cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Agent Based Optimally Weighted Kalman Consensus Filter over a Lossy Network

We consider a distributed agent based state estimation problem where each agent has a local underdetermined observation space and is interested in a subset of states. At a particular time instant, each agent predicts its state and makes intermediate correction based on its local measurements. Information about the corrected state elements are then exchanged among neighboring (i.e., agents who share at least one state element) agents. Based on the final processing of the exchanged information, an agent based optimally weighted Kalman consensus Filter is formed in the light of well-established theory of distributed Kalman filtering. The optimal weighting of consensus is derived through Lyapunov function based stability analysis of corresponding estimation error. The effect of communication is also investigated by introducing random failures in the communication link among neighboring agents. The corresponding bounds on the degree of consensus and inter-agent link failure rate are also derived for stable implementation of the agent based dynamic estimation. The proposed filter is applied to a custom built 2- agent system to conform the desired optimal limit for the degree of consensus based information exchange both under perfect and lossy communication network.
Draft Genome Sequence of a Strictly Anaerobic Dichloromethane-Degrading Bacterium

ABSTRACT An anaerobic, dichloromethane-degrading bacterium affiliated with novel Peptococcaceae was maintained in a microbial consortium. The organism originated from pristine freshwater sediment collected from Rio Mameyes in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, in October 2009 (latitude 18°21′43.9″, longitude −65°46′8.4″). The draft genome sequence is 2.1 Mb and has a G+C content of 43.5%.
Egress and Regress: Pentecostal Precursors and Parallels in Northern Mozambique

ABSTRACTBased on fieldwork among the Makhuwa of northern Mozambique, this essay explores how non-Pentecostal models of transformation shape a people's manner of relating to Pentecostalism. Radical change has long been constitutive of Makhuwa history and subjectivity. Yet Makhuwa patterns of change, commonly conceived in terms of movement, entail regress as much as egress – circular mobilities that disrupt linear teleologies. State administrators and Pentecostal missionaries attempt to reform local inhabitants by, respectively, ‘sedentarising’ and ‘converting’ them. Deploying their historical proclivity towards mobility, those among whom I worked appear simultaneously eager to partake in resettlement schemes and reluctant to remain settled by them. I argue that their ambivalence towards Pentecostal churches and teachings, in particular, challenges two prevailing assumptions within anthropological studies of Christianity: that discontinuity is definitive, and that it is exceptional to Pentecostalism.
A Photopaiterned Glucose Responsive Hydrogel for Use in a Conductimetric Sensor

The glucose responsive hydrogels developed by Horbett et al. [1, 2] are potentially useful as materials for constructing glucose sensors. The construction of microsensors presents challenges in developing processes for preparing these gels that are compatible with semiconductor fabrication technology. We have lithographically patterned a pH-sensitive copolymer (poly-(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-dimethyl aminoethyl methacrylate) 90:10 (mole ratio) (HEMA/DMA) from a prepolymer solution of monomers, crosslinker, solvent, and a viscosity agent (p(HEMA)). Varying the spin speed and p(HEMA) concentration resulted in reproducible thicknesses between 5 and 25 μm. pH sensors produced by this method showed sensitivity ranging from 20 to 50%/pH and a response time (10%–90%) of 6.8 minutes. Sensitivity dropped by a factor of two over a 24 day testing period. The limited lifetime is thought to be due to loss of adhesion of the polymer to the substrate. Derivatizing glucose oxidase with a photoactivatible crosslinker allowed it to be covalently immobilized onto the surface of the gel layer in a spatially specific manner. After immobilization, GOX specific staining showed that enzyme activity was preserved, however the amount of enzyme immobilized was insufficient to create a working glucose sensor.
Niclosamide enhances abiraterone treatment via inhibition of androgen receptor variants in castration resistant prostate cancer

Considerable evidence from both clinical and experimental studies suggests that androgen receptor variants, particularly androgen receptor variant 7 (AR-V7), are critical in the induction of resistance to enzalutamide and abiraterone. In this study, we investigated the role of AR-V7 in the cross-resistance of enzalutamide and abiraterone and examined if inhibition of AR-V7 can improve abiraterone treatment response. We found that enzalutamide-resistant cells are cross-resistant to abiraterone, and that AR-V7 confers resistance to abiraterone. Knock down of AR-V7 by siRNA in abiraterone resistant CWR22Rv1 and C4-2B MDVR cells restored their sensitivity to abiraterone, indicating that AR-V7 is involved in abiraterone resistance. Abiraterone resistant prostate cancer cells generated by chronic treatment with abiraterone showed enhanced AR-V7 protein expression. Niclosamide, an FDA-approved antihelminthic drug that has been previously identified as a potent inhibitor of AR-V7, re-sensitizes resistant cells to abiraterone treatment in vitro and in vivo. In summary, this preclinical study suggests that overexpression of AR-V7 contributes to resistance to abiraterone, and supports the development of combination of abiraterone with niclosamide as a potential treatment for advanced castration resistant prostate cancer.
Pricing by Differences: A Retail Perspective

This paper describes pricing by differences. Pricing by differences is not radically different from present pricing theory, but several insights about pricing can be derived. Differential pricing, blind item pricing, backward pricing and the pricing of private brands are discussed. The limitations of differential pricing are offered.
Mental health needs and resources in Nepal

ABSTRACTThe present study advances scholarship on mental health needs and resources in Nepal by presenting the results of a qualitative research study conducted among mental health professionals in Kathmandu, Nepal. Questions centered on professionals’ perceptions of Nepal’s main mental health care needs, the greatest challenges faced by respondents in their work and the resources they most desire to address national mental health needs. Findings highlight the need for decreased social stigma and increased public awareness of mental health issues and treatment. Professional challenges include social stigma, lack of societal awareness regarding mental health issues and treatment and lack of professional support, with improved professional training (including increased knowledge and resources related to mental health care) expressed as one of the main desired resources. The implications of these results are discussed, along with study limitations and suggestions for future research.
Linearized Lambert’s Problem Solution

Lambert’s problem is the well-known problem to determine the orbit that allows an object to travel between two given position vectors in a given time of flight under Keplerian dynamics. One drawback of solving this problem is that it requires solving a transcendental equation, which involves commonly using an iterative method that can be undesirable for autonomous onboard applications. In this paper, we present a linearization to the solution of Lambert's problem using Lagrange parameters. It is shown that, around a wide variety of nominal transfer trajectories, high-accuracy solutions to the neighboring transfers can be rapidly determined using this linearized solution. Sensitivity studies are presented that show that errors in the terminal velocities are typically well below 1% for cases with 5% perturbations in the terminal positions and time of transfer. Unlike many similar solutions for the relative Lambert’s problem, the linearized results presented here do not suffer in general when the nominal tra...
A new kind of degree

This paper presents a case study of the English noun amount, a word that ostensibly relies on measurement in its semantics, yet stands apart from other quantizing nouns on the basis of its existential interpretation. John ate the amount of apples that Bill ate does not mean John and Bill ate the same apples, but rather that they each ate apples in the same quantity. Amount makes reference to abstract representations of measurement, that is, to degrees. Its existential interpretation evidences the fact that degrees contain information about the objects that instantiate them. Outside the domain of nominal measurement, the noun kind exhibits behavior strikingly similar to that of amount; both yield an existential interpretation. This observation motivates re-conceiving of degrees as nominalized quantity-uniform properties—the same sort of entity as kinds. Thus, the semantic machinery handling kinds also handles degrees: as nominalized properties, degrees are instantiated by objects that hold the corresponding property; when instantiated by real-world objects, degrees (and kinds) deliver the existential interpretation.
Predicting Law School Enrollment: The Strategic Use of Financial Aid to Craft a Class

In this study, we explore what factors predict student decisions to enroll at law schools and how the probability of enrollment varies across students with various profiles and conditions. To find the predictors of enrollment and differences in the probability of enrollment across groups, we employ a logistic regression model using the institutional data obtained from one of the top-ranked law schools in the nation. After estimating the logistic regression model, the probabilities of enrollment are calculated for students with specific profiles and conditions based on the coefficients generated by the logistic regression analysis. The findings reveal many factors that are associated with the probability of enrollment at this law school. Particularly, students with higher academic qualifications, underrepresented minority status, the most selective undergraduate school, STEM background, and previous applicant status have a lower probability of enrollment compared to their respective counterparts. Simulation analysis findings show that the increase in financial aid does not increase the probability of enrollment for URM students and that out-of-state and international students are more sensitive to financial aid increases than in-state students. Admissions and enrollment management offices at individual institutions could apply this exercise with their own data to understand who is more or less likely to enroll and how their students with various profiles respond differently to various financial aid offers and recruitment efforts. It is our hope that this article is used as an example to other law schools to leverage their institutional data to create enrollment models that will help make more effective admission decision making.
The role of a solutions salesperson: Reducing uncertainty and fostering adaptiveness

Abstract Suppliers in business-to-business markets increasingly are seeking growth by providing end-to-end solutions to customers. Customers, on their part, see solutions and accompanying performance-based vendor contracts as ways to assure themselves of performance outcomes they need. This article draws on extant literature in organizational buying behavior, industrial marketing and project marketing, as well as the distinctive nature of customer solutions, to delineate three overarching types of uncertainties among customers and suppliers: (1) need uncertainty, (2) process uncertainty and (3) outcome uncertainty. Each of these types of uncertainties is present across the four stages of a solution process (requirements definition, customization and integration, deployment, and post-deployment support). However, the nature of these uncertainties changes as a solution evolves from one stage to the next. Based on this, we delineate a solution salesperson's role as one of reducing specific uncertainties across the solution process by providing pertinent information to key stakeholders within the customer- and supplier organizations, and encouraging adaptive behavior of the parties involved. We discuss implications for practice, and suggest directions for further research.
Tracing the Signature Dynamics of Language Teacher Immunity: A Retrodictive Qualitative Modeling Study

This article describes a validation study using Retrodictive Qualitative Modeling, a framework for conducting research from a dynamic and situated perspective, to establish an empirical foundation for a new phenomenological construct--language teacher immunity. Focus groups (N = 44) conducted with second language (L2) practitioners and teacher educators and a cluster analysis of questionnaire data with a larger sample (N = 293) of K-12 language teachers were used to identify and corroborate typical archetypes across the spectrum of language teacher immunity outcomes. Serial in-depth interviews were then conducted with representative respondents from each archetype (N = 18) to trace developmental trajectories and investigate how these profiles manifested phenomenologically in teachers' motivated thought and instructional practices. Results indicate that teacher immunity is associated with practitioners' psychological, emotional, and cognitive functioning in the social setting of the L2 classroom. These findings contribute to the field's understanding of how language teachers sustain their adaptivity, openness to change, psychological well-being, and their sense of purpose and investment in students' learning. Thus, teacher immunity has the potential to bridge individual and situative concerns in second language teacher education and the psychology of language teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Risk Factors for Prolonged Postoperative Opioid Use After Spinal Fusion for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

BACKGROUND Opioids are commonly used after posterior spinal instrumented fusion (PSIF) for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Prescription opioids use can potentially lead to misuse, abuse, dependence, and overdose death. Prolonged opioid use has not been extensively studied in the postoperative AIS population. The purpose of this study is to identify risk factors associated with prolonged opioid use after PSIF for AIS. METHODS A large insurance database was queried for AIS patients undergoing PSIF. Patients with prolonged postoperative opioid use were defined as those receiving new prescriptions for an opioid medication >6 weeks following the date of surgery, up to 8 months postoperatively. Preoperative and intraoperative risk factors for prolonged opioid use were then examined, including the number of spinal levels fused, preoperative opioid prescriptions, demographic variables, pertinent comorbidities (anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism) and other preoperative prescriptions (anxiolytics, antidepressants, nonopioid analgesics, neuropathic medications, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medications). Each variable's independent risk for prolonged postoperative opioid use was examined utilizing a multivariable binomial regression analysis. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS A total of 511 patients were included in the study. Of this 50 patients (9.78%) were found to have prolonged opioid use following scoliosis surgery. Preoperative opioid use (odds ratio, 2.93; P<0.001) was the most significant predictor of prolonged postoperative opioid use. In addition, female sex, obesity, a preoperative diagnosis of anxiety and a preoperative prescription for a muscle relaxer were also significant positive risk factors for prolonged postoperative opioid use. Several factors were found to be protective against prolonged postoperative opioid use. Fewer total fusion levels, compared with ≥13 levels, had a significantly lower risk of prolonged opioid use. Preoperative anxiolytic and antidepressant use were also both negative predictors of prolonged opioid use. CONCLUSIONS Efforts at addressing preoperative opioid use, anxiety, obesity, and providing multimodal pain management strategies should be considered to reduce additional postoperative opioid prescriptions after PSIF for AIS. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level III-retrospective comparative study.
What’s in an MSW? Graduate education for public child welfare workers, intention, engagement, and work environment

ABSTRACTThis study employs a mixed methods analysis of exit survey data gathered from public child welfare employees at their completion of a Title IV-E funded MSW program, distinct because it was initiated during a period of major reform and permitted students to continue employment during their studies. Findings suggest that opportunities for growth and manageable levels of stress were associated with intentions to stay and engagement with the work, reflected in respondents’ positive perceptions of their roles in the work environment and their retrospective assessments of the impact of their social work education.
Influence of Thermal Sweep on Girder Stability during Construction

During construction, girder stability of precast, prestressed concrete bridge girders is adversely affected by fabrication imperfections. Consequently, limits on lateral sweep imperfection caused b...
Persistent Pain Quality as a Novel Approach to Assessing Risk for Disability in Community-Dwelling Elders With Chronic Pain.

Background This study aims to test whether persistent pain quality is associated with incident or worsening disability in four domains: mobility, activity of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) difficulty, and physical performance. Methods From the MOBILIZE Boston Study, a population-based cohort of adults aged ≥70 years, we studied participants with chronic pain who endorsed at least one pain quality descriptor (N = 398) and completed baseline and 18-month assessments. Pain quality was assessed using an adapted short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire with 20 pain quality descriptors in three categories: sensory, cognitive/affective, neuropathic. Persistence was defined as endorsing the same category at baseline and 18 months. Self-reported outcomes included mobility, ADL, and IADL difficulty. Physical performance was assessed using the short physical performance battery. Results After adjusting for baseline pain severity and other covariates, individuals with three persistent categories had a greater risk of developing new or worsening IADL difficulty relative to those with one persistent category (relative risk [RR] 2.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.34, 7.79). Similar results were observed for ADL difficulty (RR 5.83, 95% CI 1.32, 25.85), but no differences were noted in risk for mobility difficulty. There was no significant linear trend in physical performance over 18 months according to number of persistent categories (p =.68). Conclusion Elders with persistent pain quality experienced a higher risk of developing new or worsening IADL and ADL disability with each additional category but not mobility difficulty or poorer physical performance. Longitudinal assessment of pain quality could be useful in determining risk for global disability among elders with chronic pain.
The Analysis of One DNA Sequence

Before any analysis of a DNA sequence can take place it is first necessary to determine the actual sequence itself, at least as accurately as is reasonably possible. Unfortunately, technical considerations make it impossible to sequence very long pieces of DNA all at once. Instead, many overlapping small pieces are sequenced, each on the order of 500 bases. After this is done the problem arises of assembling these fragments into one long “contig.” One difficulty is that the locations of the fragments within the genome and with respect to each other are not generally known. However, if enough fragments are sequenced so that there will be many overlaps between them, the fragments can be matched up and assembled. This method is called “shotgun sequencing.”
Effects of an Interdisciplinary Program on Students’ Reasoning with Socioscientific Issues and Perceptions of Their Learning Experiences

Preparing students to take informed positions on complex problems through critical evaluation is a primary goal of university education (Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2007; Baxter Magolda, 1999) and an important aspect of scientific literacy (Sadler & Zeidler, 2009; Roberts, 2007). In approaching contemporary problems, the ability to understand and position oneself in interdisciplinary issues is essential (Mansilla & Duraising, 2007; Klein, 1990). This is especially true where the study of biology meets contemporary global problems. For example, to understand the nature and impacts of disease, it is essential to examine psychological and socioeconomic aspects as well as biology and pathology. These goals of university education are highly consistent with the framework of socioscientific issues (SSI), which seeks to integrate science concepts and their social significance, facilitate reasoning with complex problems, and promote content learning (Sadler, 2009; Zeidler, Sadler, Applebaum, & Callahan, 2009).
Degrowth and other quiescent futures: Pioneering proponents of an idler society

Abstract Degrowth—the reduction of energy and material throughput via shrinking total economic production and consumption in a socially sustainable way—would entail fewer working hours. However, work time reduction is not a sufficient condition for lower throughput because people may engage in environmentally harmful activities during expanded leisure. The purpose of this paper is to revisit the pessimistic and critical traditions to explicate unconventional utopian images of inactivity as a valuable feature of a better society. Pessimism makes a case for renouncing dissatisfaction-causing desires, an ethic that takes on a collective and futuristic form in Eduard von Hartmann and Emil Cioran. In the critical tradition, an indirect foundation of degrowth thinking, the central goal of the abolition of alienated labor is elevated to utopian heights in Theodor W. Adorno's brief portrayal of peace as humanity reconciled with nature in rest. These forecasts and hopes help envision what aspects of leisure may look like in post-growth society. For example, work time reduction policies should be paired with consumption-curbing policies, especially advertising limits. I warn against recuperation via “minimalist” commodities. Readers interested in degrowth and sustainability will benefit from contributions to discussions surrounding work time reduction, sustainable consumption, and post-growth imaginaries.
Outcomes of febrile events in pediatric patients with sickle cell anemia.

Background Limited evidence exists to create institutional admission criteria guidelines for febrile sickle cell patients. In addition, evidence is lacking to understand readmission rates for febrile sickle cell patients discharged from the emergency department (ED) or hospital. Procedures We conducted a 16-year retrospective study of bacteremia outcomes for febrile sickle cell patients. Risk variables analyzed included fever (either ≥ 39.5°C or ≥40°C), abnormal white blood cell (WBC) (>30,000 or Results Bacteremia was identified in 17 (2.6%) of 653 febrile events that are presented to the ED. "Ill-appearing" patients had an 8.5-fold increased odds of being diagnosed with bacteremia. Models using WBC count, "ill appearing," and hypotension have the highest sensitivity and specificity (AUC > 0.75). Among 427 patients discharged from the ED or within 72 h of hospitalization, only 10 (2.3%) were readmitted for a new sickle cell complication. Conclusions Institutions can develop admission criteria based on WBC count, hypotension, and "ill appearance." Persistently febrile, well-appearing patient can be discharged at 48 h with minimal risk for new complications.
Self-Reported Management of IV Fluids and Fluid Accumulation in Children With Acute Respiratory Failure.

Objectives Observational studies have shown that fluid overload is independently associated with increased morbidity in critically ill children, especially with respiratory pathology. It is unknown if recent evidence has influenced clinical practice. We sought to describe current IV fluid management in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome. Design Multinational, cross-sectional electronic survey. Setting Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators Network. Subjects Pediatric intensivists. Interventions None. Measurements and main results One-hundred fifty-four respondents (43% response rate) had a median 10 years of experience (Q1-Q3, 4-17.8), in ICUs with a median 24 beds (18-36), where 86% provided extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. For maintenance IV fluid, 96% used the "4-2-1" rule to determine rate, and 59% used dextrose with normal saline for content. For fluid resuscitation, 77% use normal saline in 10 milliliters per kilogram aliquots (42%) or as fluid challenges (37%). Less than 20% of respondents reported resuscitating with 20 mL/kg boluses. Documented intake over output is the favored vital sign to assess (75% vs 57%) and guide fluid management (97% vs 14%) over central venous pressure. The majority of respondents chose 10% fluid overload as the threshold to act in children with pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome. The majority (77%) agreed that fluid accumulation contributes to worse outcomes in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome and should be treated. Ninety-one percent reported conservative fluid management in pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome is likely to be beneficial or protective. Conclusions Pediatric intensivists agree that acting on 10% fluid overload in children with pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome is important. Decisions are being made largely using intake and output documentation, not central venous pressure. These findings are important for future pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome interventional trials.
On-Street Parking Prediction Using Real-Time Data

Drivers looking for parking account for high percentages of traffic congestion. One promising way to tackle this problem is through parking availability prediction. In this paper four algorithms for on-street parking prediction are described, analyzed and compared using real data. The first one uses only the availability's historical mean and standard deviation with no assumption on its distribution. The second assumes that availability is normally distributed. The third uses real-time information and models the availability variation as a normal random variable. The fourth also uses real-time information but models vehicle arrivals and departures as non-homogeneous Poisson processes. This comparative analysis supports the following: use of real-time parking availability information improves prediction performance, classification metrics are necessary for proper algorithm evaluation, and predicting arrivals and departures independently leads to fewer false positive recommendations at the cost of more false negatives.
Biochemical and structural characterization of two variants of uncertain significance in the PMS2 gene

Lynch syndrome (LS) is an autosomal dominant inherited disorder that is associated with an increased predisposition to certain cancers caused by loss-of-function mutations in one of four DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes (MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, or PMS2). The diagnosis of LS is often challenged by the identification of missense mutations where the functional effects are not known. These are termed variants of uncertain significance (VUSs) and account for 20%-30% of noncoding and missense mutations. VUSs cause ambiguity during clinical diagnosis and hinder implementation of appropriate medical management. In the current study, we focus on the functional and biological consequences of two nonsynonymous VUSs in PMS2. These variants, c.620G>A and c.123_131delGTTAGTAGA, result in the alteration of glycine 207 to glutamate (p.Gly207Glu) and the deletion of amino acid residues 42-44 (p.Leu42_Glu44del), respectively. While the PMS2 p.Gly207Glu variant retains in vitro MMR and ATPase activities, PMS2 p.Leu42_Glu44del appears to lack such capabilities. Structural and biophysical characterization using circular dichroism, small-angle X-ray scattering, and X-ray crystallography of the N-terminal domain of the PMS2 variants indicate that the p.Gly207Glu variant is properly folded similar to the wild-type enzyme, whereas p.Leu42_Glu44del is disordered and prone to aggregation.
Chemoreception in Unicellular Eukaryotes

Every organism is surrounded by chemicals and each has the means to extract information from this chemical environment and to respond appropriately. This process, chemoreception, underlies the sensory processes of taste and smell in vertebrates and invertebrates, and of Chemotaxis and chemokinesis in unicellular organisms. There is no unifying theme among the types of chemical stimuli that affect chemoreceptors, but within this confusion of compounds there is order, because each stimulus fits into the context of the life of the organism: folic acid attracts the paramecia and shine-mold amoebae that feed on bacteria, the stimulus source; amino acids attract lobsters and catfish that prey on fresh or decaying muscle; pheromones are commonly used by insects or protozoans to attract mates. There are, however, aspects common to the various chemosensory transduction systems: they all appear to be initiated at the membrane surface of a receptor cell by the interaction of a stimulus with a receptor molecule (or perhaps in some cases, the membrane directly), and, subsequently, this interaction is transduced into intracellular messengers. These second and third messengers are limited in number and, for the most part, consist of cyclic nucleotides, permeant ions, phosphoinositides, diacyl glycerol, arachidonic acid and internal pH levels.
Is It Unethical to Evade Taxes in an Evil or Corrupt State? A Look at Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Mormon and Baha'i Perspectives

The ethics of tax evasion has been a neglected topic in both the accounting and ethical literature. Until recently, not much has appeared on this topic. The present article reviews the recent literature, focusing on the question of whether tax evasion is unethical in an evil or corrupt state. The author concludes by giving his own views on the subject.
Age-dependent neurobehavioral responses by young and mature adult rats to systemic kainic acid.

Copyright (c) 1996 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Neurobehavioral effects caused by the excitotoxin kainic acid (KA) have been characterized by convulsions including wet dog shakes (WDS) with accompanying hippocampal degeneration in experimental animals. Accordingly, this model has been proposed for putative excitotoxin-mediated disorders, such as the temporal lobe epilepsy. There have been reports on age-dependent neurobehavioral effects of KA; however, little is known about possible correlations between neuropathology and behavioral responses to KA. The present study demonstrates that mature adult rats (12 months old) injected subcutaneously (s.c.) with KA (12 mg/kg) had severer damage to the hippocampal formation, i.e. CA3 region, compared with KA-treated young adult rats (2 months old). The mature adult animals also exhibited an earlier onset of WDS, a significantly higher number of WDS (P>0.01), and severer convulsions compared with young adult rats. These findings indicate a positive correlation between KA-induced hippocampal damage and behavioral responses in young and mature adult rats.
Effect of non-insulin-based glucose-lowering therapies on cardiovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Current guidelines for the treatment of patients with diabetes are focused on improving glycemic control and treating appropriate cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. Basic recommendations include blood pressure management with a goal of 10%). Oral antihyperglycemic medications remain the cornerstone of treatment for optimizing glucose control in patients with diabetes. In this review, we aim to present the basic mechanisms for each class of commonly used non-insulin-based glucose-lowering drugs and to discuss the effect of these medications on CV events.
The Business Environment of Europe: Firms, Governments, And Institutions

The Business Environment of Europe is the first textbook to provide a complete overview of Europe's business landscape, examining the region's diverse economies and government policies within historical, political, and cultural contexts. This well-researched text examines the European Union and select European nations, and leads students to a full understanding of the structure and dynamics of specific industries, the impact of globalization on European companies, and the future challenges facing the region's business environment. Numerous tables, maps, figures, case studies and chapter-specific bibliographies support students with little background knowledge of the subject, and lead them to total mastery of the material. Ideal for business students seeking background on the historical and cultural foundations of European business, and for international studies students seeking specific information on European governments, policies and economics, this introductory textbook provides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary overview of the subject.
A Post-Infectious Steroid-Responsive Brainstem Lesion Associated With COVID-19

A 51-year-old man developed coma, bilateral pupillary dilation, ophthalmoplegia and quadriplegia 4 weeks after testing positive for COVID-19. MRI demonstrated a symmetric midline pontine non-enhancing T2-FLAIR hyperintense lesion. The patient was treated with intravenous methylprednisolone, which resulted in improvement of his Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) from 3 to 15 over the next 5 days. To our knowledge, this is the first case of a post-infectious steroid-responsive brainstem lesion associated with COVID-19. The clinical picture best fits in the family of a steroid-responsive encephalopathy and reminds us that COVID-19 may cause severe post-infectious neurological complications.
Bias Distribution in ERSFQ VLSI Circuits

Rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) circuits have recently attracted considerable attention as a promising beyond CMOS technology for exascale computing. Unlike conventional CMOS circuits, RSFQ circuits require a specific bias current delivered to each Josephson junction, making robust bias networks an issue of great importance for large scale integration. ERSFQ is an energy efficient, inductive bias scheme for RSFQ circuits, where power dissipation is drastically lowered by eliminating the bias resistors while the cell library remains unchanged. An ERSFQ bias scheme requires the introduction of multiple circuit elements — current limiting Josephson junctions, bias inductors, and Josephson transmission lines. Multiple guidelines exist for the effective design of these structures. In this paper, additional parameter guidelines and design techniques are presented to decrease physical area and dynamic power dissipation while improving bias margins. These guidelines and techniques are applicable to automating the synthesis of bias networks to enable large scale ERSFQ circuits.
NATO Enlargement and the Problem of Value Complexity

Some of the recent literature on negotiations at the end of the Cold War regarding German reunification and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has deflected attention from an important p...
Mapping Local and Global Liquid-liquid Phase Behavior in Living Cells Using Light-activated Multivalent Seeds

Recent studies show that liquid-liquid phase separation plays a key role in the assembly of diverse intracellular structures. However, the biophysical principles by which phase separation can be precisely localized within subregions of the cell are still largely unclear, particularly for lowabundance proteins. Here we introduce a biomimetic optogenetic system, “Corelets”, and utilize its rapid and quantitative tunability to map the first full intracellular phase diagrams, which dictate whether phase separation occurs, and if so by nucleation and growth or spinodal decomposition. Surprisingly, both experiments and simulations show that while intracellular concentrations may be insufficient for global phase separation, sequestering protein ligands to slowly diffusing nucleation centers can move the cell into a different region of the phase diagram, resulting in localized phase separation. This diffusive capture mechanism liberates the cell from the constraints of global protein abundance and is likely exploited to pattern condensates associated with diverse biological processes.
Withdrawal method inquiries and user experiences: An analysis of content posted on 4 gendered forums on Reddit.

Abstract Objectives Limited research and guidance on the use of “withdrawal” or coitus interruptus for contraception lead to inconsistent or even inaccurate physician recommendations regarding its use. Consequently, patients rely on online communities to learn about this commonly used contraceptive method. To identify knowledge gaps and concerns between men and women, as well as explore how they use withdrawal, we examined withdrawal-related posts on the popular internet discussion forum, Reddit. Study design To explore gendered variations in withdrawal-related Reddit posts, we extracted posts from the gendered forums: “TwoXChromosomes,” “Askwomen,” “Askmen,” and “OneY” between 2010 and 2019 that contained the search terms: “coitus interruptus,” “withdrawal,” “pull out,” “preejaculate,” or “precum.” We developed an initial codebook with expected codes and augmented it with emerging findings from a random sampling of 10% of posts. We revised iteratively for interrater agreement, after which researchers coded the remaining posts independently. Results Of 269 withdrawal-related queries, 19% were submitted by men; 81% referenced the contributor's own withdrawal use. Salient domains included: concerns about pregnancy risk (59%), how to effectively use withdrawal (13%), benefits/pleasure from using withdrawal (12%), impact on personal life/relationship (9%), and problems encountered, inclusive of consent (7%). Posts to female-focused forums more frequently inquired about pregnancy risk, while those on male forums more frequently inquired about withdrawal-related logistics (p Conclusion Withdrawal-related queries within this Reddit sample are frequently posted by women, the majority of whom want to understand their risk of pregnancy with withdrawal. Research operationalizing withdrawal and more accurately estimating withdrawal-related pregnancy risk is warranted. Implications Reddit users discuss their personal experiences with withdrawal as contraception, as well as seek advice regarding its use from the online community. Pregnancy risk, logistics of use, and ongoing stigma are salient topics. Further research on pregnancy risk, operationalizing success, and approaches for discussing this behavioral method is warranted.
Towards Deep Q-Network Based Resource Allocation in Industrial Internet of Things

With the increasing adoption of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices, infrastructures, and supporting applications, it is critical to design schemes to effectively allocate resources (e.g., networking, computing, and energy) in IIoT systems, generally formalized as optimization problems. Nonetheless, because the system is highly complex, operation and networking graph-based environments are time-varying, and required information may not be available, it is difficult to leverage traditional optimization techniques to solve the optimal resource allocation problem. In this paper, we propose a Deep Q-Network (DQN) based scheme to address both bandwidth utilization and energy efficiency in a networking graph-based IIoT system. In detail, we design a DQN model that consists of two deep neural networks (DNN) and a Q-learning model. The DNN network abstracts the features from the highly dimensional inputs and obtains the approximate Q-function for the Q-learning model. Based on the Q-function, the Q-learning model can generate the Q-table and reward function. After the training process, the DQN model can select appropriate actions for the agents (i.e., robots in a smart warehouse in this study) to improve bandwidth utilization and energy efficiency. To evaluate our proposed scheme, we design a simulation environment to investigate a typical IIoT scenario: the actuation of robotics in a smart warehouse. We then implement the DQN model and conduct extensive experiments to validate the efficacy of our scheme. Our experimental results confirm that our scheme can improve both bandwidth utilization and energy efficiency, as compared to other representative schemes.
Investigation of hygrothermal aging on the polyurethane-based (PUB) adhesive: substantiating competition scenario between sub-aging thermo-oxidation and hydrolytic phenomena

In this work, the effects of accelerated thermo-oxidative, hydrolytic and hygrothermal aging on the mechanical and chemical properties of a polyurethane based (PUB) adhesive are presented. The adhesive is extensively used in automobile industry particularly as a glass sealant. PUB is inevitably exposed to the hygrothermal environment during service life and the integrity of matrix interface is most vulnerable. This study focuses on weighing and comparing effects of different aging environments on material behavior; it showed that hygrothermal aging is a competition between two sub-aging phenomena i.e., thermo-oxidation and hydrolytic aging. Samples were exposed to 0%RH, 80%RH and submerged condition in distilled water. Uni-axial tensile tests, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) Analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), cross-link analysis and swelling tests were carried out on as-received and aged samples. Accelerated aging process was conducted at different temperatures (60°C, 80°C and 95°C) and for different exposure durations of 1, 10, 30, and 90 days. This work confirms that the effect of hygrothermal aging is a result of competition between thermo-oxidation and hydrolytic aging environments. The total mechanical and environmental damage incurred by specimens is a collaborative effect of all exposure environments involved i.e., aging time, temperature, oxygen, water and humidity. The results are confirmed by chemical test outcomes as well.
A Practical Self-Stabilizing Leader Election for Networks of Resource-Constrained IoT Devices

This paper presents a self-stabilizing and tunable leader election algorithm, called PraSLE, designed for real-world testbeds of resource-constrained devices in the Internet of Things (IoT). PraSLE is an extended version of the minimum finding algorithm that functions in a round-based asynchronous fashion. We provide a version of PraSLE for both reliable and unreliable networks. We show that PraSLE elects a unique leader in unreliable networks with probability 1. We also experimentally validate this result and demonstrate that PraSLE outperforms existing methods in terms of average convergence time for ring, line, and mesh topologies up to 40 nodes, and for the clique topology up to 80 nodes. The tunable nature of PraSLE enables engineers to optimize average convergence time, as well as communication and energy costs. PraSLE provides an important resource-efficient Distributed Computing Primitive (DCP) for unreliable networks of low-end IoT devices based on which other DCPs (e.g., Paxos) can be developed for such networks in the domains of IoT and Cyber Physical Systems (CPS).
Cyclic AMP mediated gene expression in bovine corneal endothelial cells.

PURPOSE: Agents that increase intracellular levels of cAMP mediate gene expression associated with cellular morphology, growth, and/or differentiation via the cAMP response element (CRE). The cAMP element binding protein (CREB) is a transcriptional activator that binds and stimulates gene expression from the CRE in the promoters of cAMP responsive genes. This study was designed to characterize the cyclic AMP (cAMP) transcription apparatus in bovine corneal endothelial cells (BCE). METHODS: CRE transcriptional activity was determined by transient transfection assays using the CRE-chloramphenicol acetyl transferase gene (CRE-CAT) fusion reporter construct. Western blot analyses were performed to determine whether CREB was present in BCE. Mobility shift DNA-binding assay using gel electrophoresis and DNase I protection assays were performed to exclude the possibility of other CRE-binding factors. RESULTS: The authors identified the transcription factor, CREB, in nuclear extracts from BCE by Western blot analysis and showed that its DNA-binding characteristics are identical to the previously characterized CREB protein by DNase I protection and mobility shift DNA-binding studies. Transient transfection studies using the CRE-CAT reporter constructs revealed that the beta-adrenergic receptor agonist, isoproterenol, stimulates gene expression to levels similar to those induced by forskolin, a direct activator of adenylate cyclase (6.0- and 7.2-fold, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that agents that modulate receptors coupled to adenylate cyclase may effect the corneal endothelium by altering gene expression through the second messenger, cAMP.
Real-Time Monitoring of Web-Based Processes: A Use Case for the Event-Driven Advertisement

The modern advertisement theory is based on the “contextual priming effects”: the product attributes primed by the ad context may result in the formation or change of beliefs about the advertised brand, thereby affecting consumers’ evaluations of the brand. Therefore, a web ad should be tailored as much as possible to the user’s current context (interests) in order to affect the user’ attention appropriately. In this paper we present an approach for the semantic-based personalized advertising on the web.
Repair of heteroduplex DNA molecules with multibase loops in Escherichia coli.

The fate of heteroduplex molecules containing 5-, 7-, 9-, 192-, 410-, and 514-base loops after transformation of wild-type and various mutant strains of Escherichia coli has been examined. No evidence for repair was obtained for the wild type or for strains with mutations in the following genes: mutS, recA, recBC sbcBC, recD, recF, recJ, recN, recO, recR, recBC sbcBC recF uvrA, recG ruvC, ruvB, lexA3, lexA51, uvrA, nfo xth nth, polA(Ts), or pcnB. These results rule out the involvement of the SOS system and most known recombination and repair pathways. Repair of heteroduplex molecules containing 410- and 514-base loops was observed when a 1-base deletion-insertion mismatch was present nearby. The repair of both the mismatch and the loops was directed by the state of dam methylation of the DNA chains and was dependent on the product of the mutS gene. A high efficiency of repair (95%) was found even when the mismatch and the loops were 1,448 nucleotides apart. We conclude that multibase loops in DNA can be removed only as a consequence of corepair by dam-directed mismatch repair. Images
Encouraging adolescents toward mental health careers via website biographies.

This project designed, developed, implemented and is currently evaluating the effectiveness of an interactive, multi-media website designed to encourage adolescents to consider careers in mental health. This Web-based learning environment features biographies of mental health scientists. Evaluation is conducted in a systematic, structured way using cognitive achievement, usability (ease of use), and affective scales (e.g., fun to use) as outcome measures