cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamics of Structural Changes in Hemoglobin

Upon dissociation of oxygen or carbon monoxide hemoglobin undergoes a series of conformational changes that are responsible for its cooperative behavior. X-ray structural studies show that these changes include a displacement of the iron from the heme plane and a tilt of the proximal histidine associated with a shift in the F helix (1–3). This shift destabilizes the intersubunit bonding between α β dimers, and after dissociation of one or two ligands the strain at the interface is sufficient to cause a transition from the R quaternary structure to the T quaternary structure.
Thrombosis during therapy with erythropoiesis stimulating agents in cancer

The benefits of therapy with erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs) for the treatment of anaemia during cancer chemotherapy, in terms of reduction in the symptoms of anemia and in transfusions, are well documented. Recently, there has been an increased focus on the safety of ESAs in this setting, with one of the issues being an apparent increase in the incidence of thrombosis. When ESAs were developed for the treatment of the anaemia occurring in patients with chronic renal failure, an increase in the incidence of hypertension and thromboses, particularly involving vascular access devices, was observed. There was some evidence that these complications were more likely to occur when haemoglobin levels increased rapidly and it was assumed that the physiology involved a rapid expansion in red cell mass in patients lacking the ability to respond with a compensatory reduction in plasma volume. If this were the only mechanism of thrombosis associated with ESA therapy, it would not be expected to occur in patients, such as the typical patient with anaemia due to cancer chemotherapy, with reasonably intact renal function.The biology involved is clearly more complicated than initially expected and remains incompletely understood. This chapter will review the relevant aspects.
Organic versus mechanistic approaches to system-wide improvement: Reducing delays to critical care

AbstractIncreasing pressure towards value-based care has increased focus on patient safety and operational improvement initiatives in healthcare delivery. While improvement efforts have increased since the beginning of the patient safety movement, dissemination of these improvements across the complex health system continues to be a challenge. Senior leaders often want improvements to spread fast and wide throughout the organization. We propose that an organic process of developing localized clarity of objectives and collaborative problem solving between units provides a more effective foundation for extending improvements across the system. We follow a large-scale patient safety effort to reduce the time from admission in the Emergency Department (ED) to arrival in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to show how the approach taken by leadership impacts successful extension of improvements across an organization.
Teaching Physical Database Design

Database design is traditionally taught as a process where requirements are captured in a conceptual model, then forward engineered into a logical model, followed by implementation in a physical model. Conceptual models are intended to be abstract and platform-independent, thus expressing aspects of the application being modeled without narrowing the design choices prematurely. The early stages of the process are more established in pedagogy, while the last stage, physical design, seems largely unexplored in the computing education literature. Moreover, if the choice for the logical model is relational, there are several possible implementation models; the design space widens again after the phase of transforming a conceptual model into a logical model. This paper explores teaching students about the design space for physical modeling. The contents of learning modules on physical design are presented, including scaffolding of technical content in an abstract (conceptual) manner, followed by connection to real-world analogues, culminating in a project that requires application of conceptual knowledge to explore the impact of physical design alternatives. The achievement of learning outcomes with and without the final project is assessed for courses taught in two consecutive academic terms. Future areas of research are discussed, such as expanding and refining the physical design space, the student preparation, and the types of impact investigated.
Impact of Macrolide Antibiotics on Hospital Readmissions and Other Clinically Important Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients with Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To assess whether a macrolide-based antibiotic treatment strategy reduces in-hospital mortality, decreases hospital readmissions, or improves other clinically important outcomes compared with a non-macrolide antibiotic treatment strategy in critically ill patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). DESIGN Propensity score-matched pharmacoepidemiologic cohort study. DATA SOURCE Premier's Perspective Hospital Database. PATIENTS A total of 28,700 adults aged 40 years or older who were admitted to one of 566 United States intensive care units and had the primary diagnosis of AECOPD between January 2010 and December 2014 and received antibiotic treatment within 2 days of hospital admission were included. Patients were divided into macrolide (11,602 patients [40%]) or non-macrolide (17,098 patients [60%]) antibiotic treatment groups. Propensity score analysis successfully matched 8660 patients in each treatment group. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS In the matched cohort, the macrolide treatment group was not associated with decreased hospital mortality after day 2 (3.0% vs 3.3%, p=0.28), intensive care unit length of stay (2 days vs 2 days, p=0.12), hospital length of stay (6 days vs 6 days, p=0.86), or length of assisted ventilation (3 days vs 3 days, p=0.71), compared with the non-macrolide treatment group. However, a macrolide-based antibiotic regimen was associated with an overall reduction in 30-day hospital readmissions (7.3% vs 8.8%, p<0.01), increased time to next all-cause (159 vs 130 days, p<0.01) or AECOPD (200 vs 175 days, p=0.03) readmission, and decreased hospital costs ($32,730 vs $34,021, p<0.01). CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that inclusion of a macrolide antibiotic in the treatment regimen may have both acute and sustained benefits in critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit with an AECOPD, including reductions in hospital readmissions and improvements in time to next readmission.
Majority of B2M-Mutant and -Deficient Colorectal Carcinomas Achieve Clinical Benefit From Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy and Are Microsatellite Instability-High.

PURPOSEMicrosatellite instability-high (MSI-H) colorectal carcinomas (CRCs) show high rates of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (IOs). B2M mutations and protein loss have been proposed as c...
Anomalous Brewster effect and evanescent modes at an achiral/chiral dielectric boundary under planar electromagnetic propagation

Fresnel coefficients are examined for electromagnetic (EM) propagation across an achiral/chiral (ACC) boundary. It is found that upon both transmission and reflection, the incident plane (specifica...
The #MeToo Movement in the United States: Text Analysis of Early Twitter Conversations

Background: The #MeToo movement sparked an international debate on the sexual harassment, abuse, and assault and has taken many directions since its inception in October of 2017. Much of the early conversation took place on public social media sites such as Twitter, where the hashtag movement began. Objective: The aim of this study is to document, characterize, and quantify early public discourse and conversation of the #MeToo movement from Twitter data in the United States. We focus on posts with public first-person revelations of sexual assault/abuse and early life experiences of such events. Methods: We purchased full tweets and associated metadata from the Twitter Premium application programming interface between October 14 and 21, 2017 (ie, the first week of the movement). We examined the content of novel English language tweets with the phrase “MeToo” from within the United States (N=11,935). We used machine learning methods, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, and support vector machine models to summarize and classify the content of individual tweets with revelations of sexual assault and abuse and early life experiences of sexual assault and abuse. Results: We found that the most predictive words created a vivid archetype of the revelations of sexual assault and abuse. We then estimated that in the first week of the movement, 11% of novel English language tweets with the words “MeToo” revealed details about the poster’s experience of sexual assault or abuse and 5.8% revealed early life experiences of such events. We examined the demographic composition of posters of sexual assault and abuse and found that white women aged 25-50 years were overrepresented in terms of their representation on Twitter. Furthermore, we found that the mass sharing of personal experiences of sexual assault and abuse had a large reach, where 6 to 34 million Twitter users may have seen such first-person revelations from someone they followed in the first week of the movement. Conclusions: These data illustrate that revelations shared went beyond acknowledgement of having experienced sexual harassment and often included vivid and traumatic descriptions of early life experiences of assault and abuse. These findings and methods underscore the value of content analysis, supported by novel machine learning methods, to improve our understanding of how widespread the revelations were, which likely amplified the spread and saliency of the #MeToo movement.
Management of Childhood Migraine by Headache Specialist vs Non-Headache Specialists

OBJECTIVE This study aims to compare the management practices of a headache specialist with non-headache specialists in the treatment of children with migraine. The use of appropriate rescue medications and prophylactic agents, application of neuroimaging, and short-term outcomes are compared in children treated by the two groups of physicians. METHODS A retrospective cohort study was conducted by utilizing the electronic medical records of children 3-18 years of age with migraine, who were evaluated at a tertiary care children's hospital from 2016 to 2018. RESULTS Of the 849 patients who met the study criteria, 469 children were classified as having chronic migraine or high-frequency episodic migraine and were followed-up on at least 1 occasion by the neurologists. Imaging was obtained in 66.5% of all children with migraine. The headache specialist used 5-HT agonists ("triptans") for migraine management in 56.7% (76/135) of cases compared to non-headache specialists who prescribed them in 28.7% (96/334) of cases (P < .001). Of the children with chronic migraine, the headache specialist evaluated 135 patients while the non-headache specialists treated 334 children. Non-headache specialists prescribed prophylaxis in the form of natural supplements more frequently (63.8% of cases) compared to the headache specialist (38.5% of children) (P < .001). Moreover, prophylaxis with prescription drugs was utilized more often by headache specialist (66.7%) than non-headache specialists (37.4%) (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Imaging appears to be commonly recommended by both headache specialists and non-headache specialists in children with migraine. The headache specialist was more likely to use triptans as rescue medications for pediatric migraine. Outcomes in the short-term were not statistically different whether children were being managed by the headache specialist or the non-headache specialists.
Redeveloping Electronic Health Records Course with Open Source Tools and Platforms

Electronic Health Records (EHR) Systems and Applications is one of the required courses in the Graduate Health IT Certificate Program at Kennesaw State University. When the course was first designed, it focused on clinical workflow and system design for the EHR systems while virtual labs and an EHR simulation were being used for hands-on. We recently redesigned learning materials and hands-on exercises by using open source systems to introduce design and development of EHR systems, usability assessment, and security vulnerabilities in the EHR implementation.
The Thyroid and Thyroid Hormones

Thyroxine (T 4 ) produced by the thyroid gland undergoes deiodination in cells, which can use it either to form the more active triiodothyronine (T 3 ) or the inactive reverse T 3 (rT 3 ). Thyroid hormones and their metabolites can bind to receptors on the cell surface, or be transported inside the cell, where they can bind to cytosolic proteins or proceed to the nucleus and bind to nuclear thyroid hormone receptors, to regulate the expression of many genes.
Efficient Encoding and Reconstruction of HPC Datasets for Checkpoint/Restart

As the amount of data produced by HPC applications reaches the exabyte range, compression techniques are often adopted to reduce the checkpoint time and volume. Since lossless techniques are limited in their ability to achieve appreciable data reduction, lossy compression becomes a preferable option. In this work, a lossy compression technique with highly efficient encoding, purpose-built error control, and high compression ratios is proposed. Specifically, we apply a discrete cosine transform with a novel block decomposition strategy directly to double-precision floating point datasets instead of prevailing prediction-based techniques. Further, we design an adaptive quantization with two specific task-oriented quantizers: guaranteed error bounds and higher compression ratios. Using real-world HPC datasets, our approach achieves 3x-38x compression ratios while guaranteeing specified error bounds, showing comparable performance with state-of-the-art lossy compression methods, SZ and ZFP. Moreover, our method provides viable reconstructed data for various checkpoint/restart scenarios in the FLASH application, thus is considered to be a promising approach for lossy data compression in HPC I/O software stacks.
Steps toward a theory of place effects on drug use: Risk, marginality, and opportunity in small and remote California towns

Abstract The risk environment concept provides a framework for documenting ecological influences on drug use, and a platform to engage with social theory to identify mechanisms behind place-based health disparities. Health scientists conceptualize these mechanisms in terms of social determinants of health, social scientists in terms of syndemics and structural violence. I supplement these perspectives with Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of social space, practice, and habitus to offer a broader analysis of how place shapes drug-related health risks, particularly outside of the large cities where most research is conducted. This approach encompasses inequality, conflict, and social change at multiple levels of social organization, from macrodistributions of power to trajectories of individual drug use. I offer three pointers for scholarship on drug use in nonurban places, which I illustrate with findings from an ethnographic study of opioid use and opioid-related services in California. First, replace the folk notion of “rural” with geographic categories grounded in relevant social structures and institutions, such as social networks or illicit drug markets. Second, examine how variation in the structure of social and physical space affects processes of marginalization and criminalization. Third, avoid negative definitions of nonurban places, and instead explore their distinctive institutions and opportunity structures. Following this approach, I define acquainted marginality and small-town habitus to explain how dense networks and geographic isolation shape local government and survival strategies among people who use drugs. I find that in small and remote towns, personal and professional relationships overlap in ways that augment surveillance and stigma, but can also facilitate leniency and progressive policy change. I conclude by using these findings to outline a theory of place effects on drug use and addiction to encourage future research in these directions.
Antibiotic hypersensitivity signatures identify targets for attack in the Acinetobacter baumannii cell envelope

Abstract Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic pathogen that is a critical, high-priority target for new antibiotic development. Clearing of A. baumannii requires relatively high doses of antibiotics across the spectrum, primarily due to its protective cell envelope. Many of the proteins that support envelope integrity and modulate drug action are uncharacterized, largely because there is an absence of orthologs for several proteins that perform essential envelope-associated processes, impeding progress on this front. To identify targets that can synergize with current antibiotics, we performed an exhaustive analysis of A. baumannii mutants causing hypersensitivity to a multitude of antibiotic treatments. By examining mutants with antibiotic hypersensitivity profiles that parallel mutations in proteins of known function, we show that the function of poorly annotated proteins can be predicted and used to identify candidate missing link proteins in essential A. baumannii processes. Using this strategy, we uncovered multiple uncharacterized proteins with critical roles in cell division or cell elongation, and revealed that a predicted cell wall D,D-endopeptidase has an unappreciated function in lipooligosaccharide synthesis. Moreover, we provide a genetic strategy that uses hypersensitivity signatures to predict drug synergies, allowing the identification of β-lactams that work cooperatively based on the cell wall assembly machineries that they preferentially target. These data reveal multiple pathways critical for envelope growth in A. baumannii that can be targeted in combination strategies for attacking the pathogen.
Intestinal ferritinophagy is regulated by HIF-2α and is essential for systemic iron homeostasis

Abstract Iron is critical for many processes including oxygen transport and erythropoiesis. Transcriptomic analysis demonstrates that HIF-2α regulates over 90% of all transcripts induced following iron deficiency in the intestine. However, beyond divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1), ferroportin 1 (Fpn1) and duodenal cytochrome b (Dcytb), no other genes/pathways have been critically assessed with respects to their importance in intestinal iron absorption. Ferritinophagy is associated with cargo specific autophagic breakdown of ferritin and subsequent release of iron. We show here that nuclear receptor co-activator 4 (NCOA4)-mediated intestinal ferritinophagy is integrated to systemic iron demand via HIF-2α. Duodenal NCOA4 expression is regulated by HIF-2α during high systemic iron demands. Moreover, overexpression of intestinal HIF-2α is sufficient to activate NCOA4 and promote lysosomal degradation of ferritin. Promoter analysis revealed NCOA4 as a direct HIF-2α target. To demonstrate the importance of intestinal HIF-2α/ferritinophagy axis in systemic iron homeostasis, whole body and intestine-specific NCOA4-null mouse lines were assessed. These analyses demonstrate an iron sequestration in the enterocytes, and significantly high tissue ferritin levels in the dietary iron deficiency and acute hemolytic anemia models. Together, our data suggests efficient ferritinophagy is critical for intestinal iron absorption and systemic iron homeostasis.
Cataract and systemic disease: A review

We review the current literature regarding the risk factors for cataract and the association between cataract and systemic disease. Numerous epidemiologic studies have found that the risk factors for age-related cataract formation include age, sex, race and myopia. Modifiable risk factors include smoking, socioeconomic status and ultra-violet light exposure. Alcohol intake and nutritional status may play a role in cataract formation. Cataract has been associated with many systemic diseases mainly diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, chronic kidney disease and autoimmune disease. Cataract is also a hallmark of many metabolic disorders and syndromes. These findings are important to help implement risk factor and lifestyle-modification strategies that can hopefully decrease the burden of global cataract blindness.
Competitive Bundling and Counterbundling with Generalist and Specialist Firms

Bundling, which is the practice of selling two or more products or services in a package, is a pervasive marketing practice and is often used as a strategic competitive tool. However, there has not been enough consideration of competitive bundling situations in which exit of a competitor is not a concern. In this paper, we address this issue by identifying conditions under which strategic competitors may or may not resort to bundling when competitor exit considerations are absent. We study competition between a multiproduct generalist firm and two single-product specialist firms in two product categories, one of which has undifferentiated products and the other has differentiated products. In our model, the specialist firms can form an alliance to bundle their products in competing with the generalist firm. In contrast to the previous literature, we find that concurrent bundling by competitors, if it occurs in equilibrium, is profitable. We also find that when one competitor bundles and the other does not, the bundling firm gains a greater share of customers and makes a higher profit. However, when conditions favor counterbundling by a competitor, such counterbundling helps the competitor retain its customers. Finally, we note that under other market conditions, concurrent bundling by competitors escalates price competition to the extent that retaining customers through bundling is not profitable. In such a case, we show that strategic competitors are better off having asymmetric product lines with one competitor bundling and the other selling unbundled.
Surface Structures of Fractured Flints

RECENT letters in NATURE by Reid Moir and W. J. Lewis Abbott on surface structures of fractured flints prompt this note.
Network based estimation of wind farm power and velocity data under changing wind direction

This paper describes an estimation algorithm for velocity and power output signals in a wind farm under changing wind direction. A graph-theoretic definition describes the wind farm as a collection of nodes (turbines) and time-varying weighted edges (inter-turbine wake propagation) that change as a function of incoming wind direction. The velocity at each turbine is determined through a discrete input-output model. Changes in wind direction serve as the input and the output is defined in terms of a time-varying weighted adjacency matrix that depends on the time-delay of information propagation between turbines. These delays, which are defined in terms of the advection speed of the wind and the distance between the turbines, capture the delayed effect of wind direction changes on the inter-connectivity of the graph as the wind conditions at the farm inlet propagate through the turbine array. An event-based update framework is employed to capture time-dependent topology changes due to shifts in wind direction. Simulation results for dynamically changing wind inlet directions to a circular wind farm are compared to predictions from both the static and dynamic versions of the FLOw Redirection and Induction in Steady State (FLORIS) model. The approach is shown to enable real-time tracking of dynamic changes to wind farm power output within a framework that can be easily integrated into real-time, horizon-based, control strategies that typically do not account for wind direction changes.
Application of a time-series deep learning model to predict cardiac dysrhythmias in electronic health records.

Background Cardiac dysrhythmias (CD) affect millions of Americans in the United States (US), and are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. New strategies to combat this growing problem are urgently needed. Objectives Predicting CD using electronic health record (EHR) data would allow for earlier diagnosis and treatment of the condition, thus improving overall cardiovascular outcomes. The Guideline Advantage (TGA) is an American Heart Association ambulatory quality clinical data registry of EHR data representing 70 clinics distributed throughout the US, and has been used to monitor outpatient prevention and disease management outcome measures across populations and for longitudinal research on the impact of preventative care. Methods For this study, we represented all time-series cardiovascular health (CVH) measures and the corresponding data collection time points for each patient by numerical embedding vectors. We then employed a deep learning technique-long-short term memory (LSTM) model-to predict CD from the vector of time-series CVH measures by 5-fold cross validation and compared the performance of this model to the results of deep neural networks, logistic regression, random forest, and Naive Bayes models. Results We demonstrated that the LSTM model outperformed other traditional machine learning models and achieved the best prediction performance as measured by the average area under the receiver operator curve (AUROC): 0.76 for LSTM, 0.71 for deep neural networks, 0.66 for logistic regression, 0.67 for random forest, and 0.59 for Naive Bayes. The most influential feature from the LSTM model were blood pressure. Conclusions These findings may be used to prevent CD in the outpatient setting by encouraging appropriate surveillance and management of CVH.
Field Performance of Geosynthetic Highway Drainage Systems

This paper presents field results from a three year study focused on the performance of geosynthetic materials in transportation related drainage applications. The application areas of interest were mainly highway edge drains, although selected retaining wall drains and erosion control systems were also involved. Included in the study are geotextile filters, geocomposite edge drains, geocomposite sheet drains and, to a limited extent, plastic pipe. In many instances, the geotextile was observed to be the key element in the overall success or failure of the system. Thus the geotextile, serving in a primary function as a filter was the major focal point of the investigation. The paper presents the results of exhuming ninety-one (91) field sites in seventeen (17) states throughout the United States. The results give a clear assessment of geosynthetic drainage systems from a long-term field perspective. Furthermore, it allows for specific recommendations to be made to avoid those situations where problems occurred. In a subsequent paper in these Proceedings the results will ultimately be used to challenge the necessary design formulas currently available for geotextile filters in highway drainage applications.
Bigger than any code of ethics and rules of audit: Civilization – from divisive barbarity to the birth of a new age

Humanity is maturing slowly and is soaked in blood, passing through his age of childhood and adolescence. He is now going through the last stages of his adolescence – producing, distributing, and trying to manage weapons of mass destruction; grabbing all he can for his selfish interests while millions starve in other lands and in our own neighborhood; holding also tightly to his ancestor's dogmas, superstitions, and divisive ideals of race, nationalism, and religion. Such mindset has recently manifested itself in huge scandals in the Catholic Church, and previously in Protestant denominations, and embezzlements in billions by the likes of Enron, Worldcom, and Arthur Anderson, and ultimately by the fundamentalist ideologies manifested in the likes of Osama Bin Laden and the Al‐Quaida organization. The democratic systems, while hanging on to old ideas, have necessitated what George Orwell foresaw as the need for “double‐speak” and “correct‐think” to be able to keep the illusion of democracy and at the same time control the passions of the masses. Wars, in the meantime, have continued, have brought devastation to the world and have claimed the lives of some 200 million people in the twentieth century alone. Man is at the brink. The question of business ethics cannot be addressed in a vacuum if he has lost a bigger truth – his humanity. One must either learn to grow up quickly or perhaps, perish.
N-cadherin adhesion mediated signaling stabilizes VE-cadherin-mediated adhesion and strengthens endothelial barrier function (695.3)

N-cadherin adhesion mediated signaling stabilizes VE-cadherin-mediated adhesion and strengthens endothelial barrier function Kevin Kruse, Nathan Sieracki, Yulia Komarova. Neuronal (N)-cadherin has ...
Predicting exchange rates via a futures market

Predicting future spot exchange rates has always been useful for companies trading internationally. Now finding future exchange rates is essential for countries that are to join common currency zones (Eurosystem) and need to set reference rates for the ERM II. This paper presents a model that attempts to determine exchange rates and, unlike others, is based on an analysis of the futures market. The model is based on the assumption that the futures market is dominated by two categories of traders: arbitrageurs and fundamental traders. The divergence of the futures rate from its theoretical value is gauged and then considered to be an indication of the direction and strength of the two forces in the market. The arbitrageurs' influence is filtered out and thus the model outputs the rate based on the fundamental traders' expectations.
Feasibility of Floating Platform Systems for Wind Turbines: Preprint

This paper provides a general technical description of several types of floating platforms for wind turbines. Platform topologies are classified into multiple- or single-turbine floaters and by mooring method. Platforms using catenary mooring systems are contrasted to vertical mooring systems and the advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Specific anchor types are described in detail. A rough cost comparison is performed for two different platform architectures using a generic 5-MW wind turbine. One platform is a Dutch study of a tri-floater platform using a catenary mooring system, and the other is a mono-column tension-leg platform developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Cost estimates showed that single unit production cost is $7.1 M for the Dutch tri-floater, and $6.5 M for the NREL TLP concept. However, value engineering, multiple unit series production, and platform/turbine system optimization can lower the unit platform costs to $4.26 M and $2.88 M, respectively, with significant potential to reduce cost further with system optimization. These foundation costs are within the range necessary to bring the cost of energy down to the DOE target range of $0.05/kWh for large-scale deployment of offshore floating wind turbines.
The Residue of p(N) Modulo Small Primes

For primes l we obtain a simple formula for p(N) (mod l) as a weighted sum over l-square affine partitions of N. When l ϥ {3,5,7,11}, the weights are explicit divisor functions. The Ramanujan congruences modulo 5, 7, 11, 25, 49, and 121 follow immediately from these formulae.
On Behavior Classification in Adversarial Environments

In order for robotic systems to be successful in domains with other agents possibly interfering with the accomplishing of goals, the agents must be able to adapt to the opponents’ behavior. The more quickly the agents can respond to a new situation, the better they will perform. We present an approach to doing adaptation which relies on classification of the current adversary into predefined adversary classes. For feature extraction, we present a windowing technique to abstract useful but not overly complicated features. The feature extraction and classification steps are fully implemented in the domain of simulated robotic soccer, and experimental results are presented.
TELLING THE STORY OF PLACES: EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THROUGH THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL LANDSCAPES

The notion of a unique spatial narrative, a story of an individual experience in a virtual landscape, can be a powerful tool in bringing informatics to education. Learning by experience is an innate part of our world, and we can leverage those life skills to actively involve students by not only providing them with an immersive virtual environment that can be explored, but also by actively involving students in the process of designing and developing the virtual landscape and its content. By participating directly in the process of creating the elements that will tell the story of a place, students learn about that place as they actively participate in building the virtual landscape and its story.
The Intersection of Accountability and Language: Can Reading Intervention Replace English Language Development?

Abstract The language in recent education policy equates academic achievement with reading proficiency for English language learners (ELLs). In response to federal and state accountability efforts focused on reading, California high schools began to substitute reading intervention programs for English language development (ELD) curricula and instruction. This study compared the effect of a reading intervention program to that of a comprehensive ELD program on ELLs' achievement at one California high school. Ultimately, the comparison cohort earned higher achievement test scores than the reading intervention program cohort. Perhaps most striking, however, was the sheer proportion of ELLs excluded from services due to reading levels beyond the program exit level. As educators work to improve ELL achievement, the importance of curricula that meet students at their linguistic and academic level cannot be understated.
Evaluation of DRO Schedules to Reduce Disruptive Behavior in a Preschool Classroom

ABSTRACT This study examined the effectiveness of momentary DRO (mDRO) and whole interval DRO (wDRO) schedules on high rates of disruptive behavior in a classroom of 22 children. In both procedures, children earned tokens for the absence of disruptive behavior and exchanged tokens for tangible or edible reinforcers. mDRO and wDRO, with tangible reinforcement, produced modest decreases in disruptive behavior (36%–44% decrease from baseline). However, wDRO with edible reinforcement produced larger decreases in disruptive behavior (66–81% decrease from baseline).
A study of scale formation around air bubble attached on a heat-transfer surface

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of an air bubble on scale formation. Artificial hard water was used, whose hardness was equivalent to 1,000 ppm as CaCO3. Photographs of scaled heat-transfer surfaces showed the distribution of CaCO3 crystals around the bubble and in divergent tail-like areas downstream of the bubble. It was speculated that nucleation seeds were created around the bubble due to the release of CO2 gas at the interface from water to the air bubble. The seeds were carried downstream along streamlines around the bubble. The bubble affected the scale-deposition area approximately forty times larger than the bubble size. In the study, the local temperature effect did not significantly affect the formation of scale deposition.
Three-dimensional features of object shape: relevance for recognition and reasoning about function

THe focus of the paper is the nature and computation of features used in 3D shape representations within the context of recent research in bottom-up and top-down approaches for object recognition. Bottom-up approaches compute rich representations of low-level representations and then proceed to derive higher level features, typically using grouping heuristics and without high level knowledge. Representative of this category are computations on the primal sketch level and the 'shape from' processes. Top-down approaches specify a prototypical object shape representation and search for and verify its presence in the early representation. Representative of this category are descriptions in terms of part configurations or through deformable prototypes. The representations and associated features will be discussed in view of their usefulness for object recognition as well as for reasoning about object function. This paper compared and contrasts these approaches within the framework of a hierarchical shape representation based on a surface decomposition into the largest convex patches. It will be shown that grouping processes in bottom- up approaches directly relate to high order descriptors.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Atmospheric composition and climate on the early Earth

Oxygen isotope data from ancient sedimentary rocks appear to suggest that the early Earth was significantly warmer than today, with estimates of surface temperatures between 45 and 85°C. We argue, following others, that this interpretation is incorrect—the same data can be explained via a change in isotopic composition of seawater with time. These changes in the isotopic composition could result from an increase in mean depth of the mid-ocean ridges caused by a decrease in geothermal heat flow with time. All this implies that the early Earth was warm, not hot. A more temperate early Earth is also easier to reconcile with the long-term glacial record. However, what triggered these early glaciations is still under debate. The Paleoproterozoic glaciations at approximately 2.4 Ga were probably caused by the rise of atmospheric O2 and a concomitant decrease in greenhouse warming by CH4. Glaciation might have occurred in the Mid-Archaean as well, at approximately 2.9 Ga, perhaps as a consequence of anti-greenhouse cooling by hydrocarbon haze. Both glaciations are linked to decreases in the magnitude of mass-independent sulphur isotope fractionation in ancient rocks. Studying both the oxygen and sulphur isotopic records has thus proved useful in probing the composition of the early atmosphere.
Shark Pharyngeal Muscles and Early Vertebrate Evolution

This study provides a new classification of shark pharyngeal muscles, leading to a re-interpretation of the evolutionary history of these muscles. It begins with Edgeworth's developmental classification but also incorporates phylogenetic and functional information. The two basic groups of pharyngeal muscles are (1) branchial(including deep interbranchials and superficial constrictors) and (2) spinal(including epaxial and hypobranchial muscles). Most of the branchial muscles are also present anteriorly in the mandibular and hyoid segments, indicating that these were once typical branchial segments. The extrabranchial cartilages and gill septa are used as landmarks for dividing the interbranchials from the superficial constrictors. These landmarks reveal that the most important expiratory muscles in the anterior pharynx (most parts of “constrictor hyoideus”, interhyoideus, levator palatoquadrati, spiracularis, and intermandibularis) are actually enlarged interbranchial muscles that have taken on a surface location. “Shrinking” these enlarged interbranchials and returning them to a deep location produces a simple, metameric reconstruction of the pre-gnathostome pharynx that fits what is known about thelodonts and other fossil agnatha related to gnathostomes. Finally, the pharyngeal muscles of bony fishes are considered, and concluded to have evolved from a sharklike condition through an acanthodian-like intermediate. © 1997 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Measurement of problem behaviour during medication evaluations.

Background The focus of this review is on methods that are currently being used to evaluate the behavioural effects of medication for individuals with intellectual disabilities. First we describe what has been identified as the ideal criteria for conducting clinical trials and how these criteria may be adapted to do less controlled evaluations. The central theme is a review of the biological measures (e.g. labs, drug levels), behavioural rating scales and direct observation measures that are often used to evaluate medication effects. Issues related to how the side effects of medication can affect behaviour will also be discussed. Conclusion The importance of encouraging communication and collaboration across all systems of care and the use of socially valid measures are discussed.
Nonlinear impact analysis of fully backed composite sandwich structures

Impact analysis of fully backed composite sandwich plates is presented, and a shear deformable model of face sheet laminates on a two-parameter elastic foundation is developed, in which the nonlinear contact law is included. The core in the sandwich is modeled as a two-parameter elastic foundation with nonlinear decay of displacement through the thickness. Hertz contact law is adopted to simulate the nonlinear impact response of the face sheet laminates. The proposed model is compared with a solution for simply supported laminated plates, and with experimental and numerical results of fully backed composite sandwich plates. The effects of core stiffness (elastic foundation), transverse stiffness of face sheet laminate, contact stiffness, and tip shape of the projectile on the impact response are investigated. It indicates that the analytical model developed can be used as a versatile and accurate tool to study the nonlinear impact response of composite sandwich structures.
Eager Evaluation Isn't Eager Enough A Transformation Based Approach to Semantics-Directed Code Generation

An interpreter is a concise definition of the semantics of a programming language and is easily implemented. A compiler is more difficult to construct, but the code that it generates runs faster than interpreted code. This paper introduces rules for staging an interpreter so that it generates a compiler. An extended example suggests the utility of the technique. The rules are described formally and correctness is discussed. Finally, this technique is compared to staging and partial evaluation.
Ultrasound-based transient elastography for the detection of hepatic fibrosis in patients with recurrent hepatitis C virus after liver transplantation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Ultrasound-based transient elastography (TE) is a promising noninvasive alternative to liver biopsy for the detection of hepatic fibrosis due to recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) after liver transplantation (LT). However, its overall test performance in various settings remains unknown. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and diagnostic accuracy meta-analysis of studies comparing ultrasound-based TE to liver biopsy for the detection of hepatic fibrosis due to a recurrent HCV infection after LT. Electronic and manual bibliographic searches (including scientific abstracts) were performed to identify potential studies. A meta-analysis was conducted to generate pooled estimates of the sensitivity values, specificity values, likelihood ratios, and diagnostic odds ratios of individual studies. The extent of the heterogeneity and the reasons for it were assessed. Six fully published studies were identified for analysis. Five studies that evaluated significant fibrosis were identified. Among these studies, the pooled estimates were 83% for sensitivity [95% confidence interval (CI) = 77%-88%], 83% for specificity (95% CI = 77%-88%), 4.95 for the positive likelihood ratio (95% CI = 3.4-7.2), 0.17 for the negative likelihood ratio (95% CI = 0.09-0.35), and 30.5 for the diagnostic odds ratio (95% CI = 12.8-72.4). For the 5 studies that assessed cirrhosis, the pooled estimates were 98% for sensitivity (95% CI = 90%-100%), 84% for specificity (95% CI = 80%-88%), 7 for the positive likelihood ratio (95% CI = 2.8-17.3), 0.06 for the negative likelihood ratio (95% CI = 0.02-0.19), and 130 for the diagnostic odds ratio (95% CI = 36.5-462.1). A diagnostic threshold (or cutoff value) bias was identified as an important cause of heterogeneity for the pooled results of both patient groups. In conclusion, ultrasound-based TE has excellent diagnostic accuracy for identifying cirrhosis due to a recurrent HCV infection after LT. The detection of significant fibrosis is more accurate for these patients versus patients whose native liver is chronically infected with HCV. Liver Transpl 18:323–331, 2012. © 2012 AASLD.
Passive immunization of fetal rats with antiserum to luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) or transection of the central roots of the nervus terminalis does not affect rat pups' preference for home nest

Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) is found immunocytochemically in cell bodies and fibers of the nervus terminalis, a cranial nerve which courses from the nasal septum through the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone (medial to the olfactory and vomeronasal nerves) and enters the forebrain, caudal to the olfactory bulbs. Immunoreactive LHRH is first detected in the nervus terminalis of the fetal rat at 15 days of gestation, preceding its detection by immunocytochemistry in any other area of the brain, including the median eminence, and preceding detection of immunoreactive luteinizing hormone (LH) in the anterior pituitary. During development of the rat fetus, the nervus terminalis is the principal source of LHRH in the nervous system from days 15 through 19 of a 21 day gestation period. We tested the notion that the LHRH system of the nervus terminalis is important for olfactory performance by examining the effects of administration of antisera to LHRH during fetal development (versus saline controls), or medial olfactory peduncle transections, in the neonatal rat, which would sever the central projections of the nervus terminalis (versus lateral peduncle transection, complete transection of the olfactory peduncles and the central nervus terminalis or controls) on preferences of rat pups for home nest. The hypothesis that LHRH is important for this chemosensory response was not confirmed. Neither antisera to LHRH nor medical olfactory peduncle transection disrupted preference for home shavings. Only complete olfactory peduncle transection had a significant effect compared to unoperated and sham-operated controls.
Summary of: the survival of Class V restorations in general dental practice: part 3, five-year survival.

Summary of: The survival of Class V restorations in general dental practice: part 3, five-year survival
Intramolecular Electronic Energy Transfer in Ruthenium(II) Diimine Donor/Pyrene Acceptor Complexes Linked by a Single C−C Bond

The photophysical behavior of [(bpy)2Ru(L)]2+ complexes (L = 4-(1‘‘-pyrenyl)-2,2‘-bipyridine, bpy-pyr; 2-(1‘-pyrenyl)-1,10-phenanthroline, phen-pyr; and 2-(2‘-naphthyl)-1,10-phenanthroline, phen-nap) was investigated in solutions and frozen matrices. The conformation of the linked pyrene differs in the two complexes: The pyrene moiety is conformationally constrained to be nearly perpendicular to the phenanthroline in the phen-pyr complex while the pyrene in the bpy-pyr complex has much greater flexibility about the C−C bond linking the ligand and the pyrene. The 3MLCT excited state of the Ru(II) diimine complex and the 3(π → π*) state of the pyrenyl substituent are nearly isoenergetic; the 3MLCT state is the lowest energy state in the bpy-pyr complex, and the pyrene 3(π → π*) state is lower in energy for the phen-pyr complex. The bpy-pyr complex is unique in that the 3MLCT state has a very long lived luminescence (approximately 50 μs in degassed CH3CN). Luminescence decays for both pyrene containing comp...