cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Maximizing the utility of consumption with commutable life annuities

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to reveal the relation between commutability of life annuities and retirees’ willingness to annuitize. To this end, we assume the existence of commutable life annuities, whose surrender charge is a proportion of their actuarial value. We model a retiree as a utility-maximizing economic agent who can invest in a financial market with a risky and a riskless asset and who can purchase or surrender commutable life annuities. We define the wealth of an individual as the total value of her risky and riskless assets, which is required to be non-negative during her lifetime. We exclude the actuarial value of her annuity income in calculating wealth; therefore, we do not allow the individual to borrow from her future annuity income because this income is contingent on her being alive. We solve this incomplete-market utility maximization problem via duality arguments and obtain semi-analytical solutions. We find that the optimal annuitization strategy depends on the size of proportional surrender charge, with lower proportional surrender charges leading to more annuitization. We also find that full annuitization is optimal when there is no surrender charge or when the retiree is very risk averse. Surprisingly, we find that in the case for which the proportional surrender charge is larger than a critical value, it is optimal for the retiree to behave as if annuities are not commutable. We provide numerical examples to illustrate our results.
Gender differences in empathy: the role of the right hemisphere.

The relationship between activation of the right cerebral hemisphere (RH) and empathy was investigated. Twenty-two men and 73 women participated by completing a chimeric face task and empathy questionnaire. For the face task, participants were asked to pick which of the two chimeric faces looked happier. Both men and women were significantly more likely to say the chimera with the smile to their left was happier, suggesting activation of the RH. As expected, men scored significantly lower than women on the empathy questionnaire, p = .003. A correlation was found between RH activation on the face task and empathy for women only, p = .037, suggesting a possible neural basis for gender differences in empathy.
The relative power of an emotion’s facial expression, label, and behavioral consequence to evoke preschoolers’ knowledge of its cause

Lay people and scientists alike assume that, especially for young children, facial expressions are a strong cue to another’s emotion. We report a study in which children (N = 120; 3–4 years) described events that would cause basic emotions (surprise, fear, anger, disgust, sadness) presented as its facial expression, as its label, or as its behavioral consequence. For no emotion was the facial expression the strongest cue. Performance for fear and disgust was more accurate given its label or its behavioral consequence than given its facial expression; performance for anger was more accurate given the consequence. For 3s, behavioral consequences were the strongest cues to emotion; for 4s, labels were.
Resonant flights and transient superdiffusion in a time-periodic, two-dimensional flow

Abstract Enhanced, passive transport is studied numerically in an oscillating vortex chain with stress-free boundary conditions. The long-range transport is found to be diffusive in the long-time limit with an effective diffusion coefficient D ∗ that peaks dramatically in the vicinity of a few, well-defined resonant frequencies. Superdiffusive transients are also observed for frequencies near these resonant frequencies, with the duration of the transients diverging at the resonant frequencies. Standard analytical techniques based on the Melnikov approximation and on lobe dynamics fail to explain the behavior in the vicinity of these resonant peaks. An alternate explanation is provided, based on flights that have power-law scaling up to a maximum length that also diverges at the resonant frequencies. The long flights for frequencies near the resonant peaks occur because tracers in a lobe return (after an integer number of oscillation periods) to almost precisely the same location in the lobe of another vortex. These periodic orbits correspond to the formation — only at the resonant frequencies — of “tangle islands” within the chaotic region.
Cigarette smoking impairs sperm bioenergetics

OBJECTIVE: The growing consensus on the negative impact of cigarette smoking on fertility prompted us to compare the rate of sperm respiration in smokers and non-smokers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Semen samples from 20 smokers and 58 non-smokers consulting at the andrology laboratory for fertility evaluation were used. Smoking was defined as consumption of at least a half a pack per day. A phosphorescence analyzer that measures O2 concentration in sperm suspensions as function of time was used to determine the rate of respiration. In a sealed vial, the rate of sperm respiration (k) was defined as -d[O2]/dt; where [O2] was obtained from the phosphorescence decay rate of a palladium phosphor. [O2] in solutions containing sperm and glucose declined linearly with time, showing the kinetics of O2 consumption was zero-order. Inhibition of O2 consumption by cyanide confirmed the oxidations that occurred in the sperm mitochondrial respiratory chain. RESULTS: There were no differences (p > 0.28) between smokers and non-smokers for ejaculate volume, motility, concentration, normal morphology, viability and hypo-osmotic swelling test. The rate (mean ± SD, in µM O2/min/108 sperm) of sperm mitochondrial O2 consumption in the smokers was 0.96 ± 0.58 and in the non-smokers 1.39 ± 0.67 (p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: The rate of sperm respiration was significantly lower in smokers. This negative impact of cigarette smoking on sperm aerobic metabolism may, in part, explain the lower rate of fertility in smokers.
Physical activity/fitness peaks during perimenopause and BMI change patterns are not associated with baseline activity/fitness in women: a longitudinal study with a median 7-year follow-up

Objective To assess the age-associated longitudinal trends in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), leisure-time physical activity (PA), and body mass index (BMI) across the lifespan in a cohort of adult women. Methods The sample included 1467 women from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study who were 30–79 years old at baseline and had 3–22 health examinations between 1971 and 2006. CRF was quantified by maximal Balke treadmill exercise tests. The total metabolic equivalent-minutes/week of self-reported PA and measured BMI (kg/m 2 ) were calculated. Results The overall pattern of CRF decreased over time. After age 60 years, fitness level tended to decline rapidly. Women at age 50 had the highest PA level, which decreased after age 50 and plateaued at age 60. The overall pattern of BMI increased with age. However, after age 60 years the rate of increase in BMI became much slower. Adjusting for smoking, health status, and the individual exposures of CRF, PA and BMI did not influence the observed associations. Women who did not meet current PA recommendation or those who were low fit at baseline had a higher BMI throughout adulthood than their more active or fit peers, but the trajectory of BMI was unassociated with baseline activity or fitness levels. Conclusion We concluded that the age-related longitudinal patterns in physical activity and fitness are not linear. Baseline activity and fitness levels are associated with BMI status during adulthood, but do not affect BMI change trajectory.
Value and Relation Display: Interactive Visual Exploration of Large Data Sets with Hundreds of Dimensions

Few existing visualization systems can handle large data sets with hundreds of dimensions, since high-dimensional data sets cause clutter on the display and large response time in interactive exploration. In this paper, we present a significantly improved multidimensional visualization approach named Value and Relation (VaR) display that allows users to effectively and efficiently explore large data sets with several hundred dimensions. In the VaR display, data values and dimension relationships are explicitly visualized in the same display by using dimension glyphs to explicitly represent values in dimensions and glyph layout to explicitly convey dimension relationships. In particular, pixel-oriented techniques and density-based scatterplots are used to create dimension glyphs to convey values. Multidimensional scaling, Jigsaw map hierarchy visualization techniques, and an animation metaphor named Rainfall are used to convey relationships among dimensions. A rich set of interaction tools has been provided to allow users to interactively detect patterns of interest in the VaR display. A prototype of the VaR display has been fully implemented. The case studies presented in this paper show how the prototype supports interactive exploration of data sets of several hundred dimensions. A user study evaluating the prototype is also reported in this paper.
TV1 taller than TV6 as the only electrocardiographic indication of cardiac disease.

A 67-year-old radiologist had a routine electrocardiogram before arthroscopic surgery (Figure). The computer interpreted it as normal. In fact, the electrocardiogram is normal except for an infrequently diagnosed pattern: the T wave in lead V1 is taller than that in V6. Figure A 67-year-old man's preoperative electrocardiogram was read by the computer as normal, but the T wave in lead V1 is taller than the T wave in V6. French and Russian articles initially recognized the TV1-taller-than-TV6 pattern as abnormal. In the first English- language article on the subject, Weyn and Marriott found this pattern and no other abnormality in approximately 1% of hospital electrocardiograms (1). Diagnoses in their 80 patients were coronary heart disease in 25%, systemic hypertension in 24%, lung disease in 11%, miscellaneous conditions in 23%, and no apparent disease in 17%. Perhaps because of the large hypertensive patient population, high blood pressure appears to be the most common disorder associated with isolated TV1 taller than TV6 at the Medical Center of Louisiana. Indeed, the patient whose electrocardiogram is shown in the Figure had long-standing, untreated high blood pressure averaging 155/95 mm Hg, a value he believed to be at the upper limit of normal. An echocardiogram revealed concentric left ventricular hypertrophy (wall thickness = 1.3 cm) in the absence of other abnormalities. With advanced left ventricular hypertrophy due to systemic hypertension, the T-wave vector is anteriorly directed and the QRS vector is large and posteriorly directed, giving deep S waves and positive T waves in lead V1 and tall R waves and inverted T waves in lead V6, the so-called left-ventricular-hypertrophy-with- strain pattern. Although the QRS changes often precede the T- wave changes, such is not always the case, and anterior rotation of the T-wave vector before significant QRS changes are seen accounts for the isolated TV1-taller-than-TV6 pattern in hypertensive patients. Dilaveris et al recently described a decrease in T-wave amplitude in the frontal plane as an early marker of altered ventricular repolarization that may occur before QRS voltage changes in patients with systemic hypertension (2). They did not comment on horizontal-plane changes, which account for the TV1-taller-than-TV6 pattern. Because positioning of the precordial leads may vary from one electrocardiogram to the next, occasionally the T in V1 is taller than that in V6 in one electrocardiogram but not another. Thus, the pattern of TV1 being taller than TV6 is more convincingly abnormal when seen in more than one electrocardiogram. Preoperative examination by an internist or cardiologist provides not only the opportunity to assess the risks of the procedure, but often the chance to evaluate and manage a variety of serious conditions not previously addressed. This patient now receives an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, and his blood pressure readings are consistently normal.
The flagellum of Trypanosoma brucei: new tricks from an old dog

African trypanosomes, i.e. Trypanosoma brucei and related sub-species, are devastating human and animal pathogens that cause significant human mortality and limit sustained economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. T. brucei is a highly motile protozoan parasite and coordinated motility is central to both disease pathogenesis in the mammalian host and parasite development in the tsetse fly vector. Therefore, understanding unique aspects of the T. brucei flagellum may uncover novel targets for therapeutic intervention in African sleeping sickness. Moreover, studies of conserved features of the T. brucei flagellum are directly relevant to understanding fundamental aspects of flagellum and cilium function in other eukaryotes, making T. brucei an important model system. The T. brucei flagellum contains a canonical 9+2 axoneme, together with additional features that are unique to kinetoplastids and a few closely-related organisms. Until recently, much of our knowledge of the structure and function of the trypanosome flagellum was based on analogy and inference from other organisms. There has been an explosion in functional studies in T. brucei in recent years, revealing conserved as well as novel and unexpected structural and functional features of the flagellum. Most notably, the flagellum has been found to be an essential organelle, with critical roles in parasite motility, morphogenesis, cell division and immune evasion. This review highlights recent discoveries on the T. brucei flagellum.
Ultrafiltration-based techniques for rapid and simultaneous concentration of multiple microbe classes from 100-L tap water samples

This study focused on ultrafiltration as a technique for simultaneously concentrating and recovering viruses, bacteria and parasites in 100-L drinking water samples. A chemical dispersant, sodium polyphosphate, and Tween 80 were used to increase microbial recovery efficiencies. Secondary concentration was performed to reduce sample volumes to 3-5 mL for analysis using tissue culture, microscopy, and real-time PCR and RT-PCR. At seeding levels of 100-1000 (CFU, PFU, oocysts, or particles), a "high-flux" ultrafiltration procedure was found to achieve mean recoveries of 51-94% of simultaneously seeded MS2 bacteriophage, echovirus 1, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium, Bacillus atrophaeus subsp. globigii endospores, Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts, and 4.5-mum microspheres. When 4-7% of the final sample concentrate volume was assayed using real-time PCR and RT-PCR, overall method sensitivities were <100 C. parvum oocysts, <240 PFU echovirus 1, <100 CFU Salmonella and approximately 160 CFU B. atrophaeus spores in 100-L drinking water samples. The "high-flux" ultrafiltration procedure required approximately 2 h, including time required for backflushing. Secondary concentration procedures required an additional 1-3 h, while nucleic acid extraction and real-time PCR procedures required an additional 2-2.5 h. Thus, this study demonstrated that efficient recovery and sensitive detection of diverse microbes in 100-L drinking water samples could be achieved within 5-8 h using ultrafiltration, rapid secondary processing techniques, and real-time PCR.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies of Schizophrenia

Abstract Schizophrenia is a complex disorder with distinct constellations of positive or “release” symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, and negative or “deficiency” symptoms, such as avolition and social isolation. Studies are reviewed that use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to probe the pathophysiology and treatment of schizophrenia. In terms of the former, studies targeting the motor cortex have suggested impaired cortical inhibitory mechanisms that may contribute to positive symptoms. In terms of the latter, some studies suggest that repetitive TMS may be useful in reducing negative symptoms and hallucinations. Although these findings are preliminary, they suggest that further studies using TMS in this patient population are warranted.
Buckling of Rotationally Restrained Orthotropic Plates Under Uniaxial Compression

A solution methodology is developed to predict critical conditions for rotationally restrained orthotropic plates loaded by a uniform axial com pression. In addition, parametric studies are performed to find the effect, on the critical load, of various elastic constants for a practical range of aspect ratio values and the entire range of rotational restraint, including the extreme cases of simply supported and clamped plates. The generated data are based on the assumption of symmetric boundary conditions (the amount of rotational restraint is equal for opposite sides) although the methodology is not limited by this assumption. Among the conclusions one may list that the most significant effect is that of the ratio of Young's moduli and amount of rotational restraint.
Automated lane change controller design

The primary focus of study in this paper is the background control theory for automated lane change maneuvers. We provide an analytic approach for the systematic development of controllers that will cause an autonomous vehicle to accomplish a smooth lane change suitable for use in an Automated Highway System. The design is motivated by the discontinuous availability of valid preview data from the sensing systems during lane-to-lane transitions. The task is accomplished by the generation of a virtual yaw reference and the utilization of a robust switching controller to generate steering commands that cause the vehicle to track that reference. In this way, the open loop lane change problem is converted into an equivalent virtual reference trajectory tracking problem. The approach considers optimality in elapsed time at an operating longitudinal velocity. Although the analysis is performed assuming that the road is straight, the generalization of the proposed algorithm to arbitrary road segments is rather straightforward. The outlined lane change algorithm has been implemented and tested on The Ohio State University test vehicles. Some of the experimental results are presented at the conclusion of this paper.
Computational Heat Transfer in Complex Systems: A Review of Needs and Opportunities

During the few decades, computational techniques for simulating heat transfer in complex industrial systems have reached maturity. Combined with increasingly sophisticated modeling of turbulence, chemistry, radiation, phase change and other physics, powerful computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and computational heat transfer (CHT) solvers have been developed which are beginning to enter the industrial design cycle. In this paper, an overview of emerging simulation needs is first given, and currently-available CFD techniques are evaluated in light of these needs. Emerging computational methods which address some of the failings of current techniques are then reviewed. New research opportunities for computational heat transfer, such as in sub-micron and multiscale heat transport, are reviewed. As computational techniques and physical models become mature, there is increasing demand for predictive simulation, that is, simulation which is not only verified and validated, but whose uncertainty is also quantified. Current work in the area of sensitivity computation and uncertainty propagation is described.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
LANDSCAPE-LEVEL CORRELATES OF SMALL-MAMMAL ASSEMBLAGES IN FOREST FRAGMENTS OF FARMLAND

We studied effects of forest fragmentation on 15 species of small mammals, including 6 species of forest-dwelling granivorous rodents, in the Indian Pine watershed of west-central Indiana. Presence‐absence and population densities of small mammals were assessed in spring in 35 woodlots of various sizes (0.1‐150 ha) and 2 continuous forest sites ( .1,000 ha) using live traps in 1992‐1996. Presence‐absence and population density were related to landscape attributes using logistic and multiple linear regression models, respectively. Species richness of forest-dwelling small mammals increased with area and was highest in continuous forest sites. Nested subsets of the full complement of species were found in smaller woodlots. White-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) were ubiquitous, and eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) were nearly ubiquitous across the landscape; densities of both species were related inversely to forested area. Fox squirrels ( Sciurus niger) were found at 84% of study sites, and they did not respond negatively to isolation of forest patches. Red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) were unevenly distributed across the landscape and were found most often in woodlots with large core areas and simple shapes, possibly indicating sensitivity to edge. Southern flying squirrels ( Glaucomys volans) and gray squirrels (S. carolinensis) were restricted to continuous forest sites and .4.6-ha woodlots adjacent to other wooded habitat. Species of small mammals differ appreciably in their sensitivities to agriculturally induced fragmentation of forests. Interspecific differences within this assemblage were not due solely, or even primarily, to body size. Rather, differential responses of species to fragmentation likely resulted from variation in habitat breadth and ability to move through an agricultural matrix.
A Transport Model for Estimating the Time Course of ERK Activation in the C. elegans Germline

The Caenorhabditis elegans germline is a well-studied model system for investigating the control of cell fate by signaling pathways. Cell signals at the distal tip of the germline promote cell proliferation; just before the loop, signals couple cell maturation to organism-level nutrient status; at the proximal end of the germline, signals coordinate oocyte maturation and fertilization in the presence of sperm. The latter two events require dual phosphorylation and activation of ERK, the effector molecule of the Ras/MAPK cascade. In C. elegans, ERK is known as MPK-1. At this point, none of today’s methods for real-time monitoring of dually phosphorylated MPK-1 are working in the germline. Consequently, quantitative understanding of the MPK-1-dependent processes during germline development is limited. Here, we make a step toward advancing this understanding using a model-based framework that reconstructs the time course of MPK-1 activation from a snapshot of a fixed germline. Our approach builds on a number of recent studies for estimating temporal dynamics from fixed organisms, but takes advantage of the anatomy of the germline to simplify the analysis. Our model predicts that the MPK-1 signal turns on ∼30 h into germ cell progression and peaks ∼7 h later.
Analyses of Irrigation and Drainage Problems: Input-Output and Econometric Models

Policymakers have an interest in regional economic models which can provide answers to policy related questions. The recognition that one region has effects on adjacent regions highlights the special problems of regional analysis. This requires recognition of economic relationships between the region under study and the remainder of the economy. The two major techniques of modeling regions are input-output and econometric modeling.
The 'Sub-National' Connection: Legislative Coalitions, Cross-Voting, and Policymaking in Argentina

In this paper, I examine under what conditions presidents succeed and under what conditions they fail in the legislative arena. I focus on the effects of cross-voting, and explain the variation in presidential legislative success. I claim that uncertainty about legislators' support for government bills and limited governmental resources to engage in 'vote buying' account for presidents' legislative performance. The aim is to show why it is very costly for Argentine presidents to pass legislation that directly affects provincial interests.
Abstract 13369: Effects of Glucose-Insulin-Potassium Infusion on C-Reactive Protein Levels in Patients With an Acute Coronary Syndrome

The clinical benefits of intravenous glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) observed in acute coronary syndromes (ACS) may in part be due to an anti-inflammatory effect. The IMMEDIATE Trial compared out-of-hospital emergency medical service-administered GIK to placebo for progression of ACS to myocardial infarction. Using data from the IMMEDIATE Trial biological mechanism cohort on those with confirmed ACS and who received study drug for at least 8 hours (N=143), we assessed the impact of GIK administration on C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in patients within the first 12 hours of drug infusion. We hypothesized that GIK would reduce CRP levels and that differences in CRP levels would be associated with ultimate infarct size. High sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) was measured at hospital presentation, soon after infusion initiation, and at 6 and 12 hours. Infarct size was measured at 30 days by sestamibi SPECT scan. Independent sample t-test and random mixed effect models were used to estimate differences in hs-CRP leve...
Augmentation of femoral venous flow in the dog by electrical stimulation of muscles.

ConclusionsFrom these observations it is concluded that the venous flow of blood from a limb is increased by muscular contractions elicited by periodic electrical stimulations. The increase in flow was from 80 to 100%. Results suggest that increased blood flow is one of the reasons why similar methods, when applied to a large number of postoperative patients, have effected a marked reduction in the incidence of venous thrombosis.
J-Aggregate Behavior in Poly-3-hexylthiophene Nanofibers

Nanofibers (NFs) of poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) assembled in toluene exhibit single-chain J-aggregate character. Absorption, fluorescence emission, and Raman spectroscopy of dilute NF dispersions demonstrate that P3HT chains possess long-range intrachain order (planarity) that suppresses interchain exciton coupling. We demonstrate that a delicate interplay exists between intrachain order and interchain coupling as revealed through the emission 0–0/0–1 vibronic intensity ratios. Lowering temperature and application of pressure induces minor perturbations in the NF packing, which destroys J-aggregate character and partially restores predominant interchain interactions (i.e., H-aggregate behavior). The fact that π–π stacked P3HT chains can exhibit both H- and J-aggregate behavior opens up new possibilities for controlling electronic coupling through noncovalent stacking interactions.
Effect of certain 2,4-diaminopyrimidine antagonists of folic acid on pregnancy and rat fetus.

Summary(1) 2, 4-diamino-5(3',4'-dichlorophenyl)-6-methylpyrimidine when given to pregnant rats in the doses described, prior to implantation, did not prevent implantation, but led to stunting or fetal death following implantation. When the compound was given following implantation a stunting or lethal effect on the fetuses was achieved depending on the amount of drug administered. The effect on the fetuses could be moderated with a higher yield of live litters but also of stunted and malformed animals when the mother rat was given leucovorin at the time of drug administration. (2) 2,4-diamino-5-p-chlorophenyl-6-ethylpyrimidine had a similar effect on the fetuses in 5 times higher concentration. (3) The malformations induced were similar to those obtained with structurally closely-related folic acid analogues. They consisted in general stunting of growth, general hydrops, cranial bone defects, incomplete cranial and brain development, rachischisis, internal hydrocephalus, ventral hernias, situs inversus, a...
Optimal harvesting for a logistic growth model with predation and a constant elasticity of variance

In this paper, we address the problem of optimal management of renewable resources such as agricultural commodities and fishery production. For that purpose, we consider the population associated with such commodities and assume that its size evolves according to a logistic growth model with a predation term given by a Holling type-n functional response. Additionally, we assume that such population is subject to random fluctuations, modeled by a diffusive term driven by a one-dimensional Brownian motion and having a power-type coefficient, thus endowing the model under consideration with the property of having constant elasticity of variance. Since the stochastic differential equation associated with this model does not fit the standard assumptions in the stochastic optimal control literature, namely sublinear growth, we develop an appropriate version of the dynamic programming principle for the problem under consideration herein, proceeding also to provide a characterization of the optimal harvesting strategies and discuss some qualitative properties of the corresponding value function.
Stylar polymorphism, reciprocity and incompatibility systems in Nymphoides montana (Menyanthaceae) endemic to southeastern Australia

Heterostyly is a stylar polymorphism that has been shaped by the evolution of floral characters adapted for efficient pollen transfer. Different types of stylar polymorphism are described in which the discrete characterization of the exact polymorphic type (e.g., distyly vs. stigma-height dimorphism) requires detailed floral measurements (e.g., sex-organ reciprocity). In clonal and aquatic Nymphoides montana, although the presence of two floral morphs that contain styles of two lengths has been previously reported, no studies have quantitatively estimated the level of reciprocity and/or described the stylar condition. Morphological variations and incompatibility relationships were explored between the two morphs in three southeastern Australian populations. In this study, one population is characterized as stigma-height dimorphism (i.e., two morphs with discrete variation in stigma height but little variation in anther height), whereas the other two populations are typical distylous (i.e., two morphs for reciprocal stigma and anther height). Nymphoides montana is dimorphic in a wide range of ancillary characters, including corolla size, stigma size, shape and papillae morphology, and pollen size, number and exine sculpture. Following glasshouse pollinations, full incompatibility systems were observed in the distylous populations, whereas the stigma-height dimorphic population showed between-morph variation in the extent of incompatibility. Despite the variation in sex-organ reciprocity and incompatibility, other lines of evidence appear to assure the maintenance of the stylar polymorphism in the N. montana study populations. All populations are nearly isoplethic (i.e., both morphs in equal frequencies), which is indicative of balanced polymorphisms that appear to be maintained by legitimate pollen transfer between the morphs.
Targeted Epigenetic Remodeling of Endogenous Loci by CRISPR/Cas9-Based Transcriptional Activators Directly Converts Fibroblasts to Neuronal Cells

Overexpression of exogenous fate-specifying transcription factors can directly reprogram differentiated somatic cells to target cell types. Here, we show that similar reprogramming can also be achieved through the direct activation of endogenous genes using engineered CRISPR/Cas9-based transcriptional activators. We use this approach to induce activation of the endogenous Brn2, Ascl1, and Myt1l genes (BAM factors) to convert mouse embryonic fibroblasts to induced neuronal cells. This direct activation of endogenous genes rapidly remodeled the epigenetic state of the target loci and induced sustained endogenous gene expression during reprogramming. Thus, transcriptional activation and epigenetic remodeling of endogenous master transcription factors are sufficient for conversion between cell types. The rapid and sustained activation of endogenous genes in their native chromatin context by this approach may facilitate reprogramming with transient methods that avoid genomic integration and provides a new strategy for overcoming epigenetic barriers to cell fate specification.
A Direction Based Framework for Trajectory Data Analysis

We propose a framework for the directional analysis of trajectory data. The directional aspect of trajectory analysis is important in map matching, in direction based query processing and in animal movement data. The main contribution in the present work lies in the trajectory segmentation method which is based on directional changes in trajectory. Another contribution is the use of convex hulls of trajectories during filtration of outlier sub-trajectories. There are four components to the framework: (1): smoothing, (2): directional segmentation and classification, (3): outlier sub-trajectory filtering and (4): clustering. We split the trajectories into directional sub-trajectories such that they have a specific directional characteristics; for example, heading north-east. We consider 16 directional classes and assign the corresponding directional sub-trajectories to them. In the filtration step the outlier sub-trajectories are removed from the respective directional classes using a novel convex hull based approach. We compare convex hull filtering performance with conventional minimum bounding rectangle based approach. We finally cluster the filtered directional sub-trajectories to obtain global directional patterns in the data set using a modified DBSCAN algorithm. We also provide the comparison of proposed work with an existing state-of-the-art algorithm called TRACLUS. In this work two real data sets are analyzed: hurricane data and animal movement data.
Value of MDCT and Clinical and Laboratory Data for Predicting the Need for Surgical Intervention in Suspected Small-Bowel Obstruction

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to assess the value of a large panel of clinical and MDCT variables in patients with suspected small-bowel obstruction (SBO) for predicting urgent surgical intervention (< 72 hours), bowel ischemia, and bowel resection. MATERIALS AND METHODS. MDCT studies performed at admission for 179 nonconsecutive adults (mean age, 55.8 years; 86 men and 93 women) with suspected SBO were retrospectively reviewed by three board-certified radiologists. In addition to assessing individual CT features, each radiologist scored the overall likelihood of each main outcome measure using a 5-point scale. All relevant clinical and laboratory data were abstracted from electronic medical record review. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS. Among all 179 patients with suspected SBO, 56 (31.3%) underwent surgical intervention within 72 hours, 10 (5.6%) had ischemia at surgery, and nine (5.0%) required small-bowel resection. On univariate analysis, multiple CT findings...
A new combined motor and cognitive strategy training intervention for stroke: Stakeholder perceptions:

IntroductionHemiparesis affects about half of persons with chronic stroke and frequently leads to decreased participation in meaningful daily life activities. The purpose of this investigation was ...
Constraints on foreign aid effectiveness in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) sector

Numerous studies have sought to empirically test the effectiveness of foreign aid as a tool for international development, with often inconsistent or contradictory results. New sources of disaggregated aid data now allow researchers to test the impact of individual sectors of aid on sector-specific outcomes. The paper investigates the effectiveness of foreign aid in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) sector and seeks to identify constraints on WaSH aid effectiveness in recipient countries. Multilevel latent growth, dynamic panel, and instrumental variable regression models were estimated on a panel dataset comprising 125 recipient countries over 20 years. WaSH aid was consistently associated with improved health outcomes in middle-income countries; no effect on those outcomes was observed in low-income countries. Potential constraints on the effectiveness of WaSH aid – including political, economic, institutional, and technical constraints – were examined using subgroup analysis. The effectiveness of WaSH aid was found to have been constrained by government ineffectiveness and regulatory quality in recipient countries. Countries with large rural populations also appear to have benefitted less from WaSH aid than more urbanized recipient countries.
American Policy in Gifted Education

This article explores the history of gifted education policy and practice in the United States over the last five decades, documenting the lack of sustained progress in obtaining sustained federal ...
Understanding effective teaching practices in Chinese classrooms : evidence from a pilot study of primary and junior secondary schools in Guangdong, China

This study documents the results of a pilot study jointly undertaken by the World Bank and the Guangdong Department of Education to assess teaching practices in public primary and junior secondary schools using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System tool. The tool was used to conduct classroom observations on an illustrative sample of 36 teachers in three counties across Guangdong. The pilot tested whether such a tool could be used to measure the strengths and weaknesses of teaching practices in the Chinese context. It also informed how classroom observations can be more consistently applied in the province's Quality Assurance and Monitoring and Evaluation system. On average, teachers in this sample scored high on classroom organization, but lower on emotional support and instructional support. While there was substantial variation in performance across teachers, there was only modest variation by county, urban versus rural school location, teacher type, grade, and years of experience. Teachers who believed that students should be the focus of instruction (those who espouse student-centered learning) scored significantly higher across all domains than teachers who believed that teachers should be the focus of instruction (those who espouse teacher-centered learning). Together the results from this pilot provide insights into how teacher training can address the most critical gaps in teaching practices.
Multilabel multiclass classification of OCT images augmented with age, gender and visual acuity data

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging of the retina is in widespread clinical use to diagnose a wide range of retinal pathologies and several previous studies have used deep learning to create systems that can accurately classify retinal OCT as indicative of one of these pathologies. However, patients often exhibit multiple pathologies concurrently. Here, we designed a novel neural network algorithm that performs multiclass and multilabel classification of retinal images from OCT images in four common retinal pathologies: epiretinal membrane, diabetic macular edema, dry age-related macular degeneration and neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Furthermore, clinicians often also use additional information about the patient for diagnosis. Second contribution of this study is improvement of multiclass, multilabel classification augmented with information about the patient: age, visual acuity and gender. We compared two training strategies: a network pre-trained with ImageNet was used for transfer learning, or the network was trained from randomly initialized weights. Transfer learning does not perform better in this case, because many of the low-level filters are tuned to colors, and the OCT images are monochromatic. Finally, we provide a transparent and interpretable diagnosis by highlighting the regions recognized by the neural network.
Revisiting the relationship between traffic congestion and the economy: a longitudinal examination of U.S. metropolitan areas

Conventional transportation practices typically focus on alleviating traffic congestion affecting motorists during peak travel periods. One of the underlying assumptions is that traffic congestion, particularly during these peak periods, is harmful to a region’s economy. This paper seeks to answer a seemingly straightforward question: is the fear of the negative economic effects of traffic congestion justified, or is congestion merely a nuisance with little economic impact? This research analyzed 30 years of data for 89 US metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) to evaluate the economic impacts of traffic congestion at the regional level. Employing a two-stage, least squares panel regression model, we controlled for endogeneity using instrumental variables and assessed the association between traffic congestion and per capita gross domestic product (GDP) as well as between traffic congestion and job growth for an 11-year time period. We then investigated the relationship between traffic congestion and per capita income for those same 11 years as well as for the thirty-year time period (1982–2011) when traffic congestion data were available. Controlling for the key variables found to be significant in the existing literature, our results suggest that the potential negative impact of traffic congestion on the economy does not deserve the attention it receives. Economic productivity is not significantly negatively impacted by high levels of traffic congestion. In fact, the results suggest a positive association between traffic congestion and per capita GDP as well as between traffic congestion and job growth at the MSA level. There was a statistically insignificant effect on per capita income. There may be valid reasons to continue the fight against congestion, but the idea that congestion will stifle the economy does not appear to be one of them.
The Invisible Justice Problem

Understanding is sparse about the lives of people who are poor and struggling economically and who need help in solving a legal problem and don't get it. Politics over the past half-century has mad...
Comparison of spontaneous and induced coherent hemodynamics in the human brain

Oscillations in the tissue concentrations of deoxyHemoglobin ([Hb]) and OxyHemoglobin ([HbO]) can be measured in the human brain using Near InfraRed Spectroscopy (NIRS). These oscillations may be driven by temporal dynamics of Arterial Blood Pressure (ABP). Coherent Hemodynamics Spectroscopy (CHS) is a technique that measures oscillations of [Hb] and [HbO] that are coherent with ABP. These oscillations, at a frequency of 0.1 Hz in this work, can then be interpreted with CHS to get physiologically relevant parameters to monitor cerebral AutoRegulation (AR) and microvascular integrity. Systemic oscillations in ABP can be induced with cyclic inflation and deflation of pneumatic thigh cuffs or by paced breathing. ABP oscillations may also occur spontaneously during resting conditions. Here, these three types of ABP oscillations (induced with thigh cuffs, induced with paced breathing, and spontaneously occurring) are considered, and the phase between coherent [Hb] and [HbO] oscillations is interpreted in terms of AR. In two healthy human subjects, it was found that paced breathing may be subjective, either improving or impairing AR depending on the individual paced breathing amplitude. Cuff cyclic inflations and spontaneous hemodynamics resulted in no significant difference in the relative phase of cerebral [Hb] and [HbO] oscillations at 0.1 Hz. These initial results suggest that spontaneous hemodynamics may be used for CHS in place of induced ABP oscillations, with the advantage of not relying on subject’s actions (like paced breathing) or special equipment (like pneumatic thigh cuffs).
Expansion of the clinical spectrum associated with AARS2‐related disorders

Biallelic pathogenic variants in AARS2, a gene encoding the mitochondrial alanyl-tRNA synthetase, result in a spectrum of findings ranging from infantile cardiomyopathy to adult-onset progressive leukoencephalopathy. In this article, we present three unrelated individuals with novel compound heterozygous pathogenic AARS2 variants underlying diverse clinical presentations. Patient 1 is a 51-year-old man with adult-onset progressive cognitive, psychiatric, and motor decline and leukodystrophy. Patient 2 is a 34-year-old man with childhood-onset progressive tremor followed by the development of polyneuropathy, ataxia, and mild cognitive and psychiatric decline without leukodystrophy on imaging. Patient 3 is a 57-year-old woman with childhood-onset tremor and nystagmus which preceded dystonia, chorea, ataxia, depression, and cognitive decline marked by cerebellar atrophy and white matter disease. These cases expand the clinical heterogeneity of AARS2-related disorders, given that the first and third case represent some of the oldest known survivors of this disease, the second is adult-onset AARS2-related neurological decline without leukodystrophy, and the third is biallelic AARS2-related disorder involving a partial gene deletion.
Neutrino oscillations in matter via eigenvalues

We present a new method of exactly calculating neutrino oscillation probabilities in matter. We leverage the “eigenvector-eigenvalue identity” to show that, given the eigenvalues, all mixing angles in matter follow surprisingly simply. The CP violating phase in matter can then be determined from the Toshev identity. Then, to avoid the cumbersome expressions for the exact eigenvalues, we have applied previously derived perturbative, approximate eigenvalues to this scheme and discovered them to be even more precise than previously realized. We also find that these eigenvalues converge at a rate of 5 orders of magnitude per perturbative order which is the square of the previously realized expectation. Finally, we provide an updated speed versus accuracy plot for oscillation probabilities in matter, to include the methods of this paper.
Repair of Duodenal Atresia (Open and MIS Approaches)

This chapter describes the surgical procedure for repair of duodenal atresia as performed by the following approaches: open and laparoscopic. The text includes an introduction that outlines the indications, risks, alternatives, essential steps, needed equipment, and variations in technique for the procedure in question. This is followed by a template operative dictation, which provides the reader with an operative report, such as is found in a patient chart or electronic medical record. A description is provided of the following critical concepts for this procedure: open/laparoscopic access, delineation of anatomy, kocherization of the duodenum, assessment of web, assessment for additional intestinal atresias, creation of duodenoduodenostomy, and abdominal closure.
Introduction of the low risk ankle rule to a paediatric emergency department

Abstract Introduction Ankle injuries are a common presentation to the paediatric emergency department (PED), accounting for approximately 2% of presentations.1 X-rays are ordered for 85–95% of patients but only 12% of x-rays reveal a fracture. Clinical prediction rules, such as The Low Risk Ankle Rule (LRAR) exist to help clinicians safely reduce the frequency of radiography in these injuries. The LRAR has been shown to reduce imaging by up to 60% without missing any clinically significant fractures. We sought to introduce The LRAR into our department and study its outcomes on our practice. Aims To introduce the LRAR into our department and study its effects on our radiography rate and length of stay (LOS). Methods An audit of x-ray rates in ankle injuries in 2016 was performed to determine our department's baseline rate of radiography and LOS. We then conducted education sessions and created x-ray ordering prompts to encourage clinicians to use the LRAR. We introduced the LRAR, with a pilot period initially, and gathered data prospectively. Results 969 patients presented in with an ankle injury in 2016, 90.7% of these patients had an x-ray. The median LOS was 109 min. 92 patients presented during the LRAR implementation period with an ankle injury. Nine patients had exclusion criteria from using the LRAR and the attending physician did not use the LRAR in four patients. Of the remaining 79 patients, 49 had a LRAR positive exam. Only one of these patients went on to have an x-ray, which was normal. The 30 patients with a LRAR negative exam all had an x-ray. Overall, our x-ray rate during the study period was 40/92 (43.4%), a reduction of 47.3%. The average LOS during the study was 101 min. No clinically significant fractures were missed. Conclusion The LRAR can safely and effectively reduce the rate of radiography in ankle injuries, without missing any clinically significant fractures.