cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Methodological considerations for interpretation of rates of major haemorrhage in studies of anticoagulant therapy for atrial fibrillation.

Major haemorrhage is a significant concern for elderly patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) taking anticoagulant therapy. Two recently published studies have demonstrated conflicting results with regard to the incidence of major haemorrhage on warfarin in this age group. The Birmingham Atrial Fibrillation Treatment of the Aged Study1 (BAFTA) randomized 973 patients with AF aged 75 years or more to warfarin or aspirin. During the 2.7 year mean follow-up, the incidence of major haemorrhage was nearly identical in the two study arms (1.9% per year for warfarin vs. 2.2% for those taking aspirin). In contrast, a single centre, inception cohort study identified a significantly greater incidence of major haemorrhage in elderly patients initiating warfarin for stroke prevention in AF:2 7.2% per year in a population with mean age 77 years, increased to 13.1% per year among those aged 80 and older. How can such disparate rates be reconciled? The answers are found in the key elements of study design which guide the interpretation of event rates. These studies contrasting results demonstrate the importance of assessing study design, patient population (with particular regard to selection bias), length of observation, definition of major haemorrhage, specific anticoagulant, quality of anticoagulation control, and use of other risk-modifying therapy. Randomized controlled trials are the most valid assessment of an intervention. Although often criticized for the highly selected nature of the study population, a trial's first priority is to ensure internal validity to facilitate an objective assessment of efficacy. Anticipated drop-out rates should be low and medication adherence rates should be high. Translating trial results into real-world practice can be challenging because the patient populations are often considerably different (external validity). Observational studies provide important insight into clinical practice, but these designs are also subject to bias. A source of bias that affects both randomized …
Use of in Situ Hybridization with a Biotinylated Probe for the Detection of Bovine Herpesvirus-l in Aborted Fetal Tissue

Forty-five cases of bovine abortion were examined using in situ hybridization (ISH) with a bio- tinylated DNA probe specific for bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1). Of the 45 cases, 16 were diagnosed as due to BHV-1, 15 were determined to be due to other causes, and 14 were of undetermined etiology. Direct comparisons between ISH and an immunoperoxidase (IP) test specific for BHV-1 were performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin- embedded tissue sections of lung, liver, kidney, spleen, thymus, and placenta; fluorescent antibody tests for BHV-1 and virus isolation were performed on fresh lung and liver. In comparison to these routine BHV-1 detection techniques, ISH had an overall sensitivity of 88.2% and a specificity of 89.3% in detecting BHV-1 in aborted fetuses. Immunoperoxidase was more sensitive than ISH with tissue sections from lung (87.5% vs. 69%), liver (92% vs. 17%), spleen, and placenta; results of the tests on tissue sections from kidney were concordant. Liver sections presented special problems in that nonspecific reactions were frequently observed with hybrid- ization. With thymus sections, the rate of detection was higher by hybridization than by IP, but the specificity of some of these reactions could not be confirmed. Bovine herpesvirus-l (BHV-1) is a major cause of abortion in cattle . 6,10,11 However, current diagnostic techniques are limited in their abilities to detect this virus in fetal tissues. Virus isolation, while highly spe- cific, lacks in sensitivity. This technique is generally not successful when the tissue has been collected late in the disease process, as is usually the case, or when the tissue has autolyzed to the extent that no infectious virus remains. The fluorescent antibody (FA) test, while able to detect antigen when infectious virus is no longer present, is difficult to evaluate on autolytic tissues and also may lack in sensitivity. Immunoperoxidase (IP) tests, especially when performed with monoclonal an- tibody, may improve the sensitivity over that obtained with FA. 15
The Parent-Teen Sexual Risk Communication Scale (PTSRC-III): instrument development and psychometrics.

Background Adolescents are a group at high risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Several parenting processes, including parental monitoring, support, role modeling, and sexual communication, have been shown to be significant influences of adolescents' sexual attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Parent-child sexual risk communication, in particular, has been associated significantly with adolescents' attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors related to risk of and prevention of STIs and HIV. Objective The aim of this study was to report on the development of the Parent-Teen Sexual Risk Communication Scale (PTSRC-III), an eight-item self-report instrument for measuring the amount of communication about sexual risk and sexual risk reduction occurring between parents and their adolescent children, as reported by the adolescent. Methods Psychometrics of the PTSRC-III and the stability of the psychometric properties across two samples of late adolescents, college freshmen (N=95) and female licensed drivers aged 19 to 21 years (N=234), are reported. Results Internal reliability of the scale was excellent (alpha of >.93 and >.88 for sexual risk communication with mothers and fathers, respectively); test-retest reliability was acceptable (r=.88 and .79 over 2 months for PTSRC with mothers and fathers, respectively). Concurrent validity, predictive validity, and stability of psychometrics were also demonstrated. Factor analysis demonstrated a two-factor structure. Discussion The PTSRC-III provides a valid and reliable measure for assessing female adolescents' perceptions of parent-teen sexual risk communication, particularly with their mothers. Psychometrics were shown to be stable across the two samples. Implications for use and future development are discussed.
A fast on-chip profiler memory

Profiling an application executing on a microprocessor is part of the solution to numerous software and hardware optimization and design automation problems. Most current profiling techniques suffer from runtime overhead, inaccuracy, or slowness, and the traditional non-intrusive method of using a logic analyzer doesn't work for today's system-on-a-chip having embedded cores. We introduce a novel on-chip memory architecture that overcomes these limitations. The architecture, which we call ProMem, is based on a pipelined binary tree structure. It achieves single-cycle throughput, so it can keep up with today's fastest pipelined processors. It can also be laid out efficiently and scales very well, becoming more efficient the larger it gets. The memory can be used in a wide-variety of common profiling situations, such as instruction profiling, value profiling, and network traffic profiling, which in turn can be used to guide numerous design automation tasks.
Reasonable Expectations in Socio-Cultural Context

A globalized marketplace and technological advancements have resulted in increased diversity between and among contracting parties within and outside the U.S. The parties to a contract might not share the same set of cultural references, vocabulary or business practices. Technology increases the likelihood of bringing together parties of different experiential reference points by greatly facilitating transactions across great geographical distances. It also increases the likelihood of substantive misunderstanding by creating novel contracting situations which often reveal implicit and unexpressed assumptions held by the parties. In the modern global and technologically driven marketplace, the objective theory of contracts incompletely captures - in fact, in some cases, even undermines - contract law’s objective of promoting individual autonomy. This Essay argues that modern contract law should take into consideration the social and cultural background of the parties. This Essay proceeds in four parts. Part I discusses the role that social identity and experience play in contract law and introduces the tension between socio-cultural dissonance and an objective approach. Part II analyzes the difference that culture makes by examining a recent case involving two Korean-born businessmen. Part III analyzes the difference that gender makes by examining a case involving divorce and in vitro fertilization. This Essay concludes that courts should consider contextual factors, including the background and identity of the parties, in order to better conform to the goal of contract law - to protect the reasonable expectations of the parties.
Toledo Tomorrow: Reading Norman Bel Geddes' Vision for the Future in a Shrinking Midwestern City

This paper examines Norman Bel Geddes’ 1945 Toledo Tomorrow plan, his only proposal for a specific city, and its stamp on the morphology of today's Toledo. The paper surveys retrospectively the changes in the morphology of the city and critically analyzes the impact of the Toledo Tomorrow Plan. Today's Toledo, a shrinking rustbelt city, reflects Geddes' legacy of neglecting the historic core, focusing on highway infrastructure, that has since worked in tandem with the forces of decentralization and suburbanization, and the city's weak relationship with its natural features and larger region.
Plato’s open secret

The Republic’s noble lie is widely read as an endorsement of political difference that opposes the democratic ideals of its Athenian setting. Once the text’s exclusionary political realities and rhetorical structure are attended to, however, the passages no longer appear as the template for an essentialist politics or the act of political deception they are typically taken to be. What they do is lay bare the ‘artifice’ (mēchanē) by which regimes – including classical Athens – produce membership status as a ‘natural’ category. Plato presents the regulatory fiction that one’s political ‘kind’ (genos) expresses a pre-given status as an open secret. Given the privileged awareness he affords the reader, the noble lie may be fruitfully read as revealing – not concealing – that the ‘natural’ distinctions of an exclusionary citizenship politics are the effects of willful political power. This narrative strategy takes on specific significance in the context of the blood-based membership politics of Athens, which had its own noble lie. Accordingly, Plato’s text is shown to provoke insights into questions of democratic difference usually assumed beyond its purview. The Republic is read as exposing the workings of an essentialist politics it is typically thought instead to originate and prescribe.
MONOPHYLY OR DIPHYLY IN THE ORIGIN OF WHALES.

The phyletic unity of the Cetacea is still a matter of dispute. Recently Yablokov (1964; see also Kleinenberg, 1958, 1959) has given well-reasoned arguments that much of the aquatic adaptation of the two recent suborders was evolved separately, from an ancestor without these adaptations. Although not always compelling and sometimes overstated, these arguments are persuasive and they may in general be accepted. For a review of the earlier literature on this subject see Kellogg (1936). Yablokov and Kleinenberg further conclude, in agreement with several previous authors, that the Odontoceti and Mysticeti originated separately from terrestrial animals. Granting that much of the evolution of whales is homoplastic, as is true for probably all other mammalian orders except the least diverse, it is still legitimate to ask whether the latest common ancestor of the recent suborders was sufficiently specialized to be called a whale. The evidence from recent forms is of little help here, but the earliest fossil whales are more promising. It is immediately obvious that the better-known families of archaeocetes, the Basilosauridae and Dorudontidae, could not have given rise to any recent whale, but it is not so obvious that the Protocetidae could not have done so.
Abstract 2158: Increased expression of NuSAP gene in recurrent prostate cancer is mediated by E2F

Increasing evidence suggests prostate cancer is over diagnosed and over treated. Identification of prognostic biomarkers would aid in treatment selection. To define prognostic biomarkers for aggressive prostate cancer, we carried out gene expression profiling of 100 prostate tumors and normal prostate tissue samples with detailed clinical annotation and a median follow up of 5 years. Using Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM) we identified 28 transcripts significantly associated with recurrence after radical prostatectomy, including several that have been reported previously. Several transcripts were noted to function in mitotic assembly including NuSAP, which encodes for a protein that binds DNA to the mitotic spindle. NuSAP was found highly prognostic in 3 independent datasets. To characterize the role and regulation of NuSAP in prostate cancer, we studied the expression of NuSAP in the LNCaP and PC3 human prostate cancer cell lines. Using siRNA, we found that post transcriptional silencing of the NuSAP gene severely hampers the ability of PC3 to invade and proliferate in vitro. We cloned 431bp of human NuSAP promoter to understand its regulation. Sequence analysis of the promoter region suggests that NuSAP promoter contains 2 CCAAT boxes, Sp1 box and binding sites for several proteins including proliferation master regulator E2F. E2F has previously been shown to be over-expressed during prostate cancer progression. Transient transfection of E2F and the NuSAP promoter with a luciferase reporter construct identify E2F as a powerful regulator of NuSAP expression. Promoter deletion experiments demonstrate that E2F directly binds to NuSAP promoter at nt -243 to drive expression. Deletion of the E2F binding site negates the effects of E2F on NuSAP expression. NuSAP is a novel biomarker for prostate cancer recurrence after surgery and its over-expression might be largely driven by E2F activation. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2158. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2158
Zinc(II)-Regulation of Hydrazone Switch Isomerization Kinetics

The extra H-bond in a bipyridyl-functionalized hydrazone rotary switch slows down its Z→E isomerization rate by 2 orders of magnitude (k = (3.5 ± 0.2) × 10–6 s–1). The coordination of Zn2+ with the bipyridyl subgroup simultaneously ‘unlocks’ this H-bond and accelerates the isomerization rate by at least 6 orders of magnitude (k > 6.9 s–1). This coordination-regulated kinetic control could open the way to molecular timers that can be used in guiding temporal events.
Further studies on mechanism of auricular fibrillation.

SummaryAuricular fibrillation caused by electrical stimulation of the auricles or by the application of acetyl choline to the area of the sinus node is not stopped by cooling the area of stimulation or cooling of the site of application of the drug. In 24 of 27 experiments, however, the simultaneous cooling of sinus and A-V nodes terminated the auricular fibrillation. Interruption of the cooling caused the auricular fibrillation to recur.The experiments are evidence which tends to support the theory that in some forms of auricular fibrillation more than one center of rapid stimulus formation is active. They speak against the presence of a circus movement.
Right ventricular failure predicted from right bundle branch block: cardiac magnetic resonance imaging validation.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) failure has proven to be independently associated with adverse outcomes. Electrocardiographic parameters assessing RV function are largely unknown, making echocardiography the first line for RV function assessment. It is however, limited by geometrical assumptions and is inferior to cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) which is widely regarded as the most accurate tool for assessing RV function. Methods: We seek to determine the correlation of ECG parameters of right bundle branch block (RBBB) with RV ejection fraction (EF) and RV dimensions using the CMRI. QRS duration, R amplitude and R’ duration were obtained from precordial lead V1; S duration and amplitude were obtained from lead I and AVL. RV systolic dysfunction was defined as RV EF Results: RV systolic dysfunction group was found to have larger RV end systolic volumes (90±42 vs . 59±40 mL, P=0.02). ECG evaluation of RV dysfunction group revealed longer R’ duration (103±22 vs . 84±18 msec, P=0.005) as compared to the control group. The specificity of R’ duration >100 msec to detect RV systolic dysfunction was found to be 93%. R’ duration was found to have an inverse correlation with RV EF (r=−0.49, P=0.007). Conclusions: Larger RV end systolic volumes seen with RV dysfunction can affect the latter part of right bundle branch leading to prolonged R’ duration. We here found prolonged R’ duration in lead V1 to have a highly specific inverse correlation to RV systolic function. ECG can be used as an inexpensive tool for RV function assessment and should be used alongside echocardiography to evaluate RV dysfunction when CMRI is not available.
A Case Study of Food Poisoning Caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Objective To perform a microbiological analysis of a case of food poisoning.Method Testing of intestinal bacteria was performed according to the method as described in GB/T4789-2003.Real-time PCR was also used in the identification of the pathogens.Result Using real-time PCR,Vibrio parahaemolyticus was found in 5 out of 6 food samples.Vibrio parahaemolyticus was also found in 11 out of 16 anal swab.A total of 3 serotypes,namely K6,K41 and K56,were identified.Conclusion The food poisoning was caused by 3 different serotypes of Vibrio parahaemolyticus.
Evaluation of a low-lactose nutritional supplement in malnourished children.

A low-lactose product designed for use as a protein supplement for children who do not drink milk was tested under the more stringent conditions of treating convalescent and acutely malnourished children.
Are complex partial seizures a sequela of temporal lobe dysgenesis

1. Complex partial seizures are closely associated with a group of discrete neuropathological entities which include focal lesions (such as hamartomas and heterotopias) and small vascular lesions, all of which are generally considered to have been present at birth. 2. The pathological change most frequently found in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy is mesiotemporal sclerosis. Although this pathological alteration in subicular and hippocampal structures has been attributed to any one of a number of perinatal or postnatal insults, we suggest that it also may represent a sequela of disturbed neuroembryogenesis. 3. We suggest that many, perhaps most, cases of temporal lobe epilepsy may resemble other major disorders of cognition and behavior (such as schizophrenia) in representing the sequelae of temporal lobe dysgenesis.
Determination of charge and size of rings by atomic force microscopy

Abstract We present and solve the problem of measuring charge and size of a ring from electrostatic forces in Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). We focus our attention on the charge-induced-charge force. From the electric field, the AFM-ring force-separation curve is computed and, based on the shape of the force-separation curve, an algorithm is proposed based on measuring the maximum experimental force to invert the problem. Thus the novelty of this paper lays in the calculation of the ring-AFM-tip force-separation curve and in the identification of features of the curve useful to experimentally measure the charge and size of the ring.
Urban Reform and Social Control

The fifteenth century was the golden age of the German cities. The power and independence they enjoyed was already eroding in the late fifteenth century, as they suffered important military and political losses in their power struggles with the territorial princes of the empire.1 Within the bounds of the cities themselves, however, decline was nowhere evident. The vitality of late medieval cities was expressed in a variety of reforming efforts that aimed at perfecting the urban community and its governance. Bettina Gunther argues that imperial cities make particularly good subjects for the study of early modern decency ordinances because their early state-like administration meant that, unlike larger territorial units, they could put late medieval reforming impulses into effect.2 This longer view allows us also to move past the Reformation-focused work of older scholarship to understand the early modern innovations in a broader historical context. Among late medieval urban reforms must be counted the penal reformation described in Part II above, as well as the administrative efforts that produced increasingly extensive records in the urban archives as the century progressed. A wide range of efforts at social control were also part of these reforms, including some which were remarkably interventional, particularly in Lucerne.
Disparities in Small Business Credit Markets: A Survey

This paper reviews the literature on statistical disparities in the market for small business credit. The paper begins with a brief legal discussion of the case law on the use of credit discrimination in the factual predicate for a minority business procurement program. The next section provides an overview of the statistical analysis of disparities in loan denials and interest rates by race and gender in the National Survey of Small Business Finance (NSSBF) data. The final section outlines policies to remedy discrimination in credit markets.
Surgeon-Authored Virtual Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy Module Is Judged Effective and Preferred Over Traditional Teaching Tools:

Objective. The study assesses user acceptance and effectiveness of a surgeon-authored virtual reality (VR) training module authored by surgeons using the Toolkit for Illustration of Procedures in Surgery (TIPS). Methods. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy was selected to test the TIPS framework on an unusual and complex procedure. No commercial simulation module exists to teach this procedure. A specialist surgeon authored the module, including force-feedback interactive simulation, and designed a quiz to test knowledge of the key procedural steps. Five practicing surgeons, with 15 to 24 years of experience, peer reviewed and tested the module. In all, 14 residents and 9 fellows trained with the module and answered the quiz, preuse and postuse. Participants received an overview during Surgical Grand Rounds session and a 20-minute one-on-one tutorial followed by 30 minutes of instruction in addition to a force-feedback interactive simulation session. Additionally, in answering questionnaires, the trainees reflecte...
Focusing and compensation methods for physical scattering in subspace-based imaging

Traditional subspace-based image processing treats the target as a collection of scattering points whose phase component is dependent only on phase change due to target motion. Physical scattering mechanisms can result in magnitude and phase components outside this model and defocusing of scatterers in the resulting image. Two methods are presented which can compensate for the defocusing of targets in subspace-based images due to physical scattering phenomena. The focusing effectiveness of these two methods are demonstrated and compared.
E. D. Hirsch, Cultural Literacy, and Religion

(1988). E. D. Hirsch, Cultural Literacy, and Religion. Religion & Public Education: Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 357-358.
Me Versus Us: Concealing High Status Identities from Lower Status Peers

Scholars commonly portray status in terms of its manifold benefits and positive consequences. Given this, people may reveal high status identities whenever given the opportunity. However, the prese...
An Anchoring-Based Intervention to Increase Patient Willingness to Use Injectable Medication in Psoriasis.

This study examines the association of anchoring with patient willingness to use a monthly injectible medication for psoriasis.
Grapevine vein clearing virus: Diagnostics, genome, genetic diversity, and management

Grapevine vein clearing virus (GVCV) is a recently discovered DNA virus that is closely associated with a severe disease that poses a great threat to the sustainable growth and productivity of grapevines in the Midwest region of the USA. The most damaged vineyards have been removed because of GVCV infection. Diagnostic symptoms are translucent vein clearing along the second and tertiary veins on young leaves and mosaic patterns on mature leaves of the affected grapevine. GVCV genome comprises a circular, double-stranded DNA, which is characteristic of the viruses in the genus Badnavirus, family Caulimoviridae. Three large open reading frames (ORFs) are predicted on the plus-strand of the genome. The promoter region and transcription start and termination sites have been mapped. GVCV is replicated through transcription of a terminally redundant transcript as other members of the Caulimoviridae family. Increasing incidences of GVCV on grapevines over the last few years suggest the transmission of the virus by a vector, whose identity is still under investigation. Two new isolates of GVCV were also found in wild grapevines native in Missouri (USA). The reservoirs of genetically complex GVCV populations in wild grapevines create challenges to the management of GVCV-associated disease. The rising prevalence of GVCV and the severity of the emerging disease with which this virus is associated with warrant that it should be tested routinely in the grapevine certification program.
Graphics processing unit (GPU) implementation of image processing algorithms to improve system performance of the control acquisition, processing, and image display system (CAPIDS) of the micro-angiographic fluoroscope (MAF)

We present the image processing upgrades implemented on a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) in the Control, Acquisition, Processing, and Image Display System (CAPIDS) for the custom Micro-Angiographic Fluoroscope (MAF) detector. Most of the image processing currently implemented in the CAPIDS system is pixel independent; that is, the operation on each pixel is the same and the operation on one does not depend upon the result from the operation on the other, allowing the entire image to be processed in parallel. GPU hardware was developed for this kind of massive parallel processing implementation. Thus for an algorithm which has a high amount of parallelism, a GPU implementation is much faster than a CPU implementation. The image processing algorithm upgrades implemented on the CAPIDS system include flat field correction, temporal filtering, image subtraction, roadmap mask generation and display window and leveling. A comparison between the previous and the upgraded version of CAPIDS has been presented, to demonstrate how the improvement is achieved. By performing the image processing on a GPU, significant improvements (with respect to timing or frame rate) have been achieved, including stable operation of the system at 30 fps during a fluoroscopy run, a DSA run, a roadmap procedure and automatic image windowing and leveling during each frame.
An update on prucalopride in the treatment of chronic constipation.

Chronic constipation (CC) is a highly prevalent and often under-appreciated gastrointestinal disorder associated with significant impairment in quality of life. Symptoms of constipation are typical...
High cetane renewable diesel fuels prepared from bio-based methyl ketones and diols

A new class of renewable diesel fuels has been synthesized by acid catalyzed condensation of 2-tridecanone with a series of diols that can be generated from biomass. These fuels exhibit comparable net heats of combustion (NHOCs) to conventional biodiesel, while maintaining derived cetane numbers between 82-91, values which are 20–30 units higher than conventional biodiesel and 40–50 units higher than petroleum-derived diesel fuel. The short combustion delays of the dioxolane fuels make them compelling blendstocks to enhance the combustion efficiency of petroleum-derived diesel fuel by increasing the cetane number and oxygen content of the blends. In addition, careful selection of the renewable diol allows for custom tailoring of viscosity and freezing point. Unlike conventional biodiesel which is often generated from plant or animal derived triglycerides, 2-tridecanone and other methyl ketones, along with the diols, can be efficiently generated from biomass sugars or CO2/H2via fermentation with metabolically engineered microorganisms. This biosynthetic approach may allow for the generation of these fuels on industrially relevant scales while eliminating competition with food sources and promoting responsible use of land resources.
The Plurality of Science

What I have to say falls under four headings: What is unity of science, unity and reductionism, the search for certainty, and the search for completeness.
Pumping to Increase Velocity

Skiers can increase their velocity during a downhill run on an undulating slope by using body motions to increase their kinetic energy [1]. In a different context, an example of this phenomenon is the figure skater who, in a leaping pirouette, brings her outstretched arms in closer to her body, which increases her angular velocity and, hence, the kinetic energy of her system, so she accelerates through the pirouette in midair without ever touching the ice. So too a skier may increase his kinetic energy and acceleration during a turn or when he runs the troughs in a mogul field by pumping up and down with his legs to shift his center of mass. In effect, there is a reservoir of potential energy in the human body that the skier may convert to kinetic energy. We can analyze this energy-conversion process by using the physical principles associated with work and energy.
Evaluation of filtering techniques applied to surface EMG data and comparison based on Hammerstein-Wiener models

Electromyogram (EMG) signals have been used for control of prosthetic devices in the past. However, most of the control schemes currently used are based on threshold values of the EMG signal as reference to actuate the prosthetic hand. Using such a control strategy, it is not possible to capture the underlying dynamics of the relationship between EMG signals and the intended finger movements and forces. We propose to use system identification based dynamic models which are extracted from recorded EMG signals and the corresponding finger forces. A key influence on the resulting quality of such models is the filtering of the EMG signals. This paper presents a thorough analysis of spatial filtering and other filtering methods. The different filters are compared on the basis of the EMG-finger force model fit values obtained using System Identification using various Non-Linear Hammerstein-Wiener models. The nonlinear spatial filters gave better fit values as compared to the standard filtering techniques.
Total Versus Dissolved Metals: Implications for Preservation and Filtration

Review of ground-water quality data obtained from wells in southwestern Ohio revealed the presence of lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals. Often, no pollution source could be discovered to account for the presence of the heavy metals. In order to establish whether sampling methods were a possible source of contamination, three possible sources of spurious heavy metal values were investigated: (1) the sample preservative, (2) the sampling equipment, and (3) suspended matter in the samples. The results of this study indicate that painted labels on nitric acid preservative ampules, used during the period 1978 to 1980, contributed to false indications of ground-water pollution. Tests of galvanized steel and polyvinyl chloride bailers showed that this equipment was not a source of lead or cadmium. Statistical analysis of a random sample of ground-water analyses from 70 wells revealed a significant relationship between sediment and lead values. Furthermore, lead values generally increased as the amount of sediment in the sample increased. This relationship probably reflects the presence of lead in particulate matter in the water sample. Particulate matter found in well water samples can be pieces of corroded well casing or fine sediment from the formation in which the well is screened. Since very little information is available on heavy metals in Ohio's glacial deposits, additional studies of these materials should be done to provide background data for the evaluation of heavy metals in ground water.
Suicide Among Chinese and Japanese in America

In Japan, suicide has long been considered an acceptable way out of difficulties, whereas in China suicides have not been encouraged by the culture. Thus, the comparison of suicides among the Japanese in Japan and the United States and the Chinese in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and in the United States, offered an opportunity to evaluate the suicide data in the light of the cultural differences between the Chinese and Japanese. Comparing the suicides in the Chinese in Hong Kong, P.M. Yap (1958) showed in 1954 and 1955, the rate of suicide was much lower in Hong Kong as compared to Japan. Table I illustrates the difference. In addition, Yap points out that in 1953–1954, the rate of suicide was higher in the urban Hong Kong area, 14.8 to 16.3 per 100,000 in contrast to 8.7 in the rural “New Territories.”
Facilitating discussion and shared meaning: Rethinking co-design sessions with people with vision impairments

This workshop paper describes experiences conducting two co-design sessions with 15 people with vision impairments. Reflection includes a discussion on the challenges around doing voice-based and tactile co-design with people who are blind or low vision including artifact creation and forming shared representations. This reflection is followed by a critical discussion of ideas for other researchers doing co-design with people with vision impairments and how they can model methods to better facilitate shared meaning among design group participants.
Complications After Tibial Tuberosity Osteotomy: Association With Screw Size and Concomitant Distalization.

Background:Tibial tuberosity osteotomy (TTO) is a versatile procedure commonly used to treat patellar instability as well as to unload cartilage lesions. TTO with concomitant distalization (TTO-d) ...
Influence and Countermeasure of Increasing Wind Penetration on Frequency Control

The number of wind turbines connected to electric power grid is steadily increasing, which detrimentally affects the system frequency characteristics, and consequently limits the maximum penetration level of wind generation. Nowadays, contribution of wind generators to frequency control is required by system operators in many countries. In this paper, in order to increase integration proportion of wind generation, inertial response of wind turbines following frequency disturbance is analyzed from three aspects, including the physical structure, the theory of electrical machine and mechanics theory. Also, influence of wind generation on frequency characteristics is proposed. It is found that frequency problem has been the constraint condition of penetration level of wind generation, which gives rise to demand of wind turbines participating frequency control. Furthermore, countermeasure of wind generation participating frequency control is proposed. Under virtual inertia control, the rate of change of frequency(ROCOF) is reduced, and the time of frequency nadir is delayed. By adding droop control, both the frequency nadir and quasi-steady state frequency are lifted. The implementation of virtual inertia control and droop control can increase penetration level of wind generation as well as guarantee power system security.
Association of operative time with outcomes in minimally invasive and abdominal myomectomy

Objective(s) To determine the association of operative time (ORT) with perioperative morbidity and whether there is an ORT at which minimally invasive myomectomy becomes inferior to laparotomy. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Not applicable. Patient(s) Myomectomy cases identified by CPT code from 2005 to 2016. Intervention(s) Cases were stratified and analyzed by surgical approach and 90-minute intervals. Main Outcome Measure(s) Thirty-day postoperative morbidity. Result(s) A total of 11,709 myomectomies were identified; 4,673 (39.9%) were minimally invasive, 6,997 (59.8%) were abdominal, and 39 (0.3%) were conversions. The incidence of complications significantly increased with ORT. After adjusting for confounders, mean ORT in minutes (95% confidence interval) was 113 (111–115) for abdominal, 156 (153–159) for minimally invasive, and 172 (148–200) for conversions. Despite shorter ORT, morbidity was greater in abdominal cases (16% vs. 5.7%), with the highest rates in converted cases (20.5%). The minimally invasive approach in general had lower odds of complications (odds ratio, 0.23; 95% confidence interval, 0.19–0.26). However, when minimally invasive surgery ORT reached ≥ 270 minutes, the odds of a composite complication variable increased compared with abdominal cases Conclusion(s) ORT was predictive of complications for both minimally invasive and abdominal myomectomies. Despite longer ORTs, minimally invasive procedures generally had superior 30-day outcomes up to 270 minutes. Careful patient counseling and preparation to increase surgical efficiency should be prioritized for either approach.
Feeding in crocodylians and their relatives: functional insights from ontogeny and evolution

Living crocodylians are exceptional ambush predators in near-shore environments. Utilizing a combination of large body size, stealth, and remarkable prey-capture abilities, these apex predators have dominated regions within and around ponds, lakes, rivers, and oceans since the age of the dinosaurs. Cleuren and de Vree (2000), in their contribution to the previous edition of this text (Feeding: Form, Function and Evolution in Tetrapod Vertebrates; Schwenk 2000), provided detailed overviews about the anatomical configurations and functions of hyolingual anatomy, jaw kinematics, muscle activation patterns, cranial osteology, and hunting behaviors in the context of crocodylian feeding success. In the period since Feeding, there has been mounting interest in the extreme performance of crocodylian jaws and teeth for seizing and subduing prey, as well as the interaction between biomechanical factors, development, and diversification. These efforts have leveraged new technologies, analytical techniques, and phylogenetic comparative frameworks to study living and fossil taxa to address longstanding questions about crocodylian head anatomy from the reciprocal perspectives of ontogeny and evolution. Here, we focus on synthesizing these efforts in order to provide context for interpreting how the development and evolution of performance are thought to have shaped the vertebrate head—as informed by the deep evolutionary history of living crocodylians and their fossil precursors.
Evidence for distinct rate-limiting steps in the cleavage of alkenes by carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases

Carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs) use a nonheme Fe(II) cofactor to split alkene bonds of carotenoid and stilbenoid substrates. The iron centers of CCDs are typically five-coordinate in their resting states, with solvent occupying an exchangeable site. The involvement of this iron-bound solvent in CCD catalysis has not been experimentally addressed, but computational studies suggest two possible roles. 1) Solvent dissociation provides a coordination site for O2, or 2) solvent remains bound to iron but changes its equilibrium position to allow O2 binding and potentially acts as a proton source. To test these predictions, we investigated isotope effects (H2O versus D2O) on two stilbenoid-cleaving CCDs, Novosphingobium aromaticivorans oxygenase 2 (NOV2) and Neurospora crassa carotenoid oxygenase 1 (CAO1), using piceatannol as a substrate. NOV2 exhibited an inverse isotope effect (kH/kD ∼ 0.6) in an air-saturated buffer, suggesting that solvent dissociates from iron during the catalytic cycle. By contrast, CAO1 displayed a normal isotope effect (kH/kD ∼ 1.7), suggesting proton transfer in the rate-limiting step. X-ray absorption spectroscopy on NOV2 and CAO1 indicated that the protonation states of the iron ligands are unchanged within pH 6.5–8.5 and that the Fe(II)–aquo bond is minimally altered by substrate binding. We pinpointed the origin of the differential kinetic behaviors of NOV2 and CAO1 to a single amino acid difference near the solvent-binding site of iron, and X-ray crystallography revealed that the substitution alters binding of diffusible ligands to the iron center. We conclude that solvent-iron dissociation and proton transfer are both associated with the CCD catalytic mechanism.
Houseparents' Expectations: A Crucial Variable in the Performance of Blind Institutionalized Children.

The study to test the degree of relationship between the blind child's performance and expectations of houseparents, the most significant others in the institutionalized child's life, supported the...
Sensor Fusion for Learning-based Tracking of Controller Movement in Virtual Reality

Inside-out pose tracking of hand-held controllers is an important problem in virtual reality devices. Current state-of-the-art combines a constellation of light-emitting diodes on controllers with a stereo pair of cameras on the head-mounted display (HMD) to track pose. These vision-based systems are unable to track controllers when they move out of the camera’s field-of-view (out-of-FOV). To overcome this limitation, we employ sensor fusion and a learning-based model. Specifically, we employ ultrasound sensors on the HMD and controllers to obtain ranging information. We combine this information with predictions from an auto-regressive forecasting model that is built with a recurrent neural network. The combination is achieved via a Kalman filter across different positional states (including out-of-FOV). With the proposed approach, we demonstrate near-isotropic accuracy levels ($\sim$ 1.23 cm error) in estimating controller position, which was not possible to achieve before with camera-alone tracking.
State Revenue Forecasting Practices: Accuracy, Transparency, and Political Participation

Across the 50 states, there is significant variation in forecasting practices, which makes them difficult to compare and assess. This study looks at the diversity of the state-level revenue forecasting processes between FY2015 and FY2017, with a particular focus on the type of process, the level of political involvement, and the extent to which state forecasts have proven to be accurate and transparent. Additionally, case analyses of several states demonstrate that revenue forecasts exist within institutional and political frameworks that can significantly influence the accuracy and transparency of the publicly reported forecasts.
Role of adjunctive posterior wall isolation in patients undergoing atrial fibrillation ablation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The posterior wall of the left atrium may promote atrial fibrillation (AF) due to its propensity for fibrosis, in addition to a high prevalence of non-pulmonary vein triggers. Multiple smaller studies have assessed the incremental value of posterior wall isolation (PWI) in addition to standard atrial fibrillation. Similarly, this method has shown promise as an ablation strategy for patients with persistent AF, when PVI alone has shown only modest efficacy. We performed an extensive literature search and systematic review of studies that compared AF ablation plus PWI versus control. We separately assessed the recurrence rates of all atrial arrhythmias (AF/AFL/AT), as well as separate recurrence rates of AF and atrial tachycardia/atrial flutter (AT/AFL) after ablation. Risk ratio (RR) 95% confidence intervals were measured using the Mantel-Haenszel method. The random effects model was used due to heterogeneity (I2) > 25%. Seven studies with a total of 1151 patients were included. Patients who underwent concomitant PWI experienced less recurrence of all atrial arrhythmias post ablation (RR 0.77; 95% CI 0.62–0.96, p = 0.02) and less recurrence of AF (RR 0.55; 95% CI 0.39–0.77, p < 0.01). There was no difference in onset of AT/AFL (RR 0.96; 95% CI 0.62–1.48, p = 0.85) after ablation. These results were replicated in subgroup analysis of patients with persistent AF. Based on the results of this meta-analysis, concomitant PWI is associated with less recurrence of AF and all atrial arrhythmias after ablation, without an increase in the risk for post-ablation AFL/AT.
Proving quadratic reciprocity: explanation, disagreement, transparency and depth

Gauss’s quadratic reciprocity theorem is among the most important results in the history of number theory. It’s also among the most mysterious: since its discovery in the late eighteenth century, mathematicians have regarded reciprocity as a deeply surprising fact in need of explanation. Intriguingly, though, there’s little agreement on how the theorem is best explained. Two quite different kinds of proof are most often praised as explanatory: an elementary argument that gives the theorem an intuitive geometric interpretation, due to Gauss and Eisenstein, and a sophisticated proof using algebraic number theory, due to Hilbert. Philosophers have yet to look carefully at such explanatory disagreements in mathematics. I do so here. According to the view I defend, there are two important explanatory virtues—depth and transparency—which different proofs (and other potential explanations) possess to different degrees. Although not mutually exclusive in principle, the packages of features associated with the two stand in some tension with one another, so that very deep explanations are rarely transparent, and vice versa. After developing the theory of depth and transparency and applying it to the case of quadratic reciprocity, I draw some morals about the nature of mathematical explanation.
Disentangling altruism and public service motivation: who exhibits organizational citizenship behaviour?

Public service motivation (PSM) is a core concept in public administration, but has gained less traction in other disciplines. To address this, we need to differentiate PSM from related concepts, s...
Direct analysis of ribosome targeting illuminates thousand-fold regulation of translation initiation

Translational control shapes the proteome in normal and pathophysiological conditions. Current high-throughput approaches reveal large differences in mRNA-specific translation activity but cannot identify the causative mRNA features. We developed direct analysis of ribosome targeting (DART) and used it to dissect regulatory elements within 5' untranslated regions that confer thousand-fold differences in ribosome recruitment in biochemically accessible cell lysates. Using DART, we identified novel translational enhancers and silencers, determined a functional role for most alternative 5' UTR isoforms expressed in yeast, and revealed a general mode of increased translation via direct binding to a core translation factor. DART enables systematic assessment of the translational regulatory potential of 5' UTR variants, whether native or disease-associated, and will facilitate engineering of mRNAs for optimized protein production in various systems. HighlightsO_LIDART illuminates thousand-fold differences in 5' UTR-specific translation activity C_LIO_LISNPs and alternative 5' UTR isoforms affect ribosome recruitment significantly C_LIO_LIInhibitory effects of RNA structures are highly dependent on 5' UTR context C_LIO_LI5' UTR motifs bind initiation factors directly, broadly stimulating translation C_LI