cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Machine-Learning Approach to Introspection in a Question Answering System

The ability to evaluate intermediate results in a Question Answering (QA) system, which we call introspection, is necessary in architectures based on planning or on processing loops. In particular, it is needed to determine if an earlier phase must be retried, or if the response "No Answer" must be offered. We look at an introspection task of performing a cursory evaluation of the search engine output in a QA system. We define this task as a concept-learning problem and evaluate two classifiers that use features based on score progression in the ranked list returned by the search engine and candidate answer types. Our experiments showed promising results, achieving 25% relative improvement over a majority class baseline on unseen data.
ATLAS: a small but complete SQL extension for data mining and data streams

Publisher Summary This chapter implements ATLAS, a powerful database language and system that enables users to develop complete data-intensive applications in structured query language (SQL)—by writing new aggregates and table functions in SQL, rather than in procedural languages as in current Object- Relational systems. As a result, ATLAS' SQL is Turing-complete, and is very suitable for advanced data intensive applications, such as data mining and stream queries. The ATLAS system is now available for download along with a suite of applications including various data mining functions that have been coded in ATLAS' SQL, and execute with a modest performance overhead with respect to the same applications written in C/C++. The demonstration reveals ATLAS' internal architecture by focusing on several of its key components, such as the query rewrite module, the query-plan generation module, and the stream-data management engine.
Delirium and the Family Caregiver: The Need for Evidence-based Education Interventions

Delirium, an acute confusional state, is experienced by many older adults. Although there is substantial research on risk factors and etiology, we hypothesized that there is a dearth of information on educating the family caregivers of delirious older patients. A date-specific (2000-2013) literature review of articles, written in English, was conducted in several major databases using keyword searches. This systematic review focused on 2 objectives: (1) investigate published studies on the impact of delirium on the family regarding caring for a loved one; and (2) determine if there are interventions that have provided family caregivers with education and/or coping skills to recognize and/or manage delirium. A systematic elimination provided outcomes that met both objectives. Thirty articles addressed impact on family caregivers (objective 1); only 7 addressed caregiver education regarding the delirious state of a loved one (objective 2). Few studies consider the impact of delirium on family caregivers and even fewer studies focus on how to manage delirium in loved ones. With increased risks to older adult patients, high cost of care, and the preventable nature of delirium, family caregiver education may be an important tactic to improve outcomes for both patient and caregiver.
Quantitative profiling of peptides from RNAs classified as noncoding

Only a small fraction of the mammalian genome codes for messenger RNAs destined to be translated into proteins, and it is generally assumed that a large portion of transcribed sequences—including introns and several classes of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs)—do not give rise to peptide products. A systematic examination of translation and physiological regulation of ncRNAs has not been conducted. Here we use computational methods to identify the products of non-canonical translation in mouse neurons by analysing unannotated transcripts in combination with proteomic data. This study supports the existence of non-canonical translation products from both intragenic and extragenic genomic regions, including peptides derived from antisense transcripts and introns. Moreover, the studied novel translation products exhibit temporal regulation similar to that of proteins known to be involved in neuronal activity processes. These observations highlight a potentially large and complex set of biologically regulated translational events from transcripts formerly thought to lack coding potential.
The Changes in Soluble Protein of Excised Barley Leaves during Senescence and Kinetin Treatment

Sterile detached barley leaves were floated on water or kinetin (10 mg/1)and supernatant extracts (30,000 x g for 30 min) were prepared from these leaves over an 8 day incubation period. Changes in selected total enzyme levels and in individual soluble protein components wore compared. Ribonuclease, deoxyribonuclease and peptidase activities rose in senescing leaves, even as total protein levels fell. Kinetin to some extent depressed these activities. Evidence of considerable loss of ribonuclease and to a lesser extent of deoxyribonuclease into the surrounding medium was obtained. Soluble supernatant ant extracts were resolved on DEAE-Sephadex (A-50) columns into about 15 components. While most components were degraded during senescence they did so at different rates. Kinetin lowered the rate of degradation of all components. Since no conclusive evidence of a new protein(s) was obtained in water and kinetin treated leaves, it was considered that any protein changes may have been of a quantitative rather than qualitative nature.
Toward Improved Solar Irradiance Forecasts: Introduction of Post-Processing to Correct the Direct Normal Irradiance from the Weather Research and Forecasting Model

Solar electricity production is highly dependent on atmospheric conditions. This study focuses on comparing model forecasts with observations for the period of May–December, 2011. The Weather Research and Forecasting model was run for two nested domains centered on Arizona in order to better capture the complex terrain driven dynamics of the region. The modeling performance from the simulation with the Global Forecast System model output as initial and boundary condition was better, with respect to both direct normal irradiance and global horizontal irradiance, than that with the North American Mesoscale model output. The observed aerosol optical depth is correlated with the water vapor, soil moisture and wind-blown dust and therefore, the aerosol optical depth is parameterized by the modeling outputs for these variables. The aerosol correction factor reduces the relative root mean square error from 12 to 6 %. In cases where dust was transported at high altitude, our algorithm did not correct the bias of direct normal irradiance.
GIS and Remote Sensing Use in the Exploration of Lyme Disease Epidemiology

Given the relatively recent recognition of Lyme disease (LD) by CDC in 1990 as a nationally notifiable infectious condition, the rise of reported human cases every year argues for a better understanding of its geographic scope. The aim of this inquiry was to explore research conducted on spatiotemporal patterns of Lyme disease in order to identify strategies for implementing vector and reservoir-targeted interventions. The focus of this review is on the use of GIS-based methods to study populations of the reservoir hosts, vectors and humans in addition to the spatiotemporal interactions between these populations. New GIS-based studies are monitoring occurrence at the macro-level, and helping pinpoint areas of occurrence at the micro-level, where spread within populations of reservoir hosts, clusters of infected ticks and tick to human transmission may be better understood.
Generating Summaries of Line Graphs

This demo presents a Natural Language Generation (NLG) system that generates summaries of informational graphics, specifically simple line graphs, present in popular media. The system is intended to capture the high-level knowledge conveyed by the graphic and its outstanding visual features. It comprises a content selection phase that extracts the most important content of the graphic, an organization phase, which orders the propositions in a coherent manner, and a realization phase that uses the text surrounding the article to make decisions on the choice of lexical items and amount of aggregation applied to the propositions to generate the summary of the graphic.
Accounting for anatomical noise in search-capable model observers for planar nuclear imaging

Model observers intended to predict the diagnostic performance of human observers should account for the effects of both quantum and anatomical noise. We compared the abilities of several visual-search (VS) and scanning Hotelling-type models to account for anatomical noise in a localization receiver operating characteristic (LROC) study involving simulated nuclear medicine images. Our VS observer invoked a two-stage process of search and analysis. The images featured lesions in the prostate and pelvic lymph nodes. Lesion contrast and the geometric resolution and sensitivity of the imaging collimator were the study variables. A set of anthropomorphic mathematical phantoms was imaged with an analytic projector based on eight parallel-hole collimators with different sensitivity and resolution properties. The LROC study was conducted with human observers and the channelized nonprewhitening, channelized Hotelling (CH) and VS model observers. The CH observer was applied in a "background-known-statistically" protocol while the VS observer performed a quasi-background-known-exactly task. Both of these models were applied with and without internal noise in the decision variables. A perceptual search threshold was also tested with the VS observer. The model observers without inefficiencies failed to mimic the average performance trend for the humans. The CH and VS observers with internal noise matched the humans primarily at low collimator sensitivities. With both internal noise and the search threshold, the VS observer attained quantitative agreement with the human observers. Computational efficiency is an important advantage of the VS observer.
Reducing Waits for VHA Services Through Use of Tools of Governance

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has been plagued by one of the largest scandals in its history since receiving cabinet level status: scandal regarding veterans experiencing excessive wait times for needed health care services. This paper explores the current crisis within the VHA and the agency’s response to public outcry through use of both traditional and innovative tools of governance. Through use of strategic planning, contracting, and public information campaigns, the VHA is placing a focus on the outcomes and effectiveness of these tools to resolve the current wait list problems. This paper explores the aforementioned tools of governance and the steps currently being taken within the VHA to ensure effectiveness, equity, and efficiency in countering some of the largest challenges existing with application of the governance paradigm to the delivery of public services.
Biologically Tunable Reactivity of Energetic Nanomaterials Using Protein Cages

The performance of aluminum nanomaterial based energetic formulations is dependent on the mass transport, diffusion distance, and stability of reactive components. Here we use a biologically inspired approach to direct the assembly of oxidizer loaded protein cages onto the surface of aluminum nanoparticles to improve reaction kinetics by reducing the diffusion distance between the reactants. Ferritin protein cages were loaded with ammonium perchlorate (AP) or iron oxide and assembled with nAl to create an oxidation–reduction based energetic reaction and the first demonstration of a nanoscale biobased thermite material. Both materials showed enhanced exothermic behavior in comparison to nanothermite mixtures of bulk free AP or synthesized iron oxide nanopowders prepared without the use of ferritin. In addition, by utilizing a layer-by-layer (LbL) process to build multiple layers of protein cages containing iron oxide and iron oxide/AP on nAl, stoichiometric conditions and energetic performance can be optim...
Multistep Mass Spectrometry Methodology for Direct Characterization of Polar Lipids in Green Microalgae using Paper Spray Ionization

Paper spray ionization, an ambient ionization method, has been applied for the identification of polar lipids in green microalgae with no sample preparation. A multistep experimental protocol was employed to characterize the lipid species of two microalgae strains, Kyo-Chlorella in tablet form and Nannochloropsis in paste form by mass spectrometry (MS). Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) experiments using collision induced dissociation (CID) were employed for initial characterization of the detected lipid species, which were dominated by polar glycolipids and phospholipids. Product ion scan experiments were performed to determine the lipid head groups and fatty acid composition. Precursor ion scan experiments using fragment ions such as m/z 184, which is characteristic of the phosphocholine headgroup, were then used to confirm the lipid classification. Lipid elemental compositions were determined by exact mass measurements using high resolution mass spectrometry. Finally, the position of unsaturation was determined using reactive paper spray ionization experiments with ozone used as a reagent to cleave double bonds. Ozone was produced in situ using dielectric barrier discharge from a low temperature plasma, and it reacted in ambient air with the spray of ions produced by paper spray ionization. Using the precursor ion scan experiment, the resulting ozone cleavage product ions were used to determine the position of unsaturation for some of these species. By applying this experimental protocol, the molecular formulas and key aspects of the structures of glycerophosphocholines (PCs) such as 9Z-16:1/9Z,12Z-16:2 PC and 6Z,9Z-18:2/6Z,9Z,12Z-18:3PC and monogalactosyldiacylglycerols (MGDGs) such as 18:3/16:3MGDG were identified in the positive ion mode, while glycerophosphoglycerols (PGs) such as 18:3/16:0 PG and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerols (SQDGs) such as 18:3/16:0 SQDG were identified in the negative ion mode.
The Leafchin Bat in Arizona

The leaf chin bat, Mormoops (= Aello ) megalophylla (Peters), has been reported from only three localities in the United States, all in Texas. These are: Ft. Clark, Kinney Co., 1 (Rehn, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 54:169,1902); Edinburg, Hidalgo Co., 3 (Muliak, Jour. Mamm., 24: 269,1943); …
Towards network substrates of brain disorders.

This scientific commentary refers to ‘The hubs of the human connectome are generally implicated in the anatomy of brain disorders’, by Crossley et al. (doi:10.1093/brain/awu132). A growing number of studies approach brain anatomy and function from the perspective of complex networks, with an explicit focus on the distributed layout of neural elements and their interconnections in the healthy, as well as diseased brain (Sporns, 2014). Network analysis has revealed a number of characteristic features of brain network organization, such as the presence of densely connected clusters or modules of brain regions, and of highly connected network hubs. In this issue of Brain , Nicolas Crossley and colleagues report the results of an extensive meta-analysis of MRI data, including a large set of observations of grey matter lesions in various brain disorders. They reveal that the disorders are associated with damage to distinct sets of hubs, and propose that disruption of network hubs may be a common factor contributing to brain dysfunction (Crossley et al. , 2014). Network approaches to brain function capitalize on the advances that have been made across a broad range of social, technological and biological systems using the concepts and computational tools of network science. Brain networks consist of nodes and connections; these are derived from brain imaging data by first applying a parcellation to derive node boundaries, and then estimating the presence and strength of connections between pairs of nodes. Structural networks capture network anatomy, based on data obtained via techniques such as diffusion imaging and tractography. In contrast, functional networks are built from estimates of statistical dependencies between time series of neuronal activity, as recorded for example with functional MRI. The complete set of structural connections is defined as the brain’s connectome (Sporns et al. , 2005), a whole-brain structural network that …
A distance-running event and life satisfaction: The mediating roles of involvement

• We examined the effects of a running event on participants’ life satisfaction.• A sample of 742 participants was recruited from a 10 mile distance-run in the U.S.• Participation in the event was ...
Overviews on phospholipid methylation

Phospholipid methylation is a reaction in which phosphatidyl-ethanolamine (PtdEth) is converted to phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) This reaction was first described by Bremer et al and has been confirmed by many other laboratories (1). However, the enzyme activity of phospholipid methylation was quite low, compared with CDP-choline transferase activity in PtdCho synthesis and could not be detected in other tissues besides liver and lung. Recently, we reported the existence of phospholipid methyltransferase (PMT-ase) activity in a variety of tissues and cells, and proposed that phospholipid methylation plays an important role in certain membrane functions, altering membrane lipid structure and fluidity (2). In this communication, I will describe the recent studies on phospholipid methylation and its role in signal transduction across biomembranes.
Initiating basal insulin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Papers in the Grand Rounds section are patient case reports and literature review combined in a way that gives them high educational value. The papers lead off with a well-documented case report of an unusual drug experience (e.g., adverse drug reaction, some other unexpected drug response, experimental use of a drug). The case generally deals with a difficult therapeutic problem or dilemma that is commonly encountered but may be overlooked or misunderstood. (Esoteric or rare occurrences of minor importance do not make good Grand Rounds material.) A literature review puts the case in perspective with previously reported similar cases and alternative treatments. The review is integrated with related discussions of the new case being reported. Readers are encouraged to use Grand Rounds for educational group discussions. For this purpose, discussion questions are printed at the end of the Grand Rounds papers.
Comparing Two Breast Density Metrics for Risk Assessment

Breast cancer risk associated with increased mammographic density has been shown to be at least as important as, if not more important than, breast cancer risk associated with other known risk factors (family history, e.g.). For this reason, a reliable automated density technique may be of great use for risk modeling. In this work two automated methods of assessing density are compared: (1) a method based on a calibrated pixel aggregate tissue composition metric following from tissue phantom measurements, and (2) a method based on random field modeling and probability methods. The comparison is implemented by analyzing full field digital mammography data. This work shows interesting correlations (r > 0.7) and relations between the two techniques.
Positively Biased Processing of Mother's Emotions Predicts Children's Social and Emotional Functioning.

Abstract Risk for internalizing problems and social skills deficits likely emerges in early childhood when emotion processing and social competencies are developing. Positively biased processing of social information is typical during early childhood and may be protective against poorer psychosocial outcomes. We tested the hypothesis that young children with relatively less positively biased attention to, interpretations of, and attributions for their mother's emotions would exhibit poorer prosocial skills and more internalizing problems. A sample of 4- to 6-year-old children ( N = 82) observed their mothers express happiness, sadness and anger during a simulated emotional phone conversation. Children’s attention to their mother when she expressed each emotion was rated from video. Immediately following the phone conversation, children were asked questions about the conversation to assess their interpretations of the intensity of mother’s emotions and misattributions of personal responsibility for her emotions. Children’s prosocial skills and internalizing problems were assessed using mother-report rating scales. Interpretations of mother’s positive emotions as relatively less intense than her negative emotions, misattributions of personal responsibility for her negative emotions, and lack of misattributions of personal responsibility for her positive emotions were associated with poorer prosocial skills. Children who attended relatively less to mother’s positive than her negative emotions had higher levels of internalizing problems. These findings suggest that children’s attention to, interpretations of, and attributions for their mother’s emotions may be important targets of early interventions for preventing prosocial skills deficits and internalizing problems.
Skull Deformation Has No Impact on the Variation of Brain Intracranial Pressure

Skull deformation and vibration has been hypothesized to be an injury mechanism when the human head undergoes an impact scenario. The extent that skull deformation may increase the risk of traumatic brain injury, however, is not well understood. This computational study explains whether skull deformation has any impact on the variation of intracranial pressure (ICP). To this end, a finite element head model including major anatomical components of the human head was employed. The head model has been validated against ICP variations on the brain. The impact simulations were carried out using a rigid cylindrical impactor. The scenarios were frontal impacts with the impactor hitting the forehead of the head model at two impact severity levels. In order to examine the effect of skull elasticity on the stress wave propagation inside the cranium under an external applied force, the skull was also taken as a rigid body with the same density as the elastic one, and the result were compared with those obtained with the deformable skull. For the two cases, the variation of ICPs at the coup and countercoup sites were recorded and compared. The results of the study showed that, for the case studies presented here, the deformation of skull didn’t increase the level of ICP inside the brain. It was concluded that the skull rapid body motion might be responsible for brain injuries.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
Data report on inflammatory C-C chemokines among insulin-using women with diabetes mellitus and breast cancer.

Abstract Injectable insulin use may interfere with pro-inflammatory cytokines’ production and, thus, play a role in the activation of tumor-associated macrophages - a process mainly influenced by inflammatory C–C chemokines. The data presented shows the relationship between pre-existing use of injectable insulin in women diagnosed with breast cancer and type 2 diabetes mellitus, the inflammatory C–C chemokine profiles at the time of breast cancer diagnosis, and subsequent cancer outcomes. A Pearson correlation analysis stratified by insulin use and controls is also provided. We present the observed relationship between the investigated C–C chemokines and between each of these biomarkers and previously reported adipokines levels in this study population [1].
Exact relations between homoclinic and periodic orbit actions in chaotic systems

Homoclinic and unstable periodic orbits in chaotic systems play central roles in various semiclassical sum rules. The interferences between terms are governed by the action functions and Maslov indices. In this article, we identify geometric relations between homoclinic and unstable periodic orbits, and derive exact formulas expressing the periodic orbit classical actions in terms of corresponding homoclinic orbit actions plus certain phase space areas. The exact relations provide a basis for approximations of the periodic orbit actions as action differences between homoclinic orbits with well-estimated errors. This enables an explicit study of relations between periodic orbits, which results in an analytic expression for the action differences between long periodic orbits and their shadowing decomposed orbits in the cycle expansion.
Hematuria in an Adult with Congenital Heart Disease.

Abstract Background Adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) in the United States now outnumber children with CHD, due in part to the improvement in surgical and medical management. This growing population may present postoperatively to the emergency department (ED) with nonspecific complaints from unforseen complications secondary to cardiac intervention. Case Report We describe a 39-year-old male who presented to the ED with hematuria and dysuria after he underwent percutaneous device ventricular septal defect (VSD) closure 10 days before. Upon initial evaluation, laboratory results confirmed a urinary tract infection and hematuria. Given persistent red discoloration of urine and easy fatigability, further investigation and re-evaluation found him to be anemic secondary to intravascular hemolysis. Cardiac catheterization showed residual shunting through the VSD device margins causing the hemolysis. Although this is a rare complication of VSD device closure, the patient's initial presentation of hematuria and dysuria presented a unique diagnostic challenge. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? Patients with underlying CHD require emergency physicians to consider a multidisciplinary approach to properly diagnose and facilitate treatment.
Experimental Laboratories: Social/Psychological

A lab is defined as a place that contains equipment necessary for scientific work. Thus, the scientific work, and the nature of the investigator's research questions, should guide the creation of the experimental lab. The social psychologist studying communication patterns within a married couple needs a different lab than a social psychologist studying the psychophysiological correlates of aggressive behavior or a social psychologist testing a behavioral implication of attribution theory. There is one piece of equipment that has become indispensable in just about every social psychology lab—the computer. The computer is used for editing manuscripts, conducting library searches, analyzing data, conducting experiments, managing lab personnel, and publicizing research on the world wide web. The well-functioning lab should also have the necessary tools to conduct the research, such as measurement devices required by the research question.
Clinical Biochemical Parameters to be Used in General as Indicators of Malnutrition of Children in Developing Countries

In the 1980’s, malnutrition is still increasing in most parts of the world. Malnutrition is the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in young children, every hour 10 children die due to malnutrition in developing countries (1). Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) is the most important form of malnutrition in developing countries, there after are nutritional anaemia, xerophthalmia due to vitamin A deficiency, rickets and iodine deficiency.
THE IMMUNOLOGICAL ENIGMA OF TRANSFER FACTOR

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the development of the knowledge of biology of transfer factor (TF). The extracts of mononuclear cells, predominantly lymphocytes, release many intracellular products, of which some have special biological activities in in vitro systems. But the concern of the immunologist has to do with the biological basis for specificity of transfer, that is, the ability to confer, on a new individual, the DH+ reactivity of the cell donor. This problem has remained a conundrum, which seems closer to be solved now. The chapter discusses the specific and the nonspecific components of leukocyte lysates. TF from highly reactive donors can produce lasting reactivity. Positive skin transfer is the sole criterion of TF. TF is not provided by nonsensitive individuals. TF dialyzes through Visking tubing. Biologically active materials besides TF are diffusible. TFD passes 12,000D membranes and not 3500D membranes. The removal of 3500D diffusate (>90% of weight) raises peptide:RNA ratio.
Targeted and Immune-Based Therapies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Treatment options for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma are rapidly changing based on positive results from phase 3 trials of targeted and immune-based therapies. More agents designed to target specific pathways and immune checkpoints are in clinical development. Some agents have already been shown to improve outcomes of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, as first- and second-line therapies, and are awaiting approval by the Food and Drug Administration or have been recently approved. We summarize the targeted and immune-based agents in trials of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma and discuss the future of these strategies for liver cancer.
Hybrid Biological-Chemical Approach Offers Flexibility and Reduces the Carbon Footprint of Biobased Plastics, Rubbers, and Fuels

A critical challenge for the bioenergy research community has been producing drop-in hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals at yields sufficient to compete with their petroleum-derived counterparts. Biological production of highly reduced compounds poses fundamental challenges. Conversely, glucose, xylose, and sucrose can be fermented to ethanol at near-theoretical yields. Just as olefin crackers are often considered a gateway for petrochemical complexes that produce an array of downstream products, catalytic ethanol upgrading can potentially enable an entire biorefining complex able to produce renewable, low-carbon fuels and chemicals. By doping the Ta2O5/SiO2 catalyst with different transition metals, we show that Ostromyslensky catalysts can be utilized for direct conversion of ethanol to varying ratios of 1,3-butadiene (1,3-BD), dietheylether (DEE), and ethylene. These results are integrated into the first comprehensive analysis of ethanol conversion to 1,3-BD, DEE, and ethylene that incorporates empirical d...
The Polarization and Reconciliation of Science and Religion

Science and religion seek an explanation for the basis of reality, but neither has the ability to objectively decide the ultimate question concerning God’s existence. Theism and atheism are both based on faith; and, in the absence of convincing arguments, proponents of each have polarized in the heat of debate. The essential ontological question about God has been overshadowed by irrelevant arguments. The literal truth of the Bible, as well as the effectiveness of science as a method of understanding natural phenomena, have become proxy issues that are completely irrelevant to the existence of God. Consilience, which posits the unitary nature and coherence of all knowledge (Knowledge is known truth), assures us that the reconciliation of science and religion is possible insofar as practitioners of each discover the truth in varying degrees. A key insight provided by John Dewey’s and Arthur Bentley’s theory of knowledge, as described in “Knowing and the Known”, is that the apprehension of truth by finite mind is always limited and imperfect. It is reasonable to assume, therefore, that as scientists, philosophers and theologians make progress incrementally in the understanding of ultimate truth, the statements they each make should increasingly demonstrate elements of correspondence. Until then it is clear that agnosticism offers an honest starting point in consideration of the question whether the universe the sufficient cause of itself, or whether it bears an imprint of a transcendental cause from beyond its spatial and temporal dimensions.
Sarcopenia Strongly Affects Serum Levels of Cystatin C in Patients with Heart Failure

Introduction Low muscle mass, or sarcopenia, is commonly seen in patients with heart failure (HF). For any given level of renal function, patients with sarcopenia will have lower levels of serum creatinine because there is less muscle mass to produce creatinine. Thus, the use of creatinine to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is affected by sarcopenia. In contrast to creatinine, cystatin C is considered a better filtration marker to estimate GFR in the setting of sarcopenia because it not seclusively produced by muscle. However, it has not been demonstrated that serum cystatin C levels are independent of sarcopenia in patients with HF. Hypothesis Serum cystatin C levels will be minimally influenced by muscle mass in patients with heart failure. Methods Serum cystatin C and serum creatinine were measured in patients with decompensated heart failure. Strict timed urine collections were used to measure creatinine excretion rate. Muscle mass was estimated with a validated equation based on urine creatinine excretion (Heymsfield). Creatinine clearance was calculated and used as a surrogate for measured GFR. Results Out of the 295 patients analyzed (average age 65 ±14 years), 65% were male and 61% were obese. Baseline levels of serum creatinine were 1.5±0.6 mg/dL and cystatin C were 1.7±0.7 mg/L. In univariate analysis, serum cystatin C showed a negative correlation with muscle mass (rho -0.37, p Conclusion Serum cystatin C serum levels are strongly associated with muscle mass in patients with HF. This may lead to inaccuracies when cystatin C is used to estimate GFR.
The Language of the Kharg Island

Khargi is spoken on the island of Kharg in the Persian Gulf. A member of the Southwest branch of the Iranian languages, Khargi is related to the languages spoken in the province of Fārs and along the coastal line down to the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting extensive maritime contact, yet does not lend itself to any of the known subgroups of the family. As Khargi remains largely obscure, this article offers a morphosyntax and lexical analysis based on published texts and those collected by the author. It investigates the linguistic position of Khargi based on comparative-historical phonology as well as areal features, with a look at cross-linguistic influence in the situation of language contact. By contrasting linguistic findings with details of history and economy, an attempt is made to date the original and later human settlements on the island.1
Educational Marginalization: Examining Challenges and Possibilities for Improving Educational Outcomes in Northeastern Kenya

As a developing country in sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya has comparatively fared well in educating its young people. The new constitution of Kenya and various Acts of Parliament identify education as a fundamental human right and mandates the government to provide basic education for all. Consistent with the governmentΓCOs Vision 2030, most leaders recognize education as critical to individualsΓCO attaining full potential and then contributing to nation building. However, the educational access and equity remain quite elusive for rural and less economically viable areas, such as Northeastern. The region and its people have been marginalized for many years, dating back to the Colonial era and still remain very undeveloped, under-resourced, and impoverished. Given the endemic discrimination and marginalization of the nomadic people of Northeastern Kenya, harsh geographic conditions, constant migration of the people, and heightened insecurity in the region, there is limited data, information, and understanding of these peopleΓCOs life experiences. The purpose of this article is to highlight these challenges that minimize educational opportunities for young people in Northeastern Kenya by reviewing the historic political isolation and marginalization, sociocultural practices (e.g., nomadic lifestyle, female genital mutilation), resource deprivation and poverty, harsh geographic conditions, and poor infrastructure. Additionally, the article examines emerging efforts and opportunities (e.g., government and Non-Government Organizations) to improve educational opportunities in the region through the devolution framework in the new Constitution of Kenya, constituency development funds (CDF), mobile schools, and boarding schools.
La naturaleza y la violencia en La perra de Pilar Quintana

Este trabajo indaga el papel de la naturaleza dentro de la novela La perra (2018) de la escritora colombiana Pilar Quintana. En este trabajo, se partira de la importancia de la dicotomia civilizacion/barbarie propuesta por Domingo Sarmiento en el siglo XIX para revelar la manera en que la naturaleza servia como trasfondo inerte que el ser humano explotaba en su mision neocolonizadora. En La perra , Quintana interrumpe este discurso y desromantiza la selva mediante la ubiquidad de la violencia y la muerte. Asi, se reflexiona sobre el poder inquebrantable de la naturaleza en una region historicamente marginada de America Latina.
Methodology for identification of diesel fuel system contaminants related to problems in the field

Field problem surveillance for the Army has identified vehicle power loss caused by premature fuel filter plugging as a major maintenance and readiness problem. A systematic approach to the analysis of fuel system contaminants has been partially developed. First, a set of reference materials was gathered based on the most commonly encountered fuel system contaminant. The most useful microscopic and spectroscopic techniques and their utility for examining the various types of contaminants were identified. The individual reference materials were characterized for use in comparison to actual field samples. Sample preparation procedures were developed for fuel filters, fuel samples, and fuel tank sludge samples. A scheme for the final analysis of the prepared samples was devised. This methodology requires some technical judgment in assessing the relative amounts of some of the contaminant types; however, this methodology provides a step-by-step means of determining the identify of fuel system contaminants.
Restaurant menu labeling for calories and sodium: Effect of consumer mindset of immediate versus future consequences

This study evaluated menu labeling (ML) of a novel sodium warning symbol on consumer food selections and the moderating effect of the psychographic characteristic of time orientation on calorie and...
Results from an experiment that collected visible-light polarization data using unresolved imagery for classification of geosynchronous satellites

In order to protect critical military and commercial space assets, the United States Space Surveillance Network must have the ability to positively identify and characterize all space objects. Unfortunately, positive identification and characterization of space objects is a manual and labor intensive process today since even large telescopes cannot provide resolved images of most space objects. The objective of this study was to collect and analyze visible-spectrum polarization data from unresolved images of geosynchronous satellites taken over various solar phase angles. Different collection geometries were used to evaluate the polarization contribution of solar arrays, thermal control materials, antennas, and the satellite bus as the solar phase angle changed. Since materials on space objects age due to the space environment, their polarization signature may change enough to allow discrimination of identical satellites launched at different times. Preliminary data suggests this optical signature may lead to positive identification or classification of each satellite by an automated process on a shorter timeline. The instrumentation used in this experiment was a United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) Department of Physics system that consists of a 20-inch Ritchey-Chretien telescope and a dual focal plane optical train fed with a polarizing beam splitter. Following a rigorous calibration, polarization data was collected during two nights on eight geosynchronous satellites built by various manufacturers and launched several years apart. When Stokes parameters were plotted against time and solar phase angle, the data indicates that a polarization signature from unresolved images may have promise in classifying specific satellites.
Analysis of Results from the Kraus-Weber Test of Minimum Muscular Fitness in Children

Abstract The Kraus-Weber Test of muscular fitness was administered to a population of 1456 elementary school children. Results indicate: 1. The Test and Test items are highly reliable. 2. There is no relationship between grip strength and success on the Test. 3. Girls are substantially superior to boys at all levels in passing the Test, and in flexibility. 4. For both sexes, there is a decided decrease in strength item failure as age increases. By the time the children are 11 years of age the percentage of failure on any item is less than 8 per cent, and agrees very closely with the results found for European children.
An overview of vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of bridge decks

A brief overview of vortex-induced vibration (VIV) of circular cylinders is first given as most of VIV studies have been focused on this particular bluff cross-section. A critical literature review of VIV of bridge decks that highlights physical mechanisms central to VIV from a renewed perspective is provided. The discussion focuses on VIV of bridge decks from wind-tunnel experiments, full-scale observations, semi-empirical models and computational fluids dynamics (CFD) perspectives. Finally, a recently developed reduced order model (ROM) based on truncated Volterra series is introduced to model VIV of long-span bridges. This model captures successfully salient features of VIVat “lockin” and unlike most phenomenological models offers physical significance of the model kernels.
Observations of solar cycle variations in solar p-mode frequencies and splittings

We discuss here two sets of helioseismology data acquired at Big Bear Solar Observatory during the summers of 1986 and 1988. Each data set consists of roughly 60,000 fulldisk Doppler images of the sun, accumulated over a four-month time span. These data clearly show that solar p-mode frequencies change with time, and that the measured frequency shifts Δv = v88 - v86 depend strongly on frequency and only weakly on l for 5 ≤ l ≤ 60. The frequency dependence is well described by Δv ∞ M−1(v), where M(v) is the mode mass for low-l modes. Such a frequency dependence is expected if the effective sound speed perturbation is located predominantly near the solar surface. It should be possible to invert the frequency shift measurements to determine some aspects of the structure of solar activity as a function of depth. The data also show that the even-index splitting coefficients depend strongly on frequency, again being well described by α2j (v) ∞ M−1(v). This functional form is expected if the sound speed perturbation responsible for Δv is localized in solar latitude. Latitude inversions of the time-dependent splitting and Δv measurements show that the perturbation is strongest in the active latitudes, but includes a weak polar component.
Fireground use of an emergency escape respirator.

AbstractIntroduction. Firefighters who become lost, disoriented, or trapped in a burning building may die after running out of air in their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). An emergency escape device has been developed that attaches to the firefighter's mask in place of the SCBA regulator. The device filters out particulate matter and a number of hazardous components of smoke (but does not provide oxygen), providing additional time to escape after the firefighter runs out of SCBA air. Objective. To field-test the device under realistic fire conditions to 1) ascertain whether it provides adequate protection from carbon monoxide (CO) and 2) examine firefighters’ impressions of the device and its use. Methods. A wood-frame house was fitted with atmospheric monitors, and levels of CO, oxygen, and hydrogen cyanide were continuously recorded. After informed consent was obtained, firefighters wearing the escape device instead of their usual SCBA regulators entered the burning structure and spent 10 min...
A stereochemical surprise at the late stage of the synthesis of fully N-differentiated heparin oligosaccharides containing amino, acetamido, and N-sulfonate groups

The glucosamine residues in heparin-like glycosaminoglycans have been found to exist as amines, acetamides, and N-sulfonates. To develop a completely general, modular synthesis of heparin, three degrees of orthogonal nitrogen protection are required. Reported herein is a strategy for the synthesis of fully N-differentiated heparin oligosaccharides in the context of target octasaccharide 1, which contains an N-acetate, N-sulfonates, and a free amine. The protecting group scheme used in the synthesis blocked the N-acetate as a N-diacetate, the N-sulfonates as azido groups, and the amine as a N-CBz; free hydroxyls were masked as benzyl ethers and O-sulfonates as acetate esters. Disaccharide and tetrasaccharide modules were synthesized using this strategy; however, the union of tetrasaccharide trichloroacetimidate 4 with disaccharide acceptor 5 unexpectedly formed the undesired β-linked glycoside in addition to the α-linkage anticipated for iduronic acid nucleophiles, resulting in an inseparable 6:1 α/β mixtu...
Centrum medianum—parafascicularis lesions and reactivity to noxious and non-noxious stimuli

Abstract Cats were trained to escape electrical stimuli delivered to the pulp of the upper left canine tooth, and to press a lever to obtain food. Subsequently, electrolytic lesions were produced in the medial thalamus. The cats were again tested 2–3 wk later. In addition they were trained in an avoidance conditioning paradigm, using grid shock delivered to the paws as the unconditioned stimulus. After all the postoperative data were gathered, the animals were killed and the histological and behavioral data were evaluated. There was no correlation between the effect of the lesion on noxious versus nonnoxious stimuli; all operated cats learned to avoid the grid shock when a warning signal appeared. In addition, it appears that destruction of the rostral portion of the nuclei centrum medianum and parafascicularis is most critical for abolishing the escape response to tooth pulp stimulation.
Lightweight web-based fact repositories for textual question answering

Since answers to fact-seeking questions usually reside within small factual text nuggets, often "hidden" within full-length documents, their relevance to a question is not necessarily correlated to the relevance of the full-length document to the question. Yet previous approaches to open-domain textual question answering from large document collections quasi-unanimously employ a document retrieval stage, in order to apply widely different, often expensive answer mining techniques to only a small subset of documents. Depending on the collection size, 95% or more of the documents in the collection (much more in the case of the Web) are left out of the selected subset for any given query, and thus become invisible to subsequent processing stages for actual answer mining. This paper introduces a new model for answer retrieval for question answering. The collection is distilled offline into large repositories of facts. Each fact constitutes a potential direct answer to questions seeking a particular kind of entity or relation, such as questions asking about the date of particular events. Question answering becomes equivalent to online fact retrieval, which greatly simplifies the de-facto system architecture for fact-seeking question answering. In addition to simplicity, experiments on a fact repository acquired from approximately a billion Web documents illustrate the impact of fact repositories in extracting accurate answers to a standard evaluation set of open-domain test questions and additional sets of domain-specific questions.