cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Decorrelating multiuser code-timing estimation for long-code CDMA with bandlimited chip waveforms

This paper addresses the problem of multiuser code-timing estimation for asynchronous uplink code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems with aperiodic spreading codes and bandlimited chip waveforms. Two decorrelating code-timing estimation schemes, namely the frequency-domain least-squares (FLS) and frequency-domain weighted least-squares (FWLS) estimators, are developed. The two proposed estimators offer different tradeoffs between complexity and estimation accuracy. A critical step for decorrelating-based estimation is to decompose the received signal into subsignals of shorter duration. We discuss how to perform the decomposition to ensure improved identifiability and statistical stability of the proposed schemes. Due to a unique signal structure in the frequency domain, both the FLS and FWLS estimators admit efficient implementations that result in significant complexity reductions. The Crame/spl acute/r-Rao bound for the estimation problem under study is derived and used as an assessment tool for the proposed estimators. Numerical results show that both of the proposed estimators can support overloaded systems (with more users than the processing gain) in multipath fading environments and significantly outperform a conventional technique based on matched-filter processing.
The chronology of depression and distress in men with Peyronie's disease.

ABSTRACT Introduction For the practicing clinician, appreciating Peyronie's disease (PD) significant negative psychological impact is apparent. Despite this, there exists not a single study using validated instruments assessing this issue. Aims To document the effect of PD on the psychosocial status of men. Main Outcome Measures The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES‐D) for evaluation of depression and the SF‐36 for quality of life assessment. Methods Men (N = 92; 54 ± 11 years of age) presenting for PD evaluation completed the CES‐D, Short Form‐36 (SF‐36), and an inventory regarding PD. Partners were not assessed. Results A vast majority of men (88%) had a partner with a mean partner age of 49 ± 11 years. The median duration of PD at presentation was 12 (1–360) months. As a whole, 48% were classified as depressed on the CES‐D (26% moderate, 21% severe). These subjects were then placed into groups according to the length of time since diagnosis of PD. Length‐of‐time groups were: 0–6 months, 6–12 months, 12–18 months, and >18 months. The percent of men scoring above the CES‐D cutoff for depression remained consistently high with no significant difference across time since diagnosis groups. These results are supported by data from the Mental Health subscale (MHS) of the SF‐36 (lower scores indicate lower mental heath). For the entire sample, the MHS standardized mean of 46.80 was significantly lower ( P Conclusion Using validated instruments, we have demonstrated that 48% of men with PD have clinically meaningful depression that would warrant medical evaluation. This high level of depression stayed consistent across time since diagnosis. These data suggest that most men do not psychologically adjust to their diagnosis of PD and all men with PD should be considered appropriate mental health screening. Nelson CJ, Diblasio C, Kendirci M, Hellstrom W, Guhring P, and Mulhall JP. The chronology of depression and distress in men with Peyronie's disease. J Sex Med 2008;5:1985–1990.
Optimal control-1950 to 1985

Optimal control had its origins in the calculus of variations in the 17th century. The calculus of variations was developed further in the 18th century by Euler and Lagrange and in the 19th century by Legendre, Jacobi, Hamilton, and Weierstrass. In the early 20th century, Bolza and Bliss put the final touches of rigor on the subject. In 1957, Bellman gave a new view of Hamilton-Jacobi theory which he called dynamic programming, essentially a nonlinear feedback control scheme. McShane (1939) and Pontryagin (1962) extended the calculus of variations to handle control variable inequality constraints, the latter enunciating his elegant maximum principle. The truly enabling element for use of optimal control theory was the digital computer, which became available commercially in the 1950s. In the 1980s research began, and continues today, on making optimal feedback logic more robust to variations in the plant and disturbance models; one element of this research is worst-case and H-infinity control, which developed out of differential game theory.
Coupled back-strapped bar-line analysis for low-noise CFA's

A comprehensive modal analysis of the strapped bar line has been performed using an adaptation of a method ascribed to Fletcher. A determinantal system of equations is generated upon application of boundary conditions which include provisions for multiple straps, side and back walls, and vanes on cooling channels. The formulation also provides direct means for the evaluation of the circuit coupling and characteristic impedances. Comparisons between measured dispersion and impedance values and those based upon the new formulation show excellent agreement for typical CFA circuits. Extension of the model to the coupled delay-line system employed in a low-noise CFA reveals that the main mode splits into anti-symmetric and symmetric modes. Their relative mix on the circuit depends upon the amplitudes and phases of the split-feed driving signals. Proper input control of the independent modes is seen to be implicated in a significant low-noise mode of CFA operation.
Outcomes of Health Care–Associated Pneumonia Empirically Treated with Guideline-Concordant Regimens Versus Community-Acquired Pneumonia Guideline–Concordant Regimens for Patients Admitted to Acute Care Wards from Home

BACKGROUNDThe introduction of the health care–associated pneumonia (HCAP) categorization expanded recommendations for broad-spectrum empiric antibiotics to pneumonia patients presenting from the community with recent health care–system exposure. However, the efficacy of such regimens in improving clinical outcomes in these patients has not been well established.OBJECTIVETo compare the clinical outcomes of HCAP patients treated initially with HCAP guideline–concordant antibiotic regimens to those treated initially with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) guideline-concordant antibiotic regimens.METHODSThis retrospective study included HCAP patients presenting from home and admitted to general medical wards. HCAP regimen patients were treated empirically with at least 1 antipseudomonal agent. All other patients were assigned to the CAP regimen group. The primary end point was clinical cure at 30 days postdischarge. Subgroup analysis was performed in patients hospitalized 1–30 days and 31–90 days before the H...
Information privacy issues for the 1990s

Information privacy deals with protecting individuals against potential violations of their rights due to collection, storage, and use of personal information by the government and private sector organizations. The privacy protection laws enacted in the 1970s are inadequate and limited in scope. New applications of computer-communications technology involving personal information are now emerging for the decade of the 1990s and create new potentials for privacy violations. The basics of privacy protection, examples of the new technologies, and the need for new privacy laws are discussed. >
Basics in Clinical Nutrition: Nutritional support in trauma

On the other hand, tissue damage alone induces tachycardia, increased blood pressure, increased sympathetic efferent activity and redistribution of blood flow to skeletal muscle. This contrasts with hemorrhage, which results in diversion of blood flow to vital organs. When hemorrhage and tissue damage coexist, as in trauma, the response to tissue damage prevails. As a consequence, ischemia of gut mucosa may be initiated and translocation of bacteria and endotoxin from the gut, as demonstrated in animal experiments, can occur.
A Unified Theory of Mind-Brain Relationship: Is It Possible?

The mind-body relationship has vexed philosophers of mind for quite a long time. Different theories of mind have offered different points of view about the interaction between the two, but none of them seem free of ambiguities and questions. This paper attempts to use a mathematical model for mind-body relationship. The model may generate some questions to think about this relationship from the viewpoint of operator theory.
Recasting the Debate on Multiple Listing for Transplantation through Consideration of Both Principles and Practice

Debates continue to surround the system in the United States for allocating transplantable cadaveric organs, due in large part to the scarcity of such organs in relation to the number of individuals waiting to undergo transplantation. Candidates awaiting transplantation gain access to cadaveric organs by being placed by individual transplant programs on the national list of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), overseen by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). In recent years, the UNOS board has visited (and revisited) the issue of multiple listing, that is, allowing one candidate to be registered on the waiting lists of two or more transplant programs, and has continued to permit multiple listing.
Immunotherapy and the belly of the beast.

![Figure][1] Insight from Taha Merghoub (left) and Jedd Wolchok (right) Immunotherapy has emerged as an effective means to restore immune recognition of cancer. Numerous forms of immunotherapy are currently being explored clinically. The most common are vaccines (dendritic cell, viral, and
Some Statistical Methods for Combining Experimental Results

Advances in science and technology are generally the product of multiple investigations. This article discusses statistical methods for combining empirical results from a series of different experiments or clinical investigations. We delineate the steps an assessor might take in combining data from different studies and provide references for topics not discussed in detail. The article reviews some of the most commonly used statistical techniques for combining results in the medical and social sciences.The expression meta-analysis refers to the practice of using statistical methods to combine the outcomes of a series of different experiments or investigations. The terminology arises because a meta-analysis uses a study as the unit of observation, and, thus, the data point for each study is itself a statistical summary based on an analysis of primary data.
Quantifying Patterns of Change in Marine Ecosystem Response to Multiple Pressures

The ability to understand and ultimately predict ecosystem response to multiple pressures is paramount to successfully implement ecosystem-based management. Thresholds shifts and nonlinear patterns in ecosystem responses can be used to determine reference points that identify levels of a pressure that may drastically alter ecosystem status, which can inform management action. However, quantifying ecosystem reference points has proven elusive due in large part to the multi-dimensional nature of both ecosystem pressures and ecosystem responses. We used ecological indicators, synthetic measures of ecosystem status and functioning, to enumerate important ecosystem attributes and to reduce the complexity of the Northeast Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (NES LME). Random forests were used to quantify the importance of four environmental and four anthropogenic pressure variables to the value of ecological indicators, and to quantify shifts in aggregate ecological indicator response along pressure gradients. Anthropogenic pressure variables were critical defining features and were able to predict an average of 8-13% (up to 25-66% for individual ecological indicators) of the variation in ecological indicator values, whereas environmental pressures were able to predict an average of 1-5 % (up to 9-26% for individual ecological indicators) of ecological indicator variation. Each pressure variable predicted a different suite of ecological indicator’s variation and the shapes of ecological indicator responses along pressure gradients were generally nonlinear. Threshold shifts in ecosystem response to exploitation, the most important pressure variable, occurred when commercial landings were 20 and 60% of total surveyed biomass. Although present, threshold shifts in ecosystem response to environmental pressures were much less important, which suggests that anthropogenic pressures have significantly altered the ecosystem structure and functioning of the NES LME. Gradient response curves provide ecologically informed transformations of pressure variables to explain patterns of ecosystem structure and functioning. By concurrently identifying thresholds for a suite of ecological indicator responses to multiple pressures, we demonstrate that ecosystem reference points can be evaluated and used to support ecosystem-based management.
Early surgery reduces mortality in patients with infective endocarditis: insight from a meta-analysis.

fibrinolytic system function in different abnormal humor syndrome patientswithCHDare abnormally changed, and this kind of changes is more serious in abnormal sauda syndrome groups than those in other three humors [2]. 3. In another clinical study which has been done about the relationship between abnormal humors and coronary lesion and C-reactive protein, it has been recognized that in terms of degree of coronary lesion, balgham patternwasmild and abnormal sauda pattern was the severest and with the highest level of C-reactive protein [3]. 4. Relationship between cardiovascular disease and depression has been proved in recent studies [4]. Patients with abnormal sauda have more depression symptom than patients with balgham. This relationship can be explained in this way that depression is one of the factors in human in which humors especially balgham condensate and freeze and turn to sauda [1].
Mechanism of nitroglycerin-induced hypoxemia

We and others have previously demonstrated a consistent significant decline in arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) after sublingual nitroglycerin in premedicated and unpremedicated patients both with and without coronary artery disease and/or obstructive ventilatory disease. Thus, in our 19 patients, PaO2 fell by an average of 17% (12 mm Hg), mean systemic arterial pressure by 19% (17 mm Hg), pulmonary arterial pressure by 38% (6 mm Hg), pulmonary arterial occlusive pressure by 62% (5.3 mm Hg), and cardiac index by 16% (0.37 liter/min/m2) [P less than 0.001 for each] after nitroglycerin. Previous experimental studies suggest that the mechanism for the reduction of PaO2 may be relief of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction with an increase in perfusion to poorly ventilated or nonventilated regions of the lungs. To examine this possibility, pulmonary vasodilatation was precluded by administration of a pulmonary vasoconstrictor (phenylephrine) simultaneously with nitroglycerin in nine patients with coronary artery disease. No significant change was observed in systemic or pulmonary arterial pressure, pulmonary arterial occlusive pressure, or systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance, and PaO2 did not decline. In ten other patients with coronary artery disease, the intrapulmonary right-to-left shunt fraction was determined before and after sublingual nitroglycerin; only a minimal increase in shunt fraction of 1.4% was observed, quantitatively insufficient to account for the observed decline in PaO2, thus excluding a predominant effect of nitroglycerin on nonventilated alveoli as a cause of the hypoxemia. We conclude that the reduction of PaO2 after nitroglycerin administration is attributable to pulmonary vasodilatation with a relative increase in perfusion of poorly ventilated lung units.
Dietary and Alternative Therapies

Various alternative therapies for ADHD have been offered as substitutes or supplements to medication and behavioral treatments. Some merit a trial in children unresponsive or showing toxic reactions to medications, and others appear to show little advantage except as a placebo. The evaluation of claims for therapies in a disorder such as ADHD, without a single, well-defined cause, is a scientific challenge, requiring controls and appropriate measurement techniques.
Reading the fine print: sequence-specific activation of cGAS.

A unique guanosine-flanked Y-form DNA triggers innate cGAS-dependent responses that lead to upregulation of the production of type I interferons.
Preparing Next Generation Graduates for a Global Engineering Workforce: Insights from Tomorrow's Engineers

Transforming Undergraduate Engineering Education (TUEE) project was launched to produce a clear understanding of the qualities engineering graduates should possess and to promote changes in curricula, pedagogy, and academic culture needed to instill those qualities to meet the needs of industry in the 21 st century. For the initial phase of this multi-year study, ASEE hosted a two-day workshop Integrating Industry Perspectives designed to hear the "voice of the primary customer - employers," in an intensive exploration of the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed in engineering today and in the coming years. The 34 industry attendees identified 36 KSAs that form the core competencies, an array of skills and professional qualities that will help students succeed in a dynamic, rapidly changing field. Industry seeksa T-shaped engineering graduate who brings broad knowledge across domains and the ability to collaborate within a diverse workforce as well as deep expertise within a single domain. The second workshop Insights from Tomorrow' s Engineers was intended to erect a framework for transforming the undergraduate engineering experience. With help from engineering deans, ASEE invited a broadly diverse group of 41 undergraduate and graduate students to ponder 36 characteristics of engineering graduates most sought by industry. The students then joined a two-day workshop in Washington, DC to brainstorm ways in which engineering instruction could be improved to meet demands of the contemporary workplace. Overwhelmingly, students concluded that schools were paying insufficient attention to an array of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed to produce the desired T-shaped professional - one who brings broad knowledge across domains, deep expertise within a single domain, and the ability to collaborate with others in a diverse workforce.
The Relation between Aristotle’s Ideas and Belgian Property Law: How May Aristotle’s Ideas About Property Have Influenced Contemporary Belgian Property Law?

Based on the results of the research I conducted, as presented in this paper, it can be concluded that there are indications that Aristotle’s ideas on property have had an influence on contemporary Belgian property law. This applies in particular to the basic principles of property law, not the more detailed, technical rules, which are mainly motivated by practical considerations and the demands of the market economy. There may have been direct or indirect influence, or both. There, of course, is no direct influence in the sense the Belgian legislature adopted Aristotle’s ideas or the Greek legislation that Aristotle supported; such a direct and decisive influence almost never occurs in law. A more subtle and indirect influence on the theory and philosophy of property law and its basic principles, on the other hand, may well have occurred.
Quorum sensing autoinducers enhance biofilm formation and power production in a hypersaline microbial fuel cell

Abstract Intensive hydraulic fracturing of shale oil and gas reservoirs and other industrial activities can produce large volumes of high-organic-strength and high-salinity wastewaters that are difficult to treat by conventional technologies. Microbial fuel cells (MFC) can treat high-strength wastewater while generating electricity. We enhanced anodic biofilm formation by the extremophile Halanaerobium praevalens , a prevalent species in saline oil and gas reservoirs, in a hypersaline MFC (100 g/L NaCl), by promoting quorum sensing (QS) through addition of exogenous QS signals (i.e., Pseudomonas aeruginosa QS signal (PQS) and 4-hydroxy-1-methyl-2-quinolone (quinolone)). A 95% increase in biofilm mass was observed with the addition of 100 nM quinolone, yielding a sustained 30% increase in generated power density. Enhanced bacterial attachment to the anode’s surface was corroborated by confocal microscopy. Overall, QS stimulation through the addition of trace levels of such autoinducers might be a feasible approach to enhance MFC performance under high-salinity conditions.
Nonlinear Optical Injection, Detection & Control of Ballistic Currents & Coherent THz Plasma Oscillations

Quantum interference injects ballistic electrons and holes into GaAs generating coherent THz plasma oscillations and ~100 kV/cm space charge fields. The carrier and field dynamics are resolved using phase space filling and dynamic Franz-Keldysh effects.
Orientation Imaging of the Microstructure of Polycrystalline Materials

Recent developments, coupling the scanning electron microscope with image processing and crystallographic analysis, now make it possible to automatically index many thousands of lattice orientations exposed on section planes in polycrystalline materials. Backscattered Kikuchi diffraction patterns obtained from high-gain SIT and CCD cameras are analyzed using the Hough transformation (Cartesian coordinates - polar coordinates) in order to identify diffraction band widths and interplanar angles. From this basic information local lattice orientation can be determined. Information from raw data sets (in excess of 100,000 single orientations in some examples) can be used to construct orientation imaging micrographs which emphasize certain aspects of the exposed field of lattice orientations. Thus, features of the spatial placement of lattice orientation (including grain boundary misorientation, microtexture, and connectivity of the microstructure) are readily studied. In this paper these techniques are reviewed, and recent explorations of the connectivity of grain boundary misorientation structure are presented for an interesting nickel-chromium-iron alloy.
Hepatic insulin and EGF receptor phosphorylation and dephosphorylation in fetal rats

Hepatic insulin receptor and epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor phosphorylation and dephosphorylation were studied in normal and growth-retarded fetal rats. Insulin receptor autophosphorylation at a subsaturating ATP concentration (0.5 microM) increased by 10-fold from day 17 to 21 of gestation and decreased by 50% in term growth-retarded fetuses of fasted mothers. In vitro kinase activation at 0.5 mM ATP did not change with gestation or maternal fasting. EGF receptor autophosphorylation increased in parallel with receptor number with advancing gestation and did not change with maternal fasting. Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases), which might attenuate receptor signaling in livers from growth-retarded fetuses, were measured using polybasic and polyacidic artificial substrates as well as the insulin receptor kinase domain. Fetal membrane PTPase activities were twofold higher than in the adult and declined with advancing gestation. However, activities were similar in normal and growth-retarded fetuses. We conclude that decreased hepatic growth in growth-retarded fetuses may involve decreased insulin receptor tyrosine kinase activation in vivo, as indicated by diminished receptor autophosphorylation at subsaturating ATP concentrations. Changes in EGF receptor kinase activity and PTPases could not be implicated based on our in vitro findings.
Free Tuition for Community College: A Role for the Tech Community?

The Obama administration recently made three major announcements about a proposal to make community college tuition free. This shift offers the tech community an opportunity to share its unique viewpoint on the cost and structure of community colleges. The Web extra at https://youtu.be/ZR_PxPlngKE is an audio recording of author David Alan Grier reading this Computing Education column.
The use of secondary data in purchasing and supply management (P/SM) research

Abstract The use of secondary data, data that has been gathered for another purpose but may be suitable for research, is growing in relevance and importance in purchasing and supply management research. This paper presents issues associated with using secondary data as a principal source of data or as supplemental to other data or methods. As editors increasingly call for multiple data sources in research publications, secondary data become even more relevant. Secondary data have many benefits, and some secondary data sets are well established and highly credible. The authors describe some of the ways that secondary data has been used in purchasing and supply management research, as well as some of the sources of data. Secondary data does have its limitations, ranging from bias in collection and reporting to difficulty in identifying and accessing appropriate sources of secondary data to dealing with its predominantly unstructured nature. Suggestions for improving the reliability and validity of secondary data are provided, as well advice for dealing with big data.
Adaptive Finite Difference Method For Traveltime And Amplitude

The eikonal equation with point source is difficultto solve with high order accuracy because of the singularity of the solution at the source. All the formally high order schemes turn out to be firstorder accurate without special treatment of this singularity. Adaptive upwind finite difference methods based on high order ENO (Essentially NonOscillatory) Runge-Kutta difference schemes for the paraxial eikonal equation overcome this difficulty. The method controls error by automatic grid refinementand coarsening based on an a posteriorierror estimation. It achieves prescribed accuracy at far lower cost than fixed grid methods. Reliable auxiliary quantities, such as take-off angle and geometrical spreading factor, are by-products.
Winners, losers, and protest behavior in parliamentary systems

Abstract In this paper, I examine the impact of winning and losing in parliamentary systems on protest behavior. I argue that losers in parliamentary systems with single party, majority governments are more likely to protest than losers in systems with coalition governments. In the empirical analysis, I provide support for my argument using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) survey from 2001 to 2006. The results suggest that losers in single party, majority systems were more likely to protest than their counterparts in coalition systems. In addition, while it is unclear whether winning and losing had an effect on protest behavior in coalition systems, losers in single party, majority systems were more likely to protest than winners.
Protoporphyrin IX Down-Regulates DMT1 Associated Protein (DAP) in K562 Cells.

The final steps of heme biosynthesis include the transport of coproporphyrin with the transport step probably mediated by the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR). Within the mitochondria copropoprhyrin is then converted to protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) which in turn is converted to hemin with insertion of iron by ferrochelatase. PBR is ubiquitously expressed and has been implicated in steriodogenesis, apoptosis, erythroid differentiation, and inflammation. Interestingly, PPIX is among several high affinity ligands for PBR. Various cytosolic proteins that interact with PBR have also been defined including PBR associated protein 7 (PAP7). The various PBR ligands including PPIX may affect the binding of these proteins to PBR. We have demonstrated (Blood, Nov 2004; 104: 53) that DAP, a protein highly homologous to PAP7, binds to the C-terminus of DMT1 and may have a role in regulation of intracellular iron transport. We, therefore, examined the effects of PPIX on the functions of DAP and other proteins that affect cellular iron metabolism. DAP is 526 amino acid protein with a nuclear localization signal domain (aa 212–229) and a Golgi localization domain (aa 380–524), and is distributed in the cytoplasm, Golgi apparatus, and nuclei of K562 cells. K562 cells were grown in the presence of 5 μM PPIX for 24 hours and then the expression of DAP, transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1), and ferritin examined by western blot analysis. In addition, cells were grown in medium of either normal iron content (3.5 μM from ferri-transferrin), high iron content (217 μM from the addition of ferric ammonium citrate), or low iron content (by the addition of 50 mM desferroxamine). Under all three iron conditions PPIX induced differentiation but down-regulated ferritin expression and up-regulated TfR1 expression. Additionally, PPIX had a striking effect on DAP expression markedly decreasing DAP levels but only in cells grown either in normal or low iron medium. In addition, PPIX affected the expression of the iron transporter DMT1in parallel with DAP. As PPIX induced erythroid differentiation of K562 cells we examined the effects of hemin which can also induce differentiation of K562 cells. In contrast to PPIX, hemin caused strong down-regulation of TfR and up-regulation of ferritin and DAP. The down-regulation of DAP induced by PPIX was restored by the addition of hemin. These results indicate that PPIX affects DAP expression and other important elements involved in cellular iron metabolism and that these effects are partially modified by the iron status of the cell.
What You Don't Know Can Hurt You: The Risk of Language Deprivation by Impairing Sign Language Development in Deaf Children.

A long-standing belief is that sign language interferes with spoken language development in deaf children, despite a chronic lack of evidence supporting this belief. This deserves discussion as poor life outcomes continue to be seen in the deaf population. This commentary synthesizes research outcomes with signing and non-signing children and highlights fully accessible language as a protective factor for healthy development. Brain changes associated with language deprivation may be misrepresented as sign language interfering with spoken language outcomes of cochlear implants. This may lead to professionals and organizations advocating for preventing sign language exposure before implantation and spreading misinformation. The existence of one—time-sensitive—language acquisition window means a strong possibility of permanent brain changes when spoken language is not fully accessible to the deaf child and sign language exposure is delayed, as is often standard practice. There is no empirical evidence for the harm of sign language exposure but there is some evidence for its benefits, and there is growing evidence that lack of language access has negative implications. This includes cognitive delays, mental health difficulties, lower quality of life, higher trauma, and limited health literacy. Claims of cochlear implant- and spoken language-only approaches being more effective than sign language-inclusive approaches are not empirically supported. Cochlear implants are an unreliable standalone first-language intervention for deaf children. Priorities of deaf child development should focus on healthy growth of all developmental domains through a fully-accessible first language foundation such as sign language, rather than auditory deprivation and speech skills.
Indelible Ink: The Trials of John Peter Zenger and the Birth of America's Free Press

By Richard KlugerNew York and London: W.W. Norton, 2016, 346 ppWhen James Madison penned the Bill of Rights, adding an amendment guaranteeing a free press to the Constitution, he made no mention of...
Two-photon Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor.

We introduce a simple wavefront sensing scheme for aberration measurement of pulsed laser beams in near-infrared wavelengths (<2200 nm), where detectors are not always available or are very expensive. The method is based on two-photon absorption in a silicon detector array for longer wavelengths detection. We demonstrate the simplicity of such implementations with a commercially available Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor and discuss the detection sensitivity of this method.
Optimal Radiation Therapy for Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Radiation therapy plays an important role in the management of both limited stage and extensive stage small cell lung cancer. For limited stage disease, there has been a trend toward reduced size of thoracic radiation fields, which has the potential to reduce toxicity. FDG-PET staging helps make this possible by more accurately identifying areas of nodal and metastatic involvement. Trials have demonstrated similar outcomes using a range of radiation fractionation schedules, allowing flexibility in individualizing treatment. Using advanced radiation therapy techniques such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy, it may be possible to deliver fewer, higher dose fractions and achieve similar results to the hyperfractionated regimen. For extensive stage disease, consolidative thoracic radiation therapy after chemotherapy was recently shown to improve overall survival in certain patient subsets. Prophylactic cranial irradiation continues to play an important role in management of all stages of small cell lung cancer. Debate continues about the neurocognitive effects of this treatment, and whether MRI surveillance is an acceptable alternative. Strategies such as hippocampal avoidance may reduce the cognitive effects of prophylactic cranial irradiation in the future. Finally, in the last few years stereotactic ablative radiation therapy followed by chemotherapy has emerged as a promising treatment for stage I small cell lung cancer. This radiation treatment is usually given over 1–5 fractions and appears to provide a good rate of local control with a low rate of serious toxicity.
Full Axially Symmetric Contact of a Rigid Punch with a Rough Elastic Half-Space

An axially symmetric contact problem for a rigid punch indented in an elastic half-space with rough surface is considered. Friction in the contact is neglected. It is shown that there exists a normal load applied to the punch which would make the contact singly connected if the roughness distribution is a four times differentiable function. Some generalizations of the problem are considered. A relationship for the estimate of a normal load sufficient for realization of a full contact is provided.
Optimal sizing of iliac vein stents.

BackgroundIliac vein stenting has emerged as a therapeutic option in chronic venous disease. The optimal stent size is unknown but should match normal caliber at a minimum.MethodsTeleology: The ili...
Orthogonal fitness benefits of nitrogen and ants for nitrogen‐limited plants in the presence of herbivores

Predictable effects of resource availability on plant growth-defense strategies provide a unifying theme in theories of direct anti-herbivore defense, but it is less clear how resource availability modulates plant indirect defense. Ant-plant-hemipteran interactions produce mutualistic trophic cascades when hemipteran-tending ants reduce total herbivory, and these interactions are a key component of plant indirect defense in most terrestrial ecosystems. Here we conducted an experiment to test how ant-plant-hemipteran interactions depend on nitrogen (N) availability by manipulating the presence of ants and aphids under different N fertilization treatments. Ants increased plant flowering success by decreasing the densities of herbivores, and the effects of ants on folivores were positively related to the density of aphids. Unexpectedly, N fertilization produced no changes in plant N concentrations. Plants grown in higher N grew and flowered more, but aphid honeydew chemistry stayed the same, and neither the density of aphids nor the rate of ant attraction per aphid changed with N addition. The positive effects of ants and N addition on plant fitness were thus independent of one another. We conclude that N was the plant's limiting nutrient and propose that addition of the limiting nutrient is unlikely to alter the strength of mutualistic trophic cascades.
Notes on Nonlinear Semigroups

In this section we shall assemble some tools which are useful in the proofs of bifurcation theorems. We begin with some general properties of flows and semiflows (≡ nonlinear groups and nonlinear semigroups) following Chernoff-Marsden [1,2]. These include various important continuity and smoothness properties. Next, we give a basic criterion for when a semiflow consists of smooth mappings following Dorroh-Marsden [1].
On the importance of homology in the age of phylogenomics

Homology is perhaps the most central concept of phylogenetic biology. Molecular systematists have traditionally paid due attention to the homology statements that are implied by their alignments of...
Neutrophil-Hepatic Stellate Cell Interactions Promote Fibrosis in Experimental Steatohepatitis.

Background & Aims Hepatic infiltration of neutrophils is a hallmark of steatohepatitis; however, the role of neutrophils in the progression of steatohepatitis remains unknown. Methods A clinically relevant mouse model of steatohepatitis induced by high-fat diet (HFD) plus binge ethanol feeding was used. Liver fibrosis was examined. In vitro cell culture was used to analyze the interaction of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and neutrophils. Results HFD plus one binge ethanol (HFD+1B) feeding induced significant hepatic neutrophil infiltration, liver injury, and fibrosis. HFD plus multiple binges of ethanol (HFD+mB) caused more pronounced liver fibrosis. Microarray analyses showed that the most highly activated signaling pathway in this HFD+1B model was related to liver fibrosis and HSC activation. Blockade of chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 or intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression reduced hepatic neutrophil infiltration and ameliorated liver injury and fibrosis. Disruption of the p47phox gene (also called neutrophil cytosolic factor 1), a critical component of reactive oxygen species producing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-oxidase in neutrophils, diminished HFD+1B–induced liver injury and fibrosis. Co-culture of HSCs with neutrophils, but not with neutrophil apoptotic bodies, induced HSC activation and prolonged neutrophil survival. Mechanistic studies showed that activated HSCs produce granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and interleukin-15 to prolong the survival of neutrophils, which may serve as a positive forward loop to promote liver damage and fibrosis. Conclusions The current data from a mouse model of HFD plus binge ethanol feeding suggest that obesity and binge drinking synergize to promote liver fibrosis, which is partially mediated via the interaction of neutrophils and HSCs. Microarray data in this article have been uploaded to NCBI’s Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO accession number: GSE98153 ).
3D cellular metamaterials with planar anti-chiral topology

Abstract We constructed a new class of three-dimensional cellular metamaterials by connecting planar structure with anti-chiral topology. This was achieved by introducing a unique node design for connecting planar materials to enable constructing a three-dimensional architecture. This node design is based on linking the circular elements of the anti-chiral topology using oblique load-bearing ligaments. As the planar structure is subjected to loading, the circular elements rotate and the ligaments undergo bending, resulting in out-of-plane deformation of the three-dimensional cellular metamaterials. The node design, and specifically the ligaments' revolution angle govern the behavior of cellular metamaterials. This was demonstrated by designing cellular metamaterials with a wide range of positive and negative Poisson's ratio in the out-of-plane direction.
Re-Imagining the Closing Argument

Clarence Darrow was a towering figure in the world of law, defending the indefensible, fighting to save many people from execution because of the sheer weight of his convictions and the eloquent way in which he expressed them. Recall that in this case, Darrow decided that strategically he could not utilize the expert testimony as the basis for his final argument. While the experts were distinguished psychiatrists, none were able to reach a causal nexus between the mental disorders and the crime, such that they could testify that because of mental disease or defect, Leopold and Loeb could not appreciate the wrongfulness of their behavior (the criteria for an insanity defense). The very extensive planning, the demands for ransom and the attempts to cover their tracks, all spoke to a complete understanding of the wrongfulness of their behavior. It was for this reason that Darrow chose not to pursue an insanity defense and entered guilty pleas on their behalf, thereby attempting to use the expert testimony as mitigation. Darrow had a shot at this, since Judge John Caverly had a reputation as a serious, scholarly individual who was liberal in his judicial philosophy. However, once again, if he used the expert testimony, he would still have to demonstrate how the mental disorders resulted in a compulsion to commit the crime or, at the very least, demonstrate how the factors in Leopold and Loeb’s backgrounds led to the specific crime. Darrow was unable to see the connection and was afraid that Judge Caverly would not either. (In fact, Darrow was correct in that Caverly made only passing reference to the mental condition of the defendants and chose to sentence them to life imprisonment rather than to death.) However, what would have happened if Darrow knew about the neurological basis of delusional disorder and psychopathy that we now know? Recall that Darrow, being a determinist and not believing in free will, had actually set the stage for this very type of testimony. He said of Loeb, “One of two things happened to this boy; that this terrible crime was inherent in his organism, and came from some ancestor, or it came through his education and training after he was born… I do not know what remote ancestors may have sent down the seed that corrupted him, and I do not know through how many ancestors it may have passed until it reached Dickie Loeb. All I know is, it is true, and there is not a biologist in the world who will say I am not right… Is Dickey Loeb to blame because out of the infinite forces that conspired to form him, the forces that were at work producing him ages before he was born, because out of these infinite combinations he was born without [emotional capacity]? … Is he to blame for what he did not have and never had? Is he to blame that his machine is imperfect?”
Rethinking the brand–community relationship: Wearing a biggie in Harlem:

In one of the most cited studies in business and economics, Muniz and O’Guinn established that a brand can serve as the basis of community. Their seminal fieldwork showed that through digital commu...
Branch and Bound for Global NLP: Iterative LP Algorithm & Results

This chapter presents a branch and bound algorithm for global solution of nonconvex nonlinear programs The algorithm utilizes the covering program developed in the previous chapter to compute bounds over rectangular domain partitions. An adaptive rectangular partitioning strategy is employed to locate and verify a global solution.
Speech User Interface Evolution

In some naive past, some of us assumed that the introduction of speech recognition and output to interactive systems would undoubtedly improve their usability. We now know that designing computer systems that accept speech as input or use speech as output requires considerable effort. While speech may be a natural form of communication for humans, speaking to computer artifacts or having them speak to us is a different activity. We are only beginning to become aware of the subtle ways in which such differences manifest themselves as we attempt to make use of speech technologies that, while they are vastly improved over research prototypes of 10 years ago, still have gaps in performance compared to what we can expect of human-human communication. We present some of the lessons we have learned over the past years as we have been involved in the design of systems that make use of speech technology. While the principles of feedback to the user are the same for different applications of speech technology, the particular design decisions depend on the task, user, and context of use.
Profiling topics on the web for knowledge discovery

The availability of large-scale data on the Web motivates the development of automatic algorithms to analyze topics and to identify relationships between topics. Various approaches have been proposed in the literature. Most focus on specific topics, mainly those representing people, with little attention to topics of other kinds. They are also less flexible in how they represent topics. In this thesis we study existing methods as well as describe a different approach, based on profiles, for representing topics. A Topic Profile is analogous to a synopsis of a topic and consists of different types of features. Profiles are flexible to allow different combinations of features to be emphasized and are extensible to support new features to be incorporated without having to change the underlying logic. More generally, topic profiles provide an abstract framework that can be used to create different types of concrete representations for topics. Different options regarding the number of documents considered for a topic or types of features extracted can be decided based on requirements of the problem as well as the characteristics of the data. Topic profiles also provide a framework to explore relationships between topics. We compare different methods for building profiles and evaluate them in terms of their information content and their ability to predict relationships between topics. We contribute new methods in term weighting and for identifying relevant text segments in web documents. In this thesis, we present an application of our profile-based approach to explore social networks of US senators generated from web data and compare with networks generated from voting data. We consider both general networks as well as issue-specific networks. We also apply topic profiles for identifying and ranking experts given topics of interest, as part of the 2007 TREC Expert Search task. Overall, our results show that topic profiles provide a strong foundation for exploring different topics and for mining relationships between topics using web data. Our approach can be applied to a wide range of web knowledge discovery problems, in contrast to existing approaches that are mostly designed for specific problems.
Diskussion des Beitrags von Balaban und Goldfarb

Im wesentlichen befast sich die Evaluation einer Technologie zur Gesundheitsvorsorge mit den folgenden 3 Fragen: a) Wird durch die Anwendung der Technologie das beabsichtigte Ergebnis erreicht? b) Wenn die Frage a) bejaht wird, kann dann der mit dem beabsichtigten Ergebnis verbundene Nutzen die durch die Anwendung der Technologie entstandenen Kosten rechtfertigen? c) Wenn die Frage b) bejaht wird, verursacht dann die Anwendung der Technologie den geringstmoglichen Ressourcenaufwand, der zur Erreichung des beabsichtigten Ergebnisses erforderlich ist, oder fuhrt sie umgekehrt zum hochstmoglichen Nutzen, der mit einem gegebenen Ressourcenaufwand erreichbar ist?
A Model for Brain Edema

Brain edema associated with dilatation of the brain extracellular space has a number of causes, but it is termed “vasogenic” if the major cause is damage to the bloodbrain barrier (BBB). Vasogenic edema occurs in tumors, trauma, vasculitis, a cold lesion, acute hypertension, infarction, radiation, and osmotic BBB opening. Extracellular edema which is not clearly vasogenic arises in association with increased CSF pressure and hydrocephalus [21], can be induced locally by intracerebral injection of fluid [8], and may accompany brain edema initiated by decreasing plasma tonicity (osmotic edema) or by metabolic inhibition (cytotoxic edema).