cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Timing and cell interactions underlying neural induction in the chick embryo.

Previous studies on neural induction have identified regionally localized inducing activities, signaling molecules, potential competence factors and various other features of this important, early differentiation event. In this paper, we have developed an improved model system for analyzing neural induction and patterning using transverse blastoderm isolates obtained from gastrulating chick embryos. We use this model to establish the timing of neural specification and the spatial distribution of perinodal cells having organizer activity. We show that a tissue that acts either as an organizer or as an inducer of an organizer is spatially co-localized with the prospective neuroectoderm immediately rostral to the primitive streak in the early gastrula. As the primitive streak elongates, this tissue with organizing activity and the prospective neuroectoderm rostral to the streak separate. Furthermore, we show that up to and through the mid-primitive streak stage (i.e., stage 3c/3+), the prospective neuroectoderm cannot self-differentiate (i.e., express neural markers and acquire neural plate morphology) in isolation from tissue with organizer activity. Signals from the organizer and from other more caudal regions of the primitive streak act on the rostral prospective neuroectoderm and the latter gains potency (i.e., is specified) by the fully elongated primitive streak stage (i.e., stage 3d). Transverse blastoderm isolates containing non-specified, prospective neuroectoderm provide an improved model system for analyzing early signaling events involved in neuraxis initiation and patterning.
Metadocuments supporting digital library information discovery

The World Wide Web is a decentralized, unmanaged, dynamically changing repository of digital documents. Walden's Paths provides tools that enable authors to collect, organize, annotate, and present Web-based information to reader communities via a linear metadocument called a path. Walden's Paths includes path authoring and reading interfaces supporting the contextualization of included materials to match authors' goals as well as enabling browsing off the path to match readers' personal interests. It also provides tools to manage these paths of transient Web materials based on the identification and evaluation of changes to the component pages. Experience with Walden's Paths in educational settings and changes to Web technology as well as the Web-savvyness of users have led to a variety of changes to earlier designs. Current directions of work include the development of methods for evaluating readers' understanding via quizzes associated with paths and richer path structures.
Anticipated Support From Neighbors and Physical Functioning During Later Life

This study has two main objectives: (1) to assess age variations in perceived support from neighbors among a nationally representative sample of adults aged 25 to 74 and (2) to examine the associat...
Poorly Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma

Poorly differentiated thyroid cancers are very rare. Due to its aggressive growth and subsequent significantly elevated glucose utilization, several case reports have shown FDG-PET/CT’s ability to detect both primary and metastatic anaplastic thyroid cancer
Regulation of virulence: the rise and fall of gastrointestinal pathogens

Colonization resistance by the commensal microbiota is a key defense against infectious pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract. The microbiota directly competes with incoming pathogens by occupying the colonization niche, depleting nutrients in the gut lumen as well as indirectly inhibiting the growth of pathogens through activation of host immunity. Enteric pathogens have evolved strategies to cope with microbiota-mediated colonization resistance. Pathogens utilize a wide array of virulence factors to outcompete their commensal rivals in the gut. However, since the expression of virulence factors is costly to maintain and reduces bacterial fitness, pathogens need to regulate their virulence properly in order to maximize their fitness. To this end, most pathogens use environmental cues to regulate their virulence gene expression. Thus, a dynamic regulation of virulence factor expression is a key invasion strategy utilized by enteric pathogens. On the other hand, host immunity selectively targets virulent pathogens in order to counter infection in the gut. The host immune system is generally tolerant of harmless microorganisms, such as the commensal microbiota. Moreover, the host relies on its commensal microbiota to contribute, in concert with its immune system, to the elimination of pathogens. Collectively, regulation of virulence determines the fate of enteric pathogens, from the establishment of infection to the eventual elimination. Here, we will review the dynamics of virulence and its role in infection.
Renal artery stenosis: searching for the algorithms for diagnosis and treatment.

The study by Gowda et al. [(1)][1]in this issue of the Journal challenges the “legitimacy” of angiography as the gold standard for the diagnosis of renal artery stenosis due to fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD). It reinforces the dilemma caused by the limited evidence-based approach to the diagnosis
Evaluation of trade and interaction between Chaco Canyon and Chaco outlier sites in the American Southwest by investigating trachybasalt temper in pottery sherds

Deciphering trade and interaction in prehistory is central for archeologists to understand social, economic, political, and religious ties among groups in a particular area. Constraint on the provenance of raw materials used for manufacturing pottery vessels and their original sources is critical to these goals. In this study, trade patterns and interaction between Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon and Pueblo groups in the Chuska Mountains, along with four Chaco outliers in the Four Corners area of the American Southwest, were investigated using chemical analysis of sanidine crystal inclusions identified in three groups of trachybasalt pottery temper and rocks from the Navajo volcanic field. Initial petrographic analyses were then complemented with chemical analyses using EMP and LA-ICP-MS to determine the concentrations of major and rare trace elements of the sanidine identified in trachybasalt rocks and temper sherds. Partial least squares regression on trace element concentrations from sanidine analyses for the pottery sherds and rock samples demonstrate that although the majority of sanidine tempered materials was procured from Narbona Pass in the Chuska Mountains, New Mexico, some ceramic samples were still procured from other areas of the Navajo volcanic field. The results of our provenience and geochemical study indicate that a strong relationship between Chaco Canyon and Chaco outliers should be reconsidered, and that a political and religious model of exchange—people in Chaco Canyon and Chuska Mountains controlled production and exchange systems in the San Juan Basin—should be reevaluated.
Efficiency of photolytic binding of ethidium monoazide to nucleic acids and synthetic polynucleotides.

Radiolabeled 3-amino-8-azido-5-ethyl-[14C]-6-phenyl phenanthridine (ethidium monoazide) was photolyzed in situ in the presence of calf thymus DNA, RNA, poly A, calf thymus histones and nucleoid structures prepared from lymphocytes. Non-linear least squares analysis of the binding data enabled us to predict the amount of drug adduct formed at infinite polymer concentration. Photolytic efficiency could the be calculated since the input drug concentration was constant and therefore represented the non-covalent complex expected at infinite polymer concentration. The efficiency of photolysis for native, heat-denatured and formaldehyde-denatured DNA was 0.23, 0.26 and 0.45, respectively, and for RNA it was found to be 0.29. The value for poly A was 0.42. The intensity of light was not a limiting factor under the conditions of these experiments.
Thin-layer chromatography of sterols on neutral alumina impregnated with silver nitrate

Thin-layer chromatography for the rapid separation of several sterols on neutral alumina impregnated with silver nitrate is described. The method is particularly effective for sterols that differ in the number and location of olefinic bonds.
The electronic medication complete communication (EMC2) study: Rationale and methods for a randomized controlled trial of a strategy to promote medication safety in ambulatory care.

Abstract Background Adverse drug events (ADEs) affect millions of patients annually and place a significant burden on the healthcare system. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has developed patient safety information for high-risk medications that pose serious public health concerns. However, there are currently few assurances that patients receive this information or are able to identify or respond correctly to ADEs. Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of the Electronic Medication Complete Communication (EMC 2 ) Strategy to promote safe medication use and reporting of ADEs in comparison to usual care. Methods The automated EMC 2 Strategy consists of: 1) provider alerts to counsel patients on medication risks, 2) the delivery of patient-friendly medication information via the electronic health record, and 3) an automated telephone assessment to identify potential medication concerns or ADEs. The study will take place in two community health centers in Chicago, IL. Adult, English or Spanish-speaking patients (N = 1200) who have been prescribed a high-risk medication will be enrolled and randomized to the intervention arm or usual care based upon practice location. The primary outcomes of the study are medication knowledge, proper medication use, and reporting of ADEs; these will be measured at baseline, 4 weeks, and three months. Intervention fidelity as well as barriers and costs of implementation will be evaluated. Conclusions The EMC 2 Strategy automates a patient-friendly risk communication and surveillance process to promote safe medication use while minimizing clinic burden. This trial seeks to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of this strategy in comparison to usual care.
A phase I trial of palbociclib and paclitaxel in metastatic breast cancer.

527 Background: Palbociclib (Palb) is an oral CDK 4/6 inhibitor that is under development in breast cancer as a single agent and in combination with endocrine therapy. Preclinical studies suggest t...
Beyond Assortativity: Proclivity Index for Attributed Networks (ProNe)

If Alice is majoring in Computer Science, can we guess the major of her friend Bob? Even harder, can we determine Bob’s age or sexual orientation? Attributed graphs are ubiquitous, occurring in a wide variety of domains; yet there is limited literature on the study of the interplay between the attributes associated to nodes and edges connecting them. Our work bridges this gap by addressing the following questions: Given the network structure, (i) which attributes and (ii) which pairs of attributes show correlation? Prior work has focused on the first part, under the name of assortativity (closely related to homophily). In this paper, we propose ProNe, the first measure to handle pairs of attributes (e.g., major and age). The proposed ProNe is (a) thorough, handling both homophily and heterophily (b) general, quantifying correlation of a single attribute or a pair of attributes (c) consistent, yielding a zero score in the absence of any structural correlation. Furthermore, ProNe can be computed fast in time linear in the network size and is highly useful, with applications in data imputation, marketing, personalization and privacy protection.
Fracking Health Care: The Need to Safely De-Medicalize America and Recover Trapped Value for Its People

The wealth trapped within American health care is simultaneously a tragedy and a miracle. It is a tragedy because stagnating wages, widening disparities in income, ballooning deficits, and stunted investments in education and social services make such medical profligacy shameful. It is a miracle because it still exists, whereas other U.S. economic resources of similar magnitude have already been dissipated by global market forces without addressing any of the aforementioned failings – indeed, sometimes having contributed to them. It therefore can be released and used. It is time to “frack the health care system” and innovate the de-medicalization of America. The catchphrase for this effort is assuredly not “Repeal and Replace,” the Republican party’s oversimplified solution to the overblown criticism it continues to level against the Affordable Care Act. A better mantra is “Recover and Repurpose” – releasing the value trapped in our underperforming health care system and directing it toward more individually and socially productive ends. With careful planning and responsible execution, recovering and repurposing the trillions of dollars being spent on low-value medicine can set an example for an economic transition that offers broad distributive and communal benefits as well as efficiency gains. The current condition of American politics compels such an approach. Cast in its best light, the cleavage revealed by the 2016 election cycle was not between the individual and the collective, or even between choice and coercion, but between re-invention and restoration. Moreover, the restorative forces made it clear that becoming “great again” meant recapturing many of the qualities that health care aberrantly if expensively has retained: jobs, nativism, regional fairness, paternalism, and trust.
On Gradient-Based Optimization: Accelerated, Distributed, Asynchronous and Stochastic

Many new theoretical challenges have arisen in the area of gradient-based optimization for large-scale statistical data analysis, driven by the needs of applications and the opportunities provided by new hardware and software platforms. I discuss several recent results in this area, including: (1) a new framework for understanding Nesterov acceleration, obtained by taking a continuous-time, Lagrangian/Hamiltonian perspective, (2) a general theory of asynchronous optimization in multi-processor systems, (3) a computationally-efficient approach to stochastic variance reduction, (4) a primal-dual methodology for gradient-based optimization that targets communication bottlenecks in distributed systems, and (5) a discussion of how to avoid saddle-points in nonconvex optimization.
Identifying the Determinants of Chronic Absenteeism: A Bioecological Systems Approach

Author(s): Gottfried, MA; Gee, KA | Abstract: Background/Context: Chronic school absenteeism is a pervasive problem across the US; in early education, it is most rampant in kindergarten and its consequences are particularly detrimental, often leading to poorer academic, behavioral and developmental outcomes later in life. Though prior empirical research has identified a broad range of determinants of chronic absenteeism, there lacks a single, unified theoretically driven investigation examining how such factors concurrently explain the incidence of chronic absenteeism among our nation 's youngest schoolchildren. Thus, it is difficult to determine the relative importance of one factor over another, hence making it challenging to develop appropriate supports and services to reduce school absences. Purpose/Research Questions: Our study filled this critical void-we investigated multiple determinants of chronic absenteeism that were grounded, theoretically and empirically, in Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model of development. Specifically, using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 and the method of hierarchical generalized linear modeling, we analyzed how the co-occurrence of key (a) process, (b) person, and (c) context (micro-, meso-, exo- and macrosystem) factors was associated with kindergarteners' probability of being chronically absent. Findings/Results: Children who have poorer health, higher internalizing behaviors, and more frequent engagement in learning activities at home had higher odds of chronic absenteeism. Also, children from larger families and of lower socioeconomic status faced increased odds of chronic absenteeism. Conversely, children holding positive attitudes towards school had lowered odds of chronic absenteeism, a finding that remained robust across socioeconomic status groups. Finally, parent-school connections were associated with lowered odds of absenteeism. Conclusions/Recommendations: Overall, our findings strongly suggested that addressing chronic absenteeism will require comprehensive and multifaceted approaches that recognize these multiple factors. With this theoretically grounded, more descriptive approach, it is more feasible to identify key factors and subsequently design policies and practices to prevent absence behavior.
When and How Do Race/Ethnicity Relate to Dysfunctional Discipline Practices?

Dysfunctional discipline has been linked with a variety of negative outcomes in children and is positively correlated with parent-reported stress. Furthermore, parental attributions have been supported as a mediator of the relation between stress and dysfunctional discipline. Race/ethnicity may additionally play a moderating role in these pathways, and racial/ethnic differences in parenting practices are often noted. This study examined a moderated-mediational model in which specific parental attributions (i.e., Stable, Internal, and Blaming/Intentional) mediated the association between parent-reported stress and dysfunctional discipline (i.e., Lax, Overreactive, and Hostile). Race/ethnicity was examined as a moderator of the association between parental attributions and dysfunctional discipline in a sample of 234 low-income adult caregivers at high-risk of child maltreatment. Overall, Stable and Blaming/Intentional attributions were found to explain the pathway between parent-reported stress and both Overreactivity and Hostility. Furthermore, race/ethnicity functioned as a differential moderator. Among Hispanic caregivers, the pathways to both Overreactivity and Hostility were explained by Stable attributions. Conversely, within the African American caregivers, only Blaming/Intentional attributions served as a mediator for Overreactivity and Hostility. Finally, among Caucasian caregivers, Stable attributions only explained Hostile discipline practices, while Blaming/Intentional attributions served as the pathway for both Overreactivity and Hostility. These findings provide the literature with a broader understanding of parent-reported stress and dysfunctional discipline and suggest different attributional treatment targets for caregivers from different racial/ethnic groups.
Systemic design approach to reducing rates of unplanned hospital readmissions

Unplanned hospital readmissions bring large social and economic costs to both patients and healthcare organizations. We propose a mobile health platform with the goal of reducing the current high rates of unplanned readmissions, in order to reduce costs while maintaining or improving the quality of care. We designed the platform to mimic intelligent behavior in hospitals — in particular, the behavior of delivering timely “care” to patients based on their needs. The main idea is to expose personalized key symptoms and conditions in real time, to be monitored during the postdischarge period by care providers for fast intervention and patient support. To achieve this, the patient (post discharge) and nursing stations are treated as dynamical discrete-event systems (DES), and the system is designed using DES modeling techniques and supervisory control theory. Software applications and primary components of the platform pertinent to system implementation are discussed conceptually. Examples are provided to shed light on system functionalities.
Benefits of thinning and burning for understory diversity vary with spatial scale and time since treatment

Abstract Fuel-reduction treatments have been used effectively in dry, fire-adapted forests to reduce risk of high-severity crown fire, but it is less certain whether they achieve ecological objectives such as promoting understory diversity. Using long-term data from a fuel-reduction experiment, we tested how conclusions about treatment effectiveness are related to the spatial and temporal scales over which ecological responses are evaluated. We modeled the richness of herbs and shrubs at smaller (1–50 m2) and larger (1000 m2) spatial scales as functions of pre-treatment richness, thinning intensity, burning, and time since treatment (2–3 vs. 10–13 years). Pre-treatment richness was the strongest predictor of post-treatment richness, reflecting high rates of species survival, irrespective of treatment. Richness was enhanced by burning and, to a lesser extent, by thinning, although the timing and strengths of these effects varied with spatial scale. Among herbs, annuals showed an early and persistent increase after burning at the larger scale, but a lagged response at the smaller scale—the latter enabled by limited competition from perennial herbs and shrubs. In contrast, perennials showed lagged responses to thinning at smaller scales and to burning at larger scales, suggesting slow recruitment via seed or vegetative spread. Non-natives were unresponsive to treatments but were also uncommon before treatment, suggesting limited propagule pressure from the surrounding landscape. Rates of colonization were unrelated to pre-treatment richness; thus, the potential for understory enrichment was not constrained by initial diversity. The low cover and lagged responses of woody and herbaceous perennials suggest that further enrichment is possible, particularly at smaller spatial scales. Our results illustrate that uncertainty about the ecological effectiveness of fuels treatments can relate to the spatial and temporal scales over which responses are measured. They underscore the value of long-term, multi-scale assessments in defining the spatial and temporal contexts of ecological outcomes, and in evaluating the necessity for, or timing of, further intervention.
Abstract 19424: Red Blood Cell Derived Microparticles Transfer Hemoglobin to Vascular Endothelial Cells, Activate the Heme Oxygenase System, and Mitigate Inflammatory Response

Introduction: Cell-derived microparticles (MPs) can shuttle cellular contents such as RNA or protein between cells, representing a novel mechanism of intercellular communication. Red blood cell-derived microparticles (RMPs) are among the most abundant MPs in human circulation and accumulate in stored human red blood cell transfusion units. Little is known regarding the effects of RMPs on vascular endothelial cells. Hypothesis: RMPs would be internalized by human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs), transfer RNA and protein cargo, and alter the response of cells to inflammatory stimuli. Methods: RMPs were isolated from stored human red blood cell transfusion units by centrifugation, labeled with a fluorescent membrane dye (PKH-26), and incubated with HAECs for 24 hours at a concentration of 6 x 10 6 MPs/mL, after which the cells were washed extensively. Internalization of RMPs by HAECs was assessed by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. Monocyte adhesion to HAECs +/- LPS was assessed with a static monocyte adhesion assay, and levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) +/- TBHP were measured with ROSstar. Changes in RNA and protein were assessed with RT-qPCR and Western blot, respectively. Results: Confocal microscopy and flow cytometry studies confirmed cellular internalization of RMPs by HAECs. RMPs significantly reduced monocyte adhesion to HAECs in the presence of LPS (0.53 fold, p Conclusions: RMPs transfer hemoglobin to HAECs in vitro, thereby activating the heme oxygenase pathway, which may account for the observed anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects of RMPs on HAECs. These studies raise questions regarding the possibility of RMP mediated communication between red blood cells and the vascular endothelium, as well as the potential effects of RMPs in transfused blood.
Streptococcal Siglec-like adhesins recognize different subsets of human plasma glycoproteins: Implications for infective endocarditis

Streptococcus gordonii and Streptococcus sanguinis are typically found among the normal oral microbiota but can also cause infective endocarditis. These organisms express cell surface serine-rich repeat adhesins containing "Siglec-like" binding regions (SLBRs) that mediate attachment to α2-3-linked sialic acids on human glycoproteins. Two known receptors for the Siglec-like adhesins are the salivary mucin MG2/MUC7 and platelet GPIbα, and the interaction of streptococci with these targets may contribute to oral colonization and endocarditis, respectively. The SLBRs display a surprising diversity of preferences for defined glycans, ranging from highly selective to broader specificity. In this report, we characterize the glycoproteins in human plasma recognized by four SLBRs that prefer different α2-3 sialoglycan structures. We found that the SLBRs recognize a surprisingly small subset of plasma proteins that are extensively O-glycosylated. The preferred plasma protein ligands for a sialyl-T antigen-selective SLBR are proteoglycan 4 (lubricin) and inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor heavy chain H4. Conversely, the preferred ligand for a 3'sialyllactosamine-selective SLBR is glycocalicin (the extracellular portion of platelet GPIbα). All four SLBRs recognize C1 inhibitor but detect distinctly different glycoforms of this key regulator of the complement and kallikrein protease cascades. The four plasma ligands have potential roles in thrombosis and inflammation, and each has been cited as a biomarker for one or more vascular or other diseases. The combined results suggest that the interaction of Siglec-like adhesins with different subsets of plasma glycoproteins could have a significant impact on the propensity of streptococci to establish endocardial infections.
Efficient Algorithms for Finding the Closest $l$ l -Mers in Biological Data

With the advances in the next generation sequencing technology, huge amounts of data have been and get generated in biology. A bottleneck in dealing with such datasets lies in developing effective algorithms for extracting useful information from them. Algorithms for finding patterns in biological data pave the way for extracting crucial information from the voluminous datasets. In this paper, we focus on a fundamental pattern, namely, the closest $l$ l -mers. Given a set of $m$ m biological strings $S_1,S_2,\ldots, S_m$ S 1 , S 2 , ... , S m and an integer $l$ l , the problem of interest is that of finding an $l$ l -mer from each string such that the distance among them is the least. For example we want to find $m$ m $l$ l -mers $X_1,X_2,\ldots, X_m$ X 1 , X 2 , ... , X m such that $X_i$ X i is an $l$ l -mer in $S_i$ S i (for $1\leq i\leq m$ 1 ≤ i ≤ m ) and the Hamming distance among these $m$ m $l$ l -mers is the least (from among all such possible $l$ l -mers). This problem has many applications. An application of great importance is motif search. Algorithms for finding the closest $l$ l -mers have been used in solving the $(l,d)$ ( l , d ) -motif search problem (see e.g., [1] , [2] ). In this paper novel exact and approximate algorithms are proposed for this problem for the case of $m>2$ m > 2 . In particular, a comprehensive experimental evaluation is performed for $m=3$ m = 3 , along with a further empirical study of $m=4$ m = 4 and 5. We also extend our solution to euclidean distance measurement metric if the sequences contain real numbers.
Robust B Cell Responses Predict Rapid Resolution of Lyme Disease.

Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi infection) is increasingly recognized as a significant source of morbidity world-wide. Here, we show that blood plasmablasts and CD27- memory B cells are elevated in untreated Lyme disease, with higher plasmablast levels associated with more rapid resolution of clinical symptoms. Stronger serum reactivity to surface proteins and peptides from B. burgdorferi was also associated with faster resolution of clinical symptoms. Through molecular identifier-enabled antibody heavy chain sequencing of bulk B cells and single-cell paired-chain antibody sequencing of blood plasmablasts, we characterized immunoglobulin gene usage patterns specific to B. burgdorferi infection. Recombinantly expressed antibodies from expanded lineages bound B. burgdorferi antigens, confirming that these clones are driven by the infection. Further, recombinant sequence-derived antibodies were functional, inhibiting growth of B. burgdorferi in vitro. Elevations and clonal expansion of blood plasmablasts were associated with rapid return to health, while poor plasmablast responses were associated with a longer duration of symptoms following treatment. Plasmablasts induced by B. burgdorferi infection showed preferential antibody gene segment usage, while bulk sequencing of total B cells revealed convergent CDR3 motifs specific to B. burgdorferi-infected patients. Our results show that robust plasmablast responses encoding Bb-static antibodies are associated with more rapid resolution of Lyme disease, and these antibodies could provide the basis for next-generation therapeutics for Lyme disease.
What do “Back-to-School" Computers Have in Common with Health Education and Health Protection?

How to increase immunization levels in communities is a recurrent problem associated with missed opportunities. As communities gear-up for Back to School, health educators may encourage people to update their child, adolescent, and adult immunizations. Human herd immunity can protect communities from spread of infection, and an analogy is presented with “herd immunity for personal computers.” Both computer and biological viruses spread faster when a large portion of the population is unprotected. Just as individuals should receive immunization shots to protect self and families; computer systems can be protected against nasty computer code by using current anti-virus programs to limit the spread of viruses, worms, and Trojan horses from one computer to another. How much more would individuals rather receive timely shots that help to preserve health? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Development of Megawatt-Scale Medium-Voltage High Efficiency High Power Density Power Converters for Aircraft Hybrid-Electric Propulsion Systems

Hybrid-electric propulsion system is an enabling technology to make the aircrafts more fuel-saving, quieter, and lower carbide emission. In this paper, a megawatt-scale power converter based on a hybrid three-level active neutral-point-clamped (3L-ANPC) topology is developed. To achieve high efficiency, the switching devices operated at carrier frequency in the 3L-ANPC converter are configured by the emerging Silicon Carbide (SiC) Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs), while the conventional Silicon (Si) Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) are selected for the switches modulated at the fundamental output frequency. The dc-bus voltage is increased from the conventional 270 V to 2.4 kV to reduce the power cable weight in the aircraft. Unlike the traditional 400 Hz aircraft electric systems, the rated fundamental output frequency of the inverter here is boosted to 1.4 kHz to drive the high-speed motor. Systematic hardware development and new PWM strategy for the 3L-ANPC inverter will be presented in this paper, and the associated experimental results are shown to verify the performance of this MW-scale medium-voltage inverter. It is shown that the 1-MW power inverter achieves an efficiency of99% and power density of 12 kVA/kg, which provides a promising solution to the realization of high-efficiency high-density aircraft hybrid propulsion systems.
Molecular orbital studies of hydrogen bonds

The ground state, the lowest singlet and triplet n-π* states, and the lowest triplet π-π* state of the formic acid monomer and dimer are studied with the ab initio molecular orbital theory. The two-configuration electron-hole potential method is used for calculations of excited states of dimers. The potential energy curves for the symmetrical simultaneous movement of two bridging protons are studied for all of the states. The barrier of the proton transfer in the ground state is found to be the smallest of the states studied. The association energy is analyzed in terms of various components.
Eine kleine Geschichte der Gruppentherapie

In diesem Kapitel fassen wir einige historische Marksteine, Ereignisse und damit verbundene Themen der Gruppentherapie zusammen, geordnet nach drei Epochen (1900 bis 1930, 1940 bis 1970 und 1980 bis zur Gegenwart). In vielen historischen Ubersichten zur Gruppentherapie fallt auf, dass es in manchen Zeiten einzigartige Themen gab; andere Themen kehren in der Geschichte immer wieder. Wir beginnen unseren Uberblick mit einer Definition von Gruppentherapie und grenzen diese damit von der blosen Teilnahme an irgendeiner Gruppe ab. Der Uberblick endet mit einigen Hinweisen fur die Praxis.
Di‐μ‐iodo‐bis{[methyl­tris­(methyl­thio­methyl)­silane‐κ2S,S′]copper(I)}

The mol­ecule of the title compound, [Cu2I2(C7H18S3Si)2], is dimeric. It lies on an inversion center and contains roughly tetrahedral copper centers surrounded by two thio­ether groups and two bridging iodo ligands. The Cu⋯Cu separation, 2.862 (2) A, is indicative of a weak interaction between the two metal atoms and is not unusual for this type of compound.
Social Policy in Disarray: The Beleaguered American Family:

Many American families are beleaguered by the consequences of a declining standard of living over which they have little or no control. However, most explanations of rising economic insecurity focu...
Multi-Scale Network Model Supported by Proteomics for Analysis of Combined Gemcitabine and Birinapant Effects in Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Gemcitabine combined with birinapant, an inhibitor of apoptosis protein antagonist, acts synergistically to reduce pancreatic cancer cell proliferation. A large-scale proteomics dataset provided rich time-series data on proteome-level changes that reflect the underlying biological system and mechanisms of action of these drugs. A multiscale network model was developed to link the signaling pathways of cell cycle regulation, DNA damage response, DNA repair, apoptosis, nuclear factor-kappa β (NF-κβ), and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-p38 to cell cycle progression, proliferation, and death. After validating the network model under different conditions, the Sobol Sensitivity Analysis was applied to identify promising targets to enhance gemcitabine efficacy. The effects of p53 silencing and combining curcumin with gemcitabine were also tested with the developed model. Merging proteomics analysis with systems modeling facilitates the characterization of quantitative relations among relevant signaling pathways in drug action and resistance, and such multiscale network models could be applied for prediction of combination efficacy and target selection.
Use of Health Technologies for Low Back Pain in the Military Health System

Low back pain (LBP) is a widespread condition that poses specific occupational risks for active-duty military personnel. Barriers to treatment are also greater for military personnel and veterans. The authors conducted a review of the literature to identify technology solutions to help offset barriers to treatment for military personnel and veterans. Researchers conducted a PubMed search using subject headings and natural language terms and phrases. Three research psychologists screened abstracts and full text articles. After application of exclusion criteria, 28 key articles on treatment of LBP leveraging technology were included. There is evidence in medical literature for the efficacy of health technology in the treatment of LBP. Telehealth can be effective in reducing pain levels, and more convenient and cost-effective than treatment as usual (TAU). Smartphone and mobile apps are effective for managing LBP by providing self-management tools and tracking methods. Internet-based programs are highly accessible, cost-effective, and less stigmatized than TAU. Wearable technologies, such as biofeedback and electronic sensors, are effective for reducing pain and improve physical rehabilitation assessment and treatment for chronic LBP. Findings for emerging technologies are reviewed and discussed. Considerable evidence exists for incorporating technology into treatment programs for LBP. The most promising technologies were as follows: telehealth, internet-based programs, and mobile apps. Benefits of using technology in treatment programs included not only reduction in pain symptoms, but also enabling self-management, allowing anonymous participation, portability of treatment, and cost effectiveness.
View-centric performance optimization for database-backed web applications

Web developers face the stringent task of designing informative web pages while keeping the page-load time low. This task has become increasingly challenging as most web contents are now generated by processing ever-growing amount of user data stored in back-end databases. It is difficult for developers to understand the cost of generating every web-page element, not to mention explore and pick the web design with the best trade-off between performance and functionality. In this paper, we present Panorama, a view-centric and database-aware development environment for web developers. Using database-aware program analysis and novel IDE design, Panorama provides developers with intuitive information about the cost and the performance-enhancing opportunities behind every HTML element, as well as suggesting various global code refactorings that enable developers to easily explore a wide spectrum of performance and functionality trade-offs.
Do Geographic Region, Medicaid Status, and Academic Affiliation Affect Access to Care Among Medicaid and Privately Insured Total Hip Arthroplasty Patients?

Abstract Background Medicaid provides health coverage to those beneath the federal poverty line. The literature shows that patients with Medicaid experience barriers to scheduling initial and follow-up visits, although this has not been studied in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA). The purpose of this study is to assess whether insurance type, geographic location, Medicaid expansion, or academic affiliation affect access to evaluation for THA. Methods The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons directory was used to call a total of 100 practices. Five random private and 5 random academic medical facilities were called from each of 5 Medicaid-expanded and 5 non-expanded states representing different US geographic regions. Calls were made by an investigator requesting the earliest available appointment for their fictitious parent to be evaluated for a THA. Half of the calls were made with the investigator reporting private insurance of Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), and half reporting Medicaid. Appointment success rate and average time to appointment were compared. Further comparisons were drawn among Medicaid-expanded vs non-expanded states, geographic regions, and private vs academic affiliation. Results Appointments were successful for 99 of 100 (99%) calls made with BCBS, and 72 of 100 (72%) with Medicaid (P Conclusion Patients with Medicaid seeking consultation for THA experience limits in access to evaluation for THA when compared to patients with private insurance, regardless of geographic region or affiliation of the practice.
Lower-Tropospheric Influences on the Timing and Intensity of Afternoon Severe Convection over Modest Terrain in a Convection-Allowing Ensemble

AbstractA 50-member convection-allowing ensemble is used to examine effects of daytime PBL evolution and ambient flow interacting with modest terrain features on convection initiation (CI) in the l...
Development and clinical implementation of semi-automated treatment planning including 3D printable applicator holders in complex skin brachytherapy.

Purpose High-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) is a treatment option for malignant skin diseases compared to external beam radiation therapy, HDR-BT provides improved target coverage, better organ sparing, and has comparable treatment times. This is especially true for large clinical targets with complex topologies. To standardize and improve the quality and efficacy of the treatments, a novel streamlined treatment approach in complex skin HDR-BT was developed and implemented. This approach consists of auto generated treatment plans and a 3D printable applicator holder (3D-AH). Materials and methods The in-house developed planning system automatically segments computed tomography simulation images (a), optimizes a treatment plan (b), and generates a model of the 3D-AH (c). The 3D-AH is used as an immobilization device for the flexible Freiburg flap applicator used to deliver treatment. The developed, automated planning is compared against the standard clinical plan generation process for a flat 10 × 10 cm2 field, curved fields with radii of 4, 6, and 8 cm, and a representative clinical case. The quality of the 3D print is verified via an additional CT of the flap applicator latched into the holder, followed by an automated rigid registration with the original planning CT. Finally, the methodology is implemented and tested clinically under an IRB approval. Results All automatically generated plans were reviewed and accepted for clinical use. For the clinical workflow, the coverage achieved at a prescription depth for the flat 4, 6, and 8 cm applicator was (100.0 ± 4.9)%, (100.0 ± 4.9)%, (96.0 ± 0.3)%, and (98.4 ± 0.3)%, respectively. For auto planning, the coverage was (99.9 ± 0.3)%, (100.0 ± 0.2)%, (100.0 ± 0.3)%, and (100.1 ± 0.2)%. For the clinical test case, the D90 for the clinical workflow and auto planning was found to be 93.5% and 100.29% of the prescribed dose, respectively. Processing of the patient's CT to generate trajectories and positions as well as the 3D model of the applicator took Conclusion This workflow automates time intensive catheter digitizing and treatment planning. Compared to printing full applicators, the use of 3D-AH reduces the complexity of the 3D prints, the amount of the material to be used, the time of 3D printing, and amount of quality assurance required. The proposed methodology improves the overall treatment plan quality in complex HDR-BT and impact patient treatment outcomes potentially.
Primary malignant ovarian carcinoid; management and outcomes

Abstract Objective To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and survival of patients with malignant ovarian carcinoid tumor (OC). Materials and methods The National Cancer Database was accessed and patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2015 with a OC who did not have a personal history of a tumor at another site were selected. Overall survival (OS) was assessed for patients who had ≥1 month of follow-up. OS rates were estimated following generation of Kaplan-Meier curves and compared with the log-rank test. Results A total of 588 patients with a median age of 51.5 years were identified. The majority were White (71.6%), had unilateral tumors (94.2%) with a median size of 3.8 cm that were confined to the ovary (88%). Patients with early stage disease (n = 431) had excellent OS compared to those with advanced stage (II-IV) disease (n = 51), p Conclusions OCs are typically small, unilateral tumors confined to the ovary arising in perimenopausal patients. Survival outcomes are excellent for patients with early stage disease and unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy appears to be curative.
Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Utilization Among Oxford House Residents.

Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and recovery homes that have traditionally served those not taking medications for their recovery are important resources for treating opioid use disorder. However, little is known whether such recovery homes are a good fit for persons utilizing MOUD, and whether residents’ characteristics such as drug histories and the composition of recovery homes in terms MOUD and non-MOUD residents are related to attitudes toward MOUD. The present investigation examined characteristics of persons utilizing MOUD, and attitudes regarding MOUD utilization among residents living in recovery homes (Oxford Houses, OH) in the U.S. consisting of MOUD and non-MOUD residents. Residents living with others who were utilizing MOUD reported more favorable attitudes than residents who were not living with such residents, but this was observed only among residents whose primary drug of choice involved heroin or opioids. There were no significant differences observed in terms of abstinence rates, involvement in 12-step groups, or previous MOUD treatments between residents utilizing or not utilizing MOUD. Findings suggest that persons utilizing MOUD benefit by recovery homes such as OHs whose residents have favorable attitudes toward MOUD, especially when living with fellow residents who utilize MOUD.
Advantages of using digital image correlation techniques in uniaxial compression tests

Abstract This paper discusses the advantages of using stereo vision imaging along with Digital Image Correlation techniques as an alternate data acquisition procedure in uniaxial compression testing of specimens that may include undetected internal defects before testing. The discussed techniques were implemented during an extensive experimental investigation at the University of South Carolina related to concrete material characterization in order to investigate inconsistencies in test measurements acquired through conventional instrumentation. The use of the proposed system in compression tests of concrete and rock specimens facilitated the accurate and efficient measurement of the modulus of elasticity of the materials based on full field strain measurements. Most importantly, however, the proposed system facilitated the assessment of the quality of the specimen and measurements, as these may be affected by internal material defects that do not show any evidence on the surface of the specimen before any testing takes place, or the deviation of the shape and size of the specimen from the specifications.
Examining Indenture Trustee Duties

This Chapter examines the duties of indenture trustees appointed under bond indentures. Although their post-default duties generally are subject to a prudent-person standard, indenture trustees have relatively little legal guidance concerning pre-default duties. The rise of activist investors, however, is making it increasingly critical to identify and understand how to perform those duties. This Chapter seeks to provide that understanding.