cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Culture-Area and Age-Area Concepts of Clark Wissler

The concepts of the culture-area and of the age-area (“age and area”) method as applicable to culture have been developed by Clark Wissler in three books: The American Indian (1917); Man and Culture (1923); The Relation of Nature to Man (1926).1 The two concepts have this in common, that they deal with the space distribution of culture phenomena. They differ in that the culture area refers to culture traits as they occur aggregated in nature, whereas the age-area method is applicable to separate traits or isolable clusters of elements. They differ further in that the culture area, as such, is not concerned with time factors, whereas the age-area concept is a device for inferring time sequences from space distributions. Both ideas have long been in use in the biological sciences. An areally characterized fauna or flora, such as the Neo-tropical or Indo-Malaysian, obviously corresponds to the culture aggregation within a culture area. The term age-area was coined in the field of natural history, and the method of inferring areas of origin from concentration of distribution, and antiquity of dispersal from marginal survivals, has long been in use in so-called systematic biology. Perhaps because the comparable method applied to culture developed independently, the term age area has not gained currency in that field. Anthropologists have not been wholly happy in their terminology. They speak consistently of culture areas, whereas it is the content of these areas, certain culture growths or aggre gations, that they are really concerned with, the areal limitation being only one aspect of such an aggregation.
Reductively Activated Cleavage of DNA Mediated by o,o′-Diphenylenehalonium Compounds

Abstract Razskazovskiy, Y., Roginskaya, M., Jacobs, A. and Sevilla, M. D. Reductively Activated Cleavage of DNA Mediated by o,o′-Diphenylenehalonium Compounds. o,o′-Diphenylenehalonium (DPH) cations represent a novel class of DNA-affinic compounds characterized by binding constants within the range of 105–106 M–1. The maximum binding capacity of 2–2.5 base pairs per DPH cation and about 30% hypochromic reduction in the optical absorption of DPH cations upon binding to DNA suggest intercalation as a likely binding mode. In a DNA-bound form, DPH cations induce strand breaks upon reduction by radiation-produced electrons in aqueous solutions. In keeping with this mechanism, the cleavage is strongly inhibited by oxygen and is not affected by OH radical scavengers in the bulk. The yields of DPH-mediated base release significantly exceed the yield of base release caused by hydroxyl radical (in the absence of scavenger) in anoxic solutions. The yields are weakly dependent on DNA loading within the range from 5 t...
Finite element modelling and field validation of prestressed concrete sleepers and fastening systems

Prestressed concrete sleepers and elastic fastening systems have been widely applied in North America to accommodate increased freight axle loading and the development of high-speed passenger rail systems. However, the design standard of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association remains unclear about the relationship between some critical design parameters and the vertical and lateral load paths through the track structure. In this study, field experimentation is conducted at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, CO, and the test data are compared with finite element (FE) models of the track structure for model validation. Strain gauges and potentiometers are installed in the field to measure the response of concrete sleepers and fastening systems. The FE models consist of two parts: a detailed single-sleeper model to capture the local response of the loaded rail seat, and a global multi-sleeper model to provide realistic boundary conditions for the detailed model. The ...
Glutamine improves myocardial function following ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury is common during cardiac procedures. Glutamine may protect the myocardium by preserving metabolic substrates. Glutamine (0.52 g·kg−1) or Ringer's lactate solution (control group) was administered intraperitoneally to 63 Sprague-Dawley rats at 4 or 18 hours prior to experimental ischemia and reperfusion. The hearts were excised and perfused on an isolated working heart model, exposed to global ischemia for 15 min and reperfusion for 1 hour. Left atrial pressure, mean aortic pressure, cardiac flow, coronary flow, and aortic output were measured 15 min before ischemia and every 15 min during reperfusion. There was significantly better cardiac output in the glutamine pretreated groups. Pretreatment at 4 hours before the experiment was superior to pretreatment at 18 hours, with better maintenance of cardiac output and coronary flow. The enhanced protective effect of pretreatment at 4 hours highlights the importance of timing, and suggests a potential clinical benefit.
Cooperative Reconfiguration for a Reconfigurable Mobile Robot

A main characteristic of the reconfigurable mobile robot AMOEBA-I is that it has diverse configurations,but some reconfigurations are difficult to realize under the influence of ground conditions. A cooperative reconfiguration method is proposed to reduce reconfiguration resistance and enhance the adaptability of the robot to the environment. The mathematical model is established correspondingly. The kinematics and mechanical properties of each section of the robot are analyzed. A part of resistance is transformed into active force of reconfiguration,and transforms are actualized among five specific configurations. Further,the linearization of model based on a perturbation analysis method is used to reduce the computational complexity. Finally,an evaluation criterion is proposed for AMOEBA-I's cooperative reconfiguration performance. The validity of the cooperative reconfiguration method is proved by simulations and experiments.
The Fine Line of Friendship: Male Homoerotic Relationships in Mozart's Apollo et Hyacinthus

The developing European idea that homoerotic relationships occurred between men of similar ages found representation in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Apollo et Hyacinthus, an early Classical opera, written for a graduation celebration hosted by the local Roman Catholic school, Salzburg University. From Greek antiquity until the early Renaissance, the myth of Hyacinth was often used synonymously with the myth of Ganymede to evoke homoeroticism. In the early Renaissance, the myth of Hyacinth (as well as Ganymede) took on more pederastic overtones, but gradually the myth of Hyacinth began to be differentiated from that of Ganymede: Hyacinth began to be used to evoke equitable male homoerotic relationships. The opera reflects this use and served to instruct students of Salzburg University on how to deal with homoerotic and sexual feelings.
ORB in 5 ms: An Efficient SIMD Friendly Implementation

One of the key challenges today in computer vision applications is to be able to reliably detect features in real-time. The most prominent feature extraction methods are Speeded up Robust Features(SURF), Scale Invariant Feature Transform(SIFT) and Oriented FAST and Rotated BRIEF(ORB), which have proved to yield reliable features for applications such as object recognition and tracking. In this paper, we propose an efficient single instruction multiple data(SIMD) friendly implementation of ORB. This solution shows that ORB feature extraction can be effectively implemented in about 5.5 ms on a Vector SIMD engine such as Embedded Vision Engine(EVE) of Texas Instruments(TI). We also show that our implementation is reliable with the help of repeatability test.
Urinary Retention Secondary to Landry-guillain-barré Syndrome

AbstractWe report on 2 patients who presented with voiding abnormalities and were found to have the Landry-Guillain-Barre syndrome. Urodynamic evaluation documented a motor paralytic bladder with denervation of the periurethral striated muscle in 1 case. The other patient recovered before denervation could be confirmed by urodynamic study. Although a motor paralytic bladder is anticipated, based on the pathophysiology of the Landry-Guillain-Barre syndrome, it has not been documented previously in the literature.
Inferior Venacavography in the Preoperative Assessment of renal Adenocarcinoma

Although inferior venacavography has been suggested as a routine test for patients with renal adenocarcinoma we have used urographic criteria of a large and/or medially placed tumor, and/or decreased visualization of the affected kidney to select patients for inferior venacavography. Of 235 patients with renal adenocarcinoma undergoing excretory urograms 64 of 76 (84 per cent) with gross renal vein involvement and 72 of 151 (47 per cent) without renal vein involvement had at least 1 criterion. All 20 patients with inferior vena caval thrombi and excretory urograms had at least 1 criterion. High dose selective renal angiography identified successfully a renal vein thrombus in 11 patients, 4 with inferior vena caval thrombi, while the renal vein was not visualized in 7 with renal vein involvement and 1 with an inferior vena caval thrombus. Inferior venacavography identified correctly an inferior vena caval thrombus in 16 patients. With the correct preoperative identification in 19 of 22 patients with inferior vena caval thrombi our criteria for inferior venacavography are outlined.
Due Process and the World Bank’s Inspection Panel

Due process — the idea that everyone deserves equal protection under the law, and should be guaranteed a basic list of human rights — is one of the oldest justice concerns, dating all the way back to antiquity and culminating in the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, which virtually every country signed in December 1948. Yet many large, international energy companies have consistently failed to respect human rights for their workers as well as the communities that they operate in. Indeed, oil and gas suppliers have depended on private security firms to protect their operations and suppress dissent. In Indonesia, Myanmar, Nigeria, and Peru, some firms selling oil and gas have denied free speech, employed torture, supported slavery and forced labor, sanctioned extrajudicial killings, and ordered executions. Shell gave guns to Nigerian security forces, and Chevron provided aid, helicopters, and pilots to an armed group that then gunned down nonviolent protestors on an oil drilling platform. British Petroleum, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and other companies offer daily “security briefings” for mercenaries and supply vehicles, arms, food, and medicine to soldiers and police throughout the world.1
A Self-assessment Tool for Screening Young Adults at Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Using Strong Heart Family Study Data

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to characterize risk factors associated with type 2 diabetes in young adults aged 18 to 29 years to develop a noninvasive risk assessment tool for use with young...
Apologia, Image Repair, and Reconciliation The Application, Limitations, and Future Directions of Apologetic Rhetoric

This chapter focuses on two pressing issues facing scholars of apologetic rhetoric—what we talk about and what we do not talk about. I begin this chapter by providing an overview of apologetic rhetoric research, including two diverging approaches—apologia theory as a means of image repair and apologies as part of reconciliation and healing. In the second part of this chapter, I explore what we do not talk about—that is, the gaps and limitations of our current understanding of apologetic rhetoric. In doing so, I argue that we lack research focused on female non-Western apologists, as well as delivery methods such as new media and business or technical documents. Finally, I offer suggestions for future studies of apologia, image repair strategies, and reconciliatory apologies.
Effectiveness of Two Community Health Worker Models of Tobacco Dependence Treatment Among Community Residents of Ohio Appalachia.

Introduction Community health workers (CHW) may be effective in the delivery of tobacco dependence treatment with underserved groups. This study evaluated two evidence-based CHW models of treatment. It was hypothesized that smokers assigned to a CHW face-to-face condition would have higher abstinence at 12-month posttreatment than smokers enrolled in CHW referral to a state-sponsored quitline condition. Intrapersonal and treatment-related factors associated with abstinence at 12 months were determined. Methods A group-randomized trial was conducted with residents of 12 Ohio Appalachian counties with counties (n = 6) randomized to either a CHW face-to-face (F2F) or CHW quitline (QL) condition. Both conditions included behavioral counseling and free nicotine replacement therapy for 8 weeks. Follow-up data were collected at 3-, 6-, and 12-month posttreatment. Biochemically validated abstinence at 12 months served as the primary outcome. Results Seven hundred and seven participants were enrolled (n = 353 CHWF2F; n = 354 CHWQL). Baseline sample characteristics did not differ by condition. Using an intent-to-treat analysis (85.4% retention at 12 months), 13.3% of CHWF2F participants were abstinent at 12 months, compared to 10.7% of CHWQL members (OR = 1.28; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.810, 2.014; p = .292). No differences in abstinence were noted at 3 or 6 months by condition. Age, marital status, and baseline levels of cigarette consumption, depressive symptoms, and self-efficacy for quitting in positive settings were associated with abstinence, as was counseling dose during treatment. Conclusions This research adds to the body of science evaluating the effectiveness of CHW models of tobacco dependence treatment. Both approaches may offer promise in low-resource settings and underserved regions. Implications This 12-county community-based group-randomized trial in Ohio Appalachia adds to the body of science evaluating the effectiveness of CHW models of tobacco dependence treatment. Both CHW approaches may offer promise in low-resource settings and underserved regions. These findings are useful to national, state, and local tobacco control agencies, as they expand delivery of preventive health care services postadoption of the Affordable Care Act in the United States.
Improved System for Modeling and Simulating Stadium Evacuation Plans

AbstractUnder the circumstances of natural disasters or anthropogenic hazards, the crowd inside large-occupancy facilities needs to be evacuated. The goal of evacuation plans is to safely evacuate ...
Diagnosis of Deep Venous Thrombosis at the Point-of-Care

The diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) using compression ultrasound, at the point-of-care, by the treating physician is gaining acceptance, as the literature supports its diagnostic accuracy to be similar to that of exams performed by radiologists. While a traditional radiology DVT study uses both color and spectral Doppler in addition to compression (duplex or triplex exam), point-of-care ultrasonography in the diagnosis of DVT relies on compression alone without loss of sensitivity or specificity. Point-of-care ultrasound for DVT (POCdvt) has numerous advantages to radiology performed ultrasonography. Most importantly, there is no clinical or time dissociation when the exam is performed by the treating physician, may be performed whenever the clinical story warrants an exam, and may be repeated as needed. POCdvt is easy to learn, and portable ultrasound machines are becoming commonplace in both intensive care units, as well as general medical floors. This review is a summary of the literature of point-of-care ultrasound for DVTs. Point-of-care ultrasonography performed by bedside clinicians to diagnose proximal DVT using B-mode compression technique has good diagnostic accuracy with sensitivity and specificity that is comparable to radiology performed and interpreted exams. Point-of-care ultrasonography to diagnose DVT has many clinical advantages and is becoming more widely used. Available literature supports the use of point-of-care ultrasound by bedside clinicians to diagnosis DVT using a compression-only technique. While it is clear that non-radiologists can become competent at performing POCdvt, the number of compression points required to adequately assess for DVT remains unclear, as numerous protocols have been described.
Large precipitation event variability among headwater SNOTEL sites and impacts on streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin

This exploratory study defines and characterizes large precipitation events (LPEs) at a sample of snow telemetry (SNOTEL) sites located in headwater subbasins of the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCR...
Complexity of Insider Attacks to Databases

Insider attacks are one of the most dangerous threats to an organization. Unfortunately, they are very difficult to foresee, detect, and defend against due to the trust and responsibilities placed on the employees. In this paper, we first define the notion of user intent, and construct a model for the most common threat scenario used in the literature that poses a very high risk for sensitive data stored in the organization's database. We show that the complexity of identifying pseudo-intents of a user is coNP-Complete in this domain, and launching a harvester insider attack within the boundaries of the defined threat model takes linear time while a targeted threat model is an NP-Complete problem. We also discuss about the general defense mechanisms against the modeled threats, and show that countering against the harvester insider attack model takes quadratic time while countering against the targeted insider attack model can take linear to quadratic time depending on the strategy chosen. Finally, we analyze the adversarial behavior, and show that launching an attack with minimum risk is also an NP-Complete problem.
Does the classic American main street still exist? An exploratory look

The classic American main street ‒ walkable, well-serviced and supportive of mom and pop stores ‒ has been struggling for decades. This paper attempts to quantify the degree to which the American m...
Orthogonal Projections and Bases

In this section we discuss the very practical problem of fitting a line, a plane, or a curve to a set of given points when this can only be done approximately. For example, we may expect some observed data to be the coordinates of points on a straight line, but they turn out to be only approximately so. Then our problem is to find a line that fits them best in some sense. The criterion generally used is the least-squares principle, which we shall describe shortly. First, however, we need to discuss the following problem.
Hunting and Multifunctional Use of Bows and Arrows

Stone tools and the debris from their manufacture are the most common remains from archaeological sites all over the world. Unraveling how prehistoric people made and used their technology is a major challenge of archaeological interpretation. Many archaeologists have sought to understand the organization of technology through an emphasis on the internal production mechanics of stone tools. This approach has been used to study behavioral tactics through examination of the inferred design of lithic reduction strategies. Such studies implicate aspects of behavior that can be monitored through differential raw material use (Ahler 1977; Bamforth 1986; Goodyear 1979; Jeske 1989; Kuhn 1991; Wiant and Hassen 1985; Winters 1984), production trajectories (Bradley 1975; Collins 1975; Dibble 1988; Muto 1971), tool design, and use life (Bleed 1986; Gurfinkel and Franklin 1988; Hayden 1989; Keeley 1980; Kelly 1988; Kuhn 1994; Shott 1986, 1989a, 1989b; Vaughan 1985).
Taking a Personalized Medicine Approach to Breast and Colon Cancer

One’s susceptibility to cancer is influenced by many proteins, including those involved in cell signaling and proliferation pathways, repair of DNA damage, the mitotic cycle and apoptosis. Several relatively rare but highly penetrant alleles that increase one’s risk for breast or colon cancer have been identified. In addition, a significant number of more common, but less penetrant, risk-increasing alleles have been identified as well. The chapter includes an extensive discussion of hereditary breast-ovarian cancer syndrome, BRCA gene testing, and a case report that illustrates how BRCA testing can be used to estimate risk for your patient and his/her family members. The chapter also includes discussions of Lynch syndrome and familial adenomatous polyposis, and the genetic and immunohistochemical tests that can be done to diagnose and predict risk for family members. Genetic tests have already been developed that classify patients with certain cancers into subgroups according to their molecular pathology. These tests are guiding the choice of treatments for patients with certain cancers. In addition, several gene variants are known to influence the pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics of specific anti-cancer drugs. The chapter also includes a list of Internet websites that will analyze family history and personal data and calculate one’s risk for developing breast cancer.
Transplant immunosuppression-related malignant lymphomas.

First recognized in 1968, the occurrence of abnormal lymphoproliferations following organ transplantation is a now a well-recognized but still frequently fatal complication of immunosuppression [1, 2]. Variously referred to as post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) or B-lymphoproliferative disorder (B-LPD), the terms describe a spectrum of Epstein-Barr virus associated B-lymphoproliferations occurring after transplantation; strikingly similar lymphoproliferative disorders have been described in congenital and other acquired immunodeficiency states. The disease has assumed increasing clinical significance in view of the constantly rising number of organ transplant recipients, the development of progressively more potent and specific immunosuppressive drugs, and the growing number of AIDS patients now surviving for prolonged periods in the face of profound immunodeficiency. Once established, B-LPD is often morphologically indistinguishable from aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The pathogenesis, presentation, clinical course, and management of B-LPD nevertheless differ significantly from those of classic non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The disease continues to provide insights into the nature of lymphoid malignancy in general, and new approaches to treatment are showing encouraging early results.
Policy and program considerations for choosing crisis intervention programs

Recently there has been national media attention focusing on the number of deaths and injuries associated with the use of physical restraint and seclusion procedures in schools. Research shows thes...
Surgical management of compound skull fracture with exposed brain matter in a third-world country

We hereby present a case of a 6-year-old boy with exposed brain matter following traumatic injury from a road traffic accident, in a third-world country with poor healthcare resources. The patient was taken immediately to operating theater where two general surgeons performed an emergent craniotomy and debridement. The patient survived the injury and surgery without neurological deficits or other surgical complications. He was discharged home in good condition.
Bayesian neural networks for flight trajectory prediction and safety assessment

Abstract Safety, as the most important concern in civil aviation, needs to be maintained at an acceptable level at all times in the air transportation system. This paper aims to increase en-route flight safety through the development of deep learning models for trajectory prediction, where model prediction uncertainty is characterized following a Bayesian approach. The proposed methodology consists of four steps. In the first step, a large volume of raw messages in Flight Information Exchange Model (FIXM) format streamed from Federal Aviation Administration are processed with a distributed computing engine Apache Spark to extract trajectory information in an efficient manner. In the second step, two types of deep learning models are trained to predict flight trajectory from different perspectives. Specifically, deep feedforward neural networks (DNN) are trained to make a one-step-ahead prediction on the deviation along latitude and longitude between the actual flight trajectory and target flight trajectory. In parallel, deep Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks are trained to make longer-term predictions on the flight trajectory over several subsequent time instants. The DNN model is more accurate but has a single-step prediction horizon, whereas the LSTM model is less accurate but longer prediction horizon. Therefore, in the third step, the two different types of deep learning models are blended together to create a multi-fidelity prediction. After quantifying the discrepancy between the two model predictions in the current time instant, the DNN prediction is used to correct the LSTM prediction of flight trajectory along subsequent time instants accordingly. The multi-fidelity approach is expanded to multiple flights, and is then used to assess safety based on horizontal and vertical separation distance between two flights. Computational results illustrate the promising performance of the blended model in predicting the flight trajectory and assessing en-route flight safety.
How Well Can One Predict Stock Price Based on Quarterly Earnings Forecasts? An Application of the Ohlson Model and Bayesian Statistics

Over the past decade of accounting and finance research, the Ohlson model has been often examined as a framework for equity valuation. In this paper, we apply Bayesian statistics to the Ohlson model, and evaluate improvement in predictive power. Specifically, focusing on SP500 firms, we use 23 quarters of data starting in Q1 1999 to estimate the prediction models, which we then use to predict stock price in Q4 of 2004. We use two types of estimation approaches, maximum likelihood and Bayesian statistics. We find that Bayesian analyses generally result in smaller predictive errors than maximum likelihood analyses. We perform several transformations, however transformations of the maximum likelihood models do not outweigh the usefulness of applying Bayesian statistics. We conclude that applying Bayesian statistics is a fruitful way to improve the Ohlson's classical framework for equity valuation.
Biology and Control of Goosegrass in Sugarcane

Goosegrass is an annual plant that produces a prostrate, mat-like rosette with flattened stems radiating from a central point. It is often described as looking like someone has stepped in the middle of the plant, flattening it out. Because of the whitish to translucent color of the leaf sheath margins, goosegrass usually appears white to silver; this is why it is known as white or silver crabgrass. Goosegrass is found year-round in southern Florida and is commonly associated with newly planted and stubble (ratoon) sugarcane fields. This 3-page fact sheet was written by Dennis Calvin Odero, Ron Rice, and Les Baucum, and published by the UF Department of Agronomy, January 2013. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/sc096
Evaluation of Eight Maize Germplasms Developed in Ecuador for Resistance to Leaf-Feeding Fall Armyworm1

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), causes economic damage to maize (Zea mays L.) and is resistant to several classes of insecticide. Native resistance in maize to fall armyworm could enhance existing control tactics. The objective for the study was to test maize germplasm developed from Ecuador for resistance to leaf-feeding fall armyworm. Plants were grown in the field and artificially infested at the seven-leaf stage with fall armyworm. Visual rating scores for leaf damage were recorded at 7- and 14-days post infestation. Maize PI 487903, Ames 28851, and PI 390554 received 14-day scores of ≤6.0 across both years of testing and were considered moderately resistant. PI 487903 was not significantly different than resistant check GT-FAWCC(C5). All germplasms tested are tropical populations that require breeding to enable more research in temperate regions.
Interleukin-2 receptor alpha expression in human retinal pigment epithelial cell

Abstract Objective To investigate the expression of interleukin 2 receptor alpha (IL-2Rα) in human retinal pigment epithelial cell (RPE) and the effect of IL-2 on RPE proliferation. Methods Passage 2 -4 human fetal RPE cells were used in the experiment. RT-PCR was performed with the specific primer for IL-2Rα. IL-2 binding was assayed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Immunofluorescent staining was applied to identify the receptor expression using anti-CD25. The effect of recombinant IL-2 on RPE cell proliferation was determined by3H uptake. Results RPE cells expressed IL-2Rα mRNA. The expression of IL-2 receptor α was also revealed by immunofluorescent staining and IL-2 binding. IL-2 induced cell proliferation at the higher concentrations of IL-2 ( P＜0.05 ). Conclusion Cultured human RPE cells express IL-2α receptor. Recombinant IL-2 enhances RPE cell proliferation. Key words: words RPE; cytokine; IL-2 receptor
Excessive iodine and autoimmune thyroid disease

Autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) is an archetypal organ-specific autoimmune disorder that is characterized by the production of thyroid autoantibodies and lymphocytic infiltration into the thyroid. Excessive iodine can increase the incidence of AITD. During trapping, oxidation and organification of excessive iodine in thyroid cells, excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) were generated, which induces apoptosis of thyroid cells, accelerates thyroglobulin autoantigen presentation, promotes lymphocytes infiltration and cytokine expression. Excessive iodine is an environmental risk factor which promotes the people with stealth autoimmune thyroid disease to get sick. In this article, we discussed the relationship between excessive iodine and AITD and its mechanism. Key words: Iodine; Thyroiditis, autoimmune; Risk factors
Hyaluronic acid and platelet-rich plasma for the management of knee osteoarthritis

Symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) remains a substantial cause of pain and disability worldwide and effective management in young patients without indications for total knee arthroplasty remains challenging. Intra-articular injections represent a viable option in the non-operative treatment of knee OA. Hyaluronic acid (HA) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) are two commonly utilized intra-articular treatment modalities that are of particular clinical interest in the current literature. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide a concise review of the current literature on the use of HA, PRP, and HA-PRP conjugates for the treatment of symptomatic knee OA. A review of the literature utilizing PubMed, OVID/Medline, and Cochrane databases on basic science and clinical literature pertaining to preparation, composition, and outcomes of HA, PRP, and HA-PRP conjugates in patients with symptomatic knee OA. Both HA and PRP have been shown to be efficacious for the treatment of symptomatic knee OA, with HA injections providing limited short-term improvement, while PRP may provide greater therapeutic relief, particularly with the use of leukocyte-poor (LP-PRP) formulations. Despite limited data, the combination of different formulations of HA-PRP conjugates may provide a synergistic effect, resulting in a clinically significant improvement in both pain and function. In patients with symptomatic knee OA, intra-articular HA and PRP provide short-term improvement in pain and function, while the efficacy of HA-PRP conjugates warrants further study.
Perceptual Learning: Changes across the Lifespan

Summary New research reveals a complex interaction between attention and learning across the lifespan. In young adults, attention guides learning. In older adults, attention declines lead to less selective learning. Counterintuitively, however, in children better attention relates to less selective learning.
‘Lo que más nos importa’: religión y política en las cartas entre la reina Mariana de Austria y sor María de Ágreda

Este ensayo analiza la corrrespondencia mantenida entre sor Maria de Agreda y la reina Mariana de Austria entre 1658 y 1665. Estas cartas nos ofrecen noticias sobre la familia real (e.g. la salud del cuerpo y del alma, su estado emocional, los embarazos y los partos de la reina) ademas de intercambiar avisos y consejos emocionales y espirituales. Mas importante, a traves de las cartas, ambas consiguen posicionarse y representarse segun una imagen politica que las autoriza en el papel que les ha tocado actuar. Desde la labor de consorte una y de “medianera” la otra, reina y monja son conscientes de la funcion para la que han sido entrenadas y que cumplen a la perfeccion. De esta manera, este ensayo demuestra que las cartas no son solo un medio de comunicacion o una forma de socializacion para las mujeres de la epoca sino tambien un instrumento de accion politica y de influencia social.
Make Me Learn

AI learns in a similar way. It faces a challenging and unknown landscape and the goal is to reach spots where the loss function is very low, just like the Colorado river valley. Unlike human hikers, it doesn’t have a path laid out and it has to discover it. This is exactly what learning is in ML. In this chapter, we get a glimpse of how it happens. It occurs because starting from an initial spot, an AI learning process takes baby steps towards its goal all guided by the data.
Human lymphocyte-high endothelial venule interaction: functional and molecular characterization.

Mature lymphocytes continuously recirculate between blood and lymphoid organs (1). They leave the blood by selectively binding to specialized high endothelial venules (HEV) in lymph nodes or in the mucosa-associated lymphoid organs (appendix and Peyer’s patches). The capacity of lymphoid cells to recognize HEV in murine systems can be assessed in vitro by incubating lymphocytes on frozen sections of lymph nodes and Peyer’s patches (2,3), and the binding of lymphocytes to HEV in this assay correlates well with their ability to recirculate and home to lymphoid organs in vivo. Using this in vitro assay, in conjunction with in vivo homing studies, at least two independent lymphocyte-endothelial cell recognition systems have been found, one mediating lymphocyte traffic through lymph nodes and another directing traffic through Peyer’s patches. Recently, the existence of a homing receptor molecule responsible for organ specific HEV recognition has been proved by producing a monoclonal antibody, MEL-14, against the mouse homing receptor for lymph node HEV (4-see also Woodruff and Chin, this volume).
Patients' beliefs regarding counseling provided by community pharmacists: an application of the theory of planned behavior

Objectives To elicit salient behavioral beliefs, normative referents and control beliefs of patients regarding counseling provided by community pharmacists and explore the influence of other possible factors associated with patients' beliefs (e.g., pharmacist education, legal requirements) using the framework of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Methods Focus groups were conducted with a convenience sample recruited from chain pharmacy locations located in an urban setting. A moderator interview guide comprised of 14 open-ended questions was used to collect data on patients' beliefs. The TBP was used as the theoretical framework to guide the focus group discussions. Each session was audio-recorded, transcribed, and participant responses were analyzed for thematic content. Results Two focus groups (n = 12), each lasting one-hour were conducted. Regarding the behavioral beliefs, most (n = 11) emphasized the importance of counseling related to awareness of potential drug interactions and side effects. All participants identified their physician as the individual most likely to influence their counseling decisions. Most respondents (n = 11) believed that lack of time of both pharmacists and patients presented a significant barrier to counseling. The majority (n = 8) stated that they would receive counseling more readily if given in a more private environment. Participants' responses varied regarding knowledge and length of required pharmacists' educational training. Conclusions Patients' believe that multiple barriers, specifically privacy and time limitations, impact their willingness to engage in counseling provided by pharmacists. Understanding the influence of these factors using the TBP may be beneficial in developing interventions that would strengthen patients' intentions toward engaging in counseling.
Flux: a language for programming high-performance servers

Programming high-performance server applications is challenging: it is both complicated and error-prone to write the concurrent code required to deliver high performance and scalability. Server performance bottlenecks are difficult to identify and correct. Finally, it is difficult to predict server performance prior to deployment. This paper presents Flux, a language that dramatically simplifies the construction of scalable high-performance server applications. Flux lets programmers compose off-the-shelf, sequential C or C++ functions into concurrent servers. Flux programs are type-checked and guaranteed to be deadlock-free. We have built a number of servers in Flux, including a web server with PHP support, an image-rendering server, a BitTorrent peer, and a game server. These Flux servers match or exceed the performance of their counterparts written entirely in C. By tracking hot paths through a running server, Flux simplifies the identification of performance bottlenecks. The Flux compiler also automatically generates discrete event simulators that accurately predict actual server performance under load and with different hardware resources.
Imagining Emotions and Appreciating Fiction

The capacity of a work of fictional literature to elicit (some) emotional responses is part of what is valuable about it, and having (relevant) emotional responses is part of appreciating it. These claims are not very controversial; perhaps they are even common sense. But philosophy rushes in where common sense fears to tread, raising questions and looking for explanations. Are the emotions we have in appreciating fictional works of art, what I call art emotions, of the same sort as those which occur in 'real life'? Which emotions are appropriate to the work, and why: what justifies having one emotion rather than another? And why should we think emotionally responding to fiction is desirable, something which should be respected and encouraged, rather than looked at as a little weird or a waste of time?
Chemoprevention of Mammary Preneoplasia.

The major findings of this study can be summarized as follows: (1) the c-myc oncogene-transfected and MTV-expressing mammary epithelial cells exhibit aberrant hyperproliferation in vitro preceding tumorigenesis in vivo; (2) upregulation of aberrant hyperproliferation (i.e., anchorage-independent growth) in initiated cells represents a cellular marker for preneoplastic transformation; (3) the tea polyphenol EGCG differentially downregulates aberrant hyperproliferation in myc oncogene- and MTV-initiated cells; (4) the present in vitro model provides an efficient assay for chemoprevention of mammary preneoplasia by naturally occurring compounds.
Omega-3 fatty acids and cognitive performance throughout the lifespan (629.3)

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) may influence cognition throughout the lifespan. The neural influences of n-3 PUFAs have been extensively studied in relation to psychological and neurological disorders, primarily depression. Despite the benefits of n-3 PUFAs when brain functions go awry, as in psychological and neurological disorders, less research has examined the influence of n-3 PUFAs on cognitive function in healthy individuals. Recent research has begun to fill this gap, by examining how n-3 PUFA supplementation influences cognitive development in infants and children, cognitive performance in young adults, and age-related cognitive impairment in older adults. Just as the brain changes throughout the lifespan, so too may nutritional influences on cognition. Thus, I will discuss recent research into the cognitive effects of n-3 intake and physiological markers across the lifespan, focusing on infants, children, young adults and older adults. The majority of research into cognitive effe...
Use of Biophysical Simulation in Production Economics

Simulation has become a standard methodology in agricultural economics with models being used in all aspects of the profession. Johnson and Rausser identify two major types of production simulation models in their recent survey of the topic—firm and process models. Firm models, especially those concerned with growth, are most prominent in the agricultural economics literature. However, Johnson and Rausser also review some application of process models, which emphasize specific types of firm decisions. Biophysical simulation models are a specific form of these models concerned with the interaction of weather, soil, and/or biological processes in agricultural production and/or environmental loadings. In the recent agricultural economics literature, these models often are identified as bio-economic simulators. However, similar models are being utilized to evaluate erosion. Since erosion is largely a physical process, biophysical simulation seems more appropriate for the general classification of models considered in this paper.
Spectral bounds for matrix polynomials with unitary coefficients

It is well known that the eigenvalues of any unitary matrix lie on the unit circle. The purpose of this paper is to prove that the eigenvalues of any matrix polynomial, with unitary coefficients, lie inside the annulus A_{1/2,2) := {z â C | 1/2 < |z| < 2}. The foundations of this result rely on an operator version of Roucheâs theorem and the intermediate value theorem.
Regulating Cournot Oligopoly with Environmental Externalities

We construct a model to analyze an oligopoly with two types of technology that produce an undifferentiated product: a cleaner but more expensive technology and a dirtier but less expensive technology. We construct a two-stage model in which firms choose their technology in the first stage and their profit maximizing quantities in the second stage. We then introduce stage zero, in which the government chooses its policy: a lump-sum fee, a specific tax, a subsidy, or a permit to label the product produced with the cleaner technology. We show that the government can achieve the highest social welfare with eco-labeling when most of the consumers are eco-conscious. Otherwise a subsidy or a tax achieves the highest social welfare depending on the degree of environmental damage.
Hector: automated task allocation for MPI

Many institutions already have networks of workstations, which could potentially be harnessed as a powerful parallel processing resource. A new, automatic task allocation system has been built on top of MPI, an environment that permits parallel programming by using the message-passing paradigm and implemented in extensions to C and FORTRAN. This system, known as "Hector", supports dynamic migration of tasks and automatic run-time performance optimization. MPI programs can be run without modification under Hector and can be run on existing networks of workstations. Thus Hector permits institutions to harness existing computational resources quickly and transparently.
Determination of molecular mass of the aroid alternative oxidase by radiation-inactivation analysis

The functional molecular mass of the cyanide-resistant salicylhydroxamate-sensitive duroquinol oxidase activity from Sympocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage) and Sauromatum guttatum spadix mitochondria was determined by radiation-inactivation analysis. The functional molecular mass for the oxidase activity was found to be 26,700 Da for skunk cabbage and 29,700 Da for Sauromatum guttatum mitochondria frozen at -70 degrees C. Irradiation of dried mitochondrial samples resulted in a larger target size of 38,000 Da, and in some cases, a stimulation of activity at low dose of radiation. The functional molecular mass of cytochrome c oxidase activity from skunk-cabbage and bovine heart mitochondria was also investigated. Dried and frozen mitochondrial samples from both species yielded similar target sizes, in the range 70,900-73,400 Da. Purified bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase was also irradiated, and yielded a functional molecular mass of 66,400 Da. The target size of cytochrome c oxidase agrees with literature values insofar as the target size is considerably smaller than the molecular mass of the entire complex.
Positive-tone conducting electron-beam resists

Abstract Many lithographic methods are being examined for high throughput, sub-0.15 j.im lithography including E-beam lithography. With current resistmaterials, high throughput and resolution is limited by charging of theinsulating resist which leads to image distortion of the pattern. We havedeveloped a new family of resists based upon graft copolymers of PMMAand poly(hexylthiophene) that offer fast (< 3OiC/cm2) positive-toneimaging with the ability to provide for charge dissipation. 1. Introduction Although high throughput e-beam lithography is not anticipated to be a commercialproduction tool for some years, there are a number of challenges that need to be addressed andexamined today to permit this technology to come to fruition. One such challenge is patterndistortions due to charging of the insulating polymeric resist, particularly when the substrate is alsopartially insulating, e.g. polymeric planarizing layers, quartz or glass substrates, Si02 layers, etc.During exposure, charges may build up in the insulating resist (Figure 1 .a-b) and upon subsequentexposures in a nearby area the incoming electron beam is coulombically deflected to expose anunintended area (ic). Traditional discharge systems require deposition of a thin metal layer whichquite often cannot be removed cleanly. Thus conducting polymers have been examined by anumber of people as an organic, soluble alternative. Moderate success has been achieved in thesecases with negative-tone imaging of single layer polythiophene [1-3], polyaniline [4-6],polydiacetylene [7], or with top or bottom layers in a multilayer system using polyaniline,polythiophene, and other conjugated polymers [8-12].