cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
1999 Pricing Performance of Market Advisory Services for Corn and Soybeans

The purpose of this research report is to present an evaluation of advisory service pricing performance in the 1999 crop year for corn and soybeans. Specifically, the average price received by a subscriber to an advisory service is calculated for corn and soybean crops harvested in 1999. The average net advisory price across all 26 corn programs in 1999 is $2.02 per bushel, three cents below the market benchmark price. The range of net advisory prices for corn is substantial, with a minimum of $1.66 per bushel and a maximum of $2.49 per bushel. The average net advisory price across all 25 soybean programs in 1999 is $5.67 per bushel, seventeen cents above the market benchmark. As with corn, the range of net advisory prices for soybeans is substantial, with a minimum of $4.68 per bushel and a maximum of $7.10 per bushel. The average revenue achieved by following both the corn and soybean programs offered by an advisory service is $299 per acre, $2.00 more than market benchmark revenue for 1999. The spread in advisory revenue also is noteworthy, with the difference between the bottom- and top-performing advisory programs reaching more than $100 per acre.
Cyclin F Controls Cell-Cycle Transcriptional Outputs by Directing the Degradation of the Three Activator E2Fs.

Summary E2F1, E2F2, and E2F3A, the three activators of the E2F family of transcription factors, are key regulators of the G1/S transition, promoting transcription of hundreds of genes critical for cell-cycle progression. We found that during late S and in G2, the degradation of all three activator E2Fs is controlled by cyclin F, the substrate receptor of 1 of 69 human SCF ubiquitin ligase complexes. E2F1, E2F2, and E2F3A interact with the cyclin box of cyclin F via their conserved N-terminal cyclin binding motifs. In the short term, E2F mutants unable to bind cyclin F remain stable throughout the cell cycle, induce unscheduled transcription in G2 and mitosis, and promote faster entry into the next S phase. However, in the long term, they impair cell fitness. We propose that by restricting E2F activity to the S phase, cyclin F controls one of the main and most critical transcriptional engines of the cell cycle.
On the need to integrate uncertainty into U.S. water resource planning.

Abstract A changing climate is expected to introduce uncertainty into water resource management decision making. We examined the latest publicly-available, state-level guidance regarding the management of water supplies and demands concerning risks associated with drought, flooding, and climate change. We found state-level guidance supplementing the federally-backed flood mitigation program to be updated most regularly (54% in the last 5 years; 84% in the last decade). Yet, the underlying floodplain mapping data these local planning efforts rely on are acknowledged by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to be chronically outdated. Drought planning guidance was found to be most outdated (16% last updated in the last 5 years; 18% almost two decades ago), and across the U.S., almost universally (94%) reactive (emergency response) rather than proactive (mitigation or management). Although 79–94% of states provide some level of guidance regarding water supply and demand, the projections themselves may significantly predate the guidance. Many (70%) U.S. states still lack climate change impact guidance, particularly non-coastal states and those impacted by increased water scarcity rather than flooding. Strategies are rare (4%) for addressing the impacts of increased variability and uncertainty to meet inelastic demands with finite supplies. We conclude significant gaps exist in planning to address known or projected risks of climate-related impacts. Specific recommendations, including the implementation of a nationwide water census, are provided to improve both the data and knowledge base of water management and reduce current vulnerabilities.
Effect of sleep loss on executive function and plasma corticosterone levels in an arctic-breeding songbird, the Lapland longspur (Calcarius lapponicus).

Abstract Sleep is a fundamental component of vertebrate life, although its exact functions remain unclear. Animals deprived of sleep typically show reduced neurobiological performance, health, and in some cases, survival. However, a number of vertebrate taxa exhibit adaptations that permit normal activities even when sleep is reduced. Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus), arctic-breeding passerine birds, exhibit around-the-clock activity during their short breeding season, with an inactive period of ca. 4 h/day. Whether behavioral or physiological costs occur from sleep loss (SL) in this species is unknown. To assess the effects of SL, wild-caught male longspurs were placed in captivity (12L:12D) and trained for one month to successfully learn color association and spatial memory tasks. Birds were then placed in automated sleep fragmentation cages that utilize a moving wire to force movement every 1 min (60 arousals/h) during 12D (inactive period) or control conditions (during 12L; active period). After SL (or control) treatment, birds were presented with color association and spatial memory tasks a final time to assess executive function. Baseline plasma corticosterone concentration, body mass, and satiety were also measured. SL significantly elevated corticosterone levels and increased accuracy during color association recall but did not affect the overall time required to complete the task. SL had no effect upon spatial memory, body mass, or satiety. Taken together, these results suggest that Lapland longspurs exhibit a degree of behavioral, but not physiological, insensitivity to acute SL. Whether elevated plasma concentrations of corticosterone play a direct role in ameliorating cognitive deficits from SL require additional study.
Inflammation, immunity, and vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension; Evidence for complement involvement?

Pulmonary (arterial) hypertension (PH/PAH) is a life-threatening cardiopulmonary disorder. Experimental evidence suggests involvement of inflammatory and autoimmune processes in pathogenesis of PH/PAH, however the triggering and disease-promoting mechanisms remain unknown. The complement system is a key arm of innate immunity implicated in various pro-inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, yet, surprisingly little is known about the role of complement in PH/PAH pathogenesis. The preponderance of the existing data associates complement with PH/PAH via analysis of plasma and does not study the lung directly. Therefore, we aimed to resolve this by analyzing both the mechanisms of local lung-specific complement activation and the correlation of dysregulated plasma complement to clinical outcome in PAH patients. In our recent studies, reviewed herein, we show, for the first time, that immunoglobulin-driven activation of the complement cascade, specifically its alternative pathway, in the pulmonary perivascular areas, is a key mechanism initiating pro-inflammatory processes in the early stage of experimental hypoxic PH (a form of “sterile inflammation”). In human patients with end-stage PAH, we have demonstrated that perivascular deposition of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and activation of the complement cascade are “longitudinally” persistent in the disease. We also showed, using unbiased network analysis, that plasma complement signaling, including again the Alternative pathway, is a prognostic factor of survival in patients with idiopathic PAH (IPAH). Based on these initial findings, we suggest that vascular-specific, immunoglobulin-driven dysregulated complement signaling triggers and maintains pulmonary vascular remodeling and PH. Future experiments in this area would facilitate discoveries on whether complement signaling can serve both as a biomarker and therapeutic target in PH/PAH.
Chronic Disease Data And Analysis: Current State Of the Field

Chronic disease usually spans years of a person’s lifetime and includes a disease free period, a preclinical, or latent period, where there are few overt signs of disease, a clinical period where the disease manifests and is eventually diagnosed, and a follow-up period where the disease might progress steadily or remain stable. It is often of interest to investigate the relationship between risk factors measured at a point in time (usually during the disease free or preclinical period), and the development of disease at some future point (e.g., 10 years later). We outline some popular designs for the identification of subjects and discuss issues in measurement of risk factors for analysis of chronic disease. We discuss some of the complexities in these analyses, including the time dependent nature of the risk factors and missing data issues. We then describe some popular statistical modeling techniques and outline the situations in which each is appropriate. We conclude with some speculation toward future development in the area of chronic disease data and analysis.
Chapter 22 – Enhanced Geothermal Systems—Projects and Plants

This chapter investigates new potential systems for exploiting certain types of geothermal resources, starting with a definition of these concepts (hot dry rock (HDR), enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), and deep hydrothermal systems (DHS)). Two programs that began in the 1970s and 1980s aimed to develop the HDR concept to the commercial stage: the Fenton Hill and Rosemanowes projects. These two experimental projects are described in detail, along with later projects in Japan at Hijiori and Ogachi. A project in Basel, Switzerland, was also developed but was derailed by seismic events that caused concern and put an end to the project in 2009. The chapter continues with the discussion of the history and development of recent EGS projects in France and Germany, and then looks forward to proposed projects in Australia, Germany, and the United States. The success or failure of the Newberry Volcano project in the United States is critical to the future growth of EGS projects elsewhere in the United States.
Automated Detection of Ripple Oscillations in Long-Term Scalp EEG from Patients with Infantile Spasms

Abstract Objective Scalp high frequency oscillations (HFOs) are a promising biomarker of epileptogenicity in infantile spasms (IS) and many other epilepsy syndromes, but prior studies have relied on visual analysis of short segments of data due to the prevalence of artifacts in EEG. Therefore, we set out to develop a fully automated method of HFO detection that can be applied to large datasets, and we sought to robustly characterize the rate and spatial distribution of HFOs in IS. Methods We prospectively collected long-term scalp EEG data from 13 subjects with IS and 18 healthy controls. For patients with IS, recording began prior to diagnosis and continued through initiation of treatment with adenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). The median analyzable EEG duration was 18.2 hours for controls and 83.9 hours for IS subjects (∼1300 hours total). Ripples (80-250 Hz) were detected in all EEG data using an automated algorithm. Results HFO rates were substantially higher in patients with IS compared to controls. In IS patients, HFO rates were higher during sleep compared to wakefulness (median 5.5/min and 2.9/min, respectively; p =0.002); controls did not exhibit a difference in HFO rate between sleep and wakefulness (median 0.98/min and 0.82/min, respectively). Spatially, the difference between IS patients and controls was most salient in the central/posterior parasaggital region, where very few HFOs were detected in controls. In IS subjects, ACTH therapy significantly decreased the rate of HFOs. Discussion Here we show for the first time that a fully automated algorithm can be used to detect HFOs in long-term scalp EEG, and the results are accurate enough to clearly discriminate healthy subjects from those with IS. We also provide a detailed characterization of the spatial distribution and rates of HFOs associated with infantile spasms, which may have relevance for diagnosis and assessment of treatment response.
The Design Space of Computational Notebooks: An Analysis of 60 Systems in Academia and Industry

Computational notebooks such as Jupyter are now used by millions of data scientists, machine learning engineers, and computational researchers to do exploratory and end-user programming. In recent years, dozens of different notebook systems have been developed across academia and industry. However, we still lack an understanding of how their individual designs relate to one another and what their tradeoffs are. To provide a holistic view of this rapidly-emerging landscape, we performed, to our knowledge, the first comprehensive design analysis of dozens of notebook systems. We analyzed 60 notebooks (16 academic papers, 29 industry products, and 15 experimental/R&D projects) and formulated a design space that succinctly captures variations in system features. Our design space covers 10 dimensions that include diverse ways of importing data, editing code and prose, running code, and publishing notebook outputs. We conclude by suggesting ways for researchers to push future projects beyond the current bounds of this space.
Speckle Tracking Echocardiography in Pediatric Patients with Premature Ventricular Contractions

Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) in pediatric patients without structural heart disease and normal left ventricular systolic function rarely require therapy, though it is unknown whether these patients have subclinical cardiac dysfunction. Speckle tracking echocardiography is an additional means of evaluating cardiac function in asymptomatic pediatric PVC patients with normal standard measures of left ventricular (LV) function. Asymptomatic pediatric patients (< 21 years) without congenital heart disease, LV ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥ 55% and PVC burden ≥ 5% on 24-h Holter monitor were included. Demographic information, exercise stress test results, standard echocardiographic measures of LV systolic function and PVC morphology by 12-lead ECG were collected. Peak global systolic longitudinal strain (GLS) from apical four-chamber view was analyzed offline. 29 patients were identified (mean age 11.7 ± 5.8 years, 49.2 ± 25.3 kg, 59% male). Mean PVC burden was 12.0 ± 7.0% (range 5–37.5%). 14/29 (48%) had exercise stress testing with evidence of PVCs; 9/14 (64%) had PVC suppression at a mean heart rate (HR) of 160 ± 23 bpm and 5/14 (36%) did not suppress at a mean maximum HR of 188 ± 9 bpm. All patients had normal strain values by speckle tracking echocardiography (mean LV GLS − 22.5 ± 2.0%, LV global circumferential strain − 25.3 ± 3.9 and RV GLS − 24.1 ± 3.0%). There was no correlation between PVC burden and cardiac function parameters. Asymptomatic pediatric patients without structural heart disease, preserved LVEF/shortening fraction and PVC burden ≥ 5% demonstrated normal cardiac function including strain patterns indicating no evidence of subclinical cardiac dysfunction. Larger scale studies and longitudinal evaluation of left ventricular function using speckle tracking echocardiography is warranted in this population.
Do physician incentives increase patient medication adherence

OBJECTIVE To test the effectiveness of physician incentives for increasing patient medication adherence in three drug classes: diabetes medication, antihypertensives, and statins. DATA SOURCES Pharmacy and medical claims from a large Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan from January 2011 to December 2012. STUDY DESIGN We conducted a randomized experiment (911 primary care practices and 8,935 nonadherent patients) to test the effect of paying physicians for increasing patient medication adherence in three drug classes: diabetes medication, antihypertensives, and statins. We measured patients' medication adherence for 18 (6) months before (after) the intervention. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS We obtained data directly from the health insurer. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We found no evidence that physician incentives increased adherence in any drug class. Our results rule out increases in the proportion of days covered by medication larger than 4.2 percentage points. CONCLUSIONS Physician incentives of $50 per patient per drug class are not effective for increasing patient medication adherence among the drug classes and primary care practices studied. Such incentives may be more likely to improve measures under physicians' direct control rather than those that predominantly reflect patient behaviors. Additional research is warranted to disentangle whether physician effort is not responsive to these types of incentives, or medication adherence is not responsive to physician effort. Our results suggest that significant changes in the incentive amount or program design may be necessary to produce responses from physicians or patients.
Administration of cardiac mesenchymal cells modulates innate immunity in the acute phase of myocardial infarction in mice

Although cardiac mesenchymal cell (CMC) therapy mitigates post-infarct cardiac dysfunction, the underlying mechanisms remain unidentified. It is acknowledged that donor cells are neither appreciably retained nor meaningfully contribute to tissue regeneration-suggesting a paracrine-mediated mechanism of action. As the immune system is inextricably linked to wound healing/remodeling in the ischemically injured heart, the reparative actions of CMCs may be attributed to their immunoregulatory properties. The current study evaluated the consequences of CMC administration on post myocardial infarction (MI) immune responses in vivo and paracrine-mediated immune cell function in vitro. CMC administration preferentially elicited the recruitment of cell types associated with innate immunity (e.g., monocytes/macrophages and neutrophils). CMC paracrine signaling assays revealed enhancement in innate immune cell chemoattraction, survival, and phagocytosis, and diminished pro-inflammatory immune cell activation; data that identifies and catalogues fundamental immunomodulatory properties of CMCs, which have broad implications regarding the mechanism of action of CMCs in cardiac repair.
Outcomes of Kidney Transplantation in Fabry Disease: A Meta-Analysis.

Background: Fabry disease (FD) is a rare X-linked lysosomal storage disorder with progressive systemic deposition of globotriaosylceramide, leading to life-threatening cardiac, central nervous system, and kidney disease. Current therapy involves symptomatic medical management, enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), dialysis, kidney transplantation, and, more recently, gene therapy. The aim of this systematic review was to assess outcomes of kidney transplantation among patients with FD. Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted utilizing MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Database, from inception through to 28 February 2020, to identify studies that evaluate outcomes of kidney transplantation including patient and allograft survival among kidney transplant patients with FD. Effect estimates from each study were extracted and combined using the random-effects generic inverse variance method of DerSimonian and Laird. Results: In total, 11 studies, including 424 kidney transplant recipients with FD, were enrolled. The post-transplant median follow-up time ranged from 3 to 11.5 years. Overall, the pooled estimated rates of all-cause graft failure, graft failure before death, and allograft rejection were 32.5% (95%CI: 23.9%–42.5%), 14.5% (95%CI: 8.4%–23.7%), and 20.2% (95%CI: 15.4%–25.9%), respectively. In the sensitivity analysis, limited only to the recent studies (year 2001 or newer when ERT became available), the pooled estimated rates of all-cause graft failure, graft failure before death, and allograft rejection were 28.1% (95%CI: 20.5%–37.3%), 11.7% (95%CI: 8.4%–16.0%), and 20.2% (95%CI: 15.5%–26.0%), respectively. The pooled estimated rate of biopsy proven FD recurrence was 11.1% (95%CI: 3.6%–29.4%), respectively. There are no significant differences in the risks of all-cause graft failure (p = 0.10) or mortality (0.48) among recipients with vs. without FD. Conclusions: Despite possible FD recurrence after transplantation of 11.1%, allograft and patient survival are comparable among kidney transplant recipients with vs. without FD.
Cycle Thresholds Among Solid Organ Transplant Recipients Testing Positive for SARS-CoV-2.

Background The optimal duration of transmission-based precautions among immunocompromised patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is unknown. Methods Retrospective review of patients with solid organ transplant with positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction result from nasopharyngeal specimens admitted to the hospital between March 13, 2020 and May 15, 2020. Results Twenty-one percent of solid organ transplant recipients with positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction detected ≥20 d after symptom onset (or after first positive test among asymptomatic individuals) had a low cycle threshold (ie, high viral load). The majority of these patients were asymptomatic or symptomatically improved. Conclusions Solid organ transplant recipients may have prolonged high viral burden of SARS-CoV-2. Further data are needed to understand whether cycle threshold data can help inform strategies for prevention of healthcare-associated transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and for appropriate discontinuation of transmission-based precautions.
Patologia aguda nos cuidados de saúde primários: um estudo transversal descritivo da realidade numa USF

Objetivo : Caracterizar a consulta de agudos (CA) realizada numa Unidade de Saude Familiar (USF) ao longo de quatro anos, de acordo com a frequencia dos motivos de consulta/diagnostico e destino dos utentes. Tipo de estudo: Estudo transversal, descritivo e analitico, aplicado a clinica. Local: USF Alpha, ACeS Baixo Vouga. Populacao: Utentes que recorreram a CA de uma USF de janeiro-2014 a dezembro-2017. Metodos : Foram estudados todos os episodios de CA ao longo de quatro anos ( n =25.810), com recolha de dados relativamente a sexo, idade, distribuicao temporal da CA; frequencia da CA por utente; diagnostico e destino dos utentes. Foi feita uma analise descritiva e inferencial com testes nao-parametricos utilizando o programa informatico Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS®), v. 25.0. Resultados : Dos episodios de CA, a maioria eram mulheres ( n =15.596, 60,4%, p <0,001), com mediana de idade de 40 anos e uma frequencia/pessoa de dois episodios no periodo descrito. A maioria das CA teve lugar no primeiro trimestre do ano, em janeiro, a segunda-feira e as primeiras horas do dia. As patologias mais prevalentes em contexto de CA foram a infecao aguda do aparelho respiratorio superior ( n =3.744, 17,8%), amigdalite aguda ( n =1.326, 6,3%), cistite/infecao urinaria ( n =987, 4,7%), gastroenterite ( n =846, 4,0%) e bronquite/bronquiolite aguda ( n =737, 3,5%). Ha diferencas significativas no encaminhamento entre medico de familia do utente e atendimento por outro medico, encaminhando este ultimo mais para o servico de urgencia ( p <0,001) e nao havendo diferencas no que diz respeito a necessidade de chamar o INEM ( p =0,417). Conclusao: Constatou-se haver diferencas de cuidados de saude entre medicos de familia, criando-se a necessidade de haver algoritmos de decisao e de estratificacao de gravidade como estrategia de melhoria da acessibilidade e qualidade de cuidados prestados. A educacao para a saude dos utentes e uma estrategia fundamental a trabalhar em contexto de patologia aguda.
Free Food at Work: A Concept Analysis.

Background:Employees who spend substantial amounts of time in a workplace away from home are likely to acquire and consume food during work hours. Reportedly, free food at work is a common occurren...
Accentuate the negative: Locating possibility in Darwin's 'long argument'.

Abstract Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species has an unusual format. After presenting his theory of Natural Selection in its first four chapters, there follows a series of five chapters presenting a large number of problems and objections to the theory which, he admits, appear overwhelming. Not until chapter 10 does he begin to present what he takes to be the positive evidence for his theory. In this paper I trace the evolution of this structure from its first hints in his Species Notebooks , through the 1842 Sketch and 1844 Essay to the Origin, showing that it reflects a growing awareness on Darwin’s part of what I call ’In Principle Impossible’ arguments against his theory, and of a systematic strategy for disarming them.
Effect of various ligands on the selective precipitation of critical and rare earth elements from acid mine drainage.

Abstract Acid mine drainage (AMD) has been of environmental concern for decades but recently found to be a viable source of critical elements including rare earth elements (REEs). Recovery of these elements while treating AMD for environmental compliance improves the sustainability of the treatment process. The precipitation behavior of the REEs and other cations during the AMD neutralization process depends strongly on the solution chemistry, available ligands, and concentration of elements. Several chemicals were used to study the effect of various ions/ligands (i.e., OH−, SO42−, NH4+, CO32−, and PO43−) on precipitation behavior of REEs and other elements from AMD as a function of pH. It was found that only up to 70% of total REEs can be recovered using NaOH at circumneutral pH. (NH4)OH suppressed the precipitation of REEs up to pH 8. The presence of phosphate and carbonate ions in the solution increased the precipitation yield of REEs at lower pH values. Both Na2HPO4 and Na2CO3 were found to increase the precipitation of REEs at pH below 7, as over 85% of REEs were recovered. Calculated saturation indices and speciation diagrams for selected REEs confirmed the experimental data. Considering the elemental recovery values, environmental effects, as well as chemical consumption and cost, a two-step AMD treatment process using Na2CO3 was formulated. Through the proposed process, 90% of the aluminum was recovered in the first step (at pH 5), while 85% of REEs was recovered in the second step (at pH 7) with a significantly high concentration of 1.6%.
Exploring information systems for the workplace accommodation process

Accommodations are often necessary to equitably include employees with disabilities in the workplace, which can bring tangible and intangible benefits for individuals, organizations, and society. However, many companies are struggling with effectively providing support employees need through current accommodation processes. Information systems (IS) have been shown to facilitate business processes and effect positive organizational change. Yet there is little IS research on the accommodation process and how technology could enhance it. This research aims to explore how IS might facilitate the accommodation process. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding and policy implications of IS in relation to the accommodation process. Furthermore, it provides practical implications for IS applied to the accommodation process.
Die Idee einer rationalistischen Religionsphilosophie und ihre Herausforderungen

Das Kapitel verteidigt eine rationalistische Religionsphilosophie und diskutiert vier Haupteinwande gegen das Projekt. Wird Gott damit nicht der Vernunft unterworfen? Werden Gnade und Wunder dadurch nicht uberflussig? Was bleibt von der Autoritat der Kirche bzw. der Schrift? Welche Funktion kann Christus innerhalb einer rationalistischen Theologie noch haben?
Enriched analytical solutions for additive manufacturing modeling and simulation

Abstract Recent developments in additive manufacturing (AM) technologies involving heat and mass deposition have exposed the need for computationally efficient modeling of thermal field histories. This is due to the effect of such histories on resulting morphologies and quantities of interest, such as micro- and meso-structure, residual strains and stresses, as well as on material and structural properties and associated functional performance at the macro-scale. Limiting undesirable manifestations of these phenomena has motivated the development of both feed-forward and feedback loop control methodologies. However, up to now the computational cost of existing methods for predicting thermal fields and associated aspects, have allowed only feed-forward control methods. Consequently, in this paper, analytic solutions are enriched and then used to model the thermal aspects of AM, in a manner that demonstrates both high computational performance and fidelity required to enable “in the loop” use for feedback control of AM processes. It is first shown that the utility of existing analytical solutions is limited due to their underlying assumptions, some of which are their derivation based on a homogeneous semi-infinite domain and temperature independent material properties among others. These solutions must therefore be enriched in order to capture the actual thermal physics associated with the relevant AM processes. Enrichments introduced herein include the handling of strong nonlinear variations in material properties due to their dependence on temperature, finite non-convex solution domains, behavior of heat sources very near domain boundaries, and mass accretion coupled to the thermal problem. The enriched analytic solution method (EASM) that implements these enrichments is shown to produce results equivalent to those of numerical methods (such as Finite Elements and Finite Differences) that require six orders of magnitude greater computational cost.
Crack propagation with crack-tip critical bending moments in double-cantilever-beam specimens

Rapidly wedged, double-cantilever-beam (DCB) specimens have a critical bending moment as a propagating fracture criterion in the limit of the BernoulliEuler beam theory. The magnitude of the critical bending moment is calculated from a fully dynamic analysis of crack propagation. The shear force in the beam at the constant displacement rate end of the DCB specimen, multiplied by the square root of the loading time, is related to the critical bending moment. Experimental measurements of the time dependence of the shear force have been used to calculate the specific fracture surface energy versus crack velocity. The crack velocity in a single specimen decreases with increasing time, it varies by a factor of five and is typically 0.01 of √E/ρ. Details of the experimental measurements for brittle and ductile fractures, including stress intensity values versus crack velocity, are described.
Nudge to Health: Harnessing Decision Research to Promote Health Behavior

We review selected literature that examines how biases in decision making can be utilized to encourage individual health behavior, such as vaccination, and promote policy decisions, such as resource allocation. These studies use simple interventions to nudge people towards more optimal health decisions without restricting decision-makers’ freedom of choice. Examples include framing effects, defaults, implementation intentions, position effects, social norm, incentives, and emotions. We suggest that nudges are an effective way to promote healthy behavior. Research on health behavior indicates that, too often, individuals fail to do what is good for them - by engaging in risky behavior and neglecting to take preventive measures. Meanwhile, research on decision making indicates that decision makers are often irrational, or biased, in the sense that their behavior deviates systematically from normative principles that would maximize their goal satisfaction, or utility (Baron, 2000; Baron, 2004). It may seem that humanity is fated to be both unhealthy and irrational. However, in the current paper we explore whether decision biases can be exploited to make us healthier. That is, we investigate whether psychological research about decision making can be harnessed to improve health behavior and health outcomes. We review selected recent research that addresses this question. Human beings are not perfect decision makers. Too often, they use mental short cuts or rules of thumb instead of making a comprehensive cost ⁄ benefits analysis to arrive at a decision. Our tendency to conserve cognitive effort means that a majority of our daily decisions are made using System 1 thinking (fast, automatic, based on intuition, gut feelings, rules and heuristics), from which route to drive to work, what we put in our morning coffee, to what to order for lunch ⁄ dinner. In contrast, some complicated decisions usually elicit System 2 thinking (slow, systematic, deliberative, based on reason and calculation), such as which stock performs better, and what kind of mortgage loans offers the best financial outcome (Kahneman, 2003). The field of judgment and decision making has traditionally examined biases and errors, which are common by-product of our reliance on System 1 thinking. A wellknown example of such biases and errors is the framing effect: two normatively equivalent descriptions of the same decision often lead to systematically different choices. In Tversky and Kahneman’s (1981) classic demonstration, participants were presented with a description of the outbreak of a new Asian disease that was expected to kill 600 people. Two strategies for combating the disease were described. For participants in the gain frame condition, the strategies were framed in terms of lives saved (save 200 for sure versus save 600 with a 1 ⁄ 3 probability and none with a 2 ⁄ 3 probability). For participants in the loss frame condition, the strategies were framed in terms of lives lost (400 die for
Resolution of system design problems

This paper reports the development, in prog ress, of a completely rigorous mathematical theory of the resolution of a given system design problem into a set of interrelated system component design problems. The theory is based on mathematical system theory and the tricotyledon theory of system design. The style is descriptive. The theory has been developed to derive requirements for the DP component of ballistic missile defense systems.
Multiple Candida strains in the course of a single systemic infection.

Species and strain variabilities have been monitored during the history of a prolonged Candida infection in a single compromised bone marrow transplant patient by analyzing sugar assimilation patterns, high-frequency switching repertoires, and Southern blot hybridization patterns with two cloned mid-repeat sequences (Ca3 and Ca7) which are species specific for Candida albicans and one cloned mid-repeat sequence (Ct13-8) which is species specific for Candida tropicalis. Evidence is presented that during the course of this infection (i) two strains of C. albicans and three strains of C. tropicalis were distinguished by their switching repertoires, Southern blot hybridization patterns, and sugar assimilation patterns; (ii) the three C. tropicalis strains were in a high-frequency mode of switching; (iii) two C. tropicalis strains coexisted in the blood and three C. tropicalis strains coexisted in the throat at different times during the history of the infection; (iv) amphotericin B treatment selectively removed one of two C. tropicalis strains coexisting in the blood and this strain exhibited greater susceptibility to amphotericin B in vitro (the remaining strain was subsequently removed from the blood by flucytosine treatment); and (v) both the strain removed from the blood by amphotericin B and the strain removed from the blood by flucytosine reappeared several days later at another site of infection. It is demonstrated for the first time that C. tropicalis is capable of high-frequency switching of colony morphology just as C. albicans is, that there is more than one strain-specific switching repertoire in C. tropicalis, and that a C. tropicalis mid-repeat sequence can be used for discriminating species and assessing strain relatedness, as previously demonstrated for C. albicans mid-repeat sequences. Images
Shaken baby syndrome.

Abstract Purpose To examine the comprehensive ophthalmologic experience with the shaken baby syndrome at one medical center, including clinical findings, autopsy findings, and the outcome of survivors. Design Retrospective, noncomparative case series. Participants One hundred twenty-three children admitted from January 1987 through December 1998 for subdural hematomas of the brain secondary to abuse were included. Methods Clinical features of eye examinations of the patients during their admission and after discharge and histopathologic observations for patients who died were retrieved from medical records and statistically analyzed. Main outcome measures Visual response and pupillary response on initial examination, fundus findings, final vision, neurologic outcome of survivors, and death. Results Ninety percent of the patients had ophthalmologic assessments. Retinal hemorrhages were detected in 83% of the examined children. The retinal hemorrhages were bilateral in 85% of affected children and varied in type and location. Nonophthalmologists missed the hemorrhages in 29% of affected patients. Poor visual response, poor pupillary response, and retinal hemorrhage correlated strongly with the demise of the child. One child who died had pigmented retinal scars from previous abuse, a condition not previously observed histopathologically to our knowledge. One fifth of the survivors had poor vision, largely the result of cerebral visual impairment. Severe neurologic impairment correlated highly with loss of vision. Conclusions Shaken baby syndrome causes devastating injury to the brain and thus to vision. Retinal hemorrhages are extremely common, but vision loss is most often the result of brain injury. The patient's visual reaction and pupillary response on presentation showed a high correlation with survival. Good initial visual reaction was highly correlated with good final vision and neurologic outcome. According to the literature, when retinal hemorrhages are found in young children, the likelihood that abuse occurred is very high. Nonophthalmologists' difficulty in detecting retinal hemorrhages may be an important limiting factor in identifying shaken babies so they can be protected from further abuse.
Progesterone treatment attenuates brain edema following contusion injury in male and female rats

To assess the effectiveness of progesterone as a treatment for edema following traumatic brain injury, male and female rats were injected with progesterone or the oil vehicle over a 3-day period following a cortical contusion injury. Oil-treated rats showed significant localized edema as measured by the wet weight/dry weight tissue punch technique. Progesterone-treated rats, both male and female, showed marked attenuation, or in some cases, absence of this post-injury edema. We conclude that progesterone shows promise as a treatment for edema following traumatic brain injury.
Unconditional privacy in social choice

The aggregation of conflicting preferences is an important issue in human society and multiagent systems. Due to its universality, voting among a set of alternatives has a central role among preference aggregation mechanisms. We consider the most general case of voting in which the voters' rankings of alternatives are mapped to a collective ranking of alternatives by a so-called social welfare functional (SWF). Maintaining privacy of individuals' preferences is crucial in order to guarantee freedom of choice (e.g., lack of vote coercing and reputation effects), and to not facilitate strategic voting. We investigate whether unconditional full privacy can be achieved in preference aggregation, that is, privacy that relies neither on trusted third parties (or on a certain fraction of the voters being trusted), nor on computational intractability assumptions. More precisely, we study the existence of distributed protocols that allow voters to jointly determine the collective preference ranking without revealing further information. We prove that there exists no SWF that is non-dictatorial, Paretian, monotonic, and privately computable (any three of these properties can be achieved). Moreover, we show that replacing privacy with anonymity enables the joint computation of arbitrary symmetric SWFs.
NIXT High Resolution Observations

Progress in x-ray optics, beginning in the 1960’s and continuing to the present day, has been intimately tied to progress in our understanding of the coronae of the Sun and of solar-like stars. Innovative instrumentation, first used on sounding rockets and then flown on satellites, has been the most productive route for progress. This paper presents an overview of the status of coronal x-ray imaging research at the time that Skylab was launched in 1973, and of the contributions made by Skylab and by the Einstein Observatory. We then discuss the new technique of multilayer imaging for soft x-rays and the contributions which the NIXT experiment is making to our understanding of the structuring and heating of the corona.
Speed and position control

This chapter begins by specifying variables controlled in induction motor drives. Most adjustable-speed drives with induction motors are spindle (controlled-speed) or servo (controlled-position) drives, although systems with autonomous torque control can also be encountered, for instance, in winders. Typically, the reference values for the torque and flux control are generated in the speed and position control loops. Under light load conditions, flux control can be used to minimize losses in the motor. The flux must also be adjusted if the drive operates with a speed higher than rated, requiring field weakening. The chapter explains the principles of machine intelligence controllers. Finally, the chapter incorporates a description of speed and position control systems with linear, variable structure, and machine intelligence controllers.
Plantae Colombianae. – III: Investigationes Specierum Saurauiae: Locus Primus

As a result of preliminary studies towards a revision of the American species of Saurauia, I have found it advisable to present the following notes on new or otherwise interesting species from Colombia. Mosf of the classical collections of New World species. of Saurauia are preserved in European herbaria. These are at present unavailable for study. For this reason, I have thought it valuable to call attention to recent and ample collections which have either been compared with authentic material or which have been critically determined. It is with pleasure that I thank Miss Ines de Zulueta and Mr. Gordon W. Dillon for their beautifully executed drawings of several of the new species herein described .
Re-codable video

This paper describes a two-stage digital video encoding technique that is compliant with emerging international standards and is optimized for multiple uses of the material. Applications include production, post-processing, archival storage, and distribution through diverse channels. The first phase of the encoding is computationally intensive and the second phase is bandwidth conserving; all motion analysis is done in phase one. The intermediate format resulting from phase one uses less storage than the raw data but more than a fully compressed image sequence. It is designed to serve as the source for distribution through diverse channels: transcoding from the intermediate representation to various compressed data streams is both simple and more efficient than single-pass encoding. >
How superfluid vortex knots untie

The stability of a large class of elemental knots and links to so-called reconnections is studied numerically using the Gross–Pitaevskii model for a superfluid, demonstrating that they universally untie.
Oxytocin, But Not Oxytocin Receptor, is Regulated by Oestrogen Receptor β in the Female Mouse Hypothalamus

In the female rat, oestrogen receptor (ER) beta is colocalized with both oxytocin- and vasopressin-producing neurones in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN). In this study, we demonstrate that the same pattern of colocalization between ERbeta and oxytocin exists in the female mouse. Because this nucleus contains only a negligible quantity of ERalpha, it is likely that the oestrogen-dependent regulation of oxytocin and vasopressin synthesis in the PVN is mediated by ERbeta. Thus, we compared the effect of ovarian hormones on oxytocin and vasopressin mRNA expression in the PVN of wild-type (WT) and ERbeta knockout (betaERKO) mice. We also compared the effects of ovarian hormones on oxytocin receptor (OTR) expression in the medial amygdala (MeA) and ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN) in female WT and betaERKO mice. Ovariectomized mice underwent long-term treatment with oestradiol or oil. Progesterone was given concurrently on the final 7 days of treatment, and all mice were killed 48 h after the final progesterone injection. In the PVN, hormone treatment increased oxytocin mRNA expression in WT but not betaERKO females. These results suggest that ERbeta is necessary for the regulation of the expression of oxytocin in the PVN. Hormone treatment had no effect on vasopressin mRNA expression in the PVN, but significantly increased OTR binding in both the VMN and the MeA in both genotypes. Collectively, our data show region and peptide specific regulation by ERalpha and ERbeta in the mouse hypothalamus.
Serum cholesterol, suicidal behavior and impulsivity in cocaine-dependent patients

Relationships between serum cholesterol and suicidal behavior have been reported. As suicidal behavior is common in cocaine dependence, we looked for a relationship with serum cholesterol. To do this, we compared 57 cocaine-dependent patients who had attempted suicide with 111 cocaine-dependent patients who had never attempted suicide for their admission total serum cholesterol levels. We found that there were no significant differences between cocaine-dependent patients who had or had not attempted suicide in their total serum cholesterol levels. Also, there were no significant correlations between total serum cholesterol levels and scores on the Barratt Impulsivity Scale. Thus, admission total serum cholesterol does not appear to be clinically useful in the assessment of suicidal behavior in cocaine-dependent patients.
A Structural Equation Model of New Product Design and Development

This research uses structural equation modeling to analyze the effects of supplier assessment, Just-In-Time, and quality management strategies on new product design and development. A survey of senior managers who are members of the American Production and Inventory Control Society in the United States was used to test the relationships between the constructs in the model. In general, the survey results supported the proposed structural equation model. The data showed that supplier assessment and Just-In-Time strategies were correlated and affected the quality management strategy used, which in turn influenced the new product design and development strategy. The data also showed that the Just-In-Time strategy directly influenced the new product design and development strategy.
Facts and controversies of aspirin and clopidogrel therapy

Because of the central role of platelets in mediating ischemic events, antiplatelet agents are critical components of atherothrombosis prevention. Given their robust safety and efficacy profiles, aspirin and clopidogrel are consistently recommended by evidence-based treatment guidelines. Despite these recommendations, controversies surrounding the appropriate application of aspirin and clopidogrel remain. Questions of appropriate dosing, length of therapy, and use of combination therapy are most pressing, and considerable debate exists regarding the variability of response to antiplatelet therapy, including the definition, measurement, and clinical relevance of responsiveness. This review discusses the facts and controversies surrounding the use of aspirin and clopidogrel. Overall, despite the existing controversies, antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and/or clopidogrel remains a proven and essential therapeutic tool for safe and effective management of atherothrombotic risk in specific clinical settings.