cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
In Patients with Threatened or Occluded Dialysis Access Grafts, Is It Better to Salvage the Graft, or Create a New Site?

Threatened or occluded access grafts are a frequent complication in patients undergoing hemodialysis and are associated with increased length of stay, morbidity, mortality, and hospital costs. An ideal access is one that can be reliably developed, delivers an optimal dialysis dose, and is resistant to thrombosis, infection, and the need for re-intervention. Access grafts generally have a greater likelihood to initial successful use and greater success for access salvage, but are prone to frequent failure and shorter long term patency. Arteriovenous fistula, however, are associated with lower likelihood to initial successful use, but have longer patency rates with fewer long term complications. When faced with a threatened graft and a secondary arteriovenous fistula is feasible, the best management approach may be an intervention to initially save the threatened graft but plans should be in place to perform a secondary arteriovenous fistula. If a secondary arteriovenous fistula is not performed prior to the third intervention to save the threatened graft, likelihood of a successful conversion to a secondary arteriovenous fistula decreases.
Developments in Stable Set Theory

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the first general model for multiperson coalition games. A theory of solutions for their model of n -person cooperative games is introduced (with side payments) in characteristic function form. Several alternate solution concepts have been proposed for this model and its variants and are referred to the notion of a solution as a stable set. The stable set and bargaining set theories are among the most descriptive solution concepts, especially for those games that have empty cores. The chapter describes contributions made to traditional stable set theory and some other advances close in spirit to the vN&M approach. It discusses particular cases where stable sets are finite or symmetric or what are called discriminatory solutions. These results provide valuable interpretations in practical applications as well as some beautiful new geometric structures. The chapter discusses some basic connections between stable set theory and the very insightful theories about bargaining sets, the kernel, and the nucleolus.
Abstract 522: TGF-beta Neutralization Augments Development of Angiotensin II-induced Aneurysms in Both Ascending and Abdominal Aortic Regions

Introduction and ObjectivesAngiotensin II (AngII) infusion induces ascending and abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAs) in mice. In a mouse model of Marfan Syndrome expressing Fbn1C1039G/+, ascending AAs...
Socioeconomic Status, Financial Strain, and Leukocyte Telomere Length in a Sample of African American Midlife Men

African American men in the USA experience poorer aging-related health outcomes compared to their White counterparts, partially due to socioeconomic disparities along racial lines. Greater exposure to socioeconomic strains among African American men may adversely impact health and aging at the cellular level, as indexed by shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL). This study examined associations between socioeconomic factors and LTL among African American men in midlife, a life course stage when heterogeneity in both health and socioeconomic status are particularly pronounced. Using multinomial logistic regression, we examined associations between multiple measures of SES and tertiles of LTL in a sample of 92 African American men between 30 to 50 years of age. Reports of greater financial strain were associated with higher odds of short versus medium LTL (odds ratio (OR)=2.21, p = 0.03). Higher income was associated with lower odds of short versus medium telomeres (OR=0.97, p = 0.04). Exploratory analyses revealed a significant interaction between educational attainment and employment status (χ 2 = 4.07, p = 0.04), with greater education associated with lower odds of short versus long telomeres only among those not employed (OR=0.10, p = 0.040). Cellular aging associated with multiple dimensions of socioeconomic adversity may contribute to poor aging-related health outcomes among African American men. Subjective appraisal of financial difficulty may impact LTL independently of objective dimensions of SES. Self-appraised success in fulfilling traditionally masculine gender roles, including being an economic provider, may be a particularly salient aspect of identity for African American men and have implications for cellular aging in this population.
Transhepatic Catheter Placement

This chapter presents an overview of transhepatic catheter access, an acceptable but challenging vascular access technique that is often necessary in patients who have exhausted other endovascular options for central venous access. In patients with chronic total occlusion of internal jugular, subclavian, innominate, and femoral veins with coexistent occlusion of the infrahepatic inferior vena cava, transhepatic catheter placement is the last acceptable option for central venous access. Drawing on retrospective reviews of safety, efficacy, and complications implicit to the procedure, we present a simplified technique to successful transhepatic catheter placement.
North American wintertime temperature anomalies: the role of El Niño diversity and differential teleconnections

El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) teleconnections induced wintertime surface air temperature (SAT) anomalies over North America show inter-event variability, asymmetry, and nonlinearity. This diagnostic study appraises the assumption that ENSO-induced teleconnections are adequately characterized as symmetric shifts in the SAT probability distributions for North American locations. To this end, a new conditional quantile functional estimation approach presented here incorporates: (a) the detailed nature of location and amplitude of SST anomalies—in particular the Eastern Pacific (EP), Central Pacific (CP) ENSO events—based on its two leading principal components, and (b) over the entire range of SATs, characterize the differential sensitivity to ENSO. Statistical significance is assessed using a wild bootstrap approach. Conditional risk at upper and lower quartile SAT conditioned on archetypical ENSO states is derived. There is marked asymmetry in ENSO effects on the likelihood of upper and lower quartile winter SATs for most North American regions. CP El Nino patterns show 20–80% decrease in the likelihood of lower quartile SATs for Canada and US west coast and a 20–40% increase across southeastern US. However, the upper quartile SAT for large swathes of Canada shows no sensitivity to CP El Nino. Similarly, EP El Nino is linked to a 40–80% increase in the probability of upper quartile winter SATs for Canada and northern US and a 20% decrease for southern US and northern Mexico regions; however, little or no change in the risk of lower quartile winter temperatures for southern parts of North America. Localized estimate of ENSO-related risk are also presented.
60 Men who sexually assault intoxicated women: similarities and differences with other perpetrators

Statement of purpose In approximately half of sexual assaults, the victim was under the influence of alcohol. The purpose of this study was to examine similarities and differences between perpetrators whose victims were drinking alcohol as compared to those whose victims were sober. Methods/Approach 556 men completed an online survey. Discriminant function analysis was conducted to distinguish between perpetrators with victims who had consumed alcohol (n=87) and perpetrators with sober victims (n=109). Some participants later completed a laboratory dating simulation in which they went on virtual reality dates. Univariate analyses of variance were conducted to compare perpetrators with intoxicated victims (n=19) and sober victims (n=26). Results Discriminant function analysis indicated that both groups of perpetrators had similar scores on personality traits including narcissism, and empathy. However, they differed on many attitudinal and behavioural characteristics. Men who assaulted women who had consumed alcohol reported higher levels of sexual dominance, positive attitudes about casual sex, rape myth acceptance, alcohol consumption, sex-related alcohol expectancies, and peer approval of getting drunk and forced sex. Further, they engaged in more sexual activity in the laboratory dating simulation, and gave themselves and the female agent more alcoholic drinks. Conclusions These findings illuminate important differences between men who assault intoxicated women as compared to men who assault sober women. Perpetrators who sexually assault women under the influence of alcohol have a constellation of beliefs and behaviour associated with women and alcohol that increase their risk of perpetration. Significance of Contributions to Injury and Violence Prevention Science Prevention programs need to consider the wide range of risk factors associated with sexual assault perpetration. Men who drink heavily and have strong sex-related alcohol expectancies need tailored programs to address these additional risk factors.
X-ray transparent microfluidic platforms for membrane protein crystallization with microseeds.

Crystallization of membrane proteins is a critical step for uncovering atomic resolution 3-D structures and elucidating structure–function relationships. Microseeding, the process of transferring sub-microscopic crystal nuclei from initial screens into new crystallization experiments, is an effective, yet underutilized approach to grow crystals suitable for X-ray crystallography. Here, we report simplified methods for crystallization of membrane proteins that utilize microseeding in X-ray transparent microfluidic chips. First, a microfluidic method for introduction of microseed dilutions into metastable crystallization experiments is demonstrated for photoactive yellow protein and cytochrome bo3 oxidase. As microseed concentration decreased, the number of crystals decreased while the average size increased. Second, we demonstrate a microfluidic chip for microseed screening, where many crystallization conditions were formulated on-chip prior to mixing with microseeds. Crystallization composition, crystal size, and diffraction data were collected and mapped on phase diagrams, which revealed that crystals of similar diffraction quality and size typically grow in distinct regions of the phase diagram.
Effects of Common Ear Drops on Tympanic Membrane Healing in Rats.

ObjectiveCiprofloxacin + dexamethasone ear drops have been associated with higher rates of tympanic membrane perforations than ofloxacin. This was thought to be an effect of the steroid; however, ciprofloxacin (sans steroid) has been found to be more toxic to tympanic membrane fibroblasts than ofloxacin in vitro. This study aimed to compare the effect of these agents on tympanic membrane healing in vivo.Study DesignControlled animal study.SettingAcademic research laboratory.MethodsPerforations were created in 54 rats with a carbon dioxide laser. Rats were randomized to 6 groups (9/group), with 1 ear receiving ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, dexamethasone, ofloxacin + dexamethasone, ciprofloxacin + dexamethasone, or neomycin, and the contralateral ear receiving saline twice daily for 10 days. Healing was assessed over 40 days.ResultsOfloxacin did not delay healing relative to saline. All other treatments delayed healing relative to ofloxacin at day 10 (P < .0001). Dexamethasone and ofloxacin + dexamethasone dela...
A Multicell Cascaded High-Frequency Link Inverter With Soft Switching and Isolation

Soft-switching inverters can achieve high efficiencies and low switch dv/dt and di/dt , but often impose additional stress on the switches due to their resonant behavior. Multicell converters, on the other hand, can process high voltages by arranging the switches to share the stress. This paper proposes a buck–boost multicell soft-switching inverter with inherent cell voltage balancing. Both the current and voltage stresses are shared by the cells. Soft-switching conditions are achieved for all switching transitions without any need for auxiliary circuitry or clamps. A multiple-winding transformer transfers energy between the terminals and provides galvanic isolation. An analytical study and experimental results on a 1200-W prototype verify the operation of the inverter.
O ESTADO CONSTITUCIONAL DE DIREITO, NEOCONSTITUCIONALISMO E POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS

Este artigo pretende dar conta de forma sintetica de tres questoes: a) a passagem do Estado Legislativo de Direito para o Estado Constitucional de Direito; b) o chamado modelo neoconstitucional do Estado e do Direito; e c) as condicoes de possibilidade de controle jurisdicional de politicas publicas dentro deste ultimo modelo normativo. Para tanto, dentre as varias propostas teoricas para equacionamento dessa forma de controle, esposa a postulacao garantista por entende-la mais adequada a realidade constitucional contemporânea.
Asymptotic Risk of Unit Commitment Schedule Due to Generating Unit Outages

We propose a method for conducting mean-variance assessment of the cost and risk of a given unit commitment schedule with respect to thermal generating unit outages, assuming deterministic net load to be satisfied over a specified time horizon. By repeating the sequence of load levels and the unit commitment schedule cyclically over an extended time horizon, the linear dependence of the mean and variance of the dispatch cost on the length of that horizon can be exploited. A simplifying assumption motivated by the N-1 security criterion allows the dispatch cost, considering stochastic forced outages, to be modeled as a renewal reward process. A limit for the time average and an asymptotic approximation for the variance of the cost can then be computed quickly. Numerical results for an IEEE test system show that the approach provides a usefully accurate assessment of risk.
Do forelimb shape and peak forces co‐vary in strepsirrhines?

OBJECTIVES In this study, we explore whether ground reaction forces recorded during horizontal walking co-vary with the shape of the long bones of the forelimb in strepsirrhines. To do so, we quantify (1) the shape of the shaft and articular surfaces of each long bone of the forelimb, (2) the peak vertical, mediolateral, and horizontal ground reaction forces applied by the forelimb during arboreal locomotion, and (3) the relationship between the shape of the forelimb and peak forces. MATERIALS AND METHODS Geometric morphometric approaches were used to quantify the shape of the bones. Kinetic data were collected during horizontal arboreal walking in eight species of strepsirrhines that show variation in habitual substrate use and morphology of the forelimb. These data were then used to explore the links between locomotor behavior, morphology, and mechanics using co-variation analyses in a phylogenetic framework. RESULTS Our results show significant differences between slow quadrupedal climbers (lorises), vertical clinger and leapers (sifaka), and active arboreal quadrupeds (ring-tailed lemur, ruffed lemur) in both ground reaction forces and the shape of the long bones of the forelimb, with the propulsive and medially directed peak forces having the highest impact on the shape of the humerus. Co-variation between long bone shape and ground reaction forces was detected in both the humerus and ulna even when accounting for differences in body mass. DISCUSSION These results demonstrate the importance of considering limb-loading beyond just peak vertical force, or substrate reaction force. A re-evaluation of osseous morphology and functional interpretations is necessary in light of these findings.
Reduced order model for simultaneous growth of multiple closely-spaced radial hydraulic fractures

Abstract A new reduced order model (ROM) provides rapid and reasonably accurate prediction of the complex behavior of multiple, simultaneously growing radial hydraulic fractures. The method entails vastly reducing the degrees of freedom typically associated with fully-coupled simulations of this multiple moving boundary problem by coupling together an approximation of the influence of the stress interaction among the fractures (“stress shadow”) with an approximation of fluid flow and elasticity, ensuring preservation of global volume balance, global energy balance, elasticity, and compatibility of the crack opening with the inlet fluid flux. Validating with large scale (“high-fidelity”) simulations shows the ROM solution captures not only the basic suppression of interior hydraulic fractures in a uniformly-spaced array due to the well-known stress shadowing phenomenon, but also complex behaviors arising when the spacing among the hydraulic fractures is non-uniform. The simulator's usefulness is demonstrated through a proof-of-concept optimization whereby non-uniform spacing and stage length are chosen to maximize the fracture surface area and/or the uniformity of growth associated with each stimulation treatment.
Tachypnea Seen During Positive Airway Pressure Titration Studies: A Case Series of Four Patients.

We report a case series of four patients where tachypnea was observed during positive airway titration studies, double the baseline breathing rate (tachypnea range 46–68 breaths/min). It happened m...
Dendritic cell subsets in T cell programming: location dictates function

Dendritic cells (DCs) can be viewed as translators between innate and adaptive immunity. They integrate signals derived from tissue infection or damage and present processed antigen from these sites to naive T cells in secondary lymphoid organs while also providing multiple soluble and surface-bound signals that help to guide T cell differentiation. DC-mediated tailoring of the appropriate T cell programme ensures a proper cascade of immune responses that adequately targets the insult. Recent advances in our understanding of the different types of DC subsets along with the cellular organization and orchestration of DC and lymphocyte positioning in secondary lymphoid organs over time has led to a clearer understanding of how the nature of the T cell response is shaped. This Review discusses how geographical organization and ordered sequences of cellular interactions in lymph nodes and the spleen regulate immunity.
Gas Bubbles and the Acoustically Impenetrable, or Turbid, Character of Some Estuarine Sediments

Many shallow water, fine-grained sediments apparently contain appreciable quantities of interstitial gas bubbles produced by the biochemical degradation of organic matter. There have been relatively few direct observations of entrapped bubbles, but the presence of extensive gaseous sedimentary zones has frequently been inferred from high resolution sub-bottom profiling records. Frequently, large segments of many records made in estuaries and bays with high-frequency, low-energy profilers are confused and characterized by bands of strong diffuse reflection that mask the underlying features. Investigators have repeatedly attributed this anomalous acoustic behavior to the presence of interstitial gas bubbles, which produce excessive reverberation of sound within the sediment. Until recently, however, this hypothesis for the explanation of the acoustically impenetrable or ‘turbid’ character of sediments had apparently not been tested.
A Hidden Markov Model Based Approach to Modeling and Monitoring of Processes with Imperfect Maintenance

Maintenance interventions are usually imperfect. In this paper, we propose a novel degradation model that addresses the uncertainty in maintenance effectiveness. The new model assumes system’s degradation level at the end of any production run can be recovered to a random degree by the subsequent maintenance activity. Based on parametric uncertainty in the newly proposed model, a novel process monitoring method is proposed for providing condition indicator each time a new observation is retained from the monitored system. Using a large-scale semiconductor dataset, significant improvement in the log-likelihood was observed in the HMM assuming imperfect maintenance against the HMM assuming perfect maintenance. In addition, it is shown that the newly proposed monitoring method is capable of dramatically reducing false alarm ratios, compared to the conventional multivariate signature-based methods.
Multiagent Disjunctive Temporal Networks

Temporal network formalisms allow us to encode a set of constraints relating distinct events in time, and by deploying algorithms over these networks, we can determine whether schedules for these networks exist that satisfy all constraints. By augmenting simple temporal networks, we can consider the effects that disjunctive constraints, temporal uncertainty, and coordinating agents have on modeling fidelity and the algorithmic efficiency of schedule construction. In this paper, we introduce Partially Observable Disjunctive Temporal Networks with Uncertainty (PODTNUs) and Multiagent Disjunctive Temporal Networks with Uncertainty (MaDTNUs), generalizing previously studied multi-agent variants of temporal networks. We provide the first theoretical completeness results for the controllability of multiagent temporal network structures and discuss the importance of these results for modelers.
A Fully Integrated 30-to-160GHz Coherent Detector with a Broadband Frequency Comb in 65nm CMOS

This paper presents a broadband millimetre-wave coherent detector that uses an on-chip frequency comb with a tunable repetition frequency as a high-precision frequency ruler. A heterodyne MOSFET detector mixes the received signal with the reference comb and downconverts it to an intermediate-frequency signal below 2 GHz. The receiver is able to detect signals from 30 to 160 GHz with a 2-Hz resolution. The detector chip is fabricated in TSMC 65-nm CMOS technology, occupies an area of 0.56 mm2, and consumes 34 mW dc power.
Small bowel transplant: state-of-the-art vascular and nonvascular imaging

Small bowel transplant (SBT) is a surgical procedure that may be used in patients with pathology resulting in severe intestinal failure resistant to conventional forms of surgical and nonsurgical treatment. Intestinal failure is defined as the failure of enterocytes to absorb sufficient macronutrients, water, and/or electrolytes to sustain homeostasis and/or promote growth. With the advancement of surgical techniques and advancements in perioperative transplant management, SBT has become an increasingly common treatment for intestinal failure, with survival rates for SBT comparable to those for other solid organ transplants. This review provides background on SBT, its variations, and the associated preoperative and postoperative imaging studies with regard to surgical planning and anticipated complications. With the increasing use of SBT, radiologists will be expected to be familiar with the diagnostic studies and available endovascular interventions associated with this procedure.
Comment Letter of Professors John D. Morley and Robert H. Sitkoff on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Definition of 'Fiduciary Capacity' Regarding 'Directed Trusts'

In April 2019, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on the definition of "fiduciary capacity" regarding "directed trusts." The ANPR references in particular the Uniform Directed Trust Act (UDTA) (Unif. Law Comm’n 2017). We served as the Reporter (Morley) and Chair (Sitkoff) of the drafting committee for the UDTA. Following the UDTA, we use the term “directed trust” to refer to a trust in which the terms of the trust grant a person other than a trustee a power over some aspect of the trust’s administration. As the prefatory note to the UDTA explains, “[t]here is no consistent vocabulary to describe the person other than a trustee that holds a power in a directed trust. Several terms are common in practice, including ‘trust protector,’ ‘trust adviser,’ and ‘trust director.’” The same is true for the trustee in a directed trust, who may be “sometimes called an ‘administrative trustee’ or ‘directed trustee.’” Following the UDTA, we will refer to a trustee in a directed trust as a “directed trustee,” a person who is not a trustee with a power over the administration of the trust as a “trust director,” and the power that a trust director holds over the administration of the trust as a “power of direction.” The hard question of law and policy raised by the proliferation of directed trusts is how to address the many complications created by giving a power of direction to a trust director, including in particular how to allocate fiduciary responsibility among a trust director and a directed trustee. The patchwork of modern state directed trust statutes, which to varying degrees has displaced the older but more consistent common law regime, has given rise to uncertainty that, in the words of the ANPR, may “make it difficult for institutions to assess and manage litigation risk and to understand OCC expectations for managing these accounts in a safe and sound manner.” We are in agreement that additional OCC guidance on directed trusts could be helpful. However, we have six concerns about the way the ANPR frames the issue, which we elaborate in this comment letter.
Redo Carotid Endarterectomy for Recurrent Atherosclerotic Carotid Stenosis

Recurrent carotid stenosis was treated with redo carotid endarterectomy and placement of bovine pericardial patch in a 63-year-old male with atherosclerotic plaque associated with contralateral internal artery occlusion. Management of recurrent carotid stenosis is discussed.
DC Optimal Power Flow With Joint Chance Constraints

Managing uncertainty and variability in power injections has become a major concern for power system operators due to increasing levels of fluctuating renewable energy connected to the grid. This work addresses this uncertainty via a joint chance-constrained formulation of the DC optimal power flow (OPF) problem, which satisfies all the constraints jointly with a pre-determined probability. The few existing approaches for solving joint chance-constrained OPF problems are typically either computationally intractable for large-scale problems or give overly conservative solutions that satisfy the constraints far more often than required, resulting in excessively costly operation. This paper proposes an algorithm for solving joint chance-constrained DC OPF problems by adopting an S $\ell _1$ QP-type trust-region algorithm. This algorithm uses a sample-based approach that avoids making strong assumptions on the distribution of the uncertainties, scales favorably to large problems, and can be tuned to obtain less conservative results. We illustrate the performance of our method using several IEEE test cases. The results demonstrate the proposed algorithm's advantages in computational times and limited conservativeness of the solutions relative to other joint chance-constrained DC OPF algorithms.
A CORRIDA PARA O SÉCULO XXI: NO LOOP DA MONTANHA RUSSA, DE NICOLAU SEVCENKO

The Race to the 21st Century: In the loop of the roller coaster by author Nicolau Sevcenko (1952-2014) deals with the disturbing understanding of the 21st century passage by comparing the movements with the roller coaster. The book, organized in three chapters, addresses the structural change of the first phase that is considered quiet, where there was rise bringing order and progress in the process of technological development, and in the second phase begins a sudden fall by the new scientific theories attributed to technological revolutions. Moreover, it analyzes the historicity that underlies the triad of State, Market and Society, and the weakening of the excessive power of the State to the detriment of modern techniques.
Hospital Burdens of Patients With Cerebral Palsy Undergoing Posterior Spinal Fusion for Scoliosis.

Study Design:Retrospective cohort study.Objectives:Many patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion (PSF) for scoliosis have concurrent cerebral palsy (CP), which is associated with many medical co...
A Snapshot-based Approach for Self-supervised Feature Learning and Weakly-supervised Classification on Point Cloud Data.

Manually annotating complex scene point cloud datasets is both costly and error-prone. To reduce the reliance on labeled data, we propose a snapshot-based self-supervised method to enable direct feature learning on the unlabeled point cloud of a complex 3D scene. A snapshot is defined as a collection of points sampled from the point cloud scene. It could be a real view of a local 3D scan directly captured from the real scene, or a virtual view of such from a large 3D point cloud dataset. First the snapshots go through a self-supervised pipeline including both part contrasting and snapshot clustering for feature learning. Then a weakly-supervised approach is implemented by training a standard SVM classifier on the learned features with a small fraction of labeled data. We evaluate the weakly-supervised approach for point cloud classification by using varying numbers of labeled data and study the minimal numbers of labeled data for a successful classification. Experiments are conducted on three public point cloud datasets, and the results have shown that our method is capable of learning effective features from the complex scene data without any labels.
The role of the medial olivocochlear reflex in psychophysical masking and intensity resolution in humans: a review.

This review addresses the putative role of the medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex in psychophysical masking and intensity resolution in humans. A framework for interpreting psychophysical results in...
Effect of Wetting and Redrying on Performance of Cross-Laminated Timber Angle Bracket Connection

AbstractCross-laminated timber (CLT) is an engineered wood product offering several advantages for wood utilization in midrise and tall buildings. However, moisture intrusion poses significant risk...
Morphological changes in the basolateral amygdala and behavioral disruptions associated with social isolation.

Abstract Social isolation and the disruption of established social bonds contribute to several physical and psychological health issues. Animal models are a useful tool for investigating consequences of social stress, including social isolation. The current study examined morphological changes in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and affect-related behavioral and endocrine changes due to prolonged social isolation, using the translational prairie vole model ( Microtus ochrogaster). Adult male prairie voles were either socially paired (control) or isolated from a same-sex sibling for 4 weeks. Following this 4-week period, a subset of animals (n = 6 per condition) underwent a series of behavioral tasks to assess affective, social, and stress-coping behaviors. Plasma was collected following the last behavioral task for stressor-induced endocrine assays. Brains were collected from a separate subset of animals (n = 10 per condition) following the 4-week social housing period for dendritic structure analyses in the BLA. Social isolation was associated with depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors, as well as elevated oxytocin reactivity following a social stressor. Social isolation was also associated with altered amount of dendritic material in the BLA, with an increase in spine density. These results provide further evidence that social isolation may lead to the development of affective disorders. Dysfunction in the oxytocin system and BLA remodeling may mediate these behavioral changes. Further research will promote an understanding of the connections between oxytocin function and structural changes in the BLA in the context of social stress. This research can facilitate novel treatments for alleviating or preventing behavioral and physiological consequences of social stressors in humans.
Iteration Based Analysis of Straggling Channel Decoders for Network Function Virtualization

We consider the uplink of a cloud radio access network, in which baseband functionality is offloaded to the off-the-shelf servers in the cloud via network function virtualization (NFV). Specifically, we consider channel decoding of iteratively decodable channel codes as an important time-critical baseband operation. It has been shown that by reencoding the received channel codewords at the cloud with a linear NFV code, the impact of straggling decoders can be reduced. In our previous work the channel decoding operation at each server, after some probabilistic processing delay, was assumed to have converged to a codeword with only negligible probability of error. In contrast, in this work we leverage the fact that for iterative decoding we can trade-off latency versus decoding error by considering intermediate decoding results, i.e., after each decoder iteration. We derive an expression for the frame unavailability probability as a function of the decoding latency and thus of the number of completed iterations at all decoders. We show that for LDPC codes the latency is significantly reduced if we combine intermediate codeword estimates of the decoders at each iteration.
Wake–cylinder interactions of a hinged cylinder at low and intermediate Reynolds numbers

This paper is devoted to the study and classification of vortex-induced oscillation and the wake structure of flow past finite cylinders. Experiments were performed in a water tunnel using cylindrical particles hinged in the center of the test section while allowing them one degree of rotational freedom. The speed of flow and aspect ratio of the cylinders were used to vary the Reynolds number in the study between 100 and 5000. The cylinders display different responses to the fluid flow depending upon the Re, ranging from steady orientation, periodic oscillation to autorotation. A hydrogen bubble flow visualization technique was used to examine the vortex structure and supported by image analysis techniques. Specific features of the wake structure such as length of the primary vortex, its frequency and amplitude were analyzed as a function of Re. Our investigations indicate that the frequency of oscillation of the cylinder and the vortex shedding increases monotonically with the Reynolds number. Also, the length of the primary vortex versus Re shows interesting features and reveals possible critical points in the flow when vortex structure changes. In order to better understand qualitative aspects of the cylinder’s dynamics that go beyond experiments, a simplistic forced nonlinear pendulum toy model was employed and seen to capture qualitative aspects of the cylinder’s dynamics.
Alternatives for protecting privacy while respectingpatient care and public health needs

This paper begins with a discussion of the value of privacy, especially for medical records in an age of advancing technology. I then examine three alternative approaches to protection of medical records: reliance on governmental guidelines, the use of corporate self-regulation, and my own third hybrid view on how to maintain a presumption in favor of privacy with respect to medical information, safeguarding privacy as vigorously and comprehensively as possible, without sacrificing the benefits of new information technology in medicine. None of the three models I examine are unproblematic, yet it is crucial to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of these alternative approaches.
Classification of clinical outcomes using high-throughput informatics: Part 1 - nonparametric method reviews

It is widely recognized that many cancer therapies are effective only for a subset of patients. However clinical studies are most often powered to detect an overall treatment effect. To address this issue, classification methods are increasingly being used to predict a subset of patients which respond differently to treatment. This study begins with a brief history of classifi- cation methods with an emphasis on applications involving melanoma. Nonparametric methods suitable for predicting subsets of patients responding differently to treatment are then reviewed. Each method has different ways of incorporating continuous, categorical, clinical and high-throughput covariates. More recent methods have built-in dimension reduction methods for high throughput data. Pre-validation is one method of assessing the added value of high-throughput data to clinical covariates. The way in which treatment interactions are incorporated is important if the goal is to predict a subset of patients which respond differently to treatment. For nonparametric methods, distance measures specific to the method are used to make classification decisions. Approaches are outlined which employ these distances to measure treatment interactions. It is hoped that this study will stimulate more development of nonparametric methods to predict subsets of patients responding differently to treatment.
O papel do leitor na obra híbrida Crônica de uma morte anunciada, de Gabriel García Márquez

Este texto tem por objetivo apresentar uma possibilidade de leitura da obra Cronica de uma morte anunciada, de Gabriel Garcia Marquez, na qual se considera o papel do leitor e da linguagem, concebida como producao linguistica hibrida, formada pela juncao dos discursos literario, jornalistico e forense. Para a consecucao do objetivo, pretende-se apresentar uma reflexao fundamentada pela estetica da recepcao acerca do que propicia o prazer na leitura e de quais elementos determinam o papel do leitor implicito.
REIT Volatility and the Introduction of Listed Equity Options

In this paper we examine how the introduction of traded options impacts the volatility of REITs and whether this impact is consistent with that seen for non-REIT equities. We document a drop in REIT volatility in 1996, just as the availability of options on REITs sees significant growth. REIT volatility significantly declines following the introduction on traded options. We find that both realized and implied total volatility are related to future realized volatility for REITs. Realized and implied idiosyncratic volatility are also significantly related to future realized idiosyncratic volatility. These results establish the important predictive power of these volatility measures for REITs.
A Time Complexity Bound for Adaptive Mutual Exclusion

We consider the time complexity of adaptive mutual exclusion algorithms, where "time" is measured by counting the number of remote memory references required per critical-section access. We establish a lower bound that precludes a deterministic algorithm with O(log k) time complexity (in fact, any deterministic o(k) algorithm), where k is "point contention." In contrast, we show that expected O(log k) time is possible using randomization.
Mice deficient in BACE1, the Alzheimer's beta-secretase, have normal phenotype and abolished beta-amyloid generation.

Mice deficient in BACE1, the Alzheimer's β-secretase, have normal phenotype and abolished β-amyloid generation
A randomized trial comparing digital and live lecture formats [ISRCTN40455708

Medical education is increasingly being conducted in community-based teaching sites at diverse locations, making it difficult to provide a consistent curriculum. We conducted a randomized trial to assess whether students who viewed digital lectures would perform as well on a measure of cognitive knowledge as students who viewed live lectures. Students' perceptions of the digital lecture format and their opinion as whether a digital lecture format could serve as an adequate replacement for live lectures was also assessed. Students were randomized to either attend a lecture series at our main campus or view digital versions of the same lectures at community-based teaching sites. Both groups completed the same examination based on the lectures, and the group viewing the digital lectures completed a feedback form on the digital format. There were no differences in performance as measured by means or average rank. Despite technical problems, the students who viewed the digital lectures overwhelmingly felt the digital lectures could replace live lectures. This study provides preliminary evidence digital lectures can be a viable alternative to live lectures as a means of delivering didactic presentations in a community-based setting.
8-Channel hyperfine WDM demultiplexer using a virtually-imaged phased-array (VIPA)

We demonstrate an 8-channel hyperfine wavelength demultiplexer at 1.55 /spl mu/m using a virtually-imaged phased-array spectral disperser, with channel spacings /spl sim/ 3 GHz (24 pm) and minus;3 dB channel bandwidths of /spl sim/ 0.75 GHz (6 pm).
Equatives, measure phrases and NPIs

Standard semantic accounts of the equative ascribe it an 'at least' meaning, deriving an 'exactly' reading when necessary via scalar implicature. I argue for a particular formulation of this scalar implicature account which considers that (i) equatives license NPIs in their internal arguments, and (ii) equatives whose internal arguments are measure phrases (MPs) are, in contrast to clausal equatives, ambiguous between 'at most' and 'exactly' interpretations. The analysis employs particular assumptions about MPs, scalar implicature and the notion of set complementation to enable 'at least' readings to be sensitive to the direction of a scale, thereby becoming 'at most' readings in certain constructions.
Nonlinear regression analysis of steady‐state voltammograms obtained at microelectrodes

Nonlinear regression was applied to the analysis of steady-state voltammograms obtained at carbon fiber microelectrodes. Reversible regression models were used to analyze data for oxidation of ferrocene in acetonitrile with and without added electrolyte. This analysis constitutes a test for reversibility of the redox couple. An estimate of cell resistance in highly resistive media was obtained by including ohmic drop in the model for reversible electron transfer. This allows computation of „resistance-free” voltammograms obtained in that medium. A general model for steady-state voltammograms of quasi-reversible electrode reactions was used to estimate simultaneously apparent standard heterogeneous electron transfer rate constants (k0′), formal potentials, and electrochemical transfer coefficients for ferrocyanide and the Co(II)/Co(I) couple of vitamin B12r. Precision for ferrocyanide with a k0′ of 0.023 cm/sec was about ±30%. Results on ferrocene suggest an upper limit for estimating k0′ of about 1–2 cm/sec when the signal/noise ratio (S/N) is large. Data for the quasi-reversible Co(II)/Co(I) couple of vitamin B12r showed that results of reasonable precision and accuracy can be obtained for systems with poor S/N.
Welfare Dynamics in Pakistan and Ethiopia – Does the Estimation Method Matter?

Identifying household-level welfare dynamics and associated dynamic poverty trap thresholds can have important implications for the targeting of poverty reduction policies. The small existing empirical microeconomic literature has found evidence both for and against poverty traps. Using household panel data from rural Pakistan and Ethiopia, this article examines whether these different results are likely driven by differences in estimation methods or whether they reflect actual differences across settings. It applies the estimation methods from the existing literature to the same two datasets and also proposes a novel semiparametric panel data estimator that combines the advantages of the previous fully parametric and nonparametric approaches. The results suggest that absent any dynamic poverty trap thresholds the effect of using different estimation methods is secondary, having a small influence on the estimated long-term level of household well-being but not the identification of multiple dynamic welfar...
It's all Greek to me: a case for the classics in game development education

This article provides an overview of Classical Greek literature as a parallel for the game development industry: we outline how the historical developments of Greek storytelling and literature inform the developmental history of video games. As the Greek storytelling medium evolved, the sense of the tragic hero and narrative complexity evolved. Similarly, as generations of video game players evolve, their demand for more complex characters and more fully developed storylines will also evolve. We attempt to provide a vantage point that future game designers may consider during the design of future game-based story elements. While we epitomize our case using Greek Literature, the same elements and structure are found throughout the evolution of story telling in many ancient civilizations. It is our assertion that good education in game design and development requires a good technical background and a solid foundation in narrative storytelling. As such, it is recommended that game-oriented curriculum include the study of the Classics.
The p21 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor suppresses tumorigenicity in vivo

The p21 gene encodes a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor that affects cell-cycle progression, but the potential of this gene product to serve as a tumour suppressor in vivo has not been established. In this report, we show that the growth of malignant cells in vitro and in vivo is inhibited by expression of p21. Expression of p21 resulted in an accumulation of cells in G0/G1, altered morphology, and cell differentiation, but apoptosis was not induced. Introduction of p21 with adenoviral vectors into malignant cells completely suppressed their growth in vivo and also reduced the growth of established pre-existing tumours. Gene transfer of p21 may provide a molecular genetic approach to arresting cancer cell growth by committing malignant cells irreversibly to a pathway of terminal differentiation.
Ultrastructure of intracellular and extracellular vesicles, membranes, and myelin figures produced by Ochromonas danica.

Ochromonas danica synthesized a variety of large and small intra- and extracellular membrane-bounded structures including vesicles and myelin-like figures. Vesicles were derived from membranes associated with the flagella, mitochondria, chloroplasts, plasma membrane, and leucosin vacuole. Myelin-like figures were derived from the chloroplast membrane and lamellae. Most membranous structures were bounded by unit membranes ca. 75–80 A wide.
Theory of Long-Range Interatomic Forces. II. First-Order Interaction Energies in the Uncoupled Representation

General methods are developed to calculate the matrix elements between two arbitrary states and for any multipole order. The results are expressed in terms of generalized hypergeometric functions. Some delta conditions in the formula for the electrostatic potential allow substantial factorization of the secular determinant. A device called the interaction diagram is introduced to facilitate the ordering of the secular determinant and the classification of the resulting molecular states. The theory is first applied to systems in which spin-orbit effects are neglected. The energy curves between an alkali atom in the ground state and an alkali atom in the first and second excited states, two alkali atoms in the first excited state, and an alkali atom in the first and another in the second excited state are calculated. In the last case, where some matrix elements consist of more than one multipole term, the competition of multipoles leads to energy curves which have maxima and minima in first order. It is also shown that for the interaction between atoms in excited states the resonance forces are less dominant while configuration interactions and the forces obtained from simple product state functions become more and more important.