cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Incentives, Ethics and Bonus Structures

A variety of analogical literature is reviewed to ascertain oscillations in the collected works to determine a symphonic solution that is emancipatory of all incentives to conduct unethical manipulations of financial disclosures. The etymological question is how to structure an incentive plan for accountants to deter unethical decisions, whilst maintaining the EBITA/Revenue matrices that are required of accountants. As an accounting manager at a Houston firm, this issue is of personal interest and critical importance. This study examines bonus structures and concludes that incentive plans have no place in accountant, CFO and Director compensation, if the end goal is to ensure compliance with accounting standards. The antidote to unethical accounting practices is to pay key-players at a competitive rate without the incessant need for extrinsic motivators. This study fills in the empirical gap of literature that eradicates employee’s extrinsic monetary motivators and determines that the answer to this ethical dilemma is to elect employees that are intrinsically motivated, as this is the pinnacle of excellence.
Effects of mitomycin C and carboplatin pretreatment on multidrug resistance-associated P-glycoprotein expression and on subsequent suppression of tumor growth by doxorubicin and paclitaxel in human metastatic breast cancer xenografted nude mice

Overexpression of P-glycoprotein (Pgp), multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP), and several other proteins has been associated with development of multidrug resistance by cancer cells, which represents a significant obstacle to successful treatment by chemotherapy. We had previously demonstrated that a single noncytotoxic dose of mitomycin C (MMC), carboplatin, or one of several other DNA cross-linking agents suppressed mRNA expression of the mdrl gene coding for Pgp, leading to a subsequent suppression of Pgp protein levels and a concomitant decrease in drug efflux. Pretreatment with MMC led to a 5- to 10-fold decrease in the ED 50 for cell killing by a subsequent agent such as the Pgp substrate, doxorubicin, but did not affect killing by the non-Pgp substrate, cisplatin. In this study, we report that MMC and carboplatin each significantly suppressed Pgp protein levels in human MDA-MB-435 cells xenografted as solid tumors into the lateral mammary fat pads of female nude mice, with a similar time course as had previously been observed in cell culture. Pretreatment of mice with MMC or carboplatin 48-72 h prior to receiving either doxorubicin or paclitaxel caused a significantly greater reduction in tumor growth rate compared to either agent alone or the combination given simultaneously. These data suggest that a combination chemotherapy regimen consisting of a DNA cross-linking agent given to modulate the MDR phenotype, followed by a second cytotoxic agent, may be an effective treatment for human patients with de novo or late stage acquired multidrug-resistant malignancies.
Knee Osteoarthritis and Viscosupplementation: The Evolving Treatment Trend

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common degenerative joint diseases especially among elderly population. Deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of the nature of the disease helped the scientist to come up with new treatment options and trends. Osteoarthritis is a very common progressive chronic degenerative joint disease with the main pathology being destruction of joint cartilage, inflammation of the synovial membrane or sclerosis of the underlying bone. The main goal in treatment is pain reduction and halting the disease progression. The viscosupplementation therapy has been in use during the last decade, and helps the patients with both pain reduction and halting the disease progression by different mechanisms such as inducing endogenous hyaluronic acid production, inflammation suppression and reduction of the degradation of the cartilage. This study is a review study on the safety and efficacy of viscosupplementation therapy and a brief literature review in this field. Although intra articular injection of viscosupplementations has been showed safety and efficacy especially through 26 weeks of the initiation of treatment, but controversy in regard of using this system is still questionable. Despite of controversy, it can delay the surgical intervention in knee osteoarthritis and can be considered as a good alternative for long-term therapy and for pain reduction and joint function improvement. Journal of Nature and Science (JNSCI), 2(4):e190, 2016
Spanish Diacritic Error Detection and Restoration—A Survey

In this paper we address the problem of diacritic error detection and restoration—the task of identifying and correcting missing accents in text. In particular, we evaluate the performance of a simple part-of-speech tagger-based technique comparing it to other established methods for error detection/restoration: unigram frequency, decision lists, discriminative classifiers, a machine-translation based method, and grapheme-based approaches. In languages such as Spanish (the focus here), diacritics play a key role in disambiguation and results show that a straightforward modification to an n-gram tagger can be used to achieve good performance in diacritic error identification without resorting to any specialized machinery. Our method should be applicable to any language where diacritics distribute comparably and perform similar roles of disambiguation.
Response to "Concerns Regarding the Use of Oral Anticoagulants (Rivaroxaban and Apixaban) for Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis in Plastic Surgery Patients".

We appreciate the opportunity to reply to Dr Swanson's letter to the editor1 regarding our article2 on the use of factor Xa inhibitors in body contouring procedures. Chemoprophylaxis remains a hot topic in plastic surgery, in part due to the paucity of data regarding the safety and efficacy of newer medications such as factor Xa inhibitors. We believe that small investigational studies are crucial in the initial analysis of this novel class of anticoagulants, and, as such, we would like to address Dr Swanson's specific concerns regarding the article. Dr Swanson quickly identified an oversight in describing the lack of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval.1 We agree that IRB approval is ideal, however our study was a retrospective chart review involving the collection and study of existing data, which is considered exempt from IRB approval.3 Furthermore, though the guidelines of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki are intended for international authors, our study is consistent with the recently published multicenter study by Hunstad et al, who used these standards in assuring appropriate ethical research practices for evaluating an oral Factor Xa inhibitor.4 We applaud Dr Swanson and all other private practices that pursue formal IRB approval through accredited agencies. However, it should be noted that at least one of Dr Swanson's studies has received IRB approval through his own private office-based surgical center, which presents a strong conflict of interest.5 In our exploration of private third-party IRB accredited agencies, we discovered that there were a wide spectrum of “accreditations.” It was difficult to identify which agency would be best suited for our studies. There were also significant financial and administrative requirements depending on the agency. The Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs for Surgeons in Private Practice, for example, requires $12,500 in application …
The Weakness of Civil Society in Post-Communist Europe: An Experiential Approach to Societal Continuity and Change

INTRODUCTION This chapter develops the main theoretical argument of the book, an inductively derived and historically based “experiential” approach to societal continuity and change. This dynamic approach treats individuals as agents who make choices based on their prior experiences and their ongoing reinterpretations of those experiences. It focuses on the creation and reinforcement of social patterns in the communist and post-communist periods. Since the purpose of this chapter is not to conduct a literature review, I do not supply extensive citations or references. Moreover, although I explain the basic causal logic of the experiential approach in this chapter, I develop it inductively throughout the rest of the book, within the specific context of this project and its findings. The starting point and core of this book is an empirical finding on civil society in post-communist Europe. As I will develop and document more fully in subsequent chapters, the essence of this finding is that post-communist citizens have extremely low levels of membership and participation in voluntary organizations today. Moreover, when compared to that within other regions in the world, the variation among post-communist countries is relatively small. Within post-communist Europe, the similarity in levels of organizational membership is especially striking in light of the wide political, economic, and cultural differences among the countries today. In order to understand the common weakness of post-communist civil society, we need to consider the common elements of the communist experience and its enduring legacy.
A proposed silicon vertex tracker for the PHENIX detector at forward rapidity

The current physics reach of the PHENIX detector in the forward rapidity region would be significantly enhanced with the addition of a fine-grained precision tracker near the collision vertex. We are proposing an upgrade to the PHENIX detector that will allow precision measurements of the displaced vertices of heavy quark decays to be used in conjunction with the current muon spectrometers to probe new physics not currently accessible. The new device will enable advanced studies of QGP formation using heavy flavor, improved study of the gluon structure functions in protons, and robust measurements of shadowing in nuclei via measurements of open charm and beauty. We have studied the requirements of such a detector through detailed simulations. Based on these requirements a conceptual mechanical design and a proposed electronic readout have been developed. The concepts include a specially modified ASIC designed to readout ministrips of 2-13 mm in length that will be matched to the occupancy. We will describe the simulations and the mechanical and electronic concepts.
Perception drives the evolution of observable traits.

The phrase “perception is reality” is used in many contexts but is often not true. For example, human inability to perceive ultraviolet light does not negate its reality. Nevertheless, perception can cause reality to evolve. This is the insight of the study by Nachev et al. on page 75 of this issue ( 1 ). The authors integrated field and laboratory experiments with computer simulations to explain how perceptual mechanisms in a pollinator—a bat—can cause the evolution of counterintuitive traits in flowers.
Fatal Hemoptysis Due to Undiagnosed Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Although tuberculosis is a major infectious cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, death from tuberculosis is uncommon in the United States. Sudden death due to this infection is most frequent...
Android Users Privacy Awareness Survey

Having a share of over 80% of the smartphone market, Android has become an important mobile operating system that is used by billions of users on daily basis. With the widespread use of smartphones in general, and Android in specific, privacy concerns grow with that expansion in the user base. With the millions of applications being downloaded by users daily, it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between the good and the bad in terms of security and privacy. In this paper, we present the results of a survey conducted among 4027 Android users worldwide. This survey was conducted to measure the awareness of Android users regarding their privacy. The study measures the users' interaction with the permissions required by different applications they install. The results of the survey show apparent weakness in the awareness of Android users regarding the privacy of their data.
A model-based quantification of action control deficits in Parkinson's disease

Basal ganglia dysfunction in Parkinson's disease (PD) is thought to generate deficits in action control, but the characterization of these deficits have been qualitative rather than quantitative. Patients with PD typically show prolonged response times on tasks that instantiate a conflict between goal-directed processing and automatic response tendencies. In the Simon task, for example, the irrelevant location of the stimulus automatically activates a corresponding lateralized response, generating a potential conflict with goal-directed choices. We applied a new computational model of conflict processing to two sets of behavioral data from the Simon task to quantify the effects of PD and dopaminergic (DA) medication on action control mechanisms. Compared to healthy controls (HC) matched in age gender and education, patients with PD showed a deficit in goal-directed processing, and the magnitude of this deficit positively correlated with cognitive symptoms. Analyses of the time-course of the location-based automatic activation yielded mixed findings. In both datasets, we found that the peak amplitude of the automatic activation was similar between PD and HC, demonstrating a similar degree of response capture. However, PD patients showed a prolonged automatic activation in only one dataset. This discrepancy was resolved by theoretical analyses of conflict resolution in the Simon task. The reduction of interference generated by the automatic activation appears to be driven by a mixture of passive decay and top-down inhibitory control, the contribution of each component being modulated by task demands. Our results suggest that PD selectively impairs the inhibitory control component, a deficit likely remediated by DA medication. This work advances our understanding of action control deficits in PD, and illustrates the benefit of using computational models to quantitatively measure cognitive processes in clinical populations.
A Glimpsing Account of the Role of Temporal Fine Structure Information in Speech Recognition

Many behavioral studies have reported a significant decrease in intelligibility when the temporal fine structure (TFS) of a sound mixture is replaced with noise or tones (i.e., vocoder processing). This finding has led to the conclusion that TFS information is critical for speech recognition in noise. How the normal ­auditory system takes advantage of the original TFS, however, remains unclear. Three ­experiments on the role of TFS in noise are described. All three experiments measured speech recognition in various backgrounds while manipulating the envelope, TFS, or both. One experiment tested the hypothesis that vocoder processing may artificially increase the apparent importance of TFS cues. Another experiment evaluated the relative contribution of the target and masker TFS by disturbing only the TFS of the target or that of the masker. Finally, a last experiment evaluated the ­relative contribution of envelope and TFS information. In contrast to previous ­studies, however, the original envelope and TFS were both preserved – to some extent – in all conditions. Overall, the experiments indicate a limited influence of TFS and suggest that little speech information is extracted from the TFS. Concomitantly, these experiments confirm that most speech information is carried by the temporal envelope in real-world conditions. When interpreted within the framework of the glimpsing model, the results of these experiments suggest that TFS is primarily used as a grouping cue to select the time-frequency regions ­corresponding to the target speech signal.
Multi-Agent Technology for Fault Tolerant and Flexible Control

One of the main characteristics of multi-agent systems (MAS) is fault tolerance. When an agent is unavailable for some reason, another agent with similar capabilities can theoretically compensate for this loss. Many key aspects of fault tolerance in MAS are described in this chapter including social knowledge, physical distribution, agent development, and validation. Therefore, the focus is not only on a fault tolerant agent platform with necessary services (e.g., fault tolerant social knowledge), but also on the design that can significantly reduce mistakes in agent programming and validation that can discover faults that manifest as failures during the testing phase.
ABSTRACT BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the abstract boundary value problems. It describes the monotone method for the problem. The first step is to prove existence of solutions of by the modified function approach combined with a Nagumo condition assuming the existence of upper and lower solutions V(t), W(t) such that V(t)≤W(t). This modified function approach is different than the one described in the chapter which is not suitable to obtain monotone sequences that converge uniformly to maximal and minimal solutions.
Real time depth-of-interaction correction for coded-aperture, gamma-ray images

Abstract The size of the image pixels in a coded-aperture image is a function of the mask hole size, the focal length (mask-to-detector spacing), and the distance to the scene being imaged. Gamma-ray imaging instruments designed for field use can have a focal length that is comparable to the thickness of the detector, resulting in radially blurred images because a range of image pixel sizes contributes to the image. If so equipped, one can use a detector’s depth-of-interaction resolution to eliminate this blurring by binning images formed from different depths within the detector to a common image scale. However, binning to a common image scale requires handling a number of issues including spatially dependent energy weighting, spatially varying offset corrections, and spatially correlated uncertainties. This paper explores these issues and provides effective solutions that have been implemented for online use in a field-portable instrument.
Increase Apparent Public Speaking Fluency by Speech Augmentation

Fluent and confident speech is desirable to every speaker. But professional speech delivering requires a great deal of experience and practice. In this paper, we propose a speech stream manipulation system which can help non-professional speakers to produce fluent, professional-like speech content, in turn contributing towards better listener engagement and comprehension. We propose to achieve this task by manipulating the disfluencies in human speech, like the sounds uh and um, the filler words and awkward long silences. Given any unrehearsed speech we segment and silence the filled pauses and doctor the duration of imposed silence as well as other long pauses (disfluent) by a predictive model learned using professional speech dataset. Finally, we output a audio stream in which speaker sounds more fluent, confident and practiced compared to the original recorded speech. According to our quantitative evaluation, we significantly increase the fluency of speech by reducing rate of pauses and fillers.
Mitigating the Impact of Gender Mismatch in Heart Transplantation Using BMI and BSA Ratios

Purpose Heart transplantation is limited by the supply of donor organs. Previous studies have associated donor/recipient gender mismatch with decreased post-transplant survival and increased rates of primary graft dysfunction. We evaluate whether this risk can be mitigated. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of the OPTN/UNOS registry encompassing years 1987 to 2018 for all male adult recipients (>18 years) who underwent isolated heart transplantation with grafts from female donors. Comparison was made to transplants from male donors. Recipients were primarily stratified into two groups, those with BMI less than or greater than donor BMI. Patients were stratified by BSA on secondary analysis. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to estimate survival post-transplant. Cox Proportional Hazards modeling was performed to identify independent predictors of survival. Results A total of 8,232 candidates met inclusion criteria. Male recipients receiving hearts from higher BMI female donors were more likely to be in the ICU pre-transplant (39.5% vs 36.6%, p = 0.001), on IV inotropes at listing (35.7% vs 33.0%, p = 0.013), and were less likely to have a history of diabetes (21.4% vs 23.9%, p = 0.012). On Kaplan-Meier analysis, recipients transplanted with hearts from higher BMI female donors had improved overall survival. When stratified by BSA (Figure 1), male recipients transplanted with hearts from higher BSA female donors had similar post-transplant survival as male recipients who received hearts from male donors. On Cox Proportional Hazards analysis, increased donor BMI/BSA relative to recipient BMI/BSA remained an independent predictor of improved survival (p Conclusion Prior studies have associated transplanting hearts from female donors into male recipients with decreased post-transplant survival. In this study we have demonstrated that this may be mitigated by matching grafts from female donors to male recipients with lower BMI and especially BSA.
An exploration of student, staff, and faculty perceptions on the nature of violence and its prevention at a university in Turkey:

The nature of violence within universities in Turkey is an under-researched area. This qualitative study explored the nature of campus violence and its prevention in Turkey. Study results illuminat...
Cancer-Related Pain Is an Independent Predictor of In-Hospital Opioid Overdose: A Propensity-Matched Analysis.

BACKGROUND About 50% of patients with cancer who have undergone surgery suffer from cancer-related pain (CP). The use of opioids for postoperative pain management presents the potential for overdose, especially among these patients. OBJECTIVE The primary objective of this study was to determine the association between CP and postoperative opioid overdose among inpatients who had undergone major elective procedures. The secondary objective was to assess the relationship between CP and inpatient mortality, total hospital charge, and length of stay in this population. METHODS Data of adults 18 years and older from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) were analyzed. Variables were identified using ICD-9 codes. Propensity-matched regression models were employed in evaluating the association between CP and outcomes of interest. RESULTS Among 4,085,355 selected patients, 0.8% (N = 2,665) had CP, whereas 99.92% (N = 4,082,690) had no diagnosis of CP. We matched patients with CP (N = 2,665) and no CP (N = 13,325) in a 1:5 ratio. We found higher odds of opioid overdose (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 4.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.68-8.67, P < 0.0001) and inpatient mortality (aOR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.11-1.74, P = 0.0043) in patients with CP vs no CP. Also, patients with CP were more likely to stay longer in the hospital (12.76 days vs 7.88 days) with higher total hospital charges ($140,220 vs $88,316). CONCLUSIONS CP is an independent risk factor for opioid overdose, increased length of stay, and increased total hospital charges.
HomeSTEAD's Physical Activity and Screen Media Practices and Beliefs Survey: Instrument Development and Integrated Conceptual Model

The home environment has a significant influence on children’s physical activity and obesity risk. Our understanding of this environment is limited by current measurement tools. The Home Self-administered Tool for Environmental assessment of Activity and Diet addresses this gap. This paper describes the development and psychometric testing of its family physical activity and screen media practices and beliefs survey. Methods: Survey development was guided by the Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO) framework and informed by a literature review, expert opinion, and cognitive interviews. Parents of children ages 3–12 years (n = 129) completed the HomeSTEAD survey three times over 12–18 days. Additionally, parents reported on child behaviors and trained staff measured parent and child height and weight. Five exploratory factor analyses were conducted after categorizing items into: control of physical activity, control of screen media, explicit modeling, implicit modeling, and perceived barriers and facilitators. Scales with 3 or more items underwent scale reduction. Psychometric testing evaluated internal consistency (Chronbach’s alphas), test-retest reliability (analysis of variance and intraclass correlations (ICC)), and construct validity (correlations with child BMI, physical activity, screen time). An integrated conceptual model of parent physical activity and screen media practices and beliefs was developed based on recent literature to aid in the identification and naming of constructs. Results: Final scales demonstrated good internal consistency (median Cronbach’s alpha = 0.81, IQR = 0.74–0.85), test-retest reliability (median ICC = 0.70, IQR = 0.66–0.78), and construct validity (with correlations between scale score and children’s behaviors generally in the expected direction). Comparison with the integrated conceptual model showed that most identified constructs were captured. Conclusions: The family physical activity and screen media practices survey advances the measurement of the home environment related to children’s physical activity, screen time, and weight. The integrated conceptual model provides a useful framework for researchers studying both physical activity and screen media parenting practices.
Market Returns and Interim Risk in Mergers

A primary concern in mergers and acquisitions is the risk the deal may be cancelled before it is completed. We document that this “interim risk” varies asymmetrically with the aggregate market return. Deals tend to be renegotiated when the market rises but cancelled when the market crashes. These effects are conditional on the method of payment and the contracting stage of the deal, consistent with a mechanism of ex post renegotiation. Variation in interim risk over time alters the method of payment in mergers and the firms that are targeted and acquired.
Disclosures that Help Analysts Forecast Earnings

This paper examines how voluntary financial disclosures made with earnings announcements affect analysts' processing of these announcements and the accuracy of analysts' earnings forecasts. We find that analysts base their forecasts more on private information (and less on common information) after earnings announcements that include a balance sheet disclosure or segment reporting information. We also find that there is a greater improvement in the accuracy of the mean forecast after earnings announcements that include the voluntary disclosure of a balance sheet or segment reporting information.
Low-voltage electrochemical treatment to precipitate sulfide during anaerobic digestion of beet sugar wastewater

Abstract Sugar beet processing generates a large amount of wastewater with a high chemical oxygen demand (COD). During wastewater storage and treatment, the hydrogen sulfide (H2S) generated from anaerobic digestion (AD) poses unique safety and environmental challenges due to air emissions to the local environment. A new approach of low-voltage electrochemical treatment using low-cost sacrificial anode material was developed in this study to remove sulfide, maintain a proper pH, and produce low-H2S biogas during the AD of beet sugar wastewater. The wastewater collected was categorized as the medium or high strength wastewater depending on the COD content. By using the medium strength wastewater as the test media, the effects of electrochemical and storage conditions, including the applied voltage, immersed electrode area, initial sulfate level, and operating temperature, on the sulfide removal were studied. The effective electrical charge consumption ranged from 6.0 to 14.4 C·mg−1 S2−, and the headspace H2S concentration was reduced by over 96% for most conditions after 204 h treatment. During the 10-week experiment on high strength wastewater, intermittent electrochemical treatment at 0.7 V applied voltage and 1.2 cm2·L−1 electrode area for two weeks reduced the H2S content in the biogas by up to 96%. The cathodic hydroxyl anion generation during the electrochemical treatment significantly increased the pH from 4.61 to 6.95 and led to earlier biogas production than the one without electrochemical treatment. This technique may feasibly be applied in the AD of other sulfur-compound-rich waste streams.
Supraclavicular Approach for Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: Description of a Learning Curve

Background The supraclavicular exposure represents an alternative approach for thoracic outlet decompression in neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome with unique access to neurovascular structures. We aimed to evaluate the learning curve for this approach and associated patient outcomes. Methods Patients undergoing first-time, unilateral, supraclavicular thoracic outlet decompression for neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome were included. Cumulative-sum and linear-spline-regression analyses were used to determine the operative time learning curve. Patients were consecutively organized into early (learning phase) and late (competency) cohorts. Primary endpoints were the operative time learning curve operation number and association of this learning curve on differences in self-reported postoperative symptomatic improvement between early and late cohorts, adjusting for American Society of Anesthesiology classification, body mass index, previous treatment (opioid/neuropathic medication/botulinum-injection), and length of stay. Results Among 114 patients, learning curve analyses showed decreasing operative times, plateauing at the 51st operation (s = –1.63, 95% confidence interval [–2.30, –0.95], P Conclusions The learning curve for supraclavicular thoracic outlet decompression in neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome occurred after 51 operations with a trend towards improved 90-day self-reported outcomes from the early to late phases. These findings, along with mediators of poorer outcomes, may aid surgeons in adopting a new approach and counseling patients on expected outcomes.
Assessing Psychosocial and Personal Factors in Industrial Work: Issues and Challenges for the Occupational Ergonomics Practitioner and Researcher:

The occupational ergonomics practitioner has traditionally focused on physical aspects and risk factors of industrial jobs (e.g., forces exerted, moments and loading on the joints, low back compres...
Dynamics of data availability in disease modeling: An example evaluating the trade-offs of ultra-fine-scale factors applied to human West Nile virus disease models in the Chicago area, USA

BackgroundSince 1999, West Nile virus (WNV) has moved rapidly across the United States, resulting in tens of thousands of human cases. Both the number of human cases and the minimum infection rate (MIR) in vector mosquitoes vary across time and space and are driven by numerous abiotic and biotic forces, ranging from differences in microclimates to socio-demographic factors. Because the interactions among these multiple factors affect the locally variable risk of WNV illness, it has been especially difficult to model human disease risk across varying spatial and temporal scales. Cook and DuPage Counties, comprising the city of Chicago and surrounding suburbs, experience some of the highest numbers of human neuroinvasive cases of WNV in the United States. Despite active mosquito control efforts, there is consistent annual WNV presence, resulting in more than 285 confirmed WNV human cases and 20 deaths from the years 2014-2018 in Cook County alone. MethodsA previous Chicago-area WNV model identified the fifty-five most high and low risk locations in the Northwest Mosquito Abatement District (NWMAD), an enclave [1/4] the size of the combined Cook and DuPage county area. In these locations, human WNV risk was stratified by model performance, as indicated by differences in studentized residuals. Within these areas, an additional two-years of field collections and data processing was added to a 12-year WNV dataset that includes human cases, MIR, vector abundance, and land-use, historical climate, and socio-economic and demographic variables, and was assessed by an ultra-fine-scale (1 km spatial x 1 week temporal resolution) multivariate logistic regression model. ResultsMultivariate statistical methods applied to the ultra-fine-scale model identified fewer explanatory variables while improving upon the fit of the previous model. Beyond MIR and climatic factors, efforts to acquire additional covariates only slightly improved model predictive performance. ConclusionsThese results suggest human WNV illness in the Chicago area may be associated with fewer, but increasingly critical, key variables at finer scales. Given limited resources, these findings suggest large variations in model performance occur, depending on covariate availability, and provide guidance in variable selection for optimal WNV human illness modeling.
Your enemy may be my friend: invasive legume attracts exotic herbivore in a tallgrass prairie

Effects of invasive exotic plants on plant communities are often profound, but interactions with higher trophic levels are less evident. Postulated effects of invasive plants on arthropods include increased abundances of herbivores through refuge and improved microclimate, facilitation of other exotic species, and altered arthropod diversity. We examined the impact on the arthropod community by Lespedeza cuneata, an exotic legume with dense, chemically defended foliage, by comparing arthropod numbers in unmanipulated 1-m2 plots with L. cuneata shoots (= control) to arthropod numbers in plots from which shoots of L. cuneata were removed. Lespedeza cuneata removal produced no overall effect on arthropod abundance, but an invasive herbivore, Popillia japonica (Japanese Beetle), was twice as abundant in plots with L. cuneata. Lespedeza cuneata removal increased arthropod evenness in May then decreased it through the summer. In a second experiment we quantified chewing herbivory by placing individual potted plants from five native prairie species and L. cuneata within these same removal/no removal plots for 4 weeks. Removal of L. cuneata shoots from plots did not significantly affect herbivory of tagged leaves from the native species. However, entire L. cuneata leaves or plants disappeared more frequently regardless of plot treatment. Invasion by this exotic legume is likely due to direct effects on native plants, but indirect effects through facilitation of an exotic herbivore could contribute to its success in some areas.
Big Data, Healthcare System and Audience fragmentation: current and future trends and possibilities for media reporting on healthcare topics

Research interest for the field of Big Data is nowadays very high and developing almoust simultaneously along with the development of new media and new technologies in digital era. Big Data is mainly connected to the issues of privacy, ethics and security of data management but also data analytics, predictivity and ways of improvement the whole heathcare system with a major responsibility for the whole society. In that process, media as one of the main communication channels, is important factor for distributing relevant information, not only to those directly connected to the healthcare system, but also many different audiences that are part of democratic and responsible society. Big Data can effectively be used as a efficient connection between healthcare professionals, healthcare educators and media audiences, which are now, in the 21st century, extremely fragmented due to the information expansion and different kind of interests in specific, but not general information. Healthcare system should be one of the primary topics for all media audiences and that is one of the main reasons for implementing Big Data research and analysis in the whole healthcare system: not only regarding the medical proffesion, but also the role of media reporting on healthcare topics and their relevance as well as the accessibility to all media audiences, especially beyond the context of audience fragmentation. With its research methods, Big Data can give a whole new dimension both to healthcare system and media reporting trends, mainly by offering numerous possibilities and changes to the current situation. The main aim of this paper is, through systematic literature review, offer an detailed overview of achievements, possibilities and current and future trends in usage of Big Data in the healthcare system as well as the trends in media reporting. The paper will also highlight main opportunities but also the challenges and their way of influencing three main dimensions that Big Data is connected with: healthcare system, media reporting and media audiences. The paper will also offer examples of good practice and guidelines for responsible, ethical and effective proffessional activities both in the healthcare system, but also in the field of media. The topic of this paper aims to raise awareness of the increasing the usage of Big Data and analytics in healthcare education as well as the healthcare system, but also to highlight the importance of audience role in reading different media texts and evaluating media content related to healthcare topics and lastly, to show how the Big Data can be and should be in the future stable and effective connection between one of the largest system which is healthcare and many different media audiences that should be, regardless of their subjective interests, regularly and clearly informed on healthcare-related topics.
Colorimetrical uncertainty estimation for the performance assessment of whole slide imaging scanners.

Purpose: Whole slide imaging (WSI) scanners produce tissue slide images with a large field of view and a high resolution for pathologists to use in diagnoses. Color performance tests of these color imaging devices are necessary and can use stained tissue slides if the color truth is established using a hyperspectral imaging microscopy system (HIMS). The purpose of this study was to estimate the reproducibility uncertainty of CIELAB coordinates for a reference tissue slide measured by both the HIMS and a WSI scanner. Approach: We compared the color performances of the WSI scanner to those of the reference established by the HIMS using the International Commission on Illumination (Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage, or CIE) 1976 ΔEab* color difference with the just noticeable color difference (JNCD, ΔEab*≤2), and the results from the overlap of the CIELAB coordinates’ uncertainty within the error bar, with a coverage factor k = 2. The reported uncertainty results from measurements and image registration uncertainties. Results: For the blank area common to the HIMS and the WSI average images, the color agreement was higher using the JNCD condition versus the CIELAB uncertainty overlap criterion (82% and 20% of the pixels in the images, respectively). This difference is explained by the fact that numerous pixels have CIELAB coordinates near one another but corresponding to CIELAB uncertainty values small enough not to overlap. In the colored area of the images, the JNCD condition was met for 0.19% of the pixels in the images, compared with 4.3% for the CIELAB uncertainty overlap criterion. Conclusions: The distribution of uncertainties on the CIELAB coordinates was broader for the HIMS compared with the WSI scanner. The WSI scanner had a systemic error in the color reproduction, which pointed to a potential inadequate color calibration of this device.
Voice Outcomes Following Posterior Cordotomy With Medial Arytenoidectomy in Patients With Bilateral Vocal Fold Immobility

Importance Voice quality-of-life (VQOL) and perceptual voice outcomes are presumed to worsen following posterior cordotomy with medial arytenoidectomy for bilateral vocal fold immobility (BVFI); however, subjective and objective voice outcomes are not well studied in this postsurgical patient population. Objective To evaluate VQOL and perceptual voice outcomes following posterior cordotomy with medial arytenoidectomy for BVFI. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective medical record review of 15 patients with BVFI who underwent posterior cordotomy with medial arytenoidectomy at a tertiary care academic hospital from 2009 to 2012. Interventions Suspension microlaryngoscopy was performed to expose the posterior glottis. A posterior cordotomy and medial arytenoidectomy was performed anterior to the vocal process of the vocal fold in a medial to lateral fashion. Main Outcomes and Measures Data included age, sex, tracheostomy status, number of cordotomies, and voice outcomes. Voice-Related Quality of Life (VRQOL) and Consensus Auditory Perceptual Evaluation of Voice (CAPE-V) data were collected preoperatively and postoperatively surrounding a single procedure. Comparisons within a single group were performed with a paired t test. Statistical significance was determined at P ≤ .05. Results Eight patients (53%) were male, and 7 (47%) were female. Six patients (40%) required a tracheotomy at some point during treatment, 4 were successfully decannulated. For all 15 patients, the mean VRQOL scores improved 12 points from 47.33 to 59.33 after posterior cordotomy ( P = .12). Mean CAPE-V overall severity scores in 13 patients increased 26 points after posterior cordotomy with medial arytenoidectomy from 38.12 to 62.77 ( P = .01), indicating further deviance from normal. Conclusions and Relevance To our knowledge, this is the first study to compare VQOL with perceptual voice outcomes following posterior cordotomy with medial arytenoidectomy in a series of patients with BVFI. Patients who underwent posterior cordotomy in this study had significantly reduced perceptual voice outcomes with unchanged VQOL. While postcordotomy patients have a dysphonia that is noticeable to voice professionals, most patients in this study subjectively felt as though their voice improved after surgery. Surgeons should be aware of these factors when counseling patients considering cordotomy for BVFI.
Identification of emetine as a therapeutic agent that targets pigment epithelium derived factor - mediated inflammation and improves hyperglycemia in murine models of type 1 diabetes (IRM9P.728)

Pigment epithelium derived factor (PEDF) is a 50kDa secreted protein with inflammatory, antiangiogenic and neurotrophic properties. Elevated levels of PEDF are significantly associated with metabolic diseases including type 1 and type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance. PEDF administration to naive animals result in the development of insulin resistance, and neutralization of PEDF with anti-PEDF antibodies improves the clinical outcome. Here we have identified a clinical drug candidate that attenuates PEDF mediated inflammation. Using a high-throughput screening approach, murine macrophages were stimulated with PEDF in the presence or absence of clinical drug candidates, and levels of secreted TNF analyzed. Following screening of 1,600 clinical candidate compounds, three lead compounds were identified, one being emetine, that dose dependently reduce PEDF induced macrophage activation without toxicity. Surface plasmon resonance analysis revealed that emetine binds to PEDF with high affinity (kD<25nM), and inhibits PEDF binding to its receptor adipose triglyceride lipase. Additionally, emetine reduces endocytosis of PEDF into macrophages. Administration of emetine to murine models of type 1 diabetes improves hyperglycemia, suppresses circulating levels of anti-insulin antibodies, and reduces pancreatic TNF and PEDF. Our studies suggest that emetine attenuates PEDF mediated inflammation, and has a therapeutic potential for treating type 1 diabetes.
Hepatic lipid metabolism in carbon tetrachloride poisoning: Incorporation of palmitate-1-14C into lipids of the liver and of the d < 1.020 serum lipoprotein

The incorporation of palmitate-1-14C and the release of lipids into the density (d) < 1.020 lipoprotein was estimated in the isolated perfused rat liver preparation obtained from normal rats and from animals poisoned with CCl4. Livers from normal rats released triglyceride, phospholipid, and cholesterol into the d < 1.020 lipoprotein of the perfusate, and this net release was inhibited after CCl4 poisoning of the animal from which the liver was obtained. CCl4 poisoning depressed the incorporation of palmitate-1-14C into triglyceride, phospholipid, and cholesterol of the d < 1.020 lipoprotein. Although no statistically significant chemical change in the hepatic concentration of triglyceride, phospholipid, or cholesterol could be detected under these experimental conditions during the course of the perfusion of livers from either normal or CCl4-poisoned rats, palmitate-1-14C incorporation into liver triglyceride was increased, whereas incorporation into liver phospholipid was depressed by CCl4 intoxication. The decreased incorporation of palmitate into the d < 1.020 lipoprotein triglyceride and the increased incorporation into liver triglyceride may reflect primarily decreased release; the decreased incorporation of palmitate into the d < 1.020 lipoprotein phospholipid coupled with a decreased incorporation into liver phospholipid may reflect not only decreased phospholipid release but depressed hepatic phospholipid biosynthesis. In confirmation of earlier work, triglyceride, phospholipid, and cholesterol were released into the d < 1.020 lipoprotein in discrete molar ratios to each other, suggesting that the very low density lipoprotein is released as a unit for the transport of triglyceride. If this lipoprotein is released as a unit, the theorem can be postulated that interference with the availability or biosynthesis of any component of the lipoprotein—the phospholipid, cholesterol, or protein—may decrease triglyceride release by the liver and be one mechanism, though certainly not an exclusive one, for the induction of the fatty liver.
Upper Body Exercise: Physiology and Training Application for Human Presence in Space

Abstract : In the weightless state astronauts do a substantial amount of work with their arms and hands. Upper body exercise elicits a peak oxygen uptake approximately 70% of that obtained during lower body exercise; in addition, upper body exercise requires a greater oxygen uptake at a given power output than low body exercise. Therefore, when performing exercise at a given power output, both the absolute and relative exercise intensity is greater during upper body exercise. Although cardiac output responses for a given oxygen uptake are similar, the heart rate, blood pressure and total peripheral resistance responses are greater, and the stroke volume responses are lower at a given oxygen uptake during upper than lower body exercise. Body temperature responses to both exercise type are similar, but the temperature are achieved by different heat exchange mechanisms. During upper body exercise, there is a greater reliance on torso dry heat loss for temperature regulation. Exercise training programs can improve aerobic exercise capabilities for the upper body, but there are minimal cross-training benefits between the arms and legs. Space physiologists and engineers in the manned space program should consider the unique physiology associated with upper body exercise
Conventions and Economic Change: A Contribution toward a Theory of Political Economy

This essay presents a perspective on the growth of knowledge as the source of economic growth. After a critical examination of the reasons why the crucial issue has been neglected in the dominant tradition in economics, a concept of paradigm-seeking as the essence of decision making under uncertainty and learning is proposed. Behavioral implications of paradigm-seeking include the generation of conventions by which people stabilize their expectations and build a network of coordination and cooperation. The stability of conventions, however, generates a dynamic process of change, by creating unexploited opportunities. Entrepreneurial successes and their emulation amount to the process of social learning and growth of knowledge. It is further suggested that implications of the proposed perspective are consistent with other observed phenomena.