cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Legal protection for conscientious objection by health professionals.

A growing number of states is enacting laws to protect the right of health care workers to conscientiously object to perform certain services that are morally opposed to. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Arbitration: The Basics

Arbitration is not a recent phenomenon. In early America, the use of arbitration to resolve disputes predates the United States government and, thus, the establishment of the federal court system by the U.S. Constitution. Arbitration gained considerable popularity in the United States in the 1920s when Wall Street pressed Congress to endorse arbitration as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism to resolve equities disputes. This article is a description of the process of arbitration in the United States. It will focus on the basics of arbitration: its history, its objectives, its scheduling, how the process begins, pre-arbitration matters, the hearing, the award, and the problems with arbitration. The goal of this article is simple and straightforward: to explain the basics of the arbitration process in the United States.
River temperature and the thermal-dynamic transport of sediment

Abstract Spatial and temporal variability of river temperature, and its impact on sediment transport, is explored. Global river temperatures, computed daily using 1980–2010 climate, reflect latitudinal and seasonal variations in solar radiation, wind patterns, humidity, and water sources, and can be cooler or warmer than air temperatures. Subpolar, Polar and High Plateau rivers are cold (TMEAN: 8°); their transport responsiveness is dependent on their minimum temperature. Tropical rivers are warm (TMEAN: >25 °C), less sensitive to temperature swings, and possess a reduced sediment transport capacity; their narrow temperature variability (Tσ: 1° to 4 °C) favors finer-grained sediment transport. Fluid density of river water ranges by 3.5%, and more rarely increases by 170% and thereby increases sediment transport 2.8-fold. Kinematic viscosity has a global range of 72.5%, and works to reduce sediment transport as the river warms. A 25 °C increase in water temperature, due to some combination of river elevation descent, or flow to warmer latitudes, or seasonal increases, can increase grain settling velocities by 7.3%, 42%, 85%, 90% for a 1000-μm, 250-μm, 62.5-μm, or a 10-μm grain respectively, and reduce sediment transport by 90% for a grain size population centered at 62.5 μm, or 300% if centered at 10 μm. The common practice of using fluid density and temperature constants (ρf = 1000 kg/m3, T = 20 °C) in transport models, can greatly under-predict subpolar and alpine river transport and over-predict sediment transport in a tropical river. Temperature variations impact rivers that transport a preponderance of fine sediment, a characteristic of most large rivers. These trends in river temperature and sediment transport have important ecological and anthropogenic implications. The effects on sediment transport will be especially important to quantify under a warming climate and where human influences, such as urbanization, may change the riverine thermal regime.
Refining of the egusi locus in watermelon using KASP assays

Abstract Egusi watermelon (Citrullus mucosospermus), a close relative of sweet watermelon, is an economically important crop grown in many West African countries for its protein and lipid rich edible seeds. Egusi watermelon seeds have a thick, fleshy mucilaginous seed coat layer surrounding the seed coat which is unique to egusi watermelon. The egusi seed trait is controlled by a single recessive Mendelian locus, eg, located on chromosome 6 from 6.75 Mb to 11.03 Mb. This region is 4.28 Mb wide and contains 241 candidate genes. The region lacks adequate markers for fine mapping and for marker-assisted selection (MAS) of the egusi trait. In this study, we used QTL-seq to validate the position of the eg locus and to identify SNP markers to refine the locus. A genomic region associated with the egusi trait was confirmed on chromosome 6 from 5.25 Mb to 7.85 Mb partially overlapping the previously mapped eg locus. SNPs identified from QTL-seq were used to design Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP™) assays for refining the eg locus. The eg locus was remapped at 86.3 cM on the genetic map, co-segregating with marker UGA6_7026576. The refined eg locus is 398.25 Kb long, extending from 6.95 Mb to 7.35 Mb, containing 30 candidate genes. Additional validation of the markers in a diversity panel and the validation population identified marker UGA6_7026576 as associated with the egusi phenotype and useful for MAS.
PREVALENCE OF METABOLIC SYNDROME IN YOUNG ADULTS WITH CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE: A POPULATION ANALYSIS

We aimed to study the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD), the data on which is lacking. A retrospective analysis using the Explorys platform (IBM Inc.), which provides aggregated electronic medical record data for more than 63 million unique
Treating PA Pressures with Use of a CardioMems Device Affects Quality of Life Measures By Improving Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) and 6 Minute Walk Test (6mwt)

Background Projections show that the prevalence of Heart Failure (HF) will increase 46% from 2012 to 2030, resulting in >8 million people greater than 18 years of age with HF. It is the leading diagnosis for our Medicare population today. The CHAMPION trial revealed a reduction in hospitalizations in patients with a PA pressure sensor (CardioMEMS) implanted who had medication adjustments abased on pulmonary artery pressure increases/decreases without regards to symptoms. Objectives Managing PA pressures within patient's individualized thresholds with medication adjustments will improve their quality of life by improving their KCCQ scoring and their 6 minute walk distance. Methods Sanford Cardiovascular Institute in Sioux Falls, SD started implanting CardioMEMs in April 2015. Patients were treated with medication adjustments (increased or decreased) including beta-blockers, ace inhibitors, vasodilators, and diuretics to keep the patient within their individually set thresholds. Data was collected pre implant of the CardioMEMs device on KCCQ and 6mwt scoring and then again 6 to 8 months after implant. Results A total of 20 patients were given a KCCQ pre-implant and 6-8 months post implant, showing an average pre implant KCCQ of 35.5 score and a post implant average KCCQ score of 41.65, thus giving a 14.77% increase in post implant score. A total of 13 patients completed a 6mwt pre-implant and 6-8 months post implant, showing an average pre implant walk of 192.8 meters and a post implant walk average of 225.46 meters, thus giving a 14.49% increase in distance. Conclusion Implantation of a Pulmonary Artery Sensor Pressure Monitoring System can not only reduce hospital admissions, but can improve quality of life based on the improvement in KCCQ scores and 6 minute walk test distances.
Review of Health Consequences of Electronic Cigarettes and the Outbreak of Electronic Cigarette, or Vaping, Product Use-Associated Lung Injury.

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are battery-operated devices to insufflate nicotine or other psychoactive e-liquid aerosols. Despite initial claims of e-cigarettes as a nicotine-cessation device, aggressive marketing of e-cigarettes has led to an explosion in adolescents’ and young adults’ use over the last few years. Coupled with a lack of adequate investigation and regulation of e-cigarettes, the USA is facing an outbreak of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) starting in mid-2019. While little long-term health hazard data are available, the components and constituents of e-cigarettes may adversely impact health. Propylene glycol and glycerin are humectants (water-retaining excipients) that generate pulmonary irritants and carcinogenic carbonyl compounds (e.g., formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein) when heated in e-cigarettes. Metals contained in heating coils and cartridge casings may leach metals such as aluminum, chromium, iron, lead, manganese, nickel, and tin. Flavoring agents are considered safe for ingestion but lack safety data for inhalational exposures. Diacetyl, a common buttery flavoring agent, has known pulmonary toxicity with inhalational exposures leading to bronchiolitis obliterans. In 2019, clusters of lung injury associated with e-cigarette use were identified in Wisconsin and Illinois. Patients with EVALI present with a constellation of respiratory, gastrointestinal, and constitutional symptoms. Radiographically, patients have bilateral ground glass opacifications. As of February 18, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control has identified 2807 hospitalized patients diagnosed with either “confirmed” or “probable” EVALI in the US. Currently, vitamin E acetate (VEA) used as a diluent in tetrahydrocannabinol vape cartridges is implicated in EVALI. VEA cuts tetrahydrocannabinol oil without changing the appearance or viscosity. When inhaled, pulmonary tissue lacks the mechanism to metabolize and absorb VEA, which may lead to its accumulation. While most EVALI patients were hospitalized, treatment remains largely supportive, and use of corticosteroids has been associated with clinical improvement. The outbreak of EVALI highlights the need for regulation of e-cigarette devices and e-liquids. Clinicians need to be aware of the health hazards of e-cigarettes and be vigilant in asking about vaping.
Instrumentation following intradural tumor resection: A case analyses and literature review.

Background Resection of intradural spinal tumors typically utilizes a posterior approach and often contributes to significant biomechanical instability and sagittal deformity. Methods We searched PubMed for studies regarding pre- and postoperative spine biomechanics/alignment in patients with intradural tumors undergoing posterior decompressions. Results Three patients underwent posterior decompressions with instrumented fusions to preserve good sagittal alignment postoperatively. Variables analyzed in this study included the extent of preoperative and postoperative deformity, the number of surgical levels decompressed and fused, the different frequencies of instability following the resection of cervical versus thoracic versus lumbar lesions, and whether pediatric patients were most likely to develop instability. Conclusion Simultaneously performing instrumented fusions following posterior spinal decompressions for tumor removal proved optimal in preventing postoperative spinal deformity. Further, "open" surgical procedures offered more optimal/definitive tumor removal versus minimally invasive approaches, and the greater operative exposure and resultant increased risk for instability were remediated by performing simultaneous fusion.
Ethical Challenges Encountered by Clinical Trials Nurses: A Grounded Theory Study.

Objectives To investigate the ethical challenges experienced by oncology clinical trials nurses (OCTNs) during the management of CTs and to examine how they resolve those conflicts. Sample & setting 12 licensed RNs who had been practicing as full- or part-time OCTNs for a minimum of two years at various academic medical centers in the United States. Methods & variables Classical grounded theory (CGT), an inductive methodology used to explore a social process in which little is known and to develop a theory grounded in the data, was used, in addition to CGT data analysis strategies. Results CGT data analysis revealed the OCTNs' main concern (implementing an undefined job) and the way in which the OCTNs resolve this concern through the process of figuring it out. Figuring it out consists of learning as they go, utilizing their assets, standing their ground, and managing hope. Implications for nursing Although some nursing research provides examples of ethical challenges OCTNs might encounter in practice, there is little information regarding how nurses manage those encounters. A theoretical understanding of the OCTNs' experiences managing ethical challenges fills a gap in the nursing literature and provides a framework for how OCTNs manage and respond to challenges in professional practice.
CLIMATE CHANGE Adaptation AND INEQUALITY IN AFRICA: CASE OF WATER, ENERGY AND FOOD INSECURITY

Abstract In this paper we analyze the relationship between social inequality and climate change policy actions in African countries. We examine whether the needs of the poor influence mitigation and adaptation policies in the region. The continent is characterized by an interesting dynamic between inequality and climate change: it is predicted to disproportionately bear the effects of climate change, at the same time that it accounts for four out of the top five countries with the starkest inequality globally. In our analysis, we construct a statistical measure of social inequality for a group of 54 African countries and use the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to obtain corresponding data on mitigation and adaptation policy actions. We then estimate the intensity of the responsiveness of the latter to the former. Using fractional regression and data imputation methods, we find a statistically significant negative relationship between social inequality and climate change policy actions in Africa. Across African countries, mitigation and adaptation actions fall by about 23% for every 1% rise in social inequality. African countries are therefore not responding to climate change threats in ways that simultaneously reduce social inequality and adapt to climate change. Furthermore, there is some evidence that countries emitting more pollutants are less likely to take action to address climate change. Our results imply that in order to address differences in the burden of climate change in Africa, a re-evaluation of current policy actions is warranted.
Inferential models and possibility measures

The inferential model (IM) framework produces data-dependent, non-additive degrees of belief about the unknown parameter that are provably valid. The validity property guarantees, among other things, that inference procedures derived from the IM control frequentist error rates at the nominal level. A technical complication is that IMs are built on a relatively unfamiliar theory of random sets. Here we develop an alternative -- and practically equivalent -- formulation, based on a theory of possibility measures, which is simpler in many respects. This new perspective also sheds light on the relationship between IMs and Fisher's fiducial inference, as well as on the construction of optimal IMs.
Civil Disobedience, Not Merely Conscientious Objection, In Medicine

Those arguing that conscientious objection in medicine should be declared unethical by professional societies face the following challenge: conscientious objection can function as an important reforming mechanism when it involves health care workers refusing to participate in certain medical interventions deemed standard of care and legally sanctioned but which undermine patients’ rights. In such cases, the argument goes, far from being unethical, conscientious objection may actually be a professional duty. I examine this sort of challenge and ultimately argue that these acts of conscience done in the interest of reforming professional norms or medical regulations are best understood as episodes of civil disobedience rather than episodes of conscientious objection. In contrast to the private, exempting nature of conscientious objection, civil disobedience is a public breach of a norm or law undertaken with the aim of bringing about a change in governmental policies or professional standards. Consequently, clinicians may have a duty to engage in civil disobedience even while professional societies are right to declare limitations on the ethical appropriateness of conscientious objection.
Optimizing Predictive Maintenance With Machine Learning for Reliability Improvement

AbstractPredictive maintenance, as a form of pro-active maintenance, has increasing usage and shows significant superiority over the corrective and preventive maintenance. However, conventional met...
Birds of a Feather + Other Aerial Acrobats

Spatial storytelling, of all kinds, has structured cultural trajectories—grounding practices, customs and traditions, globally. This essay suggests the possibility of narrative spatial constructions as forms of world building—ways of setting out evidence, teasing out potential metaphorical crimes, as a form of creative participation, with a world. Through interfaces of spatial actors, actions, and situations, lush mini-cosmologies can be constructed—breaking boundaries, takings risks and putting the ‘form follows function’ paradigm, human-centric space, and temporal continuities, at risk. Trading on analogic thinking, surrealist tactics, and techniques of film making, the production of worlds in worlds, might enable retreat from other realities—a form of generative parallax. The potential of modes of visualization, coupled with the use of language, are important in generating alternative cultural, and non-human, imaginaries. Stimulating real and fictional skies, and distant horizons, this work fuels a creative imagination, challenging default assumptions, and reframing what is taken for granted.
Immediate ECMO Initiation Leads to Graft Recovery in Delayed Graft Failure after Heart Transplant

Introduction Graft failure is a leading cause of thirty-day mortality for heart transplant (HTx). Primary graft dysfunction, defined as occurring within 24 hours of transplantation, is the most frequent cause of graft failure. We present a rare case of delayed graft failure, which occurred on postoperative day (POD) 9, of unknown cause successfully recovered by immediate veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) initiation and subsequent biventricular assist device (BiVAD) support. Case Report A 55-year-old male with end stage heart failure from ischemic cardiomyopathy and severe peripheral vascular disease (PVD) underwent successful HTx surgery. On POD 6, he was transferred out of the ICU in stable condition. His POD 6 transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) showed left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of 60% with mild-moderately reduced right ventricular (RV) function. On POD 9, the patient went into sudden cardiac arrest, with return of spontaneous circulation after cardiopulmonary resuscitation. VA-ECMO was initiated immediately afterward, with right axillary arterial percutaneous cannulation due to severe PVD. A subsequent TTE showed LVEF of 5%, and a nearly akinetic RV, concerning for delayed graft failure. The patient was transitioned to extracorporeal BiVAD support on POD 21. A biopsy taken POD 21 showed non-infective myocarditis with no evidence of rejection. Prior to BiVAD explant (POD 78), TTE showed improved heart function: LVEF of 45% and only moderately reduced RV function. The BiVAD was explanted after 63 days of support. He was discharged 34 days after BiVAD explant; the presumed cause of delayed graft failure was secondary to residual pulmonary hypertension post-HTx. Summary In a case of rare delayed graft failure of unknown cause, immediate VA-ECMO initiation, followed by proper MCS management successfully rescued graft function.
Medical Martial Law: Towards a More Effective Pandemic Policy

This article synthesizes the political-economic geography regime with existing political subdivision modeling to predict the legitimacy of various authorities that might order medical martial law. Such “districting” authority, as limited by the Constitutional right to travel, reveals a range of authorities to declare and enforce remediation of emergencies under various legal frameworks within defined geographic areas. The primary interdisciplinary approach used here is public policy, political economy and economic geography. We demonstrate how the latter contributes greatly. First, the science of spatial understanding is offered by physical geographers for the physical barriers that shape political borders and may define contagion vectors based largely on traditional travel patterns. Second, economic geography provides insight into the size, shape and extent of regional trade areas within which contagion vectors may be predicted. Third, the policy reach of various political entities and subdivisions is considered to yield insights fusing political geography with political science through the law.
A Method for Calculating Trustworthiness in Social Networks

This paper presents a model for computing total trust, essentially a mass function with values for the trust, distrust, and uncertainty (about trust and distrust) an agent (the trustor) should have in a certain other agent (the trustee). There are three components that contribute to total trust: direct trust or distrust, based on the trustor's direct experience with the trustee, indirect trust or distrust, based on referrals the trustor receives from other agents regarding the trustee, and inherent trust or distrust, which exists because of the social context of the agents. Each of these three components provides a mass function with values for trust, distrust and uncertainity, and the Analytic Hierarchal Process (AHP) is used to find weights for combining these functions when there is exactly one referral providing indirect trust. When there are $n > 1$ referrals, there is an indirect-trust mass function for each referral, and the component of total trust provided by indirect trust is the average of these mass functions. As $n$ increases, the weight for indirect trust grows at the expense of the weight for direct trust. The contributions of this paper are the notion of inherent trust, using AHP to provide weights for combining the contributions to total trust, and how we compute the decrease in the contribution of direct trust and increase in indirect trust as the number of referrals increases.
Introduction to Special Issue: Diverse Disciplinary Approaches to the Study of Adolescent Religious and Spiritual Development

This editorial introduces the special issue on Diverse Disciplinary Approaches to the Study of Adolescent Religious and Spiritual Development. First, a case is made for the importance of the special issue, focusing on the utility of diverse approaches in providing a richer understanding of the phenomena of interest. Second, a summary is given of the six target pieces in the special issue. These target articles were written by scholars from six disciplines doing work relevant to adolescent religious and spiritual development: developmental psychology, sociology, cultural psychology, social and personality psychology, cognitive psychology, and developmental neuroscience. It is hoped that this special issue strengthens the quality of scholarship in this research area, encourages interdisciplinary work, and enriches our understanding of adolescent religious and spiritual development.
Potential of fertilizer segregation during application using spinner disc spreader

Granular blended fertilizers are commonly applied using spinner disc spreaders in the U.S. with recent advances including wider spreads. Today, uniformity of spread is important as growers and custom applicators attempt to implement site-specific management and utilize global navigation satellite systems (GNSS)-based guidance systems which permit equipment to follow the same field traverses over time. However, the variation in physical properties of nitrogen-N, phosphorous-P and potassium-K components of blended fertilizers make it difficult to spread them uniformly, leading to segregation. Segregation negatively impacts precision application. Therefore, an investigation was conducted to understand the potential of fertilizer segregation during application with a spinner disc spreader. A series of standard pan tests were carried out for evaluating nutrient distribution for a blended fertilizer (10–26–26). Treatments included two feed rates (224 and 448 kg ha−1) and three spinner disc speeds (600, 700 and 800 rpm). The results indicated that application of the blended fertilizer resulted in non-uniform spread of the nutrients. Distinct nutrient patterns were generated for the different constituents; “W” shaped for DAP-P2O5 and “M” for Potash-K2O regardless of feed rate and spinner disc speed. An increase in spinner disc speed widened the maximum transverse distance travelled by particles. However, it was not equal in magnitude for DAP (P2O5) and Potash (K2O) highlighting the possibility of segregation. The level of segregation increased with spinner disc speed (p 0.05) as DAP (P2O5) particles travelled farther with increase in speed due to larger mean particle size of 3.2 mm against 3.0 mm for potash (K2O).
DNA Polymerase θ: A Cancer Drug Target with Reverse Transcriptase Activity

The emergence of precision medicine from the development of Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors that preferentially kill cells defective in homologous recombination has sparked wide interest in identifying and characterizing additional DNA repair enzymes that are synthetic lethal with HR factors. DNA polymerase theta (Polθ) is a validated anti-cancer drug target that is synthetic lethal with HR factors and other DNA repair proteins and confers cellular resistance to various genotoxic cancer therapies. Since its initial characterization as a helicase-polymerase fusion protein in 2003, many exciting and unexpected activities of Polθ in microhomology-mediated end-joining (MMEJ) and translesion synthesis (TLS) have been discovered. Here, we provide a short review of Polθ‘s DNA repair activities and its potential as a drug target and highlight a recent report that reveals Polθ as a naturally occurring reverse transcriptase (RT) in mammalian cells.
Racialized minorities, trust, and crisis: Muslim-American nonprofits, their leadership and government relations during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affects already-vulnerable minorities, highlighting the need for strong, trusting relationships between governments and minority nonprofits for everyone's benefit. The current scholarship suggests minority members often lack trust in government. This study contributes to the field by examining trust levels Muslim-American nonprofits have for federal, state, and local government. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Muslim nonprofit leaders believe that they may be discriminated against in the award of CARES Act funding, but on racial rather than religious ones. Moreover, partisanship affects trust levels. Muslim nonprofits in Republican “red” states show less trust in government compared with those in Democratic “blue” states. This study finds evidence that past relationships with the government strengthen trust. Past awards of government grants correlated positively with higher trust at both federal and local levels. © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC
Introduction and Perspective

Cancer is the general term for a series of neoplastic (Gr. neos new, plasma formation) diseases that are characterized by changes in a cell leading to abnormal (unordered and uncontrolled) cellular proliferation. Cancer is commonly encountered in all animals except the lower forms (see Chapter 9), and even plants develop growths that resemble cancer. Cancer is well known in all human populations and has probably been with us from the beginning of time. Indeed some fossilized dinosaur bones have been located that seem to reflect damage attributable to cancer.
A systematic comparison of feature space effects on disease classifier performance for phenotype identification of five diseases

Display Omitted Systematic assessment of common machine learning methods on document phenotype classification.Five diseases studied: Obesity, CAD, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes.Statistical testing of model performance using approximate randomization techniques.As expected, semantic features (UMLS-CUI) present in most top performing models.Unexpectedly, many models without semantic features not statistically significantly different from top performing model in each disease. Automated phenotype identification plays a critical role in cohort selection and bioinformatics data mining. Natural Language Processing (NLP)-informed classification techniques can robustly identify phenotypes in unstructured medical notes. In this paper, we systematically assess the effect of naive, lexically normalized, and semantic feature spaces on classifier performance for obesity, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CAD), hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes. We train support vector machines (SVMs) using individual feature spaces as well as combinations of these feature spaces on two small training corpora (730 and 790 documents) and a combined (1520 documents) training corpus. We assess the importance of feature spaces and training data size on SVM model performance. We show that inclusion of semantically-informed features does not statistically improve performance for these models. The addition of training data has weak effects of mixed statistical significance across disease classes suggesting larger corpora are not necessary to achieve relatively high performance with these models.
Regulation of Th2 Cytokine Genes by p38 MAPK-Mediated Phosphorylation of GATA-3

GATA-3 plays a critical role in allergic diseases by regulating the release of cytokines from Th2 lymphocytes. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of GATA-3 in human T lymphocytes are not yet understood. Using small interfering RNA to knock down GATA-3, we have demonstrated its critical role in regulating IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 release from a human T cell line. Specific stimulation of T lymphocytes by costimulation of CD3 and CD28 to mimic activation by APCs induces translocation of GATA-3 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, with binding to the promoter region of Th2 cytokine genes, as determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation. GATA-3 nuclear translocation is dependent on its phosphorylation on serine residues by p38 MAPK, which facilitates interaction with the nuclear transporter protein importin-alpha. This provides a means whereby allergen exposure leads to the expression of Th2 cytokines, and this novel mechanism may provide new approaches to treating allergic diseases.
Secure biometric authentication for weak computational devices

This paper presents computationally “lightweight” schemes for performing biometric authentication that carry out the comparison stage without revealing any information that can later be used to impersonate the user (or reveal personal biometric information). Unlike some previous computationally expensive schemes — which make use of slower cryptographic primitives — this paper presents methods that are particularly suited to financial institutions that authenticate users with biometric smartcards, sensors, and other computationally limited devices. In our schemes, the client and server need only perform cryptographic hash computations on the feature vectors, and do not perform any expensive digital signatures or public-key encryption operations. In fact, the schemes we present have properties that make them appealing even in a framework of powerful devices capable of public-key signatures and encryptions. Our schemes make it computationally infeasible for an attacker to impersonate a user even if the attacker completely compromises the information stored at the server, including all the server’s secret keys. Likewise, our schemes make it computationally infeasible for an attacker to impersonate a user even if the attacker completely compromises the information stored at the client device (but not the biometric itself, which is assumed to remain attached to the user and is not stored on the client device in any form).
A Second Chance to Make a First Impression: Factors Affecting the Longevity of Online Dating Relationships

This research explored the transition of romantic relationships from meeting online to the first face-to-face date. It is inevitable that impressions of a partner will change to some degree, but how much, and with what consequences? One hundred and fifty users of a popular online dating site participated in the study. They recalled a person whom they had met through the site, reporting their impressions of their partners from both before and after the first face-to-face meeting. We expected, based on prior research demonstrating the importance of physical attractiveness in romantic attraction both on- and offline, that changes in beliefs about partners’ physical appeal would be the most powerful predictor of relationship longevity. However, they were unrelated to relationship success. Across all the dimensions we examined, impressions were in fact relatively stable, but when respondents said they knew their partners better after meeting face-to-face, relationships lasted longer.v
Green's functions for Neumann boundary conditions

Green's functions for Neumann boundary conditions have been considered in Math Physics and Electromagnetism textbooks, but special constraints and other properties required for Neumann boundary conditions have generally not been noticed or treated correctly. In this paper, we derive an appropriate Neumann Green's function with these constraints and properties incorporated.
THE ROLES OF FAT AND PH ON THE DETECTION THRESHOLDS AND PARTITION COEFFICIENTS OF THREE COMPOUNDS: DIACETYL, δ-DECALACTONE AND FURANEOL

The effect of fat and pH on the best estimate threshold (BET) of three prominent dairy product flavor compounds with varying physicochemical properties: diacetyl (2, 3-butanedione), δ-decalactone and furaneol (2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3[2H]-furanone), in water, oil and oil-in-water model emulsions (at 10 and 20% fat at neutral and acidified pH 5.5) were investigated. The headspace-matrix partition coefficients (KHS/matrix) of each compound in the different matrixes were established using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The particle size of the emulsions was controlled. Fat had the largest impact on the BET and partition coefficients of δ-decalactone followed by diacetyl (P ≤ 0.05). Fat content did not affect the BET value of furaneol (P > 0.05) but some effects on partition coefficients were noted (P ≤ 0.05). BET values of the three compounds were unaffected by pH (P > 0.05), but differences in partition coefficients (P ≤ 0.05) were noted for diacetyl and furaneol. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS This manuscript provides a better understanding of sensory detection thresholds as a result of partitioning of three flavor compounds that are different in physico-chemical properties and are prominent in dairy product flavor. The acquired knowledge on these compounds may assist product developers in adjusting levels of flavor compounds in reduced fat products to achieve products similar in flavor properties to full fat products, considering the effect of fat and pH of the products on the compounds. Understanding the partition coefficients and detection threshold of one of the compounds studied, diacetyl, may also provide insights in ongoing debates on diacetyl and its safety levels in dairy products.
1 Binding Energy and Catalysis

Publisher Summary Enzymic reactions are characterized by two principal properties: high catalytic efficiency and selectivity. Both properties ultimately derive from the binding of substrate molecules at the active site and the subsequent stabilization of the transition state. It is only this binding process, in fact, which distinguishes enzymic catalysis from simple homogeneous chemical catalysis as it is expected that enzymes otherwise obey all the rules of standard chemical reactions. Both types of reactions share common features such as use of general acids and bases to facilitate proton transfers and have predictable variations in reaction rate with experimental parameters. Only recently has it been possible to synthesize nonenzymic models that begin to approach the complexity and specificity of enzymic active sites. Both experimental and theoretical work has indicated that enzymic reactions are favored by the preassociation of the reactants at the active site. Numerous intramolecular reactions have been studied as models for analogous enzymic reactions, particularly the acyl transfer reactions characteristic of the serine proteases, and much recent work has been directed toward design of models, which incorporate binding interactions.
Reduction in hybrid single muscle fiber proportions with resistance training in humans.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of 12 wk of progressive resistance training (PRT) on single muscle fiber myosin heavy chain (MHC; I, I/IIa, I/IIa/IIx, IIa, IIa/IIx, IIx...
Effects of Escherichia coli Heat-stable Enterotoxin b on Small Intestinal Villi in Pigs, Rabbits, and Lambs

Culture supernates from two strains of E. coli were placed into different ligated intestinal sections (loops) of each animal. The two bacterial strains were identical except that one contained a pl...
Analysis of high-throughput RNAi screening data in identifying genes mediating sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs: statistical approaches and perspectives

High-throughput RNA interference (RNAi) screens have been used to find genes that, when silenced, result in sensitivity to certain chemotherapy drugs. Researchers therefore can further identify drug-sensitive targets and novel drug combinations that sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. Considerable uncertainty exists about the efficiency and accuracy of statistical approaches used for RNAi hit selection in drug sensitivity studies. Researchers require statistical methods suitable for analyzing high-throughput RNAi screening data that will reduce false-positive and false-negative rates. In this study, we carried out a simulation study to evaluate four types of statistical approaches (fold-change/ratio, parametric tests/statistics, sensitivity index, and linear models) with different scenarios of RNAi screenings for drug sensitivity studies. With the simulated datasets, the linear model resulted in significantly lower false-negative and false-positive rates. Based on the results of the simulation study, we then make recommendations of statistical analysis methods for high-throughput RNAi screening data in different scenarios. We assessed promising methods using real data from a loss-of-function RNAi screen to identify hits that modulate paclitaxel sensitivity in breast cancer cells. High-confidence hits with specific inhibitors were further analyzed for their ability to inhibit breast cancer cell growth. Our analysis identified a number of gene targets with inhibitors known to enhance paclitaxel sensitivity, suggesting other genes identified may merit further investigation. RNAi screening can identify druggable targets and novel drug combinations that can sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. However, applying an inappropriate statistical method or model to the RNAi screening data will result in decreased power to detect the true hits and increase false positive and false negative rates, leading researchers to draw incorrect conclusions. In this paper, we make recommendations to enable more objective selection of statistical analysis methods for high-throughput RNAi screening data.
The motor response to intestinal resection: Motor activity in the canine small intestine following distal resection

Abstract Background: The mucosal response to intestinal resection has been extensively studied; little is known of the motor response. Our aim was to evaluate motility in the intestinal remnant following distal resection. Methods: Motor activity, duodenocecal transit, nutrition, and absorption were studied over a 3-month period in control animals (n = 9) and in groups of dogs who had undergone 25% (n = 6), 50% (n = 5), and 75% (n = 5) distal resection. Results: Diarrhea and steatorrhea developed in each resection group, and the 75% group alone developed true short bowel syndrome. Resection did not affect migrating motor complex frequency or periodicity; phase 1 duration was shorter in the 75% group (control vs. 75%: 22 ± 4 vs. 6 ± 2 minutes, P P Conclusions: The initial motor response to major resections of the distal small intestine is dominated by the development of abnormal patterns. This motor disruption may contribute to the symptomatology and clinical features of the short bowel syndrome.
Spoken web: a parallelweb for the masses: industry keynote

In India and several other countries, the number of mobile phone subscribers far exceeds the number of personal computer users, and continues to grow at a much faster pace (it has already crossed the 450 million mark in India). We will present Spoken Web, an attempt to create a new world wide web, accessible over the telephone network, for the masses in these countries. The Spoken Web is based on the concepts of Hyperspeech and Hyperspeech Transfer Protocol that allow creation of "VoiceSites" and traversal of "VoiceLinks". We describe a simple voice-driven application, which allows people, without any information technology background, to create, host, and access such VoiceSites, and traverse VoiceLinks, using a voice interface over the telephone. We present our experience from pilots conducted in villages in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. These pilots demonstrate the ease with which a semi-literate and non-IT savvy population can create VoiceSites with locally relevant content, including schedule of education/training classes, agicultural information, and professional services, and their strong interest in accessing this information over the telephone network. We describe several outstanding challenges and opportunities in creating and using a Spoken Web for facilitating exchange of information and conducting business transactions.
A Comparative Study of the Sapphire and Equistream Hemodialysis Tunneled Cuffed Catheters

Abstract Background Tunneled cuffed catheters (TCCs) for hemodialysis are plagued by high dysfunction and infection rates and research toward improved products is extremely important to improve hemodialysis quality. The aim of our study was to compare 2 different TCC types. Methods Two hundred seventy-six TCCs in 246 patients referred for new TCC placement or exchange of a pre-existing TCC over a guide wire were studied, including 144 Equistream TCCs (Bard Access Systems, Salt Lake City, UT) and 132 Sapphire TCC historical controls (Covidien, Mansfield, MA). The 2 study groups were mostly comparable in terms of baseline characteristics. Results Primary assisted patency (PAS) at 6 months with the Equistream and Sapphire TCCs was 80.6% and 81.3%, respectively ( p =0.45). PAS at the internal jugular site was better than the femoral site (86.3% and 66.7%, respectively) at 3 months ( p p =0.20). TCC material failure-free rate at 6 months after TCC exchange for dysfunction compared with the remaining cohort was 85.2% versus 98.9%, respectively ( p p p =0.43), respectively. Conclusions The 2 catheter types are equivalent in terms of PAS. The use of historical controls necessitates confirmation by a randomized controlled trial, whereas the mechanical problems of the Equistream TCCs deserve further investigation.
Development of grating acuity, letter acuity, and visual fields in small-for-gestational-age preterm infants

Abstract Visual acuity and visual field development were assessed longitudinally in 21 preterm children who were born small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and in 51 preterm children who were appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA). Grating acuity was tested binocularly at 0–1 month and monocularly at 4, 9, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36 and 48 months corrected age, using Teller acuity cards. Visual fields were measured binocularly using kinetic perimetry at the same ages. Recognition (letter) acuity testing was attempted using the crowded HOTV test in all subjects who came in for testing at 36 and 48 months. Children in the SGA group were matched to children in the AGA group by gestational age (± 3 weeks) and type of perinatal medical complications. There were no significant differences in grating acuity or binocular visual field size between the SGA and AGA groups. 78% of acuity scores for individual SGA-AGA pairs fell within one octave of perfect agreement. Binocular visual field size for each SGA-AGA pair also showed good agreement. Fewer SGA than AGA subjects were able to perform recognition acuity testing, and those SGA subjects who were able to perform the test, showed consistently poorer recognition acuity than their AGA counterparts. Thus, being SGA does not pose an additional risk for the development of grating acuity or binocular visual field size over the first 4 years of life in preterm children. SGA preterm children may be at risk, however, for acuity deficits when acuity is measured with the more complex targets and the greater test distance used to measure recognition acuity.
Linkages between soil micro-site properties and CO2 and N2O emissions during a simulated thaw for a northern prairie Mollisol

Abstract Biologically derived emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) at 0 °C vary with soil depth during soil thawing. Micro-site soil properties, especially those which influence porosity and substrate availability, also vary with depth and may help explain gas emissions. Intact soil cores collected to a depth of 80 cm from an undisturbed prairie Mollisol in central North Dakota were uniformly subjected to distinct temperature steps during a simulated soil thaw (−15 to 5 °C) and sampled for CO 2 and N 2 O emissions throughout the soil profile. Emission data were fit to a first order exponential equation ( E = α e βT ). Cores were then analyzed in 10 cm depth increments for micro-site properties including root length and mass, aggregation, and organic substrate availability (available, aggregate-protected and mineral-bound pools). Both CO 2 and N 2 O emissions at 0 °C declined exponentially with depth. Emissions of CO 2 and N 2 O at 0 °C were strongly related to root length ( R 2 = 0.80 and 0.76, respectively), root mass ( R 2 = 0.56 and 0.74), large macroaggregate mass ( R 2 = 0.63 and 0.54), and aggregate-protected organic matter ( R 2 > 0.57), while available organic matter was related to CO 2 ( R 2 > 0.60) and not N 2 O. When CO 2 and N 2 O emissions were normalized by available and aggregate-protected carbon pools, respectively, nutrient use efficiency increased significantly with depth. Results suggest CO 2 and N 2 O emissions are (1) positively influenced by the rhizosphere and (2) differentially affected by substrate pool or location. CO 2 emissions were more positively affected by available substrate, while N 2 O emissions were more positively affected by less labile, aggregate-protected substrate.
Direct observation of the threshold for electron heating in silicon dioxide.

Vacuum-emission and carrier-separation techniques, together with novel metal-oxide-semiconductor structures, have been used to observe the threshold field for the onset of electron heating in silicon dioxide. The magnitude of this electric field is \ensuremath{\cong} 1.5-2.0 MV/cm, independent of oxide thickness and composition. This value is consistent with all of the current theoretical calculations. A minimum average electronic energy of \ensuremath{\cong} 1.0 eV is shown to be necessary to observe emission of the electrons into vacuum.
The Effects of Cuing on Picture Naming in Aphasia

This study compared the facilitative values of six types of cue for eliciting picture naming responses from Brocas, Wernickes, and anomic aphasics. Degree of responsivity to cues was inversely related to severity of naming disorder. Type of cue, severity of naming disorder, and diagnostic category contributed significantly to the results obtained, though the diagnostic groups did not show differential patterns of response to the cues. First Sounds and Completion sentences were the most effective cues. The finding of diagnostic group differences in degree of responsivity to cues, without differential sensitivity to type of cue, was interpreted as indicating that a single factor might account for group differences in ability to benefit from cuing.