cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Emotion recognition processing as early predictor of response to 8-week citalopram treatment in late-life depression

Background In subjects with depression, exposure to antidepressants improves recognition of positive emotions. This phenomenon, which occurs early in the course of treatment, has been proposed as the initial step in the mechanism of action to subsequent therapeutic effects of antidepressants. To this date, it has not been well examined among older depressed patients. Method Older subjects with non-psychotic major depressive disorder were treated with citalopram in an 8-week open-label study. The main predictor of response and remission was the change in emotion recognition between baseline and day 7. Covariates included executive functions, baseline anxiety level, medical comorbidity, level of subjective stress, serum citalopram level, and level of social support. Results Twenty-seven patients were considered for final analysis. Overall, accuracy of emotion recognition significantly improved between baseline (75%) and day 7 (83%) (X2 = 34.50, df = 1, p < 0.001). Improvement to identify happy expressions occurred at 25% and 50% intensity with ceiling effect at 0%, 75%, and 100%. Change in emotion processing was marginally significant in predicting antidepressant response at day 56. Multivariate analysis showed that emotion processing is a significant predictor of response and remission when considered along with perceived level of social support. Conclusions Recognition of mildly intense happy expression, which improved early in the course of citalopram treatment, predicts subsequent antidepressant response and remission when considered along with perception of social support. Further studies would be necessary to examine specific neural substrates in the affective network involved in the acute therapeutic action of antidepressant in late-life depression. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
On the role of colloidal particles in light scattering in the ocean

We calculated the optical scattering and backscattering coefficients for assemblages of marine colloids from the measured size distribution and the assumed refractive index of colloids. The comparison of pure seawater scattering and backscattering coefficients with our results from 11 samples of small colloids (sized between 0.01 and 0.2 mm) and 10 samples of large colloids (;0.4‐1 mm) suggests that (1) the role of colloids in light scattering in the ocean can vary from insignificant to very important as a result of variations in the concentration, size distribution, and refractive index of particles; (2) whereas small colloids generally play an insignificant role in particulate scattering, large colloids can make a sizable contribution because their scattering can exceed that of pure water by more than an order of magnitude; and (3) small colloids appear to play an important role in the overall colloidal backscattering. The combined backscattering of small and large colloids is typically higher than that of pure seawater over most of the visible spectrum (e.g., by a factor of 2.5 at 550 nm and 5.6 at 700 nm from our average results). This indicates that the contribution of colloids to the particulate backscattering is typically significant.
Technical Note: Aberrant Detection of Cell Surface Fas Ligand with Anti-Peptide Antibodies

Polyclonal rabbit Abs raised against peptides from the C-terminal region (the extracellular domain) of human Fas ligand were produced for the detection of the molecule in Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. These Abs have been used by several groups of investigators to assess cell surface Fas ligand via flow cytometry, but we show that these polyclonal rabbit Abs do not detect cell surface Fas ligand by that technique.
Robust Route Guidance Model Based on Advanced Traveler Information Systems

In this paper a new robust optimization (RO) model is proposed for route guidance based on the advanced traveler information system. The arc travel time is treated as a random variable, and its distribution is estimated from historical data. Traditional stochastic routing models just minimize the expected travel time between the origin and the destination. Such approaches do not account for the fact that travelers often incorporate travel time variability in their decision making. Recently some RO models were proposed to incorporate more statistical information into the models, but these models still ignore much information available from historical travel time data. The probability measurement, time at risk (TaR), is introduced in this paper, and a multiobjective model is built up that allows a trade-off between the expected travel time and the TaR. Thus, the skewness and kurtosis of the arc travel time distribution are taken into consideration; that is important because the travel time distributions of typical arcs show high asymmetry and long tails on the right side as a result of the impact of random incidents and events. This approach is applied in two examples, one of which is a real traffic network.
A Comparison of Two Approaches to Counselor-Free Career Exploration.

This study was conducted to advance previous research in the use of computer-based, counselor-free career guidance systems instead of conventional counselor-free systems. The participants, Undergraduate college students (20 men and 20 women), were asked to rate their reactions to using the DISCOVER II microcomputer career guidance system and the Self-Directed Search. The majority of the participants preferred the DISCOVER II as a vocational exploration program.
Encapsulation of Gold Nanoparticles in a DNA Origami Cage

A critical challenge in nanoparticle (NP) surface functionalization is to label the NP surface with a single copy of a functional group or to display multiple, unique molecules on the NP surface with control of the orientation and intermolecular distance. This challenge was addressed with the construction of a spatially addressable, self-assembling DNA origami nanocage that encapsulates gold nanoparticles and interrupts its surface symmetry
Oxidative stress in preeclampsia.

In this issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr Moretti and associates use a noninvasive strategy to demonstrate increased oxidative stress in preeclampsia. Oxidative stress has garnered a great deal of attention (and controversy) as a component of the pathophysiology of diseases ranging from heart disease to cancer, and in obstetrics, preeclampsia. What is oxidative stress? Why is it important? What is its origin, and why is its role in diseases such as preeclampsia, controversial? Oxidative stress is the presence of active oxygen species in excess of the available antioxidant buffering capacity. These products, reactive oxygen species, can damage proteins, lipids, and DNA, altering the organism’s structure and function. Not surprisingly, the organism has an efficient system to buffer these products, and also not surprisingly, it will occasionally not be able to do so. When this happens, whether because of reduced antioxidant enzymes, insufficient intake of dietary antioxidants, or with excessive production of reactive oxygen species, oxidative stress ensues.
Embedding Language Therapy in Dialogic Reading to Teach Morphologic Structures to Children With Language Disorders

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of embedding language therapy in dialogic storybook reading as a method that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can use to teach morphologic structures to children with language disorders, while exposing them to literacy materials. Previous research has shown that dialogic reading (DR) improves children’s receptive and expressive vocabulary and increases their mean length of utterance. However, previous research has not examined the efficacy of the program as an intervention administered by SLPs for children diagnosed with language disorders. In the present study, participants were read to using principles of DR intended to evoke their production of specific bound morphemes. A multiple-baselines-across-subjects research design was employed. Results indicated that all three participants improved production of their respective target morphemes, although to varying degrees, and exhibited some generalization to unfamiliar stimuli and in conversation.
The confluence model: Parameter estimation for six divergent data sets on family factors and intelligence

Abstract Theoretical predictions, based on the confluence model, were made for data from six national surveys of intellectual performance. All six surveys relate intellectual performance scores to family configuration variables. Widely divergent patterns of relationships between the major family factors, such as birth order and family size, and intellectual performance scores characterize the six data sets. Nevertheless, the confluence model was capable of accurate prediction in all cases when all three parameters were estimated. Little accuracy was lost using only two parameters. Variations in the estimated parameter values that reflected the variations in patterns of effects could be meaningfully interpreted for their psychological significance.
Degrees of Impact: Analyzing the Effects of Progressive Librarian Course Collaborations on Student Performance

The Claremont Colleges Library conducted direct rubric assessment of Pitzer College First-Year Seminar research papers to analyze the impact of diverse levels of librarian course collaborations on information literacy (IL) performance in student writing. Findings indicate that progressive degrees of librarian engagement in IL-related course instruction and/or syllabus and assignment design had an increasingly positive impact on student performance. A secondary indirect analysis of librarian teaching evaluations and self-perceived learning gains by students and faculty showed no correlation to rubric IL scores, suggesting the importance of “authentic” assessment in determining actual learning outcomes. This mixed-methods study presents findings in each area and examines their implications for effective IL course collaborations.
A Critical Race Counterstory of Race, Racism, and Affirmative Action.

(2002). A Critical Race Counterstory of Race, Racism, and Affirmative Action. Equity & Excellence in Education: Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 155-168.
Correlation of Minimal Residual Disease by Assessing Wilms Tumor Gene Expression and Engraftment by Variable Number of Tandem Repeats in Children with Leukemia Posthematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

An important measure to ensure successful follow-up in patients with allogeneic stem cell transplant is to evaluate for engraftment. Recent studies have shown that detecting minimal residual disease is important in order to predict early clinical relapse. We followed 88 leukemic patients with pre- and posttransplant Wilms tumor gene (WT1) levels to predict relapse and variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) for engraftment. We have found that high pretransplant WT1 levels correlated significantly with relapse in all patient groups, but more significantly in the acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia (ANLL) patients. Posttransplant WT1 level correlated with VNTR status such that low WT1 is associated invariably with VNTR of 100% donor origin, while high WT1 is associated with VNTR of 20%. The association is significant in all patients, specifically in ANLL patients. In this preliminary study, we demonstrate that patients harboring detectable levels of WT1 prior to stem cell transplant have a higher chance of relapse, and posttransplant WT1 and VNTR status appeared to be dependent parameters predicting relapse when present in the posttransplant period. By combining 2 highly sensitive molecular techniques, we have found that this combined technique provided us with a promising alternative for overcoming the limitations imposed by each separate procedure. More studies are necessary before we can come to any significant conclusions.
Green Computing in the Desert: Applying Problem- Based Learning at an Emirati University

The discovery of oil along the Arabian Gulf in the 1950s brought rapid changes to Emirati standards of living and expectations. It also brought decades of expatriate labor. Today the call is for local citizens to enter private enterprise and take charge of their personal and national economics. This initiative demands higher education and higher-order thinking. The authors of this preliminary innovations-in-practice essay report on their recent use of problem-based learning in a Middle East university class on green computing. Their aim is to discover how PBL might facilitate critical thinking, self-directed learning, and motivation to assess challenges and solve problems – skills that should well serve a fast-developing nation. While initial feedback from students has been very positive, the authors continue to collect and analyze student feedback. Upon completion of this data collection and analysis, a more complete report on this effort will be submitted.
Learning names for RFID-tagged objects in activity videos

We describe a method for determining the names of RFID-tagged objects in activity videos using descriptions which have been parsed to provide anaphoric reference resolution and ontological categorization.
Gastric emptying in the rat is inhibited by the duodenal ulcerogens, cysteamine and propionitrile.

Cysteamine and propionitrile induce the formation of duodenal ulcers in rats in 24 to 72 hr. In this study we investigated the effect of these compounds on gastric emptying by measuring the disappearance of intragastrically administered [57Co]vitamin B12 from the stomach of rats pretreated with cysteamine, propionitrile, or water (controls). When the test compounds were administered 4 hr before the indicator, the gastric emptying rate was markedly retarded; the calculated half-time ( t 1 2 )of removal of the [57Co]vitamin B12 was 12 min, 56 min, and 104 min in rats given water, cysteamine, and propionitrile, respectively. Gastric emptying was still significantly retarded 24 hr after administration of cysteamine. The maximum effect of cysteamine, however, occurred 30 min after drug administration. Subsequent studies demonstrated that pyloroplasty was ineffective, whereas vagotomy completely blocked cysteamine-induced gastric retention. The duodenal ulcerogens therefore, may act like other factors which retard gastric emptying by acting on a vagally dependent property of the proximal stomach to accommodate increasing volumes of liquid. These results suggest the possibility that this action of cysteamine and propionitrile to delay gastric emptying may be required for experimental ulcer formation.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor is upregulated in rats with chronic pancreatitis and mediates pain behavior.

Pain is a cardinal symptom in chronic pancreatitis (CP), present in approximately 75% of patients with alcoholic CP, 50% of patients with late-onset idiopathic CP, and 100% of patients with early-onset idiopathic CP.1 The management of pain in these patients is a major therapeutic challenge. Treatment is empirical and often highly invasive with long-term results that are often unsatisfactory. More rational and effective therapies will require the discovery of novel targets based on further understanding the neurobiology of pain in this condition.2,3 Ongoing tissue damage results in heightened responsiveness or sensitization of the nociceptive system, both peripherally and centrally. Pain signaling begins in the periphery with transduction of local injury into an electrical signal in primary afferent neurons or nociceptors. Once generated at the periphery, action potentials are conducted centripetally to the spinal terminals of the nociceptors, where they initiate neurotransmitter release and thereby relay nociceptive information to second-order neurons. The early response to relatively mild stimuli is transmitted via glutamate, but if the stimulus is sustained or intense enough, it causes release of peptide neurotransmitters such as substance P (SP), calcitonin gene–related peptide (CGRP), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) from nerve growth factor (NGF)–responsive small-diameter sensory neurons that serve to augment the response to glutamate and participate in other ways in nociceptive sensitization. The development of valid rodent models has facilitated research in the pathogenesis of pancreatic pain. Thus, we have previously shown that classic neurotransmitters such as SP and CGRP and the transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily V, member 1 (TRPV1) are upregulated in pancreatic sensory neurons in a rat model of CP.4,5 However, the role of other neurotransmitters and channels has yet to be carefully examined in this condition. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor is a powerful modulator of short-term and long-term synaptic efficiencies and is thought to exert its effect on the tropomyosin-related kinase B receptor (TrkB) expressed by second-order neurons in the spinal cord.6 Brain-derived neurotrophic factor has mainly been studied in somatic pain models and remains incompletely understood and somewhat contradictory with the neurotransmitter, playing a pronociceptive role in most inflammatory states and an antinociceptive role in neuropathic models.6 Pancreatic BDNF expression has also been noted in specimens from patients with CP and found to correlate with pain scores.7 The overall aim of this study was therefore to examine the role of BDNF in the pathogenesis of pain in an experimental model of CP. Our results prove that BDNF is upregulated in pancreas-specific primary afferent neurons in rats with CP and that BDNF antagonism is associated with a reduction of pain-related behavior in these animals, suggesting an important role for this neurotransmitter in the nociception of CP.
Aspirator-Cage Combinations for Delicate and Infected Arthropods

Instruments for handling living arthropods in experimental work need improvements which will lessen the risk that laboratory personnel and animal hosts may acquire accidental bites and infections, and which will decrease the chances that delicate arthropods may become injured, reduce opportunities for escape, and increase efficiency in operations.
Superficial temporal artery and vein as recipient vessels for scalp and facial reconstruction: radiographic support for underused vessels.

BACKGROUND The choice of the recipient vessels for microsurgical reconstruction is based on proximity to the defect, vessel caliber, anatomic reliability, and ease of dissection. Traditionally in head and neck reconstruction, the superficial temporal artery and vein (STA/V) have been reserved as secondary recipient vessels. Others, including the facial artery (FA) and vein have been the preferred choice for facial reconstruction. METHODS A retrospective analysis of all consecutive head and neck reconstructions using the STA/V by the senior author (E.S.G.) over a 5-year period was performed. Perioperative data were reviewed for all the patients. In a subset of patients, radiographic analysis was used to delineate STA and FA anatomy including vessel diameter and distances to standard anatomic landmarks. RESULTS A total of 31 patients had 32 microsurgical reconstructions using the STA/V as recipient vessels. Radiographic analysis revealed no significant difference between the STA and FA diameters. The distances from the STA to the upper and middle face were significantly shorter relative to the FA, 64 versus 102 mm (p < 0.0001) and 72 versus 80 mm (p < 0.04), respectively. The distances from the lower face to the STA and FA were 56 and 30 mm, respectively (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS The STA/V can be used as first choice recipient vessels in head and neck reconstruction. Key features of these vessels include proximity to defect, acceptable caliber, predictable anatomic location, and relative ease of dissection. We recommend that the STA/V be considered recipient vessels of choice for reconstruction of defects of the face and scalp.
#BlackLivesMatter — A Challenge to the Medical and Public Health Communities

U.S. medical students have staged “white coat die-ins” in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, but should the medical community do more? Should health professionals be accountable for fighting the racism that contributes to poor health in the first place?
Amino acid metabolism in the genus Propionibacterium.

SummaryPropionibacterium shermanii, P. arabinosum, and P. pentosaceum can synthesize many amino acids as determined by growth in the absence of a single amino acid or a group of biosynthetically related amino acids. P. shermanii and P. arabinosum were distinctive in their limited ability to synthesize glutamate and aspartate. When examining amino acids and (NH4)2SO4 as possible single nitrogen sources, P. shermanii had the most limited capacity and grew only on glutamate. P. arabinosum was able to utilize several amino acids, but not (NH4)2SO4, as the main nitrogen source. For P. pentosaceum, glutamate dehydrogenase was demonstrated for the function of ammonia assimilation, l-serine dehydratase for l-serine degradation, and an AMP- or ADP-dependent l-threonine dehyratase for threonine catabolism. A biosynthetic, l-isoleucine-inhibited, l-threonine dehydratase was observed in P. pentosaceum.
The Telelab personal blood pressure transmitter: accurate and reliable home monitoring for hypertensive patients.

We compared Telelab Personal Blood Pressure Transmitters to mercury sphygmomanometers on a random sample of 63 patients in an office setting and on 29 different patients in a home trial. Each patient was tested with the sphygmomanometer by one of two observers. Three consecutive measurements of each patient were averaged for each method. Although some differences between observers were statistically significant, they were not clinically significant. Differences between the two methods were well within the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation’s accepted range for comparable medical equipment. The 29 hypertensive outpatients used the Telelab transmitter for periods ranging from 2 to 55 weeks during a clinical validation phase. The reliability and accuracy of the monitor were again demonstrated by frequent comparisons with office mercury sphygmomanometer measurements. The high degree of patient acceptance of the monitor for repeated readings over prolonged periods clearly adds to its usefulness.
Hypertension in children and adolescents

BACKGROUND Children have lower blood pressure than adults do, and normal values for children have been established based on age and also on height and weight. Blood pressures in childhood correlate with blood pressures in adulthood, although weakly; a stronger correlation has been established between obesity in childhood and adulthood. Further, obese people are more likely to have high blood pressure than are slender people, both as children and adults. In hypertensive children, the higher the blood pressure and the earlier hypertension appears, the more likely is a secondary cause. KEY POINTS Physicians should measure and record children9s blood pressure, just as they do their height and weight. An algorithm can help physicians decide whether a child with high blood pressure needs further workup and treatment. Nonpharmacologic therapy includes dietary sodium restriction, weight reduction (if the child is overweight), aerobic exercise, and relaxation. In some cases pharmacologic therapy may be necessary. In general, all children should be encouraged to be physically active and to eat healthy foods.
Effects of anabolic steroids on nitrogen metabolism and growth of steers fed corn silage and corn-based diets supplemented with urea or combinations of soybean meal and feathermeal.

The objectives of these experiments were to examine whether N retention and feedlot performance by steers administered estradiol 17-beta (E2) alone (metabolism study) or in combination with trenbolone acetate (TAB; feedlot study) could be enhanced by increasing dietary ruminal escape protein. For the metabolism study, 16 Angus steers (average weight = 308 +/- 5 kg) were used in a randomized block design experiment having a 2 x 4 factorial arrangement of treatments. Main factors were E2 administration and supplemental CP source. Steers were fed diets based on corn silage and corn (60:30 DM basis) and were supplemented with urea or three combinations of soybean meal (SBM) and feathermeal (Fth). Combinations and SBM and Fth (SBM:Fth) provided 75:25, 50:50, and 25:75 of supplemental CP on a N basis. Estradiol 17-beta increased (P .05) in control steers. A growth study was conducted using 128 crossbred steers (400 +/- 19 kg) that received no implant or a combination of E2 (Synovex) and TBA (Finaplix-S). Steers were fed diets containing 75% high-moisture corn, 15% corn silage, and 10% supplement (DM basis) for 84 d (heavy replicate) or 124 d (light replicate).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
3.22 – Clinical Applications of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging

Magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) permits a noninvasive, in vivo assessment of metabolites in the tissue of interest. This chapter primarily reviews the role of proton MRSI in brain tumors and prostate cancer for detection, grading, treatment selection, and assessment of treatment response and prognosis. It reveals that proton MRSI may be a promising adjunct to MRI for better diagnostic and prognostic applications in oncology.
Unbounded-Thread Program Verification using Thread-State Equations

Infinite-state reachability problems arising from unbounded-thread program verification are of great practical importance, yet algorithmically hard. Despite the remarkable success of explicit-state exploration methods to solve such problems, there is a sense that SMT technology can be beneficial to speed up the decision making. This vision was pioneered in recent work by Esparza et al. on SMT-based coverability analysis of Petri nets. We present here an approximate coverability method that operates on thread-transition systems, a model naturally derived from predicate abstractions of multi-threaded programs. In addition to successfully proving uncoverability for all our safe benchmark programs, our approach extends previous work by the ability to decide the unsafety of many unsafe programs, and to provide a witness path. We also demonstrate experimentally that our method beats all leading explicit-state techniques on safe benchmarks and is competitive on unsafe ones, promising to be a very accurate and fast coverability analyzer.
Why do plants produce so many terpenoid compounds

All plants synthesize a suite of several hundred terpenoid compounds with roles that include phytohormones, protein modification reagents, anti-oxidants, and more. Different plant lineages also synthesize hundreds of distinct terpenoids, with the total number of such specialized plant terpenoids estimated in the scores of thousands. Phylogenetically restricted terpenoids are implicated in defense or in the attraction of beneficial organisms. A popular hypothesis is that the ability of plants to synthesize new compounds arose incrementally by selection when, as a result of gradual changes in their biotic partners and enemies, the 'old' plant compounds were no longer effective, a process dubbed the 'coevolutionary arms race'. Another hypothesis posits that often the sheer diversity of such compounds provides benefits that a single compound cannot. In this article, we review the unique features of the biosynthetic apparatus of terpenes in plants that facilitate the production of large numbers of distinct terpenoids in each species and how facile genetic and biochemical changes can lead to the further diversification of terpenoids. We then discuss evidence relating to the hypotheses that given ecological functions may be enhanced by the presence of mixtures of terpenes and that the acquisition of new functions by terpenoids may favor their retention once the original functions are lost.
Can I Trust My Co-worker? Examining Correctional Officers’ Perceptions of Staff–Inmates Inappropriate Relationships within a Southern Penitentiary System

ABSTRACTRecently, Joyce Mitchell, a correctional employee in New York, confessed to assisting two dangerous murderers in an elaborate escape attempt. While our study does not focus on correctional officers who admit to such deviant behaviors, it examines correctional officers’ perceptions of boundary violations committed by their co-workers. Using a macro-level ecological framework as our theoretical perspective, namely Sampson, Raudenbush, and Earl’s (1997) theory of collective efficacy, we surmise that organizational factors such as strong supervision and peer support can build mutual trust in prison environments where correctional officers perceive their jobs to be dangerous and stressful. Our findings have important implications for the management of correctional facilities as well as for the contemporary development and significance of the theory of collective efficacy.
Effect of ice hockey stick stiffness on performance

Hockey sticks have undergone a dramatic transformation from wood to aluminum to composite in just over the past 20 years. With the introduction of different materials, there has been increasing interest in how the material properties affect shot speed. This study examined the effects of stick stiffness from measured swing motion on puck speed. Stick evaluation involved a six amateur player study, quasi-static stiffness measurement, video motion analysis, and numerical simulation. The effect of stiffness on puck speed was observed to depend on shot type. For shots involving large stick loading, as occurs with a slap shot, puck speed decreased as stick stiffness increased. The trend was consistent with a constant force player model. For shots involving low stick loading, as occurs with a wrist shot, puck speed increased as stick stiffness increased. The trend was consistent with a constant displacement player model. Finite element simulation of the slap shot agreed generally with the results of the player study and was used to find an optimal loading distance (distance that the stick contacts the ice prior to the puck) to be 24 cm.
Bayesian Network Learning for Uncertainty Quantification

Bayesian Networks (BNs) are being studied in recent years for system diagnosis, reliability analysis, and design of complex engineered systems. In several practical applications, BNs need to be learned from available data before being used for design or other purposes. Current BN learning algorithms are mainly developed for networks with only discrete variables. Engineering design problems often consist of both discrete and continuous variables. This paper develops a framework to handle continuous variables in BN learning by integrating learning algorithms of discrete BNs with Gaussian mixture models (GMMs). We first make the topology learning more robust by optimizing the number of Gaussian components in the univariate GMMs currently available in the literature. Based on the BN topology learning, a new Multivariate Gaussian Mixture (MGM) strategy is developed to improve the accuracy of conditional probability learning in the BN. A method is proposed to address this difficulty of MGM modeling with data of mixed discrete and continuous variables by mapping the data for discrete variables into data for a standard normal variable. The proposed framework is capable of learning BNs without discretizing the continuous variables or making assumptions about their CPDs. The applications of the learned BN to uncertainty quantification and model calibration are also investigated. The results of a mathematical example and an engineering application example demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.Copyright © 2017 by ASME
Mycobacterium ChelonaeDeveloping Multidrug Resistance

Mycobacterium chelonae is a rapidly growing mycobacterium which is known to respond well to standard antibiotic treatment regimen. There are no specific guidelines for treatment. Antibiotics are chosen based on the bacterial sensitivity. Here we present a 47-year-old man with hip replacement who developed bright red papular generalised skin lesions and bilateral hip abscess. On workup, it was confirmed that M. chelonae was the causative organism. He was given 8 weeks of antibiotics; however, there was worsening of the hip abscess on interval imaging. The progression was most likely due to M. chelonae developing antibiotic resistance. Physicians should be aware of the rising resistance of this organism, and guide antibiotic therapy based on bacterial sensitivity to yield better outcomes.
Laser Papillotomy for Chronic Flank Pain: A Reassessment of Efficacy in the Era of Automated Opioid Prescription Monitoring

AbstractIntroduction:We determined whether laser papillotomy for patients with chronic flank pain decreased narcotic pain medication use after surgery. Specifically, the introduction of state speci...
International Roughness Index (IRI) measurement using Hilbert-Huang transform

International Roughness Index (IRI) is an important metric to measure condition of roadways. This index is usually used to justify the maintenance priority and scheduling for roadways. Various inspection methods and algorithms are used to assess this index through the use of road profiles. This study proposes to calculate IRI values using Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) algorithm. In particular, road profile data is provided using surface radar attached to a vehicle driving at highway speed. Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) is used in this study because of its superior properties for nonstationary and nonlinear data. Empirical mode decomposition (EMD) processes the raw data into a set of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs), representing various dominating frequencies. These various frequencies represent noises from the body of the vehicle, sensor location, and the excitation induced by nature frequency of the vehicle, etc. IRI calculation can be achieved by eliminating noises that are not associated with the road profile including vehicle inertia effect. The resulting IRI values are compared favorably to the field IRI values, where the filtered IMFs captures the most characteristics of road profile while eliminating noises from the vehicle and the vehicle inertia effect. Therefore, HHT is an effect method for road profile analysis and for IRI measurement. Furthermore, the application of HHT method has the potential to eliminate the use of accelerometers attached to the vehicle as part of the displacement measurement used to offset the inertia effect.
Identification of patients with hemoglobin SS/Sβ0 thalassemia disease and pain crises within electronic health records.

Electronic health records (EHRs) are a source of big data that provide opportunities for conducting population-based studies and creating learning health systems, especially for rare conditions such as sickle cell disease (SCD). The objective of our study is to validate algorithms for accurate identification of patients with hemoglobin (Hb) SS/Sβ 0 thalassemia and acute care encounters for pain among SCD patients within EHR warehouse. We used data for children receiving care at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin from 2013 to 2016 to test the accuracy of the 2 algorithms. The algorithm for genotype identification used composite information (blood test results, transcranial Doppler) along with diagnoses codes. Acute pain encounters were identified using diagnoses codes and further refined by using prescription of IV pain medications. Sensitivities and specificities were calculated for the algorithms. Predictive values for the algorithm to identify SCD genotype were calculated. For all assessments, the local SCD registry and patients’ charts were considered gold standards. These included 360 children with SCD, of whom 51% were females. Our algorithm to identify patients with HbSS/Sβ 0 thalassemia demonstrated sensitivity of 89.9% (confidence interval [CI], 85.1%-93.7%) and specificity of 97.1% (CI, 92.7%-99.2%). This algorithm had a positive and negative predictive value of 97.9% (CI, 94.8%-99.9%) and 88.7% (CI, 82.6%-93.3%), respectively. Acute pain crises encounters were identified with a sensitivity and specificity of 95.1% (CI, 86.3%-99.0%) and 96.1% (CI, 88.3%-99.6%). This study demonstrates the feasibility to accurately identify patients with specific types of SCD and pain crises within an EHR.
Swinburne's Tritheism

Les philosophes qui se specialisent dans les religions se sont interesses plus particulierement, ces dernieres annees, a la doctrine de la Trinite. Dans son ouvrage The christian God, Richard Swinburne a oriente ses recherches a ce sujet tant pour verifier la coherence de cette doctrine que pour la comprendre dans le detail. L'A. se propose de demontrer ici que la position de Swinburne est en fait tritheiste : ceci implique que le philosophe n'a pas compris la doctrine traditionnelle sur la Trinite. L'A. parvient ainsi a montrer que la demonstration de Swinburne sur la coherence de cette doctrine ne tient pas la route
4 – The Normal and Abnormal Development of the Mammalian Visual System

Publisher Summary The principle behind all work on normal and abnormal development of the nervous system is that the developmental process is guided by a program encoded in the genome. At present, very little is known of the instructions that underlie the details of neural organization. This chapter presents the recent studies of early development of visual connections. There are two features that characterize many of the stages of development of the visual system. The first is that there are periods of development during which a particular process is not absolutely determined and may be modified, but beyond which external perturbations may have little or no impact on the organization of projections. The principle was first shown with respect to the critical period for visual deprivation effects but subsequent work has shown that it is not restricted to that situation. The second feature is the relative imprecision of early connections and the subsequent pruning mechanism that leads to the restricted adult patterns.
Acute stress disorder and post traumatic stress disorder in individuals suffering from burn injury

An individual’s recovery from a burn includes many aspects. One of which is their psychological healing. Emotional well-being plays an important role in one’s physical recovery [108]. Some burn victims do not experience any negative psychological reactions while others experience numerous issues. These negative reactions can vary from short-term to long and from mild to debilitating. Psychological reaction to trauma can interfere with one’s medical recovery [55]. This can be a problem during the recovery of an injury as critical as a burn. Such intrusive symptoms could interfere with a patient’s ability to participate in necessary medical cares (e. g. lying still so as not to tear a graft, bathing with water). Management of these symptoms would allow the individual to focus more exclusively on his/her medical needs. There are numerous psychiatric disorders which need to be distinguished to determine the most appropriate treatment. Typical maladaptive behaviors can include the signs and symptoms of anxiety and/or depression.
Abstract 2282: VIP: A system biology platform for cell line centric integrative analysis of molecular and functional genomics data

Cancer is a heterogeneous disease that is classified by its tissue of origin or molecular characteristics such as genetic alterations that drive tumorigenesis. Large-scale efforts using loss-of-function genetic screens to systematically identify genes essential for the proliferation and survival of cancer cells provide a powerful approach for studying cancer biology and discovering drug targets. However, cancer cell lines from different lineages or molecular background vary in their dependencies on specific genes or pathways. Functional ablation of a gene may be only lethal in one segment of cancer cell lines harboring certain molecular deficiencies or activation of a specific oncogenic signaling pathway, a phenomenon called synthetic lethality. A key challenge here would be to identify the true synthetic lethal interactions from a combinatorially large number of possible interactions between molecular aberrations and gene-level sensitivity to functional perturbation. With recent advances in large-scale studies such as CCLE and Achilles, genome-wide functional genomics screens using CRISPR-Cas9 or shRNA technologies as well as comprehensive molecular profiles have become available for a large number of cancer cell lines. Here we present the Variant Interpretation Portal (VIP), a system biology tool designed to enable integrative analysis of molecular and functional genomics data in cell lines for identifying synthetic lethal interactions. VIP consists of a command-line pipeline and a web-based user interface. The VIP pipeline rigorously filters out germline events and classifies genomic variants into multiple functional tiers. The VIP web portal provides users with a graphic interface to perform exploratory visual analyses of associations between two variables or multiple variables, where a variable could be a genetic alteration or a gene-level sensitivity profile. VIP also enables systematic search for significant association between one variable, such as the sensitivity profile, vs. a database of variables such as histology or molecular attributes. VIP is optimized to perform real-time analytics and enables the incorporation and analysis of user-provided data. The code can be accessed from https://github.com/juferban/vip. Citation Format: Julio Fernandez, Ying Ding, Zhengyan Kan. VIP: A system biology platform for cell line centric integrative analysis of molecular and functional genomics data [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2282.
Validating a Design Thinking Strategy: Merging Design Thinking and Absorptive Capacity to Build a Dynamic Capability and Competitive Advantage

Design thinking in the management context has suffered from vague definition, gaps in literature, and lack of theoretical foundation. Research streams in absorptive capacity and dynamic capabilities have reached a point of convergence with respect to design thinking and absorption of external knowledge. As such, this study draws on both absorptive capacity and dynamic capability theory to provide theoretical foundation for the strategic consideration of design thinking in strategy, organization design, and organizational learning. In doing so, t his study extends seminal absorptive capacity theory providing empirical evidence of design thinking as a dynamic capability to enhance absorptive capacity. Additionally, this study extends dynamic capabilities theory by confirming design thinking as a means of integration, learning, and reconfiguring knowledge to build competitive advantage. Therefore, this study merges existing research streams to empirically validate design thinking as a dynamic capability which must be strategically considered.
Adjustment outcomes of victims of cyberbullying: The role of personal and contextual factors.

Abstract With many of today's youth utilizing technology to bully their peers, there is a need to better understand both predictors and consequences of cybervictimization. However, few researchers have employed a multi-level approach to jointly identify potential individual (e.g., gender) and school-level (e.g., urbanicity) predictors of cybervictimization, or examined a range of psycho-social and adjustment outcomes. The current study used survey data from 28,583 students from 58 high schools to explore the risk factors associated with cybervictimization. We also examined the association between cybervictimization and adjustment outcomes (e.g., psychological, academic), as well as a possible moderators (e.g., student connectedness) that may buffer youth from these negative outcomes. Self-report measures assessed experiences with cybervictimization, adjustment problems, and student connectedness using previously validated measures. A series of two-level hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that females, underclassman, and those who are traditionally victimized or were perpetrators of cyberbullying were at significantly increased risk of cybervictimization. Cybervictimization was also associated with an increased risk of psychological (internalizing problems, sleep problems, stress problems) and academic (truancy, poor grades) adjustment problems. However, student connectedness buffered the internalizing problems experienced by victims of cyberbullying. These findings extend prior research on cybervictimization predictors, outcomes, and buffers, and in turn inform the potential use of school-based efforts aimed at preventing cyberbullying.
Steht IPSAS im Widerspruch zur Finanzpolitik? : Fallbeispiel Public Private Partnership zur Bedeutung von IPSAS für eine nachhaltige Finanzpolitik

Some Swiss experts argue that there are conflicting goals between IPSAS and fiscal policy. Switzerland uses additional depreciation, besides the amount depreciated on a systematic basis over useful life, in order to balance the income statement. For this reason, the Swiss Accounting Model does not fully apply the IPSAS-focus on «true and fair view». This contradicts the general notion that the true and fair view is the main contribution of accrual accounting to sustainable fiscal policy.
Riemann zeta factorial function

This paper focuses on extending the theory of Riemann zeta function to Riemann zeta factorial function for infinite series using inverse principle of forward difference operator. This newly introduced series is generated by replacing polynomial by polynomial factorial in Riemann zeta function. Several formulae on higher order Riemann zeta factorial functions have been derived. Suitable examples are inserted to validate the above findings.
Reduced amount or integrity of arterial elastic fibers alters allometric scaling exponents for aortic diameter, but not cardiac function in maturing mice.

Allometric scaling laws relate physiologic parameters to body weight. Genetically modified mice allow investigation of allometric scaling laws when fundamental cardiovascular components are altered. Elastin haploinsufficient (Eln+/-) mice have reduced elastin amounts and fibulin-5 knockout (Fbln5-/-) mice have compromised elastic fiber integrity in the large arteries which may alter cardiovascular scaling laws. Previously published echocardiography data used to investigate aortic and left ventricular function in Eln+/- and Fbln5-/- mice throughout postnatal development and early adulthood were reanalyzed to determine cardiovascular scaling laws. Aortic diameter, heart weight, stroke volume, and cardiac output have scaling exponents within 1 - 32% of the predicted theoretical range, indicating that the scaling laws apply to maturing mice. For aortic diameter, Eln+/- and Eln+/+ mice have similar scaling exponents, but different scaling constants, suggesting a shift in starting diameter, but no changes in aortic growth with body weight. In contrast, the scaling exponent for aortic diameter in Fbln5-/- mice is lower than Fbln5+/+ mice, but the scaling constant is similar, suggesting that aortic growth with body weight is compromised in Fbln5-/- mice. For both Eln+/- and Fbln5-/- groups, the scaling constant for heart weight is increased compared to the respective control group, suggesting an increase in starting heart weight, but no change in the increase with body weight during maturation. The scaling exponents and constants for stroke volume and cardiac output are not significantly affected by reduced elastin amounts or compromised elastic fiber integrity in the large arteries, highlighting a robust cardiac adaptation despite arterial defects.