-benzimidazo-[2,1-a]isoquinoline-3,4:10,11-tetrayl)-10-carbonyl} it was observed that the polymer exhibits very unusual film-forming properties. The ladder polymer forms supermolecular aggregates in solution which translates to a high degree of interchain packing in the bulk. New ladder imidazoisoquinoline polymers have been prepared in an effort to relate the variance of molecular structure to the aggregation behavior of this class of polymers. The polymers were prepared from the solution polycondensation of 1,4,5,8-naphthalene tetracarboxylic acid or dianhydride with 1,2,5,6-tetraaminonaphthalene, 2,3,7,8-tetraaminophenazine and 2,3,7,8-tetraaminodibenzofuran. It was found that the extent of interchain packing in the bulk is dependent to a large degree on the molecular geometry of the polymer backbone.
On the existence of a strategy to maintain a moving target within the sensing range of an observer reacting with delay

This paper deals with the problem of computing the motions of a robot observer in order to maintain visibility of a moving target. The target moves unpredictably, and the distribution of obstacles in the workspace is known in advance. Our algorithm computes a motion strategy based on partitioning the configuration space and the workspace in non-critical regions separated by critical curves. In this work, the existence of a solution for a given polygon and delay are determined.
Empowering Cross-Domain Internet Media with Real-Time Topic Learning from Social Streams

This paper aims to connect social media from disparate sources on the Internet by building a common topic space in-between, using which cross domain media recommendations can be realized on the web. The topic space is built and updated in real time by extending the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model to cater to streaming online data. Our topical model, named Online Streaming LDA (OSLDA), is able to extract, learn, populate, and update the topic space in real time, scaling with streaming tweets. Based on the proposed topic space learned in real time, we present media recommendation applications that cannot be achieved by conventional media analysis techniques: 1) tweet enrichment by recommending related videos, and 2) popular video recommendation for featuring socially trending topical videos. We conduct experiments over a collection of 3.6 million tweets and 1.2 million click-through data from a video search engine. Our results show that the learned topic model plays a natural role connecting cross-domain social media, leading to a better user experience consuming social media.
Stopping to Squell the Rhosus: Bringing Science Vocabulary to Life

AbstractA research study conducted in an urban district middle school setting applies cognitive science principles to science vocabulary. Within the context of a personal story told by the lead investigator, the results of the study are shared and suggest that more active, engaging strategies with complex core curriculum may improve retention and comprehension.
Near-Real-Time Double-Difference Event Location Using Long-Term Seismic Archives, with Application to Northern California

We present a real-time procedure that uses cross-correlation and double- difference methods to rapidly relocate new seismic events with high precision relative to past events with accurately known locations. Waveforms of new events are auto- matically cross correlated with those archived for nearby past events to measure accu- rate differential phase arrival times. These data, together with delay times computed from arrival time picks, are subsequently inverted for the vector connecting the new event to its neighboring events using the double-difference algorithm. The new seis- mic monitoring technique is applied to earthquakes recorded in northern California, using near-real-time data feeds from the Northern California Seismic Network (NCSN) and the Northern California Earthquake Data Center, and a locally stored copy of the NCSN seismic archive. New events are automatically relocated in near-real time (tens of seconds) relative to a high-resolution double-difference earthquake catalog for northern California. Back testing using past events across northern California indi- cates that the real-time solutions are on average within 0.08 km laterally and 0.24 km vertically of the double-difference catalog locations. We show that the precision with which new events are located using this technique will improve with time, helped by the continued increase in density of recorded earthquakes and growth of the digital seismic archives. Real-time double-difference location allows for monitoring spatio- temporal changes in seismogenic properties of active faults with unprecedented res- olution and therefore has considerable social and economic impact in the immediate evaluation and mitigation of seismic hazards.
Controls on Nitrogen Loss Processes in Chesapeake Bay Sediments

The flux of fixed nitrogen into the marine environment is increasing as a direct result of anthropogenic nitrogen loading, but the controls on the mechanisms responsible for the removal of this increased supply are not well constrained. The fate of fixed nitrogen via mineralization and nitrogen loss processes was investigated by simulating a settling event of organic matter (OM) in mesocosms containing Chesapeake Bay sediments. Microorganisms rapidly transformed the OM during the course of a seven week incubation ultimately leading to nitrogen loss via denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox). The microbial community responded quickly to the OM amendment suggesting that estuarine sediments can buffer the natural system against sudden injections of organic material. Two different levels of organic matter amendment resulted in different magnitudes of ammonium and nitrite accumulation during the incubation, but both treatments exhibited the same overall sequence of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) accumulation and removal. An inverse least-squares analysis coupled to a Michaelis-Menten prognostic model was conducted to estimate rates of nitrogen transformations from the measured DIN concentrations. Whereas the rates were higher at higher OM, the percentage of nitrogen lost via anammox was constant at 44.3 ± 0.3%. The stoichiometry of organic matter and the allochthonous supply of ammonium determined the relative contribution of anammox and denitrification to overall nitrogen loss. Further, in situ thermodynamics based on measured concentrations suggested that the energy favorability of denitrification and anammox plays a role in determining the timing of these processes as OM remineralization progresses.
Precomputation Methods for Hash-Based Signatures on Energy-Harvesting Platforms

Energy-harvesting techniques can be combined with wireless embedded sensors to obtain battery-free platforms with an extended lifetime. Although energy-harvesting offers a continuous supply of energy, the delivery rate is typically limited to a few Joules per day. This is a severe constraint to the achievable computing throughput on the embedded sensor node, and to the achievable latency obtained from applications running on those nodes. In this paper, we address these constraints with precomputation. The idea is to reduce the amount of computations required in response to application inputs, by partitioning the algorithm in an offline part, computed before the inputs are available, and an online part, computed in response to the actual input. We show that this technique works well on hash-based cryptographic signatures, which have a complex key generation for each new message that requires a signature. By precomputing the key-material, and by storing it as run-time coupons in non-volatile memory, there is a drastic reduction of the run-time energy needs for a signature, and a drastic reduction of the run-time latency to generate it. For a Winternitz hash-based scheme at 84-bit quantum security level on a MSP430 microcontroller, we measured a run-time energy reduction of 11.9 $\times$ and a run-time latency reduction of 23.5 $\times$ .
Map Background and Form Separation

Our goal is the extraction of semantic content from raster map images which may then be exploited in a variety of ways; e.g., the analysis of aerial imagery. The major map features that we want to extract include: roads and road intersections, texture, text, and miscellaneous symbols. Where appropriate these may be vectorized, and the image coordinates may be recorded as well. Meta-data may be provided including the type of map (e.g., USGS), any specific color encoding of features (e.g., USGS maps may use from 6 to 13 specific colors), geo-spatial information, and names of features may be known and sought in the image (e.g., rivers, lakes, roads, towns, etc.).
Development.com: Using ICTs to Escape Poverty

A potato grower in Honduras turns on his mobile phone and sees a text message saying that the price of potatoes has gone up in the Tegucigalpa market. He has been receiving price information twice a week for the last two months, and now sees that the prices he has negotiated with the wholesaler have slowly been improving. As a small producer, he used to sell his products directly from his farm using the prices in his local area as his only benchmark. Many times, these prices were lower than actual market prices.
Aerial cameras, filters, and films

The visible wavelengths comprise the most utilized portion of the electromagnetic spectrum for remote sensing purposes. The reasons for this are several. First, the basic detection and recording device of the visible wavelengths, the aerial camera, has been available for over a century. The first aerial photos, from captive ballons, were acquired during the 1850’s. Second, the spatial resolution of aerial photos (that is, the smallest objects clearly visible) tends to be considerably higher than that of nonphotographic systems, or at least of those systems available to the nonmilitary community. Third, the photos acquired by aerial cameras portray the earth’s surface in a manner comparable to that perceived by the human eye. As a result, individuals can be trained quickly and easily to read and interpret aerial photos. And fourth, aerial camera systems tend to be less expensive to employ than nonphotographic systems. Thus, as Colwell has stated, ‘Photos have been and will continue to be the basic remote sensing records; other remote sensing records will merely supplement them’ [3].
Management and prognosis of ovarian yolk sac tumors; an analysis of the National Cancer Data Base

Abstract Objective To evaluate the clinico-pathological characteristics, management and prognosis of women diagnosed with ovarian yolk sac tumors (OYSTs). Methods The U.S National Cancer Data Base was queried for women diagnosed with OYST between 2004 and 2014. Overall survival (OS) was calculated following generation of Kaplan-Meir curves. Univariate analysis was performed with the log-rank test. A Cox model was constructed to determine independent predictors of mortality. Results A total of 561 women were identified with a median age of 23 years. The majority (58.5%) had early stage (I–II), while 29.6% and 11.9% had stage III and IV disease respectively. Five-year OS for women with stage I, II, III and IV disease were 94.8%, 97.1%, 70.9% and 51.6% respectively, p Conclusions Women with OYST commonly present with early stage disease. Administration of adjuvant chemotherapy, early stage and younger age are associated with superior outcomes.
Cytokine Concentrations Measured by Multiplex Assays in Canine Peripheral Blood Samples

Cytokines are known to play important roles in a wide range of pathologic conditions spanning all organ systems in every species studied. As our knowledge of the physiology of individual cytokines ...
The Lover and the Lena: Propertius 4.5

In Propertius 4.5 the lena (‘procuress’) Acanthis gives advice to nostra arnica (‘my girlfriend’, 63), almost certainly Cynthia, to cultivate rich lovers and avoid the poet who offers only verses. For Georg Luck the purpose of Propertius' ‘caricature’ of Acanthis is a moralizing condemnation of Rome's decadent demi-monde. According to Judith Hallett, ‘Propertius and his ideals are vindicated’ when at the close of 4.5 ‘Acanthis dies penniless and unmourned.’ Gordon Williams remarks on the poem's ‘vividness and drama’, the active effort it demands of the reader, through ‘the gradual revelation of the lena's death and the realization that the poet is actually standing on her grave’. Margaret Hubbard rightly challenges the overly dramatic readings made by many scholars and insists that the point of the poem is not ‘a genre picture of a bawd’ but an expression of ‘the lover's reactions’, his fear of Acanthis' powers conveyed by the lines leading up to her speech (1-20) and his relishing of her death at the poem's close (63-78).
Exploring latent structures of Alzheimer's disease via structure learning

As a non-invasive brain imaging approach, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) acts an irreplaceable role when studying whole brain functional activities and dynamics. Large-scale and collaborative effort in collecting fMRI data, especially in neurology and psychiatry, offers a new source of statistical power to deepen the understanding of brain disease. However, due to the heterogeneous and dynamic nature of fMRI BOLD signals, we still lack a fundamental model to effectively identify and integrate the intrinsic functional characteristics at population level. Here we introduced a novel supervised structure learning method to explore latent structures of resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI) data that belongs to multiple groups. Using the dataset from Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) as a testbed, we successfully identified a "TREE" structure in both whole brain and ROI based analysis, which reflects a virtual "path" of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) progression as multiple stages.
A Two Population Threshold Model

We consider now a more complicated model involving two populations and an infection which is communicated between them. An example would be males and females as the populations and a venereal disease, or mosquito and man as the populations and malaria as the disease.
Y1 - Approximation: Application to Remote Sensing by Satellites

Abstract Y 1 -approximation is a theoretical model for Solar radiation transfer in a horizontally finite cloud. This model includes multiple scattering effects and provides an analytical solution of radiative transfer equation which significantly reduces the computational time as compared to currently available radiative transfer codes. There are significant differences between calculated radiation fields using the plane-parallel model and the model presented. Computed radiation fields using this model are presented.
Representations on Unigroups

If G is an ordered abelian group with a generating order unit u, the order interval G+ [0, u]:={p ∈ G|0 ≤ p ≤ u} can be given the structure of an effect algebra in a natural way. Conversely, most effect algebras that arise in practice are interval effect algebras, i.e., are isomorphic to effect algebras of the form G+ [0, u]. The pair (G, u) is called a unigroup iff every abelian group-valued measure on the interval effect-algebra G+ [0, u] lifts to a (necessarily, unique) group homomorphism on G. An interval effect algebra has, up to isomophism, a unique representation as the order interval of a unigroup. Thus, a great part of the theory of effect algebras (and thus, of algebraic quantum logic) can be recast as a chapter of the theory of ordered abelian groups. In particular, the study of group actions on interval effect algebras amounts to the study of representations of groups on unigroups.
Control of Distributed Parameter Systems1

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the control of distributed parameter systems. Recent developments in control theory have concentrated primarily on systems whose dynamic behavior can be adequately described by ordinary differential equations. One of the basic prerequisites for the analytical design of control systems is the establishment of an adequate mathematical model of the system to be controlled. The derivation of such a model generally requires considerable physical insight. The model should have the simplest possible form while preserving the dominant system dynamic characteristics. The output of a distributed parameter system may be in the form of a set of spatially-dependent time functions and/or a set of spatially-independent time functions. From the physical standpoint, it is convenient to classify the distributed parameter systems according to their spatial domain properties: (1) fixed-domain systems and (2) variable domain systems. For fixed-domain systems, the system state at any time can be generally specified by a set of functions defined on the spatial domain. For variable domain systems, additional variables specifying the instantaneous boundary position, velocity, etc. are usually necessary to specify the system state completely.
Bio-prosthetic Heart Valve Stress Analysis: Impacts of Leaflet Properties and Stent Tip Deflection

Bio-prosthetic heart valves (BHV) have complex geometry, and their normal function involves interactions between the leaflets and the supporting stent, thus, the alteration of tissue mechanical properties can have a confounding influence on the stress distribution throughout the valve. Recently, structural models have been proposed to capture the nonlinear, anisotropic mechanical properties of native and engineered tissues. This anisotropic behavior arises as a consequence of inherent structural heterogeneity present in tissue arising from regional variations in fiber orientation and density. In this study, we utilize a nonlinear fiber-based structural model to evaluate the impact of the leaflet properties on the stress distribution of a pericardial BHV. Valve deformations under 120 mmHg hydrostatic pressure are simulated with various perturbations of the tissue properties including the collagenous fiber orientation, as well as the fiber and matrix stiffness, in addition to perturbations of the stent elastic modulus. The maximum principal stress of the valve leaflets under each condition was normalized with respect to that of a 45 degree fiber orientation and the original un-perturbed material constants. The results indicated that the valve leaflet peak stress can be reduced, provided the proper manipulation of the structure and property of tissue constituents. These results can provide guidelines to engineer and design leaflet tissues to improve valve durability.
Ethical and counseling challenges in prenatal exome sequencing.

OBJECTIVE Ethical and counseling challenges are expected with the introduction of prenatal whole exome sequencing. In this study, we describe specific challenges identified through the UNC-Chapel Hill Prenatal Exome Sequencing Study. METHODS Participants were a subset of women participating in the fetal exome study, which has enrolled 73 mother-father-fetus trios in pregnancies diagnosed with structural anomalies and normal standard genetic testing results. In this descriptive study, cases were reviewed by members of the research team, including a bioethicist, to identify counseling challenges. Illustrative cases were chosen by group consensus. RESULTS Four illustrative cases were identified for further analysis. Challenges included need for adequate counseling and informed consent, challenges in prenatal variant interpretation, performing prenatal diagnosis in subsequent pregnancies, inability to identify a genetic etiology, and identifying parental secondary findings. CONCLUSION Our study illustrates several challenges identified in an ongoing prenatal exome study. While genomic medicine is a powerful tool for prenatal diagnosis, it is important that clinicians understand the ethical implications and parental perceptions of this testing modality.
The susceptibility of cochlear outer hair cells to cyclodextrin is not related to their electromotile activity.

Niemann-Pick Type C1 (NPC1) disease is a fatal neurovisceral disorder caused by dysfunction of NPC1 protein, which plays a role in intracellular cholesterol trafficking. The cholesterol-chelating agent, 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD), is currently undergoing clinical trials for treatment of this disease. Though promising in alleviating neurological symptoms, HPβCD causes irreversible hearing loss in NPC1 patients and outer hair cell (OHC) death in animal models. We recently found that HPβCD-induced OHC death can be significantly alleviated in a mouse model lacking prestin, an OHC-specific motor protein required for the high sensitivity and sharp frequency selectivity of mammalian hearing. Since cholesterol status is known to influence prestin’s electromotility, we examined how prestin contributes to HPβCD-induced OHC death in the disease context using the NPC1 knockout (KO) mouse model (NPC1-KO). We found normal expression and localization of prestin in NPC1-KO OHCs. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings revealed a significant depolarization of the voltage-operating point of prestin in NPC1-KO mice, suggesting reduced levels of cholesterol in the lateral membrane of OHCs that lack NPC1. OHC loss and elevated thresholds were found for high frequency regions in NPC1-KO mice, whose OHCs retained their sensitivity to HPβCD. To investigate whether prestin’s electromotile function contributes to HPβCD-induced OHC death, the prestin inhibitor salicylate was co-administered with HPβCD to WT and NPC1-KO mice. Neither oral nor intraperitoneal administration of salicylate mitigated HPβCD-induced OHC loss. To further determine the contribution of prestin’s electromotile function, a mouse model expressing a virtually nonelectromotile prestin protein (499-prestin) was subjected to HPβCD treatment. 499-prestin knockin mice showed no resistance to HPβCD-induced OHC loss. As 499-prestin maintains its ability to bind cholesterol, our data imply that HPβCD-induced OHC death is ascribed to the structural role of prestin in maintaining the OHC’s lateral membrane, rather than its motor function.
Relationship building and message planning: An exploration of media challenges and strategies used during school crises at the P-12 level

Abstract Schools at the P-12 level increasingly face crises related to school shootings, violence, and other tragedies. Understanding the communication challenges schools face is paramount to assisting schools with communication before, during, and after crisis events. The current study focuses on the challenges created by media interest in such crises and the strategies implemented to overcome these challenges and provide responsible information to stakeholders. Interviews conducted with 21 school crisis teams at the P-12 level revealed that sensationalism, seeking alternative routes to information, and framing were key challenges in working with the media. In light of these challenges, administrators focused on creating media plans, building relationships with the media, being accurate but guarded, and communicating reassurance and reunification. Implications are discussed for school districts nationally.
Outpatient acupuncture effects on patient self-reported symptoms in oncology care: A retrospective analysis of real-world data.

135Background: Increased access to complementary therapies such as acupuncture at academic medical centers has created new opportunities for management of cancer and cancer treatment related sympto...
PI3K Orchestrates T Follicular Helper Cell Differentiation in a Context Dependent Manner: Implications for Autoimmunity.

T follicular helper (Tfh) cells are a specialized population of CD4+ T cells that provide help to B cells for the formation and maintenance germinal centers, and the production of high affinity class-switched antibodies, long-lived plasma cells and memory B cells. As such, Tfh cells are essential for the generation of successful long-term humoral immunity and memory responses to vaccination and infection. Conversely, overproduction of Tfh cells has been associated with the generation of autoantibodies and autoimmunity. Data from gene-targeted mice, pharmacological inhibitors, as well as studies of human and mice expressing activating mutants have revealed that PI3K is a key regulator of Tfh cell differentiation, acting downstream of ICOS to facilitate inactivation of FOXO1, repression of Klf2 and induction of Bcl6. Nonetheless, here we show that after acute LCMV infection, WT and activated-PI3K mice (Pik3cdE1020K/+) show comparable ratios of Tfh:Th1 viral specific CD4+ T cells, despite higher polyclonal Tfh cells in Pik3cdE1020K/+ mice. Thus, the idea that PI3K activity primarily drives Tfh cell differentiation may be an oversimplification and PI3K-mediated pathways are likely to integrate multiple signals to promote distinct effector T cell lineages. The consequences of dysregulated Tfh cell generation will be discussed in the context of the human primary immunodeficiency “Activated PI3K-delta Syndrome” (APDS), also known as “p110 delta-activating mutation causing senescent T cells, lymphadenopathy and immunodeficiency” (PASLI). Overall, these data underscore a major role for PI3K signaling in the orchestration of T lymphocyte responses.
using photovoice to foster a student vision for natural spaces on a college campus in the Pacific Northwest United States

Undergraduate students face a host of stressors and may be particularly susceptible to encountering health-related challenges throughout college life. Seventy-two (N = 72) undergraduate students en...
Symmetry of Gating in Double-Gate MoS 2 FETs

In this article, we correlate various double-gate (DG) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) FET architectures with the contact resistance ( ${R}_{{\text {C}}}$ ) and performance. We show that the MoS2 DGFETs can achieve near-ideal subthreshold slope and threshold voltage modulation. We demonstrate how these DGFETs enable extraction of the gate-dependent contact resistance using only two-point probe (2PP) measurements. We show that when MoS2 is either only above or below source/drain (S/D) metal contacts, only one of the two gates can modulate the contact resistance through electrostatic doping, even when both gates overlap the contacts with the associated overlap capacitance. Finally, we fabricate and characterize a new MoS2 DGFET structure in which MoS2 is both above and below the S/D contacts, to enable both gates to modulate ${R}_{{\text {C}}}$ and the channel resistance ( ${R}_{{\text {CHANNEL}}}$ ). We show that both gates of the new DGFET can reduce ${R}_{\text {C}}$ leading to higher drive current and more symmetrical gating for design flexibility. This new architecture will be useful in applications of DGFETs in signal processing including mixing and low-noise amplification.
BURROWS AND ICHNOFABRIC PRODUCED BY CENTIPEDES: MODERN AND ANCIENT EXAMPLES

Centipedes extend to the Silurian yet have a relatively poor fossil record. Many species of extant centipedes are semi-fossorial to fossorial and contribute to soil processes, suggesting that their trace fossils should be common in paleosols. The goal of this project was to document the types of biogenic structures produced by two species of large, semi-fossorial centipedes, Hemiscolopendra marginata and Scolopendra polymorpha, to aid in the recognition of fossil centipede burrows. Ten specimens of each species were placed in large, sediment-filled terrariums and observed over periods of 14 days. The centipedes burrowed via intrusion, compression, and excavation, moving throughout the enclosure both near the surface and deep within the sediment. Open burrows produced by the centipedes were cast with plaster and the ichnofabric produced was observed through the enclosure walls. The centipedes primarily produced J-, U-, and Y-shaped burrows as well as complexes of linked burrows. The burrows were elliptical in cross section and possessed thin, intermittent, compressional linings. The centipede burrows were compared to burrows of other extant soil arthropods including millipedes, spiders, and scorpions as well as Pennsylvanian to Permian ichnofossils. The centipede burrows were distinct from those of other soil arthropods and many aspects of the ichnofossils were similar to those produced by the centipedes. Description of burrows produced by centipedes can aid in the interpretation of continental ichnofossils and improve our understanding of the composition of ancient soil ecosystems. This knowledge is especially important given the poor preservation potential of centipedes in the environments they inhabit.
Interfacial charge transfer enhancement via formation of binary molecular assemblies on electronically corrugated boron nitride

Using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) in conjunction with finite element simulation, we investigate the interfacial behaviors in single-component zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and hexadecafluorinated zinc phthalocyanine (F16ZnPc) molecular overlayers as well as their 1 : 1 mixed-phase superstructures on h-BN/Cu(111). We show that the formation of the binary molecular superstructure drastically increases the charge transfer between F16ZnPc molecules and the substrate, which is attributed to the greater electrostatic stability of the binary assembly compared to that of the pure phase. This study highlights the significant complication in the design of donor–acceptor molecular thin films as the presence of the substrate, even a weakly interacting one, such as h-BN/metal, can still perturb the intermolecular charge transfer and thereby the physical behaviors of the hybrid system via interfacial processes.
Smap RFI Change Detection

The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission, launched on January 31, 2015, has completed its primary 3-year mission and is currently in its extended mission. Although operation occurs within the protected frequency allocation of 1400-1427 MHz, the SMAP radiometer is impacted by radio frequency interference (RFI). The radiometer was designed to provide detection and filtering of RFI in order to meet error budget requirements. A time series algorithm was developed to monitor, detect and report the changing environment with the objective of detecting new RFI sources as well as existing persistent sources. The detection of sources are used in RFI reporting to NASA spectrum management with the hope that interfering sources will be turned off by the necessary administrations.
Retinoids Repress Human Cardiovascular Cell Calcification With Evidence for Distinct Selective Retinoid Modulator Effects.

Objective: Retinoic acid (RA) is a ligand for nuclear receptors that modulate gene transcription and cell differentiation. Whether RA controls ectopic calcification in humans is unknown. We tested ...