cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Game Spaces Speak Volumes: Indexical Storytelling

In the problematic exploration of the narrative potential of videogames, one of the clearest aspects that bridge stories and games is space. This paper examines the different devices that videogames have used to incorporate stories through spatial design and what is known as environmental storytelling, focusing on the design elements that make the story directly relevant to gameplay beyond world-building and backstory exposition. These design-related elements are accounted for with the term indexical storytelling. As a refinement of the concept of environmental storytelling, indexical storytelling is a productive game design device, since reading the space of the game and learning about the events that have taken place in it are required to traverse the game successfully. Storytelling becomes a game of story-building, since the player has to piece together the story, or construct a story of her own interaction in the world by leaving a trace.
Epidemiology of Epilepsy

The epidemiology of epilepsy varies worldwide, with age, sex, comorbidities, ­overall health, reporting schemes, definitions, etc. It was once stated that “the object of any science is the accumulation of systematized verifiable knowledge, achieved through observation, experimentation, and thought”
Prognostic value of stress myocardial perfusion imaging in pre-kidney transplantation risk stratification

1107 Objectives Patients evaluated for kidney transplantation (KT) are at high risk of atherosclerotic heart disease and future cardiac events. Current evidence for role of SPECT in pre KT patients is conflicting. We sought to identify if pharmacologic SPECT imaging can reliably predict major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in this population. Methods A retrospective study of 116 patients who underwent SPECT prior to KT between 1/1/97 to 12/31/2008. Patients with revascularization after the SPECT but before the KT were excluded from the study. MACE studied were cardiac (CD), non-cardiac death (NCD), congestive heart failure (CHF) admissions, and non-fatal myocardial infarction (NFMI). SPECT results were classifed as normal, scar, ischemia, or scar and ischemia. Sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive values for long term MACE were calculated. Results Patients with a SPECT prior to KT were on an average of 56 years of age, with 65 % males, and 47 % African-Americans. Diabetes was present in 51 %, hypertension in 95 %, 31% had CHF and 22 % had prior coronary artery disease. Adenosine and Dobutamine SPECT were performed in 76 % and 23% of patients respectively. Median follow up was 41.4 months. MPI-ST had a sensitivity of 30%, specificity of 93%, positive predictive value of 64%, and negative predictive value of 77% for predicting overall MACE. There was a significant difference in MACE outcomes between normal and scar groups (23.2% vs. 60.0% p Conclusions Presence of either scar or scar and ischemia on pre KT SPECT predicts increased MACE in KT recipients over long term follow up. The accuracy of SPECT in the KT population is comparable to non-transplant patient subsets. Scar has important implications for MACE and identifies a patient subset requiring close monitoring and aggressive medical therapy. SPECT can be considered a first line test in pre-KT assessment
Extinction and Radiation: How the Fall of Dinosaurs Led to the Rise of Mammals

Archibald, J. D. 2011. Extinction and Radiation: How the Fall of Dinosaurs Led to the Rise of Mammals . Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, xii+108 pp., $65. ISBN 13: 978-0-8018-9805-1 (hardcover). Despite the Earth’s immense age, only the last 600 million years have been characterized by remarkable biodiversity. If we accept that theropod dinosaurs were the ancestors of birds, and synapsids the ancestors of mammals, we can easily understand why the Triassic synapsids did not diversify to marsupial+placental mammals, and monotremes until the Jurassic, and why early placental mammals were no larger than shrews even by the end of Cretaceous. Until then, dinosaurs made up 95% of the total biomass of vertebrates through the second half of the Mesozoic; after their mass extinction, mammals radiated dramatically filling all niches of the dinosaurs and even invading new ones. This appears to be the central theme of Archibald’s book. With an extensive breadth of knowledge of recent paleontological discoveries in South America, Europe, and Asia, as well as considerable field experience in the western United States, southern Alberta, and Uzbekistan, Archibald is superbly qualified to draw on his vast experience. As evidenced by this book, he is also clearly unafraid to enter into polemics with other scientists on interpreting the value of recent world-wide mammal discoveries, the book’s central … “GrigoreAntipa” National Museum of Natural History, Sos. Kiseleff no. 1, 011341 Sectorul 1, Bucharest, Romania; e-mail: dmurariu{at}antipa.ro.
Socialism, unification policy and the rise of racism in eastern Germany

Ethnic conflict has become a major challenge facing unified Germany. While anti-immigrant violence has been virulent across the country, it has been especially conspicuous and upsetting in former E...
MR of intramedullary spinal cysticercosis.

Observation chez un chilien d'une cysticercose intramedullaire disseminee aux etages cervical et thoracique et au cone terminal. Imagerie RMN
Cell-type-specific cytotoxicity of anti-CD4 and anti-CD8 ricin immunotoxins against human alloreactive T-cell clones.

Potent T-cell subset-directed immunotoxins (ITs) were generated by conjugating the anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) G17–2 and the anti- CD8 MoAb G10.1 to the ribosome-inhibitory protein, ricin. The cell-type- specific cytotoxicities of the generated ITs were evaluated at the clonal level using human alloreactive T-cell clones. The kinetics of anti-CD4 ricin-induced inactivation of protein synthesis in target CD4+ cloned T-cells was first order with no detectable lag period and a maximum rate of 0.07 logs per hour (t10 = 13.6 hours; first-order rate constant/K = 0.17 hr-1). The alloantigen specific lytic function of the CD4+ cytolytic T-cell clone JMAC28 was acutely sensitive to anti-CD4 ricin, and no residual lytic activity against allogeneic targets was detectable 24 hours after treatment with as little as 0.5 mmol/L anti- CD4 ricin. Notably, both anti-CD4 ricin and anti-CD8 ricin elicited a selective and dose-dependent inhibition of clonal proliferation of target T-cell clones with a maximum kill of greater than 3 logs at 5 nmol/L. No significant “bystander effects” were observed for non-target cells. Bone marrow progenitor cells CFU-GM, BFU-E, and CFU-GEMM were only minimally affected by either IT. We conclude that these ITs show considerable potential for effective depletion of T-cell subpopulations from allogeneic donor marrow grafts for clinical graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis.
Analyzing Power for the 90Zr(\(\vec t\),α)89Y and 206,208pb(\(\vec t\),α)205,207Tℓ Reactions at 17 MeV

Recent installation of a polarized triton source1) at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory’s Van de Graaff accelerator has permitted the measvrement of the total spin value of proton hole states by means of the (,α) reaction. This study has been carried out on targets of 90Zr, 206pb, and 208Pb using a 17 MeV beam of polarized tritons with an intensity of 30–50 nA on target. the reaction products were detected in a Q3D spectrometer using a one-meter-long helical proportional chamber in the focal plane.2) The energy resolution of these experiments was 60 keV for the 90Zr case (a 500 μg/cm2 target), 20 keV for 206Pb (150 μg/cm2), and 18 keV for 208Pb (125 μg/cm2). The Q3D was operated at a solid angle of 14.2 msr, which resulted in exposure times of ~ 10 min. per angle for the 90Zr target to ~ 1 hour for the 206Pb target. Results at 10 angles were obtained for the 90Zr and 208Pb targets, and at four angles for the 206Pb target.
Adiposity influences airway wall thickness and the asthma phenotype of HIV-associated obstructive lung disease: a cross-sectional study

Airflow obstruction, which encompasses several phenotypes, is common among HIV-infected individuals. Obesity and adipose-related inflammation are associated with both COPD (fixed airflow obstruction) and asthma (reversible airflow obstruction) in HIV-uninfected persons, but the relationship to airway inflammation and airflow obstruction in HIV-infected persons is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine if adiposity and adipose-associated inflammation are associated with airway obstruction phenotypes in HIV-infected persons. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 121 HIV-infected individuals assessed with pulmonary function testing, chest CT scans for measures of airway wall thickness (wall area percent [WA%]) and adipose tissue volumes (mediastinal and subcutaneous), as well as HIV- and adipose-related inflammatory markers. Participants were defined as COPD phenotype (post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC < lower limit of normal) or asthma phenotype (doctor-diagnosed asthma or bronchodilator response). Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated between adipose measurements, WA%, and pulmonary function. Multivariable logistic and linear regression models were used to determine associations of airflow obstruction and airway remodeling (WA%) with adipose measurements and participant characteristics. Twenty-three (19 %) participants were classified as the COPD phenotype and 33 (27 %) were classified as the asthma phenotype. Body mass index (BMI) was similar between those with and without COPD, but higher in those with asthma compared to those without (mean [SD] 30.7 kg/m2 [8.1] vs. 26.5 kg/m2 [5.3], p = 0.008). WA% correlated with greater BMI (r = 0.55, p < 0.001) and volume of adipose tissue (subcutaneous, r = 0.40; p < 0.001; mediastinal, r = 0.25; p = 0.005). Multivariable regression found the COPD phenotype associated with greater age and pack-years smoking; the asthma phenotype with younger age, female gender, smoking history, and lower adiponectin levels; and greater WA% with greater BMI, younger age, higher soluble CD163, and higher CD4 counts. Adiposity and adipose-related inflammation are associated with an asthma phenotype, but not a COPD phenotype, of obstructive lung disease in HIV-infected persons. Airway wall thickness is associated with adiposity and inflammation. Adipose-related inflammation may play a role in HIV-associated asthma.
Elemental composition of membrane foulant layers using EDS, XPS, and RBS

Abstract Existing studies investigating the elemental composition of membrane foulant layers typically use one of the following analytical techniques: energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), or Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). However, given that EDS, XPS, and RBS have different capabilities, limitations, and depths of analysis, these techniques may provide differing results from each other. Thus, to understand the suitability of each technique for the analysis of membrane foulant layers, a thorough study is needed that compares EDS, XPS, and RBS results for a diverse set of fouled membranes. As such, the objectives of this study were to identify the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of EDS, XPS and RBS in the characterization of the elemental composition of foulant layers, and evaluate whether the three techniques yield consistent and/or complementary results for sample composition and structure. We studied four diverse fouled membranes, each before and after cleaning, as well as the original unfouled membranes, and assessed the suitability of each technique for various applications, such as the detection of major elements in thick and thin layers, characterization of sample depth heterogeneity, evaluation of overall membrane cleaning efficacy, among others. Results show that in the analysis of membranes and foulant layers: (i) applying a single technique may lead to incomplete or incorrect conclusions about composition or structure; (ii) RBS is the most advantageous technique for elemental analysis; (iii) EDS has important limitations, but is appropriate for evaluating overall elemental composition of foulant layers and overall efficacy of membrane cleaning; and (iv) XPS is well-suited to detect trace elements in foulant layers and small amounts of foulants remaining on cleaned membranes. Overall, results show that the suitability of each technique depends on the research objectives.
Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant in β-Thalassemia Major

β-Thalassemia major (BTM) occurs globally and represents a major growing health problem in many countries (Weatherall et al. 2010). BTM involves deficient or absent synthesis of the β-globin chains that constitute hemoglobin molecules and results in chronic hemolytic anemia. Subjects with BTM must adhere to continuous red blood cell replacement program to sustain life but unfortunately therapy comes with undesirable and sometimes life-threatening complications (Fung et al. 2006; Rahav et al. 2006). Without regular transfusions, BTM patients develop tremendous skeleton deformities, hepatomegaly, and splenomegaly from chronic hemolysis with expansion of the hematopoietic system, and as the disease advances, extramedullary hematopoiesis ensues (Sabloff et al. 2011; Angelucci et al. 2010). In addition, the patients usually incur cardiopulmonary problems from chronic anemia and iron overload. The only curative outlet from BTM is via deployment of allo-HCT preferably from HLA-matched sibling donor (MSD) early in the course of the disease. The pre-HCT chronic iron overload (plus its sequelae) and viral infection(s) must be medically managed even after successful allo-HCT in patient now referred to as “ex-thalassemics.” The basic concept behind allo-HCT is to substitute carefully selected HLA-MSD’s CD34+ hematopoietic cells with recipient “thalassemic clone” hematopoietic cells with a goal to achieve effective and sustainable hematopoiesis translated into transfusion independence. Evaluation prior to allo-HCT in younger children ( 17 years of age) patients with BTM usually have organ damage due to higher degree of iron overload with increase incidence of graft rejection compared to younger children (Lucarelli G et al. 1999). Usually, BTM patients older than 17 years of age fall into “high-risk” category and are best served with more complex allo-HCT program, somewhat analogous to the transplant programs employed for younger children with Pesaro class 3 risk group (Lucarelli et al. 1992), although with less intensive conditioning regimen to minimize treatment-related mortality (TRM). It is prudent to acknowledge that in the current era and in the middle-high-income countries, morbidity and mortality of allo-HCT are challenged by the accomplishment of better survival rates with nontransplant approaches but these approaches offer no chance of a cure and in many cases persistence of lifelong complications. The discussion for and against allo-HCT should be carefully conducted in centers with expertise handling patients with BTM.
“A Cat-Sized Hole in My Heart”: Public Perceptions of Companion Animal Adoption in the USA

The companion animal adoption process differs among public shelter, non-profit all-breed shelter, non-profit all-breed rescue and non-profit breed-specific rescue organizations. While some require an application and fee, others insist on telephone interviews, vet interviews and home visits. Little research examines the difference in organizational process and its impact on the potential adopter. This chapter provides the results from a survey of respondents linked through The Bark magazine and 36 in-depth interviews.
Perceptions of Parental Messages Regarding Eating and Weight and Their Impact on Disordered Eating

Abstract Participants in this study were 221 female undergraduate students who completed the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 and the Parental Eating and Weight Messages Survey. As predicted, the results indicate there is a perception by young women with elevated eating disturbance and concerns with weight and body shape, and greater dissatisfaction with current weight that their mothers communicated negative verbal messages about eating and weight. It was also found that young women with a lower level of eating disturbance perceived that their mothers communicated positive verbal messages about weight and eating. Additionally, there appears to be a relationship between the perception of negative messages made by fathers to mothers about their mothers' weight, and daughters' elevated disordered eating scores.
Reframing Management Education With Social Media

ABSTRACTThe current and forthcoming generations of students in higher education are digital natives, having been born into a world of computing that has provided them with a high level of comfort and wherewithal with social media. Business and other organizations recognize the importance of creative proficiency in social technologies as an important dimension of human capital. This article is an overview of popular social media platforms and their practical use in higher education. Specifically, Facebook, blogs, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, wikis, Meetup, and Second Life are discussed with examples of use in fostering effective management education. The continued lowering of barriers to the creation of richer media, such as video blogs (vlogs), is assessed. Potential difficulties and drawbacks of implementing social media in higher educational contexts are noted. This article updates Wankel’s earlier work from 2009.
Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: current management and emerging therapies.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is a malignancy with an increasing incidence and a high-case fatality. While surgery offers the best hope at long-term survival, only one-third of tumors are amenable to surgical resection at the time of the diagnosis. Unfortunately, conventional chemotherapy offers limited survival benefit in the management of unresectable or metastatic disease. Recent advances in understanding the molecular pathogenesis of iCCA and the use of next-generation sequencing techniques have provided a chance to identify ‘target-able’ molecular aberrations. These novel molecular therapies offer the promise to personalize therapy for patients with iCCA and, in turn, improve the outcomes of patients.Area covered: We herein review the current management options for iCCA with a focus on defining both established and emerging therapies.Expert commentary: Surgical resection remains as an only hope for cure in iCCA patients. However, frequently the diagnosis is delayed till...
Phenology differences between native and novel exotic‐dominated grasslands rival the effects of climate change

1. Novel ecosystems can differ from the native systems they replaced. We used phenology measures to compare ecosystem functioning between novel exotic-dominated and native-dominated grasslands in the central US. 2. Phenology, or timing of biological events, is affected by climate and land use changes. We assessed how phenology shifts are being altered by exotic species dominance by comparing remotely sensed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within growing seasons at exotic- and native-dominated sites along a latitudinal gradient. Exotic species were dominated by the C3 species functional group in the north and the C4 species functional group in the south. 3. Date of senescence was an average of 36 days later in exotic than native-dominated grasslands, and this effect was consistent across latitudes. 4. Exotic-dominated grasslands greened up an average of 10.7 days earlier than native-dominated grasslands, but this effect was highly dependent on latitude and the plant functional group that dominated at that latitude. Greenup differed between native and exotic sites the most in central and northern regions that had dominant C3 grasses. 5. We estimated the effects of an increase in global temperatures on green-up and senescence with a space-for-time substitution, and by comparing growing degree day differences between historical average temperatures and +2.5° C. Green-up was significantly earlier and senescence was significantly later with a 2.5 ° C increase in temperature. The native-exotic difference was significantly greater than the difference due to increased temperature for senescence, but not for green-up. 6. Synthesis and applications. Native to exotic plant conversions in central US grasslands have led to highly altered phenology, especially in terms of senescence, and this effect should be considered along with global warming in models moving forward. This conversion will have to be considered in developing estimates of how global change will affect phenology in locations where exotics are present, especially in cases where their abundance is increasing concurrent with climate change. Global change models and policy should consider exotic species invasion as an additional widespread factor behind changes in phenology. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
INCREASED RISK OF CARDIAC DEATH WITH RECURRENT TACHYCARDIA MEDIATED CARDIOMYOPATHY DUE TO ATRIAL FIBRILLATION/FLUTTER

Tachycardia mediated cardiomyopathy is a rare consequence of atrial tachyarrhythmias, where reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) recovers after achievement of sinus rhythm or rate control. A small proportion develop recurrent TMC with recurrence of arrhythmia and outcomes in this group
NOMA Decoding Based on Correlated Signal Set

This paper addresses the requirements of fifth generation physical layer systems using Non-orthogonal multiple Access formats. With the NOMA design paradigm, different group of users are served by one orthogonal resource block. The resources implied here are either of time, frequencies or spreading code. In this paper, a combinatorial design for non-orthogonal multiple access is introduced. The design are based on structured designs called balanced incomplete block designs. The balanced characteristics of these designs scales to a large number of users and can be effectively used for multiuser detection in multi-access systems. The flexible design structure of the parameters allows robust designs as a rate-diversity tradeoff can be exploited. This design exploits channel state information therefore enabling simple design of optimum or sub-optimal receivers.
Talimogene laherparepvec in combination with pembrolizumab leads to a complete response in a patient with refractory Merkel cell carcinoma.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive, neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin with an incidence of 2,000 cases per year, and a 5-year survival rate of 30% to 64%.1 Risk factors for MCC include advanced age, fair skin, and immunosuppression, including history of organ transplantation, HIV, and lymphoproliferative disorders.1, 2, 3 MCC presents clinically as a rapidly growing cutaneous nodule with frequent locoregional involvement. Although surgery and radiation are mainstays of treatment, management of distant disease is more challenging.3 Cytotoxic chemotherapy has modest efficacy, but responses are short lived and relapses are common. Checkpoint inhibitors provide an important therapeutic option for MCC. The Merkel cell polyomavirus is involved in as many as 80% of MCC cases, resulting in expression of viral oncoproteins.4 Meanwhile, noninfected tumors display characteristic ultraviolet signature mutations. As such, there is strong rationale for targeting MCC with immunotherapeutic approaches. Programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) are checkpoint molecules that interact to exhaust effector T cells and promote formation of regulatory T cells, leading to immune escape. Antibodies blocking this PD-1/PD-L1 interaction result in an antitumor immune response.5 Pembrolizumab is a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved PD-1 inhibitor for the treatment of melanoma and other malignancies. In a phase II trial, 26 MCC patients were treated with pembrolizumab; the objective response rate was 56% with 4 complete responses (CR) and ten partial responses (PR), and the progression-free survival rate was 67% at 6 months.5 Talimogene laherparepvec (TVEC) is a first-in-class oncolytic viral immunotherapy FDA approved for melanoma patients with cutaneous, subcutaneous, or nodal disease.6 Given its tumor agnostic mechanism of action, there is interest in studying TVEC in other immune-sensitive malignancies. We report on an MCC patient who progressed after multiple lines of therapy but then experienced a CR after treatment using TVEC combined with pembrolizumab.
Learning dynamics, genetic algorithms, and corporate takeovers

Abstract This paper simulates, via a genetic-learning algorithm, free-riding and coordination failure when shareholders are confronted with an unconditional tender-offer bid between the pre-takeover and post-takeover value of their firm. The outcomes produced by the simulations offer strong support for the hypothesis that coordination to tendering strategies permitting offer success is impaired by increasing the number of shareholders and the divisibility of shareholdings. Further, the outcomes of the simulations closely conform to the restrictions imposed by the Nash equilibrium hypothesis. When the number of shareholders and the disability of shareholdings are both small, the aggregate outcomes of the simulations converge to the aggregate outcomes produced by efficient Nash equilibria. Otherwise, the outcomes of the simulation more closely resemble the outcomes of inefficient Nash equilibria.
Model Composition and Reuse

Abstract Model composition is combining separate models into an integrated composite model. Composability is the capability to select and compose models in various combinations into simulation systems to satisfy specific user requirements. Composability has been an important research objective for some time, especially in the defense-related modeling and simulation community, but general composability remains a challenging goal. Model reuse is reusing an existing model for a new application. Reuse can reduce the time, effort, and expense of model development and testing. Because the models to be reused are usually implemented as software components, general software reuse techniques are often applicable. In addition, frameworks and standards specific to modeling and simulation have developed to support model composition and reuse. Model composition and reuse are closely related. Composability is an important enabler for reuse, and reusing a software implementation of a model may require that it be composable.
Process Simulation of Chemical Looping Combustion for a Mixture of Biomass and Coal with Various Oxygen Carriers—Part II

Chemical Looping Combustion (CLC) is an emerging technology that has shown great promise for the capture of almost pure CO2 in combustion of fossil fuels in power plants. In this chapter, the CLC process is modeled in ASPEN Plus and then validated using experimental data from the combustion of three types of biomass as fuels, and Hematite (Fe2O3) as an oxygen carrier (OC). The three types of biomass used in the simulation are Pine Sawdust, Almond Shells, and Olive Stones. The effect of the fuel reactor temperature on gas concentrations (namely CO2, CO, H2, and CH4) in the fuel reactor, and the carbon capture efficiency are examined. It is found that all three biomass types have very high carbon capture efficiencies, with Pine Sawdust and Almond Shell reaching nearly 100% capture efficiency for temperatures equal to or greater than 950 °C, while Olive Stones reaches a capture efficiency of nearly 100% at temperatures greater than 980 °C. It is also found that fluctuations in CO2 concentrations in the fuel reactor vary across the three biomass types. The effect of using Mn2O3 as the OC in place of Fe2O3 was also investigated. It was found that switching the oxygen carrier to Mn2O3 caused the concentrations of CO and H2 in the fuel reactor to decrease slightly, while the concentration of CO2 increased slightly. Furthermore, changing the OC to Mn2O3 had no effect on the carbon capture efficiency. Additionally, a mixture of coal and biomass at 895 °C was used with each of the two oxygen carriers, and the results were compared. It was found that the system using Fe2O3 had a greater power output than the one using Mn2O3, and that power output increased as the fraction of coal in the coal-biomass mixture increased.
Breast cancer patients in a female sexual medicine and women’s health program: A cross-sectional retrospective study.

8Background: Cancer treatment impacts sexual health and QOL with symptoms of vulvovaginal dryness, dyspareunia, and sexual dysfunction. There are limited data on specific sexual changes in patients...
Open Source Energy System Modeling Using Break-Even Costs to Inform State-Level Policy: A North Carolina Case Study

Rigorous model-based analysis can help inform state-level energy and climate policy. In this study, we utilize an open-source energy system optimization model and publicly available data sets to examine future electricity generation, CO2 emissions, and CO2 abatement costs for the North Carolina electric power sector through 2050. Model scenarios include uncertainty in future fuel prices, a hypothetical CO2 cap, and an extended renewable portfolio standard. Across the modeled scenarios, solar photovoltaics represent the most cost-effective low-carbon technology, while trade-offs among carbon constrained scenarios largely involve natural gas and renewables. We also develop a new method to calculate break-even costs, which indicate the capital costs at which specific technologies become cost-effective within the model. Significant variation in break-even costs are observed across different technologies and scenarios. We illustrate how break-even costs can be used to inform the development of an extended renewable portfolio standard in North Carolina. Utilizing the break-even costs to calibrate a tax credit for onshore wind, we find that the resultant wind deployment displaces other renewables, and thus has a negligible effect on CO2 emissions. Such insights can provide crucial guidance to policymakers weighing different policy options. This study provides an analytical framework to conduct similar analyses in other states using an open source model and freely available data sets.
Variational intensity cross channel encoder for unsupervised vessel segmentation on OCT angiography

Deep learning approaches have been used extensively for medical image segmentation tasks. Training deep networks for segmentation, however, typically requires manually delineated examples which provide a ground truth for optimization of the network. In this work, we present a neural network architecture that segments vascular structures in retinal OCTA images without the need of direct supervision. Instead, we propose a variational intensity cross channel encoder that finds vessel masks by exploiting the common underlying structure shared by two OCTA images of the the same region but acquired on different devices. Experimental results demonstrate significant improvement over three existing methods that are commonly used.
A Critical Appraisal and Targeted Intervention of the Oncology Experience in an Internal Medicine Residency

Most oncology education is provided to residents on an inpatient oncology service, with limited outpatient exposure. There exists considerable need to develop effective education strategies to teach resident physicians basic concepts in oncology. We created a 2-hour small-group interactive workshop, using interactive cases, followed by a number of questions regarding curability, survival, and possible treatment options. All residents were asked to fill out optional questionnaires before and after this workshop. A total of 64 residents participated in this study with an average of 16 residents per session. Significant deficits in knowledge were identified, and prognosis was estimated correctly by 40% of residents when presented with a variety of clinical scenarios. We demonstrated an increase in comfort level in basic oncology concerns, comfort level at estimating prognosis, and managing toxicity based on pre- and post-level testing. Our results confirm that the oncology inpatient rotation may not be adequate in educating residents. The format of our workshop demonstrates that it is possible to create and implement a focused intervention with fairly limited resources. This can serve as a platform for evaluation of oncology medical education of internal medicine residents at other institutions.
Comparison of up-front cash cards and checks as incentives for participation in a clinician survey: a study within a trial

Evidence is needed regarding effective incentive strategies to increase clinician survey response rates. Cash cards are increasingly used as survey incentives; they are appealing because of their convenience and because in some cases their value can be reclaimed by investigators if not used. However, their effectiveness in clinician surveys is not known. In this study within the BRCA Founder OutReach (BFOR) study, a clinical trial of population-based BRCA1/2 mutation screening, we compared the use of upfront cash cards requiring email activation versus checks as clinician survey incentives. Participants receiving BRCA1/2 testing in the BFOR study could elect to receive their results from their primary care provider (PCP, named by the patient) or from a geneticist associated with the study. In order to understand PCPs’ knowledge, attitudes, experiences and willingness to disclose results we mailed paper surveys to the first 501 primary care providers (PCPs) in New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Philadelphia who were nominated by study participants to disclose their BRCA1/2 mutation results obtained through the study. We used alternating assignment stratified by city to assign the first 303 clinicians to receive a $50 up-front incentive as a cash card (N = 155) or check (N = 148). The cash card required PCPs to send an activation email in order to be used. We compared response rates by incentive type, adjusting for PCP characteristics and study site. In unadjusted analyses, PCPs who received checks were more likely to respond to the survey than those who received cash cards (54.1% versus 41.9%, p = 0.046); this remained true when we adjusted for provider characteristics (OR for checks 1.61, 95% CI 1.01, 2.59). No other clinician characteristics had a statistically significant association with response rates in adjusted analyses. When we included an interaction term for incentive type and city, the favorable impact of checks on response rates was evident only in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. An up-front cash card incentive requiring email activation may be less effective in eliciting clinician responses than up-front checks. However, the benefit of checks for clinician response rates may depend on clinicians’ geographic location. ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT03351803 ), November 24, 2017.
Family factors and health-related quality of life within 6 months of completion of childhood cancer treatment.

Objective The transition from active cancer treatment to survivorship represents a period of uncertainty for youth and their families, but factors associated with adaptation during this period are understudied. We evaluated associations among cancer and treatment-related variables, family factors (family functioning, caregiver health-related quality of life [HRQL], and caregiver distress), and patient HRQL after treatment completion. We assessed the indirect effects of neurocognitive difficulties on youth HRQL through family factors. Methods One hundred fifty-four caregivers (of patients' ages 0-18 years) and 52 youth (ages 7-18 years) completed questionnaires assessing family factors, neurocognitive difficulties, and HRQL for patients within 6 months following treatment completion. Electronic health records were reviewed for cancer and treatment-related information. Bootstrapping analyses assessed whether neurocognitive function had indirect effects on HRQL through family factors. Results Family factors were associated with self- and caregiver reports of children's HRQL. Controlling for demographic, cancer, and treatment covariates, caregiver reports of their child's neurocognitive difficulties had an indirect effect on their reports of child physical HRQL through family functioning. Caregiver reports of their child's neurocognitive difficulties indirectly related to caregiver reports of child psychosocial HRQL through family functioning and caregiver HRQL. Indirect effects for self-reported neurocognitive difficulties and HRQL were not supported. Conclusions Findings highlight the need for routine psychosocial screening for youth and caregiver reports of family adjustment and HRQL during the transition off treatment. Providers are encouraged to offer interventions matched to specific needs for families at risk for poor family functioning to improve patient outcomes as they transition off treatment.
Alimentos Ciencia e Ingeniería 22-1

Escribir una revista cientifica es comprometerse a comunicar conocimientos obtenidos a fuerza de busqueda, de indagacion, de sacrificio, de cuestionamiento de una realidad que entrana secretos descubiertos solo por aquellos que se atreven a ir mas alla del mundo de las apariencias, porque su pensamiento es critico, creativo, divergente y sus actitudes asertivas generan propuestas que construyen ciencia con conciencia, porque transforman seres humanos. Comprender a la Universidad en la Sociedad del Conocimiento es situarla en el campo de la Investigacion, de la academia, de la innovacion, de la vinculacion con la sociedad, del emprendimiento, para transformar realidades que mejoren la calidad de vida de los seres humanos. Lo digo con conviccion absoluta: la investigacion es consubstancial a la existencia misma de la Facultad de Ciencia e Ingenieria en Alimentos, porque a traves de cuarenta y cinco anos de historia ha demostrado su compromiso con la solucion de problemas de nuestro pueblo en el area de alimentos, que nos acerquen a la verdad, que generen compresiones mas profundas de la realidad alimentaria, que aporten el senalamiento de modelos teoricos y generen caminos para transitar en la construccion de la ciencia. Investigar, construir conocimiento, comunicar procesos y resultados de las investigaciones son indispensables si se requiere influenciar en la edificacion de una sociedad que ubica a la vida como eje de cualquier desarrollo, por eso esta Facultad desde hace mas de dos decadas publica su revista indexada en perspectiva de que el conocimiento cientifico llegue a todos los sectores sociales en lenguaje de crecimiento integral. Bien por una Facultad que sabe interpretar con claridad el reto de la historia que dinamiza el sentido de su mision y vision al servicio del Pais.
Safety and Reachability Verification

In this chapter, we use reachability analysis to address the problem of verifying safety (to avoid a given set of unsafe states) and reachability specifications (to reach a given target set in finite time). A reachability specification is verified by computing a reachable set over-approximation and checking if it is contained entirely inside the target set. To evaluate a safety specification, we compute an approximation to the reachable tube over a given time range by computing reachable set over-approximations at a set of sample times. The safety specification is then satisfied if the approximation of the reachable tube does not intersect with the unsafe set. We use several of the methods in this book to compute the reachable set over-approximations and to compare their performance in terms of tightness and computation time. We first consider a safety specification for a tunnel diode oscillator which assures that the current through a sensitive component remains below a safe level. Then, we consider both a safety and a reachability specification for a quadrotor model, to verify if a given control policy safely brings the quadrotor to a specified height while avoiding large fluctuations.
Effects of autism acceptance training on explicit and implicit biases toward autism.

Non-autistic adults often hold explicit and implicit biases toward autism that contribute to personal and professional challenges for autistic people. Although previous research indicates that non-...
Towards Data Discovery by Example

Data scientists today have to query an avalanche of multi-source data (e.g., data lakes, company databases) for diverse analytical tasks. Data discovery is labor-intensive as users have to find the right tables, and the combination thereof to answer their queries. Data discovery systems automatically find and link (e.g., joins) tables across various sources to aid users in finding the data they need. In this paper, we outline our ongoing efforts to build a data discovery by example system, DICE, that iteratively searches for new tables guided by user-provided data examples. Additionally, DICE asks users to validate results to improve the discovery process over multiple iterations.
5.21 – Sex, Gender, and Pain

Gender differences in pain represents a topic that has garnered considerable scientific attention in recent years. The goal of this brief chapter is to highlight important findings regarding sex, gender, and pain. Specifically, differences in the prevalence and severity of clinical pain will be discussed, as will laboratory findings regarding sex differences in pain perception. Also, evidence regarding whether responses to pain treatments differ across sex will be presented. Finally, a multitude of factors that likely contribute to sex differences in pain will be reviewed along with important issues for future consideration.
Planning for and responding to emergencies: who needs to know what?

An engineering approach to improving the quality of service for responding to disasters is presented. Of especial concern is improving response from 911 calls, water utilities, FEMA, and other agencies. The tutorial does not assume engineering expertise and is appropriate for computer scientists and social scientists. The questions addressed revolve around the ways these agencies are presently limited when responding. what computer-based tools are being utilized and what new capabilities could be added to the tools to improve the level and speed of responses. Thus, the goal of the tutorial is to present a case study in identifying ways to elevate emergency response capabilities within the present framework of municipal computer and data analysis capabilities.
Factorization and operator formalism in the generalized virasoro model

We study the properties of duality and factorization of the generalization toN-particle scattering—recently given by Shapiro for α(0) = 2—of the Virasoro model. In particular we write this fully symmetric model (FSM) using the usual operator formalism with the addition of another infinite set of harmonic oscillatorsb n . The residue of each pole is shown to factorize in a finite number of terms independently of the number of external particles. The spectrum increases exponentially with the energy by a factor √2 more than in the generalized Veneziano model (GVM). Two infinite sets of Ward operators are shown to be present and the physical states on mass shell are defined as in the GVM.
A physical experimental study of the fractional harmonic oscillator

This article describes a laboratory component of a course in fractional calculus for undergraduates. It incorporates theoretical, experimental, and numerical analyses of the fractional harmonic oscillator. Three independent approaches were taken to obtain solutions to the fractional harmonic oscillator excited by a step function: 1) a power series expansion of the Riemann-Liouville form, 2) a circuit using fractance devices, 3) a numerical integration using the Grunwald-Letnikov algorithm. The fractional harmonic oscillator was also subjected to steady state AC excitation. In both the transient and steady state cases, the Riemann-Liouville form proved to accurately model the system dynamics. The course demonstrated that undergraduates learned the fundamental concepts of fractional calculus quite readily.
On the Magnetic Field Orientation and Plasma Flows in Solar Filament Barbs

Speeds of vertical flows in quiescent solar filaments are typically much less than the local Alfven speed. This is why the flows in filament barbs can be modeled by perturbing a magnetostatic solution describing a balance between the Lorentz force, gravity, and gas pressure in a barb. This approach explains why some of the flows are neither aligned with the magnetic field nor controlled by gravity. Both the observed upflows and the magnetic field dips in barbs are likely to be caused by photospheric magnetic reconnection.
Parallel clustering system using the methodologies of evolutionary computations

Several versions of the parallel clustering system were studied to improve performance of its initial implementation. The current versions were restricted to 1024 Web pages which, in turn, were used to create adaptive probe sets that were distributed to each indexer node. The probe sets were used to compute fitness measures associated with each indexer node used to create sub-species for the purpose of applying the new and traditional GA/GP operators. Speedup resulted from fitness-enhancing mechanisms that provided information results from previous fitness measurements of previous generations, such as the non-genetic transmission of cultural information. The clustering results are being used in the Tocorime Apicu project to develop a bioinformatic approach to the design and validation of an integrated, experimental search engine. This model provides a foundation for an evolutionary expansion of this computational model as World Wide Web (WWW) documents continue to grow. The clustering results were generated using message passing interface (MPI) on a network of SUN workstations.
Isolated del(5q) in Patients Following Therapies for Various Malignancies May Not All Be Clinically Significant.

Objectives: Deletion 5q is a common chromosomal abnormality in both de novo and therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MNs). The detection of isolated del(5q) in patients following therapies for various malignancies raises serious concern for an emerging t-MN. Methods: We identified 25 patients who developed isolated del(5q) following cytotoxic therapy (n = 21) or tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI; n = 4) therapy. Twenty-four patients had an interstitial and one had a terminal 5q deletion. The 5q31/ EGR1 gene was deleted in 20 patients and intact in five patients. The clone size as assessed by metaphase analysis was minor (10%–30%) in 12 patients and large (45%–100%) in 13 patients. After a median follow-up of 17 months, none of the 12 patients with a minor del(5q) clone developed t-MN; del(5q) disappeared in four patients and persisted in eight patients. By contrast, 12 of 13 patients with a large del(5q) clone developed t-MN, and del(5q) was persistent in all patients who had follow-up cytogenetic testing. Conclusions: Development of del(5q) in patients following cytotoxic therapies or TKI may not always be associated with t-MN. A close follow-up seems an appropriate approach for patients who had a minor del(5q) clone.
iqLearn: Interactive Q-Learning in R

Chronic illness treatment strategies must adapt to the evolving health status of the patient receiving treatment. Data-driven dynamic treatment regimes can offer guidance for clinicians and intervention scientists on how to treat patients over time in order to bring about the most favorable clinical outcome on average. Methods for estimating optimal dynamic treatment regimes, such as Q-learning, typically require modeling non- smooth, nonmonotone transformations of data. Thus, building well-fitting models can be challenging and in some cases may result in a poor estimate of the optimal treatment regime. Interactive Q-learning (IQ-learning) is an alternative to Q-learning that only requires modeling smooth, monotone transformations of the data. The R package iqLearn provides functions for implementing both the IQ-learning and Q-learning algorithms. We demonstrate how to estimate a two-stage optimal treatment policy with iqLearn using a generated data set bmiData which mimics a two-stage randomized body mass index reduction trial with binary treatments at each stage.