cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Opening the black box: interactive hierarchical clustering for multivariate spatial patterns

Clustering is one of the most important tasks for geographic knowledge discovery. However, existing clustering methods have two severe drawbacks for this purpose. First, spatial clustering methods have so far been mainly focused on searching for patterns within the spatial dimensions (usually 2D or 3D space), while more general-purpose high-dimensional (multivariate) clustering methods have very limited power in recognizing spatial patterns that involve neighbors. Secondly, existing clustering methods tend to be 'closed' and are not geared toward allowing the interaction needed to effectively support a human-led exploratory analysis. The contribution of the research includes three parts. (1) Develop an effective and efficient hierarchical spatial clustering method, which can generate a 1-D spatial cluster ordering that preserves all the hierarchical clusters. (2) Develop a density- and grid-based hierarchical subspace clustering method to effectively identify high-dimensional clusters. The spatial cluster ordering is then integrated with this subspace clustering method to effectively search multivariate spatial patterns. (3) The above two methods are implemented in a fully open and interactive manner and supported by various visualization techniques. This opens up the "black box" of the clustering process for easy understanding, steering, focusing and interpretation. At the end a working demo with US census data is presented.
The Effects of Diameter and Chirality in the Thermal Transport in Free-Standing and Supported Carbon-Nanotubes

We use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to explore the lattice thermal transport in freestanding and supported single-wall carbon-nanotube (SWCNT) in comparison to that in graphene nanoribbon (GNR) and graphene sheet. We find the lattice thermal conductivity of freestanding SWCNT and GNR increases with diameter/width and approaches that of graphene. This is partly attributed to the curvature that shortens phonon lifetime in SWCNT. In contrast to GNR, there is only weak chirality dependence in the thermal conductivity of freestanding SWCNT. When SWCNT is put on substrate, an effective boundary along the SWCNT axial direction at the SWCNT-substrate interface is created, rendering resemblance between the phonon transport in supported SWCNT and that in freestanding GNR. As a result, the thermal conductivity of supported SWCNTs differ by around 10%, depending on chirality. The thermal conductivity of SWCNT decreases by about 34–41% when supported, which is less than that of the reduction seen in supported graphene.© 2012 ASME
Mortality and Contemporary Literature

If we speak here of contemporary literature, let us nevertheless recall that in all ages men have recorded certain common responses to death and mortality that vary little. The universal themes of dread and stupor, of grief and compunction, of transience and corruptibility — such poignancies of our finite condition underlie whatever special cultural or even religious influences come into play, or whatever particular hopes are projected. It is for this reason that elegies for fallen heroes and laments for toppled cities and broken hopes, in Job or Homer, are still moving, or the heartbreak in a papyrus letter, or the plangent grief of Catullus as he comes across many seas to his brother's grave,ut te postremo donarem munere mortiset mutam nequiquam adloquerer cinerem.Indeed, we must say that it is only in total openness to such common experience of grief and trepidation that other more positive overtones of death can make themselves felt and justify themselves.
The Use of Mailed Questionnaires to Conduct Survey Research

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to present a brief outline of the methods and procedures needed to design, construct, and conduct a research study using a mailed questionnaire. Particular attention is paid to those details that have an impact on increasing response rates, as this will improve the validity of data collected. In addition, the paper focuses on suitability of this method for survey research in psychoanalysis.
Nature and Nurture Effects On Children’s Outcomes: What Have We Learned From Studies of Twins And Adoptees?

Abstract There is a rich history of using data from twins and from adoptees to control for genetic influences and thereby examine the impact of environment on children's outcomes. The behavioral genetics model is the workhorse of this literature and for a variety of outcomes including IQ scores and personality measures behavioral geneticists find that the bulk of the variance that can be explained is correlated with genetic influences. However, finding that variation in test scores has a large genetic component is quite different than asking whether test scores can be improved by interventions and changes in policy or whether such interventions pass a cost benefit test. Economists have recently begun asking how the intergenerational transmission of educational attainment, income and health vary when a child is being raised by adoptive rather than biological parents. Results suggest that both the biological and the nurturing parents contribute a great deal to the transmission of income and education to their children JEL Codes: I0, J0, J24
A Neuropsychological Perspective on Abstract Word Representation: From Theory to Treatment of Acquired Language Disorders

Natural languages are rife with words that describe feelings, introspective states, and social constructs (e.g., liberty, persuasion) that cannot be directly observed through the senses. Effective communication demands linguistic competence with such abstract words. In clinical neurological settings, abstract words are especially vulnerable to the effects of stroke and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. A parallel literature in cognitive neuroscience suggests that abstract and concrete words are at least partially neuroanatomically dissociable. Much remains to be learned about the nature of lexical-semantic deficits of abstract words and how best to promote their recovery. Here, we review contemporary theoretical approaches to abstract-concrete word representation with an aim toward contextualizing patient-based dissociations for abstract words. We then describe a burgeoning treatment approach for targeting abstract words and suggest a number of potential strategies for future interventions. We argue that a deeper understanding of is essential for informing language rehabilitation.
Property Directed Equivalence via Abstract Simulation

We present a novel approach for automated incremental verification that employs both reusable and relational specifications of software to incrementally verify pairs of programs with possibly nested loops. It analyzes two programs, P - the one already verified, and Q - the one needed to be verified, and proceeds by detecting an abstraction \(\alpha {P}\) of P and a simulation \(\rho \), such that \(\alpha {P}\) simulates Q via \(\rho \). The key idea behind our simulation synthesis is to drive construction of both \(\alpha {P}\) and \(\rho \) by the safe inductive invariants of P, thus guaranteeing the property preservations by the results. Finally, our approach allows effective lifting of the safe inductive invariants of P to Q using only \(\alpha {P}\) and \(\rho \). Based on our evaluation, in many cases when the absolute equivalence between programs cannot be proven, our approach is able to establish the property directed equivalence, confirming that the program Q is safe.
Early Growth Response Factor EGR-1 Regulates Gαq Gene in Megakaryocytic Cells.

Abstract Gαq (Gene GNAQ) plays a major role in platelet signal transduction but little is known regarding its transcriptional regulation. We studied Gαq promoter activity using luciferase reporter gene assays in human erythroleukemia (HEL) cells treated with 10 nM of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) for 24 h to induce megakaryocytic (MK) transformation. RT-PCR analysis of HEL cell RNA revealed that Gαq mRNA was relatively low in untreated cells and it increased after PMA treatment with a peak at 5 h. Immunoblot analysis of HEL lysates showed enhanced Gαq expression with PMA. Luciferase reporter gene studies on full length construct (upto −1116 bp from ATG) and its serial 5′ truncations revealed a negative regulatory site at −238/−202 and two positive sites at −203/−138 and −1116/−731. In the region −238/−202 consensus sites were noted for two transcription factors PU.1 and GATA-1 that are known to regulate several megakaryocytic genes. Deletions of these sites alone or together revealed no change in the transcriptional activity of the gene in reporter studies. The positive region −203/−138 contained two overlapping Sp1/AP-2/EGR-1 consensus sites at −202/−189 and −164/−150. Gel shift studies were performed on oligonucleotides 1 (−203/−175) and 2 (−174/−152) using HEL cell extracts. Protein binding occured with Gαq oligonucleotides 1 and 2, which was competed with excess unlabeled oligos but not by unlabeled Sp1 or AP-2 consensus oligos. Supershift assay using antibody against Sp1 revealed neither competition nor supershift, suggesting that Sp1 does not bind to these oligonucleotides. No protein binding was noted when Gαq oligos 1 or 2 were incubated with extracts known to contain Sp1 or AP-2. These results indicate that Sp1 and AP-2 do not bind to the Gαq oligonucleotide regions. Protein binding to oligonucleotides 1 and 2 was abolished by excess unlabeled consensus EGR-1 oligo, and by immunodepletion of the EGR-1 protein from the nuclear extract with anti-EGR-1 antibody. These experiments reveal that EGR-1 binds to both Gαq oligonucleotides −203/−175 and −174/−152. In luciferase reporter studies mutations in EGR-1 sites present in both oligonucleotides 1 and 2 markedly decreased gene activity indicating functional relevance. In further studies, reduction in endogenous EGR-1 expression with antisense oligonucleotide to EGR-1 inhibited PMA induced Gαq transcription and protein in HEL cells. Lastly, EGR-1 deficient mouse platelets also showed ~50% reduction in the Gαq protein (immunoblotting) relative to wild type platelets. These studies suggest that Gαq gene is regulated during PMA induced differentiation by EGR-1, a transcription factor that regulates a wide array of genes involved in cellular proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, and in vascular response to injury and atherosclerosis.
Are we doing ineffective CPR

Being competent in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a skill in which all paediatricians need expertise. Proficiency in CPR has, traditionally, been acquired through on-the-job training and live-instructor classes using simulated scenarios with manikins. Hospitals require paediatricians to obtain annual certification of CPR proficiency through demonstration of knowledge in a written or computer-based test, as well as by performance during direct observation of technique using a manikin. However, it is well recognised that such performance ‘extinguishes’ (ie, deteriorates) rapidly within 3–6 months after initial training if knowledge and skills are not reinforced by subsequent learning and practice.1 Thus, a question remains: how often are we routinely performing effective CPR2 when it happens outside of an observed and tested educational session? In this issue, Gregson et al 3 provide evidence demonstrating that simulated CPR in a resuscitation manikin can be performed better when healthcare providers are given direct and real-time feedback from an automated audiovisual feedback device. The device evaluates the rate, depth, force applied, chest recoil and pauses during the …
Environmental Effects of Tidal Power Development

If increasing samples of environmental crises that confront this earth can be said to have any redeeming features, perhaps one of them is the prospect that man will at last realize that he can never conquer nature. We can at least hope that the persistent demonstration of the unintended side effects of man’s efforts to mould the earth to his designs will bring him to the realization that he will succeed in “mastering” nature only to the extent that he understands natural processes and is able to use his understanding to predict the consequences of his actions.
Magnetic nanotubes for drug delivery

Magnetic nanotubes hold the potential for neuroscience applications because of their capability to deliver chemicals or biomolecules and the feasibility of controlling the orientation or movement of these magnetic nanotubes by an external magnetic field thus facilitating directed growth of neurites. Therefore, we sought to investigate the effects of laminin treated magnetic nanotubes and external alternating magnetic fields on the growth of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in cell culture. Magnetic nanotubes were synthesized by a hydrothermal method and characterized to confirm their hollow structure, the hematite and maghemite phases, and the magnetic properties. DRG neurons were cultured in the presence of magnetic nanotubes under alternating magnetic fields. Electron microscopy showed a close interaction between magnetic nanotubes and the growing neurites Phase contrast microscopy revealed live growing neurons suggesting that the combination of the presence of magnetic nanotubes and the alternating magnetic field were tolerated by DRG neurons. The synergistic effect, from both laminin treated magnetic nanotubes and the applied magnetic fields on survival, growth and electrical activity of the DRG neurons are currently being investigated.
WAVE RUN-UP ON COMPOSITE SLOPES

A method is presented for determining wave run-up on composite slopes from laboratory- derived curves for single slopes. The method is one of successive approximations and involves replacement of the actual composite slope with a hypothetical single slope obtained from the breaking depth and an estimated run-up value. Comparison of predicted values is made with actual laboratory data.
Firm Strategy in Business Ecosystems: An Empirical Review

In this paper, I review the key strategic issues confronting firms that operate in business ecosystems–networks of complementary firms that produce discrete products or services that comprise a coh...
Reading Quizzes Improve Exam Scores for Community College Students

To test the hypothesis that adding course structure may encourage self-regulated learning skills resulting in an increase in student exam performance in the community college setting, we added daily preclass online, open-book reading quizzes to an introductory biology course. We compared three control terms without reading quizzes and three experimental terms with online, open-book reading quizzes; the instructor of record, class size, and instructional time did not vary. Analyzing the Bloom's taxonomy level of a random sample of exam questions indicated a similar cognitive level of high-stakes assessments across all six terms in the study. To control for possible changes in student preparation or ability over time, we calculated each student's grade point average in courses other than biology during the term under study and included it as a predictor variable in our regression models. Our final model showed that students in the experimental terms had significantly higher exam scores than students in the control terms. This result shows that online reading quizzes can boost achievement in community college students. We also comment on the importance of discipline-based education research in community college settings and the structure of our community college/4-year institution collaboration.
Threat and Information Acquisition: Evidence from an Eight Country Study

We assess individuals’ responses to news about threat, compared to news about positive indicators of well-being, using data from nine experiments conducted across eight countries. The general proposition is that exposure to news about threat increases tendencies to “tune in” to information, compared to those presented with news about better times. The evidence strongly supports this expectation: without exception, the average respondent recalls and seeks more information about terrorist threat than good times. Further, this pattern of results generalizes to other threats. The study thematically and geographically extends research on negative information and political learning. It also has broader implications: absorbing newsworthy information is foundational to the types of attitudes citizens express and the extent to which, and how, they engage in the world around them.
Effects of Fungicides Seed Treatments on Seedling Diseases and Yield of Soybeans

Materials and Methods To understand the effect of fungicides in controlling seedling diseases of soybeans, an experiment was conducted at the Northern Research Farm, Kanawha, during the 2005 growing season. Syngenta provided the treated seed, S24-K4. The experimental layout was a randomized complete block design. Each of eleven treatments, including an untreated control, was planted in four replications in 6 rows, 17 ft long and 30 in. apart. Fungicide treatment details are provided in Table 1. The planting date was May 3, 2005. Plant count as plants/acre was recorded at 50% (May 25) and at 100% (June 1) emergence and again at midseason (July 22). Root and shoot biomass was recorded from samplings of five plants from the first and sixth rows in each plot at V4 stage. Five plants were collected, the roots were washed in running water, and dry weights of root mass and shoot were recorded separately as well as combined. Vigor rating and disease scores were on a 0–100% scale. The central four rows of all plots were mechanically harvested on September 30, 2005. Plot yields (bushels/acre) adjusted to 13% grain moisture were recorded.
The Effects of Anesthesia on Fetal Blood Gases

In order to understand the effects of anesthesia on fetal blood gases, it is important to review the basics from the gross anatomy of uteroplacental circulation to the biochemistry of gas exchange. After reviewing the basics, it will become fairly obvious how anesthesia impinges upon them to potentially alter fetal blood gases.
Mouse model of HDM induced airway inflammation + influenza or RSV. Effects of steroid

Influenza A virus is one of the most common infectious pathogens. The disease that ensues is particularly serious in certain at risk groups within the population; such as individuals with chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Asthma is an example of a chronic inflammatory disease which is exacerbated by the virus, and infection frequently leads to hospitalization of asthmatic patients. The role of respiratory viruses in development of severe clinical asthma, in particular, is poorly understood. Pfizer has supported the European Union-led IMI UBIOPRED pre-competitive collaboration between academic and pharma partners which aims to better understand the clinical disease, and in doing so, developed pre-clinical models of both severe asthma and asthma exacerbation. We established and characterised RSV and Influenza A infection in the mouse house dust mite (HDM) model. We have examined the bronchoalveolar fluid (bal) cell and lung cytokine responses as well as observing the health of the animals for a 14 day period following exposure to varying virus doses. Groups of mice were infected with 5 x virus doses and virus replication and inflammatory responses monitored at days 1, 3, 7 and 14 post infection. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and lungs were collected from all mice. BAL was processed for cell counts and tissue was processed for cytokine and pathology. Additionally, mice were observed daily for onset of clinical symptoms and weight loss. We have demonstrated two unique viral exacerbation profiles and demonstrated that influenza can generate an exacerbative profile in conjunction with HDM challenge.
Food webs, competition graphs, and the boxicity of ecological phase space

Two species in an ecosystem compete if and only if they have intersecting ecological niches. Competition can be defined independently by using a food web for the ecosystem, and this notion of competition gives rise to a competition graph. This paper briefly describes the problem of representing the competition graph as an intersection graph of boxes (k-dimensional rectangles representing ecological niches) in Euclidean k-space and then discusses the class of graphs which arise as competition graphs of (acyclic) food webs.
Diamond shaped standing wave patterns of a two-dimensional Boussinesq system

Abstract We prove the existence of a large family of two-dimensional diamond shaped standing waves for a Boussinesq system which describes two-way propagation of water waves in a channel. Our proof uses the Lyapunov–Schmidt method to find the bifurcation standing waves.
PF Pain in the Skeletally Immature Patient: Diagnosis and Management

Anterior patellofemoral knee pain is a common complaint in the child and young adolescent population. Following proper physical exam, clinical history, and diagnostic imaging studies, discrete diagnoses for anterior knee pain can often be made. These diagnoses include Osgood-Schlatter’s disease, tibial tubercle fracture, Sinding-Larsen-Johansson syndrome, patellar sleeve fracture, bipartite patella, trochlear or patellar juvenile osteochondritis dissecans, Hoffa’s fat pad impingement, and plica syndrome. However, for many patients, a discrete diagnosis cannot be made, and these cases fall into the diagnostic categories of anterior knee pain in adolescents and patellofemoral pain syndrome – both of which had historically been referred to as chondromalacia. This chapter will delineate the ways to identify discrete diagnoses for anterior PF knee pain and separate them from these broader diagnostic categories. It will also discuss treatment and rehabilitation for the common causes of patellofemoral pain. Representative cases are presented.
Physiological and Molecular Mechanisms of Differential Sensitivity of Palmer Amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) to Mesotrione at Varying Growth Temperatures

Herbicide efficacy is known to be influenced by temperature, however, underlying mechanism(s) are poorly understood. A marked alteration in mesotrione [a 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) inhibitor] efficacy on Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson) was observed when grown under low- (LT, 25/15°C, day/night temperatures) and high (HT, 40/30°C) temperature compared to optimum (OT, 32.5/22.5°C) temperature. Based on plant height, injury, and mortality, Palmer amaranth was more sensitive to mesotrione at LT and less sensitive at HT compared to OT (ED50 for mortality; 18.5, 52.3, and 63.7 g ai ha-1, respectively). Similar responses were observed for leaf chlorophyll index and photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm). Furthermore, mesotrione translocation and metabolism, and HPPD expression data strongly supported such variation. Relatively more mesotrione was translocated to meristematic regions at LT or OT than at HT. Based on T50 values (time required to metabolize 50% of the 14C mesotrione), plants at HT metabolized mesotrione faster than those at LT or OT (T50; 13, 21, and 16.5 h, respectively). The relative HPPD:CPS (carbamoyl phosphate synthetase) or HPPD:β-tubulin expression in mesotrione-treated plants increased over time in all temperature regimes; however, at 48 HAT, the HPPD:β-tubulin expression was exceedingly higher at HT compared to LT or OT (18.4-, 3.1-, and 3.5-fold relative to untreated plants, respectively). These findings together with an integrated understanding of other interacting key environmental factors will have important implications for a predictable approach for effective weed management.
Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals' Perceptions of American Religious Traditions.

The cumulative alienation sexual minorities experience from American mainline religious groups may leave them feeling disillusioned and even hostile toward the religious organizations that have his...
Online Grocery Delivery Services: An Opportunity to Address Food Disparities in Transportation-scarce Areas

Online grocery delivery services present new opportunities to address food disparities, especially in underserved areas. However, such services have not been systematically evaluated. This study evaluates such services' potential to provide healthy-food access and influence healthy-food purchases among individuals living in transportation-scarce and low-resource areas. We conducted a pilot experiment with 20 participants consisting of a randomly assigned group's 1-month use of an online grocery delivery service, and a control group's 1-month collection of grocery receipts, and a set of semi-structured interviews. We found that online grocery delivery services (a) serve as a feasible model to healthy-food access if they are affordable and amenable to multiple payment forms and (b) could lead to healthier selections. We contribute policy recommendations to bolster affordability of healthy-food access and design opportunities to promote healthy foods to support the adoption and use of these services among low-resource and transportation-scarce groups.
Altered amygdala DNA methylation mechanisms after adolescent alcohol exposure contribute to adult anxiety and alcohol drinking.

Abstract Binge drinking during adolescence increases the risk for neuropsychiatric disorders including alcoholism in adulthood. DNA methylation in post-mitotic neurons is an important epigenetic modification that plays a crucial role in neurodevelopment. We examined the effects of intermittent ethanol exposure during adolescence on adult behavior and whether DNA methylation changes provide a plausible explanation for the lasting effects of this developmental insult. One hour after last adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE), growth arrest and DNA damage inducible protein 45 (Gadd45a, Gadd45b, and Gadd45g) mRNA expression was increased and DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) activity and Dnmt3b expression was decreased in the amygdala as compared to adolescent intermittent saline (AIS) rats. However, AIE rats 24 h after last exposure displayed increased DNMT activity but normalized Gadd45 and Dnmt3b mRNA expression compared to AIS rats. In adulthood, rats exposed to AIE show increased Dnmt3b mRNA expression and DNMT activity, along with decreased Gadd45g mRNA expression in the amygdala. DNA methylation of neuropeptide Y (Npy) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) exon IV is increased in the AIE adult amygdala compared to AIS adult rats. Treatment with the DNMT inhibitor 5-azacytidine (5-azaC) at adulthood normalizes the AIE-induced DNA hypermethylation of Npy and Bdnf exon IV with concomitant reversal of AIE-induced anxiety-like and alcohol-drinking behaviors. These results suggest that binge-like ethanol exposure during adolescence leads to dysregulation in DNA methylation mechanisms in the amygdala which may contribute to behavioral phenotypes of anxiety and alcohol use in adulthood.
Serum folate, LINE-1 hypomethylation, and overall survival in a prospective cohort of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

4101 Background: Folate plays a central role in DNA methylation reactions, but the relationship between folate and methylation status has not been studied in HCC patients. We hypothesized that low ...
On the ambiguity regarding the relationship between sequential congruency effects, bilingual advantages in cognitive control, and the disengagement of attention.

Grundy, Bialystok, and colleagues have reported that at short response-stimulus intervals bilinguals have smaller sequential congruency effects in flanker tasks compared to monolinguals. They interpret these differences to mean that bilinguals are more efficient at disengaging attentional control. Ten empirical studies are presented that show no differences between bilinguals and monolinguals under conditions that produced robust sequential congruency effects. These null results are discussed with respect to the rate at which sequential congruency effects dissipate and the fact these effects are not adaptive in the sense of improving overall performance. Arguments made by Goldsmith and Morton [1] that smaller sequential congruency effects should not be interpreted as “advantages” are extended. Evidence is also presented that neither simple congruency effects, nor sequential congruency effects, correlate across tasks. This lack of convergent validity is inconsistent with the hypothesis that either provides a measure of domain-general control that could underlie an advantage accrued through experience in switching languages. Results from other tasks purporting to show bilingual advantages in the disengagement of attention are also reviewed. We conclude that sequential congruency effects in nonverbal interference tasks and differences in the rate of disengaging attention are unlikely to contribute to our understanding of bilingual language control and that future research might productively examine differences in proactive rather than reactive control.
Potential use of a new nitrogen trading tool to assess nitrogen management practices to protect groundwater quality

Abstract The Nitrogen Loss and Environmental Assessment Package (NLEAP) with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), version 5.0, with a Nitrogen Trading Tool (NTT) is a model that can be used to integrate site-specific information about soils, weather, and management to conduct quick assessments of nitrogen (N) management practices to increase N use efficiencies while minimizing N losses. This tool is a valuable resource that can be used to conduct quick assessments of risky combinations of management practices and landscapes across several fields to identify hot spot areas that are susceptible to nitrogen losses. The NLEAP GIS 5.0 NTT can quickly assess the temporal and spatial N losses of a given scenario simulated across all the fields and subtract them from the baseline scenario. This allows the user to compare scenarios and use the tool as a nitrogen trading tool to assess the potential reductions in nitrate leaching or emissions of nitrous oxide that may be achieved with a given management practice. The tool can be used to quickly assess the potential to use management practices to reduce the potential losses of reactive nitrogen to groundwater and the atmosphere, as well as the potential to trade these reductions in reactive nitrogen in water or air quality markets. It can quickly calculate the potential savings (reductions in) direct and indirect N2O emissions (and the carbon sequestration equivalent) achieved due to improvements in N management practices. The carbon sequestration equivalent could also be traded in air quality markets. There is potential to use the tool to assess which areas are more sensitive to nitrate leaching, which can impact groundwater quality, and to assess what would be the best management practices to implement in these areas for protection of groundwater quality.
Anticoagulation management strategies in heart transplantation

Anticoagulation before, during, and after heart transplantation (HT) presents unique challenges to clinicians. Bleeding and thrombotic morbidity continues to affect this patient population throughout all phases of the HT journey. Reversal is commonly required since patients are commonly bridged to HT with left ventricular assist devices, which require chronic anti platelet and anticoagulation. Caution must be exercised in patients requiring cardiopulmonary bypass during surgery who are at risk of complications from heparin induced thrombocytopenia. The reported incidence of venous thromboembolism following HT is high, particularly during the first post-HT year, most likely due to surgery, biopsies, specific immunosuppression (mTOR inhibitors) and immobilization. It is crucial to maintain long-term oral anticoagulation after the first venous thromboembolism event, especially when risk factors exist. A major issue, and one for which there remains considerable debate, is the optimal treatment of such complications, particularly upper extremity venous thrombosis. For both warfarin and the thrombin inhibitors or Factor Xa inhibitors, the clinician must determine potential drug interactions based on the HT drug regimen, and then develop a patient-specific management strategy.
Intracorporeal VAD Outcomes in the ACTION Quality Improvement Network

Purpose The initial project of ACTION (Advanced Cardiac Therapies Improving Outcomes Network) is focused on improving stroke rates in patients implanted with a ventricular assist devices (VAD) in participating centers. The initial interventions targeted improving communication, anticoagulation, and blood pressure management. We sought to describe the characteristics and outcomes of patients implanted with intracorporeal, continuous flow VADs (cfVAD). Methods The ACTION registry was used to determine the stroke frequency in cfVAD implanted patients between April 2018 and September 2019, the time from development of the quality improvement bundle to the present. Results Sixty two patients (33 Heartmate3 [HM3] and 29 Heartware [HVAD]) were identified (Table). The majority had dilated cardiomyopathy (76%). Of the 12 (20%) patients with congenital heart disease (CHD), 9 (75%) had single ventricle (SV) physiology. The HM3 patients were older (16.5 yr vs 12.8 yr) and larger (64.2 kg vs 51.9 kg) than the HVAD patients. No significant difference was observed in diagnosis, duration of support, device strategy, or clinical outcome. One patient (2%) experienced a stroke during 6,920 days of support. Forty of the 45 (89%) patients to reach a clinical endpoint experienced a positive outcome (transplant or explant for recovery) while 17 (27%) patients remain on device. Conclusion The stroke rate is low and survival good among patients implanted with an intracorporeal cfVAD at ACTION centers using the clinical protocols developed within the network. The HVAD is currently being used more frequently in younger and smaller patients. There has been an appreciable increase in the number and frequency of implants in patients with CHD, especially SV disease, as compared to previous reports. Future efforts within ACTION will focus on improving clinical outcomes as devices are increasingly used at individual centers and as the number of VAD-supported patients with congenital heart disease continues to grow.
Twilight of the Vikings: Probing Warriors, Fighting Shieldmaidens and Noir Gloom

The Vikings have returned along with their gods to the forefront of popular culture in recent years—more powerful, widespread and varied than ever before. This chapter focusses on a couple of case studies, Michael Hirst’s television series Vikings and Brian Wood’s graphic novel Northlanders, to account for the specificity of the new twenty-first-century Viking. The author argues that both works evidence a shift from mythology and legend to realism and historical authenticity. However, they also both grant exceptions in adapting the Norse heritage to contemporary norms when it comes to the representation of race and especially gender. The result is a fascinating mixture of the medieval world and that of today.
Characteristics and Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients During Initial Peak and Resurgence in the Houston Metropolitan Area.

This study examined the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients, as well as their clinical outcomes, during a surge in COVID-19 disease in Houston, Texas.
Development and Comparative Analysis of Advanced Deep Learning Techniques for Crash Prediction in Advanced Driver Support Systems

Motor vehicle crashes claimed 38,800 lives and caused 4.4 million injuries in 2019 alone. Studies have shown that 94% of these crashes are because of driver errors. Such a huge contribution of driv...
Brazil: Tax Expenditure Rationalization Within Broader Tax Reform

The excessive complexity and burden of the Brazilian tax system, riddled by cumulative indirect taxes and heavy payroll contributions, have led to an accumulation of fiscal incentives aimed at reducing its burden on taxpayers and productive activities. Federal and subnational tax expenditures currently stand at over 5 percent of GDP. Rationalizing them can only be comprehensively feasible in the context of a broader sequenced tax reform, and could reduce resource misallocation and income inequality, as well as provide new revenues.
Analyzing electronic license agreements: Strategies for success

Electronic products and their accompanying licenses have become the norm in most health sciences libraries and consume large amounts of a library's budget. Careful thought and advance planning will result in products and agreements that will best serve the library and its users. Using teamwork for contract analysis, careful identification of the library's users and their use of the product, and efficient communication with legal counsel will ease the task of evaluating and negotiating the license. This article offers strategies for effectively managing electronic licenses.
Hirotugu Akaike, Statistical Scientist

This talk was given after a banquet in honor of Hirotugu Akaike on May 28, 1992 at The US/Japan Conference on The Frontiers of Statistical Modeling: An Informational Approach [University of Tennessee, Knoxville TN May 24–29, 1992]. Contents are: 1. Change jokes; 2. Toasts; 3. History of statistics in real time: hammers and nails. 4. Akaike’s career in statistical science; 5. The phases of Akaike’s research; 6. Information statistical literacy.
Bootstrapping Events and Relations from Text

In this paper, we describe a new approach to semi-supervised adaptive learning of event extraction from text. Given a set of examples and an un-annotated text corpus, the BEAR system (Bootstrapping Events And Relations) will automatically learn how to recognize and understand descriptions of complex semantic relationships in text, such as events involving multiple entities and their roles. For example, given a series of descriptions of bombing and shooting incidents (e.g., in newswire) the system will learn to extract, with a high degree of accuracy, other attack-type events mentioned elsewhere in text, irrespective of the form of description. A series of evaluations using the ACE data and event set show a significant performance improvement over our baseline system.
Effect of octreotide on human sphincter of Oddi motility following liver transplantation.

The effect of octreotide on sphincter of Oddimotility was investigated in six liver transplantpatients, employing percutaneous (through the T-tubetract) manometry. Continuous and simultaneous sphincter of Oddi and duodenal motor activities wererecorded before and for 60 min after the administrationof octreotide (100 μg subcutaneously) and after theinjection of cholecystokinin (0.02 μg/kgintravenously). With octreotide, contraction frequency andbasal pressure significantly increased (P < 0.05).This effect lasted more than 60 min, long afteroctreotide-induced duodenal migrating motor complexphase III activity had ceased. Sphincter of Oddicontraction amplitude and duration were unaffected byoctreotide. Subsequent cholecystokinin administrationtransiently reduced sphincter of Oddi basal pressure and contraction frequency. We conclude thatoctreotide significantly increases sphincter of Oddibasal pressure and contraction frequency. This effect isdistinct from octreotide induction of migrating motor complex phase III activity, persists for aprolonged period, and is inhibited bycholecystokinin.
Groupwise Registration and Atlas Construction of 4th-Order Tensor Fields Using the R + Riemannian Metric

Registration of Diffusion-Weighted MR Images (DW-MRI) can be achieved by registering the corresponding 2nd-order Diffusion Tensor Images (DTI). However, it has been shown that higher-order diffusion tensors (e.g. order-4) outperform the traditional DTI in approximating complex fiber structures such as fiber crossings. In this paper we present a novel method for unbiased group-wise non-rigid registration and atlas construction of 4th-order diffusion tensor fields. To the best of our knowledge there is no other existing method to achieve this task. First we define a metric on the space of positive-valued functions based on the Riemannian metric of real positive numbers (denoted by R + ). Then, we use this metric in a novel functional minimization method for non-rigid 4th-order tensor field registration. We define a cost function that accounts for the 4th-order tensor re-orientation during the registration process and has analytic derivatives with respect to the transformation parameters. Finally, the tensor field atlas is computed as the minimizer of the variance defined using the Riemannian metric. We quantitatively compare the proposed method with other techniques that register scalar-valued or diffusion tensor (rank-2) representations of the DWMRI.
Antibody-mediated central nervous system diseases: disease recognition and treatment challenges.

Antibody-associated disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) can be divided broadly into three groups based on the location of the target antigens 1. In the classic paraneoplastic (cancer-associated) disorders (e.g. anti-Hu, Ri, Yo) the antigens are intracellular (nuclear or cytoplasmic) neuronal proteins. Studies of patients' brain tissue obtained at biopsy or autopsy, systemic tumour, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood suggest that these disorders are mediated by cytotoxic T cell mechanisms and that the antibodies are markers of paraneoplasia 2. Treatment of the tumour and immunotherapy may stabilize the neurological syndrome, but significant improvements are rare.
High dose oral tamoxifen and subcutaneous interferon alpha-2a for recurrent glioma

Chemotherapeutic regimens in present use for recurrent glioma have substantial toxicity. Activity against recurrent gliomas has been reported for both tamoxifen and interferon alpha, agents that have more acceptable toxicity profiles and that can be administered in an outpatient setting. We tested the efficacy and toxicity of the combination of high-dose tamoxifen and interferon alpha in adults with recurrent glioma in a phase II trial. Eligible patients had radiographically measurable recurrent gliomas of any grade after initial radiation therapy. Interferon-alpha (6 × 106 U subcutaneously three times per week) and tamoxifen (240 mg/m2/day orally) were administered continuously. Treatment response was assessed at 6 week intervals using clinical and radiographic criteria. Eighteen patients (11 males and 7 females) were enrolled. Median age was 41 years (range 23–61 years). All patients had gliomas that progressed after radiation therapy and nitrosourea chemotherapy. The histologic diagnosis of the original tumor was glioblastoma multiforme in 8 patients, anaplastic astrocytoma in 5 patients, astrocytoma in 4 patients and mixed malignant glioma in 1 patient. Reversible moderate to severe neurological toxicity manifested by dizziness and unsteady gait was seen at tamoxifen doses of 240 mg/m2/day. Although the initial tamoxifen dose was reduced to 120 mg/m2/day, moderate neurotoxicity was noted at this dose as well and the trial was closed early. The combination of oral tamoxifen (120 to 240 mg/m2/day) and subcutaneous interferon-alpha (6 × 106 U three times per week) was associated with significant neurotoxicity in this group of recurrent glioma patients, resulting in early study closure. Of 16 evaluable patients, 12 had progressive disease after one cycle of treatment, 3 had stable disease, and there was one minor response. Gradual dose escalation may be required if similar patients are to be treated with high dose tamoxifen in conjunction with interferon.
Education, collaboration, and innovation: intelligent biology and medicine in the era of big data

Here we present a summary of the 2014 International Conference on Intelligent Biology and Medicine (ICIBM 2014) and the editorial report of the supplement to BMC Genomics and BMC Systems Biology that includes 20 research articles selected from ICIBM 2014. The conference was held on December 4-6, 2014 at San Antonio, Texas, USA, and included six scientific sessions, four tutorials, four keynote presentations, nine highlight talks, and a poster session that covered cutting-edge research in bioinformatics, systems biology, and computational medicine.
SAIV/CAIV/SCQAIV tutorial

The following topics are dealt with: Strategic software engineering; strategic schedule planning (SAIV); full-text title database case-study; CAIV/SCQAIV, MBASE; USC experience and results and MBASE model integration.
Practice Without Theory and Theory Without Practice

Dr. Drew Diligence, Vice-President and Provost (hereafter P): TESOL as a field of study seems to lie at the disjuncture between three war zones of theory linguistic theory, applied linguistics theory, and educational theory. The problem is disjunctive enough to require a thorough investigation and a number of experts from each of the three disciplines to be deposed. The following deposition representing only one vision constitutes one of a potential series of statements intended to clarify the situation and to propose a solution. Please state your name and your academic qualifications.
Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention

Creativity is about capturing those moments that make life worth living. The author's objective is to offer an understanding of what leads to these moments, be it the excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab, so that knowledge can be used to enrich people's lives. Drawing on 100 interviews with exceptional people, from biologists and physicists to politicians and business leaders, poets and artists, as well as his 30 years of research on the subject, Csikszentmihalyi uses his famous theory to explore the creative process. He discusses such ideas as why creative individuals are often seen as selfish and arrogant, and why the tortured genius is largely a myth. Most important, he clearly explains why creativity needs to be cultivated and is necessary for the future of our country, if not the world."Accessible and enjoyable reading." "--Washington Times" "Although the benefits of this study to scholars are obvious, this thought-provoking mixture of scholarly and colloquial will enlighten inquisitive general readers, too." "--Library Journal (starred review)"
Inhaled ozone as a mutagen: I. Chromosome aberrations induced in Chinese hamster lymphocytes

Lymphocyte chromosome aberrations by inhaled ozone in Chinese hamster, indicating mutagen damage
The Relationship Between Aesthetic Value and Cognitive Value

Recent attention to the relationship between aesthetic value and cognitive value has focused on whether the latter can affect the former. In this article, I approach the issue from the opposite direction. I investigate whether the aesthetic value of a work can influence its cognitive value. More narrowly, I consider whether a work's aesthetic value ever contributes to or detracts from its philosophical value, which I take to include the truth of its claims, the strength of its arguments, and its internal consistency. I argue that aesthetic value does have such an impact, at least sometimes and to some degree. The aesthetic merits of some works help to preserve their consistency, and the aesthetic defects of other works render them self-contradictory.