cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Foreign Aid and HIV/AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean: Should We Adjust the Degree of Response?

This paper estimates the effects of foreign aid on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevalence in a sample of 27 Latin American and Caribbean countries during 1995–2013 and advocates for stronger sentinel surveillance to monitor the stability of the epidemic in the region. Surges in global HIV funding have improved access to health care and antiretroviral therapy, leading to gains in life expectancy. HIV is a prime cause of death and disability in resource-poor settings. It declines with more global funding for health, yet its pathway is random. The net impact of foreign aid on health is unknown due to poor surveillance. HIV’s unsystematic nature requires better metrics arising from global aid data to calibrate the degree of response in the region. A dynamic panel-data model with robust standard errors was used to determine if changes in HIV were associated with changes in foreign aid for health in the sample but the positive association was not statistically significant. Better data from local epidemics is needed to reveal population- and group-specific trends.
Do as I Say (because I’m Similar to You): Gender Similarity, Message Framing, and the Decision to Save for Retirement: An Abstract

Social information about the behaviors of one’s peers typically has a positive impact on one’s propensity to save for retirement, yet a recent study by Beshears et al. (2015) suggests that peers’ savings behavior reduces savings rates. The framing of the savings message may also impact savings rates, but results are mixed in terms of whether descriptive (“what others do”) or injunctive (“what one should do”) messages are more effective (Bailey et al. 2004; Croy et al. 2010). The present study aims to reconcile these disparate findings while integrating the literature on peer effects and message framing in the context of retirement savings. We propose that when the message provider is similar to the recipient, interest in enrollment in a retirement savings plan will be greater when the message is descriptive. When the message provider is dissimilar to the recipient, injunctive messages are more effective. We conducted a series of three sequential experiments to test our hypotheses.
Semi-autonomous exploration of multi-floor buildings with a legged robot

This paper presents preliminary results of a semi-autonomous building exploration behavior using the hexapedal robot RHex. Stairwells are used in virtually all multi-floor buildings, and so in order for a mobile robot to effectively explore, map, clear, monitor, or patrol such buildings it must be able to ascend and descend stairwells. However most conventional mobile robots based on a wheeled platform are unable to traverse stairwells, motivating use of the more mobile legged machine. This semi-autonomous behavior uses a human driver to provide steering input to the robot, as would be the case in, e.g., a tele-operated building exploration mission. The gait selection and transitions between the walking and stair climbing gaits are entirely autonomous. This implementation uses an RGBD camera for stair acquisition, which offers several advantages over a previously documented detector based on a laser range finder, including significantly reduced acquisition time. The sensor package used here also allows for considerable expansion of this behavior. For example, complete automation of the building exploration task driven by a mapping algorithm and higher level planner is presently under development.
Standards of an Examination (cut points), Construction of Scenarios, Measurement of lmpacts in the Decision Making Process

The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME®) applies rigorous examinations to determine the impact on candidates taking the United States Medical License Examination (USMLE®) for the purpose of licensing physicians in the US. UU UU These standards apply to all levels of exam development, administration and qualification. The standards apply to the following processes:• Validity of the inferences of the articles: content: the content tested must be appropriate, asking the correct questions, the format of the element, or the design of the test and the design, or the process by which the test is performed, the documentation• Accuracy of the scores: reliability, focalization, information on the cutting edge, standard errors• Determination and application of cut points: methods, modified Angoff procedure, misclassification error.The main focus is on the last standard, although the first two levels are also briefly discussed. Different methods to establish an approval standard will be discussed and the method used for USMLE will be described. Errors of misclassification are also presented and how to minimize them.
Syndesmosis and Syndesmotic Equivalent Injuries in Tibial Plafond Fractures.

OBJECTIVES To identify the incidence and fracture characteristics associated with syndesmotic injury in tibial plafond fractures and report the incidence of posttraumatic osteoarthrosis (PTOA). DESIGN Retrospective comparative study. SETTING Two level-1 academic trauma centers. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS Of the 735 tibial plafond fractures (OTA/AO 43-B3 and 43-C) treated from January 2006 through December 2015, 108 patients (108/735, 15%) were identified with syndesmosis injury. INTERVENTION Either acute or missed syndesmotic injury. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT PTOA. RESULTS Fourteen fractures (14/735, 2%) had missed syndesmotic injury. Volkmann fragment of ≤10 mm (P = 0.04) and fibular avulsion fracture (P = 0.05) were significantly more common in missed syndesmosis. Ninety fractures (14/14 missed, 76/94 acute) had greater than 12-month follow-up (mean, 26 months; range, 12-102 months). Nearly all patients with missed syndesmosis injury developed arthrosis (13/14, 93%), and 45% (34/76 fractures) of plafond fractures with acute syndesmosis injury developed arthrosis (P < 0.001). Although controlling for malreduction, patients with missed syndesmosis had significantly more PTOA development (P = 0.018). Controlling for malreduction, patients with syndesmotic fixation and a ≤10-mm Chaput or Volkmann fragment or fibular avulsion fracture (8/31, 26%) were less likely to develop PTOA than if they had a similar fracture pattern without syndesmotic fixation (9/10, 90%) (P = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS Fifteen percent of tibia plafond fractures have a syndesmosis or syndesmotic equivalent injury. Missed syndesmosis injury has a high rate of PTOA development. Patients with a ≤10-mm Chaput or Volkmann fragment and/or fibular avulsion fracture benefit from syndesmotic fixation. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Increased research literacy to facilitate community ownership of health research in low and middle income countries

The expansion of health research to low and middle income countries has increased the likelihood of exploitation and undue influence in economically vulnerable populations. In behavioral research, ...
Effect of Surgical Versus Medical Therapy on Diabetic Kidney Disease Over 5 Years in Severely Obese Adolescents With Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE To compare diabetic kidney disease (DKD) rates over 5 years of follow-up in two cohorts of severely obese adolescents with type 2 diabetes (T2D) undergoing medical or surgical treatment for T2D. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A secondary analysis was performed of data collected from obese participants of similar age and racial distribution enrolled in the Teen-Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (Teen-LABS) and the Treatment Options of Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) studies. Teen-LABS participants underwent metabolic bariatric surgery (MBS). TODAY participants were randomized to metformin alone or in combination with rosiglitazone or intensive lifestyle intervention, with insulin therapy given for glycemic progression. Glycemic control, BMI, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), urinary albumin excretion (UAE), and prevalence of hyperfiltration (eGFR ≥135 mL/min/1.73 m2) and elevated UAE (≥30 mg/g) were assessed annually. RESULTS Participants with T2D from Teen-LABS (n = 30, mean ± SD age, 16.9 ± 1.3 years; 70% female; 60% white; BMI 54.4 ± 9.5 kg/m2) and TODAY (n = 63, age 15.3 ± 1.3 years; 56% female; 71% white; BMI 40.5 ± 4.9 kg/m2) were compared. During 5 years of follow-up, hyperfiltration decreased from 21 to 18% in Teen-LABS and increased from 7 to 48% in TODAY. Elevated UAE decreased from 27 to 5% in Teen-LABS and increased from 21 to 43% in TODAY. Adjusting for baseline age, sex, BMI, and HbA1c, TODAY participants had a greater odds of hyperfiltration (odds ratio 15.7 [95% CI 2.6–94.3]) and elevated UAE (27.3 [4.9–149.9]) at 5 years of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS Compared with MBS, medical treatment of obese youth with T2D was associated with a higher odds of DKD over 5 years.
Planar nBn type-II superlattice mid-wavelength infrared photodetectors using zinc ion-implantation

In this Letter, we report the demonstration of zinc ion-implantation to realize planar mid-wavelength infrared photodetectors based on type-II InAs/InAs1−xSbx superlattices. At 77 K, the photodetectors exhibit a peak responsivity of 0.68 A/W at 3.35 μm, corresponding to a quantum efficiency of 23.5% under Vb = −80 mV, without anti-reflection coating; these photodetectors have a 100% cutoff wavelength of 4.28 μm. With an R0 × A value of 1.53 × 104 Ω cm2 and a dark current density of 1.23 × 10−6 A/cm2 under an applied bias of −80 mV at 77 K, the photodetectors exhibit a specific detectivity of 9.12 × 1011 cm·Hz1/2/W.
Unwilling Nation Belorussia in the Soviet Union, 1921–1931 Nation wider Willen Weißrussland in der Sowjetunion, 1921–1931

In Western historiography, the Soviet natsionalizatsiia and korenizatsiia programmes of the 1920s have usually been interpreted in one of two ways: either as a deliberate deception and exploitation of non-Russian national sentiments aimed at their ultimate overcoming or as an experiment which eventually failed due to its own success. In the case of Soviet Belorussia, neither of these two explanations applies. On the contrary, this article argues that Belarusisation was abandoned for its lack of success. Designed to win over the local population and thus ensure Soviet rule in the Western borderland, Belarusisation ultimately failed to mobilise people through preconceived national categories. In daily use, many Belarusians and Jews preferred the Russian language, which offered assimilation and upward mobility, to the languages they had been assigned by the Communist Party. Modernisation and Belarusisation proved to be mutually exclusive: The large-scale influx of Belarusian peasants to the towns did not lead to the emergence of a distinct Belarusian urban culture but rather to their rapid Russification. Besides, most national minorities were anxious not to become second-class citizens, and therefore, despite party assurances to the contrary, suspicious of Belarusisation. Ultimately, the nation-building campaign run counter to the Sovietisation of the society. When the first Five-Year Plan led to a paradigm shift in Soviet policy in the late 1920s, Belarusisation gradually came to a halt and its intellectual proponents were removed from power.
Scalable Attack-Resistant Obfuscation of Logic Circuits.

Hardware IP protection has been one of the most critical areas of research in the past years. Recently, attacks on hardware IPs (such as reverse engineering or cloning) have evolved as attackers have developed sophisticated techniques. Therefore, hardware obfuscation has been introduced as a powerful tool to protect IPs against piracy attacks. However, many recent attempts to break existing obfuscation methods have been successful in unlocking the IP and restoring its functionality. In this paper, we propose SARO, a Scalable Attack-Resistant Obfuscation that provides a robust functional and structural design transformation process. SARO treats the target circuit as a graph, and performs a partitioning algorithm to produce a set of sub-graphs, then applies our novel Truth Table Transformation (T3) process to each partition. We also propose the $T3_{metric}$, which is developed to quantify the structural and functional design transformation level caused by the obfuscation process. We evaluate SARO on ISCAS85 and EPFL benchmarks, and provide full security and performance analysis of our proposed framework.
Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, statins and risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and statin drugs may protect against the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), but data are limited, particularly for NHL subtypes. Furthermore, some in vitro, animal and epidemiologic data suggest there may be a synergistic effect of these two agents, but there has been no test of this hypothesis in NHL. We evaluated the self-reported use of NSAIDs and statins in a clinic-based study of 1703 NHL patients and 2199 frequency-matched controls. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for potential confounding variables. We observed an inverse association of regular use of low-dose aspirin with risk of NHL (OR = 0.82; 95% CI 0.70-0.96) that was stronger with longer duration of use (P < .01). There were no associations for use of regular or extra-strength aspirin, ibuprofen, other NSAIDs, statins or other cholesterol-lowering drugs with NHL risk, while an inverse association with COX-2 inhibitors was equivocal. There was also no interaction of low-dose aspirin and statins on NHL risk. Inverse associations of similar magnitude to all NHL were observed for regular use of low-dose aspirin with diffuse large B-cell, follicular, marginal zone and all other lymphomas, although not all associations were statistically significant. In conclusion, low-dose aspirin but not regular/extra strength aspirin, other NSAIDs or statin use was associated with lower risk of NHL. Beyond the potential for the primary prevention of NHL, these data also point to a role of anti-platelet or other effects of low-dose aspirin in lymphomagenesis that warrant follow-up.
Stocks for the Long Run? Sometimes Yes. Sometimes No.

When Jeremy Siegel published his Stocks for the Long Run thesis, little information was available on stocks before 1871 or bonds before 1926. But today, digital archives have made it possible to compute real total return on stock and bond indexes back to 1793. This paper presents that new market history and compares it to Siegel’s narrative. The new historical record shows that over multi-decade periods, sometimes stocks outperformed bonds, sometimes bonds outperformed stocks, and sometimes they performed about the same. More generally, the pattern of asset returns in the modern era, as seen in the Ibbotson SBBI and other datasets that begin in 1926, emerges as distinctly different from what came before. Contrary to Siegel, the pattern of asset returns seen in the 20th century does not generalize to the 19th century. A regime perspective is introduced to make sense of the augmented historical record. It argues that both common stocks and long bonds are risk assets, capable of outperforming or underperforming over any human time horizon. [This July revision adds more international data.
The quadratic analogue of serre’s conjecture

This chapter will be a short exposition on some results in the literature (up to about 1977) concerning the quadratic analogue of Serre’s Conjecture. In this investigation, one considers f.g. projective modules P (say over R =k[x1 ..., x d ], k a field), equipped with, respectively, the following three types of structures, S: (1) quadratic forms, (2) symmetric bilinear forms, or (3) symplectic forms. In the spirit of Serre’s Problem on projective modules over the polynomial ring R, the main question to be asked in this chapter is the following: Is the object (P, S) over k[x1, ..., x d ] necessarily extended, in a suitable sense, from an object of a similar kind over k? For convenience of the exposition, we shall restrict our attention to cases (2) and (3), and skip the more difficult case of quadratic forms. All rings considered in this chapter will be assumed to be commutative (with an identity).
Effects of class size upon the learning of a motor skill.

Abstract This study inquires into the effects of class sizes of approximately 15, 37, and 60 students on the learning of a motor task (as measured by the Dyer Backboard Tennis Test) by college students during a nine-week period meeting twice a week. The primary independent variable was the size of the classes. The results show that: (a) students in a small-sized group performed significantly higher (P .05) when compared with individuals in the middle-sized group; and (c) students in the medium-sized group scored higher, but not significantly so (P > .05), than subjects in the large-sized group.
De novo protein design. I. In search of stability and specificity.

We have developed a fully automated protein design strategy that works on the entire sequence of the protein and uses a full atom representation. At each step of the procedure, an all-atom model of the protein is built using the template protein structure and the current designed sequence. The energy of the model is used to drive a Monte Carlo optimization in sequence space: random moves are either accepted or rejected based on the Metropolis criterion. We rely on the physical forces that stabilize native protein structures to choose the optimum sequence. Our energy function includes van der Waals interactions, electrostatics and an environment free energy. Successful protein design should be specific and generate a sequence compatible with the template fold and incompatible with competing folds. We impose specificity by maintaining the amino acid composition constant, based on the random energy model. The specificity of the optimized sequence is tested by fold recognition techniques. Successful sequence designs for the B1 domain of protein G, for the lambda repressor and for sperm whale myoglobin are presented. We show that each additional term of the energy function improves the performance of our design procedure: the van der Waals term ensures correct packing, the electrostatics term increases the specificity for the correct native fold, and the environment solvation term ensures a correct pattern of buried hydrophobic and exposed hydrophilic residues. For the globin family, we show that we can design a protein sequence that is stable in the myoglobin fold, yet incompatible with the very similar hemoglobin fold.
Cross Lineage Rearrangement in Feline Enteropathy-Associated T-cell Lymphoma

Feline enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL) type II is characterized by infiltration of the small intestinal mucosa with small T-cells with variable epitheliotropism and is often difficult to differentiate from inflammation. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to assess antigen receptor rearrangements (PARR) amplifies the T- (T-cell receptor gamma, TCRG) or B-cell (immunoglobulin heavy chain, IGH) antigen receptor genes and is used to differentiate EATL from inflammation. However, PARR does not determine lymphocyte phenotype, and clonal rearrangement of either or both the TCRG or IGH genes may be detected in neoplastic T-cells. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of cross lineage rearrangement in feline EATL type II. Using a diagnostic algorithm combining histology, immunohistochemistry, and PARR testing, 8 of 92 cases diagnosed as EATL type II at Michigan State University between January 2013 and June 2014 showed cross lineage rearrangement (8.7%). PARR for the IGH gene facilitates the diagnosis of cases histologically highly suggestive of EATL type II in which polyclonal rearrangement of the TCRG gene is detected.
Functional Transitions in Macrophages During In Vivo Infection with Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin

Macrophage activation during the immune response to intracellular bacteria is critical for resolution of the infection. We have investigated the pathway of macrophage activation during murine Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) infection. Three distinct phenotypes of macrophages were identified and compared: resident peritoneal macrophages, day 2 postinfection macrophages, and 12-day postinfection macrophages. Compared with resident peritoneal macrophages, day 2 BCG macrophages expressed intermediate levels of the cell surface receptors Mac1 and F4/80 and low levels of MHC class II molecules. These cells were highly phagocytic and produced large amounts of mRNA encoding the chemokine IP-10. In addition, day 2 BCG macrophages did not generate reactive nitrogen intermediates, though they were primed to do so, and did not have increased levels of TNF-α mRNA. Blockade of monocyte influx into the peritoneal cavity using Abs to platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 had no effect on the appearance of day 2 BCG macrophages, suggesting this cell can differentiate from resident peritoneal macrophages. In contrast to day 2 BCG macrophages, day 12 BCG macrophages were poorly phagocytic, but produced high levels of reactive nitrogen intermediates, IP-10 and TNF-α mRNA, and class II MHC molecules. We propose that day 2 BCG macrophages are specialized for phagocytic uptake of pathogens from the extracellular space, whereas day 12 BCG macrophages are specialized for killing of the internalized pathogens. This functional transition during activation is reminiscent of that seen during maturation/activation of the related dendritic cell lineage induced by bacterial or inflammatory stimuli.
The Yugas: Their Importance in India and their Use by Western Intellectuals and Esoteric and New Age Writers

The first part of this article addresses the origin and importance of the yuga theory in India. The second part deals with the discovery of the yuga system by the West, its use by modern Western esoteric writers, and its relevance to New Age ideas, including attempts to determine the date of the beginning of a new cosmic age. The second part will take up more space because it has been less explored.
Complexity-theoretic aspects of programming language design

We survey three of Paris Kanellakis's contributions to the complexity-theoretic analysis of constructs in the design of programming languages. These are (1) his result that first-order unification is complete for polynomial time; (2) his contributions to the complexity analysis of type inference for polymorphicallytyped functional programming languages, which was proven to be complete for exponential time; and (3) his work on expressibility of simply typed lambda calculus when used as a functional database programming language. These research investigations are interrelated, emphasizing common themes and difficulties in the design of programming languages, with concrete implications that can be appreciated by language designers. First-order unification is a ubiquitous building block in implementations of sophisticated programming languages. It is, for example, the workhorse of logic programming engines, and the essential component of compile-time type analysis. The research on unification provided a secure foundation for understanding the complexity of automatic polymorphic type inference in functional languages such as ML and Haskell. Modern functional languages are based on the typed lambda calculus, so it is then natural to consider its computational expressiveness. We describe how the degree of higher-order functionality in simply typed terms can be related directly to well known complexity classes.
Reforming the Charitable Contribution Substantiation Rules

In May 2012, the Tax Court issued two decisions denying income tax deductions for gifts to charitable organizations because they failed to meet the requirements for a qualified appraisal. These cases lit a firestorm of outrage in various circles, raising questions of how strictly substation rules should be applied. This article begins by reviewing two reasons why the charitable contribution substantiation rules applicable to the income tax merit consideration. First, the charitable contribution deduction is important for both its size and its distribution, and the substantiation rules work to safeguard its integrity. Second, in the case of the charitable contribution, unlike many other income tax provisions, the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service cannot look to third parties with self-interested incentives that help ensure compliance. The substantiation rules substitute for third party corroboration. Part II of the paper sets out, as briefly as possible, the complicated regime regarding the substantiation of charitable contributions, including the legislative history and applicable regulations. Part III examines applicable case law. Review of legislation, regulations, and case law suggests strongly that we make an effort to reform the current scheme, and Part IV presents a number of possible reforms. These suggestions include inflation adjustments, regulatory changes, and making greater use of technology, with the government working with providers of computer software and those involved in texting of charitable donation. Finding approaches that appropriately balance the need to control overvaluation with the need to encourage legitimate charitable contributions is a difficult but important challenge.
Unmixing using a combined microscopic and macroscopic mixture model with distinct endmembers

Much work in the study of hyperspectral imagery has focused on macroscopic mixtures and unmixing via the linear mixing model. A substantially different approach seeks to model hyperspectral data non-linearly in order to accurately describe intimate or microscopic relationships of materials within the image. In this paper we present and discuss a new model (MacMicDEM) that seeks to unify both approaches by representing a pixel as both linearly and non-linearly mixed, with the condition that the endmembers for both mixture types need not be related. Using this model, we develop a method to accurately and quickly unmix data which is both macroscopically and microscopically mixed. Subsequently, this method is then validated on synthetic and real datasets.
Purification and characterization of methylmalonate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase from rat liver. Identity to malonate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase.

Methylmalonate semialdehyde dehydrogenase was purified from rat liver in order to define the distal portion of valine catabolism and related pathways in mammals. The purified enzyme is active with malonate semialdehyde and consumes both stereoisomers of methylmalonate semialdehyde, implicating a single semialdehyde dehydrogenase in the catabolism of valine, thymine, and compounds catabolized by way of β-alanine. The oxidation of malonate and methylmalonate semialdehydes by this enzyme is CoA-dependent, the products being acetyl-CoA and propionyl-CoA, respectively. Expected activity with ethylmalonate semialdehyde as substrate was not found. Methylmalonate semialdehyde dehydrogenase was separated on DEAE-Sephacel into two isoforms which differ in mobility during nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The two forms are immunologically cross-reactive and exhibit the same N-terminal sequence, suggesting that one form is the product of the other. The monomer molecular mass, determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, was 58 kDa. The native molecular mass, estimated by gel filtration, was 250 kDa, suggesting a tetrameric structure.
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with inflammatory bowel disease exhibit normal function in the allogeneic and autologous mixed leukocyte reaction and cell-mediated lympholysis.

We have examined the T-cell functional capabilities of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 32 active or inactive patients with ulcerative colitis and Grohn's disease by examining blastogenic responsiveness in the allogeneic and autologous mixed leukocyte reaction and cytotoxic capabilities in cellmediated lympholysis. Severely ill, malnourished, or preoperative patients, or patients being treated with >10 mg of prednisone per day were excluded from study. Studies using the allogeneic mixed leukocyte reaction revealed no decreased responsiveness by inflammatory bowel disease peripheral blood cells. In cell-mediated lympholysis, healthy control peripheral blood mononuclear cells exhibited 17% cytotoxicity, and there was no significant difference in killing exhibited by patients with inflammatory bowel disease. In study of the autologous mixed leukocyte reaction, cells were separated using techniques that included exposure to xenoantigens (fetal calf serum and sheep red blood cells), and peripheral blood cells from inflammatory bowel disease patients did not exhibit major defects in responsiveness. Therefore, in these experiments, we have detected no significant depression in three major T-cell functions by peripheral blood cells in moderately ill patients with ulcerative colitis or Grohn's disease. We conclude that defects in these capabilities may not be primarily causative in the Abbreviations used in this paper immunopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease or the increased incidence of cancer seen in ulcerative colitis. Instead, when defects in these Tcell functions are observed, they may be influenced by the techniques used or may represent secondary in vitro immunologic events related to disease severity, inflammation, medications, or other causes that are not specific for inflammatory bowel disease.
Computational protein biomarker prediction: a case study for prostate cancer

Recent technological advances in mass spectrometry pose challenges in computational mathematics and statistics to process the mass spectral data into predictive models with clinical and biological significance. We discuss several classification-based approaches to finding protein biomarker candidates using protein profiles obtained via mass spectrometry, and we assess their statistical significance. Our overall goal is to implicate peaks that have a high likelihood of being biologically linked to a given disease state, and thus to narrow the search for biomarker candidates. Thorough cross-validation studies and randomization tests are performed on a prostate cancer dataset with over 300 patients, obtained at the Eastern Virginia Medical School using SELDI-TOF mass spectrometry. We obtain average classification accuracies of 87% on a four-group classification problem using a two-stage linear SVM-based procedure and just 13 peaks, with other methods performing comparably. Modern feature selection and classification methods are powerful techniques for both the identification of biomarker candidates and the related problem of building predictive models from protein mass spectrometric profiles. Cross-validation and randomization are essential tools that must be performed carefully in order not to bias the results unfairly. However, only a biological validation and identification of the underlying proteins will ultimately confirm the actual value and power of any computational predictions.
Nursing Intervention Scoring System: A Concept for Management, Research, and Communication

Surgical intensive care units are particularly complex systems whose functional objective is the provision of high level care for seriously ill patients. Beneficial system effects and functional improvement can be achieved through effective resource distribution, especially nursing allocation. For the past few years we have been particularly interested in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) as a system (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and have pursued a variety of techniques to evaluate and improve its function.
A Bayesian goodness of fit test and semiparametric generalization of logistic regression with measurement data.

Summary Logistic regression is a popular tool for risk analysis in medical and population health science. With continuous response data, it is common to create a dichotomous outcome for logistic regression analysis by specifying a threshold for positivity. Fitting a linear regression to the nondichotomized response variable assuming a logistic sampling model for the data has been empirically shown to yield more efficient estimates of odds ratios than ordinary logistic regression of the dichotomized endpoint. We illustrate that risk inference is not robust to departures from the parametric logistic distribution. Moreover, the model assumption of proportional odds is generally not satisfied when the condition of a logistic distribution for the data is violated, leading to biased inference from a parametric logistic analysis. We develop novel Bayesian semiparametric methodology for testing goodness of fit of parametric logistic regression with continuous measurement data. The testing procedures hold for any cutoff threshold and our approach simultaneously provides the ability to perform semiparametric risk estimation. Bayes factors are calculated using the Savage–Dickey ratio for testing the null hypothesis of logistic regression versus a semiparametric generalization. We propose a fully Bayesian and a computationally efficient empirical Bayesian approach to testing, and we present methods for semiparametric estimation of risks, relative risks, and odds ratios when parametric logistic regression fails. Theoretical results establish the consistency of the empirical Bayes test. Results from simulated data show that the proposed approach provides accurate inference irrespective of whether parametric assumptions hold or not. Evaluation of risk factors for obesity shows that different inferences are derived from an analysis of a real data set when deviations from a logistic distribution are permissible in a flexible semiparametric framework.
“Everybody is their own island”: Teacher disconnection in a virtual school

Virtual schooling is a recent phenomenon in K-12 online learning. As such, the roles of the online teachers are emerging and differ from those of the traditional classroom teacher. Using qualitative interviews of eight virtual high school teachers, this study explored teachers’ perceptions of their online teaching role. Teachers expressed a sense of disconnection from their students, the profession, and their peers as a result of limited interactions due to significant institutional barriers. Researchers discuss the implications of this disconnection as well as future avenues for research.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy and unsuspected gallbladder carcinoma.

Gallbladder cancer is a relatively uncommon malignancy in the United States. Its presentation is similar to that of lithic disease of the gallbladder. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has become the method of choice for removing the gallbladder in most benign conditions. Occasionally, unsuspected gallbladder carcinoma is encountered in association with laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Overall, gallbladder cancer portends a poor prognosis. However, in select cases, a favorable outcome can be expected and the less favorable predicted expected outcome can be improved. Management of patients with gallbladder cancer in different situations is discussed: gallbladder cancer noted postoperatively on final pathology, gallbladder cancer noted after removal of the gallbladder and opening of the specimen at the time of surgery, difficulty encountered at the time of dissection and resultant suspicion of gallbladder cancer, and diagnosis of extensive disease at initial placement of the laparoscope. The technique of extended cholecystectomy is outlined. Semin. Surg. Oncol. 16:327–331, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Ice-rafted evidence of long-term North Atlantic circulation

Abstract The absolute and relative rates of deposition of ice-rafted volcanic and terrigenous clastic material were determined for the interval from the base of oxygen isotope stage 5 (∼ 127,000 yrs B.P.) to the lower part of stage 3 (∼ 50,000 yrs B.P.) in five subpolar North Atlantic deep-sea cores. During this time interval, global climate changed from a full interglaciation to nearly a full glaciation. For the sediment derived from the continents (dominantly quartz and feldspar), the eastward decrease in deposition rates during interglacial intervals and eastward increase during glacial intervals is best explained by a southeastward jump in the locus of iceberg melting during climates colder than that of today. A similar model may explain the eastward increase in volcanogenic debris during glacial time intervals; however, the eastward increase of volcanogenic debris during interglacial stage 5 requires a stronger southeastward component of flow from Greenland than is evident in the modern circulation.
Investigating a Liquid-Based Method for Online Organic Carbon Detection in Atmospheric Particles

A Particle-Into-Liquid Sampler (PILS) was modified and coupled with a Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Analyzer (Sievers 800T, GE Water Systems, Boulder, CO), in an attempt to measure particulate organic carbon (OC) online. The PILS droplet collection system was changed from an inertial impactor to a miniature cyclone to increase the efficiency of transferring insoluble carbonaceous aerosol to the liquid sample stream. The performance of the modified PILS was investigated with a variety of calibration aerosols through comparison with the Sunset Labs ECOC technique (NIOSH method 5040). Linear regression slopes of water-soluble organic compounds compared well with Sunset Labs measurement, agreeing to within 5%. However, a size dependence was observed when comparing insoluble carbonaceous aerosol (polystyrene latex spheres, PSL). The new method did not effectively measure insoluble particles with aerodynamic diameters greater than ∼ 110 nm due to inefficient analysis by the TOC. The OC measurement method was also ...
Coronary and carotid operations under prospective standardized conditions: incidence and outcome.

Abstract Background . No randomized trial has yet evaluated the hypothetical benefit of carotid endarterectomy with coronary artery bypass grafting. This prospective review was undertaken to determine the differences between observed and predicted complication rates, as well as to define new predictors and assess costs in a standardized population. Methods . A prospective nonrandomized study was undertaken over a 4-year period involving all coronary artery bypass graftings done at one institution. Operative procedure was standardized. All patients underwent preoperative screening for carotid disease. If 80% or more stenosis was present, combined coronary artery bypass grafting and carotid endarterectomy was performed. Results . Of 2,071 patients, 1,987 had coronary artery bypass grafting only. In that group there were 34 strokes (1.7%) and 41 deaths (2.0%). Eighty-four patients underwent combined coronary artery bypass grafting/carotid endarterectomy and in that group there were four strokes (4.7%) and five deaths (5.9%). Independent risk factors for postoperative stroke were age (odds ratio 1.09; 95% confidence interval 1.04, 1.3), hypertension (odds ratio 2.67; 95% confidence interval 1.22, 5.23), extensively calcified aorta (odds ratio 2.82; 95% confidence interval 1.34, 5.97), and bypass time (odds ratio 1.01; 95% confidence interval 1.00, 1.02). Cost of a stroke was significant ( p Conclusions . Patients with carotid disease fall into a higher risk group than patients without it. This increased risk is not because of carotid disease alone. Patients without significant carotid disease, who suffered a perioperative stroke, fell into an even higher risk category. Furthermore, carotid endarterectomy was not a significant risk factor by either the univariate or the multivariate analysis.
Taenia taeniaeformis: Gastrointestinal hyperplasia in chronically infected rats

Abstract Hyperplastic pathological changes in the gastrointestinal tract and serum gastrin levels were measured at postmortem in rats given long-term infections with metacestodes of Taenia taeniaeformis. Stomach weights were greater than in controls from the beginning of the experiment at 63 days postinfection (DPI) onward, and generally reached highest levels (>16 g) in the more chronically infected rats (up to 368 DPI). Gross and histological evidence of papillary hyperplasia of gastric mucosal cells increased with duration of infection. Intestinal weights also increased with time, but to a much lesser degree than those of the stomachs. These changes were sustained throughout the period of study, and were associated with significant elongation of villi and increased mucosal crypt depth, especially in the duodenum. In the most chronically infected rats multiple cystic dilatations of crypts occurred, and within them accumulated masses of mucus and necrotic cells often became calcified. Villi, sometimes over 1 mm in length, became club-like and frequently fused together. Mucosal mast cell (MMC) numbers in the small intestine were significantly higher than in controls throughout infection. Hyperplastic changes were detected inconsistently in the colonic mucosa, but there were no effects on the esophagus. Splenomegaly was a constant finding in infected rats, which also showed an earlier onset of thymic atrophy than normal age-matched controls. Serum gastrin levels were elevated in all affected rats at 5 months postinfection, but by the end of the first year some animals had normal gastrin levels, even though they showed severe hyperplastic gastroenteropathy at necropsy. Attempts to induce changes in gastric and intestinal weights, MMC numbers, or serum gastrin by the serial inoculation of extracts or in vitro products of T. taeniaeformis strobilocerci were unsuccessful. Surgical implantation of strobilocerci intraperitoneally also produced no measurable changes in these parameters. The results suggest that the hyperplastic stimulus provided by T. taeniaeformis is sustained for many months, and that there is a gradient of responsiveness in gastrointestinal tissues, declining from the glandular stomach mucosa posteriorly. The stimulus may be augmented by endogenous gastrin, but this hormone is not necessary for maintenance of hyperplastic changes. Our failure to induce changes in vivo artificially suggests that more subtle criteria, perhaps involving in vitro influences on gastric or intestinal cell turnover, will be necessary to establish if the parasite exerts its effects on host cells directly or indirectly.
A weighted adaptive least-squares finite element method for the Poisson–Boltzmann equation

Abstract The finite element methodology has become a standard framework for approximating the solution to the Poisson–Boltzmann equation in many biological applications. In this article, we examine the numerical efficacy of least-squares finite element methods for the linearized form of the equations. In particular, we highlight the utility of a first-order form, noting optimality, control of the flux variables, and flexibility in the formulation, including the choice of elements. We explore the impact of weighting and the choice of elements on conditioning and adaptive refinement. In a series of numerical experiments, we compare the finite element methods when applied to the problem of computing the solvation free energy for realistic molecules of varying size.
Traumatic brain injury reduces striatal tyrosine hydroxylase activity and potassium-evoked dopamine release in rats

There is increasing evidence that traumatic brain injury (TBI) induces hypofunction of the striatal dopaminergic system, the mechanisms of which are unknown. In this study, we analyzed the activity of striatal tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in rats at 1 day, 1 week, and 4 weeks after TBI using the controlled cortical impact model. There were no changes in the level of TH phosphorylated at serine 40 site (pser40TH) at 1 day or 4 weeks. At 1 week, injured animals showed decreased pser40TH to 73.9±7.3% (p≤0.05) of sham injured rats. The in vivo TH activity assay showed no significant difference between injured and sham rats at 1 day. However, there was a decreased activity in injured rats to 62.1±8.2% (p≤0.05) and 68.8±6.2% (p≤0.05) of sham injured rats at 1 and 4 weeks, respectively. Also, the activity of protein kinase A, which activates TH, decreased at 1 week (injured: 87.8±2.8%, sham: 100.0±4.2%, p≤0.05). To study the release activity of dopamine after injury, potassium (80 mM)-evoked dopamine release was measured by microdialysis in awake, freely moving rats. Dialysates were collected and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. There were no significant differences in dopamine release at 1 day and 4 weeks between sham and injured groups. At 1 week, there was a significant decrease (injured: 0.067±0.015 μM, sham: 0.127±0.027 μM, p≤0.05). These results suggest that TBI-induced dopamine neurotransmission deficits are, at least in part, attributable to deficits in TH activity.
Evaluating biological control of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) in California: A GIS based supply–demand demographic model

Abstract The biological control of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) by four capitulum-feeding insects (weevils Bangasternus orientalis and Eustenopus villosus, and flies Urophora sirunaseva and Chaetorellia succinea), as affected by plant competition with annual grasses, is analyzed using a weather-driven, physiologically based, age-structured, simulation model. Seed density in the soil seed bank for yellow starthistle and the number of overwintering insects provide between-season links. Seed germination intensity and pattern is determined by the timing and quantity of autumn rains and temperatures, while season-length is mostly determined by soil–water balance. Output from the yellow starthistle systems model was integrated into a geographic information system to examine regional differences in abundance for all species across several ecological zones of California. A marginal analysis of the simulation results was performed to examine the efficacy of each capitulum-feeding insect, their within-capitulum competitive interactions, and the effect of competition from annual grasses on yellow starthistle populations. The model suggests that lack of complete control of yellow starthistle may be due to plant compensation via increased per-plant seed production at lower plant densities and the incomplete destruction of seed in attacked capitula. The model suggests herbivory that reduces the plant’s ability to compensate and/or kills whole plants before seed maturity would most likely lead to control of yellow starthistle.
Commentary: effect of flavonoids on normal and leukemic cells.

Abstract The success of the phosphotyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate (STI571, Gleevec ® ) has emphasized the significance of a growing understanding of tumor cell biology. The search has since been intensified to identify other candidate molecules in cancer cell-specific signaling transduction pathways whose disruption may result in similar therapeutic benefits. Flavonoids are potent inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases, but in addition also inhibit the activity of angiogenic mediators and induce apoptosis by mechanisms that are still not fully understand. In the current study by Liesveld et al., flavonoids are shown to have an antiproliferative and proapoptotic effect in leukemic cells. The implications of the results of this study on the activity of flavonoids in leukemias and their future development are being discussed.