cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multiple molecular approaches yield no evidence for sex-determining genes in lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)

Summary Common DNA-based sexing assays have been widely used for the conservation and management of mammals and birds. However, many fishes do not have genetic sex determination and in those that do, the plasticity of the genes involved means that species-specific assays are normally required. Such DNAsexing markers would be especially valuable in lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) because of their sexual monomorphism, delayed sexual maturity, and conservation status. We tried to identify genetic differences between male and female lake sturgeon using several different molecular genetic methods, including randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, representational difference analyses, subtractive hybridization, and a candidate gene approach. Ultimately, a number of genes were identified but none was sex-specific. Although the ultimate mechanism of sex determination is yet unknown, it is possible that sex determination is environmental in lake sturgeon, especially since recent studies have also failed to identify sex determination genes in other sturgeon species.
Foraging, prey capture, and gut contents of the mesopelagic narcomedusa Solmissus spp. (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa)

Narcomedusae are the most common group of medusae in the mesopelagic depths of Monterey Bay, California. Numerous capture events of various prey taxa were recorded in situ and analyzed using the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's remotely operated vehicle "Ventana". In situ video analysis of the stomach contents of 82 Solmissus incisa and S. marshalli revealed 88 identifiable prey items. Most (88%) were gelatinous animals. Of these gelatinous prey, 60.3% were ctenophores, 20.5% were cnidarians, 12.8% were salps, 3.8% were chaetognaths, and 2.6% were polychaetes. Euphausiids accounted for 11.4% of the diet, but they were probably captured adventitiously, as the gut contents of ctenophore prey. The tentacle-first foraging behavior of the narcomedusae is an effective way to capture large, comparatively fast-moving prey, because the fluid disturbance caused by swimming is decoupled from the area of prey capture. This behavior contrasts with the prevailing models of feeding behavior in medusae. Stealth predation may be the dominant mode of capturing prey by medusae in the mesopelagic depths of the oceans.
The Stone Clinic Effect in Patients With Idiopathic Calcium Urolithiasis

AbstractThe “stone clinic effect” refers to the effect of encouraging a high intake of fluid and avoiding dietary excesses on stone formation and growth in patients with urolithiasis. To determine the extent of this effect we reviewed the clinical courses of 108 patients with idiopathic calcium urolithiasis and indeterminant metabolic activity. There was no evidence of stone growth or new stone formation (metabolic inactivity) after a mean followup of 62.6 months in 63 of the 108 patients (58.3 per cent), including 12 of 17 (70.6 per cent) with hypercalciuria and 7 of 15 (46.7 per cent) with hyperuricosuria. Comparison of initial and followup 24-hour urine volumes demonstrated a significant increase in patients who were metabolically inactive at followup (p less than 0.0005), while no increase was detected in patients who were metabolically active at followup. We recommend that specific drug therapy should not be given to patients with idiopathic calcium urolithiasis until the stone clinic effect has been...
Trust-Based Design and Check of FPGA Circuits Using Two-Level Randomized ECC Structures

A novel trust-based design method for FPGA circuits that uses error-correcting code (ECC) structures for detecting design tampers (changes, deletion of existing logic, and addition of extradesign logic-like Trojans) is proposed in this article. We determine ECC-based CLB (configuration logic block) parity groups and embed the check CLBs for each parity group in the FPGA circuit. During a trust-checking phase, a Test-Pattern Generator (TPG) and an Output Response Analyzer (ORA), configured in the FPGA, are used to check that each parity group of CLB outputs produce the expected parities. We use two levels of randomization to thwart attempts by an adversary to discover the parity groups and inject tampers that mask each other, or to tamper with the TPG and ORA so that design tampers remain undetected: (a) randomization of the mapping of the ECC parity groups to the CLB array; (b) randomization within each parity group of odd and even parities for different input combinations (classically, all ECC parity groups have even parities across all inputs). These randomizations along with the error-detecting property of the underlying ECC lead to design tampers being uncovered with very high probabilities, as we show both analytically and empirically. We also classify different CLB function structures and impose a parity group selection in which only similarly structured functions are randomly selected to be in the same parity group in order to minimize check function complexity. Using the 2D code as our underlying ECC and its 2-level randomization, our experiments with inserting 1-10 circuit CLB tampers and 1-5 extraneous logic CLBs in two medium-size circuits and a RISC processor circuit implemented on a Xilinx Spartan-3 FPGA show promising results of 100% tamper detection and 0% false alarms, obtained at a hardware overhead of only 7-10%.
Internal hemipelvectomy for the management of pelvic sarcomas.

Bone and soft-tissue sarcomas that arise in the pelvis are difficult to treat [1–31]. Tumors can be large and destructive before discovery, and they often involve vessels and nerves [1–7,21,32,33]. Achieving a wide or even a marginal surgical resection margin may be technically complex at times [34,35]. The adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy are almost as difficult for patients as the extensive surgery, and a prolonged period of rehabilitation often is required [4,5,7,15,22,24,31,36–41]. The complication rate for the surgery is high, with excessive bleeding and infection as the most common problems. Bowel and bladder malfunction, requirements for vascular grafts, and especially issues related to skin closure often cause extraordinary difficulties for the patient and the care-taking team [1–4,11,15,21,24,26,30–32,36,42–44]. The outcomes as far as success of the surgery and patient survival are almost never as good as for similar pathologic lesions of the thigh, scapular, or arm regions or the more distal parts of the body [6,16,20,21,31,45,46]. Historically, patients with pelvic tumors were treated with hemipelvectomies. These operations not only were fraught with complications but also in most cases represented physical, functional, and psychological problems for the patients [47–54]. Several studies have described the difficulties patients have with such a procedure, and there is little doubt that regardless of the problems associated with the internal hemipelvectomies and reconstructions, such procedures are preferred to total limb ablation [51–54].
NOX2 deficiency attenuates markers of adiposopathy and brain injury induced by high-fat diet

The consumption of high-fat/calorie diets in modern societies is likely a major contributor to the obesity epidemic, which can increase the prevalence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurological impairment. Obesity may precipitate decline via inflammatory and oxidative signaling, and one factor linking inflammation to oxidative stress is the proinflammatory, pro-oxidant enzyme NADPH oxidase. To reveal the role of NADPH oxidase in the metabolic and neurological consequences of obesity, the effects of high-fat diet were compared in wild-type C57Bl/6 (WT) mice and in mice deficient in the NAPDH oxidase subunit NOX2 (NOX2KO). While diet-induced weight gains in WT and NOX2KO mice were similar, NOX2KO mice had smaller visceral adipose deposits, attenuated visceral adipocyte hypertrophy, and diminished visceral adipose macrophage infiltration. Moreover, the detrimental effects of HFD on markers of adipocyte function and injury were attenuated in NOX2KO mice; NOX2KO mice had improved glucose regulation, and evaluation of NOX2 expression identified macrophages as the primary population of NOX2-positive cells in visceral adipose. Finally, brain injury was assessed using markers of cerebrovascular integrity, synaptic density, and reactive gliosis, and data show that high-fat diet disrupted marker expression in WT but not NOX2KO mice. Collectively, these data indicate that NOX2 is a significant contributor to the pathogenic effects of high-fat diet and reinforce a key role for visceral adipose inflammation in metabolic and neurological decline. Development of NOX-based therapies could accordingly preserve metabolic and neurological function in the context of metabolic syndrome.
K+ cycling and the endocochlear potential.

Sensory transduction in the cochlea and the vestibular labyrinth depends on the cycling of K þ . In the cochlea, endolymphatic K þ flows into the sensory hair cells via the apical transduction channel and is released from the hair cells into perilymph via basolateral K þ channels including KCNQ4. K þ may be taken up by fibrocytes in the spiral ligament and transported from cell to cell via gap junctions into strial intermediate cells. Gap junctions may include GJB2, GJB3 and GJB6. K þ is released from the intermediate cells into the intrastrial space via the KCNJ10 K þ channel that generates the endocochlear potential. From the intrastrial space, K þ is taken up across the basolateral membrane of strial marginal cells via the Na þ /2Cl 3 /K þ cotransporter SLC12A2 and the Na þ /K þ -ATPase ATP1A1/ATP1B2. Strial marginal cells secrete K þ across the apical membrane into endolymph via the K þ channel KCNQ1/KCNE1, which concludes the cochlear cycle. A similar K þ cycle exists in the vestibular labyrinth. Endolymphatic K þ flows into the sensory hair cells via the apical transduction channel and is released from the hair cells via basolateral K þ channels including KCNQ4. Fibrocytes connected by gap junctions including GJB2 may be involved in delivering K þ to vestibular dark cells. Extracellular K þ is taken up into vestibular dark cells via SLC12A2 and ATP1A1/ATP1B2 and released into endolymph via KCNQ1/KCNE1, which concludes the vestibular cycle. The importance of K þ cycling is underscored by the fact that mutations of KCNQ1, KCNE1, KCNQ4, GJB2, GJB3 and GJB6 lead to deafness in humans and that null mutations of KCNQ1, KCNE1, KCNJ10 and SLC12A2 lead to deafness in mouse models. 6 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Asymptotic Throughput Analysis for Channel-Aware Scheduling

In this paper, we provide an asymptotic performance analysis of channel-aware packet scheduling based on the extreme value theory. We first address the average throughput of systems with a homogeneous average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and obtain its asymptotic expression. Compared with the exact throughput expression, the asymptotic one, which is applicable to a broader range of fading channels, is more concise and easier from which to get insights. Furthermore, we confirm the accuracy of the asymptotic results by theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. For a system with heterogeneous SNRs, normalized-SNR-based scheduling needs to be used for fairness. We also investigate the asymptotic average throughput of the normalized-SNR-based scheduling, and prove that the average throughput in this case is less than that in the homogeneous case with a power constraint
The latency-related gene encoded by bovine herpesvirus 1 can suppress caspase 3 and caspase 9 cleavage during productive infection

When the bovine herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1) latency-related (LR) gene is inserted into the latency-associated transcript (LAT) locus of a herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) LAT deletion mutant, high levels of spontaneous reactivation from latency and enhanced pathogenesis occur. The LR gene, but not LAT, inhibits caspase 3 cleavage during productive infection. Plasmids containing LAT or the LR gene inhibit caspase 3 activation in transiently transfected cells, suggesting productive infection blocks certain antiapoptotic properties of LAT. These studies demonstrate a correlation between the enhanced pathogenic potential of CJLAT and the LR gene inhibiting caspase 3 cleavage during productive infection.
Pseudo SU(3) approximation for α-spectroscopic factors

Abstract Estimates for α-transfer strengths based on the pseudo SU(3) model are tested. α-cluster functions are showm to have large overlaps with pseudo SU(3) representations of highest symmetry. Pseudo SU(3) estimates are compared with f 5 2 P 3 2 P 1 2 shell model predictions for α-transfers from Ni to Zn isotopes.
Cloud rhymer: prototype demo and intervention proposal

We present the theoretical framework and design of a technologically-mediated informal learning experience aimed at assisting students of all ages playfully engage in a language game for fun. The game's activities center around rhyming over a beat with a robotic companion. We ground the work in developmental psychology literature on the importance of early rhyming skills for children and provide technical details of a working prototype. Our work advances an informal learning intervention for children at-risk of developing reading disabilities. We propose a study using validated, evaluation measures and conclude with a detailed report on extensions to the system currently in progress.
Seeing through the ‘Burden of the Past’: Superior Belatedness in Keats’s ‘On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer’

AbstractThis article examines one of Keats’s earliest attempts in his poetic practice to wrestle with what Walter Jackson Bate famously called the ‘burden of the past’, the potentially crushing weight of previous examples of poetic and artistic greatness. In particular I reexamine Keats’s most important early sonnet, ‘On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer’, and his infamous reference to Cortez as an analogue for his own rapt discovery of the sublime Homer through Chapman’s translation. Since Tennyson’s note in 1861, this reference has most often been taken as a simple historical gaffe on Keats’s part, but I bring new weight to the line of criticism that takes seriously the intentionality of his choice of Cortez. I do so by showing how the ‘eagle eyes’ of Cortez and the ‘sick eagle’ in the ‘On Seeing the Elgin Marbles’ sonnet, written four months later, are linked together through a seldom-appreciated element in one of Keats’s key sources, Robertson’s History of America. In Robertson, Cortez was presented ...
Patient-specific dose calculations for pediatric CT of the chest, abdomen and pelvis.

Organ dose is essential for accurate estimates of patient dose from CT. To determine organ doses from a broad range of pediatric patients undergoing diagnostic chest–abdomen–pelvis CT and investigate how these relate to patient size. We used a previously validated Monte Carlo simulation model of a Philips Brilliance 64 multi-detector CT scanner (Philips Healthcare, Best, The Netherlands) to calculate organ doses for 40 pediatric patients (M:F = 21:19; range 0.6–17 years). Organ volumes and positions were determined from the images using standard segmentation techniques. Non-linear regression was performed to determine the relationship between volume CT dose index (CTDIvol)-normalized organ doses and abdominopelvic diameter. We then compared results with values obtained from independent studies. We found that CTDIvol-normalized organ dose correlated strongly with exponentially decreasing abdominopelvic diameter (R2 > 0.8 for most organs). A similar relationship was determined for effective dose when normalized by dose-length product (R2 = 0.95). Our results agreed with previous studies within 12% using similar scan parameters (e.g., bowtie filter size, beam collimation); however results varied up to 25% when compared to studies using different bowtie filters. Our study determined that organ doses can be estimated from measurements of patient size, namely body diameter, and CTDIvol prior to CT examination. This information provides an improved method for patient dose estimation.
Current Issues in Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult-Based Care for Youth with Chronic Health Care Needs

For over 25 years, with medical advances increasing the lifespan of YYASHCN, we have been aware of the need to improve health care transition to adult-based care services. Barriers to health care transition have been identified and in a number of settings, recognition of the problem and preliminary success has been achieved for pilot programs. Evidence-based solutions to improve health care transition for YYASHCN are needed. There are barriers at the patient, family, pediatric, and adult provider, and insurance system levels that must be overcome.
Pathways to a clean γ (ϕ 3 ): From B to super B factories

The implementation of various methods for the determination of {gamma} through direct CP violation arising in the interference of b{yields}c and b{yields}u processes in charged as well as neutral B meson decays are considered. We show that the inclusion of D{sup 0} resulting from D*{sup 0}{yields}D{sup 0}+{pi}{sup 0}({gamma}), say, via B{yields}KD*{sup 0} makes a significant difference in the attainable accuracy for {gamma}. Both exclusive and inclusive decays of the B{sup {+-}} and B{sup 0} to states containing D{sup 0}/D{sup 0} followed by both inclusive and exclusive decays of the D{sup 0} are discussed. It is shown that with statistics which might be obtained at B factories (5-10x10{sup 8} B pairs) a 1{sigma} determination of {gamma} to {approx_equal}{+-}8 deg. may be possible, depending on the efficiency of reconstruction, backgrounds, and the details of the decay amplitudes involved. The role of data from a charm factory as well as effects of D{sup 0} mixing are discussed. Extraction of {gamma} with accuracy that is roughly commensurate with the intrinsic theory error of these methods (i.e., around 0.1%), which is an important goal, will require >10{sup 10} B pairs, namely, a super B factory.
29Si NMR Spectra of Silicon-Containing Uranium Complexes

29Si NMR spectra have been recorded for a series of uranium complexes containing silicon, and the data have been combined with results in the literature to determine if any trends exist between chemical shift and structure, ligand type, or oxidation state. Data on 52 paramagnetic inorganic and organometallic uranium complexes are presented. The survey reveals that, although there is some overlap in the range of shifts of U4+ complexes versus U3+ complexes, in general U3+ species have shifts more negative than those of their U4+ analogues. The single U2+ example has the most negative shift of all at −322 ppm at 170 K. With only a few exceptions, U4+ complexes have shifts between 0 and −150 ppm (vs SiMe4), whereas U3+ complexes resonate between −120 and −250 ppm. The small data set on U5+ species exhibits a broad 250 ppm range centered near 40 ppm. The data also show that aromatic ligands such as cyclopentadienide, cyclooctatetraenide, and the pentalene dianion exhibit chemical shifts less negative than tho...
Introduction of pentavalent vaccine in Indonesia: a policy analysis

The introduction of pentavalent vaccine containing Haemophilus influenzae type b antigen in Indonesia’s National Immunization Program occurred nearly three decades after the vaccine was first available in the United States and 16 years after Indonesia added hepatitis B vaccine into the program. In this study, we analyzed the process that led to the decision to introduce pentavalent vaccine in Indonesia. Using process tracing and case comparison, we used qualitative data gathered through interviews with key informants and data extracted from written sources to identify four distinct but interrelated processes that were involved in the decision making: (a) pentavalent vaccine use policy process, (b) financing process, (c) domestic vaccine development process and (d) political process. We hypothesized that each process is associated with four necessary conditions that are jointly sufficient for the successful introduction of pentavalent vaccine in Indonesia, namely (a) an evidence-based vaccine use recommendation, (b) sufficient domestic financing capacity, (c) sufficient domestic vaccine manufacturing capacity and (d) political support for introduction. This analysis of four processes that led to the decision to introduce a new vaccine in Indonesia may help policy makers and other stakeholders understand and manage activities that can accelerate vaccine introduction in the future.
Design Arithmetic of Float Adder in SystemC

Based on single-floating IEEE754,the float adder is designed.The traditional method is to build the system model by using HDL(hardware design language),but the efficiency is low and not fit to SoC(system on chip) design.As a new hardware design language based on C++ language,SystemC is more suitable for system level design than HDL.Based on the flow of float adder,Algorithm design and the structure mapping with the floating adder is the instance,talked about how design system in SystemC,moreover give out floating adder part of module of SystemC to depict.
Prescription Opioid Craving: Relationship With Pain and Substance Use-Related Characteristics.

ABSTRACTBackground: Craving is associated with prescription opioid use in opioid-addicted pain patients. Objectives: This study evaluated the relationship between craving for prescription opioids and selected pain and substance use characteristics. Method: In this cross-sectional study, patients (N = 106) being treated for opioid dependence were recruited from one of three sites from December 2012 to April 2013. Participants completed the multi-dimensional Desire for Drugs Questionnaire to assess craving, and other questionnaires to assess pain, substance use, and demographic characteristics. Data were analyzed using Pearson product-by-moment correlations, ANOVAs, and multiple linear regressions. Results: At the bivariate level, desire-and-intention to use prescription opioids and craving for relief from negative states were positively associated with both pain severity and interference. Linear regression analyses revealed significant positive associations between Desire-and-Intention subscale scores and ...
‘A woman so curiously fear-free and venturesome’: Eleanor Franklin Egan reporting the Great Russian Famine, 1922

ABSTRACTRecent scholarship on the post-First World War period has drawn attention to conservative women who often objected to being called feminists, yet whose motivations and achievements must be accounted for in an inclusive history of women’s international activism. This paper examines the work of Saturday Evening Post correspondent Eleanor Franklin Egan, whose coverage of the Great Russian Famine in 1922 helped construct a self-assuring nationalist discourse based on anti-Bolshevism and American character and values, but which elided gender, class and ethnic differences and anxieties. Egan is compared to other women journalists whose work exists at the nexus of personal, national and transnational identities.
Revisiting maximal response-based local identification of overcomplete dictionaries

This paper revisits the problem of recovery of an overcomplete dictionary in a local neighborhood from training samples using the so-called maximal response criterion (MRC). While it is known in the literature that MRC can be used for asymptotic exact recovery of a dictionary in a local neighborhood, those results do not allow for linear (in the ambient dimension) scaling of sparsity levels in signal representations. In this paper, a new proof technique is leveraged to establish that MRC can in fact handle linear sparsity (modulo a logarithmic factor) of signal representations. While the focus of this work is on asymptotic exact recovery, the same ideas can be used in a straightforward manner to strengthen the original MRC-based results involving noisy observations and finite number of training samples.
Traffic information center: a real experience

The author describes the CIT project which implements a traffic information center based on open systems technology. It integrates geographical, real-time and public services data and now offers driver information through a free phone call to any citizen. The key design points and issues of the project are explained in this paper.
Addressing the Issue: Bullying and LGBTQ Youth

Each day, thousands of youth experience bullying and as many of 70% of all youth report having experienced bullying, either directly or indirectly (Cantor, 2005). For Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth, the chances of experiencing bullying are much higher than for youth in the general population (Russell, Horn, Kosciw, & Saewyc, 2010). Although many youth serving organizations have begun to address the issue of bullying with bullying prevention programs, there is a deficit of information and a lack of inclusion of prevention efforts that specifically address LGBTQ youth. This article address the role of youth organizations in creating safe and inclusive environments for all youth, with specific attention paid to resources and strategies for inclusive environments for LGBTQ youth.
“The laughing third man in a fight”: Stalin's use of the wedge strategy

Although much IR theory focuses on balancing, this paper examines a version of the wedge strategy, what Stalin allegedly called being “the laughing third man in a fight.” This is the practice of advancing one's goals by setting up other states to fight each other. The first case study is Soviet strategy in Europe from September 1939 until June 1941. The second is Soviet strategy in the Far East in 1941–45. What I am looking at here is a policy of deliberately encouraging the start of a war and/or aiding its prolongation in order to weaken both sides. The two case studies indicate that the Soviet Union used such a strategy at times in place of the usual forms of balancing, discussed in the international relations literature. Additionally, analysis of Moscow's conduct, statements by Soviet leaders, and the policies of a number of foreign communist parties indicate that, in addition to any security goals, Stalin's agenda included furthering the USSR's goal as a revolutionary state, even thought this had at times to be constrained by realpolitik.
Combining adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes for women exposed to antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy, using a latent trait model

Application of latent variable models in medical research are becoming increasingly popular. A latent trait model is developed to combine rare birth defect outcomes in an index of infant morbidity. This study employed four statewide, retrospective 10-year data sources (1999 to 2009). The study cohort consisted of all female Florida Medicaid enrollees who delivered a live singleton infant during study period. Drug exposure was defined as any exposure to Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) during pregnancy. Mothers with no AED exposure served as the AED unexposed group for comparison. Four adverse outcomes, birth defect (BD), abnormal condition of new born (ACNB), low birth weight (LBW), and pregnancy and obstetrical complication (PCOC), were examined and combined using a latent trait model to generate an overall severity index. Unidimentionality, local independence, internal homogeneity, and construct validity were evaluated for the combined outcome. The study cohort consisted of 3183 mother-infant pairs in total AED group, 226 in the valproate only subgroup, and 43,956 in the AED unexposed group. Compared to AED unexposed group, the rate of BD was higher in both the total AED group (12.8% vs. 10.5%, P < .0001), and the valproate only subgroup (19.6% vs. 10.5%, P < .0001). The combined outcome was significantly correlated with the length of hospital stay during delivery in both the total AED group (Rho = 0.24, P < .0001) and the valproate only subgroup (Rho = 0.16, P = .01). The mean score for the combined outcome in the total AED group was significantly higher (2.04 ± 0.02 vs. 1.88 ± 0.01, P < .0001) than AED unexposed group, whereas the valproate only subgroup was not. Latent trait modeling can be an effective tool for combining adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes to assess prenatal exposure to AED, but evaluation of the selected components is essential to ensure the validity of the combined outcome.
Numerical analysis of Bragg regime polarization gratings by rigorous coupled-wave analysis

We report on the numerical analysis of Bragg polarization gratings (PGs), especially those formed with liquid crystals, and study their general diffraction properties by Rigorous Coupled-Wave Analysis (RCWA). Different from traditional Bragg (isotropic) gratings, Bragg PGs are verified to have high diffraction efficiency for large field of view, which is ideal for exit-pupil-expanders in waveguide-based head-mounted-displays, spectroscopy, and fiber-optic telecommunication systems. The RCWA approach allows for a rigorous and accurate solution without paraxial approximations to be obtained with much lower computational cost and time, as compared to finite-element, finite-difference, or analytical coupled-wave approaches. Therefore, it enables the study of the complete transmittance and reflectance behavior of Bragg PGs in the most computationally efficient way. Diffraction characteristics including angular response and polarization sensitivity are investigated. The spectral response and thickness dependence are also examined.
The Association Between Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder Symptoms and Sleep Problems in Children with and without ADHD

Abstract Background Many youth experience persistent irritability and recurrent temper outbursts, conceptualized by DSM-5 as Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD). Sleep deprivation impairs emotion regulation which could increase rates of DMDD symptoms, especially in those with preexisting regulatory impairments, as seen with ADHD. However, there has been little examination of the relationship between chronic sleep problems and DMDD symptoms. Methods Associations between DMDD symptoms and sleep parameters in children were assessed using parent-report and objective measures of sleep in a general population sample (N = 665) and an ADHD sample (N = 784). Irritability, temper outbursts, sleep problems and other psychological problems were assessed with the Pediatric Behavior Scale. The general population study also completed overnight polysomnography (PSG). Results DMDD symptoms were reported in 9.2% of the community sample and 31.4% of the ADHD sample. In both samples, children with DMDD symptoms had significantly higher parent-reported sleep problems than children without DMDD symptoms. Children with sleep problems had significantly higher DMDD scores than children without sleep problems. However, DMDD symptoms were most strongly associated with oppositional behavior. Sleep problems were not a significant contributor. Hyperactivity-impulsivity was most strongly associated with sleep problems, and DMDD was not a significant contributor. Children with and without DMDD symptoms did not differ significantly on any PSG parameter. Conclusions Associations between parent-reported sleep problems and DMDD symptoms were due to their shared relationship with other behavioral problems. Therefore, chronic sleep problems do not appear to be a primary source of DMDD symptoms in children with or without ADHD.
Organic and Inorganic Pollutant Concentrations Suggest Anthropogenic Contamination of Soils Along the Manali-Leh Highway, Northwestern Himalaya, India

Most studies on roadside soil pollution have been performed in areas where petrol is the main fuel. Very little work has been conducted in regions where diesel predominates. We collected soil samples from four sites that span a precipitation gradient along the Manali-Leh Highway in northwestern Himalaya, India. This road traverses rough terrain and most of the vehicles that travel along it are diesel-driven. At each site, we collected samples at incremental distances from the highway (0, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 150 m), and at each distance we collected samples from three depths (3, 9, and 15 cm). We assessed the concentrations of 10 heavy metals (Al, Fe, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni, Co, Zn, V, and Ba), total sulphur, and total organic carbon (TOC) at each distance, and we measured the concentration of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at 2 m from the highway. Overall, we found that metal concentrations are low and there is no relationship between concentrations and distance from the highway, or depth within the soil profile. Sulphur concentrations, on the other hand, are high in roadside soils and there is a negative relationship between concentration and distance from the highway. PAH concentrations are low, but the proportion of different ringed species suggests that their source is anthropogenic. Correlations between TOC and the various pollutants further suggest that diesel vehicles and potentially biomass combustion are starting to affect the roadside environment in remote northwestern India. We suggest that pollutant concentrations be regularly monitored.
Spectra and Redox Photochemistry of Crown Ether Complexes of Lanthanides

Complexation of lanthanides by crown ethers is shown to cause remarkable spectroscopic changes in charge-transfer, f-d and f-f transitions. Furthermore, the quantum yields for photoreduction of Eu(III) in ethanol are increased dramatically in the presence of 18-crown-6. The possibilities for using crown ethers to stabilize unstable oxidation states of lanthanides and actinides is discussed.
Spectral- and energy-efficient transmission with joint bandwidth assignment and transmit power allocation

Spectral efficiency and energy efficiency are important design criteria for green communications. In this paper, spectral efficiency and energy efficiency are addressed for transmission over channels that are orthogonal in frequency. The maximum sum rate is used in measuring the spectral- and energy-efficiency. The combined spectral- and energy-efficiency of particular total bandwidth and total transmit power is maximized with joint bandwidth assignment and transmit power allocation. Furthermore, with an emphasis on spectral efficiency or energy efficiency, an algorithm is provided to determine the optimal total bandwidth or the optimal total transmit power. Simulation results validate the transmission approaches that achieve the best spectral efficiency and energy efficiency.
The application of lasers in thoracic medicine and surgery

The domain of the chest physician includes components of several different organ systems. The chest surgeon, or his medical counterpart, must be well versed in diseases of the esophagus, respiratory system and cardiovascular system. In recent years, lasers have become valuable instruments for the treatment of diseases in all three of these systems. Lasers have been applied clinically in the endoscopic treatment of esophageal and tracheobronchial processes. There have been few clinical applications of lasers in cardiovascular medicine, however, there is much investigation currently in process in this area and much excitement about the potential applications on the horizon. Photodynamic therapy utilizing light activated cytoxic substances and laser light is yet another promising approach in the treatment of many forms of cancer.The domain of the chest physician includes components of several different organ systems. The chest surgeon, or his medical counterpart, must be well versed in diseases of the esophagus, respiratory system and cardiovascular system. In recent years, lasers have become valuable instruments for the treatment of diseases in all three of these systems. Lasers have been applied clinically in the endoscopic treatment of esophageal and tracheobronchial processes. There have been few clinical applications of lasers in cardiovascular medicine, however, there is much investigation currently in process in this area and much excitement about the potential applications on the horizon. Photodynamic therapy utilizing light activated cytoxic substances and laser light is yet another promising approach in the treatment of many forms of cancer.
Reflectivity and specularity of building envelopes: how materiality in architecture affects human visual comfort

ABSTRACTHighly reflective and specular building envelopes have become widely adopted not only for aesthetic reasons, but also to increase building energy savings and improve occupant comfort. However, they can also make significant and sometimes unintended impact outside the building envelope. Reflected sunlight from highly specular building envelopes can cause discomfort glare to people outside buildings. A human subject study was performed in an outdoor research setting. High dynamic range imaging was used to capture exterior glare scenes and to visualize glare sources in the field of view. Collected subjective evaluation data and captured glare scenes were statistically analysed to prove the existence of exterior glare problems. Perceptible and disturbing glare levels were experienced by the participants, and strong correlations were found between visual discomfort and excessive sunlight reflections from specular building envelopes. Exterior glare scenes were also documented in downtown Los Angeles to ...
Investigation of a nanoconfined, ceramic composite, solid polymer electrolyte

Abstract The challenges for further development of lithium rechargeable batteries are finding electrolyte materials that are safe, have mechanical and thermal stability and have sufficiently high ionic conduction. Polymer electrolytes have many of these advantages, but suffer with low ionic conduction. This study involves the use of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes having nanochannels filled with polymer electrolyte to make composite solid electrolytes having ionic conductivity several orders of magnitude higher (10 −4 Ω ‐1 cm −1 ) than non-confined polymer. SEM, ac impedance spectroscopy, temperature dependence studies, XRD, ATR- FTIR and DSC studies were done in order to characterize and understand the behavior of nanoconfined polymer electrolytes. The composite polymer electrolyte was found to be more amorphous with polymer chains aligned in the direction of the nanochannels, which is felt to promote ion conduction. The electrolyte systems, confined in nanoporous membranes, can be used as electrolytes for the fabrication of a room temperature all solid state battery.
Raman scattering investigation of xGeO2-(1 - x)SiO2 planar waveguides.

Germanosilicate thin films of varied composition are fabricated by using the solgel technique. Raman spectra, collected normal to the propagation direction in these planar waveguides, reveal vibrational behavior consistent with bulk glasses produced either from the melt or through vapor-assisted-deposition processes. This initial investigation demonstrates the feasibility of germanosilicate planar guides produced by using the solgel process.
Human papillomavirus vaccination coverage using two-dose or three-dose schedule criteria.

Abstract In October 2016, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) updated the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination recommendation to include a 2-dose schedule for U.S. adolescents initiating the vaccine series before their 15th birthday. We analyzed records for >4 million persons aged 9–17 years receiving any HPV vaccine by the end of each quarter during January 1, 2014–September 30, 2016 from six Immunization Information Systems Sentinel Sites, and reclassified HPV vaccination up-to-date coverage according to the updated recommendations. Compared with HPV vaccination up-to-date coverage by the 3-dose schedule only, including criteria for either a 2-dose or 3-dose schedule increased up-to-date coverage in 11–12, 13–14, and 15–17 year-olds by 4.5–8.5 percentage points. The difference between 3-dose up-to-date coverage and 2- or 3-dose up-to-date coverage was greatest in late 2016. These data provide baseline HPV vaccination coverage using current ACIP recommendations.
Surgical Complications of Presurgical Systemic Therapy for Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review

Background Locally advanced and metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is associated with poor survival outcomes. The integration of presurgical systemic therapy with targeted molecular agents prior to surgical resection of RCC tumors has been utilized to improve on these outcomes. These agents may be associated with an increased risk of perioperative complications due to their action on angiogenesis and cell proliferation. Objective To examine the evidence for the incidence and severity of perioperative complications following presurgical targeted therapy for locally advanced or metastatic RCC. Methods We performed a systematic review of retrospective studies, prospective clinical trials, and meta-analyses using key search terms in PubMed and Medline. Studies were screened for eligibility and data were extracted by the authors. A qualitative analysis was performed and the complications for available targeted agents was reported. Results Retrospective analyses and small prospective trials indicate varying complication rates and types based on presurgical therapies. While some studies indicate a possible increase in wound-related complications, other studies did not show similar results. Additional unique complications reported include an increase in surgical adhesions. There was not any significant difference in overall or bleeding complications. Conclusions Overall, these studies demonstrate an acceptable level of surgical complications that should not discourage the clinician considering presurgical therapy. The results of pending trials looking at presurgical therapies will provide further information.
Epoxy Chip-in-Carrier Integration and Screen-Printed Metalization for Multichannel Microfluidic Lab-on-CMOS Microsystems

The integration of biosensors, microfluidics, and CMOS instrumentation provides a compact lab-on-CMOS microsystem well suited for high throughput measurement. This paper describes a new epoxy chip-in-carrier integration process and two planar metalization techniques for lab-on-CMOS that enable on-CMOS electrochemical measurement with multichannel microfluidics. Several design approaches with different fabrication steps and materials were experimentally analyzed to identify an ideal process that can achieve desired capability with high yield and low material and tool cost. On-chip electrochemical measurements of the integrated assembly were performed to verify the functionality of the chip-in-carrier packaging and its capability for microfluidic integration. The newly developed CMOS-compatible epoxy chip-in-carrier process paves the way for full implementation of many lab-on-CMOS applications with CMOS ICs as core electronic instruments.
The value of community: Evidence from the CARES program

Abstract Renters of multi-unit housing structures report weaker ties to their community than other renters and owner occupants. In response to the lack of a sense of community in multi-unit rental structures, owners and managers of these properties have implemented planned programs to establish stronger community ties for residents. We examine the effect of one such program, the CARES (Community Activities and REsident Services) program, on the rental price of apartments using both a standard hedonic approach as well as matching techniques designed to limit unobservable differences between treated and comparison units. Our results using propensity score matching to identify comparison units, suggest that monthly rents are between 5.7 and 9.3 percent higher for apartment units that offer the CARES program. We also find the effect of the CARES program to be stronger in larger apartment complexes, suggesting that renters are willing to pay a premium for a sense of community rather than just the increased services from the program.
Sources, Source Encoding, and Source Characterization

It is reasonable to expect that any behavior that we model mathematically will differ a little from the mathematical model. The picture of gaussian noise in a multidimensional signal space we drew in Section 11.1 is a good mathematical model. Thermal noise and certain other kinds of noise are quite accurately gaussian. When we take more and more samples, the sum of the squares of the samples is more and more nearly the number of samples n times the variance σ2. More and more nearly, the signal represented by the n samples will lie within, and, indeed, almost on the surface of an n-dimensional sphere of radius n 1/2σ.
Infant Vocal Imitation of Music

Infant vocal production has been studied mainly from the perspective of language development. We studied it from the perspective of singing development by analyzing a 15-month-old’s imitations of s...
How to Regulate Bitcoin Futures

This short essay explores the options for regulating bitcoin futures, which pose unique market risks after being recently introduced for trading.
Comparison of nutrient retention efficiency between vertical-flow and floating treatment wetland mesocosms with and without biodegradable plastic

Abstract Treatment wetlands are ecological systems that are engineered to improve polluted water quality through macrophyte, soil, and microbial remediation and are used commonly for urban and agricultural runoff treatment. However, constructed wetlands used for marine aquaculture effluent treatments are understudied when compared to their freshwater counterpart. We compared the nutrient retention and the microbial communities of two types of constructed wetland mesocosms, a vertical-flow treatment wetland (VFTW) and floating treatment wetland (FTW) in subtropical south Florida. To enhance nutrient retention efficiency, we implemented biodegradable plastic (polycaprolactone), as an external carbon source and monitored the performance of VFTW and FTW for the treatment of marine aquaculture effluent. Polycaprolactone surface were covered by various cyanobacterial genera including Oscillatoria, Leptolyngbya, Brasilonema, and Trichormus and some plastic-degrading bacteria such as Pseudomonas. The presence of a biodegradable plastic in FTW improved the overall performance of nitrogen removal (nitrite plus nitrate) by 14% through denitrification. The pattern of nutrient removal between two treatment wetland mesocosms were significantly different (p
Effects of Social Stress on Autonomic, Behavioral, and Acoustic Parameters in Adults Who Stutter.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess changes in autonomic, behavioral, and acoustic measures in response to social stress in adults who stutter (AWS) compared to adults who do not stutte...
Code Revision Commission v. Public.Resource.Org and the Fight Over Copyright Protection for Annotations and Commentary

This article is about the Eleventh Circuit’s 2018 decision in Code Revision Commission v. Public.Resource.Org concerning the public edicts doctrine and holding that the State of Georgia’s copyright on the annotations, commentary and analyses in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated is invalid. About a third of the States claim copyright in the annotations to their codes so the potential impact of this decision is substantial. The U.S. Supreme Court granted Georgia’s petition for a writ of certiorari on Monday, June 24. The article’s thesis is that the Eleventh Circuit was wrong and should be reversed. It first discusses the code revision process in Georgia, and the Code Revision Commission v. Public.Resource.Org litigation. It next analyzes the Eleventh Circuit’s three related reasons for concluding that the annotations are law-like: the identity of the public officials who created the work; the authoritativeness of the work; and, the process for creating the work. This analysis is followed by a discussion of the merger doctrine, the use of the term ‘merger’ in section 1-1-1 of the OCGA, and a brief summary of Supremacy Clause concerns. The article’s conclusion is that the Eleventh Circuit should be reversed by the United States Supreme Court.