cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optimization of Sustained-Release Tablet Formulations: a Four-Component Mixture Experiment

Sustained-release tablet formulations containing chlorpheniramine maleate were prepared using a mixture of two hydrophilic gums, y-carrageenan and cross-linked carboxymethylcellulose sodium, and two jiller materials, a-lactose monohydrate and dibasic calcium phosphate in direrent ratios. The objective of the experiment was to jind an optimum formulation with the most desirable properties. In order to achieve this, the matrices were evaluated for the time taken to release 80% drug (td, the release exponent (n), and the crushing strength (h). Several formulations produced near zero-order release of the model drug over a time period of up to 10 hr. Response suface plots for the three dependent variables were generated over the experimental region. The effect of different levels of the components on the response variables was thus visualized. Upon superimposition of the plots it was possible to graphically jind a region where the responses were in an optimum range of values. To pinpoint the best formulation, a simultaneous optimum point within this region was located by arbitrarily dejining optimum values for each of the responses and using a multi-objective function that combined the three response variables. The observed response variables of the optimum formulation were in good agreement with the predicted values.
Two Bargaining Automata Linear and Nonlinear Models

The significance of bargaining in social interaction is widely recognized. The present article describes a pair of mathematical models of two-party bargaining. One model is a two-party version of the Bush-Mosteller linear operator learning model. The second model is a nonlinear operator learning model based on Duncan Luce's choice axiom. The adequacy of the two models is examined by means of a computer simulation of the models and a set of controlled experiments. The linear learning model describes accurately in all experimental groups. The nonlinear model is not as adequate in predicting trial by trial cooperation, but is equal to the linear model in describing agreement.
A dual band mm-wave CMOS oscillator with left-handed resonator

A new technique using left-handed resonator to generate multi-band mm-wave carrier signal is proposed in this paper. The left-handed resonator exhibits non-linear dispersion characteristic which enables uneven spacing between resonant frequencies. A dual band mm-wave oscillator in 90nm CMOS technology is implemented to demonstrate this new technique. Using a mode selection switch, the proposed oscillator operates at 21.3GHz and 55.3GHz respectively with a total power consumption of 14mW.
Experimental and analytical investigation of tubular links for eccentrically braced frames

Eccentrically braced frames have been used as seismic load resisting systems in buildings for more than two decades. Typically, the links, which are relied upon for energy dissipation through inelastic deformation, have had a wide-flange or I-shaped cross-section that requires lateral bracing to prevent lateral torsional buckling. This has limited the use of eccentrically braced frames in bridge piers and towers, as lateral bracing is difficult to provide in those situations. This paper describes first an experimental, and then an analytical investigation into the use of members with hollow rectangular (i.e., tubular) cross-sections as eccentrically braced frame links that do not require lateral bracing. Using cross-sectional plastic analysis, the plastic shear and moment strength for a general tubular section with different web and flange yield strengths and thicknesses are derived. Equations are derived for maximum flange compactness ratio and minimum web stiffener spacing to prevent flange and web buckling. A proof-of-concept experiment involving a large scale eccentrically braced frame with a tubular link is then described. The link has a hybrid tubular cross-section composed of webs and flanges of different thicknesses, with full-penetration groove welds. Experimental results indicate that the link reached a rotation of 0.15 rad, almost twice the current 0.08 rad limit for wide-flange links, prior to suffering flange fracture. An investigation of the fracture surface indicated that flange fracture did not initiate in the full-penetration weld used to assemble the shape, but rather in the heat-affected-zone of the flange adjacent to a fillet weld used to connect a stiffener to the flange. Finally, a finite element model of the link is developed using shell elements, and reasonable agreement with the experimental results is observed.
In vitro activity of a new cephalosporin, RWJ-54428, against streptococci, enterococci and staphylococci, including glycopeptide-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus

The need for new antimicrobial agents with activity against Gram-positive organisms has become increasingly important because of emerging resistance. We compared the activity of a new β β β β-lactam antimicrobial agent, RWJ-54428 (MC-02 479), with representatives of other classes of antimicrobial agents against 76 Staphylococcus aureus (including four glycopeptide- intermediate strains), 50 coagulase-negative staphylococci, 20 Enterococcus faecalis, 20 Entero- coccus faecium, 10 Enterococcus gallinarum/Enterococcus casseliflavus, 54 Streptococcus pneumoniae and 22 viridans streptococcal isolates. The MIC 90 of RWJ-54428 was ≤ ≤ ≤ ≤2 mg/L for all groups of bacteria tested except E. faecium. The activity against four strains of glycopeptide- intermediate S. aureus was similar to that for other methicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates (range 0.5-2.0 mg/L).
Effect of Pneumococcal Vaccination: A Comparison of Vaccination Rates in Patients with Bacteremic and Nonbacteremic Pneumococcal Pneumonia

Background Despite the widespread acceptance of the 23-valent pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide vaccine (PPV), its protective effect continues to be disputed. We describe a novel approach to examine the protective effect of this vaccine. Methods We recorded the vaccination status of every patient for whom a culture yielded Streptococcus pneumoniae during a 4.5-year period, comparing rates of prior PPV administration in patients with (1) bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia, (2) all-invasive pneumococcal disease, (3) nonbacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia, (4) acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis (AECB) due to S. pneumoniae, and (5) pneumococcal colonization. The principal comparisons were with patients who had bacteremic pneumonia or any invasive pneumococcal disease and those with nonbacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia. We also compared vaccination rates in patients who had nonbacteremic pneumonia with vaccination rates in patients with AECB or pneumococcal colonization. Results The rate of prior PPV vaccination was lower among patients with bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia (39.7%) or any invasive pneumococcal disease (38.0%) than among patients with nonbacteremic pneumonia (57.6%), AECB (60.0%), or pneumococcal colonization (57.8%). PPV conferred a 54% protection rate against bacteremic versus nonbacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia. There was no apparent protection against nonbacteremic pneumonia compared, for example, with colonized persons or with those who had AECB. Conclusions PPV provides moderate protection against invasive pneumococcal disease but does not protect against nonbacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia. These findings suggest the importance of a continued search for a better pneumococcal vaccine.
Rhodotorula fungaemia: a life‐threatening complication of indwelling central venous catheters

Summary. A 30-year-old woman receiving total parenteral nutrition via an indwelling central venous catheter for an intestinal motility disorder developed fever, tachycardia, tachypnea, and hypotension. Multiple blood cultures drawn through the catheter prior to these events, as well as a peripheral blood culture obtained earlier, grew the red yeast Rhodotorula rubra. The patient was critically ill for over one month but eventually recovered with therapy including the systemic antifungal agents amphotericin B and flucytosine and removal of the catheter. Although Rhodotorula has generally been regarded as having low pathogenicity, this case emphasizes the serious nature of Rhodotorula sepsis and suggests the need for both systemic antifungal therapy and removal of a colonized indwelling catheter. Zusammenfassung. Eine 30-jahrige Frau, wegen einer intestinalen Motilitatsstorung uber einen zentralvenosen Verweilkatheter vollstandig parenteral ernahrungspflichtig, entwickelte Fieber, Tachykardie, Tachypnoe und Hypotonie. Aus mehrmaligen Blutkulturen, iiber den Katheter vor dem Auftreten dieser Symptome gewonnen, sowie aus einer davor angelegten peripheren
Interposed proportional sharing for a storage service utility

This paper develops and evaluates new share-based scheduling algorithms for differentiated service quality in network services, such as network storage servers. This form of resource control makes it possible to share a server among multiple request flows with probabilistic assurance that each flow receives a specified minimum share of a server's capacity to serve requests. This assurance is important for safe outsourcing of services to shared utilities such as Storage Service Providers.Our approach interposes share-based request dispatching on the network path between the server and its clients. Two new scheduling algorithms are designed to run within an intermediary (e.g., a network switch), where they enforce fair sharing by throttling request flows and reordering requests; these algorithms are adaptations of Start-time Fair Queuing (SFQ) for servers with a configurable degree of internal concurrency. A third algorithm, Request Windows (RW), bounds the outstanding requests for each flow independently; it is amenable to a decentralized implementation, but may restrict concurrency under light load. The analysis and experimental results show that these new algorithms can enforce shares effectively when the shares are not saturated, and that they provide acceptable performance isolation under saturation. Although the evaluation uses a storage service as an example, interposed request scheduling is non-intrusive and views the server as a black box, so it is useful for complex services with no internal support for differentiated service quality.
Stochastic kinematic modeling and feature extraction for gait analysis

This research presents a new model-based approach toward the three-dimensional (3-D) tracking and extraction of gait and human motion. We suggest the use of a hierarchical, structural model of the human body that introduces the concept of soft kinematic constraints. These constraints take the form of a priori, stochastic distributions learned from previous configurations of the body exhibited during specific activities; they are used to supplement an existing motion model limited by hard kinematic constraints. We use time-varying parameters of the structural model to measure gait velocity, stance width, stride length, stance times, and other gait variables with multiple degrees of accuracy and robustness. To characterize tracking performance, we also introduce a novel geometric model of expected tracking failures. We demonstrate and quantify the performance of the suggested models using multi-view, video sequences of human movement captured in a complex home environment.
Hyperswarming adaptations in a bacterium improve collective motility without enhancing single cell motility

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a monoflagellated bacterium that can use its single polar flagellum to swim through liquids and move collectively over semisolid surfaces, a behavior called swarming. Previous studies have shown that experimental evolution in swarming colonies leads to the selection of hyperswarming bacteria with multiple flagella. Here we show that the advantage of such hyperswarmer mutants cannot be explained simply by an increase in the raw swimming speed of individual bacteria in liquids. Cell tracking of time-lapse microscopy to quantify single-cell swimming patterns reveals that both wild-type and hyperswarmers alternate between forward and backward runs, rather than doing the run-and-tumble characteristic of enteric bacteria such as E. coli. High-throughput measurement of swimming speeds reveals that hyperswarmers do not swim faster than wild-type in liquid. Wild-type reverses swimming direction in sharp turns without a significant impact on its speed, whereas multiflagellated hyperswarmers tend to alternate fast and slow runs and have wider turning angles. Nonetheless, macroscopic measurement of swimming and swarming speed in colonies shows that hyperswarmers expand faster than wild-type on surfaces and through soft agar matrices. A mathematical model explains how wider turning angles lead to faster spreading when swimming through agar. Our study describes for the first time the swimming patterns in multiflagellated P. aeruginosa mutants and reveals that collective and individual motility in bacteria are not necessarily correlated. Understanding bacterial adaptations to surface motility, such as hyperswarming, requires a collective behavior approach.
PEPR2 Is a Second Receptor for the Pep1 and Pep2 Peptides and Contributes to Defense Responses in Arabidopsis

Pep1 is a 23–amino acid peptide that enhances resistance to a root pathogen, Pythium irregulare. Pep1 and its homologs (Pep2 to Pep7) are endogenous amplifiers of innate immunity of Arabidopsis thaliana that induce the transcription of defense-related genes and bind to PEPR1, a plasma membrane leucine-rich repeat (LRR) receptor kinase. Here, we identify a plasma membrane LRR receptor kinase, designated PEPR2, that has 76% amino acid similarity to PEPR1, and we characterize its role in the perception of Pep peptides and defense responses. Both PEPR1 and PEPR2 were transcriptionally induced by wounding, treatment with methyl jasmonate, Pep peptides, and pathogen-associated molecular patterns. The effects of Pep1 application on defense-related gene induction and enhancement of resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato DC3000 were partially reduced in single mutants of PEPR1 and PEPR2 and abolished completely in double mutants. Photoaffinity labeling and binding assays using transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cells expressing PEPR1 and PEPR2 clearly demonstrated that PEPR1 is a receptor for Pep1-6 and that PEPR2 is a receptor for Pep1 and Pep2. Our analysis demonstrates differential binding affinities of two receptors with a family of peptide ligands and the corresponding physiological effects of the specific receptor–ligand interactions. Therefore, we demonstrate that, through perception of Peps, PEPR1 and PEPR2 contribute to defense responses in Arabidopsis.
Salvage of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide plays a critical role in the bioenergetic recovery of post-hypoxic cardiomyocytes.

Background and Purpose Ischaemic heart disease can lead to serious, life-threatening complications. Traditional therapies for ischaemia aim to increase oxygen delivery and reduce the myocardial ATP consumption by increasing the coronary perfusion and by suppressing cardiac contractility, heart rate or blood pressure. An adjunctive treatment option for ischaemia is to improve or optimize myocardial metabolism. Experimental Approach Metabolic suppression in the ischaemic heart is characterized by reduced levels of high-energy molecules: ATP and NAD+. Because NAD+ is required for most metabolic processes that generate ATP, we hypothesized that restoration of NAD+ would be a prerequisite for ATP regeneration and examined the role of the major NAD+ anabolic and catabolic pathways in the bioenergetic restoration process following oxygen–glucose deprivation injury in a cardiomyocyte cell line (H9c2 cells). Key Results Salvage of NAD+ via nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase was essential for bioenergetic recovery in cardiomyocytes. Blockade of nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase prevented the restoration of the cellular ATP pool following oxygen–glucose deprivation injury by inhibiting both the aerobic and anaerobic metabolism in the cardiomyocytes. NAD+ consumption by PARP-1 also undermined the recovery processes, and PARP inhibition significantly improved the metabolism and increased cellular ATP levels in cardiomyocytes. Conclusions and Implications We conclude that the NAD+ salvage pathway is essential for bioenergetic recovery in post-hypoxic cardiomyocytes and PARP inhibition may represent a potential future therapeutic intervention in ischaemic heart disease.
RELATIVE PLAQUE-FORMING, CELL-INFECTING, AND INTERFERING QUALITIES OF VACCINIA VIRUS.

Galasso, G. J. (University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill), and D. G. Sharp. Relative plaque-forming, cell-infecting, and interfering qualities of vaccinia virus. J. Bacteriol. 88:433–439. 1964.—The growth of vaccinia virus in slant cultures of L cells inoculated with different multiplicities of counted particles suggests a higher incidence of cell infection than can be accounted for by the number of plaque-forming units. From cultures containing antiserum or heated virus to limit the passage of progeny to uninfected cells, the data clearly indicate the ability of all the particles to infect cells even though the plaque titer is only one-tenth of this number. Analogous experiments show that an average of two heat-inactivated (56 C, 45 min) particles induce interference in L cells. There is nothing yet to show whether the few plaque-forming particles are different from the majority or whether they are just statistically fortunate in the complex process of plaque formation.
Effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Louisiana black bear habitat

Abstract The Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) is comprised of 3 subpopulations, each being small, geographically isolated, and vulnerable to extinction. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts in 2005, potentially altering habitat occupied by this federally threatened subspecies. We used data collected on radio-telemetered bears from 1993 to 1995 and pre-hurricane landscape data to develop a habitat model based on the Mahalanobis distance (D2) statistic. We then applied that model to post-hurricane landscape data where the telemetry data were collected (i.e., occupied study area) and where bear range expansion might occur (i.e., unoccupied study area) to quantify habitat loss or gain. The D2 model indicated that quality bear habitat was associated with areas of high mast-producing forest density, low water body density, and moderate forest patchiness. Cross-validation and testing on an independent data set in central Louisiana indicated that prediction and t...
A Nucleation Study of GaN Multifunctional Nanostructures

This paper reports the Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) growth of GaN nanostructures. The use of MOCVD allows the direct integration of these nanostructures into pre-existing device technology. The formation of GaN nanostructures grown on AlN epitaxial layers were studied as a function of growth temperature, growth rate, V-III ratio and the amount of deposited material. A wide range of temperatures from 800 °C to 1100 °C and V-III ratios from 30 to 3500 were applied to determine the optimal growth conditions for nucleation studies in a modified production reactor. Small GaN nanostructures with lateral dimensions below 50 nm and low aspect ratios were obtained using relatively low temperatures of 815 °C and extreme metal-rich growth conditions. Island densities up to 1010 cm−2 were achieved using silane as an anti-surfactant to increase the available nucleation sites. Manganese has been incorporated into these nanostructures to enhance the multifunctional ferromagnetic properties of GaMnN.
A novel path planning and control framework for passive resistance therapy with a robot manipulator

In this article, we present a paradigm for safe path generation and control for a robotic manipulator such that it provides programmable passive resistance therapy to patients with deficits in the upper extremities. When the patient applies an interaction force at the robot's end-effector, a dynamic path generator time parameterises any therapist-specified contour in the robot's workspace-thus, the robot mimics the dynamics of a passive impedance whose anisotropy vector can be continuously reconfigured. The proposed algorithm is easily implementable because it is robust to uncertainty in the robot dynamics. Moreover, the proposed strategy also guarantees user safety by maintaining the net flow of energy during the human robot interaction from the user towards the manipulator.
Abstract P5-11-01: Correlation of the effects of potential and known chemopreventive agents on proliferation rates in normal mammary glands and mammary cancers with their chemopreventive efficacy

Core needle biopsy, fine needle aspiration, or imaging (e.g., mammography) are currently used to examine chemopreventive agent efficacy in Phase II breast cancer trials. However, biomarker endpoints, such as proliferation rates using Ki67 in normal or "at risk" breast tissue, have not been formally validated relative to cancer outcome. The aim of this study was to validate Ki-67 in "normal" mammary tissue from the methylnitrosourea (MNU) rat mammary tumor model with mammary cancer multiplicity within the same animal as surrogate biomarker for agent efficacy. Multiple studies were performed in female Sprague-Dawley rats to correlate this proliferation biomarker in mammary tissue after two weeks of chemoprevention agent treatment with mammary cancer incidence and multiplicity at the end of the study. In brief, MNU was given at 50 days of age, one week later administration of the agent was started, and after two weeks a biopsy of the mammary gland was taken. Treatment with the agents continued for approximately 150 days, at which time the study was terminated and mammary tumor multiplicity was measured. Changes in proliferation and mammary tumor multiplicity were compared to a control group of untreated group of animals within the same experiment using a two-sided Student t-test. In general, highly effective agents to preventing cancers (e.g., tamoxifen) also prevented normal mammary gland proliferation after only two weeks of treatment, while inactive agents (e.g., naproxen) had minimal effects on normal gland proliferation. The effects of the agents on established mammary cancers (in which the agents were given for 7 days to rats bearing small MNU-induced mammary cancers) showed similar correlations. Additional biomarkers, as well as the proliferation change and efficacy of these agents in rats fed a high-fat (Western) diet, will also be presented. In conclusion, determining the effect of a potential chemopreventive agent on cell proliferation following short-term treatment appears to be an effective method for predicting its efficacy in preventing mammary cancers. These data further confirm that Ki67 measurements are useful in Phase II prevention trials as a biomarker of agent efficacy. Citation Format: Brandy M Heckman-Stoddard, Clinton J Grubbs, Fariba Moeinpour, Vernon E Steele, Ronald A Lubet. Correlation of the effects of potential and known chemopreventive agents on proliferation rates in normal mammary glands and mammary cancers with their chemopreventive efficacy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-11-01.
On Internal Accountability in Clinical Ethics Consultation

Before we commit significant resources of time and energy to clinical ethics consultation (CEC) certification, education, and the like, one of the questions we ought to be able to answer is how to ...
The Value of Positron Emission Tomography–Computed Tomography in Predicting Occult Nodal Metastasis in Recurrent Laryngeal Cancer

222; Table 1 PET-CT test results compared to final pathology. Positive nodes Negative nodes Positive PET-CT 3 1 Negative PET-CT 9 33 None. C. Bradford: Guided the organization and its endeavors; American Head and Neck Society. Attend meetings and help mold health initiatives; National Institute of Health. G.T. Wolf: None. F.P. Worden: None. A. Eisbruch: None. A. Srinivasan: None. M.E. Spector: None.
Collection and Examination of a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Database

The University of Alabama and the Center for Watershed Protection were awarded an EPA Office of Water 104(b)3 grant in 2001 to collect and evaluate stormwater …
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON MENISCUS BEHAVIOR IN RECTANGULAR SOFT-CONTACT MOLD UNDER HIGH FREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS

The behavior of melt metal meniscus in a 262 mm×84 mm rectangular soft-contact mold under high frequency electromagnetic fields was investigated by using Sn-Pb-Bi alloy. The experiment results show that the meniscus is inhomogeneous in slits, segments, and at corners in the wide and narrow faces. The meniscus distortion is larger in front of slits and at mold corners. With less slits near the mold corners and non-uniform slits distribution along the wide and narrow faces, the inhomogeneity of meniscus distortion can be improved. The meniscus height is higher and the downward depth of three-phase point is lager while the free surface level locates little up or in the vicinity of the center of coil, therefore, the meniscus level in mold should locates between the coil center and the top of mold in casting operation to save energy and improve billet surface quality. With electric power increasing, the meniscus is enhanced, but with excessive power the meniscus fluctuation become more tempestuous. The optimal power is different to different mold structures.
Effects of Genistein on Gap Junctional Intercellular Communication of BALB/c-3T3 Cells'

[Objective] To study the effects of Genistein(GEN)on gap junctional intercellular communication(GJIC). [Methods] BALB/c-3T3 cells were exposed to GEN at the concentrations of 0,12.5,50,100μmol/L,the effects of GEN on GJIC was observed under the laser scanning confocal microscope(LSCM)using fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching (FRAP).[Results] The fluorescence recovery of cells treated with 12.5μmol/L GEN was(36.13±5.43)%,no significant difference compared with control;but the fluorescence recoveries of cells treated with 50 or 100μmol/L GEN were(32.93±5.06)% and(28.18±10.69)% respectively,significantly reduced,compared with control.[Conclusion]GEN significantly inhibits GJIC function at higher concentrations,indicating it could promote cancer under certain conditions.
Water, Water, Everywhere, and Plenty of Drops to Regulate: Why the Newly Published WOTUS Rule Does Not Violate the Commerce Clause

On June 29, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers jointly published a final rule, “Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’ Under the Clean Water Act,” to clearly delineate how the Clean Water Act protects streams and wetlands. The new Waters of the United States rule (“WOTUS Rule” or the “Rule”) abrogated the previous definition of waters of the United States under Clean Water Act jurisdiction. To the great displeasure of many private landowners, the Rule entered into effect on August 28, 2015. In particular, several critics have argued that the new WOTUS Rule’s regulation of “other waters,” its definition of “adjacent,” and its expanded construction of the term “tributary” violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Examining select, representative challenges by the National Association of Homebuilders, the Kansas Livestock Association, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, this Note argues that those three features of the new WOTUS Rule do not, as alleged, contravene the Commerce Clause. As a matter of Commerce Clause jurisprudence, the new WOTUS Rule is a legal tool to aid the federal government in its fight against the degradation and pollution of our nation’s waters.
E-008 imaging workup for angiographically negative subarachnoid hemorrhage: how much is life worth?

Introduction At presentation, the source of subarachnoid hemorrhage is cryptogenic in approximately 15% of cases. In such cases, while perimesencephalic hemorrhages have a low rate of morbidity and mortality, non-perimesencaphic patterns of hemorrhage may portend other bleeding sources; in some reports as high as 16%. Diagnostic work-up after negative catheter angiography in the latter patients typically includes magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and cervical spine for arteriovenous malformations and fistulae, as well as repeat angiography at a delayed date to look for vascular lesions that may have become visible in the interim such as previously thrombosed aneurysms or vascular malformations that are tamponaded by hemorrhage. Methods Case Series. Results Three patients (males – 2, median age – 25) presented with headaches and on imaging were found to have intracranial subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Initial work-up for etiology of SAH was negative which included cerebral digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and MRI of the brain. All three patients also had lower back and lower extremity radicular pain, for which further investigations were performed. MRI of the spine revealed thoraco-lumbar aterio-venous malformation (AVM). Spinal DSA confirmed the findings, with the one of the patient’s AVM nidus from T12 to L2 vertebral body, while the other had a nidus at L1 vetebral body and the third had the nidus at T12 vertebral body. We suspect the thoraco-lumbar AVM as the etiology of SAH in these three unique cases. Conclusion Already, the cost effectiveness of routine cervical imaging in angiographically negative subarachnoid hemorrhage is often debated due to low yield; the causative lesions in these three patients would not have been identified using standard imaging protocols and were only discovered after imaging of the lower thoracic and lumbar spine. While the cost effectiveness of routine imaging of the spine in these patients is debatable, these cases show that thoraco-lumbar arteriovenous malformations can rarely present with headache and subarachnoid hemorrhage, and judicious use of whole spine imaging should be considered in these patients. Disclosures R. Cerejo: None. M. Grabowski: None. S. John: None. A. Bauer: None. B. Chaudhry: None. M. Bain: None. G. Toth: None. F. Hui: None.
Experience Simpson's Paradox in the Classroom

ABSTRACTSimpson's paradox is a challenging topic to teach in an introductory statistics course. To motivate students to understand this paradox both intuitively and statistically, this article introduces several new ways to teach Simpson's paradox. We design a paper toss activity between instructors and students in class to engage students in the learning process. We show that Simpson's paradox widely exists in basketball statistics, and thus instructors may consider looking for Simpson's paradox in their own school basketball teams as examples to motivate students’ interest. A new probabilistic explanation of Simpson's paradox is provided, which helps foster students’ statistical understanding. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.
Parenteral Alimentation in the Neonate

Effects of neonatal starvation, neonatal nutritional requirements, composition of infusates, growth, and complications of parenteral alimentation are discussed.
Propaganda and the Question of Criminal Intent; the Semantics of the Zachistka

AbstractThis article seeks to explore the origins and evolution of zachistka (‘cleansing’) and the particular role it played in the second Chechen war of 1999–2005. It argues that zachistka has become part of state, military and media representations of violence, building a psychological environment in favour of war. The article seeks to understand how the propaganda of the Russian Ministry of Defence might have contributed to the perpetuation of war crimes or incitement to atrocity crimes in the region.
Anal Squamous Cell Carcinoma in African Americans with and without HIV: A Comparative Study.

Background The incidence of anal carcinoma has increased over the last few decades especially in African Americans (AA) despite the use of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). Here, we retrospectively review oncologic outcomes of AA patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with and without HIV to further examine the cause of this trend. Materials and methods All adult AA patients diagnosed with anal SCC from 2000 to 2007 who met inclusion were examined. All patients were staged according to the American Joint Committee on Carcinoma (AJCC) sixth edition staging classification. Patients were divided into two cohorts: HIV (-) and HIV (+). Demographics, comorbidities, and oncologic outcomes were analyzed. Results Twenty-two AA patients with anal SCC were analyzed. Fifteen (68.%) were HIV (+) and seven (32%) were negative. Seventy-four percent of HIV (+) patients were on HAART therapy at the time of diagnosis. The HIV (+) cohort was significantly younger, mostly male, and had more comorbidities compared to the negative cohort. There was no difference in tumor, nodal or metastasis (TNM) stage for both cohorts. HIV (+) patients were more likely to receive non-operative therapy. The 5-year survival rate for HIV negative and positive patients was 57% and 58%, respectively. AJCC stage was the only factor predictive of survival after performing Cox hazard proportional regression analysis, HR: 1.96 (95% CI, 0.987 to 3.881). Conclusions In the HAART era, HIV (+) AA patients are at high risk of developing anal SCC. However, the prognosis of HIV (+) AA with anal SSC is similar to that of their HIV (-) counterparts. Carcinoma stage is the only factor predictive of survival.
Ground Reaction Forces During Locomotion in Simulated Microgravity

Significant losses in bone density and mineral, primarily in the lower extremities have been reported following exposure to weightlessness. Recent investigations suggest that mechanical influences such as bone deformation and strain rate may be critically important in stimulating new bone formation. It was hypothesized that velocity, cadence and harness design would significantly affect lower limb impact forces during treadmill exercise in simulated zero gravity (0G). A ground-based hypogravity simulator was used to investigate which factors affect limb loading during tethered treadmill exercise. A fractional factorial design was used and 12 subjects were studied. The results showed that running on active and passive treadmills in the simulator with a tethering force close to the maximum comfortable level produced similar magnitudes for the peak ground reaction force. It was also found that these maximum forces were significantly lower than those obtained during overground trials, even when the speeds of locomotion in the simulator were 66 % greater than those in 1 G. Cadence had no effect on any of the response variables. The maximum rate of force application (DFDT-Max) was similar for overground running and exercise in simulated 0G, provided that the "weightless subjects ran on a motorized treadmill. These findings have implications for the use of treadmill exercise as a countermeasure for hypokinetic osteoporosis. As the relationship between mechanical factors and osteogenesis becomes better understood, results from human experiments in 0G simulators will help to design in-flight exercise programs that are more closely targeted to generate appropriate mechanical stimuli.
Quantum Entropy Regularization

By generalizing from classical entropy to quantum entropy, the maximum entropy method may be applied to non-parametric function estimation problems requiring smoothing, such as density estimation. I describe the use of quantum entropy as a regularization functional. Then I introduce a maximum Fourier entropy model whose behavior is similar to maximum quantum entropy, but which is easier to calculate and interpret.
Automatic Language Identification

The sections in this article are 1 Language-Identification Cues 2 Language Identification Systems 3 Evaluations 4 Conclusions 5 Acknowledgment Keywords: phone recognition; spectral similiarity; speech-to-text systems; speech recognition
Editorial Commentary: Aging and Rotator Cuff Tears

Osteoporosis is associated with failure of rotator cuff repair. Optimizing bone density, as well as rotator cuff tendon-to-bone fixation in an osteoporotic humeral head, is a necessary approach to the patient as a whole.
A quantitative analysis of the near transfer of learning from calculus to subsequent engineering courses

In this longitudinal study, we track student answers to a question from the Calculus Concept Inventory (CCI) pre- and post-instruction in Calculus I as well as an analogous question in the next sem...
Before and After Photoshop: Recursive Fraud in the Age of Digital Reproducibility

"Word-processing software, SCIgen, or Photoshop have increased fraudulent output, but … they have also changed the very form of fraud. Photoshop and similar tools are thus enabling something that is categorically new: recursive fraud, that is, the serial digital reproduction and dissemination of more fraud." Read more in the Guest Editorial by M. Biagioli.
Modulation of posttraumatic epileptogenesis in aquaporin-4 knockout mice.

Objective To determine the role of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) in posttraumatic epileptogenesis using long-term video-electroencephalographic (vEEG) recordings. Here, differences in EEG were analyzed between wild-type (WT) and AQP4 knockout (KO) mice and between mice with and without posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE). Methods WT and AQP4 KO mice were subjected to a single controlled cortical impact traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the frontal cortex, and vEEG was recorded in the ipsilateral hippocampus at 14, 30, 60, and 90 days postinjury (dpi). Intrahippocampal electrical stimulation was also used to assess electrographic seizure threshold and electrographic seizure duration (ESD). Results The mean seizure frequency per day for WT mice was 0.07 ± 0.07, 0.11 ± 0.07, 0.26 ± 0.13, and 0.12 ± 0.10 at 14, 30, 60, and 90 dpi, respectively. The mean seizure frequency per day for AQP4 KO mice was 0.45 ± 0.27, 0.29 ± 0.12, and 0.26 ± 0.19 at 14, 30, and 60 dpi, respectively. The mean seizure duration was 15 ± 2 seconds and 24 ± 3 seconds for WT and AQP4 KO mice, respectively. The percentage of mice that developed PTE were 28% and 37% for WT and AQP4 KO mice, respectively. Power spectral density (PSD) analysis revealed alterations in EEG frequency bands between sham and TBI in both genotypes. Additionally, PSD analysis of spontaneous recurrent seizures revealed alterations in delta power between genotypes. Morlet wavelet analysis detected heterogeneity in EEG seizure subtypes and dynamic EEG power patterns after TBI. Compared with AQP4 KO mice, a significant increase in ESD was observed in WT mice at 14 dpi. Significance Posttraumatic seizures (PTSs) may be modulated by the astrocyte water channel AQP4. Absence of AQP4 increases the number of spontaneous seizures, increases seizure duration, and alters EEG power patterns of PTSs.
Endocervical miRNA Expression Profiles in Women Positive for Chlamydia trachomatis with Clinical Signs and/or Symptoms Are Distinct from Those in Women Positive for Chlamydia trachomatis without Signs and Symptoms.

ABSTRACT Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading cause of sexually transmitted infections that may progress to pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility. No effective vaccine exists for Chlamydia, nor are there biomarkers available that readily predict disease progression. In this cross-sectional pilot study, we recruited symptomatic and asymptomatic women with C. trachomatis (CT) infection and asymptomatic, uninfected control women from an urban sexually transmitted disease clinic to determine if there were differences in microRNA (miRNA) expression. Infected women with signs and/or symptoms (CTSS) have distinct miRNA profiles compared to asymptomatic infected women (CTNS). In the CTSS group, miR-142 and -147 showed 2.2- to 6.9-fold increases in expression. In the CTNS group, miR-449c, -6779, -519d, -449a, and -2467 showed 3.9- to 9.0-fold increases in expression. In the CTNS group, cyclins and cell cycle regulation and IL-17 pathways were likely downregulated, while the same signaling pathways were upregulated in the CTSS group. In addition, in the CTSS group, additional inflammatory pathways associated with TNFR1 and IL-8 appear to be upregulated. The miRNA expression patterns differ between CT-infected symptomatic and asymptomatic women, and these differences may warrant further study.
Concerns About the Special Article on Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin in High-Risk Outpatients With COVID-19.

In May 2020, the Journal published an opinion piece by a member of the Editorial Board, in which the author reviewed several papers and argued that using hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) + azithromycin (AZ) early to treat symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in high-risk patients should be broadly applied. As members of the Journal's Editorial Board, we are strongly supportive of open debate in science, which is essential even on highly contentious issues. However, we must also be thorough in our examination of the facts and open to changing our minds when new information arises. In this commentary, we document several important errors in the manuscript, review the literature presented, and demonstrate why it is not of sufficient quality to support scale up of HCQ + AZ, and then discuss the literature that has been generated since the publication, which also does not support use of this therapy. Unfortunately, the current scientific evidence does not support HCQ + AZ as an effective treatment for COVID-19, if it ever did, and even suggests many risks. Continuing to push the view that it is an essential treatment in the face of this evidence is irresponsible and harmful to the many people already suffering from infection.
Gibbs posterior concentration rates under sub-exponential type losses

Bayesian posterior distributions are widely used for inference, but their dependence on a statistical model creates some challenges. In particular, there may be lots of nuisance parameters that require prior distributions and posterior computations, plus a potentially serious risk of model misspecification bias. Gibbs posterior distributions, on the other hand, offer direct, principled, probabilistic inference on quantities of interest through a loss function, not a model-based likelihood. Here we provide simple sufficient conditions for establishing Gibbs posterior concentration rates when the loss function is of a sub-exponential type. We apply these general results in a range of practically relevant examples, including mean regression, quantile regression, and sparse high-dimensional classification. We also apply these techniques in an important problem in medical statistics, namely, estimation of a personalized minimum clinically important difference.
The relationship between intermittent hypoxemia events and neural outcomes in neonates

Abstract This brief review examines 1) patterns of intermittent hypoxemia in extremely preterm infants during early postnatal life, 2) the relationship between neonatal intermittent hypoxemia exposure and outcomes in both human and animal models, 3) potential mechanistic pathways, and 4) future alterations in clinical care that may reduce morbidity. Intermittent hypoxemia events are pervasive in extremely preterm infants (
Proton Cycling in Bogs: Geographic Variation in Northeastern North America

A detailed hydrogen ion budget has been constructed for the Marcell bog in north-central Minnesota based on a 5-year, intensive study of element cycles. Major features of the acidity balance for this site include the following: (1) production of organic acids (263 meg.m−2.y−1) is the dominant source of acidity and serves to buffer the bog water at pH 4; (2) seguestering of elements in peat is also a significant source of acidity (42.9 meg.m−2.y−1); (3) weathering of dustfall inputs is an important source of alkalinity (<76 meg.m−2.y−1) at this site which is situated near the major agricultural area of the plains; (4) nitrate and sulphate reduction contribute little alkalinity (<39.2 meg.m−2.y−1) because inputs (NO3 and SO4) to this bog are low. Analysis of peat and surface water from bogs across northeastern North America (Manitoba to Newfoundland) reveals the following: (1) production of organic acids across this region varies between 104 and 263 meg.m−2.y−1; (2) acidity-generation associated with net biological uptake (NBU, excluding nitrogen = 20–117 meg.m−2.y−1) varies in proportion to the rate of peat accumulation; (3) NBU-acidity exhibits high values in maritime bogs and lower values in mid-continental bogs; (4) bogs have a large capacity for sulphate reduction, and sulphate reduction becomes an increasingly important source of alkalinity as rates of sulphate deposition increase. From 60 to 93% of annual sulphate loadings are retained as reduced sulphur in bogs across eastern North America.
Words without Meaning: The Constitution, Confessions, and Mentally Retarded Suspects

The Supreme Court's Miranda decision rested upon the unverified assumptions that suspects who received the now-famous warnings not only would possess information ensuring that subsequent waivers were "knowing and intelligent," but also would possess the tools necessary to resist the pressures inherent in custodial interrogation, thus ensuring that confessions were "voluntary." The flaws in these assumptions are exposed when they are applied to mentally retarded people. The authors of this Article tested a sample of mentally retarded individuals to determine if they could understand the Miranda warnings, then compared these results to those obtained for a control group of nondisabled people. The results show that, in contrast to the nondisabled controls, mentally retarded people simply do not understand the warnings. They do not understand the context in which interrogation occurs, the legal consequences of confessing, the meaning of the sentences comprising the warnings, or even the warnings' individual words. For mentally retarded people, the Miranda warnings are words without meaning.
Artificial intelligence and simulation

In this tutorial, the author presents some of the major concepts of artificial intelligence and illustrates their applicability to simulation using examples drawn from recent knowledge-based simulation research. He focuses on the present state-of-the-art, current problems and limitations, and future directions and possibilities. >