cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mechanizing Reasoning about Large Finite Tables in a Rewrite Based Theorem Prover

Finite tables are commonly used in many hardware and software applications. In most theorem provers, tables are typically axiomatized using predicates over the table indices. For proving conjectures expressed using such tables, provers often have to resort to brute force case analysis, usually based on indices of a table. Resulting proofs can be unnecessarily complicated and lengthy. They are often inefficient to generate as well as difficult to understand. Large tables are often manually abstracted using predicates, which is error-prone; furthermore, the correctness of abstractions must be ensured. An approach for modeling finite tables as a special data structure is proposed for use in Rewrite Rule Laboratory (RRL), a theorem prover for mechanizing equational reasoning and induction based on rewrite techniques. Dontcare entries in tables can be handled explicitly. This approach allows tables to be handled directly without having to resort to any abstraction mechanism. For efficiently processing large tables, concepts of a sparse and weakly sparse tables are introduced based on how frequently particular values appear as table entries. Sparsity in the tables is exploited in correctness proofs by doing case analyses on the table entries rather on the indices. The generated cases are used to deduce constraints on the table indices. Additional domain information about table indices can then be used to further simplify constraints on indices and check them. The methodology is illustrated using a nontrivial correctness proof of the hardware SRT division circuit performed in RRL. 1536 cases originally needed in the correctness proof are reduced to 12 top level cases by using the proposed approach. Each individual top level case generated is much simpler, even though it may have additional subcases. The proposed approach is likely to provide similar gains for applications such as hardware circuits for square root and other arithmetic functions, in which much larger and multiple lookup tables, having structure similar to the sparse structure of the SRT table, are used
Direct Observation of Correlated Triplet Pair Dynamics during Singlet Fission Using Ultrafast Mid-IR Spectroscopy

Singlet fission is an exciton multiplication mechanism in organic materials whereby high energy singlet excitons can be converted into two triplet excitons with near unity quantum yields. As new singlet fission sensitizers are developed with properties tailored to specific applications, there is an increasing need for design rules to understand how the molecular structure and crystal packing arrangements influence the rate and yield with which spin-correlated intermediates known as correlated triplet pairs can be successfully separated—a prerequisite for harvesting the multiplied triplets. Toward this end, we identify new electronic transitions in the mid-infrared spectral range that are distinct for both initially excited singlet states and correlated triplet pair intermediate states using ultrafast mid-infrared transient absorption spectroscopy of crystalline films of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-Pn). We show that the dissociation dynamics of the intermediates can be measured throu...
Signal Transduction in the Adapted Heart: Implication of Protein Kinase C-Dependent and -Independent Pathways

Cardioprotection as a result of myocardial adaptation to cellular stress is a product of evolution. Myocardial adaptation potentiates intracellular signaling involving diverse signal transduction pathways. Ischemic preconditioning, a specific form of myocardial adaptive response, occurs through both G proteins and receptor tyrosine kinase. Such preconditioning, mediated by cyclic episodes of brief reversible ischemia each followed by another brief period of reperfusion, leads to improvement in infarct size and ventricular recovery. Adaptation can also be achieved through other environmental stresses, including oxidative stress. Several triggers for signal transduction have been identified, including catecholamines, bradykinin, and adenosine. The processing of stress signals from signal initiation to propagation to eventual termination is the focus of this chapter. Signal initiation occurs through G-protein as well as receptor tyrosine kinase activation. Complex signaling processes involving MAP kinases, MAPKAP kinase 2, and protein kinase C have become central to our understanding of signal propagation. Signal termination resulting in biological expression of signal propagation by means of gene expression and transcription regulation is the ultimate outcome of cellular stress response. This chapter especially examines these complex signal transduction processes that lead to the stress response and eventual adaptation, focusing primarily upon protein kinase C-dependent and -independent pathways.
Informal Caregivers’ Experiences and Perceptions of a Web-Based Peer Support Network: Mixed-Methods Study

Background: Web-based peer support interventions have shown promise in reducing social isolation and social support deficits among informal caregivers, but little research has examined how caregivers use and perceive these interventions. Objective: In this study, we examined utilization and perceptions of a Web-based social support intervention for informal caregivers of wounded, ill, and injured United States military service members and veterans. Methods: This was a mixed-methods study that used quantitative survey data and qualitative data from focus groups and interviews with informal caregivers enrolled in a Web-based peer support intervention to explore their use and perceptions of the intervention. The intervention was delivered via a website that featured interest groups organized around specific topics, webinars, webchats, and messaging functionality and was moderated by professionally trained peers. This study occurred in the context of a quasi-experimental outcome evaluation of the intervention, where intervention participants were compared with a group of military caregivers who were not enrolled in the intervention. Results: Survey findings indicated that caregivers used the website infrequently, with 60.7% (128/211) visiting the website once a month or less, and passively, with a minority (32/144, 22.2%) of users (ie, those who had visited the website at least once during the past 3 months, N=144) posting comments or links to the network. Nonetheless, most users (121/144, 84.0%) endorsed moderate or greater satisfaction with the website on the survey, and focus group and interview participants reported benefiting sufficiently from passive use of the website (eg, reading posts). Quantitative and qualitative findings suggested that users viewed the website primarily as a source of informational support. Among 63.2% (91/144) of users who completed the survey, the most commonly reported network-related activity was obtaining information from the network’s resource library, and focus group and interview participants viewed the network primarily as an informational resource. Focus group and interview participants expressed an unmet need for emotional support and the desire for a more personal touch in the forms of more active engagement with other caregivers in the network and the creation of local, in-person support groups for caregivers. Conclusions: These findings suggest that Web-based peer support interventions may lend themselves better to the provision of informational (vs emotional) support and may need to be supplemented by in-person peer support groups to better meet caregivers’ needs for emotional support.
Protooncogene c-fos as a transcription factor.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the recent advances in the understanding of cellular gene regulation by c-fos—the cellular homolog of the transforming gene (v-fos) of the murine sarcoma viruses FBJ and FBR. The v-fos and c-fos genes are both capable of transforming fibroblasts, although the c-fos gene requires structural alterations. One of the ways of elevating c-fos levels is to transfect cells with an activated c-fos gene. The level of modification for c-fos appears to be dependent on the inducing agent used. If c-fos and c-jun are found in a single complex, then transcription factor AP-1 purified by sequence-specific DNA affinity chromatography can be expected to contain c-fos. The c-fos plays a role in the trans-activation of the TRE as antisense RNA to c-fos completely prevents trans-activation via the TRE when cells are stimulated by a number of agents. The role of c-fos in modulating the DNA-binding activity of c-jun is investigated in the chapter using proteins synthesized in rabbit reticulocyte translation systems from purified mRNA.
Physical Processes Involving Chlorophylls in Vivo

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the physical processes involving chlorophyll in vivo. Photosynthetic tissues contain aggregates of pigment molecules such that chlorophylls, carotenoids, and phycobilins that absorb light quanta and consequently deliver energy to sites where the photochemistry of photosynthesis is initiated. Light produces singlet excited states in an aggregate of Chl, either directly or by transfer from accessory pigments. The singlet energy is trapped in some metastable form at photochemical reaction centers containing specialized chlorophylls. In green plants, there are two kinds of reaction center linked through electron carriers. The photochemical reactions are all oxidoreductions; they might be mediated by a triplet state or a charge transfer state involving the specialized chlorophyll. The quantum yield of fluorescence gives an indication of the rate at which singlet energy is trapped at photochemical reaction centers and the emission of delayed light is in some way a manifestation of the functioning of the reaction centers. A more extensive and careful study of the relationships between emitted light and photochemical events offers hope for a detailed elucidation of the physical and chemical processes involved in photosynthesis.
Safety of regadenoson positron emission tomography stress testing in orthotopic heart transplant patients

We sought to determine the safety of regadenoson (REG) stress testing in patients who have undergone orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT). Routine screening for cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is necessary after OHT. Adenosine stress is contraindicated after heart transplantation due to supersensitivity in denervated hearts. Safety of regadenoson stress following OHT has not been well studied. We retrospectively reviewed data from OHT patients (N = 123) who were referred to REG stress testing. Medical records were reviewed to determine hemodynamic and ECG response to regadenoson and to identify adverse reactions. No serious adverse events occurred. No life-threatening arrhythmias or hemodynamic changes occurred. Common side-effects related to regadenoson were observed, dyspnea being the most frequent (66.7%). On average the heart rate rose from 82.8 ± 12 to 95.7 ± 13.4 bpm (P < 0.001), systolic blood pressure decreased from 138.7 ± 20.9 to 115.9 ± 23.9 mmHg (P < 0.001) and mean arterial pressure decreased from 103.5 ± 14.1 to 84.72 ± 15.90 mmHg (P < 0.001) during stress protocol. There was no sustained ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, or second-or third-degree atrioventricular block. Regadenoson stress testing appears to be well tolerated and safe in OHT patients.
Impact of Homeowners Association Fees on Condominium Prices

Abstract We investigate whether homeowners' association (HOA) fees are capitalized into condominium sales prices in San Diego, California. Prior work has found evidence that HOA fees are generally positively capitalized into housing prices, although the investigations have focused on single-family housing and have been conducted on the East Coast or the Midwest of the United States. Using sales of 1,087 condominiums in downtown San Diego, the results suggest that HOA fees do appear to have a marginally positive effect on sales price. We use a condominium data set to test whether the relative HOA fee (i.e., compared to other fees in the same condominium building) matters. We find that condominium units with below-average HOA fees sell at a premium relative to the average and units that pay above-average HOA fees sell at a discount relative to the average condominium. The differences are capitalized into sales prices using a capitalization rate of approximately 3.5%. These results suggest that buyers dislik...
Clinical outcomes of advanced stage cancer patients treated with sequential immunotherapy in phase 1 clinical trials

Background Given the increasing number of available immunotherapeutic agents, more patients are presenting after failing immunotherapy in need of new treatment options. In this study, we investigated the clinical outcomes of patients treated with sequential immunotherapy. Methods We performed a retrospective review of 90 advanced stage cancer patients treated on immunotherapy-based phase 1 clinical trials at Winship Cancer Institute from 2009 to 2017. We included 49 patients with an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-indicated histology. Patients were analyzed based on whether they had received prior ICI. Clinical outcomes were overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and clinical benefit (best response of complete response, partial response, or stable disease). Univariate analysis (UVA) and multivariate analysis (MVA) were performed using Cox proportional hazard or logistic regression model. Covariates included age, liver metastases, number of prior lines of therapy, histology, and Royal Marsden Hospital (RMH) risk group. Results The most common histologies were melanoma (61%) and lung/head and neck cancers (37%). More than half of patients (n = 27, 55%) received at least one ICI prior to trial enrollment: ten received anti-PD-1, two received anti-CTLA-4, five received anti-PD-1/CTLA-4 combination, and ten received multiple ICI. In MVA, ICI-naive patients had significantly longer OS (HR: 0.22, CI: 0.07–0.70, p = 0.010) and trended towards higher chance of CB (HR: 2.52, CI: 0.49–12.97, p = 0.268). Patients who received prior ICI had substantially shorter median OS (10.9 vs 24.3 months, p = 0.046) and PFS (2.8 vs. 5.1 months, p = 0.380) than ICI-naive patients per Kaplan-Meier estimation. Within the ICI-naive group, 78% (7 of 9) of patients who received prior interleukin (IL-2) or interferon gamma (IFNγ) experienced disease control for at least 6 months, compared to a disease control rate of 15% (2 of 13) in patients who had received chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or no prior treatment. Conclusions ICI-naive patients may experience improved clinical outcomes on immunotherapy-based phase 1 clinical trials than patients who have received prior ICI. This may be particularly true for patients who received prior IL-2 or IFNγ. Further development of immunotherapy combination therapies is needed to improve clinical outcomes of these patients. These results should be validated in a larger study.
Untouchable genes in the human genome: Identifying ideal targets for cancer treatment.

Abstract Background Usually, genes with a higher-than-expected number of somatic mutations in tumor samples are assumed to be cancer related. We identified genes with a fewer-than-expected number of somatic mutations - “untouchable genes”. Methods To predict the expected number of somatic mutations, we used a linear regression model with the number of mutations in the gene as an outcome, and gene characteristics, including gene size, nucleotide composition, level of evolutionary conservation, expression level and others, as predictors. Analysis of residuals from the regression model was used to compare the observed and predicted number of mutations. Results We have identified 19 genes with a less-than-expected number of loss-off-function (nonsense, frameshift or pathogenic missense) mutations – i.e., untouchable genes. The number of silent or neutral missense mutations in untouchable genes was equal or higher than the expected number. Many mucins, including MUC16, MUC17, MUC6, MUC5AC, MUC5B, and MUC12, are untouchable. We hypothesized that untouchable mucins help tumor cells to avoid immune response by providing a protective coat that prevents direct contact between effector immune cells, e.g., cytotoxic T-cells, and tumor cells. Survival analysis of available TCGA data demonstrated that overall survival of patients with low (below the median) expression of untouchable mucins was better compared to patients with high expression of untouchable mucins. Aside from mucins, we have identified a number of other untouchable genes. Conclusions Untouchable genes may be ideal targets for cancer treatment since suppression of untouchable genes is expected to inhibit survival of tumor cells.
Spontaneous coronary artery dissection and its association with takotsubo syndrome: Novel insights from a tertiary center registry.

Background Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a relatively rare cause of acute coronary syndrome historically thought to primarily affect young, healthy women. The lack of multicenter collaborative research efforts has made it challenging to identify the precise etiology and pathological mechanisms underlying SCAD. However, there are many similarities in the patient demographics, clinical presentations, and predisposing stressors between SCAD and takotsubo syndrome (TTS). Objectives The aim of this observational study was to examine the coronary and left ventriculographic features of patients with angiographically confirmed SCAD and determine the prevalence of concomitant TTS. Methods In this observational study, patients with angiographically confirmed SCAD were identified from the Massachusetts General Hospital SCAD registry. The coronary angiograms with simultaneous left ventriculograms (LVG) were carefully analyzed by an independent and blinded angiographic core laboratory. Results From our analysis of patients with SCAD who also underwent a LVG at time of coronary angiography, we identified a high prevalence of SCAD and concomitant TTS. Conclusions Therefore, we present TTS as a plausible mechanistic etiology for SCAD in some patients. In light of this finding as well as the many similarities between SCAD and TTS, clinicians should be vigilant about the potential concomitant presence of these two entities. Additional future investigations further exploring the clinical implications of the association between SCAD and TTS are warranted.
Clinical and design factors influence the survivorship of custom flange acetabular components.

Aims Custom flange acetabular components (CFACs) are a patient-specific option for addressing large acetabular defects at revision total hip arthroplasty (THA), but patient and implant characterist...
Unrecognized fluid overload during induction therapy increases morbidity in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

BACKGROUND The combination of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) has proven to be the most effective therapy for patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). The majority of the morbidity and mortality from APL therapy occur during the induction phase. The objective of the current study was to identify the risk factors associated with transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU) and endotracheal intubation during induction therapy in patients with APL. METHODS The authors analyzed the clinical characteristics of 187 patients with newly diagnosed APL who were treated with ATRA and ATO with or without gemtuzumab ozogamicin. The authors documented the percentage change in body weight from baseline to the maximum recorded weight during induction or to the day of ICU transfer. RESULTS A total of 18 patients (10%) who initiated therapy with ATRA and ATO on a regular hospital floor required transfer to the ICU after a median of 12 days of induction therapy. The median volume of transfusions was 4350 mL (range, 60-30,750 mL). The volume of transfusions was the main factor associated with the risk of ICU transfer (odds ratio, 4.1; P < .001). Of the 18 patients transferred to the ICU, 10 patients (5%) required intubation. An increase in the total volume of transfusions, increase in weight ≥10% during induction therapy, and a plasma albumin level ≤3.2 g/dL at the time of diagnosis were found to be associated with an increased risk of endotracheal intubation. CONCLUSIONS Large volumes of blood product transfusions and unrecognized fluid overload during induction are associated with ICU transfer and endotracheal intubation in patients with APL. These can be prevented by limiting the amount of transfusions, careful monitoring for subtle signs of fluid overload, and early intervention with aggressive diuretic therapy.
The Application for Automatic Voltage Control Technology Considering Energy Storage in Regional Power Grid

Compared with the traditional energy, energy storage power stations using emerging clean generation technology have the advantages such as peak regulation, voltage regulation, and suppressing power fluctuation of grids. Due to its advantages of eliminating voltage overstepping and optimizing reactive power, automatic voltage control (AVC) system has been widely used in power grid control system in recent years. In this paper presents a voltage coordination control technology for regional grid energy storage stations considering the reactive margin, and elaborates the principle and the implementation of the control scheme. The practical application of the site shows that the control strategy of this scheme is feasible and effective, and it can effectively exert the advantages of control voltage and optimal reactive power of the energy storage power station, which is conducive to improving the stability and power quality of the power grid.
Mapping and Targeting of the Leukemic Microenvironment

Numerous studies support a role of the microenvironment in maintenance of the leukemic clone, as well as in treatment resistance. It is clear that disruption of the normal bone marrow microenvironment is sufficient to promote leukemic transformation and survival in both a cell autonomous and non-cell autonomous manner. In this review, we provide a snapshot of the various cell types shown to contribute to the leukemic microenvironment as well as treatment resistance. Several of these studies suggest that leukemic blasts occupy specific cellular and biochemical "niches." Effective dissection of critical leukemic niche components using single-cell approaches has allowed a more precise and extensive characterization of complexity that underpins both the healthy and malignant bone marrow microenvironment. Knowledge gained from these observations can have an important impact in the development of microenvironment-directed targeted approaches aimed at mitigating disease relapse.
On liquid bridge adhesion to fibrous surfaces under normal and shear forces

Abstract This paper reports on adhesion forces between a liquid bridge and two parallel plates coated with electrospun fibers experimentally and computationally. For the experiments, a DI water droplet containing 15% glycerol was placed on one of the plates and compressed, stretched, or sheared using the other plate. The assembly was mounted on a sensitive scale to measure the forces applied to the plates during the experiment. For the computational part, an efficient modeling approach was developed to predict the 3-D shape of the liquid bridge and to calculate its resistance to normal and tangential forces in the presence of contact angle hysteresis effects, using the Surface Evolver finite element code. Despite the inherent non-uniformity of the fibrous surfaces used in the experiments and the simplifying assumptions considered for the simulations, reasonable agreement was observed between the measurements and their computational counterparts. In addition, the hysteresis behavior of a liquid bridge during a compression–stretching process is mapped in an energy or force diagram versus spacing between the plates using radius-constant and contact-angle-constant lines describing the triple contact-line. It was also observed that a liquid bridge between two electrospun coatings tends to maintain its symmetricity despite the anisotropic roughness of the coatings, due perhaps to the minuteness of the electrospun fibers relative to the size of the liquid bridge.
Antimicrobial resistance of gram-negative bacteria: A six-year longitudinal study in a hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Abstract Introduction Increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance is a major concern especially in light of lack of new antimicrobial agents. Here, we present antibiotic resistance pattern of gram-negative bacteria (GNB) over six years (2013–2018) in a hospital in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods The study included a report of the cumulative antibiogram of GNB. Interpretation of the antibacterial susceptibility tests was based on the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines and VITEK® 2 system. Results There was a total of 32,890 GNB isolates and the most common were: Escherichia coli (69.8%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (17.2%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (12.8%). Antimicrobial susceptibility of P. aeruginosa and E. coli did not change overtime, however, susceptibility to ceftazidime decreased from 92% to 85% in P. aeuroginosa. Yearly antimicrobial susceptibility did not change significantly overtime for K. pneumoniae. ESBL isolates among K. peumoniae and E. coli was about 26% and 20%, respectively (p = 0.0068). For ESBL E. coli, the least effective antibiotics were ciprofloxacin (26%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (34%). For ESBL K. pneumoniae, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and nitrofurantoin had poor activity. For K. pneumoniae, both ciprofloxacin (90%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (86%) had better coverage than for E. coli. K. pneumoniae showed less susceptibility to nitrofurantoin than E. coli (20% vs. 92%). Conclusion Antibiotic resistance among P. aeruginosa and E. coli did not change overtime (2013–2018) and the rate of ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae was high. Thus, continued surveillance is needed.
Long-term (20-year) real-world outcomes of intravenous chemotherapy (chemoreduction) for retinoblastoma in 964 eyes of 554 patients at a single centre

Background Intravenous chemotherapy (IVC) remains an important globe salvage therapy for retinoblastoma. Methods Evaluation of long-term globe salvage at 5, 10, 15 and 20 years following frontline IVC for retinoblastoma. Results Of 994 eyes, comparison by International Classification of Retinoblastoma group (A vs B vs C vs D vs E) revealed more advanced group with older mean age at presentation (8 vs 7 vs 10 vs 11 vs 15 months, p Conclusion Frontline IVC (plus additional IAC and/or plaque radiotherapy) for retinoblastoma provided complete tumour control for groups A (96%), B (91%), C (91%), D (71%) and E (32%), avoiding enucleation or EBRT and was lasting for up to 20 years.
An Economic Perspective on Algorithmic Fairness

There are widespread concerns that the growing use of machine learning algorithms in important decisions may reproduce and reinforce existing discrimination against legally protected groups. Most of the attention to date on issues of "algorithmic bias" or "algorithmic fairness" has come from computer scientists and machine learning researchers. We argue that concerns about algorithmic fairness are at least as much about questions of how discrimination manifests itself in data, decision-making under uncertainty, and optimal regulation. To fully answer these questions, an economic framework is necessary—and as a result, economists have much to contribute.
Quantitative prediction of Suzuki segregation at stacking faults of the γ' phase in Ni-base superalloys

Abstract Recent experiments suggest that Suzuki segregation may play an important role during deformation in Ni-base superalloys at intermediate temperatures. In this study, a segregation isotherm model incorporating segregation enthalpy from ab initio calculations is proposed to predict quantitatively solute enrichment at superlattice intrinsic stacking faults (SISF) within the γ’ precipitates in Ni-base superalloys. A sublattice model is employed to describe the γ’ phase. A strong correlation between segregation enthalpy and solute enrichment is found. Even though the segregation enthalpy is relatively small, the predicted solute enrichment is consistent with experimental observations. The simulation predictions also suggest a strong cross-correlation among different alloying elements. For example, it is found that segregation of Co on the Ni sublattice at the fault draws segregation of Cr that has a positive segregation enthalpy at the fault without the presence of Co. Such quantitative predictions of equilibrium segregation of solutes at stacking faults in γ’ precipitates and its effect on the stacking fault energy could aid the investigation of deformation mechanisms and help the design of superalloys.
Mechanistic puzzles from Iron(III) TAML activators including substrate inhibition, zero-order and dual catalysis

Abstract TAML activators of peroxides are iron(III) complexes. The central metal is ligated either by four deprotonated amide nitrogens or by two amide and two sulfonamide nitrogens in macrocyclic motifs. TAML activators are functional replicas of the peroxidases and cytochrome P450 enzymes. In water, they catalyze oxidation of a broad spectrum of compounds by peroxides. Recent mechanistic studies revealed an additional feature of TAMLs; the substrate inhibition which brings them even closer to the biocatalysts. A deep mechanistic understanding of the phenomenon provides a key for resolving several mechanistic puzzles introduced by TAMLs including zero-order catalysis, dual catalysis where TAMLs and some buffer components catalyze oxidation of picrate by hydrogen peroxide. This account summarizes results of new recent mechanistic findings. In addition it emphasizes other significant achievements in developing the catalytic chemistry of TAML activators in aqueous media.
Sentinel SAR-optical fusion for crop type mapping using deep learning and Google Earth Engine

Abstract Accurate crop type mapping provides numerous benefits for a deeper understanding of food systems and yield prediction. Ever-increasing big data, easy access to high-resolution imagery, and cloud-based analytics platforms like Google Earth Engine have drastically improved the ability for scientists to advance data-driven agriculture with improved algorithms for crop type mapping using remote sensing, computer vision, and machine learning. Crop type mapping techniques mainly relied on standalone SAR and optical imagery, few studies investigated the potential of SAR-optical data fusion, coupled with virtual constellation, and 3-dimensional (3D) deep learning networks. To this extent, we use a deep learning approach that utilizes the denoised backscatter and texture information from multi-temporal Sentinel-1 SAR data and the spectral information from multi-temporal optical Sentinel-2 data for mapping ten different crop types, as well as water, soil and urban area. Multi-temporal Sentinel-1 data was fused with multi-temporal optical Sentinel-2 data in an effort to improve classification accuracies for crop types. We compared the results of the 3D U-Net to the state-of-the-art deep learning networks, including SegNet and 2D U-Net, as well as commonly used machine learning method such as Random Forest. The results showed (1) fusing multi-temporal SAR and optical data yields higher training overall accuracies (OA) (3D U-Net 0.992, 2D U-Net 0.943, SegNet 0.871) and testing OA (3D U-Net 0.941, 2D U-Net 0.847, SegNet 0.643) for crop type mapping compared to standalone multi-temporal SAR or optical data (2) optical data fused with denoised SAR data via a denoising convolution neural network (OA 0.912) performed better for crop type mapping compared to optical data fused with boxcar (OA 0.880), Lee (OA 0.881), and median (OA 0.887) filtered SAR data and (3) 3D convolutional neural networks perform better than 2D convolutional neural networks for crop type mapping (SAR OA 0.912, optical OA 0.937, fused OA 0.992).
Bulk moduli of sandstones subjected to isotropic stress: Simultaneous static and dynamic experimental study

Abstract We designed an experiment to simultaneously measure the dynamic and static elastic moduli of the reservoir rocks. The static moduli experiments were conducted by using strain gauges while the dynamic moduli were calculated from the measurement of ultrasonic P- and S-wave velocities at a central dominant frequency of 1 MHz by P- and S-wave transducers housed inside the pressure cell. To increase the accuracy of our dynamic measurements we directly measured S-wave velocity and no estimation has been used to predict S velocity from its recorded P- velocity, which is customary in past studies. Our experimental design had a fixed loading-unloading stress rate at 1 MPa/min. We observed that for sandstones with porosity ranging from 8% to 24%, the dynamic bulk moduli can be up to 44% higher than the static moduli. The results are in agreement with some, but not all of the existing empirical equations in the literature. We confirmed that by using P-wave velocity -a non-destructive method- the UCS (Unconfined Compressive Strength) value for sandstones could also be estimated. Dynamic bulk's modulus ranged from 4-13GPa while the static bulk modulus was simultaneously measured and ranged from 2-11GPa for the same samples. This paper extended to measure dynamic Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio for four time periods of the study to investigate the effect of stress and time relaxation on the properties of the sandstones. We measured the elastic properties of non-loaded samples before applying the stress, right after the unloading, 20 days and 60 days after the experiment. The pattern for all the samples showed an increase of Young's modulus right after the stress application and then gradual decrease of this value over time as a result of relaxation; however, most of the samples could not reach the original values of the moduli due to irreversible deformation at micro-level. Dynamic moduli show great sensitivity to detection of irreversible deformations as compared to static moduli. Finally, we checked the compatibility of empirical equations on predicting UCS values based on the P-wave velocity for sandstones. The predicted UCS by the nominated equation is quite accurate, which shows the great potential of dynamic studies as a non-destructive experiment to estimate this value for the sandstones.
Facial paralysis and vaccinations: a vaccine adverse event reporting system review.

Background Vaccinations are a cornerstone of preventative medicine in the USA. However, growing concerns regarding facial nerve palsy following vaccination exist. Objective This study aims to assess the occurrence of facial palsy as reported by the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database. Methods A retrospective analysis of the VAERS database was performed for cases of 'Facial Palsy', 'Bell's Palsy', 'Facial Paralysis' and 'Ramsay Hunt Syndrome' between 2009 and 2018. Subgroup analysis was performed to determine gender, age, history of facial palsy, type of vaccine used, number of days until onset of symptoms and overall facial palsy rate. Results Nine hundred and forty-four entries met our inclusion criteria with 961 vaccine administrations resulting in facial paralysis. Facial palsy following vaccinations was evenly distributed across all age cohorts with two peaks between 60 and 74 years old and between 0 and 14 years old. Most patients were female (N = 526, 55.7%) without a reported history of facial palsy (N = 923, 97.8%). In 2009, reported incidence rate was 0.53%, as compared with 0.23% in 2018. The influenza vaccine had the greatest number of cases (N = 166, 17.3%), followed by the varicella (N = 87, 9.1%) and human papillomavirus vaccines (N = 47, 4.9%). Conclusions With the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and recent approvals of the vaccinations, there is growing concern of facial palsy following vaccination. Although it is a known adverse event following vaccination, the likelihood of facial palsy following vaccination is low, with only 0.26% of overall reported cases over a 10-year span.
Venetoclax plus Dose-Adjusted R-EPOCH (VR-EPOCH) for Richter's Syndrome.

Richter's Syndrome (RS) of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is typically chemoresistant, with a poor prognosis. We hypothesized that the oral Bcl-2 inhibitor venetoclax could sensitize RS to chemoimmunotherapy and improve outcomes. We conducted a single-arm, investigator-sponsored, phase 2 trial of venetoclax plus dose-adjusted rituximab, etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin (VR-EPOCH) to determine the rate of complete response (CR). Patients received R-EPOCH for 1 cycle, then after count recovery, accelerated daily venetoclax ramp-up to 400 mg, then VR-EPOCH for up to 5 more 21-day cycles. Responders received venetoclax maintenance or cellular therapy off-study. Twenty-six patients were treated, and 13 of 26 (50%) achieved CR, with 11 achieving undetectable bone marrow minimal residual disease for CLL. Three additional patients achieved partial response (overall response rate 62%). Median progression-free survival was 10.1 months, and median overall survival was 19.6 months. Hematologic toxicity included grade ≥3 neutropenia (65%) and thrombocytopenia (50%), with febrile neutropenia in 38%. No patients experienced tumor lysis syndrome with daily venetoclax ramp-up. VR-EPOCH is active in RS, with deeper, more durable responses than historical regimens. Toxicities from intensive chemoimmunotherapy and venetoclax were observed. Our data suggest that studies comparing venetoclax with chemoimmunotherapy to chemoimmunotherapy alone are warranted. (Funded by Genentech/AbbVie; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03054896).
The Inhibitory G-protein, Gz, Accelerates the Progression of Insulitis and Hyperglycemia in a Type 1 Diabetes Mouse Model

In type 1 diabetes (T1D), an autoimmune insulitis leads to β-cell death. The non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse model mimics these facets of the human disease. Our laboratory has previously shown that ...
Height zeta functions of equivariant compactifications of the Heisenberg group

We study analytic properties of height zeta functions of equivariant compactifications of the Heisenberg group.
LA POESÍA DE ROBERTO BOLAÑO: TÓPICOS Y ENSUEÑOS

El articulo presenta los diversos topicos, temas, formas que tiene la poesia de Roberto Bolano. En sus poemas esta expresada la idea de la poesia como territorio del sueno. Sus poemas remiten a como la poesia sirve para ver de otra manera, y dar cuenta del cruce entre realidad y ensonacion. Al juntar literatura y ciudad en un espacio privilegiado que el designa como La Universidad Desconocida, Bolano insiste en la necesidad de mantener vigente la relacion inseparable de etica y estetica, de literatura y vida; y del compromiso insoslayable que tiene el poeta de mirar de una manera distinta el mundo, para evitar que el olvido lleve a ocultar el horror y el crimen presente en la sociedad humana contemporanea
Couples/Marital Therapies

This entry presents the framework for the study and practice of couples therapy, including its importance, common characteristics, and history. It covers core theoretical and applied aspects of contemporary couples therapy, including behavioral, cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, and family systems models. This entry also addresses the treatment of specific issues within couples therapy, including sexual disorders, depression and anxiety, drug and alcohol use, intimate partner violence, borderline personality disorder, and infidelity. Keywords: couple therapy; marital therapy; psychology of relationships; relationship distress; behavior therapy; cognitive behavior therapy; forgiveness; marriage
The crossover closure and partial match detection

The crossover closure generation rule characterizes the generalization achieved by artificial immune systems using partial match detection. The paper reviews earlier results and extends the previously introduced notion of crossover closure to encompass additional match rules. For concreteness, the discussion focuses on r-chunks matching, giving alternative ways that detectors can be used to implement the crossover closure.
The Advanced Light Source (ALS) Radiation Safety System

The Advanced Light Source (ALS) at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) is a 1.5-GeV synchrotron light source facility consisting of a 120 keV electron gun, 50 MeV linear accelerator 1.5 GeV booster synchrotron, 200 meter circumference electron storage ring, and many photon beamline transport systems for research. The Radiation Safety System for the ALS has been designed and built with a primary goal of providing protection against inadvertent personnel exposure to gamma and neutron radiation and secondarily, to enhance the electrical safety of select magnet power supplies. >
Functional Anatomy of Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Overlapping Genes Encoding Infected-Cell Protein 22 and US1.5 Protein

Earlier studies have shown that (i) the coding domain of the alpha22 gene encodes two proteins, the 420-amino-acid infected-cell protein 22 (ICP22) and a protein, US1.5, which is initiated from methionine 147 of ICP22 and which is colinear with the remaining portion of that protein; (ii) posttranslational processing of ICP22 mediated largely by the viral protein kinase UL13 yields several isoforms differing in electrophoretic mobility; and (iii) mutants lacking the carboxyl-terminal half of the ICP22 and therefore DeltaUS1.5 are avirulent and fail to express normal levels of subsets of both alpha (e.g., ICP0) or gamma2 (e.g., US11 and UL38) proteins. We have generated and analyzed two sets of recombinant viruses. The first lacked portions of or all of the sequences expressed solely by ICP22. The second set lacked 10 to 40 3'-terminal codons of ICP22 and US1. 5. The results were as follows. (i) In cells infected with mutants lacking amino-terminal sequences, translation initiation begins at methionine 147. The resulting protein cannot be differentiated in mobility from authentic US1.5, and its posttranslational processing is mediated by the UL13 protein kinase. (ii) Expression of US11 and UL38 genes by mutants carrying only the US1.5 gene is similar to that of wild-type parent virus. (iii) Mutants which express only US1. 5 protein are avirulent in mice. (iv) The coding sequences Met147 to Met171 are essential for posttranslational processing of the US1.5 protein. (v) ICP22 made by mutants lacking 15 or fewer of the 3'-terminal codons are posttranslationally processed whereas those lacking 18 or more codons are not processed. (vi) Wild-type and mutant ICP22 proteins localized in both nucleus and cytoplasm irrespective of posttranslational processing. We conclude that ICP22 encodes two sets of functions, one in the amino terminus unique to ICP22 and one shared by ICP22 and US1.5. These functions are required for viral replication in experimental animals. US1.5 protein must be posttranslationally modified by the UL13 protein kinase to enable expression of a subset of late genes exemplified by UL38 and US11. Posttranslational processing is determined by two sets of sequences, at the amino terminus and at the carboxyl terminus of US1.5, respectively, a finding consistent with the hypothesis that both domains interact with protein partners for specific functions.
Hormonal contraceptive use in HIV-infected women using antiretroviral therapy: a systematic review

Background: While extensive research has explored pharmacokinetic interactions between antiretroviral therapy (ART) and hormonal contraception few studies have examined whether these interactions affect clinical outcomes. To address this gap we conducted a systematic review of the literature that describes hormonal contraceptive use among HIV-infected women who also use ART focusing on papers that address clinically important outcomes such as pregnancy or ovulation. Methods/design: An electronic literature search was conducted of PubMed and Ovid to identify all articles that addressed hormonal contraception co-administered with ART published in English between January 1 1990 and October 30 2014. In addition manual reference checks of all articles of interest were conducted to identify articles not captured in the electronic search. Our search criteria identified 405 records. The title and abstract of data reports retrieved via the search were reviewed to identify potential articles of interest. Those with any indication of the main outcomes of interest were considered for inclusion (N=162). Abstracts were then reviewed to identify those manuscripts that would merit a review of the full-text version (N=64). Eight articles that addressed the outcomes of interest were identified. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the quality of these articles. Results: The studies reviewed were limited in a number of ways that precluded their providing a rigorous assessment of the efficacy of contraception when co-administered with ART. Discussion: None of the studies were of adequate quality to provide the guidance that providers and HIV-infected women need when considering contraceptive options. High-quality well-powered studies are required to address the efficacy of hormonal contraception when co-administered with ART.
Transnational Fiesta: 1992

Transnational Fiesta: 1992 1993, 61 minutes Produced by Wilton Martinez and Paul Gelles. Distributed by University of California Extension Center for Media and Independent Learning.
A Kalman filter for noise reduction on SAR imagery

Despite the numerous applications that have been developed for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, their degradation due to the presence of noise makes them very difficult to use. Kalman filtering techniques have been investigated for various image models. Following a model suggested by Azimi-Sadjadi and Bannour (see IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol.29, no.5, p.742-753, 1991) we propose a modified Kalman technique for SAR imagery. The large variation of the statistics of the noise is compensated for by a variance to mean ratio. The Kalman filter gain is, therefore, adapted to the statistics of the local area. Comparisons with the method mentioned above are given for real ERS-1 SAR data collected from Victoria, BC. >
A Domain-Driven, Generative Data Model for Big Pet Store

Generating large amounts of semantically-rich data for testing big data workflows is paramount for scalable performance benchmarking and quality assurance in modern machine-learning and analytics workloads. The most obvious use case for such a generative algorithm is in conjunction with a big data application blueprint, which can be used by developers (to test their emerging big data solutions) as well as end users (as a starting point for validating infrastructure installations, building novel applications, and learning analytics methods). We present a new domain-driven, generative data model for Big Pet Store, a big data application blueprint for the Hadoop ecosystem included in the Apache Big Top distribution. We describe the model and demonstrate its ability to generate semantically-rich data at variable scale ranging from a single machine to a large cluster. We validate the model by using the generated data to answer questions about customer locations and purchasing habits for a fictional targeted advertising campaign, a common business use case.