cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Finding the Best from the Second Bests - Inhibiting Subjective Bias in Evaluation of Visual Tracking Algorithms

Evaluating visual tracking algorithms, or trackers for short, is of great importance in computer vision. However, it is hard to fairly compare trackers due to many parameters need to be tuned in the experimental configurations. On the other hand, when introducing a new tracker, a recent trend is to validate it by comparing it with several existing ones. Such an evaluation may have subjective biases towards the new tracker which typically performs the best. This is mainly due to the difficulty to optimally tune all its competitors and sometimes the selected testing sequences. By contrast, little subjective bias exists towards the second best ones in the contest. This observation inspires us with a novel perspective towards inhibiting subjective bias in evaluating trackers by analyzing the results between the second bests. In particular, we first collect all tracking papers published in major computer vision venues in recent years. From these papers, after filtering out potential biases in various aspects, we create a dataset containing many records of comparison results between various visual trackers. Using these records, we derive performance rankings of the involved trackers by four different methods. The first two methods model the dataset as a graph and then derive the rankings over the graph, one by a rank aggregation algorithm and the other by a PageRank-like solution. The other two methods take the records as generated from sports contests and adopt widely used Elo's and Glicko's rating systems to derive the rankings. The experimental results are presented and may serve as a reference for related research.
Asymmetric interactions in symmetric multi-core systems: analysis, enhancements and evaluation

Multi-core architectures have spurred the recent rapid growth in high-end computing systems. While the vast majority of such multi-core processors contain symmetric hardware components, their interaction with systems software, in particular the communication stack, results in a remarkable amount of asymmetry in the effective capability of the different cores. In this paper, we analyze such interactions and propose a novel management library called SyMMer (Systems Mapping Manager) that monitors these interactions and dynamically manages the mapping of processes on processor cores to transparently improve application performance. Together with a detailed description of the SyMMer library, we also present performance evaluation comparing SyMMer to a vanilla communication library using various micro-benchmarks as well as popular applications and scientific libraries. Experimental results demonstrate more than a two-fold improvement in communication time and 10--15% improvement in overall application performance.
Optimizing Regional Aid during Public Health Emergencies: An Autonomic Resource Allocation Approach

A large scale public health emergency such as an epidemic (occurring naturally or due to a bioterrorism attack) can result in an overwhelming number of human casualties. This can result in scarcity of healthcare resources such as beds, staffing, supplies and equipment. Regional aid in the form of central stockpiles and resource redistribution can help mitigate the resulting demand surge. However, optimizing resources across regional healthcare units requires continuous monitoring of resource usage in each unit, and coordinating the distribution of resources among them. Application of autonomic self-management concepts can greatly relieve the cognitive challenges faced by decision makers in this context. This paper discusses an autonomic resource allocation approach for optimizing regional aid during public health emergencies. We explore three different regional aid programs and show that relative program effectiveness is dependent on resource and budget availability
Dopamine receptor modulation of repetitive grooming actions in the rat: potential relevance for Tourette syndrome

Studies of rodent grooming can provide valuable insight for dopamine contributions to the initiation, organization, and repetition of motor patterns. This information is useful for understanding how brain dysfunctions contribute to movement disorders such as Tourette syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder, in which patients are driven to reiterate particular movement patterns. In rodents, dopamine D1 receptor stimulation causes a complex behavioral super-stereotypy in the form of excessive production and rigid execution of whole sequences of movements known as syntactic grooming chains. Sequential super-stereotypy of grooming chains may be particularly advantageous for modeling movement sequences and treatments in Tourette syndrome and related disorders. Here, we report that co-administration of haloperidol, one available treatment for Tourette syndrome and primarily a D2 receptor antagonist, prevented D1 stimulation with SKF38393 from inducing sequential super-stereotypy, which manifests as an exaggeration of the tendency to complete all four phases of a syntactic chain in rigid serial order once the first phase has begun. In a separate experiment, we showed that in contrast to acute D1 agonist administration, 39h withdrawal from chronic (3weeks) administration of the D1 antagonist SCH23390 (which has been suggested to increase D1 receptor expression in the basal ganglia) did not elicit sequential super-stereotypy after drug cessation. Instead, rats suddenly removed from repeated SCH23390 spent more time performing simple stereotypies that included intense scratching and biting behaviors. Together, these results have implications for understanding how dopamine receptors facilitate particular stereotypies manifest in animal models of Tourette syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder.
SAM: a flexible and secure auction architecture using trusted hardware

Increasing numbers of economic transactions are conducted through on-line auctions. Nevertheless, most current auction implementations fail to address important security concerns. In particular, most auction systems force buyers and sellers to trust the auctioneer; alternative secure systems are inflexible and have a high computational and/or communication overhead. To overcome these limitations, we propose a secure auction marketplace (SAM) architecture, based on the recently available tool of high-performance, programmable secure coprocessors. Unlike previous schemes, this approach provides a general framework that can incorporate arbitrary auction schemes by using different evaluation programs, as well as provide complex security properties by using the secure coprocessor and our auction protocols. Our approach features strong security guarantees for the buyers and sellers without trusting the auctioneer, precise definition of the information disclosed during and after the auction, and high flexibility to adapt to new types of auctions. Keywords: Secure auction architecture, secure coprocessor.
Design of rotary clock based circuits

Rotary clock technique has been shown to reduce the power dissipation of clock distribution by up to 80%. However, to our knowledge, no practical digital synchronous circuit has been designed that utilizes the rotary technique due to the multi-phase nature of rotary clock signals and the strong coupling between a rotary clock network and the circuit it drives. In this paper, we make the first attempt to design rotary based circuit by proposing a unified clock and circuit design methodology. Given a sequential circuit and a clock frequency, our scheme derives a rotary clock network and a functionally equivalent circuit so that they can be integrated to operate reliably at the target frequency. We have applied our scheme to design several rotary clock based DSP modules. Simulation results show that all designs operate correctly with no timing violation. Compared with designs using conventional clock trees, our designs achieve an average clock power saving of more than 70%.
Fecundity, phenology, and seed dormancy of F1 wild-crop hybrids in Sunflower (Helianthus annuus, Asteraceae).

1 hybrids. In order to assess the ease with which crop-to-wild introgression can proceed, we compared characteristics of F1 wild‐crop progeny with those of purely wild genotypes. Two nontransgenic, cultivated varieties were crossed with wild plants from three different regions— Texas, Kansas, and North Dakota. Seed burial experiments in the region of origin showed that wild‐crop seeds had somewhat higher germination rates (less dormancy) than wild seeds from Kansas and North Dakota, while no differences were seen in seeds from Texas. Progeny from each type of cross were grown in outdoor pots in Ohio and in a weedy field in Kansas to quantify lifetime fecundity and flowering phenology. Flowering periods of hybrid and wild progeny overlapped considerably, especially in plants from North Dakota and Texas, suggesting that these hybrids are very likely to backcross with wild plants. In general, hybrid plants had fewer branches, flower heads, and seeds than wild plants, but in two crosses the fecundity of hybrids was not significantly different from that of purely wild plants. In Ohio, wild‐crop hybrids from North Dakota appeared to be resistant to a rust that infected 53 % of the purely wild progeny, indicating a possible benefit of ‘‘traditional’’ crop genes. In summary, our results suggest that F 1 wild‐crop hybrids had lower fitness than wild genotypes, especially when grown under favorable conditions, but the F1 barrier to the introgression of crop genes is quite permeable.
Regulation of Guinea Pig Sperm Adenylate Cyclase by Calcium

The effect of various metal ions on guinea pig sperm adenylate cyclase activity was determined. In the presence of 4.5 mM free metal, relative enzyme activity with Mn2�, Ca2�, Mg2�, Co2�, Zn2, and Ba2� was 1.00, 0.16, 0.10, 0.10, 0.05 and 0.02, respectively. Added Ca2�, specifically, appeared to activate the enzyme in the presence of Mn2� or Mg2. The guinea pig sperm adenylate cyclase was stimulated ‘\.,4-fold by low concentrations (pM) of free Ca2� in the presence of Mg2� (5 mM). This Ca2�-dependent increase in adenylate cyclase activity was inhibited by trifluoperazine (0.3-0.5 mM), a known inhibitor of calmodulin. Basal adenylate cyclase activity measured in the presence of Mg2� (5 mM) and in the absence of Ca2 was not affected by the addition of trifluoperazine (0.5 mM). Treatment of the sperm homogenate with ethylene-glycol-bis (a-aminoethyl ether) N,N’-tetra-acetic acid (EGTA) under a variety of conditions failed to completely remove the Ca2�-sensitivity of the particulate adenylate cyclase; such treatment also failed to remove the membrane associated calmodulin. After detergent solubilization, the sperm Mg2�-dependent adenylate cyclase activity was less than 0.5% of the Mn2�-dependent activity and was not stimulated by added Ca2�. These results suggest that a component of the guinea pig sperm adenylate cyclase complex is regulated by Ca2. Whether the Ca2�-sensitive component is calmodulin remains unclear.
Caring for an individual with autism disorder: A qualitative analysis

Background Caregivers in this qualitative study reported the multidimensional implications of having a child with autism on their family's lives and overall functioning.Method The Effects of the Si...
Expiratory Snoring Predicts Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Patients with Sleep-disordered Breathing.

Rationale: Sleep-disordered breathing and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are two common conditions that may present concomitantly. The effects of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on the polysomnographic manifestation of sleep-disordered breathing have not been studied.Objectives: We hypothesized that the presence of airflow obstruction could be predicted by the presence of expiratory upper airway narrowing during sleep in patients with sleep-disordered breathing.Methods: Ninety-three patients with sleep-disordered breathing (19 men; age, 51.6 yr; body mass index, 40.1 kg/m2; apnea-hypopnea index, 37.4 events/h) were observed. Every patient had an in-lab polysomnography study and complete pulmonary function tests. Sleep and respiratory events were scored using American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommended scoring criteria. Expiratory snoring events were identified on polysomnography using microphone sensor and/or pressure flow sensor in each patient. The FEV1/FVC ratio less than 70 was used to...
A Model for Turbulent Transfer in the Wall Region

This note is intended to show that an estimation of s may be obtained by the adaptation of the surface renewal and penetration model to momentum transfer. This value of s may in turn be used in conjunction with this basic model to predict mean mass and heat transfer rates as well as velocity temperature and concentration profiles associated with many turbulent transport processes.
Information Technology and Its Impact on Undergraduate Science Education

SUMMARY Information technology in libraries directly influences undergraduate science education. A highly selective liberal arts college within an outstanding statewide consortium provides the framework for the transformation explored in this paper. The essential role of library as place is emphasized, given the collaborative nature of science, with a concurring commitment to virtual library services.
All (International) Politics is Local

Remarks by the author, a military judge advocate, presented as keynote speaker at the 2002 10th Federal Circuit Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The author presents a challenge to judges, prosecutors and government lawyers to step up to the challenge trying terrorism cases in the federal courts rather than resorting to military commissions and military detention.
Statistics of Nonlinear Internal Waves during the Shallow Water 2006 Experiment

AbstractDuring the Shallow Water Acoustic Experiment 2006 (SW06) conducted on the New Jersey continental shelf in the summer of 2006, detailed measurements of the ocean environment were made along a fixed reference track that was parallel to the continental shelf. The time-varying environment induced by nonlinear internal waves (NLIWs) was recorded by an array of moored thermistor chains and by X-band radars from the attending research vessels. Using a mapping technique, the three-dimensional (3D) temperature field for over a month of NLIW events is reconstructed and analyzed to provide a statistical summary of important NLIW parameters, such as the NLIW propagation speed, direction, and amplitude. The results in this paper can be used as a database for studying the NLIW generation, propagation, and fidelity of nonlinear internal wave models.
Kinetics and mechanism of di-tert-butyl peroxide-initiated liquid-phase transformations of 2-alkoxytetrahydropyrans

The di-tert-butyl peroxide-initiated (by thermal decomposition) liquid-phase transformations of 2-alkoxytetrahydropyrans to the corresponding esters of n-valeric acid and δ-valerolactone were studied by kinetic methods. Their ratio is determined by the structure of the alkoxy group. The reaction proceeds via a mechanism involving an unbranched chain reaction with quadratic breaking of the chains in the rearranged radicals.
Desmoplastic fibroma of bone arising in fibrous dysplasia.

Malignant transformation of fibrous dysplasia of bone either following or even in the absence of previous irradiation has been well-documented on many occasions. The association of fibrous dysplasia with a benign bone tumor has not been documented. This is a histologically proven case of the occurrence of a desmoplastic fibroma of the pubis in a 34-year-old man which was associated with monostotic fibrous dysplasia of the same bone. Both lesions were discovered and removed simultaneously.
A Discrete Component Approach to the Management of the Cereal Leaf Beetle Ecosystem

Procedures are reported to systematically develop a total system model as a function of its structure and individual component models. These methods are illustrated by obtaining the dynamic models of Oulema melanopus (L.) and its larval parasite, Tetrastiehus julis (Walker). The models are used to study the effect of the parasite on the pest density levels under varying conditions. The results of this analysis are discussed in the context of management of the O. melanopus ecosystem. Based on this analysis, some biological experiments in the field are recommended.
Hypertrophy of future liver remnant in unresectable liver cancer following radioembolization with resin microspheres

specific: 4% vs 2%; other: 16% vs 15%. Cumulative 90-day all-cause mortality post-resection was 2 (8.0%) vs 2 (4.3%). All 4 cases were trisectionectomies (mCRC: 3; ICC: 1) and typically had Z1 prior chemotherapy line, pre-surgical comorbidities and suffered posthepatectomy multi-organ failure including liver failure. FLR was targeted with SIRT in 1 of the 4 cases. Conclusion: There were no significant differences in outcomes between resected patients with FLR that received SIRT compared to those without exposure, although sparing FLR remains recommended. No deaths appear to be directly related to SIRT. The safety of both cohorts appears similar to that reported for hepatic surgery.
Equal Recognition: A Reply to Four Critics

Equal Recognition seeks to restate the case in favour of liberal multiculturalism in a manner that is responsive to major objections that have been advanced by critics in recent years. The book engages, among other questions, with two central unresolved problems. First, how should ideas of culture and cultural preservation be understood, given widespread suspicion that these ideas rely on an unavowed, but objectionable, form of essentialism? And, second, what exactly is the normative basis of cultural rights claims, and what are the limits on those claims? My four commentators advance a variety of different criticisms of the book’s answers to these questions. I offer replies to each of their main challenges.
The transition to parenthood: impact on couples’ romantic relationships

The birth of the first baby-often referred to as the transition to parenthood (TTP)-is both a time of great joy and great stress for new parents. Although the literature is mixed, the preponderance of evidence suggests that the TTP has a negative effect on relationship functioning for most couples. However, as children age, the relationship functioning of parents and non-parents converge. Notably, there are important moderators of this average trajectory; couples with higher levels of pre-birth relationship problems, insecurely attached parents, temperamentally difficult infants, and TTP following biological birth rather than adoption are associated with larger post-birth declines. Fortunately, several effective couple-focused interventions are available to help buffer the negative effects of the TTP.
Pubic hair:physiological function and aesthetic value

In order to improve people's understanding of pubic hair,the paper discusses the basic theories of pubic hair(including production mechanism,body distribution,development stages and different types),and the relationship between its sexological significance and diseases,and the treatment of excessive pubic hair and pubic hairlessness.A literature review of ancient and foreign accounts of the related researches is also made to reflect the current "five misunderstanding" among people regarding pubic hair.The paper also provide a whole picture of pubic hair by a comprehensive analysis of it from sexual psychology,anesthetics,sociology,culture and custom perspectives,with an aim to promoting sexual health and family happiness.
Research on Value Relevance of Accounting Information:Review and Enlightenment

In recent years,despite a lot of criticism to the study of value relevance,there are still a lot of relevant literature native and abroad.Through reviewing on the theoretical model and analysis of the early research,from a classification per spective,this paper studies the evolutions of increasing correlation research and relative correlation research,and systemati cally reviews literatures and their developments in past ten years.The paper indicates that the market effectiveness is not al ways existing,so as to give certain reference to the future study on value relevance which is based on heterogeneous beliefs from the perspective of behavioral finance.
PyFREC: Software for Förster electronic coupling evaluation in molecular fragments.

Electronic couplings are crucial for understanding exciton dynamics and associated energy transfer in artificial and natural chromophores. The proposed PyFREC (Python FRagment Electronic Coupling) software enables evaluation of electronic couplings based on the Forster model. PyFREC features the decomposition of electronic couplings, obtained through quantum chemical calculations, into the orientation and dipole strength components. Furthermore, the variation method to evaluate energies of coupled electronic excited states and delocalization of electronic excitations is implemented in the software. PyFREC has been tested on the S22 benchmark dataset of non-covalent complexes and water clusters. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Concentrating Ability After Antireflux Operation

AbstractChildren undergoing surgical correction of reflux require short-term and long-term assessment of the functional, bacteriological and radiologic results. In short-term assessment concentrating ability may be a more sensitive indicator of benefit or harm than creatinine clearance. There were no cases of persistent reflux and a 7 per cent obstruction rate in 59 ureteral reimplantations in 36 children.
Using RNA Interference in Schistosoma mansoni

Schistosomes are parasitic worms that infect over 200 million people and constitute an enormous public health problem worldwide. Molecular tools are being developed for use with these parasites in order to increase our understanding of their unique molecular and cell biology. Among the more promising methodologies is RNA interference (RNAi, or gene silencing), a mechanism by which gene-specific double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) triggers degradation of homologous mRNA transcripts. In this work we describe methods for applying RNAi to suppress gene expression in the intra-mammalian life stages of Schistosoma mansoni. These methods include isolating and culturing the parasites, preparing and delivering dsRNA targeting a specific gene and monitoring the outcome. Given the abundance of schistosome transcriptome and genome sequences now available, RNAi technology has the potential to rapidly expand analysis of the roles and importance of the genes of this globally important parasite.
Chapter 2 – What Is a Tiger? Ecology and Behavior

Publisher Summary This chapter provides new insights into the tiger's ability and flexibility to persist in current and changing landscapes. These insights come from a variety of sources, including long-term telemetry studies of tigers in southern Nepal and the Russian Far East, sites with vastly different ecological conditions, as well as from long-term monitoring of tiger and prey populations in Nagarahole National Park, India, and from dietary studies and prey density estimates at other sites in India. The development of camera-trapping techniques has also provided the first reliable density estimates of tiger populations in the lowland tropical rainforests of Thailand, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, and Laos. This chapter synthesizes these studies to describe tiger behavior and ecology. It describes the tiger's basic skill set, and then reviews predatory behavior and ecology, followed by population ecology. Finally, this chapter concludes with some thoughts about research directions and development of new methods of enumerating prey density and assessing tiger diets in these habitats.
Study of emotion-based neurocardiology through wearable systems

Neurocardiology is the exploration of neurophysiological, neurological and neuroanatomical facets of neuroscience’s influence in cardiology. The paraphernalia of emotions on the heart and brain are premeditated because of the interaction between the central and peripheral nervous system. This is an investigative attempt to study emotion based neurocardiology and the factors that influence this phenomena. The factors include: interaction between sleep EEG (electroencephalogram) and ECG (electrocardiogram), relationship between emotion and music, psychophysiological coherence between the heart and brain, emotion recognition techniques, and biofeedback mechanisms. Emotions contribute vitally to the mundane life and are quintessential to a numerous biological and everyday-functional modalities of a human being. Emotions are best represented through EEG signals, and to a certain extent, can be observed through ECG and body temperature. Confluence of medical and engineering science has enabled the monitoring and discrimination of emotions influenced by happiness, anxiety, distress, excitement and several other factors that influence the thinking patterns and the electrical activity of the brain. Similarly, HRV (Heart Rate Variability) widely investigated for its provision and discerning characteristics towards EEG and the perception in neurocardiology.
Structure and metabolism of low density lipoproteins from normal and hypertriglyceridemic subjects.

Human plasma lipoproteins are complex assemblies of lipids and proteins whose identities are operationally defined by the densities at which they are isolated as the high, low, and very low density lipoproteins, HDL, LDL and VLDL, respectively. Lipoproteins transport glycerol and sphingolipids as well as free and esterified cholesterol along with apoproteins which may, depending on their identity, activate lipolytic enzymes or serve as ligands for receptor-mediated endocytosis. In addition to these important proteins, human plasma also contains a number of proteins that transport monomeric lipids between lipoprotein classes. Most notable among these are cholesterol ester transfer protein and phosphatidylcholine transfer protein. Lipolytic enzymes, lipoprotein receptors, and lipid transfer protein are the major endogenous factors that modify the concentration, composition, and structure of plasma lipoproteins. The major exogenous factors are found in the diet and include the amount and kinds of fatty acids that are consumed.
Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation

Purpose of Review Anticoagulant therapy effectively reduces the incidence of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) but is underutilized and frequently contraindicated. The left atrial appendage (LAA) is the primary site of thrombus formation in AF patients. Surgical and percutaneous appendage closure has been evaluated as a site-specific therapy to reduce systemic thromboembolism.
Redox Active Ion-Paired Excited States Undergo Dynamic Electron Transfer

Ion-pair interactions between a cationic ruthenium complex, [Ru(dtb)2(dea)][PF6]2, C12+ where dea is 4,4′-diethanolamide-2,2′-bipyridine and dtb is 4,4′-di-tert-butyl-2,2′-bipyridine, and chloride, bromide, and iodide are reported. A remarkable result is that a 1:1 iodide:excited-state ion-pair, [C12+, I–]+*, underwent diffusional electron-transfer oxidation of iodide that did not occur when ion-pairing was absent. The ion-pair equilibrium constants ranged 104–106 M–1 in CH3CN and decreased in the order Cl– > Br– > I–. The ion-pairs had longer-lived excited states, were brighter emitters, and stored more free energy than did the non-ion-paired states. The 1H NMR spectra revealed that the halides formed tight ion-pairs with the amide and alcohol groups of the dea ligand. Electron-transfer reactivity of the ion-paired excited state was not simply due to it being a stronger photooxidant than the non-ion-paired excited state. Instead, work term, ΔGw was the predominant contributor to the driving force for the...
Structural Sentence Similarity Estimation for Short Texts

Sentence similarity is the basis of most text-related tasks. In this paper, we define a new task of sentence similarity estimation specifically for short while informal, social-network styled sentences. The new type of sentence similarity, which we call Structural Similarity, eliminates syntactic or grammatical features such as dependency paths and Part-of-Speech (POS) tagging which do not have enough representativeness on short sentences. Structural Similarity does not consider actual meanings of the sentences either but puts more emphasis on the similarities of sentence structures, so as to discover purpose- or emotion-level similarities. The idea is based on the observation that people tend to use sentences with similar structures to express similar feelings. Besides the definition, we present a new feature set and a mechanism to calculate the scores, and, for the needs of disambiguating word senses we propose a variant of the Word2Vec model to represent words. We prove the correctness and advancement of our sentence similarity measurement by experiments.
Anesthetics and cardioprotection

The prevalence of the cardiovascular disease significantly affects the outcome of both cardiac and non-cardiac surgery, and perioperative cardiac morbidity is one of the leading causes of death following anesthesia and surgery. The considerable incidence of myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, myocardial ischemia, or serious dysrhythmias during the intraoperative or postoperative periods, has led many studies to examine medical factors and interventions for decreasing cardiac risk in patients with cardiovascular disease. An extensive amount of work has focused on whether any one anesthetic agent or technique is particularly beneficial for patients with coronary artery disease. Experimental studies conducted in our laboratory have clearly shown that volatile anesthetics may exert profound cardioprotection against myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury. This article examines the recent evidence about the importance of mitochondria, reactive oxygen species and the K ATP channels in cardioprotective signaling by volatile anesthetics. Moreover, the article addresses current concepts and controversies regarding specific roles of the mitochondrial and the sarcolemmal K ATP channels in anesthetic-induced preconditioning.
Fathers Know Best: Inner-City African American Fathers' Perceptions Regarding Their Involvement in the Pediatric Medical Home.

Despite nearly three in four African American (AA) children being born to unwed mothers, AA fathers maintain relatively high levels of parenting engagement, whether or not they live with their children. While father involvement correlates with decreased adverse child health outcomes, the nature of AA father involvement in child health—including engagement in the pediatric medical home—remains largely unexplored. Our study aimed to assess perceptions of pediatric medical home participation among a cohort of urban, AA fathers. Group level assessments (GLA; N = 17) were conducted among AA fathers in an urban, Midwestern neighborhood to examine perceptions regarding pediatric medical home involvement. Study participants generated themes based on GLA responses, and study staff used grounded theory as a framework for qualitative analysis of thematic data. Fathers desired to have their parental role acknowledged by mothers and pediatricians. They perceived unrecognized parenting strengths, including being role models, teachers, and providers for their children. Respondents endorsed uncertainty navigating the pediatric health care system, unawareness of their children’s pediatric appointments, and feeling excluded from health care decision-making by their children’s mothers and pediatric providers. In our cohort, AA fathers have a strong desire to be involved in their children’s healthy development, but feel marginalized in their parenting role. AA fathers want improved communication with physicians and their children’s mothers and to be actively included in health care decision-making. Enhanced efforts to engage fathers in the pediatric medical home may lead to improved health outcomes and reduced disparities for minority children.
Exome Sequencing of Extended Families with Alzheimer's Disease Identifies Novel Genes Implicated in Cell Immunity and Neuronal Function.

Objective: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder for which more than 20 genetic loci have been implicated to date. However, studies demonstrate not all genetic factors have been identified. Therefore, in this study we seek to identify additional rare variants and novel genes potentially contributing to AD. Methods: Whole exome sequencing was performed on 23 multi-generational families with an average of eight affected subjects. Exome sequencing was filtered for rare, nonsynonymous and loss-of-function variants. Alterations predicted to have a functional consequence and located within either a previously reported AD gene, a linkage peak (LOD>2), or clustering in the same gene across multiple families, were prioritized. Results: Rare variants were found in known AD risk genes including AKAP9, CD33, CR1, EPHA1, INPP5D, NME8, PSEN1, SORL1, TREM2 and UNC5C. Three families had five variants of interest in linkage regions with LOD>2. Genes with segregating alterations in these peaks include CD163L1 and CLECL1, two genes that have both been implicated in immunity, CTNNA1, which encodes a catenin in the cerebral cortex and MIEF1, a gene that may induce mitochondrial dysfunction and has the potential to damage neurons. Four genes were identified with alterations in more than one family include PLEKHG5, a gene that causes Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and THBS2, which promotes synaptogenesis. Conclusion: Utilizing large families with a heavy burden of disease allowed for the identification of rare variants co-segregating with disease. Variants were identified in both known AD risk genes and in novel genes.
Apocalyptic Imagination and the Silence of the Elements

Contemporary cosmic imagination takes an apocalyptic turn away from the harmonious cosmic reverie described by Bachelard, instead envisioning the imperceptible toxification and elemental dissolution of the world. In parallel, phenomenology’s confrontation with the annihilation of the world leads it to recognize a moment of death that haunts every lived experience as its immemorial past. Tracing the moment of the world’s withdrawal through Merleau-Ponty, Cezanne, Deleuze, Levinas, and Sallis, we see that this immemorial past is associated with a prehuman level of sensation that opens onto the silent materiality of the elements. Investigating sensation at the limits of perception, elements at the limit of the world, and art at the limits of representation allows us to reconfigure Bachelard’s cosmic imagination in the wake of the apocalyptic turn. This reveals that apocalyptic imagination is not merely a contemporary response to our technological and environmental context but rather an intensification of nature’s own fundamental duplicity.
Speaker’s Reference, Semantic Reference, and Intuition

Some years ago, Machery, Mallon, Nichols, and Stich reported the results of experiments that reveal, they claim, cross-cultural differences in speaker’s ‘intuitions’ about Kripke’s famous Godel–Schmidt case. Several authors have suggested, however, that the question they asked their subjects is ambiguous between speaker’s reference and semantic reference. Machery and colleagues have since made a number of replies. It is argued here that these are ineffective. The larger lesson, however, concerns the role that first-order philosophy should, and more importantly should not, play in the design of such experiments and in the evaluation of their results.
Endocrine disruptors and the developing immune system

Abstract During development, the immune system intimately communicates with other systems and tissues to shape their form and function and is similarly shaped in return. This process is highly regulated, making the developing immune system highly sensitive to exogenous insults. Modulation that occurs during development may persist through adulthood, resulting in an increased risk of later-life diseases and disorders. The adverse health outcomes that may arise from developmental immunotoxicity (DIT) are extremely varied and can present symptomatically in systems other than the immune system. The close connection that the immune system shares with other systems and tissues also puts the immune system at risk from secondary effects that arise from primary effects in other systems. The endocrine system also is sensitive to exogenous influences; because it works closely with the immune system to influence development from gestation through early life, endocrine disruption also may induce DIT. This short review therefore considers the role of endocrine disruption in DIT and highlights endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) with known DIT effects. Of special importance are microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system that are highly influenced by endogenous endocrine signals during development and are therefore sensitive to effects from exposure to EDCs.
Bis[μ-N,N′-(pyridine-2,6-di­yl)bis­(tri­methyl­silyl­amido)-1κ2N1,N2;2:3κ2N6:N6]bis­(tetra­hydro­furan)-2:3κ2O-1-nickel(II)-2,3-lithium(I)

The title complex, [Li2Ni(C11H21N3Si2)2(C4H8O)2], is a trimetallic complex of two LiI cations and a NiII cation bridged by two N,N′-(pyridine-2,6-di­yl)bis(tri­methyl­silyl­amide) ligands that crystallizes in the Fdd2 space group. The mol­ecule has C2 rotational symmetry, with the NiII cation located on the twofold axis. The coordination sphere of the NiII cation is composed of two amido N and two pyridyl N-atom donors in a distorted square-planar geometry. The LiI cations are coordinated by two amido N-atom donors and a tetra­hydro­furan mol­ecule with a long inter­action with a pyridyl N-atom donor. The coordinating tetra­hydro­furan ligand and a tri­methyl­silyl group are disordered. Intra- or inter­molecular hydrogen bonding, as well as π–π stacking, are not observed between the mol­ecules, likely indicating that weak electrostatic inter­actions are the dominant feature leading to the crystal structure.
Primary small cell cancer of the esophagus: understanding treatment outcomes.

In their recent paper Treatment Strategies and Prognostic Factors of Limited-Stage Primary Small Cell Carcinoma of the Esophagus , Xu and colleagues (1) explored the characteristics and outcomes of patients treated for primary small cell carcinoma of the esophagus (PSCCE).
Muscular and extramuscular clinical features of patients with anti-PM/Scl autoantibodies.

Objective To define the clinical features of myositis patients with anti-PM/Scl-75 and/or anti-PM/Scl-100 autoantibodies at disease onset and during the course of disease and compare them to patients with other forms of myositis. Methods In this longitudinal cohort study, the prevalence and severity of clinical features at disease onset and during follow-up were compared between anti-PM/Scl-positive patients and those with the antisynthetase syndrome (AS), dermatomyositis (DM), and immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM). Results Forty-one anti-PM/Scl-positive, 132 AS, 178 DM, and 135 IMNM patients were included. Although muscle weakness was a presenting feature in just 37% of anti-PM/Scl-positive patients, 93% eventually developed weakness. Unlike the other groups, anti-PM-Scl-positive patients had more severe weakness in arm abductors than hip flexors. Interstitial lung disease was a presenting feature in just 10% of anti-PM/Scl-positive patients, but occurred in 61% during follow-up; fewer patients with DM (13%, p p p Conclusions Unlike patients with DM, AS, or IMNM, anti-PM/Scl-positive patients have weaker arm abductors than hip flexors. Anti-PM/Scl-positive patients also have the most extensive extramuscular features.
Not a Relative, but …

On September 11, 2001, I was in San Lorenzo de Escorial, Spain along with Walter Kohn, Matthias Scheffler, and perhaps others who are contributing to this book. We were attending the Ninth Annual International Conference on Density Functional Theory. As I left the auditorium after one of the talks that afternoon, I was approached by Steven Richardson who was a former postdoctoral from our group. As I stood speechless, he recounted the terrible events that had occurred in New York and Washington. I rushed to my hotel and could only get the news in Spanish. Although the pictures told most of the story, it wasn’t until my wife and I joined others at the conference to watch the BBC in English that we learned the horrible details.
The Representations of SU (3)

There is a theory of the representations of semisimple groups and Lie algebras (discussed in Chapters 6, 7, and 8) that includes as a special case the representation theory of SU(3). However, I feel that it is worthwhile to examine the case of SU(3) separately, before going on to the general theory. I feel this way partly because SU(3) is an important group in physics, but chiefly because the general semisimple theory is difficult to digest. Considering a nontrivial example makes what is going on much clearer. In fact, all of the elements of the general theory are present already in the case of SU(3), so we do not lose too much by considering at first just this case.
Cyclic, condition-independent activity in primary motor cortex predicts corrective movement behavior

Cyclic neural activity independent of target condition occurred during both initial reaching movements and multiple corrective movements as subjects performed a precision center-out task. The cyclic neural trajectories were similar during initial and corrective movements. For both, instantaneous cycle phase predicted when contact with the target occurred, even when the subject made multiple corrective movements. Moreover, the phase of the cyclic neural activity correlated with instantaneous movement speed. Neural activity during these corrective movements thus reveals encoding of discrete sub-movements rather than smooth and continuous updating of movement towards a target.
Novel Silicon-Compatible Plasmonic Materials

We present our work on the development of transparent conductive materials compatible with silicon technology. We discuss the fabrication and characterization of Indium Silicon Oxide and Titanium Oxynitrides and demonstrate tunable Epsilon-Near-Zero (ENZ) behavior. These materials provide opportunities to engineer plasmon-enhanced nanostructures and metamaterial devices.
Three dimensional composites of graphene as supports in Pd-catalyzed synthetic applications

The graphitic one-dimensional carbon nanotube (CNT) and two-dimensional graphene (G) are important support materials in heterogeneous catalysis. However, the production of highly active but stable and recyclable catalysts using these materials is still challenging. In this work, through a facile and solventless method, a 3D composite was prepared by growing multiwall CNTs on G nanoplatelets through the Ni-catalyzed “tip growth” mechanism using a combination of ball milling and microwave irradiation steps. The advantageous high surface area provided by the atomically thin sheet of G and the aspect ratio of the CNT are combined to retain and enhance the mechanical, electronic, thermal, and catalytic properties. The resulting 3D Ni–graphene–carbon nanotube hybrid (NiGCNT) material exhibits magnetic properties and the unique 3D structure prevents graphene sheet restacking facilitating better catalyst recyclability and longevity. The exceptional catalytic properties provided by this 3D NiGCNT support loaded with Pd nanoparticles were demonstrated and tested in both Suzuki cross-coupling and C–H activation reactions. The Pd–NiGCNT was 10 times more active than commercially available Pd on activated carbon catalysts.
Woven and Nonwoven Medical/Surgical Materials:

The physical characteristics and performance attributes of absorbent gauze and spunlaced nonwovens used for medical/surgical applications are reviewed. Because the manufacturing lines for spunlacin...
Post-Burn Pruritus and Its Management—Current and New Avenues for Treatment

This article seeks to review the current literature on post-burn pruritus and its treatments, as well as to propose new treatments that may be of potential benefit for these patients. Post-burn pruritus has been reported to affect as many as 93% of patients after a burn injury. Pruritus is extremely distressing to these patients, yet the current state of treatment, mostly antihistamines and emollients, is still widely ineffective in providing relief of itch. Therapies that are effective in treating pruritus and that may act as superior treatment options for patients suffering from post-burn pruritus include gabapentin and pregabalin, topical ketamine-lidocaine-amitriptyline, opioid medications, neurokinin-1 inhibitors, antidepressants, anti-cytokines, PAR-2 inhibitors, and botulinum toxin among others.
Cost-effectiveness of endoscopic ultrasound-directed transgastric ERCP compared with device-assisted and laparoscopic-assisted ERCP in patients with Roux-en-Y anatomy.

Background Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery is the second most common weight loss surgery in the United States. Treatment of pancreaticobiliary disease in this patient population is challenging due to the altered anatomy, which limits the use of standard instruments and techniques. Both nonoperative and operative modalities are available to overcome these limitations, including device-assisted (DAE) endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), laparoscopic-assisted (LA) ERCP, and endoscopic ultrasound-directed transgastric ERCP (EDGE). The aim of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of ERCP-based modalities for treatment of pancreaticobiliary diseases in post-RYGB patients. Methods A decision tree model with a 1-year time horizon was used to analyze the cost-effectiveness of EDGE, DAE-ERCP, and LA-ERCP in post-RYGB patients. Monte Carlo simulation was used to assess a plausible range of incremental cost-effectiveness ratios, net monetary benefit calculations, and a cost-effectiveness acceptability curve. One-way sensitivity analyses and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were also performed to assess how changes in key parameters affected model conclusions. Results EDGE resulted in the lowest total costs and highest total quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) for a total of $5188/QALY, making it the dominant alternative compared with DAE-ERCP and LA-ERCP. In probabilistic analyses, EDGE was the most cost-effective modality compared with LA-ERCP and DAE-ERCP in 94.4 % and 97.1 % of simulations, respectively. Conclusion EDGE was the most cost-effective modality in post-RYGB anatomy for treatment of pancreaticobiliary diseases compared with DAE-ERCP and LA-ERCP. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that this conclusion was robust to changes in important model parameters.
Nucleosomal DNA is digested to repeats of 10 bases by exonuclease III.

Abstract Nucleosomes were treated with increasing concentrations of exonuclease III (Exo III) from E. coll. At low levels of Exo III, the heterogeneous distribution of monomers (with associated DNA fragments ranging in size between 140 and 170 bp) is "trimmed" down to a discrete core of 140 bp. The "trimming" of monomers to 140 bp results from a 3′ exonucleolytic digestion accompanied by a 5′ clipping activity which is specific for the conformation of internucleosomal DNA. At higher concentrations of Exo III, the enzyme digests the 140 bp "trimmed" nucleosome core from both 3′ ends without associated 5′ nuclease activity. Most striking is the observation that the fragments produced during such a digestion display discrete single-stranded lengths that are integer multiples of 10 bases. For some dimer nucleosomes, Exo III can digest as many as 200 bases from at least one 3′ end and produce a 10 base interval ladder from about 400 bases down to 180 bases. This suggests that the enzyme can traverse the length of an entire nucleosome without destroying whatever structural features are necessary to produce a 10 base DNA ladder.