cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A complete characterization of the existence of rational functional solutions with infinite support bases

It is known that there exist polynomial solutions Γ with infinite support base P, of certain functional equations arising from quantum arithmetics, which cannot be constructed from quantum integers. A description of the necessary and sufficient conditions on a set of primes P for the existence of a polynomial solution, with field of coefficients of characteristic zero and support base P, which cannot be constructed from quantum integers is also known, leading to the classification of the set of polynomial solutions. In his papers on quantum arithmetics, Melvyn Nathanson raises a question concerning the classification of the possibly non-trivially broader set of solutions, namely the set of rational function solutions. It is not known at the time that the set of rational function solutions is more than just the set of ratio of polynomial solutions. However, it is now known that there are infinitely many rational function solutions Γ, with support base P and field of coefficients of characteristic zero, which are not ratios of polynomial solutions with the same support base, even in the purely cyclotomic case. Thus, a natural question that should be asked in order to classify the set of rational function solutions, is: If polynomial solutions are replaced by merely rational function solutions, what would the necessary and sufficient conditions be on the support base P? In this paper, we give a complete description of the necessary and sufficient conditions on the set of primes P for the existence of a rational function solution, with field of coefficients of characteristic zero and support base P, which cannot be constructed from quantum integers.
Cutaneous manifestations of breast cancer

Breast cancer may present with cutaneous symptoms. The skin manifestations of breast cancer are varied. Some of the more common clinical presentations of metastatic cutaneous lesions from breast cancer will be described. Paraneoplastic cutaneous dermatoses have been reported as markers of breast malignancy and include erythema gyratum repens, acquired ichthyosis, dermatomyositis, multicentric reticulohistiocytosis, and hypertrichosis lanuginosa acquisita. Mammary Paget's disease, often associated with an underlying breast cancer, and Cowden syndrome, which has an increased risk of breast malignancy, each have specific dermatologic findings. Recognition of these distinct cutaneous signs is important in the investigation of either newly diagnosed or recurrent breast cancer.
A Hybrid Bayesian-Frequentist Approach to SLAM

A hybrid Bayesian/ frequentist approach is presented for the Simultaneous Localization and Mapping Problem (SLAM). A frequentist approach is proposed for mapping a dense environment when the robotic pose is known and then extended to the case when the pose is uncertain. The SLAM problem is then solved in two steps: 1) the robot is localized with respect to a sparse set of landmarks in the map using a Bayes filter and a belief on the robot pose is formed, and 2) this belief on the robot pose is used to map the rest of the map using the frequentist estimator. The frequentist part of the hybrid methodology is shown to have complexity linear (constant time complexity under the assumption of bounded noise) in the map components, is robust to the data association problem and is provably consistent. The complexity of the Bayesian part is kept under control owing to the sparseness of the features, which also improves the robustness of the technique to the issue of data association. The hybrid method is tested on standard datasets on the RADISH repository.
In vitro effect of mammalian adrenocorticotropin on secretion of skate (Raja erinacea) interrenal tissue.

SummaryThe effect of mammalian ACTH on in vitro secretion of skate (Raja erinacea) interrenals was investigated directly. Inter-renal weights also were compared between males and nonovulating and ovulating females. ACTH increased interrenal output of BT and UV measurable substances in both sexes. Preincubation output rates in the absence of ACTH were substantially greater than those during subsequent incubation. A strong but not perfect correlation was observed between body and interrenal weights in both sexes. F-test analysis for statistical significance of differences between means of covariance-corrected interrenal weights showed that those of males were significantly less than those of either combined or ovulating females but not different from those of nonovulating females. Ovulating females had significantly heavier interrenals than nonovulating females.
Distribution, Relative Abundance and Status of the California Black Rail in Western North America

We conducted breeding season surveys of California Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus) populations in California and western Arizona from 1986-1989. During the course of our field work we developed a method to derive abundance indices and assign abundance values to each study area. We found the bulk of the population (> 80%) confined to the northern reaches of the San Francisco Bay estuary, especially the tidal marshland of San Pablo Bay and associated rivers. Elsewhere, distribution was patchy and subpopulations were small and isolated. Through a review of the literature, discussions with local field ornithologists, and our field work, we determined that the Black Rail population in Western North America is suffering a progressive decline. The causes of this downward trend-all related to habitat loss or degradation-are pervasive and ongoing.
Direct Observation of β-Chloride Elimination from an Isolable β-Chloroalkyl Complex of Square-Planar Nickel

Reported here are the isolation, structural characterization, and decomposition kinetics of the four-coordinate pentachloroethyl nickel complex, NiCl(CCl2CCl3)(CNArMes2)2 (ArMes2 = 2,6-(2,4,6-Me3C6H2)2C6H3). This complex is a unique example of a kinetically persistent β-chloroalkyl in a system relevant to coordination–insertion polymerization of polar olefins. Kinetic analysis of NiCl(CCl2CCl3)(CNArMes2)2 decomposition indicates that β-chloride (β-Cl) elimination proceeds by a unimolecular mechanism that does not require initial dissociation of a CNArMes2 ligand. The results suggest that a direct β-Cl elimination pathway is available to four-coordinate, Group 10 metal vinyl chloride polymerization systems.
A Creative Alchemy

Can creativity change us for the better? Let us hope so, for then our job is not simply to keep some unprincipled creators in rein (these malevolent creators do indeed exist; Cropley et al., 2010), while convincing others to put more effort toward a greater good. The task instead may be to help us all unfold our deepest and most positive potential.
Detecting Generic Visual Eventswith Temporal Cues

We present novel algorithms for detecting generic visual events from video. Target event models will produce binary decisions on each shot about classes of events involving object actions and their interactions with the scene, such as airplane taking off, exiting car, riot. While event detection has been studied in scenarios with strong scene and imaging assumptions, the detection of generic visual events from an unconstrained domain such as broadcast news has not been explored. This work extends our recent work [3] on event detection by (1) using a novel bag-of-features representation along with the earth movers' distance to account for the temporal variations within a shot, (2) learn the importance among input modalities with a double-convex combination along both different kernels and different support vectors, which is in turn solved via multiple kernel learning. Experiments show that the bag-of-features representation significantly outperforms the static baseline; multiple kernel learning yields promising performance improvement while providing intuitive explanations for the importance of the input kernels.
Uncertainty quantification of a small arms fire control system

A new small caliber fire control system is being designed, and there is interest in understanding how much error can be tolerated in the individual sensors that would still result in acceptable overall performance of the system. State of the art methods in Design of Experiments (DOE)-based surrogate modeling for probabilistic optimization of modeling & simulation were used to characterize the behavior of the system, improve the design based on overall system performance and cost, and predict how uncertainties in the individual sensor performances affected the probability of hit for the weapon system at a given target. A space filling experiment was designed for the projectile trajectory model used to evaluate the system. This model predicts the impact location of an individual round based on the environmental conditions at the time of firing. Using the model, it could be determined what the miss distance would be for the round given differences between what the sensor reads and what the actual conditions are at the time of fire. From the results of the simulations, a surrogate model was fit to the data that predicts the miss distance throughout the entire design space. The surrogate model was used to identify the most influential sensors, and a probabilistic simulation was used to quantify the uncertainty in the system and improve its probability of hit in the most efficient manner. The effort resulted in a recommendation of a design for a reliable, cost effective fire control system.
Production of plumage ornaments among males and females of two closely related tropical passerine bird species.

The evolution of elaborate secondary sexual traits (i.e., ornaments) is well-studied in males but less so in females. Similarity in the appearance of ornaments between males and females supports the view that female ornaments arise as a neutral byproduct of selection on male traits due to genetic correlation between sexes, but recent research suggests an adaptive function of female ornaments in at least some contexts. Information on the degree to which production of ornaments differs between the sexes can shed light on these alternative perspectives. We therefore characterized the structural underpinnings of melanin-based plumage production in males and females of two closely related passerine bird species (genus Malurus). Importantly, both ornamented and unornamented phenotypes in each sex are present between these two species, providing an opportunity to test the null expectation of equivalent modes of production in male and female ornamented phenotypes. In Malurus alboscapulatus, ornamented females are qualitatively similar to males, but we describe a distinctive ornamented female phenotype that differs from that of males in lacking a blue sheen and in lower feather barbule density. In M. melanocephalus, unornamented males and females are also similar in appearance, and we describe a similarity between unornamented phenotypes of males and females in both color and underlying feather barbule structure and pigment composition. Unornamented male M. melanocephalus can flexibly transition to the ornamented phenotype in weeks, and we found extreme differences in color and feather structure between these two alternative male phenotypes. These results contradict the idea that female ornaments have evolved in this system following a simple switch to male-like plumage by demonstrating greater complexity in the production of the ornamented phenotype in males than in females.
Evolution and Language (2): An Old Subject’s Great Escape from Recent Disciplinary Boundaries

Alan Barnard’s Language in prehistory attempts to find an accommodation between linguistic and evolutionary theory and apply insights from archeology and anthropology to the origins and purposes of language. Rudolph Botha’s Language evolution: The windows approach is a critique of employing evidence from other fields. Botha also critiques conclusions drawn from pidgins and creoles, homesign, motherese, grammaticalization, language acquisition, protolanguage, and comparative animal behaviour. This review attempts in turn to bring into question the appropriateness of applying the framework of generative linguistics, and its style of argumentation, to prehistory. Keywords: Generative Linguistics, Recursion, UG (Universal Grammar), LAD (Language Acquisition Device), grammaticalization, language evolution, language in prehistory Books under Review Barnard, Alan. 2016. Language in prehistory . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. xii, 184 pages. Paperback $24.99. Rudolph Botha. 2016. Language evolution:The windows approach. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 318 pages. Paperback $39.99.
Electrode-Electrolyte Interfaces in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries with Liquid or Inorganic Solid Electrolytes.

ConspectusElectrode–electrolyte interfacial properties play a vital role in the cycling performance of lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. The issues at an electrode–electrolyte interface include electrochemical and chemical reactions occurring at the interface, formation mechanism of interfacial layers, compositional/structural characteristics of the interfacial layers, ionic transport across the interface, and thermodynamic and kinetic behaviors at the interface. Understanding the above critical issues is paramount for the development of strategies to enhance the overall performance of Li–S batteries. Liquid electrolytes commonly used in Li–S batteries bear resemblance to those employed in traditional lithium-ion batteries, which are generally composed of a lithium salt dissolved in a solvent matrix. However, due to a series of unique features associated with sulfur or polysulfides, ether-based solvents are generally employed in Li–S batteries rather than simply adopting the carbonate-type solvents that ar...
Health Care Service Use Among Elderly Seasonal Migrators.

Abstract Elderly seasonal migrators share time between homes in different states, presenting challenges for care coordination and patient attribution methods. Medicare has prioritized alternative payment models, putting health care providers at risk for quality and value of services delivered to their attributed patients, regardless of the location of care. Little research is available to guide providers and payers on the service use of seasonal migrators. The authors use claims data on fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare beneficiaries' locations throughout the year to (1) identify seasonal migrators and (2) describe the care they receive in each seasonal home, focusing on primary care and emergency department (ED) visits and the relationships between the two. In all, 5.5% of the Medicare aged FFS population were identified as seasonal migrators, with 4.1% following the traditional snowbird pattern of migration, spending warm months in the north and cold months in the south. Migrators had higher rates of ED vi...
The impact of noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features on the rate of malignancy for atypia of undetermined significance subcategories.

BACKGROUND The recent revision in terminology, with noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP) replacing noninvasive follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma, has reclassified the clinically indolent tumor as nonmalignant. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of this change on the rate of malignancy (ROM) for subcategories of an atypia of undetermined significance (AUS) diagnosis on fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology. METHODS Consecutive thyroid FNAs interpreted as AUS over a period of 4 years were retrospectively analyzed. The ROM for AUS subcategories, including atypia of undetermined significance with nuclear atypia (AUS-N), atypia of undetermined significance with a microfollicular pattern (AUS-F), atypia of undetermined significance with nuclear atypia and a microfollicular pattern (AUS-N/F), atypia of undetermined significance with Hurthle cells (AUS-H), and atypia of undetermined significance, not otherwise specified (AUS-NOS), were analyzed. RESULTS Of the 426 nodules interpreted as AUS, 244 were surgically excised. The incidence of NIFTP in each subcategory was as follows: 18% for AUS-N, 18% for AUS-F, 9% for AUS-N/F, 3% for AUS-H, and 0% for AUS-NOS. After the reclassification of NIFTP as nonmalignant, the ROM based on histologic follow-up significantly decreased from 43% to 26% for AUS-N (P < .001) and from 29% to 10% for AUS-F (P = .008). The ROM for AUS-N remained significantly higher than the ROM for AUS-F (P = .030). CONCLUSIONS A subset of resected AUS nodules can be reclassified as NIFTP, and that significantly decreases the ROM, especially for AUS-N and AUS-F. Nonetheless, AUS-N still harbors a substantially higher ROM than AUS-F. Cancer Cytopathol 2018;126:309-16. © 2018 American Cancer Society.
Utilization of Outpatient Telehealth Services in Parity and Nonparity States 2010-2015.

Abstract Background and Introduction: Telehealth is a promising approach to improving healthcare access and quality. While coverage for telehealthcare has expanded, reimbursement remains one of the...
A utilitarian approach to adversarial learning in credit card fraud detection

Credit card fraud detection can be modeled as an adversarial game between a fraudster and the fraud detection mechanism. Previous work uses a game theoretical adversarial learning approach to model the most successful strategy and preemptively adapt the fraud detection system. The game consists of the adversary's selection of strategy and the fraud detection system's decision to retrain. In the previous work, the detection system is retrained every round of the game. In application, there may be costs and risks associated with training and deploying a new model. Thus, it may be desirable to optimize the decision of whether to retrain the model based on the expected economic disutility. The presented work addresses this desire by using a utilitarian approach to optimally decide whether to retrain the classifier by comparing the economic values of the new and old classifiers. A framework from decision theory is derived within the context of credit card fraud. Further, we show how a utility function can be used to identify the best fraud strategy in economic terms. We add to the literature by extending the adversarial learning model developed in previous work to include a theoretical framework for retraining when it is economically advantageous and judging fraud strategies on their economic cost. Our approaches are tested against the decisions to always retrain and to never retrain.
Pancreatic cancer staging. Endoscopic ultrasonography criteria for vascular invasion.

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is the most sensitive imaging test available for examining the pancreas and associated structures. Small (
An Empirical Analysis of QuiBids’ Penny Auctions

Given the string of bankruptcies of penny auction websites over the past two years, we use empirical data to investigate whether QuiBids remains profitable. Although profitable on an auction-by-auction basis, penny auction sites have problems retaining users. In order to alleviate this problem, QuiBids has implemented a Buy-Now system, in which losing bidders can contribute money they already lost in the auction towards the purchase of the item at a slightly inflated price. We find that QuiBids makes only limited profit after accounting for Buy-Now, but is able to remain profitable due voucher bid pack auctions. We also show that a large proportion of QuiBids’ revenues come from experienced bidders, suggesting that rules designed to promote consumer retention may be working as intended.
Increased Pregnancy Rate with Oil-Soluble Hysterosalpingography Dye*

The diagnostic value of hysterosalpingography remains unquestioned. Previous studies have suggested that patients who underwent hysterosalpingography with an oil-soluble contrast medium (OSCM) rather than a water-soluble contrast medium (WSCM) had higher subsequent fertility rates. This study evaluated subsequent fertility rates in 339 patients who underwent hysterosalpingography in which OSCM or WSCM was used. All forms of infertility were included and over-all, pregnancy occurred in the WSCM group in 21 of 162 patients (13%), in the OSCM group in 51 of 177 patients (29%); these rates were significantly different (P
A novel method to remove unexpected side products in the conjugation of p-isothiocyanate benzyl DTPA to an amine-derivatized MORF oligomer

1541 Objectives For MORF/cMORF pretargeting, an amine-derivatized cMORF (NH2-cMORF) was conjugated with p-isothiocyanate benzyl-DTPA (p-SCN-Bn-DTPA) by standard methods. After radiolabeling with 111In, unexpected unstable side products were observed. The instability was investigated and a method was developed to remove the side products responsible for the label instability prior to labeling. Methods The NH2-cMORF and native cMORF as control were conjugated with p-SCN-Bn-DTPA and radiolabeled with 111In chloride. The labeling efficiencies and stabilities of both labeled cMORFs were investigated by HPLC. Thereafter a post-conjugation, pre-purification heating step was introduced and the labeling efficiency, label stability and pharmacokinetics in mice of the stable DTPA-NH2-cMORF conjugate were evaluated. Results While the conjugate of NH2-cMORF provided a 95% labeling efficiency, the labeling efficiency was surprisingly similar for the native cMORF conjugate. While heating the labeled NH2-cMORF conjugate resulted in a 35% loss of label, the loss was 100% for the native cMORF conjugate. Obviously the instability in both cases must be due to radiolabeled side products, probably from conjugation of p-SCN-Bn-DTPA to nitrogenous bases within the sequence. By introducing a post-conjugation, pre-purification heating step these side products were apparently dissociated resulting in an improved label stability. A comparison of pharmacokinetics in normal mice showed that, after labeling, the stable DTPA-NH2-cMORF conjugate provided significantly lower background radioactivity levels compared to the native DTPA-cMORF conjugate. Conclusions The conventional procedure for the conjugation of NH2-cMORF with p-SCN-Bn-DTPA resulted in side products responsible for the instability of the 111In radiolabel. Adding a post-conjugation, pre-purification heating step improved the 111In label stability and lowered tissue backgrounds in mice
Flourish Index and Secure Flourish Index – Development and Validation

The purpose of this paper was to investigate psychometric properties of the newly proposed Flourish Index (FI) and Secure Flourish Index (SFI). Data were obtained from the Health and Well-Being Survey – conducted in June and July 2017, with responses from 4210 residents of North Carolina, USA. Exploratory and confirmatory factor models were used. An exploratory approach was used to investigate item groupings. Confirmatory factor models were used to investigate the hierarchical structure of the indices, level of common variance and percent of uncontaminated correlations. The coefficient of omega hierarchical was computed to establish uni-dimensionality and reliability of the indices. Configural, metric and scalar measurement invariance were examined to provide evidence on the universality of the indices. Convergent validity and discriminant validity were assessed. This study provided support that FI and SFI can be used in empirical research. Our results confirmed groupings of items into domains of flourishing as well hierarchical structure of both indices. With application of the factor analytical framework support for their uni-dimensionality was found. The analysis revealed that scores derived from FI and SFI primarily reflected a single common source, flourishing and secure flourishing, respectively, implying legitimate use of raw scores (average or sum) for their measurement. Both indices demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity. Evidence was also found that both instruments were measurement invariant.
Impacts of the Dependent Care Expansion on the Allocation of Mental Health Care

We examine the impact of insurance expansion under the Affordable Care Act’s Dependent Care Expansion (DCE) on allocation of mental health care across illness severity, types of care and racial/ethnic groups. Evidence suggests that the increase in mental health care utilization resulting from the DCE was restricted to individuals with clinically significant mental health conditions. There is no evidence suggesting that the increase occurred disproportionately in medication-only treatment or that it increased racial/ethnic disparities. The DCE appears to have been successful in increasing utilization of mental health care among a high need group without lowering quality or increasing disparities.
Compensation Behaviors and Skin Cancer Prevention.

Introduction Skin cancer prevention guidelines recommend practicing multiple behaviors to protect against harmful ultraviolet rays, yet few adults report practicing more than one recommended behavior. This study examines the extent to which skin cancer prevention behaviors are combined and may follow a pattern of compensation in which an individual's performance of one behavior (e.g., wearing sunscreen) precludes performing other protective behaviors (e.g., wearing a hat). Methods Data from qualitative semi-structured interviews (n=80) in 2015 and a quantitative online national survey (n=940) in 2016 with non-Hispanic white adults aged 18–49 years from the U.S. were used to examine combinations of skin cancer prevention behaviors. Data were analyzed in 2017. Results Protective behaviors like wearing sunglasses and sunscreen were a common approach to prevention, but protective, avoidant (i.e., seeking shade, avoiding outdoor tanning), and covering-up (i.e., wearing a hat, shirt) strategies were rarely used in combination. Regression analyses to determine correlates of protection, avoidance, and covering-up showed that age was positively associated with practicing each strategy; positive attitudes about tanning were negatively associated with avoidance and covering-up; and positive body image was positively associated with protection and negatively associated with avoidance. Demographics such as education, employment, and gender, but not skin cancer risk, were also related to the various strategies. Conclusions Although a full evaluation of compensation theory and skin cancer prevention was limited by the available data, the results suggest that application of the theory may yield clues for how to improve sun protection behaviors.
Central Ambulatory Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Lung Transplantation

Purpose Central veno-arterial (VA) ECMO provides reliable cardiopulmonary support in selected patients with end-stage lung diseases and severe pulmonary hypertension or cardiac instability. Ambulation dramatically improves patient outcomes. We investigated the outcomes of a new technique of ambulatory central VA ECMO via tunneled cannula insertion and right thoracotomy. Methods Candidates for lung transplantation who required respiratory and cardiac support were taken to the operating room for central VA ECMO cannulation. In the OR, the right 3rd rib is identified and a medial segment is removed. The pericardium is opened and pursestrings are placed on the mid-ascending aorta and right atrial appendage. Aortic and venous cannula are advanced through 1cm incisions lateral to the thoracic incision. Heparin is administered and the aorta and right atrium are then cannulated. A chest tube is placed and the incision is closed. A prospectively maintained institutional database was analyzed. All patients who were cannulated for central ECMO via right thoracotomy for the purpose of ambulatory circulatory support were included. Results Fifteen patients underwent central VA-ECMO cannulation from April 2016 to July 2018 via the above technique. The mean age was 51 (range 29-67). 8 (53%) were male. The indications for VA ECMO were end-stage lung diseases and pulmonary hypertension/cardiac instability in all patients. 12 patients ultimately underwent lung transplantation, and 3 patients expired prior to definitive therapy. The mean duration of ECMO support was 546.4 hours (range of 46-2004 hours). All patients were either ambulatory while on ECMO, or able to stand. One patient had post-operative bleeding requiring return to the operating room. One patient had an embolic cerebrovascular event without residual deficits. All patients who survived to transplantation were discharged from the hospital. Conclusion We describe a central ECMO cannulation strategy that allows ambulation while avoiding the vascular, infectious, and flow limiting issues associated with alternative site cannulation. The above technique offers a minimal access approach that allows full pre-transplant optimization with an acceptable risk profile.
Adaptive Dimensional Decoupling for Compression of Quantum Nuclear Wave Functions and Efficient Potential Energy Surface Representations through Tensor Network Decomposition

We present an approach to reduce the computational complexity and storage pertaining to quantum nuclear wave functions and potential energy surfaces. The method utilizes tensor networks implemented through sequential singular value decompositions. Two specific forms of tensor networks are considered to adaptively compress the data in multidimensional quantum nuclear wave functions and potential energy surfaces. In one case the well-known matrix product state approximation is used whereas in another case the wave function and potential energy surface space is initially partitioned into “system” and “bath” degrees of freedom through singular value decomposition, following which the individual system and bath tensors (wave functions and potentials) are in turn decomposed as matrix product states. We postulate that this leads to a mean-field version of the well-known projectionally entangled pair state known in the tensor networks community. Both formulations appear as special cases of more general higher ord...
Etiology of Peri-Implant Diseases

Implant failure is multifactorial. Early failures can result from infection, various forms of trauma, as well as poor planning and placement techniques. Late failures can result from infection, trauma, and foreign body reactions. Implant surfaces appear to be a major factor in implant success. The currently available implant surfaces including titanium, zirconia, and titanium-zirconium combinations are discussed.
Nonlinear convergence preserves information

Neural circuits are structured in layers of converging and diverging nonlinear neurons with selectivities and preferences. These components have the potential to hamper an efficient encoding of the circuit inputs. Past computational studies have optimized the nonlinearities of single neurons, or the weights matrices of networks, to maximize encoded information yet none have grappled with simultaneously optimizing circuit structure and neuron response functions for efficient coding. Rather than an explicit optimization of that kind, our approach is to compare circuit configurations with different combinations of these suboptimal components to discover how the interactions of these components affect the efficient coding of the neural circuit. We construct computational model circuits with different configurations and we compute and compare their response entropies. We find that the circuit configuration with divergence, convergence, and nonlinear subunits preserves the most information despite the compressive loss induced by both the convergence and the nonlinearities individually. These results show that the combination of selective nonlinearities and a compressive architecture - both elements that induce lossy compression - can promote efficient coding in tandem.
Updates on Assessment and Monitoring of the Postnatal Growth of Preterm Infants

Assessing and monitoring the physical growth of preterm infants is fundamental to NICU care. The goals of nutritional care are to approximate the growth and body composition of the healthy fetus and to support optimal brain development while minimizing future cardiometabolic risk. Both poor and excessive growth predict adverse long-term health outcomes. Growth curves are clinical tools used to assess the preterm infant’s growth status. Several growth curves for preterm infants were developed in the past decade. To use them effectively, clinicians need to understand how each growth curve was developed; the underlying reference population; intended use; and strengths and limitations. Intrauterine growth curves are references that use size at birth to represent healthy fetal growth. These curves serve 2 purposes—to assign size classifications at birth and to monitor postnatal growth. The INTERGROWTH-21stpreterm postnatal growth standards were developed to compare the postnatal growth of preterm infants to that of healthy preterm infants rather than the fetus. Individualized weight growth curves account for the water weight loss that frequently occurs after birth. In addition, body mass index (BMI) curves are now available. In this review, we discuss the main characteristics of growth curves used for preterm infants as well as the use of percentiles, z scores, and their change over time to evaluate size and growth status. We also review the differences in body composition between preterm infants at term-equivalent age and term-born infants and the potential role of monitoring proportionality of growth using BMI curves.
How Do School Psychologists Interpret Intelligence Tests for the Identification of Specific Learning Disabilities

Although intelligence tests are among the most widely used psychological instruments in school psychology, at the current time, little is known about how practitioners interpret them. The primary purpose of this study, therefore, was to determine how intelligence tests are interpreted by school psychologists, particularly for the identification of specific learning disabilities (SLD). Participants were 1317 school psychologists who were practicing in the USA. Results indicated that school psychologists differ widely in their approach to intelligence test interpretation, particularly for the identification of SLD, and that these differences are only modestly related to personal characteristics, level and accreditation/approval status of professional training, and state regulations for SLD eligibility determination. Although we found that most practicing school psychologists (80%) regularly interpret the overall score, which is the most reliable and valid score for most uses of intelligence tests in the schools, many also engage in questionable interpretive practices, such as conducting intra-individual (ipsative) subtest analyses and the patterns of strengths and weaknesses approach to SLD identification. Implications of these results for practice and training are discussed.
Feature Engineering for Cardio-Thoracic Disease Detection from NIH Chest Radiographs

There is a huge shortage of radiologists since the advent of radiological imaging that has resulted in outsourcing of radiological services called as ‘Teleradiology’, but without much success in mitigating the huge demand. Deep learning can help in mitigating the shortage and in providing timely medical care by shortening the time required for diagnosis and segmentation of the disease. Contemporary patient privacy regulations along with the fact that ‘medical images’ unlike a standard picture differ in many aspects like resolution, dimensions, brightness, etc., which sufficiently degrades the performance of a trained neural network. In this work, we study the performance of the neural network across varying attributes (dimensions, resolutions, etc.) of the NIH Chest X-ray dataset by augmenting the existing dataset by leveraging a densely connected 121-layer deep neural network. Apart from that, we studied the possibility of generating segmentation maps to help radiologists achieve concurrence amongst themselves.
Cryo-EM reconstruction of a VPS13 fragment reveals a long groove to channel lipids between membranes.

A single particle cryo-EM reconstruction of an ∼160-kD N-terminal fragment of the lipid transport protein VPS13 reveals an ∼160-A long channel lined with hydrophobic residues suitable for solubilizing multiple lipid fatty acid moieties. The structure suggests that VPS13 and related proteins, like the autophagy protein ATG2, can act as bridges between organelle membranes to allow bulk lipid flow between organelles.
The Objects and Objectives of Journalism Research During the Coronavirus Pandemic and Beyond

The most immediate and important effects of the coronavirus pandemic concern public health. But the crisis also raises a number of key questions for journalism research. As scholars, we should paus...
Increases in Natural Speech Production Following Experience with Synthetic Speech.

Two groups of preschool and young school-aged children with severe speech impairment received individual phonologic awareness instruction utilizing two different methods—graphic symbols or graphic ...
Mirror Up to KM Paradoxes and Strategy Paradoxes: An Exploratory Account (Extending and Refining the Theory Based Framework of Schultze and Stabell: Discourses, Contradictions in KM Research)

Objectives: 1. To explore, extend and refine the theory based framework of Schultze and Stabell discourses, and contradictions in KM research. 2. To discuss double edged nature of knowledge by highlighting different assumptions about knowledge and its management. 3. To discuss strategy paradoxes as additional contradictions in the domain of KM research. 4. To elaborate further specifically dialogic discourse and constructivist discourse. Methodology: Using the examples of Pakistani organization and International cases for exploring paradoxes in the land of KM and strategic management, the relevant literature has been explored from strategic management and knowledge management. For Pakistani organizations insights are taken from Brand Elections 2010 and for multinational organizations, the examples of short cases are taken from the book. Strategy: Process, Content, Context – An international perspective. The 3D view of strategy (strategy process, strategy content, strategy context) along with the exploration of different paradoxes lying in 3D view of strategy (strategy process, strategy content, strategy context) with reference to KM has been presented. Suggestions have been made to extend and further refine the theory based model of Schultze and Stabell as the direction for future research.
Conducting Intervention Research With Immigrant Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: Barriers and Facilitators of Recruitment and Retention:

Research is needed to support culturally informed interventions for diverse groups of survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), such as immigrant women. Researchers, however, often face numerous barriers in recruiting and retaining immigrant survivors of IPV in intervention research. This qualitative study explored strategies to enhance recruitment and retention of immigrant survivors of IPV in intervention research from the perspective of immigrant survivors of IPV and providers serving immigrant women. Forty-six in-depth interviews were conducted with diverse groups of immigrant women (Africans, Asians, and Latinas) and 17 key informant interviews were conducted with providers serving immigrant women. The interviews focused on perceived facilitators and barriers to recruitment and retention including strategies to form partnerships with domestic violence organizations. Data were analyzed using systematic inductive thematic analysis. Participants identified barriers to recruitment such as fear of being judged, lack of familiarity with the recruiter, normalcy of abuse in some cultures, undocumented status, and fear related to legal implications of reporting IPV. Barriers to study retention included lack of motivation, time burden related to study participation, and emotional strain with recounting abuse experience. Participants also shared strategies to facilitate recruitment and retention such as engaging with the community, forming partnerships with domestic violence organizations, using recruiters with similar background and experiences as potential participants, using snowball sampling strategies, recruiting in locations frequently visited by immigrant survivors, providing adequate incentives, ensuring confidentiality, educating survivors about IPV, and conducting periodic check-ins throughout the study period. Findings can be useful for researchers conducting intervention studies with immigrant survivors of IPV.
Review of High Strain Rate Testing of Granular Soils

This review provides an overview of testing techniques related to high strain rate (HSR) loading of granular media, in support of the increasing interest in civilian and military applications related to transient loading on sand. The intrinsic properties of granular soils are shown to be rate dependent. The framework for assessing rate dependent behavior of granular soils is presented. Techniques for applying HSR loading including uniaxial and triaxial compression configurations are discussed. Critical issues related to inertial and wave propagation effects as well as boundary effects are highlighted. In addition, options for test setup and measuring response are described both with respect to capabilities and drawbacks. The most relevant studies are summarized, but gaps and inconsistencies remain in the available literature.
The poetics of village space when villages are new: Settlement form as history making in Papua, Indonesia

Resettlement of dispersed populations into centralized villages has been a watershed cultural change across many world regions, often occurring under pressure from states, world religions, and markets. Recent village formation processes among Korowai of Papua, Indonesia, have been caused by such pressures but have also been heavily structured by Korowai understandings of geography. This article takes Korowai villages as a case study in the semiotics of space. The power of villages to be the pivot of historical transformation flows from this spatial form's “poetic density,” meaning its ladenness with a multiplicity of social principles, structures of feeling, and models of extralocal geopolitical articulation. Additionally, Korowai strongly orient to space as a field of heterogeneity. Their expectation that different spaces are charged with otherness of order has shaped their village-forming actions and their intense focus on villages in thinking about contemporary history at large.
The Influence of Hardarian Gland Removal and Fur Lipid Removal on Heat Loss and Water Flux to and from the Skin of Muskrats, Ondotra zibethicus

The Hardarian gland (an apocrine organ located behind the eye) was removed from one group of muskrats. Another group of muskrats was anesthetized and shampooed. The fur of shampooed and Hardarianectomized muskrats did not appear to repel water as effectively as sham control animals. Both shampooed and Hardarianectomized muskrats had higher rates of heat loss while submerged in a 4 C water bath than sham control animals. The magnitude of heat loss was less for the Hardarianectomized muskrats. Hardarianectomized and shampooed muskrats had elevated rates of evaporative water loss with an estimated cutaneous water loss of 52% and 66% of total evaporative water loss for Hardarianectomized and shampooed muskrats compared with 41 % for control animals. Coating the fur of muskrats with mineral oil tended to retard evaporative water loss. It appears that the Hardarian gland is an effective source of lipids which may be spread onto the fur from the nasal duct by both self and communal grooming. This lipid coat appe...
Contracting to Preserve Open Science: Consideration-Based Regulation in Patent Law

Patents on biomedical research tools - technological inputs to experimentation - may inhibit scientific inquiry and the development of life-enhancing therapies. Various "public law" approaches to address this challenge, such as a common law experimental use exception to patent infringement, have achieved limited success. In the wake of these shortcomings, this Article argues that institutions that fund and support biomedical research are resorting to an underappreciated model of private ordering to resolve research holdup. Increasingly, federal and state agencies, universities, non-profits, and disease advocacy groups are conditioning vital research support on requirements that recipients of this support make resulting patented inventions widely available for noncommercial research purposes. In essence, these institutions are contractually constructing a biomedical research commons. These efforts represent a significant shift towards "privatizing" patent regulation. Through a new model of "consideration-based patent regulation," public institutions are embedding policy objectives in contractual quid pro quos with individual recipients of research support. This model provides public institutions with considerable freedom to effectuate norms favoring wide dissemination of research technologies. This Article greets this development with cautious optimism, providing prescriptions for how public institutions may effectively manage the contractual construction of a biomedical research commons. It concludes by exploring the significant ramifications of this development for patent law, institutions, and theory.
Intestinal epithelial ecto-5’-nucleotidase CD73 regulates invasion by Salmonella typhimurium (488.4)

Previous work has shown that adenosine is a key mediator of bacterial-epithelial cell interactions. CD73 is an ecto-5'-nucleotidase expressed abundantly on the apical surface of intestinal epitheli...
Breeding tomato for quality and processing attributes.

Once considered inedible, the tomato has become one of the most popular and extensively consumed vegetable crops, with an annual world production approaching 61 million MT (FAO Production Year Book 1986). In the U.S.A. alone the extent of consumption is such that as a fresh commodity and as processed product tomato represents a major vegetable source of essential nutrients (Rick 1978). In addition, to raw tomatoes which are eaten directly as a raw vegetable or added to other food items such as salads, sandwiches and other forms of fast food, a variety of processed products such as paste, whole peeled tomatoes, diced products, and various forms of juices and soups are increasingly gaining acceptance. The tomato products juice, catsup, sauce, soup and paste have become an integral part of the diet. The improvement of the tomato through breeding for nutritional quality and processing attributes is being vigorously pursued worldwide.
Estimation of the Number of Unresolvable Targets Producing a Single Radar Return

The problem of estimating the number of unresolvable targets in a close configuration producing a single radar return is investigated by analyzing the slow fluctuations of the received signal. It is assumed that the targets have identical statistical properties. If nothing is known about the scattering cross section S of a single target, the problem is shown to have no unique solution. Solutions are given for the case when the mean of S is known, when only the type of distribution of S is known, and when the correlation function of the random process S(t) is known. Verification of the results by computer simulation is reported.