cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neighborhood socioeconomic status and coronary heart disease risk prediction in a nationally representative sample

Summary Objectives Test the association between coronary heart disease (CHD) risk scores and neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES) in a US nationally-representative sample and describe whether the association varies by gender and race/ethnicity. Study design Cross-sectional study. Methods We use Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 1999 to 2004 linked with Census tract data. Multivariable regression models and propensity score adjusted models are employed to test the association between NSES and 10-year risk of CHD based on the Framingham Risk Score (FRS), adjusting for individual-level characteristics. Results An individual living in a neighborhood at the 75th percentile of NSES (high NSES) has, on average, a 10-year CHD risk that is 0.16 percentage points lower (95% Confidence Interval 0.16, 0.17) than a similar person residing in a neighborhood at the 25th percentile of NSES (low NSES). Race/ethnicity and gender were found to significantly modify the association between NSES and CHD risk: the association is larger in men than women and in whites than minorities. Propensity score models showed that findings on the main effects of NSES were robust to self-selection into neighborhoods. Similar results were observed between NSES and risk of cardiovascular disease events. Conclusions NSES is significantly associated with CHD risk, and the relationship varies by gender and race/ethnicity.
Factors influencing PVY development and disease expression in three potato cultivars

Studies were performed to investigate factors affecting symptom expression of potato virus Y infection in three potato cultivars, Russet Norkotah, Shepody, and Red LaSoda. Quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) results revealed few differences in the relative virus titer among cultivars tested. Potato virus Y (PVY) titers developed as rapidly in Russet Norkotah as in Shepody and Red LaSoda. Additional studies were performed to determine the effect of light intensity and infections of PVY and potato virus X (PVX), alone and in combination, on the expression of mosaic symptoms in these three cultivars. Low light intensity (270-330 uE/m2/sec) significantly increased plant heights and severity of mosaic disease among the cultivars compared to high light intensity (100-200 uE/m2/sec). PVX and PVY, as well as the combination of PVX and PVY in the same plant, decreased plant height compared to the uninoculated (healthy) controls. Low light intensity and dual infections of PVX and PVY significantly increased mosaic disease severity in Shepody and Red LaSoda, but not in Russet Norkotah. Results of these studies refute the suggestion that Russet Norkotah is resistant to PVY infection since virus titers in this cultivar are similar to the known susceptible cultivars Shepody and Red LaSoda. These results further suggest that while Russet Norkotah is fully susceptible to infection by PVY, it resists symptom expression.
An abundant erythroid protein that stabilizes free α-haemoglobin

The development of red blood cells (erythrocytes) is distinguished by high-level production of the oxygen carrier, haemoglobin A (HbA), a heterotetramer of alpha- and beta-haemoglobin subunits. HbA synthesis is coordinated to minimize the accumulation of free subunits that form cytotoxic precipitates. Molecular chaperones that regulate globin subunit stability, folding or assembly have been proposed to exist but have never been identified. Here we identify a protein stabilizing free alpha-haemoglobin by using a screen for genes induced by the essential erythroid transcription factor GATA-1 (refs 4, 5). Alpha Haemoglobin Stabilizing Protein (AHSP) is an abundant, erythroid-specific protein that forms a stable complex with free alpha-haemoglobin but not with beta-haemoglobin or haemoglobin A (alpha(2)beta(2)). Moreover, AHSP specifically protects free alpha-haemoglobin from precipitation in solution and in live cells. AHSP-gene-ablated mice exhibit reticulocytosis and abnormal erythrocyte morphology with intracellular inclusion bodies that stain positively for denatured haemoglobins. Hence, AHSP is required for normal erythropoiesis, probably acting to block the deleterious effects of free alpha-haemoglobin precipitation. Accordingly, AHSP gene dosage is predicted to modulate pathological states of alpha-haemoglobin excess, such as beta-thalassaemia.
On the benefits and difficulties of a maintainability via metrics methodology

A metrics methodology can dramatically reduce the problems associated with software maintenance. However, several issues must be addressed in order to develop and use these techniques successfully. This paper defines a metrics methodology which is designed to deliberately integrate maintainability into software as it is being developed. The benefits of using this approach are discussed. Then several issues which complicate the development and use of the methodology are examined. Previous maintenance studies which incorporate the methodology into two different commercial environments are used to demonstrate the difficulties in implementation and contrast the differences in approach.
Revenge is seductive, if not sweet: Why friends matter for prevention efforts

Abstract A surprising omission of much research on bullying is the role of retaliation, a common response to bullying that predicts increased victimization. Retaliation appears to be a ubiquitous feature of human society and may be used to justify bullying. Yet bullying evaluations rarely measure whether programs have reduced retaliation. This paper examines the utility of multiple theoretical frames for understanding the implications of retaliation for bullying prevention. It summarizes evolutionary, cultural, and developmental affordances, and presents a recursive model of bystander—friend reciprocity. The authors argue that adolescents influence retaliation in their friends by contributing to emotion regulation, advising responses to bullying, and by serving as mediators or proxy retaliators. The help they give friends is posited to engender powerful feelings of pride and other identity-relevant feelings that encourage future assistance, and elicit reciprocal feelings of obligation and influence. Implications of the model for prevention efforts are detailed.
A secure energy routing mechanism for sharing renewable energy in smart microgrid

Due to volatile and rising energy prices, smart microgrids appear to be increasingly popular. Instead of one centrally located power plant, the microgrids will rely on solar panels and wind turbines on every house sharing renewable energy among houses. How to efficiently and optimally share energy is a challenging problem. In order to efficiently share renewable energy, routing protocols in the data network are needed, which introduces another design challenge that is how to feasibly detect and defend the major attacks against routing protocols for smart microgrids. Most of the existing secure routing protocols for other networks (such as ad hoc networks) either ignore the most challenging internal attacks such as spoofed route signaling and fabricated routing messages, or have often produced inefficient security mechanisms. In this paper, we develop a novel secure energy routing mechanism (SERM) for securely and optimally sharing renewable energy in smart microgrids. SERM detects most internal attacks by using message redundancy. The simulation results have demonstrated the effectiveness of our proposed secure energy routing mechanism.
Vav-Vav-Vav-voom!

Hyperlipidemia increases the risk of thrombosis and acute coronary syndromes. In this issue of Blood , Chen et al identify a signaling pathway inside platelets that links oxidized low-density lipoprotein and platelet activation.[1][1] Hyperlipidemia is not only associated with atherosclerosis but
Some necessary conditions for a maximal solution to a family of elliptic equations

Abstract We established some necessary conditions that a class of non-local variational problems has a maximal element over a preassigned set, ℏp, of functions. The exact nature of the set ℏp is not specified; this depends—in part—on the physical process being modeled. However we do impose some very general conditions on a maximizing element so that our computations may be carried out. The class of problems we consider occurs in various engineering problems. In particular we apply our results to a class of problems similar to that encountered in the determination of optimum two-dimensional bearing profiles for Hydrodynamic Lubrication Theory.
Cardiac memory: A learning experience

“Le peu que je sais, c’est a mon ignorance que je le dois.”—the little that I know, I owe it to my ignorance—[1] Sacha Guitry (1885–1957), French actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the Boulevard theatre. In this issue of Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine, Drs. Rosen and Bergfeldt [2] present a thrilling review on a very complex—and at times confusing—topic: cardiac memory. The authors are fantastic experts and educators in the field of cardiac electrophysiology. Their description on cardiac memory is an example of how one may succeed in conveying scientific ideas with elegance and clarity. I would imagine that for most, cardiac memory is more difficult to fathom than brain memory. I have to admit that until I read Drs. Rosen and Bergfeldt's review, I had struggled to understand the intricacies of cardiac memory. It was unclear to me how cardiac memory relates to restitution, remodeling, refractoriness, and, in general, to any modulation in the electrophysiological properties of the cardiac muscle. When the term cardiac memory was coined by Dr. Rosenbaum et al. [3] in the early 1980s, cardiac memory was presented as an electrocardiographic manifestation of the persistence of ventricular activation-dependent repolarization vectors after that transient ventricular pacing has ceased (T waves abnormalities). This initial report followed earlier descriptions [4–6], and set the stage for the exploration of various aspects of cardiac memory. With subsequent contributions to the understanding of cardiac memory mechanisms and clinical implications, it became increasingly clear to cardiologists, electrophysiologists, or physiologists alike that cardiac memory is not just an electrocardiographic curiosity. In Drs. Rosen and Bergfeldt's introductory paragraphs, the
Henry A. Murray's Early Career: A Psychobiographical Exploration

ABSTRACT This paper is a psychobiographical study of Henry A Murray's early career A formulation of his personality is developed, emphasizing his inner depressive tendencies, his sense of specialness, and his characteristic concerns in relationships His decision to become a psychologist, his initial reaction to academic psychology, and his years of involvement with psychoanalysis are considered in the light of his personality The final section contains an examination of the ways in which Murray's personality and his experiences during his early career shaped Explorations in Personality, his most influential work.
An improved isokinetic sampling probe for measuring local gas velocity and particle mass flux of gas—solid suspension flows

Abstract An improved isokinetic sampling probe system for measuring both local gas velocity and particle mass flux of gas—solid suspensions in a closed conduit was recently developed. This system was first tested in a 51-mm ID continuous two-phase flow loop loaded with glass beads up to a 1.5 mass ratio, and then with coal particles in a rectangular duct with an aspect ratio of 11:1. Both experiments were conducted with the conveying velocity up to 28 m/s. The probe system was found to offer convenient, reliable, and continuous measurements of local particle mass flux and gas velocity. Since no collecting filters are used, errors in measuring the particle mass flux due to moisture, timing, and holdup volume can be eliminated. The new system serves as the primary standard for gas and particle measurements and requires no calibration curve or empirical equation. The design features, working principles, component characteristics, overall performance, measurement errors, and test results are discussed.
The discrepancy distribution of stationary multiplier rules for rounding probabilities

The problem of rounding finitely many (continuous) probabilities to (discrete) proportions N i/n is considered, for some fixed rounding accuracy n. It is well known that the rounded proportions need not sum to unity, and instead may leave a nonzero discrepancy D=(∑N i) −n. We determine the distribution of D, assuming that the rounding function used is stationary and that the original probabilities follow a uniform distribution.
Device for Measurement of Human Tissue Properties In Vivo

We present a method for measurement of human tissue compliance in vivo using a commercial haptic interface to apply known step changes in force while recording the resulting displacements. We introduce our system, the soft-tissue compliance meter. Our motivation was to improve the compliance realism of our virtual haptic back model, but there are many potential applications for this method. We present calibration of the haptic interface, pseudostatic compliance measurement techniques, measurement of contracted muscle compliances, and several important issues affecting our results.
Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) and goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.) trials in eastern Kansas

Abstract American ginseng and goldenseal, highly prized medicinal herbs found in the eastern United States, were planted over a period of years in eastern Kansas to test their viability as alternative crops. Ginseng has been reported to survive in the wild in eastern Kansas, but our trials have shown that it is difficult to establish artificially. Goldenseal survival and growth were good at a site near Olathe in eastern Kansas.
Crystallization of fiber-reinforced poly(phenylene sulfide) composites. II. Modeling the crystallization kinetics

The kinetic data obtained by differential scanning calorimetry for the isothermal crystallization from the melt of unreinforced poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) and of model carbon, aramid, and glass fiber-reinforced PPS composites has been analyzed and modeled on the basis of the Avrami equation. The classical Avrami model provided a good description of the volume fraction crystallized for PPS and for those composites that did not exhibit transcrystallinity in thin-film specimens. Nonlinear Avrami behavior was observed for those composite systems that did exhibit transcrystallinity, for which parallel and series dual Avrami models were used. A series crystallinity model, which corrects the volume fraction crystallized for structural, imperfections, was applied to all the systems, providing a reasonable modeling of the data. In this model, we postulate an initial primary crystallization followed by a secondary crystallization. The temperature dependencies of the Avrami rate constants were analyzed through Arrhenius relationships, and the resultant activation energies and frequency factors were interpreted in terms of nucleation and growth phenomena. We found the frequency factor for primary crystallization to be indicative of the nucleating abilities of the fiber surfaces and to correlate with the presence of transcrystallinity.
Business is not a Game: The Metaphoric Fallacy.

Sport and game metaphors are ubiquitous in the culture and language of business. As evocative linguistic devices, such metaphors are morally neutral; however, if they are indicative of a deep structure of understanding that filters experience, then they have the potential to be ethically problematic. This article argues that there exists a danger for those who forget or confuse metaphor with definition: the metaphoric fallacy. Accordingly, business is like a game, but it is not the equivalent of a game. If business is equated to a game, then the potentially negative implications for ethical content and the application of ethical theories are numerous. This article suggests a fresh approach to issues of contemporary business ethics discourse, by attending to the business-as-game metaphor.
Temperature-dependent phase inversion and its effect on partitioning in the poly(ethylene glycol)-ammonium sulfate aqueous two-phase system

Abstract As temperature is increased, the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-ammonium sulfate aqueous two-phase system exhibits a phase inversion. Specifically, the PEG-enriched phase —which at low temperature is the less dense upper phase— becomes the lower phase at elevated temperatures. The effect depends on the concentrations of PEG and ammonium sulfate in the system, with lower concentrations of either phase-forming constituent causing the inversion to occur at a lower temperature. The partitioning of several solutes is examined in this phase system at temperatures of 20–70°C. The results show that the logarithm of the partition coefficient of each solute is proportional to the PEG concentration difference between the phases ( i.e. , upper phase concentration minus lower phase concentration), whether this difference has a positive or negative value.
Epidemiological trends in drinking by age and gender: providing normative feedback to adults.

Objective: The purpose of this research was to evaluate drinking rates as a function of age and gender and to disseminate current estimates of U.S. population drinking norms based on age and gender. Methods: Participants included 42,706 men and women 18 years and older who provided information about their drinking from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions [National Alcohol Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC, 2001) dataset collected between 2001 and 2002 from a representative, non‐institutionalized sample. Results: Results revealed greater frequency and typical quantity of alcohol consumption among men versus women. Age differences in drinking frequency suggests a sharp increase with legal drinking age followed by a period of reduced frequency, in turn followed by gradual increase up to retirement age. Age differences in typical drinking quantity suggest a sharp increase with legal drinking age followed by a gradual linear decline in number of drinks per occasion. Age differences in typical quantity were more pronounced among men. Conclusions: Analyses provide epidemiological trends in drinking rates by age and gender, and emphasize the importance of within group differences when examining drinking rates. Discussion focuses on explaining how to incorporate norms information in prevention and treatment.
A predictive duty cycle adaptation framework using augmented sensing for wireless camera networks

Energy efficiency dominates practically every aspect of the design of a wireless sensor network and duty cycling is an important tool for achieving high energy efficiencies. Duty cycling for wireless camera networks meant for tracking objects is made complex by the nodes having to anticipate the arrival of the objects in their field-of-view. The consequences of an object arriving in the view-region of a camera when it is sleeping need no elaboration. Our work presents a predictive framework to provide nodes with an ability to anticipate the arrival of objects in the field-of-view of their cameras. Our predictive framework differs from others in that the nodes whose duty cycles are increased are at least one step removed from the immediate neighborhood of the nodes where the objects are currently visible. By eliminating the need for the currently busiest nodes to also be in charge of informing their nonbusy immediate neighbors to get ready for object arrival, we end up with a more robust strategy for updating the duty cycle at the nodes where the objects are highly likely to appear soon. The proposed scheme works by using an existing MAC header bit that is already in the 802.15.4 protocol and, in that sense, our anticipatory approach for notifying the nodes about the current state of the object location entails no additional expenditure of energy. Our contribution includes evaluations based on large-scale simulations as well as real experiments with an Imote2-based wireless camera network.
Comment on Bergemann and Hege

Dirk Bergemann and Ulrich Hege examine in this paper the reasons why venture capitalists provide funds to entrepreneurs in successive financing rounds, or stages. This is an interesting analysis of one of the most important mechanisms that venture capitalists employ to control entrepreneurs, an issue that surely deserves greater theoretical and empirical attention. The authors’ approach to these issues is a creative and novel one. At the same time, some assumptions and predictions of the model seem quite at odds with the empirical evidence about venture capital investments. In this discussion, I will first briefly summarize the key features and predictions of the paper. I will then highlight several of my concerns with the model. The discussion concludes with some more general thoughts about the rationales for the staging of venture capital investments in young firms. The paper depicts the interactions between a single entrepreneur and a venture investor. The entrepreneur, who has no financial resources, must turn to a venture capitalist for funding. It is assumed that the entrepreneur initially has the bargaining power in the negotiation: the large number of potential venture investors are not diAerentiated. Dynamic interactions between several venture capitalists in diAerent financing rounds, of the type analyzed by Admati and Pfleiderer (1994), are not considered in this model. The project, whose quality is initially uncertain, can turn out to be one of two types: good or bad. The good projects are not revealed immediately. Rather, in each period, there is some probability that the project will be revealed to be good and generate a fixed return (at which point the venture investor’s involvement ends). The probability of a successful outcome is increasing with
Regulation of Intracellular Free Calcium in Human Myometrial Cells by Prostaglandin F2α: Comparison with Oxytocin*

The effects of prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) on intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and inositol phosphate (IP) generation in human myometrial cells were evaluated and compared to the effects of oxytocin. Basal [Ca2+]i levels were 146 and 153 nM in the absence and presence of 1 mm extracellular Ca, respectively. In Ca-containing medium, both PGF2α and oxytocin significantly (P < 0.01) increased [Ca2+]i over control values, eliciting half-maximal stimulation (ED50) at 4 and 1 nm, respectively. In Ca-free medium the potency of PGF2α to raise [Ca2+]i was drastically reduced (ED50, 2 nm), whereas that of oxytocin remained the same, although maximal responses were markedly decreased. PGF2α had no effect on total IP production in the concentration range that significantly raised [Ca2+]i. However, at a 100 times higher concentration (10 μm), PGF2α produced a maximum 48% increase in total IP, with a rapid (15–30 s) rise in IP3 and IP2, followed by IP1. A similar increase in IP production was obtained when [Ca2...
JOB QUITS AND JOB CHANGES:: The Effects of Young Women's Work Conditions and Family Factors

This article conceptualizes labor force exits as a parallel option to employer changes in the gender-specific opportunity structure for employed young women. It argues that the same working conditions should predict both employment exits and employer changes. Family characteristics (including pregnancy and presence of preschool children), rather than working conditions, should differentiate between job changers and job leavers. These hypotheses were tested with 1970-1980 data from the National Longitudinal Survey. Results from logit analyses showed that employment conditions do affect young women's decisions to change jobs or exit the labor force, and influence them in similar ways, and that household factors affect labor force exits more strongly than they do job changes. While pregnant women are more likely to leave the labor force, both improved job conditions and existing preschool children (implying prior experience with substitute care) enhance the likelihood of continuous employment for pregnant women.
Stochastic optimization of floating-point programs with tunable precision

The aggressive optimization of floating-point computations is an important problem in high-performance computing. Unfortunately, floating-point instruction sets have complicated semantics that often force compilers to preserve programs as written. We present a method that treats floating-point optimization as a stochastic search problem. We demonstrate the ability to generate reduced precision implementations of Intel's handwritten C numeric library which are up to 6 times faster than the original code, and achieve end-to-end speedups of over 30% on a direct numeric simulation and a ray tracer by optimizing kernels that can tolerate a loss of precision while still remaining correct. Because these optimizations are mostly not amenable to formal verification using the current state of the art, we present a stochastic search technique for characterizing maximum error. The technique comes with an asymptotic guarantee and provides strong evidence of correctness.
Modeling Temporal Structure in Classical Conditioning

The Temporal Coding Hypothesis of Miller and colleagues [7] suggests that animals integrate related temporal patterns of stimuli into single memory representations. We formalize this concept using quasi-Bayes estimation to update the parameters of a constrained hidden Markov model. This approach allows us to account for some surprising temporal effects in the second order conditioning experiments of Miller et al. [1, 2, 3], which other models are unable to explain.
Hybrid greedy/multicasting power-aware routing protocol in ad hoc networks

Traditional routing algorithms tend to use shortest path algorithms with minimum hop count to reduce transmission latency and error rates, resulting in a quick exhaustion of a small subset of nodes where the traffic load is heavy and risking a disconnection of the entire network. We define a new power-aware cost metric with the aim of reflecting both power-saving perspectives: maximizing network lifetime and minimizing the power consumption of a routing task. We also propose a new location-aided, power-aware routing protocol that is based on a combination of greedy and multicasting strategies. The decision on applying greedy or multicasting within its routing zone depends on the link cost and the node's neighborhood distribution. Simulation results show that performances on network lifetime and average power consumption for routing tasks are greatly improved without sacrifices in the delivery rate of the ad hoc network.
The University of Vermont Seismograph-Station

The University of Vermont Seismograph Station was made possible by the building of the Fleming Museum, a grant from the National Research Council for the instruments, and the cooperation of the University authorities in providing the vault, operating expenses, etc. The station occupies an underground vault, 25 feet east of the Museum with which it is connected by an underground passage. The Museum is well separated from other buildings and stands about 250 feet from Colchester Avenue on which it fronts. It is 231 feet above Lake Champlain.
Placental biomarkers of phthalate effects on mRNA transcription: application in epidemiologic research

CYP19 and PPARγ are two genes expressed in the placental trophoblast that are important to placental function and are disrupted by phthalate exposure in other cell types. Measurement of the mRNA of these two genes in human placental tissue by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) offers a source of potential biomarkers for use in epidemiologic research. We report on methodologic challenges to be considered in study design. We anonymously collected 10 full-term placentas and, for each, sampled placental villi at 12 sites in the chorionic plate representing the inner (closer to the cord insertion site) and outer regions. Each sample was analyzed for the expression of two candidate genes, aromatase (CYP19) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor protein gamma (PPARγ) and three potential internal controls: cyclophilin (CYC), 18S rRNA (18S), and total RNA. Between and within placenta variability was estimated using variance component analysis. Associations of expression levels with sampling characteristics were estimated using mixed effects models. We identified large within-placenta variability in both transcripts (>90% of total variance) that was minimized to <20% of total variance by using 18S as an internal control and by modelling the means by inner and outer regions. 18S rRNA was the most appropriate internal control based on within and between placenta variability estimates and low correlations of 18S mRNA with target gene mRNA. Gene expression did not differ significantly by delivery method. We observed decreases in the expression of both transcripts over the 25 minute period after delivery (CYP19 p-value for trend = 0.009 and PPARγ (p-value for trend = 0.002). Using histologic methods, we confirmed that our samples were comprised predominantly of villous tissue of the fetal placenta with minimal contamination of maternally derived cell types. qPCR-derived biomarkers of placental CYP19 and PPARγ gene expression show high within-placental variability. Sampling scheme, selection of an appropriate internal control and the timing of sample collection relative to delivery can be optimized to minimize within-placenta and other sources of underlying, non-etiologic variability.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS

All previous theory and research have led to the expectation that the density of service establishments will be proportional to the 2/3 power of the density of the population served by them. Study of the distribution of over 400 nongovernmental establishments refutes this expectation for such cases. A previous derivation from time minimization theory is reformulated to encompass these new findings.
Traffic engineering with forward fault correction

Faults such as link failures and high switch configuration delays can cause heavy congestion and packet loss. Because it takes time to detect and react to faults, these conditions can last long---even tens of seconds. We propose forward fault correction (FFC), a proactive approach to handling faults. FFC spreads network traffic such that freedom from congestion is guaranteed under arbitrary combinations of up to k faults. We show how FFC can be practically realized by compactly encoding the constraints that arise from this large number of possible faults and solving them efficiently using sorting networks. Experiments with data from real networks show that, with negligible loss in overall network throughput, FFC can reduce data loss by a factor of 7--130 in well-provisioned networks, and reduce the loss of high-priority traffic to almost zero in well-utilized networks.
VLSI architectures for iterative decoders in magnetic recording channels

VLST implementation complexities of soft-input soft-output (SISO) decoders are discussed. These decoders are used in iterative algorithms based on Turbo codes or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes, and promise significant bit error performance advantage over conventionally used partial-response maximum likelihood (PRML) systems, at the expense of increased complexity. This paper analyzes the requirements for computational hardware and memory, and provides suggestions for reduced-complexity decoding and reduced control logic. Serial concatenation of interleaved codes, using an outer block code with a partial response channel acting as an inner encoder, is of special interest for magnetic storage applications.
Cyber-physical systems for next generation intelligent buildings

The proliferation of the smart grid creates new opportunities for large buildings to act as smart end-points that provide mutually beneficial services for building occupants and the grid. In this article we describe how Cyber-Physical systems that provide rapid access to information and decision-making can enable buildings to autonomously interact with the grid. By participating in new real-time electricity markets on the utility side of the meter and day-ahead markets, buildings have the potential of achieving local efficiency and reliability gains while also facilitating the effective utilization of renewables.
Seminal Changes in the Management of the Acute Coronary Event: Current Concepts

In the past era, we held high-grade arterial stenosis responsible for the acute complications of atherosclerosis. These concepts are being reassessed. Qualitative rather than quantitative aspects of plaques (e.g., inflammation rather than plaque size) have been established as decisive determinants of their probabilities to cause acute complications. Numerous beneficial effects of statins have been demonstrated. These include lipid lowering, plaque stability, enhanced endothelial function, and antiplatelet, antiatherothrombotic, and antimacrophage activities. However, the successful medical management of CAD is also multifactorial and in addition to use of statins include beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and aspirin, as well as blood pressure control, diet, and exercise (see [figure: see text] Figure). The results have been not only the preventions of acute complications of atherosclerosis, but also the successes in stabilizing acute coronary events and preventing infarctions.
Thermal Requirements and Development of Immature Stages of Viburnum Leaf Beetle, Pyrrhalta viburni (Paykull) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Abstract Pyrrhalta viburni (Paykull), a new landscape pest in the United States, is univoltine and overwinters in the egg stage, feeding as larvae and adults on the foliage of plants in the genus Viburnum. Experiments were conducted to determine chilling requirements for completion and breaking of diapause and development rate of larvae at different temperatures in the laboratory. Egg hatch required at least 4 mo for induction of diapause, and ≈200 growing degree-days (GDD) at a calculated base temperature of 8.2°C for breaking of diapause in the laboratory. Development of all larval instars was significantly faster at 22 than at 17°C and faster at 27 than at 22°C, but 27°C appeared to be nearing the upper developmental threshold, because mortality was uniformly high, and deformities of adults were observed. We confirmed that larvae pass through three instars and found that head capsule width increased geometrically with instar. We calculated the larval developmental threshold to be ≈11.7°C at constant te...
Review article: safety and tolerability of direct‐acting anti‐viral agents in the new era of hepatitis C therapy

SummaryBackground Direct-acting anti-virals (DAAs) licensed to treat chronic HCV infection have revolutionised treatment algorithms by drastically mitigating side effects while enhancing efficacy relative to interferon-based therapy. Aim To review adverse events (AEs) uniquely associated with DAA therapy across a broad spectrum of patient populations. Methods Searches of PubMed and FDA surveillance studies were undertaken to complete an exhaustive review. Search terms included ‘DAAs’, ‘safety’, and ‘tolerability’. Results While DAAs are remarkably well tolerated, they are accompanied by unique AEs. Simeprevir, an NS3/4A protease inhibitor, has been known, albeit infrequently, to cause mild hyperbilirubinemia and photosensitivity reactions; and paritaprevir boosted with ritonavir causes bilirubin and ALT elevations. Asunaprevir, another protease inhibitor, infrequently causes elevated transaminase levels. NS5A and NS5B inhibitors are well tolerated, although sofosbuvir is contraindicated in patients with severe renal impairment. Ribavirin co-administered in certain treatment regimens has been associated with cough, rash and haemolytic anaemia. Conclusions With the impending reality of a more tolerable interferon-sparing regimen, the future of DAA therapy offers shorter treatment duration, simplified disease management, and a patient-centred regimen. With advantages come drawbacks, including development of resistance to therapy and accessibility to this expensive treatment. DAA therapy continues to advance at a brisk pace with a promising trend for higher tolerability, even in difficult-to-treat subgroups such as those with cirrhosis, nonresponders to prior therapy, and transplant recipients. Subgroup-specific contraindications and safety-related limitations are active areas of research. Concerted research efforts and continuing advances lend hope to the goal of rendering HCV a routinely curable disease.
Design of Digital Waveform Generator Based on VHDL

The plan for a digital waveform generator is expounded;the functional block diagram of this system is gived,and the function is described;the effect and principle of major modules is introduced detailedly and part of modules are simulated by MAX PLUSII10.2;the simulation indicated: this system can produce sine,square,triangle wave,sawtooth,the frequency and amplitude of the four kinds of wave can be adjusted,and the frequency of output waveform can be displaied through 4 sections of numerical code tubes.
Macroscopic enzyme-mapping verification of large, homogeneous, experimental myocardial infarcts of predictable size and location in dogs

Difficulty is frequently experienced in producing a large homogeneous myocardial infarct in the dog heart because of the extensive network of coronary anastomoses. This problem may be overcome by combining the ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery with agar injection into the distal coronary vasculature to obliterate anastomotic channels. All infarcts produced in this manner occupied a constant area in the anterior wall of the left ventricle. From our results in 25 dogs, the individual infarct averaged 12.3 Gm. in weight (range 9.4 to 13.5), representing 25 to 30 per cent of the total left ventricular muscle mass. The homogeneity of the infarct was verified by a simple, macroscopic enzyme-mapping technique based on the inability of the ischemic (dehydrogenase-deficient) myocardium to reduce triphenyl tetrazolium chloride and by detailed histologic studies. Apart from providing ample raw material for comprehensive morphologic, chemical, histochemical, and radioisotopic analyses, a large myocardial infarct also serves as a useful experimental model for various physiological and hemodynamic studies of cardiogenic shock and left ventricular akinesis.
Skin stretching by a balloon tissue expander: Interplay between contact mechanics and skin growth

Abstract A contact mechanics model is developed to study the mechanical interaction between an elastomeric balloon expander and human skin. Through this interaction, we determine the amount of skin growth and its dependence on the applied load, geometry and elasticity as well as biological factors governing skin growth. For simplicity, we consider rectangular expanders where one of the dimensions is much longer than the other. This simplification allows us to obtain an analytical formulation which is valid for arbitrarily large deformation and contact. In this study, the balloon expander is modeled as an ideal rubber and we used a skin growth model where the growth rate is independent of the elastic stress in the skin. One of the advantages of our formulation is that it can be easily generalized to include more realistic constitutive models for skin growth and elastic behavior of the expander. Our method involves solving algebraic equations and thus is significantly simpler to implement than the commonly used Finite Element method.
Heterosexual Casual Sex and STI Diagnosis: A Latent Class Analysis

Casual sex is common during the emerging adult life course stage, but little research has taken a person-centered approach to investigate if casual sexual behavior influences STI rates. Using a nationally representative sample and latent class analysis, results showed three distinctive latent classes. Abstainers were the least likely to have an STI, followed by the casual sex experienced, and then the casual sex risk-takers. Once other covariates were included in the model, there was no significant difference between the abstainers and casual sex experienced classes. These results highlight the need for future research to include diverse samples of emerging adults.
An implantable system for In Vivo chronic electromyographic study in the larynx

INTRODUCTION: Electromyography (EMG) plays an important role in exploring the mechanisms of selective reinnervation. An implantable system can help provide chronological information regarding reinnervation of laryngeal muscles. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to develop an implantable system for repeated recordings of spontaneous and evoked EMG from laryngeal muscles. METHODS: This implantable system has 4 bipolar stimulus cuffs for bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerves (RLNs) and superior laryngeal nerves (SLNs), and 4 EMG recording electrodes for bilateral vocal fold adductors (thyroarytenoid-lateral cricoarytenoid, TA-LCA) and abductor (posterior cricoarytenoid, PCA) muscles. The system was implanted in 8 canines for up to 41 weeks. RESULTS: The system showed good compatibility. Consistent EMG signals were recorded from both PCA and TA-LCA muscles. DISCUSSION: We developed a chronic implantable EMG system that was simple and capable of obtaining stable EMG recordings from canine laryngeal muscles with minimal risk of device breakage, trauma, or infection. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Effect of Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase on the Modulation of Coronary Reactive Hyperemia: Role of Oxylipins and PPARγ.

Coronary reactive hyperemia (CRH) is a physiological response to ischemic insult that prevents the potential harm associated with an interruption of blood supply. The relationship between the pharmacologic inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) and CRH response to a brief ischemia is not known. sEH is involved in the main catabolic pathway of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), which are converted into dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids (DHETs). EETs protect against ischemia/reperfusion injury and have numerous beneficial physiological effects. We hypothesized that inhibition of sEH by t-AUCB enhances CRH in isolated mouse hearts through changing the oxylipin profiles, including an increase in EETs/DHETs ratio. Compared to controls, t-AUCB–treated mice had increased CRH, including repayment volume (RV), repayment duration, and repayment/debt ratio (p < 0.05). Treatment with t-AUCB significantly changed oxylipin profiles, including an increase in EET/DHET ratio, increase in EpOME/DiHOME ratio, increase in the levels of HODEs, decrease in the levels of mid-chain HETEs, and decrease in prostanoids (p < 0.05). Treatment with MS-PPOH (CYP epoxygenase inhibitor) reduced CRH, including RV (p < 0.05). Involvement of PPARγ in the modulation of CRH was demonstrated using a PPARγ-antagonist (T0070907) and a PPARγ-agonist (rosiglitazone). T0070907 reduced CRH (p < 0.05), whereas rosiglitazone enhanced CRH (p < 0.05) in isolated mouse hearts compared to the non-treated. These data demonstrate that sEH inhibition enhances, whereas CYP epoxygenases-inhibition attenuates CRH, PPARγ mediate CRH downstream of the CYP epoxygenases-EET pathway, and the changes in oxylipin profiles associated with sEH-inhibition collectively contributed to the enhanced CRH.
BioCyBig: A Cyberphysical System for Integrative Microfluidics-Driven Analysis of Genomic Association Studies

This paper presents a research vision to design a large-scale cyberphysical systems (CPS) experimental framework to enable collaborative and coordinated molecular biology studies. This framework will be based on the integration of CPS with microfluidic biochips and cloud computing. It has the potential to drastically advance personalized medicine through knowledge fusion among many research groups, and synchronization of research planning. This framework therefore leads to a better understanding of diseases such as cancer, and helps researchers in identifying effective treatments. A case study from cancer research is discussed to explain the significance of our framework in promoting coordinated genomic studies.
Reflection correspondence for exposing photograph manipulation

Modern photo editing software enables increasingly realistic image manipulations, through splicing, region copy and paste, and content-aware fill. One potential flaw in manipulations is generating realistic object reflections, such as in bodies of water or glass surfaces. Image reflections involve complicated interactions between lighting, surface materials, and geometry, and they can be very hard to fake. Any inconsistency between the directly observed scene and its corresponding reflection is a strong indication of content manipulation. We propose a novel, physical-level image forensic approach to verify the integrity of reflections through identifying mismatches between objects and their reflections. The proposed algorithm consists of reflection-invariant feature detection and matching, geometric transform estimation, and robust change detection between a scene region and its warped reflection region. This approach complements the large body of digital-level forensic methods, with the advantage of being robust to digital-level image transformations such as compression, blurring, and added noise. Experimental results on authentic and manipulated images demonstrate its efficacy.
An alternative to the Euler–Maclaurin summation formula: approximating sums by integrals only

The Euler–Maclaurin (EM) summation formula is used in many theoretical studies and numerical calculations. It approximates the sum $${\sum \nolimits _{k=0}^{n-1} f(k)}$$ of values of a function f by a linear combination of a corresponding integral of f and values of its higher-order derivatives $$f^{(j)}$$ . An alternative (Alt) summation formula is proposed, which approximates the sum by a linear combination of integrals only, without using high-order derivatives of f. Explicit and rather easy to use bounds on the remainder are given. Extensions to multi-index summation and to sums over lattice polytopes are indicated. Applications to summing possibly divergent series are presented. The Alt formula will in most cases outperform, or greatly outperform, the EM summation formula in terms of the execution time and memory use. One of the advantages of the Alt calculations is that, in contrast with the EM ones, they can be almost completely parallelized. Illustrative examples are given. In one of the examples, where an array of values of the Hurwitz generalized zeta function is computed with high accuracy, it is shown that both our implementation of the EM summation formula and, especially, the Alt formula perform much faster than the built-in Mathematica command HurwitzZeta[].
Natural Action-Angle Variables

Since galaxies are collisionless relaxed systems, actions are an extremely useful tool for understanding their dynamics. There are many potential applications of actions: (l) When orbits in an N-body simulation are characterized by their actions, the six dimensional distribution function, \(f\left( {\vec x,\vec p} \right)\), can be reduced to a more tractable three dimensional function, f(J). (2) Actions are adiabatic invariants, and thus are useful for studying slowly evolving systems. Binney, May and Ostriker (1986) have applied this technique to study the response of the spheroid to the disc. (3) The spectral decomposition of an orbit can be used to help generate self-consistent galaxy models (Spergel 1987).