cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
PALEOBIOGEOGRAPHY: The Relevance of Fossils to Biogeography

▪ Abstract Paleobiogeography has advanced as a discipline owing to the increasing utilization of a phylogenetic approach to the study of biogeographic patterns. Coupled with this, there has been an increasing interdigitation of paleontology with molecular systematics because of the development of techniques to analyze ancient DNA and because of the use of sophisticated methods to utilize molecules to date evolutionary divergence events. One pervasive pattern emerging from several paleontological and molecular analyses of paleobiogeographic patterns is the recognition that repeated episodes of range expansion or geo-dispersal occur congruently in several different lineages, just as congruent patterns of vicariance also occur in independent lineages. The development of new analytical methods based on a modified version of Brooks Parsimony Analysis makes it possible to analyze both geo-dispersal and vicariance in a phylogenetic context, suggesting that biogeography as a discipline should focus on the analysi...
Discrete wavelet transform: data dependence analysis and synthesis of distributed memory and control array architectures

We perform a thorough data dependence and localization analysis for the discrete wavelet transform algorithm and then use it to synthesize distributed memory and control architectures for its parallel computation. The discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is characterized by a nonuniform data dependence structure owing to the decimation operation it is neither a uniform recurrence equation (URE) nor an affine recurrence equation (ARE) and consequently cannot be transformed directly using linear space-time mapping methods into efficient array architectures. Our approach is to apply first appropriate nonlinear transformations operating on the algorithm's index space, leading to a new DWT formulation on which application of linear space-time mapping can become effective. The first transformation of the algorithm achieves regularization of interoctave dependencies but alone does not lead to efficient array solutions after the mapping due to limitations associated with transforming the three-dimensional (3-D) algorithm onto one-dimensional (1-D) arrays, which is also known as multiprojection. The second transformation is introduced to remove the need for multiprojection by formulating the regularized DWT algorithm in a two-dimensional (2-D) index space. Using this DWT formulation, we have synthesized two VLSI-amenable linear arrays of LPEs computing a 6-octave DWT decomposition with latencies of M and 2M-1, respectively, where L is the wavelet filter length, and M is the number of samples in the data sequence. The arrays are modular, regular, use simple control, and can be easily extended to larger L and J. The latency of both arrays is independent of the highest octave J, and the efficiency is nearly 100% for any M with one design achieving the lowest possible latency of M.
Lectins bind differentially to cilia and microvilli of major and minor cell populations in olfactory and nasal respiratory epithelia

Binding of colloidal gold-conjugated lectins was studied in cilia and microvilli of rat olfactory and respiratory epithelia. This was done in sections of rapidly frozen, freeze-substituted specimens embedded in Lowicryl K11M or, for wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) alone, in deep-etched replicas. Olfactory dendritic endings and cilia labeled with WGA and faintly with soybean agglutinin (SBA); olfactory supporting cell microvilli bound only Dolichos biflorus agglutinin (DBA). Microvilli of an infrequent cell bound peanut agglutinin (PNA), SBA, and WGA. These microvilli labeled more strongly with the last two lectins than the olfactory cilia. Respiratory cilia bound WGA and, somewhat more weakly, PNA; microvilli of ciliated respiratory cells bound all four lectins. Visualization of specific labeling improved after preincubation of sections with neuraminidase, except for DBA where lectin binding was abolished. PNA labeling was seen only after neuraminidase preincubation. The densities of membrane surface particles that labeled with WGA corresponded with those of fracture plane particles in a quantitative freeze-fracture, deep-etch analysis. Therefore, a considerable fraction of the WGA-bound particles could reflect transmembrane proteins in olfactory dendritic endings and cilia and in respiratory cilia. The possible nature of these particles is discussed.
Investigation of Diblock Copolymer thin film Morphology for Nanolithography

The microphase separated morphology of diblock copolymers can be used to generate well-ordered nanometer scale patterns over a large area. To achieve this goal, it is important to understand and control the behavior of diblock copolymer thin films on substrates, which can differ from the bulk behavior. We have investigated the morphologies and ordering in thin polystyrene-polybutadiene (PS-PB) diblock copolymer films on bare silicon and silicon nitride substrates, and also on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) coated substrates. The PS-PB copolymers are synthesized to form, in bulk, PB cylinders or spheres in a PS matrix. In thin films (10-60 nm thick), prepared by spin-coating, we observe that the morphology and ordering of the microdomains are affected by strong wetting constraints and a reduced chain mobility on the substrate. The thinnest self-assembled layer of the copolymer films shows no in-plane microphase separation on both types of substrates. The PS blocks wet the PMMA substrates whereas the PB blocks wet the bare substrates as well as the air interface. Hence, different film thicknesses are necessary on the two types of substrates to obtain a uniform film of the first self-assembled cylindrical or spherical microdomain layer. The first layer of the cylindrical copolymer can vary from cylindrical to spherical morphology with a few nanometer decrease in film thickness. In the case of spherical PS-PB diblock copolymer films, we observe that the ordering of the microdomains is improved in the films on the PMMA substrates, compared to those on the bare substrates. We also demonstrate a successful transfer of the microdomain patterns to silicon nitride substrates by a reactive ion etching technique.
Contrasting Patterns of Phytoplankton Community Pigment Composition in Two Salt Marsh Estuaries in Southeastern United States

Phytoplankton community pigment composition and water quality were measured seasonally along salinity gradients in two minimally urbanized salt marsh estuaries in South Carolina in order to examine their spatial and temporal distributions. The North Inlet estuary has a relatively small watershed with minimal fresh water input, while the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto (ACE) Basin is characterized by a relatively greater influence of riverine drainage. Sampling stations were located in regions of the estuaries experiencing frequent diurnal tidal mixing and had similar salinity and temperature regimens. Phytoplankton community pigment composition was assessed by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and multivariate statistical analyses. Shannon diversity index, principal-component, and cluster analyses revealed that phytoplankton community pigments in both estuaries were seasonally variable, with similar diversities but different compositions. The temporal pigment patterns indicated that there was a relatively weak correlation between the pigments in ACE Basin and the relative persistence of photopigment groups in North Inlet. The differences were presumably a consequence of the unpredictability and relatively greater influence of river discharge in the ACE Basin, in contrast to the greater environmental predictability of the more tidally influenced North Inlet. Furthermore, the timing, magnitude, and pigment composition of the annual phytoplankton bloom were different in the two estuaries. The bloom properties in North Inlet reflected the predominance of autochthonous ecological control (e.g., regenerated nutrients, grazing), and those in ACE Basin suggested that there was greater influence of allochthonous environmental factors (e.g., nutrient loading, changes in turbidity). These interestuarine differences in phytoplankton community structure and control provide insight into the organization of phytoplankton in estuaries.
Reclaiming Instinct Exploring the Phylogenetic Unfolding of Animate Being

Is instinct a viable concept for contemporary psychology? At the turn of the 20th century the concept of human instinct was the focus of extensive discussion. Today instinct has been all but forgotten. This article explores the historical circumstances that led to the rejection of the concept of human instinct. It then turns a critical eye to a number of presuppositions that continue to equate instinct with preprogrammed genetic mechanisms. An expanded and holistic understanding of instinctual life that includes the subjective reality of the organism is then explored. It is suggested that such an expanded account may be a valuable and necessary theoretical tool for broadening our understanding of human psychology as intimately connected to its evolutionary past.
Corporate Credit Spreads under Parameter Uncertainty

This paper assesses the impact of parameter uncertainty on corporate bondcredit spreads. Using data for 5,300 firm-years between 1994 and 2008, wefind that investors’ uncertainty about model parameters explains up to 40% ofthe credit spread that is typically attributed to liquidity, taxes and jump risk,without significantly raising bankruptcy probabilities. Spreads on firms withlarge intangible assets and volatile earnings growth are the most affected byparameter uncertainty. Uncertainty about asset values and volatilities increasessignificantly during times of market stress. In particular, the credit crisis of 2008is characterized by high uncertainty about asset valuations, and parameteruncertainty alone raised credit spreads by as much as 50 basis points. Ourmeasures appear to capture a component of uncertainty that is not capturedby proxies used in the literature.
Rapid Identification of Swarming Proteus Using the PathoTec Ornithine Decarboxylase Test Strip

The PathoTec ornithine decarboxylase test strip was evaluated for use in identification of swarming Proteus. All 181 strains tested were accurately identified within 4 h.
The cognitive driving framework: Joint inference for collision prediction and avoidance in autonomous vehicles

This paper describes a novel method for allowing an autonomous ground vehicle to predict the intent of other agents in an urban environment. This method, termed the cognitive driving framework, models both the intent and the potentially false beliefs of an obstacle vehicle. By modeling the relationships between these variables as a dynamic Bayesian network, filtering can be performed to calculate the intent of the obstacle vehicle as well as its belief about the environment. This joint knowledge can be exploited to plan safer and more efficient trajectories when navigating in an urban environment. Simulation results are presented that demonstrate the ability of the proposed method to calculate the intent of obstacle vehicles as an autonomous vehicle navigates a road intersection such that preventative maneuvers can be taken to avoid imminent collisions. The method is compared to a reactive planner in two intersection navigation scenarios.
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Pros and Cons of Histologic Systems of Evaluation.

The diagnostic phenotype of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)—in particular, the most significant form in terms of prognosis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)—continues to rely on liver tissue evaluation, in spite of remarkable advances in non-invasive algorithms developed from serum-based tests and imaging-based or sonographically-based tests for fibrosis or liver stiffness. The most common tissue evaluation remains percutaneous liver biopsy; considerations given to the needle size and the location of the biopsy have the potential to yield the most representative tissue for evaluation. The pathologist’s efforts are directed to not only global diagnosis, but also assessment of severity of injury. Just as in other forms of chronic liver disease, these assessments can be divided into necroinflammatory activity, and fibrosis with parenchymal remodeling, in order to separately analyze potentially reversible (grade) and non-reversible (stage) lesions. These concepts formed the bases for current methods of evaluating the lesions that collectively comprise the phenotypic spectra of NAFLD. Four extant methods have specific applications; there are pros and cons to each, and this forms the basis of the review.
Fertility Choices and Sex Selection in Asia: Analysis and Policy

High sex ratios in China and India have historically concerned researchers (Sen 1990) and their recent increase has alarmed policymakers worldwide. This paper identifies sex selection via infanticide and abortion as the principal explanation for the sex ratio distortion, and rules out competing explanations such as biology (Oster 2005) or differential mortality rates. Consistent with recent work (Jha et al. 2006), I find that the sex ratio of first-order births is close to the natural rate and steeply rising following the birth of low-order daughters, indicating that mothers are practicing pre-natal sex selection or immediate infanticide. Sex ratios are found to be higher among those anticipating lower fertility, such as those under stricter government fertility limits. I present a model of a mother's fertility choice when she has access to a sex-selection technology and faces a mandated fertility limit. By exploiting variation in fines levied in China for unsanctioned births, I demonstrate that higher fine regimes discourage fertility but are associated with higher sex ratios among those who choose to have an additional child. I then estimate a structural model of parental preferences using China's 2000 census data that indicates that a son is worth 2.90 years of income more than a daughter, and the premium is highest among less educated mothers and rural families. I conclude with a set of simulations to model the effect on sex ratios and total fertility of a proposed subsidy to families who fail to have a son, and find that such a policy would reduce sex ratios and lower overall fertility.
Life-sustaining treatments during terminal illness: who wants what?

Objective: To determine patient characteristics associated with the desire for life-sustaining treatments in the event of terminal illness. Design: In-person survey from October 1986 to June 1988. Setting: 13 internal medicine and family practices in North Carolina. Patients: 2,536 patients (46% of those eligible) aged 65 years and older who were continuing care patients of participating practices, enrolled in Medicare. The patients were slightly older than the 65+ general population, 61% female, and 69% white, and most had one or more chronic illnesses. Measurements and main results: The authors asked the patients whether they would want each of six different treatments (hospitalization, intensive care, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, surgery, artificial ventilation, or tube feeding) if they were to have a terminal illness. The authors combined responses into three categories ranging from the desire for more treatment to the desire for less treatment. After adjustment for other factors, 53% of women chose less treatment compared with 43% of men; 35%ofblacksvs 15% of whites and 23% of the less well educated vs 15% of the better educated expressed the desire for more treatment. High depression scores also were associated with the desire for more treatment (26% for depressed vs 18% for others). Conclusion: Patients’ choices for care in the event of terminal illness relate to an intricate set of demographic, educational, and cultural factors. These results should not be used as a shortcut to determine patient preferences for care, but may provide new insights into the basis for patients’ preferences. In discussing choices for future life-sustaining care, physicians need to explore with each individual the basis for his or her choices.
Computation of the roll characteristics of a long L/D finned projectile and comparison with range data

A recently developed computational technique has been applied to predict the aerodynamic roll characteristics of the M829 kinetic energy projectile. These aerodynamic parameters include the roll producing moment, the roll damping moment, and the equilibrium spin rate, defined as the spin rate for which the net roll moment is zero. These aerodynamic parameters have been determined by computing the flow field about the projectile using a parabolized NavierStokes computational approach. The computations have been performed using a rotating coordinate frame which rotates at the spin rate of the projectile. Comparison is made with results obtained experimentally from range firings and from engineering estimation approaches. The computed equilibrium spin rate and the spin histories agree well with the data obtained from range firings.
Experience of elder abuse among older Korean immigrants

Studies on the scope and nature of Asian American elder abuse conducted with older immigrants are extremely limited. The overall purpose of this study was to examine the extent and type of elder abuse among older Korean immigrants, and to investigate critical predictors of elder abuse in this population. The sample consisted of 200 older Korean immigrants aged 60 to 90 years who resided in Los Angeles County in 2008. One of the key findings indicated that 58.3% of respondents experienced one or more types of elder abuse. Logistic regression indicated that the victims' health status and educational level were statistically significant predictors of the likelihood of experiencing abuse. The present study, although limited in sample size, measures, sampling methods, and population representation, has contributed to this important area of knowledge. It is recommended that future studies conduct research on elder abuse with more representative national samples that can measure the extent of abuse and neglect more accurately.
Understanding Privacy Policies: Content, Self-Regulation, and Markets

The current regulatory approach to consumer information privacy is based on a “notice and choice” self-regulation model, but commentators disagree on its impact. I conduct a comprehensive empirical analysis of 261 privacy policies across seven markets and measure the extent to which they comply with the self-regulatory guidelines of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), US-EU Safe Harbor Agreement, and others. I track terms involving notice, data collection, sharing, enforcement, security, and other practices, and create a measure of substantive protections. The average policy complies with 39% of the FTC guidelines issued in 2012, and there is no evidence that firms have updated their policies in response to these guidelines. Terms that require firms to bear costs or constrain their behavior are less likely to be included. Protections vary widely across markets, however: Adult sites offer the clearest notice of practices and report less data collection and sharing than other sites, while cloud computing firms report more extensively on data security practices. Overall, the results suggest that privacy policies are being shaped as much by market forces as by the current regulatory regime.
Panama Papers: A Celebral Global Madness and What Options to Mitigate this Scourge in the Realm for Prudent Financial Accountability Through Taxation

This paper is a qualitative research dictated by the current unfortunate global financial sham. The paper has many dimensions but is limited within the parameters of taxation. Although, some generic discussions from the discourse of financial management are also discussed to theoretically enrich the paper as it deals with fictitious financial transactions through the establishment of offshore companies within the shores of established tax haven jurisdictions. Tax governance, accountability and transparency are the precepts for ethical financial obligations. They are the central components required in jealously guiding and preserving the wealth of a nation in the course for maintaining healthy and balanced financial transactions that is not devoid of any unethical considerations. This paper is a "post-mortem‟ empirical discussion on the “Panama Papers”. In this paper, the author discusses on the exposition of fraudulent financial transactions by offshore companies in tax haven jurisdictions. The paper also examines the effects of ineffective tax handles in the collections and enforcement of taxes from wealthy individuals and businesses. Findings from this paper suggest that there need to have a more robust tax administration in the drive for responsive compliance risk management strategies that are practicably proactive and responsive in nature. The findings provide a platform for global tax administrations from the developed, developing and transitional economies to work closely and share information in order to better mitigate the scourge of aggressive tax avoidance schemes and tax evasion practices. The paper recommend the need for undeterred financial inclusion, transparent disclosures and that tax administrations to evaluate their existing compliance and risk management tools, strategies and policies in order to conform to international best practices, so as to ameliorate the dangers of fiscal corruption in the form of non or fictitious (under-declarations) and understand how responsive regulation concept can be applied to improve the concept of self-regulated voluntary compliance culture in their administrations. In conclusion, this paper seeks to proffer solutions as to how best to address this global financial leak through the act of taxation by strengthening existing tax handles towards efficiency and effectiveness.
Investigation and analysis of three water pollution incidents in railway centralized water supply stations

Objective find out the causes of the three water pollution incidents to put forward reasonable suggestions to prevent similar incidents from happening again.Methods investigate the basic situation and environment,health survey for the three water supply stations which have happened water pollution incidents in the source water,test the related index of contaminated water and analysis the results.Results the main cause to the pollution of the three railway centralized water supply stations is that water source protection measures are inadequate,the production technology and equipment lags have felled behind.Conclusion It have been common problems that railway centralized water supply corporations only have some obsolete facilities,equipments and the backward production technology,at the same time,water source protection measures are inadequate,it can ensure the safety of railway centralized water supply only by attaching importance to water resources protection,increasing investment of technology,facilities and equipment for railway centralized water supply corporations establishing a sound water management system and water pollution incident handling plan.
Leveraging Semi-Supervised Learning to Predict Student Problem-Solving Performance in Narrative-Centered Learning Environments

This paper presents a semi-supervised machine-learning approach to predicting whether students will be successful in solving problem-solving tasks within narrative-centered learning environments. Results suggest the approach often outperforms standard supervised learning methods.
Epigenetic Mechanism in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and markers are needed for diagnosis and prognosis of this often fatal disease. Genetic mutations and epigenetic alterations act in concert in carcinogenesis of a variety of tumors. Epigenetic alterations are being recognized as significant features in cancer development. Four major players in cancer epigenetic regulation are DNA methylation, histone modifications, noncoding RNA expression, and chromatin remodeling. Initial studies in cancer were conducted in the area of epigenetic regulation of individual genes but later on expanded systematically to larger parts of the chromosome. Hormonal induced nucleosome repositioning and its effects on transcription machinery in breast cancer development presents a better understanding on underlying mechanism. Epigenetic alterations can be used as biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and follow up of treatment. Epigenetic inhibitors have been identified which reactivate tumor suppressor genes and other genes, stop cell proliferation and tumor growth in breast cancer. Among epigenetic inhibitors, histone deacetylase inhibitors are novel clinical anticancer drugs that that inhibit HDAC gene expression and induce apoptosis. The focus of this article is to understand role of epigenetics in breast cancer development. Potential therapeutic approaches of breast cancer and correlation with precision medicine have also been discussed.
Reflections From a Member of the AAP Committee That Prepared “Guidance for Effective Discipline”

* Abbreviation: AAP — : American Academy of Pediatrics I served as a member of the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) from 1994 to 2000. It was in this period that the policy statement, Guidance for Effective Discipline, was prepared, published, and disseminated among professional and lay audiences.1 I remember intense discussions about the content of the article and then multiple revisions on the basis of detailed reviews. I received my first course in media training from the AAP shortly before its publication. Those tips proved useful during tense interviews with skeptical debaters. Eventually, the excitement wound down. Now, 18 years later, it is extremely gratifying to consider that those long hours of voluntary work may have contributed to positive change in parent discipline strategies.2 The study by Ryan et al2 in Pediatrics this month examines 4 different representative national databases from 1988 to 2011, overlapping with publication of the AAP policy statement.2 Parents … Address correspondence to Heidi M. Feldman, MD, PhD, Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Medical School Office Building, 1265 Welch Rd, Room 119, Stanford CA 94305. E-mail: hfeldman{at}stanford.edu
GENE DUPLICATION WITHIN THE FAMILY SALMONIDAE: II. DETECTION AND DETERMINATION OF THE GENETIC CONTROL OF DUPLICATE LOCI THROUGH INHERITANCE STUDIES AND THE EXAMINATION OF POPULATIONS

ABSTRACT . We examine the interpretation of electrophoretic data reflecting duplicated gene loci in salmonid fishes. Genetic models are considered to explain electrophoretic patterns of proteins reflecting duplicated genes where common alleles give rise to proteins of identical electrophoretic mobilities. It is shown that in the absence of breeding data it is impossible to distinguish between a model of tetrasomic inheritance and one of disomic inheritance where alleles segregating at two loci occur at the same frequency. However, it is shown that disomic inheritance can be verified by the examination of population phenotypic distributions under certain conditions. Family data are presented verifying disomic inheritance of malate dehydrogenase in rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri ) and aspartate aminotransferase in chum salmon ( Oncorhynchus keta ). Examination of 19 salmonid biochemical systems indicate that 8 systems clearly reflect, gene duplication, 8 do not, and 3 systems lack variation, precluding detection of gene duplication; genetic variants at all of the duplicated loci appear to segregate disomically. No significant evidence for genetic linkage was found among 10 jointly segregating pairs of loci in rainbow trout and one pair of loci in chum salmon; one comparison in rainbow trout (IDH-AGPDH) approached significance (P=.06).
Parents’ Personal Growth: Expanding the View of Therapy for Child Behavioral Problems

ABSTRACTParenting literature often focuses on parental strategies that promote positive behavioral outcomes for children, but ignores key aspects of parents’ own growth process. This article presents a critical review of current literature on parenting and highlights the importance of focusing on parents’ growth in therapy. A clinical framework to define parents’ growth is offered along with case vignettes and practical guidelines for clinicians in order to assess parents’ growth.
Exposing seam carving forgery under recompression attacks by hybrid large feature mining

While seam carving has been widely used in computer vision and multimedia processing, it is also used for tampering illusions. Although several methods have been proposed to detect seam carving-based forgery, to this date, the detection of the seam carving forgery under recompression attacks in JPEG images has not been explored. To fill this gap, we proposed a hybrid large scale feature mining-based detection method to distinguish the doctored JPEG images from the untouched JPEG images under recompression attacks. Over one hundred thousand features from the spatial domain and from the DCT transform domain are extracted. Ensemble learning is used to deal with the high dimensionality and to avoid overfitting that may occur with some traditional learning classifier for the detection. Our study demonstrates the efficacy of proposed approach to exposing the seam-carving forgery under recompression attacks, especially from a lower quality level or on the same quality recompression.
Hispanics' Retirement Transitions and Differences by Nativity.

Objective: This study examines differences in retirement decisions between older Hispanics and non-Hispanics, with a special focus on the role of nativity. Methods: We use 1998-2012 waves of the He...
Building capacity for dissemination and implementation research: one university’s experience

While dissemination and implementation (D&I) science has grown rapidly, there is an ongoing need to understand how to build and sustain capacity in individuals and institutions conducting research. There are three inter-related domains for capacity building: people, settings, and activities. Since 2008, Washington University in St. Louis has dedicated significant attention and resources toward building D&I research capacity. This paper describes our process, challenges, and lessons with the goal of informing others who may have similar aims at their own institution. An informal collaborative, the Washington University Network for Dissemination and Implementation Research (WUNDIR), began with a small group and now has 49 regular members. Attendees represent a wide variety of settings and content areas and meet every 6 weeks for half-day sessions. A logic model organizes WUNDIR inputs, activities, and outcomes. A mixed-methods evaluation showed that the network has led to new professional connections and enhanced skills (e.g., grant and publication development). As one of four, ongoing, formal programs, the Dissemination and Implementation Research Core (DIRC) was our first major component of D&I infrastructure. DIRC’s mission is to accelerate the public health impact of clinical and health services research by increasing the engagement of investigators in later stages of translational research. The aims of DIRC are to advance D&I science and to develop and equip researchers with tools for D&I research. As a second formal component, the Washington University Institute for Public Health has provided significant support for D&I research through pilot projects and a small grants program. In a third set of formal programs, two R25 training grants (one in mental health and one in cancer) support post-doctoral scholars for intensive training and mentoring in D&I science. Finally, our team coordinates closely with D&I functions within research centers across the university. We share a series of challenges and potential solutions. Our experience in developing D&I research at Washington University in St. Louis shows how significant capacity can be built in a relatively short period of time. Many of our ideas and ingredients for success can be replicated, tailored, and improved upon by others.
Cardiovascular Screening and Primary Prevention in Older Adults.

Evidence for preventive screening and therapeutic intervention for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease is limited for older adults. In this article, we review screening and prevention strategies, including lifestyle, modifiable risk factors, and medications, that may be considered in older adults, with a focus on those ≥75 years, accounting for age, frailty and functional status, medical conditions, and life expectancy.
Effects of Temperature on the Deformation of Beta Brass

Measurements of impact hardness of β-brass are reported for a wide range of temperatures. Abrupt softening is observed when temperatures are raised above 425°C, accompanied by abrupt widening of deformation bands in the deformed samples. Current theories of these effects, and of the lack of twinning, are discussed.
Polymer Waveguides Enabling Scalable Low-Loss Adiabatic Optical Coupling for Silicon Photonics

Optically transparent polymer waveguides are employed for interfacing silicon photonics devices to fibers. The highly confined optical mode in the nanophotonic silicon waveguide is transferred to a fiber-matched polymer waveguide through adiabatic optical coupling by tapering the silicon waveguide. The polymer waveguides are either processed onto the silicon photonics wafer or bonded to individual chips. Fibers are interfaced to the polymer waveguides through butt-coupling. We show polarization and wavelength-tolerant fiber-to-chip coupling loss of less than 3.5 dB across the O-band. The polymer waveguide-to-silicon-chip alignment tolerance is 2 μ m for a loss increase of only 1 dB. Reflection losses are well below −45 dB and the scalability to large numbers of channels is demonstrated. These results open a path to broadband and polarization-tolerant optical packaging of silicon photonics devices for ultrahigh bandwidth applications employing wavelength division multiplexing across multiple channels as envisioned for future data-center interconnects.
Crimes of Color: Risk, Profiling, and the Contemporary Racialization of Social Control

In the United States the phenomenon of racial profiling has emerged as an important and controversial issue within political and criminal justice policy debates. For the most part, these debates have assumed a sort of racism at work in order to explain law enforcement's use of criminal profiles largely determined by racial classifications. Accordingly, many have worked to expose this allegedly racist behavior in the hopes that such exposure will bring an end to the practice. This essay argues that racial profiling is embedded in much larger social developments that must be explored in order to understand the role race now plays in the maintenance of social order in contemporary American society.
Moral Incentives in Cuba

In primitive societies, the technical order becomes embedded in the moral order through a kind of implicit, unformalized, trial-and-error evolution of customary behavior within what is bound to be, after all, a relatively small local group. In a modern society, this requires what has been referred to in the preceding chapter as societal planning.
Paralleles Supercomputing, Perspektiven für die 90er Jahre

Vor genau 10 Jahren wurde mit der CRAY X-MP der erste Multiprozessor-Supercomputer vorgestellt und damit der Weg des Supercomputing in die Parallelverarbeitung eroffnet. (Aufgrund der der Vektorarchitektur zugrundeliegenden Parallelitatsprinzipien konnte man durchaus schon die CRAY-1 als parallelen Supercomputer bezeichnen.) Zum Durchbruch des parallelen Supercomputing trugen dann die Erhohung der Anzahl der Prozessoren, in erster Linie aber die Entwicklung von anwenderfreundlicher Software, zur Parallelisierung bei. Mit Macro-, Micro- und Autotasking hat Cray Research die wesentlichen Standards zur Implementierung von Parallelverarbeitung gesetzt. Das im November 1991 angekundigte Topmodell CRAY Y-MP C90 setzt neue Masstabe fur parallele Supercomputer Performance.
Rectal cancer and importance of chemoradiation in the treatment.

Neoadjuvant chemoradiation is used as a preoperative standard treatment for the majority of patients with Stage II/III rectal cancers and, in attempt to facilitate surgical intervention, reduce the rate of local recurrence and improve overall outcomes in patients suffering from this malignancy. However, this modality results in a wide range of clinical responses. In many cases, a pathological complete response is achieved, while in others, receiving the same form of treatment, the tumor continues to grow. The specific phenotype of the tumor plays a major role in rendering tumor cells a survival advantage to the cytotoxic effects of chemoradiation. Several factors participating in proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis and hypoxia have been investigated under a variety of conditions in pre-irradiated tissues and post-irradiated tumors. Mutations in the genes of these pathways have shown to lead to resistance to chemoradiation. This chapter describes colon cancer with emphasis on the molecular mechanisms that may lead to chemoradio-resistance of cells with cytotoxically induced DNA injury in rectal
Cancer: Epidemiology of Lung Cancer

Lung cancer evolved from a rare disease in the early 1900s to the current leading global cause of cancer death. The lung cancer epidemic can be largely explained by environmental agents; cigarette smoking was identified as its predominant cause in the 1960s. Subsequently, research has progressed to focus on other environmental and genetic factors, emphasizing those that could affect lung cancer risk in smokers. The potential influence of diet on lung cancer risk has been a topic of considerable interest since the 1970s.
Aprepitant for the Treatment of Pruritus in Sézary Syndrome: A Randomized Crossover Clinical Trial.

This randomized clinical trial assesses whether treatment with the neurokinin 1 receptor antagonist aprepitant decreases pruritus vs placebo in patients with Sezary syndrome.
Seismic Response of Rocking Blocks

Monuments, equipment, chimneys, and older intake structures for dams all may rock during strong ground motions. These and other rocking objects are vulnerable to overturning, leading to potential e...
Conventional Thyroidectomy Versus MIT: An Outcome Analysis

Cristiano Huscher of Italy published his data on the first completely endoscopic thyroidectomy in 1997 (Huscher et al. 1997). A review of the literature (Linos 2011) shows that at least 20 different minimally invasive thyroidectomy techniques have been proposed since 1997. Various groups from around the world have published hundreds of papers on their clinical experiences regarding these minimally invasive thyroidectomy techniques. Two of these techniques dominate the literature on minimally invasive thyroidectomy and are the best characterized from an evidenced-based viewpoint. First is the minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy (MIVAT) initially developed in 1999 by Paolo Miccoli (Miccoli et al. 1999). Second is the scarless endoscopic thyroidectomy first reported in 2000 by Yoshifumi Ikeda and his Japanese colleagues (Ikeda et al. 2000) and more recently by various groups of Korean surgeons (Tae et al. 2011; Kang et al. 2009). This technique has also been combined with a robot-assisted technique and/or access via multiple sites including the upper chest wall, breast, and axilla. The surgical techniques for these two minimally invasive thyroidectomy procedures are described in detail elsewhere in this book. It is important to note that MIVAT leaves a scar on the neck while the scarless endoscopic thyroidectomy moves the scar from the neck to another site like the axilla. The remainder of this chapter is an overview of the current literature on these two techniques, with a particular focus on any direct, evidence-based comparisons between the two minimally invasive techniques and the traditional open (Kocher incision) thyroidectomy technique.
Fuzzy-set representation and processing of fuzzy images: non-linguistic vagueness as representation, approximation and scientific practice (Part 2)

This is the second part of a two-part paper in which I conclude the process, initiated elsewhere, of tracking objective conditions of vagueness of representation from language to pictures, from philosophy to imaging science, from vagueness to approximation, from representation to reasoning, with a focus on the application of fuzzy set theory and its challenges.
Argentina, the Arab World, and the Partition of Palestine, 1946–1947

Argentine president Juan Peron’s Third Position policy sought increased cooperation with Global South nations in the Middle East in the hope of counteracting Cold War alignment. The presence of Arab and Jewish immigrant communities in Argentina heightened the government’s interest in the Arab World and attracted the attention of foreign political operatives who hoped to use those expatriate communities to garner support for their side of the upcoming vote on the partition of Palestine at the United Nations. As a result, Argentina became one of the few Latin American nations to affirm the Arab position in the UN partition debates by abstaining from the momentous vote—a strategy often misinterpreted as Argentine neutrality on the Palestine issue. President Peron’s exercise in global autonomy began a legacy of sustained interaction between Argentina and the Arab World and served as a precursor to the future non-aligned movement, all amid the internationalization of the Arab-Israeliconflict and an escalation in Cold War competition.
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Neurological Outcomes: A Review for Practitioners

ABSTRACTThirty-eight million women will experience intimate partner violence (IPV) during the course of their lifetime. Many of these women will experience brain injuries as a result of IPV and may...
Bridges Between Classical and Quantum

The use of quantum theory to model brain functioning has been the subject of much controversy, and some of the objections presented have discouraged many to invest in this area of research. In spite of these objections there is a great variety of basic physics researches, that although not directly applied in the modeling of the mechanisms of the brain, offer different possibilities of the use of quantum formalism to help understand the mechanisms behind the functioning of the brain. In this work, I will make a brief review of this literature and present evidence that there are many opportunities for the association of quantum theory and brain research.
A Novel Nonlinear System Identification for Cerebral Autoregulation in Human: Computer Simulation and Validation

Cerebral autoregulation in healthy humans was studied using a novel methodology adapted from Bendat nonlinear analysis technique. A computer simulation of a high-pass filter in parallel with a cubic nonlinearity followed by a low-pass filter was analyzed. A linear system transfer function analysis showed an incorrect estimate of the gain, cut-off frequency, and phase of the high-pass filter. By contrast, using our nonlinear systems identification, yielded the correct gain, cut-off frequency, and phase of the linear system, and accurately quantified the nonlinear system and following low-pass filter. Adding the nonlinear and linear coherence function indicated a complete description of the system. Cerebral blood flow velocity and arterial pressure were measured in six data sets. Application of the linear and nonlinear systems identification techniques to the data showed a high-pass filter, like the linear transfer function, but the gain was smaller. The phase was similar between the two techniques. The linear coherence was low for frequencies below 0.1 Hz but improved by including a nonlinear term. The linear + nonlinear coherence was approximately 0.9 across the frequency bandwidth, indicating an improved description over the linear system analysis of the cerebral autoregulation system.
A data driven clinical algorithm for differential diagnosis of pertussis and other respiratory infections in infants.

Background Clinical criteria for pertussis diagnosis and clinical case definitions for surveillance are based on a cough lasting two or more weeks. As several pertussis cases seek care earlier, a clinical tool independent of cough duration may support earlier recognition. We developed a data-driven algorithm aimed at predicting a laboratory confirmed pertussis. Methods We enrolled children <12 months of age presenting with apnoea, paroxistic cough, whooping, or post-tussive vomiting, irrespective of the duration of cough. Patients underwent a RT-PCR test for pertussis and other viruses. Through a logistic regression model, we identified symptoms associated with laboratory confirmed pertussis. We then developed a predictive decision tree through Quinlan's C4.5 algorithm to predict laboratory confirmed pertussis. Results We enrolled 543 children, of which 160 had a positive RT-PCR for pertussis. A suspicion of pertussis by a physician (aOR 5.44) or a blood count showing leukocytosis and lymphocytosis (aOR 4.48) were highly predictive of lab confirmed pertussis. An algorithm including a suspicion of pertussis by a physician, whooping, cyanosis and absence of fever was accurate (79.9%) and specific (94.0%) and had high positive and negative predictive values (PPV 76.3% NPV 80.7%). Conclusions An algorithm based on clinical symptoms, not including the duration of cough, is accurate and has high predictive values for lab confirmed pertussis. Such a tool may be useful in low resource settings where lab confirmation is unavailable, to guide differential diagnosis and clinical decisions. Algorithms may also be useful to improve surveillance for pertussis and anticipating classification of cases.
Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria Interference with BCG-Current Controversies and Future Directions

The global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic caused by the bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) continues unabated. The Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination is widely utilized worldwide to protect against infection with M.tb. BCG vaccine protection against TB has had widely varying results for reasons that are not well understood. BCG vaccine interference by non-tuberculosis (NTM) mycobacterial species has been implicated as the potential cause of reduced BCG vaccine efficacy against M.tb. Ongoing efforts to develop new vaccines for TB requires a thorough understanding of the effect of NTM exposure on BCG vaccine efficacy, which may ultimately be a critical determinant of success. We reviewed the conflicting reports on whether NTM interferes with the BCG vaccine, potential explanations to help resolve the controversy, and strategies for developing better animal models. Further studies are needed to longitudinally track the effects of NTM exposure on BCG vaccine-induced host-protective anti-TB immunity.
Adaptive Gaussian Noise Injection Regularization for Neural Networks

We propose whiteout, a family of Noise injection (NI) regularization techniques through injecting adaptive Gaussian noises. Through theoretical analysis, we 1) establish the regularization effect of whiteout in the framework of generalized linear models with a broad range of closed-form penalty terms, including \(l_{\gamma }\) (for \(\gamma \in (0,2]\)), the adaptive lasso, the group lasso, among others; 2) show that whiteout stabilizes the training of NNs with robustness or decreased sensitivity to small perturbations in the input; 3) prove that the noise-perturbed loss function with whiteout converges almost surely to the ideal loss function, and the minimizer of the former is consistent for the minimizer of the latter; 4) derive the tail bound on the noise-perturbed loss function to establish the practical feasibility for optimization. The superiority of whiteout over the Bernoulli NI techniques (dropout and shakeout) in prediction accuracy (up by 2\(\sim \)3%) in relatively small-sized training data and comparability in large-sized training data are demonstrated thorough experiments. This work is the first in-depth theoretical and methodological examination of the regularization effects of Gaussian NI in NNs in general.