cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical Distribution and Analysis of Drug Resistance of 554 Enterococcus Isolated

OBJECTIVE To investigate the drug resistance of 554 Enterococcus isolated in our hospital. METHODS The clinical isolates were identified and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were detected by VITEK-60 of Bio-Merieux of France. RESULTS Totally 554 Enterococcus strains were isolated,including 361 E. faecalis (65.2%),143 E. faecium (25.8%),22 E. gallinarum (4.0%),18 E. aviums (3.2%) and 10 other Enterococcus isolates (1.8%). For E. faecalis,the resistance rates to ampicillin and penicillin were lower than the average,(1.1% and 5.3%),which can be chosed as the first selective drugs in clinical therapy for E. faecium,the resistance rates to ampicillin and penicillin both were over 74%,they should be carefully used in therapy. but quinupristin/dalfopristin and linezolid were the best choice.Curing infections caused by the other Enterococcus except E. faecalis and E. faecium,linezolid should be the first selective drug in clinical therapy. CONCLUSIONS While curing infections caused by multi-resistant Enterococcus,doctors should choose proper therapy and according to difference of their drug resistance among Enterococcus spp,in order to prevent appearance of drug-resistant bacteria.
Epidemiological characteristics of varicella in Xicheng District of Beijing from 2008-2012

[Objective]To understand the epidemiological characteristics of varicella in Xicheng District of Beijing,provide scientific basis for effective control of varicella.[Methods]The epidemic status of varicella in Xicheng District from 2008-2012 were analyzed by an epidemiological method.[Results]A total of 2 661 varicella cases were reported in Xicheng District during 2008-2012,and the average annual incidence rate was 59.78 / lakh.The ratio of male-to-female was 1.151 ∶ 1.The varicella cases were reported in every month,which focused on the months from April to June and from October to December.The main age group was 5-9 years old,accounting for 25.59%,and 33.52% of patients were people over 20 years old,which indicated that the age of onset retarded.The occupation distribution showed that 46.56% of patients were student.[Conclusion]It is necessary to strengthen the monitoring of varicella cases,rapidly respond to the varicella outbreaks,implement the varicella vaccination,and carry out health education,to effectively control the varicella.
Self-adaptation of mutation rates and dynamic fitness

In any search via artificial evolution, the likelihood of stagnation at local optima is determined by the particular choices of representation and search operators. Because the performance impact of these design choices is difficult to predict, it is an attractive option to let the representation and/or operators themselves evolve. However, effective evolution at this meta-level can be difficult to achieve for a number of reasons, including: (1) The complexity of the search space is increased; and (2) selection acts at the level of the fitness function and only indirectly at the meta-level, favoring variations only to the extent to which they are stochastically associated with fitness improvements. The question then becomes: Under what conditions is evolution of the representation and/or operators likely to be most effective?
Current status of metacarpophalangeal arthroplasty and basilar joint arthroplasty of the thumb.

Implant arthroplasty of the metacarpophalangeal joint is primarily indicated in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The concept of replacing the digital metacarpophalangeal joint is relatively new. Prior to the first prosthetic replacement for the destroyed metacarpophalangeal joint in 1959, the use of various soft-tissue interposition techniques had been reported and subsequently have been abandoned. Using concepts that have been successful in the hip and knee, surface replacement implants for the digital metacarpophalangeal joint have been developed that closely approximate the anatomy of the metacarpal head and proximal phalangeal base. Early results have been promising.
Valproic Acid Alters Angiogenic and Trophic Gene Expression in Human Prostate Cancer Models.

Background/Aim: Only a minority of men succumb to prostate cancer (PCa). Therapy to prevent progression would change treatment paradigms. We investigated the effect of valproic acid (VPA) on PCa cell proliferation and the effects on both angiogenesis and PCa-specific signaling. Materials and Methods: LNCaP cells were treated with VPA for 72 h and proliferation was measured. Cellular RNA extracts were used to measure gene expression with RT-profiler2 arrays. Genes with alterations were validated using real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot. Results: VPA led to a dose-dependent decrease in proliferation. Expression array data revealed an impact on modulators of angiogenesis. Additionally, several cell-cycle control transcripts were affected. There was a strong correlation between gene and protein expression levels for validated targets. Conclusion: VPA decreases cellular proliferation of PCa cells in vitro and also affects gene expression suggestive of anti-angiogenic effect with a concomitant decrease in proliferation-related genes.
Biomarkers for Prostate Biopsy and Risk Stratification of Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer Patients.

Abstract Introduction Many new markers are now available as an aid for decisions about prostate biopsy for men without prostate cancer and/or to improve risk stratification for men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer. Methods A literature review was performed on currently available markers for use in decisions about prostate biopsy and initial prostate cancer treatment. Results Although total prostate specific antigen cutoffs were traditionally used for biopsy decisions, prostate specific antigen elevations are not specific. Repeating the prostate specific antigen test, and adjusting for factors like age, prostate volume and changes over time can increase specificity for biopsy decisions. The Prostate Health Index and 4Kscore® are new prostate specific antigen based markers that can be offered as second line tests to decide on initial or repeat prostate biopsy. The PCA3 urine test and ConfirmMDx tissue test are additional options for repeat biopsy decisions. For men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer genomic tests are available to refine risk classification and may influence treatment decisions. Conclusions Numerous secondary testing options are now available that can be offered to patients deciding whether to undergo prostate biopsy and to those with newly diagnosed prostate cancer.
Interdisciplinary palliative care in metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer.

9068 Background: Palliative cancer care is the integration into cancer care of therapies that address multiple issues that cause suffering for patients and their families and impact their life qual...
Art for Art's Sake: The American repertory theatre

Founded at Harvard University by Robert Brustein in 1980 and more recently led by artistic director Diana Paulus, the American Repertory Theatre has developed new musicals such as Big River (1984) and Finding Neverland (2014) and has reimagined classic Broadway musicals such as Porgy and Bess (2011) and Pippin (2012). By reshaping musical theatre writing (sometimes controversially) and succeeding on Broadway, ART’s productions demonstrate how creative innovation can succeed in a commercial marketplace.
As Computer Users Grow More Savvy: Experiences with a Multimedia Tool

Software that can be widely used with little or no modification has advantages for producers and consumers. But it is likely to require some adjustment by users. We describe more than three years of studies of a conceptually simple multimedia annotation tool, which we expected to be widely useful without modification. We encountered a surprising range of specific requirements, including context- and content-specific needs that forced us to shift from an application focus to a platform focus. Instead of a single general-purpose tool, we ended up producing a toolkit to support asynchronous group interaction, with which many task-specific applications were built. This has far-reaching implications. For application designers, software developers, and researchers. As computer users become more aware of the versatility and flexibility of software, general purpose shrinkwrap software may fade away.
The impact of asthma on the cost effectiveness of surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.

Background The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of asthma on the cost-effectiveness profile of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) compared to medical therapy for patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). Methods The study design consisted of a cohort-style Markov decision-tree cost utility analysis with a 35-year time horizon. Matched cohorts of CRSwNP patients with (n = 95) and without (n = 95) asthma who underwent ESS were compared with cohorts of patients from the national Medical Expenditures Survey Panel (MEPS) database who underwent medical management for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Baseline, 1-year, and 2-year health utility values were calculated from responses to the EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) instrument in both cohorts. The primary outcome measure was the incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) for each cohort. Results The reference cases for CRSwNP patients with and without asthma yielded ICERs for ESS vs medical therapy alone of $12,066 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and $7,369 per QALY, respectively. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of $50,000/QALY, the ICER scatter plots demonstrated 86% and 99% certainty that the ESS strategy was the most cost-effective option for CRSwNP patients with and without asthma, respectively. ESS was not significantly more cost effective for CRSwNP patients without asthma (p = 0.494). Conclusion ESS remains cost effective compared to medical therapy for patients both with and without asthma. While the comorbidity of asthma results in an inferior ICER result, it does not result in a statistically significant negative impact on the overall cost effectiveness of ESS.
The Use of Genetically Engineered Mice to Study PAD Biology and Pathology

Peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs or PADIs) are a family of calcium-dependent enzymes that post-translationally convert positively charged arginine residues to neutrally charged citrulline in a process called citrullination or deimination. There are five PAD family members (PAD1–PAD4 and PAD6). PAD genes arose by duplication and are clustered within a ~300-kb region on chromosome 1p36 in humans and within a ~230-kb region on chromosome 4 in mice. In both species PAD1, PAD3, PAD4, and PAD6 are grouped closely together and are oriented in the same direction, while PAD2 is set apart from the other PADs by at least 60 kb and is oriented in the opposite direction (Vossenaar et al. 2003). PAD isozymes are expressed in a range of tissues in mammals, with PAD2 being broadly expressed in numerous tissues, while PAD4 is highly represented in immune cells. PAD6 expression, on the other hand, is primarily limited to oocytes and early embryos, whereas PAD1 and PAD3 appear to be mainly expressed in the epidermis. While still coming to light, functional roles for PADs in mammalian physiology and pathology are diverse and include cellular differentiation, nerve growth, apoptosis, inflammation, gene regulation, and early embryonic development. Over the last several years, investigators have generated genetically engineered mice (GEM) for PAD2, PAD3, PAD4, and PAD6 to investigate the functions of these unique enzymes at the organismal level. Outcomes from these studies are highlighted in Fig. 4.1, and the goal of this chapter is to provide a broad summary of findings obtained from these animals.
Primary Liver Cancers, Part 2: Progression Pathways and Carcinogenesis

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and primary intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) have been increasing in incidence worldwide and are leading causes of cancer death. Studies of the molecular alterations leading to these carcinomas provide insights into the key mechanisms involved. A literature review was conducted to identify articles with information relevant to current understanding of the etiologies and molecular pathogenesis of HCC and ICC. Chronic inflammatory diseases are the key etiological risk factors for both HCC and ICC, although other diseases play a role, and for many ICCs, an underlying risk factor is not identified. Mutations in catenin beta 1 ( CTNBB1) and tumor protein 53 (P53) are the main genetic alterations in HCC. Isocitrate dehydrogenases 1 and 2 (IDH1/2), KRAS protooncogene GTPase (KRAS), a RAS Viral Oncogene Homolog in neoroblastoma (NRAS) and P53 are primary genetic alterations in ICC. In both diseases, the mutational landscape is dependent on the underlying etiology. The most significant etiologies and genetic processes involved in the carcinogenesis of HCC and ICC are reviewed.
The Minding Organization: Bring the Future to the Present and Turn Creative Ideas into Business Solutions

(2000). The Minding Organization: Bring the Future to the Present and Turn Creative Ideas into Business Solutions. Quality Management Journal: Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 84-85.
Exploring the pathway from anxiety sensitivity intervention to suicide risk reduction: Chained mediation through anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Abstract Background The suicide rate in the Unites States continues to increase suggesting novel intervention strategies are needed. Anxiety sensitivity (AS), or a fear of anxiety-related sensations, is a suicide risk factor that can be ameliorated via a single-session, computerized intervention called the Cognitive Anxiety Sensitivity Treatment (CAST). Results from randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that reductions in suicidal ideation (SI) due to CAST were mediated by AS reductions. However, a more detailed analysis of the mechanisms of SI reduction due to AS interventions is needed to further our understanding of theoretical models of AS and suicide, and to refine AS treatments. Methods Participants (N = 74) with co-occurring anxiety pathology and SI were randomized to a single-session computerized treatment (CAST + cognitive bias modification) or a control intervention. Assessments were conducted immediately post treatment, and at 1 month and 4 month follow-ups. Results Chained mediation models revealed significant reductions in SI (month 4 follow-up) through AS (post-treatment) and subsequently anxiety symptoms (month 1 follow-up), but not depressive symptoms. There were no direct mediation effects through either AS or anxiety or depressive symptoms. Limitations Limitations include self-report assessment of symptoms, a sample of only individuals with a diagnosed anxiety pathology, and exploratory nature of anxiety/depression dimension analyses. Conclusions Results of the current study help clarify the mechanistic pathways of SI reduction due to an AS intervention, and suggest future work attempting to increase the efficacy of AS interventions should consider the potentially important role of downstream mechanisms that follow AS reduction.
Patient-physician Gender Concordance and Increased Mortality Among Female Heart Attack Patients

We examine patient gender disparities in survival rates following acute myocardial infarctions (i.e., heart attacks) based on the gender of the treating physician. Using a census of heart attack patients admitted to Florida hospitals between 1991 and 2010, we find higher mortality among female patients who are treated by male physicians. Male patients and female patients experience similar outcomes when treated by female physicians, suggesting that unique challenges arise when male physicians treat female patients. We further find that male physicians with more exposure to female patients and female physicians have more success treating female patients.
P121 CCR5 Delta 32 polymorphism is not associated with non-HLA antibody mediated rejection in heart transplant

Aim C–C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5) is predominantly expressed on T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. In addition to the wild type allele, a null allele (CCR5 Delta 32) has a 32-base pair (bp) deletion (CCR5Delta32) in the coding region. Antibody mediated rejection (AMR) can be caused by non-HLA antibodies. In this study, we determined if the recipient diagnosed as non-HLA antibody mediated rejection is the CCR5 Delta 32 allele homozygous, hence could develop antibody against CCR5 which the donor carries. Methods 11 heart transplant patients were diagnosed with AMR based on biopsy, but no donor specific HLA antibodies were detected. We performed CCR5 genotyping on these recipients and their donors by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR primers (Forward (5’- AGGTACCTGGGCTGTC GTCCCCCA; Reverse 5’CTCACAGCCCTGTGCCTCTTC) were used to amplify the wild type alleles (329 bp) and the null allele CCR5Delta 32(297 bp). Results Out of 11 patients, one patient was heterozygous at the CCR5 locus, carrying the wildtype allele and null allele CCR5Delta32. Out of 10 donors, 3 donors were heterozygous. PCR reaction failed for one donor sample due to the insufficient DNA. Neither the patients or donors were homozygous for a null allele CCR5Delta32. The frequency of the CCR5Delta 32 allele between the patient and donor were not significantly different. Download : Download high-res image (38KB) Download : Download full-size image Conclusions The frequencyof CCR5Delta32 in this cohort is about 20%, which is similar to the previous finding. No patients in this cohort are homozygous for the null allele CCR5Delta 2, suggesting the patient cannot develop antibody against CCR5, and AMR in these patients are not caused by CCR5 antibody.
Fear the reaper: characterization and fast detection of card skimmers

Payment card fraud results in billions of dollars in losses annually. Adversaries increasingly acquire card data using skimmers, which are attached to legitimate payment devices including point of sale terminals, gas pumps, and ATMs. Detecting such devices can be difficult, and while many experts offer advice in doing so, there exists no large-scale characterization of skimmer technology to support such defenses. In this paper, we perform the first such study based on skimmers recovered by the NYPD's Financial Crimes Task Force over a 16 month period. After systematizing these devices, we develop the Skim Reaper, a detector which takes advantage of the physical properties and constraints necessary for many skimmers to steal card data. Our analysis shows the Skim Reaper effectively detects 100% of devices supplied by the NYPD. In so doing, we provide the first robust and portable mechanism for detecting card skimmers.
Propagation of B lymphocytes in vitro.

Several differentiative states of the mature B lymphocyte are well known, including clonal expansion, antibody secretion, heavy chain class switching, and somatic mutation. However, the precise sequence of these differentiative events, and the mechanism by which immunoregulatory cells and mediators influence this sequence remains uncertain. This is due in large part to the paucity of suitable clonal B cell lines which may be propagated while retaining differentiative potential (Howard, 1981; Sredni, 1981; Whitlock, 1982).
Tissue-specific characterization of mitochondrial branched-chain keto acid oxidation using a multiplexed assay platform

Alterations to branched-chain keto acid (BCKA) oxidation have been implicated in a wide variety of human diseases, ranging from diabetes to cancer. Although global shifts in BCKA metabolism-evident by gene transcription, metabolite profiling, and in vivo flux analyses have been documented across various pathological conditions, the underlying biochemical mechanism(s) within the mitochondrion remain largely unknown. In vitro experiments using isolated mitochondria represent a powerful biochemical tool for elucidating the role of the mitochondrion in driving disease. Such analyses have routinely been utilized across disciplines to shed valuable insight into mitochondrial-linked pathologies. That said, few studies have attempted to model in vitro BCKA oxidation in isolated organelles. The impetus for the present study stemmed from the knowledge that complete oxidation of each of the three BCKAs involves a reaction dependent upon bicarbonate and ATP, both of which are not typically included in respiration experiments. Based on this, it was hypothesized that the inclusion of exogenous bicarbonate and stimulation of respiration using physiological shifts in ATP-free energy, rather than excess ADP, would allow for maximal BCKA-supported respiratory flux in isolated mitochondria. This hypothesis was confirmed in mitochondria from several mouse tissues, including heart, liver and skeletal muscle. What follows is a thorough characterization and validation of a novel biochemical tool for investigating BCKA metabolism in isolated mitochondria.
A Review of Satellite Constraints on Airborne Dust: What We Can Say, and What We Can't

This is a review paper rather than the report on a single line of research. Satellites offer a broad range of constraints on dust particle amount, daily and longer-scale 3-d spatial distribution, particle properties, source locations, and transport pathways. Yet, the data contain spatial and temporal gaps, lack detail in some important respects, and interpretation of the remote-sensing retrieval results requires careful consideration of the information content, which can vary greatly with observing conditions. To date, these data have been applied much more extensively to dust from North African sources, and their journey across the Atlantic, than to Asian sources and Pacific transports, offering rich opportunities for future work.
Review and new species of Tiferonia Darlington, 1962 (Carabidae, Abacetini).

Darlington described Tiferonia based on T. parva from New Guinea. In this review, Tiferonia leytensissp. nov. is described from Leyte Island, Philippines, Tiferonia schoutedeni (Straneo, 1943) comb. nov. is transferred from Melanchrous Andrewes, and inclusion of Tiferonia brunnea (Jedlicka, 1935) in the genus is confirmed. Characteristics of Tiferonia and genera that have been proposed as closely related to Tiferonia are discussed and a unique character, the post-ocular sulcus, shared among species of Tiferonia and Holconotus is proposed as a synapomorphy for these two genera. A key to identify adults of the four species of Tiferonia is provided.
Nuclear PARPs and genome integrity

Effective maintenance and stability of our genomes is essential for normal cell division, tissue homeostasis, and cellular and organismal fitness. The processes of chromosome replication and segregation require continual surveillance to insure fidelity. Accurate and efficient repair of DNA damage preserves genome integrity, which if lost can lead to multiple diseases, including cancer. Poly(ADP-ribose) a dynamic and reversible posttranslational modification and the enzymes that catalyze it (PARP1, PARP2, tankyrase 1, and tankyrase 2) function to maintain genome stability through diverse mechanisms. Here we review the role of these enzymes and the modification in genome repair, replication, and resolution in human cells.
4 – Economic Preliminaries

Publisher Summary The chapter formulates mathematical definitions of time, commodity, and money to draw some conclusions. Of the five mainstream economic models, three are based on utility maximization, while two are on profit maximization. The first definition suggests that time is the one-dimensional point space; the second definition states that commodity or goods are the one-dimensional nonnegative point space; and the third definition is based on the concept that money is a one-dimensional nonnegative point space. The chapter also highlights five mainstream models of individual behavior: Pareto's utility theory, Hicks's utility theory, the theory of labor supply, the neoclassical theory of the producer, and the activity-analytical theory of the producer. Pareto's model almost completely dominates the other two utility-based theories, and the activity-analytical model.
Ramping up Elective Surgery after COVID-19 Disruption: Service Capacity Analysis

The national shutdown in response to the COVID-19 has severely compromised the financial health of the healthcare industry, in great part because shutdown of elective surgical procedures. Finally, after two months elective surgeries are beginning again but returning the system to its pre-COVID state will be difficult. There is a backlog of patients waiting for elective surgery. There are a number of complicating factors. Surgical staff has been furloughed and will take time to reactivate. Additional short-term staff may be needed. Hospital beds reserved for potential surges in COVID-19 may limit inpatient surgical throughput. Specialist practices that refer patients for elective procedures have been shut down as well, creating a backlog of waiting patients to manage. To create insight on how to the ramp-up elective surgery might unfold, we have created a computer simulation based on a mid-size hospital. Our model provides many lessons. In the best case, the number of patients waiting for surgery triples compared with pre-COVID and returning elective surgical rates to pre-COVID-19 levels will take five months. if hospitals can double their surgical capacity over pre COVID levels in the short term. Hence, reintroducing furloughed elective surgical personnel will be insufficient. If the build-up of patients waiting for referrals by specialists and surgical bed constraints are also considered, the peak number of patients will almost quadruple and take over a year-and-a-half to resolve. The “upside” is that less additional surgical workforce is required because bed constraints put a cap on the maximum rate of surgeries that can be performed per week, no matter what the size of the workforce. The downside is that reduced surgery rates created by these constraints create yet more pent-up demand for elective surgeries. This results in excessive patient waiting time, causing many patients waiting for surgery to ultimately decide to cancel their procedures. Importantly, the model structure is generic. Hence all its parameters and values can be changed for “what-if” testing or to tailor the model for other hospitals. We conclude by discussing sensitivity analyses and a number of lessons from the analysis that will help the medical system cope with these issues during ramp-up.
Toxic Behaviors in Team-Based Competitive Gaming: The Case of League of Legends

Toxic behaviors in online gaming such as flaming and harassment have been gaining attention from the research community, yet little consensus has formed about what constitutes toxic behavior. Game developers usually maintain a classification system of toxic behaviors, which oftentimes fails to reflect the dynamic and developing forms of toxicity. In this paper, we consider toxic behavior as situated action, and seek to establish a taxonomy of toxic behaviors from a player perspective in League of Legends, currently one of the largest Esports games in the world. Our findings include five primary types of toxic behaviors, as well as five contextual factors that could lead to toxic behavior. In doing so, we provide a holistic, detailed account of toxic behavior in a team-based competitive gaming context, highlight the role of player perspective in explaining toxic behavior, and extend existing scholarly discussions on toxicity and moderation.
The Impact of Online Service Recovery on Customer Satisfaction: Empirical Evidences from Service Operations

Online service recovery tools such as managerial responses are increasingly used by service providers to address customer concerns in online WOM platforms. In this paper, we analyze the effectiveness of such online service recovery effort on customer satisfaction using data retrieved from a major online travel agency in China. We find that online service recovery is highly effective among the least satisfied customers but has limited influence on other customers. Moreover, we show that the public nature of online service recovery introduces a new dynamic among customers. While online service recovery increases future satisfaction of the complaining customers who receive the recovery effort, it significantly decreases future satisfaction of those complaining customers who observe but do not receive the recovery effort. We show the result is consistent with the peer-induced fairness theory. In addition, this study reveals that a customer’s satisfaction with a service provider demonstrates mean reversion over multiple interactions. It is important to control for such dependence in assessing the true impact of online service recovery.
Multimodal Training Improves Spatial Reasoning Skills in Female College Students

Spatial reasoning is a valuable cognitive tool which enables navigation of the body in relation to other objects in space, permits deconstruction of dimensional forms, allows reconstruction of two-dimensional representations into three-dimensional objects, and facilitates diagramming of processes or concepts. A considerable body of work has suggested that these skills are particularly important for success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields (reviewed in Wai, Lubinski, & Benbow, Journal of Educational Psychology 101: 817-835, 2009); however, much of this data has been derived from studies with relatively narrow populations in terms of participant sex, race, academic ability, or socioeconomic condition and very few of these studies have attempted spatial reasoning training from a diversity of academic disciplines. The current study was designed to assess the influence of a week-long, academically interdisciplinary spatial reasoning Bootcamp on a small, diverse group of female participants’ spatial reasoning abilities and to determine if Participants’ subsequent performance in organic chemistry and physics coursework differed from that of a Match (non-Bootcamp participant) Control group. The data indicate that Bootcamp participants significantly improved their scores in some commonly accepted measures of spatial reasoning abilities and that Bootcamp participants’ final grades in organic chemistry, but not physics, were significantly higher than the Match Control group. The data suggest that intentional programming to improve student spatial reasoning abilities can influence short-term spatial skill performance that may translate into improved success in certain types of subsequent coursework.
Performance of deep learning models for classifying and detecting common weeds in corn and soybean production systems

Abstract Knowing precise location and having accurate information about weed species is a prerequisite for developing an effective site-specific weed management (SSWM) system. Due to the effectiveness of deep learning techniques for vision-based tasks such as image classification and object detection, its use for discriminating between weeds and crops is gaining acceptance among the agricultural research community. However, limited studies have used deep learning for identifying multiple weeds in a single image and most of the studies have not compared the effectiveness of deep learning based image classification and object detection by using a common, annotated imagery dataset of early season weeds under field conditions. This study addresses the research gap by evaluating comparative performance of three different pre-trained image classification models for classifying weed species and also assesses the performance of an object detection model for locating and identifying weed species. The image classification models were trained on two commonly used deep learning frameworks i.e., Keras and PyTorch, to assess any performance differential due to the choice of framework. An annotated dataset comprising of RGB images of four, early season weeds, found in corn and soybean production system in the Midwest US, namely, cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium), foxtail (Setaria viridis), redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus), and giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida) was used in this study. VGG16, ResNet50, and InceptionV3 pre-trained models were used for image classification. The object detection model, based on the You Only Look Once (YOLOv3) library, was trained to locate and identify different weed species within an image. The performance of image classification models was assessed using testing accuracy and F1-score metrics. Average precision (AP) and mean average precision (mAP) were used to assess the performance of the object detection model. The best performing image classification model was VGG16 with an accuracy of 98.90% and an F1-score of 99%. Faster training times and higher accuracies were observed with PyTorch. The detection model helped locate and identify multiple weeds within an image with AP scores of 43.28%, 26.30%, 89.89%, and 57.80% for cocklebur, foxtail, redroot pigweed, and giant ragweed respectively and an overall mAP score of 54.3%. The results suggest that under field conditions, use of pre-trained models for image classification and YOLOv3 for object detection are promising for identifying single and multiple weeds, respectively, given that sufficient data is available. Additionally, unlike image classification, the localization capabilities of object detection are desirable for developing a system for SSWM.
Perioperative Antibiotic Use in Endoscopic Endonasal Skull Base Surgery

Background Improved evidence-based guidelines on the optimal type and duration of antibiotics for patients undergoing endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery (EETS) are needed. We analyze the infectious complications among a large cohort of EETS patients undergoing a standardized regimen of cefazolin for 24 hours, followed by cephalexin for 7 days after surgery (clindamycin if penicillin/cephalosporin allergic). Methods A retrospective review of 132 EETS patients from 2018 to 2020 was conducted. Patient, tumor, and surgical characteristics were collected, along with infection rates. Multivariate logistic regression determined the variable(s) independently associated with infectious outcomes. Results Nearly all patients (99%) received postoperative antibiotics with 78% receiving cefazolin, 17% receiving cephalexin, 3% receiving clindamycin, and 2% receiving other antibiotics. Fifty-three patients (40%) had an intraoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak, and three patients (2%) developed a postoperative CSF leak requiring surgical repair. Within 30 days, no patients developed meningitis. Five patients (4%) developed sinusitis, two patients (3%) developed pneumonia, and one patient (1%) developed cellulitis at a peripheral intravenous line. Two patients (2%) developed an allergy to cephalexin, requiring conservative management. After adjustment for comorbidities and operative factors, presence of postoperative infectious complications was independently associated with increased LOS (β = 3.7 days; p = 0.001). Conclusion Compared with reported findings in the literature, we report low rates of infectious complications and antibiotic intolerance, despite presence of a heavy burden of comorbidities and high intraoperative CSF leak rates among our cohort. These findings support our standardized 7-day perioperative antibiotic regimen.
RNO3 QTL Regulates Vascular Structure and Arterial Stiffness in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat.

Increased arterial stiffness is an independent risk factor for hypertension, stroke, and cardiovascular morbidity. Thus, understanding the factors contributing to vascular stiffness is of critical importance. Here, we utilized a rat model containing a known quantitative trait loci (QTL) on chromosome 3 (RNO3) for vasoreactivity to assess potential genetic elements contributing to blood pressure, arterial stiffness and their downstream effects on cardiac structure and function. While no differences were found in blood pressure at any time point between parental Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) and congenic SHR.BN3 rats, the SHR showed a significant increase in arterial stiffness measured by pulse wave velocity. The degree of arterial stiffness increased with age in the SHR and was associated with compensatory cardiac changes at 16 weeks of age, and decompensatory changes at 32 weeks, with no change in cardiac structure or function in the SHR.BN3 hearts at these time points. To evaluate the arterial wall structure, we utilized multiphoton microscopy to quantify cells and collagen content within the adventitia and media of SHR and SHR.BN3 arteries. No difference in cell numbers or proliferation rates were found, although phenotypic diversity was characterized in vascular smooth muscle cells. Herein, significant anatomical and physiological differences related to arterial structure and cardiovascular tone including, collagen, PWV, LV geometry and function, and VSMC contractile apparatus proteins were associated with the RNO3 QTL, thus providing a novel platform for studying arterial stiffness. Future studies delimiting the RNO3 QTL could aid in identifying genetic elements responsible for arterial structure and function.
Performance of low smeared density sodium-cooled fast reactor metal fuel

Abstract An experiment was performed in the Experimental Breeder Rector-II (EBR-II) in the 1990s to show that metallic fast reactor fuel could be used in reactors with a single, once-through core. To prove the long duration, high burnup, high neutron exposure capability an experiment where the fuel pin was designed with a very large fission gas plenum and very low fuel smeared density (SD). The experiment, X496, operated to only 8.3 at.% burnup because the EBR-II reactor was scheduled for shut-down at that time. Many of the examinations of the fuel pins only funded recently with the resurgence of reactor designs using very high-burnup fuel. The results showed that, despite the low smeared density of 59% the fuel swelled radially to contact the cladding, fission gas release appeared to be slightly higher than demonstrated in conventional 75%SD fuel tests and axial growth was about the same as 75% SD fuel. There were axial positions in some of the fuel pins which showed evidence of fuel restructuring and an absence of fission products with low melting points and gaseous precursors (Cs and Rb). A model to investigate whether these areas may have overheated due to a loss of bond sodium indicates that it is a possible explanation for the fuel restructuring and something to be considered for fuel performance modeling of low SD fuel.
Networking health: multi-level marketing of health products in Ghana

Multi-level marketing (MLM0), a business model in which product distributors are compensated for enrolling further distributors as well as for selling products, has experienced dramatic growth in recent decades, especially in the so-called global South. This paper argues that the global success of MLM is due to its involvement in local health markets. While MLM has been subject to a number of critiques, few have analyzed the explicit health claims of MLM distributors. The majority of the products distributed through MLM are health products, which are presented as offering transformative health benefits. Based on interviews with MLM distributors in Ghana, but focusing on the experiences of one woman, this paper shows that MLM companies become intimately entwined with Ghanaian quests for health by providing their distributors with the materials to become informal health experts, allowing their distributors to present their products as medicines, and presenting MLM as an avenue to middle class cosmopolitanism. Ghanaian distributors promote MLM products as medically powerful, and the distribution of these products as an avenue to status and profit. As a result, individuals seeking health become a part of ethically questionable forms of medical provision based on the exploitation of personal relationships. The success of MLM therefore suggests that the health industry is at the forefront of transnational corporations' extraction of value from informal economies, drawing on features of health markets to monetize personal relationships.
An interactive land use transition agent-based model (ILUTABM): Endogenizing human-environment interactions in the Western Missisquoi Watershed

Abstract Forest Transition Theory (FTT) suggests that reforestation may follow deforestation as a result of and interplay between changing social, economic and ecological conditions. We develop a simplistic but empirically data driven land use transition agent-based modeling platform, interactive land use transition agent-based model (ILUTABM), that is able to reproduce the observed land use patterns and link the forest transition to parcel-level heuristic-based land use decisions and ecosystem service (ES). The ILUTABM endogenously links landowners’ land use decisions with ecosystem services (ES) provided by the lands by treating both lands and landowners as interacting agents. The ILUTABM simulates both the land use changes resulting from farmers’ decision behaviors as well as the recursive effects of changing land uses on farmers’ decision behaviors. The ILUTABM is calibrated and validated at 30 m × 30 m spatial resolution using National Land Cover Data (NLCD) 1992, 2001 and 2006 across the western Missisquoi watershed, which is located in the north-eastern US with an estimated area of 283 square kilometers and 312 farmers farming on 16% of the total Missisquoi watershed area. This study hypothesizes that farmers’ land use decisions are made primarily based on their summed expected utilities and that impacts of exogenous socio-economic factors, such as natural disasters, public policies and institutional/social reforms, on farmers’ expected utilities can significantly influence the land use transitions between agricultural and forested lands. Monte Carlo experiments under six various socio-economic conditions combined with different ES valuation schemes are used to assess the sensitivities of the ILUTABM. Goodness-of-fit measures confirm that the ILUTABM is able to reproduce 62% of the observed land use transitions. However, the spatial patterns of the observed land used transitions are more clustered than the simulated counterparts. We find that, when farmers value food provisioning Ecosystem Services (ES) more than other ES (e.g., soil and water regulation), deforestation is observed. However, when farmers value less food provisioning than other ES or they value food provisioning and other ES equally, the forest transition is observed. The ILUTABM advances the Forest Transition Theory (FTT) framework by endogenizing the interactions of socio-ecological feedbacks and socio-economic factors in a generalizable model that can be calibrated with empirical data.
Scanning sequences after Gibbs sampling to find multiple occurrences of functional elements

Many DNA regulatory elements occur as multiple instances within a target promoter. Gibbs sampling programs for finding DNA regulatory elements de novo can be prohibitively slow in locating all instances of such an element in a sequence set. We describe an improvement to the A-GLAM computer program, which predicts regulatory elements within DNA sequences with Gibbs sampling. The improvement adds an optional "scanning step" after Gibbs sampling. Gibbs sampling produces a position specific scoring matrix (PSSM). The new scanning step resembles an iterative PSI-BLAST search based on the PSSM. First, it assigns an "individual score" to each subsequence of appropriate length within the input sequences using the initial PSSM. Second, it computes an E-value from each individual score, to assess the agreement between the corresponding subsequence and the PSSM. Third, it permits subsequences with E-values falling below a threshold to contribute to the underlying PSSM, which is then updated using the Bayesian calculus. A-GLAM iterates its scanning step to convergence, at which point no new subsequences contribute to the PSSM. After convergence, A-GLAM reports predicted regulatory elements within each sequence in order of increasing E-values, so users have a statistical evaluation of the predicted elements in a convenient presentation. Thus, although the Gibbs sampling step in A-GLAM finds at most one regulatory element per input sequence, the scanning step can now rapidly locate further instances of the element in each sequence. Datasets from experiments determining the binding sites of transcription factors were used to evaluate the improvement to A-GLAM. Typically, the datasets included several sequences containing multiple instances of a regulatory motif. The improvements to A-GLAM permitted it to predict the multiple instances.
Laminar forced convection of power-law non-Newtonian fluids inside ducts

Thermal entrance region heat transfer for laminar forced convection of power-law fluids inside a circular tube and parallel plate channel for uniform wall temperature is solved exactly, and as many eigenvalues and eigenfunctions as needed for the solution are determined automatically and with high accuracy by using the recently advanced Sign-Count method. Results are presented for the local and average Nusselt number over a wide range of the Graetz number in both graphical and tabular forms. The present benchmark results are utilized to critically examine the accuracy of the approximate Leveque solution.
Generic face recognition, feature extraction and edge detection using optimal DSNR expansion matching

Expansion matching optimizes a matching criterion called discriminative signal to noise ratio (DSNR) and has been shown to robustly recognize templates under conditions of noise, severe occlusion and superposition. The optimal DSNR matching filter for multiple templates is used to create a generic face filter, by requiring the designed filter to elicit equal responses to all the training faces. A new family of optimal DSNR edge detectors is introduced, based on the expansion filter of several edge models. The step edge detector is compared with the Canny edge detector (CED). Experimental comparisons show that the authors' edge detector is superior to the CED in terms of DSNR, even under very noisy signal conditions. Expansion matching is also successful in extracting features such as corners from images. Experimental results of corner extraction are presented. >