cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Managing U.S. Atlantic large whale entanglements: Four guiding principles

Abstract Fatal entanglements in fishing gear threaten marine mammal populations worldwide. The management of entanglements of large whales, such as the North Atlantic right whale ( Eubalaena glacialis ), with commercial fisheries, is a challenge given the species’ small population size, economic consequences of regulations, and the general lack of data on entanglements. The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) requires development of programs to limit marine mammal entanglement in commercial fishing gear. Following a retrospective look at implementing aspects of the MMPA, a set of guiding principles were developed with associated best practices useful in reducing fatal large whale entanglement in fishing gear. Among these are: 1) involve stakeholders early in the decision making process; 2) establish a transparent management strategy that includes critical needs to guide research; 3) use a variety of tools such as an established process for receiving new information and ideas; and 4) incorporate adaptive management which considers the constraints of dynamic (rapid) changes to some fixed fishing gear. Efforts to reduce worldwide marine mammal bycatch will typically occur in a data-limited environment as experienced with U.S. Atlantic large whale entanglements. The guiding principles will remain as key tools for reducing large whale bycatch in fisheries as they build upon common practices. These insights developed over two decades of management can potentially help others to address similar bycatch problems.
Estimating the health benefits of environmental regulations.

Assessing health benefits of policies addressing environmental contaminants is important for decision-making and for informing the public about how policy affects their welfare ( 1 ). Benefits analysis, one side of benefit-cost analysis (BCA), can be relatively straightforward when sufficient data are available on dose-response relationships, changes in exposure expected from a proposed policy, and other key inputs. But despite progress, benefits analysis for health effects is needlessly constrained by analytic practices that are scientifically outdated and inconsistent with economic theory. These limitations can result in exclusion of important health effects from the estimated benefits of reducing exposure to toxic environmental contaminants, which, in turn, affects net benefits calculations that inform public policy. Fortunately, economic theory and scientific advances in the risk assessment literature provide a way forward.
Use of a thermo-TDR probe to measure sand thermal conductivity dryout curves (TCDCs) and model prediction

Abstract Thermal conductivity is a governing soil thermal property for geothermal applications. Measurements of soil thermal conductivity and moisture content are usually obtained separately by different sensors, which may lead to errors in measured thermal conductivity dryout curves (TCDCs). Use of a newly designed thermo-time domain reflectometry (TDR) probe to measure sand TCDCs and model prediction were carried out in this study. Laboratory experiments were performed on four quartz sands with different grain sizes. The calibration relationships for dielectric constant (Ka) and electrical conductivity (ECb) were first established by a multiple specimen method. The thermo-TDR probe was then used to measure sand thermal conductivity, and predict its moisture content and dry density in dryout process produced by a modified hanging column device (MHCD) for establishing sand TCDCs. Sand thermal conductivity was also predicted by three alternative soil thermal conductivity predictive models, and then compared to measured values. Statistical analyses were conducted to further evaluate the model performance and validate the reliability of the proposed method. It is concluded that the thermo-TDR probe is capable of measuring sand TCDCs satisfactorily in a holistic manner, and providing a more accurate estimation of sand thermal conductivity under varying moisture content condition. Measurement error might be increased when sand is under near dry condition due to the heat convection effect.
The Ultrastructure of Interacting Endocrine and Target Cells

A study of cell structure alone is inherently interesting, but it is far less informative than a study which attempts to elucidate the functions reflected in cellular morphology. In developmental biology, the focus is on cellular changes occurring with time. How does the ultrastructure of a cell change as it matures and what is the functional significance of these changes? Since the development of insects is controlled by hormonal cues, a study of the developing endocrine glands and their target tissues interpreted in the context of their own endocrine environment presents a unique opportunity to determine a structural basis for endocrine activity and to define interactions between these tissues. One of the best studied insects from this point of view is Manduca sexta. In this tobacco hornworm, the titers of various hormones have been carefully determined and the ultrastructures of certain endocrine glands and target tissues have been recorded. This review will concentrate on the work carried out with this insect, but will refer to work with other insects where appropriate.
International Regulation of Drugs and Biological Products

This chapter will focus on the operations and contributions of the International Council on Harmonisation (ICH) to support international regulation of drugs and biological products. It begins with background on the establishment and earlier operations of ICH and describes more recent reforms to expand participation among regulators and industry in emerging regions. It provides the reader with an overview of the workings of ICH technical harmonization process and the Expert Working Group activities that drive that process and then provides a brief but informative review of the ICH Efficacy (E) guidelines, which are the set most relevant to the planning and conduct of clinical research.
Giant left atrium encountered during right-sided thoracentesis

Giant left atrium is an uncommon pathology to encounter during bedside chest ultrasound, but is an important structure to be aware of when considering thoracentesis. This cardiac structure could easily be mistaken for loculated pleural fluid. This case also supports growing evidence that expert users can safely perform thoracentesis without completely reversing therapeutic anticoagulation.
A case of massive splenomegaly due to chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm.

A 34-year-old female, HIV non-reactive, presented to Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Lilongwe, Malawi, complaining of 7 months abdominal pain. She endorsed shortness of breath and early satiety for the same duration, but denied fever, chills, night sweats, and weight loss. The remainder of her review of systems was negative. She had no significant past medical history. There were no identifiable risk factors for myeloproliferative disorders, including family history, known genetic syndromes, chemical exposure, or history of ionizing radiation. On physical exam, she was noted to have a visible spleen (figure 1) which crossed into the right upper quadrant as well as the pelvis, and was non-tender to palpation. There was no cervical or axillary lymphadenopathy. The remainder of her exam was unremarkable.
Overview of the Research Process

Research is a rigorous problem-solving process whose ultimate goal is the discovery of new knowledge. Research may include the description of a new phenomenon, definition of a new relationship, development of a new model, or application of an existing principle or procedure to a new context. Research is systematic, logical, empirical, reductive, replicable and transmittable, and generalizable. Research can be classified according to a variety of dimensions: basic, applied, or translational; hypothesis generating or hypothesis testing; retrospective or prospective; longitudinal or cross-sectional; observational or experimental; and quantitative or qualitative. The ultimate success of a research project is heavily dependent on adequate planning.
A summary of recent results on deadbeat control using periodic feedback

Current efforts to develop simple control algorithms suitable for microprocessor implementation have led to a renewed interest in the effect of periodic, output-feedback laws ui=fiyi, (1) on the closed-loop behaviour of single-input, single-output discrete-time processes xi+1=Axi+bui (2) yi=cxi Relative ease of implementation makes control laws such as (1) an attractive alternative to conventional dynamic compensation for process regulation [1].
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the young patient

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is customarily considered a disease of the elderly. However, 10% of patients reported in a variety of clinical trials are less than 50 years of age. Because of the new approaches to treatment with purine analogs, bone marrow transplantations, and monoclonal antibodies, the time is appropriate for reconsideration to the approach to treatment of younger patients. It is now established that the characteristics which predict for prognosis in young patients are similar to those of patients who are older. However, the survival of patients younger than 55 years of age is significantly greater than those older than 55 years of age. The sex distribution appears to be similar in younger patients as with older patients. The response to treatment with purine analogs has enabled the development of procedures for autologous stem cell transplantation. Allogeneic transplantation is being used increasingly with full dose ablative approaches or modified, less intensive regimens. The new approaches to therapy hold promise for improved survival in this subset of patients. Increasingly these patients are being diagnosed at an earlier stage in association with routine physical examinations or laboratory tests for other procedures.
A construction of certain maximal subgroups of the algebraic groups E6 and F4

Keywords: maximal closed connected subgroup ; exceptional algebraic ; groups ; irreducible embeddings of semisimple algebraic ; groups ; rational modules ; irreducible ; representations ; embeddings of parabolic subgroups Reference CTG-ARTICLE-1989-002doi:10.1016/0021-8693(89)90218-4 Record created on 2008-12-16, modified on 2017-05-12
Abstract 19318: Value of a Combined Epicardial-Endocardial Ablation Strategy for Ventricular Tachycardia Storm

Background: Epicardial mapping and ablation has been shown to be a useful adjunct in the setting of ventricular tachycardia (VT) storm. The aim of this study is to report ablation outcomes in 53 consecutive VT storm cases in patients with ischemic (ICM) and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM), and compare the results of an combined epicardial-endocardial (epi-endo) versus endo-only ablation strategy. Methods: Patients with VT storm referred for ablation between 6/04-6/11 were analyzed into two groups: ICM and NICM. Six month freedom from VT recurrence was compared between patients who underwent combined epi-endo with those who underwent endocardial-only ablation strategy. Results: 53 patients (ICM=26, NICM=27) underwent ablation for VT storm. In the ICM group, there was significantly higher freedom from VT recurrence at 6 months in the epi-endo group compared to the endo-only ablation group (80% vs. 38%, p = 0.03). In the NICM group, there was no difference in freedom from VT recurrence at 6 months in the epi-endo group compared to the endo-only ablation group (25% vs. 31%, p = 0.75). Conclusion: A combined epi-endo ablation resulted in significantly better outcomes compared to endo-only ablation in patient with ICM. No difference was seen for the NICM group. A combined epi-endo should be considered initially in patients with ICM presenting with VT storm.
The Congenital Teratogenicity and Perinatal Toxicity of Metals

The period in a person’s lifespan which is most susceptible to exogenous (environmental) injury is during the early stages of development. During this period, proliferation and differentiation of cells proceed at a remarkable rate, from the formation of the zygote (fertilized egg) to the fetus. The human zygote is a sphere of approximately 0.14 mm in diameter. By the end of the embryonic period (55 days of gestation), it will have increased in volume approximately 27,000 times and have a crown-rump length of 30 mm. This increase in volume is principally the result of cell proliferation. Throughout the remaining fetal period (55th day gestation to birth), the body volume increases about 40 times, and from birth to adulthood only about 20 times. Thus proliferation occurs at an incredibly rapid rate during the early phases of morphogenesis.
Wafer-Scale Method of Controlling Impurity-Induced Disordering for Optical Mode Engineering in High-Performance VCSELs

Impurity-induced disordering (IID) provides a wafer-scale method of enhancing the performance of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) for applications requiring higher output power in a specific optical mode. IID has been demonstrated to achieve higher optical power, faster modulation, and single-mode operation in oxide-confined VCSELs. Through the formation of an IID aperture, spatial control of mirror reflectivity can be selectively used to increase the threshold modal gain of only selected optical modes. However, these IID apertures have been limited by the lack of a method to control the shape of the diffusion front. For maximum laser mirror loss, IID apertures employed for mode-control require deep disordering. Consequently, significant lateral diffusion can be present that undesirably increases the lasing threshold for the fundamental mode. A manufacturable method is presented for controlling the shape of the IID aperture diffusion front by tailoring the strain of the diffusion mask. Experimental analysis to determine an optimal IID aperture size for single-mode high-power operation is next discussed. Numerical analysis of the mirror losses induced and consequent reduction in supported higher order modes as a result of the IID aperture is then presented.
Abstract A023: Regulation of ERG function in prostate cells by phosphorylation and interaction with Ewing’s sarcoma breakpoint protein EWS

More than one-half of prostate tumors have a chromosomal rearrangement that results in the overexpression of an oncogenic ETS family transcription factor. The most common fusion, TMPRSS2/ERG, results in expression of ERG, a protein that is not normally expressed in prostate epithelia. When ERG is expressed in prostate cells it is thought to bind to enhancer elements and regulate gene expression by recruiting transcriptional coactivators and/or corepressors. We have recently shown that the EWS protein acts as a coactivator for ERG in prostate cells and this interaction is required for ERG-mediated xenograft tumor growth. Interestingly, the EWS interaction may be the key requirement that separates oncogenic from nononcogenic ETS factors, as EWS only interacts with four ETS family members involved in prostate cancer gene rearrangements (ERG, ETV1, ETV4, and ETV5), but not with other ETS family members. This ETS/EWS interaction also indicates a common molecular mechanism involved in prostate cancer and Ewing’s sarcoma, a cancer caused by gene fusions that express chimeric EWS/ETS proteins. ERG also interacts with corepressors such as EZH2, a subunit of PRC2. We have recently found that the interaction between ERG and EZH2/PRC2 is regulated by a series of phosphorylation events on ERG. The MAP kinase ERK can bind a high-affinity docking sequence in ERG, resulting in phosphorylation of a nearby serine, S215. This phosphorylation event leads to a conformational change in ERG that allows ERK to phosphorylate a second serine, S96. S96 phosphorylation then disrupts the interaction between ERG and EZH2/PRC2, allowing ERG to activate gene expression. Together, the interaction of ERG with EWS and the regulation of ERG function by ERK-mediated phosphorylation, represent molecular mechanisms that could serve as targets for therapeutic intervention in ERG-positive prostate cancer. Citation Format: Vivekananda Kedage, Taylor R. Nicholas, Brady G. Strittmatter, Nagarathinam Selvaraj, Justin A. Budka, Travis J. Jerde, Peter C. Hollenhorst. Regulation of ERG function in prostate cells by phosphorylation and interaction with Ewing’s sarcoma breakpoint protein EWS [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Prostate Cancer: Advances in Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research; 2017 Dec 2-5; Orlando, Florida. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(16 Suppl):Abstract nr A023.
Role of nonlinearities in topological protection: Testing magnetically coupled fidget spinners

We investigate and experimentally observe the existence of topologically protected interface modes in a one-dimensional mechanical lattice and we report on the effect of nonlinearities on topological protection. The lattice consists of a one-dimensional array of spinners with nearest-neighbor coupling resulting from magnetic interactions. The distance between the spinners is spatially modulated to obtain a diatomic configuration, and to produce a nontrivial interface by breaking spatial inversion symmetry. For small amplitudes of motion, the interactions are approximately linear, and the system supports topologically protected interface modes at frequencies inside the bulk band gap of the lattice. Nonlinearities induced by increasing amplitude of motion cause the interface modes to shift and merge with the bulk bands. The resulting edge-to-bulk transition causes the extinction of the topologically protected interface mode and extends it to the entire length of the chain. Such transition is predicted by analytical calculations and verified by experimental observations. The paper thus investigates topologically protected interface modes obtained through broken spatial inversion symmetry, and documents the lack of robustness in the presence of nonlinearities.
Domestic terrorism in the developing world: role of food security

This article sheds light on the root causes of terrorism by assessing the effect of food security on domestic terrorism among developing countries. Food security is a fundamental physiological need and captures a core well-being outcome. We argue that food insecurity creates grievances among citizens and increases demand among them for action against the government. Terrorist organisations provide the opportunity for citizens to channel their grievances against the government by resolving collective action problems and mobilising citizens. We demonstrate the link between food insecurity and domestic terrorism through quantitative analyses on a sample of 70 developing countries from 1980 to 2011. Our findings demonstrate the deleterious effects of food insecurity on peace in the developing world.
Protection Against Marburg Virus Using a Recombinant VSV-Vaccine Depends on T and B Cell Activation

Marburg virus (MARV) is the causative agent of hemorrhagic fever outbreaks with high case fatality rates. Closely related to Ebola virus, MARV is a filamentous virus with a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA genome. Although extensive studies on filovirus countermeasures have been conducted, there are no licensed treatments against MARV infections. An experimental vaccine based on the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) expressing the MARV-Musoke glycoprotein demonstrated complete protection when a single dose was administered 28 days and up to 14 months prior to MARV challenge. Here, we analyzed the protective efficacy of an updated vaccine expressing the MARV-Angola glycoprotein (VSV-MARV). A single dose of VSV-MARV given 5 weeks before challenge provided uniform protection with no detectable viremia. The vaccine induced B and T cell proliferation and, importantly, antigen-specific IgG production. Transcriptomic signatures confirm these findings and suggest innate immunity engendered by VSV-MARV may direct the development of protective humoral immunity.
Women with Disabilities: Ethics of Access and Accommodation for Infertility Care

Women with disabilities face challenges related to their disabilities of access and accommodation for infertility care. This chapter explores the societal and structural barriers to infertility care these women experience, including legal issues, training and attitudes of physicians, ability to pay, lack of adaptive equipment, inexperience of providers in treating these patient populations, and lack of access to health insurance coverage for infertility care. Ethical arguments respond to providers’ concerns about offering reproductive care to women with disabilities, including concerns about physician competence, physician choice, risks to the woman, inability to consent, risks to any offspring, conscientious objection, and ability to pay. It concludes that there is at best limited and partial justification for many of these concerns, especially in the context of background injustice. The chapter ends with an account of reasonable modifications and accommodations to allow women with disabilities to enjoy reproductive services on equal terms with other women.
Implementation of a Low-Cost Quality Improvement Intervention Increases Adherence to Cancer Screening Guidelines and Reduces Healthcare Costs at a University Medical Center

Adherence to US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) cancer screening guidelines remains considerably lower than the recommendation of the Healthy People 2020 initiative. Patient populations recommended for screening are not screened at an appropriate rate, and populations not recommended for screening are inappropriately screened. Closer adherence to guidelines should improve outcomes and reduce costs, estimated to reach $158 billion/year by 2020. We evaluated whether a use of low-cost educational health maintenance (HM) card by medical residents at a university hospital could impact education and adherence to updated cancer screening guidelines. We also analyzed savings to the healthcare system. Adherence to cervical, breast, and colorectal cancer screening guidelines, defined as percentage that was screened (or not screened) in accordance with the USPSTF guidelines, in clinic visits from December 2012 (n = 336) was compared to those from December 2013 (n = 306) after a quality improvement intervention. Post-intervention, adherence to screening guidelines increased by 40.8% (p < 0.01) for cervical, 33.2% (p < 0.01) for breast, and 20.5% (p < 0.01) for colorectal cancer in average-risk patients. Inappropriate screening was reduced by 26.8% (p < 0.01) for cervical and 32.8% (p < 0.01) for breast cancer. A non-significant 1.1% decrease (p = 0.829) was observed for colorectal cancer. The annual potential savings from avoiding inappropriate screenings were $998,316 (95% CI; $644,484–$1,352,148). We showed a significant absolute increase in USPSTF knowledge of 28.3% irrespective of the house staff level that remained high at 2 years from the educational intervention. The low-cost HM card increased appropriate knowledgeable cancer screening adherence while reducing unnecessary testing and producing substantial savings to the healthcare system.
In Search of Temperament and Personality Predictors of Creativity: A Test of a Mediation Model

Temperament and personality traits constitute inherent and learned personal characteristics that are crucial for creative behaviors among high ability students. This study investigated the relation...
A Multi-scale Systems Approach to Granulation Process Design

Abstract The overarching goal of this study is to quantitatively understand the interactions between material properties, process parameters, equipment design and environmental conditions to predict product performance of granules as product performance is critical to the value of granulated products. In this study, multi-scale predictive models are presented for granulation processes combining key material properties and process parameters with transport phenomena. Results obtained from the study enables a more quantitative and predictive understanding of granulation. Furthermore, the improved multi-scale model formulations can be used to alleviate labor- and capital-intensive experimentation that currently plagues industrial processes.
One-Point Continued Fractions: The Wigner–von Neumann Proof

In this chapter and the next, we provide proofs of the hard part of Loewner’s theorem that rely on continued fractions and a key lemma on the Loewner matrix under stripping off the front of the fraction.
Matrix Profile XIV: Scaling Time Series Motif Discovery with GPUs to Break a Quintillion Pairwise Comparisons a Day and Beyond

The discovery of conserved (repeated) patterns in time series is arguably the most important primitive in time series data mining. Called time series motifs, these primitive patterns are useful in their own right, and are also used as inputs into classification, clustering, segmentation, visualization, and anomaly detection algorithms. Recently the Matrix Profile has emerged as a promising representation to allow the efficient exact computation of the top-k motifs in a time series. State-of-the-art algorithms for computing the Matrix Profile are fast enough for many tasks. However, in a handful of domains, including astronomy and seismology, there is an insatiable appetite to consider ever larger datasets. In this work we show that with several novel insights we can push the motif discovery envelope using a novel scalable framework in conjunction with a deployment to commercial GPU clusters in the cloud. We demonstrate the utility of our ideas with detailed case studies in seismology, demonstrating that the efficiency of our algorithm allows us to exhaustively consider datasets that are currently only approximately searchable, allowing us to find subtle precursor earthquakes that had previously escaped attention, and other novel seismic regularities.
Absence of temporal order in states with spatial correlation decay

In quantum lattice systems, we prove that any stationary state with power-law (or even exponential) decay of spatial correlations has vanishing macroscopic temporal order in the thermodynamic limit. Assuming translational invariance, we obtain a similar bound on the temporal order between local operators at late times. Our proofs do not require any locality of the Hamiltonian. Applications in quantum time crystals are briefly discussed.
Energy Transfer from CdS QDs to a Photogenerated Pd Complex Enhances the Rate and Selectivity of a Pd-Photocatalyzed Heck Reaction

This Article describes the design of a colloidal quantum dot (QD) photosensitizer for the Pd-photocatalyzed Heck coupling of styrene and iodocyclohexane to form 2-cyclohexylstyrene. In the presence...
Workforce-, classroom- and program- level predictors of quality in infant and toddler programs: How subsidized programs compare with other center-based programs

Abstract Finding affordable child care, especially for infants and toddlers, is incredibly challenging for low-income families. Child care subsidies can assist low-income working families with accessing child care and by expanding slots available for the youngest children. However, little is known about how workforce-, classroom-, and program-level predictors of quality vary across child care programs that serve low-income infants and toddlers. The current study fills a critical gap in the existing literature by comparing regulatable features of infant and toddler programs in moderate- and high- poverty areas that serve children paid for with child care subsidies with other publicly and non-publicly funded programs using nationally representative data from the 2012 National Survey of Early Care and Education (n = 1091). Our results show that while programs serving children receiving child care subsidies tend to fall short of other publicly funded programs (i.e., Early Head Start) as it relates to the program-level indicators of quality, programs that serve children receiving subsidies typically have smaller group sizes than Early Head Start. In addition, though they tend to be less educated and are compensated at lower rates, the workforce in subsidized programs are more likely to report that they work to help children and families. Our findings suggest specific features of the workforce, classrooms, and programs that are regulated by federal, state, and local funding streams and policies that could be targeted to better support access for quality infant and toddler care, particularly for low-income families.
An Automated ALARA Method for Ultrasound: An Obstetric Ultrasound Feasibility Study.

OBJECTIVES Ultrasound users are advised to observe the ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) principle, but studies have shown that most do not monitor acoustic output metrics. We developed an adaptive ultrasound method that could suggest acoustic output levels based on real-time image quality feedback using lag-one coherence (LOC). METHODS Lag-one coherence as a function of the mechanical index (MI) was assessed in 35 healthy volunteers in their second trimester of pregnancy. While imaging the placenta or the fetal abdomen, the system swept through 16 MI values ranging from 0.15 to 1.20. The LOC-versus-MI data were fit with a sigmoid curve, and the ALARA MI was selected as the point at which the fit reached 98% of its maximum. RESULTS In this study, the ALARA MI values were between 0.35 and 1.03, depending on the acoustic window. Compared to a default MI of 0.8, the pilot acquisitions suggested a lower ALARA MI 80% of the time. The contrast, contrast-to-noise ratio, generalized contrast-to-noise ratio, and LOC all followed sigmoidal trends with an increasing MI. The R2 of the fit was statistically significantly greater for LOC than the other metrics (P < .017). CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that maximum image quality can be achieved with acoustic output levels lower than the US Food and Drug Administration limits in many cases, and an automated tool could be used in real time to find the ALARA MI for specific imaging conditions. Our results support the feasibility of an automated, LOC-based implementation of the ALARA principle for obstetric ultrasound.
Prognostic Utility of Daily Changes in Glasgow Coma Scale and the Full Outline of Unresponsiveness Score Measurement in Patients with Metabolic Encephalopathy, Central Nervous System Infections and Stroke in Uganda

Metabolic encephalopathy (ME), central nervous system (CNS) infections, and stroke are common causes of reduced level of consciousness in Uganda. However, the prognostic utility of changes in the daily measurements of the Full Outline of Unresponsiveness (FOUR) score and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score in these specific disorders is not known. We conducted secondary analyses of data from patients who presented with reduced level of consciousness due to CNS infections, stroke, or ME to a tertiary hospital in Uganda. Patients had FOUR/GCS scores at admission and at 24 and 48 h. We calculated a change in FOUR score (ΔFOUR) and change in GCS score (ΔGCS) at 24 and 48 h and used logistic regression models to determine whether these changes were predictive of 30-day mortality. In addition, we determined the prognostic utility of adding the admission score to the 24-h ΔFOUR and 24-h ΔGCS on mortality. We analyzed data from 230 patients (86 with ME, 79 with CNS infections, and 65 with stroke). The mean (SD) age was 50.8 (21.3) years, 27% (61 of 230) had HIV infection, and 62% (134 of 230) were peasant farmers. ΔFOUR at 24 h was predictive of mortality among those with ME (odds ratio [OR] 0.64 [95% confidence interval {CI} 0.48–0.84]; p = 0.001) and those with CNS infections (OR 0.65 [95% CI 0.48–0.87]; p = 0.004) but not in those with stroke (OR 1.0 [95% CI 0.73–1.38]; p = 0.998). However, ΔGCS at 24 h was only predictive of mortality in the ME group (OR 0.69 [95% CI 0.56–0.86]; p = 0.001) and not in the CNS or stroke group. This 24-h ΔGCS and ΔFOUR pattern was similar at 48 h in all subgroups. The addition of an admission score to either 24-h ΔFOUR or 24-h ΔGCS significantly improved the predictive ability of the scores in those with stroke and CNS infection but not in those with ME. Twenty-four-hour and 48-h ΔFOUR and ΔGCS are predictive of mortality in Ugandan patients with CNS infections and ME but not in those with stroke. For individuals with stroke, the admission score plays a more significant predictive role that the change in scores.
Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Active Galactic Nucleus Disks and Jets

There is a broad consensus that accretion onto supermassive black holes and consequent jet formation power the observed emission from active galactic nuclei (AGNs). However, there has been less agreement about how jets form in accretion flows, their possible relationship to black hole spin, and how they interact with the surrounding medium. There have also been theoretical concerns about instabilities in standard accretion disk models and lingering discrepancies with observational constraints. Despite seemingly successful applications to X-ray binaries, the standard accretion disk model faces a growing list of observational constraints that challenge its application to AGNs. Theoretical exploration of these questions has become increasingly reliant on numerical simulations owing to the dynamic nature of these flows and the complex interplay between hydrodynamics, magnetic fields, radiation transfer, and curved spacetime. We conclude the following: The advent of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulations has greatly improved our understanding of jet production and its dependence on black hole spin. Simulation results show both disks and jets are sensitive to the magnetic flux threading the accretion flow as well as possible misalignment between the angular momentum of the accretion flow and the black hole spin. Radiation MHD simulations are providing new insights into the stability of luminous accretion flows and highlighting the potential importance of radiation viscosity, UV opacity from atoms, and spiral density waves in AGNs.
Bias in Ligation-Based Small RNA Sequencing Library Construction Is Determined by Adaptor and RNA Structure

High-throughput sequencing (HTS) has become a powerful tool for the detection of and sequence characterization of microRNAs (miRNA) and other small RNAs (sRNA). Unfortunately, the use of HTS data to determine the relative quantity of different miRNAs in a sample has been shown to be inconsistent with quantitative PCR and Northern Blot results. Several recent studies have concluded that the major contributor to this inconsistency is bias introduced during the construction of sRNA libraries for HTS and that the bias is primarily derived from the adaptor ligation steps, specifically where single stranded adaptors are sequentially ligated to the 3’ and 5’-end of sRNAs using T4 RNA ligases. In this study we investigated the effects of ligation bias by using a pool of randomized ligation substrates, defined mixtures of miRNA sequences and several combinations of adaptors in HTS library construction. We show that like the 3’ adaptor ligation step, the 5’ adaptor ligation is also biased, not because of primary sequence, but instead due to secondary structures of the two ligation substrates. We find that multiple secondary structural factors influence final representation in HTS results. Our results provide insight about the nature of ligation bias and allowed us to design adaptors that reduce ligation bias and produce HTS results that more accurately reflect the actual concentrations of miRNAs in the defined starting material.
Mythic Dimensions of the Exodus Tradition

The received exodus narrative is an exilic or post-exilic Priestly redaction in which earlier JE traditions were deliberately rewritten so as to elevate the exodus “event” to mythic status, thereby glorifying both Yahweh and Israel. P portrayed the exodus as a continuation of the primordial battle between the creator and primeval Sea, a principal form of the ancient Near Eastern chaos monster. Pharaoh (Egypt) is depicted as the chaos monster—“the great dragon,” to borrow the language of Ezekiel regarding Pharaoh. P manipulated the wilderness itinerary so as to have Pharaoh perish in yam sup, geographically identifiable with our Red Sea but understood literally as “the Sea of End,” a boundless expanse of ocean fraught with mythical overtones of non-creation, or chaos. Pharaoh is thus merged with primeval Sea and is defeated along with it. P employed Combat Myth motifs also to imply that the exodus was a second phase of creation whereby Israel, Yahweh’s newest creation, emerged through the deity’s splitting—or defeat—of the Sea.
Evaluation of Image Intensifies for Astronomy

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the evaluation of image intensifiers for astronomy. The Optical Sciences Center and the Steward Observatory of the University of Arizona have been developing a facility for evaluating the performance of image intensifiers. The basic goals in this program are the determination of the extent to which accurate photometric and spatial data may be retrieved from an image tube record and what precautions are necessary to obtain such data, and the use of these findings to improve the tubes in the manufacturing stage. The magnification data points are the mean values obtained from measurements for each tube along four radii, each separated in position angle by 90°. The general wavelength dependence of the light-induced background suggests that a significant component of the background is light that is transmitted through the photocathode and is subsequently scattered back to it from within the tube. that the chapter also observes thatthe resolutions obtained when photographic plates are contacted to fiber-optic output plates have been notably lower than expected.
Volumetric trends associated with MRI-guided laser-induced thermal therapy (LITT) for intracranial tumors.

Background MR-guided Laser Induced Thermal Therapy (LITT) is a procedure for intracranial tumors. Minimal data exists regarding post-procedure lesion volume changes. Objectives We aim to analyze changes in lesion volume during the post-LITT period using polygonal tracing with fusion. Additionally, we investigated the role of lesion histopathology on LITT parameters and volume dynamics. Methods Sixteen patients with intracranial neoplasms received LITT. Using OsiriX DICOM Viewer, three raters computed lesion volumes at the following: pre-ablation (PreA), immediate post-ablation (IPA), 24 hours post-ablation (24PA), and first follow-up post-ablation (FPA), which ranged from 4 to 11 weeks post-ablation. Statistical analyses for volume changes between time points and inter-rater reliability were performed. Additionally, comparisons were made between metastatic versus non-metastatic and small versus large lesions in terms of operative parameters and volume changes. Results There was an acute increase in volume at IPA with a decrease in size by 24PA. ANOVA among inter-rater datasets showed no significant difference at any time point (highest F(1,15) = 0.225, P > 0.80, for IPA). GLM repeated measures, for Intra-Rater analysis, demonstrated statistically significant differences across time points (lowest F(1,15) = 13.297, P = 0.003). IPA volumes were larger than those at PreA, 24PA, and FPA (average volume increase [95% CI]: 281% [157–404%], 167% [134–201%], 187% [154–219%], respectively; all P 2.5 cm3) versus smaller (<2.5 cm3) did not demonstrate a difference in percent volume increase. Operative parameters and volume dynamics were not different between metastatic and non-metastatic groups. Conclusions The response of intracranial lesions to LITT demonstrates a peak in volume at the IPA time point with decreased IPA inter-rater reliability. We recommend that conclusions about intracranial lesion size post-LITT be made at least 24 hours post-LITT rather than immediately after LITT. Lasers Surg. Med. 45:362–369, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Corn Palaces and Butter Queens: A History of Crop Art and Dairy Sculpture

Review of: "Corn Palaces and Butter Queens: A History of Crop Art and Dairy Sculpture," by Pamela H. Simpson.
Extending model checking with dynamic analysis

In model-driven verification a model checker executes a program by embedding it within a test harness, thus admitting program verification without the need to translate the program, which runs as native code. Model checking techniques in which code is actually executed have recently gained popularity due to their ability to handle the full semantics of actual implementation languages and to support verification of rich properties. In this paper, we show that combination with dynamic analysis can, with relatively low overhead, considerably extend the capabilities of this style of model checking. In particular, we show how to use the CIL framework to instrument code in order to allow the SPIN model checker, when verifying C programs, to check additional properties, simulate system resets, and use local coverage information to guide the model checking search. An additional benefit of our approach is that instrumentations developed for model checking may be used without modification in testing or monitoring code. We are motivated by experience in applying model-driven verification to JPL-developed flight software modules, from which we take our example applications. We believe this is the first investigation in which an independent instrumentation for dynamic analysis has been integrated with model checking.
An Epic Comeback? Post-Western Politics in Theory and Film

In 1970, Sheldon S. Wolin promoted political theory as an “epic tradition” practiced by Thomas Hobbes. Throughout the 1950s and ’60s, Hollywood had contributed scores of what it regarded as epic films. These are mostly Biblical, classical, national, and western epics. In 1970, however, LITTLE BIG MAN marked a more ironical sensibility that ushered the genre into cinematic eclipse. In moving pictures, epics found a more economical outlet through the television mini-series. Nor did epic aspirations for political theory fare better during the next few decades. In the last decade, CGI technology has helped resurrect epic in global cinema, though often with specifically post-modern inflections. How might epic as it is re-emerging in film fit possibilities for political theory in increasingly post-modern unto post-western settings? And how can political theory learn about emerging politics from recent conventions of epic movies? The essay explores such issues by analyzing prominent politics in diverse epics of late: ALEXANDER (2004), APOCALYPTO (2006), AUSTRALIA (2008), BEOWULF (2007), BRAVEHEART (1995), COLD MOUNTAIN (2003), CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2001), GANGS OF NEW YORK (2002), GLADIATOR (2000), HERO (2002), KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (2005), THE LAST SAMURAI (2003), THE LORD OF THE RINGS (2001, 2002, 2003), O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (2000), 300 (2007), TROY (2004), and more. It compares properties and politics of recent epics with mosaic cinema, an emergent form I have analyzed elsewhere in print. The essay argues that the impressive magnitude of epics links in distinctive ways to kinds of community differently fragmentary and flexible than modern political theory accommodates in its Hobbesian turn to sovereign states. In the west, these kinds of community surface at times in the politics of republics, which helps explain their long affiliation with epic movies. So the current resurgence of epic films tracks the emergence of “republican” politics with post-modern or even post-western inflections. Likewise the conventions taking shape to distinguish many epic films of late from their predecessors point to forms and politics of some potential importance to political theory in the new century.
Mandatory CPR Training in US High Schools

The number of US states mandating cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training as a requirement for graduation from high school is rapidly increasing (Table). 1 Such requisite CPR training in high school now involves 21 states and more than 1 million high school students annually. 2 Although students may opt out, parental consent is required to do so, compelling the majority of high school students to learn the basic techniques of CPR. We believe this widespread implementation of CPR training has many benefits to high school students and the broader US public. High school students are well positioned to improve rates of bystander CPR initiation in the United States, 3 and their engagement could reduce deep disparities in regional rates of survival of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest through early initiation of bystander CPR. Imagine what could happen if CPR training was required in all of the more than 37,000 high schools in the United States. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and each day, more than 1000 people experience a sudden, out-of
Conditional Brownian Motion

Let D be an open subset of ℝ N , and recall that a Brownian motion in D was defined in Section VII.9 as an almost surely continuous Markov process with state space D and transition density b D . The probability space on which the process is defined may or may not be rich enough to extend the process to be a Brownian motion in ℝ N .
Dark grains in comet Crommelin

Comet P/Crommelin (1983n) was observed at 1-20 microns at the NASA IRTF March 29-April 1, 1984. The thermal emission spectrum fits a black body of about 290 K, cooler than other comets observed at 1 AU. The ratio of thermal to scattered radiation indicates that these grains were extremely dark with a geometric albedo of about 0.015 at J(1.25 microns) and 0.02 at K(2.25 microns). The 10 micron flux distribution on April 1 was very asymmetric, decreasing rapidly on the sunward side, less than 6000 km from the nucleus, and extended in the north and east. The spatial distribution and photometric data suggest that large grains emitted from the nucleus at very low velocity were viewed.
Microinjection of echinoderm eggs: apparatus and procedures.

Publisher Summary This chapter elaborates the apparatus and procedures for the microinjection of echinoderm eggs. Microinjection studies provide information on intracellular homeostasis of various ions and serve to elucidate the role and mechanism of ionic control in cell function. The role of specific macromolecules in cell processes can also be evaluated by microinjection. The distribution of purified, fluorescently tagged proteins, microinjected into cells, can be traced through various cell functions. Sea urchin, sand dollar, starfish, and marine annelid oocytes and eggs are normally free-floating spherical cells. For microinjection, viable cells are gently flattened and immobilized between two parallel sheets of coverslip that are closely opposed in the form of a rectangular chamber. Cells in the chamber remain healthy and rapidly divide in synchrony with cells cultured under optimal conditions. The chamber allows easy access to these rapidly dividing eggs by micropipet or other microtools. Certain eggs must be relieved of their fertilization membranes to allow micropipet penetration. It is found that unfertilized eggs flattened and immobilized in the chamber, can be fertilized by adding sperm to the seawater in the injection slide.
The “Good-Girl” Value Construct: Asian Indian Immigrant Women in the U.S. and Contested Spaces

The multiple constructions of identity that define an Indian woman - as a wife, a mother, a Goddess - and the thread that holds these identities together, the “good-girl” are explored in this paper. Fox’s (1977) argument of the use of “nice-girl” or “good-girl” as value constructs for the social control of women is used to examine the narratives of three Asian Indian immigrant women. The discourses presented in the case studies, reflect strongly on the socialized nature of the “good-girl” construct and indicate how its influences, sources, and definitions lead women to communicatively produce and reproduce the meanings of this construct whilst undergoing the dual tensions of embodying and resisting becoming the “good-girl”.