cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Towards a biological characterization of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

Abstract The primary form of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) has become one of the most common causes of end-stage renal disease in children and adolescents. FSGS was initially considered to be the histological expression of a single disease entity. However, evidence accumulated during the past four decades indicates that FSGS is heterogeneous in nature. It therefore is not surprising that the many therapeutic combinations and permutations that have been tried have yielded variable results in different hands. This has generated substantial confusion and frustration among physicians and patients alike. Recent progress in genetics and molecular biology has opened promising new vistas of investigation. Identification of genes that control components of the glomerular capillary, proteins that form the structural basis of podocytes, and genetic mutations that affect the integrity of these structures has revolutionized our understanding of the glomerular filtration barrier. Substantial progress also has been made in understanding the mechanisms that lead to progression of renal disease and, ultimately, sclerosis. Studies of these factors are likely to yield a mechanistic-based classification of FSGS that will allow us to design therapeutic regimens suited to specific subtypes of this disease. © 2002 by the National Kidney Foundation, Inc.
Generalized best-first search strategies and the optimality of A*

This paper reports several properties of heuristic best-first search strategies whose scoring functions ƒ depend on all the information available from each candidate path, not merely on the current cost g and the estimated completion cost h. It is shown that several known properties of A* retain their form (with the minmax of f playing the role of the optimal cost), which helps establish general tests of admissibility and general conditions for node expansion for these strategies. On the basis of this framework the computational optimality of A*, in the sense of never expanding a node that can be skipped by some other algorithm having access to the same heuristic information that A* uses, is examined. A hierarchy of four optimality types is defined and three classes of algorithms and four domains of problem instances are considered. Computational performances relative to these algorithms and domains are appraised. For each class-domain combination, we then identify the strongest type of optimality that exists and the algorithm for achieving it. The main results of this paper relate to the class of algorithms that, like A*, return optimal solutions (i.e., admissible) when all cost estimates are optimistic (i.e., h ≤ h*). On this class, A* is shown to be not optimal and it is also shown that no optimal algorithm exists, but if the performance tests are confirmed to cases in which the estimates are also consistent, then A* is indeed optimal. Additionally, A* is also shown to be optimal over a subset of the latter class containing all best-first algorithms that are guided by path-dependent evaluation functions.
Application of Ozone and Oxygen to Reduce Chemical Oxygen Demand and Hydrogen Sulfide from a Recovered Paper Processing Plant

A pilot study was performed at the Fox River Fiber recovered paper processing company in DePere, Wisconsin, to determine the extent to which injection of oxygen and ozone could reduce the high chemical oxygen demand, COD, in the effluent and the effectiveness of the ozone/oxygen stream in suppressing production of hydrogen sulfide gas in downstream sewage lines. Adaptive Ozone Solutions, LLC, supplied the oxygen/ozone generation and injection system. Samples were analyzed both before and after oxygen/ozone injection. Hydrogen sulfide gas was continuously monitored at sewer stations downstream of Fox River Fiber. Results showed that with a very short contact time, effluent COD was reduced by over 15%. A simple kinetic model predicts that a contact time of fewer than 30 minutes could reduce COD by as much as 60%. In addition, downstream hydrogen sulfide gas production in the sewage mains was also better controlled, such that costly Bioxide applications could be reduced.
Intergenerational relations and elder care preferences of Asian Indians in North Carolina.

The US older population is growing in ethnic diversity. Persistent ethnic disparities in service use among seniors are linked to structural barriers to access, and also to family processes such as cultural preferences and intergenerational relations. There is sparse information on the latter issue for immigrant ethnic minority seniors. Information on the Asian group (the fastest growing senior sub-population) is extremely scarce, due to this group’s diversity in national, linguistic, and cultural origins. We conducted a qualitative study among community-dwelling Asian Indian families (including at least one member aged 60 years and older) in North Carolina to examine preferences of seniors and the midlife generation regarding elder care, and the role of intergenerational relations in desired care for elders, exploring the theoretical perspective of intergenerational relationship ambivalence. Our results suggest that cultural preferences, ambivalence in intergenerational relations, and regulations on health service eligibility among immigrant/transnational seniors and midlife adults influence preferences for elder care.
Compiler-Assisted Performance Tuning

The enormous and growing complexity of today's high-end systems has increased the already significant challenge of maximizing performance on today's equally complex scientific applications. In this paper, we discuss the role of compiler technology in supporting application developers in a systematic approach to performance tuning of key application components. Based on scenarios taken from manual optimization of scientific codes, we describe how compiler support can enable the programmer to achieve the same or better performance in a much more productive way. We also present examples derived automatically from compiler optimization that show results comparable to hand-tuned performance.
Modeling Spacecraft Modes for Nominal and Off-nominal Operations

Small spacecraft have limited hardware redundancy and the onboard software, ideally, is as simple as possible. Fault Management for these missions involves leveraging the functional redundancy inherent in the system. It also involves designing out bad states from which recovery is impossible. This can be accomplished through a careful definition of spacecraft modes, and “trying out” these modes under various failure scenarios involving hardware and software faults. This paper addresses basic questions about a spacecraft mode: what aspects does it encapsulate, what defines its transitions, how does it reflect the underlying physical state of the spacecraft. It shows how to capture this in an executable model that can help uncover system elements interacting in unanticipated ways. Errors, such as command sequence errors, can be injected into the model to simulate the behavior of the spacecraft.
On Ricci coefficients of null hypersurfaces with time foliation in Einstein vacuum space-time: part I

The main objective of this paper is to control the geometry of null cones with time foliation in Einstein vacuum spacetime under the assumptions of small curvature flux and a weak condition on the deformation tensor for the future directed unit normal T to each leaf. We establish a series of estimates on Ricci coefficients, which play a crucial role to prove the improved breakdown criterion in Wang (Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 65(1):0021–0076, 2012).
Positive end-expiratory pressure during one-lung ventilation improves oxygenation in patients with low arterial oxygen tensions

Objective: The application of 10 cm H2O of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP10) to the ventilated lung during one-lung ventilation (OLV) has an unpredictable effect on PaO2. It was hypothesized that patients with a low PaO2 ( Design: Prospective, open. Setting: A university medical center. Participants: Eighteen patients were studied who were undergoing OLV for pulmonary resection. All were anesthetized with thiamylal, N2O/O2 (50%/50%), isoflurane, and pancuronium. Interventions: Application of PEEP10 during one-lung ventilation. Measurements and Main Results: Hemodynamics and oxygenation were measured during two-lung ventilation in the lateral position, OLV, and OLV plus application of PEEP10. Overall, PEEP10 during OLV failed to produce significant changes in PaO2, Qs/Qt%, cardiac output (CO), SvO2, or mean arterial pressure. However, in 11 patients whose PaO2 was less than 80 mmHg during OLV, application of PEEP10 significantly increased PaO2, decreased Qs/Qt%, and decreased CO (p Conclusions: In patients with a low PaO2 (
“Feminist Security Studies”: Toward a Reflexive Practice

My comments take the form of a brief rumination about the politics of “Feminist Security Studies”—as a field of knowledge and as a practice. I start by raising some questions about the meaning of the term itself and the politics of defining the field. Then, in light of these questions, I turn to the politics of the practice of Feminist Security Studies.
Spectrally Efficient Spread Spectrum System Design: Message-Driven Frequency Hopping

Originally developed for secure communications in military applications, frequency hopping systems possess anti-jamming and anti-interception features by exploiting time- frequency diversity over large spectrum. However, the spectral efficiency of existing FH systems is very low due to inappropriate use of the total available bandwidth. To improve the system capacity, in this paper, we propose an innovative message-driven frequency hopping (MDFH) scheme. Unlike in traditional FH systems where the hopping pattern of each user is determined by a pre-assigned pseudo-random (PN) sequence, in MDFH, part of the message stream will be acting as the PN sequence for hopping frequency selection. Essentially, transmission of information through hopping frequency control introduces another dimension to the signal space, and the corresponding coding gain increases system efficiency by multiple times. The MDFH scheme can be further enhanced by allowing simultaneous transmissions over multiple frequency bands. Including both MDFH and OFDM as special cases, the enhanced MDFH scheme, named E-MDFH, can achieve high spectral efficiency while providing excellent design flexibility. E-MDFH can readily be extended to a FH-based collision-free multiple access scheme.
Descending Control of Turning Locomotor Activity in Larval Lamprey: Neurophysiology and Computer Modeling

McClellan, Andrew D. and Andre Hagevik. Descending control of turning locomotor activity in larval lamprey: neurophysiology and computer modeling. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 214–228, 1997. The purpose of...
The Strong Program: A Dialogue

I’ve been surprised at the virulence with which some philosophers have attacked the strong program in the sociology of knowledge. Particularly, it’s struck me as odd that people such as Larry Laudan, who emphasize the need for the philosopher to be guided by the actual historical practice of scientists, should raise a priori objections to the viability of a scientific program. Why shouldn’t a philosopher such as Laudan just stand back and see what the strong program comes up with? If it produces successful sociology, then he’ll have to take account of its methods in his analysis of science; if it doesn’t he won’t have to worry about it. In either case, I don’t see any room for philosophical meddling in sociological matters.
Evaluation of Patients with Diarrhea and Timing of Referral

Diarrhea is a universal human experience, that is, a symptom and not a disease (Schiller LR, Sellin JH. Approach to a patient with symptoms and signs: diarrhea. In: Sleisenger and Fordtran’s gastrointestinal and liver disease, 9th edn. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, Elsevier, 2010, pp. 159–186). Most patients with diarrhea can be managed successfully as outpatients; however, more than 450,000 hospital admissions each year are for gastroenteritis (Schiller LR, Sellin JH. Approach to a patient with symptoms and signs: diarrhea. In: Sleisenger and Fordtran’s gastrointestinal and liver disease, 9th edn. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, Elsevier, 2010, pp. 159–186). The evaluation of patients with diarrhea is complex. A detailed and carefully taken history is essential to aid in the classification of diarrhea. Appropriately defining and classifying diarrhea is an essential first step that provides the clinician a framework for approaching diagnostic and therapeutic options. There are several methods to classify diarrhea and no single method of classification is ideal. The most frequently used methods of classification are as follows: by time course (acute or chronic), volume (large or small), pathophysiology (secretory or osmotic), stool characteristics (watery, fatty, inflammatory), and/or epidemiology (travel related, immune suppression, epidemic). Based on above classification methods, a rational approach can be used by the primary care physician to further manage patients with diarrhea, including when to consider referral to a gastroenterologist.
Effect of race on the safety and efficacy of pemetrexed (P) therapy in locally advanced and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

18082 Background: P is a multitargeted antifolate active in NSCLC. While a number of clinical trials have evaluated P safety and efficacy in general patient populations, little is known of the poss...
4-Bromo-N-(4-bromo-phen-yl)aniline.

In the title compound, C12H9Br2N, the dihedral angle between the benzene rings is 47.32 (5)°, whereas the pitch angles, or the angles between the mean plane of each aryl group `propeller blade' and the plane defined by the aryl bridging C—N—C angle, are 18.1 (2) and 31.7 (2)°. No inter­molecular N—H hydrogen bonding is present in the crystal; however, there is a short inter­molecular Br⋯Br contact of 3.568 (1) A.
Sperniatogenesis of the Southwestern Corn Borer, Diatraea grandiosella. 1. Comparison of Rates in Prediapause and Nondiapause Larvae

Spermatogenesis rate was compared during the larval stages of Diatraea grandiosella Dyar programmed for a mature larval diapause or continuous development. Larval exposure to a 23°C 12L:12D regime induced diapause, while exposure to a 30°C 12L:12D regime permitted continuous development. The rate of spermatogenesis was evaluated from measurements of testicular volumes and histological examination of germ cells taken from prediapause and nondiapause larvae. Results showed that the testicular volume of mature diapause larvae was about 10 times smaller than that of equivalent nondiapause larvae. Histological data revealed that spermatogenesis progressed at a low rate in testes of prediapause larvae. In the 3rd instar spermatogonia were the principal germ cells, while primary and then secondary spermatocytes were detected in testes of the 4th and 5th instars. At the beginning of diapause in the 6th instar the secondary spermatocytes began to degenerate. In contrast, testes of 4th-stage nondiapause larvae contained secondary spermatocytes which then further differentiated into spermatids and sperm bundles in the 5th and 6th instars.
Pathogenic characteristics of Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from foodborne diseases in Guangzhou,2010—2013

Objective To study the serotypes,antimicrobial resistance,virulence genes and molecular characteristics of Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from foodborne diseases during 2010—2013 in Guangzhou. Methods A total of108 Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains isolated from foodborne diseases were collected to serotype and antimicrobial resistance tests. PCR was used for the detection of tdh( thermostable direct hemolysin gene) and trh( tdh-related hemolysin gene). All the samples were analyzed by pulsed- field gel electrophoresis( PFGE). Results A total of 108 strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus obtained from diarrhea patients with foodborne diseases were collected,among which O3: K6( 51,47. 2%) and O1: KUT( 32,29. 6%) were the dominant serotypes. Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated showed high resistance to ampicillin( 90. 7%) and cefepime( 28. 8%),but were 100. 0% sensitive to cotrimoxazole and chloramphenicol.Multi- drug resistance was revealed in 53. 6%( 15 /28),20. 6%( 7 /34),18. 8%( 3 /16) and 33. 3%( 10 /30) of isolated strains in 2010,2011,2012 and 2013,respectively. Results from virulence gene detection suggested that 95. 4%( 103 /108) isolates belonged to tdh+trh-,while 4. 6%( 5 /108) isolates belonged to tdh-trh+. Results from PFGE analysis suggested that 108 isolates were discriminated into 3 clusters and 55 different PFGE patterns with the similarity value between 60. 2% and 100. 0%. The dominant serotype O3: K6 and O1: KUT seemed to gather in the cluster II,while serotype O4: K8 in cluster Ⅲ. Conclusion O3: K6 and O1: KUT are the dominant serotypes in Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains isolated from foodborne diseases during 2010—2013 in Guangzhou. These strains show high sensitivity to most antibiotics,but with multi- drug resistance. Positive rate of tdh gene is high. PFGE analysis reveals genetic diversity is within the Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains of foodborne diseases in Guangzhou.
Opportunities in the international health services arena.

Fundamental changes in domestic healthcare delivery in the '90s have prompted many U.S. healthcare organizations to consider entering international markets. Opportunities available to U.S. organizations include investing in foreign organizations, controlling foreign facilities, and obtaining referrals from extraterritorial or cooperating foreign providers. Before entering into these arrangements, however, organizations must consider the benefits, risks, and constraints they may face, specifically with regard to reimbursement and cash flow, currency risk, regulation, and political risk. To succeed in international service delivery ventures, organizations also may need to make adjustments in the training of healthcare financial managers who will face the international marketplace. Being sensitive to the culture of the countries with which they will be dealing is just as important as knowing the currency and financial regulations.
Design of the Cooling System for the Cit Central Solenoid

The large expected temperature rises in the Compact Ignition Tokamak (CIT) central solenoids motivate this general study on how to minimize the cooling time of large electromagnets to maintain an acceptable operating frequency. Liquid nitrogen (LN2) was chosen as a cooling fluid because of the benefits from the high heat-transfer rates characteristic of boiling. A computer program was developed to model the flow and heat transfer of two-phase nitrogen in complex flow circuits. In the model, heat-transfer and flow pressure drop calculations were based on existing empirical correlations. A radial cooling passage geometry was adopted in which liquid nitrogen flows up through the inlet annulus and runs radially outward through cooling passages situated between pancakes to the PF coil exit annulus (Figure 1). The radial arrangement was found to be effective, based on its short cooldown time and generation of small thermal stresses.
Aptness and beauty in metaphor

Metaphors are comparisons that link dissimilar conceptual domains. We hypothesized that the aptness of a metaphor is linked to the reader’s experience of beauty, and that age and expertise influence these aesthetic judgments. We had young adults, literary experts, and elderly adults rate metaphors for beauty or aptness. Experimental materials consisted of single-sentence novel metaphors whose familiarity, figurativeness, imageability, interpretability, and overall valence ratings were known. Results suggest that beauty and aptness of metaphors are linked for elderly adults but are orthogonal for young adults and literary experts. Elderly participants seem to conflate emotional content with aptness. Young adults are most swayed by a perceived feeling of familiarity when rating for aptness, but not for beauty. Literary experts are relatively unaffected by the psycholinguistic variables, suggesting an emotionally distanced approach to these sentences. Individual differences in literary training and life experience have varying effects on the aesthetic experience of metaphor in regard to beauty and aptness.
Niobium in superalloys: a perspective

AbstractThe metallurgical behaviour of niobium (columbium &) as an alloying element in austenitic superalloys is characterized. First, superalloys are defined. Next, the properties of nio bium which are useful for superalloy con stitution are reviewed. Finally, the specific function of niobium as an additive to nickel, cobalt and iron sup eralloy s is established and its broad effects summarized.
The Fearful Hunter in “The Beast in the Jungle”

In “The Beast in the Jungle” (1903) Henry James’s John Marcher is continually in the grip of “suspense” (75, 77, 81, 95) because, as he has confided in May Bartram almost ten years ago and now agai...
Modeling the physics of sliding objects for rotating space elevators

We consider the general theoretical problem of how to model the dynamics of objects sliding on moving strings. This study answers an interesting theoretical physics question: what is the general form of the equations governing string motion in the presence of objects sliding along discretized strings? We describe in detail a subtle yet powerful algorithm that can be used to investigate motion of objects sliding along floppy strings. The algorithm was motivated by the fundamental physics of sliding climbers on a unique class of dynamical systems, rotating space elevators (L. Golubovic, S. Knudsen, EPL 86, 34001 (2009) and S. Knudsen, L. Golubovic, Eur. Phys. J. Plus 129, 242 (2014), 130, 243 (2015)). While our algorithm emerges from the study of sliding climber dynamics on space elevators, our results for the dynamics of sliding objects are of a general interest. We designed theoretical tools capable of dealing with strongly nonlinear phenomena involving objects interacting with moving strings of any kind.
Growth, yield, plant quality and nutrition of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) under soilless agricultural systems

Abstract Traditional agricultural systems are challenged by globally declining resources resulting from climate change and growing population. Alternative agricultural practices such as aquaponics (includes crop plant and aquatic species) and hydroponics (includes crop plant only) have the potential to generate high yield per unit area using limited land, water, and no soil. A soilless agricultural study was conducted at the Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, USA from August to November, 2015. The growth, yield, quality, and nutrition of basil ( Ocimum basilicum L.) cultivar Aroma 2 , were compared between aquaponic and hydroponic systems using crayfish ( Procambarus spp.) as the aquatic species. Non-circulating floating raft systems were designed using 95 L polyethylene tanks. Equal amounts of start-up fertilizer dose were applied to both systems. The objective was to understand how the additional nutritional dynamics associated with crayfish influence the basil crop. Both fresh and dry basil plant weights were collected after harvest, followed by leaf nutrient analysis. Leaf chlorophyll content, water pH, nitrogen and temperature were measured periodically. Aquaponic basil (AqB) showed 14%, 56%, and 65% more height, fresh weight, and dry weight, respectively, compared to hydroponic basil (HyB). It is logical to assume that crayfish waste (excreta and unconsumed feed) has supplied the additional nutrients to AqB, resulting in greater growth and yield. The chlorophyll content (plant quality) or leaf nutrients, however, did not differ between AqB and HyB. Further research is needed to investigate aquaponic crayfish yield, overall nutritional dynamics, cost-benefit ratio, and other plant characteristics under soilless systems.
Probing the Microbial Mysteries of Wine: Microbiome research is impinging on enology and viticulture, meaning it is time to think in terms of the grapevine supraorganism

Wine enjoys a long tradition as a valuable social lubricator, one that works across societies, international boundaries, and economic classes. Not surprisingly, the grapevine receives extensive attention from researchers as well as the general public. While most scientific studies have relevance to public life, research on wine and the microorganisms that help support its production is just that little bit more compelling, primarily due to its cultural importance.
Abstract LB-295: Analysis of miR-21 isomiRs in lung cancer

microRNAs (miRNA) are small non-coding RNAs that target mRNA transcripts. Primarily, they bind to the 3′UTR of mRNA sequences and repress protein translation. They are involved in the regulation of over 60% of human genes. miRNAs are deregulated in cancer and expression signatures have been correlated with cancer diagnosis, progression and prognosis. Thus, they are being pursued for clinical application. isomiRs, or miRNA variants that are generated post-transcriptionally, were originally classified as experimental error in cloning and next generation sequencing studies. However, over the past five years it has become increasingly clear that isomiRs are evolutionarily conserved, prevalent and functional. miR-21 is overexpressed and associated with poor prognosis in multiple malignancies and as such it is currently under development as a therapeutic target. Thus, we examined the isomiR landscape of miR-21 in lung cancer using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (lung adenocarcinoma n = 420 and squamous cell carcinoma n = 296). Raw sequence files were extracted from TCGA, cleaned and analyzed using STATA 13. We observed that there are significantly more isomiRs of miR-21 in both lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) compared to non-involved adjacent lung tissue. Specifically, LUAD had total of 244 5p variants and LUSC had 232 5p variants, compared with 74 and 105 in non-involved tissue, respectively. The most prevalent isomiR of miR-21 was not the canonical ‘miRBase’ isomiR and the most common edit was a 5′ deletion with 3′ addition. There were 15 miR-21-5p isomiRs in LUAD and 12 in LUSC that were prevalent (defined as detected in more than 50% of patients) and were expressed at a significantly higher level defined as detected with a FPKM value greater than 50) in tumor versus non-involved tissue samples. The average fold change was 5.7 in LUAD (range 2.8-21.1) and 2.7 in LUSC (range 1.7-5.6). Of the prevalent miR-21-5p isomiRs, 6 in LUAD and 4 in LUSC had a change in the canonical miR-21 seed sequence. An analysis of the targets of these isomiRs using the target prediction algorithms Targetscan and Diana revealed limited overlap in gene targets (0% to 54%) compared with canonical miR-21-5p targets. Our work highlights a high complexity of miRNA sequence heterogeneity in lung cancer. Combining the characterization of miR-21 isomiRs and pursuing translational laboratory studies will allow us to determine the functionality of these isomiRs and their relevance for human cancer diagnosis and treatment. Citation Format: Jennie D. Leikin, Adriana Zingone, Derek Brown, Khadijah Mitchell, Mohammed Khan, Oscar Vidal, Brid Ryan. Analysis of miR-21 isomiRs in lung cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-295. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-LB-295
Individuals, Reflection, and Interaction

An individual will be designated by a particular propositional formula; however, logically equivalent formulae may not represent the same person’s individual structure because the semantic interpretation may well be different. Each formula has two aspects: on the one hand it is a logical function, on the other hand it is a representation of an individual with his ‘inner world’ or of a situation of interaction between two individuals.
The epidemiology of homicide perpetration by children

The United States has by far the highest rates of homicide perpetration among high-income countries. The perpetration of homicide by children is often newsworthy, but little is known about the incidence or the circumstances of child homicide perpetration. We use data from the sixteen states reporting to the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) for all years 2005–2012. We read every violent death report that was classified a homicide with a child suspect (aged 0–14). To help ensure that we did not miss any homicide cases we also read those classified as an other-inflicted unintentional firearm injury death with a child shooter, to determine if they were actually homicides. There were 154 child suspects, which corresponds to an average annual rate of 1.2 child perpetrators per million child population. We estimate for the United States as a whole, 74 children per year were homicide perpetrators. Nearly 90% were boys, 79% were aged 13–14, and another 13% were aged 11–12. We created five categories, which accounted for over 70% of events with sufficient information to determine what happened: (1) The caretaker, a juvenile, typically an older brother, is given the responsibility to care for an infant. The homicide usually occurs in a residence, and blunt force is used (no guns); (2) Killing an adult family member, typically a parent or grandparent. These cases usually occur in a residence, and the child uses either a gun or a knife; (3) Impulsive shooting during play, the child typically shoots a sibling or friend. Except for some notion of momentary anger, these cases look much like unintentional firearm fatalities; (4) Robbery, a group of youth are trying to steal money, usually from an adult; and (5) Group Assault, a group of youth are fighting, usually other youth. Child homicide perpetrators are typically boys who use guns, and the events can be classified into a small number of relevant categories. Such a categorization of events is useful for understanding the problem and determining solutions.
Selective Area Growth of GaN Directly on (0001) Sapphire by the HVPE Technique

In this paper, we report on the selective area growth (SAG) of GaN directly on patterned c-plane sapphire substrates by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). A number of researchers have reported that the HVPE growth technique, unlike the MBE and MOCVD methods, is capable of producing device quality GaN films without the need for any low temperature nucleation/buffer layers. The density of edge dislocations in these HVPE films decreases dramatically as the film thickness is increased, and the dislocation density values for thick films (> 10µm) are comparable to those reported for the best GaN films grown by other methods on c-sapphire. These advantages of the HVPE growth technique makes it possible to achieve high quality selective area growth of GaN directly on c-sapphire substrates. C-plane sapphire substrates were coated with PECVD SiO2 and photolithographically patterned with different size and shape openings. Subsequently, these patterned substrates were introduced in a horizontal, hot-wall quartz reactor for the GaN growth. It was observed that single crystal GaN growth was preferentially initiated in the openings in the oxide layer. This selective area growth was followed by epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO), leading to the formation of hexagonal GaN prisms terminated in smooth, vertical facets. We have been successful in shearing these pyramid structures from the sapphire substrates as individual devices, which do not require any post-growth etching for feature definition. This procedure allows for the dramatic reduction of the process complexity and the duration and expense for GaN growth for device applications. Stimulated emission results on these self-formed optical cavities are also presented.
The Afterlives of an Ideal: Isaiah Berlin on the Romantic Movement

The publication of the second edition of Isaiah Berlin’s The Roots of Romanticism is a welcome event. Berlin’s long (1909–1997) and remarkable life began in Riga in the last years of the Tsarist Em...
Length of stay for patients undergoing invasive electrode monitoring with stereoelectroencephalography and subdural grids correlates positively with increased institutional profitability

SummaryObjective Lowering the length of stay (LOS) is thought to potentially decrease hospital costs and is a metric commonly used to manage capacity. Patients with epilepsy undergoing intracranial electrode monitoring may have longer LOS because the time to seizure is difficult to predict or control. This study investigates the effect of economic implications of increased LOS in patients undergoing invasive electrode monitoring for epilepsy. Methods We retrospectively collected and analyzed patient data for 76 patients who underwent invasive monitoring with either subdural grid (SDG) implantation or stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) over 2 years at our institution. Data points collected included invasive electrode type, LOS, profit margin, contribution margins, insurance type, and complication rates. Results LOS correlated positively with both profit and contribution margins, meaning that as LOS increased, both the profit and contribution margins rose, and there was a low rate of complications in this patient group. This relationship was seen across a variety of insurance providers. Significance These data suggest that LOS may not be the best metric to assess invasive monitoring patients (i.e., SEEG or SDG), and increased LOS does not necessarily equate with lower or negative institutional financial gain. Further research into LOS should focus on specific specialties, as each may differ in terms of financial implications.
The effect of heart rate variability biofeedback training on stress and anxiety: a meta-analysis

Background Some evidence suggests that heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback might be an effective way to treat anxiety and stress symptoms. To examine the effect of HRV biofeedback on symptoms of anxiety and stress, we conducted a meta-analysis of studies extracted from PubMed, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Library. Methods The search identified 24 studies totaling 484 participants who received HRV biofeedback training for stress and anxiety. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis. Results The pre-post within-group effect size (Hedges' g) was 0.81. The between-groups analysis comparing biofeedback to a control condition yielded Hedges' g = 0.83. Moderator analyses revealed that treatment efficacy was not moderated by study year, risk of study bias, percentage of females, number of sessions, or presence of an anxiety disorder. Conclusions HRV biofeedback training is associated with a large reduction in self-reported stress and anxiety. Although more well-controlled studies are needed, this intervention offers a promising approach for treating stress and anxiety with wearable devices.
Three decades of telemedicine in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review across platforms

Abstract Background The use of telemedicine in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) represents some of the earliest technology-enabled interventions in mental health. A review of telemedicine efficacy data in OCD provides a window into the telemental revolution and informs us on the best-supported technology tools in OCD treatment. Methods A PubMed database search of efficacy studies was conducted across telemental health platforms—computerized, internet, mobile, and virtual reality based. Results Eleven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified covering computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), online CBT and virtual reality exposure therapy. Studies included children, adolescents and adults, and represented various levels of clinician involvement (therapist-free, limited or full), as well as non-therapist support (“coach”, technician or parent). Discussion The best-supported modality represents CBT interventions in mild to moderate OCD, delivered over computerized, online or virtual reality platforms. No controlled data were retrieved on non-CBT psychotherapies, psychopharmacology, or mobile interventions. Overall, the hypothesis that adequate care can be delivered with minimal clinician involvement has motivated much research; while this could increase access and diminish cost, it might turn away some providers and patients. Conclusion Several platforms as well as psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological treatments remain untested. Meanwhile, a case can be made for using technology-mediated CBT in mild to moderate OCD, then escalated to interventions with more clinician involvement and a broader evidence base.
Separations Versus Sustainability: There Is No Such Thing As a Free Lunch

Separation operations in chemical processes are generally “uphill” tasks—defying natural tendencies. Historically, such separations have been accomplished by applying generous portions of fossil energy and materials, leaving behind a large environmental footprint. In this chapter, progress in reducing this footprint will be discussed with examples in biofuel production, desalination, and carbon dioxide capture.
Diagnostic Performance of Fully Automated Pixel-Wise Quantitative Myocardial Perfusion Imaging by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance.

Abstract Objectives The authors developed a fully automated framework to quantify myocardial blood flow (MBF) from contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) perfusion imaging and evaluated its diagnostic performance in patients. Background Fully quantitative CMR perfusion pixel maps were previously validated with microsphere MBF measurements and showed potential in clinical applications, but the methods required laborious manual processes and were excessively time-consuming. Methods CMR perfusion imaging was performed on 80 patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) and 17 healthy volunteers. Significant CAD was defined by quantitative coronary angiography (QCA) as ≥70% stenosis. Nonsignificant CAD was defined by: 1) QCA as Results The correlation between automated and manual quantification was excellent (r = 0.96). Stress MBF and MPR in the ischemic zone were lower than those in the remote myocardium in patients with significant CAD (both p Conclusions Fully quantitative CMR MBF pixel maps can be generated automatically, and the results agree well with manual quantification. These methods can discriminate regional perfusion variations and have high diagnostic performance for detecting significant CAD. (Technical Development of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging; NCT00027170)
Chemotherapy of Ependymoma—Childhood

Abstract Ependymomas account for about 10% of all childhood central nervous system tumors. Proper diagnosis and treatment of ependymoma remains a challenge despite significant advances in neuroimaging, radiation therapy, neurosurgery, and molecular biology. The current consensus on therapy is local control using maximal safe surgical resection followed by radiation therapy. Despite intensive study, the efficacy of chemotherapy in ependymoma remains unknown and is currently under investigation in two large up-front clinical trials. Currently, predicting ependymoma behavior is a challenge, in part due to a lack of biologic material, cell lines, and adequate animal models that are used to guide ependymoma research. Recent advancement in molecular biology has led to the identification of molecular subgroups of ependymoma which is now incorporated in the 2016 WHO classification of tumors of the central nervous system. These findings may guide us in developing risk-guided therapy to improve overall survival and decrease unnecessary side effects for patients with ependymomas.
Derivation of the Fine Structure Constant

An alternate interpretation of Quantum Theory is given. The fine structure constant is derived. An experiment is proposed.
The Developmental Perspective of Suicide

In 1981, I wrote: Virtually everyone engaged in suicide research agrees that it is time to move from static, structural, descriptive profiles of self-destructive behaviors to dynamic developmental models. Suicidal lethality (the probability of committing suicide) varies over time and among different types of individuals (and groups). It is argued here that the suicide’s biography or “career” is always relevant to his or her self-destructive reaction to crises and that it is precisely this history, individual or group, which tends to be neglected. (Maris, 1981, p.9)
The Concept of Wavefront-Guided Corneal Surgery

Wavefront technology was original developed for two non-medical applications: (1) to enhance telescopic images by minimising the wavefront distortions that occur as light from a distant star travels through the earth’s turbulent atmosphere, and (2) to track incoming warheads as part of a missile defence program. The human eye is not a perfect optical system, and a flat planar wave of light deviates when it travels through the eye. In 1962, Smirnov [25], an early pioneer in the characterisation of the eye’s higher-order aberrations, suggested that it would be possible with customised lenses to compensate for aberrations in individual eyes. Recently, more rapid and accurate instruments for measuring the ocular aberrations have emerged, and wavefront-guided corneal surgery has become a reality. Deviations of the actual wavefront from an ideal wavefront define aberration. Higher-order aberrations are the aberrations that cannot be corrected by simple spherocylindrical systems, such as spectacles, contact lens or traditional refractive surgery. The Concept of Wavefront-Guided Corneal Surgery
A robust hierarchical solver for ill-conditioned systems with applications to ice sheet modeling

Abstract A hierarchical solver is proposed for solving sparse ill-conditioned linear systems in parallel. The solver is based on a modification of the LoRaSp method, but employs a deferred-compression technique, which provably reduces the approximation error and significantly improves efficiency. Moreover, the deferred-compression technique introduces minimal overhead and does not affect parallelism. As a result, the new solver achieves linear computational complexity under mild assumptions and excellent parallel scalability. To demonstrate the performance of the new solver, we focus on applying it to solve sparse linear systems arising from ice sheet modeling. The strong anisotropic phenomena associated with the thin structure of ice sheets creates serious challenges for existing solvers. To address the anisotropy, we additionally developed a customized partitioning scheme for the solver, which captures the strong-coupling direction accurately. In general, the partitioning can be computed algebraically with existing software packages, and thus the new solver is generalizable for solving other sparse linear systems. Our results show that ice sheet problems of about 300 million degrees of freedom have been solved in just a few minutes using 1024 processors.
The Imposition of Value on Odor: Transient and Persistent Representations of Odor Value in Prefrontal Cortex

The representation of odor in olfactory cortex (piriform) is distributive and unstructured and can only be afforded behavioral significance upon learning. We performed 2-photon imaging to examine the representation of odors in piriform and in two downstream stations, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), as mice learned olfactory associations. In piriform we observed minor changes in neural activity unrelated to learning. In OFC, 30% of the neurons acquired robust responses to conditioned stimuli (CS+) after learning, and these responses were gated by context and internal state. The representation in OFC, however, diminished after learning and persistent representations of CS+ and CS- odors emerged in mPFC. Optogenetic silencing indicates that these two brain structures function sequentially to consolidate the learning of appetitive associations. These data demonstrate the transformation of a representation of odor identity in piriform into transient and persistent representations of value in the prefrontal cortex.
Reflections of an Online Social Work Professor: Illuminating an Alternative Pedagogy

ABSTRACTResearch in distance education has investigated student satisfaction and learning outcomes, comparing face-to-face with online delivery formats, and tested various technological tools, but ...
The Geode Process: Hollow Silica Microcapsules as a High Surface Area Substrate for Semiconductor Nanowire Growth

We introduce and demonstrate critical steps toward the Geode process for the bottom-up synthesis of semiconductor nanowires. Central to the process is the design and fabrication of an unconventiona...
Ultrastructural evidence for glutamatergic dysregulation in schizophrenia

The aim of this paper is to summarize ultrastructural evidence for glutamatergic dysregulation in several linked regions in postmortem schizophrenia brain. Following a brief summary of glutamate circuitry and how synapses are identified at the electron microscopic (EM) level, we will review EM pathology in the cortex and basal ganglia. We will include the effects of antipsychotic drugs and the relation of treatment response. We will discuss how these findings support or confirm other postmortem findings as well as imaging results. Briefly, synaptic and mitochondrial density in anterior cingulate cortex was decreased in schizophrenia, versus normal controls (NCs), in a selective layer specific pattern. In dorsal striatum, increases in excitatory synaptic density were detected in caudate matrix, a compartment associated with cognitive and motor function, and in the putamen patches, a region associated with limbic function and in the core of the nucleus accumbens. Patients who were treatment resistant or untreated had significantly elevated numbers of excitatory synapses in limbic striatal areas in comparison to NCs and responders. Protein levels of vGLUT2, found in subcortical glutamatergic neurons, were increased in the nucleus accumbens in schizophrenia. At the EM level, schizophrenia subjects had an increase in density of excitatory synapses in several areas of the basal ganglia. In the substantia nigra, the protein levels of vGLUT2 were elevated in untreated patients compared to NCs. The density of inhibitory synapses was decreased in schizophrenia versus NCs. In schizophrenia, glutamatergic synapses are differentially affected depending on the brain region, treatment status, and treatment response.