cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SU(2) × SU(2) symmetry breaking and η → 3π

Abstract The hadron energy density discussed in a previous investigation of the relation between the breaking of chiral SU(2) × SU(2) symmetry and the Cabibbo angle θ is shown to yield η → πo πo πo and η → → π+ πo π− decay amplitudes which are in reasonably good agreement with experiment.
Experimental revascularization of a solitary kidney by a jejunal graft.

Summary 1. Experimental revascularization of a solitary kidney by means of a jejunal graft failed to provide a reliable or adequate renal blood supply. 2. Revascularization procedures failed to affect the blood pressures in hypertensive dogs. 3. Renographic studies in both groups of animals consisting of measurement of glomerular filtration rate, renal plasma flow and renal absorptive efficiency gave essentially normal results.
Use of a Statewide Angler Tag Reporting System to Estimate Rates of Exploitation and Total Mortality for Idaho Sport Fisheries

AbstractFrom 2006 to 2009, 18,712 fish were tagged and released in 45 tagging events using nonreward and high-reward T-bar anchor tags to estimate the rate of exploitation (u) by anglers in various Idaho fisheries. In total, 3,100 nonreward tags and 592 high-reward tags were reported by anglers. Annual u was adjusted for tag loss, tagging mortality, and angler tag reporting rate. Tag loss, estimated by double-tagging a subsample of fish, varied greatly among species; tag loss was lowest for Yellow Perch Perca flavescens (1.1% in year 1 and 4.5% in year 2) and crappies Pomoxis spp. (2.9% and 4.8%) and was highest for Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides (14.8% and 30.3%), Walleyes Sander vitreus (11.4% and 43.2%), and Smallmouth Bass M. dolomieu (10.5% and 41.6%). Short-term (7–33-d) mortality averaged about 1% for both hatchery and wild fish. The nonreward-tag reporting rate averaged 54.5% across all species and years. Adjusted u averaged 19.4% (range = 2.0–44.3%) and was generally highest for crappies (...
Lipids of fresh and cultured cells derived from amniotic fluid

Abstract 1. 1. Cholesterol and phospholipids were compared in fresh human amniotic fluid cells, amniotic fluid cells maintained in tissue culture, and cultured human skin fibroblasts. 2. 2. Fresh amniotic fluid cells had a lipid distribution very similar to that reported for epidermal cells, with a high cholesterol content and a cholesterol/lipid P (C/P) molar ratio averaging 1.6. 3. 3. Cultured amniotic fluid cells had much less cholesterol (mean C/P ratio 0.4), and a phospholipid distribution strongly resembling that of cultured fibroblasts. 4. 4. These analyses support morphological studies suggesting that amniotic fluid cells, after cultivation, develop characteristics of fibroblasts.
Cloning and Expression of a Novel Dominant-Negative-acting Estrogen Response Element-binding Protein in the Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein Family

Most genera of New World primates exhibit a compensated form of resistance to steroid hormones produced by the adrenal gland, gonads, and kidney. Estrogen resistance in New World primate cells is associated with the relative overexpression of a nonreceptor-related estrogen response element-binding protein (ERE-BP) that competes with estrogen receptor for ERE binding. Using the concatamerized ERE half-site (AGGTCAcag) in DNA affinity chromatography, we purified to homogeneity a 40-42-kDa ERE-BP. The affinity-purified ERE-BP bound specifically to either single- or double-stranded DNA bearing the consensus ERE half-site motif AGGTCA. Four distinct internal tryptic peptides from this protein were generated and shown to exhibit sequence similarity to proteins in the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein family. These tryptic peptide fragments were used to generate a series of degenerate oligonucleotides that were successfully employed in isolating a full-length ERE-BP cDNA by polymerase chain reaction. Although a member of a family of proteins generally recognized for their ability to bind single strand RNA, the estrogen resistance-associated protein ERE-BP can effectively bind double strand DNA and competitively squelch estrogen receptor-directed transactivation.
Excitation of the 15.11 MeV level in 12C by pion scattering

Abstract Experimental results on the (π,π') M1 transition to the 12 C level at 15.11 MeV are interpreted by a DWIA calculation using nuclear transition densities obtained by fitting the (e,e') data. Ambiguities in (e,e') fits can be resolved through the (π,π') data.
High Data-Rate 6.7 GHz Wireless ASIC Transmitter for Neural Prostheses

A high-frequency transmitter has been designed for high data-rate biomedical telemetry. Although high frequencies face greater attenuation, transcutaneous transmission was successfully tested and verified using a 3.76 mm thick sample of porcine skin. The structure transmits over 440 muW of power, consumes about 4.9 mA of current from a 1.8 V supply, and achieves a phase noise of -72 dBc/Hz at 100 KHz. The transmitter operates at around 6.7 GHz with a 50 MHz tuning range and is fully integrated on the CMOS IBM7RF 0.18 mum process.
Fabrication Process for Thick-Film Micromachined Multi-Pole Electromagnets

This letter introduces a fabrication process for thick $({>}{\rm 50}~\mu{\rm m})$ multipole electromagnets that produce fields exceeding 20 mT across 0.2- ${\rm mm}^{3}$ free-space volumes. The novelty of the process involves the multistep thick-film electroplating of a magnetic alloy inside a high-density high-aspect-ratio solenoidal coil, producing high intensity fields across a larger volume than previous microelectromechanical systems electromagnets. To demonstrate an application enabled by this process, a 600- $\mu{\rm m}$ -gap four-pole electromagnet is fabricated, packaged, and used to steer a 34-keV electron beam. $\hfill{[2014\hbox{-}0039]}$
Computational methods for medium scale stiff Lyapunov differential equations

Matrix version of the backward differentiation formulas were used for solving medium scale stiff Lyapunov differential equations with known closed-form solutions. The purpose was to investigate whether the backward differentiation formulas will produce accurate solutions for stiff Lyapunov differential equations of medium sizes. The sizes of the equations under consideration in this paper range from 10 × 10 to 200 × 200. An application of this computational method is for obtaining the controllability grammian of a medium scale state-space system. The matrix backward differentiation formulas were encoded as MATLAB® script files with variable step-size feature, which is necessary for efficiently solving stiff equations in the steady state. Effort was put into preserving the structure of the Lyapunov differential equations. They were manipulated into algebraic Lyapunov equations so that numerically stable methods can be applied to obtain the solutions reliably. The findings of this investigation were that accurate solutions of stiff Lyapunov differential equations could be obtained by the matrix backward differentiation formulas and that the step-size of integration could be increased continually without loss of accuracy when the transient components of the solution had faded away.
Multiplex immunohistochemistry for immune profiling of HPV-associated head and neck cancer

Meeting abstracts Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is clinically distinct from HPV-negative HNSCC, and as such requires differential therapeutic approaches. Accumulating evidence indicates a significant linkage between the immune response within the
Molecular Signatures Define New Rational Treatment Targets in Large B-Cell Lymphomas

Diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs), the most common lymphoid malignancies, are clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorders. Although DLBCL is a chemo-responsive tumor, many patients will not be cured with conventional empiric treatment regimens. Gene expression profiles, analyses of specific genetic abnormalities and functional assays have been used to develop comprehensive molecular signatures of tumors that share similar features and rely upon common survival pathways. These studies are leading to the identification of subtype-specific rational therapeutic targets and associated inhibitors for clinical investigation.
Exercise training attenuates age-induced elevation in Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, apoptosis, and remodeling in the rat heart

Aging is characterized by loss of myocytes, remodeling, and impaired contractile function in the heart. The rate of programmed cell death, or "apoptosis," in the left ventricle increases with age, and contributes to a 30% reduction in myocytes. Aging may preferentially target the Bcl-2 pathway of apoptosis in the heart. Exercise can protect cardiac function of the aging heart, although the mechanisms are poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that 12 wk of exercise training would attenuate age-induced increases in remodeling, apoptosis, and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in rat left ventricle. We found that exercise training provided significant protection against loss of cardiac myocytes, reduction in number of myonuclei, reactive hypertrophy of remaining myocytes, and increased connective tissue in left ventricle of the aging rat heart. Exercise training significantly attenuated age-induced increases of apoptosis in the left ventricle, as indicated by lower DNA fragmentation, TUNEL-positive staining, and caspase-3 cleavage, when compared with left ventricles from the age-matched sedentary group. Further, exercise training in the aging reduced caspase-9 levels and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio by lowering Bax protein expression while increasing Bcl-2 levels. These are the first data to demonstrate protective effects of endurance exercise training against elevated apoptosis and remodeling in the aging heart.
Comparative Analysis of Cell Killing and Autosomal Mutation in Mouse Kidney Epithelium Exposed to 1 GeV/nucleon Iron Ions In Vitro or In Situ

Abstract Astronauts receive exposures to high-energy heavy ions from galactic cosmic radiation. Although high-energy heavy ions are mutagenic and carcinogenic, their mutagenic potency in epithelial cells, where most human cancers develop, is poorly understood. Mutations are a critical component of human cancer, and mutations involving autosomal loci predominate. This study addresses the cytotoxic and mutagenic effects of 1 GeV/nucleon iron ions in mouse kidney epithelium. Mutant fractions were measured for an endogenous autosomal locus (Aprt) that detects all types of mutagenic events contributing to human cancer. Results for kidneys irradiated in situ are compared with results for kidney cells from the same strain exposed in vitro. The results demonstrate dose-dependent cell killing in vitro and for cells explanted 3–4 months postirradiation in situ, but in situ exposures were less likely to result in cell death than in vitro exposures. Prolonged incubation in situ (8–9 months) further attenuated cell ki...
Implementation and Assessment of a Resident Curriculum in Evidence-Based Transfusion Medicine

Abstract Context.—Given the number of controversial issues in transfusion medicine, an understanding of biostatistics and evidence-based medicine is invaluable. No detailed curricula that address teaching critical appraisal of the transfusion medicine literature have been published or evaluated. Objective.—To design, implement, and evaluate an evidence-based transfusion medicine curriculum. Design.—Four hour-long training sessions in journal club format were designed for a 2-month transfusion medicine rotation for clinical pathology residents. A previously validated survey was administered precurriculum and postcurriculum to gauge changes in resident self-reported attitudes and confidence regarding biostatistics methods and critical appraisal of the medical literature. Residents were also asked to evaluate the course regarding content, execution, and utility. Results.—Seven second-year residents participated in the sessions. Following the curriculum there were statistically significant increases in the re...
Changes in Moral Values as a Function of Adult Socialization

tivities might fit the near-group pattern. As a possible example, "the family in transition" may not be in transition at all. The family, as a social institution, may be suffering from near-groupism. Moreover, such standardized escape hatches of alcoholism, psychoses, and addictions may be too prosaic for the sophisticated intellectual to utilize in escape from himself. For him, the creation and perpetuation of near-groups requiring limited responsibility and personal commitment may be a more attractive contemporary form for expressing social and personal pathology. The measure of organization or disorganization of an inclusive social system may possibly be assessed by the prevalence of near-group collectivities in its midst. The delinquent gang may be only one type of neargroup in American society.
The role of nonlinear operators in the structure of natural and artificial intelligence

Nonlinear operators play a central role in the implementation of functions that characterize natural and artificial intelligence. They are also responsible for providing learning and evolutionary capabilities to intelligent systems, i.e., to systems that implement those functions. In the present work, these issues are discussed in the context of neural networks recently proposed by the author, namely, the optimal interpolative net and the optimal multilayer neural interpolating net. >
Another Look At the Clustering Perspective On Aggregation Problems

The clustering perspective, especially in conjunctien with a linear model one, is a fruitful approach to the problems of estimating correlation and regression coefficients from aggregated data. (1) When the correlation ratios for two variables are equal, then both the within-group and aggregate correlations between the variables will equal the total correlation for microunits if either does. When the correlation ratios are not equal, then one correlation must be greater than the total correlation even if the other equals it. In either case, the typically lower within-group correlation must result in a higher aggregate correlation. (2) For regression, the effects of aggregating on the within-group covariances between the residual and independent variables can be used to determine the effect of aggregation on the regression estimates. This approach is applied to the analysis of the effects of different types of aggregation, including some not previously discussed, on estimates for models that are correctly ...
Macrophage attenuation of neuronal excitability: Implications for pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders

Brain macrophages (and microglia) play a crucial role in central nervous system immune and inflammatory responses. They are also critical cells in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders. To understand how macrophages cause neural cell dysfunction, we investigated the effects of mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) on rat cortical neuronal physiology in a BMDM-neuronal co-culture system using whole-cell patch clamp techniques. When co-cultured with neuronal cells, BMDMs hyperpolarized the neuronal membrane and attenuated both spontaneous and electrically evoked firings through a decrease in membrane input resistance. The average duration of evoked action potentials (APs) and the latency to fire the APs, in response to a constant depolarizing current injection, were significantly increased by BMDMs. These results indicate that BMDMs attenuate neuronal excitability. Further investigation revealed that BMDMs hyperpolarize neuronal membranes by enhancing neuronal delayed rectifier potassium current (IK), which was blocked by tetraethylammonium. This BMDM-induced attenuation on neuronal excitability may contribute to the pathogenesis of neuronal dysfunction and damage as seen in neurodegenerative disorders.
Presence and Numbers of Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella Determined in Broiler Carcass Rinses from United States Processing Plants in the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point-Based Inspection Models Project

SUMMARY In 1999, the USDA-Food Safety and Inspection Service introduced an inspection system called the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point-Based Inspection Models Project (HIMP). The HIMP varies from standard inspection in that the emphasis of Food Safety and Inspection Service inspection program personnel is shifted. Each carcass is still visually inspected according to the Poultry Products Inspection Act, but some responsibility for food safety and identification and removal of defects is shifted from the regulatory agency to the processor, freeing up inspectors to more effectively verify the process and food safety system of the establishment. This survey was conducted in 2 stages: first to examine carcasses collected in HIMP and nonHIMP plants and then to test carcasses from all 20 volunteer plants currently operating under HIMP inspection. Carcasses were collected at rehang and postchill being careful to follow the same flock through processing. Postchill carcasses from HIMP plants were found to have equal bacterial contamination (numbers of Campylobacter and Escherichia coli and presence of Salmonella) as carcasses from standard HACCP plants. Overall, HIMP inspection, which places additional responsibility on the plant for process control, does not affect the microbiological quality of fully processed broiler carcasses.
Is Knowledge of God a Cognitive Achievement

This essay considers whether reformed epistemology is compatible with the claim that knowledge is a cognitive achievement. It is argued that knowledge of God is not only compatible with a more general achievement claim, but is also compatible with a much stronger achievement claim – namely, the strong achievement thesis where achievements are characterized by the overcoming of some obstacle. With respect to reformed epistemology, then, it is argued that the obstacle that is overcome is an environment that is not conducive to belief in God given the cognitive consequence of sin. This essay suggests two ways in which the agent is involved in the process of overcoming this obstacle.
Language in young children with neurofibromatosis-1: Relations to functional communication, attention, and social functioning

In this study, the language abilities of 30 children with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) aged 4-6 years were examined using a standardized measure of language. Relations of language to multiple parental report measures of functional communication, social skills, and attention problems were investigated. Difficulties in core language skills were observed, and more than 1/3 of the children struggled on at least one language index. Language abilities were significantly related to parental report of functional communication, social interaction and communication, and social skills, such that language difficulties may be a risk factor for communication and social interaction challenges and communication-related adaptive behavior in children with NF1. Though receptive language abilities were an area of particular difficulty for many children with NF1, they were not significantly related to parental ratings of social functioning and functional communication. Few significant relations were found between language and parent-reported attention problems, although some trends were noted. Hence attention difficulties in children with NF1 may contribute to, but do not appear to fully account for, language difficulties. In sum, there is an increased risk of language difficulties for young children with NF1, and lab-measured language difficulties appear to relate to everyday communication and social interaction functioning.
A stochastic model of a cell population with quiescence

A cell population in which cells are allowed to enter a quiescent (nonproliferating) phase is analyzed using a stochastic approach. A general branching process is used to model the population which, under very mild conditions, exhibits balanced exponential growth. A formula is given for the asymptotic fraction of quiescent cells, and a numerical example illustrates how convergence toward the asymptotic fraction exhibits a typical oscillatory pattern. The model is compared with deterministic models based on semigroup analysis of systems of differential equations.
The Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale was accurate for detecting delirium in older patients in the ED

Source Citation Han JH, Vasilevskis EE, Schnelle JF, et al. The diagnostic performance of the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale for detecting delirium in older emergency department patients. Acad E...
Friendships and Strategic Behavior in Labor Markets

This paper examines the ways in which organizations use employee networks to contend with strategic behavior in labor markets. We predict that in labor markets where strategic behavior is a concern, job-seekers with friends in the organization are more likely to receive job offers than those without friends. We find support for the strategic behavior hypothesis in a study of entry-level professionals in business and law. Organizations were significantly more likely to offer jobs to candidates with friends than to those without. Follow-on analyses provide insight into when organizations are most attentive to strategic behavior and thus most likely to weigh friendships in their offer decisions. The implications of this study for research on labor markets, networks, and inequality are discussed.
Shot to the heart: retained left ventricular bullet.

A 58-year-old lady with a prior history of attempted suicide by venosection, was brought to our institution after voluntarily shooting herself with a 9 mm gun to her left chest. Her blood pressure was 140/100 mmHg and heart rate 62/min. There was an entry wound along the mid-left sternal border and no …
Safety of Video-EEG Monitoring from the National Inpatient Sample (S46.003)

Objective: To determine the rate of injuries and complications associated with prolonged videoEEG. Background VideoEEG monitoring is useful in the diagnosis and classification of epilepsy, diagnosis of non-epileptic seizures, and pre-surgical evaluation of medically intractable epilepsy by provoking events by reduction in anti-epileptic drugs and utilizing provocative measures. Risks of video-EEG monitoring include prolonged seizures, status epilepticus and risks associated with falls from seizures. Little data has been published on the frequency of adverse events occurring during video-EEG monitoring. Previous studies have looked a small numbers of patients at a single institution. Design/Methods: Retrospective cohort analysis of the NIS (ahrq.gov) a 20% stratified sample of all US hospital admissions from 1990 (first full year with ICD9 procedure code for videoEEG) through 2008. Elective admissions with a primary procedure videoEEG were selected using the ICD9 procedure code (8919). Other conditions and complications were determined using combination of ICD9 and Clinical Classification Software (CCS, AHRQ.gov) diagnostic codes. Comparison was made between admissions with a final diagnosis of epilepsy vs. nonepileptic events (NES). Because of multiple comparisons, p was set a priori at Results: 36,930 admissions were identified. Epilepsy was the final diagnosis in 86.56%. Urban teaching hospitals accounted for 91.15% of admissions. Status epilepticus occurred in 0.76%, deep vein thrombosis in 0.55%, urinary tract infection in 0.93%, pneumonia in 0.25%, fractures in 0.34% (there were no hip fractures), falls in 0.08% and depression in 6.69%. There were no cases of acute psychosis. There were no significant differences between those with epilepsy and NES. Conclusions: Over the 19 years examined prolonged videoEEG was quite safe. Rates of injuries and complications were lower than previously reported. Depression was the most frequent adverse event. Future studies should examine psychiatric complications of videoEEG monitoring. Disclosure: Dr. Hammond has nothing to disclose. Dr. Dubinsky has received personal compensation for activities with Allergan Pharmaceuticals as a speaker.Dr. Dubinsky has received research support from Allergan Pharmaceuticals, Medevation Pharmaceuticals, and NIH.
High-Throughput Prediction of the Hydration Free Energies of Small Molecules from a Classical Density Functional Theory

The classical density functional theory (DFT) is proposed as an efficient computational tool for high-throughput prediction of the solvation free energies of small molecules in liquid water under the ambient condition. With the solute molecules represented by the AMBER force field and the TIP3P model for the solvent, the new theoretical method predicts the hydration free energies of 500 neutral molecules with average unsigned errors of 0.96 and 1.04 kcal/mol in comparison with the experimental and simulation data, respectively. The DFT predictions are orders of magnitude faster than conventional molecular dynamics simulations, and the theoretical performance can be further improved by taking into account the molecular flexibility of large solutes.
Advances in Insulin Therapy: A Review of New Insulin Glargine 300 Units/mL in the Management of Diabetes

In Brief New insulin glargine 300 units/mL (Gla-300) is a formulation of insulin glargine that has a more constant pharmacokinetic profile with a prolonged duration of action. The EDITION clinical trial program showed that the use of Gla-300 leads to glycemic control comparable to that of insulin glargine 100 units/mL in a wide range of populations of people with diabetes. It is associated with comparable to less nocturnal confirmed or severe hypoglycemia and less weight gain, despite requiring a somewhat higher insulin dose than U-100. The distinct pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic and clinical profiles of Gla-300 may benefit a range of people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
A Bottom-Up Account of State Supreme Court Opinion Writing

AbstractThis research addresses the central product of judicial work, written opinions. We investigate whether lower court judges are in the position to influence the interpretation of law at higher courts through their own opinions. An examination of 847 state supreme court cases in 1997 shows that the writings of lower court judges do serve as a foundational basis in a bottom-up method of opinion writing, which is conditioned by career factors, including previous jobs and being appointed to the state supreme court, and the judicial workload. This research expands our understanding of opinion writing by shedding light on the differences and similarities in the ingredients of judicial opinions at different court levels and corroborates the growing importance and effectiveness of lower court judges in the creation of law.
Analysis on the Application of 500 kV Multi-circuits Line on the Same Tower in China Southern Power Grid

The 500 kV multi-circuits line on the same tower has a good application prospect in high load density areas such as the Pearl River Delta as it can save corridors.However,as it has multi-circuits higher on average and big transfer capacity,its operation risk may be higher than the usual.This paper discusses the basic principles of the line's security and stability as well as its economic characteristics,analyzes its applications situation,pointing out that the 500 kV multi-circuits line on the same tower can be applied in the cases where the circuits of the line have different system functions or where some power sources,such as large-scale hydropower,thermal generation and DC power,have to integrate into network.It would be better to apply the 500 kV multi-circuits line in Guangdong Province Pearl River Delta of China Southern Power Grid.
Progesterone production in early pregnancy

Before and after elective abortion, progesterone (P) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels were determined to describe the origin of P and to investigate the relationship between levels of hCG and luteal steroidogenesis. After abortion, P levels initially fell rapidly, followed by a slower decline. The initial fall in P levels and the remaining level of P 3 hours after abortion were taken to represent the removal of P that originated from the trophoblast and the continuing P contribution by the corpus luteum (CL), respectively. Using this analysis, we conclude: (1) P production by the CL is sustained well into the second trimester of pregnancy and (2) increasing trophoblastic production of P allows the pregnancy progressive independence from the CL.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Pregnancy

Sexually transmitted diseases may have a significant impact on the pregnant woman and her fetus and neonate. Infection at various stages of pregnancy may result in severe maternal disease, congenital defects, premature delivery, or neonatal infection. The clinician caring for pregnant women must be aware of the multitude of sexually transmitted diseases and their potential risks during pregnancy.
Affective Remedies: Advertisements and Cultural Politics of Hygiene

Globally, in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, advertisements became a vital medium for the promotion of a range of commodities. ‘The pictorial advertisement’, David Ciarlo argues, ‘formed a new world of “commercial visuality”, which was simultaneously a business practice that drove unprecedented expansion of imagery across many different media, and a new and prominent cultural field’, which dramatically changed the very look of nations (Ciarlo, 2011). Advertisements concerning hygiene and sanitation in colonial India/Bengal had a similar impact. India too was a part of this expanding ‘commercial visuality’.
A current-controlled transceiver IC for structural health monitoring

This paper describes a tunable transceiver IC for a variety of structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. This proposed IC can generate the electrical actuation signals for piezoelectric transducers as well as provide broadband low-noise reception for reflected or transmitted waves on the same or another transducer. The current-controlled transmitter can generate low-distortion waveforms with a center frequency in the ∼550 kHz to 1 MHz range when the input current varies from 2.5 to 5 µA, respectively. Off-chip amplification is employed to boost the waveform amplitude up to 30 V pp . The integrated receiver is capable of extracting both amplitude and phase information from the reflected or transmitted waveforms for further signal processing. The transceiver, which consumes ∼325 to 575 µW, was fabricated in a 0.5 µm CMOS process and experimentally validated on an SHM test bed.
Pay-For-Performance, Sometimes: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Integrating Economic Rationality with Psychological Emotion to Predict Individual Performance

This interdisciplinary study integrates economics- and psychology-based explanations to promote a clearer understanding of how employees respond to the pay-for-performance (PFP) system. By examining the combined performance predictions in the common, but rarely studied, situation in which employees do not meet expectations, we can more clearly view how economic rationality and psychological factors combine to explain employee behaviors in response to PFP. We test our hypotheses using unique longitudinal data from the health care industry. The theoretical insights contribute to a PFP theory that explains how and why PFP functions, and in doing so reconciles prior research inconsistencies.
Robust and low-complexity blind source separation for meeting rooms

The aim of this work is to provide robust, low-complexity demixing of sound sources from a set of microphone signals for a typical meeting scenario where the source mixture is relatively sparse in time. We define a similarity matrix that characterizes the similarity of the spatial signature of the observations at different time instants within a frequency band. Each entry of the similarity matrix is the sum of a set of kernelized similarity measures, each operating on a single frequency bin. The kernelization leads to high robustness as it reduces the importance of outliers. Clustering by means of affinity propagation provides the separation of talkers without the need to specify the number of talkers in advance. The clusters can be used directly for separation, or they can be used as a global pre-processing method that identifies sources for an adaptive demixing procedure. Our experimental results confirm that the approach performs significantly better than two reference methods.
Biologics, Conduits, Allografts, and Autografts in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Though generally considered a safe and effective procedure, carpal tunnel release can occasionally result in median nerve injury or chronic scarring, leading to nerve dysfunction. In the past, nerve wrapping with the autologous tissue and repair with nerve autograft were the only options for nerve protection and reconstruction, respectively. Recent advancements in tissue engineering and the wide availability of biotolerant materials have improved operative efficiency while avoiding donor site morbidity.
Comparing brief interventions for suicidal individuals not engaged in treatment: A randomized clinical trial.

Abstract Background Non-treatment-engaged individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts have been largely overlooked in the intervention literature, despite reviews suggesting most individuals who die by suicide were not in treatment immediately prior to their death. Most intervention studies recruit individuals from treatment providers, potentially neglecting those individuals who are not already engaged in services. These individuals clearly represent a group in need of additional empirical attention. Methods A randomized clinical trial was conducted to compare a single-session dialectical behavior therapy skills-based intervention to a relaxation training control condition. Ninety-three non-treatment-engaged subjects participated in a single in-person assessment, received one of the intervention protocols, and completed follow-up phone interviews for three months including measures of suicidal ideation, emotion dysregulation, and coping skills, as well as other relevant assessments. Results Both conditions reported significantly reduced levels of suicidal ideation, depression, and anxiety; however, analyses revealed no significant differences between conditions on the main outcome measures of suicidal ideation, emotion dysregulation, skills use, depression, or anxiety. Limitations The two interventions may have been too similar to permit detection of differential effects with this sample size. Specifically, the control condition may have been too active and there may have been stylistic overlap by providers who delivered both interventions. Conclusions Encouragingly, half of subjects contacted other mental health services during the follow-up period. Although the two interventions under investigation did not yield differential results, the significant changes in important domains across interventions suggest that brief interventions may hold promise for this difficult-to-reach population.
Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex: A Case Series

Abstract Background: Dysphoric milk ejection reflex (D-MER) is characterized by an abrupt dysphoria, or undesirable feeling that occurs with the MER and continues for no more than a few minutes. After milk ejection, the dysphoria vanishes. Case Series: This case series provides a report of three women who have experienced D-MER. All three women described the sudden onset of negative feelings at the initiation of each breastfeeding session. The dysphoria vanished after each milk ejection. Discussion: Literature on D-MER is limited to one published qualitative research study and two published case reports. As a result, lactation professionals and other providers in the healthcare setting rarely recognize this condition. Conclusions: The case studies presented here provide evidence for the presence of D-MER. Research is needed to better understand its pathophysiology, incidence, and treatment options.
Hand Surgery Questions on the Orthopaedic In-Training Examination: Analysis of Content and Reference

Purpose To provide an updated analysis of the hand surgery section of the Orthopaedic In-Training Examination (OITE) from 2009 to 2015. The goal was to contribute to the existing literature on the analysis of OITE questions, to aid both residents and residency programs in preparation for the OITE and board examination. Methods The authors analyzed all OITE questions pertaining to hand surgery between 2009 and 2015. Hand questions were analyzed for category and subcategory of content, cited reference, treatment intervention, and imaging modality used. Results Hand-related questions comprised 157 of the 1,872 OITE questions (8.4%). Nine general topic areas were identified, the most common of which were fracture-dislocation, tendon/ligament, nerve, congenital, and amputation. Trends existed in the recommended references; the 5 journals and 2 textbooks that were consistently cited included the Journal of Hand Surgery (American Volume) , the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons , the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American Volume) , the Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume) , Hand Clinics , Orthopaedic Knowledge Update , and Green's Operative Hand Surgery , respectively. Conclusions Knowledge regarding topics and resources used for OITE hand questions could be mutually beneficial to both residents and residency programs. This information would consolidate resident OITE and board examination study time. Furthermore, this analysis could help residency programs develop or improve educational conferences and journal clubs. Clinical relevance An understanding of question content and sources should enable efficient learning and improved scores on this section of the examination.
INITIATOR: noise-contrastive estimation for marked temporal point process

Copious sequential event data has consistently increased in various high-impact domains such as social media and sharing economy. When events start to take place in a sequential fashion, an important question arises: "what type of event will happen at what time in the near future?" To answer the question, a class of mathematical models called the marked temporal point process is often exploited as it can model the timing and properties of events seamlessly in a joint framework. Recently, various recurrent neural network (RNN) models are proposed to enhance the predictive power of mark temporal point process. However, existing marked temporal point models are fundamentally based on the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) framework for the training, and inevitably suffer from the problem resulted from the intractable likelihood function. Surprisingly, little attention has been paid to address this issue. In this work, we propose INITIATOR - a novel training framework based on noise-contrastive estimation to resolve this problem. Theoretically, we show the exists a strong connection between the proposed INITIATOR and the exact MLE. Experimentally, the efficacy of INITIATOR is demonstrated over the state-of-the-art approaches on several real-world datasets from various areas.
The Challenge of Climate Change

With Trump US voters elected a climate denier to the White House whose systematic dismantlement of Obama’s climate policies bucks a global trend to tackle this issue more seriously. Thanks to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change we have overwhelming evidence of rapidly growing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and their nefarious implications for the climate. Global warming, itself unevenly distributed, has already begun to intensify storms and droughts, make sea levels rise, melt glaciers, reduce biodiversity, and hamper agricultural yields. After a quarter of century of stop-go efforts to address this issue, the world community of nations finally decided in December 2015 at a meeting in Paris to address this issue in systemic fashion with a long-run plan for increasingly ambitious collective action—the Paris Climate Agreement.
Reconfigurable multiprocessor operating system kernel for high performance computing

Operating system kernels typically offer a fixed and limited set of mechanisms and primitives. However, the attainment of high performance for a variety of parallel applications may require the availability of variants of existing primitives or additional low-level mechanisms best suited for specific applications. Furthermore, such primitives must be able to cope with the changing requirements of dynamic applications. One approach to addressing this need is to offer an adaptable and extensible operating system kernel. This dissertation first motivates dynamic lock configuration by experimentation with synthetic workload emulating parallel applications, and by examining locking patterns of sample parallel applications. Then, it presents the implementation of reconfigurable locks that can be reconfigured statically and dynamically. Application level performance improvements gained from dynamic lock reconfiguration are demonstrated using a workload generator. We then present a model and implementation of synchronous adaptive multiprocessor locks which adapt themselves according to application specific adaptation policies to suit any application locking pattern. We evaluate such locks using formal analysis and by experimentation with several well-known multiprocessor applications. Furthermore, we compare the merits and limitations of synchronous adaptation vs. asynchronous adaptation using workload generator and sample multiprocessor applications. A similar model is used to implement reconfigurable thread schedulers which can be statically or dynamically configured. By experimentation with multiprocessor applications, we demonstrate how application-specific adaptation of such schedulers improves the scalability and performance of blocking locks. Finally, we generalize the model to propose a structure for adaptive kernel components and associated mechanisms which may be used for the development of high performance reconfigurable operating system kernels for parallel and distributed systems. These ideas were used to implement a reconfigurable micro-kernel called C-kernel on multiple parallel machines including a 32-node GP1000 BBN Butterfly, an 8-node SGI multiprocessor, a 10-node Sequent Symmetry parallel processor, and a 64-node Kendall Square Supercomputer.
Secrecy Analysis of a Cloud-Fog Radio Access Network with Binomial Point Process and General Path-Loss Parameters

Cloud-fog radio access is a promising technology in evolving wireless communication systems, but its success depends on security. It is fundamental to conduct the secrecy analysis in the physical layer due to the special architecture of CF-RAN. In this paper, we investigate the secrecy impacted by small-scale fading superposed by general path-loss effects. The generality refers to as non-integer and non-identical path-loss exponents for the legitimate and eavesdropper channels. The small- scale fading follows the gamma distribution. With a comprehensive analysis, we are able to derive a closed-form expression of the strictly positive secrecy capacity in terms of the Gauss hypergeometric functions. The presented results provide the necessary facility to expedite the secrecy analysis for other variants of CF-RAN. The simulation shows that the impact of path-loss fading on secrecy is more significant than the number of antennas in remote radio heads.
A New Computational Model for Astrocytes and Their Role in Biologically Realistic Neural Networks.

Recent studies in neuroscience show that astrocytes alongside neurons participate in modulating synapses. It led to the new concept of “tripartite synapse”, which means that a synapse consists of three parts: presynaptic neuron, postsynaptic neuron, and neighboring astrocytes. However, it is still unclear what role is played by the astrocytes in the tripartite synapse. Detailed biocomputational modeling may help generate testable hypotheses. In this article, we aim to study the role of astrocytes in synaptic plasticity by exploring whether tripartite synapses are capable of improving the performance of a neural network. To achieve this goal, we developed a computational model of astrocytes based on the Izhikevich simple model of neurons. Next, two neural networks were implemented. The first network was only composed of neurons and had standard bipartite synapses. The second network included both neurons and astrocytes and had tripartite synapses. We used reinforcement learning and tested the networks on categorizing random stimuli. The results show that tripartite synapses are able to improve the performance of a neural network and lead to higher accuracy in a classification task. However, the bipartite network was more robust to noise. This research provides computational evidence to begin elucidating the possible beneficial role of astrocytes in synaptic plasticity and performance of a neural network.
The end of convergence in developmental patterns of frequent marijuana use from ages 18 to 30: An analysis of cohort change from 1976-2016.

Abstract Background This study examines the extent to which the developmental pattern of frequent marijuana use prevalence from ages 18 to 30 (overall and by gender) has varied across historical time (cohort groups) using data from a national sample of US young adults. Methods Self-reported data on frequent marijuana use (use on 20+ occasions in the past 30 days) from modal ages 18 to 30 were obtained from 58,059 individuals from 29 sequential cohorts (graduating high school classes of 1976–2004) participating in the Monitoring the Future study. Time-varying effect modeling was used to model cohort group differences in developmental patterns of frequent use overall and by gender. Results Developmental patterns of frequent marijuana use prevalence varied meaningfully across cohort groups. Frequent use at age 18 differed significantly across cohort groups as expected based on national data. Among earlier cohort groups (reaching age 30 during 1987–2008), developmental patterns converged by age 30 to relatively low frequent marijuana use prevalence. In contrast, among cohort groups reaching age 30 during 2008–2016, frequent marijuana use at age 30 was significantly higher than all previous cohort groups. Observed cohort differences did not vary significantly by gender. Conclusions Cross-cohort convergence in developmental patterns of frequent marijuana use prevalence by age 30 was not observed among recent cohort groups, among whom age 30 frequent marijuana use prevalence was at the highest levels observed since the study began. Higher frequent marijuana use prevalence in late young adulthood has meaningful health risk and service provision implications.
Lessons Learned in Private Practice

Joining a private practice can involve varying degrees of salaries, benefits, and responsibilities. Knowing the details of your offers, the reputation of the practice, and open communication with your future partners can lead to a successful private practice.
Prosocial Behavior during Childhood and Cultural Variations

Children's prosocial behaviors include acts such as sharing, helping, comforting, cooperating, and can come to involve complex behaviors such as lying to protect someone's feelings. Because prosocial behaviors are performed for diverse reasons, both moral and nonmoral, research findings on prosociality in children are complex, although clear age trends are present. A variety of theories attempt to explain children's prosocial development, each providing insights into certain aspects. Although cultural influences are evident throughout the development of prosocial behavior, future research will need to untangle the true significance of these influences.