cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Deriving components from genericity

There is a growing recognition that programming platforms should support the decomposition of programs into components: independent units of compiled code that are explicitly "linked" to form complete programs. This paper describes how to formulate a general component system for a nominally typed object-oriented language supporting first-class generic types simply by adding appropriate annotations and syntactic sugar. The fundamental semantic building blocks for constructing, type-checking and manipulating components are provided by the underlying first-class generic type system. To demonstrate the simplicity and utility of this approach to supporting components, we have designed and implemented an extension of Java called Component NextGen (CGen). CGen, which is based on the Sun Java 5.0 javac compiler, is backward-compatible with existing code and runs on current Java Virtual Machines.
Managing Parents on Neonatal Intensive Care Units

This paper looks at how staff on neonatal intensive care units manage the parents of sick infants. The information given to parents is manipulated in order to obtain parental behaviors needed by the staff to do their work. The parental role desired by the staff facilitates quick application of medical treatment to the infants with parental consent. I conclude that parents take responsibility for decisions they do not fully understand and, like clients in all professional relationships, rely on the advice of the experts.
Rehabilitation assessment of jointed concrete pavement using the rolling dynamic deflectometer and ground penetrating radar

Transportation authorities need tools to characterize the structural conditions of jointed concrete pavements (JCPs) to minimize or, in the best case, prevent premature failures of rehabilitated JCPs. Applications of the rolling dynamic deflectometer (RDD) and ground penetrating radar (GPR) in pavement forensic studies and rehabilitation investigations are presented. The continuous RDD deflection profiles allow the evaluation of mid-slab behavior and load transfer conditions of joints/cracks, while GPR surveys assist in detecting adverse subsurface conditions such as voids and increased moisture. In this paper, the patterns in RDD deflection profiles that represent the four different structural conditions in JCPs are presented and discussed. Then, the results from combined RDD and GPR surveys on two rehabilitation projects are presented. In the first project, the problematic slabs with poor load transfer and high vertical differential deflections are identified in the RDD profile. The GPR survey is used to identify the cause of the high differential deflections, voids filled with water under the slabs. The recommendation is to fill the existing voids by using under-sealing techniques and install dowel-bar retrofit prior to a new overlay. In the Grogans Mill project, the RDD profile shows that the southbound lane has a significant number of slabs with a strong potential for reflective cracking. The GPR data indicated that there is moisture beneath the deteriorated slabs. A reconstruction of the southbound lane is recommended. On the other hand, the northbound lane consists of three subsections that require different rehabilitations: Slab replacement, asphalt overlay, and reconstruction. The success of rehabilitation generally depends on the selection of appropriate treatments. By providing 100 % coverage, both RDD and GPR are effective tools in evaluating existing conditions, and the combination of these tools significantly assists in selecting the optimum rehabilitation treatment.
Co-testing for detection of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cancer compared with cytology alone: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing combined with cytology has been recommended as a primary cervical cancer screening strategy. Methods PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library and the NIH trial registry were searched for randomized controlled trials comparing co-testing with cytology alone for the detection of high-grade CIN lesions and cancers. Of 1156 articles identified, four met inclusion criteria. The performance of co-testing and cytology alone was compared at baseline screening, second round screening and overall. Cumulative metaanalysis, Begg’s test, Egger’s test and sensitivity analysis were performed. Results At baseline, co-testing was associated with a significantly higher detection rate of CIN 2þ [risk ratio (RR) ¼ 1.41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12, 1.76] and a non-significantly higher CIN 3þ detection rate (RR ¼ 1.15, 95% CI: 0.99, 1.33). At second round screening, cotesting was associated with significantly lower detection rates of both CIN 2þ and CIN 3þ (RR ¼ 0.77, 95% CI: 0.63, 0.93; RR ¼ 0.68, 95% CI: 0.55, 0.85). The overall detection rate did not differ between co-testing and cytology alone for CIN 2þ (RR: 1.19, 95% CI: 0.99, 1.46) or CIN3þ (RR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.87, 1.14). Conclusion Co-testing increases the detection of CIN2þ lesions at baseline and significantly decreases the detection rates of CIN2þ or CIN3þ lesions at subsequent screening compared with cytology alone.
The Stiff Elbow

Elbow motion is essential for upper extremity function to position the hand in space. Unfortunately, the elbow joint is prone to stiffness following a multitude of traumatic and atraumatic etiologies. Elbow stiffness can be diagnosed with a complete history and physical exam, supplemented with appropriate imaging studies. The stiff elbow is challenging to treat, and thus, its prevention is of paramount importance. When this approach fails, non-operative followed by operative treatment modalities should be pursued. Upon initial presentation in those who have minimal contractures of 6-month duration or less, static and dynamic splinting, serial casting, continuous passive motion, occupational/physical therapy, and manipulation are non-operative treatment modalities that may be attempted. A stiff elbow that is refractory to non-operative management can be treated surgically, either arthroscopically or open, to eliminate soft tissue or bony blocks to motion. In the future, efforts to prevent and treat elbow stiffness may target the basic science mechanisms involved. Our purpose was to review the etiologies, classification, evaluation, prevention, operative, and non-operative treatment of the stiff elbow.
Genetic analysis of surface motility in Acinetobacter baumannii

The Gram-negative pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii strain M2 was found to exhibit a robust surface motility on low-percentage (0.2–0.4 %) agar plates. These patterns of motility were dramatically different depending on whether Difco or Eiken agar was used. Motility was observed in many, but not all, clinical and environmental isolates. The use of drop collapse assays to demonstrate surfactant production was unsuccessful, and the role of surfactants in A. baumannii M2 motility remains unclear. Surface motility was impaired by an insertion in pilT, encoding a gene product that is often required for retraction of the type IV pilus. Motility was also dependent on quorum sensing, as a null allele in the abaI autoinducer synthase decreased motility, and the addition of exogenous N-(3-hydroxy)-dodecanoylhomoserine lactone (3-OH C12-HSL) restored motility to the abaI mutant. Transposon mutagenesis was used to identify additional genes required for motility and revealed loci encoding various functions: non-ribosomal synthesis of a putative lipopeptide, a sensor kinase (BfmS), a lytic transglycosylase, O-antigen biosynthesis (RmlB), an outer membrane porin (OmpA) and de novo purine biosynthesis (PurK). Two of the above genes required for motility were highly activated by quorum sensing, and may explain, in part, the requirement for quorum sensing in motility.
Children and regeneration: setting an agenda for community participation and integration

Unlike other marginalised groups children are often not in a position to enter into dialogue with adults about their community needs and environmental concerns. Despite the current emphasis on involving communities in the regeneration of their own neighbourhoods, young people are still seemingly invisible in decision-making processes. This paper looks at recent attempts to increase public participation in local decision-making, proposes a typology of community action that recognises the different ways in which children may be drawn into the process of neighbourhood renewal and offers a set of recommendations that, if taken up, provide an agenda that will strengthen the active social commitment of young people in general. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Atomic mobility in strained glassy polymers: The role of fold catastrophes on the potential energy surface

Deformation is known to enhance the atomic mobility in disordered systems such as polymer materials. To elucidate the origin of this phenomenon, we carry out two types of simulations: molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which determine the atomic trajectories at finite temperature, and quasi-static simulations, which determine the atomic trajectories in the limit of zero temperature (and in the limit of zero shear rate). The quasi-static simulations show discontinuous changes in properties, such as system energy and atomic mobility. We use a normal mode analysis to show that these discontinuous changes arise from fold catastrophes of the potential energy landscape, in which energy minima flatten out and the heights of energy barriers decrease to zero; this was demonstrated by normal mode frequencies following a power law with an exponent of 0.5 as the discontinuous change is approached. After the fold catastrophe, the system relaxes to a different energy minimum, giving rise to atomic displacements. These fold catastrophes are the only mechanism for diffusive atomic displacements in the quasi-static simulations, where there is no thermal energy. We compared the mean-squared displacements as a function of strain from the quasi-static simulations to those from MD simulations (which do include thermal effects)—the similarity of the values of the mean-squared displacements in these two types of simulations demonstrates that the fold catastrophes underlie the enhanced dynamics in strained polymer systems even at finite temperature. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012
The Molecular Landscape of Mechanosensing by the Cell Cortex

Mechanical forces direct a host of cellular and tissue processes. While much emphasis is placed on cell adhesion complexes as force sensors, these forces must be transmitted through the cortical cytoskeleton. However, how the cortex senses and transmits forces and how cytoskeletal proteins interact in response to these forces are poorly understood. Here, by combining molecular and mechanical experimental perturbations with theoretical multi-scale modeling, we decipher cortical mechanosensing from molecular to cellular scales. Forces are shared between myosin II and different actin crosslinkers with myosin having potentiating or inhibitory effects on certain crosslinkers. Furthermore, different types of cell deformations elicit distinct responses: myosin and α-actinin respond to dilation while filamin mainly reacts to shear. The kinetics of each protein's accumulation may be explained by its molecular mechanisms. Finally, protein accumulation, along with the cell's viscoelastic state, can also explain the monotonic or oscillatory contraction against mechanical load in different mutant strains.
Naltrexone therapy of apnea in children with elevated cerebrospinal fluid β‐endorphin

Previous studies have indicated increased immunoreactivity of the endogenous opioid peptide beta-endorphin in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of infants under 2 years of age with apnea. To assess the role of endogenous opioids in the pathogenesis of apnea in children, the effect of oral treatment with the opioid antagonist naltrexone was studied in apneic infants, as well as in older apneic children, with demonstrated increases in CSF immunoreactive beta-endorphin (i-BE). In the 8 apneic infants with elevated i-BE in lumbar CSF (range, 55-155 pg/ml; normal, 17-52 pg/ml), no further apnea occurred during naltrexone therapy (1 mg/kg/day, by mouth). Five children (2-8 years old) with apnea of unknown cause had elevated CSF i-BE (range, 74-276 pg/ml) compared to 6 age-matched nonapneic children (range, 15-48 pg/ml). No apneic events occurred during naltrexone therapy, except in 1 child during stressful events, but apnea recurred in some patients after attempts to discontinue naltrexone treatment. Adverse effects of naltrexone included complaints of headaches in 2 children and symptoms of a narcotic withdrawal syndrome during the first 3 days of treatment in 1 child. Three children with Leigh's syndrome had elevated CSF i-BE (range, 104-291 pg/ml) and their apnea also responded to naltrexone. We conclude that elevated endogenous opioids contribute to the pathogenesis of apnea in children and may even result in physical dependence.
Context Effects on Melody Recognition: Scale-Step versus Interval Representations

A basic question in cognitive psychology concerns ways in which sensory information is represented in memory. Listeners performed a long-term transposition recognition task in which brief melodies were presented with a chordal context that defined their scale-step interpretations. Context either remained constant or changed at test. In two experiments listeners with moderate amounts of musical experience performed well with constant context but at chance with shifting context. Inexperienced listeners (as well as professionals in one of the studies) performed equally well regardless of context. This result suggests that inexperienced listeners represented melodies as sequences of pitch intervals that remained invariant across context shifts. In contrast, moderately experienced listeners appear to have represented melodies as scale-step sequences that were affected by context. Professionals, while capable of scale-step representation, were able to use a flexible memory-retrieval system to avoid errors with changed context. A third experiment showed that moderately experienced listeners were able to base long-term recognition on either contour or scale-step information, depending on instructions. These results suggest that the scale-step representation used by moderately experienced listeners involved both contour and scale information.
Computational Structure of coordinate transformations: A generalization study

One of the fundamental properties that both neural networks and the central nervous system share is the ability to learn and generalize from examples. While this property has been studied extensively in the neural network literature it has not been thoroughly explored in human perceptual and motor learning. We have chosen a coordinate transformation system-the visuomotor map which transforms visual coordinates into motor coordinates--to study the generalization effects of learning new input-output pairs. Using a paradigm of computer controlled altered visual feedback, we have studied the generalization of the visuomotor map subsequent to both local and context-dependent remappings. A local remapping of one or two input-output pairs induced a significant global, yet decaying, change in the visuomotor map, suggesting a representation for the map composed of units with large functional receptive fields. Our study of context-dependent remappings indicated that a single point in visual space can be mapped to two different finger locations depending on a context variable-the starting point of the movement. Furthermore, as the context is varied there is a gradual shift between the two remappings, consistent with two visuomotor modules being learned and gated smoothly with the context.
ELECTRONIC RECORDING OF MOSQUITO ACTIVITY

Spontaneous locomotor activity of mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) was tested over twenty-four hour periods using an electronic recording device which gave a permanent time graph of activity. Single mosquitoes were placed on a wire grid with alternate strands connected to the positive and negative poles of an electric circuit. Each time the mosquito moved, the electric current changed and the event was recorded by a pen-writer. The number of peaks per time interval gave the index of activity. Variables which may affect activity include age, physiological state, sex and strain. A distinct activity cycle was evident in both virgin and mated females but not in males; peak activity came in the early evening and activity was lowest in the early afternoon. Zusammenfassung ELEKTRONISCHE REGISTRIERUNG DER MUCKEN-AKTIVITAT Die spontane lokomotorische Aktivitat von Mucken (Aedes aegypti) wurde uber 24stundige Perioden mit Hilfe einer elektronischen Registriereinrichtung untersucht, die eine ununterbrochene Zeitschreibung der Aktivitat ergab. Einzelne Mucken wurden auf einen Gurtel feiner Drahte gesetzt, deren Strange abwechselnd zu den positiven und negativen Polen eines elektrischen Stromkreises fuhrten. Jedesmal wenn sich die Mucke bewegte, anderte sich der elektrische Stromflus; dieses Ereignis wurde von einer Schreibfeder aufgezeichnet. Die Anzahl der Ausschlage pro Zeiteinheit ergab den Aktivitatsindex. Variable, welche die Aktivitat beeinflussen, umfassen Alter, physiologischen Zustand, Geschlecht und Abstammung. Bei jungfraulichen wie bei begatteten Weibchen war ein bestimmter Aktivitatszyklus erkennbar, jedoch nicht bei Mannchen; der Aktivitatsgipfel lag in den fruhen Abendstunden und die Aktivitat war am zeitigen Nachmittag am geringsten.
Modeling and Clustering Techniques for Multi-Band Change Detection

In this paper, two unsupervised methods for multi-band change detection are presented. Both methods model the multi-band difference image histogram in order to characterize different degrees of observed spectral changes. In the first approach, we extend the single-band change detection algorithm proposed by Prieto and Bruzzone in which a two-component mixture density is fit to the observed difference image histogram, where the components correspond to the changed and unchanged populations. The second approach employs the hierarchical modal associative clustering algorithm proposed by Li et al., in which a hierarchy of kernel densities at different bandwidths is employed to model the multi-band difference image histogram. The kernel density modes correspond to different scales of changes and are analyzed with respect to increasing kernel bandwidth so that changes occurring at different scales may be identified. Experiments, carried out on ASTER data; are conducted to display the changes captured by each method as well as to illustrate how the degrees of detected changes can be interpreted with respect to model complexity or scale.
Consultant as teacher or teacher as consultant: what is the relationship?

When an organization decides to hire an external consultant to assist in dealing with a significant change, the question arises as to how to choose the right one for the job. The focus of this paper is to explore this relationship through three propositions. The first proposes that an organization employing a consultant can expect to reduce the time going through change transformation and regain productivity faster. The second is that because the focus is on significant change, there is the belief that the consultant must become intimately involved with the organization to be effective. The third proposition is that in order to be an effective consultant within the organization, experience as a teacher/educator is important if not required. Utilizing qualitative grounded theory research, these three propositions are examined for validity with the findings supporting the first two propositions, but not the third.
Raman Spectroscopy Characterization of Aqueous Vanadate Species Interaction with Aluminum Alloy 2024-T3 Surfaces

Raman spectroscopy and electrochemical techniques were used to characterize the interactions of aqueous NaVO 3 /NaCl and NH 4 VO 3 /oxalic acid with AA 2024-T3. The interaction of aqueous NaVO 3 with Cu 0 and Cu 2 O was characterized. At potential values similar to the OCP of AA 2024-T3 in dilute NaCl, aqueous NaVO 3 formed a polyvanadate film on Cu 2 O and formed little or no vanadate film on Cu°. Treatment of AA 2024-T3 with basic, aqueous NaVO 3 /NaCl resulted in a polyvanadate film on copper-rich intermetallic particles and the formation of monovanadates on the matrix. Treatment of AA 2024-T3 with acidic, aqueous NH 4 VO 3 /oxalic resulted in the formation of monovanadates on the matrix and provided no evidence of vanadate species on copper-rich particles. AA 2024-T3 samples pretreated with either aqueous vanadate salt solution displayed modest cathodic inhibition soon after treatment but inhibition degraded with aging. The formation of polymerized vanadates species on copper-rich particles supports the cathodic inhibition mechanism. The presence of vanadate species on copper-rich particles pretreated with aqueous NaVO 3 /NaCl containing predominantly tetrahedral vanadates versus the lack of evidence for similar species on particles treated with aqueous NH 4 VO 3 /oxalic acid containing predominantly octahedral vanadates supports the importance of tetrahedrally coordinated vanadate species for corrosion inhibition.
Metabolic Effects of Prostaglandin E2 Infusion in Man:Possible Adrenergic Mediation

Infusion of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) has been previously shown to inhibit acute insulin release and cause glucose intolerance. The present studies were undertaken to assess the effects of PGE2 on 1) pancreatic beta-cell sensitivity to glucose, 2) glucose tolerance, 3) tissue sensitivity to insulin, 4) glucose production and clearance, and 5) plasma catecholamine, glucagon, and FFA levels. Six healthy adult subjects were studied with the hyperglycemic clamp technique (plasma glucose 125 mg/dl above basal for 2 h) before and 30 min after the start of a PGE2 infusion (10 micrograms/min). Plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, and FFA were measured during the PGE2 infusion. In additional experiments, glucose production and utilization were measured isotopically ([3-3H]glucose) during PGE2 infusion. PG infusion diminished, but not significantly, acute insulin release (0-10 min preinfusion, 172 +/- 36; postinfusion, 148 +/- 45 microunits/ml . 10 min). Late insulin release (20-120 min) was unchanged. A significant decline occurred in the amount of glucose metabolized from 9 +/- 1.1 to 7.2 +/- 1 mg/kg . min. During the initial 30 min of PGE2 infusion, plasma FFA increased by 26 +/- 6% (P less than 0.025). Plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine rose from 40 +/- 6 to 104 +/- 24 pg/ml (P less than 0.05) and 204 +/- 17 to 440 +/- 30 pg/ml (P less than 0.01), respectively. PGE2 produced a prompt 30% rise in glucose output, which declined to basal levels by 60 min. Glucose clearance decreased transiently at 45 min by 23%. We conclude that the effects on glucose homeostasis noted during PGE2 infusion occur in the face of heightened adrenergic activity. These metabolic responses closely resemble adrenergically induced changes in glucose homeostasis. As such, before any metabolic effects can be attributed directly to infused PGE2, any metabolic effects can be attributed directly to infused PGE2, the role of concomitant catecholamine release must be considered.
Modulating tibiofemoral contact force in the sheep hind limb via treadmill walking: Predictions from an opensim musculoskeletal model.

Sheep are a predominant animal model used to study a variety of orthopedic conditions. Understanding and controlling the in-vivo loading environment in the sheep hind limb is often necessary for investigations relating to bone and joint mechanics. The purpose of this study was to develop a musculoskeletal model of an adult sheep hind limb and investigate the effects of treadmill walking speed on muscle and joint contact forces. We constructed the skeletal geometry of the model from computed topography images. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry was utilized to establish the inertial properties of each model segment. Detailed dissection and tendon excursion experiments established the requisite muscle lines of actions. We used OpenSim and experimentally-collected marker trajectories and ground reaction forces to quantify muscle and joint contact forces during treadmill walking at 0.25 m• s−1 and 0.75 m• s−1. Peak compressive and anterior–posterior tibiofemoral contact forces were 20% (0.38 BW, p = 0.008) and 37% (0.17 BW, p = 0.040) larger, respectively, at the moderate gait speed relative to the slower speed. Medial–lateral tibiofemoral contact forces were not significantly different. Adjusting treadmill speed appears to be a viable method to modulate compressive and anterior–posterior tibiofemoral contact forces in the sheep hind limb. The musculoskeletal model is freely-available at www.SimTK.org. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 33:1128–1133, 2015.
A comparison of Two challenge tests for identifying exercise-induced bronchospasm in figure skaters

Objectives: Studies documenting the increased incidence of exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) in figure skaters have employed a method that incorporates on-ice exercise with rink-side spirometry. The literature suggests that bronchial provocation challenge testing is better than exercise testing for identifying EIB. To test this hypothesis in figure skaters, a unique athletic population that trains and competes in cold air, we compared these two methods in the same individuals. Patients/methods: Two challenge tests were performed on a group of competitive figure skaters (n 5 29, 26 female subjects; mean 6 SD age 5 12.3 6 3.5 years): (1) rink-side (temperature 5 14°C, humidity 5 60%) spirometry before and 1, 5, 10, and 15 min after 5 min of intense skating; and (2) eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation (EVH), breathing 5% CO2, 21% O2, balance N2 at a rate of 60% of maximum voluntary ventilation (not to exceed 70 L/min) for 5 min (temperature 5 18°C, humidity 5 50%), with an identical pretest and posttest spirometry schedule. EIB was defined as at least one of the following: a >1 0% decline in Fev1 ;a > 20% decline in maximum midexpiratory flow rate; or a > 25% decline in peak expiratory flow rate. Results: Sixteen of 29 skaters (55%) developed EIB: 9 were positive by on-ice testing; 12 were positive by EVH testing; 5 were positive on both tests; on-ice testing missed 7 skaters with EIB; EVH testing missed 4 with EIB. Conclusion: In the group of figure skaters studied, EVH challenge testing was better at identifying EIB than on-ice exercise testing. However, these data suggest that evaluation for EIB in athletes who train and compete in the cold should include exercise testing in cold air along with a challenge test such as EVH to increase the yield of positive responders. (CHEST 1999; 115:649 ‐ 653)
Current Status of High Performance Quantum Cascade Lasers at the Center for Quantum Devices

Mid-infrared laser sources are highly desired for laser-based trace chemical sensors, military countermeasures, free-space communications, as well as developing medical applications. While application development has been limited by the availability of adequate mid-infrared sources, InP-based quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) hold promise as inexpensive, miniature, portable solutions capable of producing high powers and operating at high temperatures with excellent beam quality and superior reliability. This paper discusses the most recent developments of application-ready high power (> 100 mW), continuous-wave (cw), mid-infrared QCLs operating above room temperature with lifetimes exceeding 13,000 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions: Iodinated Contrast Agents

Although iodinated contrast agents are safe and widely used, adverse events occur and questions remain about their use, safety, and interactions. Some questions are easily answered and others still require extensive investigation. For one frequent question—is informed consent necessary before all contrast media injections—the simple answer is no. Another question concerns use of contrast media in patients with prior reactions or allergies. Contrast agents can be safely used in such patients, but special care must be taken to be aware of what the previous reaction was and to be ready to treat any reaction. The protective role of pre-treatment with steroids is well established for minor reactions, but they may not prevent major reactions. It is important to realize that even life-threatening, anaphylactoid reactions are not the result of a true allergy to contrast media. Many questions arise about contrast agent–induced nephropathy. Baseline serum creatinine values should be obtained in patients who are at risk, not all patients. The incidence and natural history of contrast agent–induced nephropathy remain unclear. It occurs only in patients with compromised renal function before contrast agent injection, but even patients with normal serum creatinine levels can have renal dysfunction. Calculated creatinine clearance is a better way to determine risk and to follow this complication. The outcome in almost all patients is benign, with progression to end-stage renal disease being rare. The major risk factors, in addition to renal dysfunction, are long-standing diabetes mellitus, dehydration, and use of other nephrotoxic medications. Recent work in preventing and ameliorating contrast agent–induced nephropathy with N-acetyl cysteine, substitution of an isosmolal nonionic contrast agent, and various hydration regimens has been promising. Another common concern is use of iodinated contrast agents in pregnant or breast-feeding women. In both cases, there is no evidence of harm to the fetus or infant, but it is prudent to weigh the theoretical risks and benefits and avoid contrast agent administration unless it is truly necessary. © RSNA, 2004
On supporting large-scale decentralized software engineering processes

The life cycle of large-scale software systems requires the cooperative effort of teams of people over extended periods of time. Automated support for the communication and coordination involved in this cooperative effort requires the existence of an active information base through which all activities of the software life cycle can be mediated. The design of this active information base is presented in terms of an intelligent software hypertext system (Ishys) which: (1) supports a flexible and general-purpose model for information management (hypertext), and (2) can support various software life cycle models based on an agents-tasks-products perspective. >
Rapid Computation of Thermodynamic Properties Over Multidimensional Nonbonded Parameter Spaces using Adaptive Multistate Reweighting

We show how thermodynamic properties of molecular models can be computed over a large, multidimensional parameter space by combining multistate reweighting analysis with a linear basis function approach. This approach reduces the computational cost to estimate thermodynamic properties from molecular simulations for over 130,000 tested parameter combinations from over 1000 CPU years to tens of CPU days. This speed increase is achieved primarily by computing the potential energy as a linear combination of basis functions, computed from either modified simulation code or as the difference of energy between two reference states, which can be done without any simulation code modification. The thermodynamic properties are then estimated with the Multistate Bennett Acceptance Ratio (MBAR) as a function of multiple model parameters without the need to define a priori how the states are connected by a pathway. Instead, we adaptively sample a set of points in parameter space to create mutual configuration space ove...
A Framework for Social Ontology

This paper sets out an organizing framework for the field of social ontology, the study of the nature of the social world. The subject matter of social ontology is clarified, in particular the difference between it and the study of causal relations and the explanation of social phenomena. Two different inquiries are defined and explained: the study of the grounding of social facts, and the study of how social categories are “anchored” or set up. The distinction between these inquiries is used to clarify prominent programs in social theory, particularly theories of practice and varieties of individualism.
Warrantless Electronic Surveillance in National Security Cases: Lessons from America

On December 16, 2005, the New York Times disclosed that at least since early 2002, the National Security Agency had been intercepting telephone and email messages entering or leaving the United States whenever at least one party to the communication was suspected of belonging to al Qaeda or an organisation linked to al Qaeda. The eavesdropping had the formal approval of President Bush, but it was not authorised by a warrant issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and was therefore being done in apparent violation of the express requirements of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. This article explores the statutory and constitutional issues raised by the President's decision to engage in warrantless electronic surveillance and the arguments that will play a central role in the tidal wave of judicial decisions that have already begun to examine the merits of the government's controversial programme.
Physical, psychological, and economic advantages of accelerated discharge after surgical treatment for breast cancer.

The economic benefits of outpatient surgery and of short hospital stay have been amply emphasized over the past 5 years. The economic, physical, and psychological benefits of such an approach for treating patients with early breast cancer are detailed in this report. Of 208 patients treated by the author over a 3-year period (1991-1993), 63 (30.3%) were treated on an outpatient basis. Of 132 patients undergoing axillary node dissection, 29 (21.9%) were sent home the day of operation, and 95 (72%) stayed in the hospital overnight. The median number of lymph nodes removed was 17 and the median length of stay for all patients was one day ; 31.8 per cent of these patients developed seromas, and 2 were readmitted for infected seromas. The per diem cost for our hospital in 1993 was $684. The program incorporates a strong institutional support component, with unlimited access to physicians and nurses, and has led to significant cost savings. It has also led to better physical and psychological recovery, emphasizing patient comfort, control and independence, and strong family interactions. Because 75 per cent of our 300 patients treated for breast cancer in our setting each year undergo axillary node dissection, $153,900 is expended for each day patients stay in our hospital, and presumably $92 million is expended country-wide. Adopting such a program can lead to significant savings without compromising the quality of care. The physical and psychological benefits of such an approach outweigh any minor inconveniences on patients and families.
Historical Influences on Gender Preference in the Philippines

The purpose of this paper is to provide a basis for understanding the Filipinos egalitarian child preference pattern and to examine the historical factors which influenced its formation. The paper also attempts to show how changes in lifestyles and outlooks have influenced the relative importance of males and females in Philippine society. In the Malayan period egalitarian gender preference was observed because men and women were considered equally important to the society while in the Spanish period men were perceived to be superior to women. Consequently political and economic opportunities were more available to men; leadership roles became a male prerogative. With American liberal education and the beginning of industrialization however the peoples Malayan core was gradually strengthened along with egalitarian child preference. As a consequence of 3 additional factors--western ideological influences industrialization and mechanization and nationalistic spirit--economic political and social opportunities are made increasingly available to both males and females. With opportunities no longer gender-determined it is anticipated that parents will continue to emphasize the pattern of egalitarian child preference.
Carbon and nitrogen cycling in North American boreal forests. I. Litter quality and soil thermal effects in interior Alaska

A model of boreal forest dynamics was adapted to examine the factors controlling carbon and nitrogen cycling in the boreal forests of interior Alaska. Empirical relationships were used to simulate decomposition and nitrogen availability as a function of either substrate quality, the soil thermal regime, or their interactive effects. Test comparisons included black spruce forests growing on permafrost soils and black spruce, birch, and white spruce forests growing on permafrost-free soils. For each forest, simulated above-ground tree biomass, basal area, density, litterfall, moss biomass, and forest floor mass, turnover, thickness, and nitrogen concentration were compared to observed data. No one decay equation simulated forests entirely consistent with observed data, but over the range of upland forest types in interior Alaska, the equation that combined the effects of litter quality and the soil thermal regime simulated forests that were most consistent with observed data. For black spruce growing on permafrost soils, long-term simulated forest dynamics in the absence of fire resulted in unproductive forests with a thick forest floor and low nitrogen mineralization. Fires were an important means to interrupt this sequence and to restart forest succession.
Optimization of Key Dynamic of Industry-University-Research Collaborative Innovation Based on the Data

To determine the key drivers of Industry-University-Research collaborative innovation,firstly,various factors which affect collaborative innovation are analyzed,and the synergy relationships of subjects among industry,university and research are studied.Then,through agent theoretical method,a dynamic structural model of collaborative innovation for inter-subject is built,the functions of each body agent,mutual collaborative work process and dynamic mechanism has been designed,and then the main driving force for synergy innovation between bodies is purified.Secondly,the synergy innovation dynamic mechanism between Industry-University-Research bodies is optimized via particle swarm optimization(PSO).Finally,to use the statistical data from 31 provinces and municipalities of 2010 the China Science and Technology Statistics Yearbook as the sample,the critical dynamic optimization algorithm is empirically tested.Results indicate that,in the big data environment of Industry-University-Research,the key dynamic model of Industry-University-Research based on multi-agent could accurately express the synergy relationship between three main bodies of Industry-University-Research.The optimized PSO algorithm has a relatively low number of iterations to obtain the critical point that affect the key dynamic.Key dynamic factors affecting Industry-University-Research collaborative innovation are determind,and specific recommendations for countermeasures are proposed.
A prospective comparison of Synthetic Serum Substitute * and human serum albumin in culture for in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer †

Objective To compare the efficacy of a globulin-containing protein source, Synthetic Serum Substitute (Irvine Scientific, Santa Ana, CA) and human serum albumin (HSA) in the early culture of human oocytes and embryos. Design Oocytes from 31 consecutive IVF cycles were assigned alternately to dishes containing human tubal fluid (HTF) and either Synthetic Serum Substitute or HSA as the protein source. Each semen sample was split for processing in Synthetic Serum Substitute or HSA. Sperm processed in Synthetic Serum Substitute was added to oocytes cultured in Synthetic Serum Substitute, and sperm processed in HSA was added to oocytes cultured in HSA. After determination of fertilization, zygotes were placed in HTF containing the same protein supplement. Before transfer, the embryos were graded morphologically. Main Outcome Measures Occurrence of normal fertilization and embryo quality as assessed by morphological grading. Results There was no significant difference in the occurrence of fertilization or in embryo morphological quality between oocytes cultured in Synthetic Serum Substitute as compared with HSA. Conclusions The use of a globulin-containing protein source in culture for IVF-ET did not improve the fertilization rate or embryo quality. Our design did not allow for demonstration of an effect on pregnancy rate.
Post-Treatment Protection with Piperonyl Butoxide Against Acetaminophen Hepatotoxicity is Associated with Changes in Selective but Not Total Covalent Binding

Acetaminophen (APAP) induced hepatic centrilobular necrosis has been associated with cytochrome P-450-mediated generation of an electrophilic, reactive metabolite which covalently binds to cellular macromolecules as glutathione becomes depleted (Jollow, et al., 1973; Mitchell, et al., 1973a; 1973b; Potter, et al., 1973; 1974). Covalent binding has been well-correlated with the incidence and severity of liver necrosis and prior cytochrome P450 inhibition blocks both covalent binding and the atotoxicity (Jollow, et al., 1973; Potter, et al., 1973, 1974; Mitchell, et al., 1973a). In addition, administration of the cytochrome P-450 inhibitor, piperonyl butoxide (Pip B), 2 hrs after APAP, the time of maximal covalent binding (Jollow,et al., 1973, Ginsberg and Cohen, 1985) reduced the severity of liver damage (Brady, et al., 1988). The present study demonstrates that Pip B’s post-treatment protection is associated with alterations in selective protein arylation by APAP without a change in total covalent binding.
Surgically treatable causes of neonatal respiratory distress.

Conditions causing neonatal respiratory distress in which surgical intervention may be indicated are discussed, including choanal atresia, Pierre-Robin syndrome, bronchogenic cysts, congenital lobar emphysema, esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula, and hernia and eventration of the diaphragm.
The Data Stack in Information Retrieval

I propose to look at information retrieval applications from the perspective of the data stack infrastructure that is needed in research prototypes and production systems.
Control Cost and Mahalanobis Distance Binary Hypothesis Testing for Spacecraft Maneuver Detection

An anomaly hypothesis testing technique using the minimum-fuel control distance metric is extended to incorporate non-Gaussian boundary-condition uncertainties and employ binary hypothesis testing. The adjusted control distance metric uses Gaussian-mixture models to model non-Gaussian boundary conditions, and binary hypothesis testing allows inclusion of anomaly detection thresholds and allowable error rates. An analogous framework accommodating Gaussian-mixture models and binary hypothesis testing is developed using Mahalanobis distance. Both algorithms are compared using simulated and empirical satellite maneuver data. The north–south station-keeping scenario shows control distance to be less sensitive with increased uncertainty than Mahalanobis distance but more consistent with respect to observation gap duration, a trend which is corroborated using available real-world data. The same consistency with respect to observation gap is observed in East–west station-keeping while also showing the control dis...
Episodic non-Markov localization

Abstract Markov localization and its variants are widely used for mobile robot localization. These methods assume Markov independence of observations, implying that the observations can be entirely explained by a map. However, in real human environments, robots frequently make unexpected observations due to unmapped static objects like chairs and tables, and dynamic objects like humans. We therefore introduce Episodic non-Markov Localization (EnML), which reasons about the world as consisting of three classes of objects: long-term features corresponding to permanent mapped objects, short-term features corresponding to unmapped static objects, and dynamic features corresponding to unmapped moving objects. Long-term features are represented by a static map, while short-term features are detected and tracked in real-time. To reason about unexpected observations and their correlations across poses, we augment the Dynamic Bayesian Network for Markov localization to include varying edges and nodes, resulting in a novel Varying Graphical Network representation. The maximum likelihood estimate of the belief is incrementally computed by non-linear functional optimization. By detecting timesteps along the robot’s trajectory where unmapped observations prior to such time steps are unrelated to those afterwards, EnML limits the history of observations and pose estimates to “episodes” over which the belief is computed. We demonstrate EnML using different types of sensors including laser rangefinders and depth cameras, and over multiple datasets, comparing it with alternative approaches. We further include results of a team of indoor autonomous service mobile robots traversing hundreds of kilometers using EnML.
Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials of Long-Term All-Cause Mortality in Patients With Non–ST-Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome Managed With Routine Invasive Versus Selective Invasive Strategies

Randomized trials and meta-analyses demonstrated that a routine invasive strategy improves outcomes in patients with non–ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) compared to a selective invasive strategy. Benefit was driven primarily by a reduction in the risk of myocardial infarction. However, the impact of either strategy on long-term mortality is unknown. Trials that compared a routine invasive strategy versus a selective invasive strategy in patients with NSTE-ACS and reported data on all-cause mortality ≥1 year were included. Summary odds ratios (OR) were constructed using Peto's model for all-cause mortality using the longest available follow-up data. Subgroup analysis was performed for follow-up at 1 to ≤5 years and >5 years. Eight trials with 6,657 patients were available for analysis. At a mean of 10.3 years, the risk of all-cause mortality was similar with both strategies (28.5% vs 28.5%; OR 1.00, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.90 to 1.12, p = 0.97). This effect was similar on subgroup analysis for follow-up at 1 to ≤5 years (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.04, p = 0.15) and >5 years (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.14, p = 0.79). There was no difference in treatment effect across various study-level covariates such as age, gender, diabetes, and positive troponin (all P for interaction >0.05). In conclusion, in patients with NSTE-ACS, both routine invasive and selective invasive strategies have a similar risk of all-cause mortality at ∼10 years. This illustrates there are still opportunities to change the trajectory of mortality events among invasively treated patients with NSTE-ACS.