cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Discussion: Research to Promote Patient-Based HTA

This chapter provides an overview of research methods that can be used to enhance patient collaboration and incorporate patients’ perspectives into HTA. The first part of this chapter discusses the foundations of patient-based HTA. First, we discuss two different approaches to patient-based HTA, the collaborative approach and the scientific approach, and overview the ethical and practical implications of patient collaboration in HTA. Secondly, we give a brief summary of the chapters covering patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), discrete choice experiments (DCEs), and analytical hierarchy processes (AHPs) as examples of the scientific approach to patient-based HTA. In the second part of this chapter, we discuss next steps and gaps surrounding methods that can be used in patient-based HTA. It is clear that patient-based HTA has regained popularity in recent years, yet more research is needed to explore the validity and generalizability of methods that measure patients’ perspectives and how to incorporate them into patient-based HTA. We caution that more care needs to be taken to ensure that collaboration with patients and patient groups is based on mutual respect and that patients’ perspectives are clearly represented. We conclude the chapter by discussing what is currently missing in patient-based HTA and call for comprehensive guidance on patient-based HTA with increased transparency and collaboration across researchers, patients, agencies, and other stakeholders that want to advance patient-based HTA.
Exploring prins strategies for the synthesis of okilactomycin

Abstract This account describes the convergent synthesis of (−)-okilactomycin. The first-generation approach focused on the assembly of two complex fragments through a Prins reaction of a dioxinone and α-hydroxy aldehyde. While this route was not ultimately successful, a related Maitland–Japp process employing a β-keto ester in place of the dioxinone fragment provided the necessary union of functionalized intermediate, thereby establishing the full carbon framework of the natural product. The synthesis also employed a highly diastereoselective Lewis acid-promoted Diels–Alder reaction and an olefin ring-closing metathesis to close the strained 11-membered macrocycle of the natural product.
Surgical Management of Adult Acquired Buried Penis: Escutcheonectomy, Scrotectomy, and Penile Split-thickness Skin Graft.

Objective To demonstrate the surgical management of adult acquired buried penis (AABP). Affected patients have poor sexual function, urinary dribbling with subsequent skin breakdown, mood disturbance, lichen sclerosus with subsequent urethral stricture, and poor quality of life. Previous efforts have described limited repairs including an isolated resection of the escutcheon, which unfortunately often leads to reburying. We present a more extensive surgical repair including escutcheonectomy, scrotoplasty, and penile split-thickness skin graft (STSG) to provide a durable definitive repair. Methods A retrospective review was conducted of patients managed in 2015-2016. Twelve patients who underwent escutcheonectomy, scrotoplasty, and penile STSG were identified. All patients had morbid obesity as a sole etiology or a significant contributing factor. Outcomes evaluated were surgical complications, reburying of the penis, and graft take rates. Results Twelve patients underwent repair of AABP. All patients had durable unburying at the intermediate-term follow-up (mean of 8 months). The mean patient body mass index was 45.4 ± 13.8. The operative times, the length of stay, and the estimated blood loss were 312 ± 59 minutes, 5.3 ± 1.1 days, and 304 ± 133 cc, respectively. The STSG take rate was 80%-100% (mean of 91.7%). Conclusion AABP is a challenging condition to treat. Limited surgical repairs can lead to a reburying of the penis and a progression of urethral disease. Escutcheonectomy, scrotoplasty, and STSG have encouraging intermediate-term outcomes with durable unburying of the penis and good STSG take rates. Further follow-up in larger series is needed, but results are thus far encouraging.
Randomized controlled pilot study of the preoperative use of brimonidine 0.33% topical gel for hemostasis in Mohs micrographic surgery

Background Brimonidine topical gel may be useful in cutaneous surgical procedures because of its vasoconstricting properties. Objective Assess the hemostatic effect of topically applied brimonidine in patients being treated with anticoagulants and undergoing Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS). Methods Subjects undergoing MMS were randomly assigned to the control (n = 10) or study arm (n = 14). Controls received standard-of-care MMS, whereas the study arm received the same and preoperative application of brimonidine. Evaluations included rate of blood flow, percentage of wound bed surface area needing electrocautery, and changes in skin colorimeter readings. Results The treatment arm had 68% less blood loss over 30 seconds versus the control arm ( P P Limitations Limitations were small sample size; sites limited to the face; the fact that measurement of bleeding did not account for anesthetic mixed with blood; visual estimation of percentage of wound surface area requiring cauterization; and no measurement of volume of anesthesia, wound depth, or postoperative complications. Conclusion Preoperative application of brimonidine 0.33% gel may help decrease blood loss and the need for electrocautery during MMS for patients taking anticoagulants.
Sideband instability analysis based on a one-dimensional high-gain free electron laser model

When an untapered high-gain free electron laser (FEL) reaches saturation, the exponential growth ceases and the radiation power starts to oscillate about an equilibrium. The FEL radiation power or efficiency can be increased by undulator tapering. For a high-gain tapered FEL, although the power is enhanced after the first saturation, it is known that there is a so-called second saturation where the FEL power growth stops even with a tapered undulator system. The sideband instability is one of the primary reasons leading to this second saturation. In this paper, we provide a quantitative analysis on how the gradient of undulator tapering can mitigate the sideband growth. The study is carried out semianalytically and compared with one-dimensional numerical simulations. The physical parameters are taken from Linac Coherent Light Source-like electron bunch and undulator systems. The sideband field gain and the evolution of the radiation spectra for different gradients of undulator tapering are examined. It is found that a strong undulator tapering ($\ensuremath{\sim}10%$) provides effective suppression of the sideband instability in the postsaturation regime.
Unveiling the demographic ‘action’ in class-action lawsuits: Two instructional cases

Population turnover, cohort survival, and intercohort transmission of effects are concepts widely applicable beyond the customary domains of demographic analysis. One such application involves a cohort of victims referenced in time and place by a common harm for which legal redress is sought through a class-action lawsuit. Two instructional case studies illustrate applications of demographic reasoning and data to certain generic questions such litigation may pose: How many claimants will remain by some future date? How prevalent will they then be in the population? How feasible will it be to redress the harm years later? These cases illustrate the use of familiar demographic concepts and simple demographic reasoning to draw legally relevant conclusions from available data. Specific instructional applications include: accounting for demographic factors that deplete the original class over time and dilute its surviving members among residents at the referenced place; integrating the use of administrative record, census, and vital statistics data; and devising approximate estimates of turnover within local populations. Training is broadly suited to assignments aimed at applying common-sense demographic reasoning to devise nonstandard solutions to measurement problems.
The Use of Synthetic Data in Eye/Face Recognition

Information is in data. Classifiers cannot make up for inadequate data when performing recognition tasks. The approach presented here is an attempt aiming at increasing data for cases where adequate facial image data is not available, i.e., when only one or a few images of a subject is at hand. Due to significant natural facial variations, e.g., facial expression, and appearances due to lighting condition, and head pose (even when dealing with ‘‘frontal view’’), the use of a collection of images covering these variations and appearances will be of great help. We show that the expansion of the training set, by careful construction of synthetic images that capture all or most of the desired appearances can significantly improve the performance, especially when only one (or several, but very similar) real image(s) of a given individual are available. To have a better understanding of the issues involved, we address an inherently simpler problem, i.e., face/identity recognition/verification using only one eye and its associated eyebrow. Moreover, our experimental results indicate that the eye is rich in discriminative information, perhaps providing more information than what is normally utilized by humans. This wealth of information, however, can be exploited by machines for close-up images. Finally, we speculate that a similar improvement can be achieved when the training set is enriched with carefully generated synthetic images of the entire face. Issues concerning synthesis automation are also discussed.
Finishing the Study

Like study start-up, the time of closure of the study involves additional procedures for the team. Subjects must be brought in for final visit early in their visit windows, collecting all study-related materials and updating all contact information. Effort must be expended to complete all study queries, and financial conflict of interest reporting must be repeated. All financial billing must be completed and received before the study can be formally closed. While subject charts can be stored off-site, a list of documents to be kept on-site indefinitely includes the sponsor closure letter, the IRB closure letter, sponsor contact list, contents of the boxes to be sent to storage, CDs of subject data, unblinding notifications, and study publications.
A Frightful Leap into Darkness: Auto-Destructive Art and Extinction

In a new book titled Wild Things: Queer Theory After Nature , I develop a new critical vocabulary to access different, transdisciplinary ways of thinking about race, sexuality, alternative political imaginaries and queer futurity and extinction. Wildness in no way signals the untamed frontier, or the absence of modernity, the barbarian, the animalistic or the opposite of civilization. Rather, in a post-colonial and even de-colonizing vein, it has emerged in the last few years as a marker of a desire to return queerness to the disorder of an unsorted field of desires and drives; to the disorienting and disquieting signifying functions it once named and held in place; and to a set of activist and even pedagogical strategies that depend upon chance, randomness, surprise, entropy and that seek to counter the organizing and bureaucratic logics of the state with potential sites of ungovernability and abjection. Wildness signifies in my project in a number of different ways, but here I use the framework of “abjection” to explain some of the appeal of wildness and a few of the ways in which it expresses relations between the unnamable, the excessive, horror and death. Later on, I will turn to a set of performances and art projects that are deliberately auto destructive and that collectively imagine the end of the human.
Learning from the Ancient Maya: Conservation of the Culture and Nature of the Maya Forest

The Maya forest is a garden, so say the economic botanists. This is the legacy of the ancient Maya who co-created this landscape over millennia. This heritage knowledge attests to the understanding of the Maya civilization as well as our appreciation of the tradition Milpa-forest garden cycle. Indeed, traditional Maya home-gardens are hailed as the most diverse in the world, yet this legacy is practiced in ever fewer numbers. Wise Maya farmers, whose heritage links to the ancient Maya landscape, use the forest as a garden and build utility in their agricultural landscape thought the practice of the Milpa cycle. They have few followers and they know this is the case. Inspired by the development of the El Pilar Archaeological Reserve for Maya Flora and Fauna, a group of Maya farmers joined together as the El Pilar Maya Forest Garden Network developed to promote a school garden in their community, the village Santa Familia Belize. For 10 years, they offer to educate their children and visitors in the strategies and practices of forest gardening, a living art handed down through the ages.
Difficult Internal Jugular Central Venous Cannulation Using J-Tip Guidewire with Indwelling Peripherally Inserted Central Venous Catheters

Central venous cannulation is a commonly performed procedure while managing critically ill patients; increasingly we encounter patients with indwelling wires or devices, like pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillator devices, and peripherally inserted central venous catheters which complicate insertion of central venous catheters further. We present two cases where use of standard J-tip guidewire may have exacerbated the difficulty associated with internal jugular cannulation in presence of peripherally inserted central venous catheters. Recognition and avoidance of possible complications are crucial, and we discuss complexity posed by indwelling peripherally inserted central venous catheters and possible solutions.
Suicidal ingestion of household bleach resulting in total gastrectomy

Dear editor,Herein we describe a case with an unusual injury pattern, in which a suicidal bleach ingestion resulted in gastric necrosis and need for total gastrectomy. The esophagus, however, remai...
Experiences of Reproductive Coercion Among Latina Women and Strategies for Minimizing Harm: “The Path Makes Us Strong”

INTRODUCTION Latina women disproportionately report experiencing reproductive coercion (RC), a set of behaviors that interfere with autonomous reproductive decision making. Given RC's associations with intimate partner violence (IPV) and unintended pregnancy, it is critical to identify and address RC to assist women to achieve safety, autonomy, and reproductive life plans. The purpose of this study was to describe and understand the context of RC and the use of RC safety strategies among Latina women receiving services at an urban clinic, through listening to the experiences of the women in their own words. METHODS Qualitative descriptive methodology was used. Semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 13 Latina women recruited from a Federally Qualified Health Center in the Washington, DC, area. RESULTS Data were organized into 3 a priori categories: (1) RC behaviors, (2) co-occurrence of RC and IPV, and (3) RC harm reduction strategies. New RC behaviors emerged, and immigration status was used as a method of coercive control. From these a priori categories emerged 4 themes: impact of immigrant and citizenship status, machismo, strength and bravery, and importance of family. Harm reduction strategies included less detectable contraception; some sought community services, but others resorted to deception and stalling as the only tools available to them. DISCUSSION Less detectable methods of contraception remained useful harm reduction strategies for women experiencing RC. Midwives should inquire about method fit and be mindful of honoring the request when patients ask to change methods. Women's strength and resilience emerged as a vital source of power and endurance. This diverse sample and the powerful voices of the women who participated make a significant contribution to the understanding of RC experienced by Latina women in the United States.
Continuous-time Monte Carlo Renormalization Group

We implement the Monte Carlo renormalization group approach in the continuous-time Monte Carlo simulation of a quantum system. We demonstrate numerically the emergent isotropy between space and time at large distances for the systems that exhibit Lorentz invariance at quantum criticality. This allows us to estimate accurately the sound velocity for these quantum systems. Q-state Potts models in one and two space dimensions are used to illustrate the method.
Droplet Acceleration In The Arc

This paper simulates the acceleration of the droplet in the arc during gas metal arc welding process. After a droplet is detached from the electrode, it is accelerated in the high temperature and high velocity arc to the workpiece. The droplet is subjected to several forces, such as the arc plasma shear stress, arc pressure force, surface tension force, gravity force, and electromagnetic force. A comprehensive model is used to simulate the changes of droplet shape, temperature, and velocity during the acceleration in the arc. The transient interaction of droplet and arc plasma is through coupled boundary conditions, thus, no assumptions are needed to simulate the droplet acceleration. The simulated results were compared with the published experimental data and an agreement was found.
Peripheral Blood Leukocyte Telomere Length and Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a common gynecologic disease defined by the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterine cavity. While its etiology is largely unknown, accumulating evidence suggests that inflammation plays a major role. Our objective was to investigate the association between peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and endometriosis using data from two large population-based studies, the New England Case-Control Study (NEC; n = 877) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; n = 2268). NEC control participants were identified through a combination of random digit dialing, drivers’ license lists, and town resident lists. In NHANES, selection algorithms were used to identify a nationally representative sample. Blood samples and demographic, reproductive, and health-related information were available from both data sources. Endometriosis was defined as self-reported of physician-diagnosed endometriosis. LTL was measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Multivariable logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between LTL and endometriosis. Shorter LTL was associated with greater odds of history of endometriosis. In NEC, women with the shortest LTL tertile compared with the longest had a 2.5-fold greater odds of endometriosis (ORT3/T1 = 2.56, 95% CI = 1.16–5.63; p value, test for linear trend = 0.02). The association was stronger among women who usually experienced moderate or severe menstrual pain (OR T3/T1 = 3.50, 95% CI = 1.12–10.97). In NHANES, the data suggested a similar but attenuated association (ORT3/T1 = 1.29, 95% CI = 0.85–1.96). The observed associations in NEC suggest that shorter LTL may be associated with greater odds of endometriosis. A better understanding of how LTL influences endometriosis risk could elucidate novel disease pathophysiology.
Preoperative carfilzomib and lulizumab based desensitization prolongs graft survival in a sensitized non-human primate model.

Sensitized patients are difficult to transplant due to pre-formed anti-donor immunity. We have previously reported successful desensitization using carfilzomib and belatacept in a non-human primate (NHP) model. Here we evaluated selective blockade of the co-stimulatory signal (CD28-B7) with Lulizumab, which preserves the co-inhibitory signal (CTLA4-B7). Five maximally MHC-mismatched pairs of NHPs were sensitized to each other with two sequential skin transplants. Individuals from each pair were randomized to either desensitization with once-weekly Carfilzomib (27mg/m2 IV) and Lulizumab (12.5mg/kg SC) over four weeks, or no desensitization (Control). NHPs then underwent life-sustaining kidney transplantation from their previous skin donor. Rhesus-specific anti-thymocyte globulin was used as induction therapy and immunosuppression maintained with tacrolimus, mycophenolate, and methylprednisolone. Desensitized subjects demonstrated a significant reduction in donor-specific antibody, follicular helper T cells (CD4+PD-1+ICOS+), and proliferating B cells (CD20+Ki67+) in the lymph nodes. Interestingly, regulatory T cell (CD4+CD25+CD127lo) frequency was maintained after desensitization in addition to increased frequency of naive CD4 T cells (CCR7+CD45RA+) and naive B cells (IgD+CD27-CD20+) in circulation. This was associated with significant prolongation in graft survival (MST = 5.8 ± 4.0 vs. 64.8 ± 36.3; p
Optimal Orthogonal Expansion for Estimation II: Signal in Counting Observations

The purpose of the paper is to show that the approach developed in the preceding part can also be used to construct approximate estimators for the signal that modulates the rate of a counting process. The estimators are optimal for the given structure and approach the best estimate, when the approximation order increases.
Problem of Level Densities in Compound Nuclear Reactions

The analysis of deficiencies of level density models currently used as inputs in nuclear reaction codes is attempted. The focus was on analysis of possible sources of uncertainties in calculation of level densities resulted from using different models and their parameterizations. It was concluded that the main source of uncertainties of level density models is due to limited experimental base the models use for their parameterizations, namely data on neutron resonances. This and other types of experimental data are reviewed and further developments are suggested.
Foreign language acquisition via artificial intelligence and extended reality: design and evaluation

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Extended Reality (XR) have been employed in several foreign language education applications to increase the availability of experiential learning methods akin to in...
Focus On… Powers of Attorney and Retirement Plans

Increasing longevity carries with it the risk that a retirement plan participant or beneficiary may lose decision-making capacity and may cease to be able to manage, or plan for the investment or distribution of, his or her benefits under a retirement plan. This article discusses the extent to which an ERISA plan may safely act on the instructions of an agent under a power of attorney, given the lack of guidance in ERISA itself or the regulations there under.
Some Conceptions And Mis-Conceptions On Reality And Assumptions In Financial Accounting

This paper addresses two problematic issues arising from the importation of terms into financial accounting: (1) the nature of economic reality; and (2) the role of assumptions. These two issues have stirred a lot of controversy relating to financial accounting measurements and affect attestation reports. This paper attempts to provide conceptual clarity on these two issues.
Machinery Faults Prediction Using Ensemble Tree Classifiers: Bagging or Boosting?

Proactive maintenance aims to accurately classify temporal trends as early as possible, detect faulty states, and pinpoint the root cause of faults. Neither late nor early maintenance is desirable, as each will incur additional operating costs. While various data-driven techniques have been used to identify faults, many fail to perform when faced with missing values at run time or lack explainability. The present work introduces a framework to identify and classify anomalous signals in spite of missing values and partially labeled data. This framework offers explainability by identifying key performance indicators for each fault family using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP). A comprehensive study was performed on existing algorithms to determine the best fault classifier, and candidates with accuracy greater than 80% were selected. This paper introduces a new missing value imputation technique based on Partial Least Squares (PLS-MV). It also uses fuzzy C-means (FCM) to detect different healthy unlabeled operations in the PHME21 dataset. Our results show that boosting algorithm is best suited for creating a generalized model that is capable of classifying faulty patterns in multi-label datasets which may include missing values.
Carbenicillin Therapy for Anaerobic Infections

Thirty-two patients with anaerobic infections of the chest, abdomen, pelvis, and soft tissue were treated with intravenous carbenicillin alone. Thirty were cured. The microbiologic and clinical results indicate that carbenicillin could be used as a single agent in anaerobic infections.
The Collection, Dissemination and Tagging of Personally Identifying Information

As the twenty-first century bustles forward, the e-commerce becomes an ever more dangerous place. On a daily basis, websites collect vast amounts of personally identifying information (PII) and mine it in sophisticated databases to discover consumer trends and desires. This process provides many benefits - such as tailored websites and relevant marketing - that few Web surfers would care to do without. However, serious threat lurking in cyberspace and consumers continue to submit vast amounts of information in a state of relative unawareness. Not wanting to miss out on their Web surfing experience, visitors submit their personal information without glancing at a company's privacy policy. In 2008, 100% of the most highly trafficked websites in the United States collect PII while just over 60% have privacy polices that clear explain PII practices. Instead, of offering explanations, e-commerce companies obfuscate and exacerbate the serious threats surrounding PII collection and dissemination. This occurs most often via inconspicuously posting privacy policies written in small font and filled with legalese and loopholes. The United States legal system allows such obfuscation unless a company breaks a privacy promise. This article argues for a federal PII Tagging law where companies face a choice. They must: (1) post a clear and conspicuous privacy policy drafted in plain English or (2) associate (tag) their name to each piece of data they disseminate. Over time, consumers will tire of solicitations beginning with the phrase Hi, I represent company X and we purchased your telephone number, etc. from company Y. Such social pressure will lead companies to take the simple and nearly costless step of drafting better privacy policies. At the end of the day, Tagging legislation represents a middle-ground solution that protects PII without excessively hindering e-commerce efficiency.
Characterization of a divergent non-classical MHC class I gene in sharks

Sharks are the most ancient group of vertebrates known to possess members of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) gene family. For this reason, sharks provide a unique opportunity to gain insight into the evolution of the vertebrate immune system through comparative analysis. Two genes encoding proteins related to the MHC class I gene family were isolated from splenic cDNA derived from spiny dogfish shark (Squalus acanthias). The genes have been designated MhcSqac-UAA*01 and MhcSqac-UAA*NC1. Comparative analysis demonstrates that the Sqac-UAA*01 protein sequence clusters with classical MHC class I of several shark species and has structural elements common to most classical MHC class I molecules. In contrast, Sqac-UAA*NC1 is highly divergent from all vertebrate classical MHC class I proteins, including the Sqac-UAA*01 sequence and those of other shark species. Although Sqac-UAA*NC1 is clearly related to the MHC class I gene family, no orthologous genes from other species were identified due to the high degree of sequence divergence. In fact, the Sqac NC1 protein sequence is the most divergent MHC class-I-like protein identified thus far in any shark species. This high degree of divergence is similar in magnitude to some of the MHC class-I-related genes found in mammals, such as MICA or CD1. These data support the existence of a class of highly divergent non-classical MHC class I genes in the most primitive vertebrates known to possess homologues of the MHC and other components of the adaptive immune system.
Trefoil factor 2 maintains and restores pulmonary function via promoting epithelial repair and M2 activation (MUC5P.859)

Mechanisms responsible for pulmonary tissue homeostasis and regeneration are incompletely understood. This study investigated whether Trefoil factor family (TFF) proteins, regulators of gastrointestinal restitution, served any role in the pulmonary tract under steady state conditions or pathogen infection. At baseline, TFF2 lung mRNA transcript levels were highest compared to TFF1 and TFF3. Strikingly, TFF2 deficient mice (TFF2-/-) were hypoxic by 6-8 weeks of age, with abnormal alveoli, reduced blood oxygen levels, and defective integrin expression on alveolar type 1 cells. TFF2 was essential for mucosal barrier function in tracheal epithelia and TFF2 deficiency caused multiple transcriptional defects in adhesion, motility, and wound repair. Unexpectedly, TFF2 expression in hematopoietic cells was necessary for Type 2 immunity and recovery of pulmonary function after inoculation with the hookworm Nippostrongylus brasiliensis. TFF2 served a cell-intrinsic role in promoting macrophage polarization towards the M2 subset. Thus, in addition to epithelial restitution, TFF2 derived from hematopoietic cells instructs macrophage subset differentiation, promotes host immunity, and stimulates tissue repair within the pulmonary tract.
An Investigation of the SOAR Study Strategy for Learning from Multiple Online Resources

Abstract This mixed-methods study investigated the effects of the SOAR study strategy for learning from multiple online resources. SOAR includes the components of selection, organization, association, and regulation. Past research confirmed that college students who study provided or partially provided SOAR materials achieved more than those using their preferred study methods when learning from a single printed (Jairam & Kiewra, 2009) or computer-based (Jairam & Kiewra, 2010) text. The present study was the first to investigate SOAR when college students create their own study materials and must learn from multiple online resources. In the present study, one hundred and thirty-four college students were assigned randomly to the preferred strategy control group or the SOAR strategy experimental group. Following a pre-survey and online training in their respective study strategy, both groups were directed to use their trained strategy to study scientific material available on multiple websites. Following the study period, participants were tested on the online material and then completed a post-survey. Qualitative analyses of pre-survey responses (before training) indicated that participants from both groups commonly use note taking, summarization, and memorization strategies to study online resources. Qualitative analyses of post-survey responses (after training) indicated that the preferred strategies control group used these same strategies to study the experimental material, whereas the SOAR-trained group used SOAR strategies. These qualitative data fit with quantitative data showing that (a) both groups created study materials reflective of their strategy training (preferred or SOAR); (b) SOAR strategy studiers achieved more than preferred strategy studiers on fact, relationship, and concept achievement items; and (c) SOAR-trained studiers had more positive attitudes about their trained methods than preferred-trained studiers.
A New Market Segment for Olive Oil: Olive Oil Tourism in the South of Spain

Spain is the leading producer of olive oil. For Spain, olive oil and olive growing are not only an important source of economic wealth, but also symbols of its culture and gastronomy renowned both nationally and internationally. However, in rural areas where the olive is the primary source of income for resident families, proposals are being sought for activities that break away from the seasonality in income represented by dependence on agriculture. Among all these proposals there is one, that of oleotourism, that is beginning to gain ground because of its facet of culinary tourism. This is due to its uniqueness, and it can also be considered an initiative for sustainable rural tourism. Given the interest aroused by this type of initiative, both on the part of the public administration and also the olive sector, this study involves the demand for oleotourism in Andalucia and is a strategic analysis of oleotourism as a new market sector in the south of Spain.
Abstract 172: Circulating Mirna Profiles Discriminate Stroke Severity Associated With Age and Sex

Background: Age and sex have significant effects on stroke outcomes, however, the precise mechanisms by which these factors affect stroke pathophysiology remains unclear. Small non-coding RNA (miRNA) found in circulation have been used successfully as biomarkers and mechanistic targets for chronic and acute diseases. The present study investigated the impact of age and sex on microRNA expression following ischemic stroke. Methods: Adult (6 mo) and middle aged (11-12 mo) female and male rats were subject to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) using Endothelin-1. Blood samples were drawn at 2d and 5d post stroke. All animals were terminated at 5d and the brains processed for infarct analysis by standard histological procedures. Total RNA isolated from serum was subject to QPCR amplification for serum microRNAs (168) and 7 reference microRNAs (Exiqon focus panels). Normalized miRNA values were analyzed by Genesifter program using a two-way ANOVA with Benjamini and Hochberg corrections for false discovery rates.. Results: Normalized infarct volume was significantly smaller in adult females (0.12+) as compared to middle-aged females (0.4; p<0.05), young males (0.51 ) or middle aged males (0.51. p<0.05). At 2d post stroke, 30 circulating miRNAs were differentially regulated and principal component analysis (PCA) confirmed that most of the variance was due to age. At 5d post stroke, 79 circulating miRNAs exhibited significantly different regulation, and PCA indicated that most of the variance was associated with sex. A small cohort (5) of miRNAs, miR-15a, -19b, -32, -136 and -199a-3p were found to be highly expressed in adult females compared to middle aged females, adult and middle-aged males. Predicted and experimentally validated gene targets for these 5 miRNAs analyzed for Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways revealed that the top 10 KEGG pathways (high p values, large gene numbers) were related to growth factor signaling, cell structure and MAPK signaling. Conclusion: Overall, the pattern of circulating miRNA expression suggests an early influence of age in stroke pathology, with a later emergence of sex as a factor for stroke severity. Furthermore, a small cohort of miRNAs were found to discriminate severe and mild stroke infarction.
Photovoltaic System Design for Remote Telecommunication Installations

Daily radiation records are used to optimally dimension array and battery sizes in stand-alone photovoltaic systems and to determine array orientation. The resulting system design has the specified power availability at minimum total cost.
Rethinking Families and Community: The Color, Class, and Centrality of Extended Kin Ties†

Although a focus on marriage and the nuclear ,family characterizes much sociological research and social commentary, this article suggests that this focus ignores the familial experiences of many Americans, particularly those on the lower end of the economic spectrum for whom extended kin are central. African Americans and Latinoslas are more involved with kin than whites, but class trumps race in this regard: African Americans, Latinos/as, and whites with fewer economic resources rely more on extended kin than do those more affluent. The emphasis on marriage and the nuclear family may actually promulgate a vision of family life that dismisses the very social resources and community ties that are critical to the survival strategies of those in need. In contrast to those who have argued that marriage is the foundation of the community or even, in that overused phrase, the "basic unit of society," this article suggests that marriage actually detracts from social ties to broader communities just as an emphasis on marriage and the nuclear family, to the exclusion of the extended family, distorts and reduces the power and reach of social policy.
Potassium channel gene mutations rarely cause atrial fibrillation

Background Mutations in several potassium channel subunits have been associated with rare forms of atrial fibrillation. In order to explore the role of potassium channels in inherited typical forms of the arrhythmia, we have screened a cohort of patients from a referral clinic for mutations in the channel subunit genes implicated in the arrhythmia. We sought to determine if mutations in KCNJ2 and KCNE1-5 are a common cause of atrial fibrillation.
EXPOSURE OPPORTUNITY IN CASE-CONTROL STUDIES

Efficient control of confounding is well recognized as a legitimate motive for restriction, matching, and conditional analysis in case-control studies. Some investigators, however, have advocated use of the same techniques for another purpose: to achieve a balance of "opportunity" or "potential" for past exposure between cases and controls. This paper shows that disparities of exposure opportunity between cases and controls exert no bias on estimates of the incidence rate ratio. The precision of rate ratio estimates is lessened when case-control studies are reduced in size by the exclusion of people with no opportunity for exposure. Matching and conditional analysis with respect to indicators of exposure opportunity also reduce precision without enhancing validity. Such indicators, which are correlates of exposure but not determinants of disease, are not confounders; therefore, they do not need to be controlled in the design or analysis of case-control studies.
High-performance architecture for dynamically updatable packet classification on FPGA

Algorithms and FPGA based implementations for packet classification have been studied over the past decade. Algorithmic solutions have focused on high throughput; however, supporting dynamic updates has been challenging. In this paper, we present a 2-dimensional pipelined architecture for packet classification on FPGA, which achieves high throughput while supporting dynamic updates. Fine grained processing elements are arranged in a 2-dimensional array; each processing element accesses its designated memory locally, resulting in a scalable architecture. The entire array is both horizontally and vertically pipelined. As a result, it supports high clock rate that does not deteriorate as the length of the packet header or the size of the rule set increases. The performance of the architecture does not depend on rule set features such as the number of unique values in each field. The architecture also efficiently supports range searches in individual fields. The total memory is proportional to the rule set size. Dynamic updates' modify, delete and insert operations for the rule set during run-time are also supported on the self-reconfigurable processing elements with very little impact on the sustained throughput. Experimental results show that, for a 1K 15-tuple rule set, a state-of-the-art FPGA can sustain 190 Gbps throughput with 1 million updates/second. To the best of our knowledge, we are not aware of any packet classification approach that simultaneously supports both high throughput and dynamic updates of the rule set. Our architecture demonstrates 4x energy efficiency while achieving 2x throughput compared to TCAM.
Enhancing the Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Indium Tin Oxide Thin Films by Using Polyethyleneimine

We demonstrate that polyethyleneimine (PEI) stabilizes indium tin oxide (ITO) colloidal suspensions to a wider pH range and enhances the growth rate of the nanoparticle thin film during a layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly process. The interaction between the PEI and the ITO nanoparticle surface was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to be mainly due to the electrostatic force between the amine groups of PEI and the ITO particle surface. The enhanced growth rate of ITO thin films was evaluated using a quartz crystal microbalance, atomic force microscopy, impedance spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Results were found to be dependent on the PEI/ITO ratio used. Using the PEI-modified ITO suspension at a PEI/ITO ratio of 0.5 wt %, more than twice the amount of ITO was deposited onto model surfaces, such as cellulose fibers, silicon wafers, and gold electrodes of quartz crystals, when compared against the unmodified suspension. A 2 orders of magnitude higher conductivity was obtained ...
Weak Triggers in Vowel Harmony

This paper examines vowel harmony initiated by a weak trigger. Height harmony in Veneto Italian dialects, wherein a post-tonic high vowel triggers raising of preceding mid vowels, forms a case study. Veneto presents two variable patterns: stress-targeted harmony, in which harmony propagates to the stressed syllable, and maximal extension harmony, in which raising persists to pretonic vowels. The conditions under which weak vowels trigger and control harmony are examined. It is argued that weak trigger harmony is motivated by perceptual disadvantage: harmony improves exposure of the spreading feature, accomplished either by extending to a stressed position or maximizing duration in the word. The apparent primacy of the vowel quality in weak position in Veneto is accounted for by markedness factors that independently prevent the stressed vowel from overriding it. In regard to positional privilege, it is argued that positional licensing (markedness) drives stress-targeted spreading – positional faithfulness cannot be responsible for strong targets. A weak trigger pattern emerges when licensing constraints operating over perceptually marked structure dominate positional faithfulness. Crosslinguistic applications are also explored.
Status epilepticus following inhalational exposure to bifenthrin, a Type II pyrethroid.

To the Editor:Pyrethroids are commonly used commercial and domestic insecticides that infrequently result in human intoxication. Type I pyrethroids delay closure of voltage-gated sodium channels le...
How Quantum Coherence Assists Photosynthetic Light Harvesting.

This Perspective examines how hundreds of pigment molecules in purple bacteria cooperate through quantum coherence to achieve remarkable light-harvesting efficiency. Quantum coherent sharing of excitation, which modifies excited-state energy levels and combines transition dipole moments, enables rapid transfer of excitation over large distances. Purple bacteria exploit the resulting excitation transfer to engage many antenna proteins in light harvesting, thereby increasing the rate of photon absorption and energy conversion. We highlight here how quantum coherence comes about and plays a key role in the photosynthetic apparatus of purple bacteria.
A micro sample introduction system for gas chromatography.

AN ideal sample introduction system for gas chromatography suitable for use with a variety of columns and detection devices should possess the following characteristics: (1) the entire sample should be delivered to the inlet of the column as a vapour over a short time-interval to keep dilution of the sample with carrier gas at a minimum; (2) the samples delivered should be of reproducible quantity or, better, of precisely known quantity; (3) the introduction of sample should not necessitate stopping or changing the flow-rate of carrier gas; (4) the quantity of air introduced with the sample should be minimal.
Plasma corticosterone levels during repeated presentation of two intensities of restraint stress: chronic stress and habituation

Abstract This study measured plasma corticosterone levels in male rats during repeated daily presentations of two intensities of restraint stress. The corticosterone response to a stress session was defined as the change from pre-stress levels to levels after 60 minutes of restraint. With the relatively intense stress imposed by four limb prone restraint, the corticosterone response partially habituated over seven days due to increasing basal corticosterone levels. However, even on day 7, there was still a large corticosterone response. With the milder stress of immobilization in a tube, the corticosterone response did not habituate all over 21 days of repeated stress despite rising basal levels. Stress levels of corticosterone did not show significant change over days in either of the two restraint groups. Further, rising basal corticosterone levels suggest that repeated restraint produced a chronic stress state in these rats which may vary in some qualitative way with stressor intensity. Control rats placed in the same room as the stressed rats during the two stresses initially had increased corticosterone levels that matched the levels achieved in the stressed rats. The responses in control rats for the intense stress did not habituate completely in 7 days, whereas those in the control rats for the mild stress habituated completely within 3 days. These data suggest intraspecific communication of the intensity of stress.
Innovative Teaching: A True Measure of Teaching Effectiveness

(1987). Innovative Teaching: A True Measure of Teaching Effectiveness. Journal of Education for Business: Vol. 62, No. 5, pp. 230-232.
Vygotsky, Piaget, and Education: a reciprocal assimilation of theories and educational practices

Abstract Seeking a rapprochement between Vygotskians and Piagetians, the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky are compared, and educational extensions by their followers are examined. A paradox in Vygotsky's theory is highlighted, where evidence is found both for claiming that Vygotsky was a behaviorist and that he was a constructivist. Similarities in the two theories are presented: social factors as having a central role in child development, the transformative nature of internalization, and the individual as what develops. Differences in the theories pertain to the nature of the stimulus, nature and origin of psychological instruments, nature of self-regulation and novelty in development, direction of development, the concept of social development, and the role of language in development. Because practical applications of theories often clarify the theories, some educational extensions of Vygotsky's theory are critiqued from a Piagetian constructivist perspective, and, in contrast, constructivist educational interpretations of Vygotsky's work are noted. Aspects of Piaget's theory emphasized by educators are presented, and educational practices inspired by this theory are outlined. A rapprochement is sought, with consideration of convergences in educational practices of followers of Piaget and Vygotsky, sources of difficulty for rapprochement, and changes necessary in educational theories of followers of both Piaget and Vygotsky.
Enrich Arabinoxylan in Corn Fiber for Value-Added Products

A two-step process is evaluated to separate the hexose component in wet milling corn fibers from the pentose component for production of value-added products. Corn fibers were first pretreated with hot water at 121°C for 1 h followed by glucoamylase hydrolysis to remove starch. The remaining solid was then treated with hot water at 140–170°C followed by an enzymatic hydrolysis to further separate the hexose and pentose components. After the second pretreatment, the enzymatic digestibility of cellulose was much better than that of arabinoxylan. As a result, up to 90% arabinoxylan in corn fibers was retained in a solid form after the enzyme hydrolysis, while most of the hexose components were removed.