cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evidence-Based Practices for the Active Learning Classroom

Reform movements in undergraduate STEM education call for the implementation of active learning strategies that have received much attention in national reports. Active learning encompasses a range of instructional practices that engage students in learning through activities and/or discussion, as opposed to passively listening to an expert. These practices benefit STEM undergraduates by enhancing their conceptual understandings, their focus on instruction, their critical thinking skills, and their persistence in STEM fields. This chapter defines active learning, describes a conceptualization of active learning practices along a continuum of how challenging they are for instructors to adopt, and provides overviews of common active learning approaches.
Autonomous Cognitive GPR Based on Edge Computing and Reinforcement Learning

Autonomous cognitive ground penetrating radar (ACGPR), carried by drones or other robotic platforms, may perform robust and accurate subsurface object detection and recognition in varying environments based on real-time data processing and decision making. However, limited system computing resources and intelligence generating capability pose significant challenges for the operations of such systems. To address these challenges, in this paper we propose an ACGPR enabled by edge computing (EC) and reinforcement learning. Specifically, an edge computing based system architecture is presented to utilize edge resources for real-time intelligence generation. A reinforcement learning approach is developed as the decision-making model for the ACGPR to adaptively adjust its operational parameters. Simulation results show the accuracy and efficacy of the proposed ACGPR system. The framework also provides insight into the design of autonomous cognitive industrial Internet of things (IoT) supported by edge computing and machine learning.
Waste Containment Ponds Are a Major Source of Secondary Organic Aerosol Precursors from Oil Sands Operations.

The surface mining and bitumen extraction of oil sands (OS) generates over one million barrels of heavy oil each day in the Alberta Oil Sands Region of Canada. Recent observations suggest that emis...
Resting-state functional connectivity in early postanaesthesia recovery is characterised by globally reduced anticorrelations.

Abstract Background A growing body of literature addresses the possible long-term cognitive effects of anaesthetics, but no study has delineated the normal trajectory of neural recovery attributable to anaesthesia alone in adults. We obtained resting-state functional MRI scans on 72 healthy human volunteers between ages 40 and 80 (median: 59) yr before, during, and after general anaesthesia with sevoflurane, in the absence of surgery, as part of a larger study on cognitive function postanaesthesia. Methods Region-of-interest analysis, independent component analysis, and seed-to-voxel analysis were used to characterise resting-state functional connectivity and to differentiate between correlated and anticorrelated connectivity before, during, and after general anaesthesia. Results Whilst positively correlated functional connectivity remained essentially unchanged across these perianaesthetic states, anticorrelated functional connectivity decreased globally by 35% 1 h after emergence from general anaesthesia compared with baseline, as seen by the region-of-interest analysis. This decrease corresponded to a consistent reduction in expression of canonical resting-state networks, as seen by independent component analysis. All measures returned to baseline 1 day later. Conclusions The normal perianaesthesia trajectory of resting-state connectivity in healthy adults is characterised by a transient global reduction in anticorrelated activity shortly after emergence from anaesthesia that returns to baseline by the following day. Clinical trial registration NCT02275026.
Design and Construction of a Foil Winding Permanent Magnet Machine

The design of a permanent magnet machine using foil conductor concentrated windings is presented in this paper. A design procedure, derived from previous work is revised to detail the use of foil armatures in PM machines. The design procedure begins with fixed parameters and proceeds through the magnetic and electrical parameters that define the boundary conditions for the machine. A prototype foil conductor machine is then constructed and presented to highlight the implementation of foil windings, primarily the high fill factor, simple construction, and superior thermal performance.
Establishment of normal reference intervals in dogs using a viscoelastic point-of-care coagulation monitor and its comparison with thromboelastography

BACKGROUND Viscoelastic coagulation devices are a useful adjunct to the evaluation of hemostasis in veterinary patients. VCM Vet is a point-of-care device that is simple in operation and could be used to diagnose and trend hemostatic abnormalities in sick patients. VCM Vet does not use activators. OBJECTIVES We aimed to establish reference intervals (RIs) for VCM Vet in a healthy adult canine population and concurrently perform thromboelastographic (TEG) analysis on these samples with and without tissue factor (TF) activation for RI comparisons. METHODS Duplicate VCM Vet tests were performed immediately upon sample collection. Two concurrent TEG tests were performed on the remaining blood, one citrated, untreated (CU), and one activated with TF at a 1:3600 dilution. RESULTS Fifty-two dogs were enrolled in the study. The following RIs were generated for VCM Vet machine 1 and 2, respectively: clot time (CT) (seconds) 163-480 and 172-457; clot formation time (CFT) (seconds) 104-288 and 94-252, α-angle (degrees) 41-65 and 44-66, and maximum clot firmness (MCF) (no units) 27-43 and 30-46. Moderate to good correlations were observed between the two machines with Lin's concordance correlation coefficients of 0.51-0.9 and a P < 0.002. TEG RIs were similar to previously reported values. CONCLUSIONS VCM Vet RIs were generated. Each VCM Vet device should have a unique RI established due to inter-device variability. Direct correlations of VCM Vet values with TEG parameters were not performed due to the narrow range of the normal values and the need to evaluate patients with a wide range of hemostatic abnormalities.
UAV Swarm Communication Aware Formation Control via Deep Q Network

We propose a DQN based reinforcement learning method in swarm communication constraint based formation control with target searching function. A decentralized communication performance indicator is applied in evaluating the UAV’s formation control in simulating a more realistic wireless communication environment between each UAV. A target searching model based on communication aware formation control is presented. The simulation results show that the trained model with state observation space and one thrust action space could be applied in the larger swarm system’s group formation and target point tracking.
The Optimal Cell Salvage Settings to Maximize Hematocrit and Minimize Potassium Using the Cobe BRAT2 Autologous Blood Recovery Unit.

Objective The objective was to determine the optimal cell saver device settings (infusion rate and wash rate) at which hematocrit is preserved and potassium and lactate are removed from banked red blood cells (RBC). Design Red cells were washed using the Cobe BRAT 2 Autologous Blood Recovery Unit and sampled for electrolyte composition and hematocrit pre- and postwash. Setting This was a single-center study. Interventions Red cells were washed using six infusion rates (100-1,000 mL/min) and six wash rates (100-1,000 mL/min) for a total of 36 combinations. Hematocrit, potassium, glucose, and lactate were evaluated before and after washing. Measurements and Main Results At wash rates ≤400 mL/min, hematocrit increased independent of infusion rate. At wash rates ≥400 mL/min, slower infusion rates were associated with higher hematocrit compared to faster infusion rates (p Conclusion Red-cell washing produces higher hematocrit and lower potassium as infusion rate and wash rate decrease. A 340-mL unit of RBC can be processed in 4.26 minutes without loss of hematocrit or an increase in potassium when both infusion and wash rates are set to 400 mL/min.
Ultrasound Guidance of Procedures

Ultrasound guidance of percutaneous procedures offers a level of accuracy and safety beyond what is obtainable with landmark-guided injections, in which no imaging is used. Improvements in ultrasound technology have allowed greater detail in imaging anatomic structures, which has in turn enhanced the ability to visualize pathology and to select appropriate treatment. A greater level of patient safety can be obtained by using ultrasound guidance, when combined with a detailed knowledge of sonographic anatomy. Regional nerve blocks for percutaneous procedures are especially helpful when sensitive areas are involved, such as the palmar hand and plantar foot, and these can be easily performed with ultrasound guidance. Efficacy studies comparing ultrasound-guided to landmark-guided injections show variable results, but these studies are difficult to interpret, as efficacy is influenced by injection accuracy, diagnostic accuracy, and whether the type of injection used is appropriate for the condition being treated. This chapter also presents techniques for a variety of ultrasound-guided injections.
FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SPEECH GENRE "READER’S RESPONSE"

Общее направление данной статьи связано с проблемой эффективности практического употребления языка в сфере массовой коммуникации. Ориентированность современной лингвистики на изучение функционального аспекта текста и языка позволяет рассматривать коммуникативно-речевые процессы в речевых жанрах, что обуславливает актуальность статьи. Цель статьи – представить речевой жанр «читательский отклик» как целостное законченное произведение. Основной задачей статьи является выявление общей коммуникативной целеустановки речевого жанра «читательский отклик» и описание инстуциональных условий его функционирования, а именно функционального стиля, обеспечивающего выход содержания произведения в реальные условия коммуникации.
Placental metastasis from maternal carcinoma. A report of three cases

Metastasis of a maternal neoplasm to the products of conception is extremely rare. Of the 54 reported cases in the world literature, only 14 (25%) showed fetal metastasis. More than 50% of the reported cases were not examined grossly or had no visually apparent tumor deposits. Malignant melanoma is the most common malignant maternal neoplasm to metastasize to the products of conception. We report three unusual maternal malignant neoplasms (one pancreatic and two breast cancer) with evidence of placental metastasis and discuss the risk factors for fetal involvement in these cases.
Peptidergic Regulation of Striatal Dopamine Transporter Complex

ABSTRACT Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) is one of the many peptides that are endogenous to the striatum. Exogenous TRH modulates a variety of dopamine (DA)-ergic functions including upregulation of striatal DA-transporter; this upregulation, however, is caused not by TRH but its metabolite CHP, another peptide endogenous to striatum. These observations strongly suggest a need to investigate the role of other endogenous peptides in the physiology of DAergic neuron.
Semi-analytical solution to the frequency-dependent Boltzmann transport equation for cross-plane heat conduction in thin films

Cross-plane heat transport in thin films with thicknesses comparable to the phonon mean free paths is of both fundamental and practical interest for applications such as light-emitting diodes and quantum well lasers. However, physical insight is difficult to obtain for the cross-plane geometry due to the challenge of solving the Boltzmann equation in a finite domain. Here, we present a semi-analytical series expansion method to solve the transient, frequency-dependent Boltzmann transport equation that is valid from the diffusive to ballistic transport regimes and rigorously includes the frequency-dependence of phonon properties. Further, our method is more than three orders of magnitude faster than prior numerical methods and provides a simple analytical expression for the thermal conductivity as a function of film thickness. Our result enables a straightforward physical understanding of cross-plane heat conduction in thin films.
Prokaryotic gene identification in silico

This review covers major lines of development of the gene finding methods for prokaryotic genomes in the last two decades. We describe general ideas behind the algorithms using statistical pattern recognition and dynamic programming, as well as evolutionary relationships between genes and proteins. Keywords: gene recognition; gene finding in bacterial and archaeal genomes; gene prediction in prokaryotes
The Biology of Possession: A Brief Response to Barros

In Human Behavior, Evolution, and the Law: The Case of the Biology of Possession, D. Benjamin Barros criticizes my 2004 article, The property ‘instinct’. I disagree with his argument and his characterization of my argument, as well as his conclusions. In this four-paragraph comment, I respond to his argument that prior possession differs from current possession and attempt to clarify my position on two of the points I made in my article.
On the reasoning in fuzzy logic control and fuzzy expert systems

The authors analyze the axiomatic propositions of the Mamdani method used in fuzzy logic control, and the logical method used in fuzzy expert systems. By relaxing these propositions using the concept of S-OWA operators, soft forms of these two methods are proposed. The Mamdani method and the logical method are considered as two extreme cases of a more powerful compromise type of fuzzy reasoning. >
Detection and measurement of surface contamination by multiple antineoplastic drugs using multiplex bead assay

ObjectivesContamination of workplace surfaces by antineoplastic drugs presents an exposure risk for healthcare workers. Traditional instrumental methods to detect contamination such as liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) are sensitive and accurate but expensive. Since immunochemical methods may be cheaper and faster than instrumental methods, we wanted to explore their use for routine drug residue detection for preventing worker exposure.MethodsIn this study we examined the feasibility of using fluorescence covalent microbead immunosorbent assay (FCMIA) for simultaneous detection and semi-quantitative measurement of three antineoplastic drugs (5-fluorouracil, paclitaxel, and doxorubicin). The concentration ranges for the assay were 0–1000 ng/ml for 5-fluorouracil, 0–100 ng/ml for paclitaxel, and 0–2 ng/ml for doxorubicin. The surface sampling technique involved wiping a loaded surface with a swab wetted with wash buffer, extracting the swab in storage/blocking buffer, and ...
Distributed Generation and Storage Optimal Control With State Estimation

The increasing demand coupled with expanding installation of distributed resources call for the development of smart technologies to control and optimize distribution system operations. In this paper, a distributed generation and storage optimization algorithm is proposed using pricing signals as distribution locational marginal pricing (DLMP). This signal is used to optimize the day-ahead operation planning of distributed generation and energy storage. A distribution level state estimation algorithm is also designed. The main conclusion is that the proposed optimal control and state estimation will improve the energy efficiency and economic benefits in a digitally controlled distribution power system.
A class of risk processes with delayed claims: ruin probability estimates under heavy tail conditions

We consider a class of risk processes with delayed claims, and we provide ruin probability estimates under heavy tail conditions on the claim size distribution. Keywords : Extreme value theory; Poisson process; regular variation; renewal process; ruin probability; shot noise process; subexponential distribution.
Transfer RNA methylase activity and polyamine concentrations in regenerating rat liver.

Abstract The specific activity and tRNA methylating capacity of liver tRNA methylases were shown to remain constant during rat liver regeneration from 30 min through 7 days. During this identical time period there was a steady enhancement in the polyamine content of the same liver samples, reaching a 3-fold increase by the third day. These data suggest that polyamines, known in vitro stimulators of the tRNA methylases, are not involved in the in vivo regulation of the tRNA methylases.
Domain decomposition splittings

Abstract Domain decomposition splittings have the form A=B−C , where B has a nonzero arrow pattern. By using Schur complement one can study these splittings for both the symmetric positive-definite (SPD) and the M-matrix cases. Convergence results and some comparison results will be given.
Calcium-Promoted Protein Phosphorylation in Plants

Phosphorylation of several polypeptides in corn coleoptiles was promoted by adding calcium. Chlorpromazine, a calmodulin inhibitor, reduced calcium-promoted phosphorylation, suggesting that the phosphorylation was modulated by calmodulin. This is evidence for the role of calcium in protein phosphorylation in plants and could serve as an experimental approach to understanding the molecular mechanism by which calcium modulates various physiological processes in plants.
Numerical simulation of experimental data from planar SIS mixers with integrated tuning elements

The authors used the full Tucker theory including the quantum susceptance to fit data from planar lithographed millimeter-wave mixers with bow-tie antennas and integrated RF coupling elements. Essentially perfect fits to pumped I-V (current-voltage) curves have been obtained. The deduced imbedding admittances agree well with those dependently calculated from the geometry of the antenna and matching structures. It is found that the quantum susceptance is essential to the fit and thus to predictions of the mixer performance. For junctions with moderately sharp gap structures, the quantum susceptance is especially important in the production of steps with low and/or negative dynamic conductance. >
Experimental and Computational Study of the Shearing Resistance of Polyurea at High Pressures and High Strain Rates

Mechanical response of polyurea, a nanophase segregated elastomeric co-polymer, is investigated using all-atom, equilibrium, molecular-dynamics methods and tools. Specifically, the effects of high pressure (1-30 GPa) and high strain rate (105-106 s−1) on the shearing resistance of polyurea are examined. Such loading conditions are encountered by polyurea coatings subjected to impact by high-velocity projectiles, shell shrapnel, and improvised explosive device fragments. Computed results are compared with their experimental counterparts obtained using the so-called pressure-shear plate impact experiments. Computed results have also been rationalized in terms of the nanosegregated polyurea microstructure consisting of rod-shaped, discrete, the so-called hard domains embedded in a highly compliant, the so-called soft matrix. By analyzing molecular-level microstructure and its evolution during high-rate deformation and under high imposed pressures, an attempt is made to identify and quantify main phenomena in viscous/inelastic deformation and microstructure-reorganization processes that are most likely responsible for the observed mechanical response of polyurea.
Computed tomography of x-ray images using neural networks

Traditional CT reconstruction is done using the technique of Filtered Backprojection. While this technique is widely employed in industrial and medical applications, it is not generally understood that FB has a fundamental flaw. Gibbs phenomena states any Fourier reconstruction will produce errors in the vicinity of all discontinuities, and that the error will equal 28 percent of the discontinuity. A number of years back, one of the authors proposed a biological perception model whereby biological neural networks perceive 3D images from stereo vision. The perception model proports an internal hard-wired neural network which emulates the external physical process. A process is repeated whereby erroneous unknown internal values are used to generate an emulated signal with is compared to external sensed data, generating an error signal. Feedback from the error signal is then sued to update the erroneous internal values. The process is repeated until the error signal no longer decrease. It was soon realized that the same method could be used to obtain CT from x-rays without having to do Fourier transforms. Neural networks have the additional potential for handling non-linearities and missing data. The technique has been applied to some coral images, collected at the Los Alamos high-energy x-ray facility. The initial images show considerable promise, in some instances showing more detail than the FB images obtained from the same data. Although routine production using this new method would require a massively parallel computer, the method shows promise, especially where refined detail is required.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Repetitive Mild Non-Contusive Brain Trauma in Immature Rats Exacerbates Traumatic Axonal Injury and Axonal Calpain Activation: A Preliminary Report

Infants who experience inflicted brain injury (shaken-impact syndrome) present with subdural hematoma, brain atrophy, and ventriculomegaly, pathologic features that are suggestive of multiple incidences of brain trauma. To develop a clinically relevant model of inflicted brain injury in infants, the skulls of anesthetized 11-day-old rat pups were subjected to one, two, or three successive mild impacts. While skull fractures were not observed, a single impact to the intact skull resulted in petechial hemorrhages in the subcortical white matter, and double or triple impacts led to hemorrhagic tissue tears at 1 day postinjury. Whereas the singly impacted brain did not exhibit overt damage at 7 days, two impacts resulted in an enlarged ventricle and white matter atrophy; three impacts to the brain led to similar pathology albeit at 3 days postinjury. By 7 days, cortical atrophy was observed following three impacts. Reactive astrocytes were visible in the deep cortical layers below the impact site after two impacts, and through all cortical layers after three impacts. Swellings were observed in intact axons in multiple white matter tracts at 1 day following single impact and progressed to axonal disconnections by 3 days. In contrast, double or triple impacts resulted in axonal disconnections by 1 day postinjury; in addition, three impacts led to extensive axonal injury in the dorsolateral thalamus by 3 days. Calpain activation was observed in axons in subcortical white matter tracts in all brain-injured animals at 1 day and increased with the number of impacts. Despite these pathologic alterations, neither one nor two impacts led to acquisition deficits on the Morris water maze. While indicative of the graded nature of the pathologic response, these data suggest that repetitive mild brain injury in the immature rat results in pathologic features similar to those following inflicted brain injuries in infants.
A note on the self-pulsing instability of a single mode laser

Abstract An expression for the critical value of the pumping parameter at which the lasing steady-state has a hard mode instability is obtained from the Heisenberg equations of the system into which the damping and pumping are introduced phenomenologically.
SU-FF-T-566: A Method to Achieve Protocol Dosimetry for Thoracic Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy with a Traditional Linear Accelerator and Widely Available Treatment Planning System

Purpose: We present a systematic way to achieve protocol dosimetry objectives (RTOG 0236, 0618, and 0813) for lung stereotactic body radiation therapy using a traditional linear accelerator and a widely available treatment planning system. Method and Materials: Thirteen patients with non‐operable, non‐small cell lungcancer were planned using Pinnacle 8.0 (Philips Medical Systems, Fitchberg, WI). Treatments were delivered on an Elekta Synergy with 1 cm leaves and planned with a 3D non‐coplanar technique utilizing beam weight optimization.Results: Our work shows that objectives in the RTOG protocols can be met using a standard linac with 3D planning. In all 13 cases, 95% of the PTV received the prescribed dose and 99% of the PTV received 90% of the prescribed dose. The average ratio of the 100% isodose volume to the PTV volume was 1.10 (objective of <1.2) and the average of the 50% isodose volume to the PTV volume was 3.51 (average of 0.82 lower than objective). The average dose more then 2 cm away from the PTV was 23.2Gy (average of 3.8Gy less then objective). The percentage of lung receiving 20Gy was 3.2% (objective of <10%). Conclusion: Protocol specified dosimetry can be achieved using widely available treatment planning software and treatment delivery systems.
Coping resources in individuals with aphasia

Laures-Gore, Hammilton, and Matheny (2007) found that individuals with aphasia (IWA) have greater perceived stress and fewer perceived coping resources to deal with stressors than healthy controls. The present study further explores this finding by examining which coping resources are most affected in IWA. The perceived coping resources of confidence, social support, financial freedom, stress monitoring, tension control, and acceptance in IWA were compared to right brain damage and healthy individuals. IWA differed from these groups in the areas of perceived confidence, stress monitoring, tension control, and acceptance. Clinical implications are discussed.
Proximate and ultimate causes of reproductive suppression among female yellow baboons at Mikumi National Park, Tanzania.

Attack coalitions, whereby two or more individuals attack another animal simultaneously, were studied in 53 sexually mature female baboons from one small and two large troops at Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. For 14 months, three observers recorded coalition behavior throughout the day, using focal group sampling on a behavior-dependent basis. Coalition rates were considerably greater in the two large troops than in the small troop, and primarily involved natal females rather than males. Coalition frequencies corresponded closely to measures of reproductive synchrony, both within and between troops. Involvement in attack coalition behavior depended on the reproductive states and ranks of both attackers and recipients. The first few females to give birth in the cohort received particularly high amounts of coalition aggression just before and immediately after giving birth. Receipt of attack coalitions was significantly associated with an increased number of cycles to conception and longer interbirth intervals, as well spontaneous abortion, premature birth, and prolonged gestation. A parallel study on survivorship patterns of immature baboons at Mikumi provided evidence for ultimate cause of the observed coalition patterns. These combined results suggest that attack coalition behavior is a form of reproductive competition whereby females attempt to suppress the reproduction of others at predictably competitive times and thereby reduce the competition their own infants face from the time they are weaned.
Discrimination in mortgage lending: The impact on minority defaults in the Stafford Loan program

Abstract One troubling finding of researchers analyzing the Stafford Loan program is the high incidence of default among African-Americans. Moreover, other studies have shown that blacks are often discriminated against in obtaining home mortgage loans. Typically, borrowing and repayment decisions within the sectors of the credit market are analyzed in isolation. This paper, however, links the default decision in the student loan market to borrowing expectations in the mortgage home loan market. Given that the primary cost of not repaying one's educational loan is a damaged credit record, for those students who expect to be discriminated against in the credit market following their schooling, this cost is ineffective. This paper reveals that African-American student loan borrowers have made an economically rational decision when they choose to default on their educational loans because they foresee themselves to be excluded from obtaining home mortgage loans whether they repay their student loans or not.
Dictionary reduction technique for 3D stepped-frequency GPR imaging using compressive sensing and the FFT

Compressive sensing (CS) techniques have shown promise for subsurface imaging applications using wideband sensors such as stepped-frequency ground-penetrating radars (GPR). Excellent images can be computed using the CS techniques. However, the problem size is severely limited for 3-dimensional imaging problems which seem to require an explicit representation matrix that involves six dimensions. This paper shows how the underlying propagation model leads to a block-Toeplitz structure in two of the dimensions which can be exploited to reduce both the storage and computational complexity. The reduction by three orders of magnitude in computational resources for the CS problem will make 3-dimensional imaging applications feasible.
The high strain rate superplastic deformation mechanisms of mechanically alloyed aluminum IN90211

Abstract The tensile behavior of mechanically alloyed (dispersion strengthened) IN90211 was investigated at strain rates between 0.0001 and 340 s−1 at temperatures between 425 and 475 °C. At strain rates above 0.1 s−1, superplastic elongations were obtained (maximum elongation of 525% at 475 °C and 2.5 s−1). Superplastic elongations were found to result from grain boundary sliding. The data were analyzed assuming that a threshold stress resists dislocation motion. The threshold stresses were obtained assuming n = 2 (grain boundary sliding) or n = 3 (solute drag) for the stress exponent. Both assumptions provided equally credible values for a temperature-dependent threshold stress between 1% and 20% of the Orowan looping stress. The n = 3 threshold stresses agreed with load relaxation data, but the n = 2 values corresponded to the lower limit of the superplastic deformation regime, as indicated by creep tests at lower strain rates. Based upon the threshold stress theories in the literature, the threshold stresses are suggested to arise from a combination of local and general climb of lattice dislocations over particles. Consideration of the activation energies, details of flow behavior, and stress relaxation experiments provided strong evidence for the n = 3 solute drag mechanism to be the rate-limiting process in the superplastic deformation regime.
Analyze multivariate phenotypes in genetic association studies by combining univariate association tests

Multivariate phenotypes are frequently encountered in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Such phenotypes contain more information than univariate phenotypes, but how to best exploit the information to increase the chance of detecting genetic variant of pleiotropic effect is not always clear. Moreover, when multivariate phenotypes contain a mixture of quantitative and qualitative measures, limited methods are applicable. In this paper, we first evaluated the approach originally proposed by O'Brien and by Wei and Johnson that combines the univariate test statistics and then we proposed two extensions to that approach. The original and proposed approaches are applicable to a multivariate phenotype containing any type of components including continuous, categorical and survival phenotypes, and applicable to samples consisting of families or unrelated samples. Simulation results suggested that all methods had valid type I error rates. Our extensions had a better power than O'Brien's method with heterogeneous means among univariate test statistics, but were less powerful than O'Brien's with homogeneous means among individual test statistics. All approaches have shown considerable increase in power compared to testing each component of a multivariate phenotype individually in some cases. We apply all the methods to GWAS of serum uric acid levels and gout with 550,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms in the Framingham Heart Study.
Left ventricular assist device effects on metabolic substrates in the failing heart.

Background Heart failure patients have inadequate nutritional intake and alterations in metabolism contributing to an overall energy depleted state. Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) support is a common and successful intervention in patients with end-stage heart failure. LVAD support leads to alterations in cardiac output, functional status, neurohormonal activity and transcriptional profiles but the effects of LVADs on myocardial metabolism are unknown. This study set out to measure cardiac metabolites in non-failing hearts, failing hearts, and hearts post-LVAD support.
Strategic Reading, Ontologies, and the Future of Scientific Publishing

The revolution in scientific publishing that has been promised since the 1980s is about to take place. Scientists have always read strategically, working with many articles simultaneously to search, filter, scan, link, annotate, and analyze fragments of content. An observed recent increase in strategic reading in the online environment will soon be further intensified by two current trends: (i) the widespread use of digital indexing, retrieval, and navigation resources and (ii) the emergence within many scientific disciplines of interoperable ontologies. Accelerated and enhanced by reading tools that take advantage of ontologies, reading practices will become even more rapid and indirect, transforming the ways in which scientists engage the literature and shaping the evolution of scientific publishing.
The feasibility of using histologic placental sections to predict newborn nucleated red blood cell counts.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To determine the feasibility of using calculated nucleated red blood cell (RBC) counts from histologic placental slides to predict newborn nucleated RBC counts. METHODS: This retrospective study compared absolute nucleated RBC counts from 24 newborns, diagnosed with fetal distress in labor, with counts calculated from their histologic placental slides. A simple linear regression model was tested with newborn nucleated RBC counts as the dependent variable and calculated placental nucleated RBC counts as the independent variable. RESULTS: The mean ± standard deviation newborn nucleated RBC count was 4.81 × 109 ± 5.46 × 109/L compared with 1.37 × 109 ± 1.78 × 109/L calculated from placental sections. These data were normalized by logarithmic transformation. A significant linear regression was obtained, r2 = 0.74, P CONCLUSION: It is feasible to calculate nucleated RBC counts from histologic slides of the placenta that are predictive of newborn nucleated RBC counts. Further work on more homogeneous groups of subjects is necessary to increase the precision of the method. The placenta could serve as a surrogate source for newborn whole blood nucleated RBC counts around the time of birth.
Adults with dyslexia: theta power changes during performance of a sequential motor task

Performance deficits during cerebellar intensive motor tasks maybe reflected by discrepant theta activity in the cerebral cortex. The present experiment examined the relationship between performance on a novel motor task and theta activity in adults with developmental dyslexia (DD) and an age- and IQ-matched control group (CG). Time-locked tonic and phasic lower and upper theta measures were derived and separate event-related theta band power (ERBP) scores were calculated for each of three experimental trials. The DD made significantly more errors than CG during Trials 1 and 2 of the motor task. Tonic theta did not differ between groups; however, the DD group displayed a significant decrease in ERBP across all trials and sites, specifically in central and parietal regions during Trial 3. No significant behavioral or physiological evidence supported the notion of conscious compensation (CC). Rather, deficient task performance in the DD group was associated with a general inability to recruit sufficient working memory processes.
GENERATION OF C60C60 NANOPARTICLE AEROSOL IN HIGH MASS CONCENTRATIONS

Abstract The generation of nanoparticles at concentrations sufficient to perform toxicology studies is highly challenging. The vaporization/condensation technique has successfully been used previously to generate nanoparticle aerosol. However, the maximum mass concentrations generated were low ( ∼ 0.180 μ g / L ) , and the generation method produced aerosol having a mixed chemical composition. In this study, a new, dynamically operated, nanoparticle generation system has been developed that generates nanoparticles having a count median diameter of 40–60 nm and continuously delivers a mass concentration as high as 2 μ g / L at the nose exposure port of a nose only exposure system. This system generated nanoparticles by using an inline tube furnace for flash vaporizing micron-sized particles fed continuously from an aerosol generator. This paper describes both the experiments and the operating conditions used for generating nanoparticles to demonstrate the system's capability and the methods used for physicochemical characterization of the resulting nanoparticles.
The Systems Concept in Generating High-Voltage Impulses

The interaction of the measuring system with an impulse -generating system is analyzed. The analysis shows that impulses of simple form cannot be obtained because of the generator impedance. The distortion of the impulse has significant effects on the measurement.
Selection for Forage Yield and Composition on the Wisconsin Quality Synthetic Maize Population

Wisconsin Quality Synthetic (WQS) is a maize population that has undergone four cycles of S 2 -topcross selection for increased silage yield and feed quality. This study evaluated forage yield and quality for each cycle of WQS per se as well as testcrosses to two Stiff Stalk-type testers. Linear improvement was seen in whole-plant yield, stover yield, and whole-plant quality both in the population per se and in testcrosses. Stover quality has not improved through selection. Starch content has increased while crude protein has decreased. Milk yields on a Mg dry matter and hectare basis have increased with selection. Changes in silage dry matter yield have been greater on a percent basis than changes in silage quality, suggesting that the current selection protocol of selecting S 2 -top-crosses first for yield then for quality may be more efficient at improving yield than quality. Selection directly focused on stover quality may be necessary if more rapid improvement in stover composition is desired.
Obstacle Detection and Avoidance Using Wavefront Planner and Kinect on a WMRA

Obstacle avoidance in autonomous navigation platforms is a well known problem that can be solved in numerous ways. This paper considers and analyzes the use of wavefront planner as an obstacle avoidance algorithm for a 9-DoF wheelchair-mounted robotic arm (WMRA) [1]. It also presents a suitable solution for obstacle detection using the OpenNI driver for interfacing with Microsoft’s Kinect. It further analyzes the capabilities of an autonomous operation of the WMRA and explains how this algorithm can be implemented into its navigation control. The results of this project showed that the Kinect can provide a very accurate representation of the surroundings. The wavefront planner can use this data to find a path from a start position to a goal without running into an obstacle.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Penicillin Inhibitor from Staphylococci which have developed Resistance to Penicillin in the Human Body.

SummaryStrains of staphylococci which have developed resistance to penicillin in the human body yield an inhibitor for penicillin. Penicillin inhibitor was not present in 4 strains which had been made highly resistant by exposure in vitro. Resistance developed in vivo was found, among the strains tested, to be a more permanent characteristic of staphylococci than that acquired in vitro.
An Exploratory Study of Animal-Assisted Interventions Utilized by Mental Health Professionals

This study implemented an exploratory analysis to examine how a sample of mental health professionals incorporates specific animal-assisted techniques into the therapeutic process. An extensive review of literature related to animal-assisted therapy (AAT) resulted in the identification of 18 techniques and 10 intentions for the practice of AAT in mental health. The techniques and intentions, along with demographic queries, were formulated into survey items and distributed to mental health professionals who integrate AAT into their practice. The frequency of use of the AAT techniques by survey participants (n = 31) is reported; furthermore, each of the 18 techniques is matched with the frequency of intention for use of the technique.
Metals contamination in high and medium current implanters

As+, 80 keV implants at specification beam currents were conducted on both the Varian E1000 and E220/E500 implanters to study metals contamination. The E1000 was configured with a silicon coated disc and spill-over cup and a newly designed low particulate acceleration column, with a graphite entrance collimator and a graphite exit electrode. The E220/E500 was configured with a metals reduction kit and, in one implant, with an experimental silicon coated acceleration tube. TXRF and SIMS measurements were performed on the implanted wafers. A TRIM based approximation was developed to analyze the aluminum contamination of 132 ppm, all of which was non-energetic. On the E220.2500 with the metals reduction kit the value was 91 ppm, with some energetic contribution. When the experimental silicon coated electrode acceleration tube was studied the energetic contribution was eliminated. TXRF measurements for Ti, Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn indicated little or no added contribution from these metals for both implanter types as compared to an unimplanted reference wafer.
Use of a municipal environmental quality index for understanding and management of aquatic habitats and fish populations

This study describes the use of a technique developed to assess environmental quality in a municipality. The Environmental Quality Index (EQI) is a tool that can aid land-use planning, permitting a maximum understanding of the implications for the ecology of an area. A matrix shows the status of each of a series of environmental parameters at each time that an EQI is formulated. Time series analysis is used to quantify environmental impacts on a discrete community's ecosystem: this process allows the graphing of the dynamics of a changing natural resource. Thus, correlation of abiotic changes can be made with changes in biota: for instance, a correlation between proximity to effluents from sewage treatment plants and fish and aquatic plant species diversity is useful information in the managcrnent of fishery resources. Similarly, knowledge of the rate of shift from lotic to lentic waters, due to increased impounding, and its relationship to aquatic plant species diversity is important for land-use planners who are sensitive to environmental considerations. Decisions made with environmental preservation in mind will help to maintain high quality aquatic habitats.
The Socioeconomic Status of Women and Patterns of Forcible Rape for Major U.S. Cities

Abstract Despite the popularity of feminist argumenta identifying the disadvantaged socioeconomic status of women as a root cause of the female rape problem, these hypotheses have received very little empirical attention, and existing studies exhibit a variety of theoretical and methodological shortcomings. This investigation avoids many of these difficulties and examines the relationship between female rape rates and multiple dimensions of women's absolute and relative (to men) socioeconomic status for U.S. cities for 1930 an. 1990. Yearly cross-sectional and 1980 to 1990 change analyses provide evidence that one dimension of women's status—income level—is a significant contributor to rape. The remaining two status dimensions (educational and occupational attainment) considered do not have the predicted effects. Recommendations are made to extend the analysis to the year 2000 to determine if the generally improved income position that women have experienced so far in the 1990s will be accompanied by a re...
Perianal Bowen's disease: associated tumors, human papillomavirus, surgery, and other controversies.

BACKGROUND: Perianal Bowen's disease (BD) is an intraepithelial nonkeratinizing carcinoma, associated historically with internal tumors. METHODS: A review of patients with perianal BD presenting consecutively during a 25-year span was undertaken, excluding Bowenoid papulosis and contiguous genital BD. Histologic slides were resubmitted for review by an experienced pathologist, in a “blind” fashion among other slides. Follow-up was updated in every patient. Survival and recurrence curves were generated by the Kaplan-Meier method and were compared with a normal age-matched population (log-rank test). RESULTS: Nineteen patients were identified; 15 of them were females. Mean age±standard deviation was 49.6±10.6 years. Five patients had a coincidental diagnosis (hemorrhoidectomy or wart excision). No associated carcinomas were found; however, eight patients had isolated BD of the vulva. Eleven patients had a history of anal warts, cervical/vulvar dysplasia, or both. Wide resection, including V-Y flaps, was performed in 18 patients without dysfunction. One-year and five-year recurrence was 16 and 31 percent. Recurrence was treated in all but one case by wider resection. Mean follow-up was 8.4 years. Five-year survival was 75 percent, lower than the matched population (P=0.001); however, only one death was related to BD. CONCLUSIONS: Perianal BD has no association with internal tumors. Despite a high rate of recurrence, perianal BD can be treated by local excision. An increased rate of human papilloma virus-related entities was found, which could suggest a causative role.
IMPLICATIONS OF INTERNET TECHNOLOGY FOR MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM

Internet technology is changing the way individuals gather information, interact with others, and organize their time. This technology has implications for research in medical sociology in the new ...
Direct synthesis of β-d-Xyl-(1→2)-β-d-Man-(1→4)-α-d-Glc-OME: a trisaccharide component of the Hyriopsis schlegelii glycosphingolipid

Abstract A synthesis of the target trisaccharide is described in which the key β-mannosylation is achieved in high yield and selectivity through reaction of the sulfoxide 7 with acceptor 8 , mediated with triflic anhydride. The β-xylosylation was best conducted using tribenzoyl xylopyranosyl bromide and silver triflate.