cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Normalization of cDNA microarray data by using neural networks

In microarray experiments, there are a variety of systematic errors to affect the measured gene expression levels. Although a number of algorithms were proposed for the normalization of different types of cDNA microarray data, they have encountered many difficulties due to the complex nonlinear sources of systematic error. In this case, a nonlinear normalization method is of great potential to deal with this difficult problem. The paper first proposes a nonlinear method for the normalization, i.e. neural network normalization (N3) approach, of cDNA microarray experiments in the community of bioinformatics. By utilizing the instinctive nonlinear processing ability of neural networks, N3 is able to balance the complex nonlinear dependence between two different dyed channels in cDNA microarray experiments. In such a way, we can obtain much better normalization performance of cDNA microarray data than current existing approaches. Several experiments are conducted to illustrate the validation of our proposed methods in detail.
Spectral models for covariance matrices

SUMMARY A new model for the simultaneous eigenstructure of multiple covariance matrices is proposed. The model is much more flexible than existing models and subsumes most of them as special cases. A Fisher scoring algorithm for computing maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters under normality is given. Asymptotic distributions of the estimators are derived under normality as well as under arbitrary distributions having finite fourth-order cumulants. Special attention is given to elliptically contoured distributions. Likelihood ratio tests are described and sufficient conditions are given under which the test statistics are asymptotically distributed as chi-squared random variables. Procedures are derived for evaluating Bartlett corrections under normality. Some conjectures made by Flury (1988) are verified; others are refuted. A small simulation study of the adequacy of the Bartlett correction is described and the new procedures are illustrated on two datasets.
A theoretical basis for standing and traveling brain waves measured with human EEG with implications for an integrated consciousness

Objective We propose a theoretical framework for EEG and evoked potential studies based on the single postulate that these data are composed of a combination of waves (as this term is used in the physical sciences) and thalamocortical network activity.
Moving away from a hacker vs. disciplined-based organizational legacy-an organization theory perspective on software processes

Software firms, like producers in any industry, face a spectrum of product and process choices. Historically, however, this continuum has been anchored by two contrasting approaches to software development, and these paradigms continue to dominate literature and practice today: the hacker versus a more discipline-based approach. As application type software products have become larger and more complex, former practitioners of the hacker approach have had to impose more discipline and structure on their development process. Likewise, discipline-based firms are having to learn to work more flexibly in the face of increasingly volatile competition and reduced cycle times. This paper addresses the managerial challenges presented by these converging models. Can firms overcome their legacy as either a hacker or disciplinarian without sacrificing the advantages associated with their old approach?.
The protective effect of brachial plexus palsy in purpura fulminans

Acute infectious purpura fulminans is reported in a 16-month-old male with a history of posttraumatic asplenia and complete left brachial plexus palsy. This patient developed peripheral necrosis of both lower extremities and the right upper extremity, whereas the left upper extremity was completely spared from ischemia and tissue damage. Amputation of four digits on the right hand and debridement of both lower extremities were required. This patient demonstrated the protective effect of a traumatic sympathectomy, which suggests the requirement of an intact sympathetic reflex in the development of purpura fulminans.
In vivo structural imaging of the rat brain with a 3-T clinical human scanner.

Purpose To examine the feasibility of using product acquisition software on a 3-T human MRI system to acquire high-resolution structural brain images in the rat. Materials and Methods Three sets of dual spin-echo, high-resolution (0.234 × 0.234 mm in-plane, 0.5 mm thick) images covering the entire rat brain were collected and averaged in 66 min. The images had sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and resolution for visual identification and manual outlining of exemplary structures, including the lateral ventricles and dorsal and ventral portions of the hippocampus. Further, the data were adequate for unsupervised, automated segmentation, permitting quantification of the dorsolateral ventricles. The images compared favorably with those collected on a 7-T system. Results Interrater reliabilities (intraclass correlations) of manual ventricular scoring were greater than 0.97, and manual vs. automated correlations were 0.97. The variability of lateral ventricular size across animals was substantially higher than that of the hippocampus. Conclusion The large variability of some brain structures that can exist across even a highly selected strain of rats can readily be detected with the use of human 3-T systems for the study of small animals. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2004;20:779–785. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
DISCOUNTED STOCKS AND EXCESS ANALYST COVERAGE

In this paper we examine whether the negative excess value of stocks (stock discounts in the Berger and Ofek (1995) spirit) is associated with low excess analyst coverage over the 1979-1997 period. We define excess analyst coverage as the difference between a firm's actual analyst following and its imputed coverage. We hypothesize that firms with high excess (low) analyst coverage are exposed to less (more) information asymmetry between managers and investors, managerial misconduct and uncertainty about future earnings than do other firms. Therefore, stocks with low excess analyst coverage profile are expected to trade at low prices as they would be more difficult for investors to value. Our findings provide evidence in support of the view that excess analyst coverage explains a significant portion of stocks discount, indicating that higher (lower) excess analyst coverage leads to more (less) informative stock prices and offers an information-based explanation on why stocks trade at a premium (discount). Our empirical results are also consistent with the notion that stocks of firms with high managerial power (i.e., low investor rights/weak corporate governance) trade at a discount. Finally, our analysis indicates that the information inherent in the dispersion of analyst forecasts, a surrogate for investor uncertainty, plays an important role in the determination of asset prices.
Breastfeeding and obesity: a meta-analysis

Over the last decade, obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions in the United States of America. Comorbidities associated with overweight and obesity include, but are not limited to, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and elevated cholesterol levels. As a direct result of obesity, data indicates that these diseases are now being detected in an unprecedented number of American children, adolescents, and adults. Although the major cause of the obesity epidemic in America has thus far been attributed to excessive caloric intake and lack of physical activity, this paper will explore the pivotal role that breastfeeding plays in the prevention of overweight and obesity throughout the life course. Epidemiological data demonstrates that breastfeeding significantly reduces the incidence of overweight and obesity and that exclusive and long term breastfeeding has been strongly correlated with a reduction in LDL cholesterol, blood pressure related disorders, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular dysfunction. While it is certain that diet and exer cise are integral factors associated with overweight and obesity, the time has come for a collective recognition of the protective effects associated with breastfeeding if we are serious in our endeavor to eradicate the overweight and obesity epidemic in America.
N-cadherin mediated cell contact inhibits germinal vesicle breakdown in mouse oocytes maintained in vitro

The effect of granulosa cell contact on the ability of zona-free oocytes to undergo germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) was assessed using a granulosa cell co-culture system. Oocytes contacted granulosa cells in a site-specific manner such that their GV was away from the granulosa cells. Also contact with granulosa cells reduced the percentage of oocytes undergoing GVBD from about 40% to 15%. GVBD was inhibited by contact with granulosa cells but not a granulosa cell-secreted product, since oocytes cultured in the same culture, that were adjacent to the granulosa cell monolayer underwent GVBD at the same rate as controls. Similarly, media collected from granulosa cell cultures did not attenuate the rate of GVBD. The ability of granulosa cell contact to inhibit GVBD was equal to that of db-cAMP. Moreover, the ability of granulosa cells to inhibit GVBD was not mimicked by spontaneously immortalized granulosa cells. This cell specificity appeared to be related to N-cadherin, since granulosa cells and oocytes express N-cadherin and a N-cadherin antibody attenuates the effect of granulosa cell contact. The mechanism through which N-cadherin mediated cell contact maintains meiotic arrest is unknown. It is possible that homophilic N-cadherin binding between the granulosa cells and oocyte acts through a junxtacrine mechanism, which in part may lead in the activation fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors that are expressed by the oocyte. The involvement of FGF receptors is supported by the observations that FGF and a N-cadherin peptide known to activate FGF receptors inhibit GVBD.
On-Demand Language Model Interpolation for Mobile Speech Input

Google offers several speech features on the Android mobile operating system: search by voice, voice input to any text field, and an API for application developers. As a result, our speech recognition service must support a wide range of usage scenarios and speaking styles: relatively short search queries, addresses, business names, dictated SMS and e-mail messages, and a long tail of spoken input to any of the applications users may install. We present a method of on-demand language model interpolation in which contextual information about each utterance determines interpolation weights among a number of n-gram language models. On-demand interpolation results in an 11.2% relative reduction in WER compared to using a single language model to handle all traffic. Index Terms: language modeling, interpolation, mobile
Intestinal Dipeptide Absorption Is Preserved During Thermal Injury and Cytokine Treatment

Background: Intestinal barrier function is impaired during thermal injury; however, the effects of thermal injury on the absorption of dietary peptides are not well characterized. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of thermal injury on dipeptide absorption in rats and to describe the influence of inflammatory cytokines on the expression of the oligopeptide transporter PEPT1 and dipeptide permeability in cultured intestinal cells (Caco-2 cells). Methods: Sprague Dawley rats were assigned to 30% body surface area burn (n = 7) or sham (n = 8) groups. Twenty-four hours following burn/sham, the proximal jejunum was cannulated. The jejunal segment was perfused with buffer containing the dipeptide glycylsarcosine (Gly-Sar), and intestinal permeability (Peff) was calculated. For in vitro experiments, Caco-2 cells were grown on permeable supports and treated with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10 (10 ng/mL) alone and in combination for 48 hours. The effective apical-to...
Acoustic Factor Analysis for Robust Speaker Verification

Factor analysis based channel mismatch compensation methods for speaker recognition are based on the assumption that speaker/utterance dependent Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) mean super-vectors can be constrained to reside in a lower dimensional subspace. This approach does not consider the fact that conventional acoustic feature vectors also reside in a lower dimensional manifold of the feature space, when feature covariance matrices contain close to zero eigenvalues. In this study, based on observations of the covariance structure of acoustic features, we propose a factor analysis modeling scheme in the acoustic feature space instead of the super-vector space and derive a mixture dependent feature transformation. We demonstrate how this single linear transformation performs feature dimensionality reduction, de-correlation, normalization and enhancement, at once. The proposed transformation is shown to be closely related to signal subspace based speech enhancement schemes. In contrast to traditional front-end mixture dependent feature transformations, where feature alignment is performed using the highest scoring mixture, the proposed transformation is integrated within the speaker recognition system using a probabilistic feature alignment technique, which nullifies the need for regenerating the features/retraining the Universal Background Model (UBM). Incorporating the proposed method with a state-of-the-art i-vector and Gaussian Probabilistic Linear Discriminant Analysis (PLDA) framework, we perform evaluations on National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) Speaker Recognition Evaluation (SRE) 2010 core telephone and microphone tasks. The experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed scheme compared to both full-covariance and diagonal covariance UBM based systems. Simple equal-weight fusion of baseline and proposed systems also yield significant performance gains.
Synthesis of acetylene‐19C2

The preparation of acetylene-13C2 from calcium and amorphous carbon-13 by way of the intermediate calcium carbide-13C2 is described.
Preparations for Clinical Trials at the MIT Reactor and the New England Medical Center

The NEMC/MIT group is planning to initiate Phase I clinical trials of BNCT for deep-seated melanoma on the extremities. These trials will be carried out using the epithermal neutron beam at the 5 MW MIT Research Reactor (MITR-II). This paper outlines some of the preparations for these trials.
Precarious Rock and Overturned Transformer Evidence for Ground Shaking in the Ms 7.7 Kern County Earthquake: An Analog for Disastrous Shaking from a Major Thrust Fault in the Los Angeles Basin

Precariously balanced rocks and overturned transformers in the vicinity of the White Wolf fault provide constraints on ground motion during the 1952 M s 7.7 Kern County earthquake, a possible analog for an anticipated large earthquake in the Los Angeles basin (Shaw et al. , 2002; Dolan et al. , 2003). On the northeast part of the fault preliminary estimates of ground motion on the footwall give peak accelerations considerably lower than predicted by standard regression curves. On the other hand, on the hanging-wall, there is evidence of intense ground shattering and lack of precarious rocks, consistent with the intense hanging-wall accelerations suggested by foam-rubber modeling, numerical modeling, and observations from previous thrust fault earthquakes. There is clear evidence of the effects of rupture directivity in ground motions on the hanging-wall side of the fault (from both precarious rocks and numerical simulations). On the southwest part of the fault, which is covered by sediments, the thrust fault did not reach the surface (“blind” thrust). Overturned and damaged transformers indicate significant transfer of energy from the hanging wall to the footwall, an effect that may not be as effective when the rupture reaches the surface (is not “blind”). Transformers near the up-dip projection of the fault tip have been damaged or overturned on both the hanging-wall and footwall sides of the fault. The transfer of energy is confirmed in a numerical lattice model and could play an important role in a similar situation in Los Angeles. We suggest that the results of this study can provide important information for estimating the effects of a large thrust fault rupture in the Los Angeles basin, specially given the fact that there is so little instrumental data from large thrust fault earthquakes.
A multiscale scheme for modeling catalytic flow reactors

A multiscale modeling approach was developed to capture concentration variations in the fluid in two dimensions for catalytic flow reactors. The methodology couples continuum descriptions of the fluid phase and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of the catalyst domain. A number of catalytic domains, placed as patches along the length of the reactor, were solved using kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) and linked with a finite difference (FD) solver for the fluid phase. Patch dynamics concepts, such as lifting, restriction and interpolation, were employed to provide the complete set of boundary conditions to the continuum solver. A simple kinetic mechanism involving adsorption, desorption and a single-step surface reaction was used to validate the approach by comparing the solution obtained using the multiscale scheme with a model solved using a wholly implicit solution. Solutions from a mean-field model and the multiscale scheme for a system in which surface diffusion was low were then contrasted. © 2006 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2006
Problem-solving training via videoconferencing for family caregivers of persons with spinal cord injuries: a randomized controlled trial.

Abstract Objective To examine the effectiveness of an individualized problem-solving intervention delivered in videoconferencing sessions with family caregivers of persons living with a spinal cord injury (SCI) and possible contagion effects on care recipients. Design Family caregivers were randomly assigned to an education-only control group or an intervention group in which participants received problem-solving training (PST) in monthly videoconference session for a year. Participants Sixty-one caregivers (54 women, 7 men) and their care recipients (40 men, 21 women) consented to participate. Main outcome measures The Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised was administered to caregivers. Caregivers and care recipients completed the Inventory to Diagnose Depression, the SF-36 and the Satisfaction with Life scale at pre-treatment, 6 months and 12 months. Results Twenty-eight caregivers discontinued the study and their follow-up data were unavailable at the final assessment. Older caregivers were more likely than younger caregivers to remain in the study. Intent-to-treat analyses projected a significant decrease in depression among caregivers receiving PST; efficacy analyses indicated this effect was pronounced at the 6th month assessment. ITT analyses and efficacy analyses revealed that care recipients of caregivers receiving PST reported gains in social functioning over time. Conclusions Community-based, telehealth interventions may benefit family caregivers and their care recipients, but the mechanisms of these effects are unclear. Attrition and sample issues should be considered in future studies with these populations.
Hedge Funds’ Systemic Risk Disclosures in Bankruptcy

Hedge fund advisers’ systemic risk disclosure obligations under Title IV of the Dodd-Frank Act and SEC implementation rules may have unanticipated future applications and knock-on effects on other areas of the law and hedge fund practices. Federal Bankruptcy Rule 2019 (Rule 2019) has been the subject of intense professional and scholarly debate in the last several years. The federal bankruptcy bench, practitioners, and academics have debated the importance of the purported purpose of Rule 2019, the necessity for hedge funds to protect trading strategies and proprietary information, and the role of creditors and groups of creditors in the bankruptcy process. This paper adds another element to the debate by evaluating possible implications of systemic risk disclosures by hedge fund managers under Title IV of the Dodd-Frank Act and SEC implementation rules in the bankruptcy context. The author provides evidence of a substantial overlap between systemic risk disclosure requirements under Title IV and the disclosure requirements under the fully-revised version of Bankruptcy Rule 2019 (Revised Rule 2019). In the current regulatory framework, the threat of public disclosure of systemic risk filings by hedge funds via the bankruptcy process may only marginally affect hedge funds’ tactics and their role in distressed investing. Hedge funds’ disclosure obligations under the Dodd-Frank Act are still rather generic, the SEC has not yet standardized the requirements, and it is unclear if the SEC will expand the systemic risk disclosure obligations for hedge funds investing in distressed securities. The hedge fund industry’s continuous, expanding, and increasingly assertive presence in distressed securities investments could change this evaluation in the future.
Ips pini (Curculionidae: Scolytinae) Is a Vector of the Fungal Pathogen, Sphaeropsis sapinea (Coelomycetes), to Austrian Pines, Pinus nigra (Pinaceae)

Sphaeropsis sapinea (Fr.:Fr.) Dyko and Sutton, is among the most common and widely distributed pathogens of conifers worldwide. S. sapinea is disseminated over short distances by rain splash and moist wind, but significant knowledge gaps regarding long-range dispersal remain. Our objective was to determine whether or not the pine engraver beetle, Ips pini Say, is a vector of the pathogen onto Austrian pines (Pinus nigra Arnold). In 2004 and 2005, individuals of I. pini were collected with pheromone traps at two locations in central Ohio (197 and 1,017 individuals for 2004 and 2005, respectively) and screened for the presence of S. sapinea. In the field, fresh logs of Austrian pine were baited with pheromone lures, mechanically wounded, or left undisturbed. After 2 mo, logs were evaluated for insect feeding and the presence of S. sapinea along beetle galleries. Fresh logs were also inoculated in the greenhouse with adult I. pini that were either artificially infested or uninfested with S. sapinea spores to determine vectoring potential. Phoresy rates for individual collections ranged from 0 to 4.1%; average rates were 1.5 and 2.0% for 2004 and 2005, respectively. Isolation frequencies of S. sapinea from baited (15 ± 5%) and unbaited logs (3 ± 1%) differed significantly (P = 0.009). I. pini was also capable of transmitting the pathogen under controlled conditions. Based on phoresy rates, association, and artificial inoculation studies, we conclude that I. pini is able to transmit S. sapinea to Austrian pine stems.
A note on lifting projections

Suppose $pi:mathcal{A}rightarrow mathcal{B}$ is a surjective unital $ast$-homomorphism between C*-algebras $mathcal{A}$ and $mathcal{B}$, and $0leq aleq1$ with $ain mathcal{A}$. We give a sufficient condition that ensures there is a proection $pin mathcal{A}$ such that $pi left( pright) =pi left( aright) $. An easy consequence is a result of [L. G. Brown and G. k. Pedersen, C*-algebras of real rank zero, textit{J. Funct. Anal.} {99} (1991) 131--149] that such a $p$ exists when $mathcal{A}$ has real rank zero.
Monoclonal Antibodies Directed against the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) is a transmembrane glycoprotein located at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). This well-characterized receptor may be considered a model for the study of other neurotransmitter receptors and other cell membrane receptors, e.g., hormone receptors or antigen receptors. Similarly, the NMJ, because of its location remote from other synapses, represents a convenient model system for the study of synaptic transmission.
Co-occurrence of sociolinguistic variables and the construction of ethnic identities

This paper contributes to the debate over the nature of linguistic varieties by assessing the validity of two prominent models of ethnolinguistic variation against empirical data drawn from a community study of Polish New Yorkers. As a direct comparison of the models, I examine the co-occurrence of ethnolinguistic and regional variables of New York City English in the speech of two generations of Polish immigrants. The results suggest that Polish New Yorkers employ both ethnolinguistic and regional variables in their expression of ethnic identities. These findings challenge the predictions of the ethnolectal model, which would expect ethnic groups to engage in linguistic practices that maximize the group's distinctiveness, and align well with the predictions of the pool/repertoire approach, which affords speakers the flexibility to draw on a wider range of linguistic resources.
Toward a Social Ontology for Science Education: Introducing Deleuze and Guattari’s assemblages

AbstractThis essay’s main objective is to develop a theoretical, ontological basis for critical, social justice-oriented science education. Using Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of assemblages, rhizomes, and arborescent structures, this article challenges authoritarian institutional practices, as well as the subject of these practices, and offers a way for critical-social justice-oriented science educators and students to connect with sociopolitical contexts. Through diagramming institutional and community relationships using DG’s theory of assemblages, we envision new ontological spaces that bridge social and material entities. A conceptualization of science education through DG’s philosophy of rhizomes and assemblages allows educators to merge critical, post-foundational perspectives with questions of ontology: not just what exists, but what could exist in terms of human social organizations (governments and community groups), inorganic matter, microorganisms, and plant/animal populations.
Effects of adenosine and angiotensin on macula densa-stimulated renin secretion

The present studies were performed to assess, in the isolated perfused juxtaglomerular apparatus of the rabbit kidney, the effect of exogenous adenosine on renin secretion stimulated by a low NaCl ...
SLC52A3, A Brown–Vialetto–van Laere syndrome candidate gene is essential for mouse development, but dispensable for motor neuron differentiation

Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is essential for cellular reduction-oxidation reactions, but is not readily synthesized by mammalian cells. It has been proposed that riboflavin absorption occurs through solute carrier family 52 members (SLC52) A1, A2 and A3. These transporters are also candidate genes for the childhood onset-neural degenerative syndrome Brown-Vialetto-Van Laere (BVVL). Although riboflavin is an essential nutrient, why mutations in its transporters result in a neural cell-specific disorder remains unclear. Here, we provide evidence that Slc52a3 is the mouse ortholog of SLC52A3 and show that Slc52a3 deficiency results in early embryonic lethality. Loss of mutant embryos was associated with both defects in placental formation and increased rates of apoptosis in embryonic cells. In contrast, Slc52a3 -/- embryonic stem cell lines could be readily established and differentiated into motor neurons, suggesting that this transporter is dispensable for neural differentiation and short-term maintenance. Consistent with this finding, examination of Slc52a3 gene products in adult tissues revealed expression in the testis and intestine but little or none in the brain and spinal cord. Our results suggest that BVVL patients with SCL52A3 mutations may be good candidates for riboflavin replacement therapy and suggests that either the mutations these individuals carry are hypomorphic, or that in these cases alternative transporters act during human embryogenesis to allow full-term development.
EVALUATION OF A COTYLEDONARY NODE REGENERATION SYSTEM FOR AGROBACTERIUM-MEDIATED TRANSFORMATION OF PEA (PISUM SATIVUM L.)

A rapid regeneration system was used for studies ofAgrobacterium-mediated transformation inPisum sativum L. Cotyledonary node explants were inoculated withAgrobacterium tumefaciens strains containing binary vectors carrying genes for nopaline synthase (NOS),β-glucuronidase (GUS), and neomycin phosphotransferase (NPTII) and placed on selection medium containing either 75 or 150 mg/liter kanamycin. A GUS encoding gene (uidA) containing an intron was used to monitor gene expression from 6 to 21 days postinoculation. GUS activity could be observed 6 days after inoculation in the area of the explant in which regeneration-occurred. Regenerating tissue containing transformed cells was observed in explants on selection medium 21 days postinoculation. Using this system, a single transgenic plant was obtained. Progeny of this plant, which contained two T-DNA inserts, demonstrated segregation for the inserts and for expression of the NOS gene in the selfed R1 progeny. NPTII activity was observed in the R2 generation, indicating inheritance and expression of the foreign DNA over at least two generations. Attempts to repeat this procedure were unsuccessful.
Animacy increases second target reporting in a rapid serial visual presentation task

Attentional blink occurs when two target items, T1 and T2, are presented within brief moments of each other in a series of rapidly presented items and participants fail to report T2. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of characteristics of T2 on T2 reporting. Participants (N = 67) completed 4 blocks of 40 trials. Each trial consisted of 15 images, two of which were designated as T1 and T2. T2 was manipulated in three ways: animacy (animate or inanimate), threat (threatening or nonthreatening), and lag (200 ms or 400 ms after T1). The results indicated that more T2s were reported at the longer lag and that animate objects were reported more often than inanimate objects at both lags. Threat did not have a significant effect on T2 reporting although it interacted with lag: threatening objects were reported more frequently than nonthreatening objects at lag 2 but this trend reversed at lag 4. The results were consistent with the animate monitoring hypothesis, which claims that animate objects, because of their importance in ancestral environments, attract attention more easily than inanimate objects. Animate objects appear to capture attention more easily than inanimate objects as second targets in a rapid serial visual presentation task. This result is similar to animacy advantages reported with other attention tasks and with memory tasks.
IMPROVEMENT ON TRANSFORMING THE PORE STRUCTURE OF CYCLIC CATALYST BY NATURAL GAS STEAM

In order to enhance the activity of cyclic catalyst by natural gas steam reforming, the pore structure of traditional cyclic catalyst was improved by making use of open cell agent and pore forming agent, and the open cell agent SJ and the pore forming agent 2A3H have been selected. Results show that the optimum size of SJ is 200-300 μm and content of 2A3H is 5.0%. The improved cyclic catalyst was developed, and its activity was determined. As compared with traditional catalyst at the same operation conditions, the activity of the improved catalyst increased by 27%-30% at high temperature.
Advance in Research on Oxidzing Sidechain Alkyl of Benzene Ring

Oxidizing sidechain alkyl of benzene ring is one of the most important reactions in the organic synthesis. The methods of oxidizing sidechain alkyl of benzene ring were in recent years, and their advantages and disadvantages were introduced. Then the research direction was put forward.
Abstract C42: Investigating racial inequalities in rates of premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy using claims-based data, North Carolina 2011-2012

Background: Surgical menopause, or removal of both ovaries in premenopausal women, is associated with decreased incidence of and mortality from ovarian and breast cancer. As a result, racial differences in surgical menopause rates could unintentionally contribute to cancer disparities. Unfortunately, self-reported data on surgical menopause underestimate rates by 36%, and nationally representative clinical data exclude outpatient surgeries. Therefore, there are no reliable data on racial inequalities in surgical menopause. Aims: This study estimated age- and race-specific rates of surgical menopause using claims-based data on every surgery conducted in North Carolina in 2011 and 2012. Methods: Using data from North Carolina9s Hospital Discharge Data and Ambulatory Surgery Visit Data, we enumerated, respectively, all inpatient and outpatient surgeries conducted in the state. We restricted the data to bilateral oophorectomies conducted among women aged 20-44 years who were not being treated for cancer. Claims-based procedure codes were used to identify oophorectomies. Diagnostic codes were used to exclude surgeries for malignant conditions. Census data represented the at-risk population. Deviance-adjusted Poisson models assessed whether rates differed by age or race. Results: Oophorectomy rates were 15.0 per 10,000 women aged 20-44 years (n=4,904). The majority of surgeries, 71.3% (n=3,495) were conducted in outpatient settings. Rates increased with age (p Conclusions: In the first population-representative study to use clinical data and include outpatient surgeries, we show that surgical menopause rates are higher than previously reported. Additionally, today, these surgeries are primarily conducted in outpatient settings. Finally, rates are greater among non-Hispanic White versus Black women. Impact: While overall rates of breast and ovarian cancer incidence decreased since 2000, Black-White racial inequalities worsened. Rates decreased among White women while remaining steady or increasing among Black women. Lower rates of surgical menopause among Black women may have the unintentional consequence of contributing to worsening racial inequalities in breast and ovarian cancer incidence and mortality. Citation Format: Whitney R. Robinson, Mariah M. Cheng, Kemi M. Doll. Investigating racial inequalities in rates of premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy using claims-based data, North Carolina 2011-2012. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eighth AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 13-16, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2016;25(3 Suppl):Abstract nr C42.
The agency for health care policy and research: Clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia

The BPH guidelines provide a rational diagnostic and treatment algorithm for practitioners consulting with patients presenting with symptoms of prostatism. The guidelines also serve several very important purposes: They represent the first attempt at a comprehensive review of the English-language literature regarding the evaluation and treatment of men presenting with symptoms of BPH. They are presented in a comprehensible and transparent fashion to the reader, inasmuch as each piece of supporting evidence is explicitly listed. A decision diagram is presented, allowing health care providers to evaluate and treat patients with BPH in a rational fashion. A balance sheet of treatment outcomes should help patients and health care providers in their shared decision-making regarding treatment alternatives. They uncovered significant knowledge gaps and areas for future basic and clinical research. As more and more treatment alternatives become available, the guidelines will have to be updated to reflect both the changing health care environment and the ever-expanding armamentarium of treatment choices.
Endocrine disrupting chemicals and endometriosis

Endometriosis is an estrogen dependent gynecologic disease with lasting implications for many women's fertility, somatic health, and overall quality of life. Growing evidence suggests that endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may be etiologically involved in the development and severity of disease. We weigh the available human evidence focusing on EDCs and endometriosis, restricting to research that has individually quantified chemical concentrations for women, included a comparison group of unaffected women, and used multivariable analytic techniques. Evidence supporting an environmental etiology for endometriosis includes metals/trace elements, dioxins, and other persistent organic pollutants, as well as nonpersistent chemicals, such as benzophenones and phthalates. To address the equivocal findings for various EDCs, future research directions for filling data gaps include [1] use of integrated clinical and population sampling frameworks allowing for incorporation of new diagnostic modalities; [2] the collection of various biologic media, including target tissues for quantifying exposures; [3] study designs that offer various comparison groups to assess potentially shared etiologies with other gynecologic disorders; and [4] novel laboratory and statistical approaches that fully explore all measured EDCs for the assessment of mixtures and low dose effects and the use of directed acyclic graphs and supporting causal analysis for empirically delineating relationships between EDCs and endometriosis.
Generalized magnetotail equilibria: Effects of the dipole field, thin current sheets, and magnetic flux accumulation

Generalizations of the class of quasi-1-D solutions of the 2-D Grad-Shafranov equation, first considered by Schindler in 1972, are investigated. It is shown that the effect of the dipole field, treated as a perturbation, can be included into the original 1972 class solution by modification of the boundary conditions. Some of the solutions imply the formation of singularly thin current sheets. Equilibrium solutions for such sheets resolving their singular current structure on the scales comparable to the thermal ion gyroradius can be obtained assuming anisotropic and nongyrotropic plasma distributions. It is shown that one class of such equilibria with the dipole-like boundary perturbation describes bifurcation of the near-Earth current sheet. Another class of weakly anisotropic equilibria with thin current sheets embedded into a thicker plasma sheet helps explain the formation of thin current sheets in a relatively distant tail, where such sheets can provide ion Landau dissipation for spontaneous magnetic reconnection. The free energy for spontaneous reconnection can be provided due to accumulation of the magnetic flux at the tailward end of the closed field line region. The corresponding hump in the normal magnetic field profile Bz(x,z = 0) creates a nonzero gradient along the tail. The resulting gradient of the equatorial magnetic field pressure is shown to be balanced by the pressure gradient and the magnetic tension force due to the higher-order correction of the latter in the asymptotic expansion of the tail equilibrium in the ratio of the characteristic tail current sheet variations across and along the tail.
Accelerating gravitational microlensing simulations using the Xeon Phi coprocessor

Abstract Recently Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) have been used to speed up very CPU-intensive gravitational microlensing simulations. In this work, we use the Xeon Phi coprocessor to accelerate such simulations and compare its performance on a microlensing code with that of NVIDIA’s GPUs. For the selected set of parameters evaluated in our experiment, we find that the speedup by Intel’s Knights Corner coprocessor is comparable to that by NVIDIA’s Fermi family of GPUs with compute capability 2.0, but less significant than GPUs with higher compute capabilities such as the Kepler. However, the very recently released second generation Xeon Phi, Knights Landing, is about 5.8 times faster than the Knights Corner, and about 2.9 times faster than the Kepler GPU used in our simulations. We conclude that the Xeon Phi is a very promising alternative to GPUs for modern high performance microlensing simulations.
A Fair Exchange: Exploring How Privacy is Valued

Superficially free information services, such as social media platforms, search websites, and mobile apps. earn revenue by collecting, aggregating, and monetizing user data. Users of these systems must give up control over this data in order to participate in the digital ecology. In a pilot study that queried the views of American university students, we explored the level of understanding young Americans have about data tracking and data mining and investigated some key value propositions about the perceived fairness of the “data-for-service” business model. Our study participants generally considered the exchange to be fair, but these feelings were nuanced, contextual, and somewhat plastic. Subjects frequently expressed distrust in the providers of popular information services. They also expressed reservations about current practices, particularly after learning more about data mining and user profiling during the focus group. We suggest that gender and age are factors in attitudes about privacy in digital environments.
Effects of thiazolidinedione in patients with active bladder cancer

Objective To examine the influence of perioperative thiazolidinedione (TZD) on cancer-specific outcomes in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) for urothelial carcinoma (UC). Patients and Methods A retrospective cohort of 173 patients with DM undergoing RC from 2005 to 2010 was identified. Of those, 53 were on TZD treatment at the time of RC, with 33 patients taking pioglitazone. Baseline clinicopathological characteristics, as well as cancer-specific survival (CSS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS) were compared between the patients on and off TZD therapy at the time of RC. In subgroup analysis, outcomes in patients specifically taking pioglitazone at the time of RC were compared to those not on a TZD. Results Baseline clinicopathological characteristics were similar between patients on and off TZD therapy at the time of RC. Overall, the median CSS rate was not reached in either group (P = 0.7). The estimated 5-year CSS was 67.8% in the non-TZD group and 66.3% in the TZD group. On multivariate analysis incorporating patient age, pathological T-staging, and adjuvant chemotherapy, TZD use was found not to be a significant predictor for CSS (hazard ratio 1.20, 95% confidence interval 0.66–2.17; P = 0.5). Additionally, RFS (P= 0.3) and OS (P = 0.2) were also similar between the two groups without adjusting for other variables. Comparison between patients taking pioglitazone vs patients not taking TZD yielded similar CSS (P = 0.2), RFS (P = 0.5), and OS (P= 0.2). Conclusions CSS, as well as RFS and OS after RC were not compromised in patients on TZD therapy at the time of RC. Additional investigation is warranted in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer and muscle-invasive bladder cancer undergoing bladder-sparing procedures to assess the safety of using TZD in the setting of active UC.
The Microscopic View: Minuscule Science and Art

No micrographs appeared in the popular communication of genetics by the early twentieth century. What existed were micrographic illustrations that looked like micrographs but “fixed” the visual ambiguities that would have existed in the micrographs. Depending on whether one endorses the need to know or right to know approach in public communication, these microscopic illustrations are either rhetorically savvy or principally misleading. Around the mid-twentieth century, micrographs became commonly used to depict cellular and molecular phenomena, but syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic factors determine whether public readers may find these images meaningful and relevant. The latest micrographs borrow strategies from advertising with appeals to aesthetics, fear, and sex. These images attract reader attention and may encourage engagement; however, they also run the risk of becoming promotional decorations.
EXPERIMENTS ON HIGH-FREQUENCY AND 1/f NOISE IN LONG n + -p Hg 1-x Cd x Te DIODES

Thermal noise and shot noise at 50KHz was measured in long n + -p Hg 1-x Cd x Te diodes for x-0.30, and compared with the theoretical diode model. Low-frequency noise spectra were measured at 300°K, 193°K and 77°K and found to be of the 1/f type. In diodes only the excess minority carriers generate 1/f noise. At 300°K the 1/f noise came from the series resistance R s of the diode except near saturation. Both for the diode 1/f noise and the 1/f noise generated in R s Handel's quantum limit is not reached.
Protocols for Enhancing Function of Fetal Islets In Vitro and Following Transplantation

The significant differences in the in vitro and in vivo behavior of fetal islet cells from different animal species are important considerations in the interpretation of experimental data, specially as they are made to apply to the study of growth and differentiation of human fetal pancreatic cells. For example, methods that work very efficiently in rats for fetal islet isolation (24) prove considerably less efficient in mice despite good matches of gestational age, enzymatic and media conditions. Thus, if methods to isolate fetal endocrine cells produce different results, not surprisingly similar methods to enrich and enhance function of purified endocrine cell populations in different species, are also bound to produce distinct results as already shown in reports dealing with responses to growth factors (6,40), pharmacologic agents and more conventional peptide hormones such as insulin, growth hormone and prolactin (9). Of importance also in the interpretation of functional effects on islets is the consideration of whether homologous hormones are used to induce specific effects (10).
Incidence of rotator cuff tears in the setting of calcific tendinopathy on MRI: a case controlled comparison.

To compare the incidence of rotator cuff tears on shoulder MRI in patients who have rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy with that in patients without calcific tendinopathy in a frequency-matched case–control study. Retrospective review shoulder MRIs of 86 patients with rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy and an 86-patient age-, gender-, and laterality-matched control group using frequency matching. No statistically significant difference (odds ratio: 0.72, 95% confidence interval: 0.38–1.38, p = 0.32) was found in the incidence of rotator cuff tear in the calcific tendinopathy (27.9%) and control groups (34.9%). A significant (p < 0.001) difference in the size of rotator cuff tear was seen between the two groups, with 12.5% of tears being full-thickness in the calcific tendinopathy group and 63.3% of tears being full-thickness in the control group. Only 3 of the 24 (12.5%) rotator cuff tears present in the calcific tendinopathy group occurred at the site of tendon calcification. Patients presenting with indeterminate shoulder pain and rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy are not at increased risk for having a rotator cuff tear compared with similar demographic patients without calcific tendinopathy presenting with shoulder pain. Calcific tendinopathy and rotator cuff tears likely arise from different pathological processes.