cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Gradient Nature of S-Lenition in Caleño Spanish

Whereas previous studies of Spanish s-weakening have relied on impressionistic coding, the present study examines temporal and gradient acoustic details in the production of /s/ by eight females from Cali, Colombia, during sociolinguistic interviews. We propose a metric for quantifying s-realization by employing three scalar-dependent variables: s-duration, centroid, and voicelessness. The results of linear regressions indicate that the dependent variables are significantly conditioned by local speaking rate, word position, following and preceding phonological context, stress, and lexical frequency. This study sheds light on how each independent variable influences s-realization acoustically. For example, as local speaking rate increases, duration, centroid, and voicelessness decrease, which is indicative of lenition, and the same weakening tendency is observed when /s/ occurs in word-final position or is followed by a nonhigh vowel, whereas frequency contributes only to s-duration. We discuss the advantages of opting for instrumental measurements over symbolic representation.
Biomechanical patterns of text-message distraction

The objective of this study was to identify biomechanical measures that can distinguish texting distraction in a laboratory-simulated driving environment. The goal would be to use this information to provide an intervention for risky driving behaviour. Sixteen subjects participated in this study. Three independent variables were tested: task (texting, visual targeting, weighted and non-weighted movements), task direction (front and side) and task distance (close and far). Dependent variables consisted of biomechanical moments, head displacement and the length of time to complete each task. Results revealed that the time to complete each task was higher for texting compared to other tasks. Peak moments during texting were only distinguishable from visual targeting. Peak head displacement and cumulative biomechanical exposure measures indicated that texting can be distinguished from other tasks. Therefore, it may be useful to take into account both temporal and biomechanical measures when considering warning systems to detect texting distraction.
Destruction of noradrenergic neurons in rabbit brainstem elevates plasma vasopressin, causing hypertension

When A1 noradrenergic neurons in the caudal ventrolateral medulla of rabbits are destroyed electrolytically or by local injection of the neurotoxin kainic acid, the concentration of vasopressin in plasma increases, causing hypertension. The A1 neurons may tonically inhibit the activity of vasopressin-secreting neuroendocrine cells through a direct hypothalamic projection.
Patterns of purine synthesis related to iridophore development in the wild type, melanoid, and axanthic strains of the Mexican axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum shaw

Abstract Differentiation of the iridophore in the axolotl is inhibited by each of two nonlinked autosomal recessive genes, melanoid (m) and axanthic (ax). Purines were extracted from wild type (M-Ax-), melanoid (mm), axanthic (axax), and melanoid-axanthic (mm axax) somatopleur. This tissue is rich in iridophores in wild-type axolotl larvae. Purines in ethanol and in water extracts from each genotype were separated by paper chromatography. Patterns with respect to the kinds of purines present were distinct for each genotype. Two compounds present in wild type were missing in both melanoid and axanthic mutants, which lack iridophores. One compound was present in wild type and melanoid, which have xanthophores, but was lacking in the axanthic mutant, which does not. The double homozygote (mm axax) lacked a purine found in wild type and each of the mutants singly. Possibly in this case two biosynthetic pathways may produce the same intermediate product. Thus the actions of the melanoid and axanthic genes in the axolotl are demonstrable chemically as differences in the kinds of purines present in the various genotypes.
Suitability of Microtheca ochroloma (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) for the Development of the Predator Chrysoperla rufilabris (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

Microtheca ochroloma Stal, the yellowmargined leaf beetle, is one of the most destructive pests of crucifer vegetables on organic farms. Larvae of the green lacewing Chrysoperla rufilabris Burmeister have been observed preying on M. ochroloma, but no studies have evaluated the suitability of M. ochroloma as prey for C. rufilabris or the efficacy of this predator as a biological control agent of the pest. This study quantified the killing rate, developmental time, and survivorship of C. rufilabris when offered eggs and larvae of M. ochroloma at 10, 15, 20, or 25°C. Mean number of prey killed daily increased from 8.4 eggs and 4.0 larvae at 15°C to 18.6 eggs and 10.2 larvae at 25°C. However, predator larvae killed 78% fewer total eggs at 25°C than at 15°C; total number of first-instar prey killed did not vary significantly with temperature. Mean developmental time of predator larvae decreased from 75.5 d at 15°C to 26.6 d at 25°C when they were fed eggs, whereas it decreased from 54.0 d at 15°C to 21.4 d at 25°C when they were fed larvae. Predator survivorship was reduced by 80% at 15°C and no larvae survived at 10°C. We conclude that C. rufilabris can complete development on a diet of eggs of M. ochroloma, but its effectiveness to control M. ochroloma populations will be lessened during cool months, from November to April, when crucifers are produced in Florida and the beetle is actively developing, reproducing, and causing crop damage.
Anatomic and functional development of the suprachiasmatic nuclei in the gray short-tailed opossum

The anatomic and functional development of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) was studied in the gray short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica. To provide a background for developmental studies, daily patterns of wheel-running behavior and SCN metabolic activity were studied in adult animals. Adult opossums manifested robust circadian rhythms in locomotor activity that were entrained by the daily light- dark cycle. The temporal course of SCN metabolic activity, studied by the 14C-labeled deoxyglucose autoradiographic technique, showed that the adult SCN were metabolically active throughout subjective day and relatively inactive during subjective night. SCN neurogenesis, determined using 3H-thymidine autoradiography, was active at postnatal day 3, the earliest age studied, and continued until postnatal day 7. It was not until postnatal day 16 that the SCN appeared as distinct nuclei by light microscopy. Study of the ontogeny of the daily rhythm in SCN metabolic activity showed that the nuclei were metabolically active during both day and night at postnatal day 16. On day 20, a clear day-night rhythm in SCN metabolic activity was first observed; the rhythm was even more pronounced on day 27. These results indicate that the gray short-tailed opossum has a functioning circadian timing system and that the anatomic and functional development of the SCN in this species occurs during the postnatal period.
Sublingual immunotherapy and allergic rhinitis

This paper reviews the safety and efficacy of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. The literature from 1986 through 2007 shows approximately a 6000-fold range in doses found to be effective with SLIT. However, recent studies in large patient populations have demonstrated a clear dose response with an effective dose range that appears to be equivalent to one to two times the monthly subcutaneous immunotherapy dose administered daily or weekly (ie, 15 to 30 microg of major allergen). Further study is needed to establish the optimal dose and dosing schedule for each formulation. Local reactions (eg, oral itchiness) are common, and serious adverse reactions, although rare, have been reported. Cost-effective analysis cannot be made until the effective dose is established. SLIT appears to be a promising treatment for allergic rhinitis, but it is currently considered investigational in the United States until a formulation approved by the US Food and Drug Administration is available.
1-Methyl-3-alkyl-2(3H)imidazolethione Complexes of Metal Halides: A Thematic-Ligand Approach to Involve Undergraduates in Research Projects

A method that we have used to attract undergraduates into research projects incorporates a thematic- ligand approach using a class of thiourea-type ligands known as 1-methyl-3-alkyl-2(3H)-imidazolethiones (mait) to make new metal and nonmetal halide addition products never before reported in the literature. A related selenium analog and a bidentate thione are also employed in the process, which to date has produced 24 new compounds. Twenty-one student co-authors, 10 female and 11 male, have been involved in the presentation of these results in a total of 15 published in peer-reviewed journals and in 13 presentations at regional, national, or international symposia. The students start the work as a team research project in an intermediate inorganic synthesis laboratory course by first making the ligand and then its addition product which is characterized by standard methods during the course. Many of the attempts are failures, but teams that produce new compounds often go on to research projects that result in further structural characterization through collaborative efforts with the Georgia Institute of Technology or with Clemson University. A case study involving the synthesis and characterization of 1-methyl-3-(2-propyl)-imidazole-2(3H)-thione (mipit) and its bismuth trichloride adduct, BiCl3 (mipit)2 is presented in this report.
Stability of GaAs/Si Superlattices During MBE Growth and Post-Growth Annealing

The stability of GaAs/Si superlattices grown on GaAs substrates using molecular beam epitaxy is described. Typical superlattice structures consisted of ten periods of thin (less than 6.5A thick) layers of pseudomorphic silicon alternating with thick GaAs layers. We have examined the As 2 /Ga flux conditions required for the growth of high quality superlattices and have found that the structural perfection is extremely sensitive to the V/III flux ratio. The best superlattices were grown under condition that were just barely enough arsenic to produce a stable (2×4) surface reconstruction in the GaAs layers; increases in the arsenic overpressure resulted in a progressive trend towards 3-D growth of the GaAs on the pseudomorphic Si. In addition, we have examined the stability of GaAs/Si superlattices towards post-growth annealing. Double crystal x-ray diffraction scans showed little change in superlattice structure following rapid thermal anneals at 800°C; at 900°C, however, all but the first order satellite reflections disappeared. We attribute this behavior to the relaxation of pseudomorphic strin and the generation of misfit dislocations at the higher anneal temperature.
Towards a unified theory of parameter adaptive control. II. Certainty equivalence and implicit tuning

For pt.I see ibid., vol.35, p.1002-12 (1990). It is shown that for a large class of linear multivariable process models a properly designed certainty equivalence controller results in a tunable closed-loop parameterized system. The importance of this result to both the analysis and synthesis of parameter adaptive control systems is discussed. It is demonstrated by means of examples how the connection between certainty equivalence and tunability, together with the concept of tunability itself, can be used to markedly simplify the stability analysis of adaptive control systems. A new family of indirect parameterized controllers is introduced which has capabilities comparable to those of the well-known direct parameterized controllers which have served as basic building blocks for adaptive control systems of all types. The concept of implicit tuning is formalized and its potential importance to adaptive control is briefly discussed. It is explained how the idea of tunability can be used to analyze an implicitly tuned system. >
Judgments of vocal quality, speech fluency, and confidence of Southern Black and White speakers.

The present study was concerned with comparative judgments of vocal quality, speech fluency, and confidence of black and white speakers in southern universities. Specific objectives were to determi...
Effect of Therapeutic Irradiation on Extracortical Fixation and Bone Ingrowth in an Autogenously Bone Grafted Segmental Defect Prosthesis

Recent advances in the staging of musculoskeletal sarcomas, improvements in diagnostic imaging, and the use of preoperative chemotherapy have enabled the orthopedic oncologist to offer limb salvage surgery to an increasingly larger number of patients as an alternative to amputation. The reconstruction of large osseous defects following the resection of malignant tumors is difficult, not only because of the size of the defect but also because of the unpredictable incorporation of bone grafts following chemotherapy or irradiation. The reconstruction of bone defects has recently been facilitated with the use of custom-made porous coated segmental defect replacement (SDR) prostheses [1–3]. In order to obtain the optimal fixation of segmental defect replacement (SDR) prostheses, the concept of extracortical bone bridging and ingrowth was advocated as it has been shown to be effective in both animal models and clinical studies [4–8].
Transcriptomic Analyses Indicate That Maize Ligule Development Recapitulates Gene Expression Patterns That Occur during Lateral Organ Initiation

Development of multicellular organisms proceeds via the correct interpretation of positional information to establish boundaries that separate developmental fields with distinct identities. The maize (Zea mays) leaf is an ideal system to study plant morphogenesis as it is subdivided into a proximal sheath and a distal blade, each with distinct developmental patterning. Specialized ligule and auricle structures form at the blade-sheath boundary. The auricles act as a hinge, allowing the leaf blade to project at an angle from the stem, while the ligule comprises an epidermally derived fringe. Recessive liguleless1 mutants lack ligules and auricles and have upright leaves. We used laser microdissection and RNA sequencing to identify genes that are differentially expressed in discrete cell/tissue-specific domains along the proximal-distal axis of wild-type leaf primordia undergoing ligule initiation and compared transcript accumulation in wild-type and liguleless1-R mutant leaf primordia. We identified transcripts that are specifically upregulated at the blade-sheath boundary. A surprising number of these “ligule genes” have also been shown to function during leaf initiation or lateral branching and intersect multiple hormonal signaling pathways. We propose that genetic modules utilized in leaf and/or branch initiation are redeployed to regulate ligule outgrowth from leaf primordia.
Structural rearrangement within an enveloped virus upon binding to the host cell.

We have made the surprising discovery that the interactions of herpes simplex virus with its initial cell attachment receptor induce a rapid and highly efficient structural change in the tegument, the region of the virion situated between the membrane and the capsid. It has been known for nearly a decade that viruses can trigger host signaling pathways when they bind to receptors on the cell surface; however, until now there has been no evidence that a signal can be sent in reverse—from the “outside in”—across a viral membrane. Evidence for this signaling event was found during studies of UL16, a tegument protein that is conserved among all the herpesviruses. Previous work has demonstrated that UL16 is bound to capsids isolated from the cytoplasm of infected cells, but this interaction is destabilized during subsequent egress steps, leading to release of the extracellular virion. Pretreatment with N-ethylmaleimide, a small, membrane-permeating compound that covalently modifies free cysteines, restabilizes the interaction, thereby permitting the capsid-UL16 complex to be isolated following disruption of virions with NP-40. In the experiments described here, we found that the natural signal for release of UL16 from capsids is sent when virions merely bind to cells at 4°C. The internal change was also observed upon binding to immobilized heparin in a manner that requires viral glycoprotein C. This represents the first example of signaling across a viral envelope following receptor binding.
Decomposition-Based Assembly Synthesis for Structural Stiffness

This paper presents a method that systematically decomposes product geometry into a set of components considering the structural stiffness of the end product. A structure is represented as a graph of its topology, and the optimal decomposition is obtained by combining FEM analyses with a Genetic Algorithm. As the first case study, the side frame of a passenger car is decomposed for the minimum distortion of the front door panel geometry. As the second case study, the under body frame of a passenger car is decomposed for the minimum frame distortion. In both case studies, spot-weld joints are considered as joining methods, where each joint, which may contain multiple weld spots, is modeled as a torsional spring. First, the rates of the torsional springs are treated as constant values obtained in the literature. Second, they are treated as design variables within realistic bounds. By allowing the change in the joint rates, it is demonstrated that the optimal decomposition can achieve the smaller distortion with less amount of joint stiffness (hence less welding spots), than the optimal decomposition with the typical joint rates available in the literature.
Review of Anti-VEGF Therapy in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is a visually significant complication of diabetes mellitus. Pan-retinal photocoagulation (PRP) remains the standard treatment of choice. However, adverse effects of and clinical barriers to PRP have led to exploration of alternative and adjunctive therapeutic strategies in the treatment of proliferative disease. Inhibition of ocular vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has emerged as a promising treatment modality for PDR. This review summarizes results from published studies using intravitreal anti-VEGF agents singly and in combination with standard therapeutic regimens in the treatment of proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
Controlled-root formulation for digital phase-locked loops

In a new formulation for digital phase-locked loops, loop-filter constants are determined from loop roots that can each be selectively placed in the s-plane on the basis of a new set of parameters, each with single and direct physical meaning in terms of loop noise band, width root-specific decay rate, or root-specific damping. Loops of first to fourth order are treated in the continuous-update approximation (B/sub L/T/spl rarr/0) and in a discrete-update formulation with arbitrary B/sub L/T. Deficiencies of the continuous-update approximation in large-B/sub L/T applications are avoided in the new discrete-update formulation. A new method for direct, transient-free acquisition with third- and fourth-order loops can improve the versatility and reliability of acquisition with such loops. >
The Section for Clinical Psychology as an Experimental—Behavioral Science/Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology (Section 3), 1966—

In a way, an important forebear of Section 3 was Morton Prince, the physician who founded the Journal of Abnormal Psychology in 1906 and later gave his journal to APA. This journal has always fostered the kind of rigorous approach to research in psychopathology Section 3 tries to encourage. As noted previously, Prince was also the founder of the Harvard Psychology Clinic and a champion of psychopathology as a liberal arts subject rather than a strictly medical one.
Math Anxiety: A Factor in Math Achievement Not to Be Ignored

The United States is currently not producing enough graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields to meet the demands of a technology-dependent society. Although there are many efforts in place to improve STEM education in the United States, most notably, President Obama’s Educate to Innovate campaign, these efforts focus mostly on innovating the teaching of math content and less on the role of affective factors in math achievement. Here we discuss a phenomenon known as math anxiety (i.e., negative feelings of tension and fear that many people experience when engaging in math) and the implications math anxiety carries for math success and STEM engagement. We begin by highlighting the most recent findings from research in psychology, education, and neuroscience on math anxiety. We then discuss the consequences of math anxiety as well as likely causes and promising remediations. We suggest that the initiatives currently underway to improve STEM involvement and achievement would benef...
Male Breast Cancer

About 1 of every 100 cases of human breast cancer occurs in a male, resulting in a disease both similar and dissimilar to breast cancer in females. The disorder accounts for about 0.2% of malignant neoplasia in men.(1) Although the basic clinical characteristics of male breast cancer (MBC) had been well characterized even before Wainwright’s classic description in 1927,(2) the relative rarity of the disorder and the consequent reporting of numerous small series have led to frequent disagreement in the literature and insufficient firm data concerning its less prominent features.
Era of universal testing of microsatellite instability in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality are constantly decreasing, but CRC still remains the third most prevalent cancer and the third most common cause of cancer death in both males and females in the United States. Recent rapid declines in CRC incidence rates have largely been attributed to increases in screening that can detect and remove precancerous polyps, and the decrease in death rates for CRC largely reflects improvements in early detection, treatment and the understanding of molecular/genetic basis of CRC. One of the important molecular/genetic findings is the presence of microsatellite instability (MSI) in CRCs. Many studies have shown the importance of MSI testing in diagnosing Lynch syndrome and predicting prognosis and response to chemotherapeutic agents in CRCs. Increased emphasis has been placed on the importance of MSI testing for all newly diagnosed individuals with CRCs. Both immunohistochemical staining (IHC) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based MSI testing show high sensitivity and specificity in detecting MSI. The current clinical guidelines and histopathology features are indicative of, but not reliable in diagnosing Lynch syndrome and CRCs with MSI. Currently, there are evidences that universal testing for MSI starting with either IHC or PCR-based MSI testing is cost effective, sensitive, specific and is getting widely accepted.
Fast Computation of Upper Bounds for American-Style OptionsWithout Nested Simulation

This article presents a fast yet effective simulation-based approach for estimating the upper bounds of American-style option prices without nested simulations. We derive the analytical representation for the 'correct' martingale that is to be applied to the dual pricing formula to give the correct option price under a generic theoretical setting. This representation turns out to bear clear implication for hedging and is the main contribution of our paper. We further propose a simulation algorithm that directly builds on this analytical form for martingale construction and circumvents the time-consuming sub-simulation part that is usually required in other existing dual simulation procedures. Our approach is shown to be capable of producing viable upper bounds as well as significantly reducing the computing time allocated to upper bound estimation. We illustrate the effectiveness of our approach with a series of increasingly complex but realistic examples.
A supervised clustering and classification algorithm for mining data with mixed variables

This paper presents a data mining algorithm based on supervised clustering to learn data patterns and use these patterns for data classification. This algorithm enables a scalable incremental learning of patterns from data with both numeric and nominal variables. Two different methods of combining numeric and nominal variables in calculating the distance between clusters are investigated. In one method, separate distance measures are calculated for numeric and nominal variables, respectively, and are then combined into an overall distance measure. In another method, nominal variables are converted into numeric variables, and then a distance measure is calculated using all variables. We analyze the computational complexity, and thus, the scalability, of the algorithm, and test its performance on a number of data sets from various application domains. The prediction accuracy and reliability of the algorithm are analyzed, tested, and compared with those of several other data mining algorithms.
Seasonal and daily patterns of nocturnal singing in the Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)

Nocturnal singing in diurnal birds is poorly described in the literature and is not well understood. Most research has been limited to the documentation of the behavior, with little information regarding the patterns and function of nocturnal song. We used autonomous acoustic recording units and automated detection and classification algorithms to examine the seasonal and nocturnal patterns of song in the Field Sparrow, Spizella pusilla, a diurnal songbird. We used a generalized linear mixed model to investigate the patterns in the probability of recording each of the two song types described for the species (simple and complex) at night from 7938 10-min recordings from 14 different individuals singing in six different grassland patches. We fit different models investigating the influence of date within the season and time period during the night, and compared models using the Bayesian information criterion. Male Field Sparrows sang both simple and complex songs during the early stages of territory settlement and mate acquisition. However, as the breeding season progressed, we detected fewer instances of simple song, while the occurrence of complex song increased, reaching its peak during the height of reproductive activity. The seasonal pattern of simple and complex songs suggests that they may have a similar function at night and during the day, with simple songs used for inter-sexual interactions and complex songs used for intrasexual functions. Consequently, the role and function of nocturnal song may be more important for reproductive activities than previously assumed.
The viscoplastic circular plate—A new solution

In a previous paper a theory of viscoplasticity was developed in which the dynamic yield surface is defined as the surface which encloses the quasistatic yield surface and has a constant distance from it. In the present paper, by means of the above theory, the problem of a thin circular plate under uniformly distributed transverse pressure is solved. The material of the plate is assumed to be rigidviscoplastic. The solution is compared with previous solutions of the same problem.
Coevolution In Bacterial‐Plasmid Populations

Evolutionary changes are described in plasmid-containing strains isolated after ap- proximately 800 generations of growth in glucose-limited chemostat culture. The reproductive fitness increased dramatically over this period. Genetic changes associated with the increases in fitness were localized to both the bacterial and the plasmid chromosomes. In addition, some of the genetic changes on the bacterial and the plasmid chromosomes interact to minimize the deleterious effect of the plasmid. Thus, the changes observed may be considered coevolutionary. Reductions in the deleterious effects of the plasmid were shown to be associated with a decrease in plasmid copy number and an increase in the rate of segregational loss of the plasmid.
Protean Manifestations of Mitochondrial Diseases: A Minireview

Purpose: Mitochondrial abnormalities are major causes of human disease. Pearson syndrome illustrates many features of abnormal mitochondrial function and genetics. Design: Mitochondria form adenosine triphosphate (ATP) via five multienzyme complexes of the electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation, composed from a blend of nuclear and mitochondrial gene products. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is small (16.6 kb), encoding some subunits of these complexes as well as transfer RNA (tRNA) and ribosomal RNA, but is replicated and transcribed by nuclear encoded polymerases. Multiple copies of mtDNA are passed on to progeny cells via the cytoplasm, accounting for maternal inheritance. Normal and mutant mtDNA can coexist within the same cell (heteroplasmy); when the proportion of mutant mtDNA exceeds a threshold, cellular function is impaired, resulting in disease. Results and Conclusions: MtDNA abnormalities include point mutations, deletions, and depletion. Point mutations in an enzyme subunit cause a specific disorder, whereas point mutations in the tRNAs result in general impairment of protein synthesis and are associated with a variety of disorders. Large mtDNA deletions, initially described in Kearns-Sayre syndrome (KSS), were found soon thereafter in Pearson syndrome. Survivors of Pearson syndrome have gone on to develop KSS. A whole spectrum of disease forms, ranging from isolated sideroblastic anemia to combined Pearson and KSS, are associated with deletions of mtDNA. Diagnosis of mitochondrial disorders depends on clinical suspicion, enhanced by evidence of abnormal mitochondrial structure, number, and/or function. Effective treatment for mitochondrial disorders is very limited, including correction of the metabolic milieu, activation of enzyme activity by drugs or cofactors, and removal of reactive oxygen species.
Architecture Design and Analysis of A Novel Multi-Channel Multi-Mode Tactical Radio

SDR(Software Defined Radio) technology is an important technique in the field of wireless communications,and it indicates a new development direction and provides a strong technical support for the next-generation wireless communications.The next-generation tactical radio focuses on wideband,multi-mode and multi-purpose capability,and this is evidenced by programs such as the JTRS(Joint Tactical Radio System).This paper gives an in-depth analysis on system requirements and technical system of the next-generation tactical radio,proposes the basic design of a novel tactical radio based on highly-integrated radio frequency front-end,networking waveform and software communication architecture.
Re: The Diversity of Providers on the Family Medicine Team.

The recent policy brief by Bazemore et al[1][1] points out the need for increased diversity among team members for an optimally functioning patient-centered medical home. The clinical pharmacist is an optimal member of this team based on their training, which complements that of physicians. Multiple
Analysis on AIDS health education and health promotion in Suzhou City from 2006-2010

[Objective] To understand the present situation of AIDS health education and health promotion in Suzhou City,carry out the corresponding analysis.[Methods] The coverage rate was calculated,and the dynamic data sequence list of coverage rate was formulated by dynamic data sequence method.[Results] During 2006-2010,the coverage rate of main indexes of AIDS health education and health promotion which included health education(11.3%-28.1%),household publicity materials(4.0%-34.7%),publicity materials placement(1.3%-42.0%),wall advertisements(0.6%-83.3%),education and lectures in schools(27.4%-37.3%),billboard(13.3%-100.0%) increased greatly.[Conclusion] The AIDS health education and health promotion in Suzhou City has become routine gradually,which are implemented by various ways according to features of different regions and populations.The coverage has been expanded,the growth rate increases year by year,and the rising range is significant.
Scalable probabilistic tensor factorization for binary and count data

Tensor factorization methods provide a useful way to extract latent factors from complex multirelational data, and also for predicting missing data. Developing tensor factorization methods for massive tensors, especially when the data are binary- or count-valued (which is true of most real-world tensors), however, remains a challenge. We develop a scalable probabilistic tensor factorization framework that enables us to perform efficient factorization of massive binary and count tensor data. The framework is based on (i) the Polya-Gamma augmentation strategy which makes the model fully locally conjugate and allows closed-form parameter updates when data are binary- or count-valued; and (ii) an efficient online Expectation Maximization algorithm, which allows processing data in small mini-batches, and facilitates handling massive tensor data. Moreover, various types of constraints on the factor matrices (e.g., sparsity, non-negativity) can be incorporated under the proposed framework, providing good interpretability, which can be useful for qualitative analyses of the results. We apply the proposed framework on analyzing several binary and count-valued real-world data sets.
Abstract C136: Identification of selective cancer cytotoxic modulators of phosphodiesterase 3a by predictive chemogenomics

High cancer death rates indicate the need for new anti-cancer therapeutic agents. Approaches to discover new cancer drugs include target-based drug discovery and phenotypic screening. Here, we identify phosphodiesterase 3A modulators as cell-selective cancer cytotoxic compounds by phenotypic compound library screening and target deconvolution by predictive chemogenomics. We found that sensitivity to 6-(4-(diethylamino)-3-nitrophenyl)-5-methyl-4,5-dihydropyridazin-3(2H)-one, or DNMDP, across 766 cancer cell lines correlates with expression of the phosphodiesterase 3A gene, PDE3A. Like DNMDP, a subset of known PDE3A inhibitors kill selected cancer cells while others do not. Furthermore, PDE3A depletion leads to DNMDP resistance. We demonstrate that DNMDP binding to PDE3A promotes an interaction between PDE3A and Schlafen 12 (SLFN12), suggesting a neomorphic activity. Co-expression of SLFN12 with PDE3A correlates with DNMDP sensitivity, while depletion of SLFN12 results in decreased sensitivity to DNMDP. Our results implicate PDE3A modulators as candidate cancer therapeutic agents and demonstrate the power of predictive chemogenomics in small-molecule discovery. Citation Format: Lucian de Waal, Timothy A. Lewis, Matthew G. Rees, Aviad Tsherniak, Xiaoyun Wu, Peter S. Choi, Lara Gechijian, Christina Hartigan, Patrick W. Faloon, Mark J. Hickey, Nicola Tolliday, Steven A. Carr, Paul A. Clemons, Benito Munoz, Bridget K. Wagner, Alykhan F. Shamji, Angela N. Koehler, Monica Schenone, Alex B. Burgin, Stuart L. Schreiber, Heidi Greulich, Matthew Meyerson. Identification of selective cancer cytotoxic modulators of phosphodiesterase 3a by predictive chemogenomics. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2015 Nov 5-9; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2015;14(12 Suppl 2):Abstract nr C136.
Prosthetic valve reoperations: Factors influencing early and late survival

Population characteristics and survival factors are presented for 89 reoperations (eight referrals) from 1,445 valve replacements performed over 17 years at the Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital. There were three basic categories of indications leading to reoperation: valve-related systemic disease (infection, embolism, hemolysis), valve-related insufficiency (paravalvular leak, ball variance, homograft retraction), and valve-related stenosis (thrombosis, pannus, homograft obstruction). The leading indication for reoperation among aortic, mitral, and double valves was systemic disease (43 of 83—52 percent); tricuspid reoperations were most frequently performed (five of six—83 percent) for valve-related stenosis. The over-all early mortality rate was 19 percent (17 of 89) and varied with the reoperative site, indication, and urgency. In general, survival was lower in atrioventricular than aortic prosthetic reoperations. High-risk reoperations (N = 37, mortality rate 43.2 percent) occurred in the presence of prosthetic infection or prosthetic stenosis. When reoperations were performed urgently in the high-risk group, the mortality rate increased to 67 percent (16 of 24). However, in the absence of infection or stenosis, regardless of the urgency of reoperation, the mortality rate was only two percent. Five-year survival rates for low-risk reoperations were—aortic 69 percent and mitral 55 percent. Morbidity parameters among survivors did not differ from initial valve replacements. It appears that prosthetic valve reoperations can be performed with risks equal to the original operation except in the presence of subacute prosthetic infection or end-stage prosthetic stenosis.
Silage or limit-fed grain growing diets for steers: I. Growth and carcass quality

The influence of energy source (silage- [S] or grain- [G] based) on organ growth, carcass quality, and meat acceptability independent of rate of gain was examined. Sixty-four Angus steers were allotted to one of the two treatments and given ad libitum access to silage or limit-fed grain for 145 d. All steers were then given ad libitum access to a grain diet for 45, 75, or 105 d. Eight steers from each treatment were slaughtered at the end of the growing phase and at each of the termination dates. The silage-based growing diet consisted (DM basis) of 55% sorghum silage (averaged 23.6% dry matter), 22% alfalfa hay, 10.8% ground shelled corn, and 10.8% soybean meal and contained 12.8% CP. Dry matter in the grain-based diet, composed of 76.5% ground shelled corn, 5% soybean meal, 13.6% cottonseed hulls, 3.5% molasses, and .4% salt and 1% limestone, contained 12.1% CP. It was limit-fed to produce rates of gain similar to the silage diet eaten ad libitum, using net energy for gain of each diet calculated from organic matter digestibility determined in digestion trials. The finishing diet was similar to the grain growing diet except that alfalfa hay replaced the cottonseed hulls. No implants or ionophores were used. High silage moisture decreased ADG the first 45 d, so steers fed grain gained faster, but thereafter gains were similar. At the end of the growing phase, steers fed grain had heavier shrunk and empty body weights and larger livers. However, liver size was not different when adjusted for growing ADG. By 45 d with ad libitum access to the finishing diet, 75% of the carcasses from steers fed both diets graded Choice. Steers fed silage had tougher (P < .05) steaks with less flavor intensity (P < .05) at the end of the growing phase; these differences diminished after 75 d on feed. These results suggest that choice beef can be produced in only 45 d in the feedlot, but tenderness and flavor among Choice carcasses remained inferior for steers fed silage for at least 75 d on a high-grain diet.
Chapter 28 – Investigating the Process of Renal Epithelial Repair to Develop New Therapies

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a highly prevalent disease associated with poor short- and long-term outcomes as well as high costs. Although the clinical burden of AKI is increasing, the only treatment for this disease remains supportive care and dialytic therapies when indicated. By contrast, our understanding of the cellular and molecular pathways that regulate kidney repair after injury has grown substantially in recent years. There is a much clearer understanding of the critical cell types involved in kidney repair. In addition, a substantial body of evidence now indicates that repair pathways can be targeted therapeutically either to protect the kidney from injury or to accelerate repair. Examples of targetable pathways in repair include the epidermal growth factor receptor, Wnt-β-catenin, epithelial cell cycle, hedgehog, and angiopoietin pathways. This chapter reviews current knowledge regarding the cell types and molecular pathways regulating repair of kidney parenchyma, focusing on epithelial cells, endothelial cells, and stroma. Promising candidates for therapeutic targeting are highlighted, and key challenges to translation are reviewed.
Pancreaticoduodenectomy for pediatric and adolescent pancreatic malignancy: A single-center retrospective analysis.

Abstract Purpose While pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) has been extensively studied in adults, there are few data pertaining specifically to pediatric patients. We retrospectively analyzed PD-associated morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients. Methods Our analytic cohort included all consecutive patients ≤18years of age treated at our institution from 1993 to 2015 who underwent PD. Patient data (demographics, disease characteristics, surgical and adjuvant treatment, length of hospital stay, and postoperative course) were extracted from the medical records. Results We identified 12 children with a median age of 9years (7 female, 5 male). Final diagnoses were pancreatoblastoma (n=3), solid pseudopapillary tumor (n=3), neuroblastoma (n=2), rhabdomyosarcoma (n=2), and neuroendocrine carcinoma (n=2). Four patients underwent PD for resection of recurrent disease. 75% (9/12 patients) received neoadjuvant therapy. The median operative time was approximately 7hours with a mean blood loss of 590cm 3 . The distal pancreas was invaginated into the posterior stomach (n=3) or into the jejunum (n=5) or was directly sewn to the jejunal mucosa (n=4). There were no operative deaths. There were 4 patients (34%) with grade II complications, 1 with a grade IIIb complication (chest tube), and 1 with a grade IV complication (reexploration). The most common long-term morbidity was pancreas exocrine supplementation (n=10; 83%). Five patients (42%) diagnosed with either solid pseudopapillary tumor or rhabdomyosarcoma are currently alive with a mean survival of 77.4months. Conclusion Pancreaticoduodenectomy is a feasible management strategy for pediatric pancreatic malignancies and is associated with acceptable morbidity and overall survival. Long-term outcome is mostly dependent on histology of the tumor. Level of evidence Level IV; retrospective study with no comparison group.
Unleashing the wrath of Ras

Combined epigenetic silencing of two tumor suppressors promotes metastasis in luminal B breast cancers.
Programming idioms and runtime mechanisms for distributed pervasive computing

The emergence of pervasive computing power and networking infrastructure is enabling new applications. Still, many milestones need to be reached before pervasive computing becomes an integral part of our lives. An important missing piece is the middleware that allows developers to easily create interesting pervasive computing applications. This dissertation explores the middleware needs of distributed pervasive applications. The main contributions of this thesis are the design, implementation, and evaluation of two systems: D-Stampede and Crest. D-Stampede allows pervasive applications to access live stream data from multiple sources using time as an index. Crest allows applications to organize historical events, and to reason about them using time, location, and identity. Together they meet the important needs of pervasive computing applications. D-Stampede supports a computational model called the thread-channel graph. The threads map to computing devices ranging from small to high-end processing elements. Channels serve as the conduits among the threads, specifically tuned to handle time-sequenced streaming data. D-Stampede allows the dynamic creation of threads and channels, and for the dynamic establishment (and removal) of the plumbing among them. The Crest system assumes a universe that consists of participation servers and event stores, supporting a set of applications. Each application consists of distributed software entities working together. The participation server helps the application entities to discover each other for interaction purposes. Application entities can generate events, store them at an event store, and correlate events. The entities can communicate with one another directly, or indirectly through the event store. We have qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated D-Stampede and Crest. The qualitative aspect refers to the ease of programming afforded by our programming abstractions for pervasive applications. The quantitative aspect measures the cost of the API calls, and the performance of an application pipeline that uses the systems.
Colonoscopic Surveillance for the Patient with a Family History of Colorectal Cancer

A family history of colorectal cancer is an important risk factor for large bowel malignancy. The rare syndromes of familial polyposis and nonpolyposis colon cancer contribute to this risk, but the great majority of familial cases do not belong to a well-defined syndrome. The degree of risk in relatives of colon cancer cases can be stratified by age of diagnosis in the index case and number of affected relatives. Specific colonoscopic screening strategies are recommended for the rare syndromes as well as for relatives of persons with “common” colon cancer.
A Novel Dynamic Hyper-graph Inference Framework for Computer Assisted Diagnosis of Neuro-Diseases

Recently hyper-graph learning gains increasing attention in medical imaging area since the hyper-graph, a generalization of a graph, opts to characterize the complex subject-wise relationship behind multi-modal neuroimaging data. However, current hyper-graph methods mainly have two limitations: (1) The data representation encoded in the hyper-graph is learned only from the observed imaging features for each modality separately. Therefore, the learned subject-wise relationships are neither consistent across modalities nor fully consensus with the clinical labels or clinical scores. (2) The learning procedure of data representation is completely independent to the subsequent classification step. Since the data representation optimized in the feature domain is not exactly aligned with the clinical labels, such independent step-by-step workflow might result in sub-optimal classification. To address these limitations, we propose a novel dynamic hyper-graph inference framework, working in a semi-supervised manner, which iteratively estimates and adjusts the subject-wise relationship from multi-modal neuroimaging data until the learned data representation (encoded in the hyper-graph) achieves largest consensus with the observed clinical labels and scores. It is worth noting our inference framework is also flexible to integrate classification (identifying individuals with neuro-disease) and regression (predicting the clinical scores). We have demonstrated the performance of our proposed dynamic hyper-graph inference framework in identifying MCI (Mild Cognition Impairment) subjects and the fine-grained recognition of different progression stage of MCI, where we achieve more accurate diagnosis result than conventional counterpart methods.
Role of Static and Cyclic Deformation on the Corrosion Behavior of a Magnesium-Steel Structural Joint

In this article, a numerical investigation examining the influence of various mechanical loading scenarios on the corrosion behavior of a galvanic joint formed between a magnesium alloy and mild steel was carried out. A wide spectrum of mechanical conditions were examined to facilitate the development of a comprehensive understanding on the effect of mechanical deformation during galvanic corrosion. In general, we found that the onset of nonlinear deformation drastically accelerates the localized corrosion. Furthermore, subjecting the galvanic joint to alternating corrosion and fatigue loading was found to increase the observed localized corrosion drastically. Finally, the simulation results are discussed with respect to the identification and description of the detrimental physical phenomena that undermine the structural integrity of joints subjected to various mechanical loading scenarios.