cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Receipt of Opioid Medication for New Back Pain Diagnosis

Background Although treatment for new back pain is heavily guideline driven, deviations occur frequently. Neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES) may contribute to these deviations. Objective Determine whether nSES is associated with type of treatment provided for patients seeking treatment for new back pain in primary care clinics. Methods This retrospective cohort was conducted in academic internal and family medicine practices. Data were examined from the Primary Care Patient Data Registry. Eligibility criteria included age ≥18 years, free of HIV and cancer, and presenting to primary care with a new diagnosis of back pain, resulting in1646 patients included. Patients' nSES was determined using ZIP code and calculating a validated index of 7 census-tract variables. Multinomial logistic regression was used to measure the association between nSES and 3 treatment outcomes compared with no pharmacologic management. Outcomes included opioid prescription, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID)/muscle relaxant prescription, or combined opioid/nonopioid treatment within 90 days of initial presentation. Covariates included age, sex, race, high clinic utilization (HCU), depression, anxiety, substance use, obesity, comorbidities, smoking, number of pain conditions, and physical therapy (PT) referral. Results The cohort was 67.9% female with an average age of 55.72 years (Standard Error [SE] = 0.387). Compared with no pharmacologic treatment, individuals in the low nSES group had 63% higher odds of receiving an opioid only compared with the high nSES group (odds ratio [OR], 1.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 2.62). There was no significant association between nSES and odds of nonopioid or combined treatment compared with no pharmacotherapy (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.50), (OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.67 to 1.78), respectively. Covariates associated with increased odds of opioid only included HCU, ever smoker, and increasing comorbidity index. PT referral was associated with NSAID/muscle relaxant only, and increasing age and comorbidity index were inversely associated with odds of NSAID/muscle relaxant only. Finally, covariates associated with increased odds of receiving both therapies included high clinic utilizusation, ever smoking, and PT referral. Conclusions These data characterize a possible association between low nSES and increased risk of receiving an opioid only when being treated for new back pain. This may be evidence that patients of low nSES are at increased risk of receiving guideline-noncompliant treatment for new back pain.
Popliteal artery aneurysm. Prompt intervention prevents tragic consequences.

Preview Symptoms of popliteal artery aneurysm may be nonexistent or transient, and a missed diagnosis can result in ischemic complications and limb amputation. In this article, Dr Seddon describes a case in which a patient presenting with "blue toes" was initially thought to have either a drug reaction or vasculitis. Dr Seddon also discusses important points in the evaluation and treatment of popliteal artery aneurysm.
Maize w3 disrupts homogentisate solanesyl transferase (ZmHst) and reveals a plastoquinone-9 independent path for phytoene desaturation and tocopherol accumulation in kernels.

Maize white seedling 3 (w3) has been used to study carotenoid deficiency for almost 100 years, although the molecular basis of the mutation has remained unknown. Here we show that the w3 phenotype is caused by disruption of the maize gene for homogentisate solanesyl transferase (HST), which catalyzes the first and committed step in plastoquinone-9 (PQ-9) biosynthesis in the plastid. The resulting PQ-9 deficiency prohibits photosynthetic electron transfer and eliminates PQ-9 as an oxidant in the enzymatic desaturation of phytoene during carotenoid synthesis. As a result, light-grown w3 seedlings are albino, deficient in colored carotenoids and accumulate high levels of phytoene. However, despite the absence of PQ-9 for phytoene desaturation, dark-grown w3 seedlings can produce abscisic acid (ABA) and homozygous w3 kernels accumulate sufficient carotenoids to generate ABA needed for seed maturation. The presence of ABA and low levels of carotenoids in w3 nulls indicates that phytoene desaturase is able to use an alternate oxidant cofactor, albeit less efficiently than PQ-9. The observation that tocopherols and tocotrienols are modestly affected in w3 embryos and unaffected in w3 endosperm indicates that, unlike leaves, grain tissues deficient in PQ-9 are not subject to severe photo-oxidative stress. In addition to identifying the molecular basis for the maize w3 mutant, we: (1) show that low levels of phytoene desaturation can occur in w3 seedlings in the absence of PQ-9; and (2) demonstrate that PQ-9 and carotenoids are not required for vitamin E accumulation.
RACE, SOPHISTICATION, AND WHITE OPINION ON GOVERNMENT SPENDING

The conventional wisdom in public opinion research suggests that the white public views government spending as a single race-coded issue. This article develops an alternative theory that rests on two propositions. First, the white public sees government spending not as a single issue, but rather, as two distinct issues: spending on the deserving poor and spending on the undeserving poor. Second, political sophistication strengthens the impact racial stereotypes have on attitudes toward spending on the undeserving poor, and it does not affect the relationship between stereotypes and attitudes toward spending on the deserving poor. These hypotheses are tested using data from the 1996 and 1992 NES surveys. The empirical results provide strong support for both propositions.
Nanotechnology-Based Therapy for Malignant Tumors of the Central Nervous System

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an insidious cancer for which there are currently no efficient treatments. The major impediments to successful treatment of GBM are the tumor cells’ inherent ability to develop resistance to chemotherapeutic agents and ionizing radiation and to migrate and invade normal surrounding tissues. These disastrous characteristics lead to post-treatment tumor recurrence uniformly and result in a high mortality rate. Approaches designed to target and eliminate post-surgical GBMs and their invading cells would result in significant clinical improvements for this cancer. Success in the clinic will come from personalization of cancer therapies. This will first require an in-depth understanding of gliomas at the molecular level to uncover weaknesses that can be therapeutically exploited along with novel approaches that are designed to deliver those therapeutic agents. Biological nanotechnology is a growing field that offers significant improvements in methods of drug delivery for cancer in general and in malignant gliomas. Nanooncology represents one of the most significant applications of nanotechnology to medicine and is poised to produce momentous changes in cancer treatment protocols. For instance, nanoparticles have recently been shown to offer multifunctional platforms combining diagnostics, therapeutics delivery and monitoring of treatment response, demonstrating how nanooncology is paradigm shifting. Here, we review these technologies and forecast improvement in the delivery of therapeutic agents to malignant brain tumors.
OBJECT ID DISTRIBUTION AND ENCODING IN THE SEMANTIC BINARY ENGINE

The semantic binary engine is a database management system built on the principles of the Semantic Binary Data Model (Rishe, 1992). A semantic binary database is a set of facts about objects. Objects belong to categories, are connected by relations, and may have attributes. The concept of an object is at the core of the data model and it is crucial to have efficient algorithms that allow the semantic binary engine to store, retrieve, modify and delete information about objects in the semantic database. In this paper, we discuss the concept of object IDs for object identification and methods for object ID distribution and encoding in the database. Several encoding schemes and their respective efficiencies are discussed: Truncated Identical encoding, End Flag encoding, and Length First encoding.
Subdifferentiability and the duality gap

We point out a connection between sensitivity analysis and the fundamental theorem of linear programming by characterizing when a linear programming problem has no duality gap. The main result is that the value function is subdifferentiable at the primal constraint if and only if there exists an optimal dual solution and there is no duality gap. To illustrate the subtlety of the condition, we extend Kretschmer's gap example to construct (as the value function of a linear programming problem) a convex function which is subdifferentiable at a point but is not continuous there. We also apply the theorem to the continuum version of the assignment model.
Citizen science, public policy

Citizen science initiatives that support collaborations between researchers and the public are flourishing. As a result of this enhanced role of the public, citizen science demonstrates more diversity and flexibility than traditional science and can encompass efforts that have no institutional affiliation, are funded entirely by participants, or continuously or suddenly change their scientific aims. But these structural differences have regulatory implications that could undermine the integrity, safety, or participatory goals of particular citizen science projects. Thus far, citizen science appears to be addressing regulatory gaps and mismatches through voluntary actions of thoughtful and well-intentioned practitioners. But as citizen science continues to surge in popularity and increasingly engage divergent interests, vulnerable populations, and sensitive data, it is important to consider the long-term effectiveness of these private actions and whether public policies should be adjusted to complement or improve on them. Here, we focus on three policy domains that are relevant to most citizen science projects: intellectual property (IP), scientific integrity, and participant protections.
When sistahs support sistahs: A process of supportive communication about racial microaggressions among Black women

ABSTRACTThis study extends a rich line of research on racial microaggressions (Sue, 2010) by examining the way friendship networks of Black women communicate support to a targeted individual. Group...
Studies on the Regioselective Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution (SNAr) Reaction of 2‐Substituted 3,5‐Dichloropyrazines.

An electron-withdrawing group in 2-position of the pyrazine directs the nucleophilic attack preferentially to the 5-position, whereas electron-donating groups in 2-position promote the substitution at the 3-position.
Distance coloring

Given a graph G = (V,E), a (d, k)-coloring is a function from the vertices V to colors {1, 2,..., k} such that any two vertices within distance d of each other are assigned different colors. We determine the complexity of the (d, k)-coloring problem for all d and k, and enumerate some interesting properties of (d, k)-colorable graphs. Our main result is the discovery of a dichotomy between polynomial and NP-hard instances: for fixed d ≥ 2, the distance coloring problem is polynomial time for k ≤ ⌊3d/2 ⌋ and NP-hard for k > ⌊3d/2⌋.
Meanings of talk about the transition to retirement: Connecting macro and micro discourses

This study integrates the normative theory of social support and organizational discourse perspectives to examine the meanings of baby boomers’ talk about changes associated with the transition to ...
The Association of Optimism with Sleep Duration and Quality: Findings from the Coronary Artery Risk and Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study

Optimism is associated with better health outcomes with hypothesized effects due in part to optimism’s association with restorative health processes. Limited work has examined whether optimism is a...
Physical Cyber-Security of SCADA Systems

This paper seeks to combine the concepts of power signal monitoring with previous research into static embedded system physical cyber-security. This combination presents a potential approach to securing the operation of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. With this approach, the concepts of trust metrics, derived from power signal data, are applied to ensure the security and consistent performance of the dynamic SCADA system control processes.
Abstract TP115: Nrf2 Plays an Essential Role in Long-Term Neuroprotection of Ginseng in Permanent Cerebral Ischemia

Introduction: Cerebral ischemia is a devastating disease with a high incidence of death and disability; however, effective therapeutics remain limited. The transcriptional factor Nrf2 has been show...
Freedom and Voting Power

This paper develops the symmetric power order, a measure of voting power for multicandidate elections. The measure generalizes standard pivotality-based voting power measures for binary elections, such as Banzhaf power. At the same time, the measure is not based on pivotality, but rather on a measure of freedom of choice in individual decisions. Indeed, I use the symmetric power order to show that pivotality only measures voting power in monotonic elections, and is not a good measure in multicandidate elections. Pivotality only provides an upper bound on voting power. This result establishes a relation between voting power and strategy-proofness.
Assessment of Risk Factors and Outcomes of Severe Ehrlichiosis Infection.

Importance Ehrlichiosis cases in the US have increased more than 8-fold since 2000. Up to 57% of patients with ehrlichiosis require hospitalization and 11% develop a life-threatening complication; however, risk factors for serious disease are not well documented. Objective To examine risk factors associated with severe ehrlichiosis. Design, Setting, and Participants An analytic cross-sectional study of patients diagnosed with ehrlichiosis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2017, was conducted in a single tertiary-care center in a region endemic for ehrlichiosis. Analysis was performed from February 27, 2018, to September 9, 2020. A total of 407 positive Ehrlichia PCR results were identified from 383 unique patients, with 155 unique patients meeting study criteria. Patients hospitalized at other institutions who had a positive Ehrlichia PCR performed as a reference test (n = 222) were excluded as no clinical data were available. Electronic medical record review was performed to collect demographic, clinical, laboratory, treatment, and outcomes data. Cases were excluded when there were insufficient clinical data to assess the severity of illness (n = 3) and when the clinical illness did not meet the case definition for ehrlichiosis (n = 3). Exposures Date of presentation, onset of symptoms, date of PCR testing, date of treatment initiation, site of care, age, birth sex, race/ethnicity, Charlson Comorbidity Index, trimethoprim with sulfamethoxazole use within the prior 2 weeks, and immunosuppression. Main Outcomes and Measures Requirement for intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Results Of the 155 patients who met inclusion criteria, 99 patients (63.9%) were men, and 145 patients (93.5%) identified as non-Hispanic White; median age was 50 years (interquartile range, 23-64 years). Intensive care unit admission was indicated in 43 patients (27.7%), 94 patients (60.6%) were hospitalized on general medical floors, and 18 patients (11.6%) received care as outpatients. In adjusted analysis, time to treatment initiation was independently associated with an increased risk for ICU admission (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 1.09; 95% CI, 1.04-1.14; P < .001). Documentation of tick exposure was independently associated with a decreased risk for ICU admission (aPR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.34-0.86; P = .01). There appeared to be a nonsignificant change toward a decreased need for ICU care among immunosuppressed persons (aPR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.26-1.00; P = .05). Conclusions and Relevance This study suggests that delay in initiation of doxycycline therapy is a significant factor associated with severe ehrlichiosis. Increased recognition of infection by front-line clinicians to promote early treatment may improve outcomes associated with this increasingly common and life-threatening infection.
Chapter I: Origin and Conditions of the Commission of Foreign Affairs Granted to the Government of Buenos Aires by the Provinces of the Argentine Republic

Claiming impartiality so as to dispel any hint of doubt about his proposals, Sarmiento examines the origins, objectives, and functions of the position of the Commissioner of Foreign Affairs, held at the time by the Buenos Aires Governor Juan Manuel de Rosas. This chapter details pacts and agreements entered into with the intent to pacify and institutionalize the country, such as the 1822 quadrilateral treaty and the 1831 Federal Pact. Those agreements called for a provisional Commission of Foreign Affairs, which would be valid until a Congress was convened. The civil war that ravaged the Republic from 1829 to 1842, however, impeded the realization of such a gathering. Sarmiento insists that a Congress must be convened immediately to establish a central government.
The Importance of Time and Place: Nutrient Composition and Utilization of Seasonal Pollens by European Honey Bees ( Apis mellifera L.)

Honey bee colonies have a yearly cycle that is supported nutritionally by the seasonal progression of flowering plants. In the spring, colonies grow by rearing brood, but in the fall, brood rearing declines in preparation for overwintering. Depending on where colonies are located, the yearly cycle can differ especially in overwintering activities. In temperate climates of Europe and North America, colonies reduce or end brood rearing in the fall while in warmer climates bees can rear brood and forage throughout the year. To test the hypothesis that nutrients available in seasonal pollens and honey bee responses to them can differ we analyzed pollen in the spring and fall collected by colonies in environments where brood rearing either stops in the fall (Iowa) or continues through the winter (Arizona). We fed both types of pollen to worker offspring of queens that emerged and open mated in each type of environment. We measured physiological responses to test if they differed depending on the location and season when the pollen was collected and the queen line of the workers that consumed it. Specifically, we measured pollen and protein consumption, gene expression levels (hex 70, hex 110, and vg) and hypopharyngeal gland (HPG) development. We found differences in macronutrient content and amino and fatty acids between spring and fall pollens from the same location and differences in nutrient content between locations during the same season. We also detected queen type and seasonal effects in HPG size and differences in gene expression between bees consuming spring vs. fall pollen with larger HPG and higher gene expression levels in those consuming spring pollen. The effects might have emerged from the seasonal differences in nutritional content of the pollens and genetic factors associated with the queen lines we used.
Opportunities and Challenges in Cooperative Road Vehicle Automation

This paper provides an introduction to the opportunities for improving the performance of road transportation automation systems by use of vehicle-vehicle and vehicle-infrastructure communication and cooperation. Four different types of cooperative driving automation are defined and examples of the functionality enabled by each are described. Although the benefits of cooperative automation are significant, there are also significant challenges to its widespread deployment, which are also described. The risks of over-reliance on communication for cooperative automation implementations are also discussed to provide a balanced view of appropriate levels of cooperation.
Prevalence of Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction.

Importance Heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is common, is frequently associated with ventricular wall thickening, and has no effective therapy. Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) can cause the HFpEF clinical phenotype, has highly effective therapy, and is believed to be underrecognized. Objective To examine the prevalence of ATTR-CM without and with systematic screening in patients with HFpEF and ventricular wall thickening. Design, Setting, and Participants This population-based cohort study assessed ATTR-CM prevalence in 1235 consecutive patients in southeastern Minnesota with HFpEF both without (prospectively identified cohort study) and with (consenting subset of cohort study, n = 286) systematic screening. Key entry criteria included validated HF diagnosis, age of 60 years or older, ejection fraction of 40% or greater, and ventricular wall thickness of 12 mm or greater. In this community cohort of 1235 patients, 884 had no known ATTR-CM, contraindication to technetium Tc 99m pyrophosphate scanning, or other barriers to participation in the screening study. Of these 884 patients, 295 consented and 286 underwent scanning between October 5, 2017, and March 9, 2020 (community screening cohort). Exposures Medical record review or technetium Tc 99m pyrophosphate scintigraphy and reflex testing for ATTR-CM diagnosis. Main Outcomes and Measures The ATTR-CM prevalence by strategy (clinical diagnosis or systematic screening), age, and sex. Results A total of 1235 patients participated in the study, including a community cohort (median age, 80 years; interquartile range, 72-87 years; 630 [51%] male) and a community screening cohort (n = 286; median age, 78 years; interquartile range, 71-84 years; 149 [52%] male). In the 1235 patients in the community cohort without screening group, 16 patients (1.3%; 95% CI, 0.7%-2.1%) had clinically recognized ATTR-CM. The prevalence was 2.5% (95% CI, 1.4%-4.0%) in men and 0% (95% CI, 0.0%-0.6%) in women. In the 286 patients in the community screening cohort, 18 patients (6.3%; 95% CI, 3.8%-9.8%) had ATTR-CM. Prevalence increased with age from 0% in patients 60 to 69 years of age to 21% in patients 90 years and older (P Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study based in a community-based setting, ATTR-CM was present in a substantial number of cases of HFpEF with ventricular wall thickening, particularly in older men. These results suggest that systematic evaluation can increase the diagnosis of ATTR-CM, thereby providing therapeutically relevant phenotyping of HFpEF.
The use of day level feeding behaviors to detect illness in group housed automatically fed pre-weaned dairy calves

Group housing and automatic feeding of dairy calves is gaining in popularity among dairy producers, yet disease detection remains a significant challenge of this management system. Software programs currently aim to assist in the detection of sick calves through such methods as flagging calves when there has been a 25% reduction in milk intake or in drinking speed as compared to a 3-day average. However, research suggests that using simple deviations in daily averages may not be useful, as calves have been shown to change behaviors only on the day of illness detection. The greater aim of our research program is to determine if we can use different approaches to examine feeding behavior that may improve the sensitivity and timeliness of detecting sick calves. The objective of the current study is to identify which feeding behaviors are most different between matched pairs of healthy and sick calves, and to determine if these changes differ by disease diagnosis.
Results of Surgical Treatment of Pediatric Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis

Patients with low grade spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis rarely require surgery, as a majority respond to activity modification, NSAIDs, or physical therapy. For symptomatic patients who do not respond to conservative measures, surgical management is indicated. This may be accomplished with direct pars interarticularis repair by compression screw, wiring technique, sublaminar-hook-screw construct, or modifications thereof. Additionally, posterolateral fusion with or without instrumentation offers similar subjective, clinical, and functional long-term outcomes to direct repair with a tradeoff of longer surgical time with greater exposure needed. Overall, both procedures offer good and excellent outcomes, even with radiographic findings of pseudarthrosis. For patients with high grade slip, in situ fusion or reduction and fusion are both valid options and depend upon surgeon experience and underlying patient function and neurologic status. For patients undergoing reduction, wide decompression and instrumentation with either circumferential or interbody fusion provide stable long-term results. Interbody fusion techniques show greater long-term fusion rates, achieve greater reduction, and appear to have higher functional outcome compared to posterior-only fusion. Reduction carries increased risk of neurologic injury, but the majority of these including cauda equina resolve. Long-term follow-up comparing in situ fusion to reduction with fusion of high grade spondylolisthesis has shown improved ODI and SRS scores with fusion in situ. Grade V spondylolisthesis presents several unique challenges for surgical repair and may be fused in situ from an anterior or posterior approach, with partial reduction, or Gaines procedure. Current trends have moved towards posterior-only approach with combined posterior and interbody fusion.
Molecular analysis of tra-2, a sex determining gene in C.elegans.

We have cloned the Caenorhabditis elegans sex determining gene, tra-2, by transposon tagging. The tra-2 region is delineated by mapping Southern blot differences associated with 11 tra-2 mutations, mutant rescue, and analysis of tra-2 RNAs. The tra-2 gene encodes three transcripts. One transcript, a 1.8 kb RNA, is not detected in animals lacking a germ line, and therefore may be germline specific. Comparison of the two sexes shows that adult hermaphrodites have approximately 15-fold more tra-2 RNA than adult males. In addition, adult hermaphrodites contain 5 kb and 1.8 kb tra-2 RNAs whereas adult males possess 5 kb and 1.9 kb RNAs. A 1.9 kb tra-2 RNA is also found during hermaphrodite larval development, prior to sexual differentiation of the XX germ line. Surprisingly, analysis of tra-2 expression in selected sex determination mutants reveals that the sex specificity of tra-2 RNAs is not dictated by the pathway of sex determination that has been established by genetic experiments. This result can be interpreted in two ways. Either the sex specificity of the tra-2 RNAs is irrelevant to regulation of the sexual phenotype, which seems unlikely, or there is additional complexity within the hierarchy of sex determining genes, such as feedback regulation, which ensures that the tra-2 product corresponds to phenotypic sex.
False-positive flow cytometric platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa expression in myeloid leukemias secondary to platelet adherence to blasts

Because neither morphologic nor routine cytochemical features are pathognomonic, the diagnosis of acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AML- M7) is difficult, requiring either specialized ultrastructural or immunologic techniques. Because the ultrastructural techniques are cumbersome, immunologic assays for expression of several platelet- specific antigens, such as CD41a (platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa), have become the primary method used to detect megakaryoblastic differentiation. In our flow cytometric analysis of the immunophenotypes of over 1,000 cases of AML from patients registered to Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) Treatment Protocols, we found that 38% of cases demonstrated CD41a reactivity. Because this frequency of CD41a expression by flow cytometry greatly exceeded the number of morphologically defined cases of AML-M7, we postulated that the reaction may be caused by platelets adherent to leukemic blasts. To investigate this hypothesis, we performed a side-by-side comparison of flow cytometric and cytospin immunofluorescence studies on 37 cases of adult de novo AML that demonstrated a wide range of CD41a expression by flow cytometric analyses. We found that the expression of CD41a detected by flow cytometric techniques was secondary to adherent platelets or platelet fragments in 85% of cases. Many of these cases also expressed the lineage-specific carbohydrate, LNF III (CD15), which may mediate platelet adhesion to mature monocytes and neutrophils. Only 15% of the CD41a flow cytometrically positive cases demonstrated true diffuse membrane and cytoplasmic positivity on cytospin slides indicative of megakaryoblastic differentiation. Cytospin immunofluorescence for CD41a should be performed on all cases of suspected AML-M7. If only flow cytometric techniques are used, adherent platelets may result in the erroneous diagnosis of this AML subtype.
Analyzing the security of an existing computer system

Most work concerning secure computer systems has dealt with the design, verification, and implementation of provably secure computer systems, or has explored ways of making existing computer systems more secure. The problem of locating security holes in existing systems has received considerably less attention; methods generally rely on thought experiments as a critical step in the procedure. The difficulty is that such experiments require that a large amount of information be available in a format that makes correlating the details of various programs straightforward. This paper describes a method of providing such a basis for the thought experiment by writing a special manual for parts of the operating system, system programs, and library subroutines.
A risk-driven decision table for software process selection

It is becoming increasingly clear that there is no one-size-fits all process for software projects. Requirements-first, top-down waterfall or V-models work well when the requirements can be determined in advance, but are stymied by emergent requirements or bottom-up considerations such as COTS- or legacy-driven projects. Agile methods work well for small projects with emergent requirements, but do not scale well or provide high assurance of critical attributes such as safety or security. Formal methods provide high assurance but are generally expensive in calendar time and effort and do not scale well. We have developed the Incremental Commitment Model (ICM) to include a set of explicit risk-driven decision points that branch in different ways to cover numerous possible project situations. As with other models trying to address a wide variety of situations, its general form is rather complex. However, its risk-driven nature has enabled us to determine a set of twelve common risk patterns and organize them into a decision table that can help new projects converge on a process that fits well with their particular process drivers. For each of the twelve special cases, the decision table provides top-level guidelines for tailoring the key activities of the ICM, along with suggested lengths between each internal system build and each external system increment delivery. This presentation will provide a summary of the ICM, show how its process decision drivers can generally be determined in the initial ICM Exploration phase, summarize each of the twelve cases, and provide representative examples of their use.
Making a Solid Connection: A New Look at Rule 10b-5's Transactional Nexus

Rule 10b-5 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 prohibits fraud only when it is “in connection with” a securities transaction. The limit is simple in concept, but difficult in application. Courts long have struggled to determine when the requisite connection exists. In 2009, the Fourth Circuit in SEC v. Pirate Investor proposed a multi-factor framework for analyzing whether a particular fraud meets the “in connection with” requirement. The Fourth Circuit’s factors, however, represent neither mandatory requirements nor an exhaustive list of relevant considerations, and absent from the framework is a general principle for determining when to apply the factors, how to weigh them, and when other factors should be considered. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court likewise has failed to articulate a general principle for the “in connection with” requirement. This Article attempts to fill the void left by the Supreme Court. Drawing on the Court’s few “in connection with” cases, the Article proposes a general principle to serve as a guide for applying the “in connection with” requirement. It also critically examines the Fourth Circuit’s multi-factor framework and suggests modifications so that the framework informs the application of the general principle and can be applied logically and efficiently.
Program Transformation for Locality Using Affinity Regions

Affinity regions ensure that a shared processor schedule, mapping loop iterations to processors, is used in consecutive parallel loop nests. Using affinity regions can improve locality without affecting parallelism.
5-Bromo-1,3-cyclopentadiene

[41851-49-4] C5H5Br (MW 145.00) InChI = 1S/C5H5Br/c6-5-3-1-2-4-5/h1-5H InChIKey = PDKZJEILMGDSCG-UHFFFAOYSA-N (Diels–Alder reaction;1 1,5-hydride shift;2 bromocyclopentadienyl anion3) Physical Data: reactive intermediate typically stored in CCl4 solution under nitrogen at −78 °C. Form Supplied in: not commercially available. Preparative Method: the compound may be prepared1a by addition of N-Bromosuccinimide to a solution of Thallium(I) Cyclopentadienide in dry CCl4 at 0 °C.
Approximate method for AC transmission switching based on a simple relaxation for ACOPF problems

Transmission switching planning under an AC power flow model is a challenging mathematical problem, incorporating nonlinearities, nonconvexities, and discrete variables. An effective solution methodology would develop an appropriate relaxation and then rely on methods from discrete optimization to simultaneously refine the relaxation, and perform enumeration, so as to obtain a sequence of narrowing lower and upper bounds to the problem. In this paper we discuss a formulation and experiments for the AC power flow transmission switching problem that relies on a simple but relatively accurate relaxation for AC OPF which is easily adapted to discrete optimization methods.
DEVELOPMENT OF A GRID-CELL TOPOGRAPHIC SURFACE FOR OKEFENOKEE SWAMP, GEORGIA

Abstract The Okefenokee Swamp is a 160,000 ha freshwater wetland in Southeast Georgia, USA that developed in a landscape basin. Hydrologic variability across the swamp suggests that water-surface elevations are not uniform across the swamp. The topographic surface map discussed herein was developed to describe the swamp topography at local to landscape scales and relate the swamp peat- and sand-surface elevations to elevation above mean sea level. These data were then used to relate water-surface elevations across the swamp so that the swamp hydrologic environment could be described spatially and temporally with a spatial hydrology model. The swamp was divided into 5 sub-basins that reflect similar seasonal hydrodynamics but also indicate local conditions unique to the basins. Topographic gradient influences water-level dynamics in the western swamp (2 sub-basins), which is dominated by the Suwannee River floodplain. The eastern swamp (3 sub-basins) is terraced, and the regional hydrology is driven less b...
Substance Abuse in Pregnancy

Staff collected urine samples anonymously on 100 consecutive pregnant women in a women's clinic and simultaneously on 100 admissions to the “labor deck. “ Urines were tested for cocaine, opiates, methadone, benzodiazepines, and THC. Nine percent of the urines were positive in the clinic setting, and 15% were positive on the labor deck; the incidence of cocaine- and opiate-positive urines was significantly higher on the labor deck. The authors discuss the significance of these results.
Management of High-Risk Localized Prostate Cancer

Traditionally, patients with high-risk localized prostate cancer have been an extremely challenging group to manage due to a significant likelihood of treatment failure and prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM). The results of multiple large, prospective, randomized trials have demonstrated that men with high-risk features who are treated in a multimodal fashion at the time of initial diagnosis have improved overall survival. Advances in local treatments such as dose-escalated radiotherapy in conjunction with androgen suppression and postprostatectomy adjuvant radiotherapy have also demonstrated benefits to this subset of patients. However, therapeutic enhancement with the addition of chemotherapy to the primary treatment regimen may help achieve optimal disease control.
The interaction between a disclination in a nematic liquid crystal and a rubbed surface

Abstract For the case of a rubbed surface with a finite anisotropic surface tension, a model is developed for the structure and energy of a surface disclination and of an edge disclination near the surface. It is found that there is an energy barrier against detaching a disclination from the surface, and also that there is a critical distance within which a disclination is attracted, and beyond which it is repelled, by the surface. These properties may provide a measurement of the anisotropy of the surface tension.
THE MORPHOLOGY OF AGARDHIELLA SUBULATA REPRESENTING THE AGARDHIELLEAE, A NEW TRIBE IN THE SOLIERIACEAE (GIGARTINALES, RHODOPHYTA)1

Agardhiella subulata (C. Agardh) Kraft et Wynne is a commonly collected erect, terete, alternately branched, fleshy red alga that is found both intertidally and subtidally in the western Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. A single periaxial cell is cut off from each succeeding axial cell in an orthostichous file. The supporting cells of carpogonial branches are homologous with auxiliary cells, being transformed from identical inner cortical cells. The auxiliary cell together with the three to four enlarged, darkly-staining cortical cells pit-connected to it form the auxiliary cell complex. Following fusion of a connecting filament to an auxiliary cell the diploid nucleus divides with one nucleus remaining near the point of fusion and the other migrating to the beaked portion of the auxiliary cell. Surrounding vegetative cells divide, forming files of cells that grow toward the auxiliary cell to form the involucre. Cells of the gonimoblast fuse with nearby cortical cells producing a placenta of vegetative and gonimoblast tissue. As the cystocarp matures the inner placental cells become vacuolate while at the periphery terminal and short, unbranched files of gonimoblast cells mature into carposporangia. Tetrasporangia are cut off laterally from surface cells and undergo basal elongation followed by lateral expansion before dividing zonately. A. subulata exhibits a combination of distinctive vegetative and reproductive features when compared with Solieria and thus serves as the type of a new tribe, the Agardhielleae, in the family Solieriaceae.
Burnout among American surgeons

Abstract Background. The long-term consequences of stress on the surgeon are unknown. One manifestation of stress is burnout. The purpose of this study was to measure the prevalence of burnout in actively practicing American surgeons. Methods. The Maslach Burnout Inventory and a questionnaire of our own design were sent to 1706 graduates of various University of Michigan surgical residencies (1222) and members of the Midwest Surgical Association (484). The response rate was 44%. Responses from 582 actively practicing surgeons were the sample used for analysis. Results. Thirty-two percent of actively practicing surgeons showed “high” levels of emotional exhaustion, 13% showed “high” levels of depersonalization, and 4% showed evidence for low personal accomplishment. Younger surgeons were more susceptible to burnout (r = −0.28, P
Fluorescent Proton Sensors Based on Energy Transfer

Photophysical data and orbital energy levels (from electrochemistry) were compared for molecules with the same BODIPY acceptor part (red) and perpendicularly oriented xanthene or BODIPY donor fragments (green). Transfer of energy, hence the photophysical properties of the cassettes, including the pH dependent fluorescence in the xanthene-containing molecules, correlates with the relative energies of the frontier orbitals in these systems. Intracellular sensing of protons is often achieved via sensors that switch off completely at certain pH values, but probes of this type are not easy to locate inside cells in their “off-state”. A communication from these laboratories (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2009, 131, 1642–3) described how the energy transfer cassette 1 could be used for intracellular imaging of pH. This probe is fluorescent whatever the pH, but its exact photophysical properties are governed by the protonation states of the xanthene donors. This work was undertaken to further investigate correlations betwee...
Trafficking and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a heterogeneous population of stem/progenitor cells with pluripotent capacity to differentiate into mesodermal and non-mesodermal cell lineages, including osteocytes, adipocytes, chondrocytes, myocytes, cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, epithelial cells, and neurons. MSCs reside primarily in the bone marrow, but also exist in other sites such as adipose tissue, peripheral blood, cord blood, liver, and fetal tissues. When stimulated by specific signals, these cells can be released from their niche in the bone marrow into circulation and recruited to the target tissues where they undergo in situ differentiation and contribute to tissue regeneration and homeostasis. Several characteristics of MSCs, such as the potential to differentiate into multiple lineages and the ability to be expanded ex vivo while retaining their original lineage differentiation commitment, make these cells very interesting targets for potential therapeutic use in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. The feasibility for transplantation of primary or engineered MSCs as cell-based therapy has been demonstrated. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the signals that control trafficking and differentiation of MSCs.
Multi-touch interaction

Many everyday activities rely on our hands' ability to deftly control the physical attributes of objects. Most graphical interfaces only use the hand's position as input. For my dissertation, I study how multi-touch input lets us make better use of our dexterity.
Early decompressive craniectomy may be effective in the treatment of refractory intracranial hypertension after traumatic brain injury

Introduction We compared the effect of early decompressive craniectomy (<24 h) vs non-operative treatment on the outcome of children with refractory intracranial hypertension after severe traumatic brain injury.
Relationship of Superficial Scald Development and α-Farnesene Oxidation to Reactions of Diphenylamine and Diphenylamine Derivatives in Cv. Granny Smith Apple Peel

Cv. Granny Smith apple fruit, treated at harvest with aqueous emulsions containing diphenylamine (DPA) and DPA derivatives, were evaluated for the peel disorder superficial scald (scald) after 6 months of cold storage at 1 °C plus 0 or 7 days at 20 °C. Metabolism of these derivatives and α-farnesene oxidation were also evaluated after 6 months. Derivatives substituted at the para position prevented scald, but scald developed on fruit treated with derivatives substituted in the amino, ortho, or meta positions. The extent of scald control was also dependent on the chemical nature of the functional group used to derivatize DPA. Hydroxylation of DPA and DPA derivatives during storage was not associated with scald control. Methoxylated DPA derivatives produced during storage resulted from O-methylation of C-hydroxylated derivatives rather than C-methoxylation of DPA. N-Nitrosodiphenylamine provided partial scald control, possibly resulting from its degradation to DPA, indicating that the amino hydrogen of DPA ...
Lack of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate responsiveness of ornithine decarboxylase introns which have AP-1 consensus sequences.

The AP-1 consensus sequences (TGAGTCA) are the major 12-O-tetradecanoylphorboll3-acetate (TPA) responsive elements shared by several TPA inducible genes, such asc-sis, c-fos, c-myc, collagenase, stromelysin, hMTIIA and SV40. However, the role of AP-1 binding sites, which are present in the introns 3, 5, and 11 of ODC gene, in the regulation of TPA-induced ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) gene transcription are unknown. We determined the TPA responsiveness of the AP-1 sequences in the introns of ODC gene in CV-1 cells which induce ODC activity and mRNA in response to TPA treatment. ODC introns containing AP-1 sequences were inserted into the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene. Transient transfection of CV-1 cells with the intron-CAT constructs followed by TPA treatment did not induce CAT activity. However, when flanking regions of the AP-1 site in intron 3 were narrowed down to 74 bp, TPA induced CAT activity by 5- to 7-fold. The TPA-inducibility could be eliminated by mutation of the AP-1 site (TGAGTCA→TGAGCCA or TGATGA) in 74 bp of intron 3. These results indicate that the AP-1 sequences in the intact ODC introns may not be responsive to TPA. The flanking sequences of the AP-1 site may be crucial to determine whether the AP- 1 site is accessible to the TPA-induced transcriptional factor(s).
A high speed pulse shape discriminator

Abstract A high speed pulse shape discriminator utilizing the true zero crossover technique is described. Tunnel diodes are used in leading edge “anti-walk” timing and for zero crossover detection. The circuit has been used for n-γ discrimination applications with liquid scintillators and is demonstrated at rates above 8×10 4 cps. The circuit's performance in a typical application is shown in results from a neutron time-of-flight experiment using a pulsed beam of neutrons from the 7 Li(p, n) 7 Be reaction and where the peak to background ratio of the neutron time-of-flight spectrum is improved by a factor of more than 40. The circuit is also applied to low energy n-γ discrimination in a measurement of the low energy response for the NE213 liquid organic scintillator. Results are presented which relate gamma ray energies to neutron energies of equivalent pulse heights in the range 100 keV to 2.0 MeV neutrons.