cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optimal Expert Knowledge Elicitation for Bayesian Network Structure Identification

Bayesian network (BN) has been a popular tool for gaining mechanistic understanding of variables by revealing how the variables influence each other. It has been found very effective in a few studies in quality control and process monitoring. However, for complex problems where the structure of a BN is unknown, a common approach is to learn the BN structure from observational data. A fundamental bottleneck of this approach is that observational data can only be used to discover part of the influential relationships among variables. To overcome this problem, we propose to combine observational data and expert knowledge. To the best of the author’s knowledge, our approach is the first of its kind that formulates an experimental design framework to automate the expert elicitation process and collect the most informative expert knowledge, optimally matched to the observational data, to learn the BN structure. Note to Practitioners —As design of experiment techniques have been widely used in practice to automate the systematic data collection and experimental procedures by perturbing the system in order to better understand the relationships between the factors, here, we provide practitioners a counterpart approach for systematic expert knowledge elicitation. It can be used in combination with a imperfect data set, while the data could provide a starting point and further inform the expert knowledge elicitation by prioritizing the information queries. The data and expert knowledge gathered will be fused to learn the relationships between the factors with the estimation of the uncertainties.
Data-driven Urban Energy Simulation (DUE-S): A framework for integrating engineering simulation and machine learning methods in a multi-scale urban energy modeling workflow

Abstract The world is rapidly urbanizing, and the energy intensive built environment is becoming increasingly responsible for the world’s energy consumption and associated environmental emissions. As a result, significant efforts have been put forth to develop methods that can accurately model and characterize building energy consumption in cities. These models aim to utilize physics-based building energy simulations, reduced-order calculations and statistical learning methods to assess the energy performance of buildings within a dense urban area. However, current urban building energy models are limited in their ability to account for the inter-building energy dynamics and urban microclimate factors that can have a substantial impact on building energy use. To overcome these limitations, this paper proposes a novel Data-driven Urban Energy Simulation (DUE-S) framework that integrates a network-based machine learning algorithm (ResNet) with engineering simulation to better understand how buildings consume energy on multiple temporal (hourly, daily, monthly) and spatial scales in a city (single building, block, urban). We validate the proposed DUE-S framework on a proof of concept case study of 22 densely located university buildings in California, USA. Our results indicate that the DUE-S framework is able to accurately predict urban scale energy consumption at hourly, daily and monthly intervals. Moreover, our results also demonstrate that the integration of data-driven and engineering simulation approaches can partially capture the inter-building energy dynamics and impacts of the urban context and merits future work to explore how they can be improved to predict sub-urban scale energy predictions (single building, block). In the end, successfully predicting and modeling the energy performance of urban buildings has the potential to inform the decision-making of a wide variety of urban sustainability stakeholders including architects, engineers and policymakers.
Excitation Energy Distribution in an Organism with a Chl A/C/Carotenoid Light Harvesting Complex

Photosynthetic organisms have the capacity to regulate the distribution of excitation energy between PS2 and PS1 via a mechanism termed the light state transition (4, 11). It has been argued that this phenomenon serves to maintain equal turnover of PS2 and PS1 ensuring efficient linear electron transport. To date, state transitions have been described in organisms that use either a Chi a/b LHC or a phycobilisome as light harvesting antenna and models have been proposed to describe the state transition with regards to the particular type of antenna complex employed (see 1, 2, 7 and 13). However, not all photosynthetic algae use these types of light harvesting complex. A Chl a, Chi c and carotenoid antenna complex is used by the various members of the Chromophyta. These algae are taxanomically diverse (Bacillariophyta, Dinoflagellata, Chrysophyta, Phaeophyta, Prymnesiophyta) and contribute a major fraction to the primary productivity of the oceans. However, surprisingly few studies have been concerned with the details of photosynthesis in these organisms (for review see 10).
Pilot investigation of naproxen/methotrexate interaction in patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential interaction of naproxen and methotrexate (MTX) in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). METHODS: Nine children with JRA served as their own control taking their usual doses of MTX (0.22-1.02 mg/kg/week) and naproxen (14.6-18.8 mg/kg/day) separately and in combination. RESULTS: MTX affected a > or = 30% change in naproxen kinetics in 6/8 patients, while naproxen altered MTX kinetics by > or = 30% in 4/9 patients. CONCLUSION: MTX can alter nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) kinetics in children with JRA and NSAID can alter MTX kinetics. NSAID toxicity should be considered when assessing adverse reactions in patients receiving the combination treatment of MTX and NSAID:
A pilot trial of irinotecan, temozolomide and bevacizumab (ITB) for treatment of newly diagnosed patients with desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT).

11050Background: DSRCT is a rare tumor with a dismal prognosis in the setting of current treatment options. Preclinical data suggested that VEGF-dependent angiogenesis is important for DSRCT tumor ...
Decomposing fit semantics for product size recommendation in metric spaces

Product size recommendation and fit prediction are critical in order to improve customers' shopping experiences and to reduce product return rates. Modeling customers' fit feedback is challenging due to its subtle semantics, arising from the subjective evaluation of products, and imbalanced label distribution. In this paper, we propose a new predictive framework to tackle the product fit problem, which captures the semantics behind customers' fit feedback, and employs a metric learning technique to resolve label imbalance issues. We also contribute two public datasets collected from online clothing retailers.
Approaching Correctional Treatment from a Programmatic Standpoint: Risk-Need-Responsivity and Beyond

As jails and prisons have become de facto psychiatric facilities, there is a dire need to discuss best practices across the broad spectrum of correctional psychological care while also accounting for larger institutional and policy issues that can affect the implementation of such practices. Previous chapters in this volume have summarized the literature on preferred assessment and treatment options for specific offender subpopulations and/or diagnostic concerns. This concluding chapter discusses best practices in correctional psychology using a more programmatic perspective that expands on, but also encompasses, each of the topics presented in earlier chapters. That is, this chapter provides an overall structure and set of general guidelines for improving outcomes associated with mental health services in correctional settings, regardless of the presenting issue at hand. The discussion is centered largely on the atheoretical and empirically-supported Risk-Needs-Responsivity (R-N-R) model; however, we argue that several additional considerations—namely the treatment of severe mental illness, incorporating advances in technology, and working within inherent systematic constraints—are necessary for developing more comprehensive and ultimately more effective correctional psychology interventions. The chapter begins by highlighting the continuum of psychological services needed in correctional institutions ranging from the treatment of acute mental illness to long-standing, serious criminal behavior. The R-N-R prongs and a bi-adaptive approach for treating offenders with serious mental illness are reviewed, followed by a brief summary of existing off-the-shelf programs for addressing individual risk factors within these models (note: substance abuse and mental illness interventions are discussed more thoroughly elsewhere in this volume). The chapter then presents several technological innovations that appear promising in creating more efficiency within, and greater continuity between, correctional psychology programs, such as the use of videoconferencing and mobile SmartPhones apps. Next, we offer several recommendations for successfully implementing programmatic change and sustaining progress. These include individualizing treatment planning by conducting a proper assessment of risk level and need, and subsequently targeting all that apply to a particular offender; adopting longer-term interventions that adhere to a cognitive-behavioral framework; maintaining adequate training for all staff involved in psychological services from referral to delivery; developing collaborations with researchers and practitioners at local universities; remaining open to novel and emerging ideas; and implementing a standardized process of learning across programs whenever feasible. Finally, we acknowledge common policy and legislative challenges that correctional psychologists may face, and encourage clinicians and administrators to find creative ways to navigate these constraints and demands.
Utility of the Serum Free Light Chain Assay in the Diagnosis of Light Chain Amyloidosis in Patients With Heart Failure.

Abstract Objective To determine the utility of the serum free light chain (FLC) assay for routine screening of light chain amyloidosis (AL) in patients with heart failure. Patients and Methods We studied consecutive new patients referred to the Heart Failure Clinic who had the FLC assay performed for routine screening at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, from January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2015. An FLC ratio between 0.26 and 1.65 was considered normal. Results Of the 1173 patients in the study (mean age, 64±15 years), 207 had an abnormal FLC ratio. Light chain amyloidosis was diagnosed in 0.5% of all patients (6 of 1173) and in 2.9% of those with an abnormal FLC ratio (6 of 207). To increase the pretest probability of an abnormal FLC ratio in predicting AL, we considered patients with an N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide level of 5000 pg/mL or greater (to convert to pmol/L, multiply by 0.1182) and a left ventricular posterior wall thickness of 13 mm or greater; this increased the diagnostic yield to 66.7% (6 of 9). Conclusion The prevalence of AL in patients with heart failure could be 0.5% or higher. Compared with the use of the serum FLC assay for routine screening, a targeted approach of the serum FLC assay in those with higher N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide level (≥5000 pg/mL) and increased posterior wall thickness (≥13 mm) has a markedly higher yield for the diagnosis of AL.
Role of seasoning vegetables on consumer behavior: Purchase, intake, liking, and intention to pay for larger servings

Abstract Vegetable intake in the U.S continues to be below national recommendations. Strategies include changes in vegetable preparation may improve vegetable preference and intake. This study’s objective was to determine the role of using seasonings compared to steaming on vegetable purchase, intake, liking and intention to pay for larger servings. An observational study was conducted during two 8-week periods at a university cafe. Two vegetables were offered each period: green beans/broccoli (2017); carrots/cauliflower (2018); with options of steamed (ST) or seasoned (SS). Surveys contained items regarding demographic, previous vegetable choices, lunch habits, vegetable selected, liking, frequency of eating this vegetable, likelihood of preparing, serving size, cost, and eating frequency at cafe. As a result of binomial test, there were significantly more SS green beans (n = 90 vs n = 44) p half had 0 g waste. Participants were likely to purchase a larger size (cost the same: 82.1%; cost more: 73.0%). Seasoning was associated with more vegetable purchases for three vegetables. Participants liked the preparation method that they chose, eating most if not all. Results revealed that increased vegetable intake with larger servings may be possible.
Chemometric Outlier Classification of 2D-NMR Spectra to Enable Higher Order Structure Characterization of Protein Therapeutics

Protein therapeutics are vitally important clinically and commercially, with monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapeutic sales alone accounting for $115 billion in revenue for 2018.[1] In order for these therapeutics to be safe and efficacious, their protein components must maintain their high order structure (HOS), which includes retaining their three-dimensional fold and not forming aggregates. As demonstrated in the recent NISTmAb Interlaboratory nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) Study[2], NMR spectroscopy is a robust and precise approach to address this HOS measurement need. Using the NISTmAb study data, we benchmark a procedure for automated outlier detection used to identify spectra that are not of sufficient quality for further automated analysis. When applied to a diverse collection of all 252 1H,13C gHSQC spectra from the study, a recursive version of the automated procedure performed comparably to visual analysis, and identified three outlier cases that were missed by the human analyst. In total, this method represents a distinct advance in chemometric detection of outliers due to variation in both measurement and sample.
CHAPTER 1 – LINEAR DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Publisher Summary An ordinary differential equation is an equation that involves a single unknown function, of a single variable, and some finite number of its derivatives. The order of a differential equation is the order of the highest order derivative of the unknown function that appears in the equation. The adjective ordinary is used to distinguish a differential equation from one that involves an unknown function of several variables, along with the partial derivatives of the function. A real solution of a differential equation is a function that, on some interval, possesses the requisite number of derivatives and satisfies the equation. A set of n linearly independent solutions of an nth-order linear homogeneous differential equation is called a fundamental set of solutions for the equation. The set of all functions that are solutions of a differential equation is called the general solution of the equation. The nonhomogeneous term is a function that is the solution of some linear homogeneous differential equation with constant coefficients.
Microsimulation Model to Compare Enteral and Parenteral Iron Supplementation in Children With Intestinal Failure.

Background Children with chronic intestinal failure have a high prevalence of anemia, commonly from iron deficiency, leading to frequent blood transfusions. No current guideline exists for iron supplementation in these children. In this analysis, we evaluate the effectiveness and the cost-effectiveness of using parenteral, enteral, and no iron supplementation to reduce blood transfusions. Methods We created a microsimulation model of pediatric intestinal failure over a 1-year time horizon. Model outcomes included cost (US dollars), blood transfusions received, and hemoglobin trend. Strategies tested included no supplementation, daily enteral supplementation, and monthly parenteral supplementation. We estimated parameters for the model using an institutional cohort of 55 patients. Model parameters updated each 1-month cycle using 2 regressions. A multivariate mixed-effects linear regression estimated hemoglobin values at the next month based on data from the prior month. A mixed-effects logistic regression on hemoglobin predicted the probability of receiving a blood transfusion in a given month. Results Compared with no supplementation, both enteral and parenteral iron supplementation reduced blood transfusions required per patient by 0.3 and 0.5 transfusions per year, respectively. Enteral iron cost $34 per avoided blood transfusion. Parenteral iron cost an additional $6600 per avoided blood transfusion compared with enteral iron. Conclusions We found both parenteral and enteral iron to be effective at reducing blood transfusions. The cost of enteral iron makes it the desired choice in patients who can tolerate it. Future work should aim to identify which subpopulations of patients may benefit most from one strategy over the other.
Experiential Learning Methods in Culinary Course Can Bridge the Gap: Student Perceptions on How Hands-On Curriculum Prepares Them for Industry

This exploratory study investigates students’ understanding of how they believed hands-on activities prepared them for the hospitality industry. While competitive hospitality businesses around the ...
Endogeneity Problems in Empirical Analyses of Antitrust and Competition

In simple terms, endogeneity is the violation of an assumption in regression analysis that, if not properly addressed, may undermine the reliability of standard empirical analyses and of the inferences based upon them. Endogeneity arises when one or more of the explanatory variables included as controls in a regression model is correlated with the residual of the econometric model (i.e. with unobserved factors). Endogeneity is related to the refrain that “correlation is not causation” in that the presence of endogenous explanatory variables may invalidate causal claims from the estimation. Because well-founded antitrust examination must be based on true causal relationships, a basic understanding of endogeneity is of great importance for antitrust practitioners. In many settings, the observed association between a market outcome of interest (the dependent variable in a regression model) and its assumed determinants (the model’s explanatory variables) reflects a combination of true causation and non-causal correlation (i.e., variables moving together without a causal relationship between them). The presence of endogeneity distorts the naive estimates, which are contaminated by the portion of the correlation that is non-causal. For example, an observed association between prices and quantity demanded may reflect both a true causal effect, whereby higher prices lead to lower demand, and a non-causal relationship, whereby, for example, expansions in demand coincide with higher prices without a causal relationship (an example of which we illustrate below). The problem can be so severe that it is not uncommon for an analysis that does not properly address endogeneity to erroneously estimate an upward sloping demand curve (i.e. higher prices yield greater demand). While the discussion surrounding endogeneity can quickly get technical, the purpose of this note is to make the topic approachable for non-economists and practitioners that do not have a background in econometrics. We explain the concept and consequences of endogeneity, as well as possible solutions, through a series of examples relevant to antitrust in non-technical and intuitive terms.
Cryogenic Evaluation and Modeling of a 900 V Cascode GaN HEMT

The increasing demand for more electric aircraft (MEA) to ensure zero carbon emission has spurred the research interest in cryogenic power converters integrated with deep cryogenic drive trains. Although both silicon carbide and GaN have proven to be appropriate candidates for high-temperature applications, the latter has been determined to be more suitable at cryogenic ambient since it provides relatively constant breakdown voltage, lower on-state voltage drop, and better switching time. The work in this article presents a comprehensive characterization of a 900V cascode GaN device at cryogenic temperature. The operation principle, cryo-charaeteristics, and physics-based explanation have been presented. A commercial SPICE model has also been utilized to model the cryogenic behavior. A 5-level cascaded H-bridge inverter has been simulated and loss has been calculated.
El tlc y la educacion superior: las dimensiones cultural y educativa del tratado

Resumen es: Philip G. Altbach senala la necesidad de considerar con la puesta en marcha del TLC, las relaciones que deben establecerse entre los tres paises implicad...
Researchers" and users" perceptions of the relative standing of biomedical papers in different journals

Journal citation impact factors, which are frequently used as a surrogate measure of research quality, do not correlate well with UK researchers" subjective views of the relative importance of journals as media for communicating important biomedical research results. The correlation varies with the sub-field: it is almost zero in nursing research but is moderate in more “scientific” sub-fields such as multiple sclerosis research, characterised by many authors per paper and appreciable foreign co-authorship. If research evaluation is to be based on journal-specific indicators, then these must cover different aspects of the process whereby research impacts on other researchers and on healthcare improvement.
Functional uterine bleeding with special reference to that associated with secretory endometrium

Abstract 1. 1. It has been too widely accepted that functional uterine bleeding is almost invariably associated with endometrial hyperplasia, but in our experience with 83 consecutive cases about 14 per cent are associated with secretory endometrium. 2. 2. Forty-one cases of functional uterine bleeding associated with secretory endometrium are studied in detail. (a) In most cases the complaint was simple menorrhagia. (b) Secretory endometrium was found during bleeding which lasted for as long as thirty-four days, and it was also found after prolonged bleeding associated with corpus luteum cysts, suggesting the possibility that with functional uterine bleeding secretory endometrium may persist for a long period of time.
Clinical experience with two frameless stereotactic radiosurgery (fSRS) systems using optical surface imaging for motion monitoring

The purpose of this study was to compare two clinical immobilization systems for intracranial frameless stereotactic radiosurgery (fSRS) under the same clinical procedure using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) for setup and video-based optical surface imaging (OSI) for initial head alignment and intrafractional motion monitoring. A previously established fSRS procedure was applied using two intracranial immobilization systems: PinPoint system (head mold and mouthpiece) and Freedom system (head mold and open face mask). The CBCT was used for patient setup with four degrees of freedom (4DOF), while OSI was used for 6DOF alignment prior to CBCT, post-CBCT setup verification at all treatment couch angles (zero and nonzero), and intrafractional motion monitoring. Quantitative comparison of the two systems includes residual head rotation, head restriction capacity, and patient setup time in 25 patients (29 lesions) using PinPoint and 8 patients (29fractions) using Freedom. The maximum possible motion was assessed in nine volunteers with deliberate, forced movement in Freedom system. A consensus-based comparison of patient comfort level and clinical ease of use is reported. Using OSI-guided corrections, the maximum residual rotations in all directions were 1.1° ± 0.5° for PinPoint and 0.6° ± 0.3° for Freedom. The time spent performing rotation corrections was 5.0 ± 4.1 min by moving the patient with PinPoint and 2.7 ± 1.0min by adjusting Freedom couch extension. After CBCT, the OSI-CBCT discrepancy due to different anatomic landmarks for alignment was 2.4 ± 1.3 mm using PinPoint and 1.5 ± 0.7 mm using Freedom. Similar results were obtained for setup verification at couch angles (< 1.5 mm) and for motion restriction: 0.4± 0.3 mm/0.2° ± 0.2° in PinPoint and 0.6 ± 0.3 mm/0.3° ± 0.1° in Freedom. The maximum range of forced head motion was 2.2 ± 1.0 mm using Freedom. Both intracranial fSRS immobilization systems can restrict head motion within 1.5 mm during treatment as monitored by OSI. Setting a motion threshold for beam-hold ensures that head motion is constrained within the treatment margin during beam-on periods. The capability of 6D setup is useful to improve treatment accuracy. Patient comfort and clinical workflow should play a substantial role in system selection, and Freedom system outperforms PinPoint system in these two aspects.
Validating FMEA output against incident learning data: A study in stereotactic body radiation therapy

Purpose: Though failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is becoming more widely adopted for risk assessment in radiation therapy, to our knowledge, its output has never been validated against data on errors that actually occur. The objective of this study was to perform FMEA of a stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) treatment planning process and validate the results against data recorded within an incident learning system. Methods: FMEA on the SBRT treatment planning process was carried out by a multidisciplinary group including radiation oncologists, medical physicists, dosimetrists, and IT technologists. Potential failure modes were identified through a systematic review of the process map. Failure modes were rated for severity, occurrence, and detectability on a scale of one to ten and risk priority number (RPN) was computed. Failure modes were then compared with historical reports identified as relevant to SBRT planning within a departmental incident learning system that has been active for two and a half years. Differences between FMEA anticipated failure modes and existing incidents were identified. Results: FMEA identified 63 failure modes. RPN values for the top 25% of failure modes ranged from 60 to 336. Analysis of the incident learning database identified 33 reported near-miss events related to SBRT planning. Combining both methods yielded a total of 76 possible process failures, of which 13 (17%) were missed by FMEA while 43 (57%) identified by FMEA only. When scored for RPN, the 13 events missed by FMEA ranked within the lower half of all failure modes and exhibited significantly lower severity relative to those identified by FMEA (p = 0.02). Conclusions: FMEA, though valuable, is subject to certain limitations. In this study, FMEA failed to identify 17% of actual failure modes, though these were of lower risk. Similarly, an incident learning system alone fails to identify a large number of potentially high-severity process errors. Using FMEA in combination with incident learning may render an improved overview of risks within a process.
Neuroendocrinology of Inflammatory Disorders

Abstract The central nervous system (CNS) and immune systems regulate each other; the immune system is regulated by the CNS through hormonal signals and neuronal pathways and conversely the CNS is regulated by the immune system through cellular pathways and molecular signals including cytokines, chemokines, and interleukins (ILs). The CNS regulates the immune system through several routes: the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, the autonomic nervous system, and the peripheral nervous system. This neuroendocrine regulation of immune function through resultant glucocorticoid release is essential for survival from stress, infection, or inflammatory diseases. Glucocorticoids function through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) to elicit multiple effects on immune cells and molecules. This chapter will mainly focus on the regulation of the immune response by the neuroendocrine system and the implications for inflammatory disease. Interruptions of this regulatory loop at multiple levels predispose and enhance inflammatory diseases and cause glucocorticoid resistance in a number of diseases.
Perceptual tuning of low-level color and texture features for image segmentation

We perform subjective tests to determine the key parameters of low-level texture and color features for a previously proposed image segmentation algorithm. The parameters include thresholds for texture classification and feature similarity, as well as the window size for texture estimation. The subjective tests use small isolated patches of textures that correspond to homogeneous texture and color distributions. The goal is to determine what information such small image patches convey to human observers, and to relate those to image statistics. We show that this perceptual tuning of the segmentation algorithm leads to significant performance improvements.
Paul Cobley (ed.), Realism for the Twenty-First Century: A John Deely Reader

(2011). Paul Cobley (ed.), Realism for the Twenty-First Century: A John Deely Reader. Journal of Critical Realism: Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 136-138.
Palynology of the last interglacial-glacial cycle in midlatitudes of Southern Chile

Pollen and spores in stratigraphic sections located between 40 and 42°S range in age from the Holocene, through much of the Llanquihue Glaciation, to the last interglaciation. Chronology of the stratigraphy derives from some 35 14C ages and the age relations of Llanquihue Drift and related deposits. Q-Mode, rotated, principal-components analysis of four key pollen records covering the last interglacial-glacial cycle resulted in four leading components: Nothofagus dombeyi type, Gramineae, Weinmannia-Fitzroya type, and Myrtaceae. Analysis emphasizes interaction between the first two components. Loadings of Gramineae during the interglaciation are high, unlike the Holocene; Weinmannia-Fitzroya-type loadings, prominent in the Holocene, are negligible during the interglaciation. N. dombeyi type is the primary component during Llanquihue Glaciation; it becomes modified by increases of Gramineae sometime after 31,000 and before 14,000 yr B.P. and of Myrtaceae later. The Myrtaceae with Weinmannia-Fitzroya type also registers some activity around 42,000 yr B.P. Fluctuations in the belt of westerly winds, reflecting changing meteorological conditions in polar latitudes, are suggested by these data. With the belt located farther south than it is today, interglacial climate was much drier and warmer than during the Holocene; more northerly displacement of the belt obtained when climate was colder during Llanquihue Glaciation. Evidence from comparable latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere points toward a synchrony of major climatic events indicating harmonious fluctuations in the position of the westerlies.
Permissive hypercapnia and permissive hypoxemia in neonates

There are physiological rationale and experimental data that suggest permissive hypercapnia and/or permissive hypoxemia may be well tolerated and result in reduced lung injury. Controlled studies in neonates report potential benefits of both permissive hypercapnia and permissive hypoxemia. The limited randomized controlled trials assessing early short-term postnatal use of permissive hypercapnia demonstrate positive or neutral results. The trials of permissive hypoxemia enrolled infants after the first week of life and also reported positive or neutral results. There is a need for further research testing whether these strategies improve pulmonary outcomes without an increased risk of impaired neurodevelopmental or other adverse effects.
Making sense of internet censorship: a new frontier for internet measurement

Free and open access to information on the Internet is at risk: more than 60 countries around the world practice some form of Internet censorship, and both the number of countries practicing censorship and the proportion of Internet users who are subject to it are likely to increase. We posit that, although it may not always be feasible to guarantee free and open access to information, citizens have the right to know when their access has been obstructed, restricted, or tampered with, so that they can make informed decisions on information access. We motivate the need for a system that provides accurate, verifiable reports of censorship and discuss the challenges involved in designing such a system. We place these challenges in context by studying their applicability to OONI, a new censorship measurement platform.
Progesterone Administration during Reperfusion, but not Preischemia Alone, Reduces Injury in Ovariectomized Rats:

Although progesterone is neuroprotective in traumatic brain injury, its efficacy in stroke is unclear. The authors determined whether there are infarction differences after middle cerebral artery o...
The use of the McGill Pain Questionnaire in assessing arthritis pain

Responses to the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) were described in two samples of arthritis patients, an inpatient group (n = 94) and an outpatient group (n = 94). Subjects in both samples used a similar set of sensory words to describe their arthritis pain. The inpatient sample, however, used affective words of higher intensity than the outpatient sample. Because the two samples came from a common population, they were combined and exploratory factor analyses using principal component analysis with first oblique and then orthogonal rotations were performed. The analysis yielded 6 factors that accounted for 58.3% of the variance in the sample. Clear sensory factors, an affective factor and an evaluative factor were identified. The study provides preliminary evidence that a substantial affective dimension underlies the MPQ responses of arthritis patients and confirms the parsimony of a 3-factor solution for the questionnaire.
Classifying RSS Feeds with an Artificial Immune System

Artificial Immune Systems (AIS) have been used in a number of applications from autonomous navigation to computer security because of their ability to rapidly adapt and evolve. In this paper we examine the application of an AIS for the purpose of determining which news articles from a set of RSS feeds are relevant. Because the articles we are examining come from RSS feeds, the articles can vary greatly in length and detail. Our training set is composed of a set of news articles that represent articles a user has already deemed relevant. Then we have the AIS determine which articles from another set are related to the relevant articles. We show that the AIS performs well regardless of the diversity of the subjects in the data set and can even make fairly fine grained distinctions with high accuracy.
To Stay or not to Stay: Dimensions of Ethnic Assimilation.

Asian Americans have been labeled as middleman minorities (Blalock, 1967; Bonacich, 1973; Loewen, 1971) who occupy intermediate positions between the dominant group and the low-status groups. They have attained this position because of success in small businesses, i.e., middle? man occupations, which was made possible by their ethnic solidarity. This solidarity was attributed, by Bonacich (1973), to the fact that most Asians came to this country as sojourners who intended to go back to their home countries and consequently maintained ethnic ties. According to Bonacich (1973), sojourning is not a sufficient condition for middleman status, but it is a necessary one. This paper examines the implication of the sojourner's status upon his assimilation into American society. Among recent immigrants from Japan, China, and the Philippines, temporary and permanent visa holders are compared in terms of integration into American versus Asian sociocultural milieus.
The impact of non-noxious heat on tactile information processing

A significant number of studies that evaluated tactile-pain interactions employed heat to evoke nociceptive responses. However, relatively few studies have examined the effects of non-noxious thermal stimulation on tactile discriminative capacity. In this study, the impact that non-noxious heat had on three features of tactile information processing capacity was evaluated: vibrotactile threshold, amplitude discriminative capacity, and adaptation. It was found that warming the skin made a significant improvement on a subject's ability to detect a vibrotactile stimulus, and although the subjects' capacities for discriminating between two amplitudes of vibrotactile stimulation did not change with skin heating, the impact that adapting or conditioning stimulation normally had on amplitude discrimination capacity was significantly attenuated by the change in temperature. These results suggested that although the improvements in tactile sensitivity that were observed could have been a result of enhanced peripheral activity, the changes in measures that reflect a decrease in the sensitization to repetitive stimulation are most likely centrally mediated. The authors speculate that these centrally mediated changes could be a reflection of a change in the balance of cortical excitation and inhibition.
T cell Receptor (TCR) Repertoire in Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection † 1422

Superantigens (SAG) are proteins that have unique capacity to potently stimulate large numbers of T lymphocytes by interacting with amino acids encoded by Vβ genes of the TCR. Infection of the monocytic cells by CMV in vitro has been associated with a superantigen that specifically stimulates Vβ12 T cells. To determine whether this superantigen is expressed in vivo, the TCR repertoire was examined in infants with congenital CMV infection. Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were isolated from 24 infants with congenital CMV infection and their mothers (11 with symptomatic and 13 with asymptoamtic infection) within the 1st 3 months of life. PBL from 12 healthy infants were used as controls. TCR repertoire was determined by immunofluorescence using 19 different monoclonal antibodies. The percentages of stained cells for each Vβ per total CD3+CD8+ and CD3+CD8- cells were obtained by flow cytometry. In addition, CMV-IgG and anti-gB IgG antibody levels were measured using a previously described RIA. An increase in Vβ subsets was never observed in normal infants and only rarely seen in control mothers. However, 20% (7/24) of infants with cogenital CMV infection had increased Vβ12 subsets. 6/11 (55%) of those with symptomatic infection had Vβ12 expansion compared with 1/13 (8%) of the asymptomatic infants. The increase was specific to Vβ12 subset and in 3/6 infants, the expansion of Vβ12 subset was seen in both CD8 and CD4 cells. There was no association between the type of clinical findings and the increase in Vβ12 percentages. A repeat analysis of TCR repertoire was performed in 13 infants and a decrease in the number of Vβ12 subset in all 3 symptoamtic infants with initial expansion of this subset was observed. Similar to the results of our previous studies, infants with symptoamtic infection had significantly higher levels of CMV-IgG and anti-gB IgG antibodies than those with asymptomatic infection. The occurence of strikingly elevated Vβ12 percentages in infants with congneital CMV infection, the fact that these expansions occur in both CD4 and CD8 subsets, and the resolution of this expansion over time are all features consistent with an in vivo SAG exposure providing further support for a CMV associated SAG. The results of antiviral antibody response suggest that the amount of viral load and viral replication may explain the differences between symptomatic and asymptomatic infants in the expansion of Vβ12 subset.
Histone deacetylase inhibitors enhance Ad5-TRAIL killing of TRAIL-resistant prostate tumor cells through increased caspase-2 activity

Interest in TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) as a cancer therapeutic has been high since its first description. Recently, the use of histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) to treat cancer has progressed from the laboratory to the clinic, and the combination of HDACi and TRAIL is very powerful in killing human tumors. Using a panel of prostate tumor cell lines (ALVA-31, DU-145, and LNCaP) with varying TRAIL sensitivity, we examined their sensitization to a recombinant adenovirus encoding TRAIL (Ad5-TRAIL) by sodium butyrate and trichostatin A. HDACi treatment increased coxsackie-adenovirus receptor (CAR) expression, resulting in increased adenoviral infection, and increased TRAIL-mediated killing. In TRAIL-resistant DU-145 cells, HDAC inhibition also decreased protein kinase casein kinase (PKCK) 2 activity, leading to caspase-2 activation. The importance of PKCK2 and caspase-2 in DU-145 sensitization was demonstrated with the PKCK-2-specific inhibitor, which enhanced Ad5-TRAIL-induced death, or the caspase-2-specific inhibitor, zVDVAD, which blocked Ad5-TRAIL-induced death. Thus, our data highlight the connection between HDAC inhibition of PKCK2 activity and tumor cell sensitivity to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Specifically, HDAC inhibition leads to decreased PCKC2 activity, which is followed by caspase-2 activation and partial cleavage of caspase-8 that sensitizes the tumor cell to TRAIL.
Laser Accelerator on a Chip (>300MeV/m): A Path to TeV Energy Scale Physics and Table Top Coherent X-rays

We report on the first observation and progress of high-gradient acceleration of electrons in lithographically fabricated dielectric micro-structures. Accelerators on a chip enable attosecond physics from the XUV to the X-ray region in the near term and open the possibility of TeV energy scale physics in the future.
Cassini spacecraft design

The Cassini spacecraft will explore the planet Saturn and its rings and moons with an orbiter and atmospheric entry probe, both of which have a sophisticated set of science instruments. The spacecraft design is responsive to mission and science objectives, and is influenced by technical and programmatic constraints e.g., a cost cap, fixed schedule, space environment, and interfaces to other fixed systems like the launch vehicle and ground system. The spacecraft design must also consider the limited post-launch resources allocated to do the flight operations. This paper presents an overview of the spacecraft system design with emphasis given to the orbiter and only a high level summary of the probe.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Hirschman uncertainty with the discrete fractional fourier transform

The Hirschman Uncertainty [1] is defined by the average of the Shannon entropies of a discrete-time signal and its Fourier transform. The optimal basis for the Hirschman Uncertainty has been shown to be the picket fence function, as given in a previous paper of ours [2]. We have seen that a basis can be constructed from signals with minimum Hirschman Uncertainty in that paper, leading to a transform we called the Hirschman Optimal Transform. Recently, we showed that the minimizers, and thus the uncertainty, are invariant to the Renyi entropy order [3]. This characteristic strongly suggests that Hirschman Uncertainty is a fundamental characteristic of digital signals. In this paper, we study the effect of incorporating the discrete fractional fourier transfom (discrete FRT) instead of the DFT and develop a new uncertainty measure denoted by Ua 1/2 (x).
Prevalence and Trends in Overweight in Mexican-American Adults and Children

Overweight and obesity have been increasing in many countries. Our objective is to describe the trends in overweight and obesity occurring in the Mexican-American population in the United States. Data on measured height and weight for Mexican Americans come from the following surveys: the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES, 1982-84), the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III, 1988-94), and NHANES 1999-2002. In 1999-2002, 73% of Mexican-American adults were overweight and 33% were obese. Obesity increased between NHANES III and NHANES 1999-2002, from 24% to 27% for men and from 35% to 38% for women. Increases were also seen for children and adolescents. The Mexican-American population in the United States, both children and adults, is showing trends in overweight and obesity over time that are similar to those seen in other segments of the U.S. population and indeed in many countries.
Unmasking Functional Motifs Within Disordered Regions of Proteins

Eukaryotic proteins often possess long stretches that fail to adopt well-defined, three-dimensional structures. These intrinsically disordered regions are associated with cell signaling through the enrichment of hub proteins of networks and as targets for posttranslational modifications. Although disordered regions are readily identified because of their distinct sequence characteristics, it is difficult to predict the functions associated with these regions. This is because disordered regions often house short (two- to five-residue) linear motifs that mediate intermolecular interactions. Predicting their function requires the ability to identify the functionally relevant motifs. If one assumes that functional motifs are highly conserved as compared to background sequence contexts, then a suitable comparative genomics approach proves to be powerful in unmasking functional motifs that are part of disordered regions. This approach has successfully identified known functional motifs and predicted a set of new motifs that might yield important insights regarding previously unknown functionalities for disordered regions. Given knowledge of highly conserved motifs, one can assess whether the rapidly changing sequence contexts are actuators of the functionalities of short linear motifs within disordered regions. This should have important implications for engineering and targeting hub proteins in signaling networks.
Continuous-access phencyclidine self-administration by rhesus monkeys leading to physical dependence.

IV phencyclidine (PCP) self-administration was studied in five rhesus monkeys. The animals were given 23 h per day access with each response producing an injection. For the first seven sessions saline was made contingent on responding. For the next 30 sessions responses produced 0.01 mg/kg PCP and for the next 20 sessions responses produced 0.05 mg/kg PCP. Withdrawal signs and symptoms were evaluated every 4h during the subsequent saline-access period. All animals responded for 0.01 mg/kg injections at rates higher than their initial saline rates. Response rates decreased but total PCP intake increased during access to the higher dose. The levels of PCP self-administered resulted in severe intoxication. Evidence for physical dependence development was obtained. The symptoms emerged within 4–8h after access was terminated, peaked at 12–16h, and subsided by 24–48h. The syndrome could be reversed by IV PCP administration. The most common symptoms were vocalizations, hyperresponsivity, bruxism, oculomotor hyperactivity, and diarrhea. During withdrawal the animals refused preferred food. In some of the animals piloerection, tremors, ear and facial twitches, and priapism occurred. Rhythmic abdominal contractions and emesis were seen in one subject and convulsive activity was seen in one subject.