cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Institute Of Medicine Committee's Clarion Call For Universal Coverage

The recommendation for universal coverage faces an uphill struggle, because of difficulties defining benefits and variations in health care costs. by Joseph P. Newhouse and Robert D. Reischauer ABSTRACT: The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on the Consequences of Being Un- insured is to be commended for its work, which recently culminated in the release of six vol- umes on the subject. The concluding volume presents a vision for universal coverage and describes four options for achieving it. The options include an incremental approach, em- ployer and individual mandates, and a single-payer plan. We identify complications involv- ing benefits and geographic variation in costs surrounding attempts to achieve universal coverage. The complications suggest that the committee's cost estimates may be too low and that there may be sizable political barriers to the proposals.
Role of cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging in arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) is a genetic cardiomyopathy characterized clinically by ventricular arrhythmias and progressive right ventricular (RV) dysfunction. The histopathologic hallmark is fibro-fatty replacement of RV myocardium. It is inherited in an autosomal pattern with variable penetrance. ARVD is unique in that it most commonly presents in young, otherwise healthy and highly athletic individuals. The cause of ARVD is not well-known but recent evidence suggests strongly that it is a disease of desmosomal dysfunction. The disease involvement is not limited only to the RV as left ventricle (LV) has also been reportedly affected. Diagnosis of ARVD is challenging and is currently based upon a multi-disciplinary work-up of the patient as defined by the Task Force. Currently, implanted cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) are routinely used to prevent sudden death in patients with ARVD. Cardiovascular MR is an important non-invasive diagnostic modality that allows both qualitative and quantitative evaluation of RV. This article reviews the genetics of ARVD, current status and role of CMR in the diagnosis of ARVD and LV involvement in ARVD.
A collaborative multi-view virtual environment for molecular visualization and modeling

Molecular modeling has been a long-standing research area for biologists. However, the existing molecular modeling software lacks strong support for collaborative research. In this paper, we describe our effort to develop a collaborative multiview virtual environment for molecular visualization and modeling. In our virtual environment, the users are able to visualize large molecular structures in real-time, create their own view, or share their view with others in the system. The system allows for individual or coordinated collaborative manipulation of the virtual molecular model. Our virtual environment is integrated with a molecular dynamics simulator, and therefore our system is not merely a visualization tool, but an environment where biologists can collaboratively construct their models and test their hypotheses.
Active target search from UAVs in urban environments

In this paper we consider the problem of searching for a target from a camera-equipped unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flying in an urban area. Urban areas present challenges because buildings can hamper the ability to see regions on the ground. We describe an algorithm that constructs paths that take into account obstructions due to buildings or other large objects. The approach combines search trees and a particle filters to evaluate a large number of possible paths, while at the same time performing all the Bayes' filter innovations that would need to occur during the evaluation of each path.
The Significance of Grain in the Development of the Tobacco Colonies

The economic development of the American colonies is one of the least explored areas in American economic history. Since the several regions in the colonies followed somewhat different paths of development, the colonial puzzle can be gradually pieced together through research which concentrates on particular regions. The subject of this study is an important aspect of the development of the tobacco colonies during approximately the thirty years preceding 1770. George Rogers Taylor and Jacob M. Price have suggested that the second and third quarters of the eighteenth century brought “rapid economic growth” to the tobacco colonies and a “marked resumption of growth” in tobacco exports. The findings of this study will suggest some reservations concerning the leading role of tobacco during this time. The series on American tobacco exports to Great Britain suggests that there was virtual stagnation in the first quarter of the eighteenth century followed by perhaps a doubling of exports in the second quarter and then near stagnation in the third quarter until the year 1771. The reason for the leap in tobacco exports in 1771 to a high plateau of approximately 100 million pounds annually during 1771–1775 is unknown. What is important for analysis of the growth and development of the tobacco colonies, however, is that the exceptionally high exports in the last five years of the colonial period tend to mask what was apparently a slow and erratic growth in world demand for American tobacco exports in the immediately preceding decades. The assumption that tobacco was a booming sector in the economy of the upper South at this time is open to question.
An Analysis of Edge Heat Transfer in Residential Windows

New window technologies are reducing heat transfer through the glazed areas of windows. Low-emissivity (low-E) coatings reduce radiative heat transfer and low-conductivity gas fills (which replace the air between glazing layers) reduce conductive heat transfer. Given these advantages in insulating glass technol ogy. researchers and manufacturers are now beginning to focus their attention on re ducing heat transfer through window edges. Old edge designs are now under scru tiny and new designs are being proposed.
Bruxism in children: effect on sleep architecture and daytime cognitive performance and behavior.

Study Objectives: Sleep bruxism is an involuntary mandibular movement with tooth grinding during sleep. The prevalence of sleep bruxism in children is high and may lead to frequent arousals with altered daytime functioning. We investigated the sleep architecture, the incidence of gastroesophageal reflux, and the daytime cognitive behavioral functioning in a group of children with sleep bruxism. Design-Patients: This prospective pilot study included 10 children. Polysomnographic data with pH-probe analysis was compared with 10 age-and sex-matched controls. Each patient completed a dental evaluation, a nighttime polysomnogram, and cognitive behavioral tests (Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test and Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist). Results: Eight of 10 children had clinically significant bruxism and the 2 remaining patients had recent teeth exfoliation. There was no difference on sleep architecture between patients and controls, except for a higher arousal index for the bruxism group (36.7 vs 20.7, p <.007). Sleep bruxism occurred more frequently in stage 2 and rapid eye movement sleep, with arousals in 66% of the cases. There was no relationship of bruxism to gastroesophageal reflux or intelligence. However, 40% of the patients had elevated scores on the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist, indicating significant attention and behavior problems, and there were moderate correlations between the arousal index and several of the behavior-problem scales from the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (0.5 to 0.6). Conclusions: The data suggest that children with bruxism have a higher arousal index, which may be associated with an increased incidence of attention-behavior problems. Future studies investigating pediatric sleep bruxism will need to focus on behavior issues that may be prevalent in this population.
Concurrent Helicobacter bilis infection in C57BL/6 mice attenuates proinflammatory H. pylori-induced gastric pathology.

Because coinfections can alter helicobacter gastritis, we investigated whether enterohepatic Helicobacter bilis modulates Helicobacter pylori gastritis in C57BL/6 mice. Thirty mice per group were sham dosed, H. bilis or H. pylori infected, or H. bilis infected followed in 2 weeks by H. pylori and then evaluated at 6 and 11 months postinfection (mpi) for gastritis and premalignant lesions. Compared to H. pylori-infected mice, H. bilis/H. pylori-infected mice at 6 and 11 mpi had less severe gastritis, atrophy, mucous metaplasia and hyperplasia (P < 0.01) and, additionally, at 11 mpi, less severe intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia (P < 0.05). H. bilis/H. pylori-infected mice at 11 mpi exhibited less Ki67 labeling of proliferating epithelial cells, reduced numbers of FoxP3+ T-regulatory (TREG) cells, and lower FoxP3+ mRNA levels than did H. pylori-infected mice (P < 0.05). Proinflammatory interleukin-1β (IL-1β), gamma interferon, and tumor necrosis factor alpha mRNA levels were attenuated in H. bilis/H. pylori-infected mice at 6 and 11 mpi (P < 0.01), although anti-inflammatory IL-10, IL-13, and transforming growth factor β1 mRNA levels were not consistently impacted by H. bilis coinfection. Decreased pathology in H. bilis/H. pylori-infected mice correlated with higher gastric H. pylori colonization at 6 mpi (P < 0.001) and lower Th1-associated immunoglobulin G2c responses to H. pylori at 6 and 10 mpi (P < 0.05). We hypothesized that reduced pathology in H. bilis/H. pylori-infected mice was due to H. bilis-primed TREG cells in the lower bowel that migrated to the gastric compartment and inhibited Th1 responses to subsequent H. pylori infection. Thus, H. pylori-induced gastric lesions may vary in mouse models of unknown enteric helicobacter infection status and, importantly, variable sequelae to human H. pylori infection, particularly in developing countries, may occur where coinfection with lower bowel helicobacters and H. pylori may be common.
Distributed MMSE Relay Strategies for Wireless Sensor Networks

A fundamental task in a wireless sensor network is to broadcast some measured data from an origin sensor to a destination sensor. Since the sensors are typically small, power limited, and low cost, they are only able to broadcast low-power signals. As a result, the propagation loss from the origin to the destination nodes can attenuate the signals beyond detection. One way to deal with this problem is to pass the transmitted signal through relay nodes. In this paper we propose and study two-hop multisensor relay strategies that achieve minimum mean-square-error (MSE) performance subject to either local or global power constraints. The capacity of the resulting relay link and its diversity order are studied. The effect of channel uncertainties on system performance is examined and a modified relay scheme is proposed.
THE VALUE OF INFORMATION SHARING IN A TWO-STAGE SUPPLY CHAIN WITH PRODUCTION CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS: THE INFINITE HORIZON CASE

We study the value of information sharing in a two-stage supply chain with a single manufacturer and a single retailer in an infinite time horizon, where the manufacturer has finite production capacity and the retailer faces independent demand. The manufacturer receives demand information even during periods of time in which the retailer does not order. Allowing for time-varying cost functions, our objective is to characterize the impact of information sharing on the manufacturer's cost and service level. We develop a new approach to characterize the induced Markov chains under cyclic order-up-to policy and provide a simple proof for the optimality of cyclic order-up-to policy for the manufacturer under the average cost criterion. Using extensive computational analysis, we quantify the impact of information sharing on the manufacturer's performance in an infinite time horizon under both i.i.d. demand and independent but nonstationary demand.
Public Interest Lobbies

In part I we argued that ideological factors may be influential in explaining the passage of legislation. In this, the empirical section, we examine several measures of ideology in order to determine whether ideology is, in fact, important. In all cases we attempt to abstract from economic determinants of legislation in order to get a pure measure of ideology. In this chapter we examine the effects of so-called public interest lobbies on the passage of legislation. (We do not believe these organizations actually represent anything that can be called the “public interest.” We believe that markets can generally do an adequate job of protecting the public.) First we examine the determinants of membership in public interest lobbies; next we examine the influence of these organizations on legislation. Holding constant the economic factors associated with voting, the size of the public interest lobbies in a given state does seem to influence the voting of that state’s representatives on bills on which the lobbies take a position.
A Lateral Gynandromorph in the Bee Genus Thyreus and the Sting Mechanism in the Melectini (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

A lateral gynandromorph of Thyreus redactulus? Cockerell is described and figured, with a particular emphasis on the genitalic sclerites. As such, the sting morphology and mechanism are described for T. ramosus (Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau) to provide a comparative framework for understanding the gynandromorph. The implications of the gynandromorph’s genitalic arrangements for intersexual homologies are explored.
Activation of HSF and selective increase in heat-shock proteins by acute dexamethasone treatment.

Heat-shock proteins (HSPs) are an important family of endogenous protective proteins, which increase in response to myocardial ischemia and other stresses. Overexpression of HSP72 is cardioprotecti...
The physiology of perception in human temporal lobe is specialized for contextual novelty

The human ventral temporal cortex has regions that are known to selectively process certain categories of visual inputs; they are specialized for the content (“faces,” “places,” “tools”) and not the form (“line,” “patch”) of the image being seen. In our study, human patients with implanted electrocorticography (ECoG) electrode arrays were shown sequences of simple face and house pictures. We quantified neuronal population activity, finding robust face-selective sites on the fusiform gyrus and house-selective sites on the lingual/parahippocampal gyri. The magnitude and timing of single trials were compared between novel (“house-face”) and repeated (“face-face”) stimulus-type responses. More than half of the category-selective sites showed significantly greater total activity for novel stimulus class. Approximately half of the face-selective sites (and none of the house-selective sites) showed significantly faster latency to peak (∼50 ms) for novel stimulus class. This establishes subregions within category-selective areas that are differentially tuned to novelty in sequential context, where novel stimuli are processed faster in some regions, and with increased activity in others.
Differential Diagnosis of Lymphedema

Lymphedema causes progressive overgrowth of an extremity because of anomalous development of the lymphatic vasculature or injury to regional lymph nodes. Although lymphedema is a specific disease, the term “lymphedema” often is applied to any enlarged limb regardless of the underlying cause. The differential diagnosis of lymphedema includes: capillary malformation, CLOVES syndrome, hemihypertrophy, infantile hemangioma, kaposiform hemangioendothelioma, Klippel–Trenaunay syndrome, lipedema, lipofibromatosis, microcystic/macrocystic lymphatic malformation, obesity, Parkes Weber syndrome, systemic diseases (e.g., cardiac, renal, hepatic, rheumatological), trauma, venous malformation, and venous insufficiency. It is important to accurately determine whether a patient has lymphedema because the prognosis and treatment of this condition differs from other potential causes of extremity overgrowth. Lymphoscintigraphy can accurately determine whether a patient has lymphedema. If lymphatic function is normal, then MRI often is useful to diagnose the patient’s condition.
When You Have Nowhere to Look, You Look Where You Can

Although many physicians implant cardiac implantable electronic devices, only a small fraction performs transvenous lead extraction (TLE). This has led to inconsistent and, at times, inappropriate patient management. Despite clear Class I recommendations for lead extraction for infected devices,1 patients all too often receive multiple debridements and rounds of antibiotics for device-related infection. In addition, in cases of device system upgrade and lead malfunction, lead after lead is often added, sometimes involving tunneling and frequently resulting in the elimination of vascular access. Why are more of these patients not offered or referred for lead extraction? In many cases, we believe the reason is unfounded fear of the procedure and a knowledge gap. In a survey performed by Spectranetics (Colorado Springs, CO), cardiologists perceived the major complication rate associated with the extraction procedure itself to be >5% and the mortality rate to be nearly 1.5%. Henrikson and colleagues2 performed a similar survey among 252 electrophysiologists (63% of whom identified themselves as performing TLE) with similar observations. More than 75% of respondents perceived the morbidity risk associated with TLE to be ≥2%, and close to 30% of respondents estimated the risk to be ≥5%. Among the group surveyed, the mortality risk with TLE was similarly perceived to be excessive despite the surprising preponderance of “extractionists” among the group. It is not surprising that more patients are not referred if this is the impression. In a global survey of 820 clinicians addressing the understanding of cardiac implantable electronic device infection and lead management, ≤50% of all respondents failed to correctly identify and implement Class I recommendations for device-related infection despite >60% of respondents identifying themselves as performing TLE.3 Clearly, data and education are needed, both of which are lacking. In this issue of Circulation , Deshmukh and colleagues4 rightfully …
Dissolution and Off-Gas Results for U-Al and Al Alloys Representative of MURR-Type Used Nuclear Fuels

Dissolution experiments were performed to build on previous work and allow for modifications of the UNF dissolution flowsheet. The targeted UNF for dissolution at the Savannah River Site (SRS) are fuels similar to the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) fuel. The UAlx-Al fuels are dissolved with HNO3 and Hg catalyst. The experiments initially performed used Al-1100 alloy coupons. The Al-1100 coupons were considered a representative surrogate (based on the fuel bundle and assembly material) that provided an upper bound on the generation of flammable gas during the dissolution process. Hydrogen generation profiles from Al-1100 dissolutions differed from previous work used for the technical basis for UNF dissolution performed with U-Al alloy. To resolve differences in the previous data, additional experiments were performed with U-Al alloys. Results from the initial phase of experimental work are presented including discussion of flammability calculations representative of H-Canyon fuel dissolutions.
Cooperative adaptive guidance and control paradigm for marine robots in an emergency ship towing scenario

Summary This paper focuses on the control strategy needed by marine robots to be able to follow moving paths within a cooperative framework. This control aspect is essential in order to effectively perform emergency ship towing operations. In particular, these robots coordinate their motion, with the aim of performing an autonomous tying operation, linking the messenger line of a distressed ship to a salvage tugboat. Automatic guidance algorithms are developed in order to provide cooperation and coordination of robots' motion, in such a way to perform the knotting maneuver between the two employed vehicles. In particular, the major contribution of the present work in terms of adaptive control methodology consists in extending a well-known path following strategy for multi-vehicle cooperation to cope with moving reference paths. Extensive experimental testing validates the proposed concept, also pointing out the feasibility and effectiveness of the developed system in real-case scenarios. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
IL‐32α has differential effects on proliferation and apoptosis of human melanoma cell lines

Background Interleukin-32 (IL-32) is a recently recognized intracellular, proinflammatory cytokine which may play a role in cancer metastasis and patient survival. The role of IL-32 in cancer, especially its direct effect on cancer cells, is not well understood. Material and Methods Clonogenic assay, PCNA staining, Quick Cell Proliferation assay, TUNEL staining, and caspase-3 activity assay were used to investigate the in vitro role for IL-32α in human melanoma growth. We further investigated the possible molecular mechanisms using RT-PCR and immunohistochemical staining. Results Exogenous administration of IL-32α inhibited proliferation of the HTB-72 human melanoma cell line, but had little effect on other melanoma cell lines. Inhibition of proliferation in HTB-72 correlated with increased expression of p21 and p53. IL-32α administration also increased apoptosis in HTB-72. This finding correlated with increased expression of TRAILR1. Conclusions The data presented suggest a direct effect of IL-32α on the growth of human melanoma and give some insight into the mechanisms which may in part govern this effect. J. Surg. Oncol. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Automatically Creating General-Purpose Opinion Summaries from Text

We present and evaluate the first method known to us that can create rich nonextract-based opinion summaries from general text (e.g. newspaper articles). We first describe two possible representations for opinion summaries and then present our system OASIS, which identifies, and optionally aggregates, fine-grained opinions from the same source on the same topic. We propose new evaluation measures for both types of opinion summary and employ the metrics in an evaluation of OASIS on a standard opinion corpus. Our results are encouraging — OASIS substantially outperforms a competitive baseline when creating document-level aggregate summaries that compute the average polarity value across the multiple opinions identified for each source about each topic. We further show that as state-ofthe-art performance on fine-grained opinion extraction improves, we can expect to see opinion summaries of very high quality — with F-scores of 54-78% using our OSEM evaluation measure.
Delayed Asystole in a Patient with Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Triggered by Surgical Intervention (P02.208)

Objective: Presenting a case report. Background Cerebrovascular disease is known to alter cardiovascular and autonomic function. Cortical lesions, especially when involving the insular region, have been associated with cardiac conduction abnormalities. Design/Methods: We describe a case of a 45-year-old woman who suffered from a large subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), predominantly in the right sylvian fissure, and right temporal intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) due to a ruptured middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysm at the right M1/M2 junction. Immediate surgical treatment was postponed due to poor admission scores (Hunt-Hess grade 5, Fisher 4). She gradually regained consciousness and was able to follow commands but had residual left hemiplegia. She underwent craniotomy for aneurysm clipping and partial evacuation of the ICH on post bleed day 19 without intraoperative complication. Results: Four hours post-procedure the patient began developing episodic cardiovascular abnormalities, including intermittent sinus bradycardia with a heart rate in the low 50s, a spontaneously-resolving, asymptomatic 6-second episode of asystole, and a wide-complex bradycardia consistent with a junctional rhythm. These findings could not be explained by cardiac enzymes or electrolytes, which were both within normal limits. Head CT showed no acute abnormalities. Patient was given doses of vancomycin and ciprofloxacin for urinary tract infection. Ciprofloxacin has been previously associated with bradycardia and QT prolongation, but in this patient QTc was essentially the same prior to (465-487 ms) and after ciprofloxacin administration (442-493 ms). Cardiac ultrasound was unremarkable and no other potential causes for asystole were identified. The patient had no further episodes of arrhythmia. Conclusions: Surgical manipulation of the right temporal and insular cortex for MCA aneurysm clipping and hematoma evacuation was associated with delayed transient bradycardia and asystole. Based on previous studies, these findings may be explained by loss of sympathetic outflow from the right insula due to cerebral injury, thus leading to excessive parasympathetic activity and subsequent heart block. Disclosure: Dr. Miocinovic has nothing to disclose. Dr. White has nothing to disclose. Dr. Madden has nothing to disclose. Dr. Griffith has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rickert has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gu has nothing to disclose.
Clinical Relevance of the Histopathological Subclassification of Diffuse “Histiocytic” Lymphoma

Abstract Because diffuse "histiocytic" lymphoma, which is an immunologically heterogeneous disease, responds well to chemotherapy in some but not all patients, we attempted to identify the morphologic features that might correlate with its behavior and prognosis. We identified five histopathological categories in 66 patients: one with an excellent prognosis (large, cleaved cell, six of eight patients surviving for two years); two with an intermediate prognosis (large, noncleaved and mixed follicular-center cell, nine of 18 and eight of 17, respectively, surviving for two years); and two with a poor prognosis (blastic and pleomorphic pyroninophilic, one of 10 and two of 13, respectively, surviving for two years). The differences among categories were significant (P 0.20). Tumors of follicular-center origin had a better prognosis than tumors of nonfollicular-center origin (P<0.01). Differences in survival were due to differences in complete response rate. Morphologic subc...
Goal Programming Theory-Based Power Electronic Building Block Design for Converter

Taking high capacity middle-voltage converter as an example,agoal programming theory-based PEBB(power electronic building block)design scheme is proposed and a mathematical model for optimal module design is established.This goal oriented scheme essentially obeys the situation analysis.The goal expression and the related constraints can be described with different target,and then the optimal module model associated with the goals is determined.The main circuit and the PEBB parameters are confirmed by solving the model with limited integer variables and nonlinear components by searching and exhaustion methods.The corresponding converter is constructed and experiments show that the steady output disturbance gets less than 3%and the transient voltage drop less than 10%.The goal programming theorybased PEBB design scheme can be applied to the other developed converters with module designing requirements.
Synthesis and evaluation of 99mTc(CO)3(FEDA): a new dual-purpose 99mTc/18F renal imaging agent

654 Objectives Our recent work identified two 99mTc(CO)3 renal tracers with essentially identical pharmacokinetic properties in rats to those of 131I-OIH, the clinical gold standard for the measurement of effective renal plasma flow. The fact that both of these tracers had uncharged dangling groups led us to examine the pharmacokinetic properties of the structurally similar 99mTc(CO)3 complex with N-(fluoroethyl)iminodiacetic acid (FEDA), that has the potential to serve as a dual-purpose 99mTc/18F renal tubular imaging agent. Methods FEDA was prepared by the reaction of 1-bromo-2-fluoroethane with dimethyl 2,29-iminodiacetate, followed by an alkaline hydrolysis of methyl esters. FEDA was labeled using an IsoLink kit and purified by HPLC. 99mTc(CO)3(FEDA) was evaluated in rats using 131I-OIH as an internal control; urine was analyzed for metabolites. Plasma protein binding (PPB) and erythrocyte uptake (RCB) were determined from the 10 min blood samples. The Re(CO)3 analog was prepared for structural characterization. Results 99mTc(CO)3(FEDA) was efficiently prepared as a single species with high radiochemical purity (>99%), and was stable through 24 h at physiological pH. It showed rapid blood clearance, high specificity for renal excretion and a lack of significant uptake in other organs. The % injected dose in the urine was 100% and 99% that of 131I-OIH at 10 and 60 min, respectively. The tracer was secreted intact in the urine; PPB was 61% and RCB was 20%. Conclusions 99mTc(CO)3(FEDA) is a new, stable, well-defined tricarbonyl tracer with an uncharged fluoroethyl pendant group that shows excellent potential as a renal tracer due to a rapid renal excretion comparable to that of 131I-OIH. Based on these results, studies of the structurally analogous complex 18F-Re(CO)3(FEDA) are warranted to determine if the renal clearance of 18F-Re(CO)3(FEDA) will exceed that of other 18F renal tracers in development. Research Support NIH Grant R37 DK038842
Composite multilobe descriptors for cross-spectral recognition of full and partial face

Cross-spectral image matching is a challenging research problem motivated by various applications, including surveillance, security, and identity management in general. An example of this problem includes cross-spectral matching of active infrared (IR) or thermal IR face images against a dataset of visible light images. A summary of recent developments in the field of cross-spectral face recognition by the authors is presented. In particular, it describes the original form and two variants of a local operator named composite multilobe descriptor (CMLD) for facial feature extraction with the purpose of cross-spectral matching of near-IR, short-wave IR, mid-wave IR, and long-wave IR to a gallery of visible light images. The experiments demonstrate that the variants of CMLD outperform the original CMLD and other recently developed composite operators used for comparison. In addition to different IR spectra, various standoff distances from close-up (1.5 m) to intermediate (50 m) and long (106 m) are also investigated. Performance of CMLD I to III is evaluated for each of the three cases of distances. The newly developed operators, CMLD I to III, are further utilized to conduct a study on cross-spectral partial face recognition where different facial regions are compared in terms of the amount of useful information they contain for the purpose of conducting cross-spectral face recognition. The experimental results show that among three facial regions considered in the experiments the eye region is the most informative for all IR spectra at all standoff distances.
Foundational essays as ‘mestizo-criollo acts’: the Bolivian case

ABSTRACTThis paper engages Alcides Arguedas’s ‘Pueblo enfermo’ and Franz Tamayo’s ‘Creacion de la pedagogia nacional’, two key foundational essays of early 20th-century Bolivia, as ‘mestizo-criollo acts’ rooted in the debates on the ‘Indian problem’ as a racial obstacle to nation-building and identity formation. The paper contends that both essays actually conceal the presence of European wild men, and construct a reality influenced by their interpretation of books and visual representations entrenched in the European imagination. They thus create an insurmountable ambiguity: a self-exotization brimming over with metaphors that actually deploy European wild imaginary sources to explain its Andean roots.
Virtue and Public Health: Societal Obligation and Individual Need

To the extent that virtue requires human excellence, it is an attribute of persons whose actions exceed the norm established by customary standards, mores, or laws. Where the health of individuals is involved, virtue has traditionally been discussed in terms of the activities of physicians towards their patients. Albert Schweitzer’s activities in the Gabon are considered virtuous because he put his patients’ needs above his own. McCullough describes the conditions under which virtuous behavior may be seen in the doctor-patient relationship [20]. According to McCullough, attributes like humanity, decency, and altruism are components of virtuous physician conduct.
Wollastonite Carbonation in Water-Bearing Supercritical CO2: Effects of Particle Size

The performance of geologic CO2 sequestration (GCS) can be affected by CO2 mineralization and changes in the permeability of geologic formations resulting from interactions between water-bearing supercritical CO2 (scCO2) and silicates in reservoir rocks. However, without an understanding of the size effects, the findings in previous studies using nanometer- or micrometer-size particles cannot be applied to the bulk rock in field sites. In this study, we report the effects of particle sizes on the carbonation of wollastonite (CaSiO3) at 60 °C and 100 bar in water-bearing scCO2. After normalization by the surface area, the thickness of the reacted wollastonite layer on the surfaces was independent of particle sizes. After 20 h, the reaction was not controlled by the kinetics of surface reactions but by the diffusion of water-bearing scCO2 across the product layer on wollastonite surfaces. Among the products of reaction, amorphous silica, rather than calcite, covered the wollastonite surface and acted as a d...
Meta-analysis of single-case experimental design studies involving children with or at risk of autism spectrum disorder suggests intervention is effective during first three years of life

Debodinance, E., Maljaars, J., Noens, I., Van den Noorgate, W. (2017). Interventions for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analysis of single-subject experimental studies. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorder, 36, 79–92. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2017.01.010Source of funding and declaration of interests: No source of funding reported and no conflicts on interests were reported.
A Study of Patients in Cancer-Related DRGs

(1986). A Study of Patients in Cancer-Related DRGs. The Journal of Cancer Program Management: Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 8-14.
Overlapping neural processes for stopping and economic choice in orbitofrontal cortex

Economic choice and stopping are not traditionally treated as related phenomena. However, we were motivated by foraging models of economic choice to hypothesize that they may reflect similar neural processes occurring in overlapping brain circuits. We recorded neuronal activity in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), while macaques performed a stop signal task interleaved with a structurally matched economic choice task. Decoding analyses show that OFC ensembles predict successful versus failed stopping both before the trial and immediately after the stop signal, even after controlling for value predictions. These responses indicate that OFC contributes both proactively and reactively to stopping. Moreover, OFC neurons engagement in one task positively predicted their engagement in the other. Finally, firing patterns that distinguished low from high value offers in the economic task distinguished failed and successful trials in the stopping task. These results endorse the idea that economic choice and inhibition may be subject to theoretical unification.
Abstract 13813: Prior β-Blocker Treatment Dampens Immune Cell Responses Following Myocardial Infarction

Following myocardial infarction (MI), immune cell infiltration initiates and regulates cardiac remodeling and repair. Our previous work has shown the importance of β2-adrenergic receptors (β2AR) in modulating immune cell infiltration to the heart following injury through the regulation of chemokine receptor expression and splenic retention of bone marrow (BM)-derived leukocyte populations. Pharmacological inhibition of βAR is a common strategy for the treatment of many cardiovascular etiologies, however the impact of β-blocker therapy on immune cell responses following acute cardiac injury is unknown. We hypothesized that prior treatment with β-blockers with distinct isoform selectivity would differentially decrease leukocyte infiltration to the heart following MI. Mice were administered either vehicle, a β1AR-selective (Metoprolol; Met), a β2AR-selective (ICI 118,551; ICI) or a βAR non-selective (Carvedilol; Carv) antagonist for two weeks via minipump. Analysis of mice treated with ICI or Carv showed decreased BM expression of CCR2 and CXCR4, as well as elevated levels of leukocyte populations within the spleen. While these effects were not observed in mice infused with a β1AR-selective dose of Met, a higher concentration of Met (equivalent to moderate doses used in humans) also decreased CCR2 and CXCR4 expression in BM and increased splenic leukocyte retention. To determine the impact of β2AR-selective versus non-selective blockade on immune cell responses following acute cardiac injury, mice from each treatment group underwent sham or MI surgery. In addition to decreased CCR2 and CXCR4 expression in the BM, mice administered ICI, Carv and the non-selective dose of Met had impaired recruitment of leukocyte populations to the heart following MI. Toward clinically relevant ends, we assessed CCR2 and CXCR4 expression in leukocytes isolated from blood samples of healthy and heart failure patients and found that levels of each were decreased in patients having taken β-blockers. In all, these results demonstrate that prior β-blocker treatment negatively regulates immune cell responsiveness to acute cardiac injury.
A neural network model of the McCollough effect

A self-organizing, feature-extracting network (von der Malsburg, 1973) is extended to two feature dimensions to encompass line orientation and color. It is applied to McCollough effects, particularly longlasting, contingent-aftereffects. McCollough effects are thought to involve low-level associative memory in the form of synaptic modification. The McCollough-Malsburg Model (MMM) embodies positive synaptic modification with correlated firing of units in an input layer and an excitatory cortical layer. Computer simulation of MMM reproduces orientation-contingent color aftereffects. The model embodies many of the mechanisms thought to be operating in developmental plasticity, suggesting that equivalent mechanisms may be involved in adult long-term adaptation as well.
Newly Diagnosed Bulbar Urethral Strictures: Etiology and Outcome of Various Treatments

AbstractA retrospective review was performed of 199 consecutive patients who were evaluated at this institution between 1976 and 1990 because of a newly diagnosed bulbar urethral stricture. Mean patient age at diagnosis was 64 years (range 10 to 96) and most patients presented with obstructive symptoms. The stricture etiology was primarily iatrogenic (47%), secondary to a transurethral procedure. The strictures were usually short (less than 2cm., 96%), single (99%) and located in the proximal bulb (57%). Of the 151 patients receiving treatment at the time of initial diagnosis 101 (67%) underwent urethral dilation, 39 (26%) were managed with direct vision internal urethrotomy and in 11 (7%) a cystotomy tube was placed.With a median followup of 3.5 years (range 0 to 16), there was an estimated retreatment rate of 2.4 treatments per 10 person-years. The probability of not requiring retreatment within 3 years was 65 ± 5% for urethral dilation and 68 ± 8% for direct vision internal urethrotomy. When compared t...
Resident Quality-of-Life in Gaming Communities

Research about resident quality-of-life in gaming communities has been conducted in a variety of rural and urban settings, and in communities that offer an array of different types of gaming industry and gambling entertainment opportunities. Two types of research are common: assessments of residents’ attitudes toward current and future gaming tourism developments and their impacts, and measurement of tangible and intangible community impacts (economic, social, cultural, institutional) associated with gaming tourism development. Varying levels of perceived quality-of-life have been associated with respondents’ roles in a community (citizen, government official, business entrepreneur) and in the gaming industry. Because questions about public health and safety are also politically important, one area of special research emphasis has been the perceived and actual impacts of crime in gaming communities. Consideration of quality-of-life issues in gaming places brings to the forefront personal and collective values, civic participation, institutional performance, local governance processes, and the preservation of valued social, cultural, and environmental qualities of a community. Such research also has an applied focus, informing planning and policymaking in community tourism development settings.
Limited prefrontal cortical regulation over the basolateral amygdala in adolescent rats

Cognitive regulation of emotion develops from childhood into adulthood. This occurs in parallel with maturation of prefrontal cortical (PFC) regulation over the amygdala. The cellular substrates for this regulation may include PFC activation of inhibitory GABAergic elements in the amygdala. The purpose of this study was to determine whether PFC regulation over basolateral amygdala area (BLA) in vivo is immature in adolescence, and if this is due to immaturity of GABAergic elements or PFC excitatory inputs. Using in vivo extracellular electrophysiological recordings from anesthetized male rats we found that in vivo summation of PFC inputs to the BLA was less regulated by GABAergic inhibition in adolescents (postnatal day 39) than adults (postnatal day 72–75). In addition, stimulation of either prelimbic or infralimbic PFC evokes weaker inhibition over basal (BA) and lateral (LAT) nuclei of the BLA in adolescents. This was dictated by both weak recruitment of inhibition in LAT and weak excitatory effects of PFC in BA. The current results may contribute to differences in adolescent cognitive regulation of emotion. These findings identify specific elements that undergo adolescent maturation and may therefore be sensitive to environmental disruptions that increase risk for psychiatric disorders.
Multi-axis stress sensor characterization and testing platform

Abstract Multi-axis mechanical stress sensors have become an important tool in numerous fields. To characterize the quality and resolution of a new stress sensor, researchers use test platforms to apply controlled amounts of shear and normal stresses. Since commercially available multi-axis test platforms are expensive, in many cases researchers end up needing to build their own sensor characterization platforms. In this study, we describe a cost-effective multi-axis stress sensor characterization platform to reduce development time, enable accurate benchmarking and provide an open source standard for stress sensor characterization for other researchers. In our design, we combined a 3-axis translational stage and a 3-axis force and torque (F/T) sensor through custom hardware and software. Our platform is cost effective and can reach the limits of the F/T sensor (Fxy = ±65 N and Fz = ±200 N) without losing any accuracy to structural bending. We provide detailed construction and operation instructions as well as results of extensive static and cyclic load experiments. To further validate our system, we show characterization results from a custom stress sensor as a case study. The modular nature of our platform also enables other researchers to customize this characterization platform for their unique experimental requirements.
Understanding networks of natural mentoring support among underrepresented college students

Naturally-occurring mentoring relationships with caring, nonparental adults can provide critical support to underrepresented students during the transition to college. The current study sought to e...
Association of the New Peer Group-Stratified Method With the Reclassification of Penalty Status in the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program.

Importance Since the introduction of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP), readmission penalties have been applied disproportionately to institutions that serve low-income populations. To address this concern, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid introduced a new, stratified payment adjustment method in fiscal year (FY; October 1 to September 30) 2019. Objective To determine whether the introduction of a new, stratified payment adjustment method was associated with an alteration in the distribution of penalties among hospitals included in the HRRP. Design, Setting, and Participants In this retrospective cross-sectional study, US hospitals included in the HRRP for FY 2018 and FY 2019 were identified. Penalty status of participating hospitals for FY 2019 was determined based on nonstratified HRRP methods and the new, stratified payment adjustment method. Hospitals caring for the highest proportion of patients enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid based on quintile were assigned to the low–socioeconomic status (SES) group. Exposures Nonstratified and stratified Centers for Medicare & Medicaid payment adjustment methods. Main Outcomes and Measures Net reclassification of penalties among all hospitals and hospitals in the low-SES group, in states participating in Medicaid expansion, and for 4 targeted medical conditions (acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pneumonia). Results Penalty status by both payment adjustment methods (nonstratified and stratified) was available for 3173 hospitals. For FY 2019, the new, stratified payment method was associated with penalties for 75.04% of hospitals (2381 of 3173), while the old, nonstratified method was associated with penalties for 79.07% (2509 hospitals), resulting in a net down-classification in penalty status for all hospitals by 4.03 percentage points (95% CI, 2.95-5.11;P Conclusions and Relevance The new, stratified payment adjustment method for the HRRP was associated with a reduction in penalties across hospitals included in the program; the greatest reductions were observed among hospitals in the low-SES group, lessening but not eliminating the previously unbalanced penalty burden carried by these hospitals. Additional public policy research efforts are needed to achieve equitable payment adjustment models for all hospitals.