cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Efficient execution of Time Warp programs on heterogeneous, NOW platforms

Time Warp is an optimistic protocol for synchronizing parallel discrete event simulations. To achieve performance in a multiuser network of workstation (NOW) environment, Time Warp must continue to operate efficiently in the presence of external workloads caused by other users, processor heterogeneity, and irregular internal workloads caused by the simulation model. However, these performance problems can cause a Time Warp program to become grossly unbalanced, resulting in slower execution. The key observation asserted in this article is that each of these performance problems, while different in source, has a similar manifestation. For a Time Warp program to be balanced, the amount of wall clock time necessary to advance an LP one unit of simulation time should be about the same for all LPs. Using this observation, we devise a single algorithm that mitigates these performance problems and enables the "background" execution of Time Warp programs on heterogeneous distributed computing platforms in the presence of external as well as irregular internal workloads.
Central Sensitization: A Generator of Pain Hypersensitivity by Central Neural Plasticity

Abstract Central sensitization represents an enhancement in the function of neurons and circuits in nociceptive pathways caused by increases in membrane excitability and synaptic efficacy as well as to reduced inhibition and is a manifestation of the remarkable plasticity of the somatosensory nervous system in response to activity, inflammation, and neural injury. The net effect of central sensitization is to recruit previously subthreshold synaptic inputs to nociceptive neurons, generating an increased or augmented action potential output: a state of facilitation, potentiation, augmentation, or amplification. Central sensitization is responsible for many of the temporal, spatial, and threshold changes in pain sensibility in acute and chronic clinical pain settings and exemplifies the fundamental contribution of the central nervous system to the generation of pain hypersensitivity. Because central sensitization results from changes in the properties of neurons in the central nervous system, the pain is no longer coupled, as acute nociceptive pain is, to the presence, intensity, or duration of noxious peripheral stimuli. Instead, central sensitization produces pain hypersensitivity by changing the sensory response elicited by normal inputs, including those that usually evoke innocuous sensations. Perspective In this article, we review the major triggers that initiate and maintain central sensitization in healthy individuals in response to nociceptor input and in patients with inflammatory and neuropathic pain, emphasizing the fundamental contribution and multiple mechanisms of synaptic plasticity caused by changes in the density, nature, and properties of ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors.
Kit mutants and gastrointestinal physiology

There has been considerable speculation about the function of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) since their discovery more than 100 years ago. It has been difficult to study these cells under native conditions, but great insights about the function of ICC have come from studies of genetic models with loss-of function mutations in the Kit signalling pathway. First it was discovered that signalling via Kit (a receptor tyrosine kinase) was vital for the development and maintenance of the ICC phenotype in gastrointestinal (GI) muscles. In compound heterozygotes (W/W(V) and Sl/Sl(d) animals), where there are partial loss-of-function mutations in Kit receptors or Kit ligand (stem cell factor), ICC failed to develop in various regions of the GI tract, but no major changes in the smooth muscle layers or enteric nervous system occurred in the absence of these cells. Animals with these mutations provided an unprecedented opportunity to understand the role of ICC in GI motor function, and it is now clear from these studies that ICC serve as: (i) pacemaker cells, generating the spontaneous electrical rhythms of the gut known as slow waves; (ii) a propagation pathway for slow waves so that large areas of the musculature can be entrained to a dominant pacemaker frequency; (iii) mediators of excitatory cholinergic and inhibitory nitrergic neural inputs from the enteric nervous system, and (iv) stretch receptors that modulate membrane potential and electrical slow wave frequency. This review describes the use of genetic models to understand the important physiological role of ICC in the GI tract.
Functional decomposition in a vehicle control system

The introduction of electronic controls in vehicles has lead to ever increasing improvements in automotive performance in the areas of drivability, fuel economy, emissions, and safety. As new technologies emerge and are introduced on vehicles, the need for more sophisticated control solutions to coordinated the new technologies increases. The level of complexity on today's vehicles is at a point where vehicle system level hierarchical controls are required to manage the interaction of the various complex subsystems. A method for determining the allocation of the control functions within the hierarchy is presented and demonstrated for an integrated starter-generator hybrid electric vehicle. An effort is also made to maintain generic definitions of the functional interfaces within the hierarchy in order to facility reusability of the architecture with future vehicle technologies.
Concurrent Cilk: Lazy Promotion from Tasks to Threads in C/C++

Library and language support for scheduling non-blocking tasks has greatly improved, as have lightweight user threading packages. However, there is a significant gap between the two developments. In previous work--and ini?źtoday's software packages--lightweight thread creation incurs much larger overheads than tasking libraries, even on tasks that end up never blocking. This limitation can be removed. To that end, we describe an extension to the Intel Cilk Plus runtime system, Concurrent Cilk, where tasks are lazily promoted to threads. Concurrent Cilk removes the overhead of thread creation on threads which end up calling no blocking operations, and is the first system to do so for C/C++ with legacy support standard calling conventions and stack representations. We demonstrate that Concurrent Cilk adds negligible overhead to existing Cilk programs, while its promoted threads remain more efficient than OS threads in terms of context-switch overhead and blocking communication. Further, it enables development of blocking data structures that create non-fork-join dependence graphs--which can expose more parallelism, and better supports data-driven computations waiting on results from remote devices.
Forest Structure Affects Soil Mercury Losses in the Presence and Absence of Wildfire

Soil is an important, dynamic component of regional and global mercury (Hg) cycles. This study evaluated how changes in forest soil Hg masses caused by atmospheric deposition and wildfire are affected by forest structure. Pre and postfire soil Hg measurements were made over two decades on replicate experimental units of three prefire forest structures (mature unthinned, mature thinned, clear-cut) in Douglas-fir dominated forest of southwestern Oregon. In the absence of wildfire, O-horizon Hg decreased by 60% during the 14 years after clearcutting, possibly the result of decreased atmospheric deposition due to the smaller-stature vegetative canopy; in contrast, no change was observed in mature unthinned and thinned forest. Wildfire decreased O-horizon Hg by >88% across all forest structures and decreased mineral-soil (0 to 66 mm depth) Hg by 50% in thinned forest and clear-cut. The wildfire-associated soil Hg loss was positively related to the amount of surface fine wood that burned during the fire, the proportion of area that burned at >700 °C, fire severity as indicated by tree mortality, and soil C loss. Loss of soil Hg due to the 200,000 ha wildfire was more than four times the annual atmospheric Hg emissions from human activities in Oregon.
Spot and Forward Interest Rates

This note examines how spot and forward interest rates relate to bond prices and to each other. After defining spot and forward rates, the note shows how to estimate spot rates from data on either zero-coupon bonds or coupon bonds. It also shows how to express these stated rates for different compounding assumptions. The note pays particular attention to understanding how arbitrage forces in markets establish the links between forward and spot rates and how to infer one set of rates from the other. The note deepens understanding of bond pricing, assuming that the reader is already familiar with the basics of present-value techniques. It is a useful springboard for topics (e.g., swaps) that require familiarity with spot and forward rates.
Electron capture gas chromatographic analysis of DDA: utilization of 2-chloroethanol derivative.

This paper reports the use of the 2-chloroethanol derivative in the electron capture gas chromatographic analysis of DDA. The efficiency of conversion of DDA to the 2-chloroethanol derivative was 91.5±1.0%. The utilization of a silica gel column for clean up prior to electron capture analysis is discussed and the elution pattern for the 2-chloroethanol derivative is given with a recovery of 97.3±0.4%. The 2-chloroethanol derivative is 3.7±0.1 times more responsive to electron capture detection than the methyl ester of DDA and produces a retention time which separates the DDA from other chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides which might interfere with the analysis.
Sediment Bed Dynamics Resulting from Hydraulic Forcing and Its Impacts on Biogeochemical Processes in a Lowland Fluvial System

Streambed sediments play a prominent role in sediment transport loads and stream biogeochemical cycling. This study focuses on assessing streambed dynamics as a result of hydrologic and hydraulic variability in a lowland agricultural watershed within the Bluegrass Region of Central Kentucky. The influence of hydrologic events and their resulting hydraulic forcing on sediment is explored with respect to bed depth using sediment transport modeling and validated using field measurements. Modeling of streambed and sediment transport processes was extended to stream biogeochemical cycles including a particulate organic carbon (POC) and nitrogen transformation subroutine. Results of the study show that the streambed experiences long term equilibrium with respect to depth due to steady bed erosion at low flow and net deposition during large storm events. With regards to benthic sediment bed processes, hydraulic forcing of the sediment bed was found to be at least as important a governing parameter of carbon and nitrogen transformations as more traditionally accepted environmental variables, i.e., water temperature and chemistry. This sediment transport contribution emphasizes the need for stronger coupling of hydraulics and sediment transport modeling with stream biogeochemistry modeling.
PERSISTENCE OF BRANCHINECTA PALUDOSA (ANOSTRACA) IN SOUTHERN WYOMING, WITH NOTES ON ZOOGEOGRAPHY

ABSTRACT The fairy shrimp Branchinecta paludosa is a persistent resident of aestival ponds at high elevation in the Medicine Bow Mountains of southern Wyoming. These populations are far removed from the Arctic tundra habitat that typifies the distribution of the species, and appear to represent the southern margin of the range in North America. All of the records for the northern United States and southern Canada appear to lie along the Central Flyway that is a major migration route for waterfowl and shorebirds that nest in the Arctic. Passive dispersal probably provides for frequent colonization of marginal habitats and gene flow to established populations.
Design, Effectiveness, and Performance Criteria of Dispenser Formulations of Trimedlure, an Attractant of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Controlled-release dispensers of trimedlure (TML), a synthetic attractant of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), were evaluated in seven aging tests in natural and released populations. Insect captures and laboratory-measured release rates and residual contents showed that the cotton wick dispensers, which were formerly used for 2 g liquid TML (density = 1.0 g/ml), were generally ineffective after 2-4 wk of field exposure; a 4-g dose of TML increased the longevity, but not the initial biological activity of the cotton wick. Two controlled-release formulations, a polymeric plug (70% by weight TML) and a plastic laminate, extended the effective lifetime of 2 g TML to about 8 wk. A polymeric plug with 4 g TML further extended the duration of effectiveness to 12 wk or longer. Laboratory and field data suggested definitive values for relative insect capture, release rate, and residual trimedlure content, which have been used as performance criteria in the purchase of trimedlure dispensers.
Absence of the Effect of Pretransplant Body Mass Index on Post Kidney Transplant Outcomes

Context:Obesity has been reported as risk factor for reduced posttransplant graft and patient survival and increased delayed graft function (DGF).Objective:The purpose of this work is to analyze the effect of body mass index (BMI) on defined transplant outcomes in patients transplanted under defined guidelines in a kidney transplant program.Design:Review of a prospectively collected database in renal transplant recipients receiving rabbit antithymocyte globulin induction, mycophenolate mofetil, tacrolimus, and early corticosteroid withdrawal between 2001 and 2011.Setting:This review was conducted in a single abdominal transplant program in the United States.Main Outcome Measures:Primary outcome was death-censored graft survival categorized by posttransplant body mass groups. Secondary outcomes included DGF as well as patient survival.Results:Four hundred sixty seven patients were identified. No difference was observed in graft survival or DGF between BMI groups. One-year, death-censored graft survival and...
Elk Foraging Site Selection on Foothill and Mountain Rangeland in Spring

ABSTRACT Previous research suggests facilitative grazing by cattle during the preceding summer-fall can enhance spring foraging habitat of Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni). However, previous studies were limited to 1 year or conducted within relatively small experimental pastures. We evaluated elk foraging site selection during spring across 4 years and 59 040 ha of foothill and mountain rangeland in northwestern Wyoming and west-central Montana. Elk in spring avoided foraging in nonforested portions of cattle-grazed pastures where cattle had not grazed during the previous summer — early fall. In contrast, elk selected foraging sites where cattle had grazed lightly (11 – 30% forage use) or moderately (31 –60% forage use), and selection by elk was stronger for moderately grazed sites. Neither moderate nor light cattle grazing intensity were correlated with any other elk habitat attribute that we sampled, and both moderate and light cattle grazing intensity exerted more influence on elk foraging ...
On the Establishment of a Ranking System for the University Potential

Over the past two decades,global university ranking has become a popular practice.While the ranking methodology has been under criticism,the current literature has overlooked the salient issue of remedying the theoretical problems of university ranking.The analysis presented in this paper shows that university ranking has been based on the resource-based theory,even though leading universities have already applied the dynamic capability theory.Further,the analysis suggests that the strategic development of universities is problematic while the dynamic capability theory is not helpful as it is derived from the Newtonian mode of thinking.This paper then suggests that we should apply the quantum theory,which forms a basis to propeluniversities of the future to strive to enhance co-development,co-creation,and co-growth in order for their future strategy and influence,and co-operate with each other to make contributions to mankind.Finally,this paper argues that there is the need to conduct a research project that will improve the current global university ranking practice and that will establish new standards and expectations to help universities tap their potential and meet the need for the future world development.
Monitoring of patients in intensive care units.

The impression grows that instrumentation for ICU’s has been oversold. Nonetheless, basic measurements of circulation, respiration, and metabolism that can be made by instruments are valuable, and a continuous recording, display, and analysis of these measurements is a proper objective.
Metabolism of an Alkylated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon 5-Methylchrysene in Human Hepatoma (HepG2) Cells

Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the food chain is the major human health hazard associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. C1-chrysenes are representative PAHs present in the crude oil and have been detected in contaminated sea food in amounts that exceed their permissible safety thresholds. We describe the metabolism of the most carcinogenic C1-chrysene regioisomer, 5-methylchrysene (5-MC), in human HepG2 cells. The structures of the metabolites were identified by HPLC-UV-fluorescence detection and LC-MS/MS. 5-MC-tetraol, a signature metabolite of the diol-epoxide pathway, was identified as reported previously. Novel O-monosulfonated-5-MC-catechol isomers and O-monomethyl-O-monosulfonated-5-MC-catechol were discovered, and evidence for their precursor ortho-quinones was obtained. The identities of O-monosulfonated-5-MC-1,2-catechol, O-monomethyl-O-monosulfonated-5-MC-1,2-catechol, and 5-MC-1,2-dione were validated by comparison to authentic synthesized standards. Dual metabolic activation of 5-MC involving the formation of bis-electrophiles, i.e., a mono-diol-epoxide and a mono-ortho-quinone within the same structure, bis-diol-epoxides, and bis-ortho-quinones is reported for the first time. Evidence was also obtained for minor metabolic conversion of 5-MC to form monohydroxylated-quinones and bis-phenols. The identification of 5-MC-tetraol, O-monosulfonated-5-MC-1,2-catechol, O-monomethyl-O-monosulfonated-5-MC-1,2-catechol, and 5-MC-1,2-dione supports metabolic activation of 5-MC by P450 and AKR isozymes followed by metabolic detoxification of the ortho-quinone through interception of redox cycling by COMT and SULT isozymes. The major metabolites, O-monosulfonated-catechols and tetraols, could be used as biomarkers of human exposure to 5-MC resulting from oil spills.
Application of Grossberg and Mingolla Neural Vision Model to Satellite Weather Imagery

Recent neural models of natural vision systems are defined in sufficiently concrete terms as to be immediately applicable to practical image processing tasks. In particular the Boundary Contour System and Feature Contour System human vision models developed by Grossberg and Mingolla, and Grossberg and Todorovicz are applied to satellite weather imagery to highlight significant features for the purpose of pattern recognition.
Aptamer-Based Proteomic Profiling Reveals Novel Candidate Biomarkers and Pathways in Cardiovascular Disease.

Background:Single-stranded DNA aptamers are oligonucleotides of ≈50 base pairs in length selected for their ability to bind proteins with high specificity and affinity. Emerging DNA aptamer-based t...
Placement and performance analysis of STATCOM and SVC for damping oscillation

Power system oscillation is one of the major problems in power system operation. If not damped, these oscillations can grow and decrease transmission capacity of the lines which may cause interruption in energy supply. Several methods for damping of these oscillations are reported in literature. Traditionally, these oscillations have been damped by power system stabilizers. Recently, FACTS devices such as static synchronous compensator (STATCOM), static var compensator (SVC) equipped with a power oscillation damper (POD) have been also efficiently used for damping oscillation. It should be noted that, the main objective of FACTS-controllers is to enhance voltage stability and increase power flow transfer capability the transmission network. This paper proposes application of the residue factor method to obtain the best location for STATCOM and SVC for damping oscillations. The residue factor used is related to the critical oscillatory modes. Also presented in this paper is a comparison of SVC and STATCOM for the enhancement of oscillations damping. IEEE 14-Bus test system was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. From the simulation results it is seen that STATCOM has more ability in damping oscillation when compared to SVC.
Parents induced- conditioned place preference and the neuronal expression of oxytocin and tyrosine hydroxylase in preweanling female pups.

Abstract Parents-offspring bonding is critical for development of offspring in mammals. While it is known that pups stimuli provide rewarding effects on their parents, few studies have assessed whether parental stimuli serve as a reinforcing agent to their pups, and what the neural mechanisms underlying this reward process may be. In addition to maternal care, male ICR mice display pairmate-dependent parental behavior. Using the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm, we examined the effects of maternal and paternal conditioning on the postnatal day 17–21 female ICR mice pups, and compared the expression of oxytocin (OT)- and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)- immunoreactive (IR) neurons. We found that the pups established dam- or sire- induced CPP when using mother conditioning (MC) or father conditioning (FC) alone. However, the pups failed to show any preference when using mother versus father conditioning (MFC). Compared to the control group, the MC and MFC groups displayed more OT-IR neurons in the supraoptic nucleus and more TH-IR neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). The FC group showed more TH-IR neurons in the VTA compared to the control group, but there were no significant differences in OT-IR neurons. These findings indicate that female ICR mice pups may establish mother- or father- induced CPP. The underpinnings of preference for parents are associated with the activity of VTA dopaminergic neurons, and the preference of pups for mother in particular appears to be associated with OT levels.
Bone Mineral Density and Vitamin D Levels in HIV Treatment-Naïve African American Individuals Randomized to Receive HIV Drug Regimens.

OBJECTIVES Treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate is associated with a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD). Treatment with efavirenz is associated with vitamin D deficiency. We compared the effects of efavirenz, emtricitabine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (EFV/FTC/TDF) with the effects of raltegravir, darunavir, and ritonavir (RAL/DRV/r) on BMD and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels in HIV-infected, antiretroviral treatment-naive African American subjects. METHODS This was a pilot study at a single HIV clinic. Forty HIV treatment-naive African American subjects were screened, 35 of whom were randomized to receive either EFV/FTC/TDF or RAL/DRV/r. All of the subjects received supplemental vitamin D3 and calcium. CD4 counts, HIV RNA, parathyroid hormone, osteocalcin, N-telopeptide, and 25(OH)D levels were obtained at baseline and at 8, 24, 36, and 48 weeks. Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry of the spine and hip was performed at baseline and at week 48. RESULTS Of the 35 subjects enrolled, 10 patients receiving each regimen completed the study. Median baseline 25(OH)D levels were decreased and similar in both groups. All of the patients had plasma HIV RNA <50 copies per milliliter by week 24. By week 48, there was a sustained increase in 25(OH)D in the RAL/DRV/r group (P = 0.0004) but not in the EFV/FTC/TDF group (P = 0.78). There were reductions in BMD of the mean total hip (P = 0.002) and the mean femoral neck (P = 0.004) in the EFV/FTC/TDF group but not in the RAL/DRV/r group. CONCLUSIONS Treatment of African American patients with HIV using EFV/FTC/TDF is associated with a reduction in BMD of the hip and sustained reductions of 25(OH)D not seen in the group that received RAL/DRV/r. This phenomenon may have long-term consequences on bone integrity in this population.
Effects of a Long-Term Physical Activity Program on Activity Patterns in Older Adults.

ABSTRACTPurposeTo examine the effect of a long-term structured physical activity (PA) intervention on accelerometer-derived metrics of activity pattern changes in mobility-impaired older adults.MethodsParticipants were randomized to either a PA or health education (HE) program. The PA intervention i
The Development of the Mother-Infant Mutualistic Screening Scale

BACKGROUND The integrity of a mother-infant dyad is essential for the proper development of maternal behavior and infant growth/ development. At present, there is a lack of objective approaches to monitor mother-infant behavioral exchanges. OBJECTIVES This is an exploratory prospective study designed to evaluate the Mother-Infant Mutualistic Screening Scale (MIMSS), a novel observational tool focused on monitoring the mutual/ reciprocal sensitivity and responsiveness that mother and infant express toward one another's behaviors/ actions during the obligatory setting of daily meal times. METHODS Mother-infant interactions were assessed from videotaped feeding sessions conducted under recurrent naturalistic observations. Data were collected from 27 mother-preterm infant singleton dyads at 6 and 12 month corrected age (CA). Four levels of MIMSS are defined: Level I - both mother and infant are not responsive (NR) to one another's actions; Level II - mother is not responsive (NR) to infant, but infant is responsive (R) to mother; Level III - mother is responsive (R) to infant, but infant is not responsive (NR) to mother; Level IV - both mother and infant are responsive (R) to one another. RESULTS Inter- and intra-rater reliability between two raters was 93% and ≥ 85%, respectively. At 6 and 12 month CA, 78% and 81% of the dyads were at a MIMSS Level IV, respectively. A change in mother-infant reciprocal behavioral responses or MIMSS levels was observed in 9 of the dyads between these two ages. No association was observed between MIMSS levels and infant growth/ development as monitored by percentile Weight, Length, and Weight by Length at both corrected ages. CONCLUSIONS The MIMSS is easy to use with high inter- and intra-rater reliabilities. With the ability to differentiate between mother and infant reciprocal behavioral responses toward one another's actions, MIMSS can help health professionals assess the quality of mother-infant interactions and identify the partner(s) who may benefit from individualized assistance. Although MIMSS uses mealtime as a recurrent setting, it offers a conceptual frame work for evaluating co-regulatory processes under different contexts.
Birth Cohort Differences in Sexual Identity Development Milestones Among HIV-Negative Gay and Bisexual Men in the United States.

The coming-out process for gay and bisexual men (GBM) involves crossing sexual identity development (SID) milestones: (1) self-awareness of sexual attraction to the same sex, (2) self-acceptance of an identity as gay or bisexual, (3) disclosure of this sexual identity to others, and (4) having sex with someone of the same sex. We examined trends in SID milestones by birth cohort in a 2015 U.S. national sample of GBM (n = 1,023). Birth cohort was independent of when men first felt sexually attracted to someone of the same sex (median age 11 to 12). However, with the exception of age of first same-sex attraction, older cohorts tended to pass other milestones at later ages than younger cohorts. Latent class analysis (LCA) of SID milestone patterns identified three subgroups. The majority (84%) began sexual identity development with same-sex attraction around the onset of puberty (i.e., around age 10) and progressed to self-identification, same-sex sexual activity, and coming out-in that order. The other two classes felt same-sex attraction during teen years (ages 12.5 to 18.0) but achieved the remaining SID milestones later in life. For 13% of men, this was during early adulthood; for 3% of men, this was in middle adulthood. Findings highlight the need to monitor ongoing generational differences in passing SID milestones.
Conserving carnivorous arthropods: an example from early-season cranberry (Ericaceae) flooding.

Biological control plays an important role in many integrated pest management programmes, but can be disrupted by other control strategies, including chemical and cultural controls. In commercial cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton; Ericaceae) production, a spring flood can replace an insecticide application, providing an opportunity to study the compatibility of the flood (a cultural control) with biological control. We suspect that chemical controls will tend to reduce the number of natural enemies, while the flood, through removal of detritus and detritivores, may cause generalist predators to prey-switch to consume proportionally more pest individuals. We measured the abundance of herbivores (Lepidoptera), detritivores, Arachnida, and parasitoids (Hymenoptera) every week for six weeks in Wisconsin (United States of America) cranberry beds following either an insecticide spray or a cultural control flood. We found that detritivore populations rapidly declined in both flood and spray treatments; conversely, carnivore populations (spiders and parasitoids) were more abundant in the flooded beds than in sprayed beds. Populations of key cranberry pests were similar between flooded and sprayed beds. Our results showed that early-season flooding preserved more natural enemies than an insecticide application. This increase in natural enemy abundance after the flood may allow for greater continuity in herbivore suppression, potentially providing a basis for long-term cranberry pest management.
Secure autonomous process communication

Communications is one of the major domains of cyber security. Private Key Infrastructure (PKI) has become the defacto standard for encrypting messages between two processes. Using PKI, an autonomous process can use the private key stored on the local machine to encrypt a message and send it to a remote machine. The remote machine can use the public key from the certificate to decrypt the message. A trusted third party Certificate Authority (CA) previously signed a certificate to allow the receiving party to trust that the sender is who they say they are. The same certificate can be used to sign the message to allow the recipient to trust that the message has not been altered. Unfortunately, certificates are issued to machine names, not process identifiers. In this paper, we utilize a secure data store that can validate who a process is to ensure that the certificate is coming from a trusted process.
Maxims to Help Understand the World: Simple Rules to Guide Learning About Geographic Complexity

Americans students' awareness of the world's complexity was suddenly sharpened on September 11, 2001. A large basic course on world regional geography was used to introduce students to ten maxims that encourage constructive learning about the many factors that help define a place's character. Student reactions to the maxims were largely positive. There were also indications that cross-disciplinary learning was enhanced.
Fundamental Principles of Neural Organization of Cognition

The manuscript advances a hypothesis that there are few fundamental principles of neural organization of cognition, which explain several wide areas of the cognitive functioning. We summarize the fundamental principles, experimental, theoretical, and modeling evidence for these principles, relate them to hypothetical neural mechanisms, and made a number of predictions. We consider cognitive functioning including concepts, emotions, drives-instincts, learning, “higher” cognitive functions of language, interaction of language and cognition, role of emotions in this interaction, the beautiful, sublime, and music. Among mechanisms of behavior we concentrate on internal actions in the brain, learning and decision making. A number of predictions are made, some of which have been previously formulated and experimentally confirmed, and a number of new predictions are made that can be experimentally tested. Is it possible to explain a significant part of workings of the mind from a few basic principles, similar to how Newton explained motions of planets? This manuscript summarizes a part of contemporary knowledge toward this goal.
Three-dimensional reconstruction of the coronary artery wall by image fusion of intravascular ultrasound and bi-plane angiography.

Background: Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is becoming increasingly accepted for assessing coronary anatomy. However, its utility in visualizing and quantifying coronary morphology has been limited by its 2D tomographic nature. This study presents a 3D reconstruction technique that accurately preserves 3D geometric information. Methods and Results: Images obtained from manual IVUS pullbacks and continuous bi-plane angiography were fused, using angiography to reconstruct the transducer trajectory and aid in solving for the correct rotational orientation. A novel 3D active surface method automatically identified the luminal and medial–adventitial borders which, when superimposed on the transducer trajectory, could be surface-rendered for visualization and morphometry. Segmentation agreed well with manual assessment, and 3D luminal shape matched that of angiography when projected to 2D. Conclusions: We conclude that this method provides an accurate reconstruction of the vessel's anatomy, which accounts for the true curvature of the vessel.
Cardiovascular Rehabilitation: Integration, Prevention, and Rehabilitation

This overview discusses past achievements and future trends in cardiovascular rehabilitation. The significance of preventive and integrated rehabilitation for coronary heart disease is stressed. Coronary heart disease risks among special populations and needs for modified cardiac rehabilitation are reviewed, with references to corresponding articles throughout the rest of the issue.
Advance Care Planning and Parent-Reported End-of-Life Outcomes in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults With Complex Chronic Conditions.

Objectives:For children, adolescents, and young adults with complex chronic conditions advance care planning may be a vital component of optimal care. Advance care planning outcomes research has previously focused on seriously ill adults and adolescents with cancer where it is correlated with high-q
Execution of provably secure assays on MEDA biochips to thwart attacks

Digital microfluidic biochips (DMFBs) have emerged as a promising platform for DNA sequencing, clinical chemistry, and point-of-care diagnostics. Recent research has shown that DMFBs are susceptible to various types of malicious attacks. Defenses proposed thus far only offer probabilistic guarantees of security due to the limitation of on-chip sensor resources. A micro-electrode-dot-array (MEDA) biochip is a next-generation DMFB that enables the sensing of on-chip droplet locations, which are captured in the form of a droplet-location map. We propose a security mechanism that validates assay execution by reconstructing the sequencing graph (i.e., the assay specification) from the droplet-location maps and comparing it against the golden sequencing graph. We prove that there is a unique (one-to-one) mapping from the set of droplet-location maps (over the duration of the assay) to the set of possible sequencing graphs. Any deviation in the droplet-location maps due to an attack is detected by this countermeasure because the resulting derived sequencing graph is not isomorphic to the original sequencing graph. We highlight the strength of the security mechanism by simulating attacks on real-life bioassays.
The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database: update 2017

The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD; http://ctdbase.org/) provides information about interactions between chemicals and gene products, and their relationships to diseases. Core CTD content (chemical-gene, chemical-disease and gene-disease interactions manually curated from the literature) are integrated with each other as well as with select external datasets to generate expanded networks and predict novel associations. Today, core CTD includes more than 30.5 million toxicogenomic connections relating chemicals/drugs, genes/proteins, diseases, taxa, Gene Ontology (GO) annotations, pathways, and gene interaction modules. In this update, we report a 33% increase in our core data content since 2015, describe our new exposure module (that harmonizes exposure science information with core toxicogenomic data) and introduce a novel dataset of GO-disease inferences (that identify common molecular underpinnings for seemingly unrelated pathologies). These advancements centralize and contextualize real-world chemical exposures with molecular pathways to help scientists generate testable hypotheses in an effort to understand the etiology and mechanisms underlying environmentally influenced diseases.
Abstracts From the Proceedings of the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Association for Surgical Education (ASE)

Eighteen of 72 submitted abstracts were selected for presentation at the 30th annual meeting of the Association for Surgical Education, held in San Antonio, Texas. Based on common themes, 9 abstrac...
The Role of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatments in Fibromyalgia: a Comprehensive Review

Fibromyalgia is a complex chronic pain syndrome that can have debilitating consequences for affected patients. When compared to the general population, patients with fibromyalgia experience lowered mechanical and thermal pain thresholds, altered temporal summation of painful stimuli, and higher than normal pain ratings for known noxious stimuli. There is no definitive cure for fibromyalgia and treatment primarily focuses on both symptom management and improving patient quality of life. This treatment strategy involves a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach consisting of lifestyle modifications, pharmacologic measures, and other complementary approaches including but not limited to acupuncture, yoga, tai chi, and meditation. This manuscript will discuss the diagnosis and treatment of fibromyalgia, as well as complementary and alternative therapies that should be considered by healthcare providers.
Severity and Area Score for Hidradenitis (SASH): a novel outcome measurement for hidradenitis suppurativa.

Background Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, inflammatory skin disease with a large impact on patients' health-related quality of life. However, reliable and consistent outcome measures to assess body surface area (BSA) of HS have not been established. Objectives To develop and assess the reliability and validity of a novel outcome instrument for assessment of HS BSA in a clinical trial setting. Methods Qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted from July to August 2015 and October 2017 to January 2018. Evaluation of the measurement was assessed during a single-day grading session with patients in April 2018. Participants, who included clinicians or patients, were recruited from academic medical centres in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region. Results Concept elicitation included input from 10 providers, of which 60% (n = 6) were female, 80% (n = 8) dermatology specialists and 20% (n = 2) gynaecology specialists. Cognitive debriefing was conducted with 11 providers, of which 82% (n = 9) were dermatologists and 18% (n = 2) gynaecologists. The evaluation stage included 10 clinicians and 23 patients. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for inter-rater reliability was 0·60 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0·44-0·74]. The ICC for intrarater reliability was 0·98 (95% CI 0·94-1·00). Transformation of the BSA score resulted in an increase in inter-rater reliability to 0·75 (95% CI 0·62-0·85) or 0·76 (95% CI 0·62-0·85). Scores all demonstrated concurrent validity, with statistically significant correlations with extant scoring methods. Conclusions This novel scale is a reliable and valid HS outcome instrument and may capture a wide range of patients by assessing BSA. Future research is necessary to demonstrate its responsiveness. What's already known about this topic? The major HS disease activity scales rely on lesions counts and have moderate-to-good reliability. Body surface area (BSA) is one of the physical signs included in the Core Outcome Set for HS, but is not a part of existing HS disease activity scales. What does this study add? A novel disease severity scale, the Severity and Area Score for Hidradenitis (SASH), was developed and the psychometric properties assessed. There was high inter-rater reliability of 0·75 and 0·76 when BSA was scored on an ordinal scale, and an excellent intrarater reliability of 0·98. The SASH score also demonstrated convergent validity with extant instruments. What are the clinical implications of this work? The ability of clinicians to accurately assess disease status will be improved. Implementation of the SASH score will help guide and assess the effectiveness of appropriate treatment choice.
Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill’s Traumatic/Erotic Map: Transubstantiating the Body of Ireland

While many critics of Ni Dhomhnaill have recognized that she stages Irish women’s subjectivity through cartographic metaphors, in Chapter 3 on the poet’s “Traumatic/Erotic Mapping” Mulligan argues that Ni Dhomhnaill also uses them to consider the positive potentiality of the historically abjected aspects of the feminine erotic. Mulligan demonstrates how geography can thereby both mark scenes of violence and create new spaces outside of traditional atlases of womanhood. The female speakers in Ni Dhomhnaill’s poems find jouissance/samhas by engaging with the difficult but fascinating history of women’s marginalization while simultaneously embracing embodiment, locatedness, and vernacular Catholic devotions as a means of surpassing it.
Resolving a mathematical inconsistency in the Ho and McKay adsorption equation

Abstract Ho and McKay’s pseudo-second order equation is widely used for fitting adsorption data, often outperforming Lagergren’s model. However, the Ho and McKay equation contains a mathematical inconsistency that predicts infinite adsorption for q > qe. This issue should be resolved. This problem is illustrated graphically using the mathematical concept of ‘flow along the line’. This analysis reveals that the problem with the Ho and McKay model is its half-stable fixed point. Other variants of the Ho and McKay equation similarly predict infinite adsorption for q > qe. In contrast, the Lagergren equation does not show this anomaly – it has a stable fixed point. An analysis of more than 250 papers in the scientific literature that cite the Ho and McKay equation confirms that real adsorption experiments do not follow the predictions of the Ho and McKay equation for q > qe; they do not show ‘runaway’ behavior. That is, the issue raised in this work is purely mathematical/theoretical; it is about following recommended practices for making precise models. A simple solution to the inconsistency in the Ho and McKay equation is to only define it for q ≤ qe. Other possible fixes for this equation are also discussed.
Quantification of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen: Is there a Role in HIV-Hepatitis B Virus Coinfection?

Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) level plays an important role in conjunction with other markers such as hepatitis B envelope antigen (HBeAg) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) deoxyribonucleic acid levels to predict disease activity in chronic Hepatitis B (CHB). Quantification of HBsAg is useful in differentiating carriers from active hepatitis in HBeAg negative patients, and current guidelines ecommend monitoring of pegylated interferon alpha treatment in CHB infection. However, there are only few studies about the role of quantitative HBsAg (qHBsAg) monitoring in HIV-HBV coinfected patients. Studies have shown that tenofovir based antiretroviral therapy regimen leads to a very slow decline in HBsAg levels and a predicted time of 10-42 years to lose the HBsAg, in majority of patients. Rapid drop in HBsAg levels and gain in CD4 within the 1st year of treatment and low baseline HBsAg level are associated with faster seroconversion. The reported rate of HBsAg loss in this population is less than 15%. In this review, we discuss tility of qHBsAg in monitoring disease activity and treatment in HIV-HBV coinfected population.
Accuracy of diagnosis and health service codes in identifying frailty in Medicare data

Capturing frailty within administrative claims data may help to identify high-risk patients and inform population health management strategies. Although it is common to ascertain frailty status utilizing claims-based surrogates (e.g. diagnosis and health service codes) selected according to clinical knowledge, the accuracy of this approach has not yet been examined. We evaluated the accuracy of claims-based surrogates against two clinical definitions of frailty. This cross-sectional study was conducted in a Health and Retirement Study subsample of 3097 participants, aged 65 years or older and with at least 12-months of continuous fee-for-service Medicare enrollment. We defined 18 previously utilized claims-based surrogates of frailty from Medicare data and evaluated each against clinical reference standards, ascertained from a direct examination: a deficit accumulation frailty index (FI) (range: 0–1) and frailty phenotype. We also compared the accuracy of the total count of 18 claims-based surrogates with that of a validated claims-based FI model, comprised of 93 claims-based variables. 19% of participants met clinical criteria for the clinical frailty phenotype. The mean clinical FI for our sample was 0.20 (standard deviation 0.13). Hospital Beds and associated supplies was the claims-based surrogate associated with the highest clinical FI (mean FI 0.49). Claims-based surrogates had low sensitivity ranging from 0.01 (cachexia, adult failure to thrive, anorexia) to 0.38 (malaise and fatigue) and high specificity ranging from 0.79 (malaise and fatigue) to 0.99 (cachexia, adult failure to thrive, anorexia) in discriminating the clinical frailty phenotype. Compared with a validated claims-based FI, the total count of claims-based surrogates demonstrated lower Spearman correlation with the clinical FI (0.41 [95% CI 0.38–0.44] versus 0.59 [95% CI, 0.56–0.61]) and poorer discrimination of the frailty phenotype (C-statistics 0.68 [95% CI, 0.66–0.70] versus 0.75 [95% CI, 0.73–0.77]). Claims-based surrogates, selected according to clinical knowledge, do not accurately capture frailty in Medicare claims data. A simple count of claims-based surrogates improves accuracy but remains inferior to a claims-based FI model.
Age-associated decline in septum neuronal activation during spatial learning in homing pigeons (Columba livia)

The relationship between hippocampal aging and spatial-cognitive decline in birds has recently been investigated. However, like its mammalian counterpart, the avian hippocampus does not work in isolation and its relationship to the septum is of particular interest. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of age on septum (medial and lateral) and associated nucleus of the diagonal band (NDB) neuronal activation (as indicated by c-Fos expression) during learning of a spatial, delayed non-match-to-sample task conducted in a modified radial arm maze. The results indicated significantly reduced septum, but not NDB, activation during spatial learning in older pigeons. We also preliminarily investigated the effect of age on the number of cholinergic septum and NDB neurons (as indicated by expression of choline acetyltransferase; ChAT). Although underpowered to reveal a statistical effect, the data suggest that older pigeons have substantially fewer ChAT-expressing cells in the septum compared to younger pigeons. The data support the hypothesis that reduced activation of the septum contributes to the age-related, spatial cognitive impairment in pigeons.