cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prediction of canned black bean texture (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) from intact dry seeds using visible/near infrared spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging data.

Background: Texture is a major quality parameter for the acceptability of canned whole beans. Prior knowledge of this quality trait before processing would be useful to guide variety development by bean breeders and optimize handling protocols by processors. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the predictive power of visible and near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (visible/NIRS, 400-2498 nm) and hyperspectral imaging (HYPERS, 400-1000 nm) techniques for predicting texture of canned black beans from intact dry seeds. Black beans were grown in Michigan (USA) over three field seasons. The samples exhibited phenotypic variability for canned bean texture due to genetic variability and processing practice. Spectral preprocessing methods (i.e. smoothing, first and second derivatives, continuous wavelet transform, and two-band ratios), coupled with a feature selection method, were tested for optimizing the prediction accuracy in both techniques based on partial least squares regression (PLSR) models.; Results: Visible/NIRS and HYPERS were effective in predicting texture of canned beans using intact dry seeds, as indicated by their correlation coefficients for prediction (Rpred ) and standard errors of prediction (SEP). Visible/NIRS was superior (Rpred = 0.546-0.923, SEP = 7.5-1.9 kg 100 g-1 ) to HYPERS (Rpred = 0.401-0.883, SEP = 7.6-2.4 kg 100 g-1 ), which is likely due to the wider wavelength range collected in visible/NIRS. However, a significant improvement was reached in both techniques when the two-band ratios preprocessing method was applied to the data, reducing SEP by at least 10.4% and 16.2% for visible/NIRS and HYPERS, respectively. Moreover, results from using the combination of the three-season data sets based on the two-band ratios showed that visible/NIRS (Rpred = 0.886, SEP = 4.0 kg 100 g-1 ) and HYPERS (Rpred = 0.844, SEP = 4.6 kg 100 g-1 ) models were consistently successful in predicting texture over a wide range of measurements.; Conclusion: Visible/NIRS and HYPERS have great potential for predicting the texture of canned beans; the robustness of the models is impacted by genotypic diversity, planting year and phenotypic variability for canned bean texture used for model building, and hence, robust models can be built based on data sets with high phenotypic diversity in textural properties, and periodically maintained and updated with new data. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.; © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
Clinical actionability of germline testing in patients with limited colorectal polyps.

e13027Background: As classic adenoma-carcinoma sequence is the main process underlying most colorectal cancer (CRC), early detection and removal of colorectal adenomas is crucial in preventing CRC. Although adenomatous polyps are usually sporadic, several inherited CRC syndromes such as Familial adenomatous polyposis, MUTYH-associated polyposis and Lynch syndrome can present initially with colon polyps. The identification of germline defects in patients with colon polyps is thus critical for proper cancer risk counseling and CRC prevention. Current guidelines recommend germline testing for patients with more than 20 polyps or those with more than 10 polyps and a family history of CRC. However, the diagnostic yield of germline testing on otherwise healthy individuals with 10 or fewer colon polyps has not been well studied. Here, we performed a pilot study to evaluate the clinical actionability of germline genetic testing on these patients. Methods: A total of 13 cancer-free adults, who presented with colon...
Abstract 378: Endothelial Cell Hypoxia-inducible Factor (HIF) Activity is Necessary for Right Ventricular Remodeling in a Murine Model of Chronic-hypoxic Pulmonary Hypertension

Introduction: Pulmonary hypertension induced myocardial remodeling is required to minimize RV wall stress as pulmonary arterial pressures increase. Myocardial angiogenesis is presumed to play an in...
Measuring well-being: A comparison of subjective well-being and PERMA

We compared Seligman’s PERMA model of well-being with Diener’s model of subjective well-being (SWB) to determine if the newer PERMA captured a type of well-being unique from the older SWB. Particip...
Reducing Prejudice With Labels Shared Group Memberships Attenuate Implicit Bias and Expand Implicit Group Boundaries

In three experiments, we used a novel Implicit Association Test procedure to investigate the impact of group memberships on implicit bias and implicit group boundaries. Results from Experiment 1 indicated that categorizing targets using a shared category reduced implicit bias by increasing the extent to which positivity was associated with Blacks. Results from Experiment 2 revealed that shared group membership, but not mere positivity of a group membership, was necessary to reduce implicit bias. Quadruple process model analyses indicated that changes in implicit bias caused by shared group membership are due to changes in the way that targets are evaluated, not to changes in the regulation of evaluative bias. Results from Experiment 3 showed that categorizing Black targets into shared group memberships expanded implicit group boundaries.
Variation in Supersaturation and Phase Behavior of Ezetimibe Amorphous Solid Dispersions upon Dissolution in Different Biorelevant Media

The delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs using amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) has been widely acknowledged as a promising strategy for enhancing oral bioavailability. Upon dissolution, ASDs have accelerated dissolution rates and yield supersaturated solutions leading to higher apparent solubilities. Understanding the complex phase behavior of ASDs during dissolution is crucial for developing an effective formulation. Since the absorption of a lipophilic, high permeability drug is determined primarily by the intraluminal dissolution process and the final concentration achieved, there is a need for evaluation in biorelevant dissolution media that simulate both fasting and fed gastrointestinal states. In this study, using ezetimibe as a model drug, three different ASDs were prepared using poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetyl succinate (HPMC-AS). Dissolution of ASDs was carried out in sodium phosphate buffer, fed-state simulated intestinal fluid ...
Determination of current and rotational transform profiles in a current-carrying stellarator using soft x-ray emissivity measurements

Collimated soft X-ray (SXR) emissivity measurements from multi-channel cameras on the Compact Toroidal Hybrid (CTH) tokamak/torsatron device are incorporated in the 3D equilibrium reconstruction code V3FIT to reconstruct the shape of flux surfaces and infer the current distribution within the plasma. Equilibrium reconstructions of sawtoothing plasmas that use data from both SXR and external magnetic diagnostics show the central safety factor to be near unity under the assumption that SXR iso-emissivity contours lie on magnetic flux surfaces. The reconstruction results are consistent with those using the external magnetic data and a constraint on the location of q = 1 surfaces determined from the sawtooth inversion surface extracted from SXR brightness profiles. The agreement justifies the use of approximating SXR emission as a flux function in CTH, at least within the core of the plasma, subject to the spatial resolution of the SXR diagnostics. This improved reconstruction of the central current density i...
Correction to: Dimerization of AT2 and Mas Receptors in Control of Blood Pressure.

In the original publication, the Fig. 1 caption contains an error. The original article has been corrected.
Ultra-reliable NFV-based 5G networks using diversity and network coding

This paper presents a robust solution for link and node failures in network function virtualization for 5G and beyond system. Namely, the synergistic combination of Diversity and Network Coding schemes is leveraged here for robust link failure recovery. The scheme offers near-instantaneous packet recovery without feedback requests with enhanced throughput. Hence, it eliminates latency associated with retransmissions and rerouting by using error control across spatially diverse paths.
Extracting Dimensions of Consumer Satisfaction with Quality from Online Chatter: Strategic Brand Analysis of Big Data Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation

Online chatter or User-Generated Content (UGC) constitutes an excellent emerging source for identifying dimensions of quality at a very high temporal frequency. This study proposes a unified framework for extracting the latent dimensions of consumer satisfaction with quality and ascertaining the valence, labels, validity, importance, dynamics, and heterogeneity of those dimensions using unsupervised Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). Our sample of UGC consists of rich data on product reviews across fifteen firms in five markets, over four years. The results suggest that a few dimensions are enough to capture quality. These dimensions have good face and external validity. Dynamic analysis enables tracking the importance of dimensions over time. It also allows for dynamic mapping of competitive brand positions on those dimensions over time. For vertically differentiated markets such as cell phones and computers, objective dimensions dominate and are similar across markets, heterogeneity is low across dimensions, and stability is high across time. For horizontally differentiated markets, such as shoes and toys, subjective dimensions dominate but vary across markets, heterogeneity is high across dimensions, while stability is low over time.
A CLASS OF DISTRIBUTIONS USEFUL IN LIFE TESTING AND RELIABILITY WITH APPLICATIONS TO NONPARAMETRIC TESTING

Abstract. A new class of distributions having a finite range that are useful in life testing and reliability is proposed. Methods of estimating the unknown parameters are studied. Explicit expressions for lower moments of order statistics in random samples of any size are derived. A uniformly most powerful test is derived for the ‘shape’ parameter and it is illustrated by the data on times to failure of refrigerator motors. This class of distributions and their generalization constitute augmented Lehmann alternatives and locally most powerful rank tests with respect to these alternatives are derived and their Pitman efficiencies are evaluated. For a certain hypothesis - testing problem, an asymptotically distribution - free test is obtained.
Alternative methods of arterialization of the hepatic graft

During the course of performing 123 consecutive orthotopic liver transplantations in a two year period, a total of 220 livers were encountered (123 donors and 97 recipient organs), 24 of which had inadequacies or anomalies of hepatic arterial supply which required modifications of the basic techniques of arterial reconstruction. The various methods used to deal with these various situations are described herein. The use of vessel grafts from the donor has proved quite satisfactory over a number of years. The routine procurement of various vessel grafts can provide a multiplicity of options for arterial reconstruction, only a few of which have been mentioned herein.
Smart Injectable Self-Setting Monetite Based Bioceramics for Orthopedic Applications

The present study is the first of its kind dealing with the development of a specific bioceramic which qualifies as a potential material in hard-tissue replacements. Specifically, we report the synthesis and evaluation of smart injectable calcium phosphate bone cement (CPC) which we believe will be suitable for various kinds of orthopedic and spinal-fusion applications. The smart nature of this next generation orthopedic implant is attained by incorporating piezoelectric barium titanate (BT) particles into monetite-based (dicalcium phosphate anhydrous, DCPA) CPC composition. The main goal is to take advantage of the piezoelectric properties of BT, as electromechanical effect plays a vital role in fracture healing at the defect site and bone integration with the implant. Furthermore, radiopacity of BT would help in easy detection of the CPC presence at the fracture site during surgery. Results reveal that BT addition favors important properties of bone cement such as good compressive strength, injectability, bioactivity, biocompatibility, and even washout resistance. Most importantly, the self-setting nature of the bone cements are not compromised with BT incorporation. The in vitro results confirm that the developed bone-cement abides by the standard orthopedic requirements making it apt for real-time prosthetic materials.
Correlations of Self-Reported Androgen Deficiency in Ageing Males (ADAM) with Stress and Sleep among Young Adult Males

Androgen deficiency in males has traditionally been predominantly limited to older men aged 50+ years. However, little is known of the correlation between hormonal disruption, stress, and sleep in college-aged males. This cross-sectional study investigates lifestyle behavior patterns in young men and a screening for potential androgen deficiency. A survey of 409 male students, as part of a larger USDA-funded GetFruved study, was analyzed for this subproject. Survey instruments used include the Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male Questionnaire (ADAM) to assess for inadequate ADAM scores, the Perceived Stress Scale to measure stress levels and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to evaluate sleep quality. In total, 144 male participants (35%) met criteria for potential androgen deficiency defined by the ADAM questionnaire. Correlation was found between having a positive ADAM score and both increased stress levels (p < 0.001) and poor sleep quality (p < 0.001), with stress displaying the strongest effect (p < 0.001 vs p = 0.124). An increased prevalence of having a positive ADAM score versus established norms for this age group was also noted. These findings highlight the need for investigation of endocrine disruptions in young men.
Virtual Web Based Personalized PageRank Updating.

Growing popularity of social networks demands a highly efficient Personalized PageRank (PPR) updating due to the fast-evolving web graphs of enormous size. While current researches are focusing on PPR updating under link structure modification, efficiently updating PPR when node insertion/ deletion involved remains a challenge. In the previous work called Virtual Web (VW), a few VW architectures are designed, which results in some highly effective initializations to significantly accelerate PageRank updating under both link modification and page insertion/deletion. In the paper, under the general scenario of link modification and node insertion/deletion we tackle the fast PPR updating problem. Specifically, we combine VW with the TrackingPPR method to generate initials, which are then used by the Gauss-Southwell method for fast PPR updating. The algorithm is named VWPPR method. In extensive experiments, three real-world datasets are used that contain 1~5.6M nodes and 6.7M~129M links, while a node perturbation of 40k and link perturbation of 1% are applied. Comparing to the more recent LazyForwardUpdate method, which handles the general PPR updating problem, the VWPPR method is 3~6 times faster in terms of running time, or 4.4~10 times faster in terms of iteration numbers.
The Future is Quantum

Some of the most important technical advances of the 20th century were enabled by decades of fundamental scientific exploration, whose initial purpose was simply to extend human understanding. This era marked the creation and widespread usage of “classical” computers, which represent information as bits – 0 and 1. Despite the continued computational advances we have experienced over the past century, there are still many important and relevant problems that “classical” computers cannot solve. We are witnessing rapid progress in a new computing paradigm – Quantum Computing. Quantum computing takes advantage of the laws of quantum mechanics found in nature and represents a fundamental change from classical information processing. Two properties of quantum behavior – superposition and entanglement – may allow quantum computers to one day address problems intractable for today’s conventional classical machines. During this talk, Dr. Gil will give an overview of quantum computing, what it means for the future of technology, and how we can separate hype from reality.
Erratum to: Porosity Evolution of Free and Confined Bentonites During Interlayer Hydration

In the paper ‘Porosity evolution of free and confined bentonites during interlayer hydration” from Clays and Clay Minerals, vol. 58, (2010), 399–414
Relative Entropy and Tightness of Measures

In this chapter we will collect results on relative entropy and tightness of probability measures that will be used many times in this book.
CARMA3 deficiency abrogates G-protein-coupled receptor induced NF-κB activation

4158 G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent the largest protein family in the human genome, and are involved in many cellular processes such as migration, proliferation, and invasion. GPCRs induce biological effects through the association of their cytoplasmic domains with trimeric G proteins that activate multiple signaling cascades, leading to the activation of various transcription factors including NF-κB. NF-κB is a family of transcription factors that play a pivotal role in regulating gene expression of many cytokines and survival factors. However, the molecular mechanism by which GPCRs induce NF-κB activation has not been fully characterized. Here we demonstrate that CARMA3 (Caspase recruitment domain and membrane associated guanylate kinase domain-containing protein 3), a scaffold molecule, is essential for GPCR-induced NF-κB activation. Using a gene-targeting approach, we generated CARMA3-deficient mice. We found that CARMA3-deficient mice exhibit a neural tube closure defect with incomplete penetrance, similar to that of a CARMA3-binding partner, Bcl10 (B-cell lymphoma protein 10). Using CARMA3-deficient cells, we show that the GPCR-ligands LPA (lysophosphatidic acid), ET-1 (endothelin-1), and 5-HT (serotonin) all signal through CARMA3 to activate NF-κB. Furthermore, 12-phorbol-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) and ionomycin (Iono.), two synthetic protein kinase C (PKC) agonists, also fail to activate NF-κB in CARMA3-deficient cells. Finally, our results indicate that this NF-κB activation defect is not due to an absence of phosphorylation of the inhibitor of NF-κB kinases (IKK) α and β. Instead, this defect is likely due deficient ubiquitination of the NF-κB-essential modulator (NEMO). Thus, we have provided the first genetic evidence that CARMA3 plays an essential role downstream of GPCRs and PKC to regulate NEMO ubiquitination, ultimately leading to NF-κB activation.
Reconstructing Cortical Intrinsic Connectivity Networks Using a Regression Method Combining EEG Data from Sensor and Source Levels

Intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) have been widely studied using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data and electrophysiological data (e.g., electroencephalography (EEG) or magnetoencephalography (MEG)). Two major methods, i.e., seed-based correlation analysis (SBCA) and independent component analysis (ICA), are widely used to extract ICNs. Among them, ICA usually involves a dual regression analysis in order to obtain final spatial definitions of ICNs. Recently, we proposed a framework that includes cortical source imaging, source-level ICA, and statistical correlation analysis, to extract cortical ICNs from resting-state EEG data. In the present study, we proposed an alternative framework that uses sensor-level ICA and regression analysis instead of source-level ICA and correlation analysis, considering the well-studied characteristics of sensor-level ICs in differentiating neural activities from artifacts and the benefit of regression in accommodating multivariate analysis over correlation. In the present study, we mainly investigated the performance of the proposed procedure in extracting cortical ICNs. Meanwhile, we also investigated different variants of the regressors sampled at different frequencies to formulate the regression model. The results demonstrated that cortical ICNs corresponding to major ICNs identified in literature could be obtained by the proposed framework. In general, spatial patterns of cortical ICNs obtained via both correlation and regression analyses show statistically significant similarity. However, the cortical ICNs reconstructed using the regression analysis exhibit more focal and more superficial spatial patterns, in general, that the cortical ICNs from the correlation analysis. The different variants of regressors at the same sampling frequency do not produce obvious impacts on spatial patterns of cortical ICNs, while the different sampling frequencies show large effects on extracted spatial patterns of cortical ICNs. In summary, it is suggested that the proposed framework with the regression analysis is promising in reconstructing cortical ICNs from EEG, while the sampling frequency used in the formulation process of regressors may have large impacts on reconstructed cortical ICN patterns.
Harnessing Node Multiplicity for Detecting and Mitigating False Data in Wireless Relay Networks

We present the physical-layer maximum a posteriori (MAP) test for detecting false data in multiple-source wireless relay networks. The MAP test, which minimizes the average probability of detection error, exploits the noisy (erroneous) information about the true packet that the destination receives (overhears) directly from the source nodes as a reference. We show that the average probability of detection error decreases exponentially as the number of source nodes increases, regardless of the reliability of the reference information. This indicates that the multiplicity of source nodes can be leveraged to construct a powerful integrity check mechanism for detecting false data at the destination. We also present a parallel MAP test that improves the detection accuracy when the number of source nodes is limited and overhearing channel disparities are high. Then, we present a packet recovery mechanism to recover false alarmed packets, i.e. unmodified packets that are mistakenly declared as modified, by the MAP test and thereby to improve the throughput.
Autonomic/central coupling benefits working memory in healthy young adults.

Abstract Working memory (WM) is an executive function that can improve with training. However, the precise mechanism for this improvement is not known. Studies have shown greater WM gains after a period of sleep than a similar period of wake, and correlations between WM improvement and slow wave activity (SWA; 0.5–1 Hz) during slow wave sleep (SWS). A different body of literature has suggested an important role for autonomic activity during wake for WM. A recent study from our group reported that the temporal coupling of Autonomic/Central Events (ACEs) during sleep was associated with memory consolidation. We found that heart rate bursts (HR bursts) during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep are accompanied by increases in SWA and sigma (12–15 Hz) power, as well as increases in the high-frequency (HF) component of the RR interval, reflecting vagal rebound. In addition, ACEs predict long-term, episodic memory improvement. Building on these previous results, we examined whether ACEs also contribute to gains in WM. We tested 104 young adults in an operation span task (OSPAN) in the morning and evening, with either a nap (n = 53; with electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocardiography (ECG)) or wake (n = 51) between testing sessions. We identified HR bursts in the ECG and replicated the increases in SWA and sigma prior to peak of the HR burst, as well as vagal rebound after the peak. Furthermore, we showed sleep-dependent WM improvement, which was predicted by ACE activity. Using regression analyses, we discovered that significantly more variance in WM improvement could be explained with ACE variables than with overall sleep activity not time-locked with ECG. These results provide the first evidence that coordinated autonomic and central events play a significant role in sleep-related WM improvement and implicate the potential of autonomic interventions during sleep for cognitive enhancement.
Low-level acoustic emission in the long-term monitoring of concrete

Abstract Concrete is widely used in the construction of many infrastructure systems. The heterogeneous nature of concrete makes it susceptible to various degradation mechanisms, including material- and load-induced degradation. These may compromise the serviceability and safety of structures leading to economic losses and even catastrophic failure. This chapter summarizes recent efforts that utilize acoustic emission (AE) for nondestructive evaluation/structural monitoring of concrete structures. AE has the ability to detect the sudden release of energy associated with crack formation or growth. This chapter focuses on material degradation mechanisms and load levels that will generate low-level AE, with case studies from recent efforts presented. The results of these studies show that AE is suitable for early detection and classification of material damage (such as alkali–silica reaction and corrosion) as well as real-time evaluation of concrete structures during load tests.
Delay in the Effect of Restricting Community Mobility on the Spread of COVID-19 in the United States

Background: Ever since the introduction of COVID-19 into the US, governments from the local to the federal levels have implemented combinations of responses to COVID-19. It is unclear how changes in human mobility across the country in response to intervention policies have shaped the transmission dynamic of COVID-19. Methods: Coupling a Bayesian hierarchical spatiotemporal model with the Google mobility data, we aimed to quantify the impact of human movement on COVID-19 incidence rate at the county level while accounting for spatial autocorrelation. We used both single-lag and distributed lag models to assess how movement today can affect incidence rates in the following weeks. Findings: On average, an increase in travel from home to other places was associated with an increase in reported COVID-19 incidence rate about 5 to 7 weeks later. A 10% increase in workplace movement 7 weeks ago was associated with 5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 1-9%] increase in COVID-19 incidence rate, 8% [95% CI:4-12%] for retail and recreation stores, 5% [95% CI:1-9%] for transits, and 5% [95% CI:29%] for grocery and pharmacies in the single-lag model analysis. No significant impact on incidence was found for human movement in parks. A 10% increase in the total duration at residential places was associated with a 13% (95% CI:6-20%) reduction in incidence rate 7 weeks after. Interpretation: Human movement activities substantially affected COVID-19 incidence rates at local levels but with delays varying from state to state. Policymakers should anticipate such a delay when planning intervention strategies restricting human movement. Funding Information: YY was supported by grant R56 AI148284 from the US National Institutes of Health. PJ was supported by grant R01 HL150119 from the US National Institutes of Health. Declaration of Interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: The study only involves publicly accessible deidentified and aggregated data and is therefore exempt from IRB approval.
Structural Basis of HIV-1 Genome Recognition via Viral RNA-Protein Interaction

According to the World Health Organization, more than 35 million people worldwide are currently living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). There are 31 antiretroviral drugs to date approved for treatment, yet there is no cure for infection. To inform new drug development strategies, we study the mechanism of genome packaging, a crucial step in viral proliferation. Packaging is mediated via the highly specific selection of the dimeric genome by the nucleocapsid (NC) domain of viral Gag polyprotein. Previous studies have identified the Core Encapsidation Signal (CES), the minimal area of the 5' untranslated region required to direct genome packaging. Using NMR spectroscopy, we have determined the 3-D structure of CES. This structure contains tandem three-way junctions that sequester the splice donor site. We propose that the tandem three-way junctions, along with the psi hairpin, both of which containing a number of exposed or weakly base-paired guanosines, have a large number of NC binding sites. To i...
Human-Powered Top-k Lists

We propose an algorithm that obtains the top-k list of items out of a larger itemset, using human workers (e.g., through crowdsourcing) to perform comparisons among items. An example application is finding the best photographs in a large collection by asking humans to evaluate different photos. Our algorithm has to address several challenges: obtaining worker input has high latency; workers may disagree on their judgments for the same items; some workers may provide wrong input on purpose; and, there is a varying difficulty in comparing different items. We provide experimental evidence for the good performance of the algorithm, using extensive simulations and actual experiments with workers from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.
Intracellular composition and homeostatic mechanisms in severe chronic infantile malnutrition. I. General considerations.

IN SPITE of recent progress in the study of severe malnutrition of dietary origin, the mortality still is very high. In the 733 cases studied by Gomez et al. the over-all mortality was 35%. The majority of deaths occurred during the first 48 hours after admission to the hospital, and the outstanding features were electrolyte disturbances associated with diarrhea and/or bronchopneumonia. Similar observations have been reported from other areas of the world. Although the ultimate goal in the solution of the problems of malnutrition, as in any other disease, lies in prevention, or at least in earliest treatment, not enough emphasis has been given to the study of those factors responsible for the high mortality observed in this condition. Actually very little is known about the homeostatic mechanisms of children affected with severe chronic malnutrition. Water and electrolyte imbalances occurring in malnourished infants, such as attend superimposed diarrheal dehydration, usually are evaluated according to concepts derived from studies on well-nourished infants, without taking into consideration the fact that the chronically malnourished child has been abnormal for a long time before an episode of severe dehydration necessitates hospitalization. A great variety of environmental factors play a role in chronic malnutrition but, in general, the course of the disease is more or less constant. The chronically underfed child apparently becomes adapted to his metabolic status by slowing or almost complete cessation of growth, but suffers bouts of mild diarrhea which persist for a week or two, then disappear for a period of 8 to 10 days only to reappear with increased severity. Frequently the first bout coincides with convalescence from one of the infantile exanthematous diseases.
Emulation of traffic congestion on ATM gigabit networks

The deployment of gigabit networks and broadband services has started to support multimedia applications; however, these gigabit networks are rarely saturate since only a few applications are able to stress the network. We consider a future scenario where the use of multimedia applications, such as audio and video teleconferencing in a multi-user environment, is expected to grow rapidly. Therefore, both customers and network providers need to foresee the performance and behavior of the network and applications in this scenario. From the customer’s point of view, it is important to develop procedures to perform traffic measurements and to be able to test the local ATM equipment. In this paper we propose a method for introducing heavy load into an ATM switch and at the User Network Interface (UNI) to study the performance and forecast evolved scenarios. In the experiments we used local equipment (ATM switch and workstations), local network management applications and diagnostics software. The emulated load is generated in a workstation, introduced into the ATM switch and intensified by replicating and re-circulating the cells. The method presented is an easy and affordable way to test performance and an alternative to traffic modeling. Several experiments have been performed and the measurements obtained are presented.
Louis Brandeis and the Race Question

We live in a culture enamored by our heroes. They are celebrated for their extraordinary accomplishments, and canonized by histories that rarely reflect the true texture of their lives. Legal academics share in these tendencies and, as a result, heroes in the law are often viewed with the same rose-colored glasses accorded to their counterparts in popular culture. The late Louis Brandeis was an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939. Born to Jewish immigrant parents, he graduated from Harvard Law School, and gained a reputation as America’s “People’s Attorney.” He pioneered an approach to lawyering and legal analysis that would help defeat segregation as a national policy. While serving on the Supreme Court, Brandeis advocated that judges should make decisions grounded in social and economic realities, and wrote insightful opinions that many historians and commentators have deemed prophetic. As a result, he is considered a revered paragon in American law of the public-spirited lawyer and jurist, and a champion of the rights of all men. This paper delves beyond this heroic image to critique Brandeis’ conspicuous, though historically overlooked, evasion of issues affecting African-Americans at a time when such avoidance bolstered a segregationist regime. This study will encompass Brandeis’ familiarity with such issues, what Brandeis did or did not do for inter-ethnic relations both as a practitioner and as a jurist, and finally, why the “People’s Attorney” may have chosen to ignore public issues affecting the rights of African-Americans.
The multiple risk factor intervention trial (MRFIT). I. Historical perspective.

Abstract The beginnings of the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT) for the primary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD) are chronicled. Over the period 1960–1970, various scientific panels had urged the undertaking of primary CHD prevention trials but with limited consensus on the specific type of study needed. The Task Force on Arteriosclerosis convened by the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) in 1971 recommended that a national diet-heart trial not be supported but, instead, that the NHLI undertake multiple risk factor intervention trials in individuals at high risk of CHD due to combinations of elevated serum lipids, hypertension, and cigarette smoking. Late in 1971, the NHLI invited proposals for MRFIT. Its primary purpose was to determine whether a special risk factor intervention program directed at the reduction of elevated serum cholesterol, elevated diastolic blood pressure, and cigarette smoking in men at high risk of death from CHD (but still free of clinical evidence of CHD) would result in a significant reduction in CHD mortality; nonfatal myocardial infarction or CHD mortality; cardiovascular mortality; and mortality from all causes—over a 6-year period. In 1972–1973, funds to conduct such a study among 12,000 randomized men were awarded to 22 clinical centers, a coordinating center, central laboratory, standardization laboratory, ECG centers, and a drug distribution center. The evolution of the organization of this research undertaking is described.
Fine-needle aspiration biopsy of high-grade sarcoma: a report of 107 cases.

BACKGROUND. To the authors' knowledge, few studies exist demonstrating the reliability of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy for high-grade sarcoma (HGS). METHODS. In the current study, the authors reviewed their cytopathology database (March 2001 through January 2007) and identified all FNA cases diagnosed as HGS. They also searched their tissue database for all HGS cases that had prior FNA biopsy findings. RESULTS. A total of 107 FNA samples from 98 patients (age range, 13–90 years, with a male:female ratio of 1:1) had an FNA diagnosis of HGS, or had HGS and a prior FNA diagnosis of another entity. Ten cases were nondiagnostic. Of the 97 remaining samples, 6 were diagnosed as something other than HGS (sensitivity of 94%). The positive predictive value of an FNA diagnosis of HGS was 97% (88 of 91 cases). Fifty-four cases were diagnosed as HGS, not otherwise specified, 8 as myxofibrosarcoma, 8 as osteosarcoma, 5 as malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor, 5 as leiomyosarcoma, 4 as Ewing sarcoma, 4 as liposarcoma, 2 as epithelioid sarcoma, and 1 as angiosarcoma. Approximately 71% of patients presented with a primary tumor, 23% with disease recurrence, and 7% with metastasis. Sites of disease included the lower extremity (59%), upper extremity (19%), trunk (15%), groin (4%), and head and neck (4%). FNA diagnosis was confirmed histologically in 88% of cases, clinically in 7% of cases, and cytogenetically in 1% of cases; 3% of cases had false-positive results and 1 patient was lost to follow-up. Sixteen of 19 patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy based on the FNA diagnosis alone. CONCLUSIONS. A cytopathologic diagnosis of HGS was found to be accurate in 88 of 97 cases (91%) with follow-up. A FNA biopsy diagnosis of HGS appears to be clinically reliable in a high percentage of cases when used in close conjunction with the orthopedic team. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2007. © 2007 American Cancer Society.
A hybrid approach to improving the performance of parallel search

Many artificial intelligence techniques and applications rely on performing heuristic search through large problem spaces. Iterative-Deepening-A * (IDA * ) search has proven to be effective for large search spaces, because it requires no intermediate state storage and is guaranteed to find optimal solutions. However, the time taken to perform IDA * search on real-world tasks often prevents the everyday usage of AI techniques. Parallel processing can considerably reduce the time spent in search, and can thereby speed up AI applications. This paper describes HyPS, a hybrid parallel window/distributed tree search algorithm. Using this algorithm, the set of available processors is divided into clusters. Each cluster searches simultaneously through the same search space, but to a unique cost threshold. Within each cluster, the search space is divided so that an individual processor will search a fraction of the total search space. Operator ordering and load balancing techniques are used to further improve the performance of HyPS. Results on two real-world and one artificial domains show a substantial performance improvement over serial search algorithms, and indicate an improvement over existing parallel search approaches. In this paper we also describe a mechanism for automatically selecting the optimal number of clusters to use.
Hexachlorophene Storage in a Burn Patient Associated With Encephalopathy

Hexachlorophene (HCP), a chlorinated phenolic hydrocarbon with bacteriostatic properties against Staphylococcus, is used in a number of topical products. Absorption through normal and damaged human skin has been appreciated and neurologic changes have been described in experimental animals, but instances of human toxicity have been reported infrequently. A 10-year-old boy who sustained a 25% burn did well initially but died in the second week of convalescence with hyperthermia, lower-extremity weakness, and cerebral edema. His treatment had included frequent applications of HCP. Analysis of post-mortem tissue revealed the presence of toxic levels of HCP in the blood (2.2 mug/gm) and brain (2.2 mug/gm), with storage in skin (25 mug/gm), liver (4.4 mug/gm), and fat (6.0 mug/gm). This case suggests that topical applications of HCP in man may result in an extensive absorption with fat storage and may cause fatal encephalopathy.
Dealing with Danger in the CNS: The Response of the Immune System to Injury

Fighting pathogens and maintaining tissue homeostasis are prerequisites for survival. Both of these functions are upheld by the immune system, though the latter is often overlooked in the context of the CNS. The mere presence of immune cells in the CNS was long considered a hallmark of pathology, but this view has been recently challenged by studies demonstrating that immunological signaling can confer pivotal neuroprotective effects on the injured CNS. In this review, we describe the temporal sequence of immunological events that follow CNS injury. Beginning with immediate changes at the injury site, including death of neural cells and release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), and progressing through innate and adaptive immune responses, we describe the cascade of inflammatory mediators and the implications of their post-injury effects. We conclude by proposing a revised interpretation of immune privilege in the brain, which takes beneficial neuro-immune communications into account.
Common Ada bindings to compartmented mode workstations

This paper describes a project to build a common set of Ada bindings to the Compartmented Mode Workstation (CMW) operating system. The paper discusses various design alternatives for creating these bindings. An object-oriented CMW model is described together with an object-oriented common Ada-CMW interface specification. A two-layered design solution is presented and its merits and demerits are discussed. Issues relating to the development of these bindings including testing, Ada 83 vs. Ada 9X issues, and portability are described and some of the ways to handle these issues are discussed.
Dysfunctional Mechanosensing in Aneurysms

The aorta is the body's main conduit for blood flow, passing through the chest and abdomen. When this artery's wall—thick as a garden hose—weakens, the aorta can dilate abnormally, rupture, and cause life-threatening bleeding. Abdominal aortic aneurysms occur most commonly in individuals between 65 and 75 years old. By contrast, thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections (TAADs) afflict the young as well and arise primarily from noninflammatory mechanisms that often involve underlying genetic mutations ( 1 , 2 ). Rupture results from mechanical failure, but what renders the aortic wall vulnerable? It may be that TAADs arise from a failure of cellular mechanosensing.
New Statistics on the U.S. Labor Force, 1850–1990

(2001). New Statistics on the U.S. Labor Force, 1850–1990. Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History: Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 71-87.
Effects of self-reported health conditions and pesticide exposures on probability of follow-up in a prospective cohort study

Background We investigated the potential for selection bias due to non-participation in the follow-up of a large prospective cohort study. Methods Licensed pesticide applicators (52,395 private; 4,916 commercial) in the Agricultural Health Study provided demographic, health, and pesticide exposure information at enrollment (1993–1997) and in a 5-year follow-up telephone interview. Factors associated with non-participation in the follow-up were identified using multiple logistic regression. Potential for selection bias was evaluated by comparing exposure–disease associations between the entire cohort and the follow-up subset. Results Sixty-six percent of private and 60% of commercial applicators completed the follow-up interview. Private and commercial applicators who did not complete the follow-up reported at enrollment younger age, less education, lower body mass index, poorer health behaviors but fewer health conditions, and lower pesticide use. Estimates of exposure–disease associations calculated with and without non-participants did not indicate strong selection bias. Conclusions Differences between non-participants and participants in the follow-up interview were generally small, and we did not find significant evidence of selection bias. However, the extent of bias may depend on the specific exposure and outcome under study. Am. J. Ind. Med. 53:486–496, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The Competitive Structure of Communities: An Experimental Approach with Protozoa

An empirical test of the existence of higher order interactions was carried out using four ciliate protozoans, Paramecium caudatum, P. bursaria, P. aurelia, and Blepharisma sp. All four ciliates were cultured individually, and their population histories were described quite well by the simple logistic equation. Attempts to explain minor deviations of the data from the logistic by use of the one or two time lag logistic failed. A more complicated time lag phenomenon must be operative. Every possible pair of the four ciliates was cultured and a trial and error procedure was used to estimate @a and @b of the Gause equations. In all cases the simple Gause equations seemed adequately to describe the data. All four ciliates were cultured together and compared to predictions made by use of the competition coefficients estimated from pair—wise competition and population parameters estimated from single species population growth. The correspondence between prediction and data suggests that the higher order interactions have slight or no effect on the dynamics of this artificial community.
Language Proficiency, Writing Ability, and Composing Strategies : A Study of ESL College Student Writers

This study was designed to examine ESL student writers at different levels of instruction, to describe their writing strategies as shown in think-aloud protocols, and to compare their composing behaviors with what we know about native speaker student writers. Eight ESL students, four in remedial ESL writing courses and four in college-level writing courses, were given two different writing tasks for think-aloud composing. The resulting protocols were coded and analyzed. The data were examined in relation to course placement, holistic evaluation of the students' writing, and scores on a language proficiency test. The study showed that: (1) L1 basic writers and L2 writers had many strategies in common, the main difference being that the L2 writers did not appear to be inhibited by attempts to correct their work; (2) the students in nonremedial courses consistently engaged in more interaction with the emerging texts; (3) there was little correspondence demonstrated among proficiency, writing ability, and the students' composing strategies; and (4) a specified purpose and audience had almost no observable effect on composing strategies.