cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Contemporary use of ultrasonic versus standard electrosurgical dissection in laparoscopic nephrectomy: Safety, efficacy and cost.

Abstract Objective To assess the safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness of ultrasonic dissection (USD) compared with standard monopolar electrosurgery (ES) in laparoscopic nephrectomy (LN). Patients and methods Retrospective analysis of patients’ records who underwent elective LN was performed. Patients were divided in to two groups: USD and ES groups depending on the energy source used during LN. The preoperative (demographics, indication for surgery), intraoperative (conversion to open surgery, operative time, estimated blood loss [EBL], complications), and postoperative (morbidity/mortality, volume of drainage, hospital stay, cost) data were collected and analysed. Results Between February 2004 and February 2008, 136 patients were included. The indications for nephrectomy were: inflammatory (51 patients), non-inflammatory (64), and tumours (21). The two groups were similar for preoperative data. The conversion rate to open surgery (12.5%) and mean operative time did not differ significantly between the groups. However, intraoperative mean EBL was significantly less with USD, at 140.8 mL vs 182.6 mL for ES. There were no differences in postoperative parameters and morbidity. USD was significantly more expensive than ES (59 000 vs 26 000 Indian Rupees). Conclusions ES is a safe and feasible tool like USD in LN when used with caution. USD facilitates completion of difficult cases and reduces intraoperative blood loss. However, the majority of LNs can be completed safely with ES. ES is sturdy and cheap; therefore, selective use of USD appears to be the most cost-effective policy in the developing world.
Biotransformations of selenium by Enterobacter cloacae SLD1a-1: Formation of dimethylselenide

Whole-cell suspensions of Enterobactercloacae SLD1a-1 produced dimethylselenide(DMSe) from selenate, selenite, elementalselenium, dimethylselenone,seleno-DL-methionine, 6-selenoinosine, and6-selenopurine. Cell-free extracts of thebacterium produced the formation of DMSe fromorganic selenium compounds, includingdimethylselenone, dimethylselenoniopropionate,seleno-DL-methionine, seleno-DL-ethionine, and6-selenoguanosine. The highest rate of DMSeproduction occurred from whole-cell suspensionsand cell-free extracts containingdimethylselenone. DMSe was also produced bycell-free extracts containing selenite orelemental selenium and methylcobalamin. Cell-free extracts did not produce DMSe frominorganic selenium when S-adenosyl-L-methionine was present. Additionally, DL-homocysteine and L-methioninewere found to inhibit selenium volatilization. These findings suggest the formation of DMSefrom inorganic selenium occurs through thetransfer of a methyl group frommethylcobalamin.
Venous thrombosis: risk factors and management.

During the past 2 decades, the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) has greatly evolved. First, the assessment of the clinical probability has gained wide acceptance. Second, novel noninvasive diagnostic tools such as venous compression ultrasonography and D-dimer measurement have become available, drastically reducing the need for invasive tools such as phlebography. Third, new anticoagulant drugs, in particular low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs), have become available and have made DVT treatment a lot easier by allowing out-ofhospital management. Several diagnostic algorithms, based on the assessment of clinical probability, D-dimer measurement and venous compression ultrasonography, have shown to be safe in management studies. In addition to improvements in diagnostic algorithms and anticoagulant treatment, compression therapy by elastic stockings to diminish the prevalence of the postthrombotic syndrome has been validated in prospective studies. The dilemma of the need or no need for looking for and treating isolated calf DVT with anticoagulants remains a controversial issue, as do the optimal length and intensity of anticoagulation. In the near future, the emergence of several new, totally synthetic, orally active anticoagulant compounds, such as direct thrombin or factor Xa inhibitors that are presently being tested in clinical studies, could profoundly change the therapeutic approach to DVT.
The Contact Angle of Mercury on the Internal Surfaces of Porous Bodies A Footnote to D. N. Winslow’s Review of Porosimetry

Winslow,(1) in the preceding chapter on mercury porosimetry, has left open the question of the contact angle θ formed by mercury on the interior surfaces of porous solids. In doing so, he is reflecting the current “state of the art.” Despite the evident need, it has not been possible, in general, to obtain reliable measurements of these contact angles.(2)
Utilization of pyridoxal acetal salts as water-triggered, slow-release pro-fragrances

The synthesis of pyridoxal acetal salts and the controlled-release of the alcohols in the presence of neutral pH water is described. The rate of release was monitored by 1H NMR and was found to be dependent on the concentration of water in the sample. The acetal salts are stable in the absence of moisture and show promise as a vitamin-based pro-fragrance delivery system.
An Open-Source Dialog System with Real-Time Engagement Tracking for Job Interview Training Applications

In complex conversation tasks, people react to their interlocutor’s state, such as uncertainty and engagement to improve conversation effectiveness Forbes-Riley and Litman (Adapting to student uncertainty improves tutoring dialogues, pp 33–40, 2009 [2]). If a conversational system reacts to a user’s state, would that lead to a better conversation experience? To test this hypothesis, we designed and implemented a dialog system that tracks and reacts to a user’s state, such as engagement, in real time. We designed and implemented a conversational job interview task based on the proposed framework. The system acts as an interviewer and reacts to user’s disengagement in real-time with positive feedback strategies designed to re-engage the user in the job interview process. Experiments suggest that users speak more while interacting with the engagement-coordinated version of the system as compared to a non-coordinated version. Users also reported the former system as being more engaging and providing a better user experience.
Print to Podium: Exploring Media Coverage of 2016 Olympic Athletes’ Perceptions About the Zika Virus

The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, thrust potential Olympians into the midst of the unprecedented outbreak of the Zika virus. Because parasocial interaction theory purports that athletes can have tremendous influence on fans’ attitudes and behavior, particularly in the context of public health, it is important to understand how media framed athletes’ response to their risk of contracting Zika at the Games and the possibility of a global epidemic. To understand how athletes’ safety concerns were portrayed by news outlets, the authors conducted a framing analysis of articles reporting on the intersection of the Olympics and Zika published in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post between January and November of 2016. This analysis revealed that media employed three main frames in their coverage of athletes: Athletes perceived the risk of Zika as small compared with potential Olympic glory, the decision to participate in the Games is an athletes’ person...
Oncotype recurrence score (RS) and discordance in patients with secondary invasive breast events (SIBE).

e12016Background: Oncotype RS is a 21-gene assay used to predict the likelihood of distant recurrence and benefit of chemotherapy in patients with node-negative, tamoxifen treated breast cancer (BC...
Heidi Thomson, Coleridge and the Romantic Newspaper: The Morning Post and the Road to ‘Dejection’

Review by Charles W. Mahoney (University of Connecticut) of Heidi Thomson, Coleridge and the Romantic Newspaper: The Morning Post and the Road to ‘Dejection’. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave, 2016. Pp. 274. £72.00. ISBN 9783319319773.
Optimistic Bias and Exposure Affect Security Incidents on Home Computer

Individuals who are optimistically biased believe that they are less likely to experience an adverse event or more likely to experience a positive event than their peers. This paper examines whethe...
DYNAMIC LEFT VENTRICULAR OUTFLOW TRACT OBSTRUCTION, SEVERE MITRAL REGURGITATION AND CARDIOGENIC SHOCK PRECIPITATED BY STRESS CARDIOMYOPATHY

Dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO) due to systolic anterior motion (SAM) of the mitral valve (MV) has been described in a small subset of patients with stress cardiomyopathy (SCM). However, encountering LVOTO, severe MV regurgitation and cardiogenic shock in SCM is
Feasibility of a deep learning algorithm to distinguish large cell neuroendocrine from small cell lung carcinoma in cytology specimens.

Introduction Distinguishing small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) from large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) in cytology is challenging. Our aim was to design a deep learning algorithm for classifying high-grade neuroendocrine carcinomas in fine needle aspirations. Methods Archival cytology cases of high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma (17 small cell, 13 large cell, 10 mixed/unclassifiable) were retrieved. Each case included smears (Diff-Quik® and Papanicolaou stains) and cell block or concomitant core biopsies (haematoxylin and eosin [H&E] stain). All slides (n = 114) were scanned at 40× magnification, randomised and split into training (11 large, nine small) and test (two large, eight small, 10 mixed) groups. Tumour was annotated using QuPath and exported as JPEG image tiles. Three distinct deep learning convolutional neural networks, one for each preparation/stain, were designed to classify each tile and provide an overall diagnosis for each slide. Results The H&E-trained algorithm correctly classified 7/8 (87.5%) SCLC cases and 2/2 (100%) LCNEC cases. The Papanicolaou stain algorithm correctly classified 6/7 (85.7%) SCLC. and 1/1 (100%) LCNEC cases. The algorithm trained on Diff-Quik® stained images correctly classified 7/8 (87.5%) SCLC and 1/1 (100%) LCNEC cases. Conclusion Using open source software, it was feasible to design a deep learning algorithm to distinguish between SCLC and LCNEC. The algorithm showed high precision in distinguishing between these two categories on H&E sectioned material and direct smears. Although the dataset was limited, our deep learning models show promising results in the classification of LCNEC and SCLC. Additional work using a larger dataset is necessary to improve the algorithm's performance.
Revise and resubmit: How real-time parsing limitations influence grammar acquisition

We present the results from a three-day artificial language learning study on adults. The study examined whether sentence-parsing limitations, in particular, difficulties revising initial syntactic/semantic commitments during comprehension, shape learners’ ability to acquire a language. Findings show that both comprehension and production of morphology pertaining to sentence argument structure are delayed when this morphology consistently appears at the end, rather than at the beginning, of sentences in otherwise identical grammatical systems. This suggests that real-time processing constraints impact acquisition; morphological cues that tend to guide linguistic analyses are easier to learn than cues that revise these analyses. Parallel performance in production and comprehension indicates that parsing constraints affect grammatical acquisition, not just real-time commitments. Properties of the linguistic system (e.g., ordering of cues within a sentence) interact with the properties of the cognitive system (cognitive control and conflict-resolution abilities) and together affect language acquisition.
Matched Illumination Waveform Optimization for Radar Imaging

This paper develops a method of knowledge-aided clutter suppression for subsurface radar imaging by crafting the power spectrum of the transmit waveform. The power spectrum is optimized to enhance the signal-to-clutter-ratio (SCR) by target matched illumination for suppressing transmit power in dominant clutter frequencies. This approach is extended to radar imaging for the enhancment of the overall 2-dimensional target reflectivity function. By modelling the received signal as the output of an LTI filter, the channel capacity can be maximized. An algorithm is developed using Taguchi techniques to optimized the spectrum and thus reduce the clutter in radar images. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is extended to waveform design for comparison. The optimization objective function is the mutual information between the received signal and the target response conditioned upon a transmit waveform. The PSO and Taguchi algorithms are seen to converge quickly to a waveform that maximizes the SCR. The radar imagery is formed using the newly optimized waveforms to test the methodology by the coherent addition of simulated and distributed target and clutter responses. The SCR is used as a performance metric. The results show that transmitting a waveform tailored to the frequency response of the target and clutter improve the SCR and mutual information over a conventional linearly frequency modulated waveform.
A Primary Care Approach to Adverse Childhood Experiences.

A 41-year-old long-time patient presented with concerns about irritability, depression, and anxiety after getting into another fight with her mother-in-law. The patient was concerned that her symptoms were getting worse, and she was worried about lacking control over her emotions and behavior.
DNA repair capacity via removal of benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide (BPDE)-DNA adducts in lymphoblastoid cell lines from sisters discordant for breast cancer

1487 Background: DNA repair enzymes are a defense system designed to protect the integrity of the genome. Epidemiological data suggest that a strong correlation exists between decreased efficiency to repair DNA damage and occurrence of cancer. To test the hypothesis that DNA repair capacity (DRC) modulates breast cancer susceptibility, we employed a DRC phenotyping assay measuring the removal of in vitro-induced benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide (BPDE)-DNA adducts. Lymphoblastoid cell lines from sisters discordant for breast cancer were used. The matching of cases and controls within families avoids a potential bias as paired sisters are of the same ethnicity and are genetically close. Methodology: Lymphoblastoid cell lines were developed from 334 subjects participating in the Metropolitan New York Registry of the Breast Cooperative Family Registry (167 cases matched to their 167 unaffected sisters as controls). Transformed cells were cultured in medium (RPMI1640 containing 10% FBS, 1% L-glutamine and antibiotics) and a portion harvested and fixed on microscope slides [basal conditions (T0)]. Cells were also treated with 5 μm BPDE for 30 min in serum-free medium, harvested, centrifuged, washed with PBS and fixed on slides (T30). The remaining BPDE-treated cells were cultured in BPDE-free complete medium for 4hrs to allow repair of adducts (T4h). An immunofluorescence method, using a polyclonal anti-BPDE-DNA antiserum generated in our laboratory, followed by a commercial secondary anti-rabbit IgG-FITC, was used for quantitation of adducts. Slides were counterstained with PI to visualize nuclei. The average nuclear fluorescence intensity for a minimum of 50 randomly selected cells was determined for each time point. The nuclear fluorescence intensity of the treated cells was adjusted for the background values determined for the untreated controls (T0). Percent (%) DRC for each sample was determined as [((T30- T0) –(T4h - T0))/ (T30- T0)] X100%. Results: There was no significant difference between cases and controls based on sensitivity to the BPDE mutagen as measured by the adduct levels immediately after treatment (T30, p = 0.46). However, the mean %DRC was significantly lower in breast cancer cases (27.04 ± 23.09) than in controls (35.09 ± 24.58, p = 0.0031). Furthermore, the effect was stronger for smokers as well as alcohol consumers compared to nonsmokers and never drinkers. Conclusion: These findings suggest deficient DRC may be a susceptibility factor in breast cancer development.
The effect of various media and probe angles on the power output of the Cyclo G6 Glaucoma Laser System

To evaluate the effect of various media and Iridex MicroPulse P3 (MP3) probe angles on the power output from the Cyclo G6 Glaucoma Laser (G6) System. A laser power meter was used to measure the power output (milliwatts, mW) of the Cyclo G6 System. Each of the ten trials consisted of measurements in six different media: no substrate, balanced salt solution (BSS), artificial tears (AT), tetracaine eye drop, lubricating ointment, and lidocaine gel. The output of the MP3 probe was measured at an angle of 90° and 45°, submerged in the respective media. The output was also measured with the probe held at 90° but above the medium. The mean power outputs with the probe being held at 90° to the sensor with no substrate, BSS, AT, tetracaine eye drop, lubricating ointment, and lidocaine gel were 358 ± 16.8 mW, 612 ± 14.2 mW, 613 ± 13.3 mW, 612 ± 14.0 mW, 620 ± 9.9 mW, and 610 ± 12.2 mW, respectively. These values were statistically higher than noncontact and 45° probe angles for each medium. The values between any two media (excluding no substrate) at a 90° probe angle with full contact were not statistically significant. The highest output of the G6 System was obtained with a 90° probe angle, with full contact and any of the coupling media.
Metformin May Contribute to Inter-individual Variability for Glycemic Responses to Exercise

Metformin and exercise independently improve glycemic control. Metformin traditionally is considered to reduce hepatic glucose production, while exercise training is thought to stimulate skeletal muscle glucose disposal. Collectively, combining treatments would lead to the anticipation for additive glucose regulatory effects. Herein, we discuss recent literature suggesting that metformin may inhibit, enhance or have no effect on exercise mediated benefits toward glucose regulation, with particular emphasis on insulin sensitivity. Importantly, we address issues surrounding the impact of metformin on exercise induced glycemic benefit across multiple insulin sensitive tissues (e.g., skeletal muscle, liver, adipose, vasculature, and the brain) in effort to illuminate potential sources of inter-individual glycemic variation. Therefore, the review identifies gaps in knowledge that require attention in order to optimize medical approaches that improve care of people with elevated blood glucose levels and are at risk of cardiovascular disease.
No-Till Farming Systems in North America

The no-till (NT) farming system is one of the prominent conservation management practices used to reduce soil erosion, sustain crop yields, and improve soil health and environmental quality. The NT system has variable effect on crop yields and soil and environmental quality compared to conventional tillage (CT) system, depending on soil and climatic conditions and cropping systems. While crop yields are variable in irrigated cropping systems, yields are similar or greater in NT than CT in dryland cropping systems. As a result, soil organic matter is also similar or greater in NT than CT in dryland cropping systems, but variable with tillage practices in irrigated cropping systems, especially in humid regions. Nitrogen leaching can be greater in NT than CT due to the presence of large pores. Similarly, N2O emissions can be greater in NT than CT due to increased soil water content, but CO2 emissions can be lower. However, global warming potential (GWP) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) can be lower in NT than CT. Although NT provides more ecosystem services than CT, adoption of the NT system by producers has been slow due to some social and economic concerns. This chapter discusses the impact of the NT system on crop yields, soil health, and environmental quality compared to the CT system and the challenges and opportunities of adopting NT by producers in North America.
A Dual Lockstep Processor System-on-a-Chip for Fast Error Recovery in Safety-Critical Applications

In a lockstep system, errors induced by single-point and common-mode failures could cause catastrophic fatality without proper error detection or write-protection circuitries. In this paper, we design and implement a dual lockstep processor using a two pipelined assembly that executes two virtual cores each, in an interleaved fashion. Such an approach could overcome common-mode failures (CMFs). Furthermore, by running the same code in a secondary pipeline, our system can detect a single-point-of-failure (SPOF). Our technique easily maintains the synchronization between the two virtual cores and omits other fabric that binds a typical dual-core lockstep processor. This reduces the die size and provides early error detection before an error becomes unrecoverable. We achieve our goal by incorporating the lockstep function in the micro-architecture and employing fine-grained multitasking to increase a system’s fail-safe capabilities. Finally, we validate our lockstep processor using the RISC-V 32IM ISA test benches, Dhrystones and Coremark benchmarks, and ModelSim. Our results show a 100% self-checking coverage for stuck-at faults and complete error containment. Since our framework operates fine-grained multitasking, we achieve two lockstep processors instead of one, which saves hardware costs.
Service-Life Performance Case Studies of Underground Reinforced Concrete Utility Vaults

AbstractUnderground reinforced concrete utility vaults play a vital role for the functioning of urban centers, providing space for all kinds of utility equipment. Underground structures are subject...
Serum metabolite profiles predict outcomes in critically ill patients receiving renal replacement therapy.

Abstract Acute kidney injury (AKI) requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT) is associated with increased incidence of dialysis dependence and portends high mortality in critically ill patients. At the early stage of RRT, serum metabolic biomarkers might differntiate patients with a high risk of mortality or permanent kidney injury from those who can recover. Serum samples from participants enrolled in the Veteran’s Affairs/National Institutes of Health Acute Renal Failure Trial Network study were collected on day 1 (n = 97) and day 8 (n = 105) of randomized RRT. The samples were further evaluated using LC/MS-based metabolic profiling. A model predicting mortality by day 8 was built from samples collected on day 1 and based on four metabolites with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.641. A model most predictive of mortality by day 28 was built from the levels of 11 serum metabolites from day 8 with an AUC of 0.789. Both day 1 and day 8 samples had lower serum levels of 1-arachidonoyl-lysoPC and 1-eicosatetraenoyl-lysoPC (involved in anti-inflammatory processes) in the critically ill patients who died by day 8 or day 28. Higher levels of amino acids and amino acid metabolites in the day 8 model predicting
Terrestrial higher plant respiration and net primary production

A large fraction of carbon (C) assimilated in higher plant photosynthesis is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide during subsequent plant respiration. Thus, plant respiration is a large negative component of the C budget of plants and ecosystems. It contributes to the control of ecosystem net primary production (NPP) because NPP is gross primary production (GPP) minus plant respiration. The relationship between ecosystem NPP and GPP is therefore dictated by respiration. Plant respiration is the metabolic link between GPP and NPP. It is also a large component of a plant's C budget; perhaps, typically, 50–70% of carbon assimilated in GPP is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide during subsequent plant respiration. Because of great uncertainty concerning in situ measurements of respiration (R a ) and photosynthesis (P), it is hard to quantify more precisely their role in C cycles of various ecosystems. This chapter judges the available data to be too imprecise to assess properly whether the R a /P ratio at present is conservative within or among ecosystems. Moreover, environmental change such as warming and increasing carbon dioxide concentration may affect R a and P differently, so the R a / P ratio may change in the future. In any case, future studies of the relationship between R a and NPP or GPP will be more enlightening than simple measurements of respiration rate.
Microwave dielectric properties of Li1+x–yM1–x–3yTix+4yO3 (M=Nb5+, Ta5+) solid solutions

Abstract A series of new low sintering temperature microwave resonator ceramics were investigated in the Li 1+ x – y Nb 1– x –3 y Ti x +4 y O 3 solid solution system. Ceramics with high relative permittivities (78–55), Q × f values up to 9000 (6 GHz), and zero temperature coefficients in the microwave region could be obtained via sintering at 1100°C. Similar phases were identified in the Li 2 O–Ta 2 O 5 –TiO 2 system and their stability region at 1100°C was determined. The microwave dielectric properties of the tantalates were similar to those of their Nb counterparts. The addition of ⩾ 2 mol% V 2 O 5 to the Nb solid solutions was effective in producing a large reduction in the sintering T and dense ceramics could be prepared at T ⩽ 900°C. The addition of V did not induce any significant degradation of the microwave properties and their apparent compatibility with Ag powder may indicate potential applications as co-fired circuit components.
The longevity seekers: Science, business, and the fountain of youth

The Longevity Seekers presents the most recent phase of an age-old quest to discover the fountain of youth. So far, that search for a life-sustaining source – to extend vital ageing and, possibly, ...
A high-Strehl low-resolution optical imager (BESSEL): Detection of a 0.7λ/D separation binary from the ground

Abstract We have constructed a high-speed image stabilization system, BESSEL, which mounts to the 8-in. refractive telescope coupled to the ray white telescope at steward observatory. The high-speed tip/tilt mirror platform is controlled by an Andor electron multiplication EMCCD enabling wavefront correction at a rate exceeding 1 kHz. BESSEL achieves on-sky Strehl ratios of 98–99% at λ = 800 nm when the telescope aperture is stopped down to half the Fried parameter (typically D = 25.4 mm, where D is the diameter of the effective telescope aperture). Utilizing high Strehls and the technique of roll subtraction enabled BESSEL to resolve the binary, ADS 10418AB (more commonly known as α Her), with separation of only 0.71λ/D and a delta magnitude of ∼3 mag at 800 nm. In addition, Arcturus was observed with BESSEL to explore a relatively untested region of Strehl versus D/r0 parameter space in the optical, specifically at small (∼0.5D/r0). We find that in this regime space quality, very high Strehl (∼99%), optical imaging can be obtained from the ground when D/r0
Ab Initio Calculations of Infrared Absorption Cross Sections of CO2 Gas

An ab initio model is used to determine the infrared absorption cross sections of CO2 gas as a function of laser wavelength. The intra-molecular potential energy and electric dipole moment of the CO2 molecule as a function of molecular nuclear configurations are obtained by solving the Kohn-Sham (KS) equation. The rotational constants at different vibrational levels, the vibrational energy eigen values and transition dipole moments are determined by solving the pure vibrational Schrodinger equation. Using the Fermi’s Golden Rule and all the calculated ab initio results, the absorption cross sections of CO2 gas at room temperature and one atmosphere pressure are obtained. The calculated results have a good agreement with experimental results. Based on the calculated ab initio results, the infrared absorption cross sections of CO2 gas at higher pressures are calculated. The absorption spectra at high pressures are found to be much smoother due to the overlaps between neighboring absorption line shapes.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Managing Public Human Resources Following Catastrophic Events Mississippi's Local Governments' Experiences Post—Hurricane Katrina

Catastrophic events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and terrorist attacks can cost millions if not billions of dollars in damages. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina decimated Mississippi's Gulf Coast and southeastern Louisiana. Many local governments lost facilities, equipment, vehicles, employees, and so on to the storm. In addition, many local government employees lost their homes, friends, coworkers, or family members, and they witnessed the evacuation of their families to other parts of the country. In this article, the authors use Phases 3 and 4 (response and recovery) of the Emergency Management Framework to analyze local governments' human resource management efforts following Hurricane Katrina. Under normal circumstances, human resource issues such as payroll, recruitment, and retention can be mundane. Managing human resources following a catastrophic event, however, can present challenges for the most mundane tasks.
Non-Gaussian Aspects of Thermal and Kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effects

We discuss non-Gaussian effects associated with the local large-scale structure contributions to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies through the thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) effect. The non-Gaussianities associated with the SZ effect arise from the existence of a significant four-point correlation function in large scale pressure fluctuations. Using the pressure trispectrum calculated under the recently popular halo model, we discuss the full covariance of the SZ thermal power spectrum. We use this full covariance matrix to study the astrophysical uses of the SZ effect and discuss the extent to which gas properties can be derived from a measurement of the SZ power spectrum. With the SZ thermal effect separated in temperature fluctuations using its frequency information, the kinetic SZ effect, also known as the Ostriker-Vishniac effect, is expected to dominate the CMB temperature fluctuations at small angular scales. This effect arises from the baryon modulation of the first order Doppler effect resulting from the relative motion of scatterers. The presence of the SZ kinetic effect can be determined through a cross-correlation between the SZ thermal and a CMB map at small scales. Since the SZ kinetic effect is second order, however, contributions to such a cross-correlation arise to lower order in the form of a three-point correlation function, or a bispectrum in Fourier space. We suggest an additional statistic that can be used to study the correlation between pressure traced by the SZ thermal effect and the baryons traced by the SZ kinetic effect involving the cross-power spectrum constructed through squared temperatures instead of the usual temperature itself. Through a signal-to-noise calculation, we show that future small angular scale multifrequency CMB experiments, sensitive to multipoles of a few thousand, will be able to measure the cross-correlation of SZ thermal and SZ kinetic effects through a temperature squared power spectrum.
Anxiety, depression and stress in pregnancy: implications for mothers, children, research, and practice.

Purpose of reviewTo briefly review results of the latest research on the contributions of depression, anxiety, and stress exposures in pregnancy to adverse maternal and child outcomes, and to direct attention to new findings on pregnancy anxiety, a potent maternal risk factor.Recent findingsAnxiety,
Modeling of Risk Factors for Ischemic Stroke: The Willis Lecture

It is a pleasure for me to give the Willis Lecture. I am especially honored because at the 8th Conference in February 1983 I also gave the Keynote Address, before it became known as the Willis Lecture.1 I am going to discuss a few principles concerning the risk factors for stroke; some recent observations from the Rochester, Minnesota, population on modeling of stroke risk factors; and some new observations about modeling attributable risk for stroke risk factors in a multivariable analysis; and I shall discuss how we might consider the risk factors for stroke in regard to the pathologic substrates for stroke. The Rochester Epidemiology Project medical record linkage system2 provided the means to identify virtually all new cases of ischemic stroke in the Rochester population for a population-based, nested case-control study of risk factors for stroke. The controls for the study were selected from an enumeration of the population through the medical records of the Rochester Epidemiology Project. There were 1444 incidence cases of stroke in the population in the 25 years of the study from 1960 through 1984, with controls from the population matched one-to-one by age, sex, and duration of the medical record. About 80% of the cases were seen and evaluated by a neurologist. This study of risk factors for ischemic stroke provides a unique and powerful set of data because it includes such a large number of incident cases and population-based controls. The size of the data set allowed assessment of interactions that have not been assessed adequately. More details of this study were published in December 1996.3 The effect of a risk factor on the probability of stroke is determined by three considerations: (1) the relative risk of the factor, (2) the prevalence of the factor in the population, and (3) …
Embodied Conversational Agent-Based Kiosk for Automated Interviewing

We have created an automated kiosk that uses embodied intelligent agents to interview individuals and detect changes in arousal, behavior, and cognitive effort by using psychophysiological information systems. In this paper, we describe the system and propose a unique class of intelligent agents, which are described as Special Purpose Embodied Conversational Intelligence with Environmental Sensors (SPECIES). SPECIES agents use heterogeneous sensors to detect human physiology and behavior during interactions, and they affect their environment by influencing human behavior using various embodied states (i.e., gender and demeanor), messages, and recommendations. Based on the SPECIES paradigm, we present three studies that evaluate different portions of the model, and these studies are used as foundational research for the development of the automated kiosk. The first study evaluates human-computer interaction and how SPECIES agents can change perceptions of information systems by varying appearance and demeanor. Instantiations that had the agents embodied as males were perceived as more powerful, while female embodied agents were perceived as more likable. Similarly, smiling agents were perceived as more likable than neutral demeanor agents. The second study demonstrated that a single sensor measuring vocal pitch provides SPECIES with environmental awareness of human stress and deception. The final study ties the first two studies together and demonstrates an avatar-based kiosk that asks questions and measures the responses using vocalic measurements.
Effect of Prenatal Dexamethasone on Immunoreactive 6-Ketoprostaglandin F1α Levels in Fetal Rat Lungs

The effect of prenatal glucocorticoid treatment on levels of immunoreactive 6-ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha (PGF1 alpha) (the stable metabolite of prostacyclin) was studied in fetal rat lungs. During late gestation (20-22 days), levels of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha peaked at 21 days in offspring of control mothers. At a maternal dose of 0.2 mg/kg dexamethasone, maximal enhancement of fetal 6-keto-PGF1 alpha levels occurred at 20 days gestation. At a treatment dose of 0.4 mg/kg, however, dexamethasone increased fetal lung 6-keto-PGF1 alpha concentrations throughout late gestation. Because maturation of fetal lung is known to be delayed in males relative to females, we also studied the impact of sex of the fetus on levels of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha. Our results showed no statistically significant differences between females and males in any of the treatment groups at any of the gestational ages studied. These results suggest that prenatal dexamethasone enhances endogenous levels of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha in fetal rat lungs. Since prostacyclin may play important roles in fetal lung maturation and neonatal lung function, the effectiveness of prenatal glucocorticoid therapy for accelerating functional maturity of the fetal lung may in part be due to stimulation of prostacyclin synthesis.
APC: a performance metric of memory systems

Due to the infamous "memory wall" problem and a drastic increase in the number of data intensive applications, memory rather than processor has become the leading performance bottleneck of modern computing systems. Evaluating and understanding memory system performance is increasingly becoming the core of high-end computing. Conventional memory metrics, such as miss ratio, average miss latency, average memory access time, etc., are designed to measure a given memory performance parameter, and do not reflect the overall performance of a memory system. On the other hand, widely used system measurement metrics, such as IPC and Flops are designed to measure CPU performance, and do not directly reflect memory performance. In this paper, we proposed a novel memory metric, Access Per Cycle (APC), to measure overall memory performance with consideration of the complexity of modern memory systems. A unique contribution of APC is its separation of memory evaluation from CPU evaluation; therefore, it provides a quantitative measurement of the "data-intensiveness" of an application. The concept of APC is introduced; a constructive investigation counting the number of data accesses and access cycles at differing levels of the memory hierarchy is conducted; finally some important usages of APC are presented. Simulation results show that APC is significantly more appropriate than the existing memory metrics in evaluating modern memory systems.
Rainbows, Time Zones, and Other Mind-Dependent Objects: Making Sense of the Relevant Notions of “Mind-Dependence” in the Debate between Metaphysical Realists and Antirealists

In a recent article, Sam Page distinguishes four kinds of mind-(in)dependence: ontological, causal, structural, and individuative. He argues that, despite the fact that the metaphysical realism/antirealism debate has been frequently characterized as a debate between those who accept and those who deny that the world is causally and/or structurally dependent on minds, many antirealists are primarily interested in defending the claim that the world is individuatively mind-dependent. In this article, I critically examine these differing senses of “mind-dependence” highlighting ways in which they remain ambiguous and identifying various entailment relations between them. I argue that there is reason to believe that ontological dependence, structural dependence, and the only sort of individuative dependence that is relevant to the metaphysical debate are coextensive notions. As such, any argument that succeeds in establishing that it is incoherent to suppose that everything is ontologically and/or structurally dependent thereby establishes the incoherence of metaphysical antirealism.
Human Polycomb 2 Protein Is a SUMO E3 Ligase and Alleviates Substrate-Induced Inhibition of Cystathionine β-Synthase Sumoylation

Human cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) catalyzes the first irreversible step in the transsulfuration pathway and commits homocysteine to the synthesis of cysteine. Mutations in CBS are the most common cause of severe hereditary hyperhomocysteinemia. A yeast two-hybrid approach to screen for proteins that interact with CBS had previously identified several components of the sumoylation pathway and resulted in the demonstration that CBS is a substrate for sumoylation. In this study, we demonstrate that sumoylation of CBS is enhanced in the presence of human polycomb group protein 2 (hPc2), an interacting partner that was identified in the initial yeast two-hybrid screen. When the substrates for CBS, homocysteine and serine for cystathionine generation and homocysteine and cysteine for H2S generation, are added to the sumoylation mixture, they inhibit the sumoylation reaction, but only in the absence of hPc2. Similarly, the product of the CBS reaction, cystathionine, inhibits sumoylation in the absence of hPc2. Sumoylation in turn decreases CBS activity by ∼28% in the absence of hPc2 and by 70% in its presence. Based on these results, we conclude that hPc2 serves as a SUMO E3 ligase for CBS, increasing the efficiency of sumoylation. We also demonstrate that γ-cystathionase, the second enzyme in the transsulfuration pathway is a substrate for sumoylation under in vitro conditions. We speculate that the role of this modification may be for nuclear localization of the cysteine-generating pathway under conditions where nuclear glutathione demand is high.
Comparative Effectiveness of Dextrothyroxine and Levothyroxine in Correcting Hypothyroidism and Lowering Blood Lipid Levels in Hypothyroid Patients

Data reported here establish that treatment regimens of 4 mg dextrothyroxine and 0.15 mg levothyroxine in hypothyroid subjects produce similar degrees of lowering of serum TSH, cholesterol, triglycerides, and phospholipid levels and equal stimulation of metabolic rate. The Murphy-Pattee total T4 determination applied to blood samples drawn 24 h after the last dose of dextrothyroxine can be used to assess adequacy of treatment. Correction of hypothyroidism requires high serum levels of dextrothyroxine than of levothyroxine. Serum T3 levels increase in patients treated with dextrothyroxine. In the treatment of hypothyroidism, the cholesterol-lowering and metabolic rate-stimulating effects of dextrothyroxine do not appear to be dissociated. Further studies are needed to determine whether such an effect can be demonstrated in euthyroid hypercholesterolemic subjects with doses established herein as equivalent in terms of the stimulating effect on metabolic rate.
Abiotic stress growth conditions induce different responses in kernel iron concentration across genotypically distinct maize inbred varieties.

The improvement of grain nutrient profiles for essential minerals and vitamins through breeding strategies is a target important for agricultural regions where nutrient poor crops like maize contribute a large proportion of the daily caloric intake. Kernel iron concentration in maize exhibits a broad range. However, the magnitude of genotype by environment (GxE) effects on this trait reduces the efficacy and predictability of selection programs, particularly when challenged with abiotic stress such as water and nitrogen limitations. Selection has also been limited by an inverse correlation between kernel iron concentration and the yield component of kernel size in target environments. Using 25 maize inbred lines for which extensive genome sequence data is publicly available, we evaluated the response of kernel iron density and kernel mass to water and nitrogen limitation in a managed field stress experiment using a factorial design. To further understand genotype by environment interactions we used partition analysis to characterize response of kernel iron and weight to abiotic stressors among all genotypes, and observed two patterns: one characterized by higher kernel iron concentrations in control over stress conditions, and another with higher kernel iron concentration under drought and combined stress conditions. Breeding efforts for this nutritional trait could exploit these complementary responses through combinations of favorable allelic variation from these already well-characterized genetic stocks.
Leaders of Character: The USAFA Approach to Ethics Education and Leadership Development

We describe the educational character and leadership development processes used by the United States Air Force Academy that other educational institutions may find useful. Our processes include an integrated educational curriculum designed to complement and integrate the experiential learning that results in achieving specific organizational outcomes, co-curricular activities in cadet living, and a specific focus on the ethical development of leaders’ respect for human dignity and cultural competency as well as the mechanisms to assess and refine our processes.
A combined strain and time-hardening non-linear creep law

Abstract A modified non-linear creep law is proposed, in which each component of creep strain for constant stress is generalized to the case of variable stress by a combined strain-hardening and time-hardening procedure. The resultant constitutive law is represented by a non-linear viscoelastic model containing aging elements. Strain solutions are presented for various simple loadings, and are given graphical interpretations. As an application of the proposed theory, material parameters are determined for two aluminium alloys. An extremely good fit with experimental data is obtained in both cases.
Bishydrazide Glycoconjugates for Lectin Recognition and Capture of Bacterial Pathogens

Bishydrazides are versatile linkers for attaching glycans to substrates for lectin binding and pathogen detection schemes. The α,ω-bishydrazides of carboxymethylated hexa(ethylene glycol) (4) can be conjugated at one end to unprotected oligosaccharides, then attached onto carrier proteins, tethered onto activated carboxyl-terminated surfaces, or functionalized with a photoactive cross-linking agent for lithographic patterning. Glycoconjugates of bishydrazide 4 can also be converted into dithiocarbamates (DTCs) by treatment with CS2 under mild conditions, for attachment onto gold substrates. The immobilized glycans serve as recognition elements for cell-surface lectins and enable the detection and capture of bacterial pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa by their adsorption onto micropatterned substrates. A detection limit of 103 cfu/mL is demonstrated, using a recently introduced method based on optical pattern recognition.
Adsorption, structural alteration and elution of peptides at pendant PEO layers

An experimentally based, quantitative understanding of the entrapment and function of small peptides within PEO brush layers does not currently exist. Earlier work provided a rationale for expecting that an ordered, compact peptide will enter the PEO phase more readily than a peptide of similar size that adopts a less ordered, less compact form, and that amphiphilicity will promote peptide retention within the hydrophobic region of the PEO brush. Here we more deliberately describe criteria for peptide integration and structural change within the PEO brush, and discuss the reversibility of peptide entrapment with changing solvent conditions. For this purpose, circular dichroism (CD) was used to record the adsorption and conformational changes of (amphiphilic) WLBU2 and (non-amphiphilic) polyarginine peptides at uncoated (hydrophobic) and PEO-coated silica nanoparticles. Peptide conformation was controlled between disordered and α-helical forms by varying the concentration of perchlorate ion. We show an initially more ordered (α-helical) structure promotes peptide adsorption into the PEO layer. Further, a partially helical peptide undergoes an increase in helicity after entry, likely due to concomitant loss of capacity for peptide-solvent hydrogen bonding. Peptide interaction with the PEO chains resulted in entrapment and conformational change that was irreversible to elution with changing solution conditions in the case of the amphiphilic peptide. In contrast, the adsorption and conformational change of the non-amphiphilic peptide was reversible. These results indicate that responsive drug delivery systems based on peptide-loaded PEO layers can be controlled by modulation of solution conditions and peptide amphiphilicity.