cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Direct and Indirect Costs of Non-Vertebral Fracture Patients with Osteoporosis in the US

Background: Osteoporosis is a condition marked by low bone mineral density and the deterioration of bone tissue. One of the main clinical and economic consequences of osteoporosis is skeletal fractures. Objective: To assess the healthcare and work loss costs of US patients with non-vertebral (NV) osteoporotic fractures. Methods: Privately insured (aged 18–64 years) and Medicare (aged ≥65 years) patients with osteoporosis (ICD-9-CM code: 733.0x) were identified during 1999–2006 using two claims databases. Patients with an NV fracture (femur, pelvis, lower leg, upper arm, forearm, rib or hip) were matched randomly on age, sex, employment status and geographic region to controls with osteoporosis and no fractures. Patient characteristics and annual healthcare costs were assessed over the year following the index fracture for privately insured (n = 4764) and Medicare (n = 48 742) beneficiaries (Medicare drug costs were estimated using multivariable models). Indirect (i.e. work loss) costs were calculated for a subset of privately insured, employed patients with available disability data (n = 1148). All costs were reported in $US, year 2006 values. Results: In Medicare, mean incremental healthcare costs per NV fracture patient were $US13 387 ($US22 466 vs $US9079; p < 0.05). The most expensive patients had index fractures of the hip, multiple sites and femur (incremental costs of $US25 519, $US20 137 and $US19 403, respectively). Patients with NV non-hip (NVNH) fractures had incremental healthcare costs of $US7868 per patient ($US16 704 vs $US8836; p < 0.05). Aggregate annual incremental healthcare costs of NVNH patients in the Medicare research sample (n = 35 933) were $US282.7 million compared with $US204.1 million for hip fracture patients (n = 7997). Among the privately insured, mean incremental healthcare costs per NV fracture patient were $US5961 ($US11 636 vs $US5675; p < 0.05). The most expensive patients had index fractures of the hip, multiple sites and pelvis (incremental costs of $US13 801, $US9642 and $US8164, respectively). Annual incremental healthcare costs per NVNH patient were $US5381 ($US11 090 vs $US5709; p < 0.05). Aggregate annual incremental healthcare costs of NVNH patients in the privately insured sample (n = 4478) were $US24.1 million compared with $US3.5 million for hip fracture patients (n = 255). Mean incremental work loss costs per NV fracture employee were $US1956 ($US4349 vs $US2393; p < 0.05). Among patients with available disability data, work loss accounted for 29.5% of total costs per NV fracture employee. Conclusion: The cost burden of NV fracture patients to payers is substantial. Although hip fracture patients were more costly per patient in both Medicare and privately insured samples, NVNH fracture patients still had substantial incremental costs. Because NVNH patients accounted for a larger proportion of the fracture population, they were associated with greater aggregate incremental healthcare costs than hip fracture patients.
Assessing versus assisting: The supervisor's roles in the complex dynamics of the student teaching triad

Abstract The importance of a university supervisor has been challenged and affirmed, yet few studies have examined the complexity of the supervisor's role in the student teaching triad. An elementary supervisor and her interactions with student teacher and cooperating teacher are examined through taped and transcribed interviews, and three-way conferences as well as artifacts from supervisory responses, and evaluation instruments. The case study focuses the supervisor's expectations and tensions resulting from her dual role in assisting and assessing. Findings reveal that we must better understand perceptions, expectations, and obligations of the supervisor as well as those of the cooperating teacher and student teacher to better understand the student teaching experience.
Adaptation of Connexin 43-Hemichannel Prostaglandin Release to Mechanical Loading

Bone tissues respond to mechanical loading/unloading regimens to accommodate (re)modeling requirements; however, the underlying molecular mechanism responsible for these responses is largely unknown. Previously, we reported that connexin (Cx) 43 hemichannels in mechanosensing osteocytes mediate the release of prostaglandin, PGE2, a crucial factor for bone formation in response to anabolic loading. We show here that the opening of hemichannels and release of PGE2 by shear stress were significantly inhibited by a potent antibody we developed that specifically blocks Cx43-hemichannels, but not gap junctions or other channels. The opening of hemichannels and release of PGE2 are magnitude-dependent on the level of shear stress. Insertion of a rest period between stress enhances this response. Hemichannels gradually close after 24 h of continuous shear stress corresponding with reduced Cx43 expression on the cell surface, thereby reducing any potential negative effects of channels staying open for extended periods. These data suggest that Cx43-hemichannel activity associated with PGE2 release is adaptively regulated by mechanical loading to provide an effective means of regulating levels of extracellular signaling molecules responsible for initiation of bone (re)modeling.
Economic impacts of zebra mussels on drinking water treatment and electric power generation facilities.

Invasions of nonnative species such as zebra mussels can have both ecological and economic conse- quences. The economic impacts of zebra mussels have not been examined in detail since the mid-1990s. The purpose of this study was to quantify the annual and cumulative economic impact of zebra mussels on surface water- dependent drinking water treatment and electric power generation facilities (where previous research indicated the greatest impacts). The study time frame was from the first full year after discovery in North America (Lake St. Clair, 1989) to the present (2004); the study area was throughout the mussels' North American range. A mail survey resulted in a response rate of 31% for electric power companies and 41% for drinking water treatment plants. Telephone inter- views with a sample of nonrespondents assessed nonre- sponse bias; only one difference was found and adjusted for. Over one-third (37%) of surveyed facilities reported finding zebra mussels in the facility and almost half (45%) have initiated preventive measures to prevent zebra mussels from entering the facility operations. Almost all surveyed facil- ities (91%) with zebra mussels have used control or miti- gation alternatives to remove or control zebra mussels. We estimated that 36% of surveyed facilities experienced an economic impact. Expanding the sample to the population of the study area, we estimated $267 million (BCa 95% CI = $161 million-$467 million) in total economic costs for electric generation and water treatment facilities through late 2004, since 1989. Annual costs were greater ($44,000/ facility) during the early years of zebra mussel infestation than in recent years ($30,000). As a result of this and other factors, early predictions of the ultimate costs of the zebra mussel invasion may have been excessive.
Surface Grafting of Ferrocene-Containing Triazene Derivatives on Si(100)

Ferrocene-containing molecules have been grafted to Si(100) surfaces to form monolayers and multilayers via a triazene derivative and its subsequent diazonium chemistry. The growth of the ferrocene-containing films was controlled by molecular concentrations and reaction times. Results from ellipsometry showed that the film thicknesses were in the range of subnanometer to several nanometers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has confirmed the structural integrity of ferrocene in the films. Electrochemical studies of the ferrocene-containing multilayer have shown a reversible one-electron wave of the ferrocene/ferrocenium couple. The multilayer coverage was found to be 2.8 × 10−9 mol cm−2. The calculated electron transfer rate constant was 164 s−1.
Social Theory Two Ways: John Levi Martin's Structures and Actions

John Levi Martin burst onto the national sociological scene with his 2009 book Social Structures (SS), which followed a long list of published papers in top journals, often with very punchy titles....
Non-Linear Dispersive Waves

A general theory is developed for studying changes of a wave train governed by non-linear partial differential equations. The technique is to average over the local oscillations in the medium and so obtain differential equations for the variations in amplitude, wave number, etc. It corresponds to the Krylov-Bogoliubov averaging technique for the ordinary differential equations of non-linear vibrations. The equations obtained in this way are hyperbolic and can be handled by the usual theory of quasi-linear hyperbolic systems, involving the theory of characteristics and shock waves. In this case the ‘shocks’ are abrupt changes in the amplitude, wave number, etc. They do not involve dissipation, but it turns out that frequency plays the role corresponding to entropy in ordinary gas dynamic shocks. It is not clear whether these shocks will really occur in practice. However, they have a number of interesting properties and seem to be relevant to the discussion of so-called collisionless shocks in plasma dynamics. The main applications envisaged are to water waves and plasma dynamics, and the theory is developed using typical equations from these areas. If the original equations are linear, this theory predicts the usual description of dispersive waves in terms of group velocity, so it may be considered as an extension of the group velocity concept to non-linear problems. Mathematically, the theory may be considered as an extension of some of the methods and ideas for the non-linear ordinary differential equations of vibration theory to partial differential equations.
The Positive Impact of Mindful Eating on Expectations of Food Liking

The positive role of mindful raisin-eating in participants’ expectation of liking of raisins, other foods, and nonfood stimuli was tested across two experiments. The present study examined the relation between mindful raisin-eating and the affective evaluation of food and nonfood items (i.e., the degree to which individuals expect to or think they will like a food or nonfood item). In Experiment 1, college students were randomly assigned to complete a mindful raisin-eating task or complete a nonmindful raisin-eating control task and then reported on how much they thought they would like raisins and other foods. In Experiment 2, a third, no-task condition was included to categorize foods and non-foods into initially disliked, neutral, and liked categories. Results indicate that mindful raisin-eating produced higher ratings of expected liking of foods in general (Experiments 1 and 2) compared to nonmindful raisin-eating and that the effect was strongest for initially disliked foods, moderate for initially neutral foods, and smallest for initially liked foods (Experiment 2). Furthermore, the results of Experiment 2 suggest that mindfully eating also produced higher expected liking of non-food stimuli (pets and hobbies) compared to nonmindful raisin-eating. Implications for the use of mindfulness in enhancing daily life experiences and addressing food neophobia and picky eating are discussed.
The use of an on-line digital computer in closed-loop high-energy physics

Abstract Since April 1965, IBM and the W. W. Hansen High-Energy Physics Laboratory at Stanford University have been engaged in a joint study of use of on-line computers in high-energy physics experiments. In the High-Energy Laboratory, electrons with energies up to 1.2 BeV, produced by the Stanford Mark III 310-ft linear accelerator, are allowed to bombard various target materials. Electrons, or secondary particles produced by the electrons, are detected with several different kinds of detectors. Information from the detectors is relayed to the data-acquisition area where it is processed and stored, while control information is fed back to nuclear instrumentation by the computer. This paper not only contains a description of the computer and instrument interfaces, but also the application-oriented programming approaches used to operate these devices in various experiments. Several different experiments using the data-acquisition computer system are described, and plans for future modifications and improvements are discussed.
On Why Joint Attention Might Look Atypical in Autism: A Case for a Strong Policy Statement but More Nuanced Empirical Story

—In the present response to Gernsbacher, Stevenson, Khandakar, and Goldsmith (2008), we support the positivistic and strength-based perspective taken by the authors in understanding the abilities and skills of persons with autism. However, we argue that a more tempered approach—one that encompasses a developmental perspective, as well as a more comprehensive review of both the supporting and the contradictory empirical evidence—is warranted in advancing their conclusions.
Pair discrimination for a continuum of synthetic voiced stops with and without first and third formants.

Phoneme labeling and discrimination experiments were conducted with a continuum of voiced stops produced by a Terminal Analog Speech Synthesizer. The stops ranged from |b| to |d|. Only second formant (F2) transitions changed from one sound to another. (A formant is energy concentrated in a narrow frequency range.) In the labeling experiment conducted to locate the phoneme boundary, subjects identified the individual stimuli as |b| and |d|. In discrimination, difference and identity pairs were presented, with alternative responses of “same” and “different.” This allows separate consideration of discrimination (“different”/Different) and recognition (“same”/Identity) hits, and also analysis of the data in accordance with the theory of signal detectibility. The sounds were discriminated with and without F1 and F3 which contained no discriminatory information, but are responsible for perceived similarity to speech. With F1F3, sensitivity (d′) was highest at the |b-d| boundary, but without F1F3 this was not true. Spectral analysis of the sounds both with and without F1F3 revealed a phonemic energy discontinuity for the 1/3 octave around the F2 steady-state frequency (1250 Hz). It therefore seems probable that subjects listened to frequencies which contained phonemic information when F1F3 were included, but not when they were omitted. In spite of the high sensitivity at the |b-d| boundary, recognition hits (“same” /Identity) were lowest the boundary had to sound less like a difference to be called “different” than a pair away from the boundary.
Sporulation patterning and invasive growth in wild and domesticated yeast colonies

Different cell types can form patterns within fungal communities; for example, colonies of Saccharomyces cerevisiae form two sharply defined layers of sporulating cells separated by an intervening layer of unsporulated cells. Because colony sporulation patterns have only been investigated in a single laboratory strain background (W303), in this report we examined these patterns in other strain backgrounds. Two other laboratory strain backgrounds (SK1 and Sigma1278b) that differ from W303 with respect to colony morphology, invasive growth, and sporulation efficiency nevertheless displayed the same colony sporulation pattern as W303. This pattern was also observed in colonies of wild isolates of S. cerevisiae and Saccharomyces paradoxus. The wild yeast colonies sporulated on a much wider range of carbon sources than did the lab yeast and displayed a similar layered sporulation pattern when grown on either acetate or glucose medium and on either rich or synthetic medium. SK1, Sigma1278b and wild yeast colonies invaded the agar surface. The region of invasion varied between strains with respect to the organization and appearance of cells, but this invasion was always accompanied by sporulation. Thus, sporulation patterns are a general property of S. cerevisiae, and sporulation in colonies can be coordinated with invasive growth.
Optimization of ultrasound parameters for cardiac gene delivery of adenoviral or plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid by ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction.

AbstractObjectives: This study was undertaken to optimize echocardiographic parameters for successful gene delivery to the heart and to extend the method from adenoviral to plasmid deoxyribonucleic...
Relation between erythrocyte integrity and sulfhydryl groups.

Abstract 1. 1.Two classes of organic mercury compounds have been shown to possess hemolytic properties. 2. 2. Evidence is presented for the interpretation that this phenomenon is caused by the interaction of the organic mercurials with cellular —SH groups. 3. 3. It is concluded that —SH groups are essential for the maintenance of the intact erythrocyte structure, and observations from the literature which support this contention are cited and discussed.
The theory of type I comet tails

Abstract Type 1 comet tails are shown to arise from the energetic electrons in the shock structure surrounding the head of a comet once sufficient ionization of cometary gases has occurred to slow the magnetic lines of force trapped in the solar wind. The theory of the evolution of comet gases and the density distribution in the head is used to describe the inertial slowing down of the interplanetary field lines due to ionization of cometry molecules while in the magnetic field. The subsequent establishment of the ray structure by energetic electrons is shown quantitatively to follow very simply from energetic electrons resulting from the charge separation layer created by the shock structure on the comet head.
Later-Life Migration in the United States: A Review of Recent Research

This bibliography summarizes the most important recent literature on elderly migration and retirement migration in the U.S. and Canada, providing an interdisciplinary reviewof articles published between January 1990 and December 2000. It describes and evaluates 232 studies dealing with migration theory and methods, the determinants of later-life mobility, patterns of migration, destination choice, consequences of migration, local and regional development, seasonal migration, return migration, and related topics.
Implementing HIV Screening

The recommendations for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing in the United States were recently revised. An important goal of these revisions is to reduce the proportion of individuals infected with HIV who are unaware of their infection. In the new guidelines, screening is recommended for all individuals aged 13-64 years in any health care setting, provided that they are notified that testing will be performed and do not decline testing. It was further recommended that individuals at high risk for HIV infection be screened annually. Through wider screening, the identification of persons with unrecognized HIV is expected to facilitate treatment and allow better targeting of HIV prevention strategies.
Analysis of Channel Catfish Peripheral Blood Leucocytes by Bright-Field Microscopy and Flow Cytometry

Abstract Peripheral blood leucocytes of channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus were characterized by Wright's stain, differential cytochemical stains, and immunofluorescence; lymphocytes, thrombocytes, neutrophils, and monocytes were identified. The morphologically similar neutrophils and monocytes were distinguished with a Sudan black B stain for neutrophils and an assay of nonspecific esterase activity for monocytes. Monocytes also phagocytized polystyrene beads. Leucocytes were physically separated by cytofluorography based upon their forward and 90° light-scattering properties. One population of sorted cells contained almost exclusively lymphocytes, a second contained predominantly thrombocytes, and the third contained both neutrophils and monocytes. Multiparameter cytofluorography with mouse monoclonal antibodies to channel catfish immunoglobulin revealed that a vast majority of leucocytes exhibiting surface immunofluorescence were lymphocytes, though only about 40% of the lymphocytes contained demonstr...
Modeling of a Beam With a Mass in the Middle for Heart Beat Vibration Energy Harvesting

This work presents a model for energy harvesting characterization of a simply supported beam with a mass in the middle to be used for powering pacemakers from heartbeat vibrations. The required power for a typical pacemaker is about 1.0 microwatts. A uniform cross-section beam, bimorph structures, employing double piezoelectric layers is used. PSI-5H4E piezoelectric and brass substrate is used in this study. Different configurations are utilized to identify the optimal design for lightweight energy harvesting devices with low-power applications to tune the natural frequencies of the energy harvester towards the operating ambient vibration source. In this paper, the exact analytical solution of the piezoelectric beam energy harvester with Euler–Bernoulli beam assumptions is presented. The energy harvester is intended to generate power from heartbeat induced vibrations to power implantable cardiac devices. The base excitations are thus heartbeat induced tissue vibrations. The proposed configuration harvests energy from the reverberation of heartbeats and converts it to electricity and could generate about 0.22 microwatts of power. Using the Fourier transform, the frequency response function for the voltage; current and power of the harvester are obtained. The power output for a range of values for the resistive load connected to the bimorph PZT layers is investigated to determine the optimized value of the resistive load that gives the maximum power output for the corresponding configuration of the beam. Stress analysis is performed for the substrate and PZT layer to make sure that the stress are within the permissible values to avoid breaking or failing of the beam. Results show that the use of mid mass is capable of harvesting a significant power with the proposed configurations.© 2014 ASME
Habituation of cardiac components of the orienting reflex to stimuli repeated at fixed and variable intervals

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of fixed-interval (FI) stimulus repetition on cardiac components of the orienting reflex (OR). It was predicted that variable stimulus repetition would lead to habituation of the OR. whereas a fixed (temporal conditioning) interval paradigm would inhibit such habituation. Thirty-six Ss were employed. The main hypothesis concerning the effects of FI stimulus repetition was confirmed. In addition, the data supported the use of Lang & Hnatiow’s (1962) peak-to-valley measure of the cardiac response, although the response appeared to be monophasically decelerative. not diphasic. The results suggest that stimuli having “signal functions” will continually elicit the OR. whereas stimuli not having such functions eventually lose their value as OR elicitors.
Highly optimized tight-binding model of silicon

We have fit an orthogonal tight-binding model of silicon with a minimal (s,p) basis and a repulsive pair potential. The pair potential and the tight-binding matrix elements are represented as cubic splines with a 5.24-\AA{} fixed radial cutoff in order to allow maximum flexibility. Using a numerical procedure, the spline parameters were fit to simultaneously optimize agreement with ab initio force and energy data on clusters, liquid, and amorphous systems as well as experimental elastic constants, phonon frequencies, and Gr\"uneisen parameter values. Many such fits were performed to obtain a potential that we judged to be optimal, within the implicit limitations of our potential form. The resulting optimized potential describes many properties very accurately and should be a useful model given its relative simplicity and speed. Our fitting method is not difficult to apply and should be applicable to many other systems.
An overview of infusing service-learning in medical education.

Objectives: To identify and review existing empirical research about service-learning and medical education and then to develop a framework for infusing service-learning in Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine curricula. Methods: We selected literature on service-learning and medical education. Articles were screened with a protocol for inclusion or exclusion at two separate stages. At stage one, articles were screened according to their titles, abstracts, and keywords. The second stage involved a full-text review. Finally, a thematic analysis using focused and selective coding was conducted. Results: Eighteen studies were analyzed spanning the years 1998 to 2012. The results from our analysis informed the development of a four-stage service-learning framework: 1) planning and preparation, 2) action, 3) reflection and demonstration, and 4) assessment and celebration. Conclusions: The presented service-learning framework can be used to develop curricula for the infusion of servicelearning in medical school. Service-learning curricula in medical education have the potential to provide myriad benefits to faculty, students, community members, and university-community partnerships.
Augmenting conversations using dual-purpose speech

In this paper, we explore the concept of dual-purpose speech: speech that is socially appropriate in the context of a human-to-human conversation which also provides meaningful input to a computer. We motivate the use of dual-purpose speech and explore issues of privacy and technological challenges related to mobile speech recognition. We present three applications that utilize dual-purpose speech to assist a user in conversational tasks: the Calendar Navigator Agent, DialogTabs, and Speech Courier. The Calendar Navigator Agent navigates a user's calendar based on socially appropriate speech used while scheduling appointments. DialogTabs allows a user to postpone cognitive processing of conversational material by proving short-term capture of transient information. Finally, Speech Courier allows asynchronous delivery of relevant conversational information to a third party.
LANMAR: landmark routing for large scale wireless ad hoc networks with group mobility

In this paper, we present a novel routing protocol for wireless ad hoc networks-landmark ad hoc routing (LANMAR). LANMAR combines the features of fisheye state routing (FSR) and landmark routing. The key novelty is the use of landmarks for each set of nodes which move as a group (e.g., a team of co-workers at a convention or a tank battalion in the battlefield) in order to reduce routing update overhead. Like in FSR, nodes exchange link state only with their neighbors. Routes within the fisheye scope are accurate, while routes to remote groups of nodes are "summarized" by the corresponding landmarks. A packet directed to a remote destination initially aims at the landmark; as a gets closer to the destination it eventually switches to the accurate route provided by fisheye. Simulation experiments show that LANMAR provides efficient and scalable routing in large, mobile, ad hoc environments in which group mobility applies.
Cdc7p–Dbf4p kinase binds to chromatin during S phase and is regulated by both the APC and the RAD53 checkpoint pathway

Eukaryotic cells coordinate chromosome duplication by assembly of protein complexes at origins of DNA replication and by activation of cyclin-dependent kinase and Cdc7p-Dbf4p kinase. We show in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that although Cdc7p levels are constant during the cell division cycle, Dbf4p and Cdc7p-Dbf4p kinase activity fluctuate. Dbf4p binds to chromatin near the G(1)/S-phase boundary well after binding of the minichromosome maintenance (Mcm) proteins, and it is stabilized at the non-permissive temperature in mutants of the anaphase-promoting complex, suggesting that Dbf4p is targeted for destruction by ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. Arresting cells with hydroxyurea (HU) or with mutations in genes encoding DNA replication proteins results in a more stable, hyper-phosphorylated form of Dbf4p and an attenuated kinase activity. The Dbf4p phosphorylation in response to HU is RAD53 dependent. This suggests that an S-phase checkpoint function regulates Cdc7p-Dbf4p kinase activity. Cdc7p may also play a role in adapting from the checkpoint response since deletion of CDC7 results in HU hypersensitivity. Recombinant Cdc7p-Dbf4p kinase was purified and both subunits were autophosphorylated. Cdc7p-Dbf4p efficiently phosphorylates several proteins that are required for the initiation of DNA replication, including five of the six Mcm proteins and the p180 subunit of DNA polymerase alpha-primase.
Role of liver transplantation in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma

Cholangiocarcinoma is a rare malignancy arising from the bile duct epithelium with a grim prognosis. Although complete resection may be curative, it is feasible only in a minority of cases owing to local extension of the tumor. Early experiences with liver transplantation were discouraging, given the high rates of tumor recurrence and poor patient survival. Trials with aggressive transplantation methods and adjuvant chemotherapy did not yield significantly better outcomes. Recently, stringent patient selection and neoadjuvant chemoradiation have yielded promising results with 5-year survival rates as high as 76%. Factors associated with recurrence after transplantation include advanced age, history of cholecystectomy, elevated serum glycoprotein cancer antigen 19-9 level, a discreet mass on imaging and an interval from enrollment to transplant greater than 100 days.
Dietary exposure to soy or whey proteins alters colonic global gene expression profiles during rat colon tumorigenesis

Background We previously reported that lifetime consumption of soy proteins or whey proteins reduced the incidence of azoxymethane (AOM)-induced colon tumors in rats. To obtain insights into these effects, global gene expression profiles of colons from rats with lifetime ingestion of casein (CAS, control diet), soy protein isolate (SPI), and whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) diets were determined.
Complexity by Subtraction

The eye and brain: standard thinking is that these devices are both complex and functional. They are complex in the sense of having many different types of parts, and functional in the sense of having capacities that promote survival and reproduction. Standard thinking says that the evolution of complex functionality proceeds by the addition of new parts, and that this build-up of complexity is driven by selection, by the functional advantages of complex design. The standard thinking could be right, even in general. But alternatives have not been much discussed or investigated, and the possibility remains open that other routes may not only exist but may be the norm. Our pur- pose here is to introduce a new route to functional com- plexity, a route in which complexity starts high, rising perhaps on account of the spontaneous tendency for parts to differentiate. Then, driven by selection for effective and efficient function, complexity decreases over time. Even- tually, the result is a system that is highly functional and retains considerable residual complexity, enough to impress us. We try to raise this alternative route to the level of plausibility as a general mechanism in evolution by describing two cases, one from a computational model and one from the history of life.
Preventable Forms of Autism

Autism has attracted enormous attention in recent years primarily because of the high incidence and the impact it has on patients' lives and their families, given its medical, social, financial, and emotional burdens ( 1 , 2 ). There is growing acceptance that the incidence and prevalence of autism have dramatically increased over the past 20 years ( 3 ), although some of the increase relates to changing diagnostic terminology and criteria. The use of DNA microarrays and exome sequencing to detect pathological copy number variants (CNVs) and point mutations, respectively, is making progress in identifying genetic causes of autism. The recent confirmation that paternal age is a risk factor for autism relates to the occurrence of de novo point mutations that can now be discovered through next-generation sequencing ( 4 ). However, for virtually all of the pathological CNVs and point mutations causing autism, there is no definitive or curative therapy, although CNVs can be detected using invasive prenatal diagnosis. On page 394 of this issue, Novarino et al. ( 5 ) use exome sequencing in consanguineous families to discover an inborn metabolic error associated with autism, epilepsy, and intellectual disability, in which the clinical manifestations are likely to be treatable or, even better, preventable.
Comparison of speech parameters and olfaction using different tracheotomy speaking valves.

Background: The objective of this work was to obtain a controlled subjective and objective in vivo clinical comparison of the Passy-Muir, Shiley, and Ball speaking valves. Methods: Ten patients free of laryngeal pathology but dependent on tracheotomy for respiration were tested with each of the speaking valves. Olfaction was assessed for each patient using the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT). Acoustic and perceptual analyses included subjective assessments, noninstrumental objective assessments (including maximum phonation time, and S:Z ratio), and instrumental objective assessments (including fundamental frequency:maximum phonation range, vocal intensity, perturbation, naturalness, and turbulence). Oxygen saturation was assessed by pulse oximetry. Results: There was a highly significant statistical difference in olfaction and speech naturalness, in favor of the Ball valve (The Airway Company, Forest Hill, MD). The Ball valve's speech parameters were generally better than with the Passy-Muir and Shiley valves, including maximum phonation, S:Z ratio, jitter, noise, and turbulence, although the differences were not statistically significant. There were no differences among the valves in oxygen saturation levels. Conclusion: This study illustrates that olfaction and certain speech parameters, most noticeably speech naturalness, are significantly improved with the Ball valve as compared to the Passy-Muir and Shiley valves. © 2012 ARS–AAOA, LLC.
Time-dependent, one-speed transport via generalized functions

The classic problem of an isotropic burst from a plane source in the transport of monoenergetic particles in a medium of infinite extent is solved. The medium scatters isotropically. The novelty lies in remaining in (x,t) coordinates throughout, using generalized functions and the multiple-collision series. The solution reproduces that given by Kholin, obtained by other means, several decades ago.
Avifauna of the Sipaliwini Savanna (Suriname) with Insights into Its Biogeographic Affinities

ABSTRACT Ornithological surveys of the Sipaliwini savanna, an Amazonian savanna enclave along the Suriname—Brazil border, were conducted in July 2006 and June 2007. Of the 148 species recorded, five are new for Suriname: Micropygia schomburgkii, Myiopagis vindicata, Sublegatus modestus, Neopelma pallescens and Neothraupis fasciata. Patterns of species-sharing are compared among the Sipaliwini, other Amazonian savanna enclaves, and the large savanna complexes of the Llanos and Cerrado. In the Sipaliwini, forest birds are a subset of the Guiana Shield avifauna, while openhabitat species are shared predominantly with the Cerrado. Furthermore, the Sipaliwini populations of Falco sparverius and Athene cunicularia are identified as belonging to Cerrado subspecies instead of those occurring in nearby Guyana. The results support the hypothesis that the Sipaliwini and Amapa savannas were once connected to the Cerrado, likely by a coastal corridor.
Larval Dispersal and Marine Population Connectivity

Connectivity, or the exchange of individuals among marine populations, is a central topic in marine ecology. For most benthic marine species with complex life cycles, this exchange occurs primarily during the pelagic larval stage. The small size of larvae coupled with the vast and complex fluid environment they occupy hamper our ability to quantify dispersal and connectivity. Evidence from direct and indirect approaches using geochemical and genetic techniques suggests that populations range from fully open to fully closed. Understanding the biophysical processes that contribute to observed dispersal patterns requires integrated interdisciplinary approaches that incorporate high-resolution biophysical modeling and empirical data. Further, differential postsettlement survival of larvae may add complexity to measurements of connectivity. The degree to which populations self recruit or receive subsidy from other populations has consequences for a number of fundamental ecological processes that affect population regulation and persistence. Finally, a full understanding of population connectivity has important applications for management and conservation.
Origins of "us" versus "them": prelinguistic infants prefer similar others.

Abstract A central feature of human psychology is our pervasive tendency to divide the social world into “us” and “them”. We prefer to associate with those who are similar to us over those who are different, preferentially allocate resources to similar others, and hold more positive beliefs about similar others. Here we investigate the developmental origins of these biases, asking if preference for similar others occurs prior to language and extensive exposure to cultural norms. We demonstrate that, like adults, prelinguistic infants prefer those who share even trivial similarities with themselves, and these preferences appear to reflect a cognitive comparison process (“like me”/“not like me”). However, unlike adults, infants do not appear to prefer others with an utterly arbitrary similarity to themselves. Together, these findings suggest that the phenomena of ingroup bias, and enhanced interpersonal attraction toward those who resemble ourselves, may be rooted in an inherent preference for similarity to self, which itself may be enhanced during development by the influence of cultural values.
Stateless Clustering Using OSCAR and PERCEUS

OSCAR has matured over the years into a very capable, yet simple high-performance clustering platform solution. Ease of building and administrating a cluster, effective resource management and scalable performance are some of the issues which have gathered a lot of focus in the HPC domain lately. This technical paper describes the integration of OSCAR and PERCEUS, which aims to enable the deployment of stateless nodes in a cluster. This promises to fill a much needed niche in performing a diskless cluster installation with OSCAR. The single point of administration and ease-of-use would help novice users as well as experienced cluster administrators to deploy clusters faster.
Frontal midline EEG dynamics during working memory.

We show that during visual working memory, the electroencephalographic (EEG) process producing 5–7 Hz frontal midline theta (fmQ) activity exhibits multiple spectral modes involving at least three frequency bands and a wide range of amplitudes. The process accounting for the fmQ increase during working memory was separated from 71-channel data by clustering on time/frequency transforms of components returned by independent component analysis (ICA). Dipole models of fmQ component scalp maps were consistent with their generation in or near dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. From trial to trial, theta power of fmQ components varied widely but correlated moderately with theta power in other frontal and left temporal processes. The weak mean increase in frontal midline theta power with increasing memory load, produced entirely by the fmQ components, largely reflected progressively stronger theta activity in a relatively small proportion of trials. During presentations of letter series to be memorized or ignored, fmQ components also exhibited 12– 15 Hz low-beta activity that was stronger during memorized than during ignored letter trials, independent of letter duration. The same components produced a brief 3-Hz burst 500 ms after onset of the probe letter following each letter sequence. A new decomposition method, log spectral ICA, applied to normalized log time/frequency transforms of fmQ component Memorize-letter trials, showed that their low-beta activity reflected harmonic energy in continuous, sharppeaked theta wave trains as well as independent low-beta bursts. Possibly, the observed fmQ process variability may index dynamic adjustments in medial frontal cortex to trial-specific behavioral context and task demands.
Stability and Optimal Feedback Controls for Time-Delayed Linear Periodic Systems

An effective numerical method for stability analysis of feedback controls with time delay and for identifying optimal gains of the control is presented. The method develops a mapping of the system response in a finite dimensional state space. Minimization of the largest absolute value of eigenvalues of the mapping leads to optimal control gains. Numerical examples of both time-invariant and periodic linear systems are presented to demonstrate the method. We have found that the proposed method provides accurate stability boundaries and performance contours in the parametric space of control gains.
Genomics, evolution, and crystal structure of a new family of bacterial spore kinases

Bacterial spore formation is a complex process of fundamental relevance to biology and human disease. The spore coat structure is complex and poorly understood, and the roles of many of the protein components remain unclear. We describe a new family of spore coat proteins, the bacterial spore kinases (BSKs), and the first crystal structure of a BSK, YtaA (CotI) from Bacillus subtilis. BSKs are widely distributed in spore-forming Bacillus and Clostridium species, and have a dynamic evolutionary history. Sequence and structure analyses indicate that the BSKs are CAKs, a prevalent group of small molecule kinases in bacteria that is distantly related to the eukaryotic protein kinases. YtaA has substantial structural similarity to CAKs, but also displays distinctive features that broaden our understanding of the CAK group. Evolutionary constraint analysis of the protein surfaces indicates that members of the BSK family have distinct clade-conserved patterns in the substrate binding region, and probably bind and phosphorylate distinct targets. Several classes of BSKs have apparently independently lost catalytic activity to become pseudokinases, indicating that the family also has a major noncatalytic function. Proteins 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
A System-on-a-Chip Implementation for Embedded Real-Time Model Predictive Control

This paper presents a hardware architecture for embedded real-time model predictive control (MPC). The computational cost of an MPC problem, which relies on the solution of an optimization problem at every time step, is dominated by operations on real matrices. In order to design an efficient and low-cost application-specific processor, we analyze the computational cost of MPC, and we propose a limited-resource host processor to be connected with an application-specific matrix coprocessor. The coprocessor uses a 16-b logarithmic number system arithmetic unit, which is designed using cotransformation, to carry out the required arithmetic operations. The proposed architecture is implemented by means of a hardware description language and then prototyped and emulated on a field-programmable gate array. Results on computation time and architecture area are presented and analyzed, and the functionality of the proposed architecture is verified using two case studies: a linear problem of a rotating antenna and a nonlinear glucose-regulation problem. The proposed MPC architecture yields a small-in-size and energy-efficient implementation that is capable of solving the aforementioned problems on the order of milliseconds, and we compare its performance and area requirements with other MPC designs that have appeared in the literature.
The Clinical Utility of Tranexamic Acid in the Management of Refractory Bleeding in a Patient With Advanced Liver Disease

Advanced liver disease is associated with coagulopathy and bleeding that develops from several mechanisms. In common clinical practice, the bleeding is treated with blood products and/or pharmacologic agents based on their corrective effect on laboratory tests of hemostasis. We report the case of a 72-year-old man with end-stage liver disease with refractory bleeding in whom multiple therapeutic strategies failed, including massive blood product replacement, but who responded to the infusion of tranexamic acid, an anti-fibrinolytic agent. The hyper-fibrinolytic state is difficult to diagnose with conventional clinical laboratory tests, but it was suspected in this patient with refractory bleeding and hypo-fibrinogenemia. Although largely used in the surgical setting, tranexamic acid may prove useful in medical settings characterized by bleeding and systemic fibrinolysis. J Hematol. 2014;3(2):46-49 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jh151w
A Waterfall Design Strategy for Using Social Media for Instruction.

Using social media can create a rich learning environment that crosses all content areas. The key to creating this environment is for instructors and designers to match appropriate social media sof...
Revision of Two Computer Programs for Probit Analysis

A previous article (Daum and Killcreas 1966) described 2 computer programs for pro bit analysis written in FORTRAN II for use on an IBM 1620 computer. These programs. as revised, enlarged (31,360 and 39,376 spaces), and rewritten in FORTRAN IV for use on an IBM 360/30 computer, reflect the general availability of more powerful computers. They also contain new features that make them more robust, efficient, and useful.
Bank Enterprisers in a Western Town, 1815-1822

When attention is shifted from individual entrepreneur to the socio-economic group of which he is a part, new historical perspectives are opened to view. This study of a group of bankers in frontier Cincinnati considerably sharpens the historical concept of the “Western Banker” and provides insight into the nature of the banking function in a developing economy. The data employed yield significant conclusions about the nature of the bankers' backgrounds and about the importance both of those backgrounds and of the frontier environment in shaping the bankers' function and role.
The relationship between effort-reward imbalance and turnover intention in nurses from maternal and child care centers

Objective: To explore the relationship between effort-reward imbalance and turnover intention in nurses from maternal and child care centers. Methods:277 nurses were randomly selected from two tertiary maternal and child care hospitals in Wuhan,and administered with a turnover intention inventory,effort-reward imbalance questionnaire and nurse turnover intention affecting factor questionnaire. Results:The prevalence rate of turnover intention was 30. 68%. The correlates(Odds Ratios)for turnover intention included high-effort/low-reward working model(3. 13),contract nurse(2. 53),the first job in current hospital(2. 11),overload working model(2. 02),hospital culture score(1. 35),promotion and training score(1. 20)and working motivation achievement score(1. 14). Conclusion:The turnover intention of nurses from maternal and child care centers,is associated with high-effort/low-reward working model and other occupational risk factors. We should reduce occupational risk factors to prevent turnover intention.
Modeling for optimal ambulance patient compartment layout

In 2010, there were more than 250 U.S. ambulance crashes that were reported in the news media. During such accidents, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) who ride in the ambulance patient compartment while caring for patients are at high risk of suffering injuries. Restraint systems are the first line of defense against injuries or death; however, using restraints makes it difficult to access equipment and supplies and to treat the patients. An ideal patient compartment layout facilitates efficient clinical care and ensures the safety of both patients and EMTs.