cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Superficial Femoral Artery Endovascular Therapy with Atherectomy

Peripheral vascular disease is better recognized as an epidemic that’s impacting millions of patients and their families. Health-care providers currently consider PVD as a significant comorbidity and have been actively screening, treating, and spreading public awareness. In addition to medical therapy, surgery has been considered the mainstay of therapy for years. The recent advancement in endovascular technology and the increasing level of expertise by endovascular specialist allow revascularization in patients deemed inoperable in the past. This chapter highlights through our case presentation the current evidence behind endovascular therapy in patients with superficial femoral artery disease. We also discuss some of the current devices available and used by endovascular operators.
Analyzing Reversible Lapped Transforms using Reng Probing

Lapped transforms provide the fundamental analysis framework for most of the modern lossy audio compression algorithms. Recently, there has been increasing interest in compression algorithms that can encode audio to true lossless quality and yet allow lossy reconstructions from selected subsets of the encoded bitstream. To achieve lossless compression within a transform-based coding system, the transformations must be reversible i.e., the forward transform must map integer inputs to integer outputs. In this paper, we use multirate Reng probing to analyze and compare the performances of the Reversible Modified Discrete Cosine Transform (RMDCT) and the Integer Modified Discrete Cosine Transform (IntMDCT).
Familial Essential Thrombocythemia in a Child with Elevated Thrombopoietin Concentrations and Skeletal Anomalies.

Abstract We describe a 2-year-old child with an incidental finding of persistent elevated platelet count. The platelet count at the time of referral was 900 × 109/L. His physical examination revealed bony abnormalities of the right upper extremity, and hand. (Photo1) X-Ray of the hand revealed amputation of the fingers of the right hand with rudimentary metacarpal bones, and evidence of shorter radius and ulna of the of the left forearm when compared to the right. The physical examination was otherwise normal with the exception of moderate splenomegaly. Further workup revealed normal iron stores, and no inflammatory process which could explain the thrombocytosis. Chromosomal breakage and rearrangements studies were normal and confirmed a normal male karyotype. A bone marrow aspirate and biopsy revealed megakaryocytic hyperplasia with many binucleated and trinucleated megakaryocytes. (Photo 2) The erythroid and myeloid series were well represented and of normal morphology. Flow cytometry for ALL specific and CMLspecific markers were normal. The platelet count reached 2,800 × 109/L, and serum thrombopoietin level was obtained, which returned 2119.8 pg/ml. The patient was placed on hydroxyurea and aspirin 81mg/day, and reduction in the platelet count occurred. After six months of hydroxyurea therapy the platelet count rose again to pretreatment levels. Hydroxyurea was discontinued and anagrelide started with moderate platelet reduction. Family members were also evaluated. The siblings all had normal platelet counts but the mother had an elevated platelet count 900 × 10 9/L. The bone marrow aspirate of the childs mother was also consistent with ET. The JAK2 kinase mutation was not found in the mother or the child. The childs mother was also found to have an elevated thrombopoietin level of 475.6 pg/ml and was started on hydroxyurea. No connection has been made between our patients congenital anomalies and the thrombocytosis. To our knowledge there have been no other reports of such features in either adult or pediatric patients with ET. Because this childs mother was also subsequently diagnosed with ET, familial ET is a more likely diagnosis. The diagnosis of familial ET is further supported by the elevated TPO concentration in our patient. Sporadic cases of familial ET with elevated thrombopoietin concentrations have been reported. Although ET has been reported in patients as young a 6 weeks, our case is different than other reported pediatric cases of ET because of not only the elevated TPO but the associated skeletal anomalies of our patient. To date neither the child or the mother has suffered any thrombohemorrhagic events, which have been reported to occur at rates varying from 20% to 40%. The mother and child are being followed prospectfully with serial blood counts, serum TPO concentrations. Download : Download high-res image (185KB) Download : Download full-size image Download : Download high-res image (217KB) Download : Download full-size image
Digital Technologies for Process Execution

Digitalization is nowadays a key topic in basically every organization. Most business processes are at least partially supported by digital information technology (IT). They are “digital.” Applications like enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM), or similar systems are present in most enterprises in one or another way. Many executives are already considering new technology environments on the basis of service-oriented architectures (SOA) or are in the midst of such an implementation. Some companies even take these ideas to the next level, such as procuring their software through “the cloud” or using Web 2.0 applications. But what does it all mean? How do these digitalization components fit into the bigger picture of “strategy execution” and the discipline of value-driven process management?
Information Cascades With Noise

Online networks enable agents to better observe the behavior of others and in doing so potentially learn from their actions. A key feature of models for such social learning is that information cascades can result, in which agents ignore their private information and blindly follow the actions of other agents. This paper considers the impact of noise in the form of observation errors in such a model. Similar to a model without noise, we show that with noise, both correct and incorrect cascades happen, with the same level of fragility. However, with noise, it is harder to overturn a cascade from one direction to the other. Using Markov chain analysis, we derive the net welfare (payoff) of each agent as a function of the agent's private signal quality and the error rate. We show, somewhat surprisingly, that in certain cases, increasing the observation error rate can lead to higher welfare for all but a finite number of agents. In such cases, we compare and contrast adding additional noise with simply withholding observations from the first few agents. Our analysis assumes that all erroneous observations are available on a common database; however, we also discuss relaxing this assumption. We conclude by discussing the impact of different tie-breaking rules on the probability of wrong cascade and the impact of bounded rationality on the agents’ welfare.
Rapid Characterization of Bacterial Electrogenicity Using a Single-Sheet Paper-Based Electrofluidic Array.

Electrogenicity or bacterial electron transfer capability creates potential important applications that offer environmentally sustainable advances in the fields of biofuels, wastewater treatment, bioremediation, desalination, and biosensing. Significant boosts in this technology can be achieved with the growth of synthetic biology that manipulates microbial electron transfer pathways and improves their electrogenic potential. What is currently needed is a high-throughput, rapid and highly sensitive test array to access the electrogenic properties of newly discovered and/or genetically engineered bacterial species. In this work, we report a single-sheet, paper-based electrofluidic (incorporating both electronic and fluidic structure) screening platform for rapid, sensitive, and potentially high-throughput characterization of bacterial electrogenicity. This novel screening array uses (i) a commercially available wax printer for hydrophobic wax patterning on a single sheet of paper and (ii) water-dispersed electrically conducting polymer mixture, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), for full integration of electronic and fluidic components into the paper substrate. The engineered 3-D, microporous, hydrophilic and conductive paper structure provides a large surface area for efficient electron transfer. This results in rapid and sensitive power assessment of electrogenic bacteria from a microliter sample volume. We validate the effectiveness of the sensor array by using strategically genetic modified Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutant strains. Within 20 minutes, the sensor platform successfully determines the electricity-generating capacities of five isogenic mutants of P. aeruginosa while distinguishing their differences from control samples.
Performance of the Hack's Impairment Index Score: A Novel Tool to Assess Impairment from Alcohol in Emergency Department Patients.

Background Over 35 million alcohol-impaired (AI) patients are cared for in emergency departments (EDs) annually. Emergency physicians are charged with ensuring AI patients’ safety by identifying resolution of alcohol-induced impairment. The most common standard evaluation is an extemporized clinical examination, as ethanol levels are not reliable or predictive of clinical symptoms. There is no standard assessment of ED AI patients. Objective The objective was to evaluate a novel standardized ED assessment of alcohol impairment, Hack's Impairment Index (HII score), in a busy urban ED. Methods A retrospective chart review was performed for all AI patients seen in our busy urban ED over 24 months. Trained nurses evaluated AI patients with both “usual” and HII score every 2 hours. Patients were stratified by frequency of visits for AI during this time: high (≥ 6), medium (2–5), and low (1). Within each category, comparisons were made between HII scores, measured ethanol levels, and usual nursing assessment of AI. Changes in HII scores over time were also evaluated. Results A total of 8,074 visits from 3,219 unique patients were eligible for study, including 7,973 (98.7%) with ethanol levels, 5,061 (62.7%) with complete HII scores, and 3,646 (45.2%) with health care provider assessments. Correlations between HII scores and ethanol levels were poor (Pearson's R2 = 0.09, 0.09, and 0.17 for high-, medium-, and low-frequency strata). HII scores were excellent at discriminating nursing assessment of AI, while ethanol levels were less effective. Omitting extrema, HII scores fell consistently an average 0.062 points per hour, throughout patients’ visits. Conclusions The HII score applied a quantitative, objective assessment of alcohol impairment. HII scores were superior to ethanol levels as an objective clinical measure of impairment. The HII declines in a reasonably predictable manner over time, with serial evaluations corresponding well with health care provider evaluations.
Toward Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards: Evaluating Government Quotas (Eu) Versus Shareholder Resolutions (Us) from the Perspective of Third Wave Feminism

In recent years, the US and the EU have pursued markedly different agendas in the pursuit of board gender diversity. The EU has taken a more pro-active governmental approach of mandated quotas, whereas the US is relying largely on the endogenous mechanism of shareholder diversity proposals. Despite their obvious allure as a means of bringing about rapid change, evidence is mounting that board gender diversity quotas may yield various deleterious side effects; and quotas may not be as successful in their core aim of promoting gender diversity as initial broad statistical measures indicate. In this paper we critique the expanding EU quota regime, and consider US shareholder proposals as an alternative change mechanism for improving gender diversity in corporate boards. As an alternative to quotas, diversity resolutions are often dismissed as ineffective because the vast majority fail to formally pass (with a failure rate close to 95%). However, on closer inspection, this ‘failure’ actually results in success. Contrary to the conventional ‘folk’ wisdom -- in the quest to promote gender diversity on corporate boards, the endogenous (US) mechanism of board diversity proposals has, to date, resulted in similar increases in gender diversity as the exogenous (EU) mechanism of government-mandated gender quotas. Furthermore, the former mechanism is more consistent with recent ‘third-wave’ feminist theory. We conclude with the policy recommendation that, rather than quotas, the EU should focus on removing the regulatory barriers that inhibit shareholder democracy.
Use of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and Surgical Embolectomy for Massive Pulmonary Embolism in the Emergency Department.

Abstract Background Massive pulmonary embolism (PE) carries significant morbidity and mortality with current standard of care modalities. Case Report We present the case of a 63-year-old male status post abdominal surgery 2 weeks before presenting to the emergency department with a massive pulmonary embolism and subsequent acute cardiopulmonary failure. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? Here we describe a case of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) deployed in the emergency department as a bridge to embolectomy to successfully treat massive pulmonary embolism. This provided the opportunity to establish a “Code ECMO” protocol and algorithm for PE with cardiopulmonary instability so that patients can be rapidly triaged to the appropriate treatment modality.
The History of a Decision: A Standard Vibration Test Method for Qualification

Abstract As MIL-STD-810G, Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests, and subsequent versions have incorporated multiple-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) vibration test methodologies, it is important to understand the history and factors that drove the original decision in MIL-STD-810 to focus on single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) vibration testing. Examining the thought process behind early MIL-STD-810 vibration test methods is useful when considering MDOF testing now that it is feasible with today's technology and documented in MIL-STD-810. This paper delves into the details of the decision made in the 1960s to develop the SDOF vibration testing standards in MIL-STD-810 beyond the limitations of technology at the time. This paper also considers the implications for effective test planning today considering the advances in test capabilities and improvements in understanding of the operational environment.
Multifaceted Regulation of ALDH1A1 by Cdk5 in Alzheimer’s Disease Pathogenesis

This study revealed multifaceted regulation of ALDH1A1 by Cdk5 in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis. ALDH1A1 is a multifunctional enzyme with dehydrogenase, esterase, and anti-oxidant activities. ALDH1A1 is also a major regulator of retinoic acid (RA) signaling, which is critical for normal brain homeostasis. We identified ALDH1A1 as both physiological and pathological target of Cdk5. First, under neurotoxic conditions, Cdk5-induced oxidative stress upregulates ALDH1A1 transcription. Second, Cdk5 increases ALDH1A1 levels by preventing its ubiquitylation via direct phosphorylation. Third, ALDH1A1 phosphorylation increases its dehydrogenase activity by altering its tetrameric state to a highly active monomeric state. Fourth, persistent oxidative stress triggered by deregulated Cdk5 inactivates ALDH1A1. Thus, initially, the good Cdk5 attempts to mitigate ensuing oxidative stress by upregulating ALDH1A1 via phosphorylation and paradoxically by increasing oxidative stress. Later, sustained oxidative stress generated by Cdk5 inhibits ALDH1A1 activity, leading to neurotoxicity. ALDH1A1 upregulation is highly neuroprotective. In human AD tissues, ALDH1A1 levels increase with disease severity. However, ALDH1A1 activity was highest at mild and moderate stages, but declines significantly at severe stage. These findings confirm that during the initial stages, neurons attempt to upregulate and activate ALDH1A1 to protect from accruing oxidative stress-induced damage; however, persistently deleterious conditions inactivate ALDH1A1, further contributing to neurotoxicity. This study thus revealed two faces of Cdk5, good and bad in neuronal function and survival, with a single substrate, ALDH1A1. The bad Cdk5 prevails in the end, overriding the good Cdk5 act, suggesting that Cdk5 is an effective therapeutic target for AD.
Learning Progression Developed to Support Students in Building a Particle Model of Matter

The particle nature of matter is a core idea of science that serves as the building block for understanding states of matter phase changes and properties of substances. Science educators have started to explore learning progressions as a means for understanding how students develop their knowledge of complex science content over time. The development and application of progress variables is one method that has been suggested as a means for tracking students’ knowledge. The How can I smell things from a distance? sixth grade (ages 11–12) chemistry unit takes the approach of building students’ ideas through students’ development of particle model of matter. The empirically validated particle model of matter progress variable was used to track 122 students’ development toward a particle model of matter. Results show that well-aligned curriculum and assessment can help students to develop a particle model of matter.
Children ‘disappeared’ at the United States/Mexico border: a symptom with consequences for the United States

‘Disappearing’ people as an act of torture has an ordinary language meaning, such that the United Nations could describe it and various torture treatment centres that address it as torture. The present United States policy of separating families into different prisons at its border with Mexico results in many such disappearances, and therefore is torture of both children and the families they are separated from. This article follows the United Nations description.
Survival differences in nasopharyngeal carcinoma among racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States: A retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE The literature on nasopharyngeal carcinoma survival in the United States has focused mostly on Whites or Asians and not much is known about survivorship in other minority racial and ethnic groups. We aimed to determine the disease-specific survival rate and prognostic factors for nasopharyngeal carcinoma survival across the minority United States population. DESIGN A retrospective cohort study. SETTING The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) 13 database from 1992 to 2014 was queried for adult cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (n = 2549). PARTICIPANTS Eligible cases were Blacks, Hispanics, Asians/Pacific Islanders, American Indians/Alaska Natives; White patients were excluded. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURE A multivariable competing risk survival analysis yielded hazard ratios (HR) for competing mortality and was used to identify independent prognostic factors for survival. RESULTS Non-Hispanic American Indians/Alaska Natives consistently had the worst cause-specific survival of any group and that non-Hispanic Asians/Pacific Islanders consistently had the best survival (P < 0.001). Even after adjusting for other poor prognostic factors in the study, including older age, keratinising histology, and lack of radiation treatment, non-Hispanic American Indians/Alaska Natives had more than double hazards of death from nasopharyngeal cancer compared with non-Hispanic Asians/Pacific Islanders (aHR = 2.63, 95% CI 1.67, 4.13). CONCLUSIONS There are disparities in nasopharyngeal carcinoma survival among racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States, with American Indians/Alaskan Natives faring worst. It is critical that future research focuses on nasopharyngeal carcinoma among this population to improve survivorship and mitigate cancer-related health disparities.
Pannexin 1 deficiency can induce hearing loss

Gap junctions play a critical role in hearing. Connexin gap junction gene mutations can induce a high incidence of hearing loss. Pannexin (Panx) gene also encodes gap junction proteins in vertebrates. Panx1 is a predominant pannexin isoform and has extensive expression in the cochlea. Here, we report that deletion of Panx1 in the cochlea could produce a progressive hearing loss. The auditory brainstem response (ABR) recording showed that hearing loss was moderate to severe and severe at high-frequencies. Distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE), which reflects the activity of active cochlear mechanics that can amply acoustic stimulation to enhance hearing sensitivity and frequency selectivity, was also reduced. We further found that Panx1 deficiency could activate Caspase-3 cell apoptotic pathway in the cochlea to cause hair cells and other types of cells degeneration. These data indicate that like connexins Panx1 deficiency can also induce hearing loss. These data also suggest that pannexins play important rather than redundant roles in the cochlea and hearing.
Doing Inquiry at a Distance

The focus of this session will be using new distance education sections of ASTR 112 to help students develop science competencies in line with the most recent Mason goals for general education natural science. Students are expected to understand and practice scientific inquiry, evaluate scientific information, and recognize the scope and limits of science, as well as be able to recognize the relationship between science and society. Because these goals require more than just learning about astronomy, it is important to structure these courses with those goals at the forefront. Faculty of diverse disciplinary backgrounds struggle with how to make distance courses meaningful and engaging while meeting educational goals and should find ideas that transfer to their own courses.
On the application of machine learning techniques to derive seismic fragility curves

Abstract Deriving the fragility curves is a key step in seismic risk assessment within the performance-based earthquake engineering framework. The objective of this study is to implement machine learning tools (i.e., classification-based tools in particular) for predicting the structural responses and the fragility curves. In this regard, ten different classification-based methods are explored: logistic regression, lasso regression, support vector machine, Naive Bayes, decision tree, random forest, linear and quadratic discriminant analyses, neural networks, and K-nearest neighbors with the structural responses resulted from the multiple strip analyses. In addition, this study examines the impact of class imbalance in training dataset, which is typical among data of structural responses, when developing classification-based models for predicting structural responses. The statistical results using the implemented dataset demonstrate that among applied methods, random forest and quadratic discriminant analysis are, respectively, preferable with the imbalanced and balanced datasets since they show the highest efficiency in predicting the structural responses. Moreover, a detailed procedure is presented on how to derive the fragility curves based on the classification-based tools. Finally, the sensitivity of the applied machine learning methods to the size of employed dataset is investigated. The results explain that logistic regression, lasso regression, and Naive Bayes are not sensitive to the size of dataset (i.e., the number of performed time history analyses); while the performance of discriminant analysis significantly depends on the size of applied dataset.
The Development of Autobiographical Memory, Autobiographical Narratives, and Autobiographical Consciousness.

In this article, we expand on aspects of autobiographical memory initially laid out in our earlier exposition of the sociocultural developmental model. We present a developmental account of the int...
How a Monster Means: The Significance of Bodily Difference in the Christopher Cynocephalus Tradition

A venerable medieval literary and artistic tradition depicted Saint Christopher as a cynocephalus (dog-headed man). This chapter analyses four pieces of hagiography—three in Latin and one in Irish—to understand the cultural work performed by this extraordinary saintly body. The first task is to situate Christopher within the medieval lore surrounding the cynocephali, a lore that positioned monsters as didactic Others, miracles for the benefit of European Christians. In this light, Christopher resembles Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s “freak,” the subject obscured by its different body—a model supported by hagiography that ostensibly presents Christopher solely as the object of the normate gaze. The essay argues, however, that Christopher’s physical embodiedness is central to his message, drawing on Jay Timothy Dolmage’s “Disability Rhetoric” to show that the saint is a maker of meaning, pointing the way to a different, differently bodied Christianity. A more challenging reading of the hagiography, one with Christopher’s extraordinary body at its core, reveals the ways that Christopher exercises communicative agency, unsettles categories, and reshapes communities. Though unquestionably Other, the saint is anything but abject.
Underdiagnosis of Nasoorbitoethmoid Fractures in Patients with Zygoma Injury.

Background Nasoorbitoethmoid fractures commonly accompany midface fractures and may be underdiagnosed, resulting in incomplete reconstruction or inadequate treatment following facial trauma. To better understand the nasoorbitoethmoid fracture diagnosis and treatment tendencies, the authors analyzed concomitant nasoorbitoethmoid injuries in the setting of zygoma fractures. Methods The facial trauma database at a level I trauma center was evaluated. All patients with diagnosed zygoma fractures from June of 2011 to March of 2016 were assessed for a concomitant nasoorbitoethmoid injury. Documentation of these fractures in radiology, plastic surgery, and operative notes was recorded, as was the rate of nasoorbitoethmoid fracture surgical repair. Results The authors identified 339 eligible patients and completed retrospective analysis of computed tomographic images for their 356 zygoma fractures. The incidence of concomitant nasoorbitoethmoid fractures was 30.6 percent (109 of 356). Documentation rates of nasoorbitoethmoid fractures were 0 percent, 3.7 percent, and 8.3 percent in radiology, plastic surgery, and operative notes, respectively. The rate of surgical correction of nasoorbitoethmoid injuries was 22.9 percent (25 of 109). Of those fractures identified, 44.9 percent (49 of 109) were minimally displaced or nondisplaced. Subset analysis of only significantly displaced fractures yielded an incidence of 16.8 percent (60 of 356). Of significantly displaced fractures, documentation rates were 0 percent, 6.7 percent, and 16.8 percent in radiology, plastic surgery, and operative notes, respectively. The surgical repair rate of significantly displaced fractures was 31.7 percent (19 of 60). Conclusions These findings suggest a high concomitance rate of nasoorbitoethmoid fractures with zygoma fractures and identify a tendency to underdocument and undertreat this injury pattern. Clinicians managing patients with midface trauma should have a high suspicion for nasoorbitoethmoid trauma. Plastic surgeons and radiologists should be better trained in identifying the nasoorbitoethmoid fracture pattern.
Utility of Tracheostomy in Patients With COVID-19 and Other Special Considerations.

Introduction Patients who become severely ill from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have a high likelihood of needing prolonged intubation, making tracheostomy a likely consideration. The infectious nature of COVID-19 poses an additional risk of transmission to healthcare workers that should be taken into consideration. Methods We explore current literature and recommendations for tracheostomy in patients with COVID-19 and look back at previous data from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1), the virus responsible for the SARS outbreak of 2003. Results Given the severity and clinical uncertainty of patients with COVID-19 and the increased risk of transmission to clinicians, careful consideration should be taken prior to performing tracheostomy. If tracheostomy is performed, we recommend a bedside approach to limit exposure time and number of exposed personnel. Bronchoscopy use with a percutaneous approach should be limited in order to decrease viral exposure. Conclusion Thorough preprocedural planning, use of experienced personnel, enhanced personal protective equipment where available, and a thoughtful anesthesia approach are instrumental in maximizing positive patient outcomes while successfully protecting the safety of healthcare personnel. Laryngoscope, 130:2546-2549, 2020.
Chapter 11 – Liquid Rockets

Publisher Summary This chapter explores liquid rocket motors, rocket propellants, propellant tank, and feed system design. The rocket is the simplest jet propulsion device in that it carries all its propellant and liberates the chemical energy in that propellant under virtually quiescent conditions in the combustion chamber. The rocket motor is basically a nozzle used to transform the heat energy in the combustion chamber gas into kinetic energy by guiding the nearly isentropic expansion of that gas through the increasing cross-sectional area of the nozzle. Liquid fuel and oxidizer combinations have high energy density on a volumetric basis, and therefore the packaging of such propellants is efficient in terms of vehicle frontal area. The nozzle on the other hand produces a steady flow of high-velocity gas parallel to its centerline in order to produce thrust along that line of action. Because all aerospace vehicle operations are constrained by weight considerations, it is desired that the nozzle be as light as possible. Capacities of bell nozzle, plug nozzle, and extendable nozzles are also calculated. Combustion chamber, propellant injectors, cryogenic and hypergolic propellants are also discussed.
Identifying Asian American Attitudes Toward Immigration: Testing Theories of Acculturation, Group Consciousness, and Context Effects

In this study, I test a model of competing theoretical explanations of Asian American attitudes toward immigration by studying the effects of acculturation, group consciousness and political commonality with other groups, and contextual factors. Using the 2018 Civic Engagement and Political Participation of Asian American Survey, Asian Americans’ policy preferences on Syrian refugees, Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the Muslim travel ban, and a border wall are examined. Multinomial logistic regression analyses reveal that acculturation explains positive attitudes toward immigration among Asian Americans whereas factors such as Asian identity, political commonality with other racial groups, and the perceived racial mix of neighborhoods have limited and mixed influence on Asian American immigration attitudes. As one of very few studies on immigrants’ attitudes toward immigration policies, this study contributes to our better understanding of how the fastest-growing immigrant group like Asian Americans determine their attitudes toward policies that target immigrants.
Examining the Relationship Between Speech Perception, Production Distinctness, and Production Variability.

Several studies have demonstrated that individuals' ability to perceive a speech sound contrast is related to the production of that contrast in their native language. The theoretical account for this relationship is that speech perception and production have a shared multimodal representation in relevant sensory spaces (e.g., auditory and somatosensory domains). This gives rise to a prediction that individuals with more narrowly defined targets will produce greater separation between contrasting sounds, as well as lower variability in the production of each sound. However, empirical studies that tested this hypothesis, particularly with regard to variability, have reported mixed outcomes. The current study investigates the relationship between perceptual ability and production ability, focusing on the auditory domain. We examined whether individuals' categorical labeling consistency for the American English /e/-/ae/ contrast, measured using a perceptual identification task, is related to distance between the centroids of vowel categories in acoustic space (i.e., vowel contrast distance) and to two measures of production variability: the overall distribution of repeated tokens for the vowels (i.e., area of the ellipse) and the proportional within-trial decrease in variability as defined as the magnitude of self-correction to the initial acoustic variation of each token (i.e., centering ratio). No significant associations were found between categorical labeling consistency and vowel contrast distance, between categorical labeling consistency and area of the ellipse, or between categorical labeling consistency and centering ratio. These null results suggest that the perception-production relation may not be as robust as suggested by a widely adopted theoretical framing in terms of the size of auditory target regions. However, the present results may also be attributable to choices in implementation (e.g., the use of model talkers instead of continua derived from the participants' own productions) that should be subject to further investigation.
The Window Dressing Behind The Bell Curve

This article provides a critique of the conceptual framework on which Herrnstein and Murray's book entitled The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life is based. The conclusio...
Automatic Instructional Video Creation from a Markdown-Formatted Tutorial

We introduce HowToCut, an automatic approach that converts a Markdown-formatted tutorial into an interactive video that presents the visual instructions with a synthesized voiceover for narration. HowToCut extracts instructional content from a multimedia document that describes a step-by-step procedure. Our method selects and converts text instructions to a voiceover. It makes automatic editing decisions to align the narration with edited visual assets, including step images, videos, and text overlays. We derive our video editing strategies from an analysis of 125 web tutorials and apply Computer Vision techniques to the assets. To enable viewers to interactively navigate the tutorial, HowToCut’s conversational UI presents instructions in multiple formats upon user commands. We evaluated our automatically-generated video tutorials through user studies (N=20) and validated the video quality via an online survey (N=93). The evaluation shows that our method was able to effectively create informative and useful instructional videos from a web tutorial document for both reviewing and following.
Use of Approximate Bayesian Computation to Assess and Fit Models of Mycobacterium leprae to Predict Outcomes of the Brazilian Control Program

Hansen’s disease (leprosy) elimination has proven difficult in several countries, including Brazil, and there is a need for a mathematical model that can predict control program efficacy. This study applied the Approximate Bayesian Computation algorithm to fit 6 different proposed models to each of the 5 regions of Brazil, then fitted hierarchical models based on the best-fit regional models to the entire country. The best model proposed for most regions was a simple model. Posterior checks found that the model results were more similar to the observed incidence after fitting than before, and that parameters varied slightly by region. Current control programs were predicted to require additional measures to eliminate Hansen’s Disease as a public health problem in Brazil.
A Single Closed Theory of the Universe

When we speak of the universe, what do we mean? Today it is thought of as an entity of nearly infinite size and dimensions, approximately 13.7 billions of years old, full of perhaps trillions of stars organized into a countless number of galaxies. It is a universe composed of many parts. There is no center, no central point, and gazing in any direction from any point one would never see the edge.
Regulation of glucosylation of teichoic acid. I. Isolation of phosphoglucomutase in Bacillus subtilis 168.

Abstract A procedure is described for the purification of phosphoglucomutase from Bacillus subtilis. Two species of the enzyme were separated by DEAE-cellulose chromatography. Phosphoglucomutase I contained 60 % of the total recoverable activity and phosphoglucomutase II accounted for the remaining 40 %. Examination of phosphoglucomutase I and II by acrylamide gel concentration suggested that each species was a dimer composed of active monomers. The physiological significance of two forms of phosphoglucomutase was indicated by the apparent shift in the concentration of monomeric and dimeric forms during growth as observed on histograms of acrylamide gels. Enzyme activities of phosphoglucomutase I and II were both enhanced by EDTA, ethylene glycol bis(β-aminoethylether)-N,N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA), cysteine, and histidine. Preincubation was required with EDTA or EGTA for maximal activation; stimulation by histidine or cysteine, however, did not necessitate a preincubation period. The attendant paper describes several properties attributed to the regulation of this enzyme in B. subtilis.
Platelet decrease and disappearance in obstetric conditions.

Abstract Platelets counts were found to be reduced in pre-eclampsia, labor in normal patients, and eclampsia and abruptio placentae. This study included 12 patients with eclampsia and 12 patients with abruptio. Platelets disappeared from the circulation in one case of pre-eclampsia and 2 cases of eclampsia. The disappearance of platelets was not accompanied by any exceptional hemorrhagic events. No relationship was noted in the times of convulsion, zero count, delivery, bleeding, or recovery.
The influence of the local bubble on the ionization of the local interstellar cloud

The ionization of the the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC) is quite unusual compared with most warm (T ∼ 104K) interstellar gas. Hydrogen and helium are both partially ionized with helium surprisingly more ionized than hydrogen. Directly observed ionization sources including nearby stellar EUV sources and the diffuse emission of the Soft X-ray Background (SXRB), do not provide enough ionization and heating to account for both the ionization state and temperature of the LIC. We propose that an evaporative boundary between the LIC and the hot gas of the Local Bubble can provide the necessary ionizing radiation. Results of detailed models of the emission from the interface are presented and shown to be adequate to explain the observations.
Put Me in, Coach: The Political Promise of Competitive Coaching

Article for LiCS special issue The New Activism: Composition, Literacy Studies, and Politics.
Effectiveness of Parent-Focused Interventions to Increase Teen Driver Safety: A Critical Review

Abstract Purpose We critically reviewed recent parent-directed teen driving interventions to summarize their success in meeting stated goals; identify promising intervention components and knowledge gaps; aid in the selection, adaptation, and dissemination of effective interventions; and guide future research efforts. Methods We focused on interventions that included a direct parent component, explicitly stated outcomes related to the teen and/or their parents, were evaluated for parent or teen outcomes, targeted drivers younger than the age of 21 years, and had at least one evaluation study published since 1990 and in English. We conducted a comprehensive systematic search of 26 online databases between November 2013 and January 2014 and identified 34 articles representing 18 interventions. Results Several interventions—in particular, those that had an active engagement component, incorporated an in-vehicle data recorder system, and had a strong conceptual approach—show promise in improving parental supervisory behaviors during the learner and early independent phases, increasing teen driver skill acquisition, and reducing teens' risky driving behaviors. Conclusions We identify essential characteristics of effective parent-involved teen driving interventions and their evaluation studies, propose a comprehensive and multitiered approach to intervention, and discuss several research areas and overarching issues for consideration.
Heuristics for loading flexible manufacturing systems

Abstract The flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is an alternative to conventional discretemanufacturing processes that permits highly automated, efficient, and simultaneous machining of a variety of part types. In managing these systems, technological requirements indicate that several decisions must be made prior to system start-up. To this end, previous research has defined a set of FMS production planning problems. The final production planning problem is called the loading problem, which is described as follows. Given a set of part types chosen for immediate simultaneous production, allocate the operations and associated tooling of these part types among the machines subject to the capacity and technological constraints, and according to some loading objective. this problem has previously been formulated as a nonlinear mixed integer program for several loading objectives. Although it has been shown that the nonlinear MIPs are solvable on large computer systems, real-time FMS control requirements and the typical availability of minicomputers in shop environments make it impractical and cost inefficient to optimally solve the loading problem in many plants today. As a result, the authors develop several heuristic algorithms that provide goodsolutions to various versions of the FMS loading problem. We expect that these rules can be executed in essentially real-time on minicomputers available today.
The design, synthesis and development of a new class of potent antineoplastic anthraquinones.

Publisher Summary Among numerous quinone derivatives, the anthraquinones are most widely distributed in nature and have been found in bacteria, moulds, higher fungi and lichens, flowering plants, and insects, occupy a prominent role in the dyestuff industry. This chapter describes the development of a class of relatively simple anthraquinones that possess outstanding antineoplastic activity. The sequence of design, synthesis, and development of DHAQ and related anthraquinones has been presented. As these compounds that do not contain asymmetric carbon atoms are relatively simple in chemical structure and easy to synthesize, studies of compounds of this type will continue in connection with the mode and mechanism of action, short- and long-term toxicity, and their possible use, either alone or in combination with other agents or modalities, for the treatment of cancer.
Surfactant Protein-A inhibits Aspergillus fumigatus-induced allergic T-cell responses

The pulmonary surfactant protein (SP)-A has potent immunomodulatory activities but its role and regulation during allergic airway inflammation is unknown. We studied changes in SP-A expression in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) using a murine model of single Aspergillus fumigatus (Af) challenge of sensitized animals. SP-A protein levels in the BAL fluid showed a rapid, transient decline that reached the lowest values (25% of controls) 12 h after intranasal Af provocation of sensitized mice. Decrease of SP-A was associated with influx of inflammatory cells and increase of IL-4 and IL-5 mRNA and protein levels. Since levels of SP-A showed a significant negative correlation with these BAL cytokines (but not with IFN-γ), we hypothesized that SP-A exerts an inhibitory effect on Th2-type immune responses. To study this hypothesis, we used an in vitro Af-rechallenge model. Af-induced lymphocyte proliferation of cells isolated from sensitized mice was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by addition of purified human SP-A (0.1–10 μg/ml). Flow cytometric studies on Af-stimulated lymphocytes indicated that the numbers of CD4+ (but not CD8+) T cells were significantly increased in the parental population and decreased in the third and fourth generation in the presence of SP-A. Further, addition of SP-A to the tissue culture inhibited Af-induced IL-4 and IL-5 production suggesting that SP-A directly suppressed allergen-stimulated CD4+ T cell function. We speculate that a transient lack of this lung collectin following allergen exposure of the airways may significantly contribute to the development of a T-cell dependent allergic immune response.
Current Approaches for Investigating and Predicting Cytochrome P450 3A4-Ligand Interactions

Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is the major and most important drug-metabolizing enzyme in humans that oxidizes and clears over a half of all administered pharmaceuticals. This is possible because CYP3A4 is promiscuous with respect to substrate binding and has the ability to catalyze diverse oxidative chemistries in addition to traditional hydroxylation reactions. Furthermore, CYP3A4 binds and oxidizes a number of substrates in a cooperative manner and can be both induced and inactivated by drugs. In vivo, CYP3A4 inhibition could lead to undesired drug-drug interactions and drug toxicity, a major reason for late-stage clinical failures and withdrawal of marketed pharmaceuticals. Owing to its central role in drug metabolism, many aspects of CYP3A4 catalysis have been extensively studied by various techniques. Here, we give an overview of experimental and theoretical methods currently used for investigation and prediction of CYP3A4-ligand interactions, a defining factor in drug metabolism, with an emphasis on the problems addressed and conclusions derived from the studies.
NF-kappa B binds within a region required for B-cell-specific expression of major histocompatibility complex class II gene E alpha d.

Abstract A region upstream of the murine major histocompatibility complex gene, E alpha d, has been shown previously to be required for B-cell expression. Binding of the B-cell-specific factor, NF-kappa B, to a site within this region is indistinguishable from that observed with the kappa enhancer binding site. NF-kappa B may be responsible for E alpha d B-cell expression.
Methodology and Applications of Disease Biomarker Identification in Human Serum

Biomarkers are biomolecules that serve as indicators of biological and pathological processes, or physiological and pharmacological responses to a drug treatment. Because of the high abundance of albumin and heterogeneity of plasma lipoproteins and glycoproteins, biomarkers are difficult to identify in human serum. Due to the clinical significance the identification of disease biomarkers in serum holds great promise for personalized medicine, especially for disease diagnosis and prognosis. This review summarizes some common and emerging proteomics techniques utilized in the separation of serum samples and identification of disease signatures. The practical application of each protein separation or identification technique is analyzed using specific examples. Biomarkers of cancers of prostate, breast, ovary, and lung in human serum have been reviewed, as well as those of heart disease, arthritis, asthma, and cystic fibrosis. Despite the advancement of technology few biomarkers have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for disease diagnosis and prognosis due to the complexity of structure and function of protein biomarkers and lack of high sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility for those putative biomarkers. The combination of different types of technologies and statistical analysis may provide more effective methods to identify and validate new disease biomarkers in blood.