cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Money and the Man

[The question raised by Jacques Barzun in the following article is one which deserves serious consideration by the American Society of Church History and by all who are concerned with the training of church historians. Far too often we assume that simply to do a little research, or a lot, is enough to create an adequate understanding of the church's past. Dr. Barzun, provost of Columbia University, provokes thought and may even help us use our resources more wisely. The Editors.]
An accurate finite element model of the heart for calculating the electric field due to defibrillation

A physiologically accurate heart model is created from a set of magnetic resonance images of a pig heart. Details include the four chambers as well as the superior vena cava (SVC), and the pulmonary artery. A pair of electrodes is introduced into the model in the SVC and the right ventricle. A linear tetrahedral grid is generated to simulate a voltage applied across the two electrodes by the finite clement method. This model may be used to design more efficient shock delivery systems and to investigate the level of discretization and detail needed to accurately model the heart for internal defibrillation applications. >
Rotationally invariant correlation filtering

A method is presented for analyzing and designing optical correlation filters that have tailored rotational invariance properties. The concept of a correlation of an image with a rotation of itself is introduced. A unified theory of rotation-invariant filtering is then formulated. The unified approach describes matched filters (with no rotation invariance) and circular-harmonic filters (with full rotation invariance) as special cases. The continuum of intermediate cases is described in terms of a cyclic convolution operation over angle. The angular filtering approach allows an exact choice for the continuous trade-off between loss of the correlation energy (or specificity regarding the image) and the amount of rotational invariance desired.
POLG2 disease variants: analyses reveal a dominant negative heterodimer, altered mitochondrial localization and impaired respiratory capacity

Human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is replicated and repaired by the mtDNA polymerase gamma, polγ. Polγ is composed of three subunits encoded by two nuclear genes: (1) POLG codes for the 140-kilodalton (kDa) catalytic subunit, p140 and (2) POLG2 encodes the ∼110-kDa homodimeric accessory subunit, p55. Specific mutations are associated with POLG- or POLG2-related disorders. During DNA replication the p55 accessory subunit binds to p140 and increases processivity by preventing polγ's dissociation from the template. To date, studies have demonstrated that homodimeric p55 disease variants are deficient in the ability to stimulate p140; however, all patients currently identified with POLG2-related disorders are heterozygotes. In these patients, we expect p55 to occur as 25% wild-type (WT) homodimers, 25% variant homodimers and 50% heterodimers. We report the development of a tandem affinity strategy to isolate p55 heterodimers. The WT/G451E p55 heterodimer impairs polγ function in vitro, demonstrating that the POLG2 c.1352G>A/p.G451E mutation encodes a dominant negative protein. To analyze the subcellular consequence of disease mutations in HEK293 cells, we designed plasmids encoding p55 disease variants tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP). P205R and L475DfsX2 p55 variants exhibit irregular diffuse mitochondrial fluorescence and unlike WT p55, they fail to form distinct puncta associated with mtDNA nucleoids. Furthermore, homogenous preparations of P205R and L475DfsX2 p55 form aberrant reducible multimers. We predict that abnormal protein folding or aggregation or both contribute to the pathophysiology of these disorders. Examination of mitochondrial bioenergetics in stable cell lines overexpressing GFP-tagged p55 variants revealed impaired mitochondrial reserve capacity.
Amifostine does not reduce the toxicity of the fludarabine and cyclophosphamide regimen in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Purpose Amifostine is an organic thiophosphate that may selectively protect normal tissues from the toxicities of chemotherapy. The combination of fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC) is highly active in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Infection is a serious toxicity of the FC regimen.
A rare case of intrarenal teratoma in a 6-month-old male

We report a rare case of an intrarenal teratoma in a 6-month-old male. Following biopsy, he was successfully managed with a primary nephrectomy. This patient presented as would a Wilms tumor. According to SIOP guidelines, the diagnosis of Wilms tumor is made on clinical and imaging information only, prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This patient was investigated, according to UK (CCLG) guidelines, with a biopsy prior to treatment and therefore avoided unnecessary chemotherapy.
Estimation of time dependent carbon transfer coefficients using net ecosystem exchange data

Time dependent carbon transfer coefficients are estimated using ecosystem exchange data by minimizing over variable observational intervals, Kalman filter, and variational minimization techniques. Transfer coefficients are determined by application of estimation procedures to subintervals from a partition of the observational time period, minimizing the variance of analyzed errors without the imposition of a priori transfer coefficient models in Kalman filters, and minimization with respect to transfer coefficients in variational fit-to-data functionals. Results are compared between methods and seasonal variability is observed in the transfer coefficients.
Warfarin Initiation and Monitoring with Clotting Factors II, VII, and X

OBJECTIVETo report a case of a patient with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome and multiple thromboses who developed heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) and subsequent international normalized ratio (INR) prolongation possibly due to antiphospholipid antibodies.CASE SUMMARYA 56-year-old white woman with a history of antiphospholipid antibody syndrome and thrombosis taking chronic warfarin was admitted for gastrointestinal concerns and found to have an INR >14. Warfarin was discontinued, vitamin K was administered, and a heparin infusion was initiated. Over the next 2 days, thrombocytopenia, hypotension, tachycardia, hyponatremia, and progressive abdominal pain developed. Upon transfer to a tertiary care center, HIT was diagnosed, and a lepirudin infusion was initiated. Subsequently, a sudden elevation of the INR occurred (>14) with low prothrombin (factor II) activity. After INR values declined to 2–3, warfarin was reinitiated with dosing adjusted using factor X and II activity levels. Clotting factors...
New architectural parameters derived from micro-MRI for the prediction of trabecular bone strength

This article reviews recent progress in magnetic resonance microimaging of cancellous bone in vitro and in vivo from the perspective of the authors laboratory. It is shown that in particular in vivo the key technical prerequisites to satisfy are: (i) achieving sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to allow for adequate spatial resolution; (ii) the image processing algorithms have to be robust enough to provide accurate structural information in the limited spatial resolution regime, i.e., in the presence of inevitable partial volume blurring and noise. The practical lower limit of voxel size in vivo was found to be about 6\times 10^{-3} mm3 in the radius, and about 10^{-4} mm3 for small specimens in vitro with state-of-the-art equipment and scan times of 10 and 30 minutes, resp., and {\rm SNR}\sim 10. Finally, data are presented highlighting the potential of these methods for predicting the bones elastic modulus in vitro and fracture risk in vivo.
Laparoscopic Virtual Reality Training: Are 30 Repetitions Enough? 1

Background.Current literature suggests that novices reach a plateau after two to seven trials when training on the MIST VR laparoscopic virtual reality system. We hypothesize that significant benefit may be gained through additional training. Materials and methods.Second-year medical students (n!12) voluntarily enrolled under an IRBapproved protocol for MIST VR training. All subjects completed pre- and posttraining questionnaires and performed 30 repetitions of 12 tasks. Performance data were automatically recorded for each trial. Learning curves for each task were generated by fitting spline curves to the mean overall scores for each repetition. Scores were assessed for plateaus by repeated measures, slope, and best score. Results.On average, subjects completed training in 7.1 h. (range, 5.9‐9.2). Two to seven performance plateaus were identified for each of the 12 MIST VR tasks. Initial plateaus were found for all tasks by the 8th repetition; however, ultimate plateaus were not reached until 21‐29 repetitions. Overall best score was reached between 20 and 30 repetitions and occurred beyond the ultimate plateau for 9 tasks. Conclusions.These data indicate that a lengthy learning curve exists for novices and may be seen throughout 30 repetitions and possibly beyond. Performance plateaus may not reliably determine training endpoints. We conclude that a significant and variable amount of training may be required to achieve maximal benefit. Neither a predetermined training duration nor an arbitrary number of repetitions may be adequate to ensure laparoscopic proficiency following simulator training. Standards which define performance-based endpoints
Internal Jurisprudence and Trade Union Democracy: The Case of the Auto Workers

While much of the literature on trade union democracy considers the ability of members to influence union policy or gain union office, not enough attention has been paid to internal systems of jurisprudence. In this article, the author presents evidence of the effects of the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implements Workers of America's (UAW) highly formalized system of jurisprudence on democracy in that union. Following a brief section on public policy and union regulation, key decisions of the UAW's Public Review Board are presented. Finally, the attractiveness of the public review model, in light of the current state of government deference and union acceptance, is discussed.
Clinical Evidence Summary Apps: Definition, Role, and Unknowns About a Novel Medical Content Delivery Genre

The tremendous uptake of smartphone technology among US clinicians and trainees allows for nontraditional publication of medical reference resources as mobile applications (“apps”).1 Ozdalga and colleagues2 reviewed the published literature on smartphone app use by physicians and described a wide range of clinical applications. Here we describe a new genre of medical education smartphone apps we call clinical evidence summary apps (CESAs). In an era of innumerable trials that can be difficult to identify using traditional web-based searches, CESAs aggregate, summarize, and appraise landmark clinical trials across a range of medical specialties. CESAs are not intended to be exhaustive collections of the literature, but to provide easier context to allow users to find and digest relevant work in each field. Prior to the development of CESAs, identifying important trials required reading editorials, textbooks, or using more definitive online platforms, such as UpToDate, all of which can be costly and not readily accessible without institutional support. CESAs gain functionality from well-developed mobile operating systems, resulting in simple interface design, integrated search, categorization, rapid update deployment, and Internet connectivity for integration with resources like PubMed and publishing journal websites. CESAs harness a unique educational technology to meet the needs of novice and advanced learners. They provide quick access to the medical literature that most influences clinical practice, which we believe translates to improved evidence-based patient care. Usage data are lacking, but Heart Failure Trials (Clinical AppStracts LLC), ICU Trials (ClinCalc LLC), and Journal Club (Peripheral Brain LLC) are 3 CESAs independently developed by us that are becoming popular among students and trainees internationally. There are many unanswered questions about CESAs that warrant further investigation. Who uses CESAs? In what medical domains are they used? What is the uptake in the developing world? How are the apps integrated into practice? Given these unanswered questions and the importance of improving the quality and efficiency of medical education, this area is ripe for additional research.
Blockade of senescence‐associated microRNA‐195 in aged skeletal muscle cells facilitates reprogramming to produce induced pluripotent stem cells.

The low reprogramming efficiency in cells from elderly patients is a challenge that must be overcome. Recently, it has been reported that senescence-associated microRNA (miR)-195 targets Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) to advance cellular senescence. Thus, we hypothesized that a blockade of miR-195 expression could improve reprogramming efficiency in old skeletal myoblasts (SkMs). We found that miR-195 expression was significantly higher in old SkMs (24 months) isolated from C57BL/6 mice as compared to young SkMs (2 months, 2.3-fold). Expression of SIRT1 and telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) was downregulated in old SkMs, and transduction of old SkMs with lentiviral miR-195 inhibitor significantly restored their expression. Furthermore, quantitative in situ hybridization analysis demonstrated significant telomere elongation in old SkMs transduced with anti-miR-195 (1.7-fold increase). It is important to note that blocking miR-195 expression markedly increased the reprogramming efficiency of old SkMs as compared to scramble (2.2-fold increase). Transduction of anti-miR-195 did not alter karyotype or pluripotency marker expression. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from old SkMs transduced with anti-miR-195 successfully formed embryoid bodies that spontaneously differentiated into three germ layers, indicating that deletion of miR-195 does not affect pluripotency in transformed SkMs. In conclusion, this study provided novel evidence that the blockade of age-induced miR-195 is a promising approach for efficient iPSC generation from aging donor subjects, which has the potential for autologous transplantation of iPSCs in elderly patients.
Palliative Care in the Elderly

During the past two decades, the field of palliative care has matured and organized itself into a recognized specialty of medicine with an increasingly diverse spectrum of settings, including geriatrics and surgery. Palliative care is defined as interdisciplinary care, that aims to relieve suffering, and improve the quality of life for patients and their families with serious or advanced illness. There is no limiting prognostic window for this approach to care, though it is increasingly suitable as the disease progresses. It can be offered as the sole aim of care, or simultaneously with all other appropriate medical treatment. Given its emphasis on symptom control and quality of life, palliative care principles and practice have much to offer elderly patients and their families, anticipating or receiving surgical care for cardiothoracic conditions.
Tax Strategies: It's Not Just About Minimization

By focusing on tax avoidance, prior research implicitly assumes that all firms’ tax strategies emphasize tax minimization. However, the large percentage of firms paying relatively high taxes have prompted questions regarding why all firms cannot or do not minimize taxes. I investigate this question by identifying an alternative approach to tax strategy, sustainability, and examining how firms implement tax strategies, as well as whether tax strategy choice has implications for firm value. I find numerous differences in firm and auditor characteristics associated with sustainable and minimization tax strategies. Moreover, additional analyses suggest that these differences are consistent with managers making a conscious decision to implement a specific tax strategy. I also find that firms implementing sustainable tax strategies earn significantly higher median buy-and-hold returns than firms implementing minimization tax strategies, suggesting that minimization may not be the only method of tax planning that maximizes value.
Description of Wind and of Upper Ocean Current and Temperature Variations on the Continental Shelf off Northwest Africa during March and April 1974

Abstract Measurements of winds and of near-surface temperatures and currents made during March and April 1974 on the continental shelf off northwest Africa were extremely time-dependent. Alternating land and sea breezes were well-developed and produced temperature and current fluctuations in the uppermost 15 m. Time-averaged speed of the surface current (28 an s−1) was much larger than the geostrophic current computed from the density field over the shelf. Approximately 60% of the variance of the current measurements occurred at frequencies less than the inertial period. Inertial and tidal period currents were large. Water stratification was very weak and tidal internal gravity wave motions were not detected. During a coastal upwelling event the Ekman transport, the offshore transport and the onshore transport were nearly equivalent, and the vertical eddy viscosity coefficient over the upper 10 m was about 125 cm2 s−1.
MULTIPLE SATELLITES REMOTE SENSING IMAGES FOR THE DERIVATION OF A WATER AVAILABILITY INDEX

Recent drought events in the U.S. have threatened drinking water supplies for communities in Maryland and Chesapeake Bay in 2001 through September 2002, Lake Mead in Las Vegas in 2000 through 2004, the Peace River and Lake Okeechobee in South Florida in 2006, and Lake Lanier in Atlanta, Georgia in 2007. In the environmental science community, there is a renewed interest to develop a new “Water Availability Index (WAI)” that serves for shortterm water resources planning and water infrastructure management in dry periods. Such a development may be geared toward presenting a near real-time, risk informed and forwardlooking instrumental message in terms of both the quantity and quality of available fresh water in major metropolitan regions. The success of this effort could incorporate the use of integrated remote sensing technologies in concert with intermediate- and long-term climate change forecasts. It is the aim of this paper to present a state-of-the-art review about: 1) How the multi-scale and multi-dimensional databases are collected by optical and microwave satellite images, such as the NASA GOES, MODIS Terra and Aqua etc., and ground-based radar stations, such as the NOAA NEXRAD system, and 2) How these databases can be applied to support the development of a new WAI and help reduce the managerial risks of water infrastructure across the continental U.S. These discussions lead to the derivation of a new WAI with the aid of remote sensing technology.
Application of Google SOAP Search API Service in Intelligent Knowledge Service Platform

This articles introduces the comeptand characteristics of Web Servile and Google SOAP Search API.Particnlaly it introduces function in Intelligent Knowledge Senice Plat form by using the Web Service of Google SOAP Search API.
Reduction of Laboratory Utilization in the Intensive Care Unit.

Objective:In our academic intensive care unit (ICU), there is excess ordering of routine laboratory tests. This is partially due to a lack of transparency of laboratory-processing costs and to the admission order plans that favor daily laboratory test orders. We hypothesized that a program that involves physician and staff education and alters the current ICU order sets will lead to a sustained decrease in routine laboratory test ordering.Design:Prospective cohort study.Setting:Academic closed medical ICU (MICU).Patients:All patients admitted to the MICU.Methods:We consistently educated residents, faculty, and staff about laboratory test costs. We removed the daily laboratory test option from the admission order sets and asked residents to order needed laboratory test results every day. We only allowed the G3+I-STAT (arterial blood gas only) cartridges in the MICU in hopes of decreasing duplicative laboratory test results. We added laboratory review to the daily rounding checklist.Measurement and Main Res...
Inflammatory bowel disease up to 1932.

Inflammatory bowel diseases have been a major interest of generations of Mount Sinai Hospital gastroenterologists. Although clinical descriptions of diarrhea with or without blood go back thousands of years, clear distinctions between enteritis and ulcerative colitis were possible only in the 19th century. At that time, many case reports were published of, in retrospect, classical regional enteritis. The term "ulcerative colitis" dates from 1888; the introduction of the electric sigmoidoscope soon after made it possible to make proper diagnosis of ulcerative colitis and distinguish it from infective dysentery, membranous mucous or catarrhal colitis, and nervous diarrhea. Doctors at The Mount Sinai Hospital adopted this diagnostic approach in the 1870s and 1880s, and were particularly interested in patients with tuberculosis-like ileocecal disease without tubercle bacilli. Articles were written by Weiner in 1914, Moschcowitz and Wilensky in 1923 and 1927, and Goldfarb and Suissman in 1931. Dr. A.A. Berg, in 1925, encouraged his assistant Leon Ginzburg to conduct a study of the inflammatory granulomatous diseases of the bowel, when Ginzburg and Gordon Oppenheimer were working in Dr. Paul Klemperer's laboratory. Initial reports came in 1927 and 1928, but Ginzburg and Oppenheimer "in conjunction with Dr. Burrill B. Crohn" presented a definitive paper, "Non-specific Granulomata of the Intestine," on May 2, 1932, to the American Gastro-Enterological Association. On May 13, 1932, Dr. Crohn presented a paper on "Terminal Ileitis" to the American Medical Association; this was published later that year with the title "Regional Ileitis: A Pathologic and Chronic Entity," under the authorship of Crohn, Ginzburg and Oppenheimer.
The affordable care act and family planning services: the effect of optional medicaid expansion on safety net programs.

Title X of the Public Health Service Act provides funding for a range of reproductive health services, with a priority given to low-income persons. Now that many of these services are provided to larger numbers of people with low-income since the passage of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion, questions remain on the continued need for the Title X program. The current project highlights the importance of these safety net programs. To help inform this policy issue, research was conducted to examine the revenue and service changes for Title X per state and compare those findings to the states’ Medicaid expansion and demographics. The dataset include publicly available data from 2013 and 2014 Family Planning Annual Reports (FPAR). Paired samples differences of means t-tests were then used to compare the means of family planning participation rates for 2013 and 2014 across the different categories for Medicaid expansion states and non-expansion states. The ACA has had an impact on Title X services, but the link is not as direct as previously thought. The findings indicate that all states’ Title X funded clinics lost revenue; however, expansion states fared better than non-expansion states. While the general statements from the FPAR National surveys certainly are supported in that Title X providers have decreased in number and scope of services, which has led to the decrease in total clients, these variations are not evenly applied across the states. The ACA has very likely had an impact on Title X services, but the link is not as obvious as previously thought. Title X funded clinics have helped increase access to health insurance at a greater rate in expansion states than non-expansion states. There was much concern from advocates that with the projected increased revenue from Medicaid and private insurance, that Title X programs could be deemed unnecessary. However, this revenue increase has yet to actually pan out. Title X still helps fill a much needed service gap for a vulnerable population.
Stability Analysis of a Flutter Panel with Axial Excitations

This paper investigates the parametric instability of a panel (beam) under high speed air flows and axial excitations. The idea is to affect out-of-plane vibrations and aerodynamic loads by in-plane excitations. The periodic axial excitation introduces time-varying items into the panel system. The numerical method based on Floquet theory and the perturbation method are utilized to solve the Mathieu-Hill equations. The system stability with respect to air/panel density ratio, dynamic pressure ratio, and excitation frequency are explored. The results indicate that panel flutter can be suppressed by the axial excitations with proper parameter combinations.
Data Association for Multi-Object Visual Tracking

In the human quest for scientific knowledge, empirical evidence is collected by visual perception. Tracking with computer vision takes on the important role to reveal complex patterns of motion that exist in the world we live in. Multi-object tracking algorithms provide new information on how groups and individual group members move through three-dimensional space. They enable us to study in depth the relationships between individuals in moving groups. These may be interactions of pedestrians on a crowded sidewalk, living cells under a microscope, or bats emerging in large numbers from a cave. Being able to track pedestrians is important for urban planning; analysis of cell interactions supports research on biomaterial design; and the study of bat and bird flight can guide the engineering of aircraft. We were inspired by this multitude of applications to consider the crucial component needed to advance a single-object tracking system to a multi-object tracking system—data association. Data association in the most general sense is the process of matching information about newly observed objects with information that was previously observed about them. This information may be about their identities, positions, or trajectories. Algorithms for data association search for matches that optimize certain match criteria and are subject to physical conditions. They can therefore be formulated as solving a "constrained optimization problem"—the problem of optimizing an objective function of some variables in the presence of constraints on these variables. As such, data association methods have a strong mathematical grounding and are valuable general tools for computer vision researchers. This book serves as a tutorial on data association methods, intended for both students and experts in computer vision. We describe the basic research problems, review the current state of the art, and present some recently developed approaches. The book covers multi-object tracking in two and three dimensions. We consider two imaging scenarios involving either single cameras or multiple cameras with overlapping fields of view, and requiring across-time and across-view data association methods. In addition to methods that match new measurements to already established tracks, we describe methods that match trajectory segments, also called tracklets. The book presents a principled application of data association to solve two interesting tasks: first, analyzing the movements of groups of free-flying animals and second, reconstructing the movements of groups of pedestrians. We conclude by discussing exciting directions for future research.
Quantification of Leaf Water Potential, Stomatal Conductance and Photosynthetically Active Radiation in Rainfed Hazelnut

Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) is mostly grown in rainfed condition in Turkey as well as other some countries in the world without more yield reduction. However, there is not enough information about how to give yield without more reduction in rainfed hazelnut orchard. In an endeavor to search this question, quantifications of leaf water potential (LWP), stomatal conductance (gs) and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) of hazelnut tree were investigated in rainfed hazelnut orchard in the summer of 2013 and 2014. Additionally, possible effects of those quantifications on rainfed hazelnut trees vs. soil water content (SWC) was investigated. Results of this study exhibited that yearly ET (evapotranspiration) of rainfed hazelnut trees was higher in 2014 than 2013 even though seasonal ET of rainfed hazelnut trees was higher in 2013 than 2014. Hence, yield, LWP and gs were higher in 2014 than 2013 but PAR and SWC (even all the study season) were mostly higher in 2013 than 2014. Moreover, relationships of LWP, gs and PAR and responses of LWP, gs and PAR to SWC were non stronger. These differences could be attributed differences of climate variability such as precipitation and temperature during the observed period throughout the season in the studied years. However, rainfed hazelnut trees may be required supplement irrigation in dry summer, such as year of 2013, to avoid summer water stress. Finally, it can be concluded that hazelnut trees can be grown well and give normal yield for the areas which have about 950 mm precipitation.
Identification of β-catenin-interacting proteins in nuclear fractions of native rat collecting duct cells.

The gene encoding the aquaporin-2 water channel is regulated transcriptionally in response to vasopressin. In the renal collecting duct, vasopressin stimulates the nuclear translocation and phospho...
Deliverable Robust Ramping Products in Real-Time Markets

The increasing penetration of variable energy resources has led to more uncertainties in power systems. Flexible Ramping Products (FRP) have been adopted by several electricity markets to manage the uncertainties. We reveal that neglected line congestion for FRP may not only cause infeasibility, but also result in a failure of cost recovery. To address the deliverability issues on FRP, this paper proposes a new concept, Deliverable Robust Ramping Products (DRRP), in real-time markets. The DRRP includes generation ramping reserve and generation capacity reserve. The DRRP is deliverable and immunized against any predefined uncertainty. It also fully addresses the bid cost recovery issue caused by the line congestion in existing FRPs. The prices of DRRP are derived within the Affine Adjustable Robust Optimization (AARO) framework. These prices can be used to identify valuable reserves among available reserves and quantify the values of flexible resources that provide reserves. This paper also proposes a general approach to obtaining the time-decoupled prices for DRRP and generation, which can be used for the market settlement of the first interval only in real-time markets. Simulations on a 3-bus system and the IEEE 118-bus system are performed to illustrate the concept of DRRP and the advantages of DRRP compared to existing FRP.
The Cost of Capital: Principles and Practice

This technical note provides a student primer of firm cost of capital from a conceptual and application perspective. The note provides student intuition on the traditional theory of cost of debt, cost of equity, and weighted-average cost of capital. Moreover, it provides detail on the common approaches to estimating the cost of capital. Specific examples are provided. The note is updated with market data from 2015. Excerpt UVA-F-1710 Rev. Sept. 18, 2018 The Cost of Capital: Principles and Practice Sue Pane, the chief executive at American bakery giant Tasty Bread, was preparing for next week's meeting with Tony Marmellata. Marmellata had a wealth of experience in the jams and jellies business and was a key individual in Pane's interest in a major expansion into this business. A team had spent several weeks gathering data to build a robust financial forecast. Based on this analysis, Pane anticipated that the expansion into producing jams and jellies would require a $ 250 million up-front investment of cash and generate an expected return of 7.5% over the next 10 years. She appreciated that the returns might be much higher or much lower than the forecast, which caused her to question whether a 7.5% expected return was good enough for the risk this $ 250 million proposal represented for Tasty Bread. To assess the opportunity, Pane was in need of a benchmark return with which she could evaluate the 7.5% expected return. It was time for her to know the cost of capital. The Cost of Capital . . .
Time-Gated Luminescence Detection of Enzymatically Produced Hydrogen Sulfide: Design, Synthesis, and Application of a Lanthanide-Based Probe.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is now recognized as an important gaseous transmitter that is involved in a variety of biological processes. Here, we report the design and synthesis of a luminescent lanthanide biosensor for H2S, LP2-Cu(II)-Ln(III), a heterobinuclear metal complex that uses Cu(II) decomplexation to control millisecond-scale-lifetime-Tb(III)- or Eu(III)-emission intensity. LP2-Cu(II)-Ln(III) responded rapidly, selectively, and with high sensitivity to aqueous H2S. The probe’s potential for biological applications was verified by measuring the H2S generated by the slow-releasing chemical-sulfide-donor GYY4147, by cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE), and by Na2S-stimulated HeLa cells.
Metastatic Complications of Cancer Involving the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems

Neurologic complications of cancer may involve both the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system manifesting as brain, leptomeningeal, intramedullary, intradural, epidural, plexus, and skull base metastases. Excluding brain involvement, neurologic complications affecting these other sites are relatively infrequent, but collectively they affect more than 25% of patients with metastatic cancer causing significant morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis and intervention optimize quality of life and improve survival.
Long-term metal and arsenic mobility between wetlands and lakes: Variable histories within the same floodplain

Abstract Short-term studies of wetlands show that wetlands scavenge pollutants, thereby mitigating the pollution of downstream water bodies. However, there are few long-term studies that demonstrate this effect. This study provides a wealth of data demonstrating that there is variable long-term mobility of metals and arsenic in wetland-lake systems. More than 900 samples were analyzed from 14 soil and sediment cores collected from six wetland-lake systems in the same floodplain. Cores were analyzed for a suite of trace elements (As, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn are reported in this paper), organic matter content, clay content, and water content. Sediment age was estimated using 210Pb and 137Cs data, facilitating comparison of element concentrations in contemporaneous wetland and lake sediments. In all six systems, sediment-laden water passes through the wetland before settling into the lake. In three of the systems, element concentrations were consistently higher in lake sediments, indicating a history of remobilization of wetland elements and subsequent deposition in lake sediments. Results in the other three lakes were variable, documenting unique long-term histories of element mobility and sequestration in otherwise similar systems.
Molecules in Solution

The focus will now shift to the examination of the structural aspects of aqueous solutions, considering polar and nonpolar solutes, and as well solutes that are amphiphilic. This change in focus will allow models to be constructed that more closely approximate the behavior of biological macromolecules.
Public Health Ethics

Public health ethics is a relatively new field in applied ethics concerned with the systematic study of theories, policies, and interventions aimed at understanding, sustaining, or improving health at the level of groups or whole populations. The article describes the scope and historical context of public health ethics and summarizes some substantive arguments regarding health promotion and public health interventions. These include egalitarian responses to the social gradient in health, the concept of health, paternalism, social versus personal responsibility, corporate social responsibility, and ethical issues arising in policy implementation (regarding proportionality, role and use of evidence, targeting, stigmatization, and international dimensions).
Should all children be screened for autism spectrum disorders? Yes: merging science, policy, and practice.

Screening offers the potential for early treatment, which can lessen the effect of a condition. This is true for ASDs and related disorders in which randomized controlled trials have demonstrated improvements in young children with ASDs with regard to parent-child social communication, socially engaged imitation, joint attention, and core behavioral symptoms of autism.
Assessing engagement skills in public child welfare using OSCE: a pilot study

A two-station (scenario) Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) was developed and tested for validity and reliability for assessing social work engagement skills in public child welfare. ...
Disclosing psychiatric diagnosis to close others: a cultural framework based on older Latin@s participating in a depression trial in Los Angeles county

Objectives: The objective of this qualitative study is to explore disclosure of depression diagnosis to close others among older adult Latinas/Latinos (Latin@s) recruited from an urban health care ...
Basic psychological needs satisfaction and self-determined motivation among Canadian golf league members

The purpose of this study was to examine basic need satisfaction and self-determined motivation of adult golf league participants in Canada. The sample of older adults (426; Mage = 62.08 years) was...
Permutation Tests and the Bootstrap

In this chapter we discuss two techniques, permutation testing and the bootstrap, of immense practical value. Both techniques involve random resampling of observed data and liberate statisticians from dubious model assumptions and large sample requirements. Both techniques initially met with considerable intellectual resistance. The notion that one can conduct hypothesis tests or learn something useful about the properties of estimators and confidence intervals by resampling data was alien to most statisticians of the past. The computational demands of permutation testing and bootstrapping alone made them unthinkable. These philosophical and practical objections began to crumble with the advent of modern computing.
The statistics of epidemic transitions.

Emerging and re-emerging pathogens exhibit very complex dynamics, are hard to model and difficult to predict. Their dynamics might appear intractable. However, new statistical approaches—rooted in dynamical systems and the theory of stochastic processes—have yielded insight into the dynamics of emerging and re-emerging pathogens. We argue that these approaches may lead to new methods for predicting epidemics. This perspective views pathogen emergence and re-emergence as a “critical transition,” and uses the concept of noisy dynamic bifurcation to understand the relationship between the system observables and the distance to this transition. Because the system dynamics exhibit characteristic fluctuations in response to perturbations for a system in the vicinity of a critical point, we propose this information may be harnessed to develop early warning signals. Specifically, the motion of perturbations slows as the system approaches the transition.
Critical Challenges to the Management of Clinical Trial Imaging: Recommendations for the Conduct of Imaging at Investigational Sites

Rationale and Objectives Participation in clinical research can be both highly rewarding and logistically demanding. As highlighted by recent Food and Drug Administration guidance, imaging has become an integral part of this research. The unique technical and administrative aspects of clinical trial imaging may differ substantially from those of standard-of-care imaging and thus burden the established clinical infrastructure at investigational sites. Failure to comply with requirements can lead to unusable data, repeat imaging, or the removal of patients from the trial. It is therefore imperative that all stakeholders address these challenges to engage in clinical research successfully. Materials and Methods The authors’ experiences in managing clinical trial imaging requirements at their institution were used to identify common challenges. The impact of these challenges was assessed from an operational perspective. Results Although contract research organizations attempt to minimize these challenges, their efforts are necessarily limited and insufficient, and there is a lack of infrastructure available at investigational sites to address these issues. As such, recommendations are proposed for addressing these challenges at institutional and industry levels. Conclusion The challenges associated with clinical trial imaging require an investment of resources from all stakeholders. Investigational sites must confront these challenges to satisfy trial requirements effectively, maintain a superior level of patient care, and guarantee trial integrity. Similarly, sponsors must acknowledge the burden of clinical trial imaging and support the development of the necessary local infrastructure. The implementation of the recommendations described here will improve the conduct of clinical trial imaging.
Early life stress and the propensity to develop addictive behaviors.

Abstract There is a vast literature on effects of early life manipulations in rodents much of which is aimed at investigating the long-term consequences related to emotion and cognition in adulthood. Less is known about how these manipulations affect responses reflective of alcohol (AUD) and substance (SUD) use disorders. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature of studies that employed early life manipulations and assessed behavioral responses to psychoactive substances, specifically alcohol, opiates, and stimulants, in rodents. While the findings with alcohol are more limited and mixed, studies with opiates and stimulants show strong support for the ability of these manipulations to enhance behavioral responsivity to these substances in line with epidemiological data. Some outcomes show sex differences. The mechanisms that influence these enduring changes may reflect epigenetic alterations. Several studies support a role for altered DNA methylation (and other epigenetic mechanisms) as biological responses to early environmental insults. The chemical changes induced by DNA methylation affect transcriptional activity of DNA and thus can have a long-term impact on the individual’s phenotype. Such effects are particularly robust when they occur during sensitive periods of brain development (e.g., first postnatal weeks in rodents). We review this emerging literature as it relates to the known neurobiology of AUDs and SUDs and suggest new avenues of research. Such findings will have implications for the treatment and prevention of AUDs and SUDs and could provide insight into factors that support resiliency.
HyperRail: Modular, 3D printed, 1–100 m, programmable, and low-cost linear motion control system for imaging and sensor suites

Abstract Reliable, accurate, and affordable linear motion control systems for precision agriculture applications are currently not easily accessible due to their elevated cost. Most systems available to the public have price tags in the thousands of dollars and their dimensions cannot be easily customized. Current systems have a maximum length of about ten meters, and for a typical greenhouse application that length may not be sufficient. The price of the system increases with an increase in length, and with a base price in the thousands of dollars it becomes impractical to buy a system for such application. Our HyperRail is a modular linear motion system with a repeatability of 2 mm and current top speed of 200 mm/s. This is possible through a stepper motor driver that allows for 1/16th microstepping giving an average of 6180 steps per revolution. An advantage that this system has is its ability to increase or decrease the length of system with minimum effort and only nominal increase in price. The HyperRail can be mounted on a set of tripods or directly on the structure of a building such as a greenhouse. The base price for a three-meter system, on tripods is US$278 and only US$45 for each additional 1.5 m of length.
Association of Race and Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE): The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Cohort

Background and Aims. To evaluate the association of self-reported race with major adverse cardiac events (MACE) and modification of this association by paraoxonase gene (PON1, PON2, and PON3) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Methods. Included in this longitudinal study were 12,770 black or white participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort who completed a baseline visit (1987–1989) with PON genotyping. Demographic, behavioral, and health information was obtained at baseline. MACE was defined as first occurrence of myocardial infarction, stroke, or CHD-related death through 2004. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate the association between race and MACE after adjustment for age, gender, and other demographic and cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes and hypertension. Modification of the association between PON SNPs and MACE was also assessed. Results. Blacks comprised 24.6% of the ARIC cohort; overall, 14.0% of participants developed MACE. Compared with whites, blacks had 1.24 times greater hazard of MACE (OR = 1.24,95%CI = 1.10,1.39) than whites after adjusting for age, gender, BMI, cigarette and alcohol use, educational and marital status, and aspirin use. This association became nonsignificant after further adjustment for high cholesterol, diabetes, and hypertension. None of the evaluated SNPs met the significance level ( ) after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. Conclusions. No association between race and MACE was identified after adjusting for high cholesterol, diabetes, and hypertension, suggesting that comorbidities are major determinants of MACE; medical intervention with focus on lifestyle and health management could ameliorate the development of MACE. Further studies are needed to confirm this observation.
Droplet Size and Distribution of Nebulized 3% NaCl, Albuterol, and Epoprostenol by Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer

Background: The objective of this study was to characterize aerosol droplet size and distribution with laser diffraction for nebulized 3% NaCl, albuterol, and epoprostenol sodium. Methods: A series of flow tests were run on each of 8 Aerogen Solo nebulizer heads prior to the study to verify accuracy of flows in mL/minute. Aerosolized droplets exiting the nebulizer heads were then measured using a phase Doppler particle analyzer. Data collected during delivery of 3% NaCl, albuterol, and epoprostenol sodium included aerosol droplet size distribution, mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD), and geometric standard deviation. For each nebulizer head, droplet size measurements were taken at the following locations: 2 cm away from the nebulizer head and 2 cm away from the Y-piece of a heated, humidified adult ventilator circuit. For measurements taken at the Y-piece, 4 distinct, continuous flows (2, 10, 20, and 40 L/min) were generated by an air pump to simulate inspiratory flows delivered with mechanical ventilation. The expiratory limb was capped, and the nebulizer head was inserted into the breathing circuit upstream of the humidifier. Results: Each Solo nebulizer met Aerogen’s recommended minimum flow of 0.2 mL/min, ranging from 0.23 to 0.31 mL/min. The MMAD of the 3 tested aerosols was several times larger when measured directly at the cup outlet (MMAD, 4.6-7.3 µm) than at the outlet of the heated/humidified breathing circuit (MMAD, 0.85-2.73 µm). See Figure displaying MMAD and geometric standard deviations. The lower limit of detection for droplet size of the phase Doppler particle analyzer is 0.5 µm. Conclusions: Aerosol size was smaller than expected with the simulation. Previous studies using cascade impactors to evaluate MMAD indicate that vibrating mesh nebulizers should be expected to generate droplets