cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Restrictions of Riesz–Morrey potentials

This paper is devoted to exploiting the restrictions of Riesz–Morrey potentials on either unbounded or bounded domains in Euclidean spaces.
Attaining food and environmental security in an era of globalization

Attaining the twin goals of food and environmental security in the coming decades poses a significant sustainability challenge. This paper examines the food and environmental security implications of a range of policies affecting the global food economy and terrestrial ecosystems, first in the context of historically segmented markets, and secondly in a hypothetical future world of fully integrated crop commodity markets. We begin by revisiting history, considering how food production and global land use would have evolved over the period: 1961–2006 in the presence of greater market integration. We find that there would have been greater disparities in regional crop output growth, with regions experiencing higher productivity growth tending to expand more rapidly under this counterfactual experiment. Going forward, greater market integration can be expected to reshape the way we think about future food and environmental security. In the presence of continued market segmentation, strong population growth, accompanied by robust overall income projections, results in exceptionally high demand growth, rising prices and increased non-farm undernutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by 2050. On the other hand, if markets are fully integrated, relative rates of productivity growth become key to the regional composition of world crop output and agricultural production and cropland grow much more slowly in SSA. We explore the implications of four policy initiatives aimed at improving food security and environmental outcomes, including enhanced on-farm productivity and reductions in post-harvest losses in SSA, reductions in food waste in the wealthy economies, and a global terrestrial carbon policy. We also evaluate the potential impacts of climate change under these two trade regimes. Our results suggest that, in some cases, the food and terrestrial implications will be radically different in a more integrated global economy.
A low-cost Mr compatible ergometer to assess post-exercise phosphocreatine recovery kinetics

To develop a low-cost pedal ergometer compatible with ultrahigh (7 T) field MR systems to reliably quantify metabolic parameters in human lower leg muscle using phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We constructed an MR compatible ergometer using commercially available materials and elastic bands that provide resistance to movement. We recruited ten healthy subjects (eight men and two women, mean age ± standard deviation: 32.8 ± 6.0 years, BMI: 24.1 ± 3.9 kg/m2). All subjects were scanned on a 7 T whole-body magnet. Each subject was scanned on two visits and performed a 90 s plantar flexion exercise at 40% maximum voluntary contraction during each scan. During the first visit, each subject performed the exercise twice in order for us to estimate the intra-exam repeatability, and once during the second visit in order to estimate the inter-exam repeatability of the time constant of phosphocreatine recovery kinetics. We assessed the intra and inter-exam reliability in terms of the within-subject coefficient of variation (CV). We acquired reliable measurements of PCr recovery kinetics with an intra- and inter-exam CV of 7.9% and 5.7%, respectively. We constructed a low-cost pedal ergometer compatible with ultrahigh (7 T) field MR systems, which allowed us to quantify reliably PCr recovery kinetics in lower leg muscle using 31P-MRS.
Robust Output Tracking via Sliding Mode Control with Perturbation Estimation

Abstract Conventional Sliding Mode Control (SMC) technique requires that the perturbation upperbounds are known a priori in order to achieve the robust control process. This request creates some difficulties, at the least causing the controller to be overconservative. The authors recently introduced a new philosophy, Sliding Mode Control with Perturbation Estimation (SMCPE), which removes this condition and replaces it with a continuous perturbation estimation process. SMCPE manifests much smaller tracking errors than those of SMC for precise state measurements and high speed control loop closures. In the earlier study, nonlinear systems in canonical form have been considered. In this paper, the domain of application of SMCPE is extended to a more general class, by which a typical satellite attitude control dynamics can be represented. For this extension, I/O linearization technique is utilized first, and then the SMCPE steps are followed for an output tracking control. Simulation results prove the superiority of SMCPE over SMC
Elbow Injuries in Pediatric Overhead Athletes.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to discuss common elbow injuries found in pediatric athletes who participate in sports that entail overhead movements with focus on mechanism, clinical features, imaging appearance, and treatment options. CONCLUSION. Elbow injuries are commonly seen in pediatric overhead athletes and have been on the rise owing to the increased participation in and demand of youth sports. Imaging plays a critical role in identifying the type and severity of injury, which helps to determine appropriate treatment options.
How to Assess a Class

Once we have assessed the individual performance of all the students in the class, it is desirable to combine these estimates into a class assessment. A natural way to assess the class is to provide the average grade and some measure of deviation from this average grade.
Identification of a pyruvate-to-lactate signature in pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms.

Abstract Objective We used transcriptomic profiling and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to search for a functional imaging strategy to resolve common problems with morphological imaging of cystic neoplasms and benign cystic lesions of the pancreas. Methods Resected pancreatic cancer (n = 21) and normal pancreas were laser-capture micro-dissected, and transcripts were quantified by RNAseq. Functional imaging targets were validated at the protein level by IHC on a pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissue microarray and a newly created tissue microarray of resected intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) and IPMN-associated adenocarcinomas. Results Genes encoding proteins responsible for cellular import of pyruvate, export of lactate, and conversion of pyruvate to lactate were highly upregulated in pancreatic adenocarcinoma compared to normal pancreas. Strong expression of MCT4 and LDHA was observed by IHC in >90% of adenocarcinoma specimens. In IPMNs, the pyruvate-to-lactate signature was significantly elevated in high grade dysplasia (HGD) and IPMN-associated adenocarcinoma. Additionally, cores containing HGD and/or adenocarcinoma exhibited a higher number of peri-lesional stromal cells and a significant increase in peri-lesional stromal cell staining of LDHA and MCT4. Interestingly, the pyruvate-to-lactate signature was significantly upregulated in cores containing only low grade dysplasia (LGD) from patients with histologically confirmed IPMN-associated adenocarcinoma versus LGD cores from patients with non-invasive IPMNs. Conclusion Our results suggest prospective studies with hyperpolarized [1– 13 C]-pyruvate magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging are warranted. If these IHC results translate to functional imaging findings, a positive pyruvate-to-lactate imaging signature might be a risk factor for invasion that would warrant resection of IPMNs in the absence of other worrisome features.
Long-term outcomes of surgical resection for stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer: A national analysis

Abstract Objective Treatment guidelines recommend surgical resection in select cases of stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) but are based on limited evidence. This study evaluated outcomes associated with surgery in stage IV disease. Methods Factors associated with survival of stage IV NSCLC patients treated with surgery in the National Cancer Date Base (2004–2013) were evaluated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses. Outcomes of the subset of patients with cT1-2, N0-1, M1 and cT3, N0, M1 disease treated with surgery or chemoradiation were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier analyses. Results The five-year survival of all stage IV NSCLC patients who underwent surgical resection (n = 3098) was 21.1%. Outcomes were related to the locoregional extent of the primary tumor, as both increasing T status (T2 HR 1.30 [p Conclusions Surgery for cT1-2, N0-1, M1 or cT3, N0, M1 disease is associated with a 5-year survival of 25% and does not appear to compromise outcomes when compared to non-operative therapy, supporting guidelines that recommend surgery for very select patients with stage IV disease. However, surgery provides less benefit and should be considered much less often for stage IV patients with mediastinal nodal disease or more locally advanced tumors.
Optimal Estimation and Control

Estimation and control are the two fundamental problems for dynamical systems. Many engineering design tasks can be formulated into either an estimation or control problem associated ith some appropriate performance index. State-space representations facilitate the development of the computational tool for optimal design and enabling design of optimal estimators and controllers. Without exaggeration optimal estimation and control are the two most celebrated results in engineering system design. They have brought in not only the design algorithms but also the new design methodology that has had far reaching impacts as evidenced by the wide use of Kalman filtering and feedback control in almost every aspect of the system engineering. Nevertheless it is the conceptual notions from linear system theory that empower the state of the art design algorithms and allow applications of optimal estimation and control in engineering practice. This chapter covers the well-known results in Kalman filtering and quadratic regulators that have enriched engineering system design. It also covers optimal output estimators and full information control that are developed more recently. Estimation aims at design of state estimators that reconstruct the state vector based on measurements of the past and present input and output data. Due to the unknown and random nature of the possible disturbance at the input and the corrupting noise at the output, it is impossible to reconstruct the true state vector in real-time. Therefore the design objective for state estimators will be minimization of the estimation error variance by assuming white noises for input disturbances and output measurement errors. The focus will be on design of optimal linear estimators. Disturbance rejection has been the primary objective in feedback control system design in which white noises are the main concern. The emphasis will be placed on the design of state-feedback controllers to not only stabilize the feedback control system but also minimize the adverse effect due to white noise disturbances. With the variance as the performance measure, optimal control leads to linear feedback controllers that are dual to optimal linear estimators.
Systematic Implications of DNA Restriction Site Variation in Hymenoxys and Tetraneuris (Asteraceae, Helenieae, Gaillardiinae)

Generic delimitation in the Hymenoxys complex has long been problematic. One taxonomic extreme would recognize only Hymenoxys, whereas the other would split the obviously related taxa into as many as eight genera. This study examined restriction site variation in both cpDNA and nrDNA in the Hymenoxys complex. Fifty-six populations representing 21 species (four with two varieties each) and six of the eight possible genera were analyzed using 21 enzymes, which resulted in the detection of 358 restriction site changes of which 171 were potentially phylogenetically informative. Wagner parsimony using synapomorphic characters generated 26,600 equally parsimonious trees of 223 steps with a consistency index of 0.76 and a retention index of 0.98. Bootstrap analysis indicated that the major clades were strongly supported. The DNA tree supports the recognition of Tetraneuris as a genus separate from Hymenoxys, and the inclusion in Hymenoxys of taxa that at times have been split into the genera Dugaldia, Macdougalia, Phileozera, Picradenia, and Plummera.
GPU-Based Parallel Implementation of K-Means Clustering Algorithm for Image Segmentation

Clustering algorithms group a dataset into clusters that have common features. Clustering has applications in computer vision, data mining, market segmentation etc. The k-means clustering algorithm is one of the most popular algorithms where the mean is used as a prototype of the cluster. In this paper, we explore accelerating the performance of k-means clustering using NVIDIA Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) programmed with CUDA C. Different optimization techniques are applied such as the use of shared memory for image data and the use of constant memory for cluster data. The performance results are evaluated on a range of images from small ($256\times 256$ pixels) to large ($1024\times 1024$ pixels) and number of clusters range from 4 to 256. We find that on an average, the parallel implementation has a 9x speed up as compared to the sequential version for 4 clusters. The speedup increases to 57x as number of clusters increase to 256. This implementation also performs better than a reference implementation from Northwestern University/UC Berkeley.
TD-02 Kidney tissue damage in mice with single and combined abnormalities in complement, interferon and apoptotic cell clearance

Background Lupus nephritis (LN) affects ∼70% of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and is one of the main contributors to morbidity and mortality. While defective clearance of apoptotic cells (AC), immune complexes, and type 1 interferons (IFN) are strongly implicated in lupus pathogenesis, the precise way that each impacts kidney protection and injury is unknown. Methods To investigate mechanisms of kidney injury in a lupus-like disease model, we created C57BL/6 mice with defective clearance of AC (Mfge8-/-) and anti-chromatin antibodies (sle1) that were also deficient in either C1q [C1q Triple mutant (C1qTM)] or C3 (C3TM). Kidney injury was evaluated by urine albumin/creatinine ratio (UCAR), PAS staining, and immunofluorescence (IF) staining. The effect of IFN-I on disease was studied in C3TM mice by a single injection of an adenovirus expressing IFNα (AdV-IFNα). Results Sle1 mice deficient in MFGE8 developed significantly higher titers of autoantibodies directed at lupus antigens compared to sle1 mice alone. When MFGE8-/- Sle1 mice also had C1q or C3 deficiency, a further increase in anti-DNA (figure 1A) and other autoantibodies was observed. Both TM strains showed AC accumulation in the kidneys (figure 1B) and C1qTM mice had decreased survival. Remarkably, we detected glomerular deposition of C3/C3d in C1qTM (figure 1C) and the membrane attack complex (MAC) in C3TM mice. To dissociate the effects of complement on B cells versus effects on the kidney, we studied antibody mediated kidney injury (Nephrotoxic Nephritis, NTN) in mice deficient in AC clearance and complement proteins [double knockout (DKO) (Mfge8-/-C1q-/- or Mfge8-/-C3-/-) mice]. NTN in C1q DKO and C3 DKO mice revealed a significantly elevated UACR compared to the single mutants. IF analyses also revealed glomerular C3/C3d deposition in C1qDKO mice and MAC deposition in C3DKO mice. A single injection of AdV-IFNα accelerated kidney damage in C3TM mice, resulting in increased anti-dsDNA IgG titers, UACR, and PAS staining. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that early component complement deficiencies have two distinct effects: they promote enhanced B cell autoreactivity and they protect against kidney disease. Increased glomerular C3/C3d deposition in C1qTM and NTN C1qDKO mice suggest activation of the lectin or alternative complement pathways. Increased MAC deposition in C3TM and NTN C3DKO mice indicates that a C3–independent mechanism leads to distal complement activation and MAC formation. These data prompt models of tissue injury in low complement states that will require assessment in human SLE and provide rationale for targeted therapeutics that are not currently used.
Benjamin A. Cowan, Securing Sex: Morality and Repression in the Making of Cold War Brazil

Benjamin A. Cowan. Securing Sex: Morality and Repression in the Making of Cold War Brazil. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2016. 340pp. ISBN:978-1-4696-2750-2 (paperback). Price £36.95.
Safety Consequences from Design Flexibility in Rural to Urban Transitions

While all roadway design is situation-specific and requires balancing unique local elements and needs, rural roadway design requires even more flexibility (and possibly variance from tradition) while still remaining within the ranges of AASHTO's "Green Book." Rural design's unique considerations include the needs of both through and local users and speed reductions when the roadway transitions into more populous areas. The authors present case studies throughout the U.S. showing minor design flexibility in rural areas had few discernable effects on safety, but supported staying within "Green Book" design values.
Outcomes Following Posterior Lumbar Fusion in Patients with Polycythemia Vera.

Background Polycythemia vera (PV) is a chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm that is associated with increased risk for venous and arterial thromboembolism. The aim of this study was to evaluate outcomes following elective posterior lumbar fusion (PLF) and/or posterior interbody fusion (PLIF) among patients with PV. Methods Using PearlDiver retrospective national database, Medicare patients Results Selected study participants included 1491 patients with PV and 29,056 patients in the matched control group. Patients with PV had a significantly increased rate of 90-day acute pulmonary embolism (1.9% vs. 1.2%, odds ratio [OR] 1.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10–2.38, P = 0.010), 90-day lower extremity deep vein thrombosis (3.4% vs. 1.9%, OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.33–2.40, P Conclusions Patients with PV undergoing elective PLF and/or PLIF have a significantly increased risk for pulmonary embolism, lower extremity deep vein thrombosis, and surgical site infection.
Thrust and Acoustic Performance of Small-Scale, Coaxial, Corotating Rotors in Hover

The findings from a test campaign aimed at understanding the thrust and acoustic performance of a small-scale, coaxial, corotating rotor in hover are discussed. Measurements of axial thrust are acq...
Challenges of Very Long-term Reporting in Stress Urinary Incontinence Surgeries in Women.

Abstract Objective To review studies on surgeries to correct stress urinary incontinence (SUI) with very long-term results (≥ 10 years) to explore the challenges in reporting long-term follow-up. Methods A comprehensive Ovid and PubMed search was conducted for articles containing long-term data over 10 years for the most commonly established surgical procedures to correct SUI. The methods of follow-up, lost to follow-up (LTF) rates, cure rates, and complications were compared. Results SUI corrective surgeries reviewed included: tension free vaginal tape, transobturator sling, retropubic suspensions (Burch, Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz), autologous fascial sling, and Stamey needle suspension. Mean follow-up of all 17 studies was 12.6 years (range: 10-17 years) with sample sizes ranging from 26 to 650 patients. Methods of follow-up included clinic visits (n = 11), telephone interviews (n = 8), or mailed questionnaires (n = 5). Mean LTF rate was 24% (range: 10-49%). Mean objective and subjective cure rate with varying success definitions was 86% (range 81-91%) and 69%, respectively (range: 33-94%). The most common complications included de novo urgency (range: 2-70%), repeat SUI/prolapse surgeries (range: 2–37%), mesh/suture exposure (range: 1–9%), voiding problems (range: 2–36%), and pain (range: 2–14%). Conclusion All very long-term data for SUI surgeries share considerable LTF, infrequent examination data, mostly questionnaire-based information, and variable success rates from varying success definitions. Standardization of all these key outcome measures is urgently needed to provide more reliable long-term information on the outcome of these procedures.
Satellite-derived foresummer drought sensitivity of plant productivity in Rocky Mountain headwater catchments: spatial heterogeneity and geological-geomorphological control

Author(s): Wainwright, HM; Steefel, C; Trutner, SD; Henderson, AN; Nikolopoulos, EI; Wilmer, CF; Chadwick, KD; Falco, N; Schaettle, KB; Brown, JB; Steltzer, H; Williams, KH; Hubbard, SS; Enquist, BJ | Abstract: Long-term plot-scale studies have found water limitation to be a key factor driving ecosystem productivity in the Rocky Mountains. Specifically, the intensity of early summer (the 'foresummer' period from May to June) drought conditions appears to impose critical controls on peak ecosystem productivity. This study aims to (1) assess the importance of early snowmelt and foresummer drought in controlling peak plant productivity, based on the historical Landsat normalized-difference vegetation index (NDVI) and climate data; (2) map the spatial heterogeneity of foresummer drought sensitivity; and (3) identify the environmental controls (e.g. geomorphology, elevation, geology, plant types) on drought sensitivity. Our domain (15 15 km) includes four drainages within the East Water watershed near Gothic, Colorado, USA. We define foresummer drought sensitivity based on the regression slopes of the annual peak NDVI against the June Palmer Drought Severity Index between 1992 and 2010. Results show that foresummer drought sensitivity is spatially heterogeneous, and primarily dependent on the plant type and elevation. In support of the plot-based studies, we find that years with earlier snowmelt and drier foresummer conditions lead to lower peak NDVI; particularly in the low-elevation regions. Using random forest analysis, we identify additional key controls related to surface energy exchanges (i.e. potential net radiation), hydrological processes (i.e. microtopography and slope), and underlying geology. This remote-sensing-based approach for quantifying foresummer drought sensitivity can be used to identify the regions that are vulnerable or resilient to climate perturbations, as well as to inform future sampling, characterization, and modeling studies.
Evaluating digital PCR for the quantification of human nuclear DNA: determining target strandedness

Digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) methodology has been asserted to be a "potentially primary" analytical approach for assigning DNA concentration. The essence of dPCR measurements is the independent dispersal of fragments into multiple reaction partitions, amplifying fragments containing a target nucleotide sequence until the signal from all partitions containing at least one such fragment rises above threshold, and then determining the proportion of partitions with an above-threshold signal. Should originally double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) fragments be converted into two single strands (ssDNA) prior to dispersal, the dPCR measurements could be biased high by as much as a factor of two. Realizing dPCR's metrological potential therefore requires analytical methods for determining the proportion of ssDNA in nominally dsDNA samples. To meet this need, we have investigated several approaches to this determination: A260 ratio, dPCR ratio, cdPCR staircase, and ddPCR enzyme. In our hands, only the endonuclease-based approach provides adequately accurate estimates for relatively small ssDNA proportions. We present four (enzyme, assay) pairs that provide self-consistent results for human nuclear DNA extracts. However, the proportion of ssDNA differs by as much as 50% between assays, apparently related to the guanine-cytosine (GC) content of the fragment near the assay's target sequence. While materials extracted by us have no more than 6% ssDNA content even after long storage, a commercially obtained PCR assay calibrant contains ≈18% ssDNA. Graphical abstract.
A Review of New Medications and Future Directions of Medical Therapies in Glaucoma.

Background: Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. Treatment is still largely targeted at lowering intraocular pressure. Intraocular pressures can be lowered through a variet...
Early Experience With Locked Intramedullary Wrist Arthrodesis.

Purpose The most common method of total wrist arthrodesis is dorsal compression plating, which can require revision for soft tissue or tendon irritation. A locked intramedullary system was developed to reduce this complication. The goal of this study was to investigate the complication rate of total wrist arthrodesis using this system in our center. Methods A retrospective chart review of all patients undergoing intramedullary wrist arthrodesis from January 2016 to February 2018 was performed. Results Nine wrist arthrodeses were performed with locked intramedullary wrist fusion in 5 women and 4 men. The indications for fusion included posttraumatic arthritis in 7 and inflammatory arthritis in 2. Two patients underwent primary arthrodesis and 7 had revision from prior partial wrist fusions. Local bone graft at the radiocarpal joint was used in all cases. The mean follow-up was 27 weeks. Radiocarpal fusion was achieved in 8 patients after the initial procedure and in the ninth patient after revision. There were 6 complications in 4 patients with revision reoperation required in 3. The complications were metacarpal locking screw migration in 3, metacarpal fracture in 1, radiocarpal nonunion in 1, and symptomatic middle finger carpometacarpal nonunion in 1. The revision surgeries include distal screw removal in 1, distal screw removal with replacement in 1, and bone grafting in the radiocarpal nonunion. Conclusions Use of the locked intramedullary wrist fusion system yields high fusion rates. However, based on the high complication rate, particularly from distal screw migration, and the high revision rate in this series, we recommend caution with the use of this system. Type of study/level of evidence Therapeutic V.
Additive manufacturing of flexible nanocomposite SAW sensor for strain detection

The development of a flexible surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device has been gradually emerged due to its unobtrusive size, passive, and wireless competencies. The concept behind this work is to additively develop a flexible surface acoustic wave (SAW) device with enhanced electromechanical properties capable of detecting mechanical strain occurring in aerospace applications. The nanocomposite substrate is made of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) owing to its flexibility, piezoelectricity, long-term stability, and easy processing incorporated with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as nanofillers. Adding CNTs to the polymer matrix for electromechanical properties enhancement is investigated through additive manufacturing (AM) process. Both the thin substrate and the interdigital transducer (IDT) are fabricated through direct digital manufacturing (DDM), exhibiting favorable piezoelectric and electrical properties. Various device characteristics of fabricated SAW sensor, including the generation and propagation of Rayleigh waves and the changes in wave characteristics, such as frequency, admittance, and impedance, are discussed in this paper. The effects of IDT dimensions and the resonant frequency response of the developed SAW device are also examined with numerical analysis.
Effect of Auditory Distraction on Working Memory, Attention Switching, and Listening Comprehension

The effect of non-informational speech spectrum noise as a distractor on cognitive and listening comprehension ability was examined in fifty-three young, normal hearing adults. Time-controlled tasks were used to measure auditory working memory (WM) capacity and attention switching (AS) ability. Listening comprehension was measured using a lecture, interview, and spoken narratives test. Noise level was individually set to achieve at least 90% or higher speech intelligibility. Participants’ listening comprehension in the presence of distracting noise was better on inference questions compared to listening in quiet. Their speed of information processing was also significantly faster in WM and AS tasks in noise. These results were consistent with the view that noise may enhance arousal levels leading to faster information processing during cognitive tasks. Whereas the speed of AS was faster in noise, this rapid switching of attention resulted in more errors in updating items. Participants who processed information faster in noise and did so accurately, more effectively switched their attention to refresh/rehearse recall items within WM. More efficient processing deployed in the presence of noise appeared to have led to improvements in WM performance and making inferences in a listening comprehension task. Additional research is required to examine these findings using background noise that can cause informational masking.
The Relationship Between Workload and Non-Contact Musculoskeletal Injury in College Swimmers: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Context Swimmers are known for high training loads and overuse injuries, but few studies have investigated the relationship between the two at the college level. Objective To determine the association between workload and non-contact musculoskeletal injury in college swimmers. We hypothesized (1) higher overall workload (kilometers swum throughout the season) would be associated with increased odds of injury and (2) the ratio of the current week's (acute) workload divided by the current month's (chronic) workload (i.e., the acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR)) would be more strongly associated with odds of injury than acute or chronic workloads alone. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting College natatorium. Patients or other participants Thirty-seven Division III college swimmers. Main outcome measures Logistic regression using generalized estimating equations was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for injury relative to high workloads and high ACWRs. Injury rates for several ranges of workloads and ACWRs were also calculated. Results Eleven participants (29.7%) sustained 12 injuries, with seven injuries occurring during the participants' winter training trip. Injury was associated with high acute workloads (OR = 27.1 [95% CI = 8.2, 89.8]) and high ACWRs (OR = 25.1 [95% CI = 7.7, 81.4]) but not high chronic workloads (OR = 2.6 [95% CI = 0.3, 20.0]) or overall workloads (OR = 1.00 [95% CI = 0.99, 1.01]). High acute workloads (>37.2 km/week) and high ACWRs (>1.56) increased injury rate from ≤1% to 15% and 14%, respectively, compared to all lower acute workloads and ACWRs. Conclusions College swimmers can tolerate high workloads spread out over the season. However, caution should be used when prescribing high acute workloads and high ACWRs (e.g., winter training trip) due to increased odds of injury.
Building intimacy through linguistic choices, text structure and voices in political discourse

Abstract This paper analyzes linguistic variables employed strategically in various instances of political communication to present different levels of intimacy in relation to a continuum between contextuality and formality (Heylighen and Dewaele, 2002) in political talk. Within a given situation, political actors express these choices also in relation to a broader context around their personas: the Message (Lempert and Silverstein, 2012, 2003). The linguistic variables under consideration range from concrete units such as lexical choices (i.e., “marked register usages” [Koven, 2007; Myers-Scotton, 2001], to narratives of belonging (Duranti, 2006), to textual organization and instances of intertextuality (Blackledge, 2005; Fairclough, 1992, 2003; Wodak, 2008), in particular, by means of different voices (Bakhtin, 1981) politicians bring into the here-and-now moment of discourse. The data for the analysis is obtained from different instances of political talk (speeches and debates) and different politicians (Palin, Biden, George W. Bush and Obama). The linguistic variables display different levels of formality indexing two Aristotelian modes of persuasion: Pathos and Ethos.
Control of standing and gait using electrical stimulation: influence of muscle model complexity on control strategy.

Publisher Summary The human body is a multiple-link, unstable inverted pendulum and remains upright only through central nervous system (CNS) motor control programs acting through neuromuscular system actuators. The control problem is to provide reliable, static balance while standing and dynamic balance and trajectory tracking while walking. This chapter presents three approaches to control standing and gait in paraplegics through functional electrical stimulation. The approaches differ in their requirements for modeling the muscle actuator. The first approach describes a detailed muscle model and presents methods for the rapid experimental parameterization of the model. The second requires a less detailed model and knowledge of model error bounds to design advanced, nonlinear controllers that guarantee stability. The third approach needs no muscle model, because it controls limb trajectories through combining stimulation with an orthosis containing controllable friction brakes at the joints. Future clinical systems may use one or a combination of these approaches to restore useful function.
Estimation of Variance of the Ratio Estimator: An Empirical Study.

Abstract : Several estimators of variance of the ratio estimator in simple random sampling have been proposed in Cochran (1977), Fuller (1981), Royall and Cumberland (1978), Royall and Eberhardt (1975), Wu (1982). Their performances are compared on nine populations that reflect different features of natural populations encountered in practice. One criterion is the mean square error of the variance estimator as a point estimator of the variance of ratio; the other is the reliability of the associated t-interval. (Author)
Regional variation in hospitalization for stroke among Asians/Pacific Islanders in the United States: a nationwide retrospective cohort study.

Background In Asia, stroke incidence varies dramatically from country to country. Little is known about stroke incidence in Asians/Pacific Islanders in the US, where regional heterogeneity in Asian/Pacific Islander sub-populations is great. We sought to characterize both the national and regional incidences of first and recurrent hospitalized acute ischemic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and intracerebral hemorrhage in Asians/Pacific Islanders compared to non-Hispanic whites.
The priB and priC replication proteins of Escherichia coli. Genes, DNA sequence, overexpression, and purification.

Abstract The Escherichia coli DNA replication proteins n and n" function in vitro in the assembly of the primosome, a mobile multiprotein replication priming complex thought to operate on the lagging-strand template at the E. coli DNA replication fork. Both proteins have been purified from E. coli HMS83 cells based on their requirement for the reconstitution of bacteriophage phi X174 complementary strand DNA synthesis in vitro with purified proteins. As a step toward understanding the role of these proteins in vivo, the genes for primosomal proteins n and n", designated priB and priC, respectively, have been cloned molecularly. priB encodes a 104-amino acid 11.4-kDa polypeptide and corresponds to an previously identified open reading frame between rpsF and rps R within a ribosomal protein operon at 95.5 min on the E. coli chromosome. priC encodes a 175-amino acid 20.3-kDa polypeptide. These two gene products were overexpressed at least 1000-fold in E. coli using a bacteriophage T7 transient expression system. Both proteins have been purified to apparent homogeneity from extracts prepared from these overproducing strains.
Social Issues and Media Sensationalism: The Effectiveness of Teaching Methods to Affect their Perceived Importance

This study assessed the perceived importance of various social issues and the effect that teaching methods have on business students' perceptions of those issues. Subjects in the test group were shown an educational video that explained how some social issues are reported inaccurately with extensive coverage, or sensationalized in the media, resulting in a “moral panic.” Other issues are not covered as extensively, but may have a more significant impact on business, society and the subject. The importance of five social issues was rated by students who had completed a course that covered business ethics and social responsibility content and those who had not taken the course yet. Results indicated that business ethics and social responsibility course content had no effect on perceived importance of social issues, but that viewing the video did. Subjects who viewed the educational video on social issues in the news media rated those issues receiving extensive coverage as lower in importance than those subjects who did not view the video. Also, subjects who viewed the educational video rated those issues not receiving extensive coverage as higher in importance than those subjects who did not view the video. Implications for business ethics and social responsibility educators are discussed.
Membrane adenosine triphosphatase from Streptococcus faecalis. Preparation and homogeneity.

Abstract The membrane adenosine triphosphatase from Streptococcus faecalis has been purified by heat treatment, gel filtration through Agarose, and repeated chromatography on diethylaminoethyl cellulose. The purified ATPase appears to be homogeneous as judged from gel electrophoresis and sedimentation velocity studies. Sedimentation equilibrium studies, which are presented in the succeeding paper, also indicate that the purified preparation is homogeneous. Both products of the ATPase reaction, ADP and inorganic phosphate, are competitive inhibitors of the enzyme with Ki values of 0.7 and 10 mm, respectively, and the two have synergistic inhibitory effects. The purified enzyme does not catalyze an ADP-ATP exchange, and no evidence for a phosphorylated enzyme intermediate could be found. No cooperative homotropic effect of ATP on the purified enzyme could be observed over the range of substrate concentrations tested.
Single-Molecule Cellular Biophysics

Research on single-molecule cellular biophysics is an emerging field that is rapidly advancing based on the development of new instrumentation and experimental designs. To understand complex biological systems, researchers require instrumentation and techniques that span many orders of scale. The measured units include length, force, energy, time, and concentration and the validation of measurements for both in vivo and in vitro studies, as well as the limitations of the techniques and an understanding of the perturbations that the techniques induce in the experimental systems.
Equity and Efficiency in Tax Reform in Developing Countries

This paper provides a critical analysis of the current consensus on tax reform in developing countries in terms of both efficiency and equity objectives. Drawing on the recent theoretical advances it shows that the emphasis on value-added tax (VAT) as the main instrument for indirect taxation is likely to result in inefficiency in resource allocation due to production and consumption substitutions in favor of the informal/shadow economy. Such a reform can also have adverse effects on the long-run growth as a small formal sector reduces the scope for technological progress in the economy. Imposition of VAT may also retard the development of markets, especially in the rural areas. The tax reform policies implemented in a large number of developing countries that reduce the tariff and shifts the burden of raising revenue to VAT are also likely to be undesirable in terms of equity. The available evidence shows that the current emphasis on uniform VAT is especially regressive. The prevalence of corruption in tax administration is likely to make the incidence of tax reform more inequitable as compliance with VAT is information-intensive, and thus it places the poor in a disadvantage in the bargaining against a corrupt tax collector given their lack of education and record-keeping.
Global warming potential predictions for hydrofluoroethers with two carbon atoms

Global warming potentials are predicted using computational chemistry and thermodynamics approaches for four hydrofluoroethers where no data have previously been available. We also compare results with the same methodology for six other species. We combine predictions of radiative forcing values from density functional theory computations at the B3LYP/6-31g* level of theory with previous experimentally determined or newly estimated hydroxyl radical-hydrogen abstraction rate constants to obtain these global warming potentials. We find that many of the HFEs studied have lower global warming potentials than the hydrofluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons they may soon replace, although other environmental and technical issues may need to be addressed first.
Comment on 'Drag coefficient of spheres in continuum and rarefied flows'

A paper by Henderson (1976) provides a method of predicting experimental sphere drag data. This approach uses two equations for the drag coefficient, one for relative Mach number less than one, one for relative Mach number greater than 1.75. For relative Mach numbers between these limits a linear interpolation procedure is followed. In a comment on this paper, it is claimed, on the basis of comparing predictions with experimental results, that a method proposed by Walsh (1975) gives better predictions of the drag coefficient for relative Mach numbers less than 1.75, provided that a modification of the procedure is made for relative Mach numbers less than 0.1. For values over 1.75, both methods are considered equally accurate. In a reply to this comment, it is agreed that the Walsh method is more accurate when Reynolds numbers are within a range between 20 and 200, and Mach numbers are between 0.5 and 1.25. Presumed errors and possible limitations in the Walsh procedure for predicting drag coefficients are discussed.
Inferring the Cellular Origin of Voltage and Calcium Alternans from the Spatial Scales of Phase Reversal during Discordant Alternans

Beat-to-beat alternation of the action potential duration (APD) in paced cardiac cells has been linked to the onset of lethal arrhythmias. Both experimental and theoretical studies have shown that alternans at the single cell level can be caused by unstable membrane voltage (Vm) dynamics linked to steep APD-restitution, or unstable intracellular calcium (Ca) cycling linked to high sensitivity of Ca release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum on sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca load. Identifying which of these two mechanisms is the primary cause of cellular alternans, however, has remained difficult since Ca and Vm are bidirectionally coupled. Here, we use numerical simulations of a physiologically detailed ionic model to show that the origin of alternans can be inferred by measuring the length scales over which APD and Cai alternans reverse phase during spatially discordant alternans. The main conclusion is that these scales are comparable to a few millimeters and equal when alternans is driven by APD restitution, but differ markedly when alternans is driven predominantly by unstable Ca cycling. In the latter case, APD alternans still reverses phase on a millimeter tissue scale due to electrotonic coupling, while Ca alternans reverses phase on a submillimeter cellular scale. These results show that experimentally accessible measurements of Cai and Vm in cardiac tissue can be used to shed light on the cellular origin of alternans.
Acute Water Intoxication During Military Urine Drug Screening

ABSTRACTRandom mandatory urine drug screening is a routine practice in the military. The pressure to produce a urine specimen creates a temptation to consume large volumes of water, putting those individuals at risk of acute water intoxication. This occurs when the amount of water consumed exceeds the kidney’s ability to excrete it, resulting in hyponatremia owing to excess amount of water compared to serum solutes. The acute drop in serum osmolality leads to cerebral edema, causing headaches, confusion, seizures, and death. There has been increasing awareness of the danger of overhydration among performance athletes, but dangers in other groups can be underappreciated. We present the case of a 37-year-old male Air Force officer who developed acute water intoxication during urine drug screening. Our case demonstrates the need for a clear Air Force policy for mandatory drug testing to minimize the risk of developing this potentially fatal condition.
Understanding the heterogeneity of depression through the triad of symptoms, course and risk factors: a longitudinal, population-based study.

Abstract Background: There is an ongoing research effort to test if depression is a homogeneous clinical syndrome and to identify valid and useful subtypes based on the number and nature of depressive symptoms. This study summarizes the patterns of depressive symptoms evident in a prospective study of the general population and examines the validity of potential subtypes by studying their course and etiologic heterogeneity. Methods: A general population sample of 1920 adults (aged 18–96) from the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) follow-up study (1981 to 1993/6) were examined. Data on diagnoses, symptoms, course and risk factors were collected using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS). Latent class analysis was applied to summarize symptom patterns. Course characteristics and risk factor profiles were compared among potential subtypes based on the number of symptom groups or symptom patterns. Logistic regression models were used to examine the etiologic heterogeneity among potential subtypes based on symptoms. Results: The number of symptom groups gave the most efficient insight into differential etiologic processes. Severe depression (7–9 symptom groups) was associated with female gender, family history of depression but not with stressful life events before the onset of the first episode. Moderate (5–6 symptom groups) and mild depression (3–4 symptom groups) were associated with family history of depression, stressful life events before the onset, but not with female gender. The latent class model generated patterns of depressive psychopathology as follows: anhedonia, suicidal, psychomotor, and severely depressed subtypes. The Anhedonia subtype showed a course and risk factor profile distinct from the others. Limitations: The measurement of psychopathology was based on self-reported DIS interviews instead of psychiatric assessments. Recall or report bias cannot be excluded in the ascertainment of family history and stressful life events. Conclusions: Depression is heterogeneous, even below the threshold of syndromal diagnosis. The severity of an episode appears to be more informative than the pattern of symptoms, with the possible exception of a putative anhedonic subtype.
DEPTH PROFILING OF HYDROGEN IN AMORPHOUS MEDIA AND APPLICABLE TO QUARTZ AIR FILTERS

Abstract We have explored the use of proton–proton coincidence, at proton energy of 6.35 MeV, for hydrogen determination and depth profiling in amorphous media. The method has been applied to quartz air filters. This non-destructive method is highly specific to hydrogen, depending only on the energy-loss distribution in p–p scattering events. The method, combined with other techniques, can be used to measure the total amount and depth distribution of particulate organic matter in aerosols on quartz air. The results for ambient air quartz filters show that the technique can separate several kinds of gaseous organic artifact, one of which cannot be corrected through the standard use of tandem quartz filters.