cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pulmonary complications of common variable immunodeficiency

Objectives To review pulmonary complications of common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) and summarize data available on the use of replacement antibody treatment to protect against lung changes. Data Sources Relevant articles regarding CVID and pulmonary disease identified from PubMed and reference lists of review articles. Study Selection Key articles were selected by the authors. Results Patients with CVID often develop acute sinopulmonary infections that can lead to chronic airway inflammation, which can produce substantial morbidity and mortality. Replacement immunoglobulin treatment significantly reduces the reoccurrence of lower airway infections, but the effect on the development of chronic lung damage is not yet clear. Screening examinations, such as pulmonary function testing and high-resolution computed tomography of the chest, can be used to evaluate pulmonary status. Patients with abnormal findings may benefit from more aggressive treatment, including larger doses of immune globulin and the use of prophylactic antibiotics. Conclusions Pulmonary complications present a significant comorbidity in CVID; monitoring may indicate which patients require more aggressive treatment.
Amino acids. XII. Preliminary nutritional and enzymatic studies of malonic acid analogs of natural alpha-amino acids.

Four types of simple experiments were carried out with the malonic acid analogs of leucine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan. Results are described.
Productivity improvement in clinical engineering: real or imaginary?

Clinical engineering services (CES) productivity at the beginning and end of a three year period is compared. The productivity measurement method is briefly described. Gains in productivity of 25% for equipment repairs and 45% for equipment inspections are documented. Management actions and methods for improving productivity are reviewed. >
Cellular Automata for Distributed Sensor Networks

Distributed Sensor Networks (DSNs) may be useful for detecting and tracking moving objects. Although such systems have important surveillance and homeland security applications, several technical problems exist. The cheap, low-powered sensors necessary for deployment over large areas may function poorly in low signal-to-noise environments. Although combining information from multiple sensors improves detection capabilities, long-range communication with a central computer may exhaust local power resources. We consider cellular automata rules that address these problems. By communicating locally, sensors can accurately track a moving object in a noisy environment. By communicating anonymously, they can use low-powered radio transmitters and receivers and avoid complex digital communication protocols. Our computer simulations show that DSNs can use cellular automata to greatly enhance the detection capabilities of individual sensors and reduce the amount of long-range communication by an order of magnitude.
A greedy algorithm for the two-level nested logit model

We consider the assortment optimization problem under the classical two-level nested logit model. We establish a necessary and sufficient condition for the optimal assortment and develop a simple and fast greedy algorithm that iteratively removes at most one product from each nest to compute an optimal solution.
Choosing Smads Smooth Muscle Origin–Specific Transforming Growth Factor-β Signaling

Fate maps in vertebrate embryos show that vascular smooth muscle is a mosaic tissue consisting of distinct segments, each with unique developmental origins and lineage histories.1 Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) exhibit origin-specific differences in growth control,2,3 responses to vasoactive stimuli,4 and activation of cytokine signaling pathways.5 In most cases, however, a molecular explanation of why this is so is lacking. In this issue of Circulation Research , Shiyou Chen and colleagues take an important step toward completing the missing information. In their article, the authors describe phenotypes of neural crest–specific Smad2 deletion and provide evidence for SMC origin–specific coupling of transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ)–mediated signaling to the transcriptional machinery for vascular SMC differentiation.6 Article, see p e76 Transcription of most genes whose products are commonly used as SMC markers requires a dimer of serum response factor bound to paired and phased CArG box elements located in 5′ promoter or intronic positions.7,8 However, serum response factor itself is neither SMC-specific nor a strong transcriptional activator, and several candidates have been proposed to confer these properties on CArG box regulation in SMCs.9 Of these candidates, most attention has focused on the myocardin family of transcriptional coactivators.10,11 Myocardin and the myocardin-related transcription factors (MRTF-A/megakaryoblastic leukemia [Mkl]1/Mal, MRTF-B/Mkl2) are SAF-A, acinus, PIAS (SAP) domain family members that physically associate with the conserved MCM1, agamous deficiens, serum response factor (MADS) box of serum response factor and strongly activate transcription from paired CArG elements in SMC-specific genes.10–12 Genetic analyses of the functional requirements for …
Fabrication of porous hydroxyapatite ceramics by microwave processing

Porous hydroxyapatite ceramics with porosity up to 73% have been fabricated by microwave processing at 1150 to 1200 °C for 1 to 5 min. Various porosities in these ceramics have been obtained by using starting materials with different morphology, adjusting green density, changing sintering time and temperature, as well as optionally mixing ammonium carbonate in the hydroxyapatite powder during the consolidation process. Porosity, microstructure, and diametral tensile strength of the porous hydroxyapatite ceramics have been studied.
Complex channel responses to changes in stream flow and sediment supply on the lower Duchesne River, Utah

Channel responses to flow depletions in the lower Duchesne River over the past 100 years have been highly complex and variable in space and time. In general, sand-bed reaches adjusted to all perturbations with bed-level changes, whereas the gravel-bed reaches adjusted primarily through width changes. Gravel-bed reaches aggraded only when gravel was supplied to the channel through local bank erosion and degraded only during extreme flood events. A 50% reduction in stream flow and an increase in fine sediment supply to the study area occurred in the first third of the 20th century. The gravel-bed reach responded primarily with channel narrowing, whereas bed aggradation and four large-scale avulsions occurred in the sand-bed reaches. These avulsions almost completely replaced a section of sinuous channel about 14 km long with a straighter section about 7 km long. The most upstream avulsion, located near a break in valley slope and the transition from a gravel bed upstream and a sand bed downstream, transformed a sinuous sand-bed reach into a braided gravelbed reach and eventually into a meandering gravel-bed reach over a 30-year period. Later, an increase in flood magnitudes and durations caused widening and secondary bed aggradation in the gravel-bed reaches, whereas the sand-bed reaches incised and narrowed. Water diversions since the 1950s have progressively eliminated moderate flood events, whereas larger floods have been less affected. The loss of frequent flooding has increased the duration and severity of drought periods during which riparian vegetation can establish along the channel margins. As a result, the channel has gradually narrowed throughout the study area since the late 1960s, despite the occasional occurrence of large floods. No tributaries enter the Duchesne River within the study area, so all reaches have experienced identical changes in stream flow and upstream sediment supply. D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Predictive business forecasting using queue simulation

Queues are not merely an object to study. Queues are real world problems faced by customers at a business station that kill their valuable time. This results in decreased customer interest and the progress trends towards a loss. This is particularly frightful with smaller investments, where a single loss may permanently eliminate the business. It is not enough to know how queue behaves, but we are also required to know how to eliminate queues or at least how to reduce them to a manageable size. It is possible to reduce the queuing delay by changing the service mechanism. This involves increasing the rate at which customers are being served. Queues grow when customers happen to arrive at a faster rate than they are being served. This type of service dependent queues may be eliminated or at least reduced by developing a demand responsive service strategy that reduces the service time variation. Practical business transactions are too complex to be studied analytically. Besides, analysis using the collective practical data is hugely expensive and prohibitively time consuming that may affect the investment incentives. In this paper, a queuing model to simulate a small commercial establishment has been proposed, and a C++ program, which is founded on the model, is implemented. Simulation data plots are presented and the data tables are analyzed to make predictive forecasting over the significant transaction factors. Mathematical analysis fundamental to the proposed model is also incorporated, so that the model may be extended to a multitude of other similar applications in future.
Decreased hydrodynamic resistance in the two-phase flow of blood through small vertical tubes at low flow rates.

The aggregation of red blood cells in blood flowing through small tubes at very low shear rates leads to the two-phase flow of an inner core of rouleaux surrounded by a cell-depleted peripheral layer. The formation of this layer is known to be accompanied by a decrease in hydrodynamic resistance to flow. To quantitate this effect, we measured the pressure gradient, flow rate, and the radius of the red blood cell core in suspensions flowing through tubes of 172-microns radius at mean linear flow rates (U) from 50 to 0.15 tube diameters.sec-1. Washed red blood cells were suspended in 1.5% buffered dextran 110 at hematocrits of 34-52%. Using syringe pumps, blood flowed from a stirred reservoir through a vertical 12-cm length of tube in either the upward or downward direction. The pressure drop was measured with transducers. Mean values in distributions in the core radius were obtained by analyzing cine films of flow taken through a microscope with flow in the upward direction, measuring the core radius at five equally spaced axial positions of the tube in each of 100 frames. At 34% and 46% hematocrit, the hydrodynamic resistance increased as U decreased from 50 sec-1, reaching a maximum at U-2 sec-1. It then decreased to a minimum at U less than 0.5 sec-1 as the red blood cell core formed in the tube, and the mean core radius/tube radius ratio decreased from 0.98 to 0.74 with marked axial fluctuations at the lower U. At higher hematocrits, both the increase and decrease in hydrodynamic resistance were greater. In a red blood cell albumin-saline suspension, where there is no aggregation of red blood cells and no two-phase flow, hydrodynamic resistance increases linearly with decreasing U. The experimental results were compared with the predictions of a two-phase steady-flow model, assuming axisymmetric flow of a core surrounded by cell-free suspending medium. Two models were considered, one in which the core is solid, the other in which the rheological properties of the suspension in the core are given by the Quemada equation. The effects of sedimentation of the core resulting in a zero net flow pressure gradient were taken into account. Provided that an experimentally extrapolated value for the zero pressure gradient was used, the Quemada-fluid model gave good agreement with the experimentally observed core radius as a function of U and hematocrit.
Equivalent-circuit interconnect modeling based on the fifth-order differential quadrature methods

This paper introduces an efficient and passive discrete modeling technique for estimating signal propagation delays through on-chip long interconnects that are represented as distributed RLC transmission lines. The proposed delay model is based on a less frequently used numerical approximation technique, called the differential quadrature method (DQM). The DQM can compute the partial derivative of a function at any arbitrary point located within a prespecified closed domain of the function by quickly estimating the weighted linear sum of values of the function at a relatively small set of well-chosen grid points within the domain. By using the fifth-order DQM, a new approximation framework is constructed in this paper for discretizing the distributed RLC interconnect and thereafter modeling its delay. Due to high efficiency of DQM approximation, the proposed framework requires only few grid points to achieve good accuracy. The presented equivalent-circuit model appears like the ones derived by the finite difference (FD) method. However, it has higher accuracy and less internal nodes than generated by the FD-based modeling. The fifth-order DQM modeling technique is shown to preserve passivity. It has linear forms that are compatible with the passive order-reduction algorithm for linear network. Numerical experiments show that the proposed modeling approach leads to high accuracy as well as high efficiency.
Use of the revised Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for Children

Posttraumatic growth (PTG; positive change resulting from the struggle with trauma) was examined among children impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The revised Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for Children (PTGI-C-R) assessed PTG at two time points, 12 (T1) and 22 months (T2) posthurricane. The PTGI-C-R demonstrated good reliability. Analyses focused on trauma-related variables in predicting PTG. Child-reported subjective responses to the hurricane and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) correlated with PTG at T1; however, in the regression, only PTSS significantly explained variance in PTG. At follow-up, T1 PTG was the only significant predictor of PTG. Findings suggest that the PTGI-C-R may assist efforts to understand children's responses posttrauma.
Managing the Lactating Body: The Breastfeeding Project in the Age of Anxiety

Public health campaigns aimed at increasing breastfeeding rates in the United States rest on the twin premises that the ‘breast is best’ and that breastfeeding is ‘natural’. This chapter draws on interviews with class-privileged American mothers to demonstrate that far from ‘natural’, breastfeeding decisions, practices and experiences are shaped by historical, cultural, political and social norms and customs. The chapter examines how this group of women makes decisions about infant feeding and their breastfeeding practices. I demonstrate that these women construct the lactating body as a carefully managed site and breastfeeding as a mothering project – a task to be researched, planned, implemented and assessed, supported by expert knowledge, professional advice and consumption. Viewed in this light, ‘the breast is best’ and ‘breastfeeding is natural’ are impoverished slogans that do not capture the extent to which both the science and the imagery of breastfeeding are shaped by normative assumptions and middle-class experiences. The chapter also diverges from the emphases on pleasure, embodied subjectivity, relationality and empowerment that characterise much of the recent breastfeeding literature across the humanities, arguing that these normative/political agendas do not reflect empirical realities.
Empirical exploration in undergraduate operating systems

The undergraduate operating systems course can provide students with a valuable introduction to empirical testing and experimentation. We have implemented a process scheduling simulator designed to develop student empirical skills while they are learning part of the standard operating systems curriculum. The simulator is written in Java and available for direct experimentation via the World Wide Web. By accessing the remote URL through an appletviewer, students can permanently save input test data and simulator results generated in HTML format. In one type of assignment, students are given a hypothesis about process scheduling and are asked to develop experiments to support or disprove the hypothesis. In a second type of assignment students are asked to develop their own hypotheses. Not only did these assignments enhance student understanding of process scheduling, but the techniques exposed students to empirical approaches to validation and testing.
Mitoxantrone, Etoposide, and Cyclosporine Therapy in Pediatric Patients With Recurrent or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia

PURPOSE: To determine the remission rate and toxicity of mitoxantrone, etoposide, and cyclosporine (MEC) therapy, multidrug resistance-1 (MDR1) status, and steady-state cyclosporine (CSA) levels in children with relapsed and/or refractory acute myeloid leukemia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: MEC therapy consisted of mitoxantrone 6 mg/m2/d for 5 days, etoposide 60 mg/m2/d for 5 days, and CSA 10 mg/kg for 2 hours followed by 30 mg/kg/d as a continuous infusion for 98 hours. Because of pharmacokinetic interactions, drug doses were decreased to 60% of those found to be effective without coadministration of CSA. MDR1 expression was evaluated by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, flow cytometry, and the ability of CSA at 2.5 μmol/L to increase intracellular accumulation of 3H-daunomycin in blasts from bone marrow specimens. RESULTS: The remission rate was 35% (n = 23 of 66). Overall, 35% of patients (n = 23) achieved complete remission (CR), 12% of patients (n = 8) achieved partial remission, and 9% of pa...
Estimating the Regional and National Economic Impact of Engineering-Focused Cooperative Research Centers

This chapter’s contribution to the edited volume presents the results of a pilot study in which David Roessner, Lynne Manrique, and Jongwon Park test the feasibility of estimating quantitatively the regional and economic impacts of NSF-supported Engineering Research Centers (ERC), one of the important and highly visible types of cooperative research centers that are the focus of this book. The empirical bases for the study were detailed case studies of the impacts of five ERCs. The authors found that the profile of regional and, especially, national economic impact estimates varied widely across the centers studied. Only some of these variations could be attributed to ERC characteristics; most were the result of variations in the amount and type of data that could be obtained from the centers involved and the companies with which they worked. Roessner and colleagues concluded that even the most conscientious and costly data collection efforts would be unlikely to yield comparable data across centers because the accessibility of key data, especially proprietary data, will differ unpredictably from center to center. Further, focusing on narrowly-conceived, quantifiable economic data alone should be avoided in these kinds of impact studies; that is, studies that seek to estimate the economic impact of university-based cooperative research centers with multiple objectives such as major advances in research; interdisciplinary, team-based educational experiences for students; and knowledge exchange with industry. Emphasis on quantifiable impacts will underestimate the range and value of the actual impact of ERC-like centers, masking the much broader and, based on our findings, larger and more significant impacts on the economy and society. For a complementary examination, see the more general treatment of evaluation challenges for large ­government-established cooperative research centers in the chapter contributed by Feller and colleagues.
Gatt—A Cohesive Influence in the Free World

FIVE years ago the future of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was at best uncertain. Last October, when GATT celebrated its 10th anniversary, it was clear to everyone that "the Cinderella of the international organizations"' had become a permanent member of the family. In the words of GATT's Executive Secretary, "today ... we ... see the GATT established firmly, as a great international institution enjoying widespread support."2 Few enterprises in the realm of international cooperation have traveled a rockier road than GATT. It was born in a period of postwar economic turmoil. It was intended at the time as a provisional makeshift, which many nations accepted only in the expectation that something better would soon take its place.3 For years its activities were obscured in the shadow of more dramatic international economic programs, such as the Marshall Plan, the work of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation and the "Point Four" technical assistance program. Because it dealt with the sensitive tariff problem, GATT was subject to continuing vigorous attack by protected industries in all of its member countries. The United States Congress, though not asking the President to remove Cinderella from the doorstep, nevertheless looked down its collective nose at her, saying in effect that she might not be repulsive but neither was she fair.4 Even GATT's name was felt by some to carry unfortunate connotations, which led well-meaning friends to suggest a rechristening.
The Land Grant College Obligation

BOUT 23,600 land grant college employees use $128 million in exA tension work and $113 million in research work to effectively discover and disseminate information. This is part of the land grant college system in the United States. The very fact that this system continues to receive regular appropriations is testimony to its unquestionable success. The extension service is the youngest of the three phases; teaching, research, and extension, in the land grant colleges. This organized network of county and state educators has a potential influence that has no equal in the world. Many foreign visitors have pointed to this system as the significant key to our agricultural productivity. Although the land grant system has a wide range of activities, its major efforts have been directed toward the adoption of new and improved technology. The success of this endeavor is obvious. In 1803 the productivity per farmer was enough for three consumers. Today's mechanized, scientific agriculturist produces for more than 20 people. For the first half century of the land grant college's life this single focus was correct. It might still be correct, but it is no longer sufficient! During that first half century incomes of consumers were low, income elasticities were high. With a small industrial product and a small labor force, the minimization of labor inputs in agriculture was necessary to allow for growth in the nonfarm economy. This general condition has not prevailed in the last few decades. The land grant college must re-examine its objectives because: (1) it is not benefiting farm income. (2) it is not encouraging agriculture's full contribution to economic growth. (3) it is permitting a distrust for new agricultural technology to develop that could endanger the land grant college's future and curtail economic growth.
Systematic correlation of environmental exposure and physiological and self-reported behaviour factors with leukocyte telomere length

Background: It is hypothesized that environmental exposures and behaviour influence telomere length, an indicator of cellular ageing. We systematically associated 461 indicators of environmental exposures, physiology and self-reported behaviour with telomere length in data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 1999–2002. Further, we tested whether factors identified in the NHANES participants are also correlated with gene expression of telomere length modifying genes. Methods: We correlated 461 environmental exposures, behaviours and clinical variables with telomere length, using survey-weighted linear regression, adjusting for sex, age, age squared, race/ethnicity, poverty level, education and born outside the USA, and estimated the false discovery rate to adjust for multiple hypotheses. We conducted a secondary analysis to investigate the correlation between identified environmental variables and gene expression levels of telomere-associated genes in publicly available gene expression samples. Results: After correlating 461 variables with telomere length, we found 22 variables significantly associated with telomere length after adjustment for multiple hypotheses. Of these varaibales, 14 were associated with longer telomeres, including biomarkers of polychlorinated biphenyls([PCBs; 0.1 to 0.2 standard deviation (SD) increase for 1 SD increase in PCB level, P < 0.002] and a form of vitamin A, retinyl stearate. Eight variables associated with shorter telomeres, including biomarkers of cadmium, C-reactive protein and lack of physical activity. We could not conclude that PCBs are correlated with gene expression of telomere-associated genes. Conclusions: Both environmental exposures and chronic disease-related risk factors may play a role in telomere length. Our secondary analysis found no evidence of association between PCBs/smoking and gene expression of telomere-associated genes. All correlations between exposures, behaviours and clinical factors and changes in telomere length will require further investigation regarding biological influence of exposure.
Kinetics of exchange between zero-, one-, and two-hydrogen-bonded states of methyl and ethyl acetate in methanol.

It has recently been shown that the ester carbonyl stretching vibration can be used as a sensitive probe of local electrostatic field in molecular systems. To further characterize this vibrational probe and extend its potential applications, we studied the kinetics of chemical exchange between differently hydrogen-bonded (H-bonded) ester carbonyl groups of methyl acetate (MA) and ethyl acetate (EA) in methanol. We found that, while both MA and EA can form zero, one, or two H-bonds with the solvent, the population of the 2hb state in MA is significantly smaller than that in EA. Using a combination of linear and nonlinear infrared measurements and numerical simulations, we further determined the rate constants for the exchange between these differently H-bonded states. We found that for MA the chemical exchange reaction between the two dominant states (i.e., 0hb and 1hb states) has a relaxation rate constant of 0.14 ps–1, whereas for EA the three-state chemical exchange reaction occurs in a predominantly se...
The Macondo Prospect

The Latin American novelist Gabriel Jose de la Concordia Garcia Marquezwon the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982 for his novels and short stories that often depicted a fictional village in Colombia called Macondo. This village portrayed a sense of magic and solitude. The town’s association with magical realism in the novels led some in Latin America to refer to the evolution from solitude to wealth, and back to solitude, or to absurd news events, as belonging to Macondo.
Design of Intelligence Decision-Making System for Ships

On the confrontment's background between the red's ships formation and the blue's ships formation at sea,based on MAS(Multi-Agent system),the construction and implementation of Intelligence Decision-Making System for supporting the command and guide of ships are studied in this paper.First,the fight unit is defined as fight agent,which runs as the applying agent in the MAS system supported by optimized models base,campaign knowledge and rules base and system database.Secondly,according to its framework and functions,this paper puts forward the fight agent's structure,function sorts and information flow among them.In the end,the run flow and form frame of the operation MAS are given.This gives new thoughts and methods for solving the problem of Intelligence Decision-Making System in Ships.
Family history of coronary heart disease and hemostatic variables in middle-aged adults

Individuals with a family history of coronary heart disease (CHD) may be predisposed to atherothrombosis. To investigate this hypothesis, a family CHD risk score was computed for approximately 13,000 men and women aged 45 to 64; hemostatic variables (fibrinogen, factor VIIc, factor VIIIc, von Willebrand factor, antithrombin III, protein C) were also measured in plasma. After adjustment for age and ethnicity, there was a statistically significant, positive association between the family risk score and four of the six hemostatic variables (fibrinogen, factor VIIc, factor VIIIc, von Willebrand factor) in women and all six hemostatic variables in men. In general, these associations were weak and substantially attenuated after adjustment for constitutional, lifestyle, and biochemical covariates. These results indicate that mean levels of selected hemostatic variables, like traditional CHD risk factors, are higher in individuals with a family history of heart disease.
Performance-Based Managerial Pay in the Federal Government: Does Agency Matter?

Do factors unique to particular agencies affect the design, implementation, and results of performance-based compensation systems? The research presented addresses this question, using the federal Performance Management and Recognition System (PMRS) as the focus of analysis. The findings show that agency does impact the design, implementation, and perceived outcomes of an expectancy-based compensation system. The research suggests that agency-based differences should be explored before implementing a pay-for-performance compensation system. Attention should be given to the adequacy of the organization's rewards for performance, the soundness of its performance appraisal device, the linkage between pay and performance, the geographic proximity or dispersion of employees included in award pools, and the level of trust in the agency. While the preceding listing is not exhaustive, it is a beginning toward determining the types of agencies that may be amenable to performance-based pay. This research takes on particular significance since recent federal legislation requires a feasibility study of extending a PMRS-like pay system to the entire federal workforce.
Identification of shark species by polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing of sarcoplasmic proteins

Isoelectric focusing of muscle proteins is a fast and highly reproducible technique that has been used to identify fish species. Applicatlon of isoelectric focusing of sarcoplasmic proteins is described for identification of shark species. Sarcoplasmic protein patterns from muscle tissue of single individuals from 26 shark species and multiple individuals from 2 of the 26 shark species are shown on 1 mm thick polyacrylamide gels. Eight of these species showed pattern polymorphisms in major and minor bands; however, no individual within a species displayed the same protein pattern as that in any other species. Protein banding patterns of each species were visually distinguishable, and patterns generated on the basis of defined parameters were analyzed by a computer to obtain isoelectric points of bands, to produce schematic representations of banding patterns, and to distinguish between species-specific patterns. Isoelectric focusing appears to be an excellent method for identifying sharks. Additionally, isoelectric focusing of muscle proteins is readily applicable as a forensic tool to identify the species of shark samples received as evidence for law enforcement actions supporting shark fishery management plans.
Disengaging from the ultrasocial economy: The challenge of directing evolutionary change

We appreciate the depth and breadth of comments we received. They reflect the interdisciplinary challenge of our inquiry and reassured us of its broad interest. We believe that our target article and the criticisms, elaborations, and extensions of the commentators can be an important contribution to establishing human ultrasociality as a new field of social science inquiry. A few of the commentators questioned our definition of ultrasociality, and we begin our response with an elaboration of that definition and a defense of our argument that human ultrasociality began with agriculture. We then respond to the second major area of controversy, namely, our use of group selection to explain the economic drivers behind the agricultural transition. We then focus on the issue of human intentionality raised by the phenomenon of collective intelligence. The intriguing question is to what extent can an entire culture change its own destiny? We then address the issue of the division of labor raised by a number of commentators. The complex division of labor was both a driver and a defining characteristic of ultrasociality, even though it was present in simpler forms in earlier societies. The remaining issues addressed include energy and complexity, expansion and sustainability, and the accelerating evolution of human ultrasociality. These were raised by only a few commentators, but their importance warrants further elaboration.
Understanding mathematical learning disabilities as developmental difference: a fine-grained analysis of one student’s partitioning strategies for fractions / Las discapacidades para el aprendizaje de las matemáticas como diferencia en el desarrollo: un análisis detallado de las estrategias de una estudiante al partir enteros para obtener fracciones

AbstractResearch has documented that children’s informal partitioning activity (i.e., splitting a whole into equal parts) serves as the foundation for the development of rational number understanding. Although developmental studies have suggested that partitioning skills are mastered by late childhood, it is unknown if this holds true for students with disabilities. Research has yet to document when and how students with disabilities develop these foundational skills. This study examined the partitioning activity of one adult student with a mathematical learning disability during one-on-one videotaped tutoring sessions. A fine-grained analysis revealed that although the student shifted from a less sophisticated strategy to a more sophisticated strategy over the course of the sessions, both strategies led to difficulties. Furthermore, the student’s partitioning strategies directly contributed to her difficulties understanding and representing fractions. This case study supports the notion that students’ pa...
Nitrate Therapy for Heart Failure: Benefits and Strategies to Overcome Tolerance

Combination therapy with hydralazine and nitrates can improve outcomes in patients with heart failure and low ejection fraction. However, this combination is underused in clinical practice for several reasons, including side effects related to hydralazine and polypharmacy. Some of the benefits seen with hydralazine, including afterload reduction and attenuation of nitrate tolerance, have also been observed with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Demonstrating similar clinical benefits with nitrates plus angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy alone, in the absence of hydralazine, may represent an opportunity to improve heart failure care by increasing the use of nitrates. In this paper, we summarize data that support studying such an approach.
Bridging the Gap Between Simulation and Reality

Transferring robotic control policies --- learned in simulation --- to physical robots is a promising alternative to learning directly on the physical system. Unfortunately, policies learned in simulation often fail in the real world due to the inevitable discrepancies between the real world and simulation. This thesis aims to bridge the gap between simulation and reality by developing methods for grounding simulation to reality and developing methods for assessing how well a policy learned in simulation will perform before it is executed in the real world. We discuss completed work towards a simulation-transfer method and methods of safe policy evaluation. We then present directions for future work in these areas.
PINCETTE: validating changes and upgrades in networked software

PINCETTE is a STREP project under the European Community's 7th Framework Programme [FP7/2007-2013]. The project focuses on detecting failures resulting from software changes, thus improving the reliability of networked software systems. The goal of the project is to produce technology for efficient and scalable verification of complex evolving networked software systems, based on integration of static and dynamic analysis and verification algorithms, and the accompanying methodology. The resulting technology will also provide quality metrics to measure the thoroughness of verification. The PINCETTE consortium is composed of the following partners: IBM Israel, University of Oxford, Universita della Svizzera Italiana (USI), Universita degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca (UniMiB), Technical Research Center of Finland (VTT), ABB, and Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI).
Narcissus the innovator? The relationship between grandiose narcissism, innovation, and adaptability

Abstract The current study tests a model in which adaptability mediates the relationship between grandiose narcissism and innovation. Little research has investigated grandiose narcissism as a predictor of innovation, particularly innovation in the workplace. We test our proposed model via two studies. Study 1 is a lab study in which undergraduate students performed an innovative marketing task based upon the Heuristic Ideation Technique. The participants self-reported the focal variables and blind raters scored the innovativeness of the participant's marketing ideas. In a second study, working adults self-reported grandiose narcissism and adaptability and supervisors provided ratings of each employee's innovation at work. The findings from the two studies provide support for our model suggesting that grandiose narcissism indirectly influences innovation through adaptability. We discuss the implications for theory and practice as well as opportunities for future research in this area.
Work-to-Rest Ratio

Multiple organizations created work-to-rest ratio (WRR) guidelines to maintain safety and prevent exertional heat illnesses (EHIs) during physical activity in hot ambient conditions. Athletes, military personnel, and occupational workers should choose appropriate WRRs based on current ambient conditions and exercise intensity. The goal of WRRs is to mitigate rise in core temperature during exercise by keeping exercise duration short, while increasing the frequency and duration of rest breaks to enhance heat dissipation. When implemented correctly, performance improvements should be seen while avoiding heat illnesses.
Epidurals in Pancreatic Resection Outcomes (E-PRO) study: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction Epidural analgesia provides an important synergistic method of pain control. In addition to reducing perioperative opioid consumption, the deliverance of analgesia into the epidural space, effectively creating a sympathetic blockade, has a multitude of additional potential benefits, from decreasing the incidence of postoperative delirium to reducing the development of persistent postsurgical pain (PPSP). Prior studies have also identified a correlation between the use of epidural analgesia and improved oncological outcomes and survival. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of epidural analgesia in pancreatic operations on immediate postoperative outcomes, the development of PPSP and oncological outcomes in a prospective, single-blind, randomised controlled trial. Methods The Epidurals in Pancreatic Resection Outcomes (E-PRO) study is a prospective, single-centre, randomised controlled trial. 150 patients undergoing either pancreaticoduodenectomy or distal pancreatectomy will be randomised to receive an epidural bupivacaine infusion following anaesthetic induction followed by continued epidural bupivacaine infusion postoperatively in addition to the institutional standardised pain regimen of hydromorphone patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), acetaminophen and ketorolac (intervention group) or no epidural infusion and only the standardised postoperative pain regimen (control group). The primary outcome was the postoperative opioid consumption, measured in morphine or morphine-equivalents. Secondary outcomes include patient-reported postoperative pain numerical rating scores, trend and relative ratios of serum inflammatory markers (interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumour necrosis factor-α, IL-10), occurrence of postoperative delirium, development of PPSP as determined by quantitative sensory testing, and disease-free and overall survival. Ethics and dissemination The E-PRO trial has been approved by the institutional review board. Recruitment began in May 2016 and will continue until the end of May 2018. Dissemination plans include presentations at scientific conferences and scientific publications. Trial registration number NCT02681796.
Oh Sputnik! How the Educationists Prospered from a Russian Satellite

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Sputnik 1, a 184-pound artificial satellite, orbited the earth. This was not wholly unexpected; watchers of the skies and the Soviets knew that the USSR and the United States had hoped to send such projectiles into space to mark the International Geophysical Year (IGY). The Soviets got there first with the “Artificial Fellow Traveler Around the Earth,” as Sputnik was clumsily translated.
The Pleasures of Excerpts: George Lamming, New World Quarterly , and the Novel

This essay examines an understudied moment in George Lamming’s career: his guest editorship of New World Quarterly’s Barbados independence issue in 1966. With a reputation for writing difficult, dense fiction, Lamming has faced criticism from both fellow authors and literary scholars for the incompatibility of esoteric literature with working-class Caribbean readers. But in the Barbados independence issue of New World Quarterly, Lamming includes excerpts from two of his novels, In the Castle of My Skin and Of Age and Innocence. I examine these excerpts, as well as the special Barbados issue more generally, alongside Lamming’s fiction to show how independence offered the writer an opportunity to refashion his project as a novelist. Given how the unit of the excerpt embraces accessibility and multiplicity, I argue that Lamming’s editorship of New World Quarterly illuminates an important way in which he sought to adapt his work for local readers on the occasion of independence.
A New Approach to Future Mars Missions Using Bioinspired Technology Innovations

Bioinspired technology breakthroughs of insect inspired navigation are enabling small aircraft that will allow exploration of Mars. The bioinspired technologies under development consist of a bioinspired navigation-control system, human vision inspired and birds of prey inspired search and track systems. Two classes of new missions for Mars exploration: 1) the long range exploration missions and 2) critical ephemeral phenomena observation missions can be enabled by incorporation of these bioinspired technology breakthroughs in such flyers. In this paper we describe our implementation of an image based guidance algorithms that can be used for imaging the descent and landing of mission payloads on Mars, thus potentially enabling a ”black box” capability as a unique risk mitigation tool for landed missions of all types. Further on, such capabilities could enable observation of a variety of other ephemeral phenomena such as tracking dust storms in real-time.
A Multimodal Approach for Predicting Changes in PTSD Symptom Severity

The rising prevalence of mental illnesses is increasing the demand for new digital tools to support mental wellbeing. Numerous collaborations spanning the fields of psychology, machine learning and health are building such tools. Machine-learning models that estimate effects of mental health interventions currently rely on either user self-reports or measurements of user physiology. In this paper, we present a multimodal approach that combines self-reports from questionnaires and skin conductance physiology in a web-based trauma-recovery regime. We evaluate our models on the EASE multimodal dataset and create PTSD symptom severity change estimators at both total and cluster-level. We demonstrate that modeling the PTSD symptom severity change at the total-level with self-reports can be statistically significantly improved by the combination of physiology and self-reports or just skin conductance measurements. Our experiments show that PTSD symptom cluster severity changes using our novel multimodal approach are significantly better modeled than using self-reports and skin conductance alone when extracting skin conductance features from triggers modules for avoidance, negative alterations in cognition & mood and alterations in arousal & reactivity symptoms, while it performs statistically similar for intrusion symptom.
Segmental Distribution of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Correlates with Microvascular Invasion in Liver Explants Undergoing Transplantation

Introduction. Microvascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients is a poor prognostic factor after liver transplantation and/or resection. Any correlation between MVI and segmental location of HCC has yet to be studied. Our aim is to evaluate the segmental location of HCC and any correlation with the presence of MVI, portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in explanted livers, and the recurrence of HCC after transplantation. Another objective of the study is to assess the treatment history (ablation or transarterial chemoembolization (TACE)) and size of the tumor with respect to the risk of MVI. Methods. A single center, retrospective chart review, including 98 HCC patients, aged 18 years and older who had liver transplantation in our institute between 2012 and 2017. We reviewed the radiological images of the HCC tumors, the pathological findings of the explanted livers, and the follow-up imaging after transplantation. Results. 98 patients with the diagnosis of HCC underwent liver transplantation between 2012 and 2017. The mean age of the cohort was 63 ± 8.2. Males represented 75% and Caucasian race represented 75% of the cohort. The most common etiology of cirrhosis was chronic hepatitis C virus infection followed by alcohol abuse and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with percentages of 50%, 23%, and 10%, respectively. Microvascular invasion was found in 16% of the patients while PVT and the recurrence of HCC were found in 17% and 6 % of the cohort, respectively. MVI was found in 10 single HCC and 6 multifocal HCC. Right lobe HCC had more MVI when compared to the left and multilobar HCC, with percentages of 11%, 2%, and 3%, respectively. Localization of HCC in segment 8 was associated with the highest percentage of MVI when compared to all other segments. The risk of MVI in segment 8 HCC was 3.5 times higher than the risk from the other segments (p=0.002) while no vascular invasion was found in segments 1, 3, and 5. The risk of vascular invasion in untreated HCC is 3 times the risk in treated HCC (P=0.03). Conclusion. Our data indicate that the risk of microvascular invasion is highest in tumors localized to segment 8. The size and number of HCC tumors were not associated with an increased risk of microvascular invasion.