cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Drug therapy of hypertension in old age.

Drug therapy of hypertension in elderly patients should be conservative and designed to moderate the diastolic pressure gradually, not to normalize it suddenly. Rauwolfia, Veratrum, chlorothiazide and, occasionally, hydralazine may be given cautiously, alone or in combination. Before using drugs to treat hypertension the physician should ask himself whether his objective is to make the patient's life more productive and enjoyable or merely to lower the blood pressure.
Revisionist Whiggism: Revisions of the English Past from the Tudors to the Victorians

In addition to being used in the development of a new philosophy of history, the new idealism was concomitantly appropriated in prominent revisionist histories and historiographical debates of the first three and a half decades of the postwar era. Written mainly, but not exclusively, by historians from Cambridge and Oxford, these histories invite historical scrutiny because they for the first time systematically challenged the liberal-whiggish idea of a unitary English national history, while simultaneously erecting influential alternative narratives in its stead.
Anesthetic Management of the Obese Surgical Patient

The global obesity epidemic is growing in severity, affecting people of every age and costing healthcare providers millions of dollars every year. Every day, anesthesiologists are presented with obese and morbidly obese patients undergoing every type of surgical procedure; the management of these patients differs significantly from that of normal weight patients undergoing the same procedure. Anesthetic Management of the Obese Surgical Patient discusses these specific management issues within each surgical specialty area. Initial chapters describe pre-operative assessment and pharmacology; these are followed by detailed chapters on the anesthetic management of a wide variety of surgical procedures, from joint replacement to open heart surgery. Essential reading for anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists worldwide, Anesthetic Management of the Obese Surgical Patient and its companion work by the same authors, Morbid Obesity: Peri-operative Management, enable both trainees and practised professionals to manage this complex patient group effectively.
Narcissism and observed communication in couples

Abstract Narcissism is associated with dysfunction in interpersonal relationships. Empirically, limited information is available about how narcissism affects observed interactions in romantic relationships. In this study, we employed dyadic data analyses to investigate the effects of narcissism on relationship functioning. Young adult couples (N = 54 couples) participated in a neutral discussion task, and their communication behaviors (hostility, anger, and positive affect) were coded by observers. We also assessed self-reported relationship satisfaction and narcissism. Results of multilevel models revealed that women with higher levels of narcissism demonstrated significantly higher levels of hostility, as did their male partners. Men also displayed more anger if their female partner had higher levels of narcissism. Narcissism was not associated with observed positive affect in any of the analyses. Results are consistent with previous research on couples in highlighting that women's narcissism is associated with more difficulties in romantic relationships for women and their male partners. Findings are discussed with attention to better understanding the behaviors that lead to dissatisfaction and dysfunction in romantic relationships where narcissism is present.
Distributed Expert Systems for C 3 I

While most distributed expert systems research has focussed on cooperating expert systems (tightly coupled expert systems that work together to solve complex problems), our research indicates that there is an alternative, loosely coupled, approach for C3I systems. The loosely coupled approach focuses on the functional decomposition of AI applications, the usage of databases as communication nodes, and the separation between the MMI and the inference engine. As a result it encourages the development of modular expert systems which can be embedded into C3I applications. This article describes the guidelines we have developed for knowledge based modules in C3I.
Soil conditioning affects interactions between native and invasive exotic perennials of semi‐natural grasslands

Summary 1.Semi-natural perennial grasslands are of increasing importance as components of multifunctional agroecosystems, combining biomass production with provision of other ecosystem services. Soil legacies from previous land use or exotic species can hinder their establishment, but might be overcome through a multi-stage successional strategy, whereby certain species are used to facilitate native grassland species establishment. We tested this strategy via a feedback experiment examining soil conditioning effects on interference interactions between native and exotic species. 2.Soils in a former maize–soybean production field in Minnesota, USA, were conditioned for three years with native or invasive exotic perennials or a maize–soybean crop rotation. Nitrogen (N) fertilisation was an additional treatment in field plots. In a greenhouse, native and invasive exotic perennial grassland seedlings were grown on these soils, in monoculture and in native–exotic species pairs, with and without N fertilisation. The impact of soil conditioning and field and greenhouse N fertilisation on interactions between native and exotic seedlings in mixture was determined. 3.Neighbouring plants suppressed biomass production in all native and exotic species. The maize–soybean rotation left a soil legacy that enhanced suppression of native species when grown with exotic species, while exotic species suffered no such disadvantage. 4.The strong and specific disadvantage to native species of maize–soybean soils decreased with greenhouse N fertilisation, but remained significant, while field N addition did not alter this effect. 5.Synthesis and applications. We found that the negative soil legacy of the maize–soybean rotation for native plant performance in interaction with exotics was greatly diminished in soils conditioned by native or exotic perennial species, irrespective of nitrogen addition. This highlights the potential value of perennial species in conversion from row-crop agriculture to grasslands, because all perennial species alleviated the enhanced suppression of natives observed on maize–soybean soils. We did not find strong evidence that these perennial species were capable of specifically facilitating native species over exotics, but a broader range of species should be evaluated. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Energy Effects in Modeling Neutron Diffusion: Two-Group Models

In this chapter we derive the multigroup diffusion equation (MGDE), and we illustrate how do we solve them in a way that allows us to calculate an accurate eigenvalue and accurate reaction rates. Since the cross sections vary wildly by multiple orders of magnitude over the energy range in a typical nuclear reactor, the major problem is determining the accurate multigroup cross sections for the design problem under consideration.
Bridging the FPGA programmability-portability Gap via automatic OpenCL code generation and tuning

Programming FPGAs has been an arduous task that requires extensive knowledge of hardware design languages (HDLs), such as Verilog or VHDL, and low-level hardware details. With OpenCL support for FPGAs, the design, prototyping and implementation of an FPGA is increasingly moving towards a much higher level of abstraction, when compared to the intrinsically low-level nature of HDLs. On the other hand, in the context of traditional (i.e., CPU) software development, OpenCL is still considered to be low-level and complex because the programmer needs to manually expose parallelism in the code. In this work, we present our approach to enhancing FPGA programmability via GLAF, a visual programming framework, to automatically generate synthesizable OpenCL code with an array of FPGA-specific optimizations. We find that our tool facilitates the development process and produces functionally correct and well-performing code on the FPGA for our molecular modeling, gene sequence search, and filtering algorithms.
Modified MODIS fluorescence line height data product to improve image interpretation for red tide monitoring in the eastern Gulf of Mexico

Several satellite-based methods have been used to detect and trace Karenia brevis red tide blooms in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Some require data statistics and multiple data products while others use a single data product. Of these, the MODIS normalized fluorescence line height (nFLH) has shown its advantage of detecting blooms in waters rich in colored dissolved organic matter, thus having been used routinely to assess bloom conditions by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the official state agency of Florida responsible for red tide monitoring and mitigation. However, elevated sediment concentrations in the water column due to wind storms can also result in high nFLH values, leading to false-positive bloom interpretation. Here, a modified nFLH data product is developed to minimize such impacts through empirical adjustments of the nFLH values using MODIS-derived remote sensing reflectance in the green band at 547 nm. The new product is termed as an algal bloom index (ABI), which has shown improved performance over the original nFLH in both retrospective evaluation statistics and near real-time applications. The ABI product has been made available in near real-time through a Web portal and has been used by the FWC on a routine basis to guide field sampling efforts and prepare for red tide bulletins distributed to many user groups.
Intestinal stem cell ablation reveals differential requirements for survival in response to chemical challenge

The Drosophila intestine is maintained by multipotent intestinal stem cells (ISCs). Although increased intestinal stem cell (ISC) proliferation has been correlated with a decrease in longevity, there is some discrepancy regarding whether a decrease or block in proliferation also has negative consequences. Here we identify headcase (hdc) as a novel marker of ISCs and enteroblasts (EBs) and demonstrate that Hdc function is required to prevent ISC/EB loss through apoptosis. Hdc depletion was used as a strategy to ablate ISCs and EBs in order to test the ability of flies to survive without ISC function. While flies lacking ISCs showed no major decrease in survival under unchallenged conditions, flies depleted of ISCs and EBs exhibited decreased survival rates in response to damage to mature enterocytes (EC) that line the intestinal lumen. Our findings indicate that constant renewal of the intestinal epithelium is not absolutely necessary under normal laboratory conditions, but it is important in the context of widespread chemical-induced damage when significant repair is necessary.
Transcriptome Remodeling of Acinetobacter baumannii during Infection and Treatment

Acinetobacter baumannii is an increasingly common multidrug-resistant pathogen in health care settings. Although the genetic basis of antibiotic resistance mechanisms has been extensively studied, much less is known about how genetic variation contributes to other aspects of successful infections. Genetic changes that occur during host infection and treatment have the potential to remodel gene expression patterns related to resistance and pathogenesis. Longitudinal sets of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii isolates from eight patients were analyzed by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to identify differentially expressed genes and link them to genetic changes contributing to transcriptional variation at both within-patient and population levels. The number of differentially expressed genes among isolates from the same patient ranged from 26 (patient 588) to 145 (patient 475). Multiple patients had isolates with differential gene expression patterns related to mutations in the pmrAB and adeRS two-component regulatory system genes, as well as significant differences in genes related to antibiotic resistance, iron acquisition, amino acid metabolism, and surface-associated proteins. Population level analysis revealed 39 genetic regions with clade-specific differentially expressed genes, for which 19, 8, and 3 of these could be explained by insertion sequence mobilization, recombination-driven sequence variation, and intergenic mutations, respectively. Multiple types of mutations that arise during infection can significantly remodel the expression of genes that are known to be important in pathogenesis.IMPORTANCE Health care-associated multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii can cause persistent infections in patients, but bacterial cells must overcome host defenses and antibiotic therapies to do so. Genetic variation arises during host infection, and new mutations are often enriched in genes encoding transcriptional regulators, iron acquisition systems, and surface-associated structures. In this study, genetic variation was shown to result in transcriptome remodeling at the level of individual patients and across phylogenetic groups. Differentially expressed genes include those related to capsule modification, iron acquisition, type I pili, and antibiotic resistance. Population level transcriptional variation reflects genome dynamics over longer evolutionary time periods, and convergent transcriptional changes support the adaptive significance of these regions. Transcriptional changes can be attributed to multiple types of genomic change, but insertion sequence mobilization had a predominant effect. The transcriptional effects of mutations that arise during infection highlight the rapid adaptation of A. baumannii during host exposure.
IMPLEMENTATION OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING MODEL OF GROUP TYPE IN INCREASING LEARNING RESULT OF MATH

This study aims to determine the improvement of students' mathematics learning outcomes through the enforcement of cooperative learning model of mobile type of kelmpok in grade IX students of SMP Negeri 6 Bambang Kabupaten Mamasa. This study is a classroom action research conducted in the odd semester of 2016/2017 with the subject of research as many as 32 students. This research was conducted in two cycles. Data collection techniques are carried out with learning outcomes at each end of the cycle and observation sheets to see what needs to be maintained and need to be improved as part of the reflection. The collected data was analyzed by using descriptive analysis. The results of this study showed that: (1) the average of the learning outcomes of mathematics cycle I was 62.28 with the standard deviation of 10.77, was in the medium category, and did not meet the criteria of classical mastery. (2) the average of students' mathematics learning outcomes in cycle II is 71,41 with standard deviation of 9.94, is in high category, and has fulfilled the criteria of classical completeness that is 87,5% from many students who are solved individually. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the application of cooperative learning model of group-type type can improve the learning outcomes of students of grade IX SMP Negeri 6 Bambang Kabupaten Mamasa
Chapter Nine - Restrictionless Cloning

Many methods have been developed for the cloning of PCR products. These methods include blunt-end cloning, TA cloning, and using restriction sites incorporated into the PCR primers. The restrictionless cloning technique allows efficient directional cloning of PCR products into any cloning site within a vector regardless of whether the sites are contained within the insert to be cloned.
Understanding the Inflammatory Tissue Reaction to Brain Implants To Improve Neurochemical Sensing Performance.

Neurochemical sensing probes are a valuable diagnostic and therapeutic tool that can be used to study neurodegenerative diseases involving deficiencies in neurotransmitter signaling. However, implantation of these biosensors can elicit a harmful tissue response that alters the neurochemical environment within the brain. Transmission of chemical messengers via neurons is impeded by a barrier-forming glial scar that occurs within weeks after insertion followed by progressive neurodegeneration, attenuating signal sensitivity. Emerging research reveals that non-neuronal cells also influence the neurochemical milieu following injury both directly and indirectly. The reactivity of both microglia and astrocytes to inserted probes have been extensively studied in the past yet there remains other glial subtypes in the brain, such as oligodendrocytes and their precursors, the myelin structures they form, as well as vascular-bound pericytes, that have the potential to contribute significantly to the inflammation due...
Health-care spending and utilization for children discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit.

To describe health-care spending and utilization for infants discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Retrospective cohort analysis of 4973 NICU graduates in the Truven MarketScan Medicaid database, with follow-up to the third birthday. Health-care spending and utilization after NICU discharge were assessed. Using logistic regression, we assessed clinical characteristics associated with hospitalization and emergency department (ED) visits. Most (69.5%) post-NICU spending occurred within the first year [$33,276 per member per year]. Inpatient care accounted for most (71.6%) of the 3-year spending. The percentages of infants with a 1-year readmission or ED visit were 36.8% and 63.7%, respectively. Medical technology was associated with the highest likelihoods of hospital [aOR 17.8 (95%CI 12.2–26.0)] and ED use [aOR 2.3 (95%CI 1.8–3.0)]. Hospital care accounts for the majority of spending for NICU graduates. Infants with medical technology have the highest risk of hospital and ED use.
Is Newer Necessarily Better? The Evolution of Incisional Glaucoma Surgery Over the Last 100 Years.

Purpose To examine the progress made in glaucoma incisional surgery and determine if there has been sufficient progress to meet the needs of glaucoma patients. Design Perspective (literature review). Methods This is a retrospective assessment of key milestones in the evolution of glaucoma incisional surgery and an evaluation of the risks and the benefits of these procedures. Benefits are defined as effective reduction in intraocular pressure (IOP) and protecting visual function, while risks are defined as safety and complications for our patients. Quality of life is also considered. Results Although advances have been made in the last 100 years, the trabeculectomy, a procedure that was described more than 50 years ago, remains the optimal choice for reducing IOP among those patients who require pressures in the teens, who do not respond to medications and prior laser therapy. Conclusions Appropriate patient selection, careful attention to surgical technique, and intensive follow-up of patients will optimize the results of a trabeculectomy. Newer procedures must be carefully studied in well-designed clinical trials to determine comparative levels of safety and efficacy to this gold standard. Advances in drug delivery and minimally invasive glaucoma surgery may ultimately produce the best outcome for glaucoma patients in the future.
LACTATE DEHYDROGENASE ISOZYME SYNTHESIS AND CELLULAR DIFFERENTIATION IN THE TELEOST RETINA

ABSTRACT. Many orders of teleosts possess a unique lactate dehydrogenase isozyme (LDH C 4 ) predominantly synthesized in the retina. Because of its kinetic properties and its localization in the photoreceptor cells, this isozyme may play a role in visual metabolism. If the LDH C 4 isozyme is important to retinal metabolism, its appearance during embryogenesis should occur concomitantly with morphological and functional differentiation of the retina. Therefore, the timing of the synthesis of this retinal-specific isozyme with respect to the timing of the morphological differentiation was determined. Only LDH A and B subunits are present in the green sunfish ( Lepomis cyanellus , Centrarchidae, Perciformes) from fertilization until several days after hatching. The C 4 isozyme is first detected on the fifth day post-hatch. Light and electron micrographs of the 3 day post-hatch retina reveal that the neural retina is immature at this time. The receptor cell nuclei are very large and the ellipsoids contain small numbers of mitochondria. Few photoreceptor cells have outer segments, indicating incomplete differentiation at 3 days post-hatch. However, by 5 days post-hatch, most photoreceptor cells have developed outer segments, and the ultrastructure of the 5 day post-hatch photoreceptor cells appears almost identical to that of the adult. On the basis of these studies, it appears that the synthesis of the C 4 LDH isozyme is tightly coupled with the morphological and functional differentiation of the retina.
Developing Guidelines for Median Barrier Installation: Benefit–Cost Analysis with Texas Data

Guidelines for the installation of median barriers presented in the AASHTO "Roadside Design Guide" have remained essentially unchanged for more than 30 years. In recent years, the need for improved guidance has prompted several states to reevaluate their guidelines and has also precipitated a nationwide research project administered by the Transportation Research Board. The objective of the study, on which this paper is based, was to develop improved guidelines for the use of median barriers on new and existing high-speed, multilane, divided highways in Texas. The purpose here is to present some modeling and benefit-cost analysis results from that study, with a focus on the results from a particular data set developed under a cross-sectional with-without study design. The highways of interest are those classified as Interstates, freeways, and expressways with four or more lanes and posted speed limits of 55 mph (88 km/h) or higher. The models employed to estimate median-related crash frequencies and severities, including the Poisson-gamma and ordered multinomial logit models as well as modeling results from a full Bayes estimation method, are presented. From the modeling results, a preliminary benefit-cost analysis is described, in conjunction with some sensitivity analyses, for developing the guidelines for concrete and high-tension-cable barriers. A discussion of the limitations of this study and potential future extensions is provided.
A numerical method for the treatment of image stresses in dislocation dynamics simulations

Publisher Summary The use of dislocation dynamics (DD) in capturing multiscale plasticity phenomena in crystalline solids has been gaining a lot of momentum. DD offers to bridge the scale between the nano or microscales and the meso or macroscales. One of the issues in DD simulations is the proper treatment of boundary conditions (BCs). In this chapter, a new developed method for the treatment of dislocation image stresses resulting from the presence of nearby traction-free surfaces is presented. The method is particularly suited for three-dimensional dislocation dynamics simulations. In this method, a finite-area free surface is meshed into an N number of elements, each of which represents a generally prismatic dislocation loop. The method enables the enforcement of a zero-traction BC on a planar free surface with application to DD simulations. The mesh used in the method does not have to be uniform with rectangular elements/loops. Indeed, triangular or any other loop geometry is expected to work. The method can also be extended to treat nonplanar surfaces.
The Reality of Cooperation: Virtual Reality and CSCW

Publisher Summary Virtual reality (VR) can be used to support almost any human activity. Computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) is a relatively new discipline within computing science. CSCW draws its participants from a number of computing science disciplines. Its strongest overlap is with the area of human/computer interaction (HCI). This discipline contributes people interested in building, using, and studying systems interacting with groups of people. In addition, CSCW attracts people interested in office automation, since the office is one of the most heavily cooperative workplaces in today's society. One of the principles of CSCW is that successful groupware systems should allow people to cooperate by overcoming barriers of space and time that are imposed on people. For people to cooperate in a non-computer-supported environment, they must usually either be present in the same location or be working at the same time. However, this is not always convenient or even possible. Computers, by carrying information over distances or storing information over time, allow people to transcend these boundaries to some degree.
Abstract 159: Did the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program Result in Delayed Readmissions Just After 30 days?

Background: The Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) was enacted in March 2010 and imposed financial penalties beginning in October 2012 for hospitals with higher-than-expected 30-day read...
Non-Contact Sensors: Need for Optimum Information Is More Important Than Convenience

CITATIONHunasikatti M. Non-contact sensors: need for optimum information is more important than convenience. J Clin Sleep Med. 2019;15(11):1707.
Evaluating heterogeneity of treatment effects

Evaluation of treatment effects in randomized clinical trials typically focuses on the average difference in outcomes between arms of a trial. While this approach is the gold standard for establish...
Longitudinal Sex-Specific Physical Function Trends by Age, Race/Ethnicity, and Weight Status.

BACKGROUND There is a need to assess longitudinal trends in physical function and to understand the prevalence of physical function status in the older population using objectively measured physical function. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to examine longitudinal sex-specific physical function trends and prevalence of physical function status by age, race/ethnicity, and weight status in older adults, aged 65 years and older. METHODS The present study used longitudinal data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Physical function was measured annually from 2011 to 2018 using the Short Physical Performance Battery, and classified as poor (0-6), fair (7-9), or good (10-12). Mixed effect regression and generalized estimating equation models were used to estimate unadjusted trends and annual changes in physical function, adjusting for confounders and accounting for complex sampling. RESULTS Respondents' physical function declined over time regardless of sex, age, race/ethnicity, and weight status (P < .001). Respondents aged 75 to 84 years (males: β = -.18; 95% confidence interval (CI) = -.22 to -.13; females: β = -.23; 95% CI = -.27 to -.20) and 85 years and older (males: β = -.39; 95% CI = -.47 to -.30; females: β = -.33; 95% CI = -.39 to -.28) had a greater annual physical function rate of decline than respondents aged 65 to 74 years. Respondents aged 75 years and older also had a greater annual increase in the proportion classified as having poor physical function than respondents aged 65 to 74 years (P < .001), regardless of sex. Compared with non-Hispanic whites, Hispanic females had a lower annual physical function rate of decline (β = .14; 95% CI = 0.07-0.20), and Hispanic and/or non-Hispanic blacks had slower annual changes in the proportion classified as having good physical function (P < .05). Compared with normal weight males, overweight males had lower annual changes in physical function (P = .003) and proportion of those with poor physical function (P = .004), but no differences between weight status were observed in females. CONCLUSIONS Physical function declines with age, but temporal changes in physical function and physical function status varied by sex, age, race/ethnicity, and weight status. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:2270-2278, 2020.
Electrophysiological and Imaging Calcium Biomarkers of Aging in Male and Female 5×FAD Mice.

Background In animal models and tissue preparations, calcium dyshomeostasis is a biomarker of aging and Alzheimer's disease that is associated with synaptic dysfunction, neuritic pruning, and dysregulated cellular processes. It is unclear, however, whether the onset of calcium dysregulation precedes, is concurrent with, or is the product of pathological cellular events (e.g., oxidation, amyloid-β production, and neuroinflammation). Further, neuronal calcium dysregulation is not always present in animal models of amyloidogenesis, questioning its reliability as a disease biomarker. Objective Here, we directly tested for the presence of calcium dysregulation in dorsal hippocampal neurons in male and female 5×FAD mice on a C57BL/6 genetic background using sharp electrodes coupled with Oregon-green Bapta-1 imaging. We focused on three ages that coincide with the course of amyloid deposition: 1.5, 4, and 10 months old. Methods Outcome variables included measures of the afterhyperpolarization, short-term synaptic plasticity, and calcium kinetics during synaptic activation. Quantitative analyses of spatial learning and memory were also conducted using the Morris water maze. Main effects of sex, age, and genotype were identified on measures of electrophysiology and calcium imaging. Results Measures of resting Oregon-green Bapta-1 fluorescence showed significant reductions in the 5×FAD group compared to controls. Deficits in spatial memory, along with increases in Aβ load, were detectable at older ages, allowing us to test for temporal associations with the onset of calcium dysregulation. Conclusion Our results provide evidence that reduced, rather than elevated, neuronal calcium is identified in this 5×FAD model and suggests that this surprising result may be a novel biomarker of AD.
Can vanishing mass-on-shell interactions generate a dip at colliders?

We categorize new physics signatures that manifest themselves as a “dip” structure at colliders. One potential way to realize a dip is to require interactions to be zero when all particles are mass on-shell, but not if one or more are mass off-shell. For three particle interactions, we have found three interesting cases: one massive gauge boson with two identical scalars; one massless gauge boson with two different scalars; one massive gauge boson with two identical massless gauge bosons. For each case, we identify the relevant effective operators to explore its dip signature at the LHC. Unfortunately, the unstable particle with a vanishing mass-on-shell interaction has a complex mass which is coincident with the complex pole in its propagator. As a result, a contact-like amplitude without a dip is produced. Some interesting collider signatures for “fermion-phobic” vector bosons are also discussed.
The Harms of Police Surveillance Technology Monopolies

Police today increasingly rely on technologies of surveillance, data collection, inference, and prediction. These technologies include tools like body cameras, license plate readers, data analytics, and predictive crime software. All of them have in common a reliance on artificial intelligence and enormous amounts of digitized data. We can refer to these tools broadly as “police surveillance technologies.” These policing tools are primarily products developed and offered by private companies. The relationship between the private sector and their police customers raises concerns about a hidden and undue influence on an important democratic function. Both of these developments--regarding the role of artificial intelligence in policing and the private sector influence in it--have drawn growing regulatory and academic attention. These developments, however, are driving another underappreciated change in policing. Police departments need platforms to manage data. Private sector companies providing technology products to police departments are in a race to develop a dominant policing platform. That’s a problem. Any product that offers to integrate all of the tools, data, and analysis that police rely on is a useful one. But the integration of these technologies poses an entirely different issue in policing that thus far has gone without serious scrutiny. If a single company dominates the market for a policing platform--a technological ecosystem for policing--it will effectively control the design, access, and availability of many different kinds of surveillance technologies. A company that achieves platform dominance in policing would not only reap economic benefits, but would also gain an enormous power over functions basic to issues of democratic policing.
Formalin pre-fixation improves autopsy histology.

ABSTRACT Microscopic findings in key tissues are often critical to determine the cause of death in medical autopsies. The overall quality of histologic sections depends on numerous pre-analytic factors, among which are tissue section size and thickness. We designed a prospective quality improvement study to determine whether a simple intervention of formalin pre-fixation of myocardium, liver, and kidney tissues could improve the ease of cutting and quality of autopsy histologic sections as assessed by histotechnicians and pathologists. Of 46 autopsies included in the study, 21 were randomly assigned to formalin pre-fixation, and 25 underwent routine sectioning without formalin pre-fixation. A significant improvement in overall quality score by histotechnicians was detected in the sections from pre-fixed autopsy tissues compared to the control group (p=0.0327). There was no significant difference in quality score between the two groups as assessed by pathologists. Our autopsy quality improvement study demonstrates that a simple, low-cost intervention of formalin pre-fixation of fresh autopsy tissues for 90 minutes could significantly improve the overall quality of sections submitted for histologic processing.
Idaho makes Trichomoniasis a reportable/regulatory disease:

Idaho has added trichomoniasis to its reportable and regulatory diseases. Since the early eighties trichomoniasis has been diagnosed with increasing frequency in Idaho, particularly in areas that practice common grazing. The producers that have suffered economic loss due to trichomoniasis and have started control programs, have often failed due to reinfection from infected, but undiagnosed herds in the area. The Idaho Cattle Association mandated that trichomoniasis be reported and regulated. The following regulation became effective on October 6, 1989.
Abstract T P47: Feasibility of Rapid Short Sequence Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Screening Stroke Mimics within the IV-tPA Treatment Window - A Pilot Study

Background & Purposes: Up to 30 percent of patients presenting with acute onset of neurological symptoms may suffer from stroke mimics (SMs). MRI is highly sensitive for detection of acute ischemia; however, its clinical utility in the acute stage is limited secondary to the complexity, availability, and time required for a comprehensive brain MRI. In this pilot study, we investigated the feasibility of rapid short sequence (RSS) MRI to screen possible SMs while keeping the door-to-needle (DTN) time below one hour. Subjects & Methods: We developed clinical criteria to clinically suspect possible SMs and deployed RSS MRI in those patients presenting with acute stroke like-symptoms. Our RSS MRI protocol takes 5-6 minutes and includes DWI, ADC, and FLAIR sequences. The patients also received a non-contrast CT head at the time of ER presentation as standard of care. The new processes to our code stroke protocol included adding MRI technicians to the code stroke, the stroke nurse or physician filling out the MRI screening sheet and transporting the patient to the MRI suite. The stroke physicians were also available at the MRI console to read the MRI and the stroke team was on standby to initiate IV tPA infusion in the MR suite, if it was indicated. Results: In a 9-month period, we evaluated 35 patients, who met our criteria for possible SMs, using RSS MRI (mean age 49, 78% women, median NIHSS 4). Three patients had diagnosis of an acute ischemic stroke on RSS MRI and received IV TPA while still in the MR suite. The DTN time ranged from 48 to 58 minutes. The median door-to-imaging time was 43 minutes (range 38-49). All of our patients with a RSS MRI negative for acute stroke had a final diagnosis other than stroke. Conclusions: Our preliminary results show that RSS MRI can be rapidly obtained in selected patients without delaying the DTN time. This screening method avoids unnecessary IV-tPA administration to SMs.
Evolution of TPS20-related terpene synthases influences chemical diversity in the glandular trichomes of the wild tomato relative Solanum habrochaites.

A systematic screen of volatile terpene production in the glandular trichomes of 79 accessions of Solanum habrochaites was conducted and revealed the presence of 21 mono- and sesquiterpenes that exhibit a range of qualitative and quantitative variation. Hierarchical clustering identified distinct terpene phenotypic modules with shared patterns of terpene accumulation across accessions. Several terpene modules could be assigned to previously identified terpene synthase (TPS) activities that included members of the TPS-e/f subfamily that utilize the unusual cis-prenyl diphosphate substrates neryl diphosphate and 2z,6z-farnesyl diphosphate. DNA sequencing and in vitro enzyme activity analysis of TPS-e/f members from S. habrochaites identified three previously unassigned enzyme activities that utilize these cisoid substrates. These produce either the monoterpenes α-pinene and limonene, or the sesquiterpene 7-epizingiberene, with the in vitro analyses that recapitulated the trichome chemistry found in planta. Comparison of the distribution of S. habrochaites accessions with terpene content revealed a strong preference for the presence of particular TPS20 alleles at distinct geographic locations. This study reveals that the unusually high intra-specific variation of volatile terpene synthesis in glandular trichomes of S. habrochaites is due at least in part to evolution at the TPS20 locus.
A Polynomial Time Approximation Scheme for the Problem of Interconnecting Highways

The objective of the Interconnecting Highways problem is to construct roads of minimum total length to interconnect n given highways under the constraint that the roads can intersect each highway only at one point in a designated interval which is a line segment. We present a polynomial time approximation scheme for this problem by applying Arora's framework (Arora, 1998; also available from http:www.cs.princeton.edu/˜arora). For every fixed c > 1 and given any n line segments in the plane, a randomized version of the scheme finds a (1 + 1 c )-approximation to the optimal cost in O(n O(c) log(n)) time.
Autecology in Rhizospheres and Nodulating Behavior of Indigenous Rhizobium trifolii.

Indigenous serotype 1-01 of Rhizobium trifolii occupied significantly fewer nodules (6%) on plants of soil-grown noninoculated subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) cv. Woogenellup than on cv. Mt. Barker (36%) sampled at the flowering stage of growth. Occupancy by indigenous serotype 2-01, was not significantly different on the two cultivars (16 and 26%). Serotype-specific, fluorescent-antibody conjugates were synthesized and used to enumerate the indigenous serotypes in host (clovers) and nonhost (annual rye-grass, Lolium multiflorum L.) rhizospheres and in nonplanted soil. The form and concentration of Ca2+ in the flocculating mixture and the presence of phosphate anions in the extracting solution were both critical for enumerating R. trifolii in Whobrey soil. The two serotypes were present in similar numbers in nonplanted soil (ca. 106 per g of soil) and each represented ca. 10% of the total R. trifolii population. Although host rhizospheres did not preferentially stimulate either serotype, the mean population densities of serotype 2-01 were significantly greater (P = 0.05) than those of serotype 1-01 in clover rhizospheres on 8 of 14 samplings made between the time of seeding and the appearance of nodules (day 12). In this experiment, and in contrast to our earlier findings, serotype 1-01 occupied significantly fewer (P ≤ 0.05) of the nodules (7 to 16%) on both cultivars than serotype 2-01 (51%) when sampled at 4 weeks. Differences between cultivars became apparent as the plants matured. There was a threefold increase (7 to 21%) in nodules occupied by serotype 1-01 on cv. Mt. Barker between 4 and 16 weeks. This was accompanied by increases in nodules coinhabited by both nonidentifiable occupants and either serotype 1-01 (0 to 20%) or 2-01 (11 to 51%). No increases in either of these parameters were observed on cv. Woogenellup.
The Scale of Prediction

A predictive model for a biological system requires capturing the network of environmental factors that affect system responses.
Development and Validation of a Scale for Measuring Social Work Practice Skills

The development of research instruments for measuring social work practice skills has been overlooked despite the overall growth of social work practice research. This article describes the develop...
THE UWMAK-II STUDY AND MAGNET DESIGN

The conceptual design of a Tokamak fusion power reactor, UWMAK-II [1] with a special emphasis on the superconducting magnet designs is described. The reactor is designed to generate 5000 MW(th) during the plasma burn and to deliver 1716 MW e continuously. The structural material is 316 stainless steel and the primary coolant is helium. UWMAK-II is a low aspect ratio, low magnetic field design and includes a double null, axisymmetric poloidal field divertor for impurity control. In addition, a carbon curtain, made of two-dimensional woven carbon fiber, is mounted on the first vacuum chamber wall to protect the plasma from high Z impurities and to protect the first wall from erosion by charged particle bombardment. The blanket, which is designed to minimize the inventory of both tritium and lithium, utilizes a solid breeding material (LiA10 2 ) with beryllium as a neutron multiplier. The breeding ratio is between 1.11 and 1.19 depending on the method of homogenization. The total energy per fusion is 21.56 MeV, which is fairly high.
The Composition of Interstellar Dust

The majority of interstellar grain models are based on a dust population composed of carbon and silicate grains. Abundance studies using high-resolution absorption line spectra, however, suggest that other grain types, perhaps oxides or metal grains, are prevalent in interstellar clouds. The data further suggest that not enough carbon is depleted from the gas-phase interstellar medium to account for the carbon-based grains often used to explain the measured optical and UV dust opacity. Silicon atoms are likely to be more populous in grain mantles than in silicate grain cores.
The z = 1.6748 C I Absorber Toward the QSO PKS 1756+237

We have detected C I ground-state absorption at zabs = 1.6748 toward the QSO PKS 1756+237 (z em = 1.725), making this only the fourth known C I QSO absorber. The absence of excited-state fine-structure C I lines is compatible with the redshifted Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation at an expected temperature of TcMBR(1+z) = 7.291 K (Mather et al. 1994, ApJ, 354, L37). We find a 2σ upper-limit on the C I excitation temperature of Tex ≤ 7.73 (+0.53, -0.46) K (Roth & Bauer 1999, ApJ, submitted). Our Keck HIRES spectra (8.3 km s-1 FWHM) obtained in May 1997 also reveal the existence of Ni II and Fe II lines with a sub-solar Ni/Fe abundance ratio, presumably indicative of dust. We have obtained deep, high resolution (0.3″ FWHM) images in H+K′ with the UH 2.2m Tip-Tilt system of the QSO field in order to identify the system responsible for the zabs = 1.6748 absorption. We detect two faint candidate systems within 1.5″ and 3″ (≈ 15 and 30 kpc, H o = 65) of the QSO.
Alternative strategies in newborns and infants with major co-morbidities to improve congenital heart surgery outcomes at an emerging programme

Introduction Debilitating patient-related non-cardiac co-morbidity cumulatively increases risk for congenital heart surgery. At our emerging programme, flexible surgical strategies were used in high-risk neonates and infants generally considered in-operable, in an attempt to make them surgical candidates and achieve excellent outcomes. Materials and methods Between April, 2010 and November, 2013, all referred neonates (142) and infants (300) (average scores: RACHS 2.8 and STAT 3.0) underwent 442 primary cardiac operations: patients with bi-ventricular lesions underwent standard (n=294) or alternative (n=19) repair/staging strategies, such as pulmonary artery banding(s), ductal stenting, right outflow patching, etc. Patients with uni-ventricular hearts followed standard (n=96) or alternative hybrid (n=34) staging. The impact of major pre-operative risk factors (37%), standard or alternative surgical strategy, prematurity (50%), gestational age, low birth weight, genetic syndromes (23%), and major non-cardiac co-morbidity requiring same admission surgery (27%) was analysed on the need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, mortality, length of intubation, as well as ICU and hospital length of stays. Results The need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (8%) and hospital survival (94%) varied significantly between surgical strategy groups (p=0.0083 and 0.028, respectively). In high-risk patients, alternative bi- and uni-ventricular strategies minimised mortality, but were associated with prolonged intubation and ICU stay. Major pre-operative risk factors and lower weight at surgery significantly correlated with prolonged intubation, hospital length of stay, and mortality. Discussion In our emerging programme, flexible surgical strategies were offered to 53/442 high-risk neonates and infants with complex CHDs and significant non-cardiac co-morbidity, in order to buffer risk and achieve patient survival, although at the cost of increased resource utilisation.
A Vagina Monologue: Mom's Stress, Bugs, and Baby's Brain.

How does maternal stress during pregnancy affect postpartum development? How and when do we acquire our gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota? Does psychological stress affect our microbiota? Can changes in maternal microbiota be vertically transmitted to offspring and can those changes influence brain development? These are questions that Jasarevic et al raise and begin to answer (1).
Ultrasound dilution evaluation of pediatric hemodialysis vascular access.

Ultrasound dilution evaluation of pediatric hemodialysis vascular access. Background Hemodialysis access thrombosis is a significant cause of morbidity for hemodialysis patients and results from decreased access flow caused by venous outflow tract stenosis. Ultrasound dilution (UD) is a practical, noninvasive, and reliable indicator of access flow and is effective in predicting venous stenosis in adult patients receiving hemodialysis. Methods The current study is the first to our knowledge to evaluate the accuracy of UD in predicting hemodialysis access stenosis in a pediatric hemodialysis population. Thirteen pediatric patients receiving hemodialysis via permanent access (4 AVF and 9 AVG) received 73 UD measurements over three months. Results Mean raw access flow (QA) was 720 ± 428 mL/min, and mean corrected access flow (QAcorr) was 886 ± 537 mL/min/1.73 m 2 . QAcorr was significantly lower in accesses with stenosis (401 ± 176 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ) versus accesses without stenosis (1158 ± 330 mL/min/1.73 m 2 , P 2 ) versus accesses without stenosis (709 to 1711 mL/min/1.73 m 2 ). Two patients with an AVG who had QAcorr less than 600 mL/min/1.73 m 2 developed an access thrombosis within one week after UD measurement. No patients with QAcorr greater than 700 mL/min/1.73 m 2 developed access thrombosis in the 30 days following UD measurement. Conclusions The current study supports the use of monthly UD measurement to prevent access thrombosis in children receiving hemodialysis.