cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Memory aware compilation through accurate timing extraction

Memory delays represent a major bottleneck in embedded systems performance. Newer memory modules exhibiting efficient access modes (e.g., page-, burst-mode) partly alleviate this bottleneck. However, such features can not be efficiently exploited in processor-based embedded systems without memory-aware compiler support. We describe a memory-aware compiler approach that exploits such efficient memory access modes by extracting accurate timing information, allowing the compiler's scheduler to perform global code reordering to better hide the latency of memory operations. Our memory-aware compiler scheduled several benchmarks on the TI C6201 processor architecture interfaced with a 2-bank synchronous DRAM and generated average improvements of 24% over the best possible schedule using a traditional (memory-transparent) optimizing compiler, demonstrating the utility of our memory-aware compilation approach.
Distribution of Three Enzymes of γ‐Aminobutyric Acid Metabolism in Monkey Retina

The distributions of glutamate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.15), gamma-aminobutyric acid transaminase (EC 2.6.1.19), and succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.24) were determined in monkey retina. The decarboxylase was almost restricted to the inner plexiform layer. The transaminase was also highest in this layer, but activities were 40% as high in the adjacent third of the inner nuclear layer and in the ganglion cell and fiber layers. Succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase was distributed very differently. Although it also showed a peak of activity in the inner plexiform layer, there was a second equal peak in the photoreceptor inner segment layer and a smaller peak in the outer plexiform layer, regions where both gamma-aminobutyric acid transaminase and glutamate decarboxylase were essentially absent.
CdiA from Enterobacter cloacae delivers a toxic ribosomal RNase into target bacteria.

Summary Contact-dependent growth inhibition (CDI) is one mechanism of inter-bacterial competition. CDI + cells export large CdiA effector proteins, which carry a variety of C-terminal toxin domains (CdiA-CT). CdiA-CT toxins are specifically neutralized by cognate CdiI immunity proteins to protect toxin-producing cells from autoinhibition. Here, we use structure determination to elucidate the activity of a CDI toxin from Enterobacter cloacae (ECL). The structure of CdiA-CT ECL resembles the C-terminal nuclease domain of colicin E3, which cleaves 16S ribosomal RNA to disrupt protein synthesis. In accord with this structural homology, we show that CdiA-CT ECL uses the same nuclease activity to inhibit bacterial growth. Surprisingly, although colicin E3 and CdiA ECL carry equivalent toxin domains, the corresponding immunity proteins are unrelated in sequence, structure, and toxin-binding site. Together, these findings reveal unexpected diversity among 16S rRNases and suggest that these nucleases are robust and versatile payloads for a variety of toxin-delivery platforms.
English as a transcultural language in Swedish policy and practice

The globalization of English in Sweden is examined as it takes shape in educational policy and practice. Following in the tradition of a “new wave” of language policy and planning research that emphasizes connections between policy and how it is interpreted by local stakeholders, this investigation focuses on textual data from Swedish national curricular documents and observational data of preservice English language educators during teacher training. Discourse analysis was conducted in order to illuminate underlying policy discourses, on the one hand, and facilitate tracing intertextual connections to the voices of educators, on the other hand. Drawing upon current perspectives on linguistic globalization, major discursive tensions engendered in the processes of transculturation through which English as a global language is locally situated in Sweden are brought to light. The study illustrates how educational language policy serves as a discursive space for ongoing negotiation about the status of English in Sweden.
Equine lymphocyte antigens and reproduction in the Standardbred mare.

Summary. Equine lymphocyte antigen (ELA) gene frequencies were estimated for pacing and trotting Standardbred mares residing on a breeding farm in central Ohio. The ELA gene frequencies for Ohio Standardbreds did not differ significantly from the ELA gene frequencies of Kentucky Standardbreds, determined by Bailey (1983). No significant differences were found in the distribution of ELA class I antigens in horses with lower overall fertility or a history of abortion on the investigated breeding farm. Likewise, no significant association was observed when the ELA types of both the mare and the stallion to which she was mated were compared with the reproductive efficiency of the mare.
A new method of assessing ability to perform activities of daily living: design, methods and baseline data.

Purpose: To describe study protocol and baseline characteristics of initial subjects. Methods: Prospective study of 194 glaucoma patients. After informed consent, patients were evaluated using a third-generation, performance-based measure, Assessment of Disability Related to Vision (ADREV), nine tasks to simulate daily living activities; including: reading in reduced illumination, recognizing facial expression, detecting motion, recognizing street signs, locating objects, ambulating, placing pegs into different sized holes, telephoning, and matching socks. All patients completed clinical tests including visual acuity (Early Treatment Diabetric Retinopathy Study [ETDRS]), monocular and binocular visual fields, contrast sensitivity, stereopsis, and National Eye Institute's Visual Functioning Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25). Main outcome measures are scores on subtests, total scores of ADREV and NEI VFQ-25. Results: Mean age was 67.1 years; 51% were female, 55% were of European extraction. Seventy-two percent had...
Uplift Wave Load on the Superstructure of Coastal Bridges

Coastal bridges are exposed to severe wind and wave loads during a hurricane. Because the density of water is much larger than the density of air, the magnitude of wave loads is much larger than wind load, and can demolish the bridge superstructure if it was not specifically designed to withstand wave loads. In September 2004, the 2.5-mile-long I-10 twin bridges over Escambia Bay near Pensacola, Florida suffered extensive structural damage during Hurricane Ivan, 58 spans of the eastbound and westbound bridges were knocked off the piers and another 66 spans were misaligned. During Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, several bridges in Louisiana and Mississippi were damaged. The bridge decks were lifted by the large uplift wave load and pushed off the piers by the horizontal wave load. In this research, the uplift wave load is calculated by the velocity potential and diffraction theory with finite difference method. The analytical model is validated by laboratory measurements. The extreme sea state around the damaged I-10 Bridges during Hurricane Ivan, including the wave height, wave period and direction, is hindcasted with wave model SWAN and achieved historical wind data. The calculated wave parameters are then used to calculate the uplift wave load on the superstructure of the I-10 Bridges. The influence of wave height, wave period and water depth on uplift wave load is also investigated.
Changes in δ13C stable isotopes in multiple tissues of insect predators fed isotopically distinct prey

Traditionally, researchers have used measurements of carbon stable isotopes to infer the composition of consumers’ diets. However, since consumer’s tissues may process carbon isotopes differently, particularly following a diet shift, it is possible to use measurements of carbon isotopes in multiple tissues to determine not only the composition of an individual’s diet, but also the temporal dynamics thereof. This study examined how stable isotopes of carbon (13C/12C, expressed as δ13C) changed in different adult tissues of two predacious beetles, Harmonia axyridis and Coccinella septempunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). In the laboratory, we switched ladybeetles from a C3-based diet (soybean aphids, Aphis glycines) to a C4-based one (corn leaf aphids, Rhopalosiphum maidis). The δ13C of metabolically active tissues such as the body fat and reproductive organs changed rapidly (≤5 days) following the diet shift. Tissues expected to be more metabolically inert, such as wings, changed more slowly over the same period. Although these general patterns were largely similar between males and females, females had more rapid changes in δ13C in fat and reproductive tissues. However, females showed a significant depletion in δ13C after 10 days, while males’ δ13C continued to increase. Given the results of this experiment, it is now possible to distinguish between ladybeetles eating a mixed diet (beetles with multiple tissues at similar, intermediate, equilibrial δ13C signatures) from those that have shifted diets (beetles with different tissues at distinctly different δ13C values). Thus, this approach can be used broadly to infer not only what constitutes the diet of a consumer, but also the temporal history of dietary intake.
Cytoplasmic Calcium in the Mediation of Macula Densa Tubulo-Glomerular Feedback Responses

Within each nephron of the mammalian kidney, a feedback mechanism operating between the macula densa segment of the distal tubule and the afferent arteriole participates in the regulation of glomerular filtration rate. Retrograde microperfusion studies in rats were conducted to test the hypothesis that activation of macula densa cytoplasmic calcium is involved in the transmission of feedback signals to the vascular elements. Perfusion into distal tubules with a hypotonic solution (70 milliosmolar) elicited moderate decreases in glomerular pressure of 6 +/- 0.8 millimeters of mercury. With the addition of a calcium ionophore (A23187) glomerular pressure decreased by 16 +/- 1.1 millimeters of mercury. When a solution devoid of calcium but containing A23187 was used, the feedback response was inhibited. Thus, cytoplasmic calcium within the receptor cells may participate in the transmission of feedback signals to the contractile cells.
Sequential Nuclear Accumulation of the Clock Proteins Period and Timeless in the Pacemaker Neurons of Drosophila melanogaster

Antisera against the circadian clock proteins Period (PER) and Timeless (TIM) were used to construct a detailed time course of PER and TIM expression and subcellular localization in a subset of the ventrolateral neurons (vLNs) in the Drosophila accessory medulla (AMe). These neurons, which express pigment-dispersing factor, play a central role in the control of behavioral rhythms. The data revealed several unexpected features of the circadian clock inDrosophila. First, TIM but not PER was restricted to the cytoplasm of vLNs throughout most of the early night. Second, the timing of TIM and PER nuclear accumulation was substantially different. Third, the two subsets of vLNs, the large and small vLNs, had a similar timing of PER nuclear accumulation but differed by 3–4 hr in the phase of TIM nuclear accumulation. These aspects of PER and TIM expression were not predicted by the current mechanistic model of the circadian clock in Drosophila and are inconsistent with the hypothesis that PER and TIM function as obligate heterodimers. The differing profiles of TIM and PER nuclear accumulation suggest that PER and TIM have distinct functions in the nuclei of vLNs.
Errata for “A State-Space Approach to Optimal Level-Crossing Prediction for Linear Gaussian Processes” [Oct 10 5083-5096]

Presents some corrections to the above titled paper (ibid., vol. 56, no. 10, pp. 5083-5096, Oct 2010).
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibition Induces Apoptosis in Erythroid Precursors and Affects Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 in Posttransplantation Erythrocytosis

A number of studies suggest that erythropoietin (Ep), angiotensin II, and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) are involved in the pathogenesis of posttransplantation erythrocytosis (PTE). Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) are the treatment of choice in PTE, but their mechanism of action is unclear. It was shown previously that ACEI added directly to cultures of erythroid precursors from patients with PTE inhibit colony growth. In this report, the effect of ACEI on CD34+ erythroid precursor apoptosis was studied, as were hematocrit (Hct), Ep, IGF-1, and IGF-binding protein 3 (IGF-BP3) levels. Ten patients with PTE, 10 transplant control patients, and 7 normal control subjects were studied. Peripheral blood CD34+ cells were isolated, and apoptosis was assessed by annexin assay and DNA laddering before and during ACEI therapy. At the same time, Hct, Ep, IGF-1, and IGF-BP3 levels were measured. Baseline CD34+ cell number, CD34+ apoptosis, Ep, IGF-1, and IGF-BP3 levels were the same between PTE and transplant control subjects. ACEI therapy was associated with a striking increase in CD34+ cell apoptosis and a decrease in Hct in both groups. In contrast to control subjects, patients with PTE on ACEI showed a significant decrease in IGF-1 levels and a greater percentage decrease in Hct. In normal control subjects, ACEI therapy was associated with a fall in Hct but no change in CD34+ cell apoptosis. In PTE, ACEI-related increase in erythroid progenitor apoptosis may partially explain the ACEI-associated decrease in Hct. However, it is not clear that erythroid precursor apoptosis is related to changes in IGF-1 or IGF-BP3.
Cytochrome P-450 catalysed activation of carcinogenic aromatic amines and amides

Aromatic amines and amides need to be metabolized in any animal species before they are carcinogenic in that species, because large amounts of compounds are required for tumour induction and tumours appear at sites distant from those of administration (Miller and Miller, 1969, Miller and Miller, 1981). Epidemiological data have demonstrated that aromatic amines such as 2-naphthylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl and benzidine (Fig. 18.1) are responsible for the induction of bladder cancer among industrial workers (Scott, 1962).
The Radicalization of Contention in Northern Ireland, 1968-1972: A Relational Perspective

This article investigates the radicalization of contention in Northern Ireland between 1968 and 1972 using a relational perspective and methodological approach. Two arenas of contention, movement-countermovement interactions and the structure of political opportunities and threats, are examined to understand the outbreak of the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland. The evolution of radical contention is explored through Quantitative Narrative Analysis (QNA), an innovative method that systematically records social actors and their interactions within an event. Relying on computer-assisted story grammars [the Subject (S) - Action (A) - Object (O) sequence and their modifiers] to parse narrative data, 6,035 semantic triplets were stored in a relational database. Sequential network models are used to analyze the database and reconstruct the nature and evolution of the interactions among the main political actors involved in the Troubles. Four distinct phases of the conflict are unveiled through network models of vi...
On the Use and Augmentation of Hexapod Machine Tools

The design of high performance machine tools is a challenging task because competing objectives and tight constraints leave little margin for error in the design process. The hexapod is no exception, especially when the objective is to design it as a platform for high-speed machining. When Stewart Platform machines first emerged as a possible machine tool configuration in the early nineties, there was considerable excitement in the machine tool user community about the possibilities they would open up. Machine tool users perpetually seek faster, stiffer and more accurate machines with smaller footprints and greater dexterity, and Stewart Platforms are known to have these attributes. However, designers have always realized that these objectives compete, and informed tradeoffs need to be made to optimize hexapod machine tools for the particular application. The fact that several hexapod machine tools are now in operation in companies, universities and research laboratories worldwide is a testament to the abilities of the design community. However, the tradeoffs in the design of hexapod are mathematically inescapable, and this usually leads to quirks in performance such as an oddly shaped workspace or varying speed capability in the workspace. The goal of our research at MIT is to develop ancillary technologies that permit the effective use of hexapods in the face of these challenges.
The Need for Positioning in the Health Care Market

A firm must be aware of its current market position before successful marketing strategies are developed. Although positioning has been used extensively by producers of manufactured goods, this planning concept has not been as well developed for service offerings. This study provides a practical application of positioning for the health care market through examination of the perceptions of 321 potential hospital consumers and the subsequent construction of a perceptual map. Based upon perceptual mapping, marketing strategies are developed for each health care facility. Finally, generalized marketing strategies for health care facilities are listed.
There's an app for that: an introduction to ioS development: conference workshop

Due to the increase use of smartphone devices in the last few years, we have seen a smartphone application for almost everything. Entertainment, finance, commerce, education, and social networking are just few category examples of what is now available for smartphone users to install on their devices. With the increase sale of smartphone devices that it is predicted to exceed the amount of PCs to be sold in the next couple years, we have seen continuous search for more smartphone application developers that can write applications for every need. This is due to the increase of the smartphone capabilities and device sensors that make them more powerful than regular computers in many domains. In response to the need of smartphone developers, we prepared an Introduction to iOS Development workshop that may encourage educators to offer such a course in their Computer Science curriculum or related fields. In this workshop, we will provide step-by-step instructions on how to build iOS applications for Apple's iPhone devices so attendees can have a good start towards building smartphone applications. The workshop will include a hands-on exercise and provide examples of the ease with which newcomers to mobile programming are able to pick up the concepts discussed and immediately apply them, giving attendees the opportunity to be familiar with mobile interaction and development.
Creative Transformations of Ethical Challenges

There is a widely held assumption that the appeal of novelty, the rewards of discovery and the beauty of artistic expression provide their own rewards and constitute a claim for the human capacity for goodness. In celebrating these contributions to our lives, we seldom examine the possibility that such a creative contribution can also pose a serious threat to our very survival. In this chapter, we explore the ethics of choices that accompanied creative contributions in three different historical settings.
The Reunification of China: Peace through War under the Song Dynasty

The Song dynasty (960–1279) has been characterized by its pre-eminent civil culture and military weakness. This groundbreaking work demonstrates that the civil dominance of the eleventh century was the product of a half-century of continuous warfare and ruthless political infighting. The spectacular culture of the eleventh century, one of the high points in Chinese history, was built on the bloody foundation of the conquests of the tenth century. Peter Lorge examines how, rather than a planned and inevitable reunification of the Chinese empire, the foundation of the Song was an uncertain undertaking, dependent upon highly contingent battles, both military and political, whose outcome was always in doubt. Song civil culture grew out of the successful military campaigns that created the dynasty and, as the need for war and armies diminished, the need for civil officials grew. The Song dynasty's successful waging of war led ultimately to peace.
A consensus layer V pyramidal neuron can sustain interpulse-interval coding

In terms of a single neuron’s long-distance communication, interpulse intervals (IPIs) are an attractive alternative to rate and binary codes. As a proxy for an IPI, a neuron’s time-to-spike can be found in the biophysical and experimental intracellular literature. Using the current, consensus layer V pyramidal neuron, the present study examines the feasibility of IPI-coding and examines the noise sources that limit the information rate of such an encoding. In descending order of importance, the noise sources are (i) synaptic variability, (ii) sodium channel shot-noise, followed by (iii) thermal noise. The biophysical simulations allow the calculation of mutual information, which is about 3.0 bits/spike. More importantly, while, by any conventional definition, the biophysical model is highly nonlinear, the underlying function that relates input intensity to the defined output variable is linear. When one assumes the perspective of a neuron coding via first hitting-time, this result justifies a pervasive and simplifying assumption of computational modelers—that a class of cortical neurons can be treated as linearly additive, computational devices.
Sea Water Effects on Foam-Cored Sandwich Structures

Sandwich composite lay-ups are being utilized to an ever-increasing extent in naval structures. Typically, those lay-ups consist of closed-cell polymeric foams placed between fiber reinforced polymeric facings. The resulting sandwich components possess an exceedingly light weight, thereby increasing submersibles’ buoyancy and, when employed in superstructural designs, may enhance a ship’s stability by lowering its center of gravity.
Cycling Exercise Classes May Be Bad for Your (Hearing) Health

Objectives/Hypothesis 1) Determine feasibility of smartphone-based mobile technology to measure noise exposure; and 2) measure noise exposure in exercise spin classes. Study Design Observational Study. Methods The SoundMeter Pro app (Faber Acoustical, Salt Lake City, UT) was installed and calibrated on iPhone and iPod devices in an audiology chamber using an external sound level meter to within 2 dBA of accuracy. Recording devices were placed in the bike cupholders of participants attending spin classes in Boston, Massachusetts (n = 17) and used to measure sound level (A-weighted) and noise dosimetry during exercise according to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) guidelines. Results The average length of exposure was 48.9 ± 1.2 (standard error of the mean) minutes per class. Maximum sound recorded among 17 random classes was 116.7 dBA, which was below the NIOSH instantaneous exposure guideline of 140 dBA. An average of 31.6 ± 3.8 minutes were spent at >100 dBA. This exceeds NIOSH recommendations of 15 minutes of exposure or less at 100 dBA per day. Average noise exposure for one 45-minute class was 8.95 ± 1.2 times the recommended noise exposure dose for an 8-hour workday. Conclusions Preliminary data shows that randomly sampled cycling classes may have high noise levels with a potential for noise-induced hearing loss. Mobile dosimetry technology may enable users to self-monitor risk to their hearing and actively engage in noise protection measures. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope, 127:1873–1877, 2017
En busca de San Juan y el retorno de los inmigrantes al Cabo Verde rural

Following the revitalization of a popular feasts such as San Jon in Cabo Verde, this article highlights how this traditional feast is co-produced by those who left their rural villages in search of a better life in the USA and those who stay hoping to enhance the emigrant’s desire to return. These collective events not only help to sustain a relationship with a homeland, they also contribute to the flows of emigrant remittances and a transnational flow of gift exchange. In between departing and returning, migrants revitalize traditions, contribute to the wellbeing of rural lifestyles, and become agents of economic and cultural investment in their homeland.
Prognostic value of nasal cytology and clinical factors in nasal polyps development in patients at risk: can the beginning predict the end?

Background We evaluated the prognostic value of nasal cytology and clinical factors in predicting nasal polyp (NP) development in patients with history of nonallergic chronic sinonasal inflammation. Methods This was a retrospective case-control study of 295 patients followed at our institution for a mean of 85.70 ± 19.41 months. According to the inclusion criteria we enrolled 84 cases with persistent eosinophilic nonallergic sinonasal inflammation (group A) and 106 cases with neutrophilic inflammation (group B), both without evidence of NPs at the baseline. We considered as controls 105 patients affected by nonallergic noninfectious vasomotor rhinitis without evidence of inflammation at nasal cytology (group C). Patients were checked every 6 months for NPs. Temporal analyses was performed by Kaplan-Mayer curves and odds ratios were evaluated by logistic regression analyses. Results The percentage of patients that developed NPs was higher in group A (29/84 [34.52%]) than in group B (17/106 [16.03%]) and group C (5/104 [4.7%]) (p < 0.05). Logistic regression analyses showed that eosinophilic patients had a higher risk of NP development over the years than neutrophilic patients compared to controls (odds ratio [OR], 10.55 vs 3.2). We also demonstrated that hypereosinophilia, asthma, and aspirin intolerance may increase the OR differently in eosinophilic patients. Conclusion Our data suggest that early identification of inflammatory patterns and associated clinical factors in patients affected by chronic nonallergic sinonasal inflammation have a prognostic value that can help to identify patients with different risks of NP development. Our data confirm that detection of nasal eosinophilic inflammation represents an early marker for identification of a more aggressive inflammatory phenotype.
Are nanojars unique to copper? Solution and solid state characterization of high-symmetry octanuclear nickel(II)-pyrazolate complexes

Abstract A comprehensive study using sixteen different metal ions was conducted, in order to test the possibility of substituting one or more Cu 2+ ions in nanojars, [anion⊂{Cu(μ-OH)(μ-pz)} n ] 2− ( n = 27–32; anion = CO 3 2− or SO 4 2− ), with Zn 2+ , Ni 2+ , Co 2+ , Fe 2+ , Fe 3+ , Mn 2+ , Cr 3+ , VO 2+ , Cd 2+ , Ag + , Pd 2+ , Ce 4+ , Sn 2+ , Pb 2+ , Pr 3+ or Nd 3+ . An octanuclear nickel complex was isolated in the case of Ni 2+ , which inspired the synthesis of a series of (Bu 4 N) 2 [Ni 8 ( μ 4 -OH) 6 (μ-4-Rpz) 12 ] (R = H, Me, n Oct) complexes. Characterization was carried out in the solid state by X-ray crystallography and thermogravimetric analysis, and, for the first time for this type of complexes, in solution phase by variable-temperature 1 H NMR spectroscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy and electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry.
In vitro antagonistic and indifferent activity of combination of 3-deoxyanthocyanidins against Toxoplasma gondii

Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous intracellular zoonotic parasite estimated to affect about 30–90% of the world’s human population. The most affected are immunocompromised individuals such as HIV-AIDS and cancer patients, organ and tissue transplant recipients, and congenitally infected children. No effective and safe drugs and vaccines are available against all forms of the parasite. We report here the antagonistic and indifferent activity of the combination of five different formulations of pure synthetic 3-deoxyanthocyaninidin (3-DA) chloride compounds against T. gondii tachyzoites and the synergistic and additive interaction against a human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cell line in vitro using fluorescence microscopy, trypan blue assay, and fractional inhibitory concentration index. The individual and the combined pure 3-DA compounds were observed to have effective inhibition against T. gondii parasites with less cytotoxic effect in a ratio of 1:1. The IC50 values for parasite inhibition ranged from 1.88 μg/mL (1.51–2.32 μg/mL) for luteolinindin plus 7-methoxyapigeninindin (LU/7-MAP) and 2.23 μg/mL (1.66–2.97 μg/mL) for apigeninindin plus 7-methoxyapigeninindin (AP/7-MAP) combinations at 95% confidence interval (CI) after 48 h of culture. We found LU/7-MAP to be antagonistic and AP/7-MAP to be indifferent in interaction against T. gondii growth. Both individual and combination 3-DA compounds not only depicted very strong inhibitory activity against T. gondii, but also had synergistic and additive cytotoxic effects against HFF cells. These synthetic 3-DAs have potential as antiparasitic agents for the treatment of human toxoplasmosis.
Extending AIC to best subset regression

The Akaike information criterion (AIC) is routinely used for model selection in best subset regression. The standard AIC, however, generally under-penalizes model complexity in the best subset regression setting, potentially leading to grossly overfit models. Recently, Zhang and Cavanaugh (Comput Stat 31(2):643–669, 2015) made significant progress towards addressing this problem by introducing an effective multistage model selection procedure. In this paper, we present a rigorous and coherent conceptual framework for extending AIC to best subset regression. A new model selection algorithm derived from our framework possesses well understood and desirable asymptotic properties and consistently outperforms the procedure of Zhang and Cavanaugh in simulation studies. It provides an effective tool for combating the pervasive overfitting that detrimentally impacts best subset regression analysis so that the selected models contain fewer irrelevant predictors and predict future observations more accurately.
Enhancing the Sensitivity of Solid-State NMR Experiments with Very Low Gyromagnetic Ratio Nuclei with Fast Magic Angle Spinning and Proton Detection.

Many transition metals commonly encountered in inorganic materials and organometallic compounds possess NMR-active nuclei with very low gyromagnetic ratios (γ) such as 89Y, 103Rh, 109Ag, and 183W. A low-γ leads to poor NMR sensitivity and other experimental challenges. Consequently, nuclei with low-γ are often impossible to study with conventional solid-state NMR methods. Here, we combine fast magic angle spinning (MAS) and proton detection to enhance the sensitivity of solid-state NMR experiments with very low-γ nuclei by 1–2 orders of magnitude. Coherence transfer between 1H and low-γ nuclei was performed with low-power double quantum (DQ) or zero quantum (ZQ) cross-polarization (CP) or dipolar refocused insensitive nuclei enhanced by polarization transfer (D-RINEPT). Comparison of the absolute sensitivity of CP NMR experiments performed with proton detection with 1.3 mm rotors and direct detection with 4 mm rotors shows that proton detection with a 1.3 mm rotor provides a significant boost in absolute ...
Adjuvant high-dose interferon alfa-2b in patients with high-risk melanoma.

We performed an analysis of toxicity and survival in stage III melanoma patients receiving adjuvant interferon alfa-2b (IFN). This was a retrospective single-arm analysis of 40 patients with stage III melanoma who received (IFN) administered at maximum tolerated doses of 20 mU/m2/day intravenously (i.v.) for 1 month and 10 mU/m2 three times per week subcutaneously (s.c.) for 48 weeks. Toxicity in our series is comparable to that experienced in the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) 1684 trial, except for higher rates of dose-limiting myelosuppression and hepatotoxicity. All 40 patients experienced constitutional symptoms, but only 14/40 (35%) experienced grade 3 to 4 symptoms. Of the 40 patients, 36 (90%) experienced neurologic symptoms, but only seven (17.5%) experienced grade 3 to 4 neurotoxicity. Two patients stopped treatment because of severe psychiatric symptoms; one patient attempted suicide, and a psychosis developed in another. Thirty-nine (97.5%) patients experienced myelosuppression; 31 (77.5%) developing grade 3 to 4 myelosuppression. Hepatotoxicity was evident in 39 (97.5%) patients, and 26 (65%) experienced grade 3 to 4 hepatotoxicity. Three patients (7.5%) experienced mild renal toxicity. At a median follow-up of 27 months from initiation of therapy, there have been 19 relapses (47.5% disease-free survival [DFS]) and 10 deaths (75% OS) resulting from progression of disease. The DFS compares with the treatment arm in ECOG 1684 at 27 months, but overall survival is higher in our series of patients at the same time point. In a single program setting, IFN can be administered with similar side effects and outcome profiles seen in multi-institutional studies. Modifications in the induction regimen resulted in notably higher hematologic and hepatic toxicities but did not preclude administering further therapy and did not result in increased attrition rate among patients: only nine patients (22.5%) had their treatment stopped as a result of IFN-related toxicity. In comparison, 26% of patients had to have their treatment discontinued because of toxicity in ECOG 1684.
Genotype—A Pure Functional Array Language

Genotype is a universal programming language that has two primitive objects: arrays and functions. Two types of functions are distinguished: univalent and multivalent. They correspond to univalent (one-dimensional) and multivalent (many-dimensional) arrays. Arrays are viewed as invariants of transformations of data. Genotype is universal, being a language that describes invariants of transformations of data. Genotype is a pure functional language as it has no imperative features and side effects. Genotype is an intrinsically parallel language: arrays permit the manipulation of multiple large groups of data as a single unit.
Estimating in situ relative density and friction angle of nearshore sand from portable free-fall penetrometer tests

The friction angle of sand in the nearshore zone of Cannon Beach, Yakutat, Alaska, was estimated from the deceleration measured by a portable free-fall penetrometer (PFFP) at 72 test locations. A c...
Risk-optimal path planning in stochastic dynamic environments

Abstract We combine decision theory with fundamental stochastic time-optimal path planning to develop partial-differential-equations-based schemes for risk-optimal path planning in uncertain, strong and dynamic flows. The path planning proceeds in three steps: (i) predict the probability distribution of environmental flows, (ii) compute the distribution of exact time-optimal paths for the above flow distribution by solving stochastic dynamically orthogonal level set equations , and (iii) compute the risk of being suboptimal given the uncertain time-optimal path predictions and determine the plan that minimizes the risk. We showcase our theory and schemes by planning risk-optimal paths of unmanned and/or autonomous vehicles in illustrative idealized canonical flow scenarios commonly encountered in the coastal oceans and urban environments. The step-by-step procedure for computing the risk-optimal paths is presented and the key properties of the risk-optimal paths are analyzed.
Long-term outcomes of lumbar microdiscectomy in the pediatric population: a large single-institution case series

Objective Few studies describe long-term functional outcomes of pediatric patients who have undergone lumbar microdiscectomy (LMD) because of the rarity of pediatric disc herniation and the short follow-up periods. The authors analyzed risk factors, clinical presentation, complications, and functional outcomes of a single-institution series of LMD patients over a 19-year period. Methods A retrospective case series was conducted of pediatric LMD patients at a large pediatric academic hospital from 1998 to 2017. The authors examined premorbid risk factors, clinical presentation, physical examination findings, type and duration of conservative management, indications for surgical intervention, complications, and postoperative outcomes. Results Over the 19-year study period, 199 patients underwent LMD at the authors' institution. The mean age at presentation was 16.0 years (range 12-18 years), and 55.8% were female. Of these patients, 70.9% participated in competitive sports, and among those who did not play sports, 65.0% had a body mass index greater than 25 kg/m2. Prior to surgery, conservative management had failed in 98.0% of the patients. Only 3 patients (1.5%) presented with cauda equina syndrome requiring emergent microdiscectomy. Complications included 4 cases of postoperative CSF leak (2.0%), 1 case of a noted intraoperative CSF leak, and 3 cases of wound infection (1.5%). At the first postoperative follow-up appointment, minimal or no pain was reported by 93.3% of patients. The mean time to return to sports was 9.8 weeks. During a mean follow-up duration of 8.2 years, 72.9% of patients did not present again after routine postoperative appointments. The total risk of reoperation was a rate of 7.5% (3.5% of patients underwent reoperation for the same level; 4.5% underwent adjacent-level decompression, and one patient [0.5%] ultimately underwent a fusion). Conclusions Microdiscectomy is a safe and effective treatment for long-term relief of pain and return to daily activities among pediatric patients with symptomatic lumbar disc disease in whom conservative management has failed.
Symptom Clusters in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Latent Class Profile Analysis.

Objectives To identify symptom clusters in breast cancer survivors and to determine sociodemographic and clinical characteristics influencing symptom cluster membership. Sample and setting The authors performed a cross-sectional secondary analysis of data obtained from a community-based cancer registry-linked survey with 1,500 breast cancer survivors 6-13 months following a breast cancer diagnosis. Methods and variables Symptom clusters were identified using latent class profile analysis of four patient-reported symptoms (pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and depression) with custom PROMIS® short forms. Results Four distinct classes were identified. Implications for nursing Common symptom clusters may lead to better prevention and treatment strategies that target a group of symptoms. Results also suggest that certain factors place patients at high risk for symptom burden, which can guide tailored interventions.
Racial and Ethnic Health Services Disparities in Pediatric Anesthesia Practice: A Scoping Review.

Racial and ethnic disparities in pediatric anesthesia health services could result in minority children being at increased risk of poor outcomes, such as pain, anxiety, or over-exposure to medications. Yet, a comprehensive understanding of the literature on such disparities does not exist to date. The objective of this study is to describe health services disparities in pediatric anesthetic care in the pre-, intra-, or post-operative period by synthesizing current literature. We searched the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed/Medline, Embase, and Web of Science for articles published between January 1, 2007, and May 9, 2020, to identify literature on racial and ethnic health services disparities in pediatric anesthesia. We used the Institute of Medicine’s definition of disparities. Health services were related to pre-, intra-, or post-operative anesthetic care of pediatric patients (< 18 years old). Out of 2110 studies, 10 studies met the criteria for inclusion. Nine out of the ten articles were single-institutional observational studies, based at tertiary hospitals. Sample sizes ranged from 74 to 37,618 discrete participants, for a total of 69,350 subjects across all studies. Results of these studies present low-quality evidence and heterogeneous conclusions regarding pediatric anesthesia health services disparities. This review demonstrates the paucity and diversity of research on racial and ethnic disparities in pediatric anesthesia health services and suggests how future work might utilize improved data and rigorous study designs.
Partial substitution of pMDI with lignin containing cellulose nanofibrils: low density oriented strand board

This study found that the substitution of 6% unbleached cellulose nanofibers (LCNF) into pMDI allowed for a reduction in density of 0.09 and 0.08 g/cm3 for equivalent performance in modulus of elas...
Privacy Injuries and Article III Concreteness

The Supreme Court’s 2016 decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins requires federal courts to investigate the “concreteness” of a plaintiff’s injury, even after Congress has recognized the injury by statute. Spokeo’s concreteness discussion is a confusing mixture of several distinct considerations, and there is little rhyme or reason to how the lower courts have interpreted and applied Spokeo to other statutorily authorized injuries. This Article offers a descriptive framework that situates Spokeo among the Court’s past cases, which recognize four distinct informational injuries—those arising from the withholding, acquiring, using, and disseminating of information. This four-injury taxonomy is instrumental to developing an alternative approach that avoids Spokeo’s mistakes: Federal courts should give binding deference to Congress’s decision to make an injury privately enforceable when three conditions are met—when the plaintiff alleges an informational injury; when the defendant is a non-governmental actor; and when Congress has effectively personalized the injury and the plaintiff is among the injured. The Court’s approach—an unmoored judicial investigation into an informational injury’s amorphous “concreteness”—erodes Congress’s ability to provide avenues of redress for new and novel harms, and this erosion is already undermining privacy protections. Since Spokeo, lower courts have refused to enforce provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, and the Cable Communications Policy Act, among other statutes. The informational-injury lens shows that courts lack a principled way to stop Spokeo from also undermining provisions of the Wiretap Act, the Stored Communications Act, Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act, and nascent privacy reform proposals that have private rights of action—including European- and California-style data processing restrictions and an information fiduciary regime. The Court’s Spokeo decision is in tension with historical practice, is having deleterious effects on privacy interests in the lower courts, and threatens to gut putative privacy law reform. This Article provides a mechanism for understanding how the Court’s standing jurisprudence goes awry, and it posits a simpler and superior alternative approach.
Energy-efficient hardware cryptography with domain-wall motion spintronics

We propose a dual-spin-bit Physically Unclonable Function for securing Internet-of-Things(IoT) from geometry variations of magnetic thin-films embedded inside IoT devices. Such structure-dependent device-specific keys serve for authentication,identification and privacy preservation of users against Identity theft, side-channel attacks and remote hacking in IoT networks. In our design,electrically tunable magnetic domain wall motion of the thin-films produces device-geometry sensitive spin-transfer-torque response, providing path for device-specific memory-based Spintronic Physically Unclonable key generations.An array of such magnetic films with each film containing memristive spin-bit act as the building block of spin-torque driven cryptographic logic circuits for the IoT devices.
African American Nurses' Perspectives on Genomic Medicine Research.

Background There is a lack of African American (AA) community engagement in genomic medicine research. Recent popular interest in the experience of AAs, such as that of Henrietta Lacks, has perhaps prompted interest in research on how AA nurses can provide strategies to better engage AA communities in genomic medicine research. Methods The authors conducted one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 11 National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) chapter leaders from 8 different US states, representing 782 NBNA members. Results Our results quantified NBNA chapter leader agreement on known themes from the literature, captured newly emerging themes, and produced a set of actionable strategies to help overcome barriers to AA engagement in genomic medicine research that fall under 6 themes: (1) engagement, support, information dissemination, and implementation recommendations in general and to address health disparities; (2) addressing language barriers; (3) addressing research implementation barriers; (4) getting physicians to participate; (5) overcoming privacy concerns; and (6) nursing education recommendations. Conclusions Actionable strategies presented herein can help researchers better engage AA communities in genomic medicine research.
What Counts as Discrimination? How Principles of Merit Shape Fairness of Demographic Decisions

Demographic attributes (age, disability) frequently affect people’s selection decisions. We provide a novel perspective as to why such discrimination persists: meritocratic principles lead people t...
Production Cost Optimization to Assess the Operational Export Potential of LAO PDR by 2025

The Lao People's Democratic Republic or Lao PDR is a landlocked country which is surrounded by the neighbouring countries like China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. Lao PDR is blessed with natural resources like hydropower as the Mekong River flows through over 1,900 km of the country. This paper analyses the export potential of Lao PDR through system optimization of operational and upcoming units connected to the national grid. Lao PDR“s economy has largely benefited from foreign direct investment in development of hydro power as it is among the richest countries in South-East Asia in terms of hydropower resources. The Production Simulation Planning and Dispatch Analysis of Lao PDR power system is performed using GE proprietary software GE MAPS (Multi-Area Production Simulation) to assess the dispatch profile of the existing system (2020) to meet its domestic load demand by honouring the operational export contract to Thailand and Vietnam. The MAPS analysis also attempts to quantify the maximum operational export potential to the neighbouring countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar for the future scenario 2025, based on the EDL“s planned capacity addition. The existing & future transmission flows are obtained from network system studies performed in GE PSLF (Positive Sequence Load Flow). The following points are also address in this study: • Economic dispatch & judicious storage of water during the monsoon season and balancing the national demand during non-monsoon period through limited thermal support. • Maximization of export of electricity with the neighbouring countries, having primary focus on production cost reduction for the Lao PDR system. • Outlines the need and pattern of Energy Banking requirements to be factored in while drafting export contracts/MoU“s with the neighbouring countries.