cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Systems Approach Implicates a Brain Mitochondrial Oxidative Homeostasis Co-expression Network in Genetic Vulnerability to Alcohol Withdrawal

Genetic factors significantly affect vulnerability to alcohol dependence (alcoholism). We previously identified quantitative trait loci on distal mouse chromosome 1 with large effects on predisposition to alcohol physiological dependence and associated withdrawal following both chronic and acute alcohol exposure in mice (Alcdp1 and Alcw1, respectively). We fine-mapped these loci to a 1.1-1.7 Mb interval syntenic with human 1q23.2-23.3. Alcw1/Alcdp1 interval genes show remarkable genetic variation among mice derived from the C57BL/6J and DBA/2J strains, the two most widely studied genetic animal models for alcohol-related traits. Here, we report the creation of a novel recombinant Alcw1/Alcdp1 congenic model (R2) in which the Alcw1/Alcdp1 interval from a donor C57BL/6J strain is introgressed onto a uniform, inbred DBA/2J genetic background. As expected, R2 mice demonstrate significantly less severe alcohol withdrawal compared to wild-type littermates. Additionally, comparing R2 and background strain animals, as well as reciprocal congenic (R8) and appropriate background strain animals, we assessed Alcw1/Alcdp1 dependent brain gene expression using microarray and quantitative PCR analyses. To our knowledge this includes the first Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis using reciprocal congenic models. Importantly, this allows detection of co-expression patterns limited to one or common to both genetic backgrounds with high or low predisposition to alcohol withdrawal severity. The gene expression patterns (modules) in common contain genes related to oxidative phosphorylation, building upon human and animal model studies that implicate involvement of oxidative phosphorylation in alcohol use disorders. Finally, we demonstrate that administration of N-acetylcysteine, an FDA-approved antioxidant, significantly reduces symptoms of alcohol withdrawal (convulsions) in mice, thus validating a phenotypic role for this network. Taken together, these studies support the importance of mitochondrial oxidative homeostasis in alcohol withdrawal and identify this network as a valuable therapeutic target in human alcohol use disorders.
A niobium oxide-tantalum oxide selector-memristor self-aligned nanostack

The integration of nonlinear current-voltage selectors and bi-stable memristors is a paramount step for reliable operation of crossbar arrays. In this paper, the self-aligned assembly of a single nanometer-scale device that contains both a selector and a memristor is presented. The two components (i.e., selector and memristor) are vertically assembled via a self-aligned fabrication process combined with electroforming. In designing the device, niobium oxide and tantalum oxide are chosen as materials for selector and memristor, respectively. The formation of niobium oxide is visualized by exploiting the self-limiting reaction between niobium and tantalum oxide; crystalline niobium (di)oxide forms at the interface between metallic niobium and tantalum oxide via electrothermal heating, resulting in a niobium oxide selector self-aligned to a tantalum oxide memristor. A steady-state finite element analysis is used to assess the electrothermal heating expected to occur in the device. Current-voltage measurement...
Conformational Selection as the Mechanism of Guest Binding in a Flexible Supramolecular Host

This study offers a detailed mechanistic investigation of host–guest encapsulation behavior in a new enzyme–mimetic metal–ligand host and provides the first observation of a conformational selection mechanism (as opposed to induced fit) in a supramolecular system. The Ga4L4 host described features a C3-symmetric ligand motif with meta-substituted phenyl spacers, which enables the host to initially self-assemble into an S4-symmetric structure and then subsequently isomerize to a T-symmetric tetrahedron for better accommodation of a sufficiently large guest. Selective inversion recovery 1H NMR studies provide structural insights into the self-exchange behaviors of the host and the guest individually in this dynamic system. Kinetic analysis of the encapsulation–isomerization event revealed that increasing the concentration of guest inhibits the rate of host–guest relaxation, a key distinguishing feature of conformational selection. A comprehensive study of this simple enzyme mimic provides insight into analo...
The Case for Raising Social Security's Early Retirement Age

1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 202.862.5800 www.aei.orgIncreasing the EEA, while of small importance to Social Security’s finances, could significantlyincrease retirement incomes while boosting theeconomy and federal tax revenues. Some individ-uals could not work longer due to poor health, butthe health status of older Americans has improvedsignificantly while the physical demands of workhave declined. The evidence indicates that mostAmericans could work longer and would benefitfrom doing so.
Heaney, Donne, and the Boldness of Love

While touchstones from Donne’s writings do not appear in Irish Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney’s interviews and essays with the same frequency as those of Herbert, Marvell, or of the more recent poets Wordsworth, Yeats, and Milosz, Donne nevertheless appears to have offered Heaney important insights into how to engage readers and how to think poetically about love. One can detect in some Heaney poems what seems to be a Donnean boldness, rendered through similarities of approach. This essay explores three of these shared techniques: a tendency to begin love poems in an abrupt, surprising fashion; a tendency to construct metaphysical conceits, striking unforeseen comparisons; and a tendency to dramatically shift directions within a poem toward the conveyance of a precise, often unexpected, insight about love. These three techniques, I contend, contribute to the Donnean feel of some of Heaney’s love poems. Reading these alongside Donne’s songs and sonnets reveals an unanticipated and intriguing similarity in how the two poets present the urgencies of loving through bold expression.
Developing Student Understanding in Elementary School Mathematics: A Cognitive Perspective

Publisher Summary This chapter explores how considering the individual as a learner and part of a social context can help in the understanding of current implications from cognitive science for engaging children in mathematics and the ramifications of instantiating these ideas in the classroom context. The breadth and depth of work in cognitive psychology that addresses how children learn has been synthesized in a number of places. Theories of cognitive science do not lead to a single view of classrooms; instead they offer principles, from which decisions can be made about teaching mathematics. Developments in cognitive science convey a way of understanding different aspects of the mind, and modeling individual thinking and learning. This understanding of mental capacity and functioning has allowed researchers to go beyond thinking about the more general, yet powerful, notion that children learn from interacting with their environment. Sociocultural theorists advocate that learning occurs within social interaction. One way to understand the issues underlying the constructivist and sociocultural perspectives is to examine the role of the teacher within each perspective. Developing understanding is a cornerstone of both cognitive science and mathematics education. The connections between ideas enable an individual to search her mental structure, moving from connection to connection, in an attempt to gain access to and combine information.
Drift Field Implementation in Large Pinned Photodiodes for Improved Charge Transfer Speed

We present a methodology for generating built-in drift fields in large photodiodes. With the aid of TCAD we demonstrate how non-uniform doping profiles can be implemented in a standard CMOS process using a single additional mask and controlled using the implant conditions and mask geometry. We demonstrate that the resulting doping profile creates a built-in drift field and simulates the effect of the drift field on the charge transfer speed. We show that implementing a drift field can improve charge transfer characteristics of the photodiode.
Cardiovascular Risk and the American Dream: Life Course Observations From the BHS (Bogalusa Heart Study).

BackgroundEconomic literature shows that a child's future earnings are predictably influenced by parental income, providing an index of “socioeconomic mobility,” or the ability of a person to move ...
The correlation between intensive care unit attending physician continuity of care with financial and clinical outcomes.

Purpose "Attending rotations" on intensive care unit (ICU) services have been in place in most teaching hospitals for decades. However, the ideal frequency of patient care handoffs is unknown. Frequent attending physician handoffs could result in delays in care and other complications, while too few handoffs can lead to provider burnout and exhaustion. Therefore, we sought to determine the correlation between frequency of attending shifts with ICU charges, 30-day readmission rates, and mortality rates. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study at a large, urban, academic community hospital in Baltimore, MD. We included patients admitted into the cardiac or medical ICUs between September 1, 2012, and December 10, 2015. We tracked the number of attending shifts for each patient and correlated shifts with financial outcomes as a primary measure. Results For any given ICU length of stay, we found no distinct association between handoff frequency and charges, 30-day readmission rates, or mortality rates. Conclusions Despite frequent handoffs in care, there was no objective evidence of care compromise or differences in cost. Further validation of these observations in a larger cohort is justified.
Oral Delivery of Microencapsulated Proteins

While the neonatal mammalian small intestine is able to absorb macromolecules (Walker and Isselbacher, 1974; Walker, 1979), in the mature gut the oral bioavailability of polypeptide drugs is generally poor (Lee et al., 1991; Humphrey and Ringrose, 1986; Pusztai, 1989). This low bioavailability is not surprising given the large number of barriers in the gastrointestinal tract to the uptake of intact peptides and proteins. Proteolytic enzymes in the stomach, the intestinal lumen, and the brush border of the enterocytes digest proteins by hydrolysis. Most digestion in the small intestine is due to the proteolytic enzymes trypsin, chymotrypsin, and carboxypeptidase, all from the pancreas (Castro, 1981; Matthews et al., 1968). Any remaining peptides larger than three amino acids are further hydrolyzed in the brush border. Tripeptides are hydrolyzed extracellularly, by the brush border enzymes, or, if absorbed, by cytoplasmic amino peptidases (Nicholson and Peters, 1977). Besides enzymatic barriers, there are significant physical barriers to peptide drug absorption in the intestinal wall. Within the intestinal mucosa, the membrane of the microvilli consists of the typical trilaminar arrangement observed in biological membranes: two molecular layers of lipid with the hydrocarbon tails oriented inward and the hydrophilic heads on the outer part of the protein-coated membrane. The
Construction of Efficient Mixed-Level Fractional Factorial Designs

Mixed-level factorial designs are used in industrial research and development when factors with more than two levels are required, especially when those factors have qualitative levels. Two properties used in assessing the adequacy of mixed-level design..
A Short Course on Chaotic Hamiltonian Systems

The lectures begin with a brief introduction to chaotic dynamics; then rapidly sketch how the ideas apply to Hamiltonian mechanics. Familiarity with Hamilton’s equations, as would be encountered in elementary mechanics courses, is assumed. The treatment of geodesic flows in Section 3 is somewhat in the spirit of symplectic mechanics, but classical notation is emphasized. The presentation is rigorous only in Section 1, which is quite elementary. References for further study are provided.
Critical review of major sources of human exposure to N-nitrosamines.

More than 24 N-nitrosamine compounds contribute to the total N-nitrosamine (TNA) burden monitored routinely to assess human exposure to this important group of known and suspected human carcinogens. A literature review (n = 122) identified multiple sources of human exposure to TNAs, including waters (40 ± 10.5 ng/L; average ± standard deviation), food and beverages (6.7 ± 0.8 ng/g), tobacco (16,100 ± 3650 ng/g) and personal care products (1500 ± 750 ng/g). Due to source control interventions, levels of TNAs in beer have dropped by about 96% between 1980 and 1990, whereas N-nitrosamine levels in other known sources have shown little to no change. Maximum daily TNA exposure in the U.S. in units of ng/d is estimated at 25,000 ± 4,950, driven by consumption of tobacco products (22,000 ± 4350), food (1900 ± 380), alcohol (1000 ± 200), and drinking water (120 ± 24). Behavioral choices of individuals in non-occupational settings were calculated to result in a spectrum of exposure values ranging from a lower bound of 1900 ± 380 ng/d to a higher bound of 25,000 ± 4950 ng/d, indicating opportunities for a possible 12-fold reduction in TNA exposure to 8% of the above maximum through deliberate choices in diet and lifestyle.
Re-identification for Online Person Tracking by Modeling Space-Time Continuum

We present a novel approach to multi-person multi-camera tracking based on learning the space-time continuum of a camera network. Some challenges involved in tracking multiple people in real scenarios include a) ensuring reliable continuous association of all persons, and b) accounting for presence of blind-spots or entry/exit points. Most of the existing methods design sophisticated models that require heavy tuning of parameters and it is a nontrivial task for deep learning approaches as they cannot be applied directly to address the above challenges. Here, we deal with the above points in a coherent way by proposing a discriminative spatio-temporal learning approach for tracking based on person re-identification using LSTM networks. This approach is more robust when no a-priori information about the aspect of an individual or the number of individuals is known. The idea is to identify detections as belonging to the same individual by continuous association and recovering from past errors in associating different individuals to a particular trajectory. We exploit LSTM's ability to infuse temporal information to predict the likelihood that new detections belong to the same tracked entity by jointly incorporating visual appearance features and location information. The proposed approach gives a 50% improvement in the error rate compared to the previous state-of-the-art method on the CamNeT dataset and 18% improvement as compared to the baseline approach on DukeMTMC dataset.
Synthetic and mechanistic investigations on manganese corrole-catalyzed oxidation of sulfides with iodobenzene diacetate

Abstract Manganese corrole complexes catalyze the efficient oxidation of organic sulfides to sulfoxides with iodobenzene diacetate [PhI(OAc)2] as a mild oxygen source in the presence of small amounts of water. Various substituted thioanisoles can be efficiently oxidized to sulfoxides with quantitative conversions (up to 2500 TONs) and excellent selectivies for sulfoxides. The catalyst effects, including the corrole ligands and oxidation states of the central manganese, were investigated, and showed a significant impact on the catalytic sulfoxidations. The previously known high-valent manganese(V)-oxo corroles were chemically generated and kinetically studied in the oxidation of thioanisole substrates. The competition results suggested the oxidation state of manganese metal is crucial to control the nature of active oxidant forms that significantly affected their catalytic activity.
Smart LED Lighting using GaN-based “Discrete” Power and Data Sequential Co-Transfer Network

Lately, patent-pending sequential high-frequency (HF) discrete power and discrete data co-transfer network has experimentally been proven to simplify and improve the data transfer efficacy in pulsed-power applications. In this paper, possibility of employing this network for smart LED lighting application is outlined. Incorporating sequential co-transfer network in the LED lighting system can add to the intelligence of the system in terms of its response to the prevailing environmental conditions and customer demands. In the present paper this scheme has been explained using a simple, single-input single-output (SISO) system. Various modes of operation are explained and experimental results demonstrating the sequential co-transfer approach for the LED lighting system is provided. Detailed design, advantages and challenges of designing a smart LED lighting system with GaN-FET based distributed SISO/SIMO/MIMO power-converter networks are discussed in this paper.
A Quasi Experiment to Assess the Consumer and Informational Determinants of Nutrition Information Processing Activities: The Case of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act:

The author reports a longitudinal quasi experiment that uses the implementation of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) to examine the consumer and information determinants of nutrition ...
Including Ecosystem Services in Life Cycle Assessment: Methodology and Application to Urban Farms

Abstract Conventional life cycle assessment (LCA) compares technological alternatives and chooses the one that has lower environmental impact, making it an approach for assessing relative sustainability. Such an approach largely ignores the role of ecosystem services (ES) and ecological carrying capacity, despite their essential role in sustaining all human activities. Such ignorance may lead to the over-dependence on scarce resources, perverse impacts on ecosystems, and lost opportunities for improvement. The framework of Techno-Ecological Synergy (TES) accounts for the demand and supply of ES at multiple spatial scales and defines metrics for absolute sustainability at both local and serviceshed scales. Applications of TES have been mainly focusing on localized systems. To prevent the shifting of impacts, a life cycle perspective is also needed. The authors have proposed the Techno-Ecological Synergy in Life Cycle Assessment (TES-LCA) framework by modifying each step in conventional LCA to incorporate the role of ecosystem goods and services. On one hand, TES-LCA advocates conventional solutions of impact reduction through technological improvements. On the other hand, it provides additional insights, including discovering novel ecological solutions to push toward absolute environmental sustainability. Thus, TES-LCA can offer a more comprehensive portfolio on sustainability performance evaluation. The substantial benefits of TES-LCA have been demonstrated by an application to urban farms.
How Can Educators Confront Science Denial

An unwillingness to consider empirical evidence that contradicts one’s desired conclusion, or science denial, is an enormous barrier to producing an informed citizenry. This essay explores literatu...
Abusive Supervision and Work Alienation: An Exploratory Study

Recent research on “dark” leadership reveals that subordinates who work for abusive supervisors report a number of negative outcomes. We explored whether employees who experience abuse from their supervisors reported more work alienation. We predicted that abusive supervision would “trickle down,” decreasing subordinates’ psychological links with their work. Regression analysis revealed no significant relationship between abusive supervisory behavior and subordinates’ work alienation. However, the results provide a basis for future research. The findings, though unexpected, paint a brighter picture for those enduring work with a “dark” leader.
Identifying mutation-driven changes in gene functionality that lead to venous thromboembolism

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common hematological disorder. VTE affects millions of people around the world each year and can be fatal. Earlier studies have revealed the possible VTE genetic risk factors in Europeans. The 2018 Critical Assessment of Genome Interpretation (CAGI) challenge had asked participants to distinguish between 66 VTE and 37 non-VTE African American (AA) individuals based on their exome sequencing data. We used variants from AA VTE association studies and VTE genes from DisGeNET database to evaluate VTE risk via four different approaches; two of these methods were most successful at the task. Our best performing method represented each exome as a vector of predicted functional effect scores of variants within the known genes. These exome vectors were then clustered with k-means. This approach achieved 70.8% precision and 69.7% recall in identifying VTE patients. Our second-best ranked method had collapsed the variant effect scores into gene-level function changes, using the same vector clustering approach for patient/control identification. These results show predictability of VTE risk in AA population and highlight the importance of variant-driven gene functional changes in judging disease status. Of course, more in-depth understanding of AA VTE pathogenicity is still needed for more precise predictions.
A Threshold Trade-Off Study for 3-Way Switch Diversity

Selection diversity among multiple communication links is a well known approach to improve the over quality and reliability of wireless communications. However, to achieve in practice the theoretical performance gains requires real-time monitoring of each link. This is not tenable in practice for single-receiver hardware that is expected to be low in cost (e.g., for IoT deployments). A variation of selection diversity, known as switch diversity, can be implemented by a single receiver. In this work, we explore establishing thresholds to determine when to "switch away" from the presently used link and the resulting cost of doing so. In particular, we consider the case of having three independent Rayleigh fading paths and propose that establishing a threshold between −5 dB and −6 dB relative to the median received power provides a good trade-off between increasing diversity gain and reducing switching probability.
The Microbiome in Food Allergy and Eosinophilic Esophagitis

While it has been proposed that the relatively recent rise in human food allergy is linked to an environmental factor, the fundamental understanding of the underlying etiology remains elusive. Disruption of the human microbiome is one mechanism by which the environment could influence immune and physiological dysregulation and potentiate food allergy. The microbiome is the collection of microbial organisms and their genes that co-associate with our bodies. Life style choices, including diet, levels of activity, and the degree of interaction with the outdoor world, are all associated with distinct changes in the metabolic products synthesized by the resident microbiome. The microbiome and its metabolites play an essential role in physiological stability in the human body. Disruption of this homeostasis can lead to a reduction in the synthesis of short chain fatty acids, which can retard intestinal epithelial cell maturity and alter regulatory T-cell differentiation. Additionally, certain life styles can select for the growth of bacteria that produce proinflammatory compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide or lipopolysaccharide. While the mechanisms remain unclear, the literature suggests that host-microbe interactions are central to allergic processes. In this chapter, we explore how microbiome colonization and development early in life are associated with food allergy onset and examine the potential of microbiome-based therapeutics to successfully treat food allergic disorders.
Looking for your keys: The interaction of attention, memory, and eye movements in visual search

Abstract Visual search is an everyday task that requires the coordination of vision, attention, and memory. The challenge in studying a complex task like visual search is trying to determine the relative contributions of each of these components. Eye movements provide incredibly useful data for parsing complex tasks that rely on visual processing. In this chapter, I will review work on how eye movements have been used in visual search research, focusing on the effect of memory on visual search. Specifically, I will discuss why eye movements are useful for highlighting the role of memory in visual search and the consequences of visual search processing on memory. Eye movement data help isolate the processing components of visual search and permit a finer-grained analysis of the task. However, eye movements are not always a perfect predictor of the outcome of processing, pointing to interesting aspects of the effect of visual search.
Using Automated Contact Tracing System App with QR Code to monitor and safeguard Parishioners against COVID-19 at St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Subic, Zambales (preprint)

St. Anthony of Padua Parish is situated in the heart of Barangay, Matain, Subic, Zambales, which is near the White Rock Beach Resort Hotel headed by Rev. Father Arwin Ebueng Ysonza which is under the umbrella of the Diocese of Iba, Zambales headed by the Most Reverend Bishop Bartolome G. Santos, Jr. DD. It comprises of 9 Barangays which has a population of more than 10,000 approximately, as per the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on COVID-19 resolutions mass gatherings are allowed on 50% capacity which is stipulated under the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) in which there is a safety measurement protocol followed like the implementation of contact tracing form, getting the temperature per parishioner and observance to Social Distancing. However, with the implementation of these quarantine protocols, there is a problem that arises because the churchgoers can finish the accomplishment of contact tracing form in 30 minutes and half of the Mass celebration was already missed. In line with this, the researcher is proposing a system that can ease up the situation by Using an Automated Contact Tracing System Mobile App with QR Code that can finish the transactions in a much faster approach by generating a QR Code and scan it, these transactions can process in a matter of less than minutes. By the Ciustomized of this new system, it will follow the quarantine protocol, which is set by the Local Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Covid-19 of Subic, Zambales like proper social distancing when entering and leaving the church and recording their names, temperature, and location can be diligently implemented properly and a lot of paper works will be saved because it can generate a quick one-time real-time report that can be exported into an excel form and sent through the e-mails using the Mobile App that scans and generates QR Code per Parishioners.
Practical Tips for Needle Introduction in Laparoscopy

Study Objective The objectives for this video are 1) to provide an overview of common suture and needle types that are used in gynecologic laparoscopy and 2) to present various strategies to introduce different needles into the abdomen. Design In this video, we discuss approaches to introducing the needle into the abdomen during laparoscopy. The needle can generally be introduced either vaginally or abdominally. Setting During laparoscopy, all patients were positioned in dorsal lithotomy and in Tredelendburg position for the needle introduction process. Patients or Participants N/A Interventions N/A Measurements and Main Results In order to maintain small incisions while introducing a needle for suturing, one must have an understanding of the various needles, trocars, and techniques that can be used to introduce them. Abdominal introduction can further be subdivided into direct trocar entry, backloading the needle, and skiing the needle techniques. Direct trocar entry is dependent on the size of the needle and the diameter of the trocar. Backloading and skiing the needle are techniques that can be used when there is a need to pass a needle through a smaller trocar, for example when using 5 milimeter trocars. Generally, the 5 milimeter trocar will only be able to directly accommodate a Keith needle. Conclusion For laparoscopic procedures such as hysterectomy, needle introduction is the first step in the suturing process and familiarly with needle types, trocar size, and introduction techniques can assist with surgical efficiency.
Light yield of cold undoped CsI crystal down to 13 keV and the application of such crystals in neutrino detection

The light yield of an undoped CsI crystal at about 77 Kelvin was measured to be $$33.5 \, \pm \, 0.7$$ photo-electrons (PE) per keV electron-equivalent (keVee) in the energy range of [13, 60] keVee using X and $$\gamma $$ -rays from an $$^{241}$$ Am radioactive source. Based on this experimental result, the performance of 10 kg cryogenic inorganic scintillating crystals coupled to SiPM arrays to probe non-standard neutrino interactions through the detection of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scatterings at the spallation neutron source, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was examined in detail.
Asymmetric information and insurance: An experimental approach

Abstract Separate identification of moral hazard and adverse selection in insurance markets is empirically difficult. To overcome this limitation, this paper develops a series of controlled laboratory experiments to examine how adverse selection and moral hazard separately affect agent performance in a real-effort task. We explore how agent performance changes across a baseline with no insurance option, a treatment where individuals can choose to purchase insurance, and a third treatment where individuals must purchase insurance. We believe our experimental design can be used as a wind-tunnel that is flexible enough to incorporate alternative price changes or contract designs while permitting researchers to separately identify moral hazard and adverse selection under those conditions.
Using computational chemistry to design pump-probe schemes for measuring nitrobenzene radical cation dynamics.

The electronic potential energy surfaces of the nitrobenzene cation obtained from time-dependent density functional theory and coupled cluster calculations are used to predict the most efficient excitation wavelength for femtosecond time-resolved mass spectrometry measurements. Both levels of theory identify a strongly-coupled transition from the ground state of the nitrobenzene cation with a geometry-dependent oscillator strength, reaching a maximum at 90° C–C–N–O dihedral angle with a corresponding energy gap of ∼2 eV. These results are consistent with the experimental observation in the nitrobenzene cation of a coherent superposition of vibrational states: a vibrational wave packet. Time-resolved measurements using a probe wavelength of 650 nm, nearly resonant with the strong transition, result in enhanced ion yield oscillation amplitudes as compared to excitation with the nonresonant 800 nm wavelength. Analogous behavior is found for the closely related molecules 2- and 4-nitrotoluene. These results demonstrate that computational chemistry can predict the best choice of probe wavelength in time-resolved measurements of vibrational coherent states in molecular cations.
Microbial Infections Are a Risk Factor for Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, comprise a family of disorders characterized by progressive loss of nervous system function. Neuroinflammation is increasingly recognized to be associated with many neurodegenerative diseases but whether it is a cause or consequence of the disease process is unclear. Of growing interest is the role of microbial infections in inciting degenerative neuroinflammatory responses and genetic factors that may regulate those responses. Microbial infections cause inflammation within the central nervous system through activation of brain-resident immune cells and infiltration of peripheral immune cells. These responses are necessary to protect the brain from lethal infections but may also induce neuropathological changes that lead to neurodegeneration. This review discusses the molecular and cellular mechanisms through which microbial infections may increase susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases. Elucidating these mechanisms is critical for developing targeted therapeutic approaches that prevent the onset and slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.
FlexPool: A Distributed Model-Free Deep Reinforcement Learning Algorithm for Joint Passengers and Goods Transportation

The growth in online goods delivery is causing a dramatic surge in urban vehicle traffic from last-mile deliveries. On the other hand, ride-sharing has been on the rise with the success of ride-sharing platforms and increased research on using autonomous vehicle technologies for routing and matching. The future of urban mobility for passengers and goods relies on leveraging new methods that minimize operational costs and environmental footprints of transportation systems. This article considers combining passenger transportation with goods delivery to improve vehicle-based transportation. We propose FlexPool: a distributed model-free deep reinforcement learning algorithm that jointly serves passengers & goods workloads by learning optimal dispatch policies from its interaction with the environment. The proposed algorithm pools passengers for a ride-sharing service and delivers goods using a multi-hop transit method. These flexibilities decrease the fleet’s operational cost and environmental footprint while maintaining service levels for passengers and goods. The dispatching algorithm based on deep reinforcement learning is integrated with an efficient matching algorithm for passengers and goods. Through simulations on a realistic multi-agent urban mobility platform, we demonstrate that FlexPool outperforms other model-free settings in serving the demands from passengers & goods. FlexPool achieves 30% higher fleet utilization and 35% higher fuel efficiency in comparison to (i) model-free approaches where vehicles transport a combination of passengers & goods without the use of multi-hop transit, and (ii) model-free approaches where vehicles exclusively transport either passengers or goods.
Statement on the Future of Official International Organizations

I want to discuss the future of the Bretton Woods institutions—the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. My association with these institutions dates not only from their birth in July 1944, but from their conception in 1942, while I was working with Harry White in the Treasury Department.
Volume demanding geometric isomerization of cis-4-stilbazole. HCl salts in the crystalline state: Probing the role of a metastable dimer

Abstract Cis-trans isomerization is one of the most common and well-investigated photoreaction of olefins in solution. This occurs via 180° rotation of one of the substituents on C C bond requiring large space around the double bond. One would expect that in crystals the neighboring molecules would prohibit such a process. In spite of this in early 1960s Schmidt and co-workers reported occurrence of such a process in crystals via 2 + 2 ‘meta cyclobutane’ formation. In this study by examining the photochemistry of four cis-stilbazolium salts we show that the photoconversion to the corresponding trans isomers does not occur via 2 + 2 addition. Large separation that ensures considerable space between neighboring olefins favors cis-trans isomerization in crystals. An aspect that is puzzling is that the product trans isomer phase separates and recrystallizes within the parent cis crystals and photodimerizes to the cyclobutane dimer. Details of this phenomenon are to be understood.
Determinants of diastolic myocardial tissue Doppler velocities: influences of relaxation and preload.

Myocardial tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE) has been proposed as a tool for the assessment of diastolic function. Controversy exists regarding whether TDE measurements are influenced by preload. In this study, left ventricular volume and high-fidelity pressures were obtained in eight closed-chest dogs during intermittent caval occlusion. The time constant of isovolumic ventricular relaxation (tau) was altered with varying doses of dobutamine and esmolol. Peak early diastolic myocardial (E(m)) and transmitral (E) velocities were measured before and after preload reduction. The relative effects of changes in preload and relaxation were determined for E(m) and compared with their effects on E. The following results were observed: caval occlusion significantly decreased E (DeltaE = 16.4 +/- 3.3 cm/s, 36.6 +/- 13.7%, P 65 ms (DeltaE(m) = 0.5 +/- 0.1 cm/s, P < 0.05). We concluded that TDE E(m) is preload dependent. However, this effect decreases with worsening relaxation.
Post‐Pleistocene range expansion of the recently imperiled eastern little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus lucifugus) from a single southern refugium

Myotis lucifugus, once among the most widespread and common bats in North America, has been forecast to be extirpated east of the Rockies in as few as 16 years by the spread of white-nose syndrome. Recent genetic research has demonstrated that this species is paraphyletic and part of a broader species complex; however, only one lineage (Myotis lucifugus lucifugus [M. l. lucifugus]) is present in eastern North America. I used molecular tools and niche modeling to validate this and investigate the role that historical biogeography has played in the phylogenetic and population genetic structure of this species to determine if the eastern subspecies represents an evolutionarily distinct population. To establish the genetic structure within M. l. lucifugus, I densely sampled maternity colonies in Minnesota and sequenced 182 individuals for a portion of cytochrome b. Phylogenetic reconstruction and a haplotype network were used to infer the relationships among mitochondrial haplotypes. Population growth statistics were calculated to determine if there was evidence of significant expansion, and an environmental niche model (ENM) was constructed based on conditions during the last glacial maximum (LGM) to illustrate potential glacial refugia. All individuals derived from a single mitochondrial lineage. Genetic evidence points to population growth starting approximately 18 kya. ENM results show that there was likely a single large southern refugium extending across the southeastern United States and possibly several isolated refugia in western North America. Myotis lucifugus lucifugus likely maintained both a large range and a large population during the peaks of the glacial cycles, and its population appears to have expanded following the retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet. This imperiled lineage likely diverged in isolation from other members of the M. lucifugus/western long-eared Myotis during the Pleistocene.
Creolising political identity and social scientific method

Both nurturing and giving institutional expression to a solidarity of diverse people and scholarly communities on the African continent and its transnational diaspora, CODESRIA has embodied the imperative of continuing the unfinished work of building a world that is no longer colonial. But which methods are best suited to such decolonizing work? In what follows, I suggest that the concept of creolization, that emerged to grasp the distinctly African world of the Caribbean, remains an especially useful resource, especially if rearticulated and qualified in the ways for which I advocate.
The Plasmodium Proteome

Proteome-wide studies of malaria have also lent a great deal of insight into protein-protein and protein-drug interactions, subcellular localization, functional characterization of unknown genes, and mechanisms of posttranscriptional regulation through comparisons with mRNA expression profiles. The work outlined in this chapter focuses on bottom-up approaches to study the malaria proteome. In October 2002, the genome sequence of Plasmodium falciparum was released, paving the way not only for genome-wide studies of mRNA but also for protein profiling. The accumulation of data collected from large-scale profiling experiments has also demonstrated ways that proteome data can aid the annotation of recently sequenced Plasmodium genomes. The P. falciparum genome showed markedly different properties from any other organism, namely, that it is the most A-T-rich genome sequenced to date, making the bioinformatic prediction of gene products from the genome sequence difficult based heavily on knowledge from other organisms. While proteome-wide studies of whole-cell lysates lend a great deal of information about an organism from a holistic perspective, it is equally informative to combine cell fractionation methods with high-throughput protein identifications to define the proteome of a particular subcellular location or organelle. Most significantly, correlating mRNA and protein expression profiles for individual genes revealed particular genes and families of functionally related genes that appeared to observe similar patterns of mRNA and protein accumulation.
Holter system development for recording plantar pressures: software development

We have developed software to control a Holter type microprocessor based, portable, in-shoe, plantar pressure data acquisition system. The system is used to monitor long term plantar pressures during the performance of daily living activities. The unit is able to record in continuous or intermittent modes. Real time data compression is utilized to optimize memory storage. Software routines have been developed to test the pseudo static RAM before recording, perform refresh and drive a liquid crystal display module. The unit was evaluated during several multi-step trials with adult male subjects. The unit is considered to be appropriate for clinical application and long term study of daily living activities. >
Settled Borders and Regime Type: Democratic Transitions as Consequences of Peaceful Territorial Transfers

Research arguing that external threats determine regime type has generally failed to provide systematic evidence in favor of the peace-to-democracy hypothesis. We suspect that the lack of confirmatory findings is likely driven by conflating the concepts of negative (absence of conflict) and positive (mutual trust and cooperation) peace. By focusing on territorial issues and the phenomenon of peaceful state-to-state territorial transfers (i.e., peaceful alteration of borders), we are able to observe the effects of replacing territorial threat stemming from negative territorial peace (or territorial rivalry) with the positive territorial peace associated with legitimate, mutually accepted borders. Our findings support the expectations that peaceful territorial transfers remove active and latent territorial threat and lead to demilitarization and democratization. Importantly, peaceful territorial transfers are not endogenous to regime type. Our study therefore supports an alternative explanation for the democratic peace: both democracy and peace may be a function of settling territorial threats.
An Automated Research and Training System for Child-Clinical Populations:

An automated laboratory that can be used in the study and training of child-clinical populations is described. In addition to enabling flexible and precise stimulus presentation, the system permits accurate response recording. These are requisites in research and training efforts concerned with such critical areas as errorless discrimination learning, adaptive generalization, and language acquisition. Training procedures that require the children to utilize visual, auditory, and bimodal stimuli can be automated with the system.
Robust infrared filters for X-ray spectroscopy☆

Abstract One challenge to using cryogenic detectors for X-ray spectroscopy on a scanning electron microscope is the implementation of infrared blocking filters. In order to achieve high X-ray transmission, these filters can be as thin as 250 nm and consequently are extremely fragile. To avoid breaking the filters, the cryostat must be evacuated slowly and by a trained operator. In this presentation, we describe the filter system currently used at NIST. In addition, we describe recent efforts to build a more robust and easy-to-use filter system. We present initial efforts to strengthen conventional aluminum–parylene filters with micromachined silicon grids that only reduce X-ray transmission by 2%. We also describe an automated pump-out system based on a commercial mass-flow controller.
Advanced university courses in computer graphics

Abstract Recommendations and standards for computer graphics courses are reviewed. Topics, assignments and texts associated with advanced courses are listed together with the frequencies of occurrence of each. Uncommon and specialized courses (computer-aided geometric design and modelling, computational geometry and geometric modelling, and computer animation) are described. A core advanced course in computer graphics is proposed. The proposal contains topics represented in advanced courses after removing those which belong in a first course or in other courses, or are noncourse topics.
Alcaligenes xylosoxidans Bloodstream Infections in Outpatient Oncology Office

In 2002, we investigated a cluster of patients with Alcaligenes xylosoxidans bloodstream infections by conducting a matched case–control study and a prospective study. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was performed on blood culture isolates, and 1 explanted central venous catheter (CVC) was tested for biofilm. We identified 12 cases of A. xylosoxidans bloodstream infection. Case-patients were more likely than controls to have had a CVC (7/7 [100%] vs 4/47 [8.7%], respectively; p<0.0001). Ten case isolates were indistinguishable by PFGE analysis, and A. xylosoxidans biofilm from the CVC matched the outbreak strain. We observed multiple breaches in infection control, which may have caused contamination of multidose vials used to flush the CVCs. Our study links A. xylosoxidans with CVC biofilm and highlights areas for regulation and oversight in outpatient settings.
On oblique growth of trees under the action of winds.

It is shown that an inclined regular growth of tree trunks under the action of prevailing winds may be explained as a response of the plant to the mechanical action of the wind, in conformity with the Schwendener theory of shape of plants based on the concept of maximum strength. A possible mechanism of such response is suggested. The condition of maximum strength determines the inclination of the tree trunk on the basis of purely mechanical considerations. A numerical example computed for a palm agrees with observational data.
Part three: Should the knowledge base come from theory & from practice?. Professionalization comes from theory and research: The why instead of the how to

Without a solid theory and research base the discipline will never become a valid field of study but will forever remain a collection of anecdotes and speculation.
Uncertainty propagation in dynamical systems

Dynamical propagation of parametric and initial condition uncertainty is studied. The notion of input measure of an observable is defined and its propagation to output measure of the observable is studied by means of transfer operators. Uncertainty of these measures is defined in terms of their cumulative probability distributions. Comparison with alternative uncertainty metrics such as variance and entropy is pursued. The developed formalism is illustrated through an analysis of the effect of pitchfork bifurcation on uncertainty. Finally, the implications of these concepts in the design of nonlinear systems are discussed.