cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of selective alpha-1 blocker therapy in the treatment of acute urinary symptoms during radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer.

Abstract Purpose: To determine the efficacy of an alpha-1 adrenoreceptor blocking agent for acute urinary symptoms in patients treated with radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer. Methods and Materials: Between 1987 and 1995, 743 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer were treated with 3D-CRT. A total of 275 (37%) patients developed Grade 2 acute urinary symptoms as defined by the RTOG morbidity scoring system. Terazosin hydrochloride (THC), a selective alpha-1 adrenoceptor blocking agent, was given to 119 (43%) patients for treatment of their urinary symptoms, whereas nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAID) were administered to 71 patients (26%). Thirty-one patients (11%) were treated with other medications, and 54 (20%) did not seek pharmacologic intervention for their urinary symptoms. Patients were monitored weekly to assess changes in urinary urgency, frequency, and nocturia. Results: Treatment with THC resulted in a significant resolution of urinary symptoms in 79 of 119 patients (66%), while 26 (22%) had moderate improvement, and 14 (12%) had minimal to no response to this drug. In contrast, only 11 of 71 (16%) of the patients treated with NSAIDs experienced significant symptom relief, 20 (28%) had moderate improvement, and 40 (56%) had minimal to no response. The difference in the significant symptomatic improvement between THC and NSAID therapy (66% vs. 16%) was highly significant ( p p = 0.04) and in those who were younger than 65 years of age ( p = 0.02). Conclusion: Alpha-1 selective adrenoceptor blocking agents are effective in ameliorating the acute urinary symptoms in patients receiving radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer. Although this was not a randomized prospective study, the data suggest that NSAIDs were less effective in relieving radiation-induced urinary symptoms.
Modeling and theoretical performance analysis for dynamic spatially distributed energy-based spectrum sensing in Cognitive Radios over shadowed fading channels in Public Safety Networks

Cognitive Radio (CR) is widely studied as an emerging alternative for public safety communications from the aspect of opportunistic spectrum usage for interoperability, which is hampered by incompatible radio equipments and different operational radio frequency bands. Spectrum sensing is one of the key functionalities in Cognitive Radio Networks. Spatially distributed cooperative spectrum sensing can effectively solve the hidden primary user problem. However, the number of CRs in the cooperation is dynamically changing over the time at emergencies. We model the emergent behaviors of CRs and derive the dynamic probability of detection and probability of false alarm in the energy-based cooperative spectrum sensing for public safety cognitive radio networks over composite shadowing/fading channels.
To Heaven in A Swing: The Transcendentalism of Cyrus Bartol

Among the many popular descriptions of New England Transcendentalism which ran current in its own day, the most usual and least malicious were those which stressed its ethereality. Transcendentalism means “a little beyond,” said Emerson's friend with a wave of her hand. A meeting of the Club was like going to heaven in a swing, according to one earth-bound observer. And for many Bostonians “the model Transcendentalist,” as O. B. Frothingham pointed out, was not Emerson or Parker but Cyrus Bartol, minister of the West Church. For Bartol appeared to fit the public preconception. “He seems a man who lives above the clouds,” Frothingham remarked, “— not always above them, either.”
Evolution of an Information Competency Requirement for Undergraduates.

University at Buffalo undergraduate students are required to complete a non-credit-bearing information competency assessment prior to graduation, preferably within their first year of study. Called the Library Skills Workbook, this assessment has evolved from a short, print-based quiz into a sophisticated, multi-module tutorial and assessment on the Blackboard courseware platform (http://www.blackboard.com). The author presents a case study describing the usefulness of a large-scale, online information competency requirement to meet the developing research needs of undergraduate students. The case presented includes specifics of measured information proficiencies, the benefits and challenges of using Blackboard courseware, student learning outcomes, user and faculty feedback, and the introduction of a new, alternate version of the Workbook that is targeted to engineering students. Practical issues regarding the administration, maintenance, and marketing of the requirement are addressed as well. The author...
Innovation in Urban Design: Does Research Help?

In a world of design solutions, how important is research to innovation? This paper describes how innovation intersects with (1) urban design practice and (2) the work of research universities. When innovation is largely stylistic, design practice sensibilities may well be more useful than research skills. But when innovation requires new data or new analytical techniques, research is important. With their direct connections to tangible issues and their location within multiple professions, urban designers could well become exemplars of interdisciplinary research, serving as the human face of the research turn while expanding and deepening their own body of knowledge. Indeed, they could use this research turn to accelerate and disseminate inventive work in urban design, so that the urban design field experiences significant innovation.
Penile Intracavernous Hematoma: Diagnosis and Surgical Considerations

AbstractSoft tissue lesions of the penile corporeal bodies are rare and usually represent benign or malignant tumors, or Peyronie's disease. We report a unique case of a deep seated penile mass that at exploration proved to be an encapsulated hematoma of the inter-corporeal septum. Preoperative diagnosis of lesions of the corporeal bodies is facilitated by high resolution Doppler ultrasonography. Surgical exploration to exclude malignancy must be done unless the clinical and/or radiographic findings are unequivocally benign (Peyronie's plaque, simple cyst and so forth). Surgical exploration must be done according to the penile neurovascular anatomy to preserve potency and glanular sensation.
Flow Downstream of Partially Blocked Stented Cardiac Arteries

Intravascular stents play a major role in restoring the patency in atherosclerotic coronary arteries. However restenosis occurs in an artery after certain period of time. In order to obtain the consequences of various problems associated with the implantation of stent in a multiple blocked artery, an analysis is done at the blockage of artery downstream the stented region. The present paper analyzes blood flow downstream of partially blocked stented artery at different levels of blockages. The blockage rate is taken as thirty, fifty and sixty percentage of the stented artery. Velocity, flow rate and pressure drop at the blocked artery are simulated using the CFD software. The analysis illustrates an increment in velocity and pressure drop at the blockage with increase in velocity, pressure and mass flow rate at the inlet. The maximum velocity of blood in stented arteries at high percentage of blockage is more when compared to the lower ones. Due to the increase in pressure at inlet, the mass flow rate increased at the blockage downstream stented artery. The values for pressure obtained at blockage are decreasing which are in contrast to the velocity and pressure drop values at the blockage. The pressure drop at the blockage analyzes the blood pressure level in the artery which can be used for future optimizations and modifications during and after the stent implantation.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
A Genetic Screen Identifies New Regulators of Steroid-Triggered Programmed Cell Death in Drosophila

The steroid hormone ecdysone triggers the rapid and massive destruction of larval tissues through transcriptional cascades that culminate in rpr and hid expression and caspase activation. Here we describe the use of genetic screens to further our understanding of this steroid-triggered programmed cell death response. Pupal lethal mutants were screened for specific defects in larval salivary gland destruction. A pilot screen using existing P-element collections resulted in the identification of mutations in known cell death regulators, E74 and hid, as well as multiple alleles in CBP (nejire) and dTrf2. A large-scale EMS mutagenesis screen on the third chromosome resulted in the recovery of 48 mutants. These include seven multiallelic complementation groups, at least five of which do not map to regions or genes previously associated with cell death. Five mutants display defects in the transcriptional induction of rpr and hid, and all display a penetrant block in caspase activation. Three were mapped to specific genes: CG5146, which encodes a protein of unknown function, Med24, which encodes a component of the RNA polymerase II mediator complex, and CG7998, which encodes a putative mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase. These genetic screens provide new directions for understanding the regulation of programmed cell death during development.
Elucidating timing and function of endothelin-A receptor signaling during craniofacial development using neural crest cell-specific gene deletion and receptor antagonism

Cranial neural crest cells (NCCs) play an intimate role in craniofacial development. Multiple signaling cascades participate in patterning cranial NCCs, some of which are regulated by endothelin-A receptor (Ednra) signaling. Ednra(-/-) embryos die at birth from severe craniofacial defects resulting from disruption of neural crest cell patterning and differentiation. These defects include homeotic transformation of lower jaw structures into upper jaw-like structures, suggesting that some cephalic NCCs alter their "identity" in the absence of Ednra signaling. To elucidate the temporal necessity for Ednra signaling in vivo, we undertook two strategies. We first used a conditional knockout strategy in which mice containing a conditionally targeted Ednra allele (Ednra(fl)) were bred with mice from the Hand2-Cre and Wnt1-Cre transgenic mouse strains, two strains in which Cre expression occurs at different time periods within cranial NCCs. In our second approach, we used an Ednra-specific antagonist to treat wild type pregnant mice between embryonic days E8.0 and E10.0, a time frame encompassing the early migration and proliferation of cranial NCCs. The combined results suggest that Ednra function is crucial for NCC development between E8.25 and E9.0, a time period encompassing the arrival of NCCs in the arches and/or early post-migratory patterning. After this time period, Ednra signaling is dispensable. Interestingly, middle ear structures are enlarged and malformed in a majority of Ednra(fl/fl);Wnt1-Cre embryos, instead resembling structures found in extinct predecessors of mammals. These observations suggest that the advent of Ednra signaling in cranial NCCs may have been a crucial event in the evolution of the mammalian middle ear ossicles.
124dB⋅Hz ⅔ Dynamic range transimpedance amplifier for electronic-photonic channelizer

In this paper, we present a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) based on common-source feedback (CSFB) for use in a hybrid electronic-photonic microwave channelizer. The topology demonstrates improved linearity over conventional techniques, while maintaining comparable gain, bandwidth, and noise. This approach is implemented, fabricated, and tested in 180 nm CMOS. Performance metrics demonstrated include a transimpedance gain of 64 dBOmega, 2GHz bandwidth, input referred noise current of 4.2 pA/Hz1/2 , and 5.8 dBm IP3. The circuit shows 124dBHz2/3 of spurious-free dynamic range.
Microvascular breast reconstruction and lymph node transfer for postmastectomy lymphedema patients.

Lymphedema is the result of an imbalance between capillary filtration and lymphatic drainage. Normal lymphatic function ensures the return of plasma proteins and excess water from the interstitial compartment back into the intravascular circulation. This process is governed by transmural capillary hydrostatic and colloid osmotic pressures and is propelled by smooth and skeletal muscle contraction.
Impact of Structured Movement Time on Preschoolers’ Physical Activity Engagement

Preschool-aged children are not meeting national physical activity recommendations. This study compares preschoolers’ physical activity engagement during two different physical activity opportunities: outdoor free play or a structured movement session. Eighty-seven children served as participants: 40 children participated in outdoor free play and another 47 children participated in a planned movement session. Children in the movement program replaced their outdoor free play with a structured movement session on 2 days each week. All movement opportunities were 30-min in duration. Physical activity was objectively measured using accelerometers. Results show that, compared to children on the playground, children in the movement program engaged in less sedentary behaviors and more light, moderate, vigorous and moderate to vigorous physical activity. In total, children in the movement program engaged in 15.5 min of healthier physical activity behaviors as compared with children in the outdoor free play. Structured movement time appears to afford children an opportunity to engage in more physical activity than outdoor time alone. Findings support that preschool centers should provide children with a daily structured movement time that includes formalized instruction in addition to regularly scheduled outdoor free play.
Make it usable: highlighting the importance of improving the intuitiveness and usability of a computer-based training simulation

Usability refers to the ease-of-use, learnability, and satisfaction of an individual's interactions with an interface. With the increased fielding of constructive simulation and personal computer-based simulation for training, there is a growing need for proper usability evaluations during the developmental phase of a product's lifecycle to ensure higher rates of effective use, understanding, and trust from targeted users. The Linguistic Geometry Real-time Adversarial Intelligence and Decision-making (LG-RAID) computer-based training simulation was designed as a training simulation for Army personnel undergoing training on the development of tactically correct courses of action. A heuristic evaluation was conducted to identify strengths and weaknesses of LG-RAID's User Interface (UI) design. Results are presented and discussed with a focus on the importance of being mindful of the cognitive capabilities of the user when designing UIs, understanding and executing simulation design needs based on these capabilities, and the benefits of integrating those design changes during development.
Parasites of the House Fly and Other Filth-Breeding Diptera in Southern California

Collections of immature stages of 7 nuisance Diptera in southern California during 1962-65 revealed 8 parasitic Hymenoptera in 5 families attacking the larval and pupal stages. Comparisons with parasitic fauna reported from other parts of the world show that 25 known insect parasites in 10 families are lacking from these hosts in southern California. A short discussion of the species which might be advantageously introduced is included.
Development of Vaccinia and Variola Viruses in Embryonated Eggs at 28°C

SummaryVaccinia and variola viruses were established and maintained on transfer in the chorioallantoic membrane of embry-onated eggs incubated at a temperature sufficiently low to prevent embryonic development (28°C). The number of elementary bodies present in the membrane on the 3rd day approximated that in eggs incubated at a temperature which favored growth of the embryo (37°C). At 28°C, however, the effect of the respective viruses on the membrane and the embryo as well as the cellular response of the former to them was significantly retarded.
Dualisms and female bodies in representations of African female circumcision: A feminist critique

The contentious topic of female circumcision brings together medical science, women’s health activism, media, and national and international policy-making in pursuit of the common goal of eradicati...
In-vitro and in-vivo studies of resistance to rifampin in meningococci.

Since the development of resistance to sulfonamides among strains of meningococci, no antimicrobial agent has yet been shown to be consistently effective in eradicating nasopharyngeal carriage of meningococci. The desirability of having available an agent which would reliably eradicate the meningococcal carrier state has been emphasized in both military and civilian experience since resistance to sulfonamides became an epidemiologic problem. Rifampin (an antibiotic of the rifamycin class) is well absorbed after oral administration, and it has been found to have a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity, including activity against tubercle bacilli, staphylococci, and Neisseria [1-4]. Two groups of investigators have evaluated the effects of rifampin on the nasopharyngeal carriage of meningococci. Devine and associates at Naval Medical Research Unit no. 4, Great Lakes Naval Training Station, randomly divided men of two recruit companies into treatment and placebo groups; among men given 600 mg of rifampin orally for four days, there was an 89 96 reduction
Mobility and Navigation among the Yucatec Maya: Sex Differences Reflect Parental Investment, Not Mating Competition.

Sex differences in range size and navigation are widely reported, with males traveling farther than females, being less spatially anxious, and in many studies navigating more effectively. One explanation holds that these differences are the result of sexual selection, with larger ranges conferring mating benefits on males, while another explanation focuses on greater parenting costs that large ranges impose on reproductive-aged females. We evaluated these arguments with data from a community of highly monogamous Maya farmers. Maya men and women do not differ in distance traveled over the region during the mate-seeking years, suggesting that mating competition does not affect range size in this monogamous population. However, men’s regional and daily travel increases after marriage, apparently in pursuit of resources that benefit families, whereas women reduce their daily travel after marriage. This suggests that parental effort is more important than mating effort in this population. Despite the relatively modest overall sex difference in mobility, Maya men were less spatially anxious than women, thought themselves to be better navigators, and pointed more accurately to distant locations. A structural equation model showed that the sex by marital status interaction had a direct effect on mobility, with a weaker indirect effect of sex on mobility mediated by navigational ability.
Design of Parameters for UAV′s Rope-Hook Recovery System

Analyze the Rope-Hook recovery system and describe the parameters effect on the performance of it based on the research of the recovery project of UAV.An multi-objective optimization of parameters with genetic algorithms for Rope-Hook recovery system is built and an optimized result is given at last.Multi-objective optimization can make estimating the best compounding of parameters of Rope-Hook recovery system more rational and more efficient.The result show that optimization improve the performance of Rope-Hook recovery system and decrease the barrage time.This optimization provides some reference value for the research of UAV recovery.
Clinical Analysis of 54 Cases of Infantile Purulent Pleurisy

Objective To explore the treatment of infantile purulent pleurisy. Methods 54 cases of purulent pleurisy were treated in our department from January 2009 to January 2015. They were randomized to undergo puncturing and taking out purulence(group A, n=18) and closed thoracic drainage(group B, n=21) and pleural fibreboard stripping(group C, n=15).The clinical effect was compared between the three groups. Results The cure rate was significantly higher in the group B and C than in the group A(P0.05); there were significant differences in drainage volume between the three groups(P0.05)and the group B was superior to the group C; in terms of even hospital stay, there was no significant difference between three groups(P0.05). Conclusion Treatment of infantile purulent pleurisy should be based on patient's overall situation and should be appropriate and effective to ensure a higher clinical efficacy and promote rehabilitation of patients.
Early warning and surveillance of plague in historical epidemic areas of Quzhou, Zhejiang province, China during 2004-2012

Objective To monitor plague host animals, its vectors and plague epidemic and to provide a scientific basis for timely detection, prevention and control of plague epidemic.Methods Live rats were captured with cage traps in the daytime and were then taxonomically identified. The liver, spleen, and serum samples were collected from the rats for isolation of plague bacteria and detection of F1 antibody. The animals with unexplained death were searched for, and epidemic surveillance was conducted.Results TThe dominant species of house rats wereRattus norvegicusandR. tanezumi, and the dominant species of field rats wasApodemus agrarius. The mean rodent densities were 3.19% indoor and 2.82% outdoors. The mean flea carrying rate of rodents was 1.89%, and the total flea index of rodents was 0.0493. The dominant species of rat fleas wasLeptopsylla segnis. The samples from live rats were negative for F1 antibody and pathogens. Plague cases were not found althouth large numbers of animals with unexplained death.Conclusion The species compositions of plague hosts and vectors in historical epidemic areas remain stable with low densities, and plague epidemic has not been found. However, plague surveillance should still be performed for timely detection of abnormal signals and prevention of human cases.
Region Separated Approach of Corrosion Diagnosis of Grounding Grid Down Lead Lines

To evaluate the corrosion conditions of down lead lines,a grounding grid is divided into several regions based on the hierarchical simplification model,on the basis of which,a novel approach of diagnosing down lead line resistances in each region,respectively,is established. The down lead line corrosion diagnosis of a large-scale grounding grid is divided into several small-scale region based sub-problems to solve,respectively. In each region,the ratios of the intrinsic branch resistances should be firstly worked out according to the data collected by committing the common node oriented tests under sufficient excitations outside the region,respectively. Secondly,the resistances of the down lead lines connected with the non-common nodes can be determined by shifting one of the two poles of the exciter .to connect with each non-common node and adding a common node oriented test,respectively. It is proved that the down lead line resistance connected with the common node can not be determined by the test orienting the same common node. A common node rearrangement methodology is present to solve above problem and the down lead line resistance connected with the common node can be finally reached. An experimental grounding grid with sixty branches is used as an example. With the proposed approach,the down lead line corrosion diagnosis can be divided into several small-scale region based sub-problems to solve,respectively. The results show that the proposed approach is feasible and with high accuracy.
PERFORMATIVITY, SOCIAL ONTOLOGY, AND THE USES OF NARRATIVES IN LATIN AMERICA

This article explains the relationship between performativity and social ontology in the case of Latin American narratives of resistance and liberation. In particular, it shows how these narratives construct social facts and provide social reality to experiences of oppression and to efforts of resistance and liberation, by means of performative functions tied to the creation and maintenance of social ontologies and to the struggle for identity, social recognition, sources of legitimacy, and hegemony. Latin America is not singular in the use of these kinds of narratives but it is special in the centrality that it gives to them and in its awareness of it. By way of example, the article touches upon four narratives that display some of these narrative features and functions: Elena Poniatowska's Massacre in Mexico (1975), Rigoberta Menchu's I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala (1984), Domitila Barrios de Chungara's Let Me Speak!: Testimony of Domitila, a Woman of the Bolivian Mines (1978), and Jose Ignacio Lopez Vigil's Rebel Radio: The Story of El Salvador's Radio Venceremos (1991).
Diagnostic Accuracy of Ultrasound, Contrast-enhanced CT, and Conventional MRI for Differentiating Leiomyoma From Leiomyosarcoma.

Rationale and Objectives This study aimed to determine whether uterine leiomyoma can be distinguished from uterine leiomyosarcoma on ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) without diffusion-weighted imaging. Materials and Methods Institutional review board approval was obtained and informed consent was waived for this Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act–compliant retrospective case-control diagnostic accuracy study. All subjects with resected uterine leiomyosarcoma diagnosed over a 17-year period (1998–2014) at a single institution for whom pre-resection US ( n = 10), CT ( n = 11), or MRI ( n = 7) was available were matched by tumor size and imaging modality with 28 subjects with resected uterine leiomyoma. Six blinded radiologists (three attendings, three residents) assigned 5-point Likert scores for the following features: (1) margins, (2) necrosis, (3) hemorrhage, (4) vascularity, (5) calcifications, (6) heterogeneity, and (7) likelihood of malignancy (primary end point). Mean suspicion scores were calculated and receiver operating characteristic curves were generated. The ability of individual morphologic features to predict malignancy was assessed with logistic regression. Results Mean suspicion scores were 2.5 ± 1.2 (attendings) and 2.4 ± 1.3 (residents) for leiomyoma, and 2.7 ± 1.3 (attendings) and 2.7 ± 1.4 (residents) for leiomyosarcoma. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (range: 0.330–0.685) were not significantly different from chance, either overall ( P = .36–.88) or by any modality ( P = .28–.96), for any reader. Reader experience had no effect on diagnostic accuracy. No morphologic parameter was significantly predictive of malignancy ( P = .10–.97). Conclusions Uterine leiomyoma cannot be differentiated accurately from leiomyosarcoma on US, CT, or MRI without diffusion-weighted imaging.
The optical properties of aerosols

Most of the properties of aerosols outlined in this chapter can be directly linked with health effects or environmental control, and optical properties, and may appear to be somewhat peripheral. However, there are two aspects particularly relevant to occupational health. The first concerns the visual appearance of a workplace aerosol. The fact that it is visible at all is usually a first indication that worker exposure is high enough to demand attention. Furthermore, its visible intensity is a direct indication of the level of exposure. In addition, other qualitative features of the aerosol's appearance can provide some information on its physical nature. From such considerations, therefore, an experienced and enlightened industrial hygienist can learn a great deal from the visual appearance of a workplace aerosol. At the more quantitative level, however, the optical properties of aerosols can form the basis of direct-reading aerosol instrumentation for measuring not only aerosol concentration but also particle size characteristics. This chapter provides an appreciation of the physical basis of how light interacts with clouds of airborne particles.
Effectiveness Analysis from a Cognitive Perspective for a Real-Time Safety Assistance System for Mobile Crane Lifting Operations

AbstractOperating a crane is a sophisticated job that not only requires extensive skills and experience, but more importantly a comprehensive understanding of the conditions of the crane and its surrounding environment throughout the operation. To enhance lift safety, various real-time assistance systems have been introduced to provide operators with critical information such as load moment and proximity to obstructions. However, previous efforts predominantly focused on the technology side, while the measurable impacts of such systems on actual lift performance from an operator cognitive perspective remain unclear. In order to ensure that an assistance system will improve rather than compromise the operator’s lifting safety and efficiency performance, this paper introduces a crane lift assistance system designed from a cognitive perspective. To reduce the overall cognitive load of crane operators, the proposed system aims to improve the situation awareness (SA) of the crane operator in two major stages o...
Evaluating the premises and results of four metaphor identification systems

This study first examines the implicit and explicit premises of four systems for identifying metaphoric utterances from unannotated input text. All four systems are then evaluated on a common data set in order to see which premises are most successful. The goal is to see if these systems can find metaphors in a corpus that is mostly non-metaphoric without over-identifying literal and humorous utterances as metaphors. Three of the systems are distributional semantic systems, including a source-target mapping method [1-4]; a word abstractness measurement method [5], [6, 7]; and a semantic similarity measurement method [8, 9]. The fourth is a knowledge-based system which uses a domain interaction method based on the SUMO ontology [10, 11], implementing the hypothesis that metaphor is a product of the interactions among all of the concepts represented in an utterance [12, 13].
Beyond “Do No Harm” and Individual Consent: Reckoning with the Emerging Ethical Challenges of Civil Society’s Use of Data

The digital revolution is transforming how governments, the private sector, and civil society view the possibilities and perils inherent in the use of new Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). For humanitarian, human rights, and development actors, well founded anxieties are arising about the uncharted and poorly defined ethical implications of these increasingly commonplace tools and tactics. Unethical and potentially illegal “disaster experimentation” will continue to occur as long as the current gap in ethical doctrine for the use of these technologies persists. This chapter explores two critical ethical “blindspots” related to the current use of ICTs by civil society actors – the increasing critical importance of demographically identifiable information and the deployment of remote data collection strategies when individual informed consent is not possible.
The Quest to Understand Human Evolution: A Magical Mystery Tour

It's a bit embarrassing to start an essay in the American Biology Teacher by saying that I didn't really like science in middle school or high school. Well, that's not entirely accurate; I got good grades and had great teachers, but I felt as if scientists had already discovered everything. They knew how liquids diffuse, how cell division worked, and about Newton's laws. I just didn't get any sense of mystery, wonder, or magic from science. As my friends took AP science classes, I was doing an independent study in modern women's writing. I wanted to major in English in college and be a writer or poet; or maybe major in comparative literature. As I was deciding on what class to take to round out my schedule during my first week at Bryn Mawr College, my academic advisor, a dean and former anthropology professor, suggested I take Introduction to Anthropology. “What's anthropology?” I asked her; I'd never heard of it. She gave me a brief overview and it sounded interesting enough, so I signed up. For me, learning about human …
Delayed Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT).

Exposure to pre-transplant nephrotoxic agents, total body irradiation (TBI), and presence of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) have been identified as risk factors for developing CKD after HCT. However, small sample size, short follow-up post-HCT, and varying definitions of CKD have precluded a precise estimation of the magnitude of risk and associated risk factors. The aim of the current study was to describe the incidence and risk factors associated with the development of delayed CKD in HCT survivors. Eligible subjects underwent HCT for hematological malignancies or severe aplastic anemia at City of Hope, survived at least one year post-transplant, and were free of CKD at one year post-HCT. Information on pre-transplant therapeutic exposures and post-transplant CKD was obtained via medical record abstraction. All CKD cases were defined according to the National Kidney Foundation’s definition based on glomerular filtration rate (GFR) values. The endogenous filtration marker creatinine was used to estimate GFR values. CKD was defined as a sustained elevation of serum creatinine which infer a GFR of less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 for 3 months or longer. The equation used to calculate GFR was as follows: GFR = 186 x (P cr ) −1.154 x (age) − 0.203 (x 0.742 if female) (x 1.210 if African American). Totally, 1,546 eligible subjects were identified (median age at HCT of 34.4, median length of follow-up 6.2 years; autologous HCT in 718 patients [46%], related donor HCT in 726 patients [47%], and unrelated donor HCT in 102 patients [7%]; 59% of subjects (n=913) were male). A total of 65 patients were identified with CKD, resulting in a cumulative incidence of 3.6% [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.6% to 4.6%] at five years post–HCT and 4.8% at 10 years (autologous HCT: 2.9% at five years; matched sibling HCT: 4.1%; matched unrelated donor HCT: 10.5%, p
Prevention Research Center Collaborations With State Departments of Health: Washington State

State health departments and Prevention Research Centers (PRCs) have complementary mandates and expertise important to improving population health. State health departments manage and administer numerous programs with broad population reach. PRCs bridge dissemination and implementation research and public health practice to improve health programming and outcomes. This paper describes the 15-year partnership between the Washington State Department of Health and the PRC at the University of Washington. Through this partnership, the Washington State Department of Health increases their research and evaluation capacity by working with the University of Washington PRC, and the University of Washington PRC receives opportunities to apply evidence in a variety of practice settings, expand the reach of their research-tested programs to new populations, and form new partnerships. The partnership focused initially on improving colorectal cancer screening rates through increased dissemination and implementation of evidence-based interventions. The partnership scope has grown to include small cancer screening projects in worksites and healthcare systems, Washington's Colorectal Cancer Control Program, breast and cervical cancer screening, hypertension control, and worksite health promotion. The partnership yields three main types of outcomes that strengthen practice and science: (1) findings from each major assessment or evaluation activity, published in the peer-reviewed literature when possible; (2) use of the findings to improve public health practice and impact; and (3) training opportunities for employees of local and state health departments and public health students. PRCs, health departments, and the populations they serve have much to gain from this type of partnership.
Empirical Consequences of Current Recommendations for the Design and Interpretation of Noninferiority Trials

Noninferiority trials are increasingly common, though they have less standardized designs and their interpretation is less familiar to clinicians than superiority trials. To empirically evaluate a cohort of noninferiority trials to determine 1) their interpretation as recommended by CONSORT, 2) choice of alpha threshold and its sidedness, and 3) differences between methods of analysis such as intention-to-treat and per-protocol. We searched MEDLINE for parallel-group randomized controlled noninferiority trials published in the five highest-impact general medical journals between 2011 and 2016. Data abstracted included trial design parameters, results, and interpretation of results based on CONSORT recommendations. One hundred sixty-three trials and 182 noninferiority comparisons were included in our analysis. Based on CONSORT-recommended interpretation, 79% of experimental therapies met criteria for noninferiority, 13% met criteria for superiority, 20% were declared inconclusive, and 2% met criteria for inferiority. However, for 12% of trials, the experimental therapy was statistically significantly worse than the active control, but CONSORT recommended an interpretation of inconclusive or noninferior. A two-sided alpha equivalent of greater than 0.05 was used in 34% of the trials, and in five of these trials, the use of a standard two-sided alpha of 0.05 led to changes in the interpretation of results that disfavored the experimental therapy. In four of the five comparisons where different methods of analysis (e.g., intention-to-treat and per-protocol) yielded different results, the intention-to-treat analysis was the more conservative. In 11% of trials, a secondary advantage of the new therapy was neither reported nor could it be inferred by reviewers. In this cohort, the design and interpretation of noninferiority trials led to significant and systematic bias in favor of the experimental therapy. Clinicians should exercise caution when interpreting these trials. Future trials may be more reliable if design parameters are standardized.
On the application of distributed control structure for medium-voltage DC shipboard power system

In this paper, a distributed control structure is presented for a nonlinear Medium-Voltage DC (MVDC) Shipboard Power System (SPS). Distributed control architecture has the advantages of less computational burden, high flexibility, and a good error tolerance. In this framework, each subsystem is controlled by a model predictive controller using local state variables and parameters, and also interaction variables from other subsystems shared through a coordinator. In the coordinator level, an optimization problem is iteratively solved to update a Lagrange multiplier vector to have a global optimal solution. The effectiveness of the proposed distributed control structure for a partitioned MVDC model is demonstrated by the simulation results. The performance analysis is accomplished by comparing centralized and distributed control methods on the global and partitioned models and considering different specifications in the MVDC system.
Proteasome and Organs Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

The treatment of organ failure on patients requires the transplantation of functional organs, from donors. Over time, the methodology of transplantation was improved by the development of organ preservation solutions. The storage of organs in preservation solutions is followed by the ischemia of the organ, resulting in a shortage of oxygen and nutrients, which damage the tissues. When the organ is ready for the transplantation, the reperfusion of the organ induces an increase of the oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and inflammation which causes tissue damage, resulting in a decrease of the transplantation success. However, the addition of proteasome inhibitor in the preservation solution alleviated the injuries due to the ischemia-reperfusion process. The proteasome is a protein structure involved in the regulation the inflammation and the clearance of damaged proteins. The goal of this review is to summarize the role of the proteasome and pharmacological compounds that regulate the proteasome in protecting the organs from the ischemia-reperfusion injury.
Prevention or reversal of cardiometabolic diseases

Cardiometabolic risk is a condition in which the possibilities of developing vascular diseases including hypertension, metabolic syndrome, obesity, type 2 diabetes, ischemic heart disease, and stroke are significantly enhanced as a consequence of the presence of various risk factors, which are known to promote these conditions. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) cause one-third of all deaths worldwide. Noncommunicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration, in their seminal article in the Lancet (April 2016), concluded that “if the post-2000 trends continue in the incidence and rise of diabetes, the probability of meeting the global target of halting the rise in the prevalence of diabetes by 2025–2020 level worldwide is lower than one percent.“ According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, today, 2.1 billion people, nearly 30% of the global population, are either obese or overweight – a new, first-of-a-kind analysis of trend data from 180 countries. As part of the 2020 impact goals, the American Heart Association (AHA) has set out seven ideal health goals; not smoking, maintaining a normal weight, increased physical activity, a healthy diet, normal blood lipid levels, normal blood pressure, and a normal fasting glucose. An analysis of the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey showed that individuals who met five of the seven ideal metrics of AHA had a 78% reduction in the hazard ratio for all-cause mortality. The INTERHEART study estimated that modifiable risk factors accounted for 90% of the population attributable risk for heart disease in men and 94% of the risk in women. Consistent with this, Khera et al. (NEJM: 375:2349–582,016) showed that in four studies with over 55,000 participants, a favorable lifestyle intervention was associated with nearly 50% lower risk for coronary artery disease, in spite of the genetic risk. In this overview, we discuss some prevention strategies for the major cardiometabolic conditions such as hypertension, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and ischemic heart disease. We also discuss results of studies in which reversal of these disease conditions has been claimed.
Text, Tea, and Sympathy: How Sharing Stories About Child Loss Became an Invaluable Part of the Healing Process for a Pack of Bereaved Mothers

In this article, I explore how losing a much-wanted first pregnancy at fourteen weeks, at the critical age of thirty-five, inspired me to look at the healing opportunities among communities of women who had lost pregnancies or children by the writing and sharing of stories. At the time of my loss, I was studying for a master’s in literature and found comfort and encouragement in the texts of Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath who, even during the darkest, freshest moments of despair, felt the urge to write. One of the my professors during this period was Suzette Henke, the preeminent voice in female trauma narrative, who had coined the phrase “scriptotherapy.” Henke encouraged me to heal how other women had done for centuries—in letters to sisters, diary entries, to do lists—by writing and publishing my work. Sharing pain allowed the tormented to feel part of a collective whole, I realized, and writing allowed women to unload psychological trauma, and reading or listening to it allowed them to form healthy connections. Using my research, I set up a free writing workshop for grieving mothers. Strong, heartbroken, kind women would gather together to cry, share, write and discuss each other’s work for three hours once a month from January until May 2016. The results are a remarkable testimony to the power of healing and recovery through scriptotherapy, their hearts written on to every page and in this article.
Opportunities for Encoding EAD for Linked Data Extraction and Publication

ABSTRACTThis article follows the trajectory of support for linked data in Encoded Archival Description (EAD). While EAD3 brings new avenues for encoding URIs which may be extracted and transformed ...
Scientific Exploration With Continuous Monitoring Systems: An Early Assessment of Arrhythmias During Hypoglycemia.

> In the final analysis, very little is known about anything, and much that seems true today proves to be only partly true tomorrow. > > —Fuller Albright, MD Hypoglycemia is a leading concern in treating type 1 diabetes (T1D). Nocturnal hypoglycemia is especially feared because of reports of death presumed to be due to cardiac arrhythmias. However, until recently, little objective information has been available on the kinds of abnormal rhythms that might be associated with hypoglycemia, their frequency, and the clinical settings in which they occur. Because both glucose levels and electrocardiographic patterns can now be continuously monitored during everyday life, these questions can be directly studied. Results from exploratory analyses of such data were reported in the May 2017 issue of Diabetes Care by Novodvorsky et al. (1). This was a study of 37 young adults with T1D who used continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) concurrently with continuous electrocardiographic monitoring (CECM) for up to 96 h during daily activities. Besides confirming the feasibility of concurrent monitoring over extended periods of time, the study produced some novel findings. Among other observations, the authors reported that in comparison with periods when glucose was normal, periods of hypoglycemia were associated with increased risk of atrial ectopic beats during the day but not at night. In contrast, the investigators reported that the risk of slow heart rate (bradycardia) was greater during nocturnal hypoglycemia than when glucose levels were normal during the night but was less during daytime hypoglycemia than when glucose levels were normal during the day. This difference in CECM patterns accompanying hypoglycemia at different times of day is a new and potentially important finding. However, questions raised about the statistical methods used in this study have led to further analyses. In an online Comment in this issue of Diabetes Care , Home and …
Efficient Source Separation Using Bitwise Neural Networks

Efficiency is one of the key issues in single-channel source separation systems due to the fact that they are often employed for real-time processing. More computationally demanding approaches tend to produce better results, but often not fast enough to be deployed in practical systems. For example, as opposed to the iterative separation algorithms using source-specific dictionaries, a Deep Neural Network (DNN) performs separation via an iteration-free feedforward process. However, even the feedforward process can be very complex depending on the size of the network. In this chapter, we introduce Bitwise Neural Networks (BNN) as an extremely compact form of neural networks, whose feedforward pass uses only efficient bitwise operations (e.g. XNOR instead of multiplication) on binary weight matrices and quantized input signals. As a result, we show that BNNs can perform denoising with a negnigible loss of quality as compared to a corresponding network with the same structure, while reducing the network complexity significantly.