cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pollen donor performance can be consistent across maternal plants in wild radish (Raphanus sativus, Brassicaceae): a necessary condition for the action of sexual selection

The possibility that sexual selection has played a role in the evolution of plant reproductive characters remains interesting, but controversial. One reason is that clear demonstration of the necessary conditions for sexual selection is lacking. For sexual selection to occur, differences in pollen donor performance must be consistent across maternal plants and not be due to mechanisms such as self-incompatibility that produce interactions between maternal plants and pollen donors. Here, I performed two experiments with wild radish to test whether differences in pollen donor performance are consistent across maternal plants and not due to subtle effects of the incompatibility system. In the first, all maternal and paternal lineages had different S-alleles. There were 16 maternal plants, four in each of four lineages and four pollen donors, one in each of four lineages. Rank order of pollen donor performance, in terms of number of seeds sired after mixed pollination, was highly consistent across maternal plants and maternal lineages. In addition, maternal stress treatment had an effect on mating success of pollen donors, but the effect was subtle and did not affect the rank order of seeds sired by the four pollen donors. In the second experiment, pollinations were performed on both mature and immature stigmas. Immature stigmas allowed some self seed set, so the incompatibility system was compromised. There was some nonrandom seed paternity on both mature and immature stigmas. However, the amount of nonrandom mating was less on immature stigmas. Taken together, these experiments show that the kind of consistent nonrandom mating necessary for sexual selection occurs in wild radish, but that the incompatibility system and the mechanisms for sorting among compatible mates may overlap in time of development or in some pathways.
Warpage-induced lithographic limitations of FR-4 and the need for novel board materials for future microvia and global interconnect needs

The effect of warpage on lithographic capabilities of organic circuit boards with multilayered thin film buildup was investigated. Two to six epoxy layers were built on various candidate boards to characterize the warpage and correlate it with analytical models. Underlying mechanisms were investigated and novel parameters defined to correlate warpage with photodefinition of ultrafine lines and vias on the board. Based on the experiments, warpage specifications for the multifunctional multilayered requirements in a proposed system-on-package (SOP) structure were defined. Experimentally validated FEM models were used to estimate the warpage during the multilayered buildup. Results show that FR-4 is not suitable for future high-density packaging needs and underscore the need for stiffer ceramic-based circuit board materials as replacement for FR-4
CONDITIONAL AND MULTINOMIAL LOGITS AS BINARY LOGIT REGRESSIONS

For a categorical variable with several outcomes, its dependence on the predictors is usually considered in the conditional or multinomial logit models. This work considers elasticity features of the binary and categorical logits and introduces the coefficients individual by observations. The paper shows that by a special rearrangement of data the more complicated conditional and multinomial models can be reduced to binary logistic regression. It suggests the usage of any software widely available for logit modeling to facilitate constructing for complex conditional and multinomial regressions. In addition, for binary logit, it is possible to obtain meaningful coefficients of regression by transforming data to the linear link function, which opens a possibility to obtain meaningful parameters of the complicated models with categorical dependent variables.
Repair of cyclobutyl pyrimidine dimers in human skin: variability among normal humans in nucleotide excision and in photorepair.

Background/Aims: Photoreactivation (PR) of cyclobutyl pyrimidine dimers (CPD) in human skin remains controversial. Recently Whitmore et al. (1) reported negative results of experiments using two photorepair light (PRL) sources on UV-irradiated skin of volunteers. However, their PRL sources induced substantial levels of dimers in skin, suggesting that the additional dimers formed could have obscured PR. We met a similar problem of dimer induction by a PRL source. We designed and validated a PRL source of sufficient intensity to catalyse PR, but that did not induce CPD, and used it to measure photorepair in human skin. Methods and Results: Using a solar simulator filtered with three types of UV-filters, we found significant dimer formation in skin, quantified by number average length analysis using electrophoretic gels of isolated skin DNA. To prevent scattered UV from reaching the skin, we interposed shields between the filters and skin, and showed that the UV-filtered/shielded solar simulator system did not induce damage in isolated DNA or in human skin. We exposed skin of seven healthy human volunteers to 302 nm radiation, then to the improved PRL source (control skin areas were kept in the dark for measurement of excision repair). Conclusions: Using a high intensity PRL source that did not induce dimers in skin, we found that three of seven subjects carried out rapid photorepair of dimers; two carried out moderate or slow dimer photorepair, and three did not show detectable photorepair. Excision repair was similarly variable in these volunteers. Subjects with slower excision repair showed rapid photorepair, whereas those with rapid excision generally showed little or no photoreactivation.
Assessment of cerebrovascular resistance with a model of cerebrovascular pressure transmission.

Abstract A method to assess continuous changes of cerebrovascular resistance based on a biomechanical model of cerebrovascular pressure transmission is developed. Such a method provides an end-point measure to assess new and/or existing management strategies during intensive-care management of patients with brain injury. Changes of both pial arteriolar resistance and cerebrovascular resistance derived by a physiologically based biomechanical model of cerebrovascular pressure transmission, the dynamic relationship between arterial blood pressure (ABP) and intracranial pressure (ICP), were compared to test the validity of the modeling procedure. Pressor challenge was administered to normoxic ( N =5) and hypoxic ( N =5) piglets equipped with closed cranial windows. Pial arteriolar diameters were used to compute arteriolar resistance. Percent change of pial arteriolar resistance (%ΔPAR) and percent change of model-derived cerebrovascular resistance (%ΔsCVR) in response to pressor challenge were computed. During intact cerebrovascular regulation and during hypoxia-induced impairment of cerebrovascular regulation, changes in pial arteriolar resistance were accurately predicted by the proposed modeling method designed to assess changes of cerebrovascular resistance.
Dynamic weighted majority: a new ensemble method for tracking concept drift

Algorithms for tracking concept drift are important for many applications. We present a general method based on the weighted majority algorithm for using any online learner for concept drift. Dynamic weighted majority (DWM) maintains an ensemble of base learners, predicts using a weighted-majority vote of these "experts", and dynamically creates and deletes experts in response to changes in performance. We empirically evaluated two experimental systems based on the method using incremental naive Bayes and incremental tree inducer [ITI] as experts. For the sake of comparison, we also included Blum's implementation of weighted majority. On the STAGGER concepts and on the SEA concepts, results suggest that the ensemble method learns drifting concepts almost as well as the base algorithms learn each concept individually. Indeed, we report the best overall results for these problems to date.
The Impact of Structural Changes on Predictions of Diffusion in Networks

In a typical realistic scenario, there exist some past data about the structure of the network which are analyzed with respect to some possibly future spreading process, such as behavior, opinion, disease, or computer malware. How sensitive are the predictions made about spread and spreaders to the changes in the structure of the network? We investigate the answer to this question by considering seven real-world networks that have an explicit timeline and span a range of social interactions, from celebrity sightings to animal movement. For each dataset, we examine the results of the spread analysis with respect to the changes that occur in the network as the time unfolds as well as introduced random perturbations. We show that neither the estimates of the extent of spread for each individual nor the set of the top spreaders are robust to structural changes. Thus, analysis performed on historic data may not be relevant by the time it is acted upon.
Isolation, cloning and functional characterization of porcine mannose-binding lectin.

SUMMARY Binding of mannose-binding lectin (MBL), a C-type lectin, and its associated serine proteases, MASP-1 and MASP-2, to cell surface carbohydrates activates the lectin complement pathway. As MBL plays an important role in innate immunity, it has been cloned and characterized in several species. While the pig may be used as a source of organs/tissues for xenotransplantation, little is known about its MBL, thus, we report the isolation of three monomeric forms of MBL from porcine serum. Sodium dodecyl sulphate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Coomassie staining of reduced porcine MBL revealed the presence of three monomeric forms with approximate molecular masses of 30 000, 32 000 and 34 000. Protein sequencing identified these monomeric forms as one single protein, suggesting post-translational modification. Western blot analysis demonstrated the cross-reactivity of anti-human MBL polyclonal antibody with porcine MBL. A full-length porcine liver MBL cDNA was isolated and the predicted amino acid sequence exhibited 64.9% identity with human MBL and 50.2% and 56.7% identity with rat A and C MBL, respectively. Furthermore, Northern blot analysis demonstrated the presence of a single (y1.4‐1.6 kilobase pair) transcript in porcine liver. Addition of purified porcine MBL to MBL-deficient human sera augmented N-acetylglucosamine inhibitable C3 deposition to mannan-coated plates in a dosedependent manner. Taken together, these data demonstrate that porcine and human MBL are highly conserved, sharing structural and functional characteristics.
The folic acid activity of human livers as measured with Lactobacillus casei.

It has been demonstrated that extracts of human livers prepared with potassium ascorbate contain a derivative which is very active in supplying the FA requirement for L. casei, but only slightly so for P. cerevisiae or S. faecalis R. No autolytic or enzymatic treatment is required for the release of this activity.
Theoretical calculations applied to the study of the energetics of reactions of methamphetamine synthesis and to the characterization of reactants, products and by-products

Abstract Density Functional Theory (DFT) was used to perform quantum chemical calculations at B3LYP level, with the 6-31G** basis set, as implemented by the Spartan computer program. The entities studied are the reaction of synthesis of MDMA (3,4, methylene dioxymethamphetamine), and a number of analogs of methamphetamine. The analogs have also been geometry-optimized and their infrared vibrational frequencies were calculated.
An incremental mechanism for schema evolution in engineering domains

The authors focus on one class of schema revisions necessitated by a very basic phenomenon: a given individual object evolves into a family of objects which are similar to it in many ways. This is commonly called the version problem. In theoretical terms, one can handle the above schema change in the standard, object-oriented database models by the interposition of suitable abstractions into the existing type lattice. There are practical and engineering difficulties with such schema changes. The authors propose an incremental mechanism called instance inheritance which is well suited to handling the schema changes without the attendant practical costs. The authors formally characterize this augmentation to the standard database models, and show examples of its applications. >
Spray-on transdermal drug delivery systems

Introduction: Transdermal drug delivery possesses superior advantages over other routes of administration, particularly minimizing first-pass metabolism. Transdermal drug delivery is challenged by the barrier nature of skin. Numerous technologies have been developed to overcome the relatively low skin permeability, including spray-on transdermal systems.Areas covered: A transdermal spray-on system (TSS) usually consists of a solution containing the drug, a volatile solvent and in many cases a chemical penetration enhancer. TSS promotes drug delivery via the complex interplay between solvent evaporation and drug–solvent drag into skin. The volatile solvent carries the drug into the upper layers of the stratum corneum, and as the volatile solvent evaporates, an increase in the thermodynamic activity of the drug occurs resulting in an increased drug loading in skin.Expert opinion: TSS is easily applied, delivering flexible drug dosage and associated with lower incidence of skin irritation. TSS provides a fas...
Healthcare Cost Differences with Participation in a Community‐Based Group Physical Activity Benefit for Medicare Managed Care Health Plan Members

OBJECTIVES To determine whether participation in a physical activity benefit by Medicare managed care enrollees is associated with lower healthcare utilization and costs.
Computational prediction of manually gated rare cells in flow cytometry data.

Rare cell identification is an interesting and challenging question in flow cytometry data analysis. In the literature, manual gating is a popular approach to distill flow cytometry data and drill down to the rare cells of interest, based on prior knowledge of measured protein markers and visual inspection of the data. Several computational algorithms have been proposed for rare cell identification. To compare existing algorithms and promote new developments, FlowCAP-III put forward one computational challenge that focused on this question. The challenge provided flow cytometry data for 202 training samples and two manually gated rare cell types for each training sample, roughly 0.02% and 0.04% of the cells, respectively. In addition, flow cytometry data for 203 testing samples were provided, and participants were invited to computationally identify the rare cells in the testing samples. Accuracy of the identification results was evaluated by comparing to manual gating of the testing samples. We participated in the challenge, and developed a method that combined the Hellinger divergence, a downsampling trick and the ensemble SVM. Our method achieved the highest accuracy in the challenge.
Packet-based Lane Bundling for Terabit-LAN

We propose packet-based lane bundling (PLB) that provides an ideal aggregated bandwidth link for an application. PLB uses time information to align packets and allows a dynamic lane and/or path change, a large difference in transmission delays among lanes, and so on. The basic performance of PLB in 10 Gb/s times 2 lanes is verified using an estimation board that is newly developed to evaluate the basic functions used for Terabit-LANs. The evaluation shows that PLB achieves a very low delay variation that is almost the same as that under back-to-back conditions. The difference is approximately 10 ns when the transmission delay varies from 10 mus to 1 s.
Neurological effects of low-level microwaves mediated by endogenous opioids

Research data suggesting that some of the neurological effects of low-level microwave irradiation are mediated by endogenous opioids in the brain are reported. The effects studied included the actions of various phychoactive drugs and functions of the neurotransmitters and receptors. It is speculated that microwave irradiation is a stressor and activates endogenous opioids in the central nervous system. >
Do Our Patients Have Enough to Eat?: Food Insecurity among Urban Low-income Cancer Patients

This study assessed the prevalence and predictors of food insecurity among a cohort of underserved oncology patients at New York City cancer clinics. A demographic survey and the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module were administered. A multivariate General Linear Model Analysis of Covariance was used to evaluate predictors of food insecurity. Four hundred and four (404) completed the surveys. Nearly one-fifth (18%) had very low, 38% low, 17% marginal, and 27% high food security. The Analysis of Covariance was statistically significant (F[7, 370] = 19.08; p
Energy dependence of inclusive distributions in pion-induced reactions

Abstract We present data on the inclusive distributions π + p → π ± + anything and π − p → π − + anything at momenta from 3.7 to 18.5 GeV/ c . Distributions are presented in the laboratory, center-of-mass and projectile systems, and the approach to scaling is discussed.
CONDYLAR CARTILAGE RESPONSE TO CONTINUOUS PASSIVE MOTION IN ADULT GUINEA PIGS : A PILOT STUDY

This article reports on the development and testing of a continuous passive motion device suitable for experimental animals and on the effect of 1 week of continuous passive motion on the thickness of the condylar cartilage in adult guinea pigs. Continuous passive motion is currently used for postsurgical joint therapy and consists of moving a synovial joint passively and constantly through its normal range of motion. In this study continuous passive motion was applied to the temporomandibular joints of two experimental animals for 7 hours per day for 5 days. Two animals were restrained for the same amount of time that the experimental animals were on the continuous passive motion machines (control group 1), and two animals were allowed normal cage activity (control group 2). Six weeks later all animals were sacrificed. Each mandibular condyle was sectioned sagitally, and routine histologic sections were prepared with hematoxylin-eosin stain. Microscopic examination of the mandibular condylar cartilage of the animals placed on continuous passive motion showed a marked increase in thickness compared with the condylar cartilage found on the control animals. The condylar cartilage of the animals placed on continuous passive motion averaged 345 microm, and the controls averaged 232 microm. These findings demonstrate the application of continuous passive motion in an experimental model and provide interesting information regarding the response of the mandibular condyle to increased motion. More studies are necessary to further investigate the effect of continuous passive motion on the condylar cartilage.
Acute effects of ACTH on dissociated adrenocortical cells: Quantitative changes in mitochondria and lipid droplets

To study the role of certain organelles in steroidogenesis, dissociated rat adrenocortical cells were incubated for two hours with ACTH at a concentration that induces a high level of steroid production. Sections of ACTH treated and untreated cells were photographed in the electron microscope, and morphometric analysis was undertaken to assess possible ACTH-induced changes in total cell volume, volume density and numerical density of lipid droplets and mitochondria. There was no change in total cell volume. Lipid droplet volume density and numerical density decreased. Mitochondrial volume density did not change, but numerical density increased. The decrease in lipid droplet volume density indicates a rapid depletion of cholesterol for steroid production. This depletion is almost entirely due to the disappearance of lipid droplets, rather than to an overall diminution in their size, as shown by the decrease in lipid droplet numerical density. The mitochondrial data suggest that the adrenocortical cell has an adequate mitochondrial apparatus to respond to acute ACTH stimulation with increased steroid output without an increase in mitochondrial volume.
Sensitivity and consistency in statistical analysis of TeV gamma-ray observations

Abstract Statistical tests which are sensitive to the full distribution of Rayleigh powers for a set of observations of a TeV gamma-ray source are considered and compared with the standard approach of considering only the highest powers. For sources with duty factors of more than about 2%, the global tests can be more effective. Tests for consistency between the apparent strength of a periodic signal with measured dc excess are reviewed.
A physical approach for determining the optimum random-vibration screening duration

The authors propose a physical approach for the determination of the optimum random-vibration screening duration. This approach is based on a newly-proposed bimodally-distributed P-S-N diagram, for the fatigue strength of nonscreened units, and its corresponding threshold S-N curve for fatigue defect precipitation. Equations, for mean and variance of the cumulative damage and fatigue-defect precipitation time distributions, and for the optimum random-vibration screening duration, under both stationary narrow-band and stationary wide-band random stressing, are derived in terms of the parameters of the structure-inherent bimodally-distributed P-S-N diagram and of the stress response spectrum which corresponds to the applied acceleration power spectral density (PSD) function. A numerical example is given to illustrate the application of the proposed approach.
Engineering Select Physical Properties of Cross‐Linked Red Blood Cells and a Simple a Priori Estimation of Their Efficacy as an Oxygen Delivery Vehicle within the Context of a Hepatic Hollow Fiber Bioreactor

Bovine red blood cells (bRBCs) can potentially provide a simplistic and economic means of improving oxygenation within hollow fiber (HF) bioreactor cell cultures. Bovine RBCs are also interesting since many of their physical properties can be altered as a result of glutaraldehyde (G) cross-linking. Cross-linking bRBCs produces an oxygen carrier that is expected to be beneficial under specific circumstances (i.e., delivery of oxygen to cells that are sensitive to free hemoglobin (Hb) and cells that require low inlet oxygen tensions). We have examined the osmotic stability and electrophoretic mobility of cross-linked bRBCs and observed that cross-linking improves osmotic stability while minimally impacting electrophoretic mobility. The oxygen binding/dissociation properties (P(50) and n) of cross-linked bRBCs were also measured, and under the reported reaction conditions, cross-linking increased the oxygen affinity and reduced the cooperativity of bRBCs. A basic Krogh tissue cylinder model was then utilized to provide a quick a priori estimate of oxygen delivery and release to hepatocytes housed within a HF bioreactor in order to demonstrate potential oxygenation benefits arising with both normal and cross-linked bRBC media supplementation. This model showed that bRBCs generally improved oxygen delivery and release to HF cell cultures and that cross-linked bRBCs are particularly beneficial in specifically targeting oxygen delivery to cells maintained at low inlet oxygen tensions. Additionally, the model showed that bRBC supplementation can significantly improve oxygen delivery without requiring extreme bRBC concentrations.
Modeling and rendering contact torques and twisting effects of deformable objects in haptic Interaction

Contact and deformation modeling for interactive environments has seen many applications, from surgical simulation and training, to virtual prototyping, to teleoperation, etc., where both visual feedback and haptic feedback are needed in real-time (kHz). In this paper, we consider contacts between a rigid body and an elastic object and address a little studied problem: the modeling and rendering of compliant twisting or rotation of the rigid body on the surface of the elastic object and the associated effects in the deformation of the elastic object. We present a unique strategy to model the contact torques applied to the rigid body and the resulted shape deformation of the elastic object. This strategy extends the general paradigm of contact and deformable modeling introduced by the authors earlier [1] so that not only contact forces but also contact torques, not only compliant translations but also compliant rotations of the rigid body, as well as the resulted deformations of the elastic object can all be simulated in a combined update rate of over lfeHz. The strategy is implemented, and the experimental results confirm its effectiveness and efficiency.
Alternating day emergency medicine and anesthesia resident responsibility for management of the trauma airway: a study of laryngoscopy performance and intubation success.

Abstract Study objective We compare laryngoscopy performance and overall intubation success in trauma airways when primary airway management alternated between emergency medicine and anesthesia residents on an every-other-day basis. Methods Data on all trauma intubations during approximately 3 years were prospectively collected. Primary airway management was assigned to emergency department (ED) residents on even days and anesthesia residents on odd days. Emergency medicine residents intubated patients who arrived without notification or who needed immediate intubation before anesthesia arrived. The study was conducted in an inner-city, Level I trauma center with approximately 50,000 ED patients and 1,800 major trauma cases a year. Main outcomes were success or failure at laryngoscopy and the number of laryngoscopy attempts needed for intubation. Results Six hundred fifty-eight trauma patients were intubated during the study period. Laryngoscopy was successful in 654 of 656 cases. Two (0.3%) patients underwent cricothyrotomy after failed laryngoscopy, and 2 (0.3%) patients had awake nasal intubation without laryngoscopy. The specific number of laryngoscopy attempts was unknown in 6 cases (3 from each service), resulting in 650 cases for laryngoscopy performance analysis. Overall, 87% of patients were intubated on first attempt, and 3 or more attempts occurred in 2.9% of patients. Laryngoscopy performance by service (broken down by 1, 2, and ≥3 attempts) was as follows: emergency medicine 86.4%, 11%, and 2.6% versus anesthesia 89.7%, 6.7%, and 3.6%. Analysis by service was done by using Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney testing ( P =.225). Conclusion There were no differences in laryngoscopy performance and intubation success in trauma airways managed on an every-other-day basis by emergency medicine versus anesthesia residents. [ Ann Emerg Med. 2004;43:48-53.]
Lap colectomy and robotics for colon cancer.

Abstract Robotic approaches have seen significant growth in the last 5 years. Taking advantage of three-dimensional visualization, improved articulation, and multiple operating arms provides theoretical and real advantages in colorectal cancer surgery. This article reviews the potential advantages and disadvantages, current outcomes, and future directions for robotic approaches to colon cancer surgery.
Evaluating the Impact of Irrecoverable Read Errors on Disk Array Reliability

We investigate the impact of irrecoverable read errors--also known as bad blocks--on the MTTDL of mirrored disks, RAID level 5 arrays and RAID level 6 arrays. Our study is based on the data collected by Bairavasundaram et al. from a population of 1.53 million disks over a period of 32 months. Our study indicates that irrecoverable read errors can reduce the mean time to data loss (MTTDL) of the three arrays by up to 99 percent, effectively canceling most of the benefits of fast disk repairs. It also shows the benefits of frequent scrubbing scans that map out bad blocks thus preventing future irrecoverable read errors. As an example, once-a-month scrubbing scans were found to improve the MTTDL of the three arrays by at least 300 percent compared to once-a-year scrubbing scans.
Obituary: A Remembrance of Gordon Andrew Hunter (1937–2015)

G ordon Andrew Hunter MB, FRCS, FRCS(C), long-time member of The Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons, passed away on June 11, 2015 at the age of 78. A renowned orthopaedic surgeon and educator, Dr. Hunter (Fig. 1) established himself as a leader in hip and knee trauma, foot and ankle surgery, and orthotics and prosthetics care during his 30-plus year career. Born in London, England, Dr. Hunter began his medical career at the University College of London in 1960. His postgraduate training included appointments at the Birmingham Accident Hospital, the University
Racial Differences in the Prevalence and Outcomes of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Hospitalized With Heart Failure.

Previous research has shown that roughly 15% to 30% of those with heart failure (HF) develop atrial fibrillation (AF). Although studies have shown variations in the incidence of AF in patients with HF, there has been no evidence of mortality differences by race. The purpose of this study was to assess AF prevalence and inhospital mortality in patients with HF among different racial groups in the United States. Using the National Inpatient Sample registry, the largest publicly available all-payer inpatient care database representing >95% of the US inpatient population, we analyzed subjects hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of HF from 2001 to 2011 (n = 11,485,673) using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition ( ICD 9 ) codes 428.0-0.1, 428.20-0.23, 428.30-0.33, 428.40-0.43, and 428.9; patients with AF were identified using the ICD 9 code 427.31. We assessed prevalence and mortality among racial groups. Using logistic regression, we examined odds of mortality adjusted for demographics and co-morbidity using Elixhauser co-morbidity index. We also examined utilization of procedures by race. Of the 11,485,673 patients hospitalized with HF in our study, 3,939,129 (34%) had AF. Patients with HF and AF had greater inhospital mortality compared with those without AF (4.6% vs 3.3% respectively, p
High Energy Physics at Tufts University Final Report

In this Final Report, we the researchers of the high energy physics group at Tufts University summarize our works and achievements in three frontier areas of elementary particle physics: (i) Neutrino physics at the Intensity Frontier, (ii) Collider physics at the Energy Frontier, and (iii) Theory investigations of spin structure and quark-gluon dynamics of nucleons using quantum chromodynamics. With our Neutrino research we completed, or else brought to a useful state, the following: Data-taking, physics simulations, physics analysis, physics reporting, explorations of matter effects, and detector component fabrication. We conducted our work as participants in the MINOS, NOvA, and LBNE neutrino oscillation experiments and in the MINERvA neutrino scattering experiment. With our Collider research we completed or else brought to a useful state: Data-taking, development of muon system geometry and tracking codes, software validation and maintenance, physics simulations, physics analysis, searches for new particles, and study of top-quark and B-quark systems. We conducted these activities as participants in the ATLAS proton-proton collider experiment at CERN and in the CDF proton-antiproton collider experiment at Fermilab. In our Theory research we developed QCD-based models, applications of spin phenomenology to fundamental systems, fitting of models to data, presenting and reporting of new conceptsmore » and formalisms. The overarching objectives of our research work have always been: 1) to test and clarify the predictions of the Standard Model of elementary particle physics, and 2) to discover new phenomena which may point the way to a more unified theoretical framework.« less
Long-term soy consumption and tumor tissue MicroRNA and gene expression in triple-negative breast cancer.

BACKGROUND Soy food intake may have protective effects against the risk for breast cancer, including estrogen receptor (ER)–negative breast cancer. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. METHODS To evaluate the association of soy intake with the expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) and genes in the tumor tissue of patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC; ie, breast cancer lacking expression of ER, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2), the expression of 800 miRNAs and 302 genes were measured with NanoString nCounter assays in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissue from 272 TNBC patients. Soy intake during the 1-year period before the cancer diagnosis was assessed with a validated food-frequency questionnaire. The association of soy intake with the expression of miRNAs and genes was evaluated via linear regression analysis with adjustments for patient age and TNM stage. RESULTS A total of 14 miRNAs and 24 genes were significantly associated with soy food intake (P < .05): Thirteen of the 14 miRNAs (92.9%) and 9 of the 24 genes (37.5%), including tumor suppressors miR-29a-3p and IGF1R, showed overexpression for those women with high soy intake, whereas the remaining miRNAs and genes, including oncogenes KRAS and FGFR4, showed underexpression. Furthermore, cell growth–related genes showed a predominantly underexpression pattern according to a comparison of tumor samples from women with high soy food intake and samples from women with lower soy food intake. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that long-term prediagnosis soy intake may lead to increased expression of tumor suppressors and decreased expression of oncogenes, especially cell growth–related genes, in breast tumor tissues. Cancer 2016;122:2544–51. © 2016 American Cancer Society.
Creation of a transverse colon--gastric composite reservoir: a new technique.

Abstract All existing continent urinary reservoirs utilize cecum and/or varying lengths of ileum. In patients who have received prior pelvic radiation therapy, continent diversion has not been feasible because those segments of bowel lie within the field of irradiation. We describe a new technique of continent diversion utilizing only bowel outside the field of pelvic irradiation. A urinary reservoir is constructed from reconfigured transverse colon. A tubularized segment of stomach is implanted beneath the taenia of the reservoir to provide a continent, catheterizable stoma. We describe this technique in detail and report our results in five dogs followed for a mean of 59 days.
Nausea and vomiting masquerading heart cancer

Primary cardiac tumors are extremely rare, although only 20% are malignant. Of the malignant tumors, sarcomas are the mostcommon type and usually present with signs and symptoms of pericardial effusion or tamponade, including dyspnea, chestpain, or syncope. We present the case of a woman with nausea, vomiting, and epigastric pain who eventually received thediagnosis of a large cardiac angiosarcoma. To our knowledge, no case reports have described patients with primary cardiac tumorspresenting with nausea and vomiting without cardiac symptoms. Our patient was treated with open heart resection of the tumorand reconstruction of the right atrium with bovine pericardium. This case highlights an atypical presentation of this rare conditionand shows the current optimal management.
Geologic influence on groundwater salinity drives large seawater circulation through the continental shelf

Observations of offshore freshened groundwater and saline groundwater discharge along continental shelves have important implications for water resources, ecosystem function, and the composition of the ocean; but they cannot be explained by basic theory. We show that these independent observations are linked, and result from processes that drive variable-density groundwater flow through the spatial heterogeneity that is ubiquitous in geologic formations. We use lithologic data to develop geostatistical models that mimic the architecture of coastal aquifers. Simulation of groundwater flow and salt transport through these random realizations shows that heterogeneity produces spatially complex subsurface salinity distributions that extend tens of kilometers offshore, even at steady state. The associated density gradients drive high saline groundwater circulation rates that cannot be predicted by equivalent homogeneous models. Results suggest that these phenomena may be common along continental shelves, potentially altering estimates of ocean chemical budgets and impacting coastal water management for future generations.
Comparison of processing parameters in small and very small beef processing plants and their impact on Escherichia coli prevalence.

Abstract Increasing consumer demands markets for local and regional foods emphasize the need for bridging the gap between large and small beef processing plants to overcome foodborne illnesses due to pathogens associated with such foods. The current study evaluates operational differences in small and very small plants, which contribute to the efficacy of interventions and their impact on prevalence of aerobic bacteria, total coliforms, and E. coli. A total of 5 beef processing plants were sampled (2 USDA inspected, 1 state inspected, and 2 custom state inspected plants). It was observed that small plants achieved the greatest reduction (0.92 log10 CFU/sq. cm) during initial processing. Very small local plants obtained the largest overall log reductions (0.8–2.1 log10 CFU/cm2) of E. coli O157:H7 on beef carcasses. Further identification revealed higher prevalence of E. coli O157 (84.2%) and STEC (55.2%) in the large plants and molecular characterization of the 19 confirmed STEC isolates revealed 57.89% of the isolates being E. coli O103, while 0.05% were identified as E. coli O26. Results from our study provide insight to differences in operational capabilities between large and small beef processors that can assist in beef safety research to mitigate foodborne illness.
Growth assessment in Egyptian children with cystic fibrosis: A single center study

Abstract Background Poor clinical outcomes in cystic fibrosis are often associated with undernutrition. Nutritional status is an important prognostic marker, regardless of the level of respiratory function in the patient. Careful and repeated nutritional assessments allow for early detection of nutritional deterioration. Objectives To assess the growth of cystic fibrosis children using different parameters as body mass index percentiles (BMIP) and standard anthropometric indexes, including height-for-age percentile (HAP), weight-for-age percentile (WAP) and compare between them as measures for nutritional failure in children with cystic fibrosis (CF). Methodology This was a cross sectional study including fifty children of both sexes with CF below 12 years of age, recruited from the cystic fibrosis clinic, Specialized Children’s Hospital, Cairo University. Patients were subjected to full history taking including age at diagnosis, frequency of hospital admissions (per year), current medications and presence of complications. Thorough clinical examination was performed with special emphasis on anthropometric measurements including body weight, length/height, BMI calculation. Results This study included 30 boys and 20 girls between 2 and 11 years old with a mean of 4.25 ± 2.30 yrs. Pancreatic insufficiency was found in 36% of patients, 28% had failure to thrive as the main complaint while 72% had recurrent chest infection as the main complaint. Growth assessment revealed that 21 patients (42%) were below −2 SDS for weight. As for BMI, 14 patients (28%) were below the 10th percentile. A highly significant negative correlation was reported between the weight SDS and the frequency of hospital admission (r = −0.412, p = 0.003). Furthermore, there was a highly statistical significant difference between the malnourished patients and the patients with average weight regarding the frequency of hospital admission (p Conclusion Malnourished CF patients had the highest frequency of hospital admission. BMIP predicts nutritional failure more sensitively and accurately than conventional anthropometric indexes (WAP and HAP) in children with CF.
Parallel graph mining with dynamic load balancing

Frequent subgraph mining (FSM) has important applications in areas such as bioinformatics, social networks and others. In this paper, we present a highly scalable approach called ParGraph that can efficiently mine from a single graph in both distributed as well as shared-memory based systems. In a distributed environment, we can leverage the local memory of multiple compute nodes for storing a large number of intermediate states for enumerating patterns. To address the skewness in the pattern generation tree, our approach uses a novel hybrid load balancing scheme to efficiently distribute workload across both processes and threads. Our experiments demonstrate good speedups using message passing interface (MPI) and OpenMP threads.
Dairy Comp 305 Program

A flexible dairy database program, Dairy Comp 305, is described to illustrate how a dairy database can support the decisions of a dairy producer and provide data for veterinarians to plan their production management programs.
Strategies to Recruit a Diverse Low-Income Population to Child Weight Management Programs From Primary Care Practices

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES Primary care practices can be used to engage children and families in weight management programs. The Texas Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (TX CORD) study targeted patients at 12 primary care practices in diverse and low-income areas of Houston, Texas, and Austin, Texas for recruitment to a trial of weight management programs. This article describes recruitment strategies developed to benefit both families and health care practices and the modification of electronic health records (EHRs) to reflect recruitment outcomes. INTERVENTION APPROACH To facilitate family participation, materials and programs were provided in English and Spanish, and programs were conducted in convenient locations. To support health care practices, EHRs and print materials were provided to facilitate obesity recognition, screening, and study referral. We provided brief training for providers and their office staffs that covered screening patients for obesity, empathetic communication, obesity billing coding, and use of counseling materials. EVALUATION METHODS We collected EHR data from 2012 through 2014, including demographics, weight, and height, for all patients aged 2 to 12 years who were seen in the 12 provider practices during the study's recruitment phase. The data of patients with a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 85th percentile were compared with the same data for patients who were referred to the study and patients who enrolled in the study. We also examined reasons that patients referred to the study declined to participate. RESULTS Overall, 26% of 7,845 patients with a BMI at or above the 85th percentile were referred to the study, and 27% of referred patients enrolled. Enrollment among patients with a BMI at or above the 85th percentile was associated with being Hispanic and with more severe obesity than with patients of other races/ethnicities or less severe obesity, respectively. Among families of children aged 2 to 5 years who were referred, 20% enrolled, compared with 30% of families of older children (>5 y to 12 y). Referral rates varied widely among the 12 primary care practices, and referral rates were not associated with EHR modifications. IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH Engagement and recruitment strategies for enrolling families in primary care practice in weight management programs should be strengthened. Further study of factors associated with referral and enrollment, better systems for EHR tools, and data on provider and office adherence to study protocols should be examined. EHRs can track referral and enrollment to capture outcomes of recruitment efforts.
Randomized Trial of the Effects of Insulin and Metformin on Myocardial Injury and Stress in Diabetes Mellitus: A Post Hoc Exploratory Analysis.

BackgroundSubclinical myocardial injury, as measured by high‐sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hsTnT), and myocardial stress, as measured by N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP), are...
Bayesian convolutional neural network based MRI brain extraction on nonhuman primates.

Brain extraction or skull stripping of magnetic resonance images (MRI) is an essential step in neuroimaging studies, the accuracy of which can severely affect subsequent image processing procedures. Current automatic brain extraction methods demonstrate good results on human brains, but are often far from satisfactory on nonhuman primates, which are a necessary part of neuroscience research. To overcome the challenges of brain extraction in nonhuman primates, we propose a fully-automated brain extraction pipeline combining deep Bayesian convolutional neural network (CNN) and fully connected three-dimensional (3D) conditional random field (CRF). The deep Bayesian CNN, Bayesian SegNet, is used as the core segmentation engine. As a probabilistic network, it is not only able to perform accurate high-resolution pixel-wise brain segmentation, but also capable of measuring the model uncertainty by Monte Carlo sampling with dropout in the testing stage. Then, fully connected 3D CRF is used to refine the probability result from Bayesian SegNet in the whole 3D context of the brain volume. The proposed method was evaluated with a manually brain-extracted dataset comprising T1w images of 100 nonhuman primates. Our method outperforms six popular publicly available brain extraction packages and three well-established deep learning based methods with a mean Dice coefficient of 0.985 and a mean average symmetric surface distance of 0.220 mm. A better performance against all the compared methods was verified by statistical tests (all p-values < 10-4, two-sided, Bonferroni corrected). The maximum uncertainty of the model on nonhuman primate brain extraction has a mean value of 0.116 across all the 100 subjects. The behavior of the uncertainty was also studied, which shows the uncertainty increases as the training set size decreases, the number of inconsistent labels in the training set increases, or the inconsistency between the training set and the testing set increases.
Fibroblast Growth Factor: Implications in the Etiology of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

The development of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is considered an inescapable phenomena for the aging male. Ninety percent of men will develop histologic evidence of BPH by the age of 80 (1). Bladder outlet obstruction is the major consequence associated with BPH. It has been estimated that 20- 25% of all men over the age of 50 will require a prostatectomy for relief of bladder outlet obstruction (2). Approximately 350,000 surgical procedures are performed each year in the United States for BPH, resulting in an overall medical cost that exceeds 1 billion dollars annually (3). These statistics emphasize the need for new approaches to the study of BPH, for despite many years of study, the etiology of the disease has not been resolved.
Spontaneous Subcapsular Renal Hematoma: Diagnosis and Management

AbstractSpontaneous subcapsular or perinephric hematoma in the absence of anticoagulation, arteritis or trauma is most likely due to an underlying renal tumor. Eight such patients recently have been evaluated and after nephrectomy 5 had small tumors undetectable by imaging techniques, including computerized tomography or angiography. In 1 patient a tumor was demonstrated preoperatively by angiography and in only 2 was a tumor not found.In the absence of an apparent etiology, patients with spontaneous renal bleeding and a normal contralateral kidney should undergo radical nephrectomy because of the extremely high incidence of small undetectable occult tumors, often less than 2cm. in size.