cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evolving multi-label classification rules by exploiting high-order label correlations

Abstract In multi-label classification tasks, each problem instance is associated with multiple classes simultaneously. In such settings, the correlation between labels contain valuable information that can be used to obtain more accurate classification models. The correlation between labels can be exploited in different levels such as capturing the pair-wise correlation or exploiting the higher-order correlations. Even though the high-order approach is more capable of modeling the correlation, it is computationally more demanding and has scalability issues. This paper aims at exploiting the high-order label correlations locally using supervised learning classifier systems (UCS). For this purpose, the label powerset (LP) strategy is employed and a prediction aggregation is utilized that improves the prediction capability of the LP method in the presence of unseen labelsets. Exact match ratio and Hamming loss measures are considered to evaluate the rule performance and the expected fitness value of individual classification rules is investigated using both metrics. Also, a computational complexity analysis is provided for training the proposed algorithm. The experimental results of the proposed method are compared with other well-known LP-based methods on multiple benchmark datasets and confirm the competitive performance of this method.
Cryptotanshinone Protects Porcine Alveolar Macrophages from Infection with Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

Abstract Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), caused by PRRS virus (PRRSV) infection, imposes enormous economic impact to the world pork industry. Currently there is no effective treatment to prevent PRRSV infection in swine. We report that the natural compound cryptotanshinone (Cpt) effectively inhibits the infection of various strains of PRRSV to porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs), the primary cell target of PRRSV in vivo. Mechanistically, Cpt inhibits the activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), and blocks the interleukin 10 (IL-10) stimulated as well as the basal level CD163 expression in PAMs. Cpt-treatment of PAMs is effective when applied either before or after PRRSV infection, with the combined pre- and post-PRRSV infection treatment resulting in the most significant, dose-dependent inhibition of PRRSV infection. Cpt inhibited both type I/II PRRSV infection in PAMs. Our study identified a new approach to prevent/treat PRRSV infection of pigs with natural compounds.
Short-term oral rapamycin prevents age-related learning impairment in mice

Effective treatments to prevent or delay age-related learning impairment are not generally available. In a preliminary preclinical study, mice 20 months of age were fed a diet containing 14 ppm rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTOR, for three months and then tested in a spatial navigation task. Mice fed the nonmedicated control diet showed learning impairment while mice fed the rapamycin diet were not learning impaired. This observation provides support for additional preclinical studies and suggests that short-term rapamycin treatment could be a possible strategy for preventing or delaying age-related cognitive impairment in people. Keywords: Age-related learning impairment, rapamycin, aging mice
iGOS++: Integrated Gradient Optimized Saliency by Bilateral Perturbations

The black-box nature of the deep networks makes the explanation for "why" they make certain predictions extremely challenging. Saliency maps are one of the most widely-used local explanation tools to alleviate this problem. One of the primary approaches for generating saliency maps is by optimizing a mask over the input dimensions so that the output of the network is influenced the most by the masking. However, prior work only studies such influence by removing evidence from the input. In this paper, we present iGOS++, a framework to generate saliency maps that are optimized for altering the output of the black-box system by either removing or preserving only a small fraction of the input. Additionally, we propose to add a bilateral total variation term to the optimization that improves the continuity of the saliency map especially under high resolution and with thin object parts. The evaluation results from comparing iGOS++ against state-of-the-art saliency map methods show significant improvement in locating salient regions that are directly interpretable by humans. We utilized iGOS++ in the task of classifying COVID-19 cases from x-ray images and discovered that sometimes the CNN network is overfitted to the characters printed on the x-ray images when performing classification. Fixing this issue by data cleansing significantly improved the precision and recall of the classifier.
Beyond Floating-Point Ops: CNN Performance Prediction with Critical Datapath Length

We propose Critical Datapath Length (CDL), a powerful, interpretable metric of neural-network models that enables accurate execution time prediction on parallel device architectures. CDL addresses the fact that the total number of floating-point operations (FLOPs) in a model is an inconsistent predictor of real execution time due to the highly parallel nature of tensor operations and hardware accelerators. Our results show that, on GPUs, CDL correlates to execution time significantly better than FLOPs, making it a useful performance predictor.
A Personal Narrative Conveying Human Flourishing

Human flourishing is gaining recognition and support as a central aim of therapeutic recreation (TR) services. However, missing from the extant scholarly literature are concrete, extensive depictions of people with disabilities who are living well. This is a critical omission because people need to be aware there are a multitude of avenues that lead to flourishing and that what flourishing looks like can differ from person to person. Furnishing portrayals of living well helps people grasp the diversity associated with flourishing and enables them to select and pursue a particular portrayal or meld multiple portrayals into a composite best suited to them and their environments. This article begins addressing the deficit by presenting a detailed portrait of human flourishing via a personal narrative. The text also discusses practical applications associated with using the personal narrative method and concludes with future objectives. Subscribe to TRJ
Propensity score matching for multilevel spatial data: accounting for geographic confounding in health disparity studies

Diabetes is a public health burden that disproportionately affects military veterans and racial minorities. Studies of racial disparities are inherently observational, and thus may require the use of methods such as Propensity Score Analysis (PSA). While traditional PSA accounts for patient-level factors, this may not be sufficient when patients are clustered at the geographic level and thus important confounders, whether observed or unobserved, vary by geographic location. We employ a spatial propensity score matching method to account for “geographic confounding”, which occurs when the confounding factors, whether observed or unobserved, vary by geographic region. We augment the propensity score and outcome models with spatial random effects, which are assigned scaled Besag-York-Mollie priors to address spatial clustering and improve inferences by borrowing information across neighboring geographic regions. We apply this approach to a study exploring racial disparities in diabetes specialty care between non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white veterans. We construct multiple global estimates of the risk difference in diabetes care: a crude unadjusted estimate, an estimate based solely on patient-level matching, and an estimate that incorporates both patient and spatial information. In simulation we show that in the presence of an unmeasured geographic confounder, ignoring spatial heterogeneity results in increased relative bias and mean squared error, whereas incorporating spatial random effects improves inferences. In our study of racial disparities in diabetes specialty care, the crude unadjusted estimate suggests that specialty care is more prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks, while patient-level matching indicates that it is less prevalent. Hierarchical spatial matching supports the latter conclusion, with a further increase in the magnitude of the disparity. These results highlight the importance of accounting for spatial heterogeneity in propensity score analysis, and suggest the need for clinical care and management strategies that are culturally sensitive and racially inclusive.
Risk Factors Associated With Complications After Operative Treatment of Multiligament Knee Injury.

Background:Many factors can affect clinical outcomes and complications after a complex multiligament knee injury (MLKI). Certain aspects of the treatment algorithm for MLKI, such as the timing of s...
Fewer US adults had low or transitional vitamin B12 status based on the novel combined indicator of vitamin B12 status compared with individual, conventional markers, NHANES 1999-2004.

Background Elevated plasma methylmalonic acid (MMA) and/or total homocysteine (tHcy), as well as low serum vitamin B12 and/or holotranscobalamin (holoTC) are indicative of vitamin B12 deficiency. Combined indicators (cB12), which pool some or all 4 markers into an index, may be a more reliable diagnostic tool to overcome inconclusive diagnoses with individual markers. Objectives We aimed to describe different cB12 score combinations and estimate the prevalence of low or transitional vitamin B12 status compared with individual markers. Design Using cross-sectional data for B12, MMA, and tHcy in persons ≥20 y participating in NHANES 1999-2004 (n = 12,335), we examined raw and covariate-adjusted regression models to assess determinants of 3cB12 (all 3 markers) and combinations of 2cB12 (2 markers). Results 3cB12 was significantly associated with B12 (Spearman r = 0.75), MMA (r = -0.70), and tHcy (r = -0.59). The 3cB12 reference interval (2.5th to 97.5th percentile) was -0.538 to 1.60. In covariate-adjusted models, we found no association of 3cB12 with age; adult females and users of B12 supplements had higher, while adults with advanced chronic kidney disease had lower 3cB12 levels regardless of race-Hispanic origin group (self-reported). Only 2.7% of adults had low or transitional vitamin B12 status using the proposed cB12 cutoff of ≤-0.5, while the prevalence of low (or low-normal) status depended on the selected individual marker and its cutoff: 2.2% and 13% for B12 13 µmol/L. The reference intervals for B12, MMA, and tHcy overlapped from the low ( -0.5) cB12 categories. Conclusions Vitamin B12 deficiency may be overestimated among US adults when individual, conventional markers are used. When only 2 markers are available, the combination of B12 and MMA provides results comparable to 3cB12.
The Integral Bushing Rear Suspension Architecture of the New Lincoln Corsair

The Lincoln Corsair is a compact premium crossover vehicle on Ford's global C (compact class) platform, replacing the Lincoln MKC. The prime focus of the research and development workstreams of the integral bushing rear suspension architecture for the new Lincoln Corsair was to significantly improve the performance in terms of impact harshness as well as noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) behavior compared to the Lincoln MKC featuring a control blade rear suspension architecture. The new integral bushing rear suspension architecture is an evolution of the integral link rear suspension architecture developed for Ford's global CD (midsize class) platform. Compared to the integral link rear suspension architecture the integral bushing rear suspension architecture is significantly lighter and the cost structure could be improved without compromising the performance level of the integral link rear suspension architecture. With regards to the interior noise attribute the performance level could be significantly improved. The integral bushing rear suspension architecture development included benchmarking activities, definition of attributes and targets, suspension concept design as well as system evaluation and selection. The concept development work was conducted with special attention to key requirements implied by a compact premium crossover product like the Lincoln Corsair as well as design constraints introduced by the platform and the sister product Ford Kuga deploying a control blade rear suspension architecture. This paper focuses on the design aspects and the fundamental layout principles of the integral bushing rear suspension architecture by presenting the journey starting from the integral bushing rear suspension prototype development towards the final series production design of the premium rear suspension architecture of the new Lincoln Corsair.
Semi-Coupling of a Field-Scale Resolving Land-Surface Model and WRF-LES to Investigate the Influence of Land-Surface Heterogeneity on Cloud Development

Contemporary Earth system models mostly ignore the sub-grid scale (SGS) heterogeneous coupling between the land surface and atmosphere, to a detriment that remains largely unknown. To both evaluate...
Power System Transient Stability Assessment and Key Bus Set Selection Based on Multiple-agent Cooperation

Transient stability assessment (TSA) plays an important role in the safe operation of power systems. With the development of computer and intelligent technologies, machine learning is likely to be used for the TSA of modern power systems due to the improved arithmetic capability. This paper proposes a new multiple-agent cooperation method for transient stability assessment. With this model, the pre-AI is responsible for selecting the key bus set of the analyzed power system. Then, the phasor measurement unit data of the key bus set is used by post-AI to generates an accurate transient stability assessment result. The IEEE 39-bus system is adopted to verify the validity of this proposed method. Results show that the proposed method can significantly reduce the calculating time as well as ensure the transient stability assessment accuracy. The AI for AI working mode provides a new insight for the serial collaboration and application of multi-agent technologies in the power system.
Pathophysiology of Inherited Metabolic Disease

The liver, brain, heart, muscle, and kidney are the organs most often affected by inborn errors of metabolism. As the primary site of amino acid, lipid, and glucose metabolism, the liver has a disproportionally high involvement in inborn errors of metabolisms. The brain, heart, and muscle have high energy demands and are therefore susceptible to disorders of fatty acid, ketone, or glucose metabolism. Several metabolic diseases affect kidney function leading to chronic complications including osteoporosis, hypertension, anemia, and electrolyte abnormalities.
Tilings with Infinite Local Complexity

This is a chapter surveying the current state of our understanding of tilings with infinite local complexity. Such tilings can arise when tiles have infinitely many possible adjacencies, infinitely many shapes, or infinitely many labels. Our main requirement is that the set of tiles used to construct tilings should be compact.
Estimation of daily cloud-free, snow-covered areas from MODIS based on variational interpolation

[1] NASA's MODIS global snow-covered area (SCA) products are one of the mission's major objectives that frequently contain cloud hindrances, which degrade their practical usability. Many techniques have been developed to mitigate the problem but with no assurance of eliminating all of the clouds. An image-processing algorithm with its kernel based on the variational interpolation theorem is developed to automatically obtain cloud-free dynamic SCA maps from MODIS. Two cases consisting of “accumulation” and “melting” phases are processed and validated using observations at 121 ground-snow sensors over the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. The results show that the algorithm cleared all the cloud hindrance over the period of study. In terms of accuracy, the retrieved cloud-free snow cover for the accumulation case had an average omission error of around 22.5% and average commission error of around 2.1%, as compared to all available ground sensors. These high percentages of errors basically came from the input data of Terra and Aqua, which had omission errors of 14.3% and 20.2% (and the commission errors of ∼0.5%), respectively. For the melting case, when there were fewer clouds and hence more sensors available, the errors of omission and commission between the algorithm and direct observations from Terra and Aqua were close to each other (5.7–5.0% for omission and 0% for commission).
Percolation‐Continuum Model of Evaporative Drying: Homogeneous or Patchy Saturation?

Porous rock on the earth's surface often contains more than one fluid phase, and an important case is partial saturation with air and water. We implemented a pore-scale, percolation model coupled with a continuum model for water vapor diffusion in order to create a simulated tomographic image of water distribution within a rock core during drying. As drying proceeds, the initial, continuous water cluster breaks up into smaller and smaller clusters with an increasing surface-area-to-volume ratio. Drying times are a function of the number and location of boundary surfaces, but the surface-area-to-volume ratio is approximately the same for a given saturation. By applying a Voigt volume average of the elastic properties of water-filled and air-filled cells, and by introducing the ad hoc rule that water-filled pores on the air-water interface of a cluster behave in a drained manner, we find elastic moduli as a function of saturation that mimic laboratory experimental data.
Listening for viral infection.

Biosensors based on a quartz crystal microbalance show promise for sensitive and rapid viral detection.
Compact monostatic/bistatic UWB system for wall parameter extraction

A compact monostatic/bistatic UWB radar system has been developed. It uses low cost, off the shelf components, and is ideally suited for wall characterization. Algorithms to estimate the constitutive wall parameters have been successfully implemented with this module. These methods include Time-Domain Reflectometry (TDR), a hybrid of Time-Delay Estimation (TDE) and Reflected Waves Ratio Method (RWR). Wall parameters for different wall types have been measured for various radar standoff distances, as well as in the presence of ground reflection and other multipath scenarios.
Damage detection with small data set using energy-based nonlinear features

Summary This study proposes a new algorithm for damage detection in structures. The algorithm employs an energy-based method to capture linear and nonlinear effects of damage on structural response. For more accurate detection, the proposed algorithm combines multiple damage sensitive features through a distance-based method by using Mahalanobis distance. Hypothesis testing is employed as the statistical data analysis technique for uncertainty quantification associated with damage detection. Both the distance-based and the data analysis methods have been chosen to deal with small size data sets. Finally, the efficacy and robustness of the algorithm are experimentally validated by testing a steel laboratory prototype, and the results show that the proposed method can effectively detect and localize the defects. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Measurement of 2-5 MV pulsed-voltages in electron beam diodes from Compton generated electrons

Summary form only given, as follows. Measuring multi-megavolt voltages across pulsed electron-beam diodes is very difficult. A capacitive probe can measure the voltage in the water or oil transmission line feeding power to the diode. However, this is usually far electrically from the diode and an inductive correction is usually applied to obtain the diode voltage. The two main problems with the inductive correction technique are: a) the inductance must be known, usually requiring additional short-circuit shots and b) derivatives of the current and transmission line effects introduce large errors in the measurement. Because of these difficulties researchers have devised several alternative methods for measuring the diode voltage. One method is based on analyzing the bremsstrahlung radiation produced in the diode through depth-dose stacks. Depth-dose stacks work well for voltages below 2 MV but fail at higher voltages because the mass attenuation coefficient becomes insensitive to voltage. Other alternatives based on known nuclear reactions have also been used but are also difficult at high voltages and provide no time behavior. Another alternative is to analyze the electrons generated by the bremsstrahlung spectrum through Compton collisions. In this method, photons generated in the diode are collimated onto an aluminum target. The Compton-generated electrons that escape the target are bent by a strong magnetic field and detected in a plane perpendicular to the Compton target. Electron/photon transport calculations from previous work showed that the ratio of the Compton electron dose to the photon dose is sensitive to the diode voltage in the 1-2 MV range. Proof-of-principle experiments using CaF/sub 2/ dosimeters for both the electrons and photons were also performed on a DC van de Graaff generator and results were in good agreement with the calculations. In this work we will use the ITS/Accept Monte-Carlo electron/photon transport code to extend the voltage range up to 5 MV and use active detectors to obtain a time-dependent voltage measurement. Time-dependent data from this voltage monitor from various pulsed-power machines will be presented and compared with the Accept calculations.
Fiddler Crab Exercise: The Energetic Cost of Running Sideways

The fiddler crab, Uca pugilator, used sideways octapedal locomotion during 15 min of treadmill exercise. At each velocity tested (0.06, 0.11 and 0.16 km h−1), oxygen consumption (VOO2) showed only a modest, sluggish elevation; a ‘steady-state’ was never attained. The highest VOO2 recorded, 0.22 mlO2g−1h−1, was 4.4 times the resting rate. Net whole body lactate (WBL) was found to increase at a constant rate throughout the exercise period. During recovery, VOO2 and WBL removal followed a similar time course and returned to pre-exercise rates in 30–45 min. Although the fate of lactate after exercise is unknown for crustaceans, calculations suggest that not enough oxygen is consumed by the crab during recovery to oxidize lactate completely to CO2 and H2O. A gluconeogenic fate is compatible with the data. As running velocity was increased, VOO2 increased only slightly, while the net rate of WBL production showed a substantial elevation. At low velocity aerobic metabolism accounted for 60% of the ATP produced when aerobic metabolism and anaerobic fermentation are considered. Anaerobic fermentation dominated at medium and high velocity and produced 60 and 70% of the ATP, respectively. The minimum cost of transport, the least amount of energy required to transport a given mass a distance, was determined using both aerobic and anaerobic sources. This estimation of locomotion economy for Uca pugilator was within the range predicted for a vertebrate of a similar mass.
A Center for Teaching Design in Electrical and Computer Engineering

We describe a new approach which is currently being used in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University to provide engineering design education for our undergraduate students. We have formed an Undergraduate Design Center which closely interacts with local industry to attract real-life design projects. Students work on these projects with faculty and industry mentors to fulfill the requirements of a one-semester design course. The center makes use of a networked computer environment which facilitates preliminary design.
Abandonment of genus: The evolution of political rhetoric

Richard Weaver's notion that the forms of argument used by a speaker—genus, similitude, cause and effect, or circumstance‐indicate the speaker's ideology is used to analyze speeches of Jimmy Carter, Lyndon Johnson, and Jane Byrne, mayor of Chicago. Their early rhetoric was characterized by argument from genus, their later rhetoric by less idealistic forms of argument, suggesting that their world view has changed and with it the public's view of their performance.
What's Under the Bed? City, Pasta, or Commie: Reflections on Teaching American Students in Italy

This paper reports on the author's experience teaching urban studies and planning to 20 North American undergraduates in Rome. For these students, the contrasts between the U.S. city and the European city provided great intellectual stimulation and outweighed the cultural contrasts. The experience of seeing and using the benefits of social democracy, or its still functioning remnants, was powerfully impressive. The students developed a sensitivity to their urban surroundings. Worked into writing requirements, their observations brought them to new and sharper perceptions about city life in the United States.
Autoradiographic Evidence for Incorporation of 2-Aminopurine into DNA and RNA of Plant Cells

Root tip cells of Vicia faba, treated with tritiated 2-aminopurine (2AP), were found to be labeled in the nucleus, nucleolus and cytoplasm, thus indicating incorporation into DNA and RNA. In cells fixed immediately after treatment about two-thirds of the label was observed over the nucleus (including nucleolus), after one cell division this distribution was reversed, and after two cell division cycles the grain count was about the same over nucleus and cytoplasm. The reduction and changing distribution of average grain counts through two cell division cycles can be attributed to: 1) distribution of half the labeled DNA and RNA to each daughter cell, 2) shift of labeled RNA from nucleolus to cytoplasm, and 3) metabolic turnover of labeled cytoplasmic RNA.Characteristics of the range and variability in incorporation of 2AP can be seen in frequency distributions constructed from grain counts. All the curves were positively skewed and covered a wide range, which under these experimental conditions, extended from 0 to 40 counts over the nucleus of cells fixed immediately after 8 hr labeling.
Core and surface mutations affect folding kinetics, stability and cooperativity in IL-1 beta: does alteration in buried water play a role?

Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) is a cytokine and a member of the beta-trefoil superfamily of protein structures. An interesting feature in the folding of IL-1 beta, shared with some other members of the same topological family, is the existence of a slow step in folding to the native conformation from a discrete intermediate. Wanting to probe the nature of this slow step in the folding of WT IL-1 beta (tau(1)=45 seconds), we made ten sequence variants of IL-1 beta (L10A, T9Q, T9G, C8S, C8A, N7G, N7D, L6A, R4P, and R4Q), where all mutations are located along strand 1. This strand is not protected from hydrogen exchange until late in folding. Most of the mutations showed little effect on the kinetics of folding for IL-1 beta. However, C8 is clearly involved in both the late and the early steps in folding, while sequence variants at L10 and L6 affect only late events in folding. The value of the slowest relaxation time, tau(1), which is associated with the rate of native protein formation, increased for the refolding of C8S, while C8A, L6A, and L10A showed smaller but systematic increases in the value of tau(1.)For both C8S and C8A, the value of the step associated with formation of the intermediate, tau(2), was independent of denaturant concentration. In addition, mutations in the hydrophobic core (L10A, C8A, C8S, and L6A) and, surprisingly, along the surface (T9G, T9Q, and N7G) alter the stability. The most destabilizing mutations show changes in equilibrium unfolding cooperativity, which is atypical for destabilizing mutations in IL-1 beta. Crystallographic studies indicate that mutations along strand 1 may alter the number of ordered water molecules within the core. Thus, side-chain replacement in this region can disrupt essential main-chain interactions mediated by ordered water contacts in a highly cooperative network of hydrogen bonding.
GENOTYPIC CHARACTERISTICS OF HTLV-II ISOLATES FROM AMERINDIAN AND NON-INDIAN POPULATIONS

The Amerindian human T-cell lymphotropic virus type II isolate HTLV-IIG12 has been demonstrated to be an HTLV-IIb with several unique features, including several restriction enzyme site changes, a distinctive pre-gag region, a stop codon within thepol gene, and an extended Tax protein. In this study, HTLV-II isolates from Amerindian and non-Indian populations were characterized by restriction enzyme site analysis to determine the prevalent HTLV-II subtype. In addition, DNA amplification by the polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot analyses were used to probe for the HTLV-IIG12 pre-gag region. Our results showed that of 13 Guaymi Indian isolates subtyped, all were HTLV-IIb, and that approximately one third of 17 isolates had the unique pre-gag region. While other HTLV-II-infected groups contained both HTLV-IIa and HTLV-IIb isolates, none of these isolates showed evidence of the distinctive HTLV-IIG12 pre-gag region. Lastly, DNA sequence analysis was used to determine the prevalence of the stop codon within thepol gene open reading frame. These analyses revealed that the occurrence of a stop codon within this sequence appeared to be characteristic of most HTLV-IIb subtypes. These results further our understanding of the genetic variations and evolution of the HTLV-II viruses within the endemically infected Amerindian populations, as well as U.S. intravenous drug users and other non-Indian populations.
Facets of personality and drinking in first-year college students

Abstract Our objective was to evaluate how well personality traits predict drinking-related variables in a longitudinal study of college students. Participants were drawn randomly from all incoming first-year students at a large university and they completed measures of the Big Five facets, sensation seeking, and drinking outcomes. Results suggested that variables linked with sensation seeking and impulse control were consistent predictors of drinking-related variables. In a few cases, narrower facets of personality were better predictors of criterion variables than were their corresponding Big Five traits. Such results underscore the value of using narrower aspects of personality for predicting consequential life outcomes.
THERMAL PATTERNS OF PACIFIC SOUTH AMERICA ASSOCIATED WITH EL NIÑTO/SOUTHERN OSCILLATION

This study quantifies the magnitude of temperature anomalies associated with extremes of the Southern Oscillation (SO) for 12 long-record stations and five shorter-record stations along the west coast of South America. Analysis of t-tests indicates that nine stations north of 35°S have a strong inverse relationship between their mean annual temperature and the sign of the Tahiti–Darwin Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). Significant inverse relationships are determined between the phase of the Southern Oscillation and (i) summer temperatures (five stations), (ii) autumn temperatures (eight stations), (iii) winter temperatures (eight stations), and (iv) spring temperatures (four stations) for the region north of 35°S. In particular, the northern mid-latitude stations (18°S–33°S) along the-west coast of South America show a pronounced seasonal pattern in temperature differences between extremes in the SO. The summer temperature increases associated with negative SOI values may be due to warm air advection from the equatorial regions. The increase in winter temperatures may be caused by warm air advection from the mid-latitudes associated with greater zonal flow caused by weakening of the South Pacific subtropical high. Stations south of 35°S display little temperature contrast between extremes of the SO.
Use of recombinant human erythropoietin in the perioperative period of orthopedic surgery

In a double-blind, multicenter study, 200 patients who could not or would not donate autologous blood before major orthopedic surgery requiring transfusion of at least 2 units of whole blood were randomized to receive placebo (n = 69) or recombinant human erythropoietin (Epoetin alfa) in daily doses of 300 U/kg (n = 60) or 100 U/kg (n = 71) for 15 consecutive days, starting 10 days before surgery and extending through the fourth postoperative day. Of these, 185 patients who received active medication or placebo and underwent surgery were qualified for evaluation of efficacy (n = 67, n = 54, and n = 64, respectively). All patients received concomitant oral iron supplementation. Compared with placebo-treated patients, a significantly lower proportion of patients who received either dose of Epoetin alfa required allogeneic blood transfusions (54% for placebo, 17% for 300 U/kg, 25% for 100 U/kg; p < 0.01), as well as fewer mean units of blood (1.42 units for placebo, 0.37 units for 300 U/kg, 0.58 units for 100 U/kg; p < 0.01). The differences between the Epoetin alfa treatment groups were not statistically significant. On the basis of these results, perioperative Epoetin alfa therapy in conjunction with iron supplementation may have a place as an adjunct to elective orthopedic surgery, particularly if dosing regimens less frequent than once daily can be established.
Reconstruction of Pediatric Brachial Plexus Injuries With Nerve Grafts and Nerve Transfers

Purpose To review the demographics and injury patterns in consecutive pediatric patients with traumatic brachial plexus injury presenting to a single center over a 16-year period and to review the outcomes of nerve grafting and nerve transfers for reconstruction of shoulder abduction and elbow flexion in these patients. Methods Forty-five pediatric patients presented for treatment of traumatic Brachial plexus injury from 1996 to 2012. Subgroup analysis of patients who had nerve grafting or nerve transfers for restoration of shoulder abduction and elbow flexion was carried out to compare outcomes of Medical Research Council (MRC) motor grading. Results The mean age of patients was 13.8 years (range, 3–17 y). Panplexal injuries (62%) and upper plexus injuries (16%) were particularly common. There was a very high proportion of preganglionic injuries (91%). Six of the 10 of patients who underwent intraplexal nerve grafting only for restoration of shoulder abduction achieved grade 3 or better power compared with 42% (5/12) of patients who had nerve transfers. When contralateral C7 was used as a donor for nerve transfer in restoration of shoulder abduction, 1 of the 5 patients achieved grade 3 or better shoulder abduction. All 4 patients who had nerve grafts for restoration of elbow flexion achieved grade 3 or better power, compared with 11 of 12 patients who had nerve transfers. There was no statistical difference in outcome (MRC grade 3 or 4) between patients who had nerve grafts and those who had nerve transfers. Conclusions This study shows that nerve grafts can result in similar outcomes (MRC grading) to nerve transfers for restoration of shoulder abduction and elbow flexion in traumatic pediatric BPI. The findings of this study do not support the use of contralateral C7 as a donor for nerve transfer in reconstruction of shoulder abduction in this age group. Type of study/level of evidence Therapeutic IV.
A failed case of weaning from a mechanical ventilator with lorazepam successfully accomplished by ziprasidone

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) exacerbations are potential medical emergencies treated with bronchodilators, glucocorticoids and supplemental oxygen. However, in extreme cases, adequate treatment requires mechanical ventilation via endotracheal intubation to correct the acid-base imbalance created by the disease process. We present a case of a 52-year-old female with COPD exacerbation requiring intubation who failed extubation multiple times while concurrently being treated with lorazepam, for agitation. Based on the evidence for increased carbon dioxide retention associated with benzodiazepine use, we weaned the patient off the lorazepam which in turn allowed the patient to be successfully weaned off the ventilator.
A Foundation for Causal Decision Theory

The primary aim of this paper is the presentation of a foundation for causal decision theory. This is worth doing because causal decision theory (CDT) is philosophically the most adequate rational decision theory now available. I will not defend that claim here by elaborate comparison of the theory with all its competitors, but by providing the foundation. This puts the theory on an equal footing with competitors for which foundations have already been given. It turns out that it will also produce a reply to the most serious objections made so far against CDT and against the particular version of CDT I will defend. 1 Causal decision theory comes in four versions: Gibbard & Harper's (1976), Skyrms' (1979), Lewis' (1981), and Sobel's (1978). The theories are in spirit very much alike, but the differences between them are philosophically significant. A good description and comparison of the four versions is given in Lewis (1981). While Lewis prefers his formulation of CDT, I prefer Skyrms', and it is for Skyrms' version that the foundation is supplied. In accordance with standard practice, this foundation consists of 1) a set of axiomatic conditions on rational preference systems, and 2) the derivation of a representation theorem which shows that for any preference system satisfying the axioms there exist a probability measure P and order-preserving utility functions U which represent the preferences, and which are related by the theory's general utility rule. The representation theorem has a uniqueness part which shows that P and U are not arbitrary: for each preference system P is uniquely determined and U is unique up to positive linear transformation. (Here I am describing the theorem presented in this paper; some representation theorems for other theories contain weaker uniqueness conditions.) I should make it clear from the beginning that the foundation I provide for the theory relies on formal results of Fishburn's in his (1973). My alterations of his formal theory are slight. I do reinterpret his theory somewhat. The application of that interpretation to causal decision theory is new.
Meloxicam and tenoxicam exhibited a similar and well-tolerated efficacy for analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects.

Article Title and Bibliographic Information Comparison of analgesic and anti-inflammatory efficacy of selective and non-selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors in dental implant surgery. Karabuda ZC, Bolukbasi N, Aral A, Basegmez-Zeren C, Ozdemir T. J Periodontol 2007;78(12):2284-8. Level of Evidence Level 2 (Limited-quality, patient-oriented evidence) Strength of Recommendation Grade Not applicable Purpose/Question The purpose of this study was to evaluate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory efficacy of 2 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), the selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor drug meloxicam and the nonselective COX-2 inhibitor drug tenoxicam, by using self-related pain scores and the need for rescue-analgesic agents after dental implant surgery. Source of Funding No funding Type of Study/Design Randomized, Prospective Double-Blind Study
Transient nonlinear solutions of coupled electromagnetic and thermal problems in bitter plate Tokamaks

An interactive package of computer programs interfacing a general purpose finite element system for the solution of coupled transient nonlinear electromagnetic, thermal, and structural problems in Bitter plate tokamaks is discussed. Taken into account are the variations in material, thermal, and electrical properties with temperature and the magnetoresistivity. The transient analysis is incremental. At a given moment of the toroidal field pulse it generates the magnetic induction penetrations, the current density and temperature distributions, and the Lorentz body forces in the Bitter plates.
Differential Expression of Two Novel Members of the Tomato Ethylene-Receptor Family

The phytohormone ethylene regulates many aspects of plant growth, development, and environmental responses. Much of the developmental regulation of ethylene responses in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) occurs at the level of hormone sensitivity. In an effort to understand the regulation of ethylene responses, we isolated and characterized tomato genes with sequence similarity to the Arabidopsis ETR1 (ethylene response 1) ethylene receptor. Previously, we isolated three genes that exhibit high similarity to ETR1 and to each other. Here we report the isolation of two additional genes, LeETR4 and LeETR5, that are only 42% and 40% identical to ETR1, respectively. Although the amino acids known to be involved in ethylene binding are conserved, LeETR5 lacks the histidine within the kinase domain that is predicted to be phosphorylated. This suggests that histidine kinase activity is not necessary for an ethylene response, because mutated forms of both LeETR4 and LeETR5 confer dominant ethylene insensitivity in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. Expression analysis indicates that LeETR4 accounts for most of the putative ethylene-receptor mRNA present in reproductive tissues, but, like LeETR5, it is less abundant in vegetative tissues. Taken together, ethylene perception in tomato is potentially quite complex, with at least five structurally divergent, putative receptor family members exhibiting significant variation in expression levels throughout development.
Medial forebrain bundle stimulation during learning and subsequent retention disruption

One hundred and fifteen male albino rats were used to evaluate 24-h retention of a passive avoidance task following low-level brain stimulation applied during original learning but not during retention. Since the amygdala, substantia nigra, and prefrontal cortex send their afferents through lateral hypothalamus-medial forebrain bundle (MFB), and they have been previously implicated in brain stimulation disruption of memory, the anterior, middle, and posterior portions of the MFB were stimulated. Statistically significant retention deficits relative to operated controls were observed. No impairment in original learning was detected between stimulated animals and operated controls. The disruptive effects of MFB stimulation on retention may be related to the disorganizing influence of the electrical stimulation on amygdaloid, nigro-neostriatal, and frontal cortical fiber systems normally involved in processes leading to retention of this passive avoidance response.
Insulin stimulation of glycogen synthase activity in cultured human fibroblasts from diabetic and control subjects.

The influence of insulin on the enzyme glycogen synthase was studied in cultured skin fibroblasts from 5 non-diabetic subjects and 3 diabetic patients. Confluent fibroblast cultures were maintained in serum-free medium for 24 hours before exposure to graduated concentrations of insulin (0.1 to 2000 mU/ml) for one hour. The independent form of glycogen synthase activity (determined in the absence of glucose-6-phosphate) was increased in some experiments by exposure of cells to 0.1 mU of insulin/ml; 1.0mU/ml produced a consistent increase; but at least 1000 mU/ml was required for maximum effect. In the non-diabetic subjects, the mean baseline total activity of glycogen synthase was 0.182 μmol/mg protein/h with 16.8% in the independent form; with 1000 m U of insulin/ml the total activity was 0.167 μmol/mg/h with 45.4% in the independent form. In the diabetic fibroblasts, the mean percentage of glycogen synthase in the independent form was lower than in the control cells at baseline and with all concentrations of insulin utilised; at baseline, total activity was 0.117 μmol/mg protein/h with 11.7% in the independent form while with 1000 mU of insulin/ml the values were 0.146 μmol/mg protein/h and 30.7% respectively. Demonstration of an effect of insulin on glycogen synthase in human fibroblasts provides another phenomenon for comparison in cells from control subjects and diabetic patients.
Changes in stereospecific distribution of yeast fatty acids with age

Abstract Stereospecific analyses of glycerolipids from 7-, 14- and 21-day-old cultures of the yeast Lipomyces lipoferus revealed that each position of the glycerolipids had a unique distribution of fatty acids which changed to varying degrees with age, and that, in the triacylglycerols, age had a greater effect on fatty acid content at sn -3 that at sn -1 or sn -2. Age-related changes in unsaturation were, however, greater in the phospholipids than in the triacylglycerols. Among the major phospholipids of L. lipoferus (phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylethanolamine), changes in the proportion of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids, and in the number of double bonds per mole, were greater at sn -2 than at sn -1, except for phosphatidylinositol between 14 and 21 days of age. The pattern of acylation of phosphatidylinositol between 14 and 21 days was thus different from that of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. Furthermore, at the three ages investigated, phosphatidylinositol had low and relatively constant levels of unsaturation compared with phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. The net decrease in phospholipid double bonds per mole in aging cells of L. lipoferus , and previous data, suggest that aging in this yeast is accompanied by a decrease in membrane fluidity.
Psychosocial problem disclosure by primary care patients.

Abstract The vast majority of psychologically distressed primary care patients present exclusively somatic concerns at the outsets of their visits. However, it is not known how often such patients subsequently disclose psychosocial problems to their primary care physicians (PCPs) and what variables predict such disclosures. Our objectives were to measure, among psychologically distressed primary care patients, the frequency of disclosure of psychosocial problems (disclosure), the effects of prior psychosocial inquiry (prior inquiry) by PCPs and various patient variables on disclosure, and the effect of disclosure on mental health problem recognition (recognition) by PCPs. The study was based in the practices of 69 community-based PCPs and involved 308 adult patients with 28-item General Health Questionnaire scores of 5 or greater, indicating significant psychological distress. Disclosure occurred during 51% of visits overall and 67% of visits with prior inquiry. The odds of disclosure were increased by prior inquiry ( p p p p
DESIGNING AN EFFECTIVE WORKSITE SMOKING CESSATION PROGRAM USING SELF-HELP MANUALS, INCENTIVES, GROUPS AND MEDIA

Pilot studies indicate that the workplace is a successful site for the implementation of smoking cessation programs (Jason et al., 1987a; 1987b;). Cessation efforts using monetary incentives have had yielded increased success in abstinence (Kleges & Cigrang, 1989). This article provides an overview of previous efforts at worksite cessation programs and outlines a new study that will use self help manuals, incentives, and group support sessions in a multilevel intervention in an attempt to identify successful components of worksite programs. The four year project will attempt to develop a comprehensive worksite program that is capable of being implemented by individual companies. To this end, sixty corporations will receive one of three programs and a week long television newscast on WGN-TV will be aired to accompany the interventions. An overview of the project is presented.
Jim Gray, astronomer

How he helped develop the SkyServer, delivering computation directly to terabytes of astronomical data.