cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Crop Acreage Estimation Using a Landsat-Based Estimator as an Auxiliary Variable

The problem of improving upon the ground survey estimates of crop acreages by utilizing Landsat data is addressed. Three estimators, called regression, ratio, and stratified ratio, are studied. for bias and variance, and their relative efficiencies are compared. The approach is to formulate analytically the estimation problem that utilizes ground survey data, as collected by the U. S. Department of Agriculture ture, and Landsat data, which provide complete coverage for an area of interest, and then to conduct simulation studies. It is shown over a wide range of parametric conditions that the regression estimator is the most efficient unless there is a low correlation between the actual and estimated crop acreages in the sampled area segments, in which case the ratio and stratified ratio estimators are better. Furthermore, it is seen that the regression estimator is potentially biased due to estimating the regression coefficient from the training sample segments. Estimation of the variance of the regression estimator is also investigated. Two variance estimators are considered, the large sample variance estimator and an alternative estimator suggested by Cochran. The large sample estimate of variance is found to be biased and inferior to the Cochran estimate for small sample sizes.
Cosmogenic radionuclides in the Allende and Murchison carbonaceous chondrites

Measurements were made of Na-22, Al-26, Mn-54, and Co-60 produced by cosmic rays in five samples of the Allende C3 meteorite and in one specimen of Murchison (C2); Sc-46, V-48, Cr-51, and Co-57 were also measured in several of these samples. Comparison of observed Allende Co-60 activities with calculated neutron-capture production rates yields a depth scale for Allende that appears unambiguous to about 30-cm depth. Using this scale, the production of Al-26 is constant to a depth in excess of 30 cm, Na-22 activity increases 30% from near the surface of Allende to 20- to 30-cm depth, and Mn-54 production increases 50% over the same depth range.
Thromboembolism and Pancreatic Cancer

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a frequent event in the clinical course of patients with exocrine pancreatic cancer; studies have been designed to evaluate the role of prophylactic anticoagulation in this ominous disease. Searching for the molecular basis of thrombosis in cancer, Bozkurt et al . present in the Abstract #e22049 the result of their investigation on the frequency of inherited and carcinogenesis-acquired proteins in oncologic patients with and without venous thromboembolism. From the bedside, Munoz Martin et al . present in the Abstract #e15187 their work on the incidence of venous thromboembolism in patients with exocrine pancreatic cancer and the role of the established Khorana score in predicting symptomatic and incidental venous thromboembolism. At last, Cella et al . in the Abstract #e20625 expand the predictor landscape from the Khorana score to other risk factors for venous thromboembolism, refining the selection of oncologic patients who can benefit from prophylactic anticoagulation. Image: Thrombus
On the solar cycle variation of the winter anomaly

Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate, Ionosonde, and Global Ultraviolet Imager data have been used to investigate the solar cycle changes in the winter anomaly (the winter anomaly is defined as the enhancement of the F2 peak electron density in the winter hemisphere over that in the summer hemisphere) in the last solar cycle. There is no winter anomaly in solar minimum, and an enhancement of about 50% in winter over summer ones on the same day of the year at solar maximum. This solar cycle variation in the winter anomaly is primarily due to greater winter to summer differences of [O]/[N2] in solar maximum than in solar minimum, with a secondary contribution from the effects of temperature on the recombination coefficient between O+ and the molecular neutral gas. The greater winter increases in electron density in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere appear to be related to the greater annual variation of [O]/[N2] in the north than in the south.
Laparoscopic renal parenchymal hypothermia with novel ice-slush deployment mechanism.

Abstract Objectives To report the development of a novel, simple-to-use method for laparoscopic deployment of fine-quality saline ice slush by way of a 10-mm end-effector for laparoscopic parenchymal hypothermia. Methods A mechanism for making fine ice slush was created, and a 10-mm laparoscopic end-effector was designed and constructed for deployment of the ice slush. The novel ice slush deployment system was tested in a porcine model and compared with that of standard open ice slush cooling. After atraumatic hilar clamping, the cortical and medullary temperatures in the upper, middle, and lower poles were measured with thermocouples. Results Six pigs were evaluated in each group. In all cases, the kidneys were successfully cooled to our goal temperature of 15° to 25°C within 10 minutes and were maintained at the target temperature for 1 hour. The core body temperature for the slush group was decreased by 3°C but did not change in the open group. The renal temperatures quickly returned to normal on unclamping of the renal hilum. One pig in the open group died of acidosis and another in the same group experienced thrombosis of the renal artery. No complications occurred in the laparoscopic group. Conclusions We describe a novel, simple-to-use mechanism for producing and delivering fine ice slush in a laparoscopic setting. The technique achieves optimal parenchymal hypothermia expeditiously.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF AXOPLASMIC FLOW IN OPTIC NERVE AND PROTEIN SYNTHESIS WITHIN THE OPTIC TECTUM TO SYNAPTIC MEMBRANE PROTEINS OF THE CHICK OPTIC TECTUM

In the 5-day-old chick, radioactive leucine was incorporated into proteins of synaptosomal and subsynaptosomal fractions both by fast axoplasmic flow and synthesis within the optic tectum. The distribution of radioactivity in subsynaptosomal fractions suggested that both pathways contribute to the protein constituents of each fraction. The relative contributions to each fraction were similar except for the supernatant proteins, for which fast axoplasmic flow contributed less than the synthesis within the optic tectum. The qualitative contribution of fast flow and synthesis within the optic tectum to the synaptic membrane fraction was distinctive. Fast axoplasmic flow preferentially labelled the high molecular weight proteins, whereas synthesis within the optic tectum labelled a larger percentage of smaller molecular weight proteins.
How Do Thermal Recovery Methods Affect Wettability Alteration

We will investigate the effect of temperature on wettability. First, we will list and summarize the different schools of thoughts from previous literature describing wettability changes for sandstone and carbonate reservoirs at elevated temperature. Next, we will describe the properties that affect wettability: how they alter wettability and how they are affected by temperature. After that, we will present indications of wettability changes and current wettability measurement techniques. Following this, case studies describing how wettability change influences reservoir characteristics and field performance during thermal recovery processes will be discussed. The thermal recovery methods included in the case studies were steam flooding, cyclic steam injection, hot water flooding, and in situ combustion. The main and very important take away from this study is that temperature induced wettability change is determined by many possible mechanisms combined together and not by just one or two phenomena occurring simultaneously. Finally, we will propose a reasonable scheme for wettability alteration during dry forward combustion, which needs further investigation.
Patterns of use and distribution of king eiders and black scoters during the annual cycle in northeastern Bristol Bay, Alaska.

Northeastern Bristol Bay, Alaska, which includes three large estuaries, is used by multiple sea duck species during the annual cycle. Limited aerial surveys indicate that this area supports tens of thousands of king eiders and black scoters during spring migration and the autumn molt. Existing satellite telemetry data were used to assess the temporal patterns of habitat use and spatial distribution of king eiders and black scoters in northeastern Bristol Bay throughout the annual cycle. King eiders used northeastern Bristol Bay during all months of the annual cycle and black scoters used the area during spring through fall. Both species exhibited a similar seasonal pattern of use that corresponded with the timing of life-cycle stages. Abundance of both species was highest during spring migration and the autumn molting period and lowest during summer. Use by king eiders did not occur during all winter months in every year of the study. King eiders were more broadly distributed than black scoters and were located farther from shore in deeper water. Core use areas had minimal overlap, suggesting a degree of spatial segregation between species and a preference for different habitats in northeastern Bristol Bay. Further study of potential variation in invertebrate community structure that may correlate with the observed interspecific spatial segregation in habitat use is needed to determine preferred forage and describe habitat requirements for each species. Such information is necessary to assess the potential impact that future anthropogenic or environmental changes may have on habitat quality of northeastern Bristol Bay and demography of Pacific sea duck populations that use this area.
Diagnosis of Brachial Artery Occlusion by Ultrasound

Brachial artery occlusion is a rare occurrence. The authors report a case of a brachial artery occlusion diagnosed first by ultrasound with the findings confirmed by angiography.
Acth and cortisone in the treatment of asthma

Abstract Sixty patients with asthma were treated with cortisone or HP Acthar gel, alone or in combination. Satisfactory results were obtained in fifty-two cases (87 per cent). Thirty patients continued to require maintenance of the hormones following institution of this form of therapy. The largest amounts given to individual patients were 62 grams of cortisone and 7,780 units of HP Acthar gel, respectively. The longest continuous treatment given to any single patient extended over a period of thirty-nine months. Combined or alternating treatment with the two hormones was used successfully in twenty-four instances. Complications were rarely encountered. Seven patients included in this study died, but only two of them were receiving hormones, and those in small doses at the time of death. Usefulness and limitations of respiratory function tests and of the Thorne test in guiding hormone therapy are discussed. Need of over-all management of patients with asthma is emphasized; it is concluded that, with proper precautions, HP Acthar gel and cortisone may be used to relieve acute attacks, and also may be employed over prolonged periods of time with resulting marked clinical relief to the asthmatic state.
Autoantibody profiles and neurological correlations of thymoma.

Purpose: Determine muscle and neuronal autoantibody frequencies in patients with thymoma, with and without paraneoplastic neurological accompaniments. Experimental Design: Analysis of IgG autoantibodies in stored serum collected between 1985 and 2003 from 201 patients with histologically diagnosed thymoma (including six with thymic carcinoma). Contemporary assays quantitated antibodies reactive with muscle and neuronal cation channels, muscle sarcomeric proteins and neuronal cytoplasmic, and nuclear proteins. Results: Neurological diagnoses included myasthenia gravis (MG), myositis, encephalitis, neuromuscular hyperexcitability, autonomic neuropathy, and subacute hearing loss, a previously unrecognized accompaniment of thymoma. Muscle acetylcholine receptor (AChR) binding antibodies were found in all patients with a diagnosis of MG. Muscle autoantibodies (AChR-binding, AChR-modulating, or striational) were also found in 59% of patients without any neurological disorder. One or more neuronal autoantibodies were found in 41% of patients without any neurological disorder, 43% of patients with MG only, and 78% of patients with other neurological disorders. Neuronal autoantibody specificities were, in descending order of frequency, as follows: glutamic acid decarboxylase, voltage-gated potassium channel, collapsin response-mediator protein-5, ganglionic AChR, and antineuronal nuclear antibody-type 1 (ANNA-1). Conclusions: Neuronal autoantibodies complement skeletal muscle autoantibodies as serological markers of thymoma in patients with and without clinical evidence of a neurological disorder. The high prevalence of glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibody, not previously considered a paraneoplastic marker, justifies its consideration as a marker of thymoma-related neurological autoimmunity. Serological evaluation of a patient’s profile of neuronal and muscle autoantibodies may aid in preoperative identification of an indeterminate mediastinal mass.
Effect of long-term oral bisphosphonates on implant wound healing: literature review and a case report.

Background: Bisphosphonates suppress osteoclast activity, and their intravenous use has been reported in hundreds of cases to be associated with osteonecrosis in the jaw. Little is known of the risks associated with long-term use of oral bisphosphonates despite their use for >10 years by an oral mode of delivery for the treatment of osteopenia, osteoporosis, and Paget's disease of bone. The purpose of this report is to review the literature associated with bisphosphonate use that could impact bone healing and to report a case of bone necrosis in a patient on long-term oral bisphosphonates.Methods: A Medline search was carried out to find relevant articles from both medical and dental literature between 1960 and 2006. A patient, who had been taking an oral bisphosphonate for >10 years, developed unexplained clinical signs of bone necrosis after routine dental implant placement. This case was followed, documented, and the treatment of the osteonecrosis described.Results: A summary of how bisphosphonates may...
Extracellular matrix remodeling in wound healing of critical size defects in the mitral valve leaflet

The details of valvular leaflet healing following valvuloplasty and leaflet perforation from endocarditis are poorly understood. In this study, the synthesis and turnover of valvular extracellular matrix due to healing of a critical sized wound was investigated. Twenty-nine sheep were randomized to either CTRL (n = 11) or HOLE (n = 18), in which a 2.8-4.8 mm diameter hole was punched in the posterior mitral leaflet. After 12 weeks, posterior leaflets were harvested and histologically stained to localize extracellular matrix components. Immunohistochemistry was also performed to assess matrix components and markers of matrix turnover. A semi-quantitative grading scale was used to quantify differences between HOLE and CTRL. After 12 weeks, the hole diameter was reduced by 71.3 ± 1.4 % (p < 0.001). Areas of remodeling surrounding the hole contained more activated cells, greater expression of proteoglycans, and markers of matrix turnover (prolyl 4-hydroxylase, metalloproteases, and lysyl oxidase, each p ≤ 0.025), along with fibrin accumulation. Two distinct remodeling regions were evident surrounding the hole, one directly bordering the hole rich in versican and hyaluronan and a second adjacent region with abundant collagen and elastic fiber turnover. The remodeling also caused reduced delineation between valve layers (p = 0.002), more diffuse staining of matrix components and markers of matrix turnover (p < 0.001), and disruption of the collagenous fibrosa. In conclusion, acute valve injury elicited distinct, heterogeneous alterations in valvular matrix composition and structure, resulting in partial wound closure. Because these changes could also affect leaflet mechanics and valve function, it will be important to determine their impact on healing wounds.
Building the wall brick by brick: one prospective teacher’s experiences with mathematics anxiety

Mathematics education researchers have investigated mathematics anxiety in prospective elementary teachers. While many of these studies have focused on the bodily sensations and emotions of mathematics anxiety, particularly those felt in assessment situations, opportunities remain to investigate how prospective elementary teachers interpret their experiences with mathematics anxiety and connect them over time to compose personal histories of mathematics anxiety. Currently, over 90 % of elementary teachers in US schools are women, and women have been shown to suffer more from mathematics anxiety than do men. In this article, I analyze how one woman prospective elementary teacher described, explained, and related her experiences of mathematics anxiety across her personal narratives of learning mathematics as a K-12 student and of learning to teach mathematics as a college student in a teacher preparation program. My research demonstrates that experiences of mathematics anxiety may persist beyond assessment situations to influence women prospective elementary teachers’ larger mathematical histories. I also show that women prospective elementary teachers may interpret mathematics anxiety as specific fears (e.g., loss of opportunities for social participation) and may develop particular coping strategies related to those fears. Finally, I point out that while a coping strategy may be used consistently across K-12 mathematics learning and undergraduate teacher preparation, and may even offer a woman prospective elementary teacher some relief from mathematics anxiety, it may also limit her mathematics learning and professional development. To conclude, I present implications of my research for mathematics teacher educators.
Introduction — Moral Theory and Moral Judgments in Biomedical Ethics

Bioethicists regularly make moral judgments about the appropriateness or inappropriateness of particular actions. They may judge that it is morally appropriate to withhold therapy from a particular patient because that patient has refused to receive that therapy. They may judge that it is morally appropriate to warn a third party about a threat posed by a patient even if the patient demands confidentiality. They may judge that a particular patient in an ICU should be discharged from the ICU to the floor because demands of justice require that a place be made for a patient with a greater need for the ICU bed. That bioethicists make such judgments about particular actions should come as no surprise. One of the major reasons for the emergence of bioethics is just that such judgments regularly need to be made in the world of high technology medicine.
Bayesian Probability Theory: Applications in the Physical Science, by W. von der Linden, V. Dose and U. von Toussaint: Scope: review. Level: general readership, non-specialists

The first attractive thing about this book is the care that von der Linden, Dose and von Toussaint take to define probability. This is a reliable signal that the book will be suitable for, and appr...
Standards in The Visual and Linguistic Language of An Online Historic Costume Collection

In a quest to increase access to and conserve their collections many institutions are creating websites that do more than advertise the physical collection but provide images and data for selected pieces from their collection. Libraries and archives, some with digital images, are implementing the standards for metadata harvesting and image capture created to facilitate the use of the internet, beyond its use as a tool for resource discovery, to a tool for “distributed custodianship” of resources. Small museums and collections may have trouble justifying the expending of the resources to implement these standards. This paper describes an evolutionary prototype for an archiving project for Historic Costume that is developing a process to incorporate these standards into an online searchable database for the Collection, http://digimuse.cis.drexel.edu. The evolution of the prototype includes the retrospective conversion of collection data from 3“x5” paper file card to a relational database that includes image...
A MELUS Interview: Ann Petry — The New England Connection

The recent republication of Ann Petry's The Street (1946 winner of the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award), The Narrows (1953), and Miss Muriel and Other Stories (1971) has introduced a new generation of readers to the work of a woman who has lived most of her long life in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, a town very like Lennox in her novel Country Place (1947) or Wheeling, the setting for some of her stories. In addition to her novels and short stories, Petry has written four books for young people and a number of articles and essays; and she continues to write, having recently published a short story in Harbor Review ("The Moses Project," 1986) and an autobiographical essay in Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series (1987). The interview took place in midsummer of 1987 in Old Saybrook, located on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Connecticut River and aptly described by Petry as "a picture-postcard of a town." We talked in the comfortable dining room of the house where Petry and her husband George have lived for the past forty years, scarcely half a mile from the town green and the drugstore once owned by Petry's father when, in 1908, she was born in the second-floor family quarters. Petry speaks of her present house, built around 1790, as having "great vibes," and certainly her warm hospitality puts the visitor immediately at ease. Despite her professed discomfort with interviews in general and tape recorders in particular, she agreed to let me place a recorder on the table between us as we talked for several hours about her life and work. But no transcript can really convey the warmth of her responses, often punctuated by laughter, or the relaxed and gracious atmosphere of her home.
Pattern Analysis of Wisc Scores Achieved by Culturally Disadvantaged Southern Blacks

Summary.-An analysis of the pattern of WISC scores for 54 Black children from Northeast Georgia and Southwest South Carolina was performed to determine whether there was any reliable difference in their performance on the various subtests. Highest scores were obtained in Picture Completion, Similarities, and Comprehension; lowest scores on Picture Arrangement, Information, Coding, Block Design, and Object Assembly. Such data do not support the view that Southern Black culture has less a detrimental effect on Performance than on Verbal subtests of the WISC. IF replicated, implications need examination. Although the standardization of the WISC did not include a single Black in its sample, the test is frequently used in making decisions concerning Blacks. Most examiners have great difficulty in interpreting the WISC scores of Black children. The tester is justifiably reluctant to classify the child as retarded or borderline on the basis of the Full Scale score. Examiners frequently make vague statements that responses on certain subtests tend to indicate that the intellectual potential of the individual is greater than the score actually earned. For example, Young and Bright (1754) have suggested that the WISC is not suitable for predicting the level of functioning of Blacks since they function effectively in their surroundings even though they consistently earn low scores. The above statements suggest that at least some parts of the WISC are inappropriate in the intellectual assessment of Black children, but the WISC is used anyway. It is possible that some subtests on the WISC are less sensitive to the effects of the Black culture, while at the same time are better predictors of most criteria In other words, there may be some scales that consistently lower the over-all scores of Black but do not reflect effective functioning in their general surroundings. For a period of time it was thought that performance scores were a better index of intellectual potential than verbal scores, but several studies (Young & Bright, 1954; Cole & Hunter, 1970) have not supported this view. Method.-Ss were 54 Black children from Northeast South Carolina and Northwest Georgia within the age range from 6 to 15 yr., and having a mean age of 9 yr., 8 mo. The entire WISC was administered as part of a rather complete test battery. All Ss had been referred for testing as a result of academic problems. The design was a 1 by 10, with repeated measures on the single factor. Initially an P test for the appropriate d6sign was run and then differences between individual means were analyzed by the Newman-Keuls test for simple effects.
History, Rights, and the Moral Reading

James Fleming's book, Fidelity to Our Imperfect Constitution, argues for a "moral reading" of the Constitution, a phrase made famous by Ronald Dworkin. But Fleming's version of the moral reading differs from Dworkin's in two important ways.First, Fleming argues that Dworkin's attempt to explain and justify judicial protection of constitutional rights in terms of democratic self-government is unduly strained. Moreover, in the quest to re-characterize all of these rights as supporting democracy, there is the danger that we will distort their most valuable features. I show why Fleming's insight is correct. I use the example of the First Amendment's guarantees of speech and press, which many scholars have assumed offers the strongest case for a democracy-based justification of rights.Second, Dworkin spent relatively little time worrying about how historical argument figured into a moral reading of the Constitution, other than to criticize originalism. Building on Dworkin's argument that good interpretations must satisfy the two dimensions of "fit" and "justification," Fleming asserts that history can be quite important to moral readings. I argue that Fleming offers a better account than Dworkin of why history matters -- and should matter -- to a moral reading of the Constitution. I show how his account connects with my own work on how lawyers use history in constitutional argument.
Magnetofluorescent Nanocomposites Integrating Magnetic Nanoparticles and Near Infrared Quantum Dots for Tumor Cell Targeting

In this work, we report the preparation of MFNCs integrating MnFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), near infrared CuInS2/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) and poly (ethylene glycol)-b-poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PEG-PLGA) in a tetrahydrofuran (THF)/water solvent system. It is found that the MFNCs possess high (Mn + Fe) recovery rates, and the optical properties and magnetic relaxivity of the MFNCs are tunable according to the MNP:QD mass ratios. Furthermore, the MFNCs present excellent capability for tumor cell targeting once they are conjugated with bioprobes specific to tumor cells. This study opens an avenue for the MFNCs to be employed in broad biological or biomedical applications.
Do realists run regressions

The question posed by the title of this chapter has already been answered briefly in the introduction. Yes, critical realists do run regressions – and other analytical statistics – but not with the same understanding or point as positivists. The reason is that CR has a completely different understanding of causality and causal explanation. In this chapter we will take things slowly. We will begin by seeing why the positivist understanding of causality is completely untenable and why, if we replace it, there is no reason to deny causality in the human sphere as do the post-Wittgensteinians and their interpretivist followers in sociology. The CR conception of sociology is associated with mechanisms and with emergence. In this book, I will speak sparingly of emergence. Although I believe in emergence and, as we will soon see, it is sometimes key, we can understand much of CR without raising the complications associated with it. Mechanisms, on the other hand, are central. As Philip Gorski observes, mechanisms are now trendy, increasingly spoken of also by Symbolic Interactionists, historical sociologists, and rational choice theorists. Thus, one thing we will need to do is differentiate the CR conception from these others. Doing so will to some extent anticipate our discussion in Chapter 4, because the differences also involve differences in the ways we think of structure and agency. Mechanisms, however, do not exhaust the CR approach to causality or its implications for plurality in research methods. According to CR, causal analysis proceeds at three different levels. First is the identification and description of causal mechanisms and causal powers; second is the invocation of those causal mechanisms and causal powers in narrative accounts of contingent, causal conjunctures. Narrative, not regression equations, is, according to CR, the canonical form of causal explanation – not just in the social sciences but in all open systems, including physics. The final level at which causal analysis proceeds is the methodological adjudication among rival explanations and narratives. Just because we offer an explanation or narrative does not mean it is the right one. There may be better explanations or narratives. At this level, recapturing a fractured unity, CR embraces methodological pluralism.
Measurement for a Nonlinear Dynamical Theory of Acute Cell Injury

Many clinically important acute injuries have been intractable to treatment, including stroke and cardiac arrest brain damage. We have attributed this failure to inadequate theoretical understanding of acute cell injury in biological systems. We developed a nonlinear dynamical theory of acute cell injury describing a competition between total injury-induced damage, D and total injury-induced stress responses, S. The attractor states (D∗, S∗) determine the outcome of the model. We tested the theory using a rodent model of global cerebral ischemia and hypothesized that changes in polysome-bound mRNAs and denatured protein aggregates in injured neurons would estimate S and D, respectively. After 10 min ischemia and reperfusion from 8 to 72 hours, hippocampal CA1 and CA3 were dissected. Regions were homogenized, polysomes isolated by sucrose pad, RNA extracted, then analyzed on Affymetrix Rat Gene 2.0 ST microarrays that detect ∼26,000 rat genes. Transcript changes were treated as positions in a multidimensional space, and distance between each time point and controls was plotted verses time. Detergent-insoluble protein aggregates were isolated, quantified by anti-ubiquitin Western blot and density plotted vs time. Data was fit to the theory using the Nelder-Mead method. The parameters obtained from data fitting allowed a self-consistency check by calculating the injury magnitude at the tipping point between recovery and death. This value is well-known to be 10 minutes of ischemia for CA1. Our calculations yielded 9.5 minutes for CA1, and 14.7 min for CA3 neurons. The agreement with the known tipping point of CA1 indicates our markers were reasonable estimates of S and D. This validation of the model is the first step towards applying it to develop effective therapies against clinically-important forms of acute cell injury.
Southern Tufts: The Regional Origins and National Craze for Chenille Fashions

Southern Tufts: The Regional Origins and National Craze for Chenille Fashion bridges many worlds. Rural Appalachian laborers and Hollywood movie stars rarely occupy the same sartorial spaces, but t...
To Breed or Not to Breed?: an Antinatalist Answer to the Question of Animal Welfare

Although Ng (2016) addresses the important question of how to increase animal welfare, he does not address an equally important question—how to prevent animal suffering. The best way to prevent animal suffering is to stop breeding them. With fewer sentient beings in existence, net suffering is lessened. Even if captive animals were bred with a guarantee of “net happiness,” they would still suffer at some point in their lives and sometimes very much. We argue that not only is nonexistence preferable to existence but also that even in research there are many preferable alternatives to the use of captive animals.
Distinctive microbiomes and metabolites linked with weight loss after gastric bypass, but not gastric banding

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) are anatomically different bariatric operations. RYGB achieves greater weight loss compared with LAGB. Changes in the gut microbiome have been documented after RYGB, but not LAGB, and the microbial contribution to sustainable surgical weight loss warrants further evaluation. We hypothesized that RYGB imposes greater changes on the microbiota and its metabolism than LAGB, and that the altered microbiota may contribute to greater weight loss. Using multi-omic approaches, we analyzed fecal microbial community structure and metabolites of pre-bariatric surgery morbidly obese (PreB-Ob), normal weight (NW), post-RYGB, and post-LAGB participants. RYGB microbiomes were significantly different from those from NW, LAGB and PreB-Ob. Microbiome differences between RYGB and PreB-Ob populations were mirrored in their metabolomes. Diversity was higher in RYGB compared with LAGB, possibly because of an increase in the abundance of facultative anaerobic, bile-tolerant and acid-sensible microorganisms in the former. Possibly because of lower gastric acid exposure, phylotypes from the oral cavity, such as Escherichia, Veillonella and Streptococcus, were in greater abundance in the RYGB group, and their abundances positively correlated with percent excess weight loss. Many of these post-RYGB microorganisms are capable of amino-acid fermentation. Amino-acid and carbohydrate fermentation products—isovalerate, isobutyrate, butyrate and propionate—were prevalent in RYGB participants, but not in LAGB participants. RYGB resulted in greater alteration of the gut microbiome and metabolome than LAGB, and RYGB group exhibited unique microbiome composed of many amino-acid fermenters, compared with nonsurgical controls.
Development of a consensus operational definition of child assent for research

Abstract Background There is currently no consensus from the relevant stakeholders regarding the operational and construct definitions of child assent for research. As such, the requirements for assent are often construed in different ways, institutionally disparate, and often conflated with those of parental consent. Development of a standardized operational definition of assent would thus be important to ensure that investigators, institutional review boards, and policy makers consider the assent process in the same way. To this end, we describe a Delphi study that provided consensus from a panel of expert stakeholders regarding the definitions of child assent for research. Methods Based on current guidelines, a preliminary definition of assent was generated and sent out for review to a Delphi panel including pediatric bioethicists and researchers, Institutional Review Board members, parents, and individuals with regulatory/legal expertise. For each subsequent review, the process of summarizing and revising responses was repeated until consensus was achieved. Panelists were also required to rank order elements of assent that they believed were most important in defining the underlying constructs of the assent process (e.g., capacity for assent, disclosure). In providing these rankings, panelists were asked to frame their responses in the contexts of younger (≤ 11 yrs) and adolescents/older children (12-17 yrs) in non-therapeutic and therapeutic trials. Summary rankings of the most important identified elements were then used to generate written construct definitions which were sent out for iterative reviews by the expert panel. Results Consensus regarding the operational definition was reached by 14/18 (78%) of the panel members. Seventeen (94%) panelists agreed with the definitions of capacity for assent, elements of disclosure for younger children, and the requirements for meaningful assent, respectively. Fifteen (83%) members agreed with the elements of disclosure for adolescents/older children. Conclusions It is hoped that this study will positively inform and effect change in the way investigators, regulators, and IRBs operationalize the assent process, respect children’s developing autonomy, and in concert with parental permission, ensure the protection of children who participate in research.
Flow in Plant Canopies

Vegetation habitats occupy a large portion of the terrestrial land on earth, their total area equaling the area of all smooth surfaces (glaciers, deserts, and lakes) combined. Forming a porous medium called the canopy layer, plant elements alter the air flow in several significant ways. They slow down the air motion by absorbing its momentum, increase turbulence intensity by generating small eddies in their wakes, enhance atmospheric humidity by water evaporation, exchange radiation energy and sensible heat with the atmosphere, and serve as sources and sinks of numerous trace gases. In this chapter, we will investigate the dynamic aspects of the canopy flow and leave treatment of the energy and gaseous exchanges to Chap. 8
Experiences implementing a parallel ATMS on a shared-memory multiprocessor

The Assumption-Based Truth Maintenance System (ATMS) is an important tool in AI. So far its wider use has been limited due to the enormous computational resources which it requires. We investigate the possibility of speeding it up by using a modest number of processors in parallel. We begin with a highly efficient sequential version written in C and then extend this version to allow parallel execution on the Encore Multimax, a 16 node shared-memory multiprocessor. We describe our experiences in implementing this shared-memory parallel version of the ATMS, present detailed results of its execution, and discuss the factors which limit the available speedup.
Interactions among hydrological-aeolian processes and vegetation determine grain-size distribution of sediments in a semi-arid coppice dune (nebkha) system

Abstract The formation of coppice dunes (nebkhas) has been attributed to both aeolian and hydrological processes, however, the interactions between these processes and vegetation dynamics are poorly understood. Additionally, a systematic study on the roles of dune geometry, morphology and hydrological processes in relation to sediment grain-size distribution in the coppice dune system is lacking. Here, we analyzed detailed grain-size distribution and saturated hydraulic conductivity for sediments collected from a series of coppice dunes with different morphological features and phases of development in a degraded shrubland in the southwestern US. Our results show that fine-grained dune sediments are associated with the wind-driven accumulation of very fine sand and fine sand (50–250 μm), irrespective of the height of the dunes. Patterns of grain-size distribution are strongly related to the relative positions along the dune-interdune system and the alignment with the dominant wind direction. Thus, the current notion that dune sediments contain more sand and less silt than interdune soils is over-simplistic. The fact that the grain-size distribution and the saturated hydraulic conductivity are heterogeneous for the dune-interdune system with different morphological features suggests that the relative contributions of aeolian and hydrological processes are distinct in the evolution of coppice dunes.
Capillary instability and breakup of a viscous thread

Papageorgiou derived a similarity solution that describes the asymptotic behavior of a thinning viscous thread suspended in vacuum, near the critical time and around the location of breakup. The motion is driven by surface tension, and the fluid inertia is neglected throughout the evolution. To assess the physical relevance of the similarity solution, the evolution of an infinite thread immersed in an ambient fluid with arbitrary viscosity, subject to periodic axisymmetrtic perturbations is simulated through solution of the equations of Stokes flow by a boundary integral method. The results show that when the thread is suspended in vacuum, the similarity solution accurately describes the process of thinning over an extended length of the thread between the developing bulges, and captures the late stages of breakup for a broad range of initial conditions. But a small amount of ambient fluid viscosity, as small as 0.05 times the viscosity of the thread fluid, drastically alters the nature of the motion by shifting the location of the breakup points toward the bases of developing bulges, and causing the thread to develop locally asymmetric shapes.
The Mechanism and kinetics of plasma polymerization

The discussion presented in this review has shown that plasma polymerization is a complex process involving a large number of both homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions. While the details of the overall polymer deposition mechanism are not yet understood fully, certain features have been elucidated. Thus, the available experimental evidence suggests that free radicals are the primary species propagating chain growth, both in the gas phase and on the surface of the deposited polymer. These species are formed in the gas phase through the collision of free electrons with monomer molecules and on the surface of the growing polymer film through the impact of ions and electrons. Surface free radicals are also produced through the adsorption of a part of the radicals formed in the gas phase. Subsequent growth of the polymer film occurs by the reaction of surface-free radicals with either gas-phase free radicals or unsaturated monomer.
Complement independent lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced hypotension and disseminated intravascular coagulation: a correlation of LPS structure with in vivo and in vitro biological activities.

Gram-negative bacteremia is a serious clinical problem with an estimated 30–50% mortality rate in adult patients (17). It has been proposed that lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a constituent of the cell wall of virtually all gram-negative bacteria may be responsible for initiating the multiple pathophysiologic changes occurring in patients with gram-negative sepsis. LPS has been the subject of intensive study during this century (33) and the chemical structures of preparations isolated from a variety of gram-negative bacteria have been elucidated.
Filter-Pruned 3D Convolutional Neural Network for Drowsiness Detection

Human drowsiness while operating motor vehicles or heavy machinery can have potentially lethal consequences for the operator and others in their immediate vicinity. In this study, we developed a visual-based drowsiness detection system that can analyze videos and make predictions on attention status. A 3D convolutional neural network (CNN) was built for spatio-temporal feature extraction in consecutive frames, and temporal smoothing was used to remove noisy predictions. As a part of an assistance system, a real-time, lightweight and computationally-efficient system is preferable. Thus, we proposed a Scale Module that can be easily integrated into the convolutional layer and estimate the importance of filters. Our results show that scale values calculated from the Scale Module are good indicators for filter pruning, and that filters with small scale values can be removed with negligible loss in the model’s performance.
Breast Cancer Treatment: A Review.

Importance Breast cancer will be diagnosed in 12% of women in the United States over the course of their lifetimes and more than 250 000 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in the United States in 2017. This review focuses on current approaches and evolving strategies for local and systemic therapy of breast cancer. Observations Breast cancer is categorized into 3 major subtypes based on the presence or absence of molecular markers for estrogen or progesterone receptors and human epidermal growth factor 2 (ERBB2; formerlyHER2): hormone receptor positive/ERBB2 negative (70% of patients),ERBB2positive (15%-20%), and triple-negative (tumors lacking all 3 standard molecular markers; 15%). More than 90% of breast cancers are not metastatic at the time of diagnosis. For people presenting without metastatic disease, therapeutic goals are tumor eradication and preventing recurrence. Triple-negative breast cancer is more likely to recur than the other 2 subtypes, with 85% 5-year breast cancer–specific survival for stage I triple-negative tumors vs 94% to 99% for hormone receptor positive andERBB2positive. Systemic therapy for nonmetastatic breast cancer is determined by subtype: patients with hormone receptor–positive tumors receive endocrine therapy, and a minority receive chemotherapy as well; patients withERBB2-positive tumors receiveERBB2-targeted antibody or small-molecule inhibitor therapy combined with chemotherapy; and patients with triple-negative tumors receive chemotherapy alone. Local therapy for all patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer consists of surgical resection, with consideration of postoperative radiation if lumpectomy is performed. Increasingly, some systemic therapy is delivered before surgery. Tailoring postoperative treatment based on preoperative treatment response is under investigation. Metastatic breast cancer is treated according to subtype, with goals of prolonging life and palliating symptoms. Median overall survival for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer is approximately 1 year vs approximately 5 years for the other 2 subtypes. Conclusions and Relevance Breast cancer consists of 3 major tumor subtypes categorized according to estrogen or progesterone receptor expression andERBB2gene amplification. The 3 subtypes have distinct risk profiles and treatment strategies. Optimal therapy for each patient depends on tumor subtype, anatomic cancer stage, and patient preferences.
Distribution and Abundance of the Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) in Southwestern Louisiana

High harvest rates during the 1900s led to declines of Macrochelys temminckii (Alligator Snapping Turtle) throughout much of its range. Recent research to determine the status of Alligator Snapping Turtles has been completed in some regions of Louisiana, but information is lacking for the southwestern region of the state. To determine the distribution and abundance of Alligator Snapping Turtles in southwestern Louisiana, we conducted trapping efforts in the lower Calcasieu, Mermentau, and lower Sabine river systems from March 2012 through October 2013 using baited hoop nets. In 731 trap nights, we captured 14 individuals (2 M, 4 F, 8 Juv) in the Mermentau and Calcasieu river systems. Our trapping efforts did not detect Alligator Snapping Turtles at Sabine River sites, although one individual was found dead on a fishing hook of a hanging limb line. Our catch per unit effort (CPUE) was 0.021 across the 3 river drainages. Population levels appear to be smaller than observed elsewhere in Louisiana and in neighboring southern states. We recommend that future surveys be conducted to determine population trajectories and that a system be implemented for monitoring commercial fishing bycatch and recreational harvest.
How Do Couples Cope With Unemployment: Examining Relationships Among Support, Undermining, and Depression:

The purpose of this study was to examine dyadic coping constructs of support and undermining and their relationship with depressive symptoms among couples experiencing unemployment. A 1-year longit...