cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Geometric computations with algebraic varieties of bounded degree

The set of solutions to a collection of polynomial equations is referred to as an algebraic set. An algebraic set that cannot be represented as the union of two other distinct algebraic sets, neither containing the other, is said to be irreducible. An irreducible algebraic set is also known as an algebraic variety. This paper deals with geometric computations with algebraic varieties. The main results are algorithms to (1) compute the degree of an algebraic variety, (2) compute the rational parametric equations (a rational map from points on a hyperplane) for implicitly defined algebraic varieties of degrees two and three. These results are based on sub-algorithms using multi-polynomial resultants and multi-polynomial remainder sequences for constructing a one-to-one projection map of an algebraic variety to a hypersurface of equal dimension, as well as, an inverse rational map from the hypersurface to the algebraic variety. These geometric computations arise naturally in geometric modeling, computer aided design, computer graphics, and motion planning, and have been used in the past for special cases of algebraic varieties, i.e. algebraic curves and surfaces.
Therapeutic Exercise for Athletes With Nonspecific Neck Pain A Current Concepts Review

Context:Benign neck pain is common in athletes and is usually the result of minor sprains, strains, or contusions. Athletes with neck pain may have deficits in cervical and/or upper thoracic mobili...
On the detection of dominant points on digital curves

A parallel algorithm is presented for detecting dominant points on a digital closed curve. The procedure requires no input parameter and remains reliable even when features of multiple sizes are present on the digital curve. The procedure first determines the region of support for each point based on its local properties, then computes measures of relative significance (e.g. curvature) of each point, and finally detects dominant points by a process of nonmaximum suppression. This procedure leads to the observation that the performance of dominant points detection depends not only on the accuracy of the measure of significance, but also on the precise determination of the region of support. This solves the fundamental problem of scale factor selection encountered in various dominant point detection algorithms. The inherent nature of scale-space filtering in the procedure is addressed, and the performance of the procedure is compared to those of several other dominant point detection algorithms, using a number of examples. >
Embracing intellectual humility. A response to the biopolitics forum.

T he study of politics depends upon a variety of perspectives and approaches. The political informs all aspects of our private and public lives. Understanding power, hierarchy and government requires not only an examination of biological, evolutionary processes but also an examination of cultural norms and power dynamics. In our paper, ‘‘The competing meanings of ‘biopolitics’ in political science: Biological and postmodern approaches to politics,’’ we distinguished between two different uses of the term biopolitics. We pointed to the different meanings and provenances of the term for those political scientists indebted to the life sciences and for those indebted to Foucauldian postmodern hermeneutics. We argued that the scientific biopolitical tradition loses little or nothing in relinquishing the use of the term to postmodernists. In this paper, we begin not by distinguishing the two traditions, as we did in the earlier paper, but rather by recognizing the importance of both approaches to a rich, complex, multifaceted investigation of the political. Both scientific and postmodern biopolitics continue to thrive within the study of politics. As Rebecca Hannagan demonstrates in her response to our piece on biopolitics, scholars adopting a scientific biopolitical approach abound, impacting the discipline of political science. She notes, ‘‘Political psychology has been expanding to encompass biological approaches for some time . . . The logical progression of the subfield is to incorporate the theoretical and methodological advances made in biology, neurobiology and psychology to the study of political attitudes and behaviors.’’ Articles examining the relationship between politics and biology, evolution, genetics, and neuroscience continue to increase their numbers in mainstream political science journals. For example, Peter Hatemi and colleagues recently published a paper in the Journal of Politics that examined the impact of both genetic and environmental variables on political attitudes, and Kevin Smith and colleagues last year published ‘‘Biology, Ideology, and Epistemology: How Do We Know Political Attitudes are Inherited and Why Should We Care?’’ in the American Journal of Political Science. At the same time, the study of politics is incomplete without postmodern approaches to power, context and language. As Amy Fletcher explains in her commentary on our paper, postmodernism teaches us to realize that the meanings we attribute to facts can and do vary according to ideology, culture, standpoint and historical context. We share with Fletcher the conviction that if we throw ourselves off the roof of a building, we doi: 10.2990/32_1_99
Pesticide Use Trends and Issues in the United States

Pesticides have been used in U.S. agriculture since the late 1800s, but their use grew dramatically from the late 1940s to the early 1980s and then stabilized. The development and growing use of synthetic organic pesticides have been an integral part of a technological revolution in U.S. agriculture that increased productivity by 2.2 times between 1947 and 1988 (USDA, 1990). Growth in pesticide use has created many controversies about potential effects of pesticides on food safety, groundwater quality, worker safety, and wildlife mortality. The controversies reflect two major ideas: (1) using more pesticides is not necessarily a panacea for pest control, and (2) undesirable health or environmental effects of using some pesticides may outweigh their production benefits. Today, many people fear the risks of unknown or poorly understood hazards and are impatient with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) slow and deliberate resolution of pesticide controversies. There are also people arguing for a policy of limiting or reducing the overall level of pesticide use, which is a different approach than restricting or banning individual pesticides.
Social Comparison of Idealized Female Images and the Curation of Self on Pinterest

The online social network, Pinterest, has grown in significance since its introduction in 2010, perhaps because of its emphasis of visual content, known as “pins.” According to the Pew Research Center, when it comes to Pinterest, “Women are about five times as likely to be on the site as men, the largest difference in gender” among popular social networking sites. While the literature indicates that idealizes images in traditional advertising venues have a negative impact on women’s self-perceptions, the present study extends this research to consider how newer social media, Pinterest in particular, affects women’s body image and self-esteem. The empirical findings of the present study, based on the results of an online survey of women, will greater understanding of the degree to which exposure to idealized images on Pinterest have an effect on self-evaluations. The study is based on social comparison theory as a moderator of effects, along with body image and self-esteem. The findings will be of interest to those concerned with the unintended consequences of social media use.
Schedularity in U.S. Taxation, Its Effect on Tax Distribution, Comparison with Sweden

The United States derives from a global income tax model under which it taxes it citizens and permanent residents on all their worldwide income without regard to the source of that income. Under a pure global model, the United States would combine income and deductions in a single tax computation. Other countries including Germany and Sweden originate in schedular income tax models under which the tax system classifies income by type, matches it with deductions from the same class, and computes a separate tax on each class. Neither the United States’ global model nor Germany’s or Sweden’s schedular models are free from elements of the other model.The principles of horizontal and vertical equity underlie the development of both global and schedular tax systems in advanced economies. Horizontal equity seems an indisputable precept. The horizontal equity principle is straightforward. It requires that like taxpayers incur like tax burdens. The principle of vertical equity led to the development of the progressive rate structures. Its application and limitations have proven to be more of a challenge than horizontal equity. Vertical equity departs from the principle that as one’s income or, possibly, wealth, increases, one can and should contribute more of that income to supporting governmental services. The wealthier one is, the less likely it is that an increased tax burden will diminish the individual’s welfare in any material way. Conversely, the less wealthy one is, the more likely it is that an increased tax burden will diminish the individual’s welfare materially. This paper exposes the embedded schedularity of the United States federal income tax system. The system is schedular in the three principal areas of investment income, personal services income, and tax free income. The paper compares and contrasts these schedular areas with features of schedular tax systems like Sweden or Germany, primarily Sweden, and seeks to ascertain whether each schedular feature enhances or undercuts horizontal and vertical equity of the income taxes. The paper observes that Congress has used schedular elements to accomplish distributional policy goals, initially in order to protect progressivity, but more recently that usage has shifted to increase overall regressivity in taxation. The paper concludes that United States taxation seems to be moderately schedular and that schedularity in the United States contributes to regressivity in taxation.
Measuring and monitoring KIPT Neutron Source Facility Reactivity

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) of USA and Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology (KIPT) of Ukraine have been collaborating on developing and constructing a neutron source facility at Kharkov, Ukraine. The facility consists of an accelerator-driven subcritical system. The accelerator has a 100 kW electron beam using 100 MeV electrons. The subcritical assembly has keff less than 0.98. To ensure the safe operation of this neutron source facility, the reactivity of the subcritical core has to be accurately determined and continuously monitored. A technique which combines the area-ratio method and the flux-to-current ratio method is purposed to determine the reactivity of the KIPT subcritical assembly at various conditions. In particular, the area-ratio method can determine the absolute reactivity of the subcritical assembly in units of dollars by performing pulsed-neutron experiments. It provides reference reactivities for the flux-to-current ratio method to track and monitor the reactivity deviations from the reference state while the facility is at other operation modes. Monte Carlo simulations are performed to simulate both methods using the numerical model of the KIPT subcritical assembly. It is found that the reactivities obtained from both the area-ratio method and the flux-to-current ratio method are spatially dependent on the neutron detectormore » locations and types. Numerical simulations also suggest optimal neutron detector locations to minimize the spatial effects in the flux-to-current ratio method. The spatial correction factors are calculated using Monte Carlo methods for both measuring methods at the selected neutron detector locations. Monte Carlo simulations are also performed to verify the accuracy of the flux-to-current ratio method in monitoring the reactivity swing during a fuel burnup cycle.« less
Lymphomas in Mice with Retrovirus-lnduced Immunodeficiency

Severe impairments in immune function — genetically determined, iatrogenic or acquired as a consequence of infection — are associated with increased frequencies of lymphomas, most often of B cell origin. The mechanisms responsible for development of these tumors are poorly understood although roles for EBV and alterations in the structure of the myc protooncogene have been suggested for human lymphomas appearing in the post-transplant setting or during the course of AIDS. We previously reported that mice with a retrovirus-induced immunodeficiency syndrome, termed mouse AIDS (MAIDS), develop B cell lineage lymphomas at a low frequency at 20 or more weeks after infection (1). These lymphomas appeared to pass through several stages during their evolution — an initial phase of polyclonal B cell activation and differentiation to Ig secretion (1, 2) followed by oligoclonal expansion of cells with preferred growth advantage and eventually, a monoclonal neoplastic population. We suggested previously (3) this progression might be attributed to chronic stimulation of B cells by T cells responding to the virus etiologic for MAIDS (4) but more recent studies (5) demonstrated that the tumors recovered in tissue culture contained multiple integrated copies of this virus.
Agar Slant Tissue Cultures of Typhus Rickettsiae (Both Types)

For some time the writers have been engaged in extorts to obtain typhus fever Rickettsise cultures on a scale sufficiently large to permit vaccine-production. While the X-rayed-rat technic, elsewhere published by one of the writers with Castaneda,1 is entirely adequate for vaccine-production with the murine strains, it has consistently failed with the classical European type. Tissue-culture vaccine-production would undoubtedly be the most practical method of producing vaccines on a large scale against the European disease, and the effectiveness for immunization of formalin-killed tissue-culture organisms has already been demonstrated, both by Kligler and Aschner2 and by one of the writers with Macehiavello.3Work done on the physiology of Maitland cultures by one of the writers with Schoenbach4 indicated that whereas virus agents multiply in such cultures only during the period of active tissue metabolism—the Rickettsise begin to multiply most profusely after metabolism has slowed down or ceased.This encou...
On the viability of small endohedral hydrocarbon cage complexes: X@C4H4, X@C8H8, X@C8H14, X@C10H16, X@C12H12, AND X@C16H16.

Small hydrocarbon complexes (X@cage) incorporating cage-centered endohedral atoms and ions (X = H+, H, He, Ne, Ar, Li0,+, Be0,+,2+, Na0,+, Mg0,+,2+) have been studied at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) hybrid HF/DFT level of theory. No tetrahedrane (C4H4, Td) endohedral complexes are minima, not even with the very small hydrogen atom or beryllium dication. Cubane (C8H8, Oh) and bicyclo[2.2.2]octane (C8H14, D3h) minima are limited to encapsulating species smaller than Ne and Na+. Despite its intermediate size, adamantane (C10H16, Td) can enclose a wide variety of endohedral atoms and ions including H, He, Ne, Li0,+, Be0,+,2+, Na0,+, and Mg2+. In contrast, the truncated tetrahedrane (C12H12, Td) encapsulates fewer species, while the D4d symmetric C16H16 hydrocarbon cage (see Table of Contents graphic) encapsulates all but the larger Be, Mg, and Mg+ species. The host cages have more compact geometries when metal atoms, rather than cations, are inside. This is due to electron donation from the endohedral metals into C−C b...
Review of Advances in Planar Radiochromatography

The materials, techniques, and instruments for the detection and quantification of radiolabeled compounds by planar radiochromatography are described. Included is sample preparation; separations on Instant Thin Layer Chromatography sheets, thin layer plates, and chromatography papers; and detection and quantification by film autoradiography, liquid scintillation counting, storage phosphor imaging, and in situ radioactivity scanning. These methods are widely applied in radiopharmaceutical purity determination, metabolism studies, and many other types of chemical, biochemical, and biological investigations.
Effects of Surfactants N and Br on Ordering in GaInP

Formation of the CuPt ordered structure during the organometallic vapor phase epitaxial (OMVPE) growth of GaInP has significant effects on the electrical and optical properties, necessitating control of ordering. Formation of the CuPt structure is thermodynamically driven by the surface structure during growth. This has led to the study of the use of surfactants as a way of controlling ordering. To date, these studies have centered on the group V elements isoelectronic with P. Sb and Bi are both larger than P. This leads to less ordering. N, on the other hand, is smaller than P, which makes it potentially interesting. The other disordering mechanism, observed for Te as a surfactant in GaInP, is kinetic. Rapid step propagation leads to a reduction in ordering. This suggests another potentially interesting class of surfactants, the group VII elements, such as Br, that have been reported to increase the step velocity during OMVPE growth. This paper describes the results of the addition of the surfactants N and Br during the OMVPE growth of GaInP. Addition of N (DMHy) results in a clear reduction in order parameter, due to thermodynamic effects. The addition of Br (CBr 4 ) is also observed to systematically decrease the amount of CuPt ordering and is found to correspond to a significant roughening of the surface, which is postulated to be the origin of the reduction in order parameter.
Feasibility and Usability Pilot Study of a Novel Irritable Bowel Syndrome Food and Gastrointestinal Symptom Journal Smartphone App.

Objectives Seventy percent of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) identify certain foods as triggers for their symptom flare-ups. To help identify potential trigger foods, practitioners often rely on patient food and gastrointestinal (GI) symptom journaling. The aim of the study was to evaluate the feasibility and usability of a novel food and symptom journal app, specifically designed for patients with IBS. Secondary aims were to explore the effect of using the app on GI symptoms and to describe associations between diet and GI symptoms suggested by individual patient data. Methods The feasibility and usability of the novel app was studied in 11 IBS patients (8 women), aged 21-65 years. Participants were asked to log GI symptoms (abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, constipation) using a 100-point color-graded sliding scale (green=none, red=severe) four times a day and to log every meal/snack they ate (at least three times a day) over a 2-week period. The app's feasibility as a data collection tool was evaluated by daily completion, compliance, data hoarding, and fatigability rates. Usability was evaluated with the System Usability Scale (SUS). To explore potential impact of using the app on bowel distress, we compared before and after intervention IBS-Symptom Severity Scale (IBS-SSS) scores. Meal entries were analyzed for nutrients using the Nutrition Data System for Research. Regression analyses were conducted for each participant journal to explore relationships between meal nutrients and subsequent GI symptoms. Results Daily average completion rates of the minimum requested entries for meal and GI symptoms were 112±47% and 78±44%, respectively. Average 24-h compliance rates were 90±19% and 94±12%, respectively. The SUS score was above average (mean 83, range 65-97.5; n=10). Most participants did not have a clinically significant decrease in IBS-SSS. At least one strong association (P≤0.05) between GI symptoms and a meal nutrient was found in 73% of participants. The mean number of associations was 2 (range 0-7; n=11). Patterns of associations differed between individual participants. Conclusions Our app appeared to be a feasible and usable tool for IBS patients. Our findings are in line with anecdotes that most IBS patients have food triggers and that these vary by individual. Future studies can explore whether individualized dietary changes guided by an app can result in IBS symptom improvement.
AN ATTEMPT TO QUANTIFY RELATIVE MYCELIAL DEVELOPMENT OF PHANEROCHAETE CHRYSOSPORIUM USING THE FLUORESCEIN DIACETATE SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC ASSAY

The spectrophotometric fluorescein diace- tate assay was used to quantify viable mycelial growth of Phanerochaete chrysosporium on Pinus banksiana wood chips. Tests were conducted on inoculated nonsterile and sterile chips with noninoculated nonsterile and sterile chips as control. Additionally, some chips were compressed to make nutrients more readily accessible by mechanically rupturing the wood parenchyma cells. Comparisons were made of chips heavily colonized with P. chrysosporium against chips with only scattered mold mycelium to test the effectiveness of the fluo? rescein diacetate assay for this particular species. It was found that P. chrysosporium did not produce sig? nificant hydrolysis of fluorescein diacetate as com? pared to other resident microflora.
Attempted transovarial and venereal transmission of African swine fever virus by the Iberian soft tick Ornithodoros (Pavlovskyella) marocanus (Acari: Ixodoidea: Argasidae)

Transovarial transmission experiments were conducted with three groups of Ornithodoros (Pavlovskyella) marocanus Velu; one group consisted of 27 pairs of adults that had been fed as larvae on a pig with a viremia of 10(7.4) HAd50/ml of African swine fever virus (ASFV). The second and third groups each consisted of 100 pairs of adults fed on a viremic pig (10(4.5) HAd50/ml) as adults. The first group underwent five gonotrophic cycles over a 554-d period. The second and third groups underwent three and two gonotrophic cycles, respectively. All larvae were fed in individual cohorts on naive pigs and the resulting nymphs were assayed by cohort for ASFV. None of the larvae transmitted ASFV to naive pigs by bite and ASFV was not isolated in swine buffy coat cultures from any cohort of nymphs. Therefore, O. marocanus does not exhibit transovarial transmission of ASFV. Venereal transmission experiments were conducted with pairs of O. marocanus in which either the female (100 pairs) or the male (100 pairs), respectively, had fed on a viremic pig (10(4.5) HAd50/ml). Both groups underwent at least two gonotrophic cycles over a 470-d period, were sampled periodically for the presence of ASFV, and the progeny were tested for the presence of ASFV. Venereal transmission from male to female occurred in 10% (1/10) of O. marocanus after the first gonotrophic cycle, but not after the second or third gonotrophic cycle, and transovarian transmission in these groups was not observed. Venereal transmission from infected females to uninfected males did not occur. ASFV persisted through five gonotrophic cycles over a 554-d period in 30% of adults fed on a viremic pig as larvae. ASFV was cleared during three gonotrophic cycles within a year from nearly all ticks fed on a viremic pig as adults. Virus-induced mortality rats of 12-80% occurred among ticks fed on viremic animals, whereas, no mortality was seen in ticks fed on uninfected animals. ASFV infection in ticks did not effect feeding frequency, egg-hatch rate, or the oviposition rate among females fed on a viremic pig as adults. The oviposition rate for females fed on a viremic pig as larvae was reduced by 63.4%. Parthenogenesis was not observed among O. marocanus. The mean gonotrophic cycle duration for pig-fed O. marocanus at 27 degree C was 19.8 d and the mean fecundity was 88.3 +/- 17.9 eggs/female/gonotrophic cycle.
Kinetics of Immunoglobulin Transport into Canine Bronchial Secretions

SummaryRadiolabeled 125I preparations of canine IgG, IgM, and F(ab')2 fragments of IgG were injected intramuscularly into normal dogs to quantitate the transfer of immunoglobulins from the intravascular space into the lower respiratory tract and to observe the clearance of these proteins from lung secretions. Respiratory fluids were sampled by serial broncho-alveolar lavages during a 3–4 week interval. Only a small portion (0.15%) of the passively administered IgG was recovered in respiratory specimens indicating that minimal transfer of humoral IgG occurs under normal conditions.Alteration of the IgG molecule by removal of the Fc portion almost eliminates its penetration into lung secretions. Furthermore, IgM, which is not a prominent component of normal lung secretions, is not detected in these secretions following passive intramuscular injection.The authors appreciate the fine assistance of Mr. Edward W. Harvey in these studies and the help with statistics given by Dr. David W. Alling. We thank Dr. Cha...
Impurity Segregation in A/A1−xBx Heterostructures During Liquid Phase Epitaxy

The segregation behavior of model dopants during liquid phase epitaxy of A/A1−xBx heterostructures is studied using Non-equilibrium Molecular Dynamics computer simulation. Interatomic interactions are modelled using the Lennard-Jones potential and the dopant “B” atoms are assigned to have a different diameter than the host “A” atoms. The extent of segregation as a function of regrowth velocity is found to be well represented by the Continuous Growth Model of Aziz for solidification on the (111) orientation. The mechanism of segregation, however, more closely resembles the physical picture due to Jackson, Gilmer and Leamy.
Beyond the Ivory Tower: A Comparison of Grades Across Academic and Community OB/GYN Clerkship Sites

abstractConstruct: Decentralized clinical education is the use of community facilities and community physicians to educate medical students. The theory behind decentralized clinical education is that academic and community sites will provide educational equivalency as determined by objective and subjective performance measures, while training more medical students and exposing students to rural or underserved communities. One of the major challenges of decentralized clinical education is ensuring site comparability in both learning opportunities and evaluation of students. Background: Previous research has examined objective measures of student performance, but less is known about subjective performance measures, particularly in the field of obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN). This study explores the implications of clinical site on the adequacy of subjective and objective performance measures. Approach: This was a retrospective cohort study of 801 students in the University of Washington School of Medici...
Novel Human Glutamate Dehydrogenase Expressed in Neural and Testicular Tissues and Encoded by an X-linked Intronless Gene*

Glutamate dehydrogenase, an enzyme central to glutamate metabolism, is deficient in patients with heterogeneous neurological disorders characterized by multiple system atrophy. There is evidence for multiplicity of human glutamate dehydrogenase, which may account for the heterogeneity of the above disorders. However, only one mRNA that is encoded by an intron-containing gene (GLUD1) is presently known. Because blindness due to neuroretinal degeneration can occur in rare forms of multiple system atrophy, we searched for retina-specific GLUD mRNA(s) by screening a lambda gt10 library derived from human retina. A novel cDNA encoded by an X chromosome-linked intronless gene, designated GLUD2, was isolated and characterized. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis of human tissues revealed that the novel cDNA is expressed in human retina, testis, and, at lower levels, brain. In vitro translation of mRNAs derived from GLUD1 and GLUD2 genes generated proteins with distinct electrophoretic characteristics. The retinal cDNA was expressed in the baculovirus heterologous system, producing a protein capable of catalyzing the oxidative deamination of glutamate. The mobility of the expressed protein on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and its catalytic properties were very similar to those of the naturally occurring human brain glutamate dehydrogenases. The novel gene will be useful for understanding the biology of human neural and testicular tissues and in the study of X-linked neurodegenerative disorders.
Local extracellular matrix alignment directs cellular protrusion dynamics and migration through Rac1 and FAK.

Cell migration within 3D interstitial microenvironments is sensitive to extracellular matrix (ECM) properties, but the mechanisms that regulate migration guidance by 3D matrix features remain unclear. To examine the mechanisms underlying the cell migration response to aligned ECM, which is prevalent at the tumor–stroma interface, we utilized time-lapse microscopy to compare the behavior of MDA-MB-231 breast adenocarcinoma cells within randomly organized and well-aligned 3D collagen ECM. We developed a novel experimental system in which cellular morphodynamics during initial 3D cell spreading served as a reductionist model for the complex process of matrix-directed 3D cell migration. Using this approach, we found that ECM alignment induced spatial anisotropy of cells' matrix probing by promoting protrusion frequency, persistence, and lengthening along the alignment axis and suppressing protrusion dynamics orthogonal to alignment. Preference for on-axis behaviors was dependent upon FAK and Rac1 signaling and translated across length and time scales such that cells within aligned ECM exhibited accelerated elongation, front-rear polarization, and migration relative to cells in random ECM. Together, these findings indicate that adhesive and protrusive signaling allow cells to respond to coordinated physical cues in the ECM, promoting migration efficiency and cell migration guidance by 3D matrix structure.
APEx: automated inference of error specifications for C APIs

Although correct error handling is crucial to software robustness and security, developers often inadvertently introduce bugs in error handling code. Moreover, such bugs are hard to detect using existing bug-finding tools without correct error specifications. Creating error specifications manually is tedious and error-prone. In this paper, we present a new technique that automatically infers error specifications of API functions based on their usage patterns in C programs. Our key insight is that error-handling code tend to have fewer branching points and program statements than the code implementing regular functionality. Our scheme leverages this property to automatically identify error handling code at API call sites and infer the corresponding error constraints. We then use the error constraints from multiple call sites for robust inference of API error specifications. We evaluated our technique on 217 API functions from 6 different libraries across 28 projects written in C and found that it can identify error-handling paths with an average precision of 94% and recall of 66%. We also found that our technique can infer correct API error specifications with an average precision of 77% and recall of 47%. To further demonstrate the usefulness of the inferred error specifications, we used them to find 118 previously unknown potential bugs (including several security flaws that are currently being fixed by the corresponding developers) in the 28 tested projects.
Bid based economic load dispatch using symbiotic organisms search algorithm

This paper presents symbiotic organisms search (SOS) algorithm for solving bid based economic load dispatch (BBELD) problem in deregulated electricity market. Power generating companies and customers submit their bids to the Independent System Operator. Independent System Operator matches the bids and conduct dispatch depending on the price and MW bidding to maximize the social profit. SOS algorithm minimizes the generator cost while satisfying various load demands, so that the social profit which is the difference between all customers benefit and all generators cost, increases. The IEEE-30 bus system has taken with six generators, two customers and two dispatch periods under low, medium and high bidding strategies. The results of SOS are compared with differential evolution (DE) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) results and social profit obtained by SOS is found to be better than DE and PSO which shows the effectiveness of SOS for solving BBELD problem.
Quantification of the geometric accuracy of MRI in tissue: a new approach using MRI itself

The authors have developed a new way to quantify the extent of the geometric distortion due to magnetic field inhomogeneities in MR images to subpixel accuracy and to test the effectiveness of any method used to correct this distortion. This method does not require an external standard such as CT nor does it require that the geometry of the imaging objects be known a priori. Therefore, it can be used to test the effectiveness of MR spatial distortion correction methods in tissue. The authors have shown that the geometric accuracy along the phase-encoding directions of MR images is uncorrupted. Thus measurements along the phase-encoding directions are used to quantify the accuracy of the measurements along the frequency encoding directions. The authors have quantified the distortion in a tissue phantom and found the largest error to be approximately 2.8 pixels (1.8 mm) for B/sub 0/=1.5 T, G=3.13 mT/m and FOV=160/spl times/160/spl times/70.7 mm/sup 3/. The authors also found that their previously published correction technique reduced the largest error to 0.3 pixels (/spl mu/=0.02 and /spl sigma/=0.07 pixels). >
Escaping the Water Cage: Protein Intramolecular Vibrations and the Dynamical Transition

The protein dynamical transition is the remarkable increase in the average atomic root mean squared displacement (RMSD) in the 180-220 K range. The effect is associated with the onset of anharmonic motions critical to biological function. However evidence of the actual biological relevance of the dynamical transition is inconsistent. While for some proteins, function ceases below the dynamical transition, for other proteins the dynamical transition appears to have no effect. Here we report measurements that suggest the difference arises from the dependence of function on large scale conformational change, and specifically the reliance on long range vibrations to access these structural changes. The dynamical transition has been extensively observed using X-ray, neutron scattering, NMR and terahertz absorption spectroscopy [1,2], with the results indicating it arises from thermally activated solvent motions. Those techniques measure all motions contributing to the RMSD including both localized motions and intramolecular vibrations. To isolate the vibrations and examine how the dynamical transition impacts them, we use a new technique, anisotropy terahertz microscopy (ATM) [3]. This unique method suppresses the background from the localized motions giving unprecedented access to the long range motions that enable large scale conformational changes. ATM measurements of lysozyme anisotropic optical absorbance in the 150-300 K temperature range show that the resonant vibrational bands rapidly increase in intensity at the dynamical transition, and surprisingly blue shift with increasing temperature, in contrast to the expected anharmonicity. The measurements demonstrate that the surrounding solvent below the dynamical transition acts as a frozen cage preventing the vibrations necessary for functional conformational change. This solvent slaving of the long range vibrations potentially impacts protein structural stability and vulnerability to structural disorder. This work was supported by NSF (DBI 1556359 and MCB 1616529), and DOE DE-SC0016317. 1. Doster,W., et al. Phys.Rev.Lett., 2010.104(9):098101. 2. Niessen,K., et al. Biophys.Rev., 2015.7,201. 3. Acbas,G., et al. Nat.Commun., 2014.5,3076.
Can ‘delitigation’ transform an industry?

Abstract I investigate whether removing product liability – “delitigation” – affects a firm’s market value. This research sheds light on the influence of litigation risk on firm value. Using the vaccine industry as an example, I find the average market return to the licensing of a new vaccine increases after the passage of legislation that removed most product liability for vaccines. While average market return to the licensing of any new drug that a vaccine maker produced also increases, returns to drug firms that do not make vaccines remain the same after the legislation. Company risk-taking enhances market reaction to the announcement of a new vaccine. Delitigation appears to contribute to the transformation of vaccine makers.
Extreme Prematurity: Creating "Iatrogenic Lives".

Rieder (2017) argues that resuscitating extreme premature infants is not an act of rescue but taking over a creative process, yet we wrongfully apply reasoning appropriate to a fully developed huma...
Familial hypercholesterolemia with unusual foamy histiocytes. Report of a case with myelophthisic anemia and xanthoma of the maxillary sinus.

Accumulation of phagocytic histiocytes with a foam cell morphology has been described in a number of diseases. Familial hypercholesterolemia, one such disease, is characterized by foamy histiocytic accumulation in cutaneous or tendinous xanthomas and within atheromatous lesions. This report describes a patient with familial hypercholesterolemia who had two un-usual manifestations of foamy histiocytic accumulation: a maxillary sinus xanthoma, which presented as an expansile mass, and diffuse bone marrow replacement with foamy histiocytes, which was associated with myelophthisic anemia. The accumulation of foamy cells in both locations resembled that seen in many of the storage diseases. The possibility of foamy histiocytic accumulation should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with these disease entities who present with space-occupying lesions.
Abstract P1-07-22: Androgen receptor positivity is associated with nodal disease in triple negative breast cancer

Background: Gene expression profiling (GEP) has identified several molecularly distinct subtypes of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Currently, GEP-based molecular diagnostics are not routinely used in clinical decision making due to the lack of proven benefit, costs involved and long turnaround time. However, two molecularly distinct subtypes of TNBC, the luminal androgen receptor (AR) and mesenchymal subtypes, have surrogate CLIA-certified immunohistochemical (IHC) markers, AR and vimentin (VM), respectively, which have the potential for application in the clinic. Here we report the rates of AR and VM positivity and their association with clinicopathological characteristics in a cohort of TNBC pts receiving NACT. Methods: As part of an ongoing molecular triaging protocol, 144 pts with stage I-III TNBC underwent a pretreatment biopsy for molecular characterization (MC) prior to initiating neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). IHC for AR and VM were performed using commercially available antibodies. AR+ and VM+ were defined as ≥10% and ≥50% staining, respectively. Pts were randomized 2:1 to know (intervention arm, n=93) and not know (control arm, n=51) the MC results. The charts of pts randomized to the intervention arm were reviewed. Categorical variables were analyzed using Fisher9s exact test. Ordinal and continuous variables were analyzed using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Student9s t test as appropriate. Results: 31% (29/93) and 16% (15/93) of pts were AR+ and VM+, respectively. Only 4% (4/93) of pts were both AR+ and VM+. Clinicopathological characteristics are summarized in Table 1. AR+ pts were more likely to have clinically node positive disease as compared to AR- pts (66% vs 34%, p=0.007). There were no significant differences in clinical tumor size or grade between AR+ and AR- pts. VM+ and VM- pts had similar clinicopathological characteristics. Conclusion: Pts with AR+ TNBC were more likely to have node positive disease. The impact of AR+ on long term outcomes should be investigated in prospective studies. Citation Format: Yam C, Huo L, Hess KR, Litton JK, Yang W, Piwnica-Worms H, Mittendorf EA, Ueno NT, Lim B, Murthy RK, Damodaran S, Helgason T, Thompson AM, Santiago L, Candelaria RP, Rauch GM, Adrada BE, Symmans WF, Gilcrease MZ, Moulder SL. Androgen receptor positivity is associated with nodal disease in triple negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-07-22.
THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS PLANNING PROCESS AS IT RELATES TO THE ASSESSMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF LOW-HEAD HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT

The Corps of Engineers multiobjective planning process integrates the substantive requirements of a number of environmental statutes and executive guidelines. The St. Louis District Corps of Engineers assessment of environmental impacts for low-head hydropower development at Lock and Dam No. 26 (Replacement) on the Mississippi River is discussed as an example of this process. Consultation with affected Federal and state agencies was started early and a series of technical reports was produced and circulated to affected agencies for use in determining if a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) could be prepared or if an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is necessary. The methodologies of environmental impact assessments used in preparing these reports are decribed and used to illustrate the nature of Corps compliance with Federal and state laws and regulations as an integral part of its planning process.
New Data 1780–1830

Brisson and Buffon each believed that his work, extensive as it was, constituted only a beginning for ornithology. They both held that it would be many years before a complete ornithology would be possible, and they were in agreement that basically what was most needed was empirical information. Buffon had a broader vision as to what would be an adequate empirical base, which included behavior, distribution, and place in the economy of nature, but hoped, along with Brisson, that a solid beginning had been made and would continue to expand. The two could not have been more prophetic. In the fifty years subsequent to the publication of the Histoire naturelle des oiseaux (1770–1783) the quantity of information on birds swelled dramatically. In part, this expansion of the empirical base of ornithology was inspired by the impressive start given it in the 1760’s and 70’s by Brisson and Buffon. The timing of their work was fortunate in that natural history became quite fashionable in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Although much of the interest was not as serious or rigorous as later standards would demand, it did create an audience for those few individuals who pursued the study more closely.1
The History of Health Care in the United States Pre-1965

During our nascent American nation’s history, the medical profession established and consolidated medical authority over other healing practitioners. With the profession’s stringent adherence to the scientific method, remarkable medical progress, health improvements, and life expectancy have been achieved in just the last century. However, with improvements in medical technology and care, medical services which were once a relative luxury that provided more comfort and less healing became a necessity and, to many, a human right. Such a shift in medicine accompanied by its continually rising costs made the issues of accessibility and insurance coverage political issues. The story of health care politics and policy in the twentieth century focuses on provision of access, coverage, and insurance as both the public and private sectors sought to find solutions to these issues. The development of our current employer-based insurance coverage stems from a historical accident during World War II. In the twentieth century, no fewer than six American Presidents, from Teddy Roosevelt to Barack Obama, have pushed for efforts to expand national health insurance.
Do Patients With Retinal Artery Occlusion Need Urgent Neurologic Evaluation

Purpose To describe a framework for logical, immediate action to manage patients with retinal artery occlusion. Design Literature review and perspective. Methods Review of the literature and the author’s experience. Results Since embolism is the most common factor causing retinal artery occlusion, to manage these patients, immediate evaluation and management of the source of embolism is critical to prevent further episodes. Conclusions The logical, immediate action to manage patients with retinal artery occlusion is evaluation of the carotid artery and heart for embolism, fasting lipid levels and a complete blood count, rather than neurological evaluation, unless, of course, there are neurological symptoms.
An Evaluation of Paired Regional/Convection-Allowing Forecast Vertical Thermodynamic Profiles in Warm-Season, Thunderstorm-Supporting Environments

AbstractThis study evaluates forecast vertical thermodynamic profiles and derived thermodynamic parameters from two regional/convection-allowing model pairs, the North American Mesoscale Forecast S...
Intravenous Hydroxocobalamin Versus Hextend Versus Control for Class III Hemorrhage Resuscitation in a Prehospital Swine Model.

Background Hydroxyethyl starch (Hextend) has been used for hemorrhagic shock resuscitation, however, hydroxyethyl starch may be associated with adverse outcomes. Objective To compare systolic blood pressure (sBP) in animals that had 30% of their blood volume removed and treated with intravenous hydroxocobalamin, hydroxyethyl starch, or no fluid. Methods Twenty-eight swine (45-55 kg) were anesthetized and instrumented with continuous femoral and pulmonary artery pressure monitoring. Animals were hemorrhaged 20 mL/kg over 20 minutes and then administered 150 mg/kg IV hydroxocobalamin in 180 mL saline, 500 mL hydroxyethyl starch, or no fluid and monitored for 60 minutes. Data were modeled using repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance. Results There were no significant differences before treatment. At 20 minutes after hemorrhage, there was no significant difference in mean sBP between treated groups, however, control animals displayed significantly lower mean sBP (p < 0.001). Mean arterial pressure and heart rate improved in the treated groups but not in the control group (p < 0.02). Prothrombin time was longer and platelet counts were lower in the Hextend group (p < 0.05). Moreover, thromboelastography analysis showed longer clotting (K) times (p < 0.05) for the hydroxyethyl starch-treated group. Conclusion Hydroxocobalamin restored blood pressure more effectively than no treatment and as effectively as hydroxyethyl starch but did not adversely affect coagulation.
Unique Mobile Apps for Medical Learning: How Not to Fall Down Alice’s Rabbit Hole

AbstractLibraries and medical libraries should strive to become well-versed in mobile apps because they are dynamic tools that actively engage users in learning and are outstanding reference resour...
What Will It Take

In this time of intensifying public activism and an increased appetite for social change, are we well positioned to attract more diverse and motivated learners to architecture schools? Why would so...
Using Cultural Probes In New Contexts: Exploring the Benefits of Probes in HCI4D/ICTD

Cultural probes have long been used in HCI and CSCW to provide researchers with glimpses into the local cultures for which they are designing. Researchers in HCI4D/ICTD are increasingly interested in more deeply understanding local cultures in the developing regions where they work. However, few use cultural probes in their research. I present a case study describing my experience using this subjective, design-led method in Bungoma County, Kenya. Returns from my comment cards and digital camera activities draw attention to the diversity, idiosyncrasies, and complexity of everyday life in Bungoma. I conclude that cultural probes can benefit HCI4D/ICTD research.