cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using object oriented analysis and design in a non-object oriented environment experience report

The paper is an experience report about using James Rumbaugh's Object Modeling Technique (OMT) in Allen-Bradley's 6200 Series Programming Software for Programmable Controllers (6200). It explores three stages of subsystem development: analysis, design, and implementation. For each stage, a brief description of the Object Modeling Technique is given. Also included are solutions to obstacles that were overcome while working on the project. Metrics were kept during the development and independent test of the two object oriented subsystems that were introduced into 6200. These metrics compare the object oriented (OO) subsystems to structured analysis/structured design (SA/SD) subsystems of roughly the same complexity and in the same area of the product as the object oriented subsystem. The metrics presented are: number of function points, length of time spent in each development stage, number of lines of code and number of functions for the subsystem, number of defects found by an independent test group (categorized by development stage), and length of time required to fix the defects.
The Temporal Placement of Cushing's Key Marco Site, Florida

David H. Dye's competent review of The Material Culture of Key Marco, Florida, by Marion S. Gilliland (AA 79:500, 1977), refers to the famous Cushing site as dating approximately A.D. 700-800. This temporal placement is evidently based on six radiocarbon dates from Key Marco wooden artifacts reported by Gilliland in Appendix E of her book. These dates, however, are greatly in error, probably due to contamination of the collection during storage at the Florida State Museum. The dates run at the University of California at Los Angeles in March 1975 contrast sharply with a single 17th-century A.D. date obtained shortly after the Key Marco collection arrived at the Museum. Styles of Key Marco ceramic vessels and potsherds, and the Southern-Cultrelated motifs on certain of the wooden objects, also indicate a Glades III (post-A.D. 1250) date for the site, as does the "spider" motif found in wood at Key Marco but on European-derived metals elsewhere in south Florida. In her book
Influence of Ablation Impurities on Blunt Body Re-Entry Ionization

Electron density profiles which include the effect of an ablated sodium impurity were computed for the boundary layer on a blunt-nosed body re-entering the atmosphere at 7.62 km/sec. Profiles are computed from the nose to a distance of four diameters along the RAM C-payload. A finite-difference, laminar, nonequilibrium chemistry boundary-layer program was used. Comparison of theory with S-band diagnostic antenna results, electron concentration deduced from X- and C-band attenuation data, and Langmuir probe data at several different aft body locations show that agreement is good at high altitude. At the lower altitudes there is disagreement between theory and S-band antenna data where the apparent discrepancy is attributed to the three-body recombination rate constant used for deionization of sodium coupled with the effect of angle of attack.
Pathways to photoreceptor cell death in inherited retinal degenerations.

The mutations that cause many forms of inherited retinal degenerations have been identified, yet the mechanisms by which these mutations lead to death of photoreceptor cells of the retina are not completely understood. Investigations of the pathways from mutation to retinal degeneration have focused on spontaneous and engineered animal models of disease. Based on the studies performed to date, four major categories of degeneration mechanism can be identified. These include disruption of photoreceptor outer segment morphogenesis, metabolic overload, dysfunction of retinal pigment epithelial cells, and chronic activation of phototransduction. Future investigations will likely identify additional mechanisms of photoreceptor damage. This review will summarize what has been learned from studying animal models of non-syndromic inherited retinal degenerations. BioEssays 23:605–618, 2001. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Microfluidic integrated optoelectronic tweezers

We report on a novel optoelectronic tweezers (OET) that integrates with multilayer PDMS based microfluidic devices for the first time. This is realized by coating the PDMS channels with a Au mesh electrode capable of providing an electrically conductive and optically transparent surface that bonds with an OET surface as well. Microfluidic integrated OET not only allows continuous delivery of biological samples such as media, cells, and particles into optical manipulation area but also on-chip microfluidic valves for fluid control.
Glucokinase regulatory protein gene polymorphism affects postprandial lipemic response in a dietary intervention study

Postprandial triglyceridemia is an emerging risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, most of the genes that influence postprandial triglyceridemia are not known. We evaluated whether a common nonsynonymous SNP rs1260326/P446L in the glucokinase regulatory protein (GCKR) gene influenced variation in the postprandial lipid response after a high-fat challenge in seven hundred and seventy participants in the Amish HAPI Heart Study who underwent an oral high-fat challenge and had blood samples taken in the fasting state and during the postprandial phase at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 h. We found that the minor T allele at rs1260326 was associated with significantly higher fasting TG levels after adjusting for age, sex, and family structure (P (a) = 0.06 for additive model, and P (r) = 0.0003 for recessive model). During the fat challenge, the T allele was associated with significantly higher maximum TG level (P (a) = 0.006), incremental maximum TG level (P (a) = 0.006), TG area under the curve (P (a) = 0.02) and incremental TG area under the curve (P (a) = 0.03). Our data indicate that the rs1260326 T allele of GCKR is associated with both higher fasting levels of TG as well as the postprandial TG response, which may result in higher atherogenic risk.
PARTITIONING OF MODERATELY SIDEROPHILE ELEMENTS AMONG OLIVINE, SILICATE MELT, AND SULFIDE MELT : CONSTRAINTS ON CORE FORMATION IN THE EARTH AND MARS

This study investigates the effects of Variations in the fugacities of oxygen and sulfur on the partitioning of first series transition metals (V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni. and Cu) and W among coexisting sulfide melt, silicate melt, and olivine. Experiments were performed at 1 atm pressure, 1350 C, with the fugacities of oxygen and sulfur controlled by mixing CO2, CO, and SO2 gases. Starting compositions consisted of a CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-FeO-Na2O analog for a barred olivine chondrule from an ordinary chondrite and a synthetic komatiite. The f(sub O2)/f(sub S2), conditions ranged from log of f(sub O2) = -7.9 to - 10.6, with log of f(sub S2) values ranging from - 1.0 to -2.5. Our experimental results demonstrate that the f(sub O2)/f(sub S2) dependencies of sulfide melt/silicate melt partition coefficients for the first series transition metals arc proportional to their valence states. The f(sub O2)/f(sub S2) dependencies for the partitioning of Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu are weaker than predicted on the basis of their valence states. Variations in conditions have no significant effect on olivine/melt partitioning other than those resulting from f(sub O2)-induced changes in the valence state of a given element. The strong f(sub O2)/f(sub S2) dependence for the olivine/silicate melt partitioning of V is attributable to a change of valence state, from 4+ to 3+, with decreasing f(sub O2). Our experimentally determined partition coefficients are used to develop models for the segregation of sulfide and metal from the silicate portion of the early Earth and the Shergottite parent body (Mars). We find that the influence of S is not sufficient to explain the overabundance of siderophile and chalcophile elements that remained in the mantle of the Earth following core formation. Important constraints on core formation in Mars are provided by our experimental determination of the partitioning of Cu between silicate and sulfide melts. When combined with existing estimates for siderophile element abundances in the Martian mantle and a mass balance constraint from Fe, the experiments allow a determination of the mass of the Martian core (approx. 17 to 22 wt% of the planet) and its S content (approx.0.4 wt%). These modeling results indicate that Mars is depleted in S, and that its core is solid.
Unplanned cigarette purchases and tobacco point of sale advertising: a potential barrier to smoking cessation

Background In the USA, tobacco marketing expenditure is increasingly concentrated at the point of sale (POS). Previous studies have demonstrated an association between exposure to tobacco POS advertising and increased smoking initiation, but limited evidence is available on adult smokers’ decisions and behaviours. Methods An immediate post-cigarette purchase survey was administered to 301 cigarette purchasers outside of two grocery stores in Vermont to assess the prevalence of unplanned purchases and opinions about POS tobacco advertising and displays. Results In total, 11.3% of purchases were reported as unplanned. Certain groups were more likely to make unplanned purchases including: 18–24-year-olds (OR: 2.1, 95% CI 1.0 to 4.4), less than daily smokers (OR: 5.6, 95% CI 1.9 to 16.9), smokers who made 3+ quit attempts in the previous year (OR: 2.4, 95% CI 0.9 to 6.0), those who plan to quit in the next month (OR: 3.7, 95% CI 1.6 to 9.0), and those who agreed that tobacco POS advertising makes quitting smoking harder (OR: 2.3, 95% CI 1.1 to 4.8). Overall, 31.2% of participants agreed that tobacco POS advertising makes quitting smoking harder. Individuals who intended to quit within the next month, made 3+ quit attempts in the last year, or made an unplanned cigarette purchase were the most likely to agree. Conclusions Young adults and individuals making multiple quit attempts or planning to quit in the next month are more likely to make unplanned cigarette purchases. Reducing unplanned purchases prompted by tobacco POS advertising could improve the likelihood of successful cessation among smokers.
HIGH PERFORMANCE AND SCALABLE RADIX SORTING: A CASE STUDY OF IMPLEMENTING DYNAMIC PARALLELISM FOR GPU COMPUTING

The need to rank and order data is pervasive, and many algorithms are fundamentally dependent upon sorting and partitioning operations. Prior to this work, GPU stream processors have been perceived as challenging targets for problems with dynamic and global data-dependences such as sorting. This paper presents: (1) a family of very efficient parallel algorithms for radix sorting; and (2) our allocation-oriented algorithmic design strategies that match the strengths of GPU processor architecture to this genre of dynamic parallelism. We demonstrate multiple factors of speedup (up to 3.8x) compared to state-of-the-art GPU sorting. We also reverse the performance differentials observed between GPU and multi/many-core CPU architectures by recent comparisons in the literature, including those with 32-core CPU-based accelerators. Our average sorting rates exceed 1B 32-bit keys/sec on a single GPU microprocessor. Our sorting passes are constructed from a very efficient parallel prefix scan "runtime" that incorporates three design features: (1) kernel fusion for locally generating and consuming prefix scan data; (2) multi-scan for performing multiple related, concurrent prefix scans (one for each partitioning bin); and (3) flexible algorithm serialization for avoiding unnecessary synchronization and communication within algorithmic phases, allowing us to construct a single implementation that scales well across all generations and configurations of programmable NVIDIA GPUs.
Differential effects of conjugated linoleic acid isomers in insulin-resistant female C57Bl/6J mice

Obesity is associated with a high risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, management of body weight to prevent obesity remains as an important priority. The present investigation addresses the effects of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers on body weight and composition of body fat in female C57Bl/6J mice. To investigate the differential effects of individual CLA isomers and their mixture on changes in lean mass, fat mass, glucose and insulin, 6-month-old female C57BL/6J mice were fed with 10% corn oil (CO) as a dietary fat source and either supplemented with purified cis 9,trans 11 (c9t11) CLA (0.5%) or trans 10,cis 12 (t10c12) CLA (0.5%) and/or their mixture (50:50) for 6 months. As a result of 6 months' dietary intervention, both the t10c12-CLA and CLA mix showed increased lean mass and reduced fat mass compared to the CO and c9t11-CLA groups. Insulin resistance was, however, increased in t10c12-CLA and CLA mix-fed groups based on the results of homeostasis model assessment (HOMA), the revised quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index (R-QUICKI) and also with intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT). In conclusion, long-term feeding of the major CLA isomers in 12-month-old C57Bl/6J mice revealed a contrasting effect on fat mass, glucose and insulin metabolism. The t10c12 isomer is found to reduce the fat mass and increase the lean mass but significantly contributed to increase insulin resistance and liver steatosis, whereas c9t11 isomer prevented the insulin resistance.
HOUSEHOLD LABOR TIME AND THE GENDER GAP IN EARNINGS

In this article, we examine the effects of time spent in household labor on the gender gap in earnings. We identify that part of the gender gap in earnings directly attributable to women's greater household labor time. After controlling for years of work experience, hours worked per week, occupation, industry, union membership, and education, we find that household labor time can directly account for 8.2 percent of the gender gap in earnings. In addition to the direct effect of women's household responsibilities on earnings, they also may affect occupational location, work experience, and number of hours worked per week, and through these variables, their earnings. These findings indicate that we cannot truly understand women's earnings relative to those of men without considering the impact of their unpaid labor on their paid work.
Benchmarked small area prediction

Small area estimation often involves constructing predictions with an estimated model followed by a benchmarking step. In the benchmarking operation the predictions are modified so that weighted sums satisfy constraints. The most common constraint is the constraint that a weighted sum of the predictions is equal to the same weighted sum of the original observations. Augmented models as a method of imposing the constraint are investigated for both linear and nonlinear models. Variance estimators for benchmarked predictors are presented.
Statistical Analysis of Regression Models

A complete description of how SAS procedures can be used to fit linear regression models, this chapter includes both a basic introduction and more advanced topics such as residual analysis and multicollinearity. The REG procedure is used to compute basic fit statistics, diagnostic case statistics, as well as produce associated template-based graphical tools for fitting both simple and multiple linear regression models. Discussion on REG and GLMSELECT procedures includes methods available in SAS for variable subset selection beyond the classical stepwise methods based only on p-values, including methods based on validation and k-fold cross-validation.
The Power of Partnerships in Becoming Accountable for the Impact of Teacher Candidates on P-12 Learning

The “Renaissance Partnership”, a consortium of eleven universities and their partner schools, was one of the first twenty-five Teacher Quality Enhancement Projects funded in 1999. The Project’s two primary goals, “to become accountable for the impact of teacher graduates on the students they teach” and “to institutionalize reforms in preparation programs,” to a great extent have been achieved. Successes are attributed to “the power of partnerships.” This paper provides a brief account of the development of the Renaissance Partnership and the struggles to achieve project objectives, a description of project achievements, a third party evaluator’s summary and, finally, a project director’s reflections and conclusions.
Ligand Binding to Anion Binding Exosites as Prothrombin is Converted to Active Thrombin

The blood coagulant thrombin is originally expressed as the zymogen prothrombin (ProT). Prothrombin contains the F1.2 (Gla + Kringle 1 + Kringle 2) domain and the inactive serine protease prethrombin-2 (PT2). Kringle 2 of F1.2 protects an immature anion binding exosite on ProT called pro-ABE II. An immature, but unprotected, pro-ABE I site also exists on ProT. As part of the zymogen activation process, the prothrombinase complex can cleave ProT after R271 and release F1.2 from PT2. Subsequent cleavage of PT2 at R320 helps to generate active thrombin. Both anion binding exosites become fully mature upon production of thrombin. In the current work, solution NMR studies have been used to characterize the binding of GpIbα (269-286, 15N-labeled L275, 15N-labeled D277) to (pro)-ABE II and the binding of PAR3 (44-56, 15N-labeled F47, 15N-labeled D54 ) to (pro)-ABE I. The residues that are 15N-labeled have previously been shown by X-ray crystallography to make extensive contact with the thrombin surface. This observation is further supported by 1D proton NMR line broadening studies on the ligand-thrombin complexes. 15N-1H HSQC NMR titrations demonstrate that GpIbα (269-286, 15N-labeled L275, 15N-labeled D277) does not bind to the pro-ABE II site on human ProT. Ligand binding affinity to ABE II then increases as ProT is converted to PT2 and then thrombin. By contrast, HSQC NMR titrations reveal that the pro-ABE I site on ProT can already bind PAR3 (44-56, 15N-labeled F47, 15N-labeled D54). More selective therapeutics may take advantage of this immature ABE I site. Binding affinity for PAR3 (44-56) further increases as active thrombin is produced. After the two mature exosites are generated, thrombin is well poised to regulate several coagulation and anti-coagulation events.
A Conceptual Analysis of the “A lien Invasion”: Institutionalized Support of Illegal Mexican Aliens in the U.S.

Most persons view the illegal Mexican alien (hereafter IMA) problem as solely a function of the alien himself, a pathological condition brought into our society by persons who continue to enter the U.S. in violation of the law. This view not only pictures the IMA as an undesirable but it also serves to provide a visible scapegoat for domestic U.S. unemployment while absolving the U.S. and its citizens from blame with regard to the illegal practices.1 This self-deception enables us to overlook those forces within our own society which contribute to the support of the IMA phenomena even while we publicly condemn it.2 Historically, the frequent movement of Indian, Spanish and Mexican peoples north or south of the present binational boundary was not
Snakes, Cats, and Flies as Carriers of Salmonella Typhimurium

Abstract It has become evident from our studies on salmonellosis in turkeys that animal reservoirs other than turkeys must account for some outbreaks that cannot be traced to turkey carriers. In a previous paper we (1944) reported the isolation of Salmonella meleagridis from a gopher snake caught on a ranch where severe mortality from this Salmonella type was being experienced. It is the purpose of this note to record the isolation of Salmonella typhimurium from a gopher snake, a garter snake, 2 cats, and house flies—all caught on 2 infected turkey ranches. On one ranch an unexplained outbreak of S. typhimurium infection caused severe mortality in a brood of young poults that were hatched from eggs laid by breeders that were negative to both H and O types of S. typhimurium agglutination tests at the beginning of the 1944 hatching season. A retest of the flock after the outbreak occurred . . .
978 PTEN DELETION AND MUTATION IN CLINICALLY INSIGNIFICANT AND SIGNIFICANT PROSTATE CANCER: AN ANALYSIS BY MATE-PAIR NEXT GENERATION AND SANGER SEQUENCING

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Deletion of PTEN is associated with worse prognosis in prostate cancer. However, little is known about the impact of PTEN mutations, and there is limited data regarding the frequency and clinical impact of deletion and mutation in clinically insignificant tumors compared to significant tumors. METHODS: We identified 40 prostatectomy cases with adenocarcinoma consisting of 9 clinically insignificant tumors (defined as GS6 and tumor volume 0.5 cm3), 7 cases of large volume ( 1.0 cm3) GS6, 23 cases of GS7, and 1 case of GS8) and performed massively parallel mate-pair next generation sequencing (NGS) on whole genome-amplified DNA extracted from laser capture microdissected tumor tissue. Sequence analysis of exonic regions was performed using standard Sanger methodology. Follow-up information was available for 31 patients. Tumor-free survival from date of prostatectomy was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. RESULTS: PTEN deletion detected by mate-pair NGS occurred in 10 cases and three of these cases showed additional deleterious mutations (2 nonsense and 1 frameshift) in the remaining PTEN allele by Sanger sequencing. Although not mutually exclusive, alterations in PTEN occurred more frequently in the setting of ERG rearrangements (70%). PTEN abnormalities were absent in clinically insignificant GS6, and large volume GS6 but were common in GS7 or higher tumors (10 of 23 cases; 43%)(p 0.032). Radiographic or biochemical recurrence occurred in 5 patients with PTEN abnormalities (HR 4.65, p 0.036), including metastatic recurrences in 2 of the 3 patients with confirmed bi-allelic loss of PTEN. The overall 5-year tumor-free survival rate among patients with Gleason 7-8 tumors was 57% with PTEN abnormalities and 79% in the remaining cases (p 0.039). CONCLUSIONS: PTEN abnormalities were absent in clinically insignificant and large volume GS6 tumors, but occurred in a significant number of GS7 cases, Although our series is small, patients that had PTEN deletion and mutation has a significantly worse outcome.. These results suggest that PTEN abnormalities identify a subset of prostatic adenocarciomas at higher risk for progression, for which molecular and cytogenetic testing for PTEN abnormalities may provide significant prognostic information.
Comparison of Pediatric Burn Wound Colonization and the Surrounding Environment

ABSTRACTThere are wide ranging practices in barrier isolation standards for pediatric burn patients. The benefits of barrier isolation for burn patients have not been clearly shown through scientific study. Research has shown that patients with a total body surface area (TBSA) burn larger than 30% are more likely to require special precautions, however to date there has been no study that delineates the effect of isolation and precaution techniques on wound infection in pediatric patients with burns less than 20% TBSA. The aim of this research was to determine if small burn wounds (less than 20% TBSA) are colonized with bacterial growth and if that same bacteria is contaminating the patient’s surrounding environment, therefore requiring barrier isolation. The goals of this study were: to determine the colonization rates in burn wounds in our hospital setting, to decrease patient and family anxiety related to barrier isolation, and to decrease unnecessary use of hospital resources, e.g., isolation attire a...
Mathematical modelling reports: Consumer travel behavior: extensions of a multipurpose shopping model

This paper extends earlier research by the author on single-stop, multipurpose shopping where trip chaining (i.e. multistop shopping) is assumed to be absent.
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol as an antiemetic

The use of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) as an antiemetic in patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy is reviewed. The pharmacokinetics of THC is discussed, and the agent's effects on the central nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, immune, endocrine, and reproductive systems are presented. The toxicology, potential hazards, and adverse reactions of THC are reviewed. Also reviewed are studies of THC's use as an antiemetic. THC appears to be an effective antiemetic in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The maximal antinauseant effects often correlate with the attainment of a "high". THC has been found consistently more effective than placebo and at least as effective as prochlorperazine. In phenothiazine-resistant patients, THC's effectiveness has exceeded that of the phenothiazines. Efficacy may depend on the chemotherapeutic agent causing emesis. Elderly patients do not tolerate the THC "high" well. Concurrent administration of phenothiazines with THC may block the "high" without reducing THC's antiemetic effectiveness. Because of variations in individual tolerance, absorption, and the form of chemotherapy, flexibility is necessary in establishing the correct dose of THC.
Does high muscle temperature accentuate skeletal muscle injury from eccentric exercise

Hyperthermia is suspected of accentuating skeletal muscle injury from novel exercise, but this has not been well studied. This study examined if high muscle temperatures alters skeletal muscle injury induced by eccentric exercise (ECC). Eight volunteers (age, 22.5 ± 4.1 year; height, 169.5 ± 10.8 cm; body mass, 76.2 ± 12.6 kg), serving as their own control, and who were not heat acclimatized, completed two elbow flexor ECC trials; in one trial the biceps were heated >40°C (HEAT) and in the other trial there was no heating (NON). HEAT was applied with shortwave diathermy (100 W) for 15 min immediately before the first ECC bout and for 2 min in between each bout. Individuals were followed for 10 days after each ECC session, with a 6‐week washout period between arms. The maximal voluntary isometric contraction decreased by 41 ± 17% and 46 ± 20% in the NON and HEAT trials, respectively. Bicep circumference increased by 0.07 ± 0.08 mm (4%, P = 0.04) and relaxed range of motion decreased by 11.5 ± 8.2° (30%, P 40°C muscle temperature does not alter skeletal muscle injury or functional impairments induced by novel ECC.
Post-Control of Hypertension in Pregnancy Study (CHIPS): What Is the Optimal Strategy to Manage Hypertension During Pregnancy?

Hypertension in pregnancy remains a significant cause of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. The structure of prenatal care with increasing frequency of visits near term is designed to identify generally asymptomatic women with hypertension or proteinuria and deliver them before the development of life-threatening hypertension. In the developed world, this strategy has been generally successful with marked reductions in the rates of maternal mortality and eclampsia. In low- and middle-income countries, where access and use of prenatal care are limited, maternal mortality and eclampsia remain commonplace. Treatment of severe hypertension (systolic blood pressure [DB], ≥160 mm Hg; or diastolic BP, ≥110 mm Hg) is broadly recommended.1,2 The California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative mandates initiation of treatment of severe hypertension within 1 hour of confirmation as minimal requirement for standard process.3 In contrast, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Practice Bulletin on Hypertension in Pregnancy recommends withholding antihypertensive therapy for BPs 160/110 mm Hg seem logically inconsistent. The Control of Hypertension in Pregnancy Study (CHIPS) was a multicenter randomized, controlled trial of BP management in pregnancy.4 The trial was designed to evaluate what the authors described as tight control compared with less tight control. The trial was pragmatic in that pregnant women between 14 and 34 weeks of gestation with a diastolic BP of ≥90 mm Hg (≥85 mm Hg if on antihypertensive medication) were eligible without regard to classification of gestational or chronic hypertension; randomization was stratified to achieve a balance between groups. Seventy-five percent had chronic hypertension. Women with proteinuria, severe, uncontrolled hypertension, and comorbidities were …
A novel approach to train random forests on GPU for computer vision applications using local features

The random forests (RF) classifier has recently gained momentum in the computer vision field, thanks to its successful application in human body tracking, hand pose estimation and object detection. In this article, we present a novel approach to train RF on a graphics processing unit (GPU) for computer vision applications where simple per-pixel features are computed. Besides leveraging the processing power of the GPU to accelerate the training, we reformulate the training problem to limit costly image transfers when it is not possible to store the entire data set in GPU memory. Furthermore, our implementation supports arbitrary image types and allows the user to specify custom features. We extensively compare our approach with the state of the art on publicly available data sets, and we obtain a reduction in training time of up to 18 times. Finally, we train our implementation on a large data set (around 100 K images), demonstrating that our approach is suitable for training RF on the vast data sets typic...
Techniques and Approaches for Safe, High-Yield CT-Guided Suprahyoid Head and Neck Biopsies

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to present imaging approaches and key technical, safety, and patient care best practices critical for safe, successful image-guided biopsy of head and neck masses. CONCLUSION. Image-guided sampling is an important adjunct to the diagnosis and management of head and neck masses and may be particularly useful when lesions are not accessible via an endoscope or by palpation-guided sampling. Appropriate workup is mandatory before the patient is scheduled for such a procedure. Once the procedure has been initiated, needle selection and technique are critical for increasing the diagnostic yield. Knowledge of the various head and neck biopsy approaches and their associated complications is important for optimal tissue sampling and minimization of morbidity.
A tale of two masses

The most precise measurements of the atomic masses of the proton and the electron make use of Penning traps, and for the latter, a hydrogen-like ion, as Edmund Myers explains.
H5N1 influenza vaccine induces a less robust neutralizing antibody response than seasonal trivalent and H7N9 influenza vaccines.

Conventional inactivated avian influenza vaccines have performed poorly in past vaccine trials, leading to the hypothesis that they are less immunogenic than seasonal influenza vaccines. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the immunogenicity of the H5N1 and H7N9 vaccines (avian influenza vaccines) to a seasonal trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine in naive ferrets, administered with or without the adjuvants MF59 or AS03. Vaccine immunogenicity was assessed by measuring neutralizing antibody titers against hemagglutinin and neuraminidase and by hemagglutinin -specific IgG levels. Two doses of unadjuvanted vaccines induced low or no HA-specific IgG responses and hemagglutination-inhibiting titers. Adjuvanted vaccines induced comparable IgG-titers, but poorer neutralizing antibody titers for the H5 vaccine. All adjuvanted vaccines elicited detectable anti- neuraminidase -antibodies with the exception of the H5N1 vaccine, likely due to the low amounts of neuraminidase in the vaccine. Overall, the H5N1 vaccine had poorer capacity to induce neutralizing antibodies, but not HA-specific IgG, compared to H7N9 or trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine.
Real-time surveillance of heat-related morbidity: Relation to excess mortality associated with extreme heat.

The impact of heat on mortality is well documented but deaths tend to occur after (or lag) extreme heat events, and mortality data is generally not available for timely surveillance during extreme heat events. Recently, systems for near-real time surveillance of heat illness have been reported but have not been validated as predictors of non-external cause of deaths associated with extreme heat events. We analyzed associations between daily weather conditions, emergency medical system (EMS) calls flagged as heat-related by EMS dispatchers, emergency department (ED) visits classified as heat-related based on chief complaint text, and excess non-external cause mortality in New York City. EMS and ED data were obtained from data reported daily to the city health department for syndromic surveillance. We fit generalized linear models to assess the relationships of daily counts of heat related EMS and ED visits to non-external cause deaths after adjustment for weather conditions during the months of May-September between 1999 and 2013. Controlling for temporal trends, a 7% (95% confidence interval (CI): 2–12) and 6% (95% CI: 3–10) increase in non-external cause mortality was associated with an increase from the 50th percentile to 99th percentile of same-day and one-day lagged heat-related EMS calls and ED visits, respectively. After controlling for both temporal trends and weather, we observed a 7% (95% CI: 3–12) increase in non-external cause mortality associated with one-day lagged heat-related EMS calls and a 5% mortality increase with one-day lagged ED visits (95% CI: 2–8). Heat-related illness can be tracked during extreme heat events using EMS and ED data which are indicators of heat associated excess non-external cause mortality during the warm weather season.
High Explosives and Propellants Energetics: Their Dissolution and Fate in Soils

Live-fire military training scatters energetic compounds onto range soils. Once deposited on soil the explosives and propellants ingredients can dissolve in water, experience complex interactions with soil constituents, and migrate to groundwater. While in contact with soil these chemicals are also subject to biotic and abiotic (hydrolysis, photolysis, and reaction with metals) transformation both in the solid and in the aqueous state. In this chapter we summarize the current state of knowledge on how energetic residues are deposited on range soils, what the residues look like and how quickly they dissolve. We also describe the key physicochemical properties (aqueous solubility, (S w ) pH, octanol-water partitioning coefficient, (\(K_{ow}\))) of the energetic compounds in high explosives and propellants and how these parameters influence their biogeochemical interactions with soil. Knowing the reaction routes of these chemicals will help us understand their fate, their ecological impact, and how to enhance in situ remediation.
Bacteremia in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis: Prevalence and Predictors of Multidrug Resistant Organisms.

Goals The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and predictors of multidrug resistant organisms (MDRO) in cirrhotic patients with bacteremia at a large tertiary center in the United States. Background The epidemiology of bacteremia in patients with liver cirrhosis has not been well studied in the United States. Study This case-case control study included 180 adults with liver cirrhosis hospitalized from 2011 to 2015. Case group 1 were patients with bacteremia due to a MDRO (n=30). Case group 2 were patients with bacteremia due to a non-MDRO (n=60). Control group comprised patients without bacteremia (n=90). MDRO was defined as bacteria that was nonsusceptible to ≥1 agent in ≥3 antimicrobial categories. Results Of the 90 bacteremia episodes, 44% were because of gram-positive bacteria, 50% were because of gram-negative bacteria, and 6% were polymicrobial. MDROs caused 30 of 90 (33%) bacteremia episodes, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus species [12% (11/90)], fluoroquinolone-resistant Enterobacteriaceae [10% (9/90)], and Enterococcus faecium [3% (3/90)]. Eight percent of Enterobacteriaceae produced extended-spectrum β-lactamases. Four independent predictors of MDROs were identified: nonwhite race [adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 3.35; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.19-9.38], biliary cirrhosis (aOR, 11.75; 95% CI, 2.08-66.32), blood cultures obtained >48 hours after hospital admission (aOR, 6.02; 95% CI, 1.70-21.40), and recent health care exposure (aOR, 9.81; 95% CI, 2.15-44.88). Conclusions A significant proportion of bacteremia in cirrhotic patients was due to MDROs at a large US tertiary care center. Local epidemiology data and identification of risk factors associated with MDROs may help with optimal empiric antibiotic selection.
Rapid conceptual design and analysis of spatial flexure mechanisms

Abstract Flexure mechanisms are the central part of precision instruments and devices for numerous science and engineering applications. Currently, design of flexure mechanisms often heavily relies on finite element analysis. However, the modeling complexity and low computational efficiency make it not suitable for the early design stage when many concepts need to be evaluated in a short period of time. To reduce the overhead in the conceptual design stage, we present a multi-segment energy minimization framework that integrates linear elastic theory for kinetostatic analysis of spatial flexure mechanisms. Compliance matrices for commonly used flexure elements are presented and their accuracy was studied and verified in detail. While deformation of each individual segment depends on the linear elastic theory, the multi-segment model allows accurate calculation of large deformations with high computational efficiency. To facilitate modeling of spatial flexure mechanisms, we have also implemented rich Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) in MATLAB environment. The proposed framework and software tool are tested with spatial mechanisms in which nonlinear kinematic constraints and combined loading are present. The examples showed that the proposed multi-segment framework can accurately capture large kinematic motion subjected to complex loading.
Plant Growth Retardants Affect Growth and Flowering of Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’

Abstract This investigation was conducted to determine the plant growth retardant type, application method, and rate required to produce a marketable greenhouse pot plant of Coreopsis verticillata L. ‘Moonbeam’. Pruned plants in 10 cm (4 in) pots received growth retardant treatments in two experiments consisting of one application of ancymidol or paclobutrazol medium drenches at 0, 2, 4, or 6 ppm; daminozide spray at 0, 2550, 5100, or 7650 ppm; paclobutrazol spray at 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, or 60 ppm; flurprimidol spray at 0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, or 200 ppm; or maleic hydrazide at 0, 360, 720, 1080, 1440, or 1800 ppm in the first experiment and sprays of daminozide at 0, 2550, 5100, or 7650 ppm; paclobutrazol at 0, 60, or 120 ppm; daminozide/paclobutrazol combinations at 0, 2550/16, 2550/32, 2550/48, or 2550/64 ppm, chloromequat at 0, 767, 1534, or 2301 ppm; or daminozide/chloromequat combinations at 0, 1275/1534, 2550/1534, 3825/1534, or 5100/1534 ppm in the second experiment. In the first experiment, there ...
Development and Validation of an Adult Greek-American Identity Scale

The current investigation demonstrates the development of an identity instrument, specifically for the measurement of Greek-American ethnic identity: the Adult Greek-American Identity Scale (AGIS). This scale construct validity was assessed with data collected from six Greek Orthodox parishes in northeastern Ohio. As an expansion of earlier research, this study demonstrates that the Greek-American Identity Scale successfully captures the salient elements of this complex and multifaceted phenomenon under four constructs: Ethos, Network, Diaspora, and Attitude. This study makes contributions to three areas of ethnic studies. First, it contributes to the literature on Greek-Americans, a small and understudied ethnic group. Second, this study provides an example of scale development which, although ethnic group specific, can be modified and applied to other ethnic groups. Third, this study makes a contribution to the growing literature that uses structural equation modeling (SEM) in the study of ethnic identity.
“…with All Your Heart and with All Your Soul…”: The Moral Psychology of the Shemonah Peraqim

Like Aristotle, Maimonides’ moral theory, his theory of the human good, rests upon a view of human nature. For both philosophers, the nature of man resides in his peculiar psychic capacities, those which he shares with no other species. For Aristotle, the human soul is distinguished by virtue of its rational capacities. These alone distinguish human beings from plants and (non-human) animals. In his famous ‘ergon’ argument at Nicomachean Ethics (NE) I.7 (1097b22ff), that argument which defines the human good by reference to the proper functioning of the peculiarly human psychic capacities, Aristotle points out that, given that nutrition and growth are shared by all living beings and, further, that sense perception is shared by all animals, both human and nonhuman, the human good cannot reside in the proper functioning of the nutritive and/or perceptive capacities.1 What remains, and that by which man can be said to achieve his telos, his characteristic goal, is the proper functioning of his ratiocinative capacities. A life manifesting reason is the best life for man.
Simplicial Approximation of an Equilibrium Point for Non-Cooperative N-Person Games

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a method, based on the adjacent simplex technique discovered and initially developed by Scarf, for approximating an equilibrium point of a noncooperative N-person game. The method also takes advantage of the observations of Wilson and Rosenmuller and their use of almost-complementary path. One may consider the method as a way of rendering the formulation of Wilson–Rosenmuller computable. The chapter discusses the gradual development of adjacent simplex technique.
Exploring the Relationship Between "Informal Standards" and Contributor Practice in OpenStreetMap

Peer production communities create valuable content such as software, encyclopedia articles, and map data. As part of the creation process, these communities define production standards for their content, e.g., semantic and syntactic requirements. We carried out a study in OpenStreetMap to investigate the role of that community's standards for geographic metadata. We found that most applied metadata was consistent with the community's standards; however, we also found that the standards identified many opportunities for applying metadata that were not achieved. In addition, when we situated the standards in the context of OpenStreetMap's data model, we found a significant amount of ambiguity; the syntax allowed only one value, but everyday meaning -- and the standards themselves -- called for multiple values. Our results suggest significant opportunities for OpenStreetMap to produce additional valuable open source content to power applications.
Effusion: prediction of protein function from sequence similarity networks.

Motivation Critical evaluation of methods for protein function prediction shows that data integration improves the performance of methods that predict protein function, but a basic BLAST-based method is still a top contender. We sought to engineer a method that modernizes the classical approach while avoiding pitfalls common to state-of-the-art methods. Results We present a method for predicting protein function, Effusion, which uses a sequence similarity network to add context for homology transfer, a probabilistic model to account for the uncertainty in labels and function propagation, and the structure of the Gene Ontology (GO) to best utilize sparse input labels and make consistent output predictions. Effusion's model makes it practical to integrate rare experimental data and abundant primary sequence and sequence similarity. We demonstrate Effusion's performance using a critical evaluation method and provide an in-depth analysis. We also dissect the design decisions we used to address challenges for predicting protein function. Finally, we propose directions in which the framework of the method can be modified for additional predictive power. Availability and implementation The source code for an implementation of Effusion is freely available at https://github.com/babbittlab/effusion. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Preliminary Investigation of the Use of Phonological Awareness Paired With Production Training in Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Purpose Although childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is generally considered a motor speech disorder, there is evidence implicating deficits in speech perception as a causative factor. If this is the...
Abstract WP303: Defining the Limits of Technology-based Tools for Stroke Patients and Caregivers

For many stroke patients and caregivers, the transition back to home is often complex resulting in hospital readmissions, poor quality of life, and high caregiver burden. Providing access to high q...
Abstract IA07: Influence of cancer initiation on tumor progression in SCLC

The vast majority of cancer patients die from metastatic disease, but the molecular and cellular mechanisms that drive metastatic progression often remain poorly understood. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a neuroendocrine form of lung cancer and one of the most metastatic and lethal cancers. Most SCLC patients are usually first diagnosed when they already have metastatic disease, and SCLC tumors are thus thought to acquire metastatic ability early in the course of tumor development. However, how early events shape the evolution and metastatic progression of SCLC is largely unknown. We will present evidence, using genetically engineered mouse models of SCLC, that distinct mechanisms drive metastatic progression depending on the cell of origin. In one mouse model, we found that tumors gain metastatic ability through amplification of the transcription factor Nfib; this amplification is accompanied by a striking opening of the chromatin at many sites in the genome. In the second model, metastatic progression is not associated with Nfib-driven chromatin alterations. Gene expression profiling studies reveal distinct mechanisms of metastatic progression in the two groups, as well as markers predictive of the two metastatic paths. Our data indicate that Nfib-independent metastases arise from pulmonary neuroendocrine cells. These observations demonstrate that the identity of tumor-initiating cells can determine the molecular mechanisms of tumor evolution. Citation Format: Dian Yang, Monte M. Winslow, Julien Sage. Influence of cancer initiation on tumor progression in SCLC [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Fifth AACR-IASLC International Joint Conference: Lung Cancer Translational Science from the Bench to the Clinic; Jan 8-11, 2018; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2018;24(17_Suppl):Abstract nr IA07.
Investigation of anaerobic digestion of Chlorella sp. and Micractinium sp. grown in high-nitrogen wastewater and their co-digestion with waste activated sludge

Abstract This study investigated two wildtype green algae, Micractinium sp. and Chlorella sp., for their growth in high nitrogen wastewater (mixture of sludge centrate and primary effluent wastewater) and subsequent anaerobic digestion under mesophilic conditions. Extraction and analysis of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in both algal species during cultivation showed that Micractinium generated larger quantity of EPS-proteins than Chlorella. Anaerobic digestion of harvested algae showed the opposite trend that Chlorella allowed a higher CH4 yield on the volatile solids fed the digester (VSfed) of 230 dm3 kg−1 than Micractinium (209 dm3 kg−1). These results suggested that different growth patterns of two types of algae, with different quantity of EPS expressed, affected anaerobic digestibility and biogas yield. Co-digestion of algae with waste activated sludge (WAS) improved the volatile solids reduction, hydrolysis efficiency as well as the biogas yields of algae.
Phonological Awareness Assessment and Intervention Practices for Children Who Are D/deaf or Hard of Hearing:

There is not general consensus on best practice for assessment and intervention of phonological awareness (PA) for children who are D/deaf or hard of hearing (D/dhh). The current study surveyed the...