cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Planner-Guided Scheduling Strategy for Multiple Workflow Applications

Workflow applications are gaining popularity in recent years because of the prevalence of cluster environments. Many algorithms have been developed since, however most static algorithms are designed in the problem domain of scheduling single workflow applications, thus not applicable to a common cluster environment where multiple workflow applications and other independent jobs compete for resources. Dynamic scheduling approaches can handle the mixed workload practically by nature but their performance has yet to optimize as they do not have a global view of workflow applications. Recent research efforts suggest merging multiple workflows into one workflow before execution, but fail to address an important issue that multiple workflow applications may be submitted at different times by different users. In this paper, we propose a planner-guided dynamic scheduling strategy for multiple workflow applications, leveraging job dependence information and execution time estimation.Our approach schedules individual jobs dynamically without requiring merging the workflow applications a priori. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm significantly outperforms two other algorithms by 43.6% and 36.7% with respect to workflow makespan and turnaround time respectively, and it performs even better when the number of concurrent workflow applications increases and the resources are scarce.
Mössbauer spectra of 237Np in ion exchange resins and in a solvent extractant

Abstract A Mossbauer effect has been observed for Np(IV) ions sorbed on a cation exchange resin from HNO 3 and HCl solutions and for [NpCl 6 ] −2 and [Np(NO 3 ) 6 ] −2 complexes sorbed on an anion exchange resin. Mossbauer spectra have also been recorded for [NpCl 6 ] −2 and [Np(NO 3 ) 6 ] −2 complexes extracted into a tri- n -octylamine-benzene solution. The isomer shifts and quadrupole splitting for the sorbed and extracted species have been found to agree, but the quadrupole splittings were found to differ from those observed for the parent compound in the crystalline state. The Mossbauer spectra for all non-crystalline systems at 4·2°K were found to be dominated by magnetic hyperfine splitting.
The Epidemic of Antibiotic-Resistant Infections: A Call to Action for the Medical Community from the Infectious Diseases Society of America

The ongoing explosion of antibiotic-resistant infections continues to plague global and US health care. Meanwhile, an equally alarming decline has occurred in the research and development of new antibiotics to deal with the threat. In response to this microbial “perfect storm,” in 2001, the federal Interagency Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance released the “Action Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance; Part 1: Domestic” to strengthen the response in the United States. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) followed in 2004 with its own report, “Bad Bugs, No Drugs: As Antibiotic Discovery Stagnates, A Public Health Crisis Brews,” which proposed incentives to reinvigorate pharmaceutical investment in antibiotic research and development. The IDSA’s subsequent lobbying efforts led to the introduction of promising legislation in the 109th US Congress (January 2005–December 2006). Unfortunately, the legislation was not enacted. During the 110th Congress, the IDSA has continued to work with congressional leaders on promising legislation to address antibiotic-resistant infection. Nevertheless, despite intensive public relations and lobbying efforts, it remains unclear whether sufficiently robust legislation will be enacted. In the meantime, microbes continue to become more resistant, the antibiotic pipeline continues to diminish, and the majority of the public remains unaware of this critical situation. The result of insufficient federal funding; insufficient surveillance, prevention, and control; insufficient research and development activities; misguided regulation of antibiotics in agriculture and, in particular, for food animals; and insufficient overall coordination of US (and international) efforts could mean a literal return to the preantibiotic era for many types of infections. If we are to address the antimicrobial resistance crisis, a concerted, grassroots effort led by the medical community will be required.
Alternative Models of Responsiveness in International Negotiation

Alternative models of responsiveness are evaluated for goodness of fit to moves made by negotiators in six international negotiations: five arms-control talks and one base-rights negotiation. Three models, developed originally by Stoll and McAndrew (1986), are referred to as directional (tit-for-tat), trend, and comparative reciprocity. Seven models are variants on trend and comparative reciprocity including various lags and weightings for earlier and recent moves, as well as a combined trend and comparative model. The results indicate clear support for the comparative model in all of the negotiations analyzed: Negotiators responded to the difference between moves made by themselves and others in the previous round, adjusting their next move in the direction of the other's previous move. They did not respond to a monitored trend in the other's moves. Nor did the combined trend and comparative model improve predictions over the comparative model alone. Implications are discussed for the importance of fairn...
Distribution of cerebellothalamic and nigrothalamic projections in the dog: A double anterograde tracing study

The distribution of nigrothalamic and cerebellothalamic projections was investigated in the dog by a double labeling strategy combining the anterograde transport of wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) and tritiated amino acids. Following tritiated amino acid injections into the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) and WGA-HRP injections into the contralateral cerebellar nuclei, we found that the nigrothalamic and cerebellothalamic afferents distribute to three main targets: the central portion of the ventral anterior nucleus (VA) and the ventral lateral nucleus (VL), the internal medullary lamina (IML) region, which includes the paralaminar VA, the mediodorsal nucleus (MD) and the central lateral nucleus (CL), and finally the ventromedial nucleus (VM). We observed three distribution patterns of labeled fibers: (a) Dense single label was observed in the central portion of VA following the SNr injections and in VL following the cerebellar nuclei injections. (b) A complementary pattern consisting of alternating foci of nigral and cerebellar label was found in the IML region. This pattern was also observed in the caudal intralaminar nuclei where cerebellar label predominated in the centrum medianum (CM), while the parafascicular nucleus (Pf) primarily contained nigral label. (c) An overlapping pattern of autoradiographic and WGA-HRP label was found in the lateral half of the VM. Overall, the distribution of nigrothalamic and cerebellothalamic projections was widespread throughout much of rostrocaudal thalamus. However, the pattern of projections varied along a continuum from lateral to medial thalamus. In lateral thalamus, nigral and cerebellar projections distributed to separate nuclei while in medial thalamus, the projection pattern changed to focal and complementary in the IML and overlapping in VM. Taken together, these thalamic projections may constitute crucial links in different functional channels involved in alerting and orienting mechanisms associated with motor behavior. Our findings also suggest that the organization of motor thalamic afferents in the dog shares similarities with the segregated and parallel circuitry characteristic of primates as well as with the overlapping and converging circuits of rodents and other carnivores.
Infants’ prelinguistic communicative acts and maternal responses: Relations to linguistic development

Infant–parent interactions are bidirectional; therefore, it is important to understand how infants’ communicative behavior elicits variable responses from caregivers and, in turn, how infants’ behavior varies with caregivers’ responses; furthermore, how these moment-to-moment interactive behaviors relate to later language development. The current study addressed these concerns by observing 10- to 13-month-old infants’ interactions with their mothers and measuring their language outcomes when they were 15 months old. The main results were: (1) infants were more likely to combine vocalizations with pointing when mothers were not looking at the target of the point, and when mothers did not respond about the target of the point; (2) infants’ combination of vocalization and pointing behavior, especially those produced when mothers were not attending to the target object of the point, related to infants’ comprehension skills at 15 months as measured by the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (MCDI); (...
DIG—a system for gene annotation and functional discovery

Summary: We describe a database and information discovery system named DIG (Duke Integrated Genomics) designed to facilitate the process of gene annotation and the discovery of functional context. The DIG system collects and organizes gene annotation and functional information, and includes tools that support an understanding of genes in a functional context by providing a framework for integrating and visualizing gene expression, protein interaction and literature-based interaction networks. Availability: The DIG system is freely accessible at http://dig.cagp.duke.edu/ Contact: mdelong@cgt.duhs.duke.edu Supplementary information: http://data.cgt.duke.edu.dig
A combination of thalidomide plus antibiotics protects rabbits from mycobacterial meningitis-associated death

Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is a devastating form of tuberculosis that occurs predominantly in children and in immunocompromised adults. To study the pathogenesis of TBM, a rabbit model of acute mycobacterial central nervous system infection was set up (8-day study). Inoculation of live Mycobacterium bovis Ravenel intracisternally induced leukocytosis (predominantly mononuclear cells), high protein levels, and release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) into the cerebrospinal fluid within 1 day. Histologically, severe meningitis with thickening of the leptomeninges, prominent vasculitis, and encephalitis was apparent, and mortality was 75% by day 8. In animals treated with antituberculous antibiotics only, the inflammation and lesions of the brain persisted despite a decrease in mycobacteria; 50% of the rabbits died. When thalidomide treatment was combined with antibiotics, there was a marked reduction in TNF-alpha levels, leukocytosis, and brain pathology. With this combination treatment, 100% of the infected rabbits survived, suggesting a potential clinical use for thalidomide in TBM.
Self-organization of Gaussian mixture model for learning class pdfs in pattern classification

This paper proposes a new approach to pattern classification problems using a neural network, BAYESNET. The network is designed to identify the class of an unlabelled pattern using the Bayesian decision theory. Since the theory explicitly requires the information of pattern distributions, the network has the capability of learning probability density functions (pdfs) of classes. To estimate pdfs, we adopt parametric estimation with Gaussian mixture model: a class is assumed to be composed of a number of subclasses, each of whose patterns has a Gaussian distribution. The BAYESNET learning includes two subprocesses, the initialization process and the main learning process. In the initialization process, the number of subclasses for each class by automatic generation and elimination of subclasses. Generation occurs when samples assigned to a subclass turns out to have an unexpected distribution, checked by the Chi-square test. A subclass is eliminated when the subclass contributes negligibly to forming the class pdf. The role of the main learning process is to fine-tune parameters of classes and subclasses. Though the learning is based on the winner-take-all scheme, one of the novelties of BAYESNET lies in the undeterministic winner selection. Unlike the usual nearest-neighbor selection, our network selects the winner according to the probability obtained by the current estimation. Due to the selection rule, the final parameter values are assured to agree with the maximum likelihood estimation. Besides, biases are added to the winner selection in order to help avoiding local minima states.
Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease in children.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-driven post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality following transplantation, and it occurs more frequently in children than in adults. Of 22 (5%) children at our institution who developed tissue-proven PTLD 1-60 months (mean 16.5 months) following organ transplant, 11 died: nine of these 22 patients developed PTLD between 1989 and 1993, and seven (78%) died; the remaining 13 developed PTLD between 1994 and 1998, and four (31%) died (p = 0.08). All nine patients who developed PTLD or = 6 months after transplant survived (p = 0.0002). Ten of 11 (91%) survivors, but only two of eight (25%) children who died, had serologic evidence of EBV infection at the time of PTLD diagnosis (p = 0.04). EBV seroconversion identified patients at risk for developing PTLD, but also characterized patients with sufficient immune function to survive EBV-related lymphoid proliferation. In situ hybridization for EBER1 mRNA was diagnostically helpful because it detected EBV in tissue sections of all 20 patients with B-cell PTLD, including those with negative serology.
Parallel and pipelined processing of some relational algebra operations

A bus-connected cellular array structure is used to implement several relational algebra operations in a parallel and pipelined way. For all operations the same topology and processor design is used. Cases involving a large number of tuples and large tuple sizes are considered.
On the definition of voltage and the relationship between internal and external voltages of a semiconductor device

The voltage between two points is the line integral of the electric field between the two points. The voltage between the metal contacts defining two terminals of a device is also the difference between the quasi-Fermi level at the terminals. However, the voltage between two points internal to an isothermal semiconductor device is not necessarily the difference between quasi-Fermi levels. Rather, the voltage involves both quasi-Fermi level and chemical potential differences. An example of a device having ideal ohmic contacts illustrates these points. The results and their application pertain to semiconductor device analysis.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Assessment of Chondral Lesions and Repair

Standardized, validated magnetic resonance imaging sequences that are sensitive for articular cartilage are available for clinical use in magnetic resonance imaging units. Whereas two-dimensional sequences are helpful in the assessment of repair morphology, three-dimensional sequences with isotropic voxels measure cartilage volumes and provide an accurate assessment of fill following repair. Protocols should be modified so that sequences are not limited by instrumentation. The addition of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging techniques provides an objective assessment of repair-tissue biochemistry as well as of the tissue at the peripheral integration with the host hyaline cartilage.
New Alkali Doped Pillared Carbon Materials Designed to Achieve Practical Reversible Hydrogen Storage for Transportation

We propose a new generation of materials to maximize reversible H2 storage at room temperature and modest pressures ( < 20 bars). We test these materials using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations with a first-principles-derived force field and find that the Li pillared graphene sheet system can take up 6.5 mass% of H2 (a density of 62: 9k g=m 3 at 20 bars and room temperature. This satisfies the DOE (Department of Energy) target of hydrogen-storage materials for transportation. We also suggest ways to synthesize these systems. In addition we show that Li-doped pillared single-wall nanotubes can lead to a hydrogen-storage capacity of 6.0 mass% and 61: 7k g=m 3 at 50 bars and room temperature storage, which is close to the DOE target.
Plenary Lecture—1986: Effects of Alloy Composition and Microstructure on the Passivity of Stainless Steels

Abstract The passive region of stainless steels (SSs), as defined by the low current regime between the active-passive transition and the pitting potential or the transpassive potential, is discuss...
Residential Relocation of Older People Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan

Using the 1970 one percent Public Use Sample tapes, the metropolitan/nonmetropolitan migration of persons age 60 and over are examined in this article. Between 1965 and 1970 they largely moved within the same general environmental settings. More than half of both intrastate and interstate migrants moved between or within metropolitan settings. Of the third who changed residential environments, 6% more moved from metropolitan to nonmetropolitan areas than the reverse. Thus, the turnaround is evident in these data. Concerning migrant characteristics, those moving to nonmetropolitan settings tended to be married and living independently. They also had more education and income than elderly nonmovers. They thus contributed to the gentrification of nonmetropolitan America. Some evidence of a more dependent elderly population moving to the metropolitan areas from outside them is seen in the data and its implications discussed.
Multiphasic analysis of the temporal development of the distal gut microbiota in patients following ileal pouch anal anastomosis

The indigenous gut microbiota are thought to play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of the abnormal inflammatory responses that are the hallmark of inflammatory bowel disease. Direct tests of the role of the gut microbiome in these disorders are typically limited by the fact that sampling of the microbiota generally occurs once disease has become manifest. This limitation could potentially be circumvented by studying patients who undergo total proctocolectomy with ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) for the definitive treatment of ulcerative colitis. A subset of patients who undergo IPAA develops an inflammatory condition known as pouchitis, which is thought to mirror the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis. Following the development of the microbiome of the pouch would allow characterization of the microbial community that predates the development of overt disease. We monitored the development of the pouch microbiota in four patients who underwent IPAA. Mucosal and luminal samples were obtained prior to takedown of the diverting ileostomy and compared to samples obtained 2, 4 and 8 weeks after intestinal continuity had been restored. Through the combined analysis of 16S rRNA-encoding gene amplicons, targeted 16S amplification and microbial cultivation, we observed major changes in structure and function of the pouch microbiota following ileostomy. There is a relative increase in anaerobic microorganisms with the capacity for fermentation of complex carbohydrates, which corresponds to the physical stasis of intestinal contents in the ileal pouch. Compared to the microbiome structure encountered in the colonic mucosa of healthy individuals, the pouch microbial community in three of the four individuals was quite distinct. In the fourth patient, a community that was much like that seen in a healthy colon was established, and this patient also had the most benign clinical course of the four patients, without the development of pouchitis 2 years after IPAA. The microbiota that inhabit the ileal-anal pouch of patients who undergo IPAA for treatment of ulcerative colitis demonstrate significant structural and functional changes related to the restoration of fecal flow. Our preliminary results suggest once the pouch has assumed the physiologic role previously played by the intact colon, the precise structure and function of the pouch microbiome, relative to a normal colonic microbiota, will determine if there is establishment of a stable, healthy mucosal environment or the reinitiation of the pathogenic cascade that results in intestinal inflammation.
A new species of the Asian catfish genus Pseudolaguvia from Myanmar (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Siluriformes: Erethistidae)

A new species of the erethistid catfish genus Pseudolaguvia from Myanmar is described. Pseudolaguvia tenebricosa, new species, from Pathe Chaung, Lower Myanmar, differs from the only congener P. tuberculata (Prashad & Mukerji, 1929) in having an adipose fin not reaching dorsal fin, and a narrower head with a shorter snout.
Models of Low Reynolds Number Swimmers Inspired by Cell Blebbing

Eukaryotic cells move through the complex micro-environment of a tissue either by attaching to the extracellular matrix – sometimes degrading it locally – and pulling themselves along, or by squeezing through the matrix by appropriate sequences of shape changes. Some cells can even swim by shape changes, and one mode used is called blebbing, in which a cell creates a small hemispherical protrusion that may grow to incorporate the entire cell volume or may be reabsorbed into the primary volume. Herein we develop and analyze several models for swimming at low Reynolds number inspired by cell blebbing. These models comprise several connected spheres, and each connected pair of spheres can exchange volume with their complement in the pair. We show that the cell can propel itself through the fluid using a suitable sequence of volume exchanges, and we evaluate the efficiency of this mode of swimming.
The CRISP performance model for dynamic voltage and frequency scaling in a GPGPU

This paper presents CRISP, the first runtime analytical model of performance in the face of changing frequency in a GPGPU. It shows that prior models not targeted at a GPGPU fail to account for important characteristics of GPGPU execution, including the high degree of overlap between memory access and computation and the frequency of store-related stalls. CRISP provides significantly greater accuracy than prior runtime performance models, being within 4% on average when scaling frequency by up to 7X. Using CRISP to drive a runtime energy efficiency controller yields a 10.7% improvement in energy-delay product, vs 6.2% attainable via the best prior performance model.
In-situ nanoscale single fiber fragmentation using fluorescence microscopy

We use fluorescence microscopy to perform real time single fiber fragmentation experiments on individual PolyFurfuryl Alcohol (PFA) nanofibers embedded within a Poly DiMethyl Siloxane (PDMS) matrix. By using fluorescent nanofibers in an optically transparent matrix, fragmentation of the nanoscale fibers (even less than 400 nm) can also be easily visualized using fluorescence emission from the nanowires. When the composite specimen was loaded to saturation strain the fragment lengths distribution was observed to follow a two parameter Weibull frequency distribution. In addition, we also present a digital image correlation based technique to obtain localized strain (and hence stress) data based on the use of fluorescent nanoscale spatial markers.© 2007 ASME
Esterases in the malaria vector mosquito, Anopheles cuilcifacies Genetic and linkage analyses of an alpha and beta polymorphism

The genetic and linkage analyses of an alpha and beta esterase polymorphism in Anopheles culicifacies are presented. A survey of laboratory strains uncovered four electrophoretic variants for the alpha esterase and two for the beta esterase. Genetic analyses indicated that the variants of the alpha esterase are under the control of codominant alleles of a single locus and that this locus is linked to the locus controlling the expression of the codominant alleles of the beta esterases. The esterases are not linked either to sex (chromosome 1) or to maroon eye (chromosome 2) but to the chromosome 3 markers, dieldrin resistance and phosphoglucomutase. The gene sequence is Est-alpha--Dl--Pgm--Est-beta dnd the recombination frequencies are as follows: Est-alpha--Dl = 2.9 percent; Dl--Pgm = 5.8 percent; Pgm--Est-beta = 6.4 percent; Est-alpha--Est-beta = 15.1 percent, Est-alpha--Pgm = 8.7 percent and Dl--Est-beta = 12.2 percent.
Bending Moments on Shell Boundaries

Penetration of bending stresses due to edge effects in flat plates, cylindrical, and rotational shells; estimate of edge effects and their penetration for case of hyperbolic paraboloids supported on straight generatrices.
Detection and cellular imaging of human cancer enzyme using a turn-on, wavelength-shiftable, self-immolative profluorophore

A frontier area in the development of activatable (turn-on) fluorescence-based probes is that concerned with rapid and selective stimulus triggering of probe activation so as to allow for biomarker identification and cellular imaging. The work here is concerned with a cloaked fluorophore composed of a reporter whose fluorescence is efficiently quenched by it being bound to an activatable trigger group through a novel self-immolative linker. Highly selective and rapid activation of the trigger group is achieved by chemical and enzymatic means that result in activated trigger group detachment from the self-immolative linker, with the latter subsequently cleaved from the reporter autonomously, thereby unmasking intense, red-shifted fluorescence emission. To achieve this success, we used a trimethyl-locked quinone propionic acid trigger group and an N-methyl-p-aminobenzyl alcohol self-immolative linker attached to the reporter. Delineated here are the synthesis and characterization of this cloaked fluorophore...
Migration in Milwaukee

Recent research in intraurban migration has focused on the behavioral components of migration while the economic constraints on mobility have been played down. A study of a sample of households in ...
Malignancy-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in adults: Relation to hemophagocytosis, characteristics, and outcomes.

BACKGROUND Malignancy-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) in adults is a highly lethal disorder. Knowledge gaps have resulted in under diagnosis or delayed diagnosis. METHODS The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center pathology database (1991-2014) was retrospectively interrogated for the keywords “hemophagocytosis” and/or “lymphohistiocytosis.” Seventy-seven adult patients were identified. All had an underlying malignancy. Sixteen patients who had insufficient documentation were excluded. RESULTS The majority of patients who had pathologic evidence of hemophagocytosis/lymphohistiocytosis had an incomplete workup to confirm or refute HLH using the 2004 HLH criteria (HLH-2004; n = 8 variables), which is a common problem in adult HLH. Only 13 of 61 patients (21%) met the HLH-2004 diagnostic criteria based on available retrospective data. To identify potentially missed cases of HLH, the published literature was reviewed, and selected additional variables known to be associated with adult HLH were selected, resulting in extended diagnostic criteria of 18 variables. Thirty-five patients met the extended criteria, and 33 had follow-up data available. The median overall survival of the 13 patients who met both the extended criteria and the HLH-2004 criteria was similar to that of the 20 patients who met the extended criteria but NOT the HLH-2004 criteria (1.43 vs 1.76 months, respectively; P = .34) indicating a similar underlying, aggressive, systemic process. Twenty-six patients did not meet either criteria, and 17 had follow-up data available. The median overall survival of the 17 patients who had pathologic hemophagocytosis or lymphohistiocytosis but met neither criteria was significantly superior to the survival of those who met both the extended criteria and the HLH-2004 criteria and those who met the extended criteria but not the HLH-2004 criteria (17.27 vs 1.43 vs 1.76, respectively; P = .002). CONCLUSIONS The addition of diagnostic laboratory variables that are more easily and rapidly available in smaller institutions and primary care settings than the HLH-2004 variables may be a good surrogate to raise early suspicion of malignancy-associated HLH. Prospective validation is warranted. Cancer 2016. © 2016 American Cancer Society. Cancer 2016;122:2857–2866. © 2016 American Cancer Society
Recurrent tuberculosis in Houston, Texas: a population-based study.

OBJECTIF: Determiner les facteurs predictifs de la reprise de tuberculose (TB), le type de resistance des souches de Mycobacterium tuberculosis provenant de patients atteints de reprise de tuberculose et la frequence des reinfections par une nouvelle souche de M. tuberculosis parmi les patients en reprise de tuberculose. SCHEMA: Etude cas-controle retrospective et basee sur la population, utilisant la base de donnees de l'Initiative Tuberculose de Houston. RESULTATS: Nous avons trouve que parmi 100 patients atteints d'une reprise de TB et ayant complete un traitement adequat pour un premier episode de TB, les facteurs predictifs d'une reprise de la maladie etaient le fait de ne pas avoir beneficie d'un traitement directement observe, la localisation pulmonaire de la maladie, le diagnostic de VIH ou SIDA, l'absence de medecin de famille, le fait d'etre chomeur et l'utilisation des transports publics. Il y a eu au cours du deuxieme episode de la maladie une augmentation significative des souches de M. tuberculosis resistantes aux medicaments par comparaison avec le premier episode (21,3% vs. 8,2%, P = 0,04). Une reinfection exogene par une nouvelle souche de M. tuberculosis s'est averee causer 24 a 31% des reprises de TB. CONCLUSION: Les reprises de TB a Houston sont associees a une augmentation significative des souches de M. tuberculosis resistantes aux medicaments. La reinfection par une nouvelle souche de M. tuberculosis est responsable d'une proportion significative des reprises de TB dans une zone ou l'incidence de la TB est faible. Les patients atteints de VIH/SIDA constituent une population a risque accru de reprise de la maladie.
Game-Inspired Design: Empirical Evidence in Support of Gameful Learning Environments

This paper describes research and development around two gameful courses that reimagined their assessment systems to better support student autonomy and promote engagement. We present results from ...
MO-FG-CAMPUS-TeP1-03: Pre-Treatment Surface Imaging Based Collision Detection

Purpose: Modern radiotherapy increasingly employs large immobilization devices, gantry attachments, and couch rotations for treatments. All of which raise the risk of collisions between the patient and the gantry / couch. Collision detection is often achieved by manually checking each couch position in the treatment room and sometimes results in extraneous imaging if collisions are detected after image based setup has begun. In the interest of improving efficiency and avoiding extra imaging, we explore the use of a surface imaging based collision detection model. Methods: Surfaces acquired from AlignRT (VisionRT, London, UK) were transferred in wavefront format to a custom Matlab (Mathworks, Natick, MA) software package (CCHECK). Computed tomography (CT) scans acquired at the same time were sent to CCHECK in DICOM format. In CCHECK, binary maps of the surfaces were created and overlaid on the CT images based on the fixed relationship of the AlignRT and CT coordinate systems. Isocenters were added through a graphical user interface (GUI). CCHECK then compares the inputted surfaces to a model of the linear accelerator (linac) to check for collisions at defined gantry and couch positions. Note, CCHECK may be used with or without a CT. Results: The nominal surface image field of view is 650 mm × 900 mm, with variance based on patient position and size. The accuracy of collision detections is primarily based on the linac model and the surface mapping process. The current linac model and mapping process yield detection accuracies on the order of 5 mm, assuming no change in patient posture between surface acquisition and treatment. Conclusions: CCHECK provides a non-ionizing method to check for collisions without the patient in the treatment room. Collision detection accuracy may be improved with more robust linac modeling. Additional gantry attachments (e.g. conical collimators) can be easily added to the model.
Grief Interrupted: Writing My Father’s Life

In the fall of 1974, my mother died of ovarian cancer at the age of 65; about eight months later, my father succumbed to depression at 69. The job of cleaning out the house in which I had grown up fell to me. My labors were rewarded by the discovery of a trove of personal documents—mostly personal letters— in my father’s closet. At the time, too traumatized to engage with them, I skimmed, sorted, boxed, and stored them. It took me more than thirty years to open that box and absorb its contents. My rediscovery of this archive significantly affected my relation to the field of life writing, to which I had devoted my academic career. It greatly enhanced my appreciation of correspondence: I finally “get” letters. And the rich material impelled me to compose a memoir of my father. Doing so made me face ethical issues from a novel perspective. Moreover, writing my father’s story has helped me understand how a traumatic sequence of events when I was 28 has directed and shaped my academic work from the beginning. This article was submitted to the European Journal of Life Writing on August 29th 2015 and published on June 22nd 2016.
Acute, Severe Cryptosporidiosis in an Immunocompetent Pediatric Patient

Severe diarrheal illness in children can be attributed to a number of different microbiological agents. Without appropriate microbiological testing of stool samples, patients who present with multiple days of severe diarrhea might have a delay in proper diagnosis and treatment. Here, we report a case of an immunocompetent pediatric patient presenting with acute cryptosporidiosis. Humans and bovine species are known hosts of cryptosporidium and several studies have evaluated the zoonotic transmission of cryptosporidium from cattle to humans. Adding diagnostic tests for cryptosporidium like Ziehl-Neelsen staining of stool or fecal rapid antigen detection techniques should be considered in the workup of patients presenting with undifferentiated, severe diarrheal illness, especially in those who have close contact with livestock.
Optimization of histotripsy for kidney stone erosion

Previous work has demonstrated that histotripsy can effectively comminute model kidney stones, eroding them to sub-100 µm particulate debris via a cavitational bubble cloud. We now focus on optimization of the histotripsy parameter space and treatment strategies to yield optimal stone erosion. Ultracal-30 model stones were sonicated using a 750 kHz piezocomposite transducer. Pulses of 5 cycles in duration delivered at pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) of 10 Hz, 100 Hz, and 1 kHz were tested. For each PRF, the erosion characteristics were investigated at increasing intensity levels corresponding to peak negative pressures (p-) of 10, 15, 19, 22, and 26 MPa. Additionally, the effect of exposed stone surface area was explored through the treatment of the same model stones that were first mechanically sectioned into 1/8's. Results show the following: (1) At PRF of 10 Hz, stone erosion rate was observed to increase linearly with p-; at 100 Hz and 1 kHz, erosion rate saturation was observed. (2) Increasing the PRF at a given intensity resulted in an increase in stone erosion; however, a 10fold increase in PRF did not produce an equivalent 10-fold increase in erosion rate. (3) Treatment of model stones sectioned into 1/8's produced a 2-fold rate increase relative to their unsectioned counterparts. (4) The maximum observed histotripsy stone treatment rate (88 mg/min) rivals that previously measured for a piezoelectric lithotripter (111 mg/min); this fact, coupled with histotripsy being a surface erosion phenomenon that produces ultra-fine debris, suggests that histotripsy offers a potential adjunct to conventional shock wave lithotripsy.
Mutual Photoluminescence Quenching and Photovoltaic Effect in Large-Area Single-Layer MoS2–Polymer Heterojunctions

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have recently attracted attention due to their superlative optical and electronic properties. In particular, their extraordinary optical absorption and semiconducting band gap have enabled demonstrations of photovoltaic response from heterostructures composed of TMDCs and other organic or inorganic materials. However, these early studies were limited to devices at the micrometer scale and/or failed to exploit the unique optical absorption properties of single-layer TMDCs. Here we present an experimental realization of a large-area type-II photovoltaic heterojunction using single-layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) as the primary absorber, by coupling it to the organic π-donor polymer PTB7. This TMDC–polymer heterojunction exhibits photoluminescence intensity that is tunable as a function of the thickness of the polymer layer, ultimately enabling complete quenching of the TMDC photoluminescence. The strong optical absorption in the TMDC–polymer heteroj...
Total Ionizing Dose (TID) Effects in Ultra-Thin Body Ge-on-Insulator (GOI) Junctionless CMOSFETs With Recessed Source/Drain and Channel

Total ionizing dose (TID) effects in ultra-thin body Ge on Insulator (GOI) junctionless CMOSFETs with recessed source/drain and channel have been studied. 10-keV X-ray irradiation leads to net hole trapping at the top and bottom Ge/dielectric interfaces of both GOI NFETs and PFETs. The Ge channel thickness and post-oxidation processing can strongly affect the radiation response. Application of negative back-gate bias can moderate the radiation-induced threshold-voltage shifts.
Radionuclide Evaluation of Renal Function

The renal scintillation camera study and the excretory urogram should be considered to be complementary studies. The renal scintillation camera study provides an accurate evaluation of changes in total, differential, and segmental renal function but affords only a gross assessment of anatomic changes. The excretory urogram provides superior information about renal anatomic changes but only inferior information about functional changes of the kidney. The advantages of a renal scintillation camera study with regard to the patient are that it is done in a state of normal hydration, it requires no bowel preparation, it is not associated with allergic reactions, it provides a low radiation exposure, and it is a noninvasive procedure for differential renal function which requires no ureteral catheters.
The Triumph (?) of Western Law: A Contemporary Perspective

For nearly a millennium, private law was primary in the West. By the mid-twentieth century, Western private law had become virtually universal—an apparent triumph of Western influence. By then, however, regulatory and criminal law, core features of law in the world’s largest and oldest nation-state—China—had replaced private law at least in the volume of rules and cases. Has Western law triumphed after all? Or has, instead, the world of law in the twenty-first century more appropriately viewed as the ultimate “triumph” of the world’s oldest and most enduring legal tradition? If so, perhaps, the West has something to learn from the East, particularly the success of the contemporary Japanese criminal justice system in its avoidance incarceration and other retributive sanctions by distinguishing condemnation of the crime with correction and reintegration of the criminal.
Deactivation of Left Ventricular Assist Devices: Differing Perspectives of Cardiology and Hospice/Palliative Medicine Clinicians.

Abstract Background Beliefs around deactivation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) vary substantially among clinicians, institutions, and patients. Therefore, we sought to understand perspectives regarding LVAD deactivation among cardiology and hospice/palliative medicine (HPM) clinicians. Methods and Results We administered a 41-item survey via electronic mail to members of 3 cardiology and 1 HPM professional societies. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was used. From October through November 2011, 7168 individuals were sent the survey and 440 responded. Three domains emerged: (1) LVAD as a life-sustaining therapy; (2) complexities of the process of LVAD deactivation; and (3) legal and ethical considerations of LVAD deactivation. Most respondents (cardiology 92%; HPM 81%; P = .15) believed that an LVAD is a life-sustaining treatment for patients with advanced heart failure; however, 60% of cardiology vs 2% of HPM clinicians believed a patient should be imminently dying to deactivate an LVAD ( P P Conclusion Cardiology and HPM clinicians have differing perspectives regarding LVAD deactivation. Bridging the gaps and engaging in dialog between these 2 specialties is a critical first step in creating a more cohesive approach to care for LVAD patients.
Effect of intralaryngeal muscle synkinesis on perception of voice handicap in patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis.

Objectives/Hypothesis Intralaryngeal muscle synkinesis associated with unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) is thought to preserve thyroarytenoid-lateral cricoarytenoid muscle complex tone, resulting in a better voice despite the presence of vocal fold paralysis (VFP). This study compares voice handicap in patients with unilateral VFP (UVFP) with and without evidence of adductory synkinesis on laryngeal electromyography (LEMG). Study Design Retrospective review of LEMG data and Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) scores of patients diagnosed with permanent UVFP. Methods LEMG was performed within 1 to 6 months post onset of UVFP. Patients were stratified into two groups: 1) recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) neuropathy with synkinesis and 2) RLN neuropathy without synkinesis. Synkinesis was diagnosed when the sniff to phonation maximum amplitude ratio was ≥0.65. VHI-10 scores at 6-month follow-up were recorded. Results Four hundred forty-nine patients with UVFP and who had an LEMG were reviewed. Eighty-three patients met the inclusion criteria, with 16 in group 1 and 67 in group 2. There was no significant difference between the groups with regard to age, timing of LEMG from onset of VFP, number of patients undergoing temporary vocal fold injection or use of off-label nimodipine. Average VHI-10 scores at 6 months post onset of VFP were 14.4 ± 10.6 for patients with LEMG-identified synkinesis (group 1) and 21.0 ± 10.1 for patients with no LEMG evidence of synkinesis (group 2). This was statistically significant (P = .02). Conclusions Patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis and LEMG evidence of laryngeal synkinesis are more likely to have less perceived voice handicap than those without synkinesis. Level of evidence 4. Laryngoscope, 2017
Structural heart disease

A quality transthoracic echocardiographic study produces excellent and reproducible determination of the degree of aortic stenosis, and therefore, in most cases obviates the need for invasive hemodynamic study. However, in cases where transthoracic echo is not as reliable, such as morbid obesity with poor image quality, the catheterization laboratory may be important for determining the degree of stenosis. A simple pull-back across the aortic valve is often performed to yield a peak-to-peak gradient; however, this is just a crude estimate of the mean gradient. Preferentially, dual transducers should be employed to accurately determine the mean gradient.
Assessing Prostate Cancer Aggressiveness with Hyperpolarized Dual-Agent 3D Dynamic Imaging of Metabolism and Perfusion

New magnetic resonance (MR) molecular imaging techniques offer the potential for noninvasive, simultaneous quantification of metabolic and perfusion parameters in tumors. This study applied a three-dimensional dynamic dual-agent hyperpolarized 13C magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging approach with 13C-pyruvate and 13C-urea to investigate differences in perfusion and metabolism between low- and high-grade tumors in the transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate (TRAMP) transgenic mouse model of prostate cancer. Dynamic MR data were corrected for T1 relaxation and RF excitation and modeled to provide quantitative measures of pyruvate to lactate flux (kPL ) and urea perfusion (urea AUC) that correlated with TRAMP tumor histologic grade. kPL values were relatively higher for high-grade TRAMP tumors. The increase in kPL flux correlated significantly with higher lactate dehydrogenase activity and mRNA expression of Ldha, Mct1, and Mct4 as well as with more proliferative disease. There was a significant reduction in perfusion in high-grade tumors that associated with increased hypoxia and mRNA expression of Hif1α and Vegf and increased ktrans , attributed to increased blood vessel permeability. In 90% of the high-grade TRAMP tumors, a mismatch in perfusion and metabolism measurements was observed, with low perfusion being associated with increased kPL This perfusion-metabolism mismatch was also associated with metastasis. The molecular imaging approach we developed could be translated to investigate these imaging biomarkers for their diagnostic and prognostic power in future prostate cancer clinical trials. Cancer Res; 77(12); 3207-16. ©2017 AACR.
Progression and Workload in Civil Litigation: An Empirical Analysis of Patent Disputes

We investigate the workload of litigants and judges through the main stages of litigation. To facilitate a more robust study of civil litigation, we parse litigation docket entries to establish the timing of litigation milestones and to generate new workload measures for the litigants and judges. Using patent infringement lawsuits as a case study, we find descriptive evidence suggesting that litigation progresses in distinct stages rather than as a continuous process, with each stage being defined by a period of enhanced activity by the litigants and judges of roughly six times the activity in other periods.
Ethics and Global Marketing in the 21st Century

This paper seeks to introduce researchers to the flourishing field of marketing ethics in the global arena. There is a wave of scandalous behaviors that has drawn dramatic attention to instances of corporate’s unethical, irresponsible and flagrant illegal activities. This bad behavior of top executives, CEO’s and presidents is not good for corporations, consumers, stakeholders, and the public. A review of the marketing ethics literature demonstrates a high degree of complexity relevant to the ethical concerns of marketers and pointed to some reasons why that has occurred. An attempt is made in this paper to explain how ethical standards should govern corporations as they expand globally. Elements of the marketing ethics literature are reviewed to show how ethical principles affect the development of moral standards. The nature of ethical dilemmas facing marketers, and have theoretical inputs could impact ethical decisions in global marketing.
Why is the Principal Eigenvector Necessary

In the field of decision-making, the concept of priority is quintessential and how priorities are derived influences the choices one makes. Priorities should be unique and not one of many possibilities, they must also capture the dominance of the order expressed in the judgments of the pairwise comparison matrix.