cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measurement with a wink

The Smartest Person is a popular Dutch television quiz show in which three contestants receive a few seconds to answer trivia questions. In one of the rounds, to answer the question, contestants must hit certain key words, for example, ‘Apartheid’, ‘Prison’, ‘Nobel Peace Prize’ and ‘South Africa’ for the question ‘What do you know about Nelson Mandela?’ Contestants who mention one of these key words, regardless of context, hear a rewarding ‘ting!’ and receive 20 extra seconds. The most efficient strategy to win is to mention the four key words without a linking sentence; answering with a complete and cogent sentence costs precious seconds. In fact, contestants can win even when they get the context wrong, for example: ‘Nelson Mandela is an Italian actor starring in a film about the Apartheid (ting!). He recently spent a night in Prison (ting!) after he egged the house of a Nobel Peace Prize winner (ting!) from Zimbabwe… Namibia… well, somewhere in South Africa (ting!)’. The show is advertised as a ‘knowledge quiz with a wink’. The show’s ‘smartest person’ is not the most knowledgeable, but the one who knows how best to play the game. Similar challenges affect performance measurement in healthcare. For example, consider the proportion of patients with 10-year cardiovascular risk >7.5% prescribed statins, as a measure of good preventive care. Or the proportion of patients with type 2 diabetes with haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels <7.5%, as a measure of good diabetes care. Or the proportion of patients getting low-dose CT (LDCT) to screen for lung cancer who participated in shared decision making, as a measure of patient-centred care. These measures are set up to improve the quality of care for patients, but if you know how best to play this game, you would be rewarded for prescribing statins (ting!) to patients who …
Jews as Others and Neighbors: Encountering Chaucer’s Prioress in the Classroom

Chaucer’s Prioress’s Tale is one of the best-known textual representations of medieval anti-Semitism, and as such, it remains a difficult text to teach and discuss in the classroom. When students consider The Prioress’s Tale alongside other anti-Jewish exempla, they are able to view these texts as co-participants along a continuum of negative medieval representations of Jews. This structure introduces students to qualities of ambiguity, ambivalence, and desire that complicate Christian beliefs about Jews. Concepts drawn from neighbor theory illuminate the contradictory play of both identification and alienation in these medieval texts, which assists in recontextualizing The Prioress’s Tale as one narrative representation among others that grapple with the figure of the Jew as Christianity’s most proximate spiritual neighbor.
Exercise for Substance Use Disorders

This chapter provides an overview of the rationale and evidence for exercise as a treatment intervention for substance use disorders. The benefits of exercise on physical health, including weight management and cardiovascular outcomes, are well documented. Research has also demonstrated positive effects of exercise in reducing depression and anxiety and improving sleep and cognitive function. Negative affect states, such as depression and anxiety, are commonly associated with substance use and are risk factors for relapse. Exercise may facilitate abstinence by ameliorating negative affect via effects on the endogenous opioid system and potentiation of dopaminergic transmission. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated benefits of exercise as a treatment intervention for methamphetamine, alcohol, and other substance use disorders. Engagement in activities such as exercise may provide a reinforcing alternative behavior that is complementary to other treatment interventions while promoting health and facilitating treatment goals.
Modeling Endogenous Social Effects: A Study of M.B.A. Student Summer Internship Application Choices

We study how summer internship application choices of MBA students at a major university are influenced by the application choices made by their fellow students. We develop a simultaneous model of each individual’s choice as a function of other students’ choices. Our model of interdependence in decision making is structural and equilibrium-based. Also, the model is general enough to allow both positive and negative effects of average group choices on any individual’s decision. The structure of our data enables us to identify endogenous social effects separately from exogenous or correlated effects. We employ a two-stage procedure to address the endogeneity of choices: we estimate empirical choice probabilities in the first stage, and taste parameters for hiring firm attributes and peer influence in the second stage. Our results show that as expected, students prefer jobs with strong internship attributes (e.g. high salary, large firm size). In contrast to previous studies, we find negative (rather than positive) social effects. That is, strong attributes also make an internship application less attractive, leading to a lower choice probability relative to cases of zero or positive social effects. These negative social effects are consistent with congestion, i.e. students are aware that a good internship will attract the interest of more students, thus lowering the odds of getting it. These negative social effects are stronger for students with more work experience and stronger GMAT scores.
Aging of Neurons in Culture

Valuable information about cellular and biochemical aspects of aging has been obtained from studies with human and non-human dividing diploid cells in culture (see reviews by Hay, 1970; Hayflick, 1974; Littlefield, 1976 and Orgel, 1973). However, less work has been done using in vitro models to study cellular mechanisms of aging in post-mitotic differentiated cells, such as muscle and nerve. Varon (1975) has recently reviewed the nerve tissue preparations availabe which could possibly be used to study neuronal aging, including organ cultures, nerve tissue explants and reaggregating and dispersed cell cultures. These preparations are especially useful for morphological and electrophysiological studies, but are not as satisfactory for biochemical studies since they consist of a complex mixture of cell types. Furthermore, preparations obtained from mature or very old animals are less likely to yield functionally intact preparations since with age there is an increase in the difficulty of dissociating neuronal tissue into single cells. In view of the difficulties in obtaining preparations of pure nerve cells from animals, we have considered the possibility of using continuous lines of neuroblastoma cells for studies on neuronal aging.
Evidence against the presence of cyclic AMP and related enzymes in selected strains of Bacteroides fragilis.

Abstract Cyclic AMP was not detected in whole cells, expended culture medium or culture supernatant fluid of selected strains of Bacteroides fragilis . Adenyl cyclase and c-AMP phosphodiesterase activities were also not detected in cell extracts of B. fragilis . The exogenous addition of dibutyryl-c-AMP or sodium cholate to cultures of B. fragilis growing on lactose did not significantly affect the specific activity of β-galactosidase measured in cell extracts of this organism. No diauxic growth pattern could be demonstrated in a chemically defined medium containing 5 mM glucose + 28 mM lactose.
Disparities in retail marketing for menthol cigarettes in the United States, 2015

This study describes retail marketing for menthol cigarettes and its relationship with neighborhood demographics in a national sample of tobacco retailers in the United States. Mixed-effects models were used to examine three outcomes: menthol cigarette exterior advertising, menthol cigarette price promotions, and the pack price of menthol and non-menthol cigarettes. Thirty-eight percent of retailers displayed at least one menthol advertisement on the store exterior and 69% advertised price promotions. Retail advertising was more common in neighborhoods in the second (OR = 1.5 [1.1, 2.0]) and fourth (OR = 1.9 [1.3, 2.7]) quartiles of Black residents as compared to the lowest quartile. Menthol advertising was more prevalent in the third (OR = 1.4 [1.0, 1.9]) and lowest (OR = 1.6 [1.2, 2.2]) income quartiles as compared to the highest quartile. Price promotions for Newport were more common in neighborhoods with the highest quartile of Black residents (OR = 1.8 [1.2, 2.7]). Prices of Newport were cheaper in neighborhoods with the highest quartiles of youth, Black residents, and lower-income households. Policies that restrict the sales and marketing of menthol cigarettes are needed to address disparities.
Optimal Interval of Time from Operative Hysteroscopy to Embryo Transfer in an In Vitro Fertilization Cycle.

Abstract Study Objective Data are limited regarding optimal timing between operative hysteroscopy and embryo transfer (ET). This study aimed to assess whether the time interval from operative hysteroscopy to ET affects implantation and clinical pregnancy rates. Design Retrospective cohort study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). Setting Private academic center. Patients All patients who had operative hysteroscopy followed by a day 5 ET from 2012 to 2017. Intervention Interval of time from operative hysteroscopy to ET. Measurements and Main Results The interval of time from hysteroscopy to ET was calculated, and linear regression analyses were performed to assess the impact on clinical outcome. A subanalysis of patients who underwent subsequent single, euploid, frozen ET(s) was performed. A total of 318 patients were included. Indications for hysteroscopy included polypectomy (n = 205), myomectomy (n = 36), lysis of adhesions (n = 46), septum resection (n = 19), and retained products of conception (n = 12). The mean interval of time from hysteroscopy to ET was 138.4 ± 162.7 days (range, 20–1390). There was no significant difference in mean interval of time between procedure and subsequent ET when comparing patients who achieved and did not achieve implantation. Patients stratified by interval of time from operative hysteroscopy to ET had similar clinical outcomes. The time interval from hysteroscopy had no impact on odds of implantation (odds ratio [OR], 1.001; 95% confidence interval [CI], .999–1.002; p = .49), ongoing pregnancy (OR, 1.001; 95% CI, .999–1.002; p = .42), or early pregnancy loss (OR, .997; 95% CI, .994–1.000; p = .07) (adjusted for oocyte age, recipient age, endometrial thickness, use of preimplantation genetic testing, use of donor egg, fresh vs frozen ET, ET count). Similar results were observed in the subanalysis restricted to euploid single frozen ETs from autologous cycles. Conclusion The time interval from operative hysteroscopy to subsequent ET does not impact the likelihood of successful clinical outcome. Patients who have undergone operative hysteroscopy do not need to delay fertility treatment.
Ironing Controllable Lithium into Lithiotropic Carbon Fiber Fabric: A Novel Li-Metal Anode with Improved Cyclability and Dendrite Suppression.

Lithium metal as an anode in lithium-ion batteries is attracting more attention because of the high gravimetric/volumetric energy density and low electrochemical potential. However, the irreversibl...
Constitutive androstane receptor mediates PCB-induced disruption of retinoid homeostasis

Abstract Environmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is associated with an increased risk of incidence of metabolic disease, however the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are not fully understood. Our study provides new insights into molecular interactions between PCBs and retinoids (vitamin A and its metabolites) by defining a role for constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) in the disruption of retinoid homeostasis by non-coplanar 2,2′,4,4′,5,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB153). Administration of four weekly 50 mg/kg doses of PCB153 to C57BL/6 male mice resulted in a significant decline in the tissue concentrations of retinyl esters, retinol and all-trans-retinoic acid (atRA), while no decline in hepatic and adipose tissue retinoid levels were detected in Car-null littermates. Our data imply that disrupted retinoid homeostasis occurs as a consequence of PCB153-induced activation of CAR, and raise the possibility that CAR signaling can affect atRA homeostasis in vivo. A strong correlation between the changes in retinoid metabolism and extensive upregulation of hepatic CAR-driven Cyp2b10 expression implicates this CYP isoform as contributing to retinoid homeostasis disruption via atRA oxidation during PCB153 exposure. In response to PCB153-induced CAR activation and disruption of retinoid homeostasis, expression of hepatic Pepck, Cd36 and adipose tissue Pparγ, Cd36, Adipoq, and Rbp4 were altered; however, this was reversed by administration of exogenous dietary retinoids (300 IU daily for 4 weeks). Our study establishes that PCB153 exposure enables a significant disruption of retinoid homeostasis in a CAR-dependent manner. We propose that this contributes to the obesogenic properties of PCB153 and may contribute to the predisposition to the metabolic disease.
County-level housing affordability in relation to risk factors for cardiovascular disease among middle-aged adults: The National Longitudinal Survey of Youths 1979

Abstract Background Housing is a fundamental social determinant of health yet housing affordability has diminished over much of the twenty-first century. Research on housing affordability as a determinant of health is limited, but studies to date have shown correlations with mental health. However, few studies have examined the relationship between housing affordability and risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among Americans. Methods Using a nationally-representative sample of middle-aged adults from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youths 1979 (NLSY79) and exploiting quasi-experimental variation before and after the Great Recession, we estimated the associations between the change in median county-level percentage of household income spent on housing (rent/mortgage) between 2000 and 2008 and individual-level risks of incident hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and depression from 2008 to 2014. We employed conditional fixed effects logistic regression models to reduce bias due to time-invariant confounding. Results Each percentage point increase in county-level median percentage of household income spent on housing was associated with a 22% increase in the odds of incident hypertension (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.06 to 1.42; p = 0.01), a 37% increased odds of obesity (OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.00–1.87; p = 0.049), and a 15% increased odds of depression (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.01–1.31; p = 0.03), controlling for individual- and area-level factors. These associations were stronger among renters than homeowners, and among men compared to women. Conclusions Our findings suggest that lower levels of housing affordability contribute to worse risk profiles for cardiovascular disease. Policies that make housing more affordable may help to reduce the population burden of cardiovascular disease.
Novel Manufacturing of Advanced Smart Garment Knitting with Spatially-Varying, Multi-Material Monofilament

We propose a novel method for knitting advanced smart garments (e.g., garments with targeted electrical or mechanical properties) using a single, spatially-varying, multi-material monofilament created using additive manufacturing (AM) techniques. By strategically varying the constitutive functional materials that comprise the monofilament along its length, it is theoretically possible to create targeted functional regions within the knitted structure. If spaced properly, functional regions naturally emerge in the knit as loops in adjacent rows align. To test the feasibility of this method, we evaluated the ability of a commercially available knitting machine (a Passap® E6000) to knit a variety of experimental and commercially available, spatially-variant monofilament. Candidate materials were tested both to characterize their mechanical behavior as well as to determine their ability to be successfully knitted. A repeatable spatial mapping relationship between 1D filament location and 2D knit location was established, enabling the ability to create a variety of 2D functional pathways (straight, linear, nonlinear) in the knit structure using a single monofilament input. Using this approach, a multi-material monofilament can be designed and manufactured to create advanced functional knits with spatially-variant properties.
Generalizing findings from a randomized controlled trial to a real-world study of the iLookOut, an online education program to improve early childhood care and education providers' knowledge and attitudes about reporting child maltreatment.

In recent years, real-world studies (RWS) are gaining increasing interests, because they can generate more realistic and generalizable results than randomized controlled clinical trials (RCT). In 2017, we published a RCT in 741 early childhood care and education providers (CCPs). It is the Phase I of our iLookOut for Child Abuse project (iLookOut), an online, interactive learning module about reporting suspected child maltreatment. That study demonstrated that in a RCT setting, the iLookOut is efficient at improving CCPs’ knowledge of and attitudes towards child maltreatment reporting. However, the generalizability of that RCT’s results in a RWS setting remains unknown. To address this question, we design and conduct this large RWS in 11,065 CCPs, which is the Phase II of the iLookOut. We hypothesize replication of the earlier RCT findings, i.e., the iLookOut can improve CCPs’ knowledge of and attitudes toward child maltreatment reporting in a real world setting. In addition, this RWS also explores whether demographic factors affect CCPs’ performance. Results of this RWS confirmed the generalizability of the previous RCT’s results in a real world setting. It yielded similar effect sizes for knowledge and attitudes as were found in the earlier RCT. Cohen’s d for knowledge improvement was 0.95 in that RCT, 0.96 in this RWS; Cohen’s d for attitude improvement was 0.98 in that RCT, 0.80 in this RWS. Also, we found several significant differences in knowledge and attitude improvement with regard to age, race, education, and employment status. In conclusion, iLookOut improves knowledge and attitudes of CCPs about child maltreatment prevention and reporting in a real-world setting. The generalizability of the initial RCT findings to this RWS provides strong evidence that the iLookout will be effective in other real world settings. It can be a useful model for other interventions aimed at preventing child maltreatment. Clinical trial registration for the original RCT: NCT02225301 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier)
Modeling chemical effects on breast cancer: the importance of the microenvironment in vitro

Accumulating evidence suggests that our ability to predict chemical effects on breast cancer is limited by a lack of physiologically relevant in vitro models; the typical in vitro breast cancer model consists of the cancer cell and excludes the mammary microenvironment. As the effects of the microenvironment on cancer cell behavior becomes more understood, researchers have called for the integration of the microenvironment into in vitro chemical testing systems. However, given the complexity of the microenvironment and the variety of platforms to choose from, identifying the essential parameters to include in a chemical testing platform is challenging. This review discusses the need for more complex in vitro breast cancer models and outlines different approaches used to model breast cancer in vitro. We provide examples of the microenvironment modulating breast cancer cell responses to chemicals and discuss strategies to help pinpoint what components should be included in a model.
Effect of Changing Unit Weight and Decomposition on Unsaturated Hydraulics of Municipal Solid Waste in Bioreactor Landfills

AbstractThe effects of compression and decomposition on the water retention curve (WRC) and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (Kθ) of municipal solid waste (MSW) were evaluated in the laboratory a...
Preoperative Pain Management: Is Tramadol a Safe Alternative to Traditional Opioids Before Total Hip Arthroplasty?

Abstract Background Preoperative opioid use has been associated with worse clinical outcomes and higher rates of prolonged opioid use following lower extremity arthroplasty. Tramadol has been recommended for management of osteoarthritis-related pain; however, outcomes following total hip arthroplasty (THA) in patients taking tramadol in the preoperative period have not been well described. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of preoperative tramadol use on postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing elective THA. Methods A total of 5304 patients who underwent primary THA for degenerative hip pathology from 2008 to 2014 were identified using the Humana Claims Database. Patients were grouped by preoperative pain management modality into 3 mutually exclusive populations including tramadol, traditional opioid, or nonopioid only. A multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate all postsurgical outcomes of interest. Results Tramadol users had an increased risk of developing prolonged narcotic use (odds ratio [OR], 2.17; confidence interval [CI], 1.89-2.49; P Conclusion Preoperative tramadol use is associated with prolonged opioid use following THA but is not associated with other postoperative complications. Patients taking tramadol preoperatively appear to have a lower risk of postoperative complications compared to patients taking traditional opioids preoperatively.
Left subclavian artery dissection: A mimicker of aortic dissection

Subclavian artery dissection is an uncommon condition, with only a few cases reported in the medical literature. Reported cases have been due to traumatic, nontraumatic, and iatrogenic etiologies. The exact incidence or prevalence in the society remains unclear, and the cases reported are sporadic. Diagnosis is usually with computed tomography. The management usually depends on whether there is ischemia of the tissues supplied by the subclavian artery. Our objective is to present a patient who was diagnosed with nontraumatic subclavian artery dissection but presented with clinical features of aortic dissection prompting a further diagnostic investigation.
Varieties of capital cities: The competitiveness challenge for secondary capitals, by David Kaufmann: Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018

According to David Kaufmann in Varieties of Capital Cities, competitive pressures do not result in an economic “determinism” of municipal policy. Kaufmann reviews economic decision making in four S...
How cholesterol stiffens unsaturated lipid membranes

Cholesterol is an integral component of eukaryotic cell membranes and a key molecule in controlling membrane fluidity, organization, and other physicochemical parameters. It also plays a regulatory function in antibiotic drug resistance and the immune response of cells against viruses, by stabilizing the membrane against structural damage. While it is well understood that, structurally, cholesterol exhibits a densification effect on fluid lipid membranes, its effects on membrane bending rigidity are assumed to be nonuniversal; i.e., cholesterol stiffens saturated lipid membranes, but has no stiffening effect on membranes populated by unsaturated lipids, such as 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC). This observation presents a clear challenge to structure-property relationships and to our understanding of cholesterol-mediated biological functions. Here, using a comprehensive approach-combining neutron spin-echo (NSE) spectroscopy, solid-state deuterium NMR (2H NMR) spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations-we report that cholesterol locally increases the bending rigidity of DOPC membranes, similar to saturated membranes, by increasing the bilayer's packing density. All three techniques, inherently sensitive to mesoscale bending fluctuations, show up to a threefold increase in effective bending rigidity with increasing cholesterol content approaching a mole fraction of 50%. Our observations are in good agreement with the known effects of cholesterol on the area-compressibility modulus and membrane structure, reaffirming membrane structure-property relationships. The current findings point to a scale-dependent manifestation of membrane properties, highlighting the need to reassess cholesterol's role in controlling membrane bending rigidity over mesoscopic length and time scales of important biological functions, such as viral budding and lipid-protein interactions.
Healthy food for trainees: a call to action.

‘Our food should be our medicine and our medicine should be our food’, a pronouncement attributed to Hippocrates, is too often quoted but ignored in circles of academic medicine. In fact, in many residency and fellowship programmes, we have established food as medicine’s antithesis. Instead of supporting nutrition and wellness, our eating habits not only make us less healthy, but they also reduce our effectiveness and longevity as physicians. Facing a pandemic, it has become more important than ever to admit that we have been misguided and that we could do better: the well-being of our trainees is essential to the health of our society. ### Supplementary data [postgradmedj-2020-138506supp001.pdf] There are many examples of maladaptive behaviours physicians use to cope with a stressful work environment, and poor nutrition among trainees deserves more attention. Residents and fellows, engaged in demanding work requiring gruelling hours, often regard unhealthy hospital food as immediate gratification. After complicated surgical cases or lengthy teaching rounds on our medical wards, trainees unite at the cafeteria, repaying themselves for their travails with high-calorie foods, consumed hastily while multitasking. Medical and surgical floors, labour and delivery units, and emergency rooms are often stocked with sugary snacks, especially at night, feeding a hungry, harried clinical team. Unfortunately, despite its convenience, ‘comfort food’ carries hidden costs. While physicians, as a group, are healthier than the general public,1 2 studies have demonstrated room for improvement.3 Trainees, in particular, work in highly stressful, emotionally charged conditions, often staying overnight or for 24 h on call. In times of stress, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is supposed to prepare the body for a defensive response, releasing glucose into the bloodstream and theoretically suppressing hunger. However, emotional eaters (like trainees under stress) do not tend …
Estimating Trunk Angle Kinematics During Lifting Using a Computationally Efficient Computer Vision Method.

ObjectiveA computer vision method was developed for estimating the trunk flexion angle, angular speed, and angular acceleration by extracting simple features from the moving image during lifting.Ba...
Improving the Quality of Nursing Care for Late Preterm Infants.

Background Late preterm infants in the Maternal Child Services Department at a Midwestern medical center were cared for in 3 separate nursing units. Standardization of care was a performance goal for the Department. Purpose A quality improvement process was implemented that included planning, teaching, performance application, and evaluation of evidence-based practice guidelines for care of the late preterm infant. Methods A web-based teaching module was developed to introduce nursing care guidelines for late preterm infants to the nursing staff. Results Analysis of the pre-and posttest scores embedded in the educational video showed a statistically significant increase in the nurses' knowledge about potential complications of infants born between 34 and 36 weeks' gestation. Implications for practice Quality improvement process increases nurses' knowledge about care of the late preterm infant and can lead to standardization of care. Implications for research Ongoing quality improvement monitoring is needed for sustainability.
SCMR president's page

Editorial The year 2009 has gotten off to a terrific start for SCMR on many fronts. The 2009 Annual Scientific Session was a resounding success based on the quality of the science and attendance. Overall attendance at all of the meetings including the pre-conferences (physician, basic science, and high field) and the technologist sessions was 1074, essentially unchanged from the prior year which is impressive given the state of the world economy. Hats off to Albert de Roos MD, Program Chair, and Andrew Arai MD, Abstract Chair for putting together an outstanding program including over 100 oral abstracts of the highest quality and over 300 poster presentations as well as the invited talks. The venue at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando was attractive and the meeting rooms were ideal for a meeting of our size and thus the SCMR Board is negotiating to hold the 2012 annual meeting in the same location. As you recall, the 2010 meeting will be in Phoenix, Arizona at the Sheraton Downtown Phoenix hotel from January 21–24 and the 2011 meeting held jointly with the CMR Working Group of the European Society of Cardiology will be in Nice, France.
Project Ready! An Early Language and Literacy Program to Close the Readiness Gap

A key to reducing reading difficulty, particularly for children living in poverty, is to provide high quality, explicit, and well-planned instruction from the start of a child’s school career. Pres...
Compressive and Infiltrative Optic Neuropathies

In contrast to the meningiomas from intracranial extension or the ectopic orbital ones, primary optic nerve sheath meningiomas (ONSM) arise from the intraorbital optic nerve sheath and grow circumferentially around the optic nerve to result in an optic neuropathy by interfering with axonal transport and pial blood supply to the nerve. They constitute 1% to 2% of all meningiomas and account for one-third of all primary optic nerve tumors. They are also the second most common optic nerve tumor after glioma.1 Only 10% of ONSM arise from the orbit, compared to 90% from intracranial extension. More than 90% of ONSM develop in the orbital optic nerve rather than in the canalicular portion.2
Enhancing the Efficiency of the ECGA

In this paper we show preliminary results of two efficiency enhancements proposed for Extended Compact Genetic Algorithm. First, a model building enhancement was used to reduce the complexity of the process from O(n3) to O(n2), speeding up the algorithm by 1000 times on a 4096 bits problem. Then, a local-search hybridization was used to reduce the population size by at least 32 times, reducing the memory and running time required by the algorithm. These results are the first steps toward a competent and efficient Genetic Algorithm.
Parallel methods for short read assembly

This work is on the parallel de novo assembly of genomic sequences from short sequence reads. With short reads eliminating the reliability of read overlaps in predicting genomic co-location, a revival of graph-based methods has underpinned the development of short-read assemblers. While these methods predate short read technology, their reach has not extended significantly beyond bacterial genomes due to the memory resources required in their use. These memory limitations are exacerbated by the high coverage needed to compensate for shorter read lengths. As a result, prior to our work, short-read de novo assembly had been demonstrated on relatively small genome sizes with a few million bases. In our work, we advance the field of short sequence assembly in a number of ways. First, we extend models and ideas proposed and tested with small genomes on serial machines to large-scale distributed memory parallel machines. Second, we present ideas for assembly that are especially suited to the reconstruction of very large genomes on these machines. Additionally, we present the first assembler that specifically takes advantage a variable number of fragment sizes or insert lengths concurrently when making assembly decisions, while still working well for data with one insertion length.
Function of the human corpus luteum during the puerperium: its maintenance by exogenous human chorionic gonadotropin.

Abstract The human corpus luteum is maintained and continues to function throughout pregnancy. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) plays a major role in the maintenance of the corpus luteum until term. After delivery, the source of HCG disappears and the corpus luteum ceases to function. Daily administration of exogenous human chorionic gonadotropin in large doses for as long as 5 days post partum appeared to maintain the function of the corpus luteum and prevented the decline usually observed after delivery in untreated subjects. Corpus luteum function was assessed by means of two parameters: the measurement of progesterone concentrations in peripheral and ovarian venous plasma and synthesis of progesterone in vitro by surviving slices of corpus luteum tissue removed at various times post partum.
Detection of Catalyst Failure On-Vehicle Using the Dual Oxygen Sensor Method

On-vehicle proof-of-concept testing was conducted to evaluate the ability of the dual oxygen sensor catalyst evaluation method to identify serious losses in catalyst efficiency under actual vehicle operating conditions. This paper reports the results of a test program that used the dual oxygen sensor system coupled with a simulated on-board diagnostic algorithm to attempt detection of seriously deteriorated catalytic converters on a test vehicle operated over the Federal Test Procedure (FTP). This paper reports that, with some modifications, an algorithm was used to successfully distinguish between two properly converting catalysts and two poorly converting catalysts on the same test vehicle. For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 852385.
White Complicity and Social Justice Education: Can One Be Culpable without Being Liable?.

In part of an ongoing study of white complicity, moral responsibility, and moral agency in social justice education, Barbara Applebaum asks in this essay what model or models of moral responsibility can help white students recognize their white complicity and which models of moral responsibility obscure such acknowledgment. To address this question, she explores the concept of white complicity and its relation to racism and raises some compelling conceptual and pedagogical questions. Then she reviews a recent analysis of the concept of “complicity” and shows it to be inadequate as a foundation for white complicity. Finally, Applebaum describes Iris Marion Young’s conception of a Social Connection Model of Responsibility and shows it to be capable not only of elucidating white complicity but also, when incorporated in social justice pedagogy, of diminishing denials of white complicity by white students.
Edge Based Probabilistic Relaxation for Sub-pixel Contour Extraction

The paper describes a robust edge and contour extraction technique under two types of degradation: random noise and aliasing. The technique employs unambiguous probabilistic relaxation to distinguish features from noise and refine their spatial locations at subpixel accuracy. The most important component in the probabilistic relaxation is a compatibility function. The paper suggests a function with which the optimal orientation of edges can be derived analytically, thus allowing an efficient implementation of the relaxation process. A contour extraction algorithm is designed by combining the relaxation process and a perceptual organization technique. Results on both synthetic and natural images are given and show effectiveness of our approach against noise and aliasing.
Seismic Performance of High-Strength Steel RC Bridge Columns

AbstractThis paper presents the results of a testing program developed to assess the performance of circular RC bridge columns constructed with ASTM A706 Grade 80 [550] high-strength steel (HSS) reinforcement. Two pairs of columns were tested (four columns in total). The columns were subjected to lateral cyclic loading to determine the effects of steel reinforcement grade (yield strength) and of moment–shear span ratio on column performance. Each pair consisted of one column constructed with Grade 80 [550] HSS reinforcement and a control column constructed with Grade 60 [420] reinforcement. The first pair had a moment–shear span ratio of six (6), and the second pair had a moment–shear span ratio of three (3). All four columns were designed to have similar nominal bending-moment capacities. Results indicate that the columns constructed with Grade 80 [550] HSS reinforcement achieve similar resistance, similar maximum lateral displacements, and similar curvature ductility values when compared with the contro...
Depth, radiocarbon, and the effectiveness of direct CO2 injection as an ocean carbon sequestration strategy

[1] If radiocarbon were a good predictor of the amount of time until a water parcel returns to the surface, it could be used to estimate the effectiveness of carbon sequestration by direct injection. We performed direct CO2 injection simulations in both one-dimensional box-diffusion and three-dimensional ocean general circulation models. The 1-D model results for ocean carbon retention accord with the 3-D model results, especially in the Pacific basin and at shallower depths. In the 1-D model, carbon retention in the ocean is directly related to both the injection depth and the Δ14C of carbon at the injection location. However, in the 3-D model, depth, but not radiocarbon, provides a relatively good prediction of carbon retention. This suggests that the expected time for a water parcel to return to the surface is closely related to its depth and not in general to the time since last at the surface.
A Method for Feynman Diagram Evaluation

Abstract The evaluation of multiloop dimensionally-regularized Feynman diagrams by expansion of (momentum space) propagators in Gegenbauer series is described.
Protein Folding as Biased Conformational Diffusion

Analysis of molecular dynamics trajectories for a small protein, the villin headpiece subdomain, shows that its internal dynamics can be modeled as a random walk on a bounded high-dimensional lattice where each lattice point corresponds to a protein conformation. The time evolution of the dynamics trajectory can be described as a three-stage process. The first stage, over a very short time scale of 10 fs, is consistent with an all-atoms ballistic flight with an average path length of 0.068 A. The apparent conformational displacement "velocity" of 680 m/s is of similar magnitude to free flight monatomic carbon gas at room temperature. The second stage is unobstructed random walk diffusion in a high-dimensional space for ∼300 fs, average displacement of 0.4 A. In the third stage, at longer times, "harmonic-like" barriers confine the conformational diffusion to a few large-amplitude modes. We use this description to develop a lattice model that can reproduce the time dependence of the root-mean-square displacement (rmsd) along the dynamics trajectory with surprisingly few parameters. The lattice model allows exploration of specific energy landscapes on the folding of the villin headpiece subdomain. For example, we test a simple funnel landscape with a Monte Carlo search in which displacement is biased toward a corner of the lattice space representing the native state. An energy difference of ∼15 kcal/mol between native and unfolded states is sufficient to give a reasonable folding time of 10 μs with two-state kinetics. To our knowledge, these are the first protein-folding simulations that successfully fold the protein using a model with explicit time representation and a stochastic search and without a native-state specific potential function.
Scaled particle theory applied to gels of high molecular weight DNA in the ultracentrifuge.

Equilibrium ultracentrifugation of high molecular weight DNA at moderate centrifuge speed leads to the formation of gel at the bottom of the centrifuge cell. The swelling pressures of the gels are strongly affected by the ionic strength of the medium and by polyvalent counterions in the medium. Scaled particle theory applied to the DNA gels gives values to the effective particle length and particle radius of the DNA. Different models for DNA conformations in the gels were required for the monovalent, the divalent, and the tetravalent cations used in this study.
Ascorbate Stimulation of Salicylate Absorption in Isolated Rat Intestine

Salicylate transport across the rat intestine was measured using both in vitro and in vivo procedures. After the steady state for labeled salicylate was reached, the addition of ascorbate stimulated tracer flux with the establishment of a new steady state. The tissue permeability had a saturable dependence on ascorbate concentration. Also, ascorbate stimulated the tissue short-circuit current.
Effects of Resource Depression on Use of Inexpensive and Escalated Aggressive Behavior: Experimental Tests Using Anna Hummingbirds

To test whether alterations in aggressive behavior are responses to short-term resource depression, use of inexpensive and escalated territorial defense by Anna hummingbirds was analyzed as a function of the degree to which food could be depressed by foraging activities of territory owners and intruders. On depressible territories use of gorget display (a low cost defense) decreased and durations of chases increased as time since the previous feeding by owners increased. On non-depressible territories neither variable was significantly correlated with time since feeding. The percentage of intruders chased by owners was positively correlated with time since feeding on both depressible and nondepressible territories, but the magnitude of this trend decreased as food production increased. Departures from the territory tended to occur shortly after feeding on both types of territories, but this tendency was stronger on depressible territories. When owners returned to their territories after long absences, gorget displays were used more frequenty and chases were shorter than after short absences, but no significant change occurred in the percentage of intruders chased. These results suggest that owners respond to intruder-caused resource depression by altering their use of gorget display and durations of chases, but not their frequency of chases.
Growth and utilization of internal nitrogen reserves by the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera in a low-nitrogen environment

An adult giant kelp plant (Macrocystis pyrifera), moved from an inshore kelp forest to an offshore, low-nitrogen environment near Santa Catalina Island, California (USA), maintained growth for 2 wk on internal nitrogen reserves. Frond elongation rates decreased significantly during the third week, and plant growth rate (wet wt) dropped from an initial inshore rate of 3.6 to 0.9% d-1. During this 3 wk period, nitrogen contents and free amino acid concentrations decreased, while mannitol and dry contents increased in frond tissues. After depletion of internal nitrogen reserves, the nitrogen content of lamina and stipe tissues averaged 1.1 and 0.7% dry wt, respectively. The experimental plant was exposed to higher ambient nitrogen concentrations during the last 2 wk. Rates of frond elongation and plant growth increased, but nitrogen content and amino acids in frond tissues remained low. Of the total nitrogen contained in frond tissue of the plant before transplantation, 58% was used to support growth in the absence of significant external nitrogen supply. Amino acids constituted a small proportion of these internal nitrogen reserves. Net movement of nitrogen occurred within large fronds, but not between different frond size classes. The nitrogen content of holdfast tissue remained relatively constant at 2.4% dry wt and accounted for 18 to 29% of the total nitrogen. Holdfast nitrogen was not used to support growth of nitrogen-depleted fronds. In comparison to Laminaria longicruris, which is adapted to long seasonal periods of low nitrogen availability, M. pyrifera has small nitrogen-storage capacity. However, internal reserves of M. pyrifera appear adequate to make nitrogen starvation uncommon in southern California kelp forests.
A Wiener-type condition for Hölder continuity for Green's functions

We investigate local properties of the Green function of the complement of a compact set Ein R d, d>2. We give a Wiener type characterization for the Holder continuity of the Green function, thus extending a result of L. Carleson and V. Totik. The obtained density condition is necessary, and it is sufficient as well, provided Esatisfies the cone condition. It is also shown that the Holder condition for the Green function at a boundary point can be equivalently stated in terms of the equilibrium measure and the solution to the corresponding Dirichlet problem. The results solve a long standing open problem -- raised by Maz'ja in the 1960's -- under the simple cone condition.
Entourage uniformities for frames

The purpose of this paper is to define a uniformity on a frame using entourages. A definition of uniformities in terms of covers has been given byA. Pultr ([8], [10]). We introduce two new symmetry conditions for a quasi-uniform space, open-set symmetry and small-set symmetry. We prove that a quasi-uniformityU is a uniformity if and only if it is both open-set symmetric and small-set symmetric. The category of (covering) uniform frames is isomorphic with the category of entourage uniform frames.
Sensitivity of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions in humans to tonal over-exposure: time course of recovery and effects of lowering L2.

Abstract An important concern of industrial hearing-conservation programs is detecting the onset of noise-induced hearing loss. If it can he shown that otoacoustic emissions are sufficiently sensitive to reliably detect auditory fatigue and the permanent hearing loss that eventually develops, they could become an important part of the hearing-conservation test battery. The present study in humans was designed to examine the influence of overall primary-tone level and the effects of lowering the f2 primary on the sensitivity of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) to acoustic overstimulation. One ear from each of 14 subjects with normal hearing was exposed to a 105-dB SPL pure tone at 2.8 kHz for 3 min using a protocol consisting of distinct pre-exposure, exposure, and post-exposure periods. As a quantitative index of the functional status of the outer hair cells, 2f1−f2 DPOAEs were monitored systematically over time using four stimulus-test conditions consisting of either one of two levels of equilevel primary tones, or one of two levels of offset primaries, with L2 set 25 dB lower than L1. The overall finding was that the DPOAE protocol incorporating both the lowest level of stimulation and an f2-primary tone that was 25 dB below the level of the f1 stimulus [i.e., L1 (55 dB SPL) − L2 (30 dB SPL) = 25 dB]was most sensitive to the exposure effects. The results establish that DPOAEs elicited with unequal, in contrast to equal-level primaries, have comparable signal-to-noise ratios, but are considerably more sensitive to reductions in emission levels induced by exposure to short-lasting, moderately intense tones. The recovery of DPOAE amplitudes over the first 15 min post-exposure appeared to be roughly linear in log time and, in many cases, could be closely approximated by fitting a logarithmic curve to the post-exposure data. From these functions, the initial amount of loss (γ-intercept) and the slope of recovery were identified as potential measures of vulnerability to acoustic exposure in that these variables appeared to be related to the susceptibility of some of the subjects, who also participated in a subsequent experiment on the behavioral effects of the exposure stimulus. Finally, compared to behaviorally measured temporary threshold shift (TTS), the time course of the recovery for DPOAEs was very similar, suggesting that, with the appropriate parameters, DPOAEs can be as sensitive to TTS as routine pure-tone audiometry.