cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Scope of a Spanish Grammar for Minimal Communicative Competence

: Foreign language teachers have long recognized that it is neither possible nor necessary to teach a complete grammar of Spanish in a course designed to develop communicative competence. Studies of colloquial usage show that even a native-like command of the grammar can consist of far fewer verb forms than are traditionally thought necessary. Basing himself on these studies, the author proposes a minimal grammar of verb forms for correct active use. More tentative suggestions are made for the development of an easily expressed and understood simplified Spanish for beginners. The paper considers briefly the order of presentation of grammatical forms and concludes with a review of some other aspects of a communicative course in Spanish.
Relation of Family History of Myocardial Infarction and the Presence of Coronary Arterial Calcium in Various Age and Risk Factor Groups

Family history of myocardial infarction (FHMI) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular (CV) events but may be more informative in certain subgroups. The association between FHMI and the presence of coronary artery calcium (CAC) was examined in various age and risk factor groups in the Dallas Heart Study (DHS), a population-based probability sample of subjects aged 30 to 65 years. Analyses were stratified by age (with the young group composed of men aged 2 CV risk factors. In the overall cohort of 2,743 subjects, FHMI was an independent predictor of CAC (adjusted odds ratio 1.3, 95% confidence interval 1.1 to 1.7), attributable to an independent association between FHMI and CAC in the young group (adjusted odds ratio 1.5, 95% confidence interval 1.0 to 2.1) that was not evident in the older subset (adjusted odds ratio 1.2, 95% confidence interval 0.91 to 1.6, interaction p = 0.02). In the young cohort, the association between FHMI and CAC was particularly robust in those with ≥2 risk factors (FHMI–by–risk factor interaction p = 0.04). In older subjects, FHMI was not associated with CAC for any risk factor category (p >0.05 for each). In conclusion, this study suggests that FHMI is a more important predictor of atherosclerosis in young compared with older adults and, among the young, in those with multiple CV risk factors.
MPC formulation of GLC

Following the description of the scope of this work, the shortest-horizon MPC law is derived and shown to be exactly a reduced-order error-feedback globally linearizing controller (GLC). The nonlinear MPC is then applied to unconstrained linear processes, and the resulting linear controller is shown to be exactly a model algorithmic controller (Mehra and Rouhani, 1980) and an internal model controller (Garcia and Morari, 1985)
Design of low-frequency constant time delay lines

DELAY lines are used in many applications in both high-frequency and low-frequency fields. In low-frequency applications such lines consist of a cascade connection of inductance-capacitance network sections employing lumped constants. Ideally, the line should have no attenuation; its characteristic impedance should be constant, and the phase shift should be a linear function of frequency. With the latter condition, the time delay is constant and the character of the signal is unchanged in its transmission over the line. In design practice, one attempts to meet as closely as possible these ideal conditions within the limits of cost, space, and practicability.
Automated B-Line Scoring on Thoracic Sonography

With the proliferation of portable sonography and the increase in nontraditional users, there is an increased need for automated decision support to standardize results. We developed algorithms to evaluate the presence or absence of "B-lines" on thoracic sonography as a marker for interstitial fluid. Algorithm performance was compared against an average of scores from 2 expert clinical sonographers. On the set for algorithm development, 90% of the scores matched the average expert scores with differences of 1 or less. On the independent set, a perfect match was achieved. We believe that these are the first reported results in computerized B-line scoring.
Health Inflation, Wealth Inflation, and the Discounting of Human Life

This Article presents two new arguments against “discounting” future human lives during cost-benefit analysis, arguing that even absent ethical objections to the disparate treatment of present and future humanity, the economic calculations of cost-benefit analysis itself - if properly calculated - counsel against discounting lives at anything close to current rates. In other words, even if society sets aside all concerns with the discounting of future generations in principle, current discounting of future human lives cannot be justified even on the discounters’ own terms. First, because cost-benefit analysis has thus far ignored evidence of rising health care expenditures, it underestimates the “willingness to pay” for health and safety that future citizens will likely exhibit, thereby undervaluing their lives. Second, cost-benefit analysis ignores the trend of improved material conditions in developed countries. As time advances, residents of rich countries tend to live better and spend more, meaning that a strict economic monetization of future persons values the lives of our expected descendents above those of present citizens. These two factors justify “inflation” of future lives that would offset, perhaps completely, the discount rate used for human life. Until regulators correct their method of discounting the benefits of saving human lives in the future, the United States will continue to suffer the fatal costs of underregulation, and agencies will remain in violation of legal requirements to maximize net benefits.
EXCITED STATES OF 4He STUDIED WITH THE POLARIZED PROTON CAPTURE REACTION

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the excited states of 4 He studied with the polarized proton capture reaction. It presents a summary of lowest excited states of 4 He obtained from resonance analyses of and reactions. The negative parity levels are consistent in spin and approximate location with the 1p1s −1 states predicted by the shell model. Positive parity states are expected to be composed partly of 1p–1h and partly of 2p–2h excitations. For a self-conjugate nucleus such as 4 He, E1 transitions to the ground state are allowed only from T = 1, 1 − levels. The two T = 1, 1 − levels postulated at 27.k and 30.5 MeV are expected to dominate the characteristics of the EL radiation in nucleon capture reactions, which form 4 He. These states comprise the giant E1 resonance of 4 He. The presence of third and fourth degree Legendre polynomials P 3 , P 4 , in the gamma-ray angular distribution is evidence for E2 radiation, which is thought to reflect a T = 0, 2 + state in the region of 33 MeV in 4 He. The spin direction for the protons could be set either up or down by switching the rf transitions in the polarized source.
A next-best-view system for autonomous 3-D object reconstruction

The focus of this paper is to design and implement a system capable of automatically reconstructing a prototype 3D model from a minimum number of range images of an object. Given an ideal 3D object model, the system iteratively renders range and intensity images of the model from a specified position, assimilates the range information into a prototype model, and determines the sensor pose (position and orientation) from which an optimal amount of previously unrecorded information may be acquired. Reconstruction is terminated when the model meets a given threshold of accuracy. Such a system has applications in the context of robot navigation, manufacturing, or hazardous materials handling. The system has been tested successfully on several synthetic data models, and each set of results was found to be reasonably consistent with an intuitive human search. The number of views necessary to reconstruct an adequate 3D prototype depends on the complexity of the object or scene and the initial data collected. The prototype models which the system recovers compare well with the ideal models.
Real-Time Strategies for Unwrapping of Synchrophasor Phase Angles

Phase angle measurements from synchrophasors show discontinuities when they roll over from $+180$ to $-180$ degrees or vice versa. This paper proposes efficient strategies for unwrapping of the angles in real-time data streams. Examples presented in this paper first show that the phase angle differences across bus voltage phasors can go over 360 degrees in a synchronized power system under stressed conditions. Unwrapped phase angles are shown to be useful in fast reliable islanding detection methodology, and for phase angle arithmetic such as for averaging of phase angles and for phase angle difference calculations. Strategies for handling missing phase angle data in real-time data streams are also discussed.
A precursor-limited nanoparticle coalescence pathway for tuning the thickness of laterally-uniform colloidal nanosheets: the case of SnSe.

The availability of high-quality colloidal nanosheets underpins a diverse range of applications and investigations into dimension-dependent physical properties. To facilitate this, synthetic methods that yield single-crystal colloidal nanosheets with regular shapes, uniform lateral dimensions, and tunable thicknesses are critically important. Most strategies that yield colloidal nanosheets achieve some, but not all, of these morphological characteristics. Here, we describe a synthetic pathway that generates colloidal nanosheets of SnSe with uniform lateral dimensions and tunable thicknesses. SnSe represents an excellent prototype system for studying the formation of colloidal nanosheets because of its layered crystal structure and the growing interest in its potential application as an absorption layer in low-cost photovoltaic devices. Freestanding colloidal SnSe nanosheets were synthesized by slowly heating a one-pot reaction mixture of SnCl2, oleylamine, trioctylphosphine selenide (TOP-Se), and hexameth...
Securitization and Terroristization: Analyzing States’ Usage of the Rhetoric of Terrorism

“Terrorism” remains “essentially contested” in its meaning and yet it is often and uncritically used by various actors. Here, I draw from and modify the Copenhagen School’s securitization theory to outline a “terroristization” approach. This terroristization approach is useful in studying and analyzing when rhetoric of terrorism is used and its sociopolitical consequences. A terroristization approach can be used to study how acts, actions, events become understood as “terrorism” as it focuses attention on how the term “terrorism” is used during specific interactions, what terrorism means, and to the sociopolitical and ethical implications of labeling practices. In doing so, it also draws attention to spaces and modes by which the usage of “terrorism” can be questioned and challenged. Additionally, a focus on the meaning-making of terrorism directs attention to how various violent acts are legitimated in different contexts and the self-other identities produced in the process of labelling actors, events, acts as “terrorist” (or not). This chapter also outlines a brief example of the consequences of terroristization, focusing specifically on post-9/11 debates and discussions on surveillance and monitoring by the US state.
Intercycle variability of day 3 follicle-stimulating hormone levels and its effect on stimulation quality in in vitro fertilization

Prior studies have demonstrated that gonadotropin stimulation quality and pregnancy rates are better in in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients with low basal cycle day 3 follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. The records of 81 patients who had undergone three or more IVF attempts during a 2-year period were studied to determine the degree and potential impact of intercycle variability in basal FSH concentrations. The mean of the individual standard deviations for all 81 patients was 4.2 +/- 0.4 mIU/mL. However, the patients with a mean basal FSH of less than 15 mIU/mL had a mean deviation of only 2.6 +/- 0.2 mIU/mL, whereas those with a mean basal FSH of greater than or equal to 15 mIU/mL had a mean deviation of 7.3 +/- 0.7 mIU/mL. Intercycle variability in basal FSH values did not predict changes in ovarian response to gonadotropin stimulation and thus may not be used to select an optimal cycle in which to stimulate an individual patient. Furthermore, patients with large intercycle variation responded poorly to gonadotropin stimulation independent of their basal FSH concentration. This information allows more precise counseling of patients regarding their appropriateness for assisted reproduction.
Complications in Mammalian MicroRNA Target Prediction

In this chapter, we review evidence that at least three different types of microRNA (miRNA)-messenger RNA (mRNA) target interactions exist in mammals: short seeds, long seeds, and "perfect" hits (allowing G:U matches). Because new types of miRNAs are still being discovered, this list may not yet be complete.
Behavioral Medicine and Neurological Disorders

Behavioral medicine as a field rapidly developed during the 1970s and 1980s. It is not only difficult to identify its specific beginnings (Russo amp; Varni, 1982), but there is also considerable disagreement as to its exact definition. Although some (Pomerleau, 1979) have proposed a definition based on the extension of experimental analysis of behavior to health-related behaviors, others (Schwartz amp; Weiss, 1978) have focused on the interdisciplinary integration of behavioral and medical sciences with provisions for theoretical, basic, and applied research. As of this date, there is no consensus definition of behavioral medicine; perhaps this is as it should be in a developing field where, in the end, the field will be defined by its accomplishments. It should be noted, however, that a broad-based ecobehavior-analysis approach (Rogers-Warren amp; Warren, 1977) to health problems may not be all that different from the definitions of those who eschew such behaviorally based definitions. Although it is widely claimed that its integrative approach of many disciplines/ professions is one thing that makes behavioral medicine unique, is such an approach all that different from what one should find in other areas such as mental health, special education, or community psychology?
Reading Between the Lines: Identifying Consequential and Speculative Opportunities in the Health Care Industry

A Delphi study in which a panel of 23 national health care experts agree on 94% of 144 trends and events is used to illustrate how an organization can identify consequential and speculative opportunities. The consequences of the major trends and events predicted to occur in the Social/Demographic, Economic/Financial, Political/Legal, Technical/Scientific, and Competitive environmental sectors can be used as focal points for formulating competitive strategies. The nine trends and events upon which the panel did not achieve agreement are discussed and the speculative opportunities illustrated.
More Than a Name? Variation in Electoral Mobilisation of Titular and Non-Titular Ethnic Minorities in Russian National Elections

AbstractDo patterns of electoral mobilisation differ between titular and non-titular ethnic minorities in Vladimir Putin’s Russia? Despite the fact that ‘titular privileging’ has been identified as one of the central causal mechanisms for patronage-based electoral mobilisation in Russia, existing literature has not tested this systematically. This study investigates whether turnout patterns differ between titular and non-titular ethnic minorities in Russia. We leverage unique raion-level electoral and demographic data in a series of multilevel models to analyse whether turnout patterns between these two groups vary in recent Russian legislative elections (2003 and 2011) and presidential contests (2004 and 2012). The empirical findings suggest that electoral turnout is consistently higher in raions with a higher share of titular minorities and that this effect is moderated in unexpected ways by contextual characteristics at the raion and regional levels.
Bruce W. Tuckman (1938–2016)

BRUCE W. TUCKMAN, well known for his group development theory and research on procrastination and college success, passed away on March 13, 2016. Bruce was a professor of educational psychology in ...
THE BERIMBAU'S SOCIAL GINGA: NOTES TOWARDS A COMPREHENSION OF AGENCY IN CAPOEIRA

Although the berimbau is widely acknowledged today as part of capoeira - in Brazil and around the world - only a 'minimal' history of this instrument exists concerning its evolution over the twentieth century. The sounds, songs and notes of the berimbau, as well as its circulation among capoeiristas, artists, athletes and intellectuals, played an important role in the historical shift from a 'poisonous' capoeira to the 'non-poisonous' styles. The latter were the same styles that became national with enough of a violent edge to maintain the ambivalence between martial art, game and dance, as exemplified and echoed by the capoeira movement between 1930 and 1960. This article approaches the berimbau as an object embodied with a specific kind of agency, useful to the national imagination, to the control of the body and to the promotion of hierarchies among its practitioners.
Laryngeal T regulatory cells in the setting of smoking and reflux.

Objectives/Hypothesis The larynx is a mucosal organ rich in lymphatic tissue that is regularly exposed to a multitude of inhaled, ingested, and refluxed microorganisms and irritants. The first line of mucosal immune defense is the barrier, including resident immune cells. T regulatory (Treg) cells are a specialized subset of CD4+ T cells that suppress or dampen immune responses to prevent damaging immunopathology. As Treg cells have been shown to preferentially accumulate at sites of infection, and Treg responses may contribute to persistence of infection by impairing antibacterial immunity, we sought to quantify these cells in laryngeal tissue exposed to smoking and reflux. Study Design Cross-sectional study. Methods Using an epigenetic assay, we quantified Treg and T cells and calculated the ratio of Treg to T cells (i.e., cellular ratio of immune tolerance [ImmunoCRIT]) in disease-free laryngeal biopsies representing four inflammatory states: 1) tobacco-exposed tissue, 2) refluxate and tobacco-exposed tissue, 3) refluxate-exposed tissue, and 4) unexposed tissue. Results There was epigenetic evidence of Treg cells in all tissues, and we found no differences in Treg cell frequency relative to smoking and reflux in laryngeal tissue collected from 42 non–treatment-seeking participants. There was a decrease in total T cell frequency and an increase in ImmunoCRIT values in smokers regardless of reflux status. Conclusions In this study, laryngeal tissue from smokers show decreased overall T cells and increased ImmunoCRIT values. Our findings indicate that laryngeal inflammation is not directly mediated by loss of Treg cells in response to smoking and reflux in local tissue and increased ImmunoCRIT values in smokers implicate a role for this environmental exposure in modulating laryngeal immune homeostasis. More studies are indicated to explore Treg cell dysfunction in the pathophysiology of laryngeal disease. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope, 127:882–887, 2017
Classical Live Viral Vaccines

Classical, live viral vaccines have been developed by adapting viruses by serial passages in animals, tissue or cell cultures during which multiple mutations in the viral genome have accumulated. The majority of vaccines in use today were developed in this way and a number of similar investigational vaccines are currently in development. The principal advantage of live vaccines is that they mimic natural infection and induce durable immunity, including cytotoxic T cell responses that are not generated by soluble proteins and inactivated vaccines. Recent studies of gene activation following a live vaccine (yellow fever 17D) have shed light on the role of innate immune responses in provoking strong, polyfunctional adaptive immunity following the administration of live vaccines. The principal disadvantage of live vaccines is that, occasionally, infection caused by the live vaccine causes adverse events resembling the parental (virulent) virus. Such events can be due to reversions in critical attenuating mutations or to host-specific susceptibility factors. The attenuating mutations in live vaccines increase the inapparent: apparent infection ratio compared to the parental virus, but overt infection (adverse events) while far less frequent than in natural infection can still occur. This problem is inconsequential for infections that are typically mild or self-limited, such as measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella, but can be devastating for infections that are frequently lethal such as yellow fever or in individuals who are immunocompromised. Despite these issues, live vaccines have had dramatic benefits in reducing the incidence of the most important infections of humankind, and in one case (smallpox) a live vaccine helped eradicate a viral disease.
Exploiting cache coherence for effective on-the-fly data tracing in multicores

Software testing and debugging of modern embedded computer systems become increasingly a challenging task due to growing hardware and software complexity, increased integration and miniaturization, and ever tightening time-to-market. To find software bugs faster, developers often rely on on-chip trace and debug resources. However, these resources offer limited visibility of the system, increase the system cost, and do not scale well with a growing number of processor cores. This paper introduces a new hardware/software mechanism for capturing and filtering load data value traces in multicores that enables a complete reconstruction of a parallel program execution. The proposed mechanism exploits data caches and cache coherence protocol states to minimize the number of trace events that are necessary to stream out of the target platform to the software debugger. The mechanism relies on a single trace bit per data cache block, thus minimizing the cost of hardware implementation. Our experimental evaluation explores the effectiveness of the proposed technique by measuring the trace port bandwidth as a function of the cache size and the number of processor cores. The results show that the proposed mechanism significantly reduces the required trace port bandwidth when compared to the Nexus-like load data value tracing. Depending on data cache size, the improvements range from 9.9 to 23.5 times for single cores and from 18.6 to 37.3 times for octa cores.
Abstract P247: Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha Receptors (Type 1 & Type 2) are Differentially Expressed in Renal Tissues During Chronic Dietary Intake of High Salt and Angiotensin II Treatment

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) exerts natriuresis that is mediated by its’ receptor type 1 (TNFR1) while its’ receptor type 2 (TNFR2) is involved in mediating inflammatory renal injury. To determine the differential roles of these receptors in angiotensin II (AngII) induced salt-sensitive hypertension and associated renal injury, protein expressions of TNFR1 and TNFR2 were examined in mice (n=6-7 in each group) chronically treated with or without AngII (25 ng/min; implanted minipump) for 4 weeks which were fed either normal (NS; 0.4% NaCl) or high salt (HS; 4% NaCl) diets. Systemic blood pressure (SBP) in these mice was measured by tail-cuff plethysmography and 24 hour urine collections were made using metabolic cages at the start and at the end of treatment period when the kidneys were harvested after sacrificing the mice with euthanasia. Immuno-histochemical analysis of TNFR1 and TNFR2 proteins in renal slices was performed by measuring the staining area as well as the intensity of receptors’ immunoreactivities using NIS Elements Software (Nikon), which allowed the semi-quantitation of positive staining and the intensity of these proteins. The results were expressed in percent area of positive staining and the relative intensity. HS intake alone did not alter mean SBP (HS; 77±1 vs NS; 76±3 vs mmHg) but it caused an exaggeration of AngII induced increases in mean SBP (AngII+HS; 104±2 vs AngII+NS; 95±2 mmHg). The area of TNFR1 staining was higher in HS (6.0± 0.9 vs 3.2 ±0.7%; P<0.05) than NS group but it was not significantly different between AngII+HS (5.0± 0.7%) and AngII+NS groups (6.3±0.7%). Similar qualitative differences were also observed in relative intensity in protein expressions. TNFR2 immunoreactivity was minimal in NS and HS groups but it was high in AngII+NS group and even greater in AngII + HS group. These data suggest that the increases in TNFR1 activity due to HS alone facilitate salt excretion that results no change in SBP in response to HS intake. However, such HS induced increases in TNFR1 activity was compromised in elevated AngII condition causing more salt retention and thus, exaggerated hypertensive response. On the other hand, HS induced increases in TNFR2 activity in elevated AngII condition facilitates enhanced renal injury response.
Bridging Nongeoscience STEM Majors to the Geoscience Workforce through a Skills Training and Enrichment Program

AbstractNew York City College of Technology has created a year-round geoscience workforce preparation and geoscience career mentoring program for nongeoscience, minority science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students beginning at the critical juncture of their junior year. The overall goal of the program is to create a viable pathway to the geoscience workforce by tapping into a nontraditional pool of students. Each year 12 students are recruited to participate in a structured geoscience workforce model program that consists of geoscience exposure, preparation, apprenticeship, and experience. The students not only receive support with cohort-building activities, but they also participate in two geoscience internship programs that equip them with geoscience knowledge; geoscience workforce skills; summer internships at a federal, local, or private geoscience facilities; mentoring by geoscience practitioners; and networking opportunities with geoscience companies and geoscience professional socie...
Demonstration of diffraction-free beams with correlated spatio-temporal spectrum

We experimentally demonstrate diffraction-free pulsed-beams with arbitrary spatial profile by introducing judicious correlations between the spatial and temporal degrees of freedom, which propagate ∼200 Rayleigh ranges of a comparable-sized Gaussian beam.
Presymptomatic Genetic Testing: Shifting the Emphasis from Reaction to Prevention

Presymptomatic genetic testing refers to genetic analysis of healthy individuals who are at increased risk for a specific heritable disorder, with the aim of predicting their likelihood to develop disease symptoms. At-risk individuals are usually identified because of a positive family history for a particular genetic condition. Presymptomatic testing differs from diagnostic genetic testing in that the information obtained is used to determine future health status rather than to confirm a diagnosis based on current clinical manifestations. This type of genetic testing is readily available for many disorders (Table 6.1), including adult-onset conditions and cancer predisposition syndromes.
Concussed elite athletes have better tandem gait performance

Objective Describe tandem gait score performance in concussed elite athletes as compared to asymptomatic baselines. Design Within subjects, repeated measures. Setting United States Olympic Committee Sports Medicine Clinics Participants Six hundred forty-one elite athletes (291 women and 350 men, mean age 24.9±5.2 years) representing 23 Olympic sports participated in this study. Intervention The SCAT3 was administered during a preseason baseline and repeated as clinically indicated during initial evaluations and serially as part of a multimodal concussion management program. Outcome measures SCAT3 performance measures of concussed elite athletes were compared to baseline SCAT3 performance. Results Tandem gait performance was significantly better in concussed elite athletes than on athletes tested for healthy asymptomatic baselines (9.6 vs. 11.7, P Conclusions There is a paradoxical relationship between concussion status and tandem gait performance in elite athletes, with concussed athletes performing better on average than athletes evaluated for a baseline SCAT3 evaluation. Clinical Relevance Tandem gait performance is not impaired in athletes with symptoms of concussion. Intrinsic motivation to return to play may result in enhanced tandem gait performance in concussed athletes. Competing interests None.
A scalable double-barcode sequencing platform for characterization of dynamic protein-protein interactions.

Several large-scale efforts have systematically catalogued protein-protein interactions (PPIs) of a cell in a single environment. However, little is known about how the protein interactome changes across environmental perturbations. Current technologies, which assay one PPI at a time, are too low throughput to make it practical to study protein interactome dynamics. Here, we develop a highly parallel protein-protein interaction sequencing (PPiSeq) platform that uses a novel double barcoding system in conjunction with the dihydrofolate reductase protein-fragment complementation assay in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. PPiSeq detects PPIs at a rate that is on par with current assays and, in contrast with current methods, quantitatively scores PPIs with enough accuracy and sensitivity to detect changes across environments. Both PPI scoring and the bulk of strain construction can be performed with cell pools, making the assay scalable and easily reproduced across environments. PPiSeq is therefore a powerful new tool for large-scale investigations of dynamic PPIs. Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) play a major role in defining biological functions. Here, the authors present PPiSeq, a method to quantitatively score dynamic PPIs in yeast combining fragment complementation assays, genomic double-barcoding, and an analytical framework to precisely call fitness from barcode lineage trajectories.
An Age Distribution of D-Dimer Values in Normal Healthy Donor Population: An Indirect Verification of the Age-Adjusted D-Dimer Cutoffs for VTE Exclusion

Introduction: The prevalence of venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (VTE) increases with age. Definitive VTE diagnosis or exclusion relies on imaging modalities, which are found to be negative in a high proportion of tested patients. Algorithms based on pretest clinical probability (low and intermediate) in conjunction with negative d-dimer test results have reliably excluded VTE sparing the need for additional imaging studies. Currently, the cutoff for a negative d-dimer is based on reference ranges regardless of age of the donor population. Since baseline d-dimer increases with aging, an age-adjusted d-dimer (AADD) cutoff for patients older than 50 years (age*10 ng/mL FEU) has been shown to improve specificity of diagnosis while still maintaining a high sensitivity (>97%) of detecting VTE/PE (Righini, et al. JAMA, 2014). Due to FDA restrictions, clinical laboratories cannot implement and report such AADD cutoffs. Major hurdles include: AADD cutoffs are assay-dependent, and there is a lack of feasible strategy for laboratories to verify the AADD cutoffs. We hypothesize that an adequate study of age-distribution of baseline d-dimer levels of healthy donors can assist the verification of AADD cutoffs and ultimately ensure patient safety in the VTE patient population. Objective: Establish an age dependent reference range for patients 50 years or older with the HemosIL HS 500 D-dimer reagent on the ACL TOP 700 (Instrumentation Laboratory, Bedford MA, USA); and compare this range with the manufacturer provided and literature recommended AADD cutoffs. Methods: D-dimer assay was performed on plasma samples from normal adult donors per the manufacturers9 instructions. D-Dimer age, gender distribution and association were analyzed using non-parametric Wilcoxon rank sum, Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, and quantile regression methods to estimate the 95th percentile to establish a reference range. Results: We studied 241 healthy donors, ranging from 21-91 years of age. Statistically significant differences between males and females (100 [42%] male) were detected (p-value Conclusion: Our study verifies the association between d-dimer level and age and for the first time, to our knowledge, determined AADD normal range for the HemosIL HS 500 D-dimer assay. The manufacturer and literature recommended AADD cutoffs should provide sufficient sensitivity and negative predictive value for VTE/PE exclusion. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Comparative Programs for Arthropod, Disease and Weed Management in New York Organic Apples

Organic apple production in the eastern US is small and is mostly based on existing varieties, which are susceptible to scab, and rootstocks, which are susceptible to fire blight. This requires numerous sprays per year of various pesticides to produce acceptable fruit. From 2014 to 2016, we tested different arthropod, disease and weed management programs in an advanced tall spindle high-density production system that included disease-resistant cultivars and rootstocks, in an organic research planting of apples in Geneva, New York. Arthropod and disease management regimens were characterized as Advanced Organic, Minimal Organic, or Untreated Control. Results varied by year and variety, but, in general, the Advanced program was more effective than the Minimal program in preventing damage from internal-feeding Lepidoptera, plum curculio, and obliquebanded leafroller, and less effective than the Minimal program against damage by foliar insects. Both organic programs provided comparable control of sooty blotch, cedar apple rust, and fire blight, with some variability across cultivars and years. The advanced selection CC1009 and Modi seemed to possess complete resistance to cedar apple rust, while Pristine had partial resistance. For weed control, bark chip mulch, organic soap sprays, and limonene sprays tended to be most effective, while mechanical tillage and flame weeding had lower success.
Multiple Chronic Conditions in Spousal Caregivers of Older Adults With Functional Disability: Associations With Caregiving Difficulties and Gains.

Objectives Multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) are common and have harmful consequences in later life. Along with managing their own health, many aging adults care for an impaired partner. Spousal caregiving may be more stressful when caregivers have MCCs, particularly those involving complex management. Yet, little is known about combinations of conditions that are most consequential for caregiving outcomes. Method Using a U.S. sample of 359 spousal caregivers and care recipients from the 2011 National Aging Trends Study and National Study of Caregiving, we examined three categories of MCCs based on similarity of management strategies (concordant only, discordant only, and both concordant and discordant) and their associations with caregiving difficulties and gains. We also considered gender differences. Results Relative to caregivers without MCCs, caregivers with discordant MCCs reported fewer gains, whereas caregivers with both concordant and discordant MCCs reported greater emotional and physical difficulties. Wives with discordant MCCs only reported a trend for greater physical difficulties. Caregivers with concordant MCCs did not report more difficulties or gains. Discussion Spousal caregivers with MCCs involving discordant management strategies appear to be at risk for adverse care-related outcomes and may benefit from support in maintaining their own health as well as their caregiving responsibilities.
Nano-Architectural Approaches for Improved Intracortical Interface Technologies.

Intracortical microelectrodes (IME) are neural devices that initially were designed to function as neuroscience tools to enable researchers to understand the nervous system. Over the years, technology that aids interfacing with the nervous system has allowed the ability to treat patients with a wide range of neurological injuries and diseases. Despite the substantial success that has been demonstrated using intracortical microelectrodes in neural interface applications, these implants eventually fail due to loss of quality recording signals. Recent strategies to improve interfacing with the nervous system have been inspired by methods that mimic the native tissue. This review focusses on one strategy in particular, nano-architecture, a term we introduce that encompasses the approach of roughening the surface of the implant. Various nano-architecture approaches have been hypothesized to improve the biocompatibility of IMEs, enhance the recording quality and increase the longevity of the implant. This review will begin by introducing IME technology and discuss the challenges facing the clinical deployment of IME technology. The biological inspiration of nano-architecture approaches will be explained as well as leading fabrication methods used to create nano-architecture and their limitations. A review of the effects of nano-architecture surfaces on neural cells will be examined, depicting the various cellular responses to these modified surfaces in both in vitro and pre-clinical models. The proposed mechanism elucidating the ability of nano-architectures to influence cellular phenotype will be considered. Finally, the frontiers of next generation nano-architecture IMEs will be identified, with perspective given on the future impact of this interfacing approach.
Mixing Characteristics of Non-Newtonian Impinging Jets at Elevated Pressures

The effect of chamber pressure on the mixing characteristics of like-doublet impinging liquid jets is experimentally and numerically investigated for non-gelled and gelled hypergolic propellant simulants. The experiment uses planar laser induced fluorescence technique to investigate the mixing efficiencies of impinging liquid streams. It is found that mixing is enhanced for both gelled and non-gelled fluids as the pressure increases. However, gelled simulants generally result in poorer mixing as compared to their non-gelled counterparts, suggesting that pre-impingement conditions are important factors that determine mixing efficiency. To verify this hypothesis, high-fidelity direct numerical simulations, based on a state-of-the-art volume-of-fluid (VOF) method are conducted at elevated pressures for the gelled simulant, treated as a Herschel-Bulkley non-Newtonian fluid. It is found that the Sauter mean diameter (SMD) changes significantly, and approaches the SMD of non-gelled impinging jets if the incoming jets are either perturbed by a sinusoidal disturbance or a fully developed turbulent flow profile is introduced, explaining the experimental observations and confirming the hypothesis.
On-line algorithm for server selection of video streaming over P2P networks

Abstract We consider a video streaming application over P2Pnetworks and introduce the P2P on-line server selection problem. This task is related to the classic K-server problem, known from the theory of online algorithms. The difference is that our problem has a dynamic cost matrix, due to network congestion which may trigger the rerouting of streaming paths. With the assumption that the number of hops of any alternative path from the server node p to the requesting node q is at most δ times the number of hops of the shortest path from p to q, our dynamic work function algorithm works for the P2P on-line server selection problem with competitive ratio δ×(2k-1). 1. Introduction In this paper we consider a video streaming application over P2Pnetworks. As we know, it isdifficult to provide large scale streaming service using traditional, centralized client-serverarchitecture, since a bottleneck occurs at the server. The network service model known as Peer-to-Peer (P2P) solves this problem, due to its distributed nature. We address the issue of optimizing the server selection for video streaming in P2P networks.Optimization tasks are classified into online and offline problems. Optimization problems in which the input is received piece by piece and the corresponding piece of output must be produced before knowing the entire input are called online problems. In some optimization tasks, such as job scheduling, both the online and offline versions of the problem are meaningful. Many other situations, such as telephone circuit switching, investment planning etc. are intrinsically online. For these problems, offline algorithms are not acceptable. Competitive algorithms were introduced by Sleator and Tarjan [1] in the context of optimization problems. They sought a worst case complexity measure for on-line algorithms that have to make decisions based on current and previous parts of the input. In the on-line problem the input is given as a sequence σ = σ
The Physiologic Roles of Pancreatic Glucagon and a Gastrointestinal Glucagon-like Hormone

Glucagon, the glycogenolytic, gluconeogenic hormone produced by the alpha cells of the islets of Langerhans, has traditionally been regarded as a hormone of “glucose need”. This view was based in part upon earlier reports from this lab that plasma glucagons rises during hypoglycemia and starvation, and falls during hyperglycemia [1, 2]. In 1965, however, Samols and his colleagues in London observed that exogenous glucagon directly stimulates the release of insulin [3], and this was promptly confirmed by others [4, 5]. Since stimulation of insulin secretion is a highly inappropriate action for a hormone designed to serve a counter-regulatory function during glucose need, Samols questioned this function, and instead suggested that glucagon might be an alimentary hormone, i.e., a hormone of glucose abundance, which potentiates insulin secretion during the absorption of glucose from the gut. This suggestion was supported by demonstrations of apparent hyperglucagonemia induced by oral administration of large quantities of glucose [6, 7]. These seemingly irreconcilable findings concerning the direction of glucagon’s secretory response to changes in blood glucose concentration, and, disagreement as to its physiologic role in glucoregulation, prompted a reexamination in our laboratory of the response of glucagon secretion to changes in blood concentrations of glucose and other nutrients. The studies were greatly facilitated by recent improvements in the radioimmunoassay for glucagon [8, 9], and by the development of a triply catheterized dog preparation in our laboratory by Dr. A. Ohneda, which permits continuous sampling of blood from the pancreaticoduodenal and mesenteric veins as well as from the peripheral veins in fully conscious animals. Otherwise standard methodology was employed [10].
Teaching Quality Assurance Fundamentals to Ceramic Engineering Students

One of the most powerful tools available to the practicing ceramic engineer is the use of statistical methods in making decisions which he faces on a daily basis. In teaching students about this powerful tool and its various applications, a major effort must be made in convincing the students that he can, in fact, make sound decisions using statistical data. The objective of this paper is to summarize the necessary topics which must be taught to undergraduate ceramic engineering students in order for them to appreciate this tool and have some understanding not only of how statistical quality control works but also why it works.
The Need to Consider the Context When Offering Bachelor Programs in Leadership

Drawing on recent research and theory, the chapter suggests that not only is leadership a viable field for academic study and professional application, but also that the discipline’s focus will need to become increasingly collaborative, inclusive, and adaptable as a variety of different goals and worldviews will be required to cohere around mutually satisfying common visions. The chapter considers the changing nature of leadership roles in increasingly globalized social, political, educational, and professional environments. The authors argue that historically unprecedented multinational conditions in these spheres call for similarly unique conceptions of leadership and leadership studies, and they assert that previous understandings of these terms have presupposed a level cultural and social commonality between leaders and followers that can no longer be safely assumed.
Tradeoffs in Anti-aliasing Notch Filter Design for Multi-rate Digital Servo Systems

This paper presents a data-driven frequency-domain notch filter optimization framework to mitigate aliasing effect in multi-rate control systems. The plants are assumed to be experimentally-measured frequency response data. The process for quantifying the aliasing effect in the form of folding error is formulated. The optimization problem is then outlined, aiming at minimizing the phase loss introduced by the multi-rate notch filters subject to an upperbound on the magnitude of the folding error. A population of 100 hard disk drive micro-actuator plant data is adopted as a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The data are also used to demonstrate various tradeoffs in the design objectives and variables, including the relations between phase retention and aliasing mitigation, robustness and performance, as well as computational burden and performance. The proposed method provides a practical solution for optimal multi-rate notch filter design for digital servo systems.
Counter-propagating wave patterns in a swarm model with memory

Hyperbolic transport-reaction equations are abundant in the description of movement of motile organisms. Here, we focus on a system of four coupled transport-reaction equations that arises from an age-structuring of a species of turning individuals. By modeling how the behavior depends on the time since the last reversal, we introduce a memory effect. The highlight consists of the explicit construction and characterization of counter-propagating traveling waves, patterns which have been observed in bacterial colonies. Stability analysis reveals conditions for the wave formation as well as pulsating-in-time spatially constant solutions.
pyNVR: investigating factors affecting feature selection from scRNA-seq data for lineage reconstruction.

MOTIVATION The emergence of single-cell RNA-sequencing has enabled analyses that leverage transitioning cell states to reconstruct pseudotemporal trajectories. Multidimensional data sparsity, zero inflation and technical variation necessitate the selection of high-quality features that feed downstream analyses. Despite the development of numerous algorithms for the unsupervised selection of biologically relevant features, their differential performance remains largely unaddressed. RESULTS We implemented the neighborhood variance ratio (NVR) feature selection approach as a Python package with substantial improvements in performance. In comparing NVR with multiple unsupervised algorithms such as dpFeature, we observed striking differences in features selected. We present evidence that quantifiable dataset properties have observable and predictable effects on the performance of these algorithms. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION pyNVR is freely available at https://github.com/KenLauLab/NVR. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Dementia beyond drugs: changing the culture of care (2nd ed.)

Care for persons with dementia has been undergoing a sea change over the last 20 years. However, a large portion of dementia facilities and services are still under the old care model. Dr. Power’s ...