cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
'Genome order index' should not be used for defining compositional constraints in nucleotide sequences - a case study of the Z-curve

Background: The Z-curve is a three dimensional representation of DNA sequences proposed over a decade ago and has been extensively applied to sequence segmentation, horizontal gene transfer detection, and sequence analysis. Based on the Z-curve, a “genome order index,” was proposed, which is defined as S = a 2 + c 2 +t 2 +g 2 ,w herea, c, t, and g are the nucleotide frequencies of A, C, T, and G, respectively. This index was found to be smaller than 1/3 for almost all tested genomes, which was taken as support for the existence of a constraint on genome composition. A geometric explanation for this constraint has been suggested. Each genome was represented by a point P whose distance from the four faces of a regular tetrahedron was given by the frequencies a, c, t ,a ndg. They claimed that an inscribed sphere of radius r =1 / 3 contains almost all points corresponding to various genomes, implying that S < r 2 . The distribution of the points P obtained by S was studied using the Z-curve. Results: In this work, we studied the basic properties of the Z-curve using the “genome order index” as a case study. We show that (1) the calculation of the radius of the inscribed sphere of a regular tetrahedron is incorrect, (2) the S index is narrowly distributed, (3) based on the second parity rule, the S index can be derived directly from the Shannon entropy and is, therefore, redundant, and (4) the Z-curve suffers from over dimensionality, and the dimension stands for GC content alone suffices to represent any given genome. Conclusion: The “genome order index” S does not represent a constraint on nucleotide composition. Moreover, S can be easily computed from the Gini-Simpson index and be directly derived from entropy and is redundant. Overall, the Z-curve and S are over-complicated measures to GC content and Shannon H index, respectively.
Macaque retina contains an S-cone OFF midget pathway

Psychophysical results suggest that the primate visual system is equally sensitive to both the onset and offset of short-wavelength light and that these responses are carried by separate pathways. However, physiological studies of cells in the retina and lateral geniculate nucleus find far fewer OFF-center than ON-center cells whose receptive-field centers are driven by short-wavelength-sensitive (S) cones. To determine whether S cones contact ON and OFF midget bipolar cells as well as (ON) “blue-cone bipolar” cells (Mariani, 1984), we examined 118 contiguous cone terminals and their bipolar cells in electron micrographs of serial sections from macaque foveal retina. Five widely spaced cone terminals do not contact ON midget bipolar cells. These five cone terminals contact the dendrites of “blue-cone bipolar” cells instead, showing that they are the terminals of S cones. These S-cone terminals are smaller and contain more synaptic ribbons than other terminals. Like neighboring cones, each S cone contacts its own OFF midget bipolar cell via triad-associated (flat) synaptic contacts. Moreover, each S-cone OFF midget bipolar cell has a synaptic terminal in the outer half of the inner plexiform layer, where it contacts an OFF midget ganglion cell.
Environmental Personal Injury Litigation as One Source of Response Effects: Findings From the National Exposure Registry:

The potential for error in survey responses obtained from people involved with environmental personal injury litigation was examined in a registry of persons exposed to the chemical trichloroethylene. Two subgroups were selected and compared: environmental personal injury plaintiffs and nonlitigants residing in the same community. Self-reported information on demographic characteristics revealed no statistically significant differences. Although plaintiffs reported higher rates of symptoms and health problems, only 2 of the 20 comparisons on health were statistically significant. The overall similarity between the two groups suggests that environmental personal injury plaintiffs may be no more likely than nonlitigants to provide inaccurate information in health surveys.
Trade Exposure and the Polarization of Government Spending in the American States

Studies of economic globalization and government spending often view the United States as an outlier case. Surprisingly, ours is the first empirical study to take advantage of the variation in U.S. states’ exposure to global markets, ideological orientations of the governments, and the relative size of the public sector, to assess the role of trade exposure on government spending in the American states. Using state-level data from the past three decades, we use error correction models (ECMs) to test three competing globalization theories. We find that the effect of trade exposure on government spending varies across states. Our results suggest that when conservatives control state governments, high levels of trade exposure negatively relate to changes in public expenditures such as welfare and infrastructure. With liberal governments in power, trade exposure does not accelerate state spending growth in welfare and infrastructure, which diverges from the pattern found in European social democracies.
Factors associated with physician perceptions of and willingness to recommend inhaled insulin.

AbstractObjective:To examine predictors of physician perceptions of an inhaled insulin, willingness to prescribe that insulin, and estimates of patient initiation of therapy with that insulin.Research design and methods:The study was an Internet survey of a US national sample (n = 602) of physicians who treat adults with diabetes. Respondents were given a brief description of potential clinical benefits and administration procedures for the study inhaled insulin (SII).Main outcome measures:Measures included clinical beliefs, benefit ratings and overall evaluation of SII relative to other mealtime insulins, willingness to recommend SII, and estimates of patient initiation of therapy with that insulin. Multivariate regression assessed significant independent associations controlling for respondent and patient case-mix characteristics.Results:Physicians who self-identified as medical innovators or who reported high levels of involvement with patients tended to rate the SII higher, while respondents who self-...
Direction-optimizing breadth-first search

Breadth-First Search is an important kernel used by many graph-processing applications. In many of these emerging applications of BFS, such as analyzing social networks, the input graphs are low-diameter and scale-free. We propose a hybrid approach that is advantageous for low-diameter graphs, which combines a conventional top-down algorithm along with a novel bottom-up algorithm. The bottom-up algorithm can dramatically reduce the number of edges examined, which in turn accelerates the search as a whole. On a multi-socket server, our hybrid approach demonstrates speedups of 3.3 -- 7.8 on a range of standard synthetic graphs and speedups of 2.4 -- 4.6 on graphs from real social networks when compared to a strong baseline. We also typically double the performance of prior leading shared memory (multicore and GPU) implementations.
The Politics of Homeschooling New Developments, New Challenges

Homeschooling has developed from a small, isolated, parent-led effort to a vibrant national movement to lobby for and legalize K-12 education at home in all 50 states. Although a majority of homesc...
Wine price and quality: in search of a signaling equilibrium in 2001 California Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine varies greatly in price and quality. In the limited sample we study here, 2001 California Cabernet Sauvignon wines rated by an expert in Wine Spectator, price ranges from $7 to $300 per bottle. Similarly, quality ratings on a 100-point scale range from 68 to 96 points. Our purpose here is twofold. First, we wish to estimate empirically a relationship between price and quality rating. Second, we hope to provide a discussion of characteristics of wine markets that might help refocus theoretical economic research on the wine price-quality relationship. Specifically, we suggest a movement away from hedonic pricing methods and their reliance on assumptions of competitive markets and perfect information. Rather, we suggest that imperfect competition and imperfect, asymmetric information characterize wine markets, and that the theoretical underpinnings of empirical work need to recognize this fact.
Measuring healthcare inequities using the Gini index

Questions of healthcare inequities have been of continuing concern to health researchers, planners, and policymakers. The answers to such questions can be difficult to interpret, but deeply affect policy formulation, resource allocation, and our perceptions of the fairness and compassion inherent in the institutions of government and society as a whole. This paper describes the data warehouse implementation of several measures of inequality drawn from the field of economics, including the Gini index. Past research has often focused on using these economic measures to characterize a small set of health status indicators, usually at fairly high levels of aggregation, with comparisons between states or nations. In this research, an ongoing healthcare data warehouse project under the auspices of the Center for Health Outcomes Research at the University of South Florida provides the infrastructure for exploring hundreds of health status indicators at the ZIP code level. The goal is to include information on healthcare inequities in the many reports generated for policymakers throughout Florida.
A new poecilogonous species of sea slug (Opisthobranchia: Sacoglossa) from California: comparison with the planktotrophic congener Alderia modesta (Lovén, 1844)

Cryptic species are increasingly recognized as commonplace among marine gastropods, especially in taxa such as shell-less opisthobranchs that lack many discrete taxonomic characters. Most cases of poecilogony, the presence of variable larval development within a single species, have historically turned out to represent cryptic species, with each possessing a single canalized type of development. One well-characterized example of poecilogony was attributed to the sacoglossan opisthobranch Alderia modesta; in southern California, slugs resembling this member of a monotypic genus produce both long-lived, planktotrophic and short-lived, lecithotrophic larvae. Paradoxically, however, A. modesta is exclusively planktotrophic everywhere else in the northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. A recently completed molecular study found that slugs from poecilogonous populations south of Bodega Harbor, California, comprise an evolutionarily distinct lineage separate from northern, strictly planktotrophic slugs. We now describe the southern species as A. willowi n. sp., based on differences in morphology of the dorsum and radula, characteristics of the egg mass, larval development mode and nuclear and mitochondrial genetic markers. A DNA barcode is provided, based on 27 fixed differences in the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene that can reliably differentiate Pacific specimens of Alderia species. Genetic and morphological data are concordant with developmental evidence, confirming that A. willowi is a true case of poecilogony. An improved understanding of the ecological differences between these sister taxa may shed light on the selective pressures that drove the evolution of lecithotrophy in the southern species.
Search for a hidden goal by clark’s nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) is more accurate inside than outside a landmark array

In three experiments in which an open-room delayed response task was used, we explored how Clark’s nutcrackers use landmarks to search for a hidden goal when multiple potential goal locations were present. In Experiment 1, nutcrackers presented with three spatialsamples were able to use relative local cues from an array that changed positions throughout a session to return to a hidden goal during a test. In Experiment 2, the number of samples varied from one to three prior to the test. The nutcrackers performed as well with one sample as with two or three samples. In Experiment 3, we attempted to increase the cost of searching for the goal but, in contrast to previous reports with nutcrackers, found no improvement in search accuracy. Across all experiments, search accuracy varied reliably for different goal locations, but the pattern of performance at each location was generally consistent. This result suggests that nutcrackers may be using different types of spatial information, depending on goal-landmark relationships. This research was supported by NSF Grant IBN 9421807.
Internets and intranets for industrial applications

The Internet has been one of the fastest developing technologies of the 1990s; at the end of the decade what does the Net and its underlying technologies have to offer the industrial user? The paper introduces some of the fundamental technologies of contemporary industrial automation, discusses how Internet technologies may benefit the industrial user and shows how existing software products can be used to create solutions.
Neuroprotective effects of alpha-lipoic acid and its positively charged amide analogue.

Abstract Elevated levels of extracellular glutamate have been linked to reactive oxygen species mediated neuronal damage and brain disorders. Lipoic acid is a potent antioxidant that has previously been shown to exhibit neuroprotection in clinical studies. A new positively charged water soluble lipoic acid amide analog, 2-(N,N-dimethylamine) ethylamido lipoate·HCl (LA-plus), with a better cellular reduction and retention of the reduced form was developed. This novel antioxidant was tested for protection against glutamate induced cytotoxicity in a HT4 neuronal cell line. Glutamate treatment for 12 h resulted in significant release of LDH from cells to the medium suggesting cytotoxicity. Measurement of intracellular peroxides showed marked (up to 200%) increase after 6 h of glutamate treatment. Compared to lipoic acid, LA-plus was more effective in (1) protecting cells against glutamate induced cytotoxicity, (2) preventing glutamate induced loss of intracellular GSH, and (3) disallowing increase of intracellular peroxide level following the glutamate challenge. The protective effect of LA-plus was found to be independent of its stereochemistry. The protective function of this antioxidant was synergistically enhanced by selenium. These results demonstrate that LA-plus is a potent protector of neuronal cells against glutamate-induced cytotoxicity and associated oxidative stress.
Evolutionary Design of Controlled Structures Systems

An evolutionary controls/structures design method is developed. The basis of the method is an accurate model formulation for dynamic compensator optimization and Genetic Algorithm based updating of sensor/actuat or placement and structural properties. One and three dimensional examples from the literature are used to validate the method. Frequency domain interpretation of the controlled structure systems provide physical insight as to how the objective is optimized. Several designs for a stellar interferometer precision structure are found for two different spectra of disturbance under assumed closed loop optical conditions. Physical limitations in achieving performance are given in terms of average system transfer function gain and system phase loss.
Inter-fraction tumor volume response during lung stereotactic body radiation therapy correlated to patient variables

Author(s): Salamekh, Samer; Rong, Yi; Ayan, Ahmet S; Mo, Xiaokui; Williams, Terence M; Mayr, Nina A; Grecula, John C; Chakravarti, Arnab; Xu-Welliver, Meng | Abstract: PurposeAnalyze inter-fraction volumetric changes of lung tumors treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and determine if the volume changes during treatment can be predicted and thus considered in treatment planning.Methods and materialsKilo-voltage cone-beam CT (kV-CBCT) images obtained immediately prior to each fraction were used to monitor inter-fraction volumetric changes of 15 consecutive patients (18 lung nodules) treated with lung SBRT at our institution (45-54 Gy in 3-5 fractions) in the year of 2011-2012. Spearman's (ρ) correlation and Spearman's partial correlation analysis was performed with respect to patient/tumor and treatment characteristics. Multiple hypothesis correction was performed using False Discovery Rate (FDR) and q-values were reported.ResultsAll tumors studied experienced volume change during treatment. Tumor increased in volume by an average of 15% and regressed by an average of 11%. The overall volume increase during treatment is contained within the planning target volume (PTV) for all tumors. Larger tumors increased in volume more than smaller tumors during treatment (q = 0.0029). The volume increase on CBCT was correlated to the treatment planning gross target volume (GTV) as well as internal target volumes (ITV) (q = 0.0085 and q = 0.0039 respectively) and could be predicted for tumors with a GTV less than 22 mL. The volume increase was correlated to the integral dose (ID) in the ITV at every fraction (q = 0.0049). The peak inter-fraction volume occurred at an earlier fraction in younger patients (q = 0.0122).ConclusionsWe introduced a new analysis method to follow inter-fraction tumor volume changes and determined that the observed changes during lung SBRT treatment are correlated to the initial tumor volume, integral dose (ID), and patient age. Furthermore, the volume increase during treatment of tumors less than 22mL can be predicted during treatment planning. The volume increase remained significantly less than the overall PTV expansion, and radiation re-planning was therefore not required for the purpose of tumor control. The presence of the studied correlations suggests that the observed volumetric changes may reflect some underlying biologic process rather than random fluctuations.
Impacts of Climate Change and Development on Shorebirds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

—Impacts of climate change are amplified at high latitudes such as the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska. In addition, this region and adjacent offshore areas are experiencing rapid changes associated with oil and gas exploration and production. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s location in northeast Alaska makes it particularly vulnerable to these environmental perturbations. Recognizing this, we have implemented several collaborative investigations of at-risk bird populations and habitats since 2002. In this paper we focus on studies of shorebirds using tundra and coastal habitats. Objectives include: (1) identify important habitats for nesting and staging; (2) assess effects of development on nest predation and success rates; (3) examine post-breeding shorebird staging ecology; and (4) develop models using demographic and environmental data to evaluate causes of shorebird population declines. Evaluating impacts of changing environmental conditions on birds is an overarching objective of all studies. Initial results suggest that the impacts of development on nest success are small relative to natural variability, but could be important as additive stressors. We identified several high-use areas for post-breeding shorebirds, but also found considerable inter-annual and within-season variability in bird distribution. We are currently investigating factors associated with shorebird use of coastal habitats including availability of food resources. We recently initiated further studies on demographics of breeding shorebirds. Several years of data from multiple sites will be required to evaluate shorebird population dynamics in this highly variable and rapidly changing environment. Our studies will contribute to understanding population limitation and developing conservation actions for arctic shorebirds. Received 4 March 2011, accepted 15 April 2011. KENDALL, S., D. PAYER, S. BROWN, AND R. CHURCHWELL. 2011. Impacts of climate change and development on shorebirds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Pages 91–100 in R. T. Watson, T. J. Cade, M. Fuller, G. Hunt, and E. Potapov (Eds.). Gyrfalcons and Ptarmigan in a Changing World, Volume I. The Peregrine Fund, Boise, Idaho, USA. http://dx.doi.org/10.4080/gpcw.2011.0109
Role of ephedrine against cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats

AIM: To investigate the protective effects of ephedrine on the rats with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. METHODS: In vivo: Normal rats were randomly divided into 4 groups and injected respectively with ephedrine (2, 4, 8 mg/kg) and equal volume normal saline, once every 3 d, totally for 4 times. The plasma concentrations of thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and 6-keto-PGF1α were detected by radio-immunohistochemistry. The ratio of TXB2 to 6-keto-PGF1α (T/P) was calculated. The subgrouping, administrated doses and manner in middle cerbral artery occlusion (MCAO) group are same as the normal control group; In vitro: The brain microvascular endothelial cells were cultured and divided into 3 ephedrine groups (2, 4 and 8 mg/L) and 1 control group (no ephedrine). The plasma concentration of 6-keto-PGF1α was detected after 2 h. RESULTS: In vivo: In the normal rats, T/P, the plasma concentrations of TXB2 and 6-Keto-PGF1α in the groups treated with 8mg/kg ephedrine were significantly lower than those in the control group (P0.05). In the MCAO rats, compared to the control group, the TXB2 concentration and T/P in all treated groups were significantly lower (P0.05); In vitro: The concentration of 6-Keto-PGF1α in each group was not different statistically (P0.05). CONCLUSION: The protective effects of ephedrine on the MCAO rats may be related to balancing the ratio of TXA2/PGI2.
Meeting Update: International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation 2014.

The 34th annual meeting of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation was convened in San Diego, California, USA on April 10-13, 2014. It was one of the best attended meetings ever with more than 3,000 attendees and the enthusiasm and excitement was palpable in the Manchester Grand Hotel where the meeting was held. This paper will describe a few of the most important contributions from this meeting, recognizing that with so many papers, it is certain that many worthwhile manuscripts will go unmentioned. The topics that will be highlighted are heart transplant trials, non-invasive detection of allograft rejection and vasculopathy, as well as mechanical circulatory support and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
Lorentz Invariant Computations

This chapter discusses Lorentz invariant computations. It focuses on the arithmetic modeling and analysis of a harmonic oscillator, typical of which is an electron in an atom. Before discussing such an oscillator, however, the chapter presents the proof of a fundamental result about the related calculations, that is, that the computations in the lab and the rocket frames will be related by the Lorentz transformation. An oscillator is a particle of whose motion is back and forth over all, or part, of a straight or curved path. The most well-studied oscillator is the harmonic oscillator, whose motion is along a straight line, whose energy is conserved, and the force on which is directly proportional to its distance from fixed point, usually taken as the origin. The chapter shows the way to formulate and analyze a Newtonian harmonic oscillator using only arithmetic. It also describes an arithmetic, relativistic harmonic oscillator and presents a comparison of the two models.
Effects of interface and spatial ability on manipulation of virtual models in a STEM domain

Virtual models are increasingly employed in STEM education to foster learning about spatial phenomena. However, the roles of the computer interface and students cognitive abilities in moderating learning and performance with virtual models are not yet well understood. In two experiments students solved spatial organic chemistry problems using a virtual model system. Two aspects of the virtual model interface were manipulated: display dimensionality (stereoscopic vs. monoscopic displays) and the location of the hand-held device used to manipulate the virtual molecules (co-located with the visual display vs. displaced). The experimental task required participants to interpret the spatial structure of organic molecules and to manipulate the models to align them with orientations and configurations depicted by diagrams in Experiment 1 and three-dimensional models in Experiment 2. Co-locating the interaction device with the virtual image led to better performance in both experiments and stereoscopic viewing led to better performance in Experiment 2. The effect of co-location on performance was moderated by spatial ability in Experiment 1, and the effect of providing stereo viewing was moderated by spatial ability in Experiment 2. The results are in line with the ability-as-compensator hypothesis: participants with lower ability uniquely benefited from the treatment, while those with higher ability were not affected by stereo or co-location. The findings suggest that increased fidelity in a virtual model system may be one way of alleviating difficulties of low-spatial participants in learning spatially demanding content in STEM domains. Virtual model manipulation performance examined during organic chemistry task.Tested two aspects of interface design: co-location and stereo viewing.Effects of interface design were moderated by spatial ability.Ability-as-compensator aptitude treatment-interaction observed.
DEPOSITIONAL CONSTRAINTS ON THE LOWER CRETACEOUS STIKES QUARRY DINOSAUR SITE: UPPER YELLOW CAT MEMBER, CEDAR MOUNTAIN FORMATION, UTAH

A new mass death assemblage in Lower Cretaceous strata of east-central Utah contains well-preserved skeletons representing an ontogenetic series of individuals of Utahraptor , and at minimum two iguanodont grade ornithischian skeletons. The dinosaurs were entombed in ovoid-lensoidal, fine-grained sandstone sills linked by sandstone pipes and/or dikes and another basal lensoidal mass with scattered and broken iguanodont and sauropod bones and to an underlying gravelly sandstone bed. Exposed in the excavation high-walls are syndepositional normal-faults bounding graded ripple strata. Multiphased fluid over-pressurization in an artesian setting creating the structures. Trapping, killing, and subsequent burial mechanism was generated by variations of pressure in a localized artesian spring system that breached the surface and is the first such mechanism documented with numerous dinosaur victims.
Non-contact automatic respiration monitoring in restrained rodents

Prairie voles are socially monogamous rodents that form social bonds similar to those seen in primates. Social behavior investigation in these species, that include studying their breathing regulation, can provide us with an invaluable psychological model to understand social and emotional functions in both animals and humans. There have been several studies associated with the respiratory pattern of these species in the state of fear-induced defense. However, non-invasive measurement methods employed so far suffer from the lack of a natural experiment environment for the rodents. In this paper, we present a remote depth-based system, which applies a modified autocorrelation algorithm to automatically extract respiration patterns in small rodents. We evaluated our estimation accuracy through a series of experiments and comparing the extracted results with breathing rates obtained from visual inspection of synchronously collected RGB videos. In a preliminary test on a human participant, breathing rate was estimated with 100% accuracy, while the estimation accuracy was 94.8% for a restrained vole. Finally, we monitored the respiratory alternations of three voles in transition from a baseline, to a fearful state, and back to a normal state; the estimated breathing rates confirmed the existing hypothesis regarding animal defense strategies.
The battle of the sexes: The effects of gender, product category, & design complexity on product purchase intention and likeability

Gender serves as an important basis for market segmentation and is frequently used because market segments are large enough to be profitable and are easily identified (Darley and Smith, 1995). Product aesthetics has been growing in importance for all industries and product categories, as it increases customer satisfaction and loyalty (Schmitt and Simonson, 1997). The purpose of this research is to explore how gender interacts with design complexity of hedonic and utilitarian products to influence consumers’ aesthetic preferences.
Patient-provider communication during post-treatment breast cancer care: Findings from a pilot project.

91Background: Patient-provider communication is essential to delivering high quality cancer care, including post-treatment when survivors have many complex care needs. In this study, we used data collected for quality improvement from a small, feasibility sample to examine patient perceptions of provider communication and inform the development of a new Oncology Survivorship Clinic model. Methods: As part of a pilot project conducted at Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC), we surveyed 51 breast cancer patients post-treatment. The survey included a communication measure from the 2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Experiences with Cancer survey evaluating provider discussions of: surveillance for recurrence; late or long-term treatment effects; healthy lifestyle behaviors; and emotional or social needs. We also examined reports of the six core functions of patient-centered communication (i.e. managing uncertainty, responding to emotions, making decisions, fostering healing relationships, ...
Aristotelian and Newtonian Models in Hegel’s Philosophy of Nature

The philosophy of nature has always been considered one of the most controversial and obscure parts of what is usually referred to as Hegel’s system. Very often the reader is struck by the awkwardness of certain passages, or by the overall intentions of Hegel, which sometimes are quite hard to make out to begin with. And yet Hegel seems to have devoted many of his efforts to this part. The additions to the philosophy of nature are among the longest, most intricate and exhaustive in the whole Encyclopaedia. His knowledge of the contemporary accomplishments in most scientific disciplines was thorough and his discussion thereof quite detailed.
A probabilistic framework for single-sensor acoustic emission source localization in thin metallic plates

Tracking edge-reflected acoustic emission (AE) waves can allow the localization of their sources. Specifically, in bounded isotropic plate structures, only one sensor may be used to perform these source localizations. The primary goal of this paper is to develop a three-step probabilistic framework to quantify the uncertainties associated with such single-sensor localizations. According to this framework, a probabilistic approach is first used to estimate the direct distances between AE sources and the sensor. Then, an analytical model is used to reconstruct the envelope of edge-reflected AE signals based on the source-to-sensor distance estimations and their first arrivals. Finally, the correlation between the probabilistically reconstructed envelopes and recorded AE signals are used to estimate confidence contours for the location of AE sources. To validate the proposed framework, Hsu-Nielsen pencil lead break (PLB) tests were performed on the surface as well as the edges of an aluminum plate. The localization results show that the estimated confidence contours surround the actual source locations. In addition, the performance of the framework was tested in a noisy environment simulated by two dummy transducers and an arbitrary wave generator. The results show that in low-noise environments, the shape and size of the confidence contours depend on the sources and their locations. However, at highly noisy environments, the size of the confidence contours monotonically increases with the noise floor. Such probabilistic results suggest that the proposed probabilistic framework could thus provide more comprehensive information regarding the location of AE sources.
Using the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status and Telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessment for Evaluating Vascular Cognitive Impairment: Promising Call or Put on Hold?

See related article, p 2952 The use of telemedicine for the assessment and follow-up of patients who have suffered a stroke or other neurological conditions has increased dramatically over the past decade. There are several compelling reasons for this, including the need for initial screening and rapid clinical decision making and triage. Telemedicine may also reduce costs associated with routine follow-up visits, increase the number of cases that can be followed by the limited number of neurologists with stroke specialty available in some localities, and improve access to health care for disabled patients, particularly those living far from specialized stroke services.1 In this context, telephone assessment measures of cognitive functions have gained in popularity, providing clinicians with a way of conducting an initial evaluation of patients remotely or before coming to the hospital or outpatient office for more detailed assessments. The Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS)2 has been used for patients with reported changes in cognitive function to determine whether dementia or less severe mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is present, with accuracy that may depend on the severity of impairment.3 This type of assessment has been particularly useful for research studies in which the goal is to exclude individuals with early stage dementia and possible neurodegenerative disease or to help identify potential study participants with cognitive dysfunction to be confirmed in follow-up face-to-face detailed cognitive assessments. The Telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessment (T-MoCA), which was developed as an alternative to the TICS, provides a means of assessing mental status based on the parts of the MoCA that can be administered over the phone.4 The MoCA and its telephone-based versions may have particular clinical value for the assessment of patients with nonamnestic MCI, who can have greater impairments related to attention and executive functioning.5 Despite the …
Improvement in patient-reported outcomes after lung transplantation is not impacted by the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a bridge to transplantation

Abstract Objective Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is increasingly used as a bridge to lung transplantation. The impact of preoperative ECMO on health-related quality of life (HRQL) and depressive symptoms after lung transplantation remains unknown, however. Methods In a single-center prospective cohort study, we assessed HRQL and depressive symptoms before and at 3, 6, and 12 months after lung transplantation using the Short Form 12 Physical and Mental Component Scores (SF12-PCS and SF12-MCS), Airway Questionnaire 20-Revised (AQ20R), EuroQol 5D (EQ5D), and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Changes in HRQL were quantified by segmented linear mixed-effects models controlling for age, sex, diagnosis, preoperative forced expiratory volume in 1 second, 6-minute walk distance, and Lung Allocation Score. We compared changes in HRQL among subjects bridged with ECMO, subjects hospitalized but not on ECMO, and subjects called in for transplantation as outpatients. Results Out of 189 subjects, 17 were bridged to transplantation with ECMO. In all groups, improvements in HRQL following lung transplantation exceeded the minimally clinically important difference using the SF12-PCS, AQ20R, EQ5D, and GDS. HRQL defined by SF12-MCS did not change after transplantation. Improvements were generally similar among the groups, except for EQ5D, which showed a trend toward less benefit in the outpatients, possibly due to their better HRQL before lung transplantation. Conclusions Subjects ill enough to require ECMO as a bridge to lung transplantation appear to achieve similar improvements in HRQL and depressive symptoms as those who do not. It is reassuring to both providers and patients that lung transplantation provides substantial improvements in HRQL, even for those patients who are critically ill in the run up to transplantation.
Negotiated selves: trans, agender, and genderqueer youth

This photo essay was developed from images and narratives shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth who participated in a Photovoice project (Smith et al. 2016). The ph...
The LWS and the Vienna Circle (VC)

The birth of the Vienna Circle (VC) is connected with the seminar conducted in Vienna from 1923, by Moritz Schlick. In 1929 members of the seminar proclaimed their credo in the manifesto: “The scientific conception of the world ‘The Vienna Circle’”. When VC came into being, a lively and fruitful co-operation developed between the LWS and the VC which was younger by a quarter of a century. The cooperation was based on the similarity of aims and methods.
SWIRL: an object-oriented air battle simulator

We describe a program called SWIRL designed for simulating military air battles between offensive and defensive forces. SWIRL is written in an object-oriented language (ROSS) where the knowledge base consists of a set of objects and their associated behaviors. We discuss some of the problems we encountered in designing SWIRL and present our approaches to them.
Activation of the Viral Genome In Vitro

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) occupies a unique position among human herpesviruses in that it is the only one which has been shown to be capable of forming a true latent infection whereby complete copies of the virus genome persist in replicating cells (reviewed by Epstein and Achong, 1977). Two human cell types have been demonstrated to harbor latent EBV genomes, B lymphocytes (bone marrow-derived lymphocyte) (Jondal et al., 1973; Pattengale et al., 1973), and epithelial tumor cells in nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC) (Wolf etal., 1973).
The Impact of Changing Market Conditions on Consumer Perceptions of the Automobile as a Status Symbol

The study makes a comparative analysis to determine if there has been a change in consumers’ perceptions of the automobile as a status symbol during the decade of the 1970’s. The study looks at significant differences in consumers’ perceptions in 1979 of the automobile as a status symbol based on socio-economic variables such as sex, educational level, age, occupation and income.
Effective Tagging Practices for Online Learning Environments: An Exploratory Study of Tag Approach and Accuracy

This exploratory study examines student tagging activity within a five-week social bookmarking unit. Students in six sections of a course were tasked with locating, tagging, and then highlighting and discussing course-related materials using Diigo, a social bookmarking tool. Three different tagging approaches were tested: dictionary only, freestyle only, and dictionary + freestyle. Analysis focused on accuracy and rates of student tagging, popularity of different tag types Findings show that most students were able to tag with high rates of accuracy after a single brief lesson. The dictionary-only approach led to fewer tags overall as well as fewer single-use tags than freestyle tagging. It also resulted in students applying useful classes of tags, such as type of content, that did not emerge within the freestyle tag groups’ folksonomies. However, freestyle tagging was not without its merits, and provided opportunities for students to include tags that reflect relevant interests and more specific topics that were not addressed in the tag dictionary. The combined approach, if carefully taught and applied, appears to have the greatest potential for supporting student information literacy skills.
Educational Inequality, Educational Expansion, and Intergenerational Income Persistence in the United States:

The children of high-income parents often become high-income adults, while their low-income peers often become low-income adults. Education plays a central role in this intergenerational income per...
Adverse Effects of Pharmacologic Treatments of Major Depression in Older Adults

OBJECTIVES To assess adverse effects of pharmacologic antidepressants for treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults 65 years of age or older. DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis. SETTING Specialist or generalist outpatient setting, rehabilitation facility, and nursing facilities. PARTICIPANTS Persons 65 years and older with MDD. INTERVENTION Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), bupropion, mirtazapine, trazodone, vilazodone, or vortioxetine compared with another antidepressant, placebo, or nonpharmacologic therapy. MEASUREMENTS Adverse events, arrhythmias, cognitive impairment, falls, fractures, hospitalization, mortality, QTc prolongation, serious adverse events, and withdrawals due to adverse events. RESULTS Nineteen randomized controlled trials and two observational studies were included. Most studies evaluated treatment of the acute phase (<12 wk) of MDD of moderate severity. SSRIs led to a statistically similar frequency of overall adverse events vs placebo (moderate strength of evidence [SOE]), but SNRIs caused more overall adverse events vs placebo (high SOE) during the acute treatment phase. Both SSRIs and SNRIs led to more study withdrawals due to adverse events vs placebo (SSRIs low SOE; SNRIs moderate SOE). Duloxetine led to a more falls vs placebo (moderate SOE) during 24 weeks of acute and continuation treatment of MDD. CONCLUSION In patients 65 years of age or older with MDD, treatment of the acute phase of MDD with SNRIs, but not SSRIs, was associated with a statistically greater number of overall adverse events vs placebo. SSRIs and SNRIs led to a greater number of study withdrawals due to adverse events vs placebo. Duloxetine increased the risk of falls that as an outcome was underreported in the literature. Few studies examined head-to-head comparisons, most trials were not powered to evaluate adverse events, and results of observational studies may be confounded. Comparative long-term studies reporting specific adverse events are needed to inform clinical decision making regarding choice of antidepressants in this population. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:1571-1581, 2019.
Refinement of estimates of mortality risk using the Radiologic Severity Index in hematologic malignancy patients with respiratory syncytial virus infection.

BACKGROUND Immunocompromised hematologic malignancy (HM) patients experience high mortality after respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). We measured radiologic severity to determine whether it could improve the performance of 60-day mortality models based only upon immunodeficiency severity. METHODS We studied 155 HM patients, including 84 hematopoietic cell transplant recipients, who developed RSV LRTI from 2001 to 2013. We measured immunodeficiency using lymphopenia (lymphocyte count <200 cells/mm3 ), Immunodeficiency Severity Index (ISI), and Severe Immunodeficiency (SID) criteria. Radiologic severity was measured by the Radiologic Severity Index (RSI, range 0-72) at time of LRTI (baseline-RSI) and peak severity (peak-RSI). Delta-RSI was defined as the difference between baseline-RSI and peak-RSI. We used logistic regression models to measure the association of immunodeficiency and RSI with 60-day all-cause mortality, and measured model discrimination using areas under the receiver-operating characteristics curves, calibration using Brier scores, and explained variance using pseudo-R2 values. RESULTS Forty-one patients died within 60 days of RSV LRTI. Severe immunodeficiency was associated with higher mortality. Peak-RSI (odds ratio [OR] 1.06/point, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.08), and delta-RSI (OR 1.07/point, 95% CI 1.05-1.10) were associated with 60-day mortality after RSV LRTI, but not baseline-RSI. Addition of peak-RSI or delta-RSI to baseline immunodeficiency improved the discrimination, calibration, and explained variance (P < 0.001) of 60-day mortality models. CONCLUSIONS Although baseline immunodeficiency in HM patients helps predict 60-day mortality after RSV LRTI, mortality risk estimates can be further refined by also measuring LRTI progression using RSI. RSI is well-suited as a marker of LRTI severity in RSV infection.
Prevalence of gastric cancer and premalignant changes in a Michigan cohort, 2013-2017.

e15539Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is uncommon in the US. Incidence varies by geography, race/ethnicity, sex, age, and socioeconomic status (SES). H. pylori is a risk factor for premalignant les...
Cpp-Taskflow: Fast Task-Based Parallel Programming Using Modern C++

In this paper we introduce Cpp-Taskflow, a new C++ tasking library to help developers quickly write parallel programs using task dependency graphs. Cpp-Taskflow leverages the power of modern C++ and task-based approaches to enable efficient implementations of parallel decomposition strategies. Our programming model can quickly handle not only traditional loop-level parallelism, but also irregular patterns such as graph algorithms, incremental flows, and dynamic data structures. Compared with existing libraries, Cpp-Taskflow is more cost efficient in performance scaling and software integration. We have evaluated Cpp-Taskflow on both micro-benchmarks and real-world applications with million-scale tasking. In a machine learning example, Cpp-Taskflow achieved 1.5–2.7× less coding complexity and 14–38% speed-up over two industrial-strength libraries OpenMP Tasking and Intel Threading Building Blocks (TBB).
Correction: The Chatt reaction: conventional routes to homoleptic arenemetalates of d-block elements.

Correction for ‘The Chatt reaction: conventional routes to homoleptic arenemetalates of d-block elements’ by John E. Ellis et al., Dalton Trans., 2019, 48, 9538–9563.
Activity-based protein profiling in bacteria: Applications for identification of therapeutic targets and characterization of microbial communities.

Abstract Activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) is a robust chemoproteomic technique that uses activity-based probes to globally measure endogenous enzymatic activity in complex proteomes. It has been utilized extensively to characterize human disease states and identify druggable targets in diverse disease conditions. ABPP has also recently found applications in microbiology. This includes using activity-based probes (ABPs) for functional studies of pathogenic bacteria as well as complex communities within a microbiome. This review will focus on recent advances in the use of ABPs to profile enzyme activity in disease models, screen for selective inhibitors of key enzymes, and develop imaging tools to better understand the host–bacterial interface.