cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Certain Properties of Bacterial Mucus

SummaryIn the cultures of numerous bacteria, and particularly in recently isolated strains, masses of fine filaments are present which are seen only in preparations stained with flagella stains. In stringy broth cultures similar filamentous structures are present. The capsule is frequently seen to consiit of a thick agglomeration of these filaments around the bacteria III certain subtilis cultures the mucoid substance which consists largely of these filaments shows phenomena suggesting that it is capable of growth independently from the bacteria.Notes on the staining methods: The filaments could be stained with all flagellar staining methods tried. The following technique gave most constantly satisfactory results. The agar or broth cultures are spread 011 a cover slip unti11 the help of a small drop of water without being previously suspended or diluted and quickly dried. It is sometimes helpiul to extract the preparation after drying with distilled water. For a mordant, Loeffler's solution is used (prepa...
Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy: Defect Characterization in Semiconductor Devices

The use of deep-level transient spectroscopy for electronic defect characterization in semiconductors is reviewed with emphasis on the underlying principles and concepts.
Adipokinetic effect of intravenous cortisol in human subjects.

Summary1. Intravenous injection of cortisol caused a significant rise in serum free fatty acids of 103% and a fall of 38% in serum triglycerides in healthy fasting human subjects. 2. Injection of either saline or cortisol vehicle induced a significantly lesser rise in serum free fatty acid levels and no significant change in serum triglyceride levels.
A New Early-ripening Apricot, ‘Dilbay’

‘Dilbay’ is an early-maturing table apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) cultivar developed from the Multi-Purpose Apricot Breeding Program at the Inonu University, Malatya, Turkey. ‘Dilbay’ is suitable for fresh consumption because it has perfect fruit quality, high productivity, and a pleasant orange color on its peel and flesh. ‘Dilbay’ is well adapted to the Malatya region, the main apricot-producing area in the world. ‘Dilbay’ has high (greater than 14%) soluble solid content and moderate acidity and oval-shaped fruit with red blush covering 30% to 35% of the fruit skin.
Clinical application of amniotic sac prediction of pregnancy outcome in early pregnancy

Objective To investigate the clinical application of amniotic sac in predicting the pregnancy outcome of early pregnancy.Methods Patients in our hospital and Guangdong Tongjiang Hospital from June 2012 to March 2014 were examined by transvaginal ultrasonography and who choose to continue pregnancy pregnant as the object of study.The epidemiology of nested case-control study method would be used to study.The pregnancy with 6-28 weeks used with ultrasound examination embryo or spontaneous abortion of pregnant women as abnormal pregnancy group.The others with ultrasonography of normal embryonic development of pregnant women were as normal pregnancy group.We use the retrospective study to analyse pregnant women at 6-10 weeks occurred during ultrasound examination of the amniotic sac,yolk sac,the gestational sac,crown-rump length abnormal rate,to explore the amniotic sac,yolk sac,the gestational sac,crown-rump length and embryonic development,so as to evaluate the amniotic sac in early pregnancy outcome prediction in.Results With the history of menopause group,the gestational sac size of normal pregnancy,gestational sac full,round or oval,the amniotic sac diameter close to the CRL,and the average diameter of yolk sac in 3-8 mm.Abnormal pregnancy gestational sac size does not meet the menopause history,gestational sac larger,smaller,irregular or jagged,yolk sac abnormality,after 8 weeks,no fetal heart,inevitable abortion,embryonic development stops.Conclusion The detection of amniotic sac has important clinical value in predicting pregnancy outcome in early pregnancy.
Analysis on Surveillance Result of EHEC O157:H7 in Huaihe River Region,2000～2010

Objective To seek the infection circumstances so as to provide scientific basis.Methods The samples were Initially detected by goldon standard test and the positive amples were confimed by immunomagentic particle and serological test.Results 5374 specimens were detected,10 strains of E.coli O157:H7 were isolated,the positive was 0.19%,duck,rabbit seized in a relatively rare specimens tested positive,Each kind of masculine specimen non-significance difference(P0.05).Conclusion The EHEC O157:H7 infection is universal,but the Positive rate is low.The Prevention and control is not currently a major public health problem.
Content of continuing education courses in obstetrics and gynecology.

The objective of this study was to determine the emphases of continuing medical education courses in obstetrics and gynecology. Eighty programs for obstetricians and gynecologists were evaluated for location, accreditation, sponsorship, cost, faculty composition, teaching methods, and curriculum content. The programs' curricula were compared through classification of courses and individual topic presentations as emphasizing primary care, maternal-fetal medicine, gynecologic oncology, reproductive endocrinology and infertility, introduction of new technology, or general review. All 80 programs were in acceptable locations and had valid accreditation. Universities, hospitals, industrial corporations, and professional organizations were among the programs' sponsors. Tuition costs per credit hour averaged $46.48 and ranged from $4.64-238.09; programs emphasizing new technology cost the most. Ninety percent of the programs' 880 faculty had medical school affiliations. Of the teaching methods, lectures accounted for 77.9%, laboratory instruction 9.1%, panel discussions 7.0%, workshops 4.9%, and other methods 1.0%. The total 1592 credit hours consisted of 563 in primary care, 181 in maternal-fetal medicine, 99.5 in gynecologic oncology, 122.5 in reproductive endocrinology and infertility, and 626 in introduction of new technology. Although these programs were diversified, many emphasized the introduction of new technology, which does not enhance the designation of the specialty as "primary care."
Interactive debugging for big data analytics

An abundance of data in many disciplines has accelerated the adoption of distributed technologies such as Hadoop and Spark, which provide simple programming semantics and an active ecosystem. However, the current cloud computing model lacks the kinds of expressive and interactive debugging features found in traditional desktop computing. We seek to address these challenges with the development of BIGDEBUG, a framework providing interactive debugging primitives and tool-assisted fault localization services for big data analytics. We showcase the data provenance and optimized incremental computation features to effectively and efficiently support interactive debugging, and investigate new research directions on how to automatically pinpoint and repair the root cause of errors in large-scale distributed data processing.
THE CONTROL OF ADHESIONS WITH HYLAN POLYMERS

ABSTRACT Postsurgical adhesion formation is a significant medical and economic problem. Endre Balazs' purification of the first noninflammatory fraction of hyaluronan and his recognition of its role as a regulator of cell function, surface protector and as a barrier molecule led to its initial use as an antiadhesion device. Hylans (cross-linked hyaluronan molecules) were developed by Balazs and coworkers to enhance the elastoviscosity, molecular weight and local tissue residence time while retaining the biocompatibility and permeability of native hyaluronan. Hylan polymers have been specifically engineered as fluids, gels, membranes, and combinations to safely reduce adhesion formation after tendon, spinal, abdominal, endothelial and pelvic trauma.
Uncertain Science … Uncertain World: Can the media help?

Science is a long movie, and the news media generally take snapshots. John Schwartz Is it really essential that the public understand science? Why not let scientists do their thing, and let the rest of the world get on with their business too? Unfortunately, in the modern world, that is a path we can ill afford to follow. Whether we realize it or not, science is too much a part of the fabric of our lives to be shunted aside as a curious sideshow. The economy, national defense, environment, and our health are more than ever before dependent on scientific progress. The emergent role of information technology in our economic productivity, the feasibility of a ballistic missile defense shield, the human contribution to climate change through the combustion of fossil fuels, the implications of the newly mapped human genome all should be reminders that we cannot divorce ourselves from science, even if we might like to. And yet for all of the obvious relevance of science to our daily lives, many people remain ill equipped to assimilate much beyond the rudiments of science. If, as I have argued in the previous chapter, our schools have generally failed to develop an awareness and appreciation of science, one can envision a second line of defense against scientific illiteracy: scientists working closely with the mass media to inform and educate the public.
Comorbidity Indices Versus Function as Potential Predictors of 30-Day Readmission in Older Patients Following Postacute Rehabilitation

Background Information regarding the association of comorbidity indices with readmission risk for older adults receiving postacute care is limited. The purpose of this study was to compare the discriminatory ability of five comorbidity indices in predicting 30-day all-cause hospital readmission following discharge to the community from postacute inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF). Methods The sample included Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with stroke, lower extremity joint replacement, and fracture, discharged from IRF in 2011 (N = 75,582). Logistic regression models were used to predict 30-day all-cause readmission. Impairment-specific base models included demographic characteristics and length of stay. Subsequent models included individual comorbidity indices: Tier, Charlson, Elixhauser, functional comorbidity index (FCI), and the hierarchical condition category (HCC). We then added discharge functional status to each model. Results were compared using C-statistics. Results Thirty-day readmission rates following discharge from an IRF ranged from 6.5% (joint replacement) to 14% (stroke). The C-statistics were 0.53, 0.56, and 0.55 for the base models in the stroke, joint replacement, and fracture groups, respectively. Adding the Tier, Charlson, FCI, or Elixhauser variables increased the C-statistics by 0.03-0.07 across the three impairment categories. Adding the HCC increased the C-statistics by 0.06-0.09. With the addition of discharge functional status in the model, the C-statistics further increased by 0.06-0.09. Conclusions Comorbidity indices were weakly associated with 30-day readmission in older adults discharged from postacute inpatient rehabilitation. Adding patient-level functional status to the comorbidity indices further improved the discriminatory ability to predict readmission in our sample.
P131 Limitations of virtual crossmatch for deceased kidney transplantation in highly sensitized patients

Aim The revised kidney allocation system (KAS) implemented to increase opportunity for highly sensitized (>98% cPRA) patients awaiting deceased donor kidney transplantation has significantly increased organ offers for these patients. Concomitantly, we observed an increase in unexpectedly positive cellular crossmatches not predicted by virtual crossmatch (VCXM). We hypothesized that unexpected crossmatches were concentrated among highly sensitized patients and resulted from technical factors of alloantibody testing limiting VCXM efficacy. Methods Histocompatibility testing results were analyzed pre-KAS (12/2013 – 11/2014) and KAS (12/2014 – 12/2015) for living (pre-KAS n = 76, KAS n = 103) and deceased donor (pre-KAS n = 277, KAS n = 375) kidney transplantation. Cellular crossmatch was performed by flow cytometry (FCXM). Anti-HLA antibody testing was performed using LABScreen Single Antigen Bead (SAB) assay, with mfi >3,000 used as VCXM cutoff for identifying alloantibodies expected to cause positive FCXM. Results KAS implementation increased FCXM performed for highly sensitized patients for deceased donor kidney transplantation (6.0% vs. 1.1%) with increased unexpected positive FCXM (13.9% vs. 10.1%). Similar trends were not observed for living donors. Highly sensitized patients accounted for 29.4% of VCXM failures. Patients with cPRA 80–97% or>98% showed significant deviation from VCXM performance characteristics. Root cause analysis of unexpected FCXM results ( n = 79) demonstrated that only 31.7% were due to limitations in UNET (unlisted avoid antigens, allelic antibodies, or antibodies against HLA-DP). Technical limitations including positive FCXM from multiple weak DSA (21.5%), false negative SAB due to prozone (7.6%), and non-HLA antibodies (11.4%) were responsible for a majority of definable VCXM failures. Patients with cPRA >80% accounted for 70.0% of technical VCXM failures (excluding non-HLA) despite being only 12.4% of tests performed. Conculsions New KAS policy significantly increases deceased donor kidney offers to highly sensitized patients. While VCXM is highly useful for organ allocation, highly sensitized patients present significant challenge in accurate prediction of compatibility warranting prospective cellular crossmatching to ensure optimal outcomes.
Ureteral Endometriosis: Preoperative Risk Factors Predicting Extensive Urologic Surgical Intervention

Objective To identify risk factors for urologic reconstruction during surgery for endometriosis. Patients and Methods We retrospectively identified patients in a surgical pathology database undergoing surgery for endometriosis at our institution from 2010 to 2015 and subsequently identified those patients with ureteral involvement. Patients were categorized as requiring minimal urologic surgery (eg, ureterolysis only) or more extensive urologic surgery (eg, ureteral reimplant). All patients were undergoing surgery for endometriosis, and preoperative risk factors were then identified to predict the need for intraoperative extensive urologic surgery. Results Of 386 women undergoing surgery for endometriosis, 82 (21%) women required a surgical procedure on the ureter. Fifteen of these 82 patients (18.3%) with ureteral involvement required urologic surgical expertise in the form of either ureteral reimplantation with or without psoas hitch, or ureterolysis with ureteral stenting or omental wrap. The remaining 67 underwent ureterolysis alone or no intervention. The presence of flank pain, any urinary symptom, or hydronephrosis on preoperative imaging was a significant predictor of the need for major urologic intervention. Conclusion In patients with endometriosis undergoing surgery who complain of flank pain, any urinary symptom, or have hydronephrosis on preoperative imaging, one should have a high suspicion for needing to perform urologic reconstruction during surgery. Planning for this additional operation can afford the opportunity for appropriate urologic consultation and patient counseling.
Lymphocyte Count Persistence and Early Recovery Predicts Superior Survival and Is Independent of the International Prognostic Index in Patients Treated with CHOP Chemotherapy for Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma.

The peripheral blood absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) post-autologous stem cell transplantation is an independent predictor for survival in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The role of ALC recovery during and after standard CHOP chemotherapy for newly diagnosed diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has not been reported. We hypothesized that ALC recovery during/after CHOP chemotherapy has a direct impact on survival. 135 consecutive newly diagnosed patients with DLBCL treated with CHOP from 1994 through 2000 were retrospectively analyzed. The primary end point was to assess the role of ALC recovery during and after CHOP on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The ALC recovery before each of the 6 cycles and at 3 months follow-up after completion of therapy were analyzed. Of the 135 patients, 41 patients received concomitant radiation therapy. The median age was 64 years (range: 21–83) and median follow-up was 46 months (range: 1–124). Superior OS and PFS were identified in patients achieving the ALC cut-off value that discriminated clinical outcomes at a high level of significance for blood counts obtained before cycles 1 (ALC ≥ 1.5 x 109/L, OS = not reached vs 54 months, p< 0.0048; PFS = not reached vs 23 months, p <0.0005), 2 (ALC ≥1.5 x 109/L, OS = not reached vs 59 months, p <0.0255; PFS = not reached vs 30 months, p <0.0082), 3(ALC ≥1.2 x 109/L, OS = not reached vs 59 months, p<0.0074; not reached vs 30 months, p <0.0060), and at 3 months (ALC ≥ 1.2 x 109/L, OS = not reached vs 60 months, p< 0.0080; PFS = not reached vs 42 months, p < 0.0017). Similar cut-off points for cycles 4 through 6 could not be identified. The ALC recovery between each cycles 1–3 and at 3 months were not independent of each other. Multivariate analysis demonstrated ALC for cycles 1–3 and at 3 months post CHOP to be independent prognostic factor for OS and PFS when compared to other significant prognostic factors including International Prognostic Index and radiation therapy. Patients were stratified into three groups based on whether or not they achieved cut-off values of ALC in the first 3 cycles: group I= ALC achieved in at least 2 of 3 cycles; group II= ALC achieved in only 1/3 cycles; and group III= ALC cut-off not achieved. A trend towards worse OS (p< 0.0035) (Figure 1) and PFS (p< 0.0003) was identified if patients did not achieve any of the cut-off values of ALC in the first 3 cycles. These data further support the hypothesis that there is a critical role of lymphocyte (immune) recovery during and after CHOP chemotherapy in DLBCL. ![Figure][1] [1]: pending:yes
Presentation matters: Buffers, packaging, and delivery devices for new, oral enteric vaccines for infants

ABSTRACTOral administration of vaccines is simpler and more acceptable than injection via needle and syringe, particularly for infants (Fig. 1) This route is promising for new vaccines in development against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) and Shigella that cause childhood diarrhea with devastating consequences in low-resource countries. However, vaccine antigens and adjuvants given orally need buffering against the degradative effects of low stomach pH, and the type and volume of antacid buffer require special attention for infants. In addition, container/closure systems must be compatible with vaccine formulations, protect against water and gas transfer, and have minimal impact on the cold chain. Health care workers in demanding low-resource settings need an administration device that is easy to use, yet will accurately measure and safely deliver the correct vaccine dose. Developers must consider manufacturing capabilities, and immunization program managers want affordable vaccines. As new combi...
The Effects of Information Communication Technology on Stock Market Capitalization: A Panel Data Analysis

The level of investment in information communication technologies (ICT) that may affect stock market capitalization varies substantially across countries. Using data on 81 countries from 1998 to 2014, we use a country-fixed effects model to estimate the relationship between ICTs and stock market capitalization. Our empirical model is built on the premise that (1) increased deployment of ICT allows financial market participants to make more informed decisions at reduced inherent risks associated with deficient information or uncertainty in financial markets; and (2) increased access to and use of information communication technologies is expected to improve a country's economic fundamentals. The empirical results support our hypothesis that ICT expansions are positively associated with stock market capitalization.
Looking ahead makes query plans robust: making the initial case with in-memory star schema data warehouse workloads

Query optimizers and query execution engines cooperate to deliver high performance on complex analytic queries. Typically, the optimizer searches through the plan space and sends a selected plan to the execution engine. However, optimizers may at times miss the optimal plan, with sometimes disastrous impact on performance. In this paper, we develop the notion of robustness of a query evaluation strategy with respect to a space of query plans. We also propose a novel query execution strategy called Lookahead Information Passing (LIP) that is robust with respect to the space of (fully pipeline-able) left-deep query plan trees for in-memory star schema data warehouses. LIP ensures that execution times for the best and the worst case plans are far closer than without LIP. In fact, under certain assumptions of independent and uniform distributions, any plan in that space is theoretically guaranteed to execute in near-optimal time. LIP ensures that the execution time for every plan in the space is nearly-optimal. In this paper, we also evaluate these claims using workloads that include skew and correlation. With LIP we make an initial foray into a novel way of thinking about robustness from the perspective of query evaluation, where we develop strategies (like LIP) that collapse plan sub-spaces in the overall global plan space.
Fragile X-Associated Diminished Ovarian Reserve and Primary Ovarian Insufficiency from Molecular Mechanisms to Clinical Manifestations

Fragile X syndrome (FXS), is caused by a loss-of-function mutation in the FMR1 gene located on the X-chromosome, which leads to the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability in males and the leading single-gene defect associated with autism. A full mutation (FM) is represented by more than 200 CGG repeats within the FMR1 gene, resulting in FXS. A FM is inherited from women carrying a FM or a premutation (PM; 55-200 CGG repeats) allele. PM is associated with phenotypes distinct from those associated with FM. Some manifestations of the PM are unique; fragile-X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), and fragile-X-associated primary ovarian insufficiency (FXPOI), while others tend to be non-specific such as intellectual disability. In addition, women carrying a PM may suffer from subfertility or infertility. There is a need to elucidate whether the impairment of ovarian function found in PM carriers arises during the primordial germ cell (PGC) development stage, or due to a rapidly diminishing oocyte pool throughout life or even both. Due to the possibility of expansion into a FM in the next generation, and other ramifications, carrying a PM can have an enormous impact on one's life; therefore, preconception counseling for couples carrying the PM is of paramount importance. In this review, we will elaborate on the clinical manifestations in female PM carriers and propose the definition of fragile-X-associated diminished ovarian reserve (FXDOR), then we will review recent scientific findings regarding possible mechanisms leading to FXDOR and FXPOI. Lastly, we will discuss counseling, preventative measures and interventions available for women carrying a PM regarding different aspects of their reproductive life, fertility treatment, pregnancy, prenatal testing, contraception and fertility preservation options.
Introduction: Islands as Laboratories: Archaeological Research in Comparative Perspective

As anthropologists, our goals are to explain human similarities and differences, and to delineate the evolutionary processes that led to that diversity. Over the years, researchers have explored various theoretical frameworks and approaches to science in efforts to isolate relevant variables in cultural change and processes of human diversification. The approach featured in this collection of papers, human biogeography, seeks to identify systematic relationships between the multiple dimensions of human variability and evolution on the one hand, and geographical and biological parameters on the other. We argue that biogeographical modeling holds great potential for understanding general processes in the multiple dimensions of human evolution. Human biogeography provides a theoretical perspective synthesizing the important contributions of population biology, evolutionary ecology, and anthropology implementing a methodology designed to make sense of our complex evolutionary history. For various reasons, human biogeography lost some of its appeal in general anthropological circles soon after it was introduced (see Terrell, 1997), prematurely we think, and it settled more or less exclusively into the tool kits of a few (mostly Pacific) researchers. The papers in this special issue were brought together to explore the continuing utility of human biogeography, especially in parts of the world where relative geographical isolation has brought unique constraints or opportunities to the evolution of human ecology.3
Sub-County Life Expectancy: A Tool to Improve Community Health and Advance Health Equity

Compared with people in other developed countries, Americans live shorter lives, have more disease and disability, and lag on most population health measures. Recent research suggests that this poor comparative performance is primarily driven by profound local place-based disparities. Several initiatives successfully used sub-county life expectancy estimates to identify geographic disparities, generate widespread interest, and catalyze multisector actions. To explore the feasibility of scaling these efforts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists initiated a multiphase project - the Sub-County Assessment of Life Expectancy. Phase I participants reviewed the literature, assessed and identified appropriate tools, calculated locally relevant estimates, and developed methodological guidance. Phase I results suggest that most state and local health departments will be able to calculate actionable sub-county life expectancy estimates despite varying resources, expertise, and population sizes, densities, and geographies. To accelerate widespread scaling, we describe several successful case examples, identify user-friendly validated tools, and provide practical tips that resulted from lessons learned.
A Session-Based Approach to Fast-But-Approximate Interactive Data Cube Exploration

With the proliferation of large datasets, sampling has become pervasive in data analysis. Sampling has numerous benefits—from reducing the computation time and cost to increasing the scope of interactive analysis. A popular task in data science, well-suited toward sampling, is the computation of fast-but-approximate aggregations over sampled data. Aggregation is a foundational block of data analysis, with data cube being its primary construct. We observe that such aggregation queries are typically issued in an ad-hoc, interactive setting. In contrast to one-off queries, a typical query session consists of a series of quick queries, interspersed with the user inspecting the results and formulating the next query. The similarity between session queries opens up opportunities for reusing computation of not just query results, but also error estimates. Error estimates need to be provided alongside sampled results for the results to be meaningful. We propose Sesame, a rewrite and caching framework that accelerates the entire interactive session of aggregation queries over sampled data. We focus on two unique and computationally expensive aspects of this use case: query speculation in the presence of sampling, and error computation, and provide novel strategies for result and error reuse. We demonstrate that our approach outperforms conventional sampled aggregation techniques by at least an order of magnitude, without modifying the underlying database.
Teaching computing soft skills: an experiential approach

While teaching technical skills to students of computer science and information technology is critical, it has become increasingly clear that computing professionals must also excel at the "soft" skills of communication and interpersonal interactions. This paper describes the authors' experience with two computing courses that focus on giving students exposure to soft skills within the context of real-world computing projects with real clients.
Shaping Ethical Guidelines for an Influenza Pandemic

This chapter describes the process of shaping ethical guidelines for an influenza pandemic by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine (NC IOM)/North Carolina Department of Public Health (NCDPH) Task Force. The author discusses the threat of a pandemic in the twenty-first century, comparing a potential pandemic with past flu pandemics as well as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Canada and parts of Asia. Also discussed are the ways in which influenza would spread, be treated, and hopefully contained. Addressed are the ways in which one becomes ethically prepared for an influenza pandemic, as well as the challenges to incorporating ethical guidelines in preparations. Tong also addresses the role of a duty/obligation/responsibility to work by health care personnel, the role of volunteers, and when health care personnel may refuse to treat someone. Also taken into consideration are such issues as the distribution of food and vaccines, quarantines, work stoppage, both physical and social infrastructure, the role of military and police forces, and the effect of a pandemic, isolation, and quarantine on various industries. Tong shows the complicated nature of working on a task force and the complexity of incorporating ethics into logistical planning.
Preparations for War

By the end of April even Maria Theresia seemed to have reconciled herself to the inevitability of war. She continued to object to any arrangement which would result in the loss of the Netherlands, however, maintaining that the loss of these provinces would be a worse blow to the empire than the loss of Silesia had been.1 Joseph continued to prepare for war. On the third of May he caused a declaration to be issued, customary before armies took the field, promising a full pardon to all deserters who would report back to their units within ninety days. 2 The Emperor was convinced that the only major question to be settled was whether or not the Prussians had a Russian guarantee of support and thus whether he would be facing one enemy or two. 3 He was more or less resigned to the sad truth that Saxony would almost certainly support Frederick and argued that this might not be altogether a bad thing. After all, in the last war Austria had poured large sums of money into Dresden, taken a whole flock of Saxon princes and princesses under its wing, and all to no avail. 4 Maria Theresia observed that while the common soldier was filled with enthusiasm and burning with eagerness to measure himself once more against the old enemy, the majority of the generals did not share their troops’ eagerness. She herself would prefer a tolerable peace to a glorious war.
Nonlinear Structural Vector Autoregressive Models With Application to Directed Brain Networks

Structural equation models (SEMs) and vector autoregressive models (VARMs) are two broad families of approaches that have been shown useful in effective brain connectivity studies. While VARMs postulate that a given region of interest in the brain is directionally connected to another one by virtue of time-lagged influences, SEMs assert that directed dependencies arise due to instantaneous effects, and may even be adopted when nodal measurements are not necessarily multivariate time series. To unify these complementary perspectives, linear structural vector autoregressive models (SVARMs) that leverage both instantaneous and time-lagged nodal data have recently been put forth. Albeit simple and tractable, linear SVARMs are quite limited since they are incapable of modeling nonlinear dependencies between neuronal time series. To this end, the overarching goal of the present paper is to considerably broaden the span of linear SVARMs by capturing nonlinearities through kernels, which have recently emerged as a powerful nonlinear modeling framework in canonical machine learning tasks, e.g., regression, classification, and dimensionality reduction. The merits of kernel-based methods are extended here to the task of learning the effective brain connectivity, and an efficient regularized estimator is put forth to leverage the edge sparsity inherent to real-world complex networks. Judicious kernel choice from a preselected dictionary of kernels is also addressed using a data-driven approach. Numerical tests on ECoG data captured through a study on epileptic seizures demonstrate that it is possible to unveil previously unknown directed links between brain regions of interest.
Propagation of a stress pulse in a viscoelastic rod

Experimental work is reported on the propagation of a stress pulse in a viscoelastic waveguide. The data obtained are compared with results of analysis using one-dimensional wave-propagation theory.
Retrospective Analysis of a New York Newborn Screen Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Referral Center

In 2010, the New York State (NYS) Newborn Screen (NBS) Program added the T cell receptor excision circle (TREC) assay to screen for severe combined immunodeficiency disorder (SCID). The objective of this study was to perform a retrospective chart review of 199 infants referred to a single institution for abnormal TREC on NYS NBS between 2010 and 2017. Statistical analysis included analysis of variance, logistic regression models, chi-square, and linear mixed models. One hundred ninety-nine infants were found to have a TREC value of fewer than 200 copies/μL on NYS NBS. Infants were stratified as primary immunodeficiency (PID) (n = 54), immunocompetent (n = 133), lost to follow-up (n = 8), or deceased (n = 4). PID included SCID (n = 3), DiGeorge (n = 6), idiopathic lymphopenia (IL) (n = 44), and other syndromes associated with lymphopenia (n = 3). The 3 SCID cases were identified and brought to treatment, although all experienced significant infections. The study population was found to be predominately non-Hispanic, African American, and male. There was a difference in the average TREC values among those with immunocompetence (83 copies/μL), IL (81 copies/μL), and PID (40 copies/μL) (p < 0.05). On follow-up of 40 patients with IL, patients typically did not have severe infections during first few years of life. This study demonstrates that TREC value can be used to stratify infants for further confirmatory testing to exclude PID. Risk factors, such as stressful prenatal/postnatal conditions, prematurity, race, and sex may affect TREC value but cannot explain all causes of lymphopenia. This study may assist providers in risk stratifying the likelihood of PID with an abnormal TREC and determining the extent of the initial work up that is necessary at the time of a newborn’s presentation.
Acoustic-Prosodic and Lexical Cues to Deception and Trust: Deciphering How People Detect Lies

Humans rarely perform better than chance at lie detection. To better understand human perception of deception, we created a game framework, LieCatcher, to collect ratings of perceived deception using a large corpus of deceptive and truthful interviews. We analyzed the acoustic-prosodic and linguistic characteristics of language trusted and mistrusted by raters and compared these to characteristics of actual truthful and deceptive language to understand how perception aligns with reality. With this data we built classifiers to automatically distinguish trusted from mistrusted speech, achieving an F1 of 66.1%. We next evaluated whether the strategies raters said they used to discriminate between truthful and deceptive responses were in fact useful. Our results show that, while several prosodic and lexical features were consistently perceived as trustworthy, they were not reliable cues. Also, the strategies that judges reported using in deception detection were not helpful for the task. Our work sheds light on the nature of trusted language and provides insight into the challenging problem of human deception detection.
Self-Interested and Altruistic Motivations in Volunteering for Clinical Trials: A More Complex Relationship:

Empirical studies have found that altruism and self-interest are the two primary motivations for enrollment in clinical trials. Some studies have shown that in some cases these two motivations are contingent upon each other, which complicates our understanding of motivation. In this study, we interviewed 27 people with Parkinson's disease about their willingness to enroll in a hypothetical clinical trial. Through inductive, grounded theory analysis of the interview transcripts, we find four different contingent relationships between altruism and self-interest. It is important for ethicists to be aware of these more complex motivations because some are ethically problematic and others not. Moreover, practitioners need to be aware of these contingent relationships so that they can understand the motivations of the research participants.
Towards Population-Based Histologic Stain Normalization of Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (‘GBM’) is the most aggressive type of primary malignant adult brain tumor, with very heterogeneous radiographic, histologic, and molecular profiles. A growing body of advanced computational analyses are conducted towards further understanding the biology and variation in glioblastoma. To address the intrinsic heterogeneity among different computational studies, reference standards have been established to facilitate both radiographic and molecular analyses, e.g., anatomical atlas for image registration and housekeeping genes, respectively. However, there is an apparent lack of reference standards in the domain of digital pathology, where each independent study uses an arbitrarily chosen slide from their evaluation dataset for normalization purposes. In this study, we introduce a novel stain normalization approach based on a composite reference slide comprised of information from a large population of anatomically annotated hematoxylin and eosin (‘H&E’) whole-slide images from the Ivy Glioblastoma Atlas Project (‘IvyGAP’). Two board-certified neuropathologists manually reviewed and selected annotations in 509 slides, according to the World Health Organization definitions. We computed summary statistics from each of these approved annotations and weighted them based on their percent contribution to overall slide (‘PCOS’), to form a global histogram and stain vectors. Quantitative evaluation of pre- and post-normalization stain density statistics for each annotated region with PCOS\(\,>\,0.05\)% yielded a significant (largest p\(\,=\,\)0.001, two-sided Wilcoxon rank sum test) reduction of its intensity variation for both ‘H’ & ‘E’. Subject to further large-scale evaluation, our findings support the proposed approach as a potentially robust population-based reference for stain normalization.
Pulse oximetry screening for detection of congenital heart defects at 1646 m in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Aim: To determine the false-positive rate of pulse oximetry screening at moderate altitude, presumed to be elevated compared with sea level values and assess change in false-positive rate with time. Methods: We retrospectively analysed 3548 infants in the newborn nursery in Albuquerque, New Mexico, (elevation 5400 ft) from July 2012 to October 2013. Universal pulse oximetry screening guidelines were employed after 24 hours of life but before discharge. Newborn babies between 36 and 36 6/7 weeks of gestation, weighing >2 kg and babies >37 weeks weighing >1.7 kg were included in the study. Log-binomial regression was used to assess change in the probability of false positives over time. Results: Of the 3548 patients analysed, there was one true positive with a posteriorly-malaligned ventricular septal defect and an interrupted aortic arch. Of the 93 false positives, the mean pre- and post-ductal saturations were lower, 92 and 90%, respectively. The false-positive rate before April 2013 was 3.5% and after April 2013, decreased to 1.5%. There was a significant decrease in false-positive rate (p = 0.003, slope coefficient = −0.082, standard error of coefficient = 0.023) with the relative risk of a false positive decreasing at 0.92 (95% CI 0.88–0.97) per month. Conclusion: This is the first study in Albuquerque, New Mexico, reporting a high false-positive rate of 1.5% at moderate altitude at the end of the study in comparison to the false-positive rate of 0.035% at sea level. Implementation of the nationally recommended universal pulse oximetry screening was associated with a high false-positive rate in the initial period, thought to be from the combination of both learning curve and altitude. After the initial decline, it remained steadily elevated above sea level, indicating the dominant effect of moderate altitude.
A 2V pk-pk,diff Input Range 1GS/s Voltage-to-Time Converter with Tunable Distortion Compensation

Next generation 5G standards operating at sub-6GHz and millimeter-wave frequencies place stringent requirements on the design of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) via conversion speed, ENOB, and power consumption. The reduction of supply voltages through increasingly scaled CMOS process nodes further complicates the design process of these circuits. This work presents a 1GS/s sampling based voltage-to-time converter (VTC) in 65nm process with full 2V pk-pk,diff input range at only 1mW power consumption. We propose a method for tunable distortion compensation across corners to realize a truly robust design. The proposed design has a low frequency figure-of-merit (FOM) of 3.8 fj/conv-step and a high frequency FOM of 2.46 fj/conv-step. The performance of VTC enables realization of time-to-digital converters (TDC) with high resolutions.
Structural and functional analysis of emergency departments in Amman, Jordan: implications for future development

This study investigates the current state of emergency healthcare delivery in Amman, Jordan. The first of its kind, the study uses a cross-sectional questionnaire, distributed to 40 hospitals in Amman, in order to assess the accessibility of equipment and medication, as well as the structure and function of emergency departments. Results indicate that although emergency departments in Amman are generally well equipped according to World Health Organization guidelines, variability in departmental processes and available equipment as well as staffing, training and overcrowding remain significant challenges. Discussion revealed that many physicians felt that improvements in staff training would improve the delivery of emergency care. Overcrowding of emergency departments and unnecessary use by low acuity patients also interferes with delivery of appropriate care to critical patients and may drive up healthcare costs. Respondents discussed the need for the development of a formal trauma unit, priority triage screening for critical patients and pre-hospital care and coordination. Further studies are needed to explore these and other aspects of emergency care in Jordan.
The effects of user comment valence of Facebook health messages on intention to receive the flu vaccine: the role of pre-existing attitude towards the flu vaccine and psychological reactance

This study examined if and how Facebook user-generated comments about the flu vaccine influenced psychological reactance in conjunction with pre-existing flu vaccine attitude. Psychological reactan...
Original contributionUniversal precautions guideline: self-reported compliance by gastroenterologists and gastrointestinal endoscopy nurses—a decade's lack of progress☆

Objectives The aims of this study were to assess and compare the Universal Precaution (UP) practices of gastroenterologists (GE) and GI endoscopy nurses (GIEN).
Queering Romantic Engagement in the Postal Age: A Rhetorical Education: by Pamela VanHaitsma, Columbia, University of South Carolina Press, 2019, 162 pp., $24.99 (hardcover)

Can queer practices be enacted on genre conventions? If said practices can be enacted, what can a reading of queer epistolary practices contribute to queer theory about its own methods? In Queering...
Cholesterol and Matrisome Pathways Dysregulated in Human APOE ∊4 Glia

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) e4 is the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although its association with AD is well-established, the impact of APOE e4 on human brain cell function remains unclear. Here we investigated the effects of APOE e4 on brain cell types derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells and human APOE targeted replacement mice. Global transcriptomic profiles showed that APOE e4 is associated with dysregulation of cholesterol homeostasis in human but not mouse glia. Elevated matrisome signaling in APOE e4 mixed neuron/astrocyte cultures parallels altered pathways uncovered in cell-type deconvoluted APOE e4 glia and AD post-mortem brains. In vitro study showed that isogenic APOE e4 is associated with increased lysosomal cholesterol levels and decreased cholesterol efflux, demonstrating decoupled lipid metabolism. APOE e4 glia also secrete higher levels of proinflammatory chemokines/cytokines, indicative of glial activation. Thus, APOE e4 induces human glia-specific dysregulation that may initiate AD risk.
Exploring the Disparity of Minority Women in Senior Leadership Positions in Higher Education in the United States and Peru

In this essay, the author compares and contrasts accessibility to higher education senior leadership for women in the United States and Peru. This paper addresses the disparity and challenges of women in higher education senior leadership focusing on minority women such as indigenous and Afro-Peruvian women in Peru and women of color in the United States. The author further calls for empirical research on the character traits, career path, motivations, definitions of success, and challenges of women who serve in executive higher education leadership positions. This paper further contributes to the field of comparative and international higher education, both domestically and abroad, while addressing demographic challenges such as sex and race for women in and seeking higher education administrative leadership career goals.