cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of floating nest platforms on the breeding performance of Black Terns

In 2003 and 2004, we placed 41 floating nest platforms on Grassy Lake in southeastern Wisconsin (USA) to test the hypothesis that reproductive success of Black Terns (Chlidonias niger) is limited by the quality of suitable nesting habitat. Extreme differences in water levels between these 2 yr provided a natural experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of the nest platforms during a drought year (2003) when natural nesting substrate was abundant, and a flood year (2004) when natural substrate was limited during the peak nesting period. Terns nested on 27 of 41 (66%) of the platforms in 2003 and 26 of 41 (63%) in 2004. No difference in the occupancy rate of platforms and natural nests was evident in 2003, but the pattern of clutch initiations early in the season in 2004 indicated that platforms were preferred over natural substrates. In 2003, nest survival rates did not differ between nests placed on platforms and those placed on natural substrates, but platform nests had significantly higher hatching success and nest survival rates in 2004. Both the Kaplan-Meier and Apparent Nest Success methods of calculating nest survival provided similar estimates. In both years, eggs laid on platforms were significantly larger than those laid on natural substrates, suggesting that platforms were occupied by high-quality birds. Our study indicates that floating nest platforms can be an effective management tool to enhance nesting habitat for Black Terns and other aquatic birds that construct floating nests, primarily because platforms provide nest sites when natural sites are not available due to flooding. Nest platforms also may be useful for addressing questions concerning habitat selection and parental quality. SINOPSIS. Efecto de plataformas artificiales para anidar en el desempe˜
Luther's Sola Fide in Italy: 1542–1551

MARVIN W. ANDERSON, Associate Professor of Historical Theology, Bethel Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota "What do they know of Luther, who only Luther know?"' This question posed by Professor Gordon Rupp is apposite as one commemorates the 450th Anniversary year of Martin Luther's NinetyFive Theses. The discovery of Luther's biblical lectures has led to a renaissance in Luther studies. Would not careful attention to Catholic
Microstructural characterization of Al98.5wt. %Si1.0wt. %Cu0.5wt. % on chemical-vapor-deposited W

The microstructural and morphological properties of thin (6000 A) Al98.5wt. %Si1.0wt. %Cu0.5wt. % films on chemical-vapor-deposited tungsten-coated substrates have been characterized as functions of substrate temperature during deposition and a postdeposition sinter. Scanning electron and transmission electron microscopic investigations show these properties can be categorized with respect to the substrate temperature during deposition. The Al98.5wt. %Si1.0wt. %Cu0.5wt. % films deposited on substrates heated at temperatures ≤200 °C are rough and are comprised of rounded grains. For deposition on substrates heated at ≤300 °C, the films are smooth. Large voids and small precipitates (presumably Al2Cu) are present in the films deposited at 400 °C. The films retain their as-deposited texture during a 450 °C sinter. Precipitates and evidence of W interactions occur in the sintered films deposited on the lower temperature substrates. In addition, the shapes of thermal hillocks and mesa-like protrusions that form during the sintering process are influenced by the films’ as-deposited morphologies.
Analysis of Renewable-Energy Systems Using RPM-SIM Simulator

Renewable-energy systems that are under development need a simulation-based analysis to ensure system stability, power quality, and reliability. Such an analysis may reveal design modifications that need to be made before the system is implemented in the field. The modular simulator RPM-SIM, available on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Web site (http://wind.nrel.gov/designcodes/simulators/rpmsim/), facilitates a low-cost application-specific study of the dynamics of the wind-solar-diesel hybrid power systems. This paper discusses the principal modules of the simulator and provides several examples of a simulation-based analysis of the renewable-energy systems. These examples illustrate the importance of a simulation-based study of the grid-connected and stand-alone or autonomous systems. The RPM-SIM is open-ended and can be easily expanded
Preparation of a Frozen Regolith Simulant Bed for ISRU Component Testing in a Vacuum Chamber

In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) systems and components have undergone extensive laboratory and field tests to expose hardware to relevant soil environments. The next step is to combine these soil environments with relevant pressure and temperature conditions. Previous testing has demonstrated how to incorporate large bins of unconsolidated lunar regolith into sufficiently sized vacuum chambers. In order to create appropriate depth dependent soil characteristics that are needed to test drilling operations for the lunar surface, the regolith simulant bed must by properly compacted and frozen. While small cryogenic simulant beds have been created for laboratory tests, this scale effort will allow testing of a full 1m drill which has been developed for a potential lunar prospector mission. Compacted bulk densities were measured at various moisture contents for GRC-3 and Chenobi regolith simulants. Vibrational compaction methods were compared with the previously used hammer compaction, or "Proctor", method. All testing was done per ASTM standard methods. A full 6.13 m3 simulant bed with 6 percent moisture by weight was prepared, compacted in layers, and frozen in a commercial freezer. Temperature and desiccation data was collected to determine logistics for preparation and transport of the simulant bed for thermal vacuum testing. Once in the vacuum facility, the simulant bed will be cryogenically frozen with liquid nitrogen. These cryogenic vacuum tests are underway, but results will not be included in this manuscript.
Mapping the stochastic response of nanostructures.

Nanostructures are technological devices constructed on a nanometer length scale more than a thousand times thinner than a human hair. Due to the unique properties of matter at this scale, such devices offer great potential for creating novel materials and behaviors that can be leveraged to benefit mankind. This paper addresses a particular challenge involved in the design of nanostructures—their stochastic or apparently random response to external loading. This is because fundamentally the function that relates the energy of a nanostructure to the arrangement of its atoms is extremely nonconvex, with each minimum corresponding to a possible equilibrium state that may be visited as the system responds to loading. Traditional atomistic simulation techniques are not capable of systematically addressing this complexity. Instead, we construct an equilibrium map (EM) for the nanostructure, analogous to a phase diagram for bulk materials, which fully characterizes its response. Using the EM, definitive predictions can be made in limiting cases and the spectrum of responses at any desired loading rate can be obtained. The latter is important because standard atomistic methods are fundamentally limited, by computational feasibility, to simulations of loading rates that are many orders of magnitude faster than reality. In contrast, the EM-based approach makes possible the direct simulation of nanostructure experiments. We demonstrate the method’s capabilities and its surprisingly complex results for the case of a nanoslab of nickel under compression.
Characterization of a third simple tandem repeat polymorphism in the human glucokinase gene

Recent studies have implicated mutations in the glucokinase gene as a cause of early-onset Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. Two simple tandem repeat DNA polymorphisms have been identified in this gene and used for genetic studies. However, their heterozygosity is relatively low and not all families are informative for linkage with these markers. Here we report the characterization of a third simple tandem repeat polymorphism that can be used for genetic studies.
SAMPLING‐SKEWED BIOLOGICAL POPULATIONS: BEHAVIOR OF CONFIDENCE INTERVALS FOR THE POPULATION TOTAL

Four populations were repeatedly sampled with the aim of examining interval estimation of the cumulative amount, T, of some characteristic that has a positively skewed distribution, a feature of many biological populations. With samples of various sizes, the empirical sampling distribution of the simple expansion estimator was remarkably symmetric and approximately normal, as was that of the customary ratio-of-means estimator. While the nominal coverage rate of (1 − α)100% intervals based on the Student’s t distribution was nearly achieved in all cases, there was a substantially greater tendency for such intervals to fail from below rather than above. This behavior is attributed to the strong positive correlation between the estimator of the population total and the corresponding estimator of its variance when sampling from a finite, and perforce nonnormal, population.
Impaired Angiogenesis After Hindlimb Ischemia in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Differential Regulation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 1 and Soluble Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 1

Deficient angiogenesis after ischemia may contribute to worse outcomes of peripheral arterial disease in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors promote angiogenesis. We hypothesized that in peripheral arterial disease, maladaptive changes in VEGF ligand/receptor expression could account for impaired angiogenesis in DM. Skeletal muscle from diet-induced, type 2 diabetic (DM) and age-matched normal chow (NC)-fed mice was collected at baseline and 3 and 10 days after hindlimb ischemia and analyzed for expression of VEGF (n=10 per group), full-length VEGF receptor (VEGFR)-1, soluble VEGFR-1, and markers of downstream VEGF signaling (n=20 per group) using ELISA, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and Western blots. In the absence of ischemia, DM mice had increased VEGF (NC versus DM: 26.6+/-2.6 versus 53.5+/-8.8 pg/mg protein; P<0.05), decreased soluble and membrane-bound VEGFR-1 (NC versus DM: 1.44+/-0.30 versus 0.85+/-0.08 and 1.03+/-0.10 versus 0.72+/-0.10, respectively; P<0.05), decreased phospho-AKT/AKT and phospho-endothelial NO synthase/endothelial NO synthase (NC versus DM: 0.76+/-0.2 versus 0.38+/-0.1 and 0.36+/-0.06 versus 0.25+/-0.04, respectively; P<0.05), and no change in VEGFR-2. After ischemia, both DM and NC had comparable increases in VEGF-A. VEGFR-1 and soluble VEGFR-1 expression increased in both groups, but the fold increase was significantly greater in DM. These data demonstrate that soluble VEGFR-1, an angiogenesis inhibitor, is regulated in skeletal muscle by type 2 DM and ischemia. In the absence of ischemia, despite reductions in both soluble VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-1, VEGF ligand signaling is lower in DM compared with controls. After ischemia, maladaptive upregulation of these receptors further reduces the capacity of VEGF to induce an angiogenic response, which may provide a novel target for therapy.
Narrative Review: The Promotion of Gabapentin: An Analysis of Internal Industry Documents

The authors used documents that became public through a court case to describe a manufacturer's methods to promote off-label uses of gabapentin. The manufacturer extensively used activities usually...
A fuzzy description logic with fuzzy data type group

The Semantic Web is expected to process concept knowledge and data information in an intelligent and automatic way. Recent research has shown that OWL has a serious limitation on data types; i.e., it does not support customized data types and customized data type predicates. Furthermore, it canpsilat process imprecise and uncertain information which widely exists in the Semantic Web and Ontology. These issues are being addressed by W3C Semantic Web Best Practices and Development Working Group. In the current paper, we make the following two contributions to solve the above limitations: (i) present a new kind of fuzzy description logic F-SHOIQ(G) which can not only support the representation and reasoning of fuzzy concept knowledge, but also support fuzzy data information with customized fuzzy data types and customized fuzzy data type predicates; (ii) give the tableau algorithm for F-SHOIQ(G) and prompt a flexible reasoning architecture for fuzzy data type reasoning, also the design for fuzzy data type reasoner is discussed here. The example in paper witnesses the representation and reasoning capabilities of F-SHOIQ(G) go clearly beyond the other DLs.
The fine structure of the pineal gland in the pocket gopher, Geomys bursarius.

The morphology of the pineal gland of the pocket gopher, Geomys bursarius, is of special interest because this species is exposed to extremes of environmental lighting in its natural habitat. The pineal gland of the gopher has been studied in specimens collected as they were about to enter their winter dormant period. The gopher pineal is similar to other mammalian pineal glands in that it possesses light and dark parenchymal cells, glia, and pigment-containing-cells. Vascular-parenchymal relationships are similar to other species. Vesicles containing electron-opaque cores are infrequently encountered in the parenchymal cells. Parenchymal cells and pigment cells occasionally abut a lumen, suggesting an acinar arrangement. Large cytoplasmic vacuoles several microns in diameter are present in the parenchymal cells.
Mediators of Chronic Heart Failure: How Drugs Work

OBJECTIVE:To critically review the pathophysiology of chronic heart failure at the neurohormonal level, and discuss the effect of present and future therapeutic options on these neurohormones.DATA SOURCES:A MEDLINE search (1986–November 2000) was used to identify important primary literature and reviews. Additional references were obtained from these articles.DATA SYNTHESIS:Chronic heart failure is a common, progressive disorder with high morbidity and mortality. Progression is due in large part to several redundant neurohormonal responses. The neurohormones include angiotensin II, norepinephrine, aldosterone, endothelin-1, arginine vasopressin, and tumor necrosis factor. These responses are initially adaptive, but become maladaptive in the long term, impairing the function of the heart, vasculature, and kidneys. Counter-regulatory hormones, such as bradykinin and natriuretic peptides, are insufficient to offset the adverse effects of the other neurohormones. Most drugs used to treat chronic heart failure...
Veterans' Experiences using Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Posttraumatic Stress: A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis

Combat Veterans struggling with combat-related post(*)traumatic stress disorder and subthreshold symptoms often look outside the conventional behavioral health care system for treatment because standard care has not met their needs. This study utilized a qualitative interpretive metasynthesis to describe the lived experience of combat Veterans seeking complementary and alternative health therapies for posttraumatic stress symptoms. This research aimed to understand what attracts these Veterans to complementary and alternative medicine techniques and how they benefit from their experiences with nonconventional therapies. Findings suggest the need for further research into increasing access and eliminating disparities for Veterans seeking more integrative care.
The Falling Ladder Paradox

(1996). The Falling Ladder Paradox. The College Mathematics Journal: Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 49-54.
Sec14-like phosphatidylinositol-transfer proteins and diversification of phosphoinositide signalling outcomes

The physiological functions of phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns)-transfer proteins (PITPs)/phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho)-transfer proteins are poorly characterized, even though these proteins are conserved throughout the eukaryotic kingdom. Much of the progress in elucidating PITP functions has come from exploitation of genetically tractable model organisms, but the mechanisms for how PITPs execute their biological activities remain unclear. Structural and molecular dynamics approaches are filling in the details for how these proteins actually work as molecules. In the present paper, we discuss our recent work with Sec14-like PITPs and describe how PITPs integrate diverse territories of the lipid metabolome with phosphoinositide signalling.
Current situation of occupational health in footwear industry in Bishan County of Chongqing from 2008-2012

[Objective]To assess the current situation of occupational health in footwear enterprises in Bishan County of Chongqing,put forward the suggestions of supervision.[Methods]The occupational health examination results of employees in footwear enterprises in recent 5 years were studies statistically,while the detected data of benzene and benzene series in workplaces were analyzed.[Results]The overall situation of occupational health among employees in footwear enterprises was not good. The qualified rate of occupational health examination in workers in 2008 was the highest( 83. 99%),while that in 2012 was the lowest( 75. 04%). The employees mainly received the occupational health examination before starting their work and during on the job,and the examination had scarcely conducted before demission. The qualified rates of occupational hazard factors( benzene and benzene series) in workplaces were low,which mainly benzene exceeded the standard. The qualified rate of detection in 2012 was the highest( 61. 70%),while that in 2010 was the lowest( 17. 81%).[Conclusion]The occupational disease prevention and control in footwear industry in Bishan County faces a grim situation,and the occupational hazard factors have not been controlled effectively. It is urgent to improve the level of occupational health protection in workplace.
Activation of phospholipase A2 in human neutrophils by polyunsaturated fatty acids and its role in stimulation of superoxide production.

Although polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have been shown to stimulate neutrophil responses such as the oxygen-dependent respiratory burst (superoxide production), the mechanisms involved still remain undefined. Here we investigate the effect of PUFA on the phospholipase A2 (PLA2)-signal transduction process in human neutrophils. Exogenous eicosatetraenoic acid [arachidonic acid; C20:4(n-6)] or docosahexaenoic acid [C22:6(n-3)] promoted the release of [3H]C20:4(n-6) from prelabelled neutrophils in a time- and dose-dependent manner, which is indicative of PLA2 activation. The release of [3H]C20:4(n-6) from the cells by C20:4(n-6) and C22:6(n-3) was suppressed by PLA2 inhibitors. Other PUFA ?eicosapentaenoic [C20:5(n-3)], octadecatrienoic [gamma-linolenic; C18:3(n-6)] and octadecadienoic [linoleic; C18:2(n-6)] acids? also had the ability to release [3H]C20:4(n-6); however, certain C20:4(n-6) derivatives [15-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid, 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid and C20:4(n-6) methyl ester] and saturated fatty acids [octadecanoic (stearic; C18:0) and eicosanoic (arachidic; C20:0) acids] had no significant effect. Treatment of the neutrophils with exogenous C22:6(n-3) caused the mass of endogenous unesterified C20:4(n-6) to increase. Incubation of the leucocytes with C20:4(n-6) or C22:6(n-3) evoked activation of the 85 kDa cytosolic PLA2 (cPLA2) and the 14 kDa secretory PLA2 (sPLA2), but not the cytosolic Ca2+-independent PLA2. In contrast, C20:0 did not activate any of the PLA2 isoforms. Activation of cPLA2 by PUFA was found to precede that of sPLA2. C22:6(n-3), C20:4(n-6) and other PUFA induced punctate localization of cPLA2 in the cells, which was not observed with saturated fatty acids. Pretreatment of the leucocytes with PLA2 inhibitors markedly decreased superoxide production induced by C20:4(n-6). These results show that PUFA activate PLA2 in neutrophils, which might have a mandatory role in biological responses.
Data processing analysis in nano-and microelectronics processing platforms

Recent progress in nanotechnologies and pervasive concepts of microelectronics encompass to advance semiconductor devices, front-end processes, molecular engineering paradigms and high-performance processing platforms. The technology-centric design and new processing paradigms are deployed and commercialized in enabled-functionality systems. New practical concepts are needed to ensure real-time functional verification, validation, failure analysis, identification and detection to enable failure-tolerance and error-correction. We report and apply a concept to derive information estimates, and, measure data processing quantities in microelectronic devices.
Revolutionary Time and Space

After a procession of market women unceremoniously marched the King to the capital on 5 and 6 October 1789, a new chapter began in the history of a political Revolution. No less momentous was that date for a revolution in administrative practice; as Louis relocated his court from Versailles to the Tuileries, his ministers relocated both their residences and their offices to the faubourg Saint-Germain. Montmorin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, leased two buildings for his offices between the rue de Bourbon and the rue de l'Universite (near his own mansion on the rue Plumet).1 Uniting these buildings by knocking down a separating wall, some stables and a corps de logis, Montmorin concentrated his administration in a way that had been impossible while his Royal Master resided in the Château de Versailles.2 Almost overnight, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs found itself remade spatially by the events of the French Revolution, its offices united in a single building, and its employes joined – if not by politics – by the common experience of coming to work. By walking through the faubourg to the ministry (and entering by the main gate, not the domestics’ side door), the employe turned from court lackey into civil servant.
Host Response to Biomaterials for Pelvic Floor Reconstruction

Biomaterial use in pelvic floor reconstruction has become an area of intense interest. The use of such products has dramatically increased in recent decades and synthetic biomaterials are considered the standard of care for surgical treatment of pelvic floor disorders such as stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. While some current urogyecological biomaterials achieve desirable efficacy, others have been met with controversy due to relatively high complication rates. In this chapter, we aim to provide the reader with a thorough understanding of the use of biomaterials in the pelvic floor. Specifically, this text will focus on the anatomy of the pelvic floor, highlighting the role of supportive structures of the female pelvis and the intended functions that biomaterials are expected to perform. In addition, we will detail previous successes and shortcomings in this field and discuss the challenges for biomaterials that must be considered in this anatomic location.
Models of Metalloenzymes: Carboxypeptidase A

Mechanistic and structural studies on bovine pancreatic carboxypeptidase A are reviewed. Pertinent model studies of metal catalyzed acyl transfer reactions are also reviewed. Results for the hydrolysis of a metal-complexing lactam (1), in which the metal is held perpendicular to the plane of the amide are described. Rate enhancements for Cu2+-1 are found to be greater than 106 with respect to the hydrolysis of the same ligand with no metal present. Similarly, a rate enhancement of 104–105 has been observed for Zn2+-1. A mechanism involving nucleophilic attack of a metal-bound hydroxide is proposed for this process.
Oculocardiac Reflex as a Result of Intraorbital Trauma.

Abstract Background The oculocardiac reflex is a decrease in heart rate caused by ocular compression or traction upon the extraocular musculature. Multiple instances of this phenomenon have been described in anesthesia, trauma, craniofacial, and ophthalmology literature, but there is a sparsity of documentation in the emergency medicine literature. Case Report We describe the observation and management of the oculocardiac reflex in a 26-year-old man with retrobulbar hematoma and intraocular trauma caused by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? Prompt recognition of the oculocardiac reflex is important for the emergency physician given the common occurrence of craniofacial trauma and the potentially devastating consequences if not recognized and addressed.
Ethical Issues in End Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD)

End stage kidney disease in children raises complex ethical issues. These are unlike issues in other chronic disease, because transplantation is available as a curative treatment. They are also unlike issues in other transplantation situations because long-term dialysis is available for patients who are waiting for transplantation. In this section, I discuss the ways in which doctors and bioethicists have analyzed these ethical issues.
Making the Most of Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Thomas Piketty’s monumental Capital in the Twenty-First Century has transported us to a higher understanding of the historical evolution of inequality. This essay attempts to inventory the different avenues of research, more or less promising, that scholars might usefully pursue when building on his work. The most important path to follow is the history of inequalities in income that Piketty and his team have flagged up so well, supported by the book’s history of the great shocks of the twentieth century and the political responses that they elicited. Less promising is the book’s emphasis on wealth, capital, and the rate of return. The best predictions of future inequality can be achieved by merging Piketty and his team’s history of those who hold the top 10 percent of income with works dedicated to the history of inequality within the lower 90 percent. It is also necessary to integrate other scholarship that has demonstrated that the sort of democratic system Piketty calls for would have positive effects on growth.
Examining content validity of tests using teachers’ reported opportunity to learn

Validity evidence based on content is critical for making inferences about examinees’ responses to test items. Traditionally, content validity has been established by specifying the content domain ...
Enhancing Physical Education with a Supplemental Physical Activity Program.

For decades, schools have played a pivotal role in providing physical activity opportunities to children. For many students, school-time physical activity serves as the primary source of activity, ...
Quantile Markov Decision Process

The goal of a traditional Markov decision process (MDP) is to maximize expected cumulativereward over a defined horizon (possibly infinite). In many applications, however, a decision maker may beinterested in optimizing a specific quantile of the cumulative reward instead of its expectation. In this paperwe consider the problem of optimizing the quantiles of the cumulative rewards of a Markov decision process(MDP), which we refer to as a quantile Markov decision process (QMDP). We provide analytical resultscharacterizing the optimal QMDP value function and present a dynamic programming-based algorithm tosolve for the optimal policy. The algorithm also extends to the MDP problem with a conditional value-at-risk(CVaR) objective. We illustrate the practical relevance of our model by evaluating it on an HIV treatmentinitiation problem, where patients aim to balance the potential benefits and risks of the treatment.
Broken Sexualities: Claiming the Right to the City in Maite Carranza’s El fruto del baobab (2013)

This paper analyzes the interface of gender, sexuality, and the city, underscoring how class, ethnicity, and race interact with female sexual identity, and how thousands of women are still rendered invisible in cities today. The author examines the contention and obliteration of female sexuality as portrayed in El fruto del baobab, a novel by Maite Carranza published in 2013. Carranza’s novel attempts to eliminate the traditional division between public and private spheres, since the privacy and invisibility usually conferred to women’s broken sexuality occupies a central role in the public realm. The author questions to what extent cultural traditions deny immigrants their access to Spanish citizenship and how this exclusion affects foreign women’s integration in Spain.
Acute Acalculous Cholecystitis in the Setting of Negative Ultrasound and Computed Tomography Scan of the Abdomen

Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) is most commonly seen after surgery in critically ill patients. Early diagnosis and treatment is the key in the management of AAC. Ultrasound is the commonly used first modality for right upper quadrant (RUQ) pain with sensitivity equal to or greater than 80% for AAC. Computed tomography (CT) scan is reported to have a sensitivity close to 90% and if both the ultrasound and CT scan are combined, it further increases the sensitivity for the diagnosis of AAC. It is unlikely for AAC to be present in the setting of both negative ultrasound and CT scan of the abdomen. Our case report presents a similar clinical scenario where the patient was found to have both negative ultrasound and CT scan abdomen but was positive on hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid (HIDA) scan for AAC as stated below. A 32-year-old male presented to the emergency room with complaints of RUQ pain for two days which was associated with one episode of non-bilious and non-bloody vomiting as well as subjective fever and chills. On presentation, the patient's blood pressure was 87/54 mmHg. Other vitals were unremarkable. The patient had both CT scan abdomen and ultrasound of the RUQ done which reported non-specific findings but were grossly negative for AAC. On the first night of admission, the patient's blood pressure dropped to 84/32 mmHg. The patient was transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) given the concern for sepsis and was started on intravenous (IV) vancomycin, IV metronidazole and IV levofloxacin (patient was allergic to penicillin). Given the high clinical suspicion, a HIDA scan performed which was positive for AAC. The patient then had a cholecystostomy tube placed by the interventional radiology team. The patient improved rapidly and was eventually discharged with a 14-day course of Bactrim DS (Roche Pharmaceuticals, Nutley, NJ) and metronidazole, and four weeks of outpatient follow up with general surgery. The patient underwent outpatient cholecystectomy in the eighth week from discharge. This leads to the conclusion that even if both the ultrasound and CT scan of the abdomen are negative and clinical suspicion is still high for AAC, the patient should undergo a HIDA scan as delay in treatment is associated with greater than 50% mortality in patients with AAC.
Is Moneyball Relevant on the Racetrack? A New Approach to Evaluating Future Racehorses:

The market for racehorses is volatile and inefficient, and the ability to identify and exploit undervalued characteristics which predict performance can be profitable. In this article, we evaluate ...
NONCODING INSERTS IN HEMOGOLOBIN AND SIMIAN VIRUS 40 GENES ARE BOUNDED BY SELF-COMPLEMENTARY REGIONS

Publisher Summary This chapter examines noncoding inserts in hemoglobin and simian virus 40 genes bounded by self-complementary regions. Studies have shown that many eukaryotic genes contain noncoding internal space regions called introns. Several programs are prepared that analyze DNA and RNA sequences. These programs help determine whether these primary sequences contain self-complementarities that might aid in ligation of the coding, exon regions that remain in the final mRNAs. The presence of complementary regions in exons that are eventually ligated to form mRNAs may facilitate such ligation by bringing areas to be ligated into close physical proximity and by providing recognition sufficient to ensure that appropriate exons are ligated. Extensive complementary regions were found in both rabbit β-globin mRNA and SV-40 DNA. The potentially most stable self-complementarity found in rabbit β-globin mRNA extends from nucleotide number 231 to nucleotide number 488. The known rabbit intron is excised at the central, nonbase-paired loop, which may be formed by this self-complementarity.
FF-Replan: a baseline for probabilistic planning

FF-Replan was the winner of the 2004 International Probabilistic Planning Competition (IPPC-04) (Younes & Littman 2004a) and was also the top performer on IPPC-06 domains, though it was not an official entry. This success was quite surprising, due to the simplicity of the approach. In particular, FF-Replan calls FF on a carefully constructed deterministic variant of the planning problem and selects actions according to the plan until observing an unexpected effect, upon which it replans. Despite the obvious shortcomings of the approach and its strawman nature, it is the state-of-the-art in probabilistic planning as measured on recent competition benchmarks. This paper gives the first technical description of FF-Replan and provides an analysis of its results on all of the recent IPPC-04 and IPPC-06 domains. We hope that this will inspire extensions and insight into the approach and planning domains themselves that will soon lead to the dethroning of FF-Replan.
Fossil Proboscidea from the Wembere-Manonga Formation, Manonga Valley, Tanzania

Between 1990–1994, the Wembere-Manonga Paleontological Expedition (WMPE) recovered the remains of Deinotherium, Anancus, several species from the subfamily Elephantinae, and possibly Stegotetrabelodon from fossil localities in the Manonga Valley, north-central Tanzania. The inferred age of these localities is late Miocene-early Pliocene (see below). African proboscideans underwent rapid morphological transformation and taxonomic diversification during and subsequent to the late Tertiary, and their fossils are well documented from isotopically calibrated localities (Cooke and Maglio, 1972; Maglio, 1972a, 1973; Coppens et al., 1978; Beden, 1980, 1983, 1987; Hill et al., 1986; Kalb and Mebrate, 1993). Consequently, they have proven particularly useful for biochron-ological correlation (e.g., Maglio, 1970a; Cooke and Maglio, 1972; Cooke, 1974; Beden, 1983). Evolutionary alterations in the structure of teeth and skulls in African proboscideans since the late Miocene correspond with an adaptive shift from grinding-crushing to more horizontal grinding mastication (in Anancus), and an increased emphasis on fore and aft horizontal shearing mastication (in elephants), probably in response to changes in climate, environment, and habitat utilization (Maglio, 1972a,b, 1973, 1974; Cooke, 1984; Beden, 1987; Kalb and Mebrate, 1993). Proboscideans occur in each fossil horizon of the Manonga Valley, and show distinct morphological changes through time.
Hybrid Charting Improves Documentation Compliance in a Comprehensive Stroke Center (P4.005)

Objective: To evaluate the neurological assessment (NA) and vial sign (VS) compliance rates of patients with ischemic stroke treated with IV alteplase (rt-PA) during the first 24-hours after therapy due to hemorrhagic conversion or other systemic bleeding. Background: Documentation errors may hinder the ability to provide and deliver quality of care to stroke patients. Transition of care for post rt-PA nursing assessments is documented in a hybrid fashion: on paper in the ED, and electronically in the Stoke Unit. Monthly audits illustrated employees were not abiding by the documentation policy, impacting the accuracy and consistency of NA and VS monitoring. Design/Methods: Retrospective data collection was performed between September 2015 to July 2016 on patients (n=60) who received t-PA in the ED. Cases were reviewed for charting compliance and identified as non-compliant if one or more NA or VS were missing, or failed to adhere to documentation policy. Descriptive statistics were performed. Results: There were 60 cases of ischemic stroke patients treated with rt-PA from September 2015 through July 2016. Of the sixty patients, 29 patients received rt-PA where eleven of the twenty-nine cases were compliant (37.9%). The rt-PA paper-version flowsheet intervention was introduced between February to July 2016, where thirty-one patients received rt-PA of which twenty cases were compliant (64.5%). Implementing a standardized rt-PA monitoring flowsheet resulted the compliance rate to increase by 26.6% (ρ=0.039) with time sensitive charting. Conclusions: The collaborative effort between the ED and neurology nurses to develop a user-friendly tool resulted in a significant improvement with NA and VS monitoring, which improved delivery of care for our stroke patients. As electronic documentation in medicine advances, it is imperative that one is conscientious of deviations in protocols because of inherent constraints of the EMR. Disclosure: Dr. Wright has nothing to disclose. Dr. Wright has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gonsalves has nothing to disclose. Dr. Paiva has nothing to disclose. Dr. Pine has nothing to disclose. Dr. Coleman has nothing to disclose. Dr. Surendranath has nothing to disclose. Dr. Thirunavukkarasu has nothing to disclose.
Home delivery service of low protein foods in inherited metabolic disorders: Does it help?

Abstract Background In the UK, the customary method of obtaining special low protein (LP) foods was by dispensing through a pharmacist (until 2010) for patients with inherited metabolic disorders (IMD) requiring LP diets. Recently, different home delivery services have been introduced to support patient access of low protein foods, but the effectiveness of these services is unclear. Aim A prospective, longitudinal, observational study to examine the effectiveness and safety of patient home delivery services for LP foods over 12 months in IMD patients requiring a LP diet. Methods IMD patients/caregivers had the choice of 2 home delivery services (Homeward® and Vitaflo at Home®) as well as access to primary care pharmacy services. Both home delivery services provided a limited range of LP foods. Over a 12-month period, a member of the IMD dietetic team conducted 4 home visits to IMD patients on LP diets using home delivery services for low protein foods. At each visit, caregivers completed a questionnaire consisting of 20 multiple choice and open questions about their prescription experience with special LP foods. The researchers also completed stock checks, assessed ‘use by dates’ and adequacy of home storage for LP foods. Results In total, 58 patients participated in this study. Over 12 months, 95% (n = 55/58) of caregivers used their local pharmacy, 93% (n = 54/58) Homeward® and 78% (n = 45/58) Vitaflo at Home® to access LP foods. Two home delivery services were used by 41 (71%) caregivers and the remaining 17 (29%) only used one of the home delivery service companies. Each patient only stored a median of 6 (range 0–22) different LP foods at home. Overall, 45% (n = 26/58) of caregivers reported problems with their GP prescriptions. 30% (n = 16/53) of caregivers received at least one incorrect prescription when using their pharmacy (e.g. gluten-free foods instead of LP, incorrect product or incorrect product amount), 6% errors (n = 3/53) with Homeward® and 2% (n = 1/48) with Vitaflo at Home®. 49% (n = 26/53) of caregivers said they experienced delayed receipt of LP foods from their pharmacy, compared with 11% (n = 6/55) from Homeward® and 8% (n = 4/48) Vitaflo at Home®. Conclusions Although home delivery services for special LP foods are associated with less errors and delay compared with pharmacies, inaccuracies and inefficiencies still occur and the overall system is complex. We suggest a new, simpler, less fragmented system whereby metabolic dietitians prescribe LP foods. This is likely to result in less burden on NHS resources and ensure a better treatment delivered to IMD patients.
The Intersections of Culture, Disability, and Shame: The Experiences of Emerging Adults with Developmental Disabilities and their Families in South Korea

Every cultural group has its cultural values and beliefs, which influence experiences of their citizens. This study analyzes how culture and shame affect the lives of emerging adults (ages 18–26) with developmental disabilities and their families in South Korea, especially during the transition from early childhood to emerging adulthood. The Intersections of Culture, Disability, and Shame: The Experiences of Emerging Adults with Developmental Disabilities and their Families in South Korea by Mina C. Chun & Dianne L. Ferguson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://rdsjournal.org. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://www.rds.hawaii.edu.
Do religious patients need religious psychotherapists? A naturalistic treatment matching study among orthodox Jews

Abstract Religion is professed by the majority of the general population, but a minority of mental health practitioners. We evaluated whether religious patients benefited more from treatment with religious psychotherapists in a naturalistic study among adult Orthodox Jewish (n = 117) and control patients (n = 91) receiving psychotherapy from Orthodox Jewish (n = 15) and other (n = 7) psychotherapists at a New York based outpatient clinic. Groups did not differ with respect to diagnoses (χ2(200) = 7.5, p = .76), likelihood of having an Orthodox Jewish therapist (χ2(200) = .06, p = .81), or number of therapy sessions (t(206) = .73, p = .47). Multilevel regression modeling revealed that Orthodox patients reported lower initial anxiety (t(198) = 3.71, p
Handedness of healthy elderly and patients with Alzheimer’s disease

Purpose/Aim of the study: Research has suggested decreasing proportions of non-right handers in older age groups and reduced incidence of non-right handedness among individuals with Alzheimer’s dis...
Large vector spaces generated by bounded universal functions

Abstract We provide a general framework to construct large vector spaces generated by bounded universal functions. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions on a sequence of automorphisms φ n of a domain Ω in C N for there to exist a norm-closed infinite-dimensional vector space V generated by functions in B = { f ∈ H ∞ ( Ω ) | ‖ f ‖ ∞ ≤ 1 } such that V is locally uniformly dense in H ∞ ( Ω ) , V is linearly isometric with l 1 , and every f ∈ V with ‖ f ‖ = 1 is universal for the composition operators C φ n : f ↦ f ∘ φ n , by which we mean the set { f ∘ φ n | n ≥ 1 } is locally uniformly dense in B . In the case when Ω is a bounded symmetric domain in C N , we provide sufficient conditions on a sequence of holomorphic self-maps φ n of Ω for there to exist a vector space V generated by a locally uniformly dense set of inner functions such that V has each of the properties mentioned above.
Pre-existing cerebrovascular disease and poor outcomes of COVID-19 hospitalized patients: a meta-analysis.

Due to pro-inflammatory and hypercoagulation states, COVID-19 infection is believed to increase the risk of stroke and worsen the outcomes of the patients having pre-existing cerebrovascular diseases (CeVD). There is limited literature on prevalence of pre-existing CeVD in COVID-19 patients, and outcomes are unknown. The objective of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the outcomes of COVID-19 patients with pre-existing CeVD. English full-text-observational studies having data on epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 patients were identified searching PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus using MeSH-terms COVID-19 OR coronavirus OR SARS-CoV-2 OR 2019-nCoV from December 1, 2019 to April 30, 2020. Studies having CeVD or stroke as one of the pre-existing comorbidities and described outcomes including intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mechanical ventilation utilization, and mortality were selected with consensus of three reviewers. Following MOOSE protocol, 11 studies were included. The pooled prevalence of CeVD and outcomes were calculated. Meta-regression was performed, and correlation coefficient (r) and odds ratio (OR) were estimated to evaluate the effects of pre-existing CeVD on outcomes of COVID-19 patients. Meta-analysis with random-effects model was used to calculate OR along with its 95% CI from the studies containing data on composite poor outcome. Out of 8/11 studies showing data on mortality and mechanical ventilation, and 7/11 on ICU admission, pooled prevalence of pre-existing CeVD was 4.4% (244/4987). In age-adjusted meta-regression analysis, pre-existing CeVD was associated with ICU admission [r: 0.60; OR: 1.82 (1.25–2.69)], mechanical ventilation [r: 0.29; OR: 1.33 (1.09–1.63)], and mortality [r: 0.35; OR: 1.42 (1.14–1.77)] amongst COVID-19 hospitalizations. 9/11 studies reported data on binary composite outcomes, the pooled prevalence of pre-existing CeVD was 4.3% (155/3603) and 7.46% (83/1113) amongst COVID-19 hospitalizations and COVID-19 hospitalization-related poor outcomes, respectively. In meta-analysis, COVID-19 patient with pre-existing CeVD had 2.67-fold (1.75–4.06) higher odds of poor outcomes. COVID-19 patients with pre-existing cerebrovascular disease have poor outcomes and extra precautions should be taken in managing such patients during the ongoing pandemic.
DTER: Optimal Two-Step Dual Tunnel Energy Requesting for RF-Based Energy Harvesting System

We propose a new energy harvesting (EH) strategy that uses a dedicated energy source (ES) to optimally replenish energy for radio frequency EH powered wireless devices. Specifically, we develop a two-step dual tunnel energy requesting (DTER) strategy that minimizes the energy consumption on both the EH device and the ES. Besides the causality and capacity constraints that are investigated in the existing approaches, DTER also takes into account the overhead issue and the nonlinear charge characteristics of an energy storage component to make the proposed strategy practical. Both offline and online scenarios are considered in the second step of DTER. To solve the nonlinear optimization problem of the offline scenario, we convert the design of offline optimal energy requesting problem into a classic shortest path problem and thus a global optimal solution can be obtained through dynamic programming algorithms. The online suboptimal transmission strategy is developed as well. Simulation study verifies that the online strategy can achieve almost the same energy efficiency as the global optimal solution in the long term.