cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Image Completion with Discriminator Guided Context Encoder

Image completion or inpainting is a technique that is used for reconstruction of damaged or distorted regions in an image. In this paper, a new convolutional neural network model is presented for image completion. The proposed method is based on an auto-encoder and a Generative Adversarial Network structure. To succeed at this task and produce a plausible output for the damaged or distorted region(s), the auto-encoder part of the network needs to understand the content of the entire image. On the other hand, discriminators that are used in the proposed network are responsible for deciding whether or not the inpainted output has the expected quality. The general discriminator looks at the entire image to evaluate if it is consistent as a whole, while the local discriminator looks only at the completed region to ensure the local consistency of the generated patches. The image completion network is then trained so that the discriminator networks conclude that the inpainted image is as real as the original. This approach is also aimed to reconstruct images regardless of where the damaged regions are. We compared our proposed method with two other approaches, and the results show that it performs better especially on images with low-texture.
Pro-inflammatory cytokine blockade attenuates myeloid expansion in a murine model of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation and progressive destruction of joint tissue. It is also characterized by aberrant blood phenotypes including anemia and suppressed lymphopoiesis that contribute to morbidity in RA patients. However, the impact of RA on hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) has not been fully elucidated. Using a collagen-induced mouse model of human RA, we identified systemic inflammation and myeloid overproduction associated with activation of a myeloid differentiation gene program in HSC. Surprisingly, despite ongoing inflammation, HSC from arthritic mice remain in a quiescent state associated with activation of a proliferation arrest gene program. Strikingly, we found that inflammatory cytokine blockade using the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist anakinra led to an attenuation of inflammatory arthritis and myeloid expansion in the bone marrow of arthritic mice. In addition, anakinra reduced expression of inflammation-driven myeloid lineage and proliferation arrest gene programs in HSC of arthritic mice. Altogether, our findings show that inflammatory cytokine blockade can contribute to normalization of hematopoiesis in the context of chronic autoimmune arthritis.
Cover crop rotations affect greenhouse gas emissions and crop production in Illinois, USA.

Abstract Nitrogen (N) is an essential element and usually a limiting factor in corn (Zea mays, L.) production; yet N build-up in the soil might lead to nitrate (N-NO3) leaching, and release of nitrous oxide (N2O) by denitrification, thus contributing to both water and air pollution. Cover crops (CCs) have been used to scavenge surplus soil N, which might lead to a decrease in the substrate needed for N2O production from the field. The objective of this study was to determine the effect that corn-soybean rotations with different CCs, and tillage methods have on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and crop yields in Illinois, USA. The experimental design was a split-block arrangement of tillage (chisel vs. no-till) and CC rotations in a RCBD with 4 replications with the corn and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] phases present each year. Greenhouse gas emissions - nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) – soil available N, (NO3 and NH4) were sampled only during the actively growing cover crop period and from the corn phase of each rotation over a period of 4 years (2013–2017). Cover crop rotations included five corn-soybean rotations with different CCs and one with an unseeded control. Our results suggest that CC efficacy in a humid continental climate, like central Illinois, is associated with fall and winter temperature and precipitation. In two of the years, spring CC growth was poor due to unseasonably cold temperatures; however, in two of the other years, weather was favorable and spring CC biomass ranged from 2-3 Mg ha−1 from three of the species tested. Where spring CC biomass was measurable, a fivefold reduction in N2O emissions was associated to significant reductions in soil N-NO3. Corn yields were not improved with the utilization of CCs and a yield decrease of 12% occurred in the annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) rotation. The findings from this study are the first from Illinois and one of few from the Midwest showing the potential benefits CCs have in reducing GHG emissions. Moreover, given adequate growing conditions, some CC species can significantly reduce GHG emissions, decrease residual soil N, and have no negative effects on cash crop yields.
Unsupervised Feature Learning for Point Cloud Understanding by Contrasting and Clustering Using Graph Convolutional Neural Networks

To alleviate the cost of collecting and annotating large-scale "3D object" point cloud data, we propose an unsupervised learning approach to learn features from an unlabeled point cloud dataset by using part contrasting and object clustering with deep graph convolutional neural networks (GCNNs). In the contrast learning step, all the samples in the 3D object dataset are cut into two parts and put into a "part" dataset. Then a contrast learning GCNN (ContrastNet) is trained to verify whether two randomly sampled parts from the part dataset belong to the same object. In the cluster learning step, the trained ContrastNet is applied to all the samples in the original 3D object dataset to extract features, which are used to group the samples into clusters. Then another GCNN for clustering learning (ClusterNet) is trained from the orignal 3D data to predict the cluster IDs of all the training samples. The contrasting learning forces the ContrastNet to learn semantic features of objects, while the ClusterNet improves the quality of learned features by being trained to discover objects that belong to the same semantic categories by using cluster IDs. We have conducted extensive experiments to evaluate the proposed framework on point cloud classification tasks. The proposed unsupervised learning approach obtains comparable performance to the state-of-the-art with heavier shape auto-encoding unsupervised feature extraction methods. We have also tested the networks on object recognition using partial 3D data, by simulating occlusions and perspective views, and obtained practically useful results. The code of this work is publicly available at: https://github.com/lingzhang1/ContrastNet.
Fresh Ham Chop Characteristics Cooked to Various Internal Endpoint Temperatures

ObjectivesToday’s health conscious consumer perceives pork as a healthy, low fat food staple. Identifying alternative fresh pork options within ham muscles could potentially increase carcass value. Therefore, the objective of our research was to evaluate fresh and cooked characteristics of pork m. biceps femoris (BF) and m. semimembranosus (SM).Materials and MethodsPork BF and SM were evaluated for quality characteristics once cooked to 62, 68, or 73°C endpoint temperatures. Ham (n = 27) subprimals were cut into 2.54cm chops and allocated randomly to cook loss (CL), Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), pH, and instrumental cook color (ICC) analyses. Chops assigned to CL and WBSF were weighed raw, cooked to treatment temperature, cooled to 23°C, and weighed again to calculate CL. Shear force was calculated from six 1.27-cm-diameter cores taken parallel to the muscle fiber orientation using a manual cork borer. Each sample was sheared once in the center with a Warner-Bratzler compression 60° angle V-notch cutting blade attachment on an Instron Universal Testing Machine. Intramuscular pH readings averaged 3 reading using a glass pH probe. Instrumental cook color was evaluated when chops reached room temperature. Chops were sliced horizontally, and color readings were taken immediately across the exposed surface. Readings were measured using a Hunter MiniScan EZ. The lightness (L*), redness (a*), yellow (b*) and red to brown ratio (R:B) values were determined from the mean of 3 readings on the surface of each chop.ResultsData were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC) with significance declared at P ≤ 0.05. Cook loss was the greatest (P < 0.01) in SM and both CL and WBSF values increased (P < 0.01) when endpoint temperature increased. Chops cooked to 73°C were 7.59 and 10.34% tougher compared to 62 and 68°C, respectively. There was a muscle × temperature interaction (P = 0.04) for L* as SM was lighter at 68 and 73°C compared to SM at 62°C and BM at any endpoint temperature. Biceps femoris was redder and expressed a greater R:B ratio (P < 0.01) compared to SM. Additionally, chops cooked to 62°C had the greatest a* and R:B values (P < 0.01). There was a muscle × temperature interaction (P < 0.01) for b* where BF was more yellow at 73°C compared to BF at 62°C and SM at 68°C. Although pH was not affected (P = 0.56) by treatment, it is important to note that the mean pH values were 5.93 and 5.89 for BF and SM which is indicative of dark, firm, and dry meat and could have affected the outcomes for color analysis.ConclusionThe authors conclude that 68°C would be the optimal endpoint temperature because chops cooked to 73°C had greater shear force and CL values which would results in a tougher product. Chops cooked to 62°C had greater a* and R:B values compared to those at 68°C and would be less appealing to consumers according to previous studies.
Suppression of superconducting parameters by correlated quasi-two-dimensional magnetic fluctuations

We consider a clean layered magnetic superconductor in which a continuous magnetic transition takes place inside a superconducting state. We assume that the exchange interaction between superconducting and magnetic subsystems is weak so that superconductivity is not destroyed at the magnetic transition. A representative example of such material is $\mathrm{Rb}\mathrm{Eu}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{4}{\mathrm{As}}_{4}$. We investigate the suppression of the superconducting gap and superfluid density by correlated magnetic fluctuations in the vicinity of the magnetic transition. The influence of nonuniform exchange field on superconducting parameters is very sensitive to the relation between the magnetic correlation length ${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{h}$ and superconducting coherence length ${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{s}$ defining the `scattering' (${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{h}l{\ensuremath{\xi}}_{s}$) and `smooth' (${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{h}g{\ensuremath{\xi}}_{s}$) regimes. As a small uniform exchange field does not affect the superconducting gap and superfluid density at zero temperature, smoothening of the spatial variations of the exchange field reduces its effects on these parameters. We develop a quantitative description of this `scattering-to-smooth' crossover for the case of quasi-two-dimensional magnetic fluctuations realized in $\mathrm{Rb}\mathrm{Eu}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{4}{\mathrm{As}}_{4}$. Since the magnetic-scattering energy scale is comparable with the gap in the crossover region, the standard quasiclassical approximation is not applicable and full microscopic treatment is required. We find that the corrections to both the gap and superfluid density increase proportionally to ${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{h}$ until it remains much smaller than ${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{s}$. In the opposite limit, when the correlation length exceeds the coherence length both parameters have much weaker dependence on ${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{h}$. Moreover, the gap correction may decrease with increasing of ${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{h}$ in the immediate vicinity of the magnetic transition if it is located at temperature much lower than the superconducting transition. We also find that the crossover between the two regimes is unexpectedly broad: The standard scattering approximation becomes sufficient only when ${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{h}$ is substantially smaller than ${\ensuremath{\xi}}_{s}$.
Is It Good to Sin When Times Are Bad? An Investigation of the Defensive Nature of Sin Stocks

In this article, I use an EGARCH model to investigate whether a portfolio of sin stocks is less resistant to downside risk or losses during market downturns than is the S&P 500, a benchmark to approximate the market portfolio of risky stocks. In addition, I use the aforementioned model to analyze the defensive nature of individual sin industries (alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and defense) against the market portfolio. This article contributes to the existing literature on sin investing in two ways. First, my results illustrate the defensive nature of sin stocks and help reinforce the notion that sin stocks have some immunity from downside risk due to cyclical fluctuations and economic downturns. Second, I show results not only from a portfolio of sin stocks, but from various sin industries as well. The industry results highlight the defensive nature of sin stocks, an important component of their risk-adjusted returns. TOPICS:Portfolio theory, portfolio construction, ESG investing Key Findings • Bad-news events have a lesser impact on sin stock return volatility than do good-news events. • Increases in the volatility index (VIX) lead to increases in the overall volatility of sin stocks. • Sin stocks have had higher returns and Sharpe ratios than the market portfolio and sin industry funds’ returns have been less correlated with each other than they have been with the market portfolio.
Evaluation of the relationship between airway measurements with ultrasonography and laryngoscopy in newborns and infants.

Background A difficult laryngoscopy in young children can be a stressful situation for the pediatric anesthetist. In recent years, several measurements have been used to obtain difficult laryngoscopy markers in children. However, there is no prospective study in which ultrasonography is expected to be used for this purpose, particularly in the newborn and infant age groups. Goals In this study, our goal was to evaluate the relationship between the preoperative airway assessment tools and the difficult laryngoscopic view in neonates and infants. Methods Our study included newborns and infants undergoing elective surgery requiring intubation under general anesthesia. The following measurements were recorded the following: patients' age, body mass index, thyromental distance, mandibular length, the distance between the lip corner and ipsilateral ear tragus, and the transverse length (measured by hand with sign-middle-ring fingers side by side). In the thyromental distance measurement, the "thyroid notch" was determined by ultrasonography. Glottic structures appearing during laryngoscopy were graded according to the Cormack-Lehane Classification. Results Of the 150 patients included in the study, 36 were female, and 92% were under the age of one. The incidence of difficult laryngoscopic views was 8% in the age groups studied, and the frequency of difficult laryngoscopic views in the newborn age group was 14.3%. The relationship between airway assessment tools and the Cormack-Lehane Classification scores was statistically significant. The negative predictive value was high for all values. Conclusions The risk of a difficult laryngoscopy increases in children under the age of one. The preoperative airway assessment tools and body mass index had acceptable negative predictive values. We believe that all measurements could be used as markers for difficult laryngoscopy in newborns and infants.
How King v. Burwell Creates Tax Problems for Consumers and What The Treasury Can Do About It

Commentators have expressed concern that a government loss in King v. Burwell, which addresses whether taxpayers can enjoy tax credits for policies purchased on federal health care exchanges, will lead to a "death spiral" during future enrollment seasons.However, this discussion threatens to mask the potential tax problems facing persons who purchase policies this enrollment season. As this short article explains, purchasers may be faced with a surprising tax bill when they complete their 2015 tax returns. Additionally, the government has argued that it can protect customers from surprise tax bills, but its authority to do so is far from clear.
Impact of brain shift on neural pathways in deep brain stimulation: a preliminary analysis via multi-physics finite element models.

Objective The effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS) depends on electrode placement accuracy, which can be compromised by brain shift during surgery. While there have been efforts in assessing the impact of electrode misplacement due to brain shift using preop- and postop- imaging data, such analysis using preop- and intraop- imaging data via biophysical modeling has not been conducted. This work presents a preliminary study that applies a multi-physics analysis framework using finite element biomechanical and bioelectric models to examine the impact of realistic intraoperative shift on neural pathways determined by tractography. Approach The study examined six patients who had undergone interventional magnetic resonance (iMR)-guided DBS surgery. The modeling framework utilized a biomechanical approach to update preoperative MR to reflect shift-induced anatomical changes. Using this anatomically deformed image and its undeformed counterpart, bioelectric effects from shifting electrode leads could be simulated and neural activation differences were approximated. Specifically, for each configuration, volume of tissue activation (VTA) was computed and subsequently used for tractography estimation. Total tract volume and overlapping volume with motor regions as well as connectivity profile were compared. In addition, volumetric overlap between different fiber bundles among configurations was computed and correlated to estimated shift. Main result The study found deformation-induced differences in tract volume, motor region overlap, and connectivity behavior, suggesting the impact of shift. There is a strong correlation (R=-0.83) between shift from intended target and intended neural pathway recruitment, where at threshold of ~2.94 mm, intended recruitment completely degrades. The determined threshold is consistent with and provides quantitative support to prior observations and literature that deviations of 2-3 mm are detrimental. Significance The findings support and advance prior studies and understanding to illustrate the need to account for shift in DBS and the potentiality of computational modeling for estimating influence of shift on neural activation.
Does timing of lumbar fusion affect dislocation rate after total hip arthroplasty

Abstract Introduction The impact of lumbar spinal fusion (LSF) on pelvic mobility and increased risk for THA dislocation are recognized. However, there is still controversy on whether THA should be performed prior or following LSF. This study aims to compare the rates of hip dislocation in patients undergoing THA prior to or following LSF. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 109 primary THA and LSF. There were 34 men and 75 women with a mean age of 66.9. The cohort was divided into 2 groups: 1) THA prior to lumbar fusion (n = 42) and 2) THA following lumbar fusion (n = 67). Radiographic parameters including acetabular component abduction, anteversion, pelvic incidence (PI), sacral slope, standing lumbar lordosis (LL) and PI-LL mismatch were determined for each patient. The surgical approach and THA parameters were also recorded and compared between the 2 groups. Patients with fracture, malignant disease, and prior hip hardware were excluded. Results The mean follow up was 14.7 months. Overall, 8 patients (7.3%) had a postoperative hip dislocation (0 in group 1 (0%), and 8 in group 2 (11.9%) (p = 0.022). The mean cup abduction and anteversion in patients that dislocated was 37.7° and 23.4° respectively while patients who did not dislocate had an average cup abduction of 37.6° (p = 0.970) and anteversion of 25.9° (p = 0.367). Patients who dislocated had decreased lumbar lordosis (p = 0.022) and higher PI-LL mismatch (p = 0.0004) compared to that did not dislocate. There were no other significant differences in the spinopelvic parameters between the 2 groups. Neither surgical approach nor dual mobility articulations use had a significant impact on postoperative dislocations. Conclusion Higher rates of hip dislocation were observed in patients undergoing primary THA following LSF. Dislocators had decreased lumbar lordosis and increased PI-LL mismatch. Patients who require both spinal fusion and THA should undergo hip arthroplasty first to minimize the risk of postoperative instability.
Historic Perspective on the Microsporidia: Expanding Horizons

The polar filament is the defining character of the microsporidia, and its function has attracted the attention of many investigators. Microsporidian species have been reported to infect nearly all of the invertebrate phyla, including such unicellular organisms as ciliates and gregarines, myxozoans, cnidarians, platyhelminths, nematodes, rotifers, annelids, molluscs, bryozoans, and arthropods, as well as all five classes of vertebrates; the greatest numbers of species infect arthropods and fish. Microsporidia are obligate intracellular parasites of eukaryotes, the transmittable stage being a resistant spore which is usually small, possesses a thick wall, and contains a characteristic polar tube apparatus. Glugea anomala, which causes subcutaneous cysts in fish (e.g., stickleback), was the first microsporidian parasite recognized to cause disease in vertebrates. Subsequently, other species such as Pleistophora spp and Nucleospora (Enterocytozoon) salmonis were implicated in sporadic but serious disease outbreaks among fish populations. These outbreaks have had an important economic impact on tropical freshwater fish, commercial fish farming, and the sport fishing industry. Once it became clear that human microsporidiosis was largely a disease of immuno-incompetent individuals, particularly those with AIDS, additional species were recognized that also caused disseminated infection. In addition, protozoan thymidylic synthetase and dihydrofolic acid reductase, which are present in protozoa as separate epitopes on the same protein, are found as separate proteins in the microsporidia as they are in yeast.
The Uniform Probate Code Addresses the Class-Gift and Intestacy Rights of Children of Assisted Reproduction

This article explores changes to the Uniform Probate Code relating to the parentage relationships existing between children born as the result of assisted reproductive technologies, their biological parents, and their birth or intended parents. Inheritance rights, including the right to be treated as a member of a class under wills, follow parentage.
Is seeing believing? Perceptions of wildfire risk over time

Ongoing challenges to understanding how hazard exposure and disaster experiences influence perceived risk lead us to ask: Is seeing believing? We approach risk perception by attending to two components of overall risk perception: perceived probability of an event occurring and perceived consequences if an event occurs. Using a two-period longitudinal data set collected from a survey of homeowners living in a fire-prone area of Colorado, we find that study participants' initial high levels of perceived probability and consequences of a wildfire did not change substantially after extreme wildfire events in the intervening years. More specifically, perceived probability of a wildfire changed very little, whereas the perceived consequences of a wildfire went up a bit. In addition, models of risk perceptions show that the two components of overall risk perception are correlated with somewhat different factors, and experience is not found to be one of the strongest correlates with perceived risk. These results reflect the importance of distinguishing the components of overall risk and modeling them separately to facilitate additional insights into the complexities of risk perceptions, factors related to perceived risk, and change in risk perceptions over time.
Average Total Cost

Average total cost is defined. Keywords: fixed costs; short run cost curves; long run cost curves
Estimation of Food Demand from Household Survey Data in Vietnam

This paper analyzes food consumption patterns of Vietnamese households, using a complete demand system and socio-demographic information. Demand elasticities are estimated using the AIDS model and the latest Vietnamese household survey data in 2006. The results indicate that food consumption pattern in Vietnam are affected by income, price as well as socioeconomic and geographic factors. All food has positive expenditure elasticities and negative own-price elasticities. In particular, rice has mean expenditure elasticity of 0.36 and mean own-price elasticity of -0.80. Thus, an increase in the price in rice by one percent will reduce rice consumption by 0.8 percent, on average. On the other hand, an increase in the income by 1 percent leads to an increase in rice demand by 0.36 percent. It indicates that food consumption in urban and rural areas, and among regions and income groups are different. It points out that targeted food policies should be formulated based on specific food demand patterns in the groups.
21st Century Socialism: Making a State for Revolution

The Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela has built mass organizations of workers and communities that have erratically challenged class and market relations—verifying that taking political power is difficult but essential to fundamental social change and that capitalist cultural practices complicate the revolutionary process. This work identifies components of state power, separating state apparatus (government) as a crucial site for instituting social change. The case of democratic, participatory communication and public media access is presented as central to the successes and problems of Venezuelan 21st century socialism. Drawing on field research in community media in Caracas, the essay highlights some of the politico-cultural challenges and class contradictions in producing and distributing cultural values and social practices for a new socialist hegemony necessary for fundamental social change.
Macroeconomic Institutions and Development

The article reviews the book "Macroeconomic Institutions and Development," by Bilin Neyapti.
Public Library Users are Challenged by Digital Information Preservation

A review of: Copeland, A. J. (2011). Analysis of public library users’ digital preservation practices. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62(7), 1288-1300. doi:10.1002/asi.21553 Objective – To discover the factors that influence digital information preservation practices and attitudes of adult public library users. Design – Mixed methodology combining matrix questionnaires, interviews, and visual mapping. Setting – Urban public library on the East Coast of the United States. Subjects – 26 adult members of a public library’s Friends group. Methods – The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 participants. All participants drew maps to indicate the types of information they value and why, and their preferences for information storage and maintenance. Qualitative data were supplemented by a matrix questionnaire on which 22 participants identified the types of digital information they maintain, and modes of storage. Main Results – Some public library users may store and organize information inconsistently, utilizing a variety of digital devices. Technical, social, and emotional context influences choices about organization, sharing of information, and short- and long-term preservation. Users reported placing a higher value on born digital information, and information that they had shared with others. Conclusion – Public librarians may have a role in facilitating growth of patron knowledge about creation, storage, preservation, and sharing of personal digital information.
A model of onion routing with provable anonymity

Onion routing is a scheme for anonymous communication that is designed for practical use. Until now, however, it has had no formal model and therefore no rigorous analysis of its anonymity guarantees. We give an IO-automata model of an onion-routing protocol and, under possibilistic definitions, characterize the situations in which anonymity and unlinkability are guaranteed.
Basic Assumptions Concerning Human Nature Underlying Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (Rebt) Personality Theory

In this article it is argued that all major theories of personality, including the currently developing REBT personality theory, rest upon certain basic philosophic assumptions concerning human nature made by the theorist. If REBT theory preferably is to develop into a more comprehensive theory of personality, then it would be helpful in that effort to identify the basic philosophic assumptions underlying it. For that purpose Ellis' basic assumptions in this regard are here identified, articulated, and documented. Theoretical and treatment implications are also explored. In the case of each philosophic assumption it is briefly indicated how Ellis' position on that assumption may translate into the theory and practice of REBT.
Falling Factorials, Generating Functions, and Conjoint Ranking Tables

We investigate the coefficients generated by expressing the f alling factorial (xy) k as a linear combination of falling factorial products x l y m for l, m = 1, . . . , k. Algebraic and combinatoric properties are discussed, some in relation to Stirling numbers.
Core Elements of Digital Gazetteers: Placenames, Categories, and Footprints

The core elements of a digital gazetteer are the placename itself, the type of place it labels, and a geographic footprint representing its location and possibly its extent. Such gazetteer data is an important component of indirect geographic referencing through placenames. Based on the gazetteer development work of the Alexandria Digital Library, this paper presents the nature of placenames, and the process of assigning categories to places based on the words in the placenames and other information, and discusses the nature of georeferencing places with geographic footprints.
Sudden cardiac death: do we know what we are talking about?

To the Editor: The recent article in Circulation by Zheng and collaborators1 reopens an important discussion concerning the definition and incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD). This event was defined as “unexpected natural death from a cardiac cause within a short time period, generally <1 hour from the onset of symptoms, in a person without any prior condition that would appear fatal.”1 For practical purposes, this definition was simplified to denote any cardiac death occurring “out of the hospital or in the emergency room as ‘dead on arrival.’”1 Such is the nature of the best available SCD-related information: it presumes to account not only for the generic cause of death …
Are prescription labels usable? a review and analysis

There are approximately 400,000 adverse drug events per year in hospitalized patients which has resulted in more than $ 3.5 billion spent in subsequent recovery care. The present paper reviews the literature relating to the usability of information found on pharmaceutical labels. In particular, we examine the legibility and comprehensibility of the information provided on the labels. In addition, we highlight the differences in the physical makeup of medication that can be implemented to help users identify their medication. Finally, we provide recommendations for factors that should be examined in future research to improve the usability of pharmaceutical labels. Presently, the FDA has few standards and guidelines regarding the content and layout of a prescription label. We hope that the recommendations provided in this paper can lead to the development of standards for formatting and presenting information on prescription labels that will reduce the number of medical cases involving ingestion of the wrong medication.
Interaction of Acoustic Beams with Lossy Fluid-Loaded Layered, Cylindrical Shells

Nonspecular reflection of bounded beams has attracted interest since the work of Schoch [1] and Bertoni and Tamir [2] gave an accurate description of the nonspecular reflection of well collimated Gaussian beams from half spaces at or near the Rayleigh critical angle. Investigations on plates and half spaces concentrated on planar interfaces [3,4], while our previous work extended to the interaction of divergent Gaussian beams with planar surfaces (half space and plate) and of collimated beams with curved surfaces (solid cylinders and shells) [5,6].
Epipodophyllotoxins in the treatment of childhood cancer

We reported marked biologic activity with the epipodophyllotoxins in phase I/II studies of childhood cancer conducted in the 1970s. We have since extensively used the combination of teniposide and ara-C in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Initially we treated patients with refractory disease and found that the combination lacked clinical cross-resistance with standard antileukemic drugs. This formed a rationale to move teniposide and/or etoposide to front-line therapy of childhood ALL. The superior results projected for our last trial, an overall cure rate of about 75%, are attributable in part to early use of epipodophyllotoxins. This class of agents is also used extensively in the treatment of newly diagnosed childhood solid tumors, including neuroblastoma, medulloblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, and germ-cell tumors. Secondary leukemias following treatment with epipodophyllotoxins have been reported in a small subset of patients. Current data show that the most important risk factor is the schedule of drug delivery, which has led to appropriate protocol modifications.
Dysregulation of mitochondrial quality control processes contribute to sarcopenia in a mouse model of premature aging.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations lead to decrements in mitochondrial function and accelerated rates of these mutations has been linked to skeletal muscle loss (sarcopenia). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of mtDNA mutations on mitochondrial quality control processes in skeletal muscle from animals (young; 3–6 months and older; 8–15 months) expressing a proofreading-deficient version of mtDNA polymerase gamma (PolG). This progeroid aging model exhibits elevated mtDNA mutation rates, mitochondrial dysfunction, and a premature aging phenotype that includes sarcopenia. We found increased expression of the mitochondrial biogenesis regulator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) and its target proteins, nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF-1) and mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam) in PolG animals compared to wild-type (WT) (P<0.05). Muscle from older PolG animals displayed higher mitochondrial fission protein 1 (Fis1) concurrent with greater induction of autophagy, as indicated by changes in Atg5 and p62 protein content (P<0.05). Additionally, levels of the Tom22 import protein were higher in PolG animals when compared to WT (P<0.05). In contrast, muscle from normally-aged animals exhibited a distinctly different expression profile compared to PolG animals. Older WT animals appeared to have higher fusion (greater Mfn1/Mfn2, and lower Fis1) and lower autophagy (Beclin-1 and p62) compared to young WT suggesting that autophagy is impaired in aging muscle. In conclusion, muscle from mtDNA mutator mice display higher mitochondrial fission and autophagy levels that likely contribute to the sarcopenic phenotype observed in premature aging and this differs from the response observed in normally-aged muscle.
Factored computing structures for multiplierless FIR filters using symbol-sequence number systems in linear spaces

A general framework is presented here for developing number systems to represent coefficient vectors in an inner-product space. Multiplierless computational structures then follow for computing sums of inner products of data vectors and fixed coefficient vectors. Those structures can often be factored into multiplierless forms having remarkable computational efficiency.
Fast solution method for three-dimensional Stokesian many-particle problems

It is demonstrated that three-dimensional single- and double-layer Stokesian potentials can be computed using fast solution methods for the N-body electrostatics problem. This allows one to develop fast iterative solution methods for a broad class of boundary integral equations corresponding to three-dimensional Stokesian many-particle problems.
Entrapped stone basket managed by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy

Abstract When pull on a stone basket enclosing a distal ureteral stone met marked resistance and endoscopic lithotripsy failed, extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy was used to fragment the entrapped stone in the ureter and allowed successful removal of the basket with the enclosed fragments.
Examination of the oxidation behavior of biodiesel soot

Abstract In this work, we expand upon past work relating the nanostructure and oxidative reactivity of soot. This work shows that the initial structure alone does not dictate the reactivity of diesel soot and rather the initial oxygen groups have a strong influence on the oxidation rate. A comparison of the complete oxidation behavior and burning mode was made to address the mechanism by which biodiesel soot enhances oxidation. Diesel soot derived from neat biodiesel (B100) is far more reactive during oxidation than soot from neat Fischer–Tropsch diesel fuel (FT100). B100 soot undergoes a unique oxidation process leading to capsule-type oxidation and eventual formation of graphene ribbon structures. The results presented here demonstrate the importance of initial properties of the soot, which lead to differences in burning mode. Incorporation of greater surface oxygen functionality in the B100 soot provides the means for more rapid oxidation and drastic structural transformation during the oxidation process.
Structure of LaNi2.286 and the LaNi system from LaNi1.75 to LaNi2.50

Abstract Seven alloys near the LaNi2 composition were studied by metallographie and X-ray techniques. Alloys that were cooled slowly were found to consist of two phases: from x = 1.75 to 2.25 and from x = 2.40 to 2.50, where x is the Ni:La ratio. A single-phase alloy was found near x = 2.30. A complete single-crystal structure analysis showed that the true composition of this tetragonal phase ( a = 7.355 A and c = 14.51 A ) is LaNi2.286. The space group is I42m and the unit cell contains 32 nickel atoms and 14 lanthanum atoms. This tetragonal structure is related to the cubic C15 Laves phase such that at ≈ ac and ct ≈ 2ac and two lanthanum atoms are removed from the tetragonal structure. The formation of this phase is thought to result from the large disparity between the lanthanum and nickel radii ( r La r Ni = 1.506 ) relative to that expected for the ideal constituent atoms of the AB2 cubic Laves phase ( r A r B = 1.225 ), which prevents the formation of the ideal C15 Laves phase.
MO-D-BRB-05: A Novel Dynamic MLC Leaf Sequencing Algorithm for 4D Treatment with Deformable Target Motion Correction

Purpose: To investigate a dynamic MLC (DMLC) leaf sequencing method for the 4D IMRT delivery. Materials and methods: A 4D CT was obtained and 10 phase CTdata sets were created retrospectively. Individual IMRT plan was generated for each phase on Pinnacle treatment planning station, and a 4D plan was created using a deformable image registration technique. Based on the DMLC leaf sequences generated from the plan of each phase, the non‐rigid motion corrected 4D leaf sequence was created by matching the time indexes of the leaf sequences and the breathing cycles of each phase. The 4D leaf sequence was iteratively adjusted for the maximum leaf speed to avoid any beam hold‐offs. At the same time, a rigid motion corrected 4D leaf sequence was calculated by adjusting the leaf center corresponding to the center of mass position of the target in each phase. The opening density map (ODM) of the 4D plan was used to create a traditional no‐motion corrected leaf sequence. All three leaf sequences were delivered by Varian 2100 C/D with Millennium 120 leaf DMLC. The MatriXX (IBA Dosimetry) was used to measure the delivered fluence map every 40 ms. The delivered fluence maps were registered back to the patient's coordinate system. Results: Using the 4D plan ODM as reference, the fluence map from the non‐rigid motion corrected 4D leaf sequence showed a maximum dosimetric difference of 3%. However, the fluence maps from the rigid motion corrected 4D leaf sequence and the no‐motion corrected leaf sequence showed maximum dosimetric differences of 30%. Conclusion: For 4D plan DMLC delivery, the non‐rigid motion corrected leaf sequencing, the rigid motion corrected 4D leaf sequencing and the no‐motion corrected leaf sequencing were investigated. Results showed that the non‐rigid motion corrected leaf sequencing is the one that closest deliverers the 4D plan.
A REVIEW OF GHEMAWAT'S COMMITMENT: THE DYNAMIC OF STRATEGY

Commitment: The Dynamic of Strategy, by Pankaj Ghemawat. Ghemawat's Commitment makes recent results in game-theoretic industrial organization accessible and useful to practitioners in the field of strategic management. This book contributes to the management strategy literature on two levels. On a conceptual level, Ghemawat strives to isolate “commitment” as the sole explanation of persistent differences in firm performance. On a more pragmatic level, he provides a framework intended to aid managers in making commitment-intensive decisions. It is with respect to how well he achieves these two distinct goals that I evaluate Ghemawat's contribution. In addition, I review briefly the book's content, and I compare Ghemawat's approach to some alternative approaches familiar to scholars and practitioners of strategic management.
Density fractionation of erythrocytes by Percoll/hypaque results in only a slight enrichment for aged cells.

Abstract Density fractionation has served for many years as a standard procedure for the isolation of aged erythrocyte populations; however, a quantitative evaluation of the technique has not been available. This report describes such an analysis. Rabbits were infused intravenously with N-hydroxysuccinimido biotin to biotinylate greater than 90% of all circulating erythrocytes; the enumeration of these biotinylated cells was possible by monitoring their ability to bind avidin-coated microspheres. The biotinylated erythrocytes were shown to have a normal in vivo survival. As a result of the normal senescence process, only aged red cells would have membrane-bound biotin 50 days after biotinylation. At this time, the rabbit red cells were fractionated over Percoll/hypaque to determine the ability of density fractionation to enrich for the aged, biotinylated cells. Density fractionation resulted in an average enrichment for aged cells of only 2–3-fold above that present in a random population.
Veilleuse-thééièères: Form and Function in Nightlight Teapots

The world9s largest collection of veilleuse-theeieeres, or nightlight teapots, is housed in Trenton, Tennessee. Created in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, they combined form and function as both decorative pieces and practical items used to provide light at night while keeping tea and soup warm in nurseries and sickrooms. These teapots came to Tennessee courtesy of Frederick C. Freed, a New York City doctor who gifted his southern hometown with the collection after 30 years of traveling the world searching for them. They were created by a variety of artists including Jacob Petit and feature designs ranging from the historic to the elegant to the comical. Some of the teapots bear Napoleonic insignia, and several in the collection at one time belonged to Napoleon himself. The collection of 526 is housed in the town9s city hall chambers, about 100 miles northeast of Memphis, open to the public at no charge.
Composition of cottontail rabbit milk from stomachs of young and directly from gland.

Abstract Milk samples were from stomachs of 27 nursing cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) within 5min after cessation of nursing. Four milk samples were directly from mammary glands by hand milking aided by tranquilizer and oxytocin. Means and standard errors for 27 stomach samples for total solids, fat, protein, lactose, and ash were 33.6±.8%, 13.9±1.7%, 14.6±.5%, 2.22±.05%, and 2.06±.07%. Those values of 4 samples directly from the gland were 35.2±.4%, 14.4±.4%, 15.8±.6%, 2.67±.26%, and 2.07±.06%. Fatty acid compositions were similar for the groups, except linoleic acid was 30.0% of fatty acids from stomach milk and 24.7% in milk obtained directly. Differences between sampling methods in palmitoleate, stearate, and oleate may have been from differences in season of sampling. Minerals were more concentrated in milk obtained directly, except potassium. Differences between milks of domesticated and cottontail rabbits are discussed.
Abstract 2029: Interactions between a selenophene compound and DNA polymerase eta.

Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC D-501036 [2,5-bis(5-hydroxymethyl-2-selenienyl)-3-hydroxymethyl-N-methylpyrrole] is a selenophene compound that has potent toxicity to various types of cancer cells but not for normal cells. More importantly, in vivo xenograft animal studies have also shown that D-501036 is a promising anticancer compound. Mechanistic studies indicated that D-501036 induces DNA double strand breaks in a dose dependent manner and blocks cell cycle progression at S-phase. D-501036 forms DNA adducts and the amount of DNA adducts increased with the concentration of D-501036. Therefore, we examined several DNA replication/repair mechanisms for their potential relationship with D-501036. Interestingly, we observed that D-501036 suppressed the expression of DNA lesion bypass polymerase η (pol η) more than 70% in both time and dose dependent manners in the ovarian Ovcar-4 cancer cells. Pol η is the key enzyme to replicate across UV induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD) in DNA. Genetic defects in the pol η encoding gene result in a disease called Xeroderma Pigmentosum variant (XP-V). In addition to its biological function, biochemical studies have shown that pol η can also efficiently bypass cisplatin intrastrand crosslinked guanosines (Pt-GG). In consistence with the biochemical studies, cellular studies have shown that the expression of pol η reduces the cytotoxicity of cisplatin in Ovcar-4 cells. These results suggested that pol η plays an important role in modulating the cellular sensitivity to cisplatin. Although cisplatin is an important therapeutic agent for the treatment of ovarian cancer but the development of resistance against cisplatin has been a major drawback. Given that D-501036 suppresses the expression of pol η, we performed a cytotoxicity study using the combination of D-501036 and cisplatin. Our results indicated that D-501036 can potentiate the sensitivity of Ovcar-4 cells to cisplatin more than 1,000- fold. Together, our results suggested that D-501036 is a promising compound that can be used to enhance the activity of cisplatin for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Further studies are undergoing to determine the mechanisms of action of D-501036, the information obtained will facilitate the development of new compounds to improve the treatment for ovarian cancer. Citation Format: Anne Rietz, Yih-wen Chen, Kai-Ming Chou. Interactions between a selenophene compound and DNA polymerase eta. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2029. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2029