cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Extending matchings in planar graphs V

Abstract A graph G on at least 2n + 2 vertices in n-extendable if every set of n independent edges extends to (i.e., is a subset of) a perfect matching in G. It is known that no planar graph is 3-extendable. In the present paper we continue to study 2-extendability in the plane. Suppose independent edges e1 and e2 are such that the removal of their endvertices leaves at least one odd component Co. The subgraph G[V(C o ) ⌣ V(e 1 ) ⌣ V(e 2 )] is called a generalized butterfly (or gbutterfly). Clearly, a 2-extendable graph can contain no gbutterfly. The converse, however, is false. We improve upon a previous result by proving that if G is 4-connected, locally connected and planar with an even number of vertices and has no gbutterfly, it is 2-extendable. Sharpness with respect to the various hypotheses of this result is discussed.
Efficient object shape recovery via slicing planes

Recovering the three-dimensional (3D) object shape remains an unresolved area of research on the cross-section of computer vision, photogrammetry and bioinformatics. Although various techniques have been developed, the computational complexity and the constraints introduced to overcome the problems have limited their applicability in the real world scenarios. In this paper, we propose a method that is based on the projective geometry between the object space and the silhouette-images taken from multiple view-points. The approach eliminates the problems related to dense feature point matching and camera calibration that are generally adopted by many state of the art shape reconstruction methods. The object shape is reconstructed by establishing a set of hypothetical planes slicing the object volume and estimating the projective geometric relations between the images of these planes. The experimental results show that the 3D object shape can be recovered by applying minimal constraints.
Low frequency electrical stimulation through subdural electrodes in a case of refractory status epilepticus.

Abstract Objective We delivered low frequency stimulation through subdural electrodes to suppress seizures in a case of refractory status epilepticus (RSE). Methods A 26-year-old female developed RSE after several days of febrile illness. Seizure control required continuous infusion of two anesthetics plus high doses of 2–4 enteral antiepileptic drugs. After 3 months of RSE, subdural strips were placed to determine surgical candidacy. Five independent ictal onset zones were identified. Because she was a poor candidate for epilepsy surgery and had a poor prognosis, the implanted subdural electrodes were used to administer 0.5 Hz stimulations to the ictal onset zones in 30 min trains daily for 7 consecutive days in an attempt to suppress seizures. Results After 1 day of stimulation, one anesthetic agent was successfully discontinued. Seizures only returned by the 4th day when the second anesthetic had been reduced by 60%. Upon returning, seizures arose from only one of the 5 original ictal onset zones. Unfortunately, RSE persisted, and she eventually died. Conclusions In this case of RSE, low frequency stimulation through subdural electrodes transiently suppressed seizures from all but one ictal onset zone and allowed significant reduction in seizure medication. Significance Low frequency cortical stimulation may be useful in suppressing seizures.
Prestroke Dementia is Associated With Poor Outcomes After Reperfusion Therapy Among Elderly Stroke Patients

Background In elderly acute stroke patients, reperfusion therapy is often withheld. We sought to determine whether prestroke dementia contributed to poor outcomes after reperfusion therapy in these patients. Methods All consecutive patients ≥80 years of age who received intravenous (IV) or intra-arterial reperfusion therapy (IAT) were identified in our Get With the Guidelines Stroke (GWTG-S) database. Vascular risk factors, presence of dementia, and outcomes were abstracted from the medical record. Dementia was recorded when listed in the medical history or when under medical treatment. Primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcome was discharge destination, “favorable” (home or rehabilitation facility) versus “unfavorable” (skilled nursing facility, hospice, or death). Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess outcomes. Results Of 153 patients, 72% received IV tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), 35% IAT, and 7% both. The mean age was 85.8 ± 4.6 years; 13.6% had prestroke dementia. The in-hospital mortality rate was 35%. The likelihood of death increased with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS; odds ratio [OR] 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07-1.21), IAT (OR 3.43; 95% CI 1.70-6.92), and dementia (OR 3.61; 95% CI 1.39-9.37), and decreased with IV tPA (OR 0.34; 95% CI 0.17-0.71). Increasing NIHSS (OR 0.90; 95% CI 0.85-0.95), symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (OR 0.08; 95% CI 0.01-0.67), IAT (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.22-0.84), and dementia (OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.14-0.97) decreased the likelihood of favorable discharge. In multivariate analysis, only NIHSS (OR 1.13; 95% CI 1.06-1.22) and dementia (OR 5.64; 95% CI 1.88-16.89) independently predicted death and unfavorable discharge destination. Conclusions Among the elderly, prestroke dementia is a powerful independent predictor of in-hospital mortality after acute reperfusion therapy for stroke. Future investigations of thrombolysis outcomes in the elderly are warranted.
An approach for realizing privacy-preserving web-based services

The past decade has witnessed a phenomenal growth in the number of users who routinely use the web to obtain information, conduct research, or carry out financial transactions. While the ability of the web to provide customized information and financial services has boosted personal and business productivity, it has raised significant concerns regarding an individual’s privacy. The privacy concerns are exacerbated further with the advent of more complex services that involve multiple service providers, as it raises the potential of personal information being shared across these providers in ways that weren’t intended by the owner of the information. To illustrate the increased privacy concerns raised by composite web-based services, consider a web-based service that allows an individual to research and order over-the-counter medication (or health supplements) at a low cost, while ensuring that there are no adverse interactions based on the individuals current prescription. Such a service will require access to the individual’s personal medical history, and will also require interaction with other entities such as web-based medical references, discount pharmacies and creditcard companies. Users may not want their personal health histories to be shared with discount pharmacies or credit card companies. Similarly, they may not want their credit card information to be shared with providers of free on-line information. Web-based service providers have long recognized the importance of addressing user privacy concerns, and taken steps to state their policies regarding the storage and use of personal user information. Unfortunately, since these policies are stated in English, they are imprecise and ambiguous, posing problems in accountability and enforceability, as well as in checking compatibility between consumer and provider policies. Indeed, the verbose nature of these policies discourage most users from even reading them! To address the above problem, we present a new approach where the consumers as well as providers can express their privacy concerns in a formal way. Specifically, consumers express their requirements in the form of policies, while providers specify their use of consumer data using models. Our approach automates compatibility checking between policies and models. If there is an incompatibility, the consumer is informed how she can refine her policies in order to use the service. If she does not want to change her policies in any way, the approach passes on additional privacy requirements to the provider. Service access can continue in case
Mediators of the Associations between Externalizing Behaviors and Internalizing Symptoms in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence.

This study tests the predictive associations between externalizing behaviors and internalizing symptoms and examines the mediating roles of social competence, parent-child conflicts, and academic achievement. Using youth-, parent-, and teacher-reported longitudinal data on a sample of 523 boys and 460 girls from late childhood to early adolescence, we found evidence for pathways between externalizing behaviors and internalizing symptoms in both directions. Parent-child conflict, but not social competence and academic achievement, was found to be a significant mediator such that externalizing behaviors predicted parent-child conflicts, which in turn, predicted internalizing symptoms. Internalizing symptoms showed more continuity during early adolescence for girls than boys. For boys, academic achievement was unexpectedly, positively predictive of internalizing symptoms. The results highlight the importance of facilitating positive parental and caregiver involvement during adolescence in alleviating the risk of co-occurring psychopathology.
Self-Administered Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Moderate to Severe Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Clinical Efficacy, Tolerability, Feasibility

Background & Aims: Given the limitations of conventional therapies and restrictions imposed on newer pharmacologic agents, there is an urgent need to develop efficacious and efficient treatments that teach patients behavioral self-management skills for relieving irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms and associated problems. Methods: Seventy-five Rome II diagnosed IBS patients (86% female) without comorbid gastrointestinal disease were recruited from local physicians and the community and randomized to either 2 versions of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) (10-session, therapist-administered CBT vs 4-session, patient-administered CBT) or a wait list control (WLC) that controlled for threats to internal validity. Final assessment occurred 2 weeks after the 10-week treatment phase ended. Outcome measures included adequate relief from pain and bowel symptoms, global improvement of IBS symptoms (CGI-Improvement Scale), IBS symptom severity scale (IBS SSS), quality of life (IBSQOL), psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory), and patient satisfaction (Client Satisfaction Scale). Results: At week 12, both CBT versions were significantly ( P P Conclusions: Data from this pilot study lend preliminary empirical support to a brief patient-administered CBT regimen capable of providing short-term relief from IBS symptoms largely unresponsive to conventional therapies.
Balancing the costs and benefits of opioid analgesics in the United States.

In 1919, the US Supreme Court ruled in Webb et al. v. United States that prescribing drugs for an addicted patient ‘not . in the attempted cure of the habit, but . providing the user with morphine sufficient to keep him comfortable by maintaining his customary use’ was illegitimate practice (Webb v. United States, 249 U.S. 96 [1919]). The medical profession largely turned its back on opioid addiction until the 1960s, when methadone maintenance emerged as an effective treatment. Availability of opioid agonist maintenance services has been slow to develop and hindered by concerns of drug diversion. Recent legislation permits buprenorphine to be prescribed for maintenance therapy by general physicians who undergo special training; training that serves as a significant hurdle given the lack of financial incentive to provide this service. Nonetheless, US physicians have long balked at managing addiction, such that many are poorly trained to do so at this time. Opioids prescribed for pain (‘opioid analgesics’), rather than those prescribed for maintenance therapy, represent the vast majority of opioids diverted to the black market.1 Fischer et al. suggest that diversion of opioid analgesics is akin to an informal form of maintenance, and thereby might lessen the harms of illicit opioid use among ‘street drug users’ in the USA. Any reasonable drug policy must prioritize the reduction of related health and safety consequences, and Fischer et al. note that illicit users of opioid analgesics suffer fewer consequences than heroin users. Their thesis is that increased diversion of opioid analgesics in the USAwill result in less injection drug use with an associated decline in transmission of blood-borne diseases, lowered rates of overdose mortality due to known purity and potency of pharmaceutically produced drugs, reduced criminal activity to obtain drugs, and improved contact with healthcare services. Would increased diversion of opioid analgesics decrease the health consequences of heroin injection? Fischer et al. cite three
Therapist orientation, supervisor match, and therapeutic interventions: Implications for session quality in a psychotherapy training PRN

AbstractBackground: Theoretical orientation is a multifaceted construct that is integral to the process of psychotherapy and psychotherapy training. While some research has been conducted on personal identification with particular schools of psychotherapy, techniques used in psychotherapy sessions, and match between trainees and supervisors in training, there is insufficient information regarding how these may interact with one another. Aim: This study, conducted in a practice research network of trainee therapists, was designed to test whether these variables may be related to one another in predicting session quality. Method: The sample comprised 328 sessions from 26 clients and 11 therapists, with the clients completing session quality measures and therapists completing measures of technique immediately post-session. Results: Using multilevel linear modelling, the data showed varied results. For behavioural therapy and person-centred therapy, techniques and orientation were unrelated to session quality...
Some magnetic properties of Mn dissolved in Cu, Ag and Au

Abstract The atomic magnetic susceptibility of Mn dissolved in Cu, Ag and Au has been determined in the approximate range 10–300°K for α-phase polycrystalline alloys with solute concentrations ranging from 19–284 atomic ppm. The results can be well described by a Curie-Weiss law from which the mean values of the effective Bohr magneton values are 4.93± 0.25, 4.73± 0.26 and 5.38± 0.27 for Mn in Cu, Ag and Au respectively, and the mean values of the paramagnetic Curie temperature are respectively −14°, 0° and −7°K. The data have been fitted to an expression by Scalapino for the solute susceptibility from which have been obtained estimates of the Kondo temperature.
RF interconnects for communications on-chip

In this paper, we propose a new way of implementing on-chip global interconnect that would meet stringent challenges of core-to-core communications in latency, data rate, and re-configurability for future chip-microprocessors (CMP) with efficient area and energy overheads. We discuss the limitation of traditional RC-limited interconnects and possible benefits of multi-band RF-interconnect (RF-I) through on-chip differential transmission lines. The physical implementation of RF-I and its projected performance versus overhead as the function of CMOS technology scaling are discussed as well
Role of α- and β-Adrenergic Activation in Ventricular Fibrillation Death of Corticoid-Pretreated Rats

Death in ventricular fibrillation was induced consistently in desoxycorticosterone acetate-pretreated rats by the β-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol but not by norepinephrine or epinephrine, both of which possess α- as well as β-adrenergic activity. Aminophylline, which enhances β-adrenergic activity, and phenoxybenzamine, an α-receptor blocking agent, were used to study the roles of α- and β-adrenergic stimulation in the production of ventricular fibrillation. With the addition of aminophylline, both norepinephrine and epinephrine produced death in ventricular fibrillation, and the existing cardiotoxicity of isoproterenol was potentiated. Similarly, in the presence of phenoxybenzamine, doses of norepinephrine and epinephrine that had been well tolerated became lethal. Interventions that favor β-adrenergic preponderance, either by enhancing β-effects or by blocking protective α-adrenergic activation, apparently increase the arrhythmogenic propensity of norepinephrine and epinephrine in steroid-pretreated rats. The similarity of some forms of stress to the experimental protocol of chronic steroid treatment followed by acute catecholamine exposure is discussed.
Killer Jobs: The Dark Side of Being a Physical Education Teacher

The profession of teaching physical education (PE) involves a variety of risks. Most PE teachers or future teachers are aware of the risks associated with their students becoming injured. Sport law classes often discuss negligence, risk management, proper supervision, suitable equipment, appropriate instruction, proper matching of opponents, etc. The focus is primarily or exclusively on student safety. Rarely is the focus on the risks that PE teachers themselves face. This article discusses the largely neglected topics of transportation, workplace violence, and falls, all of which are occupational hazards for PE teachers, potentially associated with serious injuries or death.
6-O-Picolinyl and 6-O-Picoloyl Building Blocks As Glycosyl Donors with Switchable Stereoselectivity

Remote 6-O-picolinyl or 6-O-picoloyl substituents often provide high β-selectivity due to H-bond-mediated aglycone delivery (HAD). Herein it has been demonstrated that if the nitrogen atom of the 6-O-picolinyl or picoloyl moiety is temporarily blocked by coordination to a metal center (Pd), it cannot engage in HAD-mediated β-glycosylation. Hence, the stereoselectivity of 6-O-picolinyl/picoloyl-assisted glycosylations can be “switched” to α-selectivity.
Simplified Geotechnical Data Analysis

The simplified procedure is a relatively straightforward technique for the analysis of data scatter and uncertainty in geotechnical exploration. This is a first-order second-moment method which imposes little computational burden and requires few special assumptions, yet which helps rationalize parameter estimation and the selection of design factors of safety.
Logistics Analysis of the Pathogen Control Provisions of the Almond Marketing Order

The Marketing Order for California almonds was amended in 2007 to enhance food safety. Around 400-500 million pounds of almonds undergo an added step in processing to reduce risk of salmonella contamination. This paper reports on the logistics necessary for implementing the program. We use a linear programming model and assess the uncertain costs of transportation and the risks related to regulatory approval of certain pasteurization technologies. The total cost of treatment and the associated logistics is approximately $28 million per year. Capacity for treatment is adequate. The pricing of out-sourced treatment services is the main driver in the cost estimates.
Nonlinear Behavior of Ductile Iron Pipeline Joints

Experiments were performed on 4 in. (100 mm), 6 in. (150 mm), 8 in. (200 mm), and 10 in. (250 mm) pipelines with rubber gasket joints to determine their structural and stiffness characteristics when subjected to various loading and reloading conditions. Joint pull-out and bending tests were performed on unburied pipelines, as well as pipelines buried in sand. Test ranges include large joint displacements and rotations, including slippage in the rubber gasket. The initiation of pipe-rubber slippage within the joint leading to nonlinear behavior of the joint takes place at 0.15 in. (3.8 mm), 0.26 degrees, and 0.17 degrees for axial, bending and torsional types of deformations, respectively. Total joint failures could be expected at 0.125 in. (3.2 mm) axial compression, 1.2 in. (30.5 mm) axial pull–out, or at rotations exceeding 4 degrees in bending at the joint. Analytical expressions representing the test data are supplied. Suggestions are made for modifying gasket joint details which could improve the seismic performance of pipelines.
Methyl Bromide Residues and Desorption Rates from Unshelled Walnuts Fumigated with a Quarantine Treatment for Codling Moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

California walnuts were fumigated unshelled with a quarantine treatment to control codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.). The treatment was done with 56 g/m3 methyl bromide for 4 h at 15.6°C and a chamber pressure of 100 mm Hg. There were no significant differences in organic or inorganic bromide residues regardless of walnut cultivar or size. Inorganic residues were below the established tolerance level of 200 ppm. The ‘Eureka’ cultivar, although not significantly different in its desorption rate of residual methyl bromide, had higher organic residues than the other cultivars tested. Residue levels in treated nut meats showed no significant change in inorganic bromide content over a 25-d period. Accumulated inorganic bromide residues in nut meats fumigated once or twice with a domestic methyl bromide schedule (56 g/m3 for 24 h at 15.6°C) to control field infestation and stored-product insects followed by fumigation with the quarantine treatment did not exceed the established tolerance level. Residual methyl bromide in treated nut meats stored unshelled at 1.7 or 10°C was ≤10 ppb after 70 or 53 d, respectively, whereas those stored at 21 or 32°C had ≤10 ppb after 20 or 14 d, respectively.
Trinitrotoluene (TNT) as a sole nitrogen source for a sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio sp. (B strain) isolated from an anaerobic digester.

A sulfate-reducing bacterium (SRB),Desulfovibrio sp. (B strain), isolated from a continuous anaerobic digester (Boopathy and Daniels, Current Microbiology, 23:327–332, 1991) was found to use 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) as sole nitrogen source. This bacterium also used nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium as nitrogen source. A long lag period was noticed when TNT or nitrite was used as nitrogen source. Nitrate, nitrite and TNT also served as electron acceptor in the absence of sulfate for this bacterium. Under nitrogen-limiting condition, 100% removal of TNT was observed within 8 days of incubation. The main intermediate observed was diaminonitrotoluene, which was further converted to toluene via triaminotoluene by reductive deamination process. Under nitrogen-rich conditions (presence of ammonium), TNT was converted to diaminonitrotoluene, and toluene was not produced. This isolate did not degrade TNT all the way to CO2. This study demonstrated the possibility of using this isolated to decontaminate the soil and water contaiminated with TNT under anaerobic conditions.
Advanced Monitoring Is Associated with Fewer Alarm Events During Planned Moderate Procedure-Related Sedation: A 2-Part Pilot Trial

BACKGROUND:Diagnostic and interventional procedures are often facilitated by moderate procedure-related sedation. Many studies support the overall safety of this sedation; however, adverse cardiovascular and respiratory events are reported in up to 70% of these procedures, more frequently in very yo
An Angle-Domain Wavenumber Filter for Multi-Scale Full-Waveform Inversion

The scale length information of velocity perturbations carried by scattered wave is not only dependent on wave frequency but also related to the scattering angle. We introduce a angle-domain wavenumber filter in fullwaveform inversion. Both source and receiver side waves are decomposed into local plane waves, followed by sorting scattering events according to their incidence and scattering angles. The small-angle scatterings are more responsible for large-scale velocity perturbations, while the large scattering angles are related to small-scale perturbations. By controlling scattering angles, we can perform multiscale inversion. Numerical examples reveal, when initial model has large errors, the new inversion method can significantly improve the convergence. The angle-domain wavenumber filter is highly localized, flexible and efficient, and can be combined to most FWI methods.
Effects of illness on thyroid function tests.

PreviewSerious illness can adversely affect the results of thyroid function tests. Consequently, the clinician needs to be able to distinguish the euthyroid sick syndrome from intrinsic thyroid disorders and resist the temptation to intervene. Dr Felicetta describes the changes in thyroid metabolism that can be expected in severe illness and explains the subsequent alterations in thyroid function tests.
Essential considerations for design and control of human-interactive robots

Managing the trade-off between performance and stability is a crucial issue in physical human-robot interaction, and this has become more important than ever apace with growing needs for physically human-interactive robots in many fields, such as assistive robotics and rehabilitation robotics. In this paper, we present two essential considerations for design and control of robots physically interacting with humans: energetic passivity and mechanical impedance. Characterization of passive, dissipative, and active behavior of the human neuromuscular system is essential to ensure and control coupled stability in physical human-robot interaction. In addition, characterization of human mechanical impedance at the interaction port provides detailed quantitative information to describe interactive dynamics. The importance of these characterizations is demonstrated by simple examples and the authors' previous research on the human ankle. Implications for quantitative guidelines for robot design and control are discussed.
Radioisotopic Determination of Glomerular Filtration Rate

AbstractOur experience with radioisotopic determination of glomerular filtration rate in 263 patients is presented. The isotope that we think is now most workable is 99mtechnetium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid. The technique meets all the criteria for glomerular filtration rate and the radiation dose is low. Likewise, it has proved to be an accurate and simple procedure to perform
Advanced Operators for Similarity Search

This chapter targets to provide a reasonably comprehensive overview of the various similarity search operators that have been proposed over the last one-and-a-half decades. We consider various advanced operators for similarity search under three heads, (a) those that build upon the weighted sum operation, (b) operators that enhance the basic skyline operator and (c) other modes of similarity search not already covered under the first two heads. We outline each similarity operator by describing the semantics of the operator, followed by a schematic example to illustrate the result set determination under the operator, and end by outlining real-world scenarios that motivate the usage of the operator. We cover more than thirty similarity operators in fair amount of detail in this chapter, forming an extensive overview of the state-of-the-art in similarity operators.
AGE, PERIOD, AND COHORT EFFECTS ON DEATH PENALTY ATTITUDES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1974–2014

In this article, we further the understanding of both changes in public opinion on capital punishment in the United States and changes in the factors associated with public opinion on the death penalty. Support for the death penalty may be motivated by events happening during specific time periods, and it can vary across birth cohorts as a result of cohort-specific socialization processes, demographic changes, and formative events that are specific to each generation. An explication of the sources of and variation in death penalty attitudes over time would benefit from the accounting for the age of the respondent, the year of the survey response, and the birth cohort of the respondent. We improve on previous research by using multiple approaches including hierarchical age–period–cohort models and data from the General Social Survey (N = 41,474) to examine changes in death penalty attitudes over time and across birth cohorts. The results showed curvilinear age effects, strong period effects, and weak cohort effects on death penalty support. The violent crime rate explained much of the variation in support for the death penalty across periods. The examination of subgroup differences suggests that support for the death penalty is becoming concentrated among Whites, Protestants, and Republicans.
Randomised controlled trial of a sexual risk reduction intervention for STI prevention among men who have sex with men in the USA.

Objectives Novel interventions to address sexual risk taking and slow rates of STIs are urgently needed, in particular among black men who have sex with men (MSM) in the USA. Serosorting, or limiting condomless sex acts to partners of the same HIV status, is commonly practised among MSM, yet can lead to STI and remains largely unaddressed by public health agencies. Methods A two-arm, randomised controlled trial was conducted from 2012 to 2015. This trial assessed the effects of a single-session, sexual partner selection and risk decision intervention (experimental arm) versus a single-session, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-based, sexual risk reduction intervention (control arm) on psychosocial measures, sexual risk taking and STI. Results At study follow-ups, multiple beneficial changes were observed on sexual risk beliefs measures (ie, changes in serosorting and condom use beliefs, and HIV risk perceptions) and sexual risk taking among the experimental arm relative to the control arm. Overall main effects, however, of the intervention on STI outcomes on year-long follow-ups were non-significant. There was evidence for short-term effects on STI outcomes, and self-report of multiple STIs and STI symptoms demonstrated positive effects over the follow-up period. Conclusions Brief interventions to address sexual risk taking can result in short-term beneficial outcomes and can be incorporated into currently existing infrastructure at healthcare agencies. Additional intervention will be necessary for demonstrating long-term results. Trial registration number NCT02128594.
The Competition Model and Foreign Language Acquisition

This article explores the application of the Competition Model [23] as an account of foreign language acquisition. The model is discussed in terms of the constructs of cue validity, cue cost, and form-function mappings. The model predicts certain types of transfer in phonological, syntactic, and lexical learning. In the attempt to maximize transfer of L1 structures the learner uses a variety of complex learning strategies. Tutoring systems for foreign language instruction need to recognize the use of these transfer strategies and correct the errors which they produce.
Dangers of generic pedagogical panaceas: implementing sevice-learning differently in diverse disciplines

Descriptions of service-learning in the literature tend to position it as a powerful pedagogic tool as well as an exemplar of ‘best practice’ applicable across all disciplines and institutional contexts. Furthermore service-learning is couched as a moral imperative. In the South African context, this moral imperative is translated into policy pronouncements driving institutions of higher education to demonstrate responsiveness to the transformation needs of broader society. In this article, two departments, Philosophy and Environmental Science, at one university are used as case studies to interrogate what enables the uptake of service-learning as a pedagogic tool. Drawing on the work of Fairclough, this paper identifies the dominant discourses at play and considers how they constrain or enable the uptake of service-learning. We advocate for the infusion of service-learning in curricula, but argue that institutional culture, disciplinary values and the structure of knowledge impact on its uptake and should not be dismissed in the implementation process.
Exploring the opportunity of implementing neuromorphic computing systems with spintronic devices

Many cognitive algorithms such as neural networks cannot be efficiently executed by von Neumann architectures, the performance of which is constrained by the memory wall between microprocessor and memory hierarchy. Hence, researchers started to investigate new computing paradigms such as neuromorphic computing that can adapt their structure to the topology of the algorithms and accelerate their executions. New computing units have been also invented to support this effort by leveraging emerging nano-devices. In this work, we will discuss the opportunity of implementing neuromorphic computing systems with spintronic devices. We will also provide insights on how spintronic devices fit into different part of neuromorphic computing systems. Approaches to optimize the circuits are also discussed.
Vectorized persistent homology representations for characterizing glandular architecture in histology images

Characterizing glandular architecture in histology images of adenocarcinomas is a fundamental problem in digital pathology, with important implications for computer-assisted diagnosis and grading. In this paper, we present a new set of features for encoding the glandular epithelium architecture based on two recently developed vectorized persistent homology representations called persistence images and persistence landscapes and demonstrate their application to colorectal cancer diagnosis. On the MICCAI2015 Gland Segmentation Challenge Contest dataset with 165 images (85 training, 80 test images), we obtained a benign vs malignant classification accuracy of 85% and 83% using persistence image and persistence landscape based features, respectively.
Phosphatidylinositol Bisphosphate and Trisphosphate

Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns-4,5-P 2 ) and phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PtdIns-3,4,5-P 3 ) are key intracellular second messengers that transduce lipid-derived signals from membrane-bound receptors to numerous signal relay pathways that control a plethora of cellular responses. PtdIns-4,5-P 2 and PtdIns-3,4,5-P 3 mediate signaling by interacting with and regulating the activities and function of numerous intercellular signaling molecules. Deregulation of PtdIns-4,5-P 2 and PtdIns-3,4,5-P 3 signaling often results in pathophysiological states. This article is devoted to a summary of the major mechanisms of PtdIns-4,5-P 2 and PtdIns-3,4,5-P 3 metabolism and their function in physiology and disease.
War and tourism: An American ethnography

Abstract War is a major modern security issue, distinguished from crime and terrorism by its deep societal penetration and long-term consequences. As an important cultural time-marker, populations segment their history in three phases, “before the war”, “during the war” and “after the war”. The interrelationships between war and tourism have been minimally investigated, but the literature to date indicates that war negatively affects tourism. This ethnography examines the sequential development of the United States tourism from World War I to the present, and the impact of World War II in laying the foundations for modern mass and charter tourism. The data suggest that war stimulates promotional, emotional, military and political tourism, and that war-related tourism attractions are the largest single category known.
A novel method to measure steroid hormone concentrations in walrus bone from archaeological, historical, and modern time periods using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

Rationale A liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method was validated and utilized to measure and analyze four steroid hormones related to stress and reproduction in individual samples from a novel tissue, Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens, herein walrus) bone. This method determines steroid hormone concentrations in the remote walrus population over millennia from archaeological (>200 bp), historical (200-20 bp), and modern (2014-2016) time periods. Methods Lipids were extracted from walrus bone collected from these periods using methanol before LC/MS/MS analysis. Isotopically labeled internal standards for each target hormone were added to every sample. Analytical and physiological validations were performed. Additionally, a tissue comparison was done among paired walrus bone, serum, and blubber samples. A rapid resolution liquid chromatography system coupled to a QqQ mass spectrometer was used to analyze all samples after derivatization for progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, and estradiol concentrations. Multiple reaction monitoring was used for MS analysis and data were acquired in positive electrospray ionization mode. Results Progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, and estradiol were linear along their respective standard calibration curves based on their R2 values (all > 0.99). Accuracy ranged from 93-111% for all hormones. The recovery of extraction, recovery of hormones without matrix effect, was 92-101%. The overall process efficiency of our method for measuring hormones in walrus bone was 93-112%. Progesterone and testosterone concentrations were not affected by reproductive status among adult females and males, respectively. However, estradiol was different among pregnant and non-pregnant adult females. Overall, steroid hormones reflect a long-term reservoir in cortical bone. This method was also successfully applied to walrus bone as old as 3585 bp. Conclusions LC/MS/MS analysis of bone tissue (0.2-0.3 g) provides stress and reproductive data from elusive walruses that were alive thousands of years ago. Based on physiological validations, tissue comparison, and published literature, steroid hormone concentrations measured in walrus cortical bone could represent an accumulated average around a 10-20-year time span. By investigating how stress and reproductive physiology may have changed over the past ~3000 years based on bone steroid hormone concentrations, this method will help answer how physiologically resilient walruses are to climate change in the Arctic.
Facile method for screening clinical T cell receptors for off-target peptide-HLA reactivity

ABSTRACT T cell receptors (TCRs) exhibit varying degrees of cross-reactivity for peptides presented by the human leukocyte antigen (HLA). In engineered T cell therapies, TCR affinity maturation is a strategy to improve the sensitivity and potency to often a low-density peptide-HLA (pHLA) target. However, the process of affinity maturation towards a known pHLA complex can introduce new and untoward cross-reactivities that are difficult to detect and raises significant safety concerns. We developed a yeast-display platform of pHLA consisting of ~100 million different 9mer peptides presented by HLA-A*01 and used a previously established selection approach to validate the specificity and cross-reactivity of the A3A TCR, an affinity-matured TCR against the MAGE-A3 target (EVDPIGHLY). We were able to identify reactivity against the titin peptide (ESDPIVAQY), to which there is now known clinical toxicity. We propose the use of yeast-display of pHLA libraries to determine cross-reactive profiles of candidate clinical TCRs to ensure safety and pHLA specificity of natural and affinity-matured TCRs.
Application of thermodynamic principles in determining the degradation of tribo-components subjected to oscillating motion in boundary and mixed lubrication regimes

Abstract Recent studies reveal that the degradation-entropy generation (DEG) theorem based on thermodynamic principles can be satisfactorily employed to determine the degradation of a tribo-pair operating in dry uni- and bi-directional sliding as well as lubricated uni-directional sliding conditions. The theorem is based on the thermodynamic principles that consider degradation forces and correlates the entropy generation to wear through a parameter called degradation coefficient. This paper reports an investigation of the efficacy of extending the DEG theorem to lubricated oscillatory sliding conditions subjected to boundary and mixed-lubrication regimes. For this purpose, series of oscillatory sliding experiments are performed using a pin-on-disk test setup that cover a wide range of operating conditions. From the obtained experimental results, a new methodology to characterize the friction coefficient in oscillatory motion is presented and thereafter DEG theorem is applied to characterize the wear during the lubricated oscillatory sliding motion covering a wide range of oscillating angles and operating conditions.
Cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition reduces anxiety-like behavior and normalizes enhanced amygdala glutamatergic transmission following chronic oral corticosterone treatment

Chronic stress increases the probability of receiving an anxiety, depression, or chronic illness diagnosis. Pharmacological interventions that reduce the behavioral and physiological effects of chronic stress in animal models may represent novel approaches for the treatment of stress-related psychiatric disorders. Here, we examined the effects of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibition on anxiety-like behaviors and amygdala glutamatergic signaling after chronic non-invasive oral corticosterone (CORT) administration in mice. Treatment with the highly selective COX-2 inhibitor Lumiracoxib (LMX) reversed anxiety-like behavior induced by chronic CORT. Specifically, acute and repeated administration of LMX 5 mg kg-1 reduced chronic CORT-induced anxiety-like behavior measured using the elevated-plus maze, elevated-zero maze, and light-dark box tests. In contrast, LMX did not affect anxiety-like behaviors in naive mice. Ex vivo electrophysiology studies revealed that repeated LMX treatment normalized chronic CORT-induced increases in spontaneous excitatory glutamatergic currents recorded from anterior, but not posterior, basolateral amygdala neurons. These data indicate COX-2 inhibition can reverse chronic CORT-induced increases in anxiety-like behaviors and amygdala glutamatergic signaling, and support further clinical investigation of selective COX-2 inhibitors for the treatment of affective and stress-related psychiatric disorders.
Assessing Gaps in Surgical Oncology Training: Results of a Survey of General Surgery Residents.

Objective Many general surgeons devote a significant amount of time and effort to the care of cancer patients. There is currently no standardized, national curriculum in Surgical Oncology for General Surgery residents. The objective of this study was to identify gaps in oncology education among General Surgery residents. Design An anonymous survey design was used in the present study. Residents received an invitation to participate along with a link to an online survey. Interested residents selected the link and completed the 10 minute survey. Binomial logistic regression was performed to ascertain the effects of postgraduate year (PGY) on various perceptions and knowledge relating to surgical oncology. Setting The participants included residents from 3 General Surgery residency programs including Florida Atlantic University, The University of Iowa and The University of Connecticut. These are all university-based programs, but residents in each program rotate at several sites each, including both university and community hospitals. Participants Participants included clinical PGY 1 to 5 categorical general surgical residents, as well as PGY 1 and 2 General Surgery preliminary residents. A total of 135 residents received the email with the link to the survey. Forty-nine residents from all PGY levels responded to the survey. Results Twenty-one percent of the respondents were familiar with American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer accreditation, which is a major means of maintaining standards in cancer care across institutions in the United States The majority of residents did not receive formal training in such key areas as chemotherapy and radiation therapy basics, survivorship, palliative care, pain management, and cancer screening regimens. These responses were not significantly different across different levels of training. Most importantly, many residents, particularly those in PGY 3 to 5, do not feel that they will be fully prepared to care for cancer patients at the completion of their training. Conclusions The present study provides evidence that regardless of PGY year, residents do not achieve adequate exposure to a variety of cancer-related topics. These include both multidisciplinary cancer care and the operation, accreditation and administration of certified cancer centers. Further, it appears residents do not feel well prepared to provide optimal cancer care at the completion of their training. This data supports the development of a more comprehensive Surgical Oncology curriculum for General Surgery trainees.
Central-positive complexes in ECT-induced seizures: Evidence for thalamocortical mechanisms

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) relies on the electrical induction of generalized seizures to treat major depressive disorder and other psychiatric illnesses. These planned procedures provide a clinically relevant model system for studying neurophysiologic characteristics of generalized seizures. We recently described novel central-positive complexes (CPCs), which were observed during ECT-induced seizures as generalized, high-amplitude waveforms with maximum positive voltage over the vertex. Here, we performed a systematic characterization of 6,928 CPC ictal waveforms recorded in 11 patients undergoing right unilateral (RUL) ECT. Analyses of high-density 65-electrode EEG recordings during these 50 seizures allowed evaluation of these CPCs across temporal, spatial, and spectral domains. Peak-amplitude CPC scalp topology was consistent across seizures, showing maximal positive polarity over the midline fronto-central region and maximal negative polarity over the suborbital regions. Total duration of CPCs positively correlated with the time required for return of responsiveness after ECT treatment (r = 0.39, p = 0.005). The rate of CPCs showed a frequency decline consistent with an exponential decay (median 0.032 (IQR 0.053) complexes/second). Gamma band (30-80 Hz) oscillations correlated with the peak amplitude of CPCs, which was also reproducible across seizures, with band power declining over time (r = -0.32, p < 10-7). The sources of these peak potentials were localized to the bilateral medial thalamus and cingulate cortical regions. Our findings demonstrated CPC characteristics that were invariant to participant, stimulus charge, time, and agent used to induce general anesthesia during the procedure. Consistent with ictal waveforms of other generalized epilepsy syndromes, CPCs showed topographic distribution over the fronto-central regions, predictable intra-seizure frequency decline, and correlation with gamma-range frequencies. Furthermore, source localization to the medial thalamus was consistent with underlying thalamocortical pathophysiology, as established in generalized epilepsy syndromes. The consistency and reproducibility of CPCs offers a new avenue for studying the dynamics of seizure activity and thalamocortical networks.
Students’ perceptions of socio-scientific issue-based learning and their appropriation of epistemic tools for systems thinking

Learning science in the context of socio-scientific issues (SSI) is widely advocated for achieving the goal of scientific literacy that values using science in daily lives. While prior research sug...
Ipilimumab and Nivolumab as First-Line Treatment of Patients with Renal Cell Carcinoma: The Evidence to Date

Immunotherapy has revolutionized the management of metastatic renal cell carcinoma with four checkpoint inhibitors (nivolumab, ipilimumab, avelumab, and pembrolizumab) approved either as monotherapy or as combination therapy. The use of ipilimumab and nivolumab for treatment-naive, intermediate to poor risk, metastatic renal cell carcinoma was the first checkpoint inhibitor-based combination therapy and remains the only dual checkpoint inhibitor combination approved in mRCC. In this article, we review the trials that led to the approval of ipilimumab and nivolumab in this setting. We also highlight the ongoing trials using this combination, its use in special populations, and clinically relevant unanswered questions.