cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Longitudinal Analysis of the U.S. News Law School Academic Reputation Scores between 1998 and 2012

A Revised and Updated Version of this Study Can Now be Found at : http://ssrn.com/abstract=2241764. This article summarizes the results of a longitudinal study of the U.S. News academic reputation scores between 1998 to 2012. Among other things, the study reveals that there has been a downward trend in the academic reputation scores of law schools since 1998. While the academic reputation scores tended to be relatively stable throughout the fifteen year period, a full half of the law schools in the data set finished the fifteen year period with an academic reputation score that was lower than the one with which they began in 1998. In contrast, less than one quarter of the law schools in the data set managed to finish the period with an academic reputation score that was higher (even by .1) than the one with which they began in 1998. One of the most interesting findings of the study, furthermore, is the fact that the declines in academic reputation scores were inversely correlated to the strength of the schools’ academic reputation scores and U.S. News ranks. The schools that started the period with the highest ranks and academic reputation scores posted the largest declines as a group while the law schools with the lowest ranks and academic reputation scores experienced the most success in improving their scores. The study also revealed a disparity between public and private law schools in terms of their abilities to positively impact their academic reputation scores during the period. As part of the study, furthermore, the law school academic reputation scores were analyzed to determine whether there has been an "echo effect" between the law schools’ academic reputation scores and their overall U.S. News ranks. The empirical analysis suggests that a law school's U.S. News rank does tend to influence its academic reputation score, particularly in instances where a law school is consistently "under" or "over" ranked relative to its academic reputation score. The article concludes with an identification of those law schools whose academic reputation scores have improved or declined the most during the fifteen year period, along with a brief discussion of some potential causes for those changes.
Antifungal and antiviral chemotherapy

Fungal and viral infections are difficult to treat, since fungal infections commonly rebound after suppression by the antifungal agent and current antiviral drugs are only virustatic, allowing the virus to reassert its pathogenicity if not eliminated by the host defenses. In addition, fungal infections commonly are associated with significant biofilms, retarding drug penetration, and the fluid nature of the oral cavity does not promote drug-fungus contact for long periods of time. Both mycotic and viral pathogens are developing sophisticated methods to elude the toxic effects of drugs intended to eliminate their existence. The drug therapy of oral fungal and viral infections is therefore limited but occasionally successful (more with fungal than viral infections) and is often relegated to palliative care. The specter of drug resistance and its promotion by prolonged, repetitive and frivolous use must always be foremost in the clinician's mind.
Arhgef1 is required by T cells for the development of airway hyperreactivity and inflammation.

Rationale: Arhgef1 is an intracellular protein, expressed by hematopoietic cells, that regulates signaling by both G protein–coupled receptors and RhoA, and, consequently, is required for appropriate migration and adhesion of diverse leukocyte populations.Objectives: To evaluate a possible contribution for Arhgef1 in the development of airway inflammation and airway hyperreactivity.Methods: Arhgef1-deficient (Arhgef1−/−) and wild-type (WT) mice were sensitized and airway challenged, followed by measurement of airway responsiveness to inhaled methacholine. Inflammation was assessed by several parameters that included flow cytometric analysis and histology. Arhgef1-deficient recipients were reconstituted with WT T lymphocytes before sensitization and challenge, and again measured for airway responsiveness and inflammation. Cytokine production in response to specific antigen was measured in cultures of isolated leukocytes from lung and spleen and compared with the levels generated in lung and spleen explant ...
Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Female Adolescents Aged 14 to 19 in the United States

OBJECTIVE: Most young women initiate sexual activity during adolescence; risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) accompanies this initiation. In this study we estimated the prevalence of the most common STIs among a representative sample of female adolescents in the United States. METHODS: Data were analyzed from 838 females who were aged 14 to 19 and participating in the nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003–2004. After interview and examination, survey participants provided biological specimens for laboratory testing. The main outcome was weighted prevalence of at least 1 of 5 STIs: Neisseria gonorrhoeae , Chlamydia trachomatis , Trichomonas vaginalis , herpes simplex virus type 2, and human papillomavirus (HPV) (any of 23 high-risk types or type 6 or 11). RESULTS: Prevalence of any of the 5 STIs was 24.1% among all and 37.7% among sexually experienced female adolescents. HPV (23 high-risk types or type 6 or 11) was the most common STI among all female adolescents (prevalence: 18.3%), followed by C trachomatis infection (prevalence: 3.9%). Prevalence of any of the STIs was 25.6% among those whose age was the same or 1 year greater than their age at sexual initiation and 19.7% among those who reported only 1 lifetime sex partner. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of STIs among female adolescents is substantial, and STIs begin to be acquired soon after sexual initiation and with few sex partners. These findings support early and comprehensive sex education, routine HPV vaccination at the age of 11 to 12 years, and C trachomatis screening of sexually active female adolescents.
An Efficient Frontier for Retirement Income

This article outlines a different way to think about building a retirement income strategy, which moves dramatically away from the concepts of safe withdrawal rates and failure rates. The focus is how to best meet two competing financial objectives for retirement: satisfying spending goals and preserving financial assets. The process described here focuses on allocating assets between a portfolio of stocks and bonds, inflation-adjusted and fixed single-premium immediate annuities (SPIAs), and immediate variable annuities with guaranteed living benefit riders (VA/GLWBs). This process incorporates unique client circumstances, bases asset return assumptions on current market conditions, uses a consistent fee structure for a fair comparison between income tools, operationalizes the concept of diminishing returns from spending by incorporating a minimum needs threshold and a lifestyle spending goal, uses survival probabilities to calculate outcomes, and incorporates client preferences to balance the competing financial objectives for the final choice among the collection of allocations that define the efficient frontier for retirement income. Results are presented for a 65-year old couple whose lifestyle needs require a 4% inflation-adjusted withdrawal rate from retirement date assets. Their efficient frontier generally consists of combinations of stocks and fixed SPIAs. Perhaps surprisingly, bonds, inflation-adjusted SPIAs, and VA/GLWBs do not serve a useful role in the couple’s optimal retirement income portfolio.
Is the Campaign to Prevent VTE in Hospitalized Patients Working

Background Trends in the development of DVT and pulmonary embolism (PE) occurring within the hospital and trends in admissions because of a principal diagnosis of DVT and PE are not known. Knowledge of such trends would be useful in assessing the effectiveness of antithrombotic prophylaxis in hospitalized patients who are at high risk. Methods The numbers of patients hospitalized with a principal diagnosis of DVT and a principal diagnosis of PE and incidences of these conditions occurring as a secondary diagnosis during hospitalization of patients in short-stay hospitals in the United States from 1979 through 2006 were obtained from the National Hospital Discharge Survey. Results From 1989 through 2006, instances of secondary (in-hospital) DVT increased 3.1 times from 35 per 100,000 population to 107 per 100,000 population ( P Conclusions Efforts to prevent DVT in hospitalized patients who are at high risk appear to be inadequate. Therapy for DVT, however, appears to be effective.
Democratic Principles, Discrimination and Political Intolerance

Political intolerance has typically been conceptualized as an unwillingness to extend expressive rights to disliked groups or individuals. One problem with this conceptualization is that, when a given percentage of individuals in a polity is found to be intolerant, it is not known if these respondents are intolerant because of the act or because of the actor. We conceptualize intolerance multidimensionally, making a distinction between generic and discriminatory intolerance; while the former stems from an unwillingness to permit the expressive act (such as holding a rally) regardless of the actor, the latter is reserved for an unwillingness to permit the act only when performed by a noxious group. Using data from the Multi-Investigator II Study (a national telephone survey of adults in the United States), we employed a split ballot technique to decompose the total proportion of intolerant respondents into groups whose intolerance stems from an aversion to the actor (discriminatory) versus those whose intolerance stems from an aversion to the act (generic). We further explored the genesis of intolerance, finding that the two types we identified stem from different antecedents.
Radiographic Response to Locoregional Therapy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Predicts Patient Survival Times

Background & Aims It is not clear whether survival times of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are associated with their response to therapy. We analyzed the association between tumor response and survival times of patients with HCC who were treated with locoregional therapies (LRTs) (chemoembolization and radioembolization). Methods Patients received LRTs over a 9-year period (n = 463). Patients with metastases, portal venous thrombosis, or who had received transplants were excluded; 159 patients with Child–Pugh B7 or lower were analyzed. Response (based on European Association for the Study of the Liver [EASL] and World Health Organization [WHO] criteria) was associated with survival times using the landmark, risk-of-death, and Mantel–Byar methodologies. In a subanalysis, survival times of responders were compared with those of patients with stable disease and progressive disease. Results Based on 6-month data, in landmark analysis, responders survived longer than nonresponders (based on EASL but not WHO criteria: P = .002 and .0694). The risk of death was also lower for responders (based on EASL but not WHO criteria: P = .0463 and .707). Landmark analysis of 12-month data showed that responders survived longer than nonresponders (P Conclusions Radiographic response to LRTs predicts survival time. EASL criteria for response more consistently predicted survival times than WHO criteria. The goal of LRT should be to achieve a radiologic response, rather than to stabilize disease.
The endotracheal tube cuff-leak test as a predictor for postextubation stridor.

BACKGROUND: The endotracheal tube (ETT) cuff-leak test (CLT) has been proposed as a relatively simple, noninvasive method for detecting the presence of laryngeal edema prior to tracheal extubation. OBJECTIVE: To determine the value of the CLT for predicting postextubation stridor (PES) among medical and surgical patients, and to assess the impact of certain variables on the incidence of PES. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, observational study in the intensive care unit at Washington Hospital Center, a 907-bed acute care hospital in Washington DC, with patients who were intubated for > 24 h. As part of respiratory therapy quality assurance, patients intubated for > 24 h are evaluated daily for extubation readiness, and CLT is conducted prior to extubation. The CLT results and the postextubation outcomes were prospectively recorded for 6 months. RESULTS: Of the 462 patients studied, 20 (4.3%) developed PES that required treatment; 7 of those 20 (1.5%) required reintubation. With patients who failed the CLT, defined by an absolute leak volume 45%, and patients intubated for > 6 d were more likely to develop PES. Key words: stridor, tracheal intubation, endotracheal tube cuff, airway obstruction, laryngeal edema, extubation failure. [Respir Care 2005;50(12):1632–1638. © 2005 Daedalus Enterprises]
Image-quality assessment in optical tomography

Modern medical imaging systems often rely on complicated hardware and sophisticated algorithms to produce useful digital images. It is essential that the imaging hardware and any reconstruction algorithms used are optimized, enabling radiologists to make the best decisions and quantify a patient's health status. Optimization of the hardware often entails determining the physical design of the system, such as the locations of detectors in optical tomography or the design of the collimator in SPECT systems. For software or reconstruction algorithm optimization one is often determining the values of regularization parameters or the number of iterations in an iterative algorithm. In this paper, we present an overview of many approaches to measuring task performance as a means to optimize imaging systems and algorithms. Much of the work in this area has taken place in the areas of nuclear-medicine and X-ray imaging. The purpose of this paper is to present some of the task-based measures of image quality that are directly applicable to optical tomography.
Dynamics of teleconnections and Walker circulations forced by equatorial heating

Abstract Using a linearized model with constant mean wind on an equatorial β-plane, two types of atmospheric response to steady tropical forcing are studied by an eigenmode analysis. The first type is the less rotationally trapped “barotropic” motions which show some of the characteristics of the teleconnection patterns observed by Bjerknes (1966) and Horel and Wallace (1981). The second type is the more rotationally trapped, warm-core, deep baroclinic motions which resemble the Walker circulations. The analysis reveals several important inadequacies in previous modeling studies and provides a relatively comprehensive explanation of the dynamics of both types of motions. A vertical normal mode consideration shows that the barotropic-type motions are difficult to excite by internal beating. Surface heating, which has been neglected in many previous numerical modeling studies, is found to be important in directly forcing this type of motion. Furthermore, the possible contribution by large equivalent depth i...
Evaluation of Rod Internal Transmitter Candidates: Cyclic GMP

Several systems in the rod outer segment (ROS) are affected by light (7, 8, 20, 30, 41, 59) and may prove to be either in the direct chain of command of or modulators of transduction. Two, rhodopsin kinase (8, 30) and the cyclic nucleotide enzymatic cascade, are activated by rhodopsin. But the cyclic nucleotide cascade is the only system with the speed, amplification, and physiological control capable of mediating transduction that is known to be directly activated by photolyzed rhodopsin (R*). One R* can catalyze the exchange of GTP for GDP on hundreds of molecules of the guanine-nucleotide binding regulatory “G-type” (47) protein, transducin (T) (19), which in turn activates phosphodiesterase (PDE) (37). Dim bleaches can lead to the hydrolysis of more than 106 molecules of cyclic GMP/R* s (32, 53). For bright flashes the latency of decrease of cyclic GMP concentration is shorter than the latency of the light-dependent conductance decrease (13). Cyclic GMP pulses injected into ROS cause reversible depolarizations (38) that, in correspondence with the biochemical evidence of light-activated PDE, are antagonized by light. Pulses of cyclic GMP transiently block the receptor potential and increase latency (43). Thus the hydrolysis of cyclic GMP appears necessary but not sufficient for transduction since the receptor potential would not be blocked by cyclic GMP plus light if cyclic GMP hydrolysis per se mediates transduction. Another event, perhaps a decrease in cyclic GMP concentration, is therefore necessary in addition to cyclic GMP hydrolysis. The input to the cyclic nucleotide cascade is coupled to the transduction mechanism by R* activation, and the output is coupled to the transduction mechanism by control of receptor potential latency (38, 43) and kinetics (9, 38). The mechanism of coupling to the input is understood (reviewed in (49)); the mechanism of coupling to the output is not understood. Nevertheless, cyclic GMP appears to be directly in the chain of events initiated by Rh* that leads to control of ROS phototransduction. (As this manuscript goes to press, two publications have appeared that give strong evidence based on patch-clamping of the plasma membrane that cyclic GMP is the internal messenger that controls the light-sensitive conductance of ROS (17, 42); see Miller et al. (this volume) for discussion of the data.)
A General Lower Bound for Gaussian Chaos

We give in full generality a lower bound for the expected value of the supremum of a chaos process indexed by a set T, in terms of the structure of T for the two natural distances induced by the process.
Behavior Therapy: Where We Were, Where We Are and Where We Need to Be Going

Abstract In this overview of behavior therapy both in the early days, as it is now and where I believe it needs to go, I start with identifying those who had such an enormous effect on my own growth as a behavior therapist, starting from my days as a believer in Freudian psychology to my present passion in developing computerized behavioral treatments. I begin by describing the huge impact of Walter Mischel, Arthur Staats, and Al Bandura in providing theoretical underpinnings of this new practice and the Stony Brook Postdoctoral Program in Behavior Modification for highlighting and encouraging the importance of the interplay between science and clinical application. Experimentation, evidence, and data anchored the philosophy that underpinned behavior therapy. In discussing where we are now in behavior therapy I highlight our success and the need for thoughtfulness in subsequent behavior therapy research. Next I comment on where I think we need to go, including the need to attend to effective implementation, the importance of training clinicians in clinical assessment, and training our graduate students without fragilizing them. I then highlight the need for certification of behavior therapists to protect the public, the need to eliminate “talk therapy” as a definition of behavior therapy, and finally I comment on the importance of harnessing technology to develop computerized behavior therapies.
Adhesion Dynamics of Functional Nanoparticles for Targeted Drug Delivery

Adhesion of micro and nanoparticles onto cardiovascular walls is a critical process in applications such as targeted drug delivery, biomedical imaging, and cancer treatment. This paper intends to develop an understanding of the dynamic interaction between particle and vessel wall through computational modeling. The ligand-receptor binding dynamics is coupled with Immersed Finite Element Method to study the adhesion process of particles with different shapes, bonding strengths, and physical configurations. Non-spherical particle is found to contact and adhere to the wall easier than spherical particle under the same configuration.
Focal therapy using magnetic resonance image-guided focused ultrasound in patients with localized prostate cancer

The purpose of this study is to evaluate and report the feasibility, safety, and initial outcomes of patients with limited localized prostate cancer treated using a trans-rectal magnetic resonance image-guided focused ultrasound (MRGFUS) device. Attempts to focally treat only the index lesion for prostate cancer have been explored to reduce side effects while maintaining oncologic control. MRGFUS allows for precise targeting of thermal ablative therapy with real-time thermometry. Three patients underwent multiparametric 3T MRI and TRUS-guided 16-sector mapping biopsies of the prostate. The patients were eligible if they had Gleason 6 or 7 (3 + 4) disease, no MRI-visible tumor ≥15 mm, no extracapsular extension, and no more than two discrete cancerous lesions ≤10 mm in length. Acoustic power was adjusted to achieve temperatures of 65 to 85 °C. Age ranged from 60 to 64 years. The number of biopsy-positive sectors treated ranged from 2 to 4. Post therapy, 16-sector biopsies at 6 months were negative in two patients with one patient still with Gleason 6 cancer (10 %, 2 mm) in one core. 16-sector biopsy in the first patient remains negative at 24 months. PSA continues to remain stable in all patients. IPSS in all patients either remained stable or decreased then stabilized. Erectile function according to the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) was excellent for all patients and demonstrated no decline up to the time of last follow-up at 12–24 months. MRGFUS is a feasible alternative for focal therapy in a select subset of patients with prostate cancer. The treatment is well tolerated with no evidence of decline in functional outcomes. Initial post-therapy biopsy results are promising. Long-term treatment efficacy requires further study.
Effects of delayed ovulation on pregnancy in the PMSG-treated immature rat.

AbstractThe effects of phenobarbital (PB)-delayed ovulation on embryonic development, implantation, and serum concentrations of progesterone (P), androstenedione (A), and estradiol (E2) were ascertained in the pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG)-treated immature rat. Two and three days of ovulatory delay retarded embryonic development as evidenced by the presence of 70-80% of the embryos in the two-cell stage on Day 3 (Day 1 = sperm positive); whereas, nondelayed controls exhibited 40-50% of the embryos in the two-cell stage and 30-40% in the four-cell stage. Ovulatory delay of 3 days induced a higher percentage of abnormal embryos when compared with controls. After 2 days of delay, implantation was inhibited in ~40% of the rats by Days 6 and 8. In controls ~80% of rats exhibited implantation sites on Day 6 and all control rats exhibited implantation sites on Day 8. Serum concentrations of P, A, and E2 were similar to nondelayed controls on Day 3 of pregnancy suggesting that the retardation in develop...
Effects of Price and Advertising in Test-Market Experiments:

The effects of price and advertising expenditures on new-product sales are examined across four test-market experiments. All experiments involved two levels of advertising expenditure tested across...
An ultramicro dilutor and its applications in clinical chemistry.

The increasing demands for ultramicro determinations in routine high volume application necessitate the development of rapid technics for processing serum specimens. The advances in ultramicro methodology and the availability of a variety of new sensitive instruments make possible the use of ultramicro technics on a routine basis. However, the precise dilution of samples of serum in the ultramicro range is still tedious. This report describes an ultramicro dilutor which can be easily constructed at low cost and makes possible rapid dilution of ultramicro samples of serum with reproducibility and accuracy equal to, or better than, those of dilution technics now used for micro samples.
Parasite Complex of the Larch Sawfly in Minnesota

Only 2 parasites of the larch sawfly, Pristiphora erichsonii (Hartig), were found in all 16 study plots in northern Minnesota from 1970–72: the tachina fly Bessa harveyi (Townsend) averaged 30% parasitism over all plots; and the ichneumon Mesoleius tenthredinis Morley seldom exceeded 10% parasitism. Approximately 26% of the B. harveyi adults emerged in late-summer rather than the more beneficial spring emergence. Olesicampe benefactor Hinz, an ichneumon introduced into Minnesota in 1971 and 1972, was recovered from all 8 release plots. Parasitism reached 48% in one release plot, but was ca. 2% in other release plots by 1972. Dispersal into Minnesota, from releases in 1961 in Manitoba, was conspicuous by 1972 when O. benefactor was recovered from 5 of 8 check plots. Mesochorus dimidiatus Holmgren, an ichneumon hyperparasite of O. benefactor , was found in Minnesota for the 1st time.
Probing Ultrafast Dynamics in Adenine With Mid-UV Four-Wave Mixing Spectroscopies

Heterodyne-detected transient grating (TG) and two-dimensional photon echo (2DPE) spectroscopies are extended to the mid-UV spectral range in this investigation of photoinduced relaxation processes...
Fatigue life prediction under multiaxial loading

A unified multiaxial fatigue life model for isotropic and anisotropic materials is proposed. The proposed fatigue model is a critical plane-based model. Most of the earlier models based on the critical plane approach assume that the critical plane only depends on the stress state. In the current model, the critical plane not only depends on the stress state but also on the material property. The critical plane is theoretically determined by minimizing the damage introduced by the hydrostatic stress amplitude, which makes the proposed model have almost no applicability limitations with respect to different materials. A wide range of fatigue data, which covers both brittle and ductile metals, isotropic and anisotropic materials are chosen to validate the proposed methodology. Generally, the predictions based on the proposed model agree with the experimental observations very well.
Draft Genome Sequence of Alkane-Degrading Acinetobacter venetianus JKSF02, Isolated from Contaminated Sediment of the San Jacinto River in Houston, Texas.

ABSTRACT Acinetobacter venetianus JKSF02 was isolated from contaminated sediment in eastern Houston, Texas along the San Jacinto River. This microorganism specializes in n-alkane degradation and is well suited for bioremediation of the petroleum hydrocarbon deposited throughout the region by shipping and industrial activity from the Houston Ship Channel.
Influence of atorvastatin combined with trimetazidine on cardiac function and cytokines in patients with chronic heart failure

Objective:To explore the influence of atorvastatin combined with trimetazidine on cardiac function and cytokines in patients with chronic heart failure.Methods:A total of 120 cases of chronic heart failure who meet the conditions were selected.They were divided into control group and observation group,with 50 cases in each group.All patients were given conventional heart failure treatment;on this basis,patients in control group were given atorvastatin,while patients in observation group were given atorvastatin combined with trimetazidine.They were all treated for 6months.The cardiac function indexes as left ventricular end-diastolic diameter(LVEDD),left ventricular end systolic diameter(LVESD)and left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),cytokines including C-reactive protein(CRP),tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF alpha)and interleukin 6(IL-6),brain natriuretic peptide(BNP)and 6minutes walking distance before and after treatment were compared between two groups.Results:The levels of LVEDD,LVESD after treatment were significantly reduced,the LVEF was significantly increased after treatment in two groups compared with before treatment,the difference was statistically significant(P0.05).The improvement of cardiac function indexes in observation group was more than the control group(P0.05);The levels of CRP,TNF-α,IL-6and BNP were significantly reduced after treatment in two groups compared with before treatment,the difference was statistically significant(P0.05).The improvement of cytokines in observation group was more significant than the control group(P0.05);The 6minutes walk test was significantly increased after treatment in three groups compared with before treatment(P0.05).The improvement of 6minutes walk test in treatment group 1and group 2were more significant than the control group(P0.05),and 6 minutes walk test in observation group after treatment was significantly longer than control group(P0.05).Conclusions:Atorvastatin combined trimetazidine advantageous can further improve cardiac function in patients with heart failure.It also can reduce inflammation,and increase the exercise tolerance.
Parallel Reference Speaker Weighting for Kinematic-Independent Acoustic-to-Articulatory Inversion

Acoustic-to-articulatory inversion, the estimation of articulatory kinematics from an acoustic waveform, is a challenging but important problem. Accurate estimation of articulatory movements has the potential for significant impact on our understanding of speech production, on our capacity to assess and treat pathologies in a clinical setting, and on speech technologies such as computer aided pronunciation assessment and audio-video synthesis. However, because of the complex and speaker-specific relationship between articulation and acoustics, existing approaches for inversion do not generalize well across speakers. As acquiring speaker-specific kinematic data for training is not feasible in many practical applications, this remains an important and open problem. This paper proposes a novel approach to acoustic-to-articulatory inversion, Parallel Reference Speaker Weighting (PRSW), which requires no kinematic data for the target speaker and a small amount of acoustic adaptation data. PRSW hypothesizes that acoustic and kinematic similarities are correlated and uses speaker-adapted articulatory models derived from acoustically derived weights. The system was assessed using a 20-speaker data set of synchronous acoustic and Electromagnetic Articulography (EMA) kinematic data. Results demonstrate that by restricting the reference group to a subset consisting of speakers with strong individual speaker-dependent inversion performance, the PRSW method is able to attain kinematic-independent acoustic-to-articulatory inversion performance nearly matching that of the speaker-dependent model, with an average correlation of 0.62 versus 0.63. This indicates that given a sufficiently complete and appropriately selected reference speaker set for adaptation, it is possible to create effective articulatory models without kinematic training data.
Perspectives and Practice of HIV Disclosure to Children and Adolescents by Health-Care Providers and Caregivers in sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review.

Background: Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence of HIV globally, and this is due to persistent new HIV infections and decline in HIV/AIDS-related mortality from improved access to antiretroviral therapy. There is a limited body of work on perspectives of healthcare providers concerning disclosing outcomes of HIV investigations to children and adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most studies are country-specific, indicating a need for a regional scope. Objective: To review the current literature on the perspectives of healthcare providers and caregivers of children and adolescents on age group-specific and culture-sensitive HIV disclosure practice. Methods: Electronic database search in PubMed, Google scholar and the University of South Florida (USF) Library Discovery Tool (January 2006 up to February 2016). Further internet search was conducted using the Journal Author Name Estimator (JANE) search engine and extracting bibliographies of relevant articles. Search terms included ‘disclosure*’, ‘HIV guidelines’, ‘Sub-Saharan Africa’, ‘clinical staff’, ‘ART’, ‘antiretroviral adherence’, ‘People living with HIV’, ‘pediatric HIV’, ‘HIV’, ‘AIDS’, ‘healthcare provider’ (HCP), ‘caregiver’, ‘adolescent’, ‘primary care physicians’, ‘nurses’, ‘patients’. Only studies related to HIV/AIDS disclosure, healthcare providers, caregivers that clearly described perspectives and interactions during disclosure of HIV/AIDS sero-status to affected children and adolescents were included. Independent extraction of articles was conducted by reviewers using predefined criteria. Nineteen articles met inclusion criteria. Most studies were convenience samples consisting of combinations of children, adolescents, HCPs and caregivers. Key findings were categorized into disclosure types, prevalence, facilitators, timing, process, persons best to disclose, disclosure setting, barriers and outcomes of disclosure. Conclusions: Partial disclosure is appropriate for children in SSA up to early adolescence. Caregivers should be directly involved in disclosing to children but they require adequate disclosure support from HCPs. Full disclosure is suitable for adolescents. Adolescents prefer disclosure by HCPs and they favor peer-group support from committed peers and trained facilitators, to reduce stigma. Healthcare providers need continuous training and adequate resources to disclose in a patient-centered manner.
Unraveling the Danger Signal Necessary for the Immune Response to Therapeutic Factor VIII.

It is well established that mice which do not produce endogenous factor VIII (fVIII −/− ) can manifest a robust immune response to exogenous fVIII treatments. They form B-cell and T-cell responses even when they encounter fVIII through traditionally tolerogenic routes (e.g., intravenous or intraperitoneal). In the fVIII −/− mouse, repeated administration of recombinant human fVIII has emerged as a useful model for studying the physiologic response in hemophilic patients iatrogenically immunized to therapeutic factor VIII treatments. While environmental factors likely offer some co-stimulatory signals, nonetheless, the ability to respond effectively in the absence of extrinsic adjuvant begs the questions of what is the “danger signal” required for immune responsiveness to fVIII? We have previously shown that when factor VIII is heat inactivated (56°, 30′), it completely losses function and much of its immunogenicity (Skupsky and Scott, Blood110: 2685 Abstract, 2007). Heated fVIII lacks several of its B-cell epitopes (we did not find a subsequent response to neo-epitopes), but retains its T-cell epitopes. We concluded that fVIII’s immunogenicity is inherently tied to its function. To explore this topic further, we have immunized hemophilic mice with rfVIII and compared the response to mice treated with both rfVIII and Hirudin. Hirudin is the reactive agent found in medicinal leech saliva and its anti-coagulant activity is based on its ability to inhibit thrombin. We found that T cell responses to rfVIII in mice protected with Hirudin are significantly reduced (p rfVIII and OVA , they did form a humoral response to both the fVIII (200 μg/ml) and the OVA (30μg/ml). This suggests that fVIII may have adjuvant properties remaining to be discovered. Overall, these data suggest that the activation of thrombin provides co-stimulatory signals necessary for the immune response. Activated thrombin does this directly or indirectly through the activation of other blood components, including platelets.
Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Myocardial Ischemia-Reperfusion: Implications for Novel Therapies

Mitochondria have emerged as key participants in and regulators of myocardial injury during ischemia and reperfusion. This review examines the sites of damage to cardiac mitochondria during ischemia and focuses on the impact of these defects. The concept that mitochondrial damage during ischemia leads to cardiac injury during reperfusion is addressed. The mechanisms that translate ischemic mitochondrial injury into cellular damage, during both ischemia and early reperfusion, are examined. Next, we discuss strategies that modulate and counteract these mechanisms of mitochondrial-driven injury. The new concept that mitochondria are not merely stochastic sites of oxidative and calcium-mediated injury but that they activate cellular responses of mitochondrial remodeling and cellular reactions that modulate the balance between cell death and recovery is reviewed, and the therapeutic implications of this concept are discussed.
A comparative study of noise estimation algorithms for nonlinear compensation in robust speech recognition

The Gauss-Newton and EM-FA methods are two main approaches for estimating noise parameters of the non-linear compensation models.We conduct a systematic comparison between these two estimation methods.Both approaches belong to the family of gradient-based methods except with different convergence rates.The Gauss-Newton method is superior to the EM-FA method in terms of convergence. Nonlinear compensation models make use of a nonlinear mismatch function, which characterizes the joint effects of additive and convolutional noise, to realize noise-robust speech recognition. Representative compensation models consist of vector Taylor series (VTS), data-driven parallel model combination (DPMC), and unscented transform (UT). The noise parameters of the compensation models, often estimated in the maximum likelihood (ML) sense, are known to play an important role on the system performance in noisy conditions. In this paper, we conduct a systematic comparison between two popular approaches for estimating the noise parameters. The first approach employs the Gauss-Newton method in a generalized EM framework to iteratively maximizing the EM auxiliary function. The second approach views the compensation models from a generative perspective, giving rise to an EM algorithm, analogous to the ML estimation for factor analysis (EM-FA). We demonstrate a close connection between these two approaches: they belong to the family of gradient-based methods except with different convergence rates. Note that the convergence property can be crucial to the noise estimation since model compensation may be frequently carried out in changing noisy environments for retaining desired performance. Furthermore, we present an in-depth discussion on the advantages and limitations of the two approaches, and illustrate how to extend these approaches to allow for adaptive training. The investigated noise estimation approaches are evaluated on several tasks. The first is to fit a GMM model to artificially corrupted samples, and then speech recognition are performed on the Aurora 2 and Aurora 4 tasks.
Liver Failure as the Presentation of Ornithine Transcarbamylase Deficiency in a 13-Month-Old Female

Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD) is an X-linked urea cycle disorder with variable expressivity in heterozygous females. While liver function testing is often abnormal in patients with OTCD, liver failure is uncommon on presentation. A 13-month-old female with no significant past medical history presented with irritability, right arm weakness, and decreased appetite. Initial workup revealed hepatic dysfunction with an INR of 3.4, ammonia level of 75 μmol/L, and abnormal brain MRI with gyral edema with restricted diffusion, and patchy signal abnormality in basal ganglia. The MRI findings led to a putative diagnosis of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis prompting corticosteroid treatment. As steroid treatment was begun, she developed significant hepatocellular dysfunction with ALT 2,222 U/L, AST 630 U/L, prolonged INR, and elevated ammonia (213 μmol/L). Neurologic signs resolved and her ammonia level decreased (43 μmol/L) without further intervention; however, she had ongoing acute liver failure with coagulopathy and episodic irritability, managed as seronegative autoimmune hepatitis with partial response to corticosteroid therapy. At 18 months of age she presented with severe irritability with markedly increased ammonia (417 μmol/L). Plasma amino acids obtained several days prior to this acute episode demonstrated elevation in glutamine (2,725 μmol/L) and alanine (1,459 μmol/L). Biochemical testing demonstrated elevation of urine orotic acid (>240.6 mmol/mol creatinine). Genetic testing confirmed a heterozygous nonsense mutation in the OTC gene (c.958C>T, R320X). After treatment with ammonia scavengers and a protein-restricted diet, hepatic function normalized and irritability resolved. The diagnosis of a urea cycle disorder should be considered in patients with unexplained hepatic dysfunction.
Arthroscopic Repair of Partial-Thickness Articular Sided Rotator Cuff Tendon Tears

Successful treatment of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears is possible without completing the tear and requires the surgeon be facile in arthroscopic repair and willing to supervise postoperative rehabilitation to maximize healing and ensure adequate motion, function, and patient satisfaction. This case highlights steps to repair a partial-thickness rotator cuff tear of the shoulder to maximize healing so that pain can be diminished and function restored. Surgical aids of managing the sutures and placing them for the best repair are included as well as tips for postoperative rehabilitation and return to work and sports.
Abstract 47: Comparison between Intraosseous and Central Venous Drug Delivery in Normovolemic and Hypovolemic Swine

In traumatic injuries vascular access must be secured promptly. Peripheral intravenous access is the most common form of emergency vascular access. However, a number of studies suggest that establishing IV access can take minutes to occur. The intraosseous (IO) route delivers drugs to the non-collapsible vessels of the bone and can be established in METHODS: Isoflurane anesthetized swine N=6 were instrumented and allowed to stabilize. IO de were placed in the proximal tibia using the EZ-IO ® (Vidacare Corporation) device. Central venous (CV) tracer delivery was via the right atrial port on a pulmonary catheter. Animals were hemorrhaged to 45 mmHg and held for 5 min. Cardiac output decreased to 45– 60% of baseline. Simultaneous injections of different dye tracers (indocyanine green and Evan’s blue) were delivered via the IO and the CV routes. The time course (in seconds) for arterial blood sampling included pre-injection T-8, T-6, T-4, T-2, and at T0 dye boluses were delivered. Samples were taken at 2 second intervals until 50 seconds post-injection. Samples were analyzed by spectrophotometer and dye concentrations were determined. Normovolemic N=6 evaluations of drug delivery utilized the same drug delivery protocol. RESULTS: Peak appearance times of tracer detection were 7.2 ±.1.3 s and 10.8 ± 1.8s for CV and T delivery respectively in normovolemia. The total dose of tibial delivery was 83% that of CV delivery in normovolemia as measured by area under the curve (AUC). Peak appearance time of tracers for the hemorrhaged group was 7.3 ± .6 s and 11.7 ± 1.2 s for CV and tibia groups, respectively. The IO tibial delivery was 70% that of CV delivery in the hemorrhage group. CONCLUSIONS: Normovolemic drug delivery was marginally faster and more effective than drug delivery during hemorrhage for both CV and IO routes. These small differences are not likely to be clinically relevant. Tibial IO delivery is an effective alternative to central venous delivery in emergent care situations. Tibial IO delivery should be considered when time is a critical factor involved in drug delivery and venous access is not available.
BYD of China: An Automotive Company on the Road to Global Dominance?

This case is a follow up to a previous case on the Chinese company BYD which had hoped in 2008 to soon become the world's largest car company. With the support of American Warren Buffett, the company which had only been in existence for a few years at that time caught the attention of not only Mr. Buffett, but also many in the auto industry. This case re-examines the Company, explains the progress made by the Company since the original case was written, and explores its current strategic position. From rather humble beginnings not long ago BYD has become a major player in the Chinese auto industry and a global leader in electric vehicles
Fully automated gynecomastia quantification from low-dose chest CT

Gynecomastia is characterized by the enlargement of male breasts, which is a common and sometimes distressing condition found in over half of adult men over the age of 44. Although the majority of gynecomastia is physiologic or idiopathic, its occurrence may also associate with an extensive variety of underlying systemic disease or drug toxicity. With the recent large-scale implementation of annual lung cancer screening using low-dose chest CT (LDCT), gynecomastia is believed to be a frequent incidental finding on LDCT. A fully automated system for gynecomastia quantification from LDCT is presented in this paper. The whole breast region is first segmented using an anatomyorientated approach based on the propagation of pectoral muscle fronts in the vertical direction. The subareolar region is then localized, and the fibroglandular tissue within it is measured for the assessment of gynecomastia. The presented system was validated using 454 breast regions from non-contrast LDCT scans of 227 adult men. The ground truth was established by an experienced radiologist by classifying each breast into one of the five categorical scores. The automated measurements have been demonstrated to achieve promising performance for the gynecomastia diagnosis with the AUC of 0.86 for the ROC curve and have statistically significant Spearman correlation r=0.70 (p < 0.001) with the reference categorical grades. The encouraging results demonstrate the feasibility of fully automated gynecomastia quantification from LDCT, which may aid the early detection as well as the treatment of both gynecomastia and the underlying medical problems, if any, that cause gynecomastia.
REACTIVE ANTITACHYCARDIA PACING FOR DUAL CHAMBER EPICARDIAL PACEMAKER IN COMPLEX CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE

Atrial arrhythmias are common in patients with complex congenital heart disease and associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Reactive antitachycardia pacing (ATP) can terminate atrial arrhythmias and reduce progression to persistent atrial fibrillation but utility is unreported in complex
Rethinking shrinking cities: Peripheral dual cities have arrived

This review essay contextualizes the articles included in the Journal of Urban Affairs’ special issue on promoting social justice and equity in shrinking cities. It introduces a framework to guide ...
The Use of Recombinant Inbred Strains in Systems Genetics and Functional Analyses in Behavioral Pharmacology

Abstract Recombinant inbred (RI) strains are widely used to identify gene variants and genetic and molecular networks underlying individual differences in behavioral pharmacology. In this contribution, we describe our previously published work in the application of RI strains to elucidate individual differences in cocaine-related behaviors and related dopamine neurochemistry. In this earlier work, we administered four doses of cocaine to male and female BXD RI strains and measured effects on locomotor activity, nose pokes, rearing, and time spent in the center of an open field. We also measured densities of dopamine receptors in several brain regions. These data were integrated on Genenetwork.org to identify possible candidate genes and to examine linkages among phenotypes. In this introduction to genetic analysis, we present an overview and insight into how to use data sets in GeneNetwork to develop new hypotheses on the genetic and mechanistic linkages between behavior, molecular pharmacology, and causal sequence variants.