cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Level of Response to Alcohol as a Factor for Targeted Prevention in College Students

BACKGROUND: Heavy alcohol consumption and alcohol problems among college students are widespread and associated with negative outcomes for individuals and communities. Although current methods for prevention and intervention programming have some demonstrated efficacy, heavy drinking remains a problem. A previous pilot study and a recent large-scale evaluation (Schuckit et al., , ) found that a tailored prevention program based on a risk factor for heavy drinking, low level of response (low LR) to alcohol, was more effective at reducing heavy drinking than a state-of-the-art (SOTA) standard prevention program for individuals with the low LR risk factor. METHODS: This study enrolled 231 first-semester college freshmen with either high or low LR into the same level of response-based (LRB) or SOTA online prevention programs as in the previous reports (consisting of 4 weeks of video modules), as well as a group of matched controls not receiving alcohol prevention, and compared changes in alcohol use between these groups across a 6-month period. RESULTS: Individuals in alcohol prevention programs had a greater reduction in maximum drinks per occasion and alcohol use disorder symptoms than controls. There was limited evidence for interactions between LR and prevention group in predicting change in alcohol use behaviors; only among participants with strict adherence to the program was there an interaction between LR and program in predicting maximum drinks per occasion. However, overall, low LR individuals showed greater decreases in drinking behaviors, especially risky behaviors (e.g., maximum drinks, frequency of heavy drinking) than high LR individuals. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that prevention programs, including brief and relatively inexpensive web-based programs, may be effective for persons at highest risk for heavier drinking, such as those with a low LR. Tailored programs may provide incremental benefits under some conditions. Long-term follow-ups and further investigations of tailored prevention programs based on other risk factors are needed. Language: en
The impact of MRI on stroke management and outcomes: a systematic review

Rationale, aims and objectives Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely used in stroke evaluation and is superior to computed tomography for the detection of acute ischaemia. We sought to evaluate the evidence that conventional MRI influences doctor management or patient outcomes in routine care. Methods We systematically searched PubMED, EMBASE and proceedings of the International Stroke Conference. Studies were included if they included patients presenting with possible stroke syndromes and they reported MRI results and resulting changes in management or outcome. Multiple reviewers determined inclusion/exclusion for each study, abstracted study characteristics and assessed study quality. Results Of 1813 articles screened, nine studies met inclusion criteria. None were randomized controlled trials, cohort studies or case-control studies. We found little evidence that MRI affects outcomes – one single-centre case series presented three patients. The remaining articles were studies of diagnostic tests or vignette-based studies that described changes in doctor management attributed to MRI. In the studies that suggested MRI influenced management, it did so in two ways. First, MRI distinguished stroke from mimics (e.g. brain tumours), thus enabling more appropriate selection of therapies. Second, even when MRI confirmed a suspected stroke diagnosis, it sometimes provided information (on stroke mechanism, localization, timing or pathophysiology) that influenced management. Conclusions The impact of MRI on management and outcomes in stroke patients has been inadequately studied. Further research is needed to understand how MRI may productively affect stroke management and outcomes.
A Broiler Production Analysis Equation

Abstract An equation for analyzing the net returns for broiler growout per unit time and housing area is presented. The equation has its origins in a broiler performance simulation program developed by Timmons (1986) that was expanded to include additional parameters, e.g., seasonal pricing and capital and labor costs. Constants were generated from the expanded simulation that serve to operate the equation for a particular housing style in one of three specified climatic regions. Three analyses are made using the equation and constants from the expanded simulation program and solving for different unknowns. One is appropriate for a broiler grower, another for an integrated broiler firm, and a third for a financial institution involved in lending to the industry.
Structural analysis of verbal data

Current methods of analyzing verbal reports (Protocol Analysis) from human-computer interactions fall short of their potential. Although there are systematic methods for collecting complete and objective verbal reports applicable to a broad range of problem-solving tasks, currently available analyses of verbal reports are ad hoc and apply only to well constrained tasks. Structural Analysis is a systematic method, currently under development, for analyzing real-world tasks involving human-computer interaction. Starting with a rule that assigns utterances to two dichotomous categories related to a behavior of interest, rules are generated that expose the goal building and evaluation underlying that behavior. The resulting data yield time distributions that characterize subjects' goal-directed behavior and that allow comparisons among tasks or among subjects.
A mutation in the FHA domain of Coprinus cinereus Nbs1 leads to Spo11-independent meiotic recombination and chromosome segregation

Nbs1, a core component of the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 complex, plays an essential role in the cellular response to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and poorly understood roles in meiosis. We used the basidiomycete Coprinus cinereus to examine the meiotic roles of Nbs1. We identified the C. cinereus nbs1 gene and demonstrated that it corresponds to a complementation group previously known as rad3. One allele, nbs1-2, harbors a point mutation in the Nbs1 FHA domain and has a mild spore viability defect, increased frequency of meiosis I nondisjunction, and an altered crossover distribution. The nbs1-2 strain enters meiosis with increased levels of phosphorylated H2AX, which we hypothesize represent unrepaired DSBs formed during premeiotic replication. In nbs1-2, there is no apparent induction of Spo11-dependent DSBs during prophase. We propose that replication-dependent DSBs, resulting from defective replication fork protection and processing by the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 complex, are competent to form meiotic crossovers in C. cinereus, and that these crossovers lead to high levels of faithful chromosome segregation. In addition, although crossover distribution is altered in nbs1-2, the majority of crossovers were found in subtelomeric regions, as in wild-type. Therefore, the location of crossovers in C. cinereus is maintained when DSBs are induced via a Spo11-independent mechanism.
Transparent Parallelization of Constraint Programming

The availability of commodity multicore and multiprocessor machines and the inherent parallelism in constraint programming search offer significant opportunities for constraint programming. These opportunities also present a fundamental challenge: how to exploit parallelism transparently to speed up constraint programs. This paper shows how to parallelize constraint programs transparently without changes to the sequential code. The main technical idea consists of automatically lifting a sequential exploration strategy into its parallel counterpart, allowing workers to share and steal subproblems. Experimental results show that the parallel implementation may produce significant speedups on multicore machines.
Estimation of the Hankel Singular Values of Fractional-Order Systems

This paper applies the Rayleigh-Ritz method to approximating the Hankel singular values of fractional-order systems. The algorithm is presented, and estimates of the first ten Hankel singular values of G(s) = 1 /(sq +1 ) for several values of q ∊ (0 , 1 ] are given. The estimates are computed by restricting the operator domain to a finite-dimensional space. The Hankel-norm estimates are found to be within 15% of the actual values for all q ∊ (0 , 1 ].Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Five centuries of Latin American income inequality

espanolLa mayoria de los analisis sobre la economia latinoamericana contemporanea creen que siempre ha tenido muy altos niveles de desigualdad. A decir verdad, algunos han argumentado que los altos niveles de desigualdad aparecieron en epocas muy tempranas en la America posterior a la Conquista. Esto supondria la existencia de instituciones buscadoras de renta y no propiciatorias del crecimiento lo que nos ayudaria a explicar los problemas de desarrollo que observamos incluso hoy en dia. Este articulo argumenta lo contrario. Comparada con el resto del mundo, la desigualdad en Latinoamerica no era alta en los anos anteriores a la Conquista de 1491, y no fue alta en las decadas posteriores que siguieron a 1492. En realidad, no fue alta a mitad del siglo XIX en los anos anteriores a la belle epoque en Latinoamerica. Solo llego a ser alta posteriormente. La persistencia historica de la desigualdad en Latinoamerica es un mito. EnglishMost analysts of the modern Latin American economy believe that it has always had very high levels of inequality. Indeed, some have argued that high inequality appeared very early in the post-conquest Americas, and that this fact supported rent-seeking and anti-growth institutions that help explain the disappointing growth performance we observe there even today. This paper argues to the contrary. Compared with the rest of the world, Latin American inequality was not high either in pre-conquest 1491 or in the post-conquest decades following 1492. Indeed, it was not even high in the mid-19th century just before Latin America�s belle epoque. It only became high thereafter. Historical persistence in Latin American inequality is a myth.
Residue-rotamer-reduction algorithm for the protein side-chain conformation problem

Motivation: The protein side-chain conformation problem is a central problem in proteomics with wide applications in protein structure prediction and design. Computational complexity results show that the problem is hard to solve. Yet, instances from realistic applications are large and demand fast and reliable algorithms. Results: We propose a new global optimization algorithm, which for the first time integrates residue reduction and rotamer reduction techniques previously developed for the protein side-chain conformation problem. We show that the proposed approach simplifies dramatically the topology of the underlining residue graph. Computations show that our algorithm solves problems using only 1--10% of the time required by the mixed-integer linear programming approach available in the literature. In addition, on a set of hard side-chain conformation problems, our algorithm runs 2--78 times faster than SCWRL 3.0, which is widely used for solving these problems. Availability: The implementation is available as an online server at http://eudoxus.scs.uiuc.edu/r3.html Contact: [email protected]
Imaging or imagining? A neuroethics challenge informed by genetics.

From a twenty-first century partnership between bioethics and neuroscience, the modern field of neuroethics is emerging, and technologies enabling functional neuroimaging with unprecedented sensitivity have brought new ethical, social and legal issues to the forefront. Some issues, akin to those surrounding modern genetics, raise critical questions regarding prediction of disease, privacy and identity. However, with new and still-evolving insights into our neurobiology and previously unquantifiable features of profoundly personal behaviors such as social attitude, value and moral agency, the difficulty of carefully and properly interpreting the relationship between brain findings and our own self-concept is unprecedented. Therefore, while the ethics of genetics provides a legitimate starting point—even a backbone—for tackling ethical issues in neuroimaging, they do not suffice. Drawing on recent neuroimaging findings and their plausible real-world applications, we argue that interpretation of neuroimaging data is a key epistemological and ethical challenge. This challenge is two-fold. First, at the scientific level, the sheer complexity of neuroscience research poses challenges for integration of knowledge and meaningful interpretation of data. Second, at the social and cultural level, we find that interpretations of imaging studies are bound by cultural and anthropological frameworks. In particular, the introduction of concepts of self and personhood in neuroimaging illustrates the interaction of interpretation levels and is a major reason why ethical reflection on genetics will only partially help settle neuroethical issues. Indeed, ethical interpretation of such findings will necessitate not only traditional bioethical input but also a wider perspective on the construction of scientific knowledge.
Quality improvement, quality measurement and medical education: a brewing culture clash?

Front-line healthcare workers are the first to witness the everyday errors that occur in patient care—when a medication dose is delayed, or when an unnecessary test causes harm. Residents and interns are those front-line workers in academic medical centres, working for up to 80 h a week for at least 3 years (in the USA). Just as hospitals owe their patients a commitment to improving care and reducing errors, medical educators should ensure their trainees learn the skills required to improve quality and safety for the patients they will care for during and after training. In this issue, two accompanying viewpoint articles describe the benefits created from increased emphasis on quality improvement in the training setting—and the potential downside. One piece reflects the perspective of a resident in training who yearns for more opportunities to learn quality improvement.1 The other articulates the concerns of a physician working in a large system who feels the burden of excessive quality metric reporting requirements.2 Together, the authors suggest how medical educators and quality-improvement specialists can help trainees learn to be agents of change while balancing the need to preserve the traditional values of medical education. The first viewpoint1 introduces Lean methodology as an avenue for exposing more trainees to quality improvement and improving care in general. Lean is a management method derived from Toyota's method for efficient production of defect-free automobiles.3 This approach to system improvement, when applied to academic medical centres, offers possible solutions as well as further challenges for residency education. Many healthcare systems have achieved success with their implementation of …
Photoluminescence by Hydrogenated Carbon Solids in Interstellar Space

We review the observational evidence for the widespread existence of hydrogenated carbon dust in astronomical environments. Photoluminescence by such materials appears strongly enhanced in regions where additional hydrogenation becomes possible, e.g. through the photodissociation of abundant molecular hydrogen. Recent laboratory experiments have demonstrated that rehydrogenation of previously annealed hydrogenated amorphous carbon (HAC) does indeed restore the photoluminescence, and furthermore, hydrogenation of pure amorphous carbon leads to characteristic HAC photoluminescence, which can be further enhanced by UV irradiation. Present evidence suggests that hydrogenated amorphous carbon may represent a significant fraction of the interstellar dust mass in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Control of an Outbreak of Infection Due to Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli in a Liver Transplantation Unit

We report an outbreak of infection due to genotypically identical extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli among patients in a liver transplantation unit. Control of the outbreak was achieved by a combination of contact isolation, feedback on hand hygiene, and gut decontamination with an orally administered fluoroquinolone. These interventions led to abrupt curtailment of the outbreak.
The Holliday junction in an inverted repeat DNA sequence: Sequence effects on the structure of four-way junctions

Holliday junctions are important structural intermediates in recombination, viral integration, and DNA repair. We present here the single-crystal structure of the inverted repeat sequence d(CCGGTACCGG) as a Holliday junction at the nominal resolution of 2. 1 A. Unlike the previous crystal structures, this DNA junction has B-DNA arms with all standard Watson-Crick base pairs; it therefore represents the intermediate proposed by Holliday as being involved in homologous recombination. The junction is in the stacked-X conformation, with two interconnected duplexes formed by coaxially stacked arms, and is crossed at an angle of 41.4 degrees as a right-handed X. A sequence comparison with previous B-DNA and junction crystal structures shows that an ACC trinucleotide forms the core of a stable junction in this system. The 3'-C x G base pair of this ACC core forms direct and water-mediated hydrogen bonds to the phosphates at the crossover strands. Interactions within this core define the conformation of the Holliday junction, including the angle relating the stacked duplexes and how the base pairs are stacked in the stable form of the junction.
Magnetic resonance imaging of the midbrain in Parkinson's disease

We have analyzed magnetic resonance images of the midbrain in patients with Parkinson's disease, and have found that there is a narrowing of the signal from the pars compacta of the substantia nigra relative to controls. The nature of the histological changes that may be responsible for this effect is discussed. Magnetic resonance imaging has the potential of becoming a useful diagnostic tool in the management of parkinsonism.
Immunopathology of Delayed Hypersensitivity

The term “delayed hypersensitivity” may be defined as an immunologically specific inflammatory reaction slowly evolving at the site of injection of antigen. The reaction usually becomes apparent grossly only after several hours. The gross appearance with erythema and induration reaches a maximum at 24 to 48 hr. Histologically, the reaction is characteristic, being composed predominantly of lymphocytes and macrophages. Because of a difficulty in distinguishing between certain lymphocytes and macrophages in routine histolotical sections, they are often collectively referred to as mononuclear cells.
Predistorted Pulse Width Modulation Technique for Switching Signal Spectrum Management

Predistortion pulse-width modulation is proposed in this paper as a way to shape the spectrum of a switching signal. The key idea is to introduce a predistortion signal to the standard reference signal prior to a conventional triangle-comparison pulse-width modulator. A multicarrier and multisignal approach is employed to prevent low-frequency distortion in the switching signal. The approach can be used for spectral spreading of switching waveforms, for harmonic elimination, and for other applications. It avoids the distortion inherent in random switching methods. The method is much less computationally intensive than conventional harmonic elimination but adds flexibility. Experiments confirm the expected spectral performance.
Molecular Mechanisms of Mammalian Sperm-Zona Pellucida Interaction: Crosstalk Between Sperm and Egg

Aside from its importance in understanding specific aspects of fertilization, studies on sperm — egg interaction provide an elegant general model to study intercellular communication and cellular activation. Sperm functions such as motility, metabolism, capacitation(in mammals) and the acrosome reaction are modulated by specific factors associated with the egg, its acellular or cellular investments, or fluids bathing both the male and female reproductive tracts. In some species the identity, structure and function of these factors are known, and their mode of action at both the physiological and biochemical levels are starting to be elucidated. Emerging from such studies is the idea that the interaction of some of these factors with sperm to bring about a physiological response occurs via processes analogous to ligand -receptor -intracellular second messenger signalling systems known to mediate somatic cell function in response to hormones, neurotransmitters, and growth factors.
Weather, Climate, and the Energy Industry

Some of the key interactions between the atmosphere and the energy industry are considered, with a special focus on concepts and forecasts through which atmospheric science assists the industry and its support for society. Probabilistic weather and seasonal forecasts take advantage of contemporary understanding and computer power to clarify the envelope of expectation for risk and opportunity in the industry on the scale of days and seasons. The quality of seasonal forecasts is examined with two statistical verification schemes. Climate change, regardless of cause, poses potential challenges for the energy industry, perhaps the most significant arising from political and economic pressures. A formal analysis scheme is outlined that may assist energy companies to foresee and manage the implications and consequences of climate change for their business.
A five-star rating scheme to assess application seamlessness

Visual analytics is a costly endeavor in which analysts must coordinate the execution of incompatible visualization tools to derive coherent presentations from complex information. Distributed environments such as the Web pose additional costs since analysts must also establish logical connections among shared results, decode unfamiliar data formats, and engage with broader sets of tools that support the heterogeneity of different information sources. These ancillary activities are often limiting factors to our vision of seamless analytics, which we define as the low-cost generation and reuse of analytical resources. In this paper, we offer a theory of analytics that formally explains how analysts can employ Linked Data to maintain and leverage explicit connections across shared results as well as manage different representations of information required by visualization tools. Our theory builds on the well-known benefits of interconnected data and provides new metrics that quantify the utility of interconnected user- and task-centric, analytical applications. To describe our theory, we first introduce an extension of the W3C PROV Ontology to model analytic applications regardless of the type of data, tool, or objective involved. Next, we exercise the ontology to model a series of applications performed in a hypothetical but realistic and fully-implemented scenario. We then introduce a measure of seamlessness for any chain of applications described in our Application Ontology. Finally, we extend the ontology to distinguish five types of applications based on the structure of data involved and the behavior of the tools used. Together, our seamlessness measure and application ontology compose our Five-Star application theory that embodies tenets of Linked Data in a form that emits falsifiable predictions and which can be revised to better reflect and thus reduce the costs embedded within analytical environments.
AND/OR net representation for robotic task sequence planning

The paper describes a framework for task sequence planning for a generalized robotic work cell. The AND/OR net provides a compact, distributed, domain-specific representation of geometric configurations of parts and devices in the work cell. The approach maintains a correspondence from geometric state information to task and motion plans and on-line discrete-event control that is not available in traditional action-based planners. The feasibility criteria for each AND/OR net transition guide the geometric reasoning required in the planning of feasible sequences. The resulting search space for plans is often much smaller (due to explicit representation of geometric constraints) than the state space of an action-based task planner. For purposes of analysis, the AND/OR net is mapped into a Petri net and the resulting Petri net is shown to be bounded and have guaranteed properties of liveness, safeness, and reversibility. In this form, the AND/OR net may be viewed as a Petri net synthesis tool in which the resulting Petri net representation may be used for on-line scheduling and control of the system.
Spatial computing perspective on food energy and water nexus

In the coming decades, the increasing world population is expected to grow the demand for food, energy, and water resources. In addition, these resources will be under stress due to the climate change and urbanization. Previously, more problems were caused by piecemeal approaches analyzing and planning those resources independent of each other. The goal of the food, energy, and water (FEW) nexus approach is to prevent such problems by understanding, appreciating, and visualizing the interconnections and interdependencies of FEW resources at local, regional, and global levels. The nexus approach seeks to use the FEW resources as an interrelated system of systems, but data and modeling constraints make it a challenging task. In addition, the lack of complete knowledge and observability of FEW interactions exacerbates the problem. Related work focused on physical science solutions (e.g., desalination, bio-pesticides). No doubt these are necessary and worthwhile for FEW resource security. Overlooked in these work is that spatial computing may help domain scientists achieve their goals for the FEW nexus. In this paper, we describe our vision of the spatial computing’s role in understanding the FEW nexus using a Nexus Dashboard analogy. From a spatial data lifecycle perspective, we provide more details on the spatial computing components behind the Nexus Dashboard vision. In each component, we list new technical challenges that are likely to drive future spatial computing research.
The action of radium on growing cells

If it is difficult to correlate the published results of the clinical treatment of cancer with radium, it is still more difficult to correlate the findings in the biological study of radioactivity. My own experiments on primary mouse tumors, shortly to be published, show that it is impossible to cure primary carcinoma of mice by the application of 155 mgm. of radium bromide, even when used for long periods of time. Nevertheless, the tumors so treated shrink to a fraction of their previous size. Thus, after forty-eight hours'treatment of a tumor, about 15 mm. in diameter, with 30 mgm. of radium bromide, only a microscopic remnant could be found, von Wassermann1 says, however, that the direct application of 55 mgm. of mesothorium for many days did not interfere with the growth of a transplanted mouse carcinoma, and yet he states that a small fragment of the same tumor irradiated for three hours with the same amount of mesothorium could not be successfully transplanted. Again, he says that carcinoma cells su...
Assessing Children's Logo Debugging Skills with a Formal Model

In this article, we propose a new way to assess children's acquisition of debugging skills in a LOGO environment. The assessment procedure is based on an explicit and precise model (in the form of a computer simulation) of good debugging skills. The model has four stages: 1) evaluating the program's planned and actual outcomes to determine that debugging is necessary, 2) identifying the bug by using descriptions of the discrepancy between the planned and actual outcomes to propose potential bugs, 3) locating the bug by using clues about the structure of the program to narrow the search, and 4) correcting the bug and retesting the program. We describe model-based measurements of the LOGO debugging skills actually acquired by students in a “typical” LOGO graphics course. Nine seven- to nine-year-olds were given twenty-four hours of LOGO training over a three-week period. Students learned the editing and command generation skills prerequisite to debugging but were not able to interpret commands and use clues...
TD-SCDMA Networking Strategy with Interference Between Indoor and Outdoor Network

The High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) technology is employed in the TD-SCDMA mobile communication system . Theoretically, the HSDPA peak data rate per time slot available in the terminals can be 560 kb/s . Since the data services are often occurred indoors , so the flexible time slot allocation between uplink and downlink is applied in TD-SCDMA network strategy, i.e . TS1 and TS2 are uplink time slots and TS3, TS4, TS5 and TS6 are downlink time slots in the indoor cell; and symmetry time slots are for the outdoor cell. In the intra-frequency cell network, it can cause the intra-frequency interference between the cells . So the research on the intra-frequency crossed time slots interference is done and the suggestions on the intra-frequency crossed time slots network strategy are proposed in the paper.
Arthroscopy. Basic setup and equipment

Shoulder arthroscopy necessitates attention to detail. Adopting a comfortable setup that includes a plan for every detail, including the surgeon's position, the patient's position, the draping techniques, and the types of fluid and equipment necessary, adds to the smooth flow of the operation even when the surgical plan changes. I have described my method of basic arthroscopic setup and equipment, which has helped me to deal with the many frustrations faced during arthroscopy on the shoulder. It is hoped this article may enable the reader to avoid some of these problems if this or a similar basic setup is adopted.
A. S. Byatt: Angels and Insects (1992)

A[ntonia] S[usan] Byatt has a distinctive voice and an equally distinctive view of the role of the modern novelist. She published her first novel, Shadow of a Sun, in 1964. At first overshadowed by her sister Margaret Drabble, a more popular novelist, she didn’t receive wide recognition until the publication of Possession: A Romance in 1990. By then she had produced four novels, a collection of short stories, and two works of academic criticism. Since the publication of Possession she has published two collections of essays, Passions of the Mind (1991) and On Histories and Stories (2000), reflecting in particular on the place of the novel and her own fiction in the modern world. To date she has published fourteen works of fiction, including the “Powerhouse” or Frederica quartet (The Virgin in the Garden 1978, Still Life 1985, Babel Tower 1996, and A Whistling Woman 2002). Between 1972 and 1983 she taught English full time at University College, University of London, and has acquired a formidable reputation as a critic with a dissenting voice in a largely poststructuralist academic environment.
CHAPTER 10 – Robert K. Merton

It would seem reasonable to suppose that sociology will advance in the degree that its major concern is with developing theories of the middle range and will be frustrated if attention centers on theory in the large.
Wake structure and kinematics in two insectivorous bats

We compare kinematics and wake structure over a range of flight speeds (4.0–8.2 m s−1) for two bats that pursue insect prey aerially, Tadarida brasiliensis and Myotis velifer. Body mass and wingspa...
The value of sleeping: A rollout algorithm for sensor scheduling in HMMs

This paper presents a new Q-value approximation algorithm for joint sensor scheduling and MAP state estimation in hidden Markov models. The proposed algorithm is motivated by the fact that energy-constrained embedded devices spend a significant amount of time in sleep modes. To develop an adaptive sensing-resource scheduling policy, the proposed base policy computes the exact value of sleeping over an infinite time horizon. This value is incorporated to rank sensing resources, trading off sensing quality with usage cost. As the base policy is independent of the sensing modalities, the proposed method is useful in applications where observation parameters such as SNR are time-varying, and when re-optimization is not practical. For applications with significant energy constraints, the proposed policy performs better than other heuristics and achieves near optimal performance/resource trade-off, as demonstrated in a long-term energy-constrained wildlife monitoring application.
Hereditary Polyposis Syndromes

The polyposis syndromes are a group of clinically distinct, autosomal dominantly inherited disorders characterized by the finding of multiple polyps in the gastrointestinal tract and a predisposition to cancer. There are two groups of syndromes. In the adenomatous polyposis syndromes, the polyps are dysplastic and the risk of colon cancer formation in patients with adenomas approaches 100%. These syndromes have provided key insights into the pathogenesis and genetics of sporadic, non-familial colorectal cancer. The second group is the hamartomatous polyposis syndromes in which mature but non-dysplastic and disorganized tissue characterizes the histology of the polyps. Some patients with hamartomatous syndromes may develop colon cancer, but extra-intestinal cancers may be more common, depending on the syndrome. Familiarity with these syndromes is paramount in patient management. The key management strategies include the surveillance and prevention of known complications of these syndromes. Many of the genes that are linked to these syndromes have now been described, which provides an avenue for genetic testing in individuals with a syndrome, as well as in family members prior to the development of signs of the syndrome.
The Objective Value of Subjective Value in project design negotiations

Design in infrastructure public–private partnerships (P3s) involves integrative bargaining. This research looks at the cognitive and psychosocial experience of designers as the dependent variable i...
Epigenome-wide cross-tissue predictive modeling and comparison of cord blood and placental methylation in a birth cohort.

Aim: We compared predictive modeling approaches to estimate placental methylation using cord blood methylation. Materials & methods: We performed locus-specific methylation prediction using both linear regression and support vector machine models with 174 matched pairs of 450k arrays. Results: At most CpG sites, both approaches gave poor predictions in spite of a misleading improvement in array-wide correlation. CpG islands and gene promoters, but not enhancers, were the genomic contexts where the correlation between measured and predicted placental methylation levels achieved higher values. We provide a list of 714 sites where both models achieved an R2 ≥0.75. Conclusion: The present study indicates the need for caution in interpreting cross-tissue predictions. Few methylation sites can be predicted between cord blood and placenta.
Endometrial cancer outcomes in hypertensive women treated with beta-blocker.

e16545 Background: Hypertension (HTN) is a comorbidity frequently found in women with endometrial cancer (EC). While evidence suggests a protective benefit of beta-blockers in other malignancies, t...
Synthetic Macromolecular Antibiotic Platform for Inhalable Therapy against Aerosolized Intracellular Alveolar Infections

Lung-based intracellular bacterial infections remain one of the most challenging infectious disease settings. For example, the current standard for treating Franciscella tularensis pneumonia (tularemia) relies on administration of oral or intravenous antibiotics that poorly achieve and sustain pulmonary drug bioavailability. Inhalable antibiotic formulations are approved and in clinical development for upper respiratory infections, but sustained drug dosing from inhaled antibiotics against alveolar intracellular infections remains a current unmet need. To provide an extended therapy against alveolar intracellular infections, we have developed a macromolecular therapeutic platform that provides sustained local delivery of ciprofloxacin with controlled dosing profiles. Synthesized using RAFT polymerization, these macromolecular prodrugs characteristically have high drug loading (16–17 wt % drug), tunable hydrolysis kinetics mediated by drug linkage chemistry (slow-releasing alkyllic vs fast-releasing phenol...
Probabilistic SVM for open set automatic target recognition on high range resolution radar data

The Eigen-Template (ET) based closed-set feature extraction approach is extended to an open-set HRR-ATR framework to develop an Open Set Probabilistic Support Vector Machine (OSP-SVM) classifier. The proposed ET-OSP-SVM is shown to perform open set ATR on HRR data with 80% PCC for a 4-class MSTAR dataset.
Tilbert Diego Stegmann, Cervantes' Musterroman "Persiles". Epen-theorie und Romanpraxis um 1600 (El Pinciano, Helidor, "Don Quijote"). Hartmut Lüdke Verlag, Hamburg, 1971; 295 pp.

Se reseno el libro: Cervantes' Musterroman "Persiles". Epen-theorie und Romanpraxis um 1600 (El Pinciano, Helidor, "Don Quijote").
Optical Coherence Tomography in Optic Nerve Disorders

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an evolving technology that provides noninvasive imaging of tissues. It uses low coherence interferometry to produce cross-sectional images based on the optical scattering of light, 1 similar to ultrasound. Since its introduction into the ophthalmology clinic in the 1990s, optical coherence tomography has become a standard tool for the evaluation of ophthalmic disease. Although its main use was initially for retinal disease and glaucoma, OCT now has a niche in neuro-ophthalmic evaluation. It is mainly useful to rule in occult retinal disease when the etiology of visual loss is unclear, but it is also used to evaluate and follow up abnormalities of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), such as optic nerve edema and atrophy.2
Discovery of Peripheral κ-Opioid Receptor Agonists as Novel Analgesics

κ-Opioid receptor agonists with high selectivity over the μ-opioid receptor and peripheral selectivity are attractive targets in the development of drugs for pain. We have previously attempted to create novel analgesics with peripheral selective κ-opioid receptor agonist on the basis of TRK-820. In this study, we elucidated the biological properties of 17-hydroxy-cyclopropylmethyl and 10α-hydroxy derivatives. These compounds were found to have better κ-opioid receptor selectivity and peripheral selectivity than TRK-820.
Novel application and serial evaluation of tissue-engineered portal vein grafts in a murine model.

AIM Surgical management of pediatric extrahepatic portal vein obstruction requires meso-Rex bypass using autologous or synthetic grafts. Tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) provide an alternative, but no validated animal models using portal TEVGs exist. Herein, we preclinically assess TEVGs as portal vein bypass grafts. MATERIALS & METHODS TEVGs were implanted as portal vein interposition conduits in SCID-beige mice, monitored by ultrasound and micro-computed tomography, and histologically assessed postmortem at 12 months. RESULTS TEVGs remained patent for 12 months. Histologic analysis demonstrated formation of neovessels that resembled native portal veins, with similar content of smooth muscle cells, collagen type III and elastin. CONCLUSION TEVGs are feasible portal vein conduits in a murine model. Further preclinical evaluation of TEVGs may facilitate pediatric clinical translation.
Pattern formation during electrochemical and liquid metal dealloying

Dealloying has evolved from a problematic corrosion process to a versatile tool for scalable fabrication of nanostructured metals. While the original, and majority of, work in the area has focused on electrochemical dealloying, a powerful variation of dealloying—liquid metal dealloying—has recently gained popularity. This process relies on a melt to carry out selective dissolution, replacing the traditional electrolyte solution. While electrolytes and molten metals are both suitable dealloying media, they can lead to very different morphologies. In this article, we compare and contrast what is known about the microscale physics and chemistry controlling microstructural evolution in electrochemical and liquid metal dealloying. We conclude that the core phenomenology of porosity evolution—a competition between dissolution and interface diffusion—is similar in both dealloying processes, but that the relative magnitudes of these two processes control interfacial pattern formation.
Expanding the scope of peropyrenes and teropyrenes through a facile InCl3-catalyzed multifold alkyne benzannulation

Herein, we report a facile synthesis of bay-region-functionalized peropyrenes and teropyrenes through an InCl3-catalyzed double or quadruple benzannulation reaction of alkynes. This method also allows for the formation of persistently twisted, and thus chiral, peropyrenes. In contrast to using Bronsted acids to facilitate the alkyne benzannulation reaction, these InCl3-catalyzed reactions are capable of cyclizing electron-rich, electron-poor, and even alkyl-substituted alkynes; this drastically improves the scope of products that can be accessed. X-ray crystallographic analysis showed that the substituents in the bay-region play an important role, not only in the crystal packing, but also for their chirality in the solid-state. The excellent solubility and broad scope of both the peropyrenes and teropyrenes obtained by this method, enable us to fully study their interesting optical and electrochemical properties for the first time.
Hormonal Modulation of Central Motivational States

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the concept of motivation, and its relationship to the central nervous system function and specific hormonal systems. It suggests that the behavioral expression of central motive states is coded, in part, by neuropeptide expression in the brain, and is regulated by steroids. The concept of motivation has figured in the explanation of human behavior since recorded history. Perhaps, it is a cognitive category selected to facilitate the prediction and explanation of goal-directed behavior. The concept of motivation and drive were fundamental in the scientific lexicon of psychology and ethology. Unfortunately, however, motivational systems have always had a tendency to multiply like instincts. However, that is no different from the unrestrained multiplication of the newest peptide receptors sites.
In Flanders fields

(Color) This card is a poem about Flanders' Fields, commemorating the thousands of soldiers who died in Flanders during World War I. The card has an an ornate border and a picture of a flower-filled cemetery at top left. This card is uninscribed and unposted.
Gene by Environment Interplay in Cognitive Aging

In this chapter, we reconsider existing theoretical models of Gene–Environment (GE) interplay and view them through the lens of a lifespan perspective, focusing on the shifting nature of the environments that impact cognitive function throughout adulthood. Existing evidence for GE interplay in cognitive aging is evaluated from this vantage point, including investigations that tap recent advances in genotyping and gene expression. The extent to which genetic factors are actually correlated with environments that provide more or less support for cognitive skills is unknown. However, educational and occupational attainment as well as leisure activities and exercise may reflect GE correlational processes that deserve further examination from a life course perspective. Emerging evidence is perhaps a bit more encouraging with respect to G × E processes: e.g., higher education and participation in leisure and physical activities may lower the risk of cognitive decline in those who already carry the APOE e4 risk allele. Familiality of methylation levels and telomere lengths, suggests that genetically driven differential sensitivities to environments (e.g., stress) may be important to individual differences in cognitive aging, but detailed investigations of specific environmental factors is minimal as yet. Large-scale efforts to study G × E influences on aging outcomes are underway, and predicted to contribute in important ways to the emerging literature on GE interplay using behavioral genetics and molecular methods.
Identfication of the altered subunit in the inactive F1ATPase of an Escherichia coli uncA mutant

ATPase activity was restored to the inactive coupling factor, F1ATPase, of Escherichia coli strain AN120 (uncA401) by reconstitution of the dissociated complex with an excess of wild-type α subunit. Large excesses of α gave the highest levels of activity. The other subunits which are required for the reconstitution of ATPase activity, β and γ, did not complement the mutant enzyme. These results indicate that the α polypeptide of the AN120 ATPase is defective.
Dynamic self-correcting nucleophilic aromatic substitution.

Dynamic covalent chemistry, with its ability to correct synthetic dead-ends, allows for the synthesis of elaborate extended network materials in high yields. However, the limited number of reactions amenable to dynamic covalent chemistry necessarily confines the scope and functionality of materials synthesized. Here, we explore the dynamic and self-correcting nature of nucleophilic aromatic substitution (SNAr), using ortho-aryldithiols and ortho-aryldifluorides that condense to produce redox-active thianthrene units. We demonstrate the facile construction of two-, three- and four-point junctions by reaction between a dithiol nucleophile and three different model electrophiles that produces molecules with two, three and four thianthrene moieties, respectively, in excellent yields. The regioselectivity observed is driven by thermodynamics; other connections form under kinetic control. We also show that the same chemistry can be extended to the synthesis of novel ladder macrocycles and porous polymer networks with Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of up to 813 m2 g−1. Dynamic covalent chemistry offers promise for the formation of elaborate extended network materials in high yields, but the limited number of reactions available confines the scope and functionality of the materials synthesized. Now, nucleophilic aromatic substitution has been shown to be reversible, and thus self-correcting, enabling the easy synthesis of sulfur-rich materials.
The Observed Zonal Circulation of the Atmosphere

Observational data from many sources are brought together to form a composite picture of the distribution, from pole to pole and from sea level to the 5-centibar level, of the normal summer and win...