cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The specificity of action knowledge in sensory and motor systems

Neuroimaging studies have found that sensorimotor systems are engaged when participants observe actions or comprehend action language. However, most of these studies have asked the binary question of whether action concepts are embodied or not, rather than whether sensory and motor areas of the brain contain graded amounts of information during putative action simulations. To address this question, we used repetition suppression (RS) functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine if functionally-localized motor movement and visual motion regions-of-interest (ROI) and two anatomical ROIs (inferior frontal gyrus, IFG; left posterior middle temporal gyrus) were sensitive to changes in the exemplar (e.g., two different people “kicking”) or representational format (e.g., photograph or schematic drawing of someone “kicking”) within pairs of action images. We also investigated whether concrete versus more symbolic depictions of actions (i.e., photographs versus schematic drawings) yielded different patterns of activation throughout the brain. We found that during a conceptual task, sensory and motor systems represent actions at different levels of specificity. While the visual motion ROI did not exhibit RS to different exemplars of the same action or to the same action depicted by different formats, the motor movement ROI did. These effects are consistent with “person-specific” action simulations: if the motor system is recruited for action understanding, it does so by activating one’s own motor program for an action. We also observed significant repetition enhancement within the IFG ROI to different exemplars or formats of the same action, a result that may indicate additional cognitive processing on these trials. Finally, we found that the recruitment of posterior brain regions by action concepts depends on the format of the input: left lateral occipital cortex and right supramarginal gyrus responded more strongly to symbolic depictions of actions than concrete ones.
A lognormal approximation of activity duration in PERT using two time estimates

The success behind effective project management lies in estimating the time for individual activities. In many cases, these activity times are non-deterministic. In such situations, the conventional method (project evaluation and review technique (PERT)) obtains three time estimates, which are then used to calculate the expected time. In practice, it is often difficult to get three accurate time estimates. A recent paper suggests using just two time estimates and an approximation of the normal distribution to obtain the expected time and variance for that activity. In this paper, we propose an alternate method that uses only two bits of information: the most-likely and either the optimistic or the pessimistic time. We use a lognormal approximation and experimental results to show that our method is not only better than the normal approximation, but also better than the conventional method when the underlying activity distributions are moderately or heavily right skewed.
Arctangent Demodulation With DC Offset Compensation in Quadrature Doppler Radar Receiver Systems

Direct-conversion microwave Doppler radar can be used to detect cardiopulmonary activity at a distance. One challenge for such detection in single channel receivers is demodulation sensitivity to target position, which can be overcome by using a quadrature receiver. This paper presents a mathematical analysis and experimental results demonstrating the effectiveness of arctangent demodulation in quadrature receivers. A particular challenge in this technique is the presence of dc offset resulting from receiver imperfections and clutter reflections, in addition to dc information related to target position and associated phase. These dc components can be large compared to the ac motion-related signal, and thus, cannot simply be included in digitization without adversely affecting resolution. Presented here is a method for calibrating the dc offset while preserving the dc information and capturing the motion-related signal with maximum resolution. Experimental results demonstrate that arctangent demodulation with dc offset compensation results in a significant improvement in heart rate measurement accuracy over quadrature channel selection, with a standard deviation of less than 1 beat/min
Allosteric Inhibitors May Prevent the Hepatitis C Virus RNA Polymerase from Sampling Functional Conformations

The RNA polymerase (NS5B) from the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a validated drug target because of its importance for viral replication. NS5B functions through de novo initiation in a closed conformation, while elongation occurs in the open conformation. Currently, there are five allosteric binding sites to which diverse inhibitors can bind. However, the molecular mechanisms that underlie allosteric inhibition are unclear from the structural data alone. We employ molecular dynamics simulations and principle component analysis in order to understand how the presence of allosteric inhibitors impacts the structure and dynamics of NS5B. Preliminary results suggest that ligand binding prevents the enzyme from achieving functional conformations via an induced-fit mechanism. This information may aid in the development of novel and more effective inhibitors for NS5B, leading to better treatments for HCV.
Relationship Between Ornithine and Proline in Chick Nutrition

Abstract Studies were performed to investigate the metabolic relationship between ornithine and proline, and the ability of chicks to use ornithine as a proline source. Day-old chicks (N.H.×S.C.W.L. cross or broiler-type chicks) were fed a synthetic L-amino acid diet with and without proline or ornithine·HCl for two weeks. The result s indicated that the inclusion of L-proline (0.68% or 1.0%) in the diet fed caused a marked increase in growth rate, feed efficiency and plasma proline level when compared with those chicks fed a diet without proline. The addition of ornithine·HCl at 2% but not 1% to the diet also caused some improvements in growth but not as good as those fed diets containing proline. Feed efficiency was not improved by additional ornithine·HCl both at 1% and 2%. The plasma proline level was increased with the increases in dietary ornithine·HCl levels. In in vitro studies, livers from chicks (ages 17 to 21 days) were homogenized. The liver homogenate was then incubated in a potassium phosphate buffer system (pH 7.4) containing various substrates for 30 minutes. The formation of Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid and of proline in the reaction mixture were determined. The data showed that ornithine could be converted to Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid and proline. Exogenous α-ketoglutaric acid was required for the optimal conversion of ornithine to both Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid and proline. Arginine was utilized for the in vitro synthesis of Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid to a very limited extent, and was not immediately utilized for the formation of proline.
Analysis of the antineutrino capture on protons

Corrections to the zeroth-approximation cross-section formula for antineutrino capture on protons at nuclear reactors are evaluated. They include recoil corrections 1/M of three kinds. The true recoil correction to the cross section is negligible. The weak-magnetism—axial-vector interference is sizable, decreasing the cross section by ∼2% for 5-MeV positrons. One also has to include the recoil-neutron energy in relating the positron and antineutrino energies in order to evaluate the antineutrino flux. That effect decreases the positron yield by as much as 6% for 5-MeV positrons. The radiative corrections of order α have been also evaluated; they increase the cross section by ∼1.5% near threshold and by ∼0.7% at 5MeV. Formulas and a table of numerical values of all corrections are presented.
Satisfying and Retaining Customers through Independent Service Representatives

The degree of leverage possessed by manufacturers who outsource their customer service function to channel partners over customer satisfaction and loyalty is assessed empirically. Data provided by independent service representatives are linked with data from their customers. Results indicate that a manufacturer's support of its representatives increases their job satisfaction which, in turn, is indirectly linked to the customer satisfaction through shared perceptions of service performance and quality. However, the strength of the effects is modest, suggesting that manufacturers may need to consider direct customer contact strategies or contractual means of assuring customer satisfaction when independent service representatives “own the customer.” Conceptually, the hypothesized shared mindset model is tested against the competing affect transfer model, resulting in support for the former. Job satisfaction moderates the degree of agreement between representatives' and customers' perceptions of service performance and quality such that greater agreement occurs when job satisfaction is high.
Aerodynamic penetration and radius as unifying concepts in flight mechanics.

The scale of atmospheric entry processes and of certain other problems in vehicle dynamics may be quantified in terms of a vehicle parameter that has the dimension of length. Two such lengths, the "aerodynamic penetration" 2m/pACD and the "aerodynamic radius" 2m/pACL-> have simple physical interpretations and tend to be constant multiples of the characteristic dimensions of geometrically similar vehicles of constant density. The aerodynamic penetration may be used as a linear scale factor to generalize trajectory studies if aerodynamic drag is important, and the aerodynamic radius may be used if aerodynamic lift is important. Several problems involving the deceleration and flight mechanics of entry vehicles, airplanes, and ballistic projectiles are discussed to show the application of these parameters to wellknown situations.
Co-morbidity and predictors of health status in older rural breast cancer survivors

More than 66% of the 200,000 newly diagnosed annual breast cancers in the US occurs in women over 55 years. Treatment advances result in excellent survival, yet older breast cancer survivors with co-morbidity may live longer, but not better after cancer. Decline in physical function, increased social isolation, and diminished economic resources increase vulnerability among older women. Rural women represent an underserved population. The purpose is to examine associations between comorbidity and predictors of health status among older rural breast cancer survivors. Baseline data of 331 BCS age 55–90 years enrolled in the Rural Breast Cancer Survivors Study. Four surveys were used for data collection. Self-reported prescription medications were used as proxy for co-morbidity. Bivariate tests of association and multivariable recursive partitioning techniques were used for analysis. Mean number of prescription medication categories reported was 3.68 (SD = 2.3; range = 0–12). Common prescription categories were: anti-hormonal, anti-hypertensive, and cholesterol- reducing agents. 69% was overweight or obese. BMI >31 was significantly associated with both poorer physical and mental health. Multivariate analyses indicated physical health status was predicted by BMI, comorbid conditions, social support, and adverse changes in economic lifestyle. The same variables, with the exception of BMI, were predictors of mental health status. Assessing co-morbid conditions, mental health status, social support, and economic burden after breast cancer treatment may better inform cancer survivorship care and comprehensive geriatric assessment.
Religious/Spiritual Coping in Childhood Cystic Fibrosis: A Qualitative Study

Objective. To understand the role of religiousness/spirituality in coping in children with cystic fibrosis (CF). Methods. Participants were a convenience sample of 23 patients with CF, ages 5 to 12 years, and their parent(s) in an ambulatory CF clinic. The design was a focused ethnography including in-depth interviews with children and parent(s), children’s drawings, and self-administered written parental questionnaires. Analysis used grounded theory. Results. Main outcome measures were participants’ views on religion/spirituality in coping with illness. Data included 632 quotes organized into 257 codes categorized into 11 themes. One overarching domain emerged from analysis of the 11 themes: Religious/Spiritual Coping, composed of 11 religious/spiritual coping strategies. Conclusions. Children with CF reported a variety of religious/spiritual coping strategies they nearly always associated with adaptive health outcomes. A preliminary conceptual framework for religious/spiritual coping in children with CF is presented. More study is needed to assess how variability in age, disease type, disease severity, religious/spiritual preference, and religious/spiritual intensity affect religious/spiritual coping in children with chronic illness. Future studies should also investigate whether physician attention to religious/spiritual coping could assist patients in coping with CF and strengthen the doctor-patient relationship.
College Women’s Experiences With Rape Disclosure: A National Study

Disclosure of a rape to informal support sources (e.g., friends) is a relatively common experience, but it is not well understood. This study expands our limited knowledge of the characteristics and life experiences of disclosure recipients among a national sample of 2,000 female college students. Over 40% of respondents reported having received a rape disclosure, and more than two thirds of these recipients encouraged victims to formally report their rapes to the police or other authorities. Correlates of disclosure receipt and encouragement of reporting, including personal assault history, mental health history, and substance use, are presented and discussed.
Motivated social memory: Belonging needs moderate the own-group bias in face recognition

Abstract The current research examines why people have superior recognition memory for own-group members compared to other-group members. In two studies, we provide evidence for one motivational mechanism underlying own-group bias—social belonging needs. In Study 1, participants assigned to a minimal group had superior memory for own-group compared to other-group faces, replicating previous research on the own-group bias. This pattern was moderated by participants' need to belong: participants who reported a higher (versus lower) need to belong showed greater own-group memory bias. In Study 2, participants who were socially excluded had superior memory for own-university compared to other-university faces than participants who were selected to work alone by a computer. Together, these studies suggest that chronic belonging needs and social exclusion motivate own-group bias. (124 words)
A Computationally Efficient Method to Place Critical Measurements

This paper investigates a very practical and commonly encountered problem in state estimation. It is related to the placement of measurements in order to make an otherwise unobservable system observable. Typically, this is a situation that is frequently encountered during the daily operation as one or more of the measurements become unavailable due to various unexpected reasons. Under such circumstances, the state estimator resorts to the use of pseudo-measurements in order to recover observability and solve the state estimation problem. Pseudo-measurements that will make the system observable can be selected by applying one of the well-developed network observability analysis techniques in a repetitive fashion adding one candidate measurement at a time until the system is no longer unobservable. As the system size increases, this approach may prove computationally expensive. A nonrepetitive solution has also been proposed. However, its computational requirements grow rapidly with increasing number of observable islands that may exist in large scale systems. This paper presents an alternative approach which will be shown to be suitable for large scale power systems providing a compromise between the two existing techniques. Examples are given to highlight the main benefits of the proposed method.
Community and Organization: The New Left and Michels' “Iron Law”

Most analysts of the new left fault it for having been Utopian, antiorganizational, and even antipolitical, suggesting that these characteristics were responsible for its failures. It is suggested in this paper that such evaluations of the new left are biased in favor of certain organizational and instrumental-political forms—forms the new left rejected in the name of a communitarian and expressive-political experiment. It is indicated that the new left was shaped by the ongoing tension within it between a spontaneous, grassroots social movement committed to participatory democracy and hostile to formal organization and the perceived need for formal, even centralized, organization capable of implementing political change. Faced with a choice between “strategic” and “prefigurative” politics, the new left, it is argued, chose the latter and hence chose to fail according to the established political standards. The new left sought to avert Michels' “iron law of oligarchy” by its refusal to transform itself into a political party and by its insistence on remaining a social movement. The attempt to found a new politics of participation and process, while unsuccessful, may well prove to have been the new left's most valuable legacy.
Assessment of the free-piston Stirling convertor as a long life power convertor for space

There is currently a renewed interest in the use of free-piston Stirling power convertors for space power applications. More specifically, the Stirling convertor is being developed to be part of the Stirling Radioisotope Power System to supply electric power to spacecraft for NASA deep space science missions. The current development effort involves the Department of Energy, Germantown, MD, the NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH, and the Stirling Technology Company, Kennewick, WA. The Stirling convertor will absorb heat supplied from the decay of plutonium dioxide contained in the General Purpose Heat Source modules and convert it into electricity to power the spacecraft. For many years the "potentials" of the free-piston Stirling convertor have been publicized by its developers. Among these "potentials" were long life and high reliability. This paper presents an overview of the critical areas that enable long life of the free-piston Stirling power convertor, and present some of the techniques that have been used when long life has been achieved.
Treatment of hoarding

In the past 5 years, hoarding has emerged as a serious, potentially debilitating and remarkably frequent form of psychopathology. Attempts to treat it have met with little success. Although the majority of studies using serotonin-reuptake inhibitors have shown a poor response among people with hoarding disorder, serious methodological problems limit the conclusions that can be drawn from these studies. The true efficacy of serotonin-reuptake inhibitors for hoarding is largely unknown. Cognitive–behavioral treatments for obsessive–compulsive disorder have also fared badly in the treatment of hoarding. However, therapy based on a cognitive–behavioral model of hoarding has shown considerable promise.
Atmospheric correction for the sea surface temperature using NOAA-7 AVHRR and METEOSAT-2 infrared data

Abstract The multi-spectral method for atmospheric corrections is investigated. The analysis shows that the non-linear effects of the atmospheric absorption can be accounted for by using three channels. The results clarify and lend theoretical support to previous works. A simple correction procedure is proposed. In the case where channel 3 of the NOAA AVHRR is not available or is contaminated, simultaneous METEOSAT infrared data can be used instead. The result tested with in situ measured temperatures shows a marked improvement when three channels are used. In this procedure, the detailed knowledge of the local atmospheric profiles is not required.
From Swedenborg's Spiritual World to Kant's Kingdom of Ends Von der geistigen Welt Swedenborgs zu Kants Reich der Zwecke

In diesem Beitrag wird die These aufgestellt, dass Immanuel Kants Konzept des “Reiches der Zwecke” von Emanuel Swedenborgs Konzept der geistigen Welt abgeleitet ist, welches Swedenborg in seinem Werk Arcana Coelestia (“Geheimnisse des Himmels”, 1749–1756) ebenfalls als “Reich der Zwecke” ( regnum finium ) beschreibt. Der Artikel argumentiert, dass Kant Swedenborgs Arcana Coelestia kurz nach 1760 gelesen hat und dass die Konzeption der geistigen Welt, wie Kant sie in seiner Abhandlung Traume eines Geistersehers von 1766 vorstellt, von Swedenborg abhangig ist. Nimmt man ferner zu Kants veroffentlichten Werken Notizen von Studenten zu seinen Vorlesungen uber Metaphysik und Ethik hinzu, zeigt sich im Hinblick auf die geistige Welt eine direkte Linie von den Traumen eines Geistersehers zur Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten von 1785, in der erstmals der Ausdruck “Reich der Zwecke” im Druck erscheint.
Effects of implicit visual feedback distortion on human gait

Gait rehabilitation after stroke often utilizes treadmill training delivered by either therapists or robotic devices. However, clinical results have shown no benefit from this modality when compared to usual care. On the contrary, results were inferior; perhaps, because in its present form it is not interactive and at least for stroke, central pattern generators at the spinal level do not appear to be the key to promote recovery. To enable gait therapy to be more effective, therapy must be interactive and visual feedback appears to be an important option to engage patients’ participation. In this study, we tested healthy subjects to see whether an implicit “visual feedback distortion” influences gait spatial pattern. Subjects were not aware of the visual distortion nor did they realize changes in their gait pattern. The visual feedback of step length symmetry was distorted so that subjects perceived their step length as being asymmetric during treadmill training. We found that a gradual distortion of visual feedback, without explicit knowledge of the manipulation, systematically modulated gait step length away from symmetry and that the visual distortion effect was robust even in the presence of cognitive load. This indicates that although the visual feedback display used in this study did not create a conscious and vivid sensation of self-motion (the properties of the optical flow), experimental modifications of visual information of subjects’ movement were found to cause implicit gait modulation. Nevertheless, our results indicate that modulation with visual distortion may require cognitive resources because during the distraction task, the amount of gait modulation was reduced. Our results suggest that a therapeutic program involving visual feedback distortion, in the context of gait rehabilitation, may provide an effective way to help subjects correct gait patterns, thereby improving the outcome of rehabilitation.
The short and happy life of neutrophil activation.

This is largely a history of attempts from approximately 1960 until about 1980-81 to understand the mechanisms by which neutrophils are activated by chemotactic factors to induce chemotaxis and granule secretion. As such, it deals with the growth of our knowledge of neutrophil chemotactic factors and their receptors; the importance and role of cation fluxes, especially Ca2�, microfilaments and microtubules, membrane potential, cyclic nucleotides, and the start of our recognition of the importance of arachidonic acid and phospholipid metabolism and protein phosphorylation. In a very real sense this is a history of the origins of our present realization that reactions and functions which had been considered specific to the neutrophil are to be thought of as similar or identical to general biological and physiological processes such as muscle contraction, cellular secretion, etc.
The Creation of a Model Pediatric Ward for African American Children in 1920s Kansas City

* Abbreviations: CMH — : Children’s Mercy Hospital WPH — : Wheatley-Provident Hospital The summer of 1919 is remembered for some of the worst race riots in American history. Dubbed the Red Summer by James Weldon Johnson, at least 25 major riots rocked American cities, and more than 52 African Americans were lynched.1 Although provocations varied, a root cause of the racial tension was the disappointment felt by African American World War I veterans. They had hoped that their military service would earn them equality at home. Instead they returned to a society where the majority of American states enforced Jim Crow racial segregation laws. As in many American cities, Kansas City hospitals, including Children’s Mercy Hospital (CMH), were racially segregated in the early 20th century. African Americans went to the “Negro hospitals,” where facilities were substandard and overcrowded.2 The mortality rate for Kansas City’s black population was nearly double that of the country’s.3 Children fared no better: the black infant mortality rate was close to double that of whites. Common causes of child death were prematurity, diarrhea, and pneumonia.4,5 Conditions were worsened by limited numbers of black physicians. The 1910 Flexner report prompted the closure of all but 2 African American medical schools, Howard University and Meharry Medical College. Although Flexner recommended coeducation for men and women, he accepted racial segregation in medical schools. Furthermore, education gaps between black and white physicians were widened when he recommended that black physicians be trained differently at a more basic level as “sanitarians” with an emphasis on “serving” their people.6,7 The overall effect was to reinforce segregated and unequal medical training, thereby limiting education and practice opportunities for African Americans.7 It was in this climate that physicians Katharine Berry Richardson and John Edward Perry … Address correspondence to Jane F. Knapp, MD, Children’s Mercy Hospital, 2401 Gillham Rd, Kansas City, MO 64108. E-mail: jknapp{at}cmh.edu
Moses Kotane, the African Liberator, and the Invocation of Italian Fascism in South African Politics

Following the 1935 invasion of Ethiopia by Italy, Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) leader Moses Kotane turned his attention toward telling tales of oppression in Ethiopia and collusion between right-leaning leaders in Italy and South Africa. The African Liberator, published primarily in English and then translated widely, sought to appropriate Pan-Africanist discussions on Ethiopia in order to mobilize South Africans against racial policies in their own country. The decision by Kotane and other activists to localize the fascist struggles in Europe represents an attempt to reach beyond constituencies that had historically been attracted to trade union activism or communism. This paper will examine the use of anti-fascist rhetoric by Kotane and others as a means of fostering African nationalism while using seemingly distant events outside of South Africa.
Orthopedic afflictions in the interventional laboratory: tales from the working wounded.

The breadth and pace of interventional innovations have been astonishing, yielding gratifying benefits to our patients and society. Ironically, while taming diseases once intractable, the medical professionals working in the interventional fluoroscopic laboratory are subjected to distinct
Congenital Defects of Domestic and Feral Animals

A variety of structural and functional defects have been described in newborn animals ranging from variant and blemish, imperfection and deviant, to malformation and monstrosity. Defects are usually present at birth but detection depends on the Nature and extent of the defect. Such happenings are usually of limited concern and unlikely to be reported. Only under unusual circumstances, as when the defect occurs repeatedly in the same herd, flock, family, or geographic area, is a defective neonate likely to come to the attention of investigators concerned with congenital defects. Thus, most defective neonates go unrecorded and unnoticed by veterinarians, animal scientists, and geneticists. The thalidomide-induced congenital defects in man in the 1960s proved once again that defects need not be hereditary; and attracted the interest of a wider group of medical, veterinary, and animal science researchers to the field of teratology. Only recently, however, has there been a perceptible change in attitude by veterinarians, geneticists, animal scientists, and livestock industries toward the importance of congenital defects or diseases (Leipold et al., 1972a; Pearson, 1979; White et al., 1981).
Law School Advice You Can Count On

When I tell students to attend every class, write their own briefs, use TWEN regularly, and rejoice when called on, it’s advice they can rely on. I’ve done studies that prove it.
Image quality analysis for a multiple overlapping field of view Serial Laser Imager

The Combined Laser and Scan Sonar (CLASS) system is an extended range imaging system, incorporating both high-resolution laser images and high frequency sonar images. Both the laser and sonar images are collected simultaneously during testing to provide dual mode imagery of an underwater target, displaying both a 2D image of the target (laser image) and a 3D overlay of the target (sonar image). The laser component of the system is a Multiple Overlapping Field of view Serial Laser Imager (MOFSLI), capable of generating high-resolution sub-centimeter 2D images. MOFSLI generates the images by way of a diffraction-limited 532nm continuous wave (CW) laser beam being scanned over the target. Initial field tests resulted in high-quality images of the ocean floor. However, there was a clear need for further study and improvement. The first step is to carefully evaluate the quality of the images generated by MOFSLI. To do so, a calibration and performance evaluation of MOFSLI was executed in the specialized underwater electrooptics testing facility located in the Ocean Visibility and Optics laboratory at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute(HBOI), focusing on the effects of increased scattering levels.
Research of Rural Residents' Consumption Structure Based on Analytical Hierarchy Process

A rational consumption structure of rural residents is directly related to a nation's industrial structure,circulation structure,distribution structure and even the whole national economy.To make a reasonable rural residents' consumption structure is an inevitable choice for stimulating rural consumption market and Chinese continued economic growth.This article uses AHP(analytical hierarchy process) to determine reasonable evaluation index of rural residents' consumption structure,and arrange its importance in order.Then it makes some relevant policy recommendations.
Effect of chronic immune system activation on the rate, efficiency, and composition of growth and lysine needs of pigs fed from 6 to 27 kg.

The influence of a low and a high level chronic immune system (IS) activation on growth and dietary nutrient needs of pigs was evaluated. All pigs were of a single genetic strain and geographical site of origin, and the low and high IS pigs were created by physically isolating pigs from or continuously exposing pigs to major vectors of environmental antigen transmission. In each IS group, four littermate barrows in each of six litters were allotted at 25 +/- 2 d of age to one of four dietary amino acid regimens (.60, .90, 1.20, or 1.50% dietary lysine. Dietary lysine concentrations were achieved by altering the ratio of corn to soybean meal resulting in lysine being the first-limiting amino acid in each diet. Pigs were individually penned in facilities maintained at 25.6 +/- 2 degrees C and allowed to freely consume feed from 6.2 to 26.5 kg BW. On the basis of the differences in serological antibody titers, lymphocyte CD4+:CD8+ ratios, and serum alpha-1-acylglycoprotein concentrations, low and high levels of IS activation were established and maintained during the study. Minimizing the degree of chronic IS activation resulted in greater feed intakes (P < .09), body weight and protein gains (P < .01), gain:feed ratios (P < .01), and body leanness (protein:lipid, P < .01). The level of IS activation did not influence the partial efficiency of energy utilization for body protein and lipid accretion. To allow their greater capacity for body growth and protein accretion to be expressed, the low IS pigs required greater dietary lysine concentrations and daily lysine intakes than high IS pigs.
Not All Abdomens Are the Same: A Comparison of Damage Control Surgery for Intra-abdominal Sepsis versus Trauma.

Damage control surgery (DCS) was developed to manage exsanguinating trauma patients, but is increasingly applied to the management of peritoneal sepsis and abdominal catastrophes. Few manuscripts compare the outcomes of these surgeries on disparate patient populations. A multi-institutional three group propensity score matched case cohort study comparing penetrating trauma (PT-DCS), blunt trauma (BT-DCS), and intraperitoneal sepsis (IPS-DCS) was performed comparing patients treated with DSC between 2008 and 2013. Propensity scoring was performed using demographic and presenting physiologic data. Four hundred and twelve patients were treated with DCS across two institutions. Propensity matching for age, gender, and initial Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score 80 identified 80 patients per group for comparison. Rate of primary fascial closure was lowest in the IPS-DCS group, and highest in the penetrating trauma DCS group. Intra-abdominal complication rates were highest in the IPS-DCS group. IPS-DCS had increased time to definitive closure compared with the other two groups (RR 1.8; 1.3-2.2; P eight days were more than twice the risk of death at 90 days across all groups. (RR 2.15; 1.2-3.5; P < 0.002). Expected outcomes after the use of DCS for trauma and emergency general surgery are quite different. Despite this difference, prompt abdominal closure at the earliest possible opportunity afforded the best outcome in patients managed via DCS.
Impact of selective platelet inhibition in reducing cardiovascular risk - role of vorapaxar

This article reviews the pharmacology, clinical efficacy, and safety of vorapaxar in reducing cardiovascular risk. Vorapaxar is a tricyclic himbacine-derived reversible inhibitor of platelet surface protease activator receptor-1, which prevents thrombin from activating platelets. Two Phase III clinical trials and multiple subanalyses from the two trials with vorapaxar have been published. In patients with recent acute coronary syndrome, vorapaxar, when added to standard therapy, did not reduce the composite cardiovascular end point. In contrary, in a study of secondary prevention for patients with cardiovascular diseases, vorapaxar reduced the risk of cardiovascular death or ischemic events (myocardial infarction, stroke) in patients with stable atherosclerosis who were receiving standard therapy. Vorapaxar is approved in the US for use with aspirin and/or clopidogrel in the secondary prevention of thrombogenic cardiovascular events in stable patients with peripheral arterial disease or a history of myocardial infarction. Vorapaxar increases risk of bleeding and is contraindicated in patients with previous cerebrovascular events. It is essential to balance individual patient's bleeding risk to any further cardiovascular benefits that they may get. Future investigation is also needed to evaluate use of vorapaxar with newer antiplatelet agents such as ticagrelor and cangrelor, as well as its role as monotherapy.
Learning to Localize Little Landmarks

We interact everyday with tiny objects such as the door handle of a car or the light switch in a room. These little landmarks are barely visible and hard to localize in images. We describe a method to find such landmarks by finding a sequence of latent landmarks, each with a prediction model. Each latent landmark predicts the next in sequence, and the last localizes the target landmark. For example, to find the door handle of a car, our method learns to start with a latent landmark near the wheel, as it is globally distinctive, subsequent latent landmarks use the context from the earlier ones to get closer to the target. Our method is supervised solely by the location of the little landmark and displays strong performance on more difficult variants of established tasks and on two new tasks.
Elucidating Membrane-Bound Transcription Regulation in Vibrio Cholerae via Single-Molecule Imaging

Cholera remains a public health threat today in regions with limited access to clean water and adequate sanitation. This virulent disease is caused by the Gram-negative bacterium, Vibrio cholerae, which produces an enterotoxin, cholera toxin (CT), in response to environmental and chemical stimuli. To understand the genetic mechanism by which V. cholerae regulates CT production, we aim to elucidate the mechanism of an early step in this pathway: a protein-DNA complex consisting of two membrane-bound transcription regulators, ToxR and TcpP, interact with each other and with the toxT DNA promoter to initiate gene expression of ToxT and downstream CT. We use single-molecule fluorescence microscopy to examine the dynamics of this complex in live V. cholerae at the nanometer scale of proteins and of biomolecular interactions. First, we genetically modified toxR and tcpP in the chromosome of V. cholerae to endogenously express the photoactivatable fluorescent protein PAmCherry, and we verified the stability and functionality of these ToxR-PAmCherry and TcpP-PAmCherry fusions using molecular biology and biochemical tools. Next, we imaged single molecules of these protein fusions in live V. cholerae under virulent and non-virulent growth conditions. Our quantitative analysis of molecular trajectories has identified heterogeneous motion for both ToxR and TcpP, which lead us to speculate that these proteins may be involved in more than one mechanism. To better characterize the dynamics of these transcription regulators when they are actively engaging in the virulence cascade, we are now creating other strains each knocked out for expression of one essential interacting partner. Therefore, we are able to spatially and temporally resolve this complex mechanism to the limits of our detection. Beyond providing a mechanism for virulence regulation in V. cholerae, this workalso provides a general mechanistic understanding of membrane-bound transcription in bacteria.
An Ocean of Troubles: Advancing Marine Sociology

We advance marine sociology to analyze the human dimensions of ocean systems. Human societies are fundamentally linked to marine systems and are transforming oceanic conditions in dramatic ways, resulting in socio-ecological problems. Despite the great and important possibilities in this realm, these relationships are seldom studied within sociology. This article highlights the ecological foundations of human societies, emphasizing interactions with marine systems, and presents marine sociology as a valuable expansion of environmental sociological studies. This approach seeks to better integrate sociological and ecological sciences. We propose that social metabolic analysis serves as one useful theoretical framework for examining the socio-ecological interrelationships. The analysis focuses on the dynamics of ocean systems, social processes that are changing marine ecosystems, and the perennial interactions within and between these systems. We provide brief analyses of climate change, ocean acidification, and pollution, revealing how the modern socioeconomic order has created ecological rifts in marine ecosystems, and how these concerns reciprocally affect social life.
Do Genes Determine Our Health? Implications for Designing Lifestyle Interventions and Drug Trials.

Belalcazar et al1 exploited a genetic variant (L446P)2 in the glucokinase regulatory (GCKR) gene, known to have inverse cardiometabolic effects, to investigate whether the effect of the 446L allele can be attenuated by an intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) in the Look Action for Health in Diabetes (AHEAD) trial.3 Participants of Look AHEAD exhibited high adherence to the ILI, which demonstrated the success of an intensive lifestyle by significant weight loss,4 improved diabetes mellitus control,5 and reduced C-reactive protein (CRP) and triglyceride levels6 compared with usual care participants. The authors evaluated the interaction of the common variant in GCKR to treatment assignment and triglyceride or CRP levels in participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and unfavorable metabolic profiles. In 3214 participants with triglyceride and 1411 with CRP levels, the GCKR 446L allele showed no benefit of participating in the ILI intervention on lowering triglyceride or CRP levels at the 1-year follow-up (49% randomized to ILI and 51% to usual care). Article see …
Optimization of Projectile Motion Under Air Resistance Quadratic in Speed

This article centers around the problem of maximizing the horizontal range of a projectile that is launched from atop a tower and is subject only to gravity and air resistance quadratic in speed. Here the surface to which the projectile is launched is represented by a convex impact function, while the projectile motion is described by a classical approximation model for flight curves that is widely considered acceptable for quadratic drag and launch angles up to moderate size. In this setting, the optimal range is given by the point where the impact function intersects the enveloping function induced by the family of flight paths. In the special case of a linear impact function, manageable explicit formulas for the range function, the maximal range, and the corresponding optimal launch angle are provided in terms of the Lambert W function. The article concludes with a solution to Tartaglia’s inverse problem in this context.
Analyzing and Preventing Bias in Text-Based Personal Trait Prediction Algorithms

Personality prediction based on textual data is one topic gaining attention recently for its potential in large-scale personalized applications such as social media-based marketing and political campaigning. However, when applying this technology in real-world applications, users often encounter situations in which the personality traits derived from different sources (e.g., social media posts versus emails) are inconsistent. Varying results for the same individual renders the tool ineffective and hard to trust. This paper demonstrates the impact of domain bias in automated text-based personality prediction, and proposes a novel method to correct domain bias. The proposed approach is generic since it requires neither retraining the system using examples from an application domain, nor any knowledge of the original training data used by a personal trait analysis tool. We conduct comprehensive experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of the method, and the findings indicate a significant improvement of prediction accuracy (e.g., a 20-30% relative error reduction) with the proposed method.
Gene therapy for spinomuscular atrophy: a biomedical advance, a missed opportunity for more equitable drug pricing

An experimental approach for gene therapy of spinomuscular atrophy has been reported to prevent development of the neuromuscular features of this lethal and previously untreatable disorder. The approach involves treatment of patients suffering from SMN1-associated infantile form of the disease with a splice-switching antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) that corrects aberrant splicing of the nearly identical SMN2 gene to allow the generation of functional SMN protein, thereby mitigating the development of the disease. This technique represents the first apparently effective therapy for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and an important documentation for ASO technology for therapy of neurodegenerative disease. These results with one form of SMA are likely to be relevant for similar applications to other SMA types and are likely to inspire application to a number of other intractable neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and possibly even the extremely common Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and others. Nevertheless, the scientific and medical importance of this advance is marred by a pricing policy by the corporate sponsors that may complicate accessibility of the drug for some desperate patients.
Asparaginase Toxicities: Identification and Management in Patients With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Background Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a common cancer in children, and outcomes have greatly improved because of the refinement of multiagent chemotherapy regimens that include intensified asparaginase therapy. Asparaginase, a cornerstone of modern pediatric chemotherapy regimens for ALL and asparaginase-containing protocols, is increasingly used in adolescent and adult patients historically treated with asparaginase-free regimens. . Objectives This article is an overview of commonly encountered asparaginase- associated toxicities and offers recommendations for treatment management. . Methods A literature review was conducted, reviewing asparaginase and common toxicities, specifically hypersensitivity, pancreatitis, thrombosis, hyperbilirubinemia, and hyperglycemia. . Findings The rapid identification and management of common asparaginase-associated adverse events can reduce symptom severity and limit potential interruptions to therapy, possibly improving outcomes.
Token economy for online exchange systems

This paper studies the design of online exchange systems that are operated based on the exchange of tokens, a simple internal currency which provides indirect reciprocity among agents for cooperation. The emphasis is on how the protocol designer should choose a protocol - a supply of tokens and suggested strategies - to maximize service provision, taking into account that impatient agents will comply with the protocol if and only if it is in their interests to do so. The protocol is designed in such a way that it is robust to (small) errors in the designer's knowledge of the system parameters. We prove that robust protocols have a simple pure threshold structure and there is a unique optimal supply of tokens that balances the token distribution in the population and achieves the optimal efficiency. In the meanwhile, we also emphasize that choosing the wrong token supply can result in an enormous efficiency loss.
from this side of space to the other side of the signal

"from this side of space to the other side of the signal" is a two-channel piece that engages both the history of early video tools and contemporary forms of 2D and 3D animation. Using these analog tools as a way of addressing the historicity of the body, and as a way of defining the space of bodies (via their moving textures) in novel as a way of engaging our contemporary hybrid experience. Queering the distinctions between subject, object, transmission, physicality and the ephemeral larger questions about the nature of our technocultural existence rise to the surface.
ADVANCED IMAGING IN DIAGNOSING PROSTHETIC VALVE AND CARDIAC DEVICE INFECTIONS: A META-ANALYSIS

The diagnosis of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) and infection of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED) is challenging. It is recognized that transthoracic echocardiography and trans esophageal echocardiography have limitations in evaluating infective endocarditis. Adding F-