cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Airline Flight Schedules on Flight Delays

Airline flight delays have come under increased scrutiny lately in the popular press, with the Federal Aviation Administration data revealing that airline on-time performance was at its worst level in 13 years in 2007. Flight delays have been attributed to several causes such as weather conditions, airport congestion, airspace congestion, use of smaller aircraft by airlines, etc. In this paper, we examine the impact of the scheduled block time allocated for a flight, a factor controlled by airlines, on on-time arrival performance. We analyze empirical flight data published by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics to estimate the scheduled on-time arrival probability of each commercial domestic flight flown in the United States in 2007 by a major carrier. The structural estimation approach from econometrics is then used to impute the overage to underage cost ratio of the newsvendor model for each flight. Our results show that airlines systematically “underemphasize” flight delays, i.e., the flight delay costs implied by the newsvendor model are less than the implied costs of early arrivals for a large fraction of flights. Our results indicate that revenue drivers (e.g., average fare) and competitive measures (e.g., market share) have a significant impact on the scheduled on-time arrival probability. We also show that the scheduled on-time arrival probability is not positively affected by the total number of passengers on the aircraft rotation who could be affected by a flight delay, or the number of incoming and outgoing connecting passengers on a flight. Operational characteristics such as the hub and spoke network structure also have a significant impact on the scheduled on-time arrival probability. Finally, full-service airlines put a higher weight on the cost of late arrivals than do low-cost carriers, and flying on the lowest fare flight on a route results in a drop in the scheduled on-time arrival probability.
Oppression, emancipation, and volunteer tourism: Research Propositions

Abstract This paper develops research propositions for volunteer tourism using a combination of critical theory and social movement theory as a foundation. As is often the case with emerging areas of research, a theoretical foundation has been difficult to establish in volunteer tourism. The inherent contradictions of volunteer tourism, particularly concerning the interplay of oppression/emancipation, dependency/resistance and dominant hegemony/agency beg to be deconstructed with a critical theory lens. Social movement theory then in turn offers a tool through which researchers can look to break the hermeneutic circle by examining good practices in volunteer tourism, particularly concerning potential improvements for all stakeholders in self-efficacy, resource networks, and consciousness-raising experiences. The paper culminates with a proposition model based on these theoretical perspectives.
A neuro-chip with temporal learning: test results for signal/shape generation

We briefly describe a recently designed neural network with temporal learning. The developed learning rule extends the temporal learning to realize a forward instantaneous update scheme, suitable for complete analog hardware implementation. The single chip configuration is a two-dimensional scalable array with learning constructed via simple scalable CMOS building blocks. We report on extensive test results of learning prototype periodic temporal signals which may be displayed as a closed curve or a figure-8 shape in the state space. Several experimental tests demonstrating the instantaneous learning by the chip of these shapes are reported.
Tunable circular patch antennas

A method to control the resonant or operating frequencies of circular patch antennas has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. It consists of the placement of passive metallic or tuning posts at approximate locations within the input region of the antenna. Comparison of measured and analytical results seems to establish the validity of a theoretical model proposed to determine the input performance of such circular patch antennas.
Real Time FRET Based Detection of Mechanical Stress in Cytoskeletal and Extracellular Matrix Proteins

A molecular force sensing cassette (stFRET) was incorporated into actinin, filamin, and spectrin in vascular endothelial cells (BAECs) and into collagen-19 in Caenorhabditis elegans. To estimate the stress sensitivity of stFRET in solution, we used DNA springs. A 60-mer loop of single stranded DNA was covalently linked to the external cysteines of the donor and acceptor. When the complementary DNA was added it formed double stranded DNA with higher persistence length, stretching the linker and substantially reducing FRET efficiency. The probe stFRET detected constitutive stress in all cytoskeletal proteins tested, and in migrating cells the stress was greater at the leading edge than the trailing edge. The stress in actinin, filamin and spectrin could be reduced by releasing focal attachments from the substrate with trypsin. Inhibitors of actin polymerization produced a modest increase in stress on the three proteins suggesting they are mechanically in parallel. Local shear stress applied to the cell with a perfusion pipette showed gradients of stress leading from the site of perfusion. Transgenic C. elegans labeled in collagen-19 produced a behaviorally and anatomically normal animal with constitutive stress in the cuticle. Stretching the worm visibly stretched the probe in collagen showing that we can trace the distribution of mean tissue stress in specific molecules. stFRET is a general purpose dynamic sensor of mechanical stress that can be expressed intracellularly and extracellularly in isolated proteins, cells, tissues, organs and animals.
Shelves from bits [digital libraries]

Digital library is a broad term traditionally describing an online archive of documents. With the emergence of the Internet and Web, the concept of a digital library finally found its raison d'etre, and so today just about every academic institution and publisher on the planet is planning, or has implemented, some form of Web-based archive. The author looks at how the digital library concept today is useful not only to publishers but also for anyone wanting to create an online information archive.
Machine-learned contexts for linguistic operations in German sentence realization

We show that it is possible to learn the contexts for linguistic operations which map a semantic representation to a surface syntactic tree in sentence realization with high accuracy. We cast the problem of learning the contexts for the linguistic operations as classification tasks, and apply straightforward machine learning techniques, such as decision tree learning. The training data consist of linguistic features extracted from syntactic and semantic representations produced by a linguistic analysis system. The target features are extracted from links to surface syntax trees. Our evidence consists of four examples from the German sentence realization system code-named Amalgam: case assignment, assignment of verb position features, extraposition, and syntactic aggregation.
Tax Exporting and the Business Share of Sales Tax Levies

In 2010, state and local sales taxes on non-labor input purchases made by businesses constituted 42 percent of state and local sales tax revenue, on average. Taxing firms could enable state and local governments to export portions of their tax burdens. The average tax rates that subnational governments choose to levy on business purchases are potentially influenced by the exportability of those taxes as well as on the exportability of alternative taxes. If a state's capacity to export the burdens of alternative taxes is limited, then governments may rely more heavily on business sales taxes. This study examines the relationship between tax exporting and the average sales tax rate that state and local governments choose to levy on business purchases using state-level panel data from 2003 to 2010. I find that the average sales tax rate is largely determined by a state's ability to export taxes to national taxpayers through the deductibility provisions provided by the federal tax code. The offset provided to firms by the deductibility of state and local business taxes is positively related to the average sales tax rate on business purchases. The deductibility offset available to households that itemize places downward pressure on average sales tax rates. The results suggest that federal tax policies that increase the deductibility offset for firms or reduce the offset for itemizers could prompt subnational governments to increase sales tax levies on business purchases which would increase business tax deductions at the federal level and offset revenue gains from federal tax reform.
The Importance of Context in the Design of Collaborative Media

Collaborative media are the most rapidly expanding form of communication in the business and user domains. Channels such as blogs, social networks, and file sharing sites present exciting opportunities for satisfying consumers’ needs for information, entertainment, and commerce. The objective of this research was to determine the effects of interface design and context of use on performance and preference with the most common collaborative media channel, the web log. Design manipulations modified the amount of information presented on each page in two orthogonal ways to vary the amount of navigation required to access desired content. Contextual manipulations modified the subject domain of the content, the specificity of the tasks that users were assigned, and the time pressure placed on the user to browse the content. The effects of these manipulations were assessed by measuring the time users spent navigating the site and several measures of performance in an immediate recall test. All of the manipulations affected user performance in a variety of ways. Insights for the design of collaborative media are provided.
Multipathway kinase signatures of multipotent stromal cells are predictive for osteogenic differentiation: tissue-specific stem cells.

Bone marrow-derived multi-potent stromal cells (MSCs) offer great promise for regenerating tissue. While certain transcription factors have been identified in association with tendency toward particular MSC differentiation phenotypes, the regulatory network of key receptor-mediated signaling pathways activated by extracellular ligands that induce various differentiation responses remain poorly understood. Attempts to predict differentiation fate tendencies from individual pathways in isolation are problematic due to the complex pathway interactions inherent in signaling networks. Accordingly, we have undertaken a multi-variate systems approach integrating experimental measurement of multiple kinase pathway activities and osteogenic differentiation in MSCs, together with computational analysis to elucidate quantitative combinations of kinase signals predictive of cell behavior across diverse contexts. In particular, for culture on polymeric biomaterials surfaces presenting tethered epidermal growth factor (tEGF), type-I collagen, neither, or both, we have found that a partial least-squares regression model yields successful prediction of phenotypic behavior on the basis of two principal components comprising the weighted sums of 8 intracellular phosphoproteins: p-EGFR, p-Akt, p-ERK1/2, p-Hsp27, p-c-jun, p-GSK3α/β, p-p38, and p-STAT3. This combination provides strongest predictive capability for 21-day differentiated phenotype status when calculated from day-7 signal measurements (99%); day-4 (88%) and day-14 (89%) signal measurements are also significantly predictive, indicating a broad time-frame during MSC osteogenesis wherein multiple pathways and states of the kinase signaling network are quantitatively integrated to regulate gene expression, cell processes, and ultimately, cell fate.
HIV-Related Stigma Among Healthcare Providers in the Deep South.

Stigma towards people living with HIV (PLWH) in healthcare settings is a barrier to optimal treatment. However, our understanding of attitudes towards PLWH from healthcare providers’ perspective in the United States is limited and out-of-date. We assessed HIV-related stigma among healthcare staff in Alabama and Mississippi, using online questionnaires. Participants included 651 health workers (60 % White race; 83 % female). Multivariate regression suggests that several factors independently predict stigmatizing attitudes: Protestant compared to other religions (β = 0.129, p ≤ 0.05), White race compared to other races (β = 0.162, p ≤ 0.001), type of clinic (HIV/STI clinic: β = 0.112, p ≤ 0.01), availability of post-exposure prophylaxis (yes: β = −0.107, p ≤ 0.05), and perceptions of policy enforcement (policies not enforced: β = 0.058, p = p ≤ 0.05). These findings may assist providers wishing to improve the quality care for PLWH. Enforcement of policies prohibiting discrimination may be a useful strategy for reducing HIV-related stigma among healthcare workers.
Multiple resources, task-hemispheric integrity, and individual differences in time-sharing.

Forty subjects performed four information processing tasks. Three aspects of the data were examined: individual differences in time-sharing efficiency; task-related differences in timesharing efficiency; and interaction of processing codes and response hands. Results showed little concrete evidence for a general time-sharing ability; supported a multiple resource concept of attention; and favored a condition of “task-hemispheric integrity” in which the hemisphere of task processing (spatial or verbal) is the same one controlling the task responding hand (left vs. right). The implications of these results to operator performance in complex systems are discussed.
The effect of feedback within social media in tourism experiences

Recent research indicates that travellers are actively using social media in soliciting feedback from their friends and others before, during and after their trip. However, the impact of this feedback is not clear in terms of how the use of social media mediates the touristic experience. As such, the goal of this study is to identify how social media enable tourists to access their social networks and the mechanisms in which the use of social media shapes tourist's perceptions and emotions during their trip. Using a web-based experiment, this study confirmed that social media such as Facebook has the potential to significantly affect tourists' emotions and thus, improve the tourism experience.
Abstract 1286: FANCA binds to nucleic acids and stimulates endonuclease activity of FEN1.

Fanconi anemia is a rare autosomal recessive or X-linked genetic disease characterized by progressive bone marrow failure, various developmental anomalies, and cancer predisposition. Fanconi anemia complementation group A (FANCA) gene is one of the 15 disease-causing genes and has been found to be mutated in ∼60% of Fanconi anemia patients. Except for its constituent role in the ubiquitin ligase of the Fanconi anemia core complex, no other biochemical activity has been identified thus far. Using purified protein, we observed that human FANCA has intrinsic affinity to nucleic acids. FANCA binds to both single-stranded and double-stranded DNA; however, its affinity to single-stranded DNA is dramatically higher. FANCA also binds to RNA with an intriguingly higher affinity than its DNA counterpart. A patient-derived FANCA truncation mutant, Q772X, has diminished affinity to both DNA and RNA. On the contrary, the complementing C-terminal fragment of Q772X, C772-1455, retains the differentiated nucleic acids binding activity (RNA>ssDNA>dsDNA), indicating that the nucleic acids binding domain of FANCA is primarily located at its C-terminus. Using DNA and RNA ladders, we determined that the minimum numbers of nucleotides required for FANCA recognition are ∼30 for both DNA and RNA. By testing the affinity between FANCA and a variety of DNA structures, we found that a 5’ flap or tail on DNA facilitates its interaction with FANCA. In addition, we observed that FANCA greatly stimulates the endonuclease activity of flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1), which processes 5’ flap structures. Our study reported that purified human FANCA binds to nucleic acids with strong preference for single-stranded forms. Our finding suggests that FANCA FANCA may participate in maintenance of replication forks by regulating removal of Okazaki fragment during maturation of lagging strand replication. Citation Format: Liangyue Qian, Fenghua Yuan, Paola Rodriguez-Tello, Xinliang Zhao, Limin Song, Gennaro D9Urso, Chaitanya Jain, Yanbin Zhang. FANCA binds to nucleic acids and stimulates endonuclease activity of FEN1. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1286. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-1286
MORTALITY OUTCOMES FOR SURGICAL PULMONARY EMBOLECTOMY FOR HIGH-RISK PULMONARY EMBOLISM: A COMPREHENSIVE META-ANALYSIS

Untreated high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) is associated with a mortality rate as high as 60%. Surgical pulmonary embolectomy (SPE) is an efficacious treatment but outcomes data regarding this approach are limited. We sought to characterize mortality outcomes for patients with high-risk PE
Phospho-silicate glass gated 4H-SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor devices: Phosphorus concentration dependence

The correlation between phosphorus concentration in phospho-silicate glass (PSG) gate dielectrics and electrical properties of 4H-SiC MOS devices has been investigated. Varying P uptake in PSG is achieved by changing the POCl3 post-oxidation annealing temperature. The density of interface traps (Dit) at the PSG/4H-SiC interface decreases as the amount of interfacial P increases. Most significantly, the MOSFET channel mobility does not correlate with Dit for all samples, which is highly unusual for SiC MOSFETs. Further analysis reveals two types of field-effect mobility (μfe) behavior, depending on the annealing temperature. Annealing at 1000 °C improves the channel mobility most effectively, with a peak value ∼105 cm2 V−1 s−1, and results in a surface phonon scattering limited mobility at high oxide field. On the other hand, PSG annealed at other temperatures results in a surface roughness scattering limited mobility at similar field.
Shifting Paradigms in Music Education Research (1953–1978) A Theoretical and Quantitative Reassessment

The purpose of this study was to examine evidence of a hypothesized shift in the operative research paradigms in music education during the first quarter century of the publication of the Journal o...
Analysis of three-dimensional structure of AROM protein from Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Arom gene from Scleortinia sclerotiorum,encoding AROM protein,has been cloned and sequenced.According to the putative amino acid sequence,the teritiary structure of the domains,the functional sites and the possible assembled mode of AROM protein were discussed by the method of homology modeling and ab initio folding.The results showed that dehydroquinate synthase of Scleortinia sclerotiorum was further composed of a N-terminal α/β domain containing a Rossmann fold and a C-terminal α-helical domain;5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase was made up of two similar domains and each domain had different copies of α helices and β sheets;three β sheets constituted the N-terminus of shikimate kinase;dehydroquinate dehydratase was a(α2/β2)3 peptide,of which a pair of anti-parallel β-strands existed in the N-terminus and a loop in the C-terminus;shikimate dehydrogenase contained a α/β catalysis domain and a NADPH binding domain which had a Rossmann fold.
Exerting degree of pile-soil bearing capacity in composite foundation

To solve the problem of the forming conditions of composite foundation and discuss the exertion grade of foundation pile-soil bearing capacity,the change of composite foundation pile-soil resisting,pile-soil load and the curve of load-settlement are determined through the testing of laboratory mold.The test proves that because of high pile-soil modules,the pile-soil stress ratio changes in direct proportion accordingly,the bearing capacity of pile-soil acts lowly and the composite foundation can not be formed when high bearing capacity is treated by pile.Simultaneity,this essay analyzes the normal 4 composite foundation models.There are some conditions for forming the composite foundation.It isn’t regarded that if the piles and foundation are separated,the composite foundation must be formed and the composite foundation can not formed without cushion.The exertion grade of foundation pile-soil bearing capacity is main basis for assessing the composite foundation.It can provide the theory for selecting the calculation method for the composite foundation if the forming conditions are known adequately.
Characterizing College Science Assessments: The Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol.

Many calls to improve science education in college and university settings have focused on improving instructor pedagogy. Meanwhile, science education at the K-12 level is undergoing significant changes as a result of the emphasis on scientific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. This framework of “three-dimensional learning” is based on the literature about how people learn science and how we can help students put their knowledge to use. Recently, similar changes are underway in higher education by incorporating three-dimensional learning into college science courses. As these transformations move forward, it will become important to assess three-dimensional learning both to align assessments with the learning environment, and to assess the extent of the transformations. In this paper we introduce the Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3D-LAP), which is designed to characterize and support the development of assessment tasks in biology, chemistry, and physics that align with transformation efforts. We describe the development process used by our interdisciplinary team, discuss the validity and reliability of the protocol, and provide evidence that the protocol can distinguish between assessments that have the potential to elicit evidence of three-dimensional learning and those that do not.
Subfascial dextran 70* collection after intraperitoneal instillation of Hyskon *

Our patient developed a subfascial collection of dextran 70 after intraabdominal instillation of Hyskon. Seroma and wound dehiscence should be ruled out. A nonleaking peritoneal closure may decrease the incidence of this complication. A nonleaking fascial closure will decrease the extension of the dextran 70 collection and prevent separation of the skin.
MPC-based Delay-Aware Fountain codes for live video streaming

The explosive demand for live video streaming over wireless networks is constantly calling for innovations in both video coding and wireless communities. The state-of-the-art answer to this challenge are sliding-window-based Delay-Aware Fountain (DAF) codes, which combine the channel-adaptive feature in rateless coding and the delay-aware feature in video coding. However, a high computational cost is incurred during the per-window optimization of sampling pattern, making DAF codes impractical for live streaming. To solve this issue, we propose a novel online algorithm for DAF codes. By integrating the Model Predictive Control (MPC) technique into DAF codes, a finite length of horizon is imposed on the optimization algorithm. As a result, the complexity is lowered to an affordable level such that real-time video encoding is supported. Two schemes are developed in this paper: (i) DAF-M, the MPC-based DAF codes, and (ii) DAF-O, the online variant of DAF-M based on video bit rate prediction. The advantages of both designs are validated through comprehensive experiments. The results of simulation experiments show that the decoding ratio of DAF-M is close to the global optimum in DAF codes, and higher than the other existing schemes; DAF-O outperforms the state-of-the-art live streaming algorithms.
Optimal energy management for energy harvesting transmitters under battery usage constraint

This paper takes the impact of charging and discharging operations on battery degradation into consideration, and studies the optimal energy management policy for an energy harvesting communication system under a battery usage constraint. Specifically, in each time slot, we assume the harvested energy can be used to power the transmitter immediately without entering into the battery, or stored into the battery for now and retrieved later for transmission. Whenever the battery is charged or discharged, a cost will be incurred to account for its impact on battery degradation. We impose an long-term average cost constraint on the battery, which is translated to the average number of charge/discharge operations per unit time. The objective is to develop an online policy to maximize the long-term average throughput of the transmitter under energy causality constraint and the battery usage constraint. We first relax the energy causality constraint on the system, and impose an energy flow conservation constraint instead. We show that the optimal energy management policy has a double-threshold structure: if the amount of energy arrives in each time slot lies in between the two thresholds, it will be used immediately without involving the battery; otherwise, the battery will be charged or discharged accordingly to maintain a constant transmit power. We then modify the double-threshold policy slightly to accommodate the energy causality constraint, and analyze its long-term performance. We show that the system achieves the same long-term average performance, thus it is optimal.
Advancing the creative development process with systems thinking and a developmental model for designers

ABSTRACTThe traditional design process used within the automotive industry is typically accomplished with limited regard to the environment the vehicle will operate within. As a result there are many growing challenges relating to mobility that we now face. When systems thinking methodologies are integrated into the design process innovative and holistic concepts are developed, causing significant shifts in new products, processes, and services that are better suited for the environment. Systems thinking methodologies in combination with the Developmental Model for Designers enables the creation of solutions from a more informed perspective. As a result, we are discovering new and appropriate ways to develop products and systems that are holistic solutions for the challenges of today and the future.
The Transcriptional Network Governed by Interferon Regulatory Factor (IRF8) In Germinal Center B Cell Lymphomas.

Abstract 3638 The transcription factor IRF8, is highly expressed in germinal center (GC) centroblastic B cells and diffuse large B cell lymphomas (DLBCL). IRF8 is known to play roles in GC formation as well as in early B cell fate commitment, functioning both as a transcriptional activator and repressor; however, the transcriptional network regulated by IRF8 has not been elucidated yet. To identify direct targets of IRF8 on a genome-wide scale, we used ChIP-chip and expression profiling to study human and mouse lymphoma cell lines of GC origin – human Ly1, Odh1 and Val and mouse NFS201, NFS202, and NFS205. The IRF8-negative human multiple myeloma cell line, MMS1, and mouse plasmacytoma cell line, MPC11, were used as negative controls. For the human lines, 271 IRF8 target genes with common binding sites in all three cell lines, but not in negative cell line, were highly enriched for genes involved in innate immunity and adaptive immunity. Two well-established IRF8 target motifs- GAAANNGAAA and GGAANNGAAA - were significantly enriched in promoters of these genes compared to sequences 1kb upstream. Studies of the mouse lines identified 871 IRF8 targets with the lowest number found in NFS205. NFS205 expressed little PU.1, a common partner of IRF8 in DNA binding. PU.1 ChIP-chip analyses of the mouse lines allowed us to classify IRF8 targets into those that are PU.1-associated and PU.1-independent. Analyses of expression profiling of siIRF8-treated cells were used to identify transcriptionally active IRF8 targets. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) revealed significantly high enrichment of IRF8 ChIP targets as well as significant enrichment of genes involved in hematopoietic development. Finally 52 IRF8 targets common to human and mouse GC neoplasms were identified and characterized as contributing to antigen presentation, BCR and CD40 signaling, and interferon signaling, which can contribute differentially to the normal GC reaction and B cells transformation. These results define the contribution of IRF8 to the transcriptional network in GC B cells and provide new insights into the workings of the GC reaction in health and disease. This work was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
[Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever].

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), caused by infection with CCHF virus (CCHFV), is viral hemorrhagic fever with high case fatality rate. CCHFV is classified to Family Bunyaviridae, Genus Nairovirus. CCHF is endemic to Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, central Asia, and southern Asia. CCHFV is maintained in nature in several spe- cies of ticks (Hyalomma and Ixodes species) and mammals. Humans are infected with CCHFV by tick-bite or direct contact with viremic animals such as sheep. The CCHF-endemic re- gions are relatively economically disadvantaged areas, therefore CCHF is considered to be one of the neglected infectious diseases. The pathophysiology has not yet been clarified fully. It is necessary to clarify the pathophysiology of CCHF and to develop specific antiviral drug- based therapy and vaccines, which might be effective in confering protection against CCHFV infections in the near future, because CCHF outbreaks continue to occur in the endemic re- gions.
Smart Audio Sensing‐Based HVAC Monitoring

This chapter proposes a Smart Audio SEnsing‐based Maintenance (SASEM) system that has a single unifying intellectual focus, that is, enabling predictive maintenance of building equipment by autonomously monitoring and analyzing their acoustic emissions. Through SASEM, it aims to develop and mature the science of using acoustic signals for system assessment prognosis of centralized HVAC systems. Acoustic data of centralized HVAC systems is gathered in real time and processed for environmental decision making from four buildings ‐ the three are in the University of Florida (UFL) campus and the fourth is the Flexible Research Platform situated in Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) campus. The chapter also proposes novel hardware and middleware for audio data gathering using wireless acoustic sensor networks and cloud computing and effective machine learning‐based classifiers to identify acoustic characteristics of building equipment.
The effects of captive versus wild rearing environments on long bone articular surfaces in common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

The physical environments of captive and wild animals frequently differ in substrate types and compliance. As a result, there is an assumption that differences in rearing environments between captive and wild individuals produce differences in skeletal morphology. Here, this hypothesis is tested using a sample of 42 captive and wild common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Articular surface areas of the humerus, radius, ulna, femur, and tibia were calculated from linear breadth measurements, adjusted for size differences using Mosimann shape variables, and compared across sex and environmental groups using two-way ANOVA. Results indicate that the articular surfaces of the wrist and knee differ between captive and wild chimpanzees; captive individuals have significantly larger distal ulna and tibial plateau articular surfaces. In both captive and wild chimpanzees, males have significantly larger femoral condyles and distal radius surfaces than females. Finally, there is an interaction effect between sex and rearing in the articular surfaces of the femoral condyles and distal radius in which captive males have significantly larger surface areas than all other sex-rearing groups. These data suggest that long bone articular surfaces may be sensitive to differences experienced by captive and wild individuals, such as differences in diet, body mass, positional behaviors, and presumed loading environments. Importantly, these results only find differences due to rearing environment in some long bone articular surfaces. Thus, future work on skeletal morphology could cautiously incorporate data from captive individuals, but should first investigate potential intraspecific differences between captive and wild individuals.
Does session variability compensation in speaker recognition model intrinsic variation under mismatched conditions

Intersession variability (ISV) compensation in speaker recognition is well studied with respect to extrinsic variation, but little is known about its ability to model intrinsic variation. We find that ISV compensation is remarkably successful on a corpus of intrinsic variation that is highly controlled for channel (a dominant component of ISV). The results are particularly surprising because the ISV training data come from a different corpus than do speaker train and test data. We further find that relative improvements are (1) inversely related to uncompensated performance, (2) reduced more by vocal effort train/test mismatch than by speaking style mismatch, and (3) reduced additionally for mismatches in both style and level. Results demonstrate that intersession variability compensation does model intrinsic variation, and suggest that mismatched data may be more useful than previously expected for modeling certain types of withinspeaker variability in speech.
Redemption: Real-Time Protection Against Ransomware at End-Hosts

Ransomware is a form of extortion-based attack that locks the victim’s digital resources and requests money to release them. The recent resurgence of high-profile ransomware attacks, particularly in critical sectors such as the health care industry, has highlighted the pressing need for effective defenses. While users are always advised to have a reliable backup strategy, the growing number of paying victims in recent years suggests that an endpoint defense that is able to stop and recover from ransomware’s destructive behavior is needed.
Differentiating Hate: Threat and Opportunity as Drivers of Organization vs Action:

While research on hate mobilization tends to conflate organization and action, this article extends theoretical insights from opportunity and threat perspectives on social movements to differentiat...
Why Do Workers with Disabilities Earn Less? Occupational Job Requirements and Disability Discrimination

We analyse competing explanations for the lower pay of employees with disabilities, using 2008–2014 data from the American Community Survey matched to O*Net data on occupational job requirements. The results indicate that only part of the disability pay gap is due to productivity‐related job requirements. The remaining pay gap — experienced by employees whose impairments should not limit their productivity — reflects potential discrimination. The discrimination‐related pay gaps appear to be smallest and possibly non‐existent for women and men with hearing impairments, and largest for those with cognitive and mobility impairments. Overall the results indicate that discrimination is likely to remain an influence on the pay of many workers with disabilities.
Heat Transfer Issues in Cryogenic Catheters

Catheters with diameters of 3 mm or smaller are capable of accessing many internal organs through arteries and veins. They provide the medical community with tools to operate on internal organs without the need to cut through the body to gain access. As a result the use of catheters greatly speeds recovery times, reduces costs, and often reduces risks. The removal of unwanted tissue, such as cancer tumors or malfunctioning tissue can be carried out through cryoablation with cryogenic catheters. The effectiveness of these catheters depends very much on enhanced heat transfer at the very small tip. Issues to be discussed in this paper include the heat transfer at the boundaries between the working fluid and the catheter tip and between the tip and the tissue. Also of importance is the transient heat transfer within the surrounding tissue. In some cases a miniature heat exchanger between high and low pressure streams of a Joule-Thomson cycle may be required at the cold tip. Hydraulic diameters less than 100 m are required in such miniature heat exchangers to provide high effectiveness and high heat flux densities. Steep temperature gradients are required for the destruction of cancer tumors or other unwanted tissue without excessive damage to surrounding normal tissue. Such a requirement can be met by making the catheter tip as cold as possible. However, achieving lower temperatures with a Joule-Thomson cycle requires higher refrigerant flow rates because the heat of vaporization of lower temperature refrigerants is less than that of refrigerants with higher boiling points. The refrigerant flow rate is limited by the catheter diameter. Thus, there is some optimum temperature and associated refrigerant that provides the maximum temperature gradient in the tissue being destroyed. In this paper we examine the use of mixed refrigerants that can be tailored for any
Antibody therapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Monoclonal antibodies have made a significant impact on the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), and there has been a dramatic increase in clinical data regarding their use. The anti-CD20 antibody, rituximab, has shown substantial single-agent activity in both indolent and aggressive B-cell lymphomas. Rituximab is now standard therapy in relapsed indolent NHL, and it is the front-line treatment in combination with cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin/vincristine/prednisone chemotherapy for patients with large B-cell lymphoma. Combinations of rituximab with other cytotoxic agents or cytokines are currently being explored in a number of different studies, and some of these combinations show promise for the future. Other antibodies directed at different targets on lymphoma cells, such as epratuzumab, apolizumab, alemtuzumab, and galiximab, have also shown clinical activity in early trials. The radioconjugated anti-CD20 antibodies 90yttrium ibritumomab tiuxetan and 131iodine tositumomab also have significant clinical activity in low-grade B-cell NHL, and the former has demonstrated superior complete response rates when compared with rituximab. The challenge for the future will be to determine the place of each antibody in the treatment of NHL.
Measurements of cerebral blood flow and metabolism in severe head injury using the Kety-Schmidt technique.

Global cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured serially for up to 10 days after severe head injury, and related to outcome. Twenty-five of the patients had a reduced CBF, 47 had a normal CBF, and 30 had an elevated CBF. Patients with a reduced CBF had a poorer outcome than patients with a normal or elevated CBF. There were no differences in the type of injury, initial GCS, severity of intracranial hypertension in each CBF group. Systemic factors did not significantly contribute to the differences in CBF among the 3 groups.
An Overview of the Tissue Engineering Market in the United States from 2011 to 2018

This report seeks to provide an update of the tissue engineering industry from 2011 to 2018. Public tissue engineering companies with a presence in the United States were the focus of this report d...
The unprecedented loss of Florida's reef-building corals and the emergence of a novel coral-reef assemblage.

Over the last half century, climate change, coral disease, and other anthropogenic disturbances have restructured coral‐reef ecosystems on a global scale. The disproportionate loss of once‐dominant, reef‐building taxa has facilitated relative increases in the abundance of “weedy” or stress‐tolerant coral species. Although the recent transformation of coral‐reef assemblages is unprecedented on ecological timescales, determining whether modern coral reefs have truly reached a novel ecosystem state requires evaluating the dynamics of reef composition over much longer periods of time. Here, we provide a geologic perspective on the shifting composition of Florida's reefs by reconstructing the millennial‐scale spatial and temporal variability in reef assemblages using 59 Holocene reef cores collected throughout the Florida Keys Reef Tract (FKRT). We then compare the relative abundances of reef‐building species in the Holocene reef framework to data from contemporary reef surveys to determine how much Florida's modern reef assemblages have diverged from long‐term baselines. We show that the composition of Florida's reefs was, until recently, remarkably stable over the last 8000 yr. The same corals that have dominated shallow‐water reefs throughout the western Atlantic for hundreds of thousands of years, Acropora palmata, Orbicella spp., and other massive coral taxa, accounted for nearly 90% of Florida's Holocene reef framework. In contrast, the species that now have the highest relative abundances on the FKRT, primarily Porites astreoides and Siderastrea siderea, were rare in the reef framework, suggesting that recent shifts in species assemblages are unprecedented over millennial timescales. Although it may not be possible to return coral reefs to pre‐Anthropocene states, our results suggest that coral‐reef management focused on the conservation and restoration of the reef‐building species of the past, will optimize efforts to preserve coral reefs, and the valuable ecosystem services they provide into the future.
Complete atrioventricular block caused by pulmonary embolism: A case report and review of literature.

Abstract Introduction Acute electrocardiogram abnormalities are common in patients afflicted with pulmonary embolism (PE). Rarely, a patient with acute pulmonary embolism and electrocardiogram changes may have an underlying conduction abnormality that complicates their course. Case presentation We describe a patient with known history of left bundle branch block who presented with acute PE and developed a right bundle branch block, which devolved into complete third degree heart block without ventricular escape rhythm and led to concomitant hemodynamic compromise. Discussion Given the rarity of this clinical scenario, we call for clinicians to be aware of PE-associated conduction pathology as well as the possibility that malignant cardiac conduction blocks may occur in the setting of PE particularly if the patient is known to have underlying conduction system disease. We emphasize the importance of continuous telemetry monitoring in patients presenting with PE as these types of arrhythmic complications and hemodynamic decompensation has been observed.
Cass R. Sunstein Recommends “Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much” by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir

It is common to think that economics is the study of scarcity—in terms of goods and services. But economists have rarely studied cognitive scarcity, at least not in any sustained way. A moment’s reflection should be sufficient to show that human beings have limited mental bandwidth. That limitation has immense importance for our ability to focus and to act.
The current state of heart disease: statins, cholesterol, fat and sugar.

After decades of improvement in the outlook for cardiovascular disease (CVD), we are now seeing a plateau. Statins, once believed to be the most important advance in the fight against heart disease, have not mitigated the incidence or prevalence of CVD. Aim New research into lipid-lowering drugs is not only questioning their usefulness in primary care, but identifying them as harmful, resulting in the development of other diseases. When the original research is critically analyzed, the data do not reveal drugs that significantly reduce the incidence or prevalence for primary prevention of CVD in the United States. Methods The current article sheds light on our current beliefs into lipid-lowering to treat potential CVD. Through a discussion of the difference between relative risk reduction and absolute risk reduction, the author suggests lifestyle modifications have been and always will be the best way to fight against this deadly chronic disease. Results There is over 60 years-worth of scientific research that has been desperately trying to identify sugar as the culprit and driver of CVD disease; however, the medical system continues to fight against fat and cholesterol. This article makes the reader question what the US government, in association with the Medical Establishment (American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association and the American College of Cardiology) have been eschewing for the last 60-70 years as it has NOT been working. Conclusion The time for a culture-wide paradigm change has come. The author suggests this will only happen if Big Pharma and Big Food industries will change their marketing habits from 'purely taste' to 'best for your health'.
Platelet count increases after viral elimination in chronic HCV, independent of the presence or absence of cirrhosis

Platelet (PLT) count is included in non-invasive scores assessing liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease. Improvement in fibrosis scores after antiviral treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been interpreted as indicative of an improvement in fibrosis. HCV itself can lower PLT and, therefore, an increase in PLT would be expected after viral elimination irrespective of pretreatment fibrosis stage. The aim of this study was to investigate this hypothesis by assessing changes in PLT after viral elimination in patients with chronic HCV stratified by the absence or presence of cirrhosis. METHODS Retrospective analysis of patients with chronic HCV infection treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) who achieved viral elimination and in whom PLT were obtained prior to treatment, at first negative HCV-RNA, at treatment completion and at 6 months, and 1 year after treatment completion. Comparisons were made between patients with and without cirrhosis. RESULTS A total of 420 patients with chronic HCV were treated, of which 208 were excluded, leaving 212 patients eligible for analysis (142 without cirrhosis, 70 with cirrhosis). Overall, a significant increase in PLT was observed up to 1 year after antiviral treatment completion (P < .001). Changes in PLT between patients with and without cirrhosis were not significantly different at any of the time points. CONCLUSION Platelet count increased significantly in patients with HCV who achieved viral elimination irrespective of the absence or presence of cirrhosis. This suggests that changes in PLT post-viral elimination should not be interpreted as being reflective of changes in liver fibrosis or portal hypertension.