cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A kinetic theory network model to capture first and second order statistics of population activity in large-scale neuronal networks

We present a kinetic theory neuronal network model that captures how first and second order statistics of population activity depend on certain statistical patterns of connectivity. To capture pairwise correlations among neurons in each population, we model the activity of each population by a joint population density ρ(x1, x2, t), where (x1, x2) represents the state of any pair of neurons in the population. We derive the evolution equations of ρ(x1, x2, t) using the Chapman-Kolmolgorov formalism based on the assumption that the input to any pair of neurons is a multivariate Poisson point process. We then derive the network equations by coupling population equations. The coupling scheme is based on (1) the first and second order statistics of connectivity, (2) the approximation of delayed correlation as instantaneous correlation in each population activity, and (3) the inference of higher order statistics of population activity from lower order statistics via a conditional independence method. We test the validity of our network equations by comparing the numerical solutions to the Monte Carlo simulation under various network configurations. Finally, we discuss the success and failure of the implementation of our kinetic theory network model. from Eighteenth Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting: CNS*2009 Berlin, Germany. 18–23 July 2009
Synthese neuartiger amorpher metallischer Spingläser M2SnTe4 (M Cr, Mn, Fe, Co): Solvensinduzierte Metall‐Isolator‐Umwandlungen

Mesures de resistivite electrique, effet Mossbauer, diffusion Raman, etc pour des composes prepares a partir de solutions methanoliques et dans l'ethylene diamine
A Description of Effective College Teaching in Five Disciplines as Measured By Student Ratings.

Student rating of teachers in five disciplines (science and math, education, social sciences, humanities, and business) were analyzed to determine which teacher attributes were important in predicting ratings of teaching effectiveness. Rating results from 1,439 courses taught at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale from 1973 to 1974 were used as data for this study. The results indicated that the instructor attributes rated as characteristic of effective instruction were highly consistent across disciplines, and the effective instructor was described as (1) knowing when students understood him, (2) increasing students' appreciation of the subject matter, (3) answering impromptu questions satisfactorily, (4) achieving the objectives of the course, and (5) giving several examples to explain complex topics.
Immunohistochemical expression of components of the Akt-mTORC1 pathway is associated with hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic liver disease.

Activation of the Akt-mTORC1 signaling pathway was evaluated in premalignant and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) lesions by assessing the expression of pS6, an Akt effector, and PTEN, an Akt suppressor. Methods: Immunohistochemical staining for pS6 and PTEN was performed on liver tissue from 52 patients with cirrhosis, with and without HCC. Two pathologists independently evaluated pS6 staining on a semiquantitative scale and categorized PTEN staining as present or absent. Results: In the HCC group, pS6 staining was greatest in HCC, followed by dysplasia, and benign cirrhotic tissue (P < 0.001). pS6 staining was greater in cirrhotic tissue from patients with HCC compared to cirrhosis in patients without HCC (P = 0.03). PTEN staining in tumor was absent in 8/33 (24%) cases. Loss of PTEN expression was more common in patients with higher tumor stage, compared to those with stage 1 tumors (P = 0.04). Conclusion: Immunohistochemical evidence of activation of the Akt-mTORC1 pathway is associated with HCC.
Implications of Titan's north-south brightness asymmetry

Voyager 1 images of Titan, when normalized to remove limb darkening, reveal an axially symmetric brightness pattern with significant north-south asymmetry. This interhemispheric contrast seems to be a response to seasonal solar heating variations resulting from Titan's inclined spin axis. The contrast significantly lags the solar forcing, indicating that its production involves the atmosphere well below the unit optical depth level. The contrast has a significant effect on Titan's disk-integrated brightness as seen from earth, and probably accounts for most of the observed long term variation, with solar UV variations accounting for the remainder.
Performance comparison of robust negative input shapers

Input shaping is a control method that limits motion-induced oscillation in vibratory systems by intelligently shaping the reference command. As with any control method, the robustness of input shaping to parameter variations and modeling errors is important. Input shaping has fundamental compromise between robustness and shaper duration, which is closely related to system rise time. For all shapers, greater robustness requires a longer duration shaper. However, if the shaper is allowed to have negative impulses, then the shaper duration may be shortened, at the expense of possible high mode excitation and a small decrease in robustness. This paper analyzes the compromise between shaper duration and robustness for several robust, negative input shapers. In addition, a formulation for specified negative amplitude, specified insensitivity (SNA-SI) shapers is presented. These shapers provide a continuous spectrum of solutions for the duration/robustness trade-off. Experimental results from a portable bridge crane verify the theoretical predictions.
A Conceptual Framework of the Effects of Positive Affect and Affective Relationships on Group Knowledge Networks

A theoretical model integrating research in social psychology and group knowledge networks regarding the pervasive influence of affect on group transactive memory systems (TMSs) is presented. The proposed affective transactive memory (ATM) model extending TMS beyond its cognitive tradition provides a promising interdisciplinary theoretical base for future research. The role of positive affect (PA) in the three dimensions of TMS effectiveness—accuracy in expertise recognition, sharedness of knowledge, and member participation—are discussed. Propositions are presented regarding the effects of members' PA and affective relationships on member information retrieval and allocation, which is further explored as four attribute and relational effects in knowledge networks. Ways to further integrate affect into contemporary small group knowledge network theorizing and research are suggested.
Local circuit connections between hamster laminae III and IV dorsal horn neurons.

To better understand the role of intrinsic spinal cord circuits in the integration of mechanosensory information, we studied synaptic transmission between neurons in Rexed's laminae III–IV, a major...
Receptivity of a supersonic boundary layer over a flat plate. Part 2. Receptivity to free-stream sound

In this paper, we continue to study the mechanisms of the receptivity of the supersonic boundary layer to free-stream disturbances by using both direct numerical simulation and linear stability theory. Specifically, the receptivity of a Mach 4.5 flow over a flat plate to free-stream fast acoustic waves is studied. The receptivity to free-stream slow acoustic waves, entropy waves and vorticity waves will be studied in the future. The oblique shock wave induced by the boundary-layer displacement plays an important role in the receptivity because the free-stream disturbance waves first pass through the shock before entering the boundary layer. A high-order shock-fitting scheme is used in the numerical simulations in order to account for the effects of interactions between free-stream disturbance waves and the oblique shock wave. The results show that the receptivity of the flat-plate boundary layer to free-stream fast acoustic waves leads to the excitation of both Mack modes and a family of stable modes, i.e. mode I, mode II, etc. It is found that the forcing fast acoustic waves do not interact directly with the unstable Mack modes. Instead, the stable mode I waves play an important role in the receptivity process because they interact with both the forcing acoustic waves and the unstable Mack-mode waves. Through the interactions, the stable mode I waves transfer wave energy from the forcing fast acoustic waves to the second Mack-mode waves. The effects of incident wave angles, forcing wave frequencies, and wall temperature perturbation conditions on the receptivity are studied. The results show that the receptivity mechanisms of the second mode are very different from those of modes I and II, which leads to very different receptivity properties of these discrete wave modes to free-stream fast acoustic waves with different incident wave angles, frequencies, and different wall boundary conditions. The maximum receptivities of the second mode, mode I and mode II to planar free-stream fast acoustic waves are obtained when incident wave angles approximately equal 26 ◦ ,4 5 ◦ , and 18 ◦ ,r espectively. The results of receptivity to a beam of free-stream fast acoustic waves show that the leading edge is one of the most efficient regions for receptivity.
Urea transport in initial IMCD of rats fed a low-protein diet: functional properties and mRNA abundance

Feeding rats a low-protein (8%) diet (LPD) for 2 wk induces a facilitated urea transporter in rat initial inner medullary collecting ducts (IMCDs). To determine whether this is preceded by an incre...
45 Gastric electrical stimulation and sacral electrical stimulation: are two devices better than one?

Introduction: Gastric Electrical Stimulation (GES) is available as a Humanitarian Use Device for patients with the symptoms of gastroparesis and is effective in reducing gastrointestinal symptoms. We have previously shown that patients with gastric motor disorders often have co-existing abnormalities of the genitourinary system (Gastroenterol 112: A737, 1997), which may now be treated with sacral electrical stimulation (SES), resulting in similar improvements in genitourinary symptoms. Patients: We compared the results of therapy with GES and SES in 13 patients who were implanted with both devices. Patients were 11 f, 2 m, mean age of 41 years, who had documented gastroparesis as well as bladder or other pelvic floor dysfunction. All 13 patients had received their GES before the SES. Methods: Patients were evaluated at baseline and latest follow up (median 4 years for GES and 2 years for SES), according to previously standardized scores of GI (GI: 0–4, TSS max 20) and GU (GU: 0–3, UTSS, max 12) function. Results were compared by paired t-tests and reported as mean ± SE. Results: All 13 patients improved both GI and GU symptoms and the improvement in all parameters as nausea, vomiting, anorexia, bloating, abdominal pain and gastric total symptom score (TSS), leakage, urgency, voiding difficulty, number of pads used and urinary total symptom score (UTSS) were statistically significant (see table below). Conclusions: The combination of GES and SES appears to be both safe and effective for patients with con-comitant gastroparesis and bladder dysfunction and the existence of a stimulator for one disorder does not preclude another stimulator. Vomiting Nausea Anorexia Bloating Abd. Pain TSS Before 2.75 ± 0.62 3.96 ± 0.13 3.46 ± 1.08 3.57 ± 0 3.79 ± 0.11 16.00 ± 1.05 After 0.63 ± 0.18 1.03 ± 0.07 1.63 ± 0.07 1.89 ± 0.36 1.29 ± 0.25 6.64 ± 0.94 P.Value <0.001 <0.001 <0.001 <0.002 <0.001 <0.001 Leakage Urgency Voiding Difficulty #Pads UTSS Before 1.33 ± 0.49 2.0 ± 0.51 2.43 ± 0.43 0.83 ± 0.48 6.5 ± 1.28 After 0 0.67 ± 0.42 0.5 ± 0.31 0 1.4 ± 0.75 P.Value <0.001 0.007 0.002 0.007 <0.001
Vaccine development for Moraxella catarrhalis: rationale, approaches and challenges

Recent clinical trials that have demonstrated the efficacy of vaccines to prevent bacterial otitis media have invigorated the field of vaccine development for otitis media [1,2]. Otitis media accou...
Carrier density and Schottky barrier on the performance of DC nanogenerator.

By assembling a ZnO nanowire (NW) array based nanogenerator (NG) that is transparent to UV light, we have investigated the performance of the NG by tuning its carrier density and the characteristics of the Schottky barrier at the interface between the metal electrode and the NW. The formation of a Schottky diode at the interface is a must for the effective operation of the NG. UV light not only increases the carrier density in ZnO but also reduces the barrier height. A reduced barrier height greatly weakens the function of the barrier for preserving the piezoelectric potential in the NW for an extended period of time, resulting in little output current. An increased carrier density speeds up the rate at which the piezoelectric charges are screened/neutralized, but a very low carrier density prevents the flow of current through the NWs. Therefore, there is an optimum conductance of the NW for maximizing the output of the NG. Our study provides solid evidence to further prove the mechanism proposed for the ...
Numerical calculation of diatomic transition operators: The variable-phase and -amplitude method☆

Abstract The variable-phase method is extended to calculate two-atom off-the-energy shell t -matrix elements. A study is presented of the off-shell wavefunctions and t -matrix elements of the HH pair, for both the lowest 1 Σ and 3 Σ interaction potentials.
Lake Water Quality Assessment from Landsat Thematic Mapper Data Using Neural Network: AN Approach to Optimal Band Combination SELECTION1

: The concern about water quality in inland water bodies such as lakes and reservoirs has been increasing. Owing to the complexity associated with field collection of water quality samples and subsequent laboratory analyses, scientists and researchers have employed remote sensing techniques for water quality information retrieval. Due to the limitations of linear regression methods, many researchers have employed the artificial neural network (ANN) technique to decorrelate satellite data in order to assess water quality. In this paper, we propose a method that establishes the output sensitivity toward changes in the individual input reflectance channels while modeling water quality from remote sensing data collected by Landsat thematic mapper (TM). From the sensitivity, a hypothesis about the importance of each band can be made and used as a guideline to select appropriate input variables (band combination) for ANN models based on the principle of parsimony for water quality retrieval. The approach is illustrated through a case study of Beaver Reservoir in Arkansas, USA. The results of the case study are highly promising and validate the input selection procedure outlined in this paper. The results indicate that this approach could significantly reduce the effort and computational time required to develop an ANN water quality model.
Workload of Radiologists in United States in 2006–2007 and Trends Since 1991–1992

We found that workload per full-time equivalent radiologist grew substantially in the past few years and that workload varies substantially among similar practices for reasons that remain unknown despite intensive investigation, meaning that our data should not be used as standards.
Use of natural AhR ligands as potential therapeutic modalities against inflammatory disorders.

The aim of this review is to discuss research involving ligands for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and their role in immunomodulation. While activation of the AhR is well known for its ability to regulate the biochemical and toxic effects of environmental chemicals, more recently an exciting discovery has been made indicating that AhR ligation can also regulate T-cell differentiation, specifically through activation of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) and downregulation of the proinflammatory Th17 cells. Such findings have opened new avenues of research on the possibility of targeting the AhR to treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Specifically, this review will discuss the current research involving natural and dietary AhR ligands. In addition, evidence indicating the potential use of these ligands in regulating inflammation in various diseases will be highlighted. The importance of the AhR in immunological processes can be illustrated by expression of this receptor on a majority of immune cell types. In addition, AhR signaling pathways have been reported to influence a number of genes responsible for mediating inflammation and other immune responses. As interest in the AhR and its ligands increases, it seems prudent to consolidate current research on the contributions of these ligands to immune regulation during the course of inflammatory diseases.
Angiographic warning of hemorrhagic transformation after stent retriever thrombectomy procedure

This study reports cerebral angiographic findings observed after stent retriever thrombectomy that is suggestive of a higher risk of hemorrhagic transformation (HT). A woman aged 65–75 presented with a right middle cerebral artery syndrome confirmed by non-contrast CT brain scan. Endovascular revascularization using the Solitaire device was placed across the thromboembolic occlusion and thromboembolectomy was performed. Angiography showed complete recanalization of the left internal carotid artery, anterior and middle cerebral artery branches. Twelve hours following the procedure the patient had a hemorrhagic conversion of the ischemic infarct with significant mass effect causing herniation. Despite surgical intervention (hemicraniectomy) the patient died. The angiographic features following revascularization of the vessels distal to the occlusion showed subtle dilations which were visualized at the branch points of the vessels. This may be a warning sign of increased risk of HT.
Associations Between Social Relationships and Emotional Well-Being in Middle-Aged and Older African Americans:

Social relationships may enhance emotional health in older age. The authors examined associations between social relationships and emotional health using data from the Milwaukee African American sample of the second Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS II) study, 2005-2006 (n = 592). Self-reports indicated good, very good, or excellent emotional health, distinguished from fair or poor. Social relationships were measured by relationship type (family or friend), contact frequency, and levels of emotional support and strain. Control variables included demographic characteristics, types of lifetime and daily discrimination, neighborhood quality, and other social factors. In adjusted results, each increase on a family emotional support scale was associated with 118% greater odds of reporting better emotional health (odds ratio [OR] = 2.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.43, 3.32]). Friend emotional support also was associated with better emotional health (OR = 1.59, CI [1.07, 2.34]). Daily discrimination substantially reduced reported emotional health; family and friend support buffered this effect.
Local brain functional activity following early deprivation: a study of postinstitutionalized Romanian orphans.

Early global deprivation of institutionalized children may result in persistent specific cognitive and behavioral deficits. In order to examine brain dysfunction underlying these deficits, we have applied positron emission tomography using 2-deoxy-2-[(18)F]fluoro-D-glucose in 10 children (6 males, 4 females, mean age 8.8 years) adopted from Romanian orphanages. Using statistical parametric mapping (SPM), the pattern of brain glucose metabolism in the orphans was compared to the patterns obtained from two control groups: (i) a group of 17 normal adults (9 males, 8 females, mean age 27.6 years) and (ii) a group of 7 children (5 males and 2 females, mean age 10.7 years) with medically refractory focal epilepsy, but normal glucose metabolism pattern in the contralateral hemisphere. Consistent with previous studies of children adopted from Romanian orphanages, neuropsychological assessment of Romanian orphans in the present study showed mild neurocognitive impairment, impulsivity, and attention and social deficits. Comparing the normalized glucose metabolic rates to those of normal adults, the Romanian orphans showed significantly decreased metabolism bilaterally in the orbital frontal gyrus, the infralimbic prefrontal cortex, the medial temporal structures (amygdala and head of hippocampus), the lateral temporal cortex, and the brain stem. These findings were confirmed using a region-of-interest approach. SPM analysis showed significantly decreased glucose metabolism in the same brain regions comparing the orphans to the nonepileptic hemisphere of the childhood epilepsy controls. Dysfunction of these brain regions may result from the stress of early global deprivation and may be involved in the long-term cognitive and behavioral deficits displayed by some Romanian orphans.
Shark Bay Bottlenose Dolphins: A Case Study for Defining and Measuring Sociality

Bottlenose dolphins are attractive candidates for the application of social network analysis (SNA), in part because of their complex fission–fusion social organization characterized by dynamic, temporally variable groups. In Shark Bay, Western Australia, researchers have studied the resident bottlenose dolphins since 1982. Using data on two calves from the Shark Bay dataset, here we present a case study to provide an example of the variety of social measures available to researchers, including both traditional measures as well as network metrics. In particular, this example case study advocates the use of multiple measures of sociality with careful consideration of what dimensions were captured before making inferences.
Irreparable Injury and Extraordinary Precaution: The Safety and Feasibility Norms in American Accident Law

The tort law of negligence is one of our principal forms of protection against accidental physical injury. But it is underspecified in one respect and incomplete in another. The common law of negligence is underspecified in that its norm of reasonable care does not register clearly enough the fact that it is reasonable to take greater precautions against some kinds of physical injuries — severe and irreparable ones — than it is against other kinds — mild and fully repairable ones. The common law of negligence is incomplete in that it relies on the award of money damages to induce prospective injurers to exercise reasonable care prospectively, yet does not so much as attempt to fully monetize the harm done by unreasonable risks that result in death.
Response of Setaria faberi demographic processes to herbicide rates.

Abstract Traditionally, herbicide efficacy has been evaluated by visual ratings, but these data provide little insight to the biological response of weeds to herbicides. Field studies were conducted in 1995 and 1996 to determine the rate response of Setaria faberi seedling survival, seed production, and biomass to postemergence herbicides in Zea mays and Glycine max. Nicosulfuron and sethoxydim were applied to Z. mays and G. max, respectively, at 1×, 12×, 14×, 18×, 116×, 132×, and 0× the label rate. Mature plant density of S. faberi was linearly related to seedling density, indicating that seedling survival was not density dependent. Based on a nonlinear dose–response analysis, maximum S. faberi survival was 55% in Z. mays across years and 60 and 45% in G. max in 1995 and 1996, respectively. Minimum survival was 0% except for Z. mays in 1996 when it was 13%. The minimum survival was greater in Z. mays in 1996 due to greater survival of late cohorts than in 1995. Setaria faberi seedling survival was greate...
Emergency Preferential Orders in Bankruptcy Reorganizations

This article addresses the pervasive problem in chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganizations of emergency orders entered very early in the case which confer substantive rights of uncertain legality on non-debtor parties. These orders are entered because of perceived leverage that the party demanding the preferment holds against the reorganizing business. This article urges Congress to amend the Bankruptcy Code to clarify whether the bankruptcy court does or does not have the power to enter emergency preferential orders, and urges that the better approach for Congress to take is to prohibit such preferential orders in all cases. At a minimum, such orders should be entered only on a compelling showing of necessity, when the public interest is clearly at stake, and after strict procedural protection of the rights of unsecured creditors.
Homogenization of Monotone Operators

Although Eduardo ZARANTONELLO first introduced monotone operators for solving a problem in continuum mechanics,1 the theory of monotone operators quickly became taught as a part of functional analysis. In his course on nonlinear partial differential equations in the late 1960s, Jacques-Louis LIONS taught about a dichotomy, the compactness method, and the monotonicity method. During my stay in Madison in 1974-1975, I found that the div-curl lemma gave a natural framework to the monotonicity method for (stationary) diffusion equations, and that it was not so natural to classify the convexity method as being a part of the monotonicity method. A few years later, after developing the theory of compensated compactness with Francois MURAT, I unified all these methods in the compensated compactness method. I shall only discuss here the homogenization of monotone operators in the simple framework that I adopted in my Peccot lectures at the beginning of 1977.
A polyphenol-rich fraction obtained from table grapes decreases adiposity, insulin resistance and markers of inflammation and impacts gut microbiota in high-fat-fed mice

The objective of this study was to determine if consuming an extractable or nonextractable fraction of table grapes reduced the metabolic consequences of consuming a high-fat, American-type diet. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a low fat (LF) diet, a high fat (HF) diet, or an HF diet containing whole table grape powder (5% w/w), an extractable, polyphenol-rich (HF-EP) fraction, a nonextractable, polyphenol-poor (HF-NEP) fraction or equal combinations of both fractions (HF-EP+NEP) from grape powder for 16weeks. Mice fed the HF-EP and HF-EP+NEP diets had lower percentages of body fat and amounts of white adipose tissue (WAT) and improved glucose tolerance compared to the HF-fed controls. Mice fed the HF-EP+NEP diet had lower liver weights and triglyceride (TG) levels compared to the HF-fed controls. Mice fed the HF-EP+NEP diets had higher hepatic mRNA levels of hormone sensitive lipase and adipose TG lipase, and decreased expression of c-reactive protein compared to the HF-fed controls. In epididymal (visceral) WAT, the expression levels of several inflammatory genes were lower in mice fed the HF-EP and HF-EP+NEP diets compared to the HF-fed controls. Mice fed the HF diets had increased myeloperoxidase activity and impaired localization of the tight junction protein zonula occludens-1 in ileal mucosa compared to the HF-EP and HF-NEP diets. Several of these treatment effects were associated with alterations in gut bacterial community structure. Collectively, these data demonstrate that the polyphenol-rich, EP fraction from table grapes attenuated many of the adverse health consequences associated with consuming an HF diet.
Recreational physical activity and ovarian cancer risk in African American women.

The literature on recreational physical activity (RPA) and ovarian cancer risk is inconclusive and most studies of RPA and ovarian cancer have been conducted in white populations. This study is the first to investigate the association between RPA and ovarian cancer in an exclusively African American (AA) population. We analyzed data from an ongoing U.S. population-based, case-control study of AA women, which included 393 women recently diagnosed with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer (IEOC) and 611 controls. A baseline interview assessed RPA frequency, intensity, and duration. Each RPA intensity was assigned a metabolic equivalent of task (MET) value and MET-min/week were calculated. Unconditional multivariable logistic regression was performed to investigate associations between RPA and IEOC risk. Compared with sedentary women, predominantly mild intensity RPA was significantly inversely associated with IEOC risk for women reporting above median (>297) MET-min/week (odds ratio [OR] = 0.52; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.34, 0.78) and nonsignificantly for 540) MET-min/week (OR = 1.51; 95% CI: 1.03, 2.23). Predominantly strenuous intensity RPA was nonsignificantly associated with lower IEOC risk for women reporting above median (>1800) MET-min/week (OR = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.33, 1.57). The inverse associations for mild and strenuous intensity RPA were most pronounced in obese women (body mass index >30 kg/m(2) ). The findings that mild and strenuous RPA may reduce the risk of IEOC particularly among obese women are difficult to reconcile with the increased risk observed for moderate RPA. Further research is warranted to determine whether these findings are genuine and, if so, their mechanistic basis.
Three-parameter-based streamflow elasticity model: application to MOPEXbasins in the USA at annual and seasonal scales

Abstract. We present a three-parameter streamflow elasticity model as a function of precipitation, potential evaporation, and change in groundwater storage applicable at both seasonal and annual scales. The model was applied to 245 Model Parameter Estimation Experiment (MOPEX) basins spread across the continental USA. The analysis of the modified equation at annual and seasonal scales indicated that the groundwater and surface water storage change contributes significantly to the streamflow elasticity. Overall, in case of annual as well as seasonal water balances, precipitation has higher elasticity values when compared to both potential evapotranspiration and storage changes. The streamflow elasticities show significant nonlinear associations with the climate conditions of the catchments indicating a complex interplay between elasticities and climate variables with substantial seasonal variations.
Research Productivity in Music: A Personal Perspective

Recent trends in higher education have changed many aspects affecting the role of the individual professor. Technological advancements, the increasing knowledge base, changes within our society, and the changing demographics of our constituents combined with changes concerning our fiscal support have had direct influences on the way that we go about our teaching, research and service. However, I suggest that each of us can continue through all of these ongoing transitions without compromising our personal integrity if we attend to time and personal time management.
Understanding Market Stakeholder Perspectives: Application in the Biopharmaceutical Industry

Abstract:New products are sometimes perceived as risky. This article contributes a process that new product development teams can use to better understand stakeholders' concerns. The stakeholder analysis process is appropriate for products that can be perceived as risky since it enables developers to address key issues of concern prior to new product introduction, mitigating market acceptance risk. It uses a stakeholder model that facilitates dialogue to understand market risks and guide the assessment process. This article includes a case study describing a successful application of introducing biopharmaceutical products, as well as some of the key findings to demonstrate usefulness.
A study of phenylalanine side-chain dynamics in surface-adsorbed peptides using solid-state deuterium NMR and rotamer library statistics.

Extracellular matrix proteins adsorbed onto mineral surfaces exist in a unique environment where the structure and dynamics of the protein can be altered profoundly. To further elucidate how the mineral surface impacts molecular properties, we perform a comparative study of the dynamics of nonpolar side chains within the mineral-recognition domain of the biomineralization protein salivary statherin adsorbed onto its native hydroxyapatite (HAP) mineral surface versus the dynamics displayed by the native protein in the hydrated solid state. Specifically, the dynamics of phenylalanine side chains (viz., F7 and F14) located in the surface-adsorbed 15-amino acid HAP-recognition fragment (SN15: DpSpSEEKFLRRIGRFG) are studied using deuterium magic angle spinning (2H MAS) line shape and spin–lattice relaxation measurements. 2H NMR MAS spectra and T1 relaxation times obtained from the deuterated phenylalanine side chains in free and HAP-adsorbed SN15 are fitted to models where the side chains are assumed to exchan...
Improving Genetic Algorithm with Fine-Tuned Crossover and Scaled Architecture

Genetic Algorithm (GA) is a metaheuristic used in solving combinatorial optimization problems. Inspired by evolutionary biology, GA uses selection, crossover, and mutation operators to efficiently traverse the solution search space. This paper proposes nature inspired fine-tuning to the crossover operator using the untapped idea of Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). mtDNA is a small subset of the overall DNA. It differentiates itself by inheriting entirely from the female, while the rest of the DNA is inherited equally from both parents. This unique characteristic of mtDNA can be an effective mechanism to identify members with similar genes and restrict crossover between them. It can reduce the rate of dilution of diversity and result in delayed convergence. In addition, we scale the well-known Island Model, where instances of GA are run independently and population members exchanged periodically, to a Continental Model. In this model, multiple web services are executed with each web service running an island model. We applied the concept of mtDNA in solving Traveling Salesman Problem and to train Neural Network for function approximation. Our implementation tests show that leveraging these new concepts of mtDNA and Continental Model results in relative improvement of the optimization quality of GA.
The effect of developmentally-at-risk status on the reliability of the iScreen® photorefractive device in young children.

Introduction and purpose We evaluated the impact of developmentally-at-risk status on the results of photorefractive screening with iScreen®. Patients and methods We sequentially recruited 169 children (aged 2-5 years) to participate in a blinded, prospective study of a photoscreening device. The principle investigator examined the children after photoscreening. Using established standards for amblyogenic factors, the principle investigator and photoscreen interpreters separately made a determination of "normal" or "needs referral" for each child. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for the photoscreening device were determined. Results Overall, sensitivity was 85% with a positive predictive value of 98%, and specificity was 87% with a negative predictive value of 47%. Developmentally-at-risk status in 34 children (three refused imaging) did not reduce sensitivity (89%) or specificity (100%) when compared with 130 children (two refused imaging) who did not have developmentally-at-risk factors (sensitivity = 84% and specificity = 80%). Conclusion The efficacy of photorefractive screening in young children with developmentally-at-risk status is comparable to results found in normal children.
Parasympathetic Innervation of the Heart: Acetylcholine Turnover in Vivo

Parasympathetic innervation of the heart plays an important role in the dynamic control of cardiac function. Biochemical approaches used to study cardiac vagal innervation have included measurement of levels of acetylcholine (ACh) (1, 2, 22, 33), and the activities of both choline acetyltransferase (8, 28, 30) and cholinesterase (32). These methods have been useful in characterizing the normal distribution of cardiac vagal innervation and its alterations following certain perturbations such as bilateral or unilateral vagotomy and transplantation.
Barriers to efficiency in robotic surgery: the resident effect.

Abstract Background Robotic surgery offers advantages over conventional operative approaches but may also be associated with higher costs and additional risks. Analyzing surgical flow disruptions (FDs), defined as “deviations from the natural progression of an operation,” can help target training techniques and identify opportunities for improvement. Materials and methods Thirty-two robotic surgery operations were observed over a 6-wk period at one 900-bed surgical center. FDs were recorded in detail and classified into one of 11 different categories. Procedure type, robot model, and resident involvement were also recorded. Linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the effects of these parameters on FDs and operative duration. Results Twenty-one prostatectomies, eight sacrocolpopexies, and three nephrectomies were observed. The mean number of FDs was 48.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 38.6-54.8 FDs), and mean operative duration was 163 min (95% CI 148-179 min). Each FD added 2.4 min (P = 0.025) to a case's total operative duration. The number and rate of FDs were significantly affected by resident involvement (P = 0.008 and P = 0.006, respectively). Resident cases demonstrated mostly training, equipment, and robot switch FDs, whereas nonresident cases demonstrated mostly equipment, instrument changes, and external factor FDs. Conclusions Although the FDs encountered in resident training are more frequent, they may not significantly increase operative duration. Other FDs, such as equipment or external factors, may be more impactful. Limiting these specific FDs should be the focus of performance improvement efforts.
Systematic review with meta-analysis: endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography-based modalities for the diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma in primary sclerosing cholangitis.

SummaryBackground The accuracy of current endoscopic modalities for diagnosing cholangiocarcinoma in primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is suboptimal. Aim To evaluate the comparative effectiveness of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)-based modalities, independently or in combination, for the diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma in patients with PSC-induced biliary strictures. Methods Searches of PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library databases were performed through December 2015. Measured outcomes included sensitivity and specificity of all diagnostic modalities independently or in combination. A bivariate model was used to compute the pooled sensitivity and specificity, and to plot the summary receiver operating characteristics curve with summary point and corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI). A logistic regression model was used to impute the incremental performance of combining two diagnostic tests. Results Twenty-one studies met inclusion criteria: 13 on bile duct brushing for cytology, 7 on fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH), 2 on probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy, and 4 on single-operator cholangioscopy with targeted biopsies. Single-operator cholangioscopy with targeted biopsies was the most accurate diagnostic modality at 96% (95% CI, 94–97%). The pooled sensitivity and specificity of single-operator cholangioscopy for diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma in patients with PSC was 65% (95% CI, 35–87%) and 97% (95% CI, 87–99%), respectively. The pooled diagnostic odds ratio to detect cholangiocarcinoma was 59 (95% CI, 10–341). Conclusions Single-operator cholangioscopy with targeted biopsies appears to be the most accurate ERCP-based modality for diagnosing cholangiocarcinoma in primary sclerosing cholangitis. However, future large, well-designed comparative diagnostic studies are warranted to validate these findings.
A Review of the Antiviral Properties of Black Elder (Sambucus nigra L.) Products

Black elder (Sambucus nigra L.) has a long ethnobotanical history across many disparate cultures as a treatment for viral infection and is currently one of the most-used medicinal plants worldwide. Until recently, however, substantial scientific research concerning its antiviral properties has been lacking. Here, we evaluate the state of current scientific research concerning the use of elderberry extract and related products as antivirals, particularly in the treatment of influenza, as well as their safety and health impacts as dietary supplements. While the extent of black elder's antiviral effects are not well known, antiviral and antimicrobial properties have been demonstrated in these extracts, and the safety of black elder is reflected by the United States Food and Drug Administration approval as generally recognized as safe. A deficit of studies comparing these S. nigra products and standard antiviral medications makes informed and detailed recommendations for use of S. nigra extracts in medical applications currently impractical. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Omics AnalySIs System for PRecision Oncology (OASISPRO): a web-based omics analysis tool for clinical phenotype prediction.

SUMMARY Precision oncology is an approach that accounts for individual differences to guide cancer management. Omics signatures have been shown to predict clinical traits for cancer patients. However, the vast amount of omics information poses an informatics challenge in systematically identifying patterns associated with health outcomes, and no general purpose data mining tool exists for physicians, medical researchers and citizen scientists without significant training in programming and bioinformatics. To bridge this gap, we built the Omics AnalySIs System for PRecision Oncology (OASISPRO), a web-based system to mine the quantitative omics information from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). This system effectively visualizes patients' clinical profiles, executes machine-learning algorithms of choice on the omics data and evaluates the prediction performance using held-out test sets. With this tool, we successfully identified genes strongly associated with tumor stage, and accurately predicted patients' survival outcomes in many cancer types, including adrenocortical carcinoma. By identifying the links between omics and clinical phenotypes, this system will facilitate omics studies on precision cancer medicine and contribute to establishing personalized cancer treatment plans. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION This web-based tool is available at http://tinyurl.com/oasispro; source codes are available at http://tinyurl.com/oasisproSourceCode. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Towards a Best Predictive System Account of Laws of Nature

This paper argues for a revised Best System Account (BSA) of laws of nature. David Lewis's original BSA has two main elements. On the one hand, there is the Humean base, which is the totality of particular matters of fact that obtain in the history of the universe. On the other hand, there is what I call the "Nomic Formula", which is a particular operation that gets applied to the Humean base in order to output the laws of nature. My revised account focuses on this latter element of the view. Lewis conceives of the Nomic Formula as a balance of simplicity and strength, but I argue that this is a mistake. Instead, I motivate and develop a different proposal for the standards that figure into the Nomic Formula, and I suggest a rationale for why these should be the correct standards. Specifically, I argue that the Nomic Formula should be conceived as a collection of desiderata designed to generate principles that are predictively useful to creatures like us. The resulting view, which I call the "Best Predictive System Account" of laws, is thus able to explain why scientists are interested in discovering the laws, and it also gives rise to laws with the sorts of features that we find in actual scientific practice.
Abstract 3449: Increasing Prevalence of Peripheral Artery Disease in the United States: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999 2004)

Background: Peripheral artery disease (PAD), a marker of subclinical coronary artery disease, is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. It is unknown if the prevalence of PAD in the general US population without known cardiovascular disease (CVD) is increasing. Hypothesis: The prevalence of asymptomatic PAD in the general US population is increasing and is associated with an increase in the prevalence of common cardiovascular risk factors. Methods: We analyzed data from three National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) between the years 1999 –2004. The prevalence of PAD, as defined by an ankle-brachial index Results: The prevalence of PAD among asymptomatic adults without CVD increased significantly during the six year time period 1999 –2004 (TABLE 1). Across the 3 NHANES assessments, the increase in PAD prevalence was seen in every age group (40 – 49, 50 – 69, and >70 years). The prevalence of PAD was highest among those aged 70 and older (15.0% 95% CI 13.1% to 17.2%). The prevalence of diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and smoking use increased significantly over the three surveys (TABLE 1). Conclusions: This study provides a nationally representative estimate of PAD prevalence in asymptomatic adults in the United States over a six year time period and reveals that PAD is affecting an increasing number of persons. The prevalence of PAD increases with age. The increase in PAD prevalence is associated with an increase in the prevalence of common cardiovascular risk factors.
AUTOMATIC GENERATION OF MANUFACTURING CONTROL INSTRUCTIONS — AN EXPERT SYSTEMS APPROACH

Abstract In a CIM environment, the requests for parts manufacture are usually given through a shop schedule and a supply of necessary NC programs for NC machine tools, programs for material handlers (robots, for example), and instructions, verbal or written, to operators of manually operated machines. Very few aids exist to conveniently orchestrate the parts production in such a shop, particularly, when production runs are very short and the orchestration changes fairly quickly. At the National Research Council of Canada, we have embarked on a project which, when completed, will have the capability of specifying the required orchestration of production activities by means of manufacturing control instructions (ie, a manufacturing control language) generated automatically by an expert system software module. The design of the controller and the control language is done in such a manner that it breaks down the manufacturing task into a hierarchy of operations, operational steps (such as setup, transform, teardown), sub operations and machine primitives. The structure of this language also allows for the easy inclusion of exception handling procedures such as NC program requested tool changes by a robot or tool breakage, for example. This paper will provide an overview of the manufacturing shop controller and a brief description of the expert system that is being developed for the automatic generation of the control instructions.
Rapid measurement of selected tear proteins in health and disease using the Touch Tear Microassay System.

Measurement of tear fluid immunoglobulins has been restricted to investigational studies due to the complexity of testing methods, yet many studies have demonstrated association of elevated tear IgE with allergic disease of the external eye1–7. The methods of testing have also been hampered by need for a relatively large volume of tear fluid and the attendant induced reflex tearing at the time of collection resulting in artefactually low values of IgE. The Touch Tear Microassay System was designed to adapt solid-phase ELISA testing with sensitive reflectometric determination of color density reaction during the measurement of protein levels in very small volume tear samples (2 µl). The present clinical study attempted to quantitate levels of IgE, IgG and C-reactive protein in normal patients and patients with external ocular signs and symptoms due to allergic and infectious disease using the Touch Tear Microassay System.